#every time i finish a chapter the boulder rolls back down

[msbigredmachine]

New To This - Chapter 18

MASTERLIST

Delilah leaned against the locker room bench, utterly drained. Her body ached in places she didn’t even know could hurt, and the weight of exhaustion pressed on her chest like a boulder. Last night had been… intense, to say the least. Between the altercation with Yandi, the stress of competition, and her “training” session in her room with Josh, she’d barely managed to scrape together two hours of sleep. Now, the morning tournament loomed over her like a cruel taskmaster, demanding strength she wasn’t sure she had left.

The locker room buzzed with quiet conversation as a few girls chatted in the corner. Their laughter felt distant and foreign, like it came from another world where people weren’t suffocating under the weight of expectations. Delilah couldn’t bring herself to join in—or even to care. If she could just survive this day without anyone bothering her, she’d consider it a victory.

She had just finished lacing up her boots when a voice cut through her solitude.

“You hear that Yandi got kicked out of the tournament?”

Delilah glanced up to see a young, dark-skinned woman, bright-eyed and confident, plop down beside her. The girl grinned, clearly expecting some kind of response, but Delilah’s exhaustion wouldn’t let her muster more than a faint shrug.

“Thanks, by the way,” the girl continued, undeterred. “That’s one less bitch to worry about.”

Delilah raised an eyebrow, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Right,” she replied coolly, returning to her bag for a roll of tape. The news should have brought her some relief—Yandi had been an absolute menace to her—but right now, even relief felt like too much effort.

“I’m Temi,” the girl introduced herself, extending a hand into Delilah’s line of sight. When Delilah didn’t reciprocate, Temi simply cracked her knuckles and leaned back against the lockers. “Brrr, cold. Everyone knows she started the fight, so you can chill. You don’t gotta worry about that bitch no more.”

Before Delilah could respond, Temi stood and gave her a friendly pat on the back. “She was just jealous. She’s about the only girl in this locker room that hasn’t fucked a famous wrestler at some point.”

Delilah froze mid-wrap, her head snapping up to meet Temi’s smirking gaze. “Excuse me?”

Temi shrugged, completely unfazed. “I mean, it’s not exactly a secret, is it? You’ve been hanging out with Jey, right? People talk.”

Delilah’s stomach churned. “How do they even know that?”

Temi chuckled as two other girls sauntered over, joining the conversation. “You train with, what? Five, six other girls?” she asked. Delilah held up five fingers, her expression guarded. “And you’re the only one with a WWE contract? Bitches talk, babe, mostly out of jealousy. Then Jey shows up at your gym a couple of times? Somebody sees him around town? They've probably seen y'all together, too. People notice things.”

“And they connect the dots,” one of the other girls chimed in. “Or, you know, they make up their own dots. Doesn’t matter. Somebody’s always watching you now.”

That realization hit Delilah like a freight train. She’d known the spotlight would come with scrutiny, but this was different. It wasn’t just trainers and scouts evaluating her potential; it was everyone. Every move she made, every interaction, every whisper—it was all under a microscope.

“How long you been doing this?” Delilah asked, trying to steady her voice.

Temi smirked, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. “Six years. And yeah, I’ve been through it. We all have.” She gestured to the girls behind her. “Cassie over there? She’s been hooking up with Damian Priest.”

Cassie beamed. “He’s flying me to New York after the tournament. We’re spending the week together.”

“Lauryn?” Temi nodded at the other girl. “She had a thing with Montez and Bianca. At the same time.”

Delilah’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Lauryn shrugged. “It was fun. They’re premiere athletes for a good reason.”

It was getting more and more difficult to keep her jaw from dropping. “And you?” Delilah pressed, crossing her arms. “What’s your story?” When the girls behind her giggled, Delilah's eyebrow shot up. "Who?"

Lauryn put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Temi here has seduced no less than three world champions," she winked, counting off on her fingers. "Rollins, Punk, and Drew. She was all their first dark meat." 

Shaking her head, Delilah’s mouth finally fell open. "Bullshit," she spat. "There is no fucking way."

Temi just nodded confidently. "Oh, there's a way," she assured. "Actually, with Rollins, there's a lotta ways," she smirked, reaching out to pat Delilah's shoulder in reassurance. "Listen, Yandi's a bitch. Nobody likes her, and now she's gone. Let that shit go," she advised with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Do your thing. Go as far as you can in this tournament. Boost your profile. You’ll need it when you start training properly at the Performance Center."

As the girls filed out, Delilah couldn’t shake the conversation. Their blasé attitudes, their stories, their warnings—it was all too much. She turned to the mirror, adjusting her gear when another voice, low and cool, cut through her thoughts again.

“So you’re the one he left me for.”

Delilah spun around, her eyes narrowing at the woman who stepped out of the shadows, immediately put Delilah on edge. She’d seen her wrestle several times through this tournament. Chloe. A striking presence both in and out of the ring, her athletic build and confident demeanor commanding attention wherever she went. With a rich brown complexion that seemed to glow under the spotlight and expressive hazel eyes, her curls, often styled in bold, intricate looks, were as dynamic as her wrestling persona—a combination of grace and grit that made her memorable. Offstage, she didn’t interact much with the others, a guarded side to her, shaped by the challenges she had faced in a male-dominated industry.

“I come in peace,” Chloe said with a faint smirk. “I was listening in on all the bragging. Quite the stellar lineup of superstars, huh? If only most of them weren’t recycled. Like yours, sorry to say.”

“What are you talking about?” Delilah asked, her voice sharp.

She extended a hand. “I’m Chloe.” When Delilah didn’t shake it, Chloe shrugged. “You’re not the only one Josh has had a fling with.”

Delilah frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”

Chloe smirked as she leaned against the lockers, her tone casual but tinged with a deliberate edge. “It was about two years ago, back in Atlanta. I was out with some girlfriends celebrating a birthday—looking fine, if I do say so myself—when Josh and his crew strolled into the club after SmackDown. His presence was impossible to ignore; he had that swagger, you know? I caught him looking at me from across the room, and let’s just say, he wasn’t subtle. He sent over a drink, then another, and before I knew it, I was in the VIP section with him. He had this way of making you feel like you were the only woman in the room. Smooth, charming, with that cocky little smirk that told you he thought he had you wrapped around his finger. And yeah, I guess he did—at least for a while.”

Delilah was speechless. Sounds about right.

She paused, brushing imaginary lint off her sleeve, as if the memory wasn’t worth more than a moment’s thought. “But, you know, it fizzled out. He wasn’t exactly available, if you catch my drift.” Her eyes flick to Delilah meaningfully. “Married men have a way of forgetting their wedding rings when they’re on the road. And sure, it was fun at first, but it got old fast. Sneaking around, his half-assed excuses, him dodging my calls when he was in town sometimes? Not my style. I don’t chase nobody, so I ended it. Of course, he didn’t take it too hard—men like Josh always find someone else to keep them entertained.” She flashed a smug smile. “Looks like you’re the lucky rebound.”

Delilah’s stomach churned as the words sank in. For nearly a year she’d been seeing Josh, and not once had he mentioned anything like this. The idea that she could be just another notch on his belt—the way Chloe clearly saw her—made her heart twist. Her hands tightened into fists at her sides, but she forced her face to remain neutral, unwilling to give Chloe the satisfaction of seeing her rattle. Still, the revelation gnawed at her, a sour taste rising in her throat as she wondered if everything she thought she had with Josh was just another game to him.

But just as she feared, Chloe could see right through her thoughts. She flashed Delilah a kind smile. “Don’t worry, sweetie, that’s all said and done. It’s all in the past. Besides, I think I’ve more than upgraded.”

Delilah’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”

Chloe leaned in, her tone conspiratorial. “I woulda said his name out loud, but the NDA I signed means I can’t say much.” Her smirk widened. “I could show you though, if you’d like.”

Delilah couldn’t help but nod, curiosity getting the best of her. She watched as Chloe pulled out her phone. She handed Delilah an AirPod. “You’re the only one I’m showing this to, so if this gets out, it's you, and I'll fuck you up.”

Delilah hesitated, but eventually placed the AirPod in her ear. The video on Chloe’s phone played, showing a man with long, dark hair between Chloe’s legs, his hands gripping her thighs as her moans rang through Delilah’s ears. Her breath hitched as the man lifted his head, revealing Roman Reigns’ unmistakable face. He licked his lips, smirked at the camera, and growled, ���Turn that shit off.”

The video cut, and Delilah stared at Chloe in complete shock.

“Hot, right?” Chloe teased, fanning herself dramatically. “That family’s got top-tier pussy eaters.” She shrugged. “But here’s the thing: to them, we’re not special. Just another warm body. Don’t take it personal. Use them for what they’re worth—get your rent paid, get a contract, whatever. But don’t give them your heart. That’s the game, sweetheart. If you wanna survive this business, you need to learn how to play it.”

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

Thankfully, the remainder of the tournament unfolded without a hitch. Delilah advanced to the semi-finals, where her journey came to an end. Though she didn’t take home the win, she left with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude for the experience. By the time she was heading back to Pensacola, she was content with how far she had come. True to his word, Josh had upgraded her seat to first class so they could sit together on the flight back. It wasn’t just a plane ride; it felt like their own private six-hour date in the sky.

They made the most of every moment. Between sharing a few tequila shots, stealing sweet kisses, and watching movies, they fell into an easy rhythm that felt both playful and intimate. As the hours passed, they curled up together, their seats reclined into makeshift beds. Delilah found comfort in the warmth of Josh’s embrace, and before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep with his arm draped protectively around her. For those fleeting hours, it was as if the outside world didn’t exist—just the two of them savoring what little time they had left.

But as the plane began its descent into Pensacola, reality crept back in. Delilah’s chest tightened with the weight of what was coming next. When the wheels touched down, she felt a sharp pang in her heart, knowing this was the moment they’d part ways for good. The knowledge made her throat ache, and she wished, just for a second, that they had a little more time.

The private wing of the airport felt colder than it should have, the early morning silence pressing heavily on Delilah’s chest. Josh stood in front of her, his duffel slung casually over his shoulder, but his eyes told a different story—there was a heaviness in them that mirrored the ache in her heart. They had shared so many moments, stolen kisses, and whispered secrets over the past year, but this felt like the end of something neither of them was truly ready to let go of.

Josh rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled slowly, his broad shoulders sagging under the weight of their unspoken goodbye. “So this is it, huh,” he murmured, his voice low and rough, as though speaking louder would shatter the fragile connection still lingering between them.

Delilah bit her lip, willing herself not to cry, but it was a losing battle. “Yeah,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “This is it.” Her words trembled under the weight of her emotions. She knew this was the right decision—for her career, for her sanity—but it didn’t make it any easier to let go of someone who had become so much a part of her world.

Josh stepped closer, his thumb tracing the curve of her bottom lip, a touch so gentle it made her knees weak. “You gon’ miss me?” he asked, his tone teasing but laced with an undeniable sadness.

Delilah’s lip trembled despite her best efforts, and her eyes filled with tears. “More than you’ll ever know,” she admitted, her voice cracking. The truth of it burned in her throat. She would miss the way he made her laugh, the way he looked at her like she was the only woman in the room, the way he always knew just what to say to calm her nerves. She would miss everything about him, and the thought of not having him in her life felt unbearable.

Josh didn’t respond right away. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, holding her so tightly she could feel his heartbeat against her cheek. She clung to him like she was afraid he’d disappear the moment she let go, her tears soaking into his shirt. 

“I don’t wanna let you go,” she whispered, her voice breaking with raw emotion.

He pressed his lips to her hair, his own voice thick with longing. “Then don’t.” The words hung in the air between them—a plea, a promise, and a goodbye all at once.

Delilah pulled back just enough to look up at him, her hand resting on his cheek. “We have to,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears clogging it. “I can’t do this right now, Josh. I need to focus on my career, and you—” She stopped, swallowing the lump in her throat. “You need to figure out what you want.”

Josh’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, she thought he might argue, might ask her to stay, but he didn’t. Instead, he leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. It wasn’t the kind of kiss meant to ignite a fire; it was the kind meant to say everything he couldn’t put into words. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers. “Take care, Delilah,” he murmured, his voice so soft she almost didn’t hear it.

“You too,” she whispered, her voice trembling. She forced a weak smile, though her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. “And thank you… for everything.”

Josh just nodded, his dark eyes searching hers for a moment longer before he stepped back, creating a distance that felt insurmountable. For a split second, Delilah considered running after him, begging him to stay, but she knew it wouldn’t change anything. She had to let him go.

As she watched him walk away, her chest tightened, the reality of their parting sinking in. Tank, standing a few feet away, awkwardly cleared his throat and gestured toward the waiting car. Delilah wiped at her tears, slipping on her sunglasses to hide the evidence of her heartbreak. Tank nudged her shoulder gently as they walked to the car. “You did the right thing, kid,” he said, his voice kind but firm. “He gets that.”

Delilah nodded, but the words offered little comfort. As the car pulled away, she stared out the window, replaying every moment with Josh in her mind—the laughter, the fights, the stolen moments that had made the past several months unforgettable. She knew she’d made the right choice, but the ache in her chest told her it was going to be a long time before she stopped missing him.

She was pulling up to her sister Simone’s front door when her phone rang. The area code wasn’t from here, and she didn't recognize the number. Still, something pushed at her to answer the call. "Hello?"

"May I speak to Delilah Parrish, please?" the sweet voice on the other end asked.

Delilah leaned her hip against her suitcase. "Yes, this is Delilah," she responded, her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Hi Delilah, my name is Emilia, and I'm with Dr. Gonzalez's office in Orlando," she said, "You came in for a physical last week?" she questioned.

Nodding and exhaling a sigh of relief, Delilah cleared her throat. "Yes, I did," she assured the nurse. As part of the recruitment process, WWE had requested she take a physical with their recommended medical facility. Delilah had done it with zero issues. She was determined that nothing was going to hinder her commencing training at the PC, and though she knew she was in good health, she would jump through any other hoop they asked to prove it.

"Well," Emilia spoke with a cheerful smile that for some reason was grating Delilah's nerves in her current state of mind. "Everything looks great. You're healthy as a horse, and we just sent the results to you via email," she said. "However, there’s just one thing that we want to make sure you are aware of, considering the degree of physicality you regularly engage in." Emilia cleared her throat. "You’re pregnant, Miss Parrish. Congratulations."

—————–

😬😬😬😬

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[the-lizard-lord]

Me, writing chapter 15 of zombie: I have written up a pretty good build up to the fight with Kuro! Yay me!

Me, writing chapter 16 of zombie: fuck's sake, now I have to write the goddamn fight scene.

[sailorsplatoon]

Chapter 4 coming at ya! What a coincidence that this is the chapter that gets released on the first day of pride month? I didn't plan it like that but it worked out perfectly. Happy pride month, everyone!

First (prologue)

Previous

Next

Read it on ao3!

(Fanfic under cut)

29F. Only one floor until the final fight. Four wasn’t sure if they were ready to fight Order again. Pearl said its name was Smollusk, but they were having trouble getting used to thinking of something so malicious with such a cutesy name. They had lost once, what if they lost again? They didn’t want to focus on it now. They still had one more floor standing between them and that fight anyway. After they set this chip into their palette, they’d have all their memories back. They couldn’t help but wonder what this last thing was that they still hadn’t remembered. They slid the chip in and…

“Oh my cod,” they thought. Acht wasn’t just a random octoling that they’d never met before. They were DJ Dedf1sh. The DJ Dedf1sh. Four loved their music, how had they not recognized them before? Oh, greyscaling. Right. But that didn’t matter right now because they were in an elevator with DJ Dedf1sh. And they had hugged them! Four was sort of embarrassed. Had they been this excited when they first met Off the Hook? Probably. It was different this time though because they met Acht and then they remembered DJ Dedf1sh and it turns out they’re the same person!? It was like finding out your coworker is a superhero. But they had to play it cool. Acht probably didn’t want to face Four’s fangirling right now. After all, they did make most of their music while they were sanitized. Maybe they didn’t want to talk about it. Four had to get out of the elevator before their emotions exploded out.

Four had chosen a rigorous floor with danger in hopes of it taking them longer and delaying reaching 30F. They regretted their choice, having to do Cruel_Sisyphean_Eight-Shaped.Floor with no item drops and no drone. 

They definitely felt like Sisyphus right now. Trying to regain their memories just to feel like they’re going to lose themself again. Trying to climb the spire just to have to face Order again. Trying to hide their feelings for Acht just to find out that they’re DJ Dedf1sh. Trying to defend these zones just to have twelve more Drizzling Capriccioso spawn.

That boulder just kept rolling back down the hill.

Four watched two more Towering Nobilmentes spawn and snapped. They massacred every Jelleton in sight. They claimed the zones and finished the floor within a few seconds. They were ready to leave this Spire of Hell.

“We’re about to reach the last floor. Are you ready, Agent 4?” Marina asked with concern as the elevator slowly began its ascent.

“I have no idea. I’m just going to hope for the best,” they sighed.

“You’ve got this! You demolished that last floor!” Pearl gave Four a little pat with one of her robot tentacle arm things. Four wasn’t sure what to call them.

“If something really goes wrong, I’ll jump in to help.” Eight gave a thumbs up.

“Good luck out there,” Acht said in their usual monotone as the doors opened.

Four took a deep breath and stepped out onto the floor. They boarded the cage and rode over to the platform. Their hearts were pounding so fast they could have been having a heart attack. They couldn’t really see anything out on the platform though. From what they remembered, Order was massive. If they looked closely, they could kind of see a little white octopus floating there. It noticed them, making eye contact. Four felt like they’d just been shot in the chest. Despite looking different, that was definitely the Order they knew. They could feel it in their soul. They dropped out of the cage, landing on the ground below as it began to speak to them.

“Oh, it’s you! I wemember you, Pawawel Canon! But why awen’t you at your post? You should go back now.”

Parallel Canon paused. Maybe they should go back, why had they wandered so far from their post? No, Four wanted to be here, they wanted to get out of the spire, out of the Memverse. Right? What would life be like if they let themself stop thinking again? Would it really be that bad? Yes it would, they didn’t want to go back to that, they’d come so far.

They couldn’t give up now.

It was only then that Four noticed the world had gone pitch black and the deafening silence closing in. Not again. How had they let themself go so quickly?

Suddenly, they felt a cold pair of hands on their shoulders. They were kind, yet firm, as if they were afraid. No, not afraid, but worried. Four raised their own hands to meet them. They were the only thing that they could be sure were real, they had to hold onto them. They couldn’t let go. They could feel something within their ears; a sound trying to push its way through. 

“You… breathe��.”

They couldn’t hear the full sentence and the sound was muddled, as if they were underwater, but they trusted the person’s voice. They had forgotten that they had lungs. They let the air fill them up. It was sweet and full of life. Their vision began to return, and the voice kept going.

“… have to wake up… Four.”

Their eyes were focusing now, their ears growing clearer. They could feel the tile of the floor beneath their knees. They hadn’t even noticed they’d fallen down.

“I love you. I haven’t loved someone in so long. Please don’t leave me now.” Acht knelt in front of them, shaking, crying. They looked Four in the eyes. A mix of shock and relief crossed their face. “How much of that did you hear?”

Four just smiled and moved their hand up to one of Acht’s tear stained cheeks. Their hearts fluttered in their chest at what they were about to do. “I love you too, Acht. And I really want to kiss you right now.” They couldn’t help but let out a small giggle.

“Please do.” Acht smiled. It might’ve been the first time Four ever saw them smile. It was warm and beautiful, like the setting sun.

Four pulled them in close, pressing Acht’s lips to theirs. They were cold, but joyful. Like catching a snowflake on you tongue. They wished their kiss could last for eternity, but they had to fight. They slowly pulled away from Acht and got to their feet. “I’m gonna go kick this thing’s ass now.” Then, whipping around towards the battle, they yelled, “Eight! Tag out, I’m good!”

Acht’s face was redder than a rose.

****

Acht watched from the elevator as Four boarded the cage and rode out into the arena. Would they be okay? What if something bad happened? Acht couldn’t imagine what they would do if they had to go head to head with Tartar. They would probably end up losing themself again. But that wouldn’t happen to Four, right?

Four dropped down from the cage and Smollusk noticed them, saying, “Oh, it’s you! I wemember you, Pawawel Canon! But why awen’t you at your post? You should go back now.” 

Four stiffened, their face going blank. Oh no. They were not okay.

“Awthough, you’we wooking more coworful than usual,” Smollusk continued. “I guess I’ll have to fight you again. Hawumph!” Smollusk transformed and the fight began. But Four didn’t move. They just stood there for a moment. Then, their legs gave out and they fell to their knees.

“Eight, follow me. I need you,” Acht said without a moments hesitation, super jumping out of the elevator. Eight followed close behind. As they landed, Pearl gave Eight a weapon and the two began to fight off the hoards of Jelletons. Marina sat on the stage, rapidly typing on her laptop. Acht rushed to Four. Their eyes were glazed over, like they were sleeping with their eyes open. 

“Agent 4! Agent 4 can you hear me?” Acht almost screamed. They put their hands on Four’s shoulders in hopes of somehow stirring them. Four’s hands raised to meet theirs. They were still in there somewhere. “Please don’t leave me. Please, not now. Not after you’ve made it so far. You have to breathe, you have to wake up, Four,” Acht kept talking. They were crying now. They didn’t remember what crying felt like before this. They weren’t sure if they liked it or not. But that didn’t matter. All they cared about was Four. “I love you. I haven’t loved someone in so long. Please don’t leave me now.” 

When they looked up, Four’s eyes were shining. They were awake. Relief washed over Acht, but at the same time, they were horrified. “How much of that did you hear?” they asked, their voice breaking under the lump still in their throat.

Four smiled their beautiful, radiant smile and placed their hand on Acht’s cheek. Their hearts jumped in their chest and their stomach did a flip. Was this really happening?

“I love you too, Acht.” Four spoke softly, letting out a small giggle. “And I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Please do.” A smile broke though Acht’s worry as Four gently guided their face toward their own. They pressed their lips together, pulling the other closer as they did. Four was warm, like kissing the summer sun. Acht never wanted to let go.

After what felt like both an eternity and less than a second, Four slowly stood up. “I’m gonna go kick this thing’s ass now.” They yelled something to Eight and charged into battle.

Acht was blushing and sweating and smiling like an idiot.

Four destroyed the portals that Eight hadn’t. He’d already made it through the first phase, leaving them with only two to deal with. 

“Why are you still fighting me? Did you not enjoy your peacefuw world of order?” Smollusk asked before setting off a stingray.

“That wasn’t peace that was pain! You never even asked me if I wanted it,” Four shouted back. 

“Whaaat? You didn’t wike it?”

“No!” they screamed, firing their trizooka, dealing the last damage they needed to finish the fight.

Their hearts’ beating slowed and their breathing steadied. Acht rushed over and pulled them into a hug. Neither of them let go.

“Smollusk! I didn’t want to believe you would do something like this,” Marina spoke as if she was scolding her child. She was in a way.

“I was just twying to make a world of order,” it whined.

“Agent 4 is a living, breathing, person. Not a string of code that you can manipulate. They didn’t want or deserve any of what you did to them. You need to apologize right now.”

Smollusk looked surprised for a minute, as if only now realizing that Four had a life outside of the Memverse. Then it sniffled like it was about to cry. “I’m sowwy, Agent 4. I never wanted to huwt you.”

“Thank you for saying you’re sorry.” Four took a deep breath, weighing Smollusk’s apology in their head. “I forgive you. What you did to me hurt. A lot. But, I think that you understand now why it was bad. And also because I hate holding grudges. Friends?”

If Smollusk had a mouth, it would have been beaming. “Fwiends!”

Four chuckled to themself at how excited it was. Nuzzling their head into Acht’s shoulder, they said, “Let’s head back down now. I’m exhausted.”

[barnesafterglow]

all you need (2)

summary: just after finishing college and your first novel, you meet bucky barnes - a friend of a friend, a publisher, and hopefully something more

pairing: publisher!bucky x author!reader

word count: 3k

chapter warnings: explicit language, mild sexual thoughts/tension, mentions of alcohol, brief mention of death (nat threatens murder and it is totally justified), mention of past death of a family member, wanda and nat are the best roommates, russian terms of endearment (Ангел = angel, крошка = baby, i used the internet don't come for me), bucky is adorable yet punchable

a/n: surprise! it's a day early but i had a bad day and needed a pick me up so here is the next chapter :) i hope you all don't hate me, but i loved writing this and i'm so excited for you all to read it! as always, feedback and comments are very appreciated <3 xoxo

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You were still giggling like school girls when Wanda looked down beside your legs, right at your open phone.

“Y/N, did you call someone?”

“What? No, of course no-” you cut yourself as your eyes followed hers. To the screen where you had a nearly four minute phone call - no, not phone call - voicemail to Bucky. And for the past four minutes you had talked about nothing but how unfairly attractive you found him.

Fuck.

--

You woke up the next morning with a pounding in your head and a boulder of regret sitting on your chest.

Despite Nat’s own degree in computer science, she could do nothing to help you delete the message you had unknowingly left; you would just have to deal with the consequences.

“Maybe he’ll be flattered,” Wanda had offered, ever the optimist. “This could be the start of something!”

All you could do was roll your eyes. Yeah, right. As if this literal Adonis of a man would be flattered by a girl probably 10 years younger than him talking about how she wanted to jump his bones.

To make matters worse, he had answered your text this morning - telling you a time and a place to meet him for coffee. That’s it. No mention of your voicemail or anything to make you think he had seen or heard it at all. Maybe he hadn’t yet, and he would cancel as soon as he did, or maybe he was just going to wait until he saw you in person to bring it up. God, that would be the worst option of all.

And now you had several days to stew about it - four, to be exact.

How about 1pm on Tuesday? Temptations Cafe.

Temptations Cafe. If that wasn’t ironic you didn’t know what was.

So you had four days to just… think.

Think about what he would say, if anything. If he had told Beth, and she would never let you live it down. If this would affect the way he felt about your writing, or maybe he wouldn’t read your book at all. You had really fucked up.

--

Wanda and Nat, being the amazing best friends and roommates they were, kept you slightly wine drunk all weekend in order to keep your mind off of Bucky. Then on Monday, they had dragged you to every bookstore in a 30 block radius for the same reason.

But Tuesday came far too quickly. And a half hour before you were meant to meet Bucky, you were standing in front of your bedroom mirror giving yourself the world’s worst pep talk.

C’mon, Y/N. Maybe he won’t even bring it up. This thought was supposed to be helpful. Oh god. If he doesn’t bring it up that probably means he doesn’t want to embarrass me because he would obviously never look at me that way and -

You finally had to snap yourself out of it.

Giving yourself one last look over - the business casual you had chosen more modest than anything you had worn in years, considering the circumstances - and made your way towards the front door.

Nat and Wanda, who were both leaning against the kitchen counter talking, came over to each give you a peck on the cheek and some words of encouragement before you grabbed your purse and coat and headed out the door.

The few blocks in the chilly autumn air were nice for clearing your mind. Or at least trying to clear your mind. Eventually all thoughts would wander back to James Barnes and his insanely beautiful blue eyes. This lunch was going to be a trip.

Standing outside Temptations, you took a deep breath before pulling the door open. A glance around the small space told you that Bucky wasn’t here yet, so you ordered yourself a warm chai before making a space for yourself at one of the mismatched sofas in the corner.

You had expected to wait, given that you had shown up 15 minutes early, so you settled in the cushions, mug in one hand and book in the other.

But then 1:00 turned to 1:15 which turned to 1:30 - still with no sign of Bucky. At this point your groupchat with the girls was filled with worried texts and your slow descent into insanity while they tried to talk you off the ledge. You picked up your half empty, now cold mug in preparation to leave, when Bucky came crashing into the quiet space, breath heavy and cheeks flushed.

His eyes darted wildly around the cafe, and softened when they finally landed on you. You tried not to let the fact that tears had begun welling in the corner of your eyes show, but you didn’t have a chance to worry because he swept you into a warm embrace.

The feeling in his body heat combined with the cold tip of his nose pressed against the side of your head had you shivering in more ways than one. So caught up in the feel of him, you missed half of what he was saying to you.

“ - and yeah. Anyways, I’m really sorry I’m late. Let me get you a fresh drink to make it up to you. Go sit down and I’ll be back in just a minute.” He placed a hand on the small of your back to guide you back towards the couch before turning and making his way towards the counter.

He came back with two steaming mugs, handing you with a bit of a sheepish smile. You inhale the earthy and slightly bitter smell before giving him a pointed look.

“Kava tea?”

“I’m sorry I just - well. Beth told me you had a thing for tea and I felt so bad on the cab ride over here and was looking at different types and -” He cut himself off to get his thoughts back on track. “Kava tea is supposed to help stress and anxiety and I was just thinking about how bad I would feel if I was in your position, so I hoped it might help. If it’s stupid or you hate it I can get you something else. I’m probably an idiot, I’m so sorry.”

The grin spread across your face in time with the heat throughout the rest of your body. This big, beautiful, brooding man researched tea. For you. Your heart may very well beat straight out of your chest.

“That’s very sweet of you, Bucky, I really appreciate it.” You hid your smile at his exhale of relief behind a sip of the herbal tea, afraid you might say something even more embarrassing than you had a few nights prior.

His tension quickly faded as he sipped from his own mug - black coffee, he had informed you - and nodded towards your worn book that was now lying on the table.

“And Then There Were None. Interesting choice, I must say,” his amused tone caused you to let out a light giggle, and you felt the need to drown yourself in your own mug as you listened to it leave your body.

Quickly trying to recover, you explained to him that it’s always been a favorite of yours.

“I usually reread it, or one of her other works, around this time every year. With Halloween coming up and all, it just feels fitting. This is the same copy I’ve had since my freshman year of high school, if you can’t tell just from looking it at.”

That seemed to intrigue him further, as he snagged it off the table and flipped through the pages. Years of wear were evident in the markings of what were obviously several different pens leaving notes, dog-eared pages, and the spine so cracked it laid flat on its back. But it’s yours - and something you hold very near and dear. Your sister had given it to you just before she took a road trip with her friends for fall break her senior year - the trip she never made it home from. The first pen marks came from hers, and her note to you on the title page still brought tears to your eyes.

And seeing Bucky holding it, turning through the pages and skimming notes with gentle hands, you weren’t sure you could place the emotion that brought to the surface just yet.

Not wanting to let your emotions overcome you, you held your hand out for him to give back to you before safely tucking it back into your purse.

Almost as if he could sense your whirlwind of thoughts, he moved just a tad closer on the couch, knee knocking against yours as he turned to fully face you.

“So, your book.” He started, and your breath hitched, almost forgetting the point of meeting him in the first place. It’s obvious he heard you, and he placed a comforting hand on top of your own resting in your lap. “It’s amazing, truly. I’m nearly done and would love to meet with you again once I’m fully finished. You have something special, Y/N, I’m telling you.”

His soft words made you feel like he may be talking about more than just your writing, but you pushed the thought away just as quickly as it formed. It was like this man had some kind of spell on you.

The next several hours were spent talking about anything and everything - literature, school, your life here in Boston.

It felt less like a business meeting and more like a date - a friend date, of course. Lunch with a friend. That’s all.

But your heart just wouldn’t shut the fuck up. Instead, it skipped a beat when he his gaze help yours for a second too long, and it went fully fucking insane every time his hand grazed your leg or your arm. You could feel the heat in his touch even through the layers, and you were sure you were at your melting point.

The sun was low in the sky when you finally stepped out onto the sidewalk - after a slight cough from the single barista made you both look up and realize all the chairs were stacked away and it was twenty minutes past closing time. The golden hour rays dancing across Bucky’s skin made him look otherworldly, and it took a lot of willpower you didn’t know you had left not to cup his face in your hands and just stare.

You were so caught up in his beauty that you missed him asking you a question - asking if he could walk you home.

So as the sun dipped lower below the horizon, Bucky walked you the few blocks home, stepping closer into you when the harsh wind caused you to shiver.

The entire walk you don’t dare turn to face him, fearful of what your face may give away, but when you stop in front of your apartment building you’re left with no choice. Trying your best to wipe every ounce of adoration from your face, you turned your head towards him - and right into his lips.

The kiss was everything you never knew you needed - hot and sweet and full of a brand new emotion. Your hands immediately intertwined themselves in his thick chestnut hair, while his own splayed across the plane of your back, pulling you close.

You broke away only because you had to, foreheads still pressed together with heavy breaths mingling, white puffs in the small space of air between you. He smelled like sandalwood and coffee and Bucky and you might as well have been drunk on it. It felt like you were floating and it just might be everything you’ve ever wanted and -

“That shouldn’t have happened, I’m so sorry,” he whispered against your lips. He had the audacity to break your heart on this cold downtown sidewalk and was still half an inch away from you, still leaning into you like you’re all he’s ever wanted.

Finally registering his words, you pushed away from him so hard he stumbled a little, grief stricken face a mirror image of what you knew yours must look like. He looked like he wanted to say more - and maybe if you were thinking clearly you would have heard him out. Instead, you pulled your jacket tighter around your body, on a one way path through the front gate and up the steps without a glance back.

The front entrance offered a warm contrast to the chill on your face and in your heart. Wanda and Nat both stood just past the main hallway, peeking from the kitchen. It’s obvious they had been spying, but you could tell by the concerned looks on their faces at the tears now freely flowing that they had stopped watching after he kissed you - that they had missed the very next moment where he crushed your school girl crush like a leaf fallen across his path.

Stripping off your coat, you threw it in the general direction of the rack and bolted for your room, not in any mood to answer their questions and face their sympathetic looks. All you wanted was to cry it out, and then tip toe into the kitchen well after they had gone to bed for a warm cup of tea.

When was the last time you had cried like this - like it was the end of the world? You couldn’t remember for the life of you, though you had a sneaking thought in the back of your head that it had been since you got the call about your sister.

This isn’t the end of the world, you had to remind yourself, this isn’t anything like Kathleen.

No, you absolutely could not compare this rejection to the death of your sister, yet you felt that same hollowness in your chest as you had all those years ago.

Your plan for the night was ruined when you heard the creak of your door and the distinct dip in your bed that came with the intrusion of your two best friends. But sometimes you forgot that they knew you better than you knew yourself. They wouldn’t make you talk about it, and they wouldn’t give their opinions - not yet anyways. For the moment, they each took a place at your side, crowding you under the covers and sandwiching you between their small bodies to let you cry it out.

Crumpled on the floor, your purse buzzed slightly from the stream of text messages coming through. You couldn’t hear it all the way from your bedroom, so you let yourself cry it out in your bed, unaware of the desperation weaved through your text thread with Bucky.

I’m so sorry, doll

So goddamn sorry

Just let me explain myself

I swear I’ll make this up to you

--

The next morning you woke up still tangled between your roommates. When you began to shift, Natasha was immediately awake - ever the light sleeper - while Wanda continued to snore softly on your other side.

Both of you slid out of bed, and you told Nat about the previous day over two cups of honey and chamomile tea.

“I’m so sorry, Ангел. Men are stupid, we know this.” Nat had always called you angel, saying that you were a bit of a saving grace for her - she had been your sister’s best friend as well. The sentiment always warmed your heart, but this morning it hit you harder than it had in a long time.

“I know, I know. I’m over this stupid crush already. I don’t need a man, and I definitely don’t need a man who makes me cry.” Your watery laugh had her giving you a pointed look before stepping forward to tuck some hair behind your ear.

“You know, крошка, you can always join me and Wanda. We wouldn’t mind a third as long as it’s you.”

Her smirk and half-seriousness had you both bursting into full blown hysterics. You threw your head back and clutched your stomach and it was the best you had felt in the last 12 hours.

She knew that would distract you - it did every time she brought it up since that one drunken night between the three of you - and the laughter turned hushed giggles when you remembered Wanda was still sleeping two doors down, only to start all over again when she came stumbling in half asleep, asking what the hell you two are going on about.

This time, you were close enough to your purse to hear the incessant buzzing, and staggered over to see what was going on. The screen dimmed as you pulled it out, but your lock screen showed you Bucky’s messages as well as a couple of missed calls, the last from just moments before.

Sucking in a deep breath, you placed your phone on the kitchen island and headed for the bathroom - leaving Nat to fill her girlfriend in while you showered.

When you came back, the both of them were fuming in their own quiet way, and you were pretty sure you heard Nat utter the words dead and they’ll never find him.

“Hey!” You shouted as you made your way back into the kitchen. Both of their heads snapped in your direction, mixture of rage and guilt plain as day, and that just wouldn’t do. “Listen to me, we are over this, alright? I’ll text him back, be professional, and our relationship will be nothing but work. And if he can’t handle that, then he’s not the only publisher in New England.” Your tone left no room for argument, so they simply nodded, still a bit wide-eyed.

“Alright, glad we’re all on the same page. Now who wants mimosas?”

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[chasingpj]

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

"You’re really sweet, water boy.”

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 5,379

warnings: angsty, mentions of breaking down, one curse word

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: hi hi! I hope you guys like this chapter. If you have any feedback let me know. i've read this chapter over like 1,000 times while editing so i can't even give my own opinion on this chapter lol. i hope someone likes it at least cause i'm a little iffy about this one.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality!”

The singing voices of the Apollo cabin harmonize as Atticus stands in the middle of their cabin, eyes closed with his arms swaying side to side in the air. You sit against the window frame at the end of the room, your lips curl in a soft smile as Harvey prances around his feet, enjoying the spotlight as much as Atticus is. You were glad that Atticus was still up for karaoke night despite his mood. Although you didn’t plan on coming yourself, you had hoped that he would as he needed it as an outlet to let loose. A part of you wasn’t surprised when Atticus was begging you to come with him, insisting that your plan of staying in and sleeping early was too lame for a Friday night at camp. You didn't want to make him upset so you decided to suck it up and go with him. Besides, you did need to get out.

The past few days, you’ve had your nose in books, drowning out your thoughts with everything from studying demonology to enjoying fantasy novels. You’ve been keeping an eye on Lou Ellen as well, noticing that she too was avoiding her feelings by drowning herself with books back to back. And now, as a result of your similar coping mechanism, you two have an exclusive book club where you spend hours reading and mercilessly criticizing Twilight. Meanwhile, Atticus has been up and around, constantly surrounding himself with people to distract him. He seemingly was doing fine on the surface, but it was a facade. Sorrow was radiating off of him like never before. Even if you didn’t have the ability to sense his emotions, his song choice for tonight was a dead giveaway. Bohemian Rhapsody is his comfort song.

“I’m just a poor boy. I need no sympathy!” Atticus sings passionately into the microphone. Cheers break throughout the cabin, and you giggle, joining in, cupping your mouth as you whoop for him. You look over at Lou Ellen, talking and laughing with a few girls across the room. You smile, content that for right now, the two of them are occupied and happy. You, however, couldn’t get into the mood. Sure, the chaos of the Apollo Cabin easily entertained you, but you were having trouble shaking off the heavy feeling in your chest. You frown, your hand coming down to pet the top of Ambrose’s head, the other nuzzling his snout against your leg to comfort you. You look down at him, smiling softly as a silent thank you, and you sigh, hoping to lighten the feeling in your chest, but to no avail, it remained.

A nudge on your shoulder draws in your attention, and you turn to face the boys standing to your left. You meet Lee Fletcher’s bright blue orbs, a smile plastered on his flushed face.

“You’re next!” He shouts over the music, pointing his index finger at you in the same hand he held a red solo cup in. You scrunch your face, moving a little closer to him and the group so they’ll be able to hear you.

“I’m not really in the performance mood tonight,” you say, and the immediate protests from the boys around him made you smile. They insisted that you had to sing tonight and that they were going to make sure you went after your brother. On any other night, you would have agreed, gladly taking the mic. You weren’t a stranger to singing karaoke, and you had to admit you did enjoy it just as much as Atticus did. Last week, you sang an interesting rendition of Wannabe by the Spice Girls with Lou Ellen, Silena, Katie, and Sage. You were Scary Spice, of course; you wouldn’t have been anyone else. But tonight, you were unable to see yourself singing. Now that the boys returned to whatever they were talking about, you were planning your escape. You tune back into the song, realizing that Atticus was almost finished.

“Nothing really matters; anyone can see. Nothing really matters. Nothing really matters, to mee.”

You take a deep breath for a moment, accepting your fate. It’s only one song, you tell yourself; it’ll be quick. You cringe, expecting to be pushed up to the front by the others any second now. Suddenly, chanting fills the cabin,

“Encore, encore!"

Atticus smiles, bowing like a Broadway actor as the crowd cheers. You sigh, relieved, and you hoped whatever he picked would be able to conceal your exit. There was no way Atticus was going to pass up the microphone, and over the chanting, he announced his next song choice: Dancing Queen.

He’s so depressed.

You didn’t want to miss your opportunity, slowly scooting yourself away from Lee Fletcher and the others. As the instrumental of Dancing Queen fills the cabin, a chunk of people get up from the bunk beds and the floor to dance and sing along. You take your chance now that everyone is distracted, and you walk into the crowd, carefully weaving through bodies.

The cool summer night air was refreshing on your skin compared to the stuffiness of the crowded cabin. The collective singing of Dancing Queen becomes faint as you make it across the camp. You didn't realize how loud the song was while you were in there, and you could just imagine what the other cabins were doing. You couldn’t help but smile at the idea of an annoyed Ares' cabin, all of them with pillows covering their ears in an attempt to drown out the music and screaming.

By the time you reached the beginning of the woods, the disco instrumental was long gone, and you took in the stillness of the night. There was barely a breeze tonight; the only sounds were the faint chattering of campers hanging around the hearth and taking walks. You stare into the forest, uncertain if you should venture by yourself. You hear a soft whine come from Ambrose, signaling you that it was a bad idea. It was a couple of hours away from curfew, and you can already hear the faint roars of monsters. That wasn’t enough to turn you away, though. Your desire to be somewhere silent was more prominent than your fear of the monsters.

You walk in without another thought, your pace slow and slack, and Ambrose unwillingly follows close behind you, checking around to make sure you are safe. As you walk farther in the forest, the thoughts you had sent to the back of your mind were returning with a vengeance.

The departure of your siblings felt surreal. When you had woken up to their empty beds the next day, you had chosen to believe they had left for breakfast earlier than usual and that everything that happened was a dream. Yet, as the days went by, the absence of your siblings became more apparent. A part of you refused to grieve. You had wanted to declare your brothers as monsters and convince yourself that you didn’t care. You had hoped that deciding to hate them would allow you to move on, but even that came with a desolate aftertaste.

You had blacked out in your thoughts, allowing your feet to take you where they wished, and you find yourself at a familiar boulder. You look to your left at the picnic table, staring longingly at it. It was quiet for a moment before the sight of your brother and sisters sitting on the top of the picnic table, their feet resting on the bench, appeared. They sat quietly, Atticus frowning as he looked out in the forest.

“Focus on your breathing. You won’t shift if you’re impatient.” Your gaze snaps in the direction of the voice. You saw yourself slouched in defeat as Alabaster’s hands gripped your shoulders. His green eyes peered into yours.

You were the only one that hadn’t become ethereal after trying for the past 30 minutes. Atticus had transformed on his second try, Lou Ellen on her third, and the others followed close after. But you had lost count, growing more tired and discouraged after every failed attempt. Alabaster noticed you were on the verge of tears, your lip trembling, and he easily saw that you were crawling into a bad headspace.

“I can’t do it,” you sniffled, feeling embarrassed as your siblings waited for you. You were aware they weren’t judging you and had instead been encouraging you the entire time, but you still felt ashamed. The voices in your mind taunted you, making you forget any positive feedback you received that day. You were the weakest link of the group. You were never going to be powerful as your brothers, and so you’ll never be recognized by your mother, it said.

“You can, Y/n. You’re getting too in your head,” Al reassured you, his hands falling to his side, taking a step back. You were confident that he had given up on you, and you didn’t blame him. You looked down at the ground and fiddled with your fingers. It was silent for a moment before you heard him sigh.

“Try again,” he said softly.

You groaned and rolled your eyes at yourself. You were drained from trying so long, and you were ready to accept your defeat and stomp away. You looked at Alabaster again as he patiently waited for you.

You swallowed hard, and you closed your eyes as you heard the encouraging words of your siblings. Their words failed to cancel out the negative thoughts in your own head, though. You were already bothered by the little voice that said you would never transform. You dwelled on being the last one and what made you feel worse was that it was nighttime - when your magic is at its strongest - yet you still hadn’t transformed. Maybe you weren’t as powerful as your brothers gave you credit for. Disappointment swirled in your stomach, clouding your brain, and your fist clenched as you tried to shake off the thoughts in your head. You were well aware that your mindset was holding you back. You inhaled deeply, somehow finding the will to set aside your negative thoughts.

You decided you won’t allow yourself to be the only person who couldn’t transform. You weren’t going to let your insecurity of being the “weakest link” get to you, at least not on that night. You huffed out and felt a tug in your core before your fingertips and toes began to vibrate. You gasped, and your eyebrows furrowed tightly, the vibrating sensation gradually becoming more intense to the point where it almost hurt.

You heard an excited cheer come from one of your sister's lips as the feeling crept up your arms and legs. It finally met your core, and it was as if a ball of warm, electric energy sat right in the pit of your stomach. You opened your eyes, immediately seeing the bright smile on Alabaster’s face. A relieved laugh came from your lips as a few tears ran down your face from your previously pent-up anger.

“I told you.”

You snap back to reality, looking around you to see that you were still alone. No one was at the picnic table other than Ambrose, who was laid down at the foot of it, watching you cautiously. You swore you heard the sound of Al’s voice as if he was right in front of you, but that wasn’t possible. As much as you wished for it to be, you knew your siblings were long gone.

Though you were incredibly grateful for Atticus and Lou Ellen deciding to stay, the dynamic that your siblings had as a whole was something that you wouldn’t be able to get back. Now it was the three of you, left to figure things out on your own. It’s not as if you three were incapable of figuring things out, but you’ll miss your brother's guidance.

You think perhaps if your mother didn’t give them the okay to leave, they would have never left. You couldn’t help but be mad at her, and lately, you’ve been a little petty towards your mom. Tonight, you had decided to go to dinner and dedicate your burned offering to Hestia instead. You’ve been praying to her every night as well, hoping that maybe she’d be able to bring your siblings back to you.

You hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary to inform you if your mother was aware of your silence or if she cared. You also found yourself wondering what she thought of you for not leaving. How could she not visit you? Were you really not worth, maybe, five minutes of her time? Did you have to prove yourself worthy? If so, how? You were yearning to know, but even for that, you were unable to find the answer.

Your jaw clenches, feeling your sorrow shifting to rage in your core. Take a deep breath, Ernest would say, and you do, filling your lungs to their capacity, and you hold it. Think of your surroundings. Meditate on the question: If I erupt, will I hurt someone? If the answer is yes, take a step back, breath in for 10 seconds, out for another 10 until you’re calm. If the answer is no… well, fuck it. Everyone needs to be angry sometimes.

Your head tilts slightly, taking in the clear night sky for a moment. From your peripheral vision, you can see your green aura wildly swirling and flickering around you. You close your eyes, and your chest expands, ready to release the air you’ve been holding. There was no rustling of the trees or grass, no monster screams, no sounds of the surrounding camper. The forest was still until it wasn’t as you let out a deafening scream.

After hearing the news of your siblings running away from camp at the counselor's meeting a few days ago, Percy had made a mental note to check up on you. In the time between his activities, he had checked the strawberry fields, the arts and craft center, even the arena in an attempt to find you. For a moment, he had thought you had left with them, but when he saw that Atticus was still at camp, he knew you had to be somewhere. It wasn’t until he passed by the Hermes dinner table the other day did he decide to ask your brother where you were. By then, you had not shown up for your meals for two days straight. Atticus told him that you weren’t doing too good, deciding to isolate yourself in the company of Lou Ellen. He had offered to let Percy come with him to drop off your dinner, but he had decided not to go.

He figured that you needed time for yourself, and he didn’t want to intrude. He was also worried if it would have been weird to check up on you. Surely, you were friends? You considered him as a friend, right? He hoped so since he had considered you one. He thought maybe he was overthinking it but then he began to worry that you would blame him. He had to do some mental gymnastics to come up with a reason why you would be mad at him, but he was able to come up with something. He would understand if you were mad at him since he is, well, suspected to be the child of the prophecy. So obviously, none of this would have happened if he wasn’t born? Right? He had told Annabeth about it, and from the way she blankly stared at him, he knew that the reason wasn’t solid, but still, he was nervous.

He was surprised to see you walk out of the Apollo Cabin. After hearing that you were hiding away, he didn’t expect you to attend one of the most lively events tonight. From afar, you seemed upset, but you also glinted with determination as you walked with purpose. He was seated with Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia by the campfire, listening to Annabeth ramble about the architecture of the Palace of Versailles to Thalia and Grover. It was her newest hyper fixation, and Percy had been listening though he got a little lost at some point. He didn’t want to lose his chance to approach you, not sure when the next opportunity would be so he quickly finished up the s’more he was eating before getting up from the bench.

“Um, I’ll be back,” he says. The only person who had heard him was Grover, who nodded to acknowledge him while Annabeth didn’t miss a beat in her ranting.

He checked in the usual places you would hang out in, but you were nowhere to be found. He found himself walking along the gravel road in front of the forest. He slows down, turning toward the trees and he hums,

“Did she go in there by herself?” He mutters softly, becoming concerned. It was kind of an unspoken rule that campers shouldn’t venture out on their own.

He looks over when he hears chattering, the wood nymphs slowly making their way out of the forest. They seemed to be gossiping about something as they huddle in a circle right outside of the trees. Percy found it strange that they were away from their homes, especially at this time, and he noticed they all looked a little stunned.

“Hey,” he smiles as he walks over to them. He halts hesitantly, the girls becoming quiet as they turn to him. “Have you guys seen, y/n?”

They exchange looks with each other, Juniper shifting on her feet as she stands in front of him. “Yeah…” she trails off, facing the dark trees. “Just keep walking. You’ll hear her.”

Percy furrows his eyebrows, unsure what they meant by that, but he takes their advice anyway. It didn’t take him long to find out what they meant, hearing your yelling before he saw you illuminating in the dark. He had imagined that you would be upset, but he definitely did not expect you to be yelling at the sky, rapidly throwing blasts of energy at a boulder.

Seeing you like this was odd. It was so different from the calm and collected demeanor that you gave off. He had considered you as the quieter twin. Compared to your brother, you weren’t as out there. He hadn’t seen you have many interactions with Atticus, but he could tell that you took on the big sister role. You just seemed more mature.

“How could you- how could you offer something like that?! I’ve never seen you once an- the first message I get from you is to join his stupid army! You took them from us!” You ignore the burning in your throat and the trembling of your arms. You felt lightheaded, and you didn’t know if it was due to how hard you were yelling or the amount of energy you were burning out. “I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” You shout weakly, looking up at the sky, hoping that your mother was listening to you. You wanted her to know how you felt betrayed, angry, and heartbroken.

Despite your anger, you still held back on what you said. You were wary not to push too far, preferring to not meet your mother's wrath the first time she visited you. You wanted an explanation; you wanted to hear the orders and the promises she made from herself. But you doubted she would appear.

Hot tears roll down your cheeks, your breath ragged, and you wail, blasting the last long beam you were able to muster at the boulder. You stumble from your own force, a sob leaving your lips, and your forearm wipes your tears.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” you strain in a whisper.

You gasp as you hear a twig snap behind you. You freeze in your spot, your heart beating hard in your chest. You were confident that you had summoned your mother. You took a deep breath, ready to face her, but to your surprise, you were met with Percy.

Percy's body tenses the moment you snap your gaze to him, swallowing hard as your glowing eyes bore right into his. He was hoping that his speculations of you being mad at him were wrong. The burning smell from your beams filled the air, and he definitely did not want to be charred up like that boulder. To his relief, he watches your clouded expression soften. He shifts, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Are you okay?” He asks, immediately cringing at himself afterward. Of course, she isn’t okay, why would you ask her that?

You sniffle, and you nod, “Yeah, I’m just doing my nightly prayers.” Though you tried to lighten up the mood, your voice was sad and hoarse.

Percy frowns, and he steps over a log in his way. He walks over to you as you plop down to sit on the grass with your legs crossed. Ambrose comes to your side, resting his head on your thigh, and you pet him softly.

“I heard what happened,” Percy’s tone is soft as he hesitantly invites himself to sit beside you. He wasn’t sure you wanted to be comforted right now, but you didn’t tell him to go away, so he took that as a good sign. He hums, looking down at his hands, “Travis reported it during the counselor meeting the day after,” he mentions. “Atticus told me you weren’t doing too well. I can’t do much, but if you want to talk about it, I’m listening.”

You didn’t want to dump everything on Percy, but the genuine concern in his tone made you feel comfortable enough to consider laying all your thoughts out on the table.

You haven't had the chance to discuss your feelings yet. There was a silent understanding between you, Atticus, and Lou Ellen that none of you were ready to bring it up and would rather go along your days pretending it didn’t happen. But as you continued to avoid it, it began to fester like an infected wound.

You were so lost in your thoughts, you didn’t realize for how long you were quiet. In your silence, Percy waited patiently, not wanting you to feel pressured. Every once in a while, he would look over, noticing the flickering of your aura slowing down until it’s absorbed into your body, leaving you both with the soft white light coming from Ambrose’s body. If you decided not to talk about it, he told himself he wouldn’t pry, but he would be worried about you for keeping everything in.

You didn’t know how much Travis had said at the counselors meeting. Your mind was rushing with thoughts, asking yourself where you should start while also deciding if you should be completely honest with him. It wasn’t until now that you were faced with all the conflicting feelings you’ve had in the past few days. They came at you all at once, and a sniffle cuts through your silence. You sigh shakily, resting your head on Percy’s shoulder.

Percy looks down at you, able to make out some of your features in the dark. Your eyelids were a little puffy from crying, and you look exhausted. He frowns as a small sob leaves your lips, shifting to wrap his arm around your shoulders. He debated if he should say anything to you. He didn't find that this was a situation where an “it’s okay” was appropriate. Kronos was rising, war was on its way, and Luke was recruiting campers, 5 of those campers being your siblings. None of that was okay. He felt a pang in his chest, grasping on to the fact that you’d be fighting against them when it was time for battle.

“I’m sorry,” your voice quivers. You hated feeling as if you were losing control of your emotions. You didn’t want Percy seeing you like this, and you began to feel embarrassed.

“Don’t be sorry,” he shakes his head, and he opens his mouth to say something else but is too stunned when you pull away abruptly. Your gaze is fixed in the opposite direction as you try to catch your breath, hiccuping and gasping softly for a bit. “Y/n?”

“I almost left, and I feel guilty because a part of me regrets not leaving,” you blurted out the confession that was eating you up the most. It was what you were afraid to admit out loud, especially to Atticus and Lou Ellen. You didn’t want to admit that you, the one who found the courage to voice your opinion to your brothers, the one that declared she was staying at the camp, had begun to regret her decision. As much as you wished to not regret it, the what-if questions that filled your mind were hard to avoid. Were you actually missing out on the opportunity to be taught by your mother? Was it true what James said? Was deciding to stay a death wish?

You refused to look at Percy. You were wondering if he thought he was talking to a potential traitor to the camp. You were wondering if he would think of you differently now that you have confessed to having the slightest thought of joining Kronos.

Percy was lost for words, his face flashed with surprise, and he was glad you weren’t looking at him. He didn’t want you to think that he was judging you because he wasn’t; he was just taken aback. The tension between you started to thicken the longer he stayed quiet. His eyes scan the ground, frantically searching for something to say.

“Why did you stay?” He asks hesitantly.

Your teeth chew on the inside of your lip, and you now regret saying anything. You didn’t know if the shift in the air around the two of you was in your head, but either way, it bothered you.

“Because…” you trail off. The list of reasons why you stayed was long, and you didn’t want to go through all of them. You were determined to keep this conversation short, afraid that if you keep dwelling on this situation for too long, you will find more reasons to be angry.

“Because I’m not going to die for a cause I don’t believe in,” you declare. “I understand their side. I understand why they decided to leave. Alabaster was always saying that he wished things were different for us here at camp. I mean, so do I. They also had the approval of our mother, and they were promised to be taken care of if Kr- the Titan Lord wins. I can’t blame them for not giving that up because even I was hesitant to give it up,” you confess.

You sniffle softly, peeling the skin around your fingers before continuing, “But… for the change they're looking for, I don’t think this is the way to do it. Like really? Allying with him? Yeah, the gods are big jerks, but I don’t understand how he would be any different of a leader.” You sigh, “I considered leaving just to be with them, but I couldn’t go through with it. I wouldn’t feel right. I tried to convince them to stay, but they were set on leaving.”

Percy was quiet for a moment, and you found the courage to look up at him. His vision is fixed on the forest ahead before he meets your gaze. “I don’t think you should blame yourself for regretting not going. I think if I were in your position, I would have thought about the same things. They mean a lot to you. They’re your family.”

You nod, relieved that he understood where you were coming from. “Atticus was my last straw. If he had decided to leave, I would have left despite everything.”

“Understandable. He’s your twin,” Percy shrugs. You sigh shakily, your chest feeling a little lighter after being able to voice your thoughts. You felt more satisfied with yourself now. Your challenged morals felt solidified, and you decided with confidence that your choice was right for you.

“I give you a lot of props, Y/n. You were in a tough situation, and it must have been hard to stand your ground, especially since most of them decided to leave.”

“Yeah…” you say softly, and you realize that maybe you should have been kinder to yourself for having that feeling of regret.

“I think it’s really awesome what you did. Doing something like that takes a lot of guts,” Percy says, and you can hear the smile in his voice.

“Thanks…” you say shyly.

A soft smile plays on his lips, and he can tell you were starting to feel better. He was glad that he could help because he understood what you were feeling. He didn’t exactly go through the same thing, but he knew how it felt to second guess your choices and how it was easy to spiral when you dwelled on it for too long.

“You’re really sweet, waterboy. Thanks a lot," you say playfully as you return the smile. Your heart flutters as Percy’s face brightens before sheepishly looking away from you for a second.

He didn’t get compliments like that often. Well, he has, from his mom, but he didn’t count that. It wasn’t the same as getting the compliment from a girl, a girl as pretty as you are.

“I-it was nothing,” he moves his hand in a dismissive wave, and you giggle. “Well… I don’t know if you were done with your ‘prayer,’ but I think you should go back to the party in the Apollo Cabin. I’ll come with you. It sounded like a lot of fun in there."

"Ugh, but they’re going to make me sing,” you slouch, and Percy laughs at the slight pout on your face.

“I’ll sing with you,” he says, and you furrow your eyebrows, surprised at his offer. You’ve only seen him at karaoke a few times, and he always stayed on the sidelines.

“You can sing?” You ask, amused. Percy definitely didn’t seem like the musical type.

“Nope, I’m pretty much tone-deaf, but I’ll embarrass myself for you since you had a rough day," he nudges you softly before standing up. You look up at him as he pats down his pants, and you lean back on your hands.

“I’m gonna pick a ballad so you can embarrass yourself even more," you smirk at him, and he stops patting his clothes, squinting at you.

“Don’t make me take it all back,” he jokes. He reaches his hand out to you, and you grab it, letting him help you up from the ground.

“You know, I’d kill to hear you sing a Britney Spears song," you mention as you pat your own clothes down and begin to walk out of the forest, Ambrose acting as your guide by trotting ahead of you.

Percy is quiet for a moment, and you glance over, positive that he's starting to regret his offer to sing with you.

"Please don’t do that to me.”

You laugh at him; the thought of Percy singing a Britney Spears song was way too funny to you. Percy gave you a cautious look, not sure if you were serious or not. “Fine, fine! I shouldn’t take advantage of your kindness,” you admit as your laugh ceases. Percy nods, playfully agreeing with you. “You listen to My Chemical Romance?” You ask, and he scoffs,

“Of course, I listen to My Chemical Romance.”

“Let’s sing Teenagers then,” you suggest. “It’s a crowd favorite. Everyone sings along, so no one has to suffer through your singing. What do you think?” you tease, and you take in his bright smile as he nods his head,

“Sounds good to me.”

masterlist taglist: @nct127bee @xxyrr @mochabreezeee @minamisulemisa @yanfeisluvr

[akitokihojo]

Monster - Chapter 16

chapter index

dedicated to @keichanz bc I made her a deal on twitter the other day.

------

Inuyasha wasn’t breathing. For all he knew, his heart wasn’t even beating.

Kagome.

The nails of her fingers were pinching into the tentacle with force even the hanyou could see. There were tears beginning to streak her face. She was scared. She was so scared. But, in her eyes, all he could see was how desperately she wanted to be with him. Right at his side, in his arms, protected behind him, it didn’t matter. She just wanted to be with him. Inuyasha’s ears pinned to his head in response, a horribly guilty feeling taking root not just in his core, but in his entire body.

Naraku’s wicked smile grew wider, bearing teeth as a rumble of laughter escaped his tongue.

How could he get to her? Inuyasha needed to move fast. He needed to act now. His sword was too far out of reach, and his claws had already failed him against the disgusting tendrils that held him captive. If he could get his hands on his sheath, it could act as a magnetic force and pull his sword back in. He’d done it before. The problem was, it was clutched within the tentacles wrapped around his hip.

He began to grow frantic. The appendage wasn’t budging, and the puppet’s laughter was only growing further taunting. Scrambling, Inuyasha tried reaching for Tessaiga, extending his hand as far as it would go, scraping his forearms on the rocky terrain as he tried crawling, pushing himself, prying himself free, anything. He wanted to scream at the goddamn sword to come to him. He was wearing the fucking sheath; why couldn’t it work this way? Kagome was in trouble. He needed to save her. He didn’t have time to weasel the sheath out; the sword should obey his command. Inuyasha wasn’t opposed to begging, and if his throat hadn’t had a thick, bulbous lump form in the center of it, he would be openly pleading for Tessaiga to come to him.

“Inuyasha.” Her voice was small, frightened, and if his ears could sink back any further, they would have instantly. That tone from her, that fragile, broken tone was worse than when she yelled. It was like she wanted to say something more, but she couldn’t. The rest of it all was caught behind her trembling frown and large eyes.

He could see it on her face. He could tell what she wanted to say, and he didn’t want to hear it. Not like this. Not here. Not now. If it was only under duress, then not ever. She would only say those words under these circumstances because she’d be giving up. Inuyasha couldn’t handle that form of heartbreak. Not from her, and he surely wouldn’t survive it, himself. No. He could still save her.

The hanyou halted immediately as he heard her gasp, golden eyes flying back to her to find that Naraku had jerked her toward him. Their faces were an inch apart, her tears were gliding down to the tip of her nose with how he held her, and the sick bastard caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

“Scream for me.”

Inuyasha flashed cold. The monster threw Kagome so violently, and her blood-curdling scream rang in his ears. Everything in him stopped. He was struck frozen. The vital pieces of him shattered instantaneously, and the fragments of who he was pierced his lungs, his heart, his stomach, his arteries.

“No.” He whispered pleadingly.

“No.” He said a little louder, his lungs beginning to pump as warmth gradually returned to him. Kagome wasn’t dead. He could still fucking save her. Fuck this puppet, fuck Naraku. He could still save Kagome.

With a seething rage that quickly boiled over, engulfing him, sending every little bit of his instincts into hyperdrive, Inuyasha reached for his sword again, but suddenly feeling a rush of turbulent, demonic energy soaring their way, he hastily stopped and ducked down. He felt the tight grip Naraku’s tentacle had on him slacken, and without a second thought, Inuyasha shoved the fucking thing off, scampering forward to snag the hilt of Tessaiga and jump to his feet.

“Fuck!” Sesshomaru growled, his knuckles white with how tightly he gripped his own sword. His presentation with it was strong, stoic, and his light, amber eyes glowed with the hint of venomous red.

Inuyasha didn’t have a second to waste to question anything. The puppet’s flesh was mending from Sesshomaru’s attack, and while its attention was on his half brother, the hanyou needed to go.

He raced to the edge, but a sharp smack on his abdomen had Inuyasha flying backwards. Quick enough this time, he stayed on his feet, stumbling where he’d landed, but swift in throwing himself right back into his objective. He dodged the root that had just assaulted him but was caught by another, bringing a lethal growl from his clenched teeth.

“You’re not going anywhere, half breed!” Naraku yelled, yet again throwing him back.

Inuyasha wasn’t going to bother wasting his breath on this puppet. He wasn’t going to entertain back-and-forth’s, or play the insult game, or even threaten the vile creature. What he was going to do was get to Kagome as fast as he fucking could.

The hanyou raised Tessaiga over his head, blisteringly hot as he felt the demonic energy power through his sword, and he swung so hard that the sharp edge of the metal sliced into the ground beneath his feet. His attack damaged the earth as it surged in Naraku’s direction, and just as the assault ripped at his flesh, Inuyasha took the open opportunity to try and sprint by.

It was infuriating how his attempt was, yet again, thwarted. How was the thing so goddamn fast when it was damaged?

“Inuyasha, stop!” Sesshomaru demanded. “Fight!”

“Don’t worry, half breed. You’ll join your wench in hell soon.”

“Fuck you!” Inuyasha roared, swiping his sword at the tentacle that threatened him and chopping it clean off. “Sesshomaru, take this! I have to rescue Kagome!”

“You have to stay!” His brother returned, readying his sword for another attack. “You have to fight!”

“I can’t!”

“You fucking coward!” Sesshomaru shouted, a vein bulging in the center of his forehead. “Fight Naraku!”

“It’s just a puppet! It’s not him! You’re not going to find your precious child with this creep; it’s a decoy! His heart is in his abdomen! Finish him off! I don’t have fucking time for this!”

“Inuyasha!”

“Sesshomaru, if your daughter was the one thrown over the cliff, you wouldn’t fucking hesitate to jump after her! So, why the fuck are you stopping me!? I know you saw Kagome go over! I won’t tell you this again! If you stop me, if Kagome is dead because I couldn’t save her in time, I’m going to kill you, too!” The glower, the radiance in the hanyou’s eyes was positively murderous. He meant what he’d said. Anyone who got in his way from this point further was in the crossfire, and he would swing his sword without hesitation.

Nevertheless, Sesshomaru tried to convey his message silently. He wasn’t sure if his younger brother would receive it; he was daft, and when his vision was clouded by urgent matters, he was unreceptive toward hints. Still, giving it effort Inuyasha was unworthy of, Sesshomaru furrowed his brows a little deeper, his stare unwavering, his hardened jaw unrelenting as he ordered the half breed to trust him. And, to his surprise, it seemed Inuyasha understood. Though his shoulders remained squared, his glare relaxed an ounce, and with extreme reluctance, he turned his fearsome attention back in the direction it truly belonged.

The puppet, now completely regenerated again, began to laugh. “How adorable.” He disparaged. “The two dog demon brothers are going to work together to take down their foe.”

Kagome hit the water. Hard. The air was knocked from her lungs, and large bubbles escaped her mouth as she coughed forcefully. The hit and the current had her disoriented, and though she was trying to regain control over her body in a hasty manner, she couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried to kick, to move her arms, it was like she had no proper muscle control and was at the mercy of the unforgiving river.

Desperately, she needed to breathe. Kagome was trapped beneath the rolling water, tossed and turned, and pushed down every time she thought she might be right-side-up. Finally working in her favor, the current pulled her up and she was able to gasp deeply, choked, but she got in some oxygen before her head was thrown beneath the surface again.

How was she going to get out of this? How was she going to survive before asphyxiation stole what was left of her? Already, due to her fight against the waves crashing on her, Kagome felt her lungs begging for air. So easily, her muscles grew fatigued, but she pushed and pushed. Her legs never stopped kicking, though they pumped a little less powerfully. Her arms never stopped grabbing for the surface, though it always felt like it was too far.

Again, the current had some compassion and it brought her up for a short breath of air, pushed her under, then pulled her up again where she was able to swim the tiniest bit. The river was too wild, though. It was too strong. She barely stood a chance against it and Kagome worried that, at this rate, she wouldn’t survive long enough to find shallow land and pull herself ashore.

Something thick wrapped around her core, and she felt herself being pulled. Kagome’s back was pressed against a hard surface, and whatever held onto her had a grasp that refused to let go. She wasn’t fighting it. She couldn’t fight it. Truthfully, she was too dizzy to properly comprehend what, exactly, was happening. Her head was brought to the surface, and Kagome gasped loudly for air, hearing the same from whomever was immediately behind her.

They were shoved beneath the water again, but she could feel herself being guided, pulled, and in an attempt to aid, she pumped her legs as hard as she could. Thankfully, it wasn’t long until her head was thrusted up above the current by the very arms that held her tight.

“Grab onto this!” She was instructed, directed closer to a thick log that was wedged between boulders. “Don’t let go!”

“I can’t!” Kagome admitted, trying but slipping each time. Her muscles still didn’t want to work with her, and the texture of the bark was more slimy than rough, giving her no grip to cling to.

“No, I’ve got you Kagome! I promise!”

“I’m gonna slip!”

“You wont! I’m right here!” He swore. “Just grab on for two seconds!”

She did, latching on as tight as she could as she felt the body pin her to it. Water was flooding over, in their faces, and Kagome had had to turn her head to the side so she stood a chance at breathing.

“Listen closely! The moment we move, we’re gonna be pulled under again! I’m not going to let go of you! Just swim, okay? I’m going to get us to the bank as quickly as I can!”

Kagome nodded in acknowledgment.

“Take a deep breath! Now!”

With a gasp, Kagome released her grip on the log just as she felt his thick arms wrap around her waist again. She was yanked to the right by his force, and with everything she had, she pumped her legs. It was excruciatingly tiring so quickly, it pushed the air from her lungs, and she felt that pressure, that burning, that ache for more oxygen all too soon. She had to last. She had to trust them. Their hold was unrelenting, so she knew they were doing everything they could to help her.

She was brought to the surface, and Kagome coughed violently, finally feeling loose ground beneath her as she tried crawling through the deeper water to the more shallow edge. Those hands never left her, guiding her, pulling her completely out of the throws of dangers, away from the water where she stood on her hands and knees on the smooth surface of rock. The coughs and chokes racked her torso painfully, and a large hand rubbed her back, urging her to let it out as water spilled from her mouth.

“There you go. There you go, Kagome.” He reassured as more of the river forced its way from her lungs. “Atta girl.”

With her chest pumping, not quite done coughing, Kagome glanced up to see Koga beside her, and instantly, she felt a little safer to lean into his touch, allowing her muscles to give in just for a brief moment. The wolf demon gladly supported her, continuing to rub her back as he, too, breathed heavily.

“How did - how did you…?” Kagome sputtered as she sat up again, watching Koga crawl the short way over to the rocky wall and lean his back against it.

“I was trying to sneak up on the fucker. Saw you go over and abandoned it immediately. Jumped in after you.” He admitted, sweeping the soaked, rogue strands of hair that escaped his ponytail from his face.

For a second, she was grateful. She would have died without his help. But, then it was like the situation hit her ten fold, and a new panic began to build. “You should have - you should have helped Inuyasha. He’s -“

“Woah there.” Koga tried to calm her down as she unsteadily attempted to push herself to her feet, falling instantly. She was persistent in her failed attempts, though. Again, she tried to walk, and her muscles immediately gave out. And, then she tried to settle with crawling, but even then, she couldn’t even bring herself to crawl straight, falling off balance as soon as she got going. “Kagome, chill. Stop. He’s fine. He’ll be fine. Sesshomaru’s with him.”

Kagome met him with stricken eyes, a more pressing expression appearing on her face. As if that was further back up to her argument than anything, and the wolf demon couldn’t fight the chortle that escaped his lips.

“No, I promise you, Inuyasha will be fine! Relax!” He insisted, grabbing her waist to essentially pin her to her spot so she’d stop trying to scurry away. “I know it’s unsettling, but Sesshomaru’s after the puppet. Inuyasha dying would mean Naraku won, and Sesshomaru’s just that prideful to want to prevent that at all costs.”

She breathed some, trying to steady herself as she processed what Koga had said. All she could do was hope he was right. Kagome was trembling so bad, she could barely move her body correctly, so what help would she even be right now? She’d only get in the way. If Sesshomaru was there, it was still two against one. At least Inuyasha wasn’t fighting Naraku alone.

“How did you know it was a puppet?” She asked.

Koga presented the bruised cut in the midsts of the heeling process on his left cheek. “We were lucky enough to run into one yesterday. Because of that, we knew the scent. And, we’d caught onto yours and Inuyasha’s, so we ran over.”

“I never considered Sesshomaru the supportive type.” Kagome remarked.

“He’s not.” The wolf confirmed. “He just wants to make sure everything that belongs to Naraku is shredded to pieces. Who cares, though? It works in your guys’ favor.”

“So, you’re traveling with him now?”

“Despite his requests that I burn in hell and leave him alone, yeah. Don’t worry, he’s gotten used to me.” Koga chuckled, but his smile quickly faded as he realized Kagome was struggling with herself. He’d thought she was cold, but the way her fingers continued to shake wasn’t just a shiver. Of course. She’d almost just died. Her eyes were on the rock beneath her, her frown was subtle but present, her cheeks were pale, and as if he had a passage into her mind, he could tell she was worried. “Kagome?”

“We need to -“

“No.” He knew what she was going to say. She was so easy to read right now, and the tears brimming in her eyes basically confirmed his suspicions. “He’s fine. This is Inuyasha we’re talking about. The most stubborn bastard on the planet.”

“I need to help him.”

“He can handle this.”

“I need to help him.” Kagome repeated, more fervently that time.

“Kagome, do you trust him?”

The conjurer looked up at him, a warm tear gliding down her cold cheek. Of course, she trusted Inuyasha. She trusted him more than anybody. It wasn’t even a question she needed to consider, and in reply, she nodded her head.

“Then, have faith in his strength, as well. He needs it right now. You think he’d let anything happen to himself when, for all he knows, he needs to go find you? That fucker doesn’t know when to quit, believe me. He doesn’t know I was there, he doesn’t know I saved you. Inuyasha’s going to be just fine, I fucking swear it.” Koga said, never breaking the contact his bright blue eyes held on hers. Gently, he pushed some soaked hair away from her face, sweeping it behind her ear. His voice took on a softer note then, trying to get her to relax just a little. “I’ll get you back to him. I will. You’ll see. Lend me some of that trust for a little while, okay?”

He was right. No matter how difficult it was to swallow her pressing concerns, her anxiety, Kagome decidedly gave him the respect he deserved and accepted his kindness with a nod. After rescuing her, Koga had earned that much.

She had the saddest pout and the wolf demon didn’t know the first thing about helping her. Poor thing looked like she’d been through the wringer lately, and just barely surviving a near-death experience now topped it all off. Her silent tears meshed with the water she was still drenched in, and for the sake of her vulnerability, he resisted in crossing any boundaries that would potentially make her uncomfortable. No cheek stroking or tear cleaning, no unsolicited, tender gestures, no unwarranted touching.

“You want a hug?” He carefully offered. He was happy with how quickly she nodded, crying just a little harder as it all came crashing down on her. She just needed to ride the worst of her nerves out. It was the comedown from the rush of adrenaline; he knew that stress very well.

Koga scooted a couple inches closer to the conjurer, pulling the woman into his chest so she could slump against him as he rubbed her back. Patiently, he waited for her to calm down, and as she sat up straight and rubbed her eyes clean, Koga turned around onto his knees.

“Climb on.”

The sweat leaking into the gash on Inuyasha’s forehead was burning worse than when the blood got into his eye, the salt in his sweat creating a sizzling sensation. It inadvertently served as a grounding effect, keeping Inuyasha in the present as he stood not too far from his half brother, facing off with the faux Naraku. This shouldn’t be taking so goddamn long, but alternatively speaking, the tick of a second passing felt like minutes to Inuyasha. All it meant was Kagome was getting further and further away, her danger increasing.

Even though Sesshomaru had pinned him with his glare, communicating an urgent vexation that the hanyou begrudgingly felt was important to heed, they were still failing to work together. Inuyasha and his brother had different brands of fighting, and the both of them were domineering in their own way. It wasn’t like combat with Kagome, where they bounced off of one another and utilized each other’s strengths to advance. Not even close. All he and Sesshomaru were doing here was clashing. But, Inuyasha now knew that the only way it seemed they’d make a difference would be for one of them to swallow their pride and follow the other’s lead - and he knew damn well it’d have to be him to do so. Sesshomaru was too proud and egotistical to ever consider being led by another, no less him, but Inuyasha was to the point where he didn’t give a flying fuck anymore. He shouldn’t even be here right now, but since he was stuck, he needed this fight to come to an end.

“Got a plan?” Inuyasha asked.

“Kill it.” Sesshomaru bluntly stated.

“It’s regenerative properties are fast.”

“No, you’re just slow in following up your fucking moves. If there’s an opening, you take it. Your mind is on that girl. It needs to be here. In this fight.”

“I don’t much see you finishing that thing off! If you’re so goddamn fast, seal the deal, Sesshomaru!”

“It cannot be me! Don’t you get it? I’ve faced my puppet and sent my message off to Naraku! He knows I’m in the race! This is yours! If you want him to know where you stand against him, kill this thing, Inuyasha! Rip it apart! Tell him you will not stand for this with your actions! Or, are you actually as weak as your human heart makes you out to be?”

“What is this, a motivational speech?” Inuyasha ridiculed, leaping to the left to dodge a flailing tentacle from the freakish puppet.

“Goddammit, you worthless piece of shit, just kill it!” Sesshomaru fired, swinging his Bakusaiga down to throw an attack at Naraku. His arm disintegrated, part of his chest breaking off as well, but again, his idiotic half brother didn’t move quick enough.

“I don’t have fucking time for this!” Inuyasha yelled, his voice cracking with his fury.

“You’d better fucking make the time! Kagome is dead, Inuyasha! To run after her would be a waste! You have nothing better to do now than to fuck that thing up!”

“She’s not dead!”

“She is dead! There’s no fucking way she’d survive that fall! Do not delude yourself!”

“Sesshomaru, shut the fuck up!”

“Grow up, Inuyasha! Do not die the way father did! Do not die because of the love of a human who cannot even fight for herself!”

Irate, Inuyasha slashed his sword with so much force that the wind even caused Sesshomaru to stumble away. He was seeing red, the boiling of his blood effervescent, physically tingling just beneath his skin, and without thinking, the hanyou jumped for the puppet, shoved his claws through the regenerating flesh, and pulled out a wooden object. Tendon-like tissues clung to the “heart,” attempting to pull it back into his body, but Inuyasha refused to let go, holding firm despite the numerous blows Naraku supplied to his temple, his growl turning into a loud and deep roar as he tore the wood away once and for all.

Naraku’s body, the tentacles, the firm spider legs, the roots that made home all crumbled away with a maniacal shout of defeat that would have caused a chill to race down Inuyasha’s spine had he not been in such an infuriated state of mind. Even so, the heart hadn’t been destroyed. In Inuyasha’s hand, skin began to bubble, grow, sprout, engulfing his fist, but he didn’t blink. The hanyou had dropped Tessaiga to the floor and redirected his path toward Sesshomaru, his glower deep and fearsome.

“I don’t care about making you eat your words. I’m going to shove this down your throat so you choke.” Inuyasha threatened, grabbing the collar of his brother’s shirt. “Solve the problem at the root, right? Can’t talk shit if you’re dead.”

Unfazed and basically emotionless, having not moved from his spot, Sesshomaru reached for Inuyasha’s hand, currently covered completely by the building flesh. The only reason he could guess Naraku hadn’t come back fully yet was Inuyasha’s hold on the heart. There must have been damage slowing it down. Releasing a poison from the tips of his claws, Sesshomaru easily pierced the dough-like skin, penetrating the few inches necessary until he felt Inuyasha’s fist. Gliding his fingers upward, he then found the top half of the heart and snapped it. Instantly, the budding demon died away, a demonic essence evaporating free to disappear in thin air.

Before Sesshomaru could say anything degrading, Inuyasha dropped the crumbled wood and used that same hand to grab his brother’s throat, his claws piercing in at the sides. Swiftly, he stepped a leg behind Sesshomaru’s, shoving his weight back so he would lose balance and topple to the ground with Inuyasha’s direction, Bakusaiga slipping from his hand with a clank. The demon hissed, his growl unable to truly come out through the strangulation, but there was little effort in fighting Inuyasha off, he noticed. Despite that, the hanyou couldn’t free himself from his own clouded mind. He was livid, the storm in his chest violent and raging.

“I am so sick and tired of you belittling everything and everyone around you, you pompous fucking prick!” Inuyasha seethed, ignoring the thrusts of Sesshomaru’s palms against his shoulders.

“Enough!” His half brother spewed through choked breaths, but still did not apply as much force as he should have been.

“Father did not die because of my mother. He died for my mother. I’m sorry that that meant he was taken from you too, but I had as much control over the situation as you did. Do not think less of dad for that, and definitely do not think less of the person my mother was.” The hanyou stated gruffly, pressing his claws tighter against Sesshomaru’s throat. “Her being human didn’t mean a goddamn thing when it came down to the punch. My mother was fierce. My mother was a fighter in her own goddamn way. Come on, Sessy, think about it. You know dad. You think I got my fucking attitude from him?”

Finally, Sesshomaru gripped Inuyasha’s wrist, twisting it painfully to jerk the fucker’s fingers off of his neck so he could breathe. He threw a punch upward at his brother, but to his dismay, the half breed blocked the hit by grabbing his fist and pinning it aggressively to the rock beneath them.

“You’re being irrational! Calm down!” Sesshomaru demanded.

“I find it ironic that you want to mock any kind of love when, if I recall correctly, you’re in love with someone that isn’t even real.” Inuyasha snarled. “Kagura is a mutant created of our enemy’s flesh and sorcery, you goddamn hypocrite! Loving a human is disgusting to you, but what about loving an inorganic lump of clay!?”

“Do not speak of her like this!” Sesshomaru growled.

“Or, what!? Am I offending you!?” The hanyou ridiculed.

“Shut the fuck up, you -“

Inuyasha ripped his wrist free from his brother’s grasp, throwing a punch against his jaw to disorient him before going right back to strangling him. His fingers wrapped around his throat much tighter than before, and it seemed he legitimately held the uncontrollable intent to kill this time around.

“She’s fine, by the way.” Inuyasha said, his voice deadly and low as he leaned in closer to Sesshomaru’s face. “Kagome saw her. Kagome was covered in blood, sobbing, had just lost a fucking friend, and one of the first things she turned to me to say was that your girlfriend and daughter were safe. And, you want to look down on her for being human. That human is so much stronger than you.” His voice picked up as Sesshomaru began to struggle against him, trying to pry his hand from his throat as he dragged in a ragged breath of air. “Maybe not physically, but she’s got the strongest soul of anyone I’ve ever met. Being what she is, you know full and well that that’s more than enough to break you.

“You act as if dying for a human is revolting, but your child, what is she? You can’t fool me into thinking you wouldn’t gladly go in her stead, because I know, just like myself and our father, that you would be happy to die if that meant they got to live.”

“You aren’t thinking clearly. Your human heart - your emotions -“ Sesshomaru grunted through clenched words, forcing his brother’s hand away again. This time, he pinched his claws into Inuyasha’s palms, making it difficult to tear away from. “Goddammit, you imbecile, use your ears! Your nose!”

Inuyasha stopped fighting for a moment and froze. What the fuck was he talking about? The scent in the air was tainted with the ruined earth around them and the leftover stench of Naraku’s puppet. He smelled the river water like they were directly next to it, he smelled his brother, he smelled sweat, he smelled his blood. There was nothing he should be catching onto, and it only felt like Sesshomaru was attempting to distract him.

“Stop! Stop.” The demon ordered as Inuyasha turned to attack him again, gradually relaxing his grip on the hanyou. “Just wait a minute, you fucking idiot.”

The hanyou was confused, but he found genuine sincerity in his brother’s amber eyes. Something he’d never before seen and almost didn’t recognize. Within thirty seconds, he caught approaching footsteps. One person. Heavy boots. The scent of them was muted by water, which was why he couldn’t grasp their presence earlier. Inuyasha’s heart was pounding at a horrendous pace, the blood racing through his veins causing his hands and fingers to quake unsteadily, so he stabilized them by gripping Sesshomaru’s shirt to keep him pinned down in case anything went wrong. Who the fuck was coming their way? It was a demon; he knew that much. Was Sesshomaru warning him of this so they could both prepare for another assault?

Koga was surprised at the rate it took for Kagome to grow heavier against him. At first, she was apprehensive to mount his back, to allow him to carry her. She’d insisted she could walk on her own, but the both of them knew she was full of shit and her pride was getting the better of her. Reluctantly, she’d given in, but was stiff against him. He could tell she wanted to run up the mountain, to be rejoined with Inuyasha as soon as physically possible, but Koga needed to make sure the battle had enough time to finish up before he got her back. If Naraku’s puppet was still around, there was no doubt it would target her in her vulnerable state, and while she would be thoroughly protected, there was no harm in preventing the attack altogether. She’d been through enough for now.

For a moment, he could feel her trembling against him, her fingers clenching against his shoulder, but as his strides stayed smooth and unhurried, Kagome seemed to quickly slump along his frame. Before he knew it, her cheek was planted against his shoulder, her hands were gently holding him, her legs were swaying with his gait, and she finally trusted him with her momentary peace.

He could tell she wasn’t asleep, but at the same time, she was somewhere in a lethargic state. Kagome was neither present nor afar. She’d zoned in her meager relaxation, allowing her mind to briefly rest. Her quivering hadn’t quite fully faded; her fingers still twitched against him. She hadn’t completely stopped crying either, and the only way he could tell that, aside from the subtle twinge of salt coming from her, was the warm tears that leaked from her eyes and onto his shoulder, seeping through his vest. The rest of her was cold, wet, shivers that could barely be differentiated from her anxiety racking her body here and there. Koga hoped his heat was helping at least a little, but he knew the only thing that really would was getting her dry and wrapping her in something warm.

The wolf could hear yelling from a distance, and that, alone, was a dead giveaway that Kagome was too exhausted to currently comprehend anything outside of the context of her mind. Good. If she could hear what he could transpiring between the half brothers, she’d have a fucking aneurysm. He didn’t sense Naraku anymore. Barely even smelled the puppet. So, that meant the worst was over with and he could safely bring Kagome through.

It went dead silent as he approached, the crack of a twig beneath his boot sounding like it echoed in a closed chamber with how the attention was suddenly centered on him. Inuyasha was on top of Sesshomaru, his head bleeding, that blood seeping down his face, his hands in a vice grip against his brother’s shirt, but his eyes darting up to him.

“Sorry, we missed out on all the fun. Or - uh - did we make it just in time for the show?” Koga asked.

The rumble of his gruff voice from his back against her chest had Kagome’s attention slowly rising again. How long had it been since she’d dazed? She barely remembered the hike up, but now they’d stopped. Had he really spoken, or was she dreaming it? She couldn’t even tell if she’d fallen asleep or not. Her eyes blinked open to see they were no longer on a path, and it took a moment to really recognize the scenery around. Lifting her head, Kagome propped her chin against Koga’s shoulder to get a look at who he could be talking to and what was going on, blinking hazily until she saw him.

Inuyasha watched Koga amble into the scene, his hair damp, brown vest and dark pants deepened in shade from moisture that was far from drying completely. Beyond that was a person slouched over his back, and his heart did a flip in his chest. His breathing was already abnormal due to all the physical exertion and emotional stress, but as soon as he spotted the woman Koga carried, his lungs began to take on a different pattern. One of anticipation. One of hope.

Long, damp, black waves became visible as they moved their head, planting their chin against Koga’s shoulder to blink their eyes his way, and immediately, Inuyasha dropped his grip on Sesshomaru and sprinted over to her. Kagome. She was alive. She was okay.

Kagome’s legs and arms squirmed of their own accord, frantically working to free herself from Koga’s supportive hold. The wolf murmured a word of shock from her sudden uprise in energy as he kneeled down to properly release her, and she raced toward Inuyasha, crashing into his arms.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” She rasped before he could ask her to say it, burying her face in his neck as her hanyou hugged her tight.

Inuyasha physically couldn’t speak. He was so overwhelmed by just barely losing her that being able to hold her right now, to know she was alright, had him fighting his knees from crumbling beneath his weight. It was all he could do to thread his fingers through her wet hair at the back of her head and kiss her temple, attempting to communicate with that, but even after doing so, he found it conveyed nothing that he truly wanted her to know.

This should have never happened.

He should have never left her alone in the first place.

He should have been faster. Stronger.

He was so, so, so fucking sorry.

“Took you fucking long enough.” Sesshomaru remarked as Koga sauntered over, holding out a hand for him to take to help him off the floor. Unsurprisingly, the offer was rejected and the dog demon pushed himself to his feet after wiping his bottom lip of a trickle of blood.

“We were washed downstream quite aways. And, I wanted to make sure you guys had ample timing to finish off that puppet. The fuck happened to you?” Koga asked. Sesshomaru didn’t reply, merely shooting a glare at the half breed who was looking over their way, listening in. “No, don’t tell me. Were you being a good, big brother and allowing Inuyasha to let off some steam so that he stayed here? Or, did he actually get the better of you?”

“Oh, fuck off.” Sesshomaru spit.

“You knew?” Inuyasha asked. “You knew Koga went after her the whole time?”

“I figured it out when he hadn’t come up to help. He was climbing the edging of the mountain to sneak in from behind.” His brother replied.

“Then why the fuck would you tell me she was dead!?”

“Use your brain, Inuyasha. I couldn’t tell you anything in front of Naraku. He came here for her, did he not? Therefore, he would have gone stalking off after her if he knew she may have survived.”

Inuyasha actually appreciated that Sesshomaru was tactful enough to cover for the conjurer. It may have crushed him in the moment, but it prevented a chase.

“Also, I could not guarantee Koga was able to rescue her. He’s a wolf demon, not a mermaid. For all I knew, they were both goners.” Sesshomaru said carelessly.

“Thanks, bud.” Koga grimaced.

The hanyou couldn’t even care about that. Sesshomaru wouldn’t openly admit this, so it would be pointless to ask, but it made sense now why he wasn’t actually fighting Inuyasha. He was, for the most part, allowing the altercation to happen so that Inuyasha would stay busy, stay put. He said what he thought would encourage more powerful attacks, and they worked. They were ruthless, but they worked. Inuyasha physically tore the heart from Naraku’s stomach and ended things. And, then he would have ran off aimlessly looking for Kagome had he not been so distraught about what Sesshomaru had said to him.

He was right. Inuyasha had gotten too emotional. But, that was inevitable and it was manipulated to work in his favor.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to feel. It was that Inuyasha didn’t know what to feel first, or if there was even a proper succession to process everything in. Nor did he have the opportunity to think about it before Kagome softly caressed her fingers over his cheek to bring him back to her.

Amber eyes drifted her way, a vibrancy in the irises that grounded her, and his shoulders seemed to soften.

“Your head.” She whispered, moving her fingers to stroke away some blood, but Inuyasha gently grabbed her hand before she could.

“Don’t worry about it, baby. It’s fine.” He quietly said in return. Inuyasha never released her hand, holding it close to his chest, trying to quell the tremors that still ailed her.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Kagome asked, her frown deepening with her concern.

His stomach was sinking. Inuyasha felt so unbelievably heavy, it was a wonder he was still on his feet at this point. Tossed over a cliff, and Kagome was still more concerned about him. Trembling where she stood, but she still attempted to clean the blood from his face. All he wanted to do was kiss her, but he felt like he’d break the moment he leaned in.

In an attempt of a reply, he pulled Kagome back into his chest, placing a soft peck against her forehead. “I’m okay.”

Sesshomaru cleared his throat. They should be grateful he provided a small moment of respect for their reunion, but they had the rest of the night to be sickeningly clingy. For now, and for his efforts, he deserved an answer.

“Inuyasha mentioned you saw Kagura.” His voice was tense, more stressed than he’d intended to come off. He wasn’t typically one to show these sort of emotions, but he found it was becoming increasingly unavoidable when it pertained to his found family.

“Sesshomaru -“ Inuyasha was firm as he was about to declare this conversation wasn’t about to take place right fucking now, but Kagome silenced him with a gentle interruption. One that clearly told him she didn’t mind. Otherwise, she would have stayed quiet.

“I did. I didn’t get to talk to her, though.” She replied, stepping out of the safety of Inuyasha’s arms to stand on her own.

“Then how do you know she and Rin are safe?” Sesshomaru’s fingers furled into rigid fists. Was he lied to? Was he given the inkling of false hope he’d foolishly clung to?

“I overheard her.” Again, her tone was gentle. She knew this wasn’t easy on him, and she could only imagine the pain Inuyasha’s older brother was in. He may be too stoic to show it, but if her little brother was kidnapped by the madman that is Naraku, she’d be devastated. Picturing it from a parental point of view was like putting a blade through her own heart. Not consistently knowing their whereabouts or the state of their welfare had to be excruciating. “Kagura killed my friend, Kikyo. She was another conjurer. One Naraku once loved and feared. I was there while not actually being there, but the details of that part you don’t necessarily need to know. It’s just an explanation as to why I didn’t get to speak with her directly.

“Kagura didn’t want to kill her. She said she only did it to ensure the safety of a little girl. I feel it’s safe to assume that it was your daughter she was talking about. Rin, you said her name was? If that’s the case, which I’m positive it has to be, Kagura’s doing everything in her power to keep Rin protected. Sesshomaru, your family is okay.”

“How long ago was this?” He only looked relieved by a small degree. His shoulders were still incredibly taut and his jaw was hard and set.

“Six days.” Kagome replied. “And, I know you’re thinking anything can happen in that time, but I don’t feel like Kagura would let anything happen.”

“She’s being punished. Now I know why.” Sesshomaru informed.

Her brow crinkled, disturbance twisting her features slightly. “What?”

“We faced a puppet yesterday. That thing told me.”

“But, she did what he told her to do.” She stated, perplexed.

“There’s no use in trying to make sense of Naraku’s actions, Kagome.” Sesshomaru said, his fists still white around his knuckles as he pressed his claws into the heels of his hands.

“Wait, this puppet said the real Naraku was having an episode ‘underground.’” Inuyasha mentioned. “He distinctly warned Kagome not to bring up Kikyo or else the real Naraku could potentially overhear and come through, but that he was essentially torn apart about her death. If he’s twisted enough to mourn for her after plotting it all, he could be twisted enough to punish Kagura for being the one to end her life.”

Inuyasha felt guilty bringing anything up, but the possibility of the truth of the circumstance had to be discussed. He could tell Sesshomaru didn’t want to know too much more, and he could practically feel that talking so much about Kikyo’s passing was salt in an unsealed wound for Kagome. Be that as it may, she didn’t flinch, didn’t look away, but she broadened her shoulders in bracing. She understood it was an inevitable topic and was going to handle it as best as she could, and Inuyasha was proud of her.

“Rin,” Kagome began, carefully watching the demon’s body language. His intense eyes shifted over to her from the side as he had looked away moments ago. His lips were relaxed together, though the most subtle frown of resentment lingered - one not directed her way but still presented for her to observe. “Sesshomaru, Rin’s safe. I’m not just saying that to reassure you. I can feel it in my gut that she’s okay.”

“Does your gut know where they are located?” He asked, scornfully.

“N-no.” She admitted.

“Then, your gut is useless to me.” Sesshomaru declared, shifting on his heel and walking away.

Inuyasha’s hand found Kagome’s back. It wasn’t worth the energy to argue with Sesshomaru over his tactless statement, but watching Kagome’s chest deflate sadly brought a dull ache to sit in Inuyasha’s chest.

“I shouldn’t have said that.” She spoke. “He’s right, how is that supposed to make him feel better?”

“Don’t beat yourself up.” Koga said, still standing near the spot Sesshomaru had left him behind in. “The guy’s great with optimism. If it were literally anybody else, saying something like that would honestly be helpful. You had good intentions, it’s just his choice whether to receive it or not.”

The wolf demon walked over to them, patting Kagome on the head when she gave a meager, disappointed grin, but his gaze met Inuyasha’s. “It looks like you guys have been through hell lately. I suggest you two lay low for a day or so. Keep out of sight. Rest. It’s not gonna hurt anyone if Naraku thinks Kagome is dead. Let him.”

“Koga,” Kagome stepped in to reward him with a kind hug. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He chuckled, rubbing her back before letting her go. “I’m serious. Lay low.”

“Wolf.” Inuyasha spoke, clenching his jaw as he looked at him. His stomach was doing flips and turns, his hands were still shaking, his body felt leadened, and the air in the atmosphere felt like sludge thickening around his shins. As if a swallow would push it all away, Inuyasha bypassed the lump in his throat to do just that, feeling as if he merely managed to mask it all momentarily, and feebly at that. Still, if it weren’t for Koga, Kagome might have died. That needed to be acknowledged. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for -“

“I don’t care.” Inuyasha cut him off, his tone wavering as his defenses faltered for a second. “I don’t care what or who you did it for. It doesn’t fucking matter. I don’t care. Thank you for saving Kagome’s life.”

“Wow. Uh, yeah.” Koga nodded, almost bewilderingly. He couldn’t help but be slightly blown away by Inuyasha’s genuine emotions. It wasn’t like he could claim he knew the guy super well, but it’d been a few years since they’d met and this was the first time he’d ever seen Inuyasha in any manner but grouchy. And, he wouldn’t claim the half demon was anywhere near happy at the moment, but this was still deep. “Sure. Get going, dude.”

“Yeah.” Inuyasha agreed, watching as the wolf demon ran off to follow his brother.

He waited a moment, turning to meet Kagome’s stare at the same time she turned to him.

“Are you really okay, baby?” Inuyasha breathed, cradling her face so softly.

“I’m fine. I promise.” Kagome responded, leaning into his touch.

“No. No.” He felt himself choking on his words as he quickly became overwhelmed again. His mind shifted right back to the sight of Kagome being thrown over the edge, her scream, and he pinched his eyes shut. “You fell. It wasn’t like a few feet, kid. I know you didn’t hit the water gently. Tell me where you’re hurt.” He all but demanded.

“Inuyasha, I’m fine.” She insisted, pushing herself passed his hands to hug her arms around his waist. “Yes, I hit hard, but I don’t feel any pain.”

“Your adrenaline levels are still up then.” He excused.

“And, if you’re right and they die down, I’ll let you know.”

“Kagome, I -“ Why couldn’t he say anything? What did he even want to say? What came first? His concern or his apology? His plead for forgiveness or his admittance that he didn’t deserve it? “Let’s head out. I want to get to an inn before nightfall.”

“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked, worried as he pulled away from her and crossed the terrain to grab the bag she’d shrugged off earlier. He didn’t stop, didn’t try to return to his incomplete sentence, didn’t even turn to acknowledge her. She watched as the hanyou kneeled down in front of the bag, pulling out his robe before forcefully yanking the drawstring shut.

“Here,” He offered, setting the bag down at their feet before holding the crimson robe out for her to put on. “This will keep you warm for the meantime.”

Kagome hesitated. Something was wrong. Of course, something was wrong. This must have been just as terrifying for him as it was for her. But, how could she help? She could tell with the hardened expression on his face that he was choosing to shut the problem out.

Still, she tried again. “Inuyasha, what is it? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I just did.” He sighed. “I want to get to an inn before nightfall.”

“Inuyasha.” Kagome felt that if she pushed him right now, he’d only close off to her more. What he was truly feeling was being hidden behind this wall of an excuse. But, if she prodded, especially too soon, it could have negative repercussions, and Inuyasha didn’t deserve the pressure at the moment. So, with a heavy exhale, she dropped her shoulders, her own defenses, and pushed her arms through the robe he’d been holding open all this time.

“God, baby, you’re shaking.” Inuyasha commented quietly, rubbing her arms as she swaddled up in the garment.

“I’m just a little cold.” She confessed, tucking her hands within the long sleeves. “I’m alright, though.”

“Let me carry you. My body heat will help, okay?”

“If I say no, you’re going to argue with me, aren’t you?” Kagome pursed her lips.

“Yes.”

“Alright.” She sighed, taking the bag to strap over her shoulders as he picked it up.

The hanyou crossed the rock, picking up his de-transformed sword from the ground and sliding it back into its sheath, turning to find Kagome picking up her bow and one surviving arrow. All the others must have been washed away.

“We’ll get you some more.” He promised in way of reassurance.

“Yeah.” She nodded, slipping it back into her empty quiver and securing her bow over her shoulder.

Inuyasha kneeled in front of her, his hands finding her upper thighs as she straddled his back, and as he stood, he hiked her up for better support, clasping his hands beneath her rear so she didn’t droop at all. The dampness of her shirt began to soak through his own, but he didn’t mind. He knew with how quick his blood was pumping right now, his flesh was running hot, so it would help her tremendously.

Kagome cuddled close as he got back onto the path, molding against his frame, and just as a shiver coursed down his spine from her warm breath on his neck, a small kiss in the same spot had his heart jolting. Inuyasha turned his head her way a little, trying to see her affectionate gaze from the side and was gifted with a delicate peck on his cheek. That lump had returned to his throat at full force, making it impossible to speak even if he wanted to. This wasn’t enough for him. Inside, he felt like fire and ice were at war with one another. His mind was racing, and the crunch of the earth beneath his feet couldn’t mute Kagome’s scream of terror that echoed in his ears. Would he ever be able to forget that? Would he ever be able to move on from that look in her eyes? Those tears he saw? He had her in his arms, she was kissing him, and Inuyasha was still weighted with the ungodly fear that he’d lost her for good.

Maybe tending to her comfort tonight would help his heart understand that she was actually okay. Maybe personally seeing to her wounds, if any, and watching over her as she slept would silence this horrible feeling once and for all.

Dusk was disappearing into the shadows of the night, but thankfully, Inuyasha’s nose told him they weren’t far at all from civilization. There was a town up ahead, and by the amount of people he could hear and smell, it was a decently-sized one. Which meant there would definitely be an inn of some sort.

Kagome’s shivering had died down substantially. She was completely relaxed against his back, and if it weren’t for the gentle massage she was giving to one of his shoulders right now, he’d have guessed she’d fallen asleep.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, tone husky.

“Comfy.” Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha chuckled. “We’re near a town. You okay to walk?”

“Mhm.” She hummed, kissing his shoulder when he kneeled to let her down.

Immediately, the hanyou took her hand, threading their fingers and keeping her close to his frame. It was only a little further before the village came into view. There was a tavern near the entrance; he could smell the ale and hear the lively conversation. There were women giggling, but he knew the fake laughter of a harlot trying to make her wage while slapping away the hand of a man who was too cheap to pay.

The sign for the bar didn’t include an inn, and for that, Inuyasha found himself a little grateful. It was too goddamn rowdy, and he really didn’t want Kagome anywhere near the amount of drunken men he knew were inside. Not with how they were currently perusing over the women. Offering themselves or not, the men still treated them as objects, and if anyone was audacious enough to even look at Kagome in the same disrespect, Inuyasha couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to control his reactions.

Down the street a little ways, there was a sign that guided them. Certain shops were to their right, so he rubbed his thumb over the back of Kagome’s hand as he led her down the new road. Finding it, he opened the door for her, allowing her to enter through first before following her to the reception counter and ringing the bell.

A small woman came out with a cheerful smile on her face, swiftly being replaced by a look of startle. Her green eyes widened and her grin drooped into a grimace of concern, brows pinching together in overt question.

Fuck.

Inuyasha had completely forgotten about the dried blood on his face, and how disheveled they both must have looked right now.

“Sorry,” Kagome quickly spoke, keeping her tone friendly. “I know what you’re thinking - holy crap, what the hell happened to them? - right? Yeah, this is my fault. I’m super clumsy, and unfortunately, today my boyfriend was on the other end of my hiccup. Do you happen to have a room?” She asked, feigning believable shame with her lie.

“Oh my goodness, are you two okay?” The girl asked, feeling comfortable enough now to approach the counter and bring out the guest book.

Kagome dropped her head against the table top in embarrassment, and Inuyasha was almost shocked by how well she was pulling off this ruse. She never lied this well with him. She was a stammering mess that looked to the side and fidgeted her fingers, and it was so fucking easy to tell that she never meant a thing she was saying in that moment. But, here? It was like she was a master at the art.

“He was trying to teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow. Somehow, I lost my balance, fell backward into the river, and my arrow nipped his forehead. I lost all of my other arrows in the process, and he had to come chasing after me in the current.”

The innkeeper’s bewildered stare transferred to Inuyasha where he pressed his lips into a tight line and rolled his eyes, nodding to confirm the story. “She sucks.”

“I said I was sorry.” Kagome grumbled.

“Yeah, well, ‘sorry’ isn’t getting us home tonight.” He remarked dully.

She pouted at the innkeeper as if the doe-eyed look was enough to ask her question for a room again. With a sympathetic, and slightly humored, smile, the woman complied, quieting her giggle as she looked at her guest book.

“I’ve got a few open, so you have nothing to worry about.” She said, grabbing her pen. “May I have your names?”

“I’m Sango.” Kagome fibbed. It just felt like a horrible idea to give out their real names right now. If they were going to lay low, then Kagome and Inuyasha needed to stay off the radar. Naraku was after them, and Kagome was presumably dead. Just in case he sent any underlings in the surrounding areas to look, it was a better idea to keep their true identities under wraps. “This is Miroku.”

The innkeeper filled in their names under the room number they were to occupy, then gestured for them to wait a quick moment as she shuffled to the back to grab their room key.

“You’re brilliant.” Inuyasha commented quietly, petting her hair. “You really covered for us there, kid.”

Kagome gave a meager grin in return, one not as bright as he wished he could see, leaning into his touch. Her eyes weren’t meeting his. They were upwards, on his forehead, staring at the gash behind his bags that was already beginning to heal. The innkeeper returned, attaining Kagome’s attention once more, and offered to show them to their room, but she was quick to respectfully decline.

“We can find our way, don’t worry.” She held her hand out for the key to be place in her opened palm, smiling appreciatively at the woman.

Just as they began to walk toward the hall, the innkeeper cleared her throat to catch their attention. Inuyasha met her gaze when she pulled out a small bandage from beneath the counter, sliding it his way over the countertop. With a noticeable grimace, she lightly gestured toward his head. There was a moment of awkward silence before Inuyasha pressed his lips into a tight line, reaching for the offered bandage and taking note of how tiny it was.

“Uh, thanks.” He said anyway, tipping the bandage to her. As if it stood a chance at covering even half of his wound. It’s the thought that counts, he supposed.

Locating the number on the door that their key was associated with, Kagome unlocked it and led the way in, hearing the click as Inuyasha bolted it behind him. She turned around, half expecting him to be ready to let his defenses down, but his shoulders didn’t loosen, nor did his guarded expression quite give. Something heavy was on his mind. Kagome had been terrified, but now she was relieved. She’d thought, at least by now, that Inuyasha would be, too.

The half demon strode past her with nothing but a sweet touch on her shoulder, locating the bathroom and stepping through the door. As Kagome shrugged everything off of her shoulders, including Inuyasha’s crimson robe, laying it neatly at the bottom of the mattress, she heard the water start running from the faucet of the bath.

“Kagome, come here.” He called, and she followed, stepping through to see the tub filling up with hot water.

“Wash up.” He instructed. “Get warm. I’ll be out here if you need anything.”

“Wait.” Kagome said, grabbing onto the rolled up sleeve of his shirt. “Let me at least clean your head.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll do it later.” Inuyasha declined with more of a disapproving grunt than anything.

Her grip on him didn’t slacken, and she gave an obstinate tug on his bicep. “I’ll take a bath, but only if you let me do this. Come on, it’ll only take a minute. While the tub is filling.”

“Kid, stop worrying about it. It’s closed up already. My head clipped a rock; it’s nothing serious, so calm down about it.”

“Stop.” Her brows furrowed in a slight, reprimanding scowl. “You’re shutting me out, I can already tell. I do it too, remember? It drives you crazy. Why won’t you let me help you? Why is this suddenly a one-way street?”

Inuyasha had stiffened. He hadn’t even realized he was doing it. His mind was an unforgiving place right now, and all he really wanted was a minute alone to gather himself. To sort out the jumbled thoughts he had stabbing him. It was hard to think rationally at the moment, it was difficult to be himself with that pleading look he’d seen on her face replaying behind the darkness of his eyelids every time he blinked. Kagome really wasn’t asking for a lot. He shouldn’t be denying her anything right now. If cleaning the blood off his face was what she wanted, then he had no place turning her down whatsoever.

With an exhale that he used to shove his grievances aside, Inuyasha relented, turning around to sit on the rim of the tub. Kagome reached for the washcloths on the high shelf, pushing to the tips of her toes and snagging a couple. She threw one to float in the water to clean herself with later and unfolded the other, dipping it under the running faucet to wet a portion. Gently, she pushed aside his bangs, lightly tapping the area around the gash to test how sensitive it was. Inuyasha didn’t flinch or pull away, his brows didn’t even twitch in pain, but instead his hands made home on the backs of her thighs, pulling her closer to stand between his legs.

“Does it hurt?” She asked.

Inuyasha gave a small shake of his head, caressing his thumbs over her pants. She could feel his fingers shaking slightly, feel the hot breath he sighed out against her chest. He seemed sad. Kagome had never seen Inuyasha sad before. She’d seen him sympathetic, and maybe sad for her, but never like this. She’d never seen him seemingly so burdened that his shoulders slumped this way. She could be wrong. But, she knew him. And, this version of him was out of character.

Kagome respected his silence, though. She softly rubbed the washcloth over his face, cleaning the dried blood, the dirt, the sweat. He wasn’t lying, it wasn’t as bad as the amount of blood had made it seem. It was already closed, a lightly-shaded bruise marring the immediate area around. With a tender kiss to the center of Inuyasha’s forehead, she dropped the dirtied washcloth to the floor and let go of his bangs, lingering with her affection. His large hands gripped her thighs firmly, a shuddering exhale leaving his lips, and he tilted his chin upward, searching for her own.

His earlier assumption was correct. Kissing her was going to lead to his downfall. Kagome brushed a delicate kiss to his mouth, and it felt as if his heart swelled with unbridled emotions he couldn’t even name. What was he feeling right now? Why did he want to fall apart?

“We made a deal.” He managed to say without waver, planting a scant peck against her bottom lip. “Get warm. Please.”

“Okay.” She breathed with a little nod, allotting him space to stand by taking a step back.

Inuyasha shut the door behind him to give her deserved privacy, find it becoming increasingly harder now to hold anything together. Inuyasha was suffocating in his own thoughts. It was all hitting him like a bull charging at full force, knocking the wind from his diaphragm only to turn around and do it again and again as soon as he was back on his feet.

Kagome is dead, Inuyasha!

That was part of the problem. A percentage of him had believed Sesshomaru when he’d shouted that before. She was thrown off a cliff. He’d never gotten a complete look over the edge. There was no guarantee she’d actually landed in the water; Kagome could have hit jagged mountainside, rock, or landed on the bank, and he was terrified he’d have peeked over then to see her body. Even if he was right and she did land in the river, the current was so heavy that she could have easily drowned. It could have dragged her under, made it impossible to come up for air, and then her lungs would fill with water.

That was it.

Not only was Inuyasha beating himself up for failing to save her.

But, a portion of his heart had already broken at the consideration of her death.

He truly had thought he’d lost her.

Inuyasha fell short of the cushioned chair along the far wall. His back dragged down against the wood, and he found himself sitting on the floor, his legs bent into him, his elbows planted on his knees while he buried his head into the palms of his hands. He should be happy that she was alive, but it was difficult to register that when his heart had already shattered. How could he have let this happen? How could he have fallen short when she needed him?

Kagome wrung her clean hair, noticing a ripe, developing bruise on the inside of her bicep as she lifted it up. How did she even get that one? She’d scrubbed a couple on her legs thinking they were just dirt that was coated heavily, but when she realized the marks weren’t budging and the dull pain wasn’t caused from the aggressive swiping of the washcloth, she left them alone. Thankfully, most of her bruises would be covered by clothing, and it wouldn’t increase Inuyasha’s worriment. Only a few were relatively bad, broken blood vessels and all, but as of right now, they weren’t that painful, and she’d put them away beneath her shirt.

Her shirt that was in her backpack.

Her backpack that was left in the bedroom.

Crap.

Carefully, she reached for her towel, drying herself off as she stepped out of the tub. She ran it vigorously through the ends of her hair, expelling as much moisture as she could until a slight frizziness began to show, and then she brushed her fingers through to lazily sort out her waves. There was still a good chance she could grab her bag without Inuyasha really noticing anything. All she’d have to tell him was to look away, and her hanyou wouldn’t hesitate to comply. He never compromised any of her boundaries, so she was confident she could get away with this if she was quick enough.

Wrapping the towel securely around her body and fastening it at her chest, Kagome opened the door, peeking out to make sure Inuyasha wasn’t in immediate sight. The last thing she wanted was to make him feel worse with her bruises. They happened. She was a human, they were more common on her flesh than his. Especially, when you’re smacked around by a demon tentacle once or twice. But, he was so overprotective sometimes, and it would kill her if any of her bruises made his shoulders sag farther.

The room was still dark, and she heard no movement come from within. Stepping out, Kagome looked around where the bathroom light allowed her eyes to focus, but still she didn’t spot him.

“Inuyasha?”

The hanyou was torn out of his toxic state by the sound of her voice, and he jumped to his feet, rushing across the room to her as he feared she needed him. “Yeah. I’m here. Are you okay?”

“I’m -“ Along the inside of her ribcage, right beside her sternum, it felt as though something unwelcome slithered its way down. A dense sensation was sprouting within the cavity of her chest, enveloping her heart quicker than ever before, and her expression, whatever existed of it, crumbled. Kagome watched as a single tear glided down Inuyasha’s cheek, leaving a trail from the brimming lid of his golden eye. “Baby?” She spoke so softly it was hardly heard.

“What’s wrong?” Inuyasha’s hands were trembling so bad, he’d clenched his fists for a semblance of control.

Without another word, Kagome cautiously extended her arm, tenderly wiping away the tear when he didn’t bother to pull away. It was as if he didn’t even realize he was crying. And, when she left her fingers there to cup his jaw, to caress, he folded.

Inuyasha stepped back, finding the edge of the bed and dropping down to sit on it. It was incredible how shaken up he was over this entire thing. To watch her fall, to hear her scream, to think of the unimaginable, it was his worst fear come true. He shouldn’t even bother trying to hide this from her anymore. It took more effort than it was worth, more effort than he could even manage to put forward right now.

“Inuyasha, will you please talk to me?” Kagome tried, filling the small gap that was created. His crying had to be of the saddest sort she’d ever observed. His face didn’t crinkle, a frown was barely present, and tears streaked his cheeks to speak his mind in ways he wasn’t yet able to. It was like those emotions riddling it were so overwhelming, they were impossible to process, and his expression had no other choice but to be devoid of anything but a blank slate while his heart attempted to decompress enough to breathe.

She was so gentle as she cleaned his cheeks, the swipe of her thumbs a ghost of a touch. Amber eyes fluttered up to her and Kagome swore they were the brightest she’d ever seen them. It was like his sorrow added a beautiful illumination the firelight couldn’t rival, reflecting with a glow that could only come from within, and while it was stunning, Kagome never wanted to get used to seeing them like this.

“If you don’t want to talk, I understand. That’s okay. If you aren’t ready, I’ll just sit with you.” She whispered, biting her bottom lip.

Inuyasha reached forward, wrapping his arms around Kagome’s waist and burying his face in her stomach. Her scent was no longer masked by anything, and he took deep breaths of it, hoping the sweet aroma would work to calm some fucking part of him. He could hear her heartbeat, he could feel her warmth, her fingers were gingerly stroking his ear while her other hand was sweetly placed at the side of his head, and it did work to sooth the tiniest piece of him, but he was still so inconsolably upset. He was upset with himself, with Naraku, with the situation, with the world.

“I thought I’d lost you.” He finally said, his voice raspy and gruff.

Kagome’s chest deflated. She hadn’t realized that was on his mind. She hadn’t considered that maybe he’d been scared enough to ever jump to that conclusion. “I’m so sorry.”

“No.” The spit Inuyasha swallowed went down thickly, almost painfully. He pulled away, begrudgingly so, shaking his head when he shifted her to the side so he could stand. He found himself pacing the room, frustrated, his chest rising and falling heavily as his anxiety went right back to the way it had been. “Do not apologize. Don’t. That’s not what I want to hear.”

“Then, what do you want to hear?” Kagome carefully asked, keeping her tone level.

“Nothing. Nothing, Kagome. Nothing I’ve tried telling myself has made me feel better. I know you’re alive. I know you’re alright. I can see you, I can smell you, I can feel you, but god fucking dammit, all I can hear is your scream.” He ranted, expressing himself with flailing hands and ambling feet.

Kagome watched him, respecting his space, respecting his temper, keeping herself still so as not to agitate his current state. It was finally coming out. She hoped he yelled. Screamed. She wanted him to cry some more so his mind wasn’t so tainted by the dark thoughts that dragged him under. Telling him she was okay wasn’t going to help right now. Not like it usually did. This, what they’d gone through, was more than that. He wasn’t worried about a scrape on her knee, or a cut on her shoulder. He wasn’t freaking out over a demon sneaking up on her, or even overexertion of her powers. Inuyasha had witnessed her being flung aside like a rag doll. Inuyasha had to watch her be thrown away like a piece of garbage while he was pinned down, helpless, and it had to be scarring. She wasn’t the only one affected by that. Of course, she wasn’t. It was traumatizing to the both of them in different manners, and both of which deserved validation.

“I -“ Thereafter his powerful statement, none of his words would come fluidly anymore. Inuyasha was growing increasingly emotional, shaking, his bottom lip quivering like he hadn’t felt since he was a broken child.

“I failed.” The last of his sentence trailed off into a whisper when he felt like his heart was being shredded. Like, it was poorly drawn on a piece of parchment and ripped from top to bottom, left to right, repeat, repeat, repeat.

“I -“ Another pause as his eyes brimmed with tears again. They were hot. Unfamiliar.

“Kagome.” Her name was spoken dolefully.

“I couldn’t get to you.” That part was barely audible. “I couldn’t get to you, and you fell.”

“I don’t - I don’t even know why you’d apologize for being a victim.” Inuyasha said, pressing the heels of his hands to his temples. “When I - I don’t -“

He looked at her with a pleading desperation. “I don’t even know how to ask for your forgiveness.”

Forgiveness? Forgiveness for what? For being in a position beyond his will? Did he really blame himself for the harm she was dealt? Was her near death situation placed on his shoulders for him to bear?

“What are you talking about?” Kagome reached.

“Kagome, you almost fucking died! I didn’t save you! That’s what I’m talking about!”

“But, that’s -“

“No, don’t do that! I know what you’re about to say! I don’t want to hear that it’s not my fault, because that’s not going to mean anything to me!” He snapped. “If it weren’t for Koga, you’d - fuck!”

Kagome stiffened from the amount of internal pain she could see Inuyasha was in. Did she even stand a chance at making this easier on him? Would she be able to talk some sense into him?

“If it weren’t for Koga,” Inuyasha tried continuing. “I don’t know where you’d be, kid. And, it shouldn’t have happened that way. It’s me you’re supposed to be able to rely on. You can’t convince me to be okay with the way things played out, because nothing’s preventing me from feeling like I fucking failed you. I was the one that promised to protect you. Not Koga. Not Sesshomaru. It was me. I told you - I told you - that I can’t fucking lose you, Kagome. I didn’t just say that to make you feel good, or because it sounded like a pleasant thing to add to the moment. I wasn’t even one-upping you. I was telling the truth. I can’t. I can’t do it. And, yet, no matter what I did, I wasn’t strong enough to get to you in time.”

“Can I speak?”

“No.” Because, she would only oppose him, and he wasn’t receptive to hearing her positive point of view just yet. “I already know you’re going to contradict what I say. You don’t see things the way I see them and vise versa. Just listen, alright? Try to understand where I’m coming from.”

Kagome gave the smallest nod, hugging her arms close to her body for a semblance of comfort. It was hard not being able to help while he was basically calling out for it. To stand by idly and watch him break down was so painful, but she knew it was merely a fraction of what he was struggling with right now. So, she didn’t argue.

“I know it’s not my fault that this happened. But, it’s impossible to believe that the prevention of it wouldn’t have been. I made you a promise and I dropped the ball when you needed me most. And, then you were gone. I’ve never been more afraid in my life, kid. Not once. And, when Sesshomaru told me there was no way you could have survived the fall, I fucking believed him. He only said it to get me to fight the puppet instead of abandoning it altogether to go after you, but that doesn’t change the fact that I ditched hope so quickly. God, it hurts, Kagome!” Inuyasha grabbed his chest. His heart. “It hurts so fucking bad! You’re right in front of me, but this feeling wont go away! I don’t know what to do! Please - just - please tell me you forgive me.”

Hot tears spilled from Kagome’s eyes as she broke with his plea, but she fervently shook her head to reject it. “No. I don’t want to.”

“Fuck.” He whimpered huskily.

“It would be like admitted that I believe you did something wrong, when I literally saw you doing everything you could. I don’t agree with you, Inuyasha. I don’t blame you for anything.”

“You need to stop that! This vision you have of me is deluded! I swear, it’s like you think I’m perfect or something!”

“Far from it!” Kagome quickly objected.

“Look at the situation, kid!”

“I was there too, Inuyasha!”

“Fucking shit! It’s like the moment you fell in love with me, you started viewing me with these rose-colored glasses!”

“Oh, shut up! That’s not the case, at all! You’re just trying to get me to second guess myself! I am not naive!” Kagome stomped her foot, glowering at the hanyou across the room. She was angry, and sad, and so badly did she want him to hear her, and she wasn’t leaving this spot until he did. “What are you looking for!? A list of all of my complaints about your personality so that I can prove you wrong!? I’m not going to feed into it! I’m not deluded or whatever else you think I am just because I disagree with you, Inuyasha! Like I said, I was there! I was a part of the whole ordeal! You need to look at the bigger picture! I understand that you feel you should have been responsible for saving me, but circumstances said otherwise! Koga came in, and I’m lucky that he did! You’re right! We don’t know where I’d be! But, I didn’t look at Koga and think, ‘this should have been Inuyasha pulling me out of the river.’ Not even close. He saved my life! He and Sesshomaru helped! So, why is that a gateway for you to criticize yourself just because it wasn’t you? You’re not a god, you can’t expect yourself to do the impossible all on your own! I’m here either way! I’m right here! Inuyasha, I swear I’m okay. You didn’t lose me.”

That war he felt raging inside of him was an ongoing battle, spears being tossed and puncturing his organs to cause internal bleeding. He heard her, but it was still so difficult to rationalize through the haze of his brain. Instead of saying anything in return, he found he could only chew on the inside of his bottom lip, his gaze falling to the ground.

“Do you think Kikyo’s death was my fault?” Kagome asked, her voice dropping several octaves.

Instantly, Inuyasha’s vibrant eyes shot up to meet her, an incredulous expression twisting his features. “Of course, I don’t.”

“Good.” She breathed. “Because, this is sort of the same thing. So, I know how difficult it is to remove yourself from the situation to see things from a different perspective, or even find reasonability somewhere out there. If you need to blame yourself right now, then okay. I get it. I can wait you out, I don’t mind. But, I won’t partake. I won’t give you forgiveness that you don’t need because it would be empty, and I feel like that would be more damaging in the long run. I can’t hurt you like that. I can give you literally anything else, anything you want or need, but not that.”

His heart thudded. Maybe rejecting his request was exactly what he needed. What sort of murky waters would invade his chest if Kagome had basically validated the fault he’d put on himself? Imagining her forgiving him, agreeing that he should have been the one to save her, applied a different kind of weight he hadn’t expected, when he’d initially thought it’d lift it all. His heart still ached, horribly so, but he felt the best thing for him would be to kill the distance. He deserved to hold Kagome, to physically confirm that he hadn’t lost her like he’d foolishly thought. He wanted to kiss her again, to feel the pain that so fiercely demanded to be felt, so that her intimacy could wash it all away - be it little-by-little or all at once. It didn’t matter. This was what he needed. She was what he needed.

“You. Give me you.” Inuyasha crossed the room with a passionate stride, watching a small, hopeful smile of relief appear on her mouth just before he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Give me all of you.”

Kagome stumbled back against the wall, trusting his hold on her as he pinned her there. His lips found hers with an insatiable hunger, his hands snaking up her sides to cradle her jaw and hold her to him. With a small nip to her bottom lip, Inuyasha slipped his tongue into her mouth, delighted by the way she grabbed his belt and pulled him closer. The fire inside of him was suddenly beating out the ice. Cold was a thing of the past when he swallowed a tiny moan that escaped her throat and when he felt her fingers curl further against the waistband of his trousers, holding him against her.

He traveled smoothly down Kagome’s cheek where he gently nipped her jaw, giving a small nudge with his nose to extend her neck so he had more room to play. Little kisses were peppered down the length, her flesh warm, soft, inviting his mouth to give more attention, and she released a tantalizing sigh in response. Inuyasha tensed, pausing at the curve where her shoulder met and hovering so that his hot breath bounced off her skin and back against his chin. His pace dramatically slowed then. This wasn’t going to be rushed. If Kagome didn’t get it yet, she was going to understand with this act just how much he loved her.

The hanyou placed a hand on her hip to squeeze her soft curve while the fingers of his other curled in her hair, tilting her head back. He began a burning trail of kisses back up the side of her neck, bringing a silky gasp from her opened lips and a twitch of her fingers at his pelvis. She could push him away at any time, but Kagome was actively pulling him closer, and the way she held his belt in such a territorial manner had butterflies flying through his stomach. His lips were searching for that sweet spot, incorporating little laps from his tongue until her body tensed and her gasp was shuddered. He felt her flesh grow hotter, a new scent meeting his nose, and it was nearly impossible not to instantly become intoxicated by it. It went straight to his head. He felt light on his feet and the only way he could stabilize himself was to press further into her hip, his mouth sucking a mark above her clavicle.

The moan she released was heavenly, and he swore he heard the hint of his name mixed within. Her hands went to travel up his waist, his abdomen, but always seemed to snap right back to his belt. It almost appeared like both a homing zone to grasp onto, and a way to make sure he never moved far from her. Already, Kagome’s heart was beating hard. He could hear it, practically feel it against his own chest. His wasn’t fairing much different. Inuyasha felt as if his might burst when he actually heard his name fluidly leave her lips.

He released the wonderfully sore spot on Kagome’s neck, hovering just above it so that his satin breath over the wet area would cause a mind-numbing shiver to course over every inch of her skin. Her hanyou placed a sweet kiss to it, let go of her hair, and then brought his face back up to her own, their noses barely touching. It almost seemed like he was taking a moment to admire her, the backs of his fingers softly stroking her cheeks, cleaning the stains her recent tears had left behind. Her eyelashes fluttered closed as he placed a kiss to her forehead, his hands dragging down the sides of her throat, teasing over her collarbone, and ending at the towel that was fastened around her chest.

He loosened the damp garment, holding it around her himself to see if she’d object, and though she’d stiffened minutely, her breath hitching, Kagome didn’t stop him. Inuyasha moved slow, not quite allowing the towel to just drop to the floor. He opened it while he rubbed his nose against hers, feeling her breath, sliding the cloth down her body until it curved below her ass where he released it to fall completely. He pressed his lips to hers, feeling her skin beneath his palms as he grabbed her bare waist, pulling her flush against him.

His kiss was deep, otherworldly, breathtaking, and as he firmed his hold on her and pulled her away from the wall, turning Kagome and guiding her backwards until her legs hit the bed, she found her hands had finally let go of his belt, mindlessly following instinct as they pulled his shirt from within the tuck of his pants. Inuyasha laid her down gently, adjusting her so her head hit the pillows as he crawled on top, and her tongue betrayed her, releasing a small mewl as she tried again to pull his shirt up his torso. Finally, he got the hint, smiling into his kiss before he pulled away and yanked his shirt off, tossing it to the floor to be forgotten.

Having leaned back, Inuyasha’s eyes glanced down for his first good look at Kagome’s body. He couldn’t help but sit back on his legs to take her in, captivated by each inch that was exposed to him. Her breasts were supple, nipples hard and calling his name. Her stomach was toned from the amount of action she saw, the training she did, and he made a mental note to follow the slightly defined line at the top of her abdominals with his lips later. What he found he adored most was that she was still soft in some places. She was healthy. The bottom of her tummy where it met her pelvis had a little curve where her organs were properly protected by muscle and fat. Her hips had a roundness to them as the plush of her bottom was pushed outward, and he wanted to sink his fingers into it all. Most enthralling was the thighs propped at either side of him. They were thick. Muscle and softness that beckoned his mouth, his tongue, his teeth, and Inuyasha couldn’t resist the way his hand caressed over them, gliding upward toward her stomach, her waist, and halting instantly when he felt the tiniest flinch from her.

He’d been so hypnotized that he hadn’t even taken note of the bruises littering her skin. Beneath his palm was a dark red contusion, a shade of purple vaguely notable in the shadows of their room. It was large, extending from the curve of her waist to the edge of her ribcage, and he knew it was caused from the tentacle that had wrapped around her. It brought a heavy sensation to sit in his chest, but he pushed it aside, ghosting his fingers over the mark.

Inuyasha glanced up to Kagome’s face, her cheeks a blistering scarlet as she chewed her bottom lip. She was shy, her blush invading the surface of her chest as even that had hued pink under his eyes. He grinned, crawling back over her and saving her bottom lip from her teeth as he hovered just above, making her anticipate his kiss.

“I’ll be careful.” Inuyasha breathed. “I wont hurt you. You trust me?”

Kagome immediately nodded. She wasn’t afraid, and more than anything, she’d learned to love the sense of vulnerability with Inuyasha. Time and time again, he proved to cherish it. He’d taken such good care of her, so she knew she had nothing to worry about right now. It was impossible not to be nervous, especially under such keen observation, but to watch his smile appear had her heart beating a rhythm that would have even the most skilled dancers out of breath.

She pushed herself an inch upward to close the gap, stealing the kiss Inuyasha had hung over her as her own. She trusted him. She trusted him with even the most delicate pieces of herself. When he’d requested all of her in a desperate reach for comfort, Kagome was nothing short of thrilled. Obliging would be an honor. To be with him was all she wanted, so to hear it was what he’d wanted as well, to have reassurance even when she didn’t need it, it gave her a sense of happiness she understood she was lucky to understand.

Inuyasha groaned into her mouth as Kagome pulled him down against her, her whisper of a moan from the enrapturing heat of his chest swallowed. More. She wanted more of him. All of him. Everything he was willing to give her, she wanted to treasure for as long as she could. One of his hands found her breast, and the way it so softly curved over her shape, trailing over her budded nipple had her upper body arching for more.

Again, his lips made their way down her neck, this time the opposite side as before, taking their time in teasing her sensitive flesh. It was like an unfounded heat was overtaking her, overwhelming her senses. Her breathing was growing heavy as he ground into her hips, the rough texture of his pants against her inner thighs a welcomed chafing she wasn’t eager to end. His tongue above her clavicle had a high-pitched gasp leaving her mouth, his thumb caressing back and forth over her nipple causing her hips to jolt against his. She could feel his hard length then, how his stomach flexed in response, but as she raked her fingers down his side to find his belt again, Inuyasha snagged her wrist midway, jerking it away and pinning it above her head.

“Don’t you dare.”

Kagome giggled at his husky tone, the feeble threat he couldn’t even hold steady, finding she quite liked the restraint. She felt his smile as he pressed kisses against her collarbone, her chest, her breasts, lingering with his wet trail as he seemingly relished in the soft tissue.

If his calloused hands felt this good against her nipple, she wanted to know what his molten tongue would feel like. She wanted it so bad, but her words were lost in her baited breaths. Kagome couldn’t even try to communicate, entranced in the way he was seemingly teasing her. It was like he was eating her up, sucking his mark into her skin, nibbling softly and bringing her to arch into him. Inuyasha was pressed firmly against her, granting her a small grind of his hips, and he trailed his tongue from the underside of her breast, finally flicking her erect nipple with a heat that felt so much different than anywhere else.

The moan that escaped Kagome’s mouth was desperate, and if her thoughts were sober, she’d have been humiliated. It was like fuel for Inuyasha, though. After she cracked, he took her into his mouth, flicking his tongue in mind-numbing ways, suckling lightly, and then pulling off of her with a pop of his lips.

“Baby.” Kagome mewled.

To hear her call him that was ethereal. The endearment left her tongue like silk, meeting his ears with a heavenly warmth that could have caused him to melt right then and there. His name in that soft coo of a tone was to die for, but this? This was to live for. He wanted to experience it a hundred more times just like that. He wanted to hear it stuttered in her dreamy state. He wanted it to get to the point where the endearment was lost in her sighs, but still there to linger in the nonexistent space between them.

Inuyasha kissed a path from one breast to the other, engulfing the opposite in just as much affection as he took to massaging the one his mouth had just been all over. Kagome’s breathing was deep, her upper body rising into him to seek more attention, and the broken whimper she released as he swirled his tongue around her nipple almost caused him to crumble. It was like she was shamelessly begging for more in a manner that required no articulation. He could give her that. He would oblige. Inuyasha was going to absolutely worship this woman until she was shaking.

Her pelvis rolled into his own, and he groaned, popping off of her nipple to reach back up for her mouth. Her lips were lax, molding against his and opening for his tongue as it glided through to massage her own. Her whines tasted exquisite, the warmth of her fingers curling around the back of his neck was divine. Inuyasha breathed her in, her scent so much stronger than he’d ever experienced, and stars flickered behind the lids of his eyes.

Languidly, he dragged his fingers down her belly, grazing the backs of his nails over the space between each hip. The moan she shuddered was earnestly swallowed by him, fueling his slow, leisurely movements as he teased the sensitive skin. The way he softly touched her, raking almost methodically in the places that had her reacting positively, had a flurry igniting in his stomach. Her responses to him were more than he could have ever asked for. He couldn’t get enough of the sounds she made, causing his heart to do practiced somersaults in his chest. His ribcage was going to break if it beat any harder, but it was a fate he was more than willing to accept.

Gently, Inuyasha glided his hands down further, pulling away from their kiss so that he could feel her sharp gasp against his lips. He teased his fingers over the slit of her sex in a ghost of a touch. It was hot, and even though he’d whispered over her, he could still feel the slick lubrication her body naturally created. The next stroke of his fingers went within her folds, still stroking lightly while delighted by the searing heat of how wet she was. It scalded his middle finger in the most delectable way as he dragged the moisture over her vulva. Though delicately touched, he could already feel how swollen her clit had become, Kagome’s body reacting with a twitch that caused her pelvis to roll again.

With each glide of his fingers, Inuyasha gradually applied a little more pressure, coaxing her body into relaxing for him as she adjusted to the stimulation. He kissed her nose, her cheeks, just beneath her eyes, and her long eyelashes tickled him. He grinned as she tilted upward for attention on her mouth, and he complied with a meager drag of his lips against hers, planting the kiss on her chin. The sound of her laughter was breathy and heart stopping. It was better than music. It was contagious, and Inuyasha chuckled too.

“How do you like it done, baby?” He asked, his voice low since they were so close. There was a slight stiffness that appeared from rising shyness, and he felt the heat climb in her cheeks, but he tenderly kissed it away, continuing his ministrations along her pussy.

He understood her hesitation to answer, more than willing to wait as long as necessary. In the meantime, Inuyasha softly circled his finger around her clit, keeping the pressure light. Kagome gasped, and he relished in the way she arched into him that time, her breasts pressing into his bare chest, her skin sublime against his. With how responsive she was to him, even if she was too bashful to speak, he was sure if he followed her cues, he’d get it right and make her cum on his hand.

Kagome swallowed her nervousness, willing her body to relax again as she pushed her palm between them, following his arm down and gliding over the tops of his fingers. With a little flex, she slowed down his rhythm, keeping the circular motion that he’d gotten right from the start. The hanyou released a languid sigh, as if her guidance was exhilarating to him, and she couldn’t help but feed off of that.

She moved his hand around a bit to take him off of her clit, feeling a sense of overstimulation coming on too soon. He showed extreme caution with his claws, sensible to only use the pads of his fingers as he gently massaged the labia around, spreading her juices and gliding with smooth ease. As the bundle of nerves calmed slightly and she missed his touch, Kagome pulled his hand back toward it, allowing him to choose the rhythm. She mewled as he sent her head shoving back into the pillow, her breathing pattern escalating with the perfect circles he drew into her.

Inuyasha kissed her lips just in time to taste her heated moan. He was drunk on her scent, and every sound she made had his mind reeling. Again, she pushed him off of her clit, but her fingers were growing unsteady on top of his, finding she had to busy them by massaging his forearm while he teased the lips of her pussy until she calmed down. He pressed kiss after kiss down her jaw, her neck, leaving another mark around her sensitive clavicle that had her whimpering once more.

“Baby.” Kagome whispered at the top of her gasp, and Inuyasha grunted heatedly in response.

She reached for his wrist and eagerly pulled him against her clit, and he went back to his original pace. But, she wanted it faster. The spot he sucked into her skin had her mind racing, her blood pumping. She was hot all over, and her nerves pleaded for more.

This was nothing like the times when she’d explored herself. This felt surreal. The way her skin ignited in a rush was unearthly, the way her mind went blank was dreamlike. So soon, the stimulation had her climbing higher and higher, and a flame sparked in her core. Kagome adjusted his speed, increased his pressure a little, and her hands instantly flew to grasp onto anything she could. Her lungs were breathing an entirely new pattern, but when he took her nipple in his mouth, she nearly stopped breathing altogether. The flick of his tongue, the suck behind his lips, his fingers taking her cue and moving faster, Kagome was reduced to gasps now, her hips riding his hand.

“Yeah?” He teased, his breath hot against her wet breast. “Like that?”

Kagome could only moan in reply.

“Fuck, baby.” His voice was so low, she could hardly hear it, but she could feel the rumble coming from his chest, stimulating her further. Inuyasha licked the hard bud of her nipple, keeping the pace of his fingers steady. “Come on. Cum for me.”

The moment her nipple was back in his mouth, she was done for. Kagome sucked in a final breath to be held captive in her lungs, arching against him. She was incredibly taut while her lower body was twitching, a small spasm taking over her thigh, but her orgasm wasn’t ridden out yet. As it began its descent, Kagome’s muscles began shaking more, her hips following the slowing circles of Inuyasha’s fingers as she uncontrollably ground against him, exasperated moans leaving her throat that her hanyou moved up to swallow with open-mouthed kisses.

Kagome was on a high, her body coming down, legs collapsing against the hanyou, chest pumping deeply as she tried to catch her breath. Inuyasha chuckled gratifyingly, kissing his way south while his girl’s hands lazily found his biceps, his shoulders, trying to touch him anyway she could while she was in her inadvertent, dreamy state. He followed the line of her abdominals like he’d promised himself, finding it to be just as satisfying as he’d imagined, careful of the large bruise that marred her ribs. He nipped her waist, shifted to the other side, and left twice the amount of soft, little bite marks there. When he reached the soft part of her tummy, Inuyasha found himself burying his face in it, kissing so ravishingly that he almost lost his mind. Skillfully, he maneuvered Kagome’s thighs over his shoulders, all while she was still lethargic, tiny moans leaving her lips whenever he planted attention.

The hanyou flexed his fingers into the plush of her legs, immediately allured by how goddamn soft they were. Her inner thighs were the work of a saint, and he kissed his way up, unwilling to control his craving to suck and nibble the thicker areas near the apex. It was more sensitive the closer he got to her pussy, and as if he knew her body well enough to guess, Inuyasha pinned her down as he sucked his mark into her skin. Unsurprisingly, Kagome’s hips went to rock against him, her sharp gasp causing his ear to flick in delight. He transferred to the opposite side, kissing her inner thighs, licking, rewarding her mewls with gentle bites and little suckles that made his preferred name spill from her tongue.

Practically drooling from the aroma Kagome was giving off, Inuyasha didn’t want to deny himself anymore. With a broad stroke, he dragged his tongue up the length of her slit, causing Kagome to tense and gasp.

“Holy shit!” Her upper body practically rose off the bed with how hot his tongue was, with how different it felt from fingers. And, Inuyasha growled in response, repeating the motion. His hands went from her thighs to her hips, firmly squeezing into the plush that shaped her, but he didn’t get overzealous too quickly, which was what brought Kagome to melt back into the comforter. Her brown eyes had virtually rolled into the back of her head as his strokes got shallower, shifting into little sucks that he found balance with.

He didn’t go straight for her clit, nor did he concentrate on it when he gifted it with that exquisite attention from his tongue. Kagome was still high from her previous orgasm, but wasn’t overly sensitive anymore, so each glide had her fidgeting wonderfully.

Inuyasha was getting bolder as he got lost in her taste. He couldn’t even tell her how fucking good it was, instead putting his mouth to better use. He revisited his broad strokes for a moment, pinching his fingers into her hips when she moaned. While he did that, alternating so she didn’t lose herself too quickly, he found she rocked her pelvis into him. Like, she was riding his tongue. And, his eyes fluttered closed as his enthusiasm piqued.

He sucked on her clit, flicking the tip of his tongue against it, and Kagome’s hands landed on his head. He could tell she was trying to be gentle; his hair was still up and she was most likely worried about pulling it, but he didn’t want her to have that sort of control over herself. So, he sucked again, relishing in the feel of her fingers gripping him. Adventurously, Inuyasha dipped his tongue into her entrance, tasting her at the source, and her thighs squeezed against him. She was reduced to a whimpering mess all over again, unable to formulate words with even a single syllable.

Knowing she was close, Inuyasha grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her stomach, keeping her hips as still as he could as he lapped back up to her clit.

“Baby - Baby I’m - I’m -“

He growled in satisfaction as he sucked her into his mouth, treating the bundle of nerves to a rhythm of pressure that wouldn’t change until she was finished. Kagome’s body went unbelievably taut, her breath held in her chest, and he could feel her pussy convulsing as her orgasm sent her spiraling. The whine that finally escaped her lips was a sign of her comedown, and Inuyasha relented so he wouldn’t overstimulate her, kissing her pussy lips, her thighs, her pelvis her hips.

Just as he climbed his way back up her body, Kagome jerked him down into a kiss, her hands shaking but greedy as they explored his chest. This time, when she reached down for his belt, he didn’t stop her, pushing closer into her so she had a better chance at undoing the loop while she sent his mind reeling with her sloppy, hungry kisses. She was tasting herself on his tongue, swallowing his groans as she paused in undoing his pants to stroke his cock over the fabric. He could feel her thighs trembling with aftershocks of her recent orgasm, and it inadvertently caused his length to throb.

The moment she unlatched his pants, Inuyasha pushed them down and freed his dick, trying to remind himself that he couldn’t be too eager right now. He needed to slow down again, but his heart was pounding and he felt insatiably hot over every inch of his body.

He could feel that Kagome was cautious, but she broke away from the kiss to glance down between them, biting her swollen lip as she took him in. The way she licked her hand before carefully grabbing for it though, had him jolt. Inuyasha didn’t even get to revel in how fucking hot that was before she made his mind blank with the attention. He was so fucking hard that the softest touch from her fingers as she clumsily dragged them up his length had his core winding.

“Here,” He managed to groan, grabbing her hand and adjusting the pressure. The smallest, fearless smile appeared on Kagome’s lips and it was so close to being his undoing. He made her match a slow rhythm so he could keep an inkling of composure, his breathing increasing with her attention.

Allowing her to stroke him, Inuyasha pushed his pants from his legs, never moving far from her in his venture. Her mouth was red, evidence of his affection swelling the plush, and as if they beckoned him, he kissed her with an unmatched adoration. The hanyou removed her palm, leading her to hold his own as he used his free one to guide his cock. With skill, he glided it against her pussy, her slick heat bringing a hiss from his tongue. Again, he stroked himself against her and Kagome mewled, arching.

Begrudgingly pulling back from her, Inuyasha looked at where they’d be connected, spitting down onto his cock and massaging it over the head and length so there was a bit of lubrication coming from his end, too. Lining himself up, he crawled back over her, taking her hands in his and threading their fingers as he shoved her arms over her head.

Slowly, very slowly, he pushed inside of her, feeling her tense around him as her eyes pinched shut and a tiny whimper left her throat. Instantly, he stopped, rubbing his thumbs over her tightened hands, hushing her discomfort away, and kissing her cheek.

“Don’t stop.” Kagome said, willing her body to relax with baited breaths.

He chuckled from her ambition. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“No, it - it doesn’t hurt. It’s just a bit - um - tight. I’m okay.”

With another kiss to her jaw, Inuyasha complied, steadily pushing himself the rest of the way inside of her. He refused to move for a moment, planting kiss after kiss until she was properly adjusted to the intrusion.

“I love you.” He whispered, nuzzling his nose against her own.

Inuyasha practically felt the smile grow on her face, but it wasn’t of the sort he was expecting. Kagome was fighting back a fucking laugh, a tiny chortle muffled behind her lips.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to say that during something like this.” The dumbass giggled, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes, pursing his lips in half a grimace as he pinched her cheeks together.

“Shut up and say it back.”

Her giggle was infectious, bringing him to have to swallow his own laughter, a grin replacing his feigned scowl of annoyance.

“I love you more.” Kagome said with the brightest smile.

“Oh, you’re one of those.” He remarked.

As she gleefully nodded, Inuyasha stole a kiss, feeling all of the tension in her muscles dwindle away. With that, he gave a small rock of his hips, noticing her stiffen again, but her breath told him the discomfort wasn’t overwhelming.

Kagome had removed her hands from his to grab onto him, her legs hooked around his own as he carved a skillful, slow rhythm against her. There was less pressure now. The sensation was different, but it was growing increasingly incredible. Inuyasha had dropped his head to pepper her shoulder and neck in unending amounts of affection, and with a forceful grind, his pushed himself entirely inside of her. The moan she inadvertently released at that was deep, unintentionally loud, and she felt her hanyou clench rigidly.

Inuyasha was losing himself. She was clamping down around his cock, and her moans were making it impossible to focus. He was about to make sure she was okay, picking himself up a bit, when he observed the way his next grind had her head tossing back, her breath tantalizing and hot. The hanyou cupped her jaw, kissing her sloppily as he increased his pace a little, and Kagome seemed to melt beneath him. Her hands were traveling now, exploring him. For a minute, she’d placed them on his abdomen, feeling the way his muscles flexed with each thrust he gave, then she honed on his obliques and her nails teased his waist. She roamed around to his back, and at the same time that she lightly scratched him, she gently bit his bottom lip.

“Fuck, baby.” He moaned, accidentally bucking harder. Kagome pinched her lips together then, tensing unpleasantly, so he caught the cue, pulling back slightly to keep his gentle rhythm going and kissing her head apologetically.

It didn’t matter. He was still getting close. Her pussy was so wet, he was gliding in and out with practiced ease. It was like a succulent heat was licking up his shaft, teasing him with coaxing words and a tongue of satin.

“Fuck.” He grunted again, clinging to the plush of her thigh.

“More.” Kagome mewled. There was less grinding from him now, the roll of his hips bringing his cock all the way out to the tip, and then all the way back in. He was hitting something inside of her that had her legs twitching, and his groans had her hypersensitive to everything. “Baby, more. Please.”

She wanted to hear him in her ear. She wanted those growls to cause him to pin her down. She wanted the hand he held her thigh with to bruise his fingerprints into her flesh.

He couldn’t deny her. The butterflies in his stomach had escaped into the cavity of his chest, and Inuyasha was on cloud nine. With a rumble, he pushed himself up to sit on his knees, grasping Kagome’s waist and forcing her arch. He picked her lower body up from the bed with ease, supporting her hips as he drove his cock into her. With the choked gasp she gave, he knew his thrusts were kissing a sweet spot, and Inuyasha dropped his jaw as he watched a series of gooseflesh course over her. Her tits were bouncing with each hit of his hips, her thighs were tensing against him, and her fingers grabbed onto his wrists for support, biting into him.

It felt too good. He still had her indescribable taste on his tongue, and the overriding scent of her lingering orgasms had his cock pulsing inside of her.

“Fuck - fuck.” Everything that slipped from his mouth was out of his control, a string of curses mixed within praise Kagome deserved. “That’s my girl. That’s my good girl. Just a little further, baby, just a little bit more. Fuck, you’re so good. You’re so good, baby girl. Oh fuck, just like that.” He thrusted faster. “Baby - fuck! You’re my good girl, aren’t you? You gonna take it for me? Just like that. Just like -“

Swiftly, Inuyasha pulled out, dropping Kagome down and jerking himself to completion as he spilling himself over her tummy. Both of their breathing was ragged, he was twitching ridiculously, and he finally groaned as the best of his orgasm subsided. Suddenly, it was like supporting himself was the most difficult thing he had to do with now.

Amber eyes lethargically drifted up toward Kagome’s earthy browns, and her cheeks with a gorgeous tint of pink from the exertion, but her expression, her hazy, amorous expression, had her pupils looking like hearts. She lazily notched her nose upward to beckon him forward, and Inuyasha would have been a fool not to oblige, crawling the few inches up her body so she could pull him into a gratifying kiss.

He was in a dream. His mind was clouded with the beautiful echo of her recent moans, and he pressed languid kisses all over her until their heart rates began to drop down to a relatively normal pace. Inuyasha found himself following their mixed scents dragging his body south, kissing her shaking thighs, and then licking up their blended taste. Kagome shuddered, instantly rolling her hips against his tongue, the gasp she released without a moan at the end. She was too spent for sounds, and every flex from her muscles was of a fatigued sort, trembling and unsteady, but still responsive to his affection. Inuyasha gave a finishing kiss to her clit after licking another path upward, almost getting lost all over again in her soaked pussy.

“Don’t move.” He breathed, climbing back up to kiss her. “I’ll go get a washcloth to clean you up.”

“Wait.” Kagome snagged him for another kiss, giggling when he stumbled on his palms.

“I’ll be - right - back.” He laughed between pecks.

“One more.”

“You’re impossible.” Inuyasha smiled into the kiss, lingering with that one before he tore himself away.

He dampened the washcloth under warm water, coming back to gently wipe off her stomach of his seed. When he looked back up to her appreciative grin, it quickly shifted into fully pursed lips. A silent request for more kisses. Inuyasha laughed, tossing the cloth to the floor before rejoining her in bed to pepper her face in so many kisses, she’d regret ever asking for more. Her giggles were wonderful, her warm hands pulling him closer, and he somehow maneuvered the blanket out from beneath them to tuck them in.

He knew she wouldn’t last long. She cuddled into his chest, her lids fluttering closed and tickling his skin before she drifted off, and Inuyasha kissed her forehead, stroking her hair until he, himself, gave into the pull of sleep.

| previous chapter | <- -> | next chapter |

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 9

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 9: Decisions and Hesitations

“You really want to do this, you really want to try and race me?” Mei asks as she sees MK roll up in the restaurant scooter.

“I’m in it to win it!” He cockily said, “and besides I always wanted to try out one of these races, my new powers are gonna seriously help me!”

“So are we!” They see an orange and blue demon with their own car as they posed ontop of it.

“Yin!”

“And Gin!”

“You don’t even know the track!” The pro racer yelled out as she leaned in closer to him.

“I got Monkey King powers! I think I will be fine!”

“It doesn’t work like that!”

Needless to say, both demons were ignored, but the next demon wasn’t as he revved up his engine.

“Quiet peasants! I’m trying to get in the zone!” Red Son called out as he kept his eye on the track in front of him.

“Oh hey Red! I didn’t know you were participating!” MK smiled and gave a wave.

“Well the prize is a worthwhile venture to be acquired,” he huffed out.

“Well I hope you boys will like the taste of my fumes when I leave you both in the dust!” She grinned savagely.

“Please, you will be the one tasting my dust!” The Monkie kid shot back.

“You want to bet on it!”

“Oh yeah! The usual?”

“You know it, you want to join in hot head?” She asked the prince.

“As if I would want to participate in your frivolous competition,” he rolled his eyes.

“Awww, it sounds like you scared,” she began to mock him.

“What!” A burst of flame emerged.

“Chicken! Bawk! Bawk! Bawk!” MK flapped his arms as he did that.

“Red Son is no coward! What is the bet!” He hissed out as steam emitted from his mouth.

“Loser has to treat the other to an all you can eat ice cream!” MK quickly shouted.

“Deal!”

“And it looks like things are heating up down in the tracks!” Yin stated as he and his brothers entered the commenter podium.

“And on a totally unrelated note, we're the new commentators,” Jin added as he grabbed the mic.

“I really shouldn’t be surprised something like this would happen,” MK sighed as he quickly put his seatbelt on.

“And to spice things up we’ve gone ahead and altered the race track!”

“WHAT!” Not only the trio, but every racer shouted out as they saw the now new and updated version of the track on the screen.

“Here’s your start and here’s your finish, get there anyway you like!” Yin said as she pointed to multiple areas.

“Fuck me!” One of the racers screamed out as he slammed his head against the wheel.

“Well there goes all of my plans!” Another angrily said in a red car as she honked her horn violently.

“I’m gonna kill them,” a calm voice said as they gripped the wheel.

“This is fine,” someone’s eye twitches violently, “this is perfectly fine.”

“On your marks!”

“Hold on!” Mei cried out as she tried to figure out if that really just happened.

“Get set!”

“Wait what!?” Red Son blanched as he looked at the commentator sector, more specifically the twin demons, as if he wanted to climb up there and rip both their mouths off.

“Go!” They echoed together as only MK began to drive off as he had no previous experience with racing, so he wasn’t weighed down on the dangers, uncertainties, and screwups that can occur with not having the road memorized.

“See you at the finish line!”

“Oh hell no!” Mei revved her engine and began to chase after him.

“Get back here!” Red Son did the same as he quickly followed and soon enough everyone joined in as well.

“I still can’t believe that they weren’t real,” MK grumbled as he licked his ice cream.

“I still can’t believe the both of you thought it was real,” Mei smirked as she pointed her spoon at them.

“In hindsight, I should have never thought that the peaches of immortality would ever be a prize in a mortal sport,” Red Son grumbled as he bit into his cone. “Every demon, creature, and mortal alike would be flocking at the chance of immortality if it was real.”

“Well jokes on the both of you, cause now I can savor my free delicious goodness,” she held up her cup.

“You don’t have to rub it in,” the boy groaned.

“Yeah, I do. I mean, who was saying that they only needed the great Monkey King powers to win?” She put her finger to her chin, “Oh right! It was you!”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Well since you got me my wonderful prize, your apology has been accepted. Just try not to be dumb next time.”

“All I can do is try!”

“If it wasn’t for you, I would have won!” The flame demon half glared at MK.

“To be fair, how was I supposed to know that I crashed into you when I fell out of the sky!” He threw his hands up. “I was just trying to get ahead!”

“Well now my vehicle is in ruins because of you!”

“You're not the only one, Pigsy is gonna kill me once I get back,” he smacked his head on the table.

“Don’t you have Monkey King powers?” She pointed out.

“Huh?” MK tilted his head as the demon's eyes widened in realization as he smacked his face.

“You could have fixed it!” He roared out.

“Oh right!” He had totally forgotten that he could do that, “I am soo doing that after we eat.”

Red Son grabbed him by his collar and brought him close until they were nose to nose, “I have spent countless months making and fine tuning my car to my tastes and you, noodle boy, have ruined that in less than a second. You will fix my car now.”

“Oor I can do that,” he quickly grabbed his staff and went outside as the two follow.

“Don’t worry,” Mei patted the demon's shoulder, “I know exactly your pain. Love him, but he almost lost a hand after he managed to bust my engine.”

“I said I was sorry!” He called out as both vehicles reverted back to their original state with a few missing pieces here and there.

“Tell that to my motor!”

Red Son inspected his car and nodded his head, “still some parts missing, but an adequate patch up job nonetheless. I will bring it back to its former glory when I bring it back home.”

“Your welcome,” the Monkie kid smiled.

“You're the one who broke it in the first place!”

“Point,” he then walked a little way closer, “soo I guess this means you're gonna head home now.” He said a bit sadly, he liked hanging out with Red, he is one of the few, besides Mei, who can match his level of energy. So it was always a bummer whenever he had to head back to his crummy family, he had heard how parents talked to him and needless to say, he did not like it.

The demon side eyed his friend's words and huffed, “I can do whatever I want, you have no authority over me.” He marched back inside with his head held high.

Both MK and Mei's eyes slightly widened at this, but they both shared grins as they quickly followed him back inside the shop.

“So question, is water wet?” She couldn’t help herself.

“By the-of course it is wet!” He looked so lost at the random question.

“Nope it’s not,” MK stood firm in his belief, he knew what Mei was doing, but he was not about to let this go.

“Of course it is noodle boy! If water makes other materials wet then by default the water is wet!”

“Key word ‘other materials’ the water itself is not wet.”

“That makes no sense, of course it is!”

“It makes perfect sense!”

“Do you have a brain or is it hiding under all that stupidity?!”

“I will not back down from this, water is not wet!”

“In what world!”

Mei happily sat back and enjoyed the chaos she just unfolded.

“Nice job MK,” Monkey King complimented his protege when he saw him master the reverse strike. “You are getting quite the hang of this.”

“Thanks!” He smiled as he swung his staff back to his side.

“You're learning faster than I have ever anticipated, are you learning from another teacher behind my back?” He narrowed his eyes teasingly though it still held a hint of seriousness as he was curious about how he knew some of those moves.

“No!” He immediately said, but he backtracked moments later, “well yeah, but not like that! It’s just that my Dad has been teaching me some fighting moves for the past couple of years.”

“Lighten up,” he jokingly ruffled his head, “I’m just teasing you. Though I seriously have to meet your old man sooner or later, he seems like a pretty cool dude if he’s teaching you all this.”

“Of-,” he cut himself off as he realized what he was about to do. His dear ol Dad, the medicine monkey who has a grumpy temper, the biggest worrier he has ever met, was Macaque, the same monkey who tried to kill the Monkey King and the rest of the gang, albeit under a huge misunderstanding.

He cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to meet his Dad again.

While he doesn’t think that Monkey King will go off the rails and try to exterminate him on sight, he rather not take the chance either way. But, as much as he hates to admit it, there will always be the possibility that the two will meet sooner or later.

“Maybe later,” he nervously said as he scratched the back of his neck. “But how about teaching me something else, likkke a certain 72 transformation technique.” He really wanted to learn this out of all the moves.

The monkey sage merely quirked his eyebrow at his student's blatant tell, but he let it slide…for now. “Oh ho ho, now why should I teach you that?”

“But why not?”

“But why?” He shot back.

“But, but, but it would be so cool!” It really would be so cool, transforming into all those different kinds of animals, but he does have to admit that he does have a certain animal that he is leaning towards.

“It is definitely a cool move,” he agreed as he balanced on his tail, “but you don’t have to learn that at the moment.”

“Oh come on, when will I be ready,” he huffed out.

“When I say you are,” he poked the middle of his forehead then playfully snagged his violet bandana off his head and began to run away.

“Hey! Give that back!” He began to chase the monkey as they traverse up the mountain.

“Here’s your next lesson,” he tied the bandana to his left arm as he was standing on top of a large boulder. “We will be focusing on your stamina next, you seem to have a lot, but I want to test out how long you can go for.”

“Oh I can go on for a long time!” He cockily stated as he had already climbed up halfway to him, “so you better give me back my bandana when I catch you!”

“Good luck with that,” he shot back with the same arrogance as he hopped over to a tree that was quite a distance away. He silently watched his protege leaped from the rock to the tree closest to it, then he saw him stumble a bit with the different texture as he climbed on, but this is when he became a bit confused as he saw him sit down on one of the tree branches and proceeded to take his shoes and socks off. “What are you doing?” He muttered out.

Then he saw MK begin to climb once more and, he noted, that he actually began to have an easier time with climbing and swinging from tree to tree. “Well, I’ll be.”

It was only when MK got closer did he ask, “so it seems that I have underestimated your climbing skills, is this what your Dad also taught you?”

“Kinda,” he brightly said as he kept on climbing, “I was raised in the Plum Blossom Forest, I might as well have been born in there! I think that I have climbed every tree imaginable that was in that forest.”

“The Plum Blossom Forest,” the Monkey King mused. He knew of it, it had popped up a couple of centuries back, but he really never had a chance to check it out before. “Sounds interesting, I didn’t know humans were living there,” he subtly asked.

“There isn’t,” MK automatically said, not understanding the sage question.

“Oh? Is that so? So you visit often,” he curiously asked as he moved to a different treetop.

“Stop moving! But, no I live there, I thought I already told you that,” MK huffed as he moved over to the next tree.

“No, you said nothing of sorts,” he mocked back, “but if there is no human there, then how about you and your Dad?”

“Well I am the only human, my Dad’s not,” he momentarily stopped mid climb as he just realized what he admitted, but continued to climb. “He’s a demon.”

“A demon, that is something you don’t hear every day,” he teased. He has nothing against interspecies relationships, but he does have to admit that there aren't many couples like that out there. Prejudice is a right bitch at times no matter how much the eras may go past. “Your parents must really have a strong relationship with each other.”

As MK was about to say something an idea began to form in his head as he calmly switched tracks and said, “Nah, it’s just my Dad. He adopted me after he found me in the rain out in the alley after I got lost.” While he doesn’t want the two to meet again, he can admit to himself that there will always be a possibility that it will happen, so why not let the Monkey King see his Macaque in a better light.

His eyes widened as he heard this, but other than that, his entire form stayed the same, “Well that was nice of him,” was all he said.

MK only felt a bit bad about trying to manipulate the great Monkey King, but he kinda doesn’t want his Dad to be turned into utter paste if they ever meet again. So he will use every trick in the book he learns from both him and Mei and makes sure that when this all blows up in his face then at least he will have some resemblance of a bomb shelter to shield them from the blast.

So like he said, he only felt a bit bad.

“Yep! He’s been raising me ever since then!” He cheerily added as he eyed a certain monkey keeping his poor bandana hostage.

Wukong opted to stay quiet at this as he let the rest of the implications fall over him on his student situation. Though he did move back to the mountain once he got too close once again.

“Oh come on!”

“Seriously, why does this Forest even have faeries?!” Red Son yelled out as he finally found his way to the treehouse.

“Hello to you too,” MK grinned as he saw him and Mei walk towards him. “I didn’t know you two were coming together.”

“We weren’t,” Mei grumbled in irritation, “but some faeries decided that this is the time that they wanted to be devious, so I was stuck there for three hours!”

“I was in there for two before I saw biker girl,” the demon added as he stomped over to the tree. “If we didn’t spot each other, I was about to set fire to everything around me just so I can finally come here.”

“Agreed,” she growled out. This wasn’t her first time dealing with those half pint brats and she knows it won’t be her last. “Even Baba was laughing at us.”

“If I didn’t respect her so much I would be furious with her,” Red grumbled. He had met the divine creature on multiple occasions as he has always felt like an ant in her eyes whenever they meet. It was both infuriating and fascinating at the same time.

“At least they didn’t try to make deals with you,” MK tried to look on the bright side, only to get twin glares.

“I know better than to even play nice with a murderous being that is not even the size of my pinky! Mei doesn’t fuck with that kind of trickery, I like my soul thank you very much.”

“The faeries of this forest don’t do deals,” both humans looked at him in confusion, “I know, weird, but apparently Macaque told me some time ago when I first mentioned them that he and the Queen of the colony made a deal that they can stay in his forest as long as they don’t attempt to harm anyone that wanders in.” Now when he first heard this he was more than a little skeptical. Faeries, especially Woodland Faeries, are known for tricking their prey into a deal that usually ends with them losing their soul. Just because they look cute and innocent, doesn’t mean that they aren’t cold, manipulative little bastards stuffed with wiggly cruelty. He should know, he and his family have met with several of their kinds in his travels and even his parents refuse to have anything to do with those cretins.

“But they can still do shit like this,” she pointed out.

“Unfortunately yes,” he grumbled and he couldn’t help but add, “and I would have been able to maneuver my way through this if you didn’t insist on going your own way.”

“Me?” She marched up to him and pointed a finger at his chest, “You were the one getting all high and mighty and strutting around the forest like your hot shit! I was just following you fancy pants.”

“Ridiculous! You were the one saying ‘Don’t worry I know this forest like the back of my hand’ but apparently, you don’t know it as much as you hoped,” he slapped her hand away.

“Guys,” MK tried to butt in, but it was no use as their argument grew louder.

“Oh ho ho! Look who's talking Mr. ‘This is hardly a hassle for someone like me!’ But I guess someone like you ain’t worth the title you own!”

“Mei no,” the boy looked towards her.

“Not. Worth. My. Title?!” His head flickered in fury as steam began to come out.

“Red please,” MK practically was begging at this point.

He almost seemed to listen…almost as he calmly retorted “That says a lot a little coming from you little miss princess.”

“Goddamnit,” he sighed as he quickly stepped back as Mei tackled Red Son as she screamed.

“I am no fucking Princess! I am a goddamn Queen!”

The two began to brawl wildly across the area and the more Mei punched Red in the face and Red kneed her in the stomach, more and more bruises began to form.

“Honestly I’m shocked that this didn’t happen sooner,” he admitted as he sat back and watched their fight.

Then when both Dragon successor and Bull prince managed to throw each other away from one another, one brought out a glowing viridian sword in hand and the other lit up his fist in all its blaze of glory.

“Shit!” MK shouted as he began to sprint towards them with staff in hand.

Mei rushed towards Red Son with frustration in her eyes and he charged her with irritation on his own and just before their attacks hit one another a certain staff blocked their way and the trio attack let out a devastating roar.

BOOOM!

They all were pushed back by a tidal wave of heat and air but managed to stay on their feet.

“Okay I wasn't expecting that!” MK was the first one to say as he got his bearings. “A little boom, yes, but not whatever that was.”

“I hate to admit it, but I agree with you noodle boy,” Red Son said as he lowered his arms and looked down at their crater.

“You’re telling me,” Mei looked impressed by their miniature destruction as she looked around the area, “we managed to cause quite a bit of-FUCK!”

“What?!” Both boys whipped towards Mei, who looked oddly terrified as she pointed towards the tree line. They followed her finger and what they saw made them match her own face as standing at what used to be a beautiful grove of Plum Blossoms, was now a charred pile of ash.

“Nononono!” MK rushed over as he tried to examine the charred ground. “I thought I blocked it!”

“Well I think you redirect it!” Mei said in a panic as well, she knew very well just how much the trees meant to Macaque and now they had all done and fucked them up.

“How?!”

“Magic does strange things,” was all Red Son could mutter as he looked down at his destruction. He has never known why these trees were so important, after all this whole forest has an abundance of these, but during his multiple visits here he has gotten small snippets from both Macaque unruly friends and the creatures that dwell here of how important these trees mean to the Six Eared monkey. So, he tries his best to neither harm nor burn down a tree when he visits, despite not knowing why. Now he has thrown that all in the trash as he sees he has ruined something of importance to him.

“Now is not the time?!” MK panicked screamed as he tried to pick up the ash, but it just fell through his fingers. “This is so bad.”

“Are you guys okay?!” They all stiffen and quickly turn to see both Macaque and Ahmed leap towards them with worry on their faces. The monkey continued, “I heard screaming and an explosion.”

They all rushed in front as they tried, and failed, to cover their mess.

“We’re perfectly fine,” Mei grinned wide, “nothing is wrong.”

“She is correct,” Red Son nervously smiled, “everything is quite fine.”

“Yep,” MK didn’t look his Dad in the eyes, “we didn’t do anything bad.”

Both biker and demon elbowed him.

Ahmed and Macaque both looked at each other questioningly.

“Okay, what are you guys hiding?” He crossed his arms and looked to them, more specifically his son.

MK couldn’t help but look up and saw his Dad questioning look and he caved in faster than a house on fire as he wailed. “I’M SO SORRY!”

Mei and Red Son flinched as well as their shoulders dropped down in shame.

“Hey hey,” the monkey kneeled in front of his son as the lion gave a comforting pat on the other two shoulders. “Whatever happened, I’m sure it’s not too bad.”

“No, we fucked up real bad,” she whimpered out with her head lowered. “I am really sorry.”

“No words of apologies can amount to my failure,” the demon lowered his head as well.

“Seriously what happened?” He tried to ask but got only silence and tears in reply.

Ahmed did a quick scan around and he snorted as he saw what was behind them, “I think they're referring to the charred pile of ash behind them.”

The kids all stiffen as they watched Macaque see their destruction and it was only a moment of tense silence that had passed as they all awaited the inevitable yelling, but it wasn’t the one they were anticipating as he started to chuckle.

“Pffffftt, I’m gonna take a guess and say this was you guy’s creation,” he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Yessss?” She drew out the ‘s’ in confusion, “me and Red got in an argument and, well-”

“We fought and then MK stepped in to stop us, but it made it worse and then that happened,” he waved over their mess. “You don’t look mad?”

“Cause I’m not.”

“Really?!” They all shouted as MK continued, “but you told us just how much these trees meant to you and how you grew them yourself and you're telling us that it’s okay?!”

“Yep,” he popped the ‘p’ as he said that.

“But, but why!?”

“Look kiddos, I know both you and gale watched Ahmed and I fight some time ago right,” he said.

“Yeah?” Both humans agreed.

“So you know that we may have gotten more than a little wild with our fight and some things got utterly wrecked.”

“What’s the point of this?”

“I think what he’s trying to say is that during our fight, we destroyed an abundance of Plum trees,” Ahmed stepped in.

“…you know you did, didn’t you,” Mei mused out.

“Oh,” MK blinked as he did remember the clearing getting trashed to the point where it was almost unrecognizable to its previous state. “I suddenly feel like an idiot.”

“You're not the only one.”

“What fight?” Red curiously asked as Mei gave him a quick rundown.

“It’s the thought that counts starlight,” he smirked as he ruffled his son's hair.

“Sure, but I still feel bad,” he mumbled as he kicked a rock.

“Hmm well how bout this,” he grabbed the trio's attention, “to pay me back, all three of you are gonna plant a plant in that spot.”

“Like another Plum Tree or-” the monkey demon cut her off.

“Any plant you want, heck you can even plant daffodils. Those suckers can grow practically anywhere, but you guys will be the ones to take care of your plant. Deal.”

“Deal,” they all nodded.

“Alright but before we do that,” he brings out some bags and gloves, “how bout we clean up your mess.”

“Okay!/Let's do this!/This area will look even better than before!” MK, Mei, and Red Son all shouted as they grabbed the materials and began to clean up.

“I just noticed,” MK said as he put on his gloves with a mischievous grin, as he looked towards Red, “you said my name!”

He blushed as he remembered, but turned away, “no I didn’t.”

Mei matched her brother's grin, “you totally did!”

“It was the slip of the tongue!”

“Awww, you're finally warming up to us!”

“Shut your lying mouth!”

Both monkey and lion shared an amused look as they watched two humans and a demon, one side playfully argue and the other in complete denial, go at it.

It was not until a few weeks later did the once charred spot began to reform back in its former glory, but instead of Plum blossom saplings in its place there was a patch of Protea seeds grown by a Dragon girl, some Lotus buds planted by a Bull prince, and a section of Magnolia saplings nurtured by a Monkey successor.

“One day, you have to tell me how you make these noodles,” Macaque said as he quietly slurped down the rest of the food.

“Trade secret simian,” Pigsy chuckled as he wiped down his counter. “But I might let my lips loose a little if you tell me how you make your Dim Sum dumplings.”

“That can be arranged,” he grinned as he put down his empty bowl, “so, how have you and Tang been doing?”

The pig demon groaned as he stopped himself from slamming his head on the counter, “did Mei put you up to this?”

“Yep,” he unashamedly said.

“Of course she did,” he grumbled, “well tell her that there is nothing there.”

“But you want something to be there,” he pointed his dark green sparkly nail at him. Breezy got him, Comet, and Spitfire to do some nail time and he can say it didn’t turn out so bad. He knows MK was proudly showing off his violet nails against Mei’s bright green ones, even Red was admiring his own sparkly black ones. He even had his long mane of fur braided by them and it goes to show that you can learn new things about someone, he didn’t know little spitfire could braid hair. Apparently, the little prince said he learned it after Daiyu had dragged him off one day to meet some of her siblings, let it be known that he has a weakness towards wide eyed baby birds.

“No I don’t,” he huffed.

He raised an eyebrow.

Pigsy threw up his hands in defeat, “okay fine! Yes! I do like Tang in more than a friend way, happy now.”

“Ecstatic,” he deadpanned as he took a sip of his drink, “so why haven’t you said anything to him? And don’t give me that BS of not wanting to lose your friendship with him.”

“But it is!” He gripped the counter tight for a moment before exhaling, “look, I’ve been through so many crushes and puppy love throughout my life, hell take Spider Queen for one.”

“I think that was more of a lapse of judgment,” he patted the stool next to him.

“Whatever you call it, but for Tang I…I don’t think I ever fell for someone this hard before,” he sighed as he sat down next to the monkey. “I know it’s not a crush, I’ve known him too long and I know him for too long to be something as simple as a crush.”

“So what is it then?”

“I don’t know,” he moaned out as he covered his face with his hands.

“You do,” Pigsy peeked out from between his fingers as he looked at the monkey. “But you just don’t want to say it out loud.”

“Say what?”

“That you love him,” he bluntly stated.

“I do not-”

“So you don’t love the way he smiles?”

“Wha-no I do, but that doesn’t mean-” Pigsy admitted and tried to deny, but was cut off again.

“You don’t like how he looks into your eyes?”

“…his eyes are pretty, but that still-”

“What about how he talks on and on about all that history?”

“Oh fuck off about that!” He lets off a low growl to him, “the man is passionate about what he loves, and goddamnit it’s amazing watching him go on and on about it because he reveres even the smallest of rumors as a treasure no matter how weird they may be! So you can’t sit here and tell me that someone like him doesn’t ignite a spark within your soul as you look deep within him and can’t help but marvel at just how beautiful he is!”

Macaque raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

Pigsy's whole body stilled as he realized what he said, then he firmly said, “but that doesn’t mean that I love him?”

“Why not?”

“Why not? For fuck sake I have never taken Tang out on a date nor do I even know if he even sees me as anything more than an annoying friend,” he slumped down on the counter.

“You don’t have to be dating to be in love,” Pigsy lifted his head to look at Macaque, but the monkey was steadfastly looking forward. “Love cannot be defined in such a small category, there are so many ways that someone can love another without dating. Sometimes it’s when you laughing along with one of their stupid jokes and you realize that there is something there. Sometimes it is loud and boisterous and even when the other is annoying, you can’t help but still want to stay by their side no matter what. Sometimes it’s the quiet times where you are with them and then it clicks that you want something more, that there is something more. It’s that moment, when you're curled up next to them with the sun high in the sky, you know that you love them.”

There was a silence in the air as both demons knew what was implied, but neither had the guts to say anything.

“Macaque,” the pig demon put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Love is not so biased to one category,” the monkey demon continued as if nothing happened, “it cannot be contained in just one. So, I’ll ask again, do you love Tang?”

“…I didn’t even realize when I fell hard until I was listening to him talk about some underwater temple and I just couldn’t stop staring at just how beautiful he was at that moment. He was hella annoyed when he found out I wasn’t even paying to him, but that was then I realized I truly did love him,” Pigsy softly chuckled as he put his hand down.

“You did?” His head shot up at the familiar voice and he turned around to the front of the door to see Sandy, MK, and Mei all surrounding the voice, which made his heart drop as he saw Tang.

“How much did you hear?!”

“Ever since the little crush bit,” Mei smiled widely.

“Mei!”

“We heard it all,” MK joined in.

“MK!”

“It was really sweet Pigsy,” Sandy cooed.

“Sandy!” The pig demon didn’t know who to yell at first and instead turned to the monkey, “Macaque! You knew?!”

“Well I did say I was helping Mei with her plan,” he shrugged with a smirk.

Before Pigsy could lay it on him, he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder and his attention was brought back to a wide eyed historian.

“So is it true?” He asked with something the pig demon didn’t recognize, “did you really mean that?”

It was at that moment when he really wanted to just say it was all one big misunderstanding and maybe, he would be able to salvage the tender relationship he still had with Tang, but when he looked into his eyes he knew that he couldn’t lie to him, not now. “Yeah, I do. I love you and I know this is out of the blue, but I…oh.” He cut himself off as two arms encircled his neck and hugged him as tight as he could. “Uhhhh?”

“We could have been doing this so much sooner,” he heard a small chuckle coming from Tang.

“Done what?” His brain hadn’t had time to properly comprehend what was happening at the moment.

Tang then leaned back to put his own forehead on his head, “I realized I love you a few years back when I saw you cooking dinner back at your apartment, you just looked so content at that moment, just smiling as you sang so badly to that song-”

“Never was a good singer,” he couldn’t help but say as his heart beat faster in his ears.

“ThatI just couldn’t help myself from falling in love with you,” his eyes twinkled.

“You don’t say…” he whispered as he drew the human in closer, “it seems we’re a pair of idiots.”

“You're not wrong there,” Tang agreed as he gave a small kiss on the demon's forehead.

His face blushed a fierce red as he mustered up his own courage and kissed the back of the historian hand that was entwined with his.

Tang's smile also grew brighter as he hauled Pigsy up closer to him and placed a kiss right dab on his lips. It wasn’t until elated cheers that the two released each other from the other lips, though they still didn’t let go of the other as throughout the exchange their arms wrapped around the other.

“Woohoo!” MK cheered as he leaped in the air.

“Freenoddleshipping for the win!” Mei pumped her fist in the air.

“It’s about time,” Macaque smirked as his tail swished behind him.

“I am so happy for you guys!” Sandy wailed as he picked both his friends up in a giant hug.

“Sandy! You're kinda crushing us over here!”

“And there goes my bones.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m just so happy for you guys!!”

“Sandy!”

“Operation Lovebird is a success!” The twenty year old grinned as she lobbed her arm around MK's shoulder. “I told you it would work, we just needed the right guy or the right monkey.”

“None of you knows subtly unless it hits you on the head,” the monkey demon said.

“You're not wrong!”

“Speaking of love,” the ponytailed boy walked up to his Dad, “it seemed that something was going on in that speech of yours?”

“Yeahh,” Mei slid up to him, “it seemed like you were talking about someone? Who is it?”

“It’s no one,” he slightly shook his head as he had a nostalgic look on his face, “just an old flame.”

The two shared a surprised, but curious look.

“Now how bout the three of us say our congratulations to the lovebirds for finally getting their head out of their asses before Sandy cuts off their circulation,” he grinned as he ruffled their heads.

“Yeah!/ I am so gonna hold this over both of their heads for a long time,” both monkey and dragon successor grinned as they followed their Dad. Though that little conversation did not leave their mind in the slightest as it was only shifted to the side for now. If the monkey simply thought that they were gonna let it go like that then he has another thing coming.

‘We’re gonna look into this?’ MK’s eyes said as it sideglanced Mei.

‘Duh, like hell we’re gonna let it go.’ Mei agreed with a slight narrow of her eyes.

They had to develop some kind of method to sneak past Macaque and his six ears, else they would have never been able to catch him by surprise.

He did not like this. This technically doesn’t go against the deal they made with Macaque, but he does not like this in the slightest.

‘Why does he have this? Why couldn’t any other mortal or demon have the skeleton key?’ Red Son silently thought as he snuck into MK’s room. ‘Why does it have to be ones I’m acquainted with?’

His eyes widened as he saw, lying precariously on the nightstand, was the skeleton key. ‘Why did it have to go to MK of all people?! Wait? Why the hell did you leave such a dangerous object out in the open?!’ He wanted to scream the last part out, but he held it in instead as he looked towards the key.

He then reached out to grab it, only to stop and retreat a few steps back then he worked up the courage to go back and grab it only for his hand to stop once more and he let out a frustrated groan as he pulled his hair.

‘Damn it! It’s right there and all I need to do is grab it and get out! But I made a deal with Macaque, but this technically doesn’t go against the deal as I’m not physically attacking him, but this still feels wrong!’ He angrily huffed out as he paced the room in agitation as he tried to work himself back up, but then he deflated as he walked to the window.

‘But I can’t do that to him, to them. I can’t,’ he opened the window with his head lowered as he was about to jump out, but then he froze as a prominent thought drilled out.

‘Mother and Father will be disappointed with me.’

He lowered his foot that was about to go out the window.

‘Mother and Father will be disappointed with me.’

He let go of the hand that was on the window.

‘Mother and Father will be disappointed with me.’

With that he rushed over to the key, quickly snatched it up, and placed it in his pocket as if it burned as he leaped out of the window and leaped from rooftop to rooftop.

‘I’m sorry MK, but I can’t have Father and Mother disappointed with me.’ Was his final thought as he moved further and further away from his friend's apartment.

[noaltbruh]

Il mio fato

Chapter two: Benvenuta nella squadra!

Feeling her arms and legs shaking, the newbie desperately hoped for someone to open their mouth to speak, or just... Acknowledge her presence. She didn't dare to look past her feet, her hands glued together like those of a servant. The others exchanged some confused looks, they were used to Bucciarati bringing a new member by now, and it wasn't much of surprise that Giorno would do the same, but this? They were mafiosi, what was a little girl that could barely articulate a phrase without panicking doing among these people? She looked like she couldn't have kept up a fight with a butterfly (Which wasn't false).

While he knew that it was what Eleonora wanted, Giorno refused to interfere immediately. He trusted her, and he was sure that she could keep the situation under control, there was no need to push her any further.

The uncanny silence that seemed to be lasting for an eternity, was finally interrupted by the sound of some of the chairs moving, but she couldn't make out whose they were, exactly. "Fine, if you all are just going to be jerks and not even say hi, I'll handle this" "Trish, what the heck are you doing?!" "What? Can't you see she's terrified? She's one of us now, we gotta make sure she feels at home here!" "You shouldn't trust her in the moment y-" "Ya know what's up? I'm with Trish on this. Come on guys, we were all super awkward when we first met the others, let's give her a little help" Narancia added, as he stood up, and approached the the young girl together with his friend.

"Heya, it's nice to meet you too! My name's Trish Una, even though you've probably already figured it out by now, haven't you?" She began, putting both of her hands on her hips, like she was striking a pose...She always found a way to be 'extra', somehow.

"Sup girl? The name's Narancia Ghirga, but you can call me Narancia, everyone calls me by my first name here" The boy smirked, and accidentally dropped the pencil in his pocket. While he was genuinely curious about meeting her, it was no secret that it was partially an excuse to get distracted a bit from his homework. "Now that I think about it, though...Why do you keep on calling me like this?! I'm almost eighteen! You should bring me more respect"

The girl with pink hair let out a small laugh. "Pffft...Please, I could NEVER call you Ghirga, it sounds too weird!" "Said the person whose surname is Una, is that why you're wearing a skirt with Maths on it?" "Well...I don't tell you to call me by my surname!" "But I'm older than-" "I-I'm sorry to interrupt you b-but...Could you slow down a-a little bit? I...Can't keep up"

Their sudden approach had caused the other to instinctively take a step back, they had gotten so invested in their argument, to almost forget who they were introducing themselves to in the first place.

Trish's smile disappeared for a brief moment, then she continued. "Oh Gosh! No no dear, we should be the ones apologizing, this isn't about us" Narancia crossed his arms, his smug grin had no intention to leave. "Even though...If you're gonna stick around, you better get used to all this noise!"

A similar amount of energy was not something the brunette was used to, she was not prepared to see them getting so close to her out of nowhere; despite this, a little smile formed on her face. While she wasn't good at showing it...Having them so eager to get to know her filled her with joy. With a bit of reluctance, she extended her arm in their direction, fixing her glasses with her other hand. "Thank you for your welcome...I really appreciate your kindness"

Narancia energetically took her hand with both of his, and shook it so hard to make her entire body shake. "It's no big deal! Sorry if I scared ya" "But...Uh...Can I ask you a little favor?" "Mh?" "Can you...Well...Show your face a little more? I can't even see your eyes, besides, I think I'm prettier than the floor!"

As her cheeks turned red for the embarrassment, she raised her head, allowing them to take a better look at her. She didn't like the feeling of their green and purple eyes staring at every centimeter of her body, but she wouldn't even think about letting it show.

"Come on! No need to be all tense and dense, we don't bite" "Narancia's right, how about you sit next to us?" Before even receiving a response, the latter had already picked up a chair from a nearby table, holding it proudly in the air like it was an heavy boulder. The girl timidly approached him, volunteering to carry it, but he declined her help, insisting that he was perfectly fine. "Please...Give it to me, there's no need for you to-" "Nah, I got this, don't cha worry about me" "Are you sure about this? There's barely enough space for you guys already, maybe I-" "Oh please, don't make us beg you! I'm sure we can find a place for you with no big troubles"

Suddenly, Fugo, who wasn't bothering paying attention to "Whatever those two dumbasses were doing", felt Narancia touching his head from behind with the chair. "What the hell do you want now?!" "Move your butt a little, or I can't make this thing fit here" "So what? That's not my problem, put it somewhere el-"

Before he could finish his sentence, something else pushed him aside, almost making him fall from his chair: it was Trish's Spice Girl, who gave a thumbs up to her master before disappearing. "ARE YOU HIGH OR SOMETHING? Why are you so damn excited about this whole thing?!" He said, nervously picking up a wrinkled piece of paper from the table, and scrapping it to smaller pieces, as a way to calm himself. "Why?! Oh...Excuse me, but being surrounded by SIX BOYS gets lame after a while. Thank you, by the way~" Narancia giggled, trying not to let Fugo notice, hearing someone talking back to the blonde like that was satisfying. He put the chair down, and sat once again.

"Cut her some slack, the little girl just wants someone to talk with about all that cheesy stuff" "I'm talking to you as well, Narancia" "Oh? Sorry, I can't hear ya, I'm WAYYYYY too invested in this homework that you've given me" He took the pencil that had rolled under the table after falling from his pocket, then went back to stare at his own piece of paper, having no clue of what to do next with the operations in front of him. Seeing him struggle, Eleonora felt the need to step in, she couldn't stand watching someone having troubles with school work, it was one of the few things she considered herself actually good at. However, her attempt didn't go as she hoped it would have had.

"Uhm...Please, forgive me for interfering, but maybe I could-" "Narancia is ok, he doesn't need your help for something as basic as this, he's not a child"

Fugo brutally cut her off, impeding her from even pointing out a single wrong calculus. She immediately looked away, feeling bad for the older boy, but knowing well that if she insisted, she would have put him in troubles as well. "O-ok...I'm sorry"

Trish, who was sitting on her right, whispered to her ear, making sure that the boy in green couldn't hear her. "Hey, don't let Fugo intimidate you, just let them do their things, don't worry about them for now" "But...Narancia was being so nice to me...I wanted to pay him back" "You'll do it another time, it's better like this, trust me" She sighed, feeling disappointed for not being able to do more. She tried to put that thought aside and focus on the other, eventually managing to distract herself a little.

Giorno sat at the table as well, observing the scene like it was a theatrical spectacle. He couldn't help but smile seeing her already bonding with someone, and in reality, he had already imagined that something similar would have happened, he was very familiar with Trish's discontent about being the only female member of the group. Similar to him, Bucciarati also saw it as an opportunity to analyse the newcomer, seeing her interactions with the others was fundamental in his eyes, he would have had other opportunities to talk to her directly.

Abbacchio was silently sipping some tea, all that noise was hurting his head, and he couldn't stand the thought of 'having to look after another one of those things'.

That damn brat...It was bad enough when Bruno brought here random children from the streets, but this is simply ridiculous. I swear if he wasn't the Boss, I'd-

"Abbacchio, you alright? What are you thinking about?" Mista said, swinging an hand in front of his face, making him snap out of those spiteful thoughts and bringing him back to reality. "None of your business" He simply answered, staring at his half-empty teapot. "Nice as always, I see" "What do you want?" "Are you...Uh...Planning on giving her the 'Giorno treatment'?" "...No, not this time"

At first sight, one would think that the man was the kind of person that wouldn't let nothing nor no one intimidate him, and while that was mostly true, it couldn't always be like this. He knew his limits, his place, and most importantly, he knew better than to directly mess with someone under Giorno's protection. While everyone treated him like a normal member of the team, Abbacchio thought that it was better to play it safe.

"But that doesn't mean that I'm just going to sit here and watch" "Uh? What do you mean?" He put his earphones down, turning in her direction with a killer look.

"Kid, let me ask you something"

His deep voice caught everyone off guard, nobody expected him to speak up out of the blue. Everyone knew the drill about Abbacchio and his behavior towards the 'newest member', but sadly, it was something that you had to endure if you wanted to become a part of them.

The brunette knew about this too, and most importantly, she knew about the way he treated Giorno when he first joined the squad. With a neutral expression, she stared back at him.

"...Yes?" "Why did you come here? What did you expect to find? Are you planning on fighting? Putting your life on the line?"

She hesitated for a brief moment, unsure of how to answer. Was this a test? She had already thought beforehand that he would have tried to put her under pressure, but she assumed that it would have been something a bit more...Explicit. On the other hand, due to her...Ahem...Introduction, perhaps it made more sense like this, he wanted to see if she could talk back to him, she couldn't let them walk all over her.

"That is...Something that I'm willing to do" She replied. The Albino let out a small laugh, shaking his head slightly. " 'Willing to do'? I don't think you understood how things work around here, brat. It's not something 'optional', this is our normality, people respect us, because we make them respect us, because we scare them. But you? You couldn't even scare a child with that baby face. I really hope that you're going to change this behavior of yours, or else...Your little heart might break, both literally and figuratively"

"Abbacchio, I think that's enou-" Bruno tried to interfere, but he was stopped by Giorno, who put an hand on his shoulder. "Bucciarati wait, let's see what happens first, give her the chance to defend herself" He concluded, with a stoic expression.

"My...Little heart?" Eleonora began, moving her bang to the side. "I'm n-not nearly as strong as any of you...Do you think I don't know that? But if Giorno recognised me as a worthy member of the team, it means that I've earned my place here, I think. I'm...D-Disposable, but I want to change, is that good enough for you? She put her right elbow on the table, clenched her hand into a fist and rested her cheek on it. "Sorry if I'm not scary enough to wear dark makeup and clothes at any hour of the day"

The whole table went silent for an entire minute, as the girl with the chemise felt everyone's eyes on her. She hadn't even realized she's talked so much, and that she probably shouldn't have added that last comment. It was a bad habit of her, when she got carried away, she'd end up forgetting to pay attention to what she was saying, without thinking about the words that came out of her mouth.

A small "oof" could be heard coming from Narancia's direction, as Mista and Trish tried to contain their laughter. Bruno's face looked like one of a worried mother after hearing her child swear for the first time, while Fugo just sat there with an expression of slight shock. Giorno was smiling in a smug way, the scene reminded him of how everyone reacted after "his own test".

The most surprising one, however, was Abbacchio's reaction. He didn't look pissed, not in the slightest; he was wearing a provocative smirk, and his arms were crossed.

"Oh yeah? Is the kitty trying to get his claws out? How terrifying...Buona fortuna ragazzina, ne avrai bisogno" He put his earphones back on, acting like nothing had happened.

Narancia patted her on the shoulder, smiling satisfied.

"Dude, what in the world was that?!" "I'm s-sorry...I kinda lost track of my words...A-and-" "Girl, chill a little! We're not mad at ya, he always acts like an a**hole with the newcomers" Trish added, pointing one of her finger in his direction, before winking at her. "And let me say something, you've got some guts talking back to a dude like him in that way" "B-but I..."

Their conversation was cut off by the waiter, obviously looking distressed for having to serve such group of people. "F-Forgive me for interrupting, but would you like me to bring you the bill?" "Yes, thank you" Bruno replied.

After they were done paying for everything, they quickly left the place with the intention of heading back home. Bucciarati loved that restaurant, he had lunch there with his companions almost everyday, but he hated to remain there after he was done eating. He didn't think it was respectful to occupy a sit that he didn't need anymore, while somebody else actually did. What he didn't know, was that no one ever sat at their table, even when they weren't there. It was a silent agreement that it was their place, nobody would even consider "taking it away from them".

"Well...I'd say that this new arrival went surprisingly well. Things are usually a bit more...Lively around here, wouldn't you guys agree?" He commented, opening the front door, as the rest rapidly followed him outside. "I must say that you're right, Bruno, but that doesn't surprise me. Eleonora has always been a calm person, ever since I've known her, her introduction to all of you couldn't have been much different" Giorno responded, when he noticed that the girl was shyly walking at the end of the group, quite far away from him, who was leading the way. "Would you mind walking next to me? I'd prefer to keep you under my watch" He said to her, turning his head a little. "Ah, uhm...Of course! I'm sorry...I thought it was fair for me to stay here behind, since... Well..."

She interrupted the sentence there, realizing that it was probably for the best not to finish it, she didn't want to bring herself down too much in front of the others. She quietly walked up to him, luckily the sidewalk was wide enough for her to move without accidentally bumping into anyone else.

"I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious but...We're heading to your house, right?" "Precisely, it's not far away from here, we should reach it in a couple of minutes" "I...I see. Uhm...Would it be okay if I went to my hotel after all of you arrive home? I'd like to pick up some of my...Well...Properties" "Of course, but perhaps I should accompany you" "T-there's no need to! I remember the way...I hope"

One could see from miles away that she had no idea of how to go back to that building, but that wasn't the only reason why Giorno didn't want her to go alone. He didn't feel safe letting her wander on her own in a city like this, she still had a lot to learn, and she might have gotten into troubles, people around there...Weren't always honest as they may have seemed at first.

In no time, they reached their destination. The villa that erected in front of her was even more majestic than how she had imagined it in her mind. It was a two-storey house, with white walls and a roof made of glass and wood. It was surrounded by an immense backyard; while it couldn't be seen clearly, the young one could already spot some fruit trees, small flower beds and bushes. A multitude of windows revealed certain areas of the house, but it was almost impossible to see through them, as they were too high for one to reach them. The front door was decorated with some golden and green ornaments, it seemed wide enough to allow two people to pass through it at the same time. Its boundary was defined by a white railing, with some colourful stains of...Something... scattered here and there, they were probably someone's doing.

"Well, here we are" The boy with green eyes commented, tilting his head to look at Eleonora's face. Her expression exuded an aura of wonder and incredulity, her eyes shined brightly with excitement, and a smile was printed on her lips.

"Look at your face, I've never seen you look like this before" His words didn't reach her for how amazed she was, she felt like time had stopped flowing for a few seconds. "So, what do you think?" He put an hand on her shoulder, remembering her of the world around. "I...D-Don't know what to say...It's just...It's so...Breathtaking" "It's alright to be nervous, we all were when we first arrived here. Take your time, I know that a new territory can be threatening"

The girl took a step forward the mansion. "Do you think...I could really belong here?" "You can, and you already do, you don't need to doubt it even for a second"

Seeing such genuine and pure happiness on her face was not something to take for granted, he wanted to cherish it as much as he could.

"Benvenuta nella squadra"

[cocobwrites]

Once Upon A Time in Santa Ana

Summary:  Once Upon a Time, Angel Reyes knew you and you knew him. Once Upon a Time, Angel Reyes loved you and you loved him. In him, your teenage hopes and dreams found a home, a safe haven. Angel Reyes took your love and spat it back out at you with malice. Once Upon a Time Angel Reyes accepted a tender, fragile love and burned it down. This is the story of a man trying to rekindle his first love from the ashes.

Chapter 1

                                        Ghost Two: Angel 

Angel was unsettled, unnerved and on edge. There were too many ghosts here. The weight of his past decisions was heavy on his conscience. The streets he rode down lead to memories of emotional crimes he’d sooner forget, and the clubhouse felt like it had the potential to morph into his own personal insane asylum. 

“Angel!” The man being shouted at turned to the sound of the voice. This was the second time today that he’d been slapped in the face by a ghost of his past. The first was by his own doing. Angel knew without a doubt that walking into that convenience store was inviting hurt that he wasn’t 100% sure he could deal with, but the temptation of possibly being so close to you and not attempting to see you was too much. 

In front of him now was ghost number 2, Shania. Shania was the perceived catalyst in Angel’s love story. The cousin/best friend to the girl he first gave his heart to. The devil on his love’s shoulder egging her on to do what she desired most and covering for her disappearance acts. 

The last time Angel saw Shania she was just on the brink of womanhood. At 18 her face still held a girlish charm while her body was blossoming into full adulthood. Looking at her now the transition was complete. Her once rounded cheeks were still full but defined. Her eyes told a story of secrets that came with being grown, and her hips swayed in a way that marked her confidence. In short, Shania had finished growing up. Her hair hung in long coils hitting her waist. They were dyed a bright red and highlighted a lighter red that held a pink tone.  The colors complimented her sepia-toned skin. 

Shania threw her arms around Angel’s neck and pulled him tight swaying back and forth. Angel needed the hug. He needed the affirmation that he hadn’t burned every bridge he built while he was here all those summers ago. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath absorbing the warmth and comfort Shania offered.

“Damn, it’s been a long time,” Shania said while letting go. She smiled up at her former friend. “You forget how a phone works?” She asked following it up with a slap to his arm. “I’m mad at you Angel. Just dipped out without a goodbye and then went ghost. “ These fools” she pointed a thumb in the general direction of the members “treat information about other chapters like they’re in the CIA.” she shook her head.

“How have you been?” Shania finished with a bright smile waiting to hear about how things had been with Angel. 

Angel in return just ran a hand down his face and answered with a short “Shit” followed by a shrug of uncertainty. “I mean good I guess.” He raised his hand palm up and rolled his fingers outward in a questioning gesture. “Just doing club shit.”

Shania’s brow creased and her smile dropped, the face she was currently sporting was eerily reminiscent of her uncle. Angel was sure it was a family trait. “Wow, that was a really insightful look into what life has been like for the last'' she waved her hand “however long.”

Angel laughed, appreciating the blunt but humorous honesty. “Do you want a drink, Angel?” Shania asked and looked over her shoulder apparently feeling EZ approach. 

“Shania, this is my brother EZ. EZ, this is Shania. Shooter’s daughter.” Angel watched EZ stick his hand out and give a half-smile. Shania accepted it and gave it one firm shake. She didn’t let go though. Instead, she turned back to Angel and said “So, is the whole family fine, or were the genes reserved for just y’all?’ She finished what a laugh that mixed with Angels and was accompanied by EZ’s own chuckle. 

“I’m going to grab you a drink.” She finished with a wink and went to do just that. 

EZ stepped up to Angel and watched the girl walk away. “So, that’s Shooter’s daughter meaning she’s the cousin to the unnamed girl.”

Angel knew EZ had said you were unnamed for the sole purpose to get him talking. “She’s not unnamed” Angel answered back not without irritation. 

“Then what’s her name?”  Asked EZ angling himself towards his older brother.

Angel supplied your name. “Look, man, I don’t really want to get into this right now. Just let it alone for a bit EZ.” 

Angel stalked off towards Shania meeting her half-way to get his drink. In truth Angel really didn’t want to get into the nitty-gritty about you but he knew he had to. EZ was at a disadvantage not knowing the truth of how Angel left. There were old wounds here that he wasn’t sure fully healed. If judging by how your father reacted and how Shooter was treating him he’d have to say they were very much still open and sore. Why though? That was something that he was hoping to ply information from Shania. 

She handed Angel an open bottle of beer and clinked her own to his before taking a sip. She turned to the side so she was facing him and leaned against an unoccupied pool table.  Angel muttered a thank you and then mimicked her pose. 

Shania took a breath as if to say something, but stopped having changed her mind, and instead took a sip of her beer. 

“Does she know I’m here?” Angel asked deciding to just cut to the chase. “Hell, is she even still here?”

Shania just looked at him for a moment before answering. “Are you being serious right now? You sure you want to open that can of worms?” She huffed and shook her head. Shania set her bottle down on the green of the table and folded her arms over her chest. “Angel, I’m going, to be honest with you.” She paused again. It seemed she was unsure if she wanted to say what she was thinking, but her lips tightened for just a moment and she continued on. 

“You fucked up bad when you left here like you did. At least you gave the appearance that you did.” Her eyes narrowed briefly while she looked Angel over. “I’m willing to forgive and forget. It’s been a long ass time and it’s clear that y’all haven’t had any form of contact. My daddy and uncle on the other hand….” She trailed off. 

“My daddy won’t say anything since it didn’t involve the club, but I’d step lightly around him. Also-” she poked his arm. “Keep yo tail away from my uncle. That man has been itching to beat you down for years. He’s old but he’s quick and trust me, he hits hard.”

“Now do you really want to know the answers to those questions?” She shook her head. “Don’t go pickin’ at scabs unless you’re ready to treat the cut.”

 “I hear you, Shania. I do forreal” Angel paused “and if you don’t think it’s good for her to know I’m here, don’t tell her. I just have to know. Is she still here?” Angel tried to keep the desperation out of his voice but was failing. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about you, but as of late he felt like he was spiraling. There was a need to feel something genuine and untainted again. Something was telling him he could do that with you.

Shania nodded along and listened. “Yeah, she’s still here.”She said casually while pulling her phone out. “Well, more like here again. She moved back home a few years ago.” She continued while apparently responding to a text on her phone. 

“As far as her knowing if you’re back-” She paused again and Angel heard the distinctive single vibration of her phone. Shania nodded in satisfaction. “Put your number in here.” She handed Angel the phone. “I want to be able to get in touch with you again.”

Angel did as directed more focused on if Shania was going to tell follow through and tell you. Shania, for her part, took the phone back and continued to tap away. “She knows now and I gave her your number.” She then pushed off the table and took a swig of her drink while walking away. Angel watched her pocket the phone and felt his stomach drop, rise up in an attempt to lodge in his throat before finally filling with moths. There were no butterflies here. Butterflies were reserved for happy reunions that would be filled with smiles and warm hugs. 

In the time he’d been back Angel had been met primarily with cold acceptance or outright hostility save for Shania. He didn’t know what he’d get with you. He didn’t know if he’d get anything from you. As badly as Angel wanted this reunion he was scared to death of it. 

He’d been reminded multiple times since getting back to Santa Ana that his departure had been less than ideal. From what he was gathering, the ripples of his decisions went farther than he thought they would. Angel huffed to himself and raised his bottle to down the rest. 

When his eyes closed he saw your face; confused and tear-streaked, a silent question on your lips “Why?” He wasn’t sure if what he was remembering was the true sound of your voice or just what he imagined it. While everyone was worried about protecting you they were ignoring the vulnerability Angel was submitting himself to. 

Was your relationship as good as he remembered? Had he taken only the best highlights of it and committed them to memory, leaving all the mess to be forgotten? That was the scary thing about memories. You could never be sure if what you were recalling was the truth or the romanticized version used to get through melancholy.

Angel looked to the now empty bottle and just stared at the label, not really seeing it. Instead is mind was playing that moment on a loop. “Why?” The memory version continued to ask and never getting a true answer. “Because I could” Angel found himself whispering the implied response. 

You had his number. That knowledge left his phone feeling like a boulder in his pocket. Would you use it? Would you let this be content with never having a true resolution? If you did use it would you come at him like your pops? Would you give him a cold welcome like your uncle or would he have you back? Could he take a stroll down memory lane and make you smile like you used to? Would he get to hear that melodic laugh again? Would Angel get a chance at redemption?

Angel eased a long sigh and let the hand holding the bottle fall to his side. He took strides towards the bar looking for another drink and felt the weight of two pairs of eyes on him. A quick glance confirmed they belonged to EZ, observant as usual, and Shania, scrutinizing and assessing. It was going to be a long weekend.

[andypantsx3]

war paint | 9 | thief

pairing: Bakugou Katsuki / Reader

length: 27,765 words / 10 chapters

summary: Desperate times force you to disguise yourself and join the kingsguard. When a suspicious string of crimes strike the palace, however, Captain Katsuki Bakugou starts paying extra close attention. (spin off of in cinders)

tags: mulan AU, secret identity, romance, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, some violence, eventual smut

“You look far too happy this early in the morning,” Kaminari commented sourly over breakfast, spooning aimlessly around in his bowl. His hair was a mess as it was most mornings, standing up on end like he’d been struck by lightning, and there were deep shadows under his eyes. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.

Sero took a seat at his elbow, looking you over in bemusement. “Yeah, normally you’re asleep in your porridge, L/N. What gives?”

You hid a private smile. For the last week or so, you’d been kept thoroughly occupied by your captain and hadn’t seen much of your two friends, but the week had been something like the happiest of your life. You'd spent every day tangled up in Bakugou, training, talking, teasing. It seemed right that Sero and Kaminari would comment on your mood, since you also felt like satisfaction was spilling out of you, bursting through cracks in your skin like sunlight.

Maybe it was. Maybe they could really see it.

“Just in a good mood,” you hummed, shoveling porridge into your mouth so you didn’t have to follow up.

Kaminari eyed you suspiciously. “You do something to Nishimura? Put a cow pie in his bed?”

That wrenched a laugh out of you. “No, why would I?”

“Uh, maybe because he’s a shit to you,” Kaminari replied through a mouthful of his breakfast.

“Tit for tat,” Sero mused thoughtfully, chuckling.

You made a face. You’d quite honestly been too occupied with Bakugou over the last week to give much thought to Nishimura, though you certainly couldn’t admit as much to Kaminari and Sero. Nishimura hadn’t ceased his bad behavior, but you’d been spending so much time away from him, either on the training field for extra practice, or practicing something altogether different over the top of Bakugou’s desk. Or up against the wall. Or -- one memorable midnight -- back in the baths where the captain demonstrated very thoroughly what he’d wanted with you the night he’d caught you sneaking around.

You’d pretty much forgotten all about Nishimura.

You listened with half an ear as the conversation wandered away from your good mood, shifting to the subject of Lord Jiro’s daughter. Kaminari had tripped over her in the hall earlier this week, and he was now given to waxing poetic whenever she came up. You finished up breakfast as he practically spouted sonnets over the shapes of her earlobes, leaving him with a comment of encouragement as you set back off for the barracks to fetch your sword belt before drills.

As you turned the corner into your room, however, you collided with what felt like a boulder rolling out from within. You jerked backwards clutching your nose where you'd crunched it against the stone, winded by the impact. You looked up in surprise, finding Hasumi, Nishimura's idiot friend, instead. His tall frame filled the doorway to your quarters, broad shoulders thick with impossible muscle, and his eyes widened a little as he caught sight of you.

You looked up at him in question, but he merely grunted something offensive and sidestepped you, making sure to knock one brawny shoulder into yours as he did. He was large, even taller than the captain, and he nearly bowled you over with the force of it.

You stumbled back into the wall, biting down on a swear. That was going to leave a bruise.

Hasumi swept quickly down the hall, not waiting to hear anything you might have to say about his rough treatment. Your temper boiled, and thought about calling after him as you watched him irritably, but thought better of it. If he was here in your building, then that meant Nishimura was back in your room and you would need all the energy you possessed to deal with that. You took a steadying breath, resigning yourself to at least thirty seconds of similar unpleasantries. You wondered if Hasumi’s aggression was any indication of the kind of mood Nishimura was in.

To your surprise, however, the room was completely empty as you stepped inside. Had Hasumi been here to sneak another animal into your bed? You whipped your sheets from your mattress, but found no trace of anything inside, just the worn gray cotton of your pallet cover.

You felt your eyebrows draw together, but you remade your bed, then retrieved your sword and belt, buckling it around your waist. Maybe Nishimura had sent him in to fetch something. At times, Hasumi seemed more like Nishimura’s little peon and less like his friend. You often wondered if Nishimura was even capable of making friends without a shred of human decency in his body.

You thought on it as you walked to the training pitch for morning drills, something about the interaction with Hasumi niggling at the back of your mind. Had he seemed a little flustered when he’d seen you?

The thought was wiped clean from your mind when you arrived at the training field, however, as Bakugou appeared to have replaced your usual morning instructor. The sight of him this early, hair still a little rumpled from evening activities that you may or may not have had something to do with, filled your brain with a satisfied buzz that overrode all capacity for other thought.

Bakugou furthered your distraction with his usual merciless direction, running the battalion through a series of exercises worse than Ojiro had ever set you to. Your focus narrowed only to breathing and keeping upright as he pushed your battalion to your limits. He seemed to enjoy the sight of your suffering especially, red eyes following you around the training field, hungrily tracing the droplets of sweat down your neck where they disappeared into your collar.

By the lunch bell, you could swear you would be feeling the effects of the grain bags you’d hefted in your shoulders for weeks, would be running laps in your sleep for days afterwards. You collapsed in a pile with Sero and Kaminari as soon as drills ended.

“He’s a demon,” Kaminari whined, a tangled heap in the grass. “Why is he like this?”

Sero panted quietly, chest rising and falling in quick little huffs. “He needs to get laid or something.”

You choked. Instantly, Kaminari and Sero’s heads whipped around to stare at you.

“Uh, choked on my own spit,” you coughed out quickly, panicking. “Can’t breathe after all that.”

They seemed to buy it, relaxing back into the prickly grass. You flopped back as well, hating the way your sweat seemed to pool in the band of your chest bindings. Tonight was definitely a bath night; Bakugou would have to be left to his own devices for an evening. He deserved it after the hell he’d just put you through.

You barely roused yourself in time to make it to lunch before the mess hall closed, then swept off to patrol. You were paired with Nishimura again and the evening was expectedly unpleasant. Nishimura seemed more aggressive than usual, needling you with an abandon that was frankly alarming. Now more than ever, he was acting like he had nothing to lose, launching from disturbing comment immediately into the next with hardly any space for a breath. You wondered idly if it would be abusing your relationship with Bakugou to say anything about it -- you resolved to think on it more for the next few days before coming to any plan of action.

After patrol, you climbed into bed with the rest of your bunkmates and waited for them to drift off before stealing back out of the room to the servants’ baths where you washed off the day’s training. An anxious feeling settled over you as you bathed, and you hurried through the motions quicker than usual, not stopping to enjoy the relaxing heat of the pools as you usually did.

The anxious feeling followed you as you dried yourself and dressed, floating after you as you slipped through the dark castle grounds. As you arrived back at the barracks, it became clear why. The barracks were no longer dark, the windows glowing with the light of hundreds of candles.

A random bunk check.

You swore, tearing across the field to your building. You didn’t know the consequences of being found out of bed, but you didn’t like to think of what they would be. Ojiro usually scheduled and led the bunk checks, and while nicer than Bakugou, you’d witnessed enough of his fury to be afraid.

Only, it wasn’t just Ojiro in the doorway of your building.

You pulled up short when you noticed that all of the soldiers that housed with you were lined up in strict rows outside, one notable gap where you should have stood. Heads whipped up as you were spotted. From the far side of the field, Sero gave you an anxious look. Ojiro stood on the steps to your building, and behind him, silhouetted in the light of the doorway, was Bakugou.

Even in the dim light, you could see the line of his broad shoulders was tense, and his fists were clenched where they hung at his sides. Something white was clutched in his left hand. His expression was hard and a stone sank in your stomach. He looked angrier than you’d ever seen him and you couldn’t understand. Surely he’d have guessed you’d have gone to bathe?

“Stay where you are,” Ojiro ordered you over the sound of sliding metal. You watched in horror as he drew his sword, jerking it up to point at you. The air seemed to crackle with roiling energy and a sick feeling slid over you.

You froze, heart beating wildly, staring at Ojiro's sword. Was this protocol? Was it standard to discharge someone at sword point, or was this more? Could you have been figured out just by your absence?

“Ojiro?” you asked the officer in confusion. He frowned.

“Come quietly, thief,” he said, “Lay down your sword and no blood need be spilled.”

Apprehension shot through you like a bolt of lightning. Thief? Because you were out of bed after hours? That seemed like a leap.

“Ojiro, I’m not the thief,” you held your hands up at chest height, opening your palms in the universal gesture for peace. “I apologize for being out of bed and I accept my punishment, but I haven't stolen anything--”

“Explain this, then,” Bakugou’s rough voice bit into the dark night. His expression was stormy as he thrust out the item he’d been clutching in his hand. From this distance, you could make out what appeared to be a tidy letter scrolled on fine parchment in a dark ink. You felt your brow wrinkle in confusion as your eyes traced over the parchment. You couldn’t read it from where you stood but -- your eyes caught on a large varicolored marking at the bottom of the page and your heart leapt into your mouth. Though murky in the darkness and several paces away, it was quite likely the seal of the Todoroki prince.

“I don’t understand,” you said helplessly. Your mind swam with uncertainties. Why did he think you had anything to do with a missive from Prince Shouto?

“This was found underneath your mattress,” Ojiro said. His voice was hard. “It’s the missing treaty from the prince’s study.”

Found underneath your mattress? A feeling of horror settled over you as you flashed back to earlier that morning, where you’d almost collided with Hasumi coming from your rooms.

Hasumi.

All of sudden, things seemed to snap into place. The red flash under the thief’s cloak when you’d fought him in the master of coin’s office - it had been a soldier’s uniform. The pause the shadowy figure had given when he’d caught sight of Nishimura, the way he’d fled rather than fought the two of you. It had been Hasumi.

The thief was Hasumi and he was framing you.

“Ojiro, Captain, I didn’t--! I wouldn’t--!” you started, but an angry noise from Bakugou stopped you.

He leapt from the steps to your building, stalking across the field. He moved like a panther, padding aggressively toward cornered prey. His hand went to his sword, and you barely managed to draw yours in time to block him. The force of his strike nearly tore the sword from your hand and you only just managed to hold on to it, stumbling back from him.

“The debt,” he spat, “Your family’s debt, I should have fucking known.”

He raised his blade again, striking at you like a viper. You blocked him again, darting back out of his reach.

“Captain, I didn’t do it--” you said, but he cut you off with another overhand strike that seemed to carry every ounce of power he had in him. His blade slid along yours with a horrible grinding sound, catching on the grip and almost ripping it from your grasp.

“I thought I understood all the sneaking off,” he shouted, “Thought I had you all figured out.”

You parried another strike from him. “I didn’t do it! I wouldn’t do that to you!”

“Yes you fucking would,” Bakugou shouted, thrusting again. His anger seemed to make him quicker and deadlier that you’d ever seen him before. “You thought you were tricking me this whole time, disguised as a fucking man. You had no idea I’d figured you out until I told you. You were happy to keep on fooling me, fooling everyone in this battalion. What’s one more deception when you've already been lying for months?”

You growled in anger, your temper rising. Your vision tinged red at the edges and your sword felt almost hot in your hands. “I’m not the thief, Katsuki! You're being fucking stupid!”

You aimed a blow at his shoulder but he caught it, moving with almost superhuman speed to throw you off. He whirled around and before you could blink, brought his blade down on yours with incredible strength. As your arm went wide with the force of the strike, his blade whipped up to your chin, as it had all those months ago when he’d fought you and Nishimura.

“Drop your sword,” he said, pressing the flat of his blade into the soft skin of your chin, tipping your face up to his. Your breathing shallowed and you stilled.

It was quiet a long moment, the only sound the huffs of your breath. Over Bakugou’s shoulder, you could see the lines of the other soldiers, Ojiro’s long shadow in the glow of the candles. Sero looked beside himself, twitching like he itched to move, to run. Whether to your aide or away you didn’t know.

“Drop it,” Bakugou repeated. You hesitated and his blade pressed harder into your chin. You let the grip of your blade fall through your loose fingers, heard it clank softly in the grass.

As soon as you had, Bakugou moved, grabbing your arm and twisting to wrench you in front of his chest. His sword pressed diagonally across your shoulder.

“You’re under arrest for treason against the crown,” he growled into your ear. His tone dripped with disdain and his grip tightened painfully. Then, turning to Ojiro he barked out, “Get them back in bed. Show’s over.”

You had only moments to cast one last panicked look at Sero before you were moving, a rough hand pressing you forward. Bakugou marched you forcefully toward his office, sword held steady at your neck. His fingers flexed where he gripped you, nails digging into the flesh of your arm, and the heat of his hands was overwhelming, like he was seconds away from sparking off an explosion and blowing you to pieces.

When you arrived at his office, Bakugou all but threw you away from him, gesturing with his sword to a seat at his desk.

“Captain,” you said, turning to him as soon as he let you go. “I swear it wasn’t me! It’s Hasumi, you have to listen to me. It’s Hasumi!”

Bakugou’s face darkened. “If you’ve known it was Hasumi all along why tell me now?”

“I didn’t!” you cried, taking a careful step towards him. “I just figured it out. He’s trying to set me up.”

Bakugou scoffed. “How convenient," he intoned cruelly, "Just like it was convenient that you, always you saw the thief several times but were never able to catch him. What did you give the others who went along with your story? Are you giving them a cut? How many accomplices do I have to weed out?”

“Katsuki,” you pleaded. “Please listen to me.”

“Don’t,” he grit out. “I heard you that night, outside the barracks. You were begging someone not to let me find out. What if he finds those in my sheets you said. I could have just followed you inside and solved it all then. How stupid I was to have ignored that. To have ignored every warning sign in hopes that you were something more.”

Hot tears pooled in your eyes. “Captain, please. I can explain everything. You have to listen to me.”

Bakugou turned his back to you. The line of his shoulders was hard, and his fist balled at his side. “No. I have no desire to listen to you.”

You stepped closer, your blood pounding in your ears. “Captain.”

He ignored you, stalking over to the door on the opposite wall, the one you thought must lead to his personal chambers. He wrenched it open, almost ripping it clean off its hinges.

“You have until morning,” he said, knuckles white where they gripped the door knob. “I will give you this one opportunity. Go back to your family - you’ve settled their debt. I will tell everyone you fought me and ran.”

You let out a choked noise like a sob, but he shrugged you off as he stepped through the doorway. “Go now. If you’re still here in the morning, you’ll be tried and hanged.”

The door slammed shut behind him with a finality.

You stared after him, the hot tears spilling over onto your cheeks. What felt like years passed as you watched the rough grain of the wood, willing Bakugou to come back out, to take you into his arms and tell you he believed you, that you would figure this out together.

The door did not open again.

[beni-draw-ikemen-please]

EYES NOSE LIPS CH 8

EYES NOSE LIPS CHAPTER 8 - AFTER

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR X ASAMI ODA [OC]

Rating: Explicit /18+ ONLY PLEASE

Word Count: 4,6235

Tags: Angst, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Crush, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Non-Consensual Touching, Slow Burn, Long-Term Relationship(s)

You can read the previous Chapters below:

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5 | CHAPTER 6 | CHAPTER 7

Leona Kingscholar tried to avoid the prefect. After the blazer episode, it made it more difficult for him to think straight, especially when it involved her or anyone in her circle.

He made sure not to encounter any of the annoying first years, and he desperately didn’t need anyone’s nagging.

For the first time in a long time, Leona attended classes with a half-assed sort of purpose, without fail— at least he tried— several days in a row.

And, with Winter Holidays rushing in, he made sure to let his family know he’ll be there for the holidays.

For the first time in a long time he didn’t dread going back home.

Ruggie was suspicious, of course. And even though he knew it could backfire, he proceeded with Curry Night plans even without the Dorm Leader’s approval.

Not yet anyway , he thought.  

Asami felt like the more she ran into the Savanaclaw Dorm leader, the more trouble she caused, and the more he disliked her.

So on the days after their library mishap, she tried her best not to go around the area where third-year students frequented.

She didn’t want to avoid Leona—in fact, she wanted to see him and thank him for all his help until now.

But she tried her best to stop herself. If there’s something she was proud of, it was her self-restraint and patience.

She’d suck the cold air through her teeth, breathe in, and let it go.

I can’t be selfish now , she thought.

She became increasingly aware that, maybe her attempts to make him lunchboxes again—masked as a way of thanks— could be a way for her to impress him, and eventually win his heart. Asami chuckled at the thought of how silly that would be. And how she should wake up from her daydreams of him.

Daydreams of hoping she can get close. She didn’t like this side of her.

Bending over for others, but ultimately, knowing that it is for her self satisfaction.

She didn’t want to think about it, but she knew, deep down, she wanted something in return.

What exactly she wanted from Leona Kingscholar, she did not dare say.

She did not dare think, either. She wanted to believe she didn’t want anything from him.

She just really wanted him to know that he was special, at least to her.

And at the very least, she wanted him to feel that, whatever she’s capable of doing to make him feel that way, she was willing to do.

Asami’s schedule left no free time to seek Leona out.

Maybe it’s better that her schedule is so overloaded until it was time for him to graduate, then she can move on, and then, when they meet somewhere in the distant future, she can just tell him everything and they can both laugh about it. Maybe .

However, things, secrets, and feelings you try to bury, almost always find their way back to the surface.

Whether Asami liked it or not, she was becoming increasingly aware of her feelings towards the Dorm Leader.

Now, it was just up to her, her sanity and self-control if she was going to keep it buried.

On the days when she’s not working in Mostro Lounge, Asami made sure her hands were always occupied.

Many after-school activities in Night Raven required magic skills and or flying skills.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have magic in her system to participate in those, let alone try.

Grim would hang around Ace or Deuce and Jack, and she was happy to find a club that could accommodate her and she enjoyed something other than being holed up in the dark corners of the library.

Asami was an only child, so being around Trey and Jamil made her feel like she had older brothers. The three of them enjoyed cooking, and once Trey found out that she too had a knack for whipping up exquisite dishes, he formed a mini club for the three of them. Jamil was happy to oblige. He enjoyed cooking and teaching. He enjoyed sharing cooking methods, spices, and flavours native to the Land of Hot Sands. Asami felt like she had a place where she belonged. The mini club was a place where she could be, somewhat, true to herself. Being around her fellow first years felt like she’d been placed to be their caretaker, so being around her upperclassmen felt different and alleviated some of her stress.

Asami wasn’t one to make sweets and cakes - no. She’s more of a savoury home cook. So she enjoyed being around Trey and Jamil. She was happy to learn every time they spent afternoons cooking a new dish. Ace, Deuce, and Grim were the usual test subject for their new recipes. And when available, Jack and Epel were there to try some too.

Deuce felt relieved to see the prefect befriend more people around her.

He enjoyed watching her spend time with Jack and Epel, and he was always happy to let Grim stay over whenever she needed some time alone.

But Deuce could see it, how she would often look out the window during class.

How she’d sometimes take a detour to see if the Magift Club was practicing.

She’d avoid the botanical gardens’ Temperate Zone, but she’ll still walk outside, maybe, secretly hoping she’d run into him.

She barely spoke of Kingscholar.

Ace didn’t mind and don't seem to notice, but he did.

Sometimes, he’d ask Jack what he thought of the situation, and they’ve come to an agreement that yes, the prefect is avoiding Leona.

But really, it felt like self-inflicted torture when they watch her sigh and frown and anticipate only to be let down.

“So you noticed it too, huh, Jack?” Deuce asked out of the blue whilst tying the laces of his shoe.

One knee popped up on the bleachers. Jack sat beside him with a towel on his head.

A short break after ten laps around the field. Jack’s tail flopped down and propped back up when he heard Deuce’s question.

It’s not quite visible, but his ears twitched under the towel. His thighs supported his arms as he leaned over.

“It’s quite obvious, I think,” Jack’s voice was quiet. He kept thinking of ways to answer the next questions that might come without letting Deuce know that maybe, just maybe, he was a little bit too interested in the prefect. He tried his best not to make it seem obvious, really he did. But even though Deuce isn’t the best in academics, he’s good at noticing the little things, especially when it came to his friends.

“You’re quite obvious too, Jack,” Deuce chuckled, securing the last knot and then sitting down next to Jack to cool down.

Jack was caught off-guard, of course. He didn’t think anyone noticed.

His mouth opened, readying a protest but stopped and sighed.

Thankful that the towel on his head hid the blush on his face but he was too embarrassed to notice that his tail gave it all away.

Deuce chuckled at the sight of Jack’s fluffy tail wagging in delight and anticipation. No name was mentioned, but they both had the same person’s face in mind.

                                           ══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

“You’ve been working so hard,” Jade’s voice was always mellow in her ears. She always thought that even if he was reading a receipt, it would be enough to keep her head calm and send her to sleep in no time. She’d look up to him, lips curved up into a gentle smile, happy to hear his praise. Jade’s skillful gloved hands carefully setting some copper canisters and boxes of tea leaves before the two of them. His eyes were focused on the task at hand, long lashes casting shadows that seemed to enhance the mischievous shine of his mismatched ochre and rust eyes. “Azul mentioned you can have the week before Winter Holidays off, too.” his tone was low, sturdy, and smooth. The words rolling off his lips sounded like a quiet distant record playing in the background, Asami didn’t intend to but her focus shifted from the canister labels to his lips.

He was looking at her now, and their eyes met. He smiled even more as his gaze held hers. He was aware of this, and she didn’t know whether it was appropriate or whether she should look away. She could feel her cheeks warming up. Jade then shifted his gaze back to his hands. Careful with the intention not to embarrass the prefect, but sure to tease just a little bit to coax her attention back to the lounge. She would drift far away, and Jade would not know where her mind would swim off to. But he became better and better at directing her focus back into reality, back into the tea they were blending, back to him.

Maybe his hypnotic and sensuous way of speaking and moving came hand-in-hand with his unique magic. But he wasn’t one to use that power on her— not now, at least. He was curious, though. Who her special person was. It was painfully obvious. The sighs, and anticipation as she welcomed new patrons, the slump on her shoulders when she seemed to not find who she was looking for. How her eyes hovered around when it was Savanaclaw students that entered the lounge. That alone was his clue, and he could definitely work his way to that sensitive info without trying or even using magic.

He knew, whoever this person was, she would give it all away, at the sight of them. And his skin itched with trepidation.

“A week,” she stopped her hands and Jade could’ve sworn they looked like heavy boulders trying to plant themselves onto the floor right there and then. His own hands stopped moving with the sudden weight of this supposedly-pleasant surprise. Surely, she’d been thinking of a day off, or when she could free herself from the shackles that were work, work, and work. Jade could’ve sworn he heard her swallow. And he feared that his plans of giving her some free time might not be the best for their little human. His mind raced to find an alternative, a solution — something. Something to perk her spirits back up.

She didn’t finish her sentence, instead, she looked up to him and gave him a gentle smile. A hint of force and worry slightly furrowed at her brows, but she tried her best to smile, the best she could and she thanked him. With that small voice, she always used around others. Jade leaned in and placed a light hand on her shoulder. “You are still welcome here, of course,” He stayed there and lingered a bit, catching a glimpse of the tips of her ear now with a slight hue of pink. He was incredibly close, but not closer than how Floyd would usually be around her.

Asami didn’t mind Floyd’s hugs and playful embraces. But when it came to Jade, something stern and sure would always trap them together when they are in close proximity. And she would feel it in her skin and she would blush.

“We don’t go home until the spring until the glaciers have melted down,” his hand brushed from her shoulders to the back of her head, a slight tug towards him. His hands gave comfort to the touch-starved Asami and her shoulders pulled themselves in instinctively. She felt comfortable around the twins enough for moments like these. Somehow, being this close gave Jade the permission he was seeking to touch her, trying his best to be as casual as possible and hiding every bit of curiosity and intention he had under his sleeves.

Asami looked up at him, searching and yearning but she didn’t allow herself to be spoiled by Jade Leech. She was— at least to some extent — still afraid of him and the meaning behind his polite speech and smiles. Though she’d favour him among the Octavinelle trio any day, a hint of fear kept her distant. She gave him a meek smile and a nod, and he understood that she was okay with it and she’ll be there. Their little human didn’t say much unless it was something urgent or important or when needed to be polite. Jade quite liked that, but he too was the listening, observing type. So he’d expected the opposite from her, to say the least. He grew to expect more and more things from Asami as they spent more after-school days together.

And, he would write them all down, neatly into a fresh, pristine piece of paper and he would fold that paper and tuck it away into his breast pocket.

Like a charm to ward off unwanted guests. Like a prayer to the sea witch— a wish. A secret wish he’d allow himself the pleasure. Just this once, maybe he can have something for himself. Something like a little human companion. Maybe — her. Maybe .

                                          ══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

Jade, however, was close to making an assumption. It might be, the first year— his name, Jack Howl. The white wolf.

He might be the special person, Jade thought.

He would, sometimes be waiting outside the lounge just as Asami’s shift ends. And they would happily walk towards the mirror together. No physical contact or whatsoever, so Jade assumed it might be somewhat of a one-sided love. Or a crush. He wasn’t certain of anything, but starting from Savanaclaw gave him a good narrow-down.

Whenever she would finish her shift and just after she changed from her silk suits and fedora, she’d pop her head back into the lounge to give the twins, and everyone working a wave and a bow of thanks. She did that, and Jade found it incredibly cute, though he could never allow himself to utter those words, especially around Floyd or Azul, but he made sure to show them, crystal-clear and evident in everything he did around her and for her.

A refreshing new blend for her to enjoy before she started her shift, and a fruit bowl after she was done. She wasn’t one for sweets and Jade quickly figured it out after serving her some scones that one time. She was polite to take them, but it took all the time to get her to finish those three plain scones whilst she downed three cups of their dark roast. Again, he was wrong to judge her— to think she’d be just like a normal girl who favoured sweets. Jade was happily surprised. Mental notes here and there. He did, however, notice her with a small box of macarons just as she was walking out of Trey Clover’s class. They had spoken about their mini club, and Asami was delighted to be a part of something other than the Lounge. Jade liked that she was having fun outside the lounge, but a twinge— just a twinge of jealousy started to bubble from the depths of his stomach at the thought of her spending more time outside their circle. Outside the wall, he so meticulously built— though unconsciously— around her.

That day, he decided to ask her. He saw the opportunity of her staying for the winter holidays as a way to be closer— closer. Just as she was about to head off, he asked if she’d wait for him to get changed, too. And if she would allow him to walk her to her dorms.

Asami gave him a fervent smile, and with a mellow voice politely declined.

“You don’t have to, Jade-san,” her cheeks slightly turning a soft pink colour, before Jade could see its full view, she was able to lower her head to hide them. And he almost let out a curse but cleared his throat as he straightened himself back up again.

“Please?” Jade was not one to ask twice, nor was he the type to beg for something when he knew exactly how to slither his way into obtaining it. But he had a particularly growing soft spot for her now, and he thought he didn’t want to push it, not having the white wolf wait up for her proved to be a mighty chance to exploit.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you already,” she was hesitating. Her eyes darted everywhere as she lowered her head again, but this time, Jade followed her, leaning down to meet her face, his own mismatched eyes tenderly asking for her approval. “You’re never a bother, Asami-san.”

He let his eyes blink slowly as he anticipated her response. She almost looked like she was holding her breath, and her lips slowly parted. Jade’s eyes settled on her thin lips, which looked dry and cold but all the more inviting to him. He was so very used to places like that. Dry and cold. He imagined as he breathed in, the answer he wanted out of her. And he could hear himself swallow hard and dry, waiting for her sweet and quiet voice to say yes .

With his head lowered like this, he’s noticed two things. That she had an unnoticeable beauty mark just at the base of the side of her neck, hidden away if her collar was in place.

But his sharp rust and ochre eyes gave him the ability to pick up the details around him faster than the usual predator.

His eyes, seemingly all-seeing, made Asami’s cheeks warm and her pulse beat faster. And he noticed that, too.

She had this habit of holding her breath. And then, somehow, maybe when she felt comfortable enough, she would slowly and very quietly exhale.

It was as if it was a chant of some sorts, a spell to make herself invisible in any uncomfortable situation. But she wasn’t invisible to him— no.

She was there and he was looking at her. Mismatched eyes devoting themselves to the strands of her dark hair that made her skin look like she was glowing softly like the moonlight.

On her curious carnelian eyes that made it impossible for her to hide what she was feeling or thinking, eyes that burned with intensity as strong as his curiosity. Lips that seemed, at least to Jade, desperate for a kiss. But he also wore his patience like a badge of honour. And he was one to take his time, with this— whatever this was— he dared not to label anything, no.

Not yet.

Jade took long, smooth and delicate lines made up of the bits of her in his mind, and he painted himself a picture of her, and likewise kept it hidden in his breast pocket.

A prayer, a charm, a secret, skilfully curated by white silk gloves—the little bit of pleasure he allowed himself in—and forever sealed within uncannily and mischievous lips.  

He was looking at her , and his lips curved into a smile so sure, when she finally nodded with a smile.

A/N: I don't really beta or check or whatever and just write as I go and as I think of the scenes in my head. I really, just write for fun. So if you're reading this far, thank you so so so much! 

My TWST boys tier would definitely be:

1 - Leona 2 - Jade / Jack 3 - Floyd / Ruggie

So I am trying to incorporate all these relationships in, I don't really know yet how I'm going to tangle these babies together but I have a pretty clear picture of the coming chapters. 

I hope you look forward to it. Thank you for sticking around~

[kyber-queen]

Like Real People Do (Rex x Reader) Pt. 3

Summary: Jedi!reader and Rex fall in love but are separated by the war. They meet again two years later, weeks before the Siege of Mandalore. In this chapter, Rex and Reader are prepping for a mission on an outer rim planet. Some fluff, slight angst, Rex gets to use a lightsaber because I say so. Italics signify a flashback in this fic. 

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Mentions of children/family planning ??, insecure Rex, k*sses, mentions of blasters n violence against droids, mentions of alcohol

Author’s Note: I’m not gonna lie this is probably my favorite chapter yet. It’s a little longer, but I think it’s worth it :) Likes and reblogs are very much appreciated!!

Previous | Next

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

After your less than satisfying encounter in the maintenance closet, you had made an early retirement to your quarters to sulk. You slept, but your dreams were ridden with visions of a certain bleach-blond captain. You awoke the next morning ill-rested and heartsick.

You showed up late to your first tactical meeting with the upper ranks of the 501st in a disgruntled mess of dark undereyes and wrinkled robes. If Rex noticed your sleep-deprived state, he made no mention of it. You had positioned yourself strategically in the back of the room, precisely so if you peeked between the admirals, you could clearly see Rex discussing troop formations with General Skywalker. His structured brow was furrowed, and you noted the way he gestured at the maps as he made his point. He was so much more confident now, so much more self-assured than that often-anxious shiny you remembered from training drills two years ago. Maybe that was why he gave you the cold shoulder yesterday—had he outgrown you? Two years was a long time, especially during a war. Did he find someone new? Your heart burned at the thought. You hadn’t even tried to move on—at times, at your lowest points, you considered it, but you never gave up on him. You had broken your code for him. You had broken it every day since you met him, and yet here he was, the picture of cordial indifference. You were attached, deeply and painfully. Did he still care about you?

“Commander, I can hear your gears turning—any input?” Skywalker looked at you expectantly.

You eased your tired features into a placating smile. “Looks good to me, General,”.

“Perfect. Rex, you’ll go with the commander. I want you two waiting just outside the village. The Separatists should arrive within around two hours of landing. Comm me when you see the Separatist forces coming, and you guys cut down as many of the first wave as possible. I’ll circle around with the rest of the 501st and we’ll finish off the rest from behind. All clear?”

You nod in assent as Rex answers with a decisive, “Yes, sir,”.

***

Rex was going to have to have a conversation with his general after this. Your very first mission with the 501st, and Skywalker had paired you with Rex on a glorified stakeout of all things. Rex was pissed. He had decided as soon as he found out you would be consulting with the 501st that he would keep his distance. He knew it wasn’t your fault that you hadn’t seen each other in years—war makes love near impossible. He was more upset with himself for falling for a Jedi. It was against the law for either of you to have an attachment to each other. Rex had fallen in love, and it was a stupid, shitty idea. He had spent the better part of two years trying to bury his memories of you, and just as he was beginning to succeed, here you were creeping back into his mind. Just the sight of you threw him back to two years ago—back when he was really, truly happy. Rex was built for war, nothing more. The problem with you was that being with you made him think otherwise. When you were together, you would always talk about ‘after the war’. Rex knew that as a clone, there really wouldn’t be an after. You, with your altruism and soft smiles and gentle touches were everything Rex didn’t need.

Rex walked to the pod that would take the pair of you to the Separatist-threatened planet. You were already seated. You thumbed the grip of your lightsaber, and Rex recognized the gesture—it was a habit whenever you were nervous. His eyes were locked on you, debating whether or not he should say something despite his earlier promise to not get involved. You broke the silence for him.

“I can feel you staring, Rex. Talk to me,”.

You could always tell what he was thinking. As your friendship first blossomed, it unnerved him, but as your paths intertwined more and more he found it a comfort to have you understand him so well without him even saying a word. Rex met your eyes, and his stomach clenched. You were still so beautiful. He looked away

“Just thinking about the campaign, sir,”.

Your heart ached. Every bone in your body was screaming, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you,” and yet he called you sir. He addressed you as a superior, another link in the chain of command. He really had moved on, hadn’t he? You bit your lip, the sharp pain of your teeth against the tender skin attempting to draw your attention away from your torturous thoughts. You had a mission to complete. You peeked out the porthole, and you saw the terrain approaching far faster than normal.

You landed with a crash. You were jostled from your seat, your head smacking the metal wall painfully. As the ringing in your skull crescendoed, you took stock of your darkened surroundings through your blurred vision. The lighting in the pod must have been damaged during your landing. You ignited your lightsaber, illuminating Rex with its soft glow. He stood up and rolled his shoulder experimentally, his nose scrunching in pain.

Your brows furrowed, “Are you alright?’

“I’m fine,” He grunted. He felt his way along the walls. “Exit’s been jammed shut, though,”

You searched his eyes in the dim lighting, another pang of longing reverberating through your chest. You dismissed the sensation and plunged your lightsaber into the wall of the pod, freeing yourselves. You emerged from the battered pod, your head pounding as your eyes adjusted. It was bright, with the triad suns beating down on you relentlessly. You checked your positioning system—you had landed a mere 15-minute walk from your stakeout site. You watched as Rex eased himself out of the pod. He groaned, his hand cradling his right arm. You handed him his positioning chip, and the two of you set off towards the village outskirts.

You noticed his hand lingered on his right shoulder, and he would grimace from time to time when it jostled. You reached your hand out to his plastoid-covered shoulder. “Rex, let me—”

“I’m fine,”.

His tone was sharp and dangerous, affecting you like a slap to the face. You sucked in a breath, and walked the rest of the path in silence. The planet was beautiful—you were surrounded on all sides by strange golden grasses that swayed with the breeze. Its beauty did nothing to distract you from the man by your side.

You arrived at the meeting point and immediately settled yourself against the large boulder meant as your cover. Rex sat across from you, leaning against a smaller rock. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes for a moment and swallowing thickly. You traced the sharp line of his jaw with your eyes, following down to the thick cords of muscle in his neck. You contemplated another attempt at offering him some bacta spray, but considering his earlier response, decided against it. When did Skywalker say the Separatists would arrive? Two hours?

You spent around an hour in silence. You meditated, as General Secura had taught you. Time moved thickly around you, your aura burning bright as it cut through the hours and seconds. With your deep focus came little flashes of memories.

You saw Rex, smiling. His golden skin was warm against the soft sheets. His thumb traced the apple of your cheek. You grinned.

“What do you want to do, Rex? After this is all over?”

He paused, his hand resting heavy on your jaw. “I don’t know, cyare. Guess I never really thought about it,”. His eyes flicked over your gentle smile and bright eyes. “I’d wanna be with you, though,” he whispered. You’re everything he could ever want. He’d never loved anything so much, and he knew he’d never love anyone else the way he loved you. What the hell did he do to deserve you? “What about you?”

“My parents—I barely remember them now—had a house on Naboo. We could live there, just us. No war, no fighting. It’s so beautiful there, Rex. The grass is long and tall—as a child, I’d play outside for hours just soaking up the sunlight. It’s a good place for raising children,”. Your face heated as you said the last part.

“Raising children, eh?” Rex tilted your chin, and you lifted your gaze to his eyes. You nodded slowly. “With me?” His eyes shone in the morning sunlight, his brow furrowed.

“Yes, Rex. Who else?” Rex’s expression eased, and you pressed your lips to each of his cheeks, followed by a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. Rex sighed contentedly. He had no clue why you were with a shiny like him—he was one of a million genetically and physically identical men. He was sure that eventually you’d realize just how much better you could do than a clone, but until that day he’d savor every precious moment with you.

“You’re gonna be a great parent, one day, cyar’ika,”.

“You will, too, Rex,”.

You jolted out of your trance. It was just your luck that Rex had infiltrated the one escape you had from your relentless thoughts of him. You opened your eyes to find him studying your face. He averted his gaze quickly.

“Rex,” you called.

He fiddled with the straps of his armor.

“Rex,”.

He dropped his hands to his sides with a harsh sigh. “Would you just stop it?”

You were stunned. “Rex, I—”

“I spent two fucking years trying to forget I ever loved you. I was nothing, I was nobody, and you were this—this ideal being. I had no fucking clue why you gave me the time of day, but I let myself fall for you anyway. When we left for our tours, I broke. You were the first real thing, the first good thing I ever had, and you were gone. I was sure I was gonna die over there—and you wouldn’t have even known if I had. It was so much easier to believe that you had moved on, that you were through with me. Now you’re here and you’re alive and I—” his voice broke, “I don’t know what to do,”. He met your gaze, and his eyes glistened. His voice was barely a whisper, “You were always the rational one. Please tell me what to do,”.

Your wide eyes watered. You turned your head to the golden fields and let out a tiny sob. What the hell do you answer to that? Just as you opened your mouth to speak, you spotted what seemed to be a thousand metal heads just over a rolling hill. The separatists. You hastily wiped your eyes and took a deep breath. This would have to wait.

“The Separatists are here,” your voice wavered more than you would have liked. “I’ll comm the General,”. You sniffed, rubbing your eyes again. Get it together, you thought. You were a Jedi Master, for gods’ sake. Ever since returning to Coruscant, you’d been an emotional trainwreck. You were starting to see why the council discouraged attachments.

You allowed Rex a moment to collect himself, turning to face the oncoming droids as the two of you prepared in silence. The metallic clang of their footsteps grew louder and louder. Rex slipped his helmet back on over his head and unholstered his blasters.

“It’s your call, Commander. When d’ya wanna go?”

You looked back over your shoulder at him, and you were instantly thrown back to the hours of training exercises you had completed together. You grinned.

“Think you can take down the battle tank over there?” You motioned to the gargantuan hunk of steel situated right in the middle of a sea of battle droids.

The competitive edge you had so dearly missed was back in Rex’s voice.

“You know I never miss,”.

“Race you there,”. And with that, you were off. The two of you flew down the hill, cutting down the droids as if they were made of straw. You swung, decapitating a droid and ducking as Rex put a blaster hole through the one taking aim at you from behind. You worked well together, always did. The rest of the 501st seemed to be making easy work of the droids from behind.

“Rex, blaster!”

Rex tossed one of his blasters into the air, and you force-pulled it into your grasp in an instant. You fired off three quick shots at one of the tanks, damaging the traction treads. Rex looked over at the tank, and recognized the maneuver you had initiated in an instant. He took off for the tank, and called your name once he was just yards from its base.

“Saber!”

You switched off your saber and hurled it in Rex’s direction. He had barreled past at least ten lines of troops, snatching your lightsaber from the air before igniting it and plunging it into the battle tank’s generator while simultaneously firing off a few rapid shots at the droids. The droids’ main attention, as planned, was on you, and you were beginning to feel the heat. You force-pulled your lightsaber, still ignited, from Rex’s grasp and into a line of battle droids before its heavy weight met your palm again.

“Blaster!”

You tossed Rex his blaster, and he caught it with ease. With your lightsaber in hand, you began cutting a path to Rex, who had holed up against the decommissioned tank.

“Need to get me one of those,” Rex motioned to your lightsaber with a grin.

You shook your head with a laugh, deflecting a blaster shot as Rex took aim at the next line of droids.

It was your fault. You got distracted. Something about the focus in Rex’s masked stare as he picked off the droids one-by-one pulled your attention away just long enough for one of the droids to press the cool metal of its blaster against your neck. Before you could react, Rex fired two quick shots into its head.

“Told you, cyare, I never miss,”.

You missed this. The nicknames, the banter, working together like this. It felt good. It felt like coming home. You snuck one last glance at Rex before sprinting out from your cover to cut down the next row of droids.

Rex was fucked. Did you realize he called you cyare? It just slipped out—something about being here with you, fighting next to you—it brought him back to two years ago. He shook his head, firing at a droid that had pointed its blaster at you. He was done with pretending he didn’t care. He still had no idea what to do, or where this would go, but he could figure that out later.

You finished off the last droid, looking back at Rex with an easy smile before waving to General Skywalker. Rex jogged over to you, pulling you back behind the tank and away from the prying eyes of the rest of the 501st.

“Rex, wha—”

He ripped off his helmet, letting it fall to the ground as he pulled you into a kiss. His hand fell to the small of your back, and you practically collapsed into him. His lips were hungry against yours—he was all tongue and teeth and desperation. He needed this. You needed this. You raked your nails through his close-cropped hair, drawing a little groan from deep in his chest. His hands were everywhere—your hair, your neck, your waist—

“Rex, where are you? Are you injured?”

For the second time today, Rex was going to kill his general. He pulled away from you reluctantly, his hand lingering on your waist. You take his hand, and press your lips to his palm.

“We should go,”. Rex nods. “Meet me in my quarters tonight—you still like firewhiskey?”

“Rex—are you over here?”

You meet Rex’s eyes, and he smiles. A real smile. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“See you tonight,”.

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

Like Real People Do Taglist: @pinkiemme @callme-eds @dinpoe 

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Kismet {5}

Henry Cavill x Famous OFC Aliya Taylor

Warning: Plot Heavy, Slow Burn, Mild Cursing, Flirtation

Words: 4.5k

Summary: Aliya is a singer turned model turned actress. Since she was fifteen, she’s been creating her empire in the entertainment world. As the daughter of a famous fashion model/designer and Hollywood director, you’d think life is easy for her, but her past has been anything but easy. Due to past trauma, she’s forever changed and no longer trusts any man that is not in her family and a select few in her team. She’s sworn off love and serious relationships and has planned never to fall again, but love isn’t something that can be planned. It just happens when it’s meant to. Can Aliya outrun a love that seems hellbent on holding tight to her, a love that is Kismet?

If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!! 😘  

As always, thank you so much for reading. ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 

-Aliya-

By the time you left the restaurant, it was midnight. Henry opened the door for you to walk through, finishing up a childhood story.

“And that is why my brother refuses to sleep in the guesthouse anymore,” he finished.

You released a loud laugh, throwing your head back. “Wow. So the guesthouse is haunted.”

“He sure thinks so,” Henry said with a smile.

“A lot of outsiders think everywhere in Ireland is haunted,” you informed.

“Same with outsiders and Scotland.”

“Funny.”

“How often do you go to Ireland?”

“I try at least once a year. Whenever I have an album that comes out, I either go there or Australia to unplug from the world,” you explained as you leaned on the window of the restaurant, facing him.

“Why?”

“Releasing an album is weird. It’s all so personal, and keeping track of it’s standing is nerve-wracking. I like to go away, ignore my phone, and just chill for a few days.”

“That’s an interesting strategy.”

Silence fell between you, a comfortable one.

“Feels like a nice night. Can I take you somewhere?”

“Depends. Where is this somewhere?”

“You’re going to have to trust me.”

With the mention of the T-word, you sucked in a breath.

“I don’t know you,” you piped up.

Henry took a step closer to you, leaving only a few inches between you. “Get to know me.”

“Isn’t that what I’m going?” He smiled again and bit his bottom lip. Your eyes dropped to them and stayed there.

“Is it? Kinda feels like you’re searching for reasons,” he whispered.

“Reasons for what?”

He was so close. All you had to do was tip onto your toes, and your lips would touch. He studied you, but you had no idea what he was thinking. You watched him lick his lips and quickly got lost in how he did it.

“Can I take you somewhere?”

His voice was so deep, so husky that your belly quivered.

“Okay,” you whispered.

Henry’s eyes dropped to your lips as he spoke. “You’ll like it, don’t worry.” Then he backed away, allowing the air around you to cool.

“I bet I will,” you whispered, but he heard it and chuckled.

“Where’d you park?”

“I  didn’t drive tonight.”

“Chauffeured?”

“The only way for a lady to travel,” you joked with a small curtsy.

“Are you all right taking my car then?”

“I’ve been taught not to get in the car of anyone whose character I’m unsure of. They could kill me or rape me.

Henry scoffed then laughed into the night air.

“Well, you’ve been taught correctly.”

“Ah, see.”

Again he leaned closer to you. “Luckily, I’m not interested in killing or raping you.”

“Oh no? then what are you interested in when it comes to me?”

The way he stared at you had you feeling a way you’d never felt before. It was something you couldn’t put your finger on, something you didn’t quite understand.

“All shall reveal itself in due time,” Henry whispered.

Rolling your eyes, you scoffed. “Spoken like a true brit.”

Henry shrugged and led you to his car, which was parked across the lot. As you got closer, your jaw dropped.

“Wow. A Porsche 911 GT1 Turbo?”

“You know cars?”

“Are you kidding? This baby is one sexy beast. 3.8L 6-cylinder engine, zero to sixty in just over three seconds, top speed at two hundred and five miles per hour which was dethroned as the fastest when the Spyder came around,” you boasted.

Henry’s mouth was wide as he gaped at you.

“I think that is the sexiest thing a woman has ever said to me.”

The two of you laughed together as he opened the passenger door for you to slide in. You marveled at the interior beginning at the stunning dash and the stick shift and ending on the smooth expensive leather finish. It was a gorgeous car.

“This is so gorgeous. Wow.” You looked at him, and he still looked shocked. “Did I freak you out now?”

“No, far from it,” Henry answered as he turned on the engine, which excited you more than it should have.

“Hold on, I like to go fast,” he warned, staring into your eyes. That was an innuendo if you’d ever heard one, and it did the trick to set your nether regions on fire.

As he drove, you paid close attention to how he handled the wheel and commanded the car to do as he wished. It was sexy how he switched lanes and easily handled LA traffic. After barely ten minutes of driving, your legs were crossed and clenched tightly with your hand squeezing your knee, begging it to remain closed.

When Henry turned off the engine, you saw he’d pulled up to the beach.

“The beach.”

“Not just the beach. Let me show you.”

He was the first to get out and come around for you. When he opened the door, he held his hand out for you to take. When you stepped out, you looked around expecting to see a carnival or something extraordinary. All you saw was an empty parking lot and an abandoned beach.

“Ready?

“Where are we going?”

Henry pointed out to the sand, and that was when our eyes widened.

“Oh, I’m not really wearing the right shoes.”

“So it would seem.”

You leaned on the side of his car only to bolt upright again. “I mean no disrespect putting my ass on your car.”

Henry snorted. “It’s the most action it’s seen.”

You giggled, something you’d been doing a lot of since meeting him.

“Can you?” You held your clutch out to him, silently asking if he could hold it. When he took it, you bent down and unzipped the back of your heels, taking them off one at a time. When you stood again, you were several inches shorter than you were before.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you exasperated.

“You’re short. Aww, it’s so cute,” Henry teased.

“Stop.”

“It’s adorable and sprite-like,” he continued.

You tried to stifle your laugh but couldn’t. “It’s not my fault you’re freakishly tall.”

“I’m a freak now?”

“You’re really tall. How tall?”

“Six-one-ish, more six-two.”

“Wow. That is a whole twelve inches more than me.”

“I bet it’s not hard for most people to be taller than you,” he teased some more.

You gasped, pressing your hand to your chest. “Wow, you have jokes.”

His smile was adorkable, and you loved it. “Would you like to leave them behind?”

You nodded, and Henry opened the car and placed them on the floor of the passenger side. “Never knew how women could stand to walk in these things.”

“It’s a craft,” you responded. He held up your clutch nonverbally asking if you wanted to leave it as well. With your nod, he put it on the seat, then shut and locked the door again.

“Cold?”

“I’ll be okay.”

As if not liking the answer, he slipped off his blazer and draped it over your shoulders.

“Thank you.”

“Ready?”

You nodded and followed him to the rope to the beach. The two of you stepped over it and followed the path as it led toward the rocks of the beach.

“Rock climbing too? Goody.”

“If you’re from Australia, I’m sure you’ve done some climbing on rocks,” Henry teased.

You shrugged, “A bit.”

Henry’s smile showed off his perfectly imperfect teeth. You loved that he looked so put together and perfect in theory, but once you took a closer look, he really wasn’t. The two of you continued climbing the rocky peaks. Every move you made, Henry’s hand was there to help you along the way. The perfect gentleman, you thought. You could tell by the way he moved that he was used to strenuous physical activity. With the thought of strenuous activities, your head immediately dropped to his crotch. As soon as your eyes dipped, you brought them back up to find Henry’s eyes on yours. You’d been caught. He didn’t speak though. He just kept the soft smile on his lips.

You watched him take a giant step up one of the boulders and marveled at how strong his legs looked. When he turned, he held his hand out to you. Without hesitating, you took it, and your knees nearly buckled when he effortlessly pulled you up to stand beside him. You knew what you expected, especially seeing how colossal his biceps were through his suit jacket, but when he really demonstrated that strength, it boggled your mind. He was strong, strong.

“Down we go,” Henry said before he jumped down to the sand behind the boulder. You stood there, staring down at him like he was insane. This was not what you had in mind when you agreed to dinner.

“Are you sure you don’t want to kill me? This looks like the perfect place to hide a body.”

Henry lifted his hands into the air in surrender and spoke with that sly, adorable grin. “I promise.” He held out his hands, indicating he intended to lift you down.

You scoffed, looked around, and sighed, deciding to just go with it. As he slowly lifted you down, you didn’t know whether to stare into his impossibly deep eyes or at his bulging biceps. They were both equally appealing options. When he lowered you to the sand, your bodies were close but not touching. The urge to step into him overwhelmed you, especially the longer his hands lingered on your waist. The look on Henry’s face was one you couldn’t decipher. He looked as if he were in deep thought, but he also looked like he was conflicted over something.

“Eh-em, thank you,” you stuttered, taking a step back from him.

“Right this way.”

Henry walked ahead toward a cave. The black woman in you stopped and watched in caution. He wanted you to follow him this late at night,  into a dark cave on a part of the beach no one seemed to know about. Henry glanced back at you, and warmly smiled. It was good enough for one part of you, and that was the part that controlled your legs. As you walked inside, your jaw dropped seeing it was lite up. All around the cave walls and ceiling, there were lights similar to Christmas tree lights. In the center of the cave, there was an opening that showed the perfect glowing moon. It was breathtaking.

“Wow.”

You aimlessly wandered around the cave looking closely at the walls; being unable to not touch, you grazed your fingers along the walls taking in every little detail.

“How did you find this place?”

“When I’m in town, I like to keep my normal routine, so I jog. I prefer the beach; it reminds me of Jersey early in the morning with the fog rolling . I like to be down this side of the beach because there are not really a lot of people, so no one recognizes me. I found it one day, and ever since, I’ve been coming whenever I am in town.”

“This is beautiful,” you continued to marvel.

“It is.”

You walked toward the center of the cave and gazed up at the moon. “Especially the moon shining down. That’s probably my favorite part.”

 “Mine too.” His words had you looking to him. Meeting his eyes, the two of you stared at each other for several moments.

“So, you’re a jogger.”

“I am.”

“Which means you don’t do the gym?”

You began wandering around the cave again.

“I do. I have a personal trainer who helps me stay in Superman and Witcher shape,” Henry confirmed as he also began wandering around the cave in the opposite direction that you were.

The two of you were now circling each other in a completely non-threatening way, but though it wasn’t threatening, the tension around you increased with every step the two of you took.

“Do you work out?”

“I do. Not a lot or a crazy amount, though.”

Henry passed you, and you could feel his eyes on you. “Guess it’s natural.”

That was all it took for goosebumps to break out all across your skin and butterflies to flutter in your belly. The man was effortlessly charming. You walked toward a small puddle of water, stepped into it, and began swirling it around with your feet. You desperately needed something to channel your anxious energy into.

“So living in Jersey must mean you like the beach.”

Henry nodded, “I do. When I go home, I go a lot.”

“I like the beach too. It might be because I grew up near water, but whatever reason it calms me.”

When you looked back to him, he was already staring at you. The more he stared, the more you swirled the water around. He made you nervous, but it wasn’t a bad nervous where you were worried about his next move. It was more nervousness from anxiety of his effect on you. with your eyes turned downward, you could still feel his eyes on you.

“What? Why are you staring at me?”

Though you didn’t hear his footsteps, you felt the distance between you closing. Swallowing the butterflies that were increasing their flight, you looked to him and watched him approach. He looked like Mr. Darcy did when he was crossing the open field at dawn, trying to make his way to Elizabeth. Your palm itched to touch.

“How can I not stare?”

Your soft gasp echoed in the cave as he closed the remaining few feet between you.

“You’re breathtaking. The moment I bumped into you, I felt something I’d never felt before. It was like I’d been shot with a taser. I’d never experienced anything like that before,” Henry spoke.

It wasn’t verbatim Jane Austen, but it was close enough. Your breathing betrayed you and gave away your anxiousness. You were quickly becoming lost in his eyes, lost in the tension of the moment.

“Tell me you don’t feel the same way.”

Henry’s eyes dropped to your mouth, and that had you licking your lips before you bit down onto your bottom one.

“I’ve never been tased before.” It was the only thing that you could think of to say.

A soft smile teased his lips, and he took yet another step to you. He was not mere inches from you. If you took a step forward, your bodies would touch, and from there, you could imagine where that would lead.

“Well, I have,” Henry began with a heart-pounding deepness in his voice. “It’s like a billion currents of electricity running through your body continuously for a long period of time. It feels as if these currents of electricity are charging your cells, enlarging them, and minimizing them over and over. You feel like you’re going to die, to be honest. It’s excruciating,” Henry finished.

The depth of his voice was having an effect and the fact that every few words he spoke, he spoke in a whisper which gave you the scent of the drink he’d had at dinner an hour ago. He was not only devastatingly handsome, charming, and sexy, but the chemistry between you was so palpable that you too felt like you could die from it alone.

“So you felt pain,” you stated.

“I did, but it was mixed with something else entirely.”

It was your turn to look at his mouth. When you did, you quickly realized it was a huge mistake. Your lips tingled. They wanted to know the feel of him. That was a first, you thought.

“What else?” It was a whisper, and it was all you could muster.

“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it.”

Meeting his eyes, your gazes lingered. “Was it pleasure?”

Henry’s breathing mimicked yours. The quick rise and fall of his chest told you his heart might have been racing as quickly as yours.

“Was that what you felt?”

You couldn’t answer him. You really didn’t know what the answer to that question was right now. Your head was clouded, your heart racing and your hormones were bouncing around like haywire tennis balls that were just released from their containers. You felt your body drift back, but felt Henry’s arms wrap around you to hold you firmly against his body. Again, your eyes met. You saw the question in them.

“I don’t know—I don’t know what I felt,” you admitted.

Henry searched your eyes for several moments, but he didn’t release you.

“I think you do, and it was as new and different for you as it was for me.”

The urge to kiss him overcame you, and your knees nearly buckled from it. It had been years since you’d thought about anything like this apart from work. The last time you romantically kissed someone because you felt something for them rather than a lingering expectation or needed distraction was so long ago. You’d vowed to keep it that way. Not to mention you never kissed anyone on the second date. It was a rule.

You bit your bottom lip and loved that his eyes were glued to your mouth. It increased the desire you had to lay one on him and find out just how soft his lips really were. At that moment, Henry lifted his hand and slowly brushed back your hair to softly caress your cheek. You felt your nipples bead and prayed to God that he couldn’t feel them. Lowering your eyes to the sliver of exposed skin right under his collar, you used the time to try to gather your senses.

Henry nudged your face back to his with his finger underneath your chin.

“You have incredible eyes,” Henry whispered.

“Says the pot to the kettle.” His smile was genuine, and with it, you were a goner.

When he lowered his face to yours, you didn’t move. Truth be told, you wanted this, so you inched closer to his descending lips. Once you were just centimeters from each other, your senses returned. You pressed your eyes closed then placed your hands on his chest to keep him at bay. Without protest, Henry stopped.

“I don’t kiss on the first date.”

“It’s a good thing it’s our second,” Henry replied.

“I don’t kiss on the second either,” you added with your eyes still closed. It wasn’t that you were afraid of his reaction. You were desperately trying to get a grip so you could finish out the rest of this night the way you’d intended. You didn’t want to be pressed against the wall of this cave as he fucked you till you couldn’t walk back to the car. That was not what this was. That was not who you were. Not anymore.

When you did open your eyes and looked into those hypnotizing ocean blue eyes, you knew you hadn’t gotten a grip at all. You flexed your fingers against his chest and realized just how muscular he was. Dropping your eyes to his chest, your fingers continued to move of their own volition. You understood. This was all him. He was all muscle.

“Oh, crap.”

Realizing just what you were doing, you stepped away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize I was—I’m sorry.”

Henry nodded, “It’s all right. Nothing to be sorry for. I respect your boundaries.”

Your stomach fell. You turned your back to him, pretending to look more at the lit walls, but you weren’t looking at them. You’d hoped he wouldn’t have been understanding about your boundaries. It would have made it easier to leave without feeling the steady pangs of temptation.

“Do you?”

“Of course. No matter how much I want to kiss you, I respect you and your boundaries. I will not force myself on you. You can trust me on that. I give you my word,” Henry boldly avowed.

The more he spoke, the lower those said boundaries fell.

“You can trust me in that, Aliya,” he softly finished.

With those final words, what you’d said barely two minutes ago was out the window.

“Oh, screw it!”

You quickly turned and rushed to him, practically pouncing him like an in heat Puma. Henry welcomingly wrapped his arms around you and stared into your eyes. Another question rested there.

“I don’t want this if this isn’t what you want,” he assured.

“I thought you go after what you want; no questions asked,” you partly teased.

His smile prompted yours. “And you always get what you want.”

“I do,” you confirmed.

Henry smiled again before your lips touched.  From the moment they did, you felt that electrical current feeling he spoke of. It was intense, exhilarating, and excruciating. Slowly Henry teased your tongue with his by coiling around it to retreat and do it again. By the third time, you’d moaned on him. His grip around your waist and back tightened, and the kiss deepened. He looked like a passionate man, but if you were going by his kiss, you’d greatly underestimated how passionate. The way he kissed you increased the pull you’d felt to him since bumping into him a few weeks ago. To your shock, you wanted more. Henry’s moan reverberated off your chest and sparked your arousal so much that your nipples pulsated, begging for his touch.

This was insanely unexpected; you thought before you slowly pulled back, an action Henry did along with you. Keeping your eyes closed, you allowed the feels to sink in and wrap around you. They were feels that were new, feels that felt had your hand shaking.

“We should go,” you whispered.

“We should,” Henry quickly agreed.

 ~~~~~~~~

On the drive, you tried to keep your freak out at bay. You tried to push away thoughts of rehashing just what happened in the cave. It was next to impossible because the entire drive was silent. He must have been lost in his thoughts as well. When you did think about it, you couldn’t find an ounce of regret. Oppositely you loved it and only regretted stopping. That was what tripped you up. It was insane to think about because you’d broken a rule and were in the middle of breaking yet another one as he drove you home.

Your eyes continued to glance over to his hands on the steering wheel before they dropped to his spread thighs. He had the perfect thighs for straddling. The thought of the size of them and the amount of space you’d already calculated would fit you nicely easily set you off. The man’s lap was meant to be sat on and without clothes. Thankfully before you got way too lost in your sinful thoughts, you saw Henry pulling toward your gated entrance. You pulled out your phone and entered the code to your gate on the security app. Once you did, the wrought iron gates opened for him to pull into your driveway.

Henry’s whistle brought your attention to his face.

“Wow, doing really well for yourself, I see.”

You snorted then shrugged. “I try.”

Once the car rolled to a stop, Henry tapped on the steering wheel as he stared at your house. You wondered what he was thinking and worried he thought you were bougie. After about a minute of silence, Henry unbuckled his seat belt.

“I’ll get your door,” he blurted out before he hopped out the car and walked around to the passenger side. He held his hand out for yours, which you took without hesitation.

“Thank you.”

He nodded, then the two of you walked toward your front door in silence with the flowers he brought you in hand.

“Thank you for the flowers.”

“You’re welcome.”

Once in front of the door, you both stood there staring at each other. The butterflies in your stomach still had yet to dissipate; they’d only picked up. You wondered what he was thinking to look at you the way he was. You noticed him he was rocking back and forth with his hands stuffed into his pockets. It was adorable.

“Oh, I fly out tomorrow,” Henry blurted out.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I’ll be gone for four weeks, and then it’s time for some much-needed downtime,” he explained.

The butterflies began to die down, but only a small amount. “Lucky you.”

He shrugged and gave an indifferent expression. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

You returned his shrug. “I had a good time. I just might steal that spot seeing that I live here.”

His laugh was boisterous and echoed over the front of your property. You liked the sound of his laugh and liked the laugh lines that decorated around his mouth and eyes even more. It showed he was a happy man.

“It’s fine as long as you don’t mind sharing it with me,” Henry countered.

You leaned on the pillar behind you and held tighter to the flowers.

“I’m not much of a sharer. I like what’s mine—mine.”

Henry smirked in a way that had those butterflies take flight yet again.

“We’ll have to work on that. Sharing is caring.”

A scoff escaped you as you shook your head. You dug your hand into your hair and gently tousled it, again thankful you’d decided to go the extra step with straightening it. When you looked back to Henry, the fire in his eyes could not be missed, and that fire sparked one in you. A few seconds later, he was closing the space between you and clasping you at the nape of your neck before his lips pressed to yours.

While the first kiss in the cave was slow, sensual, and passionate, this one was urgent, greedy, and controlling, and it set you on fire instantly. Henry’s free hand connected to your hip and gently held you, barley touching his hardened frame. When you heard him moan, you softly nibbled his bottom lip, which had him returning the favor. Good lord, you thought before you placed your hand on his chest and took advantage of his closeness. You swore you could feel his heart pounding underneath your palm, but you weren’t sure. When you moaned, Henry was the one to pull away this time, but his body was still close, tempting you with its heat and size.

When he spoke, his voice was temptingly deep.  “Use those pictures so you don’t forget what I look like.”

You smiled again. He was becoming very good at it.

“Goodnight, Aliya.” You gazed into his eyes, bit your bottom lip, and nodded.

“Goodbye, Henry.”

His body broke out in a shiver that shook you due to his proximity. You couldn’t help but smirk. You watched him back away and walk to his car.

“Have a safe flight and trip.”

When he turned to look at you again once he was at his door. “Thank you.”

He got into his car and watched you. It took you a few moments to realize he was waiting for you to go inside before he pulled off. Another gentlemanly trait was ticked off on the pros side of your list that was steadily growing. When you got inside, you armed the house and leaned against the door with the flowers clutched to your chest.

“What in the holy hell are you doing, Aliya?”

You hit your head back onto the glass of the door a few times, trying to find your chill—a chill that had continuously evaded you all night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[pandemilkbread]

devil 007 (prologue)

devil 007 (Bakugo Katsuki x Reader)

summary:

(demon!au)

Turns out Bakugo Katsuki never wanted to eat your soul, rather he just needed someone to play video games with.

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ: ʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴜᴇ. ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ :>

                                                    ☆     ☆     ☆

𝑖. 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑢𝑒

“That was a fucking accident.”

“An explosion that big is not an accident!”

You might be wondering how the hell were you hanging on the tallest building in the underworld holding on to a pipeline for your dear life. While your notorious partner-in-crime Bakugo just watched as you dangled ninety feet in the air. 

“I swear if I die I will shitting haunt you for all eternity! You’d be fed up with all my shit the moment my soul reaches your territory. Just imagine, me annoying you fore—“

“Jump.” He grumbled. 

No. Jump? Hell no. You’d rather die than jump into his arms. Bakugo was more likely to miss, and you’d fall (probably five storeys) before he dare tried to save you. 

You wanted to scream. How all this happened in the first place, you hardly remember. No, you did remember. 

It was all because of that stupid book. 

☆     ☆     ☆     ☆     ☆

It was a mishap, really. The wrong book got delivered to the wrong place at the wrong time, and exactly the wrong thing happened as a consequence. 

You were a college student who had just finished the semester, and frankly... a miserable one you were. Failing a quiz was one thing, but you had to mess up your finals so badly a retake wouldn’t suffice. You had to take up the subject all over again. 

Sighing, you lay flat on your back. The ceiling had this magical property to suck up all the negativity in your life. 

(it didn’t. but you’d like to think so.)

You had all the time in the world to repeat the subject. The problem? Cash. Having a scholarship at a prestigious university wasn’t easy. One measly failure could mean bye-bye free tuition fees and hello student loans that could last centuries + a liver.

Doomed you were, honey. You groaned. At least the treasury board approved the student allowances; which meant? The poor student (you) finally bought the heavy shitass syllabus for your major. The subject you failed. 

It could take weeks for the parcel to arrive. What did you expect? You only ordered it days ago. The sooner it gets here, you’d be studying your ass off until 5 A.M. for weeks. Hooray. 

A sudden ring of the doorbell awoke you from your senses. Huh, it did arrive earlier than you expected. You scooted towards the door and twisted it open. There lay a box wrapped in tape, a sticker with the words ‘fragile: handle with care’ shone in bright yellow. 

You picked it up and shook the item. It was lighter than you expected. How the heck did a 700 page book become as light as a diary? Did they send you the wrong thing? Crap. You scoured the whole box to find neither details about who the recipient nor who the sender was. 

Oh, well. Did that mean you could keep whatever was inside? You grinned. Opening up the box, you find out it was a vivid red book entitled:

Ultimatum Wishes: The Ultimate Spellbook for Summoning Demons! All your wishes will come true! Follow the instructions inside. 

Yeah, right. Like you could summon a demon to send you a trillion yen.

(apparently, doubt didn’t stop you from trying.)

☆     ☆     ☆     ☆     ☆

First of all, what the actual fuck. 

Your curiosity got the best of you. The instructions were pretty easy; sugar, salt, dirt, water, a jar of mayonnaise, a drop of blood— basically, the usual ingredients for summoning demons. Like that’s shitting normal? You had to mix them all together and spread them into the circle you drew on earlier. 

Second, did you really summon a demon?

You were obviously not in your dorm room. It was bigger, darker, and colder to what you were accustomed to. After saying a stupid chant, you make a wish and boom! demon comes to you. So the instructions said. 

It was a joke, really. You never thought the book was actually real! Once you said your wish, a bright light flashed and... you were here. A basement like room devoid of light, making your fingers the only things you could see at the moment. 

You were sprawled on your back, staring at your hands. If only your eyes could adjust to the light then you would be on your merry way to finding the exit. Except, that you didn’t really need to adjust. The lights opened with a flash and you were met with red eyes:

“Took you long enough, brat!”

Lastly, who the hell was this?

The moment you and this miniature bomb exchanged looks, and he realized that you weren’t the person he was hoping for, the man grabbed the collar of your shirt lifting you high up to the ceiling. 

“How the fuck did you get here stupid human? Pretty gutsy of you to just waltz in like you own the place, hm?” He growled, slightly shaking you with every syllable he uttered. 

You barely registered it, you-know before you were lifted up, but this person in front of you was terrifying. He radiated waves of “answer properly or i’ll rip you into shreds” and you didn’t want to die.

(not at least before smacking this crappy brute.)

“Put me down you—you crappy dog! Treat me nicely and I’ll tell you everything,” You choked. 

He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “You’re really haggling with me now, maggot? The last time I checked I could easily squeeze the fucking life out of you—”

“T-The book! Shitty book! Followed it and I’m here!”

And with that you were dropped onto the floor. You yelped upon impact, rubbing the area of your neck with your fingers. That hurt.  Your eyes hovered to your assailant and saw his frustration building up. Hoo, a little bit more and he’d be on fire. 

“...How’d you get it?” 

“Sent to my doorstep. D-Didn’t think it was real I thought—”

“You opened it knowing it wasn’t yours?”

“Oh, no you aren’t! Don’t blame me for your shitty mistake in the first place!”

“Watch your tongue, human.”

You sighed. Everyone knew you were someone who wouldn’t back down from a fight, but your senses told you otherwise. There was a fine line between pissing him off and stabbing you in the heart, you knew you were likely closer to the latter part of the scale. 

“Fine. Whoever that package was sent to, it came to me instead. Why am I here?”

He contemplated for a while, searching for the right words to spout out. Oh God no. Were you brought here as a sacrifice? You shook your head. Anything but that! Sweat dribbled down your forehead. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“...to kill...”

Yeaph. And with that, you blacked out. 

(imagine, fainting from your own demolition. oh, you hope you didn’t actually break a bone or two.)

☆     ☆     ☆     ☆     ☆

You awoke to a strange tapping noise, more like a smack, and groans of infuriation. The vivid colors of black, pink, and yellow caught your attention, making you stare in awe. Was that Mario Kart...?

The clicking sound came from the blonde who sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes drawn to big television screen in front of him. While you were on a black couch around three hands away from the man. Seemingly, he could sense your tiny movements as you sat up, compelling him to chuck a controller at you. 

“You gonna play or what?”

Huh? You took the object, feeling the texture in your hands. It’s been a while since you held a controller; even longer since you played a game at all. The game home screen flashed, the cursor hovering over the “new game” button. He clicked it forcing the game to switch into the character screen. 

The man picked Bowser. Ah, not surprising. You grinned as you chose Princess Peach.

The game began immediately after and you thought, wow. You sucked at this game! Your cart hit track walls, bounced on boulders, special items that you sent managed to hit you instead. Rigged, this must be rigged! Just because the last time you played the game was ten years ago, doesn’t automatically mean you were shit at it.

Your companion thought differently.

“You’re crappy at this game.” He sneered.

You rolled your eyes. “It’s just the first game! A warm-up, you’ll see.”

And yes, he did see. See you fail round after round, time after time, the twenty games you played seemed to only prove your awful skills at a simple multiplayer game. You groaned. How was it possible to lose this much? Even the computer controlled characters beat you senseless. 

Gently placing the controller on the sofa, you wrapped your arms around your knees. Was this a test? A test to see whether if you were worth killing? Oh boy, you would have been slaughtered at the first playthrough. 

“Are you going kill me now?” You murmured. 

If this was how you were going to go, at least you had fun. Well, you did lose more times than you could count. But hey, it was enjoyable. 

“Ha. You think I’d let you go that easily?” He stood up, turned and grabbed the controller. “You made a pact with me, and now you’re gonna run away?”

His other hand reached for your chin and pulled it up, your eyes meeting his. 

“What’d you wish for, princess?”

alright. so that’s the prologue! thank you for reading. i’ll have the chapter one ready soon. so pretty much, what happened was: you received a package. bored as you were followed the instructions and summoned a demon. except, you were actually summoned somewhere else to bakugo no less. 

the introductions come on to the next chapter!! please leave a like if you like it aaaaa it would mean alot ;;;;

[migeviellardi]

Out Of Comfort

Rottmnt Donnie Centric Fanfic

Genre : Adventure, Action, Humour, Hurt/Comfort

Summary :  Silver has gone to the part where he made Donnie involve in some slightly criminal-related work. Will Donnie regret his decision to ever trust him? Or will his life ends miserably knowing that he should’ve just headed home and not taking any part of Silver’s plan?

Chapter 4 Help Wanted

Run-on-the-mill Pizza place can be a good place to vent for some reason, he always felt better having to just sit down, ordering food, and let go of his thoughts away. The weight lifted off from his chest immensely or is it just that his wisp is his Gram-Gram, sitting on his shoulder to keep him company?

Donnie can’t help smile to see her there, she smiled every he looked at her. It gives him warmth, knowing that he wasn’t entirely alone. At least now he felt a lot better that he took joy to eat his pizza to satisfy his hunger. 

“Grrrr!!” Donnie jumped hearing a growl from the person sitting in front of him. The stranger who called himself Silver, glaring at his phone. His finger tapping hard on the screen. Donnie chewed away as he watched the men frustrated himself with his phone.

Silver gritted his teeth, “Stupid, son of a-” he screamed and threw away his phone. Donnie was surprised to see his phone flew away out of sight. Sia flew after the phone. Silver sighed while shaking his head, he chomps on the pizza he ordered.

“Is-is everything, okay?” Donnie asked.

“It’s not your concern, kid.” Sia flew back with the phone and put it in his hand. Silver saw the phone and frowned at Sia, who scolded him. Donnie saw the wisp flailing angrily at him. Silver shook in disbelief, putting the phone on the table.

Donnie stared at the object. It seems like it just got bought, looks all sleek and new with its black with blue stripes background.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Just some troubles, like many.” he chowed down the pizza, mozzarella cheese melted to his mouth. Donnie can slightly see that the guy somehow had fangs. Until then he realized that he also had a pair of small brown horns. They’re obscured by his unruly hair, which makes him wonder what kind of guy he is.

“Can I take a look on your phone?” he asked. Silver stared at him. He paused for a bit, thinking if he should listen to the kid. 

He sighed and give the kid his phone. Donnie carefully took it and began his inspections. He turns on the phone and found the thing had a hard time finishing the intro. Once Donnie had access to the content, he took his time checking every system, apps, and settings. 

Silver rests his head on his hand, watching the kid gone all quiet, eyes fixated on the screen. He can see the kid in full concentration on what he’s doing, so he didn’t bother to ask anything. 

“Is it okay if I upgrade them a bit?” Donnie offered. Silver raised his eyebrow. The word ‘upgrade’ intrigues and astonished him. Can the kid really upgrade his phone? The kid seems serious about what he said. Although, is it a good idea to let a kid messes with his phone?

But Silver is more curious than worry. Silver gives him a nod. Donnie looked around for Hueso. The skeleton saw the turtle waved at him. He approached him, “If you looking for your coffee, it still in a brewing state.”

“Oh, okay. But also, do you still have my toolbox here?”

“The one that you keep forgetting to bring back with you and instead of you taking it insisting to let me store it for you?” Hueso said in a nonchalant look. Donnie grinned nervously. He sighed, “I’ll go and get it for you.” he walks towards his office.

Donnie went back to the phone in his hand. Silver just watched in quiet, finishing his meal. A waiter with six arms came and put a mug of coffee at Donnie’s side. He quickly took a sip and continue his inspecting. 

Hueso came back with a purple toolbox, he put it next to the mug and went off to do his business. The table shook as the toolbox was set down, how many tools the kid have in that thing?

Donnie put his mug to his other side. He pushed a button on the box and attracted all the tools held by small robot arms. Silver was shocked by the sheer amount of tools that came out of it. 

Donnie opened the phone’s casing. Pulled down his goggles, he types something in his tech bracelet and the robot arms helping him out to do some tinkering. Silver blinked, he observes the kid doing something to his phone. 

He watched the three-fingered hands deftly moves between each tool, once seeing his hand reaching something inside the box and implanting it onto the phone. He waited for the kid to finish as it seems the kid doesn’t want to be bothered while doing his work.

Finally, Donnie plopped back the casing. The toolbox retracted back all the tools, back to its former form. Donnie turned on the phone and give it back to Silver. He took his phone and take a look at it.

“I upgrade the memory storage, which now can hold 200 GB. It’s the biggest one I can get other than stealing it. I upgraded the ram storage, the system processor, the cache settings. Updated further the anti-virus with my own coding, also put a tiny Donnie-blocker to keep off all kinds of mal-ware, aaand installing a new set of cameras for further perfection on either photo or video making ability. Oh, and I give you some unlimited access to the internet. Your Welcome and Thank you!” he smiled with pride and joy. 

Silver nodded in amazement. He explored his phone further and he can already felt the significant difference from before. No lagging, quick accessing, one-second loading. Whatever the kid has done, it did wonders for his phone. “Well, I gotta say, Kid. I’m impressed.” he praised.

Donnie flinched by the appraisal from him. He smiled broadly with tears of joy. How long has he been dreaming for an adult’s appraisals and approvals? Too long perhaps that he can’t contain his smile. Which made Silver cringe at him. Hueso walked past them and saw Donnie glittering in happiness.

“Did you praised him?” he asked.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. Just brace yourself, that’s all.” he added, leaving them alone. Silver pinched his nose-bridge.

###

Silver walks along the Hidden City’s streets with his new modified phone in his hand. The first thing he finds is that the kid had put thousands of songs on the music list. He’s really intrigued with the titles of each of them, noted to himself that he should give them a try.

“So, where are you going?”

He sighed, he nearly forgot that the said kid still on his tail. 

Silver : Why don’t you just go home, kid?

Donnie : First of all, I am not a kid. I’m 16.

Silver : And, I’m 28. So you’re a kid to me.

Donnie : Scoff! I am a teenager, thank you very much! *arm-crossed*

Silver : Why are you saying ‘scoff’ out loud?

Donnie : And, second, I’m not ready to go home, yet. 

Silver : Why not?

Donnie : Well, even though I’ve been here for an hour and fifty-one minutes, but I just got here.

Silver : And, now, you can go home.

Donnie stopped in his track. Silver noticed the lack of sound of the kid’s footsteps, he turned around at Donnie who clearly unhappy, avoiding eye contact.

“I just won’t, alright? You won’t understand.” he shoved his hands in his pockets. Silver raised an eyebrow, the kid still refused to look at him. 

He sure didn’t understand what the kid’s deal is that he doesn’t want to go home. But it’s not like Silver would want to be part of it, especially if it’s a personal matter. He rolled his eyes and continued his walk, eyes fixated on the screen until he heard the kid’s footsteps following him again.

He peered his head back to the kid. Donnie saw him staring and froze. Silver stares nonchalantly. Donnie frowned, looking away dejected. He can still sense being stared.

“Okay, FINE. I’ll go! Stop staring at me like that!” Donnie quickly turned around, grumbling in his hood. Silver watched the kid's leaves, the kid’s wisp flew close to his head, caressing him.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel bad, he knows the kid can take care of himself, as long as he stops spacing out. Sia stares at him, unimpressed, which triggered Silver in the way.

“What?” he flatly asked. Sia scolded her living friend, squeaking away like no tomorrow. “The last thing I want other than being stranded here is becoming a babysitter. Okay?”

Sia pouts, she crossed her arms and look away. Silver rolled his eyes, he doesn’t need this right now. “Uuuugh!!! HEY, KID!”

Donnie quickly turns his head. Silver sighed, there’s no turning back now. “Come on, there’s a place that I wanna go. You can help out there if you want.” he walks away.

He didn’t need to wait or looking back to know that kid accepted his offer when he heard a running coming from behind. Donnie joined him on his side, keeping it quiet, in case if the man changes his mind.

He has a lot of questions, but putting them off the table. Keeping it cool as he observed the guy scrolling through his phone. Donnie shoves his hands, trying to obscure his fingers fidgeting restlessly. He’s giddy for some reason, he doesn’t know why. 

What he should do is be cautious, especially when you’re meeting a stranger. But so far, the stranger had been kind to him, despite all the snarkiness. 

He saved his life from a falling boulder which he still doesn’t understand why it’s there. He responsibly trying to make him feel better in case he was shaken from the near-death experience--which he got to be honest, that he was, only a little. And, he let him tinker his phone and upgraded it, and not to mention, appraisal--legitness--for his work.

He can’t help but smile with that thought, this Silver guy sure is an interesting one. He learned that souls can leave a part of their own, remnants of their memories, and formed into these little ghosts called Wisps.

The concept of this little entity really intrigues him, and now that he knows that he has a Wisp of his own, which is none other than his Gram-Gram. And, that hits him,

Donnie : About the Wisps...

Silver : Hm? 

Donnie : Gram-Gram is a part of a family, my family. And, I’m sure that she also loves my brothers. Right?

Silver : Put it this way, you have how many people in one family, and there’s one who passes away and that person loves every single one of them. If a wisp wanted to go back to their loved ones, and there are many, so they’ll follow them all.

Donnie : How?

Silver : The explanatory still confuses me, but a wisp can actually exist more than once in the living. For example, if your wisp is following you now, they also follow the others. Like,...ugh, putting it simply, they can be in two or more places at the same time.

Donnie : That’s......mildly confusing.

Silver : You tell me.

Donnie : Wait, so...if my Wisp actually exists somewhere else and following my family,  that means, she’s also there.

Silver : So?

Donnie : So, that means, if I can speak her language, she can help pinpoint their locations, etcetera.

Silver : .....

Donnie : .....

Silver : Huh, I haven’t thought of that.

Donnie : Really?

Silver : But to be fair, not all wisps had the same case. For example, Sia right here.

Donnie : That also hits me, who is she to you?

Silver stopped, Donnie flinched at him. Silver stares blankly at the phone, although he is sure that he wasn’t staring at it. He was getting worried about how the guy didn’t say anything. He figured it actually hurts him, being asked that question.

Donnie guiltily looked away, rubbing his arm. “Sorry.” He apologized. Sia the wisp turned sad, followed by Karai.

Then, he flinched when he felt his head being patted. He meets Silver’s eyes, he didn’t smile but he’s certainly caressing. Silver let go of his hand and continue his walking. Donnie blinked, trying to process what he just did. He rubbed his head, still confused and took off to catch up.

Silver took a right and went up a stair. Donnie paused to see that he was heading towards what looks like a Museum, Yokai’s Museum. Silver went inside, not waiting around for him. Donnie ran in, until, “OOF!!!” he bumps real hard into a large hand and fell back. 

“Oww!” he rubs his head. A troll-like yokai with massively oversize hands stood guard at the entrance.

“Buy ticket first! Only ten dollars!” he said with a deep croaky voice. Silver showed up from the Museum.

“Go get yourself a ticket, kid! I’m only paying for your food.” he disappeared into the building. Donnie stood up peevishly, raising his shoulders. He sighed, reached out a ten-dollar from his wallet.

The Museum looks somewhat bigger than the outside. On the way in, Donnie picked up a pamphlet from its racks. The Museum contains artworks like statues, paintings, carvings, etc. Even some historical objects and artifacts. 

Donnie curiously looked in every direction. Never in his life went to a Museum legally and full of people and bright lights. Last time he has been in a Museum, he had to fight a psychotic hypo and the Foot-clans, breaking every content within.

Donnie scurries along through to find Silver, he isn’t in the Gallery, which now leads him to the Artifact Room. Donnie peeked into the hallway, he didn’t see him yet. He went further as he took his time sightseeing until he stumbled upon a large circular room.

The room was littered with weird, wacky, and interesting artifacts floats on pedestals. And without Donnie’s goggles, he can still see that some of them had mystic powers lingers within. He assuming they all real artifacts that are no longer in use, despite that some still have little powers to spare.

He found Silver stands and observe a floating crescent-like object. Donnie stood beside him, looking at the name on the info board. Rubbing his chin as he translates the language, “Obliath of Secrecy.”

“It’s an artifact that once used to conceal a massive gate that prevents Oble Troll from entering a farm patch for the early season of Fire Cabbage Festival, thirty years ago. Created by an old fairy farmer who lives with the farm patches.” Silver explains. Donnie looked at him astonished.

“You know about artifacts?”

“No, it says so in this info board.” he points at the board he just read. 

“O-oh...”

“Anyway, we’re not here for sightseeing.” he said, “Come.”

Donnie raised his eyebrow, he looked at Karai, she shook her head, not knowing what it means. Donnie shrugged and followed the men.

As Donnie follows, he saw Silver talk to a tiger yokai from afar. Donnie paused for a moment, he observes as Silver received some kind of a key from the yokai and quickly put them in his inner pocket. As the yokai leaves, Silver turned to Donnie and gesturing him to follow.

Donnie became suspicious, still, he does what he’s told. He approached Silver who’s standing near a big sarcophagus. He looked around, to make sure nobody’s looking and opened the coffin. “Get in.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” And, Donnie did. Silver followed and closed the coffin, hiding the two inside.

###

Silver slowly opens the sarcophagus slightly, peeking out to the now dark Artifact Room. Sia emerged from the coffin, looking around as she flew away. She went back and nodded, Silver opens the coffin entirely, letting Donnie and himself out. 

Donnie gingerly looks around, unsure of what will they be doing.

“What are we doing?” he asked, only to be shushed by Silver. Silver promptly stealth walking into the empty room. Donnie follows without difficulty as he was trained to be stealthy. Silver leads them both to a turn left to the sarcophagus that leads to a storage room. Silver stopped, assessing the situation.

“What are we doing here?!” Donnie whispered. Silver ignores him and lets Sia come forth first. She flew ahead towards the door until she passed an invisible barrier that reanimated as she came through. Donnie was amazed by the presence of the invisible wall. 

Silver waited to make sure it didn’t trigger any kind of alarm, which it didn’t. He comes close to the barrier, putting his palm onto it. It was solid, as it should be. Donnie looked around to make sure they were alone, getting more worried about this whole situation.

Silver took a breath in and out, he casts an energy flow onto his hand, the bluish energy glows stunningly in the dark. Donnie watched in awe from a couple of feet away. It then formed itself into a long energy stream, condensed into a sword-like structure.

Donnie was surprised by the guy’s capability, it looks different than any mystic weapons he saw. Silver slashed the barrier right down the middle, then proceed to slice the bottom frame. The sword disappeared, Silver opened the barrier like it was a curtain. He gesturing Donnie to get in first.

“Can you please tell me what’s going on?!” he protested in a whisper.

“I’ll tell you when we get inside. Move!” Donnie opened his mouth to speak, “Kid, you’ve gone far to follow me here. And I don’t mind at all that you bail right this second. Your choice.”

Despite him whispering, Silver’s voice was sharp and stern, giving massive goosebumps towards Donnie’s shell. A strike of fear suddenly picking up, Donnie momentarily having a staring contest with the guy.

He could bail, but he needs to know what this guy’s doing. If he’s doing something bad, it’s his job as a Hamato to stop him. He can’t let it slide, he needs to know what’s going on. He stepped into the barrier, no turning back now.

He stopped at the door, Silver came up and use the key on the door. The storage filled with unshowcased artifacts organized in some ways. Silver carefully closed the door behind him and locked it, Donnie took a moment to look around. 

He has seen some of these artifacts in Draxum’s research notes. Few of them extremely foreign. 

“THOOOONG!!!!”

Donnie jumped at the sound from behind him. Silver cast some kind of barrier in bluish and white streams of energy. Suddenly, he toppled over, lying on his side. Donnie jerked up and ran at him. His breathing is normal and his pulse is steady but the guy had fallen unconscious.

“Silver?” he patted his cheeks, hoping to wake him up. Silver let out a groan. Donnie helped him to sit, leaning him to a wall. “What happened? You okay?” 

“I might...have put....too many in....one go.” he said, sounding really exhausted. Donnie looked at the barrier. It looks very sturdy, not sure how many he actually put in one spot. Donnie turned back to him.

“But, you’re okay, right?

“Yeah, just....a little tired.” he hoists himself up, pushing up against the wall to get back to his feet. Donnie ducked under his arm, helping him walk around the storage room. Silver leads them further inside, Sia flew right ahead. She pinpoints the directions around the many crates filled with artifacts, to where they should go and they follow.

Until they reached a large pedestal with an object that floats right in the middle. Silver let his arm go from Donnie. “There it is.”

The artifact shape is a trapezoid, with carvings all over its dark plum coloring. The object felt different than the others, felt threatening in some ways. Donnie frowned by the sight of it as Silver approached the thing. He held his hand out to it.

“Wait, what are you doing?” 

“What does it look like?” he said, “I’m stealing it.”

A paused for a moment.

“Wait, WHAT?!”

[faerieavalon]

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From Sa'vunin - A Single Day, a collection of side stories within the Sule Tael universe, Mahanon is sappy:

Dorian grumbled and rolled over to face him, bringing one arm out of the blankets to press a palm to his cheek. “You insufferable tease, what did you tell her about me?”

He kissed Dorian’s wrist and laughed softly. “I told her that I have found someone special. A light in the dark. A refuge in the storm. An answer to the greatest question that has plagued my life. A man to whom I could pledge my heart because he cooled my mind burning with longing.”

“Oh.” Dorian looked away and turned a delicious shade of red. “That’s, well, that’s something.”

“Only something?” Mahanon pouted dramatically. “Vhenan, you wound me.”

Lifting an eyebrow at the display, Dorian laughed. “You are a despicable heathen and I can’t stand to look at you.”

“Such sweet things you say, oh love of my life.”

From Sule universe again, a ridiculous idea about construction:

Solas stood on a rock, looking from the building to a parchment in his hands. From the depth of his frown, she could tell he wasn’t pleased. It was his voice she heard, bickering in sharp tones with Abelas. The former Sentinel and his old friend Avalon were bare to the waist, impervious to the chill biting in the air as they worked. While the elders argued, the younger seemed quite content to continue packing clay into the woven wood walls. He was whistling a happy little tune, too. The structure was growing to be a simple mud hut with a strong, peaked thatch roof. A couple of small families would be kept warm and safe inside through the mountain winters. 

Why they were the ones doing construction, and why they were arguing about it, was too interesting a puzzle to pass up. Ara’lan crept quietly closer, ducking behind a boulder to listen in.

“The entrance needs to be at the south wall,” Abelas grumbled. “Facing east will catch the wind and drafts will linger.”

“I have enough experience building in this climate to know differently,” Solas offered back a bit louder than before. “These plans have been used for ages without concern.”

“Respectfully, there was magic to secure the entrance then. We are lacking in that luxury now.”

“We will not be once I enchant the walls. Unless, of course, you never finish constructing them.”

From Sule Tael Chapter 21, Solas lets a big secret be known:

“I knew you were  different.” She smiled kindly. “You have no valasllin and survived the ages. When all the other Gods ran happily into war, the Wolf's people did not. I assumed you were allied with them. With your talents it makes perfect sense you were a priest of his. Why does this trouble you to show me?”

“Fen’Harel had no priests.” His words cracked around the edges. "He did not want to be worshiped."

The memory, having run its course, faded away into silence. Solas closed his eyes. When they opened again, they weren’t the same color she loved so dearly. They were a swirling silver.

“I was Solas first. Fen’Harel was an insult I took as a badge of pride. It inspired hope in my friends and fear in my enemies.” He smiled bitterly. “The People needed me, but what I became-”

The power behind his stare stole the air from her lungs and caused her heart to race. The urge to run coiled in her gut as the joy she just shared fizzled out. Fighting against it, she bit her lip. Fen'Harel wasn't like the Creators. He couldn't be. Memories of dark pain, fire and screaming flashed in the back of her mind. Letting out a long breath, she clenched her fists by her sides until her nails dug into her palms and grounded her in the present. The longer she took to answer him, the sadder he became. Just as he was about to turn away she found her voice.

“Atishan, Fen’Harel.” Her lips shook but her words held steady.

Ara’lan slowly gathered her nerve. He wasn’t Mythal. If he was going to hurt her, he would have done it already. This was just as hard for him to show as it was for her to see. Releasing her tension, she reached out to him and brushed a thumb across his cheek. Her eyes softened and she breathed hope into the air between them. It was a small thing, but it was honest. Closing his eyes once more, he let out a breath. His eyes were back to normal when he opened them again. His voice broke under the weight of his shame.

 “And now you know. Everything I hoped, everything I tried to do for our People, it all went so horribly wrong.”

Ara’lan pressed her forehead to his and sighed. “I see you, Fen’Harel. I see you and I am not afraid.”

Also from Sule, Chapter 33, Felassan gets his second chance to say something important:

“The first time we met, you scolded me for running straight into trouble.” He sighed wistfully and twisted a few strands of her hair between his fingers. “Told me a rebellion lived and died with the strength of the people that brought others hope and that I needed to take better care of myself so I could take care of them. You said I was lucky to make it into your care in time and you almost wanted to let me suffer a little longer to think about what I’d done.”

Ara’lan huffed a laugh and shifted in his lap to snuggle closer. She remembered that day, too. He had come in with a handful of refugees. All were broken, bloody, and starving but it was all from old wounds. He had a broken wrist, more cuts than she could count, and two broken ribs but he still lead them with a grin. They had stayed safe because he protected them.

“I did,” she agreed quietly. “You were quite the valiant hero, ma’falon, even if you were foolish.”

“I was,” he agreed with a sheepish grin. “You were right, of course. And then you were so charming after it all that I had to find ways to keep coming back and see you. Ways that didn’t always involve me getting injured.”

Ara’lan felt a heat crawl up the back of her neck as she smiled. He had always been so charming, even in the direst of circumstances. She was selfishly glad he hadn't lost that part of himself.

“Of course you would lecture me every time I had even a little scratch.” Felassan continued telling his story, only pausing for a moment to glance down and catch her reaction. “You have always been beautiful, da’asha. Not just for your appearance or your skill, but for your heart. Era’las truly was hope and love embodied. Now you are yourself. You have control of your future and your heart still shines through. Anyone who spends time around you can feel it.”

Felassan brushed a thumb across the swell of her cheek, cupping her chin in his hand. Ara’lan sighed, her breath catching in her throat, and looked up to find him staring intently into her eyes. The sheer focus of his attention and gentle reverence in his touch sent a shiver down her spine.

“You don’t need magic, power, or followers for anyone to love you. All you have to do is smile.” His voice dipped, gaining a roughness she didn't expect. “If that isn’t enough for the Wolf, that’s his loss. I know it was enough for me.”

Another from Sule, Chapter 60, Mahanon and Dorian again:

“Are you alright?”

“No,” Mahanon turned away from the basin to answer Dorian quietly. “But I will be. Don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”

“Of course you don’t,” Dorian quipped, tucking his concern behind a gentle smile. “Running off for a weekend to a salon with beautiful people feeding you fruits while they massage your troubles away is only going to make things take longer. But good to dream about though, yes?”

“A very good dream.” Mahanon sighed. “After Corypheus, then what? Solve centuries of trouble for the Dalish over tea?”

“If anyone could, it would be you.” His tone softened as he studied Mahanon’s face. “Two of the world’s greatest leaders already scramble when you beckon them. They owe you too much to count. I don’t know any cause more worthy of using that influence.”

“You think it would work?”

Dorian laughed. “I know you’re hard headed enough to make them try.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Mahanon smiled. “What would I do without you, vhenan?”

“A lot more moping, I’m sure, but I don’t intend to let you find out.” Dorian traced a finger down his chest, following a stray droplet of water. “Now get to bed before I forget that you’re still healing.”