#enough that almost 14 years with him wasn’t nearly long enough

[whathasangramainyudonewrong]

Wrong #630

No, it’s absolutely precious that you found a cat that loves shoes as much as Baobhan Sith does, that’s not the question here

The question I want answered is what universe you live in where you think letting any animal lay on Baobhan Sith’s precious high heels is an action that will end in anything other than pain for you

[heesdreamer]

give it time

PAIRING ➩ heeseung x reader

SUMMARY ➩ being jakes twin sister, your reputation followed you around wherever you went. add on the fact you were a known man eating playgirl with a thing for nerds and you were heeseung’s worst nightmare

GENRE ➩ playgirl!au x inexperienced!hee

WARNINGS ➩ sexual scenes (no full smut sorry guys) and light slut shaming

WC. ➩ 14.03k

DISCLAIMER ➩ i don’t feel like i got to explore these characters enough so fyi im opened to one shot request or small drabbles for these two! feel free to send an ask if ur interested in a scene

Despite the common perception of you, you were not a complete and total monster.

Sure, the rumors were true in some aspects but in most cases things were warped and twisted as they danced from mouth to mouth and you were left with a bit of a startling reputation.

You leave too many freshman boys crying and suddenly you are the devil disguised in a perfectly polished and manicured body, girlish scents and cheeky smiles being used to lure your victims in to their death.

Frankly you thought this was all way too dramatized. You liked to play around, who didn’t, and it wasn’t your fault you had a very particular taste when it came to your boys. Death was dramatic, if anything their social meters skyrocketed after being seen with you.

“It’s immoral.” Your best friend was currently giving you his opposing opinion. Sunoo was laid across your bed and watching you carefully reapply your lipgloss in the large mirror on your desk. “Maybe even a little bit sick.”

You laughed at him, turning to face him fully and strike a pose. He gave a thumbs up at your outfit and smiled at you despite his scoldings.

Sunoo had been your friend for as long as you’d known what the word meant. He was a year younger than you but decades more mature and when you both started to change drastically, you still remained friends.

Most of the version of yourself you showed outside of this room was a carefully poised character, a show of beauty and confidence to ensure you weren’t belittled and were taken seriously in all aspects of life. Yet here, alone with Sunoo as you got ready for another Saturday night party, you were your rawest self.

“I can’t help what I like.” You continued on your conversation now that he’s approved your attire.

And you meant this from the bottom of your soul. You’ve tried to fall for other guys, tried to stare length at the football players and hope it stirred something awake in you and you could fulfill another cliche when it came to high school norms.

Yet it was earlier on in your years of puberty when you discovered your type, and oh god was it a discovery.

Park Sunghoon had stumbled off the summer camp bus behind a few girls you’d recognized from previous years. He was clutching his backpack strap with one hand and pushing his glasses up his nose with the other. To make matters worse (or better, depending on who you’re asking) he had tripped coming down the steps and nearly face planted in the dirt below him.

For the first time in your life, you were completely and utterly inlove. Or at least as inlove a sniffly 14 year old can be.

You’d had your first kiss that summer, hidden behind a bush on the final nights huge campfire and you blushed thinking about how Sunghoon’s hands were shaking and his eyes were wide when you pulled away.

That was the exact thing you’d gotten obsessed with. You never saw Sunghoon again, not at summer camp or anywhere around the city, but you constantly searched for him in other boys. You liked the awkwardness and shy glances and you liked the way you could almost see the corrupted thoughts in their mind after a few weeks with you.

Other people your age gushed over the charmers, the boys at parties who leaned against the wall and asked you to slip away into an uncleaned room. Sunoo sharing the same ideology considering the way he constantly fawned over somebody on the soccer team.

Which is why you didn’t get angry at him for his scolding, for his lack of understanding. It was an art form and not everybody could appreciate it.

“Y/N, kid. I told you I’m not waiting all night for you.” Deafening pounds on your door strictly reminded you of that fact.

You swung open your door with a scowl, ignoring the way Sunoo mumbled about his hatred for the nickname kid, and came face to face with your brother.

Jake was exactly two minutes older than you and spent your entire lives magnifying this fact at any given moment. His eyes scanned your outfits before looking behind you to Sunoo’s and he sighed softly.

“So we are going complete ‘embarrass my big brother’ tonight I guess.” His words caused you to roll your eyes and push on his shoulder so you could move past him out into the hallway.

Jake and you got along great despite your differences, something about the twin connection helping you be a lot closer than you might have been else wise considering everything else about you was completely flipped.

He was the star of your family in all things that truly seemed to matter to your parents, handsome and sociable and not to mention the captain of the football team.

“You’re not my big brother.” You mumbled as you passed him and he smiled at you and messed up your hair. You paused and waited for Sunoo at the top of the stairs, raising an eyebrow at the fact Jake was watching you with a strange expression.

“My friends are downstairs.” He started to explain and you furrowed your brows in confusion. When you’d first become cool enough to hang out with Jake’s friends, he had warned them and you about the consequences of dating each other, but he gradually realized they were absolutely not your type.

You imagined he still had to deal with comments, you were well known at school and undeniably conventionally attractive, plus Park Jay had definitely made numerous passes at you throughout the years.

“I’d rather jump down these stairs than fuck one of your friends Jake.” His mouth curled in disgust at your blunt words and you saw Sunoo laugh as he approached the two of you, closing your bedroom door.

“There’s a new kid on the team and I know how you are.” He was whispering but his tone was stern and you shook your head at him in annoyance.

“I’m not interested in jocks brother, I feel like we’ve been over this. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“The Sim’s! Looking fantastic as usual.” Jay’s voice floating up the stairs caused the three of you to turn in it’s direction and you immediately froze as you took in the other boys standing in your living room. You heard Jake sigh at your reaction and start to make his way down the stairs.

Standing amidst the usual crowd, Jay (your brothers absolute bestfriend of all time), Jungwon and Riki (two younger boys on the football team), was a boy you’d never seen before.

“Oh wow. This isn’t good.” Sunoo was whispering over your shoulder with a half smile as he followed your line of vision, patting you on the back and starting his way down the stairs after your brother.

The boy was a complete stand out amidst the others and their casual stances. They were dressed dark and sleek, eyes lazy and relaxed like there was nothing that could surprise them about how tonight would play out and by experience, you knew this to be true.

He was standing stiff as a board and ringing his hands uncomfortably, looking around your living room anxiously as he tried to take in the unfamiliar setting. You briefly mentally scolded the boys for letting him wear a sweater to a highschool party and then immediately thanked them for the same fact.

You were down the stairs and stood infront of him before he even processed you approaching and his eyes widened with surprise as he took a startled step back. Your hand was dangling in the middle of the both of you and he awkwardly took it in his.

“I’m Y/N Sim.” You practically purred at him and you vaguely heard Jay bark a laugh from a few feet behind you. The boys eyes darted over to your brother and his friends and then back at you with a curious expression.

“Heeseung.” His voice was quiet and unsure and you raised an eyebrow, keeping his hand in yours for longer than necessary. “Lee Heeseung.”

You repeated his name back to him with a smile, letting it roll off your tongue as you pushed some of your hair behind your ear. Normally by now you’d start to see the signs of infatuation, eyes darting down to your chest and breath catching when you leaned into their personal space.

Heeseung wasn’t doing either, in fact he just seemed more and more awkward and impatient as the seconds droned on. Your mouth twitched down in a shocked frown and you released your grip on his hand, watching as Jake wrapped an arm around his shoulder and ushered him away from you.

Your brother shot you a teasing smile over his shoulder, like he was mocking you for failing to catch his friends attention.

“Don’t look so gloomy sweetheart.” Jay’s voice was in your ear as you started walking to the car. “You’re going to eat him alive.”

——

You couldn’t take your eyes off of the boy.

He definitely had noticed your staring, awkwardly hovering in the corner of the party holding a completely full cup he’d been taking fake sips out of. Your brother had stuck with him for most of it before being dragged away by some other boys on the team for a game of cup pong.

You remembered the fact that Heeseung was supposedly on the football team too and you were suddenly curious what exactly he did. Maybe your brother had only mentioned it in an attempt to deter your advances.

He’d be disappointed to know it didn’t work, considering you were pushing off your seat at the kitchen counter and making your way to his side of the room.

When you were a few feet infront of him he seemed to realize you weren’t changing your course of movement and were in fact coming straight for him. He stiffened up against the wall and avoided looking at you.

“Hi Hee.” You ignored his behavior, leaning against the wall on your side so you could still look at him. You liked the slope of his nose and the way he nervously glanced at you from the corner of his eye.

“Hey Y/N.” He tried to sound casual but his voice cracked halfway through saying your name and your smile brightened, leaning forward slightly so your mouth was hovering closer to his ear.

“Not having fun?” You leaned back after you spoke, noting the way he held his breath when you got closer and shifted in his stance once you leaned back against the wall.

He shrugged softly and you watched the way his thin shoulders fell back down. He definitely wasn’t small, towering over you and about double your width but he was lean and pretty, not to mention the way he curled in on himself made him seem tiny.

“I know something fun we can do.” You were leaning back towards him, this time letting your hand fall forward to hold his arm. The innuendo didn’t miss him and his wide eyes shot down to where you were touching him and then back to look at you.

“Jake said to not talk to you.” He was suddenly stuttering out but he didn’t make any move to leave or remove your hand from him. “He said if you said you liked me it wasn’t true.”

Your jaw ticked in anger as he spoke, wanting to go find Jake and teach him a lesson about interfering. But Heeseung was peering down at you with those big glossy eyes and he didn’t seem upset, just curious.

“That’s not very nice of him to say, is it?” You were practically cooing at the boy, lips forming a pout like it was the most hurtful thing you’d ever heard.

It worked considering the fact Heeseung immediately shook his head, eyes even more wide like he was worried he had somehow offended you.

Your hand that wasn’t on his arm slowly slid up to his neck, stopping to hold his face and turn him more so he was facing you and you weren’t staring at the side of him. He really was handsome, strong manly features sat nicely below his large eyes.

“Do you think I’m mean Hee?” You decided to use Jake’s words against him, batting your eyelashes with a pout and leaning against him. You felt a flash of satisfaction at the way his eyes went down to your jutted out lip and back up.

He didn’t reply after you said that and you briefly wondered if you pushed him too far for one night. You didn’t mind stretching it out, one time spending weeks with a boring tutor before he even seemed to realize you had boobs, but something about the way he peered down at you made you impatient.

He didn’t respond but he also, once again, made no move to push you off of him. If anything he seemed short of breath the longer you stood there pressed against him with your thumb on his chin.

You let out a small hum of satisfaction and pressed your thumb upwards against his bottom lip, holding it there for a second to see if he would object. He didn’t despite the way his eyes seemed to grow wider and wider every passing second.

His mouth parted and at first you thought he was going to speak, pausing and raising an eyebrow to make sure he wasn’t about to tell you to stop touching him. He looked suddenly mortified and closed his mouth with a snap, causing you to realize he was referring to your thumb pressing against his lip.

“Oh.” He genuinely shocked you, your confidence faltering for a second at the fact he was basically inviting your thumb into his mouth a second ago when you’d barely spoken to each other.

He was bright red and you had a feeling that if your grip on his chin wasn’t so tight, he would’ve disappeared into the crowd to avoid you.

“Sorry.” He was mumbling, voice so quiet you almost missed it beneath the loud music and stacked piles of random conversations.

“Do you want to go somewhere we can hear each other better?” You tried to keep the implication out of your words but you had a feeling you were oozing with sin and intent as you leaned up to speak against his ear.

Still, he was nodding almost like he was on autopilot and seemingly ready to go with you regardless of where you would take him. And that was music to your ears, excitement and tension causing you to smile before tugging him and turning around to leave the party.

You were immediately stopped in your path, your smile dropping into a scowl as you looked at your brother. He was stood infront of you with his arms crossed, Jay and Sunoo’s amused faces peeking over his shoulder at the thought of conflict.

“Excuse us.” You spat at him, tugging Heeseung again. He’d complete froze at the sight of your brother and only seemed to snap out of it at your pull, yanking his hand from yours as he collided with your back.

You stumbled forward and glared behind you at him, confused why he had let go of your hand. He was bright red again and avoiding looking at you, taking a step to the side so he was more on your brothers half of the stand off.

Jake had a satisfied smirk on his face at his obedience and you scoffed at them both, disgusted and angry eyes directed towards Heeseung who was cowering away from your glare.

“Alright.” Sunoo was dragging the word out, pushing past your brothers rigid frame and wrapping his arms around you. “Think it’s time we go.”

You let him steer you away from the boys, sending one last glare at your brothers victorious face. You felt a little fire light up in your stomach with the knowledge he was going to regret it.

——

“What about that junior in your art class. He’s easy on the eyes.” Sunoo was trying to keep your attention while in the lunch room, despite the knowledge most of his words were falling on deaf ears. “And not your brothers friend.”

That caught your attention slightly and you stopped your staring for a second, glancing at your friend before looking back across the hall where Heeseung was sat with the rest of the football idiots.

“If you’re going to tell me it’s immoral again, save your breath.” You half muttered and you heard him sigh softly from beside you.

He started to talk again but this time you truly didn’t hear him because Heeseung was looking around the room for a second before locking eyes with you. You sat up in your seat as you watched him freeze and look around to see if there was anyone else you could possibly be staring at.

When he seemed to determine he was the source of your attention, he awkwardly looked back at you and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. You cocked your head but didn’t do anything else, still slightly hurt from the night before.

“Earth to my supposed best friend.” Sunoo’s annoyed voice and shove against your shoulder caused you to break the staring contest with the boy, looking at him apologetically. “It’s fine, we can talk later. But your boy toys leaving.”

His eyes were falling over your shoulder with a quirked eyebrow, following Heeseung’s frame as he quickly shuffled out of the cafeteria and through the hallway doors. You looked frantically at Sunoo for permission and he waved you off with a dismissive hand.

You were on your feet and rushing towards the direction Heeseung had went before you could thank him, causing a few heads to turn towards you as you whipped past them.

Once you pushed through the large doors, you slowed your pace and flattened your skirt, attempting to look casual. You pulled your hair prettily in-front of your shoulders and peered around the hallway corners, trying to catch sight of which way Heeseung had gone.

It didn’t take very long before you were faltering in your tracks, seeing him standing against a closed locker and seemingly catching his breath.

“Hee?” You were standing a few feet away from him, leaning forward and cocking your head in a fake display of coincidence. “What are you doing out here?”

He glanced up at you with an unreadable expression. At first you thought he looked annoyed to see you but you realized quickly he was more so embarrassed at you catching him in a state of panic.

He raised his shoulders in a shrug again and you took a step closer, taking in his outfit now that he wasn’t hidden behind a lunch table. He was wearing another sweater, this one had a large V neck that he covered up with a plaid button up underneath it. You wondered briefly if he was hot at all underneath the layers.

“You shrug a lot don’t you.” As you spoke you casually approached him, leaning on the wall next the locker he was stood against.

He looked like he wanted to laugh at your words, mouth quirking for a bit before looking at you in a similar position to the previous night and frowning, eyes flashing with guilt and embarrassment again.

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head as he whispered and you quirked an eyebrow at his sudden mood change.

“For what part?” Beneath the urge to tease him and make him say it directly, you were genuinely curious what about last night he was apologizing for. For leaving you when your brother arrived or was he sorry for your little interaction a few seconds before that.

He looked at you with a sigh and an awkward shuffle in place, giving you your answer. He was too shy to voice it out loud and that led you to believe it was the latter he was attempting to apologize for.

“You’re sorry for that?” You frowned at him as you leaned closer again. He was watching you intensely, still standing awkwardly but seemingly expecting your actions more this time. “For wanting my fingers in your mouth?”

He was sucking in a breath at your blunt words, eyes going wide as he pressed himself against the locker like he wanted it to swallow him whole. You didn’t say anything else, you’d tipped far more than a toe in the waters and you may be a man eater but the last thing you wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

“Don’t say that.” He was rushing out in a hissed whisper and looking around the empty hallway like somebody could be listening.

“Is that not what you wanted?” Your voice was dropping to a purr again and you could see him swallow the lump in his throat as your hand came to rest against his chest.

You wanted to touch him, desperately strangely enough, but more importantly you wanted to feel how fast his heart was racing and it didn’t disappoint. It was beating so fast you almost found it in yourself to be concerned.

A large part of you wanted to push him further, to make him tell you what he wanted so you could get to the fun part already, but a new part of you was liking toying around with him.

You found yourself curious what he was thinking as he blinked down at you, if he was thinking dirty things about you or if he wasn’t quite sure what that even consisted of. Was he just sweet and awkward or was he truly inexperienced.

Even weirder, you were wondering what you looked like to him. Both in the bodily sense, if he found you pretty or alluring, and in the sense in which he considered you to be a flirt or a whore.

You didn’t mind being a whore, you thought it was a beautiful powerful thing for a woman to be, but for some strange reason you didn’t want Heeseung to think that’s what this was.

Jay was right, you absolutely wanted to eat him alive but maybe you didn’t have to spit this one out after.

“I don’t know why I did that.” His whisper almost passed by you while you were stuck in your thoughts. You could feel his chest rise as he spoke and you liked the feeling, pressing your front against his similarly to how you did at the party.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” You assured him, studying his features as he looked down at you. Your hand was leaving his chest to cup his cheek then and he took in a deep stuttering breath.

You let your thumb caress the skin on his cheek and he kept his eyes locked on yours despite the way they nervously twitched and sometimes shot over your shoulder like he was expecting an interruption.

“It’s weird.” He whispered and his breath fanned your face due to your proximity.

You frowned slightly at his words, although you had a feeling he didn’t truly mean them and he was just doing damage control incase you’d make fun of him. Still, you thought for a second before blindly reaching down between your bodies and gripping his wrist.

He made a strange startled noise at the direction of your hand, flushing when he realized you were only searching for his hand and not anything else. He didn’t object as you brought his limp hand up, only tensing slightly as you placed it on your cheek.

You didn’t say anything, waiting for a few seconds to see if he would take the hint on his own before sighing and moving his thumb with your hand that was covering his and placing it against your bottom lip.

He looked almost entranced at the movement, mouth parting in surprise as he felt your lip against his thumb. Then it was your turn to be surprised when he mirrored your movement from the other night and pressed down on it, almost instinctively.

Having startled himself, he started to pull his hand away but luckily you were still holding it in place against your cheek. Before he could make another move to remove it, you were parting your lips and pulling his thumb into your mouth.

He made another loud noise, a half shout nearly at the wet sensation on his digit and you would have laughed if you weren’t certain it would embarrass him to a point of no return.

You watched his reactions through your eyelashes as your hand moved to his wrist, feeling the bone and muscle twitch as you kept his hand in place. He didn’t say anything, watching you as you closed your lips around his thumb and held it there.

He met your eyes for just a second, immediately shooting back down to look where his thumb disappeared when he felt your tongue wrap around it in slow soothing circles.

The hall was silent outside of his heavy breaths and a low sucking sound as you pulled his wrist back and forth slowly so his thumb continued its movements in and out of your mouth. He was standing so stiff that you considered, for a moment, pulling back and asking him if this was okay.

Then he took a deep inhale and pressed his thumb flat against your tongue, causing your breath to catch in your throat with a slight choke. You faintly thought you heard him groan at the noise and you squeezed your hand that was around his wrist.

This seemed to snap him back to reality, eyes bulging as his movements froze completely. You kept your eyes on him even after he pulled his thumb from your mouth, avoiding eye contact with you as soft pants slipped from your lips.

“Do you still think it’s weird?”

——

A day or two passed without you seeing Heeseung, or more accurately without any firm interaction considering he darted away every time you rounded a corner.

This time you weren’t hurt by his avoidance, the hard part was finished and the seed of sin was blossoming in his pretty head. Now all you needed to do was wait for him to come crawling to your door, asking for more, and you’d finally have him.

You didn’t expect it so literally however. The soft knocks on your door after you’d just gotten home from school made you groan, expecting some form of real life spam mail or an annoyed neighbor, all the usuals. Instead your angry expression dropped off your face when you realized it was Heeseung behind the door.

He faltered at the sight of you, almost like he’d forgotten you lived here too. His expression was pained and you almost laughed at the way his eyes instinctively dropped to your mouth.

“Well hi.” You smiled at him and pushed your hip out to lean in the doorway, suddenly aware of the fact you were wearing little duck shorts from middle school. You don’t think he noticed, avoiding looking at your bare legs with all his might.

“Is Jake here?” He was mumbling, looking over your shoulder like he was hoping your brother would come and save him.

“I’m beginning to think I should be offended.” You were only half joking, a genuine disappointment building in your stomach. You’d never had a boy care so little about you, especially after you’d already made a move on him. “He’s at practice still, shouldn’t you know that?”

He didn’t say anything, staring at you for a while before blinking away and shuffling in place. You sighed and took a step to the side, signaling for him to come inside so he didn’t leave a dent in your porch.

He slowly and awkwardly came inside, pressing against the door to avoid touching any part of your body considering you were still perched against the doorway.

“It’s nice to see you.” You found yourself actually meaning this as you said it and nearly laughed at the way he whipped around to look at you in surprise. You’re not sure if he wasn’t expecting you to talk to him in general or just not expecting you to be in a good mood.

“What?” He spoke before he even realized he was and looked down at his shoes.

“I don’t know.” You shrugged and walked closer to him, noting the way he tensed and followed your frame. You moved past him to sit on the couch, patting the spot next to you and smiling. “I missed you.”

He slowly sat next to you, hesitating at the close proximity. Once he was sat, stiff and nervous, you scooted closer so your thighs were pressed together. If he didn’t notice your shorts before, he definitely did now judging by the way his eyes bulged and his hands twitched.

“You don’t know me.” He was shaking his head and you smiled slightly at the fact he was atleast comfortable enough to argue something you’d said.

“I think you’re cute.” You shrugged like it was obvious, watching the side of his face as he avoided looking in your direction. You were sat so close that if he looked at you, you’d probably be touching noses. “And I like your eyes.”

He glanced at you for a second, slight amusement on his face at your surface level answer. If he hadn’t figured out what you wanted by now, he slowly was. You watched as his hand twitched again.

“You want to touch me.” It was more of a statement than a question, shifting in your spot slightly. He didn’t say anything for a while eyes on your leg and you waited patiently, holding your breath so you didn’t scare him off.

“I don’t know.” His voice was breathy and pained like he was dealing with an inner dilemma. For a second he looked so guilty that you wondered if he was possibly religious, lips quirking up at the thought.

“You can.” He made no move despite your urging, glancing at you from the corner of his eye before shaking his head. “Do you want me to help you?”

He didn’t respond again but the sharp breath he took helped you understand his answer, his mannerisms becoming easier and easier for you to read. He didn’t flinch when you grabbed his wrist again, letting you carry his hand over to your leg and encage it with your own once it was touching your warm skin.

“Okay?” You were whispering, leaning your top half against him so you could rest your head on his shoulder. You liked to feel the sharp inhales he was taking as his body rose and fell.

He nodded swiftly and you decided now that he was definitely a virgin, the way his hand flexed and shuddered at the feeling of just your skin, being the most obvious sign. Excitement was bubbling under your skin again and you could hear Sunoo’s voice calling you immoral.

“Do you think I’m pretty?” You were turning your head on his shoulder to whisper against his neck and he made a startled noise at the feeling, hand tightening on your leg. You weren’t quite sure what prompted you to ask him that but you were suddenly desperate to hear his response.

He was nodding quickly for a second before actually responding, almost like he knew you wanted to hear him say it. “Yes. So pretty.”

You smiled and kissed the base of his neck in thanks, drinking in the small whimper like noise he made in response.

A minute or two passed in silence, you tightly pressed against him and listening to his sharp nervous breathing while he slowly relaxed his hand on your thigh, at some points being brave enough to gently caress your smooth skin with his thumb. You liked letting him explore, seeing how long it took for him to do the smallest things, but you were growing slightly impatient.

His hands were big, almost encasing the surface area of your leg and your hand looked extra small on top of his, slowly directing it upwards closer to the hem of your shorts. He met your gaze with a panicked look and you stopped in place for a few seconds, waiting for any sign of permission.

“Why are you doing this?” He was whispering as he turned to look you in your eyes, forehead nearly touching yours. He looked confused and pained and you almost felt a strange guilt as you looked at him.

“If you don’t want me to, I’ll stop.” You’d lost the purr in your voice, deadly serious as you spoke the most important words you could say to him. You were pushy and had a certain set of interests others might find disturbed, but you were absolutely not somebody who made others uncomfortable in a negative way.

“Are you just screwing with me?” He didn’t sound upset, just genuinely insecure and curious like he couldn’t understand why you would want him to be touching you.

You were pleased that despite being shy and not talking a lot, he wasn’t afraid to ask you things he found important. It reassured you that he would alert you if you pushed him too far, but you also were thrown off by his lack of self credit. Heeseung was definitely a dork and not the best in social situations, but he was stunning and sweet, not to mention large in size.

That small reminder caused you to glance down at his hand that was still on your leg, thumb just on the edge of hooking underneath your shorts. You pressed your legs together and looked back at him, noting the dark flash that passed in his eyes at the movement.

“I want you.” You spoke bluntly, not sure how else to reassure him the way he was searching for. You weren’t going to lie to him, you couldn’t sit here and tell this boy you wanted to date him and treat him good but you could definitely be honest with him and tell him why he was sat on your couch right now.

He looked at you in silence for a second like he was waiting for you to laugh or say something else, prove him right about his suspicions. When you kept your face firm and serious he sucked in a breath and nodded slowly, accepting that this was just something that was happening to him now.

You wondered for a second what type of place he’d lived before where girls didn’t find him attractive, suddenly very glad he was your brothers friend and you saw him before anybody else had the chance to corrupt his mind.

His hand was moving on it’s own now, a small burst of confidence at your blatant desire for him. He seemed unsure of his movements as his hand pushed up under the entrance to your small shorts, stopping and resting against your underwear clad hip, trapped between the two fabrics.

“Has anyone ever kissed you?” You were asking and he seemed confused that you chose to ask that instead of acknowledging him for touching you on his own. You smiled at that and noted for later use that he was searching for approval and praise.

He thought for a second and you wondered if he was considering whether or not to lie. Maybe he hadn’t caught on to your strict type yet and just figured you liked nerdy guys.

“Don’t lie to me. I don’t mind either way.” Your voice was suddenly firm at the command and then immediately softening in reassurance. It was truthfully too despite the fact you were most hopeful to him saying no.

He was shaking his head and you didn’t miss the way his eyes were stuck on your lips, hand flexing with impatience under your shorts.

“If I kiss you, you can’t ignore me anymore.” You whispered and he was nodding as you spoke. You were worried he was so eager for you to do something he wasn’t quite thinking before agreeing to things. And you meant what you said, if you kissed him it would be important to you.

“You can’t tell Jake.” He was suddenly saying and you almost laughed at the irony of him warning you not to tell your own brother, if anything it should be the other way around. You thought the fact he was seeking approval from the other boys was cute, despite it causing problems in your own desires.

He didn’t seem to appreciate the fact that you chuckled at him, frowning softly and trying to make his expression more serious. You liked the dazed out look on his face, almost like he was too drunk on touching you to think clearly. You couldn’t help yourself from surging forward and pressing your lips tightly against his.

He froze up, hand squeezing your leg now so tight it was almost painful. You didn’t expect him to know how to kiss you back but he still tried after he regained his composure, pushing his face forward into yours.

You pulled back quickly, pecking his lips three more times in small kisses in the process. Not wanting to overwhelm him, you leaned back slightly to study his expression. When his eyes fluttered back open he was looking at you with shock and excitement, not even noticing the way his hand was kneading your hip inside of your shorts.

You took a breath to prepare to ask him if that was okay when you were cut off by him leaning back into you and kissing you again.

Smiling against his lips, you brought your hands up to cup his face and try to guide him a little bit more so he wasn’t just pressing his lips against yours in a haste. Still you let him explore on his own for a bit, tilting your head back so he could push into you.

After 30 seconds of letting him get used to the feeling, you started to move your mouth against his in a smooth rhythm. He hummed, low and guttural, at the sensation of actually kissing you and in his eagerness to move forward and lean into you, his hand slipped and pressed itself directly over your core.

You both gasped into the kiss, for different reasons considering the fact he immediately lept away from you onto the other side of the couch and covered his mouth in panic and apology.

You were just opening your mouth to tell him it was alright, more than okay in your opinion, when the front door was swinging open. You immediately closed your lips in anger and frustration at the sight of your brother who was observing the situation with squinted eyes.

It definitely looked damning, your shorts were ridden up on your thigh and Heeseung was sat a few feet away panting and running a hand through his hair to try to flatten it down.

Jake gave you a knowing look, a sharp glare and your lips curled into a smirk as you shrugged at him.

——

It was a day or two later and you were stood in the center of your room, staring at yourself in the mirror and trying to decide which color bathing suit you wanted to wear.

The boys all planned to go to the beach today, one last warm weekend before the fall season started and they were jammed packed with peak football busyness. Luckily for you, despite your current silent war you were having, Jake had extended the invitation to you and Sunoo too.

“The pinks way better.” Speaking of Sunoo, he was in his usual position that he adorned anytime you were getting dressed before heading out. Laying on his stomach with his feet in the air on your bed, watching you with a keen eye and sharp opinions.

You frowned at his comment, unsure and feeling slightly insecure. Trying not to think about how strange that was for you, you nodded in confirmation and pulled shorts and a hoodie over your suit for the ride there.

By the time you got to the car you were feeling pretty awful about the days direction, knowing yourself well enough to know something as small as not feeling pretty could ruin your mood completely. You tried to keep your energy light, planning to relax once you got there and not risk ruining anybody’s else day in collateral damage.

When the van door slid open, your eyes widened upon seeing Heeseung sat in your usual seat, his expression mirroring your own.

“Hope you don’t mind Y/N.” Riki was leaning forward from the backseat and smiling brightly at you. “Thought it would be cool to kidnap the new kid.”

You didn’t say anything, eyes sliding back over to Heeseung who was looking at you with heavy awkwardness but not avoiding your eye contact. You felt lighter at the knowledge he wasn’t taking what you had said about ignoring you lightly.

Climbing into the van and towards the back seat, you and Sunoo sat beside Riki and relaxed for the rest of the ride.

You liked being in the back like this, your position giving you the perfect view of Heeseung’s side profile. He kept glancing back at you throughout the drive, looking more and more surprised that your gaze never drifted from him.

You hadn’t spoken to him since kissing him, he had immediately stood from the couch with awkward posture and shuffled off in the direction Jake was leading him, not sparing you a glance.

You’d spent that night scrolling through his socials, atleast the ones that weren’t private, and wondering if you should message him or not. That thought didn’t last long, far too out of character for you and you’d already been accidentally doing that.

Heeseung didn’t need to know you were thinking about him before you went to sleep that night and he definitely didn’t need to know that you didn’t normally kiss the boys you played with.

After you’d gotten to the beach and all the boys had dog piled their way out of the van, you tugged your shorts down uncomfortably and followed behind them at a much slower pace. You liked observing them despite your bad mood, especially the playful laughs Sunoo let out as he joked around with them.

You were so caught up in your people watching that you didn’t notice Heeseung also lagging behind until he was walking side by side with you, keeping his distance but sparing you quick glances as you walked.

It surprised you that he both wasn’t ignoring you and that he was willingly being alone with you while your brother was only a few yards in front.

A strange satisfaction ran through you and you smiled in Heeseung’s direction, brightly when his ears and cheeks flushed bright red.

After the boys had set up the blankets and chairs, they ran off towards the water and you settled into one of the plastic seats. Jay was still stood near you, applying sunscreen diligently and squinting against the bright sun.

“You should let me put some on you.” He was saying once you took off your hoodie and you scoffed without looking at him. You didn’t mind Jay despite his flirting but you had no doubt his eyes were glued to your chest as he proposed applying the sunscreen to your bare skin.

“I’m serious.” He laughed at your reaction, knowing what you were thinking. “In a friendly way, I promise.”

You looked at him now from over your sunglasses, analyzing his expression as you felt the sun heat up your exposed skin.

“Fine.” You sighed and rolled over onto your stomach so he could have easier access to your back. “But you touch me inappropriately with your grubby hands and I’ll cut them off.”

“I bet your brother would first anyways.” You could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, kneeling down on the sand next to you. You heard the cap of the bottle open as he squeezed a good amount into his hands and pressed them onto your skin. “Besides, I know you have your sights set on another suitor.”

You didn’t have to ask him what he was referring to, seeing no point in playing dumb. Both Jay and you knew a very large reason you’d never responded to his advances was because your specific type, and you also both knew who happened to fit that type perfectly.

“He’s cute.” You shrugged the best you could in your position and Jay pressed his thumb into your back, a light massage now as you talked.

“Sure, if you’re into that.” He chuckled softly and you smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “Not so cute with the way he’s glaring at me right now though.”

You sat up upon hearing that, resting on your elbows and looking over your shoulder towards the water where the rest of the boys had disappeared. At first you thought Jay was just teasing until you caught sight of Heeseung and confirmed the icy stare he was directing towards the two of you.

It was so out of his usual character that you felt genuine shock wrack through you, rolling over and sitting up properly.

After a few seconds of holding eye contact with each other he was wading out of the water and heading in your direction, Jay laughed and stood up swiftly with a mumble about ‘knowing when to leave’. He passed Heeseung on his way to the water and gave him a pat on the chest that you didn’t quite understand.

When he reached where you were sitting, you felt slightly hypnotized by the way he looked. He was standing over you and blocking out the sun, hair wet and dripping onto his tight swim shirt. He almost looked angry and your eyes dropped down to his extended hand that was pointing in your direction.

“Do you want to get ice cream with me?” Despite his tense exterior, his voice still sounded the exact same, a nervous quiver making his words quiet and stuttered.

He looked relieved when you nodded and took his hand, letting him pull you up onto your feet and help steady you.

The ice cream shop was connected to the beach but a bit away in the distance, leaving you out of view from the rest of your group and a bit more private. He hadn’t spoken the entire walk there and you were beginning to worry with how tense his shoulders were, stopping him before he turned the corner and softly guiding him so his back hit the side of the building.

He looked down at you as you crowded his space, pushing against him despite how cold the wetness of his shirt felt against your bare chest.

“What’s wrong?” You looked up at him through your eyelashes and he blinked down at you, jaw twitching with how tense it was

“Why didn’t you ask me?” He responded and you felt confused for a second before understanding he was referring to Jay applying your sunscreen.

The realization that he was jealous caused a surge of excitement to pass through you and you rocked forward on your toes, pressing against him harder if that was even possible.

“You walked away and he offered.” Your lips formed a pout despite your giddiness and his eyes went from your lips down to your chest that was smushed against his front.

You felt the sudden desperation to touch him or to have him touch you, maybe even to kiss him again. You just wanted to be as close to him as humanly possible, you wanted him to call you pretty again and you weren’t quite sure what to feel about this overwhelming urge.

“Don’t be mad at me Hee.” You continued after he didn’t say anything, his eyebrows pulled forward in a confused and jealous expression. You didn’t think he was actually mad at you but you didn’t like how his face didn’t have its usual softness.

“I’m not mad, I don’t know.” He confirmed your thoughts and shook his head, eyes softening just a little when he looked down at you again.

“Are you jealous?” You pressed on the subject, having a feeling he wouldn’t admit it on his own.

“I didn’t mind it I guess… seeing him touch you.” He admitted softly and you suddenly were plagued with the thought that he might be a lot less innocent than you thought. If anything he seemed a bit curious at the thought of somebody else touching you. “I just…”

“Wanted it to be you?” You filled in the blank for him as he trailed off and he nodded after a second.

You wanted to laugh at this but you didn’t, not wanting him to get embarrassed. Yet it was almost comical that he had absolutely no idea how much more of a chance he had with you than Jay, than any of the other boys who were constantly competing for your attention.

Instead of explaining this to him, you stood up on your toes again and pulled him down for a kiss.

Your hands were in his wet hair and a sudden shudder ran through you at the way he had to bend down to reach your mouth.

He was taken off guard for a second before kissing you back, this time immediately moving his mouth against yours in a nice slow rhythm like you had shown him next time. He was a fast learner and you felt giddy at that fact.

The kiss was sweet and slow, giving him the silent reassurance he seemed to be asking for but you felt growing impatience at the pace when you realized you were completely pressed against his lean body in a state of undress, tugging on his wet hair slightly in an attempt to catch his attention.

It seemed to work because you felt his shaky hands come up and rest on your lower back, pulling you tighter against him as he breathed an unsteady gasp against your lips. You liked the way he continuously tugged you forward despite there being no way you could get any closer to him.

His hands were fast and desperate as your mouths moved with eachother, the addicting feeling of kissing you clouding his mind and helping him forget all the anxiety and uneasiness he was originally feeling in your presence.

His knees were weakening and he slid down the wall slightly, legs jutting out at the weird angle so his leg was pressed slightly between your own, he immediately stopped pulling on your figure and kissing you, glancing down at what he’d just done.

He seemed unsure about the fact his knee was now practically hovering between your legs as you kept him trapped against the brick wall.

“Heeseung.” Your breathy use of his full name caught his attention and he snapped his head up to look at you. You didn’t say anything else, just nodding your head and kissing him again.

He accepted this as a form of permission, another surge of excitement and confidence pushing him to pull you closer again. This time, because of the new position, you were practically rocking against his bent leg as you breathed into his mouth.

You tried not to think about the fact you were practically dry humping him out in public, licking into his mouth to test his reaction to you pushing the kissing even further.

He half groaned, half whimpered at the feeling and squeezed his hands that were around your waist causing you to laugh at the ticklish sensation. Your laugh was interrupted by him pushing his tongue into your mouth suddenly, trying and failing to mirror what you had just done to him. You tugged on his hair again as a sign to take it slower, giving him a soft peck before demonstrating again.

You did that a few times, licking into his mouth and kissing him open mouthed and sloppy before pulling away to catch your breath and observe his reaction.

His normally wide eyes were downturned and hazy, dark with want and excitement as he experienced this emotion he’d never felt before. He felt addicted to you and the way you were melting against him, perched on his bent knee and taking pretty little gasps for air as you tried to calm yourself down.

“Fuck.” You were breathing out in a sigh and he couldn’t help but smile slightly at your state, feeling proud he had been the one to cause it. His cheeks were still bright red and you felt the urge to kiss him again. “You sure you haven’t done that before?”

This seemed to embarrass him further and he shifted against the wall, his shirt sticking to the rough material of the brick. He was practically dry by now and your hand left his hair to drag it’s way down his chest and stomach.

You could feel the muscle tensing and flexing under your touch despite the shirt creating a barrier between your skin to his and you felt mesmerized by the smooth slope of his stomach. He seemed to be taking in your outfit now too, possibly for the first time realizing how little clothes you were wearing.

“I didn’t know what to wear.” You were breathing out, overly aware of how self conscious you’d been earlier in the day regarding your bikini. It was pink and frilly, the bottoms fabric poking out from the top of your jean shorts.

“It’s perfect.” He was whispering, eyes locked on your chest and stomach. Then he was flushing again and looking back at you, embarrassment furthering at the way you quirked your eyebrow at him. “It’s pretty I mean.”

You didn’t respond, an unfamiliar blush on your cheeks at the sincerity in his compliment. You felt slightly angry at yourself for the way his validation changed your mood in seconds.

“Are you still upset.” You eventually asked and he shifted against the wall again, hands on your back pulling you tight like he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

“Wasn’t upset.” He mumbled and shrugged, holding your eye contact for once. “He just talks about you sometimes.

This peaked your interest slightly and you cocked your head at him. You knew Jay thought you were hot and liked to mess with you to piss your brother off but you hadn’t considered the fact he might actually be voicing desires for you when you weren’t around to hear.

“What’s he say?” You questioned and Heeseung suddenly looked like he did when you first met, awkward and squeamish.

“Just..” He was mumbling and squirming against you with a frown. “Stuff he wants to do to you I guess.”

You didn’t say anything, just humming in understanding and studying his features and expression. He looked slightly pale and like he was rethinking the things his friend had said in private, jaw tensing again like it had by the water.

“Stuff like.. kissing me?” You flattened your hand on his chest as your voice turned into a low drawl. “Sticking his tongue in my mouth and letting me feel good on his thigh?”

His mouth was parting in a small breath as you kept talking, slowly understanding you were describing things you’d done with him to make a strong point.

“Let him talk.” You shrugged and kissed his jaw, taking a small step away from him afterwards. “I’ve made my choice.”

——

After ushering a flustered Heeseung back to the water, ignoring the glare from Jake at your lack of ice cream, you found yourself actually managing to have fun.

You joined in on playing with them in the water, playing chicken against Sunoo, him on Riki’s shoulders and you ontop of Heeseung’s.

His strength surprised you, winning all three rounds before you were tapping out and practically coughing out water with messy hair and a bright smile. The sun was setting by the time you all left and you liked the way he looked on the drive home far more than the trip there, eyes tired and skin tanned.

The night you were rolling around in bed again, trying not to disturb a sleeping Sunoo next to you while you locked and unlocked your phone in frustrated contemplation.

Eventually you gave in to your desire, pressing follow on Heeseung’s private instagram and immediately shutting your phone off and pressing it tight to your chest when it alerted you a request had been sent to him.

You felt incredibly stupid for acting like this and like you weren’t in control of your emotions for the first time in a very long time. You think part of you liked that factor about the types of people you normally were with, the control was completely and utterly up to you and they’d pretty much follow you into battle if you batted your eyelashes the right way.

Heeseung had a weird way of making you feel helpless, despite making no move himself to control you or the things you did, he still had an upsetting power over you that you don’t even think he realized.

Proven correct again by the way your heart surged as your phone vibrated against your chest, lifting it up and squinting at the bright screen to see he had accepted your request and followed you back.

You wondered what he was doing up this late, nearing 3am now and opened up his profile to see if he had any post. There was only a handful and you scrolled to the bottom first, studying a pretty photo of a dog in a window without a caption.

The next three post were also pretty simple, photos of sunsets and a guitar leaning against a wall that you assumed was in his room. The four most recent were what caught you attention, actually featuring him and other people unlike the other ones which seemed more atmosphere focused.

You smiled softly at the photo of him and your brother, Jake in his football uniform with black paint smeared across his face as he appeared mid yell with an arm around Heeseung’s shoulder. You noted the camera around Heeseung’s neck and realized you had been right about Jake lying and he wasn’t actually on the football team, just working with them.

The fondness you felt looking at the photo was followed by a pang of guilt as you looked at the next one, another photo with Jake but this time with the rest of the boys as well.

Heeseung was in the middle of the mirror selfie with a bright smile on his face, one you hadn’t seen and the other boys were crowding around him in different poses. You opened the comments to see them having various discussions, but all for the most part, praising Heeseung for taking a photo of his face and posting it.

The final two made your breath catch in your throat, considering the fact you were in both of them.

You weren’t sure when he had taken the first one, a photo of you lazily strewn in the plastic chair at the beach. You were adjusting your sunglasses and mid laugh at something that, you assume Sunoo, was saying off in the distance.

It must’ve been some time after your water fights considering your hair was wet across your shoulders and you weren’t wearing the shorts you had been before. The sun was cascading prettily and you don’t remember if it was actually that beautiful out or if he had edited the photo expertly.

You’d always been aware of the fact that people found you pretty, having heard it pretty much your entire life even when you didn’t quite believe it or know how to respond. You’re sure nowadays people found it as a negative thing, thinking you were too full of yourself when you fluffed your perfectly crafted hair or conceited in the way you constantly reapplied mascara and lipgloss. But for the first time in your entire life, staring at this photo he’d taken of you, you thought you looked beautiful.

You liked it hesitantly, scrolling up to see the second and final one of you.

You’d seen him take this one, it was right after he’d taken a few of Jake and Jay as they dried off and joked around with each other and then he was turning the camera towards you.

A smile spread across your face making your cheeks hurt as you looked at it. You were staring at the camera with a shocked look on your cheery face, a peace sign held up in a blur of movement from your fast attempt at a pose before he clicked the button.

These ones didn’t have any captions either but something about him picking two photos of you from all the ones you’d seen him taking today made your heart race in a way that made you slightly queasy. He was continuing to surprise you and more noticeably, making you surprise yourself.

“Can you shut that shit off?” Sunoo’s groggy voice was immediately snapping you out of your little dream like thought process, the brightness of your screen waking him up.

“I think I like him.” You let your words hang in the darkness, not liking the way he fell completely silent at your whispered statement.

“That’s new.” He eventually breathed out and you heard him turn onto his side, trying to look at you in the darkness. You were laying flat on your back and staring up at the ceiling in contemplation. There was some left over glow in the dark stars from a middle school sleepover the two of you had.

“Yeah.” You breathed out in response. “Well.. goodnight.”

——

By the time you had finally woken up, eyes peeling open with a groan, Sunoo was already up and out of bed. You could hear him off somewhere in your house, laughing loudly at something.

You frowned and checked the time, noting the two notifications underneath the numbers alerting you it was already past noon.

Jake was one of the notification banners, sending you a message to announce the fact he was having a party tonight. Your frown deepened as you read that. Your weekends were usually filled with bouncing from different houses with each other but it was rare you held one at home.

The other notification changed your mood, seeing that Heeseung had seemingly liked every single one of your instagram post while you had been sleeping.

You smiled to yourself giddily at the thought of him scrolling through your page, without thinking you were pressing the ‘message’ tab on his page and typing.

y/n : hi

heeseung : Hey

y/n : woah that was fast

heeseung : Sorry

heeseung : Should I wait a bit

You laughed out loud at the fact he was somehow able to be more awkward over text than he already was in person, a fondness settling in your tired head.

y/n : will i see u tonight?

A few seconds passed without a response despite the little words under your message letting you know he had read it immediately, most likely sitting with your chat open similarly to how you were with his.

heeseung : I’m actually already here… downstairs to be specific

y/n : will u come up here?

You sent the message before you thought about it and you watched his activity status turn off after he read your message.

You immediately panicked and sat up swiftly, you hadn’t even considered the fact you were freshly woken up and he had never seen you in any state of slightly natural, suddenly overwhelming insecure of how you looked.

Before you had a chance to get out from under the covers or look in the mirror, soft knocks on your door were making you freeze and hold your breath.

You felt ridiculous once Heeseung poked his head inside your door, his big round eyes brightening when he saw you sat up with your blankets covering your lap. He looked excited to see you and you quickly forgot about your appearance or what he might’ve been thinking at the sight of you. He clearly was happy to see you.

“Hey.” He breathed out, sliding through a small gap in your door and softly closing it behind him. You wondered if he gave Jake an excuse for leaving or just hoped he wouldn’t notice his absence.

“Hi.” You smiled warmly at him and patted the side of your bed that was empty, where Sunoo had been sleeping a few hours before. He glanced at you in confusion for a second before hesitantly walking closer to your bed and slowly lowering himself onto it.

It creaked underneath his weight and you laughed softly at his slow movements, lifting the blankets once he was sat down and tossing them over his lap so you were both halfway underneath the covers.

“Are we taking a nap?” He was whispering in a joking tone and you briefly acknowledged the fact he was a lot more casual around you in terms of saying things on his mind.

You were a bit nervous about this change in pacing between the two of you. Maybe he had come up to your room expecting something similar to your past interactions, maybe he was even disappointed as he laid next to you in your warm bed with no sign of your usual devil horns peeking through.

“Is that okay?” Even when unsure of yourself, you liked to remain blunt and honest.

He looked at you for a few beats, eyes warm and knowing like he had somehow figured out your insecurity. Then he was nodding and laying back against the pillow, outstretching an arm onto yours so when you laid down, it’d be against him and not your fabric.

You curled against his side and silently appreciated him for not saying anything, drinking in his silence and resting your head on his chest so you could listen to his heartbeat.

Surprisingly, it was still racing just as fast as it normally was despite only laying in bed with you. He was showing no signs of nervousness or anxiety, or maybe you were still half asleep and were just failing to pick up on his usual signs.

“Are you nervous?” You whispered for some reason and he tightened his arm around you, rubbing your back slowly and uncertainly.

“I’m always nervous I think.” He was whispering back and you almost laughed at the drama of it all. “Especially around you.”

You hummed softly, your hand coming up to rest against his stomach so you could feel his inhales better. He was wearing a white tshirt and you could feel his muscles tensing at your touch.

“Because I’m pretty?” You tried not to sound desperate when you asked, not wanting him to think you were fishing for compliments. You just wanted to hear him say it for some reason.

“Yeah, you’re pretty.” He seemed to always know what you were thinking, immediately fulfilling your request despite the blush it brought to his cheeks. “And you’re nice to me.”

This caught your attention more than the first part, although that also undeniably made your face flush. You weren’t quite sure you’d be at all nice to him, sure you hadn’t made a fool out of him or completely ignored him but you were genuinely taken back by the fact he thought you were nice.

You’d heard charming, alluring and even, at times, manipulatively sweet but it was rare somebody told you they thought you were kind.

“Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?” You pushed forward in your low spoken questioning, liking the vulnerability this position gave you. You were the closest you’ve ever been but you couldn’t see each others faces, making it easier to speak freely.

You felt his body move in what, you could only assume, was a small shrug. His hand stopped moving on your back and you shifted closer to him, frowning slightly at his sudden silence.

“You’re nice too.” You decided to say eventually, feeling embarrassed at the openness.

“I’m sure everybody’s nice to you.” He was slowly sounding more tired and you wanted to sit up and shake him awake so you could keep talking. “It must be hard not to be.”

You didn’t like the way he said that, like you were somebody deserving of good treatment all the time. You suddenly felt a pang of guilt at the reminder of who you were, why he was even in your bed in the first place.

“It’s different.” You said instead, not wanting to give those nasty thoughts too much attention. “You’re actually nice. Not because you want to sleep with me or get close to my brother.”

“I think sleeping with you would solidify me never being close to your brother again.” You could hear the smile in his voice and you laughed against his chest. He seemed looser when he was tired and you wanted to ask him all the things he’d normally be too shy to say out loud.

A minute passed in the silence and you realized through the soft rise and fall of his stomach that he had fallen asleep, arm limp in it’s place on your side.

You tried not to think about any of the things bothering you despite Sunoo’s voice in your head reminding you that your normal habits were immoral. Focusing in instead on the soft beat of Heeseung’s heart, you let yourself fall back asleep against him.

——

By the time you woke up again, even more groggy and out of it than you had been the first time, you could tell it was later in the day.

The soft blue haze of the sun setting was filling up your room and you almost started to stretch like normal before remembering you hadn’t fallen asleep alone, sitting up slightly in confusion at the lack of company in your bed.

Heeseung wasn’t there anymore and the blankets were messy like he had left in a hurry. You waited for a few seconds to listen in for him, maybe in your connected bathroom a few feet away but after not hearing anything and feeling the fact the bed was cold on his side you figured he had left some time ago.

You weren’t mad at him considering the fact the party had probably begun to start by now, you sleeping most the day away after having such a long night, but you couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he hadn’t left a note or sent a text.

You immediately felt stupid for thinking like this considering he was most likely just downstairs with the other boys and it wasn’t like he went home in the middle of the night, he knew he’d see you even if he left. It wasn’t like you to act like this over a boy and it would’ve been more frustrating and worrisome if he wasn’t so kind and gentle with you.

Finally climbing out of bed, you dressed yourself in a skirt and a hoodie before fixing your hair and applying some mascara. They were most likely pregaming by now, maybe a few early stragglers stopping by to get ahold of the best drinks before they were gone. But you didn’t really feel the need to overdo your appearance like you typically did, feeling more comfortable since it was held at your house and you could always come and change if the situation called for it.

You were leaving your room and making your way to the stairs when you heard unfamiliar laughs and voices coming from the living room.

Pausing against the railing, you froze and listened in to what they were saying once you heard your name from one of their mouths.

“I mean you have to tell us dude, she has to be good considering how much she’s ran through.” One of the boys from the football team was talking and you could practically hear the smile in his voice.

You weren’t sure who he was talking to but it didn’t bother you much considering you’d heard it before, rumors from classmates and name calling from boys who were mad you had turned them down.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” This definitely bothered you. Heeseung’s sweet nervous voice was floating up the stairs and you heard the other boys started laughing again at the way his voice shook.

“C‘mon man, I totally saw you leaving her room earlier when Sim called.” Another boy was speaking now and you wondered how many were down there and why your brother wasn’t with Heeseung.

You considered marching down there and dragging Heeseung away from the teasing, but you figured that would only put him in a worse spot. You didn’t mind anybody knowing you were doing things with him but you knew he was serious about Jake not finding out.

“Why would I fuck her?” Heeseung was talking again and your heart dropped at his tone of voice, almost sounding disgusted by the idea. “Like you said, she’s ran through.”

You didn’t hear anything else after that, ears deafening once the boys started to laugh and seemingly smack his back in approval for his harsh words against you. Your throat felt hot with embarrassment and panic was filling up your chest and head.

“Y/N? What are you doing up there?” Jake’s concerned voice filtered through and you looked down through the gaps in the banister, seeing him having just walked through the door with groceries bags dangling from his arm.

Your teary eyes shuffled over towards Heeseung and the football players to see him standing completely rigid as he looked up at you, Jake calling attention to you and your hiding place.

There was no use in pretending you hadn’t heard what he said, your expression betraying you and making it extremely obvious.

You were turning around and darting back into your room, slamming the door and throwing yourself onto your bed in a sob. Burying your face into the pillow, you groaned in frustration at the fact it smelled like Heeseung and you threw it onto the floor.

You’ve heard these things before, even worse at times but for some reason hearing him say it felt like the worst thing possible.

It was the scariest thing in the world, the way you felt about him so soon, but for once you were finding yourself liking the loss of control. It felt safe and comfortable, completely opposing how it normally felt.

You weren’t sure if he actually thought those things about you or if he was just trying to douchebag his way out of an awkward conversation but it didn’t matter to you regardless, his voice looping in your head with that unfamiliar tone.

A vibration under your stomach was causing you to pick up your sniffly face, eyes squinted with tears as you shuffled around to try to find your abandoned phone you were apparently smothering.

When you finally managed to feel it against your wandering hand you saw a few different text chain alerts.

One from Sunoo, asking if you were okay and if he could come up or if you wanted some space. Another was from Jake again, double texting to ask a similar thing followed by telling you he’d cancel the party if you wanted him to.

You responded to them both quickly, telling Sunoo you were okay and you’d talk to him later and letting Jake know you didn’t care about the party you’d just stay in your room.

The third message was from Heeseung’s instagram account but you didn’t look at it, shutting off your screen and yelling into your blanket.

You thought for just a second about getting up out of your bed and putting on your best outfit, going down to join the party and acting like Heeseung hadn’t affected you as much as he did.

But that was the thing you liked most about him. You didn’t feel the need to play this character or hide behind an emotionless mask.

Instead you spent the rest of the night in that same position, listening to the music gradually get louder as more and more people filled into your house. You almost wanted to laugh at the irony of you, a complete party goer with a carefree lifestyle, hiding from an exciting night just a few feet away.

Hours were passing like that, your mind racing with thoughts of what they could be doing down there. You wondered if Heeseung wanted to follow you up here but was too shy or if he had no plans of coming at all. You curled into a ball on your side.

Eventually you let yourself fall asleep again, body feeling heavy and exhausted from crying and overthinking. You couldn’t have been asleep long before you were waking up again to soft knocks against your door, you frowned deeply and ignored them.

You figured it was some drunken idiot, maybe a couple looking for a room to hook up in and you didn’t have the energy to tell them to go away so you just laid there in silence and hope they didn’t try to turn your unlocked doorknob. That hope didn’t last long before you heard the soft rattle of the metal, the knob squeaking as it twisted and your door was pushed open just a sliver.

Nobody came through it at first, like they were waiting for a reaction from you, and then Heeseung’s head was poking through it just how it did this morning.

The scene was a direct replay but the mood was completely flipped now, his face lacking any sign of a warm smile and instead looking startled at the fact you were awake and looking at him coming into your room.

“Were you hoping I was asleep so you could just leave?” You looked away from him as you spoke, rolling back onto your stomach to try to look less pathetic and more casual.

He didn’t say anything, coming into your room considering the fact you hadn’t screamed at him to get out, and closing the door behind him.

“I wanted to talk to you.” He was stuttering and you had a feeling he was wringing his hands together but he sounded sure of himself.

You sighed and turned your head to look at him from your spot on the bed. He was awkwardly hovering next to the bed and looking at you, face crumpling with guilt when he saw your puffy eyes and red cheeks.

“Or I can just suck your dick and you can go and rate it on a scale of 1-10 for the entire school body.”

His eyebrows furrowed at your sarcasm and he slowly sat on your bed, keeping his distance and barely resting against the edge of it.

“That’s not funny.” He shook his head as he spoke, his back was towards you but he was looking over his shoulder at you.

“It seemed to be earlier.” That was slightly unfair of you considering he hadn’t been laughing with them earlier from what you could tell but his harsh words had been replaying in your mind for hours and you weren’t feeling the most gentle towards him.

“They just got in my head I don’t know.” He was still shaking his head and pressing his hands tightly against his knees. “They kept talking about what you do and I just wanted it to be different.”

“It is different.” You were cutting him off and his jaw twitched slightly. He didn’t seem to know how to explain himself properly and he was digging himself a bigger hole. “I thought what we were doing was different.”

“How?” He was turning more so he could look at you more directly, eyebrows furrowed in an angry expression you hadn’t seen before. “What’s different about this? Jake told me the same thing when I first got here, I know you’re just going to drop this once it’s over.”

“Everything is different about this.” You sat up now, perched on your knees and leaning forward on your hands for emphasis. “I’m not going to sit here and feel bad about my sex life because of your ego Heeseung.”

His face dropped and he shook his head. You knew he wasn’t like that and he wasn’t directly shaming you for being experienced, he was just insecure and didn’t know how to express it. But that wasn’t an excuse for the things he had said about you.

“If you want to hide… whatever this is than fine that’s your choice.” Your voice wavered as you said it, the thought stinging slightly of him being ashamed to be with you. “You could have lied or brushed them off but you chose to insult me and say horrible things.”

His face was softening again in guilt and you were slightly confused before you realized you were crying again. He seemed to lean forward without realizing it and you sat back up on your knees to keep distance between you.

“I’m sorry.” He looked and sounded genuine and you wanted to believe he was but you had also never thought he’d be capable of something like that, so maybe you were trusting him too blindly.

“You made it sound disgusting.” You spat the final word out, face curling in a hurt sob and then he was pulling you into a tight hug, falling forward on your knees and crashing into his chest.

You wanted to be able to push him off of you and tell him to leave your room, leave your house better yet, but you couldn’t help wrapping your arms around his neck and crying into the same soft shirt you’d been sleeping peacefully on a few hours ago.

“It’s not disgusting.” His voice was causing his chest to vibrate and you could feel his heartbeat against your cheek. “I’m such an idiot and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being with you.”

He sounded the most confident you’d heard him, voice lacking its usual quiver and stutter other than the heavy weight of emotion behind his statement.

“You’re right, it was a total ego thing. I didn’t understand why somebody as confident and pretty as you would be interested in me.” He continued on and you wanted to interrupt and dispute his negative claims against himself but you decided to let him finish since he, for once, seemed sure in his words.

“I like spending time with you even if it hasn’t been that long.” You sniffled as he spoke and burrowed into his chest so he knew you were still listening. “Even if Jake tackles me next time he sees me.”

You laughed at that and you felt him rest his chin on top of your head. You were still upset but his words were helping and you wanted to believe him, you were just contemplating if it was worth abandoning the techniques you’d been using to avoid getting hurt like this.

“Maybe I should have asked you on a date before trying to put my fingers in your mouth.” You were whispering against his chest and he barked a laugh at your sudden blunt joke.

Neither of you said anything after that, letting each other think over the situation and sit in a tight hug, you practically in his lap now. You felt a strange tug at your heart regarding the fact there was complete innocence between you despite the compromising position.

“Is this a bad time to ask you on a date then?” He eventually was whispering above your head and you smiled softly into his shirt.

[siriusremusblack]

Ehh..

Ok. Seriously- even if Snape wasn’t a spy for the order or even a death eater to begin with, and just a guy with unresolved traumatic issues in his childhood- why would he be expected to be nice to Harry?

I MEAN. Harry literally took one look at Snape (and Quirrell) in the great hall, felt his scar burn and immediately decided it was Snape’s fault. He didn’t consider that maybe it was another teacher or maybe a student next to him. He immediately thought that Severus Snape was the reason for his scar hurting. There was no evidence to really support that theory other than the burning of the scar.

Not only that- but this student (Harry) repeatedly got in trouble, sassed Sev/talked back, and when Harry did learn that it was really Quirrell that was the one trying to steal the stone and SEVERUS WAS LITERALLY HELPING HIM THE ENTIRE TIME FROM QUIRRELL HIMSELF- he still decided to have that unfair bias towards him.

PLUS, Harry acted similarly to that of James at times (from Sev’s perspective). Strutting around the school as one example- he was also treated similarly to James by the other staff. He’d get in trouble but he wouldn’t receive that bad of a punishment just detentions and he was even rewarded house points.. and not to mention McGonagall breaking the rule of first years not being allowed their own broom for Harry..

Harry also looked very similar to James (his father, for those that don’t know) which was likely a HUGE trigger since James not only Bullied Severus as a child but stalked, harassed, SA’D/S*xually harassed, and almost murdered him. Then there’s the fact that he also had his mother’s eyes, Lily Evans, who was a childhood friend of Sev. One of his only friends until he lost her, twice. Harry looked at Sev all the time with contempt and disdain. He basically hated the man from day one when he originally saw him in the great hall. He had lily’s eyes. Those eyes were the ones staring at Snape with hatred. Everyday. Until Harry finally realized how messed up that actually was in the end.

So yeah. Excuse me, but I don’t see any reason for Sev to even want to be nice to a kid like that. There isn’t any reason to be- especially when he’s dealing with 11-18 year olds on a daily basis, all day. They all have different maturity levels and being a teacher and teaching one grade of students is already hard enough. Imagine teaching multiple grades???? Oh and then there’s the fact he was risking his life for 14+ years (probably closer to 20+ honestly) with barely any actual recognition or appreciation. He was a spy for so long and he had no one. Everyone hated him and for what? Because he was strict? So were the other staff members.

Plus if we also take into account the other aspects of teaching instead of just the actual teaching- that is a lot more work as well. There’s planning assignments, watching over the students, grading assignments and much more- and being a professor you’re always learning the new information that comes in on the subject(s) you’re teaching. There’s also staff meetings. He also had order meetings and death eater meetings. There’s also stocking his potions store, doing detention shifts. We also see that he helps patrol school grounds after curfew so there’s that as well. This man has so many jobs and you expect him to be nice to some bratty 11 year old that immediately decided he was bad? Like what?

And this man is autistic coded (he was based off an autistic man so the likelihood he is autistic is pretty high and practically canon I’d say but that’s my own opinion and a topic for another time) OH and he is canonically extremely traumatized with zero support system and we all know prolonged childhood trauma causes multiple different kinds of disorders that will never go away (but can have symptoms lessened through therapy, which was not made available for Sev.) AND NOT TO MENTION A TEACHERS SALARY IS HORRID. This man does not get payed nearly enough to deal with Hogwarts students, order members, death eaters and the other Hogwarts staff.

GIVE SEV A BREAK ALREADY.

[goblinhoursinsomniaramblings]

I Know Those Eyes, Part 1

one dramatic in-universe reveal per chapter, let's go!

writing based purely on vibes, but i do have an actual plot brewing.

@grimdarling69 made more feel free to dm things you might want different

Prologue here

Tim had been the first to see the shape of his family’s future collective stress nightmares.

He’d been right there, after all. He had been asleep in the Batcave when Damian had decided to… he’d been right there, waking up to a single chance, loud noise Damian normally would have never made, with a chance to stop him, bring him to the others, talk it out, find a solution to whatever Luthor had been planning with concentrated Lazarus water. But he hadn’t woken up fast enough.

He had nightmares about that night for years. Sometimes, he knows exactly what’s going to happen and lets it happen anyway. Sometimes, he gets Damian to promise he’ll talk it out, only for him to run when Tim’s back is turned. The worst are the ones where he stops him, and everything works out for the best, and Tim wakes up and remembers what actually happened. Sometimes, he wakes up after getting to see Damian grow up, take on a new mantle, and haze a new Robin.

He always dismissed those dreams as filtering a fresh wave of grief through his knowledge of forensic analysis. He’d seen both Talia and Bruce, therefore he could map rough predictions of what he would grow up to look like, once he hit various milestones. It was all academic, since he would never get the chance to prove what he would have… been.

At least up until Oracle called him to verify something.

(“Red Robin, I need a judgment call.”

“A judgment call? Seriously? What exactly is stopping you from sending this to–”

“Luthor might be alive again. Check the footage I’ve sent you.”)

And… sure enough… here Tim was, three cups of coffee into an all-nighter, manually highlighting every shot in the security camera footage he’d been sent of a visiting CEO of a new tech startup that showed the man’s features. Which, actually, weren’t a lot, but once he started going through them all–yeah, that was Luthor alright. Same build, same face, the only thing that son of a bitch did was grow hair.

Like that wouldn’t have been the first disguise anyone who saw Lex Luthor would have suggested. Hair! Long, practically a lion’s mane of the stuff, tied into a low ponytail, with one of those chin beard things to hide the shape of his face more! All of it silvered by age and possible Lazarus contamination, and he hated that Luthor might purposely be affecting a ‘silver fox’ look.

And the worst part is it would have worked if anyone had removed him from the high priority list for being flagged for recognition. Tim almost had, but… Lazarus water. A mysterious death around concentrated Lazarus water. And apparently he had been, once again, completely right!

Tim had been furious by the time he’d combed through enough angles of his face getting out of a sleek black car to confirm, without a doubt, who he was. But then, the passenger side door had opened. All his anger had become shock. His hands shook as he opened a different, far more heavily encrypted profile.

Damian Wayne, priority 0.

Almost nothing came back an exact match, of course. The growth between 14 and 18 would have affected every feature, and the footage wasn’t nearly good enough to lift a retinal pattern or fingerprint from a distance (he noted the black gloves and mirrored shades blocking both), not to mention forensic prediction wasn’t an exact science, and beyond all of that, he could be totally wrong and Luthor was hauling out a clone, or a doppelgänger-

But as each feature lined up in his predictive model, as he watched the young man get out, brusquely close his door, and fall in at Luthor’s side without a word, a (surprisingly slight, far closer to Talia than Bruce) shadow falling into his wake like it was old habit, Tim felt certain he was right. He was certain he had dreamed of a world where Damian lived long enough to have that exact face. He called Oracle back.

“Hey, Oracle? I need a judgment call.”

***

It had taken minutes for Vlad and Danny to begin calling each other by their original names again. It had taken far longer, however, to get back to a familiar dynamic.

Oh, in the short term, it hadn’t been a problem at all. However, it was simply a matter of fact they had both led very different lives before remembering who they were meant to be. Vlad’s disgust at who he had been had colored much of his early days reclaiming his ghost half, and Daniel…

A childhood as a trained assassin had not been kind on the boy. Parts of Damian Al Ghul had needed to be chipped away over these last few years, most especially the fear of the League of Assassins that still hummed through him. Thankfully, Vlad had some help on that front and oh flaky pastry he was smiling again-

Though on second thought he supposed a warm and fatherly smile would help distance himself from ‘Lex’ Luthor. Yes, Lionel Vladimir Luthor, CEO and founder of VladCo, would be a man of warmth and fatherly compassion, and absolutely no one would suspect how thoroughly he could destroy them until they had dared to cross the line.

“You know we passed a dozen security cameras, right?” came a quiet voice to his left, the young man’s eyes flashing an even brighter green on occasion behind the shaded glasses he used to mask as Vlad’s bodyguard.

Oh, Daniel. So paranoid these days.

“Really? I only counted eight,” he replied, as the two of them were waved in by the desk clerk of their hotel.

“You’re not being creative enough with the word ‘security’. We’re meeting investors with ties to organized crime.”

Ah. So they were connected to weapons instead of larger networks of cameras. Classic Gotham City logic. Why only be corrupt, when you could be corrupt and violent? Though, it wasn’t as if he and his companion had to be careful anymore.

It had taken years to get to this point. Reclaiming their ghost halves, their powers, their lairs, their titles–their many, many titles, in Daniel’s case. Not to mention dear Daniela and Dante had taken years to recover, were still recovering, really, but at least now they could be comfortable staying with a substitute caregiver-

“Oh, any word from Frostbite?” he asked absently as he plugged the number code into the elevator to bypass the purposefully broken button for their intended floor. He had never encountered these kinds of silly little spy games after regaining his memories, it was almost endearingly pointless now.

“Nothing critical,” Daniel said with a small smile as they found their way to their specific unmarked door.

That meant there were pictures. Well. Good reason to get this nonsense done quickly. He raised a hand to knock.

“Game face, badger. We have a foundation to lay here.”

“Right back at you, frootloop,” said Daniel, slipping back into the resting scowl of his new childhood.

Honestly. Spy games. Next to what he and Daniel had planned?

Minor leagues.

***

-dramatic reveal in this chapter: the lazarus tech event brought back its victims.

-i don’t want to spoil their whole plan here but they’ve got obsessions to feed that are aligning super well right now and vlad wants to take the opportunity to show he cares and ruthlessly fuck over people who have personally wronged daniel/damian along the way.

-yes i am referencing the name used by luthor's father in the tv show, but in practice i'm referring to the time superman died and luthor pretended to be his own son, replete with luxurious hair.

[writeforfandoms]

Waking Lions 14

Find the series masterlist

We learn more about Ace's past and her connection to Kate. Also, she finally gets a meal.

Warnings: swearing, past violence, mention of past murder, Ace is still morally gray, Price still needs his own warning.

Word count: 1.7k

Captain went out first, making sure the way was clear for you as you locked up. You hiked your bag a little higher up on your shoulder and followed him down and out to the street, where an SUV was waiting for you. 

“Ma’am.” Garrick nodded to you from the driver’s seat, and you settled in the back. 

You looked out the window, tired and a little detached after everything. A quick look showed that you’d been working for nearly twelve hours straight. That was… less than ideal. 

“Here.” 

You blinked and refocused your gaze on Captain, who’d twisted enough to hand a water bottle back to you. 

“Thanks.” You took the water, twisting the cap off slowly and taking a drink. You were definitely dehydrated, but you drank slowly, sips at a time, gaze unfocused. 

It had been a hell of a couple days. 

Honestly, now that you were thinking about it, you were surprised Laswell had noticed so fast. Was it just timing? Or had she gotten word of Gray poking around? 

“Nearly there.” 

Captain’s voice made you blink rapidly, lifting your head. Both men were facing forward, which was a bit of a relief. 

You still weren’t sure how you were going to deal with Captain yet. 

Garrick parked and a moment later Captain was opening your door for you. You almost made a teasing remark about him being a gentleman, but… Well, that was too much effort, and you were tired. You just shuffled after him, watching for Kate. 

Kate spotted you first, your eyes locking across the distance. You sighed, long and slow. Oh, this was not going to be fun.

But you still let yourself be herded to a seat across from her, plopping down ungracefully. That didn’t matter. You didn’t need to be graceful right then. 

“What happened?” She looked between all three of you. 

You picked up the menu and held it in front of your face. Captain could start this one. 

“Found her working,” Captain said after a few moments of thick silence. “No evidence of anyone else watching. I doubt anyone knows she’s here.” 

“And why are you here?” Laswell pulled the menu down to stare at you. Damn. She was too good at making you admit things. 

“Gray found me.” It was not any easier to admit aloud, even after all the work you’d put in burning three aliases. “Got a call from one of my clients, she informed me that he was asking around after me.” You let the menu fall to the table, exhausted all over again. Your hands were shaking. Just a little. 

Laswell frowned, leaning back a little in her chair. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure I’m not willing to risk it,” you shot back, tucking your hands under your thighs. Not that you really thought they had missed your shakiness. 

“Which contact?” Laswell tapped her fingers on the table. “Who told you?” 

You frowned at her. “No.” 

“I need to know where to start looking.” 

You sighed, tipping your head back. Valeria had called you, but she’d said he had been asking around. Okay. Gray wasn’t the type who went to underlings, so he hadn’t been asking Las Almas in particular. He’d been asking around that layer of criminal organization. Valeria knew some Russians and some AQ, which was how she’d gotten mixed up in the missile business. 

It was possible that White was just a coincidence… But now you weren’t so sure. Especially given that the last place you’d heard about Gray was in the Middle East. And the Russians had ties to AQ. 

In retrospect, you were amazed you hadn’t put the pieces together sooner. 

“He’s probably working with AQ, or adjacent to them.” You spoke quietly, without looking at any of them. 

“He wasn’t that eager to watch the world burn,” Laswell pointed out.

“Last conversation either of us had with him was years ago,” you pointed out, dull, flat. “It’s likely his morals have further skewed. Or he’s decided the ends justify the means. Or he thinks he’s using them for his own ends.” You shrugged, just a little movement. 

Captain nudged you, and then again when you didn’t straighten up fast enough for him. “You need to eat.”

You thought about arguing, you really did. But he wasn’t wrong. You flapped a hand at him, letting the others order first as you scanned the menu until you found something vaguely appetizing. Good enough. 

“So who is this guy?” Garrick asked, glancing between you and Laswell. 

“Crazy asshole,” you muttered, leaning back in your seat again. Your eyes burned a little from too many hours spent staring at a screen. 

“Bad news,” Lazwell added. “He’s got ties to weapons smuggling, but he hadn’t previously been a terrorist.” 

You grimaced but shrugged. Eh. Close enough. 

“And why does he want to kill you?” Captain spoke quietly. You could feel his gaze on you. 

“He’s wanted to kill me for years.” Your voice was too flat. This was a tone you hadn’t heard from yourself in years. You didn’t like hearing it now. “He decided to take over my father’s business a long time ago, had him killed, tried to have me killed. Didn’t work, obviously.” 

“The fact that you turned witness against him didn’t help his opinion any,” Kate pointed out. 

You huffed softly. “And you still couldn’t keep him locked up.” But there was no vitriol in your voice. This had happened a long time ago, you’d come to terms with it already. 

“You’re staying with someone until we get this sorted.”

That got you to lift your head and glower at her. “No.”

“If he knows you’re alive and he’s searching for you, you’re in danger. Until we can deal with him, you shouldn’t be alone.” 

You grimaced. She wasn’t wrong, exactly, but you hated it. “Don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“You can stay with us.”

You blinked at the unexpected offer from Captain. “I dunno,” you drawled. “Sure you won’t try to kill me?” 

He huffed out a soft laugh. “Not on my to-do list,” he agreed glibly. 

“Good.” Laswell looked between the two of you with something very much like satisfaction, which was setting off all kinds of little alarms in your brain. Kate trying to meddle in your life was very much not a good thing. “We can discuss what you still need to do.”

You narrowed your eyes a little at her. “In terms of…?” 

“Your research.”

You blew out a soft breath. Right. Research. The thing you were supposed to be doing before you heard about Gray. “Dunno what more I can get,” you admitted, rubbing your forehead briefly. Now that you were actually paying attention to your body, you definitely had a dehydration headache. “Especially not without getting any closer to Gray.”

“You think he’s involved?”

“I think I’d be a fool to assume otherwise at this point.” You rolled your shoulders, drinking half your water in one go. 

Laswell was silent for a few long moments, just watching you. It didn’t make you nervous, not after all this time. Sure, you didn’t want her meddling, but you trusted her. 

“We’ll discuss this more after you’ve slept on it,” she decided. 

You scoffed but didn’t argue. You didn’t have the energy for that. Food arrived and you all ate, though Captain and Garrick talked quietly. You just focused on your food, working through it with a sort of exhausted determination. 

“I’ll do some looking on my side,” Laswell said, looking at Captain. You forced yourself to pay attention, though you were fading fast now that some of the frantic desperation of the situation had faded. 

Captain nodded. “Tomorrow, then?” 

“Tomorrow,” Laswell agreed. 

Captain stood, as did Garrick. It took Captain nudging your chair for you to stand as well, holding back a groan. Yup. You’d definitely spent too many hours hunched over your computer. The three of you were silent as you walked back to the car, Captain opening the door for you again. 

“Do you have everything from that apartment?” Captain asked you. 

You blinked, slow and sleepy. You needed to not be, but you’d hit your limit. The food had really cemented your fate - rather than invigorating you, the food was sending you on the fast lane to snooze land. So it took you longer than normal to answer him. “Yeah.” 

He nodded once, glancing back at you as Garrick started to drive. “You’ll stay with one of us.” 

“Bossy.” You made a face but couldn’t muster the energy to truly fight him. Not on this. Not now. 

He huffed softly. But he didn’t say anything else. Something you were rather grateful for. 

You weren’t up to your normal verbal jousting just at the moment. 

The drive to their hotel was silent, and you slowly tipped sideways into the door. Your blinks got longer and slower as you struggled to stay awake, the quiet climate controlled air too soothing. 

The car stopped and your door opened. You probably would have slid right out except for Captain bracing you, chest firm under your shoulder and temple. 

“C’mon,” he rumbled softly. “Just get upstairs and you can sleep.”

“Not sleepy,” you grumbled, just to be contrary. But you could barely peel your eyes open, instead listing harder into him until he reached across you to unbuckle your seatbelt. 

You did make sure you had your bag, though. You needed that. And you refused to give it up. 

“Up we go,” Captain murmured, soft and amused and rumbly and entirely too pleasant. You stumbled a little, but Captain held you upright and kept his arm around your waist, guiding you inside. 

You didn’t pay much attention to anything, too tired and out of it to bother to try. Captain wouldn’t let you get killed. Or grabbed. Not while he was right next to you, anyway. 

A door opened and Captain pulled you through. A moment later he was gently tipping you into a bed, and you sighed as you went entirely limp. He huffed and pulled your shoes off for you. 

“Sleep well, love,” he murmured, one finger gently touching your temple. 

And you were out.

[pookasluagh]

Zee whispered to Crowley, “I’m sure you looked incredible in eyeliner. Even imperfect eyeliner. Wish I could have seen it.”

“Never did figure out how to do it properly. Lucas had impossible standards.”

“His loss.”

The look Crowley gave him was almost startled. He blinked a few times and then crashed his lips into Zee’s.

After spending so much of his adult life trapped in enforced reserve, Zee was flustered by the sudden embrace. To have Crowley simply put their lips together and slide his tongue into his mouth, in public, in front of friends, without warning—it churned up a complicated mixture of feelings. Anxiety and giddiness, fear and longing, embarrassment and wonder. It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed Crowley publicly, or even in front of some of these same people. He wasn’t ashamed. He was simply…unpracticed.

Crowley’s friends continued chatting, completely ignoring the two of them as the kiss lingered. Slowly, Zee’s body started to melt into something less guarded. He was soothed by the feeling of those long arms wrapped around him. Grounded by the familiar tickle of stray curls escaping from where Crowley had tied them back. Crowley brushed light fingers across his jaw as he pulled away and smiled.

“Hi, darling.”

Zee couldn’t stop himself from blushing. “Hi.”

“You’re gorgeous and I really like you.”

“You’re ridiculous and you’ve had too much to drink.”

“Haven’t. Only two glasses, see?” Crowley said, one arm gesturing toward the table with enough exuberance that he nearly knocked over Zee’s glass. Zee caught his hand before he did any damage, then raised an eyebrow at him. Crowley sat back, grumbling. “M’not drunk. Just clumsy and in love.”

***** Chapter 14 is up! Halfway through this book now.

Fic description: Zee (Aziraphale) Marsh is a widowed hermit who secretly writes bestselling romance novels under the pseudonym Bella Swansea. His life is rigorously controlled until his new downstairs neighbor arrives. Anthony Crowley causes something to come alive in Zee that he hasn't seen in over twenty years, but Crowley brings with him some of his own very dark secrets. // Human AU, dark fic, E rating.

[the-sand-guardian]

Whumptober 14: Left For Dead

A continuation of days 7 and 13. 

<><><><><><><><><><>

Cellbit turned the key in the ignition and the van rattled to life, though it sputtered and spat much like a Fed he’d stabbed in the throat. The other car revved its engine once, and Cellbit revved theirs right back. Even in the wake of a fainting episode, Pac had those daredevil tendencies that Cellbit had fallen for several years ago. That was long past both of them, though. 

After a moment, Pac sped off in a cloud of red dust, leaving Cellbit and the others behind within it. Cell was having none of this, and quickly shifted in gear before pressing the pedal to the floor and shooting off after him. The sun was beginning to set over the Wasteland, and the reds and oranges of the sky blended into the red dirt of the ground. They needed to get home quickly before the cold set in for the night. Much like a traditional desert, the Wasteland was sweltering during the day, but someone could almost freeze to death at night. 

Cellbit was honestly a little surprised the other car had let him drive the van. Before the end of the world, he’d already been prone to Highway Hypnosis on his commutes to and from work, but now he was probably even worse about it. When you drove through miles and miles of absolutely nothing, it was easy to get lost in your thoughts. Which he was glad wasn’t happening- 

Headlights. 

He swerved hard to the left, but the other car turned to follow. It was hard to see through the high beams absolutely blinding him, but this car seemed much bigger than the one the other half of the group was in. Roier shouted something from the backseat where he sat with Felps. The other car swerved at them again. Cellbit swore and tried to dodge it, but the car rocked and nearly tipped. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Roier asked from the back.

“Trying to keep us from getting killed!” 

“Do it carefuller! Fuck, here, let me do it, switch me” 

“No! I’m driving! How am I supposed to switch you?” 

Roier groaned and started to climb towards the front of the van only for Cellbit to have to dodge another swing from the other vehicle. 

“Left! Left, Cellbit, turn left!” He yelled at him. Cellbit quickly swerved left, dodging another swing, but leaving him with enough time to knock against the other vehicle. “Muy bien! Do that again!” 

Cellbit listened and did it again. This time, the other car faltered and backed off a bit. It seemed like maybe they would retreat. Cellbit tried to keep his focus and listen to Roier should he have more instructions, but he didn’t yet. 

“Get ready to slow down” Was all he said when he finally did speak. 

Cellbit didn’t question him. The car behind him flashed their lights at him once more before speeding up quickly ahead of them. Cellbit brought his foot down on the brake and brought the van all the way to a crawl as the other car disappeared into the darkness that now surrounded them. Cellbit stopped the car and slumped against the steering wheel. 

“Fuck raiders.” 

“Next time, I’m driving.” 

Cellbit didn’t argue, but simply shifted the van into park so he could let off the brake as he sat up. Adrenaline still flowed through his veins, and he took several deep breaths to try and settle himself back down. Roier took the seat beside him. By now, he’d moved his bandana to wrap it around his forehead, since the air in the car was mostly breathable. Cellbit tried not to stare, but now that he finally saw the other man’s face, he couldn’t help but think he was absolutely beautiful. Cellbit only hoped that one day he’d be able to see blood spattered over Roier’s face and the glint of power in his eyes- a part of him almost wanted it to be his own blood, too. 

“Oi, Cellbit! He won’t go anywhere if you blink!” Felps teased from the backseat. Cell shot him a glare almost as piercing as the bullet that had hit him earlier, but he could hear Roier let out a lighthearted giggle. Cellbit himself smiled a little before shaking his head. 

Unfortunately, their moment of peace was cut short by a terrible chill. Cellbit looked out the window and into the dark void around them. It was too dark for him to see any nearby buildings to guide off of and the gps had become nearly obsolete in the months since The End. They were lost. Completely and hopelessly lost. The car of their other friends was completely gone, too, and they likely wouldn’t notice their absence until morning. 

Now there was another dilemma: Gas. Either they used the remaining gas in the tank to keep warm and comfortable for the night, or they were able to drive home in the morning. Cellbit turned off the van. 

“We need to find something to cover up with, we don’t have enough fuel to get back and stay warm tonight” Cellbit explained to the others. Felps was still in too much pain to get up and look around, but Roier had no problems digging through the containers in the back of the van for supplies. Cellbit got up and helped him search. In the end, they had found a few cuts of fabric and tarp that would do for the night. 

“You two can share, I’m injured” Felps stated matter-of-factly as he took some fabric and a tarp. Cellbit stared into him again. “What? I’m not wrong. You didn’t have to have a bullet carved out of you without dinner.” 

“He’s got a point,” Roier hummed, already getting himself set up as well. 

“Come on, don’t take his side on this-” Cellbit began to argue. Felps knew exactly what he was doing, and Cellbit was sure of that. He wasn’t going to let him win this if he could help it. 

“I’m not budging. Your knife was in my gut earlier. You can freeze for all I care” Felps rolled over with a wince and shut his eyes. 

Cellbit swore under his breath and rolled his eyes. Fucking Felps. He decided not to argue with the injured and possibly dying man any longer and begrudgingly took his place next to Roier.

“He probably does need the warmth. He lost a lot of blood, Cellbit” Roier explained as though Cellbit hadn’t been the one to fish the bullet out of his friend’s abdomen. 

“Eu sei- He’ll be fine though.” Cellbit laid down and tried to ignore just how warm Roier was. 

“And we will be too. Come on, gatito, I’m not that bad of a cuddler” Roier giggled a bit at his own joke.

<><><><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! I've also posted this to Ao3, where I'll be cataloguing all of my works for this month! I also have 3 other WIP fics, so if you enjoy my works please go show some love over there or feel free to shoot me an ask!

[tinyinvadr]

New chapter!

Psychoborrower 2

Chapter 14

The only thing left keeping us from turning on the Astralathe was the assortment of thick vines wrapped around it. We couldn’t PSI-Blast through them, and they were too thorny to pull apart. We needed help from a plant expert.

Similarly to the bees, the vines left a trail to follow. They obviously had a source. One that we would surely find at the end of the trail.

Along the way, we crossed paths with Adam, who was in the middle of studying a large carnivorous plant. God, those things freak me out.

“Adam? Is everyone out here? Geez, I thought this place was supposed to be super secure and hidden.”

He chuckled. “Lili sent me to find some plants to help Truman. Though, these ones seem a little too aggressive.”

Just as he said that, the leaves of the plant snapped shut, nearly snatching up his hat.

“What about you? What brings you two out here?”

Once again, we gave a very vague explanation about the Astralathe, and Adam decided to join us on our search, figuring he’d be bound to find a suitable plant if he stuck with us. I felt bad not telling him that Truman was actually awake, but technically I wasn’t even supposed to know about that, so it wasn’t my place to share that information.

Adam examined the vines closer, then snapped his fingers as he came to a conclusion.

“This looks like the work of Bob Zanotto!”

Bob was the final member of the Psychic Six. Master of Herbaphony, uncle of Truman, and husband of Helmut Fullbear.

Raz paused, confused. “But Lili told me he got fired years ago. What would he still be doing here?”

“I’m not sure. My guess is he wanted to stay close to his plants due to his psychic connection with them. I know he had a greenhouse out here somewhere. I bet that’s where these vines came from.”

Sure enough, at the end of the path, we found the greenhouse. Inside was an intoxicated and disheveled-looking Bob, tending to a plant.

“Agent Zanotto-”

One of the vines threw an empty bottle, nearly missing us.

“Hey! That almost hit us!”

“Well, it was your choice to come in here.”

Adam stepped forward, attempting to address him again.

“We’re interns from the Motherlobe. I’m Adam, and this is Raz and Flint. We need your help with a few things. The Astralathe is covered in vines, and Truman-”

Bob suddenly commanded the vines to grab us and throw us out of the greenhouse.

“I don’t wanna hear about him anymore, you hear me?!”

Before we could argue any further, the vines slammed the door in our faces.

“Great. Now what do we do?”

My question was answered only a moment later as the vine, now calm, quietly pulled the door back open and beckoned us inside.

We reluctantly stepped back into the greenhouse, and the vine made no moves to attack us. Once again, Adam studied the plants.

“Hmm… I remember reading about this. You’re acting on Bob’s subconscious, aren’t you?”

The vine waved itself up and down, as if nodding.

“Which means… deep down, he wants help.”

The vine nodded again.

Raz showed it the psycho-portal.

“Do you think he’d mind if we checked in on him?”

The vine shook its head, then snatched the portal, placing it on Bob’s head and then turning him around for us. The three of us then astral projected into his mind

His mental world was a little island in the middle of the ocean. On it were three large flower pots, and we found Bob trying to tend to a desolate, lifeless garden.

“Strange… I don’t normally get visitors. It’s usually just me and my garden.”

I quickly scanned the dirt in the flower pots. The closest thing to plants I could see were a few dead-looking twigs.

“Uh, no offense, but this doesn’t look like much of a garden. Where are all the plants? Don’t you have any seeds?”

He sighed. “I lost those a long time ago. They’re scattered somewhere across the sea, but I’m not a good swimmer.”

Raz let out a nervous laugh. “Neither am I.”

There had to be some way for us to reach the other islands without swimming. The answer came to us in the form of the psycho-portal door.

For some reason, a manifestation of the door remained in Bob’s mind, and we were able to knock it over and use it as a raft, allowing us to travel across the water.

We asked Bob if he wanted to join us, but he seemed hesitant about getting on the raft. We promised we wouldn’t be gone for long, and headed off, following a trail of flower petals in the water until we reached another island.

The most notable feature was a large pink bottle, so we pulled the cork out and headed inside to investigate. The bottle led us into a kitchen, and at the end of it was a pink refrigerator that functioned as a doorway into a swamp. It was there that we found out first seed. And… a moth.

“Aww, it’s a moth! Hi mothy!”

“Huh? Oh, hi kid. What are you doing here?”

“Just getting some seeds for Bob’s garden.”

“What?! Oh no, you don’t wanna do that. Do you have any idea how dangerous those things are?”

The Moth took flight, taking the seed with it. We chased it down across the swamp, getting some help from belching bulbs that looked like Bob. Eventually, we followed the Moth into a ruined greenhouse belonging to Tia Zanotto, Bob’s mother.

There was a dark pit on the other side with a drain at the bottom, and the Moth dropped the seed down into it. We levitated down, entering a cavern illuminated by glowing bottles of liquor, pouring out their contents like waterfalls.

“Stay away from there! You’ll just put him in a bad mood.”

The aforementioned Bad Mood appeared. They have incredibly strong defenses, and cannot be attacked directly. Thankfully, Adam had experience dealing with them.

They key was to use Clairvoyance on the Bad Mood in order to see its source. Destroying the source calms the mood down, which makes it disappear.

Continuing on, we found another room in the greenhouse, though this one was almost completely flooded with liquor. At the far end, we found a coffin with a wooden replica of Tia inside.

The implication that she died of alcohol poisoning was very worrying considering the state we found Bob in. It seemed he had adopted her unhealthy coping mechanism.

After sifting through several empty bottles, the vines found the seed and gave it to us, and we returned to Bob’s island to plant it.

It only took a few minutes for the seed to sprout, growing into a pink rose that looked like Tia.

Bob was wary of the idea of planting more seeds, but we assured him that this would ultimately help him process his painful memories.

The next bottle we found led us to a shipwreck. Once again, the Moth showed up and took the seed before we could get it. It was aggravating, and even I had to admit it. Real moths are way cuter, anyway.

When we went inside the ship, the interior looked exactly like the Motherlobe, only flooded. After taking down another Bad Mood, we followed the Moth into the flooded depths of HQ. We took a Bob Bulb along with us so his belches would make an air bubble for us. It smelled really bad, but it was better than drowning.

We eventually made it to Truman’s office, and we found the seed at his desk. Like with Tia, there was a wooden Truman at the desk, and he looked like he was in the middle of shouting at someone. This had to be a memory of when Bob got fired.

The second seed sprouted into a plant that looked like Truman after we planted it. Bob seemed to be a bit more at ease with us continuing our search for seeds, seeing as nothing bad happened with the garden.

A third bottle surfaced, and we almost could’ve gotten the seed and left right away if Raz hadn’t provoked the Moth, but I couldn’t be too mad at him. The world within this bottle was a massive wedding cake, and damnit, I was gonna eat the walls!

We traversed through the cake until we finally found the seed at Bob and Helmut’s wedding ceremony. A wooden Helmut stood in front of the Feel Mobile, holding his hands out. This was the only happy memory we’d come across, but it was bittersweet knowing what happened in Grulovia. For all Bob knew, the love of his life was dead.

Recovering the three seeds pieced the story together, and it was heartbreaking. He was so distraught after losing Helmut that he fell into alcoholism. He became so dependent on it that Truman had to fire him, since he wasn’t in the right headspace to continue working with the Psychonauts.

Shortly after planting the final seed, the Helmut plant started to grow out of control, with the Tia and Truman plants doing the same. The Moth arrived, hovering in front of the monstrous plants.

“I tried to warn you, but did you listen to me? No. Now I need to protect Bob. AGAIN.”

It circled him, spinning a cocoon around him and guarding it as the plants began to attack. The skies darkened, and the sea became a whirlpool. Before we could do anything, the plants knocked us back. Luckily for us, we landed on the psycho-portal.

Adam deflected the plants’ projectiles with his yo-yo while Raz and I fired rapidly at them. We were able to temporarily knock them out, and Raz and I took that opportunity to break open Bob’s cocoon. His emotional distress unleashed a Bad Mood and a wide variety of negative thoughts. We were able to fight them off, but the Moth just knocked us back onto the raft.

Even after defeating the Bad Mood, Bob was fully willing to stay in the cocoon. We needed to get the plants under control. Raz decided to change tactics, and called out to the Helmut plant.

“Hey! Why are you doing this? I thought you loved Bob!”

“Ha! I don’t really love him!”

At that, Bob broke out of his cocoon.

“Helmut would never say that!”

The Moth grabbed onto him, dragging him away by force.

“It’s not safe here! Come with me. You won’t feel this at all.”

The three of us combined our power to take the plants down before the Moth could take him away, and soon, he regained control. The plants shrank back down, and the Moth became a mask, which Bob tossed aside.

“Thanks for your help, kids. I think I can handle this garden myself now.”

I looked out at the ocean and saw more seeds floating on the surface of the water. Those first three seeds were only the beginning on Bob’s road to recovery.

“Oh, don’t worry about those. I’ll just take them one at a time.”

We returned to the physical world, and Bob agreed to help us with the Astralathe. The four of us headed to the Heptadome, and shortly after we got there, Helmut showed up.

“What happened to your beard, Bobby? Are those gardening tools?”

Both Bob and Adam looked thoroughly confused. Raz and I kept quiet, though, thinking it might be better for Helmut to explain for himself.

“Bobby, it’s me. Your PSI King. My body’s still in Grulovia, so I’m borrowing this one. These kids found my brain earlier and helped me get back to my senses.”

Bob smiled. “They just helped me get back to mine, too. Oh, Helmut, I never thought I’d see you again! I mean… I’m not seeing YOU, but… you’re back.”

“Heh… Can’t get rid of me that easily. Now, come on, we’ve gotta do something about that beard. It’s a mess!”

The two of them walked off, seemingly forgetting about the vines. But as they left, the vines retracted, Bob’s link with them continuing even from a distance.

For a full minute, Adam stood there in shock.

“Wait, so… Helmut Fullbear is back? And his brain is in Nick Johnsmith’s body? This is huge! Does anyone else know?”

“Just Morris and Gisu. They’ve been brainstorming interview questions for K.L.O.B.”

“In that case, I’d better go fill them in! Who knows? Maybe l can convince them to interview you guys too! I can tell this is gonna be in the history books someday!”

Brimming with excitement, Adam rushed back to the Motherlobe, and Raz and I were alone once again.

“Okay… This is it, Flint. We’re gonna fix everything. You ready?”

I don’t think either of us were ready for what we were about to face. But we had to. For the sakes of both our families, we had to set things right.

“Nope. Let’s do it.”

[thedocs-in]

Military School Pt.1

Sorry this took so long to get out, a self-indulgent Cecilxreader fic that I started to write took over my life for a couple on months. And then school started.

But I wrote this about two years ago, and I only meant for it to be shared with people on this Cecil server I was in. But, considering its gone now, I figured why not. And Cecil is supposed to be like, 14 or 15 in this.

This is part one of a three part story. The second part should be up possibly by the end of the week. Gotta make some edits to it first.

Plot: Cecil gets into a fight that nearly gets him expelled from high school, and almost gets sent to military school.

Link to Pt.2

TW: blood, injuries, and mentions of violence and sexual harassment (very briefly on that second one)

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

Sitting there in an uncomfortable chair, Cecil leaned forward. His elbows resting on his knees and a bloody rag pressed against his nose. Though, given the fact that his shirt was already covered in his own blood, the rag was pretty much useless. Craning his neck, he looked at the senior who sat across from him. The senior he’s labeled ‘Jackass’ looked like shit, his shirt stained with blood. The skin around his nose and one of his eyes starting to turn purple.

The senior pressed a bloodied rag into his face, as his lip had been busted and his nose broken. Two of the seniors’ fingers were in a makeshift splint; and while he had heard something pop, he wasn’t sure if they were broken or just dislocated.

But it didn’t matter; he was still screwed regardless. Up until this point he had gotten away with getting into fights with assholes or bullies. Middle school kids were too embarrassed that they got their ass kicked. Sure, there were times when someone would snitch, and he’d get in trouble. But most of the time he’d get a warning or detention, considering the other kids never got hurt enough to warrant suspension, or worse, expulsion. But high schoolers were different, you fight back, hurt their ego, and they’ll find a way to make your life miserable; especially if they had been on top of the food chain.

But here he was, sitting outside the principal’s office contemplating everything that went wrong, how he let his temper get the better of him.

Craning his head up, he got a better look at the ‘jackass’ sitting across from him. And he was met with a glare that could melt steel. Lowering the rag, he checked his nose; thankful that the bleeding finally stopped.

He returned the dirty look to the senior, scrunching his nose in the process. Which only sent a wave of pain through his face, and he was convinced that it was broken. It wasn't the first time it's been broken, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But knowing his dad, a trip to the emergency room wasn’t likely, as his dad would rather just set it at home.

Looking at the floor, he stared at the ugly linoleum. He could see a few stray droplets of blood on the ugly brown linoleum, that was probably outdated when it was put down. And he wondered who had the bright idea to choose brown of all colors.

But his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a shouting match break out behind him. The door to his right muffled the voices, but he quickly straightened up when he heard his dad shouting.

The ‘Jackass’ spoke up, “Sounds like you’re in trouble you little shit.”

He looked at the senior and could see that he had a shit eating grin on his face. But he watched as the smug look turned to regret as blood started to run down his chin, and he moved the rag from his nose to his lip.

“I wouldn’t have kicked your sorry ass if you had just left my friend alone.” He spat back.

He leaned back in the chair and looked up to the stained ceiling, attempting to make sense of what was being said. All he could tell was that it didn’t sound good for him. Occasionally he could make out his dad insulting whoever else was in there.

The shouting quickly died down, and he heard a third voice talking, then footsteps.

On his right, a door quickly opened, and he turned his head to look. Standing in the doorway was short and portly man who looked both terrified and exhausted.

He sighs, “Both of you in my office, now!”

Forcing himself up from the chair, he reluctantly walked through the doorway. Quickly spotting his dad standing across from the ‘jackasses’ father.

His dad quickly looked at him, and ice filled his veins. He could see that his dad was not happy. Catching his eye for a moment, he quickly looked elsewhere as he walked into the office. While he was never scared of his father, for once he was nervous. The fact that this fight had gotten so out of hand made things look worse for him.

As soon as he was within grabbing distance, his dad pulled him close. Quietly seething at him through his teeth, “You are in so much trouble!”

What little color there was in his face left as he rarely saw his dad this angry.

The portly man walks around the room and sits down behind his desk. On top sat a little placard, ‘Principal Owens’.

With a sigh, the principal sat down. “Mr. Stedman, I’m afraid we have a serious situation on our hands here. I don’t take kindly to violence occurring on school grounds, especially when it leads to serious injury. And to be completely honest Mr. Stedman, this isn’t looking good for your son.”

He felt his chest tighten. And while he wanted to defend himself, he bit his tongue right as the ‘jackasses’ father started to yell.

“I want that little bastard expelled and arrested! Look at what he did to my son!” The man spat, gesturing to his son’s injuries.

Principal Owens cuts in with exasperation, “Mr. Lawson please, before any decision is made, I want Mr. Stedmans’ to explain himself.”

Now with everyone’s attention turned towards him, his mouth suddenly went dry, and he had no idea how to explain himself. Where to even begin, and if they would even believe him. Considering it was his word against ‘jackasses’ and his cronies. He had a few friends that could certainly vouch for him, but he didn’t want them involved in this mess.

He could feel his dad’s grip on his shoulder tighten, and in that moment, he was almost too terrified to even look towards his father. Taking a deep breath, knowing that even if he told the truth, he could still be screwed. “He’s been harassing my friend for days. And when I went to talk to him, to tell him to leave her alone, he took a swing at me. I didn’t start the fi-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Lawson lost his grip on his son for a moment as the senior attempted to lunge at him, calling him a liar. Thankfully, his dad quickly put himself in between the two teenagers, and Mr. Lawson pulled his son back.

Principal Owens stood up quickly and slammed his hands onto his desk, “That’s enough! I will not have any more fighting! Especially in my office.” Looking over to Mr. Lawson he said, “Control your son!”

He watched as the ‘jackass’ huffed in anger.

As soon as things started to calm down for a moment the principal looked at him, “Cecil, what do you mean he’s been harassing your friend?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, he began to explain things. “All of this started two weeks ago, when he started to harass my friend. He kept making all sorts of sexual comments towards her, or him and his friends kept harassing her after school. I went to go talk to him, to tell him to knock it off. But all he did was attack me. I didn’t go looking for a fight, but no one else was telling him to stop.”

As the words left his mouth, he could feel the tension growing in the room. But he noticed his dad’s grip loosen a bit.

The principal narrowed his eyes at him, as he leaned back into his chair. “And why didn’t you think to report this to the office? And why hasn’t she come forward?”

What anxiety he felt, was quickly replaced with anger, “I tried, and no one did anything! She tried, but no one would take her seriously. If you really don’t believe me, ask her. Ask the teacher that caught the ‘jackass’ messing with her yesterday.”

He still couldn’t remember his name, though at this point it wasn’t worth trying.

“Young man, I will not tolerate that language in my office or my school.” Owens said. “Which teacher are you talking about?”

He wracked his brain trying to remember who had caught the older student, but his memory was failing him. “I don’t know, I think it might’ve been the P.E. teacher. I wasn’t there, she just told me about all of this, this morning. She said it’s been happening after school for the past two weeks. She said that the teacher saw and stopped it but didn’t do anything else.”

Principal Owens sighed and rubbed his face. And for what felt like minutes, everyone was silent.

His dad cleared his throat, “Principal Owens, I’d like to know what you plan on doing? I agree that what my son did was wrong, but if what he’s saying is true, I hope ‘jacka-’, Mr. Lawson’s son is punished as well.”

Biting his tongue, he had to stop himself from laughing at his dad’s slip-up. Over the past couple of years, many of his teachers had complained about his colorful language. Resulting in a lot of parent teacher conferences, where they quickly learned where he got it from.

But before Principal Owens could respond Mr. Lawson interjected, “Are you kidding me? My son is the victim here, I want the little menace arrested.”

He felt his heart stop for a moment and his dad’s grip tighten again.

“Now hold on.” Principal Owens says. “Before the police get involved, I want to make sure that everyone is telling the truth.”

Mr. Lawson’s face was turning red, “I know for a fact that this isn’t the first time that little bastard has done something like this. Everyone knows he’s done this before.”

“Sir please calm down; I know all too well about Cecil’s previous incidents. I’ve seen his records, but his past incidents have never been like this. And I don’t think the police need to be involved yet.”

He internally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the cops wouldn’t be involved just yet.

Lawson opens his mouth to start again, but Owens stops him, “I think the best course of action, for now, would be suspension for both. I want to see if what Cecil say’s is true. If it ends up being a lie then your son can return to school immediately, if not, then he’ll have to serve out his suspension. And he will be put on academic probation when he returns.”

‘Jackass’ begins to whine, “What?! You can’t do that? I’m needed on the team. I need this to get into college.”

The older Stedman cuts in, “Kid, if you have to rely on to being a football player to get yourself into college, you probably shouldn’t be going. Besides if my son is lying then you have nothing to worry about.”

Both Lawson’s looked at his father, moving their anger from Principal Owens to the older Stedman.

Before either Lawson could say anything, Owens speaks. “Now Mr. Stedman, I cannot let Cecil off with just a warning, he did injure another student. If he’s telling the truth, he’ll have to serve out his suspension, and a few weeks of detention when he comes back. But if your son is lying, I will be forced to expel him.”

His father, now much more levelheaded, spoke. “I understand.”

“Now please, go home. I have an incident report to fill out.”

As he and his dad walked out of the principal’s office, his father spoke to him quietly, “We’ll talk about this when we get home.”

He nodded his head, “Yes sir.”

[teamatsumu]

Temptation

Summary:  After all, he has never been able to say no to her.

Pairing: Ishida Uryuu x Inoue Orihime

Word Count: 3,775

Warnings: Angst, Smut, Adultery, Post canon, swearing., you have been warned!

A/N: This is a murky piece lmao. Problematic content, so don’t come for me. It’s fiction!

The nurse’s foot was tap, tap, tapping on the marble floor, the noise ringing in the quiet of the room. Uryuu was sure it was unintentional, but it didn’t help his concentration at all. He didn't want to reprimand her, though. He wasn't sure he had the energy to. He blinked and pursed his lips, focusing on the file in front of him.

“Everything looks fine to me,” he looked up at the nurse, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Uryuu couldn’t blame her. If he remembered correctly, she was on hour 14 of an 18 hour shift. “And she wants to leave?”

The nurse nodded. “Her attendants are in the waiting room. She already has her bags packed.”

Uryuu hummed and closed the file, holding it up for the nurse to take it from him. “Then discharge her. Write her a follow up for two days from now. Make sure a resident signs off on that. Then she’s good to go.”

The nurse nodded politely before leaving the office, the door shutting softly behind her. Uryuu sighed and leaned back in his chair, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes. It provided little relief to his burning eyelids. He stretched his legs beneath his desk, hoping to abate the building tension in them. Again, it did almost nothing to improve his situation. He knew what he really needed was a good night's sleep.

He wasn't sure he was going to get it, though.

It's not like Uryuu had a lot going on at the hospital. He was a consultant now, not a resident. He could afford to step away and have his juniors run the show for a bit. After years and years of hard work, he was finally at a point in his life where he didn't have to struggle just to keep up with his career. At 30, he was finally qualified enough to take a breather.

Life wasn't that kind to him though. It never had been. Why would it start now? One problem always replaced the next, and this new problem came in the form of wide, brown eyes and a soft little smile.

Dammit. He was thinking of her again. He looked at the clock hanging on the far wall and mentally cursed at himself. Ten minutes. That's how long she had stayed out of his mind. He should be proud. It was a record. But he had wanted to stay strong for longer.

He wondered what she was doing right now. Midday meant Kazui was at school and Ichigo was at work. And she didn't work at the bakery on Wednesdays. So she'd be home. Alone.

Shut the fuck up.

The voice in his head was cruel and sharp, but it was what he needed. He couldn't afford to think of her. Couldn't afford to imagine her home at her lonesome, knowing he could head over right now and be uninterrupted for a few hours, at least. He knew where these thoughts led. Sooner or later, her voice would ring in his ears if he let these images run free in his head. Quiet little whimpers, biting at her rosy lips to keep the noises at bay, looking at him with those big eyes loaded with unshed tears as the pleasure kept building and building…

Fuck.

Uryuu nearly jumped out of his skin when a soft knock on his door sounded in the quiet of the room. He bit the inside of his cheek, scowling at himself for his blasphemous thoughts. He needed to get a grip. He straightened in his chair and put his glasses back on.

"Come in."

And in poked a head of burnt orange hair, the very subject of his crude fantasies just a minute ago.

No.

"Ishida-kun," her voice made his heart squeeze. "Can I come in?"

Of course you can. Have I ever refused you?

"Inoue-san, of course. Please." He stood up in courtesy, watching her open the door just enough to slip in and shut it behind her. Uryuu froze in place.

She was wearing the same skirt as last time.

It had to be intentional. Inoue-san was dense sometimes but she wasn't an idiot. She knew what she was doing. To him. But he had to believe she didn't have a clue, because she was humming and pulling a chair back to sit on, right across his desk.

Shakily, Uryuu sat down as well.

"Are you okay? Did you want something? You usually text before you show up." Or when you want me to come over. When your husband isn't enough for you. When you need me to make your pain better.

She shook her head, giving him a big smile and placing her hands neatly on her lap. "I was just out running some errands. I thought I'd drop by."

Liar. Uryuu knew instantly. There were no errands. It was just him.

He nodded anyway, letting the corners of his lips curl up. "Well, I'm glad you did. You know you're always welcome."

Her eyes held gratitude, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. It made Uryuu stiffen slightly. Had she been nervous? Had she been scared he would turn her away? His hold on the arms of his chair tightened. Did she really believe he would ever do that? Did she think that at any point, he would reject her?

She was all he had.

No. No. He had promised himself. No more. He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't do this to Ichigo. The few times it happened was already one time too many. Surely, he would not be reduced to this again. This was immoral. It was reprehensible. To have an affair, right under her husband and child's nose-

Her smile had wavered, lessened, her eyes boring straight into his. Her hands were no longer still, fingers wringing together in nervousness. The room was silent, the only noise coming from the ticking of the wall clock. The air felt charged. Heavy.

It was like the very walls were holding their breath.

"Why are you really here, Orihime?" His voice was low, as if he was afraid to disrupt the stillness of the space around him.

"You know why." Her voice was a mere whisper, her eyebrows creasing.

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"Because-" He grit his teeth. How could she ask him that? "Because you're married."

She looked down at her hands, her hair falling gently over her face. "That didn't stop you last time."

Uryuu screwed his eyes shut, teeth clenched so hard it made his jaw ache.

"Or the time before that."

He stood up slowly. Every muscle in his body protested the action. He wasn't even tired, yet he felt like he was weighed down by lead. She had stopped talking instantly, but she kept her gaze on her hands, twisting and pulling at her fingers to calm her nerves. He could read her so easily. She was an open book to him.

He walked around the desk until he stood before her, leaning down and placing his hands on the arms of her chair. At this proximity, the scent of her shampoo invaded his nose, making his eyelids flutter. She seemed to dig her chin further into her chest as he drew nearer.

"Look at me."

She didn't. She kept her stare steadily on her lap. Uryuu sighed, defeated. He knew exactly what he was going to do. Every molecule in his body screamed for him to do it. She was here, still and pliant on a chair in his office, offering herself to him, right within his reach. At the end of the day, he was just a man. Weak willed in front of this woman. A slave to his desires.

There was nothing he desired more than her.

He leaned his head down and nudged his forehead gently with hers. He felt her intake of breath as her head lifted up just marginally. Tilting his face, he slotted his lips with hers.

It was intense and hard from the very start. There was no room for soft, passionate love when their time together was already so limited and riddled with guilt and sin. As much as Uryuu would like to go slow, he couldn’t. One look at her was enough to drive him insane. Here she sat, before him, ready for the taking. In a couple of hours from now, she would be home again. With the man she shared a last name with. A last name he would never acknowledge. To him, she was still Inoue-san.

There was no going slow. Uryuu was desperate.

His hand came up to cup the side of her head, pushing his lips harder against hers, eliciting the first little whimper from her throat. His tongue invaded her mouth immediately, feeling her own tentative movements. It nearly made him chuckle. She came to him, practically begging with unsaid words for him to fuck her. And yet, now she was the one being hesitant.

It just wouldn’t do.

He gripped both her arms tightly and hauled her up until she was on her feet, arms winding around her waist tightly and pulling her body flush against his. He knew she liked that, and he was validated by the sigh that escaped her lips. He swallowed the sound hungrily, feeling his core stir as every part of her body pressed and pulled along with his. Her hands had fisted the white lab coat he adorned, and it made him realize they were wearing too many clothes.

His heart ached again. They didn’t have time.

Their lips broke free for air, and Uryuu immediately descended to the soft, unmarked expanse of her neck. She was pliant and warm, the smell of morning dew and fresh, flowery detergent. Her hands, gentle as always, carded through his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp and sending a violent shiver down his spine. He nibbled at the skin just under her ear, knowing she could hide it with her hair. Her sounds became louder.

He was already undoing the buttons on her shirt, eager to feel more skin. He could feel himself hard and throbbing in anticipation, grinding into her hips for some form of relief. Once her shirt was pushed down her shoulders, he abandoned the kisses on her neck to lean back and look at her, and he wasn’t disappointed.

Her skin had flushed a beautiful rosy pink from her cheeks down to her neck. Her lips were swollen and red, her neck carrying a slight sheen from his treatment earlier. He cupped her breasts, hearing her keen at the contact, eyes fluttering shut. Fuck.

He pulled down the cups of her bra immediately, mouth descending on his right nipple to suck it into his mouth. The reaction was instant, back arching as she gasped, head thrown back. It lit a fire inside Uryuu that he hadn’t felt in a long time. This moment right here. This was the reason he still allowed himself to sin. It was shameful, yes. It was heinous. But when he had her trapped in his arms, tasting her flesh and hearing her pretty little sounds flood his ears, he couldn’t blame himself at all. She was the worst temptation. And he would always give in.

“Ishida-kun…” It was breathy and desperate. Uryuu could feel her fidget and rub her thighs together, begging for relief. He would give it to her. He would make sure she never craved anyone but him ever again.

It was times like these that Uryuu barely recognized himself.

His mouth left her nipple with a soft pop, straightening his back and peering down at the wanton expression on her face.

“What do you want, Orihime?” The same question. This time, with an entirely different undertone.

“You. All of you.” Her nails dug into his waist. She was staring at his lips. Uryuu couldn’t help his little smirk.

He turned her around and pushed between her shoulder blades until her front pressed into his office desk, her ass in the air. He didn’t leave her wanting for his touch however, leaning over to put his weight on her until she sighed. His lips brushed the shell of her ear.

“You dirty girl,” he whispered, hand running under her skirt and skimming up her thigh until he reached the apex. God, she was soaked. And it was all because of him. This time, he huffed out a small laugh. “Walking all the way here and giving yourself to me like this. Do you want me that badly?”

She pushed against his fingers, trying to make him rub her where she needed it the most. “Yes.” Her voice was small, and it sounded almost ashamed. But Uryuu knew better. She wasn’t ashamed. She was desperate. His cock twitched.

He slid his hand up further until he felt the waistband of her panties, tugging them down the swell of her ass and off her thighs. They hit the floor around her feet with a soft plop. The next second, his fingertips were brushing at her burning center, not wasting a second before he pushed two fingers into her down to the knuckles.

She gasped and moaned loudly. Uryuu brought his left hand up to her mouth, to clamp it shut, nudging his nose against her cheek.

“Do you want to get caught?” He asked. She shook her head slightly, hips twitching and walls clenching around him. He curled his fingers, watching her eyes roll up into her head. Tears coated her eyelids, not yet falling, but no worries. He’d have her crying in the next ten minutes or so.

Her quiet whimpers were drowned out by the sound of the filthy squelch Uryuu’s fingers made as he moved them in and out of her, spreading them apart to open her up. Not that he needed to do much. He’d fucked her just last week. She would’ve been fine even without the prep. But he couldn’t stop right then. He was too engrossed in watching her face, the tiny shifts in muscle at every movement he made. He could feel the palm of his hand get wet where it held her mouth shut. He pressed his crotch hard against her ass. She looked….. divine.

How ironic, considering what they were doing.

She gasped when his fingers left her abruptly, mouth free from his grip so she could take big, heaving breaths. The sound of his belt clinking and zipper pulling down had her stilling in anticipation. Uryuu lifted up her skirt, sighing at the sight. He ran a gentle finger up her skin, feeling the shiver that ran down her back. He lined himself up to her before leaning down, elbows resting on either side of her head. Her cheek was pressed to the desk, eyes looking up at him. Her expression was relaxed. She knew she was about to get what she wanted.

She gave him the tiniest smile when their eyes met. Uryuu pushed forward.

The relief was instant for both of them, moaning in unison. Uryuu felt his face scrunch up at the tight grip around him. Warm and hot and twitching. He didn’t stop until he had sunk all the way in, letting out a long, shuddering breath.

“How are you already this tight?” His voice sounded strangled. He heard her giggle and blinked his eyes open, watching the rose flush of her cheeks. Her hair was a mess, sprawled over the desk around her head like a halo. It made him smile too, bending his head forward to brush his lips against her temple. She sighed in contentment.

"Feeling better?" He joked, making her laugh more openly now. His tongue darted out to lick at her bottom lip. She hummed.

"Much."

He pulled out slowly before surging forward again, his skin meeting hers with a wet slap. Her smile disappeared.

"Uryuu…" God. Not his name. Not like this, unhindered, cracked and yearning. Uryuu groaned and started moving in earnest, unable to hold himself back any longer. He leaned his chest against her back and grabbed a tight hold on her hips, thrusting harder into her.

Uryuu’s head was swimming. He could no longer think straight.

Her voice gained a higher pitch, back arching at an angle that made him hit deeper into her. She clenched around him just right, making his rhythm stutter. He growled like a man possessed, hips smacking harshly between her thighs at a pace she simply couldn't keep up with. Her hands scrambled for purchase over the desk, gripping at the edges above her head for stability. Each deep thrust of his cock punched a mewl from her throat that she desperately tried to keep quiet, her cunt clenching down on him in a way that made him dizzyingly close to cumming.

No. Not yet. Not so soon. She'll go away if you do. She'll leave.

His thoughts were broken and muddled as they screamed at him. He wanted to listen to them so badly, but the delicious rub of her walls made it almost impossible to. In his hazy state, he realized she was stiffening up even more, tears streaking down her cheeks and hips jerking with every slam of his cock deep inside her. He felt a sick satisfaction wash over him.

"You gonna cum for me?” He growled in her ear, fist in her hair dragging her head around to look at him again. Nose to nose, eyes boring straight into hers, he saw her and all the need that overflowed within her, felt it in the way he split her open. His eyes were hooded and his sweating forehead pressed into hers to keep her eyes on him. "You love this don't you? Taking me like this and then going home, still sore from the feeling of my cock. I bet you think of me when he looks at you. I bet you wish it was me you were going home to."

He couldn’t believe the words leaving his mouth.

She almost sobbed as her hips twisted without rhythm, but it didn't matter. The plow of Uryuu's hips kept hers pinned to the desk, kept her from losing his pace, and that’s just how both of them liked it. “A-Ah, U-uryuu, y-yes--”

Uryuu's hand reached under her legs, finding her clit to rub harsh circles into. She mewled, forehead banging into the desk hard before every muscle in her body seized up.

"Cum," Uryuu could barely recognize his voice. "I can fucking feel it, baby. Cum, for me, c’mon, cum--" He tugged her head back, nerves firing across her scalp and making her eyes roll. The slick sound of her pussy was growing louder and wetter. He continued to fuck into her even when she clenched so tight it felt like he couldn’t possibly thrust back inside, feeling her ride her high. His pace didn't falter and his fingers didn't halt, dragging out her orgasm until she was mumbling incoherently into the wood of the desk, crying and trying to move away from his insistent fingers.

Uryuu shuddered against her and grunted. He pressed deep into her body and stopped, panting harshly. He rasped out a groan, long and low, against her sweating neck , hips stuttering, fingers massaging hard at her ass and thigh as he swirled his hips into the tight squeeze of her insides. Hot jets of his cum filled her, squelching louder now with each of his shaky thrusts. With every flex of his cock he panted, moaning at the end of each one while he pinned her down with all the weight of him and twitched his hips forward as deep as he could get, knowing she would have bruises due to the unforgiving edges of the desk.

Both of them stayed that way for what felt like hours, panting and writhing as the desk under them groaned harshly. He wedged an arm under her head, feeling her sweaty face press into the give of his muscle.

"Are you okay?" His voice was raspy.

She hummed and didn't say much more, nodding slightly and shifting her hips. He cursed softly into her shoulder blade, finally pulling out of her with a wet squelch that made his ears burn. He straightened up, feeling his back protest the action. Her skirt was pushed all the way up to her waist and he watched, mesmerized, as his cum dripped down the inside of her thighs.

"Ishida-kun," His gaze snapped up to hers, eyeing the deep red color on the apples of her cheeks. She was pouting a little, clearly embarrassed. "Don't- don't look."

Uryuu couldn't help the little laugh that escaped him, leaning down again to pepper small kisses all over her hot face, wrapping both his arms around her waist until her body felt like it was one with him.

"You are so cute, Inoue-san." He inhaled her wonderful, after-sex smell as he pulled her up straight. "I wish I could-"

He stopped.

The air in the room shifted immediately, and Uryuu knew he had just burst the little bubble they had created. He regretted it with every fiber of his being, because she was already going rigid again, arms twisting in his hold a bit. He knew what this meant. He knew what would happen now.

Somehow, despite doing this many times now, the ache didn’t seem to numb at all. In fact, it got worse.

He helped her clean up and dress herself, not meeting her eyes as he did the same. His mind was clearing again, as it always did after every such encounter. Now would come the regret and the longing, and the harsh internal lecture about how this was the last time, and that he would never do it again.

It was all delusion, of course. He knew that. As she gave him one last sweet kiss and told him she'd see him soon, he knew there was no way that this was the last time. They would see each other again in a few days, when either he cracked or she did, either here, at her own house, or the quaint little apartment Uryuu lived in, and they'd play the same game all over again. He would let himself be consumed by her. She would let him taint her body. He would fall asleep alone and exhausted. She would go home to her family and pretend she hadn’t seen him since high school. Rinse and repeat.

After all, he had never been able to say no to her.

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

Let me know what you think! Requests are open.

[kiljoius-writes]

Uprooted - Chapter 1

Ao3 | FFN

Next Chapter

Chapter 1: Jump Up, Heart Sunk

Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha/Hinata Hyūga

Summary: All Hinata really knows is that she’s not quite fond of Fugaku's son. Her eyes land on Itachi, who is standing between the two men. No, not that son.

The other one. The one who is awkwardly sidled up in the opposing corner of the room. He’s always so aloof, as if he’s too good for everyone else around him. He just wasn’t the type of person she could find it in herself to respect.

Sasuke was no friend.

For the SasuHina discord server challenge: Arranged Marriage AU

Word Count: 4.4k

Rating: T

~

Today, Hinata is 20.

It’s not the lavish birthday bash that Hanabi is destined to have, but it’s still quite a nice party.

“’Ey Hinata.” Kiba swings around her front, almost losing his balance. Hinata automatically grabs at him to keep him steady and he flashes her a toothy smile. “Think your cousin over there’d be interested in me?”

Hinata looks over her shoulder to find whom she recognizes as Hikari, a branch member with beautifully long, dark green hair. She looks back at Kiba and lowers her eyes at him disapprovingly. “Is my celebration a good time to pick up on women, Kiba?”

“Ah, c’mon—”

"She is right." Shino approaches him from behind, causing Kiba to instinctively throw his fist backward. Shino's quicker and knows Kiba well enough to catch it in his hand before it lands a hit. When he sees who it is, he lets out a groan of frustration. Shino releases the fist and pushes his glasses back up his nose. "It is what some might call 'inappropriate’.”

Hinata’s always found Kiba and Shino’s interactions to be some of the funniest.

“You guys are boring,” Kiba huffs childishly, folding his arms, “never let a guy have any fun.”

The group naturally settles in a corner of the grand hall they’re partying in. Even though it’s Hinata’s birthday celebration, it’s really just a façade for clan politics to take place. She doesn’t care much, it’s not like she really wants a party anyway. But, as always, father gets what father wants.

“You guys know why I’m single?” Kiba interjects, bringing a glass of sake to his lips to throw down his throat. He shudders and coughs slightly before setting it on the table next to them. “Women are intimidated.”

“Intimidated?” Shino questions quietly, and Hinata knows he’s blinking in disbelief behind those sunglasses. She smiles as she looks back at Kiba.

“Yep, by my power.” He thumbs towards his own chest, then swipes at his nose. “Guess I gotta tone it down a little.”

“Yes, please,” Hinata teases him gently and he glares at her, but she knows it isn’t serious. “No glaring. I don’t want you scaring the pretty ladies away with your power.”

"Ah!" Kiba barks a laugh, patting her roughly on the shoulder. She stumbles a bit but rights herself easily. "And what about you, Hina? You single cause all the men are intimidated by that crackling force in those palms?"

Hinata blushes at the over-the-top compliment, shaking her head. “No, I am single because I want to be.”

“Sure ya do.” He rolls his eyes, and her smile quickly fades to a frown.

“What do you mean by that?” she nearly snaps, but it comes out even and controlled.

“He means nothing by it.” Shino’s tone is warning and Kiba recoils from it. Hinata’s smile returns as she turns to lean against the wall with them.

The three quietly observe the crowd before them. It’s a typical Hyūga event, with Hyūga servants bustling around haughty clan leaders and politicians. She catches a glimpse of her little sister with her ear being talked off by one of those haughty clan leaders or politicians' sons. She feels bad for Hanabi, always expected to entertain whatever noble's son decides deserves to command her attention. But she plays the part quite beautifully, now. Just a few years ago, her byakugan would flash on and off as she internally debated whether to close any chakra points. Now, she's 14 and has fallen into her role well.

Then her eyes bounce to a man who matches her father in height as they speak, Fugaku Uchiha. It’s typical for the Uchiha to be here, the clans visit a few times a year, and an event like this is a perfect opportunity to ‘chat’. Hinata didn't like to concern herself with whatever that meant, it wasn't her place. Besides, she didn't really want to know, anyway. All she really knows is that there is both understanding and animosity between the clans, and that’s enough for her.

She also knows she’s not quite fond of his son. Her eyes land on Itachi, who is standing between the two men. No, not that son. The other one.

The one who is awkwardly sidled up in the opposing corner of the room, drink in hand, other arm folded over his chest, by himself. Hinata squints at him. He's always so aloof as if he's too good for everyone else around him. They'd been around each other plenty, and it was never particularly pleasant. At best, awkward silence filled the space between them. At worst, he was making snide remarks toward her and she would do her best not to let him know how little she thought of him.

He just wasn’t the type of person she could find it in herself to respect. People like Kiba, Shino, Naruto, Chōji, Tenten, Lee. Those were people she could respect. People who were kind without the expectation of anything in return. People who lifted others up, no matter what. People whom she thought of as friends.

Sasuke was no friend.

So, when his eyes cast up and lock with hers, almost immediately, she frowns and turns away. Kiba picks up on it and looks where she had been. She peers up from the corner of her eye to catch Kiba giving a mocking wave towards the Uchiha, then his hand flips around and his middle finger is up. She almost gasps and tells him to ‘put that away right now!’ but just as her eyes find Sasuke again, he’s glaring his mean glare back and his middle finger is up, too.

She almost laughs. Then Sasuke puts down his drink and raises his hands in front of his chest, flopping them around and sticking out his tongue like a dog panting. He’s mocking Kiba and it can go nowhere good.

It takes both Hinata and Shino grabbing both of Kiba’s arms to keep him from stomping up Sasuke. Both of them know Kiba’s no match for him, and to pick a fight at a Hyūga event would be disastrous for all involved.

“Fucking asshole,” Kiba seethes, yanking his arms out of his respective teammates' grasps as his temper cools, slightly.

Hinata breathes a sigh, reaching out to wipe at his jacket. “Control yourself, Kiba. Remember, that power.”

A laugh leaves him and that’s what gets him back to normal. His hand roughs through her hair and she swats at it.

“He’s approaching,” Shino informs them in a whisper, and Hinata whirls around to find that Sasuke is indeed strolling over to them.

It always has to be something, doesn’t it?

“Tell me, Inuzuka,” Sasuke says loftily as he approaches, his stride lazy as he carries his drink in an equally lazy way, “do all the members of the clan smell like dog, or is it just you?”

Hinata lets out a tired breath as Kiba’s face turns red enough to match the markings on his cheeks. “The hell crawled up your ass and died, Uchiha?”

“This sad celebration,” he deadpans and Hinata squints up at him.

“Can we help you, Sasuke?” she asks, hoping to redirect him away from her dear friend who is ready to explode.

Kiba’s resolve is admirable right now, though, she must admit.

"Yeah, I guess you could." He turns his attention to her, and she slowly takes a step back. She's pleased when his footsteps match hers to follow, and she continues luring him away as if he's her prey. He holds out his arm towards her and she looks at it questioningly. He points at a spot in his bicep that she recognizes as where a chakra point lies, and he taps it. "Close this one, then, hopefully, I'll black out and escape this terribly boring party."

Hinata sighs. She expects nothing less of bratty Sasuke. “Very funny, Sasuke. If you are so terribly bored, why don’t you simply…leave?”

Sasuke smirks down at her and she glares at it. “Don’t you think I would have—a long time ago—if I could?” She presses her lips together, unwilling to answer that. “No, the best I can do is entertain myself somehow. Your dog teammate is an easy target, and that’s his fault, not mine.”

Hinata finds that she can’t argue that point with him. Kiba’s always been too hot-headed for his own good. He is an easy target. But she won’t simply stand by and let Sasuke of all people bully him in her own home. So she darts her eyes around for a brief moment before they land on a main family member she knows for a fact is smitten with Sasuke, despite how Hinata has lamented her distaste for the boy. She smiles as she taps her on the shoulder. “Emiko?”

The girl whirls around to meet Hinata, then her eyes falter to Sasuke, and a deep blush takes over her cheekbones. She bows. “Oh, Hinata! And Sasuke! Hello!”

“How long has it been since you two have been acquainted?” Hinata questions in mock innocence, slowly taking a step back. “Emiko, Sasuke has been interested in finding the perfect sugar cookie recipe. Perhaps you may enlighten him?”

“Oh, really?” Emiko brightens up, stars in her eyes as they settle on Sasuke, who has a deep grimace on his face.

It suits him, she thinks. He rarely looks genuinely happy anyway, she thinks his face is frozen into a grimace often enough that it’s the default look of Sasuke Uchiha.

Another step back and his dark black eyes flash over hers, filled with irritation. “Not exactl—”

Hinata cups her mouth, and whispers to him, "her secret ingredient is cayenne."

This makes his grimace grow and she steps back again, Emiko set down the path Hinata had planned for her, and now she’s returning to her team.

“That—” Kiba points at Sasuke and Emiko, then looks back at Hinata. “That was devious.”

“Diabolical, even,” Shino agrees, tilting his head down at her.

She smiles, proudly. These are not insults from Kiba and Shino. They are compliments.

“Why, thank you.”

-

Nearly a week after her celebration (read: political meet and greet), Kō finds her while she’s shopping to summon her. She tilts her head curiously at her former caretaker. It had been a while since he's had to come to collect her for one reason or another, and she's actually interested to see what it could be for.

Nothing could prepare her for what she was about to be told when she was led to the Uchiha district.

“E-Excuse me?”

When Hinata lost to her sister in the bid for the heiress of her clan over 10 years ago, she never expected this.

“What she said.”

Hiashi and Fugaku shared a look briefly before looking back at their respective children.

“Do not act so surprised, Sasuke.” Fugaku waves a hand. “This is the way forward for our two clans.”

“But—” Hinata’s lips thin to a harsh line when her father’s eyes shoot into her like an arrow. The elder doesn’t have to say much to quiet his eldest.

But Fugaku isn’t as lucky as Hiashi, it seems. “This is ridiculous.” Sasuke pushes his palms onto the table before him, shoving his chair back. He begins walking away, and it’s Hiashi’s voice that recalls him. Hinata keeps her head forward, watching her father’s icy gaze bore into Sasuke’s back. “What is it, Lord Hyūga?”

“I would not be so eager to attempt refusing this proposal.”

Hinata’s teeth clench.

Marriage.

An arranged marriage.

“And what if I do?” Sasuke dares, and Hinata turns to find him looking over his shoulder, eyes squinted in a scowl at her father.

“It’s not up to you, boy,” Fugaku adds, and Hinata looks back at him. She can see him sucking his cheek in, something she’s noticed Sasuke do before, too.

Her head turns back to Sasuke when she hears him chuckle sarcastically. “What are you gonna do? Oust me from the clan? Go ahead, not like it matters to me anyway.”

Back to Fugaku. “No. I’ll simply have Lady Hokage revoke your title as jōnin.”

“Yeah, right, Tsunade would never—”

“Don’t test me.”

Hinata inhales through her mouth, exhales through her nose. She’s never been comfortable with tension, but she can at least deal with it if it’s between her and another. This tension is a whole new level of uncomfortable.

Now she’s turned back to Sasuke again, and she watches his head hang, fists ball up. Her own fists are curled into the fabric of her pants, too, her entire body feeling as tight as his looks.

“And what about you, Hyūga?” Her eyes find his when he looks back at her, eyebrows low. Her throat feels dry as she attempts some sort of response.

“Seems Hinata has more respect for her family than you do, Sasuke,” Fugaku responds on behalf of her.

Whether that was true or not is debatable. Hinata doesn’t have strong feelings one way or the other towards being ousted by her clan or losing her title of jōnin. No, the one thing her father does hold over her is the caged bird seal. She’s unsure of whether she’s willing to risk receiving it by defying him.

“Typical,” Sasuke mutters curtly, and he’s moving away now, concluding the heated interaction.

Slowly, Hinata turns back to the two men before her, two men who have always intimidated her for different reasons. Both of their eyes set on her simultaneously, and she’s surprised to see Fugaku’s mouth turn into a taut smile. “He’ll come around.”

“If I may…” Hinata ventures a question, trying to sit up as straight as possible and hold her head high. “What brings this on…now?”

Hiashi shoots her a warning look and she wills herself not to recoil from it. Fugaku speaks for them, “a contract signed long ago, around the time your title of the heiress was relinquished to your younger sister. With your 20th birthday passing, it comes into effect.”

Hinata swallows and nods. Her fate had never been her own, anyway.

-

Hanabi swings her legs as Hinata complains.

She’s been complaining for nearly an hour straight.

Hanabi inhales through the straw of her iced tea until that horrible sucking noise starts bubbling and Hinata stops to glare at her.

“I’m out,” Hanabi sighs, crushing the paper cup between her fingers.

Hinata’s glare deepens. “Have you no sympathy, sister?”

"Kinda hard." Hanabi shrugs, pulling the straw from the cup to put in her mouth, chewing. Hinata instinctively reaches out to pull it from her and Hanabi huffs, annoyed. "Elder sister! Look, it sucks, and I do feel bad. But, arranged marriages are fashionable right now, and lots of clans are doing it. And you know I’m in the same boat, right? Father’s gonna marry me off when I turn 20, too, and I have to be clan leader.”

Hinata softens. She hadn’t quite thought of that in the time she’d been ranting.

“At least he’s hot, right?” Hanabi wiggles an eyebrow and Hinata’s sympathy fizzles out, lips pulling into a purposeful frown. “What! It’s true. You know how many girls would be falling over themselves to be in your position?”

Hinata wants to make a snarky remark, as Kiba might make but restrains herself. "Looks are not enough for me, unfortunately."

Hanabi shrugs, swiping the straw out of Hinata’s hands. Hinata lets out an annoyed grunt and tries to grab it back, and soon they’re in a petty slapping fight over this stupid straw.

“Sisters shouldn’t fight,” a lazy voice drawls near them, a voice she’s becoming far too familiar with once more. Hinata lets go of the straw out of reflex, feeling a little ashamed that Sasuke’s stumbled on her in the middle of a squabble with her sister.

“Heyyyy Uchiha.” Hanabi chomps down on the straw and kicks her feet up on the table outside of the café they were enjoying tea at (enjoying being subjective, of course).

Hinata watches as Sasuke nonchalantly plucks the straw from her mouth, then grabs at her ankles to pull her feet off the table. Hanabi whines. “Don’t you have manners, little Hyūga?”

“Hey!” Hanabi huffs, folding her arms in a pout as Sasuke pulls up the chair between them.

“He’s—” Hinata catches herself. She was about to point out that Sasuke was correct in his assessment that she was being rude but can’t bring herself to say it aloud. At this point, his ego is the last thing she wants to encourage.

“Scram, brat.” Sasuke nudges his head to the side, and Hanabi laughs, loudly.

“Think you can talk to an heiress like that?” Hanabi quirks an eyebrow, daring him.

“Thought you didn’t like that title, Lady Hanabi.” There’s no humor on Sasuke’s face as he says it.

“Don’t be jealous,” Hanabi berates, leans forward, and wags a finger in his face, "'cause you're just the runner-up in your own clan. Runner up in inheritance, runner up in looks, runner up in power—"

“Hanabi!” Even Hinata can’t stand to listen to this any longer, because she sees Sasuke’s eye twitch, and it’s one of the few times she witnesses it. Her sister is one of the few people that can bring a rise out of him, and she doesn’t care to have it happen right here and now.

“Fine, fine.” Hanabi heaves a dramatic sigh as she slams her palms on the table, gathering herself to her feet. She shoots Hinata a look, eyelids low. “I meant what I said though…” She glances at Sasuke, who is looking at her with the faintest hint of curiosity. Then, she glances down at his lap and finishes in a cryptic fashion, “I heard the rumors are true…”

Hinata rolls her eyes as Hanabi begins skipping away, humming and oh so pleased with herself. Sasuke turns his body to her, rests his arm on the table, and looks at her seriously. "What rumors?"

“Oh, you know…” Hinata says, vaguely.

There were no rumors. It was just her sister playing with Sasuke. Hinata decides she’d like to play with him, too. It wasn’t her who started it, anyway.

With an irritated grumble, he shakes his head and it makes her smile. He waves a hand in front of his face. “Anyway, I have a plan.”

“A plan?” Her interest is piqued, now.

“To get us out of this ridiculous arrangement.”

Hinata tips her head up, then turns her full body to face him. She nods at him to continue, hands clasped in her lap, ready to listen.

“We go over the top.”

She blinks. “Over the top how?”

“Affection.”

Her heart sinks. “Excuse me?”

“Like now.” He reaches out to set his hand on hers and it’s…uncomfortable. She automatically pulls it away and he rolls his eyes, annoyed. He grasps it again and slots his fingers between hers. Her face goes bright red and her mind goes cloudy. “Everywhere. Here, middle of the village, on missions, in front of our dads. Especially our dads.”

“I—I’m not understanding,” she breathes out, hand tugging from his. His grip tightens.

“Really lay it on thick,” he continues, “make them regret ever trying to pair us up. Basically, embarrass the hell out of both our clans.”

Her hand finally relaxes and she can focus on the way it feels. She’s surprised that his hand is actually warm, not icy like she’d imagined. Not that she’d ever really imagined what Sasuke’s hands would feel like…but it was interesting. Collecting her thoughts, she responds, “how do you figure that will make them call it off?”

“Think about it,” he responds, leaning in closer, “both our families are uptight. Having the children of the leaders acting ‘unbecoming’.” He pulls up his other hand to air-quote. "Neither of our dads wants us to be happy, not really. It’ll sicken them to the point they’ll have no choice but to separate us.”

Hinata ponders this plan.

It’s a ludicrous idea, she thinks, but she has nothing better to offer. It was like he could read her mind when he tells her, “feel free to throw out your own brilliant ideas.”

She huffs, looking away, eyes landing on their interlocked hands. It’s a very strange sensation to have Sasuke’s fingers interlacing with hers. “I have none.”

“Not surprised,” he scoffs, leaning away from her now. “Then you’re in?”

She bites her lip as she looks back up at him. He has a smirk on his lips, and it irks her that Hanabi’s right. He’s objectively hot (not the word Hinata would use) but his ego is far too big for his head and that is not hot (to her, at least). However, she can’t help but agree to this ridiculous plan. She truly had no better ideas, and she supposes it’s worth a shot. “Fine. We’ll try it, I suppose.”

“Good.” He nods approval and his other hand lifts to beckon her with his index finger. “Now kiss me.”

Hinata pales. “Excuse me?!”

“You’re in, right?” He raises an eyebrow, asking as if his command was as normal as telling someone to smile. She nods, reluctantly, and he curls the finger again. “So…kiss me.”

Hinata darts her eyes to the side. There are quite a few people around, many of whom she recognizes, and that makes her shudder. Unfortunately, that’s the point and that’s why he’s telling her to do it now. So, she sucks in a deep breath.

Hinata leans forward to press her lips to Sasuke’s. It’s a close-mouthed kiss, it’s short, and it is not romantic.

But then the hand that was beckoning her finds the back of her head and keeps her there, and a little gasp escapes her for it.

She does her best not to activate her byakugan, the overwhelming desire to close his main chakra point creeping up on her as his lips move against hers.

When she’s finally able to shove that urge back, she chooses to focus on how his lips feel against hers. She’s not the most experienced in kissing outside of a few clumsy moments as teenagers, but even she has to admit Sasuke might actually be…good at it. He’s not too rough in the way she feared boys would be, but he’s not entirely gentle, either. His lips move naturally against hers, and they’re soft, slick, and…strawberry flavored?

Does Sasuke Uchiha use strawberry-flavored lip balm?

The thought is quickly squashed when a panicked voice calls out. “HINATA?!”

Then Sasuke is being torn away from her, and her eyes fly open to find her cousin’s cascading, long brown hair towering over him.

“Neji!” she gasps out, eyes landing on his veiny ones, looking ready to seal each and every one of Sasuke’s chakra points.

“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing, Uchiha?” Neji snaps, one foot coming to rest on Sasuke’s chest. Hinata whips her head around to see Tenten, mouth covered in shock, and Lee, who is quickly coming up behind Neji in an attempt to subdue the man.

Sasuke smirks smugly up at Neji, propping himself up on his elbows. “Kissing my fiancée. What are you doing, Hyūga?”

Neji stops at that, and Hinata swallows, chest feeling horribly tight.

"Neji…" Lee's voice calls him back, and Neji turns his head to meet his eyes with Hinata’s. The veins around his eyes relax, but he's still glaring.

“Hinata?” Neji’s asking for clarification, and she has no choice but to give it to him. Neji is aware of the marriage, but obviously has no clue about this plan Sasuke has concocted.

She clears her throat, and pulls her shoulders back, projecting confidence. "He’s right, Neji. I was kissing my…fiancé.”

With that Neji removes his foot, but not without shoving it into Sasuke’s chest briefly, causing him to groan and clutch at it. He moves away from Sasuke and turns his body to her. He comes closer and leans over her, in a hushed voice. “Really, Hinata?”

Her lips press into a line as she nods, quickly. He sighs, shaking his head.

“I didn’t think you’d cozy up so quickly,” he whispers, eyes darting to the side to catch Sasuke’s conceited look as he pulls himself to his feet. He returns to her. “Very well. Just…will you be a little less…”

“Horny about it?” Tenten interjects. Hinata recoils, not realizing she had flanked her from the other side. “Don’t give your poor cousin a heart attack.”

“I apologize.” Hinata bows her head, and she knows her face is beet red.

“Come.” Sasuke holds out an indolent hand for her between the two, and Hinata bites her tongue at his commanding attitude. No different than when they were children.

Neji tilts his head at Sasuke, his glare never leaving his expression. “Ask nicely, Uchiha.”

Sasuke clicks his tongue, eyebrow perked at the man. Then he looks back down at Hinata and her heart skips at his words, “come with me, Lady Princess Hinata Hyūga, loveliest, most breath-taking woman in the entire Land of Fire.”

Tenten laughs, loudly. Lee looks at him in confusion. Neji breathes an aggravated sigh.

Hinata’s jaw flexes as Sasuke continues, “please. Is that better?”

Neji doesn’t respond, nor does Hinata, but she takes his hand, regardless.

As he leads her away from Team Gai, she tries to control her breathing.

“Now where is it we’re going?” she asks, quietly, letting their fingers intertwine once more. She’s well aware of the questioning stares they’re receiving from the village folk.

“Dinner with the Uchiha,” he responds nonchalantly, not looking back at her, “time to become acquainted with the family again.”

Hinata’s stomach flips uncomfortably.

It had been a while since she’s seen his entire family together.

Next Chapter ->

[nullvoidface]

wound

CW injury, not described in detail

The Blight warband wasn’t exactly the most outstanding ‘band in the fahrar. In fact, they weren’t the ‘most’-anything. Other than perhaps the most unexceptional group of charr.

Corvus Blightstep, 14 years old, with fur like fire and charcoal, trodded forward. The suffix to his name chosen for his eager curiosity for the world around him.

You’d be forgiven for thinking it was due to his inability to sit still though.

“I don’t like this…” A taller charr muttered, mostly to herself. She was larger set than Corvus, her fur nearly the same shade as the sand in Grothmar Valley. Her blue eyes (though she insisted they were green) scanning the near barren land.

Before them, a lone mountain rested, the locals claimed it to be a dragon, though Corvus doubted it.

Corvus chuckled. “Are you scared?” He looked back at Malia Fairblight, her crystal eyes staring him down.

“Of course I’m not- besides if the dragon was real I’d kill it.” She pouted and walked up besides the smaller charr. “But… Our primus is gonna be really mad if he finds out we skipped training.” Malia let out a nervous laugh.

Corvus took a few seconds to respond. “Yeah,” was all he said as he continued forward with Malia behind him.

Once they made it to the small settlement at the mountain, they managed to get through some shrubbery to finally stand on some boulders at the foot of the mountain.

Looking up, Corvus felt himself get vertigo as he tried to determine the true size of the cliffs.

“There’s no way we’re gonna climb that.“ Corvus looked back to Malia who was looking up at the steep wall of rock. “At least we know it’s not alive.” Malia chuckled.

“I could do it.” And immediately he regretted speaking up. He knew he had to do it now or he would never hear the end of it.

“Really?” Malia cocked a brow in disbelief. “I don’t think you can even reach that crack.” She let out a light laugh as she pointed to a large crack in the rock not too far above Corvus. The wind had thrown dirt and seeds into it, allowing for grass to grow wild.

Corvus flicked his ears and tail. “Watch me.” He huffed, suddenly feeling more sure about his abilities than he probably should. He took a few steps, placed his back paw on a rock and stretched his body as far as he could, pushing off the rock with his other leg for just long enough to gain enough height to grab onto the ledge with his paws.

He grunted as he managed to place a paw above the crack and held on. Placing his back paws into the crack, he could look down at Malia with a smug grin plastered across his face.

“Just be careful, I don’t want you to fall. The ground is pretty rough.” She crossed her arms and watched as Corvus climbed even higher. She grew more and more nervous. This wasn’t a controlled environment like when they had the primus nearby.

Sure the village wasn’t too far away, but she would really prefer if she didn’t have to run off for help.

Corvus continued upwards, now at least four metres up. He was above the shrubbery.

“Corvus, I think that’s enough.” Malia was growing uneasy watching the smaller teen. The vertigo was starting to set in as she followed his figure up and up and up.

“Shit-“ there was a deep shattering sound as a rock hit the ground and split into pieces on the rock below.

“Corvus, come back down, it’s not-“ Malia didn’t finish her sentence before she watched as Corvus came crashing down with a thud.

He coughed and sat up to grab his shoulder. Bleeding heavily from the large gash.

Malia stood there for a few more seconds until she was finally able to comprehend what had happened.

“Son of a-“ Corvus winced as he moved his paw slightly to better put pressure on the wound.

“You’re such an idiot! I told you!” Malia knelt down by Corvus and looked at the wound. It was pretty bad.

“Go.” Corvus said, almost a command.

“What-? No, you’re bleeding.” Malia shook her head.

Corvus felt the pain a bit less now the adrenaline was kicking in. “If you go you won’t get in trouble.” Corvus gave her a pleading look. He didn’t want to be the cause of someone else’s punishment yet again. He could deal with that on his own.

He would just wait a bit before making his way back to the fahrar, it clearly wasn’t anything deadly.

Malia nodded and disappeared behind the shrubs.

Corvus let himself cry for a few moments, cursing himself out for his stupidity.

And then, like nothing had happened, he got up on his hind legs, clutching his shoulder, and walked back to the fahrar.

[grumpygreenwitch]

The Fairy and the Prince #35 + #36 + #37

Part 1 - Part 2 - Parts 3 & 4 - Part 5 - Part 6, 7 & 8 - Part 9 & 10 - Part 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16 - Part 17, 18, & 19 - Part 20, 21 & 22 - Part 23, 24, 25 & 26 - Part 27, 28, 29 & 30 - Part 31, 32, 33 & 34 - Part 35, 36 & 37 - Part 38, 39, 40 & 41 - Part 42 & 43 - Part 44 & 45 - Part 46 & 47 - Part 48, 49, 50 & 51 - Part, 52, 53 & 54 - Part 55 & 56 - Part 57, 58, 59 & 60 - Part 61, 62, 63, 64 & 65 - Part 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 & 72

In which we learn that even Adam knows what an edgelord is, and is not impressed.

I have added the links to all the available parts of the story (so far) to all the posts back to the beginning. 85K+ words and counting!

Adam and Dane came back nine days after their departure, and found the palace no more interesting than when they'd left. The young prince was given the news of William's death almost belatedly; compared to some of the fates that had befallen the other princes, William's seemed to have been an almost discreet affair. Adam was fairly certain that everyone thought so only because they hadn't been close enough to hear the prince scream. There were questions, of course. Too many people knew what Adam would not admit out loud, that he had friends among the Folk In the Woods. Too many people also knew that William had tried his hand at courting a fairy-maid, though no one knew the details. But in the end Needlemaw's reasoning stood: Adam hadn't been there, and blame couldn't rightly be laid at his feet.

He should have cared, he knew, but he was distracted. Once again he felt as if he were being watched, and this time Dane had confirmed it for him. The black bird, sometimes a crow, sometimes a raven, sometimes something larger still, had followed them on the trip there and back. At home, trying to make sense of strangers that claimed to be family to him, Adam kept on running into a black cat indoors, with mismatched eyes. Dane had glimpsed the large black dog a few times, enough to readily identify as a dog and not a wolf. On the last night before reaching the palace they'd both seen a black stag in the woods, but it had been late and they'd not been able to swear that the color wasn't the light coming from behind it and wounding their eyes.

He made his greetings and told his tales, and gave small traveling gifts to Culli and to Beli. The next morning he dug up his painting supplies and tromped determinedly into the woods, setting up his work area before climbing up the linden tree to see if he could catch sight of his friends. "You know," he told the tree conversationally as he waited. "My family has six linden trees. None of them are anywhere near as gracious as you. All they did was make me miss you."

"Adam!" The cry came across the woods, and he nearly threw himself off the branch in his eagerness to see his friends.

A branch snarled on the back of his shirt and he had to recoil to untangle himself. "Alright, alright, I'll be careful!" Who needed the language of the trees, they made themselves heard loud and clear, the whole pack of nannies of them. Laughing, he slid recklessly down the ancient trunk and sprinted for his friends, taking Linden and Needlemaw both down with glad shrieks and much laughter. "Oh, I missed you all! Where's Boul?"

Boul, profoundly stubborn as only a troll could be, had insisted on waiting for Adam every day, 'just in case', even after both Linden and Needlemaw had repeatedly explained that such trips usually took a week - more, in Adam's case, because that week didn't cover time spent going there and coming back. It had, eventually and unsurprisingly, made him sick. But Boul had grown nervous after Adam's previous, year-long absence. Trolls, Adam was told, didn't actually go into sunlight at all; it burned away their substance until they were nothing but cold, empty, dead stone. Boul's resilience was unheard of among his people. Unfortunately for most of them, Boul also remembered why he'd developed that resilience.

Clinging like laughing scarves from the redcap maid as she galloped through the woods and howled in glee, they ran off to visit their friend in his cave, and by the end of the day it was if William had never happened.

Much later on in his life, whenever Adam came to a moment of doubt, when a mistake or a hard decision chased away his sleep, the memory of William would often haunt him. In the quiet of his sleepless nights, in the silence of his home, he would pace and wonder if there were anything he might have done differently. If perhaps he should have gone to the prince himself, rather than the redcap. If reason, or warnings or appeals to his honor and his higher nature might have changed his fate.

In the end, he would always come to the same conclusion: William's fate had been for William to choose, and he had chosen. It had been a choice born from cruel circumstances, and it had been a selfish choice, but it had been William's. In his place, Rickard had chosen to live; in his place, Adam had chosen to be true. In the end, William had chosen Needlemaw, and the redcap had done the only thing she could do with that choice: she'd been true to her nature.

***

They carried on through that last golden summer of childhood, sharing stolen bits of honeycomb and endlessly harassing the long-suffering creatures of the woods, sharing trout and rabbit cooked over merry campfires. Adam found himself a teacher as much as a student, Needlemaw eager to learn of tactics and strategy, though she readily admitted her people were unlikely to ever rely on such things. Borrowing Arditty's jewelry with the promise of bringing her even more beautiful pieces, he'd allowed Boul to examine them and duplicate them, watching in awe as the young troll thrum-called gold and silver and gems to the surface, polishing the later against the rough coolness of his fingertips, making wonders no human artisan would ever duplicate by following fantastic patterns no fairy could have imagined.

Linden...

Linden asked him for iron.

Under Needlemaw's and Adam's worried eyes they examined the old, plain ring and slender, ivory-handled knife that the young prince brought. "Boul learned to live in sunlight. It took him years, but he's stronger for it than any troll twice, five, ten times his age. How long do you think it would take to grow used to iron?"

"Iron's poison, Linden. Always has been, always will be," Needlemaw protested.

"You count iron your finest trophy," Linden countered.

"Because I bled to take those buttons! Even in death my foe balked me for them, that's why!"

"Well..." Linden looked at them, and frowned at their fear and their concern. "Oh, fine. But can I keep these, Adam?"

"I suppose," the prince agreed warily. "As long as you don't hurt yourself with them."

"I'll be careful as a tree with them," Linden assured him, and Adam couldn't help but smile to be reminded that at all times they were surrounded by the fussiest of nursemaids, a whole woodland's worth of them.

As summer grew into autumn, Linden sat and watched Adam struggle to paint his friends on canvas, muttering at himself and his perceived lack of talent, until they had to laugh merrily at his struggles, tipping against his shoulder and staggering him sideways.

"Linden!"

"What are you even painting, Adam? You're trying to put down the things no one but you can see. It's no wonder it never comes out right!"

"Wait, what?" Adam stared at his canvas, and then at those many-colored eyes full of laughter.

Linden grinned. "It's like my eyes. You're not meant to see them, you never were. But you do anyways."

"Well, they're your eyes. I wouldn't ever want to not see you, Linden."

The young fey sapling beamed at the mortal prince. "I know. I would know you anywhere just because you see me truly, Adam." They turned and gestured at the clearing where Needlemaw had clambered over Boul and was challenging the young troll to peel her off, tickling him merrily when he threatened to give up. Where threats might never have worked, Boul gleefully took on the challenge with that good-natured urging, laughing in his crackling, coarse bullfrog voice without shame. "You see the truth of us. But your hands keep trying to paint the glamour, the light and lie that hides us and protects us from your people. You're going to have to get them to agree with one another before you can do much painting."

Adam stared at his canvas. On the clearing, Boul went down and efficiently squashed the redcap, who squalled and called foul while tickling him mercilessly. "Would you let me paint you, Linden? Maybe that way I can learn. But it's awful boring, sitting there still for it. I'd understand if you didn't want to."

Linden stared at him, the shattered eyes a glory of colors where none could match the depth and richness of the blue in Adam's. "I think I'd like that." Then they leapt into the wrestling knot with a wild and gleeful yowl, and there was nothing for it but that Adam would follow.

***

It grew too cold to swim, but they still occasionally snuck out to the kelpie's pond. As far as they could tell the water horse had not returned, though the palace staff had eventually come and removed the chain and repaired the old and tiny pier. They would sprawl among the branches of the cherry trees, sometimes nestled between their roots. Adam brought blankets, and they would make a small fire and heat up tea. Needlemaw had brought a bottle of spirits once, and Adam had gone pale at the mere sight of it. The redcap had never brought them liquor again, looking profoundly amused.

At some point they ended up watching Boul wade across the pond, carrying Linden on his shoulders; the troll was the only one of them who didn't feel the bite of the cold water, and Linden used him to dig for water chestnuts and sweet cattail roots, treats that they coveted no matter what the season.

Needlemaw, watching her charge and their stalwart companion root about in the shallows, smiled indulgently. It was an odd sort of clan to end up with, sharing no burrow or blood, but still she knew them for kin. When Adam, wrapped up in a blanket, suddenly moved to press close to her, the redcap automatically lifted an arm to make room for him, and felt the angry buzz of his emotions just under his skin. "I was wondering if yui'd noticed," she said quietly.

"It's him, isn't he. The Prince Beyond the Woods."

"Aye."

Adam sighed. The black bird haunted their every other day together, following them by leaping from branch to branch; at night the black dog prowled at the edge of the palace grounds, lambent eyes on Adam's windows. "What's he want with me? I thought it was Linden he wanted."

"Aye, an' he does. But I think by now he's figured out that he cannae get to Linden without going through ye."

"I don't tell Linden what to do, no one does."

"That, I think, he'll have to figure out on his own, because in his world that is how it works, Adam. He speaks and others obey."

"Well, I think he's -" Adam bit down what he'd been about to say, mindful that the boughs above them might hide a black bird that wasn't a bird. "- not very clever if he can't figure that out," he clipped out, "after all the watching of me he's done."

Needlemaw snorted inelegantly in laughter. "Perhaps this is how he'll learn," she suggested, her tone making it clear she didn't expect it to actually happen.

"I can't tell him to go away, can I? I can't get him to leave me alone, because he's not really doing anything."

"Aye, I'm afraid so." She sighed. "Will you be alright?"

"Yes. He can follow me all he wants. Linden belongs to Linden alone, and he'd best be figuring that out quickly. If this is how, then whatever. I don't care, it's just annoying."

Needlemaw, who rather believed the Prince Beyond the Woods would take infinitely more offense to being called 'just annoying' than to actually being threatened, laughed wildly and ruffled Adam's hair.

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

11/21/2022 DAB Chronological Transcription

Acts 13 - 14

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm Jill. Today's the 21st day of November, welcome. So glad to be here with you as we are winding down this month of November and and we are so close to being through the entire Bible in a year, it's hard to believe. It truly feels like we just got here. And then looking back at all of the ground that we've covered so far this year, then you remember, nope. It truly has been almost a year together. What an incredible year it has been. And I'm just so glad that you're here. I'm so glad that you are continuing on. And I just want to say we are almost there. Let's finish this task together strong. And we just reach back and grab the hands of everybody that might be just limping through the finish line. I know it's so easy to get behind. And then the holidays are nearly upon us and man, life gets busy, doesn't it? There's so many activities that you want to fit in and pile in. And it's easy to put those things that are in our daily routine and rhythm on the back burner, just to squeeze those annual things, those things that you can only do once a year for certain seasons because of the nostalgia of all of it. I totally get it. But you're here and I'm here. God is here, and let's dive in and allow Him to speak to us through His Word together today, individually, collectively and a community. Today we're reading Acts chapters 13 and 14, and we're reading today in the Christian Standard Bible, Acts 13.

Commentary

I want to highlight a really important part of the story today that's happening with Paul. So I'm going to pull from The God of Your Story as a reference. Today we witnessed Paul bringing the Gospel into new areas. We also see the disruption that it caused, sometimes in nearly manic ways. For example, today we watched Paul preaching in the city of Lystra, which is part of modern day Turkey. Paul healed a man who had been crippled from birth, and the people thought Paul was a god. They believed Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes. And it wasn't long before priests from the temple of Zeus were bringing wreaths of flowers and bulls to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. Obviously, a crowd far larger than the one Paul had been speaking to developed. Paul took the opportunity not only to stop people from worshiping him, but also to share the Gospel. In the confusion, Jews from cities Paul had already visited arrived and began to speak ill of Paul. The momentum of the crowd shifted. Rather than offering him worship and sacrifice, they stoned him outside the city and left him for dead. The same type of harsh treatment that had happened to Jesus. The light and good news that Jesus brought into the world is highly disruptive. It is active and alive and causes lifechanging reaction. We could hear these words and just be stunned and appalled. The gospel is controversial, but if we took a look around in our own day and age, we would see that the gospel can be controversial. We can adapt certain theologies and teachings for decades, centuries even, and just takes a different person to come along and dismiss one theology that we have been taught that we may not necessarily know ourselves, especially if we don't have a relationship with the Word. We will easily adapt any new, fresh, trendy, concept teaching theology that comes our way. But a lot of times something so controversial that comes along and sort of wipes out an older theology, we want to pick up that stone and we want to stone the theologian. We want him gone, blasphemy, heresy, call him a heretic. And then when we find the evidence of the truth, because we didn't bother to research it ourselves, we just adapted something that came along and sounded good and everybody else believes in it and the majority believe in it, therefore it must be the truth. And then enough people start little by little, start believing, mabey, the new evidence that has been presented and we quickly go from heretic and halfdead to hero. But oftentimes we forget the person that brought us the message and we claim this new truth, we claim the enlightenment. And it's been around, we just nearly killed the person that introduced it. Paul may be the original, the OG, the oh, the original heretic of people wanting him killed. And so we hear these words today and we look throughout our story, we examine our own heart and see where we have dismissed things, truths maybe, that we didn't want to hear. The truth offends us, usually because it's truth we're not willing to face just yet. Offense is a choice, it's not an affliction.

Prayer

And so I pray that as we hear these words today, we would be slow to dismiss things that may not be popular opinion, they may not be popular teachings. But if it is the truth backed by the word of God, then give us ears to hear, Lord, and give us eyes to see and open our hearts to receive the truth that would offend us and compel us forward to change, where we can grow, where you can do your work in us, through us, among us, so that we would be representatives of your word for the glory of God. The good news. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. And I pray this now, today. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.

Announcements

Daily Audio Bible home base, check it out. If you have not, check out the app, check out the store. If you've never been, take a look around. There are some resources that are intended to enhance your journey through the Bible. And this week it's Thanksgiving. Here in the United States and Black Friday. Get ready. That's all I'm going to say about that. I do want to say this right here and right now. You have an incredible chance to be heard in this community for just a couple more days. How the Bible has transformed your life. We want to hear from you. The cutoff is Wednesday the 23rd. Call in. Give us a minute, if you can. Minute 32 if you have to. How the Bible is transforming your life. This is the opportunity once a year for you to be heard throughout the community. And we will put this beautiful collective song through Word, if you will, of an individual voice, but a harmonic community of blended voices and to hear what God is doing through his Word in each of us. Several different ways for you to call 800 583-2164. And utilizing the mobile app at the red circle button up at the top right hand corner, hit Submit. Turn the wheel over to Chronological. You can utilize that the same way. If you have a prayer request, please make these two things separate. If you do have a prayer request prayer request separate. How the Bible has transformed my life. Separate one call per person on each. We appreciate your cooperation with that. If you would like to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, we thank you so much for your partnership. We could not do this without you. If you're giving by mail. Dab PO. Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. Or you can hit the Give icon on that app as well. Lastly, look for the Give icon on the website that's going to do it for me today. I'm Jill. We will turn the page together tomorrow. I love my time here with all of you and what a special week it is. We give thanks and I pray that it would not just be a day or a moment, but that it would become a lifestyle in each and every single one of our lives. I'm Jill. Until tomorrow, love one another.

Community Prayer Line

Let's pray community. Dear Jesus, thank you for loving us. Thank you for blessing us. Thank you for the words that come out of the speaker's mouths. We pray that they are received in a manner you so prescribe. Help us to impart your word, father. To live your word, father. Thank you for this community who calls and prays for each other. Who says that they need prayer.

Hi DABC Family this is Daughter of Honor Starkindler from Bangalore. I was calling in to update my prayer list. I guess it's been a rough couple of months. Specifically this time we could use prayer for our marriage, and I could really use prayer for my husband's spiritual health. He is incredibly angry with God, incredibly discouraged. And a lot of that comes down to us not having children and us needing to do things like pursue adoption or something like that to have children. And then the question comes up, well, why do we even want them? It's very heartbreaking. It's very difficult. It's very difficult on me. I've wanted children since I was two and really felt like I received a call to be a wife and a mother about 13 years ago. Finally got the wife part, but the only child I have is in heaven. Anyway, if you could pray for us, pray for wisdom about what steps to take, specifically about moving forward with adoption. But more than that, pray for my husband's heart. Pray that he would be able to bring all of this hurt and this anger to God and get it resolved and that would help our marriage be stronger and relationships be stronger. Thanks, family. Again. Daughter of Honor Starkindler. Thanks.

Hi guys, this is Kate calling in. I called about eleven or twelve days ago asking for prayer for my husband and myself as we have COVID, and my husband seems to be bouncing back pretty well, but I am not. And I am just begging you all to lift me up in prayer that the Lord would give me peace while I'm waiting on him to fully recover me. As you can tell, I still don't have a voice and I have nausea and it's turning into anxiety, I think, because I'm starting to get a little freaked out. Anyway, I know it has not been but almost two weeks and a lot of people have told me that it takes a while to bounce back, but I'm just starting to really suffer here. Okay. I would really appreciate it if anyone who feels so that would lift me up in prayer for full healing from COVID And also my husband too. He's got some lingering asthma side effects going on. Okay, thank you all. Bye bye.

Hi, my name is Jen. I'm a long term listener, first time prayer request. We have been hit a lot with health needs recently. My mom has pneumonia and even changes from low blood sugar and has been sick for a month. And myself has also been sick for a really long time. And I'm having surgery tomorrow afternoon on my shoulder, my rotator cuff, and I'm going to be out of work for at least a month, maybe two months. And you've got to step in, take control of my finances and provide my needs as only he can. Please continue to pray for me and my mother as we face these medical emergencies. And the guy would use our testimony for his glory. Thank you. God bless.

[mortalprinceoflies]

Name: Luke Blackburn

Age: 39

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual, Polysexual

Fc: Jeremy Jordan

Appearance: 5’10”, fit but has a dad bod (and he’s proud of it!), short dark hair, hazel eyes (they shift between light brown/green/red depending on his mood, but he almost never notices), big smile, multiple ear piercings, style varies between “that one cool teacher” and early 2000’s grunge/punk.

Personality: Clever, excellent storyteller, good listener as long as he’s not stuck in his own head, sarcastic/quick witted, makes dad jokes specifically to embarrass his two older daughters and make his youngest laugh out loud, can’t go through daily life without music in the background, will burst into song whenever he feels like it, petty but specifically in a merciful way, puts on a brave face for his daughters and students but has a lot of trauma, definitely a theater kid, protective, has a vengeful streak.

Occupation: high school guidance councilor (verse dependent)

Talents: singing, acting, playing violin and piano, getting people to open up to him.

Abilities (when he recovers his memories and magic): Fire manipulation, illusion, glowing eyes, transformation into his angel form (blond hair, red eyes, black wings, glowing skin, fiery halo made of eyes, goat/ram horns), vocal hypnosis. He’s not as strong as he was as Satan, not by a long shot, and he can’t wield contract magic, nor does he gain immortality. He can also learn various spells and rituals, if he chooses to.

Likes: Music, peaches, soul food and authentic Mexican food, motorcycles and classic muscle cars, musical theater, spending time with his family, tattoos, tongue piercings, horror comedies, football (he and Riley play whenever they get a chance.)

Dislikes: Organized religion, hypocrisy, grits, pineapple, fishing (he doesn’t have the patience), clubbing, golf, politics.

Family: Mother (Lydia Blackburn née Cromwell), Father (Richard Blackburn), Wife (Delaney Blackburn née Roberts), Daughters (Riley - born July 4, 2004, Morgan - born February 14, 2006, Jayden - born October 31, 2009)

Birthday: July 13, 1984

Background: Nearly forty years ago, during the height of the Satanic Panic, Lucifer and Lilith had yet another falling out. Of course, their relationship had never been the best; he was stubborn and controlling, she was ambitious and bitter, and they’d reached a point some decades ago where even phenomenal sex and the hint of a light at the end of the tunnel weren’t enough to keep them together. To say that the divorce wasn’t going well would be the understatement of the century. Lilith wanted many things that Lucifer wasn’t willing to give up, chiefest among them being half of Hell to rule as her own. She claimed to want to focus on rehabilitating sinners rather than torturing them. Lucifer, paranoid and corrupted as he was, was not only convinced that she was lying, but also that there was no need for rehabilitation in the first place. Sinners went to hell to face endless repentance. It’s what they deserved! What he deserved. They argued back and forth, each screaming and throwing things in an effort to prove they were right. What he didn’t know was that Lilith had already been gathering power behind his back. She had worshippers. Faith. And she was ready and willing to use it against him.

Thus, Luke Blackburn was born to a wealthy couple in Macon, Georgia (US) in 1984 as a healthy human baby boy, and Lilith took over as the Queen of Hell.

As a child, Luke was restless, but well taken care of. He showed an interest in art and music at a young age, though his parents only permitted him to learn to play the violin and the piano in a vain attempt to keep his talents refined. It didn’t stop him from taking an interest in country/western, folk, Rock’n’Roll, and heavy metal. He learned to play songs that they didn’t approve of, and took great pleasure in doing so, even joining a folk metal band in his teen years.

The older he got, the more rebellious Luke grew, denouncing his Baptist upbringing all together. He and his bandmates would regularly go out of their way to organize and run charitable fundraising concerts around the same time as the local churches would, benefitting everyone from homeless vets to at risk youth to local shelters and food pantries. This led to them simultaneously becoming local celebrities and social pariahs, as church leaders labeled them an evil satanic cult. There was a small media shitstorm. Mob mentality took hold. The unfortunate passing of the band’s guitarist in a road rage accident led to them finally dissolving, and Luke has carried guilt over it ever since, even though it wasn’t his fault.

He was seventeen and still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life when his mother finally saw how much he was struggling. She tried to connect with him, to help him, but he pulled away, convinced that she was just trying to get him to go back to church. It took several tries for her to make even the smallest crack in the barriers he’d put up, but when she showed up at one of the shelters he was volunteering at and started working, those barriers began to crumble. They began talking more, carpooling, coordinating. Coexisting. When she told him that she hadn’t been to a church service since his friend’s funeral, he was shocked, immediately asking why. She said it felt hollow to worship a god who would condemn a young man for being different, especially when he’d done so much good for others, and that she couldn’t stand how the worshippers of such a god talked about the people around them. As if they were below or lesser than. She confessed that she’d been struggling with her faith for a long time beforehand, but only recently realized why.

Luke and his mother continued to grow closer after that. She was the first person he told about his sexuality when he was 18, and she accepted him with open arms. His father did, too, at her insistence. When he expressed an interest in studying to become a councilor of some kind, his parents were supportive, paying for him to go to a top university. When he got a girl pregnant at 20, they were disappointed, but more than willing to help out when he said he’d take full responsibility. His eldest daughter, Riley, was born just before his 21st birthday, and while he never married her mother, he was a very dedicated co-parent. He met his future wife shortly after that, a spunky law student named Delaney who knew she wanted him almost immediately. Her boyfriend at the time was also into him, and the two would regularly invite him over for threesomes, but he rarely had the time or energy to accept due to school and parental duties. It wasn’t until Delaney made an effort to connect with baby Riley that Luke realized that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with her. He proposed on a brisk spring morning. She eagerly accepted, having broken up with her boyfriend only a month prior, and even insisted that they get married over Spring Break at a courthouse. He was a bit taken aback by her overenthusiasm, but she was earnest when she told him that she wanted to build a life with him and Riley.

His parents were not thrilled with the suddenness of the wedding, but agreed to go along with it as long as they were allowed to host a larger ceremony later on in the summer or early fall. Luke and Delaney happily made the compromise. By the time the ceremony rolled around, Delaney was already pregnant with their first daughter, Morgan, who was born the following Valentine’s Day. After that, the couple made the decision not to have any more kids until after both of them were out of school and working steady jobs.

Things were rocky for a while, but they made it work, becoming quite the formidable team. Delaney graduated first, and was almost instantly offered a position at Luke’s father’s law firm, which she graciously accepted. Luke graduated that fall, having finished his degree early, and took a guidance councilor position at the high school he graduated from. He and his wife coordinated their schedules so that at least one of them was always home with the girls, which was challenging but doable. Things were looking up for the Blackburn family. Mostly. It was around this time that Luke began having horrific nightmares of hellfire and brimstone, of tortured faces that seemed both far too familiar and totally unrecognizable. He began losing sleep, which Delaney recognized quickly and confronted him about. When he told her about his fucked up dreams, she held him, tried to comfort him, encouraged him to seek therapy, which he resisted at first, but eventually agreed to. It helped him more than he thought it would, causing him to open up about past traumas that he’d previously kept locked away. Things got better again, slowly but surely.

Jayden was a surprise, but definitely a pleasant one! She was born on Halloween, a holiday baby like her sisters before her, and instantly captivated Riley and Morgan. Her whole family adored her, and still does! Even now, in the thick of their teen years, with Riley off at college, the three sisters are thick as thieves. Morgan is a junior in high school, and she does her best to protect and help Jayden through her freshman year. Luke legitimately couldn’t be prouder!

He and Delaney opened up their marriage recently, after having a lengthy conversation with their daughters about what that means. They still love each other passionately, and are very committed to their partnership and the family they’ve built, but they both have an interest in experimenting with other partners and possibly adding a third person to their relationship.

[blanketmoss]

Ok everyone get ready for angsty teenage talk time here we go (ok coming back to this it got really long and upsetting I’m hiding it under a cut but I’m still posting it because it helps for some reason)

I got into a massive argument with my stepdad, it wasn’t really an argument he was just following me around screaming at me while I was crying (because loud and also grown man yelling at me)

Like it was bad to the point where my mum had to stand between us, and two other adults who heard about it were shocked at how far he went with screaming

This all started because I asked him to please not put my switch on the arm of the sofa if he knew it was going to fall off and kept telling me not to do that (I just thought it was strange that he would do something he knew could damage it and was so strict with me about)

But uh yeah apparently it was a buildup of months of stress and other stuff unrelated to me but still. I’m guessing you shouldn’t take it out on a 16 year old when you’re nearly 50

I HATE that he follows me while screaming too it’s so overwhelming and I end up biting myself and screaming and hitting my head into walls and stuff

I feel like anything that comes out of my mouth is misinterpreted by him because he’s expecting me to be a stereotypical sitcom teenager that constantly berates people

Also like once or twice a year (more when I was 13-14) something like this happens and me and my mum have the ‘would you be happier if I divorced him’ talk and I always say not to because I don’t want to ruin our lives and change everything over an argument

I feel like I can’t say anything around him because he ends up thinking I’m trying to put him in the wrong or tell him off or I’m ‘being cheeky’ or something

Fffuck I hate being autistic I wish it was just me and other autistic people and my mum my mum is the only one who gets close to understanding, she tries to work with me not against me and I love her so much. I know he would never hurt me and especially not her but when they argue I get worried he could get mad enough to do something stupid and take her away from me forever

Sometimes I want to hurt my stepdad because it feels like he tolerates me to be with my mum and other times I love him and see him as a father figure it’s so complicated

Like I love him as a dad but he’s also a big reason why 13 year old me almost made myself not exist anymore

Human relationships are so complex I wish I was an insect in a zoo I could just eat and exist

I feel like I was born on the wrong planet or something I love earth so much but the humans on it are so awful to me sometimes because something about me is off and they can tell, and the only tolerable humans tell me they feel like they’re from other planets too

I feel like an alien trying to find other aliens to stay sane while stranded on a foreign planet with inhabitants that consider me vermin