#clinging to the desire he knew could never be of them having a normal loving relationship

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 126 }

john wayne.

ichigo kurosaki x fem.reader

notes: unedited; post lost agent arc, but pre thousand year blood war arc; may be a little canon divergent. a self indulgent story where the reader doesn't know whether she's afraid of him- or in love with him.

{ baby, he's got to be crazy | living like he's john wayne | always facing the world, a-chasing the girl | baby, he's got to be crazy }

there were moments where ichigo kurosaki absolutely intimidated and frightened you, and you did all you could to avoid him like the plague whilst spending your school years at karakura high.

in your eyes, ichigo was someone who always got into fights and had the appearance of the usual delinquent. his orange hair was difficult to ignore, seeming to capture the essence of a sunset itself. despite never once sharing a class with him, the times that you did pass by him, his features were always drawn up in a scowl.

sometimes, being in the same room with ichigo felt stifling. it was as though there was a power felt emanating from him, one that you couldn't quite explain or put a finger on. all you knew was that he was strong- much stronger than he let on.

as you walked through the hallways after finishing your club duties for the day, you cling to your bag while looking out the window. the skies were bathed in warm, gentle hues of the sunset, and the sight was so beautiful to you that you had to take a chance to stop and admire it.

while looking at the setting sun, your mind wanders to ichigo, feeling your heart twist a bit in anticipation while remembering the conversation you last had with your friends.

you recall a time when you hung out with your friends, orihime and tatsuki, simply studying for your respective exams when orihime cheerfully called out your name and asks, "ne, what do you think of kurosaki-kun?"

you look back at her with your eyes wide, "huh? why would you ask me about him all of a sudden?"

a strange expression crosses her features, but she simply shakes her head, appearing sheepish while placing a strand of her red hair behind her ear, "well, i was just wondering, that's all! it's just, you seem to be doing a lot to avoid him..."

you felt your cheeks turn warm in embarrassment, "i have not been avoiding him! w-well, not intentionally, at least." you cough, trying to hide how awkward you felt. you didn't think anyone would notice how you spent most of your high school years not interacting with ichigo at all, managing to reach your final year without a hitch.

"why? did that jerk do something to you?" tatsuki was quick to come to your defense, "you can tell me if that idiot did something to upset you, and i will gladly have a word with him."

you try to diffuse the situation, holding up your hands in protest while calming your friends down, "no please, tatsuki, there's no need to do anything to him! it's just... i don't know, something about him...scares me."

your friends remain silent, waiting for you to explain. you swallow thickly while running a hand through your own hair, "he hasn't done anything wrong, but sometimes, when he's near, i can feel his presence. there's something... foreboding about him, i guess. like, something that makes him not all... human."

the warmth felt against your cheeks becomes even more prominent, making you shake your head as you slapped both of your hands against them. "please, i'm sorry, don't tell kurosaki i said all of that. i know it makes no sense and-"

"no no, that's totally understandable! b-but still, kurosaki isn't that scary at all!"

"i agree with orihime, he's really a dummy who doesn't know how to act normally around people sometimes-"

"and he has a heart of gold, with his desire to protect everyone."

oddly enough, both orihime and tatsuki did their best to convince you that ichigo was just a normal guy with an unfriendly face, and you had to hold back your giggling, promising them that you'd try to speak to ichigo when the chance came up.

thinking back on it now, you kind of regretted your promise to them. something about ichigo made you so nervous, and you found that you couldn't think straight when he was around. you sigh and rest your head against the window, playing various scenarios of you greeting ichigo, just to see if you could do it or not.

"hey, are you okay?"

in the midst of your reverie, you freeze, hearing that familiar deep voice calling out to you. moving your head away from the window, you look to your right to see ichigo himself. he wore his usual school uniform while placing a hand within the confines of his pockets, his posture slightly slouched when he casually approaches you.

"are you feeling sick? do you need to go to the infirmary?"

you couldn't breathe, meeting with his brown eyes as you could see a softness in them you had never seen before. had he always looked this beautiful? and just why was your heart suddenly racing now?

whether it was out of fear, or something else, you couldn't say for sure.

when he was directly in front of you, you found that you lost all confidence, quickly apologizing to him with every intention of leaving him. your mind was a muddled mess, and you felt so flustered that you didn't know what to do.

you merely took two steps away from him when you felt something pulling you back, encircling your wrist as you were trapped against a lithe form and the wall.

ichigo's scowl was back, and he kept you against the wall. "are you afraid of me?"

you truly felt mortified at that moment, unable to say a word to him as you felt dizzy from his proximity. you could smell the faint scent of his cologne, and his body heat was seeping into you, making it harder for you to concentrate.

your heart was beating painfully out of your chest, and you couldn't say a word to him as you ended up looking away from him. ichigo ends up clicking his tongue, finally pushing himself away from you. with ichigo no longer pressing you up against the wall, you look at his steadily retreating form, not daring to move until he was out of your sight.

you waited for several minutes, remaining in the hallway while mentally berating yourself. why did you have to feel so weird when it came to him? what made you feel this way, and were you really afraid of him-

or was it something else?

you were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn't realize just how low the sun was beginning to set. with a gasp, you take a hold of your bag and made a mad dash toward the exit, practically running home in hopes that nightfall wouldn't come.

your breathing was labored, with your footsteps pounding across the concrete streets of karakura town. all you wanted to do was go home and be alone with your thoughts, but something stops you from moving forward.

you halt your movements, frowning as you strained your ears to hear your surroundings. you swore that as you ran, something was following you.

blood was rushing through your ears as you could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins, initiating your fight or flight response.

that's her...

a cruel voice echoes into the air, filling your veins with ice as you shakily take a step forward, feeling something ominous coming from behind you.

this has to be her... his heart.

if we destroy what is most important to him, we'll destroy his heart...

you gasp and tried to force your legs to move forward once more, now running across the empty streets of karakura when a slash was felt tearing through the fabric of your uniform. you whimper, looking behind you to see a thin slice of blood appearing on the side of your abdomen.

a sudden tremor was what ultimately brings you back down to your knees with a scream, the pain all but masked due to the anxiety and fear that was felt coursing through your veins. as you were looking forward, you were able to make out two, large fuzzy shadows. a skeletal mask hid their features, and you felt an all-consuming sense of despair coursing through you-

because this...this was how you were going to die.

the looming shadows were seen leaning down, and you could only bring yourself to close your eyes, awaiting for the painful death-

"NO! NOT HER!"

your throat becomes dry when you hear the sounds of his voice, forcing you to look up when you saw ichigo dressed in all-black while wielding a thin blade. the shadows face him, ready to attack when he brings his sword down on one of the shadows. it swiftly goes down in one hit while ichigo flows gracefully to the next shadow, not even giving it a single chance to reach you as he pierces through its mask.

a shrill cry echoes throughout the night, and your heart was still pounding with fear even as ichigo's body shielded you from the destruction of those shadow like creatures.

time slowed down to a crawl, and only when you could no longer see the outline of those shadows did you fall to your knees. your ears were ringing, and you found it hard to focus, unable to react even when ichigo was calling out your name.

a familiar warmth was felt enveloping you in a gentle embrace, and you found yourself falling back against a hard chest. your eyes were distant, unable to truly see ichigo. his frown was back, and you heard him let out a soft curse before leaning in closer to you, placing his lips against yours in a chaste kiss.

the sensation of his chapped lips against yours was what ultimately brings you back down to earth, grounding you as you responded eagerly to his kiss. with a soft sigh of his name, you allowed your lips to slot perfectly against his, threading your hands through his sunset colored hair while basking in his sudden kiss. as ichigo warms you, you no longer felt like gravity was the one grounding you, but rather it was him.

when he feels your response, ichigo pulls away from the kiss and smiles down at you. you feel the way the calloused pad of his thumb trace at your bottom lip, gaze achingly sweet when he asks, "are you okay?"

you could only manage a nod, making ichigo give you another one of his soft smiles when he stands back to his full height still holding you. "alright, let me take you home."

"wait...!" your voice comes out as hoarse due to your prior screams, and you had to wet your lips to get rid of the dryness felt against them. "i...i still feel scared... can i please stay with you...?"

the kindness was so evident in his gaze, and you found yourself wondering why you were so afraid of him in the first place. he simply tightens his hold on you, simply answering your pleas with a simple "yeah."

holding you close to his chest, ichigo ends up taking you somewhere safe, running with an almost inhuman speed towards the town park. the cold air was felt whipping through your hair, and you could do little but continue to cling to him whilst he ran. with the moon and stars now shining brightly in the sky, ichigo reaches the park and settles down against the plush grass while keeping you on his lap.

he says nothing, simply looking up at the sky while running his hands through your hair. meanwhile, you kept staring up at his beautiful features with a million questions running through your mind, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and speechless.

your name coming out from ichigo's lips in a soft spoken tone breaks you out of your thoughts, with you meeting his gaze once more. his brown eyes were gentle, and you could feel his thumb gracing at your cheeks in a tender caress.

"i'm glad that i was able to save you."

you felt your heart racing again, with your hands clinging to the front of his dark robe, "kurosaki...?"

he hums, brushing his lips against your head of hair, silently coaxing you to go on.

"d-do you... do you happen to... i mean, by any chance- do you like me?" you blurt out as quickly as possible, your words coming out as a bit rushed when you clench your eyes shut, feeling afraid of what his answer might be.

ichigo was silent for several seconds before he slowly begins speaking once more. "you know... a while back, when my old man was talking about how he and my mother met... he told me that my mother was like his sun- that she became the center of his entire universe. and i didn't understand it back then..."

you open your eyes, feeling ichigo tracing his lips against the shell of your ear. when you felt him nuzzling against your skin, the sensation being achingly sweet to you, was when he whispers, "but now, i finally understand it."

his large hand was felt on your chin, making you look up at him. "i always noticed you. you were close to inoue and arisawa, and there was always this desire i had to protect you... to shield you from all the dangers of the world."

"but you were afraid of me...and i didn't want to scare you anymore. yet at the same time, i didn't want to leave you alone. i never wanted you to get hurt or feel pain because of me."

ichigo's eyes narrow, and you could feel the back of his hand gracing at your cheek. "i guess what i'm trying to say is that... you've become the center of my universe... that you've always been the center of my universe."

your heart was bursting at the seams, finally filling with an unbidden happiness as you allowed you to realize the truth of your emotions-

perhaps deep down, you knew that he loved you, but was too shy or insecure to truly believe it. yet now, with ichigo's earnest expression and true confession, you felt a joy that was indescribable.

so instead of conveying how you felt for ichigo with words, you allowed your actions to reply back to his confession. with a whisper of his name, you lean up and allow your lips to meet with his in a sweet kiss, one that let him know just how much he had become the center of your own universe as well.

a.n. - 'john wayne' by cigarettes after sex is such a fitting song for ichigo kurosaki. writing this brought out so many good memories of all the daydreams i had about him when i was younger... 🥹 i miss him ♡ 

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[fatuismooches]

i'll brainrot with you about dottore and his sick! s/o:

clearly with s/o's conditions it's not optimal to go outside in the freezing cold, but one day the snowfall is so much more gentle outside and something like this is a rare occasion in snezhnaya. would dottore indulge them (of course with plenty of precautions taken) or would he rather not risk it at all?

your writing paints such vivid pictures in my head and i honestly love the comfort and warmth your work brings :]]

♡ 𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 ♡

synopsis: Your poor health and fragile condition have consistently gotten in the way of various activities for many years. But that was going to change today, as you were going to take your first step into the flaky goodness of pure, white snow.

includes: dottore w/ gn! reader

notes: Related to the posts under my fragile reader tag. Thank you very much, I'm very glad my writing makes you happy! This was so cute, I originally planned for it to be only a couple hundred words but I went overboard and decided to make it a full-blown piece.

You used to enjoy the concept of cold. Growing up in a hot country had you deeply curious about the kind of weather that would warrant people wearing dozens of layers, bundling up to the point where they were barely recognizable. You wanted to go somewhere that snowed one day, you once told your lover as he sat at his desk, tinkering with Archons knows what. Dottore only grunted in response, saying that if research led him there, you would accompany him. As a matter of fact, there were some Ruin Guards he wanted to take a look at in Dragonspine. You hummed, enjoying the moment as you continued to flip through the picture book.

But now, you couldn’t bring yourself to like the cold. You think that if you weren’t sick, you’d enjoy the weather in Snezhnaya much more, but the cold permeates your body even though you’re inside the lab. (Dottore had to force Pantalone to give him more funds to install more heaters.) You didn’t like to even walk through the halls of Dottore’s complicated maze-like lab because they were too big, making the cold air suffocate you all around. (Unless you’re accompanied by a clone. Somehow, Dottore had implemented a feature into his clones to heat up and become warm, so when you’d cling to them, you wouldn’t be cold anymore. You enjoyed it thoroughly because the reactions of the clones were cute.)

Many days, you spent the time looking out the tightly sealed window at the snow. Despite living in the snow-covered nation for so long, you had never sunken a foot into the powdery fluff. When Zandik was recruited into the Fatui, you were unconscious during the trip because your body surely would not be able to handle such an extraneous journey. How would it feel, you thought? You’ve frequently asked some of your favorite clones to tell you how the snow felt. (You felt slightly embarrassed asking your real lover.) Apparently, most of the time the snow was deep and crunchy from continuous snowfall. If you weren’t careful where you walked, half of your leg could get swallowed underneath! Many children liked to form things like balls out of the snow and play games with them. But sometimes, very rarely, the snow lightens and melts, depending on how the Tsaritsa feels. It’s a beautiful scene, apparently.

You had lost faith in the Gods long ago after your mysterious illness suddenly struck you (Zandik never cared about them in the first place), but you hoped and prayed to any force that was willing to listen to you - please let the snow ease up, just a bit. It was a bit hypocritical since you did not like the cold, but you still desired to experience it like a normal person. You could bear the pain if only to have fun for a couple of minutes. You did not tell your lover this; one, because you knew it was impossible with your condition, and two, you did not want to bother him with your frivolous wants. But it seemed like you were too obvious with your intentions, as one of the first things you’d do in the morning was drag yourself out of bed, despite the great amount of energy it took, to go to your favorite window and peer outside.

“You seem to be quite interested in watching the snow lately, aren’t you?” The deep voice behind you made you jump.

“Zandik! Oh, you scared for there,” you pressed a hand to your heart and quickly took a seat that was already permanently placed near the window, already tired from the past few minutes. Your lover walked toward you, hands carefully placed behind his back, each step calculated. You couldn’t help but find some happiness in that - the way he walked was always so commanding and enchanting somehow, hypnotizing too.

“The weather here is quite different from Sumeru,” you observed. “I can’t help but be intrigued by it.”

“Is that so? It is quite boring to me. The landscape is always the same and it is rather hard to conduct experiments outside because of it.” 

“Heh, it’s always the experiments and research with you. At least try to enjoy it,” you teased, rolling your eyes at him playfully. Dottore shook his head and gently flicked your forehead, causing you to pout.

“Furthermore, the cold isn’t good for you. I believed you didn’t like it, anyway,” Dottore scoffed.

“I know,” you said softly. “But I still want to experience it,” the last part was a mumble that was meant for yourself, but Dottore heard it anyway, making his eyes widen as a thought began to quickly form.

“Do you… want to go outside and see the snow?”

The fact that you were caught made you bolt up straight and quickly try to deny it. “No, no, I’m fine. It was just a fleeting thought,” you quickly reassured him.

Dottore doesn’t know why he didn’t realize it sooner. Of course you would be bored, waking up every day to the same redundant routine, watching everyone go about their daily lives while you sat there, helpless to do anything besides wait for him to cure you. Of course you would want to do something new, after hearing the same repetitious lines of how you’ll get better soon, how he’s working on a new medicine, how it’ll all be over soon, but when was “soon” coming? How long has the envy of others been eating you up? The thought of that made his smile slip.

A soft goodbye snapped him out of his thoughts. A clone had come to administer your daily medicine and get you ready for the day. Dottore quickly put his usual smirk back on and nodded at you. Your gentle smile and a wave bid him farewell, as the clone wrapped his arm around you to support you as you walked away. But Zandik was still thinking. When was the last time he had seen you with a big smile? A big, goofy one that stretched your lips beautifully and made your face hurt from smiling that hard. The answer was, he did not know. The most he could recall was from his Akademiya days, where you would greet him with one of those grins every morning, always a ball of energy.

The fact followed him throughout the day as he worked. The mere idea that it was bothering him so much was simply absurd. But he could not forget about the times his clones has reported to him about the times you cried. When you refused to leave your room some days or didn’t want to eat. He was not one for any type of comfort, not when his hands had committed some of the most wicked acts to man. How could he be, when the first thing on his mind was to hurt others, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt you? 

He did not know what to do, where to place his hands or if saying something would make the situation worse. He did not know what to do other than let you rest your head on his shoulder, allowing you to take his hand and place it on your head, giving him the okay to stroke your hair. He let you babble to your heart’s content and awkwardly wiped your tears away, for when he looked into your painfully bleak eyes that were once filled with life, he did not think he could refuse you.

It was an odd feeling for him. He took pleasure in seeing the pain of others, delighting at the moment when they lost all hope. He found it amusing when others took a stand against him, only to see their expression fall when they realized it was fruitless. But you? The thought of that happening to you made him… He had to do something.

—

One day you woke up, ready to live out another normal and boring day. As you sleepily rubbed your eyes, you noticed something was a bit off. Usually, you could hear the wind howling and the snow slamming against the windows, even if it was just a little bit. But there was nothing. As you lay on the bed, collecting enough energy to get out of bed, a glimmer of hope grew within you. With a great push, you heaved yourself out of bed and made a beeline to the window. You sat down on the chair, and pulled the curtains to the side, prepared to be disappointed, but what you saw blew you away.

The snow had melted significantly, leaving a moderate and easily walkable layer on the ground. The snowfall had reduced greatly, and it no longer pounded on the window. Instead, it flew down calmly from the sky, which was still gray, but it was a beautiful, hazy kind of gray. Now that there weren’t mass amounts of snow blowing your view, you noticed there was some kind of river around the lab. It was still frozen over, but the ice sparkled beautifully and reflected the snow-covered trees. Speaking of trees, you didn’t know it was possible for such boring things to look so pretty. Copious amounts of snow rested on the limbs, occasionally slumping to the ground with a thud, and the process kept repeating as snowfall continued.

Your jaw was slack the whole time, as you continued to take in the breathtaking scenery. Snezhnaya just got ten times better, you thought.

“I see you’ve seen the change in weather, [Name]. It seems to be to your liking.”

“Eep!” you started at the assertive voice that was practically in your ear. Dottore had snuck up on you while you were too entranced by the view to notice him. “You need to stop doing that,” you scolded him. 

His deep chuckle tugged at your heartstrings. “To think that after this many times, my experiment’s results have not changed. Truly fascinating.”

You tried to ball your hands into fists to prevent yourself from blushing. “A-Anyway, you should have woken me up earlier! I didn’t think this was possible!” you fretted, still in utter shock at this. 

“That, I could not do. You know your body requires a great amount of rest.” You couldn’t argue with that. He was right.

“Now, is there something you want to do?” It was as if he had somehow planned for this to happen.

You fiddled with your sweater, trying to find the words for your outlandish request. “Sooo, um, I know this may not be possible, but can I go outside? I know with my health and stuff it may be hard but… just for a bit, please,” your voice got quieter and quieter towards the end of your sentence. You bit your lip in anticipation and nervously kept your eyes trained on the rug-covered floor. The few seconds of silence that passed felt endless.

“Yes, you may-”

“Really?!?!”

Your legs were swinging happily, and there it was. Pearly whites peeked out as you grinned cheerfully and you threw your hands up into the air. The smile he had not seen in far too long.

“But, I will accompany you, and you must stay by me at all times. You must follow all of my directions as well. Do you understand?”

A walk with your lover too? “Yes, yes I’ll do anything you ask!” you easily complied. You gathered all of your energy and squeezed your partner as hard as you could (which, wasn’t that hard, but to you it was) taking him off guard. You buried your face into his midsection and refused to let go, your words of thanks being muffled from being so close to him. Dottore was stiff at first but then eased into your embrace, fingering a cord of your hair.

You were feeling a burst of energy from this exciting news, so you had to do one more thing. You released him, and when you looked up, you could see that same self-assured, confident smile that you loved. Before he could speak again, you tugged on his blue ascot with as much force as you could summon, pulling him farther down to your level allowing you to smash your lips onto his. Catching him off guard allowed you to be in control for a couple of seconds, but it is quickly relinquished as your lover takes over quickly, effortlessly deepening the kiss. When the two of you parted, he had an almost smug grin on his face, displaying his pointy shark-like teeth.

“My my, quite eager, aren’t we? I have not seen these kinds of surprises since those old days.”

“Well,” you pecked both of his soft cheeks again, “you know I always make sure my doctor knows how I feel.” At that point, there was a knock on the door and one of Dottore’s clones came in to help you with your morning routine.

“Go about your day. I will come to get you when it’s time.” You smiled and squeezed his hand once more as you rose from the chair. Dottore’s hands returned behind his back as he watched the clone and you leave.

“Perhaps I should start to add new variables to my experiment… the results are quite interesting indeed.”

—

You could not focus on anything for the whole time. Your mind was all over the place thinking about how satisfying it would be to sink your foot into the fluffy goodness.

Apparently, Dottore had designed some kind of special jacket for you to wear, along with a scarf, gloves, earmuffs, boots, and more. It had some kind of built-in heater somehow, which made everything consistently warm including your body. Normally you’d listen to his rambles on how he created it and such, but you were too giddy at the thought of freaking snow. (And also how he took the time to make all this stuff for you. It probably only took him a short amount of time considering how intelligent he was, but the action warmed your heart.)

There were quite a few clones in the lab area watching you. You think that they seemed happy for you. One of them was helping you put the gear on while your lover set down some ground rules. Zandik also had on a big fluffy coat, which made him look rather cute. You kind of wanted to fit yourself inside of it with him.

“First, you must stay by my side at all times. You’ll probably have to hold onto my arm to steady yourself. We will be following a path. This means no straying in any other direction, at least without my permission. Of course, if you feel that you can’t handle the weather anymore, let me know immediately. Do you agree to abide by these rules?”

You held back a sigh and a laugh. You knew that all of these precautions were necessary but they were still a drag. Plus, the way your lover said it all seriously as if your very existence was on the line made you want to giggle.

“Yes, Zandik. I agree to all of your rules,” you huffed as the clone finished zipping up the jacket. “My common sense is still intact, you know.”

Even though he did not show it at all, Dottore was the slightest bit uneasy. There were many things he did not understand or know about your illness. Would the sudden change in the environment trigger you? He was not sure, but he already prepared for the worst. If anything, it would be a learning experience too - to see how much your body could handle. He was ready to take notes in his head.

“Come here.”

You slowly trekked your way toward him, getting used to the feel of the long boots. It was hard to imagine wearing these every day, but you soon fell into your lover’s chest as he began to stroke your hair.

“Well then, let us go,” he wrapped a steady arm around your waist to help you balance. “Watch the lab for me,” Dottore directed the other clones as they waved goodbye to you.

They were so cute, to be honest. Especially the ones from the Akademiya days.

—

You did not realize the extent of how big Dottore’s lab was until now. There were so many paths and rooms you walked by that you had no idea existed. What was beyond those doors? Some questions were better left unanswered. You were just letting your partner guide you as you clung to his side (the walking was a lot) until you reached a great, big door with a keypad.

“Are you ready?” 

You eagerly nodded. 

“And you do still remember the-” 

“Yes, Zandik, I remember everything you told me,” you groaned. “Please just open the door already.”

“Patience, [Name],” he chuckled. “I look forward to seeing your reaction.” He let go of you and typed a whole long password on the keypad. And in an instant, loud noises exuded from the door as it began to open from the sides.

The first thing you felt was the puff of cold air hitting your cheeks, instinctively making you raise your arms to cover it. In a couple of seconds, the door opened completely and you could feel the light shine down on you. You put your hands down, and the snowy, outside world was laid before you.

It was majestic. The snow has managed to be untainted by any other substances, allowing it to be a pristine white that covered the landscape. Slowly, you took a few steps forward as Dottore carefully watched you, until you were standing at the edge where the floor ended, and the snow began. You took a quick glance at your lover and he motioned for you to go on. And so you did. You stepped into the snow.

The first thing you noticed was the crunch of the snow under your boots. It was oddly satisfying. And the way your foot sunk so easily into, it kind of reminded you of quicksand. But you could kick it around so easily, yet you could see it was hard enough to be used to form something solid. The cold hit you like a ton of bricks, but you were doing everything in your power to withstand it. The enhanced gear from your partner helped a lot. But, all you could say was wow. You were starting to get a bit jealous of the people who could walk in such surroundings every day with ease.

Dottore on the other hand was quite satisfied. The scenery was not what he found appealing. Rather, it was you. He found no interest in such worldly things, but your reactions were ever-changing and amusing to him. A snowflake fell on your nose and melted. You wrinkled your nose at the unfamiliar feeling. And he couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“Hold onto me. The road is quite icy and slippery. You need to be very careful.” Zandik linked his arms with you, and you gratefully reciprocated.

You could not keep your eyes off anything and everything you saw. You loved Sumeru, but Snezhnaya was starting to grow on you. It was beautiful. But what you loved, even more, was talking to Zandik. You two had not had this much time together in far too long. He enthusiastically prattled on about his experiments, his creations. He even told you about his clones’ journey to Sumeru, and how the almighty Traveler was powerless against them. You indulged him of course. You had always loved his voice, and you found it rather endearing when he’d go on his rambles.

Dottore intentionally made sure the pace was slow and steady, so as to not rush your body or make you too tired. But of course, even after only a bit of time passed, you needed to rest. Thankfully, the two of you reached some kind of gazebo with a couple of benches inside. You had no idea this existed, and it seemed Dottore didn’t either, which didn’t surprise you. That man probably only cared about the entrance and exit to his lab.

The bench was cold but you did not care. Having your lover with you for this long already made you feel warm and fuzzy. Furthermore, you’d be crazy not to take advantage of the situation. You called his name and before you could make a move, he spoke.

“How do you feel?”

“Huh?”

“Has your heart rate increased since the exposure to the snow and cold? Do you feel light-headed? How easily can you move your arms and legs?”

“O-oh, well… um, I feel cold. My heart is a bit fast from the walking, but nothing out of the ordinary. My legs hurt from the walk too… but I’m used to it.”

“Interesting…” Zandik put his hand to his chin as he seemed to think. You sighed, and shifted closer to him, beginning to run your hands up his coat, which clearly grabbed his attention but he watched you silently. Your hands reached his soft cheeks and brushed over the cold exterior of his mask.

“You know, you should take this off more often,” you suggested as your hands began to creep under the sides of the mask. “There’s no one around…” you hummed. Dottore made no move to stop you so you easily slipped the mask off, revealing his sharp crimson eyes boring into you, and scars from long ago. Of course, you couldn’t help but smile at the face of your lover. 

You moved in to press your lips against his, pleased at how you could now gently trace your fingers over his scars. No matter how long you knew him, he was sensitive to touch around that area, so you always made sure to be careful.

It was an odd, but strangely good feeling, Dottore thought. One he did not know he missed, as you began to pepper kisses along the top of his face. It had been a while since the two of you had kissed for so long, which was a result of your lack of liveliness due to your illness. It seems the new surroundings really did help you. He would have to keep that in mind.

“You’re so cute,” you giggled. He frowned at that and grabbed both your wrists, pushing your back onto the bench, and making you yelp.

“Enough of that. I believe that all of this has gone to your head,” Dottore’s domineering tone was back again.

“I was just- eep!” Your words were cut short as Zandik’s lips began to mark your neck.

“The human body’s temperature can go up a substantial amount just from kissing. Would you care to experiment the limits of that with me? You would be the perfect test subject,” you felt his unhinged grin spread against your neck.

“After all, I wouldn’t want you becoming too cold now, hmm?” His impossible strength easily overpowered you as he moved to hold both your wrists with one hand, while his free one rested on your thigh.

As you relinquished yourself to him, your lips were claimed an innumerable amount of times, a clear reminder of who you belonged to.

—

You had to turn in early for the night. The miniature adventure was so, so fun, and it felt like you kicked your illness in the ass for a bit, but now you really had to get some rest to recover what little strength you had. Surprisingly, Zandik was there with you this time, instead of one of his clones. 

“...I’m sleepy, Zandik.”

“Of course. Your body has experienced much more physical exertion than usual. It needs time to relax.” You sighed, letting the warmth of the blankets begin to take you to dreamland.

“Hey, Zandik?”

“Yes, [Name]?”

“Remember when we were in the Akademiya, and during the night, I’d go down into your bunk bed and sleep with you? Hehe…”

“Yes, I remember rather clearly, the intrusion of my privacy and theft of my pillows,” he sighed. The first time you did that, he did not expect to be entranced by the sunlight cascading onto your peaceful face, the fluttering of your eyelashes, and the occasional quirk of your lips as you clearly dreamt of something good. But he had no knowledge of how to handle these feelings, so he shoved you off the tiny bed, rudely waking you up. You ended up walking around the Akademiya with a bump on your head after that.

“I was trying to give you hints, Zandik. You were just dense,” you pouted. “Hey, you should come and lay with me for a bit. Like the old days.”

Dottore was hesitant. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, rather, he was so incredibly busy, especially after today. To be more precise, he felt that time not spent on finding a cure for you was time inefficiently used (most of the time.)

You tugged on his sleeve pleadingly. “Just for five minutes, until I nod off…”

He couldn’t bring himself to deny you, as he slipped under the covers with you. The softness of the mattress, plush blankets, and pillows that had your scent almost made him do a double take. It had been a long time since he was in a bed in general. Perhaps just a few hours of rest wouldn’t hurt. It would boost his effectiveness drastically…

You immediately scooted your body towards his and pressed it into his, nudging your face into his chest. He came to rest his hand on your head, while the other was loosely thrown over your waist.

“I miss you,” you softly uttered. He did not respond, nor did you expect an answer - what could he say anyway? The soft stroking on your head was more than enough for you at this moment, and it quickly lulled you to sleep.

“Thank… you.” You were out like a light, while your lover looked at you, absentmindedly fiddling with a strand of your hair.

It was no simple task to make this happen. But as a scholar, of course, he was able to negotiate. For once, it wasn’t for his own gain, but for you. The results? It was a complete and utter success. 

Dottore could not lie, he felt as though he was back at the Akademiya with you. He remembers the two of you walking down the hallways, your chatty and sweet self a stark contrast to his rather irritated and know-it-all aura. How you would hug him from behind late in the night as he worked at his desk, begging and whining for him to go to sleep as you both had long lectures in a few hours.

He admittedly wants to see you take the first step into a raging blizzard. He wants to see you brave the cold with ease. He wants to see you swing your sword without abandon again, not afraid to take on anyone in a verbal or physical fight. He wanted his assistant back: the one who would be ready to jump down the throat of someone who dared to question him, the one who organized his notes in the most efficient manner.

The God of Wisdom once told him that his research was insulting, contradictory to the rules and ways of life. Now that he looked back on it, he found it amusing - even a Godly being was held back by such drivel. But it did not matter to him. There was no rule or barrier he wasn’t willing to cross in order to cure you, as he had already done it multiple times with no remorse. He would oversee your absolute recovery personally.

After all, there were many more snowy days to come.

Bonus:

“You know, Arlecchino, I saw the most interesting thing the other day,” a soft voice echoed throughout the room.

“Hmm? What was it?”

“I happened across our lovely Doctor going into Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa’s chambers. For what, I wonder? Hehe…”

“...I guess that [Name] person truly does mean something to him, if he was willing to go that far.”

[idkvomite]

Satoru x gn!reader ୨୧ WARNING: Angst. Inspired by Let The Light In because yes. I recommend listening to the song while reading.

You remember very well the first time you crossed eyes with Satoru. That confident smile, the light, loud laugh, the signature black blindfold, and above all, those blue eyes. They reminded you of the ocean, the morning sky, the calm beach days. He was the perfect man. More than perfect. He was your crush at Jujutsu Tech.

Crush?

That word makes you smile to yourself, because the memories of when you were an immature teenager, full of ideas about love, now seem so far away. Like when you used to fall for any TV heartthrob, feeling butterflies in your stomach, not knowing if it was a fleeting crush or something deeper. Shoko would always tell you that you liked every guy in the world, as if it were natural, but that only happened because you hadn’t found someone like him until that moment.

The memories keep playing like scenes from a movie, until finally, that day arrives—the day you spoke for the first time. That dumb mission that left you with a swollen, bruised eye, barely able to walk for days. And he had to save you, like always, with that calm gaze, as if it was easy for him—and it was. Your pride was bruised for needing his help. But, as always, he didn’t seem to care. He was Satoru Gojo, after all. And you, afraid of being seen as weak, found yourself sinking even deeper into a desire you couldn’t even explain at that moment. You weren’t just in love with what he was anymore, but with what he did to your heart, even without realizing it.

Deep down, you always knew he would never be the guy you could have. Never the kind of person you could hold without fear, without wondering what he really felt. Always so distant, so out of reach. Still, year after year, you stayed there, following him, like a spectator lost in a never-ending story. Until he became something more. A refuge, an obsession, an impossible dream.

Until he became your everything.

But now, when you see him there, cut in half, his insides spilling out, and the immense pain still lingering in the air, you realize everything was an illusion. Nothing was real. What was left of Satoru Gojo was just a piece of the man you once knew.

The fight against Sukuna had been brutal. They exchanged blows so strong it felt like the whole world was shaking with each impact. But what couldn’t be ignored was what was in Satoru’s eyes: exhaustion, pain, and the certainty of an ending. He knew he couldn’t escape. He knew it was over. And worst of all, you knew too.

— Satoru... — your voice falters as you kneel beside him. The words slip out, as if hearing his name was the only thing that could make a sound, but he can’t hear it anymore. Satoru Gojo’s final battle was against his own fate, and he lost.

You watch his gaze, still vivid, even with his body torn apart.

— I know — he whispers, his voice faint. — I know, I’m sorry, [your name].

His breathing is irregular, blood seeping from the wounds in his body. Yet he smiles. He’s still Satoru, the guy who never showed fear, the guy who never let anyone see what was happening inside.

— I... — He pauses for a moment, as if the pain is too much to continue, but then he gathers strength. — I know it’s not the right time... but you need to know... I had dreams too.

Those words hit you like a punch. Dreams? The strongest man, the unbeatable one, also had dreams?

You hold his hand, his cold, trembling fingers in yours. He smiles back, but it’s a tired smile, the kind that knows he’s about to leave.

— Yes. I had a dream. A silly dream... of being a normal human. — He continues.

You cling to those words, as if they could keep you grounded. As if by hearing them, you could believe he was still here, still existing. But deep down, you know you’re losing him, and there’s nothing you can do.

His eyelids flutter slowly, heavy as though they weighed a thousand tons. The last look he gives you is filled with something you can’t quite understand, something that perhaps he had kept just for you, something that transcends even death.

— You... will live, right? At least a little longer. — He asks suddenly, changing the subject. His voice falters, but the words come with such a heavy weight, so full of goodbye, that you feel an intense ache in your chest.

Then he smiles again, as if finally surrendering to the peace he had been seeking for so long. But before his eyes close for the last time, he whispers, almost like a secret shared only between you two:

— I love you, you know?

Those words echo in your mind, clearer than anything you’ve ever heard. You can’t respond. Silence takes over, as if the universe had paused just so you could absorb that truth, that farewell. And so, he goes. Without a sound. Without warning. Just silence, and a world that seems to have stopped spinning around you.

You know that his dream of being normal was buried with him. And you, who always got lost in the memories of his blue eyes, now have to find a way to go on without him.

Because in the end, his dreams were more real than you ever imagined. Finally, you understand that the strongest man was just like you—just a human, someone ordinary with his own desires and feelings, someone who longed for something more and couldn’t reach it.

[niftykin]

hii! dunno if you accept 2 prompts at a time but i'll shoot my shot!

can i request friends to lovers (from first link) and prompt 4 and 7 with sunny from omori? thank youu!!

' Promise you'll remember that you're mine '

Starring: Sunny | OMORI.

Sypnosis: Sunny had been realizing that real life can become a daydram simply by your presence, how is that possible?

Prompts: "The realization that the hugs they share will never be something that they can reciprocate with someone else" & "Anytime they sit next to one another, they find themselves touching. Shoulders, thighs, knees, their honestly never entirely sure how it happens but have accepted it’s unavoidable."

A/N: I do not take request anymore, yet i would find intresting if you have an idea and you can share it with me. Im sorry this took so long, i have been working a lot. Im also sorry if this turns out to be kind of depressive in some parts, have in mind you will be seeing this mostly from sunny's point of view and i think it would be kind of normal that he would have this kind of thoughts, by the way this is too short and i know, sorry.

Warnings: kind of angst in some parts, very light.

Whenever they sit next to one another, the inevitable brush of their fingertips, the undeniable caress of their shoulders, that feeling of comfort when their thighs touch, and the subtle heat that spreads through their bodies when all contact becomes inevitable, are all as familiar to them as breathing - familiar, and yet unrequited, as a soul tie - Despite the familiarity of these sensations, they remain unrequited due to fear. However, ¿what exactly is fear? ¿How do you explain the feeling that prevents you two from reciprocating each other's embrace?

¿Is it his fault? ¿Is there another factor that becomes a burden when he wants to hold you? He is at the very epitome of human feeling in this moment, he didn't feel that before; Despair and hope at the same time by the same person, yet all you make him feel is hope, in everything. Yet Omori still holds his darkest feelings, desires and thoughts.

Even if he knows that he craves a human tie he finds himself retracting in any way he can from you. ¿what if he does it again? he can't stop thinking about it, but you are just so ethereal that he can't help but be drawn towards you. He is a monster, an assassin, ¿what would you like about him? He loves you, and he hates himself for that. He will corrupt you one way or another, but being with you, oh what a dream when he's with you he finds himself in a fairytale, it's better than the headspace, he can breathe.

Sunny was zoned out, but then he realizes that you were talking, he quickly apologized and asked you nicely to repeat youself as he tilted his head to the side. He was genuelly intrested in what you were saying.

"Im sorry, could you repeat that please?"

He was shaking slightly, ¿what could he do now? He doesnt even know how it really began, he can't tell anything about it else than the burning feeling on his chest and the suddent need to hold you in his arms for days, than the suddent need to protect you, for Omori is a waste of time, for Sunny love is something natual and real, something you make him feel.

He loves your voice, he loves it when its dedicated to him, he loves when he is the person you are looking at, Omori said it was egoistical yet Sunny only finds comfort on the sun that reflects on your eyes, its the only way he doesnt feel the soild falling on his feet, the only way he doesn't feel lost.

Sunny loves you, nobody is going to ever deny that, but oh how wonderfull it would be to tell you just how he loved you, if you only knew what he would do for you. He would do near everything, he just needs a chance, he doesn't ask for much, ¿does he?

He is desperated, clinging to his only ray of hope: You, if you knew you would stay or you would leave? What if you leaved him, what would he do after?... No, you won't leave, he will do whatever you want if you dont leave, he will beg on his knees for you to stay if it is necessary, he won't loose you.

© Cheshiseriko 2024, all rights reserved ONLY ON TUMBLR

[chocolatte-and-despair]

I have another Idea for male pc(I don't really know a lot about dol I'm still new to this fandom thing)

You know how he gone all through shit because of this town having to deal with s/a and other more etc etc what if the reader is from another universe/ country they are normal unlike everybody else so he cling into them he finds comfort and feels sane around them

I saw your headcanon thou what if his " love interest" ended up getting having an obsession with his darling

( honestly I don't know what I just put in here this sounds kinda boring if you're uncomfortable don't have to write it and let me know )

( I don't really know much about this fandom / game sorry 🤡 and I really like how you write canon characters )

Anyways have a good day/night

( also sorry for the two requests for male pc I should have clarified my request before sending lol)

Matthew - Male PC

Matthew knew something was different with you from the second the two started talking. Sure, some people were nice to him, but that niceness usually came from the desire to sleep with him. Nobody was nice without wanting something. Nobody but you.

You weren't overly nice like Sydney, nor were you someone too innocent to understand how the world worked like Robin. You were just a very nonchalant and.. normal person. Well, he wasn't exactly sure how a normal person would act, but you must be exactly the ideal.

Hanging with you felt comfortable. There were never any strings attached, and he felt safe, considering you could handle yourself.

Being used to protecting everyone from others, Matthew wasn't sure how to feel now that he was given the chance to be the one whose being protected.

He liked it. Liked it a lot.

It wasn't strange that Matthew started hanging with you whenever he wasn't standing up for Kyler, walking Robin home, or helping Sydney in the library or his dad's shop.

Matthew worked very hard to earn you a reputation through Mickey as someone that people shouldn't mess around with, just to be sure that you were safe and could continue to make him feel safe.

One sleepover turned into him practically always living with you, and the friendship between you two turned into something more serious. He loved being around you, more than anything else. You were everything he ever wanted in his life. His knight in shining armor.

Does it really matter that he meticulously worked to make sure nobody got in the way of that fantasy and gave you ever chance to shine like the star you are?

[rmgold-blog]

Insane Wanda stans being like ”how dare you deny wanda is your mom. you don’t know what she did for you”

Well lets say Billy did know, that he for some reason finds out everything about Multiverse of Madness. You guys really think Billy would be all ” oh god mom I’m so happy you wanted to kill a child to see me, or mom I’m so glad you slaughtered an entire village for me.”

Like the delusion going on? I don’t care if he finds out about the darkhold corrupting her( more than she already was in WV), I still think he would be horrified over it.

I’m sorry but I can’t see the Billy we’re gotten to know over the season would be grateful for what Wanda did for him and Tommy

She didn't do anything for them. She did it all for herself. There was some misguided reasoning she was using that her children would want to be with her - but not the children she was seeking out. And again, it comes from a sense of selfishness. That they need her.

But at the end of the day if a child says something along the lines of "X isn't my parent". That is on said parent.

If a child doesn't feel loved by a parent, that's the parent's fault.

(Even if an outsider knows how much effort that parent puts into giving a child the life they had and said child is a spoiled brat who never learned empathy - that's on the parent.)

(And I'm sure there are outliers in cases of mental disabilities etc, but that's not what we're talking about here.)

But it's insane to me to see Billy say Wanda's not his mother, and then blame him for feeling that way.

For Wanda stans: if theres anyone to blame it's the writers. Not the child.

To me it's a very nuanced and compelling story though! It's not a bad thing!

Wanda does clearly love her kids but she strongly needs to be loved. She lost everything and was desperate to have a normal life - and to avoid the grief, so she turned to selfish means to fulfill her desires.

And she was put in an impossible situation - to continue to force a town to do her bidding or to give up her life with her children. I do think she made a good choice - for the good of everyone - but I don't think there was a right choice there.

And just because she does love her kids - doesn't mean she was a good parent. It doesn't mean that they knew she loved them. If doesn't mean they owe her that love in return.

It's all very complicated and nuanced.

And this isn't the end of the story - just because as of right now Billy doesn't consider Wanda his mother doesn't mean that (if she does end up coming back) that relationship can't improve. That Wanda can't learn and grow. That Wanda can't amend her past mistakes.

It also doesn't mean that if all Billy has is her memory and other people's accounts of her, that he can't grow to understand why she did those things and still have complicated feelings about her.

The human experience baby - it ain't cut and dry.

On a parting note - I do think it would be really interesting if/when we get Tommy back that him and Billy have differing perspectives/feelings about Wanda.

Maybe Tommy doesn't really have an alternative mother figure and clings to the past and Wanda. While Billy has a few mother figures now, and he doesn't have those same feelings for Wanda.

And maybe they like butt heads about that. Could be fun.

[v3nusxsky]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3KCxW4/

Think you can do this also can in not be tedros. Also can it be like female reader and lesso were already dating

Have a nice day plz

Don't leave me

*Authors note~ I think this TikTok idea is such a good way of spreading awareness of these topics

Trigger warnings~ sexual assault

Prompt~ see ask^^^

Your girlfriend was known to be busy. It was no surprise really that during school days the most you saw of her was at the end of the day. You didn't mind too much, you filled the time with other things you enjoyed, spending some time with Sophie and Agatha, in the library or studying. You were never short of things to do which helped make the time fly. You always looked forward to coming back to snuggle in bed with your girlfriend. Being the librarian for The Schools For Good And Evil definitely had perks, you knew that above all else Leonora would keep you safe and well.

Recently, Leonora had been extremely busy, her Never students causing more issues than Lesso would've liked. After all since the merge the students had to learn new boundaries it made punishments and rules all need to be changed too. Most of that didn't really affect you in the slightest but the fact it was stressing your Leo out made it something you desired to change for her.

It was late one Friday evening as you were getting ready to leave the library when you noticed a student enter. Noticing the uniform, you knew it was a never and the thought of turning them away and ruining what looked to be like some progress you just pottered around letting the student explore what was most likely somewhere they've never been to. You couldn't way to go and tell your girlfriend one of her students was actually in the library. If only you knew. The teen made their way over to you. Of course you thought they were going to ask for help to find someone, that's the logical reason that anyone would assume.

****************Trigger warning*****************

He came out of nowhere, catching you completely off guard. You were powerless against this hooded figure, since when did they put a hood up? They physically overpowered you and you truly didn't know what you could do to get away from the body. Your body shook with fear but adrenaline began to kick in as his hands wondered over your clothed body. They had no interest in your face, truly just out for your body, so much so that they continued to try and turn your head away from them. That's how you got away.

Just as he was about to removed your top you lifted your knee to his Crown Jewels and took the opportunity to run to your safety. Your lungs constricted painfully as your body struggled to achieve a normal breathing rate. You continued to run away from the library until you ran straight to your girlfriends office.

****************Trigger warnings****************

Immediately as soon as you entered the office you collided with a warm body and the panic settled in. "Sweetheart? What's going on?" Lesso murmured confused. "He tried- tried to- to touch me" you sobbed out in a panic, struggling for air. Without batting an eye lid she muttered, "I'll kill him!" The angsty flaring in her now darkened irises. "No, no! Please don't go! Don't go, don't leave me!" You sobbed collapsing against her body, clinging to her as if your life depended on it. "Shhh sweetheart, I'm here. I won't leave. I'm here and your safe. I won't let anything happen to you. Can you breathe with me love?"

It took time but you eventually calmed down in her arms, exhaustion taking over your body as you snuggled closer to your safe place. Just as you were about to give in to sleep, you heard your girlfriend murmur, "I don't know who he is but I'll find him sweetheart and I'll kill him. No one hurts my precious girl and loves to tell the tale to anyone.  Leonora would make side of that without a doubt.

Word count~695

[hekateinhell]

Apparently my mind woke up and chose to continue this AU with a snapshot. Here you go.

---

It all starts so normally that it takes a while for anyone to suspect it’s anything out of the ordinary.

It’s Aria that starts it, as is fitting for someone with de Lioncourt blood running through her veins. She’s the first to lose a tooth, running up the stairs at breakneck speed with blood flowing down her mouth and bursting in to tell her father something’s happened. For a moment, it’s a blind panic until Lestat realises she’s holding a baby tooth and that she’s not actually hurt or sick. He ends up putting her into the bath and singing lightly to her, bundling her dry and combing her hair before bed.

It reminds him of doing this for someone else and although the curls are a softer red than Armand’s, there was no mistaking it for Claudia’s blonde curls. Although they had originally gotten their own beds, the children hadn’t really grown out of wanting to be attached to each other when they slept. Given the way Armand tended to cling like a stubborn piece of blue tack, maybe they’d never grow out of the desire to have someone else close they loved.

“Who’s Claudia?”

Lestat freezes instantly; it’s Avery staring at him in the low light of the bedroom. It’s not the first time something like this has happened, they seem to be able to pick up on some surface aspects of the so called blood network in a way not dissimilar to how mortals can do it through the the blood but it was the first time one of them seemed to pick something out of their minds directly.

Maybe they had never had a chance – Armand couldn’t access any of their minds much to his chagrin, and Louis had no ability with Avery nor Ania as he had none with Aria. Blood rules seemed to apply, except when they didn’t. 

Avery reached over and poked his cheek with his hand. “Daddy.” Sometimes it’s unsettling how much he looks like Louis, especially when he thinks of the only child he and Louis had before all of this, but in moments like this, the way he pushes forward with rampant curiosity, he can see himself in there. Biology be damned – his blood’s in Louis, it could mean something. 

“A long time ago, your father and I had a little girl.” It’s not something they’ve talked about yet, but something about those eyes made him want to spill his guts out. “Sometimes, I think of her.”

Avery looks at his sisters and wrinkles his nose. “I have enough sisters.” 

“You have a big brother too,” Lestat reminded them. For his part, Viktor seemed more curious about them now than when they were babies. Something to do with them sounding more like people with thoughts and opinions and feelings rather than fleshy lumps, but they knew who he was.

“He’s groaned up,” Avery protested. “It doesn’t count.”

Lestat thought about correcting him, Louis would have, but damn it, sometimes it was just nice to be reminded how small they still were. It felt like any time he was gone for a couple of weeks, they grew and changed so fast and in the blink of an eye, they’d be ‘groaned up’ too. Instead, he just tucked them in together and waited for them to sleep.

Their schedule was a little strange – they tended to have the staff put them right to bed when they got in school and they’d sleep for a few hours, then they’d get about four or five hours with them later on before they needed more sleep. They were prone to protesting going to bed and Lestat was usually more indulgent about it – they got so little time with them now they were in education – but he didn’t really want to get into Claudia without talking with Louis about it.

It was foolish to imagine that was the end of it. 

A few nights later, he woke to find one of their nannies explaining that Aria had been sent home sick from school. He’d run up to her bedside immediately and she had been very pale, her skin cold and clammy. She claimed to be hungry, but all night, nothing stayed down. Armand had hovered with her and had to be physically picked up to leave her at dawn, even if it put her in danger to be next to a sleeping vampire.

The next night, she still couldn’t keep food down and she was listless, distracted. They ended up calling Fareed to come and check her over, if only because he had experience with them and might find something where a mortal doctor wouldn’t. Another night passed without answers, although Fareed had arranged to go and use some hospital equipment to see if she had some kind of vampiric-human hybrid of a virus but it left them just waiting on answers.

“Do you think this is punishment?” Armand had been glued to her side all night, but he had barely spoken.

“For what?” Lestat asked.

“I let your daughter to her death,” Armand replied. “Now mine is the same age in body and she’s fading.”

It hurt like having his heart ripped out of him and torn to shreds. “Aria is not yours alone,” Lestat reminded him, trying to hear himself think over the horror of the image coming into his mind. “Do you think I deserve to lose another child?”

“We don’t always get what we deserve,” Armand had replied quietly.

Lestat had left the house, needing to get some space between them but fearful of going too far. What if it was his fault? What if it was something in his blood that was doing this? Ania and Avery showed no symptoms, but they didn’t have him in them in the same way. If this was something he’d done, if he’d ruined another child like he always did, he didn’t know what he was going to do.

Nothing had prepared him for the answer when it presented itself. 

“She’s teething,” Fareed explained. 

“Teething is making her this sick?” Louis had been so alarmed. “This doesn’t seem natural.”

“Nothing about any of this is natural,” the doctor replied. “But the good news is that we found our solution when we realised what the problem was and she’s already much more alert. Food is starting to stay down now her body is recovering.”

“Because of teething?” Lestat asked.

“In a manner of speaking.” Fareed had shown on an X-ray some white marks. “Do you see it here?”

“I don’t see anything,” Louis replied. “What does this have to do with her teething? Did her lost tooth give her some kind of infection?”

Embarrassingly enough, it had been Daniel who had understood it first. “Fangs.” 

“What?” Louis asked.

“That’s what you mean by teething,” Daniel looked between them and the doctor. “Right? She’s growing fangs, so she needed a bit more of a liquid diet.”

“I thought they were human,” Lestat said. Then he thought back to the moments with Avery asking him about Claudia. “Mostly human. She needed blood?”

“In the grand scheme of things, a small amount seems to have stabilised her but I imagine the amount needed might increase in size as she does.” Then the doctor had let them go back to where Aria was happily snacking on what looked like vending machine chocolate. Armand had refused to leave her side. “Still no sickness?”

“There will be if she keeps eating that much chocolate,” Louis said, but he had no real heat to it. There was too much relief involved. 

“And she’s still growing?” Louis clarified. “She’s aging?”

“As far as I can tell,” Fareed said. “No one really knows what to expect from any of this.”

“Then why weren’t the other kiddos affected?” Daniel asked, sneaking her more chocolate.

“I imagine in time they will be,”  Fareed replied. “But Aria’s blood is a little more…potent.”

It was him. It was his blood that had done this. It was all his fault.

It’s not about you, Armand dropped harshly into his mind. She’s well, this is all that matters.

At least, it was until her teeth came in. Then no one was safe. The mix of ‘Aria, do not bite your sister!’ and ‘Aria, we don’t bite people who can’t reciprocate’ echoed through the house and following some more tests, it was determined there were sharp little teeth hiding in the gums of the elder two as well. They tried to explain it to them, leading to multiple counts of Ania proclaiming when her teeth came in, her sister was going to be sorry.

Maybe in time, they could talk about Claudia but for now, Armand was right. They were going to be alright and that was the important part.

omg 🥹💖 I love this AU so much! (please peep Rainbow's full story here on ao3 you guys it's so sweet I'm obsessed)

just the other day I was wondering out loud on here what a child fully raised by Lestat, Louis, and Armand would look like (this varies wildly, picturing Armand in the Rue Royale house with Claudia flatlines my brain it's too much)

BUT MY HEART

like of course in a post-canon world, there's no way around the memory of claudia. and OF COURSE Lestat would blame himself with anything that could possibly go wrong with the one child that is biologically his. 😭 "Do you think I deserve to lose another child?" oh my god... I flash-backed to Lestat in TotBT where he's so worn down and utterly broken with his guilt over Claudia. I don't know if you meant it to hit that hard but it fucking did, I'm devastated.

and he can't talk to Armand about it, clearly! they barely started talking about their shit in this century, but imagining a co-parenting scenario would really force that conversation eventually.

Lestat looking for himself in Louis and Armand's child and seeing it is so tender, I'm soft now 🤧 lmao of course all this drama over TEETHING (checks out when you're a parent tbh it's exhausting)

I love this thank you, really hoping you expand on this one day and add it to the fic! 🥰

[dessa-banks]

29 for the ao3 wrapped my beloved

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I'm gonna be honest, this answer kinda got away from me :P I started making a list of my favourite lines from each fic, to help me choose,,, and now I can't choose. So instead I'm gonna choose one line/passage from every single fic I wrote this year :D I've split it into sections based on where I've posted the fic, to make it easier to read. If I had to choose one favourite, though... probably the first one in the list? I did my first fic rewrite this year and I think it went really well, so :P

Posted on AO3 (Suntooth)

He gazes up at the bedrock ceiling above him as he falls ever-faster through the Void, shimmering black stardust clinging to his arms as he reaches up and tries to touch the stars. (Ashes to ashes, dust to dust [REWRITTEN])

But denial is the strongest drug, and they act as if everything is okay. (iscariot, you fool)

A mass of vile soot, black, and eyes of Void / A mean, obscene creation; curséd soul / Its half-lid blinks keep time with hearts, so run! / Abscond, escape, evade, avoid its gaze. (putting pen to paper)

Even when the moon burned magenta in the sky and the wings on Grian's back changed from parrot to purple, he figured it was fine. (Meet Me In The Woods)

"We could prank him :3" Pearl said, a hint of mischief in her voice. (Grian was tired enough to not question how she'd said :3 out loud. It was par for the course with Pearl.) (Family)

"Iskall, you could not have done anything about a moon. You can't change what happened, no matter how much you want to, and all you can do now is live. For them. Okay?" (Verklempt)

Posted on AO3 (lopsidedhead)

It was buried underneath the residual panic and the numbness of his hands that had been clutching the bucket of lava, but it was like... it was like a deep instinctual pull, like a thread being pulled on, towards something, something he instinctively knew was a person, and the desire to maim. (There's Something In The Water)

His hands itched with the pins-and-needles heat of the curse, head full of burning cotton wool, and killing would be the remedy. (Until It Doesn't Hurt)

Ides cracked his eyes open, a dark film over his vision as he squinted at the ever-bright stars that glittered and swirled around his body. Tendrils of the deepest black were fixed around his legs as he floated in Void, although he felt nothing. (the light at the end of the tunnel (is sometimes the train))

The world is crumbling a hundred blocks or so away, trees disappearing into the aether as the world prepares to implode into itself, making way for the next iteration. In any other context, it would’ve been beautiful. (In Memoriam)

Not on AO3

You will never take me again. And if I have anything to do with it, you will not take my friends again either. You will not hurt innocent players any longer. Fuck you. (Dear Wormwood)

"Bad dream?" Ides whispered, and Lops only nodded in return, almost purring as Ides reached up and gently ran a hand through his hair. "It's okay. I'm here." (This Love)

He’s a completely normal human who just happens to need charging every night! And, of course, has Watcher powers, like every normal human. (Cysur Cyffur)

Maybe in some deep part of their minds, they truly hoped that they would win, together. Like intact glass in a tornado, unbroken despite the horrifying odds. (Bitter Water)

Unreleased (for right now) :3

The ice-cold Void scorched Ides’ lungs, and yet he still breathed in, pulling it into himself, wrapping his entire being in darkness. (Vide Noir)

Act cool, Johnnie.

“Hands off, bub!”

Great start. Not. Now he’s gonna hate you!

(Untitled WIP fic)

This got way too long LMAO

[poisonedspider]

Continued from @featheredbarkeep

He swore he could hear a pin drop, hardly even acknowledging that the television was on at this point. He had barely noticed to begin with, so lost in talking to Husk, laughing with him, swapping ridiculous stories. It always helped that Husk never judged him for his occupation, didn't cringe at the fact that his customers were much different than the cat's own. Didn't gag or tell Angel to shut up.

Maybe that was why those words had left his mouth. Husk had been the first to ever truly accept him. Ever. In life and death. He certainly hadn't been accepted by his family, having to hide himself away and get lost in drugs to deal with the intense homophobia. While he had thought Val cared about him and accepted him, he continued to push Angel to try and mold into something he wasn't, even to the point in being the one to convince him to change his name.

Charlie accepted him, flaws and all, but it wasn't the same. She still made comments, whether she realized it or not, that sometimes made him feel like he wasn't doing enough. He had been floored to hear that he had been the one brought up to fight for redemption on their little trip to Heaven. But Husk? Had always seen him. It was annoying at first, Husk always calling him out for his facade, but it meant that Husk was really looking.

He had needed to know. Was prepared to get shot down, to lose his hopes. Because he was Angel Dust. Broken. Flawed. Messy. Rauncy. And no one would ever - "What." It came out far too blunt, mismatched eyes widening a bit, as well as even the set beneath them that rarely opened. He blinked a few times as if that would make him process that this was reality, suddenly much more nervous than he had ever been. Bottom set of hands having been wringing at each other the entire time.

He didn't know how to respond. How did one respond? His initial reaction would have been to shove the gambler onto the couch and kiss the ever-living life out of him, but for once he decided he should respond appropriately. Fat Nuggets was even encouraging him, having been sleeping on Angel's lap that entire convo, now nudging at his momma like he knew that Angel needed to say something important. His fur was flushed pink, all the way down to the heart around his chest, and he quickly looked away.

"Yeah, well...." This was where he would normally make a ridiculous comment. Of course yeh' are, isn't everyone? After all, ah'm Angel Dust. Most desired sinna' in Hell. Not having that to cling to was making this more challenging, and he forced himself to look back at Husk. He moved his legs off the other's lap, sitting up more straight, giving a small nod. "Ah'....ah' feel....the s-....fuck, Husk, ah' ain't used tah' doin' this without bein' flirty."

He whined out, before finally clearing his throat, thanks to more nudging and encouragement from his pig. "...Ah'm in love with yeh', too. Have been f' awhile honestly. But ah' didn't...ah' mean....ah' didn't want tah' push or assume because yeh' know...ah'm...me." It was so vulnerable of him, eyes even filling slightly with tears as he quickly looked away, pushing his hair from his face. "This might be the first time ah've ever actually felt what love is s'posed tah' be, tah' be hoenst."

[electricbluebutterflies]

what about jessica letting the forbidden three words (ily) slip in a moment of weakness and she is kissed before she can do any damage control ;))

Somehow this turned into late-era fluff and I kinda love it. PG-ish and also on ao3.

Jessica takes what she can when she can.

These early mornings, awake before her partner on a day his schedule is lighter and hers is nearly nonexistent… she should just curl up closer, let the warmth of him give her a few more hours’ rest, but-

Time should have changed them; instead, it has just softened how she feels even further.

Seventeen years she has spent in these arms, every day inching closer to half her life and hopefully many years beyond that point, and the comfort of it has changed but-

It is perhaps strange to cling to memories she does not need for support, but she does anyways. He had been the first person to treat her fairly, as mutually awkward as their initial circumstances had been and he had let her have that awkwardness too, expectations reassessed in the light of her and out of that…

Anyone would have done the same, Jessica thinks. Anyone in her positions, young and more fragile than she knew at the time and desperate for any affection she could find, would have fallen dangerously in love just as quickly as she did.

They are something different now than they were then, a quiet love except for the days they are not, the great stability of each other’s lives and-

She traces the lines of her partner’s face with a feather-light fingertip, jaw and lips and cheekbones and closed eyes. He is pleasing to her still; that is a realization she still does not know how to handle after all these years, the desire she feels at the sight of him sometimes. If she is allowed to feel such things, and even this she doubts sometimes, it ought to be responsive; her appreciation of what is hers feels just as rebellious as the rest of them, and-

She tilts her head to kiss the side of his face, uncertain feelings needing physical manifestation. It is unlike her to want; it is unlike her to hold back. The confusion of a woman who still does not know what is safe and what is not, even curled up in this bed that has been the safest place she’s ever known, even-

She feels his heartbeat change underneath her fingertips, still matching the steady rise and fall of his chest under the blankets but closer to consciousness, and some primal instinct tells her to recoil. It is improper to show her affection, to initiate first, to-

“I chose you,” she murmurs, realest thing in the world. “And I love you, and-“

Those words never sound quite right in her voice, always too hesitant, always badly timed, always-

Her partner meets her mouth with a kiss before she can apologize or modify, and for all of her frustrations about his perceptiveness he is so aware of her when it matters most, so-

She melts. She always does. Too vulnerable to affection, too-

One of his hands gets up in her hair and this will be another core memory someday when she needs them, this quiet morning and a few hundred others like it. When they are sweet, when they have time, they are-

“Should I be concerned?” he murmurs a few kisses later, near-breathless and face hidden by her loose hair and skies he’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen and-

“About…?”

“You don’t normally wake me by-“

“You were already close,” she laughs. “I didn’t do anything.”

Always deflect, always deniability, always compartmentalize every damn thing she feels because she isn’t supposed to feel anything at all and-

Someday, Jessica thinks, someday she might actually become the woman her partner thinks she is and then things are going to get real fun for everyone else who has to deal with her.

But that’s a dream for later, for any time that isn’t right now, right now she needs to curl her body around his and make cute little noises as he kisses her face and-

They don’t get a lot of moments like this, she reminds herself. Equal blame for that too. If she tried a little harder…

“You do seem to be in a mood.”

“Not… not that mood. I wouldn’t say no, but-“

“Most of you is not on top of me…”

“Is that a request?”

She’d burn the world for the way this man looks at her. (She worries, some days, that she already has.) Pure delight in the half-light, like this is all he’s ever wanted and she’s known for a decade that it is, that there is nothing more important in the world and even when priorities mismatch she is still everything and-

“Also wouldn’t say no,” he murmurs. “But this is good too.”

She rests her head on his shoulder, turns her face towards his, and this is what no one else will ever know, the softness and familiarity they sometimes leave between these sheets but-

“I could be persuaded. If you kiss me enough.”

“Understood.”

[thenoblestandard]

Golden Hour

One of two fics I posted to Ao3 last year. I want to eventually write more for them soon qwq

Normally, Ferdinand prided himself in his noble behavior. So why had he gone against it and snuck out his fiancee while their parents spoke? Something that seemed to confuse Charlotte as well. But, at the same time, she’d much rather whatever he had planned to listening to their father bicker about the dates and arrangements of their wedding. So she rather willingly followed along, curiosity getting the better of her.

Though that had been some time ago, now they found themselves wandering through a forested area near Charlotte’s estate. Ferdinand would have loved to say he knew where he was leading her. Keyword, would. Yet, here he was, leading her along a stream, not quite sure where they’d stop. Neither seemed to care, perhaps, they should have. Though that wasn’t something they decided to consider, the other company seemed to be enough. Maybe that was why he had led her out this far. The desire to have her company to himself, though selfish as it was. But he’d allow himself that if only just this once.

Whatever silence was between them was broken by the rustling of a bush and the squeak of the brunette as she clung to his arm. “Are you alright? You aren’t hurt are you?” He asked. Though he was positive they both had seen the culprit that had startled her, being a decent-sized hare.

Charlotte nodded as she pulled away from him. Her cheeks dusted in a soft pink hue as she looked away from him. “I’m- I’m fine, just a little startled.” She sheepishly replied. If he was honest he found this rather sheepish side of her to be rather cute. He’d never say that aloud, as he didn’t wish to embarrass her, but he truly found it cute.

“If you insist, though if clinging to me brings you comfort, please feel free to.” The ginger only slightly teased. A soft huff left the brunette as she gently shoved him.

“Ha-ha-ha, you’re soooo funny.” Charlotte huffed, crossing her arms. Though an amused smile had coated her lips. For as much as she wanted to be even the slightest bit upset with him, she couldn’t bring herself to. He had certainly picked up on it, though had no plans on pointing it out. It’d remain a little unspoken secret between them. The comfortable silence between them returned once more as they continued their walk.

It hadn’t taken much longer for the duo to come upon a clearing. Upon noticing it the brunette turned to him. “Is this where you were taking me?” She asked.

“It is,” Ferdinand replied, simply deciding it was then and there. Though he knew they both knew it hadn't been the intention, to begin with. Neither seemed to care regardless. Upon walking into the clearing a spark of excitement seemed to fill Charlotte’s eyes. A giggle left her as she spun around after having run off ahead of him.

The sound of the gentle stream flowing filled the air as he stared at her. Maybe it was the lighting of the golden hour itself. But he could have sworn her skin was coated in the saint hint in glitter. What else could have made her shine the way she was? Then once she turned to him, oh once she turned to him. The softness of her gaze, the way it was laced with hints of love and adoration. Perhaps, just maybe, it wouldn’t have hurt to linger in her company a while longer. If anything, this made him long to live this moment forever.

“Is something the matter?” Her voice rang, breaking his haze.

“No, no, the opposite actually…everything is perfect.” He replied in a soft voice. This, in turn, caused her to laugh and shake her head.

“I don’t understand you sometimes. Though maybe that’s what I like about you.” She playfully scoffed. She then looked at the sky before frowning a bit. “Oh, it seems to be getting late… Maybe the next time you come around, we could leave a bit sooner and spend a bit more time here.” Charlotte sighed.

“I’d like that if only you’d want that,” Ferdinand replied as he smiled at her. Giggling softly, Charlotte nodded.

“Then it’s a date, I suppose.” She walked over to him, carefully taking his hand into hers. A small blush found itself coating his cheeks. Though he rather dumbly nodded after slightly calming himself. A soft snicker left the brunette as she smiled at him. She had rarely seen the ginger flustered, or at least flustered over something so small. Though with that the two had made their way through the forest once more.

Upon finally exiting the forest, the two were greeted by the sight of lanterns and the sight of their fathers. A soft laugh left Charlotte as she looked at Ferdinand. “It seems like our lack of presence didn’t go unnoticed.”

Ferdinand nodded as he smiled softly. “It does, we did leave for quite some time. Though, if I'm honest, I regret nothing. I’d happily do this a thousand times if it gave me just mere moments more with you.” Glancing at her, he noticed not only the soft blush coating her cheeks but also the twinkle in her eyes. He wanted to assume it was just his imagination, but he couldn’t help but cling to the thought of it.

“Well… If we’re being honest, I wouldn’t mind doing it either.” Charlotte replied, twirling a strand of her hair. She seemed to ponder something for a moment. Upon noticing, Ferdinand was about to ask if something was the matter. That was before she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. She was then quick to call out to her father before sprinting her way over to him, leaving the ginger speechless.

Gently placing his hand against said cheek as it heated up, Ferdinand chuckled. “What a woman…” He softly muttered to himself. Calling out to her to wait up, he then followed after her, entwining his hand in hers once more.

[clownprince]

Utc because this got a bit long (?). Going off on more of a tangent bc I have Many Thoughts about this.

I think these excerpts from Batman and the Joker: Contested Sexuality in Popular Culture just say it so well. Batman's identity is constructed from unreachable goals, desires that are fundamentally impossible to ever obtain. He can't ever have those desires fulfilled without a complete restructuring of his identity, purpose and worldview. He may desire heteronormative domesticity, but to ever obtain that would alter his character to the extent of rendering him unrecognizable.

And I think that's one of the main reasons he's consistently attracted to doomed romances. Apart from Selina, Talia is another example of this, maybe even Khoa as well depending on how you look at it. Part of what makes these people so desirable to him is the knowledge that he can never be with them, at least not in any traditional, domestic way.

Batman (2016) #79 + #85

King's solution to this is... interesting to say the least. On one hand it's certainly an interesting prospect, Bruce not having to choose between happiness and being Batman. But on the other hand, I feel like it entirely defeats the purpose: the point is that Bruce has to choose, there are no compromises. Being Batman fundamentally perpetuates his own grieving process and prevents him from healing, and he needs his pain to do what he has to do as Batman (or at least that's what he believes). But also, that doesn't necessarily mean that he has to be miserable all of the time. So I'm quite conflicted tbh. Although aside from that it's obviously a massive disservice to Selina as a character with autonomy and her own life and goals. It seems like Tynion kind of retcons all of this, though, in his run. At least that's my perception.

Batman (2016) #94

It's not clear exactly what Bruce is referring to, here. But the way I interpret it is that both his attempts at essentially trying to compromise by being Batman and having Selina and being happy as well as his attempts to rebuild the city are both attempts at giving Alfred what he always wanted posthumously. All Alfred ever wanted was for Bruce to be happy. But by trying to actually realize that desire, Bruce was changing into someone else. And of course, Joker is the one who sees the cracks in the facade Bruce is attempting to build.

Batman (2016) #14 + #37

I think that one some level, Bruce always knew that Selina would never go through with the wedding. Part of what makes her appealing in the first place is that she's not the kind of person Bruce could ever truly marry and settle down and have a nice, normal life with. Or that's his perception, at least. Whether or not he knew that his project to transform the city was also doomed to fail is less clear. I can see it being genuine as an attempt to give Alfred, in death, what he could never give him in life: Bruce being truly happy. But maybe he always knew some part of Gotham would rise up and stop him.

I think that aside from being an anchor to his humanity, Selina is also Bruce's way of clinging to the hope that maybe he isn't too broken to live a normal, happy life, hence the "I have to love you". I suppose you could also argue that it ties back to Bruce's habit of chasing what he can't have: he has to love Selina in particular, not just any woman, because he knows that he could never truly settle down with her in the way he desires, because of who she is as a person.

This might sound silly and i know bruce is bisexual and all but from a queer standpoint, the scene where he proposes to selina feels a lot like compulsory heterosexuality. "I love you. I HAVE to love you."

And considering the timeline, joker was HIDDEN INSIDE BRUCE'S BASEMENT my god the implications, the metaphor....

Yeah, the whole thing is... [clears throat] very interesting. These two panels, which happen relatively close in time, put it into perspective:

Batman (2016) #32 // Dark Days: The Casting

However, to be entirely honest, I don't think Bruce proposing to Selina, and that whole arc... can be boiled down to just compulsory heterosexuality. It's more complicated than that. Bruce is doing this after interacting with the Batman of Flashpoint, his own father, who begs him to try and be happy. And Bruce's idea of happiness, very much inspired by Thomas', is settling down with a woman and having a family. Gaining peace.

Tom King is the one who wrote the wedding arc, and the whole thing is permeated by this... typically masculine, American idealization of women as this isle of peace that a tortured man yearns for, but can never fully choose. I'm sure there's names for this trope or stereotype, but I'm too lazy to look this up. Think Michael Mann movies, think James Bond movies, think stories about criminals and agents and soldiers leading a dark violent life aspiring to put down arms, and the whole dream being entangled with a woman. A female character who usually isn't fleshed out beyond the representation of leaving a life of violence behind, having a nice wife and nice children in a nice house with a nice white picket fence. Tbh it's not surprising to me that King ended up writing Bruce and Selina with these undertones, because of King's infamous background with the CIA before he became a comic book writer.

And thing is, I don't think it's inaccurate to portray Bruce this way. Bruce has lead a long life of violence, and he wants to want to stop. He wishes it didn't define him as much as it does, he wishes there was another path for him-- and this wish drives his attempt to settle down with Selina. "I have to love you" is less about "you're a woman and I should marry a woman", it's more about "if I love you I am more of a human being, and I need that." Yes, it's compulsory heterosexuality too, in the sense that Bruce is drawing from the heteronormative idea that happiness can only be achieved through normality, and normality = wife and retirement. But it's also a sad, desperate attempt at salvaging himself through Selina, whom he does love... but the things he loves about her are less about her, and more about himself. In the end, his own subconscious acknowledges all of it, during the Knightmares arc:

Batman (2016) #69

[sigh] It's all quite sad. And I've said it in a different post, but this is partly why -- in a seemingly paradoxical way -- a relationship with Joker has the potential to work. "You can't love anyone but the Vow, but the Bat," Selina (a figment of his own mind) tells Bruce. And Joker is part of the Vow. In many ways, over the decades, Joker has become the endgame of the Vow, the incarnation of all the things the Bat is supposed to defeat. It's fucked up and makes me want to chew on glass, but the Bat could allow loving Joker, because loving Joker would be a part of the Mission.

Anyway, I went on a bit of an unncessary tangent, but yeah! I do agree, Anon. So many implications.

[angelasscribbles]

Eidolon Chapter 7: Connection

Series: Eidolon

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: None right now, busy being haunted

Rating: MA

Warnings: HORROR

Word Count: 1,933

A/N: I have chapter 8 done and chapter 9 almost done. It might be over by chapter 10. Hope to have everything done and posted by Halloween.

My other stuff: Master List.

The redheaded witch turned at the rustling sound behind her. She knew she was alone in the woods.

There was only one creature at the palace that could have found her without making a sound.

Olivia took in the sight in front of her. The creature looked for all the world like a normal woman. Naked, and crying. The short hairs on the back of her neck stood up as dread crawled down her spine, “What is it?”

“Drake….he didn’t use the amulet….I tried to stop…..”

Olivia turned on her heel and sprinted for the palace, her heart pounding in her ears. The adrenaline dumping into her system gave her the extra speed she needed to clear the edge of the woods and make the palace entrance in what had to be record time.

Guards moved aside as she flew through the hallways and up the grand staircase.

She burst through the door of Liam’s room, panic crushing her chest, tears stinging her eyes.

“Drake!” She cried as she dropped to her knees next to him, “You stupid, stupid man!”

She checked for a pulse. He was alive.

Barely.

She opened her third eye and scanned his aura. It had been severely depleted, but there were thin fragmented wisps still clinging stubbornly to him.

Finally, his intractable stubbornness paid off. He might yet live.

She murmured a spell over Liam to break the effects of the elixir and wake him. He sat up in alarm, “What happened?”

“It’s Drake! I think I can save him, but I need your help!”

Drake could hear his friends, but not respond. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t wake up.

“Goddamn it, Drake! I fucking told you!” Liam’s voice.

Then Liv’s, “Help me move him onto the bed.”

He sank in and out of darkness.

A glass was held to his lips. A slightly bitter and faintly sweet liquid slid down his throat. He felt his life force reattach itself. But it was weak.

They still didn’t know he could hear them.

“That’s it. That’s all I can do. Now we have to wait for the replenishing spell to work. His aura has to regrow itself.”

“How long will that take?”

“I’m not sure. Hours. Days. Weeks. I’ve never done one before.”

He slid into darkness again.

She was there, in the darkness.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Live. Please live! I love you.”

The queen sat at her table on a dais in the front surveying the room while she sipped her wine. She was looking for someone. The someone that made her pulse race. Not her husband.

Merida Theron Rys had married for duty and political expediency, not love. King Brawen Rys was a decent king by all measures, but he was old enough to be her father, and then some.

She’d done her duty, she had borne three heirs for him and she was done. Done gracing his bed, done letting him touch her. She didn’t care if he had affairs. Let him. As long as he left her alone, she was happy.

But she was still a youngish woman. Maybe there was a hint of grey here and there, the errant strand of silver that she plucked out and tossed away, but she was still young enough to burn with want and desire. To crave the touch of someone closer to her age, closer to her type, someone who excited things within her.

Her eyes widened and a smile curved up her lips as she spotted him across the room. Sir Gawain Brunswick. Knight of the Realm and a member of the Royal Guard.

Tonight, his armor was gone, replaced with a simple tunic and cloak in the colors of his house. He was the younger son of a poor, minor house so he’d made a way, and a name, for himself with the sword. 

He glanced up toward the dais, catching her eye. She smiled at him. He nodded then turned his attention back to the ballroom full of eligible young women. Many of the young noble women vied for his attention.

Merida did not miss the way his face lit up when the serving girl approached him. Nor did she miss the way his eyes followed her as she retreated, the desire clear for all to see.

She burned with jealousy.

At the end of the night, the serving girl slipped quietly out of the ballroom and down the hallway. Gawain followed discreetly behind her. Merida followed quietly behind him.

He caught up with her halfway down the hallway to the servant’s quarters. The queen pressed herself to the wall around the corner, listening.

The younger woman giggled as Gawain pulled her into his arms, “Why are you running away from me, Rezna?”

“I don’t want to get caught!”

“We’re doing nothing wrong!” He protested.

“It’s a well known secret that the queen fancies you. I don’t want to get fired, I need this job!”

“I’ll take care of you! Marry me, Rezna!”

The girl giggled again, “Why would you want to marry me when you could have your choice of any lady at court, the queen included?”

“They don’t interest me!”

“But I know you’ve lain with many of them, including the queen.”

“Once!” He told her, “And most of her ladies in waiting as well but that was different!”

“How?” She teased, a lilting quality in her voice. She knew she had his heart.

“You are the only one I love, and I haven’t looked at another woman since the first time you glanced in my direction! I mean it, Rezna, marry me!”

He nuzzled into the side of her neck before stumbling backwards down the hall and pulling her through the door into her bedroom.

Merida wiped away the tears of rage from her cheeks and made her way back to her own quarters. Her rooms were royal, luxurious, sumptuous. He could be here, sleeping in the softest feather bed, eating the freshest fruits, drinking the finest wines, with her. But instead, he was in a cramped room with a small hay stuffed mattress cavorting with a servant. A peasant.

It was her fault. The girl.

“Ralto!” She screamed for her guard.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Fetch me the witch from the cells. Bring her to my rooms.”

Liam tossed and turned in the bed in guest room across the hall. He had pretended to drink the elixir to calm Liv down. She was distracted taking care of Drake in his room.

He gave up on sleep and kicked out of the covers, getting up to pace the floor.

She would come. She had to. He needed answers.

“Liam.”

He wasn’t even surprised. She always just appeared like that.

It was the first time she had appeared to him while he was wide awake though. There was no mistaking this for a dream.

“You’re real.” He breathed out.

“Real enough.” She replied, stepping forward.

He took a step back.

Regret flittered behind her eyes, “You’re scared of me now.”

“I…I just want answers.”

“I’ll give them to you but…” She took another tentative step toward him.

He didn’t move away this time, “But?”

“I need to feed first….I’m sorry. It isn’t my choice. This is how they made me.”

“I have no desire to end up unconscious…or dead.”

“You won’t. I promise. I couldn’t kill you if I wanted to, and I don’t want to.”

“Why?” He asked as she took another step closer. His breathing accelerated as the magic enveloped him, “Why am I immune to it?”

He wasn’t immune to all of it. Her nearness sent desire crashing through him, it made him reckless, heedless of his own danger. Sweat broke out along his brow and across the palms of his hands. He couldn’t resist her. She would drink from him, she would deplete his energy, drain his lifeforce, but not all the way. He wouldn’t die.

“I’ll tell you everything.” She promised as her hand caressed his cheek, “Now that I’m almost whole again. Now that I have my memories, and my voice, now that I can stay solid for a period of time after feeding. But I must feed, Liam, I have to! I can only go so long without it, or I lose control and attack indiscriminately.”

“As opposed to when you attack me? That’s targeted?” He already knew it was. She had sought him out from day one.

“Do you experience it as an attack?” Her voice was crushed velvet across his skin.

He shivered, “No.”

He gave her what she wanted willingly.

Her eyes glittered as she brought her mouth to his, “Please. I need you.”

He pulled her into his arms, surrendering to her, as he always did.

He drowned in his desire for her. She fed. This time, she stayed solid, in his arms, after it was over.

He pulled her close and held her, just like he would a real lover. His hands ran over her arms, “You killed those men.”

“I did. But I didn’t want to!” She had been too weak, when she first escaped her prison, to reach him. She’d had to take whoever came when she called.

“You said that before. That it wasn’t your fault. What wasn’t your fault?”

“Any of it!” The words exploded from her mouth with vehemence, “I asked for none of this!”

“My friend….Drake….”

Her bottom lip quivered. Fresh tears filled her eyes, “I didn’t mean to!”

“You feed on sex? Desire?”

“Yes, desire, and the things that come with it, or the things it can turn into. Desire is the bait, once ensnared I can feed on many things, but I prefer to feed on that which brings pleasure to the victim.” All strong emotion could be traced back to the life source, a bridge to the aura.

“But you can control it?”

“I can’t!” She insisted. She had to feed. And she had to feed on men’s sexual desire. It was all part of spell that had been twisted to curse her.

“But you never hurt me. I don’t die.”

“Because you can’t! You are immune! The only choice I make is to seek you out, so that I can feed without killing.”

He felt an inexplicable disappointment ping through him, “Is that the only reason?”

“What?”

“It’s commendable that you seek out the one man that you can’t kill. That tells me that you have a conscience, that you really don’t want to do what you do. But is that the only reason you seek me out?” He held his breath, like an idiot. Was he really concerned about whether or not a succubus, one who had almost killed his best friend, had feelings for him?

He felt like a fool. Yet, he was concerned about exactly that.

“No.” She whispered, “You are not the only man in this palace that is immune to the effects of my….attack.”

“I’m not?” His eyes turned to stare into her hers, stunned amazement coloring them.

“Your father is immune as well.”

Liam drew away in shock, “So this is a genetic thing?”

“Not exactly.”

“But Drake…you didn’t kill him!”

“I almost did.”

“He’s not immune?”

“No.”

“You said you can’t control it, that you must feed.”

“That’s correct.”

“But you stopped. Liv said you stopped just short of killing him.”

“I…did, didn’t I?”

Was that hope he saw in her face?

She talked far into the night. She told him her story, as she remembered it.

He fell asleep holding her.

When he woke up, she was gone.

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

The Kind that Never Slows Down | Damian Wayne

✦ pairing — older!Damian Wayne x female!Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 10k

✦ summary — Gotham is hit with a spell that changes your perception of Damian forever.

✦ warnings — nsfw, semi-public sex, non-con sex (not really but just to be safe), angst, language, light jealousy, light possessiveness, mentions of food, smut, unprotected sex (please don’t do this), consensual sex, vaginal sex, cunnilingus, fluff.

✦ author's note — this one should’ve been published a long time ago, but I just got around editing it. Hope you like it.

════════════════════════

The abandoned building smelled like piss and mold, the only light available entered through a broken window, and you were pretty sure you had heard rats roaming around.

But you didn’t care. Robin’s hands were all over you, plump lips sucking on your neck like his life depended on it as he pounded into you.

It wasn’t enough.

He had skipped foreplay on your insistence. You needed him more than anything, if he didn’t fuck you right there in that moment you wouldn’t be able to survive.

He grunted out of pleasure as you clenched around him, gripping your hips to ground himself as he picked up his already relentless pace.

It still wasn’t enough.

Having his cum down your thighs and marks over your neck from his kisses wasn’t enough either. Your body craved all of him, including his whining and abrasive words.

Noise outside prompted him to part from you completely. Both of you fixed yourselves as best as you could in silence, avoiding looking at the other.

You followed him outside with a sense of guilt hovering over you like a dark cloud. You felt like you had just gotten out of a trance after committing the worst of the crimes.

Nightwing stopped you by yelling, “Where were you? I looked for you two everywhere.”

“We were looking for you,” Robin lied smoothly.

Nightwing’s shoulders slumped as he nodded. “Well, Zatana undid the spell.”

Suddenly Damian’s urgent voice as he said he needed you made all the sense in the world. His need for you and your need for him had been magic-induced.

Of course it had been! You two were mere acquaintances who fought all the time for the most minimal things in the world or ignored the other to the point of making people around you uncomfortable. It was a surprise that you worked well together at night.

“A lust spell, right?”

“Well, no,” Nightwing chuckled. “According to her, the spell showed people what their heart desires the most.”

Robin stiffened beside you, and you felt every drop of blood drain from your face and fall to your feet.

“Did you hear a lot of people having sex?”

“Yeah,” you croaked. “Tons of them.”

The moment you got home, you ripped your suit off and walked into the shower. You washed his cum off you, scrubbing your body twice just to make sure.

Wishing the soap could erase the marks on your neck and the memory of the way he had moaned your name, you decided to take a pill to sleep.

You hadn’t needed one of those in months, but Damian was that special. Or annoying.

God, you hated him and his stupid ego. He would surely find funny the lengths you would have to go to put this in the past.

He loved being the center of attention as much as he hated you, that was why you always tried your best to avoid him. When you didn’t avoid him, he made weird faces at you and scoffed every time you laughed.

Turning the lamp off, you hoped for the best.

Meanwhile, Damian ignored Dick’s inquiries. Why did his brother care if he was extremely quiet or if he looked like he was about to explode?

Your scent was all over him, still bewitching him, overpowering his sweat and the smell of everybody around him.

Looking down at his hands, the gloved palms that had hours before gripped and traced as much of your body as your suit had allowed him to, Damian clenched his jaw.

How could he have been so stupid? There was no other reason for you to beg him to fuck you the way you had — magic! He fucking hated magic.

But Dick’s explanation... that was worse. More stupid. He hated it too. His brother had to be wrong.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone from his family was wrong regarding magic, and Zatanna while an expert had her own biases.

Besides, his heart could have been desiring to get off the most just like yours. The two of you were busy people after all.

“Did the spell show you anything, Dami?”

The prettiest face he had seen in his entire life. “A pet demon.”

He regretted the lie the moment he said it. Damian wished a lot of things could be different. His mother would be furious if she knew how sentimental he was becoming, if she found out how often he gave into wishful thinking.

For once, he wanted to be open. But as always something was stopping him. Sometimes he wondered if he had been born to be like that or if his grandfather had simply lied.

Leaving the cave the moment he was dismissed, he trotted upstairs almost praying Dick wouldn’t follow him.

He couldn’t stop replaying the way you clung to him, or the harshness of your kiss. It had felt real, and too perfect to be happening to him all at once.

But you hated him, everybody and their mother knew that.

════════════════════════

Barbara had never been subtle around you. There had never been a need for such a thing — she was like the older sister you never had, you two carried the other’s secrets and burdens.

Back when you met her, barely as a teen, she provided a safe place you only had ever dreamt of having. You vowed to give it all back; she deserved it.

“What’s up with the turtleneck?” She asked, unsubtly so with her bright eyes on your neck.

“I have a cold,” you feigned a rasp. Perhaps this secret wouldn’t be shared.

“Mmmh. Really?” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “Dick said Damian was feeling under the weather too.”

Yup. Definitely not sharing. It would be embarrassing. She had always had the theory that you were in love with Damian just because you complained about him on a weekly basis.

It was like she had never met him.

In a way, the theory was correct. But it lacked a lot of details — a spell had confirmed it from all things. It sounded ironic, quite suitable to your situation.

“Flu season, I guess.”

It was a bad lie. Everybody knew when flu season arrived because Tim started getting a stuffy nose and limiting his consumption of Red Bull in order to drink more water.

”Did the spell from the other night show you anything?”

You faked a cough, shaking your head. “I was busy on patrol.”

“I was too and I saw Dick.”

“That’s just wishful thinking, Babs. It’s cute, though.”

Her not seeing Dick would have surprised you. They had known each other for years, gone through so much together... most people wanted what they had.

“Is there a particular reason why you’re lying to me?”

You wrapped your fingers around your mug. The heat transferring from the ceramic to your palm reminded you of Damian’s breath on your lips.

Taking a gulp of coffee, you blinked rapidly. “You don’t think it’s cute?”

She rolled her eyes. “Everybody saw something. It’s how those spells work.”

“There must be something wrong with me.”

There really had to be something awfully wrong with you. Saying out loud that you wanted Damian more than anything in the world terrified you.

It was a normal thing. Not wanting him specifically, but wanting someone — everybody craved attention and love at some level, you just happened to crave Damian’s at every single one.

He was the problem, not you.

════════════════════════

Movie marathons weren’t something Damian really cared for, but they were better than hearing his father complain about minor things like if he had ruined a goon’s lungs or whatever.

Alfred called it bonding time which he supposed was a fair assessment. He found Tim’s taste in movies quite good, and now he didn’t get the urge to strangle his slightly older brother in his sleep.

His stepmother was there too. Selina had been the reason why Bruce shifted his ways, she urged him to either find a balance or stop adding people to the team.

Duke made him pass a bowl of popcorn to Tim who did the same to Stephanie. The bowl landed on Dick who was on the row behind them, just next to Jason.

Getting more comfortable on his seat, his eyes fell on the empty spot to Duke’s right. Cassandra used to sit there until one afternoon Duke couldn’t seem to shut up and she asked you to switch places. You always went with the things Duke said, sometimes even asked his opinion.

Damian complained once, telling his sister to suck it up next time. But Cassandra would never do something he told her to, that was perhaps why she was his favorite.

Everyone around him was in an amazing mood which he didn’t understand. Bruce had just tried to tell a joke, and Jason was mocking how dumb it was.

Selina laughed loudly, in that way people did when they felt genuinely happy. At least that was what he supposed; Damian wasn’t sure he had ever experienced happiness.

The sound of an approaching wheelchair made his ears perk up. Not a single pair of shoes could be heard against the floor. Fighting a frown, he turned to look at the door.

Barbara waved at all of them with a smile, maneuvering her wheelchair to sit next to Dick’s seat. Craning his neck with the excuse of saying hi, Damian watched her give Dick a chaste kiss.

“Where’s (Nickname)?” Dick asked, lifting his arm to rest it on the back of Barbara’s chair.

“She said she was feeling sick. Although...” Barbara giggled, leaning onto Dick’s arm. “I heard the voice of a guy in the background so she might have company.”

Damian felt sick upon hearing such a thing. First, you had asked to be paired up with Duke for patrol and now this? It was too much even for your pettiness — granted, he had planned on putting more distance between you two, but he hadn’t gone around trying to find someone to erase you.

The thought never crossed him, not for a single moment. He had wondered why he wished to cling to a memory when he had never been the sentimental type, but he realized that to be the entire point of deep desires.

“Well, it’s time,” Stephanie commented, “she’s been single for too long.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to scare him off,” Selina added.

Damian stood up from the now uncomfortable seat, forcing Duke to do the same so he could leave. Duke stared at him weirdly, with worry, as if he knew something Damian didn’t want him to.

He probably did. Damian had been careless two times in a row. God, he needed to get a fucking grip. Unconsciously, he fiddled with the neck of his sweater.

“Oi,” Jason called for him, “where are you going?”

“Out,” he answered angrily. “If other... members... may skip this, why can’t I?”

Barbara and Dick shared a sideways glance.

Only telling Alfred that he would be back later, Damian followed the path towards the garage. Skipping his bike for once, finding himself thinking he wanted to take as little shortcuts as possible for whatever reason, he took his car.

Damian had always been a fan of driving. He didn’t know why, it was tedious and didn’t serve many purposes in the grand scheme of things; not to him. Ever since he learned, he took every opportunity he got to drive whichever vehicle he could get his hands on.

Having control over vehicles and machines was nice, he supposed. If people were a little bit more like said things, everything would have been easier. The world would be boring, but easier to habit.

Saving people was easy, caring about them from afar gave him enough human interaction for his standards, but he would never understand them.

And for the first time since he tried to decode his mother’s attitude, he wanted to understand someone more than anything. Perhaps that way said someone would understand him back and untangle this mess.

The building before him wasn’t welcoming. He had never put foot into that place, but he knew every single person that lived there — patrol gave him that kind of knowledge. And he did some research months ago, but no one needed to be aware of such thing.

He pressed his ear to the door he had been looking for. The dishwasher was on, but he couldn’t pick up any other sound. Damian knocked on said door three times, quickly and loudly. There was no answer so he did it again. A door slammed shut inside the apartment, a groan accompanied by a string of curses got clearer as stomps approached him.

Standing tall and straight, he felt a thrill down his spine as the lock was loudly fiddled with.

You swung the door open, rubbing your eye. He observed you had thrown a turtleneck on, upside down. Damian walked past you without invitation, analyzing the living room.

There were no clothes scattered all over the floor like he had imagined he would find.

“What are you doing here?”

He ignored you, exploring the kitchen. Damian opened the fridge, narrowing his eyes as he inspected. He did the same with the cupboards.

Shoving your bedroom door open, he found the bed undone. The TV was on, playing an old movie. He heard your steps as you followed him, repeating your question.

“Is someone from the team in danger?” You asked next.

Damian pulled your closet open, tilting his head. You could’ve been more organized, he admitted to himself, but there was nothing unusual.

Craning his neck to look at you, he inquired, “Where is he?”

“Where’s who?! What’s going on?”

He stared at you, waiting for you to crack. To his surprise, you stared back — defiant, blinking less and less as the seconds passed.

You were mad, he could tell. It only made him grow more suspicious. Tensing under your eyes, sharp instead of soft like they usually were, he scoffed; he couldn’t show he cared.

“Dude,” you insisted, “you are scaring me. What happened?”

Shaking his head, he pushed past you again and continued his search. The bathroom was warm, the mirror fogged up and tiles sprinkled with drops of water.

He turned around, watching you again. Well, your hair was wet now that he paid more attention to it...

Damian checked in the small laundry room too, but he found bottles of detergent and folded towels next to your suit. Nothing else. No one else.

“Damian—“

“Shut up.” He pointed at you with a finger.

“You are the one who came to my place to look for whatever or whoever you are searching for! Unprompted!”

He didn’t answer.

You went back to your bedroom to turn the TV off and pause the movie, resigned to the fact that he had ruined your self-care day.

No one knew you would be home that day. You had ignored everybody’s calls and avoided being active on social media just in case they were stalking you. Turns out the utmost secrecy isn’t enough to avoid Damian Wayne.

He stood in the living room, looking down at the coffee table as if expecting the furniture to turn into something else. Fixing his eyes on the centerpiece he knew Dick had given you as a gift because it reminded him of you, Damian furrowed his brows.

“Have you been alone the entire day?” He asked, feeling your presence behind him.

“My neighbor brought some cake. Other than that, yeah.”

“Barbara said you had... company.”

“I haven’t talked to Babs in days.”

Barbara had continued asking about what you saw that night with the spell, and you weren’t willing to say it still. Weeks had passed, but it felt like mere seconds had at times. It was so easy for her to ask, to assume things.

Only you knew the conflict you were feeling. She would never understand how awful it was to find out the one you desire the most is the one who likes you the least.

You had entertained the naive idea that he was in the same position, but the more you replayed what had happened, the more you convinced yourself it had been one-sided. He gave in because the release was pleasant, nothing else. People say things they don’t mean while having sex.

You had done it before, for fuck’s sake. You had faked having a good time before, who was to say Damian hadn’t done the same with you?

“Have you seen anybody else?” He blurted.

“My neighbor, I told you.”

He reformulated, “Have you had sex with anybody else?”

You considered lying, you really did. It would make the tension go away, you would have to see him around with other people but it would save you from a lot of embarrassment.

A part of you told you it was stupid, that you wouldn’t be able to take it. Much less when the people who usually took some interest in you tended to ghost you for whatever reason.

“Not since that night, if that’s what you’re asking,” you admitted.

“Good.” It slipped, but he didn’t care. He meant it, and it felt nice to say things he meant, no matter how harsh they could sound.

You rounded the room, crossing your arms as you stood in front of him. “Why are you here?”

“I was told you had company,” he repeated himself.

“And your logic was to interrupt me?”

“Yes.”

You couldn’t believe him. Did he want you to be alone and miserable your entire life?

The worst part was that you would probably be. Finding out you liked him, that you wanted to have him around, that you craved his attention, and his touch, rocked your world and shattered it.

Who would ever compare to him? His flaws were other people’s better qualities, even you who didn’t know his good side that well was aware of that.

“Do you really hate me that much? I’ve never done anything to you!”

He finally lifted his head. You wished he hadn’t, you wished you didn’t have to see anything other than anger in his handsome features. “I don’t hate you. I would make your life a living hell if I did.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” you chuckled, way more sadly than you thought yourself capable to feel regarding anything that came from him. “You roll your eyes at me every time I visit your house, Damian.”

“It’s not intended at you.”

“The scoffs sure are,” you reproached him, “and your stupid comments of how unfunny anything that makes me laugh is.”

“It’s not because of you,” he shouted. Shaking his head, vexed, he twisted his mouth as he huffed his anger out through his nose. “Cassandra’s jokes aren’t even that funny.”

“See?”

“Why don’t you laugh at mine?” He reproached now, crossing his arms to mimic your stance. “Why is it always one of my siblings or my friends who get a positive response but not me?”

“Oh, come on! You’re saying that like I didn’t come by hearing you say my name a few weeks ago!” Your words stunned him into silence which you used to your advantage. “You never tell jokes in front of me, how am I supposed to laugh at them? I always feel like shit because you only accept being around me on patrol, you entrench yourself in your room and make a point to slam the door shut just so I hear... you know what? Forget it.”

“I hate seeing you with them,” he said, wishing his words hadn’t carried that much emotion. “I always bribe people to not ask you out or to leave you alone, I have to watch you hug Jon and kiss my siblings’ faces. You’re always so damn nice until I appear... I prefer being alone than enduring your indifference.”

You widened your eyes. “You bribe people to not ask me out?!”

“Is that the only upsetting part from everything I said?” he snapped.

“No, no. Of course not. I just...”

He hummed. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“A waste of money, honestly.”

“If I didn’t, you would be with someone else right now. Probably Duke, you’ve always liked him.”

“You bribed Duke?” You let a small laugh out. “Duke? Our Duke?”

“Yes! Stop mocking me.”

“Duke knows everything, you know?” You admitted, uncrossing your arms.

You hadn’t been able to keep things to yourself for that long. Seeing Damian around suddenly hurt. The feeling had always been there, but finding out that he was your heart’s deepest desire wrecked your perception

When you told Duke, he reacted casually, as if you had told him the most obvious thing in the world. He said you and Damian were the only ones who hadn’t seen it.

“He knew certain things before I did, in fact,” you added. “Besides, I see him as a brother and he sees me as a sister.”

Damian nodded. It made sense, now Duke’s attitude seemed normal in comparison to what Damian had assumed.

He always assumed things. Bruce had told him once that he needed to learn to ask before acting out — this was the first time Damian found his father’s words useful.

“Why did you kiss me that night?”

“I believe it was more than kissing.”

“Yes.” Damian hadn’t been able to forget, he never would. “But why?”

“I felt... I don’t know how to explain it,” you confessed.

The room suddenly felt small, extremely hot. You shed the stupid turtleneck, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done the stubborn marks on your neck.

Make-up had hidden them well for a few days, and most of them had faded already, but there were two bite-marks, too big and deep, that needed more healing time.

“I was scared,” you told him, “that’s why I felt the rush to take your hand. And it was enough for a while, but then it wasn’t, I wanted you closer.”

“I couldn’t breathe. I assumed I was being poisoned. Then you took my hand and I panicked for a moment, I thought...” his voice broke.

You gave him time, trying your hardest to hide how surprised you were by hearing him like that.

“I thought you were having the same symptoms,” he rasped. “I’ve been trained to fight those things off, but you haven’t and I knew you would die. Your hand made it better for a few minutes, then I needed you closer too.”

“We can forget about it if you want,” you assured him, avoiding looking at his face in case your comment relieved him.

“I don’t.”

Damian reached for your hand in the same fashion you had that cursed —literally— night, shakily, urgently.

And in the same fashion he had, you allowed him to take it.

He brought you closer to him. You observed he looked more tired than ever, perhaps because things had been tense for the past weeks. You couldn’t have possibly looked too different.

“The spell doesn’t have to dictate this,” he said, tilting his head to look into your eyes. “It won’t. You know I don’t trust magic.”

“The spell is not the problem,” you whispered.

“I didn’t think there was a problem.”

“We have never spent time together outside of patrol, Damian.”

He sighed, nodding. “Get changed. Let’s go out.”

Only a lunatic would give their self-care day up for a guy. Well, you didn’t really care if people thought you were a lunatic, and Damian wasn’t just a guy — still, giving up the ice cream in your fridge was a sin.

A sin you were happy to commit.

Damian waited for you to get changed, patiently if anyone asked you. It had taken you a few minutes to even choose something appropriate, based on his own outfit because that was just logic.

He slipped his cellphone into his pocket while you locked the door. As you turned around to take off, he offered his hand.

You took it, intertwining your fingers with his as you walked down the hallway. In the middle of the stairway, you bumped into one of your neighbors who smiled sweetly at both of you. To your surprise, Damian smiled back.

Also surprised to discover he hadn’t taken his bike, you bowed as a thank you when he opened the door of his car for you.

“Do you want to put some music on?” he offered.

“You pick,” you said, curious as to what he would play.

You could’ve sworn he was nervous as he stared down at his phone, looking for something to play. He scrolled down, then up — he switched apps, then continued scrolling.

“I’m not picky.” Your tone was soft, an attempt to assure him.

“I don’t really listen to a variety of genres.”

“What do you listen to the most?”

“Classical. My mother got me used to it.”

You rested the side of your head on the backrest of the seat, looking at him. “You can play that if you want. Or we can just talk about the weather and whatnot. I think it might rain tonight. You like rain, right?”

He locked his cellphone, turning to face you. “Yes. It calms me.”

“I hated it as a kid,” you disclosed, hoping it would ease the tension and better his mood. “I was scared of thunderstorms.”

Igniting the engine, he prompted you to continue, “Not anymore?”

“No. My mom used to tell me that the only reason why they were so noisy was that the sky was happy to unwind and eventually I believed it.”

“That’s cute.”

“I had a phase in which I was in a bad mood if it didn’t rain.” You laughed at your own comment. “Now I like it just fine, less obsessively.”

“I had a similar fixation with snow.” He laughed too, and your stomach did somersaults — it was the first time you had heard him laugh genuinely.

Damian didn’t talk about life at The League often, he didn’t feel compelled when he knew the preconceptions that came with simply mentioning the place or his maternal family.

In fact, everything Batman Inc.’s members knew had been from Bruce. He liked the secrecy, those were parts of him and no one else. But he was willing to share tiny pieces with you.

He saw it as something supposed to be shared between two people interested in starting a relationship.

So he continued, “I would only climb mountains if they were covered by snow. My mother called me a brat many times, but she gave into my wishes for a while.”

“How did you grow out of it?”

“I broke my elbow.” He briefly looked to the side and then took a turn. “I proved her right, and I didn’t like not having the last word so I started despising the snow. I don’t mind it now.”

Before you could ask anything else, he pulled into the grocery store’s parking lot.

He picked a basket once inside the store, making a motion for you to follow him.

“What are we buying?”

“Fruit and whatever you want for a picnic.”

Realizing you weren’t near the fruits aisle, you gripped his sweater, steering him to the other side. Of course he wasn’t used to doing groceries.

He silently allowed you to guide him which was a win, Damian hated being told what to do no matter how small the suggestion was.

It didn’t take either of you too long to get everything you needed, but he spent ten minutes choosing a blanket as if he wouldn’t ruin the poor thing with mud and insects.

Passing the clothing area on your way to do checkout, you elbowed him on the side. He stared down at you, then followed your eyes as he realized they were fixed on something.

Damian groaned. “You’re so funny.”

“Oh, come on! You’re telling me you wouldn’t buy Batman underwear?”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“I am not.”

You narrowed your eyes, keeping your laugh in when you saw what resembled a pout on his face. “Robin’s?” you tried.

“Perhaps.”

You lost it at that. “Are they comfy?”

“Will you stop laughing if I say yes?”

“Only if it’s the truth.”

He just nodded, then did the gesture upward so you would resume the path towards the exit.

Pleased with his answer, you walked towards the checkout line. Damian stood behind you, breathing your scent in.

“Is that a new perfume?”

You craned your neck. “How did you know?”

Shrugging, hoping he was being nonchalant enough, he said, “I have a good nose.”

After a brief fight over who would pay for the groceries, —which he won by saying it had been his idea—, you left the store in direction of the park.

Your hand found his naturally, as if your palm’s place was to be pressed against his bigger one.

It felt good, but not really because of that bullshit —true, but bullshit still when magic was so unpredictable— of him being what your heart desired the most. The truth was that you could feel in his grip how much he wanted this to go well.

Swinging your clasped hands, you walked around the park, looking for the perfect spot to sit at.

You found a spot away from the kids running around, against a tree. Damian laid the blanket on the grass, placing the paper bags onto it next.

He slid an arm around your shoulders, using his other hand to eat.

“Do you think your family is already spying on us?” you asked gazing at him as you leaned onto his arm.

“I am certain.”

“You don’t mind?”

He lightly smiled at you, reaching for a strawberry. “Not at all. Do you?”

“Nah. I’m not looking forward to Barbara’s teasing, though.”

“Why did she tell us you had a guy over?” He bit down into the fruit.

“She has always said I have feelings for you.” You wiped the corner of his mouth with your thumb. It never occurred to either of you that you would need napkins. “And I guess she put two and two together when we covered our necks and used the same excuse.”

“In my defense, I could have blamed Tim.”

“In my defense,” you copied his smart-ass tone, “I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“You told Duke from all people.”

“Duke was supportive.”

Damian hummed sarcastically. “I’m sure everybody knows the details already. He loves to gossip.”

Seeing you frown before you turned to look to the other side, he reached for your farthest cheek, softly pushing your face so you would stare at him.

“I don’t care if they know.”

You wished you could have believed him. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have avoided me the same way I avoided you.”

“I cared,” he clarified, “not anymore.”

“What changed?”

“Me, my priorities… my vision of you, of this.”

You took an apple in your hand. Rolling the fruit in your grasp, you only nodded. Saying something else would have been nice, appropriate even, but words escaped you.

The fact that he didn’t hate you was still pretty new, shocking to some extent. His willingness to be seen with you by family and strangers alike was a huge compliment, and a big deal.

It was too serious so suddenly… you liked it no matter how scary it was. There had to be a reason why he felt so sure about this, and trusting Damian had never been a bad idea.

Except from that time when you ended up with stitches all over your arm, but you could let that go if it meant having him by your side. As corny as it sounded.

“Meetings will be weird, won’t they?” You sunk your teeth into the apple, hearing him chuckle.

“Less awkward, I hope. Although I enjoy vexing my siblings.”

“We can have fake fights in front of them if you want.”

“And blame them for our nonexistent problems?”

“Of course, I’m sure they will try to give their input either way.”

Damian groaned. He feared just that. It would be out of a place of care, he knew, but it didn’t make it less intrusive — he could picture Dick, sitting down in front of him in the cave, with a big smile and dangling his finger as he told him the way he was supposed to treat you.

He liked to imagine that Cassandra would only threaten him. Perhaps Stephanie would do the same and stop Tim from patronizing him.

Not wanting to ruin the moment by thinking what would Jason and Duke do, he shifted and changed the subject to the movie you had been watching earlier.

You explained that it had been one of your favorites and told him the plot between bites, amused by the fact that he was trying to look interested even though you knew it wasn’t his type of movie.

He told you about the movies the team was supposed to watch that day. You didn’t feel guilty for skipping; as much as you loved them, you needed time for yourself.

Spending time with Damian on this occasion counted as time for yourself, although you would make yourself clear to him that you would eventually need alone time for real. It was a mere exception.

The two of you walked around the park for a while, talking about random things. He was surprisingly easy to talk to once you tried, and God did you try.

It couldn’t get better than hearing him speak casually, about the architecture nearby and the types of flora around the park, in a light tone and with his hand in yours.

Your fingers played with his, and once again you found yourself in awe of him, of how comfortable he was with the mindless gesture and his willingness to keep up with it. You doubted someone would ever surprise you as much as Damian did.

Slowing down a little bit to take the scenery in, you naturally tightened the grip of your fingers on his.

It was such a nice day to be outside… perhaps the weather cast had been wrong and it wouldn’t rain.

The city was bathed in a pink glow as the sun set, unrecognizable. No one would have guessed such scenery to take place in a deeply violent and corrupted place, not even the most optimistic person in the world.

You remembered clearly how surprised Jon had been the first time he saw something other than thundering rain and gray skies in Gotham.

Glittering under the sunlight, the flowers at the end of the playground looked alive for once as the sky stunned many around you. And when you turned to look at Damian, curious about his reaction, you found his eyes solely on you.

The trees, so green under the light of dusk, had nothing on Damian’s eyes. Such thought, so familiar that you felt as though it wasn’t the first time it crossed your mind, so natural that you found it a fact and not an opinion, made you forget about everything around you.

He continued gazing at you, finding the curiosity in your beautiful eyes flattering. Oh, how much he enjoyed being the object of your attention.

The scenery behind you was gorgeous, he was certain of it. In his opinion, you complimented the view in ways nothing would ever do — there was something in your peaceful semblance as you tore your gaze off the sky and admired him instead.

You could’ve been sharing a silent moment with the strangers around you, one of those things he had heard you say once made the world make sense, yet your eyes were on him, on his face. And it made him feel important like nothing before had.

His father’s praises, the ones he had sought for so long were nothing in comparison. Dick’s patience although fundamental to his development as a man fell short against the way your eyes were shining for him.

Twilight swirled around you, but his eyes never left your face nor yours did his. The world didn’t exist, and if it existed, then it didn’t matter — not when you found him worth all your attention, not when he thought you to be brighter than the sun itself.

The air in the car as he drove you back to your place was thick and tense. He hadn’t said a word since he told you about that time Bruce inaugurated the school across the park.

Damian looked lost in thought, like often you had seen him while out on patrol. The places his mind took him had never compromised his performance — you admired that.

Bruce had called him out an infinite amount of times, but he couldn’t do anything else when Damian always delivered. You had wondered how he did it many times, but now you had to assume Talia taught him.

He walked you into the building, fingers brushing your wrist as you fell in natural silence.

Fumbling for your keys, you felt him lean onto the wall just next to your door. You took more time than needed to open the door, hoping he would say or do something.

When he didn’t, you pushed the door open and turned on your heel to face him.

“I had an amazing day with you,” he said, eyes on yours.

You breathed out, “I did too.”

Why couldn’t the day last longer? You logically knew you would see him again, but something inside you wanted him to stay. You wanted him to stay, better said.

Would it be too bold, too sudden, to invite him in? He probably had patrol that night — hell, you were supposed to be getting into your suit at that moment instead of pondering on whether you were brave enough to imply you wanted to spend more time with him; preferably in your room, naked.

Fuck it. If he said no, you would say you had patrol either way.

“Do you want to co—“

“Yes,” he answered before you could finish the question, letting a relieved sigh out.

You pulled him into the apartment, arm around his neck as you used your other hand to close the door.

His lips fell on yours as he kissed you slowly, arms delicately around your plump form. He took his time to map your lips with his own, somewhat afraid of kissing you wrong.

Damian grew confident as you attempted to kiss him more firmly, as steadily as your giddiness allowed you to. Tasting the fruit he had eaten earlier off his tongue, you wrapped your other arm around his torso, bringing him closer.

Smiling on your lips, he angled his face, kissing you with the same urgency he had the other night.

Eagerly, he tangled his tongue with yours until both of you were panting in search of air. As you caught your breath, Damian fiddled with the ends of your turtleneck.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “Can I take this off? It’s getting in the way.”

“I can take it off—“

“I would like to do it, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t,” you assured him.

Damian slid the turtleneck off you slowly, huffing a small laugh when the blouse you were wearing under inched up. Placing the item to the side, he leaned to kiss your jaw.

Placing your hands on his sides, you slanted your head upon feeling his lips travel down to your neck.

He kissed the bite-mark left from before, softly, giving it small pecks. “Did I go overboard with this one?”

“A little bit. It’s been a pain in the ass to cover.”

“I’ll be more careful from now on,” he promised, leaving more light kisses over the area.

Your pulse quickened at the implication of his words. Damian felt the rush of blood on your jugular where he scattered wet kisses.

He trailed his lips up, breathing in your ear. You shuddered, fighting a whine as your hands looked for the hem of his crewneck sweater.

You inched the sweater up to his chest and waited for him to stand straight so you would be able to take it off. Damian was too busy kissing your face to care.

“Hey,” you did whine this time. “Damian, let me take it off.”

Smirking on your cheek, he hummed. Slowly, painfully so, he pulled away from you.

Once you had gotten rid of the sweater, you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. He curled his arm around you again, wanting you flush against him.

He slid his hand down and took a handful of your ass, making you buckle your hips up. Dragging his lips to your jaw again, he said, “Your stupid suit didn’t let me do that last time.”

One of your hands stayed on his shoulder while the other landed on his hip. Your fingers played with the loops of his jeans as he continued gripping and grabbing your ass like he had never touched one.

Angling your face, you attached your lips to his neck. Damian’s grip on you tightened.

“I want to take it slow,” he whispered, “but you’re making it really hard.”

“Metaphorically?” You mouthed his throat, hand sliding down to his chest, squeezing itself between both your bodies.

“And literally,” he whined. You loved the sound, for once not demanding yet still bratty.

As your hand slipped downward, you continued kissing his neck, paying special attention to the juncture of his neck and shoulder. You hoped your lipstick wouldn’t dirty his shirt — or maybe you hoped it would, both were fine with you.

Damian put some space between you, understanding what you were trying to do. While you undid his jeans, he undid yours, considering it would be better to get rid of everything on his way now that he was still feeling patient.

Shoes and socks off, the two of you shed your jeans without care of where they landed. Now the living room’s floor truly was covered in scattered items of clothing and this time Damian enjoyed the view.

“Come here.” He reached for you, eyes on your chest as his hands ghosted your sides.

You looked up at him, unable to hide the enjoyment you got from his hungry eyes being all over you. Following their movements, you also observed their slow dilatation.

He inched a hand up your side. You assumed he would finally knead your breast but he merely ghosted its outline, head tilted as he watched his own hand move.

For a few moments, he only did that, almost as if he was in a trance. The warmth of your own palm on his lower abdomen as your fingers brushed the elastic of his boxers made him react.

You pushed him back, towards your bedroom, pulling the door open and shoving him inside. He smiled, lifting his arms in mock surrender.

Damian sat down on your bed, relishing into the smell of everything you owned — the bedding smelled like a mix of fabric softener and your delicious new heady perfume.

You got the urge to kiss his entire face, hands on his shoulders as he slanted his head back for you to do it comfortably. He relished on the gesture too, so spontaneous and warming.

He placed his hands on the backs of your thighs, urging you to straddle him. Watching you second guess yourself, he drew you closer to encourage you.

Giving a last kiss to his nose, you complied. Damian snaked his arms around your waist, a pleased smile pressing against your chin before he kissed your mouth.

You bit his lip, tugging on it. He crashed his lips against yours again just to then do the same himself, intentionally bitting harder than you had.

A moan escaped you. Feeling his cock twitch under your navel, you rocked your hips to watch his reaction.

His arms tightened around you as he tutted against your core. “This is the reason why I never train with you,” he groaned.

“I thought it was because I almost broke Tim’s leg once.”

“Don’t mention anyone else right now.”

Right. You had forgotten he had been jealous earlier.

Damian rolled over, switching places with you. He kissed you before you could pout, cradling your face with one hand while he held himself up with the other.

You placed a hand on his upper back while the other rested on the side of his neck, kissing him back with the same amount of passion he was kissing you.

He had you breathless in a matter of seconds, and as he broke the kiss, you saw his nostrils flare in attempts to catch his breath quickly.

Trailing kisses down your neck, he dropped his hand to your breast. This time he kneaded it, humming against your skin when you reacted with a small sound. His thumb brushed your nipple, playing with it while he busied himself with leaving marks on your chest.

So much for being careful, huh. At least those were easier to hide.

“Do you want me to eat you out?” He asked bluntly.

“If you’re in the mood.”

He kneeled on the bed, hooking his thumbs in your panties to slide them down. You lifted your hips to help him out, laughing when he threw your underwear behind him with little care.

You opened your legs for him, finding a comfortable position as he stayed there, taking all of you in, completely naked and at his mercy.

He kissed your thighs first, teasingly nibbling on them. Every time he got closer to the center, to where now you needed him instead of only wanting him, he pulled away and went back to your thigh.

Slowly, he dragged his index finger up and down your folds. Damian rested his chin on your right thigh as he watched his finger collect and smear your wetness, proud of the fact that he was the one who had made you wet. No one else.

Your breath hitched in expectant excitement as you saw him finally bury his head between your thighs. His tongue followed the same path his finger had outlined, at the same rhythm.

“You taste even better than I imagined,” he praised, licking his bottom lip clean.

As he gradually increased his rhythm, licking long stripes along your folds, you got bolder and urged him to be firmer by pushing your hips upward.

He moaned against your pussy, playfully sucking your labia to let you know he got the message.

Bringing an arm up to pin your hips back down, he used his other hand to open your legs a little bit more and part your labia.

Damian pressed his tongue on your clit, moving it gently at first. He wanted to know exactly what you liked and how. It didn’t take him long to switch between using his lips and his tongue which earned him a loud moan.

His hand caressed your thigh, eventually sliding between the mattress and your body to grab your asscheek.

You whined his name, reaching down to hold the back of his head. It was clear to you that he was enjoying every sound he managed to make you blurt, and it felt really good, but you needed more.

Out of nowhere, he tugged on your hips to slide you down the bed. Kneeling on the floor, he sucked fervently on your clit.

You fisted the duvet, begging him to keep going. Damian complied happily, mouth latched on your clit as your pussy swallowed his moans and the four walls of your bedroom made yours bounce.

They were music to his ears and his entire body. He could feel the tingling all over him, excitement and pride flowing through his bloodstream.

Massaging your ass, he couldn’t help but chuckle upon feeling both your hands on his head now. He allowed you to push his face farther in, not once slowing down.

Your hips bucked up and instead of restraining you, he moved with you. If you moved up he did down and vice versa. You got louder and he marveled at how responsive you were to him.

He growled, gripping your ass with force as he sucked on your clit until his cheeks were hollow. He let go only to repeat the motion, letting his tongue wander when he needed a break.

You tugged on his hair, squealing. Your body tensed in his grasp, prompting him to continue with his ministrations. Feeling the tremor in your legs as you tried to settle back down on the bed, he started lapping tenderly.

You caressed his hair, panting with your eyes closed. Damian lifted his head, hands softly dancing over your thighs as he stood up.

Feeling him hover over you, you opened your eyes albeit with a little difficulty. His mouth and chin glistened with your slick, wanton eyes inspecting your semblance.

“Do you want me to suck you off?” you rasped before clearing your throat.

He caressed your sweaty cheek. “Later.”

“Bu—“

He shut you up with a kiss. “Later, please? I just want to be inside you.”

Nodding against him, you kissed him again. Tasting yourself off his tongue was addictive. You held him still for a moment, licking your slick off his gorgeous face.

Damian growled, deep and loud this time, hands already on your waist. “Should I wear a condom this time?”

“No. Unless you want to?”

He shook his head. He didn’t want a single thing to keep him from feeling you fully. Damian stood from the bed. “Get on all fours.”

You rolled on your side first to then do as he had told you, holding your breath as you waited for him to stand behind you.

He rested a hand on your hip. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” you gave him your consent.

Damian entered you slowly, little by little, less worried about hurting you and more about making you feel every inch of him as his cock filled you.

You breathed out through a whine. He gave you time to adjust to his size, leaning to kiss the scar on your back.

Wanting to stay like that forever, you waited more than you should have to. If he was aware, he decided to be patient — such thing only made you grow wetter.

“Go ahead,” you told him, hoping you didn’t sound too desperate.

Reaching over, he gripped your hands. “You feel amazing, beloved.” He kissed your shoulder, nibbling on your skin as he rocked his hips.

God, you didn’t know if his comment had been what flattered you or the pet name. Either way, hearing them was as amazing as the way he felt inside you, filling you like no one before him had.

His hands left yours. He opted for placing them firmly on your hips and thrust into you steadily, keeping you from moving too much.

Humming in pleasure, you held the edge of the bed in anticipation. He went faster exponentially, calculating every single one of his thrusts.

Having control over his thrusts and the movement of your hips was nice and all, but he needed you closer.

Slapping your thigh, he croaked out, “On your back.”

You missed his girth the second he parted from you so you could change positions, it made you feel empty.

Damian helped you get comfortable, holding your thighs open before you got the urge to rub them. He smirked when you glared at him, hand leaving one of your legs to hold his cock.

He penetrated you again, bottoming out immediately as he made himself comfortable on top of you.

“Fuck, Damian!”

His hips snapped forward involuntarily. Both of you moaned at the same time, he pushed against your g-spot and you throbbed around him.

His movements were rougher like this, wilder. It was as though he wanted to prove a point to himself, you didn’t know which and you didn’t care as long as he fucked you like he needed to be inside you in order to be complete.

“Say my name again,” he rasped the command.

And how could you deny him? You repeated his name as many times as your moans allowed you like a broken chant.

Damian’s pace got quicker every time he heard his name fall from your lips, a tad uneven as he allowed himself to get lost in the pleasure the mix of everything was bringing him — your walls gripping his cock, your hoarse moans and the angelic way honey dripped from your voice when you called for him.

You dragged your nails all over his back, moaning and whimpering in his ear. He was so loud in your own ear, saying things in Arabic that you couldn’t understand in such a fervent tone that you weren’t sure if you would come because he was fucking you into oblivion or because of his strained voice.

Hearing your name slip in his prayer-like monologue, you cried out upon feeling your stomach get tighter. You clung to his shoulders, letting him ram into you in unsteady thrusts that went from slow to hammering in seconds.

His tongue slipped, Damian started switching between languages. Grip on you tightening to the point of being bruising, he begged, “I need you to come first, please. I— shit.” He dropped his head into the crook of your neck as you wrapped your legs around his hips, clenching around him.

You threw your head back, arching up to meet his latest thrust as your orgasm flew through you. Distantly, you processed a few of the sounds you were making and some of the ones you were elating from him.

Strings of hot cum covered your walls. He growled on your skin, saying your name and something you couldn’t really understand.

You let him ride off his orgasm inside you, hearing the mess he was making as the wet sounds from your slick and his cum mingled. His mouth covered yours in a tired kiss, lazy and with a hint of the tenderness he had put to the side even though his intentions had been different.

Once the two of you had caught your breaths and he had made an even bigger mess, you pulled the bedding off the mattress and threw everything into the washing machine.

He was all over you as the two of you shared a shower, so close that scrubbing off took you way longer than it should have.

In all honesty, you didn’t mind. You were too happy to complain about his annoying little antics that you couldn’t wait to get used to.

”Should we suit up?” You asked him, watching the water drip down his chest like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“They can manage without us for a night.”

“You want to skip patrol?”

Drying his arms, he copied your tone, “You don’t want to spend more time alone with me?”

“Of course I do,” you replied immediately. “But you love patrol.”

He stood still, somewhat stiff in front of you. “Not enough, it seems.”

You dropped the topic at that and went on with drying your body.

He only put his underwear back on while you slipped a pair of panties and a t-shirt, awkwardly trying to find something to change the topic.

“Do you want some ice cream? I have a tub in the freezer.”

“Sounds good.”

A nice moment you shared, silently eating ice cream. He sat close to you the entire time, brushing your side.

It felt natural, as though you were supposed to be doing that and not anything else. Patrol could wait, and his family, and your friends, and the entire world.

The world stopped so you two could enjoy the moment, the day. Or perhaps it didn’t and you just couldn’t bring yourself to give this up for it — but he couldn’t either and that meant everything to you.

Damian never skipped patrol, he hadn’t done it in the worst moments of his life and you never expected to see the day in which he would find something more worthwhile.

You found a clean sheet for the bed in the laundry room which saved you from having to squeeze yourself with Damian on the couch. Maybe it was time to get a bigger one.

He rested his head on your stomach, cheek against your belly as he looked up at you. You could tell he wanted to say something, his brow was ever so slightly furrowed, and his eyes seemed clouded by a thought. He looked pretty nonetheless.

He traced his fingers over your thigh, drawing little doodles. You could make some up by feel — a flower, a bat, his name, a few stars, his name again, an R inside a circle, a heart, his name for the third time.

“I think I would’ve broken my oath to my father if you had had someone over.”

You slid your hand off his hair to caress his cheek, too worried to hide your frown. Damian took his promises and oaths seriously, more seriously than anything else. You had seen his family use said thing against him.

“It wouldn’t have been worth it,” you tried to reason with him. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“Would you have gotten mad at me?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “It would’ve depended on a lot of things. Without context, obviously, but...” Realizing you were about to make up excuses for something that hadn’t even happened, you decided to ask, “Why are you still thinking about that?”

“I don’t want you to forget about me. Ever.”

“Are you planning to say goodbye or something of sorts?”

“No!” He glared at you for even considering such a thing to be a possibility after everything the two of you had talked about, after everything you had made him feel. ”But I...” Damian scoffed. “I can’t explain to you how horrible it felt. My eyesight clouded the moment Stephanie said it was time for you to start seeing someone.”

“Jealousy does that to us.” You tried to sound wise by saying it, an attempt you found quite pointless as you replayed it in your head.

Silently, he lifted his head off your stomach in order to lay down next to you. Shifting so he would be comfortable, you held your head up with your hand to properly gaze at him.

Damian mirrored your position. He told you, in a hushed tone like it was his deepest secret, “I felt like you were replacing me.”

Stephanie only had said that because it was the truth. Your relationships always fizzled out after the first two months so you had stopped trying. Then there was the fact that Damian himself had sabotaged who knows how many of them...

From her perspective, it made sense.

“Damian...” you trailed off, in vain. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Tell me you won’t.”

“I won’t replace you as long as you don’t replace me.”

You thought he would find the comment insulting even though it was perfectly sound. But for God knows which time that day, Damian surprised you by scoffing with nonchalance.

Dismissing your worry, he slid closer to you, resting his forehead against your flexed arm. “I couldn’t possibly be happy without your perfume all over me.”

Grabbing him by the hair, you forced him to lift his head. His eyes found yours in a second, curious. You dropped your hand to his neck, sliding it up to his cheek.

Giving him the sweetest kiss you had ever given, tracing the side of his gorgeous face tenderly, you hoped you were doing a good job expressing what you wanted to communicate.

You were. He gave you in return the brightest smile you had seen in your entire existence. It was all for you, something you had caused, something you wanted to see for the rest of your life.

Damian pulled you onto his chest, laying on his back. He mindlessly ran his fingers over your side and up and down your back while you listened to his steady heartbeat.

You couldn’t possibly feel complete without him ever again.

[angelamajiki]

PARINGS: Brother! Tamaki Amajiki x Female! Sister! Reader

CW: yandere, incest, stealthing, con to noncon, quirk play, riding, manipulation, possessiveness, slight angst, implied kidnapping

AN: thank you to @suzuki-violin-school for beta reading!! @sightoru @bonesoftheimpala come get y’all juice

You always had a strange relationship with your big brother, seeming to be just a touch close for your parent’s liking. But the pair of you never paid too much mind to it. Something about it just felt natural and right. You were thick as thieves, always confiding and comforting each other when no-one else seemed well enough to do the job.

When you ran to your brother’s house the second your first boyfriend broke up with you for a completely arbitrary reason, leaving you to cry on your nii-san’s shoulder to deal with your heartache.

“I told you he was no good for you, bunny. I knew from the start that something was wrong with him. There’s no one that’s good enough for my baby sister.”

Then it happened again. And again. And again, until it seemed like every partner you’ve ever had lost interest after the first few months of your relationship. It was devastating to feel unloved and unwanted, but at least you had your big brother to make everything better. Tamaki always reminded you how much he loved you, how smart and intelligent you were, how anyone would be lucky to have you, and the people who have dumped you were complete fools to not see what a gem you were.

And anyone would be lucky to have your big brother; you reminded him as well. The number seven pro hero who had finally blossomed into a confident, top-tier hero with a heart of gold. He was so strong, not to mention a heartthrob. Maybe it felt wrong to be jealous of the attention he gets from the media for his work along with his looks. Still, maybe it was because you knew better than anyone else that one day, the devotion he showed towards you would be the devotion he showed towards his own partner.

Not that you ever planned to tell him you didn’t want his undivided attention to be cast elsewhere, but just like everything else about your relationship, it flowed out naturally when you were crying about your recent first date that had ghosted you after dinner.

“Tama-nii, I’m never going to find someone! Why does no one want me?”

You sobbed into his chest, clinging to him like you did when you were a child, searching for the lost innocence of your youth in his arms. His strong hands embraced you without question, without judgment, as he kissed the top of your head tenderly while shushing you gently.

“Oh, bunny. That’s not true at all-”

What could he know about your struggle? The media treats him like the very man who hung the stars in the sky, and how could you blame them? He was the moon, the very embodiment of tenderness that waxes and wanes with a gentle, shimmering brilliance that you can’t help but hide in the shadows of.

“Yes, it is! What could you possibly know of not being wanted when you’re just going to end up leaving me like everyone else does?” His silence spoke louder than your own sobbing. “One day, you’ll find someone and leave me to be alone again because no one wants me!”

His hand, that touch you’ve become so familiar with, gently strokes your lower back.

“Who said I don't want you? You're making assumptions, little bunny.”

His words tickled your ear, got your heart racing as he quelled your cries of anguish. “Because I certainly do.”

Nimble fingers tilted your chin up to meet his soft gaze, lust clouding his eye like the calm before the storm.

“B-But not like that-”

“Exactly like that.”

His words lit a fire in your core, but forced ice to run through your veins. Your brother could never have you in the way you wanted him to, the way you needed him to.

“It's not that simple.” You choked out, straining to contain yourself from your fleeting desires. This fleeting feeling of weakness can't let you risk your relationship with your brother, or worse, let him be your everything for just a moment and watch him walk away when he's done. “We can't.”

“And why is that? Isn't it obvious that I'm not going anywhere unless I'm with you?”

His face inched closer to yours, a blush splattering his pale skin up to his ears.

“It’s wrong-”

Your eyes flicked to his lips for a brief moment as you found yourself frozen.

“Not if I love you.”

Plush lips sealed over yours, enveloping you in the tenderness you'd had always envied him for. The love, the obsession he had for you had come crashing down in waves over you as you kissed him back, eager to feed off his affection and attention.

Teeth and tongue clashed together in a messy display of the taboo; hips pushed flush against each other as you whined into his mouth, sobbing in the relief of finally feeling yearned for.

The question of whether or not it was right wasn't plaguing you anymore, not like it did you when you scorned yourself for the infectious desires that coiled in your core late at night. His love cleansed you, cured you of your ailment as his tongue and lips made their way to your neck.

Sweet nothings tickled your ear as he nibbled and kissed along your tender flesh, leaving bright pink spots in his loving wake. The tears from your eyes dripped onto his hair, but neither of you seemed to care.

“Don't cry, my love.”

His words were like a symphony, enthralling you with the melody that he carried in his voice and the song he sung to soothe your overwhelmed state. “Let your big brother take care of you, okay?”

Clothes were discarded in a flurry, tossed somewhere beyond the couch the two of you were grinding on. His hands were so strong, yet so gentle as you were carried like a princess, his princess, to his bed where he no doubt intended to indulge in every one of your desires.

Your knight in shining armor kissed you breathless under the moonlight that trickled through the window, casting his shadow over you. Even now, he stole the limelight but you couldn't find it in yourself to care this time, not when he touched you so lovingly.

Nimble fingers kneaded and pulled at your plump flesh, making their ways down to the wetness between your legs. Shame flushed your face as he throatily chuckled. “Wet for me already, imouto? You're flattering your nii-san.”

The pad of his thumb circled your clit gently, sharp eyes watching as your body jolted and twitched at the sensation. “You’re acting as though you've never been touched before.”

You hear the smile in his voice without even seeing it. It only served to flush your shame even further, avoiding the eyes that were fucking you with everything they had.

“Don’t take those pretty eyes off of me.”

His middle finger prodded gently at your hole, teasing the twitching thing with circles of his forefingers. Shyly, your eyes turned to him, begging, pleading for him to stop teasing already!

And how could he deny such an unspoken request from the love of his life? Tamaki already knew what you wanted before you even did, he always did. He’s been able to read you like a book, already knowing what would be on the next page before it was written.

Still, he liked to tease, or more so needed to. It would fuel him like no other to finally hear you beg for him, beg for the love only he knew how to give you. Not that he would be so selfish to deny you of all that you wanted, he was more than prepared to spoil his lovely princess.

But, the man couldn't deny the inklings of his insecurities coming back to bite him. There was a chance that you could regret this later, that you would run far from his reach the second the realization that you slept with your brother donned on you. Tamaki wouldn't have it, now or ever.

Your moans drew him back to the present as his finger pumped in and out of you, dragging along your spongy, wet walls that gripped him oh so nicely. He could hardly handle the anticipation of getting to feel you around his cock.

“N-Nii-san! I can't wait, want you inside!”

Your broken cry sent a shudder down his spine and a jump to his cock. Such a desperate little thing you were, but you were his desperate little thing.

Maneuvering the both of you, he sat you in his lap while holding your ass flush to his hips.

“You know what to do, pretty girl.”

Swallowing thickly, you pulled his cock out of his boxers and positioned yourself to sink down on it.

“Y-You’ll pull out, right?”

“Of course, imouto.”

That was all you needed. Determined to please him, you pushed just the tip in before sitting all the way down on it. A choked gasp filled the space as you felt the fullness of your brother’s cock inside of you.

“S-So full, nii-san!” He stretched you perfectly, letting any pain fade comfortably into pleasure.

It was then that Tamaki decided he would ruin you, not only for himself but for anyone else who dared to think they would be able to please you.

As you ground your hips down into his, you couldn't help but start to feel him grow inside you. Was this normal for sex?

“Ah! Hold on, it's really starting to hurt nii-san.”

Your hips lifted off of his, only to be slammed back down by those strong hands you've come to love.

“Just relax, princess. I'm doing this because I love you.”

Admittedly, this was his first time to try to manifest this part of his body, but he had to try for you, didn't he? Your future with him depended on it. The kiss he pressed to your temple was to soothe himself more than you, focusing on the horse meat he had eaten early that day just after you called him.

He shushed your struggles, hugging you close and stroking the ever-growing bulge in your stomach as he completed his manifestation.

“There we go.” He kissed your cries of the pain away. “It’s okay, you’re okay, princess.”

You had to understand that he was doing this for both of you. He’d ruin that cunt of yours, make it so no man other than Tamaki and his quirk could ever satisfy you.

“You were made to my cock, and mine alone, princess. I'll make you see that.”

The pain was nearly unbearable as he began to thrust up into you, hitting your cervix with the strange cock head he had produced. His hand stayed flush to the bulge on your stomach, stroking it gently as he pounded into you from below.

Your cries and moans meshed together in a perfect melody, one that was always destined to be sung by the both of you, together as one.

Neither of you were going to last long, not with his quirk in play.

“Oh God, I'm gonna cum, princess!” His thrusts became erratic, pounding into you with a new vigor.

“Y-You promised to pull out!” You cried in frustration, feeling his cum fill you up to the brim and dripping out of even with his cock still inside. Tamaki thumbed at your clit to help push you over the edge as he shrunk his cock back down, feeling you cum around him with a cry and shaky legs.

He pulled out, looking at the bulge his cum inside you left behind as he pushed on it gently, watching it gush out of you.

“Now no one else will ever want you.”