#code for sustainable homes

[southernassessors24]

Elevate sustainability with BREEAM expertise. Offering expert Air Testing in Kent, Dorset and London. Enhance your home's air quality today. Southern Assessors.

[mwebber]

finally homeeeee oh god. week 2 of law school done and it's hitting like an 18 wheeler. the thing they dont tell u about going 2 school for reading and discussing the faults of society is that when u finally get a break from reading and discussing the faults of society ur brain refuses to use any horsepower even remotely related to reading or the faults of society so u simply. Marinate. on the bright side though im totally free for the weekend!

[builder-4-hire-new-home-packages]

QC code to empcontracting.ca a sustainable, honest Canadian home builder and construction contractor

[esoteriamaya]

Astro thoughts : short n sweet <3 Jupiters Moment

Jupiter in the 1st - Beneficial factors play a lot with this group. However they have to work harder to get it. It is because their life is based of their beliefs, they have to work to maintain a certain mindset to keep the luck from straying away. Have beautiful spirits and are capable of anything, that is because they chose to walk that path & not by how easy it looks.

Jupiter in the 2nd - Needs peace & stability at all times. Good looking. Money making abilities are stagnant until they learn to grow with their consciousness. Not everything is what it seems, so try to be on the look out for something new and different. Thats when the luck begins. Take a risk, and use your intellect to get what you need.

Jupiter in the 3rd - Needs a lot more quiet time, hermit mode. Have gifts in astrology here. Some may op for a new path every few months or so. It's because their destined to know a lot in this life and go after anything that interests them at the moment. Could be open to trying new relationship tactics and going with the flow much easier. Have a different perspective than most & they dont keep quiet about it for long. Mature presence. Very odd but likeable at the same time.

Jupiter in the 4th - Royal family. Heritage & traditional values are stored in this vessel. Mysteries and traditional secrets from the family bloodline may come out at some time. This is a very special house placement because its so much to explore in a short time.

Have faith in your lineage, you're the one who breaks the code!

Jupiter in the 5th - Creativity flows through these cats like no other. Very special essence and can be well liked by almost anybody. This comes from their talents btw. If you're good at drawing, singing, dancing, acting, etc. You might catch a lot of attention on you at some point. This placement gives me Johnny Bravo energy. like you're capable of getting the girls to like you with just your looks and personality. Just dont get to happy, no body likes a super boastful guy ;)

Jupiter in the 6th - Unique flow when going after what they love. They work the hardest when its something they know is divinely ordered for them to achieve. They don't mean any harm, their just trying to get their needs met. Super optimistic when live seems to be in order and balanced. But when off balanced, it seems as if a fire has striking them and they become the great dragon. Don't stare at them to hard, they'll begin to overthink a lil.

Jupiter in the 7th - My my my, this is what I call a royal placement. Because this gifts an individual with a great sex life. Could be unattainable to say the least. You're not everyone's 'favorite' but your presence is also something that people want to receive. How that work? You have a value to you that keeps you at bay from onlookers that don't have nothing to give, but something to take. Be more weary with the company you keep, you don't know how good you got it, and how special you are.

Jupiter in the 8th - Very deep, raw personas who are captivated by the knowledge they receive in the dream realm. They have a lot of issues very psychologically, and this gets deeper with the maturing of their path. They have a light & dark persona but its given to sustain balance in this life & the after life. They have integrity and morals and most times it is based of tradition. Other times, their really a rebel, and go after everything they came for. Because what's a life to live when you can't live it freely?

Jupiter in the 9th - Free spirits and ultra loving character. Can be a bit of a know it all but thats fine. This house is their rightful home, so a lot of good energy can be bestowed on them from time to time. Great luck. Adventure is something they should seek from all ages of their life. It is good to have someone around when going on many great journeys of the soul. These people could be a friend you never forget.

Jupiter in the 10th - Likeable nature. Their personalities fit that of the audience they are naturally connected to. Very bountiful energy. Could look like they got it all going on, but deep inside you may not know the true darkness they carry. This is a capricorn ruled house, so they tend to battle some challenges here and there. But with great restraint & an amazing mindset to go with it they come back on top, each and every time.

Jupiter in the 11th - Sweet personas and balanced personalities. They could be in a lot of groups and can know a lot of people with just their smile and cool personality. They could end up being in groups where they are teaching something to a large mass of people. Could be very inspiring and open to anyone they meet.

Jupiter in the 12th - They feel things a lot heavier than most would like to believe. They see the world differently than their peers and this could make them the odd ball at times. Their personalities mesh well with artistic individuals because they've mastered the eye of sight. Meaning that their good at understanding things from a point of view only them and God could understand, but that doesn't mean that it can be explained. In other words, they are extremely complex to the human brain, not an individual you can describe. Very spiritual, very contagious energy. Bright speakers and just super angelic.

[reasonsforhope]

"At the University of Maine, one of the world’s largest 3D printers is using sawdust from the state’s lumber industry to 3D print cozy wooden cabins.

It’s part of a move towards making 3D printing faster and more sustainable in a state where the housing shortage that has metastasized in most states around the country is dire.

It’s thought that 80,000 new homes will be needed over the next 5 years to keep pace with demand, and though it takes years for building codes to be changed, the technicians at the Advanced Structures & Composites Center (ASCC) at the Univ. of Maine hope their new toy can help address this need.

Guinness World Records certified the machine at ASCC as the world’s largest prototype polymer 3D printer, capable of creating a 600 square foot house 96 feet in length, 36 feet in width, and 18 feet tall entirely out of bio-based material at a rate of 500 pounds per hour.

In 2022, it could print the walls, floors, and roof of the house in just 96 hours, but the ACSS has been refining the design with the hope of doubling the printing speed and getting it down to a 48-hour timeline.

“When they’re doing concrete, they’re only printing the walls,” Habib Dagher, the executive director of ACSS told CNN. “The approach we’ve taken is quite different from what you’ve seen, and you’ve been reading about for years.”

Indeed, GNN has reported on a fair number of 3D printing projects, but most if not all involve printing only the walls. One fantastical exception is an Italian firm that is 3D-printing domed, beehive-like, modular concept homes inspired by the Great Enclosure in Zimbabwe.

STAND-OUT 3D-PRINTING PROJECTS: 

First 2-Story Home to be 3D Printed in the U.S. Reaches for the Sky in Texas 

The World’s Largest 3D Printed Building is a Horse Barn That Can Endure Florida Hurricanes

This 23-Year-Old Founder is 3D Printing Schools in Madagascar Aiming to be a ‘Stepping Stone’ for the Community

A Startup Is Using Recycled Plastic to 3D Print Tiny $25,000 Prefabricated Homes in LA

The ASCC is calling the house design the BioHome3D, and says it’s rare people who tour the concept version don’t ask when they “can have one up?”

The interior gives the feel of a modern Scandinavian wooden cabin, making it fit well with the Maine aesthetic. The ASCC is now doing work on how to incorporate conduits for wiring and plumbing “exactly where an architect would want them,” says Dagher.

WATCH a time-lapse video of the printer doing the job…

-via Good News Network, August 16, 2024. Video via The University of Maine, March 3, 2023.

[liberaljane]

Reproductive labor is work -- typically designated to women -- that is required to sustain human life. It's unpaid, and is often invisible or unnoticed.

This includes tasks like cooking, cleaning, caring for children and more necessary to raise future generations. It's time to bring visibility to this labor, and acknowledge it for what it is: work. Far too many women and fems take on the bulk of household and domestic tasks in addition to having full time jobs -- also known as the 'second shift.' It's time to end gender inequality at home.

I was super excited to work with @Momcozy, who is working to provide comfort and companionship to parents from pregnancy through your child's early years. ❤️ parenthood is already hard enough, why not be comfy? their hands-free pump allow for on-the-go feeding and is designed with your body in mind.

There should be NO moral judgment given to how people choose to feed their children. Formula & chestfeeding are both valid. You have to do what’s best for you, your baby and your life

💚 Wanna try their products yourself? Momcozy is offering 10% off with code LIBERALJANE

* * Image description: Digital illustration of six parents doing different jobs related to chestfeeding. Around the circle shows, 'pumping, bottle warming, feeding, cleaning, storage and burping.' In the center there is text that reads, 'every mom is a working mom.'

[luveline]

hey! would you mind writing sirius black x reader (ole flame or something) when they meet for the first time since azkaban at a meeting for the order? thank you and happy holidays!

thank u for requesting, hope this is OK! ♡

—you and sirius both get to go home eventually, 2.2k. fem

You were still kids when Sirius… went away. You thought he hurt James and Lily, and it didn't matter that you loved him because he was evil and cruel and he hurt the people he loved most in the world, and then you were outposted thousands of miles eastward, your life a shadow. 

Remus sent you letters. You always answered, even when it hurt, but his last was too much to believe. You told yourself that someone forged his handwriting through a curse or some new gimmick, and then a second arrived with a smaller envelope hidden inside. 

No name written on it. No Dear anything to begin. 

Things are different to what you've been told. Please come home, it said. This penmanship was shaken like a hand out of practice, but something felt familiar in the curves and dots. 

If Remus’ letter (and the second smaller one too) were in fact telling the truth, it means you did something awful, and so, for a while, you don't go. 

Please, the next letter says, again enclosed within a larger explanation from Remus, I'm sorry. I just want to see you again. 

Getting home isn't as simple as he might think. You have to picture the destination very clearly to disapparate, and you have no sustained recollection anymore of the places you used to go. You remember silly things, slices of memories; the four of them laughing in a big green field, the sweet smell of hair oil to your left; the beige walls of a rented flat where you'd lay in bed for hours, sometimes days at a time, before things got too terrible to sleep; a string-lit garden that last summer, hands of poker on a glass table. These places aren't real anymore. You can't go back to them. 

Upon your request, Molly forwards you an address and a secret code. 

Trains, buses, trains again. A long walk through a cold street. Some secret this or that. You arrive in the night and a frowning face ushers you in, past a painting sealed away and up the creaking stairs. You spend hours sitting on the end of a bed coated in dust waiting for the sun to rise, your back stiff with nerves. You could slip out before anyone else knows you're here, it's not as if Moody would give you away. But why did you come, if you were going to run straight back to your outpost? 

You don't want Sirius’ betrayal to be true, of course. It took your breath away imagining what it would mean if he hadn't done what you thought. If it's all lies (as it seems to be), if he's innocent as he and Remus claim, it means you turned your back on him and left him to suffer, and he's still asking you to come home. 

A few people stir for breakfast. Molly, who's voice you remember, and some younger sounding ones that may be her children, or perhaps the newer Order recruits. Then comes Remus’ voice. He sounds different. Less Welsh, more tired. Homely anyways as he passes your door with someone beside him. 

“...any day now,” he's saying, “try not to worry.” 

“I do worry. I've worried about it every day for years.” 

You freeze up. 

The stairs creak, Remus’ voice moving further away. “She doesn't need worrying.” 

Sirius must stay at the top of the stairs for a moment. He sounds close. “I wouldn't know what she needs.” 

“Come have some breakfast.” 

“I'll write her again.” 

“After breakfast.” 

“What if she doesn't come?” 

“After breakfast,” Remus insists. “She can ignore you once we've had toast.” 

“I forgot how funny you are,” Sirius mutters. 

Hearing his voice fills you with doubt. He sounds nothing like he used to, no easy confidence to be heard, just fatigue. 

You look down at your hands. Hearing his voice has a new emotion sprouting, too. When you first learned what had happened to your friends, you felt anger like a knife everywhere you went. How could he do that to them? How could he do it to you, be that person, ruin everything you'd loved and made together? But later, when anger faded and grief ached, you'd missed the Sirius you loved. Shamefully, in longing pangs, you'd toss and turn to dreams where things were different. 

Now there's a chance he might still be that person, and you're hiding from him in his own house. 

“There's someone here,” Molly says as you leave your room, her voice nearly too quiet to hear from the kitchen. “Moody's told me this morning.” 

“What?” Arthur asks. 

“Who?” a younger voice says. 

A small intermission of quiet. “Well, I don't know,” Molly says eventually, though she must have guessed it was you from the letter you sent. “But I'll need another loaf of bread. You'd better go, boys.” 

“Mum,” one whines. 

“Come on now.” 

The stairs whimper as you descend, the bannister sticky with old gloss under your hand. Paisley wallpaper and drapes catch your eye as you pass the overflowing shoe rack. There must be more people here than you'd thought. The coat stand is similarly overloaded. 

You can see into the kitchen as soon as you take the last step down. Molly stands wringing a dish cloth between her hands, two teenage boys at the kitchen table. Remus stands near her right with a cup of tea, and when he sees you, he genuinely smiles. 

“Oh, good,” he says, the scar that bisects his lip pulling as he takes a sip of tea. 

The teenagers turn to see you. “Bread, boys! Arthur, you can go with them," Molly says.

Arthur doesn't complain. You falter in the hallway, quiet as the trio of Weasley's leave the kitchen in their slippers to take a quiet exit from the front door. They smile politely as they go, but the boys whisper as the door shuts behind them. You wonder if they have an inkling of who you are, and then you wonder what you might say now they're gone. 

Molly remains, inquisitive to know that you need privacy but also the security of her company. She was always smart like that.

“Come in, then,” Remus says. 

“I–” You clear your throat. “I'm not sure I should.” 

A startle of silverware against china. 

Remus gives you one of his looks. It has tears threatening to well. Why didn't I fight to see him more? you think. Suddenly years have passed and he's changed, but his reassuring glances remain. It's like he's saying everything is fine, why wouldn't everything be fine? Chin up, dove.

Sirius appears in the doorway. Dark circles beneath grey eyes, his cheeks gaunt with hunger rather than the sleek sharpness he once possessed. He's still pretty, if wounded. It's as though you've found an old photo of him that's been smudged with age. He's stepped out of one of your moulding albums to haunt you. 

“Angel,” he breathes, his hand clasped low on the doorway, “you're here.” 

You look past him to Molly and Remus. There isn't a reality nor dimension where they'd let him stay here if they didn't believe his innocence. Remus explained it all in the letter and still you worried if he might have gotten it wrong, and simply believed what he wanted to believe, but it's not possible. Remus loved James so much, he would've killed Sirius himself if he really thought Sirius was the secret keeper who betrayed them. 

So. It's a relief to be home. 

You stare at him. “You look tired,” you say quietly. 

“I'm fine. I am.” 

He seems alright, considering. You'd even say he was handsome with his hair pushed away from his face, a dark shadow of stubble around his mouth, but he looks exhausted.  

You're expecting him to say what you'd say. How could you ever think I'd do it? 

Sirius was prone to similar bouts of pride, or righteousness, justice, whatever you want to call it, but he doesn't bother with that now. He looks at you as though you're the only person on earth, gaze narrowed but eyes wide, pain between his brows as he asks, “What's wrong?” 

Your hand finches up to your cheek to wipe the sudden tear away. “I thought I'd never see you again.” Your Sirius. 

“Don't be upset,” he pleads. 

“How can I not be? I left you all alone for so long.” 

He laughs roughly. “Sweetheart, what were you supposed to do?” 

“Not just give up.” 

“You thought it was me. That's the only thing you could've done. Either of you,” he says, gesturing backward with his hand. “It was hard… to know who to trust, at the end. It's not your fault.” 

You really were only kids together, not half as in love as James and Lily, but that doesn't mean you weren't mad for each other. He looked after you. You would've had a life, you think. 

“You were just gone,” you say, looking down at the floor between you, eyes tracing lines of wood grain. “Everyone. There was nobody left. And I just let you go.” 

“Do you want to come here?” he asks. You lift your head. His hand is barely in front of him, fingers open, palm up. 

It's like taking a stranger's hand for the first few seconds. You keep them low between you both, unfamiliar to each other. But, you find, as his fingers wrap around yours in that selfish way they used to do, squeezing rather than intertwining to make all of them fit, he remembers you.

You step a little closer, your arm to his chest, and look up at him through your lashes. It would melt him like a candle near a furnace, this look. He'd be smug or seething about something and you'd sidle in to stand between his shoes, unsure of what to say but determined to be there for him. It's the same now.  

“What's wrong?” he asks under his breath. 

“I left you all alone,” you repeat. 

“It wasn't your choice, okay?” He smooths his free hand from your elbow to your upper arm. 

Molly says something to Remus. He chuckles and says something in return. Happier to admit it if it's only for Sirius’ ears, you say, “I'm really sorry, Sirius. I miss you every day.” 

“I miss you too,” he says. 

You push your arms around his waist and hide your face in his chest, feeling for the lines of who he used to be, the dip of his spine in his back or the soft cotton of one of his old t-shirts. You regret hugging him at all, until he puts his arm behind your head, a shaky breath released against your crown. 

I'm scared, he'd said. But I don't want you to be scared, okay? Barely twenty, he smelled of the sticky red powder on the end of matches after a night doing things he couldn't tell you about. You could tell him you loved him, and he you, but you weren't to discuss Order business. We'll be okay. 

But Lily–

Everyone's going to be fine. I promise. 

“You promised,” you say to yourself. Too quiet for him to hear, but he does. 

“I promised you so many things I'm not sure what one you mean,” he says with a disappointed laugh. 

You pull away, taking his face into two hands. “How do you feel?” you ask, ignoring the tremble working up from your wrists. 

“What?” His eyes are dark. 

“How are you? Did they– I mean, are you okay? Are you sick?” 

“Remus has patched me up. And Cordelia, the medwitch, you know her?” 

“I don't know anyone. I've been away.” 

He nods sadly. “Yeah. Well, you look the same.” 

“I don't.” 

“You do! You look the same,” —he almost sounds happy, his lips curling into a smile— “sweetheart. Sweetheart–” He closes his eyes. 

You push his hair behind his ears. “You don't look the same,” you confess, “you have wrinkles, right… here.” You touch the corners of his eyes. 

“You're still beautiful.” 

“Mm. You can't even see me.” 

“I don't need to see you. I knew you would be.” 

You rise up to kiss his cheek gently. “It's like you're back, like– like, I always felt like you were gone. And now you're home again. You are home, aren't you?” 

He covers your hand with one of his. “You're here, so–” 

You laugh together nervously. “Yeah, I'm here.” 

“I have stuff to do to make it right.” 

“Then we'll do it.” 

“Okay,” he says. He swallows a breath, and wraps you in a surprisingly tight hug. “Did you read my letters?” 

I don't want anything from you. Just to see you're okay. 

“I read them. I'm okay. Don't I look okay?” 

“You look perfect. Just like the last time I saw you,” he says. It startles you how suddenly he sounds like he did when you were young, his flirting drawl, voice velveteen. 

“Not like that,” you laugh. 

He pulls you as close as you can be, rough now, his arms solid around you. “I missed that,” he says, rubbing your back. “I forgot how you sound when you laugh.” 

You've led very different lives. “I didn't forget yours.” 

“You wouldn't. You love having things to hold against me.” 

You stroke his hair. “Maybe a little.” 

[samkerrworshipper]

nails | katie mccabe x reader

warnings: absolute smutty filth, cunnilingus, dildos, strap ons, fluffiness

Katie clunked her way through the hallway, so incredibly desperate just to set her eyes on you. She had just gotten back from Ireland camp, and you were always the best part of returning. You made her feel at home, no matter where she was. The warmth of your smile, the way you made any room light up, the way your body felt against hers, the way you did absolutely everything to make Katie feel like she was as exceptional as you thought she was. She slung her bag down next to the front door, slipping her shoes off and toeing them onto the rack that you had put beside the door to try and organise Katie’s slightly excessive shoe collection.

You heard the front door closing behind her, and felt an overwhelming happiness wash over you. You waited patiently by the stove top, stirring the pot of Carbonara, one of Katie’s favourites, your dish almost done and ready for the two of you to sit down and eat. You always loved to welcome Katie home with a meal that reminded her of home, reminded her of family and memories with you. The carbonara was an old recipe of her mothers, that had been given to you when Katie had sustained an ankle injury and had been specifically yearning for her family and her mothers food. You’d tried your hardest to make the house as homey as possible, lighting candles all over your lounge room and kitchen, folklore playing faintly in the background, most of the lights turned down so that the house was nice and calm. It was always smartest to stimulate Katie as little as possible after camp, she was so tired, so overworked, so sore from the tireless work of captaining her team fearlessly, when she came home you tried to let her be as vulnerable with you as she needed.

You shivered a little bit when Katie’s arms wrapped around your waist, around one of her hoodies that she’d left you with as a reminder of her. She pressed her head into your neck, taking a deep breath of you, your scent, your warmth, your body, you. She could get drunk off of just your scent, off of your energy, you were absolutely everything to her, everything to her in every single universe.

“Smells good.”

Katie’s voice was a rumble against your neck, an almost silent murmur quietened by the skin her lips were pressed against. She pressed a litter of pecks across the skin, finding solace in the feeling of your golden skin.

“It’s almost done.”

Katie slipped her hands under her hoodie that you were wearing, there was nothing she loved more than seeing you in her clothes, you went from a 10 to an 11 when you chose to adorn one of her old Ireland hoodies or jerseys when you came to watch her play. She raked her hands up and down your hips, positively enraptured by the feeling of having you back in her arms. All of a sudden though, you pivoted on your heels, turning with wide eyes to look at Katie, one of your own hands dropping to grasp hers and drag it out from under the material, revealing something absolutely treacherous.

“What the fuck are these?”

Katie’s lip rose up into a smirk, the tips of her lips curving upwards as she studied the complete shock and horror that had washed over your face, your eyes searching her hands furiously as you took in Katie’s new addition.

“Whatcha talking about darl?”

You glared at Katie, pulling her hand up to her own face so she was forced to look at the monstrosities that were now attached to your girlfriend.

“Are you cheating on me?”

Katie’s face dropped at your accusation.

“Darling of course not, why would you ask that?”

Katie Irish drawl was heavy as she rushed to defend herself, you just glared back at her.

“Girlfriend code, we don’t do long nails, what the actual fuck are these?”

You glared at Katie’s bright green, glittery talons. They were quite pretty, you could admit that, but they were fucking long, and terrifyingly sharp looking, the square cut gel reflecting and staring back up at you like a wild animal about to attack.

“We all got them after the Albania game baby, to celebrate, what was I supposed to do?”

Your eyes widened in absolute shock and annoyance at your girl's puppy dog eyes.

“Say no, say that your girlfriend is going to make you sleep on the couch until you go and get them removed.”

Katie’s pout only grew bigger, her eyes positively shining as she bit her lip and frowned at you.

“Baby, are you scared that I can’t pleasure you without my hands?”

Your breath hitched in your throat as your eyes almost burst open with the implication from Katie’s words.

“If you think that I’m letting you anywhere near my pussy with those things as extremities than your fucking wrong McCabe, I’m serious about you sleeping on the couch until their removed from your body.”

Katie just rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around your waist only for you to shake them off and turn back to the stove, returning to stirring the pasta and sauce mix in the pot.

“Baby, you are seriously doubting my abilities if you think that I rely on my fingers to make you happy.”

The sex when Katie got back from camp was incomparable, absolutely exquisite. The two of your bodies just connected, and when you’d been away from each other for extended periods of time re learning the feeling of each other's body was always unbeatable, there was a relaxed rhythm to it, something so incredibly beautiful and real about it. It was raw, sometimes there were tears, or sweet nothings whispered under the light of the stars and confessions of love. It was everything that the poets wrote about, everything that you heard about when your grandparents told you about falling in love with someone. That was why you felt so royally betrayed in this moment, you could never be mad at Katie for very long, even on the days she decided to be a complete dickhead, but right now you were pissed off and if Katie was smart she would have left you alone, but she decided to push it.

She entwined her hands around your waist, hanging them loosely below your hips and before you could protest, pressing her lips to your neck and beginning to suck on the skin. You froze at the complete shock from the sensation, there was nothing you wanted more than to give in, but the stubbornness in your veins wouldn’t allow you too. You shook Katie off of your body.

“The table is set, I’m about to plate up, go and sit down.”

Your verse was stern, almost mom-like, something that sent shivers down Katie’s spine and had her heading directly towards your dining table, in an uncharacteristically shy manner. She hated when she pissed you off, hated it even more when it was for particularly stupid reasons.

She wasn’t left by her lonesome for long, you followed her to the table fairly quickly, two bowls of pasta and garlic bread in your hands. You carried them like a waitress, a talent that Katie had never been sure how’d you’d acquired but she was grateful all the same. You placed her bowl down in front of her before taking your own seat, directly across from Katie.

“So, how was the flight?”

As much as you were ticked off with Katie, dinner was always a truce. It was the half an hour every night that the two of you had to yourselves, where you could talk about your day or the game or anything else that was going on. It was what you and Katie had agreed on when you’d gotten married, that no matter how hard either of your days had been, you would always sit down for dinner together.

“We had some turbulence, but it was fine.”

Katie was quick to tuck into her meal, she always was, you swore she was always hungry.

“How are you feeling, body, arm, head? I could have picked you up from the airport if you needed me too.”

You were constantly worried about Katie. As the Arsenal physio, and as her wife. You hated always being the worried wife on the sidelines, especially watching games like the Albania one were the conditions were anything but playable.

“I didn’t want to bother you, the tricep is sore and I have to go get scans tomorrow just to check that it hasn’t worsened any more.”

You nodded, you already knew that, you were Katie’s physio, you were consulted on all of her medical things but it comforted you somehow hearing anything come out of Katie’s mouth, you could spend hours just listening to her voice filling a room.

“You’d never bother me, better than you catching an uber or whatever.”

Communication with Katie was an ongoing work in progress, even years into your relationship she still struggled to voice her needs sometimes. She was just the kind of girl who always worried about everyone but herself, she was always obsessed with putting your needs above her own, and it drove you insane sometimes.

“It was fine, Lucy dropped me home. How have the pups been?”

You and Katie fell into comfortable conversation whilst you ate, talking about your work with the acl crew and Katie’s work with the Irish team, it was a comfortable lull, just pure interest between the two of you.

“I’ve set up a movie and snacks on the couch.”

The topic arose when the both of you had finished with dinner, Katie had tried to pick up the dishes but you refused, it was her night to relax and you were happy to deal with the dishes for one night.

Katie padded off to the lounge room and you rushed into the kitchen, rising off the dishes and sliding them into the dishwasher as quickly as humanly possible before jogging through to the living room to join Katie on the couch.

She welcomed you with open arms, draping the blankets over your body before clicking play on Happy Gilmore. You let Katie take the lead on wrapping her arms around you, her long strong arms enveloping you and making you seem like a dwarf in her arms.

You didn’t even make it through the starting credits before Katie’s hands started to roam, her nails travelling down from your hips, to your sweatpant covered thighs, then back up to your covered hips and ribs, slowly raking up and down. It was so slow that it was almost unnoticeable, especially underneath the fluffy blanket that the two of you were enjoying, but you felt it. You tried to ignore it, didn’t allow your body to react to Katie’s clear want, but when her hands made it to the inside of your thighs you couldn’t help but pivot from off of your ass, up onto your knees and straddling Katie’s hips.

“I told you no until those talons aren’t a part of you.”

You tried to keep your face as stern as possible, the voice you used with the girls on the team when you were working them through their pt plans in the gym.

“Baby, you can’t be serious, do you really think that I can’t please you without using my hands?”

You kept your face stern, even with the slightly taboo topic that Katie was broaching, that would normally have you breaking out into a fit of giggles or smiles.

“Katie, those things are fucking terrifying, what are they, one, two inches?”

You pulled her hands up again, measuring the lengths of her nails besides your own fingers, the extra extensions on her fingers almost being as long as the distance between your first knuckle and second one. It was terrifying, the kind of nails that drag queens wore. Katie and you had never had this issue, the both of you worked in professions that meant you couldn’t have long nails. Yours was personal preference, considering the amount of massages you gave every day it was just easier to keep your nails short, and normally Katie’s nails were short for football, so this problem had never arose, but now it was and it was horrific.

“Baby, there are things in our drawer that are far bigger, I never would have seen you as being scared of a little size, especially considering our dildo collection.”

You flushed at Katie’s cocky words, it was true, you weren’t exactly a stranger to bigger sized… toys, but her nails were hardly toys, they were fucking weapons.

“Katie I am not joking.”

She smirked from her position below you, a big broad grin that you so desperately wanted to kiss off of her face, but you kept your self restraint.

“But baby, I got you a new one whilst I was away, Ireland green like my nails.”

You shivered directly from your core, straight up to your spine, the trembles crossing across every bone and nerve in your body.

“Katie, go to your room.”

She rolled her eyes at your attempt at chastising her, she knew that you were on your last thread, so close to being tipped over the edge, she was so good at doing that, compromising you when you least wanted to.

“But baby, don’t you want to show me how good you can ride my dick?”

As soon as the words left her mouth you were a goner, and she knew it, she was so fucking cocky like that.

“Katie.”

Your words came out as a whine, something that Katie was slightly satisfied with but also took as her cue.

“What do you call me, baby? Don’t whine at me, you want me to show you how good I am without my hands? Then let me baby, let me treat your pussy so well and prove to you that I definitely don’t need my hands to please my wifey.”

Katie’s thick Irish accent was laid on so deep, just the way that made you drip from your core and everywhere.

“Daddy.”

This time you were rewarded by being silenced with her lips, her hips reaching upwards to meet your own, so she had the leverage to kiss you. It was a dominating kiss, one that Katie very quickly took control of, her tongue slipping into your mouth and brushing against the back of your mouth as she roughened the kiss and started to find rhythm in the movements against your lips. It was then, when you were at your very weakest that Katie’s hand reached up under your shirt, swiftly un-clipping your bra and her hands going directly to your nipples, toying with the metal bar almost immediately. It had been Katie’s idea for you to get them, and you happily agreed once you realised just how much it would please her. The process had been painful, and the recovery had been hell, but once they had healed they had easily become Katie’s favourite part of you. She loved every part of you, but absolutely no part of your body would compare to your boobs. One tug at the cold metal had you moaning openly into her mouth, it was almost embarrassing, the amount of control Katie had over you even from below you, but right now you weren’t really bothered, just completely obsessed with the feeling of having Katie’s undivided attention on you.

“Get up baby, let me get on my knees for you and show you exactly what this mouth can do.”

Katie removed her lips from your mouth pushing you up off of her hips so you were flung down onto the couch, Katie slipping off of the pillows and down onto the floor, directly onto her knees and not minding very much about the fact that her body seemed to ache a little bit more from her position. She didn’t waste any time thinking about her achy muscles though, instead getting straight to work and pulling your legs apart so she could sit in between your legs.

She reached for the hem of your sweatpants, finding absolutely zero pushback from you as you lifted up our hips to allow her to slip the pants and your thong out from under you. She was remwarded with the positively dripping sight of your pussy, your desire glistening all over your lips and the trimmed bush that covered your mound.

“So wet baby, and I haven’t even touched you, going to show you just how much I can do without these fingers.”

Katie’s hand snaked its way back up your stomach, finding it’s way back up to your boob and fondling it gently with her fingers and blunt nails. The sensation was amazing, something that you would never even dream of feeling.

“Katie please- just fucking do something.”

Katie’s eyes darted up to you, her head cocking at you.

“Baby, I know that you haven’t seen me in a few weeks, but that’s no way to ask me to help you out, you can either do it the nice way, and beg like a good girl, or you’ll get nothing at all.”

Katie’s spare hand fell to your thigh, kneading the skin gently with her thumb, looking up at you with patient eyes and a cocked eyebrow.

“Please daddy, please, please use your tongue on me and show me how good you can make me feel, please.”

Normally, when Katie was feeling like being a little bit tougher, when she was being calculated and cunning about riling you up she’d asked for more, but neither of you had the energy or patience for that, tonight just wasn’t one of the nights where you would do laps of teasing, tonight was about you having your brains fucked out by a very horny Katie.

“Such a good girl when you use your words, hmm?”

The feeling of Katie’s breath on your dripping warmth was incredible, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of her tongue connecting with your lips. Just because she didn’t feel like riling you up verbally didn’t mean that she wasn’t up to riling you up with her tongue, and she did just that. She started with the outside of your lips, her tongue flattening out to cover as much skin as possible, which should have been amazing, but it was nowhere near enough stimulation for you, and you told her as much with your hand securing on the roots of her ponytail and trying to direct her to the part of you that yearned for her the most.

Katie didn’t budge though, she was stubborn and didn’t let anyone boss her around in the bedroom, especially you. She pulsated her tongue against your skin, leaving you desperatw for more, and just when she began to feel your thighs clenching, seeking more, she finally met your pool of wetness.

You cried out in ecstasy, the sound of your moans filling your living room as your hands found whatever part of Katie, clutching onto her and holding on for dear life, enjoying the ride that was your pleasure high.

Katie’s tongue moved back and forth from your hole and sensitive bud, her intensity and approach changing between the two spots as she towed you closer to the edge, your moans and clenching hole a clear sign of the ecstasy cloud that you were approaching. Just as your moans started to get breathier, and your legs started to tighten around Katie’s head, did she remove her mouth. It was absolute agony for you, and you let her know with the annoyed cry that left your lips as soon as she lost contact with you.

“Fuck, Katie, fuck, not fair, was so close, fuck me.”

Katie smirked up at you, she knew that you wouldn’t love her for leaving you on the edge, but she also knew the two of you were far too tired to go for multiple rounds, and she wanted to rock your world in multiple ways before the both of you collapsed for the night, and if that meant depriving you of your orgasm once, then she wasn’t completely opposed.

“Go to the bedroom, strip on the bed, I think it’s about time I introduce you to our new friend.”

Even though you felt slightly legless on your fucked out body, you rushed off towards the master bedroom, terrified that if you took too long you would be robbed of whatever it was that Katie had planned for you. You flung her hoodie off and onto the floor of your bedroom, not really bothered whatsoever about the uncleanliness of your actions and more concerned with the wetness that was now dripping down your legs, a mixture of Katie’s slobber and your own arousal.

Just as you had climbed onto the bed, Katie sauntered in, and you swore that your eyes almost popped out of your head at the sight that you were gifted with, it was truly a picture worthy of being hung in the Louvre.

Your wife, standing butt ass naked in front of you, besides the deep Ireland green glittery dildo that was hanging from between her legs. You almost came just from the sight, a big lump developing in your throat as Katie strutted towards you. There was a lot to take in, the fact that she’d seemingly coordinated her nails with the dildo, or vice versa. The fact that it looked about two inches longer than anything you’d ever taken, and at least an inch wider, and the image that was Katie walking like a model on a runway directly to you. She had the cheshire grin plastered to her face, it only grew the closer she got to your bedside.

“Move, I want you to ride me, you can use the head board as support.”

You just nodded at her, like a complete goldfish as you shifted away from the pillows to allow her to take a seat against the head board, the dildo jutting up shamelessly from the spot between her legs.

“C’mon cowgirl, don’t make me wait.”

You jumped into action, climbing into Katie’s lap and hovering on top of the dildo, securing one of your hands on the edge of the headboard and one on Katie’s shoulder. It was then that she began to push you down onto the silicone dick, slowly impaling you on the bright green toy.

“Ngnh, fuck Daddy, so good, fill me up please.”

Katie could never say no to you, especially when you asked so politely, so she continued to ease you down onto the dick, allowing you to feel every single ridge and bump across the shaft and feel the stretch that your pussy was very quick to adjust to and accommodate.

It didn’t take much force from Katie to get you to take the whole dick, the centre of gravity doing most of the work to get you down and sat directly onto Katie. Once your pussy did suck in the whole thing, Katie allowed you to adjust for as long as you needed, her lips meeting your own in a bruising kiss that left both of your lips kiss swollen when you broke a part to begin moving.

Katie’s favourite position was having you ride her, there was something so personal about it, and she loved the reaction that it got from you.

Your knuckles turned ghost white as you began to slide up and down the length of Katie’s dildo, moans that were more sinful then the devil flowing freely from your mouth as you started to ride her and grind down against her hips. Katie just watched in awe and complete appreciation, the sight of you, an absolute sexual goddess of her dreams sliding up and down a glittery green dildo was something that she never would have even thought up in her wildest dreams. Your head thrown back in ecstasy, your long blonde locks flying in every which way as you began to ride out the high that you’d been so desperate for.

“Fuck-fuck, daddy can I cum? Please fuck, please can I cum all over your dick?”

Katie figured that she’d edged you once, and whilst she knew you could withstand far more than that, it wasn’t what either of you needed tonight, you needed tender kisses, sweet nothings, soft gestures that the two of you always shared after a little bit too long apart.

“Cum baby, I’ve got you.”

If your knuckles hadn’t already been white against the headboard then they whitened even further, complete overwhelming white that seemed to cloud your vision and put stars across your eyes as you shuddered in Katie’s arms, the overwhelming feeling of your orgasm washing over you and leaving you completely limp in her arms. Once you’d come down and the aftershocks had rid themself of your body Katie very gently lifted you up off of the toy and placed your boneless body down on the comforter beside her, slipping the harness of her hips quickly and then wrapping her arms directly around you, allowing you to waken from your haze in the warmth of her muscles and body.

“What did I say, I’m a woman of great talents even when my hands aren’t in use.”

Katie’s joke fell on almost deaf ears, your body to blissed out to even truly begin to acknowledge what she was saying to you.

“Shove it McCabe, unless you don’t want round two in the morning before you go to the nail salon then I’d move to cuddling your wife and telling her just how much you missed her and just what was going through your mind when you were buying that dildo.”

Katie’s face lit up, her arms lifting the cuvet over your bodies as she began to whisper all of rhe deep fantasies that had been playing through her mind in the time that you’d spent apart, fantasies that you were sure would be reenacted in the morning or tomorrow night after some much needed tlc.

[pinkmirth]

I think we need some headcanons of cowboy Reiner

— ( save a horse, ride a cowboy! )

༉‧₊˚. — synopsis: just a cluster of fluffy and smutty headcanons for none other than the love of my life, cowboy reiner!

༉‧₊˚. — contains: (2k words of…) cowboy!reiner x fem!reader, (black coded), fluff, nsfw/smut, modern au, southern setting, established relationship (married), fantasies of having a child, breeding kink (‘cause this is reiner we’re talking about duh!), mentions of pregnancy, bondage kink, oral (m!receiving/blowjob), cowgirl position, doggy-style, creampie, reiner calls himself “daddy”, use of the petnames (mama, sugar, darling, honey, cowgirl), reiner calls you “woman” once, lowercase intended, minors shoo!

༉‧₊˚. — mira’s note: oh absolutely, nonnie! here are some thoughts I have on cowboy rei-rei 💕 (check masterlist for other reiner fics!)

this man is always covered head-to-toe in classic cowboy attire— embroidered cowboy boots, blue denim jeans with a lasso hanging from his belt loop, and a trusty old cowboy hat. he’s got the whole getup, and he looks even sexier in it every time you see him! though, his best look by far is the shirtless one. it’s the highlight of your day when whenever it gets too warm outside, because he’s soon to peel off his top. from across the farm, he can feel your eyes burning into his lightly-tanned skin as he does the most mundane chores. his muscles tense and flex with every move, pecs gleaming with sweat. he shoots you a smirk, folding his arms across his bare chest. “y’like what ya see, honey?” you pray the weather’s even hotter tomorrow.

it warms his heart whenever you come around to watch him do his daily chores around the farm. your presence motivates him to work harder, so he can continue to provide for you and sustain your comfortable lifestyle. you try not to be too much of a distraction, but you can’t help wanting to be closer to your husband; so you tug at his leather belt and pull him in for a kiss. that gets him giddy like nothing else. “ya know how much i love it when y’do that… gimme another,” he puckers his lips, and you giggle. “i don’t wanna keep you sidetracked for too long, rei. you were busy before i got here,” you caress his stubbled cheek and he pouts in response, leaning forward to receive another pillowy kiss. “jus’ one more, mama.”

cowboy reiner loves to cook and bake! he often goes on farmer’s market dates with you, walking hand in hand as you help him pick out the freshest ingredients and spices. you chat and laugh amongst one another, dropping carrots and apples into the hand-woven basket that reiner made for you. after arriving back home, he allows you to relax in yours and his shared bedroom while he whips together a hearty southern meal for the two of you. he shouts from across the house, adorned in nothing but a short pair of checkered boxers and a flimsy apron, “supper’s ready, darlin’! come on down ‘n eat!”

he’s great with animals! reiner cradles an adorable month-old horse in his strong arms, feeding milk to the baby with a soft smile. it’s just about the sweetest thing you could ever see! all the little foals follow him around the ranch because they love papa reiner just as much as you do <3 he’s built something of a connection between himself and his beloved herd, which is why he’s able to bring the horses over to their stables with no hassle whatsoever. this man could practically be a veterinarian with all the animal knowledge he has!

he’s a locally known rodeo champion! reiner wins the prize for longest bull-riding every single year. he should allow someone else a fighting chance, at least 😭 but he’s just effortlessly good at anything he puts his mind to! he skillfully rides the beast with such ease, leaving the crowd in awe. courtesy of his natural-born strength, he hardly ever gets tossed off. reiner’s got medals galore hanging on his wall from every competition.

as a southern man, he’s very family-oriented. his loved ones are of the utmost importance to him, and he’ll always put family first before anything else. he utterly adores you, and can’t wait to start a tiny lil family of his own with you <3 when I tell you this man cannot wait to be a papa, I mean it! there’s no denying that reiner would be an amazing father, considering that he’s so caring and attentive. he knows the best tickle spots to target, and the silliest faces to make to get a child cracking up (both of which he discovered through spending lots of time with gabi when she was small.) he constantly daydreams about dressing up his little one in tiny boots and overalls and carrying them up on his shoulders. (yes, I’m pushing the daddy rei-rei agenda on this fine weekend!)

cowboy reiner has manners like none other— the epitome of a true gentleman! he’s a great listener, is always so patient, opens doors for you, pays for your things without hesitation, gives frequent massages, carries you when you begin to feel tired; the list goes on! he’s just so kind and selfless, and never fails to show it. cowboy rei-rei is truly the perfect husband. “your feet hurt? well c’mere, sugar. i’ll carry you. it ain’t too much for me, y’know i can handle ya! jus’ hold onto me. i gotcha, okay?”

cowboy reiner is a grown man who can wholly appreciate your body and every striking detail about it. he scrutinizes the small dotted beauty marks scattered across your skin, your cutely patterned stretch marks, the curves and crevices of your soft tummy and thighs, and he fucking loves it all. makes it a habit to kiss up and down your body, just to give you a well-needed confidence boost. this man right here surely knows how to make a woman feel special! “listen t’me— you’re so fuckin’ gorgeous, y’know that?”

(nsfw) — reiner loves when you treat him to a surprise blowie during work. he’s up to the usual, arranging things around the barn and tending to the animals. you then make your entrance, wrapping your arms around his waist to hug him from behind. your plump lips curve into a sensual smile as you ask him, “can I steal you for a moment, baby? it won’t be for too long, I swear it.” in an instant, he's allowing you to pull him away from his duties, unknowing of where you’re taking him, but also uncaring because he’d allow you to do whatever you please. he follows you with the goofiest smile plastered on his charming face, because he knows that he’s about to receive the most knee-buckling blowjob of his entire goddamn life. you bring him into the hayloft, pushing him against the red-painted wall until he’s flat against it. you drop to your knees and bring his jeans down with you. “fuck, darlin’… kiss the tip ‘fa me.” he moans lowly. you do as he wishes, suckling on his cockhead with the most beautiful, glistening eyes. you’re so eager to please, and it makes him throb on your tongue. with a hand at the back of your head, he guides you further onto him until you’ve swallowed the entirety of his fat dick. reiner ruts his hips, fucking into your wet mouth. you always know just how to make him feel so good, so loved. he adores you like nothing else. “oh, that’s it, honey, right there… atta girl.”

(nsfw) — the bondage kink on this man is insane, I tell you! cowboy reiner loves to keep your hands tied behind your back and watch you squirm against the rope. “rei,” in a breathless whine, his name falls from your plush lips. you wiggle your ass in the air for him, anticipating his next move. he takes you from the back, raw-dogging your pussy with a merciless pace. you truly wonder where he gets all this unparalleled energy to drill you into the bed, especially considering all the hard work he puts into maintaining the farm every day. one large hand of his stays planted on your waist, hastily grabbing, while the other holds onto your tied hands for leverage. he delivers harsh, deep-reaching thrusts, with his firm hips sharply smacking against you from behind. your wrists struggle against the rope, and he can tell just how desperate you are to touch him. his gaze is fixated on your soft body; every jiggle of your ass and ripple of your thighs is more hypnotizing than the last. you mewl for him, stuttering out something along the lines of ‘t—too much!’ … reiner leans down until his chest grazes the arch of your back, so that he can say, “quit alla-that whinin’, woman.” he clicks his teeth, flooding your ears with that sexy southern drawl of his. “y’can take it all, you’ve done it before.”

(nsfw) — we all know it, the entire goddamn fandom knows it: cowboy reiner has a massive fucking breeding kink! he wants nothing more than to get you pregnant by stuffing your pliant womb with his thick loads of cum. giving you a creampie makes him go completely wild; he watches his seed drip down your slit with hitched breath. a sight such as that is enough to get him hard all over again. the lust takes over, and he’s thinking with his dick for the next three rounds. plowing into you and rubbing at your puffed clit with calloused fingertips, reiner asks, “want me to come inside you? hm?” he gently holds onto your chin, directing your gaze to him. you dazedly look at your husband, pulsing around his thick cock. seeing how fucked-out you are makes his chest swell with the utmost pride. his greatest achievement is being able to please you. “tell me how bad y’fuckin’ want it, baby.” he rasps. your pleading moans urge him to release for you. his warm, pearly arousal seeps into you for the nth time that night. all he wants is to fill you up until you’re walking funny, with your leg shaking from all the stimulation. or, at least until that little stick comes out positive one day. having you grow plump with his child is his ultimate fantasy. “you’d look so stunnin’ as a mama, carryin’ my baby… don’t’cha think so, sugar?”

(nsfw) — reiner likes to let you wear his cowboy hat while you ride him. mounting onto your husband with your legs on either side of his hips, you straddle him. your dainty hands are planted on his broad chest for balance. he pulls off his iconic hat, hair cutely tousled from wearing it all day, before sitting up to place it on your head. “since you’ll be the one ridin’ tonight. giddyup, cowgirl.” he teases with a slick grin. you tip the hat with a breathy laugh before sinking down on his fat dick, maintaining sharp eye contact with him as your throbbing cunt takes him in little by little, until your clit’s grounded and snug against the dark-blonde tufts of his happy trail. his warm palms rub along your body as you swivel your hips, slamming down on all nine girthy inches that he has to offer. he watches your tits bounce, one manicured hand of yours squeezing at your left boob while the other holds onto his hat that rests upon the crown of your head. you rock back and forth with fervor, and he swears he can feel every spongy ridge of your contracting pussy. he throws his head back onto the pillows and gazes at you with the prettiest set of honey-golden eyes, hooded and lust-blown. gravelly moans fall past his agape lips as he spurs you on, giving your ass a thorough smack, “bounce on it, jus’ like that— yeah, fuck daddy’s cock.”

[writing-makes-me-human]

Charming Killer: 6

┍━━━━━»•» 🌺 «•«━┑

Pairing: Neteyam x reader

PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR PART FIVE

Summary: Neteyam comes to find you and tries to explain what happens but the time away causes chaotic pain and romance as you try to understand one another. He speaks of his family to you and you try to understand him as he explains his mother hates you (spoiler alert: you do not get it)

Warnings: None, very fluffy with tension

Word Count: 6.4 k (kill me)

A/N: Get this cursed writing out of my sight! NO MORE SPACE ON TAGLIST soz :(

If I haven't replied to your comment, I'm coming fr just not rn also sorry if I replied with just "YES" if you asked to be added to the tag list, my defense? I am lazy.

Neteyam kept up his facade for three weeks. He played to his mother's wishes as well as he could, and finally, something in him snapped.

He felt a part of his stomach ache that told him there was something wrong, he had shivered at the feeling, and now he was done hiding from you. He had to see you, but he had to be sensible about it.

He asked his brother to cover him for the morning by weaving with his mother, and he set off to the labs.

As his feet hit the ground, he couldn't help the grin that, for the first time in weeks, began poking through his lips. His gentle walk turned into a run as he came closer to the labs, a laugh tumbling from him as he saw the metal containers standing where they had stood in every replay Neteyam flicked through of the first time he had met you.

With great agility, he slung his legs over the staircase's handrails connected to the door in one step and rattled his fist on the door, waiting for passing scientists to open the airlock as before. He pressed his hands against the window cut into the door, which looked into the long corridor, and peered in before his eyes shockingly landed on you. He was like an excited kid, eagerly pushing himself flush against the door to see you.

Your mouth was agape as you saw him, your brow furrowed in confusion. His tail picked up its pace behind him as he tapped his hand against the glass with a boyish chuckle bouncing off the glass and beating back to him.

It had been three weeks since he had seen you, and you had never looked so beautiful to him.

Your hair was a mess, and you were carrying a crate of scrap metal in the direction of the laboratory, but at the sight of him, you frowned faintly. You went to move forward again, but his gentle tapping with his finger on the glass caught your eyes again.

His smile had disappeared as he looked at you incredulously. You wanted to move on and ignore him, but you grumbled to yourself and sat down the crate in order to pull an explanation from his lips.

You had continued learning Na'vi over the weeks, not out of a hope to communicate with Neteyam but out of boredom and loyalty to Norm, who was so eager to teach. Even if back home you outranked him, here his knowledge was survival. Still, a small dwindling part of you hoped you might be able to understand a few more words the warrior would say to you now.

You walked over to the airlock, pressed in the code that opened the door closest to Neteyam, and stepped back as he ducked his head under the doorway and looked at you.

Even though you were frowning and the scent of bitterness reeked from you, he crouched down and held out his arms to ask for a hug with a begging look.

You ignored him, turned to a trolley beside you, and pulled forth one of the masks filled with Neteyam's air. You tossed it to him and then pointed to his bow across his front with a glare before you bent back down and picked up the crate with a groan, setting off to the lab without a second glance back at the stumped guest.

Neteyam's heart stung at your rejection of the human affection he had come to dream of having again from you, but he quickly slung his bow off his front, held the mask to his mouth and took several deep breaths that would sustain him for a while.

He set off after you, awkwardly ducking under doorways and flattening himself against walls as humans walked past him with carts of contraptions and plants laid in their arms.

The news would spread quickly between your species of Neteyam's appearance, and you hoped either Max or Norman would come running to your rescue soon.

Neteyam called out your name through the corridor as you put space between you two, leaving him in your dust as you carted the box into the lab you were using today.

You slammed the box down on your desk and then turned to the door with your arms crossed, waiting.

Neteyam wandered in, his forehead banging on the archway as he crouched even lower to enter the low-hanged ceiling room. The motion sent his braids flying, and the clack of beads filled the otherwise silent room.

His hiss of pain made your chest grunt with amusement. He rubbed the spot on his forehead momentarily as he turned behind himself and pulled at the sliding door, closing yourselves off from adventurous ears. He must have been watching someone around here carefully as they used the doors.

You clicked your tongue in irritation, ignoring him as you grabbed the metal scrap crate and pulled it toward you. You dug through carefully, gently lifting sharp pieces off one another to get to the bottom of the container, but the manner of movement was hostile. Your quick tugs to parts made Neteyam's heart seize as he wanted to drag your plump flesh away from the serrated edges.

Neteyam was at a loss in every sense of the word. He had no idea where he was or the purpose of most of the contraptions around this strange, closed room. It almost overwhelmed his senses with the lack of airflow paired with your robust and resentful scent that made his brain capsize.

"What do you want?" You finally spoke, the words coming out demanding as you kept your eyes on your hands.

Neteyam stepped towards you, slowly reaching out with his long, slender fingers that wrapped around your left wrist, using stealthy movements he had been learning from birth to try to soothe you.

"Why are you upset, my girl, huh?", Neteyam cocked his head, trying to push his face into your line of view, but you had none of it, pulling back and keeping your eyes trained in front.

His English was rocky as usual, but his accent never failed to have your ears hanging out for more. He had such a beautiful voice, and it was hard to ignore when you exchanged words you could comprehend.

"I don't want to see you, Neteyam. Can't you fuck off?" You reeled back, failing to try and find a spot in the lab where you could go unseen.

His forehead creased as his hands fell to his knees while he crouched over your workbench. You were so violent; why? What had he done? He knew that his absence for so long would have created division, but surely it hadn't been so long that you had begun to resent him?

"I am sorry for leaving you, I had no choice", he apologized, trying to steer this conversation into familiar waters he could understand. He sounded desperate and pathetic, yet your eyelashes fluttered as your stomach rolled and whipped itself into a frenzy.

The Na'vi language blessed your ears, and he spoke slowly, recognizing by how your face contorted that you must have at least known the subject matter of his sentence.

You glanced up at him, and as you peered into his yellow eyes that were refracting as much light as they could in this dark chamber, the image of the last time you had seen them when he cheekily grinned over his shoulder at you tore through your mind. You swiftly looked away to avoid the summoning of butterflies in the lining of your stomach.

The awkward glance at him as if you were a young girl with a crush reinstated his spirits a little, and he felt the tinge of his fear that you hadn't meant to lay with him in such an intimate way those weeks ago subside. You liked him. It was written all over your face, even if you wouldn't say it.

"You missed me?" He wasn't smiling but he was smug in his voice. He was determined. You'd give him that.

"No", you set your mouth straight and turned around to fidget with the settings on a microscope.

You twisted the knob on the side and leaned down to press your eye to it, knowing that Neteyam didn't know enough about your technology to see you were looking at nothing.

He swayed his head over to you and stared at the side of your face. Once again, you tried to ignore him, but the feeling of his hot stare made you pull back to glare at him.

"You have a staring problem, you know that?" The temperament wasn't lost on him, and he nodded in compliance, settling himself to sit on the balls of his heels to give you some space.

You returned to the scope, but the sad ache Neteyam had created came up once more, and you decided to speak again.

"What does having a mate mean to you guys? Is it like having a wife? Do you know what a wife is?" Your head turned to look at him with a glare.

You felt hurt that he had been going around treating other women in the same manner he had been treating you, but perhaps there was a cultural barrier; maybe seeing other females was normal for his clan.

Neteyam cocked his head in confusion at your sudden question, thinking he had misheard you, but your grip on the metal device in front of you suggested it was best to answer. He surveyed the floor as his tongue darted out to wet his mouth's borders before he spoke, and your eyes followed the action. The feeling of butterflies you had been trying to avoid was forced to explode with extreme potency as the wet shine on his full lips reminded you of your time by the river.

"It is like a wife, but it is more", Neteyam's comprehension of English was moderate, but explaining the inner workings and spiritual nature of a mated relationship between the natives of Pandora to a human was hard.

"More? How is it more?" You quizzed, forehead wrinkling as you tried to understand further.

Neteyam sighed, cracking his head up to the ceiling as he searched his mind for the right words. You both had juvenile understandings of one another's language, and Neteyam was at an impasse.

He suddenly sparked up and looked down at you, debating for only a second before he reached behind his head, eyes never leaving yours, as he gently pulled forward his braid.

The black hair that made up the braid was shiny and gorgeous, it looked like silk, and when he held it out to you, the texture made your skin bubble with how soft it appeared.

He gripped the jet-black plait, giving it a short amount of slack at the front, and held it out to you.

You eyed the braid that reached the base of Neteyam's tail when he stood to his full height with great interest.

Touching the braid a while ago had ended in Neteyam running out of here at top speed with your peers demanding you replace the limb, so what had suddenly changed, you wondered.

You took a moment to consider, but Neteyam only stared, waiting for you to move. Hence, at his encouragement, you gently ran a finger over one section of the braid, eyes firing back up to Neteyam's when he shivered at the close tracing. Your touch was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Touching the braid of a Na'vi was something reserved for very private affairs that couldn't be interfered with. Skypeople had never been permitted to handle the queue, and strangers were even less allowed to approach such a private area. Still, you were Neteyam's mate, and as weird as you had been acting, he was honored to be able to teach you about something so cherished.

"This is how we make tsaheylu, the bond with our mates", he ran his hands down to the end of the braid and flipped the end up, facing the back to the jagged ceiling. He let the hair follicles fall apart to sprawl over his fingers and show off the light pink nerve endings.

You gasped as your mind tricked you into thinking a soft light glowed from the tendrils at their reveal. They looked heavenly in the dark room, and you leaned forward to inspect them, your curiosity snuffing the upset.

You reached a finger forward to touch the long delicate cords that waved around with eagerness to grasp something. However, Neteyam slowly pulled his hands back towards his chest, and you rapidly retracted your hands to meet each other behind your back in a tight hold, embarrassment lighting your face at your haughty movements.

"They are nerves, it's best not to touch them", he flipped the knot over and held out the protective braid, giving you his blessing to touch the hair. His tonality was nurturing and kind, which made you feel slightly better about your fumbling move.

You reached out again and ran a closed hand over the black hair, holding in a childish grin as Neteyam leaned forward to let you touch further up his pelt.

You concluded your investigation and stepped back once you couldn't go any closer without moving forward. The man's eyes were pulpy while a toothy grin poked out from him. He was so happy to see you after so long, and it showed.

As his spell over your body broke during the loss of contact, the betrayal of your unseen peer's words sank back, and you decided you had to ask about this woman because it was clear Neteyam wouldn't be giving up anything in honesty.

You loosely crossed your arms over your chest and sneered at the boy. Your hips jutted out with an eyebrow poking out in a judgemental study of the much larger killer.

"So, do Na'vi take more than one mate?" Your stance was meant to come off as interrogative. However, Neteyam found the amateur attempt at being threatening with such an openly vulnerable pose amusing, then your words formed meaning in his mind.

He choked on the air around, reached for the device on his hip, and refilled his lungs as he tried to get out an unattractive laugh that was choking him, thinking you were joking. When his eyes returned to your face, he looked so severe that he had to reprove himself for forgetting you were new to his culture.

He knew humans often took multiple lovers in life. His father had told plenty of stories from his Homestar at bedtime with his brother's beckoning. Perhaps you hadn't been accustomed to Na'vi ideas long enough to understand that your species' way of life was parasitic to him.

"No, never, there is only ever one mate, Eywa's chooses for life", his titter died, and the ends of his mouth flattened out as he peered at you, ears waving around to listen closely to what you thought about that fact.

Your mind was running, optics scanning his face for lies. However, Neteyam had no reason to hide this girl from you; if it were customary to take others, he would surely tell you he had been seeking other women. If he was, the loving boy seemed oddly loyal and clingy to a human for someone keeping his options open.

"So if I am your…mate--", the word felt confidential even if the only ones who knew of your predicament were Max and Norm. Your face scrunched a little as you said it."--How does that work? I can't make tsa-tsya- the bond like the women of your people", you stuttered through the new word before ultimately deciding to give up.

Neteyam reached his hand to your cheek and laid it flat across your head to direct your sightline up to his. His face was so kind, and the sensation of his blood pumping through the veins in his hands made your knees weak.

Had he gotten stronger? No, it was the sharpness of his eyes in this light, but he looked like the greatest predator on this planet, and for a second, your fight or flight kicked in warning, reminding you this boy was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Tsaheylu", he spoke slowly, not letting you admit defeat and giving you a push to keep trying.

The side of your face burnt hot, and you nodded dumbly before repeating back to him, dancing along each syllable several times.

His touch was guiding, enjoying the feeling of your tongue hitting your inner cheek as you pronounced the letters. When the word was a little clearer to the trained Na'vi ear, Neteyam nodded to let you move back to the topic at hand.

"I do not know how we make the bond, perhaps we never will. Does that bother you?" He was so diplomatic, so thought out with every word. You quickly picked up on his personality, and every new thing you learned about his habitual movements or speech pattern was squirreled away.

"I don't know", you were drunk on his touch. You couldn't find a thought that would stay long. All you could feel was alarms in your body telling you that this man was something different. Something was extraterrestrially enchanting in the air he exhaled, choking the prominent scientist inside you and reducing you to a simple heap of gooey love.

"You don't know?" He picked up your mood change as the glare in your eye became damper, and your legs closed together. The stance that was once open to attacks was now trying to shy away from him. He loved it, you were giving him whiplash with every emotion you portrayed, and he couldn't even lie and say it was anything other than arousing.

His voice was sultry, giving the hair on your skin reactions so intense you worried he would notice. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but you were feverish to have him close.

You ripped your face from his hand and stared off to the side, letting the distance sober you up. His touch lingered even when his figure was gone. You wanted to reach out, tug on his hand to bring him back, inspect every scar, and ask about all the stories that accompanied them, but the emotion of utter embarrassment consumed you more than your desires.

You had been so desperate for news about Neteyam that you had taken the slightest scrap and run a mile with it. Your shoulders tensed as you thought about the rocks shoved in a box underneath your workbench, cracked, eroded, and in shards.

Neteyam noticed your change from shy longing to awkward self-consciousness, and he investigated, looking around for a source of worry to be dealt with.

"Neteyam, I am very sorry", you were so embarrassed to tell him what you had heard, what you had assumed, and what you had done to his beautiful gifts. It was clear now that he wasn't with other girls if he felt anything for you, that was even a quarter of an inch as good as this.

You had acted like a child and wanted to make up for it.

"What are you sorry for, my love?" Neteyam's moved forward to get closer to you as he spoke. Still, even with the clear confrontment that you had done something wrong, he continued his lovesick ways, making you cringe.

You pulled back, fiddling with your fingers as you gathered the guts to confess what was wrong.

"I heard something, and it upset me, so I--well, just let me-", you were too embarrassed to explain, so you ducked your head underneath the counter behind you and pulled up the sack of crystals.

With a great heave, you let the heavy bag fall on the metal countertop with a thud, and from the cruel way you had set it down, Neteyam felt his heart sink.

You unwrapped the coil and pulled the drawstring apart, feeling ashamed as the sack let go to show the crystals inside. Most were broken, and the ones that weren't had chips in them from your careless toss across the floor.

Neteyam reached inside and brushed his flat palm over the top layer, feeling the sadness deepen as he saw another row of broken shards.

"I am so sorry, I didn't think, I was just so upset, I still love them, I know you must have worked hard to find them, please don't be upset!" You rambled with the intention to explain, and Neteyam hung off every word, not yet looking at you as he took a deep breath.

"It is okay, but why did you break them?" He truly believed you didn't mean to break them, and the disappointment subsided as his brain kicked up a gear.

You froze and awkwardly looked around the room, the words dying on your tongue as you tried to find a way to get around telling the truth.

"Well, it's really fucking dumb", you mumbled, suddenly finding the floor wonderous while Neteyam's tail flickered in questioning, tapping against the floor with a chink.

"Fukying?" He tested the word, pronouncing a 'y' with much enthusiasm, making you smile as it was your turn to correct him.

"Fucking" you corrected, trying to hold in a snicker with a hand pressed to your mouth as his eyes slit in confusion.

"What does…fucking mean?" His face was so severe, and the way his warrior form that towered over you asked in such an innocent way made the laugh escape as you shook your head.

Neteyam adapted quickly, which made him unkillable, and while he had picked up the word quickly, the gentle ignorance of it was adorable. He wasn't a predator anymore. He was Neteyam.

"It's a swear word, you know what those are?" You tried to remain courteous. He didn't know much about your culture, so of course, he didn't know much about swearing, but goodness, was it fun to watch the strong warrior, killer of tens to be stuttering over a simple word.

He shook his head up and down, "Yes, it is like a promise", he looked almost proud of his knowledge, and you felt terrible telling him he was wrong.

"No, that's a little different, a swear word is something you say that can be mean, or if you use it like I just did, it sorta puts more emphasis on what you're feeling", you felt fiddly as you tried explaining your vernacular.

"It is the only swear word?" He asked as he settled himself on the ground. He moved his legs in front of them and sat on his heels while placing his hands on the floor before him so he could lean into your eyesight at his will.

"No, there are heaps!" You smiled as you slowly leaned in, finding yourself drawn to the tiny freckles along his face that were ever so softly glowing under the darkness of the unlit lab.

"Like what?" He asked, his tail still flickering behind him as your presence excited him.

You wanted to laugh, but he was so curious, and you wanted to help him. You wanted to preserve this feeling in your chest as he learned from you, and it was the first time he had shown any interest in finding out about the ways of the sky people, so you wanted him to feel informed.

"Oh well, there's shit and fuck, obviously."

"Lo'ak says those", Neteyam smiled as he finally put an origin to his brother's curses he called out whenever something went wrong, or someone said something he didn't care for.

"Who?" You asked, forehead creasing. It sounded like a name, but it could have been status in his clan, perhaps.

"My brother", Neteyam smiled fondly as he moved onto the subject of his younger sibling, the cause of so much love and divide amongst his family, mostly love.

"Ah, I see! Do you have many siblings?" You didn't know how family units worked in the alien's world. Were there the exact expectations of each member as it was back on Earth? You were chomping at the bit to learn everything.

"I have four", Neteyam nodded, hoping his word choice was correct.

"Wow! That's a lot. What are their names?" So Na'vi families were prominent. That was clear.

Was it? Neteyam didn't know, it was an average number in his village, but certainly, to the Metkayina, it would be considerable.

"Names?" He asked for the meaning of another word, feeling frustrated as your pace of speaking picked up, making it harder to understand.

"What are they called?" You tried again, slowing each word and giving him the time to contemplate them. Your tone was sweet, and your face was alight with passion; Neteyam's pupils widened to see you clearly.

"Well, Lo'ak is called a troublemaker, and Kiri is-", Neteyam misunderstood, taking your question as asking about what his wards were like instead of what his parents had called them all at birth.

You laughed, interrupting him as you set your question straight. It was an adorable mistake, and while your laughter embarrassed him as he took it as your way of making fun of him, the tone of your following words made him realize you were only amused by him, that he had made you happy.

"--No, no, I mean what your friends and stuff call you, for example, your name is Neteyam", oh how he loved when you said his name. He would keep you by his side forever and only ask you to say his name if he could.

"Ah, I see! There is Lo'ak, he is my brother, Kiri, my sister, Tuk, my youngest sister, and Spider, he is human like you", He wanted to tell you more, to tell you stories about each sibling, but he knew that would be pushing it with your shared comprehensible vocabulary lists. He loved his family, and he wanted you to love them too.

Your eyes widened with a queer look on your face as you listened, feeling suddenly very alert.

"You consider Spider to be your brother?" It was a simple question, but it made Neteyam question himself for a few seconds.

You knew of Spider. It was a massive scandal that had shadowed the operation of Pandora for years. The abandonment of a small child on an alien planet was brutal for people back on Earth to overlook. What made it worse was the RDA's abysmal attempt to cover its tracks which led to an explosion of outrage from the public once it was released.

Spider was sky people, a source of great evil, but Neteyam had grown together with the human boy, and he wasn't sure what he would consider Spider. Around was a good way to put it. Spider was always out and about every part of his life, nearly family but not entirely on the same line as Lo'ak, Tuk or Kiri.

"I suppose he is more Lo'ak and Kiri's family than mine or Tuk's", his brow creased, and his hands scrunched up, flying to his chest for a minute out of habit to fiddle with the knife he had attached to his cummerbund. He had a difficult life to elucidate, and while he loved teaching, his family's current dynamic was rigid.

"I understand; family can be hard" you reached out and placed a hand on the mighty man's knee, feeling his warm skin light your insides with inner peace.

Neteyam locked on your hand and let the one he had been using to fiddle fall onto yours, exhaling amusingly as his significant figure covered yours in its entirety. You were small, and it made him worry for your future when he thought about it.

"You strike me as a middle child, so who's the oldest?", your entire sentence except the end made no sense to him, so he latched onto the discernable part.

"I am the oldest", he didn't take note of your body seizing or your mouth dropping; instead, he took the time to slip his fingers beneath yours, fiddling with the fifth appendage you had in joint with his father, Kiri, and Lo'ak.

"Isn't that really important? You're meant to take over the clan, and you know… have kids with your mate?" You couldn't believe your terrible, evil, astoundingly shit luck. Out of any Na'vi men you could pine after, your heart just had to pick the one whose entire love life was everyone's business.

He chuckled, and you felt the sound travel through his hand, into yours, up your arm, and come to rest right in your stomach. It made you twist as the noise made everything in you flutter with a giddiness that you had been funny to him.

"Yes, I am meant to have plenty of babies, but I do not think I want children", his words felt sinful to himself as they escaped.

In his culture, it was of meager importance to have as many kids as possible to help carry out Eywa's plans, but Neteyam had started to wonder if perhaps Eywa's plans for him were to have none. He didn't care for the sound of crying or the work that came with them, he had plenty enough due on his plate as it was, and the thought of having you alone with children in Pandora made his skin crawl in a primitive need to grab you close and protect you.

"Well, that's okay, I haven't thought about them yet", you weren't sure about children just yet, and if you were to pursue Neteyam, that path would be shut from you, but it was interesting to ponder.

"Do you have siblings?" He suddenly asked, and you sadly smiled, interlocking your fingers with his.

"No, my planet is a hard place to live on, so we do not meet many people with siblings there", you had yearned for a sibling in your younger years that were filled with solitude, but now that you were an adult, you were glad not to have someone waiting for you at home.

"It must be so boring", he quirked his forehead as he tried to imagine a life without any of his once brain-celled family. He concluded that he wouldn't be the same and knew his family would have to agree.

"It can be, but let's not focus on that, let's go back to these", you shook the bag of rocks to your side halfheartedly. You had enough time to let your heart rest and were ready to explain yourself.

"Wait, what other swear words are there?" He asked, still clearly in a different field as he craved to learn more about you. His enthusiasm was cute, and you lovingly smiled as you moved back to speak further.

"Why do you wanna know? You planning on cussing somebody out?"

"What do you mean 'cussing somebody out'?"

"Don't worry about it, alright well, you've got fuck and shit as I said, but you've also got asshole, cunt, dick, bitch, bastard, there are hundreds, really", the amusement twinkled in your eye as Neteyam closely listened as if taking notes that were life or death.

"What is cunt?" He tilted his head and leaned back, looking over you as you taught him.

You couldn't help it now. Every word he got out had you giggling like a child as you explained the basic concepts of humanity to him.

"It's something mean you call someone, but it means uh…it's a human woman's--" You dumbly tapped at the lower point of your stomach and then keenly watched Neteyam's reaction as the message loaded in his head.

He grinned devilishly. He never failed to laugh heartily at the taboo self-consciousness of humans, with all their modest clothing, and he was excited for you to learn from him that none of that stuff mattered in his way of life. He didn't care for the idea of bringing up the fact that the image of you dressed in his native garments made his heart pound and his legs twitch.

He quickly batted the image away and moved the conversation forward.

"Ah, I see. Well what does bastard mean?" Neteyam was watching your movements and trying to interpret if you were getting irritated with explaining, but you seemed to have as much patience as he did.

"It means a guy whose parents weren't married when he was born", you knew he would ask plenty of questions about that one, so you decided to move on. It was getting later, and he would have to go home soon, less he stay here, fall asleep, choke on your air, and die at night.

"So, where have you been?" The old anger was wholly quenched, only a sad curiosity and need to understand taking over. You wanted to fix things before you moved on, and while Neteyam seemed pleased to put everything behind you and move on, the suppression wouldn't work for you.

Neteyam's sigh prolonged for several beats. He let the silence surround you before again filling his lungs with the device on his hip. He then tried to speak with only plain words so that you could understand him.

"My mother does not approve of us", he knew you wouldn't understand many of his words, but he continued.

"She promised to kill you if I came back, but I could not leave you. I like you" He wanted to say he loved you, but Neteyam held back. Those words were distinctly human, and the emotion always seemed to disrupt his life, so he settled for 'like.' Like was a good word, a strong word for now.

"I don't understand," you sighed, shrugging your shoulder as desperateness to know what he said turned to irritation at your lack of knowledge.

"You need to learn more, my mate. How will you come to tell my mother how wrong she is for hating you if you can't even speak, huh?" He reached forward and placed his hand united with yours on your head, splatting it down with such a gentle force that it made your nerves twinge.

He was so soft, so guiding, such a masterful role, and it did everything for you.

There were so many red flags that told you to turn back. The language barrier, the fact the giant was the next clan leader, his size compared to yours, his culture barrier, the fact your species were enemies, how your bodily functions couldn't operate at 100% in either one's natural environment. Yet the desire to become closer to him grew every moment he basked in alongside you.

His affectionate touch and protective aura made the spartan man seem like a guardian angel.

"God, I wish I knew what you said half the time", you mumbled, leaning closer to him as he fell into a trance at your doe-eyed gaze.

He retracted his hand to his side. He was in a stupor as he got closer, your familiar scent getting more robust with every inch he gained. His impulses called for him to mark you, to scent your body with his tongue and his sweat so every male in this human hotbox would know that even if he wasn't near, you were most certainly off limits.

"Neteyam", you whispered his name so immodestly as his face bent down to come within a hairs width of yours. It made his mind shatter from its sane hold.

Both of you were heaving in deep breaths, and Neteyam could feel the need to take another inhale of his natural air wane as his lust to touch you grew over everything.

"I am so happy to see you, my mate", Neteyam was so close you could see an old faded scar across the bridge of his nose from a life filled with conflict, and still, he leaned further.

He was finding it hard to stick with one conversation with you for a very long. The time spent away from each other had created combustion as you both tried to update each other on everything all at once, the emotions exploding as they ranged from sadness to anger to passion at a moment's notice.

"It's good to see you too", you blushed red after he spoke, and you tried to return his emotions at an equal velocity, but it was tough to be with someone who had been raised to be so open about love. Your military training had taught you to be guarded, and Neteyam had been taught to trust the love of a mate from a young age, but love was a fickle thing as a human.

Neteyam delighted in the color change of your cheeks. He brought a hand to your face so he could press into your skin and feel you closer as the heat radiated through the touch, making his rough palms pulse faster.

You closed your lids, feeling his presence become too immense and overpowering.

Neteyam adjusted his torso so his knees could split apart, letting his posture sink as his heels lay on either side of his behind. He brought his other hand to your hip, and his warm hands made your breath frigid as he gently tugged you closer, warranting the palm on your cheek to migrate to the back of your neck.

He brought you to his chest and gently crushed you close to his chest.

You appreciated the hold. His senses were all around, and you were captivated by the spell Neteyam's soul placed on you. Neteyam's body was so appealing, and the feeling of his heart under your forehead created a soothing rhythm that your heart matched.

"I missed you; I won't ever leave you for so long again, my girl", his voice coated your stomach and lined your heart.

There was something feral Neteyam created inside of you, a need to submit to him and please him with everything you did, but you wondered if he had the same feelings in his head.

The moment was interrupted by the slide door opening.

"Hey, y/n, do you have the--Oh! I am sorry I didn't know I was interrupting!"

Your eyes speedily jerked wide open, and you attempted to peel yourself from your lover, but his hold tightened, and his neck snapped up. Neteyam swiveled his head around with his instincts raising alarms at the intrusion.

That voice, where had you heard that? It was raising a red flag somewhere in your mind-- oh no.

Daniel had the lab opposite yours. He worked primarily with a blonde woman you hadn't been introduced to. He was the source of the rumor you had spun your top off at.

The silence that consumed the room and drowned you all was uncomfortable; well, you thought it was, but a growl that rumbled from Neteyam's chest and rattled your head told you he was distinctively guarded and not at all unnerved by the male's company.

Taglist:

It seems you would be forced to tell Neteyam what the cause of your raised hackles had been, and if the growling paramour above you were anything to go by, it would not be a peaceful understanding discussion.

@neteyamore @jkeluv @heesoftiefreak @ambria @azaleaniath @hellok1ttycake @nuhteyam @eternallyvenus @ellieswifefr @itscheybaby @fanboyluvr @phantomalex14 @sereisstuff @iikatsukii @eywas-heir @k----a27s @cilleabc @powowowy @annie-are-u-ok-blog @eddiesluvt @faerosie @faatxma, @nao-cchi @ellabellabus07, @neteyamforlife @wtf-why-do-i-gotta-do-this @heesoftiefreak @lixiesbrowniess @eringaitskill @islamovice17 @sassy-persona @mashiromochi @jkeluv @uwu-i-purple-you @projectdaydreamer-blog @bob-the-ikran @httpsplanetmarsdotcom @elegantkidfansoul @christinechickiee @notarabellasstuff @isometimeswritestuff @skogane @lilprettypetite @white-girl444 @imwutim @vanillawhale @annamarieisbae @zdkelena @kaealowri @elvyshiarieko @nerdybouquetofkittens-blog @luzberg @wrenieesworld @unicorntrooper @dreamergirljen @anxietydrogz @danyxthirstae01 @me753 @dani111-things @taleiak @neytemsgf @pineapplechuncks @reallysparklychaos @leilaniers @ex0 @just-a-sewer-goblin @holybroomstick @daddyslittlevillain @theendofthe70s @taintedxkisses @theblueflower05 @gwolf92 @sakuramadae @thedumboneforsomereason @desatando-me @hornknee-and-bi-myself @little-bunnybabe @angrycoffeebean @priyaisaslut @coldlamaspersonspy @rainbowsocks @formula1-bichyslut16 @1mawh0re @ancientbeing10 @katherines-imagines @jjkclub @oldfruitloop @ashrocker123 @ashrocker123 @heluvsst4rgir1 @bxnnywriting @valliesworld @laylasbunbunny @alexandra-001 @cacapeepee @prty-poisxn @jakesullyssluttt @dramaticwannabe @holywolfsstuff @abbersreads @vaness20 @littletrippyyhippyy @nofvckgivenn @saltedcoffeescotch @melllinaa @qtkat @rainbowpr1sm @epicy0n @lovergyal @elijangwifey @loveelisee @bandomonia @coldheartedmar @apple-asirb8 @jaymfpark @blooomsstuff @live-laugh-neteyam @nikinect @biscuitsaredelish @c78r @remiflrt @erodastylinson @69cocktimusprime @imjustasadpotato @marvelsimps @ihonestlydontknowwhattonamethis @kaileym08 @kneelforloki @zeida @winchestertitties @badoptimistic @nessrin @misscaller06 @avrgethanwinterslover @erenjaegerwifee @moony-artemis @gracefulbumblebee @killer-quokka @b-tchymoon @btsiguess-kpop @katecupcakekate @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @izuoyarmin @strnqer @phoenixgurl030 @kpopslur @gloryekaterina @shikkimari @grapejuice418 @colorfuldragonmagazine @heaven1oo4 @arminsgfloll @erenjaegerwifee @navegaluv @doingurmom69 @daribakugo @meritxellao @bedofpearls @vibinndyin @st8rg8zer @milfsarefineashell @alexizodd @llovergirlll @kenryug @bakersbucky @jojoblossom @chloem4a1 @ok-boke@ghostlycrystobalove @swaggygurlbae @reguluscrystals @wxcvzsstuff @naynay2808 @3okutos-3ig-toe @btslovergirl12 @serenn08

@strnqer @phoenixgurl030 @kpopslur @gloryekaterina @shikkimari @grapejuice418 @colorfuldragonmagazine @heaven1oo4 @arminsgfloll @erenjaegerwifee @navegaluv @doingurmom69 @daribakugo @meritidelmondoognisuabellezzaxellao @bedofpearls @vibinnnn @st8rg8zer @milfsarahmccoolefineashell @alexizodd @llovergirlll @kenryug @bakersbucky @jojoblossom @chloem4a1 @ok-boke@ghostlywriterr  @swaggygurlbae @reguluscrystals @wxcvzsstuff @naynay2808 @3okutos-3ig-toe @deliwrites @tpwkweasley7 @crissteetee67 @the-faceless-bride @colorfuldragonmagazine @erenpookiebear 

@m-rveronica ​ @miawasikowska-brasil ​ 

@nikisrioting @ohshititsfenharel @your-girl-mj @spookymicrowave @babydukeclothing-blog213, @thatonegirlwiththebeanie367, @welcomebackfelicia  @troubledfilm, @lovedbychoi @nicoletk @answer-the-sirens​ 

@serpientez @kamcrazy123 @xiluvfictional-men,  @novalies @chxrrybobaby-sin��

[jolenes-doppelganger]

uuhhhhmm hi!! i was wondering if you’d be up to write a (smutty?) story about rose the hat!!! nothing specific but (i assume) you kind of know how rose is… and maybe incorporate that in the fic? and the whole steam thingy? yeah…

anyway! have a great day!!

[Hi! Thank you for the request! I really leaned into her more sinister qualities that were explored in the book, specifically her fascination with blood. She is a dark character, so this fic is reasonably dark. ]

The Debt

Rose the Hat x f!Reader

NSFW 18+- MINORS WHO INTERACT CAN AND WILL BE BLOCKED.

Summary: Returning to the windy city was always a trip Rose dreaded. Not for the drab blocks of concrete, but for the memories that lingered. A child she’d let get away, a meal that had escaped her. The cost of that lapse. What happens when the familiarity of the city converges with the familiarity of a touch?

Warnings: Dark themes (threat of bodily harm, threat of murder, depictions of post-murder situations, etc), graphic sex (oral R receiving and giving, 69, penetration via fingers R receiving, breast worship giving, near smothering of R, light spanking receiving, blood kink, brief bondage, biting), !! Dub-con/coercion !! [Moments of straight M/F interaction between Rose and Crow, allude to nudity, brief touching, but not any more graphic than the novel itself described these interactions.]

A/N: Once again, this fic is not indicative of my moral code, I would NEVER condone someone pursuing a similar relationship, especially if the themes of dub-con/coercion are in any ways similar or amplified. *To be reasonably true to the characterization of Rose is to understand that she is an evil person and wouldn't show up to your door with a bouquet of flowers and a home-cooked meal.*

Word Count: 3.669k (hehe 69)

Rose hated Chicago. Chicago meant traffic, smog, disorder and weird looks. Traditional caravans sailed right by the town, so driving through it with the True Knot's troop of motorhomes would be both a nightmare coordination-wise, most certainly drawing unnecessary attention. The Knot camped out in a trailer park, using cars to drive into the city while a few stayed back to ensure the safety of their caravan; prime members slept in hotels in the city. Rose and Crow were assigned to a suite, sharing a King bed and a bathroom. Sleeping in a hotel meant access to a shower and larger amenities, but the wide open spaces bothered Rose. She preferred the coziness of her Earth Cruiser over the opportunity to shower at any given moment.

"Rosie, whatcha got on your mind?" Crow asked, chest bare, lounging in the bed after their coital affair.

Rose snorted, tits out and unashamed. Her hat was set off to the side, hair tousled from their passion.

"I hate Chicago, that's what's on my mind."

Her lover nodded, trying to remain considerate, but he was really focusing on the curve of her breasts.

"It's temporary. We'll get the kid by the end of the week. And in the meantime..." he smirked, reaching to bring her in closer.

Rose rolled her eyes, playfully swatting away his advances.

"As if you were hard again." she protested.

"What if I was?"

Rose reached down. He was flaccid, predictably so. They hadn't fed in a while. He was like any man in his mid-50s, capable of lasting one round, needing a little blue pill to sustain an erection for longer than a few minutes.

"We need to eat." Rose grimaced.

She got up from the bed, walking into the large shower. She was tired. One look at herself in the mirror and Rose saw just how weak she was getting. They needed that kid. Her crow's feet were growing more pronounced, her belly sagged, so did her breasts. Cellulite littered her thighs, and her upper chest had that ugly scaly look that developed in older people exposed to the sun. It was unbearable. She turned the light off and showered in the dark.

<------------->

It was done. The little girl with the braided pig tails was limp in front of Rose; the child's body had given up. Normally she'd be feeling extra frisky right now, leaning into Crow's advances as he felt her up under her bloody shirt, but she just felt hollow. Giving out cleanup duty was easy. Crow pressed on the child's chest, pushing the last bit of steam into the metal cannister. Rose cut off the friendship bracelet the child had on, tying it around the cannister. Crow sensed something was off, and he followed her into the Earth Cruiser. She put the cannister away, looking up at him with vacant eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Rose walked into the bathroom, using the reserve water to fill the sink, stripping her clothes off as she washed away the blood.

"The kid. The one we lost ten years ago."

Crow sighed.

"The one that disappeared after we followed her into Joliet?"

Rose nodded, lost in her own thoughts.

"I want to borrow your truck, head into the town. I need a night for myself."

Crow frowned. Rose only ever went out alone in dire circumstances. She was upset, and it perturbed him.

"That can wait 'till morning, let's spend tonight-"

"No." she cut him off. "You have a hallway pass, go fuck someone else tonight."

Now Crow knew something was off. Rose was possessive, unreasonably so. If he so much as looked at another woman, he'd hear about it eventually. But offering a hallway pass unprompted? Something was up.

"Rosie, stop. We're going to talk about this." Crow planted his hands on his hips.

"No, we're not."

Rose pulled on a fresh pair of clothes, jeans and a sweater. The topper came with her, obviously. Crow attempted to block her as she left, but he was only a few inches taller than her. With the top hat she had the odd ability of appearing a head taller than everyone atop of her 6' frame.

"Move."

Rose exited the cruiser, Crow's keys in hand. She jumped into the vehicle, speeding out of the campsite. She had one destination in mind, one person in mind.

"Alright you little snot." Rose fumed, focusing her attention on an energy signal she'd been trying to pinpoint for the last decade. "You want to play games? Don't you know what you cost me?"

For the first time in decades, Rose was speeding. The True Knot never violated traffic laws. It drew attention, but in Rose's current state of mind, pushing 80 on the highway was the only reasonable balm to her anxiety. Through the midst of her anger-fueled aggression, she felt it. A little sensation, a prick of energy so damn familiar it made her stomach flop. She slowed down, pulling into the far right lane, focusing her energy on that little bubble of energy.

"Oh honey, you're still here, huh?" Rose whispered. "(Reader) was your name, wasn't it? But that's not what we called you, little minx. You're a Pandora's box."

Rose drove through the suburbs of Joliet, drawing closer and closer, running Crow's gas tank down to the last quarter. It didn't matter, she was close. The little buzzing in her head continued, until finally it was unbearable. Rose grinned, pulling off to the side of the road in front of a cute little red brick house. She didn't do anything, not yet at least. Instead, Rose adjusted the rings and bangles on her left hand. Left for receiving, various 'lucky' charms she'd collected. The right hand she kept bare. It was her dominant hand, she liked it bare. That and it was the 'giving' hand. She didn't need any sort of energetic enhancements, more likely hindrances upon her.

"You're alone in that little house, Pandora." she smirked.

Creeping toward that house like a wanted visitor, Rose waved to a few neighbors who were walking about. The only malicious element that could even tickle the minds of observers was that hat. Tipped at that weird angle, barely hanging onto the crown of her head, like a poorly perched bird. Rose reached for the knocker; she didn't need to try the doorbell to know it was broken. A soft click as the door opened.

"Well, hi there." Rose smiled.

You didn't have time to fasten the dead bolt before she'd forced herself in, towering over you and pinning you against the nearest flat surface.

<------------->

She'd tied you up. The deranged woman with the most certainly semi-cognizant hat had tied you up on your childhood bed.

"Who the fuck do you-"

"Shut up." Rose demanded, slapping her hand over your mouth. "You're gonna listen, you're gonna stay quiet, and if you scream I will sew your mouth shut."

She moved around the room, closing the curtains, locking and barricading the door. Nothing was going to interrupt this, no one was going to stop her from getting that revenge she'd been dreaming of for a little over a decade.

"Three True died because of you." Rose sighed, settling on the bed in front of you. "They starved. We were all starving, but they couldn't hold off. And you? Look at you." she snorted. "What are you, a teenager? No, you might even be in your twenties. I've forgotten how old you were when we were tracking you."

The heinous monologue ended there. Rose pulled out a pocket knife, focusing on digging out the dried blood she hadn't gotten out underneath her nails.

"Are you a cannibal?" you asked, quiet.

Rose snorted.

"I mean, sort of. We don't eat flesh, but we eat. And you... God, you would have been tasty. Now you're grown up. Age ruins all the goodness of steam, it spoils, tastes rotten."

You swallowed, staring up at the woman with the knife.

"So by not being able to find and eat some part of me... People died."

"Not people, dear. True Knot, my family. The most important people alive."

Rose's personal fable was inherently narcissistic, unyieldingly ignorant of the world around her.

"So you're better than me because you eat... Kids?"

Rose rolled her eyes, grabbing your face.

"I'm better than you because I'll live for centuries. The oldest of us have seen empires rise and fall, we've seen society advance, society crumble, all of it." she whispered. "We are the chosen few, the best. You're... A rube. A stupid, forgettable little tick."

She seemed awfully presumptuous, you thought. But your small judgements were out of place with the extreme fear that clouded most of your higher processing abilities. The animal brain was clawing out from it's cage, and you knew that this meant the odd things would start happening. Ever since you were a kid, it had been the same. You were normal, happy, unbothered, and then once someone put you in a corner, it was like something out of a paranormal movie. The ropes at your wrists got loose. Then the ropes at your feet. They were spinning out, moving with every rapid beat of your heart. But your telepathy was no match for Rose's abilities.

Blinding white pain filled your head as Rose pressed two of her fingers into your left temple. Hands reaching up inside your head, hands clawing and tugging at the animal bit of your brain, shoving it down, pinning it into a corner. It was brutal, and it left you groaning from pain.

"Naughty little thing. But talented, so talented. Telepathy? At your age? God you would have been tasty. Maybe you still are..."

In your state of wooziness caused from Rose's rape-like invasion of your head, you hadn't noticed her reaching for the pin off of her hat. And then that pin was being pressed through the flesh of your clavicle, hitting the hollow skin there. It stung, badly. With a horrid scream, vapor sprung from your lungs. The woman inhaled it readily, her eyes flashing bright blue. And then she sputtered. She removed the pin, coughing and hacking violently.

"You taste... Disgusting." she winced, her face screwed up in disgust.

Blood trickled down from the wound on your collarbone.

"God I need to get that taste out of my mouth, it's like spoiled milk." Rose complained, looking around the room for something to rinse out her mouth with.

Her choices were scarce. Half-stale soda, water, (which wouldn't do a damn thing), or... Now that would do.

"Mnm." Rose smiled, licking the blood from your clavicle away.

Her tongue was revoltingly wet, and it stung where she licked you. Rose's face was screwed up in a light smirk, watching with interest as your body reacted against your ever-rational mind. Her tongue was soothing, and there was a degree of sensuality to her movements, the way she leaned down, rolling her tongue slowly over the wound. She was straddling you, a hand on your shoulder, the other behind your neck. And the tongue continued to work, the papillae of her tongue drawing a light friction over the wound. It was... Arousing.

"Did I tell you that you could touch me?" Rose smirked.

Your hands were resting on her back, drawing unconscious patterns.

"... No."

Rose chuckled at this, nipping lightly at your neck.

"You're enjoying this... Twisted little girl."

The bite went straight downwards, causing your pelvic floor to clench involuntarily.

"I'm not. Well, I am, not because I want to-"

Rose's lips crashed against yours, tongue immediately pressing through your lips as you gasped. Claiming, tasting, exploring. She coaxed your tongue out slowly, her hand cradling your head, massaging gently.

"Give me your tongue." a voice sounded in your head.

It was feminine. You obeyed, sticking it out. Rose's lips enveloped the muscle, sucking wetly. The result was immediate. Your hips twitched, your core clenched, and you let out a desperate moan into her mouth. Rose let out a low hum of approval, continuing to suck your tongue in and out of her lips, imitating oral sex. The suggestion was arousing, and when you pulled away, the look on her face said it all. Rose was pleased. She knew she was sexy, she knew what she was doing was hot, and the fact that you were confused, horny and scared, all against your will, it only served to pad her ego.

"Poor thing... Are you worked up?" Rose crooned, stroking your sides. "Tell you what... I'll make it better, but then afterward you and I are going to brainstorm a way to work off your debt."

Your words caught in your throat. You didn't want to owe her anything, that would be very bad, but you had a feeling that it wouldn't matter what you decided. She'd laugh if you told her you didn't want to fuck her, and probably fuck you anyways. But then again, to make the best out of a bad situation... Who would blame you?

"Mhm, you'll come around." Rose hummed, licking a stripe up your neck. "And it will be reaaaaal good."

Your hands were resting on her back again. She didn't scold you this time. She took the topper off, setting it to the side. Her hair was a little frizzy, but it really didn't matter. She looked like a fallen goddess either way. Her hands reached for the hem of her sweater, pulling it off. Pert, large breasts jiggled with the movement, unencumbered by a bra or other garment. You wondered why you hadn't noticed it before. Rose wondered why she was wasting her best window of performance on a rube.

"You like what you see? Oh I know you do." Rose smiled, resting her elbows on either side of her face. "Kiss them. Give them the attention they deserve."

You obliged, angling your head up to kiss one of her nipples. Tentatively at first, and then a little surer. Rose pulled down your bottom lip, silently beckoning you to open your mouth. She pressed her nipple into your mouth, sighing in delight as you obediently swirled your tongue around the areola.

"Beautiful. A little suction, not too much, I'm not a cow." Rose sighed.

Adding increasing levels of suction, you stopped when Rose let out a low moan, her hips bucking against your stomach. You alternated swirling your tongue and sucking, drawing the sweet noises from Rose's mouth.

"The other side now, my other girl is feeling left out." Rose breathily gasped.

As you swirled and sucked the other nipple, she reached up to pinch the previously worshipped breast. Her hips twitched erratically, and judging by the increasing frequency of her little gasps and moans, she was getting more aroused. Finally she pulled back, her nipple sliding out of your mouth with a wet plop. Rose pulled at her jeans, sliding them down her knees and onto the floor in one swift motion. Whether she took off her panties at the same time or was never wearing any, you couldn't be sure.

"Stay put." Rose ordered.

You leaned back against the bed. She put a knee on either side of your face, lowering herself as she spread her labia open. The sight was both daunting and arousing, her inflamed clit pulsing angrily amidst the pink strip of her inner labia. You opened your mouth as she lowered her entrance over your mouth.

"Lick." she breathily moaned.

You licked a stripe up from entrance to clit, tasting her for the first time. It wasn't anything pungent or otherwise remarkable, but it was good. She fisted her hands in your hair as she rocked against your tongue, pushing her clit into your nose.

"Stick your tongue in, fuck me with your tongue." Rose rasped.

Obeying, you punched your tongue in and out of her hole, catching her secretions with your tongue. Rose moaned emphatically, continuing to grind her clit over your nose.

"That's it, just like that..." Rose praised. "Pull me against you."

Grabbing her thighs for support, you pressed her down into your mouth, alternating between licking stripes up her labia and fucking her with your tongue. Her moans grew louder and more emphatic, pressing her clit into your nose until your nostrils closed, preventing your ability to breathe. She worked faster against you, riding your face with reckless abandon, either unaware or unconcerned with your lack of air. In a last ditch effort to prevent suffocation, you pistoned your tongue in and out of her earnestly until she let out a howl of pleasure, squeezing her thighs over your face.

...

"Hey, wake up!" a voice echoed, muffled and unclear.

A sharp sensation, someone shaking you. Things came into clarity, bit by bit. Rose was over you, shaking you and slapping your face. She came into focus slowly, her face flushed.

"Fucking finally." she swore.

Arms pulled you up, stripping you of the sweaty shirt that clung to your breasts. You weren't wearing a bra, who could blame you? It was midnight on a fucking Tuesday. Or Wednesday, you guessed.

"Are you awake now? I'm not done with you."

You frowned, still adjusting to being awake after nearly suffocating to death between the woman's thighs.

"Naughty thing. Lay over my lap, I'll get you awake again."

You groggily obeyed, breathing steadily. Rose's hands caressed your back gently, pulling your pajama bottoms down. You were still uncomfortable, although your arousal had significantly dulled following you passing out. Her hand caressed your panty clad bottom, squeezing and pulling the flesh expertly. You let out a soft hum of contentment.

"Wouldn't have been a bad way to go, you know." Rose teased, continuing to knead your buttcheeks.

You gave an unconvinced hum in response. Rose let out a low chuckle, giving you a playful smack on the rear.

"Let's try this again. This time you can be on top, huh?"

Rose helped you up, after taking off your panties of course. She laid upon the bed, and you moved to straddle her face.

"Nuh uh. Turn around, the other way."

You obeyed, facing her legs.

"Now lean down. Hold my legs open, that's right, princess."

Princess. The name felt more intimate than the other titles she had given you, most were insulting. You found yourself looking forward to tasting her again. Her clit still remained engorged, and you busied yourself with licking at it as Rose drew her hands back and forth over your thighs.

"Pretty pussy you've got." she crooned.

A sharp bite to your inner thigh. It shocked and aroused you, and your core clenched involuntarily. Rose gave a low chuckle at the sight.

"Is she this wet for me?" Rose cooed. "Might need to have a taste."

Her tongue parted your labia, circling your entrance. Your hips bucked into her mouth, and she smacked your butt in jest.

"Naughty."

To make up for your unintentional disobedience, you leaned down, spreading her labia and exposing her engorged clit to your tongue. You circled it a few times before pulling the hood back, sucking softly. Rose's reaction was immediate. She groaned, kneading your thighs tenderly.

"Mhm. Good girl."

Her tongue returned to your entrance, licking lazily, occasionally rolling over your clit. Enough to stimulate, not enough to really please. It was infuriating, but you doubled your attentions in the hopes she would reward you. Taking her clit in your mouth, you sucked it, drawing it back and forth between your lips like she had done earlier with your tongue. Rose moaned, letting out a few words that you didn't understand, a foreign tongue. Then her mouth was at your clit, her tongue drawing steady circles over the nerve. You felt her thighs clenching, and you held them open as she reacted accordingly. Her mouth abandoned your clit, and she moaned out, her hips thrusting against your mouth. Then her mouth was sucking violently against you, two fingers roughly penetrating you. But just as her orgasm subsided, just as a familiar clenching began in your abdomen, she pulled away.

"No!" you whined.

A harsh smack cracked over your ass.

"Shut it."

She pushed you to the side, sitting up. She used your shirt to wipe the mess off her face.

"If you want to come, you'll crawl over here and ride my fingers."

Much to your utter dismay, (and deep humiliation), you saw the truth in her eyes. Crawling into her lap like a discarded puppy, you winced as the pushed two of her fingers into you once more. But that was were her roughness ended. A hand encircled her waist while her thumb rolled gentle circles over your clit.

"Put your arms around my shoulders, princess."

The soft praise and gentler look returned to her eyes. She smiled softly at your obedience, pressing a gentle kiss to your neck.

"You've been good... I suppose I should reward you."

Her fingers moved gently in and out of you while her thumb moved in that soft pattern. It was good, a gentle stimulation to push you up to a gentle climax. You had the feeling that if she wanted you to squeal in pleasure, she'd do so, but this was an allotment, not a reward. Her kisses on your neck turned into soft, tender bites, matching her tone. A slow build up to climax began, and you wrapped your arms tighter around her.

"I.. I'm gonna-"

"-I know you are. Now moan my name, 'Rose'."

You felt your lower muscles slowly starting to clench, and you let out a soft whimper.

"Rose!" you obeyed, feeling your pelvic floor clench and unclench erratically.

It was fulfilling, but not by much. In truth, you'd been most stimulated when you were pleasing her, a truth that made you aware of a darker truth. Rose was toying with you. She wiped her hand off nonchalantly, putting her hat back on. With that one action, she went from uncommitted lover to sinister debt-collector.

"Now. About that debt."

<------------>

A/N: This is really just a one-shot, I don't see a part two or continuation, but I would be more than happy to write a similar story or use a similar template to create a series. Feedback is always welcome. :)

[southernassessors24]

[neesieiumz]

𓆩☆𓆪 | 𝙾𝙵𝙵𝙸𝙲𝙴𝚁 ⸺ ⚞ 𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙽 𝙹𝙰𝙴𝙶𝙴𝚁 ⚟

⸻ synopsis ⫸ despite working together for a long time, eren and yourself cannot be in a room together, too bad the two of you are stuck at the office late at night.

⸻ warnings ⫸ sm*t. minors do not interact. p*rn with plot. part iii of the gold rush anthology. frenemies. coworkers. secretary!reader. officer!eren. eren calls you angel in this. slight-pervert!eren. erwin is your boss. female reader. afab reader. black-coded reader. reciprocal jealousy. mikasa and connie are in this but have no major significance. slight hate sex. storage room sex. mating-press position, regular and reverse cow-girl position. eren and reader are both in their early twenties as well. hickeys. you may or may not get pinned to the floor. they fight a lot for dominance as well.

⸻ writer's notes ⫸ currently my second longest fic to date, nothing has yet to top my choso one but yeah, yeah I know… this is late asf… I made the last part in may and it's currently july...but in my defense, I was dealing with bad Miguel brainrot! But hope you enjoy this, and to that Anon… HERE! Damn 😭 next is Jean, Armin and finally Zeke!

⸻ word count ⫸ 7.4k

previous part in the anthology | masterlist | next part in the anthology

A change in life, a change in pace was what your mother called it the moment you had moved out here. 

It was completely different from what you were expecting of course. "Being born with a silver spoon in their mouth," is what many would have called you. Your father was a rich man from the city, and so you had once wanted for naught, believing every single word that fell from your father’s mouth. Surrounded by the shiny things, expensive items,  balls, and parties, the “oohs and wows” of your friends. You believed that your life would continue down that familiar, wealthy path you believed your father had laid out for you. 

At least that’s what you thought until you suddenly found yourself being whisked away by your mother in the middle of the night, bags barely packed. She was hysterical, unable to say full words to you as she basically shoved you into a carriage along with your bags. Sixteen, and dressed in a barely thin nightgown, the night was cold, the wind blowing very harshly as The two of you rode into the heavenly midnight. Your body, still heavy with sleep, could barely keep up with the hysterical babblings your mother was making. She wouldn't answer all your questions, all you knew before sleep overtook you once more, was something about your father. 

Later, you learned your father had effectively abandoned the two of you, moving his new, younger family into the place you had once called home. 

Your mother’s family was once from the country, a decent-sized farm town called Paradisia. They all moved to the city when your grandfather struck gold and became a very rich man. Unfortunately, he was also a fervent gambler and drinker and effectively had given and drank away the money he was supposed to use to sustain his family. It caused your mother to be pushed into your father’s arms and yet, all it did was bring back to the place she was born, but a place she never knew. Soon that’s where you found yourself, in the house her family had left behind. The two of you didn't adjust well, your father had paralyzed the two of you, made you used to having your every mood and need to be picked apart and waited on by others. 

It was hard, and your mother's accident didn't make things better. Someone, who we later learned was someone who had a rise against your grandfather, still remembering your mother after all these years. They had pushed her into the road, just as a horse was racing through the path. Everyone said she was lucky to have lived after such a tragedy. She, however, was bedridden, and all the housework, along with bills and other things that needed to be paid soon fell on you. 

You needed a job, and you were lucky to have met Erwin, the town’s sheriff, who was also the responding officer to follow up after your mother’s brush stroke with death. He needed a secretary for the sheriff’s office, someone to file papers and file out extra reports, to conduct budget plans and present them to the mayor. Luckily, you were decent with papers and organization, for the most part, everything else you learned on the go. It was good pay, amazing pay even, just enough to get the fancy medicines from the pharmacy for your mother’s chronic back pain as well as pay all the bills. It was a win-win, and most of your co-workers, officers working underneath Erwin as well, were very nice to you, most of them at least.

You pushed open the door, walking into the almost bare office. It had been like this for a matter of weeks, this town was not very much riddled with crime. However, the recent bandits and break-ins have put everyone on edge. Many of the officers were mostly out on patrol, as the recent bandit problem became a top and main priority for the town. There were only a few around, walking around papers in hand, possibly discussing one of many cases happening around the town. You waved and greeted a few, as you made your way to your desk right near the front door. 

“Only five minutes late angel… a new record.” 

You nearly stopped in your tracks, pushing down the red-hot feeling of annoyance that rose the moment you heard his voice. Glancing over, you made eye contact with deep olive-green eyes gleaming with a jeering look. He was leaning back against his desk, legs raised up, wearing the same uniform many of the officers wore during their shifts. His hair was pulled back in its usual bun, hands clasped together on his stomach as he eyed you, watching you swing yourself around into your chair and desk, lacing your bag right beside you on the floor. 

You sighed, pushing yourself underneath the desk, “shut up Jaeger, no one asked for your opinion.”

“Lucky Erwin isn’t in right now, he’d be disappointed that you were late again.”

“Just like he was disappointed when he found out I did the Kirstein report instead of you? Oh yeah, real disappointed.” You mused, sending a small smirk over to him. 

He rolled his eyes, “yeah whatever, laugh it up.” he mumbled out, “got me stuck on this desk for the next week that’s for sure.”

You rolled your eyes, still unable to hold back your smirk, “should have actually done the report then Jaeger.”

You could hear him mumble under his breath but he soon quieted down, allowing you to focus on the piles of papers Erwin and other officers around must have put on your desk for you to continue working on. The silence rang in your ears but it was nothing you weren’t used to by now, usually the office was bustling with different walks of people, people with complaints, and petty drama that entails the slow life of the country. Neighborly feuds, and whatnot, but now it was empty, everyone putting their efforts out there—

“How do you even do this?”

Your thoughts were soon cut by that familiar deep voice, inhaling sharply as your eyes turned towards him. He was no longer leaning back, instead, a paper in his hands lifted towards the light illuminating the open windows.

“Jaeger. Shut up.” 

He leaned back up, narrowing his eyes at you, “How are you even able to do all of this? How many of these do you even do in a day?”

You sighed, lifting your head back up to fully look at him, “way more than yours Jaeger, now get to it.”

He groaned again, before focusing on the papers once more, as well as picking up his pen. You couldn’t lie, the pile of your work on your desk definitely felt thinner than usual, glancing over at the struggling cop currently typing letter-by-letter whilst glancing at a packet of sheets on his desk. 

As you worked, your mind faded, paying attention to your work but your mind also ran through errands you needed to complete either today or sometimes this week. Picking up mom’s medicine, there’s been a shortage and you really need to stock, she’s miserable without it. As well as grocery shopping, cleaning the house, laundry, and pre-cooking lunch for your mother. 

Every so often, you would hear Ere complaints, his “woe is me” as he flipped through the stapled stacks. You finished your own pile a few hours later, the day creeping into the afternoon, your lunch break in a couple of hours. Unable to hold yourself back as you snuck glances over at the struggling brunette situated in his chair. His desk was still stacked with papers, with his long hair no longer in the sleek bun he always came in with. His eyes were wracked with frustration. You glanced over at your-now clean desk, before glancing over at the clock once more. 

With a heavy resolve, you stood up, before walking over to his desk. Eren, eyes shot with exasperation, only glanced up at you as you held your hand out towards him. 

“Give me half, Jaeger '' you compromised, gesturing for him to hurry up. 

He narrowed his eyes at you, “last time I did that, I got stuck with this pile.”

You rolled your eyes, “yeah and it’s painful to watch you agonize over this, my brain’s hurting from watching you.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, but his hands moved towards the piling, picking up one of the stacks before handing it over to you.

“You better not get me in trouble again, angel.”

“How many times do I gotta tell you not to call me that, Jaeger?”

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · 

Nothing but the light of the window, along with the flickering light hanging above you, and the lantern Erwin graciously provided you right before your lunch break, surrounding you as you dug deep into the old storage room. He had finally mentioned this storage room after offhandedly bringing it up in conversations with you. The storage was reaching its peak, according to him, with files, transcripts, court documents, and papers from decades of cases, both solved and still cold to this day. With the recent expansions, the mayor wanted everything as organized as possible, and with the sheriff's office so overwhelmed with the recent events, it fell upon you to get the huge storage room in check. 

Past your lunch break, with all your main work completed, you found yourself finally beginning to dig through the boxes of old reports and evidence from decades of cases over the years. The room was stacked high with old evidence boxes, almost reaching the ceiling. In hindsight, for a town of that size, it wasn’t as big as many would make it. This was a relatively safe community, but with this expansion, crime was inevitable. Sighted by the obvious thief problem running through the town. As people found it easier to live a country life than city life. People wanna slow down, and in turn, many people of different walks come through. However, longtime residents are very abhorrent against seeing new-dangled city folk coming in and messing up their ways of life. 

Throwing out old, moldy evidence boxes and replacing them with fancy metal filing cabinets Erwin and the mayor had ordered. You sighed, before breaking out in a violent cough as dust suddenly entered your lungs. 

“Oh I am so asking for a raise after this,” you mumbled angrily, as you dropped the box on the one free table in the room. 

The sudden slam overwhelmed the already-breaking box, the flimsy cardboard bottom giving out, causing the files to spill out of the dusty-filled container. The sudden spread of dust caused you to break out into another coughing/sneezing. Cursing to yourself as you cover your nose, eyes watering as you navigate towards the box of tissues you brought with you. Once the dust and dirt dissipated, you continued on your journey, mumbling under your breath as you did so. 

‘‘Fuck,” huff “this,” huff “shit!” You let out a final huff as you recognized the files. 

On the table where you worked, mark the folders alphabetically before placing them in the piles you had made. You glanced at the small pile, before gazing over at the still-tall piles of boxes that you still need to get through. Once the files were out of the way, you turned around, sighing as you walked towards the stepladder, mind still overrun with anger as you stepped up to grab another box. In a fit of your anger, the moment you yanked one of the boxes off of the tall stack, you must have missed a step, heart dropping as you felt your foot hook onto nothing, feeling yourself beginning to slip. 

Your mind was racing, fear overtaking and grappling you, as you felt your hands let go of the box, flailing, and reaching out to grab something. You let out a short shriek, closing your eyes as you braced for impact. However, all you felt was your body landing on something much more softer than the wooden floor. Opening your eyes, you found yourself staring into familiar deep-green olive eyes. Mouth was slightly agape, as your hands unusually wrapped around his shoulders and arms. Your breath quickened slightly as your heart continued to race.

“That was really close, angel.” 

His voice snapped you out of your trance, relaxing where exactly you were. 

“Let me go Jaeger,” you grunted out, squirming in his hold. 

The taller man looked down on you, a slight mischievous smile appearing on his face, “nah, think I like you right here.”

“You are in eye-stabbing distance Jaeger, let me go.”

He hummed, still not letting you go down from his arms, “how about you thank me for catching you? Instead of acting like you got a stick up your ass all the time?”

You grumbled, looking away from him, “rather swallow glass than do that.”

Eren hummed, shrugging his shoulders, “guess you’re stuck here.”

As he said that, his grip on you tightened, his arms pressing you right against his uniform-clad body. Underneath the rough material, you could feel his abs pressing through. The longer you stayed in his arms, the more aware you became of his large hands wrapped around your arm and leg. You could feel his chest moving up and down beneath. Your hands were on top of his shoulders, as the two of you locked eyes. 

However, the door suddenly flew open, surprising both of you. Eren’s, ever the graceful person he is, hands suddenly flew up and inadvertently dropped you onto the dusty, old, wooden floor. You landed with your loud thud, letting out a short shriek as your boss, Erwin Smith, popped his head into the room. The tall blonde glanced between the two of you.

“...Did I interrupt something?” He called out, seeing you wince, rubbing yourself on your back, trying to relieve the sudden sharp pain.

Eren let off a nervous giggle, beginning to bend down slightly to help you up, “Ah, no sheriff, nothing at all. Just helping her out with some things.”

The tall blonde man only hummed, glancing between the two of you once more, before looking around at the boxes and new filing cabinets in the room before looking back down at the two of you. He narrowed his eyes at the two of you, not saying a word before slowly backing out, closing the door. The light dimmed, the room once again being illuminated by the singular light and the lantern. Eren looked back down at you, his large hands beginning to wrap around your waist. However, you smacked his hands away, reaching out and using the table to push yourself up. Shuddering, leaning back against the table to catch your breath as parts of your back and butt throbbed with white-hot pain. 

“So…”

You narrowed your eyes at him, “Get out Jaeger, before I murder you with this lamp.”

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · 

The next day comes around, with you still organizing the storage room, and Eren still on desk duty, now taking on your pile of reports to do, while you were in the storage room, organizing the filing cabinet. According to Erwin, the reports had to be put into their respective new cabinets by the end of the week, as the mayor was coming to inspect them. With Eren still on desk duty, you had no choice but to delegate your tasks to the tan brunette, as Erwin, once again, literally trusted no one here but you to get these files into their new homes. Which most likely meant you would be stuck here overnight, continuously rummaging through these boxes. Erwin could only show off a face of pity as he gave you the task, luckily raising your pay to make up for the turmoil he was bringing upon you. Fortunately, you had a friend of your mom’s to help her for the next few days while you finished these tasks at work. 

You felt your stomach twist, a loud rumbling sound echoing through the room, as you placed the file into the drawer before closing it. Reaching down you turned down the lantern until it dimmed out, before walking out of the room. Walking out of the room, wiping away the slight drip of sweat along your brow, pushing back the bandana you wrapped on top of your hair. You walked down the short hallway, on your way to your desk to head off for your break. You grabbed the bottle of water you had left on top of it, taking a sip as you glanced around the station a little more. There were a few more people in here than usual, ambling about. Your eyes couldn't help themselves as they gazed over to a certain brunette, watching him hunched over the desk, hair frenzied, but that wasn’t the only thing you saw. Standing right near him, hovering over his desk as well, was your other coworker. Mikasa, when it comes to strength within the station, was probably there, on par with Levi, and he didn’t officially work as a cop here. She and Eren go way back, his family taking her in and the two of them becoming officers at the same time. She was bent over the desk, their faces so close together as they spoke in low voices to each other. 

You felt your heart constrict for a moment, but a voice pulled you out of your slight trance, turning your head as you made eye contact with gray eyes and a matching buzzcut. You finished your water bottle, screwing the top onto the empty bottle before placing it right on your desk. 

“Connie? What’s up?”

When you first arrived in town, Connie was one of the first friends you’ve ever made, along with Jean, his wife, and Sasha. The four of you were basically inseparable all through your last two years of high school and would be the ones to help you out when your mother had her horrible accident. 

Connie smiled before holding up a bag, a lunch bag, holding it out to you, “Mom made too much food, already dropped some off with Jean and his lil wife, and Sasha, though she almost took yours but thought you’d like the last of it.”

Your eyes widen, gracefully accepting the bag, and opening the folded top before the savory, rich smell of tomatoes, pasta, cheese, and spices hit your nose. It was a concoction you had smelled all before, memories of eating her lasagna after school whilst your mother was working her two jobs. 

You squealed, “I haven't had her food in so long!” Your excitement overtook you, as you jumped towards Connie, wrapping your arms around him. 

The man caught you easily twirling you around with laughter and a smile on your face. Neither of you didn’t notice both green and black eyes staring at the two of you, standing in the middle of the station. The two of you began to be wrapped up in your own conversation, walking away with Connie’s arm around you, towards the small break room in the back. Mikasa could only glance at Eren, his eyes glowering, and seeing the pen in his hand being squeezed to their death. The two of you were gone from his sight, but before she could focus him back on the papers, he stood up abruptly, mumbling something about taking his lunch break outside, before stomping out of the station. 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The same day but late at night. Barely anyone would stick around at the station, those on nighttime duty would usually go out and patrol, only coming in for small breaks. Even then, they would go to their own homes before they would come to the station to do that. So, there was no one at the station.

Well until now. 

The pile of paper was less, but Eren still had a few more to get through, the light of his lamp illuminating his desk as he continued to scribble across them. Erwin was clear on these being done on his desk by morning, with a harsh glare on his face before he headed off for the night, his girl standing outside the station waiting for him. In the distance, he can hear muffled thuds, the sounds of boxes hitting the floor and being torn apart. Eren’s foot tapped faster as his mind slightly drifted to you, still stuck in the storage room, sorting everything that has happened in this sheriff's station. You were still sorting through everything, spending overtime to be able to get it all done for you in time. The pace of his foot quickened, and his mind slowly descended into shambles. He dropped the pen on the desk, leaning back with a loud groan as his mind faded back to this afternoon, the last time he really laid eyes upon you. 

Glancing over at the small hallway leading to the storage/evidence room, Eren stood up, his chair scooting back abruptly. His heavy boots thudded against the floor as he made his way to the storage room. The door was slightly ajar, the sounds of papers being shuffled, boxes being ripped apart, and disgruntled huffs getting louder and louder. Eren stood outside the doorway, opening the door a little further, allowing his eyes to lock onto your figure, bent over as you picked up an overstuffed file. You wore a black skirt, paired with a short green top. His eyes could leave your form, watching as you slowly stood back up, walking towards the filing cabinet standing against the wall. He watched as your bottom and thighs moved with every step you took. You bent over once again, opening the drawer, before placing the file into the drawer. 

Eren swallowed some spit, coating his dry throat as he felt his pants tighten up. His hand shifted down, adjusting his pants as best as he could to hide the growing hard-on, before raising a hand. With little resolve, he knocked on the door, inadvertently widening the cracked space. The slight knocking and the squeaking door caught you off-guard as you turned around, gasping a bit as you made eye contact with him. Luckily, you weren’t holding anything, as you would have probably dropped it as Eren entered the room, stalking closer to you. You couldn’t help the smirk that appeared on your face as you took in his disheveled appearance. 

“Come for help, Jaeger?” 

He shook his head, tilting his head as he looked over at you, “...I’m all good over here.” He lied, the pile of papers still hauntingly high on his desk. 

“With all these heavy boxes, you might need some help. Wouldn't want you falling to your death, right?” His tone took on a more vexatious tone, bending down slightly to be face to face with you. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, the two of you barely an inch apart from each other’s faces, your noses barely grazing each other. The smell of his forest green cologne hit your nose, with the after-smell of mint, you held back a shudder, your thighs unconsciously rubbing together. You broke the stare first, taking a step back, scoffing, and turning your head. 

“I have a lot to do tonight Jaeger, I don’t need your arrogance around me. Go finish those damn reports before Erwin yells at you again, and neither me or Mikasa can help you.”

You don’t know what got into you, it was as if her name slipped out of you, your heart racing as he took a few more steps towards you.

Eren narrowed his eyes at you, “not like you're any better off, looks like Connie can’t come give you a hand this time.”

You glared right back at him, “and what the hell does Connie have to—” you suddenly interrupted yourself, “you know what, I don’t have to explain myself to you. Get out. Can’t do any work with breathing down my neck.”

Eren’s glare never let up on you, only watching as you walked away from him, pulling the papers out of the file lying across the table. He shook his head, turning around before walking back towards the door. He reached out, grabbing the handle before pulling. It didn’t budge. Eren’s expression turned into one of slight confusion as he pulled on the door once more. The sound of the wood hitting against the doorframe had you lifting your head up, turning around, and seeing Eren struggling with the door. Your eyes widened, as your eyes landed on the smaller, sturdier box. Through your turmoil, you didn’t notice Eren accidentally kicking away the box that had kept the door propped open. 

“You locked us in here! You idiot!” You screamed at him. 

“I didn’t know!”

You scoffed, pushing him away, before pulling at the door. No dice. It didn’t budge. You were stuck in here, with Eren of all people. You took a couple steps back, hands on your waist, breathing heavily from the struggle of getting the door open. Eren was a couple of steps away from you, arms crossed as he looked over at you.

“We’re stuck here, until Erwin decides to come in.” Sighing, walking past him towards the table. 

Eren followed right behind you, “so what? That’s it? We’re just stuck here? No other way out? No key? No nothing?”

A rush of anger overtook you like a sea wave, your body swiftly turning around to face the man who put you into this predicament, “no, there’s no way out. It locks from the inside, unless you have the key which goes on the outside. Only way to keep it open is if the key stays in the lock on the outside.”

“What the fuck? That’s so stupid, why would Erwin do something like that?”

 For “security reasons” according to him, "trust me, you're not the first person to complain about it.”

“So we’re stuck here until morning,” you stated, crossing your arms, leaning against n the huge filing cabinets. 

“That’s so… fuck!” He yelled.

The brunette walked back to the door, lifting his leg before kicking at it, multiple times. The loud boom echoed through the room, along with Eren’s heavy grunts. You turned your head, watching as he struggled against the door. 

“Kicking stuff is not gonna help our situation, Jaeger.” You sighed, bending your head back, the cool touch of the metal sending calming chills through your spine. 

Eren stood up straight, stalking towards you. He stood right in front of you, leaning down, hands in his pockets

He narrowed his eyes at you, “and what the hell do you suggest? I don’t see you thinking on how to get out of here!”

“Because there is no way out. You think Erwin would make a way out of here without the key? No. There's sensitive information in here.” You said, lifting your head up to look at him.

Your noses barely grazed each other as you glared right at each other. You could feel your heart thundering in your chest, that heated feeling blooming within you. The smell of his musk-like cologne not doing you sorts of favors. 

Your hands, slightly shaking, reached up, hoping to move him away from you to relieve you of the tumultuous mess you were slowly becoming, “get out my face,” you hissed.

Your hands only touched his shoulders before his hands came up and wrapped around your wrists, easily pinning them against the metal box. Eren leaned down further into you, seeing his chest move up and down, his breath breezing up against your face. One day, when you would think back on this night in the future, the two of you may argue about who actually initiated everything between the two of you. The two of you locked lips, hands moving around the two of you in a frenzy, your hands running wildly through his long brown locks, while his hands roamed around your body, his two hands finding solace grabbing at and squeezing your ass. With ease, Eren easily picked up you, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carried you, your back hitting up against the edge of the table, easily dropping you right onto it.

You shrieked, internally hissing as a hot-white pain shot up your back. The pain dulled away as quickly as it came as you let out a choked moan as you felt his lips leave wet kisses along your neck, “fuck… god, you’re an asshole.”

His eyes narrowed back at you, “looks who’s talking,” is all he said before he bent down again, swallowing you into another kiss. 

Another moan left your lips, muffled by the kiss as Eren pressed his body further into you. His hands wrapped up around your knees, pushing your legs further apart and back, allowing your skirt to ride up. Revealing your soaked panties, the sticky sound of your juices as one hand left your leg. Eren took two fingers, hooking them underneath the soaked clothes before pulling them up and away, revaluing your drenched cunt to him. You felt cold air brush along your private, causing you to slightly shudder in his hold.

By now your loose blouse has fallen from your shoulders, your bra straps following, revealing your titties to him. Your distressed locs, once piled up into a high bun, now falling from the hold, brushing along your shoulder blades and neck. The both of you let go for a moment, catching your breath as you glanced at each other. His lips wet with your saliva, hair messy from your actions. You could feel your panties becoming more and more soaked as the two of you dove back into your intense kiss. Your hands feel his shirt, stumbling with the buttons as you undid his buttons one by one. Once you got enough buttons off, you ripped the rest of it off, buttons flying all over the room, revealing his chest. Eren soon let go of the kiss, taking a short breath before beginning to leave kisses all along your cheeks and jawline.

“Fuck—” choking on your spit, head thrown back in bliss. 

Eren’s hands slid up from your waist, his large hands taking up each one of your breasts, He gave each a tentative squeeze, and the two of you locked eyes for a short moment. Eren gave you a smirk, causing you to narrow your eyes at him. He returned his attention to your chest, wrapping his lips around one of your nipples. Your body lurched as he sucked, his lips wet with drool. 

His attention soon switched to your other nipple. The heat of the dark room didn’t help you as you ground yourself between the edge of the table and his chest. Your hands flew up, pulling in his long hair, as you let out a noisy moan. Your legs hooked around his back, a tight heat building up within you. 

With a cry, a premature climax washed over you, your body trembling as your already wet panties became soaked with your cum. Eren soon let go of you, staring up at you, no words but his haughty-like smirk speaking for him. You glared at him, and a flash of anger went through you. An idea sparked within you as you gripped his hair, suddenly pulling down.

“Agh, what the fuck are you doing—?” He yelled as you pushed yourself off the table, making him stand up straight. 

With all the leverage in your hands, you pushed him right down to the floor. He grunted as he landed, eyes going up as he saw you towering over him. He made eye contact with your bunched-up skirt, along with your soaked panties. Slowly, you pulled your panties down. Eren could feel his heart pounding through his chest, and he knew his whole face was red as you hovered over him.

With no words, you lowered yourself completely, your wet cunt landing comfortably on his face, right against his nose and lips. Eren’s tongue was already out of his mouth as you began to grind against him, not bothering to muffle your moans. Your legs and hips moved up and down against him, keeping the pressure up against him. Then, as if he went into overdrive, his arms and hands suddenly flew up, curling around, reaching over from the back, wrapping around your thighs, locking you in place. Eren held you down as he ate away at you. He licked and sucked away at you, his eyes gazing up at you, seeing how you threw yourself into complete euphoria. 

“Fuck–” you stuttered, covering your mouth, sweat and tears mixing together as they dripped down your face.

 For a moment, you glanced down at him, at the same time he opened his eyes, the two of you locking eyes. You couldn't he;p the smirk that appeared on your face. Your hands reached down, your nails and hands weaving through his dark brown hair. 

“Not half bad, for someone like you, Jaeger,” your voice was breathy, your body convulsing. 

Eren’s eyes glowed against the low light, glaring up at you, a range of emotions flowing through them. With no sudden warning, you shrieked as you were suddenly flipped up and around, landing right on your back. Just as quickly, you felt his lips take you once again, his two hands pinning you down by your wrists. The kiss was deep, drool dripping down from both of you. Your hips moved, around, looking for any type of friction, something to ease this fervid ache within you. One of Eren’s hands let go of one of your wrists, reaching down to your thigh, before pushing it back. Your now-free hand flew eight back into his hair. You pulled on it, smirking as you felt him moan in your mouth, as he sucked away on your tongue. You could taste yourself all over him, sending  He soon in-slotted his hips in between your legs, his abdomen and hips grinding right up against you, feeling the stickiness of your slick dripping up against him. His hard-on slipped in between your sopping cunt, his angry-red tip pushing up against your clit. 

He soon lets go of your other hand, not letting go of the kiss as his hands slither down and around your leg, before easily pushing them back. The slightly-painful stretch only causes you to surge forward. He let go of the kiss, taking deep and heavy puffs as he guided his hard cock in between you. You could hear him mumbling under his breath although the sound of your heart beating, as well as your heavy breaths from the messy kiss you two just had, overtook most of what he was saying. He was slapping the tip against your clit, his hips grinding the rest of his huffing and puffing. 

A flash of anger went through you, and impatience overtook your tone, “hurry up, and fuck me Jaeger!”

His eyes held their own flash of ire as they narrowed at you, and suddenly without warning, he pushed his cock into you, pulling a sudden loud shriek out of you. His sudden action knocked the wind out of you, gasping as your back arched up, taking in the sudden aftershocks. His hands landed right on the back of your knees, his hands gripping around them, giving him balance as he slammed into your pussy. 

“Fuck, Jaeger, slow down–” you cried out, your hands dragging down from his scalp into his back, your nails digging into his back.

He said nothing to you, his pace only picking up more and more, the sounds of wet skin slapping against each other was speaking for him. His hair drooped all around him, obscuring his face but you knew deep down inside he wore that very intense look upon his face. Your pussy throbbed and clenched around his length, feeling reaching deep in you. He soon leaned down, his lips lining right up against your ear.

“Huh, still not half bad right, for someone like me? Right, Angel?” He whispered right in your ear, before taking a tentative lick at your ear and beginning to suck on it softly.

As if something snapped within you, you reached right back into his hair, pulling his head away from you. The sudden pull caused Eren to let out a loud groan, his body trembling, his thrust wavering for a moment. The moment awakened something in you, a sudden smugness going through you as you pulled on it again. Just as before his thrust wavered as he let out another loud moan, letting off a soft “fuck” as well. Taking advantage of his imbalance, gathering what little strength you could while in your second wind, you were able to push Eren right back on his back again. He landed with an oof as he opened his eyes, seeing you towering over him once again. You smirked down at him, before turning around, your back and butt facing him as you hovered right over his cock, soaking wet with your juices. Taking a deep breath, you let out a long hiss as you slowly lowered yourself right onto him. 

“Oooh fuck,” he groaned, his hands reaching out and gripping the fat around your thighs.

You pushed your long locs to the side as your hips began to move up and down, using your legs as a balance. Soon getting into a rhythm, your movements quickened, the new position hitting new places within your soaking pussy. Eren’s incoherent moans invigorated you, your hips rocking in all different directions. You could feel his hands gripping bruises into your skin, his slightly long nails digging crescents into your skin. You glanced back at him, seeing his eyes clenched shut, a deep red blush running all over his face and neck. You lifted yourself up, a slight desolate emptiness going through you. Eren let off a gasp, opening his eyes and looking up at you. He narrowed his eyes at you as he let go of his grip around your thighs. 

His breath was heavy, glaring at you but as quick as it came, it went away as you sank tight back onto his cock, facing him this time. With a smug look, leaning down as much as you could as you rode him, easily grabbing at his hair and pulling.

“Angel–, wait, fuck,” his voice was desperate, the slight whines only send waves of pleasure all through your spine and core. 

Hearing Eren’s cries intoxicated you, your hips moving faster and faster, more and more sporadically as well. Your grip on his hair loosened, revealing Eren in the heated daze you put in. Seeing your dilemma, he grabbed your butt, squeezing it tightly before thrusting up roughly. You shrieked, your body flopping onto his, your hands on his shoulders for some balance as he speared his cock into you. You let off curses, the mixture of spit and sweat dripping down from your face and landing on your lips, tasting the salty mixture. As the heated knot within builds up more and more, Eren feels your cunt clench and pulse around him, only further pushing him over the line. 

Your head landed right on his shoulders, unable to hold back your words, “I still hate you so, fuck— much,” you mumbled in his ear.

His erratic thrusts only turned sporadic as his own lips reached your ears, “yeah, you hate me? Show me how much you hate, come for me.”

His words, covered in spitefulness, only urge you, pulling a loud moan out of you as you shook in his hold, your climax spilling and ripping out of you. You dug your nails into him, breaking skin as you came all over him. Your orgasm overwhelmed him, the final push of him as he slammed into you for one last time, groaning very loudly. He didn’t bother pulling out, his seed spilling into you, mixing in with your clear juices. The two of you were breathing very heavily, your head flopping onto his shoulder as his hands wrapped themselves around your waist.

Eren glanced down, hearing soft snores as he saw you slumped, sleeping from the strenuous activity. He couldn’t hold back the smile on his face, slowly easing you off of him but still keeping you right on him as he grabbed his uniform, before pulling it over the two of you. A wave of tiredness overtook him as well, not saying a word, holding you close before falling asleep on the floor of the storage room.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

High-pitched laughter echoed through the ranch home, your head bent in shame as you sat at your friend’s home. 

“I’m sorry for laughing,” she said, obviously not sorry at all, as she wiped the tears from her face.

You took a sip of the coffee she made for you, twirling one of your locs in between your fingers, “it’s fine, trust me. I’d be laughing if it was you in my situation.”

“Your situation? You fucked your co-worker in a storage room, and got caught by your BOSS of all people.”

You covered your face with your hand, letting off a very loud groan, “it was the most embarrassing shit I’ve ever experienced! But the fact that Erwin KNEW something like this would happen… I need to get a new job.”

Your friend snickered, covering her mouth and looking away from you. Before she could say something the back door flew open. Heavy boots hitting the ground, the two of you watched as a very sweaty Jean came through the door. His shirt was wide open, drenched with dirt and sweat, his hat shielding him from the outside sun. You glanced over at your friend, who was staring at her husband like a piece of meat ready to be devoured. You rolled your eyes, sipping down the rest of your lemonade.

“Hey there, haven’t seen you in a while,” Jean said, coming around to give you a short hug.

You smiled, hugging him back, “yeah, been busy at work but thought I’d swing by here while I have the rest of the day off.”

“Yeah, “been busy doing work”…” Your friend teased, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Jean’s eyebrows quirked up, looking at your playful glare towards his wife and his wife’s teasing smile. Suddenly, he remembered the conversations he had with his wife. His eyes widened, glancing between the two of you, before putting his hands up in surrender, not wanting to think of his friend any other way.

He walked around the table, grabbing the pitcher of lemonade she had left on the counter, pouring himself a big glass

“Leave me out of it,” is all Jean said, bending down to give his wife a sweet kiss on the cheek before on the lips.

He was about to walk away, but a soft hand stopped him, pulling him down. A surge of elation ran through him as he felt her soft lips on his own. He ignored the scoff from the other side of the table as he deepened the kiss, closing his eyes. His hand nearly slammed down onto the table, using it for balance as he pushed down. Just as his lungs were beginning to scream out, she slowly let go of the kiss, smiling as the line of spit connected her lips to his own. 

“Not so bad, Mr. Kirstein,” she mumbled, her hand reaching up towards him, her thumb stroking his cheek. 

Jean smiled, grabbing her hand, and laying a couple of kisses on it, “only learned from the best,” he said back, giving her one last kiss on her hand before standing up fully. 

You gagged, looking away from the two of them, “ew, keep your lovey-doveyness away from me.”

His wife rolled her eyes, fulling face you once again, “you could get like me, you know. With you know who.”

You shook your head, grimacing “would rather work in the mines before I do that.”

Jean glanced between his wife and his friend, shaking his head before taking a huge gulp of lemonade. He needed to get back to the horses and cattle soon. A long day ahead of him after all.

taglist: @kanekisfavoritegf @daisynik7 @where-the-blackbirds-sing @nathalunalune @secretanimesimp @kentucky-fried-me @levin4nami @liv-vy @mortqlprojections @invisible-mori @desiray562 @liliorsstuff-blog @sophiiluvvs @magictrump @ventdavi154 @ircngirl @lostinbeidou @missmadness123 @introvered-violinist @dior-fawn @saway4ma @reallongwire @nerdy-simp-7120 @stareatceiling @ehveerivv @zzg0d @keiva1000 @honeybleed @str4wberrylover

[zweetpea]

Freedom or Anarchy? Part 2 of 2

Cw: cringe, swears, innuendos. Mondstadt arc has concluded. Next chapter will hopefully be out by Monday. (Expect Monday or Tuesday)

‘Where am I?’

‘What happened to me?’

‘I wanna go home!’

“Time to get up.” You hear someone call. The voice sounds familiar, deep and most likely male (you don’t want to assume). 

You open your eyes and see blue. You’re still groggy from Albedo’s tea so you can’t really stand. Someone picks you up, supporting you under your legs and you back. 

‘Hang on, if this is Mondstadt… the only man with blue here is.’ “Kae…ya?” You say groggily. 

“She speaks… or are you a he? Hard to tell.” He sets you down on a couch in an office.

“This is the terrorist Albedo gave us?” Lisa asks. You can’t quite move but you aren’t as tired as before. 

“We’ll have to tie… him? Her? …Ah up! Tie up the terrorist.” Jean says. 

“Them… I’m gender fluid. I go by them. Sometimes I’m a he, sometimes I’m a she. But my pronouns are always them.”

“Well, at least we’re getting answers.” Lisa giggles. 

You say as Kaeya binds your wrists and ankles with rope. You lean forward onto him and whisper to only him. “Tighter, daddy~” 

“Sky, where did you say that Light and Paimon ran off to?” Kaeya asks, embarrassed and blushing. 

“We’ve met Barbatos, they went off to find him.” Aether says. That’s right, the twins didn’t tell anybody their real names. 

“We’re back! And we’ve brought a friend!” Paimon cheers. 

“Obviously this goes without saying but no one can mention this man’s true identity, okay.” Jean states with a harsh tone that you’ve never heard from her before. Everyone nods, except for you. 

Venti walks towards you and you look at him. “Are you the one Celestia fears?” 

“I have no idea what that means.” 

“The descender, the honored one, the adored one. Do any of these names ring a bell?” 

“No?” 

“Do not lie to me! Albedo said-” 

“Why the F you lyin’~ why you always lyin’~” 

“…” 

“Sorry I have a tendency to reference memes and vines. I’m Gen Z, it’s a part of who we are. I’m kidding, I think that’s just me.” 

“So the Adored One has a name, Jen.”

“No that’s-” 

“And these “Me-ms” and “vines” must be your sacred texts! You’re a nature spirit aren’t you!”

“No! And for the record I don’t think you are a god!” 

“Wow, the honored one looks down upon me.” 

“Boys, Girls, and squirrels, listen up! Because I’ll only say this once. I’m not from this world. I want to go home. The world I come from none of you are real.” 

“Honored one, saying “Boys, Girls, and squirrels” doesn’t help your claim that you aren’t a nature spirit.” 

“Oh for Shucks sake. Actually can I swear in here? I don’t think so. Hell! Bullshit! Kaeya’s tight Ass! Lisa’s big boobies! Mmhmm boobies~” you start to laugh maniacally. “I need to be put in a mental hospital.” 

“Oh for the love of-” Lumine cuts herself off and goes up to you then shakes your. “Pull yourself together long enough for us to get answers.” 

“Right, right. I’m just a college kid who majored in computer science and engineering. The world I come from you all are a game and I hacked into your code which brought me here. That “Boys, Girls, and squirrels” comment comes from a YouTuber I watch semi frequently.”

(A/n: Danny Motta is his name. He’s pretty funny. Go check him out) 

“How’d you heal Stormterror then.” Aether asked. 

“The sustainer of heavenly principles gave me her powers.” 

“So… none of us are real?” Amber asks. 

“Well, I don’t know how I’d be here if you guys weren’t real but to me you’re just a game. Any of you can be killed and revived at the Statue of the Seven.” 

“I suppose that does poke holes in my credibility as an archon.” Venti twiddles his thumbs. 

“Can I please leave now? I can take Dvalin with me and we can just leave.” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If Stormterror is still enraged we can’t let him destroy other nations. It could spark an all out war.” Jean says. 

“What if we let them stay at that broken down building?” Aether suggests. 

“I still think that we should keep Jen here just in case Stormterror gets any more ideas about attacking Mondstadt.” 

“So we use Jen as a bargaining chip?” Lumine chimes in. 

“Exactly.” 

“Okay if you guys are going to call me Jen can you at least make it Gen with a G? I want to be different.” 

“But Jean! Isn’t that basically asking Stormterror for a fight?” 

“Amber’s right Jean. If we’re going to keep them here we’ll need a plan to tame Stormterror.” Lisa says. 

“I’ll tame him.” Venti says assuredly. “We just have to keep them here long enough for me to calm him down.” 

“BARBATOS!” Dvalin calls from outside. “GIVE ME BACK WHATS MINE!” 

“Everyone! To your stations! Protect the city at all costs!” Jean shouts and everyone rushes from the room. 

“Shit! I have to get out of here!” 

“Master Jean! I’m scared!” Klee runs into the office. 

“Klee! Perfect timing, I’m your brother’s friend.”

“Your big brother Albedo’s friend? Why are you tied up?” 

“It’s a long story. Right now I need you to untie me so I can save everyone.” 

“You can do that? I don’t know, usually only bad people are tied up.” 

“No no! Klee it’s more complicated. You want to save Albedo and Jean and Kaeya, Lisa, Amber, Razor and everyone else right? Then you have to untie me so I can make Stormterror go away.” 

“How do I know that you aren’t lying?” 

‘If gold knows me. Chances are Alice will too.’ “Your mom knows me. I’m the adored one. You can ask her about me.” 

“Mom knows you?”

“Yeah, and you know about Albedos secret lab in the mountains right? I’ve been there. He told me about how much he cared about you.” 

“You’ve gone there?! You really do know Albedo. Okay!” She comes over and unties you. 

“Thanks.” You go over to the window, open it up and shout. “Dvalin!” He comes rushing to you at your cry and you jump out the window and grab onto his tail. 

He flies towards the woods and you land in a stone arena. “Andrius! I need a favor.” 

“What could the East Wind possibly want from me?” 

“Protect the Adored one at all costs. 

“How can this puny human be the Adored one?”

As the two bicker you quietly sneak away. As you climb out of the arena you stop when you see black boots and look up. 

“Who are you.” Diluc looks down at you. 

“I am iron man.” 

“Iron man?” Dvalin roses as he and Andrius start to brawl. 

“Can you get me out of here?” 

“Are you the one rumored to have healed Stormterror?” 

“Maybe.” 

“Come on.” He grabs your arm and hoists you up. He then picks you up and throws you over his shoulder and starts to run. 

“Hey! Am I just a sack of potatoes to you?” 

“Quiet down or they’ll hear us.” He runs and runs until you two get to a water bank. “Follow this past west and you’ll be in Liyue.” He tells you as he sets you down. 

“Oh wow. My own dark knight. How romantic. Well for saving the fair ward of the dragon you get a kiss, as a reward.” 

“No thank you.” He grimaces at you. 

“Oh come on! I was promised debauchery! You’re no fun.” 

“Just leave.” 

“Thanks for saving me! I’m coming back for that kiss though!” You say as you run off. 

‘Hot dragon archon here I come! Please be like a lizard and have two co-‘

[callsign-muffin]

Heal Together: Chapter 6

(Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw fic)

Sorry this chapter took much longer than usual. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this on the page but y'all might already know... I'm a nurse. So my schedule is nice because I only work 3 days or nights a week but... sometimes those days/nights knock me on my ass. This week was no exception.

I really appreciate every single person who has liked, reblogged, and commented on my work. It means EVERYTHING to me. I hope you all enjoy this part!

Masterlist + Playlist

Word Count: 2.2k+

You had been flipped to nights this week and your body was suffering from the sudden change to your circadian rhythm. You and Carly walked to the parking garage in exhausted silence together as the sun rose over the hospital. It was a hard night to say the least, you both were assigned to unstable elderly patients that seemed to be circling the drain. It almost felt cruel to keep them from dying peacefully because there was no way they were ever going to get better. The life sustaining care you were forced to give was just prolonging the inevitable. Your phone buzzed in your pocket, Bradley tried to text you when he woke up at 5am for work to ask how your shift was going. You quickly responded that it was crazy and that you couldn’t talk until you got off at 7:30.

Bradley Bradshaw: Please tell me you’re out of there and able to see this incredible sun rise

You: I am, thank God! I love San Diego sunrises

“Who’s that?” Carly peered over at your phone and saw the name, “Oh my god! He’s checking in on you post shift?!”

You rolled your eyes, “It’s his second time checking in on me, he texted me when he got up earlier but I said things were too crazy on the unit to talk.”

“What happened between you two then?” She asked, “You said he didn’t stay the night or anything.”

You knew she was going to ask for more information soon enough. You two were on your feet caring for your patients all night so there was no time to catch up at the nurse’s station. “He didn’t. But we hung out for a while, talked, drank a lot of wine, and he couldn’t drive himself home. So he took an Uber and then took me to brunch when he came to pick up his car.”

“He didn’t kiss you?” She asked.

You shook your head, “Nope, didn’t after brunch either.”

“Huh,” she looked puzzled, “He’s obviously so into you, we could all see it at the bar. And he took you out on a date. And he’s texting you first thing when he wakes up… he obviously likes you. Why hasn’t he kissed you?!?!”

You shrugged, “I mean, maybe he isn’t and he just wants to be friends. I also feel like dating a former patient probably breaks some kind of nursing ethics code.”

It was something that occurred to you after brunch with Bradley the day before, the possibility of this flirtation messing with your professional life.

Carly’s face dropped when the two of you stopped at your car, “Oh my god… I hadn’t even thought of that.”

You shifted your weight uncomfortably, “Yeah… so I’ve gotta ask you and I’d like you to pass it on to Madi and Sam too, not to discuss Saturday or my… friendship with Bradley at work.”

She nodded, “Of course, I’m sorry I even brought it up briefly when we got on the unit last night.”

“It’s okay, no one was around to hear. I’m just not very well liked by the senior nurses and some of the providers. I just don’t want to give them something to talk about, you know?” You explained.

“Absolutely. When is your contract up?” She asked.

“4 weeks, they asked me to extend though.” You rubbed your eyes, desperately trying to stay awake.

“Are you gonna do it? Or is it too early in the morning to talk about this?” She giggled.

You nodded, “Bingo. Let’s leave this as ‘to be continued’.”

“Alright, get home safe.” She waved you off and headed towards her car a few spots away. 

Once in your Toyota Corolla and buckled, you blasted loud music and freezing cold AC to keep you awake and alert on your commute home. Once there you peaked at your phone.

Bradley Bradshaw: Now that you’ve enjoyed the sunrise, you gotta get your ass to bed.

You: Yes sir, I’ll be out of commission until 1500 hours.

When you arrived home, you looked at your phone again to see Bradley replied with the saluting emoji. You dragged yourself out of the car and up to your apartment, in front of your door was a plastic takeout bag. The parcel was still warm when you picked it up, it was clearly left there just minutes ago. You blinked through your exhausted blurry vision and saw a note typed in the comments on the receipt… it was from the same place you had brunch with Bradley two days before.

“After working through the night, you deserve a true Californian breakfast and a nap. —Bradshaw”

This may be one of the most thoughtful things anyone had done for you in a while. You were so exhausted, you didn’t realize how hungry you were until you caught a whiff of the parcel. When you entered your apartment, you threw your bag down and went straight to the kitchen. You opened the bag to find a breakfast burrito neatly wrapped in aluminum foil, Bradley’s go to menu item. Maybe it was because of the surprise of it waiting for you at the door or because you were absolutely starving, but that thing tasted better than sex. You started your post night shift ritual with a shower. After brushing your teeth, doing your skin care, and changing into comfy clothes, you drew the black out curtains in your room, turned on the sound machine, and set an alarm for 2pm before popping a melatonin gummy. After many years as a nurse and often flipping between days and nights, you had this sleep ritual down to an absolute science.

█ ✪ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ✪ █ 

Y/N <3: thank you so much for breakfast. That may be one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.

Rooster’s heart fluttered when the message flashed across his phone around 8AM. The Dagger Squad had just finished running a drill that ended with 200 push ups. That small rush made him forget how his muscles were screaming at him. He went to reply and saw the “do not disturb” icon was on. He was so glad since that meant Y/N was most likely sleeping. So he left a reply for her to wake up to.

Bradley: I’m glad it came just in time! Hope you’re taking the best nap ever :)

“Is that sexy nurse?” Natasha inquired as she peered over his shoulder.

Rooster rolled his eyes, “Phoenix, she has a name… and that’s none of your business.”

“So yes,” she smirked, “you are texting her.”

“I’m replying to her,” he corrected, “she worked all night last night and is on again tonight. So she won’t get it until she wakes up.”

She stood on her tip toes to get a better look at the screen, “You sent her breakfast?!?!”

Bradley was not loving this line of questioning but he knew he had to answer or Phoenix would never lay off, “I sent UberEats for her to come home too.”

“You are down bad, my friend.” She shook her head.

“Am not.” He quipped back.

“ Are too!” She shoved him.

“That’s not fair Phoenix, just cause you’re one of the boys doesn’t mean I’ll stoop low enough to shove a woman.” He groaned.

She chuckled, “You’re just scared to get your shit rocked, Bradshaw.”

Hangman suddenly appeared beside Phoenix, skillfully placing her in a headlock. “Is this little lady giving you trouble, Rooster?”

She squirmed and screamed, “Hangman, I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

“Ya know Phoenix,” he sighed, “Forever the bully.”

Phoenix reached over and Hangman a firm tap in the junk, causing him to jump and release her.

Rooster couldn’t help but smile as the two of them fought like siblings.

“I was asking him about the hot nurse from the other night.” She explained, “He’s texting her and sent breakfast to her place for her to come home to after work.”

Hangman’s face lit up, “Bradley, Bradley, Bradley… I never thought I’d see the day. You’re courtin’ a fine lady.”

Bradley rolled his eyes, “Courting is a strong word. I’m showing her that I’m… kinda interested.”

Hangman and Phoenix gave each other knowing looks.

Natasha nodded, “Uh huh, yeah. Sureeeeee.”

2pm rolled around and Bradley was wrapping up his work day on base.

Y/N <3: Not the best nap ever but pretty damn good. I’m gonna walk on the beach and get some sunshine before it’s back to the dungeon for the night. What are you up to for the rest of the day?

Should he shoot his shot? She wouldn’t keep engaging with him if she wasn’t at least a little interested, right?

Bradley: Joining you for a walk on the beach if you’ll allow it.

Y/N <3: I would love that. What time can you be at my place?

This was good. This was really good. She’s invited him back to her place. 

Bradley: I gotta change out of my uniform and stuff, how does 3 sound?

Y/N <3: Perfect, I’ll see you soon :)

Rooster had an extra skip in his step as he packed up his things, grateful for the 6am start allowing his work day to have an early finish. Once in his Bronco, he sped home to change into some casual clothes. He decided to really shake it up and not wear his usual Hawaiian shirt and jeans combo. A UVA t-shirt and some gym shorts seemed a lot more appropriate for a casual beach walk. Bradley really couldn’t believe he was putting that much thought into what he wore for something so casual. 

When he walked up to her door he could hear music through it. Whatever Y/N was listening to, she was clearly jamming. When he knocked, she quickly called out, “It’s open!”. He got a better listen to the music once the door was open, it was high energy with a… saxophone? It was kind of lit.

“What is this?” Bradley asked, “It’s awesome!”

“Modern Woman by Bleachers,” she entered the living room wearing a similar outfit to his, a university t-shirt and gym shorts, “Isn’t it great? Kinda gives me Springsteen vibes.”

He paused and listened a little more, “Yes, that’s spot on!”

“Let me just make sure I have my life together for work, so I can just change and leave later.” She said, heading toward the kitchen.

He took another good look at her as she took her lunchbox, water bottle, and an energy drink from the fridge and set it out on the counter. Fresh faced from her nap, hair in a bun, shorts and a t-shirt… he had never seen anything more beautiful.

Y/N paused for a moment and looked over at Rooster, “Is everything okay? Do I have something on my face?”  

He shook his head, “Yes, everything’s great… you look great.”

She smiled shyly and continued her task, “Thank you, Bradley… are you ready to head to the beach?”

“Hell yeah,” he asked, “which beach are we headed to?”

“Nothing fancy, just the beach a few blocks away.” She shrugged, “Hope you don’t mind tagging along on my normal, boring jaunt.”

He shook his head, “Y/N, nothing with you could be boring. I’d have fun watching paint dry.”

█ ✪ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ✪ █ 

The two of you walked along the shoreline; the waves ebbed and flowed across the sand and towards your feet. The wind whipped across your face and through your hair, making it dance wildly. Bradley looked so handsome beside you, you couldn’t help but stare and hope that maybe it would be less obvious since you had sunglasses on.

“I should start doing this more, it’s much more pleasant than running.” He chuckled to himself, “It’s so peaceful.”

You giggled, “Drinking bleach is more pleasant than running, in my opinion.”

“You’re not a runner?” He asked.

“Not unless something’s chasing me.” You quipped.

A smirk slowly crept across Bradley’s face. You weren’t exactly sure what was going through his head but you felt the sudden urge to start sprinting. Next thing you knew he was hot on your heels and you couldn’t help but giggle breathlessly, running on sand was so freaking hard! Two strong arms wrapped around your waist, lifting you off your feet with ease.

“BRADSHAW!!!” You cried out through your giggles, leaning your head back on his shoulder behind you.

His face burrowed into your neck, “You say you’re not a runner but you’re pretty speedy.”

You turned your head to look at him, nose to nose, still giggling breathlessly.

“You’re so beautiful.” He said simply.

It was like two magnets, your lips crashed into his, there was no force that could stop it. Once you realized what you did, you quickly pulled away, “I’m so sorry.”

He placed you gently back on your feet, “Y/N, the only thing you owe me an apology for is stopping.”

Your stomach fluttered, “Soooo… you wanna do it again?”

“Kiss me, you fool.” He chuckled, grabbing you by the cheeks and stroking them sweetly with his thumb.

You stepped closer so you two were chest to chest and gently brushed your lips against his. With a jolt of pure electricity, you pressed deeper into his kiss. It wasn’t until this moment, when you tasted his lips, that you realized how fucking starving you were.

Tag list:

@sarah-bear706318

@dizzybee03

@that-gay-person-27

@alwayshave-faith

@caitsymichelle13

@thespillingvoid

Please message or comment if you'd like to be added to the tag list!

[petrichor-han]

radio silence; hwang hyunjin

PAIRING | android!hyunjin x human!gn!reader

CAST | hwang hyunjin, choi beomgyu, mentions of bang chan, lee minho, seo changbin, han jisung, felix lee, kim seungmin, and yang jeongin

WC | 17.8k

GENRE | post-apocalyptic!au, android!au, robot!au, angst, strangers to lovers, sci-fi

WARNINGS | explicit language, mentions of death, conscious ai, unexplained mentions of “the end of the world,” frustrating naïveté when it comes to love, both of mc’s parents are in the picture, shattering glass + small injuries sustained from it

SYNOPSIS | the world that hyunjin has known since his human died is empty and quiet. he knows that he is the only conscious “living” thing left on the planet, so he tries to make the best of it—until the radio silence he’s gotten used to is suddenly disrupted with startling news of a new genre of humans who are more than interested in the solitude of a broken down old robot.

A/N | PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE THIS POST IN TAGS. ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW ME AND ARE BROWSING TAGS AND THIS FIC SHOWS UP—I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO GET ANY POSTS IN TAGS FOR OVER A MONTH. inspired by the webtoon winter woods by cosmos and van.j. the androidism was inspired by nothing feels more human than loving you by @lotus-dly, soob become human by @beomglocks, and reset and day 24 by @ballelino.

request to be added to current and future taglists HERE!

MASTERLIST

i. FIRST HOME 

The first thing that HHJ-00 remembers is cold. He was cold the moment he gained consciousness, he was cold when he opened his eyes, and the hands exploring his nude body were cold. 

“You’re awake.” A single pair of hands lifts off of his right arm. He turns his head to look at the human that’s staring back at him. He feels uneasy, and he watches his “heartbeat” speed up on the flatscreen in front of him. The human writes this down. “How are you feeling?” they ask. He wants to answer, but the fact that all of these humans are not what he was coded to see humans as makes him even more nervous, and he starts to fidget, wanting to get off of the table he is lying upon. 

His first word is “please.” 

“Please let me go,” he says softly, “you do not look like the humans I am supposed to know and love.” 

The human that has spoken to him whispers something too quiet for his ears to hear, and he blinks at them as they talk amongst themselves in hushed voices. Then they take off the large white helmet that has been draped over their head, and Hyunjin immediately relaxes. For now, the human looks like the ones programmed into his mind, and he knows that this human must be a helpful one—their white lab coat looks like those of doctors, and doctors are supposed to help others. “HHJ-00, how are you feeling?” they ask again, but their tone is gentler this time. The rest of the cold hands have been removed from his body, and the other humans in big white helmets leave the room respectfully. 

“I am cold,” he says honestly. “and this room is very bright.” And bright it is, for there are lots of white lights that are pointed towards him, presumably for examination related reasons. 

“I apologize for that.” The human waves to someone behind him, and he turns his head to look at the opposite wall, realizing that an entire side of the room he’s in is made of glass. The others wait there, and one of them reaches over and messes with something out of his line of view. The lights dim, and one of them reenters the room with a pile of clothing in their arms. He notes that the door seems to be very heavy, and a loud metallic grinding enters his ears as it opens on its own. He feels the straps that were holding him down loosen and release. “Here, put these on.” The human hands him the pile, and he immediately feels a bit awkward, as he has fully realized that though he is not human, he looks like one—and he’s completely exposed in front of everyone. 

“If you’re feeling anything new, you can tell us,” the human says earnestly. 

“I feel embarrassed,” he says, as he pulls on the clothes. The human writes this down again as he stands up, bare feet on the cold white floor. The clothes do not do much to help the cold, but he feels less exposed now. “Thank you for the clothes…” he trails off, realizing he does not know the human’s name. “What is your name?” 

The human pushes up their glasses and stares at him for a moment. “You can call me Doctor.” 

Doctor. He knew that he was right. 

“Thank you Doctor.” 

—

Hyunjin stares down at his wrist. HHJ-00–his first, real name—is printed there. It glows light blue when he taps on it, which he has done frequently ever since he left. The light reminds him of his first home, where he got his first name. 

The floor underneath him is cold, just like his first home. The air is stale, just like his first home. But he is alone. Unlike his first home. 

—

“You’re not the only model we’ve made recently,” Doctor says. They are wandering the halls of First Home together, as they often do. HHJ-00 stares at the plaques of the doors that they pass by. They all have names similar to his, though he has never seen any other AI’s in person. The doors for BC-97, LMH-98, and SCB-98 all look slightly different from his door—there’s a flickering red light where there’s a solid green light on his. 

“What do those lights mean?” he asks, and Doctor stops in front of BC-97’s door, placing one hand flat on the door. 

“It means that they’re older models—faulty ones. Their numbers are different from yours, so they were made before you. You’re the upgraded version of them.” Doctor seems slightly upset about this, and HHJ-00 takes note of this, gears whirring as he focuses on them. 

“I am sorry,” he says, “you seem upset.” 

“There’s one thing you have that the 98 models didn’t,” they say quietly, “you have feelings.” 

“Feelings?” 

“You empathize with humans. That’s why you’re a better companion to us. That’s why LMH-98 and SCB-98 were retired.” 

“Why was BC-97 retired?” HHJ-00 is slightly shaken by Doctor’s darkening expression. 

“He made us feel… too many emotions. They were opposite ends of the spectrum, in a way.” 

“Were you close with BC-97, like you are with me?” 

Doctor sighs. They take their hand off the door, and the light continues to flicker. HHJ-00 swears that the light seems sadder now. 

“We aren’t close, HHJ-00. I’m just in charge of looking after you. Just like I was with BC-97.” 

He feels his heart—or whatever is in place of his heart—drop. Doctor looks at the device around their wrist, and he knows that it tracks his emotions, and he watches as they write down the change in his feelings. He wants to say something as they continue down the hallway, but he doesn’t because he knows that they’ll just write that down too. Maybe it’s a good thing—he’s emotional, so he’s better than the previous models—but what if he’s too emotional? What if he’s like BC-97? 

They come towards the end of the hall. These doors have green lights, like his. They also have windows, which he can see into. In the first room after his, he reads HJS-00, and as he peers into the window he spots another android with a different doctor. This android, HJS-00, has a happy smile and he seems to be laughing, which that doctor is writing down. HHJ-00 feels a sinking feeling in his stomach. This android was made later than him, and he seems happier. Is he better? 

The next door reads LFL-00, and he seems similar to the previous android—smiley and handsome, though in a different way. KSM-00 is quieter, but just as handsome, and YJG-01 is completely different—he looks different. He moves smoother, looks more warm and soft—it makes HHJ-00 look stiff and pale in comparison. 

“I want to go back to my room now,” he says, and Doctor writes down the crack in his voice. 

“Why? You always like roaming the halls.” 

“I don’t like seeing the newer models.” 

“Because you know you’re closer to getting replaced?” HHJ-00 stops walking at the sound of Doctor’s tense tone. 

“Doctor… am I getting replaced?” 

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” 

HHJ-00 doesn’t protest as Doctor leads him back to his room and tucks him into his bed—which replaced the table he first woke up on all that time ago—one last time. After all, it’s against his coding to protest. He was made to obey humans, and Doctor is his human. HHJ-00 feels his eyes burning, and a single tear drips down his cheek. He’s never cried before, but he knows that humans do it all the time. Doctor holds their breath as they take one last note, and then leave the room. HHJ-00 watches their face turn red from the glow of his brand-new defective light before he feels his system shutting down. His vision fades, and the last thing he knows before he closes his eyes is coldness, once again. 

—

“You are very beautiful.” 

HHJ-00 opens his eyes. He feels stiff, something that he knows a real human would also feel if they’d been in the same position for a long time. He stares into the eyes of this new human, who is squatting in front of him. Their gaze is earnest, their lips curved into a slight smile. It’s from excitement, he knows this. He can tell that their shakiness is from a mixture of nerves and lack of nutrition. “Me?” he asks, blinking up at them. 

“Yes, you. You are the most beautiful being I have ever seen.” The new human extends their arm to HHJ-00, and he takes their hand, after pondering it for half a second. 

“Thank you. You are also beautiful.” HHJ-00 returns the compliment, as he knows is customary. But he isn’t lying; this human has a particular shine in his eyes. Even though their face is thin and gray from exhaustion, and they seem to be covered in a layer of grime, HHJ-00 feels a surge of emotion towards them, just like he did with Doctor. 

Doctor. Where was Doctor? 

“Excuse me,” HHJ-00 says politely, as he stands up on his own two feet. He wobbles a little from the unfamiliarity of being upwards. “Do you know where Doctor is?” 

“Doctor?” The new human, whom HHJ-00 has decided to dub “Human” in his mind, looks confused. They cock their head to the side and push out their lower lip. “I didn’t see anybody when I came in. In fact, I haven’t seen anyone in years.” 

HHJ-00 feels the cogs in his head ticking away. “What is the year?” he asks, though he feels a sinking feeling in his stomach. He thinks he knows the answer to his own question, but he doesn’t want to face it. 

“It’s 22XX.” Human stares into HHJ-00’s eyes again, and the only sound in the room is the quiet whirring of his machinery. 

“It’s been that long?” he asks softly. He looks down at his hands, which are clearly untouched from the last time he had been awake. A thick layer of dust is blanketed over his body, which he only now realizes. He tries to dust off his shoulders, his arms, everything that had been exposed. His legs and lower body had been covered with a blanket; the same blanket that Doctor had tucked him into all those years ago. Human slips one arm and then the other out of the straps on their backpack and sets it on the dust covered floor, before reaching over tentatively and helping HHJ-00 dust off his upper body. When Human reaches his head, HHJ-00 feels a new whirring in his chest as they gently untangle his long blonde locks, brushing chunks of dust and fuzz out of the silky strands. He strokes their arm with his delicate fingers, before reaching their hand and engulfing it in his. He stares at Human, who’s staring at his face with glassy eyes. 

“How long have you been alone?” they ask, not bothering to move their hand out from under his. 

“If you are correct, then I have been asleep for over a hundred years.” HHJ-00 feels sad even though he had known this. Saying it aloud made it seem real. 

Human slowly lowers their arm, and HHJ-00 feels a little embarrassed at the way they untangled their fingers from his. They reach down and unzip their bag, and pull out a paper stack. Crudely written with a full piece of lead, were years and years worth of months, with tally marks as the days. Human points towards the latest tally mark with a single grimy finger. “This is today’s date,” they say, and their voice wobbles a little bit. HHJ-00 knows that they are grieving for him. They know that Doctor is long dead. Doctor, the only one that ever cared for HHJ-00, even if it was only because he was an experiment. Doctor, the only one that HHJ-00 had ever come to love. 

HHJ-00 feels his eyes start to water, just as they had done one hundred years ago when Doctor spoke their last words to him and said goodbye. This time, the tears come much faster than they did last time, and he crumples to the floor, knees making a clacking sound as they collide with the hard, cold floor. He buries his face in his hands, because he feels embarrassed about crying in front of someone he has just met and so far, likes very much. He does not want them to think lowly of him. He feels the tears come out of his eyes, but they are not warm. They are cold, and his eyeballs feel hard and dry though they are wet with artificially salty tears. 

Then he feels warmth. Human slowly pulls his hands away from his face with their warm ones. When he looks up to meet their gaze, they are also crying. Ah, humans and their natural empathy, he thinks, so similar yet so different from my built-in feelings. Human’s hot tears make clear tracks in the grime on their face, and make a small puddle in front of them, as they’re leaning over just a bit. HHJ-00 looks down to see a puddle underneath him as well. His tears are orangey from rust, and that only makes him feel worse. He is so far from human, so far from the kinds that he was made to love. Human must hate him, and think he is disgusting for having rusty tears. He is ashamed, and he almost says it aloud for Doctor to record before clamping his lips shut after remembering that Doctor is gone. 

“I didn’t ask your name. What is it?” Human asks. Their voice is thick with mucus and tears. HHJ-00 wishes that his voice would sound like that, just because he is tired of being a machine. He wants to experience the highs and lows of being human; whether it is the glee of pure happiness or the guttural cries of grief, complete with dripping snot and clogged voices. 

“They called me HHJ-00,” he says, squeezing Human’s warm hands in his. He feels like the warmth is spreading all throughout his body as he does so. 

“That is no suitable name for a beautiful person like yourself,” Human says, frowning. They lean over to wipe their face on their equally grimy shoulder. It smears the tear tracks to reveal a pretty cheek, the color slightly off from the friction on their dirty clothes. “Is it okay if we pick a new name for you?” 

“It is more than okay,” HHJ-00 says earnestly, “though, no one but me will ever call it.” 

Human laughs, a sound that makes HHJ-00’s false heart soar. “Well, I will also call it. I will sing it to the trees and the clouds and the dirt, for they are the only ones left here with us. But only if you so let me.” 

“Nothing would make me happier.” 

Human scoots closer to HHJ-00, their knees dragging on the dusty floor. They don’t mind that their pants seem to collect both puddles of tears that had settled into the dust, and their knees touch HHJ-00’s as they stop moving. They close their eyes and hum for a moment as they think. “There are a few names I knew of that I liked before the end,” they said, “shall I list them for you? You can pick the one you like best. Or we can keep looking.” 

HHJ-00 nods eagerly, and Human clears their throat before speaking once more. “Jake, Hansol, Yoshi, Matty, Jaehyun, June, Eli, Sebastian.” HHJ-00 shakes his head. No, they didn’t fit him. 

“Takashi, Gilbert, David, Mark, Juniper, Andy, Jisung, Christopher, Soobin.” 

“Felix, Logan, Oliver, Kai, Hyungwon, Ben.” 

“Quinn, Yoongi, Ronan, Florian, Hyunjin…” 

HHJ-00 perks up at the last name. “That one fits with my title now,” he says excitedly, “Hyunjin.”

“Why, yes it does!” Human exclaims. “That’s perfect, isn’t it?” 

“Where does it come from?” Hyunjin asks, bumping his forehead against Human’s tenderly. 

“I think I knew someone with that name once, long ago. Perhaps I went to school with them. I know that’s where lots of these names come from.” 

“I supposed I’ve stolen it from them then,” Hyunjin says, a bit guiltily. 

“No name is stolen. You’ve been given the name, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.” Human stands up, pulling Hyunjin with them. “Now… according to my timepiece it’s getting late. We should be getting back home… if you would like to come.” 

Never in Hyunjin’s wildest dreams could he have pictured having both a name and a home, let alone with someone so lovely. “You’ll have me?” he asks, surprise evident in his voice. 

“Why, of course,” Human says matter-of-factly. Mirroring Hyunjin’s words from earlier, they then say, “nothing would make me happier.” 

And so Hyunjin takes Human’s hand once more as they walk down the long, dark hall of First Home for the last time. Hyunjin looks around, eyes whirring in their sockets as he tries to take in the details one last time. Things have changed since he had last walked the halls; Father Time had taken its toll on the old building. Pieces of the walls were crumbling and covered in dust, and Mother Nature seemed to have teamed up with her counterpart as plants had begun invading the old halls. Hyunjin noticed that every single door with the old names he once knew were all complete with a flickering red light now. How they were still on, he didn’t know. 

“Human,” he begins, “what was the color of my light when you opened my door?” 

“It was green,” Human says thoughtfully, “that’s a part of the reason why I chose you. But mostly, I chose your room because I felt it was right. And look, I suppose it was, wasn’t it?” 

HHJ-00 wonders about the green light on his door for just a moment before Human pushes open the front doors of First Home, and his eyes are filled with the sight of the outside world for the first time. He smells so many different things, sees movement in nature and life, feels like his heart is bursting—and he doesn’t think about the green light, the other AI’s, of First Home, any longer. 

ii. LOVE

“Home” for Human is a hole in the ground. 

Hyunjin can’t help but raise an eyebrow at this, as Human digs their nails into a piece of seemingly normal grass and dirt, before lifting it up and revealing a metal door. Human twists the large handle, and it squeaks loudly as they grunt, sweat beading on their forehead and their breath being blocked by the makeshift mask covering their lower face. Hyunjin stands there awkwardly, unsure what to do as they finally open the door. They gesture to Hyunjin, wordlessly asking him to enter, and he does so after only a brief hesitation. He grabs hold of the metal rungs and starts climbing down into the darkness. He hears them pulling the dirt cover over the door before slamming it in place and twisting the round handle again. He jumps down and his feet land on even ground before he hears them start to descend, and he stands there in the darkness for a moment before his eyesight adjusted and night vision took over. He stares down the hall that he now can see, and he realizes that it leads to a single room, where the door has been closed tightly. 

Human jumps down too, and clutches Hyunjin’s arm, smiling up at him. They do not realize that Hyunjin can see in the dark, and he feels a surge of emotion once again at the thought of them smiling at him just because. “Sorry for the darkness,” Human says apologetically, “I have plenty of candles in the room. We can light them once we get there.” 

“I have night vision,” Hyunjin says gently, and Human laughs a little aloud. 

“So you do,” they say, “do you mind if I light one anyways? I don’t have night vision.” 

Hyunjin feels the lightened atmosphere. “It’s your home,” he said, “I’m not in the place to tell you.” 

Human pats his arm before letting go and opening the door to the singular room at the end of the hall. “It’s your home now too.” 

The room is just as dark as the hallway, but Human fumbles around with the clutter on the rickety table closest to the door before their hands find a lighter and a waxy lump of a candle and manage to light it. Warm light floods the room, and Hyunjin’s eyes go back to their normal state of vision as he scans the area. It’s just slightly messy, but Hyunjin feels comforted by the mess. It feels real. The clutter on the table with the candle and the lighter is mostly made up of other lighters, candles, and unopened boxes of matches. He watches as Human lights another candle and places it on a table at the other end of the room, lighting up the opposite side more. The other table is mostly clear, though it has a few crusted over plates stacked onto it. 

Despite Human’s disheveled appearance, the room is quite clean. The floor is made of solid wooden planks, and a single small rug covers most of it. A small cot is in the far corner, and that is where Human sets their backpack. A tall dresser leans against the opposite wall, where the second table with a candle is, and Hyunjin assumes this is where Human keeps most of their belongings, and he’s proven right as they strip away some of their outer layers, caked in dust and dirt, and toss them into the dresser after cracking it open. 

This is when Hyunjin can finally see their face. And it is the most gorgeous thing that he thinks he has ever seen. 

Their face—their beautiful face. It’s still grimy, but the tear tracks and marks from their makeshift mask show bits of their clear skin, which Hyunjin wants to caress with his cold hands. He doesn’t care that their hair looks stiff and dirty, he still wants to run his hands through it just like they did to him earlier. 

“You can sit anywhere you like,” Human says, as they walk over to the far corner where a single bucket is. It’s full of water, and Hyunjin gingerly sits on the edge of their bed as they rinse off their face and their hair, using a small bar of unscented soap to wipe away the muck. “I must be a ghastly sight. Since I do a lot of exploring and I have a limited amount of soap… I don’t wash every day. But today’s a special occasion, no?” 

“I would say so. But I think you look beautiful even with the grime,” Hyunjin says honestly, his voice taking on a shy tone that he only recognizes as a way he used to speak to Doctor sometimes. 

Human rinses the last bit of lathered soap from their hair and smiles at Hyunjin as they come back up, squeezing water from their hair. “Thank you, Hyunjin. That’s very sweet.” They pull down a towel from a small metal hook above the bucket, and start drying off their face and hair with it. “Do you… eat food?” 

“I do not.” Hyunjin feels almost sorry that he can’t consume human food, even as Human arranges nearly expired canned goods on one of the small tables. It does not look remotely tasty—especially when compared to the images of food that he has logged into his brain. But he wishes he could have a meal with them. 

“But you sleep, right?” Human asks through a mouth of beans. 

“I do. It’s not exactly sleeping—it’s more like charging, I guess. But to anyone else it looks like I’m sleeping like a normal human.” 

Human smiles at this. When they finish their dinner they push the empty can aside and blow out the candles, preserving the waxy stubs for another day. They finish their dinner and rub their tired eyes before yawning and climbing into their small bed, scooting all the way over to the wall and patting the small empty space beside them. “You can sleep here, with me. If you want to. But you’re welcome to sleep anywhere you feel comfortable.” 

Hyunjin feels his heart beating irregularly again as he awkwardly approaches the bed, getting underneath the covers with them. They don’t hesitate to cuddle up to him, which makes his gears grind loudly as he swallows hard. The feeling of their warm, real body pressed against his is almost too much—he never imagined that a human could feel so wonderful. He strokes their hair with one hand as they sleepily cuddle against his chest, and he feels his vision shift again in the darkness. He can see the top of their head, and the lumps and curves of their body underneath the covers, rising and falling gently with every quiet breath they took. 

Finally, he closes his eyes, tapping his wrist only once to see his previous name glow blow at him. HHJ-00 burns into his eyes as he leans back into the pillow and allows himself peace. 

—

His eyes open, and he is welcomed with nothing but the cold, just like every day has been since his human died. Last night, Hyunjin fell asleep after playing with the glowing blue lights on his wrist, something that he used to do when he was new to this place, after he’d left First Home and felt homesick for the only home he’d ever known. These days, it was the only thing that lulled him into calmness, because it reminded him of those glorious first days with his human, before they left him just like Doctor did. 

Before he was left alone. 

But he listens to Human even though they are no longer here, and he sits up, stretching even though he has no muscles to exercise or bones to crack. He gets out of bed and dresses in the same clothes that he has been wearing for the past hundred years, which are now wearing much too thin. Hyunjin hadn’t dared to replace them with any of his human’s things, so he’d traveled very far to find new materials to make patches for his old clothes. He refused to give them up, no matter how many patches he had to make. 

“Time to get water,” he says to no one in particular, and he exits Home, the familiar grinding of metal against metal meeting his ears as he opens the door to the outside. 

The outside has improved significantly since Human had died. Before, they were both always covered in a thick layer of grime from the sheer amount of pollution and litter that had pretty much ended the Earth in the first place. Hyunjin remembers how Human had to always wear a mask, how they tried to cover their skin as much as possible to keep it from colliding with the dirty air. 

Now, it seemed like nature was finally healing. 

Plants other than dying ivy that climbed up old structures were finally growing. Greenery had returned to the Earth, with trees restoring their healthy brown trunks and colorful leaves. The streams that were close to Hyunjin’s home were not as clean as they had once been before the end of the world, but there were no longer flecks of burned flesh and ash floating atop of it, and he knew that even if he consumed it he probably wouldn’t have to boil it for long to make it safe. But of course, he didn’t drink water. Nor did he ever eat the food that he collected. 

He walked over to the nearest stream, not wanting to go too far from the shelter today, and dipped the wooden bucket into the semi-clear water. It was the same bucket that Human had washed in the first night that he had stayed at the shelter. But it still worked like it was new, with no leaks or cracks. It still held water like it should, which was probably a good thing since Hyunjin wouldn’t really know where to get a new one if this one broke anyways. 

He drew his shawl closer around his shoulders as he stood back up, placing the bucket on the bank of the stream. His fingers were slightly damp, and as he wiped them on his clothes he realized that the paints that had been used to craft his perfect skin were wearing away steadily. Even though it had only been a hundred years, years of labor had left permanent physical marks on Hyunjin’s body, unlike the first hundred years of his life, which he spent sleeping away in his First Home. He remembered that when Human found him, he was as close to perfect as one could be. 

As he clenches his fist, he drags the bucket closer to the entrance of the shelter, where he leaves it. “Now it’s time to get food,” he says aloud, again to no one in particular. 

He ventures away from the banks of the stream, feet brushing against the grass. The soft whooshes of his footfalls are the only sound in the world. It’s completely still and silent; the wind seemed to be on a break today. The air was hot, and the stillness was almost suffocating, but Hyunjin did not mind, for the sameness and repetition reminded him of his summer days with his human. He swings a weaved basket as he walks towards the edge of a forest, which has had much new growth since he had first come home. Before, he could easily see through the sickly sticks that claimed to be trees, but now it was a thicket of plants, so lush that once you entered it was almost an entirely new atmosphere. Hyunjin could hear bugs chirping as he ducked beneath a particularly thick branch, pushing it aside as his feet crunched on pebbles and fallen, dried leaves. He brushed his blonde hair back, as fine and straight as the day that his human had found him in First Home, and walked the familiar path to the grove. 

Oh, the grove. How it still bore fruit even after all these years was a mystery. 

The path was once able to disappear into the forest, but years and years of constant walking had worn it down into a moist dirt path, clear of grass and overgrowth. He’d long since abandoned his shoes, instead choosing to have his bare feet lightly sink into the dirt. He remembered how his human had always preserved their shoes for the colder months, and the end of summer was more than a suitable time for going barefoot in the forest. 

The grove came into his view, and he breathed in the sweet scent of fruit and freshness. If he closed his eyes, it was almost like his human was still there with him. 

—

“Hyunjin! This way!” 

Hyunjin turned his head to stare at his human, who had a basket cradled in the crook of their elbow along with their every-day backpack slung over their shoulders. They jumped up and waved him over; he’d been wandering off after taking much interest in a strain of bare bushes, with a shocking amount of potential new growth in comparison to the plants around them. Hyunjin straightened out his own basket and followed them, eyes passing over all of the dead plants. He imagined that once this pathway would be covered by the thicket of the forest, but there were nothing but nude branches that bent in the breeze as they walked in comfortable silence. He heard their feet crunching against the dead, crusty grass, and stared ahead, craning his neck to see where exactly they were headed. 

“I don’t understand how we could possibly find a source of food out here,” he says, after a few more moments of pondering this, “every plant that we pass is dead.” 

“Ah,” says his human, eyes twinkling. “You’ll see. Remember those bushes you were looking at? It’s not too different from that growth.” 

“I know how regrowth works,” Hyunjin reminded them, and they just smiled, reaching over to hold onto his wrist. 

“I know.” 

Hyunjin thinks that his human looks particularly beautiful in the pale light; he wishes that he could see them drenched in the golden sunlight of a sunset at least once, but the pollution clouds have far since risen above their realm and blocked out most of the sunshine. Though light still flooded the days, it was nowhere near as warm as Hyunjin knew it once was, before the end of the world. He longs to experience it just once with them. 

He can feel his false heartbeat thumping in his ears, in his neck, in his wrist—could they feel it, he wondered, with their soft, real fingers clasped around it so delicately? Could they know that they were the reason for his feelings? He’s a little embarrassed at how the minor contact makes him feel giddy, like a teenager diagnosed with puppy love, but at the same time he thinks that there has never been and never will be a better feeling than their touch. As soon as he gets used to it though, they let go and skip ahead, whirling around in the vast open space that the path has led to, and he sees nothing but more barren trees and wilty little saplings in the ground, seeming to strain with every breath the Earth took, searching far and wide for any nutrients to fuel them. 

“What is this?” he asked, kneeling down besides a sapling. He cradles it with one hand, velvety leaves brushing against his soft skin. Even though it looks deprived of nutrients, it’s alive. The leaves are green, a sharp contrast to the dead monochrome that surrounds them. But as Hyunjin looks closer he realizes that the grass is slowly growing too, with green poking out of the flat brown land ever so slightly. He gently releases the plant and drags his hand across the pointy tops of the grass blades, feeling them tickle his palm and fingers, a brief smile crossing his handsome face momentarily. 

“It’s what I’ve been waiting for this whole time,” his human says proudly, kneeling down next to him, and mirroring his actions by cradling the small leaves close. “I planted these a while ago, and I’ve been waiting for them to sprout. I was starting to think they maybe never would.” 

“The grass is growing too,” he says, “as are those bushes back on the path.” 

“Earth is finally healing,” his human says happily, “it’s a shame we’re the only ones that’ll ever get to see it.” Their smile falters then, the corners of their lips deepening into a frown as they let go of the sapling and bring their arms around their knees, hugging their legs close to their chest. 

Hyunjin feels a wave of guilt, even though it isn’t remotely his fault. What could he do to make them feel better? He thinks back to the memories in his mind that don’t belong to him, the humanity that’s coded into the wires that mimic the veins of human beings, and slowly reaches over to pull them into a slightly awkward side hug. His hand hovers above their waist until his human’s face crumpled and they fall into his grasp, pushing him over so that he’s laying in the dirt, back pressed against the Earth. They are on top of him, sobbing into his chest, ashamed, and Hyunjin allows himself to hold them, his hands holding their back gently. He rubs one hand up and down to comfort them as they sniffle. “It’s not wasted if we’re here to see it,” he says quietly, “we can appreciate it enough for everyone that cannot.” 

His human fails to pick up on the quiver in his voice and the sped-up beating of his heart, even though they are pressed against his chest. They sit up, straddling him, and wipe their eyes with their sleeves, nodding as their shoulders shake with repressed sobs. “You’re right,” they whisper, “I’m sorry. I just—sometimes I really miss them, you know?” 

Hyunjin doesn’t know exactly who they are talking about, but he thinks of Doctor and his heart aches as he pushes himself up on one elbow, caressing his human’s face with a gentle finger. 

“I know,” he says, tuning into the memories that are ingrained in his head once more, “I understand.” 

“I’m so glad that we found each other,” his human whispers, and their teary eyes meet his, which makes Hyunjin stumble over his next words. 

“I—I am too,” he says, voice hardly above a whisper. If there were any breeze, any rustling of leaves, any whisper of whistling tall grass, he wouldn’t have been heard. But there was none of that. There was only Hyunjin, his human, and the infinite stillness of being the last two creatures on Earth that could communicate, the absolute loneliness and desperation of two beings that craved company in this time of inconsolable loneliness. And maybe that was why Hyunjin found himself pulling his human’s grimy face close to his, and why his human didn’t resist when his lips touched theirs. Perhaps that was why Hyunjin was letting himself fall in love with a human, who he would most certainly outlive, and why that human let a robot kiss them like they were nothing but a normal human couple, so in love and enraptured with each other that the end of the world was the last thing they could ever think of. 

—

“Hello?” 

Hyunjin drops the apple that he’s just plucked off of the nearest branch that has bent from the weight of the fruit. His metal skin prickles; if he could get goosebumps, he would have had them all over. 

Slowly, he turns his head to the source of the voice, and sees someone—some human—staring back at him from across the grove. 

His first thought is to run—he drops the apple, and it thuds against the grass, his hand still extended as if he were holding it, paint-chipped fingers shaking and curved around an invisible fruit. Running is what Doctor what would have told him to do. He remembers what they said to him about seeing other humans, ones that don’t wear white coats and work in First Home. 

“If you see someone, you run, you get away from them. They’ll want to destroy you, because most humans hate AI’s. You can’t trust them like you trust us, do you understand me, HHJ-00?”

Doctor’s voice is stern, hard, strained. He swallows hard and nods, hands gripping the chair he is sitting in. 

“I will,” he says, desperate for affirmation, “I won’t let any other humans get close to me besides you. You’re the only one allowed to touch me.” 

“Good, good.” Doctor soothingly says, and they reach out to place their hand over his, which makes his heart rate spike. Doctor removes their hand and writes this down quickly, before standing up and leaving the room. 

They don’t bother to look back at him, which makes him upset for some reason. He tries to ignore the ache in his chest, but it doesn’t go away. 

Hyunjin then remembers his human, and what they would say, and he stops his ankle from turning, digging his heels into the ground to stop himself from sprinting in the opposite direction away from this new human. 

“I remember when the Earth was full of life,” they say wistfully, turning an apple over in their hands, “I miss it a lot.” 

“You have said that you hate other humans before, though.” Hyunjin is confused as he holds an apple too, mirroring his human’s actions. 

“I did. I do. A lot of them are horrible, and those horrible ones are what put us in this situation in the first place. But there were a lot of good humans too, like my friends and family, and I miss them the most. Humans… aren’t all the same, I’m sure you know. We were all unique, flawed, but loveable nonetheless.” Human takes a deep breath and sighs, exhaling for so long that Hyunjin worries a little for their lungs. “But… I suppose I have to appreciate those bad humans too, just a little bit. Because without them destroying the world, I wouldn’t have ever met you.” 

Hyunjin feels himself stuttering, knows he’s flushed and embarrassed. His human leans over and kisses him on the cheek. “I love you, Hyunjin,” they say softly. 

“I love you too,” Hyunjin murmurs. “my human, my love.” 

He sets the basket of apples down and dusts off his hands on his pants. The human is still standing there at the edge of the grove; they haven’t bothered to come closer. He decided to trust them, just this once, for his human—no, for his love. 

iii. REBIRTH 

“Hello,” he says politely, stopping a few years away from the human, trying to ignore the prodding questions that are crowding his mind. “Who are you?” he manages to say, rather than the flood of other inquiries that were much less forthcoming, and much more deep. 

“I’m (Y/N),” you say, and Hyunjin thinks that he immediately likes you—maybe it’s because he’s been alone for so long, and he’s desperate for any sort of company, but he also thinks that he can sense that you’re a good person, someone he wants to be around. “Who are you?” 

“I’m Hyunjin,” he says smoothly, his own name flowing off his tongue, after years of practice. “I’m not a human, you know.” He wants to make it clear, just in case you are the sort of being that Doctor told him about all that time ago, and he takes a single step back as he watches your expression change. Your eyebrows raise and one side of your mouth curls up in a smile as you chuckle. 

“Is that so? What are you then?” you inquire, and he realizes that you aren’t mad at all. 

He trusts you. Which is why he decides to invite you home. 

“As long as you won’t kill me and eat me or something,” you say, peering over his shoulder, as if you were making sure there were no other creatures nearby. 

“I would never,” he says, appalled, and it’s clear in his voice. “Besides—I live alone. I have been for the past hundred years. There is no one that will hurt you, and I only request that you give me the same respect.” 

You walk towards Hyunjin, and reach out your hand. He takes it, and after a moment of bliss when he realizes your hands are just as if not warmer than his human’s, he shakes it gently. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Hyunjin,” you say, “I do believe we have a lot to talk about. I’m curious about you and I don’t think it’s wrong to assume you’re curious about me too, is it?” 

“Not at all,” Hyunjin says happily, liking your straightforwardness, “I do have a lot to ask. But before we go—can I ask just one of my many questions?” 

“Of course.” 

“Before my human companion died—they said that they were the last human on Earth. How are you here? Are there more humans from where you are from?” he blurts out, and he feels color rising to his cheeks as you laugh again, a beautiful sound that is the perfect combination with the whistling of the long grass blades and the distant creaking of the apple tree branches in the breeze. 

“Well, there aren’t a lot of us, but there’s a decent amount I’d say. We have an underground home, just a few miles that way.” You point towards the direction in which the sun sets, and Hyunjin feels his breath catch. All these years alone, and neither him nor his human knew about other people. It makes him mourn for them, because he knew that even though they had him and he them, they craved more. They had been a person who thrived off of connections, someone who loved their dear ones so deeply that it hurt, and that was why Hyunjin heard them cry themselves to sleep night after night, years after their family and friends died. Years after they died, Hyunjin could still hear their muffled sobs echoing in his ears sometimes, and he would clutch their pillow to his chest and pretend that it still smelled like them—a mixture of unscented soap, apples, and fresh air. 

“How long have you been settled there?” he asks faintly. 

“Hey, you said one question,” you tease, “but for a long time, I assume. I was born long after the group settled there, but according to some of the older members the first people there were alive when the world ended. They took shelter underground and survived, and they thought they were the last ones. But if your human companion existed too… well, I guess they weren’t, huh?” You cross your arms and think about this for a moment as Hyunjin stares at the ground, feeling guilty. 

“I wish we could have met your group much earlier then,” he says softly, “my human craved company.” 

“They had you, no?” 

“An AI can only do so much to mimic human companionship, I suppose. Even though they said they loved me, I knew it wasn’t the same. I could never replace their loved ones that passed.” He says this mournfully, knowing that it was true. He had never said it aloud, wishing with all his heart that his human loved him as much as he loved them, but it was never enough. The most he could do was mirror their affection, and pretend that it was real, as if his human wasn’t mourning another the whole time. 

“I don’t know about that,” you say, your tone different now, softer and less loud. “I don’t know if this is okay to say, but you seem as human to me as anyone else in my group.” 

Hyunjin swears he could cry. He wants to drop to his knees and hold his face in his hands and sob. But he blinks back those rusty tears and starts walking, leading you back to the home that he once shared with his human. “That means a lot,” is what he says as he walks ahead, hiding his crumpling face from you. “Thank you.” 

—

When he sees your face, he is reminded of himself all those years ago, when his human first brought him home.

“You live here?” you ask, peering down into the hole, hands gripping the edge of the earth, “in the dark?” 

“My human used to use candles,” he says, “but I have night vision. I only use the candles on special occasions.” 

“Such as…?” 

“Their birthday, or their death day,” he pipes up. It has been a long time since his human had last celebrated with him, and though he mourns them, he does not feel sad when he says this aloud. For Hyunjin finds those days happy, times when he can sit in that room all day long and forget his responsibilities, just remembering all the good times he had with them. But then he sees your face, all twisted and emotional, and he remembers that you have hardly lived as long as he has, and you don’t know how he could possibly be okay with losing the one person he’d ever loved. “It’s not a sad thing any more,” he says quickly, to reassure you, “it used to be. But now I am happy that they can be with their loved ones again.” 

“But what about you?” you ask sadly, “Will you ever see them again?” 

Hyunjin, surprisingly, has never thought of this before. 

“I’d like to think so,” he says honestly, scrunching up his nose and trying to think. He has no information on what comes after death. The knowledge programmed into him is only what humans knew of life, not the after. 

“Isn’t it hard, not knowing?” you ask. Hyunjin likes your questions, even though some of them force him to be painfully honest. He likes the stimulation of hard conversation, even though it’s forcing old emotions so close to the surface. It’s been so long, and he is enjoying feeling again. 

“Not much harder than the unknown of everything else.” He motions for you to head down. “Do you still want to come in?” 

You sit back on your heels and look up at the sky. It’s turning shades of orange and pink, and the clouds look like cotton balls dipped into watercolor. It’s getting late, and you don’t want to walk alone in the complete darkness. “I won’t be able to go home tonight,” you say tentatively, wanting to stay with the handsome robot, but not wanting to push. 

“You can stay with me,” he eagerly says, and the sincerity in his voice makes your heart ache. You do trust him, though your knowledge on old AI’s is not extensive. All that you know about his era of artificial intelligence is that they were made to help humans, mimic companionship—maybe that’s why you trust him. The genuine softness in his tone and the shine in his eyes—that do blink a little lopsided, you now realize—makes you want to stay. It makes you think that it’s safe even though the hole fades into blackness, and all you can see is an old ladder with the paint chipped off of it, after so many years of hands gripping the rungs. 

“Just for tonight,” you say, awkwardly swinging your legs into the chasm that’s eagerly awaiting you, your hands firmly gripping the ladder. Your knuckles pale as your grasp tightens and you squeeze your eyes shut. You don’t know how far down it is. You don’t want to know how far down it is. 

“Just for tonight,” he confirms, “it’s not a bad drop. Just trust yourself, and I’ll be right here if you get scared.” 

“I’m not scared. My whole life has been this post-apocalyptic hellhole. A ladder isn’t that terrifying,” you say, though your voice wobbles a little. Hyunjin smiles, as if to say ‘whatever you say,’ but he doesn’t tease aloud, and he sticks his head down to watch you descend as you carefully step down the rungs, never letting go until you have a firm footing on the next descending step. 

He’s right, and you touch the ground with the toe of your shoe much faster than you think. You stumble a little at the suddenness of solid ground, but catch yourself on the nearest wall. You can’t see anything, but you can feel warmth, and smell a combination of apples and linen and something else—something a little less pleasant—metal, perhaps? You’re not quite sure, but you stop trying to sniff the air as Hyunjin steps off the last rung and reaches for your wrist. He taps it gently, wordlessly asking to hold it, and you say aloud, “It’s okay,” so that he takes it, long, tapering fingers closing around your arm, and he guides you down a long hall. 

Again, Hyunjin looks back at you and thinks of his own curious self all those years ago, when he was in your place and his human was in his. He remembers how it felt to have their fingers around his wrist and the wonder of how such a place could ever exist. His human couldn’t see his expression, but he can see yours, and he thinks that it’s beautiful. He could only hope that someone thought he was beautiful once too. 

Your eyes are widened, looking around even though you can’t see anything. It’s like you’re marveling at what could be, instead of what it is, and Hyunjin thinks that he sees himself in you for another reason now. 

Neither of you speak until Hyunjin lets go of you and reaches for the door, twisting the handle and opening the room in which he’s lived for a very long time. 

“One moment,” he says, and you hear his footsteps recede. “I need to find a candle.” You can hear him fumbling about, opening and closing drawers it sounds like, with the rattle of old tracks and quiet thud of a close. Then you hear the scratch of a match against the box, and Hyunjin’s face is lit up with warm light. He lights two candles, one on the table closest to you, and another on the opposite end of the room. It’s enough light to allow you to see the entirety of the small room, and you think it is the coziest little home you’ve ever seen. 

It’s clean, with everything in its rightful place. Perhaps a bit cluttered, but that only makes the cleanliness more impressive, and you hesitantly walk inside and shut the door behind you, standing there awkwardly as you take in the atmosphere of his home. A bucket of slightly bruised apples sits in the corner along with another bucket of water, though it’s nearly empty. Hyunjin follows your gaze and immediately feels embarrassed; the one time he needs food and water is the one time he does not have anything fresh. 

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out, and you look at him surprised. “I was collecting apples when you found me—and I left both buckets outside. Please forgive me.”

“No, no,” you say, “your… hospitality has been more than enough. Really.” 

Hyunjin shifts awkwardly at your praise, and this is when you think that he really is a lot like a human, looking past just the surface. His little tendencies, his expressions, his emotions—he seems like a human to you. You might have mistook him for a real one if you hadn’t seen his paint chipped fingers, or the flickering blue light on his wrist. 

You change the subject. “What’s that on your wrist?” 

“This?” He holds up the blue light, and you can read it now. HHJ-00. “It was my first name. Given to me at my first home.” 

“When did you leave that home?” 

“When my human found me.” He smiles softly and stares at the floor, lowering his wrist. “Yes, it’s been years. Maybe a hundred years. But they saved me from an eternal sleep, and I will always be grateful.” 

“Eternal sleep?” 

“All of the AI’s in my first home were put to sleep once we were no longer useful. We didn’t see the end of the world, and I was only awoken a century afterwards when my human came into my room and woke me from my sleep.” Hyunjin sits down on the edge of the neatly made bed. “Do you want to sit?” He pats the spot next to him, and you obey, though you feel heat rise to your cheeks at the close proximity. 

“Can I ask questions now?” he asks, and you nod. 

As Hyunjin speaks, you focus on things besides his words and his inquisitive nature. You find yourself staring at the multitude of patches on his thin clothing, the carefully brushed blonde hair that’s falling into his eyes, the pink paint that was used to color his lips. You wonder how his skin looks so soft if it’s fake and metal. You reach out to hold his hand that’s resting on the bed beside you, separating your legs from his, and he stutters once, glancing down at the contact, before flushing and continuing his question in a slightly higher pitched voice. His hand is warm. Not like a human warm, but warm nonetheless. It’s soft too, yet doesn’t feel like skin. But you find it comforting, and that’s how the two of you end up laying side-by-side on the small bed, talking deep into the night. You’re reminded of your family back at the settlement, and Hyunjin is reminded of his human. But he doesn’t think of you as a replacement; he sees you as someone more genuine, more naive. His heart beats faster as you slip your fingers into his hold and laugh as he tells a funny story about the orchard. 

He thinks he might be able to feel things other than grief, for the first time in a long time. He thinks that he might be able to leave his human, and Doctor, in the past now. 

Because if he has you, he doesn’t need anyone else, even if he hardly knows you. Even if he is assuming things about a practical stranger, and you are playing right into it knowingly. 

—

When you awaken, for a moment you don’t think about where you are or what is happening. All you know is that you have never felt more comfortable. 

It’s incredibly warm, but not so much that you’re clammy or damp with sweat. Every inch of your skin is vibrating with tingles that spread up your limbs, making a small smile curl up onto your lip as you grown softly and cuddle into the person next to you, who instinctively wraps an arm around you to pull you in closer, your face pressed against their chest. This is what makes you realize that you’re not at home, and you’re certainly not in your bed. Everything from the previous day suddenly rushes back into your mind and you open your eyes slowly, your vision blurry, and you blink a few times to clear your sight before you look up into the dark brown eyes of Hyunjin. He looks like he’s just woken up too, but he’s still beautiful. It’s probably because he isn’t human, you know that, but the fact that there’s no dried drool trail down his chin, the way his eyes are crust-free and his teeth just as clean as they were the night before—it makes you feel a little self-conscious of your humanity. So you pull away quickly, hiding your face as you rub your eyes and make sure there’s nothing on your chin or nose before turning back to him, clearing your throat and giving him a slightly awkward smile. 

“How did you sleep?” he asks, and his voice carries no hint of drowsiness or grogginess. He sounds as clear as he had the first time he spoke in the afternoon, awake and alert. 

“Very well. You?” you ask, stumbling over your words only slightly, your mind still a little jumbled and sleepy. 

“Fine, as always.” He moves away from you, getting out of bed and stretching, making you cock your head to the side, a little confused as to why he seems to be stretching when robots didn’t need to do so—to your knowledge, at least. “I have chores to do, but you’re welcome to come along if you’d like. Or you could stay here.” He leans over, wrinkling his nose at the bucket of apples that are not beginning to rot slightly, and picks it up, balancing it on his hip like a photo of a pioneer woman that you’ve seen in old books back home. He pushes a lock of hair away from his pretty face and smiles at you. “Whatever you’re comfortable with, of course.” 

“I think I probably need to head home soon,” you say gently, and Hyunjin’s smile wavers ever so slightly as you stand up and bend down to pick up your shoes, that you’d left at the foot of the bed. “My family is probably worried.” 

“Oh, of course,” he says softly, “your family. Of course you must go back to them.” 

You finish lacing up your shoes and stand up, mimicking his stretches which feel nice on your slightly stiff limbs. “Well,” you say, after a thought pops into your mind, “you could come with me. If you want to see the settlement. And other humans. I can’t imagine that me being the first human you see after a century is the nicest thing.” 

Hyunjin pouts a little, thinking this over for a moment before setting the basket of apples down. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.” But he reaches for his old pair of shoes, the ones that he wore all winter. The soles are worn down and smooth from years of wear, and the laces are frayed at the ends. You’re sure they were once a handsome pair of sneakers, but now they matched the rest of his shabby clothes. Not that it’s a bad thing; you liked his style. Even though his clothes were clearly old, he seemed to take care of them and knew how to pair the few items he owned in a stylish way. 

“Please,” you laugh, “it wouldn’t be an intrusion at all. If anything I’m sorry for intruding into your home.” 

“You know I enjoyed your company,” he assured you, “but I would love to come see your home.” 

You smile and watch as he eagerly ties his shoes before standing up. You extend your hand to him, and he takes it gladly. He doesn’t say it aloud, but you know that the thought of meeting more people excites him, even though the previous night he claimed he was introverted. You suppose that after so many years of solitude any sort of company is comforting, and you can’t blame him for the way his fingers twitch and his breathing is uneven. You think that you’d be ten times as nervous if you were him. He’s wonderful in that way, you say to yourself, wonderful in the way that his feelings make you feel happy for him as well. One can’t help but feel nice when they’re around Hyunjin. 

—

The walk that you made to the orchard alone wasn’t the worst. You enjoyed the uncommon solitude and silence that came with it, save for the sounds of your own footsteps. But you think that you might like walking with Hyunjin more than anything else, because even though he’s soft and quiet, you notice small things about him that entertain you the whole way. 

He really does seem human, you think. With the way his arms swing as he walks and the goosebumps that arise on his skin when the wind blows just a little too hard. You’re aware that it’s fake, that he’s fake. It’s all fabricated. But maybe you don’t really care. 

The wind whispers through the branches of the trees overhead as you walk through the forest, walking away from the orchard and towards your home. It seems to be rushing you, telling you to get home as quickly as possible, but you want nothing more than to take your time and match your steps to Hyunjin’s as you walk in unison, maneuvering around rocks and uneven ground. 

“Can you tell me more about your home?” Hyunjin asks shyly, once you exit the forest. The entire time that you’d both been sheltered by the trees, he’d stayed silent, but you had felt his gaze drift over to you every now and again. 

“What do you want to know?” you ask, moving closer to him. Your hand brushes against his as he swings his arms forward again, and you flush as you feel his knuckles graze against yours. He presses his lips together tightly, a pink dusting of blush appearing on his pale cheeks. It’s cute, so you carefully reach for his hand, and he shyly intertwines his fingers with yours. His hand is perfectly molded, with long pretty fingers and elegant nail beds. The chipping paint doesn’t feel rough; it feels exactly the same as the rest of him. Warm and soft. 

He clears his throat. “I don’t know. Anything, really.” 

“Well, we grow our own food. And we built everything in our shelter. We don’t find much in terms of scavenging any more, especially when it comes to food. I figure other people got to it years before us. But maybe that’s a good thing. Most stuff would have expired by now anyways.” You mumble this to yourself, trying to think about it. “We get together a lot just for the company. And the older ones tell stories. One old lady says that she used to paint every day when she was young, before the world ended. She tells us all about how it felt to get inspired and be able to just put it all down on paper at once. I really like when she tells us about paint itself though, I wish I could try it just once. Like, she says it’s cool to the touch and so smooth. Sort of like oil, but different. And if you squeeze it between your fingers the color is opaque and bright, and even if you don’t mean to when you’re done painting you’re just covered in it. But it’s art. It’s meant to be messy.” With your free hand, you flex your fingers and imagine what it would feel like to have dried acrylic paint stretched over the surface of your skin. 

“Painting?” Hyunjin asks quietly. 

“Yeah!” you say. “You know what painting is, right?” 

“Of course I do,” he exclaims, swinging your entwined hands back and forth more forcefully. “When I still lived in my first home, I used to paint a lot. The doctors called it my talent. They’d hang up all my best paintings on the walls.” He smiles a little. “They were the only real decorations that place had. I always did my best to make them cheerful, so that the other AI’s might see them and feel comforted too. So that they knew they weren’t alone.” 

You squeeze his hand in an attempt to comfort him, and it works, because he just chuckles and shakes his head. “Sometimes I wonder what that place looks like now. It’s been so long.” 

“You’ve never gone back to visit?” You’re only slightly shocked; Hyunjin had told you before that he never had any real reason to go back. Especially because of all the bad memories associated with that place. 

“Never. I don’t ever want to live there again, but I am curious. Not just about my art, but just how much has changed since I came into existence. Maybe I’ll even be able to find more information about me there.” He stops walking, and you’re jerked backwards slightly, his firm grip stopping you too. “I know exactly where it is too. They programmed it into me.” 

“We could go visit,” you say quietly. You stare at the large hill that you’re both now facing; the entrance to your home. You’re so close, but you see Hyunjin staring into the distance in a completely different direction. It’s not the way of the forest from whence you came, nor forwards and into the entrance of your home. In the direction he is looking, you see a sparse collection of trees lining an old dirt path. You know it’s been abandoned for a very, very long time, but for some reason it’s drawing you in. Perhaps it’s the way Hyunjin desperately pulls towards the path, which you know is painfully familiar to him, or the harsh swallow and dip of his throat as he mulls over years of memories that he hasn’t sifted through in decades, but you know that for him to be completely at peace, he has to go. At least once. Just to know what really happened. 

“I don’t want to force you to come with me,” he says, breaking the silence that had settled over the two of you like a thick blanket of snow. “It’s something I know I have to do, but you shouldn’t feel obligated to come. I mean—honestly—we hardly know each other, so I don’t blame you at all if you don’t want me to come back to you after this—“ 

It’s then that you shush him, and reach up with your pointer finger to place it over his plush lips. He’s startled, and blinks slowly as his pupils stare down at your cold finger that’s gently lain across his mouth. “If you don’t want me to come, that’s fine. But I'd love to come, if you’ll have me. I just have one request.” 

Hyunjin feels a rush of emotion as you lower your finger and he runs his tongue over his lips, tasting the salt of your skin for the first time. “What is it?” he asks. 

“We need to stop by my home first. Quickly, just to refuel and gather necessities. And then we can go, and stay there as long as you need.” 

The breeze whistles through the tall grass, blowing Hyunjin’s silky locks aside and messing up his neat middle part. The blonde pieces cover his eyes so that you can’t see them squint when he smiles, but he nods. “It’s almost like a trade-off,” he says, “I get to see your home, and you get to see mine.” You reach up to push his hair out of his face and you smile. “Though, I can’t promise you that mine will be anything pleasant.” 

You shrug, not really knowing what to say. You knew very well that Hyunjin’s past was less than ideal, though not the extent of it. “My home has problems too. You know I won’t judge you.” 

You both then turn to stare at the grassy knoll that hides your whole life. “Are you ready?” you ask, watching him closely as he tries to pat down his slightly windswept hair; an attempt to try and make himself presentable. 

“As I’ll ever be.” He lowers his hand and sighs, flexing his fingers due to his nerves. You pick up on this and hesitantly reach out to him, fingers gently wrapping around his. This strengthens him and he smiles down at your intertwined hands as you take a step forward, and he follows you obediently. 

Now that you’re knocking on the wooden trapdoor that’s bolted to the ground, you can feel your own nerves getting the better of you as a bead of sweat drips down your neck. You didn’t think anything negative would come of this, knowing your family well enough, but now you wonder—what if they turned him out? What if the both of you were punished, you especially for fraternizing with an outside being and bringing them to your home, your safe haven? It wasn’t something you’d ever discussed, being that you all thought you were the last ones alive on Earth, but now that you think about it a tad you wonder if maybe you should have had more consciousness, a second thought before recklessly trusting this robot. 

But your knuckles pounded against the damp wood regardless, and you couldn’t take it back as you heard muffled voices immediately approach the door and grow slightly louder. Hyunjin squeezes your clammy hand, not saying anything about the dampness, and you feel a surge of reassurance and warmth as you turn to look into his eyes. They sparkle in the daylight, dark brown pools of wonder and hope, and you feel breathless just from the sight of him. Surely, you think, your family would think the same. He’s beautiful—and clearly trustworthy, just from the time you’d spent with him thus far. 

“Finally, you’re back—uh… who’s this?” 

You immediately turn your head, pulling away from the alluring eyes of Hyunjin. Your best friend—Choi Beomgyu—kneels on the first step that leads down to your home, one lean arm holding up the heavy door. Though strong, it quivers from the sheer weight of the thick wood. 

“This—this is Hyunjin,” you say, stuttering a bit as you’re caught off guard. That’s all you manage to say before your best friend—quick and silver-tongued as always—pipes up once more, and you spill immediately. 

“Another human? How?” 

“No, he’s an AI. Remember, we read about some of them in those old books all those years ago? He’s been living alone for the past century and—and I came across him when exploring the woods these past few days.” 

You look to Hyunjin, cheeks burning, and all he does is smile politely at you, eyes creasing so pleasantly. “I am what they say,” he says politely. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

Beomgyu cocks his head to the side, processing this, before shrugging. “Nice to meet you too,” he says to Hyunjin, before shoving the trapdoor open fully and moving to the side, motioning for the two of you to come inside. “Come on, we’re about to eat. We can’t keep everyone waiting for too long.” 

You nod at Hyunjin as the both of you watch Beomgyu descend into the well-lit stairwell, shoes thunking against the carved stone. “Come on,” you say gently, and Hyunjin enters, you bringing up the rear as you reach up for the door to close the entrance behind the three of you, the heavy thing slamming into place loudly. 

You rush to catch up to the two of them, as they’ve already almost reached the bottom of the stairs, and you can hear Beomgyu’s quizzical voice asking if Hyunjin really was an AI—and how that worked, exactly, and you can’t help but roll your eyes at his choice in question. “Come on, Gyu,” you chastise him, sidling up next to Hyunjin, who immediately melts into your side and clutches your arm tenderly. “Ask him something interesting.” 

“I’m trying to be polite!” he protests, “I’m not gonna pry.” He scoffs and brushes his messy bangs out of his pretty face before his gaze flickered between the two of you and the prolonged physical contact, a smile slowly appearing on his face as he realized exactly what was going on—from your end, at least. He could read your face and your feelings better than anyone, and he knew damn well how you were feeling about Hyunjin. “Might as well sit down to eat with everyone,” he says, as you all round the corner of the hallway. 

Hyunjin is mesmerized by all of this. He knew that his human’s home was plentiful enough for the two of them and he adored it so, but there was something so lively about your home that made his heart ache with a longing for something that he never really had—a family. He could hear laughter and smell food and there was light everywhere—it was such a stark contrast from the lonely place that he had been residing in for the last century. His cheeks flushed as children ran by the three of you, barely recognizing you and Beomgyu and paying no attention to Hyunjin at all, too engrossed in their own little game of make-believe. The hallways were all bathed in an orangey light, the flickering flames from the lamps and candles that adorned the walls drenching the rooms with a deliciously cozy warmth that made Hyunjin feel comfortable enough to fall asleep on the spot. 

Through the twists and turns of the hallway that were beginning to remind Hyunjin a bit of an ant farm, the three of you finally reached a large open space, different from the other rooms that you’d passed. It had no door to close it off from the halls firstly, and there was a makeshift chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, with candles of all shapes and sizes molded straight onto the thin metal stalks. It was something that one might find at a thrift store for a reduced price, or maybe a half-successful homemade project, but Hyunjin thought it absolutely beautiful. 

Underneath the chandelier was a long table, adorned with all types of foods. It wasn’t extravagant by any means; the amount of food was obviously due to the sheer amount of people that were living there. Adults, elders, children, and teens all crowded the table, chairs of all sorts and sizes pulled right up to the chipping edges. 

“There you are!” an older man exclaimed, and he stands up from his spot to usher you and Beomgyu to the table before his eyes landed on Hyunjin. It seemed that at first he hadn’t really realized that this was a stranger—he assumed it was one of the many people that inhabited the home—but as his gaze raked over Hyunjin he let go of you and Beomgyu and hummed to himself. “Now… who’s this?” 

An uncomfortable silence spread throughout the room as everyone paused their eating and turned to look at you. Beomgyu put his hands up and walked away, clearly saying he was not a part of it, and you glared at him as he sidled into his usual seat at the table and started serving himself. He stuck his tongue out at you in retaliation. 

“I didn’t know that you’d be bringing a friend back with you,” an older woman said. Hyunjin presumed these people were your parents. “We thought that you’d just go on a little adventure and return…” 

“I did, mother,” you say defensively. Hyunjin was correct about their relation to you. “But I found someone out there. I couldn’t just leave him.” 

“We don’t have a problem with him!” your father says quickly, walking over to Hyunjin and patting him on the shoulder, “it’s just a little short notice.” 

You eye Hyunjin, wordlessly asking if you can tell everyone the truth. Hyunjin can’t read minds, but he can tell you want to explain a few things, so he manages a small smile and nods—honestly, he thinks, the worst thing that could happen is that he is sent back to his home. 

“He’s an AI,” you explain, and Hyunjin isn’t surprised to hear a few gasps. 

“Like the ones in that old book?” a small voice pipes up, and you nod in the direction of it. 

“Yeah, exactly. He’s the same sort of model that they talked about, I think. But he’s just as human as us, so I expect you all to be nice and treat him like any normal person.” 

Hyunjin braces himself for an objection, a rejection, an insult, but it never comes. Your father’s comforting touch reminds him of you, and as he sits down at the table amongst a chorus of welcomes he feels relieved, tears threatening to fall just because of how grateful he is. He doesn’t even get any odd looks when he says that he doesn’t consume human food, and instead everyone nourishes him with the art of conversation. 

For once, Hyunjin is full and happy. He doesn’t think he could be any happier. 

—

Ignoring the suggestive wiggle of Beomgyu’s eyebrows, you excuse yourself and Hyunjin after a long, loud conversation that left Hyunjin’s cheeks flushed pink as he reached for your hand, just to have it to hold. You’re dismissed with a round of laughter and cheer, and although you do love your family and friends, you can tell that the both of you were more than ready to leave and start preparing for your trip to Hyunjin’s first home. 

Hyunjin tries to memorize the route to your room from the dining area, but there’s so many twists and turns, and even a staircase or two though they’re small, and he soon realizes he’d never be able to navigate the maze of your home without help. “How do you know where everything is?” he marvels, still struck with absolute wonder at the beauty of everything in your home. 

“Sometimes I still get lost sometimes,” you admit, laughing a little, “especially because we keep expanding and creating new rooms. It’s a lot. But you’ll get the hang of it.” 

You walk down one last stretch of hallway, and Hyunjin takes note of the door opposite of yours that has ‘Beomgyu’ scratched into the chipped surface of the painted blue wood, before turning his attention to your door, which is made of aged wood just like everything else, but he can tell that you take care of it. The brassy knob is polished and shiny, and the paint, though old and peeling up at the corners, is relatively unscathed when compared to other surrounding doors. “This is it,” you say, a little embarrassed, even though there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. 

Hyunjin takes in the sight of your bedroom, a glimpse into your mind. It’s a reflection of you and he picks up on things that you told him about while drinking in the unknown at the same time. It’s like you spilled out your life and vomited up memories onto a blank white canvas of a room. There’s a corner full of drawings and old photographs—he can tell they’re not all of or by you either—and on the opposite end there’s an old record player with only a few vinyl records displayed next to it. Your bed is unmade but not in a gross way and there’s clothes and books and pieces of paper littering the floors, as if you’d left in a hurry the last time you were there. 

“It’s very you,” Hyunjin says, and you bite back the urge to ask what that was supposed to really mean before he sits on the edge of your bed gingerly, and your façade softens. You sit next to him and swing your legs over one of his thighs, and he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close. 

You decide to ask anyways. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Your tone is lighthearted, teasing. 

“It looks like it’s yours,” he says simply, “even though I don’t know everything about you. I can just tell. It’s beautiful.” 

Your chest tightens and you bury your face into his shirt. “Is that something I should say ‘thank you’ to?” you ask, your voice muffled. 

Hyunjin laughs, the vibrations of his voice and his grinding gears traveling across the surface of your skin. “Maybe. I don’t know. Do you think it is?” 

“Maybe.” 

You both sit there for a bit, and eventually you gather the courage to look into his eyes once more. The dark voids are alight with the dancing orange flames of your candles and you can’t help but lean in until the tips of your noses brush against each other, and you bump your forehead into his, too shy to do more. He utters your name, just once, and it sounds so beautiful as it rolls off of his tongue. 

“Yes?” you ask breathily. 

“Can I… kiss you?” 

You’d never been kissed before. Unless you counted that time when you were 12 and you and Beomgyu found a book that had a picture of two people kissing and decided to try it out for yourselves. All it did was get you a very awkward talk after his mother walked in on the two of you. 

You know what it means now. 

“Yes,” you whisper. 

You’re not sure what you expected it to feel like. You remember enough from the kiss with Beomgyu that human lips are sometimes chapped and not perfectly smooth—and that’s normal. And your noses will bump and if you try to do anything else your teeth might clash awkwardly and somehow spit gets everywhere. But with Hyunjin you don’t think about pulling away. You want to lean into it more, so you do, and you welcome his arms that anchor you into place as your bodies meld together. His lips are softer than Beomgyu’s. They don’t feel exactly real, in a way, but you know they are. 

When you part you don’t know what to say, you just smile and stare down shyly as his hands grip your hips. “Have you ever loved anyone before?” he asks. 

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” you say honestly. But do you love Hyunjin? You don’t think so—not yet at least. You certainly like him a good deal, more than anyone you’ve ever known, but you have not known him for very long at all. You settle on the thought that you might love him one day. 

“I did,” he says, and you lean forward into his hold so that your head rests against his chest, and you can hear the whirring of the little gears in his chest that are supposed to mimic a human heartbeat. It’s almost accurate. “Two times.” 

“Two times?” you repeat. 

“My human,” he says, and you nod. Of course. “And… Doctor. The one from my first home.” 

Your breath catches, and even though he notices he doesn’t say anything about it. 

“Neither of them loved me the way I loved them though. Doctor even said once that I was built to love but not to be loved.” 

You frown and push yourself back up, staring at his pretty face that’s etched with centuries of pain. “Why, that’s not true at all. Everyone here already loves you to bits.” 

“Everyone?” he jokes, poking your cheek. 

You swat his hand away. “Shut up. You know what I mean.” 

“I do. And thank you. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment, I just… wondered. If you’d ever loved like I did.” He chuckles to himself as you climb off of him and sigh contentedly. 

“I’ve read about it, but that’s all. But… I’d like to experience it someday… maybe someday soon.” You make eye contact with him and can’t help but giggle as he flushes pink again, just like he did at the dinner table when he was being questioned by your friends and family. 

“Maybe you should start packing,” he says, his voice slightly higher-pitched than normal, “we want to leave first thing in the morning after all!” 

“Okay, okay!” You ruffle his hair and drag out a backpack from under your bed, folding a few clothing items that you’d strewn across your floor, too lazy to put them away properly. “How long do you think we’ll be there?” 

Hyunjin crosses his legs and places his pretty face in his hands as he watches you putter around. “Not long. I just want to see what happened. I don’t think I’ll want to stay there.” 

You throw your filled canteen into your bag and zip it up, patting it gently before sitting back down next to Hyunjin, yawning. “Head out first thing in the morning?” you ask. 

“Sounds good.” 

You let Hyunjin get comfortable in bed before you walk around to blow out the candles one by one, the room darkening slightly with each flame that goes out. With the last one, you’re engulfed in complete darkness, save for the flickering lights that emerge from the crack beneath your bedroom door. But you know before long someone will walk the halls and blow those out too. 

You keep in mind that Hyunjin can see in the dark as you carefully walk towards your bed, hands firmly coming into contact with the carved wooden frame, and kick off your shoes rather unceremoniously before semi-awkwardly climbing on top of the covers. You feel Hyunjin shift slightly, moving over to make room for you as you slip beneath the quilts, and you hold your breath as you try to get comfortable. 

It’s a bit odd, sleeping with someone who you hardly know. But the thing about Hyunjin is that even though you’d only known him for a day, you feel the urge to protect him and love him. You trust him wholly, clearly, as you’d brought him home and allowed him in you and your family’s one and only safe haven. Beomgyu’s unsure questions about AI’s echo in your mind as you feel him hesitantly move closer to you and wrap a lanky arm around your shoulders, testing the waters to see if you were okay with it. You are, of course, and you lean into his hold until his chin rests above your head and your backside is flush against his front. You wouldn’t ever behave this way with a random human, you conclude, so are you trusting him solely because he isn’t? 

Perhaps, these thoughts and questions upon what is human and what is humanity are too much for your brain right before you are to sleep. You momentarily wish you were more like your friend, who was mindless enough to never even think of such complicated matters, instead focusing on things that are more physical, tangible. 

Just like the way you decided that you might come to love Hyunjin someday, you decide that it doesn’t matter if he’s an AI, and it doesn’t matter if that’s the reason you chose to trust him so eagerly, so naively. That preconceived notion that all AI’s are meant to help humans digs at your chest with guilt at your prejudice, but that’s precisely what separates you from him in the first place—that prejudice, that assumption, is what makes you human. 

But all your thoughts clear once you feel a steady hand stroke your hair, and you decide to just shut the fuck up and let the handsome robot treat you like the love of his life. 

—

“Please be safe.” 

Your mother hands you a bag full of food, enough for a little over a week. Her gaze flickers between you and Hyunjin momentarily before she pulls you into an embrace. 

“I always am,” you reassure her as you part, and she shrugs her shoulders with a tight smile on her face. 

“I know,” she says, “I know.” 

The day is bright and sunny, and you can already feel sweat trickling down the back of your neck as you and Hyunjin both climb out of the hole in the ground that you call home. Beomgyu whistles at the two of you, snickering to himself as you try to kick dirt in his face but ultimately miss as he slams the door down and twists it into place from underneath. You huff, annoyed, and your face burning with embarrassment as Hyunjin tries to hide a smile. 

“I really like your family,” he says to you after an hour or so of silence between the two of you. You’re deeper into the forest now, following the path that he had eyed the previous evening. It’s just as crowded with overgrown plants as the entrance had been, and you find yourself looking at the ground more than you want to to make sure that you don’t trip over anything and hurt yourself. The last thing that you want is to be a hindrance to Hyunjin, though you doubt he would mind it. His eagerness at your company was practically oozing out of his pores, and he kept brushing his hand against yours as the two of you walked side-by-side, making you giggle quietly at his panic whenever it happened. 

“They can be a lot sometimes—especially Beomgyu—but I do love them,” you said honestly. “I’m glad that you like them. I think they really liked you too.” 

“I hope I can come back to visit someday,” he gushes, and he swings his arms by his sides as he looks up to the sky, at the sunlight peeking through the thick canopy of trees. 

“Don’t you want to live there?” you ask. 

Hyunjin almost stops walking, tripping over his feet as he stares at you, mouth slightly agape. “You mean I can?” he asks, shocked. 

“I just assumed you would!” you laugh, slightly embarrassed about your assumption, “but… you know you’re welcome to. And if you don’t want to, that's fine too, but you can come visit any time…” You trail off, kicking aside a rather large rock that laid in the middle of the pathway. 

Hyunjin skips to catch up to you in giddy silence, cheeks flushed a pretty pink with glee. 

—

“Sometimes I wonder what happened to everyone else.” 

You turn over to face Hyunjin, the grass underneath the quilt you’d laid out crinkling from your weight on top of it. “What do you mean?” you ask, “I thought you said… they… you know. When the world ended.” 

He shakes his head, hair rustling against the blanket. “I mean the other AI’s,” he whispers, almost too quiet to hear above the soft breeze that whistles through the leaves. 

You’re silent then, feeling sorry for Hyunjin. “Were you close with them?” 

“No,” he says, “I don’t think I ever spoke to any of them.” 

—

“What does it taste like?” 

You pause, mid-chew, and stare down at the sandwich you have in your hands. It’s made of homemade bread, a little lumpy, and you swallow as you stare at the boy sitting across from you. He’s perched on a large rock above a slow-moving stream, dipping his toes into the water and watching you eat, tucked away up on the bank on your quilt. 

“Sort of like it smells—remember when it was being baked this morning? Like that, but… with texture?” 

“Eating is fascinating,” he says, looking back at you. “Humans are fascinating.” 

—

It was inevitable for things to be a little awkward with Hyunjin, you think. 

It wasn’t overly awkward—he kept conversation flowing whenever the two of you took breaks to rest your legs before continuing down the long, overgrown path—but there were times where you didn’t know exactly how to respond to him. Sometimes it was about questions that were oddly personal—not in a bad way, it was simply something that you never really thought about saying aloud to another person before. And sometimes you just didn’t know how to reply when he said something brutally honest, usually about his past with his first home. You hadn’t known what to say when he opened up about seeing the new model of AI that he was being replaced with before he was put to sleep forever. So you had simply patted his shoulder, trying to offer comfort, before staring down at the rushing river and tossing a muddy pebble into it, watching it disappear quickly beneath the foamy white water. 

And besides—you had to keep in mind that you still didn’t know him that well. Sure, you were both learning about each other more and more with every passing hour, and you definitely felt something in your chest whenever he came near you, but your mother’s words of caution about strangers kept ringing in your head whenever you thought about it too deeply. 

It was like what you were thinking of the previous night—such worries were what really made you human. As you stared at Hyunjin running his chipped fingertips over the rough bark of a tree trunk, staring up wistfully at the treetops, you wondered if he felt like that too. And if he did, was it really real, or was it just another emotion programmed into his metal body? 

He had said that the trip wasn’t too far. He remembered his first and last trip away from his first home with his human, and he said that the two of you would be there before nightfall, at the very least. You weren’t surprised that his memory had served him well as he pushed a particularly spiky tree branch out of the way, revealing a field of overgrown grass and a long, flat, gray building stood right in the middle of said field, with the sun in the West now, just a little ways away from beginning its quickening descent beneath the horizon. 

You both stand there for a moment in the clearing, and you side-eye Hyunjin, trying to be inconspicuous. You cannot see his facial expression, but you hear him exhale loudly, his nervousness clear in his awkward body language. 

“How are you feeling?” you ask tentatively, tugging on the straps of your backpack, hands searching for something to do so that they wouldn’t reach to hold his hand for comfort. 

“Weird,” he says quietly, “just… really weird.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I don’t know. I guess I thought there would be some big emotional breakdown, or breakthrough—but I don’t really feel anything. It’s been so long that even though I remember every twist and turn of this place, and I know what used to reside there, I don’t really know how to feel overall. Maybe… Maybe I’ll feel something when we go in? If we see something that is completely different? If I see something bad?” He seems to be asking himself these questions more than anything, and your fingers twitch as you want to reach for him, but you hold back yet again. 

“Do you… want to go in now?” 

“I feel like if we don’t just do it I’ll chicken out.” His lips twist into some sort of disgruntled scowl as he stares down the building. “And… if you don’t want to you don’t have to come. I already know it won’t be pleasant.” 

This time, you reach for his hand. It’s warm, and soft. You feel butterflies in your stomach as he tightens his grip on your fingers, relishing the comfort. “I came all this way,” you said, almost jokingly, and he cracks the smallest of smiles, sighing loudly afterwards. 

“Okay. Let’s do it then.” 

The front doors—they’re heavy metal double doors, with clouded over glass for windows that you can’t use to peek inside any more—are closed, but there is a long rope of thick chain that had been weaved between the long, rusted handles. But it’s been cut in half, allowing access into the building even though whoever sealed it clearly wanted everything inside to stay inside—and everything outside to stay outside. Hyunjin reaches out to pinch one of the sliced chains between his thumb and pointer finger. The edges are rough and come to a slant, leading the both of you to think that someone used a large pair of bolt cutters, or something of the sort. You make eye contact as he drops the chain and swallows hard. 

“I remember when my human woke me for the first time, they had a pair of bolt cutters,” he said, confirming your thoughts. “They must have done this.” 

He steps back, clearly a bit conflicted with this, but you push onwards—sliding the remains of the chains onto the floor. They land with a loud, echoing clank, and you push open the doors. They creak loudly, and stay even though there’s nothing to hold them open. 

Just by peering down the hall, you feel your stomach drop. There’s no lighting any more—the only reason you can see down the hall at all is because of the sunlight streaming in through the now open front doors—which is now waning too, as the late afternoon sun settles comfortably in the low sky. You also have no idea how to navigate this place, so you look to Hyunjin, who has finally stepped inside besides you, one hand raised and pressed against the left wall. 

“We should be quick,” he whispers, “I have a feeling it won’t be any nicer in the darkness.” 

His words chill you to the bone—there’s a lost eeriness in his voice, a newfound hollowness, and you feel goosebumps arise on your flesh as you nod. 

Hyunjin tries to shake off that feeling and walks down the long hallway, memories flooding his head and threatening to spill out of his facial crevices—whether out of his mouth in word vomit or through his eyes in the form of orange, rusty tears, he does not know. And he does not want to find out. 

As you progress down that first hallway, you realize that there are framed pieces of paper on the wall. Upon further inspection, you realize that there are paintings beneath those dusty pieces of glass—Hyunjin’s paintings, the ones he had mentioned before. You stop and use your sleeve to rub away at some of the grime that had settled on the surface of the frame, revealing a flat-pressed piece of thick paper with dashes of color all over it. When you stepped back a little, the image was much clearer—it was a couple, a man and a woman, both elderly, with their arms wrapped around each other in an embrace. It made your heart throb painfully as you turned your gaze back to Hyunjin, who had wiped away at the dust on another framed art piece, and was staring at a faded pencil drawing of what looked to be himself. 

“These—these are yours, right?” you ask, swallowing past the lump in your throat. “These are the ones you were telling me about.” 

Hyunjin’s eyebrows furrow as he yanks the pencil drawing off the wall, face contorted with a mix of emotions—and he shatters the frame against the wall. Splinters of glass rain down on his forearms, sticking to the loose threads on his sleeves and cascading down to the floor, skittering across the linoleum. “Yes,” he says stiffly, pulling the piece of paper out of the splintering wooden frame and tossing its remains onto the floor alongside the glass shards. “I want to keep them. Is that selfish?” 

Without a second thought, you smash the frame you’re holding against the wall too, and it breaks in the same way as his did. “No,” you say defiantly, and you open your bag, holding it out to him. “Let’s take them all.” 

His gaze flickers down to your hands, which have a few miniscule cuts on them from the glass, and he presses his lips together as he caresses them gently before taking your bag and placing both pieces inside. He doesn’t offer the bag back, carrying it on one shoulder as the two of you break all the frames in sight and tuck his beautiful paintings and drawings carefully stacked on top of one another. 

Hyunjin cradles one arm around the bag, and gropes the air with his other hand, looking for you as he stares ahead. You hold his hand, fingers curling around his, and follow his gaze. You see eight doors with flickering lights—odd, because there are absolutely no other lights still on in this place—or really, anywhere else in the world, you’re pretty sure. Seven of the eight lights are red. 

One is green. 

The green light is on the fourth door, smack in the middle of all the doors. You feel Hyunjin’s fingers go slack as he walks towards the door, shoes shuffling against the floor as he drags his feet, and you can sense his dread and hesitance. 

You follow him silently, and once you reach the door you’re easily able to read the five symbols on the right hand side: 

HHJ-00. 

Hyunjin inhales sharply as he twists the doorknob. The door swings open easily, as if it had been no longer than ten minutes since the last time its inhabitant had lived within its walls. It is completely dark in the room, but from the faint light emanating from the hallway you can squint and make out a few basic shapes. You see a bed in the center of the room, the headboard pushed up against the wall opposite the door. It looks more like a hospital bed than a normal one, you notice, with thin linen sheets and crackly paper pillowcases. The room is full of more art, this time without frames. You can see it better as Hyunjin walks in and picks up the pieces. Plenty are only half-done or even less, with blank spaces between faded colors and smudged darkness. Wordlessly, he tucks those away in the bag too. 

On the left side of the room, there is a singular small white desk, which was where most of the paintings were laid. There’s also a small cup with paintbrushes and a few palettes of crusted over old paints. Hyunjin doesn’t bother sweeping those into the bag, but lingers on the brushes for a moment before pushing them into the bag too. You watch as he drags his finger across the surface of the desk, collecting mostly dust, but small fragments of charcoal dust too. 

The charcoal is nowhere to be found. 

On the other side, there is one set of drawers. Each drawer has a peeling label that has an item of clothing—the top one says shirts, the next one says pants, and so on. You want to urge Hyunjin to take some of the clothes—he’d been wearing those threadbare items ever since you met him, and you’re sure long before that too—but he completely ignores the entire right side of the room and exits after taking his art supplies. 

He’s looking around the hallway like there’s something else that’s supposed to be here; even though he explicitly said he knew things would be different, the pain in his eyes is an entirely new kind of heartbreak. 

But then he sees something and his heart leaps—a singular piece of paper lodged on the opposite side of the door, caught between the rusting hinges near the top. 

He breaks his silence, bursting out breathily. “What do you think it is?” he asks, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty halls. 

“It could be anything,” you say honestly—but you fear that it’ll be nothing. 

You watch Hyunjin’s silver fingertips scrabble against the nearly ancient edges of the paper, parts of it crumbling as he tries to unfold it. You lean in to try and see what it is, heart pounding in your chest, so loud you can hear it in your ears. You want nothing less than to see Hyunjin’s disappointment. 

There is one drawing and one word on the paper. 

A large, messy green circle—and the word, the name ‘Doctor’ in a messy scrawl. 

Hyunjin’s knees crack against the floor as he falls, the fragile piece of paper fluttering through the still air for a moment before falling alongside him, right-side-up. He buries his hands in his hair, mussing it and tangling the strands between his long appendages. 

You don’t know what to say—sorry, it’s okay, I’m here for you—it all sounds so hollow. 

So you drop to your knees too and take his hands away from his aching scalp, holding those inhumanly smooth hands in yours that are covered in dirt and small cuts, and bring them to your lips, kissing them gently as he lets out a sob. It’s loud—it echoes more than his eagerness, his hopefulness—and you watch as his beautiful pale skin turns orange from his tear tracks, rustiness spilling down his peachy cheeks. 

“Let’s go home,” you say loudly, kissing his fingertips. 

“It’s your home,” he snaps weakly. 

“It’s our home now,” you say firmly, and with that, Hyunjin is taken back a century to the first time he met his human—and he’s so overcome with conflict and emotion for a moment—the ephemeral and Earth-shattering realization that human life is ever so fleeting, and one day you and everyone in your family home will end up like his human. 

But it fades away in the next moment, because that’s what makes him inhuman, and he wipes his eyes roughly, confused but strangely comforted by your loyalty, and says, “Okay. Let’s go home, my human.” 

He presses his forehead to yours and squeezes his eyes shut. It feels like his heart is full of splintered glass and the smell of overripe apples invades his nostrils—but he knows that as short as human lives are, you are choosing to spend it with him. And for now, and maybe forever, that is enough. 

DIVIDER CREDIT | @firefly-graphics

© petrichor-han 2023, all rights reserved