#did i procrastinate everything else to make this self indulgent fic?

[ilyuan]

.. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT I’M A GOOD GIRL, OFFICER !

◟⪩⪨ summary ! after finally capturing you and visiting your dorm for what seemed like eternity now, he’s realizing that he’s in love with you ; basically just a short fic of wrio being a sweetheart ^^

◟⪩⪨ warnings ! gn! reader, the title is just a reference to a song dw, wriothesley being confusing, he changes your clothes lol, fluff, no use of y/n except for once, very self indulgent, i think that’s all lmk if i missed anything <3

minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months.

that was the absurd amount of time that took wriothesley to finally lock you up.

but here he was, oblivious to your moves and acts, hiding your facade with a gentle smile, which is the reason why almost everyone in the fortress claimed that you were one of the nicest criminals here.

it was almost as if you didn’t do anything wrong at all.

tonight, the dark vibrancy of the clouds near its nightly leave, the stars beginning to take over the sky’s surface.

here he was, sitting next to you on the rough surface of the so-called “bed” that you were sleeping in, when in reality this “bed” was made of full on metal!

“how do you manage to sleep like this?” he suddenly begins.

hmm… maybe because you can’t sleep anywhere else?

“i don’t know, i used to be known for being a heavy sleeper, no matter the area.”

“so you can just flat out sleep on the grass?”

“okay, maybe not.”

he chuckled.

so that’s why everyone’s so fond of you, your gentle facade and your beautiful laughter that could be the number one thing that would top a movie off if you were in it.

as the days passed by into more interesting days that suddenly had you more motivation to even do things in the fortress, wriothesley began to notice how less awkward you were being with him, and how you weren’t as shy and hesitant as you used to be.

as soon as fun things start, they end too quickly, as well.

furthermore, some things can go bad, just like how fruits can go rotten as soon as they’re not taken care of as much.

because knowing wriothesley, he was practically the top one procrastinator in the world.

in this situation, wriothesley wasn’t really doing his job on checking up on you unless he hasn’t been seeing you in sight almost every where. sometimes, as much as he didn’t want to, every time you were not in sight near your dorm, he usually got nervous and began to scold you.

…and he instantly did what he had to do.

“where were you?” he asked in a what seemed like an aggravated tone.

“relax, i was playing in the pankration ring earlier after i grabbed food.” you replied, there you were again, acting as if everything was okay when you almost gagged and vomited at the purple appearance of the food you were served, which you practically had to gulp down in one go, if you were that hungry atleast.

and of course, there were times when wriothesley just randomly decided to be the confusing man he is and instantly switch up just to flirt with you.

he was one to make sure that you believed that he had a little something in his slightly cold heart for you.

“you still do that?” he chuckles “that’s cute.”

“what?”

…

“wanna go out today?”

…confusing guy.

you never even hesitated to say yes to him whenever he offered to take you somewhere out of the rancid mess of the fortress.

he only ever rarely did this, though.

after your little “appointment” that you had with him, you felt like you were rejuvenated once again.

but why does it still feel like wriothesley’s eyes were on you the entire time rather than just paying attention to what you two were buying in this absurdly small shop?

don’t think too much of it, though. all he wants to do is commit for his wrongdoings for you, after all.

as much as he knows how confusing he can be, he knows who you are.

he knows that you prefer cream cheese over butter, he knows that you don’t like matcha flavored tea, and he almost knows that your whole gentle facade is just an act for him to like you.

and it’s all just an act to be one of the nicest criminals in the fortress, too.

but who was he to care, when all he wanted to do was take care of you?

…and he only ever took you out to show you his empathy for you.

why can’t you just realize he’s in love with you?

on the final day, your release.

“wriothesley!” you yelp out, feeling his frozen hands pull off your dirty prison uniform’s shirt.

“what? i do this with everyone, you’re not special, sweetheart.”

now that was clearly a lie. you were the only one he had fully taken care of like this. after all, he cared for you like you weren’t even a criminal in the first place, that you didn’t even do anything wrong in the first place.

…

sigh.

“wrio.”

“i don’t wanna leave this place if it means i’m leaving you here, without me!” you frowned.

he fully knows who you are now.

that whole gentle facade you always put on quickly faded away as soon as your ego went soaring through the roof when you implied that he couldn’t live without you.

that’s the y/n he wants to see.

he chuckles.

finally.

his fingers shaking in anticipation as he clothed you into the outfit he bought for you last night when you were sleeping, he leans up to place his lips on yours.

“you won’t. i won’t leave you.”

~

@sugarmouchie - do not copy/translate/repost my works on other platforms. 🤍

[astrhae]

ok pls hear me out i know you have a gazillion things to write and i cant wait for them but the pic chris just posted of him and dodger is too cute so what about when peter left for MIT, the idiots adopted dodger??? and cue dog shenanigans or tony being jealous that dodger keeps stealing his place on steve's chest!!! *dies*

this took a gazillion years to write and it doesn’t have much of peter in it, but enjoy 1.8k of stevetony shenanigans plus some instagram edits just because :) 

see it with the lights out

also on ao3

---------------

Tony scowls into the camera. "No."

In the hologram, Steve's grin turns into a laugh as Dodger's head nudges at his beard, their dog settling heavily on Steve's chest and rumpling his white tee up.

His tail wags harder when Tony's voice comes through, head swivelling with an air of cautious excitement.

"He misses you too," his husband has the gall to say.

"That dog is not sleeping in our bed," Tony huffs, pointing to himself for emphasis, "and your chest is my pillow."

"Come over here and claim it, then."

He's tempted, he really is.

A week away from home on a world trip of Stark Industries Offices left him tired and aching for the softness of their bed, the steady tenderness of Steve's touch.

It's stupid to be jealous of their dog, childish and unmanly, and – ah, dammit, a man has needs, alright?

The hotel suite had felt too hollow and too quiet to stay in alone - God knows how much worse it would've been if Tony had chosen to stay in one of his London mansions - hence why he's still here in the conference room, whiling away the hours between meetings with a glimpse of home.

He has to remind himself that this is the final stop. One last meeting tonight, a facility tour in the morning, and then a jet back.

Or the Iron Man suit, if he really wanted to cut the flight time in half.

"When I get back, I'm keeping you for a whole week, Avengers alert be damned," he threatens.

Dodger barks, as if in protest, which makes Steve laugh harder. "I think our child disagrees."

Tony wants to kiss that laugh, but he refuses to be sidetracked from his true purpose for calling: the Instagram posts of Dodger taking over their bedroom and his husband.

With his own bedroom and a plethora of bot dogs to play with, their rescue dog is more than spoiled. Yes, fine, Tony will admit that he does an equal share of spoiling as his husband, but the entire internet seems to have gone crazy over by Captain America's Instagram suddenly blowing up with posts every morning.

It bears repeating that Tony isn't jealous of their dog, thank you very much. He had even been the one to take Steve to the shelter as a second anniversary surprise.

He also misses Dodger a lot.

Steve had endearingly infuriatingly been able to train their dog to jump on Tony if he forgot to take a drink for more than an hour, playing fetch together with DUM-E in between each hour.

And, most importantly, Tony knows that it's his account that has more posts about their long journey to and after marriage, preferring to have control over what the world sees than keep things so private for paparazzis to hunt.

Because some days, he felt so full of awe and affection that Steve really was his, so much that he needed to shout it from the rooftops and tell the world, because wow.

Steve’s account was most often filled with political post that set fires beneath the asses of complacent Senators, and he had his reasons for wanting to keep his personal life private.

Tony respected those reasons, which was why it was jarring even to him that Steve had taken rabidly to posting about Dodger, but the number of times he's stared at Steve's only post of them, a picture taken three days after he had proposed to Tony –

Had that really been the only time Steve felt so full of affection for him?

"Stop it."

Tony swivels in his spinning chair, shaken. "What?"

Steve shoves Dodger away to presumably get a proper grip on his phone. "You're doing that frowny face that means you're thinking too much, honey," he says even as he pats their dog consolingly, "did the investors do something wrong?"

"No, I just - " I'm just, okay, I'll admit it, jealous of our dog cause he's spending the day with you and I'm not? "I'm just tired," Tony finishes lamely.

The video feed shakes as Steve adjusts himself again. He must've seen through Tony's slip. "Why aren't you in your hotel?" All business, the need to protect surging. It was the Captain seeing a problem and mapping out solutions. "I thought you still had two hours before your next thing?"

His husband voluntarily memorising his jumbled schedule when JARVIS was perfectly capable of providing every detail had always been something that sent Tony into a bubbly mess, and even now, the welcome warmth spreads through him.

"I'm saving the environment," he feels himself smile, "less travelling, less gas."

"All your cars are clean energy, and you could walk for once, Mister Billionaire," Steve teases, relaxing slightly despite the concern still clear in his pinched face.

"JARVIS, define 'tired' for our dear Captain, would you?"

"The Oxford Dictionary definition or your personal definition, sir?"

A muffled laugh from Steve. Traitors, the both of them.

"I'll call you tonight, if that helps?" Steve offers. "Or I can try convince Pepper to let you off the hook."

"'Try' being the keyword," his mood growing less sour for every minute he spends talking with his husband. "I do want to meet the young minds working at my facilities, though."

Something softens in Steve at that. "Of course you do." A beat, then, "I love you."

"Love you too," Tony replies, almost an instinct.

It's the promise of a call later that carries Tony through the rest of the day, and when his alarm rings the next day, it's the maddening expectation of seeing Steve and Dodger again that gives him the strength to throw off the blankets – sue him for using more than one blanket, it was always colder without a supersoldier heater in bed with him.

The rest of the morning passes in a blur. He spends longer than planned in the labs, caught in a discussion of superstellar travel with Monica Rambeau, a name he remembers to give to Jane, but eventually he's escorted back to his car with Happy on the wheel, their bags packed in the trunk.

Except, Happy takes a left off Knightsbridge –

"Hap, aren't we going to the City Airport?"

"New instructions from the High Boss, Boss," Happy cheerily replies, or as cheery as he could be with his professional no-nonsense look that Tony hadn't managed to train out of him yet.

"Pep didn't tell me about any change." He rubs his ring anxiously, the metal a grounding touch.

"She said a very high-ranking UN representative is waiting in your office. She'll be very upset if you ghost him."

Tony groans, just in time for the car to slide smoothly into the SI Building's lobby. "Keep the car running," he doesn't bother putting his tie back on, leaving it draped over the seat, but he does reattach his cufflinks.

The gold stars on the small red-and-gold shields Steve had given him wink back, a reminder of the reward that laid beyond this one last hurdle.

When he steps out of the car, he knocks on the bulletproof window until Happy rolls it down.

"I'll be fifteen minutes at most, if I take longer, fake an emergency and get me out of the room."

Happy salutes him. "No problem, Boss."

Tony takes the lift, making it all the way to his floor before he realises he has no idea who's waiting, or more importantly, what exactly was so pressing that Pepper deemed it critical enough to prolong his Steve-deprivation.

"J, details on meeting agenda?" he asks his watch.

"You will be conversing with a certain Mr. Stark, member of the United Nations Superhuman Response Team."

He squints up at the nearest camera, rounding the corner to his office. "Did Peter mess with your speech patterns again?"

"Mister Parker has done nothing of the sort, sir," JARVIS sounds scandalised.

Tony rolls his eyes fondly. "Nevermind," he pushes the door open, "I'll fix you la – "

He blinks.

Walks out.

Walks back in.

Still there. Some sort of vivid hallucination then?

"Hey, darling," Steve stands, because apparently, somehow, by some miracle - ah, Pepper, you sneaky, sneaky little minx - Tony's husband is in his London office, cleanly shaven and wearing that blue, very well-fitting jacket Tony loves to take off of him.

"Steve," Tony says, still holding onto the door just in case, "when - why - "

"This morning, because I missed you, and," by now Steve's steps have taken him right in front of Tony, his warm breaths puffing against him, "also because I wanted to do this."

He presses a kiss on Tony's lips.

Which, oh.

Steve's hand curls around his neck, thumb brushing a path along his jaw, and okay, Tony's brain, mushy as ever when it gets near Steve, finally clicks.

His husband really is here.

Only then does Tony finally surge forward, leaning up to drag Steve even closer, because he smells like home and tastes like it, too.

"I love you," Steve murmurs between kisses.

"I missed you," Tony breathes back.

When Steve pulls away, Tony doesn't let him get far, clinging close to him. "Did you leave our rascal alone?" he has enough sense to ask.

"Dodger's staying the night with Buck and Sam," Steve ducks his head, cheeks pinking, "I thought you'd find your flight back more bearable with extra company."

"You didn't have to," Tony chides, but he knows his smile says otherwise. "And are those," he peers at the large riot of colors on his desk, "are those flowers?"

"Thought they'd scent up your place real nice," Steve's smile tips up into a smirk, "I took care of all Avengers business stateside. You deserve a good vacation after a week of hard work."

"Is that so?" Tony kisses Steve's cheek.

Then his nose, and his lips again for good measure.

"And you've got several houses here that we haven't destroyed the sanctity of yet," Steve adds with an air of utter seriousness that sends Tony cackling, feeling all the exhaustion of the past week sliding right off him.

"Take me home, then, soldier," Tony winds his arm around his husband's waist.

In three days, Dodger would be flown over to London with a disgruntled note from Bucky that their child had hogged Sam too much, and Steve would melt the entire internet with the video of Dodger barreling Tony to the ground.

In six days, they'd take their dog on a walk, visiting the spots Steve had been to way back when in the forties, writing new, brighter memories over his grief.

In ten days, the jet would take them back to New York, Tony's head on Steve's chest as the sun set beneath the clouds, Dodger tucked in next to them.

But that was later.

For now, he lets Steve hand him the bouquet of carnations and lilies, thanking him with yet another kiss.

And if he spends the rest of the next day smiling after a night of life reaffirming sex and a certain alert on his phone, well.

He loves his husband.

And it's nice to be loved back.

[1kook]

Hi Everyone, please read

tw// racism

First of all, I just wanna say I’m so grateful for all the nice anons and interactions I get to have with people here everyday. I live in a densely populated city so quarantine regulations were super tough when this all started in March and remain strict even all the way into October. I haven’t been able to see my friends a lot or anyone outside of my family and job, which really sucked, but it was fine because I had my blog! The beginning of September I had two fics that did so amazing and of which I am so thankful for their response, because with that came a lot of new anon friends!

I have been on tumblr since 2012, but I have never received the same amount of interaction as I do now. I’m so happy I can interact with people on here be it anonymous or not. I enjoy hearing ideas and doing my best to fulfill them, hearing about someone’s day, and laughing about stupid jokes. It’s gotten to the point where some have picked names and further fleshed out our friendships because of how close we’ve gotten!! I have had so much fun everyday asking stupid questions and getting equally as silly answers and it’s all because I was able to make people feel comfortable on my blog.

However, people are not always nice. That’s fine! It’s the internet, this will always happen. Rarely do I get hateful anons and rarely do I post the few I do get. Sometimes they’re funny and I laugh and go about my day. Most anons have been about my style as an author, the types of fics I put out, and for the most part, the similarity in all my fics. I’ll address this now. if you feel my fics are all the same then consider this.

1. I write fics FOR MYSELF about ideas I have and want to see, and post them FOR MYSELF. I don’t mean to sound cocky but at the end of the day every fic i have ever posted is just me filling my own imagination in a self indulgent way. They’re all the same because they’re all things I like??? Things I want to read??? No offense, but unless I am filling a requests, you’re GONNA SEE jk college au. jk boyfriend. jk dom/sub. jk this and this. Why? Because it’s my blog and I post what I like.

2. If you don’t like my fics.... don’t read them? I am not holding you at gunpoint to read these fics nor is anyone else. If you appear on my blog to complain about my fics ... okay?? I’m not gonna change them lmao. You’re not the target audience, so move along.

But truthfully speaking, this is not the main reason I am making this post. Do I care what people online think about my fics? Mmm not really. Writing fics is something I do in my free time as a hobby. I’ve never wanted to do this professionally lmao. I do it for fun when I’m bored or procrastinating. I have other hobbies I do too. I journal i paint i play soccer I listen to music. I frankly am not offended when people critique my work, especially not when they chose to do it through an anonymous message.

What DOES offend me is when people abuse the anonymous option to be spiteful and hateful, and use my ethnic background against me... OVER KPOP. OVER FAN FIC ABOUT KPOP.

Am I offended about the first part of the ask? No I don’t care. What I am disgusted and disturbed by is that you have been blatantly racist and ignorant not only to ME but to ALL OTHER POCS with the second half of your message. Being a POC writing for BTS is bad?? What do you prefer I write about? Shawn Mendes? Niall Horan? I’d rather choke. What do you even mean??? Am I supposed to write Can fic for completely unproblematic people?? Give me an example?? Furthermore, I am not black so for you to come in here and disrespect black people with your last comment is immature, disgusting, and racist. Go to hell.

I deleted the message. I always delete excessively rude messages. I was hoping it was a one time occurrence but nope. A few hours later.

My status as an undocumented immigrant is something I have shared on tumblr because it is my safe space and somewhere where no one in real life knows me. Did you think this was funny? Did you think I actually laughed? I didn’t. I won’t lie. This ask terrified me. You’re threatening to call ICE on me.... OVER KPOP? OVER FAN FICS OF KPOP? How old are you. How immature do you have to be to take it this far.

I deleted this message and turned off anon. I am not gonna let some anonymous grey sunglasses orb abuse the anonymous option like this. Honestly, I knew another message was bound to follow up and it did 🤗

thanks for showing me your face, doll. I reported your account and so did a bunch of friends of mine. It’s funny that you mention writing better content but your blog is only ten posts? 9 of which are reblogs of fan fics? What do you write babe? What do you do? Where do you post? As I’ve said before I frankly don’t care for writing advice, this is just a hobby. But if you’re going to claim you’re some modern day Shakespeare maybe have the proof to back it up. Also your first posts says you’re a black woman, but your first ask to me says POC shouldn’t enjoy BTS.... honey all your posts are about BTS. So what’s the truth? Do we enjoy them or not? Next time you feel some type of way towards me as a Mexican woman, don’t start off by hiding behind anon until I force you off, don’t disrespect me or other POCs, and don’t use a burner account like you did. And for the record. I barely believe you’re black, and honestly speaking, everything about your asks have racist undertones only a white person could carry out.

Anyway. I am posting this because I want to highlight just how difficult it is to be a POC in this fandom. Army preach about being this or being that. We love each other. We look out for each other. ARMY is family blah blah blah.

No we’re not.

I have been an ARMY since 2015. The only places I have ever found comfort within this fandom are with other POCs, and even then it is only a few people here and there. This random ass hoe that I have NEVER interacted with before decided to take the fact I am a POC and taunt me, attack me, harass me, whatever you want to call it, and didn’t come off anon until I forced them off.

I am so beyond tired of being a POC in this fandom. When will you all recognize that one “I stand by” post is never enough to support us. “I can’t be racist I support BTS’s message💜” shut the hell up. You kiss these men’s feet for being your woke kings but then turn around and say things like this. Was it fun? Was it cool parading around in your ‘I do whatever BTS does’ cloak? You guys pick and choose when you want to be a model ARMY, and then turn around do things like this. Over kpop. Your allyship means nothing when there are still people like this in fandom who try to bully me OVER KPOP. OVER JUNGKOOK. OVER A MAN WE DONT KNOW AND NEVER WILL KNOW.

Please don’t interact with this person. Please just block and report them.

Anon’s gonna be off for a while, thanks for reading.

[rebloged-content]

Recommended Sanders Sides creators

Marry Christmas, everyone! And a wonderful December day to all of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, too. Let’s be honest right off the bat, though: I’m only using the date as an excuse to do this list anyways.

So. Throughout the time I’ve spent as a part of this wonderful corner of the sanders sides fandom over here on tumblr, I’ve often found a new creator and wished I’d found them sooner. It kind of makes me wonder who else I might miss. If you do to, here are a few creators I’d love for you to check out. You’ll probably recognize some of the names, if not all, but maybe you’ll find a new favorite creator here?

And to the creators in question, I really love your content. If you’ve made it onto this list, you’ve definitely cause one or two sleepless nights of reading for me, because who needs sleep if I can have this, right? XD Whatever you’ll find written next to your name is the impression you’ve left on me and… Well, just know that you’ve made some days of my life at least a little happier, all of you. And I hope to repay the favor by telling you how much I appreciate you releasing your content into this world… Well, repay the favor at least a little, I suppose.

Let’s begin, then, shall we?

@5am-the-foxing-hour Because this? This is who you go to if you want to read good Janus-content. You are in a mood to read sympathetic Janus? Wanna see the danger noodle just casually interact with other sides? Go to their short stories. I mean, “the cult”? Prime example of how to tell a story with impact in just a few words. 8 paragraphs, but boy did I read that one on repeat. Or “water spray bottle”, this one is fun, short and will make you laugh. An energy drink for the fander heart, so to say.

Then there’s their mafia-au, “there’s more in me than precious metals”. Six are out so far, and I adore every single word of every single part of this. Protective Remus, sassy Janus, angst, comedy relief, destruction, Roman-Remus-sibling-rivalry, braincell Logan, survival instinct Virgil, working together over a common enemy… This fic has it all, believe me. Take your time and read it, because you will read the entire thing in one go once you start. At least I did, and I didn’t even notice.

And their advent writings? Those had me squealing and jumping around in a way I will deny if anyone ever sees it. I don’t even know what else to say, they are fucking fantastic and that’s that.

So, yeah. Go check them out, before I start fangirling about them even more. You know my personal favorites now, so just go there. You won’t regret it.

Next up is @coconut-cluster. Ah, yes, Lexi. Lexi, whose uni-AU started as self indulgent and has become the loceit story on tumblr. We all know her, or at least most of us do, and we all love her too. And while I also drop everything I do at any point of time I possibly can once I realize the uni-au has any form of new addition, there are a lot of other fics created by her that you should check out as well.

Did you, for example, ever want a sappy prinxiety one-shot with the sappiness only being implied, a mutual understanding of “we’re-not-saying-we-care-but-we-both-know-we-do” born from joking reassurances and a not-a-date-nope-only-a-break? While that may seem to be a tall order, that is exactly what “before the sun goes down” is. Plus there’s ice cream. Or maybe you’re more of a logince fan? Do you want a fic where Roman isn’t the prince but serves His Highness? Do you like sincere talks while you’re procrastinating showing your face to the subjects you don’t really want to rule over? In that case, you really should read “Viva la Vida”. Careful, though, this one is so sweet you’ll probably get a toothache… There also is an analogical fic that I’ve enjoyed very much: “Cracks in the Ceiling”. I love it, because it’s just calm. Fears creeping up on you, thrown away by a trusted friend with a few words, just by being there and playing into the metaphors you head created this time around. It’s calm, and there’s not really a climax or anything, but it doesn’t need one. Because it’s just a glance into everyday life. It’s beautiful in its own right, really.

What I’m saying is, Lexi has a lot more wonderful stories to tell than the uni-au. It’s the most popular one, sure, and it’s one of her best works. But you really should check out her other fics as well. Lexi herself once said that she writs fics she’d like to read. I would figure it’s because of this, but her stories are mostly things you don’t really find anywhere else. Dynamics, stories, world building, all of those are aspects you may find somewhere else. But Lexi is just one of those people who see what they miss in a fandom and create it themselves, and among these creators Lexi is my favorite. She just has that certain skill that makes that approach to writing result in the most enjoyable reading experiences. Lexi’s fics are special, because they’re different, because they are authentic and you can feel that when you’re reading her work.

@djpurple3 is another talented individual I want to talk about. I have to confess, DJ is, as far as original content goes, almost exclusively locked in my brain with the fiction “I just keep loosing my beat”. 23 Chapters so far, one better than the last. It’s a bitter-sweet story following Remus and his children, after the bitch of a mother has been brought behind bars. Abusive piece of shit. Yeah, I don’t like her much. But the story is so full of love and support, everyone trying their best, everyone seeing how much the others deserve the world and wishing they could give it to them… Roman and Remus have a sibling-dynamic I would die for here, too. Patton is just the most adorable friend to Deceit - here Damion - Virgil is a precious bean, Logan is cute and the teacher we all wish he’d had ourselves and… god, I could keep gushing about this fic forever. I’ll stop now, though, before I’ll start spoiler things. Wouldn’t want to do that, especially since I really, really, really want more people to give this a go. It’s not underrated, I just think everyone who doesn’t is missing out by a lot, so… Go over there and read DJ���s fic right fucking now, if you haven’t already read it at least once. Thank you.

@delimeful​, our wonderful lime-friend with a cute cat making a terrifying face in his header. First of all, there is the WIBAR universe, short for “Watch it burn and rust”. 5 chapters in act one, 4 intermissions (one of those with three chapters), one chapter of act two, as well as three extras and an au of this au called “the end of being alone”, and I’ve lost count of how many nights I spent reading those instead of sleeping like I should. (Or interacting with family. Or being productive. Or… It’s really a good story, okay?!) WIBAR is a deathworlder au. So a space au in which humans are regarded as dangerous deathworlders who can survive on a deathworld like earth. In other words, Virgil is the only human, and boy does that scare everyone around him. And the best part? You can feel the development, the shift in mentality regarding Virgil, feel the moment approach in which he isn’t a threat but a companion instead.

And, apart from the fic that inspired me enough to start writing “TINND!R?” over on my writing blog, there are a lot more amazing fics to read on lime’s blog. He wrote “How easy you are to need”, for example. It’s soft, it pulls at just the right heartstrings, it’s achingly hopeful and, god, the ending still has me in tears, even after the fifth - ? sixth? something among those lines - reread. This one’s a werewolf au, actually. Virgil is the werewolf, Logan, Patton and Roman are the humans.

Do you want yourself some of that pre-AA dynamic? I’d recommend “to taste your beating heart”. In this, Virgil gets separated from the rest of his group of vampire hunters and gets turned into a vampire himself, loosing his memories. And he’s “Anx” now, not “Virgil”, goddamnit! He isn’t their friend anymore, why don’t they understand that? Well, probably because they can still see Virgil’s old habits shining through. There’s a lot of tension, a lot of angst and a whole lot of frustration involved in this.

He also wrote some amazing one-shots. They’re mostly so well written that I’m almost sad not to be waiting on a continuation. There’s “the littlest mermaid”, in which Virgil goes to investigate a noise, finding a scared, tiny mermaid in need of help. In “community gardens” we have Remus being Remus, gaining the interest and friendship of the forest’s giant Logan. “Magical mutualism” tells the tale of a witch and a demon making a pact beneficial to both parties and opening the doors neither could have gone beyond alone. The way we’re all confused about our ships not actually having set sail yet comes to a hight in Virgil in regards to his friends in “amateur matchmakers”. And this is the point at witch I stop talking before I actually recommend every single one of lime’s fics instead of just my favorites as I had planed because I started to gush too much… XD

Let’s move on to @muppenthings​. Mupp is an amazing artist and she created a giant mermaid au. There’s this one orca who’s just… We love her, but I actually don’t think she’s the brightest. I really, really love her, though. Virgil himself is being a little protective over his human friends and casually so. I love this comic series for the art style, but I also love the way it makes me crack a laugh at least once per work. Or appeal to my mother-instincts, if it’s about baby Virgil. Too cute for his own good, I tell ya! And the facial expressions! The detail, the jokes, everything about this is wonderful. You should at least take a look.

@whenisitenoughtrees​. Cat got me with “This cup of yours tastes holy (This lie is dead)”. “A slow voice on a wave of phase” was next, later “Infinity and beyond”, “we are not alone in the dark with out demons” and “changing of the guard”. And then, suddenly, the night was over. I’ve read almost all of the fics in one go, and I’ve been semi-frequently visiting her master post ever since. When “There’s an endless road to rediscover” came out just a little while back, that lead to me re-reading through almost the entire list. I don’t regret it, my plans for that weekend would like to disagree.

These six fics I mentioned here are, by no means, the only ones I enjoyed. Those are just the ones I’ve found myself opening up again and again in sleepless nights. Those are the ones that pop up in my head and have me smiling to myself in the middle of god-knows-whatever-I’ve-been-doing-at-the-time.

Angst, fluff, hurt-comfort, you’ll find everything in that list. And something I’ve grown to like about Cat’s fics even more than anything else is the quick change between feeling perplexed, a startled laugh at certain wordings (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it) and apprehension. These fics will have you at the edge of you seat, swooping you away on an emotional roller coaster. And, god, the way Cat writes from Remus’ perspective? The introductions of her stories and the way she redirects to the main topic after going into detail on something? I saved a few paragraphs as screenshots on my phone because I love them and I want to read them again when I’m down. I just… Cat’s great.

Next up is @eliemo. Because Elias Virgil is the royalty of Virgil angst. From the touch-starved Virgil we’ve all had a head cannon of at one point in “Heart of Ice”, over ace Virgil panicking over telling his boyfriends that he his ace and didn’t think to tell them before in “Love our way” to so, so much more.

Mostly EV follows the story arc of an underlying feeling of dread at the beginning, which slowly grows into panic, exploding in a storm of angst and concludes in everyone, or at least whoever is around, coming to the rescue and helping to calm down, with the end being the hope for getting better in the future. They always manage to convey the confusion, fear or just the general thought process so well that you can’t help but get absorbed in the story. They know exactly what to say and what to leave between the lines to get the maximum effect. And, your heart will definitely be shattered after their angst. Still, the way the sides comfort each other and support each other so well every time is just… I love their stories, a lot.

I want to make two more suggestions if you want to check out this creator. A Janus angst fic, which can only be described as “ouch” you’ll find under the name “snake bite”. It hurts in the best way possible, because Janus gets the comfort he deserves.

The other suggestion gets a lot darker. It’s about Virgil having been abused by the “others” before he got accepted into the light side. The others are shocked to find out what has gone on behind their backs and they help Virgil in every way they can to recover. Of cause it’s a rocky path, though. This would be “Learned Behavior”. The series/au has twelve stories so far, one of which has two parts. You’ll find the master post for this pinned to the top on their blog.

If you like angst, you should also give @maybedefinitely404​ a look. Ly has a soulmate-au going, in which they use the concept of “you hear the music your soulmate listens to”. "Music in my head” is a prinxiety fic, but the two of them have yet to meet. Four chapters and two mini-fics in. The reason I mentioned angst is because in this - spoiler alert for the first few chapters here - , Virgil gets put through conversion therapy. Luckily Janus and Logan are better foster parents than the ones who did that to him.

They also have a master list for all their soulmate stories, featuring different ships. Apparently they participated in soulmate month, if I understood that correctly. And to be honest, that was how I even found their account. I absolutely adore their anxceit fic, which takes place in a human au. It’s starting off pretty sad, but the bonding moments are absolutely wonderful. It’s a lovely story, and the ending is one of the best ones I’ve yet to read. Their logince fic took my breath away, too. A flower shop/tattoo artist au, and Logan is the tattoo artist. Stunning writing, wonderful world building, just the right amount of backstory to have everything make sense without overwhelming/drowning the reader in unnecessary details. Their moxceit fiction… Well, this one had me in tears within the first few paragraphs. It’s terrible and you feel for Janus, whose perspective this is written from. The ending, though… Gods! The ending was so indescribably cute. To be honest, all of the soulmate stories are great, these three are just my personal favorites.

Concerning their one shots, you’ll probably have to figure it out on your own concerning this. I haven’t been able to read all of them yet, as sad as that makes me. Definitely palling on doing it in the future, though. I did read two of them, though. “Pippity poppity” really was amusing, and I am so looking forward to the second part of “The Boy who sings next door”. The way they write the dynamics between the sides? I live for that.

Another creator I would like to recommend is @maybe-im-tired.They don’t have a master post, as far as I could see, but they only post their content anyways, so… “Can’t take my eyes off of you” is my favorite out of their fics so far. I mean, the way they managed to fit the sheer chaos that is intrulogical into this one short fic is amazing. And you could take about two thirds of what Remus said and put it up on your wall as out-of-contexts-quotes. Don’t worry, he says them out of context anyways, and they will definitely make you laugh. 

The series of short stories for the human au that starts with “Glowing stars” is another au by them that you will almost certainly like. We have Logan and Virgil as kids (about 7 I think), Remus and Patton as single parents, Roman as the most adoring uncle, Emile as babysitter and Remy as his amazing partner. Remus is a great father, wonderfully chaotic as well. And a teacher! Imagine that, Remus as your teacher... He’s great with kids though, as long as they aren’t entitled villains come to make his precious Virgil feel bad, that is.

They also wrote a bunch of “random one shots”. They are all amazing, but my favorite has to be this one. It’s a logince one, once again human au. Patton may or may not tell his big brother’s crush about the feelings he wasn’t prepared to share yet. You know, as small kids do. It’s soft, it will make you smile as much as Logan does, and I love Remus in it. I generally like how they write Remus, okay? I know how much I’ve said it, but I’m not even exaggerating. They always write him differently, and all versions they write him as are so, so lovable and just… I wanna hug the life out of all Remus versions they wrote, okay? Take a look, you’ll know why.

Anyways. Let’s continue with @figurative-siren-song. This is the last account I’ve followed and I’m still sad about it having taken me this long to find them. Little salty, to be honest. (I’ll stick to they/them because they said just not to use she/her, and, well… consistency, you know? Don’t have much, so I have to get what I can XD). When I finally did find them, I went through their entire master list (at least all of the ships with characters I actually know. I’m kinda bad with the shorts characters, so I usually just… avoid them? Idk. Personal preference, I guess), and, well… I would honestly recommend every single fic on that list. They call themself “Repair Fluff King™️” and they deserve that title. But when they warn you that a fic will be angsty, it will be angsty.

I found them through the anxceit fic “A Deal”. Well, through an animatic by their friend on youtube that had linked the fic, but details. I’ve been reading this fic up and down again and again. It’s just so good! And when they talk in the second part and Janus explains why he proposed that deal. Or in the continuation, which i can’t talk about because I will probably spoiler things! So wholesome!

 Also, their losleepxeity fic “We’re worth it”. So soft! The nicknames, the plot, the everything. It’s softer than clouds look, and we all know that means something.

But, really. Everyone will find something for them by this creator. So many ships, all incredibly well written, and soft and fluffy without getting boring in the slightest. It’s as energizing as coffee, actually. And, let’s be honest, this whole fandom drowns itself in angst most of the time. Take a break from that, repair your broken hearts with goof fluffy content that you’ll want to read over and over again. Go check this creator out. You will love them. 

Last but not least… @myfriendsasthesides​ A blog by a creator who just takes the wonderfully chaotic dynamics of a friend group and using that to give us content of incorrect sides quotes. Maybe it doesn’t fit with me going on and on about fics here. I don’t care. Follow them and turn on those notifications, please, because seeing even one post of theirs on your dashboard will make your day. It’s funny, it’s absurd, it’s chaotic, it’s making you jealous of them for having friends like that. Believe me, you will want to see those posts. It’s just… the random shots of serotonin and dopamine out generation needs really fucking desperately 100% of the time. 

That’s it with the list! Eleven creators I absolutely adore, and I’m sorry I was babbling so much all the way through, but… Well, actually I’m not sorry. And actually, half of the reason I even made this post is to tell them how much I love them and fangirl about them a bit. So… Yeah. Well.I love you guys and hope you’ll have a wonderful day! And to everyone else reading this: I hope this helped you ind some new creators you can enjoy. And a good day to you too, of cause.

Sincerely, Joy 🖤

(@joylessnightsky/@sanders-sides-fic)

[ourstarscollided]

jatp fanworks appreciation - day 3 (wips)

wip wednesday - I didn’t think I wanted to join in on this day for my own stuff considering I’ve never posted anything original for this fandom, but I think this might just be the little boost I need from myself to actually finish the wips that I have sitting around. I am peer pressuring myself and holding myself accountable by posting this - or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Most of the past 6 mths has just been me screaming to no one in a Google Doc, so here are some things I’ve been ruminating about over the last 6 months (and if my secret agenda is to get other people to write about it so I don’t have to? Then that’s between you and me).

Everything’s under a read more because I like giving context and that usually spirals out of control!?!?

If you would like to see more from any of the below, feel free to shoot me an ask/message and I can definitely share some more! (Or you can just come yell at me about JATP in general.)

Strangers Fake Dating AU // Julie x Luke

I’m a simple person. I see a prompt, I latch onto it, and then I completely miss the entire point of the prompt as my imagination goes wild for no real reason. This really was supposed to be a super short drabble, but it manifested into a 3k+ thing that isn’t even finished.

Julie’s not really sure what she’s supposed to do now. Nothing has ever prepared her for a situation in which she’s supposed to pretend to be a stranger’s girlfriend, especially if that situation involves parents. Does she continue this ruse? Can she come up with a quick enough excuse to tell this Luke character that she actually can’t stay? What if this is just all an elaborate plan to kidnap her? Has she been listening to too many true crime podcasts? Why does Luke smell so good? Does he know how to cook? Why does his shirt not have sleeves? What-

“I can hear you thinking from here.” Her head whips up at the sound of Luke’s voice, which is now at a whisper and kind of frantic. “I just- I just really needed to get my mom off my back, so I kinda need you to pretend to be my girlfriend. Just for the night. I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Julie studies Luke’s face and it’s nearly impossible to not cave under his gaze, which can only be simply described as ‘puppy dog eyes’. She finds herself smiling back, letting out a huff, “I hope you like lasagna.” And the grin that spreads across the boy’s face is enough for her to know that he’s incredibly relieved that she agreed.

“I’m Luke by the way. Luke Patterson.”

(Okay, he’s kinda cute. And no one this cute is a serial killer. Right?)

She gives a small smile back, “I’m Julie.”

//

5+1 alive!Juke AU // Julie x Luke

Inspired by paper - LANY

This is one of the first things I ever felt the urge to write down back in September because I love exploring the idea of how two people can appear to be the perfect relationship on the outside, but are actually fighting their own demons. Especially when it comes to celebrities and people who are in the spotlight. It’s basically a 5+1 fic about the moments from other people’s perspectives who happen to orbit around Julie/Luke that all revolve around paper. My outline for this is so long because I can’t manage to narrow it down, and there’s zero cohesiveness but I do have little things jotted down.

“Hey little man,” Luke’s knelt down to match his 5 year-old height, and a hand extends out to him for a high five, “What are you doing here?”

His eyes flicker to the left, towards his own apartment door, where his mom is giving him an encouraging nod. “ I- I just wanted to-” he stutters and finds himself looking at his feet as he shuffles back and forth on the spot. “I- I drew you guys something!”

He shoves the paper out towards the older boy in front of him, but doesn’t look up.

//

Reincarnation AU // Julie x Luke

I had a random thought in December about how magical it is that Julie and Luke are so tied to one another that their love transcends time and space, which will always lead them back to one another. I remember reading a book a long time ago about how the main character is fated to die at a certain age, and that kind of sparked this little idea. I can’t bring myself to actually plot out every single timeline right now, but I did manage to write a little bit.

It will never be as complex as Rosie’s idea and all the wonderful additions in the link here, and I don’t really plan on it being anything more than a small idea. But I really do still think someone should write some sort of reincarnation AU cause I’d hop on that so fast!!

“Okay- that’s not- Luke. You seriously just ran away?”

“What was I supposed to do Alex? We all know how this ends.”

His friend looks at him, face painted in understanding and he sighs, “Yeah. Yeah, we do.”

Because it’s true, Alex does know, so does Reggie and Bobby. Most importantly, so does Luke. It’s the exact same tragic love story every time.

Call it a curse or fate or destiny. Maybe it’s because Mercury is in retrograde. Whatever. It always ends the same way - with a heartbreaking goodbye, a whisper of the promise that they’ll find each other again, and the possibility of a happy ending. He’s said the same goodbye at least 734 times, but it’s not like he’s counting or anything. Fuck the universe and its mystical ways.

//

Competitive Alex // Alex x Willie

No real thoughts or reasons for this other than I just think I self-projected my need to play board games with people in real life into a fic. And maybe a little bit of my competitiveness onto Alex and then threw in Willie because I think he would be able to handle it while also finding it endearing. I also have written nothing about the actual competitiveness, it’s just 2k words of Alex crushing on Willie.

“Wait,” his eyes dart between the three boys, “You both know Willie? How come I’ve never met him?”

His roommates look at each other, and there’s a smirk on Luke’s face when he says, “Actually Alex, I think you have. Remember that time you got really drunk after one of our shows?”

Oh no. He really hopes that it’s not the time he’s thinking of, so he tries to sound nonchalant. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Luke.”

“The night we played at that tiny bar at the edge of the campus! We got paid in those tiny colourful shots?” He doesn’t really know where Luke is going with this, so he’s slowly nodding along. “And you were super upset that the hot dog vendor at the end of the street was closed?”

//

Dear Julie, Love Mom series

I made myself sad with this thought when I first watched the show and was talking to my friend about how I think that Rose would’ve left messages for the Molina family, especially when we found out that Wake Up was actually from her mom. I wrote a bigger explanation for it here.

Anyways, I started with the one for Julie’s wedding and it kind of became an 8k monster with three different POVs?!? As much as I love how I wrote this, I feel too unsure about my writing to share it in full, so you will get carefully selected looks alkfe. (I’m also kind of stuck on some of the more emotional scenes and I may or may not have procrastinated by photoshopping a moodboard for it.)

Excerpt 1 (Julie POV): A look into where I’m going with this whole letters from Rose thing.

The key clicks into place, and with a turn, the latch falls open. She’s not sure what she wants to find in the box, and she’s too scared to think about it really. All she knows is that this was the sign from her mom that she was waiting for all week, and in true Rose fashion, her mom had managed to give it to her, even if at the last second. Her dad turns the box to face Julie, and gestures to her to open up the lid.

Tucked inside is a VHS tape, the words ‘For Julie, on your wedding day’ written in her mom’s cursive on the cover. Some loose glitter and confetti fall back into the box as she reaches in to pick up the tape and turn it over in her hands. There’s a little purple butterfly etched on the back, the same one that’s been drawn on all the other messages that her mom had left her. Her finger automatically finds its way, tracing the shape of the small doodle.

“Do you want me to leave you alone, mija?”

Excerpt 2 (Julie POV): This part has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot of the story, but it self-inserted itself into this fic after @tangledstarlight and I talked about You’re Still the One by Shania Twain being their first dance. This whole scene came to me at 4am one night and might be the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever written.

They knew that when they had asked Reggie to be in charge of the first dance performance, that they (and Alex) weren’t allowed to veto any of his ideas. Luke had warned Julie that that would be a mistake, but the giddiness that radiated off of Reggie when she had told him he could have free reign was worth it. She just hadn’t thought that he would actually take it to heart and run with it.

Sure, they had chosen You’re Still the One by Shania Twain as their first dance song, and sure it was more or less a country song, but she didn’t really imagine that she’d be staring at her adoptive brother, Carlos and her Dad wearing cowboy hats and boots at her wedding. They had somehow managed to ditch their Flynn-approved suit jackets and were sporting a taupe-coloured suede-textured vest over their dress shirts. If she looked closely, she could see that they had somehow also found some gaudy looking bolo ties with a matching set of ornamental clasps to wear. When she envisioned her wedding, she really didn’t expect that her first (public) dance as a married couple would be a full-on Western themed occasion. The only exception was Alex, who had settled on his cajon in the back, still in his pink suit, eyes rolling when she met his gaze. But even she knew how there was no real annoyance in the blonde’s reaction or else he wouldn’t also be wearing one of the tacky ties around his neck as well.

“I’m gonna seriously kill him.” She hears Luke grumble under his breath, only low enough for her to hear. But she’s still too busy giggling to actually be mad, and she knows that Luke isn’t really going to kill Reggie. At least she doesn’t think so.

Excerpt 3 (Luke POV): Idk man. My mind went “What about Luke?” and I said “You’re right!! What about him?!?”

He doesn’t realize that he’s just been silently staring at the woman in front of him, until a gentle voice breaks him out of his thoughts. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Julie’s peering at him from under her eyelashes, a curious look on her face.

“You just-” he gives a little shake of his head, trying to come up with the right words. He wants to tell her she’s beautiful. Stunning. A wicked beauty. But she’s more than that - she’s almost angelic. “I can’t believe you’re my wife.”

“Luke, we’ve been legally married for like, a whole year.” Her lips are quirked up in a grin, amusement in her voice. “You’ve only just realized that now?”

“That’s different.”

“Yeah? Different how?”

This feels a little strange to post and a little like my inner self seeking validation but let’s not talk about that.

Kskssj anyways present me @ future me: finish one of these because writing has been really cathartic for you and you didn’t think it would bring you so much joy!!!

[halorocks1214]

i saw that ask game, so: 2, 12, 17, 25, 26, 30? no need to answer any i'm casting a wide net <3

dont worry homie long asks are something i specialize in (which has nothing to do with my tendency to procrastinate. definitely)

thanks for the ask!

2.) Talk about your process for developing story ideas.

It's funny people think I have one in the first place /hj

But for the most part, I'll see or hear something (scene from a movie/show, a quote, a song, etc.), think along the lines of "Hmm, that would be fun to write/put these characters through" and then sit down to write it. Outlines are sometimes included in this

The other kind of thought I have is "Wait why didn't this scene happen in canon it would have made perfect sense if it did >:[" and then create it for myself and anyone else who felt the same way

12.) Do you struggle with wanting to please your readers more than yourself when it comes to writing?

It's ironic to be honest. I'm super about writing whatever I want to write and whatever is fun for me- so everything I make is always for myself originally- but I also crave validation like a dehydrated lion craves water on the savannah. I'll create something super self-indulgent and enjoyable and yet still be shocked if/when it doesn't resonate with the audience, absolute Surprised Pikachu vibes.

Essentially:

17.) Least favorite trope to write?

I can't really think of anything I hate to write. I'll avoid some things because they're not my favorite- MCD, No Comfort, certain kinds of torture, which yes I know pretty much answers the question- but if I think of a story that tickles my fancy I'll gladly write it. It just depends on what I'm aiming for in a fic at the end of the day

25.) What do you feel you’re best at when it comes to writing?

I love writing emotions and feelings. Joy, relief, pain, sadness, anger, everything in between; I think I've done a good job of getting the right amount of description without it being too over the top. At least, no one has told me off for it yet so I assume so lmao

(I like describing things in general: landscapes, rooms, the weather, anything that fits with making the tone even more poetic)

26.) What do you feel you could use work on when it comes to your writing?

Hooboy, probably something like fight scenes. I do okay but my strategy is to write like three or four hits and then become very general and non-desciptive as to let the readers fill in the blanks. Frankly I do that for a lot of things, but fight scenes are fun, I should write them more

Also I need to work on my endings. I usually figure it out but a lot of the time I just sit and stare at my screen. Unable to think of anything that would work. I'll have everything else done except that and it's just like 🙏 blease, I'm so close to being able to post this

30.) Is there anyone that you would love to collaborate on a story with?

Lots of people: writers and artists alike. But to avoid being called a simp I'll just leave it here by saying 👉👈 my dearest mutuals and close online friends of whomst I talk with all the time, feel free to hmu bcuz I'm too much of a coward to do it myself and also I don't want to annoy you 💜

Ask Game is pinned on my blog <3

[paradisobound]

Down In the Forest

Summary: Dan Howell is the heir to the throne in his kingdom, due to marry and take the seat within the year. However, he doesn't want that. Running away to the clearing outside of his kingdom every night, he meets Phil, who is from a neighboring kingdom. As Dan develops feelings for Phil, he realizes that his crush on Phil is actually problematic in more ways than one.

Word Count: 6.8k 

Warnings: Vampire!Dan 

**Read on Ao3**

A/N: This is my second fic written for the @phandomreversebang! It was based on the prompt by @2easy2hate which was essentially a royal vampire!dan au which I thought was super interesting to try and do! My beta for this fic was @hiddenpastry and they were so helpful and encouraging with my procrastination haha I have plans to release an epilogue in the next few weeks where it'll have a glimpse into the future which Val and I agreed will help to tie up whatever may be 'loose' at this end of this one shot.

The forest was a sacred place for Dan Howell. He wasn’t exactly sure why he felt so calm being here, but he did. The sound of the leaves bristling in the wind and the distance chirps of birds were calming. He was used to coming here as soon as he was done with his studies for the day, after the sun had set and no harm would be done to his sensitive skin.

Today was no different for him. Notebook in hand, and bag slung across his body, he trudged through the grass, past the trees, to the small clearing where he took refuge from the day. He chose this place when he was just a child, after fighting with his parents over his obligations.

His first lesson of the day was writing, then it was history, and finally it was his lessons on moral obligations as the heir of his kingdom. He had a list of rules he had to have memorized before he became heir on his 18th birthday...less than a year away. It was a rule in their kingdom that the eldest son takes over as soon as they turn 18 years of age. It was also a rule that 6 months before they take the throne, they need to be married...but Dan didn’t want to think of that. Especially when his first “party” to find his future wife was in less than a week.

That’s partly why Dan ran away at night, after he was dismissed by his teachers. He enjoyed coming here where he could write in his notebook and get immersed in his own little world, where none of this existed and he could be a normal teenager. Not the heir to the most successful kingdom in modern history.

Dan sat down on the grass, leaning back and resting against the tree behind him. He propped his legs up and opened his bag against his side, taking out his notebook. It was getting well-worn, well-used. But that didn’t bother Dan. Not as he opened to the halfway point of the pages and went back to the story he was writing.

He’ll remain here until his hunger gets the better of him, and he’ll have to go back to his kingdom, back to his castle, to feed.

Because that’s one of the rules of the Vaedian Kingdom: you never feed in public.

It’s not uncommon for the people living around the kingdom to know that the Howells had unusual habits. That’s what they say anyway. Dan didn’t realize he was different until he was taught about it...about his immortal abilities.

Maybe as a child, Dan should have known that when his hunger reached a peak, it wasn’t normal to suddenly have glowing red eyes or sharp teeth that jutted out of his gums. But to his family, it was normal. His entire family was this way, so there was no reason for Dan to be any different.

At the thought of food, his stomach grumbles and Dan ignores it, instead he looks down at his notebook and rereads over the last line he had written down. He doesn’t even know what this story is anymore. It’s more like a stream of consciousness, a way for him to gather his thoughts about his ever changing life as he grows older.

He reaches into his bag and pulls out his pen and begins to scribble down the next parts of his story. He lets his hand and his mind interconnect and even just writes until he can’t anymore.

The moonlight is coming down on him, brighter than it was before. The stars in the sky are illuminating everything around him and he supposes that this is the time he should start heading back.

He packs up his notebook and his pen and slowly stands up, stretching from sitting down so long in such a cramped position. He adjusts his clothing and his bag against his hip and begins the short journey back home, where he’ll have a snack and then go lay down in his bed chamber.

***

“Prince Daniel, you were out late last night?”

Dan looks up from his school work to his servant Johnathon in front of him. He’s got a drink in his hand, and he’s setting it in front of Dan. The dark maroon color is enough to make Dan’s stomach swoon at the thought of indulging in it’s glorious taste. He takes the glass and picks it up, taking a long sip and letting the copper taste sit on his tongue.

“If I may ask, your highness, but what do you partake in when you go out at night after your studies?”

“I go to the clearing and write in my notebook,” Dan answers honestly. He can trust Johnathon. He’s been the family servant for literally hundreds of years and he remains as loyal and as faithful to the Howell family and the Vaedian Kingdom as they come.

“What are you writing about?” Johnston asks, “Practicing your writing skills for when you have to make ceremonial statements?”

Dan shakes his head and takes another sip, “I just write.”

“Stories?”

“Sort of,” Dan replies.

He finishes the last of the drink from the glass and sets it back down. Johnathon picks up the glass out of habit. Dan goes back to his school work, finishing up his copying of the 15 Moral Obligations of Vaedian. He only has one through 4 memorized, and he knows his teacher is going to be after him about it today. He’s trying to memorize as many as he can but the problem is that they are so pointless and boring that Dan really can’t find the will to actually give a damn about any of them.

But if he told this to his teacher, or to his father, he would be immediately cast as being traitorous to the kingdom by being the heir and not adhering to the basic standards.

They’ve been around for millennia and Dan frankly just feels like they’re outdated. Maybe when he’s king he can rewrite some of them. But he doesn’t even know if that’s allowed. Somehow he feels like that is even more frowned upon.

“Your brow is furrowed,” Johnathon says suddenly, pointing to the space between Dan’s eyebrows. “Keep doing that and you’ll no longer be a young prince, but you’ll look older than your father.”

Dan lets out a laugh and Johnathon smiles back before turning on his heels and heading out of the living chamber towards the kitchen.

Speaking of his father, Dan knows he has a meeting with him soon about the party where he’ll be meeting his potential wife. But he really is dreading the entire thing, if he’s being honest. He doesn’t want to go through with any that, and for a multitude of reasonings...all of which are frowned upon.

The clock on the mantel suddenly chimes that it’s one and Dan gathers his belongings and stuffs them into his bag before flinging it over his shoulder. He makes his way to the library where his studies will begin soon and he tries to ignore that heaviness in his feet.

Dan has his meeting with his father following his school time, but he wasn’t entirely shocked by that. He knew it was coming when Johnathon found him in the library and told him he needed to report to his father's office as soon as he was done.

It’s even less shocking that when Dan gets there, his father immediately presents him with a series of photos of the various daughters from the neighboring kingdoms and begins to talk to Dan about how he needs to decide on what one he wants to pursue.

Naturally, none of the girls appealed to Dan. But yet again, none of them were going to anyway when he had a natural inclination to prefer men instead. But somehow, he still found himself being bound by the outdated rules of the kingdom and he pointed to the picture of a brunette girl who’s name was written as “Julianna” underneath. His father seemed to like that choice and waved him off as being able to leave now.

So Dan did, back to the clearing where he always went.

He double checked before he left that his notebook was still in his bag and he grabbed a few extra pens as the ink in the one from the night before seemed to be dulling. He intended to spend as long as possible out in his clearing without any disturbance from any of his obligations.

As he passed by the last set of trees and started to walk into the clearing, he immediately stopped in his tracks at the sight of another person that already had beat him there.

His first reaction was to get angry, because this was his secret spot and how dare a person find it without Dan’s permission. He wanted this spot all to himself with no one else here.

But as the future heir, he knew deep down that he couldn’t act that way. And instead when the male looked up, Dan just met his eyes as a look of shock overcame them both.

“I’m sorry,” Dan begins, “but how did you find this place?”

The male set down his notebook in front of him and Dan looked down long enough to notice it was a drawing of a flower. The male was here to draw just like Dan was here to write.

“I just went wandering in the forest and I happened to see this clearing,” The male says. “I didn’t intend for anyone to know about this.”

“Are you drawing?”

The male picks up his notebook, almost like he’s self-conscious about Dan calling him out, and nods, “I don’t have a space to draw without being distracted and being here has been working wonders to ease my block.”

“So you don’t mind that I join you as you draw?” Dan asks.

The male shakes his head, “No, not at all.”

Dan walks into the space and sits down on the opposite side from the man. He takes out his notebook and flips open the pages to where he left off. He fishes in his bag for a pen and pulls it out, uncapping it with his teeth. When he gets ready to write, the voice from the other side interrupts him, “Can I get your name?”

If Dan had a beating heart, he was sure it would suddenly begin to beat fast. But because he doesn't, he was instead subjected to just an overwhelming feeling of anxiety as he thought about the idea of this man knowing who he might be.

It was common for the commoners around them in their kingdom to know the royal family, and to know their names. But it was uncommon for them to know what the royal family looked like. The only time the royal family opened the castle walls was for the lavish parties and the crowning ceremonies.

By the time those events happen, most people don’t even remember what they looked like because they’ve changed. In reality, the royal family is immortal, but their aging is a different story.

“My name is Daniel,” he finally says.

“I’m Philip,” the man introduces himself, “but I prefer to be called Phil.”

Dan smiles. “Then you can call me Dan.”

Phil smiles back at him and Dan feels something that’s akin to a blush.

They mostly sit in silence, both of them working on their own art before Phil yawns and stands up and announces he should head back home. When Dan goes to say goodbye, Phil makes the sudden announcement that they should walk home together to the village.

Dan doesn’t want to tell Phil about him just yet, and so he quickly says he’s going to stay for awhile and they can walk back together another time. At the mention of another time, Phil smiles and asks, “So you’re going to be here again?”

Dan just nods and says, “I come here every night.”

Dan eventually does make his way back, and it’s even later tonight than it was the night before. When he passes through the castle gates and makes his way inside, he’s greeted by Johnathon who gives him another glass of that delicious red liquid. He takes it with him to his bed chambers and sips it through the night.

Dan technically doesn’t need to sleep. He doesn’t feel tired, he just feels lethargic if he’s used too much of his energy. So after he finishes his glass, and sets it in the hallway for Johnathon to grab when he makes his midnight rounds, Dan just lays in bed and closes his eyes.

Sometimes that’s all he needs to feel anything until the sun comes through his curtains and he has to retreat to the living chamber where he works on his studies until his schooling time comes.

***

His mum stops him the next morning after Dan gets up from his bed. She tells him that they have to talk about his party and Dan reluctantly agrees to follow her to her office where she has plans laid out about every detail.

“We’ll bring in the finest pastry chefs to the kingdom for you,” she begins. “All of the cakes that you can think of will be there.”

“How many people are coming?” Dan asks.

“Well, we’re not opening the grand hall up for nothing, my dear Daniel,” she scolds. “So your father sent special invites to all of the kingdoms around us, with a select few going to some families in the village.”

“We’re allowing villagers to the party?” Dan asks, because he’s truly astounded by this fact.

“Of course!” his mother says. “Commoners are always invited to the parties where the heir finds his wife. It’s a status symbol that you should have learnt about in your lessons. Do I need to have a word with Lady Mallory about your studies?”

Dan shakes his head and immediately refuses the proposition, “No, there is no need.”

His mum gives him a stern look and goes back to discussing the plans.

Dan has to admit that parties in the grand hall are few and far between. He actually only believes that his family has only ever had one party there in his lifetime. Other than that, it remains closed to everyone, including them.

By the end of the meeting, Dan’s proper exhausted and even though he has to go to his studies, he would rather retreat to his bedchamber where he can sit and wait for the sun to go down so he can head to the clearing and meet up with Phil again.

Dan doesn’t even know why his mind immediately goes to meeting up with Phil. He’s only met the guy once and even if they did seem to get on rather quickly, there shouldn’t be a reason for Dan wanting to be with him so quickly again.

But yet, he finds his mind wandering to Phil and his raven locks and blue eyes instead. Lady Mallory calls him out on his distractedness but Dan brushes it off as just being a rough day, not because he was daydreaming about another man.

When the lessons are over, Dan doesn't immediately leave to go to the clearing. He goes to the kitchen first and grabs a snack to hold him over. Johnathon hands him a blood cake when he gets there, and Dan immediately partakes in eating it despite the bitter taste it leaves on his tongue.

The blood is getting old now, a bit stale. Dan can tell right away. The taste is nowhere near that fresh copper taste that he loves so much. The grimace that he gives off is enough for Johnathon to speak up, “They’re going on a fresh hunt tonight, my lord. You’ll have new nutrients tomorrow.”

Dan just nods and finishes the rest of his cake before asking for a glass as well and gulping it down.

The sun is way past set when he makes his way to the clearing with his bag slung across his body. He’s half expecting for Phil to not be there, because for mortals, this is late at night. For Dan, it’s really just a beginning for him.

But he still feels a spark of happiness when he moves into the clearing and sees Phil sat in the same position he was in the night before. He’s concentrating hard in his sketchbook, busy working on another piece that Dan is actually a bit curious to see.

Phil looks up and greets him before he can sit down. When Dan finally does settle down, he chooses a spot beside Phil because he’s feeling a bit better about having him here with Dan in the clearing. In a way, it’s making everything feel less lonely even though Dan used to come here for the sole fact that he wanted to be alone, away from everything.

“Dan,” Phil says out of the blue, “have you ever been to a party at the castle?”

Dan suddenly picks his head up, nervous about actually answering the question because he’s afraid he’ll give too much away, “No, I haven’t. Why do you ask?”

“I’m from another kingdom...Vargaria, and not even supposed to be here. But my father was naturally invited to the royal party. While I’ve attended some of the royal parties my father has hosted, I don’t know what it’ll be like to attend the party at this kingdom. If my father knew I was here, he would more than likely disown me.”

Dan suddenly doesn’t like that. He doesn't like knowing Phil is going to be attending the party and seeing him pick his future wife that he doesn't even want, nor love. Furthermore, he doesn’t know how to feel at the thought of Phil admitting to him that he was from a neighboring kingdom, especially Vargaria. Dan knew firsthand that Vargaria and Vaedian have very tense relations.

Everything about this almost feels wrong, like they’re breaching a line of boundaries in their newly found acquaintanceship that shouldn’t be breached.

“What do you think it’s going to be like?” Phil suddenly adds, not letting Dan say anything in regards to his previous admission.

“I’m assuming lavish,” Dan says. “Lots of people, decorations. Fancy dresses and food.”

“Did your family get invited as well?” Phil asks.

Dan doesn’t know how to answer that. Because if he says no, that’s an obvious lie but if he says yes, then how does he handle the situation without giving anything about himself away?

“I don't think so,” he says, immediately feeling regret cloud his mind.

“Oh that’s a shame,” Phil says. “Would have been nice to at least know one person who is there. I feel like I’m going to be horribly out of place.”

“I will be too,” Dan mumbles.

Phil looks up. “What was that?”

Dan stiffens. “I said I would be too.”

Phil just nods and gives him a sympathetic look and goes back to his drawing in silence.

They don’t say much else, which Dan finds fine because the conversation took a turn anyway and he feels it might be rather awkward to continue it and also keep his identity intact.

When Dan returns back to his bed chambers that night, all he can think about is how he shouldn’t have any further contact with Phil. By rule, they’re supposed to remain civil with their relations with each other from the neighboring kingdoms but Dan still knows that this casual of a relationship is frowned upon.

Sitting at his desk and looking out of his window towards the valley and village beneath them, he sighed. Technically speaking, Phil is meant to be an enemy to him. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t even be looking forward to meeting up with him in the clearing any further.

Nothing of this sort can happen any more. Dan’s putting a stop to it now.

But then that means that Dan will have to give up his writing spot and that thought makes him a bit sad. He can always find a new one, he supposes. But it won’t be the same.

So Dan doesn’t return to the clearing for 3 full nights. He instead remains home and sits at his desk, unbothered with the window open, and tries to write there instead. He doesn’t get nearly as far in his story as he did when he was in the clearing, but he can’t afford to go there anymore.

It’s not until a final meeting with his father finally snaps him that he decides to go back there, needing and wanting to just get away and put an ending to all of this. He doesn’t want any of this. He wants to remain unbothered. He doesn’t want a lavish party. He doesn’t want to be married. And furthermore, he doesn’t want to be king!

When he gets to the clearing, running as fast as he can, he’s met immediately by Phil, whose expression was less than welcoming. “Why did you lie to me?”

“Lie to you about what?” Dan asks.

“You’re Prince Daniel,” Phil says, “Heir to the Vaedian throne and it’s your party that I��m attending this weekend.”

Dan opens and closes his mouth a few times, “How did you find out?”

Phil turns his head, “My father has warned us about you,” he spits out. “Your kingdom is built on a throne of lies.”

“And I don’t suppose yours isn’t?” Dan snaps back.

“I made a mistake befriending you,” Phil snarls. “My father warned me of you from a young age and I feel half-dumb that I didn’t see through you in the first place.”

Dan doesn’t know what to say or how to react. He’s never been in an altercation like this before and it’s frankly extremely unnerving.

“You can’t even speak for yourself,” Phil says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Dan spits back. “The kingdoms of Vargaria and Vaedian have always been tense. I should have known from the first mention of your kingdom that this was nothing but trouble.”

“That’s tough speak for someone who intends to marry my sister,” Phil presses. “I was told today that you’re planning on marrying Julianna.”

Dan’s memory snaps back to the name of the kingdom on the bottom of the picture of Julianna and he suddenly feels a bit ill. He didn’t even know that’s what he’d chosen but maybe that’s why his father had seemed so pleased with himself.

“You’re not marrying her, and our kingdoms are not going to be united by the bloody hands of you.”

With that, Phil turned on his heels and walked away, leaving Dan feeling anger beyond anything that he has ever felt before.

How could he ever think that Phil was ever a decent person? Surely his first mistake was trusting a stranger anyway.

When Dan walks back to the castle that night, he feels an overwhelming sense of dread, and he finds himself resting in bed the entirety of the following day.

***

“The party is in two days, Daniel, and you’ve hardly done anything in preparation for it.”

Dan looked down at his notebook that was poised open in front of him to avoid the unwavering gaze of his mother as she hounded him about this. He didn’t want to go through this lecture again. It’s one that he’s gone through three separate times now over the past day.

“I wasn’t aware I had any preparations to do,” Dan snapped back.

His mother rolled her eyes and tossed up her hands, almost in defeat. “Well, have you ever sent a letter to Julianna of Vargaria?” She asked. “The kingdom has sent a letter on your behalf but you should have known to send the letter yourself as well.”

“I wasn’t aware of that.”

“Good Lord, Daniel! What has gotten into you?” His mother finally snapped. “We have been preparing for this day for almost 18 years and you’re about to ruin it all. I don’t understand where your attitude has gone these past few years. You’ve turned into a snub-nosed little brat!”

Dan flinched at the insult, trying to not let it get to him. So many thoughts ran through his head. Like how his parents lied to him for so many years. How they never actually cared about him, just about their kingdom and its reputation. About how they hid who he really was until he was old enough to realize that he’s been born into a kingdom of vampires amongst humans.

Finally, with the tip of his tongue clicking against the back of his teeth, he spits out, “I don’t want to marry and I don’t want the throne.”

He slams his notebook shut and gets up to leave when the feeling of her hand on his wrist in a tight grip stops him. He whips his head back, staring at her aggravated expression.

“You’re not leaving right now,” she says.

“I have nothing more to say right now,” Dan says back, trying to remain calm but his demeanor failing quickly.

She lets him go and he quickly rushes out of her office, ignoring how deafening the silence from her was to his ears when he heard no more cries of protest leave her.

His eyes gathered with tears and he fought to keep them back as he desperately wished more than ever that he was never born into this life. He should have never been born as a royal and he should have never been born immortal. He would have much rather loved to have been a commoner who receives one life and then gets spared the rest of eternity.

Before he knows it, he’s ran back to his secret clearing. Dan stood there, his chest heaving and his eyes watering heavier as he lost his battle and unleashed the sobs that wracked his frame.

“Oh what does the prince of bloodsuckers have to cry about today?”

Dan picks up his head and sees Phil sitting there, drawing away in his sketchbook again. Dan honestly wishes he would have never encountered him again but it’s clear that luck did not work in his way.

“Don’t you have somewhere else to go?” Dan asks. “Somewhere maybe in your own kingdom?”

Phil just shrugs and looks back down at his sketchbook, “It’s easier to be here than it is to be back home.”

Dan sits down on the grass and wipes away the wetness from his cheeks. He should be embarrassed crying this much over something as stupid as the mention of the rest of his life. He should feel embarrassed for the fact that he was crying in front Phil after what had just happened between them.

But another part of him just doesn’t care anymore. He doesn’t care about any of this. He wants everything to just cease around him and end but it’s never that simple. It’ll never be that simple as long as Dan is immortal and the world around them still passes like normal.

“Why were you so nice to me when we first met?” Dan finds himself asking.

Phil shrugs again and doesn’t speak.

“What made you change when you found out who I was?”

The curiosity was getting to Dan, not just because this was Phil, but because his mother's words were still eating away at his core but he also felt like maybe it was a bit rebellious to speak to the kingdom he’s supposed to be marrying someone from.

Phil looks up and Dan sees his expression quickly change from hardened to confusion. He blinks a few times and then finally speaks, “Does it really matter?”

Dan wipes the remaining wetness from his cheeks and shrugs because no, it really doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to know. He does want to know why in a way.

“So what are you drawing today?” Dan asks.

Phil turns the sketchbook around and shows him an array of flowers and trees. It’s actually really beautiful. But Dan doesn’t want to stroke his ego and tell him so after their outbursts.

They sit in silence for a while, and eventually Phil leaves without saying a word. Dan supposes that wasn’t all that painful. In a way, he did see Phil as a sort of new friend when everything was just beginning with them. So for him to be seen that way again in a new light wasn’t all that bad.

His stomach is rumbling by the time he finally gets up to make his way back home. He’s feeling a bit lethargic, and his skin a bit inflamed. And it’s only when he’s back in the castle and he falls to his knees while Johnathon grabs him, that he realizes he was just in the sun for a little bit with nothing to eat.

In that respect, he almost got his wish that everything would just end.

***

It’s the morning of the party and Dan wants nothing more than to leave and run away. He doesn’t want to make an appearance in front of everyone while he meets Julianna for the first time. He still only has a vague knowledge of what she looks like, just based on the photo that he was presented with for her.

And what’s worse is that all he could see was Phil in her features.

Dan wishes that he could forget about Phil. He knows that he needs to, but yet he can’t stop thinking about his special spot and seeing Phil there every time that he’s gone for the last few trips.

They got along so well when they first met, and Dan really does deep down want to be friends with Phil. He’s not even sure why his heart is telling him that it’s the right thing to do but yet, he does feel deep down that it is.

He’s confused.

Dan’s known for as long as he’s been able to freely think that he wasn’t attracted to women. He much preferred men. It’s something that he’s had to keep a secret, but he did tell Johnathon in pure confidence when the overwhelming urge of shame for his kingdom overtook him one night when he was told about the marriage.

Now that he was actually being forced to marry for the good of the kingdom, his memories of the days where he used to dread this are now here. He’s stood in front of his wardrobe, with his ceremonial garb hung in front of him. Tears are gathering in the corner of his eyes and he’s realizing now that he can’t back out from this.

A knock on his bedroom door shakes him out of his head and he wipes away the tears with the back of his head as he yells an airy, “it’s open” towards the door.

His door slowly opens and Johnathon walks in, a glass on a tray balanced on his hand, “You were looking a bit peckish earlier, Daniel. So I brought you a fresh drink to hopefully give you some more life.”

Dan lets out a small laugh as he walks towards him and takes the glass in his hand, indulging in the coppery taste on his lips. Nothing will ever be better than fresh blood, but it’s unfortunate in the fact that it’s in high demand: it’s not all that plentiful.

“Where did this come from?”

“A freshly hunted deer from just a few hours past.”

Dan nods and finishes the rest of the drink in one gulp. He hands Johnathon back the glass and wipes the excess liquid off from his lips with his hand.

“Are you ready for this evening?” Johnathon asks him, the question seemingly out of the blue.

Dan shakes his head, “I don’t think all the years in the world would ever make me prepared for this evening.”

“It’s not your royal marriage ceremony, you know,” Johnathan says in sympathy. “It’s just meeting a potential wife. You can still turn her down if you feel like she is not fit for you. There will be plenty of other suitors who will love to…”

“Johnathan, you know that I don’t want to marry a woman,” Dan says.

“But I’m afraid you have no choice.”

“I’m aware,” Dan answers back, his words catching in his throat, “but I’m afraid that I think I have many fallen in love with someone else.”

“And who might this person be?” Johnathan asks.

“A man.”

***

The party is in full swing. Everyone is in extravagant gowns and Dan, looking down at the guests from the balcony of the dining hall, can see how fancy everyone looks. Dan casts his glance around the perimeter, seeing if he can spot who he’s looking for. And sure enough, stood with a drink in his hand was none other than Phil, laughing with what appeared to be his sister, Julianna.

Dan’s due to make his way down the grand staircase in just a few moments. During this time, he’ll be expected to walk down the stairs, stop at the end, and extend his hand out to Lady Julianna. He’ll talk her hand, they’ll walk to the middle of the dining room, where the guests are mingling, and will perform their first dance together. If Dan likes what he sees and what he’s been presented with, he can then announce at the end he has chosen to marry her.

But Dan already knows he’s going to turn her down.

Dan’s not sure when he fully came to the conclusion that he, deep down, was actually falling for Phil. Maybe it came when he realized he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Or when he couldn’t stop thinking about how well they got along before they realized who each other were.

Or maybe it’s a deep seated need inside of Dan’s core to just say fuck the system and to do what he wants to. Which is not only marry a man but also marry someone he shouldn’t even be marrying.

In some convoluted way, he’s halfway there if he marries Julianna.

Just then, the music slowly starts and Dan feels an ache in his chest that surely would be his heart thumping if it actually beat. He squeezes his fingers in his palms and slowly moves into the view of the bottom of the staircase where everyone is gathered around, staring up at him. He hates the attention. More than anything else, he just wants to hide and be away from everyone's center of sight.

His mother and father are stood at the foot of the stairs with Julianna standing in between them and everyone else standing behind. Julianna looks beautiful, Dan can’t even disprove that. Her features are stunning and her dark hair is cascading so nicely over the shoulders of her dress. Dan almost feels bad knowing he’s not going to actually marry her.

He descends the stairway and makes it to the bottom where he takes Julianna’s outstretched hand and leads her to the center of the ballroom. They make eye contact and Dan sees her beautiful blue eyes staring back at him with intent, a smile on her lips.

When he looks at her, all he can imagine is Phil...and he feels a bit sick.

Dan loses eye contact with her halfway through their dance. But that could also be because he keeps stepping on her toes and he knows that she’s flinching and giving him some looks but really, he can’t be assed to change the way he’s stepping. He doesn’t want to be here so why would he focus on doing a perfect first dance?

The music stops and he bows and she curtsies back. They turn to the crowd and bow again as everyone applauds. He turns back to her and gives her a quick smile before separating from her and rushing away.

He’s only just arrived to the party and he already can’t stand to be there for any longer. He wants out. He wants to leave, to not be there anymore. He grabs at the collar of his top and rips open the buttons, letting the fabric fall open, exposing his neck to the cool night air.

Dan’s running out of the kingdom now, and he’s not looking back. He’s never used his fast speed before for anything other than some gimmicks when he was a kid, but now he’s running as fast as he can to the clearing. When he gets there, he stops short and collapses to the forest floor, tears running down his face.

He’ll have to leave his kingdom now. He can’t go back there. He’s made a fool out of everyone...including himself. What was he thinking running away like that?

Oh right...because Dan can’t marry Julianna when he’s in love with her brother. Like the pathetic person he is, he’s going to spend the rest of his immortal days pining over a guy who hates him and who Dan should hate back but can’t.

He furiously rubs away the tears from his eyes and takes a shuddering breath as he tries to calm himself down. He can survive in the forest, Dan supposes. He’s never had to hunt for his subsistence before but he can surely do it. He’s just gotta catch a deer or two, right?

God, he’s never gonna be able to make it. He should have never ran away.

“What a performance.”

Dan looked up and followed where the voice was coming from. Phil was stood next to a tree, his arms folded over his chest. Dan didn’t really want to face him right now. He just wanted to be as far away from any of Phil’s family and kingdom as he could be after humiliating himself with Julianna.

“If it makes you feel any better, Julianna didn’t like you either,” Phil says with a chuckle.

“How bad is it?” Dan asks, the words catching in his throat.

“Everyone is a bit chaotic but I left in the midst of it all,” Phil says, walking forward and then taking a seat next to Dan.

“I figured.”

“I don’t blame you,” Phil says. “My family is wanting me to marry someone as well but I can’t find the reason to want to.”

“Yeah…” Dan says, “I just do not fancy…”

Dan stops himself and looks at Phil who is studying him with wide eyes.

“You’re attracted to men?” Phil says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Dan hides his face and then picks it back up and nods slowly.

“I am too,” Phil says softly.

They sit in silence, and Dan feels like he can cut the tension with a knife. He’s never been in a situation or a conversation like this before. It was a bit daunting and a bit terrifying all at the same time. He didn’t know what to think or how to react.

“When I first met you, I was really happy to find someone that was like me,” Phil says. “In my Kingdom, I was the outcast. I never fit into what anyone else was doing. That’s why I came here to draw. Being here was like an escape from that and when we started meeting up, I genuinely felt like I was meeting someone just like me.”

Dan felt the same way. He could never put into words how he felt about meeting Phil but this was exactly it. Meeting Phil felt the same way for him. Maybe that’s why he took a liking to Phil so quickly?

“I felt the same way,” Dan says. “I really liked being able to just sit here with you.”

Suddenly, a hand is coming up and touching Dan’s cool skin. His chin is being tilted to the side and Dan follows the lead as he comes face to face with Phil. Phil leans in and presses their lips together in a burning kiss. Phil’s lips felt so warm in comparison to his.

When Phil pulls back, Dan stares at him, not sure what to do. Phil just laughs, “Your lips are cold.”

Dan just laughs and shakes his head, “Comes with the whole...package.”

They sit in the clearing for a while longer until Dan can hear his name being called by Jonathan and he figures he needs to actually go back and face whatever consequences are bearing his name. He makes his way back to the castle but not before sharing another quick kiss with Phil and then saying goodbye as they both leave.

At the castle, Dan is yelled at and cursed at and then banished to his sleeping chamber which he knew was going to happen anyway. When he gets to his room, he strips down and dresses into his nightgowns and slips into the seat at his desk. He opens up his notebook that he’s been writing in and he writes down the words:

I love Phil from Vargaria

[sittingoverheredreaming]

This is an ENTIRELY self-indulgent fic I’ve written in between cases at work today, but it’s been awhile since I got a fic out on Michiru’s birthday, so, here’s 1500 words of Rei & Michiru BroTP

_________

Michiru had not said it was her birthday, but Rei knew. And Rei knew that Michiru knew she knew, of course Rei knew, so surely, this was a test. The invitation had been casual— “When should we next have tea together? How does the sixth sound?”— and there the challenge was set. What did you get a woman that had everything, without being so tacky as to ask her what she’d like, or mention her birthday at all?

Rei knew what Michiru thought of the Inners as a whole. That she’d still ask Rei to prove herself more than that was frustrating, but that did not mean Rei would not pass with flying colors. She was Rei Hino after all. She was unstoppable, and nothing so simple as a birthday could change that.

And yet. As she browsed through the third boutique she’d visited that morning, she felt the tiniest sliver of doubt. She was running out of time, and had nothing. It wasn’t that she procrastinated, only that she had been sure the right idea would strike her if she gave it time. She was down to just a few hours now, and it had yet to come.

“Can I help you?” a sales woman with her hair up in a tight bun asked.

Yes, Rei wanted to shout, yes, help me! But instead she said, “I’m looking for a gift.”

“Ah.” The woman gave a knowing nod. “For a lady friend?”

“A friend who is a lady, yes.” It was a shop for women’s accessories, did they really get enough clueless people to need to ask... Rei’s face warmed. “A friend only. Still a lady, but a friend.”

The saleswoman kept nodding. “And you are seeking an expensive gift for this... friend.”

“Well, she’s got a lot of money,” Rei said, her defenses rising. “I can’t just give her some knick knack and a comic book and call it a day.” That had been exactly what she had gotten Usagi for her last birthday. Usagi was simple. She liked things as freely as she liked people. As did Michiru, Rei supposed, just on the opposite side of the spectrum. 

“I see. And your budget is...?”

“Ideally, as cheap as possible, but still something nice. Do you have any sales?”

The saleswoman pressed her lips together. “I thought that might be the case. I can show you a few items, but if she’s worth so much to you, perhaps consider...”

Rei huffed and left. Maybe this was the wrong angle— Michiru could buy herself anything from these shops with no markdowns or clearance. But Michiru could buy herself anything anywhere. Rei peered into another shop window. “Show her you care!” a sign demanded in elegant font next to a glimmering gemstone bracelet. Rei sighed.  Would that she could pick out something so gaudy and generic, and have it matter simply because she cared. She thought again of Usagi, of any of the others. Even Mina, demanding as she was, could be pleased without much deliberation. 

She wandered the streets, meandering towards lower price tags and less nosy shopkeepers as her time ticked down. One shop tried to sell her on a handbag that cost more than a month’s rent, another on a perfume Rei knew Michiru would say smelt cheap. She looked at jewelry and scarves, books and candles, stopped short of entering a pet shop that sold exotic fish. Somehow, that felt like both the best and worst idea.

Finally, with barely an hour left, Rei found herself at the door of a thrift shop. She almost didn’t enter— Michiru would surely chide her for a secondhand gift— but then she turned the handle. If Michiru was going to set Rei a challenge, she had to be prepared for Rei to solve it the Rei way.

The old man at the counter inclined his head at the sound of bell above the door, but did not look up from his crossword. As it should be, in Rei’s opinion. The shop smelled of dust and full of cluttered floor to ceiling shelves positioned haphazardly around furniture for sale. Michiru would be utterly out of place, which made it precisely the right store to find a gift. She could buy herself anything, certainly, but something she wouldn’t buy herself, that was the winning idea. Michiru would never deign to rummage through other people’s cast offs— perhaps her worst flaw, in Rei’s eyes— so she would never find what treasures she could get a great deal on. When Rei found the perfect gift— and she would find it— she would simply buy overpriced wrapping, and Michiru would be none the wiser.

She’d nearly settled on an ornate vase, on the justification Haruka bought Michiru far too many flowers, so she should have something nice to keep them in, and besides, it had a fantastic price, when something else caught her eye. It was less striking than the vase, or anything else she’d considered. It would be a gamble as a gift, and Rei was not sure she wanted to take that chance.

A cacophony erupted through the shop as every clock marked the hour in its own dissonant chime. Rei had to make her decision, and she needed to make it quick.

*****

Michiru eyed the clock as the kettle began to whistle. It was quite unlike Rei to be late. Their tea time was hardly a momentous occasion, but it was one Michiru had come to enjoy, as she’d assumed Rei had. Perhaps, though, it had become a burden to her. Perhaps Michiru was nothing more than an obligation to check off her list between school work and shrine duties, something that must be taken care of before real fun could be had. Michiru should not have been surprised, Rei would not be the first nor the last to be less than genuine in her intentions. The only sting in the matter was that Rei had not seemed the type, but, as Michiru well knew, most everyone was the type, when it came down to it.

She took the kettle off the burner, but did not pour the water into the teapot she’d prepared. It was fatalistic, perhaps, but it was always best to prepare oneself. As her mother had often said, if others are cruel, it is their weakness, but if you respond to their cruelty, it is yours. Little as Michiru liked to agree with her mother, the philosophy had served her well.

The clock had ticked nearly twenty minutes past their arrange time when Rei burst through the door. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair just slightly displaced by the wind. A delicately decorated gift bag was nestled into the crook of her arm. “I’m late,” she said without apology. “But I made it.”

“Indeed you did.” Michiru leaned against the counter to keep from crossing her arms. “And what is that?” She indicated the gift bag.

Rei frowned. “It’s your birthday present.”

“My…” Michiru thought for a moment, and then allowed herself a small laugh. “It is my birthday, isn’t it? I’d quite forgotten.” She had asked Haruka to forgo the fanfare this year, but it seemed without it, she couldn’t mark the day. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Of course I did!” Rei huffed. “Even if you weren’t testing me, I wouldn’t let your birthday just pass by.”

Michiru raised an eyebrow, but did not comment. Testing Rei did sound like something she might do, even if in this circumstance she hadn’t been. The results of such a test, intentional or not, might prove interesting. “What then, did you get me?”

Rei shoved the bag at her unceremoniously. Michiru set it gently on the counter, pulling back the tissue paper to reveal a two person tea set, the tea pot and cups emblazoned with a pattern of simple crows. They were slightly faded with age, and dust had settled in the crease of the handles. Still, Michiru could not help but smile. 

“It’s not entirely your style,” Rei said. “But I thought you might like to have a set just for my visits.”

“And here I’d thought you might be tiring of me.”

Rei snorted. “Oh please, this is the only peace I get some weeks.”

Michiru looked at the cups. They were garish, and cheaply made, but she found she quite like them. She could have this day wiped from memory, and it would take only a look to know where they had come from. “It’s lucky, then, that I haven’t poured our tea yet. Should I give these a quick wash?”

“If you want to,” Rei said. Her voice had the slightest edge, one Michiru had come to recognize meant she was trying to be casual about something that held importance. 

“I would like to very much.” She turned towards the sink, but paused. “Thank you, Rei.”

“It’s nothing. Happy birthday.” Rei cracked a smile, and Michiru smiled back, feeling a warmth spread inside her that had nothing to do with tea.

[prill-ocs]

i fucking did it here ya go my self indulgent basically 4k word First Time TM Meeku smut fic that had way more exposition than I intended

“What can I do to get it through his head…” Raku paced back and forth through the living room, with Reika and Cashew on the couch. They watched on as Raku seemed to be having some sort of crisis.

“Wellllllll…Why don’t you just - I dunno - be direct about it?” Cashew suggested.

“I sucked him off the other day! How much more direct can I get?!” Raku threw his hands up in the air.

“Oh my god.” Reika covered her ears and looked away. Her and Raku were close, but she did not need to know about his sexual endeavors with the town cryptid he’d been trying to woo for the past year or so.

“Look, you guys don’t seem to get it. I love the guy, but like…Meemo is kinda dense as fuck. I don’t think us doing intimate stuff or me hanging out with him more often is really…making it clear to him that I want us to be more than just fuckbuddies, y'know?” Raku paused. “Not that we’ve actually gone all the way…Do you still call that being fuckbuddies? Or is it blow buddies? Is that a thing?”

“Raku. Please.” Reika looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Right, sorry.” Raku cleared his throat. He stopped his pacing and plopped down on the couch between the other two. He let out a deep sigh as he sunk further into the cushion.

“Honestly, I think you’re just over complicating this! You say he’s dense, right? Then just straight up do a confession. Tell him you love him! He’d get it then, wouldn’t he?” Cashew made a kissy face, batting her eyelashes teasingly at Raku.

“Wha- No way! I think he’d combust from something that direct! He could barely even process when I was going down on hi- “

“I think,” Reika interrupted, “it’s at least worth a try. If you care about him that much, I think you need to let him know straight to his face.”

Raku looked unsure, eyebrows furrowed as he carefully thought about the challenge he was faced with. He knew Reika had a point, but he was also afraid of being rejected. Sure, Meemo probably reciprocated his feelings, but there was also the small possibility he didn’t; and that miniscule chance weighed heavily on Raku’s mind.

“Anyways, if it backfires, we’ll be here to cheer ya up!” Reika threw a stern glance at Cashew, which the latter replied to with a playful nudge to Raku. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. It’s obvious he’s got the hots for you – granted not as much as you have the hots for him – but! I know he at least likes you back; so, stop moping around already and get your man!” She gave Raku a quick slap on the back before getting up off the couch. To be honest, she wasn’t quite sold on that, seeing as how Meemo was so hard to read; but who was she to kick Raku when he was already down?

“Ow…” Raku let out another sigh, before sitting straight up. “Okay, fine, you’ve got me. I’ll do it. I’m expecting a top-notch pity party if this all blows up in my face, you guys got that? “

With that, Raku at least felt a little more confident in confronting Meemo. He’d committed himself to winning Meemo over for the past year, and by God, he was going to finish this off strongly.

*******************************

Unbeknownst to Raku, Meemo was having his own crisis. However, unlike Raku, it wasn’t like Meemo had a support system. Chai wasn’t exactly the optimal person to vent to about -dare he say it- feelings. Romantic feelings at that. No one taught him about this. How was he supposed to know how to deal with the quickening beat of his heart every time Raku got near him? How was he supposed to know if there was some deeper meaning to Raku sucking him off other than he just could?

“This is stupid.” Meemo grumbled as he buried his face into his pillow.

He couldn’t even pinpoint when he began to see Raku in a different light. Was it really so long ago when he considered him a pest? Raku at first was very subtle about his encounters with Meemo, but the occurrences became more frequent over time, much to Meemo’s chagrin. He didn’t think that over time, he’d come to tolerate Raku’s presence, and even -*gasp*- anticipate it. Fast forward to now, and the two of them were in this strange limbo area regarding their relationship.

“Maybe it’s just better if I don’t say anything…” Meemo rolled over onto his side and let out a startled yell after seeing who had entered his room.

“Meemo…?” Chai had walked into Meemo’s room, with the latter too deep into his thoughts to have noticed.  “You ‘kay…?” Chai peered up at Meemo with worried eyes.

“…Yes,I’m okay.” Meemo sat up and gave a reassuring pat on Chai’s head.

With Chai here, Meemo then thought about how Raku was good at handling Chai, and how Chai, who was usually so shy around people, seemed to be comfortable around Raku. It was definitely a plus to have them two get along so well. Meemo recalled how just the other day, they had gone to a park. Raku had picked Chai up and carried him up on his shoulders, smiling and laughing the whole way. The entire time, it was hard for Meemo to tear his eyes away from Raku, as he had looked so…radiant? Something like that. Meemo had nearly gotten a heart attack when Raku had noticed the other’s gaze, and he cocked his head to the side before playfully sticking his tongue out at Meemo.

“Ugh…I think I like Raku.” Meemo finally admitted out loud.

“Mm..me too! I like Raku lots too.” Chai beamed up at Meemo with a big grin.

Well then, if they were both in agreement here, maybe Meemo should just go ahead and let Raku know. How hard could it possibly be?

(Hard. It’d be very hard, as he would come to find out soon enough.)

*******************************

A couple of days passed after Raku had his pep talk with Cashew and Reika. Raku had asked if he could stay over at Meemo’s place while the other two did their part with by offering to babysit Chai for the day. Meemo was understandably suspicious at first, questioning what Raku wanted to even do with just the two of them alone.

“I dunno, I just want to have a sleepover. It’ll be fun!” was Raku’s excuse. Meemo was a little tense about it, unsure if this would escalate into another encounter of the sexual kind. Much to his ignorance, however, he accepted the offer, seeing this as an opportunity to tell Raku about his feelings; and while Meemo had his plan, Raku was preparing his own confession.

The pair made their way back to Meemo’s house, with Raku up to his usual antics and making jokes while Meemo stayed quiet, save for the occasional dry chuckle. The day continued on as usual for the most part. Meemo was never one to initiate conversations, so he’d let Raku run his mouth while he’d add his two cents occasionally. However, something did seem…different. The atmosphere in the room was heavy, and it was undeniable that there was some tension going on between them; and this was more noticeable once it reached evening, and things came to a lull.

Even if he appeared as aloof and jokey as usual, Raku felt like he was going to implode. Having things planned out in his head and having to actually execute said plan were two different things. He could just imagine Cashew taunting him right now for procrastinating.

“…I have to shit.” Raku suddenly announced. They were watching a movie, but he really couldn’t concentrate on it as he had his mind preoccupied with other things. He figured he could use this time to clear his mind before maybe finally making a move. Raku quickly got up and made his way to the bathroom.

Once Meemo was sure that Raku was out of the living room, he took a breath of relief. Finally, he could relax, if only for a little while.

“Okay…when he gets back, I’ll do it………Somehow.”

Back in the bathroom, Raku was spending his time hyping himself up as well. Now had to be the time, right? He wasn’t so sure he could go on the rest of the night with this kind of atmosphere. He looked at himself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and made his way back to Meemo.

When Raku got back to the living room, Meemo began to fidget in his seat. As soon as he sits back down, he thought to himself. Three…two…one…

“So-!” Meemo said, as did Raku……at the same time.

“Uh…go ahead.” Meemo kicked himself for backing down.

Raku recoiled at being put on the spot, but it was now or never.

“Well...” He scooted closer to Meemo. “Y’know…that thing we did last time. I, uh…Don’t do that to just anyone, alright?” Wow, this was off to a great start. “I mean…! We’ve been hanging out a lot more lately, and we’ve gotten a lot closer I’d say. A-and! I really like being around you.  All these feelings have been building up slowly and all that sorta culminated in me blowin’ ya.”

Raku couldn’t see it but dredging up memories of that was flustering Meemo beyond belief. A part of him just wished the couch would swallow him whole and get him out of this.

“Anyways, I’m getting side tracked here! “Raku put his hand on Meemo’s lap, which the other flinched at. “Meemo. Meems. Meemster. Meemeo—”

“Raku get on with it.”

“What! This is hard okay! “

“Just say that you like me already or else I’m going to have to say I like you first!”

“…”

“…Fuck.”

Raku’s face lit up and he grabbed Meemo by the shoulders and shook him.

“OhmygodMeemoyoulikemetooIwassoscaredIwastoopushylasttimeImeanIwasjustsofuckinghornylasttimeandIletthatgetthebestofmebutIdon’twantittoseemlikeI’mjustusingyoutosatisfymydeepcarnalneedsorwhateverthefucklikeIactuallyreallylikeyoualotand—”

“RAKU FOR FUCK’S SAKE.”

Raku withdrew his hands and let go of Meemo. “S-sorry…I just…I’m so relieved. I thought for sure you didn’t feel the same way…” He looked away and rubbed at his arm.

Meemo felt a twinge of guilt. “Raku…Don’t apologize. I…shouldn’t have raised my voice.” He took a second to compose himself. “It’s just weird for me, is all. It was just me for a long time, and then Chai came around, and then eventually…you. Everything’s so new to me, and feelings are already hard enough for me to deal with, but you just kept coming along throwing me curveballs and it really threw me for a loop. Honestly, can you blame me?”

A hand peeked out from his cloak and Meemo reached over to Raku’s face and cupped it gently.

“I…like you too. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t keep tolerating you like this.”

“Wooow, how romantic.” Raku couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle at how blunt that statement was.

“You- You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, yeah I do.” Raku leaned up and placed a swift kiss at Meemo’s mask.

“?!”

“So now that all that’s taken care of…We gonna do it or what cuz all that tension has got me worked up like no tomorrow.”

Meemo sighed. “Looks like I’m not the only one who needs to rethink what being romantic is all about.”

*******************************

Without a moment to waste, the pair found themselves in Meemo’s room. While Raku was raring to go, Meemo was more hesitant.

“I don’t know if you got this from what I was saying earlier, but I don’t have much experience, so you’re…going to have to guide me a little here. “He mumbled the last part, embarrassed to have to admit that.

“Oh, trust me, I got that, given how quickly you came undone the last time.” Raku said teasingly. “For now, why don’t we start off simple? But to do that, we gotta get this,” he took a step forward and tapped at Meemo’s mask, “outta the way.”

“…I suppose.”

Raku had already seen Meemo without his mask once before, so it wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. Even so, there was still a trace of embarrassment, especially given the situation. At least Raku let Meemo take it off himself – he knew that Meemo was self-conscious without it, so he wouldn’t rush it. Meemo reached up and started by taking off his hood, revealing his messy hair, then undid the string of his mask. As he took the mask away, Raku stared up at Meemo.

“W-what?” Meemo retorted.

“Nothing~ Just admiring the sight.”

Before Meemo could have time to be flustered about that statement, Raku got even closer, placing a kiss on Meemo’s lips. Although taken aback, Meemo slowly but surely reciprocated the gesture, leaning into Raku’s touch. Raku wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, deepening the kiss. While Meemo was preoccupied with that, Raku was gradually leading themselves towards the bed. Once he reached it, he pulled away from the kiss, licking his lips as he looked at Meemo who was visibly more worked up now.

“Not bad. A little sloppy, sure, but we can work on that.” Raku winked at Meemo, as he went ahead and got onto the bed.

“Yeah,yeah.” Meemo replied, not really taking Raku’s jab to heart. Black tendrils went to work at disrobing Meemo of his cloak, as he crawled onto the bed as well, hovering over Raku.

“I’ve been meaning to ask this.” Raku said, as he began to undress as well, tossing his jacket, shirt, and pants off to the floor. “Are you like…technically always naked under your robe?”

Meemo rolled his eyes (how that was possibly seeing as he had no pupils was unclear, but a lot of things Meemo did seemed to defy logic). “No, don’t be ridiculous.” But if he was being completely honest with himself, even he didn’t know how it worked. His body was just this goopy, shadowy, mass. One that could sprout a dick when needed.

“Sure, if you say so.” Raku shrugged, knowing it’d be futile to press on.

“Anyways, what do you want me to do now…?” Meemo tilted his head to the side, genuinely curious.

“Hm…Well, I think now’s a good time than any to return the favor from last time. Buuut before that, help me get these off~” Sure Raku wanted to get to the good part, but he also wanted to tease the hell out of Meemo first.

Giving it some thought first, Meemo reached for the band of Raku’s underwear and tugged on it. He then looked at the fluffy mass that was Raku’s tails. It’d certainly be a hassle if he had to do this slowly, so without much warning, he yanked them off.

“Whoa-!” Raku flopped onto his back from the force Meemo used. “Geez, couldn’t be a little more graceful there?” He pouted.

Meemo held in a chuckle. “Sorry.”

“Nah, sorry won’t cut it, pal. Gotta apologize some other way.” Raku waggled his eyebrows with a smirk at Meemo and slowly spread his legs, displaying himself fully to the other.

Again, Meemo was at a loss, his brain frozen at the mere sight of Raku naked below him. Alright, fine, so maybe Raku had done a little too much teasing and had to take matters into his own hands – literally. Raku reached down to his nether regions, using his fingers to spread his lips.

“Remember what I said about returning the favor…?”

Meemo nodded absently, eyes fixated on Raku’s hand as he began to play with himself. Meemo scoot down the bed a bit, so he could lower himself and be level to Raku’s crotch. His eyes looked up to Raku, who was very much anticipating what would come next. Meemo kissed at Raku’s inner thigh, peppering small pecks until finally giving a tentative lick to Raku’s already slick entrance. As Meemo continued to test the waters, soft gasps were coming from Raku.

“Mmn…y-yeah, juuust like that.” He rested his hands on Meemo’s head, petting his hair reassuringly.

Seeing as how he had his hands full (or, well, mouth full) at the moment, Meemo couldn’t answer. He continued to lap at Raku’s lips, before beginning to prod his tongue in deeper. The more Meemo worked Raku up, the tighter Raku’s grip on Meemo’s hair got.

“Ah-!” Meemo had redirected his focus to Raku’s clit, teasing it with his tongue as he used a finger to slip back into Raku’s heat.  “Fffuck…Meemo, please.” For someone who didn’t have much experience, Meemo was doing one hell of a job.

With Meemo sucking here and there and his fingers slowly thrusting in and out, Raku was starting to come undone, his breathing becoming shallower as his legs began to tremble; but Raku didn’t want it to just end here. Not yet.

“M-Meemo…hey.” He tapped the other on his head.

Meemo stopped what he was doing and looked up. “Mm…Yes?”

“I think that’s enough of that. I want…somethin’ else now.” He adjusted his leg, so he could nudge his foot in between Meemo’s legs. “

“R…ight.”

Meemo leaned away so he could sit back. Shadowy wisps appeared at his crotch, slowly taking form as Raku watched on in fascination.

“I’m really gonna have to get used to that.”

When Meemo’s cock stood fully erect, Raku got up to move and straddle Meemo’s lap. Meemo gulped, being hyper aware of the other’s body pressing against him. Before moving on, Raku stole another kiss, this one needier than the last. When he got his fill, he pulled away, a trail of saliva connecting their lips.

“Hm hm…Here I go~” Raku reached down, giving Meemo’s shaft a few strokes before aligning it against his entrance. Meemo bit his lip as Raku lowered himself onto his hard cock.

“Nngh…It’s so…” Tight? Warm? Just overwhelming in general? It was definitely a very different sensation than being in a mouth, that was for sure. Meemo placed his hands on Raku’s hips, steadying the other as he began to move himself up and down, letting out sweet moans with each movement.

“You feel so good.” Meemo muttered, resting his head against Raku’s chest. He began to thrust up in sync with Raku, wanting to go deeper, feel more. He was torn between giving into his lust and going easy on Raku’s body.

“Meemo, I need it…Move faster, go harder, anything, please.” Raku whispered breathlessly into Meemo’s ear.

That was more than enough to flip Meemo’s switch as he swiftly pushed Raku back onto the bed. He had slipped out in the transition, so he took a moment to push himself back into Raku’s tight heat, savoring the warmth that enveloped him once more.

Meemo’s movements were a little more sporadic now that he was more in control in this position; but he gradually picked up a rhythm and quickened his thrusts. For the first time, he leaned down and initiated a kiss, letting his tongue thoroughly explore Raku’s mouth, as his mind was hazed over from pleasure. Raku was more than happy to oblige, moaning wantonly into the kiss as he was fucked harder and faster with each thrust.

“Meemo…Meemo…Haah…I can’t…!” He wrapped his arms around Meemo’s back, clinging on for dear life as he was reaching his climax. Meemo could also feel himself reaching that point, all the while panting and letting out sounds he never thought he’d make. He used a free hand to tend to Raku’s clit once more, his thumb rubbing in tantalizing circles as he continued to thrust into him.

Raku yelled out in ecstasy, not able to contain himself from the over stimulation. “Mmngh…Yes…A-ahh…Fuck…!” It didn’t take long before he was finally driven over the edge. Raku rode out his orgasm, his whole body trembling as he continued to grind against Meemo, trying to milk that feeling all the way through the end.

Meemo, in turn, let out a stifled groan as Raku tightened around him. That added pressure as well as the sweet, sweet sounds Raku was making brought Meemo to his climax. He pulled out just in time, spilling his cum over Raku’s chest and navel. With a shuddered breath, he laid down beside Raku, and the two of them remained wordless, their labored breaths echoing throughout the room.

“That…” Raku said when he finally caught his breath. “…Was fucking great.”

“Y-yeah?” Meemo turned his head to look at the other, still coming out of his post-orgasmic bliss.

“Mhm. You didn’t do such a bad job after all.” Raku swiped his finger over some of the cum on his chest, playing with it between his fingers.

Meemo felt his face heat up again. “Wait, let me go get some towels to-“

“No, no, it’s fine. Let’s just…enjoy this right now, okay? We’ll clean up in a bit.”

Raku scoot closer to Meemo, resting his head on his chest. “How about you? Didja enjoy yourself?”

“I mean, yes, of course. I thought that was pretty obvious, especially from how…unhinged I got towards the end, there.”

“Yep, ya really fucked me good.” Raku snickered. He was sure to replay the image of Meemo over him, succumbing to lust, over in his head for a long time coming.

They went silent again, just enjoying each other’s company. Raku was gently stroking a thumb over Meemo’s hand when Meemo mumbled something.

“Mmh? What was that?”

“…ve……y…”

“…Babe,I can’t understand what you’re sayin’.”

“I said.” Meemo made sure to look Raku in the eyes. “I…love you…”

“………” Raku blinked a few times, his cheeks heating up and sprouting a nice blush.

“Uh, Raku? …Was that too far? Should I not hav—”

“N-no! You just…you just do these things when I least expect it. My heart can’t take it, y’know?” Raku chuckled softly and shook his head. “I love you too, Meems.” He leaned up and pecked Meemo on the cheek. “So! Ready for the next round?”

“……I’m going to get those towels now.”

“Eh?! No, I was kidding, Meemo come back!!!”

*******************************

“Can we assume it went well?” Reika and Cashew stood at the doorway. They each looked at Raku, hair all disheveled and hickeys clearly visible on his neck, then to Meemo, who although was wearing his mask again, seemed to be giving off an air of guilt.

“Yeeep.” Raku gave the two a peace sign. “Mission accomplished. It’s a wrap, fellas. Etcetera, etcetera.”

Chai, who Reika had been carrying, was set down so he could be toddle on over to Meemo. Meemo wasn’t even sure he could look Chai in the eyes at the moment, not after all he did just the night before; but he knew he had to welcome him back. Meemo lifted Chai up, giving him a hug. “Did you have fun?”

“Mhm!”

“Welp, I best be hittin’ the ol’ dusty trail here. “ Raku went to join his sister and Cashew. “I’ll see ya soon, ‘kay? Love ya, darling.” He said with a wink, before turning on his heel and walking off, whistling all the while.

Reika and Cashew both shook their heads. If Raku had already been so transparent about his crush before, they knew he’d be ten times worse now that he and Meemo were officially together.

“…He’s really going to be the death of me.” Meemo mumbled, as he shut the door; but as he did, he found it hard to stop himself from cracking a small smile.