#everything I bring is so small for such a big tree

[hell-drabbles]

Lucifer 5

Summary: Lucifer, compared to the other devil kings, tends to keep his distance, often preferring to be alone with his thoughts, ever observing what's going on around him. With you, however, you noticed he's been getting closer.

(More Companion and Lucifer intimacy! Been a long while. I wonder what other intimate moments between the Companion and Lucifer I should write?)

Of all beings, you never thought Lucifer would get caught up in your rhythm. Every other devil king you've met has been a storm of their own, a being that walks forward and expects everything and everyone to follow without a single question. They take pride in that, so much so that it leads to constant clashes with all the other kings around them.

All the other kings, save for Lucifer. He and the other devils share the title of kings, and are all collectively known as the seven kings of Hell, but that's about where the similarities end.

You can't say that the other devils treat Lucifer with respect, so much as they just generally leave him to his own devices, as though any attempt to butt heads with him was just not worth it. It's… almost a kind of caution, an awareness that so long as they don't directly challenge him, then Lucifer won't say a thing. It's almost the same social distance they give Asmodeus.

You can't say you're shocked, those two don't exactly think, nor carry themselves in the way the other devil kings do.

That being said, it was very easy to notice the way Lucifer was always one step closer to you than others. How he's taken to always face you with his entire body whenever you talked, no matter how he had to adjust his seat or posture. How, whenever you take a walk through Paradise Lost, Lucifer would eventually drift by and walk with you. Whatever you do, Lucifer was bound to not be too far behind.

And so here you both are, near a tree that Lucifer was just napping under until you walked by and paused to give him time to rouse himself. You didn't need to say anything. You both knew he was going to walk with you. It's routine by this point.

Lucifer walked past the usual distance he'd keep with others. He stopped right before you, shoes almost touching yours. You both nodded in greeting, then simply stood still, enjoying the gentle whistling of the wind and the calm flow of your breathing.

"Huh, you like being near me." It's not really a question, simply a statement of fact. No need to be a tease or coy about it. Why bother making a game out of it when the reward was right there for the taking?

"I do," he said, with that rare, gentle smile of his, barely there but too big a change to ever ignore. Of course he wouldn't mince his words.

"You find comfort in a human like me." You didn't lean away nor yearned to put distance between the both of you. Instead, you uncrossed your arms and upturned your palms. As though you've both done this thousands of times, Lucifer slid his hands against yours. "Weird."

"How so?" Lucifer's face settled into a carefully neutral expression, but you can tell he's just a hair away from frowning. You're sure an expression like that would scare the shit out of Ra-on.

"If you wanted to, I could easily just be another smear on the pavement." And such power brings about the expectation of arrogance, whether intentional or otherwise. All the other devils here, big and small, carried themselves with that air that only became more apparent once your physical limitations were discovered. You've grown used to arrogance and were ready to take it in stride. If not dismissed, you expected to be treated as the most fragile thing in Hell. "And here you are, treasuring me like an equal."

Lucifer didn't set you aside, nor did he insist what you can or can't do. Your anger was not a childish or reckless temper tantrum but a reaction to a problem that he knows must be resolved. For the first time in a long while, you found a piece of yourself relaxing. If you were to nap now, you know you'd wake up without dreading what you'll have to tolerate for that day.

"The place you call home weighs heavily on you," Lucifer closed his eyes, as though trying to imagine your every burden as his thumb stroked your skin, "in much the same way it does for me. Is it wrong to find solace in someone that understands? In someone that needs the quiet as much as I do?"

A short chuckle escaped you as Lucifer leaned in closer, but stopped short of pressing his forehead against yours. "Seems we're both just incredibly lonely, huh? But no, it's not wrong in the least."

"Then, I can assume that we both bring the other joy?" Strands of Lucifer's hair moved to the side as he tilted his head, pretending to be curious even though that smile said he knew what your answer was.

"Joy, huh?" you sighed, and allowed yourself to indulge just this little bit, "Yeah, I guess you can assume that."

[brooklyncircus]

This one-shot is for you, my beautiful reader 𖹭.

Satoru Gojo loved Christmas.

He loved the presents, the tree, the carols, the garlands, and the unique atmosphere that seemed to bring people together on such a special occasion.

And for that very reason, he wanted to spend it with someone special. More specifically, with the little grump Megumi Fushiguro—a child with the personality of a retired war veteran who didn’t want to deal with anyone, let alone be bothered.

Even so, Satoru sometimes made a fool of himself just to see him smile. Or he’d do dangerous things. He knew the boy had a tough childhood, but he wanted him to have different memories with him—ones worth keeping.

And if that meant making a fool of himself over and over again... he knew he’d do it.

Because, after all, he loved little Megumi Fushiguro. And he’d do anything to make him happy...

And to make him smile.

That’s why he had planned something special for this festive season. He knew Megumi had never had a proper Christmas—never a ‘normal’ one where he truly enjoyed himself. And he wanted to change that. At the moment, Megumi was under the care of Shoko Ieiri, one of his colleagues, while Satoru arranged everything in his flat to ensure it was perfect for the two of them.

The tree shone brightly by the large fireplace, tall and majestic, with every ornament, light, and decoration perfectly in place. Two Christmas stockings hung over the fireplace, and garlands adorned the stairs. The table was set to perfection, along with cookies and sweet treats near the fire. He even had the presents ready, wrapped, and tied with bows labelled ‘Megumi.’

When everything was done, he sent Shoko a message, and she brought the boy back home. Megumi’s stern, grumpy façade faltered slightly when he saw how the place was decorated.

And Satoru noticed. The boy’s eyes sparkled, his lips parted slightly, and the little wrinkle between his brows vanished. He stood still—very still—unsure of what to say.

“Do you like it?” Satoru asked, standing beside him and waiting for his answer as he gazed at the Christmas tree and the surroundings. To him, it wasn’t much, but it must have been more than enough for someone who was used to much grander things in his clan.

But Megumi’s response lacked its usual sarcastic, mocking tone. Instead, it was sincere—clear like a crystal lake without shadows. Like the sun rising over the horizon, banishing the night’s darkness. “Yes, I like it a lot.”

Satoru leaned closer to whisper in the boy’s ear, “Do you want to stay up until midnight to see if you can spot Santa?”

He smiled when Megumi nodded, his eyes fixed on the large golden star atop the tree.

The evening was lovely and heartwarming. They had dinner together, then enjoyed dessert. Megumi even sat in front of the large tree, watching the lights twinkle and the ornaments reflect the glow almost magically, thinking he’d never had a Christmas like this in his life.

From a few steps away, Satoru watched him. The child’s small figure contrasted with the tree’s grandeur, making him look even smaller than he really was—making Satoru want to protect him even more.

Midnight arrived. Megumi stood on the balcony, gazing at the starry night, hoping to catch Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer.

He was ready to capture him, force him to talk, and finally reveal the location of his treasure trove of gifts. And to give him a piece of his mind about all the previous Christmases when he hadn’t received any presents.

Satoru wasn’t with him; he’d excused himself, claiming he’d had too much spicy sauce with dinner—which wasn’t untrue—and needed to use the bathroom. But in reality, he was pulling out a red bag and taking out a big Santa costume.

In moments like these, as he hurriedly put on the outfit and stuffed a pillow under the shirt to create a big belly, he thought it was good to be albino. Why? Because it made him the perfect Santa Claus. All he needed was the beard and the iconic hat to complete the look.

“How sexy am I, for heaven’s sake,” he praised himself, quickly glancing in the mirror, holding the fake belly and acting like Santa. “Even with this cookie-addict belly... I’m irresistible.”

And so, he emerged, dressed in full costume and carrying a sack of presents, making loud footsteps so Megumi would turn around. “Ho! Ho! Ho!” he exclaimed, rubbing his big belly and heading towards the plate of cookies they’d purposely left out.

He heard a small gasp of excitement from the balcony, followed by hurried footsteps towards him. Megumi was... stunned. All his plans for revenge vanished in an instant, replaced by an overwhelming urge to cry and break down right there.

Clasping his little hands in front of him, he looked at Santa with sadness, hurt, and loneliness. His eyes glistened, and he bit his lower lip to stop himself from sobbing.

And that broke Satoru completely. He’d never seen Megumi so vulnerable.

“Are you Megumi Fushiguro?” he continued in character, crouching slightly to pat the boy’s head. “You’re lucky. Many children try to see me on such a special night. But only you’ve managed it...”

Megumi approached him with the innocence of a child his age, clutching the red fabric of his costume and giving him a tight hug, burying his tearful face into the fluffy suit.

Satoru hugged him back, growing increasingly concerned. His Santa façade was slipping away. He patted the boy’s back, staying still as he felt his tears soak the costume. “Hey, what’s wrong? Were those cookies not for me?”

“Thank you for coming this time, Santa,” Megumi murmured, wiping his tears with his fingers and looking up with a faint smile. “Or should I say... Satoru?”

And at that moment, Gojo froze, going stiff as a board as Megumi began pulling off the hat and then the fake beard, quickly exposing his face. “How...?”

“Only you could come up with something as ridiculous as dressing up as Santa for Christmas,” the boy replied, his smile unwavering.

Megumi was smiling. He’d done it. He’d made him smile.

Satoru grinned slightly, setting the gift sack aside and dramatically pulling out the pillows from his costume.

“Were the pillows necessary?” Megumi asked, his usual sarcastic tone re-emerging slightly.

“They were part of the character. It was necessary, and I looked sexy. No one can deny that.”

“Was all this necessary?” the boy asked, still not pulling away. He even snuggled closer into Satoru’s arms, sighing, feeling vulnerable and tired.

In that moment, Satoru lifted him effortlessly, carrying him as if he weighed nothing. Megumi buried his face in his neck, and Satoru began walking towards his room.

“Yes, it was necessary. It was just for you,” he replied, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Now it’s time for bed, Megumi-chan. When the sun rises, we’ll open the presents.”

As he turned to leave, the boy’s small hand gripped the sleeve of his red costume, holding him back. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

Satoru smiled and waved his hand as if it was nothing, his characteristic arrogance and white hair adding his usual flair. “Don’t mention it. Besides, you caught me...”

But Megumi interrupted, shaking his head. “It’s the best Christmas gift I’ve ever had in my life...”

Satoru was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond. His heart felt strange, as if it had shrunk or flipped. And that unmistakable tightness in his throat... He knew that if he stayed any longer, he’d likely burst into tears.

“Thank you, ‘Santoru’ Gojo,” Megumi teased, smiling again and loosening his grip on Satoru’s sleeve. “You’re the best Santa ever.”

“And you’re the best kid ever,” Satoru replied as he slowly closed the door, tears welling up in his eyes.

Megumi turned over in bed, facing away with his eyes shut, too tired to open them again. “I love you...”

A single tear rolled down Satoru Gojo’s cheek as he whispered, “I love you so much more, my Megumi. Always and forever.”

Always and forever.

Nothing would ever change that.

[blushk1tten]

12 days of kinkmas 2024 ꨄ day 5

milk and cookies (lactation)

“is she asleep yet?” schlatt whispered as he entered the living room, looking down as you rocked your youngest child.

peeking down at your daughter, you saw she was completely and blissfully asleep, and nodded with a smile, “she is. are the other two?” you asked, referring to your four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.

he nodded as well. “it took a while, but i got them both to sleep.

you carefully stood up, making sure not to jostle your daughter, and pressed a kiss to your husband’s lips. “thank you. i’ll go put her in her crib, then we can start bringing out the presents.”

“sounds good.”

with that, you quietly made your way upstairs, passing your other children’s rooms and entering your daughter’s nursery. once she was settled in her crib, you shut the door and snuck back downstairs, where schlatt had already started to bring the presents out of hiding. together, the two of you got everything placed under the tree, and the stockings hung on the fireplace in no time.

“it looks perfect.” you murmured, schlatt’s arm around your waist as the two of you stood and admired the way your home looked now.

he smiled softly down at you, kissing the top of your head. “yeah, yeah it does.”

after a few moments of silence, you looked up at him with wide eyes. you had nearly forgotten. “oh! we still need to eat some of the cookies and write a note.”

your husband grimaced slightly. “how many cookies did they put out?”

“a lot,” you sighed. “we can eat one or two, and put the rest back onto the cookie platters. they’ll never know.”

schlatt nodded, agreeing with your idea as the two of you headed the kitchen. once he saw the plate of cookies though, his eyes widened. “what the fuck? how did they think santa could eat all of those? they didn’t even leave out any milk!”

you rolled your eyes at his dramatics. “they’re children, jay, and your son dumped the rest of the milk into my poinsettia this afternoon so he could feed it, remember?”

“yeah, yeah, i remember,” he whined slightly. “why does that make him my son? he’s a carbon copy of you.”

“in looks only. he acts just like you.” you shot back, moving and putting the cookies back on their original trays.

he gave a small huff, and started to eat one of the cookies. “whatever,”

you worked in silence for a bit, before schlatt spoke up again, mumbling under his breath. “wish we had some fuckin’ milk. who has cookies without milk?”

“well, if you’re that desperate, try it with some of my breast milk.” you joked, thinking of the batch you had frozen.

once again, there was silence as you finished putting away all but two cookies. however, when you looked up, schlatt was looking at you, his gaze curious and pensive. “really?”

“i don’t mind,” you shrugged. “i make plenty, so it’s not a big deal if you have some.”

schlatt nodded. however, rather than heading to the fridge, he came over to you and began to play with the hem of your sweater. “so, should i take this off of ya?”

your brows furrowed for a moment, confused, until you realized what was going on. “jay, i meant you could warm up the frozen stuff.”

“oh,” a rare blush dusted your husband’s cheeks. “i mean— that’s okay. i just— i think i’d rather try it straight from the source.”

now it was your turn to blush, your cheeks growing warm. schlatt had always loved your breasts— playing with them, sucking on them— but he had never drank from them before, “you want to try my breast milk… straight from the source?” you asked quietly.

he nodded, his gaze earnest. “i’d really fuckin’ like that, toots.”

you had to think about if for a moment, your heart racing, but you eventually nodded and gave in. “we can try that, if that’s what you really want.”

“i definitely want it,” schlatt said with certainty. “now come here.”

schlatt carefully peeled you out of your sweater, and unhooked your bra with the ease of a man who’d been with you for years. then, he picked you up and sat you down on the kitchen counter, “fuck,” he murmured, staring at your now bare breasts. “i love your titties, sweetheart. they’re fuckin’ perfect.”

his hand came up, and schlatt pinched one of your nipples between his fingers, making you squirm as some of your milk already leaked out.

“jay,” you couldn’t help but whine. “they’re sensitive.”

“i can tell,” he chuckled slightly, beginning to pepper your breasts with kisses. “you’re already leaking f’ me.”

you pouted slightly, then gasped as he switched to slowly lapping at your nipple. “don’t tease me, jay. please just latch on.”

he chuckled again, looking up at you with amusement and adoration. “alright, alright, sweetheart.”

with that, he latched on, immediately taking in a mouthful of milk. when he pulled back, you got nervous, “is it not good?” you asked, your anxiety slipping into your voice.

schlatt shook his head, looking up at you like you hung the sun, moon, and stars. “it’s amazing, toots. why the fuck did i wait for our third kid to try this?”

before you could reply, he latched back on and began to drink with vigor. all the while, his hand played with your other breast and nipple, making you leak on that side. your head was tipped back in pleasure, and you couldn’t stop the whimpers and moans that escaped your lips.

occasionally, schlatt would stop drinking to lap at your nipple or gently nip your breast, but for the most part, he was a man on a mission, “sweetheart,” he grunted as he gently tugged your nipple between his teeth. “you taste so fuckin’ good. can’t believe i’ve never done this before.”

“me neither,” you replied breathlessly, your hips jumping at the sensation of his teeth. “it feels so good, jay.”

“i know i said we were done havin’ kids, but i’m gonna have t’ keep you pregnant if this is what happens.” schlatt groaned, diving in to drink again.

a whine escaped your mouth at that, and your hips bucked up again. you could feel your arousal growing the longer he continued, as well as the more he talked. you were going to come just from him drinking your milk and playing with your breasts. “jay—”

before you could warn him, he gently bit your nipple while giving a particularly strong suck. the combination finally pushed you over the edge, making you cry out as your fingers tangled in schlatt’s hair. as you panted and came down from your orgasm, you noticed that schlatt had pulled off and was panting as well.

“sorry,” you murmured, releasing your grip on his hair and letting him return to his full height. “i didn’t realize.”

he leaned in and kissed you, letting you faintly taste the creaminess of your own milk. “never apologize for that, sweetheart. that was amazing. shit, i nearly came in my pants too.”

looking up at him, you couldn’t help but offer. “do you need me to help you finish?”

schlatt groaned and nodded. “fuck yes, but i still need to write a note for the kids from santa.”

“i can wait.” you giggled, watching as he scrambled to get a blank sticky note from the drawer, and scribbled something on it.

once he finished, he slapped it down next to the partially-eaten plate of cookies, and carried you upstairs to ravage you.

it wasn’t until the next morning when your children were begging you to read santa’s note that you saw what schlatt had written.

dear kids—

thank you so much for the milf milk and cookies.

sincerely yours,

santa

[ulmus-spellook]

Just me and the tree I’ve bonded the most with against the world

[syncrovoid-presents]

Random thoughts: Can't wait until I move again next year back to the valley. Super excited for all our local festivals and celebrations!! Sadly they dont happen where I am now, no one even has heard of them.

Big L to these folks they don't know the freedom of trading skills and the fresh sea and local wildlife. Or celebrating just to celebrate. Where are the get togethers? Where are the potlucks? The community? The rules of politeness and friendliness are different here and it's strange how friendly from the valley is seen as overextending yourself here.

Also I can't wait to see the mechanical riding bull at the various ocean creature festivals we do! Also no one does any cèilidh here? It is strange and interesting and folks around this city (very far fromthe valley) are different? But I am acclimating, although I still am looking forward to going back too

[blackpearlblast]

[ID: drawings of a golem animated by a palestinian flag painted on its forehead. it is seen: holding out its arms protectively in front of a crowd of children, the children also hold each other supportively; catching an air strike missile from the air and throwing it away or crushing it in its fist; turning its back so that a child can warm her hands by the earth oven built into its back, food in a pot is cooking on the fire and a boy holds a cup of steaming tea to his face and enjoys the aroma; clearing away rubble so a man can help up his wife who was buried underneath, she is clutching a baby to her chest; stooping down to look at a kitten a young boy is holding up to show it; and dissolving small flakes of clay from its finger into a glass of water, purifying it. end ID]

@fairuzfan asked people to create and share art for the strike. i wrote an artist statement and then set about trying to draw what i envisioned. artist statement below.

This golem is a protector that I wish I could gift to the children and adults in Gaza. The flag on its forehead is to show that love for the Palestinian people is an animating force for people fighting for a free Palestine all over the world, especially for those in Palestine who are trying to free themselves and their people. Love is the motivation for the call for a free Palestine, not hatred like people try to claim. It is very strong and fast and can catch air strikes out of midair and crush them to dust or throw them back in the direction they came from. It can lift all the rubble of a collapsed building very quickly so nobody can get trapped underneath. It has an earth oven in its back with an ever-burning flame that people can use to warm themselves and cook food and heat water to use to bathe themselves or make tea. Pieces of its clay can be crumbled up and mixed into water to make even the most brackish and unclean water pure and safe to drink.

The golem is always a bit of a tragic figure so I don't imagine it staying around forever once Palestine is free and it is no longer needed. I think it would use its great strength to help rebuild the destroyed houses, churches, schools, universities, hospitals, and mosques and then dive into the Jordan river and dissolve. It would clean the river of all pollution and make the water splash up over all the newly replanted fruit trees, causing them to grow big and strong. Its love for Palestine and its people can be tasted in the fruit they grow for generations.

I choose a specifically Jewish icon of protection because of how it feels to witness such horrors done in the supposed name of Judaism and the Jewish people. For many anti-zionist Jews, we feel like we are acting directly within the teachings of our stories and communities by opposing this genocide. It is difficult to understand how the very people and institutions who taught us these values now fight against them so fiercely. While obviously I would still oppose Israel were I not Jewish, the way I oppose Israel is directly informed by my Jewishness. I hope that someday, somehow, Judaism can bring as much joy and support to the Palestinian people as it has brought grief and destruction. That Jewish symbols used in the name of love and justice will bear more significance than the ones used in shows of hatred. Knowing the depth of the harm caused, I do not know if this is possible. But this artwork and everything I have dedicated myself to these past few months and continue to dedicate myself to in the future is born from this hope. I love you. Thank you for being on this planet with me. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! And it will be beautiful.

[lovedaruma]

their spot ♥︎

sukuna x princess! reader

ー in which you and sukuna meet when he unintentionally saves you and you continue to meet him everyday in the same spot.

fem! reader, heian era, grumpy x sunshine, reader is innocent and playful, fluff + short smut

"Your Highness! Please don't go too far!" you hear your personal maid shout from the distance as you continue to run, laughing and waving her goodbye.

Any other princess wouldn't be allowed to go into the wilderness on her own, but as for Y/N, her family could not care less if she went missing the next morning.

You have already wandered through so many paths, yet there was still more to explore. You take a new route and stumble on an open area, seeing a hill in the distance and couldn't help but gawk at the beautiful area.

You cheerfully run towards the hill, taking a few breaths once you reached the top. From this height, you could see the beautiful view of the ocean, together with the breathtaking sunset. "Oh my..."

The sun continued to set as you watched from underneath the tree, sitting in a comfortable position. The comforting sounds of nature soon make you drift of to sleep.

A growl from the distance awakes you from your slumber. You jolt awake to see that the moon was already up in the sky. "Gosh, how many hours have passed?"

The sound of your voice summons another growl and you start to get nervous. You turn around and look down at the hill and see a big wolf that was twice your size, bright red eyes trying to scare you. However, you were too distracted at the sight of the furry animal.

"Oh my, It's a wolfy! Come boy, come!" you wave your hand, beckoning the wolf to come closer. It hesitates but slowly starts to approach you. "Here boy... I'm nice, I swear!"

The wolf is now in front of you sniffing your leg, you bring your hand to his neck and started scratching. "Aren't you a cutie~ I'm gonna name you-"

Your words were cut off as you watch the wolf get sliced in half, the blood splattering on your kimono.

"Tch."

A voice was heard from behind the wolf, you see a handsome man with four arms and eyes, marks which seemed like tattoos all over his body.

"Hey~ Why did you kill the wolfy?" you whined.

"Shut up, Human. What are you doing here?"

". . ."

He furrows his brows and growls, "Answer."

"But you said shut up." you smile playfully, clearly teasing him.

"You... Do you know who you're talking to?" He slowly approaches you.

He was trying to intimidate you with this slow steps but was shocked to see you stand up and walk over to him instead.

"Well, No! You haven't introduced yourself yet. I'm Y/N. What's your name?" you reach out your hand as you introduce yourself.

". . ."

". . ."

You watch as his four eyes stare at you, trying to figure you out. You smile up at him and put your hand down.

"Well you don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I still would like to know why you killed the cute wolf though..." you pout as you look over at the furry body in pieces.

"You foolish woman. That wolf was going to make you its dinner." he glares at you, "And this area here is mine. I slaughter everything and everyone that trespasses."

He raises one of his hands to kill you in one swoop, but stops as you perk up and grab one of his hands in joy.

"Oh, so you saved me?! Thank you, kind stranger." you give his hand a small squeeze to show your appreciation.

He stares at both of your hands together for a few seconds before he smacks your hand away, "Tch, How dare you touch me."

You pout as you rub your wrist, "Oh, my apologies . It was bad manners of me to grab you without asking. I'll do that next time!"

"Hah, next time?" He chuckled pure evil, "There will be no next time. Don't think you're coming out of here alive, human."

"That can't be, I have to repay you! You saved me, after all... Even though I don't have much influence, I'm still a princess!"

"Princess? Stop lying woman. The only child I know of royalty here is a prince."

"Yeah~ That's my brother!" you smile, unbothered that people weren't aware that there was a princess in the first place. "And I have a name, you know."

A few seconds of silence pass, him just staring at you. He scoffs and turns to walk away. "Leave."

You were about to retort back but realized how far in the night it is so you stand up and call out to him, "Hey~ I'll be back here tomorrow okay?"

You laugh as you see him turn his head to scowl at you.

The next day soon arrives and you're back at the same spot on the beautiful hill. You sit down under a tree and bask in the view.

The silence was interrupted by a familiar voice. "You have a death wish, huh?"

"Hey there! Come, sit!" you giggle and pat the spot next to him.

"Tch, this is where I usually sit, woman." He scoffs as he sits down, not showing he was curious at the human interacting with him.

"So... I heard a few guards talking about a certain king of the curses...." you side-eye him, smiling playfully. "Hehe, what even is your name?"

"Ryomen Sukuna. Remember the name of the one who's gonna kill you." He smirks.

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" you tilt your head.

"I'll have my fun with you for now. You're quite the peculiar human."

"Oh, tell me in advance when you're gonna kill me then, Sukuna!"

"You..." he glares, "Do you not value your life?"

"Meh, not really... No one would miss me anyway." I frown, but a smile quickly replaces it, "So I've decided to just live to the fullest. If I die today, at least I had fun yesterday~"

Sukuna stays silent as he watches you cheerfully talk about death with his brows furrowed. You hum a tune while enjoying the comfortable silence for a few minutes and then turn to look at him.

Your lips part when you continue to stare at him, his features complimenting his handsome face. Sukuna, for some reason, found it hard not to look back at your stare. After a while, he turned his head to look back into your eyes.

You flinch as his eyes look into yours. Your cheeks tint at his intimidating state and you give him a shy smile.

"So... um... what's... your favorite color...?"

Silence fills the air at the random question, and your cheeks tint even more. You let out a small laugh at your own embarrassment.

Sukuna takes a peek at the warm flush of your cheeks and lets out a huff, "Red."

You whip your head to him and flash a bright smile, "That really suits you! Mine is white hehe~"

". . ."

"So... what do you like to ea-"

"Shut up."

You zip your lips shut and sit more comfortably next to him. The silence was so oddly comforting that you drifted off to sleep. Your head slowly leaning to to direction Sukuna was sitting.

His shoulder was too high for your small figure, so your head rested on the side of his arm. Sukuna looked down, careful not to move his arm. "Tch, unbelievable."

Although he looked annoyed, he didn't move his arm for the rest of his time there.

You wake up and your eyes slowly open. The sun in the horizon has just set and the moon is starting to peak into the sky. Your head lifts up from an... arm?

"Wha..." you let out a yawn.

You hear a scoff, "Why did you sleep for so long?"

"S-Sukuna?!"

You put the pieces together and realize that Sukuna let you sleep on his arm until you woke up. The thought of that making your cheeks warm.

"Sukuna... that's so sweet of you!" you show a downturned smile to express how grateful you were.

He scowls at you and in a blink, he disappears.

"He didn't even let me say bye..."

You arrive at the same spot under the tree on the hill. Surprisingly, you see Sukuna already there.

"You're here!~"

He opens two eyes to see your figure running towards him. He sighs and shuts his eyes again, slowly getting used to his human's presence.

You stop right in front of him, admiring his face once more, being less embarrassed now that his eyes were shut. Soon, you give into your temptation.

"Sukuna..."

He opens an eye.

"Can I touch you now? I asked first this time!" you clasp your hands and interwine your fingers to say please.

He scoffs and shuts the eye. You frown letting out a small 'Hmp' of sulk.

"I didn't say no."

You gasp in excitement and reach out your hands to his face. Your fingertips gently touch his face. You didn't notice the subtle flinch Sukuna did.

Your fingers trace the marks on his face. He exhales from his nose, the air hitting your skin making you feel warm inside. You slowly lift your thumbs to caress the area next to his bottom eyes, the rest of your fingers at the back of his ear. You couldn't help but hum a small 'woah~' in admiration.

"Your eyes are beautiful." Flustered at your own words, your cheeks tint in embarrassment.

His eyes open, both of you staring into each other. He glares at you and whips his head to the side, your hands still on his face. "How absurd."

"It's true..." You let out a chuckle and kneel down next to him. This time, you trace the marks on his arms.

What you didn't notice earlier was how Sukuna's cheeks warmed up at your compliment, with the same grumpy face. He shook his head and sighed, focusing on the feeling of your skin on his.

The rest of the day you just held onto his hand tracing lines and giving light massages while bringing up small conversation topics. He gave small answers, but you were overjoyed at your interactions.

Two weeks have gone by since then. As the days continued, Sukuna began to warm up more to you, talking to you in longer sentences and not telling you to shut up anymore. You were currently on your way to meet him again. Meanwhile, Sukuna was starting to realize his feelings for you.

"Princess Y/N, Please! Finish your food before you go!" The maid sighs as she watches you run away. She looks over at the unfinished plate, wondering what in the wilderness is so interesting to her highness.

As she takes a closer look in the plate, she gasps. "Oh my heavens! T-This is... The Princess is allergic to this!"

Without a care in the world, you skip towards Sukuna's spot, excited to meet your king of the curses.

"I'm here!"

Insted of sitting in his usual spot, he was standing near the cliff, looking at the horizon.

"Sukuna! you admiring the view?"

He doesn't reply and you look at his back, confused. The dark clouds in the sky let out a thunder.

"How dare you."

"W-What?"

He turns around and scowls, "How dare you make me feel- Ugh."

"Huh?" you say confused, raindrops start dropping on both of you.

In a flash, he disappears from where he was standing and was now in front of you. His hand swiftly attacks for your neck but he quickly stops and is an inch away from your skin.

You flinch, but don't move. you give him a chuckle.

"Sukuna... I told you in advance to tell me first before you kill me." you laugh.

He growls in frustration and puts his hands down. "Ugh..."

"But... As strange as it may seem, the time I spent with you was the happiest I've ever been. Thank you for showing me kindness, even in your own way. Farewell, Sukuna. I will never forget you!"

You stand on your tip toes and met your lips with his. It was just a gentle peck, but it sent shivers down her spine.

"Idiot."

As you pull away, content, you couldn't bring yourself to look him in the eyes. 'I wonder what face he's making right now', the thought making you smile. You grab the same hands that tried to attack you earlier and wrapped them around your neck.

"Huh?" you look up at him confused, only to be more confused as you analyzed his face.

'He looks... troubled? I'm not so sure'

He pulls his hands away from your neck and sighs. He grabs you arms and rests his head on the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent. "What kind of sick curse is this..."

". . . Sukuna?"

Although he wasn't exactly hugging you, you wrap your arms around him and hug back. The rain hitting the both of you as you warm up in each other's arms.

". . . I'm confused, are you still killing me or not?"

". . . Pft."

You gawk as you hear Sukuna let out a chuckle. Seeing his lips turn up was a better view than the horizon behind them.

You look up at him and smile, "Hehe, you still haven't answered m-"

The moment was interrupted when you cough out blood. A sudden burning sensation you feel in your chest. You let go of him to hold your chest in pain, your body slouching as you groan.

"D-Damn...I-I shouldn't have-ugh... ate those."

"Y/N?!"

The sound of his name flow out of his voice made your heart flutter but the pain overpowers that.

"Agh-" You drop to the floor, "Don't w-worry, these are just allergies."

He gets on his knees and uses his reverse cursed technique to heal you from your suffering. The pain was too much for you to handle though, and you pass out in his arms.

You jolt awake in your room, looking around confused.

"Sukuna?"

You call out for him but nothing happens. His scent still lingering in the room so you're sure he tucked you back into bed.

You smile as your heart flutters, going back to sleep.

"Y-Your Highness! Are you sure you're okay?" your maid stutters as she hands you your breakfast the next morning.

"Yes yes~ Don't worry about lil' old me!"

You quickly finish your breakfast, wanting to see him as soon as possible. You quickly run and you arrive at the spot in no time and you see him there.

You don't even call out to him, you just run towards his sitting figure, bend over, and wrap your arms around his neck.

He jolts in surprise but immediately calms down as he takes a whiff of your hair.

"Sukuna, you saved me twice already. Thank you for yesterday." you smile, embarrassed to make eye contact with him.

He places a hand on your back to push your body into his. Now, you're straddling his lap and you stay in position.

You fidget your hands, "Ugh~ It's kinda awkward now after I did a whole farewell speech yesterday..." you whine as you recall the events yesterday.

"Yeah, you're farewell kiss too."

You blush and groan into his shoulder, clenching your fists in his robe in embarrassment.

"Hah, is the princess embarrassed? Look at me."

As if it was a spell, you comply immediately and shyly pull away to look at him.

He grabs your chin and pulls your face closer.

"You have to take responsibility for what you did yesterday." He smirks.

"R-Responsibility?!" you squeak.

"Don't think I'll be satisfied with a mere kiss, Princess."

He smashes his lips onto yours. Unlike the sweet and short peck, this was hot and passionate. His upper arms land on your waist and slides the up and down the side of your body.

You feel his tongue enter your mouth and you shift your hips to adjust your position, making you grind on his crotch. The friction making you both groan in pleasure, all of his blood rushing to the length under his robe.

"S-Sukuna." you couldn't help but whine his name in the middle of your tongues dancing. Hearing his name turns him on even more, and his hands go from your hips to sliding inside your kimono to grab hold of your breasts.

You let out a moan at his touch on your bare chest. His bottom arms sliding up your kimono underneath you, his hands traveling up to grope both cheeks of your ass. Wanting to touch him, your hands go down to his chest, sliding inside his robe to touch explore your hands around his bare chest and abs. Your touch making Sukuna groan and start grinding his hips underneath yours, you moan in his lips and grind on him as well.

His hands slide off your kimono, leaving you in your undergarments. The cool air hitting your skin, but you couldn't feel it from the heat of the intimate moment. His bottom hands start to tug on your panties and he whispers into your lips.

"You think you can handle me, Princess?"

You moan in confirmation, sliding off the top part of his robe and continuing to grind on him. He hisses in pleasure and rips off your panties and throw them to the side.

"Ah!" you squeak in embarrassment, pulling away and looking down at yourself, but what caught your eye is the visible bulge twitching underneath the fabric of his robe. You curiously grope it, causing a moan to slip off his mouth, and snatches your hand away.

"Later."

He grabs both of your wrists and pushes you to the clean grass. He looks up and down your naked body and smirks, feeling another twitch from his cock. His eyes landed on your pussy, already soaking wet.

His eyes darkens and he grins, ready to devour you. He brings a hand to your folds and run his fingers along the wetness dripping down your thighs. "How can you be this wet already?" he chuckles and inserts a finger inside, his other hands playing with your breasts.

The sensation making you moan in pleasure, the back of your hand covering your mouth in embarrassment. The moans continue when he starts thrusting the finger in a moderate motion. After a few seconds of adjusting, he shoves another finger in.

The sounds of his fingers fucking your wet pussy fill the air. He feels your walls clench and sees your body start to arch. He sees the way you were making a mess already just with his fingers. Your moans get whinier and he loses it.

He grunts and shoves the robe of his body and your eyes widen. You stare at his two cocks twitching in the air, gulping at its huge size. "S-Sukuna..."

"You want to stop?" you whine and shook your head immediately, "That's what I thought. Now come here, princess."

Not giving you enough time to process, he picks you up and puts him in the stradling position you were earlier in, the tip of his cock goes in and he thrusts inside.

"Ngh- Ah~ S-Sukuna." He grunts in reply, feeling your pussy clench in his hard cock.

"Fuck, princess."

The pleasure was nothing you ever felt before. You look down and see his other cock twitching against your stomach. You reach your hand to grab his length which causes his head to roll back in pleasure and let out a deep moan.

You pump his cock, while adjusting to the other cock that was already inside you. "Prince- Agh, Shit." Your hand going faster and faster, the sounds of his groans making your walls clench, making him groan even louder.

He grabs your hand to stop you. "I can't hold it anymore. I'm gonna destroy this tight little pussy, yeah?"

He grabs your hips and starts bouncing you up and down, his cock thrusting inside of you without mercy.

"Ah... Suku- Agh~" You were drowning in pleasure, eyes rolling back as you listen to the sounds of your wetness and both of your skins slapping against each other.

He was thrusting into you mercilessly, your mewls just making his climax come closer. He feels your walls clench uncontrollably and he moans your name.

"Y/N. Fuck- I'm going crazy" he huffs, acting like an animal in heat.

He pushes you back into the soft grass into a new position, bringing your knees to your chest, his cock thrusting into you sloppily. A visible bump in your belly when he thrusts inside. Two hands behind your knees. One hand rubbing your clit. One hand pumping his other cock.

"Agh~ T-There... Sukuna-"

He hits a certain spot causing your body to twitch and making your eyes water up from the pleasure.

Sukuna pounds faster into your pussy, his precum smeared along your soaked walls. You were letting him use your body and it felt so good.

You feel something building up inside of you, and you whine. "Ah- wait! Sukuna~ I- I-" you whine in pleasure as your body arches, your juices spilling into his cock.

"That's right, princess. Let it out." he coos into your ear. "My turn."

You gasp for air as he thrusts again into your sensitive pussy, making your mewl echo into the air. Your juices increase the sound of the wetness as he slaps his skin into yours, the mix of your arousals filling the air.

"Fuck- I should fill you up, huh? Breed my precious princess?"

"Agh- P-Please!~ I-"

He moans as he shoots his load into you and fill up your pussy, having both of your juices mixed up. His other cock also shooting cum onto your stomach. Your body twitches at the feeling of his seed inside you, grabbing both of his arms for support. He sighs in pleasure and pulls out, watching as the juices ooze out of your aching pussy.

"You did so good, Princess." is the last thing you hear before you pass out.

You flutter your eyes open to see a room that wasn't yours. Sukuna lying down next to you in bed. You look down on your clothed body to see you were cleaned up and well taken care of after.

"Sukuna..." you mutter, eyes still droopy "I can't move my legs~"

"Heh, you're gonna get used to it."

"Hm?" You tilt your head.

"You're mine now. This is the consequence of your actions, right? You can't escape now." He smirks as he picks you up and puts you on top of him.

You stare at him in shock then laugh, "Now why would I dare leave my king, he'll get lonely without me~"

You plant a sweet kiss on his lips and pull away to see a smile on his face. His smile making you feel warm inside as your cheeks tint. You giggle and snuggle into his arms and you enjoy each other's warm, and will continue to enjoy each other's presence in the future.

[brittle-doughie]

Since we had that story of Y/N Cookie wanting to keep the Ancients from going out and getting themselves killed up against Dark Enchantress Cookie, how about something similar with the Beasts?

>The Beasts get corrupted

>Y/N Cookie, not corrupted, tries to fight them, and fails

>cue them starting to die

>Beasts start panicking, completely overestimating how much Y/N Cookie could take

>Y/N Cookie, in their last moments, wishes they could’ve done more to help the Beasts not get corrupted before finally going

>Witch(es) stumble upon this scene, seeing their greatest cookie having been crumbled, along with whatever other carnage is around

>cue literally everything else

Being sealed away with the guilt of spilling jam from the cookie you all loved the most fresh on your mind? They are NOT gonna be doing so hot in there.

The Tale of the Forced Hand (The Five Beasts)

Witch’s Castle witches are pretty neat.

“The story begins when this very Silver Tree was only a small sapling…When the World of Desserts was at its infancy.”

“The Witches baked six Cookies to help them in their creation of the world.”

“..harness the radiance bestowed upon you for the betterment of this world…”

“And the six Cookies imbued with absolute powers walked Earthbread as almighty envoys of the Great Creators.”

“Knowledge, Volition, Compassion, Happiness, Change, and Solidarity.”

“The Dessert World bound by these Five Virtues was nothing short of paradise.”

Gingerbrave and Wizard Cookie chimed in with their responses.

“So those six Cookies were the original owners of the Soul Jam?”

“Huh…Those “Six Virtues” are different from those of the Soul Jams. There’s six of them, yet only five today…”

“The Virtue of Compassion is what held the other Virtues so closely together, cherishing each of them equally as much.”

“Alas, for they and the perfect age were short-lived. Absolute power begets nothing but arrogance. It inevitably corrupts its wielder, bringing them to the most tragic of ends…A fate even the Witches were unable to foresee.”

“One by one, the Five, once regarded as saviors of the Cookie World, gradually turned to Darkness. And thus, the Five Virtues, too, became distorted, twisted…reduced to Deceit, Apathy, Sloth, Destruction, and Silence….”

Strawberry Cookie shuddered in worry at the mere mention of the fallen virtues.

“Deceit, Apathy, Sloth, Destruction, and Silence..that sounds really scary…

“Wait, what about the Virtue of Compassion? They weren’t evil too, were they?”

“The Virtue of Compassion was able to prevail against their descent into Darkness with their Soul Jam, whereas now the Five Beasts, the apostles of evil, began their dark crusade…”

“The Witches asked of Compassion to protect the Cookie World from the Beast Cookies, lending them what strength they could give.”

“Compassion fought bravely against the Beasts, blocking each of their blows and resisting their sickly whispers…But it was only a matter of time before Compassion slowly began to whittle…”

———————————————————————

“Come on, snap out of you all! This isn’t what you guys once were!”

“What’s the big deal, silly willy~ There isn’t anything wrong with dabbling yourself in a little bit of Darkness, you should try it with us!”

“No! This isn’t you! You were all my best friends! Come to your senses! Now!”

“It pains me to see you still cling onto false hope that you’re different than the rest of us, darling~ Can you just let go and become who you really are? For me~?”

“I can’t…I cannot forsake my oath to protect the Cookie World. You all know that! Cookies that want happy lives, don’t you want that?”

“They will all meet the same fate in the end, reduced to nothing…the futility of all this should be clear to you…”

“As if! It isn’t pointless to live life the way you want it to! It’s how you spend it and make the most of it!”

“They will all crumble in the end, so why not give them a little push! You’re starting to really aggravate me now, Y/N Cookie!”

“I won’t let you hurt them and I don’t want to hurt you all any more then I have to! Please, don’t do this…”

“……”

“Your silence says everything I need to hear from you. I tried…but I will put a stop you no matter if I’m reduced to bits!”

———————————————————————

“Woah….What happened to them?”

“The Virtue of Compassion fought for as long as they were able, their dough slowly whittling away with every blow that dealt to them. The Beasts have overestimated just how durable their former friend was…and they perished right in the middle of the circle….”

———————————————————————

“Ok, ya silly goose! You can stand right back up now! You put on a great show, let us give you a round of applause!”

“Darling, we know we haven’t hit you too hard. You can join us and we can all be together once more as Beasts…”

“Hmm…they don’t seem to be responding to us…”

“Hey, Y/N Cookie. Quit being soft and get up already, you’re..starting to worry me a bit here, you know.”

Silent Salt Cookie knelt down and placed their thumb on your wrist…jumping back when they feel nothing…

“Ahaha! Okay! This isn’t funny anymore, you softie! You win! Stand up on your two feet now! I’ll make you if you don’t!”

“D-Darling? P-Please get up. Look, I’m sorry for what I said earlier, I-WE just really wanted you to join us…”

“Burning Spice Cookie, just how hard were your strikes to their dough?

“D-Don’t put any type of blame on me! All of you were just as rough with them as I was!”

“….!”

The Beast Cookies rushed to their fallen friend in the center, clearly distraught on their faces…

“Y/N Cookie, if you don’t stop playing jokes with me right now, I’ll never forgive you!”

“Darling! Wake up! I-I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have hit you so hard! Please wake up! You have to! Don’t leave me alone!”

“It was pointless to try and stop us, Y/N Cookie. Yet…my heart cries and aches, why did you have to resist….please, wake up…”

“God DAMN IT. I-I went too far, I shouldn’t have been so brutal with my swings and now look at you, your dough..damaged and ruined….because of me….”

“….Hmph….”

Silent Salt just lowered their head to look at the ground, feeling nothing but shame and remorse for what they had done…for what they all had done….

“I wish…I could’ve done more for you all…I wished…that I had loved all of you more…to not…end up like this...”

“…..I’m sorry…..”

———————————————————————

“The Witches couldn’t bear to see what fate had befallen their creations, made even more distraught at the loss of their greatest creation among them all…they punished the Beasts by sealing them away deep within this land…”

“And planted the seed of the Silver Tree to ensure their evil power never sees the light of day again. Right where the Virtue of Compassion was laid to rest, so that at least a part of them can live on….From then on, this land where the Beasts were put to sleep, was called Beast Yeast.”

“The Witches then gathered the last vestiges of power bestowed upon the Beasts, untouched by their corruption. They further cleansed, purified it, and in the end…Soul Jam was created. The purest Soul Jam was meant to be earned by Cookies who had proven themselves worthy.”

“All, but Compassion. For their purity simply could not be remade again. The Witch who personally baked Compassion had locked herself away in grief after the loss of her cookie and took the knowledge of the recipe and baking of Compassion with her…”

“So, there can never be another cookie like Compassion?”

“It’s what they say, but all life powder returns to the earth. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the Virtue of Compassion may return in some form, someday…”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Y/N Cookie, who was casually eating some food offered to them by the Faeries.

“…..What?”

[ssahotchnerr]

yes! i do!! you have jj’s role and an unsub is shot dead infront of you and his blood literally soaks you and you’re shaking and speechless and aaron’s focus is to get to you and keep you safe and bring you back to earth 🥲🥲

stay with me

cw; fem liasion!reader, protective!aaron, multiple blood descriptions, panic attack descriptions, no established relationship but aaron and reader are close, there's also one small mention of aaron's shirt being big on reader, fluff <3 wc; 1k

your ears are ringing. whether it's from the gunshot or the blatant shock, you have no idea.

you're frozen in place; everything's fuzzy, your body is buzzing and your lips, hands, everything is numb.

you're not used to this. this isn't what your job usually entails. you look at pictures like this, you don't live or experience it.

in the haze, someone's approached you. someone's talking to you. someone's embraced you. there's a hand on your back, an arm attempting to shield you away. but your feet don't move. internally, you're screaming at them to move.

why won't they move?

"hey," it's aaron. you don't hear him, or process that it's him, until he shakes you ever so gently and again, he says, "hey."

you don't want to be used to this.

"i..." you rigidly stand there, staring at the unsub laid in front of you, the pool of blood around him growing as the seconds pass. you think you're articulating words, but you're not sure.

aaron follows your eyes - he opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. a swirl of emotions fill him - first and foremost, relief you're safe and unscathed, but also horror at what you just encountered - what you shouldn't have encountered.

"it's on me." you manage to choke out, feeling rather lightheaded as you view your shaky hands, and then your blouse, both spattered with red. it's on your neck, your face, and it's like you can feel every singular dot, singeing into your skin like it's bound to be permanent. a new fear fills you - will you ever be able to not feel it?

"don't look, just look at me." your head whips towards aaron, finding his gentle and concerned brown eyes. the sight allows your chest to loosen, finding the smallest bit of normalcy when it comes to breathing. you're remembering how to breathe.

aaron wants to bring the cuff of his sleeve to your skin, to wipe away the residue but he can't. he fears it would make it worse, and remind you again that it's littered on you - the last thing you needed. he wanted to calm you, not further panic you. "or better yet, just close them, sweetheart."

the term of endearment goes right past you, as you grip onto his vest, the sleeves of his shirt, anything your fingers can hold onto as he's guiding you out of the house. he's talking to the rest of the team, relaying instructions, but you only focus on keeping your eyes shut.

"it's okay, you're going to be just fine." aaron assures you, his voice low and even, soothing. "hear the leaves crunching under your feet? there's a cool breeze tonight, too. can you feel it?"

you nod gingerly. the sound is distant, but it's there. and just as he stated, you feel the cool air hit your cheeks, the wind also tousling your hair. it feels colder than cool, though, due to the stream of tears trailing downwards - have you been crying too? "i can hear it in the trees."

"that's good. how about smell, can you smell anything?"

copper.

aaron realizes his mistake the second the sentence leaves his mouth, your face paling as well as his.

"your aftershave." you blurt out, surprising yourself. despite the sheer panic, it was fairly easy to redirect your mind to him. your fingers clutched onto the fabric of his shirt more forcefully. "it smells spicy, sweet too. it smells like you. familiar. safe."

you resist the urge to tuck your face into him, but after a moment's thought, you do. you need it. you need him.

and to further secure you, aaron holds you to him, his large hand spanning the side of your head and keeping your face buried close to his chest.

your eyes open when you reach the suv; when the two of you come to a stop, when aaron's hold is suddenly absent, the sound of the door opening deeming it safe - far away from the scene.

but at the loss of his contact, involuntarily your eyes fall back to your blouse. it's stuck to your skin, soaked by the... blood.

"stay with me." aaron manages to grab your attention before you begin spiraling again, his hands lifting and hesitating. "may i?"

you nod, frantically and this time, you can feel the tears resurfacing. "please get it off me."

first, aaron unvelcros his vest, and then removes his tie, his dress shirt, leaving him in just his white tee. he drapes it over the passenger seat - at the ready.

aaron ushers you closer to the interior of the car so the open door fully covers you, blocking any view that isn't his. he unbuttons your blouse with gentle fingers, acting rather quickly as well. and respectfully, he averts his eyes - either looking strictly at his hands, the buttons on each shirt, or your face, checking in on you.

he helps you into his shirt, holding it open so you can slide your arms in. it envelopes you, and just as fast as he unbuttoned, he fastens it shut.

it feels as if a small weight is lifted off your shoulders, and aaron tosses your soiled shirt onto the ground in the backseat. he leads you to sit sideways in the passenger seat, facing him.

"i don't want to be alone." you don't know why that's the first thing to exit your mouth, but it is. your eyes lift to his, frightened and pleading.

aaron nods as he gets down on a knee, cupping your cheek with his hand. "you're sleeping in my room tonight."

"with you?"

with a stroke of his thumb, overtop those bloodstains he's desperate to wash and rid you from, he nods again. "with me."

[writteninkat]

HEADCANON: MHA MEN SPOILING YOU

w/ Bakugou, Kirishima, Todoroki, Hawks, Endeavor

warnings: none just mha men being rich<3

navigation

KATSUKI BAKUGOU

"Hey, where are you?" You hear you husband's rough voice spill through the speakers of your phone, your eyelids shaking at the eyelash extensions being pressed down and glued on your water line.

"Getting my lashes done."

"Anything else planned?" He asks, making you purse your lips in thought.

"My whole day's packed, actually. I already went to my facial appointment. I'm getting my nails and hair done after this. Maybe a little shopping if I have the energy. Oh! I'll probably get a massage too!" You rant, smiling as you imagine the perfect selfcare day.

"Alright. You think you'll have enough energy for dinner after all that?" You giggle and hum, "Uhuh! I always have energy for you baby."

"That's good to hear. Have fun today baby, I love you."

"I love you more."

You hear three beeps and you hear your lashtech giggle.

"Hero Dynamight is portrayed as this scary, rough guy in the media, but he's actually very sweet." She swoons, making your chest swell with pride.

"He is, actually. One time-"

You're cut off by your phone buzzing, followed by your lashtech gasping. Unable to open your eyes, you stretch your arms out. "What? What happened?!"

"Hero Dynamight he..." She gasps.

"He what?!" You yell, your chest caving in as every horrible thought crosses your mind.

Did he get injured during a fight?

How badly is he injured?

Is he...?

"Dammit, Ari! Tell me what's happening!" You demand, about to sit up from the bed.

"He just sent you two million yen..." She breathes out, making you release a sigh.

"Fucking Christ. I thought something happened." You whisper, relaxing back onto the bed. "Did he say why?"

"'Refunding you for you facial appointment. The rest are for your other plans. Call if you need more. I love you baby.'" She read aloud, causing a smile to stretch across your face.

"He's the sweetest." You swoon.

EIJIROU KIRISHIMA

You look around the villa, eyes sparkling and head over the moon at how beautiful it is. The Spanish colonial architecture is beautiful, the ceilings high, the wood floors shiny and waxed, and the arched windows big enough for you to show a tree from the tops of its leaves down to its roots burrowed down the soil.

"It's so pretty, baby!" You giggle, twirling around the foyer of the villa you'll be spending your two weeks in.

Finally, Eijirou was able to grab a two-week break from hero work. The two of you have been busting your asses off, protecting cities and taking down villains.

This time, you made sure your schedules synced when it came to time to making time for each other.

"You like it?" He asks, hugging you from behind.

You turn your head to the side, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love it, baby. This'll be the best vacation ever. Just the two of us. Happy and in love." You smile, giggling at his cheeks slowly turning into a crimson colour.

And just as you said, your two-week vacation was a bliss. The both of you drank and ate, made love, swam in the private pool, in the private beach, cuddled during movies, played video games, board games, explored the small town near the villa- everything was perfect.

As you sit on your spot in the hero's private plane, a white folder on the table catches your eye. With curiousity tickling your fingers, you open it, your gaze immediately falling to your husband's familiar signature. Your brows knit as you bring your eyes back up to the top of the document, reading it.

This letter of Intention to Offer is made and effectively by...

Property Address...

Purchaser Address...

Purchaser Contact...

Dear Mr. Kirishima Eijirou...

Please accept this bid purchase to...

For the amount of...

"Eight million euros?!" You scream, clutching on the document.

Eijirou rushes out of the private bedroom inside the jet, his eyes wide with worry as he inspects you. "What's wrong?!" He worries.

"Why the hell did you buy the villa?!" You scream, now your eyes are wide with worry.

"You said you loved it." He shrugs.

Your head pulses with the need to close your eyes. You can feel your blood pressure rising at this stupid, idiotic, irresponsible...sweet, lovely, man.

"Where the hell are you getting eight million euros?" You sigh, finally looking up at the man who foolishly spoils you rotten.

"The same place I was getting eighty million yen for the yacht you wanted..." He looks at you like you're stupid.

"Why the hell did you buy a yacht on top of a villa, Eijirou?"

"You said you wanted the boat!" He exclaims, forcing you to rack your brain for the memory of when you said that.

"I said it was pretty! Not that I wanted it!" You exclaim, your face scrunching up in stress. "Where on earth are you getting your money!"

The red head simply smiles, engulfing you with his strong arms in a warm, tight embrace. "I'm one of the top heros in the world, baby. And I've been in this game for decades now. It's safe to say I've got more money than we both can possibly need." He reasons, his lips pressing against the top of your head.

"Plus, property investments are good!" You roll your eyes at the stupidly sweet man you call your husband, your heart searing as your gaze catches onto another document with the words 'Land Ownership' and your name printed not far from it.

SHOTO TODOROKI

An evil grin stretches across your face as you point at every pretty thing your eyes fall on. You don't break your stride as you enter and exit shops in under a minute.

"That." You point at an adorable bag inside a shelf. "That, too." You point at the one beside it.

"These shoes in my size. These too. Ooo! And these as well." You hand the shoes over to your assistant, letting her pass them over to the store clerk.

You exit the shop, leaving one body guard behind as you enter the store beside it. This one's a gadget store.

"You think it's time to upgrade my devices?" You ask, playing with the showcased device on the table. You turn to your side, eyeing your husband's assistant, seeing tears comically strem down his cheeks.

"Please, madam! You've spent so much already!" He cries, "What on earth did Mr. Todoroki's money ever do to you?"

"It's not his money, it's him in general. He hasn't been spending time with me as of late. I'm getting bored." You pout, nodding at a store clerk before point at different gadgets, one of each kind.

"All those, if you have them in pink, but if not, I'll get them in black. The biggest memory you have, please. Along with accesories. Pink." You order before leaving the store once more, entering another booth selling watches in insane prices.

"Madam, Mr. Todoroki is a pro hero-"

"And I'm not?" You glare at the employee. "I work as much hours as he does. I'm just as demanded, I'm just as busy, and I'm just as tired as he is. And yet, I can always make time for him back at home."

You know you're being a bit too unreasonable. But you've grown bored and lonely. And you'd rather die than take another lover. So Shoto's bank account it is.

"He'd have a heart attack if he saw all the withdrawals." The assistant worries as you ponder over two watches displayed in front of you.

"If my husband suffers from cardiac problems due to my spending, then he shouldn't have taken being a pro hero as a job." You point at the silver and blue Patek Philippe. "This one please." You tell the sales woman who smiles at you as she nods softly.

You check your own watch to see you've been at it for hours now. Almost time for dinner.

Maybe I should pay my busy husband a visit.

You roll your eyes.

You stretch your arms up above you, letting out a yawn as your muscles finally relax.

Your last stop is a five star restaurant right beside the mall.

Shoto scribbles on a few papers, hating how he's been leaving his wife alone for multiple nights. Knowing her, she'll have his ass if this goes on for too long.

He sighs, stretching his up above him, feeling his back crack. His head pulses and the need to see his wife waves over him in strong currents.

Right as he's about to resume his paper work, his phone buzzes in a call, his financial advisor's name flashing the screen.

Shoto answers the call with one hand, the other elegantly scribbling on the paper. "What is it?"

"Sir, I think your card's been stolen. There have been numerous deductions, all huge amounts." Shoto furrows his brows, taking his wallet out from his pocket. Sure enough, his black Master is missing.

A tickling feeling grows in his gut. "From which shops?"

He hears a few clicks from the other line, "These are all luxury brands. Miu Miu? Coach? LV, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Dior, Philippe Patek- The thief may be a woman, sir."

"You're right. A woman. My woman." Shoto sighs, chuckling softly. "How much did my wife spend?"

"A little over two hundred million yen." Shoto can hear the wince in his advisor's tone, making him grin.

Sure, his wife's a kickass pro hero, and she makes just as much money as he does. But nothing compares to her spending ability with the cute little side talent of not touching her own bank account.

Just as he's about to give out an order, said wife enters his office without knocking, a familiar paper bag in her hands.

"Brought you dinner from that favorite restaurant of yours." She lifts the bag, striding over to him.

"She seems to have been having a little tantrum because I haven't been giving her the attention she deserves." He smirks at her, "Run it through."

"You talk shit about me to your employees?" The love of his life pouts as he chuckles deeply, standing from his seat. He places his hands on his wife's hips, softly pulling her towards him, giving her lips a gentle peck.

"Never. I was just explaining to them why I lost millions of yen in a day." His joke earns him a playful glare from his wife.

KEIGO TAKAMI

You complained to Keigo once. Once. That you were tired.

It was six am that morning when you woke up like you hadn't slept at all. You didn't have muscle sores or a headache nor were you sick. You were simply tired.

By nine am, the pro hero had written you a sick leave, carried you onto his private jet, and the both of you were now flying over beautiful blue waters.

"Keigo-" He cuts you off by shushing you, lifting a finger up in the air. He pulls you towards the private room located at the back of the jet where a massage table has been set up, along with ambient spa music and a masseus in the corner with her hands clasped together and her head bowed down. The room smelled of peppermint and lavender.

"We'll land in twelve hours. You can request anything else after the massage." You don't get a chance to respond because he leaves the room, closing the door gently.

You and the masseus look at each other before she lets out an amused chuckle. "He seems to spoil you so."

You sigh, "He overdoes it, but I know he means well."

Eleven hours later, you've gotten a mani pedi, a simple and refreshing facial, your muscles are relaxed, you've eaten two square meals, and had the longest nap of your life.

Now you're seated in front of your husband, sipping your champagne in your soft, fluffy robe as he reads his magazine.

"Keigo, will you finally tell me where you're taking me?" You sigh, watching him look at you through his golden eye lashes. He smirks, setting his magazine down as he pulls the window cover up.

You squint at the sudden brightness but your eyes quickly adjust. You blink a few times, moving towards the window, taking a peek.

"You took me to Greece?!" You exclaim, seeing the familiar white walls and blue roofs.

"My baby said she was tired." He mused, "And we can't have that."

You open your mouth in protest, but a sound cuts before you. "Mr. and Mrs. Takami, we'll be landing shortly. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts, thank you."

You glare at your husband one last time before buckling up, letting out an annoyed huff as you keep your eyes on the window.

"Jesus..." You breath out, craning your head up to look at the domed ceiling. Your gaze drags down, moving from side to side as you inspect the large arched windows and marbled floors.

Keigo weaps his arms from behind you, breathing in your scent. "You know you didn't have to fly me anywhere. That spa day was exactly what I needed. I could've gotten it back in Japan."

"Yeah," Keigo squints, softly pushing you towards the glass double doors leading to the balcony. "But you wouldn't have been able to enjoy this view afterwards."

The scene of the vast blue ocean with the sun slowly dipping down is breath taking. Accompanied by the soft glow of yellowish lights, the chirping of a few birds here and there, and the smell of the ocean has you claiming this place to be paradise.

"I love it..." I mumbled, captivated by the beauty of the sunset.

"More than me?"

You turn your head to the side, pressing your lips softly on your husband's cheek. "No, never more than you, my love."

Keigo smiles, pressing a soft peck on your lips before slowly letting his arms fall, his hand delicately holding your hand.

"Come with me." He tugs you back inside, leading you up the grand marble staircase and inside what looks like the master bedroom.

"Close your eyes." He whispers in your ear and you immediately follow his order. Slowly leading you somewhere, you hear a soft click of a door. "Open."

You blink once, twice, before your jaw drops to the floor. You're right outside a huge walk in closet, and inside is one of the biggest boquet of elden roses formed into a heart. Surrounding it are paper bags with different kinds of designer brands printed on them. Behind the boquet is a round marble table with different boxes of leather, some kept closed and some open, revealing shiny watches and jewelry, ranging from silver, gold, and white gold.

"Keigo..." You breathe out, taking a careful step inside before turning around to face your husband. Your eyes feel like they're about to bulge out of their sockets and your haw about to fall off.

"Not now." You shakes his head, quickly stopping you as if he knows what you're about to do. "Pick an outfit and we'll leave in an hour." He presses a light kiss on your forehead before leaving you alone with your gifts.

Feeling as though you've been spoiled rotten, you take your time going through your numerous gifts, deciding to wear every dress you come across, but quickly change your mind when you find another one.

Your husband may be a pro hero, but his true talent is picking out beautiful dresses for you.

You decide on a wine red silk dress, revealing your back, pairing it with strappy silver heels, a diamond encrusted choker, and diamond earings that hang right below your chin. You make up is a simple smokey eye with a bold dark red lip. Your hair curled and pinned up into a bun, the front swept to the side.

You step out of the room and onto the top of the staircase, looking down to see Keigo already in a suit and waiting. He looks up, eyes sparkling when they settle on you. Your heart bursts of affection- he always does this. Whether you dress to the highs or like a beggar, he looks at you like you're the most beautiful thing he's ever laid his eyes on.

Feeling your cheeks flush, you slowly climb down the steps, your husband meeting you at the bottom. He drinks you up slowly, his chest rising before shakily lowering back.

"Beautiful..." He whispers, soft fingers caressing your cheek.

"Thank you." You kiss his open palm, leaving a lipstick stain. "What are we having for dinner?"

Keigo's eyes are stuck on you lipstick stain and you watch his throat swallow. "May I have you instead?" He asks, his eyes filled with heat, making you chuckle.

"No, you may not, because I'm hungry for some real food." You cup his cheek for a moment before stepping to the side, making your way to the waiting car in the driveway.

He takes you to a restaurant that serves an array of european dishes. Not long after, you have a food baby and are tipsy on what you claim to be the best wine you've ever drank.

By the time you finish, you decide to take a little walk around the small town. His suit jacket hangs on your shoulders with your clasped together.

You try to hold it in, but the searing pain from your feet makes you hiss and wobble. Keigo immediately catches you, "What's wrong?"

You sigh, looking up at him with a pout. "My feet hurt. Heels are too high."

Keigo smirks before getting down on one knee.

"We're already married." Your reminder earns you a hearty laugh from him.

"I'm trying to undo your shoes, dummy."

"Oh."

He swiftly undoes the clasps of your heels, taking the pair. Before you take another step forward, he scoops you in his arms, your immediately wrapping themselves around his neck.

"Keigo?"

"Hold on tight, love." He whispers.

You get a second to process what he means by that before his wings stretch out, pushing the both of you off the ground.

"Keigo!" You scream, tightly clutching onto him as he laughs loudly.

"Shouldn't you be used to this by now?" He yells through the air.

"I'm full and I'm drunk! You're gonna make me throw up!" You yell.

He simply laughs, his arms holding you possessively onto his chest. "Not yet, my love."

You look up at him questioningly before finding the courage to look down, enraptured by the beauty of the city below you. Before you know it, you catch a glimpse of the shoreline before dark blue waters meet your gaze.

"If you drown me, you'll be the worst husband ever." You frown, receiving a snicker from Keigo.

"Don't worry, love. We're almost there." At his words, you look infront of you, noting how the angry waters eventually grow calm until finally, they're as still as mirrors. Scratch that, they're exactly like mirrors.

The stars twinkle and shine brightly above you, as well as below you. It's as if you're in outer space. The sight around you is exquisit, bewitching, alluring, captivating—it's divine. You see millions upon million of stars all around you. Tears fill the corners of your eyes at the tantalizing scene.

Keigo looks at you and you feel him slowly lower you, right above the water. "Lower your feet for me." His request has you immediately dropping your feet.

He hovers the both of you just above the water, only your tippy toes grazes the top of the water, creating a circular ripple effect, making the stars in its reflection dance.

"Beautiful..." You gasp, charmed by the sight.

"Not as much as you." Keigo mutters, pressing a soft kiss on your forehead. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"Love?" You call out.

He hums in response, the silence relaxing.

"How much did you spend just today?"

You feel your husband freeze at your question. It's incredible how Keigo's spending problem only occurs when you're involved.

"You want me to sugarcoat it or-"

"Give it to me straight."

"A little over a hundred yen..."

You look up at him, unamused. "Keep lying."

"A hundred... Thousand?" He offers, averting his gaze.

"You take me for an idiot?"

Keigo sighs, burying his nose on the top of your head. "Million."

You huff out an irritated breath before melting back onto your husband. He's lavish when it comes to you, but it's one of the few ways he likes to show you off.

ENJI TODOROKI

Your heart pitter-patters on your chest as you squeeze your gold clutch tightly. You're nervous- and it's justifiable. You've had the fattest crush on your boss ever since you were hired as his secretary, and when he was invited to an auction with the choice to invite a plus one, he chose you. Warranted, you are his secretary, so he may need some assistance.

Stop being delusional. This is your job. Be professional.

But your flaming cheeks aren't listening to your brain. Your dress feels too tight, and your skin feels like it's been lit on fire but the cold breeze of the night cools it down.

I'm gonna end up sick.

Just as you're calming yourself down, you see a black sedan stop right in front of your lawn. You quickly make your way towards the car, opening the door only to be greeted by a strong scent of expensive perfume with a hint of musk. Your eyes immediately fall onto the one man you can't have.

He's tapping away at his phone and you can't stop the wave of disappointment engulfing you. You wanted to see his reaction to the dress you picked out.

Stop it, he has a family for Christ's sake!

You silently hop on. As soon as you close your door, the car speeds off.

"This auction is also a masquerade." He mentions, pushing a black eye mask towards you. Despite being black, it sparkles under low light.

Black glitters.

Did he find out the kind of dress you were gonna wear? The masks suits it perfectly.

As you inspect the mask, you steal a glance at him to see he's still on his phone. Rejection clenches at the stupid muscle in your chest, but you try your hardest to ignore it. You put on your mask, softly tying the black ribbon at the back of your head to keep it on.

A few minutes of silent torture passes by until bright lights finally engulf the car. "We're here, sir." The driver announces.

Endeavor taps away at his phone for a few more moments before pocketing it, letting out a tired sigh. Both passenger doors are opened and a young man in a simple black and white suit offers you his hand. As soon as you're about to take it, a bigger, much rougher hand pushes it away.

"I'll help my date down myself. Thanks." Endeavor's voice is rough and deep, but that isn't what makes you gawk at him.

"Date?" You repeat his word, making him look at you. The blue eyes under his red mask brighten when his gaze finally drops on you.

He looks at you from your mask down to your toes, and back up. He does so slowly, that even after you've placed your hand on his, he doesn't budge. Doesn't make a peep. The only thing moving is his eyes drinking you in slowly. And the movement of his throat as he swallows.

Welcome to another episode of: I'm not delusional! I swear my boss thinks I'm hot aswell!

Finally, Endeavor clears his throat. He steps to the side, allowing you to hop off the car. The cameras' flashes increase when the paparazzi notice that Pro Hero Endeavor has brought a date.

"Endeavor! Who's your date??"

"Is she someone special?"

"Is your date being paid?"

The both of you walk through the red carpet as questions are being yelled at.

"Your family back home will see you've brought a date! How do you think they'll feel?"

Your head snaps at the direction of the voice, your eyes scanning the crowd for a moment before they finally settle on a bald guy. You slip your hand from Endeavor's, striding towards the nosy fuck before quickly grabbing the lense of his camera. Your crush it in one easy squeeze, silence falling among everybody else.

"You're here to take pictures. You already know you aren't getting answers from us, so why set yourselves up for failure?" You glare across the crowd of people, making sure your words aren't directed towards baldy alone. "Snap your pictures, send them to your employers, and shut the fuck up."

Your eyes return to baldy once more, noting the sheer sweat forming all over his head. "Send the bill over to Endeavor's secretary, she'll take care of it." You tell him before flicking the bits of camera you have on your hand.

Returning to Endeavor, you hook your arm on his, and continue walking, waving and smiling for the cameras as if you aren't anxious about what you just did.

Did I do good?

Is he upset I did that?

He hasn't said anything.

Fuck, I won't have a job tomorrow. Great job, self! You've just lost an incredibly high-paying job that allows you to be close with the love of your life.

The big double doors open, revealing a dimly lit opera house. A lot of people are already inside, all of them in full glamour.

"You didn't have to do that." Endeavor finally speaks up, making you swallow nervously.

"Yeah well, I didn't like how he asked that question. As if you're doing something wrong..." Your voice is soft and unsure as you keep your gaze on the carpeted floor. You've settled on allowing your boss to lead you towards your seats.

"Don't you think what I'm doing is wrong?"

His wuestion has you snapping your neck at him, your eyes wide with worry. Does he think that?

"You're divorced, aren't you? And- and they don't know who I am. I don't think this is bad publicity at all." You defend, watching as he side eyes you.

"Anything with me is bad publicity." He mumbles, warm irritation bubbling in your chest as you clench your fist closed.

"Stop that." You demand, finally arriving at your seats.

"Stop what?" His questions goes unanswered for a few moments as you take in the private booth at the top floor. It's only the two of you here, with a button in the middle. Probably for when the client wants to bid.

"Stop putting yourself down. Yes, you've made mistakes. Big ones. Huge ones. But it isn't late for you to change and make up for it all." You look up at him with wide, genuine eyes. "You already admitted your mistakes. All that's left now is to try your damnest to make up for it, to make it up to all the people you've wronged. But you gotta do it with a genuine heart and pure intentions."

Endeavor looks at you with wide eyes, his blue orbs like the color of the sea during the peak of summer. You hold his gaze for a second,

two seconds

three-

The lights dim, grabbing you attention to the stage below.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."

The first few items were boring, so you don't blame Endeavor for not making a bid. A few paintings and tables presented here and there, maybe a couple properties. You feel your eyelids growing heavy until a necklace is presented under the spotlight.

The blue saphire stones completely surround the neckline, and a big red ruby stands out dead center. It looks heavy and too extravagant to wear anywhere you'd go. But it reminds you of your big, quiet boss.

"It's beautiful." You gasp, unable to look away from the piece.

"Up next, we have an exquisite piece that will undoubtedly ignite a bidding war: a mesmerizing blue sapphire rose, intricately crafted with petals that glisten like the ocean depths. At the heart of this stunning bloom rests a fiery red ruby pendant, its vibrant hue creating a captivating contrast. This one-of-a-kind piece combines the tranquility of sapphire with the passionate allure of ruby, set in the finest platinum. A true masterpiece of luxury and elegance, perfect for any discerning collector." The host's voice echoes throught the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, who will start the bidding for this unparalleled gem at eight million yen?" Immediately, you hear buttons being pressed, with the host yelling out numerous numbers.

"Eight million yen to bidder number twenty-seven!"

"Ten million yen to bidder number forty!"

"Eleven million yen to bidder number thirty-five!"

The price goes higher and higher, making you dizzy. You snap out of your lightheaded state when you see your boss press his button.

"Fifty million yen." He mutters to the microphone, making your heart drop.

Who's he giving that to?

Is there a woman in his life I don't know about?

Maybe it's an apology gift to his wife.

No, he wouldn't be that cheap about it.

"Fifty million yen to bidder number fourteen! Does anybody wish to go higher?" The room is dead silent. "Fifty million going once," Still, nobody makes a peep. "Fifty million going twice." Nada. "Sold! To bidder number fourteen at fifty million yen!"

"I can't believe you just did that." You breathe out, in the brink of a panic at the thought of losing fifty mil in a night.

Endeavor keeps his eyes up front, making you mirror his actions. You feel squirmish in your seat.

The next few items are as boring as the first ones, until your eyes catch a red fur coat on a mannequin. It's as red as Endeavor's hair, and it looks softer than the softest fur in the world.

"Prepare yourselves, esteemed bidders, for a truly unparalleled offering: a one-of-a-kind crimson fur coat. This extraordinary garment exudes opulence and sophistication, crafted from the finest fur of the Crimson Frost Lynx, a legendary creature said to roam the forests of the North." Your brows furrow at the statement.

Aren't those Lynxes extinct?

"Its rich, deep crimson hue is unlike anything you’ve seen, making a bold and timeless statement. Lined with luxurious silk, this coat is not just a piece of clothing but a work of art. Perfect for the most discerning fashion aficionado, it promises to turn heads and capture hearts. Let's open the bidding for this exclusive masterpiece at twelve million yen. Who will claim this ultimate symbol of luxury?" As the announcer ends, only a few buttons are pressed this time.

"Twelve million yen to bidder number thirty-eight! Does anybody wish to go higher?"

"Fifteen million yen to bidder number twenty!"

Once again, Endeavor presses his button, mumbling "Twenty million."

"Twenty million yen to bidder number fourteen!" As the house quiets, the announcer scans the crowd. "Twenty million yen going once' Twenty million yen going twice!"

A soft buzz sounds, your head snapping to its direction. It came from the booth right beside you.

"Twenty five million yen to bidder number fifteen!"

Endeavor presses his button once more, mumbling a headache-inducing "Thirty million."

"Thirty million yen to bidder number fourteen! Thirty million going once! Thirty million going twice! Sold! To bidder number fourteen!" The confusion is written across your face as you turn to your boss.

"A necklace, and now a furcoat? Sir if you wanna crossdress-"

He holds a finger up, effectively silencing you. You bite on your lower lip, huffing when you hear a knock to your right. The both of you turn to the sound.

"Who are those gifts for, Endeavor? Got a new lady friend?"

Hawks.

"Mind your own business." Endeavor grits out before returning his gaze to the stage.

You can't help but feel anxious about the other Hero's question.

Who are the gifts for?

Whenever her eyes twinkle, I can't help but press the button. It's like a magnet and my finger's made of metal. My eyes have been shifting to her everytime a new item is shown, and everytime I get a reaction of awe, my button is immediately pressed.

My secretary should be off-limits. If I were to ever make a move on her, it'd be as obvious as the sun and the backlash would be unforgiving. But my want for her seems to outweigh reason.

Fuck tha backlash. This woman is meant for me.

I can see it in the way she sees me.

When the auction ends, I offer my hand to her once again and we make our way to different offices meant for different bidders. Privacy is their utmost importance here, so I don't have to worry about other people looking at my woman.

"Good evening, Mr. Todoroki. This is your billing for tonight." The man hands a sheet of paper to Endeavor and you take a peek at it.

Two necklaces, a bracelet, a ring, a set of earrings, two more fur coats, a vase, and three porcelein statues of cats.

"Five-" Your eyes nearly bulge out of your sockets. "Five hundred million yen?! Sir, please excuse me, but you do not shit out money." You chastise, your brows knitting in worry.

"Stop yelling, I'm right beside you." Your boss huffs, pulling out a check. He scribbles the amount on it before his signature, sliding it towards the man behind the counter.

"Let's go, I'm tired." Endeavor turns around, walking towards the door. You run after him, struggling in your heels but eventually reach him.

"Oh! Mr. Todoroki! Shall we deliver the goods to your office or your home?" The man calls out.

Your boss stops in his tracks, craning his head to you.

"My assistant will write down her address for you. Deliver it there."

Your jaw falls, it's like your brain has disconnected from your body. "What? No! Just get it delivered to whoever you were gifting them to!"

Endeavor raises a brow, tilting his head to the side. "That's exactly what I'm doing." He says it as if you were an idiot.

"You- I'm sorry?"

"Apology accepted. Make sure you wear that necklace tomorrow night." He pushes the door open, walking down the marbled floors of the foyer.

"What's happening tomorrow night?" You ask, out of breath as you continue to struggle in your heels.

"We're going on a date."

And your heart does a backflip, lifting a middle finger up to the world. Fuck you all! I told you I wasn't delusional!

[click here to read endeavor having his way with you in the private booth]

[ferrstappen]

let me take care of it l LN4

a/n: this was inspired by the gorgeous gorgeous scene of K-mag and his daughter 💘 also, this is ALL OVER THE PLACE bc I wrote it on my phone in like 15 min but still hope you like it💘 I’ll also update dad max tomorrow 💘

summary: when papa isn’t feeling his best, baby Norris knows what she has to do.

Lando wasn’t feeling his best and everyone could see it; it didn’t matter what anyone said, whether it was his dad, mum, sisters, Zak, Oscar, even you… he couldn’t stop being so harsh on himself that every person on the paddock wanted to lay his back and tell him to catch a break, he still is one of the best.

Your arrival to Abu Dhabi has been one worthy of the last race of the season, the private flight full of the Norris family, from the little ones to the in laws, with your parents chatting and laughing with Lando’s mum as they took turns to hold Amalia.

Everything was going great, really, but as the weekend started rolling and after quali, his smile faltered, face hardened, bringing himself down for some mistake.

So you made sure the hotel room had everything he needed, left Amalia sleeping on the crib while you picked his race day boxers, McLaren tshirt and joggers, so he could just throw his body to the bed and fall asleep.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked him as he settled his body in front of yours, not even asking to be the little spoon.

“No, but I just want tomorrow to be over so we can go home and be alone, you know?” His voice came out muffled by the pillow and your arm. “The only thing I want is to get home and start decorating for Christmas, Amy’s first Christmas… that’s all I want,”

“Okay then, let’s focus on that,” kissing his shoulder, you noticed his breathing slowing down.

Amalia Norris was a known face around the paddock, even if she couldn’t speak or even walk, she greeted everyone with a quick movement of her hand and happy squeal, depending on who it was.

Now, she had big things to protect her ears from all the sounds, Lando’s helmet and gloves in front of her and just as she was about to reach for the gloves and get scolded by you, Lando appeared with his usual smile, chest buffing at the sight of his two girls cheering him on, both wearing papaya.

“Do you want to help me get ready for the car, bubba?” Lando asked his daughter and she clapped her hands, giggling, almost as if she was trying to say something but couldn’t. “Okay, gloves please,”

Lando supposed it was going to be a show but no, his daughter had a concentrated look on her face as her small hands grabbed the glove and put it on Lando’s hand, repeating the action.

Before putting on the helmet, Lando picked her up, giving her a tight hug and loudly kissing her cheek just to fill his ears with her melodic laugh, the only fuel he needed. He closed his eyes while her hands grabbed both of his cheeks to get him closer and leave a kiss on his forehead, and in that moment Lando thought he was capable to give up the last race of the season just for this moment to never end.

“I think you need the helmet, huh?” You reminded the pair, taking Amalia from your boyfriend’s arms.

Lando gave you a quick peck on the lips before putting on the helmet, adjusting it until it was perfect, but there was one last detail.

“Visor, baby,” Lando pointed at it and Amalia carefully closed it, now he was ready.

“Good luck, daddy!” You told him as you noticed people were looking for him.

“Daddy? I thought in public it was papa,” he cheekily added, making you blush.

“Shut up, go get second place!” You joked before blowing him a kiss.

“I’m only thinking about our Christmas tree, baby. I love you both.”

[alovelyfrenchworld]

Your Neigborly Orc Part 1

Meeting an orc was not something that anyone from your village ever expected. Even with your village being the closest human civilization near the river orc territories, it was still considered strange.

Half-orcs were proof of the interracial relations, but they were rare in your part of the country. A half-orc hadn't been spotted for around 50 years. You never thought you would be one to compete with the discourse of your people.

You met your warlord lover perchance after hunting one day. THe border between the orc territory and the human territory was divided by a small river in the forest. Few ever ventured that close.

There was knowledge that other orc territories had blurred with the humans in other regions, but yours had yet to do so. The overall interactions with orcs had increased across the lands and it was becoming a small shadow in the thoughts of the human civilizations of what these interactions could mean.

Regardless of their opinions, you tried to stay near to your homestead you had established in the blissful wood. You decided a change of pace to create a space for yourself was beneficial. You lived close to the river that divided the territories as it gave you a water source, but when hunting and foraging, you tried to stay as close as possible. If one was not paying attention, it was easy to cross the borders between territories. Even in your land did the borders begin to blur.

You had begun to make a living from selling animals meats and forage herbs in your village. Living in the wood gave you access to many resources and a source for profit. Living solitarily was not as lonely as many thought.

**********

The winter was growing harsher as the weeks went by, making it all the more pertinent to stay stocked on supplies. Primarily, that meant firewood was in constant need.

After enjoying a humble breakfast and attending to your minimal, but helpful, livestock, you set out into the nearby wood to refill your kindling.

Supplied with your rucksack, simple ace, and rope for bundling, you set out for the day. The weather had killed off many of the berry bushes and herbs you often used, so meat and wood had become the primary subjects of your searches.

After finding a decent spot, you chopped away at some smaller trees that would be easier for you to carry. Carrying everything by hand was not your usual method, but your wagon was not properly equipped for travelling in the snow, so you you could only bring home what you could carry. That fateful day, you were not the only one who decided to go out deeper into the woods.

Some distance away, across the river, was a big, burly, orc chopping away at a large log. Methodically and skillfully, he was chopping the wood and bundling it together.

You were mesmerized. You had never seen an orc in person before. He fascinated you.

Having noticed your staring, you went back to chopping wood. The noise must have alerted the orc, who then took his turn to take note of you when you were looking away.

You, unknowingly being watched in return, bundled the bits of ash tree you had chopped and readied yourself to go back home.

"It won't be enough," spoke a gravelly voice.

You turned to see the orc standing closer to the river, his kindling hanging from one arm.

"I'm sorry?" you hadn't expected him to speak to you.

"A few more bits of wood will help you. It's an awfully freezing winter." He was right, but you wouldn't admit that to a stranger.

"I appreciate your input, but I can handle my own. Have a good day, sir." At that, you turned around to head back home.

Regardless of whether or not the orc was right, you wanted to be self-sufficient. You had all you could carry and that was more that what many could do, so either way, you were proud.

[keeryhours]

(not so) silent night - rafe cameron

Baby daddy! Rafe x Baby mama! Maybank! reader

Masterlist

Rafe Cameron Masterlist

More Baby Daddy! Rafe

Summary:

You spend Christmas with Rafe and Iris, and Rafe has a surprise for you.

Warnings:

Smut (18+), p in v, oral (f receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, drinking, mostly a lot of fluff!

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N:

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I hope you enjoy this little Baby daddy! Rafe story!

—

The lights twinkled brilliantly on the outside of the house, multicolored bulbs lighting up the night. Iris looked on with wide eyes, taking in the sight. It was her first real Christmas where she would kind of understand what was going on.

Rafe climbed down the ladder, walking to the front of the house where the two of you stood. You were still a little unsteady from the accident, but had been healing nicely. You held Iris in your arms.

“How’s it look?” Rafe asked, turning around to look at his work once he’d reached you.

“Pwetty!” Iris exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Rafe smiled at her, running his fingers through her soft light brown hair. “You like ‘em?”

She clapped again, then reached for her dad. He gladly took her from your arms, and you were glad because it was starting to hurt a little.

“Looks great,” you said, smiling softly at the two of them. Rafe beamed, looking proud of what he’d done. “It’s beautiful. I love it. Thank you for doing this for us.”

“Ah, it’s no problem,” Rafe said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “Anything for my girls.”

You technically still weren’t “Rafe’s girl” anymore, but someone would have to tell him that. Since the accident, he’d been around a lot more often. Always looking for ways to help, for excuses to come over. You needed a lightbulb changed, batteries replaced? He was there. It was nice when it came to things like this, when you wanted to decorate the house for Christmas but JJ didn’t feel like doing it for you.

“Ready to go do the tree?” You asked Iris, a big smile on your face.

“Tree!” She said, throwing her arms in the air. Rafe smiled down at her, the look on his face one of pride.

The three of you headed back inside out of the cold. Everything was on the living room floor, ready to put up. The tree was still in its box, the tote full of ornaments and decorations sitting next to it.

Rafe sat Iris down and she skipped over, looking at the stuff as you lifted the lid off the tote. It was filled with ornaments and decorations, some store bought and some handmade.

He pulled the tree out of its box and started setting it up while you sorted through ornaments. He had it put together in no time, then got to work fluffing the branches out.

“Oh my god, remember this?” You asked, bringing out a round clay ornament. Iris’ 6 month old footprints were stamped into it, painted to look like reindeer.

Rafe smiled wistfully, taking the ornament from your hands and examining it. “She was so small.” He hung it on the tree.

You handed Iris some of the round unbreakable ornaments. She took them to the tree and Rafe bent down and helped her hang them on the branches. She dropped them a few times, but eventually got them on and came back for more.

You kept handing her ornaments for her to put on with Rafe’s help. He held her up to help her put some higher on the tree. It was really coming together.

You pulled out one of the last ornaments from the tote, a plastic ball ornament with a picture of the three of you in the hospital inside, along with Iris’ hospital bracelet and hat. You looked at the photo, then at the toddler and the man in front of you. Tears welled in your eyes and your heart swelled in your chest, filling you with so much love for your little family, no matter how unconventional.

Rafe was smiling at Iris, helping her hang another ornament. He turned to look at you, and his smile dropped, seeing the tears in your eyes. “What’s wrong?”

You showed him the ornament, and his expression softened. He took it from your hands, looking at the photo up close. It had been the happiest day of both of your lives, despite not being together. Rafe had been amazing, there hadn’t been a single argument. It was just a beautiful experience and it gave you the best gift you ever could have dreamed of.

“She was so tiny,” he mused. “We should have another one.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “I don’t know about all that.”

Rafe laughed. “One of these days you’ll give me another one, huh?”

You blushed, looking back into the tote of decorations and pulling out a long garland. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Rafe smiled even bigger. “I think my odds are pretty good. I gave you a cute one the first time.”

“You did,” you agreed, laughing as you untangled the pine garland. “We’ll see.”

When you were done with the decorations, you held Iris as you looked over the tree. Rafe plugged it into the wall and it lit up with multicolored lights. It looked beautiful. You smiled and Iris clapped her hands together, giggling.

“You like it?” He asked, coming over to join you. “I think it came out pretty good.”

“Looks amazing,” you said honestly. “I love it. Thank you for helping us today.”

Rafe placed a kiss to the top of Iris’ head, then to yours. “I’d do anything for you two.”

—

Christmas Eve came faster than you expected. Rafe was over again, spending the evening with you and Iris. You were all in the kitchen, helping Iris make little balls of cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet.

“Are you ready for Santa to come tonight?” You asked her, watching as she stood on her step stool and smushed the cookie dough in her small hands.

She nodded, although she still didn’t exactly understand. You and Rafe had been telling her about Santa, and she seemed excited, but she was still too young to fully get it.

“There’s gonna be lots of toys,” Rafe told her, which made her whole face light up.

When you were done placing the dough, Rafe took her into the living room to start the movie while you put the tray in the oven.

You walked in to see The Polar Express starting. You were all dressed in matching red Christmas pajamas - it surprised you that you were able to get Rafe to agree, but he didn’t even put up a fight. He had been much different since the car accident, wanting to do anything he could to make you happy.

You snuggled on the couch with Iris between you, watching the movie together. She had never seen it, but she was entranced. She loved the hot chocolate song. It didn’t take long for the cookies to be done baking, so you headed back into the kitchen to take them out and let them cool while they kept watching.

When the movie was over, you all went back into the kitchen to decorate the cookies. You gave Iris her own icing bag, and you were pretty sure more of it ended up in her mouth than on the cookies.

You decorated your cookies in typical Christmas designs, Santa faces and snowflakes and Christmas trees. Iris’ were scribbles of icing. Rafe decorated his with…dicks?

“Rafe!” You scolded him.

“What?” He said, looking at you like he was innocent. “She doesn’t know what they are!”

Before bedtime, you set the cookies on a plate with a glass of milk. Rafe helped you give her a bath and get her dressed for bed, then you both gave her a good night kiss as you left her half asleep in her crib.

You closed the door softly behind you. “I’m so excited for tomorrow,” you whispered.

“Me too.” Rafe followed you down the hall. “I’m sad I have to leave.”

You bit the inside of your lip as you thought. “You don’t have to leave.”

He looked at you, stupid grin on his face. “You don’t want me to go?”

“Not really,” you admitted. JJ was out and you didn’t really want to spend Christmas Eve alone. “We could watch another movie. Have some eggnog.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He smiled at you again, so softly and with so much love that you felt it in your chest. You returned the look, wanting desperately to reach out and touch him, to kiss him.

You watched Home Alone together, sharing eggnog with rum. You were both feeling a little tipsy by the end of the movie, giggling together and bringing up old happy memories.

“Remember when we took Iris to the store when she was first learning to talk, and that old lady was talking to her?” Rafe laughed. “And Iris just looked at her and said, ‘Shit!’”

You both laughed hard, remembering how hard it had been to get her to stop using that word, especially when you couldn’t stop giggling whenever she did.

“She gets that from you,” you teased, nudging him with your foot in your fuzzy socks.

“Yeah, well,” he said, running a hand over his hair. “She gets a lot from me.”

“That’s true.” You couldn’t stop smiling. You hadn’t felt this happy in ages.

Rafe rubbed your legs resting in his lap. “You’re so beautiful.”

The words caught you off guard, and you blushed furiously. “Stop.”

“I mean it. I’ve always meant it.” He looked at you, so much swimming behind his eyes. “You are seriously the most beautiful girl on the island. Well, next to Iris.”

You laughed again. “True. Iris is the most beautiful girl on the island.”

Rafe moved your legs off his lap, scooting closer to you. He placed a hand on your cheek, his thumb gently caressing the skin. Then he was leaning in and your eyes were fluttering closed and his lips were on yours.

Your heart beat hard in your chest as he kissed you. His touch on your face was like electricity, sending shivers through your body. His lips moved against yours slowly at first, the kiss gentle and full of love. You pulled him closer, kissing him a little more eagerly now.

He pulled you onto him so you were straddling his lap, never breaking the kiss. His tongue slipped into your mouth, moving against your own as you moaned into the kiss. You rolled your hips down against him and he groaned, you could feel how hard he was getting already.

His hands moved down to your hips, guiding you to keep grinding against him. “Fuck, I’ve missed this,” he said, a little breathless from the frantic kissing. He kissed the corner of your lips before trailing down your jawline and to your neck. You tilted your head, giving him access to do whatever he wanted. He placed gentle kisses there first before nipping at your skin, making you moan as he started to suck on the spot.

“Let’s go to my room,” you said, eyes closed and head tilted back as he worked at your neck.

You didn’t have to tell him again. Rafe grabbed your thighs and stood, lifting you easily as you squealed and wrapped your arms around his neck. You kissed him again as he carried you down the hall and to your bedroom, dropping you down on your soft mattress.

He pulled his pajama top over his head, revealing his toned chest. You wanted to reach out and touch him, but he was already reaching for you, hooking his fingers in the waist of your pajama pants and pulling them down, tossing them away. He ran his hands up your smooth legs, feeling all over.

His hands trailed up until he was pushing your top up, lifting it off and getting rid of that, too. You hadn’t had a bra underneath, wanting to be comfortable tonight. Rafe placed kisses all over your chest, his tongue sliding over one of your nipples and making you gasp. He took it into his mouth, sucking on it as his hand pinched at your other one. You arched your back into his mouth - you were soaked already.

He moved his mouth to the other nipple, giving it the same attention. You moaned, fingers trailing over the muscles of his back. “Feels so good, Rafe.”

Rafe hummed, not stopping for a second. He began kissing down your body slowly, down your stomach and to the waistband of your panties. He pulled them down tantalizingly slowly, then spread your legs for him, laying between your legs.

“I’ve been wanting to taste you all night,” he murmured, two of his fingers spreading your folds as he licked a stripe along your pussy. You cried out, hands tangling in the bed sheets as he sucked at your clit, his tongue doing all the things to you he remembered you loved.

He pushed a finger into you, and you writhed beneath him as he began pumping it into you, before quickly adding a second finger, curling them deep inside so they pressed right against that spot he knew made you fall apart.

“Rafe!” You cried, your hips grinding up against his mouth as he devoured your pussy like he’d been starving for it. “Fuck, ohmygod, feels so good.”

Rafe groaned against you, moving his fingers faster as he licked at your pussy, tasting every bit of your wetness. He was determined to make you cum on his tongue and fingers, and your release was building fast.

“‘m so close,” you whined, wishing his hair was longer again so you could pull on it like you used to. “Please please don’t stop.”

“Go on and cum for me, baby,” Rafe said, before moving right back to bury his face in your pussy. He wrapped his lips around your clit again, sucking gently as he moved his tongue over it.

Your orgasm crashed into you hard, you rolled your hips up against his mouth over and over as you came. “Rafe! Rafe, oh fuck, Rafe-“

“That’s it, baby, good girl,” he praised, fingers still pressing right against that spot that was making your orgasm feel neverending. “You look so pretty when you cum for me.”

He didn’t remove his fingers until you had completely come down, then he was kissing up your body again, his face hidden in your neck as he kissed and sucked at the skin there again.

“Want you so bad,” you whined, rolling your hips up against the erection in his pajama pants.

Rafe sat up, pushing his pants and boxers down, his cock already painfully hard. You looked at it hungrily, wanting nothing more than to have him inside you right that second.

You trailed your hand slowly over his chest, making his cock twitch as his eyes fell closed. “I like it when you touch me like that.”

“Yeah?” You felt all over, his muscles flexing beneath your touch. “You’re so hot.”

Rafe laughed, leaning over your body again. “You’re the sexiest girl I’ve ever seen.” He kissed you, tongue dipping into your mouth again. You could taste yourself on him.

He lined himself up at your entrance, then pushed inside, slowly. It had been a while since you’d slept together, and Rafe was big. He knew to take it gently with you.

You whined as he pushed inside, the feeling intense but incredible. He bottomed out inside of you, groaning into your neck.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so tight,” he gritted out, taking every bit of self control in his body to not immediately start pounding you senseless. “Feels so fucking good.”

“You can move,” you told him, needing to feel him filling you over and over again. “Want you to fuck me.”

Rafe groaned again at your words, but immediately obeyed, pulling out until only his tip remained and then rolling his hips back into you. You both moaned at the feeling, your back arching as he filled you so deeply.

He set a slow pace at first, fucking you slow and deep. Making love, even.

He looked into your eyes as he thrusted into you slowly and deliberately, cock pressing against the bundle of nerves inside you again. It felt amazing. “I love you. I love you so much.”

Your heart felt like it could burst out of your chest. “I love you too, Rafe.”

“I mean it. I love you so fucking much.” He kissed you deeply, conveying all the emotions he was feeling through it.

“I love you too, I love you too,” you told him, feeling like you could cry but holding it back because it would be incredibly embarrassing to start crying during sex.

Rafe smiled at you, kissing you again. You began rolling your hips up against him, wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling him into you with every thrust. He groaned louder, speeding up his pace.

“Fuck- babe, not gonna last long,” he said, reaching down and gripping onto your thigh, holding it up towards your chest. “You feel too good.”

“I want you to cum in me,” you said quietly, trying to keep it down to not wake Iris. “Please.”

“Fuck,” he said, his hips speeding up even faster. “Fuck yeah. Gonna cum in you so fucking deep.”

“Please,” you begged again, your eyes closing as the pleasure overtook you again. “Oh, fuck, I’m so close again.”

“Come on baby, cum for me again,” he encouraged you, reaching down to rub circles on your clit. You gasped, pussy clenching around his cock as you came again. He slapped his hand over your mouth at the last second, keeping you quiet.

“Shh, baby, not too loud tonight,” he whispered into your ear. He buried his face in your neck again as his moans got breathier, more uncontrolled. He thrusted into your tight heat a few more times before he stilled, cumming inside of you as he gripped onto your thigh and buried his sounds in your body.

He pulled out, rolling onto the bed next to you. You cuddled up into his side and he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you even closer. “I love you,” he said again.

“I love you too,” you told him. “Stay with me?”

“Of course,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

—

You were more excited than anyone on Christmas morning. You woke Rafe up, shaking him from his sleep.

“Rafe, wake up! It’s Christmas!”

He woke with a groan. “What time is it?”

You checked your phone. “It’s 8am.”

“What the fuck.”

You laughed. “Rafe, it’s Christmas. Santa came.”

He uncovered his eyes, giving you a look. “You know we’re Santa, right?”

You rolled your eyes, throwing the blankets off of you and standing up. “Come on, have some fun.”

You both dressed back in your Christmas PJs (after not bothering to put anything back on last night). In the kitchen, you and Rafe ate some of the cookies to make it look like Santa had been by. You set the Santa presents under the tree, then went to get Iris.

“Good morning, baby girl,” you said as Iris sat up in her crib, rubbing her eyes. She smiled when she saw both you and Rafe.

Rafe lifted her from her crib and you walked into the living room together. JJ was still asleep, but you’d do his presents later. Iris gasped as you walked in, seeing all the presents under the tree. There were about a million, mostly thanks to Rafe. “Present!”

“That’s right,” Rafe said, sitting her down. “They’re all for you.”

Her eyes lit up and she scrambled over to the tree. You and Rafe joined her on the floor as she opened gift after gift. Dolls, coloring books, art supplies, clothes, stuffed animals, toys, anything she could have dreamed of. She was equally excited about everything, squealing as she opened each present.

After presents were opened, Rafe helped her open the toys and set them up while you prepared breakfast. JJ got up by the time it was ready, and all four of you sat down to eat together.

JJ took Iris back into the living room to play while Rafe helped you clean up. After the dishes were done, you leaned against the counter, breathing a deep sigh. “Feels like all this craziness and then it’s over so fast.”

Rafe chuckled. “Yeah, I get what you mean.”

“At least we’ve gotten through the presents.”

“Actually,” Rafe said. “I have one for you.”

You looked at him, eyebrows raised. “You got me something?”

“Of course. Wait here.” He went back into the living room, then came back with a small wrapped box. You tentatively took it from his hand, looking at him suspiciously.

“It’s not an engagement ring,” he said, laughing.

You breathed out a sigh - you weren’t ready for that yet. You weren’t even together. You unwrapped the gift to find a blue Tiffany & Co box. You looked at him with wide eyes, and he smiled, nodding for you to open it.

You opened the box to find a Tiffany solitaire diamond necklace. You gasped - it was beautiful, the diamond brilliant and clear, and it was too much.

“Rafe, you shouldn’t-“

“Stop,” he said. “I wanted to. And you deserve it. You’re an amazing mom, an amazing co-parent…” he pushed your hair over one of your shoulders. “A beautiful woman.”

He took the necklace from the box and stepped behind you. He clasped it around your neck, placing a kiss on your neck when he was done. Your hand went to touch the beautiful diamond resting on your chest now. You were starting to tear up again as he moved around to face you.

“Thank you,” you said, tears welling in your eyes. “This is amazing. I’ll cherish it forever.”

“Good.” Rafe smiled. He fixed your hair, ran his thumb over your cheek to wipe a stray tear away. “There’s just one thing I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“I…” He took a deep breath. “Look. I love you. I know I’ve said it a lot lately, but I hope you know I really mean it, with my whole heart. I love you. And I want you to be my girlfriend again. I want us to be official.”

“Rafe…”

“I know, our relationship before was shitty, I know.” Rafe grasped both your hands in his larger ones, looking you in your eyes. “But I’m different now. I swear to you. I want the best for you and Iris and all of us. I want to be with you again. We can take it slow, I don’t care. I just can’t stand you not being mine anymore.”

The tears were fully flowing now. He wiped them away, which only made them come faster. “Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend again.”

Rafe smiled, his whole face lighting up at your words. “Really?”

“Yeah,” you laughed through your tears. “Really.”

He pulled you in for a kiss, his lips pressing to yours with so much love you could feel it through your whole body.

You rejoined JJ and Iris in the living room. JJ eyed your hands joined together, but didn’t question it. You cuddled up on the couch with Rafe while your twin brother and your daughter played on the floor. Your little family was together and happy again.

It was something like a Christmas miracle.

[plutoswritingplanet]

Hand That Feeds (Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Female!Reader) pt. 2

a/n: this one's a bit shorter, next one will have smut, i am so fcking sleepy writing this i'll have to check tomorrow it this isn't a hallucination

Warnings: Horny Violence, Blood and Guts, Suggestive Themes, we're on a steady route to pound town

Summary: Cooper catches his prize, but an uninvited guest puts a strain on an already rocky relationship. Cross-Posted on AO3

PT. 1

You must be a Vault Dweller. Truly. There is no other way to explain the utter lack of self-preservation skills.

Cooper finds you almost immediately after the sun sets. He can see the flickering light of your small bonfire through the trees, and languidly, he stalks forwards, opting to stay in the shadows to observe you a moment longer. 

You're sitting on the ground, back leaning against a destroyed carcass of a plane. Hair pushed out of your face, Cooper can see the flames illuminating your focused expression with warm light. Once again, he's struck by this seemingly regal air around you. Like you've been raised in a castle, far from this fucked up place, that is now his home. A princess, stuck in harsh reality. Eyebrows furrowed, bottom lip tucked hard between your teeth, you seem to be pondering over something.

With quick motions, you take your messenger bag, opening it and dumping its contents onto the ground in front of you. It's somewhat hard to see, but the sound of small glass bottles knocking into each other is telling enough. 

Taking stock of your inventory, you begin to tuck everything back into the bag. Chems upon chems, RadAway, RadX, quite the little drug library, and Cooper's eyes immediately lock onto his most sought after, amber liquid. Why would a Smoothie like you need any of that stuff is beyond him. He hasn't seen any Ghouls in the small town you hail from. 

Perks of the job, he thinks to himself, as you stack away at least five vials.

At the last bottle, you hesitate, bringing it up towards the light, and looking at it with a worried expression. The liquid swirls inside, and Cooper watches from the shadows, as you press the cold glass against your forehead in a motion eerily reminding him of a prayer. Your shoulders shudder, and Cooper's mangled ears strain, as he sees your mouth move.

- Let me be brave - you whisper to the vial, like some ancient spell, and something new tightens in his chest, something he immediately brushes away.

Then, he sees you lift a very familiar piece of equipment, putting it on your wrist, and begin to tweak something in the controls. A Pip-Boy. Old and battered, but apparently still working. All his confusing feelings are wiped clean in an instant. Now, he's truly intrigued. The clasps seem slightly too big for your hand, and the device slides the length of your arm, as you move. 

You sigh, heavily, then press something, and the Geiger meter clicks to life, picking up on stray radiation. Cooper feels his muscles tense, knowing all too well, why the device has activated so rapidly. As a Ghoul, he leaves a trail of radiation, that follows him wherever he goes. He wasn't particularly aware, that a Pip-Boy could pick up on it, but he wasn't surprised either.

 The sound makes you freeze in your spot. Slowly, you scan the area, your hand extended towards the darkening outline of the surrounding trees. As your hand passes by the place Cooper has chosen as his hiding spot, the meter grows louder. 

Jumping to your feet, you raise the blasted thing in front of you, your other hand tugging at the waistband of your skirt, freeing your trusted kitchen knife. As if to double-check, you put your hand somewhere to the back, listening to the quiet cracking noise. 

You can't fully confirm your suspicions on time, as Cooper springs to action. 

A thick line of rope falls over your shoulders, and before you have the chance to react, the loop around you tightens. Your entire body is tugged with surprising force in the direction of the treeline. Loosing your footing, you collapse onto the damp forest floor, chin scraping in the process. The yelp of shock tearing out of your throat, rings through the surrounding area, before you literally, eat dirt. The force of the impact wrenches the knife from your hand, as it bends at an uncomfortable angle. The weapon lands somewhere in the grass, the blade reflecting the flames.

Wiggling like a worm, trying to free yourself from the bounds, you notice a pair of well-worn shoes entering your vision. They cross the remaining distance, stopping just short of your head. Knees crack as your attacker squats down, before taking your hair into a hard grip and lifting your head from the dirt. 

Your face twists in pain, neck craning uncomfortably, and with an overwhelming feeling of finality, your eyes land onto the face of a ghoul. The Ghoul. He turns his head slightly to the side with the meanes of grins, before letting go of your hair, your head falling back into the dirt. 

- Oh, motherfucker - you groan, pulling your legs up, and attempting to get up.

- Stay down - the Ghoul's voice is rough and biting, and sudden pressure on your back pins you to the ground. - Do you know how fuckin' stupid it is, to light a fire in the wilderness? Any unsightly character could pick you off in seconds. 

Spitting out stray clumps of earth and grass from your mouth, you scoff at his scolding tone.

- Thankfully, there are no unsightly characters here, huh? 

- Oh, I wouldn't say that, sweetheart. - the bounty hunter tugs the toe of his shoe under your side, and kicks up, turning your body.

You roll onto your back, throwing a nasty look at the Ghoul, as he secures the loop of his lasso. His eyes reflect the light in the most haunting of ways, and you squirm under his gaze, which drags itself across your body, stopping briefly at the tips of your breasts, peaking from under your shirt. Swallowing thickly, your muscles relax, in hopes of loosening the rope. It barely gives, but your limbs recover some wiggle room. 

Cooper blinks, his head jerking to the side, and only as he brings his hand up, do you register the gun in his hand. Making sure you can see it, he turns towards your messenger bag, grabbing it from the ground where you left it. 

He sits down, somewhere outside your field of vision, and you risk pulling yourself up into a sitting position. He doesn't seem to mind it now, too busy with rummaging through your belongings. Finally, he pulls out a vial of amber liquid, watching it swirl in the flickering light of the bonfire. 

- Now - Cooper starts, as he grabs the inhaler from his pocket, inserting the vial into it - Why would a backwoods healer have something like this on 'er?

Rolling your shoulders ever so slightly, the rope slides further down your arms, and you regard the Ghoul with a venomous rendition of a "are you fucking dumb?" look. Which he doesn't appreciate. His hands tremble, as he closes his mouth over the inhaler, taking a long hit, draining the entire vial. You try very hard, not to notice the low moan flowing out of him, as the drug enters his system. Or the way his eyes flutter blissfully for just a second. 

- You never know, who might be needing help... - you mutter, wincing at the biting pain in your limbs.

- Well ain't that considerate of you - he coughs into his gloved hand, before sighing deeply, his head reclining back against the plane's exterior, his eyes closed.

From where you're sitting, he looks weirdly handsome. Rugged and very much Ghoul-like, but handsome nonetheless. The skin of his neck is pulled taunt, and in the flickering light of a dying bonfire, you can see a myriad of scars, littering any surface of his skin that's visible. Still, there were other matters at hand, that needed your attention, and you try to shift in your seat as quietly as possible, slowly but surely sliding the rope down your body. 

- Next time you try to run away, I'll shoot you - your efforts are stilled by his warning tone, and by the way he waves his gun at you, you know he'll make good on this promise.

- Thought you needed me in good condition.

To that, he finally throws you a look from under his cowboy hat. 

- Good... - he confirms, his other hand slowly shortening the length of the rope connecting the both of you - Ain't the same as mint. 

The loop suddenly digs further into your flesh, and you grunt at the uncomfortable feeling of the rough rope scratching at your exposed upper arms. 

Unfortunately, he's right. During your time as the local healer, you've done many questionable things to ensure the well-being of the town. One of those things, was dealing with organ harvesters. You've only bought a limb or a finger, every once in a while, as if that was some consolation for your darkened soul. Those moments quickly taught you, that something being good was most certainly not the same as ideal. Or mint, as your captor has supplied. 

- You a Vault-Dweller? - the Ghoul finally asks, breaking the small spell of silence between you.

The question doesn't surprise you, and you lift the Pip-Boy as far up, as the lasso allows you. Which isn't a lot. 

- Nah - the flames dance on your suddenly melancholic expression, and Cooper drinks it all up, curiosity spiking with each new information - My mother was. She ran away from her Vault when she was a teenager and joined the Brotherhood soon after. 

- The Brotherhood doesn't recruit women - Cooper turns his body towards you, fishing for lies like a shark sniffing for blood. 

- Oh, it doesn't? - your lips pull back into a teasing smile, which perhaps isn't the smartest thing to do, but entertainment is scarce in the Wastelands, and you're determined to have some fun - She posed as a man for years, picked up a job as a medic.

Cooper hums to himself, inviting you to elaborate with an inclination of his head. 

- There, she met my father - you continue, looking over at the last glowing embers of the bonfire - They were discovered, court martialed for treason. They escaped together and had me somewhere along the way.

Your Pip-Boy still cracks, the radiation emanating from the Ghoul making the Geiger meter go haywire. With soft eyes, your hand traces the outline of the screen, watching the way green light dances on your fingers. 

- The forbidden love of the Wasteland - you sigh into the silence - Sounds like a title of some romance novel, no?

- Or a bad porno - Cooper grumbles, rolling his eyes.

- What's a porno?

His head snaps towards you in record speed, a myriad of emotions running through his mangled expression. It settles on deep annoyance, when he notices the sly smirk on your lips, and you have to bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from laughing. 

- Gotcha - your attempt at finger guns is pathetic at best.

- Oh, you think you're a fucking comedian, huh? - the bounty hunter asks, a slight amused tint to his words, which you consider to be a small victory.

- That's why they put a bounty on me - you giggle - I'm too damned funny. 

- Shut it.

The sudden change in his tone catches you off guard, and you cock an eyebrow at him, confused. The Ghoul looks much more tense than seconds ago, his hand tightening around his gun. One of his legs kicks up a pile of dirt, smothering the dying embers of the bonfire, as he leans forward, seemingly ready to jump. 

- Had I known you were such a buzz kill...-

You're not allowed to finish, as the Ghoul basically throws himself in your direction. Your yelp is cut short with a piece of flimsy cloth being shoved into your mouth. A series of muffled sounds, vaguely resembling "is this my robe?" escape you, and the Ghoul pushed against your head, until you fall back down onto the ground. 

His body is hot against yours, as he covers you entirely with his weight. It's quite difficult to breathe through the makeshift gag and the overwhelming scent of blood, gunpowder, and the sickly sweet undertone of rot. As well as the unfamiliar feeling of having someone so close. You were a hermit after all. 

- I said, shut the fuck up - he whispers harshly into your ear, and you shiver underneath him, as his chest rises and falls against your back. 

Then, a sound somewhere close to the forest line makes your head whip in its direction. Cracking of twigs and heavy footsteps, coming closer and closer with clear determination. 

- Healer? - your entire body stiffens, as a familiar voice rings out through the trees. - Are you alright, Healer?

Benny. The same Benny, which led this damned bounty hunter right to your doorstep is currently making his merry way towards the both of you. Your eyes follow the way the Ghoul's thumb loads the pistol with a click of finality, and suddenly new energy floods your system.

- Stop fucking moving - Cooper grounds down on his teeth, as you attempt to free yourself from both his grip, and the lasso's.

Images of Benny, bloodied and dead, flash through your mind, and despite your lack of any sympathy towards the man, you don't want to see it. So, you start to move again, violently shaking under the Ghoul, forcing the lasso to slide from your body. Your hips jerk from the ground, bucking into him like a wild animal, and somewhere behind your ear, you can hear him suck in a sharp breath. Which you have no time to dwell upon. Your tongue fights against the fabric of your robe, and after a second you're able to spit it out.

- Don't shoot him - you plead feverishly, hands gripping the Ghoul's forearm - I'll talk to him, he'll leave. Just don't shoot him, please.

Cooper looks down at you, his eyes hard on your face, as he watches out for any signs of deceit. Then, he presses his lips into a thin line.

- Make it quick, or I'll pop his head clean off his shoulders. - southern accent floods every syllable, and were you not fighting to save a life (again), you would've blushed.

- Yes, thank you. I'll be quick. Thank you. - words spill out of you like a broken faucet, whispered into the space between your bodies, as the bounty hunter tugs off the loop of his lasso. 

You take a moment to steady yourself, as he drags you up with him, hand twisted into the front of your shirt. Still a little stunned, you allow him to manoeuvre you, turning your body in his grasp, until your back is pressed flush against his front. 

Strong arm sneaks over your shoulders, hand clasping around the column of your throat, while the other one waits just outside of your vision. The barrel of the gun rests between your shoulder and your neck, and the coolness of the metal causes a myriad of goosebumps to erupt across your skin. 

- I'm here Benny - you call out, praying to anything that would listen, that your plan would work - Come out, slowly. 

To his credit, Benny has always been quite good at following directions. There weren't many attributes about him either way, a bit dim in the head, a bit too heroic. 

And definitely a bit too quick to pull out a gun.

Which is what he does as soon as he sees your peculiar situation. The Ghoul drums his fingers against your pulse point, and Benny approaches, a simple shotgun in front of him.

- What the hell...?

- Benny, I need you to listen to me - your voice sounds way too panicked, and you swallow hard to fake some illusion of control over this situation - I need you to turn around, and leave.

- But, there's a Ghoul with a gun behind you, Healer.

You nearly jump out of your skin, when you feel the hot breath of your unwanted companion on the back of your neck. You can almost imagine his chapped lips, so close to your skin.

- Time's a tickin', sweetheart - he whispers, and your blood runs cold in your veins. 

- He's a - you swallow, mouth going dry in an instant - He's my friend. Who's getting very anxious with the trigger, Benny, so please, just go home. 

Deep down inside you know there is no scenario, where the farmer leaves alive. He signed his death warrant the moment he stepped out of the shadows, yet for some unknown reason, that just makes you fight against the odds harder. Call it dumb optimism, perhaps you're possessed by your mother's spirit. Or perhaps the chems have finally scrambled your brains for good. 

- He's not looking very friendly - Benny's gun sways slightly, as he tries to keep it raised, muscles evidently straining against the weight - He's the guy that shot Pete.

Oh for fucks sake, your whole body starts shaking at this point, heart thrumming in your chest like a moth batting against a lampshade. You can feel the Ghoul smirk against the skin of your shoulder, and tears prick at the corners of your eyes. His thumb presses slightly into your pulse, feeling it run rampant against his finger. 

- Please - somehow you hope the desperation in your voice will be enough - Please, leave. Benny, please.

Benny looks between you and the Ghoul peaking over your trembling form. You can see his brain working overtime, scrunched eyebrows, smacking of the lips. You're only praying it's working in the right direction. Then, some idea flashes across his expression, and you know in the hollow of your stomach, that this is his end.

- If I save you, will you marry me? - he asks, looking at you with the utmost hopeful expression.

- ...what?

Confusion doesn't even fully register in your mind, as the deafening sound of a gun being fired nearly blows up your eardrums. At first you're not sure, what you're looking at. Where there used to be Benny, now there's a carcass, mangled and bloody. It's hard to figure out, where individual parts of his body are, some bones sticking out from the chunky mush. A spray of red falls onto your face like a morning mist, and the scent of iron and gunpowder is stunning your senses. 

You can't move. Eyes glued to what once used to Benny, you don't even notice, as the Ghoul removes himself from you, placing the lasso over your head and around your body. The loop is secured tightly, and the bounty hunter tugs on it a couple of times, just to test its durability. Then, lazily, he picks up your messenger bag, swinging it over his shoulder. 

- The first time he came to me for help, he tried to domesticate a rad roach - you mutter absentmindedly, not caring if your unwanted companion is hearing you - Wanted it to help with the farm work. I had to stitch half his left side. 

- Stupid life deserves a stupid death.

- You're a fucking monster - you spit out, the feeling of Benny's blood on your lips almost making you gag.

Apparently, the Ghoul takes offense to that, because almost instantly, he's in front of you, his hand gripping your throat, and pushing you hard against the metal plating of the destroyed plane. Stars erupt behind your eyelids, as your head knocks hard into the wall, pain barely registering under the confusion.

- I have been more than accommodating to you, little princess - the Ghoul snarls in your direction, but all you can focus on, is his other hand, grabbing your bruised chin - I've entertained your little medical escapade, I let you negotiate with that dimwit over there.

The warmth of his body suffocates you stronger than any hand around your throat. You can't decide on the color of his eyes, as they seem to shift between amber and green, and completely black. Your mouth opens just a smidge, as you try to defend yourself in any way, but before you can speak, the Ghoul shoves two gloved fingers into your mouth, silencing you in an instant. 

- I could be so much worse, darlin', and I don't think you would like that - his voice lowers itself barely above a whisper, and he watches your expression shift under his grip.

You can't help it, really, the way your body reacts to this rough manhandling. It's not like you could predict being pinned to a wall by a stranger would make your thighs press together. Cooper looks down. He smiles like a cat, that's just found the fattest of mice, when his eyes drag back up to your face. 

- Or perhaps you would - his knee presses against the middle of your thighs, just short of forcing them apart, and you gasp around his fingers.

As if nothing has happened, he pulls away, so suddenly, you nearly fall over. His gloved hand glistens with your saliva, and gracefully, he wipes it clean on your shirt. Blushed, panting, and very angry at this turn of events, you stare daggers at him, as he tugs at the lasso, forcing you to start moving.  

- What is your name? - you demand, blood running hot and defiant in your veins. 

Cooper stares for just a moment too long. The way you seem to bristle in rage, even though that farmer truly was stupid, and you know it too. He likes the way your eyes harden, the way your jaw sets, when you realize this is no longer fun and games. When you recognize, how dangerous he can be, how mean and ruthless. He'd be a fool not to admit it,  it makes him feel powerful, revered. 

And the undertone of humiliation running through the length of your spine is just such a delicious addition. Almost better than chems. Almost more addicting.

Lips tugging back into a nasty smirk, he appraises you with his gaze, surprised when your resolve seems to harden even more. 

- You, Healer - your title sounds wrong coming from his thin lips, worse than any other time you've heard it - Can call me "sir".

Something akin to disgust runs through your expression, and you turn away with a grumble. 

- Fat fucking chance.

[nana-luvy]

. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 / 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 .

warnings: fluff, female!reader, cocky!Luke, daughter of Hecate!reader, short mention of telekinesis (if you're not too ok with magic), double pov, use of Y/n, foul language (kinda casual swear words but still, if you don't like em..)

In which they try to find their way to the other.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

__ His type __

It hadn’t been eventful at camp in a couple years, probably since you had come to camp. You‘d never gotten sent on a quest, as much as you would’ve loved to finally go back to the rest of the world, you had never been involved in big drama around camp, had never had your life at risk from a surprise attack in the woods and had barely even been the target of a silly prank.

Your life for the past years had mostly consisted of training, eating, sleeping and praying at the most, maybe you had squealed once in excitement the day you discovered who your godly parent was, but that was it. Over the time you’d started making friends, seeing as you barely had any half-siblings, going out with people from other cabins more than from the one you lived in, the Hermes cabin. Because, apparently, you did not deserve a half-family cabin if you weren’t child of one of the major deities. Harsh.

But over the course of the past few months, you had surprised yourself being more… full of emotions that before, and all because of a silly reason. Blame it on late blooming of teenage hormones, but you were by now knees deep in a one sided crush on Luke Castellan, a crush you considered profoundly stupid when he had basically everything to himself and could just attract anyone he’d want. You had started noticing him only recently, after years of being acquaintances ; you’d first met him a few days after reaching camp, when he apparently came back from a quest, just a 16 years old teenager, short messy brown hair and almost-chubby face in comparison to the present.

But now…. you could spend tens of minutes speaking of him, even if you would afterwards brush it off as mere observance, speaking of his looks, his personality, his habits... How he had grown taller over the span of barely a trimester, how his curl started looking so defined and shiny when he had finally started taking care of his hair after you’d spent a whole 10 minutes, at a party on the beach, dissing it. How he had this determination to him whenever he did something, like he would solely focus on it just to succeed, how he took care of the newcomers ever since he got promoted to head counselor of his cabin, making sure they had everything and didn’t feel the tiniest bit alone, even going out of his way to ensure they were comfortable after the never-ending stress that was their trip to camp. How, even through his practiced mask of kindness and laid-back attitude, he had this small tick on his face and this tilt of his head when he was annoyed, how he would always rub right over his scar first when he defeated someone during sword training…

Clarisse and Silena always made fun of you whenever you would bring Luke up, knowing they were in for a ride because it was more often than not a flow of words they couldn’t stop until it did on its own.

And it was the case just this instant.

“Argh, why do I even like guys, huh ? That’s fucking bland, I swear…” you said, throwing your arms in the air in defeat.

You were all sat at a small table, no too far from the training grounds but just a little away from the path that went towards it, so there was just a little privacy. The sun was high up in the sky and you four girls, Annabeth having joined the group after lunch, were thankful for the shadow cast upon you by the large tree above the table.

“I mean, yeah, it is, but I can’t throw the first stone at you on that one..” Selina answered, shaking her head with a small smile and a raise of her eyebrows.

“And are you reaaaally that disappointed by men, huh ? Because, weirdly, something tells me otherwise, girl.” Clarisse chimed in as she put her card down and cheered a little, playing War against an Annabeth who looked clearly exasperated by her own lack of luck. “Something with curly hair and a flirty smile.”

“Ugh, don’t even start me on him…” you replied, running your hands on your face in exaggerated frustration. “I swear, he’s so.. ugh.. Like, sure, you know, he’s cute, and he’s tall and stuff, but it’s such a pain to have a crush on a boy, you get me ? And even more when the boy knows he’s good looking and plays along. Would be so much easier with a gir-”

“Not much easier with a girl.”

“Sure, Clarisse, sure, whatever you say like you have experience.” you replied, nodding your head at her like you’d do to a child while Clarisse held back from saying something else. “I just mean, guys just feel so simple-headed but- I don’t know…”

“You do know.” Annabeth only replied in a knowing tone, not tearing her eyes from the game she was loosing against Clarisse.

“Okay yeah, I do know. It’s just- He’s so infuriating! Like-” you caught a rustle in a bush nearby on your side, head snapping towards it, but came back to the conversation when you saw nothing. “-what do you mean you flirt with every single person, you know ? I don’t mean it like I’m jealous, by the way, it’s just really misleading.” The three other girls looked between themselves with a similar, shared gaze. “It’s not even like he seems to have a type, like- bro just picks up another girl at a party, they chat or a few days and sometimes she just disappears from around him like their link never existed. What a fucking jerk…”

You mumbled the last part, furrowing your brows because it didn’t feel fair sometimes, for your heart to tug when you were thinking of someone you found so… terribly not crush material. Not that he wasn’t, but you preferred lying to yourself on the matter, enjoying the feeling of being even the littlest in control over that particular emotion that just acted on its own.

“Except he has a type- Clarisse I swear to gods, you have to be cheating ! How else do you win a war game 5 times in a row ?”

“I don’t cheat, mini-girl, it’s called talent ~” Clarisse cheered, throwing her cards in the air in victory. “And as we bet, loser cleans up, thank you in advance.”

As Annabeth sighed in defeat, crouching to pick up the cards that had slipped right under the table, you spoke up again, continuing your little dragon origami. “What do you mean he has a type ? I mean, he just seems to flirt with whatever walks his way in the slightest.”

“She’s just jealous that he doesn’t flirt with her when she walks his way.” Silena whisper-yelled at the two others, poorly hiding it behind her hand in mock confession.

“Si ? Shut up, I love you.” You did a small heart gesture your friend’s way, both apologetic and purely sarcastic.

“No I mean, I know he kinda has someone in mind, you know ? I don’t even remember when he told me that…” Except she totally remembered. Annabeth had really, really wanted it to come around naturally, but she was growing tired of the unspoken situation and the relentless talks about it.

“What- how come you never told me ? Annabeth, I plead you, give me your in-tells and I’ll give you my desserts for a whole month. During every meal. Just tell me what's his type.”

“But I can get as many as I want already, technically.”

“Then I’ll get up and go get them for you. Please.”

The younger girl raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat interested by the proposition, before letting out a sigh. “Fine, as you want, I’ll tell you what I know.”

“”Beth ? I love you too.” you said in your most serious tone.

The younger stayed silent for a little while, before parting her lips again. “Wow. You’re really love-bombing us today, huh ? Anyway, his type…” Annabeth tried her best to look like she was thinking back to find the memory, when she just had to look at the girl in front of her to find a perfect description. “He’s into girls around his age, mostly, or just barely younger, someone who doesn’t dislike fighting and even likes to put up a fight in general when she doesn’t get what she wants, dare I say kind of a lunatic-”

“Wait, what ? He’s into spoiled princesses or..?” Clarisse said, cutting Annabeth off, but it only made the latter let out a chocked out snort.

“I mean, if you say it.”

“Is there more ?” you pressed eagerly, almost gripping the side of the table without realizing.

The younger girl looked at you with raised eyebrows, but chose not to call out the obvious. “Well… he likes someone slightly crazy but still pretty nice-”

”You’re literally describing half the girls at camp.”

“Oh my gods! That’s it, I’m not helping you out. You can find out yourself if your crush likes you, girl.” she replied, trying to sound annoyed when she was totally amused by the situation. But for the sake of her sanity and her friend’s, she had to act. So she gathered the cards, threw them in her pocket, and bid her goodbyes. “See you around, and no ‘him talk’, I can’t take it anymore!”

You sat dumbfounded for a second, before looking to the two other girls who already stared at you, putting your hands up in surrender. “Yeah, alright, alright, I’ll stop…” you said, pushing yourself off the table’s bench. “See you later ?”

“See ya ~”

But the next days felt even more boring than usual, nothing happening that was out of the ordinary, so you had to entertain yourself a little. Searching for something to do while finally cleaning your bunk, which you had been meaning to do for ages, an idea popped in your mind: how about investigating to find your crush’s crush ? What could be healthier ?

You’d heard from someone who probably had heard from someone before that Luke was calmer these past few weeks, showing way less of his usual ‘flirty jock’ behavior, and many were suspecting a possible someone had been the cause. So you were decided to find out who the ‘possible someone’ was, because after all you had already come to terms with how your hopeless one-sided crush would never have a proper conclusion, and maybe this would be a way to finally get your closure.

So, pink ink pen and black notepad in hand, you went back outside to take a seat under a tree in the Cabin area, seeing campers walk around in the already hot morning, some going to the training grounds, a few Apollo kids busy with stocking back the inventory of the infirmary, a handful of demigods with their bathing suit under their camp-issued orange shirts and towels in a bag. Sitting comfortably on the soft grass, you wrote down everything Annabeth had told you the day prior, trying your best to remember her words.

“His age or a little younger, likes fighting.. stubborn, a little crazy… a girl..” you mumbled to yourself, writing it all in the bright pink ink you adored.

“Hey, Y/n! You coming to the lake with us ? Clarisse says the water is extra warm!” Chris invited, walking close to you as he got out of his cabin, a tube of sunscreen in hand. As he got closer, his eyes tried to look at the notepad before you hurriedly closed it. “What you doing ?”

“Hey- oh uh, nothing just… drawing.”

“You draw ? Since when ?” the boy continued, confused. He had known you for years now, he didn’t remember seeing you draw, you just weren’t really artsy.

“Well, since today, that’s the thing. So I’d prefer you don’t see my drawings okay ? I don’t…yeah.”

“Oh yeah, sure, I get it, totally.” Chris replied, shaking his head slowly. “Do you want to come with us to Canoe Lake though ? Clarisse and Silena are already there, and some others should be joining soon.”

The idea sounded tempting, but you were getting more and more curious as time passed, and wouldn’t want to delay you little investigation, even for hot, clean, translucent lake water. “Nah, man, sorry I’ll have to pass on that one. Maybe another day though ?”

“Yeah, sure, have a nice…drawing ~”

Chris waved before walking away, leaving you to your own mind again. You scanned over your now open notepad, trying to mentally swipe over all the people that matched the description, and writing the names down. And the names took a whole page, with a title on top of it saying “Castellan, who tf do you like (you have really generic tastes)”.

“Okay, now let’s reread it..”

‘Already dated her… they talked a while but it didn’t last.. oh maybe- no, right, already dated…’ you thought to yourself, trying to ignore the fact you had so little entertainment in life that you relied on Luke to bring the events with his misleadingly numerous relationships rumors.

After a while of crossing names out, mumbling to yourself in the shadow provided by the tall tree you were hiding under, you decided just theorizing wasn’t enough, you had to see the chemistry first hand to find the missing piece needed to unveil the answer.

So you got up, dusting the grass and dried weeds off your clothes before lightly walking towards the training ground. It felt like the boy spent most of his time there, surrounded by a swarm of little flies he did his best to keep around as he fought with all his might every time they were looking. One of your worst fear was probably to become one of said flies.

You had aimed right as you came around the training area, hearing loud cheering from a group of other girls sitting next to the wooden swords rack, Aphrodite and Apollo daughters, among others, hand in hand to cheer on their number one boy who made his personal crowd roar with a look its way.

You took a seat not too far, under a tree again, well aware that the 11am sun would burn your sensitive skin if you stayed under its rays too long, resting your back against the trunk and trying to examine the scene unfolding in front of your eyes. Luke was fighting with a boy from the Ares Cabin, his name was… Lyle ? He had been at camp for a year or so, not too bad of a fighter of course, but…

The group on the side started to loudly cheer and applause as the curly haired boy tackled his opponent to the ground, the tip of his sword right under his chin in a perfect warrior stance, and even you couldn’t help your gaze from softening in awe : you’d seen him fight and win so many times before, at training, capture the flag, all of those, but there was just something so mesmerizing in the energy he’d put in each combat and the determination in his eyes as he’d let his sword slash through the air.

From your own space, you tried to study all interactions, hoping to get anything that’d help shorten your still very long list of names: who Luke shot his flirty look too, who he’d grace with a word from his lips or a smile, as fake and empty as it may be. But you were totally taken aback when, upon barely waving at the magnificent Drew Tanaka that batted her long lashes at him, the boy started walking right your way, a smirk dancing on his lips.

“Y/n, hey ~” he simply started, stopping a couple feet in front of you as you still sat on the dry grass. “What are you doing here ? I figured you’d be at the lake with the others.”

“And I figured you’d be with the others.” you quickly answered, trying to close your notepad as casually and discreetly as possible.

“Yet here you are, staring at me from afar. Who would’ve thought.”

“Yet here you are, speaking to me like this isn’t the most words we’ve ever exchanged when no friends surround us. Who would’ve thought ~” you replied, an angelic smile playing on your her lips in response.

Luke’s smile only stretched more. “Ladies and gentleman, she fights back!” he exclaimed with a laugh, talking to his imaginary crowd before crossing his arms over his chest, flexing the muscles involuntarily like it didn’t have you melting to a puddle right there in front of him. “No but seriously, what are you doing here ? Wanna spare a little ?”

“With you ? To lose with not a single hope to ever win ? No thanks, I’m g-”

“What’s this ?” the boy cut through you sentence, crouching in a second to snatch the notepad that still sat on your crossed legs, flipping through the first pages. “Waw, your commitment to living in pink is insane, hard to believe you’re not a daughter of Aphrodite sometimes.”

You heard him mutter something you couldn’t make out but brushed it off, immediately trying to catch the pages from his hands, only to fall forward on your knees as he got up and took a step back quickly. “Give me the notepad, Castellan!”

“Oh wait- That’s your special pancake recipe? I guess the peanuts really add something huh ?”

“My notepad!”

Definitely not wanting to chase after the child he was acting like, you simply used her telekinesis, the only control you had over your still weak magic granted by your goddess of a mother, sending the notepad flying from Luke’s hands right into yours. You immediately ripped the list from the little book, folding it messily and putting it in your jorts’ back-pocket. “You never act as an adult, do you ?”

“Nahhh, I still have one year of being a teenager, and I sure as Hells will make the best of it.” he said, turning around going back to you in long strides with a pout on his lips.

You rolled your eyes, turning around in direction of the Cabin Area and away from him, though you could hear him try to keep up and a small smile crept up your lips. But the smile turned upside down as the boy almost ran in front of you, raising the paper high so you could see it in his hands while he read. Your eyes widened significantly, patting your back-pockets frantically and realizing he had just swiftly took the page from you, but before you could properly react, he crumpled the paper in a ball and tossed it in his back, colliding with your head.

“You forgot the right name on that list, dumbass.” Luke started, walking away and throwing his hand up in a two-fingered peace sign. “G’luck, moonbeam ~”

After a couple seconds of standing still, dumbfounded, you roared. “Castellan! Come back here!” But the boy only let out a laugh before sprinting away, escaping your reach quickly as you were left panting, laying your back on a Cabin. “When I catch you, Luke…”

Your cheeks were heated now, probably from the running, or that’s what you told yourself, because you couldn’t help but hear it echoing in your ears. ‘Moonbeam… What the actual fuck, Castellan?’ And here you were, back to first ground, trying to convince yourself you could keep your feelings in check.

__ Her type __

The sun had been up for a while now, and Chris was doing his best to get Luke to come out of bed, but nothing would make him budge : every time the guy woke him up, the brunette would only groan, grip his pillow tighter and turn around, immediately going back to sleep.

“Dude, you’re gonna make us miss breakfast.” Chris pressed, whisper-yelling to try and avoid being too harsh, but he was slowly loosing patience.

“Shut up, ‘wanna finish my dream, go eat by yourself…” the other boy mumbled against his sheets, shuffling to get comfortable again.

But it was enough. Chris went to pick up clothes from Luke’s stuff, before throwing them right in his face. “Get out of bed right now, or I’m dunking a bucket of ice cold water on your body.” he deadpanned, and the counselor shot straight out of bed, putting a shirt on and nearly jumping in his pants.

“Ok I’m ready.”

The whole way to the Dining Pavilion, Luke was like a broken record on the verge of getting strangled by his best friend. Birds were chirping in the early morning, chatter noises were coming from further down the path and the sun already felt warm on his skin, but his mind could only think of one thing.

“Man, I can’t believe you just cut me through the best dream ever…”

“Yeah? And what was it about for you to be all whiny about it ?” Chris queried, starting to gain a forced curiosity from his best friend’s rambling.

“Uh… I...don’t remember?” The brunette said, trying to sound convincing and natural, looking straight in front of him, but the slightly unsure tone in his voice betrayed him.

Which caused a fit of laughter from his friend. “Oh-oh, man, were you seriously having a we-”

“No! No of course not! Why would you think that-”

“Yeah, sure, then about what, huh ? Because you seem very guilty of… Man, tell me you didn’t have… a romantic dream?” Chris’ smile only grew more teasing when the other boy’s face visibly heated up, not uttering a word. He put an arm around the flustered boy’s shoulders dramatically. “Well look at that, little Luke Castellan finally growing out of his heartless era ? I thought I wouldn’t live long enough to see it.”

“Awh shut up, bro…” he muttered, tearing his friend off him. “It’s not even that big of a deal…”

“Not that big of a deal? Nah, Luke, be for real. I’ve rarely seen you as… disinterested before. Like- you just wave people away instead of throwing the biggest narcissistic dickhead smile their way. And I mean it in all friendship-ness.”

“Yeah, of course you do, you little-”

“Hey, I have you seen her today? She’s so…”

Both Hermes sons turned their head in direction of a loud voice just a few feet behind them, seeing two guys from the Aphrodite Cabin walk closely behind them, deep in a conversation too.

“Who again ? Oh right, Silena’s friend. That witch girl with the…weird aura.”

Luke frowned. ‘What the hell are they talking about?’

“Yeah, gods, she just has that bod, bro… I mean, I wouldn’t even mind dating her if it means I can get her to give me some of that magic.” one of the two guys said, ending with a proud laugh, full of himself as the other joined. “Plus, I swear, she always wears those short tops and skirts, man, she’s basically asking for it at that point.”

Luke’s fists tightened as he understood who the subject of the conversation was, brows furrowing at the guy’s words, yet he knew he was in no place to say anything. Because he was one of those guys who didn’t give a crap about morals or feelings, one of those who knew the trouble they caused and played along.

He enjoyed it, the attention, having girls fawn over a practiced look, people naturally coming to him because he just had this kind of presence. But now, trying to distance himself from this persona of his, maybe he realized just how awful he might have sounded.

‘You weakling, questioning yourself because of a girl? Dumbass.’ Luke thought to himself, tousling his hair in frustration as he finally entered the dining area. Barely a few months ago, he never would’ve imagined being this kind of guy, the guy who tries to slow down his everyday life to become whatever a girl could like. But again, he knew in himself it wasn’t just any girl, because just any girl wouldn’t haunt his nights so good he’d rather sleep than do anything else.

You were… this whole deal to him: one of the most precious things he could wish to ever see, and still the one thing he rejected all he could. Because part of him was screaming that this was not the kind of guy he was, screaming that settling down at this point in life just wasn’t for him. But over time, the idea just couldn’t stop seeping into his mind, and again, you were just so…

He had first met you when he came back from his failed quest, not at his best in any possible way, when you had barely started your new life, and he just saw a part of himself in you, mirroring this feeling of being…lost. And maybe, just maybe, back then, he lacked the courage to go talk to you when he should have. But years went by, you barely interacted except for extended group hangouts and gatherings, and he forgot along the way. Yet for some reason, you had found a way back in his mind out of nowhere, like a magic so strong even you, daughter of Hecate, couldn’t conjure. It was like meeting you all over again, that one day he saw you out late at the edge of the forest, laying in the grass and watching the moon glow. He started noticing you around more after that, maybe just paying attention more, his eyes drawn to your figure in the crowds, his ears searching for the sound of you voice as you roared and fought on the training grounds during the day.

And after months of going against himself, of denying how he knew deep down he felt, he stopped fighting the feeling. And apparently, everyone around him had noticed and couldn’t stop bothering him with unpleasant questions about why, oh why, he was loosing what they called his ‘player mojo’. But he dismissed it every time, not needing anyone in his business when even him wasn’t able to take care of it.

Luke was playing with a few other guys, on their way to the training grounds while passing a ball between them all, either tossing it gently to the next or full on throwing it over their head. It was more of the second for Luke as Connor threw the ball in his direction, it landing way out of track, near the forest’s edge.

“Man, come on!”

“Hey, you could’ve tried to jump and catch it.” Travis replied with a laugh, elbowing his twin playfully.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…”

Luke wandered off the path, walking behind a row of bushes and crouching down to retrieve the ball that had rolled into them.

“…know, he’s cute, and he’s tall and stuff, but it’s such a pain to have a crush on a boy, you get me ?”

Wait, was that… you ? Luke raised his head over the bushes, forgetting all about the ball for an instant as all he registered was the voice that made his ears perk up every time he heard it. ‘What- what’s she talking about ?’ He searched for the origins of the voices for a second, before his eyes fell on a small picnic table and four girls gathered around it, some playing cards and two others just talking.

“You do know.”

“Ok yeah, I do know. It’s just- He’s so infuriating!”

Luke shifted absentmindedly as he got curious about the conversation for some reason, words echoing in his mind. ‘She likes someone ?’ But as he moved his hand, his fingers slipped over the smooth surface of the ball he hadn’t realized was there, stumbling forward into the leaves of the bush. At least the branches hadn’t scratched his skin.

He heard the girl pause for a second, probably noticing the sudden ruffle in the bushes, and he made sure to duck down as much as possible, before realizing how stupid this could’ve looked : why the Hells would he ever try this much not to be discovered over just a simple conversation between friends of his. But deep down, his mind had his answer: he needed to know more.

“-ot even like he seems to have a type, like- bro just picks up another girl at a party, they chat or a few days and sometimes she just disappears from around him like their link never existed. What a fucking jerk…”

Who was that guy? Because Luke was really starting to think that you hated your crush more than you liked him, seeing how harsh your words sounded spoken with this tone of hers. But really, what kind of jerk would that be, going around and making head spins like and leaving like it was nothing? Talk about playboy move… Who was it, really? No name had been spoken, barely a physical description… The brunette was already trying to go through all people he knew at camp that might fit the description, but-

“Luke, what the fuck are you doing ? We’ve been waiting for you forever..”

Luke snapped back to reality as Travis came up to him, his look questioning.

“Oh yeah, shoot, sorry. I couldn’t find the ball and then I just, tripped on my own leg. And here I am.” he replied, but his friend only looked at him more confused.

“Ok, whatever. Let’s just go back okay ? Because today is the day I beat your ass!”

“You wish you ever could ~”

They walked back to the rest of the small group, resuming the tossing with not much further question, before Luke spoke up.

“How much do you guys know about Y/n?”

There was a short silence, Chris keeping the ball tight between his hands as they all came to a stop, and Charles spoke first the words everyone thought.

“No fucking way. Y/n ? As in our cabin’s Y/n ? As in daughter of Hecate Y/n ?”

“Uh… Yeah? Are there other Y/n…?” Luke simply answered, not quite understanding the shock that covered his friends’ faces.

“There was another one a year ago. One you dated, by the way, you jock.” Chris threw back with a smirk. “But damn, little Y/n huh ?”

Luke mentally face palmed at the first statement. “I don’t know if I’d say little considering she’s older than you but uh- why are you so…”he started, gesturing to the surprised faces in front of him, “-expressive, all of you ? I mean, I just asked how well you knew her, I think..?”

Connor slapped his brother’s shoulder with a grin on his face and a mischievous look in his eyes. “Told ya it wasn’t an Aphrodite girl, bro!”

“Yeah, yeah, so much fuss over so little…” the other twin groaned.

As the other guys exchanged knowing looks and laughs, Luke was just standing there, confused about the whole situation. “What is happening, exactly ? I’m starting to feel a little excluded here.”

It was Charles that spoke up again. “We just can’t believe you finally admitted who you’ve been liking so much that you got off the market, bro.” The boy came closer, putting his arm over Luke’s shoulders and squeezing his arm playfully. “So, her, huh ? I mean, yeah i get it, she’s kinda-”

“Don’t finish that sentence or you’ll have to build yourself a new tongue.”

The others erupted in laughter at Luke’s threat, patting him on the back as the brunette held his face down in embarrassment, because it probably was the first time his friends could tease him on the subject, and they were catching up on all the missed opportunities.

“Would you look at that? Luke so into a girl he looses his mojo, who would’ve thought ~”

“You know what, guys ? He even stays in bed an skips breakfast just so he can dream about her for lo-” Chris started, his friend quickly shutting him up with a hand over his mouth, a reaction that only caused more laughter.

“Oh shut the fuck up!”

They were almost to the training grounds, the teasing had died down just a little bit, when Luke asked his first question again, this time the others only throwing amused looks before answering.

“Hmmm I don’t really talk to her much, y’know? I just see her around from time to time. Isn’t she lesbian though ?”

“Wha- No!” the brunette replied instantly, somewhat offended. “I’m not that stupid, thank you. At least from what I heard, she’s into a boy, so-”

“Oh so she’s into someone already ? Who ?” Chris chimed in from behind his back.

“I don’t know, I didn’t heard any name, just some tall dude that sounds like a total jerk…” Luke mumbled.

“Sounds like you to me.”

“Get back here you little-” He said, turning around to try and catch a running Chris shielding himself behind Connor. “I don’t even know why I’m asking you all, it’s not like you have anything interesting to say anyway.. Let’s just get to practice, I’m getting frustrated with all of this.” Luke continued in mock bitterness, sending them an amused smile.

Travis bolted in direction of the training grounds just ahead of them. “Race ya!”

“Morning, bro.” Chris greeted with a quick fist bump. “You doing something this morning?”

“Hmmm I got a practice this morning, and a short teaching session for some newcomers. Why ?” his friend answered, putting on his orange t-shirt.

“Ah sheep, I was gonna tell you some of us were planning on spending the morning at the lake, they say the water is particularly warm this morning. And I thought you could’ve asked you-know-who to come too, to…y’know...”

“Ha ha, you’re so fun Chris, but I’m not gonna ditch helpless kids, sorry. Also, since when do actually you censor yourself ?” Luke asked, weirded out by this change in character as he put his shoes back on.

“Well, I too am on a path to redemption, at my own level.”

The brunette let out a scoff. “Yeah, sure. See ya.”

Luke spent the next few hours on the training grounds, slashing at practice dummies in wood and straw with his dominant arm, trying to reproduce the same moves with the other and building his technique like he did almost everyday. He found a sparring partner in a younger boy, Lyle, son of Ares and at camp since barely a year but who’s blood made him a worthy opponent. Maybe not worthy enough to take Luke’s title as camp’s best swordsman nonetheless.

The Ares boy relied on brute force against the other fighter, who knew exactly how to use it against him, nimbly sliding in his back an hitting the back of his knees when Lyle lunged forward, too late to reach Luke. Falling on his knees, the brunette was quick to go back in front of him, pointing the tip of his sword right under his chin, declaring his undisputed victory while he could hear a loud clamor of shouts and applause roaring in his back. Luke extended his hand for his partner to take, offering to help him up.

“Oh shoot, who’s this ?” Lyle said in a hushed tone, speaking to Luke while he looked behind his shoulder. The curly haired boy followed his gaze, confused, before his eyes fell on your figure. You were under a tree, looking away from him and towards the small crowd on his side, the light filtering through the leaves and hitting your face like a perfect halo, enhancing your features in a way that looked surreal. “She’s ho-”

Luke instantly let go of his hand, letting the Ares boy fall back to the ground and looking down at him while he groaned in discomfort. “Yeah no, forget about her, pretty boy. She’s way out of your league.”

The blond scoffed at the advice. “And what, she’s in yours ?”

“Yeah, nice joke, Lyle, like I could ever try to compare..”

Turning his back on Lyle, Luke went towards the small wooden bench, going to dab himself with a small towel and drinking down almost all the content in his water bottle. Resting for just a second, head hanging low and elbows on his thighs, he raised his gaze just enough so he could see you, still under that tree that shielded your skin from the angry rays of the summer sun, writing away on a small black notepad. What could you be doing, ther-

“Hey ~”

Luke snapped his head up, seeing Drew standing just a few feet from him, fluttering her long lashes his way. He thought he could decipher her intentions, but if it would’ve worked just a few weeks ago, now he didn’t have any interest in whatever she could try to talk him into. So he lifted himself off the bench, barely sparring her a glance.

“Hey.” he dryly said, paired with a small wave, before starting to walk towards the tree, and more precisely the girl seated right under it. This time when he spoke up, his tone was warm, light-hearted when he said,

“Y/n, hey ~”

Luke almost jogged the last few meters, wanting to close the distance between you two quickly, before stopping a few feet away. After somewhat coming to terms with what he felt, it was almost a little weird to be close to you like that : the small fluttering in his stomach, his heart rate quickening, the warmth that was spreading through his body and plastered a smile on his face ; they were all signs so foreign to him.

“What are you doing here ? I figured you’d be at the lake with the others.”

“And I figured you’d be with the others.” you replied quickly, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see you close the notepad discreetly, your fingers seeming somewhat trembling over the cover as you nervously played with a pink pen with the other hand.

“Yet here you are, staring at me from afar. Who would’ve thought.” Luke’s eyes slightly narrowed as he joked back, subtly testing the waters to see how willing you might be to keep the conversation going, given how rarely you talked in settings like this, just the two of you.

“Yet here you are, speaking to me like this isn’t the most words we’ve ever exchanged when no friends surround us. Who would’ve thought ~” you said, and your smile, as sarcastic as it must’ve been, had Luke’s legs feel like jello all of a sudden.

His grin only widened, corners flipped up and almost displaying his pearly teeth before exclaiming, “Ladies and gentleman, she fights back!”, a laugh accompanying his statement as he threw his arms in the air theatrically. A little chuckle escaped your lips, one he could only choose to take as an invitation to more conversation, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “No but seriously, what are you doing here ? Wanna spare a little ?” he continued with a more cheeky expression.

You cocked an eyebrow up, as if you were the utmost offended by the proposition, both pointer fingers coming to point at the boy in front of you. “With you ? To lose with not a single hope to ever win ? No thanks, I’m g-”

Luke took advantage of your little loss of focus to crouch down to your level and snatch the notepad from your lap, your face instantly displaying shock and.. a little look of mortification. “What’s this ? Waw, your commitment to living in pink is insane, hard to believe you’re not a daughter of Aphrodite sometimes.” he added with a little laugh as he skipped through the pages, seeing the pink scribbles and doodles adorning the pages in multiple shades. “One of the things that make me believe you are..” he mumbled, his eyes widening a little when he realized he’d said it out-loud, but you probably hadn’t heard or understood it as you didn’t bring it up.

He stood up and took a step back just before you lunged his way to reach for your belonging. “Give me the notepad, Castellan!”

But he was having too much fun, teasing you a way he wouldn’t usually try to, flipping through the pages while walking away and seeing you glowering at him in a mix of exasperation and indignation. But it was his time to be surprised when the notepad flew from his hands back to yours. ‘Right, Hecate’s kid, always so full of surprises…’

“You never act as an adult, do you ?” you asked rhetorically and Luke turned around, walking back to you with a pouty smile dancing on his mouth, seeing you slip a small piece of paper in the back-pocket of your bottoms.

“Nahhh, I still have one year of being a teenager, and I sure as Hells will make the best of it.” Luke only replied with a proud expression, faking a small bow and he couldn’t hold in a chuckle as he saw you roll your eyes. But as you started walking away, he caught up to you discreetly, nimbly getting the paper sticking out of your back-pocket before he rushed past you, starting to read the page while holding it up in the air for you to see.

But his mischievous smile faltered slightly when he read the content of the paper : “Castellan, who tf do you like (you have really generic tastes)”.

First pang to the heart, he did not have generic taste, unless you considered a witty, sweet, hard-headed, mesmerizing and all-roundly skilled demi-goddess to be generic. Second pang to the heart, all the names listed down, some crossed out, some circled to stand out… was this how you saw him ? They were all girls about his age, the removed names the ones of some he had a fling of some sort with, the names standing out being those of girls like Piper or Drew, the ones that caught most eyes at camp. But not his, not anymore, and he couldn’t see the one right name anywhere on the paper.

So he crumpled the small sheet, tossing it behind him and almost bursting out in laughter as he heard a small ‘ouch’ behind him, probably hitting you right in the face. “You forgot the right name on that list, dumbass.” Luke started, doing a peace gesture above his shoulder. “G’luck, moonbeam ~” he only said, the nickname rolling off his tongue like he’d used it all his life.

And as he heard you yell behind him, the boy quickly turned towards the cabins, hiding on the side of the Athena one. He finally let out the nervous laugh he was holding, relaxing against the cabin and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the unlikeliness of the situation. He, Luke Castellan, liked a girl he didn’t even talk to on a daily basis, with whom he was barely friends if not for their mutual ones, and that probably considered him the most obnoxious jock she knew. And just a few weeks ago, you would’ve been right to see him as such, but now that he was trying to redeem himself, a little for himself and a little for you too, he was catching you almost investigating his nonexistent love life, while putting aside any possibility of you being in the equation. How was he supposed to interpret all that ? The Gods’ design was indeed one you couldn’t predict.

“What are you laughing at like a manic ?”

The boy almost jumped in surprise, Annabeth appearing just like magic next to him, before letting out a loud exhale. “Wow, hello to you too…” he replied, dismissive.

But she appeared totally unfazed, crossing her arms over her chest in a knowing stance, like she could read all over his face what was going on in his mind when even him had a hard time deciphering his thoughts. “What’s so funny I can hear you laughing from inside the cabin? I swear it better be worth stopping me from my reading.”

“I- nothing’s funny, I’m just.. trying out laugh therapy, you know ? Stress reliever and all…” His words and his wonky smile only earned him a raised eyebrow from the younger. “Okay, what? What do you want me to say ?”

“The truth, that’d actually be pretty great.”

“The truth ? Well the truth is… I don’t even know. I told you about… you-know-who, right ?”

“Extensively, yeah.”

Luke marked a pause before continuing, throwing Annabeth an annoyed glare she chose to ignore, for his sake. “Well, I don’t know how and why, but apparently she heard that I… was interested in someone..”

“Understatement of the century.”

He did a short pause again, marking his growing frustration known. “Anyways, the problem is that now she’s literally playing Sherlock Holmes on me, Annabeth. And she’s gonna find out at some point, you know how smart she is. And then I’ll be the idiot who, out of all his very broad possibilities, likes a girl who doesn’t like him back.” As he spoke, he took his head in his hands, massaging his temples: the mere idea of this situation happening was giving him a headache, and for too much reasons.

“Ok, so, that’s very narcissistic-”

“Or does she like me? Is that why she’s writing a list? Maybe that’s the reason, yeah.. Maybe she’s trying to figure out if she has a shot.. But then why would she talk about this other guy, it doesn’t make sense-” Head low, deep in thought, Luke saw from the corner of his eyes the girl’s foot tapping on the ground, sign of her growing boredom, and he stopped his unintelligible muttering. “Annabeth do you know anything? I mean, you guys are like, really close friends, right? She talks to you about those stuff, you must know something.”

The girl scoffed, throwing her long braids over her shoulder with sass before looking up straight into Luke’s eyes, challenging him with a single gaze. “I know that you better shut up before I put my cap on and literally disappear from this conversation.” she started, getting her blue cap from her jeans’ back-pocket, dangling it around to show him how serious her threat was. “I also know that even if I knew something, I wouldn’t tell you, because seeing you struggling and at a girl’s beck and call is the gift the gods offered me, today.”

The curly head opened his mouth in disbelief, closing it as he tried to find his words. “Traitor.”

She exaggerated his reaction, openly making fun of Luke, hand hovering over her mouth in mock shock. “But but but- Desperate puppy.” she then deadpanned.

“You’re disloyal.”

“You’re stupid. Bye ~” The girl quickly waved at him, the biggest smile etched on her face, before popping her cap on and disappearing into thin air.

__ His type __

For someone who craved a day just a tad bit more eventful than the usual, now that it unfolded in front of your eyes, you just found it weird, because things just felt…off.

Maybe it was the strong heat that waved over camp since the day before, but you were finding yourself almost unable to sleep, tossing and turning, your thoughts eventually wandering to the same question: who does Luke like? And you didn’t understand why you were suddenly so obsessed with it: were you that bored of your everyday life? or… No, you were over that silly crush, you had come to terms with how it’d inevitably end, so you were obviously just bored and intrigued. But as you thought about it a couple nights in a row, you swore there was a little voice screaming at your inner monologue, something you couldn’t quite decipher.

Maybe it was the heat getting to your head, but Annabeth seemed… on edge? Or maybe more mischievous than usual? She whispered with Percy when you passed by, which you clearly noticed after it happened ‘randomly’ more than half a dozen times, but you couldn’t make out any word, and it only made you more curious: why was she throwing you those side glances? What was happening?

Maybe it was your eyes playing tricks, but you could’ve sworn Luke was avoiding you. But the weirdest was that he was also completely not. Because, would it be out on the training grounds or inside the forever packed Hermes Cabin, you sometimes caught him speaking with your siblings, and by the time you got close enough to try and eavesdrop, he’d catch sight of you and flee in a hurry, and you could barely hear a faint ‘Don’t tell’ before he was gone. Sometimes, you’d go to your half-brother, who’d just answer with a small shrug and an ‘I don’t know, he just had a random question’ before throwing you a confused look and dismissing the subject. And at the same time, Luke talked to you way more than usual, it felt completely out of the ordinary: if he was not in an avoidance mood, he’d at least say hi when he was passing by, sometimes even going out of his path to just greet you, asking how you were and biding you a good day before going back to his business.

The problem was now the raging conflict inside of you, parts of yourself knowing it was just friendly, because what else could it be, and parts of yourself gaining too much hope from it, like the situation had changed and your feelings could freely full-power-resurface. But as much as you could usually be in control of your emotions, now the chaos tended to peak out, and you’d have to try not to blush like a 13 years old. Like right now.

You were simply sat at a table outside in a pretty empty area near some strawberry fields, tapping the blunt side of your pink pen against your lower lip, slightly nipping at the cap or drumming your fingers on the length of it, eyes trained to the new list in your notepad —the old one to crumpled and written on to use. But as you racked your brain for something else, you just couldn’t find it, anybody else who could make the list, you didn’t remember who you could’ve forgotten-

“Moonbeam, hey!”

You snapped your head up as you heard someone yell the unique nickname from further, coming from the cabins area towards you, and saw a head of messy curls waving their arm high up before lightly jogging your way. And as much as the more rational part of you tried to scream inside your head, you couldn’t contain a light blush : the faint idea of the boy you hopelessly liked ever running to you, a beaming smile adorning his face, was enough to make your face burn, so to see your daydreaming fantasy happening- you felt lightheaded, weak in the knees, like melting in a puddle.

__ Her type __

The last few days had been unusual for Luke, but not in the worst of ways, he just made everything he could to get used to it, because, as different from his usual self as it was, he felt like he was just in sync with himself and what he actually wanted.

But the problem was that he quickly realized that what he wanted, others wanted too.

“Hey, Cam, wait up!”

Luke jogged to the boy, after just finishing a training session he lead. He wasn’t specifically close to him, having just talked here and there since they were in the same cabin, but he knew him to be a son of Hecate, one of your half-brothers.

“Oh, hi Luke, how you doing ?” Cameron answered after turning around towards the voice, quickly fist bumping the other guy when he came closer.

“Good, I’m fine. I just had a quick question-”

“Sure, shoot.”

“I…” Luke was having a little trouble finding the right sentence, not wanting to appear as completely soft as he had gone, trying to make his intentions a little discreet, but struggling to find words. “How well would you say you know Y/n ?” Let’s just say he mentally face palmed at his words.

Cameron stifled a laugh. “Dude we’re like barely over half a dozen siblings, I would say I know her pretty well. Why ?” He marked a small pause, before saying, “You know your ears are like, bright red, right ?”

“I- no. Shut up.”

“Mmmmh, you’re very convincing.”

“Please don’t tell anyone about anything you might think you know from this conversation. Which won’t be true.” It only earned him a loud fit of laughter from the boy in front of him. “Okay whatever- Do you happen to know.. if she might like someone ? Or maybe her type ? Anything about… this field of information ?”

Cameron tried to contain his amusement, seeing the usual confident and smug Luke being so… caught up in his feels. “Nah man, sorry, I don’t know anything. I mean, I did overhear her talking about some dude but it was like, 3 months ago, easy, so not sure.”

“Really? Nothing else you might have he-” Luke cut himself short when catching the annoyed cocked brow facing him. “Yeah, okay, thanks..”

“No problem, but man, between us: I don’t think you’re the only one after her, might wanna hurry.” Cameron replied with a knowing smirk, before waving to someone behind him. “She’s coming this way, just saying.”

“Wha- who- Shit.” The boy slightly panicked, hearing your voice greeting them both, and his legs grew a mind of their own, fleeing the scene before you reached his side and turning a corner to go back to his cabin.

But as he took his post-training shower, Luke couldn’t help but wonder: what should he do? Did he even have a chance? Because, let’s face it, you two had never been more than acquaintances for years, meeting here and there by coincidence because you were following friends, and the idea that you might’ve grown the same feelings in this context was an unreachable fantasy. One he shouldn’t bring himself to hope for, even more now that he realized he might not be the only one wanting to be the one in your thoughts like you wee in his.

And yet…

There was still this spark inside of him, one that made him want to bang his head on the wall of the small shower cubicle from how stupid it made him feel. Because he knew, deep inside, he hoped that he wasn’t the only one who had taken notice so late.

So it’s in the shower, under the cold running water, that he decided that there would be no more mourning what wouldn’t happen, but rather steps in the good direction, your direction: he’d do anything if it could mean a reciprocated spark.

And Luke was a man of his words. To a certain extent. If he quickly left, tail between his legs, each time you approached close enough to hear him talking about you, asking away to anyone you knew who had their chances with you, he stood his own ground when he was the one to instigate the interaction. He greeted you each chance he’d get, going out of his way to have the most trivial conversation about whatever book you were reading he didn’t know a thing about, wishing you a good day out of nowhere or removing a speck of pollen flying in your hair while you talked to him. And his friends teasing him about it was worth any word that would pass your lips for him to hear or the blush that dusted your cheeks when his fingers brushed your skin in the lightest touch.

The brunette parted from his friends, excusing himself for what he had called ‘needed personal time after being too much with you jocks’, and they had inevitably cooed at him, telling him to spend a delightful afternoon in a certain girl’s company. And if his eyes rolled to Mount Olympus back, he couldn’t think of a clever comeback as they were totally right.

He quickly spotted you, sitting not far from the strawberry fields, the smell wafting to his nose — and yet he couldn’t help but compare it to the smell of your hair that filled him every time he passed you by —, and being who he was, he couldn’t help but yell your name from across the clearing, waving his arm in the air as he ran your way.

“Moonbeam, hey!”

Luke couldn’t help the smile that crept up his face as he came closer, seeing a fresh piece of paper covered in pink ink in front of you just before you turned the notepad facing down.

“Well, you’re that much interested, huh ?”

“I- No, I’m just bored, and-”

“And I’m so interesting you couldn’t help but do a deep dive on me ?” Luke cut you off, raising an eyebrow in the most smug demeanor you could witness, a smirk tugging at his lips;

You sighed deeply, shaking your head. “And I had so little idea of what to do that I had to take the last thing left in my mind.”

“So I'm on your mind ?”

He knew it was silly, he knew it wasn’t based on anything real, but the flicker of hope was glimmering in his chest. Flirting was second nature to him and, as arrogant as it may sound, he usually didn’t have much response on the other side other than fluttering eyelashes and shy smiles, so he enjoyed this little game. Like a cat and mouse game where you were both battling to be the cat.

“Do you know you’re actually insufferable? Just making sure you’re aware.”

“I think the word you were looking for is charming but it’s alright, we’re all dyslexic around here.”

“That’s not even- whatever.” And right after you rolled your eyes in annoyance, but Luke saw a sparkle light up in them the same instant. “By the way, call me Sherlock, I found it.”

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he couldn’t help but throw in a joke to keep the light mood going. “Are you high on strawberry leaves ? What do you mean ?”

“I- unbelievable.” you huffed out, cheeks dusting in pink from confusion-fueled embarrassment. “I mean I know who ‘the fuck’ you like.” you stated, mimicking quotes with your fingers to reference the title of your list. And boy did his face fall.

__

You didn’t miss the flicker of annoyance that crossed his face, startling you a little: that little twitch on his face with the slight tilt of his head, an expression you’d always found pretty amusing and almost endearing, now seeing it directed your way… it was intimidating. What could’ve caused him to react like that ?

Little did you know, on his end, it wasn’t annoyance, only masked apprehension, fearful apprehension.

Your guts started to twist before Luke’s face relaxed again, and you took in a deep breath.

“Okay, shoot then, I guess…” the boy replied, awkwardly scratching his nape, and you couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes seemed to search yours.

You let a moment of silence pass between the two of you, before scrunching your nose with a smile. “Nah, I lied. But I’m close though, I’m sure!”

There was an awkward instant where he didn’t answer anything, and you thought your enthusiasm might’ve weirded him out, but his face broke in laughter the next, nearly bending in half as you stood there, unable to tell if you should laugh with him or be utterly mortified.

“Wow, Moonbeam… You’re another breed alright!” he exclaimed, simply unable to stop laughing at your reaction, and you swore you could see a glint of something more behind his fluttering lashes. “You really wanna know, don’t you…”

“Well I- I told you, I’m bored and easily entertained…” you replied, red growing on your cheeks as you crossed your arms over your chest in defense.

“That’s really contradictory, moonbeam.”

“I- shut up, I’m tired.” Again with that stupid nickname, so stupid it sent butterflies flying in your stomach —stupid blood capillaries.

Luke only rolled his eyes in response, getting closer to you and going around the table to take a seat in front of you, swiftly snatching the notepad from your loosened grasp.

“Hey-”

“Wow, you’re really off. Guess you’re not as close as you think.” Luke couldn’t help but tease, and you threw him a glare, a mix of frustration, indignation and… maybe even a tinge of desperation. Curiosity might’ve gotten the best of you by now.

“Yeah well, who would’ve thought camp’s perfect jock would actually be hard to understand…” You rolled your eyes, tearing your gaze from his figure as you gave up on trying to conceal the piece of paper.

“Wow, getting the claws out now, are we ?” The boy only spurred you on, loving the feeling of warmth pooling in him each time you looked at him with those fiery eyes he couldn’t believe he’d noticed so late.

“You’re a frustrating person, that’s all… But how am I wrong though ? I’m fully convinced I’ve thought of nearly everyone…” Your eyebrows furrowed as you stared down at you fidgeting fingers on the table, trying to grasp at anything you could’ve missed.

You couldn’t see it, but the way Luke’s gaze softened was noticeable for anyone that might’ve been around, his eyes almost screaming whatever was going through his head, and Annabeth would’ve smacked the back of his head if she’d seen him, from how much he annoyed her yet said nothing when he was so obvious.

“I mean, it’s impossible I haven’t put your crush’s name on the list at one point, she’s- Or are you bi?”

If he had been drinking, Luke would’ve spat his drink immediately, coughing up a laugh at your question, unable to hide the disbelief that displayed on his face. “W-what ?”

“Yeah nah okay… Or worse, are you into… a minor?”

His laugh only doubled at your statement, properly unable to hold it in as he saw the faux horrified look grow on your face. “Dear gods no! You might not believe me when I say it, but I do still have some morals.” It took him some time to calm down, a tear threatening to fall from his eye from the amusement you brought along with your bluntness. He stopped you before you could say anything more scandalous. “You know what, just hand me your pen.”

You gave him the pen promptly, your hand reacting before you registered the question and you looked at Luke, confused as to what he’d- no way.

On the other side of the table. Luke’s head was ringing, convinced he maybe should’ve thought twice before offering to solve her investigation, his hand shaking as he took the pen between his fingers, his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to think of how he could get out of the situation. But maybe it was just time, he just had to come clean, to stop the faint tugging in his chest when he saw you laugh with someone else; to stop the longing he felt when he looked at the moon out the window on sleepless nights, wondering if you were looking too when you weren’t sleeping in your bunk; to stop wondering if you’d ever catch the yearning in his eyes every time he talked to you, never wanting those moments to end.

And maybe to shut up his friends too, just maybe.

He had barely started scribbling before you laughed through the heavy tension as he let out a small ‘Fuck, forgot you actually write in pink’. But your laugh died sharply when he handed you the thin sheet of paper, your hands clutching it like it was your only thread of sanity left, eyes not leaving what he’d wrote. And he’d wrote your name.

“You’re kidding, right ?” you asked in a low whisper, eyes not straying from his messy handwriting decorating the bottom of the piece of paper, your brain almost shutting down on the spot as you read each letter, over and over again.

Luke took a deep breath in, trying to calm the pounding of the blood at his temples, his leg nervously stimming under the table. Why was it suddenly so hard to say words that used to naturally roll of his tongue like a practiced poem ? Why was it making him feel like you held his heart in your hand and could crush it with a few words ?

He let the breath out.

“Do you want to go out with me, moonbeam ?”

His heart rate picked up again —if it was even possible for a heart to beat so quickly— as he saw your expression only grow, eyes widening significantly, your lips parted without a single words going past them, looking so still he even doubt you were breathing. And he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t panicking him. Him, the one with not a single record of rejection, now fearing for his heart.

“I mean, I don’t want to force anything on you, of course, but… I need you to know, I now I’ve seemed like the most pretentious player, I’ve recently grown a little too aware of it. But I swear, I’m not like that anymore, or at least it’s not what I feel like I am anymore: I’m not here to toy with you, I’m not saying all this just to add a name to this, by the way, ridiculously long list of crossed out names.” Luke said it all in one breath, begrudgingly pointing at the list you clutched so hard it started to wrinkle at the edges, now feeling uneasy as he looked at it.

But what he found the weirdest in this instant was how he wasn’t feeling uneasy when sharing all of this, accepting his previous behavior and how it could’ve ever mislead you, trying to convince not with calculated sweet words but with honest thoughts, for once.

You finally look back at him, staring right in his brown eyes, brows furrowed like you were trying to gauge the trust you could put in his words, and the boy stopped you before you could speak up.

“No, please just- let me finish, I’ll be quick. I promise you, that guy you like? I can be better than him, better for you and better to you than he’d ever be, judging by how you des-”

“What guy ?” you asked, your brows only furrowing further in confusion.

Luke stopped in his tracks, seemingly taken aback by your question, while you looked at him expectantly, head tilted to the side. “Well, the guy you talked about with um…” he started hesitantly, not fond of admitting he had indeed been eavesdropping on you, “…Silena, Clarisse and Annabeth. The..tall jerk?”

“YOU SPIED ON M-” You cut yourself off, closing your eyes and breathing deeply, before shaking your head dismissively, as Luke looked down at his lap, a little guilty. “You know what, we’ll talk about that later. Luke ?” His head shot up to meet your gaze as he heard his name roll off your tongue, humming in response. “You’re the guy.”

Luke’s pupils blew wide at your deadpan, brows raised up and head brought forward like he couldn’t believe his ears. He stayed like that for a lingering second, processing every recollection he had of his eavesdropping to make sense of it all. He mouthed a ‘what’, before apparently snapping out of it. “I’m the tall jerk ?”

“You’re the tall jerk.” You tried to keep your voice steady, the realization of your own confession slowly seeping in your mind.

Chris was right, that little-

“So you like me ? There’s no other guy ?” he pressed, leaning over the table, all apprehension disappearing from his eyes to make room for the blooming sparks of hope, smile stretching over his lips he didn’t even bother to conceal.

Your could now clearly feel your cheeks burning up, the red hue probably visible over your complexion, eyes darting everywhere but the curly haired boy in front of you as you felt at loss for words. “There’s no- I mean, it’s.. I-”

You couldn’t help your eyes from trailing to his lips as you caught a movement, the tip of his tongue barely darting out and leaving his lips parted in a smile, looking so…

You had to break away as Luke swiftly moved off the table, unable to stop himself from smiling profusely after he’d caught your evident gaze, walking around to sit on the edge, right next to you.

He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at you, before finally speaking up.

“Ok, scratch what I said earlier, that guy you talked about seems absolutely amazing. Real boyfriend material. I could never even dream of being like him. You clearly should date him, I get it.” Your eyes rolled as you slowly understood his little speech, blush still dusting your cheeks as your smile started to match his, lightly biting your lip to hold it. “But oh, wait, what did you say? Is it me?” he asked, feigning innocence and pointing at himself. “I’m the guy? Wow, incredible, so convenient.”

But you could only smile further at his antics, feeling any fear, anticipation, hidden pent up frustration, slowly leaving your body as the boy’s own joy radiated off his, contagious energy that seeped into you.

“So, would you consider going out with a tall jerk ?”

You couldn’t hold a little chuckle. “You’re a dork.”

“Yeah well, would you consider going out with a dorky tall jerk, then ?”

“I don’t just consider, Luke,” you started, a glint of playfulness in your eyes as they bore in his, “I want to.”

You stood up at the same time as one of your hands shot up to grab the collar of his orange shirt, bringing him low enough to press your lips to his in a kiss, surprising, confusing, but oh so cathartic. And for the short moment it lasted, Luke’s hands opening and closing just short of touching you as he didn’t even know what to do anymore, to the both of you it felt like perfection.

But the passion simmered down as you pulled away. “You swear you’re not gonna play me?” you mumbled, both hands gripping the front of his shirt as the bliss started to wear off and you realized how stupid you had to be to fully believe him, given the history.

“I-” Luke let out a deep sigh, hand finally moving to push a stray strand of hair out of your face, and you shivered at the contact of his warm fingers. “I’m gonna do everything I can think off to prove t to you. I’m on a maturing path, if that’s actually an expression.” And his smile grew back as he heard you stifle a laugh, finally looking up at him.

“Can I ask you something then ?”

“Anything.” And boy did he mean it. He probably was even ready to loose a sparring match against you if it would make you beam like you did just moments before.

“Why were you talking to all my siblings ? Everytime I saw you, you just… ran away.”

The boy let out an awkward laugh, scratching his nape as he looked away from your eyes. “Well I… I was asking around if they knew who you might be interested in… Didn’t exactly want you to find out.”

You looked at him in disbelief, happily surprised that he’d actually been through almost the same thing as you. “Wow, dedication, I could never. I only asked Annabeth-”

“Annabeth knew ? And she didn’t tell me ? I feel sooo betrayed!” Luke exclaimed with a laugh, head falling back with his eyes closed as he went through everything that could’ve been simpler had she told him from the start.

“Wait, she knew about you ?” Your face displayed a matching shock now. “And you feel betrayed ? Wow, she looked at me right in the eyes and told me she barely knew your type, hence the list.”

“She really is the evil genius she thinks she is, huh ?” he asked rhetorically, his arms finding your hips and pulling you closer to him.

“Myeah, gonna have a talk with you now, little girl…” you replied, resting your head comfortably against his shoulder, the feeling almost too natural to feel new, and you could only smile absentmindedly as your own arms hugged him back.

Did i feel fully comfortable writing boys down-talking a girl for that two sentence apparition? No. But for the sake of the storyyyy :D

Future partner if you have to nickname me, let it be moonbeam. Please. And if you could cosplay nightwing on a weekly basis it’s an added bonus but hey, I won’t ask too much <3

Hope you enjoyed this heheh

Love, Nana -

[ollyissleppy]

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝

summary: you and your boyfriend try to ensure you're not on the naughty list and helping the people around you! cw: none?

series masterlist

Akso Hospital

"Thank you so much for doing this. The kids will be so grateful" you walk alongside one of the nurses of the hospital. Zayne mentioned to you a few days ago that the nurses were planning a small surprise for the youngest patients of Akso Hospital and you loved the idea so much, you decided to ask if they needed any help with it.

"It's nothing, really. I'm glad I can help" you smile at the nurse, adjusting the boxes with decorations that you were carrying.

"Will you have enough time to hang out with them for a bit? I'm sure they'll love company of a hunter"

"Sure, that's sounds lovely" you smile at the nurse, getting quite exited to meet with the kids.

You and a few of other nurses set up the playroom of the hospital, adding holiday decorations to the room.

Once you're done, you stay behind with one of the nurses, making sure everything is ready for the patients, while the rest is on their mission to gather all the kids to bring them to you.

"Wow guys it's a hunter!" As soon as the kids enter the room and after checking out all of the decorations, they notice you and run up to you.

"Hello miss Hunter!" They all say almost in union, they're big eyes looking up at you visibly exited.

The kids swarm you, all of them wanting to sit as close to you as possible. You let them ask you questions and you try to answer them as well as you can. You don't even notice someone watching you from the doorway, till one of the kids point it out.

"Dr. Zayne! We get to hang out with Miss Hunter!" One of the girls in the group came up to Zayne and, after grabbing him by his hand, dragged him towards the rest of the group.

He sat down at the small chair, his knees almost reaching his chin.

You smiled at him and were about to comment on it, when a child ask you another question.

Well, you'll just have to tease him about it later…

animal shelter

"… and one for you and another one for you" you walk past the cages that the animals were being kept in, giving everyone a nice treat.

"Rafayel look! This one looks just like you!" You point at a dark-haired cat with blue eyes with a hint of purple in them. You call out to the cat only for it to start purring and nuzzling into the bars of his cage, trying to get a better feel of your hand. "Clingy like you too."

"I am not clingy" Rafayel protests, pouting.

"Yeah, definitely" you look at Rafayel, who has both of his arms tightly wrapped around your left arm.

Rafayel looked like he was about to say something, when one of the workers in the shelter came up to you.

"I see that you get along with our animals pretty well" she says, looking at you giving pets to Rafayel lookalike in a cat form "maybe you'd like to take a few of the dogs out on a walk?"

"We'd love that" you say, before you boyfriend can come up with an excuse to not do that.

With the help of one more worker, both you and Rafayel successfully take two dogs on leashes to be able to walk them. You decide to take them to the nearby park so they can enjoy some playing in the snow.

You watch the dogs play and have the time of their lives. You can't help but smile, knowing it was you and your boyfriend that helped them achieve that.

"Thank you for dragging me here. It wasn't so bad."

forest

"Here should be good" you both stop in the middle of the forest. There isn't much of a clearing, but the area isn't too dense with trees either. Seemingly a perfect spot for your task.

"Let's start then" you're quite exited, loving the idea of helping out some wild animals in the harsh winter in Linkon.

The both of you work quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace of the forest around you. You set up feeders filled to the brim with various foods, something for most of the animals that live in this forest. The time goes by, not being noticed by the two of you.

"That's all of them, I think" Xavier looks around, checking if there's any more feeders that lack food in them and failing to notice any. "You want to wait around to see if anything shows up?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I want to" you say, smiling at your boyfriend.

The two of you find a nice spot a bit further away from the feeders, but close enough to be able to see any animals that might show themselves.

You're not sure how much time passes before you startseeing some animals. First to show up were birds that carefully started eating some of the seeds. They stayed there for a while and you started to think they were the only ones you'll be able to see. Then, two deers show up. Gacefull creatures, carefully placing their steps while reaching one of the feeders. You and Xavier watch them eat, cuddling closer to each other for warmth.

"They're beautiful."

"Yea, just like you."

N109 Zone

You roam around the N109 Zone, looking for your boyfriend. You asked the twins if they seen him anywhere, but they didn't know Sylus's whereabouts.

"Thank you so much, sir" you hear when you pass a random alley. Curiosity got the better of you and you decided to check out what's so worthy of thanking for.

You quietly move deeper into the alley. You take a peek at who was in there and to your surspire it was you boyfriend, Sylus. You watch the interaction between him and an older man. Once the man leaves, Sylus turns to look straight at you, even though you were hidden in the shadows.

"How long are you planning to hide in there?" He asks, stepping closer to where you're standing.

"Till I get my fill. Wasn't expecting to see you giving out stuff in the streets" Sylus reaches you and pulls you out of the shadows. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Giving away some warm clothes and stuff" he shrugs "can't have the people freeze to death"

"That's so nice of you" you smile "can I help?" Sylus nods, a small smile on his lips.

You take a few warm clothes and some blankets and join Sylus in giving them to the less fortunate. Seeing all the smiles and warm thanks coming from all of the people warmed your heart. You were so happy to be able to do this with Sylus, it was like finding new side to your boyfriend.

"Thank you for joining me. I don't think I'll enjoy myself as much as I did without you around."

taglist: @iloveboysinred @leighsartworks216 @faeryminnyx @bellagrayson-wayne

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