#fic: highball

[osunism]

HIGHBALL

"See-line womanDressed in redMake a manLose his head" —Nina Simone

🔞 Rating: Explicit ❤️‍🔥 Relationship[s]: Sukuna/Nadja/Toji ⚠️ Be Advised: Gun violence, descriptions of blood and gore, explicit sexual situations [gunplay, torture, and mild exhibitionism], adult language. This is a non-curse AU so there is no jujutsu, but it is still a violent world of organized crime. 🪧 Summary: Sukuna and Nadja are living an idyllic life as former figures in the rotten underbelly of organized crime. When an old contact of Nadja's shows up on their doorstep with a dire warning, the trio must prepare to do what they must to protect their newfound peace.

▶• ılıılıılıılıılıılı. 🎧 [ highball: spotify ] 🎧 [ highball: apple music ]

🌻 Prelude: The Season of Flowers 🐅 Act I: Idyll's End 🐉 Act II: Exhumed ⛩️ Act III: Legacy

⛩️ AO3 ᪥ OC Masterpost ᪥ Fic Masterpost ⛩️

🌻 Prologue II: The Drinking Pool

     As a newer and untried member of Sukuna’s organization, Nadja’s skills and handling were placed under the purview of Toji Fushiguro, Sukuna’s chief enforcer. To Toji, Nadja was as good as any of the men that worked under him, if not better. She was clever, could make hairpin turn decisions in the field, and had a 100% clearance rate. She was a ruthlessly efficient siloed killer, required almost no guidance, and she didn’t flinch at death the way some of these younger wolves did when faced with their first few kills.

     All in all, Toji would say his babysitting job was an easy one. Nadja didn’t give him any trouble in the field and took orders the same as any other subordinate. If her skills far outstripped those of his other men, even better. Maybe that would motivate them to get their asses to the shooting range and train instead of ogling Nadja’s ass whenever she was in the room.

     Not that it was unwarranted. Toji had to admit, for so slight and vicious a woman, she was a veritable honey pot. Everything about her seemed sculpted and crafted to allure, her presence as vivid and magnetic as any flower, if one ignored the venomous serpent beneath the petals. She was disciplined in a way Toji could respect, and she never got caught up in the petty day to day shit his men entertained themselves with, though he did want to see her when she let her hair down.

     He even imagined taking a fistful of that thick, curly hair, pulling her head back to expose her throat, and sucking a mark into her satin skin. But it was clear from the outset that she was Sukuna’s woman. They had the decency to show restraint in public, but Toji had survived on reading the illegible. Where his fellow lieutenants seemed oblivious, Toji could practically see the electricity crackling between Sukuna and Nadja; a heat that bore within the promise of extraordinary violence and equally extraordinary passion. He could tell from the way they looked at each other it was over for both of them.

     It was too much to hope that Nadja would throw him a bone. He was so goddamn curious as to what she had that kept Sukuna’s smirk so sleek and satisfied, and even seemed to relax the bastard in meetings. He wasn’t one for needlessly killing subordinates to make an example—a waste of personnel, really—but that didn’t mean he didn’t devise other ways to torment those who crossed him.

     As a result, Sukuna ran a tight ship, and the threat of his ire was enough to keep the men in line. But since Nadja came back into his life he seemed content to let the men relax a bit. After all, they’d secured a victory over the Zenins, effectively dismantling their core network. It was Toji’s intel about the inner workings of his former clan that aided in that final victory.

     And Sukuna claimed their territory as his own, growing stronger and wealthier by the day. And as he did, so too did those in his organization.

     Toji had to own, life was good, and as he and Nadja worked alongside one another, it got better.

     It was after a mission in Kyoto that things shifted between them.

     Customarily, after work was done, they—the boys, mostly—liked to go out carousing in Roppongi. For her part, Nadja tended not to indulge too much, but after Kyoto she seemed restless enough that a night of drinking wouldn’t do any harm. So, they did an izakaya crawl. Their group consisted of Toji’s younger enforcers: Genji, a wild-haired delinquent who had dropped out of high school when he found out his talents with a baseball bat were more suited toward cracking skulls than homeruns; Kai, a sly trickster who was more flashy than he should have had any right to be, and cheated at cards though no one was quick enough to catch him in the act, unless Nadja’s sly grin told a different story [she cheated too, Toji noticed]. Then there was their youngest recruit, still green in his skills, newly blooded, but with that unwavering hunger in his eyes, and fewer words. Of him, Toji knew little, and he’d been thorough in his background check. Inumaki, they called him, and the only ink he bore were the concentric circles at the corner of his mouth and on his tongue. When asked of their meaning, Inumaki remained reticent.

     Kid was a hell of an interrogator, though. Toji would hate to be on the receiving end of that motherfucker’s patience.

     Toji and Nadja walked side by side, while Genji, Kai, and Inumaki walked ahead, talking and laughing loudly.

     “Not interested in the mind-tingling conversations of young men?” Nadja asked, her voice silky. Toji found it hard to believe that this woman had masqueraded as some civilian who just happened to catch Sukuna’s interest. Then again, true predators like her always hid in plain sight. Right now, he wasn’t sure what he was dealing with: lady or tiger. Sukuna was the same way, only you were always dealing with the tiger. Nadja hid her stripes until her jaws closed around her target’s neck.

     “They’re conversations I’ve already had,” Toji said with an easy shrug of his shoulders. “Let the kids have their fun, they’ve earned it tonight.”

     “But not on your dime, right, boss man?!” Genji called back over his shoulder, earning uproarious laughter from the trio, and a sultry, simmering chuckle from Nadja. Toji sucked his teeth in momentary annoyance as jokes of how stingy he was with his yen got volleyed between the three boys. A sideways glance let him see Nadja’s lovely profile, plump lips curved into a smile that somehow walked the line between sweet and seductive. He bet her lips tasted like salt and vanilla.

     Another izakaya, this one less rowdy, and they found themselves a quiet booth made instantly louder as the trio piled in, calling for a round of shots. Toji pulled out a seat for Nadja, and smirked as she looked up at him in surprise.

     “Take a seat, gorgeous, I’ll cover the tab,” he said. Nadja’s smiled turned intrigued, then. The trio gazed between them, a little mystified by Toji’s boldness. It was well-known that Sukuna and Nadja were an item, though the two were known to create an air of tension so thick at times it made everyone in the room uncomfortable. No one could tell if the two wanted to murder one another or fuck, and sometimes—if the rumors were true—it sounded like a little bit of both.

     This was the kind of delicate tripwire Toji danced around with his idle flirtations and innocuous niceties that anyone who knew Toji’s tack record could see for the game it was.

     Nadja was willing to indulge, if only out of idle curiosity. She was who she was, after all.

     So, she sat down, and Toji paid for their drinks, including the trio, much to their delight [and surprise; they’d been serious about Toji being a cheapskate].

     As the night wore on, and the shots piled up, the conversation grew boisterous. Toji joined in on occasion, trading insults back and forth with his subordinates as if he weren’t Sukuna’s left-hand man. Nadja watched the easy camaraderie and smiled. It was not a sort of kinship she herself was accustomed to given her background, but since joining Sukuna, she’d found herself with a surplus of family members, however dysfunctional.

     Beneath the table, Toji’s hand found hers, and their fingers brushed.

     “I’m gonna step out for a smoke, you want to join me?” Toji asked.

     Nadja smiled. “Sure,” she said, and the two stepped outside. She didn’t miss the hushed whispers of the trio in her wake, nor the very conspicuous shushing as she and Toji stepped outside. He was already lighting a cigarette, and he let out a satisfied exhale, as if the fresh air and the smoke were equally relaxing.

     “So, when does Sukuna think he’ll release you from babysitting me?” Nadja asked. Toji almost coughed in surprise. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that.

     “It’s not that,” Toji said and Nadja fixed him with a quirked brow as if to say: what else could it be? She was a world-class assassin—a goddamn mercenary—who had been sent to kill Sukuna himself and nearly succeeded. She did not need a handler breathing down her neck like she was still training. Toji sighed.

     “Look, you and Sukuna’s first meeting was…pretty unconventional,” Toji said. Nadja gave him a crooked smirk.

     “I was sent to kill him,” she said casually. “It was nothing personal, just business.”

     Toji frowned. “Yeah? Then why didn’t you?”

     That gave Nadja pause, and Toji saw the predatory stillness in her. For the first time, he caught a flickering glance at the stripes she hid so well. Grandma, what big teeth you have.

     “He caught me by surprise,” she said easily. Toji had to commend her: she hid her shock well. But he wore a killer’s skin too, and they knew their own. “And with Naoya and the Zenins no longer holding my leash, killing him doesn’t serve my handlers.”

     Toji ashed the cigarette, tossing it and exhaling sharply.

     “See, that’s it, right there,” he said irritably. Nadja’s brow furrowed. “‘My handlers,’ you say. Talking about them like you’re still theirs. You pledged your skills to Sukuna in front of Naoya’s severed head. The head I took, mind you. You, like the rest of us, belong to him. And the sooner you start acting like this isn’t just some wild chapter in the fabulous life you seem to lead elsewhere, the sooner you can lose me as your babysitter.”

     Nadja’s expression never wavered.

     “So, the promise to be free was a false one,” she observed quietly. Toji smirked at her.

     “Did you really think Sukuna was gonna let you do whatever you liked just because you sucked his cock a few times?”

     Normally, Toji’s crude words would be off-putting, but Nadja had heard [and done] far worse things. There was no line to cross.

     “I had hoped it would help, at least,” she admitted with a grin that Toji found all too tempting. “It certainly seemed to make him more amenable for a time, if I remember correctly.”

     Toji pulled a face. “How the fu—”

     And then Nadja burst into laughter—true laughter. Toji remembered that night because it was the first time he felt like he was seeing her unscripted. There was no ulterior motive, there was no angle, and there was no coy batting of lashes; there was only Nadja and her amusement and joy, full-throated and from the belly, and her goddamned smile. Her real one.

     In that moment, Toji got a passing glimpse of what Sukuna probably never even saw when she was working him.

     “Well,” Toji said, fumbling with his box of cigarettes for another stick. “You’re not entirely wrong. When he thought he was courting you he definitely lost his temper a lot less.”

     “Did he?” Nadja asked, amused. “I always told him to not let petty things irritate him. I guess he did listen, after all.”

     Toji tried not to unpack why her words stung him. Instead, he lit his next cigarette. For a while, they stood in silence, and Nadja’s gaze drifted to the passing foot traffic and auto traffic that flowed like so many cells through the veins of Tokyo’s streets.

     “You broke his heart, you know,” Toji said suddenly, and became starkly aware of Nadja’s dark gaze on him. He would make her listen. “He was in love with you, thought you were really something. But it was a lie. He’s been different since then.”

     Nadja’s gaze returned to the street.

     “Like I said,” she said quietly. “It wasn’t personal. Just business.”

     “And now?” Toji asked, trying not to sound as jealous as he felt. Nadja was dressed in what could only be called ‘assassin chic,’ an all-black ensemble that accentuated her curves and lines, giving her the appearance of one of those models one saw in the glossy pages of some editorial spread in Vogue. Her hair was loose, thick and curly and bound back at her nape. A few stray curls coiled possessively along her sculpted cheekbone, framing her face like wisteria blooms.

     “Now, I have options,” Nadja said. “If Sukuna wishes for things to be as they were, I can be that, if that’s what he desires of me. But if not…”

     Toji glanced down at her, meeting her dark gaze.

     “If not…?” He asked. Nadja tilted her head, her smile soft, almost tender.

     “Then we’ll see what the night brings, won’t we?” She replied.

     Toji wasn’t sure who moved first, her or him, but he took her face in his hands, leaning down as she pressed up on her toes and kissed her.

     Her mouth tasted better than salt and vanilla. It tasted like honey. He swept his tongue between her lips, agile and seeking entry, and her mouth yielded open with a soft whimper Toji knew he’d be hearing in his dreams later that night.

     Toji pulled away first, struggling to catch his breath.

     Nadja lowered back down, lips parted as she looked up at him. Toji could no longer tell if she is hiding her stripes or not, just that he wanted her.

     “We shouldn’t,” he said gruffly. “I can’t cross that line. Not with Sukuna.”

     Nadja tilted her head, her expression quizzical.

     “Did I pledge my body to Sukuna as well as my skillset?” She wondered.

     “From what I know, your body is part of your skillset,” Toji snapped a little more venomous than intended. Nadja raised a brow, unflappable to the last.

     “I see,” she said. “And were you told by Sukuna to try and sample all of my skills, as it were?” She ventured. “Because if so, I’d be happy to give a full demonstration. I know your investigations tend to be…” She looked him up and down. “…thorough.”

     Toji stared at her, hard, verdant eyes glittering dangerously. She was tempting a leviathan she didn’t know lurked beneath the usually calm waters of his exterior. Toji was known for being laid-back amongst his men and had known Sukuna in the game long enough that they spoke more as old friends than boss and subordinate.

     But Toji was Sukuna’s left-hand for a reason.

     With a speed that startled even the unflappable Nadja, Toji’s hand shot up, almost as if to strike, and he saw her tense up briefly, not in fear, but in preparation to retaliate. Instead, his hand was unerringly gentle as he caressed her cheek with his knuckles.

     “You sure you want this, angel?” He asked, holding her gaze with unnerving steadiness. Nadja felt her pulse leap in her veins and perhaps for the first time, began to see Toji with more than passing interest. He had done what only Sukuna had been able to and intrigued the intriguing predator.

     “I promised a demonstration, didn’t I?” She replied with a soft grin. Toji’s hand came to her mouth, tracing the full, luscious shape of it with his thumb, pulling her lower lip down to reveal her teeth.

     “I’ll need more than a demonstration,” he said. “I want the full package. I see a little bit of what he saw in you.”

     Nadja smirked, then.

     “Toji,” she murmured, and turned her head just so. “You have no idea what he saw or experienced in me.”

     And then she took his thumb into her mouth and sucked.

     Toji paid the tab, of course, but he and Nadja got into a cab without another word. The tension between them was thick and by the time they got to his place, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her.

     Keys in the door.

     Shoes off.

     Toji didn’t even hit the hallway light before his large hands sought every button, buckle, and zipper on her clothing. They tore at each other like they were only teeth, claws, and pure, unalloyed need. Perhaps that’s all they were. Toji put his hands and mouth on every inch of exposed skin, relishing in her cries in the dark as they stumbled their way to a surface that could withstand the storm gathering between them.

     There was something inordinately thrilling about working in the dark, and to two people whose darkest deeds were done in the baptism of shadows, this was a much-needed pressure valve release.

     Not to mention the slaking of a carnal curiosity that had been building for the better part of a year.

     By the time Toji got her naked he had the decency to click on one lamp, if only to get a good look at her.

     Fuck, she was magnificent.

     When Sukuna had told him about how he’d tracked her down, he’d left out a detail that Toji had later understood to be that he’d fucked the life out of her for hours after. And looking at her, Toji could not blame him. The woman was a fucking smoke show.

     Nadja lay on the bed like a sacred offering, her hair blooming in a profusion of jet-black curls like a cloudy halo around her head. Her face was sculpted with deadly intent, with dark, uptilted eyes the color of deep, forest pools, ringed by a flutter of thick, sooty lashes. Her lips, which he’d been feasting on the entire ride here, were love-swollen and bee stung, parted in an even, patient breath. Toji’s gaze slipped downward, from her collarbones to the tender swells of her breasts, tipped with dark, velvety nipples.

     Every curve. Every slalom. Toji didn’t think there was any woman who could look like this and not scare a man half to death with desire.

     But Toji was never one to back down from a challenge.

     “Open those pretty legs for me, beautiful,” he said with an easy smirk. Nadja tilted her head back slightly, as if to raise her chin in defiance. Then, with a tantalizing slowness that made Toji’s cock twitch like a fish on the line, she spread her legs. Every single thing about the simple movement demonstrated the degree of control Nadja had over her body. Her legs parted like she was a dancer responding to an unspoken cue and Toji’s eyes dropped to the tender apex between them, as if he were compelled.

     Fuck, even her cunt was gorgeous. She kept it trimmed, and he licked his lips hungrily as he spied the thick, wet heat dripping from her entrance. Toji mounted the bed, and Nadja’s smile turned eager and expectant, smoothly moving back as he crawled between her thighs. She was made starkly aware of how massive he was, even as he hooked her knees over his elbows, his palms pressed against the back of her thighs, pushing her legs back to expose her pussy further.

     “Fuck,” he whispered reverently. Nadja grinned slowly before she watched Toji’s head dip down, meeting her cunt in an open-mouthed kiss that would make a pornography cameraman look away and blush.

     Nadja’s eyes slipped closed, and her head dropped back as she let out her first, very real moan of the night, accompanied by the slippery, wet slurping of Toji’s mouth working until her cunt bloomed like a flower against his tongue, and he felt her writhe like a serpent caught in a wolf’s jaws.

     At some point—likely when Toji’s lips wrapped around her clit and sucked until Nadja’s screams threatened to cause a power outage—Toji learned that despite Nadja’s ability to shift her colors and behavior with everyone around her, there was nothing about this part of her skillset that was feigned.

     That wash of slick against his mouth as his tongue stroked her clit up and down and all around? Real.

     Her screams begging him for moremoremore and yesjustlikethatdon’tstop? Very, very real.

     And when his thick fingers found that tender plane inside of her that made her see fireworks bursting in her own head as she came, and came, and came until she left a wet spot on his sheets? Real.

     Nadja Hikmat did not feign in bed, and neither did Toji Fushiguro.

     By the time Toji was done lapping up every last drop of her, her thighs were quivering in his grasp, and she was pushing at his mop of hair, begging him not to go any further. But Toji had something to prove, and so he wrung one more out of her.

     “Fuck!” She shouted, back bowed off the bed, legs spread wide, and Toji nose-deep in her pussy like it was hiding a secret he so badly craved to have on his tongue.

     “Mmph,” he groaned, deeply pleased with his handiwork as Nadja fought the final tremors of an overstimulating climax. “That’s it, baby.” He pulled away from her reluctantly, finally letting her breathe.

     Nadja looked up at him as he released her legs which she lowered carefully. She kept them open, though, and beckoned him with open arms.

     Toji didn’t even care if she was hiding her stripes anymore, and he went to her, his cock aching to fill her. Nadja moaned as he slipped the swollen tip up and down her sensitive slit, and lifted her hips, begging him to slip inside.

     Toji, being an obliging man, did just that.

     The room filled with their mutual groans of relief and pleasure as Toji sank eight inches into her, stretching her pretty little pussy around him. Nadja’s eyes rolled back, and she bit her lip as his hips pressed against her. Toji took his time to watch her, even as he slowly pulled his hips back. Nadja’s mouth dropped open and let loose a strangled sound.

     “You like that, baby?” Toji asked. “Want more?”

     Nadja nodded, unable to speak. Toji’s dick was so damn big it was taking all of her breath not to lose her mind more than she already had.

     And then he started to fuck her.

     Toji’s bed squeaked and groaned beneath their bodies, the headboard clacked against the wall, and he knew his neighbors would be banging on the wall for peace after a while. He didn’t give a shit because right now he was stroking possibly the best pussy he’d ever been inside of aside from—

     “Put your fuckin’ legs up my shoulders, baby—yeah, just like that—nngh, fuck…!” He folded Nadja in half, and for the next fifteen minutes there was only the rude, erotic sound of skin meeting skin. Toji drilled his cock into her like he wanted her to taste it with each thrust.

     And then he flipped her over onto all fours, giving her only a split second to brace herself before he took her from behind. He spread her thighs wide, palming the lush cheeks of her ass and spreading those two, before he leaned over and spat into her cute little asshole. He enjoyed watching her pussy stretch around his cock, the sound of her choked cries soaking the room, and when he slipped his thumb into that puckered hole, he enjoyed feeling her come again and again.

     For a long while, Toji rode her hard with every intention of putting her away wet.

     “Is this what you gave him?” Toji found himself growling, grasping one of her hips to the point of bruising, and listening to her incoherent moans as he spat in between her spread ass cheeks again, rubbing it along her asshole for further lubrication for his probing thumb.

     There wasn’t a line to cross. Whatever had kept them separate had dissolved the minute they kissed.

     Toji pulled his cock out of her roughly, leaving her empty and bereft. She dropped down to her forearms, whimpering and needy before he turned her back over.

     “I wanna see your fucking face when you come, baby,” he said with that harsh grin that was like a slash to the throat. Nadja gazed at him with lust-bleary eyes, her hair unkempt, her dark umber skin glowing with sweat. Toji stroked his cock with his fist, and divining his desire, she scrambled onto her hands and knees, crawling toward him.

     “Open,” he ordered curtly, and she opened her mouth, holding out her tongue. Toji leaned down and spit in it. She moaned in response, cut short when his spit was followed by a few light taps of his cock on her tongue before he shoved it into her open mouth. “You look so fucking pretty like this.”

     “Fuuuuckkkk…” Toji groaned when Nadja tilted her head to allow him to slip into her throat. He felt her struggle, but only for a split second. He understood Sukuna in that moment. If this was the kind of head he was getting daily, hell, he’d be a lot nicer too.

     Nadja sucked his cock with an eagerness Toji was sure could only be bought and paid for outside of this bedroom. But here she was, doing it for free and because she enjoyed it. She took as much of him into her throat as she could, fat, glittering tears pooling under her lashes before running down her cheeks, taking her eyeliner and mascara with it. Toji wanted to come on the spot from the sight alone. Then there was the drool pooling around his cock, dripping down her chin and throat, down his balls, which she sucked one after the other, and massaged when she took his shaft back into her mouth.

     “Fuck, that’s it,” he breathed with a satisfied groan, head tipped back, his hand fisted in her hair as he guided her mouth along his cock, pushing her further and further. He wanted to test the limits of her throat, and he hadn’t hit it yet.

     Nadja moaned around his cock as if it were her favorite meal, as if she could spend the rest of her life being used just like this. One of her hands worked between her legs, stroking her clit, already swollen and sensitive from Toji’s attentions.

     “Just like that, baby…” Toji was so close he could see the bright edge of one hell of a nut, and he imagined what Nadja’s beautiful face would look like painted with his come.

     Nadja’s hand found his balls again, and then the other joined her mouth, and she stroked him.

     Toji brought his immediate fantasy to life as he grasped her hair, pulling her off his cock to stroke it furiously as it throbbed and twitched in his palm. Nadja welcomed the warm spray of his come along her cheeks, across the bridge of her nose, dripping from her lips and splattered on her tongue. A few pearlescent droplets even splashed across her breasts. Toji wished he could rewind this moment just to come all over her again.

     “Fucking Christ,” he groaned when he’d emptied his balls. He looked down at Nadja as he caught his breath, watched as her tongue snaked out to lick the droplets of his come that graced her swollen and pouty lips. Toji felt his breath beginning to even out and smirked at her.

     “Did I pass your inspection?” Nadja asked, her voice slightly hoarse from disuse, and the bullying of Toji’s massive cock in her throat. Toji laughed tiredly, ignoring the shiver down his spine as the air in the room grew cooler in the immediate aftermath.

     “Fuck yeah, you do,” he said. “Hell, I’ll call Sukuna right now and tell him to pull me off this detail. You’re a goddamn ace in my book.”

     Nadja laughed, crawling off the bed and heading to the bathroom. Toji followed, grinning as he palmed her ass on the way to turn on the shower. Nadja washed the mess of him off of her face as the shower grew steamy. Toji held out his hand and she took it.

     “Let’s see your wet work,” Toji said with another one of those wolfish smirks. It was so incredibly cheesy that it startled another one of those unscripted laughs out of her and Toji counted that as a win in addition to making her come so hard she drooled a little.

     Well, Toji hadn’t been entirely wrong: her body was in and of itself a skillset. One that when employed in just the right way, could make even the most skeptical of lovers believe in the lie of transparency. The trick was that nothing Nadja did in bed was feigned. She simply saw it as another card to add to her deck. How that card was played, depended on her goal. A little truth seasoned the lie like salt.

     The following week, Nadja was briefed on an upcoming mission, and she was slated to work it solo.

     Sukuna proposed to Nadja one cold winter night while they were enjoying a private dinner in his penthouse.

     She had been running in yolk with his Wolves for almost two years and acquitted herself well with each assignment. Highly competent, and after two years of observation, highly trustworthy. They’d danced around one another for a time, and Sukuna had been slow to trust Nadja again, but the attraction between them felt as sure and inevitable as gravity. Eventually, they had to talk, and of course they did, in their way.

     Sukuna counted the resulting furniture damage worth it.

     Now, however, as they ate a sumptuous full course sushi meal provided by the world class chef he’d hired, everything seemed almost like before; before he woke up that morning with her blade at his throat and that sharp predatory glimmer in her dark eyes.

     The only difference is now he saw that glimmer all the time, and when the illusion of the innocent maiden faded, he accepted the tiger for what she was…because he was a monster too.

     Outside, the panoramic view of Tokyo glittered like a carpet of preternatural jewels. They were so high up Nadja could barely see the taillights of the cars in the streets. Idly, Nadja rested her chin on her fist, watching Tokyo as if the answers to all of her questions could be divined in the neon entrails spread before her.

     “You’re awfully pensive tonight,” Sukuna said, amusement coloring his tone. Nadja’s brows went up, and she blinked like a waking dreamer, coming to life as if Medusa’s spell had come undone. It never ceased to amaze Sukuna how Nadja moved as no woman should have been able to and still remind him of a lioness peering at him from over the drinking pool.

     Well, lioness, meet tiger.

     “Offering me a penny for my thoughts?” She asked him, equally amused as she regarded her empty plate. Sukuna loved that Nadja was as enthusiastic about food as he was. She had a prodigious appetite in so many things. He’d never met anyone with so much ardent passion bubbling like magma beneath such a cool exterior.

     “I’ll offer you the entire world for your thoughts, you know that,” Sukuna countered. “But I want you to give them to me freely.”

     Nadja regarded him quietly for a moment, as if she were studying him. Sukuna gazed back, unblinking and unflinching. He was not a man easily riled, and over the course of the last year he had grown accustomed to the deadly woman before him. His passion and love for her may have carved a river ribbon into his soul, but it was still his soul, after all.

     “What do you want from me?” Nadja’s voice was so quiet, Sukuna almost didn’t hear her. But he had, and it was his turn to be still. Nadja waited, and he understood that she was serious. She wanted to know what he wanted from her, but he knew what she was really asking.

     “You pledged your skills to me, Nadja,” Sukuna said thoughtfully. “And I told you I couldn’t kill you because I found them valuable. Anything more than that was a bonus from which we both stood to gain.”

     “And is my body included in that skillset, Sukuna?” She asked, and Sukuna’s brow furrowed slightly at the edge in her tone. He’d never heard Nadja question him like this, and certainly not on the nature of how he employed her skills for his organization’s benefit. There were few lines Nadja would not cross, and Sukuna had requested and born witness to some truly dark deeds at her hands on his orders.

     But what she was asking is if she belonged to him as much as her skills.

     “I meant what I said when you joined,” Sukuna said. “You’ll be free. That includes taking to bed anyone you please.”

     Nadja’s brows raised in quiet surprise at that, and Sukuna grinned.

     “Did you think I was blind, Nadja?” He asked with an amused chuckle. “I know you and Toji have wanted a taste of each other since you first walked into my office and gave yourself to me. I also know how fast you work. So…how was he? I hear he likes to play rough and nasty. Not all his partners like it, but the ones who like it, love it. And I just happen to know that you’re the latter.”

     Nadja was so stunned that for a moment she simply couldn’t speak. She had expected many reactions from him regarding her tryst with Toji, but none of them involved him being as relaxed and candid about it as he was being, now. And it seemed Toji was such a hound that Sukuna was intimately familiar with how he liked to play in bed.

     “Well, shit!” Sukuna exclaimed in a rare moment of unfettered excitement. “I finally managed to stump that pretty, complicated brain of yours! You’ve never been quiet this long!”

     Nadja stared at him and blinked several times, as if she were trying to shake off the last vestiges of a bad dream.

     “You are taking this awfully well,” Nadja observed quietly. Sukuna gave her one of his customary smirks.

     “How else would you like me to take it, my dear? I never expected you to remain faithful to me, and Toji’s a good-looking man that I trust. I knew he’d treat you right.”

     Nadja’s brows furrowed, slightly confused.

     “However,” Sukuna said and laughed when Nadja tensed. “Relax, I’m not going to berate you or cast you out like some cheating spouse in a drama. I have a proposition for you, actually.”

     Nadja had the decency to at least look suspicious. She inclined her head, inviting him to continue. Sukuna poured himself sake, threw it back, and licked his lips.

     “If you want to continue seeing Toji, I won’t stop you of course,” Sukuna said easily. “I trust him, and I’ve come to trust you. However, in order for this to work, I need you to be mine in truth.”

     Nadja frowned. “What?” She asked, and there was that dangerous edge to her voice again. Sukuna grinned.

     “Marry me, Nadja,” Sukuna said, and watched her eyes grow wide. “I can’t rule this little kingdom alone, and if I’m gonna keep you and Toji, then I need you to be able to—”

     “You want spousal confidentiality privileges,” Nadja interrupted. Sukuna raised her brows. He truly hadn’t thought of that particular implication. And when he realized why she had, he pinched the bridge of his nose. How could he be botching his own proposal like this?

     “Damnit,” he growled. “It’s not that, Nadja. It’s just…I want you by my side. I want to marry you, and maybe even have a couple of brats of our own one day.”

     Nadja’s eyes were wide, and Sukuna feared he truly had broken her.

     “Fuck,” he laughed. “At least say something! Toji said this shit wouldn’t work on you.”

     Nadja stood up abruptly, so abrupt that Sukuna sucked in a breath. Was she angry? What was going on?

     “I don’t understand,” Nadja said. “You say you’re fine with me and Toji being together, yet you’re insistent that you and I get married. Why? What changes?”

     Sukuna stared at her in slightly stunned silence. Then, like a bloodstain, a smile slowly spread across his face. Nadja thought this must be what it was like to smile in the face of the Devil himself. Sukuna smiled and then began to laugh. It was a crazed, manic laugh that chilled his enemies to the marrow, reminiscent of bygone days when he was a whip-thin youth eager to get his hands bloody and knowing himself capable of doing so.

     “Oh,” he said as his laughter subsided. “You’re precious. Yes, you may fuck and date and love Toji to your heart’s content. You can fuck his friend Shiu too if it pleases you. I don’t care how many lovers you take, Nadja, only that I’m the only one whom you call husband.”

     Nadja placed her hands on her hips.

     “And this applies to you, as well? You can fuck and love whomever you like…and I’m the only one you call wife, correct?”

     Sukuna dipped his head in a duelist’s nod. “I would have no one else, beloved. Sex is sex, and love is love, but you’re worthy of the devotion of a husband. And, if I’m not mistaken, you were not opposed to the idea once upon a time.”

     Nadja’s mouth opened and then closed shut abruptly with an audible click. Sukuna gave her a smug grin that he was able to shut her up and stun her without having to fuck her. Twice in a row, now.

     “And can I trust you to adhere to this?” Nadja asked him. “If I say yes, you won’t turn me into a miserable wife while you become a negligent husband, right?”

     Sukuna spread his hands, sleeves rolled up, and Nadja tried to ignore how much she enjoyed the sight of those thick, corded forearms, the thick bands of ink around his wrists…his strong hands.

     “I can promise you my tomorrow, if you’d like,” he said with that devilish grin that made Nadja’s heart turn to water in her chest, drowning her.

     “I don’t want just your tomorrows, Sukuna,” Nadja said irritably. Sukuna closed the distance between them.

     “Yeah?” He asked before he looped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. “How about for as long as you’ll have me, then? I just want you to be mine no matter where you are, how far, or for how long.”

     Nadja hesitated, blinking up at him as he cupped her head with his large hand. Why did those words feel so familiar? She felt as if she’d heard them before, like some sort of dream long buried, now excavated. She blinked slowly, looking up at him again.

     “Okay,” she breathed. “Yes. For as long as we’ll have each other, then.”

     Sukuna leaned down, devouring her mouth with his own. For a long while, they simply kissed, lost in the moment they both decided that forever was good enough for them.

     No matter how far, or for how long.

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[toxicanonymity]

the narrative.

4.7k, darkish!Javi Gutierrez x f!reader

"Control the narrative. You probably say that when you cum." - Roman Roy, Succession, s1 e1. PREMISE: Javi is in the middle of a publicity disaster due to his illegal activities and big mouth. Enter you (and he will). Penthouse vibe and attire inspired by Justified City Primeval. WARNINGS: I8+ ONE SHOT, dark(ish?) Javi, canon-typical lack of realism, drug references, gratuitous bulge, alcohol, praise, mention of someone sucking Javi's dick in the past, unprofessional behavior, power dynamics, pressure, DUBCON unsafe p in v (etc.), mild gun play, romance. A/N: Dedicated to @noxturnalpascal 🖤 Never thought I'd start the year with this guy, but thots happened. I only have one other Javi G. fic.

When you show up to Javi's home in the Hollywood hills, you're mildly surprised the car is stopping. It looks like any other skyrise. It's not his main residence, but he has the whole top floor to himself. You’ve refreshed yourself on the task during the ride – Javi Gutierrez is a PR nightmare lately, and he needs to be reminded how to handle press, especially questions about his recent run-ins with the law and ties to his family business. You'll run through a few practice questions with him, refresh him on the way to his event, and say goodbye. It should be simple. 

On your way into Javi’s building, the concierge greets you, then makes polite conversation as he escorts you to the penthouse. 

"Mr. Gutierrez already has company," he mentions as he uses a key card then holds the door open for you. 

You step into Javi’s apartment and the door closes behind you. It feels intrusive, just showing up in his personal space without someone to introduce you.  It's quiet for a moment, and you take in the opulence -- the sky high ceilings, the glittery floor sparkling under your modest wedge heels. You adjust your little black dress and fix your hair, then stand and wait with your bag.

You take a deep, calming breath. At least this isn’t a celebrity you have a crush on. He isn’t necessarily your type. He seems like such a teddy bear. He’ll be cool. He’s down to earth, you tell yourself, but can’t think of any evidence to support that claim. What kind of company does he have, you wonder. Is it a woman?

"One more, one more," Javi begs out of view, and your breath hitches at his voice. It's not the pitch or measured cadence you hear in the movies or even interviews. It's deep, gruff, and unpolished. "One more, Nick." 

Your heart jumps at the name. 

Nick sighs. "Alright, what are we drinking to?"

"Balas y drogas," Javi booms. (Bullets and drugs). "Brindemos" (cheers). 

"As always," Nick monotones, and you hear their glasses clink. A few seconds later, boots begin to click and echo, and they're coming in your direction. 

Entranced by the sparkle of the floor, you see a pair of snakeskin boots cross in front of you first. The boots pause, and your gaze pans up over his unexpectedly bare legs, which are muscular and only slightly hairy. Your eyes continue up over the swell of his thighs, and then–by the time you see it, it’s too late not to look right at it--a generous bulge under a blue striped swimsuit. You yank your eyes upward so fast, you almost don't see the gold pistol he’s holding at his side. Javi raises an empty highball glass, gestures it toward you, and you're studying the rings his hand when he complains, "You are early." He taps a ring on the glass and looks around behind you. “They sent you alone?”

“Yes, Mr. Gutierrez.” You introduce yourself. When you speak, he holds surprisingly warm eye contact, given his opening line. It feels like he’s really seeing you, maybe even connecting with you. 

“Please, call me Javi.” He walks around the counter and makes no effort to close his silk robe, trailing behind him.  "Make yourself a drink," he nods toward a wet bar behind him as he puts his glass in the sink. His curls are a mess, but he doesn't look bad. His strong chest glistens under his gold chain.  "Make Nick something, too. NICK--" 

"I'm right here, Javi. I really have to go." Nick greets you with an unenthused nod, "Hi,” then his phone rings and he quickly bids farewell to Javi: "I'll see ya later bud." Nick slowly staggers toward the door as he answers the phone. 

-

As the door closes behind Nick, Javi watches your face. "He has a key, you know. He'll be back," then he again urges you toward the wet bar, slightly more politely this time.  "Please, help yourself.  Why did they send you so early?"

"I'm an hour late," you tell him. His security team stalled you because he wasn’t ready.

He looks at his gold watch. "Mierda" (Shit). He meets your gaze again with apologetic eyes. "An hour late. . . maybe I do like you. . ."  The third time he refers you to the bar, you go around the counter and at least browse his liquor selection. 

A few minutes later, you're mindlessly reading the liquor bottles when you see a reflection in a bottle of mezcal. Something moves behind you.

"Tequila," Javi murmurs a few inches from your ear. “If you cannot decide.” You stiffen but manage not to jump, or so you think. "Relax, mamacita.” A large, warm hand comes to your bare shoulder, making your chest get hot. Javi’s lips brush the shell of your ear. “Relax,” he repeats. “It is only Javi.” He smells faintly of pipe or hookah smoke.

He lingers for a moment, smells your hair, then his hand trails down your bicep, and butterflies rush through your body so fast you have to step away.  He looks only slightly bemused. He checks you out even more obviously this time, then silently walks backwards through the kitchen, and you forget not to stare. You follow the way the light highlights his little belly. His happy trail leads you right to the slight swing and jiggle of the massive lump precariously contained by that swimsuit. How much of it is balls, you wonder. And at that moment, he reaches down to adjust himself before turning around and heading to his bedroom. 

Your face is on fire, and you’re tingling down South. You pour yourself a drink. You need one. The floor-to-ceiling windows offer quite a view of the city. It feels like Javi is taking a long time. In the distance, he begins to sing. You didn’t expect to be attracted to him, but now you have this feeling in your chest, like you’re waiting for a date with someone you like. Someone you’re still getting to know. You try to brush it off and not read too much into the look in his eyes. He’s an actor. He probably knows how to make people feel special, you remind yourself, but you can’t help but feel a little giddy as you wait. 

You take a seat on his velvet sectional. You sip your drink and begin to feel more confident. When you go to put your drink down on the nearest coffee table, there isn't much space amid the array of empty bottles and glasses, and a hookah. You set your drink on a silver tray, and only then do you realize you've disrupted the geometric residue of tiny white lines. “Shit,” you whisper. 

While Javi gets ready, you read some of his past quotes to the press. It messes with your head. Sure, he was rude to you at first, but then so warm. There’s one particular quote you’re stuck on. It isn’t too hard to imagine him saying something like this. You catch yourself feeling sad about it, not because it was so rude of him, but because of the insinuation of him with another woman.  In your mind, you know this feeling is irrational after having only interacted with Javi for only a moment. You have to compose yourself into professional mode again. 

—-

Javi returns freshly showered, wearing slacks and a patterned, long-sleeve, button-up shirt that hugs his biceps. He checks you out as he fastens his last cuff link. Then he sucks in his stomach and tucks in his shirt by shoving his hands all the way into his pants. He keeps eye contact with you as he tucks in the front, and finishes it off with a subtle cup of his balls. Then he stands normally again, and the curve of his little belly presses against the shirt above his pants. He doesn't put on a belt. He gestures for you to walk in front of him. 

Javi stays close on the way downstairs. On the elevator, you can feel his breath on your cheek. When the doors open, his hand on your back ushers you out. The soft padding of his stomach grazes your arm.

—-

Back outside Javi’s apartment, the car you arrived in – the one that picked you up at the Dobis PR office – is gone. You’ll ride in Javi’s car. His security team wants to accompany the two of you in the vehicle, and it’s clear they normally ride with Javi. But Javi convinces them to follow in another car this time. Just this once. You get into a black Mercedes sprinter outfitted with a raised roof, big leather bench seat, and a bar. 

As you settle into the van, Javi is making sure you’re comfortable, making small talk, and you just want to chat with him, but you do have a job to do. He’s sitting in the corner of the bench in the very back of the van, and you’re next to him, with your body mostly facing him. You begin to broach the topic at hand, distracted by his closeness and the aftershave molecules wafting into your nostrils. “Okay Javi, so, I’m familiar with your, uh, difficulties with law enforcement recently, and my role here is to kinda help you help yourself with that in the press.”  

He nods. 

“So let’s start where we are. Do you remember what you said when Page Six asked for a comment?”

He briefly leans in the opposite direction from you to open the minifridge. He pulls out a bottle of champagne. “Page Six, remind me which one is that.”

Is he going to make you say it? Fine. “You don't remember telling the writer her lips were made to suck your dick?” 

“That was out of context,” he mutters. You search his face for whether it‘s a joke, but he’s not laughing, and he’s not meeting your eyes.  

You ask, “Is there a context where that’s a good comment to make?” And you hope it lands softer than it sounds to your own ears. 

“Yes,” Javi nods and brushes a curl out of his forehead. He shifts in the seat and wrings his hand around the neck of the champagne bottle in his lap. “With a cock in her mouth.” Hearing the word cock in his voice gives you a zing of arousal. 

You’re at a loss for words. “Are you saying you weren't answering a question when you said that?”

“The conversation was over,” Javi nods. 

“--And she had your–”

“My cock, yes,” he confirms. “In her mouth.” He reads your face, then shrugs. “She wanted a taste of Javi, and I am afraid I could not resist.” Your mind is going places - How did that happen, you wonder. Did she just drop to her knees? Does it happen all the time? Could you have a taste of Javi? Do you want one? No, you don’t want to be just another girl.

You and Javi look at each other for a moment, neither of you completely focused, then you say the only thing you can think to say, “Fair enough,” as you close your folio. Then you can’t help but add, “Optimally, it's not the best idea to sleep with. . . certain people . . .who can make you look bad.” The thought falls apart as you watch his face, and you wonder if you're overstepping. 

“It was only a mouth,” Javi clarifies, then lowers his voice. “I would never make the love to her.” 

Now his eyes are fixed on your lips. His mind is going places. You watch him salivate over the shape of your mouth and don’t dare to interrupt his filthy train of thought. But that bulge in his swim trunks is seared in your mind. The subtle way it moved with each step. You have to stare at anything else to keep your eyes off his pants. You look at the bits of silver in his beard and the sparkle in his eyes

“Hm?” he asks and you snap out of your trance. 

“We need to control the narrative,” you mumble, as if you're thinking about work. 

“I don’t have a narrative, I have the truth. And the truth is too dangerous, mami.” He extends an arm behind you. 

The intrigue shakes you from your dirty thoughts. You shouldn’t pry, so you try not to, but having heard his explanation for the Page Six comment, you’re wondering if there really is a good explanation for how he got caught riding dirty with both narcotics and unregistered weapons.

He scoots closer, so he’s mostly on your bench rather than in the corner, and he extends an arm behind you. “I have to say, you are a smart girl.” He brushes your shoulder with his thumb. “Very pretty, too,” he adds quietly. “And very smart not to ask.”

“Thanks,” you mumble. What else can you say?

He looks you over, and his face hardens in an instant. “You should fire them,” he says. “They put a pretty girl like you in a van with me.” He scoffs. “They don’t respect you, I’m sorry to say.” 

What is that supposed to mean? You stare at him blankly, then say, “I can’t fire them, I work for them.”

“Well then you should fire your job. Quit it, the job.” You suppose he’s that out of touch. He probably doesn’t even know how much rent is in LA. Increasingly incredulous, he asks, “They sent you here alone?” 

Your mouth feels dry. You nod and try to swallow. 

His face softens. “No, please do not be scared,” he tries to recover, cupping your shoulder warmly with his palm. “But they should care more about you. You are precious.” 

“Well. . . Thanks, I think I’ll be okay,” you stammer.

Javi chuckles and locks all the doors to the van. Your upper body quickly goes cold as he settles in again next to you, his knee touching yours. How did he even do that?

He smiles darkly. “You felt that, right? In your spine?” His thumb brushes the nape of your neck, then the top of your spine.

You nod, otherwise paralyzed. 

“Fire them,” he repeats in a whisper.

You stand up just an inch to smooth your dress, and before you can sit back down, the van lurches out of nowhere.  You’re propelled face-first into Javi’s arms. The unopened bottle of champagne rolls away. Your faces are only a few inches apart. His shirt is soft, his body is warm, and you’re breathing his minty breath. The van lurches again and he hugs you into him, protectively. 

“I apologize, sir,” the driver announces through a speaker. 

You slowly begin to sit up from him. His arms are slow to release you. As you sit up, he lays a hand on your thigh. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“I should warn you,” he murmurs. “Traffic is very bad here.” 

—--

You sit there with Javi’s arm behind you and his other hand on your thigh, and neither of you speaks. He’s practically enveloping you with his whole body.

“You are thinking about it, right?”  

The pitch of his voice and a nod toward your skirt tells you what he’s talking about, and you don’t answer.  He takes his hand off your thigh only to adjust himself, and your face heats up. 

He sighs. “So, if you are the press, what should I say right now?”

After a loaded beat of silence, you snap out of it and begin to ramble, “Well, I haven't asked you a question, so you don't have to say anything, in fact, unless they ask–”

He reaches for your face. He rests four fingers on the side of your face, then brushes his thumb over your lips. “Shh. I won't say it,” he whispers. “That this press is the most beautiful girl. . .” Your lips part and let his thumb into your mouth, but your tongue pulls back.

“That I need her. . .in a way I cannot explain.” You gasp and look down. He takes his thumb  out of your mouth, then his hand drifts to his pants. “That I want to twist her legs around me like a pretzel.” The glint of his rings catches your eye, slowly moving atop his pants. His eyelids are heavy. “I should not say it, right?” 

You look at his mouth then meet his eyes again and shake your head no, ever so slightly. 

“But I can think it,” he whispers with a nod. “I can feel it,” he nods with a raise of his eyebrows. “Dios mio. . . I can have it.” 

He hugs you, slides a hand under your opposite thigh, and swiftly pulls you into straddling him with your knees on the seat and your skirt hanging loosely in his lap. You aren’t wearing stockings, but you’re wearing modest boy shorts. His hips lift up to meet you as he pulls you down with a sigh. His warm package feels even bigger than it looked. He closes his eyes and runs his hands over your back as your loins throb against each other. 

He holds your body firmly in place for a few gentle little thrusts that make you gush with each push of his bulge. Then, satisfied that you're not going anywhere, he pulls your face in for a long, steamy kiss, with his rings pressed against your cheek. As he feeds you his tongue, his hips keep moving, slowly pressing himself against you.

He pulls his face away and asks, “Do we have to go to this thing?” 

“No,” you say, pleased at this turn of events. He cups your head, and you explain, “Not at all. We wanted you to lay low. But you insisted-”

“I want to lay low with you,” he murmurs against your cheek. “Let me lay with you.”  Your insides are throbbing and swelling. His lips and the slightest hint of his teeth drag down your neck while his thick manhood hardens more against the crotch of your boy shorts. “I'll give you more than a taste, Mamacita. We're going to lay together.”  

He asks the driver to take you back to his place. Then he latches onto your neck, and you let out a little moan.  The van turns around to head back to his place. 

“I just need to text the team,” you tell him and get off his lap. You straighten your dress and begin to text your manager.  While you're on your phone, he keeps kissing and nibbling at you. 

Your manager calls, and you clear your throat. Javi occupies himself by popping open the bottle of champagne. You receive accolades for talking him out of the event. 

—--

When you're off the phone, Javi has somewhat composed himself. “Now we have all night.” He hands you a flute of champagne. A voice comes over the intercom saying there's a security matter Mr. Gutierrez needs to be briefed on. The van pulls over and Rafael, Javi’s head of security, joins you. 

“Your brother is back,” Rafael tells him. “And he's not happy about what you took.”

“Puta Madre,” Javi grumbles. “You know what he would have done with it.” 

“I know,” Rafi nods. 

“I have plans tonight, Rafi.” Javi looks at you adoringly. “The most important plans of my life.” He turns back to Rafi.  “Do you see this beautiful woman? We have plans.” 

“You have to stay with me,” Javi tells you. “I’ll keep you safe.” 

When you arrive back at Javi’s place, Rafi insists on escorting the two of you up to the penthouse. The place has already been cleaned up, and a maid is on her way out. 

“Thank you, Sandy,” Javi says as she passes by. She nods. 

——-

You excuse yourself to freshen up while Javi rants to Rafael. There's a crashing noise and you take your time coming back from the restroom, unsure what awaits. 

You come back to the main room and put your bag on a stool at the counter. Rafael is on his way out to stand guard by the door. Javi is sitting on the sofa with his pants off and his shirt unbuttoned, holding his gold pistol against his thigh. 

“I asked Rafi to give us some privacy,” Javi says. “We will not let this ruin our night.” He looks at you hungrily. “Come. Sit.” He makes space in his lap and looks down at himself. He’s wearing black boxer briefs.

You straddle him but don't sit yet. His free hand slides up the back of your thigh and he grabs a handful of ass. “You are the most beautiful woman,” he sighs. “And you feel so good in my hands.”

With his other hand, Javi nudges the golden gun under your skirt, and the metal on your bare thigh makes you flinch. “Shhh.”  He slowly slides the barrel along your inner thigh where the hem of your underwear is. He slides it lightly back and forth, breathing deeply through his nose. Then, his lips part as he rubs it along the damp crotch of your boy shorts. Your whole body erupts in goosebumps. He watches your face as he rubs you with the barrel of his pistol. He angles it upward each time he reaches your front. 

He palms your ass at the same rhythm as he massages you with the gun, as if encouraging you to ride it. Then he holds it still between his legs, pulls you closer against it, and your hips move on their own, seeking more pressure against the barrel. You twitch and gasp and he sucks in a deep breath through his nose. He moves you on the gun and you grind against the barrel until you’re almost at the edge and your thighs are trembling. 

“Good girl,” he sighs. He brings the side of the barrel to his nose and sniffs. Then he makes eye contact with you as he presses his lips to the side of the barrel and dips his tongue onto the metal.  He kisses the gun goodbye, then puts it aside. “I will keep you safe,” he reassures you again. 

Javi takes your hand in his and puts it on the hard bulge and you almost come. He’s so big, and so hard, the seams of his boxer briefs must be ready to burst. He uses your hand to massage himself. At the same time, he grabs the back of your head and pulls you into him for a passionate kiss. Your palm begins to massage his shaft. Feeling the hard shape of him, you can tell how thick he is, and it's more than a handful. Your fingers cradle his balls as you massage the lower part of his shaft. He pulls his underwear down and your skin meets his bare cock.

Both his palms engulf your ass cheeks and he lifts your dress all the way up over your ass so he can see your hips before desperately pulling you fully onto him. He smacks your ass, then kneads it again and licks into your mouth as he grinds up against you. 

He gropes your breasts and pulls your dress all the way up, taking it over your head. His hands find your bra clasp, and he frees your breasts, taking one to his mouth right away. He reaches into your smooth, stretchy boy shorts and gasps at the feeling of your bare, dripping cunt. He holds his cock in his hand and brings the tip to the bottom seam of your underwear. He wedges his cock into the garment, resting against your inner thigh, then a little further, and the bare skin of his tip nudging between your slippery folds makes you weak in the knees. He puts his cock all the way into your underwear from the bottom, wet from your slick, and pulls you tight against him. You grind together and his shaft massages your clit. The pressure builds and quickly boils over, and you moan as you begin to pulse against him. 

“Oh, my love,” Javi sighs, then moans as you grind and come against his cock in your panties. “Such a pretty sight and sound.”

With pleasure still washing over you, he wraps an arm tight around you, turns and lays you down on your back as your orgasm wanes. 

His cock slides out of your underwear as he makes space to finish undressing you both. He tears your underwear down in a frenzy and can't get out of his own soon enough. Within seconds, you're both nude on the sofa in the dimly lit room.

Javi sits on his knees between your legs and pumps himself slowly, belly pushing out, eyes dancing across your body. His cock is so stiff and thick, you can't take your eyes off it. You throb and ache for it. He runs his flattened fingers through your dripping seam and moans at your wetness. 

“I cannot wait another moment to feel you, my love.” 

Javi gets on top of you, his belly pressing into you as he positions himself then notches at your entrance. His gold chain hangs and grazes your chest. He hikes your leg up and you wrap it around him. 

“Good,” he whispers.

Javi shoves into you, punching the air out of your lungs with a brief burn at the stretch. He groans as he fills you with his flesh as fast as your body will allow. “Javi,” you gasp as his girth spreads you apart. His dick twitches at the sound of his name on your lips. He sighs your name and you're almost flattered he knows it, giving you a brief twinge of uncertainty that's quickly replaced by pleasure as he withdraws a few inches then slams into you. 

“You are so beautiful,” he pants as he begins to fuck you steadily. He kisses your chest and your neck. “It was fate that you came here to me.” 

He moans and grunts as he buries his cock in you. You wrap your other leg around him. His body is solid and soft against yours.  So much skin on skin and it all feels right. You feel safe, and you feel adored. The way he looks at you, the way he feels you, moves on you, it’s like he’s been waiting for you forever. He hooks a hand under your shoulder for more leverage, and the force of each punch of his hips jiggles your breasts. He slows down and fucks you more tenderly, but still with power. The movement of his hips is fluid and smooth. 

After a few minutes, he moans, “Ohh, my love,” then sighs your name. “I have to give you my cum, I have to give it to you.” You aren’t sure, but you can’t bring yourself to say anything to disrupt this moment. You’ve never had someone make love to you this way. “I’m going to explode,” he warns.

He buries his mouth in the crook of your neck, bottoms out, and groans as he erupts deep in your core, sending you for another climax of your own. Then his lips scramble up your neck and jaw to find your lips and he kisses you passionately as warm bursts of his cum fill you up. “Mmm,” he moans into your mouth as you clench around his cock. 

When you’re both finished coming, he stays inside for a moment. “We will be joined again,” he assures you as he pulls out.

He lays half on his side, with a bit of his weight on you for a moment. He strokes your face and admires you tenderly. You excuse yourself to the restroom, and he goes with you, escorting you to his master bath instead of the guest room you used earlier. He shows you his bedroom on the other side and says, “you will stay here with me.” 

-

When you come out of the restroom to Javi’s bed, you approach hesitantly. “Are you sure?” you ask. 

“I would not dream of letting you leave,” he assures you. 

[trulybetty]

Sequins | Joel Miller x f!Reader

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader (no use of Y/N) + no outbreak AU Reader: no physical descriptions, reader wears a dress Word Count: 3,195 Warnings: 18+, smutty mc smut smut, alcohol, nightclubs, drunken behaviour, public sexual acts, Joel Miller comes with his own warnings. Summary: On a night out with friends, you run into a broad-shouldered stranger and there's no denying that there's an immediate attraction between the two of you. AO3: Linked

A/N: everyone and all, this fic is based on the post that launched a thousand thots and we can all thank @wildemaven for all of this as she inspired the whole thing.

Sequins.

The club was loud, the lights were bright, the drinks were way too expensive and you had lost sight of your friends on your way back from the bar.

Just as you were contemplating retreating to a quieter corner of the club to check your phone, you collided with a pair of broad shoulders.

“Whoa there,” the stranger said, steadying you by the arm. “You alright there darlin'?”

His voice was a deep Texas drawl and for a brief second, the noise of the club seemed less loud as you got lost in his dark brown eyes. They were weary but kind, a stark contrast to the rowdy atmosphere surrounding you.

“Yeah, I'm fine, thanks,” you replied, adjusting your dress, cursing as several of the sequins dropped to the floor with the tug you gave it from where it'd rode up on your thighs. You clutched your drink a little tighter too, not wanting to lose the contents of the twelve-dollar highball you hadn't even had a chance to sip at yet. “Just lost my bearings for a second.”

He looked as out of place as you felt, clad in a button-up plaid green shirt and jeans, clearly uncomfortable amidst the flashing lights and thumping bass. It was endearing, in a way. With a little smile tugging at your lips, and the alcohol emboldening you, you decided to take a chance.

“You look a bit out of your element,” you winked, “First time in a place like this?”

He chuckled as he raised a curious eyebrow, “Is it that obvious ma’am?”

“A little bit,” you said playfully as you wrapped your lips around the thin cocktail straw of your drink. “But it's charming. So, what brings you here?” you asked, leaning in closer so he could hear you over the music, gesturing at the crowded dance floor.

He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and shrugged. “My brother's bachelor party, so I couldn't exactly say no,” he said, nodding toward a group of rowdy men holding up the bar at the other end of the room. “I'm the best man, so I had to come along and make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid.”

He glanced back at you, and the corner of his mouth curled up in a mischievous smirk. “What about you darlin'? You with anyone tonight?”

“Just some friends,” you replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “We're here for a bachelorette party, seems like the place to be for pre-wedding celebrations tonight.”

His eyebrows raised in question, his gaze flickering to your left hand. “So is it safe to assume you're not the bride?”

You couldn't help the laugh that escaped your lips at his brazen assumption, the sound ringing out above the music.

Shaking your head, you had a smile still tugging at the corners of your mouth. “No, I'm the maid of honour,” you said, “I was supposed to be on duty, but I guess I failed because I can't find the bride.” Your gaze swept around for any sign of your group of friends but they were nowhere to be found.

He smiled, and for a brief second, the heavy bass and flashing lights seemed to disappear. “Well, if you’re failing your duties, I guess that makes two of us.”

You took a sip of your drink, the alcohol warming your throat, and looked Joel up and down. There was a rugged sincerity about him, a sense of grit that you found intriguing.

“So, you got a name cowboy?”

He laughed quietly as he shook his head, “Joel,” he answered, and you found the gesture of him almost offering his hand for a handshake endearing before he scratched the back of his neck nervously, “And who might you be sweetheart?” he asked.

You gave him your name before your tongue found the straw of your drink again and took a short sip. You could feel his gaze land on your lips as you sipped.

“Pretty name for a pretty face.”

You felt your cheeks heat at the compliment. His eyes were still fixed on your mouth and you couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious. You shifted your weight from one foot to another, suddenly feeling a little awkward under Joel's gaze. His eyes flicked up to meet yours and you saw a glint of amusement there, like he knew exactly what was going through your mind.

“So, your girlfriend let you out for the night?”

He released a low chuckle from deep within his chest. “No girlfriend to speak of,” he answered with a shake of his head.

“How about a wife then?” you inquired, your eyes twinkling with curiosity.

He shook his head again. “Nope. Flying solo these days.”

You eyed him with interest, studying every detail-from the sparkle in his eyes to the subtle wrinkles around them. You hummed thoughtfully before replying, “Interesting.”

You couldn't help but feel a spark of attraction towards him. There was something about his demeanour that made your heart race. Maybe it was the way he looked at you, or the way his voice sent shivers down your spine. Whatever it was, you couldn't deny that there was chemistry between the two of you.

“Interesting, you say?” Joel leaned in, a coy grin on his face. “What's so interesting about a single guy at a bachelor party?”

You matched his posture, leaning in just close enough to make the tension palpable. “Well, a guy like you, good-looking, charming, single. It's either a mystery or a tragedy.”

Joel's eyes sparkled with amusement. “You think I'm charming, huh? Well, let's call it a mystery for now.”

You smiled. “A mystery it is, then.”

The two of you stood there for a moment, on the edge of the crowded venue, caught in a mix of smoky air, flashing lights, and electric vibes, sharing a sort of silent agreement that this meeting, this connection, was something more.

“So,” Joel hesitated, clearly trying to phrase his next question carefully. He cleared his throat, a little awkward as he tried to navigate the terrain of flirtation. “If you're here, not being the bride and all, and I'm here, not being the groom, would it be too presumptuous of me to assume that you're...uh, not seeing anyone?”

His roundabout way of asking made you laugh. It was a little clumsy but endearing in its awkwardness. His flirting skills were obviously rusty, but it just made him more appealing.

“No husband, no boyfriend. Free as a bird,” you replied, giving him a reassuring smile.

He gave a half smile as he crossed his arms over his chest, the stretch of the shirt over his biceps and shoulders caused you to involuntarily lick your lips. A move that wasn't missed on him as he smirked to himself as he shifted in his stance.

“You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here,” you observed.

He looked at you, his eyes sincere. “Well, I wouldn't say 'anywhere.' I've enjoyed bumping into you, for one.”

It was evident now that there was attraction between the two of you. You could feel the electricity in the air around you, and it made your heart flutter in anticipation. The light from the club's strobe lights bounced off of your sequined dress, highlighting every curve of your body. His gaze seemed to linger on each one of them, causing a warmth to spread through you.

He stepped forward, closing the gap between you both and stopped when his body was mere inches away from yours. His gaze lifted up to meet yours, and you swore that you could see a sparkle of desire deep within his eyes.

Your fingers trailed up his bare forearm, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Even in the dim light of the club, you could make out the definition of the muscle that flexed under your fingertips. Your fingers ran back down and you outlined the watch at his wrist, the large dial secured with a green canvas strap. Pausing for a moment you looked up at him from under your lashes and you could see from the laboured rise and fall of his chest that he was feeling whatever it was between you two also.

You paused, lifting your gaze from Joel to scan the fringes of the dance floor, checking if anyone was watching or if you were at risk of being 'caught'. The crowd seemed too engrossed in their own worlds, dancing and laughing, oblivious to the electric connection you were sharing with Joel at the edge of the dance floor.

Without breaking eye contact, and in a move that surprised even you, you took his hand by the wrist and brought it to the hem of your dress, and under. He raised an eyebrow in a silent ask of permission, your response was to move his hand higher up your thigh. He didn’t need any further encouragement. His fingers, while calloused from manual labour moved deftly to push aside your underwear. His fingers curled into his palm, he let his knuckles run down the length of you, and you couldn’t help the gasp that bubbled up from your throat as they made their way back up, your hands still wrapped around his forearm. 

Joel's lips curved into a grin as he watched your reaction. He glanced around surreptitiously, then leaned in closer, his breath hot against your ear. “Is this what you want, darlin'?” he murmured, his voice low and husky.

You barely managed a nod, the closeness of him in combination of his fingers unfurling into you while the thrill of intimacy in a public setting tinged by the alcohol on your tongue was intoxicating. 

His body moved even closer to yours, your drink balancing precariously on your upturned palm as his other hand snaked past your hip to your ass, your dress riding up slightly in the process. He kept his hand in place, his thumb gently ghosting your clit with steady pressure and his index finger and middle finger parted and slowly slipped inside of you. You let out a soft moan as your body adjusted to his fingers, and your grip around his forearm loosened.

He leaned in, his lips travelling down your neck. You felt a shiver run through your body as his teeth grazed over the exposed skin, each kiss sending shockwaves of pleasure through you. He dropped kisses to your exposed neck, his lips tracing a line up to your ear. He whispered something inaudible, the words barely discernible over the music blaring from the speakers. 

Your one arm wrapped around his neck while your free hand found its way to his broad shoulder, you held on for dear life as he continued to drop soft kisses along your collarbone. Your nails dug in as his fingers somehow managed to move deeper. His thumb increased its pressure as his fingers curled inside of you, coaxing out the sensation that had been building inside of you since the second you'd bumped into him.

The thrill of being caught heightened every sense and quickly was building a delicious tension between your hips and you let out a sigh that was drowned out by the thumping beat of the music. He pulled away slightly, looking at you with a mischievous glint in his eye before leaning back in to finally put his lips to yours, his fingers never once losing their steady pace as you hungrily returned his kiss.

As soon as he broke the kiss to catch his breath, your lips never left his. Your tongue invaded his mouth, tasting the alcohol on his tongue from the drink he'd finished earlier, before your teeth clenched into his bottom lip. He let out a soft moan as you bit down, your fingernails now scraping the back of his neck.

A moan escaped your lips as he quickened his pace, the perfect timing catching you right at the edge of your climax. His grip on your waist tightened and he pulled you towards him. His free hand rubbed the small of your back in a soothing circle, trying to calm your uncontrollable trembling.

You could feel the jagged hiss of his breath against your ear as he pulled away just enough to whisper “Let it go, darlin’.”

You pressed against him, your nails biting into his shoulder as you came hard on his fingers.

“Joel...” you managed to whimper out as you clung to him.

Your breath hitched and before you knew it, a wave crashed through your body, carrying with it sensations unlike the ones before. Your nails dug into Joel's shoulder as waves of pleasure coursed through every nerve-ending in your body until eventually they subsided and all that was left was the warmth radiating from between your thighs and Joel's softly whispered words in your ear telling you how beautiful you were.

You collapsed against him, completely spent your body still quivering around him he held you steady, never once taking his hands away.

He glanced around to see if anyone had caught sight of your public display, and thankfully no one had. “You okay there sweetheart?” he said breathlessly, his hand still in place, sliding in and out of you slowly and teasing as you tried to regain some composure.

He looked at you with a soft smile, your free fingers now playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. The bass was now shaking the floor, its vibrations now mixed with the buzz of your orgasm.

He smiled as he slowly pulled his hand away, his fingers slipping from your body creating a shiver to run through you. He leaned in closer and softly grazed his lips against yours before pulling away.

“That was…” your voice trailed off as your tongue stumbled trying to find words, your voice barely audible over the music.

Joel’s lips curved into a mischievous smile, just on the edge of uttering a response, when a lurching figure ambled up and draped their arms across his shoulder.

“Hey! There you are! Brother-” the slurred voice that came from the man who had stumbled into Joel. Based on the striking resemblance it could only be his brother whose bachelor party he'd mentioned it was. Joel quickly let go of your hand to suddenly catch him as he stumbled, shouldering the weight of his younger brother - the only thing now that was keeping him standing, “I think I want to go find Maria.” Tommy hiccuped, unaware of the spell he had just broken.

Joel's face flushed crimson and he looked at you apologetically, “I think it's time to get you home, Tommy.”

You took a step back, understanding the need for him to take care of his brother and trying not to make things awkward.

“Maybe I could give you my number? Maybe we can catch up when your hands aren't so full?” You gestured towards Tommy, whose eyes were glassy as tried to remain upright.

He frowned slightly before understanding crossed over his features and a grin appeared on his face, “Well, a gentleman could never say no to a lady such as yourself.”

He handed over his phone, managing to retrieve it from his back pocket while still holding Tommy, who was currently singing the praises of his fiancée in a tipsy monologue. You quickly tapped your way through the phone, pausing only to smile at the phone's background.

“Alright, you're all set,” you said, handing him back his phone with a smile before you busied yourself with your own briefly.

“Was that your number I just got a notification for?” he asked, pocketing the phone.

You smirked and said, “Why don’t you check it out when you get home? It's more of a surprise that way.”

He chuckled, before ushering his brother out the door. He paused and looked back at you, mouthing 'bye' as he put his arm around Tommy's waist and started walking away.

You watched them go, your eyes lingering on Joel's figure until they disappeared into the crowd. You blew out a long breath, feeling your heart thump in your chest from the adrenaline rush of what had just taken place. Your body still felt tingly from where his fingers had been moments ago and you allowed yourself to bask in it for a few more seconds before shaking off the trance-like state, and heading out to find your friends who had been blowing up your phone wondering where you were.

As you tucked yourself into bed, your phone buzzed with a new message. Opening it, you found a text from Joel.

Hey darlin', get home safe?

Smiling, you tapped out a reply, Yes, thank you for asking. How about you, cowboy?

Just got home. Tonight was something. Glad we met.

Feeling your heart swell with affection, you set your phone down on the bedside table. Squeezing your thighs together it was almost as if you could feel his fingers lingering there still. You didn't know how long you'd been lost in your thoughts when they were interrupted by a dip in the bed behind you.

A warm arm wrapping around your waist pulled you against their chest, the bristle of a beard that refused to grow nuzzled into the space between your shoulder and neck. 

“There’s sequins all over this damn house.”

“My dress,” you murmured half asleep as you leaned back into the embrace, kisses ghosting the underside of your jaw. “They just kept falling off.”

“Did you have a good night?”

“Mm, I did. It was... unexpected,” you responded, feeling the gentle press of his lips against your skin as he chuckled softly. “How about you?”

His arm tightened around you for a moment, pulling you even closer to him. “Well, I met this incredibly beautiful woman at some club, and it turns out she's already my wife. So, I'd say it's a win.”

You laughed quietly at that, loving how he could still make your heart race even after years of marriage. “You're incorrigible,” you said, placing your hand over his where it rested on your waist.

Joel chuckled softly into your hair, his warm breath sending a shiver down your spine despite the coziness of your surroundings, “In the best way, I hope,” Joel murmured, his breath warm against your neck.

“The very best way,” you confirmed, feeling your eyelids grow heavy as you nestled into the warmth of his embrace. You were both right where you belonged, and despite the evening's antics, that thought filled you with a profound sense of peace.

You smiled, turning your head slightly to catch his eyes in the dim light filtering through the curtains. “And how's Tommy? Did he make it to bed alright?”

Joel sighed, “Ah, well he definitely had one too many, gettin’ him into bed was like wrestlin' a bear, but he's sleeping it off. Thanks again for ordering that Uber darlin', I wouldn't have had a clue. Thought he was going to kick us out at one point, Tommy hollerin' about how much he'd drank.”

You both fell into a comfortable silence, absorbing the feel of each other, the simple joy of being close after a night that had, at first, seemed destined to keep you apart.

As you began to drift off, Joel kissed the back of your head, whispering softly, “I love you, sweetheart.”

A contented smile tugged at your lips. “I love you too, Joel.”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

THTH 2

Warnings: non/dubcon, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Characters: Ransom Drysdale

Summary: You have a secret, but what do you do when it threatens to come out.

Part of the Backwoods AU

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

Bored brainless, you sneak out after your parents shut off their bedroom light. You don’t risk alerting them by borrowing the car so you light up your cell phone and use it to guide your way through the dark. Some people might call you stupid, it’s not exactly safe with all the breaking twigs and rustling in the trees. There are bears up here. You know, you’ve seen them too. Whatever. 

You come in sight of The Horn, annoyed by the dew that wets your ankles. You’re almost too tired for fun now. God, you hate this place. You want to be like those women in the movies who can catch a yellow taxi or even just walk to a club or a restaurant or a salon. Here, you can’t even get a good haircut. 

You smile at the bearded man who watches the door. Al knows you and his rocky exterior cracks just a little. You push inside, met by the castle of yellow lights and the garble of voices. The clink of glass awakens you and you approach the bar, eager to sate your sudden thirst. 

You wait for the bartender, Bill, as an old drunkard in plaid rambles at him. Is that Loretta’s husband? You thought they were such good people. That’s the thing about Hammer Ford, it’s all fake. 

Finally, Bill heads in your direction. Before you can greet him, a shadow slides in next to you, planting and elbow on the trim as his other hand hovers menacingly on the stool at your other hip. The man pens you completely. 

“Gin and tonic and whatever the lady wants,” he says. 

Bill gives him a look. You do too. It’s the same man from the cafe; the newcomer. There’s been a few of those lately. The designer emblem on his sweater staves off your instinct to send him away. 

“You know what I like,” you say to Bill as you face the stranger, “thanks.” 

“Mm,” he looks you up and down, still crowding you, “and what do you like, bunny?” 

Your cheek twitches and you swallow, “what?” 

He smirks and peeks over the bar. His gin and tonic is set on the wood as he reaches into his pocket to pull out his wallet. You’re frozen there, mind racing. It has to be a coincidence. Your drink is put up next; rum and coke, with three maraschino cherries in a highball glass. The man pays and faces you with a wink. 

“Those ears suit you,” he holds up his wallet with one hand. 

“How...” your breath wisps out between your lips. 

“I didn’t expect the real thing to be even better,” he takes the highball glass and offers it to you, “and I rarely admit when I’m wrong.” You take your drink, speechless as you watch him. He reaches for his own glass and whistles at Bill, “can I get a lime for this?” 

The bartender growls. He doesn’t appreciate being spoken to like a dog. He plunks a lime wedges into the glass and huffs. The stranger is entirely unbothered. 

“How did you... find me?” The question spurrs the startling epiphany. He’s one of them. A fan. 

“I can’t tell all my secrets,” he turns to the bar and brings his hand to the small of your back, “let’s sit. Chat. How about it, pinky?” 

You take a gulp of the drink. Oh boy. Pinky... part of your username is the colour pink with and exclamation as the i. It’s definitely one of them. You’re heart is racing. This is an actual nightmare and yet it’s exciting. The very sort of thrill you’ve been longing for. 

He ushers you across to a table and you sit in the wobbly old chair. He takes the one across from you, agitated by it’s crooked stance, and sets his drink down. You keep your hands on your glass, stirring it with the skewer of cherries. You watch him, trying to figure out what to say. 

He’s not bad looking. Thank god for that at least. His hair is combed back tidily away from his clean shaven face. His jaw is square, his nose romanesque in a way, and his clothing betray wealth. It could be a lot worse. 

“Why are you--” 

“You haven’t been online. At least I know you’re not lying. Service is shit around here.” 

His tone makes you wince. You’re not shy. Sometimes, that has been your greatest flaw, like now. Being so bold on the internet has dug you quite the hole. 

“How do you know it’s me?” You’re still reeling, questions bubbling up one after the other. 

“I’d know your ass anywhere,” he bites his lip and leans forward. 

“But why--” 

“Why am I here? Well, I was bored... and I hate waiting,” he sneers, “I’m not that type. I don’t wait.” 

“Wait... for?” 

“The pictures, the videos, it’s getting a little dull,” he hisses, “figured I’d have some of the real thing. You know, I see a resort on Insta, I usually get a flight. I see a new bagel joint, I got down and try the cream cheese, I see you...” 

His smirk remains. You talk a big game but you’re not prepared for this. For him. In the flesh. 

“_ransom_ware_?” You utter. 

“You know me,” he chuckles, “people call me Ransom. You can call me Mr. Drysdale, bunny.” 

“Ransom--” 

“Ah, what did I just say?” He taps his ear, “I know you can be a good lister...” he drawls your real name and you nearly choke. 

“How--” 

“Keep asking all these stupid questions and I’ll have to shut you up,” he warns, “go on, enjoy your drink, loosen up.” He leans on his elbows and looks around, “tell me I’m not a hundred times more intersting than these redneck fuckers.” 

You stare at him. You flutter your lashes and follow his gaze around the room. Others watch. You know this will be on the tongues of the town by morning. If your mom finds out... 

You look at him and find him staring. He sips his drink and tilts his head, “you really are too pretty for this place.” 

“Um, thanks,” you give that smile you give, the one that gets you a your three cherry special from Bill. 

He scoffs, “that doesn’t work on me, bunny.” His eyes drift down to your shirt, a checker halter with buttons down the front. “I came all this way. For you. That means you owe me...” he clucks and pokes his tongue into his cheek, “I mean I am your best tipper, aren’t I?” 

You take another gulp. You’ve got maybe one mouthful left. He eyes the glass. 

“Thirsty?” He winks. 

[monsterunderthesheets]

TABLE FOR ONE... OR THREE

a litte Vash x Fem! reader fic I made while I was in the middle of waiting tables as work. got a little baby fever for Vash so please treat this fic with care.

!!TW!! mentions of Pregnancy!

Soft drops of rain and a barely noticeable background music were the only ones accompanying you as you continue to polish highball glasses and coffee mugs. It was an awfully bleak and uneventful week at the Café yet it was not a problem for you in the slightest. In fact, it was a godsent chance for you to be left with your own thoughts and enjoy the peaceful solitude of it all. What’s even better is that you’d only have an hour left till you flip the sign closed. These past few days, the rain hasn’t stopped since the day before. According to the recent broadcast, this weather will continue till about next week which to you was all the better for a news because with it, means less customers to deal with, in turn, less work on your plate.  Just the thought of a relaxing week made you heave a small sight of contentment and unconsciously pulled your shawl better up your shoulders.

The door to the café chimes open, indicating a customer had arrived. Your shoulders slumped a bit but you quickly set them square again and wore your best smile. ‘I guess one more customer won’t hurt.’ You inwardly thought.

“good evening! How may I help-“

For a moment, you felt your hearth leap to your throat and your fingers ran cold.

Just standing by the door way, stood a tall man clad in red, with a mop of golden locks atop his head. You know that face all too well. The face that you promised yourself you'd smack when you see it.

" uh..." the man hesitated, already sensing your white-hot rage from across the room "t-table for one please?"

It took only but a few wide strides to get to him, not wasting time and threw the first hand you were able to followed by another one and then another with quick succession. None of which ever connected to their target, of course, you knew how good he was with dodging any forms of danger. The thought just flew over your head at that moment. You did promise to hit him but you never said you'd be confident enough to land a single one on him. All you could do was scream, - partly because of humiliation and the other in great loathing-

 "the FUCKING AUDACITY you have to show up here again with that stupid smile on your face you FUCKING bastard!"

 Vash cough both of your wrists mostly to keep you from doing more harm to yourself than it would on him. Still not satisfied, you resort to kick his shins but that too, was swiftly avoided. (God knows how he managed to) Eventually, Vash had to restrain you by incasing you in an embrace. "I missed you too, Mayfly." he sighed.

"shut the fuck up and let me go, you asshole" you hissed and a bit out of breath. You hate to admit it but you missed his scent, the faint smell of a rainy musky undertone with a hint of... Iron?

Vash notices and pulled you back to check on you but before he could comment on it, you shoved him off of you and fixed your shawl back on your small form. You used to love how quick he was to notice the smallest discomforts you might have but right now, all you ever felt was hate. You knew what you were signing up for but you couldn't just forgive him for what he did to you a few months ago; disappearing on you in that state without even leaving a simple goodbye note. That particular day still hurt like a fresh bullet wound to you.

"what are you doing back here?"

"I happen to be close by so I thought I'd pay a visit." he sheepishly laughed, completely ignoring the fact you were so close to breaking his bones. You scoffed at his pathetic excuse and waved him off.

"well then, hi, and goodbye." you turned to return to the bar counter to start hanging up the closed sign. "Now get out of my sight before I plant some bullets in your head." you warned.

"Hey now, come on Mayfly-look, I'm sorry, okay? But I really need a -ACK! "  Vash hissed in pain, and you immediately stopped in your tracks. You turned back to look at him and hurriedly yanked his red jacket. On his side were two fresh wounds, one a clean shot through the side and the other a deep graze. You also found another wound, possibly made by a sharp object, on his chest. You spew a string of curses under your breath as you dragged Vash into the back in a panicked pace while Vash let out is own string of “ow's” in the process. He knew you were such a worry wart so he made another pathetic attempt to lighten up the mood; “Please handle me with care, doc.-" "shut up Stamped!" you hissed. You know you do hate him but it's not at all in your nature to wish death upon others. Especially not to Vash. He obliged after you snapped at him, but with the way you behaved, Vash wondered what the new change of demeanor was all about. Maybe it was because he left you all of a sudden when he promised you he'd stay? In his defense, he genuinely did. But with a bounty on his head and a reputation for hunters constantly nipping at his ankles, he can't risk getting you involved. But the way you’re acting right now is too different, like you changed so much in over just a few months. You seemed snappier than usual, maybe a bit hotter headed than normal. And this kind of worried him a bit. Has his absence really did that much damage to you?

 You both spent the entire time in awkward silence but Vash decided to speak up after getting patched up. Specifically addressing the slight change of personality as of late. But you were too eager to not talk about it and tried to literally avoid the subject by abruptly getting up from your seat. Big mistake. The sudden motion caused you to be light-headed and lost your balance, luckily, Vash had always been quick on his feet and caught you before you hit yourself on something.

Your pride still getting the better of you, you shoved him away, not wanting to be touched by him any more than he already had. This caused your shawl to get caught on his mechanical arm, yanking it off from your shoulders. Vash froze in place. Realizing the turn of events, you couldn’t do much else other than avoiding eye contact.

You held your belly in a pathetic attempt to hide the little bump you’re carrying.

"how... How old is it?" Vash squeaked; eyes glued on your belly.

"... A couple of months." you answered reluctantly. He was too silent after that. You didn't know what was going on in his head. Not when you can't see his face. Slowly, you raised your gaze to meet his but as you did, all you saw was... Pain? You weren't sure anymore but you could have sworn you saw it, just a tiny glimpse and it was gone, replaced by a congratulatory smile that was obviously forced out. Something Vash had been so bad at doing since forever that the sight of it made your chest ache.

"My God, congrats Y/N! Your husband sure is a lucky guy!“ Vash stepped back, his hand finding it's way to the nape of his neck. His voice broke on the last word, a sure tell-tale sign that he was fighting back tears. But he was adamant to bury his heart in hopes that he wouldn't seem upset and an asshole for being bitter about an occasion where people are supposed to celebrate and welcome a new life. He forced out a laugh and added "Have... have you decided on a name ye-OW?!" you interrupted him with a boot finally connecting to his shin, causing him to double down

"god dammit Vash, were you really that drunk that night? IT'S YOURS, YOU STUPID PLANT!"

Your face was flushed red with annoyance, tears threatening to roll down from your face. After all, it was the truth. It was why you were seething with hate when he left you. As a plant he told you that there was no way he could reproduce with a human; That it would take an impossible miracle for a plant and a human to conceive a child.

It wouldn't have been a problem for you when he left, but when you found out you were with child, you felt betrayed. That you were taken advantage of and used. That was why you made a promise to yourself to forget about the man that you thought had loved you and commit to you with no strings attached. That you would raise this child without mentioning a single word about the bastard that left you. But Vash is here. He is in front of you, and within the deepest depths of your core, you have the smallest hoped that he would stay this time. You wouldn’t force him if he doesn’t want the baby…  it would hurt you, sure, but he’s the humanoid typhoon, he should always be on the run. What other choice do you have?

For what felt like forever, Vash had barely spoken a word since you broke the news to him. You were dying to know what was in his mind, spare yourself the agony of forever wondering what he was thinking.

“then…” it was barely a whisper but you managed to catch on it and looked up to him.

“then… can I?” he continued, hand slowly raising to touch your belly. You hesitated, but eventually dropped the arm you were using to block your belly. Vash took this as granting him permission and slowly knelt before you; eye-level with the baby inside. His touch was feather-like, as if he’d break you and the child if held both of you the wrong way. His palms were warm and you swore, if you held your breath long enough, you could catch his hand trembling very faintly. He took a deep breath and placed his forehead gently on your belly.

Just before you could ask what he was doing, you felt a faint flow of a peculiar sensation within you. It wasn’t anything you had felt before but it wasn’t anything akin to pain either. Just calm…or at peace? Definitely something you cannot describe in words. Then you witnessed something you’ve never seen happen to Vash even for as long as you’ve known him and his true being.

Before you, Vash’s skin was etched with a soft blue glow of what looked like the same markings that plants would have. From his forehead to his cheeks and jaw, down to his chin and neck. Soon, the same markings are present on your stomach even strangely so, you can see a silhouette of a child floating inside your womb, as if you became a transparent vessel for the child you carry. It too adorned the same markings as him. The whole site was beyond beautiful -ethereal even- that it could possibly haunt your dreams or even for the rest of your waking days. Yet despite the barrage of overwhelming emotions, all you could think about is how you felt nothing but relief and gratefulness.

Seeing the baby’s response  to its father’s greeting Vash choked down the forming lump in his throat, tears welling in the corners of his eyes, his smile a mix of fear and hope. Vash’s voice managed to croak out only but a few words:

“hey there, little guy.”    

-END-

[couldawouldashoulda50]

This is Part One of my entry for the wonderful @cellythefloshie's birthday BINGO, featuring Matthew Knies (I know he was past the 2018 cutoff but celly gave me the green light for him). Although I did get bingo with my 5 tropes (Virginity, Age Gap, Secret Lovers, Meet Cute, Pining), the 5 are spread across Part One and Two. I am finishing Part Two soon, and then there might be a smaller third part - I just haven't figured out the fine art of writing smaller fics yet but I'm working on it. Nevertheless HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY CELLY! I hope you enjoy this ❤️

Warnings/Notes - profanity, toxic parenting, parent estrangement. This part mainly covers the initial development of Matthew and the OC

OC Face Claim - Anna Katharina

Approx Word Count - 5.7k

August, 2024

Well, this is a huge fucking mistake… Lana thought to herself, forcing a smile as she sat across from her date.

She chastised herself further in her mind. Shit—I can't even remember his name. Was it Terry…or Jerry? Wait…Phil? No, he was last week. Fuck.

Against her better judgment, Lana allowed her arm to be twisted by her beloved brother to go on yet another blind date.

"Just try, Lana—just try again," he'd say. Now, she was wasting away across from this person, who was blathering about a subject that she had already forgotten about, alongside his name.

Lana rotated the highball glass with her fingertips, as she pretended to show interest in the man's one-sided conversation. Although her eyes appeared to be focused on his face, she was actually gazing out the window, just over the man's shoulder. From the 51st floor of the ManuLife Centre, the view of that particular evening boasted a magnificent August sunset, which added to the magical twilight of the Toronto city skyline.

Lana pouted in her mind. Why can't I be sitting here admiring the view with someone I love? Or even like? Attracted to, maybe?

It was from these moments of desperation, or weakness—whichever it was—that she found herself in this blind date situation to begin with.

She loved her brother, Andrew, for trying to set her up with a decent guy to develop a connection with. Lana thought it was reasonable that he might know a little more about men and dating since Andrew was in a loving relationship with Jason, his long-time partner.

She thought it was reasonable mainly because Lana had never dated anyone.

As in never, ever, ever.

Based on the non-success of the past men that Andrew sent her way, Lana felt her relationship status would not be changing anytime soon either.

Lana snapped back to reality just in time to catch what's-his-name staring at her tits as he finished his sentence.

She smiled demurely as she studied his expression. She really had not heard a word he had said, and it did not appear that he was awaiting a response from her. Seizing the opportunity, she excused herself and headed off in the direction of the ladies' room.

She turned back around to glance at her date. He was already otherwise occupied, ogling a nearby female server.

In the confines of the washroom stall, Lana swiped open her phone to remind herself of the name of the man she regretted suggesting to meet at one of her favorite restaurants.

Upon finding it, she muttered "Darren."

Lana responded to a text her brother had sent her earlier, asking how things were going.

L - Do you think that Jason can start vetting these guys before you send them my way? Personality of a piece of cardboard. I think I actually may have lost consciousness while he rambled on…

Andrew must have been waiting for her message, as he promptly responded.

A- Jason and I love you but we're done with sending you men. Coming to breakfast tomorrow?

Lana smiled at her brother's message. He always teased her saying she wouldn't have the foggiest clue what to do with a man anyway.

L - Love you both too. Breakfast is a no-go. Taking a client to view some condos. TTYL

A- Msg me when you get home

Lana exited the stall and glanced at her reflection as she washed her hands. She pondered what method she would use this time to send Darren packing.

Interestingly, most men never bothered to call once she handed them her business card anyway.

They seemed to trip over the word "Owner", especially of one of the most prestigious real estate brokerages in Toronto.

As they wrapped up their date, Lana cordially offered her business card with her contact information. Darren glanced at her card and then back at her. His expression gave her all the information she needed to know about the man standing before her.

Other than "Owner", there was a second word that was a lingering fact about Lana. A word that had begun to plague her mind and body more and more. She always wondered how a man would react, if in fact they were ever able to look past the first word, and get to know her more.

That second word was virgin.

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Lana and her older brother Andrew grew up in a small, close-knit community approximately two hours northwest of Toronto.

Their parents were cold, strict, and controlling towards their children. Although they made sure Andrew and Lana had everything they needed, there were always strings attached with everything they were provided.

Andrew was intelligent, strong-willed, and independent from an early age. Being 5 years younger, Lana idolized her handsome older brother. In turn, he adored her and always pushed her to succeed in everything she tried. Their bond became even stronger as their parents became even more controlling with Lana as she approached her high school years.

Andrew clashed badly with their parents, experiencing constant conflict and turmoil while living under the same roof. Andrew was determined to leave as soon as he could. He worked multiple jobs while still managing to excel academically. After earning as much money as he could, Andrew left to study architecture abroad at 18.

Once Andrew departed, his parents no longer acknowledged his existence. Andrew always felt a tremendous amount of guilt and remorse knowing he had deserted his beloved little sister. From afar, he did his best to help his sister navigate their parents' increasingly stern and uncompromising attitude toward her.

Meanwhile, Lana was experiencing rapid growth spurts at the age of 13. She was long, lean, and had natural curves which enhanced her athletic build. Her mother often shunned her appearance, making her feel that her natural beauty and her blossoming figure were a detriment and a cross to bear.

As she entered high school, it would mark the hardest time of her life.

Lana's mother drowned her with archaic myths and cautionary tales about boys, sex, disease, and unplanned pregnancy. She would be forever "ruined" if she gave in to having relations out of wedlock. As the ever-dutiful daughter, Lana absorbed everything her parents said and never scrutinized or disobeyed them.

The teenage boys at her school, with their raging desires fueling their comments as she walked by them, did little to convince Lana that her mother might be wrong in her teachings.

Teenage girls were in some cases worse than the boys. The behavior of the girls at Lana's school was full of envy and competitiveness. She often felt ostracized and alone during her first weeks and months of high school.

Lana would message Andrew in tears in the stall of the girls' washroom between classes. He was always there for her with words of comfort but would only allow her just a few tears of pity. Andrew would then coach her on how she would need to rise above it all. Step by step, Lana put her head down, studied hard, and became active in student council and various athletic programs.

Lana developed a no-nonsense type of attitude which served her well in her secondary school years, as well as keeping the peace at home. She managed to forge a few solid friendships with those who were authentic, intelligent, and did not concern themselves with trends or being popular.

At the end of high school, Lana was rewarded for her diligence and focus by excelling in academics, athletics, and the arts. She received a full scholarship to enter the Law program at the University of Toronto.

Fast-forwarding through her first two years in university, she maintained the same steadfast and hard-working mentality that was part of her nature. However, Lana soon discovered that Law did not ignite her passion. With Andrew carving his own path in architectural design and serving as her constant guide and mentor, she uncovered an unexpected love for real estate.

She landed a paid internship with a brokerage firm owned by an older gentleman by the name of Reine Schmidt. Reine immediately recognized Lana's dogged determination, her intellect, and her willingness to learn.

Reine taught Lana everything he knew. He had a proven track record of understanding trends to predict future outcomes, alongside his charisma, sharp wit, and masterful negotiation skills. With the guidance of her brother, Lana eventually followed her instincts and dropped out of university to work alongside her older mentor.

Lana's parents were furious and, in a fit of true toxicity, they severed ties with their daughter completely as they had done with their son.

As the cloud of devastation from the estrangement dissipated, Reine became a much-needed father figure in Lana's life. He provided her with shelter, which was merely a back room of the brokerage office. He helped her with the bare minimum, just enough to set her off in the right direction. The rest, Lana would have to work on and figure out for herself.

And she did. As the years went on, Lana gained a reputation throughout the GTA, being touted as Reine Schmidt's brilliant and beautiful protégé. She was elegant and poised while being creative and shrewd in her negotiation tactics. By the time she was thirty, Lana had her own substantial property portfolio, worth millions of dollars as the Toronto real estate market exploded.

When Reine became too ill to fulfill his responsibilities at his firm, he appointed Lana to step in on an interim basis. She did not know it at the time, but Reine had already decided to will her the firm. He just needed to make doubly sure that she was ready.

Lana remained by Reine's side as his illness progressed. He had no family to speak of, and he always said that he was not in the business of making friends. But he had grown to love Lana like a daughter, and although he never said as much, he was grateful that she made sure he was not alone during his last moments on earth.

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Lana awoke the following morning with the memory of her near abysmal date from the night before all but washed away. Retrieving her cell from her nightstand, she broke her own rule about no screens until after she had completed her morning Pilates. She just wanted to check if what's-his-name had messaged.

He had not.

Her business card had become like a detection device which helped identify those that would waste her time. Moreover, she was pleased that she could still calculate risk and probability by simply observing someone's non-verbal cues and other subtle behaviors.

Lana laid back on her pillow and gazed out her floor-to-ceiling windows in her bedroom. Her panoramic view of the city displayed all the colors of the sunrise of a late summer's morning. But the sunrise triggered a pang of loneliness within her. The sunset had a similar effect on her last night, and now the sunrise was having a go. She wanted someone to lie with and enjoy the wondrous city views in the morning. She longed to have someone to sit with at dinner and have them witness the perfection of a sunset by her side. She wanted to feel what it's like to crave someone and have them equally yearn for her.

Pushing her lonely thoughts aside, Lana yawned and stretched and slid out of bed, turning her phone off until it was time to leave for the office.

Any other morning, Lana would have opted to take transit, walk, or even run to her office. She quickly realized the good fortune of driving to work that day in an air-conditioned vehicle. The humidex was already climbing and it was only just 7 a.m. Another sweltering summer day in the city had begun.

As she drove, she mentally pre-planned her morning. Yesterday, a last-minute request came in from a very important client-turned-friend to view some condo listings in the downtown area. What left Lana perplexed was who the request was from.

Lana's mind drifted to another thought while idling at a traffic light.

Just two more weeks—two more weeks until I'm off and I'll press pause on the whole "trying to find a mate" search. Maybe I'm just meant to be alone. Maybe you just need to sleep with someone once and that'll be enough… maybe he's just not out there…. Lana mulled over these thoughts as she ventured south on St. George Street.

It had become a custom for Lana to flee the city at the beginning of September and spend a few weeks at the expansive lakeside home that she co-owned with her brother. With 5+ acres and an exceptional lakefront, it was a place where Lana could experience quiet for a while. That is, quiet after their friends, colleagues, and in some cases clients, descended onto the property for a popular get-together for the Labor Day weekend.

Arriving at her office before 7:30, Lana slipped into her leather chair and dove into a landslide of unread emails.

As the office began to fill, she left her office to greet her assistant and enjoy a morning chat. To Lana, this was one of her most favorite times of the day. Despite her upbringing, Lana sought connection with her professional family and was nurturing and compassionate to all of her associates. In turn, her staff were fiercely loyal to her and it showed in their combined success at the firm.

Lana returned to her office to tie up a few loose ends before her appointment arrived.

Ainsley tapped on Lana's office door, letting her know her 9 a.m. had arrived, and asked if she would like them escorted to her office. In her mind, Lana tripped over the word "them" as she was only expecting one person. Shaking off the confusion, she declined Ainsley's offer and thanked her as she made her way down the corridor.

As she approached the reception area, she was prepared to see Aryne Tavares but not her handsome husband John and another even more striking man standing next to the couple.

Lana's professional-turned-friendly relationship with the Tavares' began with helping Aryne navigate the Toronto housing market when John was traded from the Islanders to Toronto. Although John was present during some of the preliminary preference discussions, Aryne always appreciated how Lana focused mainly on her and her needs during the conversation, as opposed to her husband. Oftentimes, it was the opposite with other firms and their agents who wanted to talk hockey or suck up to the player in the hopes they might be able to drum up more business for themselves.

For several years, Lana's name had become the number one recommended by the majority of Toronto WAGs who were either in search of shorter-term furnished rentals or more permanent homes. She understood and made it clear (while treading lightly) that where the player-husbands were often making the salary allowing the upscale and sometimes super luxurious homes, it was the wives and families that had to live in them day in and day out. As such, Lana's firm cornered the market for finding suitable homes for Toronto's professional athletes and their families. Due to the unique demands, she created a specialized team and trained them specifically to work with sports agents, significant others, and the player's surrounding support system.

Lana's eyes lit up, as did Aryne's, as they greeted each other and hugged warmly.

"What an amazing surprise! Good morning!" Lana gushed, first embracing Aryne and then John.

Lana approached the third individual standing slightly behind John. He was taller than the veteran player by a couple of inches, visibly younger, and was extremely broad and fit.

Lana thought she recognized his face but couldn't quite place it.

Aryne made the introductions. "This is Matthew Knies. Matthew, this is Lana — she's a friend and has been our real estate guru for a number of years."

Matthew's cheeks were already burning when he first glimpsed at Lana. He was positive he had never seen a woman nearly as beautiful as she was.

But when Lana turned and looked directly into his eyes while extending her hand, that's when his insides fell apart. He had difficulty swallowing, and he realized his mouth was slightly agape.

Lana squeezed his hand warmly. "I thought I recognized you. It's really wonderful to meet you, Matthew."

Trying to pull himself together, he shook her hand and with a dry throat, he squeaked out, "Nice to meet you too."

As Lana escorted the group towards her office, Aryne explained that she and John just wanted to help sort through some of the available condo listings for Matthew.

Lana smiled and explained to Aryne and John her initial confusion when the request for condo listings appeared under the "Tavares" file. After all, she had already helped Aryne find their ideal home twice as their family grew.

Matthew had resided with the Tavares family at the beginning of the 2023/24 season and later moved to a rental unit downtown mid-way through the season. Unfortunately, for various reasons, he was not at all happy in that building and wanted to start the upcoming season in more suitable place. Although it was not discussed in their meeting, the main reason being that Matthew and his now ex-girlfriend had parted ways in that same unit, and it was not an amicable ending to say the least.

Lana appreciated having John and Aryne there to assist Matthew. In recent years, other members of her sales team had primarily handled the real estate needs of younger male players. Time was ticking before the start of the season, and Lana wanted to be efficient in pinpointing exactly what would suit Matthew. John's input would be valuable in considering practical factors, especially regarding proximity to Scotiabank Arena and the practice rink in the southwest end of the city.

As Matthew sat diagonally across from Lana, he pretended to show interest in the selected listings which Lana walked them through on the large monitor mounted on her wall.

But it was only Lana that held his attention.

Matthew wanted to absorb every detail of her from head to toe. He wanted to stare and drink in every detail of her face.

Not wanting to appear obvious, he made sure his eyes didn't linger too long when they wandered to catch another glimpse of her as she pointed out various features in each listing.

Matthew had not even realized that his auto-pilot responses were in full swing. He barely recalled agreeing to see a handful of ready-to-show condos in the surrounding area and that it would be Lana herself giving him a tour of each unit.

Lana rose from her desk. "So Matthew, if you're alright for time now, it sounds like we'll be spending the morning together."

Matthew smiled as he silently willed his cock not to twitch at the very thought of being with Lana in any capacity, morning, noon, or night.

"Sure — absolutely… I'm all yours."

With the feeling that his heart was in his throat, Matthew realized how true those words had become in just half an hour after meeting this siren.

Lana stopped by Ainsley's desk and quietly gave some instructions for tasks that could be taken care of while she was out. Ainsley couldn't help but look past Lana ever so subtly at the handsome young player as she nodded her head.

Sensing that Matthew had caught her pretty assistant's eye, Lana gave Ainsley a knowing smile. "You want me to find out if he's dating anyone?" she quietly asked.

A bashful smile spanned Ainsley's face. "Oh my god, he's just so hot… I don't know… I guess it would be nice just to know if he's got a girlfriend?" she replied under her breath.

Ever so coolly, Lana gave Ainsley a discreet wink. "I'll see what I can find out and report back later, ok?"

Ainsley beamed, barely able to suppress her excitement as she nodded enthusiastically.

Lana joined the group as they meandered down the corridor towards the elevators. Little did she know that this little "meet cute" with Matthew Knies would soon change her entire world.

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Later in the day, Matthew arrived at the building of his close friend and teammate, Joseph Woll. He pressed the intercom button and within seconds, the door to the lobby clicked open and Matthew made his way towards the elevator.

Minutes later, Matthew was at Joe's door, which he had left propped slightly open inviting him just to come on through. Matthew always appreciated Joe's easy-going and considerate nature and felt grateful for his friend and how they both seemed to naturally anchor each other.

He walked through to the open living room and kitchen area where Joseph was working away assembling his most recent Lego project — the famous Concorde aircraft.

Joe glanced over the tail of his newest Lego set towards Matthew. "How did it go — see anything you liked?"

Fuck… yeah, only it wasn't a condo, Matthew mused to himself.

"Not sure… I guess nothing really stood out," Matthew replied as he flopped onto the nearby couch. "Might take a few more times… I just want to pick the right one."

Without looking up from snapping a series of small blocks together, Joe continued. "Too bad there's not anything available in this building…" He searched the table for the next appropriate piece before adding, "…but then again if you moved in, maybe there's such a thing as seeing someone too much…"

Matthew looked at his friend with a pained expression. "Ouch — fuck, bro… is that what you think?" he chuckled.

Joe shook his head laughing. "No… I just like getting a rise out of you. Oh—and just letting you know that we're meeting up with the rest of the guys at the bar around 8 tonight. I guess it's guys only now… the girlfriends opted to do something else."

"Who's all going? Mints, Cowboy…?"

Joe continued, "Me, you, Bobbo, Mints, Cowboy, but then there's a few vets coming — Max, Muzz… Doaner I think. It's shaping up to be a fun night."

Matthew stretched and yawned. "Sounds like it. Alright… fuck — I need a nap. Can I crash here for a bit? I don't feel like going back to my place."

Joe was concentrating on reading the instructions for the rudder for the plane. "Be my guest… we'll head out to the bar together then. I think you've even got a pair of shorts and a shirt here so you can change. Crash as long as you want."

Matthew traipsed down the hallway to the second bedroom and fell backward onto the mattress. He was tired, but his mind bounced in a million directions, wondering about what Lana was doing now and how her day would end. He wondered if she went home to a perfect husband or significant other who loved her and treated her right, or if she was with some prick who would never realize just how amazing she is.

Matthew's insides were starting to twist and flutter each time his memory pulled him back to the seemingly insignificant moments of that day. Sitting next to her in her car. Chatting seamlessly while stuck in traffic. Riding the elevator with her, or holding the door for her whenever they entered or exited a prospective condo.

His mind traveled back to the quick lunch they had, where Lana couldn't stop laughing after Matthew told her a story from his childhood. When she continued to chuckle about it for the rest of their time together, Matthew thought he might melt with desire right then.

Matthew finally pushed past the restlessness he had begun to feel and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Later that evening at an upscale sports bar, the table of hockey players cheered when the servers presented the group with the most bizarre and fascinating Caesar concoctions. The popular Canadian cocktail was adorned with everything from pulled pork sandwiches and burgers on skewers to tempura prawns and dessert options.

The group's boisterous laughter marked the upbeat and optimistic mood of the group with the start of a new season just around the corner.

Matthew tried to mimic the mood but he simply wasn't there in mind or spirit. He even ignored being chirped by a few of the rookies for nursing his Corona and avoiding the subsequent tequila shot altogether.

Matthew had a close friendship burgeoning with former rookie Bobby McMann, whom he sat next to at the table. Bobby noticed Matthew's glum demeanor but initially assumed it was over the demise of his recent relationship.

Bobby clinked the clear glass neck of his beer bottle against Matthew's, which was still virtually untouched. "It'll get better, man—try not to let it drag you down too far."

Matthew nodded and smiled to acknowledge his friend's support.

Joe, who was sitting across the table, silently wondered about the change in his friend's mood. Yes, Matthew had been through some turmoil in the past months with ending a relationship that had gone off the rails. However, after the dust had settled in the off-season, his mood and outlook were full of confidence once again. Joe knew Matthew was really geared up about finding a new place quickly, so perhaps his low mood was a result of not having any luck that day. It didn't quite compute in Joe's head, but he would keep his thoughts to himself, for now at least.

When Matthew quietly announced to those sitting nearest to him that he was done for the night and was heading home, Joe and Shane (Doan) walked him out just to make sure their good friend was alright before taking off. Matthew assured them he was, that he was just tired.

He ordered an Uber and was back home in no time, but the change in location to his quiet condo only exacerbated him more. Pulling out Lana's business card, adorned with her headshot that he couldn't avert his eyes from, he placed it on the coffee table. He picked up his guitar, a not-so-new hobby that Matthew freed his mind with, much like his buddy Joe did with Lego, and began to pick at the strings. He was pissed with himself as he tried, and failed, to think of anything else other than contacting his new and unexpected crush.

Setting the guitar aside, he picked up his phone, entered Lana's cell number into his contacts and sent her a brief message, beginning with an apology hoping it wasn't too late to reach out to her.

Matthew was pleasantly surprised that she responded within minutes. He asked Lana a series of questions, all about viewing more condos, but it was mostly to establish whether he could reach out to her specifically. She responded that indeed he could, and she would do her best to accommodate his schedule in the coming days. Matthew wasted no time in setting up a time with Lana for the following day, and then two days after that.

He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Following a silent moment, Matthew then shook his head and muttered to himself to get a fucking grip and that he was acting completely ridiculous by already pining over a woman that he didn't even know.

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As the end of August approached, Lana and Matthew had spent a considerable amount of time sorting through listings and narrowing down options to view. Lana encouraged Matthew to be selective, as it was important for him to be happy in the space where he would spend the majority of the next eight or nine months.

On the other hand, she knew the start of the season was sneaking up quickly and she hoped, for his sake, that he would find a place before training camp, media days and everything else that goes with it was upon him.

Matthew secretly knew this and sometimes felt he was playing with fire, appearing either indecisive or hard to please with the places Lana showed him. With this in mind, Matthew quickly finalized his decision on a place and chose a second one as a backup.

He also wanted to take the plunge and ask Lana out for dinner to say thank-you.

The following afternoon, Matthew sat next to Lana on the sleek, white sofa in her office as she walked him through the paperwork. The air between them was comfortable and relaxed, but the professional nature of their relationship was still very prominent. While initialing and signing wherever Lana indicated with her elegantly simple manicured nails, Matthew tried to ignore the anxiousness that was swirling in his mind.

Lana had consumed his every thought since he first met her. Whether he was in the midst of strength training or skate drills, he imagined what it would feel like if she was there watching him. He thought about her in traffic, in the shower, or running out to get food. He continuously caught himself having these harmless daydreams and did his best to shoo them away in order to refocus his mind, but often he was fighting a losing battle.

With his last initial inked on the page, Lana smiled widely and extended her hand. "Congratulations, Mr. Knies—I think you'll be very happy in your new place. It really is such a great neighborhood."

"Well, thanks… yeah, I know I will. And thank you for all your help. And for being patient with me. I hope it didn't feel like I was never going to choose one… you just gave me so many great options," Matthew smiled as he shook her hand.

As they stood, Lana felt a little disappointed that this might be the last time her and Matthew crossed paths. Her initial impressions of him and his frat boy exterior had almost immediately dissolved and she found him to be very mature and he spoke with an intelligence that was far beyond his years. Oftentimes, Lana found that she genuinely looked forward to seeing him, especially the times when they decided to walk to each destination instead of fighting traffic. She had only felt this level of comfort, ease and enjoyment with a select group of people, and although she never would have expected it, she considered Matthew a friend.

If she was really being totally honest with herself, she had thought about him as a little bit more than a friend as her base female urges had only increased since she met him. Lana often fell asleep feeling frustrated, squeezing her thighs together to try and get relief from the pressure building in her core.

Lana moved towards the door, knowing she had limited time before her next meeting. “I hope you won’t be a stranger but I can only imagine how busy you’ll be once the season starts. Oh - and all the best…I hope you guys have a really great year ahead.”

Feeling that time was not on his side, Matthew’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously and stepped in close to Lana.

“Hey - well, I kind of felt like I was being a bit of a pain in the ass with monopolizing your time, so to say thanks, I - I was wondering if maybe you’d let me take you out to dinner sometime?

Lana’s eyes softened as she smiled, feeling flushed at Matthew’s invite. “Absolut - “

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ainsley appeared at the door, her eyes darted between the expression on Lana and Matthew faces. “Your 3:00 is here.” The curtness in Ainsley's voice would be unrecognizable to most, but Lana picked up on it quickly. She had all but forgotten that Ainsley had developed a crush on the young hockey player. Normally, her attractive assistant caught the attention of most guys around Matthew's age and type, but any interactions she had with Matthew thus far were strictly polite and professional.

Lana thanked her and said she would be out momentarily. She made a mental note to check in with Ainsley later, as she noticed her pursed lips before she walked stiffly down the hallway.

Lana turned back to Matthew. “How about this, I send you a note once I’m home from work and we can get something arranged, ok?

“Perfect - I guess until then…” Matthew postured for a hug which Lana gladly accepted.

For a split second in his embrace, she imagined how it would feel if his hands held her a little more firmly. Pulled her in a little more tightly.

She watched as he sauntered out into the reception area, quietly mumbling as she chastised herself.

“He’s 21…you're 32. Get your mind off of this notion, Lana.”

But for the remainder of the day, she couldn't stop the fluttery sensation in her stomach. It mystified and excited her but it was a feeling that also terrified her.

After her last meeting had wrapped up for the day, she hurriedly sent a message to Andrew and Jason. She flagged it as urgent for good measure.

L - Are either of you home tonight? Desperately needing advice - can I come by?

Jason responded first.

J - Are you ok? Already setting a place for you at the dinner table.

Andrew responded asking the same question.

Lana paused, held her breath and typed in each letter slowly.

L - I think I'm interested in someone.

There was a silence that could be felt, even over the phone.

Andrew eventually responded.

A- Jason probably fainted. You might want to pick up something stronger to drink than wine.

[anlian-aishang]

Vampire!Levi & Cunnilingus

Tags: levi x reader, smut, cunnilingus, period sex, blood, reader is propped against the wall, modern AU, college party, alcohol mention, fem!reader Word count: 2200 A/N: Thank you @bluebellhairpin for putting on the incredible Friday Night Bash! Had too much fun with this event 🖤 A/N2: Wrote a similar fic here if you are interested 🖤

You supposed it was only natural. 

At this age, motivation was a scarce resource. The burlier men donned flannel and jeans and called themselves lumberjacks. Any girl could become any cat with enough black eyeliner. 

Levi was the only vampire here, yet his costume seemed to take no more effort than anyone else’s. If anything, he was born a natural. Thin brows and slivered eyes. Jet black hair and moonlit skin. Fangs just barely curtained by red lips. Simultaneously, somehow the most convincing yet the most casually constructed. 

He noticed, you did too, the utter contrast that your roles conveyed. Levi was dressed head to toe in black, sparing only the white cravat tucked beneath his chin. You, on the other hand, had whipped all the white out from your closet and feigned yourself an angel. In his eyes, you weren’t feigning. House party vape could be reimagined as clouds, a heavenly background to your character. It made you shine through the swarm of sweaty brats. You were one of a handful who was neither spilling their drink nor coughing it up. In the middle of the room, a wallflower, staring down at her virgin spirit and clutching it in two hands. 

White tights hugged your legs. Blank sheer skirt hardly hid that contour. Long sleeves for the cold Halloween night, the layers beneath had compounded to caress your curves. You were covered from top to bottom. Still, Levi could read you like a book. Hard cover. Soft cover. Levi clenched his teeth and growled. 

You looked lonely as ever, tugged in contradictory directions of yearning: begging for someone to start the conversation for you, praying that no one would notice you, imagining meeting a guy here, thinking up excuses to ditch this party early. Your desires, Levi saw them, and he longed to fill all of them.

His hands began to twitch, irritated that his thoughts were getting too sentimental for his liking. Indeed, when his thirst neared such dangerous levels, he found composure harder to retain. Nails curled against the glass highball: is she really the one? 

The one he had traversed miles for. The one he had craved for the past several days. A scent and taste he needed so badly, Levi would suffer a college party for it. After all, that was why he was here. He clutched his head with his hand, silk glove smooth against his forehead. Bangs pushed to the sides, he held that grip and released a heavy sigh. At first, he thought he had done well to pinpoint it to one apartment building, even better to one apartment unit. Only once he ascended the staircase, heard the blaring music and saw the glaring lights, did he realize that the hardest part of this search was yet to come. Over a hundred people here. Half of them potential subjects. All he could do was stand idle and observe feverishly: who was the source?

Already, the bias was brewing for you, it was why his pupils were particularly quick to snap at the sudden drop of red that soiled your pristine outfit. Your inner thigh. Levi blinked harshly, but that trickle did not fade. Better yet, it tracked along the inner seam of your pantyhose: blotting, darkening. 

Toes curled against the soles of his leather shoes. Calves strained to dilute his pace as he began to gravitate towards you. From your perspective, strobe flashes of red made his approach play like a slideshow. Before you could discern who he was and what he was doing, the room would turn black again. Suddenly, he was only inches away, steady eyes met your widened ones.

“H’Hey,” Inside of his gloves, Levi pinched the inside of his palm. The attempt to ground himself did not defeat his stutter. “I thought -” a clear of his throat, “- thought I should let you know…” Levi leaned in, his lips to your ear.

His breath was cold on your skin. Beneath your blouse and in the wake of his chill, you felt your nipples peak against the fabric - even more so when he whispered, “You’re bleeding.”

On your gasp, you nearly choked. Levi found it adorable how you immediately, instinctively, brought your hand between your legs. Shameful was your expression. Shameless were your actions. Beneath your skirt, you palmed around, frantically feeling for proof of his claim. Three fingers to the slip of your panties were quickly soaked. With your gaze deadset in shock then panic, Levi allowed himself a lick of his lips. 

You turned over your shoulder to examine your backside, inadvertently revealing it to him as well. A teardrop of crimson just below your spine, having seeped through your underwear, tights, and skirt, Levi was hyper-aware of how wet you must have been in order to achieve those levels of penetration. The thought, the image, of your skin slickened in syrup made his pants turn tight.

His erection surged further when you beckoned him towards the stairway. “Maybe you could help me find a change of clothes?” 

An invitation.

"And help me out of these ones?"

Though watching you bleed through this outfit would be a fantasy for the millennium, he felt his levels dripping to empty. He needed it. Your blood in him. Now. 

But his needs were far from your mind. It was one of the only reasons your roommates had convinced you to allow them to host this get-together in the first place. You can’t sleep with guys if you don’t meet some guys. They had made it their mission to help you find someone, and it didn’t even have to be an eternal someone - though Levi Ackerman happened to be. Someone to show you a good time, to help you unwind a little. Of course, you would not settle for a trash bag, but a man who was willing to display such honesty and no disgust about the symptoms of your period - he had to be a good one, and he wasn’t hard on the eyes either. 

Your expectations had been low, perhaps a little too low. Least of all nights did you expect a booze-filled Halloween party to be the night that you brought a guy up to your room. Flinging open the door, you were met with violent whiplash: why the hell didn’t I clean?!

Chocolate bar wrappers on the floor. Midol on the nightstand. A box of overnight pads at the foot of the bed. Triple-thick tampons in a plastic bag that hung around the other side of your door handle. Worst of all, blood-stained underwear that had sorely missed the hamper and instead carpeted your floor.

“Oh my god, I’m - I’m so sorry!” You darted into the room and tried to fling the evidence out of sight. Obviously, Levi had just been deathly upfront about noticing your period. Yet, you were mortified, back turned to him and hurling apologies, “This - This is not very sexy, I know.”

Levi could only shake his head and clench his teeth. You had that all wrong. He would take this menstruation-riddled bedroom over a honeymoon suite any night. Silent footsteps brought his front to your back, his palm to your waist, “Just leave it,” Levi exhaled, his voice teetered on moaning, “and leave yourself to me.”

His arousal solid and warm against your blood-soaked backside, your enamor spiked: not only cool about this time of the month, but hot for it. You ground yourself against his member, satisfied with his length, you reached your hand to his neck and pulled him close. “Undress me, Levi.”

You were the only one who viewed this as a one-night stand. If anything, Levi hoped that you would live with him forever, that you would continue to flow, and that he could spend eternity swallowing you down. However, the haste in his movements implied that the two of you shared that one-night fervor. Nails scraped down your hips as he yanked your bloodied tights to your feet. Instead of taking them off, he used the excess length to make knots around your ankles, binding your legs into a loop. 

With inhuman strength and alarming speed, Levi had you in his arms and slammed against your bedroom wall before you could summon the breath to screech. Levi slipped himself within the cage of your legs. Backs of your knees to his shoulders. Heels dug into his nape. Your sex dwindled tantalizingly close to his mouth. 

Holy hell, you gasped, no man had ever had you like this before. By this point, you had learned that period sex was a rarity, receiving head during that time of the month - an impossibility. Instead, Levi dove straight in, unlike any of the rest.

And oh, were you spot-on about that. Levi Ackerman was no man. His skills were no act. The hair, the outfit, the fangs no occasion. This was his truest self: out of this world. He was grateful for the holiday, the one day of the year that his vest, slacks, and perfectly polished shoes would stand out. Levi admired the red lights of the party, making everyone’s irises match his giveaway shade. The greatest obstacle - the invitation, the consent - you had granted before he even had to ask. All tells he had fretted over, you made yourself perfectly blind to them. As your sex bled right before his eyes, he could only chuckle and admit, “so fucking pathetic.” 

Perhaps he was projecting. He had not even tasted you yet, had not even stripped you free, and already, he felt he was on the edge. His tip swelled against the cold metal belt buckle. Black pants hid the damp that precum had created. For a second, his mind flickered: which one of you was more wet? The answer came to him, though, by a glob of blood that dripped from your core and onto his white cravat.

Looking down, you were horrified. Mouth fell agape, an utter loss for words. Levi made up for your shortcomings as his sentiment flowed freely. 

“Oh? What’s this? Having a hard time containing yourself?” At his waist, his arousal made a mockingly timed rise. 

His teasing pricked your skin, each capillary blazed in embarrassment. You could not bear to make eye contact, instead, glued to his pristine white cloth that you had forever tainted. Years of experience, you knew those stains did not come out. 

Levi had a way.

Slowly, his tongue slid over his bottom lip and dragged along the silk threads. One strong, deliberate swipe had erased your DNA from the garment. In the throes of midnight, your eyes struggled to be sure, but Levi himself knew. At the first taste of your blood, he was sparked with revival.

“Mmm,” Levi hummed, “tastes good.” For now, he withheld: even better than I anticipated.

Though neither his hunger nor thirst were yet satiated. Not until you were sucked bone-dry, not until your pussy ran clear. Eating you out, he snuck occasional glances to affirm you were not at those milestones. In his frame of mind, rather, he had not yet brought you to them. 

Levi was the kind to savor the taste, but there was little indication of that on this cold autumn night. The motions of his tongue were swift. His slurping was delectably crude, coating his throat and coaxing out even more dirty talk. His canines grazed your most sensitive spots. You thought to ask him to take his fangs off, but in the end, realized you adored them. Good thing, they were irremovable.

Not one drop of you made it past that cravat. Most of your mess had been clotted by his skin. A red stripe ran down his face as he brought his whole front to the middle of your battle. Sweet metal. Saccharine iron. A salted cocktail. That was your drink - one he guzzled. When you asked for his fingers, he would religiously lick them clean.

Your muscles had grown weak, having lost count of how many times you had climaxed thus far. He had kept you in ignorant, mutually selfish bliss for god knows how long. It was only when you reached your arm towards him, combing through his hair and petting his head, that you realized how drained you were. Hardly able to speak, faint and incoherent, “You like that, huh? Like that, Levi?”

Through drenched bangs, he gazed up to meet your eye contact. So fucked-out, you paid no mind to the scarlet of his stare. “It’s like you can’t get enough.”

Cruelly timed, he felt your ridges start to clench around his face again. Nonchalant, he spoke into you as you began to cum again. “Makes two of us, then.”

Words seemed to make rhythm with your waves, and each one, you swore was better than the last. Tilting your head back against the wall, you arched yourself further into him, “F’Fuck, Levi!!” 

How did he - in just one night - manage to do you like this? 

Little did you know, it was not just one night, but an entire lifetime that he had been waiting, anticipating, preparing for this moment. You would remember this encounter as a night that you happened to cross paths with the man of your dreams. Levi saw it a very different way, no chance happening: the evening that he had scoured enough of this goddamned earth. A tale of lifeblood: the clean freak to your mess, monthly or otherwise.

Kinktober Year 3 Masterlist

[eudaimonia83]

@cursebrkr posted about Elain giving Lucien a Solstice present and I was like, well hell, I’ve got a fic for that 🥰

A tiny but important piece of background: Elain recently read in a reference book about hyraeths, light-butterflies of the Autumn and Summer courts who migrate across the border and are tended by air sprites in their mating groves.

Enjoy! 😁

——————————

Elain blinked, and the last of the darkness slid away. Before her was the erstwhile prince of Autumn, his hair braided and smoothly caught back at the nape of his neck, a bright blue coat with subtle gold threading outlining his broad shoulders. Even dressed relatively modestly, he gleamed, all color and light, all mischief and elegant trickery. So Fae. Even now it sent ripples up her spine, sliding along the knife edge between fear of him and trust in him. His golden eye glinted as he returned Feyre’s smile. “I wouldn’t miss your birthday for all the stars in Velaris,” he said, his voice light and teasing. “Not that even you could give those away.”

“Don’t put it past me,” Feyre winked at him.

Lucien turned to Elain, whose voice was as firmly caught in her throat as a burr stuck in a glove. “Good evening, Lady,” he said, with a slight bow. She swallowed, and nodded.

His good eye narrowed, ever so slightly, taking her in at a quick glance. “Can I get you a drink?” he asked, swinging his eyes back to Feyre, and smiling disarmingly. “The pair of you aren’t doing the party any favors sitting here without partaking.”

Feyre protested, laughing, but Lucien cocked his head and stared at her in mock accusation until she relented with a roll of her eyes. “Very well then. A half glass of the gold wine.”

He moved off toward the bar cart with a smooth stride. Feyre’s gaze shifted to Elain, whose hands were clenched tightly in her lap. What had he seen?

Feyre leaned in and said, her eyes dancing, “That’s a magnificent color on him, don’t you agree?”

Elain blushed from her ears to her chest, hating her sister for being so open, so obvious, so damn gleeful. It was confusing enough to be around him without everyone watching and whispering. She was trying to figure out what to say when he returned, a glass in each hand. He handed the wine cup to Feyre, who thanked him and then slyly slid away; he pushed a highball glass into her hand as they found themselves alone.

“Drink it,” he murmured, almost inaudible over the chatter of the party. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

She clutched the glass hard and stared at him.

“It’s only water,” he said, a trifle defensive. “You should drink it. It’s too warm in here and you’re flushed.” He leaned forward against the chaise, body language utterly relaxed — no one watching from a distance would think he was talking about anything but pleasantries — but a strain in his voice belied all that as he asked, “Did you just have…a vision?”

She put the glass to her lips and drank, the cold of the water a welcome rush on her tongue. The shock of it loosened her voice. She tried to stay as calm as possible, to imitate his nonchalance. “How did you know?”

His smile was tight. Pained. “Even if I hadn’t felt it here…” he touched his chest lightly, over his heart — “your face would’ve given it away.”

“How?”

“You…” He flexed his fingers as if they hurt. “You looked the same as…as back then. When you were first Fae.” He threw a glance at the fireplace with its evergreen bower and gestured at it, maintaining the small talk facade with ease. “Are you well?”

Surprised, she couldn’t help but turn and look him full in the face. “I’m…”

He turned his head, quizzical, as she trailed off. “You’re not well?”

“No, I’m all right,” she said, hurriedly. “But — you don’t want to know what I saw?”

Everyone always pounced when they heard she’d had a vision, starving for details, most of which she could never recall. But his eyebrows twitched together and back apart as he wiped the concern from his face, turning it bland and calm. “Not if you don’t want to tell me.”

Elain drew in a deep breath and let it out in a trembling sigh that turned into a laugh, tremulous and true — and even a little sad, if she was honest. He cast his eyes down and smiled at his hands, folded on the back of the couch. “Don’t laugh at me, Lady.”

“But you’re ridiculous, my lord,” she said, her humor finally cresting over the prickle behind her eyes.

“Eternally,” he agreed.

She was about to give him a pert answer when she noticed Feyre, standing on the other side of the parlor and grinning like the Mad Cat in their childhood storybook. As their eyes locked, Feyre seized Mor’s arm, and the two of them turned away at the same moment, leaning their heads together. Lucien followed her gaze and then looked immediately away, back down at his hands. “Being watched all the time must get tedious,” he said. “No wonder you guard your secrets.”

“I have none of consequence,” she murmured.

“Why, Mother of Mercy. Now you’re even bringing in lies. How enchanting.” His foxlike grin split his face. She couldn’t control the lurch in her chest. “I like you deceitful, Blossom. It’s intriguing.”

“Well, everyone else has their secrets,” she fired at him. “Can’t I have any of my own?”

“Certainly,” he said. He seemed utterly earnest. “I only ask that you promise to share with me the ones you ask me to keep.”

She paled. Was he going to give her away? An outright lie to Cassian and Nesta, a lie of omission to Rhysand and Feyre…they’d have her under the daemati claws in no time…there would be no secrets then, no mind left, they’d have it all and she’d be a shell of herself…

He extended his hand in a calming motion, seeming to sense her unease. “Not just yet,” he murmured. “When you’re ready. Til you instruct it, I’ll keep my silence.”

She couldn’t think of what to say, but he straightened up and nodded as Rhysand approached. She froze, feeling the sly rake of his claws across her thoughts, and focused hard on the half-full drink in her hand.

“Lucien,” Rhys greeted him, smooth and effortless as always. “Thank you for coming.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Lucien replied, and Elain was strongly reminded of the dukes and earls at the dances back in the human lands; that charm, the utter facility of sliding from one interaction to another. “Happiest of birthdays to the High Lady.”

Rhys nodded, immense satisfaction on his face as his violet eyes scanned the merry gathering. Cassian had Nyx on his shoulders; Nesta’s hand rested protectively on Nyx’s leg to keep him from falling backwards. Azriel sat by the window, shadows romping with the fluttering faelights, while Mor and Feyre argued playfully over a chessboard. And Amren stood slightly apart from the rest, her pale eyes surveying keenly. Rhys asked, a trifle absently, “How do the human lands fare?”

Lucien sighed. “The lands are buried under snow, as the seasons dictate. The humans themselves are…suffering.”

Rhys raised his eyebrows. “The fall harvest was sufficient. Once the crops come in in spring…”

“…they will still be suffering,” Lucien interrupted. “They cannot eat their seed crops if they hope to lay in the fields for next season. And yet they cannot starve. Everything there is restless. People who are hungry and sick and neglected will not tolerate it for long.”

Elain’s insides squeezed in shock. No one interrupted the High Lord. Not even Feyre, who always gazed at him with pride. But even more critically, his words burrowed through her surprise: the humans were hungry and sick. That was her village. Her friends. Mayfer, the bustling harbor city where she’d visited to wait for her father’s ships. Her former home.

Lucien continued, “Jurian has purchased extra grain stores from the continent. And Vassa took in several hundred of the country folk who would have starved otherwise, onto Lord Nolan’s estate.”

“Generous of her,” Rhys remarked. He sounded ever so slightly bored, as his eyes followed Feyre’s every move.

“Just keeping body and soul together,” Lucien replied, and his tone dropped. His expression remained mild as Elain glanced between the two males. But without even knowing how she knew it, she thought he is angry, before remembering to keep her thoughts focused on her glass of water. Angry at Rhysand. For what?

It could be any number of things, a small voice inside her head hissed, and she felt a tiny stab of shame, then covered it with thinking of how cold the glass was in her hand, beading with condensation.

“Clearly. Come see me in the morning and give a full report,” Rhys said, calm and unconcerned. But his eyes flashed as they settled briefly upon Elain. “And get Elain another glass of water. She’s parched, aren’t you, little sister?” His smile was thin and cold, and he moved away, sleek as a shadow, to stand behind Feyre, one arm draped lazily over her shoulder, fiddling idly with the knobbly handwoven string that supported the gold medallion around her neck. She reached up to stroke his wrist; the very picture of domesticity. Elain was pleased to discover that she could in fact distract him with obvious surface thoughts, to misdirect from her deeper misgivings — since she had no expertise in mental shields, that could be a useful tactic, even if it was flimsy. But warring with her satisfaction came a deep unease.

“Presents!” Mor called out from close to the fireplace, dragging a sack of brightly wrapped gifts out of a pocket realm, and everyone clustered around the couch for the exchange. Elain knew this would dissolve into spoiling the baby, and she was right; everyone competed for the best present for Nyx, who was getting a bit tired and cranky, and wanted only to play with the bright ribbons on the packages. Everyone had gotten one another gifts, and everyone exclaimed over the silk scarves, the sharp knives, the antique astrolabe that Feyre had sourced from the Day Court for Rhys…but, Elain noticed again and again, no one had gotten any gifts for Lucien.

She stole another glance at Lucien. He seemed unperturbed, smiling at the chaos of wrapping paper and mirth as Cassian opened a leather satchel from Mor with a suggestive shape. He howled with laughter as she winked and told him with supreme innocence that it was for use in the annual snowball fight. Nesta rolled her eyes, and Cassian stuffed the satchel into her hands with a hooded glance. Elain felt curiously voyeuristic, as though she’d witnessed something she wasn’t supposed to see; a tiny window into a private moment between her sister and the powerful male she was mated to. She thought of the little blue box, sitting on the table in the next room, and longed for the right moment to give it to him. But it didn’t seem appropriate, not here; not with everyone watching. She didn’t dare to give everyone else a tiny window into what was — or perhaps wasn’t — between her and Lucien. Not when it would be giggled over and teased and demeaned.

She broke away a few minutes later to gather all her presents together; jasmine soap from Nesta, tulip bulbs from Feyre, a box of expensive spices from Rhys, and found him in the hallway pulling his cloak off the hook.

“You’re leaving?” she blurted out, before she could think of anything better to say.

He turned, masking his surprise with a wry grin. “Overstaying a welcome is poor etiquette, I’ve found.”

“You’re welcome here,” she insisted. Was it her imagination that his eyebrows twitched in denial?

“Thank you,” he said, “but I think this party is for family now. And I’m not that. Whatever else I may be.”

“But…” — was she really going to say it? Her stomach clenched. Brave. Be brave. “But…I haven’t given you your present yet.”

He froze, comically halfway through securing the cloak buttons. “My what?”

“Your — your present,” she stammered. Gods above, untie her tongue from these hopeless knots. “I’m sorry no one else got you anything. But I did.”

As soon as she said it, it sounded false. Petulant. Like she was seeking a compliment.

“What for?” he asked, and he sounded bemused enough that she laughed, short and quiet.

“For Solstice, silly,” she said. She beckoned him into the darkened sitting area, turning on the lamp as she did. He followed, wary, keeping his distance.

She pushed the box at him, unsure of how to proceed, but now committed to seeing it through. He stared at it as though it was a trick, or a bomb that would explode in his face if he touched it.

“But you didn’t need to get me anything,” he said.

“I — I know,” she said, and her courage flagged. The box sank an inch or two from where she’d held it out to him. “But I wanted to. You did save my life, remember, so it’s only fair that I thank you properly.” She squared her shoulders, and in an attempt at being merry, said with a faint smile, “And I have a few Solstices to catch up on with you.”

He still didn’t move.

“Take it.” She moved two steps closer, til the box was within reach of his hand.

And with a brief hesitation, he reached up and took the box from her, pulled the ribbon off it, and opened it.

Elain was consumed with the strangest twirling in her gut, a spiral of anxiety and excitement. Gods. Dear gods. It was stupid. So stupid. Unutterably stupid, in fact. How could she have thought that it would be enough, when she had never accepted his gifts with anything but awkwardness, that this tiny thing would say everything she wanted it to?

Her cheeks flamed. She wondered if this was what it was to slowly choke…to asphyxiate under the weight of her own mistakes.

And still it was quiet. Finally, desperately, she dragged her eyes up from where her fingers twisted with anxiety and —

— and he was looking at her, his face a mix of gratitude and grief. Their eyes locked so tightly she almost heard the click of a key.

“A hyraeth,” he murmured, pulling the little pin from the box. The jeweler had fashioned it from a single piece of bright yellow amber that caught the light like honey, but also gleamed like sunshine on water. Elain had selected it herself. The etchings on the edges were done in black lacquer, faceting the surface of the amber just like the patterns on butterflies’ wings. The jeweler had done a lovely job, but her stomach corkscrewed into her legs nonetheless. Did he not like it?

“Well, not a real one,” she said hurriedly. “Just their likeness in a pin for your hair, or your lapel. But I thought you might like it…they’re from the Autumn Court,” she blurted, realizing she was babbling and cursing herself roundly for it, trying to lower her voice, which - drown her in the damned cauldron - was so much louder than was necessary.

“I know,” he said. “From the Vilderavian Groves, at the borders of Summer.” His voice fractured ever so slightly at the edges.

Her eyes widened. “Have you seen it?”

“Yes,” he replied, and there was a reverence in his voice that rippled through her like wind through grass. “Long ago. Just once. They alight on the great trunks of the hemlock trees in a shimmering mass. An ocean of tiny wings, all amber and gold and black, whispering among the green foliage. It’s a special place; the only evergreen spot in Autumn. And the sight — the whole forest alive with trembling light — is magnificent. There’s nothing like it.”

She nodded. “It made me think…” She spread her hands in defeat. That home is a journey, rather than a place. That it might not obey borders or rules, but seek its own way across barriers. That to find it, to keep it, one can endure unimaginable toil and turmoil. That there is magic in the smallest things. “…that you might someday find a place for your heart to rest. Unfathomable as that may be now.”

She could have sworn there was a gleam in his eyes, just for a moment. He closed his hand over the little pin. “It’s beautiful,” he said, softly. And then, so gently that had she not been straining toward him with every cell of her treacherous body, she would not have heard him: “I think you’ve fathomed me quite well, Blossom. Thank you.”

His eyes slid down to her lips, so close…the moment brief and shimmering, a bubble on the wind…

…and it shattered, burst by the arrival of Nyx, screaming in uninhibited toddler glee as Cassian mock-chased him through the hallway and past the open doors. Lucien started and stepped back. Elain very nearly followed him, so strong was the pull of the bond’s tidal undertow in her ribs, but she knew it was too late. Misery blooming in her heart, she turned to go.

“Happy Solstice, Elain,” he murmured.

She looked back over her shoulder, and saw him standing in the pool of light from the lamp. In that moment, he seemed aglow himself somehow. A living sun.

“Happy Solstice, Lucien,” she replied; and, unbidden, unsought, a smile rose to her lips. He returned it, shyly — and low in her gut, an ember, dormant under the ash of everything that had happened, flickered into a tiny flame.

It was nothing, she told herself sternly as she climbed the stairs to her room. So small. But even a tiny light could bring a traveler safe home.

[onlyhereforangst]

11. ellick for the mini fics 🩵

11. things you said when you were drunk

“Another.”

No sense of hesitancy, and someone who didn’t know him like she did wouldn’t pick up the dash of self-directed shame that mixed in to the simple statement. 

The bartender made quick work- not that it was hard, the bottle of scotch hadn’t gone far. The contents had, they’d travelled down the scruff-laded neck with a quick pitstop in the shot glass first. Each gulp smoother yet simultaneously less coordinated, if that was possible. 

“You wanna call it, bud?” the older man behind the mahogany bar asked. And she could tell it was familiar. Not pitying, not fearful, not even largely concerned. Just…familiar. 

He’d done this before. He had this conversation frequently. More than just the few nights she’d tagged along for in the last week. 

Oh, Nick.

He’d been sober when she’d walked away that brisk early summer afternoon. Sober for a few months even. He’d stuck to club soda for a while, she thought, remembering his little joke from a month into it. Poking fun at their earlier selves, when their world was about to upend with news of Ziva’s reappearance, but worrying about who was worrying about who seemed important. 

A calloused fingertip caught a stray drop of ice cold condensation before it could reach the bar top, dragging it back up the path it came from- back to the top of the highball glass filled with none other than- club soda. 

And if that wasn’t the metaphor of her life these past two years. A year under, two to get out. Trapped, desperate to retrace her steps, reverse the path that took her here. Three years later and back in her rightful place, or was she? 

She peered at the damage her fingertip had done—a small drop of condensation that skated around the other tiny beads, slipping away from them, out of sight- out of mind. Except now, trying to forcibly put the drop back in its place, she’d left a wake of destruction. Thousands of tiny beads smeared across the glass surface, a bulldozed path five times as wide as the first, innocent one. 

She may have slipped out of his life, but would coming back destroy more than it would fix? Was it a fool’s journey to try and put something back that probably didn’t belong in the first place?

“…f-fuck, man!” Nick’s slurred but firm timbre was clear as day, even in her seat at the far, catty-corner end of the bar. 

Her vision moved from the messy highball and up to the mirrored bar backsplash, angled perfectly for her to take in Nick’s flared nostrils and the bartender’s relaxed stance. Clearly he wasn’t put off or even remotely surprised by the outburst. Hell, no one in the bar even twitched.

Quieter, more solemn, he continued, “I fucking loved her,” his head sagged and shoulders dropped- like the life had been sucked out of him with those four simple words. The air around her stilled, vanished even. Nothing passed over her slack lips.

She could make out the bartender’s slight tilt of his head, silently urging Nick to continue even as Nick’s eyes never left the empty shot glass in front of him. 

“Ellie,” it came out as a whisper and every muscle fiber in her body froze. But his eyes hadn’t lifted to her spot at the bar, they’d glazed over, unfocused on the present, rather likely focused on the millions of small memories her mind was now flipping through. Each time her name crossed his lips, in joy, in fear, in love, she melancholically surmised. 

“I loved Ellie,” Nick amended his earlier statement. 

And the bartender shifted his weight back, nothing else had surprised the man, but this statement apparently had. It hadn’t been the declaration of love, had it? It had to have been her name. Nick had never put a name to the claim. Never wanted to make it real, she bet. 

What had changed? Why now? She’d probably never get her answers. He loved her, past tense. Three years past. 

Another flicker of movement caught her drifting attention- his fingertip, chasing its own path, circling the top of the shot glass. Round and round it went, never easing up, almost like it couldn’t, like it refused to falter or move on. Circling and retracing, wondering where it all went wrong? she guessed pessimistically. 

Until it paused. 

And his chin lifted. 

Eyes steeled as best the welled up tears would allow. 

“I love her.”

Fuck. 

She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t think. 

“I still love Ellie...” Nick clarified to the riveted bartender. 

Her existence here, in DC at this bar in the periphery of Nick’s life, hung on his next words that came out as a deflated sigh.

“...and how fucked is that?” 

[osunism]

HIGHBALL

"Woman begins by resisting a man's advances and ends by blocking his retreat." —Oscar Wilde

🔞 Rating: Explicit ❤️‍🔥 Relationship[s]: Sukuna/Nadja/Toji ⚠️ Be Advised: Gun violence, descriptions of blood and gore, explicit sexual situations [gunplay, torture, and mild exhibitionism], adult language. This is a non-curse AU so there is no jujutsu, but it is still a violent world of organized crime. 🪧 Summary: Sukuna and Nadja are living an idyllic life as former figures in the rotten underbelly of organized crime. When an old contact of Nadja's shows up on their doorstep with a dire warning, the trio must prepare to do what they must to protect their newfound peace.

▶• ılıılıılıılıılıılı. 🎧 [ highball: spotify ] 🎧 [ highball: apple music ]

🌻 Prelude: The Season of Flowers 🐅 Act I: Idyll's End 🐉 Act II: Exhumed ⛩️ Act III: Legacy

⛩️ AO3 ᪥ OC Masterpost ᪥ Fic Masterpost ⛩️

🌻 Prologue I: Sunflower Woman

     The first time Sukuna met her, she’d been leaned over a flower stall, nose-deep in a sunflower, eyes shut in private bliss at something as simple as beauty and fragrance. Sukuna would never forget that day: she was wearing a jersey-knit dress the color of marigolds, and it hugged her full curves, giving her a lovely silhouette. The rich color was vibrant against her warm, umber skin, and Sukuna recalled biting his lip at the sight of her nipples poking through the fabric, of the swell of her rear’s shape seen from behind. Her hair, a charming profusion of jet-black braids, was piled on top of her head. A pair of golden earrings dangled from her lobes, glinting in the early afternoon sun.

     He watched her chatter with the florist, and her smile was everything.

     Then she turned her head to look at him, her dark eyes snagging on his. Immediately, she smiled at him, averting her eyes almost shyly.

     Sukuna approached, never one to turn down a hunt for worthy prey, greeting her with his signature smirk. He hoped she didn’t mind his tattoos. He wasn’t sure what foreigners’ views on tattoos were, but judging from her shy but interested gaze, and her posture, he’d argue she didn’t mind.

     “Hello, beautiful,” he said to her. “I hope you don’t mind my being forward, but you are the loveliest person I’ve seen today.”

     The woman raised her brows in surprise, and her smile was warm enough to melt butter. He could almost feel the flush of heat in her cheeks as she let out a sultry little laugh.

     “Oh, I bet a handsome devil like you uses that line on all the girls,” she teased.

     Sukuna laughed, taking her teasing good-naturedly. “Only the ones I hope will have coffee with me.”

     She tilted her head, dark eyes sparkling. “Coffee, hm?” She asked.

     “Just coffee,” Sukuna said. “After that, you can continue to indulge me or tell me to fuck off.”

     As it so happened, she did continue to indulge him. She indulged him over coffee, taking a unique and keen interest in his life and of course his appearance. Then, unwilling to be parted, she indulged him over dinner later, and then he offered her an invitation to his penthouse.

     And she indulged him throughout the night. Sukuna had had his fair share of good pussy over the years, but this woman was uninhibited passion in the flesh. It had taken some flirtation—which she seemed shy about—and she finally worked up the nerve to ask him for what she wanted.

     And that’s how she wound up riding him on his couch, her dress hiked up around her waist, her panties tossed somewhere across the room. Sukuna held her, thought he’d have to guide her, but she rode him like she wanted to break herself on him. She took his cock as best she could, he’d give her that, and seeing her split around him was a sight he’d be fucking his fist to for weeks to come.

     All night he let himself be soaked in her sweat, her scent, and she screamed his name when she finally came.

     And then she indulged him some more. They retreated to his bedroom, stripping as they went, and he had her in his bed, fucking her deep and hard until her voice was hoarse, until her body was limp and pliant in his large hands. He bruised her, kissed her where he bruised her [and where he didn’t], and resituated their bodies with a lewd and raunchy ease. He took her in as many ways as either of them could garner the strength until they collapsed, spent and exhausted, dawn coloring the sky.

     Tulani’s sultry voice sounded best when moaning and whimpering his name, he thought. But he found he loved her voice shortly after waking too.

     One night turned into many over the course of several months, and Sukuna could safely say he had never been happier. Tulani was uninhibited, wickedly smart, and she kept him chasing. Somehow, she had divined his predatory nature, and it became a favorite sport of theirs to have him hunt her around the city while they spoke on the phone. They set rules of course: no questionable use of technology, and only restricted to light clues. It was both a way to discover parts of the city to enjoy and to give both the thrill of the chase and being chased. Sukuna had to admit she was good at keeping him guessing. And they’d found no less than five noodle stands that met their strict standards.

     The months turned into a year, and Sukuna began to think that maybe he’d found one person on this planet that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. No, that was a disservice to her. He knew he wanted her for himself. Wanted her forever. His sunflower woman.

     So, when he woke up one morning to her straddling him, a blade to his throat, it didn’t register for a moment.

     “Tulani?” He blinked and she came into focus, and when he felt the prick of the blade at his throat, he was instantly alert. Senses previously dulled by pleasure were honed, and defenses lowered after months of…after months of being worked on, thundered fiercely back into place.

     Sukuna had the reputation of speed on his side. Speed, accuracy, and adaptability. He’d also built a reputation as a particularly ruthless man. It was not the first time someone had held him at the edge of a blade. It was the first time someone he loved deeply had done it, and that hurt worse than the prick of steel on his skin.

     And what Sukuna didn’t know about Tulani revealed itself in the next several seconds. He moved, and he saw her eyes widen as he pitched her aside, taking her offending wrist and grinding the delicate bones until the blade dropped from her nerveless fingers.

     From there it was a war of attrition as Sukuna compartmentalized the shock of betrayal. A preying mantis had slipped into his bed, and he had the nerve to be shocked when she finally sought to be rid of him. Moreover, he had no idea who she worked for. He’d had her followed, and she’d led the most unassuming and mundane life, even worked an unassuming nine-to-five. Everything about her had been soft and ordinary and nothing like the bloody world Sukuna inhabited.

     And it had all been an act. A way to worm her way into his heart and mind, to get him to lower his guard so she could kill him.

     Fury, cold and blazing like a star in the void of space, hollowed in his gut.

     “If you tell me who you work for,” he said from behind a couch, reloading his pistol as quickly and efficiently with a practiced ease. “I’ll make your death a quick one.”

     There was no answer, and Sukuna’s senses strained to hear anything denoting movement. He checked his surroundings and could see nothing.

     The couch scraped just slightly, and Sukuna almost froze before he realized what was happening. He dove aside as two rounds pierced the back of the couch, sliding onto his knees to aim at her but she was already gone, having scrambled off the couch to find cover elsewhere.

     “Suddenly the strong and silent type?” He snarled from behind a stantion. His hearing strained again, and he heard the distinct sound of broken glass crunching. He dared to take a quick look, and barely ducked in time as a bullet whizzed past his face and shattered a vase behind him.

     Bitch.

     He was low on ammo, and Tulani was suspiciously silent. He went over the layout of the penthouse in his head and tried to account for the fact that what he knew, Tulani likely knew as well, if not more. He was her mission, after all.

     Sukuna decided to go on the offensive, moving through his home, cover to cover, checking his corners. He was thorough, and he was stealthy. He checked various places on his way to the dining room. She’d taken whatever weapons he’d had hidden around the penthouse, and he almost wanted to kiss her. She was good.

     “Why are you dragging this out?” He called from the dining room, and then moved into the kitchen. He waited, crouched between the doorway and the fridge, checking the safety on his gun before peering around the corner into the dining room. He saw the muzzle of her pistol lead into the room first and waited.

     Slowly, she lowered her weapon and stepped into view.

     Sukuna’s pistol barked once, and he heard her cry of pain, the sound of metal tearing through flesh as the round hit its mark. There was a smell, faint like heated metal and meat roasting. He saw drops of blood where Tulani once stood, and grinned. It appealed to the hunter in him, and in a twisted sense of irony, reminded him of the “games” they’d played where he would hunt her through the city.

     Sukuna followed her blood trail through the house, and found her in his bathroom, rummaging for supplies to tend to her wound. As he stepped into the bathroom, she held up her gun, pointed at him with a steady arm despite the blood loss spreading on his marble floor like a robust wine.

     “You don’t look so good, doll,” he teased, crimson eyes glittering with malicious glee. Tulani was sweating. He’d nicked nothing vital, but he’d come close to her knee. She was limping already, and he imagined the pain was not her friend.

     Still, her gun arm was fucking steady, but he had one round in the chamber, just for her pretty skull if she decided to test who was more lucid right now, and she knew it.

     “Who sent you?” Sukuna asked. “Was it Kamo? Zenin? That bastard Naobito pissed I’ve got his nephew on my roster?” He eyed her as she refused to speak, reaching for the bottle of alcohol to uncap it.

     “Nah,” Sukuna said, and when he took a step forward, her finger twitched near the trigger. “Hey!” She stumbled, letting go of the alcohol and leaning on the counter for support. Sukuna lowered his gun, went to her unthinking. When she held him at gunpoint, he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he walked right up to her until the barrel of her gun was pressed against his chest, right where it could pierce his heart when fired. He watched Tulani’s eyes widen slightly in disbelief.

     “Do it,” he said. “That’s why they paid you, right? Fucking do it, Tulani.”

     Tulani glared at him, but he could see her hesitation mixed with the pain from her wound. She needed to get the bullet fragments out, something that required a doctor and not her risky battle medicine she was about to engage in. But her gun arm was steady, if warbling just a bit.

     “If you’re not gonna shoot me, at least let me help you get patched up and we can sort out why you’re here.” Sukuna said. He reached up, slowing his movements to a crawl as he gently moved to lower her gun. Her arm shook as she resisted momentarily, but then she complied, looking away sullenly.

     “This changes nothing,” she said in a low voice. Sukuna gave a little derisive snort as he cleaned her wound, taking undue pleasure and amusement in her hisses of pain. The wound was a lot less severe than it initially looked, and he inspected it with an impartial gaze.

     “Oh, I’m sure it doesn’t,” Sukuna said, clucking his tongue condescendingly. “I imagine the price they paid for you to come for me was steep.”

     Without warning, he struck her with the butt of his pistol, catching her as she crumpled to the floor.

     It was the literal splash of ice water that woke her. Tulani came back to consciousness violently, gasping and thrashing against what she quickly realized were shibari ropes binding her to a steel chair. She frowned, growling and grunting in effort, but she knew the knots were true. Sukuna had bound her many times before this for far more pleasurable reasons. She’d fought hard to free herself on one occasion, and he’d watched in amusement as she brought herself to climax, struggling against his expert ropework.

     Judging from the barren look of the room, the single light, and the implements of pain arrayed on the walls, she guessed this was not a pleasurable shibari session.

     “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,” Sukuna purred, and grinned at her with a look of malicious glee. The sharp, violent lines of his facial tattoos seemed to warp, lending his handsome visage a more savage and ferocious appearance. Tulani took a deep, pensive breath, and exhaled hard and slow through her nostrils.

     “Cut to the chase,” she said coldly. “You want answers, and all of this,” she gestured with a jerk of her chin to the ambiance of the room: concrete, a drain likely to wash away the blood when it was over, and the implements of torture that had doubtless seen more blood than the Red Cross. “Is to frighten me into giving up my employer.”

     Sukuna didn’t speak, but his eyes, the color of rubies—or droplets of blood—glittered with curiosity and something else. Like a leviathan lurking beneath placid waters, Tulani caught a glimpse of the Two-Faced Demon of Tokyo’s Underworld. The right side of his face was scarred, likely from being burned. Tulani herself had kissed that scar many times. She knew him intimately, and Sukuna was beginning to realize he knew her not at all.

     “That’s part of it,” he said at last as his gaze slithered over her bound form. Tulani was fully clothed, her wound dressed [although the pain of it throbbed in the back of her mind]. Yet, Sukuna’s harrowing gaze made her feel naked. That part had not been an act: the sex had been spectacular, and his eye contact could flay a man alive or make one feel as if they were the only one in the world. There was, perhaps, a tinge of sorrow in her having to deceive him. He was worthy prey for her charms, after all.

     “And the other part?” She asked, lifting her chin a fraction, defiance in her dark eyes like a pinprick of torchlight against the darkness. It made Sukuna chuckle to see it. How proud, his Sunflower Woman, how utterly magnificent she was, even bound in defeat. She had been sent to hunt him directly, and he hadn’t even felt all the hooks she had in him until he tried to pull away. She was brilliant. He almost wanted to know how she planned it.

     But part of him already knew who sent her, and why.

     “I know Old Zenin knows better than to be so bold and direct even though he’s been wanting my territory for some time, but his nephew might be a little bull-headed and make a move…so impatient…” Sukuna remarked idly, walking toward a metal table, where gleaming surgical tools rested in a velvet-lined leather case he’d rolled out. Tulani did not have to strain to look to know that those blades were well-kept and lovingly tended. He would bleed her for information without killing her.

     “And I know Kamo is too chickenshit to ever challenge me,” Sukuna continued, his back to her as he inspected his unsettling array of edged implements. He settled on a paired set of one-sided blades called flechettes, their edges honed to such a fine edge the flesh beneath them would part like gauze.

     “So, that leaves one culprit,” Sukuna said as he turned to face her, smirking at her widened eyes. “Kenjaku is trying for my head. Well, that old bat always did know how to annoy me. But I’m going to send him a message, Miss Hikmat, and you’re going to deliver it for me. Would you like that? Being my little courier?”

     Tulani stared at him with a scowl on her face, trying not to let her gaze slide to the flechettes in his hands, but he knew she was anticipating them. He could practically smell her sweat, could see how she struggled to be subtle when straining against her binds. He almost wished he’d tied his Specialty Knot, just to watch her squirm, but the memories of the joy they’d shared—where he’d thought her just an innocent civilian looking for a dangerously good time—were tainted by her betrayal. He wasn’t even sure Tulani was her real name. A foreigner and a deadly assassin? Kenjaku wanted him dead real bad, huh?

     Ah, well. It had been some time since Sukuna got to send a message like this. Let Kenjaku see how the Two-Faced Demon dealt with assassins and spies.

     Tulani wasn’t sure at what point she had passed out during Sukuna’s interrogation, only that he had tested the very limits of her stamina and resistance. The flechettes he’d brandished had not been designed for severing or even slicing, merely for pain. To maximize their effectiveness, the cutting was usually done very, very slowly. And Sukuna was a patient man. One had to be, to tie such skillful knots in shibari.

     Tulani wasn’t sure how long he cut her, tracing sigils over her naked body while he’d suspended her by a single hook over the unforgiving concrete floor, just high enough that her toes could barely scrape the ground, giving her no real purchase. The drugs coursing through her system had aided in her sluggishness, as had the bullet wound, he’d bandaged while she was unconscious.

     But he cut her, and he didn’t stop cutting her until her skin ran with her own blood, until the marks left on her skin echoed the tattoos on his own. He’d avoided her face, and when she saw where next his blade would go as it traced the taut planes of her belly, she’d begged him to kill her. Sukuna loved when she begged, loved to see the tears in her eyes that he licked away before demanding she give up her employer and give him cause to go to war.

     But Tulani was adamant in her resistance. She gave him other things, things that could only be given up through the maiming of the flesh, but never that. Her reputation was ironclad, and she would not tarnish her flawless record and her discretion for Sukuna’s pettiness.

     In the end, however, he got what he needed: a messenger.

     That was how Tulani found herself turned loose with nothing but the clothes on her back. She knew what Sukuna was about, and so she made fit to vanish into Tokyo’s alley-ridden heart, hoping to shake the tail he’d put on her. It took some days, but eventually the cloying pressure at her nape eased, and her hackles lowered as she saw fit to return to her employer and give them the rather disappointing news.

     Tulani returned to the Zenin One building in Shiodome, having finally managed to make herself look somewhat presentable if a bit ruffled. When she gave her name to the receptionist, and after a tense back and forth over the phone, she was directed to the elevator, which propelled her up to the top floor. Tulani felt like a tame falcon that had been wild for too long returning to her master’s glove. She was irritated.

     The elevator doors opened with a single ding of the bell, and she strolled into the mahogany-colored hallway, lined with soft, ambient lights. Two guards stood at the immense double doors, sunglasses hiding their eyes. Tulani stared at them.

     “He’s expecting me,” she said, trying to will the irritation from her voice. Without hesitation, they opened the doors, standing aside as she walked into the airy office. It had been some time since Tulani had stood here, and she still had to own it was a nice office. Curved, to give a 180-degree view of the sprawling district and gardens, with floor-to-ceiling windows. Silhouetted against one of the windows was her employer.

     “So, after a year, you failed to do the one job I paid you for,” Naoya Zenin sneered with contempt, glaring at her over his shoulder. Tulani resisted the urge to heave a sigh.

     “And now word out on the street is Sukuna is preparing to bolster his defenses and make a move,” Naoya turned on his heel, eyes blazing as he glared at her. “I was told you were the best, Hikmat. Your records alone were the reason I bothered to shell out the money for your asking price. But if this is all you have to show me after a year, then I think it’s time we cut our losses and let you go.”

     Tulani knew what that meant and decided to turn on the charm. It had worked before and even now, as he approached her, she could see it in his eyes. It was a flickering flame in an uncertain breeze: carnal curiosity. Tulani had teased and flirted with the idea of crossing the lines of business and pleasure, and Naoya was leery for her reputation often ended in her giving her prey the business end of a knife or bullet. Tulani had been clear that she only seduced her targets.

     But now, she saw that the hungry seed she’d planted in his head had sprouted. He was angry with her, and willing to cross that line if it meant having her.

     So, Tulani soothed his hackles, appealing to his ego, teasing him with just enough temptation that she could see the outline of his cock through his pants. His hands trembled with the urge to grab her, to kiss her pouty lips, to taste the salt of her sweat. He wanted what Sukuna had gotten for a whole year, and it stung his pride and ego that Tulani refused to cross that line when she crossed so many others to get to her target.

     In the end, the promise of a possible tryst was enough to convince him to extend her contract. Not only that, but she also argued that she had not been given accurate information about the Two-Faced Demon. The threat of him had been downplayed, as had the intel about his operations, which she had only gotten mere glimpses of in order to tell that much. Naoya relented at last, begrudgingly admitting that the dossier had been sparse in some crucial areas.

     Tulani turned to leave, feigning anger and a threat to cut the contract herself if she wasn’t given the full context of the kind of enemy she was dealing with. Naoya, not wanting to lose his chance, reached for her, grabbing her arm. Tulani let him pull her back, feigning a stumble and allowing him to catch her against his body. She looked up at him, widening her eyes slightly, parting her lips just so. She saw color warm Naoya’s cheeks before he gently pushed her away.

     “Let me make it up to you,” he said, his voice rough with desire as he struggled to wet his dry throat. “I’ll put you up in the best digs in Roppongi, what do you say? Penthouse, anything you need. Just…I need this job done. I’ll get my guys to pass along a fuller dossier but just…don’t leave yet, alright?”

     Tulani knew then that he was hers.

     Later, Tulani found herself at the Ritz Carlton in Roppongi, in their largest suite on Naoya Zenin’s Centurion card. The Zenins had a standing agreement with a lot of the hotels in the area, that being one of their laundering rackets, as she learned. The concierge greeted her, and Tulani ascended in the elevator to the 53rd floor, and keyed into her suite. She was used to luxury given her line of work, and it was no different now. Still, she let out a low whistle as she walked around the massive, palatial suite in search of the bedroom.

     Her luggage and belongings had already been brought to the suite, along with a complimentary bottle of champagne sitting in a bucket of ice, a tray of fresh fruit, and a card welcoming her and hoping she enjoyed her stay.

     Tulani passed all of that and immediately went to the bathroom to begin running herself a nice, hot bath in the massive tub. Almost too massive, she felt like she’d be soaking up to her neck in it. There were an assortment of oils and soaps for her to use, including jasmine oil, which had been Naoya’s own personal touch. He’d commented often how much he enjoyed her scent, and she’d let him.

     Soon, Tulani groaned as she sank into the tub, letting herself relax for the first time in weeks. She basked, whiling away the hours thinking and ruminating on the past year. Sukuna was ever-present in her mind, never far from her thoughts. His smile, his deep, purring laugh, his voice in her ear: tell me, tell me, tell me. Tulani cared precious little for the Zenin heir, but he was holding her leash and paying her tab so she could not give him up. That and it was simply bad for business to spill at the first touch of a few knives.

     As Tulani scrubbed away the last vestiges of Sukuna’s rough touch from her satin skin, she frowned grimly at the fading lines of his cutting and opted to place a hot washcloth over her eyes and lean back. Eventually, the heat seeped into her bones, relaxing her fully, and her breathing evened out.

     She had just been about to slip into a much-needed nap, a rare moment of true and very private repose, when she felt the intruding breeze against her damp skin. Immediately, Tulani tore the washcloth from her eyes and sat up, glaring at the doorway now filled by one Ryōmen Sukuna.

     They stared at one another, barely a few meters apart.

     Dark, bistre eyes challenged the crimson of his own, and the whole of the past year lay between them. The joy, the flirting, the pure, uninhibited passion both of them brought to the bedroom. Sukuna looked at Tulani as she was, and all murderous intent was somehow doused in him. Tulani looked upon him and there was the shock that he was able to not only find her but gain access to her to the point that she had not realized she’d been hunted.

     It thrilled her.

     The whole of the world took a collective breath as one of the greatest assassins in the world, and the most ruthless and powerful of Tokyo’s Underworld bosses regarded one another with scarcely a few meters apart. Anyone with the good sense the gods gave a rabbit would have called for help. She should have called for help, but even if she did Sukuna would be on her in a matter of seconds, and she was already calculating the level of damage they’d do should things come to blows.

     “I’m unarmed,” she murmured quietly, the sound of water sloshing along the sides of the tub sending the light to scattering and refracting around her as she took a gamble, hoping against hope that she could salvage this mission. Sukuna took her in and smirked.

     “I don’t believe you,” he said and merited a slow grin from her for his trouble.

     Tulani stood up in the bath, slowing her movements to a lissome crawl to avoid triggering violence in him, and Sukuna watched her unblinking, his gaze as sharp as his flechettes. While she stood, she saw the tension in his hands, the slight flex of his fingers, his sleeves rolled up to reveal the thick bands of ink around his wrists, the veins in his forearms and hands more pronounced, poised to do terrible violence should her claim of being unarmed prove false.

     Sukuna had seen Tulani naked more times than anyone, by his reckoning, but even he was never prepared for the sight of her. Perhaps he’d overlooked the telltale signs of the killer in her, likening her well-honed form to a rigid workout regimen. But no, this was a warrior through and through, and he took her in as he had not before.

     Warm water cascaded down those full feminine curves, glittering in the warm worship of the soft light. Her skin which could have taught satin its texture, was glossy and silken from the water and oils she’d used, and Sukuna smelled jasmine thick in the steamy air. She looked like something molten, as if she were straining to maintain this feminine form…and what a form it was. Water slipped down her toned arms, over the curves and slaloms of her breasts, dripped from the tips of her dark nipples, along the carved lines of her stomach, the flare of her hips, and down along the bald swell of her cunt, where Sukuna’s gaze finally settled.

     Tulani’s gaze was amused and a little curious. There had been a turning point in their relationship when she finally revealed her intention and mission. There was the question of whether or not her feelings for him had been playacting, and Sukuna still longed to lash out at her for toying with him, but then there was the matter that his feelings had not been acting. He had genuinely wanted her.

     He still wanted her.

     “Pass me a towel?” Tulani’s voice threaded through the tense silence with a seamstress’ precision and Sukuna’s brows knit, the trishula tattoo on his brow wrinkling as he snorted.

     “You want me to get it and risk revealing a pistol I intend to use on you, then?” Tulani moved with a serpent’s lissome and unnerving grace, cocking one hip to the side as she quirked a brow at him in question.

     “Tch,” Sukuna hissed and snatched up one of the large, plush towels neatly folded on the counter. He knew there was no pistol there. He’d already checked, and she’d hidden them under the pillows of the bed, and a Bowie knife next to it. Her time in the bath had truly been a vulnerable one. He could have killed her with one shot if he wanted and been back home before his next meeting.

     But he didn’t. Instead, he watched as she wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out of the tub, pulling the stopper to drain the water. She gave him a knowing smirk as she passed him, and he grabbed her arm to keep her from walking further, his grip like a shackle. She glanced up at him sharply.

     “Sukuna…” She breathed his name for the first time, and it was anyone’s guess who moved first. He was on her, pulling the offending towel aside, and she was tearing at his silk shirt, heedless of the price tag, knowing he could afford it as buttons popped beneath her onslaught, her hands seeking his hot, tattooed skin beneath. Sukuna hissed as her touch blazed a path and he could get out of his clothes fast enough.

     There was only the sound of silk tearing, of a belt buckle coming loose, and clothing being tossed aside. Sukuna’s hands found Tulani’s hips, relishing the feel of her soft skin under his touch again. He gripped her hard enough to leave his fingerprints, and she relished the roughness of his touch, eager and wanting.

     Not a word was spoken between the two even as he shoved her onto the bed, face first, dragging her hips up and spreading her thighs to get a good look at that cunt he missed way more than he’d ever admit—even to himself. Without preamble, he leaned in, and spit directly in her, watching it mix with her slick and drip down onto the sheets.

     Sukuna’s free hand wrapped around his cock, and he watched as Tulani shot him a sultry look over her shoulder, grinning as if she were hiding a secret. He stroked himself a few times, dragging her to the edge of the bed and shoving her down into an arch that most would call rather cruel.

     And in one thrust, he sheathed himself inside of her.

     The sound Tulani made during that contact was nothing short of utterly obscene. A loud, throaty moan that saw her hands curling into the duvet, her pretty profile contorted in a strange ecstasy. Sukuna relished that sound, wished he could do it all over again just to hear her moaning like a whore for his cock.

     He punished her with a brutal pace, pulling her back and forth along his cock as if she were nothing more than a toy for him. Tulani moaned like a wounded animal, a savage animal at the end of its rope, cornered and pinioned by the cunning hunter. The bed was sturdy enough that it didn’t groan in protest against Sukuna’s powerful thrusts, but the proximity to the front door was rather dangerous. Anyone who strolled by would hear the obscene sound of skin slapping against skin, the occasional heavy-handed slap of a palm against what could only be Tulani’s rear, and her answering moan of pleasure.

     He fucked her like he wanted to kill her, because he did. And he didn’t. It was complicated.

     Tulani buried her face in the line of her arm, hissing and moaning curses and pleas of beseechment. Sukuna was focused on the sensation of Tulani’s beautiful little pussy wrapped around his cock, which stretched her so tightly that when he pulled back, he could see her struggling to let him go, her walls fluttering and tightening as she struggled to maintain control.

     “Isn’t this your job?” Sukuna demanded, dragging his nails along her hips as if he wanted to leave claw marks on her. To mark her in such a primal way almost made him come on the spot.

     “Isn’t this how you get your marks, you little slut?” Sukuna demanded in a growl and Tulani moaned her assent, not even sure what he was asking or what she was agreeing with. Only the sensation of his cock filling her to the point of pain, his heavy balls slapping against her clit, his hips bruising her backside in a relentless, pounding stroke that had her seeing stars. Her vision sparkled, and before she knew it, she felt a strong hand fasten around her throat, choking off her next moan.

     Sukuna drew her up against him, never slowing his thrusts, forcing her to spread wider. He wished the headboard had a mirror so he could see himself moving in and out of her, so he could watch as he rubbed her clit and fucked her harder than he’d ever fucked her.

     Fucked her harder than she had tried to fuck him.

     Tulani wasn’t sure at what point she lost control of the situation but if she had to guess it was somewhere between the moment she saw him, and the moment his hand fastened around her wrist.

     The hand on her throat traveled upward, cupping around her mouth and muffling her cries.

     “Shh shh shh,” Sukuna cooed, his voice limned in tender cruelty. “Don’t want Naoya’s posse to hear who’s making you come, do you? I just know the boy will be devastated when he learns I’ve come inside you again and he can’t even get a hug from you. Isn’t that right, Tulani?”

     Tulani didn’t answer—she couldn’t answer, because his hand was clamped around her mouth, and she was so close there were tears in her eyes. Sukuna slowed his pace, torturing her with long, agonizingly slow strokes. And just like he planned, Tulani’s moans changed too, muffled but he could hear how drawn out they were, and he was sure they’d sound slurred if he took his hand off her mouth. She was shivering in his embrace, and not from fear.

     “What’s the matter, Tulani?” Sukuna taunted. “You gonna come? You gonna squirt all over my cock? You want the Zenin brat to see you like this? Oh, I bet you do—look at you, shivering and moaning like my personal whore.”

     And then he stopped fucking her and relished the sound of her desperate whimpers. She’d been close, he knew, but there was still so much more he wanted from her. He pulled his cock out of her, delighting in the wet sound, but less delighted in the air-conditioned air hitting his soaked cock. He had to put it back inside her, so he ordered her to turn around on her hands and knees. She divined his desire and without a second thought, opened her mouth to take his cock inside, angling her head to take him down her throat.

     Sukuna looked down at her and watched as she struggled to suck down his entire cock, big as it was. But she sucked him off anyway, head bobbing along the length of him, cheeks hollowed out, and her eyes on him just like he liked. She may have struggled to throat him, but he would never admit that Tulani gave the best blow jobs he’d ever had in his life. The woman sucked his dick as if she’d invented the act. She was indulgent, licking along his shaft, sucking one of his balls into her mouth and then the other, all while she stroked him. When he grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her forward, he relished the sound of her gagging, the wet and painful cough as he shoved his cock down her throat and fucked her pretty, duplicitous mouth as if it were her cunt.

     Tears spilled from her eyes, down her cheeks, and she looked at him plaintively, desperate for air he refused to give her. No, she’d take it, and she’d take it as long as it took him to come.

     At one point, he hauled her against the wall, taking her on every surface he could find. She was as eager as he was, and by the time he did finally come, they collapsed onto the bed, their bodies slick with sweat, heaving and panting. They lay like that for a while, settling back into the skin and bone of their bodies, vision hazy with pleasure.

     “So, I take it you’re not here to kill me,” Tulani said, laughing to herself as Sukuna fixed her with a sardonic look.

     “How much to tempt you from the Zenin brat?” He asked. “And don’t say it’s bad for business, nobody even knows it’s you behind these assassinations.”

     Tulani rolled onto her stomach, pillowing her chin on her arms, her expression pensive.

     “It’s not that simple,” she said. “It’s not me who decides, ultimately. It is the agency who holds my leash.”

     Sukuna’s expression turned shrewd. “Ah, so the serpent is a tame one, is she?” It was his turn to laugh as she turned a sour look on him.

     “How did you find me?” She asked, not wanting to broach the topic of her agency. Sukuna stared at the ceiling, his expression distant, his eyes cold.

     “It was easier than I expected, but still rather difficult. I had you followed but you vanished according to my men. When I checked your apartment, I could tell you hadn’t been through there recently. So, I had contacts search further back. You’ve been embedded in Japan for three years, Nadja.”

     She sat up, caution overriding passion like a wind over her own grave. Sukuna gave her a simpering and smug smirk, her own pistol already trained on her from under her pillow.

     “I think the Zenin brat underestimated my reach,” he said laconically. “I’m not going to kill you, Nadja. You’re…you’re one of the best I’ve seen. Had you not slipped away from me the first time this conversation would have gone very differently. But now that I know who you are, and more importantly, who actually loaned you to the Zenins, I am going to let you slink back to the shadows that birthed you and then I am going to destroy the brat and his entire bloodline.”

     Nadja narrowed her eyes at him. “Why?”

     Sukuna raised a bored brow. “Why let you go? Because I could no more kill you than I could shatter the roseate of Notre Dame. You are a work of exquisite art, and your origins interest me. As do your unique set of skills.”

     Nadja dipped her chin, dark eyes shrewd. “You want me to work for you.”

     Sukuna sat up against the headboard and beckoned her with one hand. Nadja did not move, her gaze flicking to the Glock and then to him. Sukuna’s smirk never wavered. Begrudgingly, she crawled into his lap, straddling him. An electric shiver coursed through her as she felt the cold metal of the gun’s muzzle pressed against her ribs, just over her heart, beneath her breast.

     “Now,” Sukuna said, still smug and superior. “I’ve been hunted by assassins before, but none quite so lovely and unlikely as you. Usually, I would send your head back to your master as a warning, but…”

     He traced the gun upward, circled her nipple with it just to watch her clamp her teeth and stiffen, fighting her body’s betrayal. He chuckled darkly and traced the gun to her other breast to do the same thing.

     “I’m going to give you a chance to get clear of the fallout, Nadja,” Sukuna said. “A rare gift from me, only because you did manage to get closer than anyone has. You have a day to clear Tokyo, and when I am finished with the Zenins, I’ll find you.”

     Nadja’s gaze was fierce and defiant. “Are you so sure you can?” She challenged.

     “Nadja, there is nowhere you can hide from me,” Sukuna said. “It’s only a matter of time before I find you again.”

     His eyes cut to the door, and Nadja barely suppressed her alarm as she heard the Glock’s safety click off in his hand.

     An insistent knocking shattered the tense silence.

     “Ah,” Sukuna murmured, tracing the now safety-unlocked gun downward against her abdomen, grazing just below her navel. “Your employer wants to make sure you’re staying put in your pretty little cage. Be a good girl and tell him to fuck off for me, hm?”

     In the end, Nadja took Sukuna’s offer. Not because she saw it as a defeat, but because he was so much more than she could have dreamed. There had never been worthier prey for her to hunt than this Two-Faced Demon of Tokyo’s pale underbelly, and there never would be. So, she watched, from her rented apartment across the garden, as Sukuna’s men took out the Zenin One tower. She watched with cold and distant eyes, as impassive as a goddess. Tokyo’s neon skyline threw its smattering of colors all over her as she watched through the scope of her sniper rifle as the Zenins were cut down. She wished she could see Naoya’s face. Sukuna kept one former Zenin clan member on his payroll and doubtless they were at the forefront of the slaughter.

     No one else knew about the massacre, and she was sure when the receptionist clocked in for work in the morning, it would be all over the news.

     And in the end, Sukuna did exactly what he said he’d do: he found her. Not that she had been trying to hide, anyway. Rather, she had to reconcile with the fact that she had chosen to fail her mission on purpose, and that she felt nothing when her employer was slaughtered in the process. As far as the agency was concerned, she had been paid to assassinate Ryōmen Sukuna, not protect Naoya Zenin. Had he wanted her as a protection detail, he should have specified in his contract request.

     It was just business.

     And so Nadja found herself standing before Sukuna, with his white dress shirt still splattered with Zenin blood, Naoya’s severed head on the table between them. His lieutenants, Toji Fushiguro [formerly Zenin], and Uraume, stared at her. Toji had the look of a lean wolf about him, all fangs and wrinkled muzzle. His green eyes were wickedly cunning, and he eyed Nadja with appraising interest. Uraume on the other hand, was as cold as ice, their profile no more emotional than a cameo as they looked to Sukuna for orders.

     “Well, I think you should hire her,” Toji said at last, crossing his large, muscular arms over his broad chest. He was a mountain of a man, much like Sukuna, but he knew a fellow killer when he saw one. Nadja was small and slight, but as deadly as any of them.

     “And have a serpent loose at our backs? We’ll feel her bite come morning.” Uraume challenged with a snarl. “She already tried to kill him once, who’s to say she won’t try again?”

     “Because the contract is null and void now that the Zenin Group has been decimated,” Sukuna interrupted, not once breaking eye contact with Nadja. Something simmered between them. Unfinished business.

     “Isn’t that right, my dear?” He asked. Nadja took a deep, withering breath, filled her lungs with fear, and then exhaled.

     “True enough,” she said, not missing how Uraume gave her a withering stare. They were Sukuna’s right hand in most things, but in this they were staunchly against his wish to bring the deadly serpent into the fold. Not only was she duplicitous and available only to the highest bidder, but she was a foreigner to boot. She had no place in their world as anything more than a hired gun. Toji thought she had nice tits.

     “So, just how much would it cost me to take you from them?” Sukuna asked. Nadja glanced down at Naoya’s severed head, his expression in death looking exhausted and bewildered all at once. Like as not he hadn’t been expecting Sukuna to retaliate with such ruthless efficiency, nor did he expect his older cousin to be the one striking the final blow.

     It was more than deserved, if anyone asked Nadja.

     “That’s not how they work,” Nadja responded after a span of pensive thought. Sukuna snorted.

     “Then stay,” he said. “Work for me, I’ll pay whatever your asking price was—triple it. But stay.”

     Toji and Uraume exchanged glances. It was clear to them what was going on, but apparently not to either of the other two. Nadja looked around, smiling and there was a hint of wistfulness to it.

     “I know what your men say about me,” she said. “I am a foreigner with no place in the yakuza way of life. Some even think me an affront to their sensibilities because of the fact that I’m a woman. What do you think, Sukuna?”

     Sukuna was silent in the wake of her words. Uraume’s mouth opened and then shut, and Toji grinned as if he knew a secret the others weren’t privy to.

     “I think you’re a beautiful creature, Nadja, who needs a home that isn’t predicated on whether some gangster brat is pulling your purse strings. If you work for me, I can give you purpose but more than that…you’d be free.”

     Nadja looked up to meet his gaze again.

     Free?

     She wanted to laugh. That was not a word she had ever experienced in truth. Every move she made was for one mission or another: be it the destabilization of nations, the altering of trade routes, the assassination of rivals.

     “Free?” She repeated, her voice highly amused.

     “Free.” Sukuna affirmed with a nod. “You can be my knife in the dark, or whatever you choose. But only if you stay.”

     For a long while there was only silence save for the drip of Naoya’s blood on the marble floor of the office. No one breathed, it seemed, and Nadja thought of the possibilities of choosing a life outside of wet work. She thought of what she could possibly be outside of a killer.

     “No,” she said. Uraume sucked in an affronted breath and Toji’s brows went up in surprise. Sukuna’s brows furrowed.

     “No?” He echoed. “You understand that when you walk out of that door, you’ll be marked for—”

     “No,” Nadja interrupted. “I won’t be free with you. But I can learn to be. Until that time, I will be your…knife in the dark, as you so poetically put it.”

     Sukuna considered her words and then grinned slowly, his face tattoos warping their shape to frame his predatory grin.

     “Good,” he said. “Very good.”

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[theskeleton117]

HELLO THERE

You know the drill soooooo

TELL ME THE PLOT AND CHARACTERS RELATIONSHIPS ABOUT YOUR AU

Please

-alz, i am expanding

Ok so this'll be one long post lmao. I'll be combining every post and Discord message about the main storyline of the fic I've already sent into one for this

Ok so let's start with some important info about the fic. So first of all, I'm gonna explain how Lamb regeneration works, since it's an important piece of worlbuilding that comes up many times

Basically, when a lamb is dying, they begin to go through this process that allowes them to cheat death, but their body and personality change, though leaving their memories intact. If you've ever watched Doctor Who, it's almost the same thing as the regeneration in that. There are ways to kill lambs without having them regenerate, but I haven't written exactly how just yet, so just note whenever lambs are killed during the mass execution, they're doing something specific to kill them

Also, one last thing about the lambs, when they actually do die, they typically don't get afterlives. What I mean by this is their soul lingers outside their body for a sec as it slowly fades away. This causes some issues with the actual Lamb's revival

And now here's how demigods work. Demigods usually are formed when someone without a crown experiences extreme emotion. Usually this only works with people who have been around gods incredibly often

Now, on with the characters that I need to mention

So the fic actually starts off in the pre-game. Let's start by establishing the relationship between the 2 most important bishops in this fic. I would put the other bishops, but this post needs something to shorten it lmao

Narinder and Shamura are kinda like the main two we follow in the pre-game. Despite how often Narinder recklessly goes against Shamura’s orders when he doesn't agree with them, Narinder seems to be basically Shamura’s favorite, though they'd never tell the other bishops that. Narinder was the first bishop other than Shamura, so it does make some sense that Shamura favors Narinder

Now, onto the plot. We actually start off by seeing Shamura finding the other bishops. One of their parents had been the former god of war, and since both their parents died, they inherited the crown for theirself. After some...issues with the old gods I'd rather save for another post, Shamura decided they need to seek out new gods to replace some of the dead ones, and they especially needed to find a god of death fast, since the world practically falls the hell apart without one. Luckily, they find one fast. Narinder had been abandoned by his parents at a young age because of his possession of the red crown, which they were basically sworn enemies of, and they thought Narinder having it for just a second made him basically Satan in their eyes. So anyways, this how Shamura found him, and now they decided that since he does have the crown, and it's incredibly difficult to pry away the crown from someone it's already bonded to, as well as not wanted to just leave an abandoned kid outside, they decided to let him stay there at their temple and train him. Years later, when they're both a bit older and more experienced, they got a letter from some wealthy family down in Anchordeep. The letter was about how the parents in this family recently discovered that their son, Kallamar, had found the Blue Crown, and how they were willing to pay to let him be trained by Shamura in how to use it, and to meet them in Anchordeep if they're interested in the offer. Of course, Shamura and Narinder both head off to Anchordeep, where they met with the family, negotiated on the price, which consisted of Shamura trying to highball them as hard as possible because at this point despite also being born into wealth, running their cult was still a bit pricy. They settled on a price eventually and Shamura, Narinder, and Kallamar head back to the temple and Shamura begins to train Kallamar, Narinder occasionally helping with it too since he learned a lot of the stuff. Once again time jump a few years (btw all these time jumps would be a little less jarring in the actual fic likely lmao) and Shamura, Narinder, and Kallamar where on a crusade in Anura. Kallamar decided to take a bit too close of a look at some of the mushrooms, even taking samples for later study, and because of this, he was suddenly suddenly attacked by someone. It was clear whoever it was happened to be an amazing fighter, likely one of the frogs due to the fact that this was frog territory, but Kallamar wasn't really paying attention to his attacker, instead panicking to have them not kill him. Shamura and Narinder hear the commotion and check to see what's happening. Turns out Kallamar was being beat the hell up by a young frog girl (The frogs in this fic are trained in combat from an incredibly young age, including the women, as the frogs are practically bred for combat, having only other species do the other jobs for them)

Narinder couldn't help but laugh at Kallamar for getting beat up by a child, right up until said child tried to beat him up, doing a decent enough job of it. After watching all this, Shamura noticed that said child was wearing the yellow crown. Shamura decided to challenge the child to fight them next, and despite having wrecked the other two, halfly because of their lack of expectation, she lost to Shamura, who then asked about her crown. They talked for a moment and she told Shamura that her name was Heket, and Shamura offered to train her to use the crown better, as well as better combat training since she mostly was banking off of nobody expecting her to be this good. She went off to ask her parents first st the local frog encampment, and since the frogs are really big into combat, they said agreed to someone as skilled as Shamura training Heket in a heartbeat. This time there's less of a time gap here, but jump maybe a few months and one day Shamura just finds this bagworm kid with the green crown, just kinda there at the cult. They attempted to find any sort of parent, but after a search, they just decided to take this kid in without asking anyone since there was nobody to ask. The kid didn't actually know his own name, so he was just given the name Leshy by Shamura and it stuck

Alright, so that's the bishop's origins, now for some extra info before we move on from this abridged description of the pre-game. At some point, Shamura gave Narinder an apprentice in the hopes that it would make Narinder choose the less reckless options in most situations due to having someone less experienced there. What actually ended up happening is Narinder made them reckless too. This apprentice was a lamb named Osiris, usually referred to as Si by Narinder and others. They would later go on to be the Lamb we see in the main game. By this point, Narinder also had a small group formed of himself, Ratau, and Forneus. Lamb wasn't immediately welcomed into the group by Narinder, but Narinder quickly warmed up to them, later developing into some romantic feelings towards them. Ratau and Forneus, however, were immediately welcoming, as opposed to Narinder who took time for that

Now, eventually, Narinder decided to experiment with resurrection, which was a big mistake. Shamura had experience with what revival could do, and warned Narinder that what he was doing was wrong, but Narinder wanted to continue experimenting with it. Eventually things heated up in such a way where Narinder made an entire undead army and splitting off from the bishops. Narinder, however, figured out why Shamura warned him, but deemed it too far now to go back, though in reality, Shamura would've likely forgiven him. See, when someone is revived over and over again in such a way that they fully and completely die (A way around this is found for the Lamb later, but in this I mean complete death and revival) parts of their soul start to chip off, and they eventually become mindless murder machines who just do what they're told and have no personality, and at some point, don't even have a soul of their own, usually having to be soulbound to someone else to stay alive (soulbinding basically keeps them alive until the person they're bound to dies), eventually, Narinder is chained up in his realm, and the bishops put in the command to execute the lambs as there had been a prophecy that they would free Narinder. Now, the lambs in my foc aren't just gonna die off without a fight. The only problem is a good portion of them died rather quickly as not a moment before, they had all trusted the Old Faith. For a good amount of time, they had fended off the Old Faith, but then the witnesses came in. The witnesses were a set of 4 soldiers, one soulbound to each bishop, that had originally been people that Narinder revived over and over again, but had now been taken by the bishops. These witnesses ruthlessly executed a majority of the lambs right there. Osiris didn't take this all too well. They had been present to fight the entire time and couldn't bear to watch this happen. Once a majority of the lambs were dead, they couldn't keep their anger in. There's a pretty good reason I described what a demigod was at the start of this, and that's because Osiris did in fact form demigod powers in this moment, powerful enough to basically throw the witnesses out of the lamb kingdom. Sadly, by this time, it was already too late and there were only a small few lambs left. Over time, every lamb in hiding had been caught eventually, Osiris even having brought the fight to the Old Faith when getting caught

Now, the Red Crown had been passed through a few vessels at this point, Forneus being the first, then Ratau, but now it was Osiris' turn...sorta. Their revival had been a little messy, causing most of their memories to be a blur and they don't remember much, not even Narinder, and not even their own name, which leads them to now go by just Lamb. They also act completely differently, since they also kinda regenerated in a way, now not having their memories to base how they act on. Narinder knew this, leading to him never trying to reference their previous encounters unless they ask, leading to the first death of NariLamb in my fic

Skipping through a lot of the main game here since I'd like to save the details for the actual fic on this since y'all already know the plot here, Lamb at some point goes to this Old Faith town in disguise, with like a mask and hood and shit, which sounds odd but I guess is normal there, since they needed to get resources that they couldn't find anywhere else. While they were there, there was this festival going on, and they stopped by it to grab a drink because they totally needed a drink after dealing with their followers, since they hadn't been used to that yet, and he basically ended up talking to and making friends with this cat named Ruri (The one from the Mashed short lmao) and every time he stopped by that town, they met with Ruri and eventually he started to develop feelings for her. Eventually, he ends up having a masked assassin trying to kill him, and eventually he knocks of their mask, and realizes that it was Ruri, however Ruri didn't know this was Lamb she'd been talking to all this time. After some talk, Ruri switched sides and joined Lamb's cult, later on becoming his spouse. Again skipping a bit because I wanna spoil as little of the main game and post game as possible, but after Lamb defeated the Bishops and took them into his cult, he also ended up with kinda a slow burn with Heket (Lamb and Ruri are polu btw). And then after the slow burn, Ruri and Heket met since Lamb was introducing Heket to her since y'know, Heket should know his other spouse and vice versa, and Heket and Ruri were a lot less slow of a burn with each other, the burn happened significantly faster

Anyways, that's all for now, I might explain more at some point, but these are the basics so far

[primewritessmut]

Midori sour for the WIP ask game (if it's not too late)

BRO.

No. It’s not too late. Especially when it’s Midori Sour (which is the fic that I’ll start posting as soon as He Speaks Daggers is done).

It’s my modern AU where Mobius is a restaurant manager at the restaurant/bar where Loki brings all his disastrous first dates. The fic starts several months into Loki’s serial dating and Mobius has become kind of obsessed with the “gorgeous creature” that comes into the bar a few times a week to star in someone else’s Worst First Date™️ story. Eventually, something goes so wrong on a date that their paths finally cross and Mobius becomes Loki’s soft spot to land after his dates. (And then some.)

@punch-love tells me it's good and I choose to believe him.

I really love the tragedy of the show and have no desire to write a fix-it fic, so an AU feels like the only way to give them a happy ending. /wink wink/ /nudge nudge/ (It’s rated E is what I’m saying, but also they end up together.)

SNIPPET:

“How many dates is this?” Vee asks, idly. “At some point, don’t you have to start wondering if he’s the problem, not the dates.”

“Thank you for your input, Vee,” Mobius sighs. “Don’t you have some tables to check up on?”

“Nope. Just finishing up my side work. Which I think you are supposed to check on.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Mobius says, trying to wave her away and letting his eyes drift back to him. “Just sign off on it and—”

He loses his train of thought as the man at the table leans forward languidly like a cat, resting his elbows on the table and gifting his current date with a Cheshire smile. A finger decorated with two thin gold rings above the middle knuckle traces around the edge of the highball glass suggestively and a lock of raven’s wing black hair falls out of his stylishly messy top knot and across his face.

Mobius wonders why someone like that feels the need to work so hard for attention, but the guy in the polo shirt with the perfect teeth sitting across from him barely seems to appreciate it so maybe that’s why. Mobius sure as hell is having a hard time looking away. The slit in that skirt is probably going to kill him before the night is over.

x

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Glass - a Malevolent fic

Arthur's not sleeping. Arthur's not eating. He doesn't regret any of that.

He does regret one thing: being so damn alone.

Part of the Surrogate series.

AO3

-----------

The ward was quiet this morning. Only the whisper of diaphanous cloth, soft as if with gentle secrets, told the path of the nurses. Rays of sunlight presented diagonal stages for dust motes, which danced in silent joy to be in this bright and rare-used room.

It had not been occupied since Gokar’luh’s introduction to the world.

Nurseries for gods were not all that different from nurseries for humans, at least in effect. It had comfortable things for the infant to rest upon, floating gewgaws to hold attention, a station with easy access to whatever kind of nutrients were required, and a constant viewing sphere that kept the baby in sight of its father (with at least half a dozen eyes) no matter what went on that day.

John was not a baby, didn’t want to eat (hunger just added to the already unending sensation), spent more time than he should gluily flipping Hastur off through the viewing sphere, and had lost all gewgaw privileges because he kept breaking them in anger.

The nursery also had a glass wall, through which a glimpse of the new god could be afforded to deeply important visitors. Today, the other side held one.

One who was given no glimpse.

One who knew the baby very well, regardless of the date of birth.

One who could not see, and leaned against the thick, unbreakable glass, forehead and hands pressed flat, trying to look brave.

The rumble and splat of John rolling by in a royal snit completely defied definition. Arthur tried, anyway; the rumble was like a train, something incredibly heavy and with such mass that it could not easily stop under its own power. A real highball, it had been called by the train-hoppers he’d gotten to know back in Arkham.

But it wasn’t wheels, and there was no horn. Instead, there was John’s frustrated howl… and the weirdest, wettest, uneven organic slaps as if he moved by stretching loose skin, smacking it to the ground, and heaving himself forward. If he could do that about eight thousand times a minute, that is.

The Doppler effect as John roared past was something.

Arthur took a slow breath. “John.”

John hadn’t known he was there. He splatted to a halt, bellowed Arthur’s name, thundered up and slammed into the glass (or whatever it truly was) so hard that the entire corridor shook.

“Arthur,” John panted, accompanied by the wet, squeaking sounds of too many limbs smearing ineffectively.

“I'm here,” said Arthur, trying so hard to sound fine, to be fine, to be the strength John needed.

“ARE YOU STILL IN PAIN?” John howled, his volume levels utterly unpredictable.

Yes, Arthur was in pain. Yes, it was better. The knee-desk example he remembered Kayne shouting about—leaning one’s leg against an edge too long—made weird sense. But if he told John that, it would not help.

John panted, waiting, his tentacles (or hands with too many fingers or, Parker told him quietly, once what looked like a dozen dicks) kept sliding against the glass, grasping and sad.

“Much less,” Arthur compromised. “You don't sound better, though.”

John laughed. It was not a good sound. “Everything… too bright, hot, cold, smooth, jagged, sharp, swallowing, choking, wrong.”

“Gods. It sounds miserable.” Hastur tried to explain it; after so long with only human sight and horrifically muted other senses, even magical, John was overstimulated to a level mortals could not comprehend. He would adapt; he had to, as part of managing his power and newly renewed strength. So Hastur said.

Arthur believed it. Whatever he was going through (a dented soul, which Hastur swore was filling in just fine) couldn’t compare to this.

“I miss you,” John groaned, and from the sound of it had mashed his mouth to the glass before speaking.

“I miss you, too.” And he wasn’t sleeping. At all. “It's not the same without you.” Seventy-three steps to breakfast, but Faroe wasn’t there, and half the time Odd wasn’t there, and Parker was there but Hastur was hit or miss, and it fell like seventy-three steps of falling apart.

“Soon,” John promised, and opened other mouths to echo and harmonize with his strident vow. “Soon! Soon! Soon!” And then he laughed again, dissonant, a multi-mouth symphony of storm.

Arthur sank to his knees (hearing the rubber-wet squeal of limbs on glass as John followed him). “Soon. Soon. Soon.”

#

Fifty-nine steps to his room (and he absolutely knew Hastur had moved the “nursery” closer because these halls were as familiar as his own body, and that had not been there). Two hundred and forty-nine to his music room, where somehow, he had to write something celebrating John’s birth while bearing a dent in his soul.

Well. It wasn’t a new dent. Apparently, they’d both been in the business of mutilating themselves to ensure the other stuck around, and wasn’t that a fun thing to think about early in the morning?

Arthur didn’t know what that might mean. He knew it sounded terrible, and he’d try to argue anyone in this position out of what was clearly a poisonous relationship. But anyone else wouldn’t understand. This wasn’t poison. It had to be that way. They’d saved each other.

Arthur didn’t regret it.

He also didn’t regret John finally having a body of his own (though he missed the inevitable end of all the seduction stuff now that he was… not open, but… maybe curious). He didn’t even regret the pain, as awful as it had been to give birth (and silently, he apologized again to Bella).

He regretted being alone.

Faroe was gone. Odd was… unwell, somehow. Hastur was super busy. Parker and Sunny had their own shit to work out—Sunny was too small to do this; there was no way even the Mother knew to place him in a body without him slipping away and into death. So. Sunny would never have what John had, and that… yeah, Arthur didn’t know how to handle that. That was Parker’s mess. Which meant this was Arthur’s mess, and Arthur didn’t even know what this was.

He was lonely. So, so lonely.

He would have sworn, even two days before, that he was fine being alone. He thought he’d been alone most of his life, since his parents died and he’d learned the hard way how bad it was to grieve. Through his stubborn need to protect himself, he’d been alone with Parker, alone with Bella, even alone with John. At least, he thought he had, protecting his heart for when the inevitable happened.

It turned out he’d had no idea what “alone” really meant. Or maybe it was just the dent in his soul making his heart ache like that. Who knew?

For the first time in more years than he could count, he really wanted a drink.

He placed his hands on the unseen keys and did not play. The left one still felt weird as all hell, if he were honest, and reminded him of when he’d fractured his hand falling out of a tree. When he’d finally gotten the cast off, his hand felt like someone else’s.

It was someone else’s. But that someone had enough hands (and dicks, apparently) to keep him busy for a while.

Arthur had to write something. It had to be joyous. Hastur said it didn’t have to be new, and Arthur could put whatever the hell he wanted in there, including other people’s music, because all that mattered was appearances, but Arthur couldn’t do that.

Not for John. Not for what this meant. This had to be so fucking triumphant that angels spontaneously combusted into existence so they could sing John’s praise.

Arthur wanted John to be happy. He wanted John to know he was happy.

(He did not want John to know how lonely this was. John finally had a shot at his own life, his own path, and there was no chance in fuck Arthur would get in the way of that.)

He wrote nothing. He sat at the piano in weird and echoed silence as long as he could stand, then closed the lid and left the room.

#

Two hundred and thirty steps to the dining room.

Parker and Sunny: check. He could hear them muttering. Hastur: not-check. Arthur could feel (Feel! What a cheap word, a useless word, an inadequate word for what this was) Hastur’s location, as well as John’s; could feel the tug from both their marks in two different places. Could even, if he concentrated like he never had in his life, feel the very surface-level temperature of how they emotionally were.

(Not great, as it turned out. Not. Great.)

No Faroe, but there wouldn’t be until she got this out of her system. He told himself she would and hadn’t randomly decided to hate everybody. For fuck’s sake, he’d been a teenager once, but… he hadn’t had any adults in his life who loved him, so he wasn’t sure how to navigate this. It certainly had never been modeled to him.

Larson wasn’t here. At least one thing was going right today.

“You look like shit,” Parker said with forced cheer.

“Yeah,” said Arthur, who couldn’t sleep (and that was the least of his troubles).

“You okay, English?” said Parker, softer.

What the hell could he say? He and John didn’t have what Parker and Sunny had, so he couldn’t use losing that to draw a comparison. “I don’t know? It’s all new territory.”

“Mm,” said Parker, which could mean anything as Arthur could not see his face. “You sure you don’t want any help? We’re still offering.”

No, Parker was offering. Sunny agreed because he loved Parker, but this situation wasn’t a good one for them to sit in too long. “Thank you, but I don’t need it yet. Now… right now, I’m… I…”

“You’re without your companion, English,” said Parker the way he always said things, just so straightforward, without any of the attitude a guy could use as an excuse to get mad about it. “You don’t gotta do it all alone.”

“I do,” said Arthur through clenched teeth. “John does, too.”

“No, you don’t. Neither of you do,” said Parker.

Arthur went rigid. “You don’t know what we’re going through.” (He knew that wasn’t fair, but he hadn’t slept in days, and he was so alone, and—)

No, Sunny agreed in a whisper. And we never will.

Arthur snapped. “Good.” He stood, deciding food was for the birds. “I hope you never do because it’s hell, all right? I don’t regret it because he would have died—”

“So would you,” said Parker.

Arthur drove right over that. “—but it is absolutely fucking hell, and I wouldn’t wish it on someone I hated, never mind my family! All right? You don’t know!”

Nobody rose to the bait. “Mm,” said Parker. “Don’t gotta know why a guy fell down to lend a hand back up.”

Arthur wanted to hit him and absolutely had no right to do it, and knew he’d have to apologize later, and felt awful for what he must be representing to Sunny (blowing it again), but he couldn’t seem to stop. “Maybe a guy doesn’t want a damn hand.”

Parker’s clothes made a sound as if he’d raised both hands to say peace. “Suit yourself.”

So that temper tantrum had gone absolutely nowhere, and now Arthur was too embarassed to stay. “I’ll… see you later.” Seventy-three steps—

He is suffering, Sunny said behind him.

“Yeah,” said Parker. “I know I’d be.”

Sunny said nothing more, because maybe he still thought this would be worth the trade. Arthur didn’t know. Arthur couldn’t tell. Seventy-three steps to his room, where he could sit on his bed and stare at darkness and hear no stories and have no conversation and share no moments, silent or filled.

He couldn’t do this forever, could he?

What if John… what if John finally came back to sanity, and preferred the company of his own kind? It would make sense, wouldn’t it? To grow apart now, for John to continue his incredible maturation, to find themselves on different paths?

(Really wanted a drink, just one good shot of whiskey or something to take the edge off this.)

All right, all right. He knew that wouldn’t happen. John would never just abandon him… but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t.

Arthur already knew he wasn’t going to be able to rest. Birds chirped outside; the breeze was sweet. He decided to find his way to the water gardens on his own.

#

The gardens had clearly been redesigned again. All memorized routes were null.

He walked slowly, hands out, stubbornly trying to navigate via the tops of prickly bushes. This would be fun, damn it. A damned adventure. A damned time he could have on his damned own. A damned moment—

He stopped. The nursery was far away, fully sound and shock and magic proofed, but he could still feel John needing him.

Arthur went back inside at a run.

He hit a wall, corrected, ran again, hit another wall, stopped, unsure just where the fuck he was in this fucking labrynthian palace, and felt it again: that call from John.

He ran. Arms in front of his face, he ran, yelling when he found obstacles, yelling to get people out of his way, and encountered scents he never had before in his entire time here, and sounds completely unfamiliar, and at least one crash of multiple dishes, and so many surprised OH! cries that he wanted to laugh and start a collection, and—

He somehow entirely missed that he’d gotten to the nursery until he crashed into the glass.

It was… warm.

“Arthur?” John sounded amazed.

Arthur panted, pressing into it, unable to get closer, wondering why the glass was so warm, hearing the now-familiar squeaking of John sliding who knew what against that glass. “I’m here! I’m here!”

John’s laugh was the amazed levity of a child discovering magic. “You heard it! You came!”

“I… heard? I didn’t hear anything, John! I just knew you needed me.”

“I did,” panted John. “I do. I do. I called you. I did it!” He laughed again, wheezy and exhausted.

So this was a mark thing? Arthur sighed and sank to the floor, leaning against the glass. “You could’ve asked in the normal way, you wacko. I thought something was wrong.”

“It was. You weren’t here.” John thumped the glass.

The vibrations were strange. The glass was very warm. Uncomfortably warm. Arthur tilted his face away from it. “I’m here now.”

“Not. Close. Enough,” said John in a calm tone, and commanded Arthur to come to him.

Arthur gasped.

Oh, clarity, washing away confusion and distress and doubt! Oh, clarity, leaving nothing but the need to reach John! Oh, clarity, soothing his heart to peace.

“Come on,” said John, pressed to the glass, which was hot enough now to sizzle whatever fluids he’d left on it. “Come to me. You can do it. They’ll let you in. Come to me, Arthur.”

Arthur stood, breathing hard, unsure. He didn’t know how to get to John; he’d been given the impression that there was nothing so banal as a door to walk through. He rushed left and right, hands seeking, and found no opening. He pounded on the hot, weirdly gummy glass with his fists. “I can’t.” (He had to! Nothing else mattered but what John wanted!) “I can't! I don't know how!”

(Tug, tug, John pulling on his heart like dragging him through half-dry cement—)

“Arthur, I understand,” said John tenderly. “Then I will come to you.”

A weird, slow cracking, sticky like honeycomb breaking, and Arthur thrilled at the knowledge he could obey soon,  readied to plunge right in, tensing to leap to John and fulfill—

Hastur arrived like a storm, and everything went to pieces.

The glass shattered with a tearing sound as though John had half-melted it into something new. Hastur’s bellow sent Arthur into a state of daze, unable to think, unable to comprehend what was happening or what Hastur and John were yelling about, and he was only vaguely aware that Hastur had grabbed him around the middle, holding him high above the ground.

And deep inside, he felt the two marks as distinct, discrete, not at all almost-like, and why? Because they were pulling him in two very different directions.

This did not feel so great.

True clarity returned like snow down the back of his shirt. What… had just happened?

MINE

YOU WILL KILL HIM

That’s what they were yelling about?

It was. And (the tug did not feel good) he knew now what had happened, what John had done, and for the second time today, he snapped. “You fucking swayed me?” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Hastur went quiet.

“I had to!” John cried. “You weren’t doing it!”

His heart hurt like a bruise. He couldn’t see John. He was sure John didn’t have a face to make expressions right now, but the miserable doubling-down still gave an impression of desperately guilty scowls.

Arthur scowled back. “You motherfucker!”

“John doesn’t know what he’s doing right now,” said Hastur softly. “He needs time.”

“Time!” This had already been one of the worst weeks of his life, and he hadn’t slept in days, and also hadn’t eaten, and John had just violated his trust whether or not John was responsible for it. “How dare you!”

John made a rapidly-retreating slapping sound.

“Don’t you dare run from me!” Arthur declared, gripping Hastur’s enormous hand around his waist and leaning forward to project. “Don’t you dare! You get your ass back here and talk about it! I don’t even care if you have an ass yet!”

“You weren’t doing what I wanted,” John argued from behind a couch or a piece of wall or who knew what, and came no closer.

“I don’t care! You bloody well know I don’t like to be pushed! What the hell is the matter with you?”

Hastur sighed. “Arthur. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He can’t even define what he’s doing. He can’t even look in the same direction with all his eyes yet. He’s a mess. He lacks an ego, if you want to use human terminology, and right now is pure id. He can’t even recall with any consistency that to touch you will kill you.”

Arthur’s sigh was so heavy. “Damn it. It’s always something with him.”

That had not come out the way he meant.

Silence in its wake.

“I’m sorry,” said Arthur. “That wasn’t fair.”

John didn’t seem to know how to receive an apology any more than he knew how to give one. “You weren’t here. I had to call you.” He sounded pitiful.

“Will you calm the fuck down if I stay where you can see me?” said Arthur.

“Maybe,” John allowed.

“John,” said Hastur. “Look.”

Silence.

Arthur frowned. “What’s he seeing?”

John suddenly screamed.

It was a different sound than it had been in his head. It didn’t hurt the way his anger had before (which Arthur now recognized as stretching his very self dangerously taut as if to shove him from his body). But wow, that was… not a mortal’s scream. Arthur cried out, gripping his head.

“For fuck’s sake,” said Hastur, and healed Arthur’s bleeding ears.

“What the hell just happened?” Arthur said between clenched teeth.

“He sees what his unwise little ‘call’ did to you.”

“Did to me? It pissed me off,” said Arthur.

“And led to numerous bruises, scrapes, and—thanks to him breaking the glass—cuts,” said Hastur.

Arthur hadn’t felt any of it. Well, now he did. “Oh.”

“I couldn’t see him,” said John like the saddest sad boy. “I wanted to see him.”

“Now, you see him,” said Hastur more patience than Arthur would have predicted, and began rebuilding the nursery. “You owe the nurses an apology.”

“Sorry, nurses,” John said, absolutely sullen. “I can handle it. Give him to me now.”

“No,” said Hastur. “He would definitely die.”

“He wouldn’t!”

“Did you mean to break the glass?”

A triumphant snarl. “Yes!”

“So you meant to slice him up.”

Arthur winced. Yeah, come to think of it, glass could do a number on a guy. He laughed weakly. “More scars. Great.”

“Not this time,” said Hastur quietly.

Arthur didn’t know how to feel about that.

“No, I didn’t… that won’t happen again!” said John.

“It best not, or I swear, next time, you’re getting locked in a place designed to hold Great Old Ones,” Hastur threatened.

“You don’t have to lock him away,” Arthur mumbled.

“I will not let him kill you and then have to deal with the fallout from that until the end of time,” snapped Hastur.

Maybe Arthur wasn’t the only one who was tired. “I don’t think I can compose for this.”

Hastur sighed; truth soured the silence. “Yes. Of course not. It was unfair of me to request it.”

“No, it made sense, I mean… we’re supposed to be celebrating,” Arthur said bitterly.

“And we will be—but as everyone believes you have given birth to my son, and indeed, you literally have—”

“You don’t have to say it.”

“—I believe the Court can excuse some recovery time on your part. I suspect half of them will believe you’ve gone mad, anyway.”

Lovely. “Great…”

“There. All repaired,” said Hastur, and put Arthur down.

His cuts and whatever else seemed better, too. Arthur reached up and found more glass.

“Can I trust you two not to be complete idiots in my absence?” Hastur said dryly. “The delegation from Kartoun is here, and requires delicate handling.”

“Could you feel it when he betrayed my fucking trust?” Arthur said, just because.

“Yes—because you were suddenly being pulled away from my will.”

“I’m not in your will,” said Arthur, defiant.

“Mm. Well, John?”

“Yes,” said John, barely audible. “If he stays.”

“I can stay. It’s fine.”

“He won’t be able to melt this,” said Hastur, and left.

Arthur sighed and slid to the floor, leaning on the glass.

On the other side, the weird, wet, pat-pat-pat of John’s new locomotion brought him closer.

There was silence for a long moment. And of course, it was broken by John crying.

Arthur sighed again. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t know why I’m doing these things, but I can't seem to stop,” John said, stuffy. “I know I’m wrong. I'm sorry, Arthur.”

Gods. That deflated any remaining anger at once. Arthur rested his head against the cool glass. “You can’t help it right now. Hastur made it really clear: you’ve gone from… pretty much no input at all to everything, more than everything, all at once. It’s a wonder you’re not insane.”

“Maybe I am insane.” Squeaky sounds; John was rubbing the glass with limbs again.

“You’re not,” said Arthur. “I…”

“What?”

Arthur swallowed.

“What?”

“I understand.”

John scoffed. “How the fuck could you understand?”

“Because after I lost Faroe, I drowned myself in alcohol,” said Arthur, and chose not to add how badly he wanted a sip of Parker’s legendary god-booze right now. “And one of the reasons I did it was because it removed any inhibitions I might have had, including saving my own life. I had no control over myself when I was in my cups. I picked fights with anyone. It wasn’t good, though it was what I wanted. I really hoped someone would just… put me out of my misery.”

John rumbled. “I suppose Parker came along at the right time.”

“He didn’t,” said Arthur. “He was just… the right Parker. I don’t think anyone else in Arkham could’ve saved me from myself then.” And he definitely owed Parker and Sunny an apology, too. “Fuck,” he muttered, rubbing his face, and shifted his weight.

“Don’t!” John said. “Don’t go! Don’t go. No. Don’t go.”

“I will eventually, you know. I can’t just live on the floor.”

“Why not? The nurses could bring you a bed,” said John reasonably.

Arthur laughed. “Sure. I’ll just… live here. In an empty waiting room. I suppose I’ll have a wash basin, too?”

“I mean, yes,” said John. “You have to. Humans get very smelly.”

Arthur laughed again. “The hell, John.”

“You do!”

“I’m sure gods do, as well.”

“Have you ever smelled Hastur smelling bad?” said John defiantly.

“Hastur’s a weirdo who likes nice smells,” said Arthur. “Some of them are horrid. I’ve been to your damned weekly parties, remember?”

“That’s not the same thing,” said John. “That’s on purpose.”

“Eau de puke is on purpose?” Arthur grinned.

“Shut up.”

Arthur chuckled and leaned against the glass.

John fell silent. So did Arthur. His unseeing eyes drooped; it was quiet here, in the nursery. All he could hear was his breathing, John’s occasional weird mumble, and the whisper of diaphanous cloth worn by nurses sworn to silence.

I could sleep here, Arthur thought, and wondered if maybe he could ask for a cot. Or at least a pillow. John needed him here, after all. “Excuse me,” he said, getting the attention of whoever was nearby.

Minutes later, he had a pillow the size of a single mattress, stuffed with (he’d been assured) human-safe goose-down, pressed against the glass. Climbing on top of the thing was incredible. Shedding his shoes and settling into this soft, warm embrace (which immediately shaped itself to support his whole body) was bliss. Oh, he thought. He wasn’t going to last long. “I think I should sleep,” he said.

“As long as you don't go,” said John.

“I’m not going, you big baby,” Arthur murmured, and drifted to sleep for the first time since they’d been in the Wood.

He didn’t even try to tell himself that John’s presence wasn't the reason why.

[koicrimes]

went to get highballs and takoyaki with nishiki <3 just like that one fic

[hobeemin]

taste of temptation

😈 genre: smut, romance, angst, supernatural, exes 2 lovers, drama

😈 pairing: demon!park jimin x fallen angel!poc(f) reader

😈 summary: does the punishment fit the crime? for even questioning her purpose, Y/N was sent to earth to live out the rest of her days. living in between worlds she is neither immortal or mortal. its the least of her worries once she attracts to attention of a demon in search of his other half.

😈 rating: 18+

😈 warning(s): swearing | breath play | bondage | hand kink | thigh riding | squirting | maturbation | finger sucking | cum play | overstimulation | begging | mention of blood | mention of wounds | heartbreak

😈 word count: 5.8k

😈 credits: 💜 a HUGE thank you to @playmetheclassics ​ thank you for beta reading this on such short notice! 💜 also to @inkedtae bee, thank you for your advice and helping me out when I was stuck 💙🩵

banner resources found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

😈 a/n: this fic takes place in the same universe as my delightful temptations stories. you don’t necessarily need to read those to understand this fic, but i will make small references to them through out this series. hope you enjoy!!

❂ Nightmare Before Christmas

         ⁂ Hosted by: Professor Bee through @bangtansorciere

⤐  AU Type: christmas town (reincarnation)

⤐  Themes: angels/demons

⤐  Kinks: breath play | bondage | hand kink | thigh riding | squirting | maturbation | finger sucking | cum play | overstimulation | begging

The dance floor of The Harp was fairly quiet, even for a Thursday night. The regulars were looking more than tipsy at their failed attempts to impress potential partners with the latest moves from TikTok. It wasn't the ideal  condition for a creature like Jimin, but it had been a long time since he'd been in a city large enough to have a club of its own.

He couldn't resist the chance to scope out the scene of his new stomping grounds, no matter what day it was. . After a seven-day dry spell, his hunger was at an all-time high. There was only so much abstinence a body could take, and he was reaching his limit.

As he made his way through the place, the red lights of the dance floor transitioned to a cooling blue as he stepped up to the bar at the back of the club, painting his white, partially buttoned-up shirt and dark jeans a dim cerulean. Drinks didn't have much effect on him, but sometimes he found that a glass in his hand lent him more into the act as he went about scoping out the scene.

Just as he settled onto one of the stools near the end of the bar, he felt the sensation–a subtle tickle teased his nerves like the crisp scent of an oncoming rainstorm. Forcing himself down onto the seat, he tried to brush it off, ignoring the swirl of hunger it brought to the surface. What was this night to become of it?

And there she was. Leaning forward, his famous eye smile on display to the beauty behind the bar as he brushed his dark hair off his face. He nodded briefly towards the sparsely occupied dance floor and raised an eyebrow.

"Are they supposed to call that dancing?"

The night could have been going better. Hell, any night would have been better than this one. She could see the other side of the dance floor for the first time since she'd been employed at The Harp. Her faux locs swayed gently across her face as she tidied up behind the bar. At least she could make it look clean. Her eyes scanned the tip jar against the register with a pout. Why on earth did she come in?

Oh right. Cause people aren't reliable 

The woman grumbled to herself and jerked a highball glass from the dishwasher. The steam swirled around as she placed it on the drying rack and continued with her task, barely watching the bar. No one was drinking tonight. And if they were, tipping was a no-go.

Some punishment, indeed.

The spot between her shoulder blades itched suddenly, causing a frown to form on her face. That was unusual. That hadn't happened in ages. The phantom space that once preoccupied a beautiful pair of wings was now placed with tattoo etchings, almost burn-like. The memory was still fresh. She shook her head and turned around, pushing the thoughts aside. She was fooling herself. Nothing was wrong. She almost dropped a shot glass from her hand as she made direct eye contact with a gentleman who had made himself comfortable at the bar. 

Heat rushed to her cheeks, hearing his voice. Recovering her flustered state with a chuckle, Y/N swiped a loc behind her ear. 

Speak up, girl!

She let out a short laugh glancing towards the dance floor. "I honestly don't know what they think they are doing out there, but it ain't dancing."

She smiled at him , and wiped her hands on a clean towel before setting a beverage napkin in front of him. 

"Welcome to The Harp. Would you like anything to drink, sir?"

Jimin didn't miss the slight flush that briefly graced her cheeks; it only added to how  her smile seemed to distract him from the humming that seemed to linger around the lounge, tugging at his senses. It had a lingering scent reminiscent of fresh spring rain, innocent and clean, though he wondered where it could be coming from in a place like this. She was dressed simply, in a leather skirt and black tank top–a typical uniform for a place like this, but on her, it added to her purity.

His smile seemed to light up at the woman's laugh, his head tilting curiously as she spoke. He nodded with a short glance at the selection of liquor across the back of the bar, the blue lights tainting his golden eyes nearly sea green as they flicked back towards hers with a nod.

“How about Manhattan and your name as a chaser." 

Extending his hand forward to shake, he grinned mischievously."My name is Jimin."

He was surprised he gave her his real name. Normally he’d use one of his aliases; it made it easier to navigate the world anonymously . But he felt his name past his lips. His eyes widened momentarily at the realization. Taking his hand, she felt a jolt as their fingers touched. 

It seemed it had as much effect on him as it had on her. The warmth radiated from her touch. He played it off outwardly as a little static caught between them, her little jump making him chuckle softly.

Y/N gave an incline of the head. "Well, Jimin, it's nice to meet you. My name is Y/N." 

How very curious. She brushed the nagging aside as she focused on his ordered drink.

"Manhattan. Classy. Simple. But a fan favorite." She grabbed a highball from the stack. “Chilled or on the rocks?”

Jimin nodded in approval. “I’ll take rocks, please.”

She hummed, grabbed the whiskey, and poured a healthy portion. She added the sweet vermouth and a few splashes of bitters. Adding a few cherries, she slid him the glass. "Here you go."

The fluidity she had with pouring the shot seemed to extend through her whole form, and Jimin was more than impressed with her skill. In his extended time on Earth, it was rare to find someone this meticulous with how they performed their duties. He took a sip, savoring slightly sweet tones.

Before she could inquire about his drink, a group of people walked up to the bar needing to be served. She gave Jimin a weary smile with a shrug. "Duty calls."

Y/N walked down to the other end of the bar and began taking drink orders. It was a decent rush. They were thirsty, and she was happy to oblige them all. Every now and then, she would look up as she mixed a few drinks to catch a glance at Jimin. Something about him....she couldn't place it, but she felt a pull towards him.

The feeling was mutual.

Jimin's eyes trailed after her curiously. He stared at his hand, deep in thought. That touch.

He tried to shake off the lingering sensation left by her hand. The hunger he tried to suppress snarled to the surface seeking out that energy. He wanted to drink every drop and taste every inch of her until their auras intertwined, becoming one with his wicked soul. As their eyes met, he didn't look away, instead raising his drink in a toast to the fine work she was doing as she made the drinks. 

Interesting.

Both of them caught looking. When had he become so careless? Her presence had his thoughts swirling, his focus gone. Any thoughts of checking out potential prey in the club slipped away. His normal rule of bartenders being off-limits was starting to seem too strict. 

Y/N noticed that Jimin didn't wander off to the dance floor as the night wore on. He instead ordered another double and settled into his seat.

How strange. Her brow quirked up as she observed his actions.

A few bold souls approached him throughout the night, only for him to politely decline or brush them aside. He might have taken them up on their offer any other night, but his interest was elsewhere on this fateful night. 

As closing time neared, his eyes flicked toward Y/N once more as closing time drew near. He finished the last dregs of his drink and set the glass aside. Y/N approached, jutting her chin at the empty glass.

“One more for the last call?”

Jimin smirked, shaking his head. "I think I’ll take my check, please.”

Humming with a nod, she closed out his tab, placed his receipt on the counter in a checkbook, and took his empty glass to be cleaned. 

Jimin placed his card inside, and she took it to charge. “I don’t suppose any other bars are open after this one closes?”

Y/N shook her head as she waited for his card to go through. “No, most places close around this time.”

"Bummer,” he said with a smile, “Drinks are off the table, but how about breakfast?"

Her eyes flickered for a moment  at the sound of his offer as she met his gaze. She was used to being hit on. It came with the occupation and maybe the extra she was born with. People tended to flock to her etherealness. Of course, they never called it that. They just chalked it up to her being charismatic. By rule alone, Y/N never mingled with her patrons, preferring to keep things professional. She knew from others how that turned out. 

But Jimin...Jimin was something different.

"I think I would like that," she heard herself saying, giving him his card back. "Would you like to wait for me to finish closing? It won't take me too long. Or I could meet you there. Whichever works for you, Jimin."

He wrote out a tip much larger than the cost of the drinks and smiled once more. “Nonsense. I wouldn’t let you walk there on your own. We can walk there together.”

“Okay, sounds good to me,” she answered.

He seemed pleased with her answer, almost like it was a victory in a game. She had an idea she was playing.

“I’ll just be outside when you’re ready,” he stated, taking his jacket off the back of the chair. Y/N gave him a quick wave before returning to her closing duties. 

It didn’t take much longer for her to finish cleaning up the bar. There appeared to be a slight skip in her step. But what was she so excited about?

It’s just breakfast.

Well yeah. Breakfast could mean a lot of things.

Did she want it to?

That little voice nagged her relentlessly. She shook it off as she gathered the trash on the cart. It was nothing. This was nothing. Just two people sharing the same space.

Y/N huffed as she threw the trash bags into the dumpster. Who was she kidding? Of course, she found Jimin attractive. It should have felt wrong, but deep down, something stirred in her core. Frowning, she shook her head. There was no need to have guilt. These were normal emotions.

Just have fun.

Her doubts  were quickly erased when she saw Jimin smiling at her. She  couldn’t help but return one as he gestured for her to walk next to him. Hands deep in his coat pockets, they set off towards the diner. 

“Closed, alright?”

Y/N nodded, shouldering her bag. “Wasn’t too bad. Tonight wasn’t really that busy.”

“Well, that’s good,” he responded.

Silence fell between the two as they walked on. Much to her surprise, the silence wasn’t awkward. It felt…just right. As they approached the diner, Jimin held the door open for her to enter. A sudden chill went up his spine as she walked past him. He looked out into the darkness and felt goosebumps run up his hands. He shook his head, brushing it off. There was no way they were being followed.

The lone waitress greeted them as they entered, pointing out they could seat themselves. Jimin led Y/N over to a booth in the corner. She slid into the seat, removing her jacket. She looked around at the surroundings nodding in approval.

“I don’t think I’ve been here before.”

Jimin smiled, watching her. “Yeah, they have amazing pancakes.”

The waitress came over with a coffee pot. Jimin nodded as she poured the steaming liquid into his mug. Y/N shook her head at the offer. 

“I’ll take cranberry juice, please.”

Nodding, the waitress walked away. Y/N smirked with a shrug. “If I drink that, I’ll be up all day.”

Jimin hummed as he took a sip. “Caffeine doesn’t bother me too much. I’ll sleep fine after this.”

Y/N flipped through the menu, scanning the items. “So the pancakes are good?”

“Yeah, I love the blueberry ones.”

Y/N quirked her brow. “You take all your dates here for breakfast?”

Jimin bit down on his lip before sipping his coffee, “Just you.”

She felt her cheeks warm as she looked away. She was thankful the server returned with her juice, and she sipped it slowly. Y/N could feel Jimin’s eyes on her as she looked anywhere but at him. Chuckling, he looked up at the server. 

“I think we’re ready to order.”

Whipping out a pen, the server popped her gum, giving Y/N the sign to start. She ruffled through the menu, pointing to the options.

“I’ll have some blueberry pancakes with a side of fruit, please.”

Jimin kept his eyes on her as he ordered next. “I’ll also have the blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon.”

Nodding, she took their menus and walked off. Jimin blew the steam rolling off his mug and drank it. “Don’t like meat?”

Y/N shook her head. “Never agreed with me. Been a vegetarian for as long as I could remember.”

“I respect that. Definitely not an easy thing to do,” he mused. 

Playing with the napkin on the table, she thought of something to ask. “What do you like to do when you’re not flirting with bartenders?”

His laugh sounded almost like wind chimes. It didn’t match his demeanor at all. He pulled out his wallet, handing her a business card. 

“I’m a collector.”

“Like an antique collector?”

His lips pulled into another smirk. “Something like that. I prefer to collect rare items that can’t be duplicated.”

That could have so many meanings. Most went over her head, but Y/N was far from innocent. She’d been on earth long enough to understand many things. Though attraction and intimacy were almost nonexistent in her previous life, she knew how it worked. Watching how humans interacted each night at the bar always fascinated her. 

Would she ever have that for herself? Y/N wasn’t sure, but it seemed the more she learned about Jimin, the more the possibility could happen.

Just as the server returned with their plates, Jimin thanked her and looked up. His eyes met with the person sitting behind Y/N. She noticed how his expression changed for a second. He seemed shaken up a bit. 

She looked at him with concern as she poured syrup over her pancakes. “Is everything alright?”

Jimin set his fork down with a nod. “Actually, I'm gonna run to the restroom. Be back in a minute.”

He slipped out of the seat without hearing her answer as he made a hasty jog towards the restrooms. Instead of going inside, he went to the door leading to the alley. Frowning, he looked around.

“Alright. Show yourself.”

A tall man shimmered into view, leaning against the brick wall. Hands deep in his pockets, he nodded in greeting to Jimin.

“Nice to see you again, brother.”

Jimin crossed his arms over his chest as his scowl darkened. “Wouldn’t say I feel the same, Namjoon.”

Chuckling, Namjoon brushed his hair off his face. “C’mon, it’s been ages. I had to check in to see if you were behaving.”

“What I do is none of your business,” Jimin bit back.

Namjoon’s eyes glowed as a hiss erupted from between his lips. “It does if it endangers our livelihood.”

Jimin's eyes rolled upward in annoyance. What could he possibly be talking about? Why now? For the majority of the time, Jimin kept to himself. He didn’t see any of his brothers unless it was drastic. Nothing seemed to be wrong, so why was Namjoon here suddenly? Namjoon’s eyes narrowed at Jimin’s lack of urgency. He’d always been stubborn, but now was not the time.

“Stay away from her.”

Jimin scoffed, shaking his head. “Who are you referring to? I’ve been with plenty of women, so you’re gonna–”

“The one inside. Stay away from her.”

His brow quirked in curiosity. “Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“That’s not a good enough reason.”

“It is when I say it is.”

“Bullshit. You never got involved with Yoongi or Hoseok’s mates. Why me? Y’all get to be happy, but not me?”

Namjoon sighed deeply, rubbing his temple. “It’s not that simple. Naomi is a human, as are the other two. You can’t be with this woman.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Forbidden fruit.”

If Jimin had a heart, it would have dropped. He blinked for a few moments.

“What?”

Namjoon scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. “I-I don’t understand it either, but whatever you have with her has to end. Understood?”

“Joon–”

“Just do it, Jimin. I’ll see you in a few days.”

Before he could speak up, Namjoon shimmered away.

He leaned against the wall as the thoughts swirled in his mind. 

Fuck.

What could he do?

As much as he didn’t like his brothers, Jimin valued  his immortality. Was she worth losing it? As he walked back inside defeat loomed on his face, and he resolved to end it there. But as he got closer to their booth, all reason left his mind. Seeing her sitting there almost covered in glow left him in a stupor. She was more breathtaking than anything he’d ever seen…and that was saying something.

As he sat down, Y/N looked at him with concern.

“Is everything alright? I was worried that you hadn’t come back. Your food was getting cold.”

Staring into her eyes, whatever negativity went through his mind instantly melted away. All he wanted was her and only her. To hell with it all. Y/N was worth it.

“I’m sorry, I just needed some air.”

She reached out to touch his hand. The warmth radiated from her touch. “You’re not feeling well? We can always do a raincheck.”

She was so innocent. That purity would be her downfall.

Fuck it.

Jimin pulled some bills out of his pocket and placed them on the table.

“How about we get out of here? I know it’s late, but a walk might clear my head.”

She put her fork down with a small nod. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

He stood holding out his hand with a smile, and with one of her own, Y/N took it excited to see where the early morning would take them.

Right into the lion’s den.

---

As the door beeped, Jimin opened it wider for her to enter. Y/N stepped through the threshold, looking around his place. He closed it behind them offering to take her jacket. She handed it to him, slipping off her boots and waited for him to show her around. 

While she was nervous, Y/N suggested they return  to his place as the weather got colder outside. Jimin was surprised by the suggestion but agreed, and here they were.

Jimin smiled as he pointed out the rooms. “It’s not much, but it’s home. I move around a lot so excuse the lack of decoration.”

Y/N shook her head. “No, I think it suits you.”

As they sat down on the couch, the awkwardness seemed to lift. “Would you like something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you.”

Silence fell between them.

Y/N crossed her legs as she felt unsure of what to say at that moment. He seemed so confident, something she felt she lacked. What type of woman did he go for? Someone opposite of her?

“Jimin–”

“Y/N–”

They stared at each other before bursting into laughter. His eye smile on full display made her stomach flutter.

He gestured for her to speak. “Please, what were you going to say?”

She twirled her hair between her fingers. “It wasn’t really important.”

“Nonsense. Whatever you have to say is important, Y/N.”

Her cheeks heated up again before she looked away in embarrassment. “I-I…it's silly, really. I’ve never done this before, much less talked to many men. I don’t know why I feel this pull to you, but it’s–”

Jimin scooted closer, taking her hand into his as he stared at her. “I-I feel the same, Y/N. There’s something about you, and I can’t seem to stay away. Since I saw you tonight, I didn’t want to not be in your presence. Y/N, there seems to be a glow surrounding you, and I’m afraid if you stay with me, I’ll devour it.”

She felt something clench in her core from his words. It was as if she was in a trance…as if being a puppet on strings. But she was okay with this sensation. 

The electric current between them was strong as she knew she wanted to be devoured by this man, being, creature–it didn’t matter.

Jimin reached out to tilt her chin.

“Do you trust me?”

Y/N swallowed thickly as she licked her lips nervously. “I trust you, Jimin,” she said, resolution echoing in her voice.

“Are you sure? I’ll ask before I do anything, but I’m afraid I’ll lose control.”

“We’ll lose control together,” she whispered.

It was like a band snapped.

Jimin lunged forward as his lips pressed hungrily to hers. Y/N had only seconds to brace herself as she fell backwards on the couch. She felt like her body was aflame. Her hands tugged at his shirt as their kisses grew wild. Jimin nipped at her lips as growls filled the room.

He pulled away long enough to speak three words. “Pull my hair.”

Y/N’s fingers ran through his silky locks, tugging from the roots and making him groan. His hands gripped her backside, squeezing and pulling her flush against him. She gasped out as she felt something poke against her thigh. He broke the kiss once more to catch their breath as he nuzzled against her.

“You’re addicting, Y/N. I could kiss you forever.”

She felt shy under his gaze as he pressed light kisses along her jaw and neck. . “If this is too much, please let me know. I’m keeping myself in check.”

She shook her head, pecking his lips. “No. It’s okay to continue.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He sat back on his heels, brushing his hair off his face. “Alright, follow me, please.”

Helping her, they walked to the back of the apartment to a room off to the side. Punching in a code, the door slid open. Y/N eyes widened at the sight. Before her was a room painted in deep purples and reds. The dimness of the lights obstructed her view of many things, but some she could make out only added to her surprise. She’d only seen these things in books.

Jimin kissed her knuckles gently. “I’m a bit of a deviant, but it’s in my nature.”

He studied her body language as she surveyed the room. “Does this make you uncomfortable?”

“No, it kind of excites me a little.”

“Would you like to try something?”

“I think I would.”

Jimin bit his lip with a nod. “We’ll start slow.”

He pulled a chair out and took a seat, spreading his legs. She watched as his muscles rippled under his jeans.

“Ride my thigh,” he ordered.

She walked up to him. It was almost like second nature as she straddled his left thigh. The material of her leather skirt shifted as she settled against him. She shivered at the material of his pants, causing friction against her underwear. Jimin groaned softly, encircling his hands around her waist. He moved  her against his thigh, his lips finding their way to her neck, littering it with marks as he squeezed and spread her ass, making her go faster.

“You have no idea what you do to me.”

Her eyelids fluttered as euphoria washed over her body. It was nothing like she had ever experienced before. His lips and hands touching and teasing her left her in a stupor. The sensory overload was too much for her. Y/N whimpered as her head dropped onto his shoulder.

“J-Jimin–”

Y/N cried out as the wave crashed, pausing her movements as she shook to her very core. Jimin held onto her as she fell limp against his chest, white spots formed in front of her eyes as she tried to catch her breath—all this just from riding his thigh. Jimin kissed her temple, whispering soothing words as she rose from her high. Watching her come undone turned him on even more. 

Lifting her with care, Jimin carried her over to a spa bed, setting her down. He removed the hair off her face giving her a reassuring smile. 

“Still with me?”

She bobbed her head. Jimin kissed her lips again  and walked over to a table, grabbing a silk tie. He turned, holding it up for her to see.

“Would you like to try this?”

Y/N lifted her head to look at the blindfold. “What does it do?”

“Heightens your senses more. If not, we can try something else,” he explained.

“No. I’m curious about that. Let’s try it,” she answered.

He walked over and secured the tie over her eyes with a smile. 

“Can you see, love?”

She shook her head as Jimin squeezed her hand. “Good. I’ll explain everything I’m going to do and ask prior.”

She felt his fingers slide up and down her sides, making her moan softly.

“May I remove your clothes?”

“Yes,” she let out a breathy sigh.

Jimin set to work removing her clothes until she laid bare before him. He removed his after, admiring her body. It brought him to his knees. She was magnificent. 

He brushed his dark hair off his face and knelt in front of her. The scent of her sex was succulent. He placed a chaste kiss on her inner thigh, making her purr. Goosebumps formed on her skin wherever his mouth traveled. His mouth watered when his eyes met his goal. He gave her a tentative lick on the seam of her core, making her hips jolt. He grinned at her reaction.

“Love how you respond to me.”

He found her clit with ease, swollen with her arousal. Teasing it with the tip of his tongue, he slid two fingers into  her cunt and pumped them steadily. His free hand crawled up to her neck, lightly pressing as the feeling made her arousal grow.

Jimin’s appetite grew as he looped his arms around her legs, pinning her hips to the massage bed. He pressed his lips to her pussy, giving it soft kisses along the outer labia. Y/N could do nothing but grab his hair as inhumane sounds spilled from her lips.

“Oh fuck, you’re delicious.”

Yet again, his words made something snap inside as pressure rose to make liquid shoot for between her legs, coating the massage table, herself, and Jimin. He used his other hand to push her legs further apart for him to taste her greedily. 

Jimin cooed softly as he pulled back to breathe and removed the blindfold. “You’re amazing, Y/N.”

She blinked, adjusting to the dim light, but began shy under his heated gaze as he lifted her up.

“How do you feel?”

After multiple orgasms, fatigue was setting in, but just having him close only made her crave more from him. “I feel drunk almost.”

He laughed, kissing her forehead. “We’re not even close to being done.” His fingers traced her lips. “Suck.”

She brought them between her lips, suckling them slowly. Jimin’s jaw clenched, watching her twirl her tongue around his digits. He jerked them from her mouth, replacing his mouth to steal her breath away with another kiss. 

“Turn around,” he instructed in between kisses.

She faced away from him as he fisted his cock. Erect and throbbing. Y/N's backside swayed as Jimin’s cock slapped against her ass. He dragged his hand to her pussy, cupping it with a moan. Lining himself at her entrance, he glanced at her lovingly.

“Just say the word.”

“Please, Jimin,” she whispered.

His hip snapped forward, filling her to the brim. Her eyes rolled back as she stilled before matching his rhythm. Jimin kept his eyes glued to her ass as it smacked against his stomach. Her name slipped past his lips while fucking her doggy style.

“Oh shit.”

Almost lost in the moment, Jimin nearly missed the etchings on her back. He paused his thrusts, staring at it in awe.

Y/N felt his movements still as she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Jimin?”

He met her gaze as confusion covered his face. “You’re an angel.”

“What? How did you know?”

His fingers traced over her shoulder blades delicately. “You’re my other half. I–it seems so familiar.”

Y/N twisted around, breaking the contact between them. “What do you mean?”

Jimin cupped her chin, staring into her eyes as his own glowed faintly. “Surely you felt a pull towards me. I’m much more than a man, Y/N.”

At the sight of his eyes, all her suspicions were true. Jimin was something otherworldly. 

“Do you fear me?”

“Why should I? I’ve been sent here as punishment,” she answered. 

He shook his head. “No, not a punishment. It was fate to find each other. I refuse to lose you again.”

A smile formed on her face. “Yes, it was fate.”

“You’re not leaving my sight ever again.”

He pulled her close, each letting out a groan as they connected again.

Y/N muffled out a moan. Her walls quivered around his cock, and she was close. 

They both were. Heavy, heady breathing filled the air as the young lovers’ orgasms rose. It was as if static filled the air. Everything became so messy; each caught up in their pleasure. Jimin tensed and gripped her hair tighter.

“My angel. I found you,” he cried. 

At his words, she let out a strangled cry; her orgasm rippled through her body, making her body convulse, Jimin’s seed spilled into her cunt, as he pulled out to let it drip onto her ass and the massage table. He fell forward, body covered in sweat as his forehead touched her back.

He kissed her gently, holding her close to him.

“You’re mine.”

---

They laid still under the sheets as the ceiling fan shifted the air in the room. Jimin moved them back into his bedroom after their activities to rest awhile. Y/N nuzzled against his chest as his fingers stroked her back soothingly.

“Do you remember?”

Y/N murmured as her senses stirred. “Remember what?”

Jimin stared at the ceiling. “When you were human.”

Her eyes popped open in surprise. She lifted her head to stare up at him. “Not really. Do you?”

“Bits and pieces. It was so long ago. I can’t even recall the time period.”

She hummed in understanding. “Seems like eons ago. I don’t know if I want to remember that time.”

“Would you ever want to go back?”

“Never.”

Jimin chuckled softly. “Why? Too many rules?”

Y/N shook her head. “I wouldn't have met you.”

His heart stilled for a moment. Clearing his throat, he glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Almost dawn.”

She sighed briefly, closing her eyes. “I need to get home.”

Jimin snorted in amusement. “Stay here for the night…er day. I’ll take you home.”

“Alright. I’ll at least shower.”

With some effort, Y/N walked with some difficulty to the bathroom off in the corner. Jimin rested against the pillows as he heard the water turn on. It wasn’t until he heard screaming that the blood drained from his face. He leapt from the bed, running into the bathroom.

“Y/N!”

She laid unresponsive on the tile. Blood pooled around her like some scarlet blanket. He bent down, picking her up. Her skin was hot to the touch.

“Baby? Y/N?! Wake up!”

“I told you there would be consequences.”

Jimin’s fangs tensed as he saw Namjoon leaning in the doorframe.

“What did you do to her?!”

“Nothing, brother. This was all you.”

“What? I didn’t do this!”

“You did. You’re killing her by being near her.”

Jimin shook his head as the lump in his throat grew. “No, no, there’s got to be a way to save her. Namjoon…brother, please. I’ll do anything.”

Namjoon sighed as a frown set in. “You’ll have to pay a steep price.”

“I don’t give a fuck! Y/N doesn’t deserve this!”

“Your blood can save her,” he explained.

“Fine!” Jimin looked around frantically for something sharp.

“But–”

He glared at Namjoon with scrutiny. “But what?”

“She’ll gain her life but forget you in the process. Are you prepared to give that up?”

Jimin sat there stunned. Time was of the essence. He looked from Y/N to the mirror piece in his hand. Blinking reluctantly, he nodded slowly.

“She’s worth thousands of lives.”

---

As the snow fell in big flakes from the sky, Jimin walked down the street, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck. The wind picked up as the minutes ticked on. As he stood at the crosswalk, she walked on the opposite side. It couldn’t have been. But there she was. Eyes widening, he couldn’t get over there fast enough. She walked into the coffee shop around the corner, and he followed her inside. The words caught in his throat as they stood in line. When her turn came, she ordered her to drink–a medium lemon ginger tea and waited while the barista prepared it. She thanked them when her name was called, and they handed her the drink. Just as he was about to speak, a voice spoke up.

“Y/N!”

She turned to see a group in the corner waving to her. Grinning, she waved before turning to go to the condiments table. 

“Excuse me.”

Jimin blinked as she was in front of him. She giggled at him as they moved side to side. He chuckled nervously, sidestepping out of her way. “Oh, s-sorry.”

She gave him a soft smile, adding honey to her cup. Walking past, she barely noticed him as she went to the table with the group of people sitting there.

He could feel his heart breaking slowly as he backed out of the coffee shop. Seeing her there with no care in the world was enough for him.

“Goodbye, my angel.”

[osunism]

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything but I promise I’m working on stuff! Finishing so many fics in a short time period burned out my brain. I am still working on The Godslayer Project and Highball, at least. Part of putting out quality fic to me is taking my time with writing and editing. I don’t wanna publish until I have a good portion written anyway.