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katuschka · 12 days ago

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Pierrot Sleeps

Josh Kiszka x f!OC/reader

/friends to lovers/

8.036 words

I dedicate this one to everyone who needs some healing...

Pierrot sleeps, silently He’s dreaming next to me Painted black tear, on his soft face And the sweetest lips; they never speak to me My Pierrot sleeps (Barbora Mochowa – Pierrot)

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, intended for adult readers. Any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental. Also, if you're under 18, go find some other entertainment elsewhere.

Warnings (are spoilers): heartbreak, unrequitted love, pining for a friend, breakup, friends to lovers, slow burn, sweet Josh, kissing, fluff, smut: petting, oral sex, vag. sex, a few allusions to a suicise of a minor character (in the past), briefly mentioned attempted suicide (retrospective), depressive thoughts, expressive language, bad weather

You can also view my Masterlist, join the Taglist or listen to Pierrot Sleeps Playlist 🎶

At least it stopped raining… eventually.

Josh had expected there would be morning fog, so the fact that the world around them was shrouded in a thick blanket of clouds did not surprise him. Not only was it just as the forecast predicted, but he had been even looking forward to it. Foggy woods looked dreamy at this time of year. They’d have the best time, surely, and he could take a lot of pictures...

He however did not expect to be woken up by heavy rain drumming on the roof above them, and – on top of that – a whole half an hour before the alarm clock was supposed to rouse them. Too early to be happy about being awake, and too little time left to go back to sleep. Had it been the fall morning sun shining right into his face, he wouldn’t say a word. But rainfall? That didn’t go according to the plan.

He had been warned though, and despite his own nature, he chose to believe the technology instead.

The initial rhythmic patter only grew in intensity and it soon sounded as if the cabin was built right under a waterfall. That, together with the obtrusive light coming from the screen of his phone, finally woke her too. She didn’t make herself known at first. She listened silently for several seconds to the downpour growing stronger and waiting for his reaction with malicious glee. She was rewarded pretty soon, and his loud, annoyed grunt made her chuckle.

“Told you…,” she mumbled from under the cozy blanket sleepily, suddenly hopeful that they’d just stay inside, sipping sahlep in front of the fireplace. She would eat almond truffles and he could have his dried apple chips, or whatever. Maybe they could even try to play a game of chess. Josh had been telling her that he didn’t have the right brain for that, but she was adamant; and determined to teach him. His annoyed face, illuminated by the light blue light, however told that it probably wasn’t the best day for that. Again.

They had been both really looking forward to the trip, so she wasn’t even sure why she suddenly felt almost glad that their hiking plans might be ruined. The prospect of getting wet and numb with cold didn’t appeal to her at all, but it usually didn’t stop her. And when it did (When the heavens literally opened just like that morning), she’d be pretty pissed off for being forced to stay inside. Not this time though. Not when she was enveloped with the warmth and the scent of him. And that was something she had been looking forward to even more.

They shared the bed, just like many times before, just like friends often do. The cabin had two separate bedrooms, but it didn’t even occur to them to part their ways for the night. Not when the whole point of this trip was not to be alone. That would be silly.

And just like many mornings before, she closed her eyes again in a pretense of having fallen back to sleep just to revel in the morning smell of his body close to her for a little bit longer. But he wouldn’t be fooled by her closed eyes; being already quite familiar with her breathing patterns.

“Yeah, you did, weather girl, but let’s not get discouraged, yeah? The…the app says it’ll be over in an hour. So, we’re still on schedule. AND it also says there might be some sunlight by midday, and so does the radar… Hey, hey, wake up! Tea?”

“Coffee!” she huffed in exasperation. After all that time, he still kept trying. Coffee’s bad for you, blah blah blah… And maybe he was right. Just look at him! Fit and bubbly, filled with sunshine and energy right from the moment his eyes opened to greet the new day. Even when he was hurting, he always mustered enough energy to fill every room with light and love. As long as there were other people willing to share the moment with him, he was ok. Meanwhile, she felt like Gollum, torn between love and hate for the things that kept her (barely) functioning. Not just coffee… him, too. Her precious. She kept pursuing him, seeking his presence, while hoping that one day, she would be free, while not really wanting to. It was always the worst on mornings like this one, when she almost had him in her grasp, and then he always slipped out, because he was never hers.

She watched him fumbling for his clothes in semi darkness, pondering. Sleeping just in his briefs right next to her never seemed to faze him, and the thought always made her heart sink. Maybe he didn’t like the way she looked, so he never considered those moments to be overly intimate. That’s fine. But didn’t it ever occur to him how much she loved his body? Probably not. They were such good friends, after all. Right? Truth be told, she really tried her best to hide the truth from him. There were so many things to say, but she never did.

‘Come back to bed.’ What a simple request; one that people often say in situations like this one. ‘Come back to bed and just be with me. The world can wait…’ Yet she couldn't. She had no privilege to ask that.

Such good friends. That’s what everyone kept saying: ‘You two are such good friends.’ Everyone except Jake; that nosy, observant asshole. He mentioned his suspicion just once, and then abandoned the topic forever after she made it VERY clear that she didn’t want to discuss it and threatened to cut his balls off if he ever mentioned that to Josh.

They had been so close from the very start – she and Josh – despite the fact that they were from two seemingly different worlds. Or maybe because of that, because he seemed to deliberately seek the company of the people who didn’t care what he was. He didn’t have to pretend anything in front of her; she just let him be himself, even when it was not always nice or flattering. She loved all of him.

Yeah, she did. She loved him. And she knew she would from the moment she first saw him, when he ran into the coffee shop she worked in to hide from the rain...

The bell chimed, and she looked up, together with several other people, all of them surprised by the sudden commotion that disrupted the serenity of that lazy afternoon. He literally fell through the door, giggling awkwardly before he looked around, beaming and taking everything in, like a child in a toy store.

Are you familiar with those cheeky and extremely cliche movie scenes when the hero sees the object of their desire for the very first time and everything suddenly turns to slow motion? So melodramatic and stupid, very stupid indeed; so stupid they use it mostly in parodies these days. And yet, it’s also exactly what happened to her when her eyes first fell on the dampened halo of his messy curls. What a tiny, beautiful, ethereal man. He looked like an angel on vacation, dressed in pale jeans and a simple white long-sleeved shirt. Quite ordinary. It was the long string of beads around his neck, almost like a rosary, that made him look out of this world. But nothing could prepare her for the feeling that swept through her and he finally looked at her.

When she was very little, maybe two or three, she had a very strange dream once. The sun fell from the sky, landed on their street right next to their house and she watched, quite mesmerized, how it rolled behind their windows like a huge fiery balloon. She was too small to know that the sun was literally just a ball of fire, and yet that’s exactly how it appeared to her in the dream, except “her” sun didn’t have more than two meters in diameter and it didn’t scorch anything. That strange and bizarre dream left such an imprint on her young and expanding mind that it eventually became one of her core memories. Then, as years went by and adulthood hit her with brutal force, she almost forgot about it.

Until he appeared.

He introduced himself as Josh without even being asked, ordered matcha tea and then he took a barstool by the counter right opposite to her, because she was the only person in the whole room willing to talk to him; everyone else was staring at their phones or laptops and just minding their own business.

And it was SO easy talking to him, despite the fact that she was completely and utterly smitten with him, which usually tied her tongue in similar situations. Not with Josh. They talked for only half an hour about nothing important, but it was enough for him to unknowingly etch himself in her brain and gut.

Then he finally picked Josh up, just when the rain stopped, and they left together, seemingly forever.

Her mind was still full with the images of him when she went to bed that day, and he even materialized again as a drunken memory in her dreams. Her conviction that she wasn’t destined to have people like him in her life made the apparition both sweet and distant, but destiny never prevented anyone from having dreams about it, right? His existence seemed almost unreal the morning after. He became a vision – and an illusion – of a better world where people were actually nice to one another. Like a character from a favorite comfort book: someone who never really existed, but it was still nice to imagine.

Then, five days later, Josh came back.

He stayed for three long hours, as if he had no responsibilities in this world except for filling it with his contagious laughter. He ordered a whole pot of oolong and charmingly voiced his desire to pester her for the rest of the afternoon. When she asked why, his answer was simply ‘why not.’ That’s what the places like the one she worked in were for, and she shouldn’t get excluded, he said.

So they talked again, pausing only when other people came to take their order. They talked about poetry and cartoons and favorite sweets (she loved almond truffles!). She told him about her early childhood and a grandmother who could bake heavenly pastries, and he shared funny stories about his brothers and praised the wit and beauty of his sister.

There were times when such stories would make her feel miserable, but his own tales filled her with hopefulness. He exuded so much love and light no doubt because those people he talked about had always been there for him. If only she hadn’t failed to be there for her sister when she needed her the most. People kept telling her that it wasn’t her fault, but their words fell flat. Convinced that she should have known, she almost followed the same footsteps. They just found her in time…

Back then she told him that she was an only child.

The next time, Josh came back with a small bag full of almond truffles, which he traded for her number. And so they slowly became regular friends, with their lives gradually intertwining even outside of that coffee shop.

Days went by, then weeks. Slowly, she learned all about his passions and dreams, and nothing about his job. Then one day, just before Christmas, a group of people asked for a picture and he had to come clear afterwards. Nothing shocking in Nashville, It just made her admire him even more, and he couldn’t get mad when she finally told him her truth. Months passed by and finally there were no more secrets, even though her initial childish idea that he must have fallen from the sky was crushed.

At least she wasn’t surprised when he disappeared for months.

He often said ‘I love you’ and sometimes she imagined how it would feel if one day he’d mean it in a way that would make her skin tingle and cheeks burn. But that was not to be. The meaning was reserved for someone else, because he belonged to someone else. Plain and simple. They were so in love. Even through the veil of her jealousy, she could see the pure miracle of it. Everything Josh did seemed miraculous. It kept breaking her heart in the most peculiar and strangely addictive way.

He was always there for her as a dear friend, but never as someone who could keep her warm at night. He was unavailable.

Until he wasn’t. And yet…

He called her around two am that night, crying so hard he couldn’t even talk coherently. She wasted no time; having thrown just a long cardigan over her pajamas, she ran out the door, jumped in the car and headed straight to their… to his house.

They snuggled together in his bed, and she kept holding him tight until he finally relaxed and fell asleep. And when she woke up a few hours later, feeling his limbs wrapped around her body and his hot breath on the exposed skin of her shoulder, she looked up at the ceiling and her heart broke in a thousand little pieces once again. So this was how it felt… and she was destined to experience it only when they both felt like that, only not for each other… His touches during waking hours kept whispering ‘I’m glad’, but never ‘I yearn’.

He mewled suddenly, no doubt tormented by some disturbing dream, and grip around her only tightened. She turned to her side and hugged him back, watching his peaceful, doll-like face and listening to his light snores that made his parted lips quiver ever so slightly.

“Why didn’t you call one of your brothers?” she asked once he finally opened his eyes and, seeing her face right in front of his, greeted her with his sweet smile, even though it was short lived.

“You don’t judge me…,” he mumbled after a while.

“Your brothers don’t judge you either, silly! I know that, and so do you.”

“Yeah, but…I guess I needed a hug, and not just having my shoulder squeezed. Besides, they…they have their own people and, uh… other creatures to take care of...”

Ouch…

The truth is, he had tried to set her up with other people in the past, oblivious to the fact that the only one she wanted was him. So she kept lying to him, making up reasons why the dates and hook-ups never did work out. Even when she ended up in bed with them – and some of them were really good – it never made her want to see them more than just a couple times.

She had been like that even before she met him, to be honest. Men and women had come and gone, and her heart had remained closed, save for a few youthful infatuations. Her resolve not to commit to anyone only strengthened after what happened to Shania. Then one day, Josh appeared with a golden key, forced it in the lock and occupied the tiny space ever since, unaware of what he really did.

And the reason why she always tried to hide it the best way she (physically) could was because she was too grateful for what she already had in him. Such good friends… The risk of ruining it all was too great and too foolish. Because, by being there for her as a friend, he had already helped her more than she could possibly imagine. He had danced into the darkness of her dreary life and brought sunshine into it. She had a wonderful friend in him. The fact that she loved him romantically was just a minor snag. Maybe, just maybe, if she had known him sooner, she wouldn’t have to keep hiding the scarry reminder of forecast days on her wrists. But for everything there is a season…

… and fall is perfect for hiking.

So was the summer after he left, and so they – Josh and her – took advantage of every opportunity to spend it together in nature… or at least in his garden. Because, in spite of all the bad things happening, one could always rely on nature to be beautiful and welcoming, at least for now.

Josh’s busy schedule and constant traveling blessed him with the mercy of having his mind occupied, so that he wouldn’t have to think about the breakup so much, but everytime he got home – even when it was just for a few days – he kept seeking her company as well as her hugs, because his house suddenly seemed too big and silent and scary, and his brothers naturally wanted to spend the valuable time with their own significant others.

After that first, painful night, falling asleep in each other’s embrace became at first a frequent occurrence, and later almost a habit. Their movie nights, Sunday outdoor trips or late night garden picnics often ended that way. Lying on a blanket under a cloudless sky and pretending they could actually see any stars, they cuddled more often than not as the temperature dropped. He cried a few more times in early June, but after a while it just became a pleasant habit. Josh was never the person to shy away from physical contact, so it felt completely natural to him. It was always innocent, too, with their hands never wandering to any inappropriate places. A few times she could feel his lips brush against her locks – feather-like kisses that never touched the skin – but that was it. It always left her hungry for more, and the hunger kept growing…

The smell of coffee and vanilla coming from the kitchen put an end to her reminiscing, as it made her stomach rumble and pulled her mind back into the physical reality of the cabin. She finally managed to drag her lazy body out of bed and, after a short stop in the bathroom, followed the smell and the sound and the light, like a curious cat.

Josh was not a fruit loop guy and she was not allowed to eat that shit either, at least not under his watch. In consequence, their days spent together also meant that she was eating properly for a while.

She found him standing by the stove, making oatmeal with raisins and swaying to some unknown tune he was humming. She caught just a few words, something about bed and needing to touch again, and immediately wanted to go back, because damn! He was reading her mind.

Her footsteps made him stop and turn around, greeting her with his radiant smile. Snap. Another beautiful picture for the photo album of her mind. Having been blessed with an excellent memory, she often used it as an internal polaroid, taking snapshots of the beauty of the world to browse through when old. She, however, cheated with her stills of Josh, replaying them in her mind every time she was alone in her own bed.

“Finally! I thought I’d have to drag… you’re doing it again!”

“Doing what?” She couldn’t help but to reciprocate the toothy smile.

“You know what!” He threatened to pat her head playfully with the stirring spoon, making her duck down so as not to have chunks of hot oatmeal in her hair. “Save some space in that fancy brain of yours for the wonders of nature. Today’s gonna be EPIC!” He swung the spoon epicly towards the milky blue nothingness outside the window.

“It’s still raining, Josh.”

“Mmmm, not for long, I’m tellin’ya. Now grab that mug before that bitter shit gets cold.” He nearly overturned the cup of coffee with the large spoon and she snatched it out of his reach just in time to save the valuable fragrant liquid. He turned back to the stove, chuckling. “Gonna serve this heavenly manna in a sec, so take a seat, mademoiselle,” he added playfully in a low voice. “Cinnamon?”

“Yeah, why not. Just a pinch.”

“As you wisssssssh… Here comes the sun, little daaaarling, here comes the su-un, and Iiiiii saaay…”

Moments like these often made her mind and body dissociate. The body was drawn to him, yearning to hug him from behind and bite at his exposed earlobe, while the mind knew her place was at the table, where she was told to patiently wait for the breakfast to be served, while admiring his beauty from a respectable distance. The mind always won. Their new-found closeness, however exciting and really borderline intimate sometimes, had its boundaries.

He was right. The rain stopped eventually, so they packed their bags with all the necessities they might need for the whole day outside, and together they entered the misty world of barren bony branches, orange leaves and hidden horizons. It was already almost 8 am when they left the warm confines of their rented cabin, but the landscape remained shrouded in early November murkiness. They walked for at least an hour without speaking, the ubiquitous mist still unwilling to dissipate.

“It’s almost like a completely different planet, isn’t in,” she finally broke the silence.

“M-hm,” was the only response she got. She honestly often preferred it that way, being able to get lost in her own thoughts and daydreams, but that very rarely happened when Josh kept her company. His need to share everything that was on his mind – which was usually a LOT – could often be quite overwhelming. It also never failed to entertain everyone around him, because the vastness of his mind could compete with the plains on Mars, and it was just as untamed.

The fact that he was suddenly so unusually taciturn made her a bit uneasy. Something was wrong. She already noticed it the night before, and thought it was only understandable, given the recent events. She was devastated as well, thinking about Shania again, and how it would break her heart if she hadn’t chosen to make it stop beating willingly.

But then they talked quite openly about that and he returned back to his normal, radiant self as soon as they climbed in their shared bed. Now she had that nagging feeling once again… as if he was hiding something from her. Something was different.

“Are you still sad?” she asked tentatively.

“About what?” His tone was wary, making her uncertain whether she should even continue or just let it be. Alas, her nosy nature prevailed.

“The breakup.”

It took him a few seconds to respond, clearing his throat and kicking a few pebbles first. She’d swear she could sense a brand new kind of tension in the air, but she couldn’t really put her finger on it. It was almost just a split second.

“No, not anymore. Sometimes at night, when the house is quiet, I feel a sense of melancholy, you know? I guess I’m just not used to being alone. But I welcome the feeling, really. I think I wrote my best lyrics feeling just like that. And…” And he kept on talking. On and on and on. She asked a simple question and he could have provided a simple answer, but after three minutes of babbling, just when his mind somehow wandered to Sam’s ravioli, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and started laughing. The bitch was back, as he himself would say, although that was not really it. He sensed her worry and just wanted to do anything he could to disperse it.

“What?” He really tried to frown at her accusingly, but failed miserably, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“It’s just… you could have just said ‘no’, but I admire the lengths you go to prove that you’re not.”

“Keep mocking my eloquence, love, and you’ll regret it, I tell ya!” Already a few steps ahead of her, he started walking backwards, pointing his finger at her menacingly.

“Josh, be care…”

“FUUU…ouch!”

“...ful… Moron!”

Of course he stumbled over an exposed tree root and fell right on his butt. Thankfully, he managed to land in the middle of a small heap of wet foliage instead of stones or worse – down the steep slope adjacent to the path they were on. She offered him her hand with an exasperated sigh and helped him get back on his feet, feigning anger – anything to hide how much that one word reverberated inside her ribcage. Love…

“C’mon! Don’t be mad. My ass is damp and freezing now, so it’s fun, yeah?” Once back on his feet, he grabbed her shoulder for support in order to regain balance and smiled reassuringly to wipe that frown off her face. To no avail. No, it wasn’t exactly fun, and seeing his beautiful eyes so close only made it worse. She stared back into those dark beads before her gaze slid down to his lips that he licked just a moment ago, and the chilly mist filling her lungs suddenly felt like water, together with a totally unwelcome wave of arousal that swept through her body. She was genuinely mad all of the sudden, but only at herself.

“You’re an idiot, Josh.” She let go and stormed up the path, forcing him to speed up to catch up with her.

“Y/N, hang on… why are you so angry?”

“You were literally just a few feet from breaking your leg… or something else!” she spat in response and with her eyes set on the path ahead.

“No, I wasn’t. And nothing happened!” Josh raised his voice just a notch, his own anger growing. They were side to side again and he finally forced her to turn back to him. She tried to fight it, she really did, but in spite of her efforts to behave reasonably, she could feel her eyes prickle again, threatening to betray her.

“It’s been almost five years since she jumped… in November…just…stop scaring me like that, ok?” Her voice quivered under the burden of her sudden deliberate machinations. What she said was true, but it wasn’t the real reason why she felt so upset at that very moment and she felt bad instantly for using it as an excuse. That was completely unfair to both of them.

Josh’s features immediately softened and he pulled her in for a tight hug. “I know… sorry,” he whispered, and she melted into his touch, no longer caring how she “deserved” it. They remained like that for almost a minute before he commanded that it was time to move if they didn’t want to return back after dark.

The rest of the morning was spent more or less in silence once again, interspersed with occasional casual chit chat. As the path grew steeper and more stony, pale patches of light cerulean blue began to show up through thinning low clouds, making them both hopeful. The air temperature grew gradually milder, too. “The inversion season’s finally here! Yay!” he exclaimed with childish enthusiasm – one of many things that kept people drawn to him like moths to a flame. It seemed just impossible not to love him.

They reached the ridge – their final destination – just around midday, and just in time to step out of the clouds that still hung low in the surrounding valleys. It felt like reaching the sky, with the ridge and a few surrounding rounded peaks looking like floating islands in the midst of a foamy ocean.

“Aaaah, this is beautiful!” She tilted her head back, letting the sun warm up her damp cheeks.

“Told ya,” he smiled softly and she expected him to continue teasing her, but he seemed unnaturally quiet and serene once again. Pulling his camera from the bag, he took a few snapshots of the misty sea below them. They watched the clouds roll by slowly for a while before he spoke. “I used to dream about telling stories through pictures...”

She knew all about his old passion, but she also thought he was exceptional at what fate chose for him eventually. “You do tell stories Josh. You help people paint their own internal landscapes.”

“Do I…”

“Of course you do!”

“So I believed. Pictures, words, soundwaves, doesn’t really matter, that’s not my point. I mean,.. I wasn’t really telling the… the truth yesterday. I am scared…I mean, not for myself, not really, but…I don’t…I guess, sometimes things are just destined to remain broken no matter how hard you try, you know…I’m mostly heartbroken, really.”

She wasn’t really sure where this was going. Having been familiar with his insecurities for quite some time, she knew too well that he was sometimes too humble for his own good, but he hardly ever sounded that defeated. “Well, you know…how was that line…’Take your broken heart and make it into art.”

“But what’s the point?”

And just like that, with a snap of a finger, the temperature dropped, making her shiver. Speaking to the world through art was the core of his whole existence and she’d rather die than watch him doubt the importance of it.

“Josh!”

“Y/N!”

His feeble attempt to mock her sudden urgent tone annoyed her, but definitely not enough to stop her from trying to prevent him from going down that gloomy path. “Listen, asshole! Stop with the bullshit, ok? You believed we’d have sun today. And look! I absolutely needed this, and would have missed it if it weren’t for you. And MANY people feel the same, because you inspire them, so cut that defeatist crap or else I’ll smack it out of you!”

He looked at her as if she had already really slapped him in the face, but his shocked and astonished expression slowly morphed into a soft and grateful smile. “Thank you, Y/N.”

“WELL YOU’RE WELCOME!” she responded with an unnecessary theatricality, unwilling to abandon the angry pose just yet, just in case. “Now give me this, because I think you need to see what I see.” She snatched the camera out of his hand and took a step back so that the viewfinder showed exactly what she wanted to capture. He, however, started fumbling for a phone in his jacket, completely ruining the shot.

“No, let’s take a selfie,” he said when he finally found and unlocked it.

“Selfie? You? Since when have you been taking selfies?”

“I DO from time to time.” He looked almost offended, pouting at her like a defiant child. Sighing exasperatedly, she finally agreed to it, stepping closer to him, letting him wrap his arm around her shoulder.

“But you need to look into the lens Jo…” On the display, she could see him looking sideways at her, his eyes slowly tracing the contours of her profile. His jaw clenched and she could no longer finish the sentence. Instead, she slowly turned her own face to meet his gaze. He lowered his arm, snaked it around her and she held her breath, barely conscious of his other hand slowly finding its way to cup the nape of her head just below her ponytail. Dreamily, she watched his lips growing closer to hers until they met and she could swear her heart stopped.

He tasted like apples.

It was soft and tender at first, his pouty lips just brushing over hers like the wings of a butterfly. She leaned into it and invited him in, and soon they could taste each other properly, with their tongues entangling and dancing around languidly. She turned deaf and blind, but acutely aware of every cell of his body she could reach and taste and caress and devour, and getting high on it, her head spinning more and more with each passing second.

When they finally parted and her sight returned, they looked at each other and even though neither said a word, they could both see the same question in each other’s eyes.

What now…

The entire walk back into the cabin was spent in silent anticipation. The way he held her hand was completely innocent, even with their fingers intertwined…

The contents of their minds, not so much. They didn’t dare to speak about it just yet, in fear that they might jinx it. She kept replaying it in her head, over and over again. The feeling of his soft lips on hers still lingered and her insides twisted and turned with the primal need for him to do it again. It was just as strong as thirst, and much more overwhelming.

As the hour grew late, even the valleys were now sun-soaked. The world joined them in their silence and only the rustling of gravel and foliage under their feet disturbed the unearthly peace. Having kept her eyes on the ground, she looked up when they left the shadows of trees behind them and set foot on the vast clearing that separated them from their cabin… the fireplace… the bed… The road to it was blinding, as the late afternoon sun turned the distant horizon into silver ribbons, making them squint. She squeezed his hand involuntarily as her heart freaked out again, and he responded by stroking her knuckles with the tip of his thumb. The lust was palpable, making them both alert like lonely puppies just before hearing the door knob turn.

Having avoided the topic for a few long hours, the tension between them only grew when they reached the cabin, only to be replaced with a sense of panic and uncertainty when they stepped inside.

“So…”

“Are you hungry?” She interrupted him, before he could say more. Please say yes, so that I can cook us dinner and...

“Not really, no.”

“Me neither.” She was fidgety, biting her lip, scratching her arm nervously, looking up at him and then averting her gaze repeatedly.

“Y/N… we don’t have to…”

“I want to!” she blurted out and then sank her teeth in her lower lip again.

Ok… calm down baby, let me…follow me…” he offered her his hand and slowly led her into the bathroom.

They stripped each other slowly and then they kissed again. He turned on the shower and she bashfully stepped under the streaming water next to him. He pulled her closer and kissed her some more, while tracing the outline of her shoulders with his fingertips. Only then he dared to venture lower.

His fingers brushed over her left nipple before he cupped the whole breast gently in his palm and she could swear it felt like he was cradling her very own heart in it instead, making her hold her breath. His eyes were lowered the whole time, watching his own actions intently and attentively, almost apprehensively, waiting for her reactions and receiving none. She was frozen with illogical fear. He looked up suddenly, making her head spin. “Tell me what you like,” he whispered.

“Everything.” His brows shot up in question, so she clarified: “I like everything about this, Josh.”

She meant it as encouragement, but it wasn’t helpful at all. He cleared his throat nervously and stroked her arm gently, from her shoulder all the way down to her elbow. His eyes once again followed the motions of his hand. “I wanna know everything about you.” This time he wasn’t talking about her life or soul. He already knew almost everything about that, after all those hours and hours spent talking and daydreaming together. Her body, however, was an unknown instrument, and he was desperate to learn how to play it well.

Feeling wanted, and with all the newfound courage she could muster, she cupped his cheeks and kissed him with long suppressed passion, pausing only briefly to ask him back. “Can I learn everything about you, too?”

“Please! You must,” he whispered against her lips, while she wrapped her fingers around his full-blown erection and started stroking him tentatively, making him moan in her mouth. Encouraged, she tightened her grip and quickened her pace. He gasped, breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead against hers instead. “You learn quickly, baby,” he whimpered, leaning with his outstretched arm against the tiled wall behind her. She kissed his flexed bicep in response and slid down on her knees in front of him, but he only shook his head and pulled her back up.

“You don’t want that?” she asked, confused. There was a hint of hurt in her voice, so he pulled her in an embrace and kissed her wet hair as the water kept pouring down on them.

“Just the idea of your lips wrapped around my dick tells me it’d be very quick… and I don’t want that. Let’s take this slow, yeah? Let me…”

She let him take the lead and his lips went on a journey. They traced the edge of her jaw when he shampooed her hair and she tilted her head in delight. This new intimacy could only be described as ecstatic. Everything turned into a blur. She was just barely aware of him wrapping her in a bath towel, and she couldn’t remember how they got in bed. It was his tongue licking a stripe up her inner thigh that made her acutely aware of her surroundings once again. She gasped in surprise when she felt his hot breath on her wet pussy. Looking at her daringly, he hovered just an inch above it, the tip of his tongue resting on his upper lip tellingly. “May I?”

She swallowed harshly to relieve her parched throat. “I want you fuck me, Josh. Please.”

“And I will… but let me make you fly first.” Without any further ado, he darted his tongue between her folds and she arched her back as if struck by electricity. After a few more teasing licks, he wrapped his lips around her clit and started sucking gently, with his velvet tongue drawing slow circles on the underside before it started fluttering rapidly over the whole bud. Soon he sent her into orbit, just as he promised. She was still shaking and gasping for air when he swiftly climbed up her body and positioned himself in between her legs.

Once inside her, he could no longer keep it slow. He let out a deep guttural groan and, as if a bolt of electricity shot through him, started thrusting into her with newfound virility. She wrapped both her arms and legs around him and pulled him even closer to her, almost afraid that he would float away and dissolve in midair if she stopped holding him tight enough, just like he always had done in her dreams. Even her own mind never allowed her to feel like this, so how could this possibly be real? After all that time. It felt too good to be real. His hands cradling her head, his own loud moans so close to her ear, urgent and melodic and almost lewd, all in one. With his elbows on each side of her head, and his lips brushing against her earlobe, she felt enshrined under him. It was overwhelming, it made her head spin as if high on oxygen…which she probably was. Unable to control her wildly beating heart and her quickened breath, she was barely conscious of that pleasant feeling he was stirring deep inside her. It didn’t even matter. She arched her back again and shivered as his singing grew louder. She could come just from listening to him.

The skin on his back under her wandering hands, warm and velvety at first, soon turned damp and sticky from exertion, as his movements grew even more frantic and wild. She tilted her head back and cried out when he hit her cervix particularly hard… and he stopped.

“What…” she asked dreamily.

“You’re so tender and soft, I don’t wanna hurt you.” His face was hovering mere inches above her, as he was searching for more cues. Still inside her to the hilt, the blissful feeling of her velvety walls caressing his cock still lingered and it took all his will to keep himself from moving momentarily. His hips jerked involuntarily and she responded by deliberately tightening around him, making him hiss.

“You’re not hurting me,” she mumbled, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. “I don’t even know if I ever felt this good. I’ve been waiting for this for so long…” Her own words made her freeze. She opened her eyes again and looked at him, frightened. His own expression was somber and almost unreadable. Oh god, you stupid cow, why did you say that?

“How long, Y/N?”

Please, don’t make me ruin this even more, Josh. Just go on, just let me feel this at least once…

His eyes never looked more beautiful. He kept looking down at her, searching for the answer. She knew she should say something, but the sudden lump in her throat made her only gasp for air as she tried to fight off the tears. Stupid, unstable bitch!

It seemed that he took mercy on her. Instead of pushing the subject, he leaned down and pressed his lips on the pulsing point under the skin of her neck. She closed her eyes and sighed in delight, waiting for him to resume the previous pace and make her mind go blank once more, letting her dream about her sun before the real one would come.

He remained still though. His dick twitched inside her, making it known that he too wanted more, but he wasn’t merciful enough. And he wouldn’t let it go.

“How long, Y/N?” Josh whispered once again against her skin. Each syllable was like a kiss, soothing. He left a physical trace of his words along her jugular, smoothing the gravity of that question mark with the tip of his nose. There was a new kind of urgency in his voice. At last, as if really reading her mind, he finally moved inside her once again, rolling his hips slowly as if to say ‘I’m not going anywhere’, encouraging her.

“Since the first matcha tea,” she sobbed and he tried to soothe her nerves with yet another slow and deep thrust. But it was no use, the dam that had been holding her pent up emotions broke. He pulled out and lied down beside her. She missed him instantly but had enough dignity not to beg. She expected him to get up and leave. Instead, he pulled her closer and patiently waited for her to calm down. Only then he spoke.

“Y/N, he left because he…he thought that I liked you a bit too much. And, uh, after I called you and you came to me that night, I realized he might have been right…”

Josh was crying, he was yelling, he even tried to beg eventually, as the warm spring breeze coming from the open window suddenly felt like a winter gale on his exposed skin. He kept repeating ‘what does it mean, what do you mean…’, only to be told that it was up to him to figure it out. ‘But I love you!’ Josh cried some more, and it was met with silence for the first time. ‘I can no longer say it back,’ he broke that silence after a while, and Josh’s hopeful eyes veiled with even more tears. ‘I wanted to be the only one. I’m not an idiot, so I beg you to stop treating me like one. Goodbye, Josh.’

And once again, Josh’s words were met with silence. The only difference was that she wanted to scream it back. “I’m so sorry,” she said instead after a long minute. “I didn’t want to be the reason for his leaving.”

“Y/N…” he inched closer and buried his face in her still damp hair. “You weren’t. I was. Didn’t you hear me?”

She did, but her self destructive mind chose to ignore it. His cryptic might-have-beens couldn’t penetrate the armor that she had spent long years building. Thankfully, he knew her well enough to realize his mistake. Enough of all this beating around the bush.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear and this time it made her skin tingle and her toes curl.

His caressing hand traveled from her shoulder down the middle of her chest, where he could feel the fast rhythm of her wildly beating heart. Her eyes were closer and she lay unmoving, except for her hand that wrapped around his fingers, stopping them momentarily. “I’m sorry babe, I just had to say it,” he continued. “And since you…”

“I love you more than life.” Her own words startled her, as if something fell down with a crash. Without waiting for him to make another move, she pulled his hand down to her wet pussy and his middle finger slid inside with ease.

It quickly made him hard again. She spread her legs, inviting him back in. He shifted just a bit, with his head still resting next to hers on the pillow. She turned towards him, threw her leg around him and he entered her again just as their mouths reconnected again in a hungry, sloppy kiss.

It was slow this time, but no less intense, with their senses heightened by the recent revelations. They were making love. She kept her eyes open, watching how his own rolled up and he moaned loudly with his tongue still swirling around hers, their parted lips barely touching. She could feel a second orgasm building soon and her breathing quickened, turning her own moans into short, high pitched gasps, making him hiss when her fingernails dug deep into his skin.

Suddenly, he shifted and straightened, sliding his knees under her legs and grabbing her hips possessively. “That’s it baby, one more, go on, let go,” he urged and started thrusting into her with a new force that made her thighs tremble. She looked up and her jaw slackened at the sight. Her sweet and radiant Josh looked almost demonic in the twilight. He was watching her too, with his jaw clenched and his brows furrowed and glistening with sweat.

“Harder,” she cried out and he obeyed, hissing and baring his teeth as he tried to hold on a little longer. Then suddenly, she could feel it snap and her whole body tensed, making him groan as she squeezed him inside her. A few more deep strokes before she could feel him falter. “Fill me up,” she whispered and her eyes widened. He placed his hand between her breasts, bent his head down and let out a long, high pitched whine, his body jerking erratically as he spilled inside her. Then he collapsed on top of her, panting.

Josh

She looked like an injured doe, you know? So lonely and abandoned behind that counter. The room was full of people of all sorts, but – as it often happens – nobody paid attention to the things that desperately needed all the attention in the world. So I stayed a while – even though I didn’t really have to – watching her face brighten up, growing more and more beautiful with every passing second. I knew she had it in her.

Someone ordered an irish coffee and she had to grab a bottle of whisky from the upper shelf. That’s when I saw the scars on her wrists, and the shadows behind her deep blue eyes suddenly made perfect sense.

There are millions of people on this planet who are hurting and I’ve always believed that nothing happens without a reason. When I was younger, I wished I could have saved everyone, but that’s impossible. There’s only so much burden one can bear. But I believe that every wounded soul has their person somewhere. A sibling, a parent, a friend, a lover… Someone willing to share the load. Sometimes they don’t find each other in time, otherwise the world wouldn’t be full of tragedies and tears. Sometimes you don’t choose it. It just happens. And sometimes, you fuck up in the process. Colossally, even. I’m painfully aware of the fact that I did, too. But everything happens for a reason.

I just had to go back…

I can't imagine how it is To be forbidden from loving (ah, ah) 'Cause when you walked into my life I could feel my life begin And then I learned the truth How everything good in life seems to lead back to you And every single time I run into your arms I feel like I exist for love Only for love (Aurora – Exist For Love)

@thewritingbeforesunrise @fleet-of-fiction @writingcold @lvnterninthenight @its-interesting-van-kleep @takenbythemadness @edgingthedarkness @myownparadise96 @gvfstuddedmajesty @jazzyfigz @sanguinebats @josh-iamyour-mama @lyndz2names @wetkleenex-gvf @peaceloveunitygvf @cheersdannyx2 @fleetingjake @lizzys-sunflower @emojakekiszka @gvfmarge @Dayumclarizzel @lipstickitty @clownstarr @gretasfallingsky @musicislove3389 @i-love-gvf @psychedelectable

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angstsfordays · 11 months ago

Text

I will go to you like the first snow [1/?]

Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x OC! femreader

Summary: "Before I held you, I didn’t know that the world I was in was this bright." The beginning days of how Coriolanus and OC met in the Academy a year before the 10th Hunger games.

Warnings: Coriolanus Snow himself is a warning but nothing unhealthy from him in this chapter! Still relatively tame before his true nature unveils itself later on!

Notes: Hi everyone, I'm back from the dead. Just kidding, but yes I am back and definitely inspired to write again now that I have a wee bit of time. My latest addiction as you guessed from above is TBOSAS, and I swear it's so unhealthy for me to crush on villains albeit they're fictional. I have plans for this to be a series of reads with no structured timeline and rather it be snippets of different scenarios that could happen with a OC insert in this universe. Just wanted to get this out of my head and into words so please enjoy this humble writing of mine!

Love, Angstsfordays 🫶🏼

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The first time Coriolanus saw you was when you walked into the classroom on a random Wednesday. It was only halfway into his junior year at the academy and he least expected someone would be able to transfer into the prestigious elite Academy at all.

You were definitely not from the Capitol if you were to enroll into school this late.

"Do you think she's like Plinth?" Coriolanus overheard one of the students' hush whispers to another. A likely possibility- the young Snow thought. You must have come from new money- your family must have somewhat made a huge profit and earned the favour of the Capitol to be able to let their daughter enter the Academy.

Your dark and sleek long hair contrasted with the bright red and blue of the Academy's uniform. Despite the dark colour of your eyes, it shoned brightly with a type of confidence as you took your time to scan the entire class and made sure to stare right into each and one of the students who casting dubious glances at you.

"Now now, hush and let me introduce to you the latest addition to our class." Professor Demigloss spoke with a calm type of excitement.

Giving you a small courteous smile, the professor nudged you to introduce yourself. "My name is Y/N Y/L/N", you curtly answered. The students who heard your last name were even more perplexed at who you could be as they never heard of it before- not even in the latest gossips that the Capitol has to offer.

"Perhaps you lot are more familiar with the name, Carnell." Professor Demigloss then added with slight glee afterwards when your maternal family's name drew the gasps of the entire class. The Carnell family was famous as old legend in Panem- best known to be one of the few significant families who helped contributed to the founding of Panem in its early days. The Carnell family were known for their fearsome military strength and training of great soldiers.

Where was someone like you from such a powerful family hiding all this time? Coriolanus did not recall seeing someone like you during the social parties he attended when he was younger.

"That's my mother's family name. I am Y/N Y/L/N." You explained, more towards the professor than everyone else.

Professor Demigloss who seemed taken aback by your correction gave an awkward smile before nodding. He then informed you that Clemensia would be your student buddy to help you get orientated to the school and asked you to take your seat at the far end of Coriolanus' row.

Coriolanus' eyes followed you as you made your way up the stairs and to your seat with careful steps. Once you settled in your seat and the professor started talking, you felt a pair of eyes on you.

Tilting your head to the left, you saw your so called student buddy, Clemensia and beside her was a boy. A boy with eyes that held the intense gaze that you gave him. There was no animosity, no haughtiness like the rest of the students who looked at you when you first stepped into the room.

You couldn't read him but you were sure he was somewhat different from the rest in the room. Before it felt like it would get weird with the long staring, your eyes quickly flicked over to the professor and your postured leaned forward as if you were interested to listen to the class.

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"No way, someone got a higher score than Snow?!"

"Who is it?!"

"Who is the Academy's new top student now?"

Coriolanus was halfway through his lunch before he started hearing the hurried tones of other students in the cafeteria. Before this, Coriolanus knew that the latest exam scores would be posted around this timing.

As eager as he was to check his scores when they were posted, he wanted to give into his hunger first. He had no doubt that he would be the top scorer for the term. There was just no way else anyone else could have done better than him.

As his ears perked up on the sayings of the cohort of students, his heart dropped for a moment. Someone actually did better than him? The next feeling was adrenaline as he quickly packed up his extra food into his bag before his legs stood up and led the way to the bulletin board.

Term 2's Academic Ranking

Y/N Carnell

Coriolanus Snow

Coriolanus could not believe his eyes. How were you the top student? You haven't even been in this school for more than 3 months and you managed to stand at the top, knocking him to a humiliating second place. The thought of the Plinth's prize leaving his grasp washed over him.

Coriolanus was usually reserved especially in the public eye to maintain the prestige of his family name. But his obsession with perfection especially when it came to his grades were one of the few things that could shook his calm demeanor.

The young Snow turned his head furiously as he felt himself being swarmed by more students. That's when he spotted the wisp of your hair flying and leaving past as you turned around the corner of the hallway.

Coriolanus wormed his way out of the crowd and took long strides to storm his way to you. You were on your way out of the school with your hand on the door handle before you felt a presence behind you. A hand rested above yours on the handle, nudging it against the force of your pull to open and exit the school.

You turned around and was shocked by how close Coriolanus stood behind you as your face met with his chest before your eyes went up to meet his. His eyes were bright with somewhat of a calm rage.

"Shit, what are you doing?!" You said with a false bravado.

The both of you let go of the door while staring at each other in silence briefly. You were waiting for him to speak but when it seemed like he was not going to say anything, you feet started turning towards the door again before Coriolanus spoke. "How?"

"How what?" You spoke in confusion.

"How did you managed to take my spot?" So that's why he decided to stop you from leaving? You scoffed at the pettiness before deciding to give in and answer, hoping Coriolanus would leave you be.

"I just studied." Apparently your answer was not good for him as he continued to rambled on in a fit.

"What do you mean you just studied? You transferred less than 3 months ago, how are you able to catch up with everything?! Your grandfather managed to get a private tutor for you?" As you thought things couldn't get worse, Coriolanus managed to hit a sore spot of yours.

Coriolanus heard from the gossips of the likes of Livia Cardew and Arachne Crane that you were not originally born in the Capitol despite your maternal family's powerful name. You were the product of a tragic fairy tale romance. Your parents' love story was one from the books- the first-born daughter of the highest ranking military commander in Panem falling in love with a talented yet low-birth soldier who had caught the eye of your grandfather for his combat potential during an off-site training in district 7 and personally took him under his tutelage.

When your mother decided to reject an arranged marriage with one of Panem's prestigious families that could bring honor to both families, she did something no one else would expect of a prim and proper Capitol-born and raised lady. She decided to elope with your father and found refuge in a secluded village in District 11.

Your grandpa, embarrassed and outraged decided to disown your mother- not killing her as one last act of mercy being once a daughter of Carnell.

It was not until your grandfather's recent decline in health the past few years made he realised that he could not bear to separate from his precious only daughter and made arrangements for you and your mother to come back to the Capitol.

Your father had unfortunately passed away due to a sudden disease infection in his health a few years prior when you were thirteen. It was an excruciating time for you and your mother as there was no way you could seek proper medical help for him while living in the districts.

After your father's passing , your mother was struggling to provide for both of you so she agreed to come back to the Capitol for your sake when your grandfather reached out. She couldn't bear to see you suffer and wanted you to be able to have the same privileged upbringing she was born into. It was then she decided to move on from the past and accepted your grandfather's offer.

You only agreed for your mother's sake but had disdain that everything was the Capitol and for your grandfather who cold-heartedly threw your mother out. Before allowing you to make your debut into the Capitol, your grandfather hired a home tutor to prepare you enough to enter the Academy on an equal footing as any elite Capitol children.

The grueling and rigorous studying hours in your home study was an unwanted distant memory- you requested for your grandfather to dismiss the private tutor upon your enrollment and assured him you would be able to keep up once you enter the Academy.

"No, I don't have one. I didn't want one." Answering through gritted teeth, you hope that the boy in front of you can just stop.

"Then how?" Growing annoyed at his persistent questions, you decided to tell him the truth.

"I just have a good memory, okay? I can remember a lot of stuffs at once. That's all."

"That's cheating." Rolling your eyes at his pettiness, you folded your arms as you turned away from his annoying yet handsome face.

"It's not like I asked for it! Besides, the exams are not just about memorization but application of theories too. That's something even photographic memory can't help you with!" The stunned expression on Coriolanus face told you even that he had no choice but to agree with the validity of your point.

"Look, I'm sorry I took your spot. I didn't even expect to be at the top. I just want to graduate quietly, I never wanted any of this." Coriolanus grew quiet as he saw how you stared off with a forlorn look.

"Why wouldn't you not want any of this? Wealth and privilege."

"More like chains and scrutiny. He took my freedom away. And now I'm stuck here with a bunch of prissy stuck up kids." The disdain for your grandfather was evident in how you spoke with seething anger. You shot Coriolanus one last look before you walked out of the door.

This was the least expected outcome Coriolanus would have thought of when he decided to approach you. This was also the most that you two have talked ever since you have entered the Academy.

Despite being a new face and not Capitol-born, the Carnell name was too big for any elite to ignore and you soon gained some attention. There were people who admired your social standing and wanted to try to approach you for their own benefit and while some others disdained you for not being born and raised in the Capitol like them but still remained civil to you for your maternal family's namesake.

Coriolanus noticed that you kept to yourself mostly but were able to be friendly to most when approached. He seen you interact with Sejanus (of course of all people) the most- it seems that being district prior was likely the cause of why you were able to bond with him so much. Coriolanus scoffed to himself at the thought and for a moment wondered why that bothered him.

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The next time you both met again was when Coriolanus approached you during lunch. During the class before lunch, Professor Satyria announced for a paired class assignment and the whole class almost went into a frenzy when you and Coriolanus were announced as partners.

"How could you do that professor? They are literally number one and number two in the cohort! Where does that leave us?!" Upon seeing the students' fervent response, Professor Satyria smirked in child-life mischief before forming a wide Cheshire cat smile.

"Yes, I'm very aware and instead of the boring strategy to make them compete one another, I would like to see if the two top students are able to produce something far beyond my expectations!"

An invisible weight was placed on Coriolanus shoulders' at his professors words. He was her favourite student after and he did not want to disappoint her, furthermore with her expectations being set so high, the desire to meet it has caused the pressure to increased tenfold.

He hated group projects, knowing that if others failed to play their part, the brilliance of what he could create be diminished. But perhaps, if it was you- another fellow academic who has shown to be on par on his level, it could be different.

Coriolanus then decided that he needed to speak with you immediately to discuss the assignment and decided to do so during lunch. Where were you? He had never seen you once at the cafeteria during lunch.

Coriolanus then decided to approach Sejanus as much as his pride didn't want him to- figuring that if there was anyone who had a clue about where you were, it was the boy who shared a similar upbringing as you.

Sejanus figured that Coriolanus would have wanted to find you regarding the assignment and gave away your secret lunch spot. Under a tree with bright red leaves also known as the 'Burning ash', Coriolanus spotted you at the small table that was placed near the tree.

As he got closer, Coriolanus found himself feeling envious when greeted by the sight of the extravagant packed lunch that you had brought from home.

"That seems nice." He started off with a compliment to warm you up. You looked up at him with surprised doe eyes before quickly switching them to one that was guarded. He recalled that both of your last encounter with each other was far from pleasant and started to feel nervous at the thought.

"Hmm, abit too much." You brushed off his compliment as you continued to open up the different compartments of the boxes.

"The cafeteria food is actually pretty good so why...." Coriolanus tried to continue the conversation. To his surprise, you were not curt in your response and went on to explain in detail.

"My grandfather has an irrational fear of food poisoning from his warring days so he does not trust any food prepared by outsiders. He even has his own poison taster...." Rolling your eyes while continuing your explanation, you also can't help but to notice how the boy opposite you was looking at your food.

"Well, he passed his fear onto his family and does not allow us to eat any food prepared by anyone else other than our house chef unless we have a poison taster around." You continued explaining with a quirked smile as you thought about how dramatic your strict grandfather could be. Coriolanus then decided to pull out a cookie from his bag and into his mouth.

"Doesn't seem like this is poisoned." He spoke through muffled bites.

"Give it ten seconds." You quipped back playfully before Coriolanus started pretending to cough and gagged which caught you off guard. When he started to grin at your reaction, you couldn't help a smile forming on your face at the lame joke he tried to pull.

Searching for the extra spoon that was packed into your lunch to Coriolanus, you offered it to the boy in front of you. "Would you like to have some? I can't finish possibly all of them."

"Oh no- I couldn't-"

"Please. I happen to see food peeking out from your bag a couple of times. I don't know the reason but please- really. This is all too much for me and I hate to see food go to waste." At first, Coriolanus was embarrassed to hear that you have caught him in his act but it quickly turned to something else as your last statement stroke an emotional cord with Coriolanus.

You recommended for him to try the soup and your heart tightened with some warmth when you see Coriolanus taking more mouthfuls of soup. He usually had a cool facade so seeing him with such a light and boyish expression made you felt some sort of way.

The soup he had was one of the best food he had in awhile but before he could continue in his indulgence, he was then alerted about the statement you made earlier- about seeing the food that he would pack from lunch in his bag. How long have you been noticing it?

It would have been terrible if anyone else in the school knew about it and spread gossip. The fact that you knew and just kept it to yourself- Coriolanus' view of you have now moved to one in a positive light.

The two of you ate quietly without exchanging much words and instead reveled in the comforting of each other's company. The dynamics of your relationship started to change from this simple lunch onwards and the two of you started to spend more time togther.

Coriolanus and you ended up presenting the best assignment in the history of the Academy which solidified both of your reputations in the entire school. Despite being district born and raised, you definitely proven that you had 'Capitol blood' in you with your outstanding results and other students did best to not underestimate you anymore.

Coriolanus once again regained his standing as the top student the following term and both of you took turns to reclaim the top spot in a friendly competition. He gladly acknowledged you as someone who was worthy to be his academic rival and friend at the same time and would even be sincerely happy for you when your name came out on top.

The two of you always spent lunch together under the Burning Ash tree. You purposely asked for a bigger lunch to be prepared for yourself so that you could always share it with him. Sometimes you even got him to bring the extra food home too. Seeing him eating well made you feel some sort of indescribable contentment and even though he has not shared why he was always hiding and keeping food in his bag, you did not pry.

Coriolanus was grateful for this and he felt that one day, he would eventually want to share his deepest secrets that no one else knew with you.

The other students presumed that the two of you were always hanging out with each other because of the assignment that Professor Satyria gave but when the two of you continued to stay around each other after the assignment- people began to speculate especially when a guy and girl seems to be around each other most of the time.

While on the way to the restroom one day, Coriolanus was just about to open the door when he heard two boys talking about you from the inside.

"You think Y/N is together with Snow?" The first voice sounds like it belonged to Festus Creed.

"Tough to say, I mean she does talk to other guys but they're always having lunch I heard. But they don't seem like they're actually together you know?" The next voice belonged to another classmate, Apollo Ring.

"I think I'm going to ask her out." Festus spoke with an affirmative tone.

"Really? Since when do you like her?" Besides Apollo, Coriolanus also shared the same surprise upon Festus' declaration. Coriolanus inched his way closer to the door without giving away that he was there to listen in to the two boys' conversations.

"I wasn't sure about her being from the district before but she kind of proved everyone wrong at the Academy with how intelligent she is. Besides, she's way more likeable than girls like Cardew and Crane. And she's really pretty too especially when she smiles."

"You sound like you're in love already. You really think you have a chance with her? Forget Snow, her grandpa is Chief Commander Carnell." Apollo snickered at his friend who sounded like he was in a dreamy state. A gnawing feeling creeped inside Coriolanus' chest as he thought about the possibility of you going out with Festus.

Sure, Festus was an alright guy but was he worthy of you? You are afterall the only granddaughter of the Carnell family. Fester hit the nail on the head alright, you are not just beautiful but smart and likeable too. Besides the obvious attention you would get from guys, Coriolanus heard the whispers of envious girls who wanted to be like you which in itself showed how charming you were to everyone.

"You never know if you don't try, right?" Festus' voice brought Coriolanus out of his thoughts as he realised the door was opening. He was then met with the stunned faces of Fester and Apollo who were surprised to see Coriolanus at the other side of the door.

Giving a look of acknowledgment, Coriolanus pretended to be aloof and just walked past the two boys to use the restroom. As the door closed and he was left alone, Coriolanus looked up to see himself in the mirror. He felt himself feeling warm and his hand reached over to clutched the fabric that was covering where his heart would be.

What was this emotion he was feeling? He did not absolutely wanted to lose you to anyone else. Just imagining you directing your smile, the one where you would shyly look down before looking up like a ray of sunshine- at someone else but him would kill him.

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Coriolanus was waiting outside the school for you so that you could take a short walk out before heading your separate ways home. As Coriolanus fiddled with the compass that belonged to his dad to pass the time, his instinct told him to look up and that's when he saw you stopped in your tracks by Fester.

It looked like Fester was making an attempt to swoon you as he animatedly spoke which caused you to give a pleasant smile in return. As the wind blew and your let down hair started swirling in the air, Coriolanus' breath was taken away for a short moment before it stopped short seeing Fester reaching over to tuck a strand behind your ear.

Coriolanus could see the minute flinch you made upon the sudden contact. He was not going to allow any of Fester's forlorn wish to happen and took it upon himself to stride up the long steps to where you stood.

"Y/N, there you are!" Whipping your head to Coriolanus' voice, a sense of relief washed over you at his entrance.

Just a minute ago, Festus came up to you as you were leaving the school. He mentioned that he did pretty badly in the last term assignment and was wondering if you could tutor him given that you were the top student for the subject. You were actually considering it, thinking that there was no harm.

When you first came to the Academy, you were sure to hate it knowing that it was only open to children of the most elite families in the Capitol. You knew that most of the students had a privileged upbringing and tend to be quite stuck up, specially to someone like you were originally from the district despite coming from a prominent family.

You did noticed how the students pretended to be civil to Sejanus but spoke ill of him once his back was turned afterall. You were sure that you were subjected to the same treatment but was fortunate that it didn't happen thanks to how fearsome your grandfather's reputation and name could be.

You did however find that some of the students were still pleasant such as your Clemmie, Sejanus, the Ring twins, Lysistrata and the likes. Your mind then went to Coryo (as you now called him by his request) and a small smile quirked at the thought of him.

You were sure that he was the last person you had expected to be close friends with. You knew he was a studious person and he always appeared to calm and reserved, although when he spoke- you felt a sense of charisma and wit that distinguished him from the rest.

When he had came up to confront you about knocking off the podium for last term's grades, you thought he was a sore loser but when he then approached you again for the paired assignment, he showed another side to himself.

A more vulnerable and boyish side to him that allowed you to open up to him and that's the Coryo that you find yourself drawn to. The side of him he hardly shown to anyone else but you, at least that's what you think.

Coryo's voice woke you out of your thoughts as he spoke once more. "Hey, we should get going if we don't want to be late."

"Oh, late for what?" Fester asked curiously and your mind scrambled for an answer.

"Uhm, for something." You realised that this was not going well when Fester tilted his head to the side in confusion. Turning to Coryo for help, he tapped his fingers on the book he was holding and you immediately got the hint.

"I mean, Coryo and I had study plans together."

"Oh can I join?" Stumped by Fester's persistence, you looked back at Coryo who looked almost irritated. Coriolanus then slid his hand over your shoulder and took an inch closer to you. Your ears started turning red and your heart started to race uncontrollably at the contact. Why was your body reacting like this?

"This is something that Y/N and I had already planned together." Fester was not dumb as he saw how Coriolanus was looking at him right now.

"Oh is that right? Perhaps next time, Y/N?" Fester tried his luck on you seeing how you were the one not showing any hostility towards him.

You opened your mouth wanting to answer but nothing came to your mind. Seeing as you did not know how to reject the poor boy, Coryo slid his hand down from your shoulder to your hand and interlocked your fingers together.

Before you could comprehend what he was doing, Coryo pulled you forward to follow him as he almost leaped down the stairs and he turned back to you with an unknown look.

"We're going to be late." He spoke and you then nodded along before turning back to a confused Fester. "Sorry Fester, we're going to be late!" You echoed as you followed behind Coryo.

Not caring about Fester's response, you turned back to see Coryo looking at you with a cheeky grin and you returned one in same. Coryo looked down to your intertwined hands and then back up to your smile that looked like it could compete with the Sun.

Before I held you, I didn’t know that the world I was in was this bright.

"Yes, that's right. Only smile like this for me, Y/N. No one else."

Coriolanus thought to himself as he tightened the grip of your small hand in his.

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

What do you think? Let me know in the comments! 😆

#angstsfordays #i will go to you like the first snow #coriolanus snow #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus x you #the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow x reader #ballad of songbirds and snakes

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nkirukaj · 7 months ago

Text

The Radio Demon & the Billboard Doe (12)

Pairing: Alastor x Fem! OC

Warnings: Swearing; Sexual Activity

Genre: Angst, Fluff, SMUT (& Humor!)

Word Count: 6.3K

<Chapter 11

12. Deer Tingz

At work the next day Velvette was very pleased with her work, her stance, her walk, and her poses all seemed to get quite a genuine smile out of the Overlord.

“Excellent job, excellent!” she clapped

Voe stopped to look at her “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely! You are definitely getting the hang of this. You know, after months of being at it,”

Voe smiles “That’s more like you,”

Velvette smiles back “Finally someone who appreciates my honesty!” Voe heads toward the dressing room “Where you going?”

Voe does a double take “Oh! I thought you wanted to see how the new clothes fit me.”

“Yeah, just change here. It’s just me, no one else.”

“Oh,” Voe is surprised

“Come on, it’ll save time!”

“Okay,”

The doe starts to undress and Velvette doesn’t even pretend to look away, she stares with her arms crossed as the doe strips to her underwear. Voe looks up for a moment to retrieve the dress, seeing her boss staring at her with a smirk. She feels a bit self-conscious “What?” she chuckles nervously

“I’m waiting for you to put on the clothes,”

“Okay,”

Voe steps into the dress and pulls it up over her body “Oh there’s a zipper,” she says

“Oh, let me help you with that,” the doll approaches the model from behind and presses her hand on Voe’s lower back, right above her tail. She slowly drags the zipper up her back, breathing on her model’s neck all the while.

There it is again, Voe thought, the warmth. She felt her nipples press against the fabric.

“Oh, that won’t do,” Velvette breathes down her neck. Voe looks up at her boss

“Hmm? What?”

“Your nipples are showing,” she runs her hands over the doe’s nipples quickly, and after it’s like it never happened “I’ll have to get you some pasties for that.” Velvette turns her around “But other than that, it fits wonderfully!” She holds Voe by the waist.

“Great,” Voe breathes out

“By the way, I’ll need you here early tomorrow for an impromptu photoshoot.” The doll walks away and Voe raises her brow “Don’t give me that look, it’s not just you. A bunch of other models will be there as well. They’ll be taking photographs for,” she turns to Voe with a glint in her eye “a billboard, planned to be mounted in the middle of Pentagram City,”

Voe seems shocked “Wait, really?”

Velvette smirks again “Yes, really.”

“Oh my gosh!” Voe exclaims, covering her mouth in glee “Oh my GOSH!”

“Yes, yes” she waves the excited model off “See? Giving me your soul wasn’t that bad right? I told you I can make your dreams come true.” Velvette puts her finger under Voe’s chin “But of course, you’re going to have to do better on info with the old-timey prick. Vox is insatiable. Have you got anything else?”

“I don’t think so. He just killed a group of demons yesterday, that’s all.”

“Really? Why?”

She shrugs “I don’t know. I guess he was mad or something,”

“Oh, the Radio Demon mad?”

“I guess he blamed me, for my live or whatever.”

Velvette grins ”So he was embarrassed? Interesting. Any more?”

Voe chuckles “I mean, I don’t know if this is anything, but…” She rolls her eyes “Recently, he’s been doing this thing, where he like…” she snickers “Sniffs me? Whenever I’m in the same room as him?”

“Wow, what a creep,” Velvette says while on her phone

“But yeah I don’t know if that’s a big thing,”

“You’re doing great,” she grabs Voe’s waist, squeezing it “Keep up the good work.” She plants kisses on both sides of Voe’s face “Now take off the dress, don’t want it getting wrinkly.”

_________________________________________________________

Voe sits in the parlor with Angel, not doing anything really, just enjoying each other’s company, when Voe’s ears turn towards the stairs. She looks up and sees Alastor approaching, grin wide as ever, the smile actually reaching his eyes at this moment.

“Hi,” she says to him, then ducking behind the couch in case he’s still angry with her

“Good afternoon, my dear.” he stops behind the couch

“You look happy,” she comments

“Taking care of a group of degenerates did satisfy me, yes”

“That’s good,” she looks up at him “Real good”

The air is awkward between them as they stare at each other

“Oh my god, would you two FUCK already?! Preferably not here, cuz I already called this room.” Angel exclaims, finally looking up from his phone. Alastor stares at the spider, confused “What?” he gets back on his phone. Voe looks back and forth between the two men.

“Anyway, is there something you need?” he asks Voe

She looks away, chest warming “Uh, no. Just wanted to know how you’re doing. ‘Cuz um, you were upset with me before.”

“I am fine, my dear. I just hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

She nods meekly and lowers herself on the couch. She takes a moment before speaking again “That was pretty cool, yesterday. Taking out all those demons.” Her face is flush as she replays it in her head

“Are you well?” he sounds confused

“Yeah! Why?”

“Why are you being nice to me? What do you want?” He raises his brow

Angel mimes fellatio off to the side, Voe slaps his hands down. “Nothing! Would you rather me be mean?”

“Well that’s your default darling, can’t blame me for being surprised.”

She shrugs again “I just thought I’d give you a compliment.” She smiles, trying to hide her arousal

“Mhmm,” Alastor’s grin grows wider, looking as confident as possible

“Oh, look at this guy,” Angel says, turning around “Look toots, you fed his ego. That’s what you don’t do here!”

“No, I’m that guy” Alastor responds playfully

Voe raised her brows in surprise “Excuse me?”

His grin takes up his whole face “I’m that guy.”

“How do you know what that means? Who taught you that? Angel, did you teach him that?”

Alastor blows a kiss at her before shadow teleporting away.

Voe stares at the spot where the stag once stood with wide eyes of disbelief.

“Did he just-?” Angel stopped himself

Voe had no words to even say at this point. Her body was boiling and she had no control over anything at all.

She ran into him later on in the hallway, where he stopped her once again

“Fine afternoon it is, hmm?”

Voe stops in her tracks “What?”

“Lovely afternoon?” he raises his brow

“Oh, um I guess so.”

“What are you heading off to do?”

She looks up at the ceiling “Nothing…”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing, you’re practically red in the face, my dear”

Voe rubs her arm “That’s nothing,”

“Oh my, I hope you’re not getting sick,” He leans down, cupping her chin “My my, you’re quite warm,” he leaves his hand under her jaw

She leans into his palm, comfortable against his fingers. Once she realizes what she’s doing pulls back “Oh, I-“

Alastor regrips her chin to keep her from leaving “Your face seems very delicate. I wonder what you looked like alive and what was your name?”

She pulls herself together for a moment to question “Why do you want to know my name?”

“Oh come now, you know my true name,”

“That’s not fair, EVERYONE knows your true name! That’s all we call you!” Alastor smiles playfully “We don’t even have a nickname to call you!

He shrugs “What can I say? I’m proud of who I am,”

“I’ll tell you my name if you let me come up with a nickname for you,”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Fair Enough,”

“I’ll call you… Bambi.”

“Bambi?” He raises his brow

“Yes.”

“Fine then,” he twirls his cane “I’ll call you Belle.”

“Why?” She asked fiercely

“Because you insist on misusing the word ‘Beau’ when the term Belle is the correct one.”

“It just means good-looking,”

“Technically true, but it is generally used towards men, to mean ‘handsome’.”

“There are handsome women.”

Alastor chuckles “You my dear, are not a handsome woman.”

Voe crosses her arms “There’d better be more to that statement.”

He holds his cane with both of his hands “First off, you are small. Your face is round and your features are soft. Your eyes are piercing but in a gentle way. Your skin is supple and smooth, and your lips are full and plump. Your entire look and demeanor exude femininity. Which isn’t bad of course. But it isn’t how one would define ‘handsome’.” In the time that he was speaking, a blush had crept up the doe’s face. “So I shall call you Belle. It is more appropriate.”

“You already call me Voe,” her voice lowering slightly

“Yes, but that is not a nickname, it is your new name.”

Her eyes dart around before landing on the man’s face. She takes it in and really looks at him, getting lost in his features, he notices of course and his smile turns cocky as her body grows warm once more.

“It’s Vera.” She says between heavy breaths “My given name is Vera.”

Alastor places both of his hands behind his back “My my, that’s a beautiful name! And very fitting for you and your face. I think I like it more than ‘Voe’ actually!”

“Yeah, well my name down here is ‘Voe’, so don’t go around calling me that in front of other people.”

Alastor leans down to meet her eyes, his scent hitting Voe right in the nose “But it’s fine in private?” he asks, his crimson eyes riddled with mischievous intent, as he was unaware of what his look and his tone were doing to her body right now.

“I mean, I guess if that’s what you want..” she mumbles, blushing and unable to cope with how close he was to her face.

“Lovely,” his pitch lowered and his radio filter removed, to reveal a smooth and suave, voice that had been hidden all along. Voe could not do this right now, she was going insane, because Alastor was doing so many attractive things and he wasn’t backing away, so she couldn’t even hide her face.

He finally stood up straight once more, his arms and his cane in front of him.

“Well, I have some business to handle at the moment, but do come and find me again” he removes the filter and lowers his voice once more “Vera,” before he dissipates in front of her

She was finally able to breathe once he left, and luckily she didn’t expose the waterfall she felt between her legs.

______________________________________________________

Voe arrived at the studio at 7 AM with a bunch of bustling women. Velvette had sent a car to pick her up, filled with coffee and hot chocolate which she was currently sipping as she entered. She didn’t understand how people could be so full of energy this early in the morning.

“Put that over there-! What are you doing with that?! I did NOT tell you to touch that! Put it down! Are you an idiot?! Yeah, you! Are you an idiot?! No, I’m actually asking! ARE YOU A FUCKING IDIOT, YOU BITCH ASS CUNT?! MELISSA, FOR THE FIFTH TIME, OVER HERE!” Velvette turns in every direction screaming at every possible person “Valentino! What are you doing?!”

The moth stood in the corner of the studio, with a compact “I’m powdering my nose bebita,”

“Don’t baby me motherfucker! Get off your buggy ass and HELP ME!!” the makeup artist trailing behind Velvette was having a hard time placing the makeup on her face

“Oh, Miss Velvette-“

The doll ignored her “Get off your ASS!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Get your actors together! They’re in the corner FUCKING EACH OTHER!!”

Valentino turns to see his actors in a giant orgy “Come on amorcitos,” His mouth spreads into a devilish grin “Without me?”

“UGH!” she stomps her foot in frustration

“You know, that’s very unattractive for a lady,”

“Valentino…help me or I will kick your ass!”

The moth man purrs “Don’t threaten me with a good time,”

Velvette’s rage bubbles over, she turns and grabs a cup of coffee from Melissa, throwing it at Val “DAMN IT VALENTINO!!”

“Okay okay!” He flinches away from the scalding coffee

Voe stands in the corner and watches all of the chaos, sipping the remains of her hot chocolate. Another demoness comes and taps her on the shoulder, making her flinch.

“Oh, um sorry. Are you Voe?” she asked

“Yes,”

“Um, I was assigned to you. To do your makeup.”

Voe hands her the cup “Can you throw this out?”

“Oh, uh okay,” She takes the cup and walks off

Voe walks up to her boss, not knowing if it’s okay to touch her “Um Velvette,”

“WHOEVER IS ORGANIZING THESE FILES IS GETTING FIRED!!” she throws them on the ground “MELISSA PICK THESE UP!!”

“Velvette?”

“WHAT? What?” She turns to Voe. “Go over there and get changed!” She points to a corner

Voe heads over to her area that’s partitioned off, there hangs the dress she had tried on. A slim-fit hot pink bodycon dress with one puffed sleeve. She pulled it up over her body, noticing the extra padding in her breast area since the last time.

“What do you mean you lost her?? She’s in her corner!! WHERE YOU SHOULD BE!!!!!! I swear the NEXT PERSON who is in the wrong place is getting FIRED!!!!!”

The makeup artist comes behind the partition “Oh, there you are. Can I take down your hair?”

Voe shrugs “It’s your job,”

The makeup artist runs her hands through Voe’s curls, pulling them back into a ponytail. After about ten minutes she turned Voe around to reveal the final look. “And voila!”

Voe looks at herself, she looks like a clown. The foundation is 5 shades too light and none of the colors or styles match her features “What did you do to my face?”

Velvette comes in “All right we’ve got about 10 minutes I hope you’re finished,”

Voe turns to her boss “Look what she did to my face!”

Velvette snatches the model’s face, turning it vigorously. She looks at the makeup artist “You’re fired. Get out now! AND LEAVE THE MAKEUP! I swear I have to do everything myself around here!” She sprays Voe’s face with a spray bottle “Don’t move!’

Thirty minutes later Voe leaves the partition with her makeup done perfectly, pink eyelids to match the dress, perfectly done eyebrows, and highlighted cheekbones with a natural lined lip. She steps out into the studio waiting on Velvette’s word.

“All right, you’re good. Come,” She zips up the dress from behind her and leads her to the studio. “Valentino, are your actors ready or not?!”

Voe tilts her head, squinting in Val’s direction. He’s yelling at someone, yanking them by their arms and grabbing them around the throat.

“Valentino!”

“WHAT?!”

“Stop playing with your boy toy and get him on set!” She crosses her arms

Val whispers something else to the demon and throws him toward the rest of the models and actors, as he comes forward Voe can see that it’s Angel.

“Angel?” She calls her friend “Angel,” she calls slightly louder

Velvette snaps in front of her “Voe, pay attention. You need to be here.” She points at a spot in the middle “You’re right in the center, so you’re getting the most attention. You’re my flagship model, so you have to be on your A-game. Hey! Are you listening?”

“Yes yes, I’m listening.”

“Good. Alright! We’re going to be doing the group photos first, then individuals! After that, my employees can go home. I have no idea what Valentino has planned for the rest of you! Let’s do it!”

They posed for hours as Velvette insisted on more and more photos. Moments where she had to stop and physically reposition some models, or where Valentino came to have a ‘chat’ with some of his actors about smiling. Angel was positioned next to her and in between moments of shooting, she tried to take quick glances at him. She was unsure if he was so in the zone that he didn’t notice her or if she was being ignored. There was a moment where Velvete and Valentino started arguing about whether or not some of the models and actors should make out, which is when she made her move to speak.

“Angel,” she whispered, trying not to move out of position

“Huh?” he finally responded

“I didn’t know you were gonna be here,”

“Yeah, it’s for the actors and models…” he trails off

She glances at him “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,”

“You looked kinda sad,”

“Nah,”

“Are you sure?”

He nods “I’m sure,”

“Okay,” she puts her face back the way it was before, just in time for Velvette to continue the shoot.

After another hour Velvette yelled out “Alright the rest of you fuck off, we want some of just you two,” she pointed at her and Angel “Okay I want you two back to back for this one”

“Ay Chiquita, this is boring!” Val walks onto the set “Why don’t we sex it up?” He shimmies toward Velvette

She shrugs “Why not?”

“We should have your little doe here sit on Ángel’s lap,” he grins with pleasure

She looks up at her friend, seeing his discomfort with that suggestion

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She speaks between her teeth

“Yes,” he mumbles

“You look like you’re gonna throw up.”

“I’m fine.” he grits his teeth

He sits down and she sits on top of his lap as instructed.

“Put your arms around her waist,” the moth tells the spider. He leans down to speak to Voe “Relax chica, he doesn’t bite, back up,” he pushes her back by her shoulders onto Angel’s crotch. She hears the spider huff and then groan. This earns him an evil eye from Valentino, displeased with the noise.

“Can we hurry this up, we still have singles to take!”

“You heard her Angel, hurry this up.” Val’s voice bordering on threatening

Angel pulls Voe closer, she is for once aware of the tension in the room but isn’t exactly sure what to do.

“Great, take the pictures,” Velvette calls

“Ooh, how about another where you two kiss each other.”

“I swear you are not using that picture,”

Valentino grins disgustingly “I’m using it for something,”

The doll rolls her eyes “I swear, you love wasting my time. Whatever, get it over with.”

“What’s a kiss between friends?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Voe stands up

“I do have other things to do Valentino,” Vel rolls her eyes

Voe waves her arms “Excuse me?” Both the Overlords turn to look at her

“Is there a problem?” Vel asks

She looks around “Yeah, what the fuck are we doing?”

“A photoshoot?” Val says condescendingly

“Yeah, why are we kissing though?”

“Just to liven things up a bit,”

“Yeah, but he’s super gay though.”

Val raises an eyebrow “Oh, does Angel have a problem?” He looks behind her at the spider, who lowers his head

“No, this is all me.”

Val turns to Velvette “You did say this is your employee, right?”

Velvette scoffs “Oh fuck off.” She turns to Voe “What’s the problem?”

“I just don’t understand why we’re throwing in random shit,”

She rolls her eyes “So you don’t want to do it?”

“I want to do the photo shoot, but maybe not this…?”

Vel turns to Val “She doesn’t want to do it.”

Valentino sneers at the doe, and then his smile returns “Fine, fine. It was just a suggestion,”

“I’m okay with doing it,” Angel chirps up, but it’s too late

“Nope, we’re moving on!” Velvette calls out, shooing Angel off. He walks over to his boss who snatches him up and starts berating him like before.

“Let’s get you in a two-piece,” Velvette suggests off to the side. Meanwhile, Voe is too busy watching her friend be degraded by his boss. Velvette snaps in her face “Voe!”

“Huh? Yes?”

“I said, let’s get you in a two-piece, come on pay attention!”

“Yes, of course,” she says taking one last glance

The singles went by fine enough, they had her posing with a hot pink whip, one where she lays down with her legs kicking upward, and one where she’s squatting with her back to the camera. It all went by so fast since she wasn’t thinking about herself. In all her free moments she kept staring back at Angel to see how he was doing, and every time he wore the same grim expression, though she knew he would never admit that something was wrong. Once her singles were over, she was dismissed from the shoot.

“Um, is it okay if I stay and watch?”

“Whatever, just take off the outfit.”

When it came time for Angel’s singles, Valentino was up and present. Angel does a bevy of sexy and provocative poses as Val just watches him. Voe swore she could see a bulge rising in the moth’s pants. Gross. She thought.

“Finally, we’re done. You are all dismissed!” Velvette screams out, walking back into her office.

Voe walks up to Angel “Hey,”

“Hey,” he sounds monotone

“I watched your singles.”

Angel smiles “Oh yeah, what’d you think?”

She smiles back “I think you sir, were born to be on camera.”

He looks flattered “You weren’t so bad yourself,”

“Thanks,” he nods at her smiling “Did you wanna go home together?”

“Yeah, sure I-“

“Angel baby,” Valentino calls for him “Let’s go,”

Angel’s face falls “I’ll just see you back at the Hotel,”

“You don’t want me to wait for you?”

“No,” he shakes his head “Just go I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” She glances back at Valentino, who looks a bit too smug for her taste. She squints her eyes at him “Okay, bye.” She holds her arms out for a hug, Angel goes to hug her back, but Valentino calls again

“Angel,” more stern this time

“Bye,” Angel says and follows his boss out of the studio.

Voe stands in the same spot watching after them for a while before going back up to her boss who jumps at her presence.

“Fuck! Warn a bitch next time! Almost gave me a fucking heart attack!”

“Is Valentino like that all the time?” she asked with no lead-up

She scoffs “Nah, he’s just a big baby,”

“That was pretty weird, no?”

“That’s just business.”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“What?”

“The whole ‘trying to make us kiss’ thing?”

“Nah, he’s just weird. and annoying. Ugh Throwing me off schedule. I swear those two are always throwing me off schedule.”

But Voe isn’t listening “Is there something weird going on?”

Velvette blinks at her “What do you mean?”

“Like, with him and Angel.”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

Velvette turns stern “Voe.”

“Yes?”

“Do you work for Valentino or do you work for me?”

“I work for you,”

“So focus on what I tell you to do and not what’s going on over there. Got it?”

Voe lowers her eyes and volume “Yes ma’am.”

________________________________________________________

Voe enters from the front doors and approaches the bar where Husker drunkenly stares off into nothing.

“Hey Husk,” she waves her hand in his face

“Hey you,” and stares past her

“I’d like a drink, and you have to make it for me now.” She purses her lips in superiority

The bartender scoffs and rolls his eyes in her direction

“What?”

“I can’t believe he has me making you this trash,”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t get it. He’s killed other demons for less than all the shit you’ve pulled since you got here. Why are you still breathing?” An exasperated Husk questions the doe at the bar

“Because he likes me,” she responded confidently

“No, but really”

“I’m serious! He likes me!” Voe insisted to the bartender

“That son of a bitch doesn’t like anyone.”

She taps the table excitedly “Well, he likes me. I’m sure of it!”

Husk sucks his teeth “Yeah, whatever.” He slides her the glass, which she happily takes and sips with grace. Over towards the couches, Voe could hear familiar footsteps approaching.

“Speak of the Devil,” she says in a sing-song tone.

Alastor sits on the couch reading, while Charlie and Vaggie are conversing with one another. Voe approaches him after downing her drink.

“Hi,” she whispers in his ear

Alastor looks up to acknowledge her “Good evening,”

“What’s that?”

“This my dear is a book,”

She rolls her eyes “Duh. How are you?”

“I’m quite well, how was your work?”

She leans on the back of the couch “Fun,”

“Is it all you’ve ever dreamed of?” He asked, a hint of playfulness in his voice

“Hmm, I suppose so.”

“Good for you, darling,” He returns his attention to the book in his hands.

Voe stared down at the overlord sitting and fought with an overwhelming impulse. She fought…and lost. Bending forward toward his side profile, he felt her breath on his skin, but before he could turn and react, she took her elongated tongue and dragged it up from his chin to his eye. Alastor slowly turns his head up and stares at her like she’s lost her mind. Charlie and Vaggie see this and wait with bated breath.

“I’m sorry, is there something wrong with you?” He stands, his hands behind his back

She looks to the side “I don’t think so.”

“Then, why on earth would you put your tongue on me? On my face no less.”

“Why do you have such a lickable face?” He stares at her stunned “Besides, I just had the urge. You can’t lick me back because I have makeup on.” She smiles smugly “But idk. Deer tingz” she waves him off

“Regardless of your reasoning, it was entirely inappropriate, and I expect it never to be repeated. Are we clear?”

His stern tone has her dripping, she bats her eyes coyly and nods, answering “Yes Mr. Radio Demon.”

He squints, full of frustration “I don’t feel like you’re taking me seriously,”

Voe can’t help but stare at him, drinking in his body “Oh I am,”

Alastor begins to stretch unnaturally, his limbs elongate in strange and monstrous ways. His antlers grow enormous. His eyes turn black and his mouth drips with blood, while he emits deer screeching.

“A̶̧͔̘͕͈̱̥̍̃ͅr̷̮̪͕͐̃̎ë̵̤̫̼̜͍̞́ ̴̨͇͚̦͚̒̌͒̾̌̅̐̂w̸̭̙̮̐͌̓́͌̅ȩ̴̬͙͓̠̩̝̦̻͒͐̄̊̀̈́̏͂͐ ̸̧̮̜̟̫̫̖̰̻̪͌̑̅̂̕͘͝͠͝c̸̡͖̹͖͎̾̿̋̊͝͠͠ͅl̸̠͚͊̿̿̽̄͋͐̚͘͝ͅẹ̸̱͖͔͉͉̝͚̄̌͋̌̕ą̵̮̖̘̏͂r̷͕̰̫̮͍̺̾͂̕͝?̶̲̖̠͕̫̺̼̮̻̌̔̊̑” His voice distorts, sounding more radio than human

But surprisingly, Voe just takes a step back, her eyes widening, and bites her lip, looking absolutely giddy. She nods again and releases her lip staring at him with an open mouth.

“I love it when you get scary,” she grins maniacally.

He returns to his normal form with a look of shock, disgust, confusion, amusement, and intrigue on his face, his smile still intact. “Are you unwell?”

She leans in, standing on her tiptoes “Are you?”

His eyes settle, determining that his interest was warranted.

“See this is the shit I’m talking about!” Husk calls from the bar

Alastor gathers his book and shadows away, unclear of how to proceed with this interaction

“Bye,” she says, waving at the empty spot

Hours later Angel finally walks through the door, looking battered and bruised. He heads towards the stairs to get to his room. Voe chases after him.

“Hey,” she touches his shoulder, and he turns around. She can see that he has a black eye. “Oh my gosh! What happened to you?”

He waves it off “Rough shoot,”

“You did a whole nother shoot?”

Angel furrows his brows “Well, I am an actor.”

“Is that where you got that black eye from?”

“Like I said, rough shoot.” He sighs “I’m going to bed.”

“Wait, Angel.” He turns back looking kind of annoyed “You’d let me know if you weren’t okay, right?”

He pauses for a second “Yeah,” he responds, and walks away. But she already knows that he’s lying.

____________________________________________________

A/N: ok so the smut is below this line here; just a head's up!

Lucifer hears a knock on his door while he’s lying in his bed, thinking about anything and everything, so he is quite grateful for the distraction.

“Hi,” Voe stood in his doorway

“Hey Ducky, come in come in.” she does and he closes the door behind her

She turns around abruptly and states “I need a favor,”

“Yeah, anything.”

She shakes her head “No, you don’t understand. Thank you so much for the duck and all but this next favor is like a huge deal.”

“Okay…” He says somewhat confused

“Okay, so I’ve been feeling really emotional, and everything’s buzzing in my head and everywhere I go, I start heating up becauseeveryoneisreallysexyandIdon’tknowwhattodowithmyselformybodyrightnowbecauseI’msoconfused-“

Lucifer grabs her shoulder “Whoa, hey. Just tell me what you want. I promise I’ll do it.”

She gulps and takes a deep breath “Will you have sex with me?”

Lucifer blinks in stunned shock and doesn’t answer immediately. Voe feels a pit in her stomach as her embarrassment grows

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” She turns to leave when Lucifer snaps back into reality

“Hey! You don’t have to leave!”

“No it’s fine! I’ll go!”

“Voe…”

“No!” She yells her face burning

Just before she reaches the door, Lucifer grabs her arm, pulling her back and against his chest. He wraps that arm around her waist and plants a deep kiss on her lips. When he pulls away, he says “I said, whatever you want, I’ll do it.” With his thumb on her chin.

Voe grabs Lucifer’s face and pulls him back into another kiss. They grab at each other like they can’t control themselves, he reaches up cupping her breast in his hand and massaging it through her clothes. She moans at the sensation, and the throbbing in her clothed cunt grows more intense. Lucifer uses his magic to lock the bedroom door and leads her over to his bed, where he has her sit.

He looks up at her “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” she replies quickly, ready to be taken by the King.

He goes down and removes her pants, kissing all the way up her legs until he reaches her soaked panties, planting a kiss there as well. He had caught a taste of her wetness and was now craving more on his legs, on his cock, on his tongue. He takes off his shirt and his hands under hers, lifting it off. He returns to her chest to rub and pinch her nipples through her bra, Voe moaning all the while. She pulls him close with her legs as she feels herself getting wetter and wetter. Lucifer’s cock jumps against the restraints of his pants and underwear, but for now, he ignores it as pools down her bra and sucks on each nipple, switching between them until he pulls them both together and sucks on them at the same time.

Voe pushes his face into her breasts “Harder,” she commands him “Suck them harder,” as his suction on them increases. He pops them out of his mouth and lies her down by gently laying on top of her.

He traps her lips in a kiss as twists and plays with her nipples, moving down to her neck, kissing and licking.

“Let your king hear you, baby,” he whispers to her “Make some noise for Your Majesty,” he sucks on her neck making her moan as he pinches her nipples, leading to her first orgasm of the night.

“Oh cumming for me already? Well, I’m not finished with you yet,” he holds her by the throat.

He walks his hand down to her panties, peeling them off. He’s smacked in the face with the tasty scent of her dripping cunt.

“Wanna unbuckle me, Ducky? Hmm?” He bites his lip

She unbuckles his pants and pulls them down, along with his boxers to set free his thick white cock. Voe bites her lip and pumps it, just to feel it in her hand. Lucifer moans her name at this touch.

She lines the tip up to her soaking core “Take me now please,” she whimpers, as he enters her cunt, pumping slowly and gently, while losing his mind at how wet she is.

“It feels so good Ducky, do I make you feel good?”

She nods, reaching up for him, her palms slapping down on his back. He increases his speed, feeling the bed shaking slightly.

“Yes,” She moans looking up at him. “You’re so hot Luci, so fucking hot,”

His neck reddens. “You’re so fucking sexy,” increasing his thrusting speed once more while his expert fingers find their way to her swollen clit. Another orgasm ripped through her body, harder than the first as Lucifer excitedly pulled out from her and laid on his back, hungrily stating “Sit on my face,”

Voe’s eyes widen “Are you sure?” She asks self-consciously

He nods and sticks out some of his forked tongue “Yes. I have to taste you, gotta have that pussy on my tongue” he wiggles his tongue at her

“Okay,” she giggles at his excitement before lowering herself onto him, instantly feeling his tongue making its way around her folds, licking up the access wetness around her cunt then landing on her actual lips. She moans as his tongue finds and flicks her clit, circling it reverently before finally inserting his tongue into her cunt. Voe moans as she can feel his tongue expertly slithering deep inside her and stimulating all the sensitive spots of her walls, this sensation made her twitch not just with her cunt but her entire body. He reaches up, grabbing her waist to still her as if to say sit and feel this pleasure I’m giving you.

She rocks back and forth, creating friction against her clit, Lucifer returns his attention to the bud, gently sucking on it to intensify her current sensations. Her third orgasm took them both by surprise as she dripped all over Lucifer’s face, just after he finished licking it up. She gets off of him blushing, harder than ever before.

He sits up with a giant grin “That was great! Are you down for one more?”

Voe bites her tongue “Yes”

“Amazing,” his eyes turn red as his voice swells with lust “Get on your knees for me okay?”

She obliges and he pushes her top half down, so only her butt is in the air. She heard him reach over to the side of the bed, then felt him place something on her head. It was his hat.

“Since you love to wear it, I figured you could wear it while you take my cock. Is that okay?” He whispered

She nods in response while Lucifer stands. The very next thing she feels is his fingers teasing her folds as if she wasn’t wet enough. He dips them inside her for just a few seconds to make her jump. He then rubs the tip of his cock against her puffy clit, just to tease her further.

When he finally does enter her, he does so just as gently as before but picks up much quicker than earlier. He’s holding her by her hips, listening to her moans, and watching his hat bounce on her head.

The more he fucked her, the wetter she became, dripping all over his cock. He pulls her so she’s in an upright position, so he can hold her by the throat.

Feeling him deep inside her as he thrusts upwards, he’s able to play with her clit as well as watch her breasts bounce from behind her.

“That’s right baby, bounce on your King’s cock.” He whispers to her, kissing her shoulder. “Fuck!” He yells out

Voe’s eyes are closed tightly so she can focus on feeling the pleasure. Lucifer’s voice in her ear just added something extra, she reaches behind her and pulls him close, he bites her shoulder with his sharp teeth. Besides their breathing, all that can be heard is the sound of her wetness, sticky and dripping on the bed.

“Fuck! I’m gonna-“She doesn’t even finish her sentence before the waves of intense pleasure burst through her body. She lets her head fall, Lucifer picks it back up and buries his face in the crook of her neck, as he fucks her through it. The waves get smaller and smaller until she twitches one final time, which allows Lucifer to empty inside her. They stay in that position until they are both still. Then she flops off of him onto the bed.

She feels him touch her arm, “How do you feel?”

“Better,” she says without moving “Like I can actually think now, so thank you.” She turns to him and smiles

“No, thank you,” he grins handing her a bottle of water “That has been on my mind since we kissed.” He heads to the bathroom

She drinks from the bottle and laughs “You could’ve asked!” She calls after him

He comes back into the room with a towel and dabs her face and body with it, removing her sweat. “I know,” he chuckles “I guess I was nervous,”

Voe raises a brow “The most powerful being in Hell, nervous to ask me for sex?”

He laughs again, dabbing her legs now “You may not notice, but you’ve got some power yourself, Voe. Your confidence is legendary, and it can intimidate even me,” he walks his fingers up her legs as she drinks more from the water bottle.

“Thank you,” she says suddenly

"For what?” He sits next to her

“Reminding me,”

Chapter 13>

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mintygreencake · 7 months ago

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Wanna do a height chart and body study for all my Redacted Audio Listener Ocs since I have a lot- 😭

Oh also, trigger warning for Scars and self harm scars (not sure if they need warnings but just to be sure! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠) )

Darlin': 6"4

(Weight lifts as a hobby, likes to do daily exercises to destress. Eats more then most, mainly meat, raw. Many scars and self harm scars from his time with Quinn and after him, has stopped but does struggle with picking at scars. Was a chain smoker but only does it once a month now, planning on quitting entirely soon)

Lovely: 5"4

(Very skinny, not built at all. struggled a lot with weight gain but now a days he eats human food more then they did when alive, blood is still his favorite...Likes the taste of iron. Oddly enough. Heart tattoo to cover a mole, on the left side of his face under his eye. has another mole on his back just above his right...other cheek.)

Treasure: 5"11

(Trans man, lean and not really built like Darlin'. The hip dips are very apparent...Much to Porter's glee. shaves but does have a happy trail, just shaves it. vampire piercing and nipple piercings with chains, can remove them and does. Has a diamond tattoo on his back, no color.)

Headshot pics below! (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

#redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted asmr #redacted fandom #redacted listener #minty redacted listeners ocs #digital drawing #digital sketch #character design #redacted darlin #redacted lovely #redacted treasure

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lizzybeth1986 · 6 months ago

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Laylat al-Henna

Book: The Royal Romance

Rating: PG

Pairing: Kiara Theron x Hana Lee

Word Count: 1, 882 words

Summary: It's the night before Kiara and Hana's wedding! What fun things do Kiara's cousins from Fes have in store for their henna night?

A/N: You'll find details and visuals on the fashion and henna designs (as well as faceclaims for the OCs!) in this post.

Tagging @kiaratheronappreciationweek for KTAW Day 1: Culture, @choicesficwriterscreations for FoTW/LGBTQ Archive, @choicespride as well even though it may be a bit early for the pride event.

It is tradition - Kiara has been told over and over, wedding after wedding, from the time she was twelve - for a woman to have her bridegroom's name hidden in the designs of her henna.

Their families back in Fes would make a game of it on their wedding night; the groom could touch his bride only when he found his name, tiny and dark and perfect - leaving the most beautiful stain on her palms.

At least four (well...three, really) of those cousins had giggled over how it all went down at their own wedding nights. Nour's henna had her husband's name written in extremely small print, squirreled away among a row of curls. Imane's flowed along the curves of a large, floral paisley. Nissrine's husband was rumoured to have taken hours searching for his name in her henna and poor Fatimazahra's collapsed into an eight-hour slumber before he could even truly try.

All four of them laughed even harder when they were told that Kiara would be marrying a woman.

At first Kiara assumed it had to be the fun of celebrating two brides rather than just one. Double the joy, double the dancing, double the bridal henna!

Should've known better, Kiara mutters to herself as her eyes search frantically for telltale signs of calligraphy along the darkened vines on Hana's palm.

She almost lets out a triumphant yell when she catches a lovingly inscribed kaaf, deceptively mirroring the vines. That's before she realises the other four letters are scattered in Arabic all over Hana's palm.

Kiara purses her lips, immensely annoyed. Why did she think this to be so romantic in the first place?

"Oh!" Hana whispers in delight, "Look! I've found mine." Her finger lightly traces the soft skin underneath Kiara's little finger, caressing the spot where her own name is inscribed, in Mandarin....as a whole word. Her eyes sparkle in childlike glee.

Kiara manages to catche an alif peeking out from behind a flower on the soft skin just below Hana's thumb. She lets out a small huff of laughter, shaking her head.

Perhaps she should thank every deity of every faith that her parents' gave her a name as short as Kiara. Imagine her plight if it had been as long as Fatimazahra's, zut alors.

"My darling cousins," she says, her eyes still roaming over Hana's palms. Now...now she understands all those hearty cackles Nour seemed to be making, at the idea of arranging a henna party for two women. "Elles me conduiront à ma tombe!"

Every woman at the henna party in Castelserraillan that night shared very knowing grins as Kiara and Hana entered - completely blissed out, skin dewy and aglow, a mixture of a french lavender scent and the earthy aroma of ghassoul clay emanating from their bodies.

They'd been brought into the hall like princesses of old, carried in jewelled palanquins, dressed in caftans and takchitas whose golden threads reflected the soft light of the hall, the candles that seemed to receive their own henna treatment in tones of pink, purple and rose gold, and their light glowed softly in trays of pure gold.

Having experienced the joys of the pre-henna night hammam baths themselves, most of Kiara's aunts and cousins could tell how good the treatments must have been within the first ten minutes of a bride entering the ceremony.

Beneath her golden veil, Kiara's eyes roamed around the hall, in awe of the sheer love and detail that must have gone into planning this party alone. Both women being daughters to a multitude of cultures meant that Kiara and Hana had to pay their respects to several of their homes - Bethulia. Castelserraillan. Udvada. Orleans. Fes. Shanghai. Cordonia. - in different ceremonies, and include a multitude of relatives.

Which meant that Kiara's aunts and cousins knew this night was their moment to shine.

Hana was whisked to another corner of the room before Kiara could even get a chance to speak to her - a bevy of ladies already surrounding her to fulfill requests, give her mint tea, admire the henna's artist's craft or just for a small chat. Anything and everything Hana wanted. Tonight (and this was exactly how Kiara wanted it) Hana was going to be treated like a queen.

From under her lashes, Kiara sneaked a look at Hana. The woman she would call her wife tomorrow. Listening, nodding, her silken brown hair catching the glow of the lights as she threw her head back at a joke her aunt Hala said.

"If you stare any harder you'll bore a hole in the wall behind her," Nissrine came to her, grinning as she followed Kiara's gaze. She looked around the hall, slightly doubtful. "How did we do?"

Kiara laughed, placing her free hand on her cousin's arm, reassuring her with the word they would all use to describe something as beautiful. "Zwina."

Fatimazahra - who had been minding the caterers this whole time - seemed to appear out of nowhere, chukling. "Tomorrow is her wedding night. Of course everything will be zwina. The macroute will be zwina, her henna will be zwina, her wife will be the most zwina."

Kiara moved her gaze from Hana to her own palms, admiring the naqasha's speed and precision. The henna felt cool on her left palm, the designs on her arms already beginning to dry a little and the paste itself smelling pleasant and earthy - the way real henna should.

The naqasha - an experienced henna artist from their hometown whose team had become popular among the family circles for their vast knowledge of different henna styles (Indian, Pakistani, Khaleeji, Fassi, Marrakechi, Meknessi, Saharawi - you name it) - had finished making a beautiful dome at the centre of Kiara's palm, and was now referring to a tiny piece of paper Imane seemed to have given her before carefully writing out Méihuā - the name Hana's paternal family often used for her - in Hànzì script.

Kiara smiles mistily as she watches Soraya, the naqasha, labour over each character of the script, making sure she never got a single line or slant wrong. Hana often told her that that name reminded her of happier times, far more than her own birth name did. It meant plum blossom - the flower that grew fragrant and resilient in the snow, China's national flower. Her Năinai's favourite flower.

And over the past year...she'd begun to answer to it a little more too.

Kiara mouthed a silent "thank you" to Imane as she sauntered to her side, looking very pleased with herself.

"Wonderful work, Soraya," she patted the naqasha lightly on her shoulder, "What oils did you add in the henna paste this time?"

"Tea tree, geranium and lavender," Soraya said, smiling, "She can hold her hands in front of some herbal incense later. A lovely rich colour and the scent will be incredible."

"Ohhh...what a deep stain it'll leave behind when the henna comes off!" Imane looked back at Kiara, winking. "Remember what our aunts used to tell us, Kiara? The darker the stain of the henna, the deeper the essence of his love. Or her's, in this case."

Kiara was grateful for her golden veil as heat creeped up her neck. Maman loved that adage, ever since her own wedding where - if Kiara's aunts were to be believed - her henna deepened to a dark, rich brown without even holding her hands to a brazier like everyone else did.

Kiara always liked to call herself a practical woman. But this didn't stop her from dreaming of showing Hana her palms, rich and deep brown from both henna and their love.

"Is Hana liking her designs?" Kiara asked Imane.

"Iyyeh," Imane nodded. "Soraya's girls have really outdone themselves. Indian designs are usually very elaborate, but Hana wanted something simple, a little floral."

She gave Kiara a wolfish grin, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I think you're going to love it."

Kiara narrowed her eyes at Imane. She knew that look. It was the kind she would give all her cousins when, as children, she was about to do skin her knees climbing the branches of a fig tree.

Kiara was going to open her mouth to ask what Imane had in mind, when the low, deep strains of the guembri rang throughout the room.

It was Nissrine's younger sister Nour, closing her eyes in reverence and plucking the strings of the family guembri - a legacy from her father, a renowned Gnawa master himself. The guembri had been in the family for generations, itself decorated with henna patterns so intricate it would amaze even the best of naqashas.

As the women in her family got up to dance to "Toura Toura", a song Kiara would listen to and relish in 12 hour lilas every year in Fes (singing in Bambara - a language neither she nor her cousins truly understood but loved to hear), she found herself somehow dancing next to the woman she had been craving to see for the last few hours.

"Well, hello there," Kiara said, sneaking a kiss to Hana's cheek.

Hana giggled. "Fancy running into you."

They danced until their feet were sore, until their eyes begged for sleep, until their henna dried - leaving behind a stain that was a deep, dark, rich brown.

"They did that on purpose!" Kiara huffs, ten minutes after she has triumphantly shown Hana the final letter - the rāy curling at the base of her wrist. "They were planning to annoy and vex me this entire time. If they were here right now I'd tell them to go cook themselves an egg."

For all her grumbling, however, Kiara was quite overjoyed. She had hoped that her extended family in Fes would adore Hana just as much as she did, that they would love her and pamper her silly. They went above and beyond; they made Hana's first real experience of Morocco practically unforgettable.

It was. In every sense of the word. Even if that involved secretly pulling Kiara's leg.

Hana pouts, her fingers still tracing the name on Kiara's palm. "I wish they scattered letters for me too. Seems like more of a challenge." She shifts a little more into Kiara's arms, turning her gaze to her own palms. "Not that I don't love your henna already. It's gorgeous; look at these curls in the center! They remind me of a compass rose."

Hana runs her fingers purposefully along the length of Kiara's body. She presses five tiny kisses along her face.

"A kiss for each letter," she hums happily against Kiara's skin, "A just reward for your hard work."

Laughter bubbles in Kiara's throat. "Only five?"

"Kiara Yasmine Thorne," Hana's voice takes on a raspy, sultry quality, "Don't be greedy."

"Ma moitie," she whispers back, "I believe tonight's the one night when greed is allowed."

Hana bites her lower lip to stem her own laughter, then lets her lips roam free over Kiara's face.

"Fine, then," Hana huffs in mock-petulance, only too happy to go along with the joke, "Eighteen kisses it is."

Kiara buries her hands in Hana's hair as she breathes in the fragrance from between her shoulder and neck. "I won't mind if you give me more...but alright. Eighteen's a start."

Translation -

Darija:

Kaaf (ك), yaa (ي), alif (ا)(twice), rāy (ر) are the isolated letters that - I think - will form Kiara's name in Arabic. I believe that it may look somewhat like this (كيارا) when written as one word, but the letters are meant to be scattered around Hana's henna just to tease Kiara.

Ghassoul/Rhassoul clay - a type of clay that some people use as a cosmetic product for their skin and hair. It’s a brown clay only found in a valley in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. The term “rhassoul” comes from an Arabic word that means “to wash.” Typically used in hammam baths.

Zwina - a compliment, literal meaning is beautiful or good.

Macroute - a diamond shaped sweet cookie filled with dates and nuts or almond paste.

Naqasha - Henna artist

Guembri - a three stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people

Lila - a rich ceremony in the Gnawa community, of song, music, dance, costume, and incense that takes place over the course of an entire night, ending around dawn. Learn more here.

Toura Toura - Popular Gnawa song. Here is a version by Innov Gnawa.

French:

zut alors - an expression of annoyance, like saying "darn!" or "damn!", mostly used in non-serious instances.

Elles me conduiront à ma tombe! - They will lead me to my grave!

Va te faire cuire un œuf! - Literally, "go cook yourself an egg!". An expression of annoyance, similar to "go take a hike!" or "leave me alone!"

#kiara theron #the royal romance #the royal heir #the royal finale #kiaratheronappreciationweek #KTAW #KTAW Day 1 #KTAW Day 1: Culture #content: fanfic #lizzybeth1986

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paingoes · 2 months ago

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Questions for any/all/however many of your OCs because I'm bored and curious.

How have they changed throughout their development? (I don't mean in-character --- like how do they differ now from the previous versions? How are they different now from the very first time you thought of them?)

How would the story differ if a character/s were in the position (societal, emotional, etc, any or all) of other character/s?

What's something (or multiple things) that they'd never, ever tell anyone?

What's something they'd never tell anyone, but really want to?

What do they think of when they hear the word "home"?

Are they religious? What are their thoughts on religion?

ooooo this is so much fun thank you for sending!!! okay!!!

1.) How have they changed throughout their development?

i wanna say that delta has been pretty watertight since inception. the story was created with him in mind. honestly i didnt always know where the plot was going and a lot of that was improvised, but his character and the way he reacts to things are fundamentally what holds the whole thing together. living weapon-whistle blower dichotomy was always there. thats my boy :)

paris and lorelai were both like. they invited themselves in and havent left basically id say that was their effect on the plot. ive said this a lot but the early paris characterization is kinda weak, he was just meant to be a kind of controlling and cruel whumper. and he was always supposed to be close to delta in age. that was basically it. i feel like the first time i really "got" him was when i wrote him in Moonshine blacked out and sobbing on the floor. and even now when i reread it im like. Oh there he is.

lorelai i guess ive also had her characterization down for a while. she has a good heart and despite her sheltered upbringing she has a very strong revolutionary spirit! shes kind of an idealist and she has a really rigid moral sense which is a good contrast to paris's ability to justify literally anything.

i planned to write rubies before crash out or to have crash out be like. a side story to rubies. but i remember the exact moment i realized when i wanted to do with paris and lorelai and it hit me in the head really hard. i was like. they neeeeeed to do fear and loathing in las vegas.

2.) How would the story differ if a character/s were in the position (societal, emotional, etc, any or all) of other character/s?

gonna hold my tongue on this one because the roleswap/princess delta AU is coming!!!!! no spoilers hehehehe

3.) What's something (or multiple things) that they'd never, ever tell anyone?

hmmmm. i feel like delta would really try to avoid talking about times where he was like. gleefully and proudly complicit in hurting and destroying other people. "glee" is definitely a strong word but he takes pride in his work and he knows hes the fucking best at it. he really enjoys the dopamine rush of hitting targets on a purely mechanical level and he enjoyed being The Favorite at the institute. hes knows its wrong now but at the time? he lived off the validation.

one thing lorelai would never tell anyone is that she thinks the living weapon thing was hot.

lorelai: omg poor delta :(((( thats so sad lorelai: it shouldve been me

while lorelai is pretty morally upright she defintiely has a thing about violence and control CTRL. lorelai is a foil to paris but she is a parallel to delta and i think she also really really wants to feel useful in the same way he can be. this doesnt mean shes okay with what paris did to him AT ALL but she is very. captivated by the concept to say the least.

4.) What's something they'd never tell anyone, but really want to?

i cant think of anything tbh! lorelai is mostly an open book and she says what she's thinking. if delta felt strongly enough about anything to confide in someone, and he felt safe to do so, i think he'd cave to that too. i feel like i should have an answer here for paris because he's definitely in the business of "i can't admit this even to myself" but i think if he really wanted to say something he would just say it. i dont think any of them are really good at keeping secrets.

5.) What do they think of when they hear the word "home"?

paris thinks of thales, which is silly. it's not like he ever spent that much time there.

loreali thinks of absalom! she loves her home and its kind of incredible she ever left. she made a big sacrifice doing it and she doesnt regret it but she does get homesick a lot.

delta has no immediate associations and that is something that definitely eats at him. minor spoilers for rubies i guess but he will eventually come to associate Galatea -- and especially Levon -- with home.

6.) Are they religious? What are their thoughts on religion?

i think it would be funny here to say lorelai's family is southern baptist. delta was raised atheist and in fact i think Martino was probably a total snob about it and made him read Space Richard Dawkins. none of them are particularly spiritual but paris and lorelai are both weirdly superstitious. paris believes in the afterlife.

destroyer does not have good religious lore but i did once canonize Space Catholicism so i could make a dick-sucking joke

#wall of text incomingggg

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smige · 2 months ago

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Hey, I’m not sure if many people are still in these fandoms, but whatever. Would anyone be interested in doing a bandom Rp? I’m up for suggestions, and I’m a sucker for unpopular pairings/crackships. I’m up for playing anyone. No judgement because I don’t plan on entertaining anyone.

I’m willing to rp with OC’s but only for bxb rps. I’m currently looking for bandom rps, but I’m also down to do a Glee rp.

Message me if you’re interested.

Ships

-Pete Wentz x Patrick Stump

-Pete Wentz x Mikey Way

-Gerard Way x Frank Iero

-Gerard Way x Patrick Stump

-Pete Wentz x Gerard Way

-Pete Wentz x Frank Iero

-Patrick Stump x Mikey Way

-Patrick Stump x Frank Iero

-Kellin Quinn x Vic Fuentes

-Brendon Urie x Ryan Ross

-Brendon Urie x Dallon Weekes

-Brendon Urie x Spencer Smith

-Joe Trohman x Andy Hurley

-Andy Hurley x Ray Toro

-Frank Iero x Joe Trohman

-Tyler Joseph x Josh Dun

-Brendon Urie x Pete Wentz

-Brendon Urie x Patrick Stump

-Fun Ghoul x Party Poison

-Kobra Kid x Fun Ghoul

-Kobra Kid x Jet Star

-Fun Ghoul x Jet Star

-Kobra Kid x Mr. Sandman

-Dr. Benzedrine x Mr. Sandman

-Dr. Benzedrine x Party Poison

-Kobra Kid x Agent Cherri Cola

-Jet Star x Show Pony

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lawrites · 9 months ago

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Riddle to Solve

BTAS! Riddler x Named Female Reader

1.5k words: Reader hasn't seen Edward Nygma since they both lost their jobs at Competitron. Suddenly seeing him after two years forces a lot of unresolved feelings to come to the surface, for Eddie and Luna both. Did your feelings for each other matter then? Do they matter now?

This was made as a swap with an anonymous Discord friend <3. Their OC is named Luna, but this fic is first person and could be read as a "named" reader.

CW: suggestive thoughts from the rizzler, hurt/comfort, edward nygma being arrogant as per usual

“L-Luna?”

You turn, recognizing that voice almost instantly. “Eddie?”

The both of you stare at each other for a moment, almost making sure the other is real, before mirrored wide grins split your faces. The heart in your chest beats faster as you realize the expression is his genuine, real smile, the one only you could pull out of him. He's truly happy to see you.

Your bodies approach each other quickly, drawn like magnets. Your momentum almost makes you look like you are going in for a hug, your arms swinging forward…but you stop just shy of touching the other.

You both sit in silence for a moment, taking the other in up close. A slight blush makes its way onto your face, but you can't help it. He looks good. His ginger hair is more loose than it had been when you had last seen him at Competitron. Fluffier, more free…it makes your hands twitch with the want to bury themselves in the shining, copper locks. His face remains as handsome as ever, with his adorable button nose, but his clothes…

He always wore a striped shirt with suspenders when you had worked with him. Cute, but more apt for Wall Street than what you expected of him. This outfit…your mouth goes dry when you take it in.

A dark green sweater adorns his slight torso, loose on his body but tucked into tight grey slacks that match his long overcoat. The lines of his clothes highlight his tall, lean body. He looks professional for the most part, aside from the purple driving gloves. You do your best to contain your thoughts about those before making eye contact with Ed once more. A feeling of satisfaction spreads through your body when you realize that his cheeks are reddening just as yours are.

Ed is embarrassed about his own blush, if he could be frank. It started when he caught you just as you were walking away, recognizing your shape from behind almost instantly and calling out to you. While he doesn't want to admit that that was his reasoning for recognizing you, can you blame him?

He had to wait behind you in enough queues, see you bent over enough desks in those tight skirts you wear, that he has an entire section of his mind dedicated to fantasies about your ass. Some days he had to actively keep himself from reaching out, winding his hands around you, and bringing you back against him just to feel that delicious curve. He kept it secret, of course, he did his best to keep things professional when you worked with each other.

But after the initial onslaught of familiar thoughts…Edward was blinded by the glow of your smiling face again as you turned, and that handily won out over anything else in his mind. Your gorgeous, dark hair was up in a ponytail today, shining in the sunlight and swinging behind you as you moved towards him.

He watched you adjust your glasses nervously with a blush after you stopped in front of him, and it filled his lonely heart with a glee he hasn't felt in more than a year. But he immediately chastises himself…he needs to do his best to keep distance from you. He still has plans he needs to fulfill, and he can't allow you to be involved. What if you were hurt, in the process? What if you saw what he's become in his exile?

The voice that you remember being full of mischief, arrogance, and, dare you say it, warmth suddenly sounds distant and aloof.

“Luna, it is…good to see you.”

Steadying yourself, you hold back your initial reaction to his presence and instead analyze his words, his tone, and his body language. If that's all he has to say to you, after years apart, after radio silence…then you refuse to give him any reaction he may want. Your tone mirrors his-professional.

“Yes, Mister Nygma, it is nice to see you again after so long.”

You see how he goes almost stiff when you call him Mister Nygma, his back straightening and his eyes turning dark before his face becomes impassive. But, instead of letting him respond, you continue after a beat of silence, curiosity at his presence winning out over pettiness.

“What brings you to Gotham?”

His previous demeanor relaxes a bit, and he almost looks…nervous.

“Oh! Well…I suppose I've always heard interesting whispers about this city. And with recent rumors I've been…drawn here for some reason. After everything that happened…”

He trails off, and you can tell his racing mind is reliving the trauma of losing it all in one day, just as you had. Competitron, as your former place of work, used to be everything to the both of you. Ed came up with all of the riddles, but you helped him with the art direction. Your mind would interpret his gorgeous thoughts into a visual reality, and the code you both worked on made it an actual reality, on screen at least.

But then the layoffs started. First it was a few lower level people…and then a few close coworkers. And then…suddenly, you walked in one day and were told to pack your bags. Years of working for them, for giving it all to make the Minotaur game, and they just brushed you away. You still find yourself frustrated and angry about it, even after getting a new job. The only credit you received was a footnote at the end of the game.

And Ed…well…it wasn't public news, but he gave Mockridge hell over both your sacking and the lack of royalties for your work. He was planning to sue them, for the both of you. And then…he was fired too.

You heard the news and tried to call him, but he was just gone. And you haven't seen him for two years until just now, when Competitron has been rumored to be moving to Gotham. The coincidence is too much to ignore.

“Edward…”

He seems to startle at your use of his full name, something that you usually only did during arguments or serious conversations.

“...I-I know that what Mockridge did to us hurt. I still have trouble getting over it, myself. But, don't let his heinous actions rule your life. I'm glad to see you, but if you're only here to harass our former boss-”

Ed stiffens again and cuts you off, “Well, I'm sorry that I can't get over that-that cretin taking credit for my work.” He spits out the words, moving closer to you almost in anger.

You glare up at him, furious, now, “You mean our work. If you try to take even that from me after I lost my job and my L-” you stop yourself from admitting the truth of what you had felt for him, then. He notices your slip, but doesn't comment. “-my best friend…” your eyes are full of tears now. Frustrated tears. Dejected tears. How could he not notice you when you are right in front of him? What has blinded him for two years so much that he hasn't even sent a letter?

“...then I don't think we have anything else to discuss. I wish you well, Edward Nygma. B-be kind to yourself.” And you turn, prepared to leave. Two years apparently haven't changed your feelings towards him, if your racing, broken heart is any indication, but you've now realized you wasted that time pining for him after seeing him now. He is only focused on himself and what he lost…and maybe he always was.

You are stopped, suddenly, from retreating by a gloved hand wrapping, gently, around your arm. “Luna…”

Chastising yourself for wasting even one more moment on someone who obviously won't even let you leave with your dignity, you freeze in place but don't turn. “I would prefer to go, Eddie.” You bite out the nickname that used to make him tease you, used to make him blush, even, just to get some petty revenge out of this horrid day.

The hand on your arm trembles, and it makes you pause. You had planned to shake your arm out of his grasp and leave, quickly, to go cry in your apartment…but then you hear his voice once more. Quietly, almost whispering, Edward Nygma says, “Please.”

You almost collapse hearing the syllables leave his mouth, and turn to see the man that uttered them. In only the few moments between you turning to leave and his plea, Eddie was a changed man. His face is pale, and his expression looks pained. Green eyes that were closed off and arrogant are now surprisingly open, shining with an expression you can't name.

“You did not deserve that reaction from me after all that we meant to each other. I'm sorry.”

Frankly? You are gobsmacked. Edward Nygma just apologized to you. At least he acknowledged and validated your feelings about his treatment of you…but it still feels like it isn't enough. “Eddie, I appreciate your apology, but I hope you can see that your behavior was not something I expect of a friend.”

You do end up wrenching your arm away from his grasp, making him wince. “If you want to come back into my life, after leaving me for two years-” your voice chokes out the last words, the reality of everything crashing in around you, “-and treat me like I was just a coworker, and not someone who you trusted, as I did you?”

A sniffle leaves you, trying to hold back your tears, “Then I would rather you save the honeyed, practiced words and just leave. I can't take you playing with my good will towards you, again.”

And as you are about to embarrass yourself and sob in front of him, emotionally confused, partly, but mainly sad…his arms bring you to him. You are enveloped in them. He keeps you there, for a moment. His steady breathing and calming, familiar scent ground you. And then, one of his gloved hands moves to the side of your head, gently leading you to look up at him, “No playing. No games. No riddles.”

His green eyes are shining, “I am truly sorry. The moment you turned, I was reminded of the last time I had to see you go, the pain that came with it. I-I initially tried to push you away because I do have secrets, Luna.”

You try to talk, but he cuts you off, “I can't tell you about them…not now. But I can't let you walk away, again, either.” His expression is torn, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes full of desperation for some sort of answer to his quandary.

Both of you are dancing around your feelings, for now. But…you can tell he does feel the same, truly, he must. You can't leave the man you love so desperately confused. Your hand reaches up, mirroring his hold on you and gently making him look down, “Then…let's just get some coffee together.”

His eyes are full of hope, gleaming with affection at your answer, “Do you still like it the same way?”

You chuckle, “Of course, I haven't changed much since you last saw me.” You blush, again, worried that standing still would make him lose interest in you, somehow.

He releases you, and you do the same to him, but he stays close. His eyes trace up and down your body, sticking to your chest for just a moment before meeting yours once more. “Oh I don't know about that…”

He chuckles, holding out his hand for you to take, a smirk adorning his face, “...you seem changed. More sure, more independent.”

You take his hand, and you begin walking together to the nearest cafe. He winks, “A most brilliant riddle for me to solve.”

#lawrites #riddler x reader #x reader #riddler #edward nygma #btas riddler #btas riddler x reader #is this...my first non plus size reader fic????#omg baby's first!!!#though this is more body neutral???#But EYE know what Luna looks like lol #batman rogues x reader #the riddler x reader

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randomestfandoms-ocs · 15 days ago

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Bunch of New OCs

Descendants

Calen (x Ben) & Morrigan (x Jane) in Control – the children of Chernabog, very powerful magic users who grew up on the isle. Not a part of any crew, preferred to just stick together, but Calen has a history with both Harry and Jay, and Morrigan has a history with Evie. TBD if they're invited to Auradon or if they just invite themselves, here to cause chaos

Chernabog takes a technically female presenting body when trapped by the isle magic and is Aubrey Plaza probably but also maybe Kathryn Hahn idk?

Glee

Lucinda (Patti Lupone) & Vanessa (Kathryn Hahn) Hope in The Art Of Making Art – Danny's mothers, details in Danny's intro

(ft. introduced Nadia & Pip, Danny's therapist and boyfriend respectively)

Heartstopper

Isabella Belly Spring in Personal Best – Charlie's twin sister, probably has BPD because i can't write any mentally stable ocs rn, autistic queen, bit of a loner at Higgs but she and Elle have always been close so when she transfers, baby girl gets pulled into the friend squad with Darcy & Tara, Ben's ex girlfriend (while he was also with Charlie, dumped him when she found out about that) and current president of the Ben Hate Squad

Juniper Catalina Solano in A Place In This World – Nick’s best friend, moved away when they were 13 (basically just before his kiss with Tara and before he became friends with Imogen), they stayed in touch and are still very very close

Details iffy but her parents die early in season 1 and it was in their will that if anything happened to them, they wanted their daughter to live with Sarah Nelson (they got along well and trusted her, she wasn’t their very best friend but they knew it was the best choice for their daughter), so she’s just moved back

Marvel (Agatha All Along)

Naomi Kaplan in Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power – William Kaplan's twin sister, not a Maximoff but born with magic (tbd what kind of witch she is but loves crystals and tarot readings even before knowing she's a witch), can immediately tell that something is Not Right with her brother after the accident (maybe also died/almost died in the accident and that's when her magic kicks in? tbd), the only one who knows the full truth of who he is, invites herself along when Billy goes to find Agatha

Renna Vidal / Renna Vidal-Harkness in Earthly And Divine – Rio & Agatha's magically created witch daughter, Nicky's older sister. Withdrew from both of her parents after Nicky died and might never have reconnected with them if she hadn't somehow gotten herself swept up in Billy Kaplan's plan to walk the Witches' Road

Elizabeth Zella Maximoff in Maiden, Mother, Crone – Billy & Tommy's triplet, ends up in a slightly older body after the Hex breaks down, finds Billy completely by chance and now will not rest until they get Tommy back too

bonus: Kassandra's AAA title is Glory At The End & Cheryl's is Sewn With Fate

RWRB

Christian Douglas Charles William Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor in History Has Its Eyes On You – Youngest prince, 18/19 when everything starts, gay and closeted, adores Henry more than anything in the world

dating Emilia Harper Claremont-Diaz, who knows that he's gay and is okay with being his public beard and forever best friend, but Mary is starting to put more and more pressure on him to propose

Emilia Harper Claremont Diaz in History Has Its Eyes On You– baby of the Claremont-Diaz family, she is in her first or second year at GWU in RWRB. Was a total daddy's girl growing up and never outgrew the pain of Oscar leaving. Majoring in International Relations because she feels like she has to and minoring in art history because she loves it, undiagnosed ADHD like her brother. Often referred to as the People's Princess in the US and as the American Princess internationally, loves Texas with all her heart, Secret Service codename is Buttercup which she chose because of her favourite Powerpuff Girl

Fashion icon (not as much as June though), idolizes her big sister forever, social media star, loves art and art history and museums and creating art, often feels like she might not be smart enough to make her family proud, happily fake dating her best friend Christian Fox

named after Harper Lee and Emilia Casanova de Villaverde, probably goes by her middle name (except with Oscar's family) but tbd

Titans

Morvan Abbott (x Jason Todd) in Abyss – Rowena Abbott's younger, lowkey the reason she was in jail (specifically, she killed their step father while protecting Morvan from him). After Rowena's arrest he ran away, found himself taken in by a woman with powers somewhat similar to his own and a vested interest in not letting Trigon destroy the world. After Rowena ends up with Dick and Rachel, they encounter this woman on their search for answers, and Rowena finally sees her baby brother again

ty everyone @the-witching-ash @ocmerunaway @ginevrastilinski-ocs @cecexwrites @manyfandomocs for listening to me not shut up about these ideas for sooooooo long i appreciate y'all also the ouat squad is still coming but i might die before i figure that shit out so also maybe not idk they're turning in my brain like a rotisserie chicken

edit: also still need to do the teen wolf coven but that's a future problem

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fangbangerghoul · 6 months ago

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Voracious Oblivion

Dragon's Dogma 2 Fic WC: 4010 Rated: M 18+ TW: Violence, eventually other things

Summary:

Ghoul awakens on the side of a river after falling off of a flying griffin. She knows not of who she was and only a hollow phrase echoes within her mind; 'You are Arisen.' With her lost sense of self and now grappling with what it means to be an Arisen; she travels with her three new companions, Ambrosius, Erik, and Quil. Together they wander the lands putting together pieces of themselves and each other.

The story is based off of posts made on this blog of Ghoul and The Boys and is part of my Ghoul's Dogma series. Feature's Quil whom is @bearlytolerant OC and Ambrosius whom is @lisa-and-shadow OC. First chapter can be read under the cut or on AO3.

Chapter One: Day 7

His form was unforgettable. Something she was aware of when Erik stepped out of that stone in the small outpost where they had met but she was reminded once again as he swung with all his might around a circle of foes. The glee in his eyes, the narcissistic smirk on his face, all distractions as she tried to cut down the goblins to reach his side.

Supposedly she chose him; her heart did from what she was told but everything that he was, was the complete opposite of what she felt she needed. She slashed her way through until their backs met roughly. She paced her breathing and kept with his steps evenly.

"Coming to my aid Arisen?" He asked with a grand sarcastic tone as he swung again sending two more creatures flying into the axe of the Beastren that accompanied them, Ambrosius. Ambrosius was rather large himself and in fact the only other being she had seen that matched the might that Erik stood. The cat like humanoid was furry, intimidating and just as independent and forward as Erik from what she had gathered. Their fourth companion, Quil was a few paces back, manning the healing and outliers of the company of goblins. Quil was the only one out of the bunch that seemed humble and stoic. His grey hair shining brilliantly under the sun as his hands danced his magick throughout the air.

It looked as though the enemies’ numbers were dwindling and they would soon be through. Ghoul whipped her green hair back out of her face and a small bit of anxiety came out with her sigh.

She threw her hook and rope into the meat of one of the remaining goblins within her vicinity to yank it towards her. As the goblin flew at her, the blow she had planned to finish it with was interrupted by the giant steel that Erik owned. His weapon spilt the goblin in two, its innards rushing out of its core and splotches of blood and guts splashed onto her face. The horrid smell wafted up her nostrils adding another log of fire in her pile of frustrations. Before she could spew insults to Erik for stealing her kill her thoughts were interrupted by the ground shaking beneath her and a large bellow that came from afar. She quickly wiped the smelly substance from her brow to take in their surroundings.

“Another cyclops, ser!” Quil yelled out towards Ghoul, and she followed the direction where he pointed with her eyes. Just behind the tree line the mighty beast made its way to the commotion they were a part of. This was the second run in today with one and it felt as though Ghoul had a ‘creatures all come forth’ slapped on her forehead. Perhaps mixed in with the innards that stuck in her disheveled hair.

‘You are Arisen.’ The eerie figure’s voice echoed uninvitingly into her mind, reminding her yet again of this predicament she had woken into. She could barely remember what the figure had appeared as but his voice was engrained into her memory. The only thing that appeared to remain in her mind once she had opened her eyes on the side of a river.

The earth rumbled beneath her feet and rocks around her shook with the quake bringing her back to the only thing she was certain of, the present.

“More the merry!” Erik cheered out as he rushed forward leaving the rest of the party behind.

“Indeed.” Ambrosius purred with a sickly simper before chasing immediately after the blonde brute. The two of them were impossible thus far to maintain when it came to strategizing. Ghoul let out a heavy sigh and tried to throw out the tension in her arms.

“Suppose I should go as well.” The hesitance was clear within her voice but as she looked over at Quil for subtle motivation. He sensed her unsaid fatigue and just gave her an approving nod before sharing his magick for additional aid. Her daggers glowed against her palms, and they now matched the color of lightning. She felt a new vigor under her skin and dashed forward.

The cyclops’ skin was tough and greyish with stringy little hairs. But she told herself that the ugly beast did not intimidate her. She ran towards it pushing down her fear and leapt like she was gifted wings by the gods to pierce her blades into the large monster. Her might was lit through her limitless frustrations of the past week and she used her arms to drag her body north to the creature’s head.

Ghoul realized rather quickly that this act was no easy task. The core of her body ached as the beast moved and swung her around. The best she could manage was one of her daggers deep within its muscle while she tried to use the momentum of the creature’s motions to allow her to swing closer to the head. Ghoul could hear the shouts and grunts from the two warriors below. She knew when one of their weapons met the beast because the cyclops would roar. The sound piercing her ears with harsh pressure causing her vision to blur and in tangent her breathing to quicken. The sensation was enough to loosen her grip and she tried her best to ignore the ringing that was left from the loud sound.

Finally, she found an opportune time to make a final swing and lunge her body towards the tusk of the cyclops. Its eye focusing its attention directly on her now that she was within its peripheral. The grotesque creature opened its mouth again to belt out another incredible roar but with a panicked decision Ghoul thrusted her blade into its cheek instead of the eye like she wanted. It muffled the angry scream, but the rage was now directed towards her instead of Erik and Ambrosius who were trying to cut into its legs. Ghoul’s stamina was draining rapidly and while she tried to free her dagger from the face of the monster it was interrupted by an incredible pressure grip around her waist.

She let out a pained scream as the hand of the creature started to crush her. The feeling of her ribs being forced together involuntary released the breath from her lungs. A series of black stars clouded her vision as she struggled to pry its fingers off her.

“Arisen!” She heard one of her companions yell out but was unable to tell whom among the party with her vision darkening. The cyclops that was slowly beginning to crush her insides became distracted with whatever was happening below and finally released her from its grip.

The relinquished Ghoul felt an influx of air rush back into her lungs feeling every bit of the pain as her body was allowed to expand back to normal. She landed violently on to the dirt and when she came to herself, she saw the foot of the beast start to descend upon her as well. She held her arms up as if her waning strength alone could stop it. Thankfully in a moment of good fortune the blonde brute she had since doubted thwarted the crush. His large sword piercing into the foot and holding his ground preventing Ghoul’s untimely death.

“Let me come to your aid!” She barely heard Quil say as he grabbed her by the shoulder and lifted her to her feet like she was nothing. It took Ghoul a moment to regain herself even as he tried to gently drag her out of the way of the stomping cyclops. “While you are mighty in many ways, may I suggest you avoid such reckless acts in the foreseeable future?”

Her yellow eyes narrowed on the pawn that had nodded to her to go forth only moments before her fall.

“Tis will not always be the case.” She said weakly, coughing some of the fluid that had built within her lungs from the crushing she had endured by the creature’s fearsome grip. “Bad luck.”

“Of course.” He pushed up his glasses before waving his hands above her, muttering soft invocations meant to heal another. Ghoul’s hands rested on her knees as she bent over to gather herself. She could feel every inch of her covered in saliva, innards, dirt, and cold sweat from the consistent fighting they had endured on their travels. It was lowering her morale and making it feel as she was only one more layer of grime away from becoming a creature herself.

“I will let no harm come to you if you stay by my side.” Quil’s grey eyes focused on Ghoul for a moment there was a sense of seniority in the stare. She could see the wisdom behind what he was saying but her pride had suffered a loss she wasn’t willing to part with. Erik and Ambrosius had a small competition going between the both of them since they had started traveling and Ghoul was determined to beat them both with sheer willpower alone.

“I am fine.” She was sounding defensive even to her own ears, but she was not going to be told what to do.

“Tis as you say.” He said unconvincingly to her, but Quil did not appear as if he was going to say anymore on the matter. Instead, his attentions redirected to where the remainder of the party was which was currently bullying the cyclops to its knees.

Ghoul straightened her posture and looked ahead at the two fearsome warriors. Erik had been thrown several meters away even with this he managed to push himself up with his knees and wipe the blood off his face before running back into the thick of it. Ambrosius was no better swinging his axe as if it were a twig. His form was more refined, and he clearly had more dexterity than Erik did which set them apart greatly. Ghoul had picked up on how vast their skillsets were even when they were within the same vocation. Even if Quil never outwardly bragged about his skills as Ambrosius did it was clear that the two pawns knew much more than Erik or Ghoul did. Ghoul wondered what she used to know, what skills she had mastered herself before this.

“Another grand blow and victory will be ours!” Erik roared in delight and the ecstatic energy that rolled off of him reminded Ghoul she was not there to stand in the measly background. The cyclops’ legs were severely injured from the hacking the two warriors did and there seemed to be an invisible field that held it to the ground as well. Ghoul picked up her daggers with ferocity and rushed towards the beast. There was a newfound spur of fervor within her and a delightful idea spread throughout her mind. She praised her feet for getting her to the cyclops just as Erik was preparing to land the final blow. Ghoul leapt to the top of its head and lunged her blades deep into the large eye that stared at her. The force that she put into it made her collapse over the eye as the gushing fluids ran out like a yolk from its broken eggshell.

“Fie!” Erik cried out in frustration as he redirected his swing away from Ghoul’s direction to avoid injuring her. The swing twisted him away from her and the large sword now pierced the dirt.

“Masterfully done, Arisen!” Quil praised her with a small clap of his hands while Ambrosius let out a haughty laugh that was aimed at Erik. The beastren seem to enjoy the look of frustration on Erik’s face.

“Aye, a good blow to its eye, Arisen.” Erik agreed with only a hint of resentment and a half of his usual devilish smirk. Ghoul used her right hand to find a sturdy part of the cyclops’ head to lift her out of the goo she was slowly merging with and without asking Erik grabbed her left arm to help.

“I don’t know about you, Master, but I am worn out.” Ambrosius yawned as he stretched his long arms into the sky. “Mightn’t we have a rest before pressing on?”

“Methinks we’ve earned a brief repose.” Erik added as he tied his sword onto his back once more. Ghoul was trying to throw off the excess slime from her arms while they were going on about rest. They were still at least three days away from Vernworth according to what Quil had mentioned the last time they set up camp. She was more than ready to be there already.

“Let’s look for a shallow waterbed.” She finally said to them in response. Ghoul was not going to be able to push much farther ahead while feeling the grime in every crevice of her being.

“That would be a fine idea.” Quil spoke warmly with a smile on his face and his hands behind his back. He would never say it out loud but she knew the older pawn was just as tired as the rest of them. Quil seemed less inclined to voice his grievances which was a relief compared to the other two. Erik in particular, who voiced mostly any thought that rattled in his skull.

“If you are willing to trust my lead, there is a river not too far off from here. I have been to it while I was visiting in other worlds.” Ghoul held her first response back at his offer. She wanted to refuse anymore guidance but even more so she wanted to know what he meant when he said other worlds. The other two were quick to follow Quil's lead and before she could properly respond they had gathered the materials within their vicinity and were ready to follow the sorcerer.

“Tis as you say.” Erik nodded at Quil and was about to place a hand on Ghoul's shoulder before just letting it hover over the spot instead. “We should let him guide us. You are coated with a sickening slime and perhaps would like to rid yourself of it sooner rather than later.”

There they went making the decisions again. The corner of Ghoul's lip dipped into a frown as she thought of the many times each of them had said ‘I will do as you command’ yet here they were practically commanding her instead.

“Fine.” She grumbled and when she crossed her arms, she felt the oily slime he had referred to against her fingers and it made her shiver in disgust. Even if it were disgusting, she felt the impulse to wear it for days out of spite of the others. Make them have to smell her and see the sickening slime. Command them to lick it perhaps and see how they enjoy telling her where to go. “Onward before I decide to sleep in the belly of this cyclops instead.”

The three of them looked at her with slight astonishment like the idea was sinful to mention. Ambrosius chuckled before turning away and Erik had a cross look on his face as if he would never be caught dead in one.

“I don't think that would be a wise choice.” He said before gesturing his head in the direction they were to go. “Follow me, it's best to keep me within your sight as the day fades.”

“If her small legs can keep up.” Ambrosius sneered walking by her. It was not the first joke he had made about her stature and each one only riled her up more.

“Says the beastren that needed the owner of these small legs to free you from a harpy only a day ago.” She retorted, purposely shuffling faster ahead of him. She caught the small eye roll of his before looking forward and his lack of following retort was enough for her to claim a small victory. Ghoul always wondered if the large fellow even liked her and if he did not, why did he bother to stay within their small party. Not that she even wanted a traveling party. Erik kept his pace back with Ambrosius and they both started to speak among themselves as Ghoul remained directly behind Quil in the middle of them all.

The sun was nearly set and their traveling was only interrupted once by a pack of wolves that lived within the forest. Ghoul did not even get a chance to pull out her own weapons before the two warriors struck down the pack. Quil instinctively had placed himself in front of her while the other two swung their blades and it was yet another protective gesture that got under her skin.

She decided it would all be forgiven for now since Quil had followed through on his promise and led them to small corner in the woods that held a waterfall. The river that fell from it was wide but there was a shallow end near where they were planning to rest for the night just like she desired. The shallow beds were a safer bet and gave less of a chance for the brine to suck them under if they wished to bathe. And Ghoul very much wished to bathe after surviving several encounters with goblins and other messy creatures.

This was their seventh night camping together and a rhythm between the four of them was starting to set. Quil began the fire and gathered the cooking gear to use. Erik was in the middle of pitching their camping tent and setting up the hammock Ghoul slept in. Ambrosius appeared to have already set forth in the woods around them to gather wood and possible extra rations to fed on tonight. This was a perfect opportunity for Ghoul to take time to herself while the others were focused on their tasks. She walked down to a more secluded side of the river and found a spot to undress. There was plenty of depth in the shallow bed to allow for her to sit comfortably within it and she was excitedly prying off her armor and undergarments. The armor that could be wiped off she hung on a branch near by while she took her loose fabrics with her to soak as she did.

She dipped her toe in to the running water and the coldness of it made her flinch at first. Ghoul would have preferred warmer temperatures but having any kind of water cleaning her skin was preferable than to walk more distance covered in slime and innards. She forced herself into the water and ignored the chattering of her teeth as she sat herself in the slowly moving water. Her hair was the first priority to wash and she tore out the stringy ribbons that held her hair into separate messy pigtails. Ghoul lowered herself and leaned back to allow her green messy hair to float in the cool water. Slowly her body was adjusting to the coldness of the water and even if the skin that exposed to the air was covered in goosebumps. She laid there and closed her eyes, appreciating the sound of falling water from afar and the way the birds sung in the area. It was a lovely moment of peace and something she cherished even as the sun begun to sink lower to the horizon.

She did not want to move but heard the crunching of branches drawing near. She waited for another moment hoping a doe was passing by when instead someone had cleared their throat. Ghoul opened one of her eyes to peer towards the sound to see Erik standing five paces back not looking directly at her but clearly waiting for her to notice his presence.

“Yes?” She asked miffed she was interrupted. Surely, they did not need her for anything and she had planned to help pack everything up in the morning as a part of her contribution. Ghoul was too tired to give anymore than that.

“Dinner is prepared, A-, Ghoul.” Erik seemed to trip over his words but still managed to correct himself at the end when addressing her. It was something she could appreciate. She sat up from the shallow pool and the weight of her wet hair made her tilt her head back. Ghoul had her arms holding her up for the most part but she could feel how strained her muscles still felt from climbing.

“Are you alright?” He had an edge of concern in his voice and had stepped closer to her now. She eyed him with confusion as to what would cause his reaction like that and so she followed his eyes. When she looked at her waist, she noticed the deep bruising that had accumulated around her ribs from their earlier bout.

“Yes.” She answered with a monotone. Ghoul was not entirely sure if she was alright but she didn’t want to lead on that she was anything other. The bruising would heal with time or even quicker than time with help from Quil later. Erik’s lips parted as if he was going to say something else but she saw the way his shoulders tensed before dropping his hands to his side and nodding with acceptance. Ghoul began to gather the clothes that floated around her and she had held down with rocks to soak some of the grossness out of them.

“May I assist you?” His baritone voice asked whimsically. Erik was kneeling beside her, ignoring her bare body with casualness she welcomed.

“If you crave to do so.” She said and while she tried to get back on her feet again Erik grabbed her arm to assist her stepping back into the grass and out of the water. She was straining her clothes over the water unwilling to put them on till they were damp rather than soaked. Ghoul felt a slight tugging on her hair and when she tried to turn Erik’s hand stopped her.

“Look forward. It will be quick.” He commanded her and she only listened because of her current occupying task. His large fingers were threading through her hair and even if she experienced some displeasure when he came across the knots there was something soothing in the motion. Ghoul felt him separate and begin to pull different sections together and the tightness grew till he tugged slightly one last time. “There.”

Ghoul reached to the back of her hair to feel the braid he had woven together. He stopped her hand as she it touched the end and pulled it gently away.

“Don’t. You'll mess it up.” He warned before taking off his red cloak on his shoulders and wrapping it around her once she had begun to shiver again. There was a slight familiarity in the motions that had happened between them that she felt her chest lighten. She wanted to ask why it felt like this, but her stubborn pride screamed at her not to.

“Erik.” She spoken finally as she looked up at him. His bare chest was broad and his shoulders glistened in the wanning sunlight. But even with how he appeared his eyes were soft and attentive when she called his name and that always threw her off. The forest around them was darkening at a fast pace and it probably would be smart for them both to make it back to the camp.

“Thank you.” She managed to finally breath now that she had caught herself. There was so much she wanted to know but was afraid to ask. Her blank slate could be a blessing for some, but it seemed to be the most cursed hex anyone could put on her. She held the red cape tighter around herself after he grabbed her wet clothes from her hands and her remaining armor off the trees. He stood waiting for her to lead the way and once she began to step forward, he followed closely, promising hot food and extra linens to wear once she made it to the fire.

#dd2 #dd2 pawn #dd2 spoilers #dd2 arisen #dragons dogma 2 #dragons dogma pawn #arisen x pawn #dragons dogma #dd2 fanfic #dragons dogma ii #dragons dogma 2 fanfiction #Ghoul and The Boys #fang writes #the official fic post #friends ocs #friends pawns #just a bunch of blorbos doing things

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targcrazies · 1 year ago

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Moonless, Dark Night. Pt. 1

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x OC!Strong (half Targaryen) Words: 3.2k+ Warnings: Violence and Graphic Descriptions, Emotional Distress, Mature (ish) themes, Mentions of Self-Harm and Su*cide, Adult Language, Incest.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

NOTE: I have written parts of this story before. However, I faced difficulty with linear storytelling. So, I'm trying something different. It will be shorter than I had originally planned, but better, perhaps. Hope you enjoy this. Let me know of any criticism you may or may not have, and I will surely appreciate knowing if you enjoy it. My Master's degree starts in less than a month, so I'd love to be done with this before that, lmao.

Have fun reading and thanks if you are!!

"Drip, drop, drip, drop.

Sansa listened carefully to ensure that no one had been following her. Her limbs trembled beneath her cape, her fingers frantic in the gloves. She knew well that her hair posed no threat, for it was not the silver of her husband’s. Yet, she had picked up the habit from her cousins, who shielded their silver manes whenever they desired concealment. In her eighteen years, she had never felt more like a Targaryen than she did then.

Drip, drip, drop, drip, drip, drop.

Part of her was relieved that only the droplets of water made the noises. She knew that Aemond kept her under relative scrutiny, especially since she refused him intimacy following the death of Lucerys Velaryon. “If you won’t let me near you, one of my white knights shall be here at all times.” However, he had forgotten her skills with crushed herbs and sedatives. Criston Cole had fallen gently to the ground beneath him. He was curled into a peaceful slumber, his chest heaved against the white that shielded him.

Verasys, her dragon, was kind. He was not impulsive, hot-blooded, or rash. He fed on what was given to him and only blew fire only on command. The beautiful dragon, with scales as violet as Sansa's eyes, breathed heavily in sleep when Sansa found him. Her lip trembled as she took out the keys to his steel chains. When she was done unlocking the beast, quite large for his age of only fifty-nine, she cooed him awake. He put his beak-like mouth under her chin, nuzzling gently.

“Verasys, my dear, you have to leave me behind,” she muttered in High Valyrian, tears making their way down her face like sweat. The dragon roared gently, but she shushed him. “If you stay back, they will make us commit the most heinous of crimes. They will make us kill our kin, our blood.” The dragon breathed out in anger through his nose, turning his face away, refusing to look at her. She walked to the other side, holding his face to hers. “You were born from the same clutch of eggs Syrax had sprouted from. Do you really want to fight your own sister, my dear?”

The dragon groaned in exasperation as Sansa began to weep. She used to rarely weep. “They killed my nephew,” she cried, uttering the word in relation to Lucerys- for what could have been well recognized- for the first time since the boy was born. She and Rhaenyra had made insinuations; her older half-brother, Harwin, would beam in glee whenever she played with Jace, looked after Luke, and tried to lull Joffrey to sleep.

She remembered the one time Jace addressed the abominable rumors of their bastardy to his mother, “I am a Targaryen through and through, like Sansa. Sansa also has black hair; no one calls her a bastard!” Rhaenyra laughed as she realized the concept of illegitimacy was lost on her young sons. She had explained eloquently that the black hair of the brothers was due to their grandmother, Rhaenys, whose mother was a Baratheon. “Sansa,” she gently pulled the girl closer to her, gripping her shoulders, “Has the black hair of the Strongs. She, just like the three of you, did not inherit the silver hair of the Targaryens from her mother.” Sansa’s heart leaped with joy. Many refused to acknowledge her mother’s Targaryen status due to her being a mere accident, something Prince Baelon regretted until his passing. Her grandmother, Viserra Targaryen, had intoxicated the Prince and done her deed when prancing around naked in his bedchamber did not work. Soon enough, she gave birth to their bastard, a pale-haired little girl she affectionately named Visenya as she passed. Visenya grew up in court, her older half-brothers being her only company.

When little Visenya turned seventeen, Widower Lyonel Strong joined the Red Keep with his sons. The man was fifteen years her senior, yet she was besotted by him. On her eighteenth birthday, she threw herself at her brother, the King’s feet, begging him to allow their union. Lord Strong, despite much hesitation, acquiesced, and the two were wed in a homely ceremony. Sansa was born after a stillborn, in 110 AD, a day after the birth of her husband, Aemond. It is said that Lady Strong had held onto her belly with one hand and supported the then Queen with the other as her Grace screamed and cried during her third labor. The moment the little boy’s cries were heard and he was laid onto his mother’s bosom, Lady Strong’s water gave way, and Sansa was born after a long, strenuous labor herself.

Lyonel was overjoyed, to say the least. His dear wife had named the child Sansa, a true name taken from the First Men. The King’s joy, however, was only second to his Hand’s. He held both the children in his arms. “They have the same eyes; it is uncanny,” he mused. “Aemond and Sansa. Must we betroth them, Lyonel?”

“If you insist, your Grace.” If it were some other time, Lyonel would have argued the futility of the said betrothal, how it built no new connections and produced no allies. However, at that moment, he was overcome with joy.

“They will make me kill my dearest Jace and my loveliest Joff, too, if we do not part. One day, perhaps, you will find your way to me again. Only when this has been dealt with. Until then, Verasys, you must be away. Fly, my boy, fly away.”

Verasys was not only her dragon; he also belonged to her mother. Her mother had passed shortly after the burning of Harrenhal, her frail health unable to bear the loss of her stepson, who was a dear friend, and her husband. Verasys was also one of the few belongings of her mother that had found their way to her.

She walked backward from the dragon. “Leave, my boy, fly away. This is your chance. Aegon has lost Riverlands entirely. What will follow next is the dance of the dragons. I want no part in it, and neither do you.”

The dragon looked at Sansa, his eyes glossing over her form. She shushed him again as he walked toward her, his mouth against her cheek. Verasys wiped away her tears, backed away from her, and gently flapped his wings. He was so gentle, so quiet, so sweet. Sansa knew that there would never be a dragon so calm, so very docile. Verasys isn’t one for war anyway, she told herself as she broke the chains with the dragonbone dagger that she received as a present on her wedding day from Aemond, despite knowing that Verasys could be resourceful upon need, could decimate anyone who could pose a threat to him or his Sansa. His protectiveness of even Aemond drew short, fluttered fires from Vhagar. It was Sansa who was not built for war.

THE NEXT MORNING was torturous. Aemond’s voice blasted through the entire Red Keep, his anger having scared away even the faultless birds. She stayed rooted in her chair, refusing to respond to his outburst. She refused to dignify his anger, she had done it enough before and had tired of it then.

“WHERE IS VERASYS? WHERE IS MY WIFE’S DRAGON? WHAT KIND OF TREACHERY IS THIS?” He refused to believe that the dragon left on his own accord, convinced that someone wilfully let him escape. “Why ask me? I am heartbroken by Verasys’s absence. How am I to know where he’s gone without me?” She spoke whenever inquired about the dragon’s absence. The Dowager Queen’s eyes shone like steel as she stared Sansa down. “Sansa, my sweet child, you mustn’t do anything that may put us at grave risk.”

“Your Grace, I do not know what you mean. Rather, I believe that what happened was for the best. Verasys wasn’t one for war. He’d have forfeited the moment Syrax would have flown near him. It is for the best, your Grace, that he left on his own accord.”

Aemond waited for his mother to depart before locking the gate of the chamber from the inside. “I do not know where your loyalties lie, my dear.”

“You accuse me of treason, my dear husband. That is unseemly and harsh of you.” Sansa trained her eyes on his, refusing to yield for fear of showing some weakness.

“I shan’t use that word, for what I assume to be treason is what you might consider loyalty.” He said, “I know of your regular consumption, Sansa. Or, I knew, I suppose.”

She knew what he meant, “I have never made a point for it to be discreet, dear husband. I am not giving birth to a child until this war has been dealt with.”

“War,” he spat, “This isn’t war; this is a defense against treason.” He sat down, facing her, knowing that another debate would ensue.

Her lips lifted in what he often called a “bitter smile.” Her anger and her sardonicism reflected in her gaze at once. “What’s defense and what’s treason here varies on perspective.”

“Aegon is the first-born son of my Father, your own uncle; he is the rightful heir.”

“The boy Uncle never once even mentioned as his heir? I won’t argue with you on who the rightful heir is. I just want you to remember that no “faction” is truly in the right here. None.” She hated herself for the partial lie she told, but she had to stay safe. Rhaenyra was her rightful Queen; she will always be. Her nephews, acknowledged by Laenor Velaryon, are her trueborn sons and her rightful successors. Her heart broke at the memory of Lucerys, at the thought of his beautiful face eaten in half.

“Why must you speak like a…” he lowered his voice and leaned closer to her face, “…a traitor?”

“You accuse me of treason again, my husband.”

“I only note the precarious implication of your rebuttals. This is no game, Sansa; this is-”

“Oh, yes, this is war. What do I, a woman, know of war? What an irony, given it is a woman you all are fighting against!”

Aemond sat back, his lips sealed tight. “I never said that dirty thing; you know it was Cole who said so.”

“And you associate yourself so closely with him, disregarding the harmful notions he poses.” She posited, “Being a freethinker, as you claim to be–”

“Oh dear wife, I believe we both can agree that you and I do not see eye to eye on something this grave. Yet, we choose to stay together, love each other. He is only a servant, as his duty is to serve.” His hand on the table had closed in a tight fist, “Let’s not argue the futility of unmatched opinions when you and I have plenty.” He mentioned 'love' in hopes of seeing her eyes soften, in hopes of irking something in her heart that once held his gaze in utmost adoration. The warmth had gone, the love was nowhere. When he looked into her eyes, he only felt cold, so unloved that it scared him.

“We do not.” Sansa was gritting her teeth by then, “You had once told me that were you to become King, you would want your eldest child to inherit the throne, be it a girl or a boy. That is a belief that could threaten Aegon and his lackeys against your support toward the throne, against me. We were never as shortsighted as our family here.”

“Sansa, my dear, do you not realize that Rhaenyra is not one of us?”

“She was never meant to be the enemy,” Sansa spoke quietly, almost under her breath, her hand covering her mouth coyly, “This is pure conspiracy succeeding over conciliation.”

There was a time, Aemond thought, when debates would lead them to bed and they’d make love. Things had changed. Lucerys’s death had left her incapacitated to feel any love toward him, even though he had emphatically repeated– like a prayer– that he never meant to kill him.

Every time he recalled having, tearfully and apologetically, informed her of the accident at the Rook's Nest; his body broke down to his knees.

“It matters little what you intended. What does matter here is what you have caused. Husband, you have waged war against Rhaenyra, against Uncle Daemon. May the Seven protect us all.” She spoke through venomous, angry tears, spitting all over him, “Uncle will never forgive this.” She had shaken her head with untenable vigour, walking away from him in pure dread, “And why should he? Would YOU have forgiven this? We deserve to burn. Poor Luke, oh poor, poor Luke. My dear ne- my Luke!”

When Aemond stepped closer to her, despite her backing away, wringing his hands, “I did not kill any of his children; they’re untouched, unharmed.” Her laughter echoed as a shriek, “You know him so little, it is dangerous to not know the man you have waged war against. You foolish, foolish man.”

He tried to hold her, fall to her feet, cry his apologies if that could calm her. She refused to even touch him, almost throwing herself out the window to evade him. He had a feeling, an instinctual irk, that she would deal with the news worse than anybody at the Red Keep. The Dowager Queen and the Hand chastised him for having murdered kin; Aegon had little to say but how conflicts such as these- almost always and without fail- produced corpses, and Helaena had blamed Aemond for procuring the most ominous out of thin air. Sansa, however, was ardently, hopelessly, fiercely grieving.

She, unlike her husband, remembered their days during childhood as happier times. Joffrey was too little and Helaena was always consumed in her own interests. The five of them used to play, practice sword-fighting, and have lessons together. After Rhaenyra left for Dragonstone, Sansa visited them on dragonback, every once in a while. She attended tourneys and had been beside Rhaenyra in all her birthings, except for the one where she had lost her little girl, her little Visenya. Sansa had grieved the death of a child not even half alive, crying and praying for the wellbeing of the soul in silence. Luke was so real; he was fourteen, a boy with his own likes and dislikes, his own quirks.

Before he knew it, she had begun to yell out the window, “Verasys, Verasys, come to me, Verasys. Take me away from this warmongering, foolish beast!” Aemond could have ripped his heart open, and it would have hurt less.

“Sansa, my love, what are you doing-” he could hear the dragon flapping his wings hard against the air; the dragon had broken the chains off himself to fly to Sansa, to respond to her cries.

“If you step any closer, I will JUMP from here, I will.” The Dowager Queen and the Hand were banging on their gate, pleading Aemond and Sansa to let them in. “I want to see none of you. I want to apologize to Rhaenyra, if my DEATH shall appease her, I will let her have it. Don’t you dare come closer, for I WILL JUMP!” Aemond did not dare stop her when she mounted the dragon and took off, barely secured in her place. The thought of her jumping to her death at his touch made his skin crawl, he found himself within he could hurt himself so bad that she'd love him again.

She returned two days later, having calmed down significantly. She handed them a treaty Rhaenyra had sent with her. They had the following demands:

Aemond the Kinslayer shall be excommunicated to Essos. Whether his wife, Lady Sansa Strong, decides to stay at the Red Keep or leave with him is up to her.

Ser Otto Hightower, Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Prince Aegon, and Princess Helaena, alongside Lord Jaehaerys, Lord Maelor, and Lady Jaehaera, shall depart for Oldtown within a fortnight.

The Red Keep, the Crown of Iron and Rubies of Aegon the Conqueror, and Blackfyre should all be returned to the rightful Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm.

Refusing any of these claims, the scroll dictated, would lead to war. Aegon laughed, instructing that the scroll be thrown in the hearth.

The Dowager Queen had turned red upon reading the clauses, the Hand looked betrayed. “Have they reduced you to a raven?” Aegon asked, staring at his sisters-in-law, his cousin, in sheer disbelief.

“I did what I could for a mother who has lost her son. This is the least I could do. I have not agreed to these clauses, I only brought the scroll here.”

“Were you aware of the content of the scroll?” The Hand enquired, his voice and face both frightfully calm and cold.

“No, I was not. I was merely requested to hand this scroll to the Hand of the King.” Her eyes were transfixed straight ahead, staring nowhere, yet focused.

“How did you spend the last two days on Dragonstone?” Aemond was sitting on one of the steps to the Iron Throne, closer to the ground. Aegon now sat on the throne, Sansa grimaced at the thought of it alone. Aemond, on the other hand, had worried himself to death, having been advised against flying to Dragonstone himself, especially after word arrived right away that she was alright and needed time to sort out the demise of Lucerys Velaryon. That his arrival at Dragonstone will be equivalent to his waging direct warfare. Thus, when he finally spoke, his question sounded more like concern than an interrogation, so unlike the rest.

“We grieved, your Grace.” Her lilac eyes stared dead into his, her face contorting, ever so slightly, in disgust. Anyone who doesn’t know her well would not even notice. He was not one of them, unfortunately. He could have wept; he almost did. He felt like he had lost her forever. However much love, respect, and admiration she once had for him was gone.

It had been a week since, and she had somehow regained normalcy. While she was still cold, biting, uninviting; she was calmer, considerate even. She allowed no intimacy– something he hadn’t let his mother and grandsire know– because if it weren’t for the origin of her birth and her status as his wife, she’d have long been beheaded as a traitor. Her dragon having left did little to acquit her to his family. It was odd that she barely attempted to clear herself of any suspicion. It was almost as if she took the special treatment for granted. He’d have to remind himself every time he felt angry at her indifference that she was only half a Strong. Her grandparents were children of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and she was just as much a Targaryen as he was, if only not for her hair. The futility of such comparison was jarring, for she looked like a Targaryen through and through. She and Rhaenys Targaryen were similar in that sense; both fiery dragonriders with hair as dark as a cloudy, moonless night and eyes startlingly lilac.

He snapped himself out of his derailed trail of thoughts to find his wife by the window, watering the plant that she had brought back with her from Dragonstone. “Will you never admit, out loud, that I accidentally killed your nephew?”

She did not pause, did not look back, “You will not entrap me in your web of deceits, husband.” She could have scratched his other eye out, to avenge her nephew, but she chose not to. Oftentimes, those days, she’d have the urge to tell him that he was a petty, shallow half-man for never having gotten over the loss of an eye. People get through so much worse. But, she stopped herself. Every single time.

#game of thrones #hotd fanfic #house of the dragon fanfic #aemond x fem!reader #aemond targaryen smut #aemond targaryen x oc #aemond targaryen imagines #aemond one eye #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x cousin!reader #aemond targaryen x strong!reader #aemond x reader

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pinkskytwst · 2 years ago

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Octavinelle

Octatrio/Prefect (Yuu,MC,OC) Romantic Poly

One-sided Riddle/Prefect

SCHOOL UNITY: Heartslabyul

“This is workplace harassment, you know.”

Azul let out one of his dramatic gasps, gloved hand placed over his heart as if the Prefect had landed a mortal blow.

“How could you say such a thing, my pearl?” he asked with a liberal tone of offense that he had to internally fight to keep when their beloved human’s expression remained a very unimpressed and very dry glare. “I am a merfolk of my word and I would certainly never break a term of contract, especially for my dearest employee!”

“I never agreed to this.” They said pointedly, crossing their arms over their chest and refusing to cooperate with how Jade was attempting to take their measurements.

“Aa, but you also didn’t NOT agree to it.” Azul said smoothly, flashing a charming smile. “You see, angelfish, your work contract includes the requirement for the approved uniform to be worn each shift that you are to be paid for.”

“This isn’t the uniform! I already HAVE my uniform and it’s not…THIS!” they threw their hands up into the air in frustration.

“You do have a set of our common uniform, yes, but I have come up with a brilliant idea that will help us improve attendance and sales. For these special promotions the uniforms will be…unique.” He said cheerfully, clapping his hands together and ignoring the snickering from Floyd behind them.

“Koebi-chan is going to be even more adorable than usual!” he cackled from his place on the couch where he was flicking through various catalogues and fabric books. “I’ll have to squeeze you even more than normal to handle it!”

“Jade!?” they complained, tugging their arm away from the calmer tweel as he tried to measure their wrist and fingers. “Why are you okay with this? Isn’t it going to be a lot of work for you to make these things?”

“Perhaps,” he replied smoothly, though his eyes couldn’t hide the dark glee he was enjoying from seeing the prefect so flustered and defiant. “But I have found that sewing, while not my favorite hobby, does have it’s own sort of charm. Especially when I will have such a cute model.”

Azul couldn’t hide his chuckle when their lover groaned, dropping their head into their hands and trying to hide the faint blush on their cheeks. They had gotten somewhat used to the tweel’s form of flirting, but thankfully not completely. Thankful for the Octavinelle trio at least. Their blush really was lovely.

“Do not fret, my pearl, you will be compensated handsomely for your part in my sche-plans. If my projections are correct, you will be receiving a ten percent increase for the promotional shifts you work and if the outcome is greater then I will raise it accordingly.” He promised, knowing instantly that he had won them over.

Oh the stubborn human refused outright to let him take care of their living expenses – spouting some nonsense about not wanting the three to think they were with them for financial gain, as if Azul wasn’t willing to do it even if they were – but they wouldn’t argue against pay raises that were fair for work done.

The prefect’s shoulders sagged and they let their hands fall away to turn a pouting but resigned look up at him.

“Thirty percent.” They shot back.

“Fifteen.”

“Twenty-five and not a madol lower. I can see some of the sketches from here and if I’m going to be wearing that in front of the whole school then I’m going to get what I deserve.” They said stubbornly, not realizing that Azul had actually planned for at least forty percent going to the Prefect if he had to.

“Then it’s a deal, my dear.” He nearly purred, almost being able to feel the stacks of madols in his hands that he would be earning with this idea.

He shook their hand before leaning down to place a teasing kiss on the back and then spinning to all but skip to his desk.

“Be sure to run the designs by Vil, won’t you, Jade? He has quite an eye for these things you know and I’m sure he’ll simply ADORE what we have cooked up.”

“And that stalker of his will get the word out quicker than anything!” Floyd cackled.

“Arms out, angelfish.” Jade grinned.

The prefect groaned but gave in.

“Cater, really, there’s no need to pull.” Riddle frowned in consternation, tugging his wrist away from the overexcited ginger who couldn’t stop babbling about this ‘special promotion’ thing that Mostro Lounge had started advertising.

“Ya don’t understand! If we’re not early we won’t be able to find a seat! I can’t miss this kind of photo op! My likes are gonna be through the roof! I wonder if the Prefect will let me get a picture with them.” He rambled with a wide smile as he typed away on his phone at a speed that made Riddle’s mind boggle.

“You’re going to have to have to get behind us!” Ace cackled. “We’re their besties, ya know!”

“We should definitely take pictures since Sebek and Jack couldn’t come.” Deuce agreed with a nod, Grim hanging off his shoulder.

“Well I’m gonna order the biggest tuna dish ever!” the monster said happily, dreaming of the delicious food that was waiting for him.

“I wonder what the theme is going to be.” Epel said thoughtfully from between the two card soldiers. “Vill-senpai has really gotten into the planning once Jade stopped by a few weeks ago. He won’t tell me anything about it though and Rook just giggles and starts spouting poetry no one can understand.”

“Well, we won’t be staying long.” Riddle said firmly. “Midterms are in a few days and all of you need to stay focused on not falling behind.” He ignored the groans from the first years and Cater.

Trey just laughed as they passed through the mirror into Octavinelle dorm grounds and patted his friend on the shoulder.

“I’m sure they will do fine. This will be a good stress relief for everyone.” He said, trying to ease some of the housewarden’s annoyance at being dragged along.

Of course, he gave the excuse of needing to ensure that the others didn’t go overboard, but it was impossible to miss how he caved once he heard it involved their Ramshackle Prefect.

“Perhaps but-“

The group paused when they saw the entrance to the restaurant was decorated with roses and various displays that definitely gave off a ‘Heartslabyul’ vibe but with a distinct elegance that spoke of Azul’s influence.

“What is this ‘theme’ supposed to be?” Riddle questioned as Cater gasped and rushed forward through the other students in line to enter and began taking pictures both of the entrance and himself as well with them in the background.

Epel blinked and looked around in confusion as they entered, the Queendom of Hearts décor continuing on farther.

“I don’t know, Vil just said something about ‘school spirit’ and ‘loyalty’.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, the fliers the twins were passing out just said Heartslabyul gets a ten percent discount tonight on top of the ticket promotion.” Ace said, grinning as he looked around at the rather packed lounge – mostly by familiar red, white, and black uniforms.

“Oh hey! Jade-senpai!” Deuce said suddenly, waving his arm at the tall vice-housewarden.

The eelmer’s calm smile widened just a bit as he walked in their direction, giving a polite bow.

“Welcome to Mostro Lounge, Housewarden Riddle. We were hoping you would be joining us this evening. Azul was quite positive that you would enjoy yourself. Might I show you all to a table?” He said, looking quite different in the black suit, black striped shirt, and blood red tie and gloves. There was a single white rose in his lapel pocket.

Riddle gave the tall – TOO TALL! – eelmer a distrusting glare but gave in finally at Cater’s very insistent begging.

“Very well.” He sighed, shooting a harsher glare at Ace when the boy gave a little cheer and pumped his fist.

“So what’s all this about!?” Cater asked excitedly, holding up his phone to record Jade’s answer.

Jade chuckled smoothly as he led the group through the crowd of students towards a large table near the center of the room that had obviously been reserved for the Heartslabyul housewarden. The décor was a bit more elaborate without being gaudy and everything was set up to the Heartslabyul rules.

“Why, Azul wishes to give back to the school, of course.” He said, even pulling the chair at the end out for Riddle. “After so much has happened he’s wanted to strengthen our bonds as NCR students and help to share the diverse cultures of our dorms with all on campus. It really is quite a shame, after all, that there is so many interesting traditions and styles that the other houses only barely get a peek at.”

Riddle glared again but did take the seat offered, looking around the room and noticing that while there WERE many Heartslabyul students there were quite a lot from the other dorms as well, even a couple from Ignihyde who were congregating in a corner. While it wasn’t like the houses completely segregated themselves from each other, friendships across dorms were less common than among dormmates and clubs. Now, though, there were more students intermingling, particularly with the Heartslabyul students than normal. Azul’s plan was obviously working.

“I suppose…if it means that more students will be able to experience a piece of our traditions…then it is fine.” He finally conceded. “But I will have none of our Queen’s etiquette broken! They may not be under my purview but-“

“Fret not, Housewarden Riddle.” Jade assured him before the red head could work himself up into a lecture. “Azul has scoured your exhaustive collection of rules and made adjustments to both cutlery and the menu accordingly.”

Riddle glared, still not trusting the octomer in the slightest but had to give in when it really did seem like everything was being handled well and with respect.

“Very well.” He finally agreed, making Jade’s grin widen to show the sharp, shark-like teeth.

“Then please, enjoy yourselves and I will send your server right over.”

Trey sent Riddle a comforting smile as the other boys all began looking through the menus and chattered away at the options available. All had a Heartslabyul flare but were different enough to be a special treat for even those of the dorm.

“You shouldn’t worry so much, Riddle. It’s just dinner. It’s not like Azul is tricking us into a contract. We’ll even get to see…the…oh, my.”

Riddle blinked when Trey’s gaze moved past and settled on something behind him.

Expecting a trap of some king, Riddle snapped his head around.

Instantly his face burst into a brilliant crimson.

“Welcome to Mostro Lounge, everyone! I’ll be your server today so please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” The Prefect chirped.

Riddle wasn’t even capable of forming thoughts let alone respond.

“Whoa! What do they got you dressed up in?” Ace cackled, leaning around Deuce to take in their friend’s ‘uniform’.

“Whatever do you mean, Ace? This is the Queendom of Hearts, after all. Isn’t it only proper for the Queen to be served by his most loyal servant?” They smiled sweetly, one of the fluffy white rabbit ears peaking out of their hair flicking slightly.

Riddle almost swallowed his tongue.

“You’re the Queen’s right hand rabbit!” Cater cried in delight, jumping from his chair and zooming to their friend’s side to start taking pictures.

The Prefect only smiled and even did a few poses in the detailed uniform. Red and black puffed shorts that would have been utterly indecent in Riddle’s eyes if it wasn’t for the cream-colored tights pattered with dark red, lace detail along the thighs and card suit symbols trailing down the length of their legs to the black and gold heels. A cream, black and gold corset vest sat over a red silk shirt with a large cream bow around their neck. The tails of the shirt were cut specifically to frame the white bunny tail set at the base of their spine and twitched every now and then as the ears did – showing they were either magical or electronic.

And sitting in the middle of their bow was a rose that was brighter red than the rest of the outfit.

A red matching the exact shade of Riddle’s hair.

Riddle felt like his heart was going to break out of his chest when the Prefect turned their sparkling gaze and smile on him. WERE THEY WEARING LIPSTICK!?

“Since you are a VIP customer, Riddle-sama-“ Oh my sweet seven. “-I’ll be seeing to your every need. Please don’t hesitate to call on me whenever you like. I’m at your beck and call. Now, what would everyone like to start with for drinks?”

Riddle wasn’t going to survive this.

“You are an evil man, Azul.” The Prefect said when they dropped onto the couch in his office at the end of the night, throwing their legs into Jade’s lap with a groan. “And I want thirty-five percent.”

The octomer chuckled from his place at his desk, counting the stacks of madol that had flooded in that night with glee.

“Of course, my pearl. I should reward your acting skills, after all. You far exceeded my expectations.” He said, looking over to their lover as Jade gently removed the heels from their feet to set aside and began massaging their aching limbs.

The Prefect let out a soft moan that was far more distracting than they intended, and closed their eyes to relax and be pampered after their hard work. Jade’s fingers really were something else.

“Yeah, yeah, well don’t expect that level of schmoozing all the time.” They warned. “You’re just lucky that it’s fun to make Riddle-senpai blush so much.”

“Isn’t it!?” Floyd cackled as he skipped into the room, draping himself over the back of the couch and tugging their human up into an awkward but enthusiastic kiss before dropping them back on the pillows. “And don’t worry! I taught the catfish from Savanaclaw to keep his hands to himself.”

“Yes, I do apologize for that, my dear.” Jade said. “I knew that table was going to be difficult and I shouldn’t have sent you to them. It won’t happen again.”

The Prefect hoped that the guy still HAD hands.

“It’s fine.” They waved it off, repositioning themself better on the pillows. “I was expecting that to happen eventually.” They admitted.

There was a beat before Jade gave a low chuckle.

“Fufufu…I see, so that is why you requested the heals to be reinforced.”

“They are called ‘stiletto’ heels for a reason. No one enjoys having a shoe puncture through their foot.” They answered with a yawn.

Hearing the guy’s squeal had been pretty satisfying.

Jade must have thought so too with how his hands were wandering.

“Be that as it may, we will take steps for such incidents to be prevented in the future.” Azul assured them, his brow furrowing at the one memory of the night that was less than pleasing.

The Prefect just nodded with their eyes closed, knowing that their lovers would handle it even if they were perfectly capable of doing it themself.

“Just don’t forget my bonus.”

Azul couldn’t help but chuckle, watching as their human allowed Jade to maneuver them and divest them of the different pieces of the costume until they were only left in the silk shirt. He let his gaze trace over the lines and curves of their legs that still draped across Jade’s lap as the eelmer calmly folded each piece and set them aside.

Remembering how vicious their smile had been when they broke that brute’s foot.

Sometimes it was impossible for him not to imagine what their little angelfish would be like as a merfolk. How beautiful their fins would be…or tentacles. He loved them exactly as they were but it was such a shame that the chance for such a devastatingly being to be trapped on land.

But they wouldn’t be trapped forever.

Azul had plans for that as well.

Glancing down at the madol stacked around him and the piles of paperwork that he still needed to do, he allowed himself a chance to celebrate their success and swiftly gathered and locked everything in his vault before making his way over to the sofa and bending down to gather the Prefect in his arms.

They obligingly wrapped their arms around his neck, knowing that their weight was nothing to the octomer, and laid their head against his shoulder.

“If you’re scheming something, you’d better be ready to do all the work because I deserve a pillow princess night.” They said blandly, causing Floyd to cackle and jump to his feet.

“Koebi-chan is so cute when they get demanding.” He teased, grinning when the Prefect stuck their tongue out at him over Azul’s shoulder.

“Of course, dearest, anything you wish.” Azul smiled, not even bothering to act like they had to make deals anymore to get anything they wanted from him.

After all, there was only one contract that he was working to convince them to accepting in the future and there was still an empire he needed to build first.

Only the best for their angelfish.

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

Did Azul place Riddle's table in the middle of the Lounge so that it would maximize everyone's view of the Prefect?

Yes.

Is he jealous that practically the whole school has a crush on their Angelfish?

Also yes.

Will that stop him from taking advantage of that fact while also rubbing in how the Prefect was with them?

Not at all.

Hope you guys like it! Dedicated to my sis who thinks our octotrio works best with a little prefect right in the middle.

Once I get my AO3 page set up I'll cross post these so that they'll be easier to find.

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