#fun fact: i am in fact sitting alone in a bar as i am writing this! ;)

[yandere-romanticaa]

𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬.

🎀 in the late night of june, you sit beneath a mystic moon. well, rather, you're in a bar, all by your lonesome, pondering on what to order. in your daze, you didn't even see the strange man watching you.

yandere oc! x fem! reader

Despite being late June, the weather could not seem to make up its mind on how it was going to go. For the past few days, the sky kept going back and forth between being a beautiful blue to then suddenly changing to a gloomy grey, the air growing heavy with the threat of a downpour on any unsuspecting pedestrian.

You suppose you were no better than the weather, you figured. Toying with the the menu between your fingers, you noticed how it was filled to the brim with various drinks ranging from alcoholic to non alcoholic, hot or cold drinks, all of which was printed out on a pristine piece of jet black paper.

What to drink , what to drink?

The stress of exams was too much to bear, perhaps you could blame that for being so damn indecisive.

You let out a shiver as you noticed the waitresses cranking up the air conditioning to an insane degree. What was she trying to do, freeze you to death?! How inconsiderate...!

With a huff, you focused your attention back on the menu and came to the rational realization that perhaps it was for the best to get a simple fruit juice. But which kind? The offer was diverse and each flavor would surely satisfy your aching throat.

Just as you were getting ready to call out the waitresses, she seemingly beat you to the punch as she scurried towards you, a mysterious drink in her hand. The crystal glass shimmered softly against the dimly lit bar as the woman placed the drink in front of you, along with a scrunched up piece of paper. It couldn't be a bill as you had not ordered anything yet...

Seeing the confusion swirling in your eyes, the waitresses gave you a wink, beating you once again in terms of speed.

"See that guy in the corner over there?" she asked you, her tone laced with a sort of excitement. You nod, albeit slightly dumbly.

"It's from him!" she chirps happily.

Odd. You could have sworn that seat was not occupied just a few moments ago.

Taking the piece of paper in your hands, you unfold it to reveal neat handwriting, each letter and syllable written gently with a basic blue ink pen. It was a string of numbers, most likely his own phone number. Raising your head towards his direction, you noticed him eyeing you up and down, a boyish grin on his face.

He seemed normal enough, you reckoned. He seemed to be around his mid 20's, average height. He wore basic blue jeans and a cozy looking black t-shirt, which had no print on it. There were little to no accessories on his person other than a string which was hanging around his neck, most likely a necklace but was hidden from your view. Another thing worth taking note of was his phone case, which had a print of the Ghostface mask from the Scream franchise.

Ah, so he was a horror fan. How neat.

Feeling a little bold, you grabbed both your drink and the note and made your way towards him, never once breaking eye contact with the mystery man. Without a word, you shimmied across from him as you placed everything on the wooden table. A strange silence hovered in the air as neither one of you spoke for those few moments, but the man was clearly amused. Something was going on inside his head and he made no attempt to hide it, his light brown eyes basically dancing with pure glee. As if to ease the tension, he lightly smacked his lips and spoke:

"So. How are you on this fine evening?"

His tone was casual, as if he had known you for years, like he was chatting with an old pal back from the good ol' days. His entire demeanor was calm, dare you say friendly even. He raised his glass to his lips, the amber liquid in it swishing away as he took a sip, his gaze still not leaving yours.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

You couldn't help but to giggle a little.

"Ah, she speaks! Such delight!"

His tone was sweet like candy, lulling you in to feel safe. It was embarrassing how there was a part of you that actually seemed to be enjoying this encounter, but how could you not?

Life was so stale sometimes, so dull. The most exciting thing that would happen were the occasional outings with friends, all of which you loved dearly but... You craved more. It was unsure what you craved exactly, what you needed to get your heart beating and pulsing, but regardless you needed some excitement.

It was good to change the pace every once in a while.

The evening went on and you came to learn that the name of the mystery man was Will, an engineer student who transferred recently. He liked horror movies, mystery novels, cars and good beer. It was easy to chat and you shared many things with Will, even going as far to express the desire to see him again.

The sentiment was very much mutual.

As closing time was due, you exited the establishment with Will, his hand playfully linked with yours as he talked your ear off all of the fake guts in horror movies. He was so fascinated with the way films handled the production of those fake body parts, gooey blood and potential inducing nightmare fuel.

You made your way down the street together, the darkness of the night sky being slightly broken by the old street lights.

"Y'know..." he trailed off. He was still smiling.

"I always wondered what it would be like to actually kill a person."

It took a few seconds for you to realize just what he exactly said. Stopping dead in your tracks you turned towards Will, a flabbergasted look on your face. You felt the hair at the back of your hair stand up as the wind picked up, the leaves around you going in every direction, a warning of what was potentially to come.

Suddenly, the sound of loud and absurd laughter came bursting out of him, you soon following suit. It was borderline manic as he held your hand in his own, but being so lost in the sweet comfort of earlier you chose to not think about his worrying statement. Most horror enthusiasts were a little quirky anyway, Will was probably like that too.

And just like that, you parted ways for the evening, both parties promising to get in touch as soon as possible.

The walk home was swift as each step made you feel like a silly schoolgirl who just had her first kiss.

It was just so refreshing, like gentle rainy dew on a hot day.

Making your way back home, you fumbled with the keys inside your bag and opened the door with lightning speed. Kicking off your shoes and tossing the purse on the bed, you grabbed your phone and the piece of paper, pondering on the thought of whether you should just save his number or not. You were clearly going to be seeing him for a while, so -

Ding!

The text message was so sudden that you almost threw your phone on the ground. One mini heart attack later, you saw that the string of numbers were the same ones from before, so you quickly opened the message.

"What's your favorite scary movie ;))"

You snorted. He was so cheesy but damn it all if it wasn't cute.

"I like Scream a lot, if that makes you happy :D"

It took him a few minutes to respond.

"Good choice. But, personally, I'd really like to make my own scary movie with you... I could make you the main star."

Oh... Well. You're not sure how to respond to that. You stop and think, only for the sudden feeling of unease to come back. You remain still and try to brainstorm a response, but Will is faster.

"What wrong baby? Did I scare you? :)"

Ah. He's really committing to the part, isn't he? The best thing to do would be to just call him out.

"Haha, very funny Will! And no, you did not scare me, I'm just a slow texter!!!!"

Perhaps it was time to call it a night. It's been a rough week and you were not in the mood for these games. Halfway as you were turning away, your phone suddenly rang. You sharply turned your head back, wondering why Will was calling you so late. Perhaps he didn't get social cues? Your discomfort should have been obvious from the get go, but you still decide to pick up. Parting your lips, you started to talk but a male voice interrupted you instead.

"This isn't Will baby. But I'll be more than happy to make you my Sidney Prescott."

All the air was knocked out of your lungs as your eyes bulged so hard out of your head, threatening to pop like cheap balloons.

He was right. That was not Will's voice. The mystery caller cackled, his voice ringing loudly in your ear, the sound almost too painful for your mind.

"Didn't think you'd actually pick up." he continued. "I kept an eye on you all night, and you didn't even see me! Now that baby, is skill! "

He sounded so proud, like a child who just got a high mark on a test, as if he didn't even see just how wrong this whole situation really was. Mustering up the courage, you spoke up:

"Where's Will?"

Silence. The other line was dead silent but the caller didn't end the line.

You really did not like where this was heading.

"And why would you care where he is?" inquired the man, his voice changing from menacing to serious. Your silence spurred him on, making him more mad.

"You're my girl, even if you don't know it yet. I won't have you sweet talkin' with other men."

You let out a shocked scoff and quickly hung up. You smacked the phone against the table as an audible smack! echoed across the room. Crossing your arms close to your chest, you sprawled across the cozy bed with worry on your mind as the heart in your chest beat like crazy, pumping and pumping sheer adrenaline.

Despite all that, you somehow managed to fall asleep.

You didn't even get to see the last text the creepy caller had sent.

"I'll make you my girl, even if it's the last thing I ever do."

That was not a threat. But rather, a promise.

[shunsuiken]

HOW THE GENSHIN MEN FIND YOU DRUNK

pairing(s). kaeya, diluc, zhongli, childe, ayato, thoma, tighnari, kaveh, wanderer x gn!reader

genre. fluff + mentions of alcohol use ofc + reader is a lightweight (welcome to my life guys <3)

wc. 400-800 for each character

an. SOOOOO this was inspired by a cdrama i watched back in 2021 and when i saw it i just HAD to write about it <3 also i think i had a bit too much fun on zhongli’s and childe’s i hope its not so obvious dear god. also??? for some reason the ones i had the hardest time writing for ended up being the longer parts omg

kaeya alberich

after spending some time upstairs with a couple of treasure hoarders who were completely unaware of being thoroughly deceived by the cunning cavalry captain, kaeya decides to head down and run over the knowledge he collected with mond’s famed beverage, death after noon.

but as he walks down the staircase, he spots a familiar figure sitting by the bar. he squints his eye slightly, almost not believing the sight in front of him. is that y/n? on the high stool by the bar? dozing off to only a few shots of liquor? tonight just became even more interesting. now he’s starting to wonder what things you would say under the influence—for no shady reasons, obviously, as he genuinely enjoyed your company and witiful mouth. he’s just a curious man with the goal of unveiling a few other things about you.

he makes a beeline to the bar, setting himself on your right side so you’re in his line of vision. glancing around, he motions for charles for his death after noon. kaeya only turns to you once his drink arrives, quickly giving you a once over. seeing as how it looked like you came to angel’s share after work he might as well stir up a conversation.

your vision is blurry but you can definitely feel the presence of another person beside you. as you lift your head from your crossed arms, your brows crease in irritation. which imbecile decided to disturb your time alone? you’re literally brooding over the fact that captain kaeya would never be yours, so you irresponsibly decided an hour ago that some liquor would magically help you forget your worries.

you’re ready to scare the person off with a glare but what you’re met with is quite literally, much worse (because your glares don’t work on him and also because he's part of the reason you’re in your drunken state).

kaeya chuckles at your expression. “why the long face? it’s just me.”

you rub your eyes, groaning from the bitterness lingering in your throat. of all people, you weren’t expecting him. “you never stop by on wednesday’s. is something up?” you ask drowsily as kaeya watches you pick up your glass, clumsily squinting at the bottom of it to see if there was any more of your liquor left.

kaeya dodges your question, humming, “y/n sweetheart, you look like you’re on the brink of passing out.” he tilts his head, observing your flushed expression. if you can’t handle your liquor, he doesn’t mind taking you back home if it means securing your safety.

“am not,” you reply, turning your gaze to him. it’s all thanks to the alcohol that you can do so when in reality you actually struggle to maintain eye contact with him. “you… you haven’t answered my question yet. why’re you here?” your voice is hoarse and you’ve made enough voice cracks to entertain a crowd, but kaeya finds it rather endearing instead.

kaeya could reply honestly. but this conversation is one to be forgotten after you woke up tomorrow morning. he could lie and you would never know he did, but for a reason unknown the lie he was supposed to tell never left his lips. instead he blurts out the plain truth.

“somebody has to be responsible for you, y’know,” kaeya teases you with a grin but his actions are the opposite of his tone. he stands from his seat, pulling your arm over his shoulders to support your weight even when you attempt to resist his help. he keeps your body close to his so you don’t fall over. hopefully you’re drunk enough to be oblivious of the erratic beats of his heart alongside the cautious and warm touch of his hand on your waist.

diluc ragnvindr

he still can’t believe he has such a massive crush on you. it’s almost embarrassing to let others know about this secret because nobody would expect someone like diluc to have a thing for you. it’s even harder to hide that fact when you’re sitting at a table with venti and kaeya. they’re laughing their asses off at some joke you told them.

“cheers to y/n!” venti hollers, cheeks undeniably pink. “you are paying for this, right?” he leans back down momentarily, making you release another burst of laughter from your lungs at the way he mentioned it. “of course!”

after chatting, you decide to greet the man of the house by the bar. it’s been a while since you’ve seen the master diluc of dawn winery anyway. as you get up from the table to make your way over, you accidentally bump into a crowd of big, brawny adventurers who’ve just arrived.

“oh—!” tripping backwards, your hands fail to find something to keep yourself on your feet before your fall is cushioned by someone.

they hold onto your shoulder as your back collides with their chest. the force from being pushed aside has you breathing unsteadily, and it doesn’t help that you’re pretty tipsy right now too. however, despite how tipsy you are, you feel as though air is sucked right out of your lungs when you spot a tuft of crimson red hair from the corner of your eye.

you stand right up immediately, facing the person you fell onto.

“master diluc!” the dazed and naive look on a drunkard's face normally doesn’t appeal to diluc but this expression on yours actually makes you look rather adorable. your eyes are half-lidded and your smile is lopsided, and oh if he could squish those cheeks of yours-

“uh, master diluc?” you blink, toning your voice down a bit.

“oh.” diluc slides out of his mindscape, paying attention to your words. “yes? would you like a drink on the house?” because if you actually asked that, he would have sent one your way on the spot.

you wave your hands dismissively. “n- no no, not that! i was just asking how you were doing. you haven’t stopped by angel’s share since last month, i thought something was up so when i heard you were here today i…” you trail off, realising that you’re rambling and that diluc probably didn’t want to be greeted like this after taking a month off but when you look back at him, he’s still looking at you (and has been since you fell into his arms).

diluc raises his brow when he no longer hears your voice. but when he sees an expectant look in your eyes, he offers you his arm with a smile. “how about you tell me everything by the bar? that way i can serve you properly.”

your cheeks burn like a wild bonfire as you take his arm, now struggling to find excuses to somehow change the topic of conversation because if you continued your sentence from a minute ago, you would have exposed your secret attraction for the man in front of you.

(funny how you don’t even need kaeya or venti to expose you, you’re already the man for the job!)

diluc senses your sudden nervousness at the invitation. he does his best to bite away at the fond smile making its way to his lips. if he can help calm your nerves then maybe you’ll tell him about how much you missed his company at the tavern.

zhongli

zhongli didn’t know that his late night stroll around the streets of chihu rock would include witnessing your drunk state at third-round knockout. the streets have thinned out and it’s rather late too. he wonders what brought you over to the distinguished tavern.

the curious adeptus makes silent haste to peer over your shoulder. a cup in your hand and your head is lolling over. putting two and two together, you must have had your fill of alcohol for tonight.

zhongli finds himself chuckling before neatly folding his hands behind his back. “i wonder how y/n is faring on this wonderful night?”

your head snaps out of your drunken state momentarily, the coherent cells in your brain recognise that voice immediately but your vision is blurry. so instead of being able to greet the gentleman with dignity and grace, you end up tripping over the levelled bricks below you. 

“oh—!”

zhongli is quick to open his arms and catch you, his reflexes still polished despite his retirement as the geo archon. your head bumps into his chest as you grunt at the slight fright. and after regaining your foothold on the bricked ground, it comes to your attention that your body is flat against the man in front of you. more specifically, his arms are wrapped around your waist to keep you steady and your hands are fumbling awkwardly in the air because you don’t know where to put them.

looking up to meet zhongli’s eyes is exactly what you expected but you can never maintain eye contact with him. it’s not your fault he’s so handsome! his kind gesture makes your cheeks warm up, and he probably doesn’t even mean anything out of it but sometimes your mind likes to be a little creative and indulges you in a variety of impossible scenarios.

“archons, zhongli i’m sorry—i didn’t see you i—” 

“it’s not a problem, y/n. shall i walk you home?” zhongli offers, voice gentle and non-judgemental, like you didn’t just trip over a couple of bricks.

you shake your head, earning a raised brow from him. “i only live a few minutes away. plus, look at the time, we’ll look weird.”

“holding you in my arms will not make us look weird, rather i believe this is appropriate for us both. don’t you think?” the way zhongli tilts his head to the dominating tone in his voice makes you feel so small.

“i mean—sure but,” you reply, not daring to look directly into his eyes unless you were going to expose your hidden feelings for him. “but i’m drunk. it’s my fault, i can take myself ho—” your words are caught in your throat when zhongli lifts you up into his arms, carrying you bridal style down the steps and continuing down the street to bring you home.

this extra pinch of boldness is something that lays dormant within zhongli. but it always comes alive when you’re around. he has spent enough time around mortals to pick up the signs of the heart. your reactions to his touch, your flickering gaze and the heat from your face is no brainer. however, he will have to properly communicate with you when you’re sober.

for now, he only hopes that you will disregard the warmth radiating off his neck when you lean in to rest your forehead there.

childe

he’s dancing. dancing to his heart’s content. the band plays the second to last song but the harbinger barely feels like he’s lived up to the heights of the night. he requires more vigour, more energy from his dancing partners. sure, they were all wonderful dancers but he’s really only waiting for someone else to enter his field of vision.

childe knows you’re around here somewhere, you told him personally a week before the ball that you and your father were invited. after all, only the most distinguished noblemen and women were eligible to attend. and you, being the one and only child of one of the leading snezhnayan trade merchants, are an obvious guest on the list of invites.

childe dances, switching and gliding between different and eager dance partners, secretly hoping that the next gloved hand he would take would be yours. unfortunately, for the second to last song, he still doesn’t manage to find you amongst the crowd of participants dancing. so when the music stops he makes sure to return everyone a wave and entertain those who greet him warmly, doing everything in his power to stop the itch of impatience showing on his sweaty face. thankfully, he manages to maintain a calm and composed expression.

childe’s head perks up to a certain sound. amongst the music, the cheers and the clings of wine glasses he recognises a laugh. a laugh, to the extent of his knowledge, only he’s able to get out of you. he brings his wine glass away from his lips, licking the remnants of it from his bottom lip as he captures the sight of you chatting away with other guests.

scanning the guests’ faces, he concludes that they’re harmless thanks to information he was told prior to the event. so he makes his way over, smoothly including himself in conversation just to make an excuse to the other guests to ‘borrow your attention’ for a moment.

you take his arm that he offers you, holding your wine glass in your other hand. childe has always been a gentleman towards you, such a passionate person with excellent manners. you’re almost always guaranteed to have a grand time whenever he invites you out (obviously as friends, which you two have made known to the entire town).

“so ajax, tell me about your journey to liyue—” your throat interrupts your speech with a very clear hiccup. “—harbour.” your cheeks burn, quickly apologising for your lack of manners under your breath.

childe hums, loving how you used the name he told you to use when it’s just you and him. “your grace, are you drunk?” he gazes at your flushed face and how your styled hair looks more undone. he thinks you look better this way actually.

“i might be,” you sigh, wanting to hand your glass over to a butler but childe stops you before you can, taking your glass to quickly down the last sips of your beverage.

“ajax, what are you doing?!” you tap his arm repeatedly with concern, telling him to slow down.

you just got that glass a few minutes ago! but besides that, he’s drinking the wine you just had?! what if his lips touch the part yours did on the glass? not that you mind at all—you wouldn’t dare say that out loud but your thoughts are as clear as day on your expression.

childe enjoys the look on your face, satisfied and relieved that you didn’t show a hint of dissatisfaction. “i’ve not had the honour to dance with you tonight.” he passes the empty glass onto a passing butler’s tray. “shall i have the pleasure now?”

kamisato ayato

by this time in the evening, you, thoma and ayaka are probably done playing the hot pot game. which is alright since ayato knew he would return home from business later than usual tonight, but that doesn’t stop him from checking up on all of you. so when he slides the door open to see his faithful retainer, his sister and you sleeping soundly in the designated hot pot room at komore teahouse, the lord cannot help but stifle a fond laugh.

it then comes to his attention that the room reeks of alcohol. oh dear. that explains why everyone’s blacked out.

“‘yato?” he watches you lift your head from the table. ah, you’re still awake… and definitely drunk. no wonder you dropped the formalities all of a sudden. if you were sober you would have rushed to greet him by the door and refer to him by “my lord” despite all the protests he’s made to call you by his first name instead.

ayato hushes you gently, ignoring how his heart skips a beat at the mention of his first name leaving your lips and sits himself beside you. he’s almost taken aback by how you immediately lean onto his body for support. he knew you were an affectionate person but you normally asked before proceeding with anything just in case he felt uncomfortable (surprise! he never did). so seeing this side of you is rather refreshing to his eyes.

“what’re you doing here?” you blink hardly at him but it’s to no avail as the alcohol in your veins distorts your vision.

he brings you closer, gloved hand rising to caress the back of your head. “i just came to visit. however, it didn’t occur to me that you would all have so much fun without my presence.” 

“nonsense!” you claim dramatically, a satisfied smile immediately appearing on ayato’s face at your predictable reaction.

you poke his arm you don’t realise is already sat on your waist. you’re too ready to defend your lord from his own words to notice anyway.

ayato scans your face. lavender eyes find your plumped lips, the thin sheen of sweat along your cheeks and your hair attempting to escape the confines of your hairpin—hold on a moment, he got you that hairpin!

the way ayato has to physically restrain a grin from showing on his face is uncharacteristic of him. he’s noticed that he uncovers new parts of himself whenever you’re beside him. such an interesting person you are…

“we were waiting for you—hic—however, we got a little distracted.” you admit, gesturing at ayaka who sleeps soundly on thoma’s jacket. you look up at ayato through your eyelashes, giving him a lopsided smile.

“i remembered your—hic—advice when you said ayaka can’t drink more than a glass. she might even have it worse than me. but thoma, on the other hand, was a completely different story. that man was a mess!” you move your head to look at thoma’s body sprawled over the floor, ugly giggles leaving the back of your throat at how much of an idiot he looks like right now.

your hair tickles ayato’s chin but he pays no mind to it when he’s so immensely amused by your relaxed nature when drunk.

thoma

thoma mentally checks his list of things to do before retiring for the night. his lord is in his office, accompanied by a freshly made pot of tea, his lady should already be sound asleep and the other retainers are also readying to retire too. he sighs to himself, patting his jacket down as he heads to the kitchen to finalise his cleaning.

when he enters the kitchen, he is baffled at the sight in front of him. he stares blankly for a moment to process it.

there’s remnants of sake dripping out of a tipped-over tokkuri and his lover who plays with the o-choko absentmindedly with their finger, drawing invisible lines along the rim. thoma stifles a giggle, a curled finger covering his lips.

his giggle sends your consciousness back into focus. you only have the power to tilt your head ever so slightly to the right, your movements pausing on the o-choko when your gaze falls upon the view of your lover.

“tho—ma,” your cracked voice calls for him, making him rush toward you in such fondness so he could pinch your cheeks.

“oh, y/n, what are you doing?” thoma asks as giggles leave his lips, watching you squint at him dazedly. “it’s dripping from the corner of your lips as well!” he takes a napkin, sitting next to you to wipe it away gently.

“wh- where’ve you been, pretty?” your words are slurred but thoma hears you perfectly well.

the pet name makes him blush, but you’re too drunk to notice. “i’ve been doing my job—oh, honey—” he huffs when he brings you to lean on him instead. the longer you lay your head on the table, the more you’ll want to throw up later (and thoma makes sure to prevent that from happening).

you giggle at the little voice crack you hear when he calls you by your pet name, leaning onto his chest as your head rests on his shoulder blade. taking advantage of this position, thoma presses a cool ceramic cup filled with water by your lips and when you lazily open your eyes, you see that it’s the glass that’s been sitting on the side from earlier.

“drink up, honey.” you can’t refuse such a request when it’s mumbled so affectionately by your ear. you’re probably even warm at your cheeks from it, but then again, the sake has kept your cheeks warm for a while. you can’t even tell anymore.

after taking a few sips of water, your throat feels fresh and renewed—if thoma heard your thoughts, he would deadpan at you and say “y/n. it’s called getting hydrated” in a sassy little voice. this scenario amuses you and it causes a small laugh to leave your lips.

above you, thoma is confused. “what are you thinking about?” he asks curiously with a smile.

as you rest your head on thoma’s shoulder again, you reply, “you. i’m just thinking about you.”

tighnari

a shout from outside tighnari’s lodging brings his attention away from his documents, brows furrowing and pushing himself up from his chair to see why his forest rangers are making such a fuss at an ungodly hour (yes, tighnari was awake at said ungodly hour but that wasn’t because he was with his fellow rangers after a night out!).

“tighnari, we’re back!” a drunk forest watcher waves and yells at the figure of tighnari, who has his arms crossed in front of him.

a sigh leaves tighnari’s mouth, one of exhaustion, to be precise. “do you intend to wake all of gandharva ville up? go find yourselves home and rest.” he turns around to head back inside until another forest watcher pipes up.

“wait, tighnari! y/n’s black out drunk!” a female forest watcher, who’s eyes can’t even look at a single point any longer due to the alcohol running in her veins, displays your figure with your arm dangling over her shoulders. “you need to take them back, i don’t know where they live!”

tighnari raises a brow and chuckles, shaking his head. “yet you’re sober enough to tell me this.” he walks towards the group of drunkards and collects you easily from the forest watcher, carefully placing your arm over his shoulders while his other hand holds your hip.

you barely know where you are and what’s happening but it appears that your assigned guardian angel for the night has retired and put you in more capable hands—or, arms. you blink in an attempt to gather knowledge of your surroundings but it’s to no avail when everything is a blur of darkness with hints of warm light from the dew lights.

a grunt escapes your lips in slight frustration as you walk away with this other person, but they’re quick to hush you gently and in a soft voice you hear, “i promise we’re almost there, just walk with me, okay?”

“yeah, okay,” you reply promptly but to tighnari’s ears, he’s never heard such a tone in your voice ever since you were recruited. his heart skips a beat and his ear twitches along. it’s rare to see you so vulnerable and he can tell you have no idea that he’s the one carrying you back to… well, his lodging. because your lodging is simply too far away (it’s only a bridge away) and he can’t have you walking any longer when you look like you’re on the verge of passing out! 

he doesn’t know what’s gotten into him when his gloved hand holds onto your forearm to keep your body steady against his as he walks you to his lodging. his body is going against him and his heart can only take the blame for such ridiculous delusions. what does he think he will get out of this?

he’s just your chief forest watcher, that’s all he will ever be to you—is what tighnari thinks. but in reality, you only went out with the others to spiral in alcohol due to your failed attempts of romancing your handsome superior. it seemed that the sumeru roses and the letter you left at his doorstep were blown away by the wind (you had to commit blasphemy on that day and curse the anemo archon), the pita pockets you made for him were stolen away by some petty treasure hoarders when you weren’t looking and overall, your thoughts were a mess thinking about your failed attempts. it was like your beloved archon forgot to bless you with wisdom to avoid these situations.

“see! i told you he had a soft spot for them!”

“it’s so obvious the feelings mutual, i can’t believe they didn’t believe us.”

“they’re literally the only one who can’t see it!”

tighnari clears his throat loud enough for the group to hear him. he turns around and gives them a pointed look until they’re all skipping away to their respective lodgings.

he glances at your drunken face for a brief moment and smiles to himself, continuing to walk you back.

it appears that all his worries were meaningless.

kaveh

the sight of you leaning against the door to his home almost makes his soul fly right out of his body.

“hello y/n, i thought we were meeting for dinner?” but when kaveh finally makes it to where you are, you are nowhere near sober. no wonder your figure was leaning against the wood so flimsily. you were akin to a ragdoll at this point. “great heavens, is the end of the world upon us? why are you drunk before me?” he hesitantly collects you in his arms while mehrak hovers beside him. he can’t have you just leaning like that!

“went to… birthday party… drinks…”

that’s enough information to bring kaveh up to speed with the situation. but also… why did you decide to go to his house?! was it instinctive?

kaveh cringes at his thoughts and opens the door with his free hand while his other hand supports you by your waist (he can feel his palm warming up to the touch on your body and it’s making the poor man sweat). “come on in, let’s sober you up.” 

when you’re sat nicely on the couch, your eyes are still closed with zero awareness of your surroundings. how your head suddenly tilts backwards at such speed almost brings the most horrific yelp out of kaveh, he’s relieved to know his reflexes are still sharp enough to have caught your head before it snapped right off your neck.

“archons, you’re going to give me a heart attack!” he holds the back of your head and somehow manages to bring your body to lean against the spine of the couch. he doesn’t forget to put a pillow behind your back either, because you being drunk doesn’t mean you’re drunk enough to not feel discomfort.

after collecting himself from that scare, he returns with a cup of water, hands carefully hovering it in front of your lips. “here, drink up,” he says but you keep moving your mouth away from the cup that it’s slowly beginning to irritate him.

“y/n, you need to sober up if you’re going to walk home later,” he tells you in a more serious voice which makes you groan, throwing your head forward into your hands.

“you don’t understand.”

“what don’t i understand?”

what am i doing here? i swear i was in front of my friend's place… how is it that my drunk feet led me here? out of all the places on this continent, why did i take myself to the one place i’m trying to avoid?!

kaveh raises a brow and puts down the glass of water. “is something wrong, y/n? i haven’t even seen you since last week.”

“i’ve been… busy…” trying to keep my feelings at bay!

“i see,” kaveh responds before adding, “do you still feel drunk?”

“i wouldn’t say i’m drunk to the point of passing out—i did feel like that earlier but now that i’m sitting i can at least participate in conversation.” you remove your face from your hands.

why is his face so pink? you think to yourself, grabbing the glass of water from the table to take a sip before leaning back with your free arm supporting you. you grin to yourself, feeling a little cheeky.

you offer the glass of water you just drank from to kaveh, hovering it in front of his lips and you swear you almost watch his eyes fall out of their eye sockets.

“what—what are you doing?!” kaveh’s voice shakes and you let out this cute drunken giggle that makes his heart leap. 

“i know i’m the one drunk, but for some reason you look drunk without even having drinks!”

kaveh touches his face and he purses his lips. his cheeks are so used to being hot from being in your presence that he didn’t even realise!

“allow me to assist you.” you lean your body a little closer so you can press the chilled glass of water against kaveh’s cheek.

his bottom lip falls and quivers when you lean closer towards him. last time you were this close, you were putting medication on his face after a run in with fungi.

the coldness of the glass somehow gives him time to think to himself—rationally. maybe in this moment right now he could…

“thank you, y/n.” you’ve never heard this tone in kaveh’s voice, it’s unfamiliar and so… tender. what he does next makes you finally meet his scarlet eyes.

a warm hand wraps around your wrist that holds the glass to his cheeks, your skin immediately lights up in fire at the contact. it makes you gulp so embarrassingly loudly before him.

he leans into the coolness of the glass, gazing at you with such gentle eyes that it’s tempting you to look away. as his thumb gently caresses your skin, he smiles. “it helps.”

wanderer

wanderer returns to his home a little later than usual tonight. he made sure to leave a note on the dining table to let you know of his whereabouts for the day. he knows you have the propensity to worry about him, despite his claims that he’ll be perfectly fine because of how well-versed he is in the arts of defence (and nasty attacks). which is why he left the note on the table, and he acknowledges how it was moved to another spot on the table from this morning.

you’ve seen it. he thinks to himself and now he wonders where you are. you’re not normally out at this time and from your cute daily schedule reports you tell him before bed, he doesn’t remember you mentioning that you would be out until this time. or if you were going out with friends.

that’s alright. wanderer can wait.

the tapping of his own foot is driving the man on edge. it’s been two whole hours—the sun is far beneath the horizon and the birds are already snoring. where the hell are you? wanderer cannot do this anymore, he rises from his seat and takes flight with his anemo abilities.

the city is rather easy to navigate at this height. in the dark, the city is at least still lit up by streetlights and with the help of one nearby lambad’s tavern, he spots your curled figure sitting on the floor very easily.

he hovers over the cement before landing smoothly on his feet. “what are you doing here at this time? it’s so late,” wanderer remarks with irritation, standing in front of you with his arms folded. he stares at your figure with a frown.

“h-huh?” your voice comes out hoarse, lifting your head and your eyes slowly make out the figure of wanderer. “o-oh it’s youi… where’ve you been?” you manage to say despite how the world shakes around you.

“tch, what do you—” wanderer stops himself, raising a brow then finally taking the time to scan your face and posture and it hits him.

you’re fucking drunk.

“you’re insane,” wanderer scoffs, kneeling down to silently take a closer look at your face and body for any drunkenly bruises. “do you even know what time it is? i was waiting for you.” he doesn’t exactly know what to do with his hands but he decides to offer you one to help you get up on your feet.

“you think i’m insane but really, you’re the one doing insane things all the time! you know, like fighting fatui agents in the rain… to avenge a bird!” you put emphasis on the word ‘bird’ and wanderer scoffs at the finger you point at him.

“it was in danger,” he replies simply before sighing, “but that’s not the point. you’re drunk outside at a time like this so i’ll be taking you home now.”

talking to him magically makes you more sober with every passing second. you decide to play with him a little, leaning back on the brick wall as the crease in your brow melts away. “ooh, shouldn’t you take me on a date first?”

wanderer groans, pulling his hand back. he’s never had to deal with you drunk before! so he thinks for a moment, and he stands tall on his feet, turning his head the other direction. “if this is how you will continue to act then i will leave you to your own devices, however if you come back crawling to me—”

wanderer almost gasps at your figure suddenly standing beside him, steady on your feet as you give him a hard and long stare. “you don’t have to tell me twice about how you wait for me at home, i’m well aware of that. complain all you want about me but your words aren’t consistent with your actions, my love.” you slide your hand down his arm to reach for his hand as you lean your head on his shoulder.

you feel him tilt his face in the other direction. curious, you briefly lift your head for a moment to spot your pretty artificial lover gritting his teeth as a sheet of pink blankets his cheeks.

“fool,” he whispers, but there is no malice behind it.

[nolita-fairytale]

don’t want to walk alone | carmen ‘carmy' berzatto | chapter three: september

summary: the moment we've all be waiting for: you and carmy get married.

warnings: swearing, eventual smut, lots of tooth rotting fluff, marriage, no use of y/n, second person pov, she/her pronouns

wc: 7.1k

listen to: the official don't want to walk alone playlist. there is SO much music in this chapter, so per the playlist, it starts with 'it takes two' and ends with 'love story.'

a/n: ok so this chapter was a behemoth to write and i am in fact in love with it. it's taken me days, really weeks, to get what i wanted out of it and i still feel like i could've gone deeper. however, i'm also kind of just happy to have this out in the world and give these two the wedding they wanted me to give them. each moment was curated and thought out, down to the music selection so this chapter is really just a product of me stewing on this idea for quite a bit of time. this is a part of my make my heart surrender universe so check out the masterlist if you haven't read the series! next up? their long weekend at the langham where we really get carmy x reader and moments for just them. please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist.

part two | masterlist | part four

“It takes two to make a thing go riiiiight.”

You never pictured the night before your wedding like this, you think to yourself, as you listen to Fak sing, to the best of his ability in a somewhat-decent falsetto, along to the 90s hip hop classic. 

Hell, you’re not sure you really ever pictured your wedding, but as you sit, surrounded by the people you love, you can’t see it going any other way than this. You watch as Richie rallies up as many people as he can for shots of Mallort, recounting that infamous morning at Ceres – a story he’s told over and over again, yet still manages to tell as animated and boisterously as the first time you heard it. 

You groan as you watch Richie successfully convince Gary to take a shot with him, Gary’s face twisting into a look of disgust in response to the foul taste of the Chicago liquor, as Sugar reminds him that he should know better by now. 

Carmy gives your knee a squeeze while simultaneously brushing off Richie’s attempt at shoving a shot in his direction. You laugh, a warm feeling filling you to the brim (could be the beer, could be being surrounded by your people), while Sydney jumps right into her best Rob Base impression. 

It just so happens that your continuously put-off ‘let’s shoot for next month’ karaoke plans with a few staff members from The Bear coincided with plans to go out with friends before the wedding, which is how you’ve found yourself here. 

After a lovely dinner at The Bear, your parents went back to the hotel for the night, insisting that you two go and have your fun. And as much as you would’ve loved to have brought your mother-who-has-a-doctorate-in-music-theory to karaoke night, she much preferred a good night’s sleep. 

The crowded bar claps enthusiastically as Fak and Sydney wrap up their song, finishing their truly-made-up-only-for-comedy dance moves. You giggle, exchanging another glance with Carmy, as your friends take their bows, before shuffling off of the stage. 

You hear the loud boom of the emcee’s voice through the microphone as he says:

“And up next we got… Tina!”

“Let’s go, T!” you shout through hands crowded around your mouth, in an effort to increase your volume of sound. 

Carmy cheers, clapping his hands together as Richie enthusiastically chants Tina’s name while Tina makes her way to the stage. 

“This is gonna be good,” Sugar nudges you, from where you are, seated in between the Berzatto siblings. 

You nod your head in agreement before settling in a little closer to Carmy. 

“The queen, herself,” Sydney remarks, gesturing towards the stage as she and Fak both return to your table. Sydney pulls up a chair next to where you and Carmy sit while Fak joins Richie on the other side of it. “And the ONLY act that could follow our exceptional performance.” 

“Well, exactly,” you agree, playfully. 

You exchange a laugh with Syd, while Carmy playfully rolls his eyes at the two of you. 

The crowded bar room goes quiet as soon as Tina reaches the stage, smiling nervously as she grabs the mic. 

“This one goes out to our favorite Jeffrey. And his lady Jeff,” she begins, earning a round of cheers and hollers from the group you’re with. Tina blows a kiss you and Carmy’s way, before nodding at the emcee to begin. 

“I love you guys.”

You hear the beginning notes of the iconic Etta James tune, gasping in anticipation of her song:

“at last my love has come along my lonely days are over and life is like a song.”

You sigh in admiration, a hand over your heart as Tina continues to sing. Her voice is powerful, soulful – perfect for the song, really – as she continues into the second verse. 

“at last the skies above are blue my heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you.”

This time, it’s Carmy who steals a glance your way, his mind taken back to that fateful night at a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, when he spilled his drink on you so many years ago. You’re entranced, enchanted, with Tina’s performance, and he thinks to himself, that maybe this is the best it’s ever going to get: being here with you, getting to love you, on the cusp of promising you ‘forever’ tomorrow. 

Never had he expected that you’d make it this far. You’d always been so much cooler than him – well-liked, talented, funny – in and out of the kitchen, that he had no idea how the hell he was supposed to talk to you without vomiting all over your shoes out of nerves. 

He can remember that night so vividly: standing there in the restroom of the bar he can barely remember the name of, while you stood across from him with the kind of glare on your face he swore could kill him. But you didn’t, and after many attempts to push you away, you asked him to be your friend, deeming it the day that started it all – a friendship that would teeter the line of friendship and something more, one that would bloom into the greatest love he’s ever known. As much as he hates to give Nate fucking Walker any kind of credit, he’ll the be first in line to say he’s glad the jagoff pushed him into you, setting it all in motion. 

You can see that Carmy’s become distracted, lost in thought as the song finishes, something behind your favorite pair of blue eyes as the entire bar ignites into a huge round of celebratory claps for Tina’s performance. 

You look up over at him, setting your beer bottle down on the table before leaning over to whisper in his ear.

“I can hear you thinkin’ over there, Berzatto,” you tease him quietly, pulling him from his trip down memory lane. “It’s only the night before the biggest day of your life. Relax.”

Carmy rolls his eyes playfully in response, but before he can properly respond to your jab, the emcee has begun introducing the next karaoke singers to the stage. 

“Alright. Looks like I’ve got uh… three singers here this time,” the emcee says, his voice cutting sharply through the crowd of remaining cheers. “Let’s welcome Sydney back to the stage with… Sugar and… the bride to be!” 

“What!?” you exclaim, your eyes wide with surprise as Sydney jumps to her feet.  

“But I didn’t-,” you begin to protest, as Sugar pulls you to your feet, tugging on your arm. 

“Oh there’s no way in hell we’re letting you sit this one out,” Sugar orders you, as Sydney rushes to your side, ushering you towards the stage. 

“Yeah this was your idea!” Sydney simultaneously reminds you. 

“Babe! Help!” you call out to Carmy, only to be met with a shrug and a look that says ‘don’t think I could if I tried.’ 

“Oh, he’s in on this,” Sydney adds, which does explain why he didn’t even attempt to help you when your friends began dragging you out of your chair. “So don’t even think about asking him for help.”

“Wh-? But I don’t even know what we’re singing!” you continue to protest, looking from Sugar to Sydney as they push you onto the stage with them. 

“Trust,” Sydney reassures you, her face serious, while Nat slides a sash over you (one you’ve refused to wear all night) that has the word, ‘BRIDE’ printed over it in huge gold lettering. You groan, sending a glare in Nat’s direction, even though you know it’s all in good fun. 

You hear Richie shout, while Fak and Marcus clap loudly, and Carmy laughs, shouting words of encouragement your way. 

You know there’s no use in putting up a fight, especially since this was your idea anyways, as you begrudgingly take one of the three wireless mics. Before you can ask once more, what the hell Syd and Nat signed the three of you up to sing, a distinct slide of piano keys comes in, lighting up the karaoke screen in front of you. 

You grin immediately, in recognition, and to your two best friend’s delight, as they smile too, raising the mics to your lips to sing:

“friday night and the lights are low looking out for a place to go where they play the right music getting in the swing you come to look for a king.”

You laugh as your friends point towards Carmy on the last line. The three of you continue to sing the next part with reckless abandon, and all is forgiven. 

You could care less about how the three of them conspired against you to get you up here. All that matters now is that you’re here, singing one of your favorite songs with your best friends, grooving and dancing to the ABBA classic, as you prepare to marry your best friend. 

“you can dance you can jive having the time of your life ooh, see that girl watch that scene digging the dancing queen.”

"what good is love without any strings?" dayglow, 'close to me'

“Baby.”

Carmy groans in response, as soon as he hears the low hum of your voice. 

“Good morning,” you say, a soft smile on your face as you watch him begin to blink his eyes open. 

Carmy turns his head towards you, and he can’t believe he gets to wake up to this – to you – every single day. 

“Hey,” he says back, a soft smile spreading across his lips. “Good Morning, sweetheart.” 

“Guess what?” you ask him with the kind of glee and anticipation as a kid on Christmas morning. 

“Hmm?” he hums, as you smooth a hand over his chest, your body pressed against his side as you look at your soon-to-be husband. 

“We’re getting married today,” you grin, a giddiness that bubbles inside of you. 

“‘S that so?” he mumbles, playfully. 

“Uh huh,” you nod with a chuckle, this time playing along. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

Instead of replying with words, Carmy swiftly wraps an arm around you, before flipping you so that you’re the one on your back this time. You let out of a shriek and a laugh as he leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips before adding:

“How could I ever?”

You shrug casually, “Weeeelll…. you just have so much going on up there.” You reach up to where Carmy hovers above you, brushing a golden curl out of his eyes as you continue your little dance. 

“You know, between the restaurant and all that time spent being a genius,” you joke, bantering with Carmy. “Don’t know how you have the time to remember silly little things like wedding dates and what not.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Carmy laughs, shaking his head incredulously, before pressing another kiss, this one much deeper to your lips again. 

And this time, as he pulls away, he gives you one of those languid looks that pierces right through your soul replying much more seriously this time with:

“I could never forget you.”

The way he says it with such conviction takes your breath away, and you know that Carmy means it. The double meaning isn’t lost on him either. 

It’s one of the reasons he called you all those years ago to come teach Marcus; it’s why you ended up in Chicago:

Because as much as he tried, as damn good at compartmentalizing as he’d always been, he really could never forget you. Carmy shakes his head once more, a playful smile on his face as he leans down to kiss you again, wondering when the hell he got this fuckin’ sentimental. As he places his mouth over yours, you’re more than happy to switch gears into doing this dance for a little longer. 

 Carmy traces light shapes against your skin, his mouth pouring love into yours with every kiss, with every drag of his tongue. You gasp as he grinds his hips into yours, making it clear where he’d like this all to go. You pull away, only for a moment, giggling cheekily. 

“Babe, I-,” you begin to protest, as Carmy chuckles, continuing to kiss you with zero intention of stopping “We… we’re going to be late.” This time, you feel his hands snake underneath the t-shirt you’ve been sleeping in, sending chills down your spine. 

“And-, Carm-, I-, I have to do my hair for-, … and what about-, my parents, they’ll-,” you stammer through, your thoughts becoming all kinds of disorganized with the way Carmy’s lips move against your neck this time. 

“I’ll be quick,” he answers with an aplomb you didn’t know he had in him. 

“I don’t know if that’s the flex you think it is,” you tease him as his hands begin to cup your breasts, your body responding with an involuntary arch of your back. 

“How fast I can make you come? I think it might be?” he murmurs against your lips, cockily.  

“Carmy,” you moan, as he begins to pull your t-shirt up higher, making it incredibly difficult to think of your to-do list for much longer. 

“Oh fuck it,” you sigh, deciding that, perhaps there’s no harm in getting the honeymoon started a little early anyways. 

“That’s my girl,” Carmy whispers against you, grinning like a Cheshire cat as you surrender to him. 

And he’s right about this too. 

How fast he can make you cum deserves all kinds of bragging rights, awards – a Nobel Peace prize, even – and you’re not sure why you thought getting a head start on doing your hair would’ve been the better idea in the first place. You spend the morning in the arms of the man you plan to spend forever with as he writes love letters, promises to give you the world, declarations of adoration with the pleasure he brings you. And besides, you’re not running all that behind on time anyways – something you realize, as the two of you get out of the shower (a round two, really). 

It takes a little longer than expected – mostly due to the fact that you and Carmy can’t seem to keep your hands off of each other – but against all odds, the two of you pull up to the courthouse right on time. 

It’s a sight for sore eyes: you, running hand in hand with your husband-to-be in a white, halter-cut wedding dress while Carmy follows along, in a classic black suit – no tie around the neck – as the two of you hurry into the courthouse. 

Sure, you could’ve tried to get here early – saved a little time and stress – but where’s the fun in that?

The two of you approach your families, hand in hand, to the sounds of your heels clicking against the marble floors of City Hall. The actual ceremony at City Hall, you’d both decided, would be family only. 

Since you weren’t making a huge deal of it, you viewed this part as necessary paperwork, while the party itself could function as the ceremony and reception. But as soon as you see the look on your parents’ faces, you know this is more than just a few signed papers. You watch as their faces change, from impatient, waiting, eager, to in awe and emotional as you walk towards them. 

You hear Ava shout your name, immediately dropping her dad’s hand as she runs towards you. 

“Ava!!” you exclaim, bending down in your heels and white dress to scoop her up into a hug. You spin her around, just for a moment, before setting her back down on the floor. 

“You look like a princess,” she says, completely in awe, her eyes wide as she looks up at you. 

“You look like a princess, sweetie,” you reply, before giving her another hug. “And you know I can’t wait to hear your song, right?” 

“I picked the best one,” she grins, proudly. 

“I’m sure you did,” you reply confidently, with a playful wink. 

“Oh-ho! Pay up, Rick,” Sugar mutters smugly, to Richie, as Carmy busies himself with greeting both of your parents.

Richie groans, muttering something profane as he not-so-discreetly hands Nat a $20 bill, earning a quizzical look from both of your parents that travels from Carmy and then to you. 

“Sorry,” Richie apologizes, this time directing this one towards your parents as he holds up both hands, respectfully bowing his head. 

You send a playful glare Richie’s way, earning a sardonic laugh from Natalie, as you push right past him and over to your parents. 

“Oh sweetie,” your mom gasps, pulling you in for a tight squeeze. 

“Hi, Mom,” you grin, as you hug her. “Dad!”

“My God, honey, you look beautiful,” your dad says, as it’s his turn next. You hug your dad, exchanging a few words about the morning, asking how they slept, how the hotel is, as your mom and Carmy hug it out. 

This time, he turns his attention towards Carmy, so you release him, letting the two of them have their moment. 

Taking your chance, while your parents are otherwise distracted, you make your way over to where Sugar and Richie stand. 

“What? You guys were betting on whether or not we’d be late?” you ask Sugar, an eyebrow quirked in Richie’s direction. 

“Listen,” Sugar sighs, cupping your face in her hands, endearingly. “You and Carm are nothing if not consistent.” You exchange a laugh with your almost-sister-in-law because you know she’s right. “And for the record, I bet that you’d be-.”

“Just in time!” the judge says, as he approaches the six of you, slipping his judge robe over his shoulders, black leather fold pressed against his chest. “You guys ready to get started?”

Carmy looks over at you, as if he’s waiting for you to take the lead here, and you nod, before the both of you turn back to the judge. 

“Yes.” 

“Great,” he smiles, clapping his hands together once. “Then let’s get you two married!”

"sooner or later, you'll find yourself right where you were, on the corner went looking for her, she had somethin' to tell you, she can't quite remember, but wait for a second, it always comes back to her, you always come back to her." -- the japanese house, 'morning pages'

And after dotting all appropriate i’s and crossing all necessary t’s, with one signed marriage license later, you, Carmy, your parents, Richie and Ava, Sugar, and Judge Thompson find yourself on the green roof of City Hall. 

Carmy stands across you, his hands in yours, offering you a lifetime with one look from the most expressive blue orbs you’ve ever found yourself in. 

“If you’d like to say something, if you prepared any vows… now would be the time,” Judge Thompson says, offering you and Carmy both the space to do so. 

“Oh I think we-,” you begin, ready to decline the opportunity since you figured you’d save it for the reception. 

“Actually uh, yeah. Can we?” Carmen interjects, sending you a look of reassurance. 

“Of course,” Judge Thompson nods, giving you and Carmy the floor. 

“Carm, I didn’t prepare anything for-,” you begin, but he’s quick to put your mind and heart at ease and he interjects with:

“It’s okay. I did.”

“Oh.”

You hadn’t expected this, since you both agreed you’d save any kind of speeches that may or may not happen today during the reception. But as Carmy’s palms grow clammier, a nervous look in his eyes as he searches for the words he’s practiced over the last few days, it becomes clear that he’s been planning this. 

“As you know… I’m not always great with words,” he begins, almost apologetically, letting out a small laugh as he looks to Richie for reassurance. In turn, Richie gives Carmy a sympathetic nod, and you’re practically melting over the fact that he probably asked Richie for help with this. 

Let it rip.

 “I just uh-,” Carmy stammers, because he really, really wants to get this right. “Well, I’ll keep it brief.” He takes a breath, letting all of his nerves out on the exhale before beginning again. 

Let it rip, buddy.

“I have loved you for so long – I think maybe since the day you brought me soup after I uh… you know, spilled my drink on you,” he states, earning the sweetest laugh from you, your friends, and family that came to witness. 

“-- so I promise to love you for even longer, for forever. You changed my life.”

You exhale, trying your best not to cry right here and now, thankful for the mysterious powers of waterproof mascara. 

“Jeez, no pressure,” you joke, dryly, before taking another breath, this time approaching your words with much more seriousness.

“Carmen. I’m so happy… that I changed your life,” you begin, cheekily, earning a laugh from your witnesses once more. “Because you changed mine. And I promise to love you forever.” 

‘I love you,’ Carmy mouths to you, before nodding towards the judge to signal that you’re both done with your vows. 

“Alright then,” Judge Thompson smiles, looking from you and then to Carmen, before uttering the question that will change the course of your life forever. 

“I do,” Carmy replies, his voice even, sure, ready. 

Natalie steps up this time, handing Carmy your ring, and you watch, teary eyed and full hearted as he slides it onto your left ring finger. 

“And do you take Carmen Anthony Berzatto to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Judge Thompson repeats the question, this time for you to answer. 

“Yeah, why the hell not?” you reply, earning a groan from your mother and a playful chuckle from your father. 

“Yes. I do.” 

At Richie’s encouragement, it’s Ava this time who steps up, handing you Carmy’s ring, with the sweetest most excited smile on her face as she looks from you to Carmy. You thank her, before returning your attention to Carmy once more. His eyes search your face, and there’s something so soft, so genuine in them that you think you’re going to cry as you help him put on his new piece of jewelry as well. 

“Then by the power vested in me by the State of Illinois, I now pronounce you, husband and wife,” Judge Thompson concludes, contently.

“Should we-, do we kiss?” Carmy asks, looking from you to Judge Thompson. 

“I’m just a civil servant but you may, yes,” he answers lightheartedly. 

“Let’s go for it,” you shrug, taking a step towards Carmy. 

Instead of answering, he smiles, stepping towards you before planting one on you in front of your friends and family that were invited to this brief ceremony. 

While Sugar claps gleefully, Richie claps along muttering a ‘get a room,’ while you remind Carmy to keep it PG enough for your parents. You giggle, slowly pulling away from the kiss that begins the rest of your life with the man that you love. 

“We did it, baby. We’re married,” you chuckle, in disbelief. 

“Finally,” Carmy sighs, and you can see his smile from his lips to the crinkles in the corners of his eyes. 

It doesn’t take long for your mom to usher both you and Carmy over to a spot in the garden she thinks will be best for pictures, just as the photographer arrives. She wasn’t wrong when she insisted you hire one, that you’d want to remember this day for the rest of your life. The photographer, who is incredibly talented, gets the shots needed up here in the garden, then downstairs, and outside, before you’re all off to Sugar’s place for the reception. 

As you and Carmy sit in the car, having taken a separate one than your parents, you’re giddy with anticipation. 

It’s all so surreal. 

Never in his life did Carmy picture it ever getting this good, but as he looks over at you, your head resting on his shoulder, he presses a kiss to the top of your head, smiling to himself. 

“We did it, sweet girl. We’re married,” he says, repeating your words from earlier. 

“Yeah,” you grin, lifting your head off of his shoulder. 

“We are, Bear.”

"give your heart and soul to me, and life will always be la vie en rose."

“No, Sugar! That’s not supposed to go out yet. Everything’s goin’ out family style. Let’s just take out the apps for-,” Carmy exclaims, stressed over the execution of your wedding reception-slash-brunch, because he just can’t help himself. 

“Fuckin’ Christ, Bear!” she snaps at her brother. “Will you calm down and let us handle this?” 

“I just want everything to-,” Carmy begins, his face blushing a shade darker. 

“To go right. We know. And we know we’re just taking out apps, alright? Everyone else is outside, and everyone’s having a good time so just… relax,” she suggests, her tone serious because she’s just about to kick Carmy out of the kitchen. 

Carmy shifts nervously, hyper-fixating on the happenings of the kitchen, his eyes tracking the movements of one of his caterer, Derek’s, sous chefs. It’s almost as if he needs to give himself a distraction as he asks, blankly:

“Do you uh… you think Mom is actually gonna show?”

Sugar pauses, the question throwing her. 

“I… I don’t know. I called her yesterday. She never picked up. What do you think?” she replies, her voice quiet. 

With your encouragement, you and Carmy had sent his mother an invitation to the brunch, only it’s been Sugar who’s followed up with her. 

“We did what we needed to and if she doesn’t come, then she doesn’t come. I’m not pushin’ it,” Carmy had explained, justifying his actions, or rather, lack there of, to you. 

She’s doubtful, but Nat can’t help the tiny glimmer of hope she has in her heart that Donna might show, even if she knows it’s unrealistic. In fact, her mom had barely been interested in stopping by as of late, ever since she’d told the Berzatto matriarch that she was pregnant. She keeps telling herself that it doesn’t matter – that it’s probably better if Donna doesn’t show – but it doesn’t help ease the disappointment she feels about the situation as a whole. 

“Doubt it, honestly. Never even got an RSVP so,” Carmy shrugs, his eyes following one of the caterers as the woman plates a few Hors d'oeuvres on a large serving platter. 

Before Sugar can say anything else about their mom, Carmy’s impulse takes over as he opens his mouth to give feedback to one of Derek’s assistants. 

“Carmy!” she snaps, blocking his pathway with her body, before repeating one more time:

“Let. Us. Handle this.”

“I mean, are any of us actually surprised, Nat?” Sydney adds, as soon as she enters the kitchen from where she’s been outside in the backyard, in search of another plate to bring out. “He’s a control freak! We know this!”

“I-,” Carmy starts, knowing it’s no use protesting, as both Sugar and Syd begin guiding him out of the kitchen and into the living room. 

“C’mon, Carm. Why don’t you go see what your wife is up to?” Sydney suggests, emphasizing your new title, earning a snicker from Natalie. 

“Who’s wife? This wife?” you ask, as soon as your feet hit the bottom of the staircase. 

“Woah,” is all Carmy says. He can’t help but stare, gawking at you in your new dress. 

You’ve changed out of your near-floor length wedding dress into a sleeveless white blazer dress that’s much more friendly to hanging out with your friends and family outside, kept your hair the same, and put on one of those super stay red lipsticks that you’re eager to put through its paces. 

It’s as if time stops when he sees you, and Sugar and Syd both notice, using this time to retreat back to their duties. The only thing that can break his focus right now is the way that you let a carefree laugh fly from your lips, as soon as you see that Natalie’s using the future baby’s baby gate that Nat must’ve purchased early, to officially block Carmy from coming back to the kitchen. 

“What?” Carmy asks, only to be met with a gesture towards what Natalie is doing. 

He frowns, immediately seeing the baby gate his sister has put up. 

“You know, I’m not a baby,” he pouts at his sister. 

“Then stop acting like one!” she parries right back, before disappearing into the kitchen to help out your caterer. 

Quick to console your husband, you wrap your arms around your neck, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“They’re only trying to make sure we have a good time, Bear,” you offer, sympathetically, only to be met with a heavy sigh because you know it feels near-impossible for him not to be in the kitchen. 

“You trust Derek right?” you ask this time, referring to the caterer that Carmy hand-picked for your wedding. 

“Yeah,” he nods. 

“Okay. Then let’s go out there. Make our grand entrance,” you suggest, a playful smile on your lips. 

“Yeah,” Carmy nods again, this time a little more sure about taking a step away from what’s happening inside the kitchen. You take his hand, leading him towards the back door that opens up to the backyard. 

You’re truly amazed at what everyone involved has been able to do this morning, while you and Carmy were off at the courthouse getting married. Long tables pushed together and covered with tablecloths function as the main attraction of the you-and-Carmy-wedding-reception-brunch, filled with ceramic plates, printed menus, apps on serving platters, taper candles and flowers in all kinds of little to big vases. 

The minute the two of you enter the backyard area that’s been transformed into a wedding venue, you’re met with cheers, ooo’s and aaaaah’s, claps, and congratulations by your friends and family. 

“Sugar really knocked this out of the park,” Carmy says, in awe as he takes in the scene. “Okay, fine. I’ll just have to trust, I guess.”

You nod, happy to hear the confidence in his voice as you agree, “That’s my guy!”

There’s a banner that hangs across a much smaller table, the one that holds the stunning wedding cake Marcus has made for you that reads, Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Berzatto.

“See? I told you I couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Berzatto,” you joke with Carmy, as the two of you walk hand in hand towards the table. 

“I think I like the sound of that more than I should,” Carmy smirks, a glimmer in his eyes that says ‘I can’t wait to get you alone.’

“Can’t wait for you to show me later,” you wink, referring to the long weekend you plan on spending with Carmy as a pre-honeymoon. “C’mon. We should probably go say hello.” 

“So… you two married now or what?” Marcus asks, as soon as the two of you approach the table. 

You hold up your left hand, showing off your new ring, earning grins and more cheers from your friends and family. 

“That’s what I’m talking about!” he celebrates, while Tina simultaneously and enthusiastically cries out: “Congratulations, babies!”

The plan is to divine and conquer. While you chat with Gary, Carmy lets himself become enveloped in Tina’s arms and praise, as the two of you make your way down the table saying hello to your guests: your parents, Marcus, Tina, Ebra, Fak, Gary, a few others from the restaurant, while. 

Carmy’s glad you decided to keep this wedding small: close friends and family only, because he’s not sure he could’ve done any more of this. It’s just close friends from the restaurant and your parents. You’d even decided earlier that this weekend would be chill enough that you’d celebrate with Maya and Liz a few months later when you and Carmy stop in New York before the official honeymoon, planning another celebration with your New York people for later. 

Besides, you don’t mind celebrating you and Carmy a few more times, after all. 

Finally, you’re both able to settle into the empty chairs seated right next to your parents in the middle of the table labeled ‘bride’ and ‘groom.’ It’s a Saturday well spent, being celebrated by some of your favorite people in the world on a day you made a promise to your favorite person in the world. It doesn’t take long for everyone in the kitchen to join you at the table: Sugar, Richie, Sydney, and Pete, and once the meal is served, family style, you’re pulling up chairs and insisting that Derek and his team join you as well. 

The menu is perfect, and you can see why Carmy’s been trying to get this guy to come work for him for so long. Next to Carmy’s, this carbonara might be your second favorite carbonara on the planet. After all the eating, drinking, and merry-making, it’s Richie who steps up to start the speeches, gently tapping a butter knife against a champagne glass as he stands at the table. 

“Can I get everyone’s attention?” he asks, his voice loud. Richie raises his champagne glass as he begins his speech with:

“Now as the best man and this Bobby Flay-motherfucker's cousin, I think I earn the right to kick this thing off, eh?” earning a laugh from everyone around the table. 

“To Carmy and his much, much better half,” he continues, earning a laugh from everyone around the table. Your mom squeezes your hand under the table, and out of the corner of your eye you can see Sydney nudging Carmy softly as Richie addresses you. 

“You once made me $150 richer.” You laugh, exchanging a look with your now-husband, as you fondly remember the day you returned to Chicago, only to learn that the entire restaurant staff of The Bear had been betting, not on if, but on when you’d return.

“You see, we all took bets – all of us – that you were comin’ back after that first week you spent here in Chicago, and you know why? I think it was obvious to any jagoff with a pair of eyes that what you and Cousin had was something special – something not to be missed, or overlooked, or skipped over. And thank God you two idiots woke up and figured it out yourselves. You did good, cousin. And I know your brother would’ve wanted to be here for this. I love you, man. I love you both.”

“To this very special day, and to the rest of your lives. Cheers.”

“Cheers!” everyone repeats, raising their glasses, clinking in celebration. 

The upside to having a small wedding party is having a small wedding party, and the downside is that everyone who feels the need to get in a word does so. While Ebraheim waxes on about love as a metaphor, Marcus keeps his toast short, leading to the cutting of your wedding cake:

Vanilla bean cake, with a clementine curd, a swiss meringue buttercream, decorated with delicate flowers, citrus, and dollops of curd to finish. 

Richie slips out with Pete momentarily, earning a few quizzical looks from both Carmy and Nat as she gets up from the table to make sure they’re not trading punches in the driveway. It’s not till Richie returns with Pete, carrying a rented little karaoke machine for Ava. Hand in hand, you watch as Natalie guides Ava up and out of her chair, and over to the head of the table, handing her the microphone. 

“You ready, sweetheart?” she asks, earning a confident nod from Ava. 

The beginning of the famous Taylor Swift begins to play, and you and Carmy exchange a knowing look as she begins to sing along. 

“we were both young when i first saw you i close my eyes and the flashback starts i'm standin' there on a balcony in summer air.”

As Natalie and Pete watch on, Pete hugs his wife close to her, tears in his eyes as he whispers: 

“This is going to be us very, very soon.” 

“Yeah,” Nat nods, holding back her own tears as she notices how proud Richie looks, and how happy Ava seems to be. 

It’s not that she wants Donna here. Realistically, she knows that it would be a nightmare, most likely descending into drama and chaos from the minute she walked in, but she can’t believe that her own mother didn’t come to her son’s wedding. She shouldn’t be surprised, but it hurts more than she imagined, doing this, watching Carmy get married, having this baby with Pete, all without her. 

Ava finishes her Taylor Swing song to a resounding and enthusiastic round of applause. Marcus cheers her on while you and Carmy share a soft, chaste kiss, welcoming Ava with open arms as she runs towards you. 

“That was so good, baby,” Richie exclaims, when it’s his turn to scoop Ava up into his arms as you get out of your seat. Allowing Richie to sit next to Carmy while the two gush over her performance, you get up, eager to help put the karaoke machine away. 

As she watches, Nat reminds herself that this is what family looks like – this is the family she wants for her baby – even if it means something, someones, are missing.

And it’s as if she can’t hold back her tears anymore, excusing herself as she jerks her body away from Pete’s grasp, hurrying back inside so as not to cause a scene. 

“What just-?” Pete begins. 

“I’ll go,” you assure him, having witnessed the whole interaction. “I-, it’s not you, Pete. I’ll go.”

It doesn’t take you long to find Nat, though she’s not where you expected her to be, having run all the way upstairs when you find her sitting on the floor of the baby’s nursery – one you helped paint and get ready over a month ago. 

“Hey, everything alright?” you ask, as you gently push the door open. 

“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” she sniffles, wiping tears out of her eyes as she realizes she’s no longer alone. 

“Nat, what… what’s going on?” you ask her, joining her on the floor. 

But it seems as if your question only makes it worse as her face crumbles once more, beginning to cry. 

“Oh no! I-, Nat, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it even worse.”

“No, no, you didn’t. It’s just these… stupid pregnancy hormones!” she exclaims, frustratedly, earning a small laugh from the both of you. 

She takes a beat, and then a breath, and then finally, she feels ready to tell you. 

“It’s Mom,” she admits, even though she really doesn’t want it to be. “I just can’t believe she didn’t show. It’s stupid, I know.” 

You nod in understanding, before scooting a little closer to her, “It’s not stupid! And I’m sorry. For the both of you, really. Carmy doesn’t want to talk about it but, I know he’s some combination of relieved and disappointed too.” 

Sugar sighs, “Yeah that uh, that sums it up pretty well. About anything involving Mom these days.” 

Nat takes another breath, and another beat, because she knows she’s safe to share this with you. 

“I just… I’ve just been thinking a lot… with the baby and everything. About family. About motherhood. I mean, your parents are so great and I-. I’m just sad for us, you know?”

“I’m sad for you too,” you empathize, rubbing soothing circles on her back, before leaning back on both of your hands instead. 

“God, I’m so sorry. It’s your wedding day and I’m causing all the drama,” Nat begins to apologize. 

“Oh, you have nothing to be sorry for!” you interrupt her, quick to dismiss any notion of that. “You lent us your house and put together all of this in your backyard on top of accompanying us to the courthouse! You have nothing to apologize for.”

Sugar nods slowly, processing what you’ve just said, realizing that you and Pete have been such big role models of unconditional love for her. 

“Wanna know what I think?” you ask, your voice a little more optimistic this time. 

“What’s up?” she asks back, stealing a glance your way. 

“I think… that now that I’m a Berzatto… and with your little Bear on the way,” you begin, painting her the picture. “We’ve got a whole new chance to write a new chapter for the Berzattos.” 

She looks your way once more, because these are the words she didn’t know she needed to hear. 

“And with that… we can make this… make our families anything we want them to be filled with love, and joy, and-, well, only a little drama because you know, you guys are… you. But… Sug. This can all start with us, you know?”

“You really think so?” she asks you, a hopeful look in her eyes. 

“Yeah,” you answer, confidently. 

She nods slowly once more, almost as if she’s letting herself believe them. 

“Thank you. For checking in on me. For… this,” she says softly, sniffling again. 

“That’s what sisters are for,” you repeat her words back to her, one’s that she’s said to you time and time again. 

“We should probably get back out there,” Sugar suggests, sitting up a little taller this time. 

“Yeeeaaaaahhhhh,” you sigh, disappointedly, this time making a joke as you continue with: “We don’t want to start any rumors about us running away together. 

Nat snorts with laughter, thanking you for always making her laugh, as you stand up, making your way to your feet. You hold out your hands, helping Nat up to hers this time, before the two of you head back downstairs. 

“Hey,” Carmy says, as soon as he sees the two of you. “Pete said you disappeared.”

“We were just talking about some stuff,” you reply, sharing a look with Sugar before releasing her hand. 

“I’ll leave the two of you to it,” she says, before slipping out through the back door. 

“Everything okay?” Carmy asks, his brow knitted together in concern. 

You nod, “Yeah, she’s alright. How’re you doing?”

“Today? I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he replies, a smile on his lips that makes you melt. 

“Damn right you are,” you reply, pressing your lips against his. 

It’s a private moment for just you two, where you can kiss him like you want to, and you have to admit that the lipstick holds up. Wrapping your arms around his neck as his hands go to your waist, you propose a grand idea to your husband:

“Now that cake has been cut… what do you say… we spend a little more time with our guests, say our goodbyes… then we get our honeymoon started early? Think uh… our room at the Langham should be ready by now.”

“Thought we already did that this morning,” Carmy smirks, kissing you again. 

You giggle, leaning your forehead against his, “You know what I mean, jerk.” 

Carmy scoffs, shaking his head incredulously as he feigns hurt, “Married for a few hours and you’re already insulting me.” Instead of adding anything else, he simply pulls you in closer by your hips murmuring against your lips:

“Alright then, Mrs. Berzatto. Then let’s go say goodbye to our guests.”

“it's a love story, baby, just say, "yes" – taylor swift, ‘love story’

[damiansgoodgirll]

Hiii I love Ur judgment day x readers they are so adorable

Could you please write a JD (Platonic) x Reader where Y/n gets in a bad fight with their partner and they comfort them

the judgment day x reader (platonic)

‼️cheating and gaslighting, your bf name in this is alexander bc my ex name is alexander and now i hate alexanders

(i love this pic btw)

i don’t wanna love

“you’re overacting!” your boyfriend alexander kept screaming at you.

overreacting?

“so you’re telling me there’s nothing between the two of you? that i’ve been hallucinating for the past month?” you screamed back, tired of trying talking with him.

“there’s nothing between me and her” he said, lying. because of course you had the proofs that he was cheating, that he was seeing someone else while you were out touring.

“how can i fucking believe you when i have proofs!”

“what proofs?” he asked, not caring about the whole cheating part.

“the pictures of you two together? the messages? the-…”

“you went over my phone without even asking me?” he was angrier that before.

“i did! because you wouldn’t tell me the truth! you can’t deny what i just found!”

“okay, fine! i cheated, is that what you wanted me to say? i did it, and i wasn’t proud of it but you were always gone and i was here alone waiting for you every week to come home, i got tired and i wanted to have some fun and one night i went to this club where i met her, and she was always there for me, it wasn’t just sex, there was a connection…she understood me, she was there when you were out wrestling with your friends!” he said, not feeling guilty at all.

you couldn’t believe he was blaming him cheating on you on the fact that you were away from home because of your job.

“i can’t believe it that you are blaming your fucking childish behaviour on me being away because of my job!”

“i needed you and you weren’t there!” he kept screaming.

“so the best solution was fucking some bitch you met at the bar uh?” you were done with it “you have ten minutes to pack your things and get out of my house!”

“what are you talking about? where am i supposed to go?” he asked you.

“i don’t know, ask my replacement if you can stay at her’s, i don’t care, now, move before i call the police. this is my house, do you remember?” you said locking yourself in the guest bedroom and waiting for him to be over with packing.

you were sure you heard him closing the door once he was done packing and leaving your house. you were too tired to even go back into the master bedroom that you cried yourself to sleep right where you were.

the morning after you were supposed to go at rhea’s as you guys needed to prepare your upcoming match but you were drained and had no energy. you felt like shit and all you wanted to do was staying in bed and cry.

the team immediately knew something was up when you didn’t show up at her place. so instead of calling your or texting, you found them in front of your door.

“what are you doing here?” you asked them.

“we were worried. you didn’t show up, you didn’t call or text, we thought you were sick or that something happened…wait, were you crying?” rhea stopped when she saw your red eyes.

“no” you lied.

“whats going on love?” finn soft voice almost made you want to cry again. he always had a soft spot for you, treating you like a daughter.

“i just…i wanna be alone today…now, can you please go?” you almost begged them but they got it as an invitation to come inside so now you found yourself with your friends sitting on your couch, waiting for an explanation from you.

“what is going on uh?” damian asked you again.

“alexander and i broke up…” you whispered and waited for them to talk but they let you continue “he was cheating on me and i found out…instead of apologising he blamed it on me, saying that it was my fault because i was away touring and he needed me here…i just…what did i do wrong?” you cried again and now rhea was sitting next to you, holding you in her arms.

“you didn’t do anything wrong y/n…” she whispered.

“he was saying how much he wanted to marry me, to have a family with me just to find out that he was fucking someone else behind my back…it fucking hurts because i was ready to be with him for the rest of my life…i really loved him” you cried harder and rhea swore that alexander was a dead man.

“hey…” finn, the parental figure inside the whole group sweet talked to you “it’s not worth it…crying for him? it’s not worth it, he’s not worth it…i know you’re hurting right now and it will hurt for a while but eventually it’ll pass…it’ll get better, trust me…”

“thank you…” you whispered.

still crying in rhea’s arms as she let you. you never experienced such heartbreak and the pain you were feeling was too much.

“i just don’t understand how it went so downhill…everything was going perfectly…i would have noticed if something was wrong but i swear, everything looked normal” you cried.

“it’s not your fault love” finn said.

“finn’s right, you couldn’t have noticed…if he was acting normal, you couldn’t have noticed the sudden changes in his persona…i’m so sorry it happened to you, you don’t deserve it…” dominik said while sitting on the carpet, in front of you.

“i swear… i don’t wanna fall in love anymore” hearing such words coming from you hurt the group. you’ve always been the sweet and romantic one, you’ve always dreamed of a fairytale life and now you believed everything was a lie.

rhea looked sad “don’t say that love, it’s just a phase but you will feel better, i promise you”

of course. you were complaining about your disastrous love life with dom, who just got married, rhea, who’s gonna get married soon, finn, who’s been married for years and damian, someone that wasn’t looking for love and couldn’t understand anything about love.

“it’s easy coming from you…you’re all happy and in a healthy relationship, you all trust each other and i’m pretty sure you’ve never been cheated on” you regretted immediately saying that but you were hurting.

“we had our painful break ups too honey…” rhea said. she knew you were hurting so she didn’t mind it.

“did they cheat on you?” you asked them.

“no but…”

“exactly” you said, drowning your head in your pillows.

“what rhea was trying to say is that break ups are always hurtful, whether you get cheat on or not…and this pain you’re feeling, will get better, in a month or two you’ll be feeling better…” damian spoke softly to you. knowing that you were already in pain and that he didn’t want to upset you more.

“we will leave you alone if you want to…” rhea said, not wanting to leave you alone but she knew you probably needed time for yourself.

“no please…” you said shocking everyone.

“okay…then we’ll stay here…we can watch a movie if you want to” finn suggested and you all agreed.

“no rom com please” you said making them laugh.

rhea’s idea was to watch a horror movie but while they were all watching the movie you ended up falling asleep, too tired for all the tears you’ve been crying.

[endofradio]

FRAGMENTS OF FEAR — PROLOGUE

WARNINGS: not really any except for alcohol consumption

NOTES: sooo i’ve decided to rewrite the ao3 fic (fragments of fear) i was working on because i felt like the current draft i was writing could’ve been better and i’m a perfectionist sooo i am trying something different here! let’s see how writing this on tumblr goes. i’ll make a custom hashtag for this work on here that way the chapters are more easily accessible. in the future i’ll make a new work on ao3 and post the rewritten chapters there too. i’ll have to think about it.

while obviously this version is going to be a rewritten version therefore tweaked and all that, i’m still going with the idea of having everything set in the 80s. i already plan on writing a sequel to this shit and i’ll try to make the whole 80s au thing more obvious there. for now, i’ll try to make it work 💀 i just think an 80s abigail au would be interesting, at least for this fic.

SUMMARY: it’s been five years since frank’s last seen sylvie, yet somehow he can’t bring himself to stop thinking about her. how can some random woman he arrested affect him this much?

turns out, he’ll be crossing paths with her again.

WORD COUNT: 1,497 (i have a headache okay)

TAGS: @shawsfinalgirl @reclaimedbythesea @creelmalfoylaufeyson69 @atcarpenter @blackwolfstabs @witchy-weve-monbebe @simpingforclaudette

Tonight was just another night — another night of bad decisions for Adam. There were plenty of seedy dive bars to get wasted in, and of course, he had planned to take full advantage of that. Anything to drown out his thoughts, right?

Unfortunately for him, even the strongest liquors couldn’t keep his brain quiet. With every shot of whiskey he did, he was still thinking about her — that damn fucking brunette. Adam could still picture her big, brown eyes that always stared at him with that look of defiance that was simultaneously infuriating, yet… encouraging. He had loved visiting her jail cell just to tease her and get her all riled up. She never hesitated to snap back at him with that feisty, snarky attitude of hers. It pissed Adam off, dealing with someone with such a stubborn attitude who refused to back down to him. He was a man who thrived on power. He craved having a sense of control over somebody, and that girl refused to give it to him, that sense of control.

As much as it bothered Adam, it also… intrigued him. Plus, he thought she was even more attractive than she already was when she was pissed off. Right from the minute he met her, he knew he was going to be giving her a hard time.

A few months later, she was able to go home, and… strangely enough, Adam felt a tinge of disappointment. The fun was over.

Five years later, he wasn’t a detective anymore, now a criminal. Five years later, he was a deadbeat father who had abandoned his now ex-wife and his son, sitting all alone in his pathetic apartment and drinking. Five years later, he was driving himself insane over some woman he’d most likely never see again.

What was her name again, anyway? Sylvia? Yeah, Sylvia… or, as he liked to call her, “Sylvie.”

After a period of time, Adam managed to return to his apartment, but with an excruciating headache from clearly drinking too much. He felt lightheaded and had a tinge of nausea. It didn’t help that he hadn’t really eaten anything at all today. Alcohol and an empty stomach — a very poor combination, Adam.

He stumbled into his apartment drunkenly grumbling and swearing, and eventually managed to take a seat on the couch. His surroundings were blurry, even despite wearing his glasses.

Adam’s apartment was quiet and lonely. Once upon a time, he had a family. He had a wife, he had a son. Now, he was alone again, and he had brought it upon himself. He had decided that being a family man wasn’t the life he wanted. Another bad decision, Adam.

He could only hear the sound of the clock on the wall ticking, and it only served as another bitter reminder of the fact he was alone, leaving him to struggle with his thoughts by himself. Sylvie ended up in his mind again, and it was only making him increasingly agitated.

“Fuckin’ damn it…” Adam grumbled, massaging his temples in an attempt to try and relieve his headache. He didn’t even really give a fuck about Sylvie, so why was she stuck in his mind? He couldn’t recall the last time somebody had gotten under his skin like this, really under his skin.

There was a knock on the door, causing Adam to flinch. He was tempted to get up and answer it, see what the fuck it was about, but he couldn’t do it in the drunken state he was in. He simply just remained seated until the knocking ceased, and that was when he decided to get up and investigate. Maybe it was mail. That was usually the only reason why he’d get somebody knocking on his door.

Sighing, Adam forced himself to stand and staggered over to the door, desperately trying to keep his balance as he reached for the doorknob, his unsteady hand trembling just a little. Then, he turned it, carefully opening the door.

Sure enough, there was a plain white envelope waiting for him in his mailbox. “The fuck…?” He murmured, snatching the envelope. Quickly, he closed the door and headed back inside, placing the envelope on the kitchen counter. Sure enough, it was addressed to an “Adam Barrett” — him. When he saw the address information of the sender, his eyes slightly widened. Lambert?

Adam tore open the envelope, revealing a piece of paper inside. There was no “dear, [NAME]” or any other formalities, just a simple, to-the-point message. He tried to focus his gaze on the letters, trying his best to decipher what had been written.

“Adam — I’ve included a list of five addresses. I need you to deliver a message to each of these addresses by mail. Tell them that they’ve got a bit of a job offer for them — kidnap the daughter of an incredibly wealthy man, and they’ll all be rightfully rewarded. If they accept, I’ll call them individually. — Lambert.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. God, he hated being told what to do, but he knew damn well that Lambert wasn’t a man who was meant to be crossed. He also knew Lambert well enough to know that if he needed something, it was urgent.

“I’ll do this shit tomorrow…” He muttered, and he tossed the piece of paper aside. Right now, he didn’t feel like fucking doing anything. However, as frustrated as he was right now, he’d undeniably do anything with the incentive of money.

“Why didn’t anyone say we were kidnapping a kid?” A dark-haired woman muttered as the group headed inside the mansion in front of them. A taller, more muscular man was carrying the kid in question over his shoulder.

Adam turned around to shoot the woman a sharp, cold glare. “It doesn’t fuckin’ matter. It’s a kid. Fuckin’ deal with it.” He snapped, before turning back around. “Alright, get the fuck inside.”

Once everyone was inside and the doors were closed, they all looked around, gawking at the place. The guy who had been in charge of driving the group to this place seemed especially impressed, a smug smile tugging at his lips. “Damn!”

“Like it, huh?”

Everybody turned around, and sure enough… Lambert was standing there, a smirk on his face.

“Find a room and get the girl situated. Set up a lookout position. Meet back here in five. For those of you who don’t know, I go by Lambert. You all came highly recommended, and so far, those recommendations are paying off.”

Lambert’s eyes surveyed the group, and as they started to disperse, he narrowed his eyes. Something wasn’t… right. He could’ve sworn there was supposed to be another person amongst the group. If he had forgotten to mention her, he remembered now. He’d wait until the group had returned.

Once they did, Lambert continued to speak. He gave the group members new names: Joey, Sammy, Peter, Dean, and Rickles. As for Adam, he was now “Frank.”

“The only one to be allowed in the room with the girl is her,” Lambert gestured to Joey, “so the rest of you… make yourselves comfortable. Any questions?”

“Who’s the girl?” Joey questioned.

“You don’t need to know her name,” Lambert responded.

“I don’t care about her name. Whose kid is she?”

Frank rolled his eyes. “The fuck’s that matter to you?”

“A very wealthy man who’s about to be $50 million poorer,” Lambert answered matter-of-factly. His eyes then darted between Frank and Dean. “Frank, Dean. Come over here.”

Frank rolled his eyes as he followed Dean over to Lambert. “The fuck is it now?” He asked, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

“We’re missing somebody.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Frank questioned, his tone one of confusion. “You gave me five addresses. I brought five people.”

“There’s one address I forgot to write down. 7871 Lantern Drive. You know where that is?”

At the mention of that address, Frank felt as though the wind had been knocked out of his chest. Wait a second… it couldn’t be the same person, right?

“Yes, I do.” He responded, attempting to keep his voice steady.

“Good. Track her down and bring her here. Don’t hesitate to use the tranquilizer if you have to. She’ll be referred to by ‘Ava’ while she’s here.”

Before Frank and Dean could say anything, Lambert turned around and began to head for the doors. He gave the group a final look before speaking one last time.

“There’s clean bedding and lit fires in the rooms. Kitchen’s fully stocked, so is the bar. See you in 24 hours, my lovely pack of rats.”

And just like that, Lambert was gone. Frank exchanged an annoyed glance with Dean.

“Jesus Christ…” He muttered, before leading Dean out the entrance.

“Where are you both going?” Sammy called out.

“Don’t fuckin’ worry about it.” Frank curtly responded. “We should be back in a few. All of you, behave.”

[dreadsuitsamus]

U Got It Bad | Kensei Muguruma x Reader |

author's note: i'm testing the waters here. this is a modified version of one of my personal selfship writings i've done, and i've changed it up into a reader insert rather than the kensei x ellie story it originally was. i am very tentative about this lol but i figured i should at least try it. this is an au, and if you have any questions feel free to ask! it's based heavily on my own imaginings, obviously, and there are many details not mentioned as this is part of a series of events i've already written. it's inspired by the song u got it bad by usher, as that is mine and kensei's song

pairing: kensei x fem!reader

warnings: au, first date, mentions of sexy selfies but that's as nsfw as it gets, fluff

When Kensei wakes up on an early Saturday morning, he begins his normal routine of breakfast and prepping his protein shake. And as he sits down to eat, he checks his text messages and snorts softly as there's a new one you sent to him just a few hours ago. That alone is the difference between you both, he thinks. He's up early at five a.m., and you were up late at three a.m.

He likes you, he truly does! How could he not? You're mischievous and witty, not to mention quite cute, an extreme flirt, and sexy too! He hasn't seen you since that night at the bar when you ‘met’, but he turned on just a bit of his charm to get a picture of you to ‘refresh his memory' the day after he got that napkin with your name and number scribbled onto it.

Now, did he use it with intentions of maybe getting a sexy picture? Yes, yes he did.

He's not exactly proud of it, but he did get what he wanted! Your mirror selfie of you in a tiny robe had Kensei's mouth practically watering at the image of your gorgeous legs, and the cleavage naturally drew his eye as well! Your friends chided you when you showed them the picture that you'd sent him, but with the encouraging words of a particularly wonderful friend, there was no room for any shame in your heart. Plus, Kensei’s opinion and returned selfie certainly boosted that confidence. He was at the gym at the time and took a perfect picture just as he finished his shower! Towel around his waist and no shirt to be found, with that silver hair all mussed and that wet body—

Though that's when you admitted to him that you are, in fact, a virgin, and God if that didn't shake Kensei to his core. Beyond the how the hell has nobody ever fucked you senseless part of it, it's a stark realization of the maturity difference between you. You may only be four years apart in age, but when you were fourteen, Kensei was eighteen! He was in the military for a year at that point! It makes him feel weird.

Twenty-one and twenty-five is different than that, though the playing field between you still isn't exactly even. He's a grown man with the PTSD to show for his military tenure, and he's in college with a full time job under his belt. You're a young college girl who still has her bright eyes!

Gorgeous, glittery eyes that is…

Kensei shakes his head and opens up the text, snorting at the contents.

stop being stubborn and give me your saturday night!!!!! 😤

He can't fight the smile that pulls his lips. You've been talking for about a month now and have been prodding him to take you on a date for weeks. Kensei's been on dates, but he's never really been on one he liked or ultimately wanted to be on. To say he's had girlfriends in the past isn't a complete overstatement of the relationship status, but they were ultimately never anybody he'd consider taking home to his mother.

He thinks it's cute how badly you want to go out with him though. And he's run through all of his go-to excuses by now, and if he wanted to he could probably find another… But he doesn't find himself wanting to do all that. It's been a while since he's had some fun and his classes and job keep him busy and stressed, so why not take a pretty girl on a date? It'll certainly only be the one date, that's for sure. You're far too precious for his usual tricks, and he's not sure he should be the one to take your virginity. You should save yourself for someone special, like you said you wanted to when he asked why you hadn't taken that step yet.

Send me your address and I'll pick you up at eight o’clock tonight.

Kensei laughs out loud when you text him back within a handful of seconds, quickly typing another message out. Get some rest. You want my Saturday night, you're getting the whole night.

fiiiiiiine. but tell me this first— what color dress should i wear?

Ken hums thoughtfully. That black dress you wore at the bar was so sexy... But he'd really love to see you in something red.

And the thrill that runs through him when he picks you up and lays eyes on you has him lit up from head to toe. Not even his wildest dreams could have prepared him for just how good you look for him. Red dress, as requested, matching stilettos, and a fresh gel pedicure with shiny red nails, gold jewelry and shiny lips that just scream vanilla cupcake lip gloss…

You have so much fun together that the night’s come to a close before you've even realized it. You had dinner, took a walk, bar hopped… And Kensei can't keep himself from willing the clock to slow down, just a bit. This is your one date he agreed to… But as he watches you sing Mr. Brightside with a vodka cranberry in one hand and a chicken tender in the other, he just can't stop thinking about more.

More time together. More dates. More… Everything.

Two a.m. rolls around and the last bar you stopped in closes, and Kensei takes you back home then. The ride to your apartment building, which isn't too far away from his own, is the quietest it's been between you the whole night. You've sobered up quite a bit, thanks to Kensei ordering regular cranberry juice for the last three drinks you asked for. Humming along to the music on the radio, soon Kensei’s parking the car and coming around to the passenger side. He's slow, savoring the final moments of the best date he's ever been on. Casually yet boldly slipping his hand in yours as you walk inside and to the elevator, you carefully rest your head on his arm as you head up to your floor.

Glancing up at him and smiling warmly, your eyes sparkle. “Thank you for tonight, Kensei. I had so much fun.”

God, he's melting. “Me too.”

“I told you you would! We could've done this weeks ago!” You laugh, and Kensei just shakes his head. It wouldn't have been this perfect any other time but now, he thinks.

You gradually approach the door to your apartment, and you stop before him and squeeze his hands. “Goodnight. Get home safe, okay? You better text me!”

“I will, I will.” Kensei murmurs. How the hell does he cut this one off? Can he?

Your hand gently slips to the back of his neck as you get on your tiptoes to place a sweet kiss on his cheek, your red lipstick leaving behind a perfect stain, the gloss on top making it shiny and even more obvious. Swiping your thumb over his jaw, you go to turn towards the door to unlock it. Kensei cups your face, though, with one of those large palms, pressing a soft kiss to your temple first. And next thing he knows, he's in the car that smells like your perfume and is on his way home.

The first song to play as he leaves the parking lot feels like a bullet to his chest, and he finds himself looking in his rearview a little too often, just to see that gorgeous proof of your kiss on his skin.

You got it, you got it bad.

[renhaswritersblock]

hello!! could you do w, i, and o for abner on the nsfw alphabet? i am so desperate for content abt him lmao 😭😭 thank u for still writing him

Abner Krill (Polka-dot-man) - NSFW Request (I, O, W)

Me: Oh boy, Abner! I’ve always been wanting to write something about this colorful dancing king queen since I watched TSS. This is going to be fun!

[Two/half months later.]

Me: *Staring intently at a bulletin board covered in pictures and notes with red string connecting to them, not knowing what time or day it is.*

Life [Walks in.]: Hey, uhh– friendly reminder that you still have that Government paper due tomorrow.

Me: MUTHERFU–

[Weeks later.]

Me [On the floor, defeated by the heavy mass of writer's block, reaching towards laptop to press enter.]: Finished– *Get’s crushed by an anvil of more writing tasks.*

—

A/N: I had made a Venn Diagram of Abs, Bob, and Lonny to differ the boys since they all fall under the meow meow category. So, thank you for the wait.

Ima say this takes place after the TSS movie – don’t care if he died, as James A. Janisse would maybe say, “No body, no count.” (Same with Flag. *kicks book of Necromancy For Dummies under bed*)

Warning: Usual NSFW stuff, nothing too extreme. Made some parts long (cause I do what I want). Some head cannons that totally didn’t come up to me randomly while I was halfway through finishing. No proofreading, I go down in style. Is there anything smutty in the first half? No, not really. Did I get carried away again and build a oneshot sort of story? Perhaps. Will I ever make a long smutty moment in any of the alphabet requests? Idk. Hotel? Trivago.

Leans toward female reader pov, but mostly towards gender neutral.

Anyhoo, happy readings!

===

I: Intimacy (*looks over at the letter C* Perhaps, I misjudged you.)

Abner lacks physical and emotional intimacy – and you can’t really blame him for it. Being locked up in Belle Reve and made fun of by the other inmates for so long – and to top it all off, his condition and past – he doesn’t have good social skills nor the confidence to approach someone for friendly/flirtatious banter. Even when he and his Task Force X friends go out to celebrate their new freedom at a local club, he still remains reserved and hidden. So he thought.

Throughout the night, Abner watched everyone have fun while sitting in a booth next to a large – totally not a man-eating shark – distinguish gentleman with a mustache, staring intently at a fish tank behind them. Cleo was out dancing wildly on the dance floor with a group of people, Harley sat across the room drinking with three intimidating women, and both Flag and Dubois went somewhere private to chat and drink alone. He consistently looks around the large room, scanning the neon interior and dancing occupant exotically swaying side to side, sipping his drink until his eyes land on a certain someone sitting by the bar. You.

You idly sat on one of the empty stools, swirling your drink in apathy and wearing the most eccentric, colorful outfit that made you stick out of the crowd. Abner nearly choked, spitting his drink through his nose, and erupted into a coughing fit. He didn’t notice Cleo returning to the booth, rushing to sit beside him, gently hitting his back. You were alone – in fact – you looked like you were waiting for someone, glancing at your surroundings and at your phone every minute. 

Supposedly, your date should’ve been here an hour ago. They texted you the address to this place to meet you at a time that was way past your curfew. Without a second thought, you agreed. You spend your whole evening prepping yourself to look nice. The only attire suitable for your first night out was the one that made it look like a clown puked on you. Looking around once more, you scan the room in hopes of seeing your date, not spotting Abner a few feet away staring gawkily at you, swiftly ducking his head to avoid glances.

Abner could feel his face burn red hot, he couldn’t hear Cleo’s muffled words over the sound of his heart pounding in his ear. He finally drew his attention towards Cleo when he heard her say, your glowing. Instantly, he slaps his face out of instinct to check if his glowing rash started popping up – knowing already he expelled the dots before they left. This is a first… Cleo gaped as his face began to flare up into dim hues of blue and red to green and yellow. His eyes move back to you, staring at your phone with a bleak expression. 

Honestly, you weren’t surprised when the screen showed they left you on read. You figured they would bail at the last minute, wasting half of your night to embarrass yourself. Thoughts began running through your head as you felt your chest grow heavy. I think that’s enough for one night. Holding back your tears, you took a shot of your drink and tapped the glass on the counter, going to spin your chair towards the exit when a tall man wearing what seems to be also a colorful button-up blouse blocks your way, startling you. Abner stood stiff as a board, nervously smiling at you. There was a moment of silence between you two. You watched as he glanced over and back at you, sending you mixed signals. Curious at what he was looking at, you turned and spotted two girls looking directly at you, one waving shyly, the other giving a thumbs up, and a– Wait is that a shark in disguise and a rat also waving at us?

You snap your attention back to the man in front of you, hearing him clear his throat out of discomfort before introducing himself as Abner, reaching his hand out towards you. To your dismay, you mindlessly took his hand, shaking it while telling him your name. Abner’s heart flutters at the sight of you smiling softly at him. You catch a glimpse of his cheeks glowing strangely, thinking it could be the lighting in the room. He takes a seat next to you, mumbling if he can buy you a drink, his smile widening when you accept the offer.

Shortly after your second drink, you hit it off pretty quickly, talking about certain things the two of you like, such as movies, and him introducing you to the group – keeping a very close eye on Nana– Bob doesn’t do anything to you. 

Soon you two were on the dance floor, swaying and bobbing your heads to the music, and before you knew it, you were face-to-face. Abner remembered sharing a long gaze with you, feeling as if time suddenly froze. He felt his cheeks boil achingly, noticing your expression contort into a bewildered look. Random patches of colorful glowing dots appeared and disappeared on his face. His eyes seemed to change color, following the primitive colors. 

Although you admired the way he looked, Abner on the other hand took it as a sign of being repulsed, causing something to trigger in his mind. But before he could let the imagery into his head, he hears you call out his name, slowly approaching him. You ask if you could hold his hand, reaching out for it when he accepts. You both stood in the middle for a while, only listening to the music playing on the speakers. Once he felt himself subside, he pulls towards him, wrapping his arms around your waist. You did the same, putting your arms around his neck, whispering reassuring words. He burrows his face into your shoulder, embracing the unknown feeling in his chest as his face emits a dim glow once again.

O: Oral 

*Abner: Clitoris?! Labia Majora?! Damn girl, how many pussies you got?!*

Abs is ok with giving oral to his partner. He’s a lil’ confuse at first, but he got spirit. He isn’t on the top 3, but somewhere around maybe 4-5. Krill prefers to use his hands to stimulate you than his mouth – since he can be flamboyant. It’s also a way for him to be slightly dominant and in control, edging you as soon as you near climaxing. 

When receiving oral from you, he melts into a whimpering puddle – he’s squirmish and restless at times, but only because you keep teasing his tip and shaft for revenge. To him, the sensation never gets old.

W: Wild Card (*cracks knuckles*)

*inhales*

Liiiiisten.

There’s a hc I have for this guy, but I prefer not to say what it is since it’s quite…vulgar. That and it also goes with a letter that rhymes with see. So here’s two headcannons that are pretty tame. Also, I hc Abner to be a vers.

Anyways.

Whenever Abner is having sexual intercourse with his partner, showing his emotions can be rather complex than his platonic relationship with you. Thus when he’s trying to gaze into your eyes, all you receive is a wide-eyed stare as he thrusts into you. Another aspect of his is uncontrollable giggling. At any moment, when you're riding him, something in his head switches and causes him to be a laughing mess. You remembered briefly stopping to ask him why he keeps laughing every single time you ask that question his response is the same, it feels good.

===

A/N: Hope ya'll enjoyed reading, and thank you for liking/reblogging. I find it hard to express my emotions sometimes and overthink it. When I see that I'm getting positive remarks on a couple of stuff I wrote, I acknowledge and appreciate the kindness, but never respond to it. So again, thank you so much for the support. Next one's gonna be a Johnson request, and then whatevers on the to-do list.

[mama-scarebear]

My first time writing in. So sorry you’re dealing with all the creepy, ill-mannered, disrespectful guys on here. Definitely the worst thing about tumblr. I feel like mommies definitely get the worst of it. It understandably chases a lot of them away, which fucking sucks for us LGs who absolutely LOVE seeing & hearing from mommies who are all about LGs & the MD/LG dynamic. You seem tough and like the one who typically does the scaring, however I, and I’m sure lots of others, totally understand if these dudes have gotten on your last nerve.

Don’t know if sharing this little fantasy will make your night better, but I hope it does 😊. You shouldn’t feel like you’re the one who’s gotta provide the kinky fun all the time 😋

I can’t get the idea out of my mind of Mommy telling me we are going to have such a “special night” together while she straps and secures me into a high chair. She tells me there will be lots of wine, candles, lingerie and orgasms, which makes me super squirmy and drippy with excitement, as of course I’ve been on orgasm denial for over a month. She then begins to push spoonful after spoonful of undisclosed mush into my mouth which I assume had to be some sort of chicken & gravy baby food. The taste and smell make me wanna gag, but Mommy just told me I might not only get 1 orgasm tonight, but multiple and I didn’t wanna do anything to risk that whatsoever. Feeling full and like that first jar of baby food will never end she quickly pulls out another jar of equally disgusting green colored mush. By the end of the 2nd jar I’m gagging, covered in baby food from what seems like head to toe, looking as pathetic as possible. She laughs triumphantly, as if that was her intent from the get go, and comments how messy a baby I am, but not as messy as I probably will be by the end of the night. Which strikes fear in my core and makes me blush a bright shade of pink, while at the same time causes me to drip wetness into my padding. I involuntarily squeeze my legs together. She calls me pathetic and says I’m clearly way too much of a helpless baby to satisfy her tonight. I visibly start to pout which makes me look even more pathetic. She giggles and says, “did you really think when Mommy talked about wine, lingerie and orgasms you would be taking part? Aww that’s so cute. Sorry I forgot you are too little to understand adult talk. Mommy meant she was going to call the really hot woman she met at the bar the other night to come over so the two of us can have playtime.” I start visibly tearing up, overwhelmed by the loss of the ability to have an adult kinky orgasm-filled night with Mommy, but also by the fact Mommy needed someone else to satisfy her. She sees the tears welling up in my eyes and says, “Oh don’t worry baby you’re too little to leave alone, so Mommy is going to set you up in the playpen in Mommy’s room so I can keep an eye on you the whole time.” After hearing that I no longer could hold back the tears, knowing not only was Mommy going to fuck someone else that night, but that I was going to be forced to watch the two of them sitting in my diaper. She immediately shushes me & shoves a pacifier into my mouth and says, “aww you seem upset baby. I think someone might have to go potty. Hopefully you don’t try to hold it cause it would be awfully embarrassing to lose control in front of Mommy’s friend huh?”

Oh sweetie you don't even realise youre being Mommy's little helper. You whimpering and crying in the corner in your diapers is going to help me have an extra special night with another woman. Luckily you'll be in your little pj's and have been fed and have blankies and soft toys to play with if you ever manage to get those tears in check. Unluckily though I tend to fall asleep after sex so you'll be alright to sleep in your playpen won't you sweetie pie? I'll tend to your swollen padding the next day. Try not to squirm too much I hear it helps.

[nerdieforpedro]

Day Nineteen - Kite

Word Count: 694

Warnings: anxiety, brief mention of alcohol, FEELINGS

Notes: I enjoy writing about this female reader and Marcus Pike, did this inadvertly become a mini-series?! 👀 What am I gonna do with these two?

Main Masterlist / March Spring Prompts 2024 / Writing Challenges

Your therapist is always coming up with some tasks for you to do. First it was the paintings which were quite fun and led to Marcus Pike, the sort of man in fantasy books who’s alive and an FBI agent. You find yourself questioning if he’s real or if you may need to talk to your therapist to recommend to your primary doctor that a serious change in meds is needed. Your reminder that you in fact not clinically insane is not when he kisses you, that’s a dream-like state he puts you in. 

It's moments like this when you’re doing something that you’d never think to do alone. Like the other night when he found some bar that you’d never heard of, the food was delicious, and the music was perfect. The band even had a CD that the two of you purchased. You didn’t tell Marcus that you haven’t owned a CD player in well over a decade, but you didn’t want to not support that band, they had been awesome! Plus, Marcus not only had CDs but cassette tapes so you could listen to it over at his place. You’ve been to his apartment, not for that, it was late and you really enjoy your tequila it was regrettable showing Marcus your sleepy drunk side, dozing off in the car and not remembering how you made it into his bed. 

Thankfully, you were able to salvage that mishap by offering to help Marcus with something he promised his nephew the following weekend: flying a kite. Two educated people could figure it out right? One just needs wind, some speed, and a goof grip on the string thing, right?

Both you and Marcus found this to be incorrect. The sacrifice of three kites wouldn’t be forgotten as both you and Marcus plop down in the grass park near his apartment complex where many of the agents live. The laughter at the situation and yourselves was loud as it was frequent. Two adults could not figure out a children’s pastime that’s been done for generations…well pretty sure it has. You roll onto Marcus’s chest and bop his nose gently.

“You’ll just have to tell your nephew and you, and your girlfriend couldn’t figure it out. It’s a lot more difficult than it seems. Even FBI agents have trouble.” Marcus’ eyes go wide for a moment, and he places his hand on the middle of your back.

“My girlfriend huh? That’s the first time you’ve said it and we’ve been at this nearly two months.” Tilting your head, you want to correct him, but damn he’s right. That’s a problem.

“Um…It’s not that I haven’t wanted to. I just, didn’t feel the need to say it. Though, I guess I should be more forthcoming with these types of things, huh…” Shaking your head, you choose to bury your face in his warm chest and Pike, being the man he is, softly plants a kiss on your forehead and lets you stay in place. Hiding however feebly for a few minutes. He usually picks up on small tells and ticks that tells him your mood and what you might need from him. It’s then you realize that you’re not sure of what his might be. Looking up, he’s just gently smiling. “You should ask me for more. Not just this kite issue and given that we’ve damaged three of them I owe you at this point.” A nervous chuckle has the agent sit up and pull you to sit next to him with his arm across your back at your hip.

“I have plenty, I have you sweetheart. It’s more than enough.” 

You can hear your therapist telling you to weight your options before speaking and ‘pause for the cause.’ Even you know you shouldn’t say it, just keep it next to your heart. The need to ask this incredibly kind man to marry you. Still might be kinda soon for that since you haven’t told him you love him, but that would be implied right?

Wait did you ask him to marry you? Did you just ask Marcus Pike for his hand in marriage?

[ai-luni]

nsfw hcs for merrick? i absolutely l o v e your writing, its so crisp i am literally crushing it up and snorting it like coke rn. also my boy is so underappreciated🥲

HE IS!! YES!! Merrick is so underappreciated. I need edits of him, I need fics of him. Genuinely his voice does things to me, I’m so obsessed with how scratchy his voice is. 

It’s actually embarrassing how much I listen to the ghost’s voice lines. @lylesx got me so addicted to Rorke’s voiceline video and I kid you not, it’s an experience. Now that’s what I snort like coke. 

And I’m so glad somebody asked because this has been plaguing my mind forever. Most childish gambino songs remind me of Rorke. Les, heartbeat, me and your mama, the redbone x bonfire mashup.

Thomas Merrick NSFW Headcanons

Now, let’s begin. 

Save a ghost, ride a cowboy. This man can be damn rowdy if you want him to be. 

He’s hot headed, loves a good bar, a good game of pool, like a true yeehaw blooded american. So if you get him to wear a cowboy hat, you’re really in for it. 

Merrick is steadily approaching his older years now and having been around the block a couple times now, I think he’d definitely prefer a partner who knows what they want. That doesn’t mean you have to be experienced, he's just a little over the shyness of it all now. The man does not beat around the bush, he wouldn’t be a commander today if he wasn’t assertive.

Merrick’s not opposed to one night stands but he’s also started to make jokes that he’s ‘over his prime’. Unless you completely took charge and played all of your cards correctly, I don’t think he’d take home a woman in their 20’s. 

The whole ‘innocent young girl’ act just wouldn’t work on him, period. He would love the idea of having a daughter one day, even if he had to do it as a single father. I’m certain you can find the correlation there yourself. 

(On a different note, Merrick as a father - to a daughter especially - is incredibly protective. He’ll scare off any potential date until they find one he likes, he’ll be proactive if anyone was making fun of them in class and the house has many security systems built in. Not to mention the fact he’s a petty officer, so if his child doesn't do their chores on any given day, they’ll never live it down).

Merrick’s favourite thing to this date is shower sex. Warm water, a hot woman and all the time in the world. What more could he ever ask for?

Seriously though, he’s been a SEAL since he was 17. The man has spent his entire life tossed between aircrafts, navy carriers, land bases and raid sites. The most luxurious thing to him is a long, hot shower. 

When he’s home alone, he’ll get himself off in the shower (also because it feels more private to him and it’s an easy clean up overall). Water running down his spine, palmed braised on the tiled wall. He’ll let his head hang forward, eyelids clamped. If an incredibly undignified noise wants to leave his mouth, then is the only time he’ll let it slip. 

However, he’ll have you in any position imaginable that could fit in that shower. His absolute favourite is having a shower with a glass door facing the mirror above the vanity. He’ll press your chest up to the glass and watch as you struggle to find a comfortable way to rest your head. Eventually he’ll give in and yank your wet hair back to your chin and sit against the glass, leaving your throat on complete display just for him. Then there's your ass slapping against him, your curved spine shiny and wet. It’s not the best position to get the most of him in you and you’ll likely cramp up quicker, but if you can handle it, it’s the quickest position to get Merrick to finish. 

Circling back to the daughter thing: man has a breeding kink. He’ll take any chance he can to ask if he can make you a mummy. 

There was one time you were riding him, holding his hands out by his head. The sight of you alone taking what you need from him was enough to keep him hard long after release but then you started to talk to him. Tease him the best way you know how. 

“You wanna be a father hmm? I’m gonna make you a father” He’ll groan like he was in pain and you’ll feel it, his dick deep inside you just as restless as his hands were. “What will your kids call you? Dad, daddy, papa?” 

When he’s out on a mission, if he’s not thinking about the view of you in the shower, it’s your voice in his ear getting him off. And when you’re with him, then wrap your arms around his neck, let your hands roam his chest and whisper in his ear for only him to hear about how good of a father he’s going to be. He will follow you around like a lost puppy. 

You did it to him around the ghosts once and they kicked up a storm. What nasty, dirty thing could you have possibly said to make him completely melt in your hand like that. 

If it’s not a “mummy” kind of day, he’ll say “yes ma’am.” In or outside the bedroom, he’ll say “yes ma’am” and absolutely loves it when you run the show. He’s also an avid user of “that’s my woman” when you are doing something helpful or badass.

I don’t know about you but I am absolutely whipped for this man’s voice. He would be absolutely smitten if he found out what his voice did to you. Also another thing that should be talked about more here is that Merrick can speak spanish. 

So if you’re being cruel and teasing him, he’ll send it back ten fold (He’s a massive tease and would love a witty woman). He’ll whisper right back into your ear, telling you what he wants to do to you, how hot you look in that outfit and sprinkle in anything in Spanish, until you're a shameless, moaning mess in public. 

Merrick isn’t opposed to public sex depending on the situation. Mission are an absolute no and it’d be very unlikely he’d let go all the way when hiding out in a safe house. 

(If you were with the ghosts hiding at a safehouse, he’d honestly see it as a game of ‘who can last the longest’. Both of you so so stubborn that the game has only ever ended the lot of you going back into combat or with Rorke or even Elias saying they’ll clear the room just so he can fuck you already. The both of you get so tense and strict just because you’re holding out on each other and the others find it very. very. annoying). 

If you were at a bar or restaurant or cinema or even another ghost’s house, however, it’s fair game (granted you can actually find a spot you won’t get caught).

It all started in a movie once, only two other seats were filled out and both were on the other side of the room. You grabbed his hand, stuck it between your legs and started to grind against it. He may have given you the most unamused look but even when you finished, he wouldn’t let go of your pussy until the film was done. 

He can be quite loud in the bedroom. Most of the time, however, he’ll only grunt and groan. He’s gonna be really worked up or angry to get a yell out.

He finds the maintenance of his beard quite an intimate thing and as much as a middle aged man can, he gets quite giddy when you trim it for him. 

Having you sit on his lap in the bathroom with a comfortable silence. His hands instinctively roaming your back as you giggle. His smile makes it harder for you to be precise that eventually you hold his head still by the jaw. He wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you as concentrated on getting this right for him. He didn’t seem to care as much as you did and just brought you into a kiss. 

Usually if things escalate like that, you’d have to finish trimming his beard later in the night. 

Like mentioned before, Merrick’s been a SEAL for all of his adult life. He’s been a ghost since his early 20’s and has become most of his identity. Seeing you in his ghost mask could then draw two responses out of him depending on how he’s feeling.

On some days, he’d hate to see you wear the mask, see you be associated with any of the violence that that mask has seen.

On other days and more commonly however, seeing you wear his mask does something to him. Seeing you let this mask that has become a symbol of him wrap your face, so willing to be one with him. He wouldn’t make love to you in it but it would definitely instigate the evening. 

Besides he’s always thought the mask looked cool and you looking hot in it only confirms it. And then if the mask continued to smell like your perfume, even for a few days afterwards, he would be the happiest man alive. 

[eatsleepbreathefutbol]

Am I not that important?

You and Dele had been in an on and off relationship for at least three years. Every time you were off you noticed Dele always had one specific girl he would "rebound" with.

You found out about her a couple months ago, and you didn't let it bother you since you guys are technically not together when he "rebounds" with her. But the weird thing is he still texts with her while you guys are together.

Dele, you and your group of mutual friends went out because it had been a while since you guys went out. You and the girls were talking about how you guys wanted to get drunk like the good ole days. You were several tequila and Red Bulls in, so you were vibing with the music. You and the girls were on the dance floor because they had started playing Kiss Me Thru The Phone by Soulja Boy, but you were wanting to be with Dele but the guys were still in the vip area sitting on the sofa just vibing. You looked over to the group and Dele is looking down at his phone.

This immediately made you mad because he's probably texting that bitch again. So you went to the bar to get another drink to ignore the fact that it might be a possibility.

Dele looked up from the phone to see you ordering another drink, so he made a beeline to you...he stood behind you with his arms around your waist. You wanted to enjoy the moment but you being drunk and mad you pushed his hands off of you, walked away when the bartender gave you your drink. Dele followed you to where your friends were, and was trying to dance with you but you got frustrated and went back to the VIP area to sit.

Of course Dele followed you back, and you just frustratingly tell him to leave you alone. Dele is annoyed, and whispers into your ear "Babe what the hell? What did I do to you? I'm here trying to have fun with you but you keep brushing me off and I am starting to get annoyed". You got up to walk away but Dele grabbed your wrist and dragged you to the bathroom.

Dele locked the door to the bathroom, "tell me what the fuck the problem is, because all I have done has been trying to be with you". You basically inhaled the rest of your drink before you start speaking, "well Dele I know you keep texting that bitch Lucy while we're in a relationship but I thought she was only a bitch you rebound with. Like I was dancing with the girls and when I try to look for you, I see you looking at your phone instead of having fun! If you're going to fucking go out to be on your phone the majority of the time what the hell is the point of going out if you're not going to have fun with your freaking friends!" Dele rolled his eyes, you grabbed his face, "I swear if you roll your eyes at me and tell me I'm crazy, I swear I will walk out of here" Dele slapped your hand away from his face.

Dele was frustrated at this point "you're too drunk let's go home, we better not cause a scene cause I don't want the paps to have something to write about". You started fuming at this point, "oh so you care more about what the public thinks than what I think, you're so fucking selfish because last time I checked you were in a relationship with me and having issues with me and not the stupid paps or fans. Like I am confused about how me being drunk has anything to do with this, I came out to have fun and not see my boyfriend text his side piece while dating me and telling me that he loves me." Dele tries to walk out the door, but you stopped him "y/n literally let me out of the bathroom because I don't want to argue" "really Dele you don't want to argue, well admit that you're not fully committed to this relationship and that you keep texting that bitch Lucy" If looks could kill you would be dead with the stare Dele was giving you, "I don't know why I have to admit to something I am not even fucking doing y/n!" Your eyes start tearing up, and you start walking out the bathroom.

You did a beeline to the bartender for another drink, this time halfway there Dele stood in front of you "babe it's time to go home, you don't need more to drink. Let's get you home" you push past him and go to the bar flagging the bartender down and ordering a double tequila. Dele rolled his eyes and went to sit down with the boys, after you take your shot you go back to the vip area.

You grab your purse, phone and keys to go back home as you're walking out of the area you feel Dele put his arm around your waist to try and help you to the car. You push his hand off "I'm going to take a cab home, and I'll be sleeping in the guest room", Dele at this point is annoyed "no I came here with you so I am leaving with you and you do whatever you want when we get home but in the morning we are talking" you're drunk self starts pouting and start speed walking to the entrance, while forgetting that Dele was sober so he easily caught up to you.

Dele told the valet to bring the car before you could flag a cab down, he's holding your hand with a firm grip and in the other one he's texting the guys a goodbye since he didn't get to properly do so since he was chasing you down. The car came around and Dele went to the passenger door to open it, but you got into the backseat and you laid down trying to take a nap.

On the drive home Dele is asking if you want to hear a specific song, you request Sobrio by Maluma. It's your favorite song about a breakup, as you're feeling this song you say without hesitating "Am I not that important to you? Like if you love me why do you still talk to her. Because I feel disrespected with the fact that you still talk to her, like if I were to have a rebound that I still talked to, you would flip out and be acting worse than me." Dele sighs frustratingly, "y/n can we drop this, I texted her asking her about something that she went through just to check up on her and I haven't spoken to her since...that was like a month ago" you're looking at Dele's figure, and you feel a tear slip down "but still why do you care about what she's doing or what she's going through if she's not your girlfriend or the 'love of your life' like if she's a side piece it shouldn't matter to you because she shouldn't be that important". You guys get to a red light, and Dele looks at you and looks worried because of the tears in your eyes.

He reaches out to grab your hand to caress it and you reluctantly let him grab it, and you close your eyes to try to soak in the moment before your drunk ass ruins the mood again. The minute the car pulls into the driveway you get out of the car immediately a beeline to the bathroom to throw up from all the liquor, Dele follows behind you to hold your hair and rub your back. As you finish you sit next to him and put your head on his shoulder "God I need to not drink that much ever again, so next time to piss me off Dels" Dele starts to chuckle a little awkwardly "can we move past this like babe I blocked her number and won't talk to her again because I now understand how much it bothers you". You get up to brush your teeth and wash the make up off, when you're done you go to the closet to change into Dele's shirt and then you get into bed.

Dele tries to cuddle and you look up at him then grab his face and kiss him while caressing his neck. You then put your head on his chest, and you close your eyes "I'm sorry for accusing you of not loving me or caring about me babe" you whispered. Dele kissed your forehead and turned the lights off "it's fine we all have a drunk moment, and Im sorry for not understanding you...also for thinking it was ok to talk to her without telling you or thinking about how you'd feel". You both went to sleep at peace knowing that you guys weren't mad at each other anymore.

I hope you guys like it :)

[antisociallilbrat]

The Williams Part Two

Part One

Read on Ao3

Summary: It's their first date! Doesn't start off on the right foot but the night is young so it can still recover...right?

A/N: Yes I am reposting this bc for my last couple writings I was like 'aw shucks my posts sure aren't getting the interactions like they used too' ... it was bc i am an I D I O T who had my privacy settings set to keep my posts hidden in the tags/search results. Anyways.

The bar is too crowded, the music is too loud, and it has an undercurrent smell of fake cheese. Like the kind they'd serve over nachos at The Palace. Back when Will was a kid and videogames were more important than dates.

Now he’s twenty years old, crammed into a booth that has a couple of mysterious stains, and sipping lukewarm beer out of sight of the bartender. They’re probably too busy to notice- or to even care, but he’s always been a little on edge when it comes to breaking the rules. 

During the afternoon he spent with Bill at The Bean he was really hoping it would end with Bill asking him out. Luck was on his side; for once. 

It’s just that he wasn’t exactly picturing their first date with all of their friends in attendance. Maybe he was a little presumptuous to assume that their first date would be a private affair. 

Bill invited him to Richie’s open mic, implying that his friends would be there. It left him feeling a little…put out because maybe Bill only wanted to be his friend. But then Bill told him they could sneak off afterward to go do their own thing, that he had an idea. He followed it up with a wink, one that looked ridiculous yet charming in a weird way that only Bill could pull off. 

But things are never simple in Will’s life and he later learned that Richie also invited Mike. Apparently, while they were scheming in his and Bill’s love life. What was surprising was that Mike was going - and was bringing El; at Richie’s instance. 

He had a lot of questions but he’s starting to see the answers. Richie isn’t on stage yet, if you could even call that a stage, it’s more like a literal soap box set up by the bar. Some other act is on right now, trying desperately to speak over the music. Mike, El, and Stanley are standing around a table by the stage. 

He doesn’t have an opinion on Stanley yet, this is the first night they’ve ever formally spoken but it’s obvious why Richie insisted they bring El. The man with the chocolate neat curls keeps biting back at the poor comedian, getting a rise out of El every time he does. When El laughs, her eyes fleetingly closing, Stan is smiling at her like he’s made a great accomplishment. He’s only poking fun at the comedian to make El laugh. Will wonders if El has noticed…probably not. She never notices when someone’s interested in her.

Along with Stanley and Richie, he’s met Bill’s other four friends. Ben and Beverly, a couple, Eddie- Bill’s first friend as he introduced himself as, and their own Mike. Their Mike is much sweeter than Will’s. 

Those four are at the bar. They were sitting in the booth with them but when Bill came back with his and Will’s beers, they each started making excuses to get up. None of them came back and they’re not even trying to hide the fact they’re hanging at the bar. They left him and Bill alone on purpose. 

In the booth Bill shifts in his seat next to him, his jeans making that awkward sound when they rub against the plastic of the seat. He looks vaguely uncomfortable and while Will has been sipping on his drink Bill has almost finished his. 

Bill is rubbing at the disintegrating label of his beer bottle, an awkward silence filling the void between them. They’ve already run through all the safe questions, ‘did you find this bar okay?’, ‘how were classes yesterday?’, ‘do you like your drink?’.

It’s such a tonal shift from their conversation at The Bean. Bill had had more…confidence if Will had to pin it down to something. They talked about Bill’s writings- he’s a horror writer, and Will had shown him some of his paintings. They had connected so easily then and he doesn’t understand why now is so different. The whole thing has him feeling a little anxious. 

Bill swishes his bottle, running empty, “Guess it's time for another,” he says as he stands. He nods towards Will’s bottle, “Do you need another one?”

Will shakes his head and just like that he’s alone. He deflates in his seat when Bill is out of sight, letting his head thud against the back of the booth. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe Bill was better off being ‘The Writer’ that he got to pine over from a distance.

“What’s shaking my second favorite William?” Richie cuts him out of his quickly spiraling thoughts, sliding into the booth across from him. 

Richie has cleaned up for tonight- but his definition of ‘clean up’ is far from what the normal person would consider. He’s wearing a silk blue button up with a black vest loosely tied in the front. It’s flattering in a weird way. Light smudges of eyeliner line his eyes behind his magnified lenses and there’s a cigarette tucked behind his ear, almost hidden in his barely tamed curls. At least Will thinks it’s a cigarette.

“It’s fine, nothing much,” he replies, hoping his dejection isn’t showing on his face.

Richie just hums, rapping his knuckles against the table. He just now notices that Richie has freshly painted his nails black. He jerks his chin towards the bottle in Will’s hands, “Didn’t take you as a fan of Bud Light.”

He sets his barely drinked beer on the table, “It’s fine, not my first choice but Bill ordered for us.” 

“Makes sense, Bill’s always been fond of his piss water,” he makes a move to stand, “I can get you another drink if you want, we don’t gotta tell Big Bill.”

Will snatches Richie’s wrist before he can fully stand up. Slowly he sits back and down and watches Will with curious eyes. Will starts back peddling, “It’s fine, really. You’re supposed to go on soon right? I’d hate for you to miss your cue because you're stuck at the bar getting me a drink.”

Richie ignores most of his weak statement, “Ya know, for a guy who’s supposed to be on a hot date, you’ve said 'fine’ three times in the last minute.” When he can’t find anything to say, Richie does so for him, “Billiam is being horribly awkward isn’t he?”

He gives, sighing, “Just a little- and I don’t understand. We were having a nice time back at The Bean, I don’t get why this time is different.”

Will is entirely unprepared for what Richie tells him next, “It’s because this is a date and Bill hasn’t been on a date in two years, not since his last, horrible, boyfriend,” He leans forward on the table and it throws Will off a little at how serious he’s being, “Look, Big Bill? He’s good at being charming and swooning with people, but dating? He’s worse at it than I am. He over-thinks it. Sure, he’s a hopeless romantic, but he struggles with new people when they aren’t so new anymore. Been burned a couple of times because of them.”

“I- I see…and I understand that. I don’t date often because new people intimate me,” Will takes another sip of his beer, feeling a little overwhelmed. He doesn’t have any exes, he’s barely gone on dates before. 

But then Richie snorts, “So you’re both bad at dating. Great.”

He frowns at him, “You have any advice then?”

Richie raps his knuckles against the table again, in a drum roll manner, “Matter of fact I do. Make him talk- and not about the boring stuff. Ask him when he had his first beer or better yet find out if he’s an actual monster fucker for me if you will? His stories are telling but I need evidence,” Will’s about to inject because he is not asking about that but Richie continues, “Fine leave the monster fucking questions for date two- but I’m serious, ask him about the fun stuff, the important stuff and show you have a genuine interest in him and he’ll be waxing poetics about ya by the end of the night.” 

This makes him feel better, gives him a look into Bill- one he wasn’t expecting, and lets him know how to get to know Bill better from his own words…it’s just there’s one anxiety of his lingering. “So it’s not me? I didn’t do anything to make him not interested in me anymore?”

Richie chuckles, “William, my William hasn’t shut up about you since he laid eyes on you. No offense but it was a little insufferable. You could probably spit in his face and he’d still be interested in you…actually, maybe he’d be more interested in you then, I don’t know what he’s into.” 

His face suddenly feels hot, “Shut up,” he mumbles, looking down.

Richie just smiles back, “So what are you going to do when Bill comes back?”

“...Ask him about his first time drinking piss water?”

“There ya go!” he shoots finger guns at him, “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go flirt with my date before my show.”

His what-  “Are you talking about Mike?” 

“My future one true love? Yes absolutely,” he replies without missing a beat. 

He looks back at him incredulously, “Does Mike know he’s on a date right now?”

“He will, it’s all part of my master plan. Wait ‘n see.”

Part of him thinks he could do the responsible friend thing and warn Mike of Richie’s intentions, let Mike decide from there- but Mike did dig his own grave when he decided to meddle in his love life. So instead Will says, “You said you were bad at dating too so some advice; Mike likes to play hard to get, and he’s dramatic in the way he likes to be chased.” 

Richie’s eyes twinkle, “Well Papa likes a good chase,” he winks at him as he flies out of the booth, not even giving Will enough time to internally cringe at him calling himself ‘Papa’.

He watches Richie join the others at the table in front of the stage. Richie throws a haphazard arm around Mike’s shoulders…who looks annoyed and snaps something at him that Will can’t hear from here but he doesn’t shake Richie off. 

“Everything okay over huh-here?”

Will snaps his head towards Bill, he’s standing by the edge of the table, fidgeting on his feet. There's a new bottle in his hand- this one’s label is still intact, and it’s half drunk. He must’ve been waiting for Richie to leave before heading back. 

“Yeah, Richie was just seeking my advice,” he white lies, scooting more into the booth in a way that he hopes comes off as inviting, “Stop standing and sit down with me.”

Bill smiles, sliding in, “What advice were you giving him?”

“On how to woo my Mike- speaking of which, did you know Richie was going to trick Mike into going on a date with him?"

He just shrugs his shoulders, “I didn’t but that s-sounds like Rich…did he say anything else?”

“Why? Worried he spilled some of your embarrassing childhood secrets?” Will smirks.

Bill scoffs, “He wouldn’t do that,” Will meets his gaze, eyebrow raised and Bill starts to feel not so sure, “He didn’t do that- right?”

“No he didn’t do that, I’m waiting on you to tell me those.” When Bill smiles Will takes it as a small victory. The tension between them is already lessening and he’s determined to keep it rolling and not let them fall back into awkwardness when this spell has run its course. “Though he did tell me to ask you about the first time you tried beer?”

The tips of Bill’s ears turn red as he ducks his head, “Shit you don’t wanna hear about that.”

“Oh but now I really do,” he leans closer to him. The smell of a woody cologne and lingering cigarette smoke invades his nose and he wonders if it’s possible to miss a smell after only experiencing it once. 

He can already see the bravado seep back into Bill as he gives in with a little smile, “It was freshman year and all us Losers thought it would be a cool idea to sneak into Eddie Corcoran’s seniors only party,” his voice has taken on that slow, smooth, tone again and he’s not tripping on as many words as he was, “We were successful too…until Eddie Corcoran confronted us and tried to kick us out…” Will nods for him to go on, “Well let’s just say the moment Corcoran confronted us the beer we had been stealing all night decided to vacate the premises of my stomach…onto his shoes. Got my ass beat that night.”

“And you still drink it?” he teases.

“It was my first love, what c-can I say?” Bill lays an arm across the back of the booth. It’s not on Will’s shoulders but it’s close enough, “Tell me, what was teenage Will like? Any raging parties?” 

He snorts, “The only parties I was going to as a teenager were Dnd ones.” He’s not afraid of Bill thinking of him as a nerd, he saw the Battlestar Galactica keychain on his laptop bag. It was cute.

“Like with elves and shit? Were you an elf?”

Will shakes his head, laughing, “No I wasn’t just an elf! I was also the Party’s wizard.” 

“A wizard huh?” Bill takes a slow sip of his beer, glancing towards him, “You sure put a spell on me.”

Will’s brain short circuits. Bill just stares back at him, a small blush climbing his neck. He just has to shove Bill in the side with his elbow, “That is the worst pickup line I have ever heard!” 

He gives him a mock offended look, “I was trying woo you, William!”

Will’s about to retort when a speaker comes on to announce Richie as the next comedian. Mike, Ben, Bev, and Eddie all rush to cram back into the booth with Will and Bill. Eddie snaps at Bill to scoot in more so that he can sit down. 

Bill’s thigh ends up pressed against his- in fact, his whole body would be if Will wasn’t leaning a little bit forward. There’s very little space between them and Will…he’s not mad about it. At this proximity, he feels the heat radiating from Bill, can feel the vibrations of his chest when he laughs, and honestly he just falls more into the encapsulation that is Bill.  

The arm Bill had resting on the back of the booth comes down to rest across his shoulders very lightly. Almost as if Bill is asking for permission. Will leans back, securing the arm more around his shoulders in answer. There is so much heat radiating between them he feels like he’s going to combust. He’s never cared so much about a guy liking him before and he thinks Bill does like him like that but also he always carries around a seed of doubt about anything good happening to him.

It makes it hard to focus on Richie’s act as he starts his act, clearly in his element. Will tries to pay attention, he does, but his mind is fogged by the smell of Bill’s cologne and the rumbling of his chest against his side every time he laughs at one of Richie’s jokes.

Stan, El, and Mike (Will’s Mike) opt to stay around the table near the stage. If Stan was heckling the last poor guy, he is absolutely ruthless toward Richie. Who throws it right back his way. It was more amusing than Richie’s jokes. He has a hunch that they were both showing off for Mike and El. 

Bill and his friends sitting in the booth aren’t safe from Richie’s terror either. He throws a joke out about Eddie’s mom, one only they laugh at and he pokes fun at Ben. Something about The New Kids On The Block? At this point, Will was too wrapped up in Bill to register it completely. It isn’t until Richie targets him during his act does he get Will’s full attention back.

“Now now, I’m not the only love bird on a date tonight,” he whistles while Mike makes a small protest from the table, “My good friend Big Bill is here tonight on a date. Ironically! With a guy also named William,” he pauses for a dramatic moment, “You see if I was on a date with a man named Richard it would be double the Dick but you see with my friend Bill, he’s the one getting double the Willys tonight.” 

There's a modest amount of laughter that he earns from the bar patrons. This is one of his more successful jokes of the night. Beverly is dying in their booth and Ben gives Will an apologetic look but he’s still smiling. Will wants to curl up and disappear before his face turns into a tomato. 

“F-fuck you, boy!” Bill yells but he’s barely fighting back a smug smile. He nudges Will with his hand resting on his shoulder, “Just ignore him, he’s a dickwad. We’re about to luh-leave anyway.”

A mixture of excitement and trepidation fills his stomach. On one hand, he has no idea what Bill has planned for them for the rest of the night which is exciting, and on the other, that’s exactly what worries him. Will Byers is a virgin. It’s just…never came up before. Being gay in a small town can do that.

But they just got over their awkward conversation bump, surely Bill isn’t expecting that to magically segway into them having sex? Because if so they’re just going to land right back into an awkward conversation when he has to fess up he’s a virgin and he doesn’t plan on losing it after one lukewarm date and even more lukewarm beer. 

Richie’s set comes to an end and everyone starts to part ways. Mike Hanlon, Eddie, Beverly, and Ben were going to another bar on the side of the city, and Mike Wheeler and Richie were going to tag along. Will’s Mike isn’t a bar person so he’s continuing to be surprised tonight by his friend’s decisions. El wants to go home- no surprise there, because she really isn’t a bar person and Stan insists on driving her back. Hopefully, she notices Stan’s obvious flirting on the drive.

Bill asks if he’d like to go with everyone to the next bar and it’s clear that he’s giving Will an out of being alone together. But the thing is- despite his reservations, he wants to see what Bill has planned for them. Bill doesn’t act like a guy who is going to try to pressure him into doing anything he doesn’t want to. Doesn’t seem like his style. 

He takes Bill’s hand, acting braver than he feels, “I just wanna hang out with you.”

The smile Bill gives him in response is beautiful. 

-

Bill doesn’t disclose much about where they’re going when they crawl into his silver truck. Will didn’t know he had a vehicle, he never drives to The Bean and when he asks about this, Bill just waves him off, saying that driving in New York is too stressful for his tastes. 

On the way over Will tries to get some information out of him about where they’re heading as the excitement builds. Bill appears very sure of himself that this is a place that Will is going to be very happy about. To say he is intrigued would be an understatement. 

Curiously it’s some type of office building Bill drives them up to. He jumps out of the car without a word and heads towards the doors, leaving Will no choice but to follow him. The temperature has dropped significantly and even with his large coat, he crowds close to Bill as he unlocks the glass doors. 

Bill gets it unlocked and heads inside, turning back to Will when he doesn’t follow him, “You coming?”

He nervously glances at his surroundings, reading the sign “Gray’s Design Company Coming Soon,” painted onto one of the front windows. Trespassing wasn’t something he considered he would be doing tonight. 

“Are you sure we should be here?” The last thing he wants is to be is a ‘Nervous Nellie’ as Mike has called him before but…they’re trespassing. 

Bill must somehow read his mind, dangling the key he used to get in, “It’s okay, we have per-permission.” He’s still a little nervous but he follows Bill inside. 

The inside of the building is gutted, and clearly being renovated. Plastic sheets litter the floor and hang from the ceiling and briefly, Will is reminded of that one episode of Dexter Max had forced him to watch.

Will only glances away from Bill for a second but when he looks back Bill’s gone. Okay, now he’s starting to panic. “Bill?! Where’d you go?!”

A hand on his shoulder startles him, making him yelp. Bill looks down at him with a smile full of mirth, “Keep up, I want you to s-see this.”

“You’re not taking me somewhere to kill me right?” He’s only half joking. 

Bill rolls his eyes, and takes his hand, “Come on.”

They push through two more plastic sheets and Will sees why Bill was being impatient to show him. The sight before him takes his breath away. 

It’s the first actual room they’ve walked into and it is filled to the brim with art. There are canvases in stacks leaning against the walls, sculptures on pedestals, and tables filled with sketches. The art styles are all different signifying this isn’t the collection of one person. He just has to touch. 

The first table he approaches has sketches all done in charcoal. They’re smudged from rubbing against each other but he can make out the sketches of the people. Just strangers that are going about their everyday life, probably unaware of their portrait being created. 

On the next table are unframed works of watercolor. All vivid and seeming to leap off the page. Some depict still life while some are settings. Places pulled from the artist’s mind, maybe places that they wish they could visit or just simply places that are not real but still beautiful all the same. These are his favorites. 

He swivels on his heel, a watercolor work of a river still in his hand, to look back at Bill. He’s still standing at the entrance, watching him with a small smile. It makes his whole heart flutter.

“What is this place?” he asks, gesturing to the whole room.

Bill comes to stand by him, taking the painting in Will’s hand to examine, “Ben’s boss bought this place for his architecture firm and apparently the basement was filled with this stuff. Whoever owned the building before ap-aparently was an avid art collector.”

“A ‘collector’ is putting it lightly, this is more like a hoarder’s work. This is insane,” He walks over to a sculpture of a woman’s head made from clay, “This stuff belongs in an art show or a museum! I have never seen so much art in one room before!” He pauses for a moment, “What do they plan on doing with all of this?”

“Well Ben’s boss planned on tossing it all since most of it isn’t from any famous artists,” Will’s heart sinks, “But Ben convinced him to donate it to an art school, make the business look good,” he finishes.

“Yes, good publicity in exchange for not throwing away a collection of people’s hard work,” he doesn’t mean to sound bitter but some people will just never understand art. It’s just a thing that takes up space in their new office building. 

Bill just hums, “Well I did manage to convince Ben to let you take your pick of the art here before it gets donated.” He hands Will back the painting. 

He feels as if he’s a kid in a candy store and his mom just said he could get whatever he wants. “I can take whatever I want? Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent, you have a deep appreciation for art and you’ll actually care about these pieces,” He stands in front of him and Will realizes how close they've gotten. Bill reaches out and tucks a strand of his hair behind his ear, his hand lingering, “I’m really suh-sorry about earlier by the way. You make me nervous.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I don’t date often because most people also make me nervous,” he leans into Bill’s hand, remembering what Richie had said earlier about Bill’s ex and how he has hesitations about people getting to know the real him. He's not going to be one of those people that 'burn' him.

“I’m honored to be your date tonight then,” Bill murmurs.

They’re so close their breaths are mingling and right when Bill’s eyes flutter shut and he leans down to kiss him, Will slyly ducks out from under his arm, “Come on! We got art to go through!” 

Bill sighs, amused, “Okay where do you want to start?”

For the next hour, they go through every canvas and every sketch. Will pays no attention to the sculptures as he doesn’t think he’ll have room for them in his dorm.

During this he learns that Bill used to sketch a lot when he was younger before diving into writing and like his writing, he would draw horror. Bill ends up taking home a sketch of a rib cage with flowers blooming through the ribs. He still has a passion for macabre works of art. 

Will on the other hand takes home a painting of a lonely cabin scene and two sketches, one of a beautiful man with wings and another of a bed of flowers. Plus he took the watercolor painting of the river that he first grabbed. Honestly he was holding back.

“I can’t believe you didn’t want that painting of the naked chicken,” Bill says as he loads Will's painting into the backseat of his truck.

“It was a featherless chicken, not a naked one,” he corrects, still a little disgusted by how detailed it was. He jumps into the passenger seat as Bill is getting into the driver's seat.

“That st-still counts as naked.” 

“Why do you do that? Trip on words sometimes?” He realizes how insensitive that sounds too late, “Wait! You don’t have to answer that! I’m sorry!”

“Hey, it’s okay! You’re a lot nicer about asking about it than s-some people,” Bill reaches over and takes a hold of his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, “I used to have a horrible st-stutter and I’ve almost got it under control, it still comes out I guess.”

Will squeezes his hand back, “I think it’s kinda cute- if that’s okay to say?”

“That’s okay to say,” he raises their entwined hands and kisses the back of Will’s hand. His lips feel soft. 

He feels the need to share something intimate about himself. What did Richie say, talk about the deep stuff? Fuck it, he’s going to do that.

“I’m a virgin.” Well, that’s one way to say it, Will.

Bill’s eyebrow furrows, “I wasn’t planning on trying to get into your p-pants if that’s what-”

“No no no,” shit he made Bill get defensive, he honestly could have said that better, “I didn’t think that you were! Just you shared something personal about yourself and I wanted to do that too! Earlier Richie told me to talk about the ‘deep stuff’ with you and- God I don’t know; I feel like I just messed this all up.”

A big hand cups the side of his face, forcing him to meet Bill’s eye, “You didn’t mess anything up,” Bill soothes, “And Richie is an idiot but I’m glad he told you we should talk about the deep stuff. Eventually, we’re going to have to have a conversation about your luh-limits in the bedroom and what you’re comfortable with and you will be the one to set those,” Will positively colors at that but it takes a weight off his chest he hadn’t realized was there, “I’m happy you shared that with me, thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that.”

Will knows that when he loses his virginity, he wants to lose it to Bill but like Bill said, that’s a conversation for another time. Right now all he can focus on is, “You said ‘eventually’ implying you want to see me more?”

Bill smiles at him boyishly, “As if that was a question. I p-plan on annoying you for a long while, hope you’re okay with that.”

His entire being is beaming. The boys Will likes aren’t supposed to return his feelings- especially not boys like Bill Denrbough. “Yeah, I think I’m more than okay with that.” 

Neither of them wants to move despite how late it’s getting. Foolishly the romantic side of him is thinking about how he doesn’t want this night to end. Their hands are still linked over the middle console and Bill’s hand is still cupping his cheek, his thumb brushing against the side of his face. 

“Can I kiss you?” Bill asks softly.

In lew of words, Will just nods his head. Sure he’s been kissed before. Once in middle school by Sally Mae behind the bleachers, the kiss that solidified that he liked boys, and then once in a game of spin the bottle with Lucas. Both of them were chased and lacked any of the emotion that Bill has when he kisses him. His lips are soft.

He has to remind himself to close his eyes. Bill takes the lead and presses and disconnects their lips a couple of times, pulling back minutely to nudge his nose against his and he gets the hint, he starts to move his lips as well. He can feel Bill smiling. It’s when he’s getting the hang of this that Bill swipes his tongue against his bottom lip. It felt foreign yet good and he gasps when Bill does it again. Bill’s tongue travels into his mouth slowly, licking and mapping it out. Will lets go of his hand and grasps his shoulders, trying to ground himself. He doesn’t have much to compare this to but he thinks Bill is a very good kisser. The noises he’s making he would find a little embarrassing any other time but right now he's not in any capacity to care. 

Disappointedly, Bill breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against his, “I really like you, William Byers.”

Will blushes, “I really like you too, William Denbrough.” 

A/N: AHA okay you can tell that for some reason I really struggled to find my footing writing this and with the dialogue but,,,this is my second draft of the chapter and I'm still not happy with it and I didn't have it in my to start over.

That being said I am really happy with how the ending turned out. I love soft boys.

This is the last chapter for WillBill as in part three we will be seeing how the rest of Wheelzier and Elstan's night went...that one will definitely be at least rated M bc Wheelzier :0

Thank you for reading! I always appreciate the people that read my rare pair nonsense!

[strifesolution]

The last chapter was so good!! And since you were talking about the fic's details, I was wondering about the playlist (I am listening to the main one on a daily basis) and I imagine that every songs were carefully chosen. I can guess what some songs mean about 5r6c. Like, From Eden is probably about Eden and Callie. You also mentioned that Genghis Khan is Dan and Wilbur's song.

Would you mind explaining how did you choose these songs and how some of them are related to the fic ?

(If this is too bothersome or would spoil too much of the fic, feel free to ignore the question)

LET’S GOOOO we’re so happy you like the playlist :D you’d be correct, most of the songs are chosen pretty deliberately, though a handful are more just there for the “vibe” of the AU rather than specific lyrics.

Link for anyone who hasn’t seen it; we update pretty often! I added Flu Game last night actually. Expect... a lot of art for this AU with the new Fall Out Boy songs LOL

Since there’s… a lot of songs, and a good amount of them would be kinda spoilery, we’ve both chosen one of our favs and wrote up a little analysis.

Here’s Van’s (@irished-lads) of Neon Moon by Brooks and Dun copied straight from our DM’s

~~~

fun fact, this is one of the songs i listened to on repeat while writing the earlier chapters. this is the ideal chapter 16 song in terms of story and vibe, and while an early 90's country song may have not intended to talk abt the intricacies of gay cowboy polyamory, I Sure Can Make It Do That.

peep the beginning;

There's a rundown bar 'cross the railroad track / I got a table for two way in the back / Where I sit alone, and think of losing you

thinks about kevin and sean having their degrees of feeling alone at this point. sean's always had a little bit of a thing for dan (not to mention kevin flirting with sean nigh all the time- note that kevin's only had to pay for one drink), and while kevin may be. erm. Physically Intimate (this is a pg-13 blog) with dan,he also wants more. its that disconnect that him and dan has that feels a mile long. Now. see the chorus:

Now if you lose your one and only, / There's always room here for the lonely

well hey. look at that. some of the loneliest guys in aurora sitting next to each other in a bar sharing a bottle of whiskey. they're friends, sure, but in that moment (ch 16), they recognize that they both can be more than that. to each other, and to dan. theres always room here for the lonely.

~~~~

And here’s mine (Emma here!) of STRIKE 3 by Ferry

This song is where the lyric in the fic's description comes from; it’s one from the PMV series Parties Are For Losers. You don’t need to watch the series to get the gist of the song (it is really good though!) but within the context of the narrative, the singer is voicing their frustrations as they desperately try to help those they care about who keep putting themselves in harms way. “You spin the barrel of a fully loaded gun” is just a fancy way of saying “STOP BEING RECKLESS!!!” because, y’know, it’d be a literal death sentence to play roulette if the gun is fully loaded...

In terms of 5r6c… well, one of the fics' central themes IS protecting the people you love. Dan continuously worries about what life Daithi and Brian had before this that made them criminals, and Sean and Kevin are protective of Dan, thinking Daithi and Brian are dangerous in arc 1, and suspicious of Spiff in arc 2. Here’s a bit from the first chorus…

"If there's no winning, might as well just have some fun." I want to scream, when will you get it through your skull that I will not let you drown? "The light is gone, the thought keeps running through your mind, but fearing life is easier than fighting, right?" Oh please, just hide behind this back of mine and save your helpless spite.

Which is peak sheriff’s office argument back in chapter 7...

I also really like the first verse relating to Daithi and Brian in the gang.

Channeling love through the fear of being torn apart by crowds of your barbarian peers. The human filth around us wants to trample all that is dear under the guise of watchful reason.

We learn from…pretty much every time one of them brings up Evan that it is NOT a very happy place to be, particularly in Brian’s POV of chapter 9.

Lastly, we have the pre-chorus.

A thousand years ago, it was a tepid autumn day. A lock has sealed this door— But no more.

If you recall in chapter 16, we learn the raid on the farm where Dan’s family died was in the fall (not directly, Dan always visits the bar on the anniversary and Sean makes the connection himself…but anyway)

...this is because ding ding ding of this song!

Unfortunately I can’t really talk about the last chorus and outro without SPOILING EVERYTHING so you’ll just have to guess from there ;>

~~~

Hopefully that's some food for thought! Honestly we COULD go over every song on the playlist but then this ask would be WAY too long. Just really quick: Hell's Comin' With Me is a HUUUUGE full story song but I really can’t say who it's about without giving away everything, Ambrosia Wine is the Kiwo/Mango dynamic, and Devil's Train (not on Spotify but would be on the playlist if it was) is gonna fit really well for the next few chapters!

[parasocial12]

Clubs, my Past, and more Whining

[transcribed from memo book as is] McD is expensive! I can't really think of what to write for today's entry. I had to speak to my professor last class. Very scary! No friends made in any course. Sad! They say to join clubs to make friends, but the Anime Club is the only club that is truly applicable to me. Unfortunately, those are not my People. They are simply too cringe? I don't mean that in the sense that I don't understand wh the jokes, but they're simply all too unfunny. Their tastes are too Reddit. I'm in the most vexing position. I'm too strange for normal people, but too normal for the weirdos. I suppose in one-on-one interactions I fare decently, but in a club setting I feel locked out. Band kids is what they feel like! The type to think Rick and Morty an is the funniest show ever. In a way, I am also too radical for them too. My years spent on 4chan as a Youth have a left permanent mark on my psyche. Not on /pol/ or /b/ or any of those places where the Election Tourists. /r9k/ was such a nice place to vent to older anons. Sure, I was underage ban, but ain't nobody knew that. I miss that comradery, as toxic as they were. The Youths of today are so lucky to have Tiktok. I admire TT as a space where the Youth can experiment and be themselves while using the algorithm to find communities to connect with. I missed out on that train. That's not to say I don't use TT or have my own spaces, but TT as a youth must be a hell of a fun place. Oh well! I had the experience of being underage on anonymous imageboards at least (wow!). Let me finish my fries now ~~~~ On the walk back to the SC, I passed by some sort of Christian group- a club? I know not, for I avoided eye contact- and as I did, they spoke to a duo of girls walking next to me. The usual invitation for a Bible study. They kept walking of course, and while doing so joked about how one of them was the target lol. Very funny duo- almost chuckled before remembering that I was merely walking alongside them, not with them! On that walk as well, I passed many cute girls. Idk what it is about college, but so many ppl are beautiful. It doesn't help that they are all serving- I didn't know uni was a fashion show! Now, I sit at the usual spot of my writing and jot down in my little memo book. Makes for such unworthy penmanship. Ahhhh! It's so frustrating seeing all the cute gals. I'm not terrible looking monster w/ a horrible personality, but I can't muster up the nerve to act upon my romantic delusions! How I wish I was less of an overthinker! Oh well. Since I am too passive to pursue, I must accept the fact that I will end up alone. Tragic! The best and easiest years to make friends and lovers and I cannot. What a failure I am! It is concerning that the majority of the ppl I have cordial relations with are women- and of them all are either taken or lesbian. I've nothing really against it. I'm proud that so many ppl can confide in me. Yet, I feel lonely. I realize I'm too emotionally immature to date, but I've fallen so far behind the curve that I feel that I will never catch up. I'm just a fool. Dreaming the best years of my Life away! I don't blame anyone, really. If I was a woman, I wouldn't date myself either. I'm a nice guy, but that's such a low bar- the bare minimum. What do I have to offer? I'm not rich. I'm mildly funny at times, but no comedian. I'm not some attractive guy. I don't like going out. I'm insecure. My Future is bleak. I have Nothing! Oh well. Always an oh well. I apologize to my future self for having wasted our Time, and I damn my younger self for the same Crime. [end of entry] Author's Note: It appears that no matter what, I will always end up writing about being lonely and cute girls I see. What a creep! I'm not an incel or nothing, but damn if my writings don't make me seem like I am

[dndfuckhouse]

session 53 & 54 - There's a Drake In My Boot

SESSION 53- 24/9

> 🎵  Brigade Town (Main) / Battle Chef Brigade OST

As the party split for the evening, some of them smoke up on the roofs while the majority of them go drinking bender. With Psalm at the lead of the pub crawl, trying to find where the airship crew are drinking, they hit up five different bars before finding the one they're looking for. The airship crew are set up at a dive bar near the docks, a spacious place, big enough to accommodate the vast majority of the workers.

Anton sits nearby alongside them looking cheerier than he did alone earlier. The party spend the evening jovially drinking with them before making their way back to the inn in various shades of inebriated at some point in the night.

As for Han, she makes her way to the sunite church after drinking with a very specific intention, but find no success at bedding anyone for the night. The resident heartwarder's graceful demeanor however distracts her from much of what she came there attempting, it's hard to look back on it sourly with such a caring conversation partner for the evening.

In comparison, Psalm dissapears and gets lucky with a crewman for the night, returning discretely to the inn in the morning to get breakfast.

In the morning both Han and Plum wake up with hangovers, each holding a point of exhaustion. Mars and Cimmorro sit conversing in the bar room downstairs before Cimmorro heads upstairs again to wake Keva. Everyone ambles downstairs eventually, each shelling out 3 silver for breakfast.

Han: han stumbles out of bed and thanks fuck she rooms w the vampire, grateful for the room being in complete darkness. she eats breakfast and sprawls on the table face down waiting on others Plum: plum just doesn't get out of bed for now. they are genuinely unused to being hungover. freshening up in one of the washrooms

Psalm: Psalm wakes up feeling the kind of tired one does when they stay up too late, but other than that he feels fine so he's going to go look for food Rokka: rokka will take his time getting up and washing up before heading out to grab something to eat

Keva: she's up she's up, a little more tired than she'd like bc she stayed up a little longer than cimm and vinny to get in a little writing practice, but she's uuuup… when she sees cimm already awake, she says groggily "oh fuck…. were you waiting long?" Cimmorro: he's just #chillin and probs chatting with vinny if he hasn't already head out for brekkie. "if we disregard the fact that i wake up earlier than the rest of you, nope, not at all. though you did seem to sleep in today." rooming with her for a few weeks he's already taken note of her sleeping habits. "still up to grab horses or have you changed your mind?" Keva: "no no it's fine i'll go" she says as she peels herself out of bed "i'll be quick" and as promised, she's ready to go in a jiffy Cimmorro: he blinks at her. "not having breakfast? i guess we'll make a stop at the bakery anyways, but you don't hafta trip over yourself." Keva: at the mention of breakfast she pauses, and she says "let me check on smth" as she heads to where food is served she snickers a bit seeing the results of the night's bar crawl

Han: han puts like, 12 sp down, unbothered to count it thru the headache Plum: plum eating with their head on the counter/table Psalm: Psalms looking at them and goes, (quietly) "Fun night huh?" Rokka: rokka heading over to them, lightly laughs seeing their state as he plops himself down next to them "feeling alright plummy?" Plum: at psalm, plum just mumbles with a wry smile "oh be quiet…". at rokka they make a pained face and say "no i am not. what the fuck is happening to me right now." Rokka: he laughs again, feeling a little bad for them he gently rubs plums back, "u oughta feel better after a nice meal and some water! hopefully it passes soon!!" Plum: "thanks, friend" plum mumbles, touched. they groan against the table like ughhhhhh. Psalm: he just snorts Plum: "i thought you were gonna be the one to get hungover honestly… i should've known, honestly. couldn't imagine you drunk" they make a childishly peeved expression and then take a bite of their bread Psalm: "Oh I was very drunk. Don't get me wrong. Just good at managing the aftermath I suppose."

Keva glances around the bar for something portable to snack on, and grabs three buttered bread rolls covered in cheese for her efforts.

Keva: okay she grabs three of those and offers one each to her roommates Vinny: vinny wanders out of the room idly after keva and cimmorro make their exit and makes his way to the table with the breakfast crew, hes surprised to be given one by keva but takes it regardless with a thanks and stats nibbling on it drowsily, listening in on the others Cimmorro: he's already ready to leave so he figures he just follows keva to the dining. at the sight of the others' state he makes a face that's both worried and tired, but at least there's nothing too alarming, he supposes. at keva's offer, he seems pleased as he accepts one, not bothering to mention he's already had his fill. can never go wrong with a snack anyhow. "awww thank you if you want to sit and have breakfast with the others, i don't mind. i could take a look at nearby shops while i wait." he snorts a little as he adds, "they seem like they could use your company" Keva: with a big bite of the cheesy bread already in her mouth, rounding out one of her cheeks, she snorts says a bit muffled, "if anything, i think a few of them could use less noise"

Keva makes to swipe a piece of bacon from Han's plate as she walks by, taking it effortlessly and easily.

Han: u hear hans breathing is rly mellowed out n peaceful, almost like shes passed tf out Keva: starts to make her way to the exit while keeping the bacon hidden until she's outside Cimmorro: he makes an amused hum behind her, waving to the others before following to leave

As Keva and Cimmorro head off, Cimmorro tells the group to meet up at a certain spot at a later point in time so they can converge easily, leaving the others to breakfast.

Psalm: "Morning Vinny," Psalm says jovially Vinny: he glances over with a smile "good morning, i see the pub crawl has taken its victims.." Psalm: "It was fun, you should join next time, although I suppose these two aren't exactly backing up my claims." He's watching Han sleep rn tbh Plum: at this plum just rolls over and eats something off their own plate. "vinny, i somehow missed the fact that you're a pretty big deal in the wizarding world, apparently? that's pretty cool." they say it in such a tired deadpan it almost doesn't sound like a compliment. Vinny: he laughs a little "i got drunk enough on the airship that one time, maybe if we dont try drinking games again" at plum's statement he chokes a little on his bread "wh-big deal in the wizarding world..?" Psalm: "I have to agree with you honestly. Think I'll be steering clear of those myself." Plum: they sit up more in their chair so they can access their brain more. "yeah, han was telling me you're part of that accord thing? sounds like a big deal to me…?" also at psalm and vinny talking about getting drunk they're like "yall got drunk on the airship?" Psalm: "Yes, one night with Keva and Cimmorro and Han… actually it might’ve been more than once. I kind of lost track…" because he kept accidently getting shitfaced he doesn't say Plum: "whaat that sounds fun," they say, then think for a moment. "i think?" not picking up on psalm's hiding of their getting shitfaced or anything because they don't think that hard. Vinny: "yes it was multiple times…" hes also squinting like hes trying to recall Psalm: "It was alright, I think you lot here now make for better drinking partners though. With Keva & Cimmorro, one moment we're getting along, the next I've managed to piss them off…" Plum: they say, "well thanks, i'm pleased to hear that. last night was fun even if i feel soggy as fuck," plum grins and holds their head. "and i get you, that's funny. we're less…" they wave their hands around, "complicated, i guess." Psalm: "Oh I wouldn't say it's a matter of anyone being complicated. I think they just find me boring." He shrugs Plum: "ouch," plum says. "no helping that though, probably." as in no helping their reaction smh bc aqua thought i was dissing psalm lo Psalm: "It's kind of funny so I don't mind it too much." Plum: "yeah that seems like you," plum laughs.

Vinny: he shakes his head a little "but- well yes i am a part of the accord but im a contract wizard, im not formally party of their hierarchy or anything" he scratches his head a little ruefully "but yes i suppose they are ah, well known" Plum: "oh i seee," they say tiredly. "that seems better than being part of a hierarchy, in my uninformed opinion." they take a large swig of their water. Vinny: he tilts his head a little "i did prefer it a while… but it just means they can wring about at their leisure now, and theres not much i can say in response" Plum: "so how comes you stick around?" plum asks. "i mean, if you don't mind me asking. never mind actually, don't answer?" they don't wanna seem rude because the accords seem to stress vinny out Psalm: "I want to know actually," Psalm interjects, "must be something that makes it worth it." Mars: "So how does?? the accord work actually, who gets to be in it." He recalls someone mentioning they control all magic or some such like that. Han: he turns to mars activating his teaching mode "oh, ah you make a formal application and the higher ups approve it. they usually take on contracts with wizards worldwide just to have an envoy in most areas" he thinks for a moment "they're well know because they control the arcane barrier up north in Habrin, and as such have a lot of political sway in the area. Berryl himself is a member of the Disciples of Dun'a, the guild that decides most magic law" before he gets too lost in specifics he turns to plum and psalm again with a kind of pained expression while smiling "ah. well lets just say it's against my will…" he bites his bread awkwardly again Psalm: "Well, that explains it." Mars: "So every member of the accord gets a say in what laws gets passed?" Vinny: he shakes his head "no, berryls the only member of the dun'a, but the fact hes a member speaks of his ah… political influence" Mars: "Sounds a little… skewed??" Vinny: he gives you a lopsided smile "that's why i call him a politician more than a wizard" Mars: Mars doesn't say anything to that aside from a hmm but the silva on his head mimics a gagging gesture.

Plum idly tries to recall what they know of the arcane barrier in Habrin upon its mention, even in their hangover-addled mind. The Elemental Divide, it's held in place by the berryl accord, said to have been erected by berryl himself. The barrier keeps the harsh winter climate from encroaching on the city settled in what was previously dessert land when the climate of the area began to rapidly change, alowing the city to continue functioning.

As Plum ponders this they also begin trying to put together a makeshift hangover aide for the morning, staring at Han barely functioning asleep on the table.

Psalm: Psalms gonna poke han lightly in the shoulder, "Are you actually asleep?" Han: she jumps up to sit straight, eyes still closed "im up" Psalm: "Of course you are." Rokka: laughing at han (endeared) Han: she nods seriously but her posture starts to sag back towards the tabletop Plum: "here han, drink some of this," they nudge han with the cup. it looks like gravel but liquid and also smells like it Han: han cracks one eye open and leans in more to sniff it "is this.. rocks?" Plum: "no, although it looks like them. but it's for your hangover." Han: han stares at the drink, then gives a withering look to plum, then shrugs and chugs it Mars: He wasn't going to say anything but he really. can't help it. "That's foul." hes flabbergasted Plum: "yeah, it's why i don't ever get hungover honestly." Mars: "What'd you put in there…" Plum: "i put a type of fungus in there that makes it all grey and weird-smelling, but that's what does most of the re-hydrating. there's some other stuff in there to make the base like honey..water, etc." also it's only when the bird on mars' head reacts to what vinny said does plum realise a bird is even there?? "what's with the bird..?" they ask.

> 🎵  Ocarina of Time: Forest Temple - OCRemix / Andrew De Lange

As the group in the inn continue to chatter, Keva and Cimmorro approach the grandeur of the main home church of Wee Jas, The Weary Rest as its known to other temples. It makes itself easily visible even amongst the city’s cluttered skyline. Three tall black spires that reach high into the sky, connected by a series of bridges between them stand tall in the distance, and as they approach grow ever bigger. As they reach the street it lays upon they note the ground around is cobbled in black stone, and various icons and carvings of wee jas decorate the surrounding buildings. Large black iron fences run on the street surrounding the perimeter at the temple's base, opening to large open gates with magically lit lanterns on its edges.

The temple dwarfs the two in size, it's hard to guess just how many floors it could contain but they'd assume anything close to eighty or higher. They see various acolytes and lay worshippers coming and going through one of the larger spires gargantuan and lavishly decorated entrances as they visit to pray and conduct services. They spot a couple of sisters milling around the entrance greeting visitors of all sorts.

Keva: as they get closer to the temple, keva starts to feel a little antsy. she thinks to brush breadcrumbs off and wipe off the bacon oil from her fingers and glances about everywhere, like on high alert Cimmorro: he's been admiring the architecture as they approach the temple, not noticing much of keva's nervousness. once there, he casually walks up to the sisters at the entrance and greeting them with a cheerful "hiii~ good morning party people :3" Jasidan: one of the sisters turns to you and politely bows upon recognising your uniform "oh! hello there brother, here to join the morning service?" Cimmorro: "i'd love to! though i'm afraid i can't stay for long and have business to do, aiyayaya… i'd like to place an offering before i leave at least" he puts his hands together maya fey style. "the altar is in the same place, yes? you guys didn't drastically renovate recently, did you?" he jokes a little. Jasidan: she smiles and laughs a little "yes the main altar is still there! though the high priest has been thinking about redoing a few floors of the third tower…" she taps a finger to her chin in thought as she gestures with her hand "you're free to go as you like brother" she gives another polite bow Cimmorro: "ah, is that so? sounds like some fun gossip to keep my ears open on then. thank you~" he bows back and gestures for keva to come follow but when he makes a step forward, he halts and turns almost comically. "ah- one more thing, who's in charge of the horses around here?" Keva: keva almost fails to hide the alarm in her face, not expecting to have to go inside, so she's grateful cimm's given his attention back to the sister, giving her enough time to recompose herself Jasidan: she blinks and thinks for a moment "oh hm… should be sister anin today, you'll see her by the stables" she points behind her in the direction of one of the towers Cimmorro: "wonderful! thanks again and may the goddess grace you~" he makes a more theatrical bow this time and looks at keva expectantly, ready to head inside. Keva: keva thinks to ask to get the horses first so she can stay outside with them, but then he'd ask questions since it makes more sense the make the offering first… he'd probably still insist if she asked to simply wait until he's done so they can get the horses, and she doesn't want to explain her complicated feelings on the topic of wee jas to a devotee… the thoughts fly thru her mind quickly, making her hesitate for just the briefest moment, but in the end she simply decides to put on her big girl pants

The two make their way inside, the ground floor is larger than that of Cimmorro's home church, filled with plenty of acolytes and worshippers coming and going amongst the black stone walls. They head through the tall rooms until they reach a grand prayer room, with an altar at its canter, bracketed by magical braziers and beautifully inlaid ruby gemstones. Cimmorro knows this room is set aside specifically for priests and the like to give prayers towards the goddess, they see a few acolytes doing their own morning prayers in fact.

Cimmorro: as they continue to wander farther into the temple cimm's just been in a jovial mood and greeting people left and right. too immersed and in his zone to notice any other thing, even if this temple isn't exactly the same as the one at home, it is wee jas' all the same. if anything it just makes him more excited about arriving home, bakaldor temple being proof that he's closer to home than the past few years. as they arrive outside the prayer room he asks keva to give him a few minutes before entering it himself Han: keva doesn't follow cimm to the altar, instead sticking close to the exit and somewhat out of view and chewing on a thumb as she looks about Cimmorro: from his bag, he procures a collection of small gemstones (most of his gemstones, apart from a ruby he decides to save for coralwash) gingerly wrapped in black lace and a ribbon to finish then grabbing a black candlestick next as he finds a pleasant spot in the altar to lay his offering. he begins his prayers by lighting the candle with magical fire. he prays in infernal, along the lines of 'i'm home' among other things

As Cimmorro prays he feels a calming presence come over him, like that of a mothers warm hug.

Cimmorro: after like 10 mins he finally walks out of the room (bc he looks like he's done until he goes back to praying like, "and another thing-- (affectionate)" for like 4 times before he's finally content) looking refreshed and goes back to where he left keva with a smile. he doesn't say much, simply grateful she waited. "you good?" he laughs a little, seeing her tense state. Keva: keva been making herself as small and unnoticeable as she can while still standing upright and unwilling to touch anything other than her feet to the ground. she tries not to make her relief too visible when cimm meets back up with her. "yeah, fine" she deflects as casually the best she can "ready to go?" Cimmorro: he sighs. this is hardly the time to scrutinize her demeanor or her comments from last night, even if it does bother him. "yes, yes. let's go before you turn yourself inside out." he begins to walk again, though he takes a few pauses here and there to observe the others mill about, much like a cat. he especially seems to enjoy watching a few minutes of the morning service before continuing their way to where sister anin is

As the two head out the opposite end of the tower they come to a section of black cobbled ground between the three buildings, carefully maintained. As they split off to the side they spy a set of stables, maintained by acolytes in less lavish working attire, each horses coat shines a glossy black under the clear sunlight as they approach. They spy an older woman in red trimmed robes that indicates to Cimmorro that shes the one in charge of the area.

Cimmorro: he greets her the same way as he did the others. "hellooooo are you sister anin?" Anin: the woman glances over from her work and takes in your attire and smiles "that i am, visiting from another temple? don't think i've seen you 'round" Cimmorro: "yes i am!" he makes a funny little pose to make a show of himself. "i, cimmorro, hail from her grace's temple in coralwash!" then in a more normal tone, "i haven't been around the city for a few years and am about to make my way back home, actually. it's why i come seeking your presence, hoping you'd hear my humble request :3?" Anin: she smiles amused but nods her head in recognition "aye, the temple out north? lovely little place, and what grand request might that be brother?" Cimmorro: he nods. "yes ahm," suddenly feeling sheepish now, not really fond of asking things from the church. "see, my party and i have a quest to journey through the swamps inland towards antessa. i was hoping you'd have horses here i could take off of your hands? preferably ones that are built for that kind of terrain." Anin: she nods in recognition "ahh i gotcha, taking care of much business for the lady out there?" she walks off a little after she asks the question as if to look for the specific horses she has in mind for his request Cimmorro: "always," he says with pride. "some things i wasn't expecting to encounter, and yet, here i am, travelling to vargonia… but if her grace wills it so!" he follows her curiously but also slowly as if to not intrude whatever her thought process is… trust in the horse lady's judgment "how fares the weary rest these days? is her grand mother in the house today?" Anin: the woman begins corralling a few horses she has in mind, sadeling and preparing them to be taken off by him and keva for their travels "hah, always a good thing to hear, may the ladys eye follow you" as for the question she thinks "hmm, as good as she ever does, though some of the upper levels are starting to look a little dingy, couple of the high priests are working on it. the grand mothers away on a bit o' business though, might be why theyre occupying themselves with renovations of all things" she laughs a little amused Cimmorro: "ah! i've heard talks about renovation. hopefully, nothing too concerning… is it just the old wear and tear?" Anin: she nods her had, adjusting their saddles "yeah, temple as old and big as this one requires quite a bit of maintenance to keep looking as good as she does for the lady upstairs… i sweep these stables everyday myself to be spick and span" she gives cimm a toothy grin as she finally leads the horses out to you, a pair of large black steeds, glossy fur and dark leather sadles and leads sit on their backs as they eye the two of you newcomers

Keva: keva gingerly takes the reins to one, giving a small polite thank you to anin, and gently places her hand on the horse's muzzle and says a quiet "hello" in greeting Ratnaraj: the horse stares at you, huffing from its nose as it takes your presence in, it seems to be at ease with you, flicking its tail a little as your place your hand upon it Cimmorro: cimm nods understandingly and enthusiastically. maya nodding gif. at her comment about the stables he goes, "and it's absolutely spotless" chef finger kiss mwah "just as how these horses are gorgeous! what are their names?" Anin: the woman smiles as she points at the one in keva's hand "that one's ratnaraj, hes a calm old boy and this one…" she hands the reins of the other horse to cimmorro "is called ruber, hardy old lady she is, they'll get you across without worry" Cimmorro: "aha, the double r, dynamic duo…!" he gratefully takes the reins from her as he introduces himself to the new companions. "pleasure to meet you two, and you as well sister anin. rest assured we'll care for them as best as we can." Anin: she nods her head "make sure when you drop 'em off at another temple you send me a letter, i like to know where my kids go heh…" she folds her arms with a smile "lady be with them and you brother" Keva: keva stops petting ratnaraj's face to give a small wave goodbye to sister anin Cimmorro: "you have my word!" he gives her a mock salute and smiles back. "and to you too sister, i'll keep you in my prayers."

Ruber: as cimmorro takes hold of the horse it sidles up to him friendly, muzzling your head with its own a little Cimmorro: cimm was kinda looking longingly towards the tower bc he wants to wander about but ruber takes him by surprise but he nuzzles his head back too. "you are a good girl huh? i'll be counting on youuu" he gives her some pets and introduces jasper to both the horses as well

The two get ready to depart, Cimmorro bringing up that he still wanted to browse stores on the walk back to the others.

Keva: "always with the shopping" keva mumbles as she grabs the saddle and pulls herself onto ratnaraj "do you have anything in mind?" she continues, looking to Cimmorro Cimmorro: he rolls his eyes at the mumbling. he doesn't immediately get on ruber but instead places jasper on her back with the rest of their items. "nothing in particular, just browsing. always something interesting to find around these parts. most of the time useful." Keva: "'most of the time'" she snorts "well, lead the way, tour guide" Cimmorro: he gives her a look before turning his head towards the road, walking and leading them again. "you seem like you got no plans resupplying for yourself. if that's the case, i'm not quite sure if i should be impressed by the confidence or concerned for the recklessness...?" he questions with a tilt of his head. Keva: she just shrugs, "just not much of a shopper" more of a 'make what you have stretch as thin as possible before you have to replace it and then when you have to replace it ask yourself if you really need it right now-er'. or a thief, if the opportunity presents itself. "i'll be honest though, i thought you were planning on just buying more clothes rather supplies" Cimmorro: "i'll be sure to warn you from now on," he lightheartedly counters. "besides, is it such a crime to do both? not like my preferred tailor is around here anyway, so you need not to worry." Keva: "do whatever you like. it's your tour." she peers around as the city ambles by, enjoying the sea breeze. "how often do you come here, anyway?" Cimmorro: "mm, occasionally. once a month or two usually. though if the main temple needs extra hands then i'm around more often. either that or i have a date," he openly shares as he quickly scans through shop displays. "i don't like staying around too long though. not fond of the, erm, natural violence here." Keva: "no?" she laughs a bit "i think it's rather entertaining. lively, you could say. reminds me just a little of home--always something going on." Cimmorro: "eugh," a grimace. "no thanks. i'd rather have the lively kind that doesn't have ale spilled on my clothes-- actually that's uncommon. usually it's blood from fights i'm not even involved in!" Keva: "seems like more of a you problem if you're close enough to get blood on you" she says jokingly "you've never seen a fight and bet on who would win?" Cimmorro: he snorts. "evidence that you've not been here long enough. trust me when i say the stupidest fights break out even when you're just trying to get in line for a brew of coffee. and no, not a hobby of mine, really. good to know that about you though." Keva: "a gamble here and there makes for good fun, especially when it comes with a show" Cimmorro: "you and i have very different ideas of fun. after the show is all said and done, it'll be either i or another healer's problem to deal with. though i can't deny some people like to make bank here that way." Keva: keva gestures like 'see?' at this point she's just amusing herself contradicting him. "think of it this way, you'll never be out of a job" Cimmorro: he looks disgusted by the idea. "i believe there's a more fulfilling use of my time than to treat people who wantonly get into halfwitted fights. you, on the other hand, if that's what you want to do after all i've taught you then that's none of my business." Keva: she gives a half-hearted half-shrug "if it strikes my fancy. anything striking yours so far?" she juts her chin out a bit at the small shops Cimmorro: "hmm, clothes, clothes, and more clothes," said in a tone that's humorously goading her. "although that one looks more enticing than the rest," he points towards a peculiar shoe store across the street. "i don't remember that being here."

The two approach an older half-orc man staring intently as a pair of leather boots in hand, turning them around this way and that. As they glance around his neatly maintained market stall you they spy a variety of tools, shoe soles, and oils situated around the place.

Keva: keva can't help but smirk a bit that they will, in the end, be shopping for clothes. she does her best to hide it though while she gets off her horse and leads him to just outside the shop. she peers in thru the display only to recoil at the price tags "what the fuck?" Cimmorro: she can hear cimm gasp softly in delight beside her when he realizes where they are. "they're enchanted!!" Keva: 'they're shoes' is what she wants to say, but she's wearing an enchanted pair of boots herself that serve her rather well, so who is she to object. she still makes a face as they head in though lol, Rattan: “Hm… The runes are a little faded on this pair… D'ya need a patch up?" Keva: she puts on an air of politeness when the shopkeep greets them

After they have a few casual banters in the shoe store about each other's way of dressing, they take a moment to have a breather on some benches before regrouping with the others.

Keva: keva stretches out her legs for a moment before she reaches back to fish out a wriggling amos from her hood. "alright alright i know," she says as she unleashes him on the bench to scurry around and have a stretch himself. she watches him crawl underneath the bench and wonders to herself how she's going to feed him while they're on the go... which then reminds her of the cake they're lugging around. she grabs their baked goods and places it between her and Cimmorro, lightly pushing it closer to him as if to say 'here'  Cimmorro: cimm settles both of the horses just by their side before sitting down, jasper following suit as she hops off ruber and eventually mirroring amos' energy as they run about. he takes a moment to simply enjoy the morning sunlight getting warmer as the day ripens until keva slides their previously purchased treats. with a smile, he starts to unpack the cakes but stops just before he gets to keva's to look up at her. "or do you want to try the donuts first?" Keva: keva just shrugs "doesn't really matter. might as well eat the cake though--i already started after all" she smirks a bit Cimmorro: "ah," he frowns at being reminded of her earlier transgressions. "i'll let you off the hook mostly cause, well, it's better than having the frosting melt off. it's getting warmer out here and we're still a blocks away from the inn... consider yourself spared!" he says decisively. "you can have donuts with the others later." Keva: it's funny looking at their two slices next to each other, one having clearly been tampered with and lost some of its intended shape while the other remains relatively tidy and neat. ah well, it'll all look the same in their stomachs. keva reaches for hers and dips another finger into the cream, raising the dollop like she's giving a toast and says "happy birthday," before cleaning it off and properly using a fork i'm pretending the baker included Cimmorro: another groan leaves him when she continues to play with her food for the nth time before deciding to focus on his own. "yeah, yeah. using me for your own gain...! you better have something for me on my actual birthday," he sneers. he scoops a small amount of cream for jasper to sniff and lick at the end of his fork which only interests her for a miniscule amount of time before she goes back to chasing amos and vice versa.  Keva: light cream, soft sponge, and fresh fruit... while she isn't one for sweets, they're such a rare treat (at least, until recently) that she can't help but relish them anyway. "what, are we friends now?" she scoffs a bit in between bites Cimmorro: "you're the one who seems soooo eager to celebrate my birthday when you don't even know when it is," followed by a blehhhh and a bite on a forkful of cake. Keva: "you've never lied about your birthday to try and get something for free?" she says with a bit of disbelief Cimmorro: he gives her a bit of a wild look. "no?! especially not to people who're making an honest living!" he huffs lightly as if a little offended. "i'll haggle their ears off, sure, but that's it!" Keva: keva snorts, rolling her eyes in a 'well, excuse me' way. "bah, doesn't work too well once you've lost the baby cheeks anyway." she shovels in another mouthful of cake, eating quickly as she always does. after a moment of quiet chewing, she says, "well, out with it. are you going to tell me your birthday or not?"

Cimmorro: "oh, now you want my birthday?" he snickers to himself, amused. "it's still a long ways off, but maybe you could guess it. i'm sure you can read my [whatever the fantasy version of the zodiac signs are]" Keva: "when it's all a load of bullshit?" she scoffs before eating one of her last bites of cake, and guesses with her mouth full, "i don't know, maybe sometime in aestas?" Cimmorro: he rolls his eyes in slight amusement when she scoffs. when she makes a guess under a different category, he continues to be entertained. "you know, i get that a lot! but nope! though... maybe aestas is different for you, now that i think about it..." Keva: keva squints, trying to work out how that works for a few seconds, and then just groans. "forget it," eating the last bit of cake and already digging around for a donut Cimmorro: he whines a small 'nooooo' when keva seems to give up playing, trying to stop her from getting a donut. "guess it another way instead! the months!!" Keva: how does he try to stop her lol Cimmorro: just kinda shielding the bags with his hands Keva: she tsks when he block her way, slouching and hands falling limply to the bench with the softest knock on her knuckles. and after paid for them!  "fine, is it in hibernon then?" Cimmorro: "aha," feeling triumphant that she continues to guess. "no, but you're getting closer!" Keva: there's only rahtumna left, of course, but her mind instead focuses on the opening cimm's now left as he lowers his guard, thinking he's gotten his way. her hand slips in and out of the bag so quikcly the bag nearly comes with it as she pulls back. keva doesn't stop to gloat either, stuffing the donut between her teeth so he won't take it back.

Cimmorro: he makes a sound that's both of surprise and irritation, followed by the click of his tongue, sharp as she shoves the donut in her mouth. "you sneaky little-- that's twice you've broken your promise now! i let you off last time!" Keva: "what promise? i didn't agree to anything!" she says after pulling the donut away, of course still leaving the bite in her mouth and stored in a cheek. "foloris, then?" returning to guessing as she chews like nothing happened Cimmorro: he gasps dramatically. "the nerve of you to forget--! i asked you not to snatch anything from me in exchange for the dress and everything else!! but within the same week..." a small growl before he continues, "you've taken my strawberries, and now my donuts!! no! not foloris!" he hmphs as he puts the bag on the opposite side of him, away from her. Keva: "ah." she did forget about that. old habits truly do die hard, but who can blame her? it's been her way of life since she can remember. "i paid for those donuts, so they're technically mine," she only half-jokingly points out. "i will give you the strawberry incident though. that was my bad," putting her hands up like she surrenders. "though maybe it's on you that you trusted a thief." Cimmorro: "you bought them as a treat for ME after you stole MY strawberries in the first place!" he continues to moot with a halfhearted hiss. "ugh," he pouts, but it's clear he's pretending to be more offended than he actually is "well i'm saaaaawry (mocking voice) if i was blinded by your heroic deeds the past few weeks thinking there was some integrity in you, tch! enjoy the donut!" Keva: "you know what they say, all that glitters isn't gold," she says smugly as she takes another bite. "umbrois?" Cimmorro: he rolls his eyes in a way that he looks up exasperatingly, thinking to himself that she sure talks like she wants to be cool and distant when he's seen enough from her at this point that she's obviously softhearted. at this point he merely thinks it's funny she still keeps trying to act like this as if she wasn't so worried about angering him just yesterday for decking him in the face. but he decides to keep those thoughts to himself before she leaves his face a concave mess on purpose. "55th." Keva: she makes a "hnnh" sound like she wasn't expecting that. "well, no promises. we'll see if we haven't settled this barvotte business by then." she says the noble house name like spit. actually, her words makes her realize the time she has to learn to read is limited as well, and the thoughts slow her chewing down. augh... Cimmorro: he snorts at the attitude. "don't let finnian hear you like that." he begins to pluck a donut for himself and looks at her expectantly after taking a bite (not until he savors it first) and with a raised brow he goes, "well?"| Keva: she turns a bit to look at him confused. "'well' what?"

Cimmorro: "your birthday" like duh Keva: she turns back to look straight on "none of your business!" Cimmorro: "what!" the genuine shock at the audacity. "that's not fair!" Keva: "hmm!" she says with her donut in her mouth. "what did i just say about trusting thieves?" Cimmorro: "you are soooooooo aggravating sometimes, you know?" he growls. "maybe it's less about you being a thief and more of you just wanting to piss me off." Keva: "could be both," she flashes an innocent (enough) smile, not showing any teeth as usual, before it falls away. "s'not information worth knowing anyway. and i'm not shit-talking myself, before you attempt comfort or whatever. it's just not good information." she says the last bit a little softer than the rest, and her tone suggests she means it seriously but won't explain anymore. Cimmorro: he studies her and finds himself wanting to understand because it's clear on his face that he doesn't. at all. it's just a fuckin birthday for crying out loud. why does she have to be complicated about it?! maybe if they were set in the future where you'd need someone's birthday to confirm their identity for their social security number then sure! but they're not!!! he lets out a sigh that's also half-blowing raspberries. "whatever. i'll just make up a birthday of yours in my head," he says flatly before taking another bite of his pastry. Keva: keva looks up and turns to him as he says that, a little wide eyed like in recognition. it's getting a little scary now, the similarities between cimmorro and someone else she knew. it softens her a bit, and after a moment, she relents, "i don't know my real birthday," pushing the last bit of donut into her mouth, "so you'd just be giving me another fake one" Cimmorro: when keva speaks up, his eyes grow wide and his chewing slows down but he stays still despite it al, looking off into a distance while she goes on, processing her words. 'what?' is all that goes through his mind until he momentarily forgets he was supposed to be chewing at all because the next thing she hears is him choking and coughing on the piece he had in his mouth. as his coughs stagger into almost violent fits he struggles out coughing out, "w-what the, the fuck do you mean? shit-!" as he slams his fist on his chest. Keva: at first, she thinks cimmorro’s just doing his usual theatrics. but when she spots his eyes watering she sits up “oh. OH, you’re actually—” and after a moment of hesitation and hovering she balls up her fist to hit him square between the shoulder blades to get him to cough Cimmorro: it takes a moment and another set of coughing but he does recover after keva's help. clearing his throat and catching his breath, he goes, "are you going to explain that or am i just going to have to accept how that nearly killed me?" he rubs at his own eyes as he sits up straight again. Keva: keva eyes him carefully as he recovers, even as she crosses her arms and leans back onto the bench. "don't think there's much more to explain. how do you know what day you were born?" she says, leading him to figure it out himself Cimmorro: he figures her question isn't a curious one so he turns to give her a look, to study her once more, holding a contemplative gaze. probably should've pieced it together sooner, he thinks. even with the miniscule mentions of her life in talankra, the lack of anything to come back to... small things that pile up to a bigger picture. he finds himself unsure of what to say... or rather what she wants to hear him say. does she even want to talk about this? knowing her, probably not. not out here at least, he assumes. "hm," he starts, or tries to veer the conversation back to the main point. "what's the assigned birthday then? it'd be funny if i had guessed the same thing," he smirks jokingly.

Keva: "as i said," she exaggeratedly angles her head towards him, pauses for effect, and says, "none of your business" a small smile tugs up in good humor, and perhaps a sense of relief that cimmorro didn't press for details further or try to give her condolences. she really is partly messing with him, but she also seems bent on keeping it to herself for now. "maybe you could bribe it out of orin if you want to know so badly. just know i'll take a cut." Cimmorro: "bah, no fun you are," he complains limply. "orin doesn't even seem like the type to need to be bribed. seems like the type of guy who would tell everyone it's your birthday and throw a party," he snickers but means well in his words. the guy seems too jubilant for his own good sometimes. "but, fine, if i must use my bewitching charms on him then, so i shall," he acts as if he's troubled by it before he grins and adds, "and yes, you can have a cut of that, and more if you'd like~" Keva: 

she gives him that look and says snarkily with mock disgust, "careful, or the sweets i just ate might end up on your shoes" Cimmorro: "ah! you didn't specify what bribe now did you...? maybe you shouldn't be so roundabout about a birthday if you don't want me bothering him," he sticks his tongue out Keva: "oh lay off it," she says dismissively "you're the one making it a bigger deal than it needs to be" Cimmorro: "you wound me! oh," he puts both of his hands over his face and whines with boohoos. "is it not enough that i want to get to know my beloved student? sooooo mean to meeeee!" Keva: she makes a face at both the words 'beloved' and 'student,' even if the latter is the reality of things. "a birthday doesn't even tell you anything, what?" Cimmorro: "what do you mean what?! it's a birthday! next you'll tell me you don't even celebrate it." Keva: "i do, it's just--" she's not quite willing to confront the reason for her discomfort around her birthday yet, though it threatens to put a foot through the door of conscious thought. can't have the loneliness take over in broad daylight. "look, you'll know if you ever need to, and right now, you don't. ask something else," she tacks on at the end, as if to appease him.

Cimmorro: after a bit of pouting, he relents if only to avoid souring the morning. "fine. i'll ask about your studies, then. i heard you shuffling around last night," he smiles knowingly. Keva: keva blinks for a moment and, suddenly meek, she fishes out her work from the previous night and hands it over. “i forgot you’re a pretty light sleeper,” she mutters Cimmorro: "why, yes. i am pretty. thank you ☺️" he takes her parchments with care as he examines them over. what do they look like :3 Keva: it takes significant mental energy for keva to not shove cimm off the bench after he just nearly choked, but she succeeds the battle with herself and just says, “ew” the work itself shows small improvements—one can tell she’s getting a little more used to the curved strokes of the letters and the sizing is a little more consistent. she’s not pressing the quill down on the paper so hard either. letters are still overly large, which introduces some wobble, especially with her still somewhat slower strokes. and in words they are still oddly spaced apart, like she’s focusing more on the individual parts than the whole. Cimmorro: keva's reaction just flies past him as he focuses on the state of her work and progress. he silently evaluates each of them in earnest and gives her feedback where it's due, such as leaning closer to her to point out the gaps between letters and so on. "little hiccups here and there but overall still doing impressively well, and so diligent too! the most important thing!" he celebrates with a tiny clap before handing her parchments back. "at this rate we could start to incorporate a little more reading as you go... but ah, we'll be travelling in a caravan for a while. we'll have to figure out how to keep this discreet." he mulls over options, crossing his arms in serious thought. Keva: she watches a fight break out in the distance to distract herself from her self-consciousness, turning only to look when he addresses her and answering him with quiet hmm's and mm's. when he mentions the caravan, she shifts a little uncomfortably. she knows this would be way easier if she didn't insist on keeping it a secret, but she isn't willing to let everyone look down on her more than they already do. especially finn. "...maybe when everyone's asleep?" Cimmorro: "if we're lucky to find them all asleep. at the very least we already know finn prowls about at night... i guess we could take up watch from time to time as to not look suspicious? i'll just give you more activities to do on your own in between... but this all depends," he sighs and tilts his head to the side, sort of defeated while he stretches his legs out. "we'll have to see the caravan they got. maybe we could work something out... does anyone else know about this or is it really just me?" Keva: keva sighs at the same time he does. nothing's ever easy... she shrugs a bit and thinks aloud, "psalm probably knows by now but don't think the others have picked up on it, and i'd prefer it stay that way." she's surprised psalm hasn't poked at her for it, to be honest, with how much he seems to enjoy annoying her, but she's grateful all the same. "maybe i could just... copy stuff to practice writing for a while" Cimmorro: "mmm," is all he responds at the mention of psalm and co. he can't say he can blame her for wanting to keep it from the others. it's not really any of their business. it'd probably only make it harder for her to focus with all of them flocking over her once it's known anyway. at her suggestion his eyes glint in agreement. "that's a sound idea for until we can figure something out. we can grab a book or two for you at the library later." Keva: she simply nods and mutters a "thanks," reminding herself to express gratitude, especially after all the trouble she's given him lately. after a silence she says, "how's the..." and loosely gestures to her face, the same side she had struck him on.

Cimmorro: "hmm? the wha-? oh. my face," he snorts. "good as new, see?" he leans his face closer to her while batting his eyelashes, as if to say 'come look at meee!' "good thing your nails didn't graze me or i'd have another scar on my gorgeous face...! and then i'd have to charge you!" he jokes. Keva: keva leans away as he leans forward, and with a finger pushes his face away by his chin like a page in a book. "lucky me," she says sarcastically. she was more focused on the invasion of personal space than the state of his face, but he's clearly feeling well enough to mess around. "guess you don't need those donuts after all" and she holds out a hand to get the bag back Cimmorro: "ah, ah, ah! nonono. a deal's a deaaaaaal!" he hugs the bag close to him. "and speaking of deals.... we're going to have to talk about our deal on the airship fees."

Keva: keva lets her head fall back in disappointment at the mention of the airship. "you'd think they'd be more grateful after we saved everyone's lives and business. imagine if their ship had gone down!" Cimmorro: "right? they should invest in more security measures... i can't believe something like that could just slip in and out so easily," he shakes his head. "they rewarded us at least....? but that's not why i brought it up," a cheeky smile makes its way on his face. "our deal was based on if we get free rides, not half price off. soooooo...." his hand waves around leisurely. Keva: "yeah yeah i know. i got so close, too...!" she sighs again "can't win 'em all"  but what did she expect, she hardly wins any. "but rememeber that i got us those half-off tickets every time you take that airship," she sniffs Cimmorro: "yes! and ever so grateful and benevolent that i am, i'll still let you cash in on your prize... so long as it's in proportion," he makes a :3 face but inside he is half-relieved that keva doesn't have a huge of a favor hanging over his head now. he couldn't begin to imagine what she'd even ask of him of that caliber...! "behold, i'm just as gracious as the devas themselves~" Keva: she lifts her head back up a little in surprise and snorts "i don't know about that, but i guess i couldn't call you unfair. could call you easy though."  she smirks, "i'll let you know when i've got something that calls for a big favor." Cimmorro: "easy?" a snort. "only when i want to be. if i was feeling mean as you often tend to be towards me-" he shoots a playful accusatory glance before he continues, "i'd just have brushed the deal off altogether. but! i'm a man with integrity. and perhaps i'm growing a soft spot for you? who can say." he cackles with the tease. "nevertheless, as long as your 'big' favor isn't unreasonable, miss kevster, we have a deal." Keva: at his casting a fake glare her way, she weakly lifts a single shoulder and smiles in a fleeting and insincere modeling pose, like she's receiving a compliment. there is another small moment of surprise as he continues to speaks, just barely registering on her face as a side glance before she resets. "soft spots are dangerous. i'd be more careful i were you. on account of the being mean and all." Cimmorro: "i appreciate your concern for me. been noticing more of it lately," he smirks as he dusts himself off before getting up. "maybe it's not me who has to worry about a soft spot after all? curious." his snickering continues while he prepares the bags and the horses to leave again, this time intending to ride them. "shall we?" Keva: keva scoffs, "don't get ahead of yourself. it just so happens you're offering something i need." getting on her feet, she scoops up amos mid-skitter and slips him back into her hood before mounting the same horse from before. "besides, can't cash in that lifetime-discount-worth favor if you're not in one piece." Cimmorro: "if that's how you want to put it." his grin doesn't fade as he gets on ruber, calling for jasper next to which she floats over to settle herself on the back of the new friend. "let's see how long you can keep that up," he says while wearing a smile of false innocence, casually circling his horse around hers before leading the way back to the inn. Keva: she pinches her face at him for the entirety of his pony show before rolling her eyes and making a sound of half-exasperation, half-disdain. she follows behind nonetheless, clicking her tongue and nudges ratnaraj along.

> 🎵  Brigade Town (Main) / Battle Chef Brigade OST

As the two successfully procure their horses, the rest of the party muddles their way through breakfast back at the sunite inn. Psalm wonders where their single missing member is idling about.

Psalm: Psalm just watches han amused. he goes "Where's your roommate? Keva and Cimmorro left earlier so he's the last one left to come down." Hes also gonna push some water towards her… Rokka: he tilts his head in thought "yknow, now that u mentioned it I haven't really seen him since I knocked out last night? maybe we should check up on him" Psalm: Psalm would…rather not do that. "Eh, I'm sure he'll show up eventually. Not like we're in any rush." Rokka: he nods "that's true!" Finn: finn who was hyping himself up and listening in on the conversation from just around the corner, to make sure he'd make a great entrance, is rather disappointed to hear this… he wanted to shoot psalm down or give him shit for talking about him at all but this wasnt such an easy opening to work with… he decides he cant spend too much time on this and struts in like he wasnt just standing there for 2 minutes "how unfortunate for you psalm, here i am. were you hoping to avoid me?" Rokka: rokka looks over his shoulder after hearing finn "speak of the devil! MORNING FINN" he waves Plum: they look at finn and just wave. Psalm: "I was wondering whether you'd be joining us for breakfast actually, but whatever you want to think." He smiles at him.. nothing can defeat his good mood today…! Finn: finn gives a light wave back at plum and rokka not unlike a king standing at a balcony and greeting his subjects with superficial interest. he then openly grimaces at psalm's smile, pushing out the thoughts of how its rather dazzling and as handsome as he always imagined it to be "how off putting for you to be in such good spirits. disgusting." he then huffs and makes a beeline for vinny Plum: plum just gives them a blank, almost unimpressed look. especially at the way he talks to psalm. Psalm: he just shrugs, Psalm just looks at Plum and gives them a knowing look, and says quietly "might be more than just Keva and Cimmorro" Plum: plum just snickers knowingly at that. honestly speaking they've warmed up to psalm pretty steadily over the course of this horrid venture so learning that the others find him so dull/are actively hostile to him is a bit of a surprise. they guess it's because he's so sarcastic which kind of makes sense but eh.

Finn: "good morning…. my friend, id like to have a word with you…" he invades his personal space somewhat with the way hes leaning in, not caring one bit for the conversation vinny is having right now Vinny: he blinks over from him and mars' GeoPoliticalTM conversation and jumps a little at his personal space being invaded "a-ah! good morning er… about what?" he leans to the side to make space for finn awkwardly putting his shoulder against mars in the process Finn: finn puts a hand on vinnys shoulder and slightly pulls him away from mars', displeased with the idea of vinny being so close to the stranger "in private, if you wouldnt mind…" the tone he uses to speak to vinny is gentle… not one he uses for any of the other vengaboys Vinny: he blinks owlishly as finn moves him about before glancing back at mars with a truly indecipherable expression. after a moment he turns back with an awkward smile "ah… sure, if you really need to" he moves to get up from the table as if sweating, looking to finn as if to say 'after you' Finn: finns smile is gentle but also a little somber… he tugs at vinnys sleeve briefly and leads him out into the hallways he just came from

Finn leads Vinny off to a vacant hallway away from any prying eyes, before he begins speaking to him again.

Finn: "i apologize for stealing you away first thing in the morning…" finns facade drops, he still speaks in that gentle voice to vinny but now he sounds somewhat tormented and hes gripping at his own arms as if desperate for support "but it was eating away at me all night… what transpired between us last night" he searches vinnys face for clues whether hes following or not… Vinny: he follows dutifully a little nervous as finn seems strangely serious. as he speaks he stares surprised before his mouth goes a little agape. he folds his own arms and groans after, hanging his head a little "ah… yes, i r-really do apologise for all that. i probably should have been clearer about it all…" he looks embarrassed but also weirdly guilty at finn's dramatics Finn: finn looks at vinny for a moment, nods, and sighs… he seems to hesitate to continue talking about this although hes the one who hyped himself up for it all night "it is good to hear you say that, friend…" he briefly smiles, truly happy that vinny reflected on his behaviour… perhaps what he'll say will reach him after all "but i know what youve been looking at me like… and thus i cannot say i was angry with you. youre… are you afraid of me vinny? i fear youve been more occupied with pleasing me rather than enjoying my actual company… i did not want to spend today with you knowing youre scared to talk back, or far worse, feel as though you cannot speak your mind around me at all…" he looks at vinny with puppy eyes now and takes his hands into his own "our friendship cant blossom like this…" Vinny: he begins rubbing his temple to hide his creeping shame though as finn goes on he becomes confused, it shows on his face as well before he speaks up "w-why on earth would i be afraid of you..?" he blinks wide eyed as he tilts his head, arms still folded "er- truth be told i don't mind becoming er, friends as you said but…" he pauses as if to formulate his words "you came on rather strong to start..! and it was a little daunting.. aha… especially since you didnt to seem to hold much regard for me when we met" he coughs awkwardly "last night well… i had no issue rooming with you, i have simply gathered that at this point when you and cimmorro come together it er…" he pauses again "has very u-unpredictable results..?" he tries to be kind in his wording Finn: finn patiently listens to vinny, nodding as he speaks… truthfully, hes a little pained to hear that vinny didnt appreciate finn pledging his full support right from the get-go, but thats okay… it is something vinny can still come to love about finn later, surely "ah, and yet youre so nervous…even now you tremble" finn tilts his head lightly and takes his hat off, going down on one knee before vinny "youre nervous before me, your friend… that alone is a testament to how i must intimidate you. perhaps i am unfortunate for having been born with such stature, perhaps you would have an easier time coming to terms with the fact that a barvotte has bound himself to you, were i not called one… but it cannot be changed" he closes his eyes and looks at vinny with renewed fervor "regardless of what i thought of you at first, regardless of how cimmorro and i bite and tear at one another, all becomes meaningless before you and i now. id like to see you for me… not for anything else, do you think thatd be possible for you, my friend? to dare look at me as your equal?" he smiles so earnestly, so warmly… a smile well reserved for his uncle usually

Vinny: he balks at finn's response, he balks at him getting on his knees, he's so shocked the rest of his face goes red in embarrassment before he starts quickly gesturing with his hands, flustered "i-i, look just g-get back up p-please, a-alright!" he kneels down to grab finn by the shoulders himself, so quickly stressed out by the strange display, pulling him up to standing height in front of him again "l-look that's exactly what im t-talking about! thats not really how you make friends with… well w-with anyone!" he pauses a moment to gather his wits again "and how exactly would we be equal with you kneeling on the floor!? really…" he releases finn from his hold as he shakes his head, at a loss as he rubs his brow "i was nervous because i was worried you might do something like that again…" he rubs his face for a moment calming himself, before turning back to finn extending a hand towards him with a set expression on his face "look, l-lets just start again here. my name is vinny, it's a pleasure to meet you" he stares expectantly, awaiting a response Finn: finn is shocked when vinny drops to his knees as well, when he reaches out, when he pulls finn up… his words seem to both ease and increase the burden thats been festering in his heart. his brows are lightly furrowed and hes not sure how to respond "i-i… i…" he stares at vinnys hand and then at vinny "you dont like when i…" in a sense, vinny is rejecting his very being. its in finns nature to be like this… to think that he would prostrate himself like this before another, only for it to be unwelcome.. a harsh wave of reality washes over him. could vinny not love him for him? "it must certainly not be a shock to hear ive not made many friends at all, over the course of my life" an edge accompanies the now not so gentle tone "truly, i dont know how to take this vinny… i thought you would like that about me… why is it that i cant proclaim my affection for you? you dont know what you did for me that night… but you have to know! it is my desire to make you feel the change youve brought forth in me…" he looks fragile now, his hand half outstretched and twitching, not quite ready to meet vinnys Vinny: he blinks as his request is ignored and finn seems to go on about something he can barely follow. but he simply sighs, reaches out with his other hand to grabs finn's and puts it in his own outstretched one, clasping it. he looks finn in the eye, almost taking the role of a parent right now hes starting to feel "and its very nice to meet you too?" he shakes their clasped hands firmly "if you want to make me feel anything aside from erm…. well finn, just start treating me a little less grandly, really, i'm just one man at the end of the day. we don't even really know all that much about each other, i think" he continues holding his hand in his grasp as he speaks again "and your name is..?" he tries again for his previous introduction routine Finn: "a-ah i- vinny" he becomes a bumbling mess as vinny asserts himself, he cant help but stare in shock at the hands clasping his own. hes not used to having his way of thinking….no, not just his thinking, having his way be denied quite like this. how can vinny just do this? cast aside all his grandeur and declarations of love? is it not that vinny doesnt realize hes special, but outright rejecting being special? he cant figure it out, and regardless of that finn feels something inside of himself break and shatter. something tiny and precious, something locked away for a very long time, forgotten. he looks vinny in the eyes and can only think that despite everything, he wants… "i-i-im…" he sniffles, pathetically "im finn a-and i really want to be your- your friend!" he hiccups, eyes glassy now

Vinny: he smiles a little bit, genuinely, even as finn begins to tear up, thinking hes finally made some ground here with the man as he relents. he gives their clasped hands one last firm shake as he reaches out with his other hand to pat finn on the shoulder with a friendly hand, giving him a sunny smile as if to cheer him up "it's a pleasure to meet you finn, lets hope we still have time to grab some breakfast, hm?" he lets go finally before reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief to give to him as his eyes wobble "see that went alright, didnt it? you'll become a natural yet" Finn: his tears spill over as soon as he feels vinnys hands leaving his own. the hiccuping gets worse and he stares in disbelief at his hands as the tears fall down, hat on the floor, long forgotten "n-no what is.. why.." he wipes desperately at his eyes, but he cant help the sob that escapes him at vinnys gentle touch to the shoulder "dont! dont look at me! n-not now!" he takes a step back and clutches at his head "no ones supposed to…" the way he looks at vinny is not unlike a wounded animal. his mind races back to before. he rejected him, in a way vinny rejected him. and in his heart he feels the sparks ignite, but the fire never quite starts raging. he breathes deeply and rapidly, trying to calm himself "what did you just make me do?! i…" and then his eyes fall unto the handkerchief. its just like the jacket before, isnt it? even if vinny cant see it the same way, finn wants to keep that memory, all to himself, even if something ugly is born inside him at this very moment. he finally accepts the handkerchief with a sniffle and holds it to his chest, holds it tightly, like treasure "you can go back on your own… ill get a hold of myself first" he looks to the side now, gears turning in his mind Vinny: he tilts his head a little perplexed at his response, despite him taking his handkerchief anyway. wondering briefly if he might have pushed the man a little far, despite his eccentricities he seems to shatter like glass at times. he folds his arms still staring at finn as if not sure if he should leave "hmm.. well…" he shakes his head, most of this is really beyond him but… he pats him on the shoulder again as he turns "alright, but from here on you can consider us friends alright?" he smiles again to cheer him up "you can give that back whenever you like, alright?" he pulls him into a one armed side hug as he pats his back, before he turns to walk off giving the man some privacy. as he leaves the hallway he lets out a deep harried sigh, he still hasn't even really eaten anything this morning….. and weren't they supposed to go out after eating. he's starting to regret opening his mouth and not playing along at this point, maybe it would have kept the peace…? Finn: finn half heartedly attempts to lean into the hug but doesnt react more than that, a hollow feeling carving its way throughout his entire body. he stares mindlessly at the wall before him. why did vinny have to go and ruin their relationship? he cant put him back on the pedestal, thats what it is. he can never put vinny back up there and he can never declare his gratitude again… he cant smother vinny in his love. the one who would actually deserve it.

As the two have their conversation the rest of the table chatters in their absence.

Mars: he blinks back at vinny as he leaves 'Wait who is that guy hello your Vildristin is getting kidnapped' at plum. Seeing Vinny ripped away from geopolitics chat so suddenly made him focus in on Plum's explanation instead, he does seem interested in the topic before Plum's question put his own question away. "Oh, her?" He tilts his head a little so the bird could maybe stop trying to make a nest up there. With a rowdy flap she eventually settles on his hand as she lowers it. "It must've slipped my mind to actually introduce her to you all, but this is my familiar, Silva. She'll hopefully help us get a lay of the land while we're on the road." Plum: at mars plum just sighs. "yeah, i suppose he is getting kidnapped right now," they're amused by the phrase "your vildistrin." they say, "and that's finn, another member of the party right now. actually he's the nephew of the person contracting all of us. didn't know those two were so close though? also a familiar, that's cool. she seems pretty smart, if her gagging at what vinny said just now was like. real." Psalm: Hello Silva." Rokka: rokka perks up and waves "HIYA SILVA I'M ROKKA!" Han: "Er- well, your Vinny I suppose if we're going by what you said last night." Finn.. finn… adds that to the list of names to remember. After hearing Plum's compliment to Silva though he looks back down to the kestrel and goes. "She did what???" And she looks up at him cluelessly until psalm and rokka greet her and she promptly hops off to greet them instead. Psalm: psalm like oh how cute Silva: she's really friendly it seems. Plum: plum watches her chug it very amused. "probably tastes like shit but, how you feeling now?" Psalm: Watching the hangover cure situation unfold with Han Psalm just goes plum "Next time I'll be sure to come to you " Han: she laid back down after chugging it and turns to plum, a bit bewildered "actually better" shes impressed Plum: "sure, i gotcha." they say to psalm then to han they're like, "okay cool, good" and take back the cup.

Plum: "true, he's like our group's resident wizard right now. weirdly of his own volition. and yeah, i realise you couldn't see though because she was on your head," they laugh. Psalm: "Of his own volition is what astounds me honestly, he seems content to let Cimmorro and Finn drag him around." Mars: "That scamp…" Though there's no malice in it at all, just a man resigned to a pet that's way too smart for its own good. "He seems nice, being wrapped around fingers aside. Though I didn't realise that was that Finn guy just now." What strange fashions are they doing in antessa… actually he will refelct upon his normie centric world view Psalm: "He's a bit of an eccentric." Is what Psalm says by way of explanation for Finns snuffkin outfit.. Mars: "I've heard tell that he's a noble. Seems about right…" He muses. Psalm: "A pretty textbook one too… I'd say try not to let him bother you but I get the feeling you're not the type to." Mars: "Ahaha…?" ??? <- clueless Psalm: "….Don't worry about it." Plum: "yeah he is nice. too nice probably is the vibe i get. also yeah, regarding finn, just…don't worry about it." Mars: The second time he hears dont worry about it re: Finn he's a little suspicious but he'll see for himself in due time he supposes…… He knows better than to look peace time gift horse in the mouth.

Eventually Vinny wanders back into the main room, looking deeply contemplative and like hes gained 15 years of age.

Psalm: "Well! That looks like it went well, whatever it was!" Vinny: he stares off into the middle distance rubbing his chin as psalm speaks "perhaps..? well, i hope so…" he sits there forgetting to go grab food, i never shoulda opened my mouth…. Psalm: Curious but self preserving, Psalm leaves it alone Mars: Looks around and realises vinny hasn't eaten. "We still have time before the trip, may be a while before we can have a decent meal." Vinny: he glances over taken out of his reverie "o-oh you're right" he gets up again to go grab something from the bar as well, still thinking to himself Mars: Whatever they talked about seemed grave…………….. observation best kept to the self

Plum: "poor vinny," plum says aloud after he's left the table to go get food. Mars: "The other guy better eat now too unless he's more of an on the road eating kinda guy." Plum: "he'll probably grab something on the road, yeah." plum says casually. Mars: "If you're sure…" Not many chances to eat on the way though…! Psalm: "I can only imagine what they just discussed if Finn didn't even come back with him, should one of us go check on him?" Plum: "i mean, you can if you want to." plum sayys, kind of perplexed at the thought. "i don't want to. feel like he's alone when he wants to be." Psalm: "Well last time I left him to his own devices he tried propositioning one of the guides we were meant to hire, so I just figure it'd minimise the damage if we got a hold of him now…" Plum: "oh, sure," plum screws up their face, unwilling to remember finn's behaviour yesterday. "be my guest, though. i don't really care otherwise." Psalm: "Well, I see no other volunteers so excuse me for a moment." Knowing he will probably regret this decision, Psalm excuses himself from the table and goes in search of their missing vampire… Plum: they salute

Back in the hallway Finn's mind briefly wanders to psalm…. and he shivers in disgust at himself, for thinking that he'd want psalm to comfort him now. In his mind he stumbles drunkenly into psalms room at night and… and if Finn threw himself at psalm with all his beauty and glory unveiled, the coward still wouldn't think to touch him, let alone look at him. Still, he doesn't trust himself to be around psalm right now. He might just become that pathetic.

Finn almost slides down the wall as his thoughts continue to make short work of the little rest he got last night. He thinks to pick up his hat and looks at the handkerchief in his hand… he dries his tears, but doesn't think to blow his nose… if it were him, if his lover handed him such a used handkerchief, tainted with snot tears and saliva… Finn would smother himself in it. Vinny would not. Not ever. Could Finn accept being merely his friend? In this way? He… cant say. Why did Vinny make him admit something so stupid? the day ahead fills him with dread.

Finn, in his misery, has started performing for himself in the hallway, uncaring if anyone sees. Psalm is lucky enough to happen upon the scene undisturbed, enough to watch for a bit. It does not take a trained eye to see he is attempting ballet. He jumps around, mimicking things from shows hes seen, does a poor pirouette… he is unskilled in the art, plain to see. Sometimes he incorporates a couple slashes as if he were wielding a sword, as if he were re-enacting a play… Whom he might picture in this moment, who's to say… hes very concentrated on his act.

Psalm: Psalm enters the hallway and is honestly…well he's not sure what he expected really. He just figured Vinny and Finn had some dumb conversation, considering Finn seems to have some one sided obsession with him. How'd that happen anyways? He's not sure if he should say something or make a quick getaway before Finn realises he's there… Han: finn halts to do a dramatic movement, he lowers himself to the floor and raises his arms in a swan like manner… his gaze goes up to the ceiling and even though stuck in his reverie, he starts to notice an orange figure standing there… he rises, reaches for the ceiling before starting to do a few clumsy pirouettes in succession "what do you seek me for? have you come to laugh at me? have you been yearning and edging to see me succumb to misery like this? perhaps this is why you woke up so happy today…" this is delivered with a noticable lack of emotion. finn inches closer to psalm and holds out his hand, doing a little bow, offering to psalm to join "or have you come to apologize?" his gaze is empty but fixed Psalm: Still confused, but ultimately not surprised at being utterly lost around Finn anymore, he says "Actually I just came to check on you. Why would I laught at you?" I lowkey dont trust that you won't get up to something silly he does not say. "Is you ''succumbing to misery' why you're doing ballet in the middle of the hallway?" Kind of scared by Finns expression he just takes his hand to humor him. He's not really sure what he has to apologise for though so he leaves that alone for now. Psalm: "it is alright to admit youve been waiting for the chance… i fully anticipate you to feel that way…" finn is a little surprised by psalm taking his hand though, and he starts to initiate a waltz with psalm.. his expression starts to betray emotion, sorrow making itself apparent. finn thinks to himself that he is disgusting…just minutes earlier he was scolding himself, he had sworn off even talking to the man until he apologized, and yet he didnt hesitate to offer the devil his hand.. and now they dance! how laughable. how pitiful "i… ive simply always been miserable…" he starts, unsure how much he wants to share until psalm gives him what is owed and looks at the warlock with just about the saddest eyes you can imagine, they seem to be asking for comfort and also assurance, even if finn himself wouldnt admit it "thats all…"

Psalm: "There's clearly some misunderstanding here. You seem to think that I'm upset with you, or biding my time waiting for your downfall." He just goes with the waltz honestly, he's done weirder shit in public at this point. Not really sure what to say to that though he just asks, "Did Vinny like, get mad at you or something?" He finds that hard to believe, but since he's unofficially appointed himself as group counselor it's worth asking. Finn: "everyone is…" he mumbles, clearly not up for debating this part of his perception. at psalms question he almost winces, he looks away for a moment "he didnt get mad at me… perhaps i wouldve preferred that. i…" his eyes drift towards psalm again "lost something. i always seem to lose, even if im supposed not to" after a moment finn stops and leans against psalm. it is meant as a dramatic pause in their dance. he lingers and hates himself for it. into psalms chest he speaks "why do you humor me psalm? dancing with me like this… does it not make you want to up and leave?" Psalm: "If you say so." <-- guy that doesn't wanna debate either. Psalm can't imagine what it would take for Vinny to get mad at someone… he doesn't think an angry Vinny would be very pleasant. "Also I'm certain if I did that you'd get mad at me, so as random as this is its the preferred outcome." He backtracks, "Not to say this is unpleasant or anything!" Just in case Finn gets mad at him anyways…! "But it seems that you and I are not on the same page regarding how we see each other, hence why you keep mentioning an apology. As for Vinny… I cant imagine what he could've said that'd make being angry preferable but.. cheer up…? I guess…?" Finn: finn thinks it over in his mind… if psalm made fun of him, he'd most likely get mad. but itd ultimately depend on the situation. if its the right type of situation, he'd probably find it hot. a machination of his mind so natural to himself he doesnt need to elaborate it in his own thoughts. he leans back further against psalm, expecting to be held like people in ballet hold each other. psalms awful go at telling finn to cheer up has him grimacing… hes almost ready to leave the man himself, actually "youve slighted me on the airship… not that i expect you to remember, since youre so clueless" his usual tone starts to return to him "although itd be quite miraculous for you to tell me you dont remember. regardless" an eyeroll and a sigh later he continues "im willing to forgive you, if you answer one question for me" he cranes his neck to look at psalm with sharp eyes and intent Psalm: Psalm has never watched ballet so he has no idea Finn expects anything of him."You mean in the hallway? That's what-" he pauses, "You're interesting Finn, I'll leave it at that. Let's hear this question then." He looks back at Finn in his usual, seemingly disinterested manner, but he is definitely dreading whatever is going to come out of Finns mouth.

Finn: a small smirk tugs at the corners of finns mouth, and hes powerless to fight it off… being called interesting is already beginning to lift his mood and psalm even remembered his fuck up! he can even overlook psalm not holding him properly and begins to guide his arms to finns hips, then then returns to his own pose from before "can all forms of love be received?" his stare is intense now… "id advise you to not aim to receive my approval….i want to hear what you think" Psalm: Psalm like please can NO ONE I KNOW WALK INTO THIS HALLWAY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IM NOT SURE HOW ID EXPLAIN THIS SITUATION. He just let's Finn do whatever he wants to be honest. "I wouldn't even know what to say that you'd approve of, so no need to worry about that. In any case I'm not sure I fully understand, but I think it's case by case… and depends on who's doing the receiving. Not everyone loves the same, or wants the same thing from each other…?" What on earth were he and Vinny talking about? Finn: "hm…" finn thinks for a moment, temporarily pleased by the fact that psalm wouldnt know how to please finn, slowly resuming their waltz from before "so youd say that a love, no matter how wicked and strange, no matter how appalling to the average person… has the potential to be received by the right person?" Vinny: "Sure, if that's what they're into. I don't see why not." Starting to put pieces together in his head here about the nature of this conversation with Vinny he thinks. "Wait don't tell me..sorry if this steps on a nerve but did Vinny turn you down?"

Finn: finn seems pleased by this answer and finally relaxes… their dance taking on a more comfortable nature, less dramatic. at being asked about vinny again though finn furrows his brows a little and shoots psalm a look that seems to say 'a bit quick of you to ask dont you think?' "it was…… not like that. despite how it looks to you now. i will say it is a little soon, considering youve only just risen again in my good graces, but i wouldnt mind sharing more about this another time… this hallway feels a lot less private now that ive regained my clarity" his tone is lacking in ire, and he begins to slowly stop dancing, not quite yet letting go of psalms hands though. he stares at him for a good moment, hesitating as usual when it comes to expressing gratitude "i… must admit im quite happy that youve earned my forgiveness. it wouldve been a shame if i had to stay mad at you for the rest of our journey…" not that he doesnt have a plethora of reasons left to be mad at psalm, but right now he truly is grateful to psalm for helping him. his heart seems to be at ease once more, his grievances with vinny as good as forgotten. finn opts to smile sweetly at psalm, and lets go of his hands, lest he gets the wrong idea again Psalm: He shoots a look back that says, 'I'm curious sue me' but it's apologetic.. At Finn's admission however Psalm also smiles, albeit a bit hesitant. "Well be glad it's just me that found you here I suppose. Although I'm sure the others would probably not find it all that strange." Psalm is not 100% sure what he did to get back into Finn's good graces but whatever works, he supposes be gave the right answer…? "That would be a shame yes, I can't say I would've enjoyed that." Finn: finn would rather die than admit he was quite literally hoping for psalm to appear…perhaps the comfort he wished for was different, but he was comforted nevertheless… his day would be going worse if anyone else found him, surely. so he nods to that. ah…theres that smile again (hesitation flying over his head). finn almost sighs, still kind of annoyed that hes still this attracted to psalm, but he maintains his smile and feels a blush creeping up his cheeks "you know… you look quite handsome like this actually. im happy to be the reason for once" Psalm: Psalm is back to being mostly confused but just rolls with it "Uhhhh, kind of unused to you not just insulting me afterwards but thanks?" Finn: finn stops in his tracks and looks back, blinking a bit sheepishly "would you like me to? that thanks didnt sound like you were actually pleased…" why, it sounds like psalm misses it! Psalm: Psalm's smile changes into a smirk, "I prefer you being nice to me." Finn: that smirk makes finns face turn red entirely but hes determined to maintain his confidence "oh? are you sure?" he raises his nose as he talks, both to appear more haughty and to hopefully hide how much that got to him "i couldve taken you for a masochist the way you get me to insult you over and over…" Psalm: Unfortunately (or fortunately for Finn idk that guy is an enigma) he's triggered Psalm's fondness for fucking with people, so Psalm just smiles like this and says "I think you have it wrong Finn, considering how little effort it takes to get you to do it I think you're the one here that enjoys it." Finn: "y-you…" finn is starting to crack, very visibly, gears in his head working overtime to figure this one out "are you calling me a sadist? ha…one dance and you go flattering yourself like this…" hes starting to figdet with his coat Psalm: "That is exactly it yes," he says matter-of-factly. "And you can't really blame me can you? You started it." He crosses his arms.

Finn: finn feels himself shrinking…..whats it with psalm suddenly messing with him like this and towering over him? well, hes just standing there, but still "s-so what…" finn mumbles and pouts before mentally congratulating himself for thinking of the best comeback ever, that surely wont ruin his good relationship with psalm now "maybe thats the real reason you turned me down back then…were you scared id be too mean?" he also crosses his arms now Psalm: "That's not something that crossed my mind, no," Psalm says, hoping to god this doesn't sound unkind(?). He doesn't really want to revisit this topic too much though… "If I was worried about you being mean to me I'd be in trouble, all things considered." Finn: finn starts pointing at him in an anime-esque fashion now "exactly why im justified in my suspicion of your masochism… youre the one who lets me walk all over you and then still comes to dance with me and comfort me like this" back to pouting "if anything im surprised it took you this long to figure that out about me……" <-flying over his head now Psalm: "True, and I said Vinny let himself be dragged around earlier. I suppose it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black here why I let you treat me like this. Suspect what you want about me, be mean to me if you want, as long as we're fine." Psalm is not even sure if they're on the same page anymore or if they ever were at any point in this conversation. Finn: unfortunately for finn he just cant keep up with psalms teasing. first psalm says something about preferring to be treated nicely, now he calls for finn to treat him however he likes… and that he'll come to him regardless? was psalm actually coming onto him right now?…… finn briefly covers his face in a desperate attempt to make sense of it all and block out that damn smirk… all he understands is that psalm is just hot right now and he needs to get out of here "i-i got it, okay? so just stop being like this! we just made up! its like youre really deliberately trying to get me to be cruel to you!" with the pitch of his voice having gone up, finn waves one hand in front of him rapidly and keeps his face covered with the other, anything to avoid looking directly at psalm "i wanted to grant you the opportunity to walk back with me but i just cant with you like this! idiot!" this time he really runs for it….unable to bear this, in his opinion, seme attitude from psalm any longer although they both have the same destination anyway Psalm: Idk if Psalm said he'd go to him regardless & hes not coming onto him, but since he cannot read Finns mind that's just going to have to be left alone He just snorts as he watches Finn leave, his attempt at being obnoxious(?) successful(?) "I got called and idiot in the end though huh " he thinks as he follows after him back to the breakfast table (at a distance).

As the two amicably(?) resolve their chat, in the interim those still at the table chatter in the three's absence.

Mars: "Did he (finn) do something?" <- guy asking questions expecting a lighthearted answer Plum: "when we were trying to find a guide yesterday he was hitting on some of them. i think we spared you from that by coming up to you ourselves." plum says, waving a piece of bread before eating it. Mars: "Hitting on them…?" He sounds a little amused? "Not the best impression I suppose." Plum: "nah, not really. i guess it's kind of funny thinking about it in retrospect, though." Mars: “He hasn’t gone back in a while… Hope he’s doing alright, Vin looked haggard there when he came back.” Plum: "well we could always ask. but yeah, although to be fair vinny regularly looks pretty haggard. or tired," plum notes Mars: “Well seems like Psalm’s gone off and done it.” If that door is somewhere to his left then he full on turns to it. “Seems like… a touchy subject though, perhaps you’re better off asking Vin.”

As if on cue the man wanders back a plate of breakfast in hand as he sits himself at the table again.

Plum: "maybe i will, i feel bad for asking him about the accords and all too. he seems pretty stressed by those." <- cue vinny coming back Mars: In all the chatter it seemed like he missed how touchy the subject of the accords is. “Right, uh, I’ll refrain from bringing that up around him.” Sheepish headscratch oh hi vinny Vinny: he glances at the two of you again as he sits down and gives a lopsided smile "talking about me?" Mars: “Er… somewhat?” Plum: plum feels embarrassed for a short second before going "we were wondering what finn could possibly have wanted to talk about, since you seemed pretty frazzled on your way back here. psalm went to go look for him, though." plum leans back in their chair. "oh and i was saying i felt bad for bringing up the accords since you seemed pretty stressed about it. oh shit, i guess i'm bringing it up again right now. my bad.." Vinny: he lets out a dry laugh "well… it was about the rooming situation last night but then it got into… well all sorts of things i didn't quite understand" he leans forward putting his chin in his hand "he holds me in some great esteem for some reason, it got so dramatic just now i felt i had to bring him back down to the ground a little… though i wonder if i ought have just played along" he plays with his fork furrowing his brow a little as he moves onto the accord business and gives him a tired smirk "well… as much as i hold contempt for the group i do know quite a bit about them, a sad irony" Plum: "oh…?" plum says. "that sounds…confusing. but unsurprising i guess. i was saying earlier i didn't even realise you two had gotten so close. you're a pretty capable wizard though, maybe it has something to do with that? i think finn cares about that kind of esteem thing, anyways." plum looks at mars like does that somewhat explain finn's personality to you…maybe..maybe not. plum perks up at the last sentence also. "contempt why?" Vinny: he makes a strained face "he is a very confusing man… but i am making an effort… i guess we'll see where it leads?" he makes a face at plum praising him again like hes a little embarrassed and moves on, sticking his fork into his food and laughing dryly at the question, muttering a little "holding my life in their palms i suppose……" before shoving the food into his mouth Mars: He looks around between Plum and Vinny and his shoddy recollection of Finn. And just wearily nods along. “So its… complicated on both subjects I see…” Vinny: vinny nods back at him as he chews Han: han moans from the table "everyone is so freaking complicated in this group…"

Mars: “Seems to be what I’ve heard from Cimm this morning.” He doesnt say its fascinating seeing it actually happen. But hes not not thinking it Plum: "that's funny.. i wouldn't say i'm complicated though " they mumble. they laugh at what han says though "i feel like the only person who has yet to encounter finn being overly complicated.. and i pray to keep it that way. good on you though, that's kind of you." plum isn't that patient, personally. they make a face back at vinny. "damn, let us know if you ever need help? you're always helping us, honestly." Vinny: he shakes his head again "i just… it was so strange i didnt know what else to say to him…! im sure you'd probably think of something better if such fate befell you" he thinks to himself that he agrees with mars and han's assessments as he goes on and stares at his plate "honestly, i'm not sure there's much anyone can do for me at this point, myself included, its quite a…situation. but i appreciate the thought" he smiles as he looks back over towards plum "well, consider it equal for saving my life how many times back in the city" Plum: "well i hope so," they smirk with a short of joking confidence. "maybe i already have and that's why we haven't run into any issues yet." at what vinny says they just frown but don't push it. "that doesn't sound good, but okay. i'm not sure what i could even help with, to be honest. those kinds of things kinda evade me, but alright. it's equal then." they smile (when plum smiles its usually kind of like this >:) but not like evilly) Mars: “I’m sure you’re wonderfully mundane.” With no tone shift whatsoever to plum Plum: "whoa, flirting with me all of a sudden.." they say in a deadpan. hopefully obviously joking they can't tell with anyone anymore Mars: “Huh??” <- One of the people the joke isnt landing on. Vinny: he laughs again "where would this group be without a natural like you holding them together?" he snorts a little at mars and plums exchange, though he begins to eye mars a little more curiously Plum: "yeah alright alright, i don't know about all of that they joke back, looking smug then to mars "never mind.." plum says, head in their hands. "i'm actually very wonderfully mundane. it's one of my best qualities." they say seriously instead, also slightly embarrassed. Mars: “Uh yes that’s what I… said…?” He scratches the back of his head. “Sorry- Yes you’re you seem mundane. Its great.” He looks gravely serious now. “I’m stopping.” He decreed. Doesn't even see vinny w how hard hes backpedaling Plum: plum is just looking at mars bewildered, like they're almost starting to feel bad for saying anything. "it's fine," they say. Mars: “Moving on.” Continues to sit there and say nothing.

Vinny: vinny continues staring at mars as he chews "you're really alike huh…" before smiling at plum "allergic to praise are we?" Plum: "well, i'll accept it where it's due is all…." they huff lightheartedly. Vinny: he grins good naturedly as he continues eating "ever humble!" his mood slowly improving again with the twos rapport, though mars' confusion continues to amuse him

SESSION 54 - 30/9

> 🎵  Cliff Town / Spyro Reignited OST

Picking up again in the midst of the morning, Keva and Cimmorro stand proudly as the owners of two new jet black steeds named Ratnaraj and Ruber for the group, the former nuzzling itself against Cimmorro’s face as he introduces himself.

Cimmorro: cimm gives him warm and welcoming pets in return. "you two are messing up my hair, but i'll let it slide this time!" Keva: keva wraps her reins securely around a hand "ready to go?" Cimmorro: "eeeyup. we got them quicker than i anticipated but that also means more time for that donut stop" he sways a little giddy as he turns to lead the way

The two head to the little known pastry store within the city for their morning delights. They arrive in front of a tall green painted building, small flowers blooming out the front in plant pots as the smell of baked goods fills their noses. The store is located at the bottom of the building, the clear windows displaying the baked delights to entice passersby. Working a stall out the front of the store is a flour covered older woman in her late 40s, arranging breads for sale.

Cimmorro: cimm was in the middle of telling keva about how this is the only place they can get these donuts using native ingredients from coralwash. "it's actually like magic! the way they melt in your mouth" approaching the front of the store he goes "hey-llo~ would you have a dozen of fairy's winks to-go?" Keva: while cimm greets the baker keva busies herself eyeing the display Baker: the older woman glances up at you "oh? any flavour in particular or you want the lot" she dusts her hands on her apron with a grin "something special going on?" Keva: keva adds nonchalantly over cimm's shoulder, "birthday party" she points to him suggesting it's his "got any deals on cake too?" (18 on deception lmaaaao) Cimmorro: "ahhh, give me assorted ones please, but ah…" he suddenly distracted by a thought "give me a half dozen of strawberry ones to add. :)" at keva's interjection, he turns to look at her with an half-amused eyebrow raise Baker: the woman's face lights up a little "oh, well aint that nice. picking up nice and fresh in the morning" she steps inside the store ushering you after her as she starts grabbing and boxing the sweets for you "hmm we got a couple of slices from yesterday that're half price if you like vanilla" Keva: keva looks to cimmorro "well, do you like vanilla?" Cimmorro: "i do, actually! what would that cost us altogether? i don't suppose letting you pet our horses would get us an extra sweet or two? :3" he says only jokingly Baker: the woman tallies up the price on a piece of parchment before glancing at you with a smirk "let's say 8 silver for you honey" Cimmorro: cimm slides it over the display

Keva: KEVA PUSHES CIMM'S HAND OUTTA THE WAY BEFORE HE CAN PAY AND FORKS OVER HER MONEY Cimmorro: he was going like "here you- GAH!" then turns to keva like >:(??? ?? "what's your problem" Keva: "it's your birthday" she says like it's obvious "besides, i owe you for the strawberries, remember?" and nearly giving him a black eye, but she doesn't say that part out loud Cimmorro: he stares at her with furrowed brows, mostly just pouty not angry. "then pay for the ones with the strawberries! i'm paying for the dozen i'm giving my sisters" Keva: "just pay me back the difference then" she keeps up a relatively pleasant demeanor in front of the shopkeep "thank you" Baker: he woman laughs at your little exchange before taking the money from either of you and handing over the sweets "careful you dont argue on how to eat them"

Keva: keva takes the still warm sweets and turns to go, dropping the smiley (for her) act the moment she's facing away. she takes a curious sniff before holding them out to cimm to take "pay up then" Cimmorro: he takes his share of the sweets from her, continuing to pout "when are you going to be that nice to me, huh?" he plants the 2 silver on her now empty hands Keva: keva tucks the money away and makes a bit of an exaggerated shrug "who knows, maybe never" Cimmorro: he blows raspberries. "my efforts… they mean nothing to you!" he cries out dramatically, nothing serious though. he smirks the next second, as if he wasn't just doing any theatrics whatsoever. "hmpf, if you're still walking around with me that must at least mean something"

The two begin walking off towards their next destination as they continue to chatter.

Keva: she snorts "that i don't absolutely hate you? you must have low standards" she dips a finger into the cream filling of her cake slice and cleans it right off. light and airy, not to sweet. she gives a joking smile "i suppose you've been good enough company tho, so we'll see" Cimmorro: "ugh, of course i am. you'll be all over me before you know it!" he snorts but immediately makes a displeased noise at her. "ahhh!! why desecrate a perfect cake! wait til we can sit down" Keva: "when's that going to be? i thought we were meeting up with the others soon" she quickly eats a little more icing as if to goad him, but then tucks it away "didn't you want to go to the library with vinny?" Cimmorro: "we'd have to catch up to them first--- stop, stop it i'm going to start taking that from you!" he growls and huffs. "i did want to go to the library but checking out other shops wouldn't hurt… we should just get on the horses at this point."

Back at the inn the other group finish up their breakfast, readying themselves to go about their business for the rest of the morning.

Finn: finn comes scuttling out of the hallway and runs over to vinny "vinnyyyy!!! >__<" he grabs a hold of vinnys shoulders and leans down a little, acting as if that hallway fiasco didnt just happen "have you finished eating?? i think we should get a move on already…" he seems a little whiny, but thats bc he really wants to get away from psalm rn, then at han "are you awake now??" hes pouting Vinny: he glances over surprised as he's shook about and gives finn a lopsided smile "uh… i suppose?" guess i was worried for nothing thinks vinny to himself Han: muffled "i am always awake" Psalm: Psalm rejoins the breakfast group as well Finn: "then lets go! i tire of waiting…" if this goes on, cimm and keva will have gotten the horses before hes had a chance to try and bond with vinny for real now! finn already knows what he wants to talk about while they loiter around town….. Han: han slides off the table and gets up, she does a "lets gooooooo" thats much more subdued than her usual lets goooooo but shes letsing go nonetheless Mars: Watching Han, Vinny and Finn walk off "Wonder where those THREE are going." Psalm: "Probably to explore before we set out? If I had to guess." Mars: "I suppose we have time for it if they don't get lost…" But also aware that this is a real easy city to get lost in. "Probably best if someone goes with them." Rokka: "should we follow them in case they do need help?" he tilts his head Mars: "Well why don't… we just join them?" He sees no problems with this at all Rokka: "GOOD POINT U HAVE SIR" he shoots up from his seat prepared to tag along Mars: Gets up too (sir??!!!???!???!?).

Vinny: he stumbles upwards quickly "er- did we want to bring the others to get all the supplies?" he glances at the rest of the group at the table as he stands Finn: finn goes kinda pale and glances around nervously "huh? wha-? n-no! we decided yesterday you and i and han would go out together…" Plum: "i can come along if you want," plum shrugs Vinny: he glances at hungover han "er- that is true but i dont know if she can lug an entire caravan on her own anymore.." he smiles at plum as they speak up Han: han straightens out and blinks awake now that her ability is being questioned "i absolutely can !" Plum: "i believe in you," plum says. "but i have no plans and i don't wanna be bored so…" they get up to join the group if they're done eating Han: "you guys can come along! but i do not get lost !!!" shes very offended at the implication Psalm: Psalm will just join the group for lack of anything else better to do, So he says as much Finn: finn crosses his arms and taps his foot impatiently as he watches his plans fall apart in real time…. talking about love is not something he wants to do with the whole group… he wanted to know what vinnys ideal partner is, what he finds romantic, if he wants to shop together…… ugh! he makes a "tch" sound at psalm coming along too now but quickly shuffles to walk next to vinny "i-i guess we'll all go together then Plum: "yayy" plum says tiredly Psalm: Psalm raises an eyebrow & says "No worries, I'll splinter off at the first book store I see." Finn: finn looks over his shoulder and pouts at psalm but on the inside he thinks he would actually like to spend time with psalm but theres no way for him to admit or create that opportunity now… he has to be somewhat mad out of principle Vinny: vinny smiles as the whole group agrees on the outing and then pats finn on the back "the more the merrier….!"

> 🎵  Shop Open Theme / Recettear OST

The group all make their way towards the local city markets in search of a caravan and supplies to purchase, the smells and sounds differ from that of shorewater ones they've become accustomed to. The markets are layed out almost in a spiderweb fashion, branching off in all sorts of directions above and below. They’ll probably be able to find all sorts of things they need here.

The smell of food follows throughout as there always seems to be a vendor of some sort on the street selling something particularly delicious. Likewise they see guild members of all sorts getting into healthy morning scraps in the street, and merchants arguing loudly at their stalls. It feels less immediately intimidating than in the evening though, perhaps others are also sleeping off their hangovers.

Upon arriving Mars looks around for least scammy looking caravan shop in sight, Psalm joins him at the front to assist him.

Psalm: joining mars he asks "So you've had a bit of experience right? According to your profile at the guild. Is that in general or with that guild?" Hes sorry for the interrogation but he's curious Mars: "Yeah I'd say I've been to Bakaldor more than most cities. Not really with the guild though, just do work for them every now and then." He seems a little thoughtful as he's answering. Psalm: "No experience fighting drakes though I'd imagine."

As they chat and walk, the two squint around the market and spy a woodworkers stall, a large overhanging tent keeping a few caravans and wheels in the shade behind the stall worker. The colours of the overhanging fabric play across the woman's face seated in front of them.

She's sits on a stool whistling and carving away at something in her hands as passer-by come and go. The place looks above board enough, and pretty open which is a good sign of nothing underhanded going around. The stall next to hers is currently taking place to a fevered argument between a guild merc and a boot seller though, which is a little grating on the ears.

Mars: "You know, funnily enough not the first time I've been asked that today." He starts leading everyone towards the shop he spotted, tuning out the boot argument. "But no, read about them, but never actually fought one myself." Psalm: "Eh no surprise, I doubt anyone here has and yet here we are going hunting for one anyways." Plum: "i definitely don't, in case you all were wondering," plum jokes dryly Mars: "5000 gold is 5000 gold". His head tilts a lil like well wcyd. Psalm: Sighs.. Rokka: rokka just stares at him now realizing what the party is really doing for reals "oh 😄 " Finn: "well i, for one," he places a hand on his chest and raises his nose "am eager to meaningfully expand my adventuring resume" Plum: "well you are one of the fighters, so that does make sense" plum shrugs Finn: finn glances at plum and then stems his hands on his hips, nodding with a triumphant smile on his face… "yes yes! naturally!" hes most pleased that plum seems to understand what hes all about Plum: plum is kind of displeased with finn lately so this is kind of funny, they just nod kind of distracted by the arguing (boots..) Psalm: "Well I guess if we have no choice it's better to not dread it." Being a hypocritice tho bc psalm cannot be assed Finn: "oh? it would appear you might just be growing a spine yet psalm!" he says in fake shock, holding a hand over his mouth Psalm: "Wouldn't bet on it ^__^" Finn: "tsk" he crosses his arms and rolls his eyes "see where you end up with that attitude" he mumbles

As the group make their way over Han gives a curious glance at the heated argument at the stall over, as far as she can tell they're only arguing over boots. She peers over to give the pair a glance, the boots look of decent make but the mercenary is asking for a lower price due to some arcane imperfections, its a bit beyond her.

Han: damn go off merc… han leans back into the group trying to decide about caravans

Woodworker: the woman glances up at you as you approach and assesses your group "near something fixed up or something new?" she taps her whittling knife on the table next to her as she sets the things in her hands down, she glances at the stall next door breifly before rolling her eyes and continuing on Mars: "Looking for a caravan. Seems like you've some nice ones here." He's completely oblivious to the argument in the next stall over and just looks at everyone like ITS YOUR BUDGET... Rokka: "what makes a caravan good?" Psalm: should anyone here be allowed to spend money Mars: How would mars know that ❤

Mars and Finn ponder what they assume should be priority of a group their size, having their experience travelling alongside other people for good stretches of time. They assume for a group of their number it should be of a larger size, and made of thicker and studier wood since they'll be travelling in harsher climates. Maybe getting additional outer protections would be a good idea as well, some sort of specific wheels for the craggier areas. No doubt bunk beds would also be preferable...

The two glance for anything along those lines though in the daylight finn's eyes begin to strain a little, he has trouble telling any of them apart. Mars in comparison, spys a few larger ones near the back of the stall.

Woodworker: he woman follows your gaze as you glance at the back "ahh.. we got a couple fit for bigger groups near the back of the stalls" she waves you all over to follow her walking between a few others before she stands between two. she slaps the side of the first one, a nice smokey brown colour "380 gold, this ones ol' big martha, hardtack wood, pretty study good for travel, little heavy though so it might not move as fast, bigger windows-" she slaps the side of the other caravan, a more honey coloured wood "400 gold, this ones a renegade make, little slimmer but the roof opens up, wrenwood so it's still pretty study but she goes a little faster, spiked wheel spokes, arren velvet interior-" she continues listing off small minutate you dont quite understand Psalm: Psalm has a vested interest in vehicles and rarely travels in caravans so he listens with unfiltered interest. Finn: "only 400 gold?" finn makes a gay little wrist motion and keeps his hat pulled down with his other hand, sun be damned "we'll go with that one of course" <- deciding for the groupPsalm: NOOOOOO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE RICH BOY)

Mars: mars withers a little like he know they've already lost now its so, so over. Psalm: "Well I'm not really sure we need a velvet interior or any such things, but speed is nice." * thinking about the drake * at finns comment he goes "Only? Are you offering to foot the bill?" Finn: finn raises an eyebrow and makes an offended gay sound "ha? me? foot the bill? i could, of course! but seeing as youve done nothing to earn such a gesture from me, i'd be a fool to do it. we are 9 people, this will not hurt anyones wallet" he looks at psalm like hes stupid and cant do math Plum: "speak for yourself," plum mutters Han: han internally like why would we wanna earn a gesture from you…? Psalm: "T'was a jest milord," he says nonchalantly, before turning to the store owner. "Any way I can convince you to drop the price a bit?" He smiles at her Woodworker: the woman folds her arms and shakes her head "nah, i go lower than that i start losing out" she points a thumb at finn "sides seems like ser here was good for it" Psalm: Psalm just shrugs, "Worth a try." At least they got paid by those crewmen… at mars he says "Since you're here as a guide with no real explanation of our plans, don't worry about the caravan payment. We'll split it among the 8 of us." Mars: mars rn

Plum: "huh, i like that decision. good on you," plum says, though they're not happy about not being able to get the price lower Finn: "huh? and yet hes to use it? surely you jest" Mars: "If we manage to get that drake, you're free to take from my share of that." Very firmly saying he'll at least take a cut of that after finn's little comment. Psalm: "Why would I joke about that? Its just the truth." Confused.. then at mars "Works for me." Finn: "because" finn starts and gestures vaguely at mars "if he does not pay his share, he should simply trail after the caravan on foot" he looks at mars now, eyeing him up and down briefly "built for it, im sure. thats what relying on charity gets you" Mars: BLINKING. WAS HE NOT HIRED FOR THIS WHAT IS THIS SUDDEN EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT. Psalm: "I have no idea what you're trying to insinuate there, but it's only an extra 6 gold split eight ways, so I'm sure it won't be putting you too much off budget." Plum: "honestly, what the fuck are you talking about…?" plum just raises a confused eyebrow..? Han: "dont be dick" han yawns from where shes leaning on the caravans "we are group, we go as group" Finn: finn grimaces like in one of the edgeworth sprites. ugh! damn psalm for attacking his one weak spot! if he continues to argue about the 8 gold, it will put a real dent in his pride…… the one thing he cant argue against "it wouldnt……" he mutters "i only thought it fair that those who want to travel with the caravan would pay for it, clearly a sentiment not shared by you lot" he raises an eyebrow back Han: "dont care, we're the ones who need him for travel, not the other way around" this hurts her pride btw but she would rather hurt finn rn Psalm: "It's not like we're traveling with him forever, and it'll be our caravan long after the fact. Why would he pay for it?" Finn: he wants to say that a fee would be in order then, for the temporary use, but he doesnt want to embarass himself by going on about it any longer honestly, so he just side eyes psalm Psalm: Psalm just gives him a smug look like heh…

Plum: "that's not all you're saying though, is it?" plum frowns. "you can make your sentiments without being rude. like you're not relying on charity right now." Finn: "im relying on contracted work" he waves them off dismissively and then looks at mars "i shall settle the matter now then. clearly ive forgotten my manners. please, excuse me, our esteemed guide! i shall be so forward and pay your share" he smiles condescendingly even though he has noooo ground to do so Mars: "… I appreciate it." He he wants to argue back but its not like he's got any bargaining power right now, he'd rather take a little dissing than leave everyone else to fend for themselves out there. (They probably could… entertains the thought to himself) Finn: finn is a little surprised at the lack of bark, thinks him a coward and boring for it, but right now its not too much of a downside so he nods in agreement "my pleasure" he looks at the rest "there we have it. are you all happy now?" Psalm: "We wouldn't have to be worrying about any extra charity or costs or fees if you didn't immediately decide the going price was enough yknow…" Psalm like man cimm is not gonna be happy when he hears this Han: han looks at this tension and just shrugs n goes "aye" Psalm: Psalms already long stopped paying attention, instead trying to figure out if they should just use the money from the airship crew before splitting it… Rokka: Rokka just looks mildly uncomfortable with finn and the tension with the group

Plum: "no, i don't think you know what you're relying on… but that's fine, i guess. you've already gone and cost us more money on this fuckin' wagon." plum sighs, not really expecting much from finn re this kind of thing so they're content to move on, especially when they get waved off, which really annoys them, but they don't want to argue in front of mars. Finn: finn raises an eyebrow again, surprised to hear plum swear 'at' him directly "we got compensated in shorewater well enough" Plum: "uh huh" they say Finn: finn has the creeping suspicion that something has gone wrong here, but hes more pissed off at plum specifically to notice how uncomfortable the group as a whole is "no point arguing any longer, right?" finn hisses and looks through the round again "ill stand in for keva and cimmorro, so just take care of yourselves yes?" Plum: plum ignores him and just replies to psalm, saying "yeah, i have it"

The party all make to hand over their portions of the payment (vinny included) as they notice the woman's wandered back to the front of the booth as she waited for the argument to finish.

Upon approach she checks through it all and nods. Rummaging around she hands the party four sets of keys.

Woodworker: "for the doors" before she gestures to the back of the stall again "you can pick it up later or take it now if you want if uh… you all plan on dragging it together i suppose"

The party ponder their next course of action as the morning ebbs on...

-----

Notes

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 The Party has purchased a Sweet Ride🚗 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 The Party have obtained Ruber and Ratnaraj 🐴🐴 💎Cimmoro and 🗡Keva have obtained 🍩Sweets

[catt-leya]

This is gonna be different to what you usually write but can I request for a dominant female reader who ties Rick to the bed after she caught him flirting with Jessie at the party and punishes him. She rides his face and his dick and doesn’t let him come 👀

Jealousy (18+) || Rick Grimes

Thanks to you anon for getting me out of my comfort zone. I wrote through the fic in one sitting and fell a little in love with sub Rick, even though I'm a whore for dom Rick 👉🏼👈🏼

I tried to write something I hope you'll like and enjoy reading it 💗

(Quick side note for @toxic-ink : I hope I didn't disappoint you with my nice fic 👀💓)

I tug the dress into place one last time and follow my boyfriend into the room full of people.

The fact that I'm wearing a dress at all, given the realities of the world, is unusual enough, but seeing the group of people relaxed, sipping their alcohol, and apparently really celebrating is disconcerting.

Actually, I didn't want to come here at all, but Rick wanted to be here for who knows why and because I love him, I picked out an old dress and am now with him among the people who have offered us a safe place to stay.

Sighing, I slide my fingers out of Rick's hand and point my head toward the bar, "I clearly need alcohol to get through this."

My boyfriend gives me a nod, "Okay" before he disappears between people and I roll my eyes.

Rick is just the type of person who likes to be around people and people are always hanging on his every word.

He has a certain presence that captures others and that's how he got me around quite easily in the beginning.

I let him have his fun and turn to my joy: alcohol.

Before the world went down the drain, I used to enjoy a glass or two of wine with my friends, but now there are usually other priorities.

With a glass of wine, I lean against the wall farthest from everyone else and look around.

The Alexandria people are really nice but naive as hell, and I find it hard to believe they've survived this long without suffering major casualties.

I keep sipping from my glass as I spot my boyfriend at the other end of the room. Smiling, I watch as he talks with bright eyes to a woman I saw here in Alexandria yesterday.

He takes a sip from his glass and my smile grows even wider. It just makes me happy to see him so content.

The moment I want to let my gaze wander further, I see Rick put his hand on the young woman's back.

My eyebrows draw together and I don't take my eyes off the two of them. Normally, I'm anything but the jealous type and don't mind when Rick talks to other women and has fun doing it. It's the trust that I have in him and he has in me, but his hand is so dangerously low that I don't want to avert my eyes.

He probably thinks nothing of it, but when he lowers his head and whispers something in her ear, I see red.

I exe my wine and set the glass down on the first available sideboard and tap Rick on the shoulder. Still in a good mood, he turns to me with the woman in his arms and says, "There you are. I want you to meet Jessie."

I look over at Jessie and have to gulp for a second because she is so beautiful. I quickly catch myself though and jut my chin up, "Hey, nice to meet you."

She leans against my Rick a bit and I grit my teeth. He probably didn't even think to tell her he's in a committed relationship, which makes him anything but available.

She's not to blame because I know how good Rick can feel next to you.

So I paste a smile on my face and look up at Rick, who still has his fucking hand on her back, and say, "I'd like to go home."

I feel Jessie's gaze on me, but only look at Rick, who asks, "But why? Aren't you having fun?"

Shortly, I say, "No."

I know he's not going to let me go home alone and I'm right because he lets go of Jessie and looks at her apologetically, "I hope I see you again soon."

His stupid voice, which is the perfect mix of raspy and deep, makes Jessie shiver and fuck, me too.

She looks dreamily at Rick and murmurs, "I hope so too."

That's the moment I've had enough and I press out, "I'm sure you'll see my boyfriend in Alexandria now and then."

Her features all slip away and I use the moment to grab Rick's hand and drag him away from her.

We're probably both surprised at how hard I pull him behind me, and he stumbles after me all the way out into the fresh air.

Only outside does he catch himself and brace himself against me, which he manages with ease, hissing, "What's wrong with you?"

Furious, I turn to him and dig a finger into his chest, "You asshole went for that blonde."

What's in his favor is the fact that he looks genuinely confused as he mutters, "Huh? What makes you think that? I was just talking to her. You don't usually act like that when I talk to other women either."

I want to talk it out with him and try to get my anger under control, and he shrugs and walks past me, "Just relax and don't act like that."

My mouth just drops open and all I can do is stare after him. I can't believe he told me to relax.

ME to relax?

This asshole is so fucking arrogant I want to rip his balls off. I love him, but his arrogance sucks and I know exactly how to pay him back.

Couple times I take a deep breath and try to make my voice sound soft as I walk up behind him and say, "You're right."

Surprised, he looks at me again, "Oh really?" And then quickly corrects himself, "I know."

I suppress rolling my eyes and walk beside him with played equanimity. The fact that he thinks I'm going to let him treat me like this and just swallow it all is so incredibly humiliating.

When we finally arrive home, I am surprised myself that I have this level of self-control and follow Rick all the way to our bedroom without hitting the ceiling.

Rick tells me something about his plans for tomorrow and I slowly get up and put my arms around his body from behind, "Rick?"

I feel his muscles relax under my touch and grin against his back as he sighs softly.

In the end, Rick is just a man too, feeling soft breasts pressed against his back.

Slowly, I let my hands slide down his stomach to his belt and he murmurs, "I like apologies like that."

Biting my lower lip to keep from growling something like, "You should apologize to me," I undo his belt and pull it out of the loops.

With his belt in hand, I take a step back and he turns to face me. I can literally see how much he wants to touch me and dominate me, but today I want to do it differently.

His blue eyes follow me as I sit down on the edge of the bed and gently tap the bed, "Take your pants off and come here please."

Of course, I don't have to ask him twice.

Faster than I would have given him credit for, he strips off his shirt and pants, including his boxers, and I have to pull myself together to keep from falling into our normal dynamic of asking him what he wants me to do. Because that's exactly what heats up our sex so much: the dominance game between us in which I let him do whatever he wants and he takes me to my limits.

Unfortunately, it was a mistake to sit on the edge of the bed while he is still standing, because he can look down on me and quietly commands: "Take off your clothes, sweetie and put your face down into the pillows and your butt up in the air."

My eyes flutter shut and I say weakly, "Not today."

I hear him laugh, "Oh yes you are and you know it."

My traitorous center tightens at his tone, but I haven't forgotten Jessie either. So I shake my head and look him in the eye, "I want to tie you to the bed."

Of course, he bursts out laughing and doesn't seem to care at all that he's naked and vulnerable in front of me, "You want to tie me to the bed? Are you serious? Sorry, sweetie, but you do realize it's your part, right?"

Of course Rick respects me and actually we are partners at eye level, but as soon as it goes to the sexual level, it's just the opposite. That's why I can't blame him for laughing.

But I look up at him pleadingly, "Please?"

I know that's the only way I can get what I want, and I see Rick glance briefly at the belt in my hand.

Why I have to ask him to do this is obvious to both of us.

If he ties me up, it's easy and even if I resist, he's far superior to me physically. If I tried it on him, he could just push me aside. That's why he has to let me do it to him.

He looks me in the eye again and then sighs heavily, "Fine."

Without taking his eyes off me, he drops onto his back and extends his wrists toward me, "Go."

Even in this position he gives me orders and through clenched teeth I do.

I climb onto his thighs and put the belt around his wrists the way he usually does with me, fixing them to the metal of the bed frame.

Briefly he tugs on it and then murmurs, "Well done."

Now that I know he has no chance to touch me and can barely move himself, I smile at him in relief: The hard part is done.

Only now can I concentrate on Rick and trace his nipples with my finger. The sight of him straining against the bondage at this innocent touch makes my stomach warm and I bend over to whisper in his ear, "Want me to tell you a secret? I'm still mad at you because I know for a fact that you were flirting with that blonde."

Again, he braces himself and I press my middle against his cock, making him gasp, "Oh come on."

Gently I rub against his shaft and the unfamiliar position he's in seems to bother him.

Smiling, I breathe, "You know Rick, I have eyes in my head and I saw exactly where your hands were with her. For that, you can forget about touching me in the slightest today."

I can see how annoyed he is with the development, but I want him to beg me like I always do. I want him to beg to come and forget that Jessie even exists.

Lasciviously, I stand up and give him a strip show he won't forget in his lifetime and as I bend over to let my panties slide to the floor as the last piece of clothing, I stick my ass out at him so he can see what's his.

It doesn't matter that he can barely move because I still belong to him.

When I turn back to him, he's still staring between my legs and I purr, "Let's see if you can make amends."

Unusually still, he looks up at me and I can't get enough of the sight of him.

The way his biceps protrude through the restraints and his curls frame his beautiful face like a halo.

I stare at his lips and lean forward so that only a few inches separate us, "I want you to kiss me."

Immediately he lifts his head and wants to press my lips to mine, but I grab his curls and yank his head back before he can kiss me. I pull so hard on his hair that he moans softly, "Fuck."

Then I swing one leg over his head and kneel to the left and right of his arms so that my wet pussy hovers in front of his face.

Desperate to maintain control, I try to hide the trembling of my hands by bracing myself against the wall behind the headboard of the bed.

Breathing heavily, I look to him and almost give in at the sight of him looking at me with that special glint in his eyes. Unfortunately, I can't hide the trembling in my voice as I breathe, "I want you to kiss me like that."

Still not saying a word of his own and moving my pussy a little closer to his lips, he whispers softly, "You need to go down further."

I close my eyes and just think: His voice…heaven his voice….

Somehow I'm trying to punish him, but I can't shake the feeling that he doesn't even really see it as punishment yet.

Again I lower myself further and immediately he puts his lips on me.

At the first touch, my legs threaten to give way and I moan, "Oh God."

This guy just has a magic tongue and without complaining, he licks me, causing my hands to slide off the wall and I have to hold onto the edge of the bed to keep from falling on top of him and cutting off Rick's air.

My legs start to shake and Rick moans softly, "Lower."

Without thinking, I do as he says and he slides his tongue inside me.

Hectically I gyrate my hips and he knows exactly what he's doing as he presses his nose against my clit and all my muscles contract.

As I come on his tongue he tugs at the bondage and probably only now he realizes how lousy his situation actually is.

Shaky from the orgasm, I roll off him and my eyes fall on his cock, which twitches expectantly before I look up into his face.

Rick's blue eyes shine in the dim light and the feeling of pride is overwhelming as I see his beard glistening from my wetness.

I'm proud of myself that a man like Rick is licking me like it's the only thing that matters and this feeling of power over him is just overwhelming.

He licks his still wet lips and pulls at the belt around his wrists, "I got it, sweetie. Untie me so I can fuck you the way you deserve. I want to show you that you are my goddess."

The words out of his mouth are like a drug, but I want him to beg. I want to bring him to the brink of collapse. So I pull myself together and push myself on top of him again.

When my wet pussy touches his belly, he flinches and I huff, "Forget it."

I trace a wet trail across his belly as I move to his cock and out of reflex he lifts his hips to enter me, but I brace myself on my knees and aim his cock so that only the tip is at my entrance.

Eyes wide, he stares up at me and moans as I close my hand tighter around him.

I take a deep breath and purr, "Do you want to feel how ready I am for you, Rick?"

Panting, he nods and his cock twitches in my hand as he growls, "Fuck, yeah."

Sugar-sweetly, I ask, "What was that? I think there was something missing."

Rick is smart and knows immediately what I mean. I can see how much he resists, but the need to feel my warm walls around his cock is stronger, so he moans, "Please, sweetie."

I don't move an inch and my wetness wets his tip.

Rick yanks so hard on the belt that I'm briefly afraid he'll rip the bed part right off with it, but his hands stay in place and he growls in frustration, "I'm sorry I touched Jessie. Really."

I slide a little lower and his tip is inside me.

I've never seen him so desperate and needy as he is at this moment.

The vein on his neck comes out clearly and his hands are clenched into fists. Having this power over him is intoxicating and I whisper, "So what?"

He tries to come higher with his hips, but I move out of the way and he gasps, "Holy shit, I'm sorry I told you to relax."

Again I slide a little lower and moan hoarsely with him. I'm so wet that he slides into me so incredibly easily and I demand, "Beg for it."

Our eyes meet and I know full well that I'm taking it too far and that I'll regret it when I take his ties off afterwards.

But his desperation is so great that he unintentionally complies: "Please, please let me into your perfect pussy, sweetie."

At my petname, I let myself fall on top of him, moaning, and his whole body tenses as my pussy wraps tightly around his cock.

Panting, I give in and let my upper body fall forward so that my breasts are pressed against his torso.

He's so big and deep inside me that I can barely breathe, let alone move.

Especially since Rick usually has his hands on my hips, helping me move on top of him. It's not that I don't know what to do, but now I have to take care of it myself and I can't let him take control.

Rick notices my hesitation and gasps harshly in my ear, "You want to do this alone?"

With my hand on his chest, I feel his heart hammering fast and I whimper with my lips against his neck, "Yes."

His curls tickle my cheek as he moves his head slightly and murmurs, "Just try. You can't do anything wrong and you don't need my help to do it too. Finish it, sweetie."

Surprised by his encouraging words, I straighten up a bit and the love in his eyes blows me away. I had actually planned on not letting him come at all, but now I don't want to.

A little awkwardly, I straighten up again, bracing my hands against his broad shoulders as I raise my hips again, then lower myself back down onto him.

My mouth hangs wide open and with each deep moan from Rick, my whole abdomen tightens and Rick gets louder too. To my surprise, he also no longer resists the belt and lets me do whatever I deem fit to him.

As his cock starts to twitch inside me, he huskily blurts out, "That's it. Take what you need." And fuck, I do.

Trembling, I come one more time, pulling Rick right along with me. I'm still pulsing around him as I drop forward on top of him again, sliding my hands down his arms.

I undo the belt and once his hands are free, he wraps them around me, "Thank you."

I nod weakly and he lifts me to slide out of me and lay me down next to him in the bed.

My whole body feels like it's made of rubber and I open my eyes lazily as he whispers softly, "I'm really sorry. Are you still mad at me?"

Smiling, I shake my head and he brushes a strand of hair out of my face.

My eyes fall to his wrist and I'm instantly wide awake again, "Oh God, I didn't mean to. Why didn't you tell me I tightened the belt too much?"

I reach for his wrist and stroke the clearly visible red scratches and look up in irritation as he laughs softly, "Take it easy. It's all good. I kept pulling on it myself, didn't I? Don't worry about it."

Doubting, I look back down at the marks on his skin and he laughs again, "I think you should worry more about how uncomfortable it's going to be when someone asks about how I got those." And now I can't hold back the laughter either.

@hail-yourselves @bean-is-reading @chanlvr2 @criminalwalkingsupernatural @sunshinevirus @toxic-ink