#but i find him wholesome so far
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divingsave · 5 months ago
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don't know why, but arne introducing himself and shaking all cooks' hands is so precious to me
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royaltraitor · 10 months ago
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akira and his sister
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vampcubus · 6 months ago
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𝐊𝐍𝐘 𝐂𝐔𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐂𝐒
:ఌ¨ ♱ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 : kyojuro rengoku, tengen uzui & wives, poly obamitsu, tanjiro kamado, inosuke hashibira, zenitsu agatsuma.
:ఌ¨ ♱ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 : sfw, gn!reader, big spoon coded reader cus i said so, wholesome fluff, cuddling n snuggling, polyamory (tengen & obamitsu's parts), kamaboko trio aged up as per usual.
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𝐊𝐘𝐎𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐎𝐊𝐔
— A teddy bear in the shape of a man and enthusiastic to be used as one! As a Hashira, Kyojuro is often kept away for days and weeks at a time, so he makes the most of every moment you spend together.
— Kyojuro's not happy unless he's got his arms full of his favorite person, so you can expect him to seek you out the moment he arrives home.
— If you’re a civilian and he finds you in the kitchen, he’ll drape himself over you from behind, nuzzling his face into your neck and lavishing it with smiling kisses, rugged hands settling on your hips.
— Kyojuro wants to be cuddled to sleep and truly can’t bear to be parted from you, no matter how swelteringly hot it gets in the summer months. And if he has obligations, he tries to wake up a little early so he can have a few minutes of cuddle time with you before he’s whisked away. You don’t even have to be awake for it, he just wants to hold you for a little while <3
— He started out as a big spoon but converted into a little spoon when he discovered what it felt like to be properly held. He’s no more content than he is when he’s got his back pressed to your chest and you’ve curled yourself around his broad frame. 
— He likes it best when you rub his belly when his eyes are too big for his stomach, always easing a bit of the discomfort <3
— Kyojuro is comfy to lay on, with two perfect pillows for you to rest your head on (his pecs <3). His muscles are quite soft when relaxed, and the way his heart stutters when your cheek rests on it is so cute.
— Kyojuro feels safe in your presence so he’s very prone to falling asleep on your shoulder or with his head in your lap. With his workload and inconsistent sleep schedule, he’s often a cuddle session away from nodding off. Particularly so when you start playing with his flaxen hair, it’s like his off-switch 🤭
— He’s a bit of an oversized lapdog and’ll climb into your lap every chance he gets. As far as he’s concerned, that’s his seat. It looks funny to outsiders if he’s bigger than you, but he hardly cares, all too eager to get all comfy in your lap and tell you about his day.
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𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐍 𝐔𝐙𝐔𝐈 & 𝐖𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒
— Big, tough man too cool to cuddle? No sir. Tengen is a touchy lover and raises a brow when you try to sit anywhere other than his lap, like why aren't you in your assigned seat? 🤨
— Pulls you flush against his side every chance he gets, wrapping a heavy arm around your shoulders. You often get a companion wet kiss to the cheek to boot just to see you scrunch your face up and wipe his spit off your cheek >:(
— His wives are just like him– Suma especially who practically hangs off of you with those big doe eyes, clinging onto your arm during outings as a group. Between Tengen and Suma, your hands will never be lonely and you'll certainly never be cold. Those two are space heaters and can't keep their hands off their partners to save their lives.
— Makio is easily flustered by affection but ultimately craves it, even if getting her to admit it is like pulling teeth. A hopeless romantic at heart <3 She’s a big spoon and overheats easily, so she prefers to linger on the edges of the cuddle piles. She’ll smack your thigh if you move around too much with an annoyed grumble. She can be such a meanie sometimes 😔
— Hinatsuru doesn’t mind holding or being held, she just wants to be close to you. Though generally more soft-spoken than Makio, Tengen, and Suma, her affectionate touch translates her love for her partners so clearly. Often rubs soothing circles over your back, rests a comforting hand on your arm, and pets your hair while you cuddle.
— Tengen likes to talk when you cuddle, prattling on about his or your day while rubbing your side or back mindlessly. Most times, he talks you to sleep or vice versa, considering what a busy guy he is before retirement. Sometimes you’ll get caught up in deep conversations about your past lives, silly theories, or ping-pong flirtatious banter until you can barely keep your eyes open.
— Tengen likes it most when you and the wives crawl right on top of him, all to eager to be living furniture for his beautiful spouses while you all gossip and giggle to each other.
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𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐈 𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎 & 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐈 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐈
— Dare I say the clingiest partners ever?
— Obanai hesitates where as Mitsuri openly throws herself into your arms at every opportunity. Just be patient and take things slow and he'll follow Mitsuri's example. It’s a subtle shift, maybe he leans his head on your shoulder to test the waters, unable to meet your eyes. He melts if you wrap an arm around his shoulders and rub his arm, eyelids drooping as he relaxes further against you.
— Mitsuri is a cuddle bug in every sense of the word, like a tiny, purring kitty rubbing its body against your legs when you come near. You swear she chirps like one too, especially when her affections are met with a head pat or tender kiss.
— Obanai won’t say it, but he likes it when he’s in the middle, tucked safely between his two favorite people. The three of you spend many long hours this way, just relaxing in each other's embrace before your obligations call you away from the cuddle puddle– with no shortage of complaints from your lovers (Obanai’s longing wistful look as you go is just as painful as Mitsuri’s whines)
— Their clinginess only worsens as your relationship progresses, I’m afraid 💀 Obanai has a death grip comparable to a boa constrictor, especially when he’s in a deep sleep.
— I have a vivid image in my mind of Mitsuri having to use her insane strength to pry his arms off of you and scooch herself in your place so you can pee in the middle of the night, barely able to stifle her giggles. (Obanai is very much this meme)
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𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐉𝐈𝐑𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐎
— Touch starved but doesn’t know it, and is also unintentionally touchy. Until he isn’t. Until his touches seem all too intentional, never without meaning.
— Cuddling with you is one of his favorite activities and he’ll even schedule official cuddle time if you let him, so you never go without the comfort of one another’s arms for long. He’ll even decline plans if it’s the wrong time of day…
“Sorry, I’d love to, but it’s almost four and I always cuddle with my partner around that time.”
— And no it’s not negotiable. What if he was late, or missed it and hurt your feelings? No no, he’s far too considerate for that.
— Besides, he misses cuddle time the most when he’s out in the field, miles away from your warm embrace. You can tell he’s missing you in the letters he sends home, commenting about how it “ sure is cold out here,” though the longer he goes without the less subtle he is, rephrasing how he misses you in every paragraph. Can you really blame him? He truly adores you so it’s hard to be away from you :((
— Prefers to be the little spoon but ultimately will be happy no matter how you’re cuddling. (I expand on little spoon Tanjiro in this post <3)
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𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐀
— Instinctually touchy and yet so unused to cuddling. Inosuke doesn’t know much about positive affectionate touch so he tends to squirm out of hugs and gets a little anxious when you hold him still too long, much like a dog would. He asks you what you’re doing, voice a little softer than normal, cheeks a little pink beneath his mask.
“Cuddling you?” you reply, equally confused by his reaction as he is to your affection.  “Well stop it. It feels weird,” he huffs, and you comply, albeit a bit disheartened. You can’t help but be curious about his rejection, so you push past the sudden awkwardness of the moment to inquire about it. “Feels weird how?” “I don’t know! It just does!” he snaps defensively, a little frustrated, an emotion you can’t help but mirror. But then you relax, reminding yourself to be understanding. It must show on your face though, because he follows you around until he’s sure you aren’t mad at him. Your understanding nature is something he’s still getting used to as well.
— Take it slow with him if you can help it, form positive associations with touch, and then try again another time and he’ll be more receptive <3 REALLY receptive after a while, like before you know it you’ve got a stage 10 clinger on your hands 😭 
— Especially if you start sleeping together, cus he likes to cover you with his whole body as his way of protecting you while you’re in a vulnerable state.
— However, he will get bitchy if he catches you taking naps without him there to cuddle up to you. Like just say you don’t love him 😔 You’ll wonder why he’s giving you dirty looks and the cold shoulder all day, yeah it’s cus you didn’t immediately come find him to nap. Traitor.
— He associates cuddling with sleep so he’s prone to nodding off, and if you guide his head to rest on your chest and massage his scalp? He’s dead to the world, snoring and everything.
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𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐀
— You cannot pry this man off of you and I mean it. He was clinging to you before you were even an item, often to your leg, your kimono, your hand, wherever he can reach. If you reciprocate once, he’ll keep coming back for more of it. So touch starved it’s pitiable, and he’s smart enough to know that looking pathetic earns him sympathy.
— That said, he’s taken aback if you initiate cuddling, almost unable to fathom being desired. It’s only then that he gets a little shy, chuckling nervously as you take him into your arms. Doesn’t know what to do with himself.
— Zenitsu isn’t picky about how you cuddle, just that you’re touching in every way possible. Tangles his legs with yours, wriggles as close as humanly possible, and holds your clothing in an iron grip.
— Oftentimes he looks so blissed out when he’s wrapped up in your embrace, eyes half-lidded or drooping with sudden sleepiness. You’re just so comfortable, and comforting, and beautiful and aaaa before he knows it he’s muttering all these things to you.
You awaken slowly to a considerable weight on your chest, squinting with your eyes closed you feel around blindly and find the familiar shape of your husband sprawled out on top of you. You sigh, recognizing his snores and a smile tugs at your lips despite it being tough to breathe. Your palm rests on his back, bunching in the thick fabric of his hoari. Your eyes finally crack open, the morning light illuminating your fully-dressed partner. Must’ve been a long night, you mused to yourself, able to picture a half-asleep Zenitsu stumbling into bed so clearly in your mind. Though even his unconscious alter-ego tended to seek you out. You turn, shifting Zenitsu onto his side. He stirs, but only slightly, immediately tucking his head under your chin with a grunt. “Don’t go,” he murmurs in his sleep, most likely to a dream version of you and a fondness warms your chest. “Stay.”
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bluefunkybeats · 3 months ago
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PAPA SYLUS WITH HIS DAUGHTER
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SYLUS WAKES UP TO YOU NOT IN BED WITH HIM. With a slight hunched tension on his back and spine, Sylus does a gruff and puff as he adjusts his silk black robe, to take off and come get you back to bed.
He turns to sit up properly on the bed, hands pressed firm on the mattress either side of his body to backstretch and to let his feet meet the floor. Yet funnily enough he places his feet down to be met with the most frigid cold floor (which grants him a distasteful expression); and he can’t feel for his slippers.
He treads to the kitchen with shivering numbness on the soles of his feet, but that irksome bother is quickly forgotten once he actually gets a glimpse of the scene in the kitchen from the doorframe.
Sylus’s face turns from disgruntled to wholesomely entertained to the sight of his little one sat perched sideways on the island stool facing her biggest teddy bear, whom was sporting her papa’s artisan-crafted suede slippers.
His smiley amusement only grows on his face as he meets your equally cheekily amused one, rumbly delighted chuckles fluttering out of him that you meet with your own giggles.
He approaches the pair of you and bows down to be close to eye-level with his little angel’s face.
“Can I have them back, sweetie?”
“Or is teddy’s feet too cold?” you brazenly chime in.
He can only meet your audacious smile with fake, light-hearted frustration (which to you is always a really bad act, since he can’t help snickering and the corners of his mouth turn upward), along with mock groans and crossed arms, all designed to make you laugh.
She’ll be the judge on who’s getting the slippers.
SYLUS WHO FINDS HIS LITTLE PRINCESS ASLEEP ON THE COUCH, limbs branched out comically whilst her stuffed animals stay splayed on the floor, presumably struck down by her little arms and legs (which move like cats on hot bricks when she’s asleep- a kicker for sure).
Papa Sylus begins on bending down and picking up her soft toys and placing them on the sofa with her. As he does, a few get lay down with cotton-filled flabby arms covering their beady eyes and having starfish legs, all in purpose to mimic the sleeping position of your daughter. The others get lined up around her like waiting for her to wake up and watch TV or play with them again (don’t worry- they’re placed a radius far enough so she won’t kick them down again, hopefully.)
Once done with his antics, Sylus turns from his view the of the couch and catches glimpse of you behind the glass sliding-door of the balcony.
Carefully and slowly sliding the door open and closed as to not make too much noise for your sleeping angel, he joins your leaning figure of elbows on the railing, watching the view outside the apartment.
He grabs your waist letting his arm and hand rest across the entirety of it, and kisses the top of your head.
“She’s fast asleep.”
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espinosaurusrexex · 6 months ago
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Celeste
FallenAngel!BuckyBarnes x Female!Reader AU
summary: Heaven is not what they tell you. The celestials don’t live in harmony and the devil is not as far as you might think. He’s vicious in his ways to seduce every being - makes even the mighty fall from grace. And one of them happens to be your guardian angel. When James is banished from the heavens, he is forced to amend his sins on earth. What did he do wrong, you might ask? Well, he fell for the one he watched over.
a/n: I thought I’ve read a FallenAngel!Bucky fic on here before. But I couldn’t find it. So please, if you know it, tag me. Anyway, this is my take on the au.
word count: 20.3k (good lord, someone take my computer away)
warnings: this might offend some people (remember this is my fantasy world - I don’t know much about angels and the whole shebang), soulmate trope, the devil, also God?, jealousy/envy, mentions of killing and abuse, banishment and punishments, he falls first (literally lmao), fluff and wholesomeness, agony, angst (of course, with happy end!), smut (wingplay, Bucky‘s got heavenly dick, Virgin!Bucky, size kink, cum play) !MINORS DNI!
゚✫ 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 。✭・゚✶ 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝐀𝐎𝟑 ✧*・゚𝒄.𝒂𝒊 。✭・゚
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all image credit goes to @animarvelita on TikTok (there's more at the end)
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James.
Wake up, James.
Wake up!
The wind hits his lashes before he opens his eyes. He’s falling. He’s falling and there’s nothing he can do. 
❁ ❁ ❁
It’s eerie outside, you note as your towel glides over the countertop. The entire window of the diner displays dark clouds. Dark clouds that will soon bring the heavy rain Old Lee has been mumbling about for days now. 
Not too many people believe what the crazy farmer says but you can’t help but notice how much he really understands of the world. 
Nick hits the little golden bell by the serving hatch and you take the fresh sandwiches to a table by the door. 
“Anything else I can get you?”
“We’re good, honey.”
You just nod as your eyes stay focused on the small parking lot outside. You wipe your hands on your apron and return to the counter when the first drop of rain hits the window pane.
❁ ❁ ❁
Branches are aching beneath his weight when he crashes through the trees. A deep thud echoes in the woods as his body hits the ground. It’s raining. 
Every tragedy needs rain.
❁ ❁ ❁
"Are you alright, dear?" Peggy, one of the regulars, a wise old lady, asks and points to your hand that's settled above your chest. 
You clear your throat. "I'm fine. Just a frog in my throat." You nod with a tight smile. Something seems to have knocked the air out of your lungs. But you've been feeling like you are coming down with something for a few days now. 
"Must be the weather," Howard comment's next to Peggy, and his newspaper crumbles beneath his touch. 
You turn and refill their coffee mugs. "Yeah... must be." But you can't shake the feeling it has brought to you. 
"It's always the weather." Peggy nods before the door to the diner opens and Old Lee enters, his muddy boots dirtying the checkered floors. You scrunch your nose. You'd be the one cleaning that up later, Scott surely won't do it. 
"This ain't a normal April storm, folks." His hat tips before he sits at the counter in front of you. "You look like you’ve been trampled by a cow.”
"It's just the weather," you say and place a cup of hot tea in front of him. That's just Stan: brutally honest and strangely right about everything. 
❁ ❁ ❁
Pain is strange. His feet get caught in the thorned bushes. Golden blood is the only evidence of his path.
And it’s slowly turning black.
❁ ❁ ❁
The storm outside intensifies, the rain hammering against the diner's windows with an unrelenting force. Old Lee's words linger in the air, stirring a sense of unease among the patrons. You glance outside, noticing the darkness creeping in as if it's swallowing everything in its path.
A shiver runs down your back as you remember how much Pietro would have loved this storm. Your mind drifts back to the memory of him. He always found solace in the chaos of nature, seeing beauty even in the fiercest storms.
But he's is gone now, lost to you in a way that is irreversible. The ache in your chest intensifies as you try to push away the memories, focusing instead on your tasks at hand.
Stan’s voice is low and gravelly when he murmurs again. "You can't outrun the storm, kid. It's coming for all of us, whether we're ready or not."
His words are chilling, but you shake it off, forcing a smile as you refill his tea. 
"We'll weather this storm just like we always do." Peggy chimes in as her hand lands on yours with her calming touch. But your heart is hammering in your chest, still. Something feels off. As if a piece fell out of place, waiting to be discovered, and raving to make a mess. 
❁ ❁ ❁
It’s cold and muddy here, no comfort in sight. But he’ll venture on until he reaches you. His soul is pulled to your very presence. 
He needs to find you. Needs to amend his wrongs. Though is it really wrong to love?
❁ ❁ ❁
It’s dark out when you hang your apron in your locker and wave a short goodbye to Nick. Pulling your coat tightly around you in an attempt to brace yourself for the wind, you step outside into the deluge. The rain lashes against your skin, soaking you to the bone on your walk through deserted streets and cold concrete. 
You sigh thinking about everyone that made it home dry, probably sitting in their beds right now, watching the rain roll down their window pane with a hot cup of cocoa in hand. 
But that seems to postpone itself, you realize as you abruptly halt. You look around. This isn’t your usual route home. But something pulled you off your intended path and toward an unfamiliar alleyway. Confusion mingles with a strange sense of anticipation as you find yourself drawn deeper into the darkness. 
Your head is screaming at you. This is dangerous. You shouldn’t be doing this. Why are your feet moving anyway?
And then you see it. Or rather... him?
A figure stands at the end of the alley, obscured by shadows and rain, but there's something about him that sets your heart racing.
"Hello?" you call out tentatively, your voice barely audible over the storm. You hate how weak you sound. 
He steps forward into the dim light, his features illuminated by a flickering streetlamp. Dark hair and a strong yaw, wide muscular shoulders, his arms are adorned by silver cuffs. His whole being is well over six feet. But he seems even taller as something wide reaches from behind him, almost hugging his shoulders and prodding up towards the sky. He steps forward again and your breath hitches in your throat when you can finally make out the grey feathery wings standing from behind his back.
But you don’t run. You don’t even stumble back. Your feet are frozen to the ground. Then his eyes meet yours, and for a moment, time seems to stand still as you’re caught in the intensity of his gaze. 
“I’ve been searching for you,” he says, his voice almost like a whisper to the wind. Calling and marvelous. 
Everything inside you tells your how absurd this situation is. How fast you should be running anywhere but here right now. But the way your heart races doesn’t feel like fear. In fact, you’re not even scared. More fascinated, awestruck, intrigued. You know he wont hurt you. 
“I don’t know you.” You manage to stammer, your eyes still locked with his. The tension overwhelming and electrifying all at once.
“That should be obvious.” He points to his wings smiling amused, a smile that you know holds a universe of secrets and promises. You want to learn them all, you catch yourself thinking as your eyes slip to his lips. 
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to understand,” he replies and it’s the first time his wings move behind him. “Just trust that we are connected in ways you cannot even begin to imagine.”
“Well?” You clear your throat and cross your arms in front of your chest, relieved your body is able to move again, though the pose feels rather awkward. “Why are you here?”
He seems shocked for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected you to play along so fast. And, to be honest, neither did you... at least a little. 
“I need to...” His mouth falls shut again and he turns his head down to the side, shoulders heaving. “I guess I need a place to stay.”
“With me?” That’s insane. You know it is. But why does it not surprise you? 
He nods, you shake your head. “I cant just accommodate a...” You gesture to him and he clears his throat awkwardly. 
“Angel.”
“Right, of course.” You chuckle as you scan his body again. Only now do you see the torn clothes and bloody feet. Drenched through and through. 
You sigh. “I don’t even know your name...” 
His eyes are sparkling, the smallest of twitches making him look a little softer, tangible even. You’re not afraid of him. And it messes with your head. You should be scared, right? But all there is in your body is the steady tingle pinging from your heart back to your stomach. 
“It’s James.” His smile is handsome when he reaches out his hands, offering you a better look to his toned arms.
Whywhywhy? “Alright.” 
❁ ❁ ❁
James looks out of place in your rather small living room. His size dwarves every piece of furniture carefully picked out to make your house a home. He makes it look like a doll house just by standing in it. 
But he doesn’t seem to care. James ducks when he passes through the door and you watch his feathers ruffle as they press themselves to his back in order to fit through. 
You’re not sure what to do. Never in your life did you think you would end up in a situation like this. There is no protocol for hosting celestial beings. Though a how to angel dinner party guide would come in handy now. Did he even eat?
Something must be wrong with you. You let a total stranger into your house, even though your track record of people skills is not exactly the best. One that is borderline freakishly tall and has wings. Wings that look soft and beautiful. But strong and kind of intimidating as well. But why does he feel so safe?
“You’re staring.” James notes and a handsome grin spreads across his face. 
“I’m not really used to having angels in my house to be honest.” The sarcasm is dripping from your tone in subtle undertones. But James seems to enjoy it. “Why are you here? On earth... I mean.”
He stares at the ceiling and his wings sag a little. “I have a mission, dearest.” He tells and his eyes meet yours. They’re deep blue and stormy - just like the sky. You can see yourself falling lost in them. His presence is all-consuming, making you shiver. It reminds you that the both of you are drenched from the rain. A puddle has formed around your feet and James’s wings guide the water droplets to your hardwood floor in two perfect circles. His hair is curling at the ends, in the nape of his neck and the water is also running down his throat, pooling in the remains of his shirt. 
“What mission?”
“I cannot tell you yet.” 
You nod, even though you don’t understand. But you don’t want to pressure him. “Do you need a shower? Or... clean clothes?” The second you ask you feel stupid. It’s silly right? Why shouldn’t angels shower? 
Then again, the way he looks at you is one of surprise. “Yes, that would be good.” 
“Good. Yes.” With a sigh you flee through the hallway to your room in search for some clothes. 
❁ ❁ ❁
A shower. James is giddy. Human things have always excited him. He has been watching from the heavens for eons, never truly experienced them quite like this. But he’s intrigued. Especially when you offer them to him like he’s not an intruder in your life. 
If things were different, you would never know he even existed. But James is guilty of happiness that he gets to meet you in person. 
Up close, you’re even more perfect. You smell nice, your home feels cozier than anything he’s ever experienced, and your voice sounds just a sliver more comforting when its directed at him. 
He is smiling like a fool, standing in your living room - the one he knows by heart but so much more personal now. And when you return to him with a pile of grey cloth, his heart skips a beat. You bring him the familiar warmth that made him fall in the first place. But having you within an arm’s length makes all of it feel worth it. 
There is not an ounce of regret in him for being here.
Electricity shoots up his arm when you touch his hand. It’s cold and wet - he immediately vows to always keep you warm from now on - makes it his purpose to have you be comfortable for the rest of your life. 
You lead him to the bathroom, grinning sheepishly when you gesture toward your shower. 
“It might be a tight squeeze.” You point at the glass surrounding your bathtub. “But it’s all I can offer.”
“It will do just fine.” He reassures you. 
“I will leave you to it then.” James is confused.
“Are you not staying?”
“Sorry?”
“To help me.”
“Help you... shower?” There is hesitance in your tone, but James truly doesn’t know how to turn the thing on.
“Well, yes.”
“I...” Your eyes are big, staring up at him through surprise and nervousness. “I don’t want to intrude. Give you some privacy to- oh.”
His clothes are already on the floor. He knows this much. Shower is something one does naked. But you seem to be shocked when his whole body is revealed to you. Do you like it? James is sure he looks as close to a human as a person with wings can. So why are you still staring at his stomach?
His eyes catch yours as they move a little lower, your eyebrows raising just that much higher and a smirk places itself on his face. So, you do like what you see. He confirms silently. Not that he particularly knows why. He never noticed people by their bodies - only their soul, because that is the important thing - the one that never changes. 
And yours is the most enchanting of them all. 
❁ ❁ ❁
You watch as James sit’s down on the opposite end of the sofa. He’s declined every offer you have made for him to feel a little more welcome. But he seems content. His smile hasn’t left his lips ever since you led him to the bathroom.
You couldn’t help but notice his body when he revealed it all  to you. It’s like every inch of him is carved by the gods. He looks soft in the right parts, strong enough not to be skinny with his height. And his male parts. Well, they look more than satisfactory. 
You felt like a pervert staring him up and down while he stood there with this kind of proud innocence to him, wondering if he understood how proud he could be of his looks. There is so much you don’t know about him. It’s not like you haven’t talked. 
You have. But he speaks in riddles. 
“You are staring again.” James notes and you immediately snap your head elsewhere. 
“I’m just figuring this situation out, I guess.”
He smiles encouragingly. “You can ask questions. I imagine you’ve been eager to know more.”
You exhale long, taking courage to look him in the eyes. “And you will answer all of them honestly?”
“Honestly, yes.” His teeth find his bottom lip and you squeeze your thighs together.  “I cannot promise to answer them all.”
“Okay.”
“Good.”
A comfortable silence settles between you as you think of the first thing you could ask him. Maybe you should get the most obvious one out of the way. Maybe you should ask him more about himself, though you’re not sure how personal he can get if he spent his entire life in heaven. You just assume there is too much to do to pursue actual hobbies and such. 
“Is there a God?”
“Starting with the light questions, I see.” You just look at him with intrigue. Already lining up all the other questions no-one else in this world has the opportunity to have answered. James sighs and then nods. “Yes, God exists.”
“Do you know God?”
He hesitates, his eyes fleeting to the end of the room and then back to you. “Yes.”
“Why did that answer take you so long?”
His jaw tenses and his eyes find the floor as if he was cursing himself for offering this situation. But then again, you haven’t heard him cuss once. Maybe you’re wrong. “It was under rather... unfortunate circumstances.” 
You nod as if you understand. But you can only imagine. “So, he’s like the big boss, only getting involved when things escalate?”
James looks caught, his wings draw in closer. After a moment, he clears his throat and his feathers ruffle with a small shake. “First of all, it’s she/they. And second, ... I guess you could say that, yes.”
“I knew it.” You grin as the pride washes over you at this information. “Why did she never correct us?”
“Let’s just say mankind doesn’t have a great track record of enforcing things that go against their believe... Not that it would be believable if someone told the story of meeting an angel who told them God is a woman.”
“Fair point. That person would have probably been burnt alive.” You nod again, crossing your legs and turning to him on the sofa. James takes a moment to rake his eyes over your body, making you feel tingles all over. You clear your throat. “Speaking of torture... Why do we have war and world hunger?”
“Please do not take this the wrong way. Those are issues that very much concern God or anyone that want’s the best for her people, but she’s busy. She manages everything else that has gone south since.”
“Since what?” You partly enjoy the way James talks to you as if you are an insider, but you only understand half of what he’s saying. 
“Since she and Lucifer had a big fallout.” He shrugs, but it just adds to your confusion.
“I’m not following.”
He rolls his eyes as if it were your fault you don’t know about this supernatural fight. “They had a disagreement. Lucifer’s response to God’s proposal was an ill-conceived frivolity which ended up becoming the patriarchy.” 
To say you’re stunned is a serious understatement. “You’re telling me the devil threw a tamper tantrum and that’s why we have inequality? How did he even do that?”
James shakes his head. “...Yes. The trial is still in progress. But it may be calming to know that we have not figured out exactly how he convinced an entire species of males being the stronger part of it.”
“No, James. It is not calming to know.” You sigh and watch as he clasps his hands in his lap, his cuffs glistening in the lamplight. God, they’re big. You immediately scold yourself for thinking this, feeling weirds as the words of your mother echo in your head ‘Don’t you dare use God’s name in vain’. “What exactly has God done since then?”
The smile returns to his face and you readjust yourself on the sofa. “Oh, you wouldn’t want to know how this world would look if she hadn’t kept busy with sorting it.”
Your nose wrinkles in a frown, as you check the points off in your head. “I really don’t think it can get that much worse. Climate change, mass genocides, what else could there be?” You nod at each one just as James lifts up his fingers and opens his mouth as if he is starting to count. 
But you stop him. “Please don’t.”
“Yes, that is probably for the best.”
It is silent for a moment as you try to process all the information you have just attained. It is a rather weird feeling. Knowing you know what no-one else on earth does and not being able to tell. Knowing there will be no-one believing you. 
You sigh when your head starts spinning from how crazy this day has been. James seems to be rather relaxed considering he barely knows you. His dark hair falls around his face perfectly, the back of it forming a cute curl in the nape of his neck and your fingers itch to touch it.
But you refrain, reminding yourself that he is a stranger - and an angel. Beside the fact that he has not once reached out to you, just randomly touching his hair would probably be the weirdest thing to do right now. 
“Can I ask you something?” He suddenly breaks the silence and you shoot a thank you to the sky for saving yourself from going down the mental rabbit hole of how soft his hair looks. 
“Yes.”
“Why did you take me in?” James’s eyes are boring into yours so innocently. If it weren’t for the giant wings on his back, he would almost look like a normal clueless and incredibly cute guy. And yet he just revealed outerworldly gossip as if you were discussing the latest celebrity TMZ. 
“I-“ you trail off, thinking about it for a while. You aren’t sure how much you can tell him. But James has been genuine from the start. It wold only be fair to do the same. “I felt like you needed me.”
A weird feeling takes over your body suddenly. Like a warm flush rushing through you. James fidgets in your peripheral and nods in understanding. “I did. I do.”
It’s like the reality of it all hits you like brick when a noise sounds from outside and his wings twitch, pushing over a pile of books on the cupboard behind the sofa. This is not normal, something tells you, and yet your stomach flutters in a way that feels a lot like butterflies. Everything about James is fascinating to you. You constantly fight the urge to reach out and brush your fingertips over every part of him. And for some reason, your mind tries to tell you that he would let you. 
“Why are you really here, James?” You voice is only a whisper when the rattling outside subsides. It’s probably a raccoon or something. But James looks a little nervous all of a sudden. 
“I’m afraid that is one thing I cannot tell you, love.”
You sigh. “I guess... I just want to help. Having you stay here doesn’t feel like it’s enough. There has got to be something you need to do.”
“That is very kind of you. I admire your bravery and openness.” His lips spread into a smile, his hand lifting from his lap as if he is about to place it on yours, but his fingers only strech and land back on the sofa between you. “But to be truthful, even if I knew what I had to do, I am not sure wether I would do it or not”
So he is a little deviant. You smile at the small observation. Maybe it’s the reason he is here in the first place. But you feel like you have asked James enough for tonight. Just on cue, a yawn escapes your lips. 
“You should rest. It has been a long day.” 
You nod, rubbing your eyes and rising from the soft cushions. “I have a spare bedroom. You can sleep there.”
“That is fine. I do not sleep.” James shakes his head as he rises with you out of curtesy. With his hands clasped in front of him he looks like a goth painting. 
“What? Never?”
“I am not human, dearest. My body attains energy in different ways.” You shudder again, blaming it on your sleepiness as you rub your arms when another yawn escapes you. 
“Maybe you can tell me about it tomorrow. I am really tired.”
“I will be watching over you.” Your name passes his lips like a song, sending another shiver through you. What the hell is the matter with you. You huff as you catch yourself again. It really never occurred to you how often you referenced to the supernatural... “Take all the rest you can get.”
“Good night, James.” You nod and wave awkwardly.
“Good night.”
You know James’s eyes are only you until you disappear into the hallway. But you cant help but feel safely watched over with him around. 
❁ ❁ ❁
They will find him, and they will send him further from you than he ever was.
❁ ❁ ❁
James hates the days you have to leave for work. He watches you with a sense of longing and resignation, knowing that he must find a way to navigate this separation once again. Though it is necessary he find a way to dodge the inevitable.
It’s the vexing thing about the celestial kingdom. They always leave one to find the laws on their journey. There is no book he could read on earth that could help him here. But he has seen the repercussions of disobedience, felt the weight of his transgressions bearing down on him like a heavy chain.
And yet, as he watches you prepare to leave for work, a sense of desperation gnaws at him from within. He wants to reach out, to beg you to stay, to keep you safe from whatever dangers may lurk beyond the safety of your home.
But he knows he can't. He's bound by duty, by the laws of God that dictate his every move. And so, with a heavy heart, he watches silently as you gather your things and head out the door, leaving him alone once more.
As the door closes behind you, James is left with nothing but the echoes of your footsteps fading into the distance. He knows he should use this time wisely, to prepare for whatever trials may lie ahead, but his thoughts are consumed by you, by the overwhelming need to protect you at all costs.
❁ ❁ ❁
There’s and angel in your home. And he’s so freaking attractive, it’s unfair. 
It has been a week since you found James. And despite the incredibly irrational decisions of yours to invite him into your home, nothing bad has happened to you. Sure, the first night you might have dreamt about him. He’s everything your fantasy books described an more. And you couldn’t help but let that tiny romantic sliver of you hope for the more. 
But James is more pious than any catholic boarding school kid you’ve ever met. 
He seems to enjoy a good joke and he’s quite confident. But he never once touched you. And while that should not be one of your first concerns, considering he’s a stranger and an angel, something inside you tells you he’s holding back. 
He never even flinches when you reach out to him. And the longing stares he sends your way make you shiver with anticipation. Yet there is no attempt to ever pull you in - even though you are so sure you were sending signals. 
Maybe there are no signals in heaven. What are you even saying? Of course there are no signals in heaven. You don’t even believe dating exists up there. 
“Yo, whaddup with ya today? I’ve been calling your name for a solid minute.”
“Sorry. Feeling a little off today,” you mumble to Nick and retrieve the food waiting in the serving hatch. 
“You can’t go home. I don’t wanna serve alone today.”
“Scott, there’s literally no-one here.” You gesture toward the few people sitting in their booths and sigh. “Besides, I never said I was going home.” 
“Don’t get mad. You barely texted me back this week. What’s so awesome about your home when I’m not there with you?” You feel the heat rising to your head at Scott’s comment. “You’d think she’d call me if she ever needed to hide something.” He mumbles to Nick who just laughs and flips a pancake. 
You turn to him with your fists by your side. “The weather is weird and cold, can’t I need a little down time?”
“Not from me!” Scott looks baffled. He’s your friend, and yes, you had other things to worry about than be on your phone this week. But you also knew he wouldn’t understand.
“You’re being a real pain in my ass today, Scotty.”
“Good, so everything’s back to normal then.”
You throw a towel in his face. “Shut up.”
“Cut it out, you two, there’s customers.”
Scott resumes to the back, effectively dodging his work and leaving you to serve the new customer. But your breath hitches in your throat when you look up from the counter.
James is standing in the door, already drawing looks of attention from a few people. He’s smiling back at them, even waving at a child before his eyes meet yours and your heart sets off again. It seems to always do that when he’s close. 
You rush toward him, wrapping your fingers around his cuffed wrist and he audibly exhales. 
“You can’t be here.”
“Why not?”
“Because-“ you lean in closer and James bows down to get his face to your level. “You’re and angel.” You mutter under your breath and the sexy smile returns to his perfect lips. 
“And how would they know that?” His eyebrow raises. 
“You-“ you lean back, examining his shoulders - only then noticing that his wings are not there anymore. “How?”
“I only show myself to truly important people.” He winks and you stumble back a little, his sudden boldness making your legs feel like jello. 
“What are you doing here?” 
James looks around the diner as though he has not planned this far. His eyes swerve to the counter and then back to you. “I want to watch you work. I enjoy spending time with you.”
“But you can’t be here without ordering.”
“Then I will oder.”
“You don’t eat, James. Do you even have money?”
That seems to surprise him. “No.” You shake your head and look at the tiled floor. James’s wrist is still wrapped in your hand but there is no attempt to hold you. So you drop it. Why did he even come here when he won’t touch you?
“Please, beautiful. Let me stay.” His eyes are genuine, his lips purse in a plea. All you can think about is how weirdly lucky you are that this Adonis of a being chose you for his quest. 
You bite your lip and watch him shudder. “Alright. Just sit by the counter and try to be inconspicuous.”
His smile spreads wide. “I’ll be as invisible as the air you breathe.”
You exhale and get back to work but unfortunately, his promise doesn’t last long. Before you know it, Peggy has chosen the seat right beside James. She’s leaning over to him at the counter and Howard just sits beside them with his newspaper in hand - as always. James seems just as invested in the conversation as Peggy and as you steal glances over to the pair of them, insistently hoping he won’t spill about his identity, you catch James’s eyes lingering on you. 
“You are a fine young man, James.” Peggy's hand lands on his, tapping it in a grandmotherly manor, though her eyes are glinting with something akin to longing. She whispers something into his ear you cant make out and James’s eyes shoot to yours, his face tinting rouge from one ear to the other. 
“And you are a remarkable lady, Peggy,” he clears his throat, his mind seemingly wandering elsewhere. “You remind me of a girl a friend of mine was in love with once.”
“Then he must have been the happiest man to ever live.”
Peggy’s hands tremble when she reaches for her cup of tea, her red lipstick taint the white porcelain as James watches her movements with a soft stare. He looks so protective of her, it makes your insides tingle. “He truly is, though he seems like he has forgotten about it lately. Is this your husband?” He gestures to Howard, who just slams the newspaper down in front of him, blank eyes staring at James while Peggy laughs and waves her hand dismissively. 
“This rascal?” She presses her hand to her chest as she tries to calm down. “No, dear. My husband died a long tome ago.” She smiles warmly, floating in melancholy when she continues, “I never loved another man since. He was a heaven sent. Strong, kind, always worked towards the greater good... and his looks were to die for, too.” She winks and James chuckles. 
“Oh I wish a love like that to everyone. Promise me something, James.” 
“Anything.”
“If your find it, never let it go.” Her hand clasps around his biceps, her tone a motherly sternness laced with affection. 
James eyes you again and it feels as if the air is shifting with tension. “My word is in God’s name, Peggy.”
❁ ❁ ❁
James feels the repercussions of his being on earth stronger every day. In heaven, he was miserable because he had to watch you live your life without him. On earth, he’s in agony because he knows, if he ever were to touch you, he would cease to exist.
It’s slanted. He gave up everything coming here and despite the fact that his wings stopped working the second he fell from the sky, he categorizes the uncertainty eating away at him as even worse. Hanging in limbo is more troubling than actually going to hell, he is sure of it. 
He watches you move about your house with the same longing look torturing his features since he realized how much he needed you. It’s laughable how dependent on you he has become. While you go about your life with the minor change of having a roommate, James despises the unforgeable distance heaven has created between you. 
You are friendly with him - you are friendly with everyone. James would even go as far as to say that you two are friends by now. But he wants so much more. So much more he cant tell you because even if you did know about his feelings, there is nothing either of you could do about it. 
James sighs standing from the sofa, ducking his head when he passes through the doorway to you. You never questions when he just follows you around. The soul bond probably keeping the curiosity at bay if it feels anything like his experience. It feels good for no explicit reason. 
You sort some bowls in your cabinet as he stands behind you, offering to place the ones higher up so you don’t have to struggle too much. “What’s heaven like, James?” You ask innocently through your movements. “Are there pearly gates and fluffy clouds?”
James loves when you say his name. It makes him feel closer to you than ever before. In a way, he equates it with your touch. Just as his saying your name is his way of reaching out to you. 
“More like endless paperwork and celestial coffee breaks.” Coffee breaks. He learned about those a while ago and he loves the concept. “But hey, the views are to die for.” He gets lost in your eyes, remembering how much more distant they felt when he was watching from above and he is thankful to be this close to you now.
You smile smugly, and thats when the heart race sets in again. He’s sure you feel it too. Because your eyes avert and your hand places itself atop your chest. 
You think something is wrong with you, he just knows it. It’s like the time you watched hours on hours of Gray’s Anatomy and then proceeded to research yourself into a frenzy about the sicknesses you might suffer. But James made sure then that there was not even a paper cut compromising you and he will do the same now, too.
He is desperate to tell you what it is you feel, that there is not much you can do and that he feels it ten times worse because he hates to see you suffer. But he needs to be careful about how much he reveals to you. 
“Oh my god, I’m getting paranoid,” you mutter to yourself and James smirks at your small slip up. He has noticed how you try to minimize your references in curses. It’s cute, really, because he knows how much you used to do it. It’s a little bit amusing, the small deviant trait of yours making him feel like he has found something in common with you and he’s almost proud of it.
You collect yourself, quickly, breathing in deeply and then turning around to him. “I have to run some errands today.” 
“Great, where are we going?” James asks with eagerness. Car rides excite him. He has always found them fascinating, but actually being in one is a whole new experience. 
You bite your lip and for once, James does not feel the familiar tingle in his stomach when you do so. There is sadness sitting in your eyes when you answer him. “Actually...” Your tongue darts out to wet your lip just for your teeth to dig into it again and an unfamiliar tightness travels through James’s body. “It is something I need to do by myself today. I hope that is okay.”
The angel nods vigorously, trying to ignore the pang in his chest. “Yes of course. I will leave you to it alone.” He steadies himself on the door frame and then heads to the living room where he grabs a book and settles on your window sill to look occupied. 
“It is nothing personal, James.” Your head dips from the doorway and he looks up. “It's just... it would be weird for you to be there.”
“I understand.” The way he adds your name to his answer makes him sick. But his body is feeling weird, not showing him the familiar signs of jealousy or anger he knows. It feels... warm and uncomfortable. 
“I will be back soon.” Your voice travels through the hallway and your footsteps along with it. James stares at the empty doorway for a while, his eyes shooting down to the book when you suddenly reappear. “Do you want anything from the store?”
“No, thank you.”
“Okay.”
And then the door falls shut. But before James can get consumed by his loneliness, he puts the books down - something about an ice breaker - and heads outside to follow you. 
❁ ❁ ❁
But earth can be a lonely place. At least hell will welcome you with warmth.
❁ ❁ ❁
You didn’t lie. You were at the store. But now that you’re treading on the small path towards the grey cemetery walls, James feels the fear spread through his body like a slow and painful death. 
He’s hiding behind the trees closing around the park, watching you as you halt before a simple headstone. He can feel your mourning deep within his heart, tugging, yanking, pulling on the tiny strings that sting so effectively. His temple leans against the rough bark as his eyes trace your slow movements. You place a small bouquet of flowers on the soil before the engraved letters, resting your forehead on the gold stone. 
He can’t see it completely, but he knows you’re crying. You always do. Everything within him screams to reach out to you, to hold you and sway you until the world feels less taunting, but he knows how difficult it could make things. 
So, instead, he remains hidden, a silent sentinel in the shadows bearing witness to your sorrow from afar. He feels the weight of your tears as if they were his own, each drop a dagger to his soul and a reminder of the distance that separates him from you. 
And yet, even in the midst of your pain, there is a flicker of something else - resilience, determination, a quiet strength that refuses to be extinguished. It’s a testament to your spirit, a beacon of hope in the darkness that threatens to consume you both. 
As you linger before the headstone, lost in your memories and your grief, James feels a surge of admiration swell within him. Despite the pain you carry, you continue to preserve. 
“It’s really a shame you never have the balls to comfort her.” A voice whispers in his ear and James shoots around to be met with a redhead whose eyes stare daringly up at him. “Then again... I guess it would be kind of ironic, don’t you think?” 
“What are you doing here, Wanda?” All angels are made weary of Lucifer’s spawn. They are vicious and manipulating, carrying the pits of hell to places that least expect them and watch it all go up in flames as they stand laughing on the sidelines. 
James knows the demon standing before him. More than once have their paths crossed throughout time, but he is surprised to see her every time anew. He refuses to show any sign of weakness in her presence, knowing that to do so would only invite further manipulation.
Wanda chuckles darkly, her laughter echoing through the trees. “Oh, nothing much,” she muses with a wicked grin, pacing around James to take a closer look at him. “Just though I’d remind you of what you’re missing out on by playing the good little guardian angel. But who knows... maybe one of these days, you’ll finally grow a spine and take what you want.”
James clenches his jaw, struggling to maintain his composure in the face of Wanda’s relentless provocation. He knows better than to let her under his skin, but the demon’s words cut deep, striking at the heart of his insecurities. He feels the surge of frustration rising within him as his fists clench by his sides, the weight of his silver cuffs pressing against his wrists like chains. “I can’t,” he whispers, his voice barely above a whisper. “You know I can’t”
Wanda’s gaze narrows as her arms cross in front of her chest. “Can’t or won’t?” She counters, her voice tingling with an unspoken dare. 
James hesitates, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts and emotions. "I... I don't know," he admits finally. "But it doesn't matter. My duty lies with heaven, with protecting her. I can’t do that when I’m lost in the in-between.”
Wanda's eyes glitter with amusement as she takes a step closer, closing the distance between them with an unnerving grace. "And what if heaven isn't where you belong?" she whispers in a seductive purr as her fingers flick against his cuffs. The sound travels through the trees, making you turn and look around you. "What if your heart longs for something more, something... forbidden?"
A shiver runs down his spine, a sudden realization dawning within James. For so long, he has clung to the safety of his celestial duties, fearing the consequences of straying from the path laid out before him. But now, as he stands face to face with the embodiment of temptation itself again, he can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, heaven is not the place where he can truly flourish. 
“I don’t trust you, Wanda.” He admits genuinely, though the possibility of her words holding truth gnaws on his very soul.
“You shouldn’t.” She smirks devilishly, eyes flashing in a short glimmer of red and evil. “There will be consequences to disobeying celestial rules. But you will never find out if a life free of them would be more fulfilling to you if you don’t try.” She winks, setting uncertainty free within him. “Find me when you have made the right choice.”
As he watches Wanda disappear into the shadows, leaving him alone with his thoughts, James knows that he is standing at a crossroads—one that would determine the course of his destiny for eternity. And though the path ahead is uncertain and fraught with peril, he can't help but feel a glimmer of hope stir within him, a whisper of possibility that promises a future filled with love, and happiness, and the chance to finally be as close to you as he has always wished for.
❁ ❁ ❁
The night has broken over your small town by now. James has made it back with a conflicted heart before you came home from your errands. He knows you notice his silence as he normally enjoys to talk a lot to you. But you don’t say anything. 
He is just sitting quietly in the kitchen as he watches you make a cup of tea, wondering what it tastes like right before frowning at how scared he is to try a cup of hot water just because he doesn’t know what it would do to him. 
Wanda’s words come back to the forefront of his mind and the unease she instilled within his heart right alongside it. He has been longing to reach out to you for so long, has wanted to touch and comfort you in so many ways his mind began to spin. Especially after days like this, when you went to visit your brother’s grave. You would be crying yourself to sleep tonight. And you would get up tomorrow, wipe the sorrow from your eyes and continue to live your life as if nothing happened. Because you are strong and resilient. 
And James, even though he is finally present, is not able to offer you the solace you so desperately deserve. 
At least he thought so.
His eyes wander to the silver cuffs around his arms, feeling the weight and letting the subtle clink of them seep into his skull. He has never questioned why or how the rules of heaven applied to him. He never even thought about the consequences of breaking them until he felt the need to protect you. He never really cared until you became the most important thing in his life. 
Now, seeing the pain in your gaze, and feeling the guilt for being here, not soothing you gnaws on him, sending him back to a state in which he would kill to see you smile again. Free of fear and sorrow. 
You bite your lip when you settle on the chair across from his. Your eyes look dull, but James can’t help but think there is a question posed within them. Something desperate and restricted. Oh, how he would love to know what you’re trying to say. He is just too inexperienced with human interaction that he can get a read on everything just yet. 
James feels his heart picking up, knowing it beats in the same rhythm as yours, but he doesn’t dare speak, knowing his voice will betray him. Your tea cup is empty, your eyes tired, and he knows that this evening with you will end within seconds. 
“Good night, James.” You finally say, following the small ritual you have established with him as you wave at him weakly. 
Normally, he says it back. Normally, he guides you to the bedroom and closes your door promising to watch over you in silence. Normally, he doesn’t have a demon’s words ringing in his ears. 
But today, something feels different. As you gather your things and head towards your bedroom, a sudden surge of determination courses through him. He can't bear the thought of being separated from you, even for a moment longer.
With a sense of reckless abandon, and the words of Wanda hanging in his mind James makes a daring decision. Ignoring the warnings echoing in his every being, he reaches out to you, his touch barely grazing your shoulder as you turn to leave.
In that fleeting moment of contact, something shifts. A spark ignites between you, a connection so powerful and undeniable that it defies explanation. Time seems to slow as you both freeze, caught in the throes of a bond that transcends the boundaries of heaven and earth.
For a heartbeat, everything hangs in the balance, the air crackling with electricity. And then ...nothing happens. 
There is no rush of wind and light that makes him disappear, leaving behind only the echo of his presence lingering in the empty space between. There is nothing else welcoming him in wrath or absolute nothingness or whatever is supposed to happen if a celestial ever dared to touch a mortal.
He opens his eyes that he had shut tight without noticing. And you’re still here. In front of him, staring at his hand that is softly wrapped around your wrist. His mind is struggling to make sense of what just happened - or rather what didn’t. It was all a hoax. 
James feels rage bubble within him. And as you stand there, alone in the quiet stillness of the room, touching. He counts yet another reason why heaven was never where he belonged.
A single tear rolls down his cheek when he pulls you into his body and wraps his arm around you tightly. His heart beats violently, pumping the anger of knowing how much time he wasted not being close to you through his body. His wings follow close behind, sealing you into his warmth and creating a space just for you and him. It’s as if you are made for him. Your body tugs perfectly beneath his feathery white wings and he knows he’ll hold you like this for eternity. 
❁ ❁ ❁
He’s touching you. 
James is touching you. No, actually, he’s consuming you with his whole being, pulling you into the best hug you have ever received. His wings wrap around you protectively, engulfing you into his scent entirely. It’s earthy, and clean, and... heavenly. 
You chuckle slightly as your cheek presses to his chest, your head barely reaching his collar bone, but it just makes you feel enclosed by his presence from all around. You heart beats just as rapidly as his and you exhale in content as you realize that you’re not the only one feeling this connection. 
You don’t know what changed. Maybe you are not as good as hiding your sadness as you think you are. Or maybe there is a whole other reason behind this angel guarding you into the most loving hug you have ever experienced. But fact is, you needed it today more than ever. 
And James knew ...because he strangely knows so much about you. He feels familiar without trying and it is a weirdly comforting thing to experience. Especially after all you have been through. 
Hesitantly, and almost sorrowfully, you pull away from his warm chest. His wings loosen around you, his arms leaving just enough space for you to lean back and stare into those azure blue eyes of his. He’s beautiful up close. Long lashes frame his loving stare as his mouth tugs into a smile, taking yours right with it. 
“You touched me.” You say in awe as James’s eyebrows slightly raise. “You thought I didn’t notice, but I did.” 
There is a steak silence as his gaze travels over your face then roams his arms that are still holding you tightly close to him. “Should I not be touching you?” He asks carefully.
You can feel his hands retreating but you pull him right in before they’re gone. “I was just wondering when you would.” You snuggle back into his shirt and his hands cradle your head to him. “Is it embarrassing to say I’ve wanted you to do it for a while now?”
“Not embarrassing at all.” His chest rumbles with a chuckle. “I’ve wanted to do it even before then. I just didn’t know if I could.” The last part is a mere whisper that dissipates in your hair when his mouth presses to it in a feather light brush. 
A rush of warmth floods through you, filling every corner of your being with a sense of belonging you've never known before. Time seems to stand still, the world falling away until there is nothing left but the two of you, entwined in each other's arms.
"You've wanted to touch me?" you murmur, the words slipping out before you can stop them, a confession born of the unspoken longing that has lingered between you for far too long.
James's gaze softens, his fingers trailing gently along the curve of your cheek as he meets your eyes with a look of quiet intensity. "More than you could ever know," he replies. "But I feared the consequences.”
“What consequences?” James shakes his head as his thumb still lingers on your skin. 
“I don’t know.” You reach up to cup his face in your hands, your thumbs brushing against his cheekbones as you search his eyes again. It was stupid of you to assume he didn’t touch you because he didn’t like you. He was probably scared of what would happen if angels ever dared. The look in his deep blues tells you how worried he was. How long he withheld for the sake of dodging the unknown. 
“It’s not bad, is it?” You hand travels across his chest, feeling the muscles tense in its wake. “Touching.” 
James's breath catches in his throat, his heart pounding against his chest as he gazes down at you with a mixture of awe and reverence. And once again, you would love to know what is happening inside his brain. 
With a trembling hand, James cups your face in his palm, his touch gentle yet possessive as he leans in to press his forehead to yours. You cant help but feel that there is something keeping him from you, still. 
“Let me stay with you tonight, my beloved.” His fingers tighten around your face ever so slightly. “Let me hold you and keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?” You ask in a trance as your fingers bury in his hair and you play with the thought of pressing your lips to his. But he has taken so long to hug you. You don’t want him to be overwhelmed. 
“Anything.” He whispers back and closes his eyes. A whole new warmth consumes you when his words seep in, blanketing you in cherish and admiration. If this is what being appreciated feels like, you will fight to keep the feeling forever. 
“Okay.”
❁ ❁ ❁
Oh how much the celestials have lied. Flying is nothing compared to this. 
❁ ❁ ❁
As you bustle about the diner, taking orders and refilling coffee mugs with practiced ease, Peggy sits at her usual spot at the counter, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she watches you work.
"Something on your mind, Peggy?" you ask with a smile, setting down a plate of pancakes in front of a hungry customer.
Peggy leans in closer, her voice low and conspiratorial. "I couldn't help but notice that smile of yours, dear," she says with a knowing wink. "It's positively radiant today. Dare I say, it's almost as if you've got a secret?"
You chuckle, feeling a flush of warmth spread across your cheeks at her observation. “Hmm, I don’t know,” you reply coyly, unable to suppress the grin that tugs at the corners of your lips as you tab your finger against them. “What makes you think I’d share it with you?”
“Well, I am a loyal customer for one...” She pauses as she thinks of another point. “And I am old enough to think the secret dies with me." Peggy presses, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Please, you know the entire town.” You laugh and Peggy waves her hand dismissively, though there is a proud smirk on her red lips. 
Before she can respond, a voice cuts through the air like a knife, sharp and tinged with bitterness. "What's all this about smiles and secrets?”
You turn to see Old Lee leaning against the counter with a grim expression. His worn-down straw hat flops over his eyes, making him look even more grumpy than usual.
"It's nothing, Stan," you reply, trying to defuse the tension with a forced smile. "Just some friendly banter."
Old Lee’s eyes narrow slightly. "Friendly banter, huh? You're squawking like a bunch of chickens in a henhouse."
Peggy rolls her eyes, clearly unimpressed by Stan's attitude. "Oh, hush up, Stan," she scolds, waving a dismissive hand in his direction. "Can't you see we're having a moment here? This is girl talk. Go and drink your tea like the grumpy old man you are.”
Old Lee shakes his head in response but wisely chooses to turn back to his drink. “We all know how the last time she came in here with a smile that big turned out.” Old Lee grumbles searching your eyes once more. “The frogs're telling me we’ll have another rain comin’ soon. You better be careful, sweetheart.”
You share a conspiratorial look with Peggy, either of you not sure wether to believe him or not. Stan is not one for sappy love stories, but he certainly hits the nail on the head with his predictions every time. His bold hint towards the last big death this town suffered glides off his tongue like a Sunday prayer and it ripples down your spine in ice-cold peaks. 
“That is in the past. Right now, I really am hoping we are talking about the charming gentleman I talked to the other week. He certainly is a sight for sore eyes.” Peggy’s eyes sparkle as Old Lee huffs into his cup.
She winks back at you and the smile returns to your lips, along with the giddy feeling you get when James is called into your mind. But before you can respond, the diner door swings open, signaling the arrival of another customer and putting an end to your conversation—for now, at least.
❁ ❁ ❁
A noise calls from the back of your house right before the sun starts its journey in the sky. You don’t wake as James tries to stir carefully with his arms still holding you tightly. He was not sleeping - he doesn’t need sleep, but he still feels groggy from the warm and comforting night being ripped away with the sound. 
It piques another time and now, James is sure, someone is trying to get inside. Within minutes he is out of bed, checking the window and then closing the door to your bedroom on his way to the back. 
He is ready to protect you at all costs, eager to show you how much you mean to him, but when he sees a touch of white beyond the window and hears the familiar rustling of feathers that accompany it, it only takes him a second to realize who has come to intrude your peace. 
Two men - angels - just as tall has James litter the kitchen once he opens the door and pulls them inside with both hands. Samuel, the one standing a little to the side, brushes his clothes off once he comes to a stand again, watching James with amusement and curiosity. “I see you haven’t changed much, James. A simple ‘hello’ would have been just fine.” He crosses his arms before his chest, his wings shaking the dowry rain from their feathers and right onto your kitchen floor. 
“Why are you here?” His eyes search those of Steven - a friend of his but also an angel ranking higher than James ever will.
“You know why we’re here.” He steps closer once he has composed himself again. “You are testing the heavens.” 
James huffs, feeling the anger rise inside him. If anything, heaven was testing him. So he goes on to ignore the blonde angel before him, willing his heart to calm at all the frustration accumulating at once. “Did you know it was a lie?” James starts instead. His voice is strained when he thinks of all the times he refrained from touching you just to keep you safe. “Just a way to keep us from initiating contact?” 
Steven doesn’t say anything and Samuel’s stare meets that of James again. Steven shows little remorse, the pride on display now more than usual. The supposed betrayal James has caused is nothing to the sting boring into his soul by the very man standing in font of him. Steven is cold, distant - when he should be a friend.
“I should have known.” James shakes his head. “Your duties have always placed higher than your friendships.”
“That is because duties are the most valuable virtue God can give.” Steven finally says and his jaw ticks angrily. 
James could never imagine being more loyal to a system placing as many restrains as heaven does. Not when he knows how good the real world can feel. How precious it is to smell flowers and hold the one you love in your arms well into the night. 
“You came here with a mission, James. And since your fall, you have done nothing but frolic throughout this place with your very own human.” Samuel is eerily still behind the broad blonde spitting one accusation after the other. But James decides not to comment on it just yet. 
“It is far more than that,” he rasps feeling the protectiveness flood his body. 
“We know. That is why you are here in the first place.” 
“What am I supposed to do, Steven?” James tries to keep his voice low, but his frustration is too great. Steven should be the one to understand better than anyone else. But he seems to have locked that part of him far away right now. “How can I amend a sin that is irreversible?!”
“Every sin can be amen-“ Steve’s eyebrows raise and Samuel’s eyes flickers from James and focuse behind him. That is when his heart beat picks up again. And as much as he loves you, he wishes with all his being that you are not standing behind him right now.
“Please, no.” He mutters and turns just to have you approach from the hallway with tired eyes. 
“What is happening? Who are you?” Your voice sounds sleepy, a hand rubbing over your face before you find yourself by James’s side.
“Angels.” He bites his lips, contemplating for a moment but deciding that you deserve to hear what is happening in your own home. A home he hopes to be part of forever. Besides, with Steven here, there is no ending this conversation without confusing you more. “They want me to abandon you.” The bitterness is evident in his tone. But he regrets it as soon as he catches the stutter in your heart.
“What?” It’s all you say, but the way you do breaks his collected facade. 
“James-“
“What do I have to loose, Steven?” his arms open wide. "They already cast me out. They took my freedom, they took it all.” His wings barely shake, just emphasizing his statement. 
Steve steps closer, causing you to slightly shove yourself behind James, his arm reaching around you, just not touching yet. ”But there is still a chance to redeem yourself.”
“What if I don’t want it?” James bites back. 
“Don’t act rash, James. Think about this.“
“I have.” Long and hard. Every night he holds you, he has enough time to do so. And he has come to the conclusion that nothing compares to having you this close to him... and only him.
“You know of the punishment placed for sinners who do not attempt to right their wrongs.” Steven is seething beneath the surface, James can tell. But he tries to stay professional. He can try all he wants. James has already made a decision. 
“What is he talking about?” Your voice takes him back to your presence. Your hands sneak around his forearm and hand, to which his body responds like a reflex. His fingers squeeze yours, his body seeks the heat of yours. Samuel looks at the interaction curiously, Steven settles for a disapproving taunt.
“I lose my wings. I lose heaven.” James explains to you, watching as your eyes open wider in shock. 
“What?” There is so much more behind your astound answer. What does this mean for us?
“James is banished from the heavens temporarily already.” Steven’s voice drips with authority, making you stiffen beside him. James hates it. And he doesn’t hate much. 
“Why?” You’re too soft for this, too fragile to take another betrayal so soon. He has just gotten started and he already feels you drifting away. Your eyes are glassy when you turn to Steven. “What could have possibly been so bad that you ended up here?” 
“You didn’t tell her?” Sam breaks his silence. The surprise is written all over his face just to be replaced by confusion when James utters his name in warning. 
“Tell me.” It seems as though his eyes switch between everyone in the room, trying to warn them all of what will happen if they take his opportunity of telling you himself.
“James is not just any angel.”
“Steve, stop it.” 
“He is your guardian angel.”
It all happens too fast. A look to Samuel tells him there is no ending this. Steven won’t stop until he has tried his all to have you turn from James. 
“And he committed the worst sin of them all.” You look shocked and expectant. The grip on James’s hands grows tighter with every syllable leaving Steven’s mouth. And James is silently cursing the angel in front of him “He killed a man... for you.” 
You stumble back and James catches you only to earn a warning glare from Steven and Samuel. 
“Brock,” you whisper and it sounds like the single word has taken the entire air out of your system.
Lighting brightens your house over the stifled morning gleam and thunder sounds dangerously in the distance. You’re flinching, though searching James’s eyes as he steadies you back on your feet. 
“You cant do this forever, James.”
“And what if I try?” He turns fully. “What if I would rather get myself killed than come back to heaven?”
“He wouldn’t” Steve is heaving, but Sam steps forward, Laying a hand on the blonde’s shoulder in an attempt to soothe his rage. “The soul bond affects her just as it does him.”
“What does that mean?” It’s barely a screech when you interrupt them again. Turning to James and tugging at his shirt, you convey the frustration of being kept in the dark through your features. “What does it mean, James?”
He sighs, shaking his head and then closing his eyes - hoping to escape this conversation. But it is happening. “It means, if I die... you will die, too. A soul need replace that of a guardian one.”
At this point, James questions his sanity. How could he have not realized the twisted ways of the celestial realm sooner? In an attempt to soothe both his aching head and your tired soul, he reaches out to pull you into a hug, but your hands swat his arms away.
James recoils as if struck, the sting of rejection shattering his heart into thousands of pieces
“You might think it wise to revisit what we offered you, James.”
The words hang in the air like a dark omen when Steven and Samuel disappear. With a heavy heart, James turns away from you, unable to bear the weight of your disappointment any longer.
As you walk away, James is torn between the desire to comfort you and the fear of causing you further pain. But when he reaches out to touch you, once more, your tears are a silent testament to the rift that now lies between you. 
"I... I'm sorry," he stammers, his voice choked with emotion. It’s a desperate attempt to fix this, even if he does not know how.
“Go, James. Please. I need time to understand all this-”
“I can help you.”
“-alone. I want to be alone.” You swallow hard. “Leave, please.” Your tears finally spill and James despises that he is at fault of them.
“Go.”
Feeling more abandoned than ever, James leaves you to your grief, the weight of his actions weighing heavily on his soul. In that moment, he realizes that the price of his newfound freedom may be greater than he ever imagined, leaving him trapped in a prison of his own making, forever haunted by the memory of the one he could never save.
He knows there are not many ways to fix this. But he is determined to find the one that will.
❁ ❁ ❁
He doesn’t remember earth to be quite this cold. 
Find me when you have made the right choice. The words keep ringing in his head. 
A little warmth would feel nice now.
❁ ❁ ❁
You were angry when you told James to leave. Angry, and hurt, and confused, and shocked, and fucking tired of it all. 
But now that he is gone, an unfamiliar emptiness has taken its place where your tingles used to be. Everything makes so much sense now. The weirdly familiar feeling. The sense of security around him - a total stranger at the time, who obviously possessed more strength than you could ever imagine. The instant pull from his heart to yours. 
The quiet of your house seems to close in on you. The walls feel tighter, the rooms emptier. Every corner holds a memory of James, a reminder of the presence that had once filled your life with warmth and mystery. His laugh echoing in the hallway, his silhouette framed in the morning light through the kitchen window, the way he seemed to know when you needed comfort before you even realized it yourself.
You sit at the table, staring at your untouched cup of coffee, replaying moments in your mind. The time he effortlessly carried your groceries when you insisted you could manage alone. The nights he stayed up with you, talking about everything and nothing, his voice soothing and familiar. The way he looked at you, as if you were the center of his universe.
The days seem endless without him. Simple tasks feel monumental in the absence of his reassuring presence. You find yourself hesitating before making decisions, second-guessing your choices, yearning for the silent support he always provided. The realization hits you: you had built your life around him, around the safety and stability he brought, even without knowing the full truth of who he was.
You cannot deny that a big part of you misses him despite all the lies he told you. Well, not lies entirely. You know he has always been truthful to you ...he just never told the whole truth until he was forced to.
And even though the other two angels who visited made him reveal his secrets to you, you feel like there is so much more to discover still. 
Your hand settles over your heart, trying to pull the constant racing around James back into existence. But it beats in profound silence, acting as though nothing has happened, when - in fact - everything has changed. James came into your life and unapologetically took your heart away. You don’t want it back. You want him back. Heart or not, your souls are connected. And now that he is gone, you know what you have truly been missing all this time. 
With a sigh, you rise form your chair and grab your keys, determined to find a way to help James out of the trouble he has caused because of you. A shiver runs down your spine at the memories of it all. James’s sin had good intentions, you know this much. But two people died at the time of it - though only one deserves your mourning. 
You pull your door closed and make your way to town hall. The entire left wing of the building is dedicated to the library and you are destined to find out more about the man who crashed into your life and took your heart away... and then disappeared. 
The library is quiet, the soft rustling of pages and the occasional whisper the only sounds that break the stillness. You approach the counter, where a librarian is meticulously organizing a stack of book. She looks up as you approach, her kind eyes lighting up with curiosity. 
“Hello, dear,” she says warmly. How can I help you today?”
You hesitate for a moment but then you decide to just start at the beginning. “I’m looking for some texts about angels,” you finally say, your voice barely above a whisper. “More specifically fallen angels... and the consequences of disobeying.”
The librarian raises an eyebrow and a look close to amusement and happiness reaches over her face. “That’s a rather specific topic,” she muses and your brow begins to sweat. Maybe this was a stupid idea. The woman is still eyeing you with a smolder, but then, as if you pushed a button, she shrugges and begins to type away on her computer. “Good thing it’s my job to get you exactly what you need.”
She nods slowly after a little while. “We do have some old texts and legends about angels. Let me show you.” With that, she lifts her body out of the office chair behind the desk and leads you to the far end of the library. It’s a quiet corner where the oldest books are kept. She pulls an ancient-looking leather-bound volume from a high shelf. For the place it has been kept, it is surprisingly dust-free. 
With a smile, she hands it to you and then wishes you ‘happy hunting’.
The book is heavy in your hands. The front is embossed in golden letters. Your fingers trace over it, feeling every ridge and dip. ‘Legends of the Divine and Fallen’, the title reads. 
When you flip through the pages, the book’s well-worn smell engulfs you and something inside you shifts. You brother loved old books. The one in your hand brings you right back to when you were kids. Pietro had a whole wall of shelves filled with his favorite stories. And more so than often, you snuck inside when he was out with his friends, grabbing one whose cover intrigued you the most and then getting lost in the pages until he came back and read it to you. 
He sparked your interest in reading - made you the bookworm you are today. And finally, probably caused you to jump into this adventure with James in hopes of finally living inside on of your fantasy worlds. 
You eyes get caught by a story in the book, your thumbs halting and fully opening the page as intrigue tingles in your entire body with every word you read. 
The Tale of Buchariel: The Curious Angel
In the celestial realms, where light and harmony prevail, there existed an angel named Buchariel. Renowned for his loyalty and dedication, Buchariel was also marked by an insatiable curiosity. His yearning to understand the world beyond the heavenly gates set him apart from his brethren, who were content to serve without question.
One fateful day, driven by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Buchariel descended to the mortal realm without divine permission. His eyes beheld the beauty and chaos of humanity, the joys and sorrows that defined their existence. It was in this realm, teeming with life and temptation, that Buchariel's fate took a dark turn.
As Buchariel wandered the earth, a demon of cunning and allure took notice of the angel's presence. This demon, skilled in the art of seduction, approached Buchariel with promises of forbidden knowledge and experiences that no celestial being had ever known. Blinded by his curiosity, Buchariel succumbed to the demon's temptations, engaging in acts that defied the sacred laws of the heavens.
Word of Buchariel's fall reached the celestial realm, and the angels were dispatched to retrieve their wayward brother. They arrived in time to save Buchariel from complete corruption, pulling him from the demon's grasp and returning him to the realm of light. However, the consequences of his actions could not be undone.
The celestial court declared Buchariel's punishment. He was stripped of his rank and given an ultimatum: he could return to heaven only if he vowed never to betray the divine will again. God, in His infinite mercy, offered Buchariel a chance at redemption. He was to serve as a guardian angel, watching over humanity and guiding them towards righteousness. In this duty, he could be close to the world, yet stay obedient to heaven. 
Buchariel accepted his fate, grateful for the opportunity to make amends. Yet, the legend speaks of the angel's perpetual struggle. Constantly exposed to the allure of the mortal world, Buchariel walked a fine line between duty and desire. His heart, once pure and untainted, now carried the scars of his past transgressions.
Eons passed, and Buchariel's vigilance never wavered, but neither did the temptations. His soul remained in perpetual conflict, torn between his heavenly duty and the memories of earthly sensations. The legend warns that Buchariel's fall could occur once more, for the battle within him is eternal. He is an angel forever on the edge of sin, a guardian who knows the weight of temptation, and a being who understands the cost of free will.
Thus, the tale of Buchariel serves as both a caution and a beacon. It reminds all who hear it of the delicate balance between obedience and desire, and the endless journey towards redemption that even the most divine must undertake.
A chill runs down your spine as you realize the parallels between the legend and James. The delicate balance between obedience and desire - serving and sinning. James did sin again. When he killed the man who ended your brother’s life. 
You sit in silence, the weight of your realization settling over you like a shroud. It’s clear that Jame’s story resembles that of Buchariel in too many ways to be a coincidence. He was weirdly comfortable on earth, now that you think about it. For Christ's sake he even told you he had met God ‘under rather unfortunate circumstances’. If what the legend says is true, unfortunate is the understatement of the century. Now you cant help but wonder what price he might pay for his defiance.
❁ ❁ ❁
The diner hums with its usual activity, the clatter of dishes and the murmur of conversations fill the air. You move mechanically from table to table, refilling coffee cups and taking orders, but your mind is elsewhere, clouded with thoughts of James and the emptiness his absence has left behind.
Peggy, sitting at her usual spot at the counter, watches you with concern etched on her face. She waits until you pass by her with the coffee pot before speaking up.
"What's happened to that smile of yours, dear?" Peggy asks, her voice soft and maternal. "You used to light up this place."
You force a smile, but it doesn't reach your eyes. "Just tired, Peggy. You know how it is."
Peggy's eyes narrow, not buying your excuse for a second. "Tired, my foot. Something's bothering you. You can talk to me, you know."
Before you can respond, Scott chimes in with a smirk. "At least now I know you’re back to normal," he says, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Thought you were gonna float away with all that grinning you were doing."
You shoot Scott a glare, feeling a mix of irritation and sadness. "Thanks, Scott. Really helpful."
“Always at your service” He tips his nonexistent hat, almost bringing a chuckle up within you. In his own way, he never faisl to cheer you up a little.
Peggy waves a dismissive hand at Scott and turns her full attention back to you. "Don't mind him, honey.” She leans in closer, her expression softening. "But seriously, what's going on? I haven't seen you this down in a while."
You sigh, the weight of your emotions pressing down on you. "It's complicated, Peggy. Someone important to me... well, they're not around anymore. And it's just... hard."
Peggy reaches out and pats your hand gently. “We all miss Pietro, dear. Losing someone is never easy... especially after all you’ve been through.”
You nod, grateful for her kindness, but the ache in your chest remains. You can't bring yourself to tell her it’s not your brother you are mourning at this time. "I appreciate that."
The hustle and bustle of the diner continues around you, but for a brief moment, you feel a small measure of comfort in Peggy's concern.
As you turn to refill another customer's coffee, Peggy's words linger in your mind. Maybe opening up a bit more wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe, just maybe, sharing the burden could help ease the pain of James's absence, even if only a little. But who should you talk to? The only person you were every really close with is gone...
❁ ❁ ❁
Yet another day passes in which you worry yourself tired. The house feels emptier than ever, the silence pressing in on you as you move through the rooms like a ghost. You try to distract yourself with chores and routines, but your thoughts always circle back to James. Wondering if he’s safe or thinking about you.
You sink into the worn armchair by the window, your favorite spot to watch the world outside. But tonight, the familiar view brings no comfort. The sky is a dark canvas, the stars hidden behind thick clouds. You hug your knees to your chest, feeling the loneliness wrap around you like a suffocating blanket as Old Lee’s words echo in your mind once again. 
A quiet sob calls into the empty room - barely audible. And then the tears start falling down your face in constant streams. The memory of his touch, his warmth, his presence, feels like a distant dream. You close your eyes, trying to recall the feeling of James's arms around you, the sound of his heartbeat against yours. It's a comfort and a torment all at once.
You haven’t cried like this since Pietro died... No, actually, you did when the message of Brock’s death reached you. But those were tears of relief rather than pain. 
A sudden chill sweeps through the room, at the memory of the man who tormented your life in more ways than one. You open your eyes, frowning as you notice that it’s not only the thought of Brock making you feel this way. The air seems to crackle with an otherworldly energy. The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, and you feel a strange pull, a familiar yet eerie sensation that makes your heart race.
You stand up slowly, your breath hitching in your throat. The room feels alive with a palpable tension, as if the very fabric of reality is shifting. You turn around, your eyes scanning the dimly lit space.
And then you see him.
❁ ❁ ❁
James stands before you, his presence both startling and comforting, he notes as your herts sync again. His eyes meet yours, filled with a mix of relief and sorrow. You look as if you've been through a storm, yet there is a resolute strength in your gaze that anchors him. He probably doesn’t look much better, considering he in fact has been in said storm. But he’d do anything to come back to you. 
"James," you breathe, your voice trembling with emotion. "You're here.”
He steps forward, closing the distance between you. "I’m here," he says softly, his voice carrying the weight of all the unspoken words and unshared moments.
You reach out, your hand trembling as it touches his cheek, as if verifying that he is real and not another figment of your imagination. Your skin is cold and the sensation sends a flood of emotions through him.
"Where have you been?" you ask, your voice cracking with the weight of your worry.
“It is a long story," he replies, his hand covering yours. "But right now, all that matters is that I'm here. With you.”
In that moment, the world outside fades away, and all that exists is the space between you and James. The silence is filled with unspoken promises and the electric charge of a reunion long overdue. 
When you fall into his arms crying, his knees feel like giving out. He has had a long journey behind him, but he would die before showing you weakness when you need him the most. “I thought I would never see you again!” You cry even harder and James wraps his arms around you with loving pressure.
“I’m here,” he tries to soothe you. His wings come around you once again in search for the calmness that washes over him when he realizes you feel safe. 
“I don’t think I can do without you anymore.” Your voice is muffled against his chest but his heart leaps at your confession. Warmth spreads throughout his body as the realization hits that you finally feel close to the emotions he has harbored for you for so long. 
James wants to promise you that he’ll never leave again. He wants to tell you that there is nothing worth losing you. Not the most tempting offer to ever exist. He wants to hold you forever, in fact, do more than just hold you and give into the feeling he has only ever heard about from demons and sinners. 
But he can’t. Because he knows it would not be true. 
His feud with heaven is far from over. And the journey he plans to venture holds great unknown. So, he settles for the one thing he can tell you with certainty. 
“I cannot be without you, either, my beloved. There is so much I want to experience with you but the most important of them all is love. I love you, with my entire soul and heart. I cannot deny you this truth any longer. I have done the unspeakable because of it and you deserve to know.”
You eyes look up at him widely, a question in them that has waited long enough to be asked. “Brock’s death wasn’t an accident,” you whisper, but your posture remains steady. There is no pain or sorrow in your face. Just pure, plain curiosity.
“They told me he was mugged and thrown in the river. But it never made sense to me.” You pull a little out of his touch and James lets you even though his entire body screams to keep you close. “This town is too small to be mugged in. He was killed with a single stab to his heart. A mugger would never be so efficient.”
You gleam at him, seemingly waiting for him to confirm. But James stands in your presence with a sense of pride. He does not regret is transgression, not when it meant keeping you safe - which was and still is his greatest aim. 
“The way he was found was too peaceful to be from a robbery, either.” You tell him shaking your head. “How can you make a murder look so respectful and honest?” 
“I am sorry if I have upset you, dearest-“
“You haven’t. Brock Rumlow was a bad man. It took me a long time to notice, but he was abusing and ill-driven. If anything, I am upset I couldn’t thank you sooner that he is gone.”
“I had played with the though of removing him from the face of the earth for quite some time,” James confesses, feeling all the secret’s weight rolling off him like avalanches. “From the moment he first screamed at you... to the time he laid his hands on you. But I knew you were strong. I was so proud of you for getting up each day and moving on. I would have never acted had he not hurt you in a way even i could feel throught the very bond that ties our souls together. I knew you could handle the hurtful words, even the hurtful touches - that no-one, and especially not you, deserves. Your brother is of similar cunning as myself. But he was brave enough to act while I was fearing the consequences of testing celestial rule once more.” 
James catches the new tears rushing down your cheeks. But he wont stop telling you. He knows you need to hear it. It hurts him to revisit the memory of watching Pietro die in his quest to secure your freedom. “I was trying to honor you brother as much as ensure your safety when I... killed Brock.” He clears his throat and takes your hands in his. “He would have continued to hurt every person he encountered. I do not regret what I did.”
“Oh, James.” Your hands reach up to his face. James bows down to follow the tug you apply to his jaw. “Thank you for telling me. I am not angry. And despite what the other angels said, I know you are a good person. I love you, too.” 
You smile as James’s hands cover yours on his face. Your foreheads are touching and the room around you fades into nothingness. In this moment in time, there are just you and him, and all the new feeling bubbling inside him that he his eager to explore. 
He’s known it for long, but now he is certain than going back to heaven was never an option. Not when you are still here. 
“I would love to kiss you right now,” you whisper in the space between you, igniting a heat within James he has never felt before.
“I would like that very much,” he confesses and as soon as the words leave his lips, yours are firmly pressed against his. 
The sensation is overwhelming. Your lips are soft and warm, moving against his in a way that sends shivers down his spine. His hands still press yours to his skin, unsure what to do and overwhelmed with the experience opened to him. You gently take them and move then to your waist, then a little lower, making him trace the curve of your body as your tongue slowly slips between his lips. The contact sends a surge of electricity through him, making his heart race.
The kiss is tentative at first, each of you exploring this new and wondrous connection. Your fingers weave into his hair, anchoring yourself to him as if afraid he might vanish with this daring protest against heaven. He can feel the gentle tremor in your touch, the same mixture of awe and desire that he feels within himself.
You pull back slightly, just enough to look into his eyes. Your breath mingles with his, cheeks heated and lips swollen. “Move your hands, James,” you whisper, guiding his hands to slide even lower on your body, teaching him how to hold you close, even though he thought he has always done so right. This is different. This is more.
He follows your lead, fingers trembling with the intensity of the moment as they squeeze flesh, eliciting a soft whimper from you that makes James’s insides stir. Or maybe it is not his insides after all, he notices when his pants feel tighter all of a sudden. 
Each brush of your lips against his, each caress, speaks of the longing and love that has been building between you for so long. James deepens the kiss, more confident now, feeling the warmth of your body against his, and it’s as if the world outside has ceased to exist.
Your thumb brushes over his cheek, and you smile, voice breathless. “You’re doing great.”
The kiss becomes more fervent, your guidance helping James navigate this new territory. He feels like he’s pouring all his love and devotion into this one act, wanting to convey everything he’s never been able to say. His wings reach round you tentatively, leaving enough air for you to breathe. He want’s to be wrapped up in you more - he cannot explain it.
James pulls back slightly, his breath coming in shallow gasps. “This... this is incredible,” he murmurs in a voice husky with wonder. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
You smile, eyes sparkling. “Neither have I.”
Your lips find each other again, more urgent this time, as if you’re making up for lost time - at least James is. The demon who lured him down the first time failed to mention this part of humanity to him.
“I want to show you more,” you finally whisper against his skin and at this point, James is willing to walk the sun if you asked him to. 
“Everything,” he rasps, his lips touching you with every syllable. He cannot get enough of your taste. “Show it all to me, my love.”
“I want to start with taking off our clothes.” You kiss him again, making Jame’s pants feel even tighter. He knows about sex and he knows it is what you are hinting at. But he has never experienced it. It is no use to angels, since they cannot impregnate another. In heaven, it is rarely talked about - and if it is, one is warned about it. 
Right now, James does not care why. He is eager to experience as much as there is on earth with you and then some. So, he lets you guide his hands over your shoulders, shrugging your cardigan off your body and letting his fingers glide beneath the thin straps adorning your shoulders now. 
His hands are so big compared to yours. He marvels in the fact of how much stronger he is, making him able to protect you that much better. 
James has no difficulty guiding the clothes from your body. Nakedness is something barely acknowledged where he comes from. But today... something about it feels different. This situation feels so much more intimate than it usually does. And he notices, when you kneel down to pull his pants down, his cock stands proud from his body, bigger than usual, and hard and- “Oh!” sensitive, he notes when your lips kiss his hip, your face slightly grazing his member in the action. 
With your head next to it, it looks disproportionately huge, but you don’t seem to mind. 
“This... I have never done this before.” James’s hands guide you back up to him. He is certain his cheeks are glowing red by now. He feels hot and bothered, yet so yearning for more of the teasing your face provided for mere seconds before. 
“Are you okay with continuing?” Your eyes find his again. 
“Yes.”
“Okay, good.” And when he nods, you take his hand and lead him down the hall to your bedroom. 
He has missed this place, missed holding you for the time he went away, but he can't tell you where he has been just yet. Not now, anyway. Right now, he wants to experience whatever you are willing to show him. 
You walk around him, touching him all over, watching him react and making him lean down only to pull back before his lips can get a taste of yours again. It’s beautiful agony and James is torn between pulling you into his strong grip and letting you wind him up until his balls feel like they are the ones squeezed tightly. They already are...
Eventually, you come to a stop behind him. He jolts when you fingers drive over the top of his wings, only for you to mumble a quick ‘sorry’ and coming back around in front of him. 
“Don’t be sorry. I was just not expecting it.”
You stare past him and at the white feathers protruding from his back. “They are so soft... and pretty.” You find his eyes. “All of you is pretty.”
He reaches for your face, finding pride in the way you nestle into his palm with a smile. “And dear, you are the most beautiful being the world has ever seen.”
“Can I touch them again?” You whisper only for James to now stare in awe. 
He watches as your hands pass his body in slow-motion. They travel past his ribs and reach carefully towards his wings again. This time, he is prepared, though his stomach feels tight with something opposite of worry. More of a physical feeling he can't begin to explain. He closes his eyes and lets your touch travel over them like a prayer. Your path leaves shivers in its wake and James lets his head hang, reveling in the feeling. He opens his eyes and watches his cock twitch whenever the tingles get too much. 
He gasps breathlessly when you graze the underside of his wings, making his whole body jump slightly. 
“Oh, are those sensitive?” You smile in awe, though your expression turns to excitement when he wheezes out his answer. 
“Very.”
“Do you like it?” 
Your fingers glide over the same spot again, making his cock leak, feeling like he’s about to explode. “Yes!” He grabs the sideboard next to him.
“I want to make you feel good, James” your voice is damp agains this ear and he bites his tongue before bursting. 
“You already do.” 
“I want to make it even better.”
James is not sure he can handle better. He’s already floating miles above the ground when you touch him in the ways you do. Maybe he has to distract himself to enjoy this some more. 
He could think about why heaven would withhold education of how amazing sex can be. That will make him calm a little, posting yet another reason why it was never the place to be for him. 
Your hands wrap around his silver wrists as you guide him to the bed, pushing down on his shoulders until he is sat on the mattress, looking up at you with intrigue and awe. 
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to ride you, James.” You straddle his lap and his arms immediately reach around you. 
“Ride ...me? I’m not a horse.” He states and watches as your smile lights up. But it settles a weary feeling in his stomach. There is a hint of mischief in your glint, and James is not sure he can handle it right now. 
“Do you trust me?”
“With my entire soul.”
You kiss him and push at his chest. “The lie back for me.”
And so he does, realizing - once again - that anything heaven could offer him pales in comparison to the love he feels for you, a love that knows no bounds or logic and that is reciprocated in your every touch. 
James watches as you scoot up his body until you are sat right behind his cock, which has not ceased to soften one bit since you kissed. It reaches all the way to your navel. But before he can take in the sight and calculate the size difference between you, you press him against your stomach, pulling another moan from his lunges. 
His tip is leaking more and more with every touch you gift him and James starts to worry his body will give out before he can make you feel good. 
“You’re so big, so pretty.” You stroke him from base to top, letting your thumb press into the underside of his cock and send shiver after shiver through James’s body. “I need you inside me.”
“I need that to.” His voice is strangled when you lift up and grind his tip through your wet folds, moaning with the friction he can only assume is the same for you as it is for him. 
In a swift motion, the head of his cock sinks inside you, breaching tight muscle and making him feel dizzy with the new sensation. Your head falls back with a loud breath that makes his abs tighten. This whole time, he feels as though a gust of wind could make him unravel, but something inside him tells James he should hold out - or at least try to. 
The raspy sounds escaping his throat cant seem to stop when you slowly work yourself all the way down his shaft. And the high-pitched scream you set free when his tip reaches another barrier within you makes him twitch and leak even more. 
“Are you alright?” He asks through sweaty brows. 
“I’m amazing.” You smile and lift yourself up only to sink back down into his lap. Your movements become steady, and when he finally gets over the way your mouth hangs slack, the rhythm you set builds even more pressure inside him. 
The room is filled with messy sounds of skin and sweat and moans and heavy breaths. You sink down on him again and again until James feels like he is on fire. But you don’t relent. Your pace never falters when you fall back and your hands grip his thighs, digging into his muscles until his toes curl. 
It’s too much at once and not enough at the same time. James feels as though there is a cliff he could fall over every second now, but he’s too scared to loose the sensations he is experiencing right now to let his body do so. 
“Touch me,” you suddenly say, taking his hands which have fisted inside your duvet until now and placing them on the soft flesh of your breasts. Only now, your nipples are hardened when you guide his fingers over them. “Like this.” You’re somehow fare gone and right there with him. But he does as he his told again, flicking his thumb over the pebbled flesh until your moans grow higher and higher. “Ah, Yes!”
It’s doing something to him, he his twitching every time your pussy squeezes him in tandem with his thumb on your nipples. His body is moving without the permission of his mind when he suddenly thrusts up. And then again. And again. Until you are mewling and crying on top of him, your fingernails digging into his legs painfully hard. 
James immediately drops his hands only to watch you stare at him with wide eyes. 
“What’s the matter. Why did you stop?”
He bites his lips in shame when he realizes he misses your constant movement on his cock. “Am I hurting you?”
You eyes possibly widen further. Leaning forward and capturing his cheeks with both lips and hands, you shake your head after you pull away. “No! No, its a good thing, love. You feel so good. You...” Your expression changes to a rather shy one. “You’re just very big. You should be proud.”
Something inside James clicks as you confess with another kiss to his lips. A smirk spreads beneath them when he curiously thrusts up inside you and experiences your hot breath gains his face. 
In a second, his hands grab onto your hips, his body turns and flips the pair of you until your back hits the mattress as gently as he can offer in his compromised position. 
A last look of reassurance when your eyes lock with his set off the urges he has suppressed so far. His hips snap forward over and over again, your pussy tightening more around him with every push. Your hands are fist into the covers, head thrown back and mouth open. There is no more sound coming from you at this point. And James understands why. He is as overwhelmed with the feeling as you look. When you grow even tighter, gripping this cock until he cannot move anymore, white pleasure as hot as hellfire rushes through his body, kissing his nerves from head to toe. He feels his balls empty as he paints your inside with his spent, only being able to lazily rut into you after a minute to seize every last drop of pleasure this moment has to offer. 
Then he falls forward as if a higher force has taken all the strength from his body, though careful not to hurt you when his weight settles on top of you. 
“What-“ he needs to catch his breath first. “What was that?”
“That,” you open your eyes, chest having with every deep breath, “was an orgasm.” Your hands brush through his hair and James finds himself purring at the touch. “And it was the best one I’ve ever had.” 
You kiss him and chuckle when he looks at you questioningly. “I guess you could say it was outer-worldly... or even heavenly.” 
James rolls his eyes but can’t stop the laugh from slipping his lunges. He pulls back and watches as his softened cock leaves your pussy, only to be followed by your mixed arousal dripping out of you. 
Trance-like, his hand moves to collect the fluid and begins to smear it over your petals, up into the soft tuft above it. He knows angels cannot impregnate other beings, but he is fascinated by the scene in front of him. It’s like a little testimony when he marks you all around the best place he has ever experienced, wordlessly rubbing and enjoying the whimpering sounds you make when he flicks over a particular spot. 
“Is this sensitive?” He teases with a smirk only to be met with a playful smack on his arm. 
“Very.” you say. “But I am entirely satisfied as of right now.”
James sighs and falls into the sheets beside you. “Me too.” He nuzzles into your neck and pulls you closer to his body. He does not care that you are sticky with sweat or that neither of you are cleaned up. He just needs to hold you now that reality has taken its place back around him again. 
“So, you have been watching over me for - what? All my life?”
James hides the chuckle bubbling up his throat at your sudden question. He still has his eyes closed, taking in the feeling of your nails lightly scratching up and down his forearms. It makes him tingly. 
“All your life, yes.”
“And have you ever meddled with other things that were supposed to happen to me?”
“Do you remember the year in which you kept finding pineapples in arbitrary places?”
It’s silent for a moment, but your movements don’t falter. “I always thought that was a weird coincidence.”
James smiles into the crook of your neck. “Consider it my way of adding a little excitement to your life. And maybe a small attempt to make you notice me.”
You push yourself up slightly and rest on your elbows as you look at James. “I like you like this.” You smile.
“Like what?” He’s smiling as well.”
“Less angel, more...” Your hand comes up to gesture at nothing in particular. “...deviant.”
The smile on James’s face turns into a proud grin before he leans up to kiss you tenderly, savoring the moment and pushing away the thought that has been gnawing on him ever since he came back. 
He holds you until you fall asleep, purposefully missing the opportunity to tell you what he has gotten himself into while he was away.
❁ ❁ ❁
James stands in the garden, the sky overcast and heavy with the promise of rain. He’s out here to retrieve a bouquet of your favorite flowers, smiling like a fool because he finally has what he always wished for. All his mishaps and seem worth it when he holds you in his arms at night. 
The flowers are vibrant and alive, and he bends to pick them with a sense of purpose, each blossom a token of his affection. Even as the first raindrops start to fall, his joy is undiminished. The rain doesn’t bother him; it’s a minor inconvenience compared to the happiness he’s found with you. 
As he moves through the garden, he thinks of the moments you’ve shared—the way your eyes light up when you see him, the warmth of your touch, the sound of your laughter, the way you writhe beneath him in she sheets. For the first time in his existence, he feels complete. 
James clutches the bouquet and heads back toward the house, eager to see the surprise on your face when he presents you with the flowers.
But before he can pass the threshold, an eery feeling spreads though is soul, a shadow falls over him but vanishes just as soon. He scans the yard, his sight nestling through the trees at the very edge of it and then suddenly halting when he sees Wanda leaning against one at the very far corner of your property. Her presence is like a dark cloud on the horizon, a stark contrast to the bright joy he feels. Her red eyes glint with a knowing look, and her lips curl into a smirk that sends a chill down his spine.
“Are you not coming inside, James? The weather will only get worse.” You shout through the house only to appear behind him to inspect what is keeping him outside. 
But James’s stare is fixated on the demon in your yard, his protective instincts setting in immediately, scanning his surroundings while keeping a close eye on Wanda. 
“What is going on?” You ask and reach your arms around him from the side. He can sense you’re eyeing him but he knows you see what he is seeing when your entire body grows rigid beside him. 
“Who is that?” you whisper into James’s shoulder as you step even closer to him, your voice barely audible over the increasing patter of rain. He squeezes you a little tighter, trying to shield you from the inevitable storm brewing. A quick look at your state tells him he should have send you inside. But It is too late for that now. 
When his head turns back into the direction of the demon, it is no longer in its prior place. Instead, Wanda has moved across the garden with impeccable speed, looking up at the pair of you a few feet alway from the step leading to your porch. 
“You promised me time to explore the likes of this life.” His voice is low and intimidating, though he knows its futile in the face of a demon. They are scared of very little. 
“And explored you have,” her red hair falls over her shoulder when her head ticks to the side. “Tell me, Bucharius, is it worth the cost?”
The demon knows of the leverage it has on him. James was sure he would follow through with his request from the start. But he forgot, or maybe just hoped, the devil’s spawn would gift him more time until he had to go and seal the contract. 
“You know it is,” he pushes though clenched teeth, hating how your fingers clamp around his arm already. 
“Actually, I don’t. But I would be an idiot to refuse an offer such as yours.” Wanda clasps her long fingers together and grins with evil. “Oh, I will have so much fun with your soul once the time comes.”
The angel closes his eyes tightly, hating the way the demon pressures him to leave so soon. But it is for the greater good, for him at least. He need’s to be selfish for once - to be able to spend a lifetime providing whatever you desire. 
“Just give me a moment, Wanda,” James says, his voice steady despite the chaos inside his head. He knows his flicker of happiness is about to be shattered, but he wants to hold onto it for just a little longer.
“What is happening? What does she want?” There are tears brimming in your eyes and James decides he has seen them far too many times to be a good guardian to you. It just secures his decision to do what Wanda came to collect him for. 
James presses his lips to the crown of your head before gently tilting it upward with his fingers. His gaze is steady, exuding a confidence while you desperately cling to him in your confusion.
“I’m not sure I can handle all this newfound angelic drama,” you mutter with unease, and James kisses you—short and sweet, a fleeting moment of peace.
Then he whispers against your lips, “Please, you handle drama like a queen. Remember that time you dealt with Valentina from accounting?” His attempt at humor brings a small smile to your face, and he momentarily loses himself in the warmth and security it provides.
But the feeling doesn’t last long.
“James has made a deal with the devil,” Wanda grins, her red eyes flashing with malevolent glee.
Her words send shivers over your body, James feels the ripples pass beneath his fingertips. You pull away from your guardian angel, whose troubles have now escalated to an unthinkable level. 
“What does she mean, James?”
❁ ❁ ❁
James’s silence is deafening. You pray, you beg, for this to be a terrible joke, but deep down, you know it’s not.
“James.” Your words are strained, desperate for answers, desperate for reassurance. “What is she talking about?”
“It is true,” James finally admits, his eyes free of sorrow but filled with determination. “I have made a deal with Lucifer. My wings for a mortal life. My soul when it leaves my deceased body after spending a lifetime with you.”
“What?” The word is a whisper, your mind struggling to process the gravity of his confession. Because your cheeks feel salty and stained before you realize what James has just told you. “Why are you doing this?” you ask through your tears.
“Because I’d give up heaven if it meant being with you.” James’s eyes burn into yours, the rain dripping off his wet face deceivingly. His voice is steady, unwavering. “I’d go to hell a thousand times over until my soul burns to ashes if it meant I get to hold you one more time. You’re everything to me. Everything.”
Another wave of shivers slip over your skin with the way he presses the last word. His eyes are fiery, almost desperate. He is trying to make you understand how much better this decision is, but you fail to see how it can. “You can’t do this. You are destined for more. There are many more to come after me that need protecting and watching over.”
“And there have been plenty before you, yet none of them have or will ever compare, my love.” He touches your cheek, but you push his hand away. Your heart is already aching when you watch his face fall at the gesture. But you are not made for these types of dilemmas. You are human for fuck’s sake. “I would spend eternity regretting not experiencing life with you. I am tired of watching; I am over feeling the distance between us. Going back to heaven means finding you someone else to love. And I cannot do that. It would destroy me, burn me alive, rip my heart out of my chest.”
“James, think about this.” Now the first angry tear slips from his face and mixes with he rain which has grown heavier. Dark clouds cast over the scene, matching the mood perfectly. Dreary and sad - how poetic. 
“I have. For far too long. I will never feel truly fulfilled until I can be what you need me to be: a real, tangible person that grows old with you.”
You shake your head, your hair sticking to your skin. “You have to believe me when I tell you that I exist only for you. My life was dull before you entered it, and it will feel like a black hole when you leave. There is nothing—nothing—I wouldn’t do to be with you.”
Never before have words felt more genuine than this. James is hunched forward, his eyes pleading at you from above. A sneaky hand has captured yours and presses it to his chest, where his heart is beating vigorously against your skin. 
Resignation laces your voice when you finally answer him. “So you’re just going to leave now? For how long? What if he tricked you?”
You don’t know  much about all the rules but one thing is for sure, the devil likes to play and deceive. Just the thought of James walking into a trap makes your stomach churn. 
“Then it was worth it.” There is something akin to content and fulfillment in Jame’s stare when his hand squeezes yours and his heartbeat slows. Though your’s seems to do the opposite. 
“No.” You say breathlessly. 
“I’m sorry," he answers, and wraps your fingers around the bouquet in his hands.
“James.”
“I love you.”
“James.”
The rain intensifies, pounding the earth as if mirroring the turmoil in your heart. James turns and lets Wanda put him in chains, leading him away. You fall to your knees, crying, the three words you have yet to say hanging on your lips for nobody to hear. He’s gone. He’s gone without the knowledge of ever seeing you again.
❁ ❁ ❁
And just like that it ends like it began: in tragedy… and rain.
❁ ❁ ❁
Maybe you are just not cut out for happiness, you think as you wipe down the counter with a frown. The sun is shining today, almost mocking your bad mood with every chirping of birds outside. Earlier today, you were so angry about the reflection blinding you inside that you shut the blinds completely. 
James has been gone for a week now and you already feel like breaking down over what you’ve lost whenever something is mentioned that reminds you of him. 
A few days ago, after a really rough night, you swore you’d never let anyone this close to you. It’s the perfect start for you villain origin story, really. Losing your brother to an abusive ex. Losing said abusive ex thanks to a protective angel. Then falling in love with the angel only for him to go to hell for loving you back. 
You heart cannot take another hit. It’s constantly breaking as you think about the torture and pain James is probably suffering in the pits of hell. There is just no more room for another person, another worry, or anything else, really. 
You will just die an old and groggy lady, likely still cleaning this very counter until you cant anymore. The whole town is going to know you as the weird woman with seventy two cats.
You shake at the thought of it, disposing of your towel and grabbings some plates from the counter to clean up some more.
“New customer is yours, freaking weirdo has been standing outside the window and looking inside like some kind of stalker,” Scott mumbles as he paces by you with his head buried in his phone screen. 
You just sigh and throw a used napkin into the trash before loading the dirty plates onto a kitchen tray. 
“I’d like a sandwich, please.” A voice sounds from behind you and your entire body goes rigid.
It can’t be. It cant. For days you have been wishing for James to come back, now you are finally becoming crazy. 
But your heart picks up its familiar sprint and your entire body tingles with hope. Still, you don’t dare to turn around. 
“Are you not going to look at me, dearest?”
Your hands tremble as you grip the edge of the counter. What if it’s real? What if it’s not? The uncertainty gnaws at you, each second stretching into an eternity. You’ve dreamed of this moment, but dreams are fickle things, easily shattered by the harsh light of reality.
“James...” The name slips out in a whisper, a plea, a hope. Tears sting your eyes, and you squeeze them shut, bracing yourself for the worst.
You take a deep breath and finally turn around. Truly, there he stands in front of you, with a bright and gleaming grin on his lips. There is one thing you notice immediately: the silver cuffs on his arms are gone. And he looks oddly free without them.
Almost trance-like, you round the counter, your had reaches out to him, touching his jaw, gliding down the length of his neck until your fingertips disappear into the soft curls in the back of it. 
“Is it really you?” You whisper in awe as you start to drown in the familiar blue of his eyes. And when James covers your hand with his, squeezing his reassuring sequence to your bones, you know. It’s real. 
“In the ...flesh.” he frowns but then smiles widely. 
“What happened when you were gone?” Your curiosity gets the better of you, but James just shakes his head and then turns his face to kiss the inside of your wrist. 
“Not here, love. Take me home... if you’ll have me. Take me back. I promise no more secrets from now on.”
You just nod vigorously, finally pulling James into your embrace. The worry raging inside you fades into insignificance, eclipsed by the certainty that in this moment, you’ve regained something intently more powerful - a bond that defies explanation, but feels undeniably perfect. 
“I will always choose you over anything else, James.” You nuzzle into his chest as you ravel in the warmth of his body and the security of his touch. His heart is singing the same song as yours and his head hangs low atop yours, pressing meaningful kisses to your hairline between every stroke of his hand on your back. 
The diner around you might as well not exist. All that matters is this connection between you - the bond that defies the boundaries of heaven and earth. 
“But tell me one thing,” you whisper into his shirt and James moves to better hear your low voice. 
“I will tell you anything,” he presses into another kiss on your face, still holding you close. 
“Are you... did the-“ you’re not sure how to assemble the questions inside your mind without being bold. But James seems to know exactly what it is you want to say. 
He takes both his hands from around you and guides your face to his until his warm lips press a meaningful kiss to yours. “Yes,” he murmurs softly, yet steadily, conveying just enough seriousness to let you know how important and truthful his answer is. “I did what I promised. I am yours until the end of my life, and even beyond, my soul will be seeking yours for eternity. But until then, we will grow old together and finally be what we were meant to.”
His lips latch onto yours a second time and as the kiss deepens, a sense of completeness washes over you. In James’s arms, you find the solace and passion you have been yearning for, a promise of love that transcends all else. 
“I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me.” You smile back between kisses.
James pulls you even closer, his voice a gentle murmur against your lips. “We have a lifetime to show each other.”
And in that moment, surrounded by the echoes of a bustling diner and the warmth of his embrace, you know that no matter the trials ahead, this love will endure, defying all boundaries and transcending every limit. 
❁ ❁ ❁
Because at last, there’s noting more freeing than falling itself.
🫵 You cant get enough of this character? Go check out the chatbot I made for him! This way you can explore different endlings, plotlines, or just enjoy his company for a while longer 💕
Lord, can we take a second and appreciate these images???!! Got me on my knees - and not for praying, I'll tell you this much...
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Hello, loves. As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my work. I hope you had fun! Maybe... juuuust maybe if you want to, you could leave a comment or reblog on this post. New fics will be on hiatus until August, I have some real life work to finish. But please feel free to interact and talk to me. I love hearing from you! Take care, and ill talk to you as soon as I can. ~Meg 💗
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luludeluluramblings · 1 month ago
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I’m the anon who sent the pregnant Reader ask! And omg Sugar Baby! Reader is such a delight. Imagine the absolute 😦😧😨 journey on Bruce’s face upon realizing this man who is closer to him in age, old enough to be his daughter’s dad not only MARRIED but had the audacity to knock her up to. I can see little menace Damian asking Husband plenty of indiscreet questions and being straight up rude. Bruce lets him, and he has plenty of questions for the husband, too. How dare he seduce Bruce’s young, impressionable and sheltered daughter, has he no shame?
And of course they offer for Reader and husband to stay at Wayne manor while she recovers. All the hotels in Gotham are suddenly booked so they have to stay over, right? Husband can go right back to work too, Reader will be fine with her family. And why don’t they look at midwives or some of the best hospitals in Gotham, consider giving birth here? Not that they all wouldn’t track the rest of her pregnancy and fly out when she gives birth, but it keeps things simpler.
The sad thing about this concept, fun as it is, it’s that the Batfam is absolutely going to ruin Reader’s relationship either by sabotaging her husband, his business, maybe plant cheating evidence for her to find like Meta! Reader’s prom date. Obviously they will all be there to help pick up the pieces and aid Reader in recovering as well as caring for the baby.
Bruce holding his grandchild and Damian as an uncle too! Wholesome despite the circumstances.
Adding to this and adding a slight NSFW warning for at the end!
☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️
See, I feel like the counter to this would be Husband having a begrudging Alfred in his corner. Like, Alfred isn’t happy about this guy being married to Reader. But, unfortunately, this is the healthiest relationship anyone in the family has ever been in and he doesn’t wanna ruin that for Reader.
Although, the petty passive aggressive bullshit Hubby’s gonna go through at the manor will probably escalate to the point of them sabotaging his business or making Hubby and Reader snap at the family together.
☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️
Reader’s not stupid enough to fall for planted cheating evidence. They know their husband (man’s too old to be trying that nonsense and they also take good care of him themselves.) Plus, they probably told Hubby about how neglected they were by their family. Hubby’s gonna be prepared mentally for the bullshit, even if it does eventually overwhelm him.
But, if you want angst, which I’m guessing you do. I’d say Hubby could tragically die. The family either went to far with the sabotage or an accident happened at work.
(Or, because the dude I imagined Hubby being is Philip Graves, he has to fake his death temporarily for work reasons. Oooo, hubby can grovel and show the Bat family how it’s done when he comes back.)
Either way, you have a distraught Reader. But, I would also add Reader has a difficult pregnancy . That’s why hubby was spoiling her so much.
Imagine the bat family dealing with a hormonal pregnant reader that blames them for their husband’s subsequent death while also being in pain?
☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️
Also, if the family ended up insisting y’all stay at the manor you KNOW your husband would fuck you on every available surface without fucking care. He’d clean you and the place up right after, but everyone in that house would know how good he’d be dicking you down.
Alfred don’t care, he dealt with horny Bruce. Bruce, though, he just sit in his bed silently screaming in his own personal hell. Everyone else is traumatized. Especially when you be calling hubby daddy when he be hitting it just right.
☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️
(I’m tagging this as SugarBaby!Reader and this is going to have to be a series at this point. One day, one day.)
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xotaemintol · 22 days ago
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Obsessive perverted Hyuck x reader//short/oneshot
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WARNING: this contains obsessive behaviors, stealing, Somnophilia, unprotected sex, masturbation, oral sex, nipple play, and breeding. Please do not read if any of these thing trigger you, thank you so much. Minors DO NOT interact.
Sorry it’s short ☹︎ I low-key have writers block and its beating my asssss but I still wanna post, bc I missed all of October I'm using November to post anything spooky/dark so bare with me PLEASE! Also, I will be posting asks soon so if you've sent any then please look forward☺︎
wc: n/a
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Hyuck being so overly touchy with you when he isn’t glued to his phone, sniffing you and asking if he can have your underwear. Its no wonder how you came to find out that he was obsessed with you.
Of course if you said yes, you knew what he would do with them and didn’t care. Just like you expected he takes them home and cums into them—using them as a rag from that point on. It didn’t take long for those to become completely ruined, immediately after he asked for another pair, but when you said no he just snuck into your room and stole a pair; the prettiest, softest pair he could find.
Even stealing one of your bras and a bottle of perfume so he can smell you when he jerks off. He becomes such a pervert that your perfume, underwear, and bras just aren’t enough. So he started taking pictures of you for him to jerk off to, asking if he can record when you give him head.
You knew he used them to jerk off. But you couldn’t imagine how far he was going, playing the videos while he humps the pillow he put your bra and underwear on, after spraying the room with your perfume. Staring at his wall that is decorated with the nudes you sent. Along with pictures that are more wholesome—like ones of you smiling, your outfit, date nights, and even pictures of you sleeping.
The wall became more of a shrine as time passed, he even tapped a loc of your hair—after collection a bunch of tiny strains; to the wall with underwear, napkins you’ve used to wipe away your lip gloss, and even pairs of your discarded lashes—now covered in his cum.
Eventually though, he had to move it to his unused guest room because you decide to go to his place for a change. And he hid it thinking that you haven’t noticed all of your missing things—of course you noticed. His secret obsession was never as secret as he thought, but poor, sick hyuck just can’t get caught being the sicko he truly is.
But he also can’t stop, which leads him to groping you as you lay beside him sleeping. Slipping his hand underneath your loose top and brushing his fingers over your harden nipple, trying his hardest to breath quietly as to not wake you up.
Eventually, he moves on to something more risky when you remain in your sleeping state and decides to push your shirt up so he can see your boobs. He quickly goes from just touching them to kissing them, sucking your nipples and only stopping when you begin to stir in your sleep.
His lack of self control might be the blame for the way he carefully slides your underwear off, practically moaning when he notices how wet you are. He can’t help but stop to sniff your underwear, wrapping them around his cock as he jerks off over your body.
He never imagined he’d do something so deprived and desperate, but he loves you so much and thinks you’re just too pretty.
It’s not until he sees you move again that he realizes what he’s doing. Feeling ashamed he starts to try putting your underwear back on him, but as he’s pushing them up your calf’s you stop him. Not revealing that you’d been awake the whole time, only asking him what he was doing.
In his humiliated state he tries to string together some sort of lie, anything to dig himself out of the hole he’s in—but he can’t, and he doesn’t have to. Instead of shaming him like he expected, you tell him to continue; making him eat you out while he desperately grinds against the bed.
He’s so in love with eating you out that he doesn’t even stop when you finish. Continuing to please your body to the point of overstimulation as he gets high on the sounds you make and the taste of you. Not even when you try pushing his head away or closing your legs does he think of pulling away, you have to pull him by his hair—yanking his head away in order to stop him.
By this point, he hadn’t cum himself. He was too busy eating you out to focus on his own release, but you couldn’t let it end there. Luckily for you though, you didn’t have to ask.
Before you could say anything he began begging to fuck you. Caressing your legs as he looked at you with hazy eyes, his face flushed and his cock throbbing—twitching and leaking between his legs. His longish curly hair, is messy and he’s sweating before you can even say yes. The second you do, he’s practically crying in pure joy and desperation.
Hyuck savors every second of entering you. Rubbing his cock against your folds, slapping it against your pussy and slowly rubbing it against your clit until he finally puts it in.
He breaks as soon as the tip goes in. A soft cry leaves his lips, his voice cracking as he whimpers out your name. He tries to start of slow but he’s so sensitive from anticipation alone that he just can’t wait anymore. Not even seconds after he’s inside of you and he’s already slamming into you, not as fast as he wanted—but hard enough to make his headboard hit the wall with every thrust.
Even then he’s still stuck admiring you, the way your breasts move and the way your eyes roll. He loves seeing how you grip the pillow under your head and the way you try your hardest not to be too loud. It turns him on so much. So much that he feels like he’ll melt.
The sounds of skin clashing, moans, and panting fill the air, a hint of your perfume and sweat tangling with his own. It makes him feel like he’s on cloud 9, like he’s dreaming. It doesn’t take long before he’s trying to warn you that he’s close. Proclaiming his love for you as he fucks you, calling you beautiful and slurring is words together as he possessively calls you his.
He knows he should pull out at that point, but the thought of you being his—baring his child, telling people that he’s your boyfriend, that he’s the one who got you pregnant. That thought is enough to make him risk it and keep going. He’s always wanted to be a father anyways—why not make the woman he finds the most beautiful the mother of his first born?
In his mind-numbed state he doubles over, kissing you as he cums inside of you. Against your lips he mumbles soft ‘I love you’s over and over again unto he’s finally finished.
After this is when you finally find the shrine, to your surprise; it’s much smaller and a lot more wholesome than you thought as after that night, he removed your underwear from it. But it was only because he made a separate on that he keeps in his basement.
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seospicybin · 3 months ago
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THE BABYSITTER.
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PART II
Felix x reader x Hyunjin. (s,f)
Chapters: Part I
Synopsis: Working as the family's babysitter, you learn a lot from Hyunjin and Felix's happy marriage, including their sex life. (20,2k words)
Author's note: Fair warning! Contain wholesome dad!hyunlix content and saucy threesome. Don't forget to share what you think of this one x
Do you know that Aster means star in Greek but is also the name of a flower? It also happens that stars and flowers are Felix and Hyunjin's favorite things, respectively.
You often think that it's fated there's a word for their combined favorite things and it only makes sense that they made it as a name of their child.
Aster is as beautiful as his name and you couldn't find a toddler smarter and sweeter than him, and even though he wasn't born from his parent's womb, he inherited his parent's features.
Aster has Hyunjin's dark, silky hair and full lips, and Felix's eyes and small button nose, and in all honesty, he also takes after his parent's charms, the sweet smile, and the warm gaze. Other than t, Aster has other exceptional attributes, he is smart, inquisitive, and very well-spoken too.
To put it simply, you get a feeling that Aster will break a lot of hearts in the future.
The afternoon sun casts a warm glow on Aster's milky skin, you're sitting on the grass watching him chasing after a dragonfly with Mandu trailing behind him.
Aster is one happy kid and it makes sense because he's growing up in a family happy, and watching him play secretly heals your inner child.
Exhausted from running, he's waddling his way to you and as he gets closer to you, you catch him in your arms, then sit him on your lap.
"Do you catch the dragonfly?"
"No," he sadly answers, reclining on your chest as he catches his breath from all the running.
As you look up at the sky, you see an airplane looking so small as it flies between the clouds, "Do you see that, Aster?"
He follows to where your finger is pointing and sees it right away, "Airplane!"
"That's right. Airplane!" You proudly say along with a quick kiss on the top of his head.
Aster raises his small hand in the air as if he's trying to catch the airplane in his hand, "Come down here airplane!" He cutely shouts.
"I don't think they can hear you, bubba," you say while brushing his dark locks with your fingers.
"So far away," he mumbles with his head tilted up and his eyes tirelessly following the airplane, "in the sky."
All of a sudden, he gets up from your lap with his hand still raised in the air, "Airplane so far away," he mumbles.
You wrap your hands around him, "Do you love airplanes, Aster."
He stifles a nod then looks over his shoulder at you, "I love airplanes."
"Aster loves airplanes," you repeat and hold him tighter.
He outstretches his arm as far as he can and jumps on his little feet, "Caught it!"
You pretend to be surprised, "You caught the airplane in your hand?"
He fists his hand into a ball and shows it to you, "I caught it."
You hold his little fist with both hands and tell him, "Want to take it home?"
"Take it home. Yes," he answers while scratching his nose.
Aster gets on his toy car and you're pushing it from the back while also holding Mandu's leash, together you're walking back to the house.
"Let's check the mailbox," you say, stopping by the front of the house to check it.
"Want to see," Aster demands, offering his arms at you.
"Okay," you take him by the arms and carry him so he can see inside the mailbox.
"Mails!" He exclaims.
"Would you please take them out for me?"
"Okay," he replies, raking the mails from inside the mailbox and clutching them in his arms.
"You got them all?"
"Yes," he answers, hugging all the mails close to his chest.
The beeping sounds coming from a truck take Aster's attention away and send a couple of mails slipping down his arms. You turn on your feet, looking at the house across the street, and notice that someone is moving in there hence the moving truck.
You pick up the mails and make Aster hold them as you steer the toy car into the house. You take Mandu off his leash and he starts running inside, then helps Aster to take his sandals off after.
"Cookies," Aster suddenly asks.
"You can have cookies later after dinner, okay?" You softly tell him, remembering that one of the house rules is no snacks before dinner.
Aster seems hungry so you go to the kitchen to start making dinner for him. Since there's no one else in the house, Aster keeps following you everywhere and he's playing with his toy on the kitchen floor.
"One, two, three, five," he incorrectly counts.
You lowly chuckle while keep flattening the pizza dough on the kitchen counter, "One, two, three, four, five," you correct him.
"Four, five, six," he counts again, standing up and wriggling his body as he continues, "Seven, eight, ten."
"Seven, eight, nine, ten," you correct him again.
Aster starts jumping and dancing, throwing his plushie in the air, and having a party on his own. You drop whatever you're doing to watch him being a little happy bean he is.
"Old Macdonald had a farm E I E I O," he sings, picking up his plushie and dancing with it.
"And on that farm, he had a horse, E-I-E-I-O," you both sing in unison and Aster continues the rest of the song in cute gibberish.
You put your focus back on plating dinner, putting the fleshly baked pizza onto the plate and some broccoli on the side. For the dessert, you crack open a can of rice pudding and put it in a separate bowl or Aster will mix the food.
"Come on! Time for dinner!" You help Aster get onto his chair.
Before you can eat dinner as well, you refill Mandu's bowl with food and water and the three of you have dinner together with the sky gradually turns dark outside.
Amid dinner, your phone rings, and as expected, it's a video call from Felix. You scoot closer to him and put the phone against the box of tissue to get Aster in the frame, then hit the accept call button.
A second later, Felix's face appears on the screen, "Hello, my beautiful boy!" He greets his son with a wide smile.
Aster is busy chewing his food but he recognizes his dad's deep voice and looks up from his plate of food. A smile blooms on his chubby face, he glances at you and says, "Dada!"
"That's right. That's dada!" You say, encouraging him to talk.
"Did you miss, Dada?" Felix asks with a sad smile.
Aster only giggles with his mouth slobbering wet with drool and food, but after a while, he stifles a nod.
"Are you having dinner, sweet boy?" He sweetly asks.
"Yes," he hastily answers, lifting one side of the plate to show what he's having to his dad and almost sending the food sliding down onto the table.
With almost a year of experience in babysitting, your reflex is well-trained for such situations. You hurriedly put it down before he spills everything.
"What are you having, Aster?" Felix asks again.
You whisper it to him so he can say it to his dad himself, "Homemade pizza."
"Home and pizza," he incorrectly repeats your words.
Felix chuckles at that and calls for, you guess, his husband, Hyunjin to come so he can talk to his other dad. It takes him a while to finally get him on the phone.
"Mmm... yum, yum, yum," Hyunjin says with his baby voice like he usually does whenever he talks to his little one.
"Daddy!" Aster shrieks in excitement. For a long time, Aster has been closer to Felix than Hyunjin but lately, the dynamic has changed, Aster has been clingy to Hyunjin more.
"Hi, baby. Did you eat well?" He asks as Felix puts his arm around him so they're staying close to each other.
Instead of answering, Aster takes a big bite of his pizza and munches on it with exaggeration, making his cheeks round, full of food
"Ooh... Aster is eating so well. Good boy!" Hyunjin praises with a smile and applause.
The video call continues with his parents watching him eat his dinner and ends with a bittersweet bye as Felix just wants to keep it going.
"For now, be good with bubba, okay?"
Aster slumps on his seat and tugs his finger between his bunny teeth, nodding to whatever his parents are saying.
"Don't worry. We're not going to set the house on fire... not yet" you interject with a joke and give Aster's hair a quick ruffle.
"We'll be back soon, baby Aster," Hyunjin tells his son but it seems like he's indirectly saying it to his husband as well.
"Please come back safely!" You say with a smile, lifting Aster's hands and waving them at his parents.
"Bye-bye, sweet baby," Felix says, making small paws with his hand at him, "Dada loves you."
"Love you," Aster says back.
"Aww..." Felix coos, melting at hearing his son saying the affectionate words back to him.
"Daddy loves you too," Hyunjin adds.
"Love you," Aster also says back to his dad rather aggressively.
The video call ends with yet another bittersweet goodbye from Felix and that tells how much they treasure each other. Aster is growing up in a loving, kind family and he'll grow to be the person who spreads that love and kindness to other people.
Before Aster gets drowsy, you hurriedly clean up after dinner and take him upstairs to wash up, putting him in his pajamas.
The doorbell rings and since you're upstairs in Aster's room, you think you misheard it at first so you wait if the doorbell is going to ring again.
Aster glances at you when the doorbell finally rings again, you decide to carry Aster in your arm to get downstairs faster. You can't be too careful these days so you peek through the window to see who is it.
It's someone you haven't seen before, a guy with foxy eyes and a dimpled smile, well, his dimples appear when he smiles and he's smiling at you right now. You hesitantly open the door, keeping it slightly ajar, and pop your head out.
"Yes, can I help you?" You talk while running out of breath.
It seems you get him out of a trance from the way he's standing up straight as he starts talking.
"Hi, I'm Jeongin, I'm new..." he introduces himself, and suddenly his words trail off.
"New...?" You ask in confusion.
"I'm new in the neighborhood," he finally finishes his sentence with a sheepish smile, "I've just moved into the house across the street."
That explains the moving truck earlier and you can see from the door that he's still having some of his stuff outside.
"Ah, yes, welcome to the neighborhood," you say with a polite smile.
He notices Aster as he nuzzles his head into your neck and sucking on his thumb. He waves his fingers at Aster along with his dimpled smile, "Hi, hello!" He softly says.
Aster nuzzles his head further into your neck, he always gets shy when meeting new people and according to Felix, he gets it from Hyunjin.
"What's his name?"
"Aster," you reply.
"You have a really cute son," he compliments.
If only you get a dollar for every person who thinks that Aster is your child, you would be getting a new car by now. You smile at him while rubbing Aster's back.
"Oh, no, I'm just the babysitter," you inform.
"In fact, I don't live here. The real owners are out of town so that means, I'm also house-sitting for them," you stop talking before you start rambling.
"Oh..." he says with a nod and a smile that is bigger than the previous one.
A moment passes in awkward silence and Aster is getting heavier for you to carry him in your arms, but you can't just tell your new neighbor to scram.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" You courteously ask.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was supposed to..." he scratches his head as he's just remembered something. He hands you the small paper bag he's been holding in one hand.
You take it from his hand and immediately mutter your gratitude to him, "Thank you!"
"See you around, I guess?" He says, shoving his hands deep into his jeans pockets.
"See you," you say back, quietly struggling to keep Aster holding Aster in one arm.
The second the door is closed, you let out a big sigh and put the paper bag on the nearest table, hurriedly taking Aster back upstairs to send him to sleep.
You sit on the small sofa in his room and sit him on your lap, gently patting his back as he rests his head on your chest with his eyes drooping. You think he's sleeping but all of a sudden, he sleepily mutters, "Night, bubba."
"Night night, sweet Aster," you say again with a soft kiss on his head.
"Night Dada."
"Night Daddy."
"Night Nana," he mutters for the last one, mentioning his grandma since Felix's mom sometimes comes to help babysit him.
"What about Poppo?" You remind him of his favorite plushie he's hugging close to his chest.
"Night Poppo," he sleepily mumbles along with a kiss on it.
Aster is fast asleep not long after that, you put him in his crib and that doesn't mean your day ends there. You quietly tidy up his room and check on Aster for the last time.
Something about watching him sleep makes you feel at peace, you tenderly rub his round cheek and brush his hair that's getting too long away from his face.
"Night night, sweet Aster," you whisper before leaving his room.
-
The next day, the fun starts all over again.
With yogurt smeared all over his mouth from his lunch, Aster insists on coming with you after breakfast to pick up the blackberries from the bushes in the backyard. You only noticed them earlier when you were hosing the plants.
"Blueberries!" Aster exclaims.
"They're blackberries," you say, holding a bowl to put the picked fruits, "Want to pick them up?"
He seems hesitant but takes a step forward, he yanks at the leaves and is unsure of how to do it. He refrains and takes a step back, "Bubba do it."
You squat down and show him how to do it, taking the blackberry off the bush, then put it into the bowl, "Like that, bub."
The next minute, Aster is excitedly looking through the blackberry bushes to pick the fruits while you're holding the bowl for him.
"Wow! You picked a lot, bub!" You gasp in surprise seeing the blackberries he has gathered in the bowl.
Aster counts them in his cute mumbling voice, "four, five, six, seven, eight..." he joyfully claps as he successfully counts them all.
The two of you wash them together under the running water and you use the chance to also clean Aster's mouth, wiping it clean with a napkin after.
"Want to try it, bub?" You ask as you kneel on the floor, showing him the blackberries you picked and washed in the bowl.
He looks at it for a second then takes one, he doesn't hesitate to shove it into his mouth. He seems to like it as he keeps taking one after another.
"Is it good?"
He scrunches his nose, you guess the last one he takes into his mouth is sour but despite all that, he keeps chewing and says, "Nice."
The sound of Mandu's footsteps startling both of you as he sprints toward the door and starts barking. Curious as to why he gets so excited all of a sudden, you take Aster with you to check if someone is at the door.
Turns out, Mandu sees the family's car pulling up in front of the house and that's why his tail is wagging behind him, knowing that his daddies are coming home soon.
They don't even bother getting their stuff out of the car, they're going into the house and impatient to see their son. Mandu jumps the second Hyunjin pushes the door open, barking and licking at his face as he scoops him into his arms.
"Hi, baby..." Felix coos at his son as he's clinging to your side.
Unlike Mandu, Aster is looking a little confused at his parent's return.
Seeing his son's reaction, Felix kneels on the floor and looks at him, "It's dada," he tells him.
Aster only clings harder at you and then he starts running inside, you can see Felix's smile fade a little after getting an unexpected reaction from his son.
You follow Aster inside to take him back to his dad and find him walking towards Felix with the bowl of blackberries, he's handing it to him as if to show him that he did it.
"You picked blackberries with bubba?" Felix asks him with a smile.
"Yes," he eagerly nods.
Felix tries again, opening his arms at him, and with a quivering voice, he asks, "Can dada have a hug?"
Aster nods again and dashes toward him hard, almost sending Felix to fall to the back. Felix looks like he's about to burst into tears when he finally gets to hold his son.
From your side, Hyunjin gently grabs your elbow and you both exchange a quick hug.
"Welcome home," you mutter to him, "How was the flight?"
"The best sleep I've ever had," Hyunjin playfully answers with his hand lingers on your arm.
"Glad you're finally home!"
"Why? Was he a handful?"
"Other than he's always out partying and came home late, he's alright," You jokingly answer.
After kissing Aster non-stop, Felix turns to the side to see his husband there and makes Aster come to Hyunjin next, "Don't you miss daddy, hun?"
Hyunjin bends down to take him from Felix's arms, he nuzzles his head in his stomach to place tickling kisses there and makes Aster giggle and drool at the same time.
"We were only away for four days but his hair is already this long," Felix says as he stands next to you.
You only notice it now that Aster and Hyunjin have a similar hair length, they also share the same dark, silky hair.
"Aster looks like daddy now," you point out.
"That's right!" Felix exclaims in agreement as he puts his arm around your shoulder.
The day continues with Hyunjin and Felix taking their luggage out of the car, unpacking one of them to take a few things. Aster is sure a spoiled baby with the amount of things they bought for him from their short vacation.
"This is for bubba," Felix says, handing you a bag of things.
You grin as you take it from him, "You bought me something too?"
"Of course!" Felix hastily replies.
"Thank you!" You say with a gratuitous smile and decide to check the content later at home.
Even though his parents are already home, you're staying to continue your job to babysit Aster and also to help around the house, you figure that either Hyunjin or Felix are still tired from their flight home.
Aster is having fun with Hyunjin though as they're playing together in the backyard with Mandu, sporting the same hairstyle by tying their hair in ponytails.
"He looks more like Hyunjin now," Felix says as he shows you the picture he took of them in matching hairstyles.
Aster used to look a lot more like Felix but now, he and Hyunjin indeed look so much alike. The hair, the lips, and the soft features he has give off that distinct charms.
"Oh, yeah, he looks like mini Hyunjin now," you agree with a smile.
Felix lets out a delightful sigh as he continues scrolling through Aster's pictures and shows you the ones he took when he was still a baby.
"He was so small when he came to the world," Felix says along with a picture of newborn Aster curling into a little ball.
"And look at him now, he's so big and full of energy," he adds while looking at his son playing with the garden hose with fondness in his eyes.
Then he turns to look at you and smiles, "He's almost two now."
"Yeah, time flies so fast," you say, suddenly reminiscing the time when you started babysitting Aster and he was only 13 months back then.
"Which reminds me that we should start planning his birthday soon," he says, shifting the conversation before it gets too sentimental.
You immediately stand up straight and put your hand across your chest, "I'm at your service," you jokingly say.
Felix lowly chuckles and looks at his phone again, "We can do that tomorrow but now, we have to order dinner."
-
The short vacation was everything he didn't know he needed but Felix couldn't be happier that he is now at home.
He's looking at his little family, his husband Hyunjin and his son who heartily eat their dinner next to each other and then there's you, the additional member whom he loves as much as his own family.
Felix feels grateful that he surrounded himself with people who cherished him and vice versa, and that allows him to find happiness in a simple thing like this.
"Anyway, guys, I have something to tell you," you suddenly announce in the middle of dinner.
From the way you keep clearing your throat and your hand tightly wrapped around your chopsticks, it seems like it's something serious and Felix can only hope it is good news.
"Yes, bub?" Felix asks, stopping whatever he's doing to hear what you have to say.
"I just got the announcement yesterday but I passed. I'm graduating this summer," you reveal the news with a bright smile on your face.
Felix lets out a sigh of relief knowing that it's good news and not something he's afraid to hear.
"Oh, my God! That's amazing!" He exclaims, not taking another second to think but coming at you to hug you. He knows you need it, especially after knowing how much you've been worrying about it for these past couple of weeks.
"Thank you!" You mutter as you return the hug.
"This occasion calls for champagne," Hyunjin says, getting up from his seat to get it along with the glasses.
"Aster, bubba is graduating!" Felix says to his little one while squeezing his hand in excitement.
Aster is certainly too young to understand, he remains busy with his dinner as he bites into his spaghetti meatball with the tomato sauce slobbering all over his mouth.
Hyunjin meticulously pours wine into the three glasses without spilling a drop and to make his son feel included, he pours apple juice into a plastic cup.
"Congratulations on graduating!" Hyunjin says as he initiates the toast.
The three of you clinging your glasses together in the middle of the table to finally have that delightful sip of bubbly wine.
"Cheers, bubba!" You say as you bring your glass close to Aster and he immediately picks up his glass of apple juice and clinking it with yours.
And the day couldn't have ended more beautifully.
-
The decision to have Aster wasn't an easy one, Hyunjin and Felix talked about it more than a dozen times until they came to the final decision that they did want a child.
The decision is only a part of the process, getting Aster into the world is a whole other thing. There were a lot of doctor appointments and legal consultations, and of course, there was the search for a suitable surrogate mother, it was one of the most draining parts of it all.
Looking back at it, Felix realizes that he's done a lot to bring Aster into the world and it reminds him to cherish every moment he has with him.
"Again, again!" Aster says to Hyunjin who's been flying him like an airplane.
Hyunjin takes a moment to catch his breath before lifting him again in his arms as Aster puts his arms to the front.
"Poppo too," he mutters after one lap.
"You want to take Poppo flying?"
"Uh-huh."
"Babe, can you give me Poppo!" Hyunjin asks for Felix's help as the plushie is perching on the armrest of the sofa.
Felix hurriedly snaps him out of his daze and hands Hyunjin the blue jellyfish-shaped plushie and then watches his husband swing his son around the bedroom.
Aster is having so much fun that he's constantly laughing and drooling at the same time, it makes Felix happy that his cheeks are hurt from smiling non-stop.
Seeing that Hyunjin is getting tired from carrying him around, Felix thinks it's time for his bedtime.
"Aster, come on, get in your jammies!"
Hyunjin carries him to the sofa and sighs as he takes a seat next to him, holding Aster as Felix puts him into his sleepsuit. Then Felix sits him down on his lap as Hyunjin starts reading him a bedtime story.
"Goodnight dada," he mumbles while rubbing his eyes.
"Goodnight, sweet baby," Felix replies with a fond kiss on the top of his head.
"Goodnight Daddy."
Hyunjin places a long kiss on his forehead in response, "Night, angel."
"Goodnight bubba. Goodnight Nana," Aster continues with his night greetings then brings his plushie close to his mouth to kiss it, "Goodnight Poppo."
It takes quite some time until Aster drifts into sleep but Felix continuously rubs his back and showers him with gentle kisses.
"Can you believe he's almost two now?" Felix lowers his voice to talk to Hyunjin.
"Our baby has grown a lot," Hyunjin says, brushing Aster's hair away from his face.
The realization makes him sad and it's coming from the fact that they're growing older with him too. Felix rests his head on Hyunjin's shoulder, trying to imprint this tender moment in the back of his head along with this bittersweet feeling for him to treasure in the future.
"Better put him in his crib," Hyunjin says to him with a gentle ruffle on the back of Felix's head, "Cause you have another baby to tuck to bed."
Felix raises his eyebrow in question and it registers to him when Hyunjin points at himself, confirming that the other baby is him.
"I'm sure you're tired as well," Hyunjin adds.
"Yeah, okay," he answers with a smile.
Hyunjin kisses Felix's forehead and places another kiss on Aster's head before leaving the bedroom.
Realizing that he can't stop time and Aster will only get bigger, Felix remains there for another moment just holding his son in his arms to his heart's content to finally lay him in his crib.
Felix dims the light on the way out and goes to his room, finding Hyunjin already lying on the bed. Instead of getting on his side of the bed, Felix fits himself in Hyunjin's side, forcing him to scoot away. He then puts Hyunjin's arm around him.
"You should be the one tucking me in," Hyunjin says with a sweet kiss on Hyunjin's neck.
Felix lowly chuckles and gets comfortable in Hyunjin's hold, "But I'm your baby too," he says.
"That's fair," Hyunjin responds, drawing him closer and holding him tight.
He then turns his head his way and presses another kiss on his lips, "Goodnight, baby."
Felix gives him a long peck in return, "Goodnight, love."
-
At 5 am, Hyunjin's alarm rings and he hurriedly turns it off before it wakes the person sleeping next to him. Well, Felix usually wakes up around the same time but he looks like he needs some more sleep so he lets him.
However, Felix stirs in his sleep sensing the bed shift as Hyunjin gets up and forces his eyes open.
"What time is it?" He asks with his gruff morning voice.
Hyunjin crawls over to his side of the bed and places a gentle kiss on his cheek.
"I'll cook breakfast. Just go back to sleep," he murmurs.
"Thank you, honey," Felix mumbles with a smile and then closes his eyes to sleep some more.
On the top of the stairs, Mandu's ears perk up hearing Hyunjin's footsteps and he jumps out of his bed the second he comes out of his bedroom.
"Morning, Mandu," Hyunjin greets his beloved pet, squatting down to pick him up and carrying it with him as he goes downstairs.
The coffee machine is set, Mandu's bowl is filled with food and a water tumbler is ready for him to take to the basement. Hyunjin is on a diet plan that requires him to do twenty minutes of workout in the morning and that's what he's going to do there.
Once he finishes his workout, he continues his morning routine by washing up, and preparing breakfast in the kitchen and when the clock shows it's almost seven, he comes upstairs to wake his little one with Mandu trailing behind him as usual.
Aster is already awake when he pushes the door open, rubbing his eyes off his sleep and kicking his feet up in the air inside his crib.
"Hi, angel baby, you're awake already?" He walks up to his son and kisses the top of his head, his hand tangled in his son's soft locks, sniffing at it before giving him another kiss.
"Want to get down?"
Aster doesn't say anything but lifts his arms at Hyunjin, wanting to get carried in his arms. He puts him down and sits on the carpeted floor with him, still sleepy Aster clings to his dad for cuddles. Mandu suddenly jumps onto Hyunjin's lap and joins in on the cuddles.
"What do you want for breakfast, honey?" Hyunjin softly asks as Aster plays with Mandu's white coat of fur.
"Milk," he replies a while later.
"Milk?"
"Milk and toast," he answers again while resting his head on Mandu's back.
"And yogurt and blueberries?"
"Yogurt and blueberries," Aster repeats.
Hyunjin is smiling at how affectionate Aster is toward Mandu, petting his head and holding him close like he would do to his favorite plushie.
Unbeknownst to him, Felix is watching the whole heartwarming scene from the doorway and his heart is about to burst as this is the first thing he sees in the morning.
Felix loves his little family so much.
-
This should be his nap time but Aster is all hyper and you've been chasing him around the house that you can feel sweat forming on your back.
Needing a break, you kneel on the carpeted floor and catch your breath. Aster stops on his track as well, resting half of his body on the sofa and wickedly grinning at you.
"Want to drink your milk?" you persuade by showing him the bottle of milk you're holding in your hand.
"No," he refuses, tugging his fingers between his bunny teeth.
You quietly make your way closer to him, hoping to catch him before he gets to run and makes you chase him around again. Sadly, he's too clever for a toddler and runs before you get to grab him and he's heading to the study room where Hyunjin is working.
Worse is the door is not completely shut and Aster can easily push his way inside, squealing as he runs away from you.
Hyunjin is there, sitting behind the desk and looking like he's in a virtual meeting. You stand by the doorway and gesture for Aster to come back.
"Daddy is working," you whisper at him.
Instead of obeying you, Aster climbs onto Hyunjin's lap and he takes him without looking away from the computer screen.
"Aster, no..." you mutter while shaking your head at him.
But he clings to his dad and hides in his chest, making Hyunjin pause on the meeting to handle his son.
"Why aren't you napping, mmh?" He asks.
As if he tries to win him, Aster presses a kiss on Hyunjin's cheek and almost bites him again, but Hyunjin is quick to dodge away.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him in," you say as you step inside his study room, "I'll take him."
"That's okay," Hyunjin says as he holds Aster close, "Just give me the bottle."
"Okay," you come up to him to give him the bottle and leave the room, making sure you fully close the door.
In the kitchen, Felix is still busy baking his famous brownies, and the sweet smell of it wafting throughout the room as he takes it out of the oven.
"Oh, my Gosh! That smells so good!" You gasp as you walk up to him.
Felix smiles as he puts the brownies on the kitchen counter and lets it cool down. He takes his oven mitts off and pours himself a glass of water.
"Monster Aster is finally off to nap?" He asks, then takes a big gulp of water.
"He ran to the study room and insisted on napping with his daddy," you answer, snacking on the bowl of chocolate chips in front of you.
"Of course!" Felix sighs, he takes another gulp of water and gasp.
"Aster is in his Hyunjin's phase," you joke, tossing a piece of chocolate chip into your mouth.
"There was never a Felix's phase in the first place," Felix grumbles with a pout.
"Well, you can adopt me and I promise I'll always be on your team," you joke while shoving another piece of chocolate chip into your mouth.
"I'll consult it with my lawyer first," he shortly responds with a smile.
After helping Felix slice the brownies into small squares, you go back to the study room to check on Aster and whether Hyunjin has successfully made him nap. You cautiously turn the knob and push the door open, popping your head inside to check.
To your surprise, Hyunjin's done it. Aster is peacefully sleeping in his arms and Hyunjin endearingly brushes his head before placing kisses on the top of his head. He's doing that while also working on something on his computer, he has his headphones on so he doesn't notice you until you come and stand close enough to his desk.
"Let me take him," you mouth your words at him.
Hyunjin takes his headphones off and fixes Aster's head to snuggle it on the crook of his neck, "I'll do it. I'm done working anyway," he says.
As Hyunjin walks across the living room carrying Aster in his arms, you and Felix stop talking to not accidentally wake Aster as Hyunjin is about to put him down for his nap. He comes back downstairs carrying his other child, the furry one who is always on his team.
"I smell brownies," He says, putting Mandu down and jogging his way to the kitchen to check, following the sweet smell of Felix's brownies.
Felix slides the plate of brownies in his direction and continues to write down things he needs to buy while discussing it with you but you're distracted by his beautiful cursive handwriting.
"Oh, this is nice!" Hyunjin gasps in joy and his eyes sparkle at the sight of it. He even rubs his hands together before taking a piece of brownies from the plate.
"Honey, can you take care of Aster for a bit?" Felix asks as he puts his pen down.
"Mmh-hmm," he answers without a beat and takes another piece of brownie.
"The fridge is empty so we're going to do some grocery shopping," Felix explains but Hyunjin is too busy stuffing his mouth with brownies to pay attention.
Looking at Hyunjin certainly reminds you of how much he looks like Aster when he's eating with his cheeks inflated and lips slightly jutting out.
When he realizes that you and Felix are watching him heartily eating brownies, he stops chewing and puts on a foolish grin.
"This is so good, babe!" He says with an exaggerated tone and hastily kisses Felix on the lips.
Felix is so taken aback that he freezes for a second and blankly blinks his eyes at him, and you, as usual, being the third wheel in this marriage.
"This is why I married you," Hyunjin adds with a sweet smile that makes his eyes form two crescents.
"Because of my brownies?" Felix asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Because you're the best husband ever!" Hyunjin remarks with a sweet smile plastered on his face, "But also yeah, because of the brownies."
Felix can't help but smile as his fingers fiddled with the pen, flustered by his husband.
"Stop being so cute!" He says to Hyunjin.
You prop a hand under your chin and also look at Hyunjin, "Yeah, stop being so cute!" You say, just to remind them that you're there.
Hyunjin ignores both of you, continues chewing his food while making funny noises, and even does some dancing while holding a piece of brownie in his hand.
Felix takes his wallet and notes with him, "We're going, babe," he says.
"Wait, you forget something," Hyunjin says, stopping Felix from walking away.
Felix gropes every pocket on his jeans, checking if he is forgetting something, "I don't think—"
Hyunjin grabs him by his elbow and pulls him close, "You're forgetting this," he says, pressing a kiss on his lips.
It's better to exclude yourself from this scene, so you turn on your feet and grab the car keys from the bowl.
"I'll get the car ready," you say.
"Bubba, you're also forgetting something," Hyunjin jokingly says.
"No, thank you," you refuse right away without even looking.
-
While Felix is busy picking fruits for both consumption and baking ingredients with utmost focus, you wander through the herb and spices aisle to take some things off the shopping list.
You're scanning through the list then at the shelves next, taking the ones you need and putting them into the trolley. You stand next to the shelf to check if you missed anything.
"Oregano!" You mutter, turning to the other shelf and scanning it to find between various types of herbs there is.
"Oregano, oregano, oregano," you continuously mutter as your hand trails every jar while carefully reading the labels to find it.
"Here!" A voice says along with a hand that offers you the herb you're looking for.
"Thank you!" You mutter as you take it and look up to see a familiar face, "Oh?"
He smiles when you see him and clutching his shopping basket in front of him, "I hope you still remember me," he says.
"Yeah, sure, you're the uh..." Oh shit, you forgot his name but you know he's the guy who came to the house a couple of days ago, "You're the new neighbor."
"Nice to see you again," He replies with his dimpled smile that only confirms it's him.
"Nice to see you," you say back with a polite smile.
"Are you here by yourself?" He asks.
"No, I'm here with someone but he's... somewhere," you pause to look around to see if Felix has returned and look back at him, "How about you?"
"It's just me," he replies.
Your eyes wander to his shopping basket and take a quick scan at what he bought.
"Making curry for dinner?" You wildly guess based on your observation.
He shyly chuckles and shifts his basket to the other arm, "That's the idea," he says.
"Well, you're going the right way," you playfully respond with a soft chuckle.
His hand flies to his ear and rubs on it, "oh, that's a relief!"
"Oop! There you are!" Felix says with his deep voice startling you.
Why does it feel like you just got caught doing something you shouldn't do when you're just talking to a guy? You turn on your feet and take a step back so he can put the bags of fruits into the trolley.
A moment after that, Felix notices that you've been talking with someone. He looks at him and at you, then looks back at him.
"Hello, hi," Felix says to him, then turns at you, "Who is it, bubba?"
"Oh! This is your new neighbor," you introduce him, forgetting to mention anything about it until now.
"My new neighbor, huh?" Felix says with a smile and quietly gives you the side eyes.
"This is the actual owner of the house and Aster's dad, Felix," you introduce Felix to him.
"Nice to meet you," Felix says, offering his hand to him.
"I'm Jeongin. Nice to meet you," he introduces himself back and takes Felix's hand to shake it.
Oh, yeah, Jeongin! That's his name, oh, why are you so bad at memorizing names? You try not to show how you've been avoiding calling him by his name until this second.
"Nice to meet my new neighbor," Felix says with another side-eye shot at you.
Another moment passes with Felix glancing at you and Jeongin in turns, you need to find something to say to disperse the awkwardness that slowly builds, better if you remove yourself from the scene.
"I guess we'd bett—"
"You know, we're celebrating Aster's birthday next Saturday," Felix suddenly shares, "We would love for you to come!"
The invitation must have come as a surprise to Jeongin but you're not one with the rights to it, Felix is free to invite anyone.
"I'd love to," Jeongin answers with a polite smile.
"Great!" Felix exclaims in joy, "Just a fair warning though, it's a kid's birthday party so there'll be no alcohol."
"That's more than fine," he responds.
Jeongin scratches his ear again and you start to think he does it whenever he gets nervous or flustered. You don't want to make him uncomfortable for long and you have a lot of grocery shopping left to do.
"We'd better let you get back to your shopping," you say, secretly taking Felix's arm to take him out of his way.
"I guess we'll see each other around a lot," Felix says with a foolish grin on his face.
"Eh?" Jeongin responds in confusion.
"Cause we're neighbors," Felix says.
"Ah... yes."
You drag Felix along with the trolley to not make it even more awkward, "See you!"
"See you!" Jeongin says as he waves his hand at you.
The shopping isn't the worst part of it but putting all the bags into the trunk is. Felix bought a lot it's enough to feed a whole village but you're aware that half of it is for his baking needs.
"How come you never mentioned anything about the new neighbor?" Felix asks.
"I simply forgot to tell you," You answer while keeping your eyes on the road.
"How come you forgot a cute face like that?"
"Mr. Lee, you're married," You remind him while shaking your head in disbelief.
"What? Just because I'm married I suddenly can't see cute guys anymore?"
"You know that's not what I mean."
"He's tall, he has nice shoulders and dimples..."
"No comment!" You refuse to respond to his words.
"Oh, come on! Just admit it! He's cute," Felix says, aggressively hitting your shoulder and forcing you to respond.
"Okay, okay, yeah, he's cute," you finally admit with a low sigh.
"I can tell that he fancies you too," Felix adds as he leans back on his seat.
"Mr. Lee, please stick to what you do best," you briefly glance at him as you continue talking, "Baking, not matchmaking."
Felix raises both hands in defeat and says, "I'm just saying."
And of course, getting everything off the trunk means more handwork. You and Felix carry as much as you can in both arms and push your way into the house.
"We're home!" Felix announces the second he steps into the house.
There's music playing in the living room so you guess Aster has woken up from his nap and there he is, jumping on his little feet and singing to his favorite cartoon song.
"Babe, come here!" Hyunjin orders, taking the grocery bags from his arms and putting them on top of the dining table.
"What? Why?" He asks in confusion but relents as Hyunjin drags him to the living room while you keep walking toward the kitchen.
Hyunjin sits Felix down on the sofa and then he grabs the remote to replay the song playing on the TV. Together, he and Aster start dancing and singing to the song, creating a special show for his dear dad and husband, Felix.
Felix is so wrong to think that he has no one on his team when, in fact, both Aster and Hyunjin will always be on his team.
-
Today will be Hyunjin's first day back to work after his vacation and Aster somehow senses that.
He's been spending the whole afternoon playing with his dad until Hyunjin has to go and get dressed for work, he's taking over the late-night news tonight and that's when Aster feels alarmed. You try to keep him distracted by taking him to the back porch to play with his new toys.
As Hyunjin comes to kiss him, Aster gets fussy, he runs after his dad to the front door. He even takes his shoes with him as he gets to his father.
"Go with daddy," he says, holding his shoes at him.
That only makes Hyunjin reluctant to go, he pulls Aster for a hug and holds him for a moment. He kisses his cheek and also the top of his head.
"Daddy has to go to work," he says to him with a gentle caress on his cheek.
Aster doesn't say anything but opens the strap on his shoes then hands it to Hyunjin, asking him to put them on for him.
"Oh, baby," Hyunjin sadly says and lifts him into his arms.
As heartbreaking as it is, Felix comes to take Aster so Hyunjin can go to work. He rubs Aster's back and then slowly, he takes him from Hyunjin's arms.
"Daddy will be back soon, okay, angel?" Hyunjin continuously consoles Aster with kisses and caresses.
Aster holds his hands out at Hyunjin, desperately wanting to get back into Hyunjin's arms but Felix firmly holds him down.
"You'll play together again when daddy gets back, mmh?" Felix calmly tells him as Aster is whining and fighting to get out of his arms.
Hyunjin checks the time on his wristwatch and looks at Felix, "I really have to go," he says.
"It's okay. He'll quiet down soon," Felix assures him not to worry about Aster.
Hyunjin puts on a sad smile and hugs both Aster and Felix, he then presses a kiss on Aster's head and mutters, "Daddy loves you."
He then turns at Felix for a quick peck on the lips, "I'm going, yeah?"
"Be careful, okay?" Felix says with a smile while bouncing Aster in his arms to stop him from crying.
With a heavy heart, Hyunjin picks up his briefcase and waves his bye at Aster before getting out of the door.
You feel helpless as you can't do anything to help calm down crying Aster, he tends to only cling to you when his dads aren't around and he only wants his dad when he's fussy like this.
Felix keeps bouncing him in his arms, rubbing his back and wiping the tears on his cheeks while muttering words in the softest tone.
"Dada is here."
"Dada will play with you, mmh?"
"How about a cookie, mmh? Do you want a cookie?"
Felix knows that Aster can't say no to his cookies and it indeed works to make him stop crying, he rubs his eyes with the back of his hands and then nods.
"With milk," He mumbles.
"Cookie with milk?" Felix asks as he tenderly wipes the tears from his eyes with this thumb.
"Yes, please," he mumbles while doing the sign language.
"Can you smile for dada first?"
Aster nods and then puts on a smile for his dad, he looks cute even though his face is puffy and red from crying. Felix lights up the second he sees a smile bloom on Aster's sweet little face.
"That's Dada's beautiful boy!" Felix exclaims with an affectionate kiss on his cheek.
You prepare the seat for Aster and help to get him in it as Felix is off to get the cookie jar from the cabinet and then the milk from the fridge.
"One for sweet Aster," He says, putting one cookie on your Aster's plate.
"Thank you, dada," Aster cutely mutters as he wastes no time to take a bite at it.
"You're very welcome, my darling," he replies with a smile and a gentle pat on the head.
He turns to you with the cookie jar in hand, "Do you want one too, bubba?"
"You know I can't say no to your cookie," you answer.
Felix places one on your plate and another one for himself, he then fills Aster's cup with milk, before pouring milk into two glasses which you guess is for you and him.
"Choccie sauce!" He chimes, asking for some chocolate sauce in his milk.
"You want some choccie sauce with your milk?" Felix asks, taking it from the top cabinet.
Aster nods while breaking a piece of cookie with his hand.
Felix squeezes the bottle and puts some chocolate sauce in his milk, he lets him stir it with the straw before taking a sip.
"Isn't that nice, Aster?
"Nice," he answers, emphasizing the word that sounds like a hiss.
"Do you want some choccie sauce in your milk too, bub?"
"No, thank you," you kindly refuse.
Felix joins in on the dining table, eating the cookies he made and never failed to make, ever since you tasted his cookies, all the other cookies taste just alright for you.
Once he sits down, Felix takes a rewarding bite after all that hard work on calming Aster and lets out a delightful sigh.
"The adoption paper seems very tempting for a moment," he jokingly says.
"You've done well, dada," you assure him, making him feel acknowledged for his effort.
Aster looks a lot better after having a cookie and it seems like he's already forgotten about Hyunjin leaving for work. He drinks his milk through a straw and lets out a cute gasp after.
"One more, please?" He politely asks.
"You can have one more but you can't have another one until after dinner, okay?" Felix makes a compromise before giving it to him right away.
"Okay, dada," he answers with a nod.
"Here goes another cookie for my sweet tooth," Felix says as he places another cookie on Aster's plate.
"Thank you," he mutters with a grin.
"You're very welcome, bub!" Felix says back, then notices that you're finished with your cookie, "Do you want to have another one too, bub?"
This is why you don't feel like working because oftentimes, you find Felix treating you like his child and you don't mind any of it.
"No, I'm good, thanks," you kindly refuse with a smile.
"You're staying for dinner, right?"
"I don't know if you remember but I told you that I need to leave early today," you meekly say, then check for the time on your phone.
Felix gasps in surprise when he finally remembers it, "Oh, yeah, you're going to visit a family member in the hospital," he says.
"Yep and I'm afraid I have to leave now," you say while replying to a text from your mum.
"You can go, bub. Don't let your mum wait for you," Felix assures you as he puts the cookie jar back into the cabinet.
"Are you sure it's fine?" You hesitantly ask as you gather your things from around the room.
Felix comes up to Aster and holds the back of his seat, "of course, we'll be okay," he assures you with a smile.
You don't know why you think he won't be capable of taking care of his own son but you guess you feel bad for couldn't help him especially with Hyunjin working late tonight.
"Buh-bye, Aster," you say bye to Aster with a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Bye-bye, bubba," he replies as he keeps munching on his cookie.
"Drive safely, bub!" Felix comes up to you for a quick hug before letting you go.
The phone chimes as you get out of the house, your mum is rushing you even though you still have enough time to make it to your house to pick her up and drive to the hospital before the visiting hours end. You compose a quick reply to tell her you're already on the way to calm her down.
As you're about to climb into your car, you see Jeongin waving his hand at you from his house which is right across Felix's. You raise your hand to let him know that you see him and put on a smile even though you're not sure he can see it, and you think he's just wanting to say hi to you, he jogs his way to you.
"Hey," Jeongin greets you with his engaging foxy eyes and dimpled smile.
"Hey," you say back, returning the smile to him.
"You're getting off early," he says, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"Yeah. My mum and I have to go to this family thing," you vaguely explain.
"I'm not going to keep you long then," Jeongin says, slowly taking a step back.
"No, I mean, I have some time if you want to say something," you blurt out, feeling bad for indirectly turning him down.
"I need ideas for Aster's birthday present," he pauses to shift his weight to one side, "I think no one knows what he likes more than you."
It seems like it'll be taking a lot more time to decide
"Oh? Well, Aster likes—"
"I was hoping that we could go gift hunting together," He says while shyly scratching his ear.
"You want me to help you look for Aster's birthday present?"
"Yes, but not now, of course. You have somewhere to go right now," he hastily answers with an awkward smile.
"Well, I can't right now but I'm not babysitting tomorrow," you have no plans tomorrow, and helping someone out is never a bad idea.
"Tomorrow?" He stammers.
"If that's too soon we can do—"
"No, that's better," he hastily responds.
"The sooner, the better," he says with another shy smile and looks away when your eyes meet in a gaze.
"Okay, then should I give you my number or...?" you ask, hesitating whether you should take out your phone or wait for him to give you his phone.
Jeongin fumbles to get his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans, unlocking it first before handing it to you. You type your numbers in and give the phone back to him, at the same time, your phone pings with a new text which you guess is from your mum.
"I'm sorry but I really have to go right now," you tell him with an apologetic smile.
"Yes, sorry for keeping you for so long," he apologizes back and hurriedly steps away from your car.
"See you tomorrow," you say before getting into the car.
"See you!" Jeongin says with his dimpled smile.
-
The next day, you help Jeongin look for Aster's birthday present as promised. You texted him beforehand, telling him to meet you at the toy store and he came just a few minutes late from the appointed time.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all," you shortly reply.
The search for the birthday present doesn't take much time, Jeongin has it wrapped in store and by the time you get out of the store, the daylight still lingers on the sky.
"Do you want to get an early dinner?" Jeongin suddenly asks as he holds the door open for you and lets you out first.
It's the first time you meet a guy who's this forward and instead of discomfort, you find this refreshing, and it makes it easier for you to get along with him.
"I have nowhere to go this time so why not?" You answer with a smile.
Since Jeongin is new in town, you take the duty to recommend any good restaurants to him and settle on one that is located only two blocks away from the toy store.
The two of you taking your time to enjoy dinner, chatting in between bites of food, and getting to know him better. Jeongin newly moved into this town for a job, he lives with his dog and he is one year younger than you which is no surprise.
"How long have you been babysitting Aster?" He curiously asks.
"Almost a year now," you shortly answer.
"Did you happen to find this job or you always wanted to be a babysitter?" He playfully asks, then takes a sip of his soda.
"It's obviously the latter," you joke back.
"I mean, I don't see what's wrong with that," he says while lowly laughing.
"The job initially came for my mum but her social calendar is packed for the rest of the year so I took it," you wipe your fingers onto the napkin, "I needed the money for college and a new car."
"So you're still in uni?"
"I'm actually graduating this summer," you inform with a proud smile.
"Oh, congratulations!" He beams a bright smile at you, genuinely ecstatic with the news.
"Thank you so much!"
"And so, what's the plan after graduation?" He asks, completely all ears about it as he stacks his hands together on the table.
"I haven't told this to anyone but I... I got this job offer," you openly share.
"Oh, I'm the first to know this?" Jeongin asks with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes," you shyly nod.
You can't believe that you easily share it with someone that is not your mom and you don't know why you feel comfortable talking about it with him, maybe because he's someone you've just met that makes it easier.
"Where does this job offer come from?" He asks in utmost curiosity.
"From an architecture firm in the city," you answer.
"But that's..." he seems to change his mind and decides not to finish the sentence.
"That's amazing!" He says, having a drastic change in his cadence.
All of a sudden, someone places their hand on your shoulder and you're ready to swat him away when you look over your shoulder and find Hyunjin there.
"Oh, my God! You scared me!" You gasp in surprise as your hand clutches your chest.
"I know my bubba so well to know that it's you just from the back of your head," Hyunjin says with his hand starts gently massaging your shoulder.
"What are you doing here?"
"Was having a quick dinner with a colleague and saw you on the way out," he answers, then his eyes shift to the guy sitting across from you, "May I know who is this, bubba?"
"Oh, yeah, this is Jeongin, he is your new neighbor actually," you introduce Jeongin to him.
"Nice to meet you!" Hyunjin courteously says as he holds his hand out to Jeongin.
"Nice to meet you!" Jeongin says back as he shakes his hand.
"This is Hyunjin, he is Felix's husband, also Aster's dad," you introduce him back to Jeongin.
You can see in Jeongin's eyes that he's putting two and two together and eventually comes to a conclusion.
"Oh?" He keeps his expression in check and quickly recovered, "Aren't you the uh... the anchorman?"
"Yes, I am," Hyunjin replies with a smile.
"Honored to make your acquaintance," Jeongin says with a blushed smile.
"Well, I'm sorry for interrupting your dinner, just wanted to say hi," Hyunjin says with his hand still firmly resting on your shoulder.
"No, that's okay, we're just chatting," You tell him because it seems like he's getting mixed signals from this.
Hyunjin checks the time on his wristwatch, "And I'm late for movie night."
"Oh, please send my love for Aster," you say.
"Will do," Hyunjin says, he then looks at Jeongin, "Have a great night!"
"You too!" You say, placing your hand on his before he takes it away.
The two of you decided to call it a night not long after Hyunjin left and since your car is in the shop, Jeongin insists on giving you a lift home, you cave in almost immediately because you don't feel like taking a bus home.
"Thank you for the help by the way," Jeongin says as he keeps one hand on the steering wheel and the other rests on the center panel.
"No worries," you say while holding your purse on your lap, "I'm sure Aster will love it."
"I trust you on that," he briefly glances at you to flash you a soft smile, "bubba? Isn't it?"
"What?"
"That's what they called you," He shortly answers.
"Yes, I think it's Aster who started it and everyone in the house decided to call me that ever since," you explain.
"I think that's cute," Jeongin comments, seamlessly making a right turn to where your house is and stopping the car.
You unbuckle your safety belt first and then sling the strap of your bag to your shoulder, you turn your head to the side to be greeted by his foxy eyes, shining even under the dim light of the car.
"Thank you for the ride home," you mutter your gratitude.
"I should be the one thanking you for the help," he says back, turning his body to look at you.
"Well, then, you're very welcome," you reply.
The silence only builds tension in the car and you know you should get out of the car soon if you don't want the tension to keep on rising. You pull the handle to unlock the car door and push it open.
"Goodnight, Jeongin!" You mutter a second before you get out of the car.
"Goodnight!" He says back with a scintillating smile.
-
The best part of Hyunjin's day will always be coming home to his family and seeing their faces light up when they see him.
Tonight, Hyunjin comes home to find Felix and Aster lying on the sofa bed, watching a movie with a big bowl of popcorn on Felix's lap. None of them notice him coming until he stands next to the TV.
"You said you were on the way like an hour ago," Felix says with slightly unamused face.
"I'm sorry," Hyunjin says with his hands raised in defeat.
"It's not our fault that you missed the first 20 minutes of Cars," Felix says.
Hyunjin puts his briefcase down and takes his suit jacket off before joining them on the sofa bed. He shares a kiss with his husband first then a kiss on the head for the little one.
"Oh, no, I missed a lot of it," he says with a pout as he pays attention to the movie playing on the TV.
Aster remains unbothered by Hyunjin's ferocious little kisses on his head and cheek, he's so focused on watching his favorite movie and shoving popcorn into his small mouth.
"Can daddy have some of that, bubba?" Hyunjin softly asks, opening his mouth for him.
Aster picks up a piece and feeds it to Hyunjin but before it gets into his mouth, he brings it toward him and eats it.
"Oh?" Hyunjin exclaims in confusion, "That's not very nice, Aster."
Felix laughs witnessing it and gently pats the little one's head, "Aster, that's not very nice."
As a way to get back to him, Hyunjin wraps his arms around Aster to keep him still as he places ticklish kisses on his stomach, sending him into a series of laughter.
"Daddy, I think we need some refreshments," Felix says.
Hyunjin takes a handful of popcorn and eats it from his hand, "You guys started the movie night without me and now I have to make drinks?"
Felix nonchalantly shrugs, "Well, you were late. This is your punishment."
"Why am I punished?" Hyunjin argues, squinting his eyes at Felix.
Felix shrugs again and puts his hand in Aster's hair, "What do you think about hot chocolate, Aster?"
"Hot choccie," he mumbles instead of answering Felix's question.
"With marshmallows, yeah?"
"Marshmallows," Aster repeats.
Hyunjin sighs and relents, "Okay then, how many marshmallows do you want?"
"Three," Aster eagerly answers.
"Use your fingers," Hyunjin orders.
"Three," he says again but he holds up his five fingers at him.
"Hot choccie with marshmallow, okay but daddy wants a kiss first," Hyunjin demands, pursing his lips at him and asking for a kiss.
Aster slowly leans in and gives him a slobbering peck on the lips. Hyunjin scrunches his nose as he tastes the grease from the popcorn butter from the kiss.
"That's a very salty kiss but okay..." Hyunjin gets up from the sofa bed and loosened the tie around his collar, "Two hot choccies with marshmallows coming right up!"
Aster doesn't make it to the end of the movie, he falls asleep on Hyunjin's lap and he holds him close as he continues watching the movie with the volume turned low.
"I met bubba at the restaurant today," Hyunjin shares with his hand tirelessly brushing Aster's hair.
Felix glances away from the TV to look at him, "Yeah?"
"Mmh," Hyunjin answers, "She was with the new neighbor."
"Ooh..." Felix coos and picks up his mug, "Did they seem like they're on a date?"
"I think so," Hyunjin doubtfully answers.
"I think they'll make a cute couple," Felix remarks after taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
Hyunjin hesitates to share another thing about the encounter but if there's someone he can share everything with, it's Felix.
"And I accidentally eavesdropping on their conversation," he admits.
Felix looks at him in disbelief, "You nosy!" He playfully remarks and touches the tip of his nose with his finger.
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Hyunjin defends himself.
"Okay, I believe you and now you don't have any other options but to tell me what you eavesdrop," Felix says, putting away his mug to put all of his focus on the conversation.
"She was telling him about her plan, saying that she got a job offer in the city," Hyunjin shares.
The glints in Felix's eyes dim almost immediately and his voice drops, "Oh?"
Knowing that he needs comfort, Hyunjin puts his arm around Felix's shoulder and pulls him close to his side, "We can get a new sitter if you want or I could—"
"You know we don't need a new sitter. I hired her because I like her," Felix says with a sour expression.
"I like her too," Hyunjin keeps his tone low and soft, his hand gently massaging Felix's shoulder.
Felix rests his head on Hyunjin's shoulder, "and we'll never find someone like her again," he sadly says.
"I know, baby," Hyunjin says, pressing a sweet kiss on his forehead and turning his head for a chaste kiss on his lips, "But you know we can't keep her here."
Something has just registered into Felix and he gets hit by a wave of sadness. As much as he wants to keep you here, he can't and shouldn't. You have a whole life ahead of you and he can't keep you from living your life to the fullest.
"It's going to be okay, love," Hyunjin murmurs with another kiss on his forehead.
-
It's a habit for Felix to roll into Hyunjin's side and cuddle him when he first comes to his wake. When he's ready to start the day, he plants a close kiss on Hyunjin's neck and gets up from the bed.
It's an exciting day and Felix can't wait to wake his little one. He quietly pushes the door to his bedroom and turns up the brightness of the lights in his room.
"Good morning, birthday boy!" Felix cheerily says as he peers down into his crib.
Aster is half awake from how he keeps tossing around in his crib, disoriented and disheveled.
"Still sleepy, mmh?" Felix softly asks with a tender caress on his cheek.
Aster rubs his eyes as he looks up at his dad with his big, innocent eyes and a simple thing like this is enough to melt his heart.
"You want to take a few more minutes of sleep, mmh?"
Aster may not say anything but he slowly gets up, standing up in his crib, and holds his arms out at Felix, asking him to lift him.
His best mate, Mandu, barks at the sight of Aster coming out of the crib and starts to circle Felix's feet with his tail wagging behind him.
"Calm down, there, Mandu!" Felix orders as he carries Aster in his arms then slowly sits down on the carpeted floor.
Mandu wastes no time but jumps onto Felix's lap, joining Aster and wanting to play with him.
"You're two years old now," Felix says, slightly in disbelief that his son is already two now and no longer a baby.
"Two," he mumbles.
"Are you excited for your birthday party, bub?" Felix asks as he brushes his matted hair.
Aster doesn't fully understand what birthday means and only hums his answer as he pets Mandu and nuzzles their heads together.
"There'll be balloons, presents. There'll be a birthday cake," Felix speaks while rocking him on his lap from side to side.
"Cake?"
"Yes, your birthday cake with sprinkles and candles on it."
"Choccie sauce?"
Felix raises his eyebrow at that, "You want choccie sauce on your birthday cake?"
"Choccie sauce in milk," he says, talking off-topic.
"Oh, you want choccie sauce in your milk for breakfast?" Felix guesses he's talking about what he wants for breakfast.
"Uh-huh," he nods.
"With pancakes?"
"Toast with jam," he says as he looks up at him, wide-eyed.
"Okay, but first, we have to brush your teeth and then wake Daddy up," he says.
Hyunjin is still peacefully sleeping, lying on his stomach with his face planted onto the pillow, only the side of his face is visible. Felix puts Aster down next to him and lets him wake his daddy up his way.
Aster crawls over to him, placing slobbering kisses on Hyunjin's cheek and then using his fingers to play with his plush lips.
"Daddy!" Aster calls with a slap on his shoulder.
Hyunjin peeks through the corner of his eyes and then pretends to sleep again, he puts his hand on his stomach and tickles him. As a way to get back to him, Aster climbs onto Hyunjin's back and bounces on it with his hands tugging at his hair. Getting no reaction from him, Aster licks his cheek.
"Aster, that's not very nice," Hyunjin groans with his voice muffled by the pillow.
In a swift move, Hyunjin turns over on the bed and sends Aster falling to the side, he is having a laughing fit as Hyunjin tickles his stomach.
Hyunjin eventually lets go to let him breathe and pulls him to his side, holding him close as he places an affectionate kiss on his cheek.
"Happy birthday, beautiful boy!" Hyunjin sweetly mutters. He gets cuteness aggression from how oblivious he is about his birthday and presses another kiss on his squishy cheek. Noticing that Felix just watching on the edge of the bed, Hyunjin outstretches his hand at him and says, "Come here, my baby."
Felix softly smiles and joins them on the bed with Aster lying in between him and Hyunjin. Hyunjin puts his hand over Aster to reach for Felix's hand and then laces them together.
"What should we do, baby?" Hyunjin asks him.
"What?" Felix asks in utter confusion.
"Our Aster is a big boy now," Hyunjin says with a faint, sad smile.
"And he'll keep on getting bigger," Felix says with a wistful sigh.
Birthday makes them realize how much time has flown and how time keeps slipping away from their fingers, and that's the thing about birthdays: realizing that everyone around you is getting older too.
-
It feels weird to come dressed so nicely, not that you didn't dress properly before but you wear this nice dress and you got your hair styled, you even put some make-up on.
You ring the bell even though you can just let yourself in like usual but you're a guest and this is how you come as a guest.
Through the window, you can see that Felix is coming to open the door and you hurriedly put on a smile.
"Oh, you're here!" He says with a delighted gasp, looking rather a little surprised to see you outside the door.
Felix doesn't hesitate to pull you into a hug. He pulls away the next moment and then takes a step back.
"And looking so gorgeous!" He takes your hand, lifting it in the air to give you a spin.
You can feel the genuineness in his compliment as his eyes shine in the same warmth as his words and your cheeks are heating, flustered from his words.
"Thank you, Felix," you say with a shy smile.
Another moment passes as he can't stop staring at you and he somehow snaps himself out of it, turning his head toward the house.
"Aster, bubba is here and she looks so pretty!" He announces to everyone inside the house.
You're getting even more embarrassed that he shouts it into the house and not long after, you can hear the sound of Aster's footsteps along with his squeals. He looks at you with eyes wide and gleaming like two clear marbles.
"Doesn't bubba look pretty?" Felix asks.
"Bubba pretty," Aster mumbles with a nod of agreement.
Even though he doesn't really understand what he's saying and only repeating his dad's words to you, his compliment tugs at your heartstrings.
"Thank you, cutie," you coo, squatting down to hug him.
You notice that Aster is already dressed as well and even has his shoes on, "What are you wearing Aster?"
He looks at his dad for help and you catch Felix mouthing the word to him, "Overalls," he mumbles.
"I think you look nice," you say, fixing his hair by combing it with your fingers.
"I'm cute," he says with a nod and a grin that shows his two bunny teeth, making you and Felix burst into laughter.
"You are cute," you compliment again and press a quick kiss on his fluffy, bouncy cheek, "Aster, the cutest."
You scoop him into your arms as you follow Felix walk further inside and see through the glass doors that the backyard is already decorated with colorful balloons, there's a tent and a bouncy castle with the theme of Aster's favorite cartoon characters.
"Oh, Aster, it really is your birthday," you coo as you give him a gentle pat on the head, slightly jealous that he is one lucky kid and not aware of it.
"Bubba is here!" Hyunjin beams from the second floor.
"Hi, Mr. Hwang," you playfully greet him, knowing he doesn't like to be addressed by that.
Hyunjin ignores it this time and descends the stairs with his loyal follower, Mandu, leading the way, "And looking stunning too!"
"You clean up pretty good as well, sir!" You compliment back with a grin.
"Stop flirting!" Felix jokingly says with his hands planted on each side of his waist, "Honey, I need you to take Aster because I need bubba in the kitchen."
"Alright," Hyunjin rushes to you and then takes Aster from you.
The birthday party has come to a peak in the afternoon, you don't even have to watch for Aster, he's having fun with the other kids playing inside the tent. The adults are having a blast as well, eating the food Felix has prepared and thoroughly enjoying it.
"I think I came at the right time," Jeongin says, catching you getting out of the house with a tray of food.
"Oh, hi!" You greet, keeping the tray steady in your hands, "Mini burgers?"
"Maybe later?" he kindly refuses.
Felix rushes to you and grabs you by the elbow, "Come on bub! Help me with the cake!"
He drags you into the house, not giving you a chance to say something to Jeongin before leaving.
As you and Felix bringing the cake out of the house with utmost care and cautiousness. Felix has outdone himself, he puts everything in him to make the best birthday cake for his dear son. You feel a little nervous with the fear of your foot stumbling at something haunting the back of your head.
Thankfully, Hyunjin has already gathered everyone and no child is running around that would cause the worst of your nightmare.
Aster gets excited the second the candles are lit and everyone is singing for him, he can't stay still Hyunjin has to hold him close to his chest.
"Happy birthday dear Aster!" Everyone shouts in unison right before he blows the candles along with his parents. "Yay!" Aster joyfully cheers and claps his hands together from successfully doing it in one try.
Everyone bursts into laughter seeing his reaction to it and you can see how loved and cherished he is by everyone around him. You're beyond happy for him but inside, you feel a little sentimental seeing how much he's grown and you took part in raising him, even if it's just a small part of it.
"Happy birthday, my little man," you wish him with a kiss on each of his cheeks and a tight, warm hug.
The kids take turns to get a piece of the birthday cake and run away once they get it. You secure a piece for Jeongin as an apology for not properly welcoming him to the party earlier.
"I saved you a piece," you playfully say as you hand him the plate.
"Thank you very much!" Jeongin beams a smile at you as he takes it.
"Unfortunately, we only serve apple juice but I'll try to get us something stronger," you offer, leaving him for a minute to get cans of soda from the fridge and rejoin him on the table.
"I appreciate it," he says, popping it open with one hand. "Cheers!" You both exclaim at the same time and then sip it.
The kids are nowhere close to tired from running and playing around the backyard which is the opposite of what the adults are feeling, you can see that their energies are slowly drained out just from watching the kids running and playing around.
"How do these kids have so much energy?" Jeongin asks in bewilderment, "Are you sure it's just apple juice?"
"I think one of those kids spiked it with Red Bull," you joke.
"Which one of them?"
"Mmh... let's see," you say, propping a hand under your chin as you watch the kids jumping into the bouncy castle, "I'm pretty sure it's that blonde kid with the bowl-cut hair."
"No," Jeongin disagrees, he points at the girl playing in the sandbox, "I think it's the girl with the space buns."
You burst into laughter and almost spill your drink holding it in.
"What?" He looks at you in confusion.
"How do you know they're called space buns?"
"Why? It's a piece of general knowledge," he defends himself then sips his drink again.
"Okay, yeah, sure," you nonchalantly say with a sly grin.
"Anyway, with the job offer..." Jeongin says as he puts his can on the table, "Does it mean that you'll quit babysitting Aster?"
The soda gets caught in your throat as you hear his question and you quickly clear your throat to answer him, "Yes."
Jeongin nods and looks at you, "Would you say yes if I asked you on a date? You know, hypothetically," he says with a quivering laugh.
"Oh..." you don't mean to drag your word and give him the impression that you're likely to reject him. It's not rejection when he knows the possibility of it continuing from one date to another is low.
"I would love to but it's just... it's not you, I swear, it's just..." you nervously say while fiddling with the lint on the hem of your dress.
"Bad timing?" Jeongin precisely guesses.
You stifle a nod, "I'm sorry," you mutter.
"Hey, no worries. I'll just meet you here under the thinly veiled that I'm the neighbor across the street," Jeongin playfully says with his dimpled smile, making you feel the slightest bit guilty about rejecting him.
It's a kid's birthday party so it ends before the day gets dark. Other than that, the birthday boy himself is tired from skipping his nap and falls asleep on Hyunjin's lap. Seeing that either Hyunjin or Felix has to send the guests off their way, you offer to take Aster inside and tuck him in for bed.
Aster must be so tired that he doesn't stir a bit as you wipe him clean with a damp towel and put him into his sleeping suit all while he's soundly sleeping.
"Sweet dreams, birthday boy," you softly mutter with a tender caress on his cheek.
You put Poppo next to him before quietly leaving the room, making your way back downstairs with a contented feeling from a day that ended well.
Unbeknownst to you, the day is not over yet.
"There she is!" Hyunjin beams from the base of the stairs.
"What? What's wrong?" You ask in confusion as you carefully walk down the stairs.
It's when you finally arrive downstairs and turn toward the kitchen you see Felix carrying another cake for you.
"I made another cake for you," Felix says with a smile.
The cake size is identical to Aster's birthday cake but it has a different color of icing, it's lilac with sugar pearls around it and there are candles on it too.
"Come here!" Felix says, putting the cake down on the dining table.
"Come on!" Hyunjin appears behind you and steers you by the shoulders to the dining table.
"Is it really for me?" You ask in disbelief.
"Yes, bub," Felix shortly answers as he's lighting the candles, "to celebrate you graduating soon!"
It's endearing that they're planning all this just to celebrate graduating and you're not even officially graduated yet. You feel so appreciated and cherished, more importantly, these people make you feel like you're a member of the family.
"This is so sweet," you coo, feeling so touched by the gesture.
"Shh... blow the candles," Felix says with a hand resting on the small of your back.
You treat it as a it's your own birthday, closing your eyes and making a wish, wishing it from deep within your heart, and as you blow the candles, you manifest it into the universe.
"Congratulations on graduating, bub!" Felix mutters with a smile and pulls you into a warm hug, then places a kiss on your cheek before letting go.
"Congratulations, bubba!" Hyunjin takes his turn to hug you, also placing a sweet kiss on your cheek.
"We actually have a gift for you to go with this but this man right here," Felix points at Hyunjin with a side eye, "forgot to pick it up."
"Oh, no, please, this is more than enough," you say with a grateful smile.
"Let's have a slice!" Felix hands you the knife but you can't bring yourself to cut it. Not only because it's too beautiful to eat, it means a lot more than just a cake.
You look at Felix and wince, "Can I at least take a few pictures first?"
Felix cracks a laugh, "Sure. It's your cake."
"I'll get us drinks," Hyunjin says, excusing himself to leave to get it, "Real drinks!"
The cake is sliced, the champagne is poured and well distributed, and the three of you kick off the after-party with a toast. After a sip of bubbly wine, you take a bite of the cake and gosh, it's just as delicious as it looks.
"Now, this feels like my birthday!" You jokingly say with a grin.
"So... what's the plan?" Felix hesitantly asks as he puts away his plate of cake.
"Pardon?"
"Your plan after graduating?"
You've been meaning to tell them but keep refraining yourself, you're afraid that you'll make them feel like you're betraying them but it has come the time to come clean.
"Not too long ago, I got this job offer from a firm in the city," you share.
"Oh?" Felix's voice drops as if he's hearing something that he doesn't want to hear.
This is why you hate to bear this news and as much as you hate to continue, you have to tell them the rest of it, "I'll move away to the city soon."
"We're so happy to hear that, bub," Hyunjin says with a big, exaggerated smile and pulls Felix close to his side.
"I'm sorry if this sounded so sudden. With Aster's birthday and everything, I just haven't had the chance to tell you until now," you explain, feeling the weight pressing on your chest.
After a while, Felix looks at you and smiles at you, "No need to worry bub. We're happy for you and we fully support you," he assures you but you can hear the sheer sadness lingering in his voice.
"I'm sorry," you say once again with utmost sincerity.
"Stop apologizing!" Felix scolds you and pulls you for another hug, "I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you," you earnestly say as you hug him back.
"I mean, we still have two months before I leave," you add in an effort to cheer him up.
"For now, more champagne, please daddy?" Felix says, ordering Hyunjin to refill everyone's glasses with more wine.
As everyone moved on past the sentimental part of it, the private party continues and you've been secretly mustering up the courage to ask them something.
"Do you guys perhaps have a date night next week?" You shyly ask.
Felix looks at Hyunjin and sighs, "It depends on this guy right here," he says with yet another side eye.
"Why do you ask?" Hyunjin asks, elegantly cutting the cake with a fork.
"I want to join your date night," you bravely answer.
On a few occurrences, they asked if you wanted to join their date night and either they were joking or being serious, you felt bad for rejecting them. However this time, you dare to ask them because this is what you want.
"Well... we can arrange something for that," Felix says as he exchanges glances with Hyunjin.
Hyunjin repeatedly nods and holds his wine glass by its stem, "It'll be fun."
You pick up your wine glass and smile at both of them, then say, "Can't wait."
-
The last time you had a proper date was nearly two years ago and you forgot how intense it could be, you can't decide on which dress to wear or the make-up you put on is too much, or do you apply too much perfume? Every decision you have to make feels like life or death.
You can move past it by reminding yourself that both Hyunjin and Felix have seen you, they know what you look like on both good and bad days, and you're sure they will like you no matter what.
By the time you're ready, you take a look at yourself in the mirror and you're not going to lie, you like what you see and it gives you a boost of confidence.
"That's right. I look good, I have nothing to worry about," you say to the reflection in the mirror that looks back at you.
However, when your mum informs you that Hyunjin is outside to pick you up, the nerves come back and are stronger than before.
"I hope you don't mind we're borrowing her for the night," Hyunjin playfully says to your mum as he helps you get into the car.
"You can take her and not return it, I'll be fine with it," your mum says to him.
Your mum knows Hyunjin and Felix well because the babysitting job initially came to her before it got to you. For tonight, you told her that they're taking you on a dinner out to celebrate your graduation, and no other questions asked after that.
"Bye, Mum!" You say with a wave of hand.
Hyunjin gets into the car afterward and he immediately turns to look at you, "I obviously waited until I got in the car to say this but you look lovely tonight, bub," he sweetly compliments.
"Thank you," you say as you put on your safety belt.
It doesn't take long to get to their house and you feel nervous again, mostly because you came for a different reason. Not for work, but purely for pleasure.
One weekend every month, Aster stays with his grandparents per their requests which explains why he is very fond of them. It seems like they chose this weekend to send Aster to his grandparents.
"Felix has been keeping himself busy in the kitchen," Hyunjin mutters before opening the front door for you.
"Not less than I expected," you say.
It's no surprise that Felix is going over the top for tonight. It was supposed to be a simple dinner but he outdone himself by adding flowers and candles, shiny cutlery, and fancy wine glasses.
"Just in time!" Felix beams as soon as he sees you enter the house.
"Hi," you greet, unbuttoning your coat with one hand, and then Hyunjin helps take it off your shoulders.
"Is that really you, bub?" Felix exclaims, his eyes shine as he lays his eyes on you as if he's seeing something wondrous.
Flustered, you put your hands close to your side and avoid his eyes, "It's just a dress," you sheepishly say.
"Well, dinner is ready so please take a seat!" Felix says while coming around and getting behind the kitchen island.
Hyunjin does more actions than talking, he goes to the dining table and pulls a chair for you, "Please!" He says with an elegant wave of hand.
Not that they never treated you this nicely but still, it feels a little weird to be treated this way as if you're... special. Deep down, you know you like it, you're just not used to it.
Felix takes care of the food and Hyunjin takes care of the drinks, both of them insist you do not do anything except sit and enjoy the dinner.
The dinner is beyond anything you ever had, it's even better than the one you had at the finest restaurant. Maybe it feels that way before they're made by Felix and your palate is used to his cooking.
"Compliments to the chef!" You praise as you finish the last course of the dinner.
"I'm glad you liked it," Felix says with a smile.
"Liked it?" You ask in disbelief, "I loved it!"
As expected, Felix refuses your help to collect the dirty dishes and take them to the kitchen. He makes you wait on the sofa as Hyunjin goes to take a new bottle of wine.
"Now it's time for more wine!" Hyunjin announces when he returns, refilling everyone's glasses with white wine this time.
You often wonder what they do at a date night but it's far simpler than what you imagined, just talking in between sips of wine or bites of food, the only difference is the depth and the quality of the talk. The most interesting thing is getting to know them from a whole new perspective.
"Oh, we almost forgot!" Felix gasps as he's just remembered something.
He then glances at Hyunjin and says, "The gift!"
"Yep. Don't worry. I got it," Hyunjin assures him, sprinting to his suit jacket draped on the headrest of the sofa and taking something from the inner pocket, a small, velvety box.
Felix seems to be more excited than you, perhaps he's been anticipating to see your reaction to it. Hyunjin sits on the other side and pulls the lid open.
"We hope you like it," Felix softly says as he places his hand on your knee.
It's a bracelet and you assume it's white gold from how it glimmers under the light, it's dainty and has a small pendant that hangs like a little lucky charm.
"I love it!" You truthfully say with a suppressed squeal.
"Give me your wrist," Hyunjin gently orders and you obey him without questions, holding out your hand at him. You watch as he puts the bracelet around your wrist and clasps it together.
"There!" He says with a soft smile that makes his eyes form two crescents.
You take a moment to admire how it looks around your waist and how the shiny gold reflects the lights to your eyes, "It's beautiful. Thank you!" You sincerely say to both of them.
"You're very welcome, my love!" Felix says, putting his arm around your shoulder to pull you close.
Using the proximity to your advantage, you lean in and press a kiss on his lips. It catches him off guard that he's stiffened for a second and when it finally registered to him, he returns the kiss.
"Hey, what about me? I'm the one who picked up the gift," Hyunjin says, suddenly feeling left out.
"Thank you, Hyunjin," You say with a chuckle, purposely addressing him by his name to amuse him.
He doesn't wait for you to lean in, he puts his hand on your chin and turns your head his way, and then slowly, he leans in to kiss you.
The moment his lips melt on yours, all of your senses are going out of the window but one thing that your brain demands is more of that kiss and so Felix fulfills that for you, planting kisses on your neck.
A low moan escapes your mouth as you feel the softness of their lips leaving searing kisses on your exposed skin and their hands exploring your clothed body with utmost gentleness.
As you take a moment to breathe, Felix drags his lips to your neck while Hyunjin playfully nibbles on your ear with his teeth faintly tugging at it, it feels ticklish yet inexplicably arouses you.
"You smell really good, babe," Felix murmurs with his lips grazing the sensitive skin on the column of your throat.
Hyunjin captures your lips in a hungry kiss, not giving you a chance to respond to Felix's words. His hand trails the curve of your body and continues its way down south. Your legs reflexively pressed together as his hand inches closer to where the heat is but Felix halts it, catching his hand just before it gets to its destination.
"Let's take it to the bedroom first," Felix says to Hyunjin with his lips red, swollen, and wet.
It could be the wine or simply those kisses are so dizzying that you're staggering as you get on your feet. Fortunately, Hyunjin is quick to hold you and keeps you steady by putting his arm around your waist.
"Want to take a sobriety test first?" He jokingly asks.
"Oh, my God! It was just a bottle of wine," you answer with a sassy eye roll.
They choose the guest bedroom for two reasons, it's closer and it's where you usually sleep when you need to stay over. The lights are low, there are rose petals on the bed and on the other part of the room, Hyunjin lighting some candles to create an even more intimate ambiance in the room.
As you take it in, Felix hugs you from the back and then presses a soft kiss on your neck before resting his head on your shoulder.
"You know that you're our special girl, right?" He lowly speaks but with his deep voice, it feels as if he's speaking right through your soul.
"Our very own special girl," Hyunjin says as he gives you a rose.
You bring the flower close to your nose to inhale its sweet, distinct aroma and smile.
"I know," you answer.
A smile blooms on Hyunjin's angular face as he comes up to you and you think he's about to kiss you until he misses your lips to kiss Felix.
"You may be our special girl but my husband is the most special," Hyunjin says without the slightest bit of doubt.
You don't feel offended at all by that, if anything, you feel special just from being allowed to be a part of their relationship.
"That's fair," you say with a chuckle.
As he kisses Felix more, Hyunjin comes closer to hug his husband with you in between until there is no an inch left between your bodies. Instead of feeling jealous like you used to, you feel warm all over as if the love they have for each other seeps into you.
They can't seem to ignore you for long though, they put their attention on you again. Behind you, Felix swiftly pulls down the zipper of your dress and impatiently parts it open so he can place kisses on it while Hyunjin keeps your lips busy with his deep, hungry kisses.
It's all happening so fast that the next thing you know, the dress is off of your body and pooling around your ankle, and you're standing with just your underwear in between them.
Using his knuckles, Felix whimpers as he drags them down your spine, feeling how soft it feels under his touch, and gets the urge to explore more by unclasping your bra next.
"Ah..." you softly sigh as the bra is snapped open.
Felix pulls the straps down your shoulders and Hyunjin's eyes grow darker as the bra is finally off of you, exposing your soft mounds to him.
Felix's hands are the first to indulge in them, cupping them until the flesh molds into his hands. His fingers occasionally circling on your hardening buds and then he holds them up for Hyunjin to feast on.
"Take them in your mouth, love," Felix orders him.
Without words, Hyunjin obeys him, taking your breasts into his mouth in turns.
"Oh—" you suppress your moan as Felix pushes both of your breasts to the center so Hyunjin can take them both at once.
The sight of his plush lips wrapped around your nipples is arousing as it is but oh, it's seeing his slick, hot tongue twirling your nipples that make your eyes roll to the back, all the while Felix placing hot kisses all over your neck and shoulder.
Felix eventually let go of your breasts, he's gliding his hands down your sides and makes a trail of kisses down your spine, he doesn't stop until he's kneeling on the floor and starts kissing and sucking on the flesh on your ass cheeks.
"Oh, my God..." you heavily sigh, feeling overwhelmed with how many stimulations going on at once.
Hyunjin with his greedy mouth on your breasts and Felix with his ferocious bites on your ass, these two attractive people are feasting on your body and it's just the beginning.
A moment later, Hyunjin follows suit and goes down on you. You look down and watch as they're eating you from the front and back with their hands intertwined on the side of your thighs, it's romantic yet kinky as fuck.
Your underwear is drenched from both your essence and Hyunjin's saliva. Your eyes are fluttering open and shut. Your legs are trembling from the pleasure building up inside you.
Felix notices that you're getting unsteady and quickly puts his hands on your back
"Shall we take it to bed, mmh?" He doesn't wait for your answer but steers you to the bed, letting you sit on the edge of the bed.
Giving you a moment to gather your senses, Hyunjin and Felix are taking each other's clothes off with eyes locked in an intense gaze until there's nothing left but their heavenly bodies on show.
Your brain can't comprehend their beauty and their sculpted Greek God body. You can only watch in awe as their lips meet in a rapturous kiss and if you have to be honest, you can keep watching them making out in front of you for eternity.
After a moment though, you change your mind. You don't want to be a mere watcher, you want to get yourself in there and take part in it. You take the initiative to kneel in between them and take their hardening members in your hands. You begin by slowly stroking them at a steady pace and when you're ready, you take them into your mouth in turns.
At times, you bring their tips together and lick them together, taking as much as you can into your mouth.
"Such a good girl," Hyunjin murmurs with a pat on your head, seeing your mouth full of his cock and at the same time, pumping Felix's cock with your hand.
Felix looks down and puts his hand in your hair, "I told you. She's a fast learner," he says.
They decide that it's your turn next, they make you get back on the bed and lay on your back. With a sly smile on his face, Felix parted your legs open, making you feel more exposed than you already are.
"Just lay back, okay bub?" Felix says with a smile.
With his hand holding your leg by the ankle, he dives into your wetness and skillfully pleases you with his hot mouth. Doesn't want to feel left out, Hyunjin patiently waits for his turn to plant his mouth on you next. You glance down and see their heads hanging between your legs, their mouth glistening wet and their lips flushing red.
The pleasure keeps building up and you lose track of whose turn it is because they are as skillful and offering you the same amount of pleasure. They only stop when they deem you're already on the edge and then give you a moment to recollect your senses to get you ready for next.
Hyunjin and Felix lay on each side of you on the bed, lips locked, hands all over and skin brushes against the skin. They may have tuned it down a little but the tension keeps on rising.
"How are you so soft, mmh?" Hyunjin asks with his mouth only inches away from your ear and his hand gently pinching the squishy flesh on your stomach.
"Can't stop touching you, bub," he murmurs with his hand going down south to touch you on your delicate flesh, gently rubbing on your bundle of nerves until it blossoms under his touch.
Felix turns your head his way so he can kiss you, kisses you so deep that your body eventually molds against him and your back meets Hyunjin's chest.
"Oh, yes, baby," Hyunjin mutters, not sure if he's saying that to you or Felix, or both. One thing for sure is he's enjoying the view.
Hyunjin lays on his side and then lifts your back, drapes your upper leg the back, and over his hips, that way he can rub his cock in your wetness.
"Mmh... so wet," Hyunjin's voice is muffled as he speaks with his mouth pressed on your shoulder.
As he rubs his cock between your wet folds, you can feel every inch of his length, swollen and hot, so ready for you and at the same time, making you feel impatient to have it inside you.
You turn your head and bravely ask for what you want from him, "Want you inside," you say to his face.
Instead of looking surprised, Hyunjin shows a satisfied expression as if he's been waiting for you to say that. He hastily kisses your lips and keeps his face close to yours.
"Want it inside, huh?"
"Uh-huh," you answer with an eager nod.
"You heard the girl, babe," Felix says, leisurely laying on your side with a hand propped under his head.
Hyunjin softly laughs and presses you another haste kiss while his hand aims his cock into your entrance, teasing it for a little bit while lubing his length with your arousal.
"Ready to take me?" He asks with a wicked grin plastered on his face.
But that is just a rhetorical question, he doesn't need your answer to push his cock inside you to fulfill your wish.
"Oh..." you grip his forearm as he pushes more of him into you.
Next to you, Felix's eyes are centered on Hyunjin's cock, and watches it going into you little by little while slowly stroking his cock.
"You're always tight for me, bub," he murmurs.
Hyunjin abruptly stops pushing and places his hand on the dip of your waist. It seems like he's taking this moment for himself to calm himself down and take a breather.
After a while, he asks you, "More, yeah?"
"Yes, please," you say but it comes out more like a whine at how small and needy you sounded.
Hyunjin has no other intention but to give you what you want, putting the rest of his length into you in one quick push, making you jolt against his body and tightly grip his forearm your nails dug into the flesh.
"You feel so good I need a moment just to compose myself," Hyunjin mutters as he rests his hand across your chest.
However, a moment only lasts for a moment and Hyunjin begins thrusting into you from behind, setting a slow pace to give you more time to adjust to being inside each other.
Felix refuses to be a mere spectator, he turns and lays upside down next to you. He uses your thigh as a pillow as he lays on his back and puts his mouth on your clit, unbothered by the fact that Hyunjin's cock is deep inside you.
You also refuse to remain idle when Felix's cock is within kissing distance from yours, you prop your elbows against the mattress and lean in to put it into your mouth, you compensate the rest you can't take with your hand.
The three of you eventually move in sync and soon, the room is filled with all sorts of lewd noises, it's either the skin-slapping sounds of Hyunjin's thrusts, the slurping sounds of Felix licking on your clit or your mouth sloppily sucking on Felix's cock.
"Bub, I won't be able to stop if you keep clenching around me like that," Hyunjin warns through his gritted teeth.
The exceptional dynamic only lasts that long as you abruptly pull Felix's cock out of your mouth but keep your hand wrapped around his length, struggling between gasping for air or moaning out of pleasure.
Hyunjin slows his thrusts but he adds depth and intensity to it, launching his cock deeper into you and continuously hitting you right on the spot thus bringing you closer to your high.
"I'm so close, oh—" your moan gets cut off as Hyunjin thrusts slower but harder. Your hand flies to the back and gets caught in his silky locks.
"Why do you feel so good, oh fuck, I can't—" Hyunjin's voice breaks, also can't hold himself back anymore.
You feel faint the closer you get to your climax and completely lose it as you reach your high, your eyes screwed shut and your body stiffens and softens in the next second.
"Oh!" Hyunjin grunts with his open mouth planted on the nape of your neck, his breath feels hot on your skin. With eyes closed, he manages to find your lips and kisses them.
"I didn't mean to cum inside you, bub," he says against your lips, "I'm sorry."
If he didn't tell you, you wouldn't have noticed that his cock is still planted deep inside you, engorging and pulsating as it releases his seed, which explains the different kind of high you experienced just now.
You take a breath to be able to speak and nod, "That's okay."
"You just feel so good. I can't control myself," He openly admits.
"It's okay," you assure him.
He wraps his arms around you and holds you close, he buries his head in the crook of your neck, enveloping you both in a warm embrace.
When he's ready, he slowly pulls out of you and looks down to see his cum dripping out of you. So is Felix, his eyes widen at the sight of it that he takes a big gulp of air.
"Oh, I cum a lot," Hyunjin says, his hand tenderly rubbing your inner thigh.
"I got it, love," Felix says with an easy smile.
You're clueless as to what he meant by that until Felix leans in and licks Hyunjin's essence off of you, he then plants his mouth on your cunt and sucks deeper as if he tries to take as much Hyunjin's remnants out of you. You're already overstimulated as it is but that doesn't mean you stop receiving pleasure from it.
When he lifts his face, Felix's mouth and chin are glistening wet with mixed fluids, of your and Hyunjin's essence, and also his saliva.
"That's better," Felix says with a satisfied smile.
Hyunjin smiles before pressing a haste kiss on his lips and cleaning his mouth and chin in kitten licks.
"More wine?" Hyunjin offers out of the blue.
After all of that, you think it's the right time to take a break and have some wine to quench your thirst from the cardio and constant moaning.
"Yes, please," you breathlessly respond as you lay on your back, exhausted.
Hyunjin has no problems walking out of the room fully naked to get a bottle of wine. You and Felix wait on the bed, lying next to each other, also naked.
"You know what? We should have asked the cute neighbor to join us," Felix shares all of a sudden.
"What's with this random thought?" You ask in disbelief, hugging a pillow close to your chest.
"I don't know. It just crossed my head," Felix innocently says.
"Don't tell me you've been thinking of another guy as we were doing it?" You say with a look of disbelief.
"Uhm... maybe," He jokingly answers.
You gently slap his chest and you don't expect his chest muscles to be that firm.
"Get it together!" You scold him.
"What did I miss?" Hyunjin returns with a bottle of wine in hand and glasses in the other.
"Bubba is surprisingly into BDSM," Felix jokingly responds.
"No!" You hastily deny and land another slap on his chest.
"See?" Felix rants with a low laugh.
Hyunjin carefully pours wine into each glass, not wanting to spill a drop on the bed and as usual, everyone has a toast to finally take a sip of it.
"Bub, I must say, you improved a lot," Hyunjin compliments.
"What is that supposed to mean?" You say, slightly embarrassed by it.
"That's true. You're more confident and more responsive, also intuitive," Felix comments.
"I get the impression that you guys are evaluating my performance..." your words trail off as you look at them in the eyes, first at Felix then at Hyunjin.
"Because we are," Hyunjin jokes then sips his wine.
"Don't worry, bub. You did so well!" Felix says with a thumbs-up.
Not going to lie, you feel a boost of confidence hearing that you feel like you accomplished something that you didn't know you were trying to achieve in the first place. Maybe it's because you care about them so much that their opinions matter to you, no matter what they are about.
However, there's one more thing you try to accomplish tonight.
First, you finish your second round of wine and put the glass away. The alcohol helps you to loosen up and gives you the courage to ask.
"Can I be on top next?"
The question seems to shock Hyunjin more than it does to Felix, he forces swallow his drink and gasps for air.
"Are you saying you want to do it again? Right away?" Hyunjin asks in disbelief while Felix is slyly smiling at you.
"Why? Are you tired?" You say in a mocking tone.
Felix bursts out laughing and rolls over to lay on his stomach, "Ooh... who is this girl?"
"I don't know but, love..." Hyunjin pauses to turn his head toward Felix, "I think we found our match."
-
It's not easy as you thought but you asked for it.
Fortunately, both Felix and Hyunjin have been nothing but letting you do anything as you please. They don't mind being ordered around by you.
"Ooh... I really like the view," Felix says as you get on top of him.
He's seen you naked a couple of times but it only takes Felix one compliment to make you flustered.
"Come. Bring it in!" He says, holding up his arms at you and asking for a kiss.
You give it to him, lowering yourself until your lips meet in a kiss that somehow feels a lot more intimate than the previous ones you shared.
It's your first time being on top which also makes you the one with more control. You feel nervous because what if you're doing it wrong? What if he doesn't enjoy it? What if, what if, what if...
As if he heard it, Felix tenderly caresses your cheek and brushes your hair away from your face, "Just enjoy yourself and know that I'll be enjoying it no matter what," he comforts you.
"Yes," you say with a smile.
Felix's makes its way down to tease you, making you drenched once more to get you ready for him. He doesn't need to do much for that, you're already aroused from how he kisses you so hard but gentle at the same time.
When it comes to the time, you take a deep breath and lift off of him. You give his cock a few slow pumps before aligning it with your entrance.
"Need help with that?" Hyunjin appears from behind you, he checks whether you're aiming it right then places his hands on each side of your waist.
"Now, slowly lower yourself down," he further instructed.
You nod and follow his instruction, lowering yourself down and feeling the tip of Felix's cock enters you. You sigh as you need to take the rest to continue.
"Yes, bub, keep going," Felix encourages, enjoying both the view and the tightness that wrapped around him.
Hyunjin watches from over your shoulder and at times, mutters sweet nothings into your ear.
"Keep going, bub."
"You feel that? Feel how hard he is inside you?"
"Oh, if only you know how good you feel."
Hyunjin shifts his attention to his husband who's lying underneath you, "She feels fucking good, mmh?"
"Oh... so good!" Felix answers without a beat.
Here's the tricky part, you can't decide whether you should bouncing on his cock or rocking your hips back and forth. Again, this is your first time being on top, everything is new to you and you don't know which Felix prefers.
However, you remember what Felix said and remind yourself that all you need to do is enjoy yourself. You let go of inhibitions and insecurities, stop thinking altogether, and start doing.
You move by instinct whichever you feel would bring you the most pleasure and put your mind into it, relax and breathe, and enjoy yourself.
"You're getting too good at it," Felix says with an overwhelmed sigh. He takes your hands and laces them together, letting them be your support as you roll your hips back and forth at a steady pace.
Hyunjin's hands are all over you, kneading your breasts and touching your soft skin. His lips find solace in the crook of your neck, kissing, muttering sweet nothings, or simply just planting his luscious lips there.
You're doing whatever it is that makes you feel good, you change the pace and alternate between rocking or pulsating your hips. You're so into it that you're not noticing how Felix keeps himself quiet anymore, he lets them spill out of his mouth, filling the room with his deep, raw groans.
"You're close, mmh?" Hyunjin asks, squeezing on your breasts and then gently pinches your nipple.
Not sure if he needs your answer or not, but you know he knows.
"No need to hold yourself back, my darling," Hyunjin whispers in the softest tone that feels like a quick gust of wind.
No one tells you that it's going to be this exhausting but damn, you want to keep going and you won't stop until you reach your high.
Hyunjin comes to your aid, guiding your movement, and firmly grips your waist to regain your rhythm as it begins to turn sloppy.
Deep down, you feel selfish for getting yourself closer to your high instead of your partner but you can't help yourself. Your body wants what it wants.
"I'm close, I'm close," you repeatedly say in a mix of a moan and a cry your brain is too foggy to tell the difference.
"Keep going, bub, keep going!" Hyunjin says, giving up on guiding you as you suddenly pick up the pace and go impossibly fast.
"Oh!" You cry out loud, reaching your high that feels more intense than the previous.
You collapse onto Felix and he immediately holds you close while keeping his hips bucking into you to finish it. He doesn't even say anything but turns into a moaning mess as he cum inside you.
The second your head hits the pillow, you mean to rest your eyes for a moment only to fall asleep, blacked out for the rest of the night.
-
The next morning, you find yourself snuggling close to Hyunjin.
It doesn't hit you yet that you're sleeping over at their place and sharing the bed with the owners, oh wait, you turn your head to the side to find Felix's space is empty. He's always been an early bird and is probably busy making breakfast in the kitchen.
You turn your head back at Hyunjin and you realize this is the first time you see him up close, you can see the faint mole under his eyes and the shade of red his lips are. There's only one conclusion: Hyunjin is inarguably beautiful.
As if he senses your observant eyes, Hyunjin steers in his sleep, and knowing how horrible you look right now, you don't want to be the first thing he sees in the morning so you pull the duvet higher, covering half of your face with it.
He forces his eyes open and smiles when he sees you, "Morning," he says with his voice deeper than usual.
"Morning," you meekly say back.
"Where's Felix?"
"I'm pretty sure he's in the kitchen," you answer.
"As expected," he says with a sleepy smile.
Unconsciously, you find yourself staring at him again as he brushes his soft locks to the back and then puts his arm above his head, showcasing his bulging biceps. Unintentionally or not, you enjoy the morning view.
"Stop staring, creep!" He playfully says with a sly smile.
"I'm just curious," you say, still covering your face with the duvet, "Are you always waking up looking this good?"
The question remains unanswered, Hyunjin refuses to answer until he has his first sip of morning coffee and you feel inexplicably hungry, famished even.
"Don't forget your morning after," Felix reminds you, putting the pill and a glass of water in front of you.
"Thank you," you waste no time to take it.
The breakfast is quiet, maybe because everyone is just as famished as you or maybe the caffeine is not kicking in yet, either way, you're enjoying this kind of silence, it's nice and comfortable, the kind that doesn't conjure any questions.
"What time are we going to pick up Aster?" Felix asks as he spreads butter on his toast.
"I don't know. Eleven?" Hyunjin doubtfully answers while holding his mug of coffee with both hands.
"The weather is nice. We should have lunch out," Felix suggests as he puts the buttered toast on your plate, "Do you have any plans for today, lovely?"
"Me?" You ask for confirmation as your brain hasn't fully functioning yet, "I have to drive my mum to her dentist appointment."
"Oh, I was hoping you could join us today," Felix says with sheer disappointment.
You may have spent the night with them and had a date night with them, but you're not ready to cross certain boundaries yet. After all, they're married and at times, you have to remember your place, because you promised yourself not to ruin this precious thing they have. You love this family so much as your own that you get the urge to protect it, including from yourself.
"Maybe next time," you kindly refuse.
"How about next week?" Felix asks, tilting your head and slyly smiling at you.
"What about next week?" You ask in confusion.
Felix loops his fingers around the handle of his coffee mug, "Want to go on another date night with us?"
Okay but for this one? You have to take a moment to consider it but if you have to be honest, it's just too good of an opportunity to pass.
Hyunjin flashes a smile your way and lifts his coffee mug close to his lips, "Same time, next week?"
Last night was fun, last night was thrilling and exciting, and damn it, you crave the rush of it already. Surely, you want to do it all over again so you smile back at him and say, "Same time, next week."
-
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pandoraspurgatory · 2 months ago
Text
MHA Boys Porn Preferences
Haven’t done all the boys here, just some of my favs <3
nsfw, porn, can’t be bothered to list them all but weird stuff
Izuku Midoriya
Izuku was one of those men who started off watching the top most recommended on PH. So for a while there he watched quite a bit of the ‘pool boy’ and ‘pizza delivery guy’ genres. After discovering his tastes he loves hentai, though it has to be a few episodes and plot based. This works against him often, as he gets emotionally attached to the characters.
Katsuki Bakugo
People assume Katsuki watches hardcore BDSM and dom/sub genres. Though that is so far from it! Bakugo watches couple videos, often homemade ones with fuck all views. He’s tried the professional studio made porn but he physically can’t cum from it. He has to watch the couple be in love and intimate. Despite his gruff exterior - Intimacy is his weakness and it’s what he desperately craves.
Shoto Todoroki
I hate to say it, I really do. This man gets off on Mommy ASMR. It started off with wholesome YouTube videos of Mommy girlfriend ASMR to help him relax though very quickly descended into the erotic kind. He wouldn’t ever call a girl ‘Mommy’, though the audios have him weak.
Ejiro Kirishima
Kirishima often finds himself tugging his cock at ‘Muscle Mommys’. He also doesn’t mind toned dudes as well. He isn’t sure whether it’s the fact that it’s so ‘manly’ or he desperately wants to be under a toned and built man. He will figure it out someday
Denki Kaminari
Face fucking!! He loves it, especially when there’s dripping mascara and lots of spit involved. He can watch those videos for hours on end, he’s addicted. Kaminari has even tried a VR face fucking porn video, even though he ended up motion sick. It was in his top 5 best wanks
Tomura Shigaraki
Femdom all the way. He doesn’t like to out any effort into watching porn and imagining stupid scenarios. Tomura will turn off the lights, put on a Femdom Cum Instructions at full volume and obey whatever mistress he’s listening to at that moment. On occasion he will commission a personal femdom video as a treat to himself
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yandere-sins · 13 days ago
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Monstober - Day 9: Folklore Creatures
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Spin on "Little Red Riding Hood" anyone? What could be better than someone so obsessed with you, they simply want to eat you up?
Prompt: Folklore Creatures | Cautionary Tales // Truth // Naivity Warnings: Yandere, Violence (non-main character murder, Blood Mention, Implied Bullying of the reader (off-screen)), Topic of Jealousy, Posessiveness
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"Love you, hun."
Pressing a gentle kiss to your head, your boyfriend got up, stretching his arms high over his head and popping his neck before he got to his feet with a sigh. "Where are you going? Do you really have to leave?" you mumbled, the disappointment unmistakably in your voice. It had been like this for weeks now, where you two spent a passionate night before he slipped out without a trace to find him all day.
"Mhm," he sighed, leaning down to you again to catch your lips once more. "You know how much it pains me, but I got to go before it's too late. Wouldn't want to awaken the monster in me, would you?"
He said it as if it was a challenge, and you giggled, thinking it was just another innuendo. "Wouldn't let me get out of bed, huh?"
"Oh, I'd gobble you up, darling."
Laughing, he stepped away, putting his shirt back on as he dipped into the bathroom of your small apartment real quick. The moment he disappeared from view, you couldn't help your expression from showing the disappointment and frustration you felt. It had been almost a month now, and you two never went out together in the daylight, never saw each other except when he picked you up for a night out in the club or came to watch a movie that was never finished.
It felt more like you were his friend-with-benefits—you didn't even know his last name.
As if you were the other one.
The thought made your blood boil. You weren't proud of it, but in a moment of jealous weakness, you had checked his phone, seeing countless messages where he told people how excited he was to hang out and make appointments with them while he never seemed to do the same for you. It didn't seem like he had another partner in his life, but how could you be sure when he played the role of the mysterious night visitor rather than your wholesome boyfriend?
Was he ashamed of you? Were you not good enough? Did he just keep you around for his entertainment? The questions plagued you as he never gave you a good answer. He wouldn't even entertain the discussions, only vowing that he loved you and his work was very important and took him all day.
So why was he meeting other people then?
There wasn't much time once he said his goodbyes, his kisses nothing short of loving and sweet. For a possible cheater, he was good at what he was doing. You only had a few seconds of self-doubt about what you were going to do before you were out of the door and hunting after him, long coat and sunglasses on in true stalker-fashion. It felt wrong, and you hated yourself for mistrusting him so much, but at the same time, you two were still practically strangers, knowing so little while still being so in love. A little craziness was inevitable, right?
However, as your boyfriend turned from the main street into the shady path leading to the central park of your town, you suddenly felt a sense of panic. What if you accidentally got involved with some shady fellow? What if this was a drug deal or worse? Why would someone need to go to a park in the middle of the night?
You had assumed he was leaving you alone every night to hook up with other people or go back to an unsuspecting partner, but as you gently brushed through the thicket, trying to stay out of the moonlight that would give away your presence, you suddenly weren't so sure anymore.
You could still see him as he walked further into the park. It should have been your sign to leave, get away while you could, and cut all contact... but you had already gotten this far. Following closely by hiding behind trees and the occasional park bench, you tracked him through the greenery. Once, he almost seemed to spot you, but you ducked into a bush just in time, regretting this move only when the thicket tore at the fabric of your coat, making unnecessary noise. Still, you managed to stay hidden, heart racing and always alert.
Eventually, your boyfriend sat on a park bench in front of a pond. Nothing much happened for the next few minutes, and you were about to call this mission off, seeing how relaxed he was. It was as if he simply enjoyed hanging out in the park at night like a semi-normal person would.
But footsteps crunching over the gravel made you cower lower, your eyes fixating on the person approaching. Your boyfriend lifted a hand in greeting, and the person sprinted forward, hood falling off her head, revealing a cruel sight.
Because you knew the woman your boyfriend was meeting.
Your bully.
Heart sinking into your stomach, you watched as she jumped into his arms, giggling as your boyfriend spun her around. The only reason for them to meet you could think of was that the two set you up, made you fall in love with him so they could laugh at you behind your back. It really broke your heart to watch them cuddle on the park bench, your boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—ruffling her hair.
You didn't want to stay to see this.
It was a good thing you found out, but with tears filling your eyes, you knew you had to leave before you were discovered or hurt yourself more by watching them. This trainwreck wasn't one you should have been observing, and it hurt enough that you wanted to never come out of your home again.
"You know, [Name]?" your boyfriend suddenly asked, the sound of your name on his tongue so bittersweet.
"Who? Oh..." your bully replied, thinking for a moment. "What about them? They are a loser, not worth your time."
"Is that so? Because they told me about you, lots of things."
"You're ruining the mood. Isn't it enough that I agreed to meet you here? It's so creepy! Did you know how they found quite a few bodies lately around this park? We should go clubbing or to a bar, why are we even here talking about some loser?"
Your bully let out a frustrated sigh, throwing her hair back over her shoulder before leaning close. "You know we never even kissed until now. Don't you think it's such a waste of those lovely lips to talk when we could make out instead?"
Letting out a dry laugh, he didn't seem flattered at all as she tried to avert the topic of you. Good, you thought, because you really weren't up to hearing about yourself from the bully and the traitor. Even so, you couldn't move. As if you were frozen to the spot.
"Good thing you mentioned that. I prefer not making my partner worried about whether I'm cheating or not."
"Partner?" your bully spat, scrunching up her nose, the ugliness of her expression matching her personality. "Don't tell me you're fucking with that. I thought you had better taste when you asked me out to dinner the last few times. Thought you'd appreciate beauty more--"
Her words were cut off as your boyfriend's hand wrapped around your throat. He brought her face closer to his, sounding more enraged than you had ever heard him before. "How dare you talk about them like that. They are perfect. Wonderful. Special. It's filth like you that needs to be taken out so my love can be happy."
The two rose from their seat, and you watched as your boyfriend seemingly effortlessly hoisted your bully into the air. Something felt off, and you couldn't look away as you watched the clothes on his body tearing apart, your bully struggling as his fingers stretched and wrapped around her neck completely. She let out mewls and gasps as she tried to kick him, tried to make him stop, but the horror was in both of your eyes as you watched your boyfriend transform.
Skin turned into fur, mouth into snout. His posture changed as his body grew taller, monstrous, into a beast. Part of you couldn't believe your own eyes as you watched him take on canine features as if you were in a movie, watching a werewolf transform, but by the way, your bully was struggling harder, unable to scream, you realized it was real, and she saw it too.
Horrified, you could only clasp your hands over your mouth, containing your shivers. Doggish years popped up from his head, twisting and turning towards your direction. You had to be quiet, undetected, or surely, you'd be the next prey of that monster. His snout opened, long, sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight, and you heard the gurgled scream of your bully before the beast pounced, biting between her neck and shoulder.
Your bully was still kicking and trying to break loose as blood gushed from the bite, her sounds turning into gurgles before everything quieted out, and she stopped moving. Even though your eyes were so wide open, you couldn't believe them at all, couldn't understand what just happened, only listening to the sound of fluids gushing out and dripping to the floor, bones breaking beneath the claws and massive jaw, and eventually, her body simply slipping from his grip, seemingly meaningless.
"[Name], [Name], [Name]. Isn't it so impolite to eavesdrop on others?" the monster suddenly grumbled. Its massive head swung in your direction, eyes scanning from one side of the thicket to the other before finally settling on you despite the greenery. "I didn't want you to find out like this. We could have talked about it some other time—like on a picnic!"
Putting his feet into motion, you were still completely frozen as you watched the creature march towards you. If this was a bad dream, now would have been a good moment to wake up. You two held the eye contact, even as you watched the grotesque features slowly turn back into a human, first the head, then arms.
"Well, it is your business, too, I'll admit. I've been doing this all of you. Was I not a good boy, taking care of all these mean people for you?"
Until now, you had never taken much notice of the people you disliked disappearing. If anything, you were glad they weren't around anymore. But now that he was pointing it out, a cold shudder ran down your spine, guilt overcoming you.
"They were in the way of your happiness, and I need a good meal every now and then. We both got something out of it, you sweet, sweet thing—look at you cowering. Are you scared? Of the big, bad wolf? What if I'm a nice wolf, will you come to me then? Don't worry, no one's going to hurt you, I'll take care of all that try."
Even with the words so sweetly murmured, you didn't dare move and fall for his promises. He was a fucking werewolf or any other kind of monster! But werewolf made the most sense. It also explained so much more, for example, how he knew exactly where you were. It only made you wonder if he knew all along. Let himself be exposed to you. Wanting for you to see this.
See him.
Now back in his human form, he reached into the bush, parting it aside to reveal your cowering form. His grin widened as he watched you trembling in fear from him, this... other side of him probably enjoying a primal thrill at the prey he had caught.
"What... what are you? You had those big ears-"
"-to hear your thrilling pulse, darling."
"And your eyes were-"
"-so I could spot you and make sure you'd not hurt yourself, sweetheart."
"A-And your mouth was... you know."
At this, he simply grinned, and you gulped down any other word. "Gobble you up," he said earlier that night. It had not just been a sexy innuendo.
"Are you... going to kill me, too?" you asked woefully, feeling like your fate had already been sealed.
"You? Now, now, who'd do such a thing."
Clicking his tongue at you as if you had just insulted him, your boyfriend stepped through the gap in the bush, crossing over into your hideout, destroying every safety this thicket had provided with his presence. He leaned down, picking you up with what you now knew was unnatural strength and holding your bridal style as he carried you back towards the pond. The moonlight shined down on you two, the reflection on the water's surface blinding you. But it wasn't enough to make you forget about the body that laid just below you.
"I'm glad you could make it here, though. I wanted to enjoy the full moon with you for so long, you know? But you did interrupt my meal, how are you going to make up for it?" he asked, not a hint of seriousness in his voice. As if this was all a game rather than the brutal reality you had only just learned about.
"I--" you sputtered, unable to answer that. Your mind kept coming back to realize you were the next best meal to have and served as if on a silver platter as he carried you.
"Juuust joking," your boyfriend laughed. "How about we go home and order some late-night food? I'm so hungry!"
Ignoring the dead body on the floor, he merely stepped over it, chatting about whether he wanted burger or tacos as if he hadn't just revealed himself to be a fairytale monster and killed someone.
"Or, you know, we could make this fun. You could run, and I could catch you, have a nibble of those sweet cheeks; how about it?"
You felt the blood drain from your face, and his grin diminished as he watched you cower into yourself, his grip tightening around as you grew tense. "Okay, too early, got it."
"You're really not going to kill me?"
"Nope. Can't. You're my mate. You're what all werewolves crave—what I crave. Your happiness is all that satisfies me."
"Then... you'll let me go if I want to?"
His expression turned into a frown, and he shook his head. "There are rules," he said factually. "I'll explain them to you someday. But basically, they don't allow us to tell people about our existence. If I let you go, you might tell someone and--"
"I won't! I promise! I'll take your secret to the grave, please!" you pleaded, and your boyfriend grimaced, looking unhappy at your determination.
"And even more importantly-" he continued, raising his voice threatingly to make you behave. "-they teach us to never let our mates go, as there won't be another one. And living without is torture for a werewolf."
"Never?" you whined softly, and the smile returned to his face. Now he looked almost completely back to normal, like the sweet boyfriend you fell in love with. But you couldn't ignore the wolf in a sheep's skin—not with the blood of your bully still clinging to his chest.
"Never," he assured you firmly, and you knew instinctively that he meant it.
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avnasace · 2 months ago
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where is the tsaritsa finding these harbingers goddamn bc so far we have:
a royal mage from khaenriah
capitano (no spoilers but those who played 5.1 you know what i mean)
evil very intelligent doctor who experiments with god remains and dabbles in educational crimes, (DO NOT let him near children)
columbina.
a cursed child from a thought-extinct khaenriahn bloodline with shadow fire blood ish magic who runs an orphanage
a politician
the inazuman puppet made by a traumatised god who got discarded by said god, who went on to join the fatui out of spite and grief, almost brought inazuma to its knees, stole a gnosis, made himself a god, then erased himself from history and went to uni
lady and her svarog who we know nothing about except that she created katherine which could be either very wholesome or very sinister
mondstadtian crimson witch of flames 'im the only one around here who gets shit done' la signora (R.I.P)
a banker
local guy in his mid twenties who fell in a hole as a child, went briefly to hell, came back feral and probably traumatised, has a heart of gold but also an 'i want to fight god at every opportunity' complex. was ready to sink a nation bc the hot god said so, and bro can also turn into an 8ft strangely hot abyssal creature and fought an intergalactic all powerful world devouring whale for like 40 days straight.
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earthtooz · 9 months ago
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in which: you need to make it to liyue harbour in time so you can give kazuha a piece of your mind and a response to his love letter.
cw: fluff, 1.3k words, not too sure how canon accurate this is, potentially ooc-kazuha, gn!reader from inazuma, confessions, two wholesome idiots in love
a/n: for my little sibling @sixosix, i hope you enjoy
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Liyue, out of all regions in Teyvat, is the hardest to run through.
It’s mountainous, your muscles will ache from going uphill, your ankles will be sore the next day from going too fast downhill. It’s grassy, the gravel is rough against the soles of your feet, and there is an abundance of hillichurls and samachurls waiting for you with their clubs and shields. Yet, they provide more motivation for you to outrun them, speeding right by their camps to get to Liyue Harbour in time.
Stupid Kaedehara Kazuha, when you see him, he’s in for an earful from you. Making you run from Lingju Pass all the way back to the Harbour, doesn’t he know how much you despise running for long periods of time?
A break is not plausible, especially when Beidou’s boat could leave the dock at any minute now.
When Liyue’s bustling harbour is in sight, it’s vast oceans appearing out the horizon, you feel like you can breathe. The sunlight glimmering on the ocean cheers you on, and you won’t stop until the waves are underneath your feet, the only thing separating you from them being wooden planks. 
You push through crowds, too tired and determined to be polite and apologetic to shoppers you push aside. You run past Mingxing Jewelry, Wanmin Restaurant, and Master Zhang’s workshop, and don’t stop until you, yourself, are climbing onto the Crux. Crew members are shouting in protest at your sudden appearance, yelling at your unexplained entrance.
There are people trying to pull you off the boat, and you don’t really know where the strength to push off burly sailors came from, but you successfully fend off all of them, and find Beidou at the bow of the ship. 
“Where is Kazuha?” You demand, decorum be screwed, nothing can stop your momentum now. 
Her uncovered eye lights up in amusement, a hint of knowing behind her crimson gaze. “Right behind you.” 
Lo and behold, the beige-haired in question was right behind you. “Uh, hello?”
“I have a bone to pick with you, Kazuha!” Stomping over to him, he grabs your wrist before you have another chance to talk, dragging you away from the bow of the ship where all the crewmates were unloading their cargo. (Beidou’s thundering laughter can be heard as he’s dragging you away, at least she’s not mad at your sudden intrusion.)
He stops when the two of you are on the quarter deck and turns to look at you with panic all over his face.
“What did I do?” 
From your pocket, you pull out a piece of paper like it’s an incriminating piece of evidence, one that he’s stared at for too long, so much so that he can recall every dip and curve of the dry-pressed leaves he added on for a more personal touch. It has sat on his desk for ages, seen all of his turmoils and frustrations over delivering it to you. 
The paper contains a mix of poems, haikus, and different confessions Kazuha has been harbouring in his heart for the past few years, ever since the two of you left Inazuma. Your hand clutching his gloved one as the two of you hurry onto Beidou’s boat with nothing but your visions, weapons, and the clothes on your back.
He has loved you for this entire journey, and words could not surmise the depth of his feelings, let alone a measly piece of paper. Some days, it sees the sun when he dares it to, but it always ends up right back on his desk, waiting for the day that it will leave Kazuha’s possession and fall into yours.
This morning was the exact moment. He slipped it in your bag before you went on your expedition, the two of you meeting for a quiet breakfast before his eight-month long expedition, and your two-week one. He had waved you goodbye as far as he could go before leaving Liyue Harbour, even staying on the outskirts until your group left his sight.
Nothing could have prepared him for seeing you so soon, not after putting that letter in your backpack. 
“You’re a coward!” You accuse immediately, poking your finger to his chest. “A lousy coward!”
He takes it, knows that he should have just braved his fears and handed it to you in person, but the idea of being rejected on the spot causes his chest to ache in unbearable ways. The samurai rather you read it, then have eight months to prepare for your inevitable rejection.
Yet, he should have known that in the face of a storm, you are the only one brave enough to fight against the waves. Nothing ever goes the way he wants when it’s with you.
“You should probably sit down, Y/n, your legs are shaking and I’ll grab you some-”
Your hands fly up to grab the sleeves of his kimono, whether to stabilise yourself, or to stop him from leaving, or both, he stays. “Kaedehara Kazuha, I like you too,” you declare. “I just ran all the way from Lingju Pass, so I have nothing flowery nor sweet to say like your letter except that you are so very mean for making me come all this way.”
With one last heaved breath, you collapse to your knees. Kazuha, being the gentleman he is, freaks out and mimics your actions, clinging onto your shoulders.
“Y/n!” He calls out, his usually level voice breaching a panicked cry. “You shouldn’t be exerting yourself like this. Stay here, I’ll go grab water water.” 
Listening to the samurai, you rest against a nearby pillar, feeling the dull aches in all muscles of your legs. Archons, you’ll feel the pain tenfold tomorrow.
Kazuha returns not too long with a canteen in hand, and he twists it open before handing it to you. After a few beats of tense silence, he speaks up. 
“Honestly, I don’t really have anything to say either, I wasn’t expecting to see you for another eight months, and even then, I was expecting a rejection.” He admits sheepishly, a blush blooming along his cheeks. “Maybe an apology for making you run all this way just to see me is my first course of action.”
“Accept my confession first, jerk,” you punch his shoulder lightly, smiling up at him.
“I’ll accept anything so long as it’s from you, I thought I made that clear in my letter.”
“Don’t think you can charm your way into my good graces!” 
He thinks it’s adorable that you’re trying to maintain your cool mask despite your inability to look him in the eye, even if he’s hardly faring much better. The usual lyricism of his words have faded, and his quick mind can’t think of anything poetic to say, as if your confession has intercepted all the functions of his brain.
You like him back, you like him back, you like him back, and he doesn’t know what to do with that information except smile like an idiot.
“Are you still going on your expedition?” asks Kazuha. “Your group must be waiting for you.”
“I told them not to, dumped my rations and things with them and told them they could use it. I’m not running all the way back now.”
“Then, does that mean you can join us?” 
“I don’t want to intrude, and I don’t know if you have enough things on board for another-”
“-I’m sure Beidou and the crew wouldn’t mind. There are always extra rations, you can have some of mine if it gets to it, and our first stop is at sunset, so we could go and grab some clothes for you to bring along!” He quickly suggests, hope shining brightly in those crimson eyes of his, as if pleading for you to say yes.
The wind blows gently through his beige strands, and the moment feels enchantingly similar to one you had read in an Inazuman poem. Then again, Kazuha always had that effect; the ability to slow time and let you see the world through a different, prettier lens, even if the consequences were completely dire.
You want to continue seeing through his lens, exactly the way you did when both of you fled Inazuma and the Vision hunt Decree. And you want to see the rest of Teyvat the way he does. 
“Okay.” You agree, “I’ll come along.”
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© EARTHTOOZ 2024, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.
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mooishbeam · 1 year ago
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『♡』 Rises the Moon
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♡ featuring: dan heng IL x f!reader
♡ summary: you help dan heng work through his heat cycle wc: 3.1k+
♡ cw/tw: canon-divergent, breeding, praise, kinda sad but wholesome, monster-fucking, heat cycle, blowjob, cunnilingus, mentions of blood, biting
notes: super canon divergent ik vidyadhara can't have kids but ahhh dan heng breed brainrot :P ruahh I need that lc
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Cracked from a shimmering pearl into the cold deception of a ship no longer home, that damned his ill-fated legacy. A lonely forgone dragon wanders a lifetime in purgatory, searching for hands to follow, for he was reborn into the dead silence of solitude. He stretched his inhuman heart as far as it could reach, enough for anyone to hold. But it twisted and tangled in thorns, cradled by serpents' eyes that prayed for his ruin. In brief moments of rest, his visions were suffocated with catastrophic destruction unbeknownst to the reincarnate. When he was eventually released, no one turned for him; a trail of fire he would have to walk alone, bleeding for repentance until his sin was permanently consumed by the collapsing universe.  
A race cursed to live forever rarely knew joy or love to its full extent, as all things mortal would return to the ground beneath them. It wasn’t worth the attachment, nor the deserved doom of a man denied salvation. 
Your arrival at the space station upturned his perception. He wasn’t sure why he yearned to be near you, why his senses craved your smell and sight. He had to distance himself from you as much as possible, but the melody of your pure voice stored a rhythm in his core that could not be removed. He lamented the blooming affection in his discernment. Often lying awake at night, struggling to satiate the urges. 
To you, he was Dan Heng. The solemn, headstrong friend that seldom spoke in your presence. Your favorite pastime was playful banter; he rarely smiled, but it pulled at your heartstrings when the corners of his lips slightly lifted. When he picked at his food, you went out of your way to find out what he preferred and arranged your meals around his. You spent almost all of your time on the parlor car. That isn’t to say you weren’t interested in adventuring, you frequently noted the prettiest gems March showed you during their trips. You asked Dan about the stuff he enjoyed, but it’d usually amount to “I was too focused on staying alive to take in the scenery.” You recall entering your room after their return and noticed an iron scrap flower sitting on your windowsill. Dan nonchalantly admitted to the act, mentioning how he overheard your liking for metallic constructs. You originally thought this was simply an extension of your friendship, but the burning ache in your body spoke otherwise. The little things he did, such as bringing small gifts or ingredients for you to experiment with made you seek that numbed heart, imprisoned in ice. 
Himeko joked about your sour mood whenever Dan Heng was gone. You read while she stared at you, amused by the pout on your face. “Hmm, your boy toy is missing. Feeling down?” Your head shot up, ears hot from the assumption.  
“W-what? No, of course not. We’re friends, Himeko.” you panicked. She softly giggled. 
“Don’t worry. They’re coming back soon.” You peeked up from the pages. 
“...When?” you mumbled. “A few days. Now you can stop being so sad.” 
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You were ecstatic when they arrived, ready to hear about their grueling journey, and more so happy to see Dan Heng. As March relived her storytelling, you observed him. He seemed to be in a trance. His expression was the same as always, but he felt disconnected from you, like he discerned a grim future. He didn’t come to dinner and went to sleep. When you asked March if something happened, she shifted uncomfortably but finally spoke.  
“Dan Heng...he changed on the Xianzhou Luofu.” She’d conveniently left out most of the story. 
“What do you mean ‘changed’?” you questioned, finding it hard to mask your worries. “He had horns and... It was all really new. I kinda wanna forget about it, too.” You didn’t pressure her for more information, and she went to her room shortly after.  You tossed in your sleep, wondering what he must’ve gone through, and what you could do to help him. 
You awoke in an inky blue void, the stars cascading a brilliant aura across the night. There were no other planets visible; only the vast moon, a divinely warm glow, alluring and protective in your gaze. Heavenly bodies carried infinitely above, shaping the moon in its godlike image. You stood in a comparatively small pool of iridescent liquid that waterfalled off each side. It marbled from refracted shimmers, cool to the touch. Somehow life emerged in the barren quiet, white lotus’ decorating most of the area. They never spilled down the stream, as if they'd been waiting. In said pool, was a man with elvish ears and gleaming horns, kneeling turned away from you. His pale arms were shackled behind him, and his delicate hair cascaded down his naked back. If you listened closely, you could hear the faint sobs he tried to stifle. You wanted to comfort him, to calm his nerves. You took a step, and he stopped. He didn’t acknowledge you. You took another step, your hand wishing to touch him. Before you could, you phased out of your dream.  
For the next two weeks, he didn’t leave his room. Not when you were around. At the same time, this reoccurring dream was plaguing your thoughts. It ended the same way each time. March aimed to console you, but you felt she knew more than she led on. Fatigued from your restless mind, you decide to talk to Himeko instead. She stirs her drink while Welt reads the paper. 
“Good morning, (Y/N).” said Welt. 
“Good...morning.” you yawned, rubbing your worsening eyebags. 
“You don’t seem okay. Is everything alright?” Himeko asks, motioning for you to sit beside her. 
“Something is wrong with Dan Heng and March isn’t telling me everything. I was hoping you would.” Welt clears his throat, sets the paper on the table and walks away. Himeko puts her hand on your knee. 
“He’s feeling unwell right now. It’s best we don’t disturb him.” 
“I’ve been having this weird dream, of a guy with horns. He’s crying. And I can’t save him. What does this mean? Why is everyone keeping this from me?” Alarm flashes in her expression, but she composes herself. She sucks in a deep breath. “Do you know what a Vidyadhara is?”  
“No.” 
“Vidyadhara descended from dragons, and they’re very powerful. Dan Heng is a special case of Vidyadhara, so we must treat him as such.” 
“So why can’t I see him?”  
“It’s important that we avoid him while he’s in the process of...getting through this.” 
“But someone has to check on him, right? I could be the one to do it-” 
“(Y/N). Dan Heng requested specifically, that I don’t allow you to see him.” You felt your heart pierce. You believed you were friends with him, so why was he forcing you away? “Oh. Okay.” you said meekly. You went back to your room to contemplate. 
 You were a ghost throughout the day, serving food in silence. When the crew went to bed you prepared a hearty soup to soothe whatever illness he had. He’d probably reject it, but the selfish side wanted to know why he was upset with you. Even if he didn’t have an answer, perhaps his voice would be adequate. Arriving at his door, you knock twice gently. 
“I have some soup for you. Himeko said you were feeling ill. I won’t disrupt you, just want to make sure you’re eating.” He said nothing. “If you’re not hungry, let me know and I can store it for tomorrow. You can’t get better on an empty stomach.” You hear rustling inside, but he still said nothing. 
“Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry if I did.” 
“You didn’t do anything wrong, but I need you to go away.” His voice is feeble, and it scares you. 
“Can I please leave this on your desk? I’ll go away right after, I promise.” You 're practically begging, but you need to see him and know he’s okay. Dan Heng’s weakening mindset rationalizes his risky judgement, and he allows you to come in. He should be able to defend you from himself with the strength he has left; there’s no other choice. “Okay.” 
When you open the door, you’re horrified at the state. Books and precious documents were strewn across the floor or shredded, along with most of the blankets. He’s hunched over on the futon clenching his abdomen, strands of hair sticking to his shiny forehead and puffy lips. He was in a form you've never seen, dressed in elegance in contrast to his shaking figure. The clothes were disheveled, however, the window on his top ripped down the middle, exposing the muscular torso underneath with his pants pulled just under his v-line. He's flushed and sweating, a look in his eyes that both terrifies and excites you. What was most shocking were the pointy ears and horns protruding from his head. The same ones from your dream. He tracks you as you walk to his desk. He’s undoubtedly weak, and yet you feel hunted. You set the soup down. 
“Shouldn’t you ask Bailu about this?” 
“I did already. There’s nothing she can do. I have to wait.” You get on your knees next to him, and he recoils from your proximity. 
“Wait for what?” 
“I'm hot all over, all the time. Nothing I do works, even when I feel good it’s not enough.” he rasps. His eyes are shut in an attempt to null the intense sensation blazing in his veins. You ultimately realize what he means and regret your cluelessness. Still, you don’t leave, deconstructing his resolve. Suddenly, Dan Heng feels the tender press of your palm to his forehead; the touch of someone he could recognize in different timelines and different bodies. The scent of morning dew at early sunrise, the light in its darkness, bitter and sweet and persistent. He punished the thought of ravaging you, but the incessant thump of his member was staggering. He grabs your wrist tight, a guilty look in his eyes. 
“I can’t control myself. Go. Now” he shouts. His anger doesn’t scare you, and your other hand caresses his cheek. 
“Does it hurt? I can help you.” Dan Heng’s frozen as your fingers travel down his Adam's apple, then his chest, to the hem of his bottoms. He’s on his back taking deep labored breaths, the print growing from your airy brushes. 
“I don’t want you to be in pain anymore.” 
You spring his cock free, and it bounces into your hand. It’s thick and almost twelve inches, a rosy-brown gradient to the mushroom tip. His veins dance around the rounded spikes lining up his shaft on both sides. A frustrated sigh leaves him, beads of pre come dripping down his balls. You lubricate your hands with his slick and start to slowly pump him. His head is spinning, the intoxicating ecstasy makes him rut his hips and bite his blushed lips. You fondle his balls with one hand while massaging the tip with the other. Whimpers echo pleasantly in your ears, and he can’t stop watching you, drinking up your shy glances. It twitches in your hold; you can feel how close he is. He’s falling apart because of you and your dampened underwear accepts it. You push your thumb in his mouth and part it to reveal excessive drool and sharp canines.  
“Do you like it?” you tease. He makes noise resembling an “uh huh” through teary eyes. 
“You wanna come?” He quivers from the question. He can only manage a moan. You move to his base, and you slaver at the daunting size before running your tongue along the urethra and taking him in your mouth. He throws his head back but tries to restrain himself from bucking into you. You can barely get it halfway as his cockhead kisses the back of your throat. You hollow your cheeks and start bobbing your head, he trembles from unconstrained pleasure.  
“Please, I’ll do anything please let me come” he whines, tears spilling down his cheeks. You move your hands with the suction along his gradually noisy whimpers, the occasional gag from sloppy grinding. 
“Ah, ‘m gonna come-” he chokes, his chest hitched rapidly, spurting ropes that flood your throat. He rides the wave against you until you pull up. When you meet with him again, his demeanor changes. He instantly snatches you into his arms and smothers his nose in your stomach. He tears your clothes off impatiently, just to taste your bare skin. “Dan-” 
“You smell so good. Aeons, why do you smell so good.” He gazes at you darkly, littering wet kisses across your stomach and chest. His slender hands grope and explore anything they can reach. It was like he had a burst of energy; he nearly lifts you off his lap. You notice his horns get progressively longer, a dim radiance outlining them. His nails grew too, they dragged light scratches over your breasts to your hips. He pulls you to him, lips barely hovering before they collide into a deep, passionate exchange. Unspoken words allow teeth and tongue to mix, and you moan into each other. The pheromones hugging his consciousness are addictive, he needs more of it. He promptly flips you on your back, his eyes look down on you with a starving glint. 
“I’m hungry now.” 
“Oh sure, I can warm up the-” 
“No. Let me eat you.” His statement was more of a demand than a request, as he mangles your panties down your legs. He forces your thighs back and appreciates the glistening sticky folds. “Stunning” he purrs. He licks a flat strip to your clit and laps up your juices, then envelops his mouth in your heat. His firm squeeze prevents you from escaping the determined pink muscle, swirling and twisting around you. He switches between French kisses to your vulva and merciless sucking on the erect bud. He’d rather drown in you than catch his breath, your essence covers his jaw and chin. You card your fingers through his scalp and accidentally sweep his horns; he shudders. You rub the pad of your thumb on it, earning a strangled whimper. His tongue sinks into your passage and begins to move at a brutal pace. You tease the sensitivity in his horns, flicking and circling them. The vibrations from his moans rock against your walls and your hips stutter. “Ah- I’m close” you plead. He stimulates your clit, and you pulse around him before your back arches, and you unwind. His mouth is stitched to you as you try to wriggle out of his grasp. He continues to devour your climax. He hoists your lower half off the ground, savoring your honeyed desire, laughing from your overstimulated cries. You’re spasming and feel your heart racing in your ears. He stops at the approaching precipice and lays you down. Balmy kisses dot your knees. 
“Please Dan Heng, more” you beg. 
“(Y/N), I don’t want to hurt you.” He's throbbing, and he straightens your legs to roll his hips between your thighs. The plush fat cuddles his cock and he pants. You grab his hand. 
“It’s okay, I’m yours. I know you don’t mean to hurt me.” 
“But-” 
“I love you” you blurt out. “Please, I want to have this with you. I can handle it, I promise.” Your vulnerability surprises you, and he stops. 
“You...love me?” he questions. For a split second, you see sadness and despair. No one stood to consider an exile incapable of love, but you did. No one bothered to defrost the drifting hollow, but you did. The undying weeps. 
“I love you. I would destroy every star and planet in your name. Carve your worth into the cosmos so that even Fuli could worship your memory. I am yours in its entirety, and I’ll only live for you.” You wipe the tears as they come down and kiss his troubles away. 
“I want you inside me” you whisper. He stands and scoops you up, his hands on your ass and your arms around his neck. He aligns his tip with your sex and lowers you into the plunge. The stretching blaze of your walls accommodating his girth is excruciating.  
“Is this okay?” 
“Yes.” You give him a reassuring smile. He’s stuffing you full, the spikes knead your inner walls the deeper he goes. He bottoms out and stays there for a while. 
“Tell me when to move” he soothes. 
“Go ahead.” He starts an unrelenting tempo, and you grip him like a vice, your arousal drenching his balls. The thundering sound of desperate huffs and squelching, smacking flesh is almost embarrassing; you both don’t care, indulging each other. You could’ve sworn you saw something similar to a dragon's tail swaying behind him, or maybe your mind played tricks on you. Strings of saliva connect his fangs, eyes cloudy with carnal impulse and cock twitching from the friction. He can see the bulge snapping in and out of your stomach and groans.  
“Deeper.” He pulls out and lays you on the futon before positioning you in a mating press. In one swoop he jackhammers your cunt, balls swinging and ragged breath on your ear. His hair blankets you and you soak in his sweating physique, his needy appearance. 
“Gonna breed this pretty pussy” he moans. Eyeing the unoccupied space on your neck, he salivates. You guide his lips to your neck, encouraging him, and he takes the bait. He ruptures the skin with sharp teeth; harsh puncture wounds remain. He licks the blood away, adamant on claiming you. The spikes massage your g-spot, and your eyes loll back, pleasure and pain blurring. Dan Heng loses his composure, frenetic thrusting as he chases his release. 
“I’m gonna come!” 
“That’s it, come with me, my love” he groans. You see black as tremors overtake you and a stream of squirt coats you both. Your wails flow into the halls. Your contracting vulva sends him over the edge, and he finally comes undone, painting your insides to the hilt. You milk every last drop of his gushing seed, and he jerks a few times until limp. The creamy, swelling base pushes your folds to capacity. It's barbed wire in your gut. He strokes and kisses your face. 
“I'm sorry, it’ll go down soon.” With your legs wrapped around him and his head snug against your cheek, you weren’t sure if you wanted it to go down. 
His curse may not be lifted through your embrace. But in your arms, his shackles don't feel as heavy. 
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moonstruckme · 4 months ago
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poly!wolfstar x reader or whimsical!reader would be absolutely wholesome Maee!! Love and hugs 💖 have a lovely day 💫
(to clarify I'm not the anon who mentioned wolfstar previously. I'm just a lovesick of these two lol. hope the request is ok! Sending good vibes your way✨)
Awh I love them so much! Thanks for requesting sweetheart, hope you have a lovely day too <3
cw: squished snail :(
poly!wolfstar x whimsical!reader ♡ 900 words
Remus comes home, juggling his umbrella with three drinks from the coffee shop down the street, to find you and Sirius kneeling outside your front door. You seem to be placing dead leaves in a circle around a wet-looking smudge on the ground.
“Um.” He steps under the overhang of your roof, adjusting his hold on the drinks to set down his umbrella. “What’s going on?”
“We’re surrounding the snail with dead plants so it can be nourished in the next life,” Sirius says easily. Like this is something he does often. “Watch your step, handsome.” 
Remus heeds the warning, stepping carefully around the circle and behind the two of you. That’s when he notices your clothes. 
For Sirius, wearing black isn’t so unusual. He knows it sets off his tattoos and comparatively milky complexion, and he loves nothing more than a dramatic juxtaposition. But you, Remus didn’t even know you owned clothes this colorless. Your dress is loose and flowy, an inky black that’s more of a contrast against your generally lighthearted disposition than it’s ever been against Sirius’ coloring. You look lovely as always, but like a dulled version of your usual self. 
“Are we having a funeral?” Remus asks carefully.
Your posture is slumped, droopy as a weeping willow. “Yeah,” you reply glumly. “I went to take out the trash, and I couldn’t see in front of me. I crushed them.” Your voice seems to quiet further at the end, some mixture of shame and mourning clogging your throat. 
“Them?”
“The snail,” Sirius clarifies. He rubs between your shoulder blades. “It was an accident, sweetheart.” 
You nod, taking in a bolstering breath. “A funeral feels like the least I can do to try to honor them after cutting their life short.” 
“Oh, that’s very thoughtful of you.” Remus kneels on your other side, ignoring Sirius’ sharp look when he can’t help a little grunt at the ache in his joints. He sets your drinks where they won’t get knocked over. “Maybe this was a very old snail, and you found it at the end of its life.” 
“I just hope they didn’t leave a family behind,” you fret. 
“I’m sure even if they did,” he says, reaching for his most reassuring tone, “their family would appreciate what a nice resting place you’ve made for them.” He pets the back of your head. “And that you’ve dressed up so nicely to say goodbye.” 
You turn your face towards the ground, and Remus notices a soft pout to your bottom lip. Sirius seems to spot it at the same time. The other boy lifts your chin to kiss at it sweetly. 
“Do you want to say a few words, lovely?”
Remus smiles over the top of your head at his softhearted boyfriend. Were it anyone else, Sirius would be making endless fun of them for creating such a fuss over a snail’s death, but because it’s you he’s in all the way. (Evidently, he’s learned his lesson after the time he squashed a mosquito in cold blood. You would hardly look at him for days until he apologized.) 
You nod, clearing your throat. “I hope you’re going somewhere with tall grass,” you say, “and lots of soft, wet dirt. And I hope this food gives you sustenance for the journey.” 
You mean the dead leaves, Remus supposes. He presses a kiss to the side of your head. “I’m sure it appreciates that, darling.” 
“And if you want to reincarnate as an elephant to step on me, I completely understand.” 
“Oh.” Sirius coughs. “Don’t we think that’s a bit far?”
“Yeah,” Remus agrees. “You’ve put yourself through enough already, that’s probably not necessary.” 
You look between your boyfriends, bemused. “I’m only trying to make things fair. I killed them first.” 
“I just think we ought to have a bit more faith in this snail,” says Sirius. “I doubt they’re out for revenge; they strike me as the forgiving sort. No need to relinquish yourself to an untimely squishing.” 
You frown. “I suppose you’re right. Snails don’t have very long memories anyway, so as a group they might not be very inclined to hold grudges…” 
“Exactly.” He gives your shoulder a loving pat. “Now, it looks like Remus has brought us something. Haven't you, handsome?” 
Remus gives you both a small smile, reaching for your drinks. “Here’s a coffee, and a tea for you, dove. Let’s get out of the cold and drink them inside, yeah?” 
“Okay.” You give the snail one last, speaking look before starting to stand. 
Sirius hurries to Remus’ side, forcing him to use the other boy for support as he straightens up, knees protesting. 
“Your hair’s all wet,” he murmurs. 
“I know,” Sirius gripes under his breath, but Remus can hear the fondness hidden beneath his grousing. “I figured you’d be upset if I let her go out in the rain to find her ceremonial leaves alone.” 
Remus chuckles and kisses his part. “I’ll make some soup before you both catch cold.” 
“She’ll only think it’s karmic if we do.” 
“No, not really.” Sirius hasn’t kept his voice quiet enough to avoid your hearing, and now you’re looking at him with an earnest bemusement. “It would be karmic if I got sick, but you haven’t done anything wrong, Sirius.” 
Remus tsks. “I think you’ve repented enough already, dove,” he says. “Let’s get you both dried off.” 
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bitchimasnake-sss · 1 year ago
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"stay, please" ft. the monster trio!
in which, nightmares plague them and you're the only remedy ft. luffy, zoro, sanji x fem!reader set-up: late night nightmares give way to very vulnerable boyfriends i see (i couldnt bring myself to pick sad gifs for them tho, idk use your imagination) warnings: none!! wholesome shit all day every day :) m.list
luffy:
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- luffy is always a heavy sleeper - no, like quite literally - he sleeps on you like a log, unmoving until you're physically shoving him off and throwing him off the bed - so, in the dead of the night, when he pulled you closer against his chest and held you tighter, you simply assumed it was no big deal - but his hands are tightening around your waist, his breath seems laboured and as you throw him a glance over your shoulders, you see his brows furrowed together as if he was in pain - "yn, no. yn-" his voice sounds distraught, hands trembling against your figure "luffy?" you whisper, gently putting your arm over his, "luffy, hey?" - his breath seems more laboured, as if it hurts just to breathe - you were shaking him awake, "luffy, wake up, come on" - when he did, his eyes were teary and he buried his head into your hair. relief flooded his voice as he kept holding onto you, "you're okay right?" "ofcourse i am. are you?" "i-" he sneaks in a quick breath and then looks at you, "yeah" - you run your hand up and down his arm gently, other coming to rest on his cheek, "nightmare?" - he stays silent for a second, just looking at you. then he whispers, "i thought i lost you" "i'm right here" you flash him a small smile, chasing it with a small peck on his lips, "i promise" "you promise?" his features stay unmoving, still grim "i promise" you're rubbing soothing circles on his cheek - a second passes before either of you speaks up. it's him who does. - he presses his hands over yours and whispers slowly, "stay with me, please" "i wouldn't be caught dead anywhere else" - and then he's picking you up, "we're awake and im hungry so might as well-" - he made you help him raid the pantry and feed him emergency snacks to soothe him again - one of these days, sanji's gonna put a biometric scanner at the kitchen door and luffy's gonna go feral - that is your version of doomsday - what a menace i love him
zoro:
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- it was a sickening routine as far as you remembered. you hated it to your very core and yet, you couldn't do anything as it played out - every once in a while, when the fates were a little too cruel, zoro would slip out of the bed, careful not to wake you up. - he'd slowly close the door behind him, stepping out onto the chilly deck - it wouldn't take you long to notice the abrupt coldness next to you where zoro should have been - and you would usually walk out and find him peering at the sea, tension etched into every muscle - your hands would wrap around his waist and you would press your face against his sculpted back. you would feel his body ease under your familiar touch, the tension fading away and leaving behind another young man "zo'" you would whisper, "'nother nightmare?" and he would just gave you a curt nod - that's how it usually went. he wouldn't elaborate, he would just hold onto you till all his worries slipped past him and then he'd carry you back to bed - he wouldn't bring it up again in the morning and it was a silent agreement that you wouldn't either - but today, his body shivered, trembling against your feather-like touches "zoro?" you're panicking, turning him to look at you, "zo' are you cry-" - he pulls you towards himself, his head on top of yours, "i thought i fuckin' lost you i-" you bury yourself against him, "i'm right here, look" "you wouldn't leave right?" his voice is gentle, "i- you'd stay by my side, right? please" - you look up at him, pressing a kiss on his cheek, "ofcourse i will. where else would i go?" he gives a small smile, "wherever you go, stay away from that shitty cook" "ah, don't worry. you can ensure that by showering for once" "oh, really?" he scoffs playfully, "only if you join me" - he carries your blushing figure into the room and you fall asleep with him tangled against you - you did take him up on the showering together offer tho, ur a slave to the temptations of the flesh it seems
sanji:
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- honest to god, i believe he is the kind of guy who doesn't wake you up - but over the years, youve caught onto the pattern - it's always the days where he either sneaks off into the kitchen, saying that there's just some recipe he thought of that he needs to try or he sits in the bed, silently basking in the venomous thoughts - some nights, you feel his warmth pull away and he's sitting beside you, back against the headboard - his breath is laboured and his eyes are screwed shut as he tips his head backwards - your hand is on his knee, grounding him back to reality "sanji?" you mumble as you sit up, "you okay?" "did i wake you up?" he mumbles back with a look of concern, "im sorry, my love" - but you're already settling in between his legs, your back flush against his chest. you bring his hand and intertwine it with your own, bringing it to your lips to press a small kiss - it ends with you talking about something else to get his mind off the bullshit "what if we have like 4 moons and we don't know?" "i don't think that scientifically possible, darling" "anything's possible. never say never." - on nights you find him in the kitchen, you silently walk in there and sit on the kitchen counter, asking him what he's cooking - you entertain him with mundane bullshit as he cooks - 9/10 you fall asleep in the kitchen and he has to carry you back - cooks you the same dish later again cause while he was carrying you back, luffy stormed into the kitchen, ate whatever it was and fell asleep on the fucking kitchen floor. - sanji's considering putting a biometric scanner at the kitchen door now
m.list
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tatorthots · 2 years ago
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— promise you’ll forget me
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featured: liyue men x fem!reader
cw: generally gn but uses she/her (an itty bit), pet names, angst, hurt/comfort, a sliver of fluff, mention of character death, a little wholesome if you’re delusional enough (me)
synopsis: “When I die, promise me you’ll forget me. Erase me from your memories, bury me in the past, and live.”
a/n: my 3 babygirls + if I caused anyone any distress from this soft angst then let me know !! so I can continue wrecking havoc :)
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── ꨄ︎ Xiao
Xiao stared at you, frozen in place and eyes widening as those words fell from your lips. He was in shock, completely baffled at how casually you uttered those words. As if they meant nothing… he grimly thought, As if you could ever mean nothing. His hands trembled, balling them into fists and digging his nails into the back of his palm. Had his silent affection, loving kisses, acts of devotion, and fierce protection not been testament enough to the impact you had on him? Had you not realized that you wielded the same amount of power over him as his previous master had with his true name? The Yaksha was almost amazed at your ignorance. “How dare you speak so carelessly…” he growled. Xiao was already fully aware of the reality of your inevitable death; it’s a truth that even the Conquerer of Demons, himself, adamantly refuses to revisit. He was bitterly aware that your time in Teyvat — your days together — was on borrowed time compared to his. That’s just the fate of a human's life in comparison to an Adeptus. He knew that the day will come when he would be forced to confront the tragic cycle of life and death once again, and if only for the sake of his Archon, he’ll grit his teeth and face it when the time comes. But to ask him to forget you, to erase you from his memories? You, who he cherishes most of all. You, who stealthily slithered into his heart and made a home in the remnants of his damned soul. You, who he foolishly fell in love with. There was no force in this wretched world that could ever submit him to abandon the little joy he was given in his life. And to ask that of him was to condemn him to a far crueler fate than that of the karmic debt he harbors on his shoulders.
Glowering at the wooden floorboards of the Wangshu Inn, Xiaos piercing eyes flickered up at you. “Do not make such absurd requests of me again.” He sneered. Flinching in surprise, you questioningly glanced at your lover. Shifting your gaze down, you noticed the deathly grip he held on the patio's railing and the cracking lines spreading beneath his fingertips. “Xiao… wait, I didn’t mean to—“ but your words were cut short by the solemn glint in his yellow stare. “There are many things I struggle to comprehend about you mortals, so tell me,” attentively, your ears perked up and your breathing paused as he spoke, “could you forget me so easily if I asked you to? Is your affection for me simply…” biting the inside of his cheek, his expression shifted to one of sorrowful hesitation, “temporary?” Your entire body tensed. Xiao had made a bad habit of hiding his less ‘acceptable’ emotions in an attempt to not burden you — no matter how many times you reassured him — so to glimpse at that fragile vulnerability and find the newly seed of doubt you had planted, it made your heart wrench in your chest. You blinked a few times as each flutter of your lashes only gathered more and more wet droplets onto them. “No! Xiao! I would ne-.. ver….” and that’s when you realized the weight of what you had asked him. Rejected.. I made him feel rejected, You internally groaned. Sighing you carefully took a few steps towards him, “Listen to me,” you softly spoke, “I don’t want you to live in mourning after I pass. You don’t deserve that, Xiao,” and his eyes widened, “I want you to be happy,” softening your gaze, you continued, “I want you to continue enjoying the gifts life brings, no matter how big or small they might be!” Standing in front of him, you reached a hand out to gently caress his cheek and dotingly smiled when he instinctively leaned into your touch. “I want you to keep spending time with humans, and one day you may even find new companions who’ll add to your happiness.” Nonsense, he thought. The Adeptus revers you almost as highly as his Archon and you think some feeble companions could ever compare? Xiao placed his hand atop yours and gingerly kissed your palm. His eyes reflected a tender intensity as he peered down at you, “Our connection is too strong, y/n.” his arms wrapped protectively around you, holding you tightly as if he wasn’t careful enough you’d disappear and be gone forever. Xiao hovered his lips above yours as he rested his forehead on you, and closed his eyes, “No matter what challenges time brings, or what you, yourself, try to do to sever our bond,” pressing his lips on yours, he kissed you as he quietly whispered, “I will love you, always.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
417 years have gone by since Xiao last held you in his embrace. And although he was pleased he was able to offer you a long, happy and loving life, Xiao would be blatantly lying if he said he’d moved on from your death. And if not for your last — somewhat reasonable — request, he likely wouldn’t have intervened with the lives of mortals, or reluctantly accepted their friendship. If that was what you truly would’ve wanted for him then he’ll hold his complaints and trust your judgement. It was bittersweet, really. If you were still alive, he knew in his heart you’d be fascinated by these mortals' new technology and inventions; he wonders what you’d say of this new era. And he can’t help the smile that tugs on his lips as he thinks of how you’d fawn over these silly contraptions, There’s no doubt you’d be foolishly fascinated by such simple trinkets, he thinks, but archons what he wouldn’t do to see your eyes sparkle with wonder again. And although Teyvat has undergone infinite changes, there is but one acre of land that the Yaksha has ensured remains untouched by humans, Adeptus or demons alike. It was a sort of sanctuary for him. A place of refuge, meditation, reflection, and heartache; but above all, it was where Xiao would religiously visit to honor the love he had, and continues to have, for you — his one and only. The area was radiant, nothing less than one of Liyues hidden gems. The ground was vibrant with lush grass, lively wildlife, and blanketed with all your favorite flowers; flowers Xiao had helped you plant and nurture. What once started as your personal garden ended up flourishing with vines, plants and new ecosystems. It could honestly be described as a mini forest, and the Adeptus wonders if it’s prosperity is because of you. Either way, you would’ve loved it, and that thought alone was enough. Thinking back, Xiao couldn’t believe he was so ignorant. Initially, he thought the whole custom was silly when Morax first casually mentioned it one day. ‘Marriage, is a unity humans practice as well here in Teyvat. It is a unity between lovers — a ceremonial alliance, if you will.’ To him, the idea seemed pointless, but the thought never left his head since. He’s already submitted himself to you in every way, but if his Archon had advised marriage was also a custom between mortals then perhaps you would like to marry as well. So this sacred area is where you both wed. The beaming smile and buzzing excitement you showed that day was forever engraved in his memories. Xiao still keeps the silver ring you slid on his finger with him. Though as of recent centuries he hasn’t worn it as much in order to preserve its integrity, but sometimes, when he’s laying amidst the swaying grass and reminiscing of times gone past, he’ll slip it on and think of you. On rare occasions the Yaksha would even stage a performance, the way he used to when he danced beneath the moonlight as you watched in awe. Whether sunlight warms his skin, rain splashes on his hair and wets his clothes, or strong currents of the wind whistles loudly through the air, he’ll dance to the natural rhythm of Teyvat. A performance reserved only for you. Other times he’ll rest on a bed of soft moss as his honey eyes gaze at the starry sky till morning illuminates the world once more. Simply remembering the sound of your voice, your touch, your laugh, and he’ll wonder, wherever you are in this vast universe, if you think of him too.
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── ꨄ︎ Zhongli
The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the mountaintop of Mt. Aocang. The traditional, delicately crafted teacup Zhongli held was now shattered into pieces in the palm of his hand, and the tea previously filling it was now spilled all over the god's lap. Unaware that his sudden vise-like grip was to blame for its broken state. He saw your lips move and your body apprehensively patting his clothes dry with a cloth, but he couldn’t hear a thing. Zhongli simply stayed in place as his golden eyes stared at you. Yes, it’s true that the former Geo Archon has encountered countless tragic fates and lost several friends and close relationships to the erosion of time. And it’s only been recent, with the reawakening of Azhdaha, that he had to reluctantly reevaluate and reaccept his cursed fate of eternity until the last remnants of his body eroded back into the stones of old. Azhdaha reminded him his future was pitiful. Doomed to solidarity as punishment for being a God. It was for that exact reason that Zhongli heavily contemplated the idea of entering a relationship with a human for a very long time before officially committing to you. However, it was also through that slow-burn romance that an unexpected love blossomed. Its tender passion awoke a primal instinct that had long laid dormant in the depths of Morax’s innate desires — it caught the Archon, himself, off guard. The love of a God cannot be easily earned or discarded. It entails complete submission, adoration, and devotion. Then again, it might be the reason Zhongli wasn’t avoidant of the inevitable outcome of this relationship. He fully accepted the consequences of his decision if it meant enjoying just a moment of tranquility in your embrace. He’d be willing to endure a thousand years of heartache if it meant hearing your voice just once, and he’d suffer through thousands more if even to kiss the fabric that clung to your body.
Zhongli, blinked from his trance and looked down to see you patting his clothes dry with red fingertips and scathed palms from the burning hot tea. Swiftly, he took hold of your hands and took the cloth away from you. He felt a pang of guilt as he carefully cascaded his thumb across the searing flush of your warmed skin. “I do apologize, my love.” shifting his gaze up to you, he continued, “It seems that your request has taken me aback.” Tightening your hold on his hands, you knitted your brows in worry, “Oh.. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” you pouted. Zhongli removed his gloves, and your attention trailed to the geo marks decorating his golden skin. So pretty, you thought. “There is no need to fret, darling.” His voice was deep and affectionate. An obvious difference compared to the usual somber and nonchalant tone he speaks with, and it made your heart flutter knowing it was only ever exposed to you. But then suddenly, his expression turned serious. “However, that request would be a breach of contract, and I simply, will not break it.” Your eyes widened for a moment before quirking an eyebrow up in question. You momentarily tilted your head in curiosity, and the Archon couldn’t help but feel his gaze soften, just a little, in response to your small habit. Fluttering your eyes on him, you asked, “What contract?” What contract? He silently mused, as if the answer itself was blatantly obvious — which to him, it was. Lowly chucking, he wrapped his large hand around your wrist and slipped his fingertips up to caress your palm. Raising your hand up to his lips, he languidly met your gaze with his adoring one. “If you do not recall, then allow me to remind you.” Closing his eyes, he placed a kiss on your fingertip, “I have sworn myself each time I touch your skin.” He placed a kiss on another, “Each time my mind had been desperately surrendered by thoughts of you.” Then another, fluttering his long lashes, he peered at you with half-lidded eyes as his pupils dilated to slits “In every moment our bodies intimately intertwine together amidst the heat of our love.” Gasping at his sudden confession, your heart sped up in a fervent fluster. He leaned in close, “I am bound to you, my love, for all eternity.” Zhongli kissed you once, and then twice. He placed his hands on your hips and pulled you in, almost urging you to sit on his lap. Deepening the kiss the Geo Archon could only pray his kisses could hope to portray even a sliver of the love he has for you.
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
And so a millennium has passed, he hums. 1,231 years to be exact. Since your passing, Zhongli counted each year that came and went. Placing an incense down on the shrine he built in your memory, the Archon kneeled before your golden statue and prayed — he’s not quite sure to who, and he’s not sure if there’s anyone listening, but if there is, he hopes it’s you. Today had been an unusual day given that he doesn’t normally visit your shrine so late in the evening, but no matter what he did it seemed like unforeseen circumstances kept getting in the way of his preplanned visit. And after several attempts of trying to untangle himself from piling responsibilities, he sighed and decided it was best to just visit you by the end of today no matter what or who dared get in his way. Which brings us to now. However, shortly after he started his peaceful meditation, he was disturbed by someone’s quiet shuffles behind him. Fluttering his eyes open, his sharp gaze glared in the direction the noise was coming from. Even though it’s location wasn’t necessarily private, this shrine was his personal alter of worship, a private haven, who the hell was foolish enough to intrude on its sacred premises? Snapping his head around, his menacing gaze immediately widened into one of pure shock. It surely.. can’t be..? He muttered in disbelief. “Oh! I’m sorry I-um- I didn’t realize someone was here!” The voice awkwardly spoke, and as they turned to leave, his lips moved before he could realize he was talking, “What’s your name?” Blinking in surprise, the woman sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, “Ah. I’m h/n, heh.” Walking closer she carefully inspected the handsome man as he stared at her like she was some sort of ghost. “Is this your shrine?” Looking up at the statue she softly smiled, “I’ve been coming here for weeks.” she confessed, and Zhongli slowly stood from his position. It’s her. The depths of the dragons innate need for his mate had violently awoken from its slumber, and he felt the bond he mourned for centuries, suddenly call out to each and every one of his senses. It’s her. Your reincarnation. Lighting her own stick of incense and bowing, the woman — you — glanced back at him, “I found this place by accident, and I bring my own incense to pay my respects as well. But honestly, I don’t know why I come here.” You chuckled. “Maybe it’s because her statue looks similar to me, or maybe … it’s because I can’t help but feel like this place calls to me.” Shaking your head, you bashfully looked away, “Sounds crazy, right?” “No.. no, not at all….” Softening his gaze, he offered a smile. There’s no mistaking it. I can sense her soul, years of longing and heartache clutched his heart, I could recognize it anywhere. And so the both of you spent the evening chatting away over tea the man you came to know as ‘Zhongli’ had prepared, and when nighttime shadowed the streets you both politely took your leaves. Zhongli deeply considered whether or not he should look for you again, but he soon realized he couldn’t bring himself to disrupt the new life you had built — even if it didn’t include him. He told himself he was happy, satisfied knowing your soul had returned even if every cell in his body painfully yearned to be with his lover again. Being given the opportunity to drink tea with you should be privilege enough. It wasn’t until you visited the shrine early one morning that you finally found him. After a brief catch-up, he noticed you nervously shifting, “Is something the matter?” He worriedly asked. With a deep breathe you confessed what’d been on your mind since your last encounter. “Have we met before?” You began, and his entire body froze, “I know this might seem strange but…” and unconsciously his body leaned in closer as his primal instincts begged him to caress your skin once more, but he forced himself rooted. Until you uttered a single sentence and momentarily tilted your head in curiosity that he felt his heart struck, and daresay, even gave the god hope. “I can’t help but feel like…. I’ve met you before, a long time ago.”
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── ꨄ︎ Childe
Strumming his fingertips, Childe hummed in contemplation. He’s well aware of the repercussions that come with being 11th of the Fatui Harbingers, and he’s hyper-aware of the vile leverage his enemies would try to obtain when discovering the infamous Harbinger has taken a lover. However, the thing about Childe is that he actually openly welcomes his enemies to try to even get remotely near you. Honestly, your request is just straight-up hilarious to him. But he supposes he can’t blame you. After all, you haven’t a clue of the extent your lover has and, even as you ask, is taking to ensure your safety. It’s stressful, really, but the man loves challenges — “Let them come, let them ALL come!” He manically laughs, before lowering his head, “I’ll kill them all where they stand.” he snarls. Every loud and flamboyant confession, every playful kiss, every subtle caress of your skin, and each lingering touch holds an ulterior motive aside from just affection. It’s a warning. But you never noticed, have you? While you’re pushing him away in a flustered daze, you don’t notice how his cheeky smile and crescent eyes fall the second you turn in a huff and his gaze narrows to a sinister glare — directly locking eyes with the spies creeping atop rooftops. How he never directly answers your questions when he disappears for a few minutes only to return scathed and sometimes even bleeding. Brushing away your worry with a tender smile as he pinches your cheek, “Heh, don’t worry so much!” He’ll coo. Your request isn’t even an option. Childe would die for you, kill for you, live for you. He’ll do whatever it takes to stand above a pile of bloody corpses if only to force them to bow before you. You, the promised ruler of the world he’ll craft. And should you fall, he would build his empire on the blood of millions just to keep his promise.
Childes eyes glimmered in amusement as he threw his head back and laughed. “Hahah—!! You really do have an active imagination babe!” Playfully ruffling your hair, he chuckled, “C’mon now, don’t say such nonsense.” His lips curled into a beaming smile, but you could tell by the edge laced in his words that he meant what he said. Huffing, you smacked his hand away, “I’m not joking, Ajax!” Sighing, you turned away in embarrassment, “I’m being…. I’m being serious, alright?” Pausing, Childe furrowed his brows, “You’re serious?” Rolling your eyes, you marched away feeling flustered and annoyed by your lover's reaction, “Yes! I’m being serious!” Normally, the incredulous stare Childe gave you would’ve made you tease him in any other situation, but as of now it only added to the searing burn on your cheeks. Following behind you, he grabbed your arm to stop you and delicately tugged you to look at him. “Hey, what are you saying?” Turning around, you were met with narrowed blue eyes and a frown, “Are you calling me weak?” And as much as you wanted to stay mad at him, you couldn’t help but crack a smile at his accusatory tone and pouty lips. Intertwining your fingers with his you stepped toward him until your face was only inches away from his pretty glaring eyes. Running your fingertips against his jaw, you lightly traced them across his freckled skin until you reached his messy, orange hair, “The only thing I think you are is dumb.” You lovingly purred. Scoffing he averted his gaze from yours. “Listen, Ajax,” you started, “I know you worry about me, and yes, even though you’re the strongest man I know—“ “Ever will know.” He corrected. Giggling you flicked his forehead, “Ever will know~” you repeated, before you cleared your throat and steeled your gaze, “If I do pass… promise me you’ll live for yourself, okay? Take care of yourself, and no matter what, don’t let my memory hold you back.” Hold me back? He chuckled. Gently placing both hands on your cheeks, he guided your head to fully face him, “Your life makes me feel alive, y/n, and if the day comes — which it won’t,” he sternly emphasized, “your memory will only serve as the reason I fight to survive.” Pulling you into his protective embrace he buried his face in your soft locks, “I’ll keep you safe.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆。 ゚☾ ゚。⋆
720 days. That’s 720 archon-forsaken days, and sleepless nights. It was clear to all, that a part of Childe never quite recovered the day he found your lifeless body lying alongside the jagged edges of stone slabs resting beneath a mountain cliff side. The image of your body lying still as a pool of your blood gushed from your mutilated wounds onto the unforgiving surface of the rocks became a memory deeply embedded in the Harbingers mind. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t something inside him that had shattered, but instead completely disappeared. Even now, he still feels likes he’s quietly being haunted by the agonizing screams he cried and tears that he endlessly shed as he held your bloody corpse in his possessive and shaky embrace. However, all of that paled in comparison to the unsettling numbness that nestled within his bones and tainted his heart when he caught sight of the item that dropped from your hand as he cradled you. It was mocking. Taunting, even. “The pendant…” he spoke, barely above a whisper. She protected.. the pendant I gave her? His azure stare darkened as the very last of his compassion died right there and then. Now they only harbored hatred and desolation. Reaching to pick up the pendant, Childe carefully brushed the blood staining it with his gloved thumb. This was the gold entwined, jade pendant he had gifted you during the firework showcase of your first Lantern Rite with him. It was intended as a good luck token — a marker of sorts. He promised you that so long as you held this pendant, he would always come to protect you; your lover vowed this. His breath trembled, and his jaw clenched as he glared at it with blurry eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder, Was she waiting for me, choking out a sob his fingers combed through your hair as he rested his forehead on yours and salty tears dripped down your cheek, to protect her? And that thought alone was enough to sever the remaining domestic threads of his heart. For the next two years, Childe spent every waking moment tracking your killer. His obsession only further manifested as time went by. Even his work as a Fatui Harbinger strained, yet none were brave enough to tell him otherwise. Either because of fear, or because the Tsaritsa ordered it so. During that time there were those who argued that Childe had gone on a blind rampage, and others argued the Harbinger became the vengeful embodiment of a man of focus, commitment, and sheer will. To be honest? Neither were completely right or wrong. He never hurt bystanders, yet he never hesitated slaughtering anyone who got in his way. As for those foolish enough to mislead him or hold information? Well, they suffered a fate worse than death. It wasn’t until he found himself deep within the shadowy crevices of the chasm that he finally met your murderer. It was a wretched demon that had ripped you away from him, a crime even death was too good for. The accumulated rage of a fallen God was nothing compared to the murderous hatred he harbored. In the end, Childe came victorious — albeit at the cost of his own life. Sliding against weathered stone, he sat down and aimlessly stared at the curvatures of the chasm. “Seems I couldn’t keep my promise, huh?” He chuckled, “Don’t be too mad at me.” Wincing in pain, he slipped out the pendent he gifted you from his Foul Legacy’s armor as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. Kissing it’s cold exterior, he took a breathy sigh, “Please, wait for me,” fluttering his eyes shut, a line of blood dribbled from his lips as he smiled, “just a little…. longer..”
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side note!: new format ! let’s goooooooooo
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