#but they are not. and unfortunately they are related to me. and my husband's family is almost worse.

[running-in-the-dark]

so I'm currently in full planning mode for where we'll put all our furniture and everything in the new apartment. that includes thinking about which walls we're gonna paint (since they're all white currently).

and. well. we went pretty boring in our last two apartments because everyone voiced their critical opinions about everything not-boring that we did do, and I'm too sensitive to that stuff so. I tried to go with very normal, boring colours mostly.

and I think I'm over that now. I'm still worried that everyone will be mean about it when they see it (because they definitely will), but to be honest? fuck that. it's our place. and we're planning to stay there for a long time hopefully. so those damn walls will not be boring.

my husband and I will each have our own room (bedroom + office) because having one bedroom and one office did not work for us. anyway, I'm looking at lots of stuff on pinterest for ideas and... I'm afraid my room is gonna look like a kid's room 😅

[tetsuskei]

synopsis: kuroo fathoms how his childhood has affected his life growing up into adulthood, and ultimately fatherhood

notes: reupload from last year. actually get to uploaded on mother’s day. daughters have curly hair (based of my hair kinda). self indulgent. for context, reader have two daughters named akira (7) and sora (4).

work count: 2.5k

warnings: tough family relations, angst, fluff

mother's day is a strange day for kuroo tetsurō.

he never grew up close to his mother, his only memories being from when he was younger than six. they were hazy.

most of the memories unfortunately surround his father and mother arguing—whether that was somewhere off nearby or being heard from through the walls.

in the past, with the little memories he had of his mother, he tried not to think so badly of her.

but when he had reached out to her a number of years later, he was met with an unfortunate sight. she had moved on from kuroo and his father—starting a brand new life with a new husband, and also a new child. a daughter. a half sibling he hadn't known about.

he hasn't talked to his mother since then.

but now mother's day is also full of blessings and happiness for kuroo, too. because he has you, of course. the best mother to his children.

he had strictly told his assistant to make sure he had no work on mother's day. he always tried to work a little overtime (whether it was his will or not) but needed to be sure that nothing would interfere with this day.

you're luckily, not the lightest sleeper, but it will only be a matter of time before you would realize kuroo isn't in bed. which is why he tactfully grabbed his last worn suit jacket and placed it over his pillow for you to hold.

that would be able to stave you off for awhile.

his next step is to wake up your girls. he had discussed with them the plan for mother's day, which included making you breakfast and providing you with your gifts, and of course spending time with you.

he just forgot to factor in two small things: getting them awake and dressed.

"rise and shine my sweet angels." he softly coos, abruptly opening up the blinds for light.

the youngest, sora, sleepily squirms in her bed, rubbing her eyes (one's that match her father's) and squints.

"there she is!" he cheers, coming over to plant kisses on his daughter's face. he lifts her in his arms, swinging her a bit. "good morning, sweetheart."

"papa, stop!" she giggles, trying to avoid his lips.

he frowns, pausing, "do you not love me?"

her eyes—the same warm hazel as his—widen with shock. "of course, papa!"

kuroo beams, resuming his kiss attack, "good, because i love you sooo much. let's try to get your sister up, kay?" he hums, sora nodding before hopping out of his arms to jump on top of her sibling.

akira, the eldest, has always been a grumpy sleeper—he often left you to wake her up because, well, frankly put: kuroo is scared of his own daughter and her wrath.

"up! wake up, 'kira!" sora jumps on top of her sister, shaking her.

there's a small sound of noise as kuroo approaches his eldest daughter's bedside. "looks like someone is awake after all." he manages to find her face in her bundle of sheets and laughs at how much she looks like you when she's grumpy. "good morning, princess."

"...i'm not awake." akira mumbles, rolling over.

he sits for a moment, and thinks of the one thing that he's best at.

scheming.

"oh, well i guess if you're not awake, you won't be able to get any yummy pancakes for breakfast, will you? it's a shame because they're your favorite—chocolate chip. sora, mommy, and i will just eat them all and celebrate mother's day without you, then..." he says sadly, faking a pout.

akira sits up straight, glaring at her father. "you wouldn't dare."

he smirks, "i would." he pats her head, kissing her nose. "come on kiddo, time to get up."

she doesn't seem convinced until it registers in her mind what he said earlier, "mother's day!"

"momma day!" sora cheers, springing out of bed. kuroo catches her in his arms, hushing her softly.

he grunts as he squats down to their level, but beckons akira to him.

"we're going to play the quiet game, okay? your mom is still asleep right now and we don't want to wake her up yet to ruin the surprise. so i need you two to stay quiet. can you two do that for me?" he asks.

the two nod with enthusiasm, giggling as they rush off to get teeth brushed and ready. he helps them get their outfits out while they do so.

getting them dressed was only half the battle, now the real battle was taming their hair.

"oh god..." he grumbles, staring at the sight in front of him.

both of your daughters had a hair type similar to yours (thankfully) but that means that they also inherited the unruliness of their father's hair.

he's watched you do their hair, marveled at the way that your hands moved skillfully to create whatever updo they wanted.

"okay tetsurō, we can do this." he hypes himself up in the mirror, just like before his pitches for his job.

he starts with sora, who requests 'piggies' (pigtails).

"i'm forgetting something..." he mumbles, looking around. but after searching for god knows how long he moves on.

"no!" there's a yelp and akira smacks her dad's hand away from her sisters head.

he blinks, "what?"

"papa, you can't brush without the water." sora says, handing him a spray bottle.

it suddenly clicks for him. "oh, you're right. thank you, darlings." he kisses the top of their heads.

after finishing his handiwork he adds ribbons to her hair. not the best but honest work.

he gives akira 'bunnies' (buns), and before he knows it, he's done.

getting down to the kitchen and making breakfast was the final step.

tetsurō likes to think he's a decent cook. he pales in comparison to you, but pancakes can't be that hard to make, right?

"oops," sora mumbles, knocking over the pancake mix. it falls onto the ground, but part of it also lands on her sister.

"girls," kuroo says sternly, hands on his hips.

they instantly stop, freezing.

there's a frown on his face, and it makes the two of them shiver. "if you keep that attitude up, neither one of you will get pancakes. sora, you're going to have to clean up the mess you made, and akira i need you to help your sister get the broom since she's too small for it. do you both understand?"

"yes, sir." they say in unison, moving to complete their tasks.

he smiles, voice gentle again, "thank you."

they do as told, and while they clean up, he's able to get breakfast going. he gives them minimal tasks (ones that don't involve a mess).

"alright, why don't you guys try the pancakes to make sure they're yummy enough for mommy."

"oh!" akira scrambles over, ready to take a bite.

unfortunately her sister swoops in, stealing the fork and eating the food.

akira glares, grumbling, "thief!"

sora quickly flees from her sister, running around the island.

kuroo starts to call after them, "hey—"

"sounds like you guys are having fun all without me." the sound of your voice alerts all three of them to you, standing sleepily in the opening of the doorway.

the sound of your entrance makes your girls run to you, and you don't hesitate to embrace them in your arms.

you stand back up straight, holding up your husbands clothes, "did you really try to replace yourself with your suit jacket?"

"you said my cologne smells nice, so—" he mumbles, padding over to you like a child before taking your face in his hands, "you're not supposed to be up right now, by the way."

you laugh, "i won't lie, it worked for a minute. then i realized how cold and soft everything was."

"are you calling me hard? like a rock?" he jokes.

you poke his stomach, "with all this muscle, yeah."

"i'll take that as a compliment, then. happy mother's day, sweetheart." he smiles, kissing your forehead before leaning down to kiss you on the lips.

there's a noise of disgust, and you look at your two daughters who are gagging.

"he has cooties, momma!" sora whines.

you laugh, "i'm sorry, girls. but your daddy's cooties are my favorite."

3:45 p.m.

on mother's day, tetsurō likes to take time to focus on his oba-san. he always brings her, her favorite flowers. today he brings along his girls while you went off to brunch with your own mother.

"you're doing a great job." his grandmother smiles sweetly at him.

"huh?" he looks up, startled by her comment, he looks away from his daughters.

"you're doing well, tetsurō. stop worrying so much." she looks off at his daughters playing, "you're raising two beautiful, respectable young girls there. you and your wife should be proud."

"ahh, is it that obvious?" he laughs, scratching the back of his head, blushing red. it scares him how much that woman can read him like a book. there's five people in his life who can do that and he wonders if it's five too many. but it never will be.

"well, i did learn from the best, after all." he smiles, holding her hand. it's rare and few nowadays that he can break down his barriers and become vulnerable (with anyone besides you, of course). but he will always be his oba-san's tetsu-chan.

it's a blessing and a gift for his girls to see their great grandmother, he thinks. not many people can do that.

6:04 p.m.

"i hope you're proud of yourself, tetsu-kun."

kuroo lastly visits kenma's mother, the latter had already been by earlier and is not present at the moment due to his different schedule.

he sits up, "proud of...?"

"your abilities as a father." kozume-san smiles, "you've always looked out for others, that was evident with our kenma. so i have no doubt that you turned out to be such a great father. you and your wife are doing amazing."

he quietly says thank you, pausing as he thinks and ruminates over a thought.

"do you think things could've been different?"

the woman looks up, understanding his intended meaning. if kenma's perception came from anyone, it's his own mother.

"you mean, if your mother was present?"

he nods, quiet.

"well, certainly different," she starts, "but you've grown up fine as you are now. so it's not to say you didn't need a mother—but you at least have mother figures."

"as long as i'm around and i'm sure your grandmother, as well as your wife, you will always have someone there to support and cherish you."

he blinks back tears and smiles, "thank you."

9:32 p.m.

kuroo grimaces, staring at the contact.

he'd been pacing for the past fifteen minutes, conflicted over what he should do.

thumbs move over the screen before he can even think about what he's doing and suddenly the tone dial is in his ear. he's never had his heart beat so fast before—not during a volleyball match, or an important exam, or a job interview.

he feels like he's on fire with nerves. this might be the hardest thing he's ever done in his life.

voicemail.

he opens his mouth to say something, but the words won't come out. he feels choked up, not knowing what to do. wondering why the right words won't come out. he's a man of suaveness and eloquence. it's in the job title, so why is he blanking right now?

but this is not a job, this is real life.

he hangs up, not knowing what to say. he's frustrated with himself for now as many thoughts swirl his mind. he doesn't know how to untangle them and organize them in a way that makes sense.

kuroo doesn't sense your presence when you walk in the room, and that's how you know somethings wrong. it had been a long day and you barely had any time to yourselves and more importantly to check in with him.

you place your hand on his arm, gently squeezing him. "tetsu, what's wrong? what's bothering you?" you hold his face in your hands, eyes scanning over the small creases in his face.

he runs his thumb over your soft skin. quiet as he gathers his thoughts.

"...am i a terrible father for keeping the girls away from my mother?" he asks, looking at you.

you're silent for a good while, and he worries that you'll respond with rage, maybe even mild resentment. he doesn't know if he can handle that.

"that's ultimately your choice, tetsurō. it's not my right or place to force you to reconcile with your mother for the sake of our children."

"i mean, don't you have some right as the mother of my children?" he points out, "they'll wonder in the future about her. i know that for sure."

"'ro, you do it because you want to. not because you feel like you have to." you say, giving him a smile. "besides, they love their hii obasan and my mother very much. they have plenty of people in their lives that make sure they are loved and make it well known."

"i don't know what you have going on between you and your mother, but whenever you're ready to share the full story, i will be here."

and so he unloads the heavy burden he had been carrying with him for years, feeling his chest tighten at times as he recalls events. you can tell he's trying his best to remain impassive, but you hold him tightly, hoping he knows you're there for him and you aren't going anywhere.

once he finishes, it's eerily quiet. you both don't say anything for a moment.

"it's okay to cry, tetsu." you murmur against his forehead. "you don't have to act like you're okay all the time for other people's sake. think of yourself for once."

he relaxes at your words, inhaling sharply and closing his eyes. you feel his tears stream down his face and wipe gently, reaching over the bedside to dab his eyes away with tissues.

"you're...you're right. that's the one thing that matters most to me. growing up, i always felt sometimes that the adults get lost in their own worlds and forget about the children." he laughs, running his hand over his face.

"so you don't want them to feel alone." you say, grabbing his hand. there's a silent understanding as you recall your own childhood. it wasn't a bad one, but that doesn't dismiss the turmoil that was trudged through. "and we won't let that even happen."

"yeah." he says, closing his eyes.

"and you're not alone either," you add, "we do things as a team, remember that."

"i'm very thankful to have a mother of my children be someone as angelic as you." he hums, kissing your forehead, cheeks, and nose.

suddenly, his phone lights up and you both stare at it in silence. the name reads 'don't pick up!'.

kuroo takes an exhale, picking up the device. mind swimming with thoughts and anxiousness as his thumb hovers the screen.

he answers.

[jointherebellion215]

Flowers

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x female!reader

Summary: You're living a perfectly content life on Geidi Prime with your husband. It's a shame your mind can't rest, sparked by glimpses of a life unknown. Loosely based on the song from Hadestown.

Word Count: 1.5k

TW: Dark!Feyd-Rautha, Dead Dove Do Not Eat, yandere!Feyd-Rautha, manipulation, gaslighting, like SO much gaslighting holy shit, descriptions of violence, abusive relationship, emotional abuse, isolation, tragedy, nonconsensual drug use, nonconsensual medical treatement, induced memory loss, amnesia, dubious consent, pregnancy, songfic, happy-but-not-really-happy ending, I know I said female!reader but there's virtually no pronoun usage or descriptive words in thisfor the reader besides titles so maybe GN!reader??

A/N: I'm blown away, almost 500 notes on His Kiss, the Riot? Holy shit, all of the thanks! Here it is, the final part! I'm ending it with the song that actually started this whole idea. Listening to Eva's interpretation of Eurydice singing Flowers gave me the most delicious, fucked-up bit of inspiration and this came out. I was clutching my own metaphorical pearls writing this cause damn, this gets dark. Like, way more than I thought I could write. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the end of this twisted tale. Thank you for reading! As always, I appreciate you taking the time to like, comment, and reblog.

Read Part One and Part Two

AO3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dune properties, characters, or storylines-- nor do I own anything related to Hadestown. The images used in this are not my own, and any similarities to stories or events other than what are directly referenced are strictly coincidence.

Lily white and poppy red

I trembled when he laid me out

“You won���t feel a thing,” he said, “when you go down”

Nothing gonna wake you now

Drops of blood. 

A wicked, black smile.

“You won’t feel a thing.” 

You wake up with a gasp. Your doctor had warned you about dreams like this. They weren’t real, just an aftereffect of your accident.

The medical staff for House Harkonnen had been gracious enough to inform you of your predicament. When your family had recently hosted the Harkonnens, you quickly met and fell deeply in love with the na-Baron Feyd-Rautha. Your love for each other was so intense that you had demanded to get married right away. Your father disapproved of the union, so he disowned you and banished you, demanding to never see you again.

On the journey back to Geidi Prime, a stray asteroid hit the ship and caused you to hit your head. Feyd had apparently worried for your life, which saddened you and warmed your heart. It was nice to know that someone truly cared for you. However, your mind wasn’t quite the same afterwards. Your life before Geidi Prime was completely unknown to you. Your memories were in a fragile state.

That was just a few months earlier. Unfortunately, your mind has not yet recovered your memories prior to the accident. You were diligently taking a specially brewed tea that would calm your mind so it wouldn’t fracture under the immense pressure to try and fix itself. When you asked how long it would take for you to recover, your heart cracked when they said that it may take the rest of your natural life.

While it broke your heart to hear of your father’s dismissal of your feelings, you believed that you were strong enough to carry on. Having no further ties to your home world made it better to settle in with your new family.

You are a Harkonnen now.

Now, your footsteps make the quietest of echoes as you traipse down the narrow corridor. Heads of nearby servants and slaves bow, and eyes snap to the floor as you pass by. You feel the barest of sympathies, for not being allowed the simplest of human connection with their na-Baronness. But it was paradise considering the consequences should anyone ever feel bold enough to try otherwise.

Your husband wouldn’t allow that.

Dreams are sweet, until they’re not

Men are kind, until they aren’t

Flowers bloom, until they rot and fall apart

“Can I not have a single friend on this planet?!”

You burst into your shared chambers, rage rushing through your veins. All you had wanted was to have lunch and tea with one of the few female palace advisors you had taken a liking to. Maybe share a laugh or a story. Make a connection outside of your new family. That was all ruined when Feyd barged in and gutted your companion, stomach-to-throat, while she sat in her chair.

You were sure that your shoes had trailed blood down the hallway, but your mind was focused elsewhere at the moment.

“What use would you have for friends? I am right here.” He closed in on you, grasping your arms and forcing you to look in his direction. “Am I not enough for you? Do I not give you everything you should ever desire?”

His hands tighten around your wrists, making you flinch. A stray tear falls from your eyes, guilt starts to overcome your anger.

“No, not at all, husband! You have given me everything I could have wished for and more,” You wrench your hands out of his grip and grasp his face. He showered you with gifts, never let you go hungry or thirsty and this is how you repay him? “I just… I didn’t think you would want to hear me talk about certain things. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

“I know you don’t, my darling.”

You take a deep breath as you feel the tension in the room start to settle.

“Your mind is already fragile from the accident… I just want to keep you safe.”

Safe. That was the key here. He takes step back and retrieves a small dagger from his belt.

Feyd holds it up, showing you the weapon. “Did you know that your friend had a blade dipped in poison strapped onto her person?”

You can feel the blood rushing from your face. No. You didn’t know.

“I-I didn’t see a knife on her. She couldn’t have-“

“She did.”

He drops the blade and leans in closer to you, forehead aligning with yours. “There are people out there who seek to harm you, who seek to harm me through you. I can never let that happen.”

You nod furiously. You couldn’t believe that you had been so stupid. 

Trust is unbelievably hard to come by in the Galactic Imperium. Your few months’ worth of memories can even attest to that. It seems that the only people you can truly rely on is family.

“I only want what’s best for you.”

You understand now.

Is anybody listening?

I open my mouth and nothing comes out

Another argument discussion had emerged from your telling of your latest dream. Your husband was convinced that you were entirely too exhausted to put any stock into what your subconscious was telling you, but you thought otherwise.

Fingers run through a patch of bright pinks, yellows, and blues—

“I swear to you, it felt so real! It was almost like a memory, like something I-,” A firm hand is placed on your shoulder as you give a slight stumble. Feyd puts a hand on your back, leading you to the edge of your bed, setting you on the bench that was placed against the footboard.

“Please, have some of your morning tea, my darling. You look a bit peaked.” You accepted the cup he gave you, settling down and taking a few sips of the warm, spiced drink. Your mind instantly calms, anxieties evaporating from your body like puffs of smoke. Never mind the memories that you had just… Floating.

Your husband is now on one knee in front of you, arms encasing your body, as his hands cup your face. He brings your eyes to meet his, seemingly searching. For what? You do not know.

“What were you saying about this dream of yours?” A pause reverberates throughout the room as your head tilts in confusion.

“My…?” You stutter, mouth opening to complete a thought that was no longer entirely there. “I can’t quite remember. What were we talking about?”

Your husband gives a smirk, analyzing your face once more before placing his hand on the dark fabric covering your swollen belly.

“Nothing of import. It seems that my heir is set on scrambling your thoughts.”

There seemed to be nothing in this world that brought more joy to Feyd-Rautha’s face than the sight of you and his unborn child. He’s more protective of you now than ever, having guards always posted near you, having you wear a shield during all public appearances. Not to mention, he was damn near insatiable in private. His hands and mouth are practically dragged away from you and your growing stomach every morning.

You give a chuckle. “I’d heard about pregnancy brain before, but never knew it to be this taxing! Perhaps I’ll take a walk later if I’m feeling up to it.”

Feyd gives your cheek a soft pat before rising to his feet, “Rest, my darling. I shall check in on the both of you later.” His hand rests next to yours, giving your belly a quick rub before he walks towards the door.

Your head goes to set on your pillow, the warmth from the tea running through your body. You must be really tired, since you fall asleep so quickly.

Quick enough to not hear the deadbolt lock clicking from the outside once the door is closed.

Flowers, I remember field of flowers

Soft beneath my heels

Walking in the sun, I remember someone

Someone by my side, turned his face to mine

The dreams start to encroach your mind while you are awake. You continue to follow your doctor’s instructions: take your daily tea, rest often, don’t overexert your body or your mind. But, ever persistent, they push through, finding parallels with your daily life to latch onto.

A hand, gently enlaced with yours, guides you through a meadow—

You husband’s hands lead you to stand with him by his uncle’s side, preparing for another ceremony.

A laugh, familiar and warm—

A chilling cackle of laughter reaches you in your viewing box, watching your husband gleefully slay another adversary in the arena.

Bright, yellow sunlight caressing your face and neck—

The black sun of Geidi Prime pulses in your periphery as you wave to a crowd below, your husband standing stoically next to you.

A kiss, given freely—

Feyd ravishes you in your chambers, lips melding together with yours.

My darling—

My love—

My darling—

My darling—

My darling—

My darling—

My darling—

“Is everything alright, my darling?”

You blink, snapping back to the present. Pale, smooth skin and blue eyes, your husband extends his hand towards you. Safe. He gives you everything. You and your child will never struggle or suffer with him. You are safe with him. Aren’t you?

Blood splatters over a patch of bright pinks, yellows, and blues—

You give a bright smile.

If you ever walk this way

Come and find me lying in the bed I made

[modern-gremlin]

Morning Errands | Sebastian SDV — Married Life 🔞

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Pairing: Sebastian (SDV) x afab!reader

Summary: You need Sebastian's help with beginning-of-season errands. If only there was a way you could "wake him up".

Tags: Husband!Sebastian, Smut, established relationship, detailed descriptions of sex, a dash of fluff. NSFW Tags below the cut.

Word Count: 2,900 (I did it, a fic under 5,000 words lol) A/N: Fun Fact — this idea started as a non-SDV related adult animation concept I was in early development of. I unfortunately do not have a lot of time for animating things anymore, so it's definitely more feasible to write it down. PLUS, I just love quickly shooting these stories out — better spat out here than rotting in my brain!!

It was really fun to rewrite it to fit the Stardew Valley world; I think it just gives me so much more to work with. Especially when it comes to writing about the world in detail. (and I get to feed my Sebastian brainworms <33) Hope you enjoy the read xoxo

NSFW Tags: morning sex, foreplay (dry humping), some dirty talk (mostly teasing), oral (male receiving), overstimulation, creampie

"Seb? Seeeeebb, it's 6:40," you say softly with a gentle shake of his arm, "we gotta get going." Still unwilling to move from his comfortable spot on the bed, Sebastian stifles a sleepy groan in response. It's always been hard to wake him up — that's something you knew even before you married him. Working freelance comes with the blessing and curse of setting your own work schedule, which means late night cramming sessions are a normal occurrence. You don't really blame him for wanting to sleep in, but today, he promised to help you with your ever-growing list of morning chores.

You run your fingers through his hair, lightly brushing the dark strands off his cheek with the back of your fingers. He just looks so peaceful when he's asleep; it's really such a shame to wake him up like this. Especially when he wraps his arm around you to cuddle against your thigh. It's almost tempting to sink yourself back into his arms and shut the whole world away under the protection of your shared bed covers. Almost — but you know better than to underestimate your beginning-of-season errands. It doesn't help that you also agreed to host a family dinner with Robin and Demetrius this evening. So much to do, so little time. In hindsight, you wish you planned this all a little better.

With a little more force this time, you try to shake him awake. "Mmph… just a few more minutes…" he mumbles while releasing his arms from your thigh, now lying on his back. At least he's able to get a few words out. That's a good sign, you think to yourself. You head toward your bathroom, hoping that by the time you're done brushing your teeth he'll be sitting upright. Maybe.

A soft, cool breeze enters the small opening of your window as you pass through the hallway. It's remarkable how quickly the seasons change in the valley. From your view in the bathroom, you can catch a glimpse of your summer crops, now reduced to wilted clumps in the soil. You'll definitely need Seb's help with this today. You take a little extra time to brush your teeth and wash your face, trying to buy him time to get up. He's gotta be awake by now, right?

You're not surprised to see him still splayed on the bed, eyes just barely fluttering at the sound of your footsteps entering the room. "Seb, it's almost 7 now. I really need your help," you plead sweetly, hoping the cute tone you've adopted would prompt him to move with more haste. He just smiles and offers a curt, "Mhm," in response, eyes still shut. Wow, he's really out of it, huh? You might need to switch strategies.

If you married Sebastian knowing that he's not exactly a morning person, he should also count on the fact that you're always up for a little bit of mischief — because now, you've got a plan that's basically foolproof. Creeping up to the bed, you slowly plant a knee on each side of his body to gently straddle his lap. With your chest pressed against his, you place kisses on his face. "Sebby, come on" you whisper tenderly into his ear, "you can get up for me, can't you?" He lets out an amused huff out of his nose and wraps an arm around the small of your back. He's definitely more awake now, but perhaps a little more provocation will do the trick.

You kiss along his jaw down to the side of his neck, playing with the collar of his t-shirt with your fingers. His eyes lazily open when you stop, now meeting his gaze from where your cheek rests on his chest. "Morning, sleepyhead. Remember those errands I need help with?" you tease. He lovingly smirks at your remark, placing a hand on your head to gently stroke your hair.

"Mm… what time is it?" he asks in a raspy voice. You answer his question with a light pinch of his cheek,

"Probably seven, by now. We're running a little late, y'know?"

The fact that 7AM is considered late to you is something he's still getting used to. If left to his own devices, he'd absolutely sleep the day away and have his breakfast at 3PM. Yet, he tries his best to slip into your daily schedule because that'd mean he'd get more time to see your face throughout the day, wouldn't it? But you know what they say, old habits die hard, and right now his old habits have him basically glued to the bed.

"What are the chances I can convince you to push these errands to tomorrow?" he asks cheekily.

"Hm… slim to none," you reply. "With the dinner party today and the fair coming up in a few weeks, it's gonna be really tough to–" You notice his eyes droop as you speak. "Seb?" He startles awake at the sudden call of his name.

"M' sorry, babe. Promise I'm not doing it on purpose," Sebastian rubs his eyes and yawns. "It's just... hard to stay awake."

With a smile, you shake your head and sigh, "what am I gonna do with you?"

"Hm…I don't know. What are you going to do with me?" He places his hands onto your back again, looking down at you with a suggestive smirk.

Leaning in closer to his face, just barely grazing your mouth over his, you whisper, "I might have a few ideas."

Placing your hands around his neck, thumbs resting against his jaw, you pull him closer into a deep kiss. He tightens the grip around your waist in response, pulling you closer toward him. God, if he wasn't awake a few minutes ago, he definitely is waking up now. He takes your mouth into his, enveloping your lips entirely and gently brushing them with his tongue. You can feel your pulse quickening as your breasts press firmly against him; an urge slowly building and itching at you from below. Unable to contain yourself, you lower your hips to grind against the thick bulge beneath you. You can't help but smile at how hard he already is; grinning against his tongue.

You pull away to shift your weight onto his clothed cock, gasping at how it rubs against you. "At least one part of you is up," you jeer, rocking slow movements against his length. He muses at your words and brushes his hair away from his face, granting him a better view of your body on top of his.

"Can you blame me?" he smiles, his sleepy eyes scanning your form. Running thumbs underneath the hem of your shirt, he gingerly lifts up the fabric to reveal your bare chest steadily bouncing at the rhythm your clothed pussy rubs against him. "Fuck me," he gasps breathily, "what a way to wake up."

His exasperation makes you laugh, motivating you to grind your hips with more fervour. "I'm glad this is working," you admit, "because we have just– so much– to do…" Your words are broken up with every sway of your hips. He pulls your shirt off your arms as you continuously pleasure yourself with his dick, moaning and creating a wet spot on his boxers. He just watches as you use him, in absolute awe by how your body reacts to his. His head slowly falls backward onto the pillow, closing his eyes to take in the stimulation. Then suddenly, you stop.

His eyes dart open again at your weight being lifted off his lap, ready to pull you back onto him. You move his hands away and lower your face to his lap. "Nuh uh. You gotta wake up," you chastise before pulling down his boxers. He groans breathily when his thick cock springs free, smacking his toned stomach from the speed of your movements. Without warning, you spit on his tip and run your palm against his shaft, causing him to tense at the sudden sensation. For a while, he can only stare at you with furrowed brows and complete admiration.

"I should sleep in more often," he teases while grinning at his own remark. But soon his sly grin is replaced by a strained grit because you wrap your fingers around his fat length, stroking him at an unfair pace. He perches himself up by the elbows, watching you fist his cock from base to tip. "Fuck, baby. You gotta slow down or ill–" You lower yourself to lick his balls, dragging your way up the shaft.

"Can't, Sebby," you say, stopping at the tip. "Can't have you falling asleep on me." Taking his length in your hand, you guide his cock into the warmth of your mouth, swirling your tongue around the head.

He instinctually places his hands on the top of your head as he throws back his own. The bed gently shakes at the bobbing of your head, catching and swallowing his length into your throat. It's all so sudden; so frustratingly sexy that he can hardly take it. With the hand that grips at your hair, he tries to pry you off him — hoping to gain some reprieve. But this only invites you to suck on him with more excitement. It's just too hard to resist when he praises you in his gravelly, morning voice. "Holy fuck, babe. You're too good at tha–" You can feel his cock twitch in your mouth as he pushes you away from him; he must be close.

With a gentle tug of your hair, you give in and pull away. You and Sebastian heave heavily, the latter trying to regain his composure. He's usually the one to make you melt underneath him, so you can't help but marvel at his flustered expression. "You awake now?" you triumph with a mischievous smile. He picks himself up to stare into you; the look in his eyes tell you that you're in for it now.

Releasing his grip, he sits himself upright and leans toward you. "Hm, yeah. I think I am," he says while returning your expression, "turn around."

Without a question, you turn yourself around, resting your chest on the bed while lifting your ass toward him. You wiggle your hips tauntingly in his direction until you're greeted by a firm smack — a small yelp escapes your lips from the impact. "So impatient," he chides while soothing the sting with his palm, "well, you got what you wanted. I'm up." He slaps your ass again before leaning behind you, pressing his chest to your back to whisper into your ear, "unless…there's something else you wanted."

Just the sound of his condescending tone sends shivers down your spine, and he knows it. He hooks a finger by your dripping slit and tugs at your underwear, causing the fabric to bundle tightly against your clit. All semblances of your mischief has disappeared, vanished with his scolding and now you're moaning his name into the covers. You can tell he's enjoying every lewd noise you make, because now he's tugging at your panties harder, trying to elicit a bigger reaction.

"Well, now that I'm awake, let's go over our to-do list, hm?" He releases your underwear, only to slip his cock beneath the fabric and vigorously rub your clit.

"Seb… I can't–" you plead, eager to feel him plunge inside you. He places his hands on your waist, stroking soothing circles with his thumbs against your back.

"Don't worry, baby. You'll get it, after we go through the list. Okay?" he coos.

Stumbling your words in between moans, you begin listing the day's tasks. "W-we… need to clear off the crops…and prepare the fields."

"Mhm," he hums while wetting his tip along your slit. "What's next?"

"Clear off the weeds in front of the b-baaaarn–" You words shake as he teases your entrance with his tip, gliding it to catch your slick. "Then go to Pierre's… to pick up ingredients for tonight." Your legs quiver as he prods your wet cunt, not fully entering.

"Is there…anything else?" Sebastian meaninglessly asks, his own voice getting shaky in anticipation. He doesn't really care what's on the to-do list, not at the moment at least. No doubt he'll have to ask about it later, because all he cares about now is making you beg to be railed.

"We might also need to–" This time, he slowly pushes his cock through your wet folds, slipping himself inch by inch into your cunt until his thighs are flush against you. His size fills you entirely, stopping any words from escaping your mouth.

He lets out a breathy moan as he feels your pussy clench around him, still gritting his teeth to continue, "We might need to what? I didn't… catch the last part." He nearly pulls himself out entirely while waiting for your response.

"We…might need to–" You breathe in heavily while his dick pulses inside you. "Seb, please," you beg in a petulant tone. Your cries are so needy and desperate, but you don't care. There's no pride between you two, only true love and the aching desire to be fucked. Lucky for you, the feeling is mutual. Deciding he's equally impatient, he fucks his full length back into you.

"I think I get the gist," he says with a satisfied smile before plunging himself in and out of your cunt. He so badly wants to praise how well you took his teasing, but he's almost completely breathless. Lost for words at how tight you are, how well your pretty pussy takes him, and utterly smitten by the way you moan his name between thrusts. He wants to pound more of them out of you — a reminder to everyone in town that you've chosen him and he's the one fucking you the way you deserve.

Really, this is just one of the many moments he's reminded just how lucky he is. He feels so lucky that you decided to move to this boring town. So lucky that you stuck around despite his icy exterior, and miraculously lucky that you fell in love with him. Now he gets to wake up beside you everyday, fuck you like no one else can, and navigate life's mundanities with the person he loves. Morning errands be damned; nothing ever feels like a chore now that you're his.

He pounds you harder now — as if he's trying to bury his intentions deep inside you so you can feel his gratitude. Because even all his sly remarks and bullied thrusts are just another way of praising you; another way to tell you he loves you without saying it out loud. Your pussy clenches down on him so tightly, grasping onto his praises like your life depended on it. Ready to cum all over his cock to confirm that you feel the same. But even if your cunt wasn't being obvious, your words certainly were.

"Seb– it feels so. Fucking. Good," you whine in between thrusts. You try to warn him of your impending burst, but the arch of your back signals your orgasm much faster than you can speak. Backing your ass further into him, you accept his length against your cervix until you feel your release. You convulse around him, whispering thank you's under your breath. The only sound reaching his ears are your muffled cries of pleasure and the squeaking of the bed. He fucks you through your orgasm, but even after you come down from the high, he's still not done.

He rails your stimulated pussy over and over again, causing you to reach out your hand behind you to slow him down. "S-sebastian, I just came. Slower, it's so f-fast"

Grabbing your arm by the wrist, he plows deeper into you. "Sorry, baby. Can't," he says breathily, "We got too much to do today, remember?" You turn your head back to look over your shoulder and flash him a blissed-out smile, silently laughing at his twist of your words.

Reaching around to your front, he rubs circles around your puffy clit while he fucks his last few, sloppy blows inside you. "So close, babe. M'so fucking…close" he says with gritted teeth. His movements on your bud stokes the fire within you, threatening to shatter you once again. With one last buck of his hips against yours, he shoots his load deep inside your pussy, filling you to the brim with in white. He groans profanities as he sputters small thrusts into you. The warmth of his semen hitting against you is the last straw, sending you into your second orgasm of the day.

Dropping your wrist from his grip, he leans forward onto your back, pulling out slightly causing his cum to spill out of you. You breathe in unison, heavily and laboured as you try to regain your bearings. Maybe it's been ten minutes or maybe it was an hour, but you both lay beside each other, unbothered by the time that's passing you by.

When you both come down to your senses, your eyes lock onto his and suddenly you're both chuckling at the morning's happenings. With a bright-eyed smile, he takes your palm to rest on his cheek. Placing a kiss on your knuckles, he greets you to start the day.

"Good morning, honey."

[talktonytome]

Ok I couldn’t stop thinking about this post and how Eddie’s cultural background impacts his life so I’m adding some of my thoughts:

re: repression and emotions- unfortunately for those who subscribe to the machismo part of our culture, they are taught to repress emotions- boys&men shouldn’t cry, suck it up, showing pain is weak. And we see that with Eddie and his Dad, who ingrained that so much so Eddie resorted to unhealthy outlets (like cage fighting-another macho thing) and he was having panic attacks because his feelings and emotions had no where to go. He was so reluctant and skeptical of therapy (again another machismo/ Mexican thing)

re: being forced to grow up too fast- when he was a BOY, his dad told him he had to be the “man” of the house now and take care of the family, which segues into getting Shannon pregnant in their teens. By his dad’s measure, he was a man right? He was expected to get married and assume the role of husband and provider. And sure, religion plays into it as well. he felt pressured and never had the time to think what do I want to do? And as is the case for so many to escape their situation, he joined the army and boy do you grow up fast there.

re: relationships- he married his first serious girlfriend when they were so young and even though they loved each other, people change so much and they weren’t given the option to consider not being together. Eddie mostly assumed the role of provider because he didn’t know how to deal with everything going on, especially with Christopher. (btw I don’t think it’s fair how harsh some ppl are about Shannon bc she was left alone with a kid and Eddie’s parents who hated her) He wasn’t there to be a husband or a father because, as he said himself, he left first and ofc he felt guilt over that. His only impression of love and their relationship was stagnant and frozen in time. When he reunited with Shannon, he was only maybe just starting to get closure when she died and he fell into that grief and never let himself fully heal from it. After being with Christopher again, he fully took on the role of father and that is all he was. His subsequent relationships did not work because he was really looking for a mom for Christopher and again didn’t ask himself what he wants, he struggled with relationships, and as a result, the women he tried to date suffered.

We know that his aunt constantly tries to set him up with people and oh god if that isn’t relatable. If you’re Latinx, we hear it all the time! “Cuando te vas a casar?” (When are you getting married?) “No tienes novio(a)?” (You don’t have a gf/bf?) “Deja the presento a” (let me introduce you to). There’s this pressure and stigma about being alone and Eddie goes along with these set-ups, women that are not chosen by him so ofc it feels like a performance. (I mean dating already is when you’re just getting to know someone.) and there’s the expectation in our culture that you need a partner and nuclear family to be complete.

In conclusion, I wish more people could see the influence and impact all of this has on Eddie’s life and decisions, and how he’s hispanic man forced to grow up too soon and become a dad-coded. I wish that nuance was considered more often, and my hope for season 8 is that he finally breaks it all down and figures out what he wants and who he wants to be!

[princess-yuna]

My Dearest: Part 1

Pairing: Colin Bridgerton x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1,838

Summary: You've been apart from Colin for months due to his tour after his brother's marriage to Viscountess Kate Bridgerton. One letter stood out to you the most, putting you in for a loop until you see him again.

Content: No use of y/n, reader's last name is Bennett for fic purposes but feel free to imagine another surname that's suitable for you, pining, friends turned lovers and a lot of fluff. Reader has a younger sister and an older brother.

Next

My Dearest, If only you had accompanied me on my travels. I know that you would love Spain. It is rich in culture that we read in your father's journals. Everything that he had written is nothing short of the truth, and you must see it for yourself one day. Maybe next time you will join me on my travels because everything I have seen has opened my eyes more than a journal ever could. I am counting the days when I can see you again so I can tell you more. Until then, our written words will suffice. Sincerely Yours, Colin Bridgerton

It had been two months since you received the letter, and you couldn't put words to paper in response. There had been constant correspondence between you and Colin since he had left on his travels, but none of those letters were prefaced with "my dearest". The words made you believe he made a mistake because your name wasn't written on the letter like it always had been. Yet the envelope had your name in his neat handwriting, so there couldn't have been in an error.

Why would he address you as so in his letter?

The relationship you had with Colin was mere of like a sibling type relationship. You've known the Bridgerton family since you were a child considering their estate was one over from yours in London. Your parents have been long time friends, so it was natural that their children were friends as well.

You made your debut with the eldest daughter Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton. Daphne was your best friend, and ever since she married the Duke of Hastings, she had been preoccupied with marriage and children. You were always happy for her, but saddened when she left the Bridgerton estate. While she was the diamond, you were also busy finding suitors of your own that season.

There were suitors that called on you that had a lot to offer, and Lord Brixton was the most promising out of them all. Unfortunately, the proposal never came. You never understood why, but you were not devastated unlike your mother was. Lady Whistledown, of course, wrote about your failure of finding a husband, but you never thought of it as a negative thing. Perhaps Eloise had an influence on you.

However, now, you read over the handwritten words of Colin Bridgerton before you drifted to sleep ever since you received it. A longing in your heart brewed that you were of unaware of before for the man you used to think of as a brother. He had almost begged you to come because you stated that finding a husband was something that you didn't long for, but you would have had to decline. It wouldn't have been appropriate to go on a worldly adventure with a man you weren't married , or related, to. That would've certainly disgraced your family if word got around.

Now with the start of a new season, it was your sister's turn to debut. You couldn't be distracted by one handwritten note as you focused preparing your sister to be presented to the queen. She looked absolutely stunning as she stood in the room with Francesca Bridgerton, and it would be lucky if either of them were crowned diamond of the season.

Your mother had shooed you to go stand with your brother as every debutant was presented one by one. Eloise had waved you over as she spotted you walk in, and you immediately linked arms with her as she whispered something in your ear that made you both giggle.

A presence made your gaze lift, and then you felt your cheeks go warm. Colin Bridgerton, your dearest friend, made his way to stand by you two. Eloise had said something witty to him and he responded with a witty comment of her own before she looked at you.

"Colin just arrived this morning," she mentioned before her gaze went back to the room.

Your gaze met with Colin's, no words exchanged as you looked at each other. It was like no one else was in the room as your gaze focused on him as you took in his appearance. Traveling had done him well. Before you could say something, his sister's name was called and your gaze adverted to watch her walk in. A breath that you didn't realize you held in was slowly released.

Once your sister was presented, you turned to Eloise and excused yourself before you glanced to Colin and gave him a faint smile. Before he could say anything, you left to meet with your sister and mother to go with them to the garden while your brother stood back to catch up with Colin.

You didn't realize that Colin's gaze was watching you as you walked away without a word to him.

You also didn't know that he desperately wanted to reach out and stop you from walking away.

Your brother questioned you when you returned home after the garden party since you made yourself scarce and stood by your sister the whole time. Colin had been eager to speak to you, but you darted away at any time he came close. You watched as he went to different groups of women to hide the fact that he had been chasing you. Your brother had noticed from afar as he stood accompanied his wife around the garden but he had said nothing then. The excuse you had was that you were tending to your sister because you wanted her season to go well. He knew better than to push the topic, so he left you alone.

You caught yourself reading the letter again that night.

Lady Danbury's ball had been highly anticipated, especially that Queen Charlotte did not name her diamond yet. All of the debutants had to make another good impression and be in the queen's favor. Your sister remained hopeful, but her only wish was to find love in the room filled with suitors. You smiled as the bachelors approached and whisked her away to dance, which made you stand on the sidelines until you made eye contact with no other than Colin Bridgerton.

There was a panic that went through you as he made his way towards you, and you felt the need to get some fresh air. You escaped out the doors as quickly as you could until you heard your name being called out. Even when you thought you were fast, his steps were faster. You were halted when he had reached out to gently grasp your wrist, forcing you to come to a stop.

Your heart raced and you shut your eyes for a brief moment before you found the courage to turn to face him.

"I've been trying to talk to you but you keep evading me," he stated, slowly releasing the hold he had on your wrist. "Are you avoiding me?"

Yes.

"No, of course not, Colin. I've been distracted by my sister's debut is all," you responded as you looked him in the eyes. It wasn't exactly a lie. "I'm sure you understand with two sisters being in society," you added shortly.

"Oh, yes, of course," he agreed and nodded his head. Though he didn't bare the responsibility when it was Anthony who did. All he knew was to stay out of the way, but he understood why you were so distracted. "I have missed you dearly," he then said.

That word was close to what he had called you in that letter. My dearest. They echoed in your mind as you looked at him, taking him in again to note his appearance in detail. "I have missed you as well," you spoke honestly after some pause. A show of relief crossed his features when you said it in return.

"Why did our letters stop?" He suddenly asked, almost rushed like he couldn't stop his mouth from speaking once he thought of the question. He grimaced because he saw the look on your face. Wide eyed and shocked. "I apologize for being forward, but I need to know," he spoke and cleared his throat as he teetered on his feet uncomfortably. "Was I too bold in that last letter I wrote you? That's the only thing I can think of that made you stop writing," he rambled.

It had been intentional. The questions that you had in the past two months were answered. Colin Bridgerton meant to call you his dearest. That alone made your heart race more as you stared into his eyes. The blue eyes that reminded you of the ocean. Beautiful but a storm could brew in them at any time.

You could see something in his eyes that you have never seen before. The uncertainty. The eagerness to know what made you stop corresponding with him on his travels. There was that boy you saw who was scared to lose whatever it was between you because of how he noted his letter.

"Well, it certainly caught me off guard," you admitted.

A soft chuckle left his lips, his gaze adverted from yours for a moment. "I do not regret what I wrote," he stated, his gaze return to yours. There was a softness in his eyes that made you drawn to him. You didn't realize that he had stepped closer to you, but he was close enough to where people would whisper if they saw you in this position. "I meant it when I said I was counting down the days until we saw each other again," he spoke in a whisper that only you could hear, "There is more I do want to tell you."

You were then at a loss for words as you watched him lean closer, but before you could say anything he immediately stepped back when someone called your name. The trance you were in was broken as your mother approached with your sister.

"Ah, there you are! Your sister wants to retire for the evening," your mother stated and then she smiled at Colin, "Oh, it's very nice to see you, Mister Bridgerton. Looking as dashing as ever."

"Thank you, Lady Bennett, it's nice to see you as well. I suppose I should see what my siblings are up to," he said to your mother, his charm shone through. He gave a nod to your sister and then looked at you again. "Good night then," he said, nodding his head to you.

"Good night," you said and returned the gesture.

His smile was warm before he headed back to go find his family. You watched him go then looked to your mother and sister, joining them to wait for the carriage to retrieve you.

You were thankful that your sister and mother couldn't hear your heartbeat, and you were more thankful that they didn't notice if you were blushing but you felt the warmness of your cheeks.

Colin Bridgerton now consumed your every thought as your sister gushed about the fun she just had.

A/N: There you have it! I took it in my own hands to write a Colin fic and I'm pretty proud of it. Everything was just kinda thrown together, but I love where my mind took it. This may be a 4 part series depending on where my mind takes me. I hope you like this as much as I liked writing it. <3

Please follow @yunawrites and turn on notifications for that blog if you're interested to get notified on when I post. :)

[dfortrafalgar]

I'm Losing You

Having a family isn't always as easy as fairy tales make it seem.

Law x Fem Reader

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read these warnings before reading this fic. Genuinely, I implore you. I started writing this fic on a whim a few weeks ago, when I was contemplating my own experiences with reproduction-related health conditions such as the one that will be addressed later on in this story (endometriosis). Reproductive education and health is something that I feel very strongly about, and I feel that topics such as pregnancy complications and loss aren't addressed enough in media for fear that they're too taboo or shocking. Which, to be fair, is true, at least for the shocking aspect. Pregnancy loss is difficult, traumatic, and life-changing, for better or for worse, truly dependent on the person and the world around them.

Now you might be wondering... why would you drag one piece into this? well, i don't know. i felt like it, perhaps. Law is a character who resonates very deeply to me, his character is emotionally complex and layered, and imagining him in a scenario like this one became very interesting to me. Combine that with everything i stated above and taddaa, you get this fic.

this story does and will eventually have a happy ending (a very happy ending!) however it will take a bit to get there. this is a multi-chapter fic that i'm moving from my ao3 to my new blog, and the same warnings there apply here.

if this fic doesn't seem like your cup of tea, i encourage you to check out some of my other fics on my blog. i have a few law/readers that are tooth-rottingly fluffy and much more feel good.

with all that out of the way, thank you for reading.

Chapter 1

[Next]

The air in the room was as stifling as a sauna from the stress and anxiety filling the air.  It was so silent, the tiles surrounding the small area blocking any and all noise from outside.  The door was closed, caging you in.

You were sitting on the toilet lid, your hands rapidly perspiring and your whole body shivering with nerves.  Across from you, your husband had his arms crossed, his head hung low, his heel bouncing off the floor.  The tension was unlike anything you had ever experienced, however this had unfortunately become the norm for the past six months.

On the side of the sink sat a long white stick.  Neither of you wanted to look at it.

“Do you think it’s ready now…?” you asked, inwardly cringing at how pathetic and weak your wobbly voice sounded.

Law picked his head up, his golden eyes creased in profound concern and worry.  “It should be.  Five minutes, right?”

“I think so,” you replied.  With a trembling hand, you grabbed the stick from the counter.  Law watched your every movement with a close eye.  With a deep breath, you flipped over the test and gazed at the result window.

A single red line.

After the last failed attempt, you made a joke that you didn’t have any more tears left in you to cry, but clearly that wasn’t the case as fat, salty tears rapidly welled in your eyes and flowed down your cheeks.  Law immediately knew what the result was the second your lips twitched downward.  His heart sank into his stomach, immediately stepping toward you, grabbing the test from your hand and blindly chucking it into the small garbage can in the corner.  He knelt on the floor in front of you to pull you into his chest.

“Damn it…” you whimpered.  Your body forced you to take a shuddering inhale before sobbing an anguished, “FUCK!!!!”

Law’s heart broke.  He didn’t even know what to say to comfort you anymore.  6 months of failed attempts at conceiving a very wanted baby had caused nothing but pain to both of you.  You had both been scientific about the process.  All birth control and protection was ceased, and the two of you were religiously tracking your cycle to make sure you would try during your ovulation window, but nothing but failure after failure showed up.

You thought you were broken.

Law thought he was broken.

You wept into his shoulder, your body shuddering with each pained sob that crawled from your sore throat.  Law’s hands were frozen around you, firmly gripping your back.  You couldn’t see the tears that were forming in the corners of his stern eyes, biting his lip and forcing every muscle in his face to prevent those tears from slipping downward.  The last thing you needed was to see him cry, but he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to hold it in.

“Law…” you whimpered into his shoulder.

Law stayed silent.

“I’m sorry–”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he quickly retorted, cutting you off.  He felt you lurch in his arms.  “This isn’t your fault.  It’s not anyone’s fault… it’s…”

Now you stayed silent.

Law took his own shallow inhale.  “I… don’t know.”

For one of the only times in Law’s life, he was rendered completely incapable of speech.  Normally calm and analytical, looking for every possible solution or reason for an issue, he was now left completely helpless to the crashing waves of sheer dejection.  As your quivering body clung to him like a lifeline, his entire brain was scrambling for some sense, any logical thought, for the current predicament, but it was starting to become glaringly obvious to both of you.

It was very likely one of you was infertile.

When you finally picked your head up from his shoulder, Law’s previously broken heart fractured into even more irreparable pieces.

Your eyes were puffy, swollen and bloodshot from your tears.  Your entire face looked bloated from the force of your crying, and you were clearly flushed.  You looked, for lack of a better word, completely miserable.  Law helped you stand from the closed toilet seat, keeping your eyes away from the trash can where the negative pregnancy test lay on top of discarded tissues and makeup wipes, to guide you to your shared bedroom.  Neither of you had to say a word, you knew he was going to put you into your shared bed and let you get some much-deserved rest after the stressful eternity (10 minutes) you had just endured.  It was almost 8:00PM anyway, and regrettably, both of you still had work the following day.

You didn’t fight it when Law eased you down onto the mattress by your shoulders.  You kept your eyes pinned closed, not wanting to let your husband see any more of your beaten state.  You rolled over onto your side and hid in your pillows.  You didn’t hear Law mention that he would join you after cleaning up, and you didn’t notice the overhead light dimming.  You simply begged for sleep to take you quickly and painlessly.

When Law finally returned after washing his face, he gazed dejectedly at your weary form.  Finally asleep, fortunately, but your cheeks were glossy with fresh tears.  The man carefully crawled into bed behind you, carefully pulling your body into his.  He wished more than anything that he could make your pain go away.  He ran through the many years you had been together, and struggled to find a time where your sorrow was as profound as it was this evening.  His mind was constantly at war- his analytical, doctor side beginning to list specific reasons why this could be happening, and his sincere, passionate, loving husband side breaking apart reflecting over the sound of your sobs.

It could have been either of you.  But it also could’ve been both of you.  The thought was enough to finally force the tears in Law’s eyes to break free and travel down his cheeks.  Some of them plotted into your hair.

—

You awoke to the sound of whispering in your hallway outside the bedroom.  The blinds covering the window above the bed you shared with Law were pulled shut, but the sunlight still beamed through them leaving patterns on the walls and floor.  The side Law slept on was empty and freshly made.  No surprise, he left for work early in the morning after all.  You slowly sat up in bed, your head pounding.  The events of the previous evening came rushing back to you, but you felt nothing but an empty melancholy, a dark fog that hung over your brain and clouded your vision.

The door to your bedroom slowly opened.  You looked up just in time to see a very large, very fluffy cloud with four legs and two beady eyes come sprinting into your room.  Its feet ripped across the carpeted floor as It hopped on your bed with a loud huff, immediately snuggling on top of your duvet and leaning into your body for some much needed cuddles.

You mustered a weary laugh, your hands instinctively moving to the back of the dog’s neck to rub his fluffy cheeks from behind, eliciting happy grunts from the large animal.  He had his tongue out, a tiny pink blep among the sea of rich white fur.

“Bepo,” you sighed.  “You know Law doesn’t like it when you get on the bed.”

“He missed you!” called a voice from the hallway.  Spiky red hair appeared in the doorway.  “So did we, actually.  I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

Shachi had, actually, woken you up, but you didn’t need to tell him that.  “No, not at all.”  You shook your head.  Bepo’s tail was wagging in your face, causing you to sputter out small strands of loose fur from your mouth.  The red-head entered your bedroom, leaving the door open.  The smell of French toast instantly wafted into the space, making your mouth water and your eyes widen.  “Is Penguin cooking?”

“Yee-up,” Shachi replied, popping his lips to enunciate the word.  “Law invited us over, if you couldn’t tell.”  He flashed a smirk.  “You got the day off, by the way.”

Your eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.  “What?”

“Law called in sick for you,” the man confirmed.

You frantically reached for the night stand and grabbed your phone, tapping the screen to illuminate it.  It was almost 10:00AM, and sure enough, your alarm had been turned off.  Three texts from Law sat waiting on your screen, as well as two texts from your coworkers.

Baby~~<3

Sorry, I broke into your phone to turn your alarm off.  You get to sleep in today, I called you out sick.  I didn’t tell them anything, just that you weren’t feeling good.

Baby~~<3

Shachi and Penguin might be there when you wake up.  I did tell them a little about what happened, just so they know to give you space if you need it.

Baby~~<3

Call me if you need anything at all, I love you.

Ika-chan

I heard you called in sick today!!!  I hope you’re alright, let me know if you need anything!

Nami Swan

How r u feeling?  If u caut the flu u can blame Usopp :P

You smiled, your heart beating in your chest.  “You guys are too much sometimes.”

Shachi proudly rested his clenched fist over his sternum as a display of pride.  “Nothing is ever enough for your best friend!”  The sight made you chuckle.  

You were caught off guard by Penguin entering with a much larger platter of food than you ever expected.  He excitedly approached your bedside with a wide grin, marveling at his own work.  A bowl of mixed fruits, a plate of French toast drizzled with maple syrup and dollopped with a swirl of whipped cream, a small portion of sausage on the side, and a single unopened bottle of apple juice.  You graciously accepted the spread, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t completely befuddled.

“You guys know I’m not actually sick, right?” you asked, glancing at your husband’s best friends with concern.  You shooed Bepo away from getting too close to the sausage.

“We know,” Penguin clarified.  “We can treat you to a nice breakfast even when you’re not sick, though!”

You smiled, forcing down the lump that formed in your throat.  “Thank you guys, I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I know what you’d do,” Shachi stated.  “You’d eat your breakfast and savor every bite!”  He stood up from your bed and clapped his hands twice, beckoning Bepo off of the bed and over to his side.  “We’ll take Bepo for a walk around the neighborhood!  Take some time for yourself!”  The two men left with your dog in tow, leaving you to stare in awe at the spread of food.

Your mind was reeling.  Law’s text informed you that he had given his two friends a brief summary of what had happened, but you didn’t really mind.  If anything, it brought you some comfort to know that you and your husband’s two closest friends understood the predicament you were currently in and were more than willing to go out of their way to support you.  You also couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Law calling you out sick for the day, putting your passcode into your phone to turn off your alarm, and making sure his friends would be there for you when you woke up.  You were beyond grateful for such an incredible support system, but just to be on the safe side…

You grabbed your phone once more, opening your text messages with Law.

Good morning baby, thank you for calling me out.  Im feeling a bit better, Shachi and Penguin made me breakfast.  I hope you didnt give them too much grief ;3; Take care of yourself today, I’ll see you when you get home.  I love you!!! <333

With your breakfast completed, you slowly trudged to the bathroom to take a relaxing shower.  The sight of your negative pregnancy test filled you with nausea, but you pushed past the feeling and turned on the water.

[thelov3lybookworm]

I Am Forever Yours (part 3)

Day 6: Reputation

Summary: They assumed.

•○●⛦●○•

Word Count: 1092

Warnings: snobby, jealous ladies trynna bully yn but yn is a badass 😏, i think kinda oc lucien cus he hasnt fucked around at all heheheeheheheheh

A/n: look i just find people who wait till marriage to have intimate relations to be adorable and neat 🥹

(its me im neat and my future husband better be too 🤭)

edit: if you saw me edit the last line to add in a dialogue no u didnt 😇

@lucienweekofficial

ANYWAY ENJOYYYY 🥳

°•°•°•○🌑○•°•°•°

Y/n knew there were quite a few ladies who would kill to be in her place. After all, becoming the bride of one of the princes was no small matter. Especially when said prince was the most charming gentleman the kingdom had ever seen.

Royal and elite families, even from neighbouring kingdoms, as well as more potential brides had all been invited to the wedding. And where there was a wedding, there was a gathering of the ladies. And where there were ladies gathered, there were rumours spreading.

And Y/n found herself in such a setting the night before her wedding, and the topic of discussion, unfortunately, was her husband.

"Did you know he lives amongst the poor?"

"I cannot fathom why he would do that."

"Does he not get to spend like his brothers?"

"Poor him. I heard he might be a bastard child, and that is why he’s always left out of things."

Y/n heaved a frustrated sigh. From the past hour, she had been sitting here courtesy of her mother’s scoldings on propriety and etiquette, and if she left in the middle of the tea party after dinner it would be disrespectful. That the ladies would think marrying a prince got to her head and she thinks them beneath her.

One of the younger ladies’s giggles caught Y/n’s attention, and she turned to look at what was so funny.

"You know, there are rumours that he has fire in his veins."

High pitched giggles followed that statement, and Y/n’s cheeks burned from the implications in that statement.

Am I being too dirty minded?

But the next second, her worries were blown away by the words of an entirely too smug lady who sat closer to Y/n. "Oh, believe me, he does."

The others in their little group gasped, beginning to hound her for information.

"Did you have him in your bed?"

Y/n clenched her jaw just imagining such an erotic scene, pulse spiking.

"Oh no, I am not so fortunate. But I have surely dreamed about it and heard from others."

It gave Y/n little peace knowing that even though he might not have slept with others, people drooled over him still. She wanted to chide herself for having such thoughts, considering she had only met Lucien at that ball a month ago and was not even married yet.

But not for long, she reminded herself. The wedding would be tomorrow, and then she would have all rights to be possessive over him.

"Lady Oak, you are far too lucky. How did you even get him to agree to your proposal?"

Y/n blinked, meeting the eyes of the lady who grinned at her fiendishly. Her eyes narrowed.

Her name must be husband stealer or something.

She snorted at her own thoughts when another lady who looked younger than her piped up.

"Is it because your father is the advisor and the king forced him?"

Y/n fisted her hand, smiling sweetly. "Oh no, quite the opposite actually."

Husband-stealer laughed. "Oh, so prince Lucien asked your father for your hand? Can’t be, for he has been known to reject proposals left and right."

"Oh, did he reject your proposal too?"

Y/n leaned back in her cushioned chair, innocently gazing at husband-stealer as colour darkened her face, anger evident in every part of her body.

"That does not matter. He does not seem the type to stay with one partner forever anyways."

"You do not have to worry about his betrayals for you are not the one going to be affected by it."

Husband-stealer stood abruptly, glaring at Y/n for a moment before announcing she was going to retire to her room to her companions who did not bother to wish her back and focused on Y/n.

Another win, Y/n thought with a smirk.

"When did you meet him?"

"Last month during the ball he approached me, and when I told him to basically leave me alone, he asked for my hand in marriage. My father said yes."

"And you had no problem?"

Y/n’s smile turned genuine thinking about Lucien stalking up to her father and talking to him with his usual charm. She remembered very vividly how her father’s eyes had widened and he had stuttered through a response, his lips spreading in a grin.

"No. I had only seen him that day and I knew he would be the best suitor. Moreover, I trusted my father’s judgement."

The younger girls sighed in wonder, their eyes glazing over as they themselves imagined themself in her position.

Hiding her grin, Y/n stood, bidding them goodbye before making ehr way to her own bridal suite, anticipation building in her gut.

Tomorrow.

°•°•°•○🌑○•°•°•°

Lady Oak, you are far too lucky. How did you even get him to agree to your proposal?

Somehow, after a whole day had passed, after the wedding officiant had pronounced Lucien and Y/n husband and wife, after the reception and dinner party, husband-stealers’ words came back to Y/n.

Was she not right for Lucien? Had he made a mistake? Would he doubt their marriage just as the ladies had?

"Y/n?"

She turned to her new husband, who grinned at her, holding open the door to their bed chamber. She tried to smile back, but of course, even under the dim lighting of the corridor, Lucien saw it.

"Did something happen?"

Y/n paused, wondering if she should tell him what she’d heard.

"It’s just… some ladies were talking about you last night." His brows furrowed and he nodded at her to continue. "They said you would… betray me."

Understanding dawned on his eyes, and he reached out to touch Y/n’s cheek. "You do not have to worry about that. I’d rather cut my own di- private parts off than be with someone that is not my lawfully wedded wife."

Y/n blushed. How could she ever have even given thought to husband-stealer’s words? They were just that. Words.

"Thank you."

He rolled his eyes. "Do not thank me for common human decency." He paused, then- "May I kiss you?"

Y/n’s breath hitched. "I’ve never-"

"Neither have I."

Y/n’s eyes widened. "But- but they said-"

"They assumed."

Y/n closed her mouth with a snap.

"I always thought being loyal to your future partner had a certain romantic side to it. So? May I kiss you now?"

"I- yes but I do not know how to-"

He kissed her.

"I am forever yours."

°•°•°•○🌑○•°•°•°

Permanent Taglist: @berryzxx @sarawritestories @milswrites @throneofsmut

@daycourtofficial @sweetorangeblossom @secret-third-thing

Acotar Taglist: @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @harrystylesfan2686

@cassie6392 @kennedy-brooke @tele86 @miluiel1

@hnyclover @minnieoo @sidrapotter @piceous21

@mybestfriendmademe @saltedcoffeescotch @lady-of-tearshed @starsinyourseyes

@starswholistenanddreamsanswered @cumuluscranium @byyalady

@lilah-asteria @girlswithimagination @garden-of-runar @girlswithimagination

@sunnyspycat @artists-ally @milswrites @kingdomofstarrynights

@berryzxx @buttermilktea11 @loving-and-dreaming @yucanbmylxdy

@mellowmusings

Lucien Vanserra Taglist: @mirandasidefics @tele86

[erensbiscuit]

Naoya x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS: NSFW, VIOLENCE; CHOKING

It was but another day at the state of the Zen'in clan, where you served as a mere servant. You were considered below the family members, and you were treated horribly due to your mother. You were a child that resulted from an affair, and to atone for her sin, you were sold to serve them for as long as you lived. 

It wasn't fair, the fact that you had to atone for an action she very much committed. And that only meant you weren't related to them, which is why you were treated as such. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only reason you were treated like trash, but also because your father belonged to the Gojo clan; the rival clan of the Zen'in.

Yet, your mother was still married in the Zen'in clan even after her affair for she had children with her husband whom she had to look after, but she had abandoned you for all you were to her. You tried to get in contact with your father, but that was near impossible. 

"Get out of my sight, child." His voice was cold and stoic, making a cold shiver pour down your spine as you quickly walked backwards, kneeling outside the door as you gave a deep bow, sitting up to close the door with your eyes shut as you couldn't bear the sight of the family that had abandoned you. 

Your half siblings have followed in your mother's steps in ignoring you, pretending as if you don't exist.

Your entire body began shaking in anger, tears stinging your eyes as that feeling came all to known suddenly. You hated feeling like this, you hated being vulnerable. You despised the fact that even after so many years of mistreatment, you somehow couldn't find it in your heart to hate them. 

To resent them.

That didn't change the fact you still felt lonely, unwanted, and despised for no real reason despite having the blood of another man run through your veins. A man that didn't belong to the Zen'in clan. 

"How pathetic." You heard a voice speak up from behind you, and you quickly turned your head with wide eyes to see the youngest clan head, Naoya Zen'in. He stood leaning against a wooden post that held up the sheltering roof, his arms crossed as he looked down at you in distaste.

You blinked away your tears, turning your body to face him while still kneeling on the ground as you bowed your head. "Is there anything I may do for you, my lord?" Your gentle voice met his ears, and he frowned at the sight of you groveling at his feet, even if it was your job.

"Why don't you leave? Run away? Your presence is obviously unwanted here." He spat, voice cold and void, much like your mother's husband. "I live to serve you, nothing more. I am merely doing my job." You respond, blinking down at the wooden floor as you feel his glaring gaze on your figure.

"Your job? Can't you just quit? Or do you like getting pushed around by everyone?" He questioned, and you froze. Seems he didn't know about you, or just didn't care to remember, or know in the first place. "I was sold to the Zen'in clan. I'm only doing as told, my lord." You briefed him, not caring to go into further detail.

"Sold?" He questioned, a hum leaving his lips before the sound of footsteps fading became known, and you glanced up to see him walk away. You couldn't stop the small sigh of relief to leave you. "Why would Naoya care enough to inquire about someone like you?" Turning your head, you laid your eyes upon your oldest half brother.

"I'm afraid I don't know." You replied, standing up before bowing slightly. "If you'll excuse me." You state before turning around to walk away, only to feel your body have a whiplash. In an instant, the back of your head harshly met the wooden post, a hand curling around your throat as you looked up at your half brother.

"Know your fucking place, (Name). I suggest you bow your head lower next time and show some fucking respect." He spat, and you choked, not being able to get anything out as your supply of oxygen was abruptly cut, your face growing red and hot along with your eyes. "Ni-Sama!" You saw another one of your half siblings, her arm wrapping around his as she tugged him away.

Immediately, you fell onto your knees, arm supporting yourself as you coughed violently, hand ghosting over your own neck. "That's more like it." He scoffed. You remained on the ground, tears now rapidly falling down as they landed against the wood underneath you, pooling as you choke on your own sobs. 

Your fingers harshly dug into the floor, nails scraping as your hands formed into fists while trembling. You remained there until it was late, hiding as you tried to calm yourself down. Before you came to realize it, the sun was long gone, only the moon in sight along with the shining stars, blanketing the night sky.

Slowly standing up as your legs trembled, you dusted off your plain white kimono with a purple obi wrapped around your waist. Sighing softly, you walked back onto the engawa, making your way past the rooms before finding your own. It was small and away from the main state, which was only natural.

After washing up, you walked into your room, laying out your futon until a knock was heard. Knitting your brows together, you wondered who it could be so late, especially at this hour. Nonetheless, you slid open the tatami door, finding a male servant. "The lord is asking for your presence. Follow me." 

You widen your eyes. "But I am indecent! May I change first?" You said in a hurry, being dressed in a long white fitted nightdress with a long black and silky kimono robe over it. "No. He said it was rather urgent." He dismissed you, beginning to walk off as you could only walk out, shutting your door and following after him in a slight panic.

What could the young lord possibly want with you at such an ungodly hour? If anything, he should be resting right about now. So many questions flooded your mind, you hadn't realized the man before you halted until you nearly bumped into his back. You were now in the main estate towards the back, where the yard was and where the moonlight casted all of its glory.

Hearing the servant knock, you bowed down along with him at the door. "Go ahead." The man reached to slide the door open, revealing both of your figures to the young head. "I have brought her upon your request, my lord." The servant explained. "Good, you're dismissed." He brushed him off, and you heard the man stand up and leave and until his footsteps were no longer in earshot, you found your own voice.

"Excuse my indecency, my lord. I was told you called upon me urgently. Is there anything I can assist you with?" You inquired formally, eyes shut as you lifted your head slightly to place your palms on the floor, elbows folded. "Come inside." He demanded, and you tried to hold in your shock, standing up and stepping inside before then sliding shut the door behind you.

That left the room dark, nothing but the moonlight that casted in through the tatami doors remained, illuminating the room with its softened glow. You kneeled near the door once again, but you froze at the sound of his voice. "Come here." Naoya told you, and you glanced up, opening your eyes to see him sitting near the end of the room, atop a cushion where it was shaded.

You obeyed, walking up to him before kneeling down. Just as you were about to place your hands on top of your lap, you felt his hand abruptly grab your jaw and tug you towards him. Hands landing on the floor as you supported yourself off the ground, your eyes flickered up at him with shock. 

Meeting his cold gaze, you saw a smirk tug the corner of his lips as you began to tremble from fear. It was displayed on you so clearly no matter how hard you tried to hide it. "Gojo, (Name). That's the name your mother gave you. It's almost like she wanted you to have a hard life after being sold to our clan. Imagine that? Your own mother abandoning and selling you?" His tone held a clear mocking tone, and you could only tremble.

"Now you serve your own half siblings and their father; a Zen'in." He paused, eyes taking in your figure before he frowned. "How utterly pathetic." He pushed your face away, your head abruptly turning from the force as you then widened your eyes, tears stinging the corners. You heard him get up, walking behind you before his hand reached over to wrap around your wrists, pulling you back against him.

"Imagine how they would feel, had you finally left. Ran away." He whispered into your ear, his breath brushing against your skin as his hand slid your opened robe down from your shoulders, revealing more of your skin. You felt something strange stir inside you at the feeling of his fingers brushing against your bare skin, it felt warm.

Sliding down the rest of your robe down your shoulders, now pooling on the floor underneath you, his face dug into the side of your head as he pulled you closer into his chest. "Imagine how they would feel if you became someone equal to their standing in this household." Your eyes widened, realization dawning on you like a lightbulb being switched on.

He smirked against your ear, and in an instant, you were turned around and pinned to the ground. Naoya held down your hands by holding your wrists as you stared up at him with wide eyes. Naoya admired the sight of you, underneath him with your hair sprawled on the ground underneath you, wearing but a white dress that was pure as you. 

Beautiful as you.

He truly wanted nothing more than to make you his. The second he laid eyes on you three months ago, he had been following and keeping tabs on you, but it never occurred to him to look through the servants documents in order to search for your name and family history. To think you were a Gojo, even if there was only one powerful sorcerer among their bloodline, imagine a Zen'in with their blood.

Regardless of that possible fact, he wanted you. And he was gonna make you his, you will no longer serve anyone, but him and his needs. Grinning down at your form, he moved to press his lips against yours, and you merely followed his lead. You wouldn't resist, it would mean defying your lord, and who knows what punishment that action would have. 

You were inexperienced, but you tried your best, mimicking his movements. But you couldn't keep up, his lips were moving quickly and desperately, tongue forcing itself into your mouth as your eyes were shut tightly, a faint whine escaping your lips as he explored your mouth.

Naoya smirked against your lips upon hearing the sweet sound to leave you, which encouraged him to do more. Everything was turning warm, and the feeling of him further pressing into your mouth, the more oxygen you ran out of. He pulled away, watching you gasp for air. Panting, you stared up at him with a flushed face, crimson painting your cheeks.

"Such a beauty." He whispers softly, removing his hand to place his palm beside your head, the other one caressing your face as he lowered it to your neck, and he glanced down. It was only until then did he notice a small bruise towards the side of your neck near the back, causing him to frown deeply. 

Grabbing your chin, he turned your head to the side. "What is this?" He inquired, and already knowing what he was referring to, you could only remain silent, eyes down casting. "Answer me." He demanded stiffly, and you eventually did. "I was grabbed there, my lord." You tried to be curt, not going into detail.

But alas, he insisted. "Who was it?" He demanded now, and you avert your gaze, knitting your brows. "My half oldest brother, my lord." You forced out of your lips, feeling his fingers softly graze over the  bruises before a scoff left his lips. "Why do you still protect them?" He questioned, but all you could do was remain silent.

Naoya frowned at that, but his hand trailed down from your neck to your chest, ghosting over your collarbones as he stared down at you, watching the way your eyes sealed shut and a slight knit settled between your eyebrows. Grinning, he suddenly stood up, and you sat up immediately, looking up at him as he continued to look down at your frame.

"Get up." 

You immediately did as told, standing to your full height before him as you became too aware of how he towered over your shorter body. Naoya stepped towards you, now standing directly in front of you as there was nearly no space left in between you, and you felt as if this sudden mist was overtaking your senses. 

His hands trailed up your arms, stopping at your shoulders until he lowered the straps of your dress, and your entire body stilled. He smirked, leaning his face into the side of yours as he lowered them all the way down your arms, until the dress finally pooled at your feet, leaving you utterly bare before the young head.

Your entire body grew hot, and you couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment, or the way Naoya grabbed your bare waist, pulling your body flush against his as he snaked a single arm around your back, his other hand grabbing your chin in order to tilt your head up. Eyes connecting with his own, he gazes at you with a sly smile before kissing you.

Naoya guided your arms to wrap around his neck, proceeding to grab your thighs and force them around his hips, carrying you in his arms before lowering himself back o to the floor, lips moving against your soft ones, biting down into your bottom lip with his teeth, his eyes fluttered open to see your face, watching how flustered you were with every touch, every graze, just anything.

Grabbing a fist full of your hair, he pulled your head back, and littered your neck and chest with kisses as your hold on his shoulders became tight, small gasps and whines escaping your parted lips. This was progressing quickly, and all you could do was follow the rhythm of his movements as you were but a clueless maid.

Eventually, he undid his robe, having you lay down below him once more as he continued to mark your skin, leaving trails of bruises and marks, and the noises that left you were all but encouragement to him and his actions. Eyes squeezing shut, Naoya softly trailed his hands along your sides and stopped at your waist, his face dug into your neck as he kissed, bit, and sucked at your sensitive spots.

Panting lightly, your legs tightened around his waist as you tugged him closer, hands running along his broad back while you traced his muscles with your fingers. "my lord" you breathed, and he pulled away from kissing your neck. "Naoya. Call me Naoya." He demanded, and you didn't have time to refute his words before he abruptly pulled away and sat up.

You blinked in surprise, glancing down as he lifted your leg over his shoulder, eyes staring into yours rather intensely as he slightly turned his head to the side and trailed kisses along your legs, pulling you closer towards him. "After this, you belong to me. Understand? Nobody can order you around but me." Naoya spoke to you but his tone was possessive, demanding. 

You nodded your head, a soft breath escaping your parted lips as he continued to trail his hands along your body, kneeling right in between your legs as he dragged you down by your hips. You stared up at the ceiling, dazed and mind foggy as you anticipated his entrance, your heart beating to the sound of your heat and dripping warmth.

He was drawn in by your smell, the sight of you waiting and longing for him at the same time as he positioned himself to your entrance, and you felt him graze your sensitivity, a whine leaving your lips as you shut your eyes. Naoya leaned over your smaller frame, pressing his forehead to your temple while leaning into his elbows, his body pressing flush against yours.

Snaking your hand to reach around his back and hold onto his shoulders, your legs tightened around him as you felt what your body desired the most press into your folds until he finally sank himself into your warmth, and your entire body writhed at the burning feeling of him stretching you. Tears filled your waterline at the overwhelming burning yet pleasant sensation you felt as you hugged his length. 

A gasp was forced out of your lips, and his face further burrowed into the side of yours as his hot breath hit your skin. "Good. So good." He whispered in breathes, further pressing himself into you with a low sound venerating deep within his chest. Naoya loved the feeling of your tightening walls around him, and that was such an addictive sensation that he could describe it as none other than a drug.

His hips slowly pulled back before sinking into you again, and your mouth gaped, head tipping back into the floor as he moved inside of you at a gut wrenching pace. Moaning softly, your fingers dug into his back as you tried to release the remaining tension in your body, back arching off the ground while your eyes rolled into the back of your skull as he hit such a deep and sensitive spot within you.

It made you writhe, cry in pleasure as he breathed against your skin heavily, filling you to the brim and burrowing himself deep into your womb. Your mind felt foggy and blurry, nothing but sweet ecstasy burning your entire body. At some point his pace quickened, and your noises grew more sloppy and loud, heels digging into his back as your fingers entangled through his hair.

And once you felt that warmth pouring out of your body like lava, you moaned loudly, roughly tugging onto his locks, an act that earned a deep groan from Naoya, he eyes watching your face as waves of overwhelming pleasure rippled your body, especially when he didn't slow down his pace or give you time to recover as it built up again.

Your teary and glossy eyes met his, parted lips panting and at the sight of you, he grinned in satisfaction. He loved the fact that he was able to make you succumb to him and feel such pleasure, something only he could do. Pressing his forehead against yours, your panting mouths entangled together, and he desperately moved against you, deep and rough in every way as you whined and whimpered in return.

"Like that? Hm?" He bemused once pulling away from your heated kiss, still smirking as you couldn't find words to respond, your entire face blossoming with heat as sweat formed at your forehead. Still smiling, his hand lifted to run over it, swiping your hair from your forehead as some of it began to stick from the sweat. 

Naoya was also sweating, skin glistening as a thin layer covered his skin. A tired smile stretched your lips, and you also moved the hair from his forehead with the palm of your hand, but you gasped, fingers entangling with his locks again as another orgasm reached your body, and he watched you in awe as you moaned his name sweetly, head tipping back you your eyes fluttered shut. 

He then moved his head, digging his face into your neck as he kissed your skin, tasting the sweat that was salty against his tongue. Nonetheless, he kissed your skin, a deep frown settling between his brows as he felt himself start to twitch. 

Naoya slid his hand underneath your neck, fingers entangling through your hair as he made you look at him with lidded eyes. "I'm gonna fill you up. And you're gonna take it all, okay?" His brows rose simultaneously, and you smiled at his words, cupping his face. "That would be a pleasure, my lord, Naoya." He didn't seem to care that you called him that, but a grin stretched his lips.

That's right, you were his. He was your lord, and you'd do anything for him, even take his seed as it filled your womb to the brim, until your belly was swollen with his child. "Yeah? You're gonna take it well?" He taunted, and you nodded your head again, still smiling gently. His movement grew sloppy, now he just ruthlessly bucked his hips into yours and you moaned and mewled softly, hands trailing back to his nape and tugging his hair until that same bubble burst within you.

This time, Naoya came down with you, panting breathily as his forehead pressed to your shoulder, hands tightening over the matted floor as he thrusted every last of his seed inside of you, filling you to the brim as a soft whine left your lips, eyes shut tight as you override your sweet orgasm. 

“Good job in taking me, you have my praise.” 

You couldn't possibly ask for more. 

[crystallizsch]

Trouble? You're only in trouble if you get caught. So don't let me catch you ~

uhhhhh say hi to jamil and yuusha's kid jas(mine) pt 2 (also here and here are like my only two other posts of her)

HFDDF OKAY SO - i actually had these unfinished sketches from months ago of jas as a nrc student and scarabia housewarden

this sneaky little bastard (affectionate) had never left my cranium she was just sitting idly by

im sobbing i hate jas so much (lie i love her)

jamil and yuusha still aren't supposed to have a kid so i just imagine this to be an alternate timeline for them 🤧🤧🤧

soooo info dump time ---

━━━━━━✦ scarabia housewarden nrc jas

jas has a vice-housewarden who is her childhood best friend (figuring out if i want them to be twst rajah or abu)

also thinking about if i want yuusha to be a staff member in nrc with grim or just dead during this time (why? just because)

no further info tbh, scarabia housewarden jas is just vibing

━━━━━━✦ child jas stuffs

i'm SO indecisive about her design as a toddler/preteen lowkey 😭

she was very sweet as a toddler but somewhere along the line she just became more carefree and chaotic

jas is a mama's girl but is more alike with her father than she cares to admit

octavinelle trio and heartslabyul duo + grim are like the honorary uncles (jas's favorites are floyd, ace, and grim bc they sometimes enable her with shenanigans)

even though jas has favorite uncles, najma is the favorite favorite. i imagine she's just the cool aunt

if mama yuu is "shrimpy" then jas is a "tiger prawn" (bc rajah)

jas LOVES doing people's hair including her own; would rather do them by hand rather than by magic

jamil showed jas how to breakdance once and it became ingrained in her personality ever since

(there's probably still more about her that i'm forgetting but this is it for now)

━━━━━━✦ bonus future jamiyuu stuff because i miss them

jamil took yuusha's last name surprise surprise (if they get married)

i imagine after nrc they'd be travelling together actually, not necessarily settling down

(i'm REALLY not 100% on them settling down and having a kid but i still love jas a lot so im so conflicted) (that's why aus exist 😔✨)

(and if hypothetically they do settle down i think yuusha being staff in nrc with grim + maybe jamil who travels for work (or being a house husband??? maybe they alternate roles) can be adorable ideas)

━━━━━━✦ (i also had this thing that i never posted about that one trope of a fankid finding themselves in nrc bc of portal/time/mirror shenanigans)

(jamil found both of them asleep somewhere and refuses to wake them up)

also some bonus tidbits about this scenario with them:

💜: Is she a family member of yours? How'd she get here?

🐍: I have never seen that child in my life before now. And there's no way I could have missed news about a new relative of mine.

💜: You know how ridiculous it sounds if she's related to me. I'm not from here. She even looks more like you!

🐍: Jas has the same color of eyes as you. Didn't you tell me she mistook you for her mother?

💜: ...Yeah, but I don't like what you're implying.

🐍: Well, I'm not exactly happy with this either.

they're just both in denial of the implication of this child existing and neither of them is saying it out loud.

and the angst/wholesomeness(???) of jamil asking jas's full name and hearing that she has her mother's last name instead of his

eventually they grew attached (unfortunately) until somehow they send jas home to her original timeline

and then they finally have a real conversation about what all that was about

anyways thank you for reading if you've made it this far;;; end tweet

[izzabela]

Seeking Peace - Tomas (+ slight Bi Han) x fem!reader

in which fate turns out a bit differently, and Bi Han seeks peace with you and his family

a/n: YOUR HONOR, TOMAS DESERVES THE WORLD, SO LET MY IMAGINATION ALLOW THEM PEACE PLEASE. I LOVE HIM VERY MUCH, YOUR HONOR, AND HE IS VERY GORGEOUS TO ME

ship[s]: tomas x reader, bi han x reader (past)

warnings: mayhaps a bit of angst, no "y/n" bullsh!t

This will be a long-ish one, so be prepared

You happily walk around the compound, humming a light tune as you stroll through the large home. The wind brushes against the trees softly, the leaves rustling quietly. You can hear the grunts and and shouts of Shirai Ryu initiates in the distance, training hard under the tutelage of either Harumi, Kuai Liang, or Tomas.

Ever since the issue of Shang Tsung, Titan and current timeline, the soul stealers, Armageddon, and the betrayal of Bi Han, things have changed greatly. Splitting from centuries of history, of family, was hard for Tomas and especially Kuai Liang. While Kuai Liang and Bi Han were related, Tomas wasn't, yet he still missed his eldest brother, yearning for his redemption.

However, family still prevailed with the creation of the Shirai Ryu, named after Kuai Liang's wife, Harumi Shirai. She proved a valuable teacher, a wonderful wife, and great friend to you and Tomas. Yet, it could not replace the missing piece of your former beloved.

In the past, when the mission to try and take Shang Tsung into questioning took place, you waited patiently at the Wu Shi academy with Geras, Liu Kang, and the rest the champions of Earthrealm. While they did not know of you, you knew of them due to Bi Han's story of Liu Kang's test. With worry, you paced around the room and your pace quickens, the only calm being Geras's warm hand on your shoulder.

Suddenly, the sound of the portal at the entrance of the academy captured your attention, and all of you rushed to meet the three assassins, but your eyes only saw two.

"Kuai Liang, what is the meaning of this?!" You screeched, your daggers drawn at him, "Why are you two only here? Where is Bi Han?!"

You remember the memory well. Tomas and Kuai Liang took their masks off, and you saw Kuai Liang's scar over his left eye. Tomas's eyes were filled with sadness, and he walks to you weakly before engulfing you in a warm, solemn bear-hug. That was all you needed before you dropped your weapons, accepted his hug, and sobbed into his arms.

You shake your head at the memory, a bit confused over the sudden resurfacing of a memory you thought you had buried and gotten over. You sigh and continue walking, only to be surprised with Tomas's magic. He manifested right in front of you, a bright smile on his face. You're shocked, but you welcome it with an equal action, your eyes crinkle with delight.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, darling husband?" You ask playfully, poking his chest.

He chuckles lightly, "My duties of teaching have been overtaken by sister-in-law, so I decided to find my own darling."

You blush at his flattery. After the events of the old fortress, the betrayal of your ex, Tomas's presence was a great help to you. He kept his distance while you grieved the loss of your former husband, but as you began to heal, his intentions for your heart came bursting forth like fireworks. Wary, you accepted them slowly, and him respecting your boundaries. Overtime, though, your heart warmed again and you began to love him wholeheartedly.

You wrap your arm around his, and walk with him around the compound. You talk about the mundane topics of your new lives: the mention of the initiate Hanzo Hasashi, plans against the Lin Kuei's plots, and what you, Tomas, and the other couple will enjoy for dinner.

Unfortunately, your conversation was cut short as a scout ran up to you and Tomas. He comes with urgency, bowing before he speaks.

"Do not be alarmed, Tomas, sir, but we've received an unprecedented report that...."

You look at him with a tilted head, "Well? What did you have to tell us?"

The ninja looks sheepishly to the side, "Well... your brother, Bi Han, is presently at the front of the compound. No one is by his side, and our scouts surveyed the area that no other Lin Kuei have been spotted within five kilometers of the compound."

You both look at each other and immediately rush to the front, not forgetting your salutations to the ninja. You can feel Tomas's gaze at you, worried and a bit jealous. You don't bother to look at him, though, as emotions you had buried, forgotten, and locked away now bubbled and brewed.

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

You were spared the sight of Bi Han's capture, the ninjas of the Shirai Ryu bringing him into the courtyard. At Kuai Liang's order, all initiates and staff left the area, retreating to their rooms and private quarters, leaving Bi Han at the mercy of his younger brother, Harumi, Tomas, and you.

Bi Han kneels at the sight of all four of you, his hands bound behind him, his head down, and mask gone. Your heart breaks at the sight, but he had brought this upon himself when he made his choice all those years ago. You feel Tomas's warm, calloused hands intertwine with yours as you face your former lover.

You hiss at him, drawing your daggers towards him "What brings you here, Bi Han? And unarmed? Do you have a death wish?!"

You notice how his eyes are tired, bags dragging them down. There are signs of his stress and aging, the lines over his forehead and mouth area. He looks up at you, and you can see how his eyes change every so slightly, his guard down for once.

"Cyrax and Sektor had betrayed me- I killed them and the Lin Kuei's forces have dwindled to less than half."

You're all shocked, turning to each other to try and understand what you all will do next. You turn back to Bi Han, his eyes remaining on yours.

Kuai Liang speaks this time, "Why tell us then? You made your choice many years ago... why seek us out for such a confession?"

"I come to tell you this because... of reflection," he admitted, his gaze turning away and facing his brothers.

You scoff, frustration transforming into pure anger as you lunged towards him, your daggers at each side of his neck. The cold metal presses into Bi Han's neck lightly, nicks of blood slowly spilling out.

"Have you gone mad?! Reflection?! After what you had done?! To your late father, your brothers... to me! I should have your blood spilled with this nonsense!"

Tears form in your eyes, and through your blurry vision, you see Bi Han's face morph into the rare emotion of sadness and regret.

"What you had done to me," you begin, voice shaky, "What you had done to all of us! You betrayed your family, broke my heart... and you think 'reflection' will help you seek peace?!"

Tomas runs up to you and quickly takes your arms to hold you back, picking you up and taking you away from Bi Han. You're taken aback by Tomas's actions, kicking and writhing in his strong grip, trying to get your vengeance.

"Darling please! We must hear brother out! Look at him- he comes to us without ill-intent! You heard the ninja before, a five kilometer radius and no sign of Lin Kuei."

Kuai Liang sits him up, which Bi Han takes this time to continue, "I had long wished for our clan to do more: more power, ambition, leadership. Our manpower could be used more than just defense, but in offense, in bringing Earthrealm to heights it had not seen in ages, eons even."

He turns to Kuai Liang, "Brother, I should have heeded your words, listened to your warnings. After Cyrax and Sektor stabbed my back, I thought about the both of you. A fool I have become, only realizing the gravity of my actions when I was in your place."

With you still in Tomas's grasp, the men look amongst themselves and communicate through silence and hopeful understanding. You couldn't help but look at Bi Han, who looks helpless as he pleads with his kin.

He took this opportunity to speak again, "I took a gamble coming here, plotting my own path to meet you. Now that I have, I offer my own olive branch- a beginning to peace amongst one another, amongst our clans."

You became still in Tomas's arms, listening to the shocking revelation of a real, heartfelt apology. Was this the same man that scarred Kuai Liang, that insulted Tomas's birthright, that broke your heart those years ago?

You yield to Tomas, tapping his arm to let you go. He does so, warily, and watches as you come around Bi Han's back, past Kuai Liang, and untie his arms. You do not help him up, though, and watch him as he comforts the ache in his wrists. He turns to you and offers a slight nod, his eyes glimmering with hope and the slightest hint of change.

In front of Bi Han, you watch as Tomas and Kuai Liang approach their traitor brother carefully. Tomas is the first to bear his true feelings, throwing his mask away to the pebbled ground and tackling his brother into his famous bear hug. You don't hear a sound come from him, but you see his shoulders racking violently as he digs his head into Bi Han's shoulder. Awkwardly, he holds onto Tomas and pats his back softly.

Kuai Liang sighs, joining his brothers in the hug. The warmth his pyro magic provides creates a wave of comfort of all three of them, a peaceful mood amongst them. You visibly see Bi Han relax, feeling peace for the first time in years.

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

Bi Han slept separate from everyone, having slumbered away in the prison that stood in the depths of the forest near the compound.

You were the first to wake, sneaking out of yours and Tomas's shared room to see Bi Han in the holding cell. Arriving, you were taken to him and saw him meditating.

He never did that during your marriage. It seems he finally listened to your advice after all these years.

You sat in a chair in front of him, and his eyes open from his mediating trance. He takes in the sight of you fully, not knowing if this will be the first or last time he'll see you. Your beautiful hair fell over your face, framing it like a Renaissance piece. Your figure, despite covered in your kimono, looked healthy and full, proof that your marriage to Tomas was treating you better than Bi Han's ever did.

And, oh, your eyes. The color that seemed so dull during your time with him looks so much more colorful now. They seem to burst forth with a vibrancy that lacked with him. Tomas truly brought you back from the pits of the Netherealm.

"You look well," Bi Han mentioned softly, "The years apart from one another truly show."

You scoff, "It seems time did not treat as well."

He shrugs, a soft laugh leaving his lips, "As they say, it is not too late to learn."

He looks down just a bit to see a glimmer of metal on your ring finger, the symbol of unity once again on yourself. He subconsciously touches his ring finger, fiddling with the empty space that should have housed his promise to you.

"Is Tomas treating you well?" He asks, pointing to the ring on your finger.

You smile softly, also playing with your finger, "More than you can imagine. I never thought I could achieve such bliss once again."

He nods, "I am glad."

Silence engulfs you two once more, and Bi Han speaks (which is starting to freak you out).

"I know you may not forgive me, nor take me back, but believe me when I say I want peace. I want nothing more than to see us not at each other's necks, plotting death or downfall of one another."

You sharply inhale, closing your eyes to meditate on his words. While they pull your strings just a bit, you think about them, lingering on every word. You sensed no malice, a drop of anger, nor bloodlust from him, which puts you at ease.

"Bi Han," you began, "You must know I am a married woman once again."

He nods.

"While I will not take you back, nor forget the pain you've caused me and your brothers.... I will accept your offering of peace."

He lets a breath out, glad your choice was more positive than negative.

"It will take a long time for me to trust you again, an even longer time to forgive you, I believe you will achieve the absolution you desire..."

"Our paths may be separate," you continue, "but it does not mean we cannot traverse it together."

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

The entirety of the Shirai Ryu is behind you, Tomas, Kuai Liang and Harumi as you see Bi Han out of the compound the day after your prison visit. It's bright and early, the sun peaking over the hills that shroud the compound. He stands with Liu Kang, Earthrealm's protector, who was brought to Japan after Kuai Liang sent an alert to him.

Under Liu Kang's guidance and patience, he has agreed to help rebuild the honor and reputation of the Lin Kuei. Under the watchful eye of him, Geras, and Madame Bo, Bi Han will be relieved of his duties and retrain as an initiate, the first step of his redemption as a man, Lin Kuei, and grandmaster.

He utters not a word as he leaves the compound, only turning back to you and his family one last time before leaving. You can hear the gravel under his feet shift and move, his steps moving farther and farther away.

Tomas yells, "Brother~! I hope to see you again~!"

You turn to him and see him smile, and if you squint, you can see a ghost of a smile on Bi Han's face as he waves to his youngest brother.

"You look like a little kid waving to him," you point out playfully.

He turns beet red, his hand scratching the back of his neck, "Do I look that childish?"

You wrap your arm around his beefy one, leaning onto him. For some reason, you felt calm looking at the distant figure of Bi Han, no longer feeling anguish or pain at his sight. You sigh and lean into Tomas's arm.

"Are you alright, my darling?" he asks, "Do you need anything?"

You shake your head, "No, I am quite alright. In fact, I feel quite at peace right now."

He nods.

"Do you believe that Bi Han will achieve what he plans to do?" You ask gently, looking into the ashen man's eyes, "Do you believe in him?"

He nods confidently, "Brother is a stubborn man, but he is resilient. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals."

Tomas's words confirm the feelings you harbored for Bi Han. While you two were no longer together, you hoped with great heart that he will honor his words. You smile happily, locking hands with Tomas and bringing it up to your mouth to kiss it briefly.

You meant every word you said to him that morning of the prison visit. While traveling this rocky road of change and forgiveness will be difficult, seeking this peace would be one hundred percent worth the toil.

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

guys I have never been so happy writing anything ever. MK1 and the entire cast is just so much fun to write for.

if yall can't tell, i love tomas vrbada with all my heart- he's just a pookie, cutie patootie. don't worry though, i'll write for more characters besides tomas and the lin kuei brothers

if you want to request something, please do! i'd love to test the limits of my writing and creativity

until next fic (which is probably really soon)

[jacevelaryonswife]

Golden and Silver, my new colors | part four

Aemond never thought that a little thing like you could have such a firm pulse, but the discoveries about his beautiful wife were just beginning along the night.

∴pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Wife!reader

∴warnings and a note: angst, intense fightinh, english is not my first language. There's a bit of book!aemond here, don't be so surprised by some of his actions and words.

golden and silver masterlist

The arrival of Princess Rhaenyra at King's Landing was responsible for removing much of the doldrums present in the corridors of the Red Keep, much for the murmurs, accusations and public murder in the throne room. Like her children and uncle-husband, the heiress of Viserys I didn't seem so excited about returning home, especially in the conditions that followed her departure from Dragonstone. Family drama, you thought, something the Targaryens seemed to sow in every generation. However, the princess was not the only one unhappy, your husband Aemond also seemed to share the feeling, especially in relation to Rhaenyra's eldest children. He also seemed restless, which caused him to be hyperfocused on certain things. You noticed that two days ago he overdid himself in time and effort during training, that his fists were clenched as you dinner together — much to your dismay — and that his gaze seemed even more centered on your figure. That last one you'd noticed since your earlier outburst in the bedroom, when his eye burned over your body not so discreet over the next few days, but it wasn't enough for you to care.

In addition, your recent exclusion routine was somewhat affected by the arrival of the princess, as the king wanted his family constantly together at lunches or dinners, which was particularly stifling at times and fun at others. It took all of your self-concentration not to chuckle at the annoyance visible on the faces of the Targaryen and Velaryon princes, especially in relation to your husband, you would love to laugh openly at him, much because everything you knew about Rhaenyra Targaryen and her family came from biased information from your parents, avid supporters of the Green Queen's entourage. However, the princess and her children have been nothing but kind to you on the short occasions of mingling. Which brings you to the current situation: the princess's return dance.

The event was outrageously lavish, with music, food and drink throughout the hall. You've always loved showing off your good looks and fancy dresses at these times (any time really), and particularly today your urge to show off was even more intense. Your husband was also careful about his appearance, with perfectly tailored clothes, absurdly well-groomed hair, and a freshly woody smell that unfortunately belonged only to him. In your nights of intimacy that aroma was one of the most pleasant things to feel, besides the soft hand that he rested next to your face, or sometimes, touching your cheek. You don't know why you brooded over those memories, but the bitterness in your mouth was enough to push them away. That said, when Aemond entered your shared chambers and found three servants assisting in your tidying up, he was faced with a dilemma: what to do about you?

Your dissatisfaction with him was openly said, and according to you: there was no way to change. He didn't want to let you down, not anymore, not when the guilt crept up on him. It was torturous to have self-knowledge that he was responsible for the failure of the marriage. So for the last few days he's put up a continual fight towards you (when he wasn't thinking about the Strong bastards or his bloody sister). What should he do? Keep the situation the same or try to remedy it? Try to get closer to you? Trying to be a better husband than his father was? He didn't know what to do, so he decided to ask:

“Do you want me to wait for you?”

You didn't deign to look at him.

"No."

It was humiliating to lower his head and nod silently, but he submitted to you and left the room, his breath catching in his throat. Aemond never thought a little thing like you could have such a firme pulse, but the discoveries about his beautiful wife were just beginning along the night. It wasn't a surprise that he wasn't one for celebrations, not even the smallest ones. His chosen spot was strategically at the far end of the table so that he could abstain from his surroundings, though it was also Aegon's favorite place to slip away unnoticed. He wasn't a dancer either, which proved both a burden and a constraint for you to remain beside him at the table without whirling around the room out of respect for your married status and your boring husband. No more.

That night you needed more time to get ready, from the long shower to choosing your jewelry. Your extravagantly golden dress was embroidered on the finest fabrics to compose the intricate and luxurious textures and layers. Your large gold earrings fell from your ear and stood out against your mostly loose hair, perfectly matching your dress and shoes. You were stunning, truly perfect. A broad smile filled your features before leaving your chambers, accompanied by Sir Koren along the way. You didn’t notice the long look he left fall into your figure at the sight of you, and unfortunately it would have done your ego some good to have picked up on that little slip. However, such a feeling was quelled when the eyes of everyone at the table fell on your very presentable figure. From your husband to dear Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, being greeted by a knowing and simple smile on your part.

“Sorry for the late.”

"No problem. You look splendid, my dear,” Alicent said.

“Thank you, my queen,” you said, “my king, my princess,” she greeted.

The princess delivered a welcome compliment before you sat between your husband and Princess Helaena, not sparing a glance at the man beside you. He seemed to look at you too much, truly surprised at how ethereal you were tonight. His mouth dried for a moment, hands itching to hold your waist tightly. His beautiful and dazzling wife, so graceful and tempting. Therefore, when the king arose to greet the presence of his daughter and heir to the throne, Aemond placed his hand on your thigh (knowing you wouldn't like it) and leaned over to whisper:

“You are stunning, my lady.”

“Thank you, husband,” you didn't look back, waiting intently for the king's speech to end so you could taste the wine. From your seat and disinterest, Prince Aegon's covetous gaze went unnoticed, himself unconcerned by the setback to his younger brother, who was intently probing Jacaerys and Lucerys across the table. You chose to eat slowly before going to the center of the hall, not exaggerating the amount of meat pie to avoid discomfort when dancing. During the meal, you complimented Princess Helaena and her basic green dress. It was an ugly design, with even uglier fabric, but she looked lovely tonight. Poor girl, you thought, even as she managed a shy smile and returned to her introspection.

Though you was destined not to be at the table overnight, a twinge of nervousness cooled after burning in your belly at the thought of your family's angry reaction. The same reaction that would make you laugh satisfeid later. So, such concerns gradually ceased to plague your mind, sipping wine one last time before leaving the table without warning, leaving your second family and husband behind. Even though most were very busy with their private affairs, especially the members of the black princess party, your attitude was noticed by the green queen, the drunken prince and your husband, Aemond one-eye.

And oh! How you've missed the thrill of flying like a butterfly across the hall, not entirely concerned with duty and all that other nonsense.

Your friend Kalena was with your spouse's family members, waving at you as she went back to chatting with her husband's mother. Meanwhile, Drusilla, another friend of yours, spotted you without difficulty in the crowd, walking towards you with a glass of wine in her hand.

“What is this dress? I swear if my husband died right now I’d find a way to seduce Prince Daeron just to have one of these.”

You let out a snort before laughing out loud, twirling around to display the golden magnitude that hugged your body. "It's one of the few perks, actually, besides the spices in the baths."

"Stop! You're making me dream,” she complained, “how are you? And your lord husband? Is he still a door?” she asked quietly.

“I'm fine, and he can fuck off,” you replied firmly, making her eyes widen.

“Since when does the most polite court lady use such bad words? Has living with Prince Aegon tainted you?”

Your eyes roll back in amusement. “The prince contaminates any environment, but that is the last thing I want to think about right now.” You looped your arm through hers and pulled her toward the center, moving in time with the upbeat music. The next few moments were followed by smiles and joy, though Drusilla withdrew minutes later to join her husband.

However, young Wes Tullington of approximately 13 years old politely approached to ask for your company in a dance. A restrained smile and a raised hand was all the answer he needed to respectfully guide you across the room. Perhaps all it took for the other lords to lose some of their fear of approaching Prince Aemond's wife was the bravery (or madness) of one young man, for as soon as the music ended other lords of varying ages appeared in the room. ray in a kind of discreet line, which made Prince Aegon chuckle at the table and rise to stand beside his brother's rigid body.

“How can you be the smartest while being so stupid at the same time? I mean… just look at her. I wish I was so lucky,” he muttered, aware enough for Helaena not to hear and unconcerned enough to go to your destination and make the elderly man who danced with you step aside out of respect. Oh no.

“Sister-in-law,” he greeted, still sober to your surprise.

“Prince,” you said, looking at the movement behind him.

“Are you excessively beautiful tonight, any special occasions? Or do you intend to surprise my brother later?”

There it was.

“The arrival of the princess seems like a special enough occasion,” you replied.

“A pity indeed. Although this dress is appropriate for ladies of your condition, I preferred the green one where you can see the tops of your breasts.”

And then, you finally looked down on him. "I'd rather wear your Flea Bottom mistresses' clothes than wear green again."

“Wow, is my brother such a bad husband? What a shame,” he scoffed.

“At least you have perception, one real quality.”

He chuckled and lowered his gaze before leaning against your ear. “If you want to have fun with someone who knows how to satisfy a woman, you know where my room is.”

The junction between disgust and anger stamped your features. How vile he was. “I think you should make such a proposal to your wife, my prince.”

Indeed, poor Helaena.

If you had more boldness in you, the ideal answer would be the neglected condition of the sweet princess and his wife, but you didn't want to sour your night too soon or look for trouble with a lecher like Aegon. So you just endured him for the end of the song before you quickly walked away, deeper into the hall when a hand landed on your shoulder.

“My lady, may I have a dance?”

Prince Jacaerys asked, expression sympathetic and one hand raised.

Aegon's gaze soured a little, turning to see a disgruntled Aemond across the hall. Oh boy, he was sure to get into trouble later on, but maybe little Jace Strong's attitude could ease his situation. Maintaining considerable eye contact with his brother, Aegon lost himself in the corridors as he left you and Rhaenyra's son together, your hands together as you accepted being spun around by him. You didn't care about your parents' disgruntled expressions and the deadly fury built up in your husband's slender body, which had such clenched fists and a piercingly angry look. He hasn't stopped looking at you since you left. The Tullington boy's attitude particularly amused him, but those who followed were an affront, especially when you allowed yourself to laugh at whatever they had said. And then, Aegon happened, the disrespectful little shit needed to act as usual. He was already irritated enough and intended to bring you over to the table to stand next to him on the pretext that dessert had arrived, knowing that you had a sweet tooth, but then, one movement sent him over the edge. Your bitch sister's bastard son had the nerve to lay a hand on you, asking for a dance. And most aggravating of all: you accepted it.

It wouldn't look like this.

He didn't wait long before sneaking off the table and over to the two of you, avoiding making a scene in front of his father, who was literally falling apart. With heavy strides, he gripped your waist and stood at your side in a threatening stance to face Jacaerys, pure venom oozing from his next words:

“My lord Velaryon, I would like a moment alone with my wife,” his nose wrinkled as he pronounced the surname.

Jace watched him intently, almost too seriously, pulling away with both hands at the same time.

“My lady, it was a pleasure”, he greeted, walking back to the table.

The idea of asking your husband if he decided to start dancing crossed your mind, but you knew better that indifference was the only answer he deserved, so you allowed yourself to be led back to the table by your husband's heavy hand in your waist, just to see the berry pie being served. Did he bring you into this? Certainly not, but it was somewhat welcome. As you sat down, Aemond placed a possessive hand on your thight and held it throughout the meal, never once wavering from the grip. He nibbled on the pie a few times, but mostly the entire time you spent savoring the sweet, the prince looked at you intently. However, you had no intention of sitting any longer, you just didn't count on having your hand locked on your thigh — which was effective in getting the message across. He didn't want you to leave. But that was his problem, not yours.

You returned the intensity in the gaze firmly, facing him for long seconds before getting up, still looking at him, and returning to the hall.

Aemond felt like he could drag you out of there in front of everyone, and he really wanted to do that and pin you against the bedroom door. Cornering you. And that's exactly what he did next. Standing up like a hunter and taking you discreetly by the arm, making your eyes roll at first before realizing what was happening.

“What do you think you are doing?” You asked.

No answer. You could act like a spoiled child and stomp your feet on the ground, but by the way his jaw was set and fire seemed to come out of his nostrils, you had no doubt he'd have you on his shoulder in front of everyone. Sir Koren followed you, keeping a considered distance from Aemond's fury. He chose not to answer your question until he reached his room, striding along the corridors of the red fortress. You weren't scared, furious yes, how dare he?

When the door closed behind him, his body made a prison with the wood, caging you in.

“What do you think you are doing, lady wife?” he demanded.

You didn't respond, making him push to lean your body against the door fully with his.

"I made a question."

“Am I your lady wife now, lord husband?” Your tone was calm, but prickly.

“Is this about it? Is this whole scene because of that?”

"A scene? Do you think I allowed myself a joy because I wanted to get your attention? I thought I made it clear that I don't seek your approval, my prince, not anymore,” you replied, but it wasn't enough for either of you. “But if we can agree on something, yes, you’re the main reason for this, after all, if you hadn't been a shitty husband, I would probably remain flying around like a fly anxious for crumbs of your affection. If there's anything I should be grateful to you for, the only good thing you've ever done for me is open my eyes to a world beyond endless subordination. So thank you, Aemond.”

Your words were overly cutting, but they didn't make him back down.

“Do you think this is a game and you can openly tease me without suffering consequences?”

“And what consequences would I suffer? What will you do? Lock me in the fucking room?” You scoffed. "I'd rather throw myself out the window than let that happen."

His hand snapped aggressively on the door behind you.

“And what the fuck do you want? What do you want me to do? Kneel me at your feet and beg for forgiveness?”

That was too much for you.

“I already said exactly what I want, but maybe I overestimated your intelligence.” Your fists clenched and how you would like to punch him in the face, even if it was in vain. “I've spent months trying to get close to you, be your friend, be your fucking wife, only to be met with indifference, loneliness and a child I don't even want. For a while I thought I was being pathetic to persist, but I realized that this is what normal people do when they want to build a good relationship. They care, they try, and I tried for a long time before I realized the problem wasn't me, it was you, the problem was always you, Aemond Targaryen,” you exploded. “I don't feel the slightest desire to forgive you, nor my mother for pushing me into this union and nor the queen for making me insist. I just want you to get out of my life and take all this shit with you. Is this what you wanted to hear? That I hate you? Well here it is: I fucking hate you! And there is nothing in my body that wants to change that.”

The fury brewing in the prince's heart was gradually replaced by something unspeakable. There was guilt in his chest, but it wasn't the only feeling. How could he be so wrong with you? How did things get to this point? When did he become the problem? He knew all these answers, since all of his actions were conscious. He deserved all the heartache you poured out. And he truly hated himself for it. He hated himself so much that he cupped both sides of your face and lowered his face to yours, bringing your foreheads together as he closed his eyes. He could feel a part of his wall cracking, but he didn't want to stop it.

“I'm really sorry,” he said your name, leaning even closer to your body. “I'm sorry that I was purposely absent and I didn't strive to be the husband you deserved, that you needed. I was nothing but insensitive, reckless, selfish and stupid for making fun of you and I know that nothing I say will ever be enough to heal the trouble I've caused, the scars I've caused, but I'll try at all costs. days remedy this and be the husband you deserve. I'm really sorry. Please. Just give me a chance. Give me the opportunity to make things right. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, just the chance to prove my word.”

That was all you wanted to hear. A few weeks ago, maybe. But why does it look so inviting now? Why did you let a few tears escape as you pushed him out of your space, too upset to want him near and too in need of any physical affection, whatever. Why did he take so long?

“Spend three months trying, maybe I'll consider accepting your proposal,” you said bitterly, turning towards the bed.

taglist: @immyowndefender @arcielee @malfoytargaryen @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @fan-goddess @dark-night-sky-99 @siriusdumblittlepuppy @let-love-bleeds-red @sassysaxsolo @cicaspair418 @yentroucnagol @mefools @risefallrise @auratiqs @glitterandgoldfinds @bellaisasleep @plzletmedaydream @padfooteyes @bellameshipper @zillahvathek @schniiipsel @little-duck @dc-marvel-girl96 @nina2697 @kaemond-zafiro @the-hufflebird-girl @panagiasikelia @whatsonthemirror @namgification @minttea07 @crazymusicgirl104

[hermy-97]

!!SPOILERS AHEAD OF ALL OF DEMON SLAYER!!

Kotoha Hashibira's death is one of the saddest moments in demon slayer in my opinion because of how it happened.

There are so many things that are sad about her circumstance, such that she was a teen mom, abuse survivor, and later unknowingly inducted into a cult by Douma. However, something I noticed that Douma continuously says when telling Inosuke about her is that:

"She wasn't very smart though. That was unfortunate."

"...'Kotoha', was very sharp despite being so stupid."

"But you were stupid to the very end" (when Kotoha dropped Inosuke into the river)

Then Kotoha herself says whilst running away from Douma:

"I'm sorry, Inosuke. I'm sorry Mommy's so stupid. I always make mistakes. I always go the wrong way."

Obviously, a lot of this is Douma's egotistical perspective, since he believes himself to be the smartest of all the stupid people who actually believe his false cult ideology (but that is a whole other can of worms that others have already discussed better). But since he seemed to have treated Kotoha very well during her short stay, he most probably didn't relay his opinion about her to her face. HOWEVER, Kotoha also berates herself for all the "stupid" mistakes she's made in the past, which implies that her family (and most probably her abusive husband) insulted her with her "stupidity". There is a trauma factor here for sure, especially since she's over apologizing to Inosuke despite him being a lil baby boi.

She thinks that because of her naiveness of not seeing though Douma's seemingly obvious scheme that she couldn't save Inosuke, right to her death. Keep in mind, when she dropped him, there was a very small chance that he would have survived, so she most likely thought that Inosuke died as well. Douma also thought so, right before eating her.

Why do I keep bringing up Kotoha's so-called "stupidity"? Because of Inosuke currently in Demon Slayer.

Due to Inosuke's upbringing away from human society, he did not have any sort of formal education (academics and such). He especially lacks common sense since he directly relates himself as a boar and not a human.

Even though none of this is Inosuke's fault and is in fact his strength in many key ways (Beast Breathing), all these faults can be attributed to the stereotypical definition of stupidity, similar to Kotoha. I do not think Inosuke and Kotoha is stupid by all means, but based on how both characters are percieved by others in the manga, this is the interpretation I got.

So, in short, the fact that both Kotoha and Inosuke are viewed as not very bright by the people around them (both good and bad people), makes me very sad. :(

[yutaholic]

codename: viper (M)

PAIRING: Yuta (NCT) + reader (female)

SUMMARY: ten years ago, Yuta walked away from a life of villainy to be a husband and father, but when an enemy comes lurking, he is ready to protect his family by any vicious means necessary...

WARNINGS: mild language; violent scenarios with mentions of blood; dialogue related to pregnancy and childbirth; explicit sexual content

NOTES: 17k words; this is part of my villain series, beast mode

There was nothing like the view of your house after a brutal day at the office. The sun had long set over the neighborhood as you drove down a street of identical houses. Hiding in plain sight, your husband called it.

Parking in the driveway, you gathered your bag and your high heels, which you had kicked off the moment you got into the car. It had been a grueling twelve hours, the majority spent in court. You walked up the path through the yard, the cold pavement soothing on your bare feet, and opened the front door quietly.

Your babies would be in bed by now, unfortunately. And you didn’t want to wake them.

The moment you stepped into the house, the savory smell of hot food wafted into your nose and your stomach growled, hitting you with hunger pains. “Yum,” you muttered to yourself, dropping your high heels beside the row of shoes by the front door. The sight of two small pairs of sneakers always made you smile.

Yuta was in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove, and at the sound of your approaching footsteps, he turned and greeted, “Hello, District Attorney Nakamoto.”

You grinned, marching right over to your husband and slumping into his chest.

Yuta hugged you tight, kissed your temple, and asked, “Put away a lot of bad men today?”

“A few,” you replied, your energy running on empty, but with every second spent in his arms, you could feel yourself refueling. “Some bad women too.”

Yuta rubbed your back as you broke reluctantly from his hug, though you still clung to his waist, and teased, “I remember when you used to threaten to lock me up forever.”

You gave him a wry smirk. “That was just my way of flirting.”

“Or the times you grilled me in interrogation for hours. Handcuffs included.”

“That was foreplay.”

Yuta snickered. Then, he turned serious for a moment to say, “It’s been a pleasure watching you climb your way to the throne.”

You flushed a little, taken aback by the compliment. “Do you think I’m worthy to sit on it?”

Yuta was stern, as to be expected. “There’s no one more worthy than you.”

You sighed, all the tension breaking in your chest.

Yuta pressed a tender kiss to your lips, which you returned, overlapping your arms on his shoulders and deepening the kiss. It took the loud popping of food over the fire to draw your husband away from you.

“How are the babies?” you asked as Yuta prepared you a plate.

Your husband grinned from ear to ear and gushed, “They’re amazing. Together, they’re smarter than both of us combined.”

You pretended to wince. “Oh, dear. Make sure they never hear you say that.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“And no sign of any…”

Powers.

Yuta shook his head. It was around this age his abilities had fully surfaced. He studied the twins intently, painstakingly, every day. They were his children; it was likely he passed the gene to them, but there was a chance your genes could have defeated his.

You dropped the subject. It was no secret Yuta hoped his children hadn’t inherited his gift. And given they were five years old now, there was a strong chance he’d gotten his wish. It was bittersweet, to say the least.

“I hate when you work late,” Yuta mumbled, walking over to the dining table with your plate in hand.

“I know, but we’re spread so thin right now,” you told him tiredly as you took the seat he pulled out for you.

Yuta sat beside you, keeping you company while you ate your dinner. Propping his head on his hand, he smarted, “No one wants to work for the justice system? I’m shocked.”

You chuckled as you chewed your food, but sadness seeped into your voice when you said, “We get some really good people, especially the younger ones, but the system breaks them eventually. It’s stacked against all of us.”

“No wonder villains choose to play by their own rules,” Yuta said snidely under his breath.

You gave him a look. It wasn’t the first time he’d made that kind of comment and it wouldn’t be the last. Yuta fully supported the work you did, but a life of villainy had shaped him in ways you would never understand.

“Humanity has to have laws that separate us from the animals.”

Yuta whispered darkly, “Some of us are animals, my love.”

You cocked your head and flirted, “Not you, Viper.”

Yuta smirked. Then, his expression shifted and he caught himself staring at you with admiration. You were the only woman that had ever embraced his darkness. You never punished him for his past, but you pushed him toward a healthier future.

“I want a better world for our babies too,” he whispered, reaching over to tuck some of your hair behind your ear. “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

That meant everything to you. If Yuta was in your corner, believing in you, you knew you could do anything. You leaned toward your husband and kissed his cheek, which made Yuta blush. He was a sucker for affection.

“This is delicious, babe,” you said a moment later, dabbing at your lips with the napkin. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

Yuta retorted, “The spawn have been begging for steak for days. Daddy is getting pretty good with the grill.”

You snorted back a laugh. You still remembered the days Yuta could barely cook noodles without setting the house on fire. Not to mention the time he put both of you in the hospital with food poisoning for accidentally cooking well-expired ham. To this day, you and your husband still gave sideward glances toward ham.

Yuta made it a point to prepare home cooked meals for you and the kids. And after many, many classes (which you were forbidden from telling any of his friends about because he had a ruthless reputation to protect), he had gotten pretty good at it. Your husband’s newest favorite method was the grill on the back porch that you bought him for his birthday. He had grilled almost everything that could be grilled at this point, much to the delight of your children.

Speaking of the precious spawn, your twins came running out of their room, Suki practically sprinting and dragging Yuma by the hand behind her.

“Big news,” your daughter announced loudly.

Yuta shot them a glance and said, “The two of you are supposed to be sleeping.”

“Daddy, this is important,” Suki countered without missing a beat. She gave her brother a little push in your direction and said, “Tell them, Yuma.”

Yuma shifted nervously, his eyes on the floor. Holding eye contact was very hard for him. Your son was painfully shy. “I, um, I was thinking,” he started.

You and Yuta waited patiently, always prepared to give him the time he needed to put his thoughts into words.

Suki rubbed his arm in comfort. “It’s okay, Yuma. You can tell them.”

Yuma sucked in a breath and said, “I… want to be an artist.”

You exchanged looks with Yuta, both of you fighting back delighted smiles.

“That’s great,” Yuta said brightly.

You nodded emphatically. “I would love to see your art, baby.”

Yuma made a noise. “It’s not ready yet.”

“Oh.”

“Yuma wants to do art,” Suki said with excitement. “But he thinks people will say it’s stupid.”

Yuta snorted. “If anyone says your art is stupid, Yuma, then they are idiots with no taste.”

“Exactly,” you agreed.

Your son smiled, relieved. With the three of you on his team, he was ready to try.

Yuta lowered his tone to something mischievous and asked, “Now, be honest, did the two of you stay up waiting for Mommy to come home?”

“Yes,” the twins answered in perfect sync.

You quickly rose to your feet and exclaimed, “Then, you better get over here and hug me before Daddy takes you back to bed!”

Suki and Yuma rushed toward you, colliding into your chest and you enveloped them in your arms. Yuta let out a fake growl and held up his hands, chanting, “I’m coming to get you!”

The twins squealed and laughed as you raced through the living room with them in your arms, keeping them out of their father’s clutches.

Not long after, you met Yuta’s eyes and smiled contentedly. Suki and Yuma were nestled between you and their father, sound asleep. Yuta traced his thumb over your cheek as you drifted off.

Everything was right in the little world you shared with your family.

Only a few years ago you’d wondered if you would ever be where you were now.

“It’s killing me, Yuta,” you cried, on the verge of tears. “I wanna get pregnant. I want to have a baby with you.”

“I know,” Yuta sighed, level. He was reluctant to show you just how distressed he was, because Yuta was an empath where you were concerned. He tended to reflect your emotions. Especially when they were running high.

You paced in front of your husband, who was leaning against the doorway of the bedroom. Little by little, you’d stripped out of your clothes from work and Yuta had tossed you one of his shirts to wear over your naked body.

This was less of an argument and more of an unresolved conflict. And if there was one staple in your relationship with Yuta, it was that the two of you could talk through anything.

“But the work I do is important,” you continued, voice breaking with sadness and longing. How you could miss a baby you’d never met was beyond your understanding. “I can’t give up my job, but I’ll be damned if I let a stranger raise our kid.”

Yuta finally approached you, crooning, “Babe, calm down for a second.”

“It’s eating me up,” you whimpered, spinning your wedding band on your finger the way you always did when you were stressed.

You and Yuta had recently celebrated your second anniversary of marriage. The discussion of babies was coming up more often. You both wanted kids. It was something you talked about together even before you got married.

But everything in your career was falling into place. Your dedication did not go unnoticed by Hel’s brutal justice system. You were a fierce prosecutor, sorely needed in a city rife with both lawless villains and corrupt heroes.

You found yourself at a crossroads of your dreams - being Hel’s hammer of consequences and making your hometown safer or being a mom and having a baby with the love of your life.

Yuta called your name and said, “I’ll raise the baby.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, eyes wide. “What?”

Yuta nodded and said it again, “I will raise the baby. You can keep your career. It’s okay.”

You gawked, like your brain had short-circuited. “You’re okay with me being the breadwinner?”

“As long as there’s bread to eat, I really don’t give a fuck who wins it,” Yuta quipped.

“God, Yuta,” you groaned as he gathered you in his arms. “You keep setting the bar too fucking high.”

Yuta laughed at that.

You melted into him, stars in your eyes. He had the most beautiful laugh and smile you had ever seen. The sight still made butterflies dance in your stomach, even after all the years spent together. Your body was already on fire. It was taking all of your restraint not to pounce on him.

Yuta could tell and the corner of his mouth lifted in that trademark smirk of his. It was going to be a very long night of baby making, Yuta sensed, and he had a feeling you’d be calling out of work in the morning. Kneading at your hips, your husband asked, “What do you say? You bring home the bacon and I’ll cook it.”

Your heart was so full you thought it would burst at any second. “You’re gonna raise our baby?”

Yuta stole a quick kiss and said, “Gladly. It would be my honor to raise our children.”

You bit your lip, shivering as his hands ran up and down your back. Then, without another word, you walked over to the dresser and grabbed the packet of birth control pills, holding them up dramatically before dropping them in the trash bin.

Yuta kept his promise. After your babies were born, you went back to work, determined to make Hel a safer place.

Raising the twins was Yuta’s greatest pride. He loved watching them grow, enjoyed teaching them everything they needed to know about life. Every day, he would catch himself staring at Yuma and Suki in wonder.

How such beautiful, pure creatures came from him was a goddamn mystery.

It was early in the afternoon when Yuta returned with the twins after a few hours of kindergarten. Schools in Hel were a little different. The affluent could afford to send their kids to very secure private schools and you didn’t mind shelling out the extra money for that.

Regardless, Yuta tended to hover near the school until it was time to pick the kids up. Just in case. He had no idea how he was going to cope with the following year when they would be at school all day. Yuta was seriously considering getting a job at the damn school, but Suki would be opposed. She often called him out on his hovering, much to Yuta’s amusement.

Yuta drove home with the twins in the backseat, all three of them singing along to the radio. Suki belted her little lungs out while Yuma mumbled the words he knew here and there. Yuta constantly caught himself smiling until his cheeks ached.

Back at home, he set out snacks for the kids and Yuma made himself comfortable at the coffee table in the living room to work on his drawings. Since he told you and Yuta about his passion for art, Yuma’s pictures were beginning to collect on the walls. It was the boost his confidence needed.

Yuta’s hand shook with the urge to chuck the calculator against the wall. God, he hated balancing the fucking checkbook. One of these days he was going to hire one of his friends to do it. Someone good at math. Probably Jungwoo.

Suki finished her snack and walked over to the dining table where her father was slowly but surely losing the will to live and called, “Daddy?”

Yuta looked over his shoulder. “Yes, Suki?”

“I have a problem.”

Well, that was Yuta’s least favorite phrase. Nothing unnerved him quite like it. Setting down his pencil and turning to her, he asked, “Okay, do you want to talk about it or is it something I need to fix?”

Suki replied flatly, “I would like to talk to you about it.”

Yuta patted the seat next to him and said, “Alright. I’m all yours, baby girl.”

Suki clambered into the chair and began, “There’s a girl in my class.”

Yuta waited patiently.

“We held hands today.”

Yuta breathed a little easier, having expected something a bit more dire. “That’s nice,” Yuta said with a smile. “Did you want to do that?”

Suki nodded happily. “Yes, I liked it.”

Yuta fought a laugh. “Good. Okay.”

“I want to marry her,” she announced, very matter of fact.

“Oh. I see.”

“Is that okay?”

Yuta chewed over his words carefully before answering, “Well, I think it’s sweet you found someone you like, but Suki, marriage is a very big step.”

“Hm.”

“Do you think you’re ready for that?”

Suki’s face was filled with determination. Yuta’s daughter feared nothing and felt the world was hers for the conquering, and he’d be damned if anyone ever told her otherwise. “Yes. I love her,” she told him.

Yuta was grinning, trying desperately not to giggle. Judging by the look in her eyes, Suki had no idea the gravity of what she was asking. She was only five years old, after all. “And while I appreciate that, do you have money for a wedding?”

Suki thought about it, tallying up her allowance money in her head, and replied, “I have a little bit.”

“And a house? Do you have money for a place to live with the person you marry?”

His daughter grimaced. “I didn’t think about that.”

Yuta reached over to take her tiny hand and gave it a squeeze, explaining delicately, “That is why it’s important to go to school so you can get a good job one day and have a nice house for you and your partner. Because marriage is a partnership.”

“Like you and Mommy?”

Yuta smiled warmly at the thought of you and said, “Yes. Mommy works very hard to give us this nice house.”

Suki sighed and her eyes sparkled. “I love Mommy.”

“I do too.”

A thought struck Suki. She looked to her father expectantly and asked, “Did you want to marry Mommy when you held hands?”

Yuta bobbed his head. “Absolutely. Holding hands with a pretty girl triggers all the happy feelings in your brain.”’

Suki giggled.

Yuta peered down at his daughter with joy. She was the cutest thing in the world with her sweet smile and bouncy pigtails. She looked a lot like you while Yuma looked more like him, but Yuta could see himself in Suki when she was up to no good. She had his mischievous grin and his penchant for trouble.

Suki seemed content with the conversation and gave her father a grateful kiss on the cheek before sliding off the chair.

Yuta stopped her to ask, “One question, Suki. Did anyone say anything to you about holding hands with a girl?”

She seemed puzzled by that, brows furrowed. “No.”

“Good,” Yuta said. He would not hesitate to march into that school and give them a piece of his mind if necessary. Yuta was always in fight mode when it came to his babies. Fortunately, the school knew you were Hel’s biggest lawyer and went out of their way not to piss either of you off.

“Did I miss anything today?” you asked that night after finishing your dinner, following Yuta over to the sofa in the living room.

Yuta poured you a glass of wine and took the empty spot beside you, putting his own glass to his lips and replying, “Your daughter wants to get married.”

You lurched, almost choking on your drink.

Yuta was beaming, sidling closer to you as he added, “To a pretty girl in her class.”

“I’ll be damned,” you said, shaking your head with a laugh. “What did you tell her?”

“I told her that while marriage is admirable, it’s also very expensive,” Yuta quipped, draping his arm around your shoulders.

You downed another mouthful of wine and groaned, “God, why are they growing up so fast?”

“We’re gonna blink and they’ll be our age.”

“Don’t say that. I swear, I just birthed them yesterday.”

Yuta snorted.

You mulled it over and spoke like you were presenting closing arguments for a case, “Tell them they can’t get married until at least thirty. They’re ours. We don’t want to share them with anyone else for a long time.”

Yuta clinked his glass against yours. “I’ll be sure to tell them.”

You lowered your head, breathing out a sigh. Blinking rapidly, because your eyes had begun to burn, a tear escaped and rolled down your cheek. You did your best to quickly wipe it away with your hand, hiding the evidence as it were, but Yuta saw. He could feel your body tensing up.

“Baby, don’t do that to yourself,” your husband whispered. He knew you too well, better than anyone else on earth.

You sniffled and more tears followed when you cried, “I feel like I’m missing out on so much. What if I look back and I’ve missed everything, Yuta?”

“Come here,” Yuta crooned, tugging you close.

You buried your face in his chest and closed your eyes, dampening his shirt with your tears.

Yuta rubbed your arm, trying to warm you because he knew a cruel chill was working its way through your body. You were exhausted and burnt out, and for every criminal you put away, three more took its place. You were a warrior locked in an endless war with a hydra.

You hated working late, hated that the sweet beautiful moments with your children were few and far between, but you were determined to fix the system before they had to live under it.

There were days you wished you could live somewhere else, but the rest of the world had designated Hel the only sanctuary for those with powers. If they ventured anywhere else, they were hunted to the death. Regardless of Yuta’s abilities, you would never ask him to run forever.

Once you were spent of your tears, Yuta slipped his fingers into your hair and tugged your head back so he could search your face. You weren’t surprised when he kissed your wet lips, tasting the salt on his tongue.

The two unfinished glasses of wine were left behind on the coffee table as Yuta popped your legs around his waist and carried you into the bedroom. You disappeared with him into a haze of kisses and touches, lust and passion.

Yuta wasn’t satisfied until he broke you. Until your body was as exhausted as your heart and mind had been. Seconds blurred into minutes and minutes blurred into hours. You were covered in sweat, tangled in damp sheets. Tears of sadness became tears of pleasure as he took you again and again.

You screamed into his hand clamped over your mouth, because Yuta dared not let the sounds you made travel outside of the bedroom. You shook with orgasm, your body an unhinged livewire, and darkness rolled over your eyes like a blackout.

It was times like these you were convinced you and your husband were made only of ecstasy. And only for each other.

“Look at me,” your husband growled, clasping your jaw. He was propped over you, rocking his cock in and out of your core at a lazy pace.

You were sore and overstimulated, shivering each time he bottomed out inside. The slow strokes of his cock were too much and yet not enough. You held onto his arms for dear life and stared into his eyes, lips parted as you panted for breath.

“You’re a good mom,” Yuta told you gently, his voice low and husky. “They love you so much. Almost as much as I do.”

Fresh tears spilled from your eyes and you whimpered just as Yuta smashed his lips on yours, silencing all of your doubts and fears with his words and with a kiss.

You were lingering in that place between awake and asleep as Yuta lowered you into the hot bath he’d prepared. With your head on his shoulder, you closed your eyes, letting the heat seep into your bones while Yuta hummed along to a familiar tune. You barely remembered him drying you off and tucking you into bed.

“Goodnight, my love,” he whispered, leaving one last kiss on the corner of your mouth.

In the morning, you roused out of bed, careful to be quiet as Yuta still slept. You always envied him a little extra on Saturdays. Not only did he get to sleep in, he got to spend the day with the babies.

You showered and dressed, and walked over to the bed, propping yourself over your husband and kissing his cheek. “I love you so much,” you murmured, leaving one more kiss near the corner of his mouth.

Yuta garbled a vague “love you” in his mother tongue, still asleep.

You grinned that even in his dreams he could hear you and tiptoed away to another long day of putting down Hel’s worst criminals.

Sunday was the only day of the week you had off and they were without contest your favorite day of the week. You and your husband were reluctant to leave the bed at a reasonable hour, catching up on much-needed rest, and eventually the twins crawled in to cuddle. Rather than get up, Yuta put on a movie for them, the latest Pixar release, which they happily watched in the comfort of your bed while you and Yuta dozed a bit more.

The next time you woke up, your daughter was pushing on your shoulder. She jumped up and down on the mattress, chanting, “Wake up, Mommy. Wake up!”

You stirred, blinking to clear your vision, and snatched your daughter, bringing her in close for a hug. Suki was all giggles, hugging you back.

“Daddy made pancakes,” she told you hurriedly, trying to roll you off the mattress.

“I’m coming, baby,” you rasped, staggering out of bed. You wobbled over to the dresser, putting on some sweatpants to go with Yuta’s tee you were wearing, and followed your daughter out to the living room.

Yuta was holding your son over the counter and you watched as Yuma scattered chocolate chips onto the pancakes. Your husband glanced up and flashed you a grin. “Hey, Mama. Finally out of hibernation, are you?”

“And whose fault is that?” you shot back playfully.

Yuta stuck out his tongue. The images of you howling his name into the pillow and scraping your nails down his back were still fresh in his mind.

“I’ll get my revenge tonight,” you murmured under your breath, stealing a chocolate chip from the bag and popping it into your mouth.

“Mommy,” Suki whispered quietly, tugging on your shirt.

Discreet, you handed her a few chocolate chips which she crammed into her mouth with a victorious grin.

The four of you sat at the table and ate your pancakes. Laughter echoed through the house. You couldn’t put into words how much you enjoyed eating with your family. After a week of solitary dinners, nothing warmed your heart than when the four of you were together.

Suki was a riot of personality. You and your daughter went back and forth, arguing facetiously over the most mundane things. Yuta was already making jokes about her following in your footsteps as a vicious lawyer.

Yuma was just like his father. In the tiny lulls between you and Suki’s fast-paced conversation, he let monotonous comments pass. The epitome of Yuta’s dry humor. Your son was hilarious without trying. Yuta would throw his head back and laugh, chiming in as well. It was only when with his family that Yuma defeated his shyness.

Where Suki had Yuta’s mischief, Yuma had your balance. While Suki had your snark, Yuma had his father’s wit. Yuta often said the twins inherited the best parts of you and him.

With breakfast finished, you gathered the plates and took them into the kitchen to clean. You had to chase Yuta away more than once, insisting he relax on the couch. It wasn’t often you got to actually wash something. Yuma and Suki came to help you, but more or less ended up just keeping you company.

In keeping with Sunday tradition, the four of you went to the park not far from your neighborhood. It was a nice, breezy walk, your fingers intertwined with Yuta’s. Suki led the way, not surprising, and Yuma was a step behind her.

Once the playground was in sight, Suki took off running, rushing over to join her friends. Yuma stopped and turned to look at you, and you encouraged him forward. Your son meandered over to the swings, watching his sister who was gabbing away with the other kids as if she’d never left.

You sat comfortably on one of the benches, returning the waves of familiar parents nearby. Yuta traced senseless patterns on your shoulder, leaning his head against yours. The two of you were content to watch your kids play.

What was mundane to others was paradise to Yuta. His life had been chaos; absolute, utter chaos, but now, it was beautiful and calm. He wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

“Yuta?”

“Hm?”

You nestled deeper into his embrace and said, “I need to take a step back.”

Yuta made a tiny noise, as if in agreement, but without saying it outright.

“I miss them so much,” you whispered, then turned to him. “I miss you.”

“I’m right here, babe. We’re not going anywhere.”

You chewed on your lip. “I want to be home more. The kids will be in school full days next year. At the very least, I can try to stop working until night. That way I can see them in the evenings.”

“What will that mean for justice?”

“I won’t be able to pack in as many cases in a day as I usually do, but maybe that’s a price Hel will have to pay.”

Yuta was gleaming. “I support whatever you want to do.”

You smiled, happy, and turned your eyes back to your children. Their smiles warmed you down to your very soul.

By the time you returned to the house, Yuma was sound asleep in your arms and Suki was drooling on Yuta’s shoulder. You tucked them both into their beds and turned off the light, closing the door as quietly as possible.

“One minute past their nap time and they are out,” you joked, tying up your hair into a bun on your head.

“They don’t even realize they’ve worn themselves out until it’s too late,” Yuta added, standing before the television with the weather report on. His phone was in hand and Yuta viewed his unread messages. He liked to be kept up to date on the state of the criminal underground and the dangers on the city’s surface, but he never told you that.

You were better off not knowing that Yuta kept his fingers on the pulse of Hel.

Plopping down on the sofa, you let two whole seconds of quiet pass before whining, “Ugh, go wake them up. I miss them.”

Yuta chuckled and turned off the television. Setting down his phone, he made a beeline for you and you cried out in surprise when Yuta steered you onto your back on the couch and crawled over you, leaving playful kisses across your neck.

Your giggles shifted into moans. Yuta pinned you under his weight and stroked his clothed cock on your thigh, his hand down your pants. You sighed his name into his ear and arched your body into his, the two of you writhing together and getting each other off.

Yuta made you feel like a teenager again, sneaking off to hook up in the car or stealing a quickie in the bathroom. There was no end to his desire for you. You were his other half and the mother of his children. Every day, he fell more deeply in love with you.

And you with him.

Yuta’s breath was hot on your neck as he let out one final moan. Your husband clambered off of you and slumped back against the couch, both of you disheveled and panting. And buzzing with that post-coital surge of dopamine.

“Fuck,” you groaned, eyes fixated on your husband. His cheeks were red and sweat glistened across his collarbones. With your legs still around his hips, you flexed your thighs, intentionally trying to get a reaction out of him.

Yuta swallowed to wet his dry throat and smoothed his hand over the lowest plane of your stomach possessively. “Woman, you’re insatiable,” he growled, feigning annoyance.

“You satiate me just fine,” you purred, grabbing his hand and dragging it underneath your shirt until he landed on your breast.

Yuta instinctively squeezed your mound, teasing his fingers over your nipple, and asked lowly, “Think you can wait until tonight for more?”

“Yes,” you said, but the fire in your eyes betrayed your words.

Yuta bit his lip, raking his eyes down your body. Knowing your warm, wet cunt was right there, inches from his cock, made him start to heat up again. Your husband shifted, draping himself over you once more, and teased, “It would be just like the babies to come running out here as soon as I get it in.”

You laughed. “Like the six-week mark?”

Yuta dropped his head to the crook of your shoulder with a groan and his reply was mumbled against your skin, “How could I forget?”

Six weeks after you gave birth was the imposed limit for intercourse your doctor had given you. And god knew you were counting down the days. Yuta pretended to have far more patience than you did, acting unaffected by the lack of intimacy. Honestly, having two newborn babies was distraction enough.

But as the clock winded down, you and Yuta were doing a mating dance of frustration and downright insanity. It was endless flirting and touching and the most obscene sexts you’d ever seen. Or sent. On more than one occasion you messily dry humped each other to the finish line over the nearest surface. Not your proudest moment, but you had to take what you could get.

When six weeks came and Yuta called your doctor to make sure it would absolutely be okay for him to touch you again, the two of you nearly destroyed the house on the way to the bedroom.

And just before Yuta was about to cautiously sink inside you, the baby monitor burst with cries.

This pattern continued for two weeks. Every time you were about to get railed by your husband, your beloved twins let their feelings be known on the other side of the house, screaming for milk or a diaper change or just to be held. Which effectively ended the mood.

It wasn’t until Yuta’s saint of a mother offered to take care of the twins for a day that you and Yuta enjoyed twenty minutes of fucking around and then, hilariously, spent the remaining ten hours catching up on sleep.

“How was your nap?” Yuta asked your son as he dragged his feet out to the living room. You and your husband were sitting on the couch, cleaned up, and had been talking quietly amongst yourselves.

Yuma rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Good,” he finally said, remembering his father had asked him, and climbed into your lap, using your chest as a pillow.

Yuta smiled fondly and reached over, smoothing down Yuma’s fluffy dark hair.

Suki joined not long after, her face puffy and her eyes squinting. Unlike her brother, she was too tired to speak and merely collapsed into Yuta’s lap in the most dramatic fashion.

The debate was soon on for dinner. Yuta always ordered something rather than cooked, since it was the day of rest and all. Traditionally your husband and kids would play rock-paper-scissors to decide. You never played, because you rather sucked at it and always lost so why bother.

When Yuma emerged the victor, Yuta and Suki threw up their hands and whined over their defeat, much to you and Yuma’s amusement. Your son excitedly declared, “Pizza!”

Fresh, hot pizza was delivered to the door in twenty minutes. Yuta carried the big box to the dining table and called, “Come and get it, spawn!”

Your twins were already tripping over themselves to take their place at the table and you were a few steps behind. As Suki impatiently grabbed at the slice her father had put on a plate before her, Yuta made a disapproving sound and chided, “Wait a second, silly girl.”

Suki lifted her chin as Yuta tucked a large napkin into the collar of her shirt, protecting her clothes from the mess she was undoubtedly about to make. You did the same for Yuma, who rarely ever spilled, but he never wanted Suki to feel like she was the only one that had to wear a bib. Yuma was all about sibling solidarity.

The evening was defined by full bellies and endless laughter, much like the rest of your day. Suki decided to stand on her chair and regale the rest of you with a recap of the latest episode of Sailor Moon she’d watched. Yuma would calmly chime in here and there with major plot details she missed and Suki was ever appreciative. He was the only one allowed to interrupt her, on account of them sharing a womb and all.

As night fell, Yuta snuck away to prepare a bath and once it was ready, the twins followed you eagerly in. They played in the bubbles while you washed their hair and made sure to splash you right in the face. Yuma pretended he was a sea turtle, while Suki decided she was a walrus.

Everyone brushed their teeth and washed their faces. Suki treated both as if they were Olympic events and Yuma was content to watch you in the mirror the whole time, trying to imitate you. The twins dressed in their pajamas without much fuss, but Yuta knew better.

“I don’t wanna go to sleep,” Suki cried loudly, racing into the living room. “I wanna stay with Mommy!”

Yuta reminded, “Suki, you get grouchy if you stay up past ten.”

Yuma turned to you and asked, “Why is the weekend over?”

You snorted. “I ask myself that every Sunday, baby.”

Suki darted between Yuta’s legs, escaping his intentionally slow attempts to catch her, all the while yelling that she wasn’t tired.

Sensing both of your kids on the verge of a meltdown, you spoke firmly, “Suki and Yuma, come here to me. Now.”

No one dared contend with that tone.

The twins did as told, flocking to your outstretched arms. You hauled them up with you onto the sofa and steered your babies to lay their heads on your chest, as you’d always done since the day they were born. Pressing a kiss to each of their heads, you started to hum.

Yuma and Suki held each other’s hands in your midst and smiled at each other before closing their eyes. Listening to your heartbeat reminded them of the warmth and safety of your womb. You rocked back and forth a little, humming that familiar tune. Yuta braced his hands on the back of the couch, watching over you and your babies.

When you were pregnant, Yuta made a habit of talking and singing to your growing belly. It was hard for you not to join in even though you didn’t have a beautiful singing voice like he did. Yuta would beg to differ, but that was an argument for another day.

Around your eighth month, you were put on bedrest which almost made you lose your mind with boredom. As someone who was perpetually busy, laying around was the quickest and most effective way for you to go insane. Yuta was forever brainstorming ways to keep you occupied.

It also lent itself to fear. You had nothing to do but think and your brain decided to fixate on all the things that could go wrong with a twin pregnancy. Add hormones to that and you were a messy ball of nerves wound up so tight you thought you would snap.

Yuta cradled your face and pressed his lips to your brow, humming softly. Telling you to calm down would only frustrate you more, so he treated you like a fussy baby. And it worked. You sniffed back the tears and closed your eyes, letting him rock you back and forth with his hand on your big belly as he hummed that little tune he’d come up with for the babies inside you.

And here you were, five years later, soothing the twins with those same low notes. They had no meaning outside of your house, but for your little family, they were everything. Yuma let out a soft sigh and you knew he was dozing off. Suki fought sleep for the sake of her pride, but her little lashes batted heavier and heavier.

You kept humming as Yuta took your son carefully from your arms and you continued humming as you carried Suki into the bedroom behind him. You gave each of them a kiss on their foreheads and whispered, “Goodnight, my darlings. Sweet dreams only.”

Then, Yuta turned on their night light that shone a galaxy on the ceiling and closed the door behind you.

Yuta took you by the hand and led you with him to the bedroom. Just shy of the bed, he gave you a little spin, twirling you like at the start of a dance, before pulling you into his arms. You giggled, meeting his oncoming kiss.

“I wish every day was like this,” you sighed longingly.

Yuta hummed an agreement against your mouth, slipping his tongue between your lips. Seeing you hold those babies made Yuta out of his mind with love for you.

You kissed him hotly, running your hands beneath his shirt to palm at his warm skin, feeling the taut lines of his abs. When the kisses grew out of control, you braced your hands on his chest, cocked your head toward the bed and said, “Lay down.”

Yuta smirked at you and did as told, taking off his shirt and laying on his stomach over the mattress.

You climbed on top of him, straddling his hips and sitting squarely on his butt. Then, you started running your hands up and down his naked back.

Yuta let out a little moan. You could break every knot in his muscles until he was mush in your hands.

“No matter how hard I work, I know you work twice as hard,” you told him, massaging his shoulders. “You’re doing an amazing job with our babies.”

“I’m doing my best.”

You put forward more pressure, working away the tension in his muscles. Every now and then, Yuta grunted or moaned and you knew you were on the right track.

There were lines in his back. Battle scars, he called them. You often wondered how much evil Yuta had seen in his lifetime, but he never told you. He kept those secrets buried deep within. You knew your husband was a force to be reckoned with and that was part of the reason you slept so soundly in his arms.

You dragged your lips down his spine, kissing across his scars, making Yuta shiver beneath you. You pressed wet, open-mouthed kisses over his broad shoulders and tongued your way along the ridges of his muscles.

Yuta shifted, all the blood rushing to his cock. Your every touch was enough to drag him to the edge of ruin.

“You feel like getting pegged tonight?” you teased, licking your lips a bit hungrily.

“I’m not in the mood,” Yuta said, nonchalant.

“Oh?”

Yuta glanced at you over his shoulder and growled, “I’d rather fuck the shit out of you.”

You snickered. “You already did last night. Tonight, I wanna make you feel good.”

“You always make me feel good, baby.”

“Well, I’m ready when you are.”

Yuta turned over beneath you, grabbing your hips. He peered up at you in reverence and whispered, “I love you so much it hurts sometimes.”

“Babe, don’t talk like that,” you purred, running your thumb over his perfect lips. “I’ll suck the soul out of you and then there won’t be anything for me to ride.”

Yuta brought your hips down, grinding his hard cock into your clothed folds. The presence of pants between your bodies irritated him. “I’d get it back up for you in a heartbeat.”

“I know,” you said, bending down and kissing him.

You stripped each other naked between kisses. Slowly. Intimately. Like you had all the time in the world to explore and pleasure each other’s bodies with a familiarity belonging only to lovers that had been through heaven and hell together.

And not until you were begging him to take you did Yuta guide you further up his body to sit on his face.

“Mm, fuck,” you groaned when Yuta raked his tongue through your slit, teasing around your bundle of nerves. You were already throbbing with want and the lightest of touches made your body spasm.

Yuta looped his arms around your thighs, making you lower even more. He knew you were hesitant to put too much weight on him, no matter how many times he’d told you otherwise, but he was determined to have his way with you.

Your arched your hips slowly, almost barely at all, tentatively thrusting your sex closer to his mouth. Yuta worked you with his tongue, tasting your arousal and grunting lowly in the back of his throat at the taste of you.

“B-baby,” you stammered, threading your fingers through his hair. You dared not look down, because the sight of him sucking at your clit like his last meal would end you on the spot.

Yuta reached up to squeeze your breasts roughly before caressing his fingertips over your nipples until they were stiff to the touch. God, he loved your body so much he couldn't stand it.

You bit your lip to quiet yourself, but between his hands and his mouth there was no hope for you. You whimpered and whined, riding his face at a languid speed, just enough to keep his lips from getting ahold of your engorged clit.

Yuta knew that and he brought his palms to your ass. Then, he started tapping and drumming his fingers on your skin. It was a warning.

You picked up the pace, arching your cunt closer to his mouth. Gathering your bouncing breasts in your hands, you pressed them together and pinched your nipples.

That still wasn’t enough for Yuta. He reeled a hand back and landed a hard smack on your ass, making you jolt and squeal.

You sped up a little, feeling him tickling his fingers over your ass again. Reminding you how easily he could give you another spank. “Yuta,” you pleaded.

He parted from your dripping cunt to growl, “I know you can ride better than that. Just ask my dick.”

Your stomach clenched as you let him suck more intensely at your clit. The stimulation was almost too much. Your body began to shudder involuntarily.

Yuta let a hand slip from your ass, holding it at the ready, and he smirked against your lower lips as you rolled your hips frantically in response. The moment you shied away from his tongue, he brought his hand down on your ass, sending a loud slap through the room.

“I can’t, baby,” you choked out, craning your body back and bracing your hands on opposite sides of his waist.

Yuta pinched your hips in his hands and lifted his head, flicking his tongue mercilessly on your clit. You can and you will, he thought to himself, chuckling against your folds.

You fisted the blanket and panted, your breaths loud and downright pathetic. Eyes winched closed, you bucked your pussy into your husband’s face, seeking the wet warmth of his tongue while everything in your body tried to escape it.

Yuta tightened his hold on your hips as you came, grinning smugly at the lecherous sounds leaving your mouth. He could feel his fingers sinking into your flesh to the point of bruising, but he knew how much you loved that. All his energy was on his tongue, rubbing your sensitive clit until you begged him to stop.

Your legs were like jelly and your head was stuck in a fog. Yuta steered you back into position over his hips, rutting his hard cock against your soaked folds. You swallowed to wet your dry throat and ran a hand through your hair, peering down at your husband and shaking your head. “You’re a fucking god. I hope you know that.”

Yuta chuckled, draping his hands lazily on your thighs while he kept grinding into you, waiting. Your pussy coated his length in your juices, evidence of how hard he’d made you come.

Part of you, when things became serious in your relationship with Yuta, wondered if the fires between you would ever die down. Years of dating passed, then marriage, culminating with the arrival of your children and the answer was still no. Yuta still drowned you in his passion like it was the first time.

“You’re mine,” Yuta had hissed into your skin on your wedding night, crushing you in his arms as he buried his cock inside you. “Every inch of you is mine. Every breath you take is mine.”

With that memory fresh in your mind, you grabbed one of his hands and brought it to your neck to hold. Lifting your hips, you wrapped your fingers around his hard cock and guided him into your entrance, sinking down on him. You were so slick from orgasm, he pressed right in without resistance. But you still moaned at the girth of him stretching you.

Yuta squeezed your throat, clenching his jaws at the tight heat of you enveloping him. “Fuck,” he staggered out, abs flexing as he fought the urge to pound his cock into your perfect pussy.

Adjusted, you braced your hands on Yuta’s chest and started to ride him, moving in a way that he stroked deep inside you. You locked eyes with your husband, watching the pleasure on his face, and purred, “You’re mine.”

“All yours,” Yuta said, breathless.

You bounced on his cock until Yuta lost the last of his restraint. That was when he wrapped his arms around you, trapping you to him, and began to thrust up into you, hips slapping into your ass at inhuman speed. You held onto his shoulders and moaned desperately into his neck, enduring his brutal pace until another orgasm ripped through you.

The echo of your cries and the clamping of your cunt around his length made Yuta burst, stuffing his cock into you as deep as he could go and filling you with his load. He shuddered and groaned, fisting a hand into your hair and biting down on the base of your neck.

Utterly spent, the two of you slumped limply into the bed and held each other tight like no force on earth could ever tear you apart.

In the morning, you couldn’t bring yourself to get up for work after the third night in a row spent tangled with your husband. You called to let them know you would be coming in late and since you were technically the boss, no one could tell you otherwise.

Funny enough, your secretary applauded you for finally taking a little break.

The moment you tossed your phone back onto the nightstand and folded the pillow under your head, Yuta was on you. You hummed when he settled his weight on your back, trailing kisses over your cheek.

If you thought you would be getting extra sleep after presenting a rare opportunity of morning sex to your husband, you were mistaken.

Yuta glanced up at the clock and mumbled, “The babies won’t be up for a while.”

You smirked, closing your eyes and feigning indifference, but you lifted your hips, making your ass bounce into his stiff cock. Like intimacy with Yuta was all your body was capable of craving. Still naked from the night before, you arched your back into his body, moaning softly when his dick rubbed against your folds.

Yuta whispered filth in your ear as he pushed the blankets and pillows away from you. You held the edge of the mattress and cried out when Yuta steered you into position roughly, bending your leg up and pressing a hand into your lower back.

You wiggled your ass, enticing him to take you, and sucked in a breath when two fingers slipped into your hole.

“You’re still wet,” Yuta hissed, biting down on the bridge of your shoulder and pumping his digits between your folds to prepare you.

You taunted, “I stay wet for you. You know that.”

Yuta gathered a handful of your hair in his fist, yanking your head back to kiss and tongue at your throat while he withdrew his fingers from your pussy and guided his cock in, impaling you on every last inch.

“Yuta,” you moaned, your eyes rolling back. You gripped the edge of the mattress harder, your mouth gaping.

Yuta let out a noise of pleasure as he coaxed his cock deep into your cunt, the kind of sound that made you clench on him. “So fucking tight and swollen, baby,” he crooned in a tone meant to rile you up. “Does it hurt?”

You shook your head, biting your lip. His hands roamed over you, playing with your breasts and nipples, whilst Yuta sank his hard dick into you slowly, moaning in your ear at the warmth of you around his cock.

“I love you,” he sighed, stealing a kiss.

Rather than answer, you decided to goad him. You glanced at Yuta over your shoulder, arching your hips to meet his languid pace, and whispered, “I know you can fuck harder than that. Just ask my pussy.”

Your husband could and gladly would fuck you for an hour, but you were too sore for that. You wanted a quickie. Hard and fast.

Yuta chuckled, remembering his words from the night before, and used his grip on your hair to shove you face first into the mattress. You would definitely need to stifle the noises you were about to make.

You winched your eyes closed and held the mattress for dear life, eventually biting on the edge too as Yuta smacked his hips into your ass, throttling his cock into your pussy.

“Don’t wake them up,” your husband warned, pinning his hand to the nape of your neck. He had you whimpering and moaning like he’d fucked all the goddamn sense out of you.

“I’m coming,” you told him in a matter of minutes, squirming in his hold, trying to get yourself the rest of the way.

Yuta thrust into you faster and faster, at an almost inhuman speed. Almost. Sensing you at the edge, Yuta bore down on you with his weight, whispering dirty praises in your ear, and rammed his cock into your sweet spot until you came with a cry.

“I love you,” you chanted, because it was much less embarrassing than saying thank you over and over again for the mind-shattering orgasm he’d just ripped out of you.

Feeling your pussy try to push out his cock with the intensity of your climax, Yuta got a punishing grip on your hips and plunged his length into you, releasing with a mangled groan, finishing with one hard thrust after another.

You gasped to catch your breath, bouncing ever so slightly to milk his cock. Being fucked full of his cum made you arch your back and moan, wanting every last drop he had to give.

Yuta gave your ass an appreciative slap when he reluctantly drew his soft length from you, and said, “Atta girl.”

You lay there, your entire body thrumming and satisfied, and dozed off the moment Yuta finished cleaning you with a cloth from the bathroom.

Your husband dragged the blanket over your naked body and left the room quietly, knowing that if he stayed in bed with you, it would undoubtedly result in another round.

So instead, Yuta made himself comfortable on the couch and waited for the kids to wake up. He shook his head, thinking of you and your beautiful body. Fuck, he wanted to march back in there and drill you to another toe-curling orgasm.

Yuta fixed a pot of hot coffee, knowing you would want some when you woke, and blew the steam billowing from his mug as he watched the TV. The news was reporting a steady decline in city violence; a result of the new district attorney’s efforts to put away bad men and corrupt cops.

Seeing your picture on the screen unnerved Yuta. He didn’t want your face to be so widely known. Fortunately for you, however, Yuta still had friends in low places. They would keep it known that you belonged to someone that was not to be crossed. A venomous serpent slumbering in its den, as it were.

It was half past ten when you dragged yourself out of the bedroom, forcing yourself to get ready for work. To your surprise, you found both of your children waiting for you.

“Mommy, you look beautiful today,” Yuma greeted, smiling widely at you when you emerged from the bedroom.

“Thank you, darling,” you told your son, pressing a kiss to his brow. Then, you checked the time and remembered what day it was. “No school today?”

“Teacher work day,” Suki replied. She was seated at the counter and Yuta stood beside her, jotting things down on a list.

“Anything you need from the store, Mama?” Yuta asked, spinning the pen between his fingers.

“I can’t think of anything,” you said, looking between your son and daughter. “Are you going with Daddy to the store?”

“We always do,” Suki replied excitedly.

Sadness washed over you, but you hid it quite well on your face like any seasoned lawyer. You wanted to spend some time with the babies.

Yuta saw right through you, as only he could. Turning to the twins, he started speaking rapid fire Japanese, to which they giggled because they understood perfectly.

You scowled, though it was insincere, and whined, “That’s not fair. You know Mama is still working on her Japanese.”

“You’ve been working on it for ten years, my love,” Yuta teased under his breath, then he changed his tone. “I was just telling them how smart you are.”

“Bull… poop,” you started, quickly correcting yourself before using profanity in front of your children. Yuta grinned with amusement at irritating you.

At the word poop, Yuma and Suki giggled again.

A very loud bang sent a reverberating shudder through the house, making picture frames rattle on the walls. No one flinched. Undoubtedly a villain and a hero were duking it out in the center of the city again.

One moment Yuta was beside Suki, in the next he had crossed the room, caught a falling vase and set it back, and returned to her side in the time it took you to blink.

You mumbled, “I saw that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yuta said blithely.

“Daddy says he’s not fast,” Suki announced. “Everyone else is just really slow.”

You snorted back a laugh.

“Alright, Suki, let’s hit the market,” Yuta said a moment later, tucking the shopping list into his pocket.

You blinked in surprise. “You’re not taking Yuma with you?”

Yuta shook his head, a tiny smile on his face. “He wants to stay with you.”

You looked back at your son on the sofa, who was beaming at you warmly.

Yuta and Suki gave you and Yuma parting kisses and left.

Yuma sat beside you, watching a movie intently. He held onto your hand, absentmindedly playing with your fingers, and leaned against your side like he couldn’t quite get close enough to you. While Suki could talk a mile a minute, Yuma was rather quiet. She was the one to always drag him out of his shell, while you preferred a more gentle approach.

You reached over and brushed his hair from his brow before running a finger over his cheek. It was wonderful getting to spend time with him and you wanted to catch up on things you’d missed. “Anything you wanna talk to me about?” you asked sweetly.

Yuma shrugged.

“No pressure. Whenever you want.”

Yuma nodded and flitted his eyes between you and the television, pensive. He shifted a little and after a long pause, he said, “I want to make friends.”

You turned toward him, giving your son your undivided attention, and asked, “Do you have friends at school?”

Yuma couldn’t meet your eyes and shook his head, mumbling under his breath as if he were embarrassed, “Suki has lots of friends.”

You chuckled a bit. “Suki is very… assertive.”

Yuma peered up at you with furrowed brows. “What does that mean?”

You pinched your lips, thinking of the best way to explain. “It means she goes after things very strongly.”

Your son was staring at you, admiring. He was looking at you like you were the whole world. The same way you looked at him. “She’s like you,” he said, sweet as could be. No anger or jealousy to be found.

You snorted. “I suppose so.”

“Is Daddy like that?” Yuma asked curiously.

“A bit.”

“Why not me?”

You took his hand and gave it a squeeze, saying, “You’re a little different, Yuma. But different doesn’t mean wrong. You’re just you and that’s more than enough.”

Yuma relaxed. “Okay.”

“Do you want to be more assertive? Because I could teach you.”

“I don’t.”

“See? It’s just who you are. You’re perfect.”

Yuma was comforted by that. “But I want to make friends.”

You slipped a finger under his chin, tipping his head up. “Then, you make friends that are more like you. Does that make sense?”

He nodded. “It does.”

“I never had many friends,” you told him. Once upon a time, you would never have been able to verbalize that. A large part of your life had been spent with a lonely heart.

It was something you and Yuta had in common.

That caught Yuma by surprise. He looked up at you with wide eyes and nestled closer to you, putting his little hand on your arm as if to comfort you. “You didn’t?”

“No. People thought I was weird. I was obsessed with doing good in school and becoming a lawyer.”

“What about Daddy?”

Your face lit up at the mere mention of the love of your life. “Your father is my best friend in the whole world.”

“What made you be his friend?” Yuma pressed. He was suddenly an endless well of curiosity. He liked hearing about you and Yuta before he was born. Yuta told you that Yuma asked the most questions about how the two of you met and fell in love.

Suki, on the other hand, was more inclined to hear that she came out of your tummy first and was therefore, the oldest of your twins. By nine whole minutes.

“He told me I was perfect the way I was,” you replied, smoothing back Yuma’s hair. God, he really was Yuta’s spitting image. It was like looking into his eyes even though he was miles away from you. “And that there was nothing that could ever stand in my way if I wanted to do something.”

Yuma bounced and exclaimed, “He told me the same thing!”

“Your father is very wise.”

“He is.”

You pretended to wince and put a finger over your lips, whispering, “Don’t tell him I said that. It will go straight to his head.”

Yuma covered his mouth with his hand, playing along with your little joke. “I won’t.”

You wrapped your arm around your son and pressed a kiss to his nose, cooing, “You’ll be a great friend, Yuma. I promise.”

Your son hopped into your lap, hugging you tightly.

A quiet thud made you turn your head sharply toward the front door, every hair on the back of your neck standing up.

Yuta spoke to his daughter in his mother tongue as they walked through the farmer’s market. Suki loved looking at everything there was to see and the vendors always let her taste test things because her reactions were dramatic, but very genuine.

And because Yuta was generous with his money.

“Much better,” Suki declared after eating a grape.

“Yes, Miss Suki. They were a bit watery last time, weren’t they?”

She nodded.

Yuta chuckled, then told the seller, “Two bags please.”

Gripping her father’s hand tightly as they meandered, Suki asked, “Daddy, when are we getting takoyaki?”

“Soon, princess.”

“I’m being very patient.”

Yuta’s face tensed with the threat of laughter. “Yes, you are and I appreciate it.”

Suki suddenly went rigidly still, her hand slipping from around Yuta’s fingers as she stopped dead in her tracks. The smile vanished from her face in an instant and her eyes went out of focus.

Yuta jolted, all of his attention centering on his child. Crouching down before her and holding her arms, he asked frantically, “Suki, are you okay?”

His little girl trembled, tears filling her eyes. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. For the first time in her life, she was terrified. “Daddy, something’s wrong,” she whimpered, reaching for him.

Yuta lifted her into his arms, adrenaline tickling up his spine. “What is it, baby? Do you feel sick to your stomach?”

“No, it’s Yuma. And Mommy. Something’s wrong!”

That was all Yuta needed to hear. He dropped the basket of food and cradled Suki to his chest, feeling her cling to him. “Take a deep breath and hold it, Suki.”

She did as told and in a flash, they were gone.

But he was too late.

Yuta walked slowly through the house. His hands were shaking.

The front door was splintered into pieces. The living room was destroyed like a goddamn tornado had swept through. You put up a hell of a fight. Yuta knew you would. A mother’s instinct to protect her baby was formidable even against the strongest of enemies.

Yuta stepped over the broken coffee table, analyzing everything. He could safely assume there were a number of attackers. You were no match. Hell, even in his prime he would have struggled.

There was blood smeared on the wall, but Yuta breathed a little in relief when he didn’t recognize the scent. He had been right beside you when you gave birth. He was the one that put bandaids on all of your clumsy little cuts.

He knew the scent of you intimately.

This blood was not yours. It belonged to someone that foolishly tried to separate you from your child and learned you would die or kill before that happened.

“Suki, you can come out,” Yuta said lowly. “It’s clear.”

A panel above in the ceiling moved and Suki jumped down, landing in Yuta’s arms. He held her snugly to him, feeling her shaking with emotion, and coaxed, “I know this is hard, baby, but I need you. I know you can sense your brother.”

Suki nodded.

“Is Yuma hurt? Is your mother hurt?”

Suki paused, tapping into the connection she shared with her twin. “Yuma is okay. Mama is okay,” she told him, lips quivering. “Yuma is really scared, Daddy.”

Yuta took a steadying breath. He would rend this goddamn city inside out to get back what was his. “Can you find them, Suki? Can you lead me to them?”

His daughter nodded. “I think so.”

Yuta set her down on the floor and pulled out his phone. “I need to make a call. Go grab your panic bag, okay?”

Suki trundled to her bedroom. It went without saying Yuta taught his children extensively what to do in situations like these.

He was very aware of the dangers in Hel. But he never thought someone would dare enter the Viper's nest.

Pressing the phone to his ear, Yuta paced and after two rings, a familiar voice answered. “Someone took my wife and son,” Yuta said, skipping any greetings. He didn’t have time.

“I know,” Mark replied gravely. “It’s already spreading underground.”

Yuta grit his teeth and hissed, “Who did this?”

“I'm already looking into it. Give me fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you. Call me the second you have anything.”

“Done.”

Yuta hung up just as Suki returned with a little purple backpack. He gave her a proud smile and lifted her into his arms. “Ready, baby?”

She grabbed his face, staring into her father’s eyes, and asked, “We’re gonna find Mommy and Yuma. Right?”

Yuta gave a single nod. “Yes, Suki. We’re going to find them. I promise.”

By his tone, Suki knew her father would move mountains. She found her courage again and took a deep breath.

Despite the blindfold over your eyes and the cords wrapped tightly around your wrists, binding them together, your son was curled on your chest and you had managed to mold your entire body protectively around him.

You spoke softly and soothingly to him, but Yuma had whispered in your ear, “Daddy’s coming.”

Part of you already knew that. In your heart you knew Yuta would stop at nothing to bring you and your baby home. All you had to do was buy enough time. You kissed Yuma’s head, holding him even tighter.

Cradling your son, feeling his terror, knowing danger was closing in, was another kind of hell.

You closed your eyes and thought of Yuta. The one thing that could distract you from the suffocating grip of fear on your throat. You thought back to the moment you met, at the police station of all places. As a junior district attorney, you had been brought in to consult on whether a case could be made against him.

The Viper.

Sitting in a dimly lit room, Yuta was handcuffed to the table, but you knew you were the one in a cage with a lion. He was not captured. On the contrary, he was rather entertained.

“Everything you have on me is circumstantial,” Yuta stated plainly.

You took the seat across from him and said, “I know.”

Yuta narrowed his eyes, assuming you were manipulating him, and asked, “Then, why are you here?”

You shrugged. “Just following orders.”

“You don’t seem like the type.”

“The type of what?”

“To just do what you’re told.”

You stared into his eyes. Yuta’s gaze was hypnotic. You couldn’t look away. He was drawing you in slowly.

So began a dance of Yuta intentionally getting himself caught, prompting you to be summoned to the station to question him. Questions ended up ranging more toward you, the things you liked, the things you hated. The things you were interested in.

Who you were interested in.

As Yuta was led out of custody, free to go once again, he made sure to stop by you and whisper, “I would love to take you out to dinner.”

It took every ounce of your restraint not to smile. It was about goddamn time, to be honest. He was the most attractive man you’d ever seen. Not just his face, but his mind. Nothing about him was simple and that thrilled you.

“I can get a reservation at the Blood Raven tomorrow night. Interested?”

The Blood Raven, one of Hel’s most illustrious, high-end establishments. Known to be frequented by villains on the regular. “I’m interested,” you murmured softly.

It wasn’t like you to flirt with danger, but when danger flirted back, you kinda liked the rush it sent through you.

Yuta grinned victoriously. “Seven o’clock then. I’d offer to pick you up from work, but I’m sure that would be frowned upon, considering your profession.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Yuta sauntered out with an extra swagger to his step while you were screaming internally.

You snapped out of your reverie when the van jerked to a stop. Your son jostled on your chest, but you secured your hold on him as the men grabbed your arms and dragged you out.

Though they made no attempt to separate you from Yuma again.

Yuta folded his arms and glanced around the back alley. There was an overturned trash bin and tire marks on the ground.

Suki ambled along the alley, searching with her wide eyes. Your beautiful eyes. Yuta smiled at her fondly, hiding the ice cold fist of terror wrapped around his heart.

His daughter turned to him anxiously, but Yuta was quick to assure her, “Take your time, baby girl. You’re doing great.”

Suki nodded and kept looking for traces of her brother to follow.

Finally, she pointed and said, “That way.”

Yuta scooped her up and bolted.

He came to a sharp stop, mid-sprint, when he felt a vibration in his pocket. Holding his daughter, Yuta answered the phone, “Yes?”

“Your wife recently put away three upper-rank members of the Cyrus Gang, including the second-in-command.”

“Mm,” was all Yuta said. He knew exactly where this was going.

The Cyrus Gang had popped up after Yuta went into retirement. From what he knew via his friends, their leader was a villain with unknown powers and he ruled with an iron fist. They were organized, ruthless and known for their brutality.

No wonder you had made it your mission to put them behind bars.

“Camera footage on the street shows thirteen of their known members breaching your house,” Mark continued.

Yuta seethed. “Keep going.”

“Additional footage shows them dragging your wife and son into a different unmarked van two alleys over. Premeditated counter measures, obviously.”

Yuta assumed that was the alley he and Suki had just left. “Anything else?”

Mark’s voice filled with disappointment. “Footage shows evidence of tampering. We lost sight of them after that. I’ve got guys working on it.”

“Thank you. In the meantime, I have a very reliable source leading me to them,” Yuta said, looking to Suki.

She smiled at him, emboldened by his words.

“Good luck, brother,” Mark said.

Yuta hung up.

Suki put a hand on Yuta’s chest, subconsciously searching for his heart rhythm to settle her own, and asked, “Did they find Mommy and Yuma?”

“No, baby,” Yuta told her levelly. “It’s up to us to find them.”

Suki nodded. She was ready.

You giggled as Yuta kissed his way up your big pregnant belly. Both of your babies were stretching and kicking, and Yuta thought it was the most delightful thing he’d ever seen. He tickled his fingers near a foot and laughed when that foot sent a retaliatory kick in his direction.

“I can’t possibly get any bigger,” you groaned, though you didn’t mean it. All you wanted was two healthy, happy babies, and you were prepared to get as big as necessary for them.

“Don’t jinx it,” Yuta joked. He glanced up at you, his long hair falling into his eyes. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m always hungry. They’re always hungry.”

Yuta smoothed his hand over the crest of your belly, marveling. “They’re strong. I can feel it.”

You placed your hand over his and said, “Me, too. I can’t explain it, but… I can feel their bond.”

“They’re inside you. Of course, you can feel it.” His voice was soft, reverent, like he was holding all the answers to the universe between his hands.

“It’s something magical.”

Yuta turned somber, a frown tugging at his lips. “I hope they get all of your magic and none of mine,” he huffed under his breath.

“I don’t have any powers,” you reminded him, ready to scold if any self-deprecation chose to rear its ugly head. You’d become somewhat of a master at making it crawl back inside its dark hole.

“It’s a heavy burden.”

You sighed and carded your fingers into his hair. “We’ll help them carry it.”

Yuta finally turned away from your belly and propped himself over you, losing himself in your eyes. “Just like you help me carry mine,” he whispered.

You drew your husband close until you could press your lips to his.

“You have a magic all your own,” Yuta said, kissing the corner of your mouth.

Your son’s voice brought you back to the present. Peeking down at him worriedly, you asked, “What is it, baby?”

“Suki,” he said distantly, feeling his sister’s emotions. “She’s sad.”

Your eyes welled with tears. You were tucked in a corner of a rundown warehouse. There were locks on all the doors. With you secured, the captors removed your blindfold and restraints. Which was surprisingly considerate of them. And yet all it did was unnerve you more. “We’re gonna see them again, Yuma,” you told your son firmly.

He believed you, nodding before tucking his head beneath your chin and hugging you tight.

You wiped at your tears with a clenched fist and cried, “I should have sent you to the store with Daddy and Suki. It was selfish of me. I wanted to spend time with you.”

Yuma didn’t seem bothered by that admission. He merely said, “That’s okay, Mommy. It’s better this way.”

You blinked in surprise.

“I’m here with you. You’re not alone.”

You devolved into sobs, curling inward with your son hidden in your embrace. You kissed his sweet face and he kissed your cheek, looping his arms around your neck.

Suki had never seen the city at the speed of light. She was getting better at holding her breath, but keeping her eyes wide open. No matter how much it stung. She didn’t want to miss a thing.

She could feel Yuma. He was far away and no matter how much her father ran, they didn’t feel closer.

Yuta sprinted between cars, between buildings, between people. No one saw him. They would feel a wisp of wind that was gone as quickly as it came.

A killer in the night; that had been Yuta’s reputation in the not so distant past. No enemy could see him coming. No defense could be prepared. No lawman could pin a single shred of evidence on him. He was a silent blade in the darkness. Uncatchable and unstoppable.

Never had Yuta killed with anger. He was a cold and calculating villain. It was all business. This time would be different. The Viper would have its vengeance.

Suki tugged on Yuta’s collar and he grinded to a halt, the atmosphere shifting around them. Suki’s eyes were full of tears and she was trembling.

“What is it, Suki?”

“Hurry, Daddy,” she cried, choking on a sob. “They’re trying to take Yuma from Mommy!”

Yuta had never known rage and madness like what unfurled inside of him at that moment. He knew you would fight. He knew you would kill. But who would they keep alive?

They were running out of time. The men that took you knew who Yuta was and what he was capable of. And that he was coming. They would have to be quick.

Suki turned her head this way and that. Light shone in her eyes as she fought back her tears to focus on the task at hand.

Yuta recognized her determination and stroked a thumb over her cheek. “You’re very brave, my Suki. Find them and I will take care of the rest.”

Yuma was screaming. Suki could hear it as if she were in the room. Though he was miles away, his increasing emotions made his signal to her stronger. Suki pointed. “That way!”

Yuta didn’t need to remind her to take a breath. The moment she’d told him, Suki inhaled a big gulp of air and they were gone again.

You tapped into a reservoir of strength you’d forgotten you had. It was the same bottomless pit you’d fallen into when you gave birth. It didn’t matter that these men were inherently stronger than you. You could rip them apart with your bare hands every time they reached for your baby.

Yuma, though he was only a child, tried to push the men away as they pinned you to the concrete ground and shoved a phone against your ear. Your son didn’t understand. They screamed in your face, threatened unspeakable things against your children, if you didn’t orchestrate the release of some very bad men.

You relented, because of course you did. No criminal was worth the life of your son. Bloodied and bruised and choking on your own tears, you gave the order to release the Cyrus Gang’s second-in-command.

Satisfied, the men hung up the phone and warned they would keep you a little longer to make sure he was free and clear.

Then, your fate would be decided.

Yuma bolted to you the moment his captor let go of his arm and curled his small body around your head, trying to shield you from them. Every inch of you was trembling and you were breathing hard and fast, tasting the metallic sting of blood in your mouth. Adrenaline had seized ahold of you and torn its way through your system.

Your life flashed before your eyes. You saw yourself sigh tiredly as Yuta held you in his arms, two newborn babies sleeping soundly on your breasts. Only moments after birth, they had reached across your heart to hold each other’s hands and didn’t let go.

Yuta had never run so hard in his life. He was trying to outrun his emotions and his memories. He was thinking of the day you married him, when the two of you promised your lives to each other with the sea and the mountains as witnesses. Yuta had sworn to love you and only you for as long as he lived.

It was an easy vow to make. Yuta knew he’d found his soulmate. No woman on earth would ever get to hold his heart like you. It was yours.

He thought of your gentle smile when you kissed his brow and held him to your chest, lulling him to sleep after another nightmare. He thought of your grin when you showed him that positive pregnancy test. Yuta picked you up off the ground and spun you around. He could hear your laugh in his head. It was his favorite sound.

Then, he thought of all the times you told him, “I love you.”

Even before you had carried and birthed his children, you had given Yuta what he always wanted, but never had - a family.

This was life and death. If Yuta lost you, he would lose himself. He would raze the city to the ground and then throw himself into the ashes.

Because he would never be able to live with the monster he became if he lost you.

Your eyes snapped open when the door creaked. A lone man walked toward you and your son, his steps heavy and ominous.

“You have served your purpose,” was all he said.

You ignored the pain in your bones. Those words ignited a spark inside your chest like no other. This man should have known by the bloodstains coating your fingernails that you were a caged mother bear. Steering Yuma behind you, you crawled backwards until he was nestled against the wall. You guarded him with your body and got your legs underneath you.

Suki let out a scream of agony that knocked the wind out of Yuta. He was at full momentum and stumbled, instantly curling around her as they toppled into the dirt, rolling and spinning in a heap.

“Suki,” he shouted, searching her frantically for injury, but finding his daughter unscathed.

She wailed, “He’s killing Mommy!”

Yuta couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. He sat there in the barren wilderness outside the city with his daughter in his lap, the last tie to you that was about to be severed forever.

Yuma wasn’t brave. He never had been. Suki had courage. She always protected him. He wished she was there. She could destroy this man with her power.

Power. Yuma looked at his hands.

The man threw you to the ground and each time he stalked in Yuma’s direction, you charged him again. You knew he was toying with you, drawing it out for his own sadistic pleasure. You couldn’t beat him; you could only buy time.

“Yuma, run,” you screamed at your son, over and over, but he wouldn’t leave you. He refused to leave you.

Suki gripped Yuta tight, breaths staggering in and out. The tears streamed down her cheeks. “Yuma’s too scared to do it.”

“Do what, Suki?”

“Use his power.”

Yuta gawked. “Yuma has powers?”

“He hides them,” she said shakily. “They scare him. He doesn’t want to be bad. He doesn’t want to be a monster!”

Yuta knew that feeling all too well and it broke his heart. But his only concern in that moment was you. You needed a monster. Yuta cradled Suki’s cheeks in his hands and whispered lowly, “Tell him to protect his mother. Tell him to do whatever he has to do.”

Suki nodded.

The man braced his hands on his knees, winded, and chuckled. “You’re strong for a bitch.”

You were an unhinged creature, reduced to your most primal form. You had cut him with your nails, sank your teeth into his flesh. Anything you could manage to deter him from your child. Your own life meant nothing to you as long as your son could live.

The man grabbed you by the throat and lifted you off the ground, cutting off your oxygen. Darkness seeped into the edges of your vision. You clawed at his hands and kicked at his torso, but to no avail.

Yuma rushed over and wrapped his arms around the man’s leg.

In an instant, the monster choking the life out of you screeched and dropped to his knees, staggering back as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through him.

But not you. You coughed and choked, scrambling to get your bearings and reaching for your son. The tiniest shock pricked your hands and then it was gone. Yuma shuddered, jumping into your arms as fast as he could.

You looked at the man and knew he was dead. And you didn’t question it for a second. Hiding yourself in the corner with your son, you kept his head turned away.

Suki exhaled loudly, wiping at her tears.

Yuta asked, “Is it done?”

She nodded.

“Let’s go, baby,” he said, getting to his feet again.

There was a rhythmic drop from a leaky pipe above. It echoed in the silence of the warehouse. You knew it was only a matter of time before the others came to finish you off.

You peered up at your son as he held your face, your head in his lap. Your injuries were dire, you could feel it. Part of you wondered if you were bleeding into your own body. That was kind of a relief. Your son wouldn’t have to see you die in a pool of your own blood.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked him gently.

Yuma frowned. “I don’t want to be bad.”

You simpered. “You could never be a villain, my Yuma. You have a good heart.”

Yuma looked at his hands currently cradling your face and said, “But my power hurts people.”

“Then, use it to protect us from bad people. Like you did for me.”

Yuma smiled, comforted by that. After a pause, he asked, “Are you okay, Mommy?”

“I’m okay,” you lied. Under no circumstances would you tell your son any different. You would hide your pain until the very end.

Yuma studied you. “I can’t feel your heart as good anymore.”

You steered one of his little hands to your chest and asked, “How about now?”

“Your heart sounds tired.”

You fought back the tears and rasped, “It is, a little. But if I need to protect you, it will beat hard again.”

“For me?”

“For you.”

Yuma leaned down to press a tender kiss to your forehead and said, “I will protect you too, Mommy.”

“I know you will,” you said with a smile, thinking of your husband. “You are your father’s son.”

“I want to be brave like Suki,” Yuma murmured, evoking the bond with his sister. He wanted to tap into her courage.

Reaching for his hand, you let your eyes flutter closed, running out of strength. “You are very brave, Yuma. No matter what happens, never forget that you are a dragonslayer living in a city of dragons.”

Yuma raised his chin a little higher. It was what he needed to hear.

Suki urged Yuta to stop and told him, “Yuma says Mommy’s heart is slowing down.”

Yuta tensed. His world was coming to an end. It had been beautiful while it lasted. Looking into Suki’s face intently, seeing you in every feature, he said, “Tell Mommy that I love her.”

“I love you too, Yuta,” you sighed, eyes still closed.

“And tell her to remember what she promised me.”

The faintest smile tugged at your lips. “I remember.”

You fell into that memory. You were young and reckless and in love. So in love it honestly terrified you.

“Yuta, I know we’ve been… avoiding this conversation,” you told your boyfriend, wringing your hands nervously. “But I didn’t know you felt this way and I’m sorry.”

Yuta waited. He had just confessed his love to you. Neither you or him had vocalized your feelings yet. There was a silent fence between your hearts, because you were on opposite sides of the law. And Hel.

You found your courage, risking your heart, and began, “I’ve never felt like this before. When I go to bed at night, I think about whether you got enough to eat. When I wake up in the morning, I wonder if you had nightmares or good dreams.”

Yuta swallowed the lump in his throat. He could feel the emotion rushing up his chest and heating his cheeks.

“When you kiss me, I feel like I can do anything. When I think about the future, I picture marrying you on a beach somewhere. I imagine spending days in bed with you. I want to have beautiful, happy babies with you.”

Yuta smiled. No one had ever wanted that life with him and little did you know, it was his most precious dream. One he had long convinced himself was unattainable. Until he fell in love with you.

You continued, voice trembling, “I want to get through all the decades of our lives together. Hand in hand. I want to watch the world change with you. Or burn. Whatever the fuck it decides to do.”

Yuta snorted, fighting back a laugh. Yeah, he could picture sitting beside you, watching the world burn.

He would never let the fire touch you. He’d probably be the one to light the match.

You walked toward him, confident. The twinkle in his eyes drew you closer. “I wanna grow old with you and tell our grandchildren about how things were in our day,” you quipped, then your tone shifted. “I wanna die in your arms and be buried beside you. Because next to you is where I belong. In life and death and whatever comes next.”

Yuta closed the rest of the distance and swept you up in his arms, kissing you with abandon and tangling his fingers in your hair. “I love you,” he said over and over between kisses. “I love you.” He seared those three words into every inch of your skin that night.

You had never known such all-consuming love before. You kissed him like you’d never kissed anyone else.

It was that moment Yuta knew he had to give it up. He was ready to leave the life of a villain behind. He would give you everything.

If you were going to die today, then so was he.

Yuta would not watch the world burn alone.

Suki eyed the warehouse. Her father was perched low to the ground, moving her behind him, but Suki wanted to see. The building was miles outside the city limits, rundown and abandoned. There was a strange aura about it.

Someone had cast a field around the perimeter. Though Suki couldn’t fully wrap her head around it, she knew that had been affecting her bond with Yuma. It was why they had felt so far away no matter how much her father ran.

“Suki, stay here,” Yuta told his daughter sternly, sweat dampening his hair. He’d sprinted to the point of exhaustion. “If anyone comes near you, do whatever you need to survive. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Suki knew her secret was out then. She gave him a solemn nod. “Yes, Daddy.”

Without his daughter in his arms, Yuta was free to break the sound barrier at last. Her little body couldn’t sustain his true speed. And so, the Viper coiled and struck. He vanished inside the building in the time it took to blink, kicking up dirt in his wake.

But Suki had no intention of staying put. She would not ignore her brother’s frantic calls, telling her their mother was drifting further and further away, and headed right for him.

Yuma’s fingers touched your cheek and you woke yourself up again. It was getting harder to stay conscious no matter how much you tried.

“Daddy’s here,” Yuma whispered under his breath.

You heaved a sigh. The weight lifted from your chest. You could finally let yourself slip away. Yuma was safe. Knowing your son would be alright, you had done what you needed to do and you could finally succumb to the darkness dragging you into its warm embrace.

Shouts began to reverberate through the corridors. Bullets fired made Yuma jolt in place. Something was happening on the other side of the wall.

A shadow was picking men off, one by one, before some of them could even draw their weapons. There was a tiny flicker of movement followed by the spatter and spray of blood.

Men wailed in horror. Their comrades fell to the ground, limbs ripped clean off their bodies or gaping holes left in their chests like a fist had punched through with the force of a fucking machine.

A few screams were cut short, belonging to those who had their heads taken clean off their shoulders.

“Suki,” Yuma exclaimed at the sight of his sister rushing toward him. Tears poured down his cheeks in relief.

Suki hugged her brother, but he kept his arms around your head, as if letting go of you would cause the last of you to part from him.

Yuta could feel himself slipping into that darkness, like an old friend he had cut out of his life because they brought out the worst in him. He could see you in his mind, telling him to stop. This isn’t you, Yuta, you pleaded.

But this was him, wasn’t it? Bloodlust. It was as potent a venom as any. The Viper was exacting his revenge. He was killing in the most evil ways possible.

Without a word, Suki lifted her tiny hand. The pipes groaned and burst. Water began to rain down in every corner, flooding the warehouse. She kept her arm outstretched and the water didn’t dare touch you or her brother.

“Yuma,” was all she said.

He carefully drew away from you, laying your head gently on the ground, and stood, reaching out toward the water.

You heard the crack of lightning in your dreams and then an endless collision of screams. Electricity surged through the water, amplified and lethal. Anyone touched by Suki’s water was consumed in Yuma’s sparks. Death was instantaneous.

Yuta could hardly believe his eyes as he ran. The water was up to his calves now, but it didn’t touch him. It coursed around him like a river around a rock. The water cleansed the blood from the walls and the ground, and swept away the remains of what he had done.

And now, there was no one left to kill. Yuta felt a tear slip down his cheek.

His babies had saved him from himself.

When he sprinted into the last room, breaking the locked door off its hinges with the force of his speed, his daughter and son looked toward him innocently. Yuma was once again holding your head, while Suki had her hand over your heart. The waters receded until disappearing completely, obedient to their masters.

Yuta spoke to the twins in his mother tongue, words they would remember for as long as they lived. His children weren’t dragon slayers, after all. They were dragons, just like him.

He hurried over and gathered you in his arms, surveying your bloodied, swollen face. For a moment, Yuta wished he had powers of resurrection. So he could kill those men again and again. But then he remembered what you had told him and let it go. For now. “Hang on for me, baby,” he whispered for your ears alone, knowing you could hear him. Wherever you were.

Still crouched, Yuta instructed his children to clamber onto his back. They clung to his shoulders and arms, and Yuta walked away, carrying his family with him.

You held Yuta’s hand tightly as you walked down the path between trees. Your eyes were on your children, the two of them rushing a few feet ahead of you. Every now and then, they would turn back to smile at you and their father.

It had been three months since that day; three long, grueling months of recovery. This was the first time you could walk freely with your husband and kids without needing to sit and rest every few steps as your body healed.

Yuta found an empty bench and you got comfortable, watching your babies rush to the playground to join the other children. Yuta looked with caution briefly, doing a quick scan of all the nearby parents before taking his spot beside you.

You patted his thigh and teased, “Everyone pass the villain check?”

“Mm,” was all he said.

You chuckled and leaned into his side, Yuta’s arm around your shoulders.

The two of you watched Yuma and Suki on the playground. Naturally, Suki was surrounded by other kids, giggling and running about. To your delight, Yuma had made a friend recently. The two were off in the sandbox together building castles.

“A little birdie told me that word of our kids’ powers has spread through the underground,” Yuta said a moment later.

You arched a brow. “Oh?”

“No one will be breaking into our house ever again,” your husband murmured.

“That’s not why.”

Yuta’s brows stitched as he turned to you. “What do you mean?”

You kept your eyes on your babies, watching them play, and replied, “I got a call last week.”

“From?”

“The force,” you said calmly. “They said the entire Cyrus Gang was wiped out.”

Yuta was oddly quiet.

“A silent killer. Gone without a trace. There’s no hard evidence, of course, but every last member in the gang was killed execution style. Except the leader, who was dramatically beheaded.”

Yuta shrugged, but his jaw was clenched with anger. “Good riddance.”

You faced your husband and whispered, “I know it was you.”

Frankly, you were surprised he’d waited this long.

Yuta stared you down, his eyes filling with that familiar darkness, and snarled, “I sent a message.”

“I’m glad you did.”

He was a little stunned by that. It wasn’t like you to sanction his violence. Yuta had a feeling this would be the one instance such retribution would be allowed. “No one would have ever dared hurt you back then. They thought I went soft. They’ll never think that again.”

Warmth filled your chest. This had been a reckoning not only for Yuta and your twins, but for you as well. “If you come in the viper’s den, you’re gonna get bit,” you joked, but there was definitely an edge to your words devoid of humor.

Yuta rubbed your arm. “The viper, the mama bear,” he said with a chuckle, then looked to Yuma and Suki, his face and voice filling with pride. “Tsunami and Lightning.”

You leaned your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes contentedly.

Copyright 2020-2024 © yutaholic (formerly zenyukhei) All rights reserved do not copy or translate without my permission!

[hexedwinchester]

Fire Country Season 1

apparently, some very lovely people on Tumblr asked for a quick review on Fire Country and since I'm already bingeing hard on this, why not?! (Some spoilers in the review, please proceed with caution). This one's for you @idontknow-1213 and @sounknownvoid 🤗🤗

For those who don't know the show, it starts with Bode Donovan (actually a Leone but changes his name to Donovan) in prison applying for a program to be a firefighter. It's all good and lovely, until the day he starts the program and is assigned to a firefighter camp, Three Rock in Edgewater, his hometown. Ghost of his past actions (revealed later) have him conflicted about being back home and he requests for a transfer but of course ends up staying. Throughout the season, Bode struggles to build the bridges with friends and family that were burnt long ago, all the while striving to be a better person. He believes if given a chance, people can change.

Now let's talk about some key characters!

Bode Donovan (Leone): our protagonist, though looks like a guy you wanna don't cross, thanks to the muscular build, long hair and prison tats, he is actually sweet but deeply misunderstood guy. He takes his job as a firefighter very seriously and is not afraid to defy an order if it means saving people. I mean you can't always play by the books, right? One thing I noticed about him is though he is out of prison (in a way), he still goes by the prison law. Bode has a long way to go.

Manny Perez: Captain of Three Rock, Gabriela's father and Bode's mentor. He keeps the inmates in line but also believes in them and has their backs. He comes to appreciate Bode's knack at being a natural firefighter and regards him highly. Unfortunately, Manny has his own demons he tries to fight on the side. This is also why Manny relates to the inmates because he shares a similar past. I like his character. He is a man who learnt a lot the hard way. Quite hard bitten like that.

Sharon Leone: Division Chief Sharon Leone is Bode's mother (gasp!). She is also sick (kidney disease, it sucks) so she requests Manny to keep Bode in the camp and he does. While Sharon has a soft spot for her incarcerated son, she is headstrong and damn good at her job (woman knows her shit and how to make it work). She is a total badass and popular among men (I mean, seriously what's with other men hitting on her like she's single cause she ain't?!)

Vince Leone: that's Bode's dad (and if you are a huge Twilight geek like me, you would recognise him as Chief Charlie Swan, Bella's father) who doesn't want to be Bode's dad because he is the reason why his daughter, Riley dies. (Not really, he thinks he is but accidents happen and the catalyst is someone else). So Vince hasn't forgiven Bode for this until the real guy confesses and Vince is stuck in a situation that brings back old memories. What's Vince like? A devoted husband (except for that one incident), a good firefighter and a girl dad that's hard on his son. And did y'all know, the actor Billy Burke is a damn good singer??!

Gabriela Perez: Manny's Olympic-swimmer-turned-firefighter daughter. Honestly, when I first saw the cast, I expected Gabz to be a lot stronger but she's just a sweet girl next door that's trying to follow her heart, conflicted to choose between swimming and firefighting, just like Jake and Bode. Sparks fly between her and Bode as they try to balance their feelings among other chaos. Although, they are still not my favorite couple. I prefer Vince and Sharon (tooth rooting couple goals!!). I honestly wanted to like her but she comes with unnecessary baggages and is a bit of a crybaby (sorry!) but whoever is incharge of her costume, needs a raise. Her wardrobe is really pretty 😍

Jake Crawford: ex boyfriend to Gabz and ex friend to Bode. They have a fallout when Bode discovers Jake cheated on Riley which ultimately led to her demise. And honestly, I was prepared to hate Jake (no, it has nothing to do with Jake reminding me of Jacob Black from Twilight) and while he starts off as a jackass, towards the end of season 1, they redeemed him well. He is also serious about his job and his new love interest (thank God!) Cara who happens to be Bode's ex! (Yeah, they date in the family, it seems like🤣) he respects the Leones (Vince and Sharon, I mean)

Eve Edwards: (is it just me or that's too many Twilight references already? 🙊) a part of Bode, Jake and Eve trio friendship, she is funny but doesn't sugarcoat it. She is fiercely loyal and hardworking. They start exploring her character towards the end of season 1

Freddy Mills: Inmate at Three Rock camp and Bode's friend. Their camaraderie is commendable. Both are loyal to each other and have each other's back. I think Bode needed a friend like him. So that's good. Plus, he wants to marry a girl named Cookie!

Throughout the season, Bode tries to prove he is worthy of being at Three Rock, worthy of Gabriela's love but with his own conflicted nature and Sleeper, an inmate from Bode's past comes to stir trouble, it creates a challenge, leaving Bode with a difficult choices to make.

I honestly went in blind with Fire Country. At first, I was just going to see the episode with Camden in it (duh!) but I decided to give the show a try and I'm glad I did. What I love about this show is, if you have seen Walker, it will give similar family vibes. The entire Cal Fire unit works like a family including Three Rock as they fight fire side by side. The whole romance between Bode and Gabz is not in your face (which is nice) but the chemistry between Vince and Sharon is too cute to ignore. The first few episodes are a bit slow as they set the tone but then the show ups the stakes progressively. It is quite intense at times and you can feel the heat (no pun intended) on your face. I love that the show takes the time to scratch beneath the surface for each of its characters and not just the main ones, giving them a certain depth. I didn't expect to like the show as much as I do! But it's quite refreshing and a bit different than your regular crime/cop procedural shows. All I can say is Max Thieriot, who I know from his The Pacifiers time, has done a great job as an EP.

Let me know if y'all have any interesting takes on the show or the characters!

[liaazhang]

april • she/her • intp • 16 • indian • bi • multifandom mess • bollywood enthusiast •

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

other accounts: goodreads |

i don't do chain asks anymore, so please don't send them <3

currently watching: gossip girl ; how i met your mother

currently reading: song of silver, flame like night ; legendary

prev urls: isnt-it-delicate15 -> timelessstv -> gxldrushh -> lovestrucklovelorn -> rachellelizabethhdare -> gethimbackpdf -> rosaadiazs -> bedchemmp3 -> liaazhang

artists I love

taylor swift • olivia rodrigo • sabrina carpenter • conan gray • halsey • gracie abrams • maisie peters • renee rapp • chappell roan and most importantly - random bollywood songs

movies

pride and prejudice (2005) • mean girls (2004) • the star wars films • legally blonde • little women (2019) • into the spiderverse and across the spiderverse • the school for good and evil • bollywood films like yeh jawani hain deewani, jab we met, dil dhadakne do, 3 idiots, zindagi na milegi dobara etc etc

tv shows

friends • brooklyn nine nine • modern family • how i met your mother • the good place • parks and recreation • gilmore girls • loki • ms marvel • wandavision • a series of unfortunate events • never have I ever • julie and the phantoms • 911

books

keeper of the lost cities • the pandava quintet • riordanverse • grishaverse • the land of stories • hunger games trilogy • a good girl's guide to murder • the seven husbands of evelyn hugo • the inheritance games • the lunar chronicles • lockwood and co • daisy jones and the six • pride and prejudice • emma • the naturals • five survive • the reappearance of rachel price • the one of us is lying trilogy • the school for good and evil • I hope this doesn't find you • and too many more to count <3

• I may listen to and like taylor swift's music but i most definitely do not support the problematic things she has done, nor do i support her silence about the ongoing Palestinian genocide

• dividers by @cafekitsune !!

• you're welcome to send asks and interact :D DMs are always open as well!!

• feel free to tag me in any post you think id like! (bonus points if its related to cats)

• I tend to swear sometimes

• DNI : basic dni criteria - creeps, racist, homophobes, transphobes, zionists, jkr supporters etc

• I do not like colleen hoover and booktok. at all. and yes I will always complain about her shitty books and other atrocities that booktok (or tiktok in general) has unleashed upon the world

• I make a lot of typos and it's up to you to decipher them <3

• my biggest flex is that my birthday is on world book day <3

• english isn't my first language so please excuse me if I make any grammatical errors!!

moodboard by @skeelly <33