#getting asks gives me a strange amount of joy

[divinesolas]

Can you write cregan x reader where the cregan's son calls the reader mother for the first time it's very emotional because she hasn't been able to get pregnant.

c.w: inaccurate tl of events, slight angst, fluff, not proofread, drabble !

a.n: this was such a cute little thing to write as i take a break from my more angsty, enemies to lovers slow burn fics 😭😭 tysm for the request <3

Your hands hurt. You’re sure you have probably over ten splinters in your hands, some of your fingers are covered in bandages and you feel like your fingers are stuck in place from how long you had been working on it but it was worth it.

The way his face lit up when you presented it to him for his nameday. He grabbed it from your hands eagerly and held it up closer to his face to admire it. “Its a direwolf!” You bend down to be eye level with the young rickon.

He was not your birth son, you were not cregan’s first wife. Arra was his birth mother who died on her birthing bed, but you met cregan years after he had healed from the loss and he quickly became infatuated with you, asking for your hand and you were married when rickon was five.

You loved the boy like he was your own, you would sit and read to him, you would play with him when cregan was too busy. He was adorable, having rickon in your life made you want to have more kids. It had been a struggle, its been over a year since you and cregan have been trying for a child and nothing.

You cried a lot, whenever you would leave the checkups from the maesters and shake your head it breaks your heart too see cregans face. You feel terrible and all you want is to have children. If rickon is truly the only child you end up having you would be content, as rickon is such a sweet child but your heart did long for more.

“Yes it is, Happy nameday sweetie.” You place your hand affectionately on his cheek and he beams at you, wrapping his arms around your neck. “Thank you mama.”

You freeze as you feel him grinning into your neck. mama. He’s never called you that before. He knows you're not his mother, He has always just called your name, or at least he tried to, coming up with a strange combination of sounds. But never anything paternal.

You feel you eyes well up with tears as you wrap your arms around him tightly, pressing a kiss into his curly hair. “I love you.” “I love you too mama.”

You look up at the door when it opens, seeing cregan look upon to the two of with alarm at your tear covered face. “Is something wrong?”

Rickon escapes your grip and turns to his father with a grin, obviously to the amount of joy he’s caused you, holding up the wooden toy you had hand carved. “Look what mama gave me!”

Cregan looks at you and takes a deep breath, “Yes it is wonderful, have you thanked your mama?” “yes papa, can i go play?” Cregan nods and rickon turns to you, giving you a wave before he runs out the room with a giggle.

You sniffle as cregan comes to sit on the floor next to you. “He calls you mama.” You laugh as a smile graces your face, “I am so happy, i love him like he is my own.” Cregan cups your face and brushes your tears off your face. “One day we will have more i promise you.”

“You say that as if it is your fault.” “You believe it to be yours?” “Why would it not be my fault? The baby would sit in my womb, it is nobodies fault other than my own.” He presses one of his palms against your stomach and kisses your cheek. “We will keep trying my love.”

[esthercore]

𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 (Yandere! Sunday x Reader)

Gn! Reader (sub/bottom reader)

Desperate Pining series - Sunday edition

pt.1 | pt.2 | pt.3

CW: power play, sexual guilt, desperation, mind fuck, mind break, yandere doing yandere stuff, sunday being sunday, conditioning, sunday molding reader

Play the song for best experience

You had made many mistakes in your life, joining the Iris family, your career choice, but none could compare to falling for Sunday, the Oak family's head, daring to pine for him romantically, while all you were a mere performer, hell, not even an innocent singer or actor, you were a host/hostess in a nightclub, a glorified whore.

You could never forget the day you saw the angel, in the club during your shift, as he entertained some family's guests.

The way he walked, talked, moved, breathed, it cause your brain wiring to fuse in mere seconds. He was holy, divine, just a mere look at him, caused your heartbeat to palpate an unhealthy amount.

And Xipe, in all their glory, gazed your way they day, as you were picked to serve his table, god, his melodious voice left you all tingly, breath heavy.

The way he looked at you with such softness, his pretty smile, making you to whimper unconsciously, your thighs rubbing together in your tiny little bunny suit, your pussy wet / cock already dripping pre cum.

So you found yourself moaning and inside a restroom stall, one hand inside your underwear, other in your mouth, to prevent any noise to escape, albeit you were doing a terrible job in it.

Your vision started swirlling around, purple curvy borders around you, as if you're looking at a screen, your mind entirely consumed by thoughts about Sunday, till the second you orgasmed.

It felt, dirty, dirtier than you were used to feeling, as you knelt on the bathroom floor, panting, heart heavy, longing, your body jittery and mind confused at your actions. But most importantly guilt, guilt for lewding someone so holy, a guilt akin to felt when sinning, yet, double as tempting to repeat.

And all those feeling increased exponentially, as you got out the stall, only for your eyes to meet those golden ones through the reflection in the mirror.

"You make such cute noises, there's no need to hold them back," he said, as he turned around and stepped closer to you, your heartbeats resonating with his footsteps, only for your brain to stop working as he took your hand and kissed the area you had bit earlier, staring deep in your eyes.

From that moment on, you memories remains a blur, the kisses, the touch, the luxury hotel room which you could'nt have ever afford, and the tears.

And God, did that strange guilt scare you off, you don't really remember it yourself how you physically jolted at the thought of him penetrating you, daring to refuse the leader of Penacony, making him settle for a sloppy blow job and a thigh fuck, you barely even touching him, making him do all the work.

Yet, the man was gracious enough to let you stay over in the room for the night, blessing you with the opportunity to wake up next to him.

"Won't you pay me back for this opportunity, little sheep?" He asked you, caressing your cheeks gently, his touch akin to a whisper, light, sight, barely there, reminding you how you dared to reject his affection last night.

So you stayed, helping him get ready, buttoning his shirt for him, as he read some texts on his phone, tying his tie, the way he liked, getting him some coffee and breakfast from the breakfast buffet in lounge, because he's too prestigious to mix in common folk, all while he scrutinized you whenever you didn't do the tasks the exact way he liked.

And the second he left the room, you felt hollow, as if your heart had a gaping hole in between as if he took away a part of your soul with him. So imagine the unfathomable amount of joy you felt when Sunday kept frequenting the club more and more, always picking you to serve his table, giving you that kind look, praising you, doing everything in your power to please him, putting extra effort in everything.

All that, only for your heart to break when you heard the whispers about Sunday starting to indulge in some of your co-workers in bed.

Cause, after all, your sin wasn't craving the angel's attention, but to even think you could ever deserve it.

Your weeks your brain stuck on the thought, if the Sunday will come back in club the next day, if he will ask you to serve or not, or will he ask your co-workers, the one who get to lay with him at night. Will he get disgusted by you soon, get tired of pathetic little you.

But till then, those few hours serving were enough, despite the pain and longing, you were willing to suffer if it meant keeping that damn smile in your life.

All such thoughts spiralling in your head 24/7, causing you to get anxious randomly, to the point, your friends started worrying about you. As your self esteem started dwindled down, day by day, as you kept comparing yourself with him.

So it was a shocker when one day the man showed up near the cramped dingy alleyways you live in, greeting you with the same sweet smile, as the first day, you saw him.

You humored the man for some while, best to your capabilities as your breath started to get heavier and heavier in his presence, only able to look at him with a longing gaze, his words flying over your head, till you both stood in silence for a while, your brain to gushy to realize.

"You know, little lamb, you really need to learn some from Sydney," he said, pulling you out of your daydream, gently brushing your cheek with two fingers, then using them to slap your cheeks lightly.

You winced at the name of your co-worker, the one labeled as 'Sunday's favorite',

"I-"

"Invite me to your apartment," he instructed, cutting you off "It's only polite to continue our conversation, inside, right?"

So there you were in your tiny, cramped, studio apartment, he thought of your living condition to be proud, that much was visible on his face, as you brewed him some tea, the most expensive one you had, which was probably too cheap for Sunday's taste, while he chewed your head off on speaking about random things.

But mostly instructing you how to do things properly, like pouring him tea, how to serve him, how to sit properly, and so on. Which you followed diligently, of course, Mr. Sunday, is a kind soul, teaching someone like you, how to behave.

"(Y/n), replace your black net stockings with white ones" he instructed, referencing to your work uniform, before leaving.

So you did, the next day serving him, like a "good boy/girl" those words causing your face to flush, redder than a tomato.

And you got rewarded alright, as he lead you to the same hotel room, from your first night. This time the experience was more sweeter, gentler, yet you still had a break down at the thought of getting penetrated by him.

Heart pounding hard, you got a full-on panic attack this time, getting coddled by Sunday, as he has you sit on his lap, facing him, his dick rubbing against your pretty hole, as he cooed on you, his one hand patting your back, while caressed your face.

"Darling, you had no problem, jumping on Hudson's dick, what's wrong with me?" he asked, out of nowhere, as his hand now grabbed the behind the back of your neck, causing you to whimper.

"W-who?"

"Ah, so you don't remember your clients, huh? How sweet of you, to happily lay with someone whose name you can't recall, over the man, who's been kind enough to hide you in your stupid mistakes"

He sighed, hitting your cheeks with two of his fingers.

"Tell me, my little lamb, what do you think, when you see me?" He asked, his lips laying on your Adam's apple.

"P-preety" you whispered out.

"That so, doll?" he took whispered, taking your hands, and putting it on his face, "if you think, i'm preety lay your hands on me," Sunday said, as you looked in your eyes, an desperate expression in his gold eyes.

To be continued ~

Have you longed for someone so much so, you start feeling disgusting?

Can't you tell I'm desperate? Can't you tell I'm cheap? You don't gotta love me, we don't have to speak I'll see you in the morning, if you gotta leave I'll see you when I see you You Were a Dream - Artemas

(Excuse me if this was bad, It's my first fic and I'm suffering for horrible period cramps )

[yaksha-lover]

Wishes of Love

Summary: For Leona’s birthday, you decide to take him out for a date and him something handmade.

Leona Kingscholar x Reader

“I told you, tonight is on me,” you say, tugging him into the restaurant.

The smell of all kinds of delicious grilled meat fills your nose as soon as you enter the restaurant. Based on Leona’s hum of appreciation, you picked the place correctly.

“On you? Have you forgotten I’m a prince? I don’t need anyone to take care of my meals,” he scoffs gently.

“I know you don’t need me to, but I want to anyway. Please? I want to treat you.”

“We’ll see.” Leona rolls his eyes, but it’s mostly just for show.

The server shows you to your table and the two of you take a seat across from each other.

“So, you want to do gifts now or later?”

“Never,” he deadpans.

“Now it is.” You smile at his annoyance, placing a gift bag in front of him. You carried it in from the car, so he’d already known it was coming, but he grumbles about it anyway.

Unwrapping the gift with a wary look, he picks up the dark green scarf you’d crocheted for him. “What the hell is this?”

“A scarf?” You joke, despite the sudden awkwardness you feel. “I made it. I thought you could wear it for your upcoming trip. I know you don’t have many clothes meant for cold weather. You uh- you don’t like it?” you ask. You hadn’t thought he would be jumping with joy, but even this reaction from him was unexpected.

“It’s not that. I told you, you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Look, I know it’s probably not of the quality you usually wear, but I thought it could be something special. Sorry, if you really don’t like it I’ll take it back-”

“What, you’re trying to take my gift back now? This is mine,” he says, slipping the scarf around his neck, despite being in the middle of the restaurant and the intense heat of the summer.

“But, Leona-”

“No buts. Keep your grubby herbivore hands off of my scarf.”

A small smile tugs at your lips. Leona never acts straightforward, but you can’t help but enjoy his brand of love.

Despite the strange looks the waiter gives him, Leona refuses to remove the scarf throughout the night. He keeps it snugly wrapped around his neck, one end fashionably thrown behind his back.

The two of you chat lightly throughout the meal, discussing anything and everything. A comfortable silence settles between you as you eat. Leona remains focused on his steak, and you admire how cute he looks so focused on his favourite food.

He speaks suddenly, a few minutes later. “Come with me.”

“What?”

“The trip you mentioned in the north. Falena wants me to go for some diplomatic process, but there’s no reason you can’t come along.”

“I don’t know, Leona…What if your brother is upset? Does he even know you’re seeing someone?”

“Of course he knows about you,” he states bluntly. When he realizes what he’s said, Leona is surprisingly flustered. “I meant, he probably does, I don’t know. Who cares what he thinks?”

“Leona…do you talk about me at home?” you tease him with a cheeky grin.

“Shut up,” he grumbles, ears turned-down.

“You do! You’re so cute,” you laugh.

“Cute?! I’m not cute. You’ll see later tonight, I’m far from the gentle beast you seem to be making me out to be.”

Now it’s your turn to be flustered by his forward words. “Leona, not in public.” You kick him gently under the table.

He snickers at your embarrassment.

You’re tempted to tell the waiter that it’s his birthday so he’ll be forced to suffer the humiliation of having the entire restaurant sing for him, but you know he’ll kill you, so you let him have the last laugh.

In return, he allows you to pay for dinner as you wished. You find out later that he transferred twice the amount of the dinner into your account, but for now you are satisfied at your win. The two of you stand to walk out together, and you hold his hand. Normally he would make a show of complaining about you being clingy, but tonight he releases your hand and wraps his arm around your shoulder instead. It feels safe and warm, being in his arms.

Arriving at the car, he opens the passenger side door for you, motioning for you to get in. The two of you drive home, the radio playing gently in the background. Although the dinner date is technically over, your night with him is only just beginning.

Looking up at the night sky, you silently wish upon a star that you’ll be able to spend many more birthdays with your lion prince.

[heavcnslyre]

chapter three — j.f. ( masterlist )

LOVER, YOU SHOULD’VE COME OVER.

“maybe i'm too young to keep good love from going wrong

but tonight, you're on my mind so, you’ll never know”

taglist: @jellybassett @glowingtree

(authors note PLEASE READ: you guys are the SWEETEST ever omg the amount of love i’ve gotten on this so far is insane. i appreciate, and reread over and over again, every single comment or reblog i get, it genuinely keeps me so motivated to write and i appreciate you guys so so much you have no idea. i haven’t written in forever so i excepted no one to like this fic but so far you guys have proven that to be not true and it brings me so much joy. i plan for this to be long!! idek how many parts i’m just gonna keep writing chapters until the story ends!! i cannot guarantee how often updates will be but i’ll write my ass off as much as i can for a while!! all the love in the world to you guys!!! enjoy!!)

you wake up the next morning with no messages from peter. this, usually wouldn’t be strange since he often slept in later than you, but he didn’t even reply to your message from last night at ten thirty. he never went to bed earlier than two in the morning. a gross, nervous feeling creeps up on you. you try to shake it off, thinking that maybe he just fell asleep early when he hadn’t heard from you. that’s what you would keep telling yourself.

downstairs in the kitchen, steven and jeremiah were sitting on stools at the counter, comparing their cereals. belly was at the table, studying the pancakes she was eating. susannah was cooking more pancakes at the stove. “morning (y/n)!” susannah greets you as you enter the room. jeremiah looks up at you and when you make eye contact, he gives you a forced smile and then looks back down at his cereal. he’d been acting weird since last night, when you told him about peter. it actually sort of made you feel bad, that you didn’t tell him sooner. he was clearly bothered by it or offended about you not telling him. the last thing you wanted to do was make things weird between the two of you, and that’s exactly what you did.

“morning susannah,” you smile at her. “can i have some pancakes?”

“absolutely you can!” she exclaims, flipping a pancake over onto a plate. “give me two minutes and they’ll be ready.”

“thanks susannah,” you say then walk over to sit with belly at the table. she smiles at you, her mouth full of pancakes.

“what are you doing today?” she asks you. you shrug.

“dunno. what were you thinking?”

“you should take me driving,” belly smiles cheekily. you laugh. she always asked to go driving ever since you got your license, but you didn’t mind. she had told you before that she trusted you the most to teach her how to drive without being too judgmental.

“sure, bells,” you say. “you can drive me into town to grab some stuff from the store.”

“bonfire tonight, (y/n),” steven turns to face you. “don’t forget.”

you nod. “would never.”

“can i go?” belly asks, looking between the two of you. steven looks at jeremiah then laughs.

“belly, that’s not really your scene,” steven says. “you’ve never gone before.”

“well i wanna go now,” she looks at you. “please?”

you look at steven, who shakes his head. you shrug. “i don’t know, belly. isn’t tonight usually your movie night?”

“it is,” susannah appears with a plate of pancakes for you. you thank her as she sets them down. “but we could always reschedule if belly wanted to go to a party with her siblings.”

“see?” belly says. “even susannah doesn’t think it’s a bad idea.”

“don’t get me too involved, now,” susannah tucks belly’s hair behind her ear. “i have no opinion on the matter except for i want you to do whatever makes you happiest.”

“i think you should come, belly,” jeremiah speaks up for the first time since you’ve gotten downstairs. everyone turns to look at him and he shrugs. he won’t look at you. “it would be fun if you were there.”

“it’s decided then,” belly says. “i’m going with!”

“better make sure it’s okay with mom first,” steven tells her, but she waves him off, finishing her pancakes and going to rinse off her plate.

“(y/n), i’ll be in the pool. come get me when you’re ready to go!”

“thirty minutes after eating before you can swim!” susannah calls out to her, but belly was already gone. susannah shakes her head, but there’s a smile on that face. “that girl.”

soon enough, you and belly are in the car, her driving you both into town. the music was blasting and the windows were down, hair whipping everywhere, but neither of you cared.

“what do you have to get from town?” belly asks.

“some hair stuff and i wanna go to that one boutique we found last year and see if they have anything cute,” you reply. she grins.

“i completely forgot about that place!”

“me too until i was packing for this trip and found my skirt i got from there last year,” you and belly had always looked around different shops in town, mainly window-shopping and judging the clothes that were sold in those shops. they were so extremely over priced and half of them looked like something your grandmother would wear. that was, until last summer, when you found the most gorgeous hot pink skirt on a sale rack at a new boutique. you could not stop thinking about it after you left, so the next day you and belly went back so that you could buy it. you wore that skirt constantly. the thing you remembered most about it was the way that jeremiah had looked at you the first time you had worn it. he made you feel so special just from one look, so that skirt became a staple piece in your wardrobe after that. when you started dating peter, you stopped wearing the skirt. it was such a small, meaningless idea that he looked at you special when you wore a random skirt, but it meant a lot to you at the same time. enough that it felt like betrayal to pack the skirt to bring to cousins, so you left it at home.

you and belly spend the afternoon at the shops, picking out outfits for each other to try and laughing at the ridiculousness you put each other through. as you’re getting ready to leave, before she starts the car, belly turns to you. “(y/n).”

“what’s up bells?”

“have you noticed anything…different, about conrad?” she sounds hesitant to ask you, and almost whispers his name. you sigh.

“sorta,” you say. “i was talking to jere last night and he told me that things were weird with him. he doesn’t know why, but it’s been months. he quit the football team.”

“what!?” belly exclaims. “no way. he loves football, i thought he was gonna play in college.”

you shrug. “so did everyone. he just changed things out of nowhere. jere said that he won’t ever say anything and pretends nothing is wrong, but he hasn’t really tried talking to him. you know how guys are with each other. talking about stuff like that does not come easy.”

belly nods, staring down at the steering wheel. you touch her arm gently. “hey, maybe you should talk to him.”

“me?”

“yeah bells. he’s happier around you, even if you don’t see it. maybe he’ll talk to you.”

she sighs. “i don’t know (y/n). he seems mad at me. like, every time we’ve talked, he is so different,” she glances over at you. “you know how i feel about him. i just…i hate the thought of losing him.”

“you won’t. i promise you, you won’t. he’ll open up. you sure as hell did not do anything wrong, it’s probably just something small he needs to work through. everything will work itself out.”

belly smiles at you gratefully. “thank you, (y/n). i think i would go crazy without you.”

“that is exactly what a big sister is for.”

she starts the car and begins to drive away. “so, another thing… do you think i should be a debutant?”

“a debutant?” you ask, shocked. “belly, when i was considering it last summer you seemed disgusted.”

“i know,” she sighs. “but susannah asked me to do it…and i know she was bummed when you didn’t do it last year so i just figured….” she trails off, but she didn’t have to finish. susannah had asked you last year to be a deb and you were going to do it, you really were. you even started looking for dresses and planning everything. that was, until jeremiah announced that he had no intention of ever being an escort to the deb ball. it had felt like such an indirect that it completely killed all of your interest in the ball. he was the only person you had even considered asking to be your escort, and he so openly hated the idea of being one, so you figured that was a sign that it wasn’t right for you. if you were honest, you always regretted it.

“you should do it,” you say after a while. “you’re right, it would make susannah happy. and i’m sure you’ll have no problem finding an escort. it’d be a lot of fun to watch.”

“you think so?”

“definitely.”

belly nods, but doesn’t say anything, focusing on the road. you do the same thing, staring forward. part of you still wondered if jeremiah would have been your escort if you had asked. the other part of you hates yourself for thinking that you would be the exception.

later that night, you’re standing and staring at your closet, trying to figure out what to wear to the bonfire. you brought a few dresses and skirts, but suddenly, you hated everything you owned. this bonfire was super fun every year and the best way to start out the summer, so you felt so much pressure to pick out something cute.

“hey,” jeremiah appears in your doorway, ready to go. “you about ready?”

“yeah,” you sigh. “just gotta figure out what to wear.”

“hm,” he thinks for a second, walking towards your closet. “you still have that pink skirt from last summer? that was good.”

you look down. “uh, left it at home.”

“oh,” he says, a hint of disappointment in his voice. then, he clears his throat and turns his back to you, facing your clothes. he looks for a second before grabbing a blue sundress and handing it to you. “here. this is perfect.”

you look at the dress and smile. it was one of your favorite dresses, simple and comfortable but super cute. of course jeremiah would pick out a sundress for you to wear. he always claimed that girls in sundresses were his weakness.

“okay. get out so i can change,” you push him out the door and he laughs as you do, allowing you to close the door in his face. you change quickly and find a pair of sandals to go with the dress, check your hair and makeup one last time, then you went downstairs to meet everyone else. conrad and belly were sitting on opposite sides of the couch, steven in the middle of them (which looked like it was awkward for all three of them), and jeremiah sat in the chair by the couch, staring at his phone. when steven sees you come down, he shoots up from his seat and claps his hands. “alright! let’s get going! jere’s driving, i call shotgun!”

you make eye contact with jeremiah who smiles at you after looking you up and down. you feel yourself blush at his gaze. he always did this to you. you felt so special just by him looking at you. it was stupid, honestly. that’s just how he was.

the five of you pile out of the house and into jeremiah’s car, you, conrad, and belly squished into the back while steven and jeremiah sat in the front seat of the car, singing their hearts out to taylor swifts ‘cruel summer.’ they were insane when it came to her music, but neither of them would ever admit it.

as soon as you arrive at the beach, steven jumps out of the car. he’s halfway to the fire by the time you even open your car door, and conrad and jeremiah are following close behind him, leaving you and belly to walk down on your own. you glance over at belly, who is staring at the group of people on the beach, a nervous look on her face. you throw your arm around her. “it’ll be okay bells. it’s actually fun here, promise. just…don’t talk to anyone weird. or too old. and if you get uncomfortable just come find me. we’ll figure it out.”

she smiles at you gratefully. “thank you, (y/n). i’ll be okay. you go have fun with your friends.”

you squeeze her shoulder gently as your friend nicole waves you over. “love you bells.”

“love you too.”

you hurry over to nicole and hug her tightly. “oh, nicole! it’s so good to see you!”

“it’s so good to see you too!” she exclaims. as you pull away from the hug, she offers you a beer and you take it. “how have you been?”

“so good,” you tell her. “the school year was great and i actually have a boyfriend back home!”

“ohhh!!” nicole squeals. “what’s his name? how long have you been together? tell me everything.”

you fill her in on all of the details of your relationship, with her squealing excitedly at the end of almost every sentence. as soon as you finish talking, you feel a hand on your shoulder, and turn to see your friend shayla. it was your turn to squeal in excitement as you hug her tightly, then nicole does the same.

“shayla! i didn’t know you were coming this early!” nicole exclaims. shayla shrugs.

“yeah, mum and dad decided we’d come now rather than later,” shayla replies. “deb season, you know? they want me to be prepared.”

“oh, don’t remind me,” nicole sighs. “i’m helping as a big sister this year. i don’t know if i’m ready to go through it again.”

shayla laughs. “cant be that bad! at least, that’s what i’m telling myself.”

“do you know who’s gonna escort you?” nicole asks. shayla glances at you quickly.

“well, it’s so early, i don’t know…”

nicole scoffs. “shayla, you are the most prepared and efficient person i know. i know you have someone in mind.”

“well,” shayla gives you an embarrassed smile. “i was kinda thinking i would try to get to know steven more. see if he would escort me.”

both of the girls look at you, waiting for your reaction. usually, you hated when girls had a crush on your brother. at school, girls who did would try to become friends with you to get closer to him, and it was tiring. but this was different. shayla was one of the most kind, incredible people you have ever met. you knew she had no ill intentions. also, steven could use a good influence like her in his life. “that sounds like a great idea, shayla.” you say sincerely. she breathes an obvious sigh of relief.

“i’m so glad you said that,” she says. “i would never wanna pursue something if it meant it would hurt our friendship. no man is worth that.”

you nod. “you’re so right.”

nicole’s eyes drift over your shoulder. “i’m, uh…i’ll be right back.”

without either of you replying, she walks away. you watch her as she walks directly to conrad, who had apparently been by himself in that moment. you and shayla look at each other and laugh.

“she is so down bad for him,” shayla says. you nod.

“painful to watch sometimes.”

shayla laughs again. “well, i’ll see you later too, (y/n). i’m gonna go talk to steven.” you grin at her.

“have fun!”

as soon as she walks away and you’re left on your own, your phone buzzes. you pull it out to see a text from peter. finally. it had only been all day since you’d heard from him.

peter: been busy today babe sorry for not replying

peter: at party rn it’s super fun!

peter: look at this video lol there was a tall ass diving board i jumped in fully clothed

peter: (attachment, one video)

you smile at his messages and click on the video he sent you. it took a moment to load, but once it did, you almost dropped your phone in shock. it wasn’t a video of him jumping off the diving board. it was a video of him making out with a random girl. you watch in pure shock, unable to move. as the video goes on, you realize it wasn’t a random girl. it was cassie, your best friend. you watch the video closely, hoping for any sign that this was some sort of a dare or big joke, but there was nothing. they were just heavily making out, his hands up her shirt and her hands in his hair, and someone just happened to be filming on peter’s phone.

peter: oh shit

you stare at your phone for a full minute after the video ended, unsure what to do next. then, looking at your other hand, you knew. you chugged the rest of your beer, found a cooler, and chugged another one. when you started your third one, you felt a hand on your shoulder. “hey.”

you turn around to see jeremiah standing there, smiling at you. “you having fun?” he asks. you nod, chugging almost half of the new beer in one sip.

“so much fun,” you finish off the third beer and go to grab another one, but jeremiah grabs your hand.

“wait, be careful,” he says. “how many have you had?”

“that was like, my first,” you lie, opening a new beer. “don’t worry, jere. i’ll be fine. just having some fun.”

he stares at you, a concerned look on his face. “(y/n), you never drink like this. what’s going on?”

“nothing!” you say cheerfully. “just trying to start the summer out right,” you look around and see a group of people dancing nearby. you take a sip of your beer and motion towards them. “i’m going to dance.”

“(y/n),” jeremiah calls, but you were already stumbling away from him, towards the people dancing. shayla and steven were in that group, shayla doing more dancing than steven was, but both of them looking like they were having fun nonetheless. shayla grins at you as you approach, grabbing your free hand and spinning you around. you giggle and dance with her for a while, finishing off your beer as you do. you were definitely drunk at this point, which wasn’t hard for you, since you were a lightweight. at things like this, you usually stopped at one beer or seltzer, so you definitely were not used to four. it was good, though. it made you forget about peter and cassie betraying you.

it made you forget until now.

if you were honest, it didn’t surprise you as much as you thought it would. cassie had been the one to introduce you to peter, and she always had a weird connection to him. you almost felt stupid for not seeing this coming sooner. most of all though, you were just angry. angry at peter for leading you on and cheating on you. angry at cassie for supposedly being your best friend and then doing this the second you’re not in town. angry at both of them for ruining the one good thing you had in a long time. as you walk towards the beer cooler again, jeremiah catches up to you and grabs your arm, holding you back. “okay, no. i’m cutting you off, (y/n).”

“let go of me,” you grumble quietly, trying to free yourself from his grip, but he was much stronger than you. he grabbed your other arm so you were forced to face him.

“(y/n), what’s going on with you?”

“nothing!” you yell at him, catching the attention of a few people around you, but you were too far gone to care. “nothings going on with me! i’m just trying to have a good time, okay?”

jeremiah smiles awkwardly at a few people around you, trying to divert the attention away from the two of you. “i know you, (y/n). why are you acting like this? you’re never like this.”

“so what?” you say. “so what if i am?”

a few girls call jeremiah’s name and attempt to wave him over to them, but he ignores them. “come on, we should get you home.”

“i don’t wanna go home,” you say hardly, looking him in the eyes. he looks genuinely concerned for you. somehow, you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. “i wanna stay here.”

“(y/n)…” he’s cut off by the sound of police sirens and people yelling and scrambling around to pick up the beer cans and leave quickly. jeremiah swears under his breath and grabs your hand, pulling you away from the beach. “guess you have no choice.”

the two of you run towards his car, following everyone else who was running away from the scene. you look around frantically, but can’t find belly, conrad, or steven. “jere, wait, where’s everyone else?”

jeremiah shakes his head. “i’ll find them in a second. gotta get you to the car.”

“but belly, jere,” you say. “she’s probably scared shitless.”

he shakes his head again. “she found someone to hang out with. i’m sure she’s with him. i’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“but—“

“i’ll find her, (y/n).” he cuts you off. “just please get in the car first.” at this point, he sounds like he’s begging you. you look him in his eyes but have to look away quickly. the desperation in his expression was too painful to look at. you nod.

“okay.”

he squeezes your hand then opens the passenger door for you, allowing you to climb in. “i’ll be right back, okay? stay here.”

and with that, he’s running back towards the beach like he was superman. at that moment, it felt like he was, honestly. running back towards the cops in order to save everyone else. you weren’t sure that you knew many people who would do that. while you’re still alone in the car, you pull out your phone to finally reply to peter, who had texted you again, five times.

peter: (y/n) omg i’m so sorry

peter: wrong video but i swear it’s not what it looks like

peter: we’re both so drunk we were dared to do it and that’s why it was recorded

peter: please (y/n) please we didn’t mean it

peter: please believe me

you: fuck you

and with that, you block his number, and set your phone down. you wonder if you would have that much confidence if you were sober. you wonder if you would believe him if you were sober. it was a good thing that you weren’t, you figured. it was for the best. two months didn’t have to mean much, right? just a silly little mistake you made to date him that ended badly, but it didn’t matter, right? yeah your best friend betrayed you, but no worries, right?

suddenly, you realize that you are crying. sobbing, actually. uncontrollable sobs escape from your lips and you sit in the dark car, alone, sobbing your heart out. how was this fair? what did you do to deserve to lose your best friend and boyfriend all at once? the fact that if he hadn’t accidentally sent you that video then you never would have known made it worse. it made you wonder if this had been going on for a while, and he had just slipped up now. you could not stop crying.

even when the car doors opened and jeremiah slid into the seat next to you, you could not stop crying. he looks at you, shocked. “(y/n)?” he asks softly, unsure. the rest of the car is quiet, but you could feel everyone else’s presence in the backseat. you shake your head.

“i’m… i’m fine,” you say unconvincingly. “i’ll be, i’ll be okay.” you nod at jeremiah, who was staring at you with the same desperation on his face from before. he seems unconvinced, but starts the car, glancing at you again before he drives away. in the dark, he reaches over and grabs your hand, holding it tightly in his. you continue to cry silently for the rest of the ride home, squeezing his hand with both of yours.

[everythingmp3]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭

Tess Servopoulos x fem!reader

AO3 / part 1

after spending the whole summer apart, you finally get to reunite with Tess. nobody has any idea what you are up to as you spend a whole week together.

authors note: thank you to everyone who gave me such lovely feedback on crossing lines! a few people asked for a continuation, so I went back to this story and I am really glad I did bc it’s close to my heart and I had a lot of fun developing it further. this one is heavy on the romantic aspect bc I wanted it to be joyful and light and to function as a kind of escape for anyone who might need it! I put a lot of thought and time into this, it’s a labour of love, so I really hope you guys enjoy reading it <3

warnings: minors dni. smut (both giving and receiving), large age gap bc reader is in her early 20s Tess is in her early/mid 40s

word count: 25k

as predicted, the two weeks that Tess stayed in your hometown went by in a flash.

fourteen days sounded like a decent amount of time, but the number of hours that you actually spent together one-on-one was very limited. you tried your best, some evenings you´d go over to the place where she was staying and got lost in the heat of the chemistry you had, during those moments it was pure bliss, Tess was a devoted lover and made you feel wanted in ways you´d hardly allowed yourself to dream of before, but you could not stay the night more than a few times, since the excuse of “sleeping over a friend´s house” would have made Joel suspicious if used it too often. it frustrated you that you were so restricted in your movement with her, that you couldn´t go out and get lunch because you knew too many people around town who also knew him, it was hard not to grow frustrated those days because you wanted nothing more than to spend entire days with her, free of the anxiety of who might see or judge you.

one rather nerve wracking event happened a week into her stay: Joel suggested that you should all get dinner together. it was not as unbearable and awkward as you´d have expected, but still, it was hard to sit across the table from her all night pretending like you didn´t wanna touch her or kiss her or look at her with more than polite interest. for her it was just as hard to keep her gaze on him when he talked, while you were so close, your skin glowing beautifully, the memory of its feeling against hers clouding her mind with desire. towards the end of the dinner Tess excused herself to go to the bathroom because she had to catch a break, the heat of the summer day mixing with the heat of her need for you, leaving her a total mess by the end of the night, even more greedy for the taste of you the next time you both found yourselves alone. the one perk of being unfree in your expression of affection was how violently you made up for it when you reunited, more than once you´d sat on the edge of your bed at night, touching the bites and marks she´d left on your inner thighs, your chest, all the places where nobody would be able to see, a satisfied grin on your face when you pressed down on the sensitive spots and felt a slight pain, the lingering impact of her lips, her teeth, her hunger. 

at times it did feel strange to lie to your father´s face, especially when he came home from hanging out with her, talking about what they´d done and seen, blissfully unaware of the things you two had done the night before; the constant sneaking around and hiding of your true feelings did make it harder at times to fully enjoy the feeling of being so obsessed with each other, that early stage of no amount of touch being enough, and yet you still soaked up all of the warmth and joy you could during the few times where you could just lay in bed together and forget about the outside world. 

the morning she was going to drive back home, you told Joel you were “seeing a friend for breakfast” and then spent a very emotionally charged hour with her, which looking back almost embarrassed you a little because you´d sobbed quite violently in her arms once it was time to say goodbye. you usually didn´t cry in front of others but you couldn´t help it that day, you´d grown so comfortable around her and she´d made you feel so seen for who you really were, that being separated from her for weeks on end seemed like a nightmare. she put on a slightly braver face, holding your hand and kissing your tear stained cheeks as she told you in an earnest manner “we´ll see each other at the end of August, alright? you´ll come visit and we´ll do whatever we want, but in the meantime you should enjoy your summer. you better have some fun stories to tell me when we see each other again, okay?”, followed by a brief moment of silence and a tentative nod from you, trying to cling to the knowledge that you´d eventually reunite. 

the days after Tess´s departure you tried your best not to let it show that it had affected you, but you knew you weren´t concealing it well, so you pretended you were a little under the weather and spent some time in bed, sulking and being dramatic about your lovesickness. 

almost immediately after Tess was back home you two developed a routine. it was clear as day that she was not a great texter so you called each other about every other day, mostly at night because then neither of you were in a rush, laying in bed and catching each other up on what you´d done that day, her offering some gossip about coworkers, you offering some about people from high school you´d run into, asking more personal questions that you hadn´t thought of before, comforting each other whenever you´d had a rough day, teasing each other a lot, making the best of your less than ideal situation of being miles and miles apart.

generally, your calls were calm and relaxed but during one of them, when it had gotten particularly late and her voice was even raspier and lower in your ear than usual, the sudden silence on your side and your labored breaths gave away what you were trying to do, she paused for a moment before she asked “are you getting off to my voice right now?” which made you stop immediately, but after a brief laugh she added “no come on, it´s okay, let me help you out there”. from the moment you had first kissed her, you had never been shy with her about how much you liked her but in moments like that it did take her a moment to believe it, that you were truly that into her, enough to get turned on just from hearing her speak. it was both endearing and thrilling to her, to be lusted after that overtly.

she´d never talked anyone through it over the phone but Tess liked a challenge, so she thought about what you might want her to say and continued speaking, telling you how pretty you looked when you´re all worked up and desperate, what she´d do if she was there next to you, her tone soft and sultry, so she didn´t have to keep doing it for long, after a while of getting into it she could hear a sound that signaled to her that you were done, a sense of cockiness swelling up in her. a moment after you said “you should feel really good about yourself”, she smiled which you could hear from the way she spoke, of course she knew what you meant but she liked teasing you, “oh yeah? why?”, “why? Tess. I miss you so much that I´m doing shit like this” she laughed then, “well, we´re in a similar spot then”, “are you saying you jerk off thinking about me?” you teased back, “take a wild guess sweetheart”. 

that night you had various feverish dreams about her, inspired by what had happened over the phone mere minutes before you fell asleep, which left you spaced out and distracted the next day, haunted by the visions you´d had of her mixed with the actual real life memories that were utter torture to think of. it happened pretty often in the following weeks that you had to ask someone to repeat themselves because you were busy thinking of her; Tess on the other hand was eyed curiously by a few of her friends and colleagues because they sensed an unfamiliar ease in her, she smiled more than usual, she was less irritable and snapped at people way less frequently than before, to a point where her closest friend straight up asked “okay. who is she?” over dinner one night because she knew that Tess could only be magically changed like that by a pretty intense infatuation. 

towards the end of summer it was thankfully rather explain to Joel why you wanted to go back to college early, you made something up about getting into the groove of things before classes started and he was just glad to see you eager to get back to your life there because the year before you´d sometimes seemed a little fed up with everything. as long as you were happy he was happy but of course, the true source of your happiness might have changed his mind in that instance. lucky for you, he had not caught on about the fact that your enthusiasm had absolutely nothing to do with your academic life. the plan you and Tess had come up with was a simple one: you´d fly back to your college town and from there you could take a train to Tess´s city that would take about two hours, which meant you´d get there in the early evening if everything went according to plan. 

she told you she´d park just down the road of the station and the moment you spotted her from a distance it reminded you of the first time you´d met: she was leaning against the passenger door the exact same way, but this time a bright smile crept onto her face as soon she saw you walking towards her. what she did then was very typically Tess, she didn´t walk or run over to you but let you come close to her, those subtle displays of dominance that suited her well, watching your slightly tired but utterly joyful expression as you approached her, waiting until you were only a few feet away from her to finally stand up and open her arms. the second she did that you dropped your bags and swung your arms around her neck, immediately nuzzling your face against her neck and making a sound of excitement as she picked you up with her familiar strong grip, lifting you from the ground for a second, wrapping her arms tightly around your back as you breathed in her scent, her hair soft against your face, the fragrance of her shampoo reminding you of the times you´d been in bed with her and had gotten an intoxicating whiff of it. “my sweet girl” she said as she kept holding you. neither of you wanted to let go, so you stayed like that for about a minute, wordlessly embracing and touching, eyes closed, melting into each other, instantly as comfortable as you´d been the last time you´d been that close two months prior. eventually you let go and faced each other, somehow there was an agreement that you´d wait to kiss until you could do it properly, passionately, in private, so you held her hand instead and waited for her to speak, beaming at her, overjoyed by the thought of having a whole week with her ahead of you, trying to soak up the bliss of that long awaited reunion, the sun casting you in a golden glow that matched the warm feeling you both felt in your chests. 

she looked at you with soft eyes and touched your cheek with her free hand, caressing you the way she´d done countless times before, you breathing out deeply as you leaned into it because that simple gesture alone put your whole body at ease. “you´ve had a long day, right? are you tired now?” a subtle sound of concern, you smiled at her, still processing that she was actually in front of you again, somehow even more beautiful than you  remembered, her hair slightly ruffled from the breeze, her face bronzed and freckled from the weeks of sun before, “well I was tired until like a minute ago, but now I´m wide awake”. she grabbed you by your waist then, enjoying your flirting, holding onto you, “good, that´s what I hoped. so how about we go home first, you can freshen up, relax, and then we can go get some dinner, how does that sound?”, “perfect, ideal” you said, leaning in to kiss her cheek while whispering “I missed you, so much”, an obvious statement but you felt the need to remind her, her hands lingering on your back as she let you press your lips against her face, “I missed you too. I´m glad to have you all to myself this week”. she took your bags from you and put them into the trunk, joining you in the car a few seconds after and it felt good to be back in that seat next to her since that was where your whole relationship had started, where you´d spent the first few hours of knowing each other, it reminded you of the fun you´d had with her during the beginning of summer, the nervousness before you dared to go for it, so it was a cute full circle moment, to be right back in that same spot.

“ah I missed this, your shameless staring” she said, grinning as she pulled out of the parking spot and felt your gaze fixed on the right side of her face, you´d gotten comfortable and were eyeing her with clear desire, unwilling to mask any of it. “well, you might get sick of it by the end of the week”, she shook her head, “no, never. oh by the way, here, I thought you might need something like this”, she directed your attention to the drink holders between you, which held two of the refreshments she´d seen you go for most often. “didn´t know which one you´d prefer right now so I just got both”, it was one of the things about her that had won you over from the start, her way of paying attention to even the smallest things, her way of reminding you that she cared about the details, “oh thank you, that´s really sweet”, you said as you took a big sip of one of the cold drinks, but Tess never wanted any praise for her little acts of service because she saw it as the most natural thing in the world, so she changed the subject. 

“so, be honest, was it weird? lying to him about all this?” she knew that it was no small thing, to lie to Joel that blatantly about going back to college when you were actually visiting her for a whole week, so she made sure you were still fine with it. “oh it was okay. we get a little pissed off with each other when we spend so many weeks in one house, so I think that helped with me not feeling too bad”, she nodded, an amused expression “right, I get that, good to have some distance now I assume?”. “yeah for sure. but not just because of him, I was honestly just glad to be leaving home now”, that intrigued her, “oh yeah? how come?”, a sympathetic tone, you thought about it “I don´t love spending that much time back where I grew up. now that I have my own life, coming back there sometimes makes me feel so out of place and weird.. like running into old friends and seeing all the places I used to spend my time, it can get suffocating after a while, all those memories and old feelings”. Tess made a sound of agreement, “yeah I get that, I avoid going back to my hometown, I used to do it more when I was younger but I only do Christmas now, that´s it. sometimes you just outgrow a place and it feels odd as hell to return, huh?”, you nodded, “exactly yes”, she hardly ever talked about her family so you knew it meant something for her to share that information, you didn´t press her further, still, it made you feel understood and seen in a way.

“so, this might be a good moment to say thank you for letting me come here” she tried to wave it off but you insisted “no, really! I can´t tell you how nice it is to be able to leave early without having to go back to my everyday life already. you´re kind of saving my life by giving me this in between, I already feel lighter right now, like I can breathe out again”, she grabbed your hand, squeezing it a little, “well I´m glad, I want you to let go of everything and just enjoy this week okay? I´ll take good care of you” she meant it, she felt protective over you and wanted nothing more than to offer you an escape from whatever might be weighing on you, “oh, I´m sure you will”, you said, a suggestiveness to your words that made her laugh then, “okay, I wasn´t just talking about that kind of care but sure, that too”. there was palpable tension between you, you could both feel it as you kept glancing at each other, Tess was wearing something you hadn´t seen her in yet, the temperature was warm but not too hot so she´d opted for black pants that hugged her body perfectly paired with an oversized navy t-shirt that left her forearms exposed, you were also dressed in something that was unfamiliar to her, which left you in a similar state of wanting to get your hands under the fabric already. a charged silence hung between you as she pulled into her street and interrupted your shared moment of fantasizing, “this is it” she announced, pointing at her house as she looked for an empty spot.

“okay wow...” you said, clearly stunned. the street was picturesque: tall buildings, beautiful architecture, five story houses with little iron balconies out front, a row of lush trees on either side of the street that cast pretty shadows onto the sidewalk. the area seemed both urban and peaceful, it was very close to the center of the city so there were little shops and cafes further down the block that were busy during that time of day, she was pleased by your reaction, the nervousness about having you stay with her was fading by the second. “you know what. I think I should just drop out and come live here, be your trophy girlfriend” you joked as you both exited the car and you got a good look at your surroundings, she laughed as she got your bags for you, charmed by your enthusiasm, secretly into the idea of having you with her for good  “enticing offer, truly, I´ll think about it”

as you walked up the stairs to her apartment, you noticed how nice even just the hallway was, the ground floor had mosaic tiles, the stairs seemed about a century old, sturdy and almost like something you´d find in an old library, you turned to Tess who was walking behind you, “is it possible that you´re hiding the fact that you´re kind of rich?”, which she could only laugh at, “I wish. rent-control, baby, that´s the reason I´ve been living here for ten years, I couldn´t afford places in this area if I moved here now. but feel free to believe that I am secretly rich, I don´t mind”. 

by the time she let you in, you were slightly out of breath, steading yourself against the wall as she dropped your bags on the floor and closed the door, giving you only a brief second to recover before she grabbed your face with determination and kissed you, deeply this time, her hands holding your face as she pushed you further against the wall, eager, kissing you in a way that was not elegant or pretty but messy with all the pent up tension, her taste still familiar to you, even after all those weeks, hot and slightly sweet against your tongue, your skin tingling where her knee brushed yours as she had you against the wall, a series of desperate but pleased sounds leaving both of you until you eventually got dizzy with the heat of it and separated, smiling bright while you stood there breathing even heavier than before.

“so” she said, her lips a deeper shade of pink than before, “I think I should give you a tour of your home for the week now, right? be a good host”, you nodded, smiling to yourself, realizing that you hadn´t even taken a look around yet. Tess lead you to her bedroom first to drop off your stuff there and it was just what you´d imagined it to be: minimal but elegant, nothing showy, no bright colors, but an impressively large bed for one person with very comfortable looking sheets, the same dark wooden floor you´d already noticed outside the room that gave her whole space an expensive, chic feel. there was not much clutter at all, she was obviously a neat person, you could tell that she took good care of the few belongings that she cherished, no clothes over her chair, no trinkets on the dresser, nothing left laying around where it didn´t belong. still, the room had a distinctly warm and inviting feel to it, you could already imagine how well you´d sleep in there and she was glad to read the enthusiasm in your expression; Tess was only human, so naturally she´d worried about what you´d think of her place, if you´d feel comfortable staying there for a while, but those thoughts were quickly replaced by relief when she saw no hesitation on your part as you moved around, quite the opposite, you seemed elated.

Tess quickly showed you where the bathroom was but didn´t have much to say about it, so instead she lead you to the room that took up most of her apartment: her living room that was connected to the kitchen, a bright open space, one that made it easy imagine her throwing dinner parties there, which she probably rarely did, but still, the understated chicness of the place lent itself to fantasies. the thing that struck you most about her apartment was that it got a ton lot of beautiful natural light, it had tall ceilings and big windows, so during that early evening hour you were spoiled with a glow of orange-golden sunlight, two windowed doors opening up to her balcony, which looked like a lovely place to spend summer nights. it was very obvious that the apartment belonged to a person who was not that easy to figure out just by taking a look around, it fit her personality, that you wouldn´t have been able to guess much about her just by judging the interior design, other than the fact that she had good taste. 

eventually Tess reached the end of what she had to show you, so she got comfortable on the couch and patted the space next to her, looking up at you with an inviting smile, but as you stepped closer you shook your head and lowered yourself onto her lap instead, your arm around her neck as she put hers around your lower back to steady you, glad about the fact that you still seemed just as physically comfortable with her as you´d been in June. 

you held onto her as you smiled at her, taking a look at her pretty eyes from up close as you said, “I just realized I haven´t asked you a thing about the stuff that matters yet. so, how are you, really? is it still stressful at work? you mentioned something last week, I was kinda worried” you purposely put on the tone that a wife using to comfort her tired spouse after a long day at work, it charmed her, she thought about it for a moment as her hands wandered up and down your back.“oh I´m okay, sweetie, really, it´s getting better now. for a minute they were just giving me more and more shit to do because I get things done faster than the others. maybe I should start slacking off a little.. but yeah it´s good to have a break now. the thought of you coming here kinda kept me going last week” that made you feel warm but also evoked some sympathy, you exaggerated a little with your pity as you answered  “poor thing” brushing a strand of her hair out of her face, eyeing her with tenderness, “I wish I could have been here and cooked for you or something, helped you out a little” she smiled imagining it, “hm, I´d have liked that”. “well I´m here now, I´ll help you relax this week, don´t you worry” your hands on her shoulders then, squeezing a little, gently massaging her muscles there for a moment, a pleased sigh from her as she shut her eyes, “god, I forgot how sweet you are..” you stared at her, tilting your head, “forgot?? I guess I´ll have to leave more of an impression this time”, a grin as you said this, still moving your fingers over the fabric of her shirt, she nodded, already fully back under your spell again, “feel free to overdo it, yes”. 

she didn´t have to tell you that twice. you moved your legs to go from sitting on her to straddling her and leaned down to kiss her neck, gently at first, but quickly getting lost in the sensation of her scent, her soft skin, feeling her struggle to stay quiet and still under you until her patience wore thin and she needed more, so she tugged at the bottom of your shirt to signal to you to let her pull it off. the moment you leaned back again, she did just that, pulling it off and throwing it to the side before she grabbed you and kissed your chest, a low humming sound of pleasure, your hands around her neck as she put her lips to the soft skin right above your bra, biting it lightly because she couldn´t keep her desperation for you inside. you did her a favor and removed your underwear, so she could do what she really wanted, to get her mouth on your tits, messy and needy as she moved you from her legs to your back onto the couch, leaning down and covering your whole chest and stomach in wet kisses, overcome with all the desire she´d kept at bay during the time she had to manage being separated from you, your breathing interrupted by satisfied sighs. you spent about half an hour just making out on her couch like that, grabbing and biting and caressing each other in a feverish state of “I missed you” passion, and yet, holding off with actually fucking because you both knew you´d want to really take your time and do it properly later that evening, perhaps also because you liked the idea of getting hot for each other during dinner, having that leftover bit of anticipation, drawing it out a few more hours to savor the intense longing you´d both gotten so used to. 

eventually, you suggested that you should probably go take a shower and get changed. you were eager to look as good as possible in her presence, so she showed you where she kept her towels and left you to it, getting herself a drink from the fridge and opening the balcony door to sit there with a breeze against her face as she smiled to herself, unable to hide how giddy she was over the fact that she finally had the girl she wanted back in her life,  many days and nights to look forward to.

once you were out of the shower you wrapped yourself in a big towel and went back to her bedroom to get dressed, still high on the surreal feeling of being in her space, daydreaming about becoming part of it, not just for a week. as you looked at all the tops you´d brought with you, none of them stood out to, so you got an idea and stepped closer to the door to call out to Tess, “what is it?” she answered from the living room, “come, help me with something”, so she did what she was told. Tess didn´t walk into the room but stopped in the door frame for a second to take in the sight of you in your underwear and jeans “damn, I could get used to this” she said, looking you up and down, her arms crossed, you smiled at her, a sudden tingling sensation on your exposed skin where her gaze was resting.

“can I wear one of your shirts? please?” you asked, batting your eyelashes at her but you didn´t even have to convince her, she loved the idea of seeing you in her clothes, “sure, yeah, come here” she said, waving you over as she walked to her closet and opened the doors for you, “nothing´s off limits, pick whatever you want” so you started scanning the various fabrics as she watched you, absentmindedly tracing your upper body with her fingers, all the parts of you that were yet to be covered, the softness of your freshly showered skin making her space out until you said “okay, let´s try this one”. 

you stepped in front of the full length mirror next to her closet and pulled the black long sleeve shirt that you´d picked out over your head, it was light enough for summer nights and fit you well, you fussed with your hair as she stepped behind you, she could tell that you were trying to find a fault with your appearance, so her arms found their way around your waist, pulling you back into herself as she looked ahead at the reflection of you both, her head resting on your shoulder, “you´re so pretty” she cooed before leaning in and lightly kissing your neck, turned on from the sight of you in something that was hers. you smiled and closed your eyes as she started feeling you up, “we won´t make it to dinner if you keep doing that” you sighed, so she laughed and restrained herself, letting you go and walking over to her bedside table to touch up her perfume, hearing you utter “god that smells so good..” the second it hit your nose, because even just a hint of her signature scent was enough to make you feel dizzy. Tess looked pleased, well aware of that effect, recalling the times you´d basically licked her neck with pure greed, not acknowledging your comment but announcing her plans instead “okay so, there´s this great Thai place about fifteen minutes from here, it´s my favorite spot, so much so that I actually never take people there because I like that it´s my secret thing, but I´d like show it to you”, you smiled, “so, I´m an exception?”, she nodded “absolutely yes”, somehow you could tell that she wasn´t just saying it to charm you, that you did occupy a special place in her life. “sounds good to me, I´m starving so I´ll be very easy to impress”, “okay great, come on then”. you both exited the bedroom and collected your things before stepping out, both giddy with the excitement of having a proper date night for the first time since getting together, no time limit, no rush, total freedom. 

the atmosphere that night was idyllic, it was that distinct late summer feel, a warmth that was pleasant but not too heavy, the sun setting earlier than those bright weeks in June, casting the sky in a muted blue, little accents of orange from the glow of the streetlights, the sound of people chatting and getting drinks after a long day, a collective sense of slow ease in the city as you linked arms and started walking. usually, Tess kept her head down when she made her way through those streets, she was the type to just zone out and wear headphones all the way to her destinations, never looking at her hometown with much generosity, lost in a dull routine, but your presence was changing things for her; she found herself falling back in love with where she lived because she saw how much you were enjoying yourself, it was rubbing off on her, the way you looked around and pointed out all the details she usually passed by without thinking twice. for years Tess had refused to be present in her life, after a few very painful years she´d decided to just give up on excitement, on chasing thrills and had numbed herself as best as she could, pushing herself into a state of hardness that left her cut off from most strong feelings. she told herself it was better that way, to remain detached and untouchable, but you had come along and were helping her come out of that state. you´d given her a reason to feel again, to come back into her body, to be in touch with her senses and the world again, for the first time in ages she felt completely present, glad to be exactly where she was in life. as she thought all of this you could feel her pulling you closer, shoulder to shoulder, you´d missed it terribly all summer, those casual intimacies with her. 

during your walk to the restaurant she gave you the inside scoop on a lot of the places you passed: her favorite spot for coffee, a cinema that she frequented, a bar that she might take you to later that week, the entire time you were listening intently, buzzing with the joy of being let into her life like that. 

the place was located in a small alley that branched out from the bigger street you´d been walking down, so it was quiet and secluded, the kind of place that didn´t need a bunch of fancy decorations to lure people in, a lowkey but cozy vibe, a few lanterns hanging outside, little candles burning on the tables, vases with little fresh flowers around the room. you decided to sit inside because the doors were open anyway and a few couples were already sitting out on the terrace, so a table indoors would offer a little more privacy. the room was dimly lit and a delicious smell was stirring your hunger, a few workers busy behind the bar with making drinks, soft music playing over the speakers as a kind waitress showed you to a table placed two menus in front of you.

“so, go ahead and tell me what´s good here” you said, leaning your head on your hands while looking at her expectantly. “well I have my usual order but how about we share a few things so you can try more of them? we can take whatever we can´t finish home”, that sounded good to you, so you ended up deciding on both a noodle and rice dish, some homemade spring rolls, dumplings with chili sauce, and two peach iced teas, which she advertised as the best you´d ever have. 

as you waited for the food she pulled your hands over the table, holding them as you both stared at each other lovingly. “I honestly can´t believe I´m actually here now” you said, “yeah me neither” she agreed while you both interlaced your fingers, almost like you had to touch the other person to be sure you weren´t dreaming. “can I be real for a second?” you asked, “please, yes”. you laughed to yourself before going on “I honestly went kind of insane this summer because of you”, Tess smiled then, not having expected that “should I apologize?”, of course she didn´t feel sorry at all, you shook your head, “I just need you to know how serious I am about this. like I have truly never felt this way, it was all day, all night, I couldn´t think of anything else to be honest”. usually Tess was not one to admit her intense feelings to others, especially not romantically, but in that moment she didn´t feel scared to do it, she wanted you to know that it was not one-sided, that obsessiveness you were describing,“yeah I was going through something similar, people caught on very quickly about what was going on with me, which says a lot because I´d like to think of myself as hard to read. but yeah, apparently it was written all over my face when I thought about you” you liked the sound of that,“really?”, “yeah, someone straight up asked me who “she” is because it was so obvious”, you were thrilled by the idea of someone as calm and collected as her being so shaken up by you, “and what did you say?” you inquired, leaning forward.

“oh the truth of course, that I´m having an affair with my friend´s college age daughter”, her dry delivery of that made you laugh then, “affair? that sounds scandalous”, she kept looking at you, “well I hate to break it to you but this kind of is sweetheart”. she was right of course, but it did slip your mind at times how odd your involvement might seem to others, since it felt so right and natural to you. “so, is that a turn on for you? that this is kinda fucked up?” you teased, looking at her with a challenging grin as she leaned back and eyed you in a way that brought color to your cheeks, a pregnant pause on her part before answering “no comment.”, a smugness to her expression that gave away what the actual answer was. 

once the dishes were in front of you, she had a lot of fun getting you to try everything first, she wanted to watch your reaction before joining you in eating, and she was not disappointed, you clearly loved all of it, after a full day of travel a meal like that was exhilarating, the sauces were seasoned just right, thick and savory, the dumplings tasted divine, soft and pillowy, practically melting on your tongue, the iced tea was perfect, a great contrast to the heat of the spicy meal. Tess had a thing for watching you eat, her way of loving you was largely based on wanting you to feel good, in every sense of the word, so seeing you take pleasure in something, whether that be her touch, her words, her attention, or the things she gave you to eat and drink, it all made her feel like she was doing a good job; to her being your lover meant more than just having sex with you or spending time with you, she thought of it as her responsibility to make sure that her presence was actively bettering your life, your well being, so a dinner like that where you said things like “this might be the best meal I´ve had in years” made her heart swell. at her core, Tess wanted to feel like she had a purpose, and despite how closed off she might have seemed to those around her all her life, she´d always been the type to go looking for that kind of fulfillment in devotion to another person, the kind that is so deep and visceral and sacred that it almost seems sacrilegious to speak of it to other people. it seemed unthinkable for her to try and explain to someone else what you meant to her. 

after you both put your utensils down and sipped the rest of your drinks, she had something on her mind, “can I ask you something?”, a gentle tone,“sure yes”. she thought about how to word it for a second, you leaned your head on your hand as you waited for her to speak. “you weren´t with many people before me, right?” you shook your head “no”. you saw no point in lying to her, you wanted her to know you and she was glad that you trusted her. “well, I was just wondering, is it strange for you sometimes, that you´re having these experiences with someone much older? you can be honest with me, really, I can handle it” the seriousness with which she said that touched you, it was clear that she wanted to make sure that you were comfortable, that you knew you could talk to her openly.

 “it´s sweet of you to ask but no, not at all. I was actually thinking about this recently, the fact that I feel more like myself around you than with the people I tried to date in college. it just never clicked, I always felt like I was putting on an act, you know? but with you it was so easy from the beginning. I never felt awkward or weird around you, it was freeing in that way. i mean, it still is, so no, it doesn´t feel strange” she could tell that you meant it and it put her at ease, you played with the straw of your drink as you added “I do sometimes have thoughts about my age too, because I never want you to get bored or anything, since I´m less experienced in many ways”, she sensed that there was a hint of insecurity in there and she was puzzled by it “okay that is nonsense, really. trust me, I have been with “experienced” women and that doesn´t mean shit, some of them had no idea how to treat a partner or how to be a decent person in general. they could learn a thing or two from you, believe me, you´re a dream to be with”, you smiled at her, charmed by that answer, reaching out to caress her forearm, “also, just to add to your question, it should be pretty obvious to you that I don´t care about your age because you´re fucking hot”, she laughed then, shaking her head, flattered by your ever so shameless way of lusting after her “okay, sure, let´s not act like saints here, I also wouldn´t have invited you to my place if I didn´t wanna fuck you”, she said it that way on purpose to mess with you a little, grinning at you as your face briefly got colored in shock. “okay I see, that´s how it is” you responded, but of course you didn´t mind one bit, it felt good to get back into that familiar thing of trying to catch each other off guard with out of pocket comments.

eventually she got the bill, she wouldn´t have let you pay even a fraction of it in a million years, and you both made your way back outside. by that time it was dark and the air had gotten chilly, so she made sure to wrap her arm tightly around you as you walked back to her apartment, but before you could reach her place her attention got caught by something. “oh, I forgot about this place”, you followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at a shop across the street, “they have this really fancy ice cream, it´s a little overprized but worth it. you want some?” she asked, “yeah sure!”. it was hard to pick because the flavors all sounded uniquely delicious, but you eventually settled on salted caramel while she got a dark chocolate raspberry mix, conveniently there was an empty bench right next to the store, so you sat down and got comfortable while tasting the desert and nodding at each other in approval as the intense flavor spread on your tongues. 

“yeah this is it” you said, immediately going in for more. she had her arm behind your back on the bench and watched what was going on around you for a while, before her attention was drawn to your mouth. you had no idea what she was thinking as you licked the ice cream but the sight of your tongue swirling around like that, the undeniable erotic quality of those movements, it made her rethink her attitude towards getting head from you. previously she´d almost always been the giver, you´d gotten her off here and there and you´d made it clear to her that you´d enjoy doing more for her, but she had yet to take you up on the offer, perhaps because she was scared of being vulnerable in that way, but as she kept watching you devour the slowly melting ice cream, your lips glistening from it, she couldn´t help but feel a heat between her legs as she imagined how it would feel to have your tongue on her, to have you savoring her taste. Tess was not one to lose her composure easily but she was getting impatient, she felt a violent need building up inside of her that was bordering on the unbearable, so she cleared her throat before announcing “I think we should go home.”, a weight to the words that made you turn to face her, the moment you locked eyes with her you could tell what she was actually saying, which was I need to get my hands on you right now. so you kept your answer brief “okay” and let her pull you up. 

both of you were quiet and walked significantly faster than earlier, there had been a build-up of desire for weeks, countless dreams of each other, countless hours of aching for each other´s touch, and in that moment it came crashing over both of you in full force. the hours before it had been on a low simmer but in that moment it boiled over and you were struck by a need for each other that was so deep and intense that you almost had trouble breathing as you hurried up the stairs to her apartment. 

the moment the door was shut behind you, she dragged you to her bedroom and you couldn´t help but smile from being wanted that desperately. she barely managed to switch on her bedside lamp before she turned back to you and kissed you hard, her hands on the sides of your face, a whimpering sound from you as you felt your whole body burning up for her; you both started fumbling with each other´s clothes immediately, almost ripping them off until you were left in your underwear, allowing yourselves a moment of admiring the other person´s physique in the dim light, your eyes drawn to her broad shoulders, her strong upper arms, the way her hair was falling down over them in waves, her eyes drawn to your stomach, your hips, that space right above your thighs she was dying to grab. you quickly pulled each other close to kiss again, feverishly and sloppier than before while she pushed you towards the bed, you were grabbing each other all over, wherever your hands landed, a force to the way your fingers dug into each other´s flesh that got you more and more worked up, it was pure bliss to finally have it back, that dizzying passion.

Tess backed you up onto the mattress, you were flat on your back then as she climbed over you and pinned your arms down at your sides, her fresh musky fragrance clouding your mind as you looked up at her and sighed “don´t hold back, please”, she always had to be careful with leaving marks while you were in your hometown, but now you were free, so she lost no time and abandoned restraint, kissing you all over your neck, sucking and biting the soft skin that she´d missed so terribly, your skin various shades of red in certain places, soaking up the sounds you were making, a mix between sighs and moans, not too loud yet but definitely getting there as she moved down to your chest. during the times you´d fucked before you´d always done it in a rush, worried your time was running out, but in that moment it was completely different, after she left your neck raw from having her way with you, you both hastily got rid of your underwear, you climbed on top of her, flush against each other, chest to chest as you made out, her hands roaming all over your body, switching between squeezing and caressing, yours next to her face as you got lost in the heat of the full body contact, the overwhelming sensuality, doing things that you hadn´t thought of doing before, kissing her arm all the way down, taking the time to taste every part of her that you´d spent so much time staring at, which was driving her insane, feeling your soft lips tender on her hand, briefly taking her fingers in your mouth, a low sound of pleasure from her as you messily licked over her stomach, her tits, leaving a trail of spit until you reached her throat and eventually put your lips back to hers, obsecene with it, open mouthed and moaning as your tongues met, your hands in her hair, both moving your hips as you kissed, increasingly desperate to do more, to release the tension that had built up at your core; without even consciously trying to, you ended up in a position that allowed you to rub up against each other, you still on top of her, grinding against her as your wetness mixed with hers and got you both to a point of pathetic whining very quickly, your palms flat on her chest for support as she stared at you in awe, her hands firm at your sides, both of you suddenly overcome with the need to sigh sweet things to each other, a constant echo of, “you´re so pretty” , “I missed you so much”, “you feel so good”, wrapping each other in the comfort of those words as you felt yourselves throbbing from the constant friction, the slick feeling of the other person´s heat against your own, the divine sensation whenever you found just the right angle and rocked back and forth like that, moaning in unison. eventually you locked eyes as you felt that you might cum at the same time, so you leaned down and breathed into each other´s open mouths as you finished, too far gone too kiss properly, remaining like that and clinging to each other out of breath. 

Tess was gripped by the need to have you on her fingers, to feel how soaked you were from the inside, so she pushed you onto the empty space next to her, urging you to lay back and get comfortable as she moved her hand down between your legs and felt how soaked you´d gotten, a breathy, “fuck..” as she used the mess to slick up her fingers, a needy, almost pained sound from you then, “you feel so good” she praised as she slowly pushed two of her fingers into you, addicted to the feeling of your velvety hot flesh as she went knuckle deep, an almost animal-like possessiveness in to her physicality then that rendered you defenseless, entirely at her mercy, trembling with the thrill of being taken by her as she leaned down to kiss your chest, fucking you slowly to really feel it, the way you were throbbing, rocking against her hand. Tess sighed against your skin as she felt you turning into an utter mess for her, “fuck, right there”, you cried as she found the spot she needed to target, your hands gripping the sheets, your head pressed into the pillow as she sucked on your neck and made you almost black out with the double arousal from being both fingered and kissed, both your lower and upper body on fire from the feeling of her all over you, the ache at your core deepening each passing second from her relentless pressure on your sweet spot, your legs wide open for her even though you felt the need to press them together, “always such a good girl for me, hm?” she praised as she saw that you were trying to be easy for her, “so fucking pretty like this”, she knew what her words were capable of doing to you, especially when she kept her voice low and whispery, so she used it to drive you over the edge, her mouth close to your ear, her breath warm against your face as she had you trapped beneath her, working at your throbbing core, feeling you clench around her fingers as she kept whispering to you, about how hot you sounded, how many times she´d fantasized about doing exactly that, how nothing else made her finish lately when touching herself, your nails digging into her back as you felt yourself coming undone, “it´s okay, I got you” she assured as you tried to let go and let yourself cum around her fingers, eventually unable to hold off any longer as the climax shook you to your core, more visceral than the one before, biting down on her shoulder to stifle the sounds, which made her groan in pleasure, the feeling of your teeth digging into her flesh like that, an unexpected thrill to the pain, she´d have let you draw blood if you´d wanted to. for a moment she refused to let go, even though you were clearly spent, and kept her hand on the mess she´d just made, moving her hand up to your clit to tease you during the aftershocks of your orgasm, which you didn´t mind, it felt good, to be overstimulated, to be pushed into a state of total surrender to her touch, her impact, softer and quieter moans from you then as she watched you, mesmerized by the beauty of your face when you were lost in pleasure, “my angel” slipping out of her mouth as you eventually pulled her hand up to lick it clean for her.

once you found your words again you leaned closer to her ear and whispered “tell me what to do, I´ll do whatever you want”, an eagerness to your tone that hit her right where she was weakest. nothing satisfied Tess more than having you surrender to her, having you waiting for her instructions, desperate to please by letting her do whatever she wanted, but in that moment a different urge came over her, she ran her hands up and down your spine as she responded, “you still wanna taste me?”, which made you move your face change in an instant, conveying your clear “yes” with an intense look, it was like she´d awakened a hunger in you that you´d kept at bay, but now that she was giving you the green light, you felt yourself salivating at the thought, “please, yes”. she nodded, giving you a light slap on your thigh, motioning for you to get down to her legs, “go on then”. 

even though you were switching roles of giver and receiver, she was still going to be the dominant one, and you wouldn´t have wanted it any other way. you your placed your hands on her warm thighs as you got down between them, kissing the soft inside at first, the part of her body you´d admired so many times, finally yours, as she leaned back and tried to let go of the slight tension she felt. it was made easy by your tender way of going about it, it turned her on immensely, the contrast of your style versus hers, she knew you needed her to be rough and greedy with it, while you knew that she needed you to be devoted and eager, it got her good, the feeling of looking down at a pretty girl between her legs, visibly aching for her taste. you briefly got lost in the haze of covering her thighs in little kisses and bites, almost worshiping her in a way, but you could feel her growing impatient, her hands moving to your hair as she uttered, “enough teasing, baby”, urging you to give her what she wanted. you kept your hands hooked around her legs as you put your tongue to her cunt, hit by how wet she´d gotten from your fucking before, licking it up in broad strokes before you pushed your face closer, your tongue between her folds then, her grip on you tightening, “that´s it” she praised, “keep going”, so you took the cue and turned it sloppier and more intense, sliding your tongue up and down in a steady rhythm, moving your face with the motions to add more force, “fuck..” you could hear her moan as her head fell back and her back arched up a little, it was completely overwhelming for her in the best sense, she was too prideful to be very loud but she could have moaned pathetically right then if she´d let herself, it had been a while since anyone had eaten her out and you were doing it so passionately, so clearly not just for her pleasure but your own too, that she wondered why the fuck she had denied herself that kind of heaven, her eyes shut, her body on fire, her mind full of only one thought “I love her, I love this girl, I lover her so much”,  a sudden rush of adoration for you that could have made her cry from the overstimulated feelign of being fucked while she felt it; meanwhile you were also weak with the weight of your arousal, you could feel yourself growing wetter and needier as your whole lower face got coated in her cum, it was exactly what you´d dreamed of so many times, to finally return the favor, to show her how good it felt to be taken care of in that way, drunk on the taste of her, knowing that you´d stay down there for hours if she told you to, comforted by the feeling of being trapped between her thighs. 

eventually she could feel a familiar knot tightening at her core and pushed your head further against herself, her fingers rough in your hair, which got a sound out of you that was whiny and pathetic, dumb with lust as you felt her forcing you closer with that move, keeping her hands there and not letting you move an inch as she struggled to remain quiet, “just like that, don´t stop”, the praise was all you needed to get perverse with it, your spit mixed with her juices leaving her skin and yours a total mess as you devoured her, switching from licking to sucking on her clit to give her a final push, an immediate low groan leaving her lips, breathless by that point, her hips moving upward as she felt the beginning of an orgasm spreading through her whole body, building up to a hard release as you kept your lips on her, nails digging into her flesh as you let her rock against your face as hard as she wanted, soaking up every little noise she made as she came, every move of her muscles, high on the knowledge that it was your doing, her unraveling. once she was left slack and intensely flushed, you slowly moved your face away and gave her thigh a last indulgent bite before moving up to look at her, your hand on her chest as you laid down next to her, the room silent except for your shared attempt to breathe steadily again. a few moments later a smile spread across her tired face, turning her face to see your prideful expression. 

“you´re a freak, hm?” she teased, brushing a strand of hair out of your sweat-stricken face. “oh, you´re just now noticing?” you said, grinning at her, “maybe. I should´ve let you do that sooner, god..”, she shook her head, still coming down from the high you just gave her, gazing up at the ceiling for a moment as you traced patterns on her skin with your index finger, staring at her in awe, the blush on her cheeks, her messed up hair. “hm, agree. but you know, we can make up for lost time this week”, she nodded, “oh, we will, yes.”, moving her body over to trap you, her arms by your sides then, looking down at you before kissing you, not a care in the world about the fact that she could taste herself on your lips, covering your face in kisses, eliciting quiet sighs and giggles from you. after she pulled back she put her hand flat on your slightly bruised chest,“we should take a shower, I think”.“we?” you asked, in slight disbelief over the fact that she was willing to be that vulnerable; fucking was one thing, getting cleaned up together was another, and it was true, usually Tess did not do that with the women she was seeing, but she could not stand the idea of leaving you in her room as she showered, or waiting for you as you did, it was different with you. “yes, we, I´m not done with this yet”, she said while gesturing at your exposed form, so you smiled “okay, come on then”, still somewhat weak as you peeled yourself off of the bed and waited for her to lead the way.

Tess´s bathroom was tiled in a dark green color, so at night it had a cozy and slightly cave-like feeling , as opposed to the white tiled ones you were used to, you noticed this as she turned on the shower and made sure the temperature was fine, before you both got in and stood facing each other, your hands loosely resting on each other´s waists, barely a few inches apart. 

a few seconds after the hot water started running down your skin, it hit you both at the same time, that getting showering together was somehow more exposing than having sex because your bodies weren´t in motion or in a particularly sexy pose, you were both just standing there, vulnerable, your bodies visible for what they were in their natural state. Tess could tell that you shared some of her sudden shyness and got an idea, before you could reach for any body wash, she did it herself and told you “turn around, let me do that for you, baby”, which she didn´t have to say twice. she put some product in her hands and rubbed them together to create some foam before gently moving her palms over your back, lightly kissing your shoulder for a second, and you could feel yourself relaxing into her touch immediately. the vaguely citrusy and herbal scent started mixing with the steam of the water and gave the shower a spa like feeling, she moved her hands all over you in deliberate gentle motions, enjoying the sensation of your soft skin coated in the creamy soap, almost hypnotized by it, she could have kept doing that for a while, so she made a mental note of offering you a massage sometime. “that feels nice” you sighed as you leaned back against her a little, and she couldn´t help but move her hands to your chest then to pull you even closer, her hands briefly over your tits, the hint of a moan leaving you then, which didn´t escape her, so she kept her fingers there for a moment, a smile on your face as your head rested against her shoulder, “I think I´ll pass out if you actually try to do anything right now”, your body was already exhausted from before and you felt the heat sinking into your limbs, leaving you relaxed but also hot enough to a point where you suspected that extreme arousal might actually make you lose consciousness. Tess smiled too then, “well we don´t want that, do we”, but as she said that you abruptly turned around and put your hands on her neck, staring at her as you pressed yourself against her to transfer some of the soap onto her, the feeling of it somehow more intense than you both expected, being chest to chest while water and foam were slicking you up, so you leaned in to kiss her, only briefly, but she pulled you back in the moment she could feel space between your lips again, she had no desire to stop as she felt you submitting to her force but it didn´t take long for her to lose her breath, so you both ended up standing there panting, desperate for air because the room was all fogged up. 

both of you laughed then, “we´re fucking losing it” you said, hugging her as you closed your eyes and felt her wet chest against yours, “yeah I´m done for, we need to get out before we overheat and die”, so you both rinsed off together and stepped out, wrapping yourselves in big towels.

as you dried off and stood on the shower mat, your gaze fell to the sink, “two toothbrushes?” you exclaimed, exaggerating a scandalized tone, “is this the point where you confess to me that you´ve had a girlfriend all along?”. Tess shook her head, “yeah you figured it all out, I´m just using you to cheat, sorry” her tone dripping in irony, you couldn´t help but smile then as she pointed at what you were referring to, “that´s a fresh one for you, genius, because I know how easy it is to forget shit like that”. of course she was right, you could recall countless times of cursing yourself for not having packed something small but important like deodorant or toothpaste and you were charmed by her considerate ways, the idea of her wondering what you might need before you´d come to her place.“that´s really cute, thank you” but ,as always, she didn´t wanna hear it, so you quietly joined her by the sink and kept looking at her with soft eyes as you both brushed your teeth. Tess was facing the mirror but she could feel your gaze on her side profile and let herself enjoy it, not turning to you, just soaking up that quiet moment of intimacy, the sensation of having your undivided loving attention.

once you were both dressed in comfortable nightwear and back in bed you couldn´t help but smile to yourself as got comfortable under the covers, you were content to your core, thrilled by the fact that you were finally gonna sleep next to her again. you felt a delicious sense of satisfaction over the fact that nobody had any idea what you were doing, that it was your secret, in a sense it made you feel powerful, to have your joy all to yourself like that, without any witnesses but her. Tess looked down at you, pride bubbling up in her over the fact that you clearly loved your situation, “happy?”, she asked, knowing the answer, you nodded, moving yourself closer to her, “yeah this is perfect. god this mattress is like a cloud, my bed is not nearly this nice”, she smiled, her hand on top of the blanket that you´d pulled up to your shoulders, “well, I have a hot tip for you then, when you eventually get your own place, splurge on your bed instead of fancy decoration or furniture. trust me, your back will start hurting soon enough”. you laughed, “okay, noted. sweet of you to assume I´ll make enough money to have my own apartment, with the housing market as it is.. let's see about that one”, she smiled, “you have a point, yes. but I have faith, if everything fails, something tells me you won´t have trouble finding some older richer woman to take you in”, you joined in on the joke, “right, I´m getting great practice here. except for the rich part of course”.

she leaned down to kiss you, more tenderly than before, light kisses that didn´t burn but calm you, she liked having you under her, so she stayed like that for a moment until she got more comfortable next to you, sinking further down into her pillow. you remembered something then.

“I saw a book on your nightstand earlier”, “yes..” she said, a hint of apprehension in there, “what is it?” you asked, looking at her expectantly. “I actually haven't picked it up in ages”, her tone less unwavering than usual, “yes, I´m listening”, you could tell she was dodging the question. “okay but don´t you dare laugh”. “laugh?? what.. is it some trashy romance novel? weird erotica?”, she shoved your arm then, “no! is that what you think of me? really?”, you shrugged, “hey I have no idea what you´re into”. you were expecting something embarrassing but it turned out to be the exact opposite. she reached over to grab the book, holding it out to you so you could read the title yourself, you recognized the name on the cover. “Mary Oliver? you think I´d make fun of you for reading one of the best poets of all time? Tess come on, do you think I´m an asshole?”, she was relieved, for some reason she´d felt shy about admitting a more private interest of hers to you, “no of course not, I don´t know. I guess it just doesn´t really fit my image, does it?”, “your image? you really don´t want people to know you feel things deeply, hm? a bit too late with me, hate to break it to you, love”, she smiled then, at the casual use of the word “love”, and because it was true, there was no need to pretend around you, you´d already seen her at her most romantic and vulnerable, so she opened up a little. “it´s actually the one book I´ve had the longest. one day when I was in my late 20s I was going through it, like truly the worst fucking day ever, and for some reason ended up in a bookstore. I was just browsing, kind of losing my mind, and then came across this collection. I guess I liked that the poems were hopeful without being corny or overwrought. I kept going back to it whenever I was kind of.. I don´t know, lost?”. you gave that confession a few moments of respectful silence before saying, “that´s really sweet”. it was touching to you, that she was so shy about the fragile parts of herself, the ones that she had probably kept to herself for most of her life, concealed by her very convincingly tough aura.

“actually, could you maybe read me some of those”, you asked her, which made her turn to face you again, “what, like a bedtime story?” slightly confused, “no, just.. I like your voice. I like hearing you speak”. “yeah I am well aware, ever since a certain phone call a few weeks ago” she said with a smug expression, “oh shut up, this isn´t about that, I am trying to be sincere. I am asking you to read to me because I-” you almost slipped up and said “because I love you”, you saved yourself before the words could come out, but your abrupt pause was a giveaway, she knew what you´d thought, and it hit her, but she let it go, though she wouldn´t forget it, “because it would soothe me” you said instead. “okay, okay let me see if I can find some favorites. come over here” she said, pulling you closer, your head against her side then as she had put her arm around your back. 

“I don´t have any practice of course, so bear with me” she prefaced, but the moment she read the first few words out loud, you were sucked into it immediately, the slow rhythm of it, the humm in her chest that you could feel because you were pressed against her, the deliberate pauses she made, it was deeply relaxing to listen to, so you closed your eyes. after a few verses she stopped, unsure if you´d want her to continue, but you urged her “hm you´re good at this, go on”, so she did, remembering the parts of certain poems she´d held close to her heart when she was younger, a sweet contrast, to be sharing something with a lover that she´d often turned to when she had been at her loneliest. a few minutes in, Tess could feel your drifting off, your breathing became slower and your head became heavier, so eventually she quietly put the book down and stayed like that, her fingers lightly running up down your spine as you fell asleep in her embrace. for a while she did not allow herself to move because she loved the feeling of having you nestled against her like that, but eventually her eyes got heavy and she switched off her bedside lamp, moving herself down to lay her head near yours, your breath warm against her face as she joined you in a dreamless sleep. 

all the intense impressions from the day before had made it so that you both slept through the night without any interruptions, so by the time you first woke up the next day it was already around 9 am. for a while you laid there half-conscious, sprawled out comfortably over her large bed, your arms stretched out on either side, which eventually signaled to you that you were alone. reliably, Tess had gotten up before you, you were well aware by then that she was not the type to sleep in late, even on her off days, so you forced yourself to wake up for good and join her. 

as you walked into the living room, slightly self-conscious about your disheveled appearance, she had her back turned because she was busy with the coffee machine, so a few seconds into watching her you cleared your throat, a bright smile on your face as she turned around, “oh hey! perfect timing, I just got done with this” she said, pointing at the table. the first thing that caught your eye was a vase filled with beautiful flowers, the kind that almost looked like they grew in the wild, dainty but colorful, shades of lilac and pink, they hadn´t been there the day before. “wow, those are stunning. wait, you were outside already?”, you asked, she nodded as she came over to you and gave you a light kiss on the cheek before urging you to sit down with her, “yeah, I wanted to make this a little nicer than just.. you know boring old toast. we have this bakery around here, I don´t often get stuff for myself but I thought you´d like it. oh and these yeah, I recall you liking flowers so, they stood out to me”. she said it all so nonchalantly but it was really special to you, that she´d gone out of her way to do all that because you´d have been fine with much less, you still felt a bit of sleep in your eyes as you looked at what was in front of you, “drink something first” she ordered, pointing at the three glasses of water, juice, and coffee in front of you, so you did, as she went on to explain what she´d bought. “okay, so, this one is a croissant with pistachio filling, it´s kind of what they´re known for, but I really like the white and dark chocolate swirl one so if you want we can share”, you agreed, watching her rip them both in two, placing the halves on your plate and watching you closely as you tried them, “oh wow, that´s fucking good” you said as the intense sweet flavor hit your tongue, she leaned back, satisfied, successful in her attempt to start your day off in an ideal way. 

“you know, it´s kind of unfair that you always get dressed before me” you bemoaned, gesturing at her outfit as you both ate, “you always look better than me in the morning”, she shook her head, her mouth still half full as she mumbled “bullshit. that´s your warped perception, trust me, most people would prefer waking up to that” a wave of her hand in your direction as she said this. “well, not everyone has good taste, so” you joked, grinning at her, “right, and you do?”, she couldn´t deny that it felt good to be accused of upstaging you in the looks department even thought she vehemently disagreed. “clearly, look at this, I´m spoiled as hell”, she couldn´t really argue with that, still, she wondered if you actually thought you looked worse than her in that moment, because she had a hard time keeping herself from letting you finish your meal uninterrupted. she´d have liked to go over to you to slip her hand under your shirt, to feel your skin that was still warm from sleep. 

for a while you both leisurely emptied your plates and cups and talked about whatever came to mind, enjoying the feeling of a slow summer morning, of sharing a domestic kind of intimacy. “so, what are we doing today?” you asked her eventually, eager to do whatever she wanted, your eyes glimmering with excitement at the thought of still having the whole day ahead of you. “well, I have an idea, but I´m gonna need you to hear me out...” she seemed slightly unsure, so you wondered what was gonna come “sure, tell me”. “okay, so, about 45 minutes outside of the city there´s this really beautiful hike but not the boring kind, trust me, it´s not just an endless fucking trail, it´s this forest landscape with a bunch of little rivers and a lake, I went there a lot when I was younger, and since it´s a weekday I doubt we´d run into many people. also-” you interrupted her then, “you don´t have to convince me Tess, I´m down, let´s do it. do you think I´m that unathletic, that I´m scared of a hike?” you said, smiling and giving her a questioning look, she smiled too then, “well I guess I´ll see what we´re working with once we´re there, right?”. “you´re scared you´ll have to carry me once I get tired, huh?” you teased, “oh, you´d like that wouldn´t you” she said, “probably yeah. but don´t worry, I´ll manage. in fact, maybe I´ll have to support you in the end, you know, since you´re..”, “old?” she finished the sentence for you, acting offended, “I´m not 70 sweetie, so let´s see who has to take a break first” she challenged you, leaning forward as she said it, you returned the energy, “won´t be me”, even though you knew she could probably triumph over you in terms of endurance, something told you she wasn´t the type to ever admit that she felt weak, both emotionally and physically. 

after breakfast you spent some time on the couch, you half on her lap, her hands on you, a soft lazy exchange of touches and kisses until it was around 11:00 and you mustered up the energy to get ready as well. 

by noon you were in her car, sharing a bottle of ice cold water because it was already warming up by that hour, the windows down and the radio playing as you found all kinds of things to talk about: classes you were gonna take in the new year, jokes from her side about you probably being a teacher´s pet considering you talent for charming people her age, you grilling her about details from work, gossip she could share, trying but failing to get her to spill some stuff about exes of hers, whether you fit her usual type, if she even had one, but Tess was steadfast in her refusal to share any of that, leaving you to tease her with speculations like “I bet there was some hot intern at work you had a thing with. maybe you fucked in the office or something, is that it?” until you reached your destination and quit the banter. 

she hadn´t over-promised, the area was absolutely stunning; trees as tall as buildings as far as the eye could reach. you were at the beginning of a path that had a slow incline and would lead you to the top of a hill, the thick row of trees would offer enough shade for it to be an enjoyable hike and the little patches of flowers and plants you had never seen before offered enough to keep your eyes busy. 

the first half hour passed very quickly, both you and Tess kept pointing out things to each other, stopping every now and then to inspect certain kinds of berries of particularly colorful kinds of flowers, her teasing you by ripping out some leaves and running them over your skin to catch you off guard with the sensation, getting a high pitched squeal out of you that made her bend over in laughter and earned her a kick to the shin from you. you liked watching her as you made your way deeper into the forest, it was hot to you, seeing her physically exhaust herself, her leg muscles straining whenever there was a steepness to your path, her breath heavier, her face dewy from the heat, she could feel your eyes on her as you went a little quiet and she liked it, knowing that you were checking her out, so eventually she stopped, leading you to a tree and backing you up against it as she grinned at you, waiting for you to follow your instinct, which you immediately did, pulling her in for a kiss as she slid her hands under your shirt and enjoyed the thrill of feeling you up in public, kissing your neck as you felt the bark of the tree against your head, your hair getting caught as you shut your eyes and sighed from the sensation of her sucking on the skin right above your collarbone until she pulled away and left you flushed and disheveled, acting all innocent as she said “shall we continue?” pointing at the path and walking away from you, a shake of your head as you tried to slow your breathing and to forget about the fact that for a second there you´d hoped that she might actually fuck you in public. one day, you thought, one day she´ll cave and do it.

about an hour in, you both felt a rush of gratitude as you reached an area that made you gasp in awe, “oh wow”, you said, as you looked at a river that was wide enough to swim in, a truly picturesque scene, and because you were both sweating and ready for a break by that point, you looked at each and realized that you were thinking the same thing. “should we?...” you asked, pointing at the river, Tess thought about it, “god that would feel so good right now, wouldn´t it? you know what, let´s do it, we can go in our underwear, it´ll dry fast if we sit there for a few minutes after”. “oh I was just talking about taking our shoes off and getting our legs in there” you said, surprised by her bold idea. “oh no, all or nothing baby. come on, it´ll be fun” she nudged you playfully, so you gave in because it did sound delicious in that moment, to cool your hot body, the sound of the rushing water practically luring you in. “alright, fuck it, let´s do it” you put your bag down and unzipped your shorts as she did the same. 

as you stood there after getting rid of your shirt, Tess leered at you, pointing at your bra “I think you should take that off too” a smug grin on her face, you put your hand on your hip and raised your eyebrows, “right, so some stranger who is walking by can creep on me?”, she shook her head, grinning, “no. so I can creep on you.” emphasis on the I as she pointed at herself. you suppressed a smile and challenged her, “I´ll do it if you do it”. Tess sometimes forgot that you admired her body the same way she did yours, so your request surprised her but she just shrugged, “sure, okay”, moving her hands to her back to free herself of the last piece of fabric on her upper body, you doing the same thing, slightly shy once you were left topless, your hands over your tits as you looked at the water, dipping a toe in to gauge the temperature.

“oh fuck thats cold” you cold feel goosbumps forming on your skin and she was definitely bolder than you, immediately wading into the water, knee deep within seconds, braving through the initial shock, teeth clenched until she got over it, waving you in, her body mesmerizing, strong and almost god-like in the light of the midday sun. “come on, its fine, you can do it” she encouraged, endeared by the way you held your body then, arms clasped around yourself for comfort. you tensed up as you took a few steps in, Tess lowered herself in the meantime, submerging her whole body except for her head in the cool waves, “trust me sweetheart, this feels great”, so you just took the final step and mirrored what she was doing, a gasp as you felt the cold all over your skin, a few seconds of discomfort until you felt the utter satisfaction of being one with the elements like that on a warm summer day. “come here”, she ordered, so you swam over to her, feeling her pull you closer underwater, your hands around her neck then, your legs loosely wrapped around her back as you both stayed like that for a moment, the water running over you in a steady stream, the sound of birds and rustling leaves hanging in the air, a scene straight of of an Impressionist painting, shades of green and blue all around, accents of reflected sunlight on the surface of the river, you right in the middle, it was like you were truly outside of your lives for a moment, which was visible on your faces before you leaned in and kissed. 

after a while you pulled back and felt the sudden urge to try and push her underwater, so you put your arms on her exposed shoulders and applied some force but she just looked at you, patient, smiling, unaffected, “nice try” she uttered, somewhat condescending; she was clearly not going to be overpowered and you knew it but it was a thing you liked to do sometimes, testing her strength to get a little turned on by how impossible it was to match it. eventually, you gave up but before you could think about swimming away she did what you had tried to do but she did it successfully, pushing you under the surface, not too hard but keeping her hands on your head for a few seconds as you shut your eyes and felt the silence of being totally engulfed by water, a feeling you hadn´t experienced in years, which admittedly wasn´t all that unpleasant. after she let go and you came back up for air you immediately splashed water onto her face, shaking your head as you wiped your eyes and adjusted your soaking wet hair. “you know” you said, staring at her, out of breath, “you could fully drown me right now and nobody would ever know. I didn´t tell a soul I´m here, so, you could get away with it”, she was moving her arms through the water in a soothing motion as she returned your look, amused by your strange remark, “well fuck, you got me. this whole thing was just an elaborate scheme to get you out here and kill you”, you kept standing where you were, water dripping down your chest as you responded “yeah I figured, that´s your thing right?. kidnapping fantasies”, she shook her head, “okay easy, a little too far”, but you weren´t done yet, “no? you don´t like that? thinking about tying me up and-”. before you could even finish the sentence she pulled you down and put her hand over your mouth to shut you up “okay, you´re fucking insane”. Tess reacted that way partially because you´d struck a cord, she didn´t have violent sexual fantasies but she did like the idea of restraining you, which got her riled up as you joked about it.

the whole ordeal ended in you both being half submerged in the waves and laughing, holding hands as you both laid down on your backs to float on the water, the sun warming your front side as the river cooled the back, a delicious contrast, about fifteen minutes of peaceful silence and bliss, your fingers interlaced so you wouldn´t drift away from each other, more relaxed than you could remember being in ages. 

after you got out of the water you laid down in the grass by the shore, waiting for your skin to dry off before you could get dressed again, the breeze gently caressing your nearly nude bodies. 

eventually you both sat upright, looking around at the scenery as you started talking again. 

“can I ask you something personal?” you said after a while, your head resting on your knees as you looked at her from the side, Tess was ripping out single strands of grass absentmindedly as she looked back at you, “another question about perverted kinks I might have?”, you laughed, rolling your eyes at her, “no.”, “go on then”. “did you ever consider the whole getting married and having kids thing? when you were younger I mean”. 

Tess had a joke on her tongue about not being the type of woman that people would love to bring home to their parents, but she decided to be earnest, sensing that you were actually interested. “kids definitely not. and marriage, hm.. well, when I was in my 20s I was busy just surviving and figuring my shit out, so I never thought about it back then, but sure, when I was in my 30s and people around me started having kids and settling down, it did cross my mind sometimes. but if I´m being totally honest, I think that wouldn´t have been the right way for me. maybe if I´d met the right person, but not a huge white wedding..” she shook her head at the thought, you were listening with deep interest, “maybe an elopement or something, I do like that idea. but also, I witnessed a good amount of nasty divorces in my time, truly awful shit, so I think this is actually a pretty fortunate situation to be in at my age” she motioned back and forth between you two, smiling conspiratively, you nodded, returning the smile. “that makes sense, I mean look at my parents.. that shit was not good”, she made a sound of agreement “yeah exactly. but what about you?”, she leaned closer then, tapping your leg. “me?”, “yes, what´s your stance on all that, you´re young, you still have time”. you sat up then, leaning back on your hands, staring off into the distance as you thought about it. “god I don´t know...”, Tess was still looking at you, “well I think you´re gonna make some lucky woman lose her fucking mind”, she chimed in, you stared at her then, “stop, no, I´m with you right now and I like it this way, I don´t want to imagine some potential future wife”. it struck Tess then that she´d implied the obvious, that you two were not going to be with each other for decades to come, so she softened a little as she realized that you did not like that thought at all, turning to humor to lighten the mood again. “well, you know, if your dad is still single then, I´ll make him take me as his plus one to your wedding.” your expression lightened then, touching her thigh for emphasis as you said, “well, if you want me to cheat on my wife on our wedding day, sure, go ahead and do that”. Tess pulled you towards her then, kissing your cheek before you laid your head on her chest, “sure, if you ever need a reason to break off an engagement, just call me, I´ll come be your homewrecker”. 

a while later you both felt your bodies growing weaker from the heat of the sun and lack of food, so you made your way back down the trail and stopped at a place to eat lunch. not many words were exchanged during that meal because you were both starving and recovering from moving around way than you usually do in a day. by the time you were back in her apartment she announced, “okay, either I´ll have to make myself the strongest coffee ever or we have to take a nap. you decide”, it was an easy decision, “yeah, let´s sleep for a while I´m exhausted”. 

as she laid down on the couch you went over to her record collection and looked for something that would be soothing as background music, something that could lull you to sleep. she had at least 40 records to choose from, all kinds of genres, mostly from the 70s to 90s but also some modern ones you recognized.“this is impressive” you marveled, as you turned some of them over, inspecting the slightly aged but beautiful covers, Tess already had her eyes closed and felt herself drifting off as she said “thank you. I mean, I´ve had some time to collect those, I think I got the first one at least 25 years ago”, you smiled to yourself then and couldn´t help but say what was on your mind, “so some of these are older than me huh?”, you could hear a groan from across the room, “oh that´s just perfect, really, very romantic of you. how about you pick one and get over here already”, she responded, unwilling to admit that she liked your teasing, so you made your choice and let some soft tune play as you laid down on top of her, her arms around your back, the side of your face positioned on her in a way that allowed you to hear her heartbeat. 

it was a sweet feeling, to lay there with the balcony door cracked, a soft gust of wind every once in a while as you drifted in and out of sleep for about an hour, until you were both awake again but didn´t move yet, enjoying the quiet intimacy of the moment, because it was all you´d wanted for so long, to have the luxury of time, to spend some of it in comfortable silence, only communicating via light touches and caresses. 

later that day you went outside one more time to go stock up on groceries for the week, Tess urging you to get whatever you might want to have at hand in the following days, asking you about which of her ideas for dinner you liked best, so you ended up spending a lot of time just walking around the isles and figuring out each other´s tastes, scanning the liquor shelves together to decide on what would be best to share on her balcony later. it hit you while watching her prepare dinner that night, not on your phone at all during that hour because you loved watching her move around the kitchen, that it felt like you´d lived together for a while, since it all fell into place so naturally. you tried to remain in the present moment but there was a slight pain you felt in your chest whenever you remembered that your situation was only temporary, that you hadn´t actually moved in with her, that you were a guest and would not get the chance to spend that many days in a row together again for a good while. Tess had similar thoughts as she felt you admiring her from across the room, pushing up her sleeves on purpose to show off her arms as she worked her way through the recipe. it was in her nature, that deep desire to center her life around someone else, to devote her energy and time to the needs of another person, she´d never loved living on her own even though she let other believe that she did, it gave her too much time to talk down on herself, to obsess over her shortcomings, to sit with herself long enough to get tired of her mind and go to sleep much earlier than needed. Tess did not thrive in isolation, she needed her alone time and space to unwind, certainly, but that night it was so clear to her, that she was meant to share her life with someone, that she was never happier than when she could tell that another woman was glad to be in her presence, glad to be taken care of by her, that she wanted to live with someone, with you, and would miss having you there quite intensely once you´d have to leave. thankfully, you both got yourselves out of that mood rather quickly once she was done cooking and you helped her set the table, a simple thing, yet so delightful to you, the sight of two plates, two glasses, the reminder that you were part of a union now. 

you ate dinner on the balcony and spent another hour after that sipping on the drinks you´d bought earlier, a few candles on the table, the faint sound of people on the street below you, an atmosphere that made it very easy to forget the time and stay there together on the wooden bench you´d put a blanket over until it was about 11:30 pm, your eyes getting heavy from the booze and the outdoorsy activities earlier that day. for a moment you both rested against each other out there, almost falling asleep because the night air was the perfect temperature, but eventually you both managed to go brush your teeth and fall into bed, heavy and satisfied as she pushed you over to be big spoon, the warmth of her body against your back enough to make you fall asleep within minutes, comforted by her grip on you, even when she was exhausted, that same firmness to her touch, her determination to have you as close as possible.

the next day Tess was clear about the fact that she´d have to show you all her favorite spots downtown, after spending the day before outside of the city, so she took you to two cafes, one for the sake of the coffee the other for the sake of their lunch options, so up until 2 pm you were busy just sitting around in the sun, trying all of her usual orders, approving of them, a little jealous that she had access to that many nice spots, you could imagine studying in those cafes for hours. “maybe during finals season you can come visit for a weekend, I can watch you do that” she joked as you told her that, “you´d like that? just watching me type on my fucking laptop?”, she shrugged, smiling as she ripped a piece off the pastry you were sharing, “I´d enjoy watching you do pretty much anything, sweetheart. also yes, I think it would be hot, you being a nerd right in front of me”, teasing you a little, “my grades aren´t high enough to qualify as nerdy I fear”, she pretended to be shocked, “no? well, we can work on that”, “we? you´d help me how exactly?”, “I don´t know. quiz you, promise you a gift for when you come back with perfect scores”, “okay, I do like the sound of that.”.

that day was a little fresher than the day before so at night you had the idea of taking a bath together, which quickly taught you the lesson that sex underwater only sounded good in theory and was a mess in practice, so you settled on sitting across from each other in the tub with your legs touching, every now and then leaning in to kiss, you putting your lips to her knee after, which was an unexpected tenderness that hit her right at her core, the sight of you bending your head down to places a few soft kisses on her leg. 

on your fourth day with her, it rained from morning til night, so it was an easy decision to stay in bed til noon, to be lazy and stay in your loungewear and order take out, putting on a film while relaxing in the living room as it kept pouring outside, chatting about anything and everything, coaxing more and more personal information out of each other, longer, more intimate stories about your lives, passing the time on the couch, switching between various states of undress, paying no attention to what was playing on the TV. later that night you both got the sudden urge to go outside and get a drink, so you put on some nice clothes, stood in the bathroom together as you fixed your hair and felt a shared giddiness over the prospect of walking arm in arm to the bar she´d picked out, the streets still smelling of wet earth, the moon almost full, people hurrying to their dinner dates or back home, that buzz of the night time in a bigger city. you´d both come to realize that you shared a love for date nights, the cozy darkness, the intimate feeling of sitting in the corner of a crowded room somewhere at that hour, slightly buzzed, faces flushed, hands innocently resting on each other´s thighs as you spoke, you´d both miss it, having a reason to randomly step out of the house at 10pm. you´d miss the feeling of walking up the stairs together a few hours later, tipsy, laughing at each other for almost missing a step and stumbling, grabbing each other´s arms for support. it was a light, effortless kind of joy that made you glow, your faces permanently stuck in a smile while you washed your faces together and helped each other out of your clothes, clumsily feeling each other up before you fell into a deep sleep. 

on Friday you were ready to move around again after you spent majority of the day before being lazy, so you did whatever came to mind as you walked around the city together. after spending some time at the local park and getting lunch, you came across a pretty large thrift store and decided to just take a look around, but it quickly turned into you getting an idea: you wanted to find her clothes you thought she´d look hot in, so you picked a few shirts here and there, both longsleeve and shortsleeve, a jacket you thought that would suit her, until she eventually told you to slow down with the makeover quest, amused by your enthusiasm over styling her. it moved her in a way, to see that you knew her well enough by then to skip over any clothes that were too feminine, briefly wandering over the the men´s section to check out the bigger vintage tees, it contrasted the feeling she´d often had as a young girl, being pressured by others to dress more like a “lady”, something was healing about it, to have you picking out styles for her that actually matched her taste.

she was reluctant at first but after enough begging and kissing her she gave in and changed into some of the things you´d handed to her, unable to deny that you had an eye for her physique and what would suit her, what she´d feel comfortable in. you practically gawked at her as she looked at herself in the mirror. “you know, maybe I fucked up here, you look a little too good, I don´t want other girls to start hitting on you” you mused, your eyes traveling up and down her body, which got a laugh out of her, “I think you need to chill a little with all that praise, I´ll start believing you eventually” she wasn´t going to admit it, but she did enjoy it, the fact that you never held back with compliments, that you almost made her feel shy or blush at times, which was something that usually never happened to her.  “well you should, I´m not just being nice” you insisted, as she came over to you and let you inspect her from up close, “you know, I also have some ideas for things I´d like to see you in” she said, a smile as she lightly traced your bare arm with her fingers, “oh you don´t have to convince me, I´ll try on whatever you want” you said, a smugness to your expression, “anything?”, you nodded, “hm, good to know”, her tone gave away what she was thinking. “what kind are you into? lace? satin? see through?”, she shook her head, not expecting that bold of an answer but enjoying the back and forth, “I´m not telling you that”, “you should buy me something”, you said, batting your eyelashes at her, “buy you lingerie? you want the sugar mommy thing, is that it?” she teased, “jesus how do you even know what that is Tess..” you said, slightly unnerved, which was funny to her, “baby I´m not ancient, I know things. but sure, yes, I will gladly buy you something pretty, although I only really give a fuck about what´s underneath”. 

the rest of that day passed very quickly, the way the whole week had, by Saturday morning you couldn´t believe that you´d already spent that much time at her place because it felt like you´d just arrived the day before, like you were at the beginning of your stay, but to your dismay, it was already coming to an end. 

the days before Tess had been the chef for dinner or you´d gone out to eat, so for your final night at her place you decided that you´d prepare her something. there was a pasta dish that you´d perfected over the years because it was your comfort meal, so you told her to sit back and relax as you assembled all the ingredients you´d need, but she wouldn´t, she leaned against the kitchen counter instead and watched you, enthralled by the sight of you carefully picking herbs off their stems, tasting the sauce over and over to get it to the exact spice level you wanted it, your face shiny from the effort, your cheeks flushed from the steam of the pasta water, all of it turned her on but she tried her best to not get in your way and touch you too much, only giving you the occasional hug from behind here there, whispering sweet things about how good you looked working with your hands, breaking a sweat. 

one thing that you´d done the entire week was to switch between sitting across from each other and next to each other during meals at home because both of the options had their own appeal; sitting next to each other was sweet and intimate, legs touching as you ate, easy access, stealing touches here and there, sitting across from each other was sexier and more charged, since that´s the way you´d sit on a first date, that unavoidable eye contact, the almost confrontational nature of being in your direct line of sight, the ability to lean back and steal glances while the other person wasn´t aware of your gaze, or pretended not to be because it felt good to be looked at like that. 

on that last night, you sat across from each other, inside because the weather had gotten a little too fresh to eat on the balcony. as soon as Tess took the first bite, you realized that you liked it a lot, the roles being reversed, you watching closely for her reaction, hoping for signs of pleasure, which came, an approving nod from her as soon as she swallowed, “no notes”, she said, smiling, charming you, a satisfied look on your face as you joined her in eating. what Tess didn´t know, was that you´d picked up on certain preferences of hers over the week, so you´d added things to the sauce you usually wouldn´t have added, because it was more important to you that it would be to her exact taste, you couldn´t haven cared less about your own feelings about the meal, which was a beautiful thing, to be so preoccupied with pleasing someone else that you forgot about yourself in the process. you could understand why she was always so eager to be of service, you saw the appeal as you watched her clear the plate, not leaving one piece of the pasta untouched. 

after you were both done, Tess quickly realized that she didn´t want to waste any of the remaining hours you had left being unable to touch you, so she suggested that you should move to the couch, grabbing some chocolate from the kitchen, breaking a part off to offer it to you as a palette cleanser before getting comfortable next to you. by then, you knew how you liked to sit together when you wanted to talk properly, your legs on her lap, her hand on your thigh as you sat there, eyeing each other until you broke the silence. “I can´t believe this already our last night..” your tone quiet and earnest, she nodded, “yeah, me neither. feels like it has only been a day or two, honestly, the time passed way too fucking quickly” you cracked a smile then, moving some of her hair out of the way to place your hand on her neck, a lovestruck look. 

during the week neither of you brought it up because it would have been a mood killer but since it was the end of the week Tess felt comfortable asking you “so uhm. did he reach out to you at all while you were here?”, apprehension in there, you knew of course who the “he” in question was. a shake of your head, “no, thank god. probably because I told him I´d call this weekend, I guess I´ll do that tomorrow”. she nodded, absentmindedly caressing you, “hm, good, that´s good. didn´t hear from him either. be honest, did it cross your mind at all?” she genuinely wanted to know if you´d just been good at bluffing or if you´d actually forgotten about the potential horror of being found out by him during your stay with her.

 you thought about it, “surprisingly no, I didn´t think about it, at least not consciously. I guess because I was just glad we had this time to ourselves and I really didn´t want to ruin it for myself by worrying” she agreed, “yeah same for me, I kind of forgot about it til just now to be honest” you shared a moment of silence, contemplating the issue. “looks like we´re both great at compartmentalizing hm?”, you joked, grinning at her, Tess couldn´t help but laugh then, “you´re not wrong there, we´re pretty fucking shameless if you really think about it. the next time he calls me I´ll make small talk and act like I didn´t just spend the week…”, “fucking his daughter?” you completed the thought for her, purposely putting it that way. Tess shoved you then, pretending to be scandalized, “wow, you have such a way with words. I was gonna say that I spent the week having the time of my life” she countered, exaggerating a little, trying to get you to feel bad about your crass comment but you knew her too well, “bullshit, you didn´t wanna say that”, she nodded, amused, “maybe, but it´s true. besides, you´re right in the sense that that is of course the one thing he´d focus on. jesus…”.

you could tell that she was getting sucked into a spiral that she´d managed to stay out of all week, so you leaned closer and took her face in your hands, your tone gentle and sweet, “hey, it´s fine, relax” placing a few kisses on her face before reminding her “he won´t find out, no way. how would he?”. she couldn´t argue with that, you´d both been careful and you were both more than decent liars, so she relaxed again, soothed by your touch. “right, yes. but still, we´re kind of fucking insane for this” she could smile again by then, you did too, only shrugging in response, not a care in the world over potential danger, you were simply too happy. she gave you a kiss then, a proper one, to forget all about the previously discussed subject and it worked, within seconds she was too busy pushing you back against the couch cushion and pulling your shirt over your head to think of anything else but the feeling of your warm body in her hands. 

later that night, after you´d spent a good amount of time just laying in bed with the window open and talking because you didn´t want your time to be cut short by sleeping too early, you had something on your mind. you rolled over onto your side, placing your hand on her stomach as you looked at her, “Tess” you said, an unusually timid tone which was endearing to her, “yes sweetie, what is it?”, she moved herself up on the pillow a little to signal that she was listening. “well, I was just thinking, my roommate isn´t coming back until next week..”, “okay. and that means?”, she said, not catching on yet, eyeing you curiously, so you just put it out there. “well, I was wondering if I could persuade you to stay a night...”. she was confused for a moment, “what, in your dorm?”, you nodded, a shyness to your demeanor all of a sudden, waiting for a response. she laughed to herself, “well, wouldn´t that be a little fucked up, someone my age hanging out in a dorm?”, you shook your head, “oh no, I have seen so many odd boyfriends coming and going, nobody would even blink an eye at you, really I mean it”. she smiled then, staring off into space as she considered your proposal, muttering “well, I´d have to take Monday off work..”, so you doubled down, increasingly desperate to prolong your time with her, your hand on her forearm then, a strong grip as you pleaded with her. “please, come on, just one night. I could show you around, it would be fun, I could let you get an image of how I live, now that I got one of how you do”. you had a point there, she couldn´t deny that she liked the idea of getting a glimpse into your life like that, “hmm” you could see that she was close to cracking, so you got up and climbed on top of her, bending down to kiss her neck lightly as you kept whispering “please”, which gave her vivid flashbacks to how you´d first come onto her that night you´d first gotten together, the way she´d been broken by the sound of your begging, and it was working yet again, she sighed and held onto your back as she finally caved and said “okay, okay yes. fuck it, let´s do it”, a shudder going through her from the feeling of your hot breath against her skin, your weight on top of her, until you finally let go and looked at her with the face of someone who´d just won a battle. “you´re fucking killing me here, lady” she said, shaking her head, grabbing your waist as you kept sitting on her legs, a bright red blush on her cheeks, “am I?” you whispered, pleased with yourself for getting under her skin. secretly, Tess loved it, that you often pushed her buttons, that you weren´t discouraged by any of her moments of reluctance but took them as a challenge, she never got frustrated by your teasing because it was too delicious, to be played with like that, to be guided towards certain pleasures she´d deny herself if it wasn´t for you insistence. 

the next morning after having breakfast out on the balcony for the last time, basking in the sun with your legs crossed over each other´s, she helped you pack your things. as you were checking around her bedroom to see if you´d missed a piece of clothing or something else, she grabbed a shirt of hers that you´d worn to bed a few times that week and handed it to you, “here, take this too”. you hesitated for a moment as you reached for it, “really? you won´t miss it?”, she shook her head, “not at all. besides, I like the idea of you sleeping in my clothes when you´re not here. I´m not being that selfless”, you laughed, “okay, well in that case I´ll gladly take it”. 

as she opened her apartment door you took a dramatic final look around, a gentle squeeze on your shoulder as she said, “hey, don´t act like you´ll never see this place again, you´ll be back”, “you think so?” you asked, “oh, I know.” she proclaimed, confident, so you smiled and clung to that sound of conviction as you both made your way downstairs and headed towards her car.

the drive was not that long, about 3 hours, a little slower than by train but not long enough to actually be exhausting. you drove an hour, then stopped for coffee, drove another, then got some mediocre lunch and walked around for a bit before passing the final hour with you feeding her individual pieces of candy as you got comfortable in the passenger seat and handled the job of choosing songs that fit the mood, every now and then getting a rise out of her by touching her where you knew she liked to have your hands the most, while she was trying to keep her eyes on the road. 

around 3 pm you reached your destination, she´d of course picked you up in your college town once before, so she had no trouble finding the street you lived on. the semester wasn´t going to start until a week later, so the streets weren´t that crowded even though it was a Saturday, you could tell that about half your fellow students were back, while the other half was probably still either still back home or somewhere savoring the last few days of freedom before things would go back to business again. 

Tess vaguely recalled some of the buildings as you walked up to your dorm, but she found herself liking the atmosphere more than she´d expected, her own college town had been more urban, so it was interesting to see a campus that was more on the isolated side. 

once you were in your room, you opened the window to let some fresh air in and sat down on your bed as Tess inspected the details of your space, trying not to feel the slight burn of self-consciousness in your chest as you watched her curiously inspecting the details of your space, but for once she didn´t have anything to say, she was genuinely absorbed in the attempt to figure you out, to see how you liked to live, how you made yourself feel at home and comfortable. after a few minutes she joined you on the bed, the two of you sprawled out as much as the rather small bedframe allowed you to be, arms and legs touching in various places as you laid there, staring at the ceiling, relaxing after the drive. after brief moment of comfortable silence you could hear her laugh to herself and utter “god..” while shaking her head, so you turned to look at her, “what? what is it?”. she turned her head too then, “it´s just. this is pretty fucking mid-life crisis-ey of me, isn´t it?” her hands in the air, vaguely gesturing around, “ending up in a dorm room again at my age. I think I can´t deny that that´s pretty cliché mid-life of me”. you laughed, endeared by her moment of self-deprecation, “well if it makes you feel better, people my age have actually recently coined the term quarter-life crisis, so we´re kind of in it together”, she laughed too then, “what, really? that´s a thing?” you nodded, she considered it, “well, I think the takeaway there should be that we´re all in crisis at all ages, huh”, you nodded, reaching for her hand, lacing your fingers through hers, “exactly, that´s the enlightened take. so, no need to feel bad about yourself or question your weird behavior, if it´s gonna be ongoing, right?” you joked, “sure, I can just mess around with a girl in college and free myself of the knowledge that it´s technically kind of pathetic” you gasped as she finished that sentence, overly dramatic, “pathetic?? ouch”. Tess pulled your hand up to kiss it then, patting your head afterwards, “not on your part, baby”. 

after about 45 minutes of regaining some of your energy, you both made your way outside again and you gave her the promised tour of all the places you usually spent most of your days at: your lecture halls, the buildings where you had your seminars, the dining hall, the little park that was located in the middle of your campus. the thing that made it easier on your part was that you that yours was an impressive one as far as college campuses went, large historic buildings, a lot of nature surrounding your area, a rather idyllic vibe to it all. Tess seemed to have a genuine interest in everything you showed her, which warmed your heart. she kept asking you things that you didn´t even consider telling her about because they seemed minute to you, but to her it was a delight, to finally get to know the structure of your daily life, she couldn´t remember the last time she´d been so eager to get a picture of how someone moved through the world, and it hit her as you showed her around, how you´d awakened a curiosity in her, a deep need to know as much as she could about the person she felt so devoted to. 

as you walked down a particular path you often took after classes, you pointed towards a wooden bench under a large tree that was still in bloom, “oh see, this is where I spent many miserable afternoons, just listening to music and feeling sorry for myself, it was great”. Tess laughed as she went over and sat down, looking around to see the view you´d had all those times, “I hope those days are over now”, you joined her, stretching your legs out and sighing, “you think you magically fixed all my issues?”, you teased as she put her arm behind your back, “all of them? jesus, care to tell me what that endless list entails?”, she joked back in a low tone, “oh you know. general melancholy, loneliness, self-pity, being into women that could be my mom, the usual” she shoved your leg then, “you´re disgusting”, but you could see a hint of a smile out of the corner of your eye. 

“but for real, I don´t have to worry about you, do I?”, it felt good, to know that she felt the need to make sure you´d be fine on your own, you assured her, “no, I´m much better now than last year. but feel free to maybe worry a little, I don´t mind that..” you said, grinning at her. “oh and you´re gonna have to get better at texting, because I can´t call you during lectures or while I´m at the library”, she laughed, “so I can keep you from actually learning something?”, you shook your head, “I´ll only do it during the boring ones. promise”, “right, sure, I´ll see what I can do about that”.

“would sexting encourage you?”, Tess made a face of disgust then, “no? you think that´s my thing, typing sleazy shit into my phone?”, you knew she was not the type for all that but the image was funny to you, “okay jeez, guess I´ll find other ways to fantasize”, “I can send you audio messages of me reading some book, that should do the trick”, she teased, “fuck off. I never should have told you about that, it really went to your head that I love your voice”, she smiled, leaning closer to you then, whispering in your ear as she held your face, “do you?”, you sighed, defenseless against her, a shiver on your neck as she kept fucking with you until you eventually pushed her off and tried to get your face to a normal temperature again, a satisfied expression on her face as she backed off because a few people were walking by.

“last year this place was my depression spot, but this semester I can sit here and think about you instead, how does that sound?”, you said after a few moments of silence, “better. much better” she did like that image, “or you know. you could focus on your academic goals, just a thought”, and as if she´d summoned her by mentioning it, you spotted a former professor of yours from afar as she was walking in your general direction. 

at first you thought she might pass you by but you locked eyes and smiled, so you tapped Tess on the shoulder, “she was my prof last year, I think I should say Hi”, but you barely got the sentence out before she already stood a few feet away and greeted you, so you stood up to get a little closer. “hey, good to see you!”, you returned the politeness and exchanged a few words about what you´d done over the summer, she´d been one of better professors you´d had, actually good at teaching and always eager to get to know her students, asking what was wrong if anyone ever seemed out of it during class, so it was easy to make conversation. 

“you´re not taking any of my classes this year, right?” she asked, signaling disappointment, you shook your head “no, sadly not, but maybe next semester”, “right, well I´m sure we´ll see each other around still”, Tess was observing the exchange with keen interest and as your professors´s eyes wandered over to her you said “oh yeah, I´m here with a.. family friend, to show her around because she lives nearby”, Tess gave a brief nod and smile, amused by your choice of words. “then I´ll leave you guys to it, have a lovely time! see you around!” she´d used your name at the end of that sentence rather affectionately and Tess watched her with a hint of judgment in her eyes as she walked away, immediately shaking her head as you sat back down on the bench, laughing to herself, “wow”. 

“what?” you asked, confused by that reaction “she was fucking flirting with you”, “huh??” you said, unsure if you´d heard her right, “oh come on, it was so obvious”, you protested, “Tess, she has a husband and two kids”. “that doesn´t mean shit”, she wouldn´t back down, “it doesn´t??”, your expression one of disbelief then. “no. married women are freaks, trust me, I´ve had my experiences”, you couldn´t believe that she was insisting on it but then it dawned on you that she was jealous because they were both women around the same age, because she maybe thought that she fit your type, so you decided to mess with her, flattered by the wave of possessiveness that had come over her just from watching you be polite to someone who shared some of her characteristics. “well, in that case I seem to have a good back up plan if you ever decide to dump me”, grinning as you said this.

she immediately shook her head, her index finger moving back and forth in the air, a show of protest, “oh no, if this ends, it´ll be because of you, I´m not going anywhere, so you´ll have to do the breaking up if you wanna get rid of me”, you returned the energy, “well I won´t do it either, so, I guess we´re stuck with each other?”, she smiled, leaning back and closing her eyes as the clouds parted and let the sun through, her face turned towards the warmth, “seems that way”. 

the rest of the afternoon you spent getting lunch and coffee at a place you often went to, sitting in the sun and people watching, letting the time pass while you walked around, stopping here in there to walk into stores or buy a cold drink. naturally, you ended up back in your room with nothing else to do but get rid of the clothes you´d sweat through while walking around all day and getting your hands on each other, clumsy at first since you had gotten used to her much bigger bed, but you made it work, her hand between your legs as you made out, getting you worked up and soaked before she got down between your thighs and ate you out like she hadn´t done it in weeks, even though it had just been a day, messy and desperate, her hands pulling you down onto her face again each time she could feel you moving away, pushing your legs open if you squeezed them together, doing her best to turn you into an absolute mess, turned on from your desperate whining, your fingers in her hair, the taste of you all over her face, she´d never get tired of it, having you in your most vulnerable state, all to herself.

the thing that you realized while living with Tess was that she was a spontaneous lover, she didn´t have specific times of day where she needed it the most, she wasn´t a morning or a night person, it was unpredictable and you loved it that way, that she sometimes got random bursts of intense desire during the day, it was one of your favorite things about being around her so much, that you´d sometimes just be relaxing on the couch together and somehow end up having the most mind blowing sex at a random time like 5 pm. she realized while you were living with her how much she loved it, not planning hook-ups, but just responding to desire whenever it called to her because she had someone close by who wanted her, all the time, the reciprocal thing of “if you´re in the mood, I´m in the mood”. your week together had given you both a new relationship to your sexuality, it had become more playful and free but also more intense because the deep emotional bond was there. she never came hard with hookups because as much as she did not want to admit it, Tess was absolutely the type to need that loving component to really lose herself and get off in a truly satisfying way. 

you kept laying there for a while after, you fully undressed and she in her underwear, touching and caressing each other as you rested your eyes for a moment, before you got up to shower and get changed before going out for a drink. 

you knew where to take her, there weren´t many bars to choose from but one was a safe bet, it was the one that your roommate and you frequented most nights because it was not too overpriced, not too far away from campus, and had a veranda that was ideal for the warmer seasons. you and Tess stayed there for about an hour and a half, debriefing your day, you asking her for her honest opinion about your college, the vibe she was getting, her admitting that she was actually kind of jealous of you because being there had made her feel nostalgic for that time of her life even though it had been rough at times, she swirled the ice around in her drink as she thought about how to put it.

“the thing you´ll understand when you´re closer to my age is that even though you did suffer in your younger years and in college, you´ll still miss it, the specific feeling of being young but old enough to do whatever you want, living with friends, doing stupid shit for fun that would feel weird at an older age. I am not saying you have it easy, not at all, but just. try to soak this up” she said, gesturing around at the other people sitting outside, “you should try to enjoy your last year, really, don´t let me distract you from all of this too much.”. you smiled at her the entire time she spoke because you really liked it when she was more earnest, she always put things in a way that made sense to you, and you were grateful to have her perspective, you pulled her hand over onto your lap then, “I will think of you a lot, but yes, I´ll try to make the most of it, thank you for caring about all that, really”.

Tess patted your hand, “you should do shrooms or something, really get the most out of your student life” she joked, “oh sure, yeah, great advice”, “wait, you never told me, are you a party goer?”, you narrowed your eyes at her, “didn´t I tell you about how much of a loser I was last year? my friends dragged me out a few times but other than that, no”, she laughed then, leaning back and eyeing you with a hint of intrigue, imagining something, you could tell, so you asked, “what?”.

“oh I was just thinking about how you might look when you´re drunk and dancing with people”, she liked the image, you in some dark room with colorful lights illuminating your smiling face as you moved in unison with another girl, or multiple girls, it did turn her on, she couldn´t deny it.

“well, I wish you could find out” you said, smiling at her, leaning your head on your hands, “if I do end up going out, I´ll probably send you drunk texts and pictures, so there´s that” you added, amused by the idea of her receiving some overly affectionate messages from you at 2 am, she was too, “sounds good to me. what kind of drunk are you? touchy? the one that ends up crying? aggressive?”, you laughed, “I think I´m an emotional drunk, just showering everyone in compliments and random confessions of how much they mean to me, how pretty they are, etc.”, “okay damn, you´re making me jealous there”. “yeah with you it wouldn´t end well, I´d embarrass the fuck out of myself”, she knew what you were alluding to, the fact that “I love you so much” would probably slip out multiple times, “I´d like to see that to be honest” she admitted, you threw her a playful look “one day maybe”. 

around 10 pm you were back in your room, after a slightly tipsy walk back, and tired to make it as homely as possible by lighting a few candles and pulling the curtains half shut, leaving the window cracked, so you could hear some of the faint nightlife noise, laughter from a drunk group of people here and there, a few birds still singing at that hour, nothing city-like about it, no cars honking or sirens blaring because your town was rather secluded. Tess was soothed by it, the change of scenery, and you could tell as you saw her laying there in your bed with her arms behind her head, her eyes closed and a faint smile on her sun-kissed face as she waited for you to join her, her freckles visible even in the dim light. you snuggled up to her because there was not enough space for you both to spread out the way you had in her bed, but neither of you minded, it almost felt the way sleepovers had felt as a kid, being huddled up like that, she felt younger in that moment and she liked it, it was

comforting to be so far away from everything that tethered her to her usual routine, in the middle of someone else´s life.

you laid there with your arms wrapped around each other, your face against her chest, the blanket only pulled up to your waist because it was warm enough, both quiet for a while until you spoke up. “so. when are we seeing each other again”,your tone deeply serious, which was endearing to Tess, the fact that she was still there and you were already thinking about your reunion, clearly anxious about how long it would be until then, she thought about it as she slipped her hand under your shirt.“hm, let´s see, I can´t really take off work again in the next few weeks, but weekends are always good. and I know you should probably try to settle in here before coming back to my place, so how about the weekend after next one?”, you nodded, “okay, yes. oh wait, I don´t have classes on Mondays, so I could stay a day longer, I don´t mind if it´s a work day for you, we still have the morning and I´ll take a late train so we can have dinner too. or is that stressful for you?”, “no, that´s perfect, let´s do it. two weeks, that should be fine right?”, she said while glancing down at you, your grip on her suddenly tighter as you thought about the time you´d spend apart, you sighed, “should be, yeah. but I´ll still miss you”, she caressed your back in a soothing motion then, “I know, me too”. 

that night you both woke up multiple times but you weren´t bothered by it because you just used the few minutes you were awake to change positions to lay more comfortably again and to give each other some sleepy kisses on the shoulder or back or whatever body part was closest, hands always finding their way back under the fabric of your clothes, a lazy sensuality to those little windows of time where you were awake during the night. 

the next morning you grabbed breakfast at a place around the corner because you knew Tess was a coffee freak and would love their seasonal menu of various cold brews and you were right, she was blissed out sitting there with you in the morning sun. “you´re trying your best to make me come back here, aren´t you?” she said after she´d gotten up to order herself a second beverage, you just smiled, “maybe. is it working?”, she laughed, running her hands through her hair and taking in the surroundings, she had to admit she´d come to like it there, “kind of yeah. who knows, maybe one day I´ll get a spontaneous burst of recklessness and come surprise you”, your eyes lit up then, “please do that, I´m not kidding.” you loved the idea of living your life, going about your day, while knowing that there was always a slim chance that she might randomly appear at your doorstep one evening, she could tell, so she´d at least consider it, “okay, I´ll see what I can do”. 

your last few hours together were marked by that beautiful feeling of seeing a town right before it wakes up, the sun golden but not hot yet, only a few people besides you out on the streets, both you and Tess could appreciate the feeling of being in the middle of the city on a busy night, but for your farewell it was ideal to just sit there together and soak up the quiet, warm, almost dreamlike scenery. 

what you´d both realized during the course of your week together, was that neither of you were afraid to hold hands in public, to be affectionate and obviously romantically involved. you´d never even had the discussion if it was okay, most likely because you were both so aware of the limited amount of time you had together, that you wouldn´t let fear of judgment keep you from pulling your hand to your face or her from kissing your cheek when you were close enough to do it. there was a relaxed, natural feeling to your tenderness with each other, it was never awkward or clumsy, both of you had the instinct to reach out, all the time, whether you were sitting next to each other, or standing in line somewhere, or laying in bed, your hands always seemed to find their way to the exact spot where the other person wanted it, it hadn´t taken long at all for you to give each other exactly the kind of intimacy you needed. Tess had often been accused of being aloof and distant, even with women she was having sex with, so it surprised her to find that it wasn´t just an intrinsic issue, that she wasn´t fundamentally unromantic or fucked up, that she´d just been waiting to meet someone who brought that side of her out without force, which was a central thing about your appeal to her, the way you loved her without pushing her to give you more of herself than she was willing to, because you trusted that whatver she would offer would be more than enough.

in return, you loved that she was so calm in her obsession over you, it was clear that she was deeply into you, but she left you space to breathe, Tess knew that you didn´t need her to smother you to feel loved, and it created this deeply peaceful bond, one where both of you felt held and seen without ever feeling caged in, quite the opposite, you´d never felt freer than when you held and kissed each other, felt each other there at night or in the morning. 

around 11 am you walked Tess to her car, both of you walking much slower than necessary, eventually reaching the spot where she´d parked and unsure what to do, now that it was time to say goodbye. 

she put her bag in the backseat and came over to where you were standing, a parallel to how you´d greeted each other at the start of the week, her resting against the passenger door, you facing her, a silence, a shared moment of unwillingness to part ways, something somber and fragile in both of your expressions. you nervously shifted your weight as she looked at you, the way the light was hitting your face, the way your neck was bent, that space right above your shoulder where she´d placed countless kisses the days before, suddenly overcome with utter devastation over the fact that she´d return to an empty apartment, that she´d sleep alone again, that she wouldn´t feel you moving next to her in the night, that she wouldn´t spend her afternoons on the couch with your head in her lap. Tess couldn´t stop listing all the things she´d miss and without realizing a few tears had formed in her eyes, you caught it, looking at her while she was so lost in thought that she didn´t even realize until you stepped closer and touched her arm, a hint of a smile on your face as you asked, “hey, are you crying?”, unsure if you should comfort her or delight in the fact that she was so affected by the idea of your absence. 

she was slightly embarrassed and adjusted her posture to seem more secure as she briefly dabbed the corner of her eyes, “no…” a very unconvincing tone, because she knew you knew. you put your arms around her waist then, leaning in to kiss her temple, staring at her until she collected herself and met your eyes, her hands around your neck as she said, “listen, I know I am not the best at making speeches, but I need you to know that this whole week has been a dream, really. I can´t remember the last time I had this many good days in a row.” she was deeply serious about it, so you were too as you answered, “me neither. thank you isn´t enough to be honest, there was literally not one moment that I didn´t enjoy”, Tess could tell you meant it, and it made her feel good about herself, because that was all she´d hoped for, that you´d leave her place feeling better than when you´d come there, and she´d succeeded, very much so. 

“so, in two weeks then?” you said, a gentle smile, still holding onto her, “yes. be good in the meantime, eat well, sleep well, have some fun, all that. okay? none of that shit from last year” there was something parent-like about the way she´d phrased that, so you couldn´t help but say, “yes, mommy” which earned you a light slap from her, she wouldn´t let you get under her skin with that word, she was too stubborn to admit that it kind of turned her on. “shut up, I mean it! if you don´t look healthy the next time I see you, we´ll have a problem, miss”, you liked her slightly stern way of caring for you, it was a hot contrast to her softer side that you´d brought out, “okay, noted. I guess if there´s a serious issue I´ll just come to your place for a day, that should fix whatever´s wrong with me” you said in a low tone, playing with a strand of her hair, doing your best to make her feel weak in her knees. Tess had gotten used to it and grown to enjoy it, your shameless way of toying with her. 

“sure, if there´s an emergency, I´ll play nurse” she teased, gaining the upper hand again by giving you a deep kiss that left you flushed and frustrated over the fact that you´d have to wait fourteen days to do that again. “I´ll fucking miss you.” you uttered, shaking your head, you knew it was time to let go, because otherwise you´d stand there til nightfall, but you had one last thing to say, a stillness to you as you told her, “I love you.” the warmest smile on her face that you´d ever seen, a brief moment of her basking in the light of those words before she pulled you in for a final hug, whispering “I love you too.” as her head briefly rested on your shoulder, her arms tight around you, both of your eyes closed, your hearts beating slowly in unison. there was nothing stressful about that confession because the feeling of loving each other had been so palpable between you all the days before, neither of you were shocked or surprised, you were just full of warmth, flooded by a deep sense of ease, the kind that fills your body with a sensation that evokes the visual of a river of gold, running slowly through your core, spreading to your face, leaving you tingling all over, close to sighing from relief, from joy, from everything you´d come to cherish about your connection. 

for a few seconds you stayed like that until you squeezed each other´s hand and separated. once Tess sat behind the wheel, she pulled the window down, so you could lean in and rest your arms there for a moment, looking at her all doe eyed as you said, “call you later tonight?”, her hand on your arm, “tomorrow. gotta build up some suspense, sweetheart”, that familiar grin of hers as she pulled down her sunglasses. “sure, alright, let´s do that. I do hope you dream about me tonight though” the threatening tone of that statement amused her, “there´s a pretty good chance of that happening, don´t you worry, baby”. eventually you got up, giving her car a light slap on the hood as she started the engine and threw you a final glance, driving off with the window still down, wind in her hair, looking in the rearview mirror to confirm her suspicion, that you´d keep standing there, that you wouldn´t immediately turn around and walk away, a sudden urge in her chest to turn around, to fuck up her work schedule and tell her boss that she´s sick. 

for a good few minutes you just stood there by the side of the road, leaning against a lantern, unable to move on with your day, to go back to your own routine without her by your side. the initial pain that you both felt in your return to being alone was slowly but surely overshadowed by a deep feeling of gratitude, because you realized at the same time that you´d given each other a deeply precious gift; it was undeniable that it would have been ideal to lead a life where you could live together, where you could spend all your time together, neither of you would have ever denied that, you´d both dreamed about it, but your unique situation gave you both the gift of returning to your daily lives on your own with a completely different feeling and outlook compared to before, even though nothing about your circumstances had changed. Tess knew then as she was driving back home that she would not feel the same sense of dread every morning, that she would not dissociate as much as she always had before, that she´d move through her life with an unfamiliar sense of optimism, knowing you were out there and waiting to see her again. she knew that being at work would feel different, simply because she could spend the minutes she´d usually spent zoning out, thinking of you, what you were up to, how you might sound during a call later that day, what you´d want to tell her. 

you felt the exact same way as you walked back to your dorm with a dreamy look permanently frozen on your face because it dawned on you that your senior year of college would not be as hard as your junior year at all, you knew then that it would be easier to get up and move around, to look at the days ahead of you with hope, because regardless of was about to happen, you had someone out there who´d listen to your worries, who´d help you navigate your through it all, who´d always get your spirits up without even trying hard, hearing her voice would be enough to feel better after a rough day, making her laugh would be enough to feel useful, to feel like your presence mattered and helped other people move through their own lives a little easier. your love for her was reviving in a way, you felt stronger and more capable than before, you felt safe and secure knowing that life could shake you up however it wanted and you wouldn´t be scared, at least not the way you´d been before, because she´d be there, always, even if it was just a text or a call, you wouldn´t be lonely anymore, neither of you would be.

you had left each other with the most beautiful thought to hold close to your hearts:

someone out there loves and sees me for who I am at my core. someone out there prays that everything goes well for me. someone out there is waiting eagerly for me to come back to them, and I will. again and again and again.

[allmyocsarebritish]

Taking flight

Pairing: Adam X Reader

Warnings(?): Adam being Adam, teeny tiny mention of blood but it's barely there

For @rock-babe

Word count: 1.3k

~

Waking up for the first time after your death surrounded by paths of pure gold was entirely surreal, overwhelming you with joy at the prospect of eternity inside the pearly gates. You had made it. A winner, in Heaven.

The set of pure white wings that had sprouted from your back, resembling that of a dove's, took a while to grow accustomed to. Even after a whole month spent above Earth, you still couldn't actually fly. All other angels made it seem so elegant and effortless, yet somehow it never worked like that for you. Emily was quick to assure you that all you needed was time and practice, but that didn't stop your frustration at not being able to soar freely like the other residents of Heaven.

This meant that you dedicated at least a few hours a day to flight practice. This was always in relative privacy, of course, as, although you were somewhat getting the hang of things, progress was slow. Currently, you were attempting take off in a quiet alleyway, the occasional winner passing by yet paying you no mind. You were grateful for this.

Taking a deep breath, you stretched out your angelic wings once more, beginning to flap in order to get a feel for the wind between your feathers. Gaining momentum, your feet began to hover as you supported your whole weight on them. Swift movements increased in both speed and size as you began to rise. It was working!

Unfortunately, the moment of triumph was short lived, as you promptly lost your balance, landing in a disgruntled heap on the golden, shiny floor.

"Wow, you're really shit at this." Came a voice from behind. Your cheeks flushed in embarrassment at being caught. Turning, curious as to who had been watching you, you were met with a tall angel sat up on a small wall, clothed in a predominantly white robe. His face was covered by a deep black mask with two long horns, giving an overall intimidating appearance and a demonic silhouette. How strange.

Your eyes narrowed. "That's a bit rude, isn't it?"

The stranger scoffed, rolling his eyes. "No, it's true."

"Who even are you, anyway?" You asked, a question which seemed to strike a nerve within the angel. He immediately bristled, before the defensiveness quickly turned to arrogance.

"The name's Adam. Like, you know, the first man." He spoke with an air of superiority, which you now somewhat understood, given his abundant fame. "You new here or something?"

"Can't you tell?" You sniped back, though he failed to notice the irritance in your tone.

"Well, yeah. Clearly you must be if you don't know me, babe. Plus the whole.. flying thing." He gestured towards the tiny dotted beads of golden blood on your forehead springing from a small cut you must have received in the tumble. "You might need a bit of practice."

"Wow, thanks, I didn't notice." You rolled your eyes, wiping the small amount of blood on your sleeve. "Fuck does it look like I'm doing?"

"Alright, alright, keep your wings on!" Adam laughed at you as you folded your arms.

How long did it take you to learn then, smartass?" You asked.

"Uh, it didn't. I could do it straight away." Yeah, you walked right into that one. "It's easy, really. Look, I'll even show you."

Kicking off the wall, the angel gracefully flapped, wings stretched. The bright lights of Heaven accentuated the gold undertones in his feathers. You hated to acknowledge how impressive it was as he soared back down to stand before you.

"Literally just do it like that. It's not hard."

"Sure it isn't." You mumbled, growing even more frustrated.

"Listen, if you want I suppose I can help you. Because, you know, you might need it." It was rather difficult, but you managed to resist the urge to bite back.

"And how would you do that?"

"Come here." He beckoned you over, to which you took a step forwards, visibly confused.

"Closer." You took another step. Apparently it wasn't close enough however, as he stared at you before quite literally grabbing you and pulling you into him. Flustered at the sudden advance, your face heatened (top tier English there Jess wow).

"Now I'll support you, all you need to worry about is concentrating on flapping and getting a feel for proper balance."

Concentrating was easier said than done.

"You ready?" Adam asked, not waiting for an answer before taking off. It took a minute to comprehend what was happening: you had never gone so high so fast before. But once the realisation of the situation kicked in, you immediately began to violently beat your wings, causing him to laugh at you.

"Chill, seriously."

"Sorry." You slowed down slightly, relaxing into Adam's hold as you began to balance mid-air. The lack of stress and tension actually helped significantly, and you found yourself sinking into a rhythm. Though you'd never inflate his ego, Adam was right about this.

Distracted by your newfound ability, you didn't notice that, once he was confident you were capable, Adam began to gradually lessen his grip before letting go of you completely. In fact, you only realised you were flying solo when Adam soared ahead of you, both hands visibly empty.

"Seeeeee? Told you it was easy!" He smirked, though you were too overjoyed to care about his boasting. "Do you want me to help you turn back? It's a little harder than a straight line."

You weren't completely sure if that was true, nor were you sure why you agreed so enthusiastically, but before you knew it he was holding you again, 'strangely' enough waiting a little longer before letting go this time.

All in all, your impromptu flying lesson was over far too soon. As much as you desperately wanted to believe the joy you felt was solely due to your newfound capability, you knew it wasn't really, a fact that frustrated you and made you smile fondly simultaneously.

"Ready to land?" He asked, once again not letting you actually answer before chiming in with a response to 'you'. "Great, wait there one second." Adam's landing was just as graceful as his take off, and once his feet hit the floor, he was immediately beckoning you to join him on the ground. Desperately trying to move as smoothly as him, you slowly flapped, fully keeping your balance. Until you didn't. Desperately failing, you braced for the impact of plummeting to the ground, closing your eyes. Expecting severe pain, you were pleasantly surprised when, instead of hard pavement, you were caught by a familiar pair of strong arms.

"Gotcha. Really gotta work on that landing, babe. Don't wanna crash and ruin that face of yours."

"Oh yeah? Is that what you did? Is that why you're wearing a mask.?" You teased, to which he scoffed. Adam let you down, grabbing his strange disguise.

"Yeah right, you wish." He pulled it off, revealing his face. You weren't going to inflate his ego. You weren't going to inflate his ego. You weren't going to-

"See something you like?" He smirked, and your cheeks flushed upon the realisation you were staring as you quickly looked down.

"No."

"Mhm. Of course not." Adam drew closer to you, and you didn't back away. His hand came to rest on your face, lifting your head up and returning your gaze to him. He leaned in further, and your heartrate started to quicken. This was wrong. Well, was it? Maybe. Probably not. It was fine. You closed the distance, confidence growing as his free hand came to rest on your back. Your own arms wrapped around his neck, subconsciously pulling him closer.

"Same time tomorrow?" He whispered against your lips.

"Yeah. Same time."

[ihavetoomanyocsdealwithit]

Twisted Wonderland boys try Drag  

I wrote the thing about Floyd (link) and it wouldn't leave me alone, and then I asked myself, what about the others?   

Floyd Leech, Malleus Draconia, Riddle Rosehearts, Vil Schoenheit, Rook Hunt 

Floyd Leech 

He has to go to this event and it’s going to be boring. He knows that it's all for looks and he’ll do it because Mom has asked him. But that’s the only reason he is doing it with mild complaining.  

Until of course, Yuu runs in like a cat on fire, grin wide and manic.  

Whatever comes out of that sharptoothed mouth is going to be fantastic.  

“Floyd!” Yuu chirps. “I have an idea. And I think you could be the son of a gun that's gonna help me do it.”  

“And why would I do that, Shrimpy?” He knows that his grin matches, that he’ll do it anyway, but damn if seeing her like this isn’t fun.  

“Easy. It’s fun, it’ll cause large amounts of chaos and drama and it’ll make Betta Fish either envy, rage or a develop a strange attraction he won’t understand until several years later in therapy.”  

Well how he is supposed to say no to that?  

They have something similar, at least in the sea. Not so gender based, that’s more of a human thing which he still doesn’t fully understand, but the larger than life makeup, large jewelry, that sort of thing. He had no idea the humans had something too!  

There is a dress code they have to follow, and half of the fun of bending rules is knowing what rules you are bending. So they pick and choose, he does ship in one or two items for his own benefit. Mamaw even handed off some of her old jewelry once he told her what the plan was. He may want to give his parents a little shock, but his never kept secrets or surprises from her. She’s good at keeping her mouth shut though, especially if it’s fun. 

When the both of you arrive, it is old Hollywood glam. He’s turquoise hair looks stunning with finger waves, lined with rhinestones and his signature black streak creating such an interesting texture. He’s make up is more on the dramatic side, bright blush and bold lipstick but cheekbones softened in a classic style. The dress is one of the things ordered in, as there was no way you had any clothes that you could even slightly modify at Ramshackle, a blue full sequin dress with a center split that feels vaguely familiar to Yuu, but you can’t put a finger on it. You did add gold shoulder chains that trail delicately down his shoulders and arms for a faux sleeve that makes his frame look sleek and elegant.  

Yuu of course, is simply a compliment to the drag queen, old Hollywood suit and tie with a tall top hat, a painted beard with sharp angles and twisted waves, tight pin curls with bejeweled pins left in sporadically.  

Vil does in fact lose his mind, but he’s more upset that you have not told him about this than seeing it. He grills you the whole night, and then some. 

Floyd however, thrives, having the time of his life finally being able to wear his stilettos out without feeling mismatched. It’s something the two of you continue to do together, but he’ll incorporate things on his own. You see more long skirts and dresses in his closet, different tweaks to his hair, and definitely more experiments with his eye makeup. He looks especially pretty when he’s squeezing people.  

When he looks at you, it’s just joy that he gets to express himself more. If he requires that you are his date for every party now, even underwater, well who are you to complain?  

Malleus Draconia 

It pops into your head as both of you are talking about home. You had been to plenty of Drag Brunches with the performances and dance, but also just Drag crawls with nights of everybody showing up and visiting, letting people get photos and just visit.  

Malleus has always had a hard time getting people to give him a chance, afraid of just his visage alone. It’s a reputation well earned, but he was very much a child with the stories that circulate and didn’t even know what he was doing.  

“What if you weren’t you?” Yuu asks, head tilted as the idea forms more in her mind. “What if you were a different version of you?”  

He’s open to the idea at least, allowing different experiments with color, themes, outfits and make up to see what he’s comfortable with, though there are some that go completely out the window. 

It’s easy for him to look like the Thorn Fairy, so they do put together a simple outfit that’s more of a modern take of her classic silhouette. A simple black side split gown with a thrifted Diasomnia coat with the patch ripped out, added embellishments of purple dyed furs, and silver metal accent spikes, letting his natural elegance take hold and make the presence.  

Do you have more casual clothes for him for brunch type things? Absolutely. And he looks fantastic in his oversized long sleeve crop top and ripped wide jeans with fishnet. He’s accessories tend to be the louder items for him, and he’s make up has plenty of colors, but he will always find his comfort in blacks, greens and purples. He doesn’t tend to go as loud as other Drag Queens, but it still works. Apparently, he sees Lilia dress this way often, so it’s something familiar and makes him feel a bit closer to him.  

The first brunch type thing the both of you go to, you are dressed more like a gentleman to compliment. A simple white button up, suspenders, a tight pompadour and exaggerated cheekbones. He had gone with the long dress since it was more of a formal affair, dressed down with boots, a softer lilac cardigan from Yuu’s closet, and wig pinned back into a simple but elegant bun, the blue underlay shining like a whole scale.  

He’s amazed at how easily people talk to him, how they approach with no fear. He gets to talk, and any awkwardness is explained away by being raised in Briar valley, because of course he’s just a Fae, not a dragon, those horns are simply part of the costume. Their is one little child that stays with him the entire time, talking about gargoyles, grotesques, and other statues. Malleus’s tail, also a prop of course, is swinging the entire time.  

Malleus loves to go out to smaller venues, but does fear getting too much attention and losing this as an outlet. He will go to lots of underground events with you, even the raves he’ll do for a few hours, and enjoy the people there. That he happens to get to protect you to is an added bonus, though the first time he sees Yuu lay out a guy for an inappropriate comment, he falls in love just a little more.  

Above, sitting on a staircase and looking down at his son, Lilia tears up a bit. There is fondness, pain, so much pain, and love.  

Malleus won’t make the connection until years later, when he sees a picture of himself, but he doesn’t look like the Thorn Fairy. He looks like his mother.  

Riddle Rosehearts  

Riddle sees Yuu’s drag first and loves it. What started as an invitation for a historically accurate Red Court costume tea party had allowed Yuu to dive deep back into the hobby with ease. So much of Red Court fashion involved that over-the-top style and fun that it was easy to pull together a fantastic outfit.  

He is a bit more hesitant to get into it, especially once the two of you realize that what he pictures himself in is close to his Overblot form, but simple modifications can fix that. The make-up isn’t too difficult for him to learn at all, after all the Heartslabyul students apply their own everyday, and he does love his red eyeliner. He is a bit embarrassed on how comfortable he feels in the corsets and dresses, but she manages to pull him back in with the shoes.  

Afterall, it wasn’t uncommon for Drag Queens to wear platforms. He’s usual heels will give him a solid inch or two, but six? He’s a whole new person when he puts on a pair of platforms.  

The next historical tea party, he pulls up in a Queen of Hearts inspired dress, but there isn’t a trace of black in the design. White lace gloves, the card fan collar fun and playful looking, the red soft and romantic looking instead of bloody, white roses pristine and large red ribbons ballooning out like the bow of a present. His hair of course is a wig, the red not quite as strong as he’s own, decorated in pearls and diamonds with heart-shaped lips and strong eyebrows.  

Trey notices how differently Riddle acts, firm but strong, delicate with his teacup and firm with the flamingo handles as he plays. He seems...happier. And he looks especially regal when a student makes an unsavory comment, and he sends them flying with a commanding “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”  

Vil Schoenheit  

Now, Vil was normally a respectful gentleman, but when he saw the different sketches on the margins of your notes, he became intrigued, especially when you let it slip that it was for herself. Drag had a slightly different definition in Twisted Wonderland, and Vil already practiced this version. Basically, how close can one flirt with fashion or make up or demeanor to become a woman, but it wasn’t anything like what you had.  

But what you had laid out was more Avante Garde, more bold, more interesting. A living art piece, yes, that’s what he would call it! There were designs that Yuu wouldn’t try but thought would look amazing or simply didn’t have to skill or resources to do. That wouldn’t be a problem with Vil.  

There is some work with figuring out what works best, as he basically looks good in everything and already has experience with changing his shape and silhouette. But looking good in everything doesn’t mean that’s what is best for him, and that’s what Yuu pushes, showing more of the entertainment and songs, for what feels the most confident. Eventually, they figure out that Vil enjoys being able to do less entertainment and simply exist as something beautiful and untouchable.  

Vil’s next event, Yuu comes more as an assistant, as the outfit is going to take hours to pull together, but it will be a showstopper. Yuu has no interest of trying to compete with Vil on this one, and he needs no complimenting king. She still gets free food out of it though, so definitely no complaints there.  

Vil arrives looking like a perfume bottle, intricate and elegant and stunning. The bottom balloons out and trails with a black ruffle, studded with spikes, hips accented with leather pads and structured velvet dress and long sleeves locked into black accordion ruffles on his wrist. But the chest is exposed, a beating heart pulsing in a golden rib cage, inverted shoulder pads like wings rising with a crown that puts the puny tiaras around them to shame.  

His smile is hidden, black lipped and sharp, and Yuu thinks that he’s probably never felt as beautiful as he does now.  

Rook Hunt  

Does anybody else remember Prince Poppycock? He was an opera singer that showed up on American Idol and was my first exposure to anything like drag, especially drag kings. He has lived rent free in my mind ever since. Anyway, on to Rook!  

Rook sees you experimenting with different outfits from the closets of Ramshackle, fashions that have been out of season for maybe a century now, and he loves them. How strong, how romantic, the glamor of it! He at least does the polite thing by knocking on the door before begging to be your mannequin.  

Rook, similar to Vil and Riddle, has plenty of experience with make-up, but the full white face is something he has never done before. He does love how bright the colors come out on such a canvas though and makes several versions with different outfits he has sent in from home. The hardest part is the wigs, which are simply too modern or not the right colors for him. He gets a long-curled wig imported from home and asks to keep it at Ramshackle, and carefully styles it out his eyes. Yuu is also not surprised when other outfits and ribbons start coming in, simply hanging them out to get the wrinkles out. The matching silk robes are nice though, she’ll admit to that one.  

He gets his opportunity when you find a local theater troupe that does soliloquys, monologues, short songs and one act plays on Saturdays evenings that would be more than happy to have extra performers. Getting Rook to choose only one monologue is more difficult than choosing the outfit, but it’s easy to compliment his look with a similar vibe.  

It’s something Yuu has never had the opportunity to see before. The way that Rook preforms like this as opposed to the SDC is so different. He lets loose here, fully indulging into the character, and the audience is enraptured with him. Some of the upcoming actors and actresses are even pausing in practicing their lines just to look at him go.  

Sometimes over tea parties, him and Riddle really bond over historical dress, he’ll even sprinkle freckles on top of the white face paint. Yuu wishes he would let his natural ones come through sometimes, but maybe it is a work in progress.   

[generational-atrophy]

hiii may i request leon kennedy x gn!reader whos shorter than him and an overall timid person?

(Leon Kennedy X Reader) Short, Shy S/O!

(Gender Neutral) Headcanons ~ A/N SORRY GUYS THIS ONE IS GETTING COMPLETED IMMEDIATELY BCS THIS MAN OWNS ME RIGHT NOW GOOD LORD

Trigger Warning: Leon is a kind of unhealthy person but that's it.

Leon would be a bit nervous to start a relationship with someone who comes off as so fragile. It seems like everyone around him is destroyed or killed in some way, and imagining that happening to you… god, he can’t let that happen. You’re so innocent. Too innocent. Not the type of person that belongs with him. You deserve better.

And because of those horrible thoughts, you’re unfortunately gonna have to make the first move. Horrible, right? He may be confident around everyone else, but you make him so goddamn nervous. The thought of pulling your pretty little face up to meet his, finally giving into what his body desperately wants… it’s a thought that plagues his mind. And if you wait long enough, he might just have to live out that fantasy. Even though he’s gonna try to avoid you for as long as possible afterwards.

But once you’ve worked it out, and he’s finally gotten over his anxiety surrounding you, he’s a great boyfriend. He’s already protective of everyone close to him, but with you, it’s kicked up to another degree. Even on days when he struggles to get out of bed, he asks to accompany you everywhere. Seriously, you’d think that the shy one in the relationship would be more clingy, but nope. Not with Leon.

It gets like… really annoying. He’s obsessed with keeping you safe, at any cost. But it’s like… his trauma response is projected onto you. Anything that goes wrong is gonna get solved pretty quickly by him, regardless of whether you want him to do so or not. 

Even if you ask him to stop, it’s always gonna be in the back of his mind. But that’s not to say he can’t back off. He absolutely can! He’s so obsessed with protecting your feelings, once you tell him HE’S the one stressing you out, he’ll stop (and his heart will break a little.)

Oh yeah, and he’s totally the type of guy to purposely put things up too high for you. Hearing you ask for his help opening a jar he closed too tight gives him a strangely large amount of joy. But he really just likes being useful.

 Everything in his life has been so harsh and so horrible, but you’re a light in the dark. Whenever you stutter or struggle to speak up, he can’t help but melt. Even your more “””annoying””” shy traits do nothing but make him love you more.

If you ever wanna leave somewhere early, he’s completely ready to head out too. If you don’t wanna hang out with anyone except him and like one other person, he’s cool with doing the same. Even stuff like ordering food for you, he has no problem with. He’s really just glad you’re satisfied with such a low-key life. After everything that’s happened… all he needs is domesticity.

Someone so withdrawn with someone so brash… who would’ve guessed how well it’d work?

[luneariaa]

ღ || un autre univers.

✰ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : lars alexandersson x reader.

✰ 𝐰. 𝐜. : 1k+

✰ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : you and lars are having some different kind of conversation this time-- one that is related to the alternate universe.

✰ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : none, not much proof-read. plot is very random and unrelated to the game.

✰ 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 : my first time ever writing for lars + for tekken in general, so he might appear as ooc here! the amount of fics for this man is terribly low too, so i decided to add one my own 💜.

. dividers by @/saradika !! 💫

A soft hum filled the air; one that is not loud enough, yet is pleasant as to fill the quietness nicely. It resonates with your whole presence alone, despite it being your own voice. You feel quite relaxed, hugging your knees closer to your chest while your eyes on him. 

Lars is always so focused toward his own training sessions– whether it’s with you or by himself. It’s something that you’d find yourself being drawn in, and oftentimes, letting you forget the lines that have existed between you two.

The evening being spent around that time wasn’t that bad either, just like the other passing days. The remaining sunlight enters the dojo with no ounce of hesitation, making the view of his muscular back view glistening with sweat.

How could he still manage to look so handsome while doing so– you’ll never know and probably never will.

And it’s a good thing that you came over as per usual, just to watch him train. But of course, not in any inappropriate manner whatsoever.

Finally gotten enough of the silence surrounding you both, you’ve decided to break it. “Hey, Lars?” Your voice isn’t that loud when calling out to him, yet he took notice of it almost instantly, stopping his movements for a bit.

“Hm?” The sandy brown-haired male shifted his gaze towards your still sitting form, “What is it?”

“So, I have a pretty random question to ask, but–”

“-- do you think we are friends in another universe as well? Like, as of right now?”

“That’s a pretty strange question to ask.” Lars pondered for a bit, temporarily falling into his own thoughts. A small smile begins to form across his features.

The whole idea is somehow nice for him. And little did you know, the image of you beaming at him ever so cheerily flashes before his eyes– even filling his heart with so much joy, as much as it’s hard for him to admit it sometimes.

“You know, at least, I really hope we are.”

“I’d like to think that I’m with you in every universe.” He didn’t know if you noticed, but he purposely left the word ‘friend’ out.

The smile on his face brightens ever so slightly, mirroring your own warm expression at him as well as you have a thoughtful look on your face.

“And I’m sure–” he begins to add his own words, genuinely straight out from the bottom of his heart. “-- that even if we were to be together in every universe, I’m sure that you’re still looking as beautiful as you are right now.”

Each word that fell out from his mouth is merely the truth; he has no intention in lying at all. Especially with the remaining sunlight hitting your face so perfectly to him, giving it a nice lighting. Heck, if he even dares to admit it out loud, you look absolutely gorgeous in every angle.

It completely caught you off guard, rendering you speechless for the time being. It’s not like you were expecting anything, yet it did manage to make you feel somehow.. Special, in a way. Lars didn’t push you for any response from his previous statement; even when a small chuckle exhaled out of you. He somehow understands, and he feels at ease for saying those words. 

You don’t even know how to get rid of your current bashful expression, to which seemed to amuse him further when you darted your eyes elsewhere; your inner turmoil ensues.

With no proper answer for his previous words of what could be considered as genuine flattery, you gradually dragged out another question in hopes to lighten up the situation.

“Lars, what if– like, you have to fight me instead in another universe? What if we aren’t like what we are right now?” 

He sighs softly, finally taking a proper seat next to you, which is currently facing the sun that begins to set beautifully. One would probably mistaken for the two of you being a pair of lovers, but then again– what are we actually?

“I will be upset, honestly.” Lars begins to gaze at times toward the side of your face while your eyes are ahead. “I would want to avoid that from happening at all. I don’t want to be the cause of any of your pains; I don’t think I can fight you.”

“I feel like I would try to do whatever it takes to avoid all of that from happening.” He’s still so unsure on what has driven you to ask such a question, but he won’t hesitate giving his own answers.

I won’t hesitate to fight for you if I have to, I’m serious.

Instead of saying those words out loud, he lets it stay within his own conscious mind, and simply observes as your expression slowly changes to a tender, and considerate one.

“I’ll remember that, then.” Of course, you get on what he means, even some parts of you are still just as confused in a way. The sandy brown-haired Commander rests his back against the walls of the dojo nearby, not letting his gaze unwavering toward you. 

That’s why you’re confused. Perhaps by his actions itself, or something else entirely..?

“You gotta stop with being all sappy and stuff though. I’m gonna turn all mushy and it’s gonna be your fault.” You half-joked at him, releasing a soft breath that you didn’t even realize you’ve been holding. A lighthearted laughter came out from him, somehow realizing that his words had an effect on you.

“And I wouldn’t mind that the slightest.”

“I’m just– I don’t know, honored maybe, that I get to see your different side. It’s kinda sweet and makes me want to protect you even more.” His gaze has been lowered; the skies are now in a blend of pinkish– light purple from the distance. 

You slowly turn your head at him; your eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m gonna bite you, Lars.”

“I think I can endure it just fine.” He grinned, ruffling your hair a bit, yet it doesn’t mess up your appearance entirely. A huff can be heard from you; pouting and moving his hand away.

“That’ll be so unfair.”

Situation’s getting interesting, yet it still goes almost nowhere. What was one trying to achieve anyway, aside from this seemingly friendly banter being exchanged?

“The whole bite thing is adorable if you ask me.”

“It’s not gonna be so cute if that really happens.”

“Is that a threat?” He chuckles while shaking his head slightly. “The thought of it is still so cute, regardless of what you say. You’re trying too hard.”

With your eyes narrowing once again at the male, you crossed your arms with fake annoyance being so evident to him. “Are you mocking me?”

“I don’t know– maybe I am.” 

He doesn’t even feel like giving any proper answers out; scooting closer to you until there’s like only a few inches of space left between you two– leaning his face closer to yours. His actions temporarily leave you perplexed, and suddenly get all internally nervous and confused in a good way possible.

“I’m just saying. It’s not gonna be literal..” You muttered, playfully rolling your eyes at him in order to combat the unneeded feelings that’s stirring within you. He’s starting to make you feel all strange, and you don’t even know what to do.

The Commander stayed in that position for a few more moments, before almost, involuntarily pulled away all of a sudden. A small smirk is playing upon his lips. “I know.”

A small silence occurs, not knowing what to say by then. Following his current line of sight, you could see how the previous evening sky changes to a dark one, decorated by the seas of bright stars, and a lone, full moon taking part of the small portion within the night sky. The gentle breeze became a bit colder than before, yet the feeling is quite soothing as it hits your own skin.

“Do you ever wonder stuff? Maybe like– you’re still the same person as you are, even in another universe; even down to your habits, and others like it.” Lars broke the stillness within the air, one that you both have unintentionally created. “I always like to think, deep down there, that we still are the same person. Even if we left this universe for the other.”

“Almost like, everything that’s happening must be fated to happen. It might sound weird or even corny, but I genuinely found the idea to be fascinating, to say the least.”

“Maybe in another universe, we’re still the same person; just different in the way we live our lives.”

You’re tongue-tied for a while there, clearly lost within the utterance of each syllable that fell from his lips. The thought itself was both comforting and upsetting, in an almost inexplicable sense. 

“I guess that’s a better way to put it.”

Perhaps, just by the possible, mere thought of not even acknowledging his existence hurts your heart on another level– and the same goes if the roles are reversed. Without any further thought, you knew that you needed to feel his presence; existing together with you by this moment, resting your head against his left shoulder.

Lars did the same, simply soaking into your calming presence like you did with him; doing a lot of untold, silent vows inside his own mind. One of which is a silent promise, wanting to keep the line between you two stay close as it is right now. 

The male has his arms around you, keeping you near him, and not caring if he makes some of his thoughts go obvious. That’s the least of his worries. He’s just content with whatever type of relationship you both are having right now.

@luneariaa do not repost; reblogs are alright. all rights reserved.

[austinslounge]

I've always been kinda of hot and cold with Austin and Kaia. I didn't have much of an opinion of them. They had moments back when they first got together, where it seemed kinda of sweet. Austin seemed to be into her. Especially at Cannes. I know a lot of it was played up on the red carpet. But the small moments inside the theater. Baz was giving his speech after the movie played. Austin was kissing Kaia's hand. He winked at her. He was smitten.

But I did start to notice how much media coverage these two were getting, which was off putting. Then I heard about Kaia dating JE and after only a month, she went public with Austin. Major red flag. Which made me start thinking something about this wasn't right.

But again, I was always hot and cold. but leaning more towards cold. something about them doesn't seem normal.

I think what changed everything for me was May of this year. That's when I noticed some weird stuff happening and things seem to have shifted for Austin. So towards the end of May, we got those photos of Austin and Kaia walking in NY. That's when a lot of people started to notice how unhappy they looked. This was right before Austin started the press tour for the Bikeriders. In general, most of the media coverage about their realtionship was always relationship timelines. A few articles here and there. Mostly from Kaia's side of PR. Austin side really only chimed in to squash the engagement rumors.

But then this article from People's Magazine came out talking about how Austin and Kaia are "still going strong" and "very much in love". I thought it was super odd. Was anybody really wondering about their status? The wording definitely sounded like it was coming from Kaia's PR. But then I got to thinking and it was for sure deflection and damage control. Because people did pick up the shift in their dynamic. I mean they both looked miserable. You know when you have to tell the world your relationship is good and you're still in love, usually means it's not. Deflection at it's finest.

Then Austin does the Indy500 the next day and looks so happy to be around Jodie. A stark contrast to his mood with Kaia just days prior. He looked happier to be around his co-star than his long term girlfriend. Odd. Well, a couple of days later L&S publishes this article titled "Austin and Kaia have nothing in common and they both know it" --😬 I was intrigued. We hadn't gotten anything like this before. Especially for this article to come out only a few days after Kaia's PR just said how happy they were.

The wording of this L&S article for sure came from Austin's PR team. Very rarely does Austin address his private life. Especially his relationship with Kaia. But this article really highlighted his frustrations with her. Her lack of work ethic. Her upbringing. Essentially how different they are. Kind of drawing attention to one of the main issues people have with their relationship. Aside from the age gap, which is still a big deal. They really don't have anything in common. I feel like it was really highlighted during his press tour with Jodie.

The chemistry he and Jodie had in their interviews was refreshing and a joy to watch. I know they were promoting a movie. But it still felt natural. He was flirty, laughing, all smiles. Never seen that with Kaia since 2022 Cannes. That was a long time ago.

Then all of a sudden, media kept trying to bring up Kaia in interviews. I thought that was so strange to. Why all of a sudden is their relationship being brought up? Kaia pretty much brought attention to it by having her team publish that People Magazine article about them "going strong" again, no one was asking.

Since then a lot has happened. But the amount of paparazzi walks hasn't been lost of me. They always happen when Kaia needs to promote something. Which is shady that she uses Austin to do it. But then in July I noticed how off these two looked. May was bad. July was worse. I mean Austin looked like he could barely tolerate her. Here we are in August and nothing has changed. Something is off.

I could say so much more, but I think I've taken up enough of your time tonight. Sorry, I know that was a lot.

👏👏

First of all --- First of all --- I just have to say that you said everything I couldn't put into words.

I agree that there was a time back in 2022 when Austin and Kaia seemed kind of happy. I believe that Cannes 2022 is probably the happiest they've ever looked together as a couple. It was a major event and a huge moment for Austin in his career, so a lot of that lovey-dovey feeling and PDA was probably due to the emotional excitement of the event. (just a theory)

Like you mentioned, something over the past year and a half has changed drastically in their relationship. May of this year (the NY pics) was definitely a turning point to me as well. I think that was the first time they looked so disjointed and the most miserable I'd ever seen them look together.

But then this article from People's Magazine came out talking about how Austin and Kaia are "still going strong" and "very much in love". I thought it was super odd. Was anybody really wondering about their status? The wording definitely sounded like it was coming from Kaia's PR. But then I got to thinking and it was for sure deflection and damage control.

Yes! I totally agree with you that the People.com article about them being "so in love" and "going strong" definitely reeked of damage control. I feel like anytime a celebrity couple has to try to remind people of how in love and "going strong" they are, there's usually something going on bts, and it's typically the total opposite of what they're reporting.

I personally feel that the damage control article was put out from sources to People.com because her team knows that the pics of them in NYC looked like they were miserable, and so they wanted to try to clear the air.

Then Austin does the Indy500 the next day and looks so happy to be around Jodie. A stark contrast to his mood with Kaia just days prior. He looked happier to be around his co-star than his long term girlfriend. Odd.

Girl yes, all of it is so sus! I noticed Austin's total 180 when promoting "The Bikeriders" with Jodie, vs how he looked just a couple of days ago with his own gf lol.

It's all been so weird imo, but it's definitely gotten even worse imo.

I could say so much more, but I think I've taken up enough of your time tonight. Sorry, I know that was a lot.

You don't ever have to apologize for that! 😊

[xxkitty13]

Vampire AU

Lawlu- Vampire Law x Human Luffy

Law can’t resist the lubooty ;) More -> Part 2

It was a typical night for Law. Alone in his bedroom, enjoying the tranquility of the deserted island. The castle he resides in is not large nor extravagant, it is small. He did not mind it, there’s ample amount of space for him, anymore would be a waste.

Although, he did take luxury of the large bed. A size that would fit five people. Law had no intention of sharing it, he liked the life of solitude. He did have his subordinates, but he grants them free will. Time to time he meets with them. Rarely does he give them direct orders. The bear under his lead will sometimes guard the island by choice. Whether he’s away or not, the bear is attached. Law tolerates it.

The time of day did not matter to Law, he’ll rest when he feels like it. Usually, he goes without sleep for days as he boards himself in the laboratory. Today he takes the time to sleep. The eye bags are proof of the lack of rest. He closes his eyes to drift into a slumber, but a booming crash shook the walls of the castle.

He grits at the mayhem and hastily gets out of his bed. He scurries to the direction of the sound and dust fills the place. He waves the accumulation of rising particles to get a better look of the damage.

“Ack!” Someone coughs out.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

More coughing emerged as the dust settled.

The outline of a small figure is presented. The first thing Law noticed was a straw hat.

“Sheesh, that hurt more than I thought.”

Law groaned. The view is now clear and in front of him stood a young man. A flimsy one with big doe eyes. His outfit is rather strange to him, an opened red vest, shorts, and sandals.

The smaller man patted the debris off his clothing and gave a cunning grin.

“You. State your identity.”

“Me?” The straw hat asked, his eyes widen at the deep voice. His eyes smile at him, Law looked at him in disgust. “I’m Monkey D. Luffy and you are?”

“Tsk, I’m the owner of this property and you broke my wall.”

Luffy looked at the hole and rubbed the back of his head. “Oops, I’m sorry I had a running with a wild beast.”

Could it have been Bepo? No, he’s not here. There are other creatures that inhabit the island. Still, he’s surprised the tiny human could outrun them.

“I don’t know what’s your purpose on this island, but you will face the consequences.”

Law opened his mouth to show his large fangs. The little bastard interrupted his sleep and ruined a portion of his home. As he commenced to pounce on him, Luffy gasped.

“Wow so cool!” he shouts, eyes enlarged in excitement.

Confused at his reaction, he stops.

“Are you vampire?” Luffy asks taking a step forward.

Perplexed by his lack of fear, he backs away. “Yes, I’m a vampire.”

The younger man stretches his arm out to touch the vampire’s fangs. Law grabs his wrist before he could. “You can stretch?” A series of questions pop in his head, not only can he enlarge himself, the boy is also crazy.

Chuckling at the comment, “I’m made of rubber. See.” His other arm stretches towards his face, poking one of the fangs. Law snarls at him and attempts to bite his finger.

“Ah! Don’t do that!” He retreats his hand and frees himself from his grip. “Are you going to eat me?”

The vampire furrowed his eyebrows. Can he? Will his teeth penetrate through his skin? Only one way to find out. He smirks. “Perhaps.”

Luffy drops to his knees and pleads at the taller man. “No, please don’t eat me! I won’t taste good. Meat tastes so much better,” he cries.

Appalled by this, Law steps away. Luffy eyes glimmer from the excess water. Those brown orbs resonate for mercy. He hates confronting strong emotions.

“Tsk.” He turns away. “Fine, just fix your mess. I’m going to sleep.”

Luffy jumps in joy. “Thank you! Um. . . vampire guy?”

“It’s Trafalgar. . . Trafalgar Law.”

“Tra- what?”— He scratches his head at the name— “Tra-guy? Torao?”

“Trafalgar!”

“Ah, thanks Torao!”

Law scrunches his face in annoyance. “Whatever don’t bother me. We’ll settle this later.”

He leaves Luffy alone and heads up the stairs to his bedroom.

The straw hat man looks at the large hole in the wall. He sighs at the mess. "How do I fix a wall?" A loud grumble stopped his trace of thoughts. "I'm hungry. I need to eat first." He turns observe the rest of the building. It looked small on the outside, but the inside is like a maze. He’ll go through the trouble of wondering the labyrinth for the kitchen.

"I can't ask Torao, he said not to bother him. Well, I guess I have to explore this place." He smiles walking down a dark hallway. "Wow this castle is cool and spooky, this will be fun!"

.𖥔 ݁ ˖౨ৎ.𖥔 ݁ ˖-`♡´-.𖥔 ݁ ˖౨ৎ.𖥔 ݁

Law returned to his dark cavern. Even though he’s a creature of the night, he still needs his sleep. His body plopped on the bed, craving the sheets on it. The straw hat pondered his mind. How did he arrive on the island? Who is he? Most importantly, why wasn’t the human afraid?

Just looking at those innocent eyes did something to him. He palms his face at the thought.

“Get a grip.”

Darkness fades the view around him. As his eyes shut, he wonders if Luffy will repair the damage. The young man appeared to have no thoughts behind those doe eyes. He’s pretty sure he has no idea how to build a wall.

“Shit.”

His eyes are wide open now. “I left him alone. Stupid.” Law runs out his room and heads to Luffy.

"Crap, where did he go? Why did I leave a stranger alone in my castle?"

Elsewhere, Luffy found the basement of the place. Despite the secrete passageway filled with spiderwebs and dead remains of animals, he found it interesting. Going deeper in the hallway, he came across two steel doors. He opened the large doors and entered the room.

It appeared to be a laboratory. Weird science equipment covered the room. A flat steel table sat in the middle of the room.

His stomach growled.

“Man, where’s the food in this place?”

He continued to explore the lab and found a door at the back. Curious of what held inside, he opened it and was met with cold air. It’s a freezer storage. All over the walls hanged frozen items. Taking a closer look, the meat like structures were covered in ice. Shelves that surrounded the walls contained weird jars of specimens. Not caring much about it, he focused his attention to the large fridge situated across the room.

“Food!”

Luffy rushed to open the refrigerator. Inside held numerous blocks of ice. Puzzled by the frozen cubes, his smile faded. He grabbed one and inspected it. Lub-dub. The ice cube contracted. It was strange, lub-dub, it moved again. The block contained an odd red muscle. Luffy shrugged thinking it was a weird piece of meat. His mouth opened to take a bite, but before he could, someone barged in.

“Don’t eat it you idiot!”

Startled, the straw hat dropped the frozen organ. Law was appalled at the sight. He immediately picked up the cube and placed in back in the refrigerator.

“What kind of person eats a heart?!”

“A heart?”

“Yes, you moron!”

“Oh, no wonder why it looked funny,” he chuckled.

A vein popped out of Law’s temple.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone. How did you find this place?”

“I was walking around, and I started touching around the walls. Then my hand pressed against the stone in one of the walls and it was pushed in. An opening appeared with stairs. Now I’m here,” he said with a large grin.

“What else did you see?”

“Mmm, just this weird room. Is there food around? I’m hungry.”

Luffy began to exit the storage room, but Law grabbed his arm.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving to catch one of those beasts.”

“You think I’ll let you get away? You know too much.”

“Huh-”

Law tossed the straw hat against the wall of the freezer. The frozen meat hanging on the sides fell on top of him. Shoving it out his way, he noticed the shape of the object. The remains appeared to be human like. The situation slowly sinks in with Luffy. He panics at the lifeless skull attached to the remains. He screams, backing away in disgust.

"You killed him!"

Reality finally hits him, he's a wicked vampire. He looks around the room, vials filled with blood, containers with persevered organs, and corpses were all evidence of his hunt. Luffy thought Law was joking about eating him, but he was wrong.

Using his ability, he stretches his arm and punches Law out the way. He runs towards the large door of the lab, but the vampire magically appears in front him.

"What?!"

Law grabs him and pins him down to the floor.

"You're not going anywhere," he snarls showing his sharp canines.

"Please, I don't want to die!" Luffy pleads, afraid of the man above his body.

“Shut up,” he grits. Law stares at his prey underneath him. Those eyes again.

The vampire groans. When has he shown mercy to intruders? He hesitates to rip open the exposed neck. "Tsk." His golden irises beam onto Luffy's soft brown ones. He exhales and gets off his body.

He facepalms as he bites his lip. It was weird, he could almost smell the blood underneath his skin. He's never experienced this. Despite only knowing his name, he finds himself drawn to him. However, his vampiric instincts are calling for bloodlust.

"Go."

Luffy looks at him perplexed. "You're letting me go?"

"I said go!" Law snaps his head towards his direction. His golden eyes were now bright red. This startled Luffy. Not wanting to find out about the sudden change in his demeanor, he pivots and dashes to the doors.

In trashing his way out, he hits a corner of a stranded medical cart. A sharp scalpel cuts his arm.

The small wound was enough for the vampire to snap. The scent of the blood sparked something inside of him.

"RUN."

A tone of venom rolled off of Law’s tongue. The urging face of hunger made Luffy to rush out the laboratory. Adrenaline rushed through his blood vessels; he followed wherever his legs took him.

The straw hat ran up the stairs to the ground level of the castle. In a frenzy, he touched the walls in hopes to close the entrance to the basement. His hand found the hidden button and caused the floor to shift below him. He could see the vampire hustling his way up, but before he could jump out, the entrance closed in time.

“Whew, the was close,” he sighs, rubbing the sweat off his forehead.

Those words jinxed him.

“Room. Shambles.”

Law appeared before him.

“What?! You did it again!”

The taller man grabbed his throat and smashed him to the nearby wall. “I got you,” he grins, purposely showing his canines.

Luffy’s hands wrap around his wrist, trying to remove the death grip around his neck. He picked his legs up and stretched them out to push Law away. Using great force, he smashes the vampire against the other side of the hallway. The stone crumbles over him and smothers him in the pile. The straw hat uses this opportunity to flee.

“Ah! How do I lose him?!”

In the rock pile, Law lays with a smirk. “Hmm.” He sits up, causing the rubbish to fall off, and stares at the human running in dismay.

“Room.”

Popping from behind, he goes to embrace Luffy. Now in his arms, he uses his ability to teleport them to his bedroom. The two land on his grand bed.

Lost in words, Luffy could only stare at his captor pinning him down.

“Will it hurt?”

The vampire hums as he removed the straw hat from his head. “It won’t kill you,” he simply says.

Luffy closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. Licking his lips, Law drew to the side of his neck. His hot breath blew on the exposed flesh, making him shiver.

“Relax little human, you’ll enjoy this.”

Luffy hitched at the warm wetness sliding against him. The tongue was surprisingly hot, he thought vampires were cold-blooded creatures. His hands grip the bedsheets as he felt the tip of his sharp teeth caress his tender flesh.

He gulps, feeling himself excite a little at the feeling. With one last breath, Law sinks his teeth in.

“Ah-” he groans at the flashing pain.

The vampire sucks the warm red liquid in delight- the best he’s had. He savors the young man’s blood, only wanting more. Law embraces Luffy close, grinding on him slowly. He whimpers at the overwhelming sensation and lets himself be consumed.

Law sucked gently, humming against the wound. With a flushed face, the human lets out a soft moan, forgetting about the pain in the beginning. Satisfying his thirst, the vampire licked the open holes.

He lets the human go for a brief moment. The bloodlust fades as he gets clarity of the situation. Law didn’t mean to bite him, but he doesn’t regret it. The human’s blood is vastly different- it’s addicting. A powerful drug that only he could possess. It became clear on what he has to do.

Still processing the bite, Luffy eyes opened to a dark gaze from the vampire. In a quick motion, Law turns his body over. A painful bite is felt at his nape.

The human screams in agony. The pain was quick, and Law licked the oozing liquid.

“It’s done. You’re mine.”

Luffy runs his hand over the large bite mark, wincing at the touch. He rubs the tears off his eyes and turns to his side.

“Yours? I don’t belong to no one.”

“Hmm,” Law hums and smirks at his comment.

His long fingers trace his bite at the nape, making the smaller male wince.

“Don’t touch me.”

“This bite says otherwise. You’re marked by me,” he says leaving a trail of kisses to the previous bite mark.

He squirms at the touch of his lips. Law chuckles at his reaction. “You can’t say you didn’t like it,”— his mouth nears his ear— “I heard you moan.”

“I-” Luffy face reddens. “I still don’t belong to you,” he huffs.

“Mugiwara-ya.”

His ears twitch at the name.

“You’re hungry, aren't you? Let me compensate you with a dinner.”

Luffy livens up at the word. “Dinner?!” He grabs his hat and rushes out the room.

Law looked at him in shock. How did he get the energy to move like that?

“Don’t just stand there. I want to eat now!”

“Will you submit to me if I give you what you want?”

The straw hat squints his eyes at the vampire. There’s no way he’ll let Law get his way, but the proposal intrigued him.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

A devious smile plastered on Luffy’s face.

“Get ready to give me a lifetime supply of meat!” He grins.

“Huh? Wh-”

Luffy wraps his arm around Law and draws him close. He struggles to break the hold, but it was no use.

“Alright let’s go eat!”

The vampire goes limp in defeat. “What did I get myself into?”

[nightlix07]

༆Maze of memories༆

Character(s): Reo Mikage (Blue lock)

Reader type: Not specified(Gender-Neutral Pronouns)

Warning(s): mentions of suicide, depression, self-harm, ED)

Genre: Angst, Fluff (Hurt/Comfort), Happy ending(?I mean I think it is...)

Word count: ~5,3k words (I think the site lied to me, maybe)

Author's note: Did I not see enough angst with him and I did it myslef? Yes I did. Did I go too hard on how depressed Reo can be?...maybe. Enjoy! <3

It was a warm sunny day. Maybe too sunny as you had to keep a bottle of water close by if you wished to keep running on the field without fainting. Keeping up with Reo's stamina was tough, playing against him on a 1 on 1 was like running for the Olympics. It was like this boy had no limit.

"Come on Y/N! I know you can do better!~" You heard Reo coo teasingly.

Oh, how he annoyed you... You pushed yourself further, running to block his shot and stealing the ball. His eyes widen slightly seeing how focused you became. He smirked and ran after you, trying to block your shot as well but to no avail. You scored with a powerful blow. You heard Reo clapping as he smiled warmly.

Nagi looked up from his phone to just nod at you as to congratulate you. Then he went to continue his game again... You were wondering what game was so captivating. Maybe an open-world RPG? Or something that required more thinking? Your thoughts were cut off when you heard Reo's voice.

"Impressive, yet easily noticeable by the opponent team. If this was a real match...." You sigh and take the water bottle he was offering you. You were thirsty after that amount of effort under the scorching sun. The water felt divine, it was cold, bringing your body temperature back to normal.

Reo was still rambling about all the other ways you could have stolen the ball, scored and whatnot. You didn't mind it. It was kind of cute seeing how he was able to ramble for hours on end about soccer.

"Hmm, but what's more important is that I beat you so don't be a sore loser~" You say, taking revenge for how much he has teased you while playing.

Reo scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest while glaring at you playfully. You both liked to annoy each other and somehow those banters never escalated into a fight. It was some kind of mutual understanding. On filed it was no different, people said eyes talk and they weren't lying as with just a glance you two could understand each other. Nagi understood those 'signals' as well. It was like a strange string connecting you three, fate most likely as you liked to say. Other schools feared Hakuho High School's soccer team because of your trio. And they feared you for a good reason. This is how every day looked for you: Reo challenging you to try the tricks he learned and Nagi sometimes taking part just to absolutely destroy both of you at soccer.

Today was no different: training, running, laughing and joking...until a teacher brought over some weird-looking envelopes.

"Blue Lock?.... It sounds like a prison. " You say unimpressed.

The three of you studied the weird-looking letters. Reo's full of enthusiasm at the new opportunities that just opened up. His eyes twinkled with joy...until he saw you and Nagi looking at the letter in disdain.

"Oh come on, it clearly says they want us to join to get better at soccer...! It's an opportunity we can't pass!" He was trying his best to get you and Nagi to agree.

You didn't like the sound of the so-called 'project' and Nagi...

"It's a hassle... Too much work."

Reo sighed and wrapped his arms around both of your necks smiling brightly, bringing you two close to him.

"Come on, we promised to become the best! You can't back out now!" Reo was always good at tying the team together. After all, he was the one who 'created it'.

You remember how the school's team came to be. You were tasked to ask students around the school if they wished to join the school's soccer team. Most of them weren't interested and you were ready to give up...until you met Reo. He started acting like his life depended on it, following kids until they agreed or just plain ol' threatening them....subtly.

"Join the soccer team! The best team ever! " Reo shouted with vigour. You barely knew him... Why did he care this much?... You sigh and pay it no mind.

"Hey...we don't know for sure if the team will be that good-" You try to reason with the purple-haired boy but your words were cut off by him almost instantly.

"I'll make sure it will be!" He said proudly and you couldn't help but burst out laughing. He scowled at your reaction but after a bit, he couldn't help but burst out laughing as well.

After that ordeal, Reo said he knew the perfect last candidate: Nagi. Making the white-haired boy agree to join the soccer team...was harder than proving your homework wasn't stolen off of another classmate to the teacher.

From that point onward, you three were inseparable. You still remember the night you two had to practically shove information down Nagi's throat so he would pass, or when Reo refused to talk to either of you because he messed up a shot. You chuckle with fondness at the memories. You liked them. If it weren't for this small group, life would be boring, wouldn't it? A life without Reo nagging you, without Nagi explaining the tactics he needs to use to win the game's next level. A family.

And so you decided to join Blue Lock.

"There are so many people..." You look around in curiosity, walking close to Reo and Nagi, not wanting to get lost in the crowd.

"Means the selections will be hard." Reo mutters in slight concern while looking at the stage up front.

The project's logo stood proudly on the big screen. The rest of the scene was awfully empty, the only 'decoration' being two plants. Nagi was also looking around, meaning it was a fascinating situation if it made him look away from his phone. The lights cut out around the room, and the ones on the stage shine brightly, almost blindingly. You squint your eyes to adjust to the light. On the stage, a tall, slim and weak man appears...Ego, your so-called new coach. He looks like he hasn't slept in decades! He goes on and on about this project, talking about how soccer isn't about a team, how you should be egoists and other uncanny things. It looked like it was a cult! It was weird at best. After Ego finishes his speech, the screen opens up, creating an entryway. It was filled with thick fog, the entrance looking like it was straight out of a horror movie.

"So who is ready to be an egoist should enter at once, the other weaklings can leave!" The man yelled as he glared at the crowd.

People started talking between them, whispers of disapproval and fear. Some trying to hype each other up to join. You were looking at the doorway. Who in their right mind would go? It sounded and looked like a cult! ...And of course, Reo was ready to go, taking both your and Nagi's hands, dragging you to the giant doorway. Did he have no survival instincts?! Maybe his basic survival skills somehow dispersed into thin air but yours were in full swing.

"Hey, hey! Let's think this through! It sounds suspicious Reo!..." You try to pull back but to no avail. Reo's grip on your wrist was firm. No way you were going to be freeing yourself from it.

The first few challenges were easy, more like child's play for your trio. Even the first real match was easy. Reo helping you and Nagi connect while the other team couldn't even tell which one of you will strike thanks to the constant passing between you three. Your team won with 5-2. You breathe deeply to catch your breath after all that running.

"We did it! If the next teams are so weak we're set! Good job Y/N!" Reo says enthusiastically.

Again, how did he have so much stamina? He ran around the field, dribbled, passed, scored. And somehow he was still able to run to your side to ruffle your hair. You push away his hand as you shoot him a warning glance. Reo laughs softly. Your team was happy, celebrating. You, Reo and Nagi rambling happily about the match. You hear someone crying and you look at the other side of the field. It looked like a battlefield.

People laying on the floor, crying, yelling. It was weird seeing all those other kids' dreams be crushed. The looks of pure despair, disdain, hatred even. You decide to walk away before one of them tries anything to take revenge. Before the next match, you had time to prepare and rest, so you decided that a quick meal would give you some energy and prepare you for the next hours of training. Of course Nagi and Reo tag along. Where you went, they went too and this was kind of an unwritten rule.

You sleepily lean your head against the cafeteria table after finishing your food. You look up only to see Reo trying to make a deal with Nagi to eat. You chuckle at the sight as Reo glares at you. You also train for a while before heading off to sleep. You lay in your comfy bed, close your eyes and wait...and wait... Why were you so restless...? It was only a match, an easy one on top of that. Still, you couldn't sleep. You move around, try different positions, count sheep, any old trick in the book but still nothing. You decide to sit up and look if anyone is also awake. Nothing. You sigh annoyed and you move to stand up. If you can't sleep you can at least train. Your stamina needed some training anyway so why not- Well that's what you wished to do before your master plan was stopped by Reo pulling your hand down. Again, his grip on your wrist was like being held down by some of the strongest chains known to man. How does he even manage?! You try to argue with him but he tiredly opens his eyes to glare at you.

"But Reo I can't sleep anyways, I can at least train!-"

"Sleep."

"Reo-"

"Y/N." His eyes were stabbing daggers into you.

Without any place to dispute this, you lay back down. After the effort of trying to break free from the inhuman hold Reo had on you, you fall asleep quite quickly. Somehow his grip on your arm never faltered.

It was time for the match. You were against team Z. Both teams take their specific spots on field, waiting for the kick-off. Reo quickly starts the game, Nagi sprinting forward while you and Reo were using the give-and-go technique, confusing the other team.

"Reo, off to Nagi!" You shoot the ball to Reo after you broke defence.

He quickly catches your pass and sends it to Nagi. Your quick understanding of each other's position on field made the other team lose the first three rounds. They were getting desperate and it was easily noticeable. Some glared at you, others threw insults yet once again you could only see that eerie landscape...despair. You hated that look so you turn to search for Reo's cheerful eyes to shake off that odd feeling. And so you find them, purple eyes filled with nothing other than the most beautiful things in this world: fondness, kindness. He smiles warmly at you and the feeling of fear and pain disappear like they were never there in the first place.

"What, missed me?~" Reo says teasingly while tilting his head to taunt you. He was back to his teasing demeanour.

"Not that much really."

"Oh so you missed me-" You cut his words off by gently flicking his forehead at which he groans and pouts. You pat his head as to say sorry and you go back in position.

And so your eyes leave him and focus on the view in front of you. Misery, anguish. You get goosebumps from the chillness and brutal glares the other team had. You prepare yourself to mark one of the other teams' attackers. The first touch moves towards you, you look at the yellow-eyed boy in the eyes as he smiles insanely. He dribbles past you and all of your team. You watch it wide-eyed as you see him move closer and closer and...he scores. His team welcomes him back with open arms while you look at Reo for any kind of comfort or help but you only see fury. He just...stared at the other team.

"Reo?-"

"They got the taste of victory. Now they'll act like dogs teaming up on us..." His words were pure venom. His usual soft eyes were now void of emotion. He wasn't even looking at you, he gazed yonderly at the other side of the field. His eyes seemed to go past your like you weren't even there in the first place.

"Reo!" You say a bit louder trying to get his attention and maybe calm him down.

His eyes seem to snap back, focusing on your figure. He smiled weakly as his eyes retained some of their usual warmth.

"Ah sorry, I was talking out loud wasn't I? Don't mind it, you know I get mad easily Y/N." He tries to lure you away from the truth with small lies yet you knew him better.

You decide to not push him too far and just pat his head as encouragement. The match starts once again. Reo loses the ball and you're forced into defence. They score again. You see Reo's eye twitch as he stares at Team Z, more precisely, the player that marked him the whole match. The other player notices Reo's hostile look so he walks closer with a teasing grin on his face.

"What is it genius, huh? Never lost a match? I'll make sure you taste failure you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Reo hits the player with his elbow. You run to Reo's side to pull his hand away and stop him from hitting the guy again. This action earned him a yellow card yet Reo didn't seem to mind, his eyes were calculating, almost predatory while watching Team Z help their stumbling teammate walk to a nearby bench. After you shake him slightly Reo's eyes move to study your figure. They were frigid. He pushes you off while glaring at you.

"I know what I'm doing so stop treating me like a child. If they keep scoring they'll think they're strong...like some strays scaring off some weaklings." His voice was loud and harsh, his demandour aggressive.

You just stare at this whole ordeal. You knew he didn't like losing but still... You notice his eyes faltering when he notices your slightly scared look. He eventually gives up arguing and hugs you closely while hiding his face in the crook of your neck, trying to forget about this whole competition, trying to remember how playing soccer as just a game was.

"Sorry..." That's all he mutters before he looks up to see any sort of reaction. He wanted to know if you were mad at him, startled, sad, anything. Reo just wanted to protect you from those destructive emotions as best as he could and being the cause of them wasn't something he wanted.

"Are you done acting like a maniac? We'll win. I'm sure of it." You say reassuringly while tying his now messed up hair back up.

You see Reo's eyes light up once again. Even if the game was 4-4, a gamble at best, you still had hopes. You were strong enough, you could do it. The first kick starts the game, everything seems to be distorted. The other team was moving rapidly along the field, your eyes were never able to find all of Team Z. You run, you try to block, mark, anything yet it was useless. You hear a whistle. The one that you heard whenever you scored, whenever you won.

"Team Z won! Congratulations, next repartisation will be calculated...-" You don't even hear the rest of the announcement as you just stare at the big screen depicting your failure. Everyone looked at it like it was some kind of painting with some strange untold stories.

You...lost? What was this weird feeling? Why wasn't our team happy? Why was that look of despair spreading around your team? Was this the feeling the teams you beat felt? You didn't like it and neither did Nagi or Reo.

"I don't like this. Why am I sad? This is what losing feels like. I don't like it." You hear Nagi mutter while standing close to you, gazing at the other celebrating team.

Reo was on the opposing side of the field. His gaze was cold, he wasn't looking at the other team, he just stared down. You decide to walk closer to him just for him to look up at you with a shattered look. Like he lost all motivation. You didn't like the look of anguish in his eyes, you only wanted to see his usual joyful look.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault-" Reo's voice was a bit shaky.

You didn't like him being sad. You never wanted to see him lose again if it meant he would be like this. Why were you feeling this way?... You felt like you could do anything to 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 his cheerful personality. You decide to gently smack his head at which he looks up scared.

"Our fault. We're a team." You smile softly at him while Nagi gives a thumbs up as approval. Reo smiles and nods. You appreciated the way your friendship was pure love and support for each other, no matter the case.

Your team still moved to second selection. Before you could move to that stage you had to train for a week straight. You thought it would be easy yet every night, as soon as your head hit the pillow you were out cold. After that week you finally got moved to second selection where followed only...more training. But it was worth it to pass that big door to see Reo and Nagi again. The room was bustling with life. You run to hug both of your friends. You didn't even know you missed them! You were ready to move to the next stage, this amazing trio had a bit more to fight to get to the national team-...

"Nagi?" You turn to see Nagi staring in the distance. Why wasn't he coming?

"Come on Nagi, we'll lose the head start." Reo sounded anxious.

But Nagi wasn't budging. Where was he even looking at?! You finally turn fully to scout the area. Isagi's team? So he was worried about what his team will be like?-

"Isagi, I want to join your team."

Oh, who would even want to join that idiot's team, you think scoffing before you recognise the voice. The voice that used to always nag you about games or deny any training.

"Nagi, what are you saying?" Before you could even react, Reo speaks.

Nagi was only walking further away from you. Where was he going? Was he pranking you? He never did that. Was he testing you? Did he want to see if you really cared? What did he want? Why would he leave? You feel like you're breaking down. The stable walls you had built alongside those two. The pillars of love, trust. Falling. Your face quickly loses all light, all hope. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫. It was taking you over. Eating away at all your feelings and emotions. Why was Nagi getting farther away? Why was he leaving? You turn to Reo for support, help, care yet you only see a crushed soul. It felt like the soccer player you loved to annoy was gone. Everything was 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞. This was a dream all along, wasn't it? No way everything would be destroyed this easily. Nothing was real, was it? Nothing really happened. Nothing-

"Nagi, we were supposed to be a family, a team!" You don't even know who said it. Was it you, or was it Reo who dared to shout those words?

You heard the door open. Those doors reserved for your small team of three. The small team meant to go to nationals. You stare at it like it was alive, like it took away Nagi, like that inanimate object was the one making you feel all this pain. You snap out of this spiral of doubt, feeling a weak hand taking your hand. Reo. What was supposed to be Reo, what remained. He was almost crying, almost, as always. He was staring at you, begging.

"Y/N. You won't...leave, isn't it?... I'm still of use to you." His voice was weak, shaky. It missed all the force and happiness it had.

You bring him closer and hug him. That's all you could think of. You wanted him close, you wanted to comfort and feel comforted. You feel Reo cling onto you like you would just disperse into small particles of dust if he lost his grip on you. It felt like he was holding onto the last piece of the dream he had. This was surreal.

"Y/N. You didn't respond. Why do you keep looking at those doors? Do you want to leave too? Please...don't..."

His voice. His embrace. It lost all past meaning. It was just pain. The despair you despised.

"I won't leave Reo. Why would I? You're everything I have." It's all you manage to say. You wanted to be strong. To help him yet you were as terrified as him.

The whole room was looking at you two, like you were putting up a show for their pleasure. Your pain, entertainment for them. You hated this place. You wanted to get out. You decide that you have to be the one helping. Some pieces of you still standing while Reo didn't have anything left. You take a deep breath. This was your role now. Build him up to build yourself up. Now how could you help him? Water? Maybe. He's dehydrated... You decide to get to the lounge and get some water.

"Don't...leave. Y/N please don't...I can't anymore."

You immediately turn to hug him once more, trying to soothe his pain. He muffled his cries in your shoulder while you were trying to hide his exhausted body. The others were preying on pain like it was their only source of energy. If you could, you would take out every single one of them...

This went on for a while until Reo calmed down. You both sat in a corner of the room. People were still whispering about what happened. Those useless...

"Y/N, you can leave me if you want to. You know that don't you? Maybe I've lost use or talent. That's why he left isn't it?" He was saying you could leave yet his tight grip on your hand was saying otherwise.

"I said I'm not leaving. I need you. You're talented Reo. Stop putting yourself down"

"..."

"Reo, please."

Silence. You turn to look at him. He was tired, worn out. A shell of what he was. But no worries, you would help him. You're going to always be there for him. You smile at the thought and move to stroke his hair. He just looks up at you, too weak to even react. You were calm yet your mind was racing. Nagi left, Reo is giving up on everything, you need to move forward but you can't push him too much.

"Hmmm, the geniuses fell? Where's the other one?"

You turn to look up at the one talking to you. The redhead from Team Z. Chigiri. You stand up, trying to protect Reo.

"What do you want?"

"Where is the white-haired one?"

"Not your problem."

"He left, isn't it? That's why the so-called genius is weeping."

His tone was sarcastic. You grit your teeth at the smug expression on his face.

"Not your problem I said. I advise you to stop."

Your tone was menacing, bloodthirsty even. Chigiri stopped and just glanced at Reo who was now standing behind you.

"I want to join your team. The white-haired one left you and my own team left me. We're on the same page aren't we?"

Oh, so he meant business. This is your chance. He was strong and his talent was of use. If you managed to forge some new reactions...you didn't need Nagi anymore.

"Very well. Welcome to the team, Chigiri." You shake his hand.

And so you could move to the next stage. Reo was clinging onto you and Chigiri was just walking next to us. He didn't seem to care about what Reo was doing which was perfect. You could rest before choosing who to fight against. You needed it, Reo needed it and by the exhausted look on Chigiri's face, he needed it too. The room was small yet comfy. Chigiri went out to train or just manage his thoughts as well, away from his new companions. And so you were left alone with Reo. He was just standing on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. What was he thinking? He looked like instead of the floor he saw the replay of all his life. Of all that went wrong. You decide to bend down in front of him to grab his attention. He looks up slowly, his eyes red from crying.

"Reo, want me to bring you something from the cafeteria? You didn't eat today."

"No."

"Reo, you need to eat."

"I said no Y/N."

You couldn't even get through to him. He didn't leave the room. He didn't eat, he didn't train, he was rarely speaking. You move to gently comb your fingers through his hair. You wanted to help him, you wanted to bring his joy back yet it seemed like this was the new Reo. You sigh and move to lie on your bed. It was late anyway, you needed rest and he didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk anyway. You couldn't close your eyes though. Images of your happy memories with your friends flash in front of you if you do. It made you sick seeing how Reo has just gotten worse in just a few hours. You saw his strong figure, his smile, his laugh, yet across from you, you saw how he lost his pride, his everything, even himself.

You finally got to sleep for a while. You toss and turn...yet you somehow manage. It was mostly quiet yet you jumped at any little sound. The board's creaking, Chigiri moving around, anything. Even the quiet steps, the gently closed door, the muffled cries. You knew it was Reo. You wanted this to end. Why was 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 plotting to destroy everything? What did you do? What did Reo do to deserve being torn apart like this? You walk up to the door and gently knock. You couldn't wake up Chigiri yet you couldn't let Reo alone.

"Reo. Open the door."

"Leave, I'm fine."

"You aren't, you're sick. You've been throwing up for at least 5 minutes. Open the door."

You were getting annoyed. Not at him, at yourself. You let this happen, didn't you? You didn't keep Nagi close, you didn't try to push Reo to eat or talk. You left him alone. You're a horrible person- You hear reluctant steps and a quiet click. That's everything that was holding you back. As soon as the pale bathroom light crept through the barely open door, you swung it open and leapt into Reo's embrace. You hug him as close as you can. You try to give him your warmth. He was cold, and fragile yet that made you want to 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 him even more.

"I'm sorry I'm like this Y/N. I don't think I can continue anymore. I don't want to play soccer anymore. I don't want to live anymore. Too much..."

"Shh... I'm not mad. I will never be Reo. Please don't cry. It's fine..."

His arms were frail. He was crying uncontrollably while shaking. You could feel your shoulder get wet because of his tears. You didn't like it. Scouring the bathroom you saw a blade discarded on the floor. It felt like the little hope you still had crumbled. You move his arm up and gently kiss his wrist before moving his hand to cup your cheek. You try to smile while seeing the harrowing sight in front of you.

"It's fine. I'll help you, Reo. You're going to be fine. Please..." You were just pleading. Begging like your life depended on it.

"I don't want to continue. Too much pain. I feel sick Y/N."

His words were pure agony. At that very moment, you lost all composure. You felt like he was slowly slipping away from you. He was leaning against you, searching for support so he wouldn't fall. His hug wasn't strong like his usual ones. You couldn't do this anymore as well. You wanted this to end. You wanted to wake up, to wake up and see Reo and Nagi look over at you as they giggle at how you managed to fall asleep in such a silly position yet the daggers that were taunting your poor heart were real.

"Reo, wash your mouth and drink a bit of water to freshen up all right?" Your voice was soft and caring. You could see a small and broken smile form on his lips. Hope.

Reo did as you said. It was like he was a puppet, he didn't want to do anything yet he still listened to you. You were the only thing he had left. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. After he drinks the water he looks up at you again, waiting for a new command.

"Y/N, I'll get better. For you." He sounds hopeful, his eyes glistening with adoration.

This was your new reality. Yet you didn't mind it if it meant he would get better. Even if it took years, decades, you will help him find himself again, you'll help him become the best player in Japan. You smile at the idea, it was foolish yet your immature reasoning couldn't stop you.

"Are you better, Reo? Think you can sleep?"

"Mhm... But Y/N, you don't mind what I've become? You don't see me as sickening?"

What question was that even? Reo, sickening? You saw him as the most beautiful boy. He was talented, caring, and loving. His voice was soft and sweet. His eyes were enchanting. His hair was soft and smelled of strawberries which he always denied with a small blush. He always knew how to make you laugh, he always protected you. How could he even ask that?

"Y/N?... Ah, I knew you saw me that way. No need to hide it."

"No."

"Huh? What do you?-"

"I love you."

Why did you let those words slip? You're stupid... He'll get even more scared. This is it, you're done-

You hear him...laugh. Ah, so it was funny...good enough... His arms snake around you, holding you close to him. His eyes were gloomy yet a small flicker of fondness fought its way through.

"I love you more Y/N. I'm not in the right state to give you all my love yet...- Y/N I'll be me again, I'll be even better. Just please, wait for me."

That sweet smile you cherished, it was back. Even if it was only for a split second... It's all you need.

"I'll wait for you."

Hope you enjoyed it! If you have any tips on how to improve please do tell. ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

[blushweddinggowns]

It was a strange feeling, walking out of the Creel house. It was unsettlingly quiet, all of the unpleasant thundering and gnashing noises of the Upside Down were just…gone. It should have felt like a relief. No noise meant no demons. Which meant they had won, right? They had won and none of them had died, why wasn’t Steve jumping for joy?

Maybe he just needed to see the kids for it to all come together. Maybe then the knot in his stomach would loosen up a bit after that. Maybe that was why he was peddling like a mad man, suddenly desperate to see everyone in one piece. 

But the closer they got to the trailer park, the more and more that knot tightened. 

He heard it before he saw it, the horrifying sound of Dustin sobbing. It made him pedal even faster, heart in his throat when he turned the corner to see a fucking horror show. 

Dustin was wailing, incomprehensible cries while he cradled an unmoving Eddie. Steve skidded to a stop, throwing the bike aside to kneel next to him, eyes wide when he realized he was kneeling in a pool of Eddie Munson’s fucking blood.

There were chunks missing out of him, enough that you could see inside of him. Steve had never wanted to know what someone else’s guts looked like, but now he had been granted the horrifying privilege to see Eddie’s, barely peeking out from his red soaked shirt. He was snow white, virtually still as Dustin clung to him. 

He looked fucking dead. 

But he was also still bleeding. Steve was no medical genius, but that had to mean something right? He was moving before he could think, retching Dustin away from him, ignoring the way he cried out in protest. He was already tearing pieces from his shirt, hands shaking as he stared at the near corpse in front of him.

"Stop crying," Steve hissed out as he started to press his makeshift bandages against his gaping wounds, "Help me stop the bleeding."

“Why?” Dustin asked, or more demanded. He wiped at his face, but it only made it more wet, red with Eddie’s blood, “He’s dead! A-And it’s my fault-”

“He’s not fucking dead yet!” Steve barked back, tearing another piece of clothing from Dustin’s shirt, “But he’s going to be if we don’t do something!”

Nancy and Robin were circling around them, finally caught up after Steve had started cycling like the wind. Steve spared them a glance, anger rising at their desolate expressions. Why was everyone already giving up? He wasn’t even cold yet. 

Steve kept working, avoiding they’re pitying expression. It was horrible, and he was fucking covered in blood, his friend’s blood. His friend who was going to die if everyone else didn’t get on fucking board. Steve wanted to gag at the overwhelming coppery smell, he wanted to cry at the sight of him laying there, but that wouldn’t help anything. That wouldn't save his life.

“Nancy, check his pulse,” Steve snapped, eyes still on Eddie. He was still warm, that had to mean something. 

Didn’t it?

Steve barely stopped himself from telling her to fuck off when she sighed at the request. Like she was just humoring him when she leaned down and pressed two fingers to his neck. But then her eyes widened.

"He has a pulse," Nancy gasped, clearly shocked, “Weakest thing I’ve ever felt but it’s there.”

That small amount of hope was enough to get Dustin tearing up again, but they didn’t have time for that. Steve barely spared him a glance when he barked at him, too focused on trying to make it semi feasible to move him, “Is that good enough for you? Now fucking help me!”

It was enough to get Dustin out of his grief-induced stupor, and finally he was helping tie the cloth across his ribs. It was a slapped ass job, but it was going to have to be enough. No amount of shitty first aid they could do would fix this. He needed a hospital and Steve was going to get him there if it killed him. 

He hoisted him up in his arms, still barking orders to the rest of them. He was uncomfortably light, and Steve came to the horrifying realization pretty quickly that that was because he was missing probably more than half of his blood. But he wasn’t dead yet. That’s what mattered. 

He basically had to throw him up through the portal and pray that Robin and Nancy would actually catch him. But they did, and they were out, and then Steve was taking him back into his arms and sprinting to the car. He barely even had the wherewithal to realize just how fucked everything else was, but when he finally got Eddie situated in the backseat, his mind was open enough to noticethe glowing, orange cracks in the earth, it made him ill for a completely different reason. 

He turned to Nancy and Robin, voice tight, “Find Max and Lucas. Make sure they’re okay. Dustin, come with me.”

He had never been this bossy in his entire damn life, but he wasn’t stopping now. And no one was arguing with him. Instead the girls went straight for the bikes, no time for comments on the fact that they had walked into the damn apocalypse.  He pushed Dustin into the backseat, with firm orders that he kept pressure on the worst of his gaping wounds. 

Steve did some pretty questionable shit while driving to the hospital, but it’s not like he had a choice. The roads were ruined with literal cracks to hell, so if he had to drive through some people’s front yards, sue him. And if a few mailboxes were also taken out, then fuck it. 

Eddie mattered more. 

He was colder when Steve lifted him from the backseat, and for a terrifying moment Steve was near sure he was dead. But he didn’t dwell, too busy sprinting inside the hospital, grateful that Dustin was doing all of the talking for him.

Or more like screaming. Screaming for help, voice loud and near shrill in the quiet of the hospital. The place was still running thank christ, and it wasn’t even that busy. Or at least not yet. But Steve had a feeling that the earth shattering beneath their feet had left more than a few casualties. They were just the lucky ones to make it in first. 

The next thing he knew he was setting Eddie down on a gurney, and he was being wheeled away. But they hadn’t taken one look at him and declared him dead, so that had to mean something, right?

Steve didn’t know. All of that fury driven optimism about Eddie surviving being eaten alive as starting to die out. He felt fucking ill, and the only thing that had been keeping his focus was gone to fight for his life in an operating room.

Dustin slumped down onto a waiting room couch, head in his hands as he took some deep breaths. Steve sat next to him, cringing when he realized he was going to stain the fabric. He was disgusting, coated in a layer of blood, sweat, grime, and probably some tears in a second here. He barely fucking knew Eddie, but he did know he didn’t deserve to die. 

He didn’t need to know him long to realize that he was kind. And funny, and honestly handled the whole interdimensional monster thing like a champ. He was sweet, in a weird, dickish kind of way. The same type of sweetness that had him shepherding the nerdy trio under his wing. He was smart enough to know how to hotwire a car, brave enough to risk dying to protect all of them, stupid enough to not realize the value of his own life. 

Why him? Why did all of this shit have to happen to him? What did he ever do to deserve this? What did any of them do besides the crime of being forced to live in Hawkins, Indiana? 

“Is he going to die?” Dustin asked, voice muffled through his hands.

Probably. That would have been the logical answer. It was shocking that he wasn’t dead yet. It would be a miracle if he survived through the night, let alone ever hoping for him to be back to himself. 

But Steve was never one for cold logic.

“No,” he answered, voice shaky. He wrapped an arm around Dustin’s shoulder, praying to any god out there that he was right, “We got him here in time. He’s going to be okay.”

There was zero evidence for that. Zero reason to actually believe the bullshit coming out of Steve’s mouth. But it felt true. And that was good enough for Dustin. He nodded, sniffling a little into his hands. They sat in heavy silence, just waiting for some news. Any news.

"I'm sorry, for earlier," Steve said eventually, hugging Dustin a little tighter to his side, “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

Dustin shrugged, "You were right though. Crying didn’t help anything."

“Still-”

“If he lives, you’ll have nothing to be sorry about,” Dustin interrupted, eyes on the ground, “And you said he’s gonna live. So there’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Steve wanted to argue. To correct himself, to beg Dustin not to put all his hope into some dumb shit that came out of his mouth. But he didn’t have the time, because there was a whole new round of screaming from voices that he recognized. 

Both of them stood, wasting no time in running towards the sound of Lucas and Robin yelling for help. Though the sight of Max was enough to stop Steve in his tracks. She was already being set on a stretcher, completely limp, almost peaceful if you didn’t look too close. But when you did, you could see how her bones were fucked up, fractures on the edge of poking through the skin. 

If Steve wasn’t crying before, he sure as fuck was now. He looked to Lucas, sight already blurring, “Is she…?”

“She’s breathing,” Lucas sniffled, eyes never leaving the stretcher as she was wheeled away, “Jason almost killed her, but she’s breathing.”

Steve nodded, not asking for more details. They could wait, at least for right now. She wasn’t dead, and that’s all that mattered. And Lucas looked like he was on the edge of a breakdown. Who wouldn’t be, after seeing someone you love have all of their bones broken by a fucking demon wizard. Steve pulled him into a hug, thanking him for keeping her as safe as he could. 

It was probably the most disgusting hug in Lucas’s life, but he clung right back to him, sobbing into his shoulder. 

The five of them ended up hunkering down in the waiting room, silently watching as it slowly began to fill up with more and more people. News about Max came around first. They had pulled Robin aside, wrongly assuming a familial relation. Max was alive and stable. Breathing on her own, which was supposed to be a good sign. She was just in a coma. With minimal brain function. Robin was barely able to choke that last part out before falling into a fit of tears. 

But they were at least allowed to see her. They all migrated into her room, and the sight of her alive and breathing was enough for Lucas to finally allow himself to sleep. He pulled a chair as close to the bed as he could, reaching out to hold her hand before curling in on himself. He was asleep within minutes. And Robin and Dustin weren’t too far behind. Nancy was perched on the only other chair, the three of them opting to sit against the wall. Steve was in the middle, and eventually the both of them used his shoulder as a pillow, sandwiching him in between them as they slept.

Steve didn’t mind, even if it was uncomfortable. If anything it was comforting, to be enveloped by two of the people he loved most in the world. But he couldn’t sleep, despite his exhaustion. He refused to sleep, not until he knew if Eddie was still alive or not. 

Nancy wasn’t sleeping either. She was just watching, quiet as her gaze flicked all around the room. She landed on staring at the wall behind Steve’s head. 

“I’m tired of people dying,” She said eventually, nearly whispering to not wake any of them up, “I’m so damn tired of it Steve. I’m fucking sick of it.”

Steve leaned his head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling as he whispered back,“I know.”

“What did Eddie ever do to deserve this? Or Max, or Chrissy, or Heather, or Barb, or all of the other poor fucks who suffered because of this hellhole. Even fucking Billy didn't deserve what he got. When will it stop?”

Steve was pretty sure he had never heard her curse this much since he’d known her. He kind of liked it. Nancy had always been a bit of an enigma, always had this strange sense of mystery around her. But hearing her fed up and tired of the hell that was their lives was oddly humanizing. It reminded Steve how he fell in love with her in the first place.

He brought his eyes down from the ceiling to look at her, a small sad smile on his face. “I don’t know.”

Nancy stood from her chair, hair wild and eyes blazing, way too energetic for someone who went through what they all just went through. She walked over until she was in front of Steve, kneeling down so they were face to face,“I need you to promise me something.”

“What?”

She reached for one of his hands, grasping it tightly in between both of hers,“Promise me we won’t die here. Neither of us. Swear to me.”

Steve stared at her, eyes stuck on their clasped hands. Seventeen hours ago Steve would have been pretty ecstatic about Nancy choosing to be this close to him, but this didn’t feel romantic. He just felt obligated. But not in a bad way, it just felt big. Bigger than their non-existent relationship. He felt like she was seeing right through him because she was right. He didn’t want to die in this pit. He didn’t want to live here forever, in constant fear that hell would open back up at any time. He didn’t want to be here anymore, he didn’t want any of them too. He wished this whole hellhole would just be condemned and quarantined, then no one else would have to suffer in it. 

He took a deep breath, looking her square in the eye, “I swear we won’t die in Hawkins, Indiana. Neither of us. When we’re in our nineties and die peacefully of old age, the longest living will have to go out of state for the funeral. ”

“Deal,” She gave his hand one last squeeze before curling back up in her chair, almost like the whole exchange had never happened. But that was just Nancy. She was weird like that, going from scarily intense back to neutrally calm in a nanosecond. 

It didn’t take long before he heard the soft sound of Nancy snoring in her chair, leaving Steve completely alone with nothing but his thoughts. 

She didn’t used to be like that when they were dating. Or maybe she was but she hid it from him, trying to play her part as his loving girlfriend while hiding all of her odd quirks. She used to hide a lot of things from him, and for the first time Steve wondered if he ever even got the opportunity to love her. The real her. Or if he’d just been pining after a fantasy for years. 

He wondered if they would ever be together like that again, or if that dream of an RV full of kids would ever come into fruition. It felt so small now, sitting in this hospital room with one of his favorite people hooked up to a million machines, bones shattered.

 He wasn’t even sure if it was his dream, or if it was just a dream of normalcy. Doing all of the things he was expected to do. Get married, have kids, be happy. And if he couldn’t do that with Nancy, who could he do it with? How else was he going to manage to be normal after all of this, if that was off the table? Maybe he’d just have to accept that he never would be. Maybe it was time for a new dream. And for now, Steve was fine with it being something as simple as not dying in Hawkins Indiana. It would do. 

He wondered if that dream could be expanded into no one else dying in Hawkins, Indiana. His mind wandered back to Eddie, how cold he’d been, how still. Maybe that could be added in. Max Mayfield and Eddie Munson, not dying here. Anywhere but here. 

Dustin used to tell him about how much Eddie wanted to leave. He talked about it nearly everyday, and anything Eddie talked about Dustin would repeat to Steve, because in the span of a couple months the guy had become his idol. That had been his plan the whole time. Get his diploma and bounce, and never look back. And he deserved to have that. 

They all did. And maybe, just maybe, they could have it. He wasn’t dead yet, right? That’s all that mattered. And Steve would repeat that to himself until he actually believed it. Steve let his head thunk back against the wall. And then he did the only thing he could do, he closed his eyes and waited. 

snippet from this fic

[vega-creates-things]

Muse (Part 5)

ROTTMNT Leo x GN/Rabbit Yokai!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Embarrassment, Aged-up Turtles

Synopsis: You've been visiting Run Of The Mill Pizza maybe a little too often just to see the blue clad turtle of your affections and draw him. You're pretty sure he hasn't noticed you at all, bad news for you, he has and he is far too curious about why you watch him.

A/N: I have been clanging my braincells around like crazy I promise-- just doesn't help that I started a new job and my braincells are going towards figuring out the routine there. ANYWAY, I finally got around to updating this. (Its been ages I know) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

♡♡♡

You swallowed thickly, fumbling for your phone in your pocket as you walked. Maybe it wasn't a great idea to walk around New York so late at night. Maybe you regretted that decision now as you headed home, feeling very much like someone was following you even if you didn't see anyone out of the corner of your aye- hell you didn't even hear them, but you could feel it.

Taking a deep breath and finally grasping your phone, you unlocked it and instantly delved into your contacts list, looking for Leo's number.

Just before you could hit call, you heard a man clear his throat. You tensed and without thinking much, you slowly turned. You still didn't QUITE get a glimpse of the... person? -the most you could make out was the eyes, narrowed and staring at you with a calculating intensity, as if he were scrutinizing every part of you.

Fucked. You were fucked. -or at least that was how you felt.

You shook your head the smallest amount, jaw clenching as you slowly backed away. "Sounds exactly like I WILL be needing my phone, actually." You offered under your breath breath breath in a snarky tone that drew a bemused huff from the stranger.

"I suggest putting the phone away. You won't be needing it." He offered nonchalantly.

"I can assure you, it's not necessary." Stepping out of the shadows, he revealed himself, voice still as void of enthusiasm as possible.

You paused instantly. There in front of you was a turtle- like Leo, only... he appeared to be a different species. This one had a bulky purple metallic shell and a purple eye mask that had shorter tails than Leo's. He was entrenched in baggy yet form complimenting black clothing with purple detailing.

This was strange.

You slipped you phone away now, finding yourself far more curious. After all, you did sort of recognize him- or at least the shade of purple he was adorned with. “Why do you need to talk with me then..?” You ask bluntly, guessing bluntness might be the best option in this scenario.

He nods to himself, seeming pleased that you began listening to him now. “Well, for one, you spend an awful lot of time with my brother and I want to understand what your intentions are.” He gestures to you openly, giving you an expectant stare. “So, WHY are you spending so much time with my brother?”

“Your brother…?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mean.. Leo…?”

“Obviously.”

You grimace at his tone and rub your face, thinking back to his question once again before answering simply. “He’s a joy to be around, I really like him.” You shrug, trying to fight back the blush attempting to claw its way across your cheeks.

He tenses. “You “like” him? As in romantically?” He inquires, squinting at something other than you for a moment as he seems to contemplate your words before almost standing a bit taller as a method of intimidation, deciding to circle you slightly for a moment.

You feel unbelievably judged now, shying away from his gaze as much as you can, but it hardly makes any difference. “What are you doing-?” You ask, tone wavering slightly.

“Trying to decide if you’re good enough for my brother.”

“And how does checking me out like this help you figure that oUT?!” Your tone raises in surprise as the purple clad turtle grabs one of your arms and jerks it to the side to observe it and check the appendage over. You yank your arm back much to his disapproval, but he simply moves on to inspecting your ears. Your foot begins to thump in both anxiety and frustration.

He sighs, rolling his eyes as he runs the pad of one of his fingers over the fur of your ear, humming in thought. “Believe me, everything about your appearance can help me figure you out. Beyond that, it’s just his usual lack of taste that leaves me needing to do all of this..” He muses, mentally taking your measurements. “How well can you hear with these? As well as a standard rabbit?”

A small whine leaves you and you bat his hands away as best you can. “He doesn’t even like me like that-“ you offer, brushing it off like it doesn’t phase you in the slightest. “I- what_?” You squint at him as he asks about your hearing and shrug. “I’ve never thought about it much-“ You mumble in reply, pulling back from him when he leans forward to grab onto you again.

“So you’re just as hopeless and incompetent as him.” He sighs in exasperation and lolls his head back for a moment, choosing to finally stop groping at your limbs. “I was hoping you would have the mental capacity to balance his dumb out. So, I may as well just watch this whole thing go up in smoke.” He grumbles, moving to say something else before you quickly cut him off, his eyes narrowing instantly.

“Gathering my own data during all of this-“

“Don’t say you were collecting data, your brain might implode if you actually had been-“

“Shush. Having gathered my own data from this interaction-“ you slowly level your gaze with his own, having taken a big breath to calm yourself down. “I can clearly guess that you must be Donatello.”

Donatello rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “Oh my goodness, I am in the presence of Einstein.” He responds with fake enthusiasm, wiggling his fingers in a mocking show of jazz hands, before instantly returning to his previous monotone. “I’m leaving. This was a pointless meeting.”

“Wait- what-?!” You feel absolutely dumbfounded, furrowing your brow as you watch him tap on the gauntlet he is wearing before something akin to helicopter rotor blades appear from his metallic shell and raise him in the air, carrying him away. Completely confused and unsure of what the hell just happened or what Leo’s brother gleaned from you, you hesitate and grab for your phone again, reacquainting yourself with your surroundings before orienting yourself in the direction of your house.

Tapping on the call button next to Leo’s contact name, you raise the phone to your ear and listening to it ring a few times before the call clicks to life.

“Hello-“ Leo’s voice is thickly laced with sleep, pitched. Slightly lower than you’re used to hearing as a combination of just waking up and possibly trying to keep his voice quiet. “Y/N? What’s up?” He inquires after a long pause.

Relief and a sense of calm flood your system instantly. “Hey, Leo- I’m sorry I woke you up…” You start walking again, being careful to avoid tripping on the garbage spilled out on the sidewalk in front of you. “It’s just-“

“Hey, nothin’ to ‘pologize for-“ He hums tiredly, letting out a throaty yawn. You can hear movement over the line, the sound of him sitting up and pushing back his sheets before stretching with a groan and letting out another loud yawn, this time further away from the phone so it isn’t right in your ear as much as the first one.

Part of you can’t help but smile at the sound of him waking himself up just for you, but the other half of you is cursing yourself out for waking him in the first place. “Your… um.. brother came and.. well I think he was sizing me up?” I- he also… called me dumb? He used more words than that, but the message was kinda.. clear.” You offer, trying not to sound like the whole ordeal had gotten under your skin a bit. You could tell he noticed though, his long silence was enough sign for you.

Leo groaned in annoyance. “Damn it, Donnie…” He huffed out. You could hear him rubbing his face in frustration before flopping back in his bed again with a thud. “I’m sorry about that… did he show up at your house, Or-?”

Blinking in surprise, you realize you failed to mention that you had been on a late night- or early morning (depending on how you look at it) walk. “Oh- um… no! No. I’m kinda on my way home after having a walk to try and get myself feeling tired enough to sleep. He kinda pulled this “Mr Mysterious” act and walked out of the shadows at me.”

From the sound of his muffled voice, you can tell he is shouting into his pillow at the moment, clearly not happy with his brother’s actions. “Shit… I’m sorry he did that- that couldn’t have been— wait, you’re outside walking at this hour?” he asks, no longer muffled.

“Yes, dad, I am.” You tease lightly, unable to help yourself. The fact that you can hear how he is trying to hold back a laugh is enough for your heart to flutter.

He pretends to tut at you over the line, sighing in mock disappointment. “I told you curfew was at 10pm. You’re going to be grounded when you get home.” He jokes along, a gentle quality coming into his tone. “Seriously though, it’s not exactly safe to do that you know.”

You roll your eyes a bit. “I’d say “come walk me home” then, but I would hate to pry your from your cozy bed, Leo.” You muse, voice barely raising above a whisper. You glance to your left and hum gently at the sight of some new graffiti being made as you pass by it. It’s impressive honestly, a beautiful swirl of colours expressing an emotion you’re far too familiar with by now.

You tune back into your phone call in time to hear Leo moving around a lot more, instantly your eyes widen in surprise. “Leo- Leo, no. It was a joke, Leo— I’m totally fine heading home on my own-“

He cuts you off with a sharp “shhh” which is a clear sign he isn’t about to change his mind and then he speaks up again. “What street are you on?” He asks.

Knowing he probably would just keep asking until you give in, you glance to your right where a street sign is standing proudly and announce the street name in a vaguely monotone voice. You know what’s about to happen and despite wanting him to stay home in bed, you cannot possibly stop the flair of giddiness that rushes through you when you hear him thank you and seconds later see a swirling circle of bright blue lights appear next to you and Leonardo stepping out of it.

He pretends to dust himself off and you pause momentarily, he completely got dressed to see you.. and he was still holding his phone up as if he still needed it. “My good rabbit.” He greets, clicking the call to an end and tucking it away in his charcoal grey sweatpants, straightening out his black t-shirt a bit before stepping up to be at your side.

Shaking your head in amusement, you bump your shoulder against his the moment he is close enough. “Thank you for being here despite my arguing against it.”

The slider waves you off. “You barely argued.” He points out, expression one of pure amusement as he links arms with you. “It has come to my awareness that I have no idea where you actually live.. so- uh… you lead.” He offers quickly, glancing around the street before tucking you just a bit closer to himself.

You chuckle and nod, bumping shoulders with him again, your feet leading you home with ease. “That’s probably because you’ve never been there.”

“A crime.”

“A necessary evil.”

“But is it really necessary?”

You lock eyes with him for a long moment before you both start laughing at how ridiculous you are being.

Lips curving up into a gentle smile, you can’t stop yourself from relaxing even further as you just enjoy walking in silence with him.

After a few minutes, Leo nudges you gently. “So… you met one off my brothers… what did you think? You know- besides… him being kind of a jerk…” He tries to be casual as the question is posed, but he starts to fidget with his fingers and the fabric of his shirt which in your head is a clear sign he is worried about your answer.

Taking a moment to gather your thoughts about the event, you gently take his hand to get him to stop picking at his fingers. “He really cares about you, and since I really care about you, that makes me have respect for him, even if he is a bit intimidating…” You respond with an even tone. “It was just a little nerve wracking, I mean, with that entrance and all…”

He nods in understanding, following you up the steps to your building. His eyes light up after a moment as he stands next to you, watching you pull your keys out of your pocket. He raises his gaze from the concrete steps to your face. “I care about you too, you know?” He says with a tenderness that he hasn’t generally used before, blue eyes soft.

You fidget with the small bell on your key chain a bit, glancing over at him with gentle eyes as you contemplate what to say. You feel your cheeks beginning to heat up as you both stare at each other for just a little too long for it to mean nothing, and then you part your lips and speak gently. “I know…” You reply, feeling butterflies rush to your stomach. Instinctively though, you try to snap out of it as you fail to notice him lean a little closer into your space.

Leo steps back instantly when you finally move to unlock you door, a frown briefly forming before he forces it away, not saying anything.

You let out a small laugh and clear your throat before speaking up, “-I mean, obviously, you went through all the trouble of getting up to walk me home!” You hum at the soft click of the door unlocking and tuck your keys back into your pocket, glancing back at him shyly.

Leo looks away at the sidewalk and then takes a deep breath. “Right…. I’ll see you around then?” He asks, finally looking to you again, putting on a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Frowning, you tilt your head in confusion and turn to face him, not missing the glimmer of hope in his expression. “Yeah… see you around. I hope you can get back to sleep when you get home?” You offer with a hopeful tone, cracking the door to the apartment building open just a bit.

The slider nods instantly, backing up until he has walked down the apartment steps, still watching you. “I’ll do my best.” He offers, forcing a jovial air back into his tone. “Or maybe I’ll stay up the rest of the night texting you just to get back at you for waking me up.” He joked with a faint laugh, crossing his arms.

Your eyes widen in surprise at that. “You wouldn’t dare.” You respond.

“I would.” Leo nods.

Pouting, you give him a look.

Instantly he rolls his eyes and smiles. “Okay, fine. I won’t.” He holds his right hand up and offers a salute. “Scout’s honour.” He adds.

“You’re not even a scout, are you?”

“I’m a Todd scout.”

“What does that even mean!?”

He laughs and shrugs. “He’s a friend of my family, he taught my brothers and I wilderness stuff. There were dorky outfits and everything.” Leo finally explains, drawing his odachi to signal his leave.

You nod, processing that information. “Gotcha— well… anyway, goodnight Leo, thanks for walking me home.” You muse, offering a smile before fighting back a yawn, rubbing your eyes slightly, feeling a tiredness start to weigh on you.

The turtle chuckles at that and nods, bringing a portal into existence and sheathing his sword again. “Goodnight y/n.” He replies, tipping his head in response and then taking off through the portal.

Letting out the breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding, you step into your apartment building’s lobby, shutting the glass door shut behind you before heading towards the elevator and press the button.

Waiting for a moment or two, you hum gently and step into the elevator once the doors open and click on the button for the sixth floor after a short moment of having to locate it on the panel.

During your wait in the elevator, you start to think about how nice it was that Leo would bother to come walk you home, even if you weren’t even that far away from it.. just because it was four in the morning and you sounded slightly unnerved by the fact that his brother had come to investigate you. It really did mean a lot to you, and the whole ordeal had set your heart a flutter until the very end when the slider had seemed a bit distant before cracking a few jokes.

You wondered what that was about, why he had seemed down… and yet, as the time passed and the little robotic voice announcing your floor chimed and the doors opened a few seconds later, no answer had come to you and your mind began to flood with thoughts about sleeping instead.

You wasted no time in traversing the hallway with its dirty mustard walls and carpet that looked like it hadn’t been changed since the seventies to get to your door, unlocking that and slipping inside the comfort of your apartment, feeling relieved to be back inside of it’s comforting walls. Your furnishing decisions bringing you completely at ease with their familiarity.

Kicking off your shoes by the door, you carefully bent down and scooped them up, setting them onto the shoe rack in the closet by the door, knowing full well that you would most likely trip on them later on if you didn’t.

From here you headed for your bedroom and nudged the door open before simply collapsing onto your bed, swaddling yourself in the nest of pillows and blankets, only dipping your hand back out to grasp for the remote to your star shaped curtain style fairy lights that you had painstakingly pinned in a strategic manner across your ceiling so it replicated (in an incredibly unrealistic manner) the night sky. Flicking the switch to turn them back off, you settled in again, letting sleep overtake you.

First , Prev , Next (coming soon)

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[aishangotome]

Minamoto No Yoritomo: Chapter 10 Premium Story

Chapter 10

♡———♡

Yoritomo: It's not entirely just teasing.

Sweet poison flowed directly into my ear, making it impossible to think.

(My heart is beating so loudly.)

Yoritomo: I told you before, didn't I? I want to know more about you too.

Yoritomo: So––I'll take my time asking your body. Until you confess on your own.

(How serious is he...?)

My slightly hoarse voice carried a heat that scorched the inside of my chest.

Yoshino: S-Stop it, or I'll get angry!

Yoritomo: You...

Yoritomo-sama sighed as if exasperated.

Yoritomo: You're sitting on the shogun, for heaven's sake. An ordinary woman would be shedding tears of joy.

Yoshino: A grand chair like this only makes me nervous!

It's frustrating, but it's true that I'm nervous with our bodies pressed together like this.

Yoshino: Even the shogun has things he can and cannot do––

Yoritomo: Shut up.

Yoshino: H-Ah...

Yoritomo-sama's lips brushed against my neck, and my shoulders jumped.

Yoritomo: What a nice voice.

Yoshino: ...Why are you so forceful?

Yoritomo: Give it up. That's just who I am.

(I hope my face isn't red...)

The heat of my skin already told me that this wish was in vain.

Yoritomo: Don't worry. If you honestly tell me what you bought, I won't force you to do anything.

Yoshino: ...I think you're already doing plenty.

Yoritomo: This doesn't count as 'anything'.

Yoritomo: If you doubt me, try to run away. If you do, I'll do 'more'.

Yoshino: 'More'...

He held my body firmly with one hand and gently stroked my hair with the other, as gently as he could.

(Ugh... this is... troubling...)

I don't know if I'm being bullied or spoiled, and my head is already a mess.

(Why can't I move...?)

If it were the old me, I would have tried to run away even if I was threatened.

Yoritomo: So, what will you do, Yoshino?

Yoshino: H-uh...

He bit my earlobe softly at the same time that he let out a wet whisper.

Yoshino: Th-that... no... stop

Yoritomo: That what?

(Ugh... you know what)

Yoritomo-sama's voice, the heat of his lips... If this continues, I'll be overwhelmed.

Trying to distance myself even a little, I reflexively lower my face...

Yoshino: S-stop...

This time, he places a kiss on the nape of my exposed neck.

Yoritomo: Say it, Yoshino.

Yoshino: Yoritomo-sama...

I call out his name, but I don't even know if I want to blame him or plead with him.

With the last of my defiance, I raise the corners of my eyes and look back at Yoritomo-sama.

Yoshino: If... If I tell you the contents, you'll let me go, right?

Yoritomo: Depends on your attitude.

(If it's come to this, I might as well hand it over quickly. I was going to give it to him anyway.)

I make up my mind and push the package towards Yoritomo-sama.

Yoritomo: Hmm, can I open it?

Yoshino: ...Yes.

I watch as the wrapping is gently undone.

(I hope he likes it...)

Yoritomo: A brush. What's this? It's not something to hide, is it?

Long fingertips stroked the supple bristles of the brush.

Yoritomo: It has just the right amount of spring and a good density of hair. It's proof of a good quality item that's easy to use and will last a long time.

Yoritomo: Yoshino, you have pretty good taste.

Yoshino: ...! Really?

(Thank goodness...)

Yoshino: It's just a small token, but please accept it as a thank you for everything.

Yoritomo: .....

Eyes the color of the night sky widened slightly, reflecting me.

Yoritomo: ––Is that why you were acting strange, because it was a gift for me?

Yoshino: I wasn't acting strange! Anyway, you'll let me go now, right?

Yoritomo: Wait.

As I tried to escape, wriggling with embarrassment, he pulled me back.

Yoshino: ...!

This time, I was made to sit facing him.

Yoritomo: You're a restless one, aren't you?

Yoshino: Whose fault is that?!

Yoritomo: Just sit still. I haven't thanked you yet.

Yoshino: Huh...?

Yoritomo: Thank you, Yoshino.

(...I'm so simple.)

Yoshino: No, not at all.

I reply in a small voice, trying to hide my joy, and gently get off Yoritomo-sama's lap.

Yoritomo: But how did you know my taste so well? Did you hear it from someone?

(Right, I need to tell him about this.)

Yoshino: Actually... Yoshitsune-sama told me.

Yoritomo: Yoshitsune did?

Yoshino: Yes, he told me that you're a diligent person, so you wear out your brushes quickly.

Yoritomo: I see.

Yoritomo-sama murmured and looked down at the brush.

Yoritomo: You talked to Yoshitsune, huh? What did you think of him?

Yoshino: ...He wasn't as scary as my first impression.

Yoshino: He has a mysterious aura.

Yoritomo: That's true.

(He wasn't much like Yoritomo-sama.)

I recall Yoshitsune-sama's eyes, which always seemed to be filled with worry.

Yoshino: Speaking of which, he said that you were an 'unfathomable person.'

Yoshino: Especially when we first met, I thought it was strange...

Yoritomo: If you ask me, he's the one who's a much stranger creature.

Yoritomo-sama suppresses a chuckle.

Yoritomo: After all, despite it being our first meeting...

Yoritomo: He blurted out, 'Brother, why are you smiling when you're not smiling?'

Yoritomo: While looking straight at me with eyes devoid of any malice.

Yoshino: That happened?

I can't help but widen my eyes in admiration.

Yoshino: It's amazing that he could see through your two-faced nature right away...

Yoritomo: That man has an incredibly sharp intuition. Despite being utterly clueless about his own emotions.

(The way he said that... He doesn't hate Yoshitsune-sama after all.)

I decide to take a chance and ask.

Yoshino: Why did you... want to kill your own brother, Yoshitsune-sama?

Yoritomo: ––We had different causes to uphold.

Yoritomo: Yoshitsune valued blood ties and bonds with his vassals, and he sought to revive the Genji clan.

Yoshino: So, for you...

Yoritomo-sama gives a cynical smile.

Yoritomo: All that matters to me is expanding the shogunate.

Yoritomo: Blood ties and bonds are useless.

Yoritomo: That's why Yoshitsune became a hindrance, and I killed him.

Yoritomo: You said you believed in me, but I'm that kind of cold-hearted person.

(Ugh... Is he serious?)

It sends a shiver down my spine, but I can't just accept Yoritomo-sama's words at face value.

(He always acts in a way that deliberately misleads people.)

If I press him further, his heart might drift even further away.

Driven by that premonition, I hesitantly open my mouth.

Yoshino: Even so, I believe in you.

Yoritomo: ...Is that so?

He replies curtly and laughs.

There seems to be a hint of sadness in his smile, and my chest tightens.

(Don't smile like that.)

Overwhelmed by impulse, I reach out and grab Yoritomo-sama's sleeve.

Yoritomo: What is it?

Yoshino: I... I don't know.

(I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone.)

Yoritomo: ––You really are an incomprehensible woman.

As I gaze back at Yoritomo-sama intently, the color of his eyes, illuminated by the lamp, seems deeper than usual.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 11

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[talesofadragon]

𝐒𝐚𝐛'𝐬 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭

Hi friends!

Earlier this month marked two years since I joined Tumblr! 🥳 My original plans did not retain the amount of love I have received, the amazing fic writers I've encountered, or the fandoms I've fallen in love with and contributed to.

I try as much as possible to actively write, and even though it gets tough to stick to a schedule, I love getting the chance to share my work with this lovely community.

In celebration of my two-year mark, I'll be hosting "Stories by the Fire", a two-week writing celebration! If you're eager to participate, check out the below attractions, choose a number/song, and send me an ask!🙌🏻

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐧

Get to know the blog!

What inspired you to start this blog?

How did you come up with the name "Tales of a Dragon"?

Who is your favorite character to write about?

Which of your works was your favorite to write? Most challenging? Least favorite?

What do you find most rewarding about sharing your stories?

Are there any specific messages or themes you hope readers take away from your stories?

Can you share a memorable interaction you’ve had with a reader or follower?

Will you be exploring new characters/fandoms?

What surprised you the most during your writing journey on here?

Do you have any unpublished works or ideas that you’re excited to share in the future?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬

Choose a character I've never written about and pair them with the song lyrics provided below. Send me your pairing, and I will write a little drabble! You can send more information in the request.

𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐬

HARRY POTTER: Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Regulus Black, Tom Riddle.

MCU: Loki Laufeyson, Tony Stark, Thor Odinson, Dr. Strange, Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man).

ACOTAR: Rhys, Cassian, Azriel, Eris, Tamlin.

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬

Blue – Billie Eilish

“I try to live in black and white, but I'm so blue I'd like to mean it when I say I'm over you.”

Favorite – Isabel LaRosa

“I swear you're heaven, but boy, you're no angel You take me places only we go.”

One of the Girls – The Weeknd, JENNIE, and Lily-Rose Depp

“Give me tough love Leave me with nothin' when I come down.”

Friends – Chase Atlantic

“And what the hell were we? Tell me we weren’t just friends. This doesn't make much sense.”

Middle of the Night – Elley Duhé

“These burning flames, these crashing waves Wash over me like a hurricane.”

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince – Taylor Swift

“It's you and me, there's nothing like this Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince.”

Souvenir – Selena Gomez

“You're giving me chills at a hundred degrees It's better than pills how you put me to sleep.”

Beach House – The Chainsmokers

“Oh, darling of mine Where have you been.”

Boyfriend – Dove Cameron

“I'm gonna steal you from him I could be such a gentleman.”

Infinity – James Young

“Can't be touched by no one I'd like to see 'em try.”

I Wanna Be Yours – Arctic Monkeys

“Secrets I have held in my heart Are harder to hide than I thought.”

𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐬

Pick one of my stories (one-shots and series) or pick one of the characters I write for and request a prompt of your choosing! If you're not sure what to ask for, here are a few prompts to kickstart your imagination!

Character A and Character B discover they are expecting a child, but their joy is overshadowed by fear and uncertainty

Character A is forced to make a difficult decision that puts them at odds with Character B, testing the limits of their loyalty and trust

Character A is injured in battle, and Character B must nurse them back to health

Character A and Character B receive a mysterious prophecy foretelling the birth of a child who will bring either great prosperity or untold destruction to their kingdom

Character A surprises Character B with a charming weekend getaway to a quaint countryside cottage

Character A and Character B stumble upon an old trunk filled with childhood mementos

This celebration will last till the Ninth of June! Send in as many requests as you like. Let's have some fun!♥️

Dividers by @firefly-graphics