#going on the walk when it just a little rainy and foggy>>>>>>>> than anything else

[cat-brrr]

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[buildmeafairytale]

Female Reader x Male Selkie

This is my very first commission! I was commissioned by @shy-basementchild for a birthday present for her friend, @anjhope1. They’re the sweetest and I’m so glad I got to write this for them! It was fun to write and a new experience to write for someone other than myself. I hope you guys enjoy reading it and if anyone is interested in a commission or monster match, my ko-fi is here. 

You leave your house in the afternoon and the cool air is nothing but a familiar comfort under the layers you have on. Like most days, the rocky beach beckons you to its shore. You manuvare the cliffs like you’ve done it a thousand times. You probably have by now. This place has been home for a while now. The town is more of a small fishing village but there’s a touristy block that has lots of shops that you frequent. It’s a cold and rainy place, but it just makes your house feel all the cozier for it.  

The beach is even colder, with the chill turning your nose rosie. You breathe in the crisp air, relishing in the way it stings your lungs. You gaze out towards the rolling waves only to see what looks like a head poking out of the water. It’s foggy and far enough away that you convince yourself it’s a seal, not dwelling on it while you take your walk. 

You’ve established a routine in this seaside village. You do a bit of freelance work in the mornings and leave the afternoons for your adventuring, finding the best coffee spots and shops in town. But the beach is your favorite by far. From the way the rocks crunch under your foot to the rhythmic sounds of the waves lapping the shore, this was your happy place. 

The next day is quite the same. You walk your beach, picking up stray bits of trash you find. This time when you look out to the ocean, the head that pops up looks much more like a man’s than a seal. Your breath catches in your throat and you can’t tear your eyes away. He’s still so far away, bobbing along with the waves and seemingly staring right back at you. And then he’s gone, just as quickly as he was there. As you walk the hair on the back of your neck prickles. You feel like you’re being watched but every time you turn to look no one is there. 

This goes on, but the next few times he seems to get closer. It takes some time to come to terms with the fact your mind isn’t playing tricks on you, but by the time he’s closer to the shore you can no longer deny it. You wave and he just tilts his head and stares. You’re confused and unsure about things, and feel a bit crazy. You wonder if the fishermen working the docks would know anything about the mysterious man in the water so you make a trip down there

The docks are several miles up the beach, and you always make a point to avoid it. It’s bustling with people going between boats emptying lobster traps and the air smells like fish. You're nervous and watching your feet, making sure you don’t misstep on the slippery wood underneath you. You feel like everyone is looking at you but hardly anyone has seemed to bat an eye at your presence, all of them too busy to worry about you. You keep scanning the crowd in hopes of finding someone to ask about your man in the water. You’re ready to give up when you lock eyes with a man. A man you would recognize anywhere, since you’ve seen him everyday floating in the waves.

He is a presence and something to behold. He sits high up on a fishing barrel and his feet are still firmly planted on the ground. Muscular legs connect to a thick middle wrapped in a classic fisherman’s sweater. Long chestnut hair is tied back from his face and he holds a knife and apple in his hands. You stare and he raises his hand in greeting. The noise of the docks retreats to a buzzing in the back of your mind and you hold your breath. Time stands still and butterflies build before you're being bumped into by busy workers. The spell is broken and you rush out apologies for being in the way. You turn and leave as quickly as you came, having even more questions than when you arrived. 

The next day you’re at your beach early with a book to occupy your time. You decide to stay there until you get some answers. You’re comfortable waiting and hope maybe he’ll come say hello. The grey eyes haunt you every time you close your own and you are restless. Was he some sort of creep, watching you from the water? He certainly didn’t look like the type to spy on women. He didn’t look like the type that would have to, gosh. Not that his good looks automatically made him trustworthy, but they certainly lowered your inhibitions. 

While you were lost in thought of the handsome stranger, he had materialized in the sea not a hundred feet away from you. It startled you, but you waved anyway. 

“Hi!” you yell out, tired of the voiceless staring contest that has been occurring. His lips twitch and he echoes your sentiment.

“Hi there,” he calls back, bobbing in the water.

“Isn’t it a bit too cold to swim?”

“A bit too cold for you, maybe,” he observes, his voice amused and carrying without strain despite the sound of the crashing waves.

You don’t know how to respond to this and the conversation fades when he dips under the surface, popping up a few feet away from where he was. His movements in the water are graceful and he swims in little laps not far from you. His upper body is bare to you above the black water, and he is thick corded muscle under a layer of softness that makes you want to touch him. He says nothing else to you but he doesn’t protest to your eyes on him. He seems content to be in your company and it isn’t for another while that he swims away and around the side of a cliff face, waving goodbye at you. You lose sight of him and while part of you is worried, the other part of you knows he must do this often and is obviously a practiced swimmer. 

He’s there before you the next day and chattier too. He tells you his name is Aegis and asks you for yours. He asks what you do for work and how you like living in the small town. You tell him about your house up on the cliff and how much you love it. For how brooding and intimidating you first had found him, he was quickly becoming a friend. The conversation flowed easily and was comfortable, the two of you bantering a bit too.

“There’s so much beach, too. I love to see the water.”

“Not much to do besides sit at the beach, yeah?” 

You shrug, “I like it here, it’s quiet. Or used to be, not that I oppose the company,” you jest at him, watching him take it all in stride. 

“I’d hope not,” he flashes you a grin, “can’t have my beach buddy getting sick of me so soon.” 

You give him a goofy grin back, trying to tamper down the butterflies growing in your stomach. You sit closer to him and the water, finding a comfortable seat on a washed up driftwood tree. “Maybe when it warms up I’ll join you for a swim,” you speak softly, picking at shells and rocks you like. You squeal when cold water splashes you, Aegis laughing when he has your attention.

“You ass!” you squeal out, going to splash him back. He bobs under the water again to evade you, an unmistakable grin stretched across his face. Your hand goes in the water to splash him back but it’s so cold it hurts and stings at your skin. That snaps you out of your playful game, and when Aegis comes up and sees the serious look in your eyes he tilts his head. 

“What’s that look for?”

“Aegis, seriously, how the hell are you okay to swim? You aren't even wearing a wetsuit!. I don’t know how you don’t get hypothermia! ” You’re concerned and can’t help but reprimand him, unsure how he manages to not even have red skin from the water.

“I guess I’m just built different, lovely,” he says with an easy smile, leaning into a backstroke.  

“Oh, built to withstand freezing cold water? Yeah, you’re different all right,” you tease back, retreating out of the water’s reach. 

Things go on like this for days and the two of you get familiar with each other’s schedules, seamlessly working into the other’s routine. Aegis seems down today though, and he doesn't hesitate to inform you why. 

“I have to go on a charter for a few days. I won’t be back until Tuesday,” he pouts, his pillowy lips exaggerated. You try not to let them distract you too much but he smirks like he notices you looking. You play along, pouting back.

“Aw, you’re gonna miss me too much?” you tease, despite knowing the next several days without him aren’t going to be as fun. 

“Desperately,” he says back, in an all too serious way that makes your heart race. He winks and grins, dispelling the intensity and turning things playful again, something he seemed greatly skilled at. He flirts in jokes but never leaves any tension or pressure lingering which you were grateful for. 

The days he is gone feel as if they last forever. It’s silly, really, how fond you’ve grown of him in such a short amount of time. You avoid the beach completely while he’s gone, knowing it will just make you miss your friend even more. Despite the way the time crawls by, though, Tuesday morning eventually comes around. 

Something shocking greets you when you arrive at your beach that day. Aegis is there, but is perched on a large flat boulder. Instead of the thick legs you saw filling his jeans like you did on the docks, his lower half is that of a seal. It’s longer than his legs would be and heavy with blubber. He studies your reaction and you’re fascinated. You’ve heard talk of selkies before, the legend being popular in this part of the country, but you hardly thought you would see one in real life. 

You try to look less confused than you are, not wanting to hurt aegis with an adverse reaction. You can feel his eyes on you, watching you watch him. 

“Uh, hi?” you say to him, getting a calculating ‘hello’ back.

You nod to yourself while looking at him, “Okay, this makes sense? This is a better explanation than I had, at least.”

 “Trying to rationalize my swimming habits, lovely?”

“Trying to rationalize you, lovely.” you toss back, feeling better when the same devious grin he’s worn around you makes an appearance. It’s still Aegis, and this is who he is. Or part of him, apparently. 

“I wanted to show you, but I have a rule, lovely.”

“Rule?” you ask him, confused.

“Yes, a rule. Humans have taken advantage of my kind far too many times. So if I’m showing you this, and I’m going to keep coming back to see you, I need you to listen to me,” he tells you, full intensity focused on you. He goes on to explain the history of his people, the power of the sealskin, and the way humans would steal them to control selkies. He tells you in the past someone tried to steal his sealskin, but he could feel their intentions and replaced it with a fake, catching them in the act. These stories obviously pain him, and hearing about the kind selkies being taken advantage of in such a way is enough to make your heart clench. 

“Never touch my sealskin.” He says, informing you of his rule. 

“I would never,” you vow, throat tight with emotion. He nods at you, and then smiles. “Well come on then, out with the questions.” He doesn’t have to ask you twice, beckoning you close. You sit by him and let the questions start. They pour out of your lips and he answers them readily with a gleam in his eyes. 

You’ve never been this close to him and you really soak in his appearance. His tail is mottled with creamy spots and patches, reminding you a little of your own birthmark. His lower half looks so soft and squishy but you know it must be powerful. Hair dusts his chest and other human skin, the curls making you want to run your hands over them. 

It feels like some beautiful dream. You thank him for sharing this part of him with you and head home for the day, but as soon as you’re inside you're doubting that it really happened. But it did, and you see him again and again, each time feeling less like a daydream and more like a wonderful and magical reality. 

“Your hair is going to get so tangled like that,” you tell him one day as he swims, watching his hair trail after him in the water. You wince in sympathy when you imagine him picking out the knots. 

He grunts, “You’re telling me, I go through so much conditioner getting the knots out,” he responds, peeved. 

“Well swimming with it down would do that! Why don’t you let me braid it?” you offer, instantly regretting it. The thought of sitting that close to him, of feeling the heat off of his skin as you run your hands through his hair is enough to make you feel light headed. Say no thanks, you think, unsure how you’ll handle this. Of course, he readily agrees. 

“Okay,” he smiles, and you turn to let him get out of his sealskin and cover up. He sits in front of you and his shoulders part your thick thighs. You pick up his hair and it’s a matted mess. You don’t feel like running up to your house to get any tools so you slowly part the tangles with your fingers.

“It’s a knotted mess, Aegis,” you scold, trying not to hurt his scalp. He whines and exaggerates his wincing, acting as if you’re wounding him. “Big baby,” you mutter, sectioning off chunks with your hands. By the time it’s braided and secured with your extra tie the sun is going down. He’s slumped against you, sleepy. 

“It’s supposed to be nice tomorrow, pretty girl. Swim with me?” he asks, voice slurred. You’re hesitant, not because you don’t trust him, but you’re a bit embarrassed about the idea of him seeing so much of your body. 

“I have a birthmark,” you mutter, not looking at him. He turns and frowns at you with his forehead scrunched. 

“Okay, and? You don’t owe me anything, but you know I have a literal tail right?”

“Oh what, you showed me yours and now I show you mine?” you giggle at him.

“I don’t think I’ve shown you anything yet,” he winks at you, flirting back while he gets up. The two of you get ready to leave your beach, packing things away. Aegis grabs his sealskin, but instead of putting it on he neatly folds it. “Would you give me a ride home? If you don’t mind, I mean. All dried off and I don't want to get in again.”

“Of course, just let me get my keys.” 

The drive is quiet and comfortable, and his house isn’t far. To be fair though, nothing in this town is very far. When you pull into his driveway he leans over and kisses you on the cheek, eliciting a small gasp from you. 

“Goodnight, sweet girl,” he tells you, an easy smile on his face. You feel your own heat up and you mumble back a goodnight. Your cheek tingles with his kiss your whole drive home. 

In the morning you’re there earlier than normal and in your bathing suit trying not to look nervous about his reaction. Your birthmark stretches across and over a great deal of your skin, and while a lot of people assure you that it is unique and beautiful, you have been ridiculed plenty for it in the past. It makes you nervous to show new people and you only reveal it to those you trust. But you trust Aegis and he obviously trusts you too. 

It’s as if Aegis can sense your nerves because he doesn’t make you wait long and talks you into the water right away. He compliments you but doesn’t linger or talk about your birthmark, only pulling you in the water with him. The cold has you sucking in air and your nipples pebbling in your swimsuit but Aegis pulls you close. The heat coming off of his body works to warm you, making the swim much more doable. 

“You’re not luring me out into the ocean to drown me or anything, right?” you ask, legs bumping into his tail. 

“I’m a selkie, not a siren,” he tsks, “we’re much nicer, I might just dunk you a few times,” he retorts, swimming further out. 

“Um, are there sharks out here?” you ask him, suddenly aware of how far you are from shore.

“I’ve never had a problem with them,” he shrugs casually, doing nothing to assuage your worries. 

“Sharks eat seals, ya know,” you point out to him.

“Good thing I have you here to protect me then, huh?” he teases, curling your legs around his middle. Once you’re secure, he gives a few strong thrusts of his tail and sends the two of you back closer to shore. You play in the water most of the day and go up to your house to eat. He showers and you take him home again, only after he insists you re-braid his hair. 

You spend more time together and swimming with him quickly becomes the best part of your day. He kisses your cheek every time you drop him off at home too, his lips lingering more and more. The touches shared as you swim together have gotten less and less innocent as well. You find yourself falling for him and you think he likes you too, but one day the two of you reach a breaking point. You’re having a nice picnic after a long swim when things take a turn. 

You reach across Aegis’s lap for the pitcher of juice, rattling on about your day, when it slips out of your hand. It spills onto his seal skin, and you don’t think you’ve ever panicked so quickly. “I’m so sorry! Oh my gosh let me clean that,” you grab towels to try to dab up your mess, picking up his seal skin in the process. Apologies keep falling from your lips but then you notice that Aegis is just staring at you with a clenched jaw. You gasp and drop the sealskin, realizing what you’ve done. As soon as it falls from your grasp, Aegis has it in his own, finally able to move to do so. He stands and starts to walk towards the shore and already has the sealskin halfway wrapped around himself before you can belt out another apology. 

He wades into the water and you run to try to catch up. You get close, begging him to wait, until he finally turns to you. “I had one rule!” he barks out at you, seething. “You’re just like everyone else! How dare you!” His words are laced with venom, and you can’t help but step back as if he’s striked you. There is a block in your throat and you don’t say anything else, you only stand there and watch him leave, taking his selkie form and swimming into the depths. 

Pitiful whimpering noises start to leave you, and since you’re all alone you let yourself cry. You’re ashamed you slipped up and touched his pelt, unable to get the betrayed look on his face out of your head. You’re angry at him too for not listening or giving you the benefit of the doubt, though. Some friend he was, you pout, shakily hiking up the cliffside. 

You hope that Aegis will come around. The guilt is like rolling concrete in your stomach and you try to assure yourself that things will be okay. You just go through the motions to try to make yourself feel better, showering and taking your time brushing out your hair. Everytime you blink, though, his angry eyes are there, looking so accusatory back at you. It was an accident, you know you didn’t mean to, you tell yourself, wishing you could take back your mistake. 

You go back to your beach the next day, hoping he’ll be there. He isn’t, and he isn’t there the next either. Or the day after that. You’re getting fed up with him avoiding you. You just want to talk things out and have your friend back, but it seems as though he is  set on being stubborn about it. 

You’ve been stress cooking the last few days, and when you looked to survey the damage you realize that you made most of Aegis’s favorite foods. The plan falls together then and you package it up to bring it to him at work. This could very well be crossing some boundaries but you could deal with that if it meant Aegis would forgive you. 

Traversing the docks is just as nerve racking at it was the first time, this time maybe even more so since you’re carrying a hot dish with you. You duck under the arms of the people towering over you, and you finally get to the stretch of winding docks Aegis can usually be found dwelling on. And he is there, sitting right next to his boat like you expect him to be. What you don’t expect, however, is the stunning woman sitting next to him, stroking his arm in a too familiar way. She’s almost tall as he is with a scarf tied around her hair in an effortless way. You feel your heart sink into your stomach when they both turn and see you. 

All of the sudden you feel ridiculous and humiliated, standing on the docks with a tupperware of food for a man who has already apparently moved on from you. You’re a deer caught in the headlights, but the woman starts to stand and smile at you. You pivot on your feet and hurry back the way you came, maneuvering through the crowd with a level of ease provided by your small stature. The whole walk home your face is burning in embarrassment. This isn't some stubborn silent treatment after a fight. You had broken his one rule and now all the romantic gestures and sweet words meant nothing. 

You know there was nothing official or set in stone, hell, the two of you hadn’t even really kissed yet, but it certainly felt like things were leading that way. Your eyes burn when you think of the way his lips lingered on your cheeks and the way he let you wrap yourself around him in the water. You think of him doing those things with another woman and feel sick to your stomach. You enjoyed life just fine before you met him, and you tell yourself you will enjoy life just the same now that he wants nothing to do with you. It was an obvious lie, especially to yourself. You cry when you reach the safety of your home, wrapping yourself in a nest of blankets you refuse to leave. 

You eventually have to leave though, just to get some fresh air and try to shock yourself into feeling better. Instead of walking your shore, you end up at one of the cliffs looking down on the water. You don’t stray too close to the edge in fear of the height but it still provides you a great view of the ocean. You sit and watch the waves crash against the rocks below. 

While you’re up there, you hear a car sputtering in the distance. You watch it get close and pull into your driveway and out steps one of the friends you made in town. His name is Jamie, and he works at the touristy coffee shop you frequent. “Hey!” he waves, walking over to you on gangly legs. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by, you’re always gushing about this place and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about,” he tells you, giving you a boyish grin. He’s sweet and you don’t mind him joining you.

It feels good to reclaim your beach like this, hanging out with a new friend. Jamie is nice and genuine and has no rules to follow when it comes to your relationship with him. He feels safe and easy. After the first day he comes by, you don’t expect him to come back. But he does, he comes back again with your favorite drink order in hand. “I got your usual,” he tells you, a bright smile on his face when you open your door to him. 

“Aw thanks, you didn’t have to do that!” you tell him, excited and flattered by the gesture. He just shrugs and smiles at you more, scratching at the back of his neck. “Let me just get my coat,” you say, ready for another walk on the beach. He is too, and you spend the day rattling on to one another. He’s a little awkward and it makes you feel awkward too, but it’s more endearing than anything. You can’t help that your gaze keeps wandering out to the sea, waiting to see Aegis between the waves. You don’t, though, even if you think you feel his eyes on you. 

“You okay?” 

You shake yourself out of your thoughts, “Sorry,” you smile, “just daydreaming a bit is all.” Daydreaming about your days here spent with Aegis, the sun shining in his ocean grey eyes. You miss him and wish things had ended differently. 

Jamie sits on a rock and you follow his lead, getting comfortable and enjoying the rare moment of sunshine. Jamie suddenly clears his throat next to you, catching your attention. “Would you,” he sputters on, his cheeks pink, “would you want to go on a date sometime? I’d really love to take you on one.” Your heart is pounding and ears are ringing. This sort of thing always makes you anxious but you’re stopped before you’re able to respond. 

“No.”

A firm and angry voice sounds from behind you. If you thought you were nervous before, it was nothing compared to this. Jamie’s gaze is locked above your head and he looks confused. 

“Uh, I wasn’t asking you?” 

“She will not be going on a date with you. I’d say sorry but I’m not,” Aegis snaps out, and you stop yourself from turning to look at him. 

“Aegis, what the fuck?” The woman from before is there too then, and you finally look at them. They’re both dripping wet and carrying seal skins. The woman is a selkie too, then. Your heart drops and it makes sense he would rather be with her. She was gorgeous and surely easier to trust than a human. 

 “I’m so sorry for my brother’s behavior,” she scowls, “he can be a real dickhead sometimes.” 

“Brother?” you ask, shock lacing your voice. Aegis and his sister snap their attention to you, then, and his face morphs from a mask of fury to one of understanding and sadness. He comes closer after a pause. 

“Yes, sweet girl, my sister. You thought the worst of me, yeah?”

Jamie chimes in “Uh, sweet girl?” he asks “Oh! Oh shoot, sorry, gosh, sorry I thought you were single.” Jamie looks at you though, and sees your red cheeks and your inability to form a response and comes to your aid. “Actually, do you want to go home? You look uncomfortable.” You just nod and get your things, grateful to have a friend like him. 

“Yeah, I think I should head home. Um, I’ll talk to you later Jamie. Nice to meet you, by the way,” you say, polite and looking at Aegis’s sister.

“Were you...swimming? It’s freezing!” is the last thing you hear Jamie say before you’re rushing away.

Aegis tails you to your house, pleading with you. “Please, at least let me talk to you,” he begs, desperation clear in his voice. You’re out of breath from your quick ascent up from the beach and too flustered and embarrassed to talk to him. You’re angry that he thinks he could ignore you after blowing up on you and then come back acting like he had some sort of claim on you. 

“Not now,” is all you manage to say.

“Aegis! For fucks sake, leave her be!” his sister yells out, and you’re grateful for the intervening. You head inside your house and leave the rest of them outside. Jamie leaves and Aegis and his sister head back down towards the water, likely leaving the same way they came. Aegis looks back several times, catching your eye in the window. I’ll talk to him soon, you think. Just not right now, not until you sort out the mess of feelings you have. 

You can’t help but be conflicted. Seeing Aegis standing there dripping wet and all possessive over you stirred your desire. You have to remind yourself to be angry and stand your ground. He needs to learn how to communicate, not just act like a neanderthal and manage to win you back based on sheer attractiveness. His words still stung and he had lots of making up to do. 

As you busy yourself in your home, you see dark clouds gathering through your window. You turn on the local news and it looks like a bad storm is set to ravage your town. You’re nervous. You knew the rainy season could be bad here but the locals often discussed the occasional hurricane-eske storms that tear through. You are unsure how well your home will hold up. You try to secure what you can and get ready to hunker down for a while. 

Sure enough, thunder starts to rumble. It’s deep and shakes the earth beneath you. The wind and rain howl outside and you pray your generator holds up. You entertain yourself for a bit, curled up watching a movie, but soon enough the weather is too bad to concentrate on anything else. When an especially loud bout of thunder hits you start to feel panicky. It rattles your windows and you make a point to stay away from them. They rattle so loudly that you almost miss the pounding on your door. 

Almost, though. When you realize someone is knocking your heart beats even faster. You pick up the closest thing you could use as a weapon, unsure who could be here. You peek through and see Aegis standing outside, soaked to the bone. You’re relieved that it’s him, but not entirely happy he’s here. You wrench the door open and allow him in, the wind promptly slamming the door back into place. He settles onto a stool and you stay on the opposite side of the room, occupying yourself with looking outside.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he explains, and you nod. “I’m sorry,” he says.

“I didn’t mean to touch it, Aegis. I really didn’t! And you know that and still left,” you manage to get out past the knot in your throat. 

“Aye, I know. I made a mistake, I got angry.” His voice gets softer, “I got scared, my sweet girl.” 

You sniffle and look away, annoyed at the effect he has on you. He crumbles down your walls one word at a time. 

“I was stupid and didn’t know what to do. My sister had to come talk some sense into me.”

“I didn’t think she was your sister,” you mumble and he nods, giving you a watery smile.

“I’m sorry for that, too. After I saw you with that man on the beach I was so angry. She reminded me I had no right to be, I had no claim on you. I didn’t like hearing that,” he says. He stands then, eyes locked on your own.

You are on the other side of the room, backed up against your wall. As if the space between you could stop the pull of your heart. Your eyes are wide and flooded over and you don’t care to hold your tears back anymore. He walks towards you and he holds his sealskin in his hands. The closer he gets to you, the more you can feel your knees buckling. You feel them lock right as Aegis locks an arm around your waist, wrapping his seal skin over your shoulders at the same moment. When the pelt brushes against your skin and envelops you in its warmth, you feel more at peace than you have in days. It is like Aegis’s very being is intertwining around yours. His essence permeates through your skin and curls around your cells, and you relish it and relax into his hold. You knew the sealskin had magic to it but you didn’t realize how much it would affect you.  

“What-what are you doing?” you whimper out, making no move to stop him.

“I want you to know I trust you. I want you to trust me too. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, sweet girl,” he says. “After my tantrum and being away from you, I realized I’d give you my damn sealskin if it meant I could be yours.” He wipes away your stray tears and brushes your hair out of your face, gentling you. “Shhh, I’ve got you. No more crying, not because of me,” he pleads. 

“O-okay,” you reply, wobbly and unsure what else to say. The euphoric feeling of his sealskin is still lingering and you know he’s speaking the truth to you.  

“My love,” he cooes, “won’t you let me earn your forgiveness?”

You sniffle and nod, stretching toward him for a kiss, a real one. He obliges you, his bearch a scratchy comfort to your flushed skin, grounding you. He tastes like salt and wind, his kiss flavored by the sea. It’s chaste but perfect and when lightning strikes and sounds you break away from his lips only to curl further into his arms. A fearful noise escapes you and you bury your face into his neck. His hands rub your back and you take some deep breaths. If your house has lasted this long then it’ll be okay. You’re safe in his arms with his sealskin warm around you. 

You pull back, intent on kissing him more thoroughly this time. He is eager too and pulls you flush against him. He pulls you away from the wall and shuffles you onto the couch, not allowing a centimeter space to form between your bodies. You kiss him over and over, soft moans leaving you every time his lips mould to your own. His hands find your skin under your sweater and you are eager for more, burying your own in his hair. . 

“Let me lay you down,” he says, “let me show you how much I missed you.” 

Heat has gathered between your legs and the tingling of the sealskin on your flesh feels as though it has concentrated itself there. You pinch them together and he notices, pulling a leg over his hip to grind into your center. You whimper into his mouth, his lips pulling into a smile. He strips you of your sweater and makes sure to plant kisses across your birthmark. You lose the rest of your clothes and as his hands wander, so do your own. 

You tease his waistband, slowly slipping your hand inside. He rumbles a deep encouraging noise and you take him in hand. His cock is thick and heavy, pulsing in your grasp. It’s bigger than anything you’ve taken before and you aren’t sure that it’ll fit. You tell him as much, looking up at him with wide lust filled eyes. 

“It’ll fit sweetheart,” he whispers, his fingers tracing the crease of your labia. “I’ll make sure you’re ready for me.” 

He parts your folds and coats his fingers, your legs spreading to give him more room. He dips the tips of his fingers just barely inside of you, becoming familiar with your entrance. You aren’t good at being patient, though, and his cock is so close. You arch and moan, shifting further toward him and presenting yourself only for him to halt your movements. “Don’t tease,” you whimper out, only earning an amused laugh from your selkie. 

“Alright then,” he kisses you with a smiling mouth, “no teasing,” he says, promptly thrusting two of his thick digits into you. A surprised moan is torn from your throat and he glides through your walls easily, aided by your arousal. He scissors and curls his fingers in and out, stretching you open for him and spreading around your wetness. His thumb finds you clit and your mouth falls open, making room for his tongue to tangle with your own in a sloppy kiss that makes your cunt tighten.  

“Please,” you beg him, “I want you,”

“You beg so pretty,” he relents, fingers retreating after a final movement. 

He places himself between your legs, bending to kiss you again as he does. He kisses your cheek too before rising back up. He presses and rubs himself between your lips, making sure he’s covered in your wetness. His hips stutter when the head of his cock meets your folds but you paw at his shoulders, wordlessly pleading with him to continue. As he splits you apart underneath him a shaky breath leaves his lips. He hilts himself and stays there for a moment, soaking in the feel of your velvet cunt pulsing around him. You tighten around him in an attempt to get him to move. You try to tilt your hips up but he grabs them, forcing them in place. 

“Don’t move,” he gasps out, looking strung out above you. His head is tilted back and his eyes are closed. He’s beautiful and all yours. The magic of his pelt connects the two of you on a deeper level that has you feeling floaty and out of control, but the stretch of his cock and feel of his hands ground you.

A whine leaves you and you clench down on him, hoping to spur him into action. “Fuck,” he sputters, pushing even harder into you. You can feel him so deeply and it’s impossible to tell where one of you ends and the other begins. 

“Aegis,” you moan out, “move, please.” you cry out, nails digging into him. With a clenched jaw he follows your request. He retreats then pumps into you again, slowly but forcefully. His pace starts slow and he fully hilts himself inside of you each time. Your hips twitch up and the head of his cock notches against a spot inside of you that has your eyes rolling up into your head. He notices and makes a point to angle his hips toward it. Your legs turn to jello as he speeds up, snapping his legs against you. You reach down and rub your clit, Aegis encouraging you. 

“You take me so well. Fucking made to be wrapped around me, weren’t you?” he says, “That’s right, take your pleasure,” he whispers, his hot breath on the shell of your ear. His words have a tightness building in your gut, the coil wrapping tighter and tighter until you cry out in release. With you cumming underneath him Aegis can’t hold back any longer. He drives into you with rhythmless thrusts and moans out above you, a high pornographic sound that has aftershocks running through you as he spills inside of you. Little jerks of his hips extend your pleasure as the two of you slowly sink together.

Aegis is twitching and cooing at you as the haze clears from your mind. He wraps his arms and legs around you, the heavy limbs tangling with your own. He nuzzles into you as content as can be. Sweat is cooling on your skin and he covers the two of you with a throw blanket, the storm outside long forgotten. Your face is peppered in kisses as you drift to sleep, his pelt still a comfort underneath you. 

[kusagrasskusa]

Kabuto and Adoptive Reader - "Shihaikigo"

Part 1, possible a part 2 (will be linked if it comes out)

Summer: Kabuto had been walking home from a fight and met a little girl there. She had a special kekkei genkai called a Shihaikigo, meaning "controlling marks," which contained the ability to control half the mind of an opposer. She's willingly taken to the Sound Village after she began to trust Kabuto and there she met Orochimaru. She would either be sent to another Sound Villager to be raised or stay under Orochimaru's watchful eye until her kekkei genkai gets stronger. If Kabuto were to aid Y/N in life and to raise her, he could be killed in order to break down Y/N. She's very distrustful in a lot of people but Kabuto since they met. Her kekkei genkai is something that is strong enough to rival a Sharingan or Byakugan so Orochimaru plans to use to for himself one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laying there, on the sidewalk on a rainy night, helpless was a child with long, messy, hair and a soaked light-grey dress with red stains. She had no shoes, no home, no comfort, and nobody. She was essentially useless; helpless in this dark, cruel, magical world full of demons, heros, and killers. No matter where she searched for any kind of sanctuary or light, there was nothing. She was left with no motivation or thing to hold on to as right inside the very woods that surrounded the village she is in, was a clan hidden deep within. In this clan was very few powerful, but nonetheless meaningful and strong.

They managed to survive alone and strongly for centuries since their beginnings, as their kekkei genkai is the ability to control 25%-50% some signals heading towards someone's brain, which can therefore nearly control their actions and thoughts and feelings. Of course, such power comes with restrictions. The hair of the people in the clan is very sacred; although it could be cut, it limits the ability for them to use their kekkei genkai forever, even when the hair regrows. If their power is overused, they will be become sick and possibly will be paralyzed, mentally unstable, and others even among death.

This power is stores within three marks on the person's body; it doesn't matter where they are as long as it's on the head, neck, palm, or shoulders. The mark travels between the brain and fingertips, and the user then has to touch their opponent with their fingertips in order for their power to be in use. As mentioned, it has a limit so typically the user's kill is fast and clean. For it's dark advantages and evil disadvantages, this power is represented with horns and a halo;

This clan was feared quite a lot for it's abilities, and most people are raised to never use their abilities as it could be dangerous. But some people would use it on accident as it was surprisingly much easier to use than thought. And it was a certain child's accidental use of that power that caused her to be so helpless on the pavement of Konoha on a dark, wet night. It was empty and alone on these streets aside from the sound of slow footsteps immersing from the left side of her.

The six year old girl barely turned her head to the person walking passed her; he didn't even seem to notice her. But upon seeing his silver hair, a sparkle appeared in her eyes; it was too foggy to even notice the difference between this snake and the ninja she thinks he is.

"Kakashi, is that you?" Ahe asked weakly, slowly standing up. She pulled her arms to her chest, shaking as the cold rain began to rain down harder. The man in front of her stopped, paused for a moment, then slowly turned around k face her. "Oh...I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else." The girl's look returned to hopeless as she hung her head low.

"Why are you out here all alone at night? Where are your parents?" He asked emotionless as he pushed his glasses up, eyeing the helpless girl. The girl was silent for a moment before whimpering a little. Then all at once, she broke into tears and collapsed onto the concrete floor beneath her. The man stared at her hopeless form for a minute, watching her cry and whimper before he finally crouched down besides her. He pet her back before sliding his hand up under her chin, moving her head up so he could see her clearly.

"You are part of the L/N Clan, aren't you? You possess the Shihaikigo kekkei genkai, do you not? I can see marks on your skin." The silverhead asked, cockkng his head to the side. The little girl sniffed as she wiped away her fallen tears, her lip quivering as she nodded. After a moment, he hummed. "Why is there blood on your dress?" He asked as he wiped away her tears.

"I didn't mean to," she whimpered out. "It was an accident..." And just from that, Kabuto understood. The blood was from her parents; she accidentally killed them. He smirked lightly upon seeing her fragile body break down once more, but this time she lunged towards him and wrapped her small arms around him and clenched his clothes tightly. She cried into his chest as Kabuto brushed his fingers through her chair.

"It hurts, doesn't it? To have lost everything you had ever cared for just like that. And you fear the people around you will hate you; hurt you emotionally snd physically; kill you. It's truly frightening. Such a shame someone so oung has to endure such a thing, hmm?" He asked as he pat her back. She remained in her broken state, his more quiet and listening closely to him. "However, what if I told you there was a way to make these problems disappear? I know people who will except you and love you and raise you for who you are."

Y/N pulled away, her small hands wiping away her tears once more. "But...but...killers don't deserve happiness," she breathed out softly. Kabuto clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"I think you'll find that everyone deserves happiness. Except," he paused, gritting his teeth as a wider smile appeared over his face. "Excpet those who try to take it from you because they have no idea what you've been through. Selfish people like that will never deserve happiness." Y/N pure yet terrified E/C eyes stared deep into his; she was so young, so naive and so gullible.

"I, for one, believe you deserve happiness. You're a little girl who made a mistake. That's all," he spoke, looking down at her with such manipulation in his eyes. "You deserve a good home with a warm bed for you and nice food. You deserve good parents and most of all, happiness. Don't you want that?" Y/N slowly nodded her head, never breaking her gaze into his eyes. She was so helpless that it was sickening for Kabuto to pry on such a little girl and obviously only for her kekkei genkai.

Y/N sniffed, sighing a shakey breath before replying. "Thank you...so, so much, suh-sir. I really do want things to go back to normal," she replied. She wrapped her arms around him again and sobbed away her last tears in his chest as he held her close. He was patient with her but the heavy rain and fog was making it very hard to see through his glasses. Suddenly, he burst out in a little laugh.

"How rude of me to offer this before I even introduced myself. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. What is your's?"

"My, my name? It's Y/N L/N," she mumbled as she pulled away from him for the last time. "I just really, really, want things to go back to normal. Please, take somewhere safe, please," she begged. Kabuto softly wrapped his larger hands around her waist and picked her up while standing up straight as well. He held her close smiling softly at her with closed eyes and a tilted head. Y/N smiled back at him and giggled for the first time in a while.

He than began his walk to his original path with Y/N in his arms. Along the long walk, he would ask a question about her age, clothing type, school life and grades, hobbies and other things, and he'd give his own answer as well. Anything to get to know each other. Puddles splashed with each step he took and the clouds seem to just get darker and darker. But luckily, about 30 minutes later, it all came to a stop once Kabuto had arrived to his destination: the hideout of Orochimaru or Otogakure.

"Stay here for a little please, Miss Y/N," Kabuto spoke lightly as he walked inside the underground home. "I must go talk to someone right now, but I'll be back with a surprise," he smiled at her as he left her by the entrance doors. She waved goodbye to him as a large smile remained on her face as she was happy to finally by out of the rain. Kabuto's face dropped as he walked to Orochimaru's room in order to discuss Y/N to him. On his way, what played in his mind was the conversation he had with her on his way here.

Such a young girl was capable of such intelligent responses and detailed storytelling. She may have stuttered here and there but overall she was very consistent and concise. She reminded him a lot of himself as he was willing to abandon his orphanage and family to make them live a better life out of fear for their lives. Y/N attacked her parents for nearly harming a few civilians out of thr goodness of her heart. The situations may have been different but deep down, his heart was just as pure as her's at one point in time.

"A member of the L/N clan, you say? My, my Kabuto, you found quite the prize," Orochimaru smiled darkly as he finished hearing the word of his pawn's finding. "Is she capable of using the Shihaikigo?"

"Yes. In fact, she ran away from her clan because she ended a life with it despite her young age," he explained with a dark smile on his face. "She has a very intelligent mind as well."

Orochimaru laughs were hushed as he considered his moves with the girl. "Perhaps after Kimimaro could be her, don't you think? After all, her kekkei genkai is worth as much as a Byakugan or Sharingan; what good is simply seeing chakra when you could control it? A power like that must be harnessed," he thought out loud. "How about this... A girl of her age can't comprehend what it's like to have a meaning or worth and what giving up her life for another would mean. We will raise her to be desensitized to any evil she sees before we break the truth to her."

Kabuto nodded, "Understood, Lord Orochimaru."

"Well, don't just stand there. I'd love to meet the child," he laughed as he looked Kabuto in the eye again, his smirk growing. Kabuto obeyed and walked out, returning again later with a soaked little girl by his side. She was so happy when she heard she could meet the one who would make her dreams come true, only to be met with fear when she saw the pale snake-like man himself. Her smile dropped and she started to shake; Y/N hid behind his leg, staring at the creature with fear in her eyes.

"Y/N, dear, you can't always judge a book by its cover. This man is Lord Orochimaru; it would be wise to-"

"Come now, Kabuto, this reaction is understandable really." The snake stared down at the little girl with interest glimmering in his dead eyes. He then extended his hand towards the little girl crouching down before her. "Give me your hand, darling. I don't bite, I promise," he laughed. Y/N's lip quivered as she looked up at Kabuto. He had an encouraging smile on his face that told her everything would be alright. That's all the validation she needed before reaching out to take Orochimaru's hand and have him pull her closer.

He held her chin and examined the three marks along her body (you choose where they are :)) before laughing once again. "You're kind is so incredible. That even a child managed to murder with it. Yes, truly incredible." Y/N's eyes widened with fear and she started to freak out even more.

"Mister Oro...Orochimaru, I don't understand," she mumbled fearfully. Orochimaru brushed his fingers over one of her marks and then stood up, patting her head.

"You'll understand one day, child. I promise you," he said as he looked at Kabuto. "Do you wish to help raise her or have other ninja do it?"

"I want to stay with Kabuto, Mister Orochimaru," the little girl called out. Kabuto's dark eyes looked down at her small form. He felt helpless against the adorable voice of the girl and sighed out loudly. She turned to Kabuto and took his hand, hugging it possessively. "Please don't leave me! I just met you and you're the only friend I got now! Please, Kabuto, I'll be good, I swear!" Orochimaru raised a brow, laughing.

"You are good with children, I see. Good. If you wish to take her, I'm sure you would have no problem finding food and clothes for her, right?" Kabuto crouched down by Y/N, her still hugging his hand, and chuckled before booping her nose. He could guess that Orochimaru may kill him in order to destroy her and use her in the future, but for right now, a little more time with the girl wouldn't hurt. After all, it had been quite a while since he had been near a child. In the back of his mind was always the home he grew up in and forever, he will miss it. If being around a single happy child will make him feel more at home, so be it.

The thing is, Kabuto doesn't care about Y/N enough to care about raising her; after all, Orochimaru may kill him. However the idea of having a piece of his past that was taken frkm him back meant a lot to him. So why throw it away? And the thing tipping the scale towards possible death was Y/N's adorable big E/C eyes and cute voice, just like some of the girls in his old home. Plus how she can expirence what it's like to be parentless and be able to relate to him kn a deep level.

"Alright, I made up my mind," Kabuto spoke.

"Kabuto, please," Y/N spoke, her dry eyes swelling up with tears again. "I want to stay with you." Orochimaru smiled at Kabuto patiently, awaiting an answer.

"I'll take her in. It's best to keep a watchful eye under such a kekkei genkai, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically. Y/N gasped loudly before smiling widely and hugging him so tightly.

"Thank you! I promise you woke regret it, haha!" Kabuto frowned, patting the top of her head.

"Let's get you cleaned up before we sleep, Y/N. While you bathe, I'll find clothes for you, okay?" He asked as he pulled away from her hug. Y/N smiled happily as she nodded grabbing his hand before desending out if the room with Kabuto. Orochimaru stayed behind, watching closely, laughing under his breath about how innocent she is and what his plans for her will be.

It had been an hour later when the two of them were ready to go to sleep. After all, although it wasn't mentioned earlier, Kabuto was dirty from fighting earlier that day and he needed to bathe as well. Of course, separate from when Y/N did. The silverhead's chamber was relatively large and minimalistic, though now more crowded with a little mattress across the room and two bags full of clothes for her age group. There was a big bed, a dresser, a mirror, and a bunch of candles around the room for a light source. There, of course, was no windows and no toys for Y/N to play with much to her dismay hut she was too tired to question.

"You will sleep in my bed tonight," Kabuto spoke as he helped Y/N climb into his bed. "If you need anything, let me know. I'm blowing out all the candles so if you need anything, you have to speak before you doing anything else, okay?" Y/N yawned and nodded in understanding.

"Yep. Thank you," she replied as she rubbed her tired eyes and laid down. Kabuto blew out each candle on every side of the room before he returned to the small mattress across the room. It was comfortable but it would be removed so as Kabuto would eventually get Y/N a chamber of her own to sleep in of course. He pulled the covers over him and set his glasses on the floor besides him. "Hey Kabuto?"

"Yes?"

"I love you as much as my real dad. Thank you."

Kabuto frowned, taking a moment to comprehend what she had said. "I care about you too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," she giggled before slowly falling asleep under the covers.

[uncommoncold]

One Rainy Night

Summary: After a night of heavy drinking with the boys, Hongjoong wakes up naked in a hotel room. Did he sleep with one of the group? If so, who?

Word Count: 5.2k

Content Warning: Boys Kissing, Drunken Shenanigans, Drunken Kissing, Oral Sex

Ugh…

Hongjoong opened one bleary eye. Something familiar was in his line of sight but it took a moment for recognition to set in. It was a bottle of water and a bottle of Tylenol. What was beyond it however was entirely unfamiliar. He had never seen that lamp before. He was used to waking up in unfamiliar places. He had woken up in countless hotels but something was whispering to him that something was wrong. His body felt… strange.

His sleepy brain slowly began to filter information. The first thing it told him was that he was naked. He didn’t normally sleep naked, in fact he never did. Then he saw the table littered with an intimidatingly large number of empty soju bottles. If he had that much alcohol on his own he would be dead. He cast his eyes around and then he realized he heard the shower running. He hadn’t been alone and they were still here. His heart hammered in his chest. What the actual fuck had he done last night? Had he slept with someone?

Hongjoong shot up and tried to wrack his brain, trying to remember what happened the night before.

The barest of memories reached out to him through a heavy fog. He remembered they had gone out drinking, all 8 of them and a few staff members to keep them in line. Why hadn’t they kept him in line? Unless… oh dear god. Please tell him he hadn’t slept with one of the group members. He looked over at the open shower door and slipped from the bed. Immediately his head pulsed and began to pound. He reached over for the Tylenol and downed a few tablets before he stalked back over to the bathroom and barely peeked around the edge of the door frame.

He could only see a person shape through the curtain of the shower. He couldn’t see any detail at all, he honestly couldn’t tell whether it was a man or a woman. Considering the lives they led, unless it was a staff member (which he couldn’t really rule out), then - then… Oh god what had he done?

He could just end the torture by walking over and opening the shower curtain or saying something, he was mustering his courage when his phone went off. He ran over and grabbed his pants and pulled his phone out, wrestling with the denim and the device, dropping the phone on the bed and watching it bounce off the other side and onto the floor. He scrabbled after it and finally managed to get it up to his head. The screen read, Song Mingi. “Hello? Hello?”

Shit, he hung up.

Well that eliminated one person. That was when he noticed the time, shit. Shit. Shit. He was supposed to be at the office over an hour ago. That was probably why Mingi was calling him. He wrestled his pants on, falling over onto the bed face first as he struggled to get them on. Finally, he managed to get them up and zipped before locating his shirt on the floor with his underwear. He stuffed his shorts in his pocket.

The person in the bathroom called out. He couldn’t quite make out their voice from the distortion of the shower and echo of the bathroom. “Uh, I’m late. IhavetogoI’lltalktoyoulater.”

In more than a little bit of a panic, he gathered up the rest of his thing and put on his boots before running out of the door. He kept things at the office because he often slept there and the first thing he did was grab some clothes and take a shower before running down to get to work. Mingi had fallen asleep on the couch, what the hell was wrong with him? He swore to god he was never going to touch a drop of alcohol ever again. He wasn’t even going to pass a bottle to someone else.

“Mingi!” He slapped his leg.

Mingi opened his eyes with a frown before he saw who it was, “There you are! Where were you? I was getting worried, I tried to call you…”

“I slept in, sorry.” If it had been anyone else, they would have noticed how dodgy he was being, the way he wasn’t meeting Mingi’s eye. “I’m here now, we should get to work.”

“Yeah okay… What happened to you last night?”

Immediately he stiffened, “Happened?”

“You were really drunk, okay we were all drunk but you, Wooyoung, and San were so drunk. I’ve never seen you guys that drunk. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, you three were gone and Seonghwa went to look for you. I didn’t see any of you again before they sent us home.” Two of the staff members also went missing, he had assumed that they had gone to wrangle the missing members.

“I-... Let’s just work now.” Hongjoong turned around and looked for his notebook with Mingi’s eyes boring into his back.

“Hyung… are you okay?”

Oh great, Mingi noticed he wasn’t quite right today. He took a deep breath and tried his best to shake it off. He turned and offered him a smile, “I’m fine really, just a bit hungover.”

“Oh! Let’s go cure your hangover and then we can work.” Mingi hopped up and patted his stomach, “It’s lunchtime anyway.”

Hongjoong winced as he looked at his phone again. Saying it was lunchtime was being generous, it was after 2pm but to be honest, he thought that getting some hangover soup would probably be the best thing for him. With a sigh, he shagged a hand through his hair and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Pollack soup really hit the spot and it did wonders for his throbbing head. Mingi chattered on about a million things, which was a relief. He didn’t know the turmoil going on in Hongjoong’s head. At least now that head had stopped pounding and his stomach was sated.

“Here’s where you guys went.” Two hands planted on Hongjoong’s shoulders and he jumped nearly a foot. He didn’t have time to recover though, he felt himself shoved over in the booth as Wooyoung shoved in beside him.

“I want to sit next to Hyung.”

“Why?” Wooyoung threw his arms around Hongjoong as San sulked.

“Move over Mingi.” San pulled a face at Wooyoung and when Mingi didn’t move immediately, he climbed over the back of the booth and settled in.

“Last night was wild!” Wooyoung exclaimed as he reached over and got himself a bowl of soup.

“Hey leave me some!” San whacked Wooyoung’s hand with a spoon as he tried to take the last of the soup. Wooyoung yanked his hands back and gave his compatriot a dirty look for hitting him.

“Hyung, he hit me!”

“I’m about to hit you too, let San have some soup.” The last thing he needed were Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum acting up. Then something occurred to him, it might have been one of them he had spent the night with. Oh god.

Wooyoung pouted, “After all we’ve been to each other?”

That got Hongjoong’s hackles up, “What we’ve been to one another?” His voice came out in a squeak.

Wooyoung opened his mouth to speak and Hongjoong slapped his hand over his mouth. Wooyoung stared wide eyed back at his leader in confusion.

“No, no! Just eat your soup. I don’t want to hear anything from either of you, just sit there quietly and eat your soup.” Slowly he lowered his hand from Woo’s mouth who immediately leaned away.

“What’s wrong with you today? Are you still hung over and what, you got really wild last night. I’ve never seen you that drunk before, it was great.” Woo beamed and jumped away as Hongjoong reached for him.

“You were just as drunk,” said Mingi. “You both were completely wasted.”

San looked abashed and decided to eat his soup in silence.

“I was sober enough to get a cab!” Woo managed.

Oh thank god, Woo got a cab back last night. That marked him off the list. So, two down and six to go, if you didn’t count the staff which might or might not have warmed his bed the night before.

Now did he dare to admit that he didn’t have a clue what happened the night before to people who would never, ever let him forget it and probably talk all about it on the next VLive? Woo was sober enough to remember what he did. “How did you get home San?”

San looked surprised, “You don’t remember?”

Shit! SHIT FOR ALL THE REASONS!

Now what did he say? “Pieces of it are a bit foggy.”

He didn’t want to admit that his memory was less than crystal clear but it shouldn’t be as bad as if he said he didn’t remember it at all.

“I would have thought you would have remembered that .”

“ That ?” Woo asked as he leaned forward suddenly riveted by whatever it was that San was talking about.

“Hongjoong knows what I’m talking about, don’t you?” San lowered his spoon to his bowl and looked intently back at Hongjoong.

SHIT! Oh Christ, was it San? Was it San he spent the night with? There were a hundred thousand thoughts all vying for space in his head but it was more of a scream. Better to admit he didn’t remember what it was or just pretend he did?

It wasn’t like he could flat out ask him, ‘ Sorry did we fuck last night ?’

With a weary sigh he took a drink from his glass and looked back up to San and shook his head.

San all of the sudden looked delighted, “Great! If you don’t remember then I don’t want to tell you. We don’t need to ever speak of it ever again.”

Did that mean it was a San and he didn’t want to remember it? He was vaguely insulted, though he should be happy that it was San who was capable of keeping his own counsel and not Woo who wasn’t.

“Oh come on, tell us!” Woo bounced in his seat and whined at San.

San shook his head and took a bite of his soup.

“ San! ” he whined again.

“You’re going to harass me until the day I die aren’t you?” San asked.

“You’ve got the right of it and the left of it and every minute until the day we both die.” Woo said with a mischievous light in his eyes.

Hongjoong watched in dawning horror as he realized that San was about to spill the beans over what had happened the night before.

“Oh fine, I puked on Hongjoong’s boots.”

Just as San started to speak, Hongjoong screamed, “NO! NOTHING! NOTHING HAPPENED!”

“I thought you’d think it was funnier than I do.” San said with an expression of mild confusion.

Woo started laughing and clapping his hands.

“I was just trying to save you the embarrassment…” Hong said weakly.

“That’s so gross.” Mingi added while giggling. “What did Hongjoong do?”

San smirked, “He squealed and ran off into the rain. Seonghwa and Bomi ran off after him, I don’t know what happened after that.”

That was right, it was raining. If Bomi ran after him, then it was possible that it was her that he spent the night with. But as much as he wanted to convince himself of the possibility, he knew that was a man’s voice heard in the shower this morning. That left…

Maybe.

Who knew what happened after he ran off? Why had he gotten so drunk? He was paying for it now. What he needed to do now was talk to Seonghwa. How the hell did he ask him what happened? If it was Seonghwa he had been with then how would he react? But if nothing had happened between them then maybe he could get to the bottom of this whole nightmare. He got up and crawled over Woo without giving him the chance to move, hitting him in the face with his ass. Woo yelped in indignation and flailed helplessly as he tried to get Hong’s ass out of his face.

“Where are you going?” Mingi asked.

“I’m gonna go pay the bill.”

All three men who remained at the table cheered in delight.

Hongjoong paid the bill and hurried out onto the street. The temptation was to head back to the company and just bury himself in work until Yunho told him that he had to come home for the night. Then perhaps he could run away to Tahiti or New Zealand or somewhere else equally far away where he could change his name and get a job playing songs on the beach for the tourists.

He stared down at his phone and thumbed it on and then off and then on and then off and finally on again. He didn’t go into the group chat, he just messaged Hwa directly, “Are you home?”

He started back to the company and stopped at 7-11 downstairs. He checked his phone again and there was still no answer. Dammit Hwa…

After buying a drink he went up to the office and tried to work. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get his brain to focus on anything but the image of laying in bed with Seonghwa. Of all of the guys it could have been with, Seonghwa and Yunho were the least horrifying. All of the rest of the guys, he felt more parental toward. Seonghwa and Yunho were more like brothers than his children. Why did he keep picturing it? Was it memories? No matter how he tried, he couldn’t pull up any memories of it at all.

No, that wasn’t true there was the vaguest memories of silken lips running down over the side of his neck. The feeling of teeth and a tongue nibbling at his ear, tongue tugging at his earring. He remembered the heat and the lips continued down over his bare chest and stomach, pure white hot sensation unlike anything he had ever known. Was that Seonghwa? Even worse, was it a stranger? Was that worse? God, he didn’t even know.

The buzzing of his phone jolted him from his fraught memories. He looked down and saw Seonghwa’s message telling him that he was home and then asking if he was going to come home tonight.

Should he go home?

He couldn’t run away from it forever. It wasn’t as if he was actually working or anything. Hongjoong drummed his fingers on the desk a few times before he typed out that he was on his way back home.

“What? Really?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to type something snippy but the memory of smooth skin under his own lips, the taste of salt and sweat flickered through his mind. It jolted him through to his core as he just stared at his phone. Jesus.

Without giving it any thought, he typed, “Really.”

The trip home was one of the longest trips he had ever taken, it made the flight to Los Angeles seem like a quick jaunt. He had been excited when they went to L.A. but he was just tied up in knots now. What was worse was that he couldn’t shake the small amount of memories that were plaguing him. It was so easy to picture that smooth skin and those soft lips as belonging to Park Seonghwa. What did it mean if it was? Where did that leave them? Where did he want it to take them?

Dammit, he didn’t want to imagine, he wanted to remember. According to Ming, it had been Woo, San, and himself who had been the drunkest but Seonghwa had been drinking too but was he drunk enough to forget? He had the distinct feeling he was the only one who was drunk enough for that. Both San and Woo remembered their drunken antics and worse, they remembered his.

When he walked in, it sounded like the whole family was home and having a good time. He could hear Woo and Mingi’s voice raised above the din. In fact, their raised voices were most of the din. He followed the roar toward the living room where he saw the frequent scene of chaos that often reigned. Oddly enough, it was only Yunho, Mingi, and Wooyoung who were acting up. Yeosang, San and Jongho were playing a game together and Seonghwa was watching a drama with his headphones on.

The very person he wanted to talk to was wholly absorbed in what he was watching and hadn’t so much as lifted his head.

Now that he was there in front of him, he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to interrupt his show. He was obviously enthralled, of course he always was. “I’m home!”

Yeosang peered up from his computer screen and raised a hand, the other two weren’t in a position to see him. Yunho looked up from the headlock he was holding Mingi in and smiled, Wooyoung turned and waved. “Help!” was all that Mingi had to offer… rightly so.

Hongjoong shook his head and decided to go to his room. Seonghwa would come to the room sooner or later. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Seonghwa felt like whenever he didn’t come home from work for days at a time, that anxiousness.

It took him awhile but he managed to occupy himself while he waited. It was nearly three hours before Seonghwa walked into their shared room. He looked a little surprised to see him there, “I didn’t know you were home.”

Hongjoong scrambled off of his bed and over to his roommate. Now that he was here he wasn’t sure what to say. He wrung his hands together as Hwa looked back at him expectantly, “Are you okay?”

“I- I don’t, no I’m fine I just- Do you know what happened last night?”

For what seemed an eternity, Seonghwa didn’t say anything, he just looked back at him. Finally he spoke, “Of course I do. I guess the question is, do you?”

If there was anyone he could trust to not say anything to the others about his lack of memory it was Seonghwa but this whole situation was different, especially if they had slept together, if Seonghwa was the man in his fuzzy and fractured memories. He took a deep breath and shook his head, “No, I don’t.”

Seonghwa looked skeptical, “Nothing at all?”

“Not nothing, I just remember bits and pieces but nothing concrete.”

“Well if you don’t remember then it didn’t mean as much to you as it did to me and it should probably just stay forgotten. I’m gonna go take a shower.” Seonghwa left Hongjoong just gaping after him as he gathered his things and headed off for the bathroom to take a shower.

So it had been Seonghwa after all but there was something that he said that bothered him. He couldn’t shake it as he sat on the edge of his bed staring at the closed bedroom door. ‘ It didn’t mean as much to you as it did to me ’. What did it mean to Seonghwa? It wasn’t as if he had given him a lot of hints. The only hints he had were his own memories and they were sparse at best.  He ran his hands through his hair, no matter what happened from this point, nothing would ever be quite the same.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn’t just forget it, he couldn’t just let it lie and pretend it never happened, though part of him wished he had remained blind but now that he had seen a glimpse, he couldn’t just let it go.

That left him with that question that Seonghwa left him with, what did it mean to him? It was hard to say when he had so many holes in his memory but he did know that he had never felt pleasure like that before. So how did he feel about Hwa? That was a good question. He was one of his best friends, he was his rock, he could always rely on him to be there for him. He was sure he couldn’t do what he did without him but how did he feel about him as a man? He admired him, he always had. His physical beauty was undeniable. He had never known he was attracted to men before but it seemed that something changed last night or maybe it hadn’t? Maybe he had always been attracted to him. Maybe that was why he was uncomfortable with physicality between them?

The door opened and Seonghwa wandered in and walked over to his bed and began to get ready to climb into it.

“Seonghwa…” Hongjoong got up and walked over to him. Looking slightly annoyed, Hwa turned around.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Telling you won’t help, it won’t be more than me telling you. Besides, I don’t think you really want to know. Do you? Do you really?”

Hong paused for a moment and thought of all of the things he had been thinking for the last hour, over the whole day of terror and confusion, “Yes.”

“I can’t make you remember but there’s one thing I can think of that might jog your memory.” Without any further words, Seonghwa leaned in and kissed Hongjoong. At first it was a mere brush of the lips but slowly it built, growing in intensity. Strangely, it wasn’t the kiss that jogged his memory, it was Seonghwa’s scent. The smell of his shampoo, the clean smell of his skin, it hadn’t been Seonghwa who had come onto him, it had been all his own doing.

He remembered running off into the rain and for some reason, he didn’t want to be caught. He wasn’t sure as to his reasoning but he remembered running and hiding. Seonghwa found him and he managed to wrangle him back to the hotel. By the time he got him back, the crew had taken the rest of the members back home. Since he was worried Hongjoong might escape again, all Hwa could think of was getting a room at the hotel. Which he did.

Seonghwa changed out of his wet clothes and then did the same for Hongjoong, they continued their drinking. Then he remembered laying on the bed, staring up into Seonghwa’s beautiful eyes, feeling his warm hands moving over him as he dried him off, then he leaned up and kissed him. Hwa had pulled away and muttered something about kissing him when he was sober but he had merely kissed him again. Again, Seonghwa pulled away. He wasn’t sober himself but he was more sober and he knew that there was no way that Hongjoong would behave like this if he were sober, he had to be the responsible one… or he could try.

Hongjoong’s lips found his bare chest and dragged down over his smooth skin. Jesus there was only so much he could take. If he hadn’t already taken his clothes off, he would have just walked out but if he stayed, he would do something he shouldn’t. It took supreme effort but he pulled away, put his wet clothes back on and went home.

When Seonghwa drew away from their kiss, Hong looked a good deal more enlightened than he had before.

“So… we didn’t do anything?”

They had kissed, rather a lot but he knew what Hongjoong was talking about. “We did not.”

“But I wanted to… what happened this morning?”

“You don’t remember that either?”

Hongjoong shook his head, “I just remember waking up and you were in the shower and I was naked in bed.”

“I didn’t molest you while you were sleeping, I came back to check on you and you…” Seonghwa gave a disgusted look, “You threw up all over me. So I took a shower.”

“Oh.” Hongjoong winced, “Sorry.”

“You were drunk, it happens. I just wish it had happened to someone else.”

There it was.

The memory, the whole truth of it. Now that it was in his mind, he found not only did he want to the night before, he still wanted to. He leaned back in and kissed Seonghwa who, in shock, didn't respond immediately. When he did there was something almost desperate in his kiss. He had wanted this for such a long time and to be teased with it when he was at his weakest had been torture at best. Now neither of them were drunk. They both had all of their faculties and Hongjoong was kissing him.

In a reversed version of the night before, this time Hongjoong was the one who was peeling off Seonghwa’s clothes as well as his own. They fell together onto Seonghwa’s bed.

“Are you sure you want this?” Hwa asked breathlessly between kisses.

Hongjoong raised his hand to Seonghwa’s cheek, how long had he suffered in silence? How long had he wanted without ever saying a word. Everything fell into place and he understood it all now. “I want this … I want you.”

All of the air was knocked out of Seonghwa’s lungs and he gasped, staring into Hongjoong’s beautiful face. For the first time, he relaxed and let himself surrender to what was happening between them. He pulled away and Hong looked at him questioningly but smiled as he watched Hwa lock the bedroom door.

Hwa wished tonight they could have the hotel room again. He hated the fact that the house was full but he couldn’t say no, not tonight. Hongjoong held his hand out to him and he walked forward and took it, sliding back down onto the bed with him.

Their lips came together in heated concert, Seonghwa revelled in doing everything he had wanted to do the night before. His kisses trailed down from Hong’s lips, down over his jaw, down his neck. He felt his body arch up against him as it had the night before but this time he felt no guilt, no need to hold himself back. Freed from restraint, he gave himself body and soul over to the heat and the promise that built between them.

A tiny sound of pleasure fell from Hongjoong’s lips. It surprised him, he had never had time for relationships or even sex. Before the group it was all work while pretending to go to school. After the group, it was just all work. He found himself utterly swept away as warm hands caressed over his skin. They work each other’s clothes off until they lay side by side, skin to skin. Their naked cocks pressed against each other.

Seonghwa seemed far more confident as his lips moved ever lower, grazing over the smooth musculature of Hongjoong’s chest, the flat planes of his belly, over his ribs, his tongue snaking out to trace over his hip bones which made his stomach tighten and cock jump. Seonghwa peeked up and grinned before flicking his tongue against the glistening tip of Hongjoong’s prick. Hong’s breath caught and he reached out, fingers dragging through Seonghwa’s dark hair.

Hungry for the taste of him, Hwa didn’t hesitate even for a moment as he opened his mouth to him, hot lips gliding down over his turgid length.

Oh god, the heat, the feeling of Seonghwa’s tongue… he had never known pleasure like it before in his life. It was all he could do to keep from crying out, he bit his bottom lip between his teeth. It wasn’t enough so he covered his mouth and bit the heel of his hand. He raised his hips in small thrusts, meeting each bob of Seonghwa’s head. He raced for the pinnacle, a sheen of sweat broke out on his skin, his balls tightened, his cock swelled. Trying to warn Hwa, he tapped frantically against his shoulder and arm.

Seonghwa already knew, he pressed forward, pushing Hongjoong’s cock to the back of his throat. The first spurt of cum shot over his tongue, he swallowed and kept swallowing each and every drop. Seonghwa licked his lips and smiled. Hongjoong just stared back at him in wonder, finally reaching to brush the backs of his fingers over his smooth cheek.

Now that the frenzied haze of desire had rolled back slightly, he looked at Hwa, really looked at him. He was an unspeakably beautiful man, even now when he looked more than a little shy and unsure of himself. Hongjoong sat up and caught Seonghwa’s lips in a tender kiss.

Hwa gasped into that kiss, clinging to Hongjoong desperately.

Hongjoong let himself enjoy the taste, the feeling of Seonghwa’s lips before he kissed down over his throat, over his collar bone. He dragged his lips over his chest, stopping to ply his nipples with attention, feeling them tighten against his lips before continuing his travel down over his stomach. He wasn’t as skilled as Hwa and he had to admit he was a little nervous, he had never pleasured a man before and had only the example of minutes before to guide him. Nervously, he licked his lips as he wrapped his fingers around Seonghwa’s long, thick prick.

Seonghwa watched, holding his breath. Part of him didn’t believe that Hong could do it but that was shattered moments later as he bent down and wrapped his beautiful lips around the thick head. He was awkward, a bit unsure in his motions but it was still ecstasy to Seonghwa. He turned his face into the mattress and suppressed a groan. It was everything he had ever imagined.

Hongjoong bobbed his head up and down, fucking his own face with Seonghwa’s cock. It was one of the most beautiful things Hwa had ever seen and it was rapidly pushing him toward that precarious edge. His fingers fisted in the sheets and he writhed beneath the delicious onslaught. “I- I’m gonna…” It was all he managed to breathily choke out before he began to cum.

The first wave took Hongjoong by surprise, he pulled back only to be struck across the cheek and lips with the second and third wave. Quickly he leaned back in to catch and swallow the remaining seed.

Seonghwa gave a little smile as he saw his cum painted on Hongjoong’s cheek. He leaned forward and lapped it delicately up before sealing his lips in a sensuous kiss. They lay together, simply enjoying each other until the fatigue of the day began to reach its demanding fingers for Hongjoong, “I’m sleepy.”

Seonghwa smiled and kissed his slightly pouting lips. He could sleep anywhere and when sleep came for him, he was helpless to resist its siren’s call. As much as he wanted to share his tiny bed, it was probably for the best that Hongjoong go back to his own bed. It took some coaxing but once he was tucked in, Seonghwa stood over him watching him sleep for a little while. He wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring but for now, now he was happy.

He walked over and unlocked the door before crawling into his own bed and letting blissful dreams claim him.

NOTES: Other works can be found on my master list.

[masked-buffoon]

Chapter 9: Scheming anew (Part 4)

Warnings: mentions of traumatic events

Author notes: It was a chapter with few parts, but they are longer. I hope none of the detectives are out of character... That’s my biggest fear for the rest of the story. Please, enjoy that last part and see you in the next chapter...!

I opened my eyes onto a white ceiling — the same as last time. Good thing, I was still alive. This plan of mine had been rather risky and the shock with the ground alone had been enough to make me lose consciousness despite my ability. Well, even so, everything had occurred as we had predicted with Dazai. I sat up, rubbing my head. Although falling from the third floor had surely broken many of my bones, I felt no pain coming from my body. The healing ability, once again, had taken care of all of my wounds and bruises. Overall, I felt good.

"I did not expect to see you ever again." A feminine voice spoke, followed by a sound of high heels hitting the floor "But I suppose we both know this is no coincidence?"

"Did Kunikida tell you?" I grinned.

A very stylish woman appeared before me. Her hair, cut short, was held by a beautiful and shiny hairpin in the shape of a butterfly, and the scarlet red of her shoes added to her trendy look.

"Dazai did. Kunikida was too shocked to even understand how the both of you tricked him. It was a bold bet on your life." She frowned, rather darkly.

"My life... I should have lost it long ago, already..." I shrugged "I knew you had a healing ability and that I would be brought there. I had nothing to fear."

"You..." She grabbed my chin, rather roughly, to plant her eyes into mine "Don't you ever look down on your life anymore. The next time you gamble with it, I will make sure you never want to get hurt ever again."

"Do you think there can be a next time...?" I tilted my head, removing her hand gently.

"Well, what did you do that for?" She put a hand on her hips "My name is Yosano Akiko. What about you?"

"You have a pretty name, Yosano-sensei." I smiled "I am Ogawa Yōko. Also, I wanted to thank you for last time, too. You did a lot... I'm not sure how to repay you..."

"If you want to bear your name, learn to be brighter." She advised, sitting on the bed "I'm only doing my job as a doctor."

"Still, thank you, Yosano-sensei." I slightly bowed my head.

"You're welcome, then...! Now, Dazai told me you are an ability user? What kind of ability?" She sounded curious.

"It's nothing much..." I said, embarrassed "I can hear people's thoughts and, further, their hidden desires... But I can't control it. Sometimes, I wished I was not born with it..."

"Foolish." She poked my forehead "It is a wonderful ability which allows you to understand people and empathise with them. If you were not born with it, you would not be the person you are today."

"Wouldn't it be better...?" I looked down.

"I'm not sure what secrets you are hiding, but since you are Dazai's acquaintance, you must have some unclear and foggy past that both of you share. I don't know what you did, but isn't there something you care about, nowadays?" She asked.

"... There is..." I admitted "I would never regret meeting Dazai, but... I wonder if he wouldn't have been better off without me. Well, that's stupid to think that too, since he is the one who asked me to come with him, but I can't help doubting, sometimes..."

"We all doubt. I doubt too. Everyone has his own issues, but we must learn to deal with them. Come to me whenever you need advice, or even when you simply want a talk between women. I'd be glad to listen." She smiled, standing up "If you feel good, how about introducing you to the detectives? This little scheme of yours was actually to be integrated, was it not?"

"Dazai already spilled everything out anyway..." I giggled "I will get changed first, then I'll follow you, Yosano-sensei."

"I put your clothes on the nightstand. Do tell me if you need help." She walked to give me some intimacy.

As soon as I had buttoned my jacket, I told her I was ready to go out of the infirmary. Yosano-sensei escorted me out, and I discovered the offices of the Armed Detective Agency. They seemed to be located at the last floor of a small building, and the morning sun rays crossed the glass windows just so the room would appear light, although there was no actually turned on electrical lamp. There were several plants in the room, surrounding modern desks, where computers could be seen, and what appeared to be very comfortable leather couches. Hidden behind a stained glass folding screen, a small lounge for a purpose of welcoming clients had been created. The place looked quiet, peaceful and incredibly... Normal. There was no luxurious Persian carpet on the floor, no expensive mahogany desk nor any couch made with Italian leather.

"Do you like it?" Yosano-sensei noticed my eyes widening in awe.

"Very much...!" I nodded "The atmosphere is not oppressive, and it's so light..."

"I've been told you come from the underworld? It must be quite different, indeed..."

"Don't say it out loud..." I requested "I feel bad that my background is so obvious, whereas Dazai tried his best to hide it..."

"Well, it's only been hinted that you both come from the same place. Know that we won't ever force you to tell us anything. And also, Kunikida is too dense to even make the link between you and Dazai's own background anyway~" She laughed "Ah, speak of the devil~"

"You're awake." The spectacled man did not look pleased by my appearance.

"Yes, thank you for bringing me here." I bowed politely, although it had been my doing since the beginning.

"Don't play innocent with me...!" He scolded "You did it on purpose...! What do you want from the Armed Detective Agency that requires you to be hurt to be there...?!"

"Kunikida-kun, I've already explained you~" Dazai came to help me "Good morning, Ogawa~ I'm glad to see you safe and sound~"

He winked at me and resumed pestering his colleague. Why, he had trusted me enough to follow my strategy after all... We both had predicted I would make it alive.

"I see you didn't have a good start with Kunikida..." Yosano-sensei hummed "That's going to be hard..."

"Does it mean, if I don't have his approval, I cannot even try to request joining the Agency...?" I frowned, a tad worried.

I did not want to go back to the world underground anymore... Not now that I had successfully stepped toward the light. I would break if I were told to disappear, again...

"Obviously not." Another person stepped toward us "My opinion is much more important than his, after all~"

The man was wearing brown poncho, pants and hat, which reminded the outfit of a detective. His eyes were closed, slightly hidden behind dark bangs of hair teasing the bridge of his nose.

"Is that so...?" I questioned him, hopeful.

"I'm the best detective in the world~ If not for me, how would the Agency make profit~?" He chuckled, much arrogantly.

I realised.

"Are you Ranpo-san...? I've heard about you from Kunikida...! I'm very pleased to meet you, my name is Ogawa Yōko." I smiled at him, bowing.

"Flattery will bring you nowhere...~" His voice trailed off, but I could clearly notice how proud he was that I spoke highly of him.

But then, another memory overlapped onto the one of his name, and I remembered I had seen those clothes somewhere else... This hat, this poncho... Where...? In the streets...? Impossible, I barely walked in broad daylight. He was a detective, was he not...? Then on a case... Perhaps had I passed near a crime scene...? It was more likely improbable too, for being a former member of the Port Mafia I knew better than leaving proof of my deeds. Unless...

"My apologies..." My voice became so small I barely heard myself "I... I have to... I have to go to the bathroom..."

"I'll show you there..." Yosano-sensei raised an eyebrow, guiding me across the room.

Once I was locked in a toilet, I fell onto the ground, feeling my chest throb painfully. The only place where I could have seen him and, coincidentally, the only place where I would never expect to see him, was the Western Restaurant. That one restaurant in front of which a bus, full with the orphans Odasaku had adopted, had exploded on that ominous rainy day. Those memories were far from being pleasant, but they were not what I feared most. No, what I was afraid of was him remembering me. I had ran after Odasaku, that day, and had gone past him on the bridge; if he was such a good detective, he would definitely remember. Yosano-sensei has assured no detective would ever question my origins, but what if... What if he clumsily made a comment...? It would ruin everything, my hopes would scatter like a mere glass thrown to the ground and the ladder I had climbed to have access to the enlightened world would collapse, and me with it. I could not afford such a situation, but what could I do...? The Agency was the only place that would accept me without too much investigation and questioning, after all...

"Ogawa...? Are you in here?" I heard Dazai calling me.

However, my muscles seemed paralysed and I could not move my vocal chords to answer him.

"Ogawa —"

"Can I?" Someone interrupted him.

I had heard him a moment ago; Ranpo-san's voice. What did he want? He did remember, finally...? I heard him leaning onto the toilet door.

"You don't need to answer me." He told me "I only want you to be aware of the fact I will not say a thing about this day. Yosano-sensei must have told you, but I will repeat her words; we will not ask a thing, and we won't care about what you did or what happened. It is not because we know more about you than about Dazai that you will be tossed away. That's all I wanted to say, Ogawa, so could you come out, now? Nothing will happen there."

I was used to being interrogated. I was used to justify everything I did through written and verbal reports. Ever since I had entered the Port Mafia, I could not do anything without reporting it afterwards, and this man, this detective atop of that, assured me I could have my own secrets and keep quiet about the points I did not want to mention. Being allowed to have privacy and freedom; could there be any more precious gift for a human being? Because I was determined to be a proper human being.

I timidly opened the door to come out. Ranpo-san was still there, apparently waiting for me. I bowed.

"Thank you for your kindness, Ranpo-san..." I said sincerely "I... I distrusted you despite what Yosano-sensei explained to me, I would like you to forgive me, please..."

"There is no need for such formalities." He stated "By the way... Did this person...?"

"He died..." I looked down.

"Even though I had warned him..." He sighed "Well..."

"There is nothing you could have done... This person had lost all will to live and only wished to reach the children in the afterworld..." I reassured him, even if these words were mainly directed to me.

"Let's stop bringing up unpleasant memories." He suggested "And let's go back. Your friend is more worried than what he wants to show us."

"He's always like this..." I laughed lightly, following him.

"I know~"

The moment I stepped back into the office, Dazai hurried toward me and stood right before me.

"Are you alright...?" He sounded concerned "Was it your nausea again...?"

"I'm fine..." I shook my head "I'll tell you about it later."

"Good." He nodded "The day just begun; do you want to stay there? Or do you need to rest? If so, I can —"

"Dazai." I interrupted him, placing a hand onto his arm "Calm down..."

I gave him a meaningful look and he inhaled before wearing his playful smile again. I could not let him drop this mask in front of other people; he was not ready to appear defenceless and it would affect him deeply if others were to see this weak side of him. For now, before he made any more progress with human beings, I would protect him the best I could.

"Please, tell me you want to rest~" He grinned "So I can ditch work today~"

"Is my schedule a joke to you...?!" Kunikida protested "We have a mountain of work, and we are short on detectives...!"

"Hoh, I have an idea then~! If it's good for you, what about starting your first day here, Ogawa~?" He suggested.

"Eh...? Today...?" I looked at him "But... Don't I need to be approved...?"

"I will recommend her." Ranpo-san stated "You're still a newbie here, Dazai, and Kunikida doesn't seem enchanted by the idea. But I agree to her joining us. I want her to be a part of the Agency too."

"Thank you, Ranpo-san..." His words touched me.

His behaviour reminded me slightly of Chūya's after Dazai had left the Mafia. He had desperately tried to fight to get me in his team... And Dazai, despite the fact I had been called disposable, had promoted me and had kept me by his side... Except for the two of them, Ranpo-san was the first to stand up for me.

"Wait..." The blond man readjusted his glasses "She's... She's going to join the Agency...?"

"Why do you think she threw herself from the third floor?" Yosano-sensei puffed out her cheeks, hands on her hips "So she could have a pretext to come back here, obviously...!"

"Wait... You... Actually..."

Despite everyone’s explanations, he still did not understand… This man really was too dense. Or naive.

"I can't wait for us to be colleagues." I smiled innocently.

[someonefantastic]

If You Thought the Head Trauma was Bad…

More migraine Shawn and roommate stuff! Basically I headcanon that Shawn, Gus, and Juliet all lived in the loft together between s8 and the first movie. Also if you want more fics on Shawn and migraines, then feel free to check out my day 3 or @bijulesspookyohara​'s day 5. Shoutout to the folks of the psych discord, primarily @victoriantrashjohn for coming up with the concept and jackal switch for a lot of these migraine remedies. Oh and also @tonystarksspoopyhouseofkids because she drew this adorable pic of Shawn that inspired a scene in this. And shoutout to @chaosintheavenue for beta reading this! Summary: Shawn has a migraine. It's a good thing his best friend and his girlfriend are there to help. Warnings: migraines, nausea, ambulances ___ Shawn groaned as he snuggled deeper into the couch, barely even able to open his eyes. It had been an incredibly long day- he had spent most of it trying to infiltrate an illegal jewelry ring with little success, just another failure on his quest for Juliet’s engagement ring- and he was in the middle of a full blown migraine. He had seen it coming, recognized that the sharp pains in his brain and the small ripples of nausea could easily lead to later pain, but he had ignored it, instead letting the image of his girlfriend (fiancėe’s) elated face spur him to work harder.

And now he was suffering the consequences. No ring, no joyous girlfriend (fiancėe), just a massive, brain pounding, vision blurring migraine.

He sighed, pulling the fluffy blanket tighter around him. He was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, blanket over his head, its soft fabric enveloping him. A pair of child-sized kitty earmuffs were placed squarely on his temples while the sounds of 80s heavy metal filled the air. The shades had been drawn keeping the sun from invading- not that there was much on a rainy San Francisco evening- and the room was cast in a red glow, the source being a small red LED candle that Jules had bought him. It was cozy and nice and he could almost forget the incessant pain in his head.

There was a jiggling at the door and Juliet and Gus walked in, their loud joyous laughter causing him to wince. They paused, and he caught Juliet frowning as Gus walked over and collapsed into the armchair besides him.

Juliet’s hair was falling out of her half-ponytail, Gus’ tie was slipping from its knot, they smelled like coffee.

“Headache?” He asked, voice much quieter.

Shawn barely nodded, squeezing his eyes tight as sharp pains radiated through his skull.

“I’m sorry, babe,” Juliet’s soft voice spoke from his side. Warm fingers gently brushed his hair and he relaxed into her touch. “Did you take anything?”

His voice was strained, “Ibuprofen, a few hours ago.”

Gus spoke up, “He could take acetaminophen. It works differently than ibuprofen so it won’t cause any problems.”

“Perfect,” Her lips pressed against his forehead, “I’m going to go get changed and get you some meds.”

“Thank you,” He muttered, sad when she pulled away.

“Can you get me some too?” Gus asked, beginning to undo his tie, “My side is killing me.”

“Sure thing.”

After her small footsteps faded away, Shawn cracked an eye open. “What’s up with you?”

Gus frowned. “I pulled a muscle lifting boxes for that cute girl in marketing.”

His memory flashed back. A woman in blue, long black hair, Gus doing the thing with his nose. “Michelle?”

“Yeah… it was all for nothing, I overheard her talking about some dude named ‘Levi’.”

“Tough luck bud. That’s a solid name.”

“You know that’s right.”

Shawn’s eyebrows furrowed as he noticed Gus rubbing his side. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” He nodded, “Hey, where is the heating pad?”

Shawn jerked his head back, groaning as the motion caused the throbbing to double. That wasn’t his brightest idea. “Under Jules’ side of the bed. Just make sure to put it back when you’re done, she needs it for cramps.”

“Ah,” Gus nodded, standing up, “Sure thing.”

A stain on Gus’ pant leg, the carpet was rumpled, an empty can under the chair.

He shut his eyes tight again, trying to stop himself from noticing, an in vain attempt to ward off his abilities. Instead he flashed backwards, various images and memories jerking to the forefront of his mind, waves of nausea close behind.

His blue bouncy ball in fourth grade, divorce papers being signed, a bright smile on a beautiful blonde.

His jaw clenched, swallowing roughly as he tried to keep the contents of his stomach down. He leaned forward, trying to focus on the music around him. The beats moved in and out, giving him something to concentrate on.

“Babe?”

His eyes cracked open, the corner of his mouth turning up at the sight of his girlfriend (fiancėe). Her hair was now all the way down and she had pulled on his Thunderbirds sweatshirt. Even though she was only wearing the hoodie because it smelled like him, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride- after all, she usually refused to wear any football team’s merch aside from the Dolphins’.

“Here.” She handed him some pills and water which he promptly took, noting how Gus did the same.

The cool water felt nice but did little to soothe the ache in his head. “Thanks.” He frowned, noticing how her knuckles were bruised, “Did you get into a fight?”

“What?” She glanced at her hand, giving a good natured shake of her head at his abilities. “No- well, kind of. I was sparring with Sam and accidentally punched him square in the jaw.”

He chuckled, “That’s my girlfriend.” Not noticing how she frowned at the term.

Now that his eyes were open, his brain leaped back at the chance to pick up on things.

Small smudge of mascara under her right eye (probably missed it when washing her face), a few crumbs above Gus’ lips, dog hair on the hoodie sleeve.

He groaned as a sharp pain erupted in his head, vision blurring and stomach churning dangerously.

“Shawn?” Juliet’s voice was worried and he soon found her sitting next to him, guiding his head to her lap. She shushed him, beginning to run her fingers through his hair. “I need you to stop thinking, okay? Just focus on my hands.”

His eyes fluttered shut and he relaxed, allowing himself to fixate on her and only her. He felt warm and safe in her arms, her presence always serving to be a beacon in his crazy mind. Honestly he couldn’t imagine life without her, ever since he walked into that dinner nine years ago she had become a permanent staple in his life. He loved her so much it made his heart hurt. Even though the idea of marriage still terrified him, he knew deep down that he didn’t want to marry anyone else but her.

“I love you,” He muttered, reaching up to squeeze her hand.

“I love you too Shawn,” He could hear the soft smile in her voice, “Get some rest.”

He snuggled deeper, a small smile on his lips. Her hands would occasionally drift over to his temples, rubbing where the earmuffs weren’t situated. It was very calming and soon he felt sleep begin to overtake him.

Somewhere between Judas Priest and Holy Driver he heard a groan- and not from the music. It dragged him out of his sleep. Vision blurry and head foggy, he cracked open his eyes. The groan sounded again. He barely registered Juliet’s hand pausing it’s soothing motion and her concerned voice, instead his eyes were on his best friend. Gus was clutching his side, the color draining out of this face.

Jerking upright, he ignored how his head throbbed. “Gus? You okay?”

There was no answer as Gus’ eyes rolled back and he pitched forward, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

“Gus!” Shawn and Juliet yelled in unison.

In a flash they were both at his side, Juliet’s fingers on his neck and his hand being held tightly by Shawn. “He’s still alive, I’ll call an ambulance.”

Memories flashed through Shawn while his mind burned.

A large crowd, pain in his side, sweating, collapsing, a white room.

He should have noticed sooner, should have seen the signs. If it wasn’t for his headache-

“I think his appendix burst.” He all but shouted, words tumbling out of his mouth. This was all his fault, he should have noticed, he was trained for this for pete’s sake. The one thing he was good at was picking up on information, little things that most people didn’t notice.

He had failed Gus.

Looking back, he remembered the time between Gus collapsing and the ambulance coming so clearly but in the middle of it all, it frankly felt like a blur of regret and blame and worry.

As he watched Gus’ unconscious body being loaded into the ambulance, his hands shook, tears threatening to fall. Juliet grabbed his hand, beginning to lead him to her car. The paramedics only had room for one person but selfishly he needed Juliet to be his rock. He wasn’t sure if he could hold on without her.

She squeezed his hand, wide, worried eyes gazing up at him. “He’ll be okay.”

Nodding mutely, he followed her to the car. All he could hope was that she would be right.

[pascalls]

Huzzah! A romance prompt:

Hot Chocolate

I finally wrote something for this and it’s so dumb but I hope you all enjoy it. Featuring Charlie, Sam the Barfly, and Moe (and also Barney a little bit). 

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

With the taste of malt liquor stale on his tongue, Charlie found himself coming back to consciousness, a musky scent filling his nose and making him want to gag. The greasy floor he was laying on was hard and uncomfortable, having left his bones aching and his back feeling like he’d just been hit by a car. His eyes opened, despite his brain not wanting to, and for once, he was thankful that the lighting in Moe’s was subpar, at best. The dusty interior was not an aggravated assault on the senses, but still, he would have liked to have woken up in a bed instead of on the hard tile. 

“Ugh… What time is it,” he groaned, not yet sitting up, but at least trying to peer over to where Moe was hovering, lazily wiping down the bar top with an overused rag. There was no way it was morning yet. Or, at least, it wasn’t past sunrise. Otherwise Moe would be pouring vodka into his bowl of Froot Loops. It didn’t seem like he’d gone to bed yet. 

“Two-thirty,” the bartender responded. He didn’t seem very bothered by the fact that Charlie had passed out on the floor. Not like it was the first time. As of late, the hybrid had a bad habit of finding some kind of substance, chasing it with his body weight in whiskey, and then promptly falling asleep before he could make it back to the reverend’s. “You slept with Barney.”

“I what-?!” Charlie exclaimed, pushing himself up, only to whack his head on the underside of the table he’d holed up under. His ears rang and he groaned again, reaching up to rub at his scalp. Ow.

“Oh. Hah. Sorry. I meant you fell asleep under the table next to Barney.”

Charlie glanced over to see that Moe was correct. Barney had somehow rolled off the bar stool he’d been sitting on a few hours prior, passing out unceremoniously underneath the large circular table that was neighbor to Charlie’s. The hybrid muttered to himself before eventually crawling out from under his sleeping spot, making his way over to the bar to sit and glaring at Moe. 

“Don’t ever scare me like that ever again.”

They weren’t alone. While Barney had opted for a nap, Charlie recognized a few others still lingering in the wee hours of the morning. He assumed both Lenny and Carl had staggered home not too long ago, but both Larry and Sam remained, neither seeming to be very invested in their own consciousness. As was the usual. Charlie’s stare lingered for just a moment before Moe was pulling his attention back. 

“You wanna nightcap?” He asked, already in the process of grabbing a nearby bottle which Charlie quickly refused. His stomach was churning a bit from his previous binge. He didn’t need to lose everything he’d eaten during the day on top of his splitting headache and exhaustion. 

“No, m’fine. I should probably… go before somebody gets on my ass about not being where I need to be.” 

“Alright, but you better not be drivin’.” Moe pointed at the hybrid with a squint; one that Charlie returned in kind.

“I don’t have a car.” 

“I figured you’d steal one.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because that’s what I’d do.”

Rolling his eyes, Charlie scooted off the stool and made his way to the door, passing the other two men briefly and giving them a passing wave. He’d talked to the pair once or twice. They were wordier when they were drunk, but only just so. And somewhere in the back of his mind, Charlie reminded himself, that Sam knew a little more about Charlie by pure happenstance. Thankfully, he’d remained fairly quiet about that too. 

Swinging open the door, Charlie took a few steps outside before he realized - a little too late - that rain was coming down fairly heavily. There was no wind to carry it in one direction or another, the drops simply pouring onto the pavement and soaking Charlie entirely. The hybrid stared dully into the distance. This might as well happen. 

He didn’t move from where he was, just sort of standing there on the sidewalk and feeling his clothes get more and more soaked through. His brain didn’t seem to think that was much of an issue, but his feet refused to carry him in the direction of home. Instead, he continued to stare into nothingness, exhaustion - and a sudden heavy veil of listlessness - keeping him rooted to the spot. Somewhere along the line, he began to realize that his temperature was dropping. That was probably not good. He’d have to fix that before long.

“...You’re gettin’ all wet.”

The voice pulled him back to the present, turning and noticing that Sam and Larry had finally made their way out of Moe’s, presumably to retire for the night before they too passed out next to Barney. Larry was already walking away, his jacket collar pulled up in a fruitless effort to protect him from the rain. Sam, on the other hand, at least had an umbrella keeping him dry as he stared at Charlie with some manner of concern. 

“...Uh. Yeah. I guess I am,” Charlie replied, blinking once or twice and then glancing down at himself. Hm. Well. Yeah. He was wet. Wow.

Sam glanced around briefly before taking a few steps over and placing the umbrella over the both of them. As he spoke, his words slurred, but Charlie didn’t notice over his own foggy state of mind. “You’re not some kinda marine iguana or somethin’ right? I think they like water. Saw it on uh��� Mm… That… science… channel once.”

“National Geographic?” Charlie asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Nah…” Sam replied. “ESPN 2.”

The hybrid snorted in amusement. “No. I’m not a marine iguana. I’m just… really drunk, I think.” Among other things. He’d taken some mixture of pills that he would not recommend to anyone else. But they would make their way out of his system eventually. “Uh… Thanks. For the…” He gestured to the umbrella. 

“Honestly, this weather ain’t great for walking. Y’think Moe’s got anything to eat in there?”

Charlie seemed to give that some thought. It was already the middle of the night. And if Lovejoy wasn’t blowing up his phone by now, the chances of him noticing any time before sunrise was slim. He hummed a little under his breath before shrugging. It was probably best he filled his stomach with something other than booze and pills. 

“Let’s ask.”

Sam didn’t need much convincing himself before he moved to keep them marginally dry as they wandered back into the bar. Moe had been in the process of trying to roll Barney over with a broom so he could sweep up underneath him, but glanced up when the door opened again. Charlie shook the water from himself as best as he could, but it was to little avail. He’d probably just need to wait until he was dry.

Closing the umbrella, Sam tossed it against the wall near the door and settled himself back on the stool where he’d been before, Charlie scooting up and onto the one next to him. As long as Barney was passed out, the hybrid took some time to pull off his mask and other effects which were fairly soaked through, placing them on the stool next to him and breathing out a little sigh. Moe had seen him a few times by now. It seemed like more and more people knew what he looked like as time went on. At that particular moment, he couldn’t find it in him to care.

“Tell me you’ve got something to eat,” Charlie asked as Moe drifted back over, looking over the rain-soaked man with some scrutiny. 

“I’ve got uh… Probably some Spam sitting around somewhere. Lemme look.”

“I’m having a hard time turning that down.” Charlie wasn’t going to be picky. And apparently, neither was Sam, as the man said nothing.

Moe disappeared in the back room for a time, clattering around among his shelves and god knew what else. Charlie watched as a roach slid out from the doorway and promptly disappeared into the nearest electrical socket. There was a little buzz, a hiss, and the roach did not re-emerge. The hybrid assumed that whatever it saw in the back room was heinous enough for the little bug to end it all.

“Well lookee here!” Moe proclaimed as he re-emerged, holding a half-empty jug of milk and a bottle of chocolate syrup that looked like it came from the 70’s. “It ain’t Spam, but it’s somethin’, huh? Check this out.”

“Chocolate milk?” Sam asked, staring at the bartender. 

“Nah. Even better.” Moe brought over the ingredients, pouring the milk into a few glasses and squirting the chocolate… syrup (it looked more like sauce at this point) into it soon after. He then held up each mug in turn, using a lighter to heat up the bottom of the glass before plopping a few stale marshmallow Peeps that were sad and dull from their time spent hidden somewhere in the cabinets beneath the bar. Presumably from Easter. ...This past Easter, hopefully.

Pleased with himself, Moe offered two of the glasses to Charlie and Sam who stared at the brown concoction that was making short work of dissolving those Peeps into rainbow mush that floated at the top of the layer of milk. “See? Hot cocoa! PERFECT for them rainy days like this one.” As if to sell the mixture, he took a long swig of his own, choking back the drink with a few hacked coughs and then offering his two patrons a grimacing smile. “Eh? EH?!”

Charlie squinted down at his own before coming to the conclusion that… he really didn’t even care what he put into his own body at this point. And the chocolate DID smell at least a little enticing. So with a little glance at Sam and a shrug, he upended his own into his mouth. It was not great. In fact, one might even say that it was terrible. The milk was absolutely close to spoiling, if not already spoiled, and the Peeps floated around in his mouth in chunky bits. But he downed the drink dutifully. It was warm, if nothing else. And it’d keep him from drifting off into a hypothermic coma. 

“...It’s great, Moe,” Charlie replied once he was able to say anything about it at all. A blatant lie, but the bartender was content with the review. The hybrid just hoped he wouldn’t put it on his ‘menu’ as a permanent addition. 

“Uh… yeah. Really… great.” Sam added, having had a bit of a harder time with his own, but he too didn’t find it very necessary to spoil Moe’s spirits. But the two shared a knowing glance, watching as Moe, triumphant that he’d created something worthwhile for once in his life, scurried off to write down his ‘recipe’. 

Charlie pushed his empty glass away, poking his tongue out a little in disgust. Egh. “We can never tell him.”

Sam did the same with his own, wishing that he’d just ordered another beer instead. “...Yeah, I’m on board with that.” 

“And so the pact is sealed,” Charlie joked, reaching up with a hand to offer his pinky claw to the other. “I would say we should seal it in blood, but I’m already suffering with this aftertaste.” 

Sam offered a little smirk before reaching up to hook his own pinky with Charle’s. “Takin’ it to the grave.” 

Their hands remained touching for a few seconds, a delayed reaction only bringing Charlie’s back to himself after a prolonged met gaze, his eyes flicking away in mild embarrassment. He was drunk. They were both drunk. Reaching up, Charlie absently ran a hand through his hair to try and make it a little more… presentable. He wasn’t sure why. 

Well. He wanted to pretend that he wasn’t sure why.

Moe’s return chased away the moment. He’d come back with more random ‘ingredients’ he’d found in the back storeroom.

Charlie and Sam gave a few little groans. Had Charlie known they’d be given the job as taste-testers, he might have just walked back to Lovejoy’s in the storm. 

But… he wasn’t alone here. Even if he’d never get the taste of stale Peeps off his tongue, he at least felt content with the knowledge that there was a warmth keeping him from drifting too far into the cold loneliness of the rain. 

Yeah. This was better.

[face-turn]

All the Flowers (turn to face the sun)

Pairing: Gen; the Shield and its brotherly homoeroticism notwithstanding Words: 1.3k Rating: PG, for Dean’s mouth A/N: While this is technically not complete, I don’t know where else it’s going, so I’m setting it free. Also I’ve been gone for two years what of it. 

The safehouse this time is barely more than a shoebox, a single bedroom with an alleyway window opening up into a tiny living room and a galley kitchen. They never really expect comfort-- they pay for security, for secrecy, not for luxury-- but even Dean has to admit this is a little sad. 

Except. On the windowsill of that tiny little window, a pot of ivy creeps halfheartedly up the screen. It’s just a little one, maybe some kinda ornamental thing, but Dean is fucking fascinated. They’ve never been here before, because somehow Rollins has matched and surpassed Dean’s paranoia, but nonetheless Dean is compelled to carefully water it, to weed the little thing and to turn it a little to help it catch what meagre sunlight peeks over the sharp shadows of the neighboring building. 

“It’s just a weed,” Reigns says, and he says it like he’s an expert on weeds and not-weeds and hey, Dean, have you ever considered being a person with a working brain for once? 

Well. He doesn’t say that last part. Dean infers it. 

“Yeah?” Dean says, focusing on picking tiny blades of grass out of the pot and flicking them into Reigns’ hair when he’s not looking. “Well, s’lasted this long on its own. Think maybe I was a weed in another life?” 

Reigns looks at him with his startling grey eyes. “Yeah,” He says. “Well, you’re like some kind of weird mold now, so I guess it’s not too--” 

Their ensuing scuffle is interrupted by Rollins coming back, slipping into the back door like a shadow. The look on his face says trouble, which means a job, which means Dean flicks one last piece of dirt into Reigns’ hair and stands up, brushing his hands off on his pants.

When they come back, month and change later, the plant is gone. That’s okay. Dean is used to things that don’t last. 

--

The motel’s on the very outskirts of town, vacancy sign flickering dolefully in the foggy dark. They’re outside of Atlanta-- or Aurora, or Akron, or Augusta. Dean’s lost track of all the places they’ve paced through, hackles up and snarling. They blur together when you never stop and someone else pays the bills.

The pool out front’s been drained and there’s only a couple of cars out front, but the lights are on and this is the address Punk gave them. Rollins is dozing on his feet, swaying into Dean’s shoulder every so often, and Reigns is tweaked out of his mind on Modafinil, muscles shivering ever-so-slightly with barely restrained get-up-and-go. 

Dean’s always had a better stomach for uppers, already has most of the side effects wired into his biology and doesn’t get ‘em better or worse when he’s on stims. He’s the one who bundles them out of the car, drags them staggering into the lobby to pick up a room key. He assures the man at the desk that no, sir, he’s certainly Mr. Punk, sir, yes that is his birth name, yes he certainly can produce an I.D., if you’ll give him just a moment. 

There’s only one bed, because C.M. Punk is some kinda penny pinching motherfucker when he’s not paying their fees, but it doesn’t matter. Dean’s slept on worse than dirty carpets, and at least there’s a roof. He hefts Rollins-- Seth, he guesses, because it’s hard to keep it casual when you’re unlacing a guy’s boots-- onto the bed while Reigns mumbles something incoherent and stumbles off, possibly to die in the shower. 

Dean’s still got the urge to move shoving at him. He drapes his dog tags across the old alarm clock-- Reigns will get it or he won’t-- and secures the room as best he can before slipping out the door. It’s gone from foggy to rainy, drops bouncing off cracked asphalt and turning the whole place into a shitty, muddy slip-n-slide. A cluster of pretty girls are gathered around the Coke machine, short shirts and shorter skirts and the kind of high-pitched laughter that’ll kill a man’s confidence at a hundred paces. 

It’s too rainy to walk, Dean guesses. 

“Hey mister,” One calls, kind of sarcastic, and her friends break back down into laughter. She’s wearing a flower in her hair, rain-dropped and vibrant even under the shitty fluorescent lights. 

“Evening ma’am,” Dean replies, doffing an invisible cap. He doesn’t approach, because he’s not interested or capable of buying what they’re selling. 

They don’t seem too put out about it. Dean’s looking kind of rough, he admits, five days unshaved and hands still wrapped to the wrist. He definitely wouldn’t wanna see himself in a dark alley, that’s for fuckin’ sure. 

“You looking for anything?” The girl with the flower asks, cocking her hip in defiance of the weather and his distance. 

“Only the ice machine,” He demurs, and they laugh at him again. He smiles, so he’s in on the joke. 

There’s no ice machine, they all cheerfully inform him, which is okay because Dean didn’t really need ice anyway, just something to do with his hands until the mania steps back a little and lets forty sleepless hours take the reins. 

It takes a lap or two of the complex to settle down. He scopes out all the easy exits on the first go around, because he can’t help it, and then the harder exits, because his mind still needs something to work on. 

It’s late-late by the time he trudges back up to the door, instead of just late. He taps the door softly, pattern set in his bones after all this time practicing. It’s a minute before the return knock comes, a password and response that’s as familiar as breathing. When the door swings open for Dean to slip inside, Reigns is there, sleepy and still damp from his shower. 

He also looks hilariously pissed off. 

“No hot water?” Dean guesses, and is immediately rewarded with a snarl that would make a tiger jealous. He slips the travel lock back into place, locks and double locks and bolts the door behind him, kicks the door stop into place and slides the safety lock in, too. It won’t keep out someone who’s desperate to get in, but it’ll give them a little bit of time to wake up. 

“Seth’s gonna bitch so much,” Reigns says, squeezing out his hair and starting on his nightly ritual untangling. “Boy’s like a lapdog.” 

Dean makes a noise of agreement, watching Seth’s back rise and fall with his slow breaths. Something about him just screams that he was made to be pampered. Maybe the sly hints of a good family life. 

“We’re gonna let him find out on his own.” Dean says, settling onto the foot of the bed and fighting against the weight of his eyelids. 

“Yessir,” Reigns says, plaiting his hair up quick and laying one hand, still cool from his cold shower, onto Dean’s forehead. “C’mon, babe, get up and brush your teeth. We got a spare.” 

Dean hoists himself up, because of course now he’s tired. Brushing his teeth and splashing his face with water is a blur, and when he finally passes out he doesn’t even remember that there’s only one bed, after all. 

When they leave the next day, Seth bright-eyed and bushy-tailed from his surprisingly chilly wakeup shower, the girl’s flower is in a puddle by the soda machine, pretty and only a little bit stepped on. Dean wavers before stooping to pick it up, fragile and wet and almost weightless. 

Reigns looks back over his shoulder, cocking an eyebrow up in that stoically judgmental way that he has, but doesn’t say anything to Dean, just keeps bullying Seth’s salty ass back to the car. Dean pets at the petals one more time before letting the flower fall back into its puddle, where it floats and spins endlessly in a reflection of the star-speckled dawn.

[hxbbit]

Light (Jim Hopper x Reader)

Words: ~ 4.6k

Warnings: smut smut smut, unprotected sex, that’s it I think?

Of course your car couldn’t break down on a lovely sunny summer day.  Instead it broke down in the middle of nowhere, at night, when it was cold, rainy and foggy.

You had taken the night off at the bar to visit a friend one town over and it got late and you were eager to get home. The shortcut over a forest road had seemed like a good idea before, but now you hated yourself for taking it.

You waited in your car for a while, hoping that someone would maybe drive by and notice you, but it had been almost an hour and there wasn’t a single car in sight.

So you could either spend the night in your car or you could get out and walk home.

Sleeping in your car didn’t really tickle your fancy, because it got colder by the minute and you didn’t have anything to eat or drink with you, so you decided to grab your things and get out of the car. It wasn’t raining that much, it really was more of a general wetness conjured up by the fog so an umbrella was basically useless.

You walked along the road, already kinda regretting your decision, but knowing that the other option wasn’t that great either. You kept a watchful eye on your surroundings and listened for any strange sounds. That’s how you saw it. A light in the middle of the woods. It didn’t look like a fire, the source seemed too steady for that. It also didn’t look like it came from a flashlight, because it didn’t move. It seemed to be coming from a window.

You decide to walk towards it, knowing that this could be the most idiotic thing you’ve ever done. But you took your chances, hoping that they maybe had a phone you could use to call someone to pick you up.

Taking another deep breath, you then left the road and started walking cross country, through the trees, towards the mysterious light source.

The closer you got, the clearer it became that the light came indeed from a window, windows actually. They belonged to a little cabin. There was a car standing in front of it, but you couldn’t tell much more in the dark and through the fog. By now, you were shivering, and your clothes were completely wet. You were almost there, picking up your pace, when suddenly you tripped over something and a deafening sound rang through the night air, almost sounding like a gunshot. You landed hard on your knees, bracing the fall with your hands to stop your face from hitting the ground.

“Ah, shit.” You hissed out and quickly got back up onto your feet, knees and the palms of your hands hurting and at the same time, the door of the cabin opened and a large figure got out.

“Who’s there?” Came the question, you could tell by the voice that it was a man. You were still so shocked and taken by surprise that you couldn’t speak, didn’t know what to say.

The man came down the few steps of the cabin, walking closer towards you.

“I said, who’s there?” He asked again, this time more forcefully, and by now you could also see that the man was holding a rifle.

“I’m sorry, I-I… My car broke down and I saw light and-“ You started, trying to explain your situation to the man, all while raising your hands to show him that you weren’t a threat.

“Hold on,” the man then interrupted you. “Y/N? Is that you?”

Suddenly realization set in. You knew that voice. You then looked to your left to the car, the light from the opened door illuminating it a little more and now you recognized it at the Sheriff’s cruiser.

“Hop?” You asked in return, still not being one-hundred percent sure what was going on right now.

The man, Hopper, took down the rifle and came closer and now you were sure that it was him. You allowed yourself to take your hands down again, tension leaving your body.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He asked, placing one hand on your shoulder and leaning down a little so he could look at you.

“Are you alright?” He wanted to know further.

“I’m fine, like I said, my car broke down so I decided to walk home, but then I saw the light of your cabin and followed it,” you explained to him.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N,” he replied, exasperated sound in his voice.

“Come on, let’s get you inside,” he then huffed.

Walking up the stairs hurt your knees and you were limping a bit, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Hopper.

“Are you hurt?” He asked you once you were inside his cabin. He closed the door behind you and leaned the rifle next to it against the wall. You looked around the room, the cabin seemed surprisingly cosy from the inside.

“I hurt my knees and hands a little when I tripped over…” You stopped, thinking about what it even was that you had tripped over.

“The trip wire,” Hopper then supplied.

“I guess, yeah.” You shrugged and let out a little laugh. Why did Jim Hopper have trip wires set up around his house?

He gestured you to sit down on the couch and you did just that, thankful that you could finally sit after tracking through the woods and hurting yourself.

You then looked down to your knees and saw that the fabric of your jeans was ripped on one leg, the skin of your knee underneath bleeding, the other one seemed to be just bruised, because the fabric was still in tact. Then you looked at your hands. They weren’t bleeding, but the palms were red and the skin was scraped off on some parts.

“Shit, we need to clean that,” Hopper said once he saw the damage on your knee.

“You should also get outta these wet clothes,” he added, looking you over. You chuckled a bit at his words, but left it at that, not really in the mood to joke around right now.

“You’re probably right,” you agreed with him. “Mind if I take a shower? I could do with some hot water to warm me up,” you asked him. You were still freezing and while it was pretty warm inside the cabin, you needed something hot on your skin.

“Sure, I’ll get you some towels and clothes to change into after,” he said and then left you sitting on the couch while he went to get the things.

You had no idea that Hopper was living here, you had thought that he was still living in his old trailer, but apparently you were wrong about that. You wondered why he was here now and what made him put up traps.

He had never mentioned anything to you when he was at the bar and he was there a lot. A little less frequently lately, but still.

Hopper had probably always been your favorite customer, at least he started out that way, but now you would consider him your friend. It was an unlikely friendship, Hopper being older, grumpy, the chief of police and you, the young, cheery thing, working in a bar, new in town. Somehow, however, it worked.

Hop came back with a stack of folded towel and clothes and handed them to you.

“Bathroom’s over there,” he said, but you had already seen it, since it didn’t have a door, but only a pushed open curtain, so that the bathtub was in full view.

“Thanks.” You then limped towards it and pulled the curtain close before undressing, being especially careful when you peeled off your jeans.

The shower was heavenly. The hot water immediately warmed you up again and relaxed your muscles. You could’ve stayed in there for hours, but you knew you had to get out when the water started turning cold.

You put on the clothes that Hopper had given you, a long sleeved henley shirt and some shorts that  were too big around the waist and barely managed to stay up, but ended a few inches above your knee, which was good, so they didn’t touch your wounds. However, it made you wonder how obscenely short they must look on Hopper, you couldn’t help but grin at the thought.

You then got out behind the curtain, hair still wet. You saw that Hop was in the kitchen so you just sat down on the couch again. It was strange seeing him out of his uniform and in such a domestic setting, being so caring, but you liked it, likes seeing another side to him.

Taking the time to inspect your knee, you closely looked at it. The water from the shower had washed most of the blood away, so you could clearly see the damage. It was already starting to turn purple and red all over, but especially in the middle of it where the skin was split open. It had stopped bleeding, but it really didn’t look pretty. You tried touching it, but it really hurt.

“How’s it lookin’?” You then heard Hopper’s voice from behind you.

“Purple,” you only replied, prodding at it again and wincing in pain while doing so, watching Hopper as he came around the couch with two cups in his hand.

“Made some coffee,” he said, handing you one of them.

“Thanks,” you smiled at him warmly, taking a sip from it right away, careful not to burn your mouth.

You tasted something else in there and only looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Might’ve added a little somethin’,” he chuckled, taking a sip of his own mug.

Hopper then set his mug down on the coffee table in front of you, before going into the bathroom and returning with a little green box that had a white cross on it and a brown glass bottle.

He sat down on the little table so he was opposite of you, it was aching quite a bit under his weight, but seemed to withstand it.

“Put your foot up on the table,” he instructed you and you placed your foot between his spread legs, your foot dangerously close to his crotch, but that way he had the best access.

He opened up the box, a first aid kit you realized, he took out some swabs and then opened the bottle, which seemed to be a disinfectant, and drenched the swabs with it.

“This might sting a little,” Hopper said before gently pressing the swab to the cut on your knee. You clenched your teeth and sharply sucked in air at the sting of it.

Despite the pain, you couldn’t help but notice how surprisingly gentle Hopper’s touch was. Who knew this brute of a man could be so soft?

He then removed it again and applied an ointment before wrapping it up loosely.

“Isn’t that a bit much? A bandaid would’ve sufficed,” you joked with a grin.

“You’ll be able to move better with this bandage than with a bandaid,” he explained, finishing wrapping it and then patting your knee gently.

“Who knew you were so good at this stuff?” You asked, a hint of amusement in your voice and a grin on your face.

“I’m good at a lot of things you don’t know about,” he said with a wink, a smirk on his face. You couldn’t help but feel butterflies in your stomach at that.

“Speaking of things I don’t know about,” you then started, wanting to change the subject. “Since when do you live in the middle of nowhere like some sort of hillbilly?”

Hopper let out a huff in reply.

“A little over a year now,” he said.

“Why, though? And what’s up with the traps?” You continued interrogating him.

“It’s a long story,” he only replied.

“That’s not vague at all,” you answered, clearly not happy with that reply.

“Trust me, it’s better you don’t know,” Hopper said and that really didn’t make it any better, if anything, it made you more curious. But you knew Hopper and you knew that if he didn’t want to talk about something, then he wasn’t going to talk about it, no matter how hard you tried.

“Are the women you bring here not scared you’re gonna kill them?” You asked, this time with a joking undertone, which got a laugh out of him.

“I mean, you’re the chief of police, if anyone could cover something like that up, it’s you,” you continued and now he was full on laughing. His laugh was deep and rumbling and always had a certain warmth to it.

“Trust me, the women I bring here are too busy to notice any of that,” he said with a sense of pride and arrogance in his voice and now it was your turn to laugh.

“What, you don’t believe me?” He asked, eyebrows raised.

“I just mean that you gotta be very good, to not make them notice any of that,” you said, still with a grin on your lips.

Hopper licked his lips, a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of them, and then scooted a little closer to the edge of the table, thus moving closer towards you. Your knees were now situated between his spread legs.

You leaned in closer, too, you couldn’t help yourself. You were intrigued what he was going to do.

You and Hopper had always been flirting, all in good fun, but always on the brink of something more, but that something more never came. However, you had a feeling that this was about to change tonight.

“I am that good, darlin’”, he uttered, his voice suddenly lower, quieter and you could feel the shift in mood, a change in the atmosphere.

There was still a playfulness there, but it had a different undertone.

“Is that so?” You replied teasingly.

“Something tells me that you need convincing,” he said, taking the mug from your hands and placing it on the table next to his, before leaning in even closer and then stopping. He looked at you for a second, gauging your reaction. You nodded, barely so, but it was enough for him to continue.

For a second you thought that Jim was going to kiss you, but he didn’t and you were almost a little disappointed about that, because you had imagined kissing him quite a few times.

Instead he placed his lips right below your ear, pressing a lingering kiss to the skin there. His hands moved to your thighs, placing them there.

His lips were surprisingly soft and his mustache tickled you slightly. Almost involuntarily you tilted your head to the side to give him more space, your eyes falling shut. Hopper hummed against your skin, clearly pleased with your action, before he traced his lips further down your neck. He softly nibbled on your skin and then flicking his tongue over the spot. You could feel his actions having a reaction low in your belly, traveling even further south to your center between your legs. He should not be able to make you feel like this. He’s not even really touching you, yet you wanted more. Wanted to know what other sinful things he could do with his mouth.

“Hop,” you whispered, almost a moan.

He only hummed against your skin again, continuing that sweet torture.

“Kiss me,” you then said.

Hopper detached his lips from your neck and sat up a little straighter again so he could look at you. A satisfied smirk spread on his lips, clearly pleased, knowing that his shtick to convince you had worked so easily and perfectly.

Finally, he then leaned in again, to kiss you on the lips this time. His hands moved from your thighs up to cup your face. Rough fingers on soft skin.

He started out slow, but you had a hunger for him that you couldn’t hold back anymore, a hunger that you didn’t want to hold back anymore.

You kissed him back with an urge, a passion, that he eagerly reciprocated. His tongue finding his way into your mouth, tangling with yours.

Your hands fisted into his shirt, pulling him closer, which resulted in him moving from the coffee table and onto his knees on the wooden floor. You spread your legs and he was between them.

His hands started wandering your body and once they found the bottom of your shirt - his shirt - he tugged on it, pulling it up and over your head. You hadn’t put on your bra again after the shower, so you were immediately bare in front of him.

He stopped kissing you, instead his eyes took in your half naked form, cupping your breasts and giving them a squeeze before lowering his head to flick his tongue over one stiff peak and then closing his lips around it, sucking on it, eliciting a moan from you.

Your hands found his way into his hair, tugging on it.

He spent a considerable amount on one nipple, then he moved on to the other, giving that side the same treatment. You could feel yourself getting wetter and wetter by the second, your need for him growing with it.

Once Hopper was satisfied with his job, he trailed his hands lower all while kissing down your stomach. And after reaching the waistband of the oversized pants, he didn’t have to do much to slide them down. You raised your hips slightly to help him and then he moved them down your legs, careful of your hurt knees.

You had also omitted your panties after the shower, so he was right away greeted by your glistening center. Hopper then took off his own shirt and you reached out to touch his naked chest and shoulders.

He licked his lips as he took you in, but didn’t indulge you quite yet, though. He spread your legs a little wider, placing kisses and bites along the inside of your thighs. He looped his arms under and around your thighs, throwing your legs over his shoulder and then tugging you a little further down towards the edge of the couch and closer towards him.

Your center was now only a few inches away from him, you could feel his breath and the anticipation of it made a shiver run down your spine.

“Shit, so wet for me already,” he muttered, looking up at you with a smile on his lips.

And then he lowered his head and licked a broad stroke over the entire length of your pussy. You let your head fall back, releasing a shaky breath.

Hopper’s need for you seemed to rival yours, because he didn’t tease, didn’t make you wait, instead he dove right in, licking and sucking at your clit. His mustache adding another sensation, not sure if it was tickling or scratching you, but loving it nonetheless.

You were a little overwhelmed by the sudden pleasure. One hand finding its way into his hair again and the other one grasping at his shoulder, digging your nails into the skin.

You barely noticed him move his hands, too focused on your building pleasure, but then you felt him slowly inch a finger into your entrance, until he was inside of you knuckle deep.

“Oh, yes,” you moaned out.

He continued sucking on your clit, but also started moving his digit slowly in and out.

“More,” you breathed out. “Please,” you could feel your peak approaching, but you needed just a little more.

Hopper knew exactly what you wanted, adding in another finger and crooking them up slightly while continuing to pump them inside you and that immediately pulled another needy moan from you.

The heat was building and building. Your nails digging harder into his skin - knowing you’d leave crescent shaped indent in his skin - and tugging on his hair harder.

He picked up his pace a little more, sucking a little harder on your clit and that was all you needed. You came hard, orgasm crashing through your entire body in waves. Your pussy clenching around his fingers and squeezing your thighs around his head.

You bit your bottom lip to stop yourself from being too loud, yet still whimpers and moans escaped you.

After the waves had subsided, Hopper finally let up, pulling his fingers out of you, immediately missing the feeling of being filled up.

He placed a kiss onto your oversensitive bundle of nerves and then let down your legs from his shoulders. You grabbed the hand that was previously inside you and raised it towards your mouth and then wrapped your lips around the digits that he had buried in your pussy, licking them clean, tasting yourself on them.

There was no way you could get onto your knees for him tonight, so you had to show him how good your mouth could be in another way, making him look forward to it in the future.

“Such a good girl,” he said and you only hummed around his fingers in reply.

Once you were finished with his fingers, you released them again. You looked at him, not really knowing what’s gonna happen next.

“I’m gonna take you to the bedroom now,” he said and you couldn’t stop a smile from forming on your lips, excited about the things he’s gonna do to you.

“I’m gonna fuck you,” he continued and you only nodded slightly.

“And this time, I wanna hear you when you cum.” He moved a thumb over your bottom lip and then he slowly got up from the floor, pulling you with him.

You looked down his body and now saw how hard he was in his jeans, you reached down and palmed him over his pants and he let out a low groan. You could already feel how big he was and you could feel your desire spark again at the thought of feeling him inside of you.

Hopper then leaned down again to kiss you once more. You could also taste yourself on his lips.

He then reached down to the back of your thighs, grabbing them and lifting you up.

You wrapped your legs around his middle to hold yourself up. The fact that he could pick you up with such ease made you wonder what else he could do with that strength.

He started walking towards his bedroom and once he reached the bed, he let you down on it gently, hovering above you for a moment, before he then got off you to stand at the foot of the bed. You watched as he took off the rest of his clothes, finally releasing his rock hard cock, and as suspected, his cock was big. You could feel your mouth water at the sight of it and you also clenched your thighs together to try and relief that building ache between your legs.

You scooted further up the bed and spread your legs again, inviting him in and Hopper didn’t take long before he joined you on the bed again, situating himself between your thighs.

Hopper stroked his cock a couple of times while looking down on you, taking in your naked body once more.

“You’re god damn beautiful,” he said and the way he said it made heat rise to your cheeks.

“You’re gonna fuck me now, or what?” You asked, teasingly and that put another smirk on his face and he let out a short chuckle.

“Oh, I’m gonna fuck you nice and hard and you’re gonna take it like the good girl you are,” Hopper replied, still with that grin on his face and you loved how cocky and domineering he was.

He started out by moving the tip of his cock through your wet folds, still somewhat sensitive from your previous orgasm. The he placed the tip at the entrance, almost pushing in, but not quite just yet, he continued doing that until you grew frustrated and moved your hips up a little.

“So needy,” he chastised, pulling back once more.

“Please,” you then said and you knew that you would beg for his cock if he wouldn’t give it to you any time soon, but then he finally pushed in.

Even with his fingers having opened you up, his cock still stretched you even further, the burn of it almost painful. But God, did he feel good inside you. Any fantasies you may have had couldn’t compare to the real thing.

“Look at you, taking my cock like that,” he breathed out and you could hear the tension and strain in his voice. He stopped for a few seconds, both of you needing time to adjust to it.

He then started moving again, slow deep strokes, filling you up so perfectly each time.

Hopper moved so he was on top of you, keeping his weight off you a little by propping himself up on his elbows and you wrapped your legs around his waist.

You kissed him again, moaning into his mouth with almost every thrust he gave you.

Steadily, he started picking up his pace and with it building up the tension low in your belly. Pearls of sweat started beading on his forehead and his breathing became heavier as did yours. It came to a point where he was just rutting into you, more shallowly, but faster. You reached between your bodies to rub circles over your clit with your fingers.

Soon you felt your second orgasm of the night approaching, your body starting to tense up.

“You gonna come for me, baby?” Hopper asked, knowing that you were close, probably feeling yourself tighten around his cock.

“Yeah, I’m close,” you replied, between heavy breaths.

You kept on rubbing your clit and Hopper kept on fucking into you just how you needed it and then you finally found your release and this time you didn’t hold back. Your pussy was clenching rhythmically around him, hands grasping onto the bedsheets, needing something to hold onto.

“Fuck! Yes, Jim,” you moaned out, eyes pinched close, focused on the orgasm that was still shaking your body, that he had given to you.

He still kept going, chasing his own release now. His forehead was leaned against yours, hot breaths mingling. And then, he suddenly stilled inside you and he released a low groan, his face scrunched up. You could feel his cock pulsating inside you, releasing himself.

Hopper collapsed on top of you and you loved the feeling of him on top of you, the weight of him.

You had your eyes closed and slowly and gently ran your hand over his hair as you both tried to catch your breaths again.

He pressed a kiss to your neck and you only smiled at that.

You stayed like that for a while until he then rolled off you and onto his back.

“You know, you can be lucky it was me who found you,” he said, still somewhat out of breath, but there was that humor to his voice again.

“Yeah, you’re right. God forbid I would’ve run into another old man who would take advantage of me,” you replied, teasing him and he just started to laugh That loud, rumbling laugh that you loved so much, but didn’t get to hear that often.

“Oh, yeah, there are some awful people out here,” he answered, still grinning, before he turned towards you once more, pulling you close and kissing you slowly, gently.

You could feel him growing hard against you.

“And apparently, they’re insatiable as well,” you grinned against his lips.

A/N: That’s it, I had a lot of fun writing this and am really happy with how this turned out! Feedback is greatly appreciated!!!

Tagging: @becs-bunker @vvsdiamond28 @dewy-biitch @thatprettymvthafvcka@alumiinkuu @kate110199 @sawbladelollipopgirl @suchatinyinfinity

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Sixty-One: Raindrops ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

Another early Winter day...another bout of rain.

Waking slowly, Hinata peers out from her bed, blankets brought up to her nose. Unlike the chill outside, her room is nice and cozy, the temptation to linger in bed a while longer strong indeed. But eventually she stirs, slipping out from the sheets and making to dress. Tank and shorts are exchanged for a wooly sweater dress. Combined with tights and boots, she’s ready for her day.

The space upstairs isn’t the biggest - much like a studio apartment. The kitchen is tiny, combined with a place to sit and eat. A couch and a desk in a corner serve for as much of a living room as she can manage. Everything is a theme of white and lilac, little space left over beyond the necessities. But given that the shop takes up the entirety of the downstairs, there’s only so much space here to work with.

Not that she minds. Hinata’s always been a bit of a...compact person. While not against open spaces, she just...doesn’t have a use for them. Each square foot has a purpose here, and there’s less room for clutter or a need to be cleaned.

A win in her book.

Breakfast is a simple affair: eggs boiled yesterday are peeled and sliced on top of toast with a little salt and pepper, black tea with a small dollop of honey helping to wash it down as she checks her phone. The news, as is typical, offers only dreary, depressing topics. Her Facebook is full of people presenting only their best sides. Hardly realistic, and inspiring more insecurity than happiness.

But she’s never really been the sort to linger on such things. The social media she has is mostly just to keep in touch with people. The connection and yet distance is just perfect for her. She chats with friends from high school when it’s convenient, but doesn’t have to sit through several hours of in-person interaction that just drains her more than it satisfies her.

Once she’s at least part way caught up with the ways of the world, Hinata tidies up after herself before heading downstairs, unlocking the door at the bottom of the stairwell that leads to the back of the shop.

As always, the smell of flowers hits her like a very pleasant ton of bricks, and a smile blooms over her face. Everything is just as she left it the night before. Shelves of supplies are fully stocked, her arrangements of plants near the windows to entice passersby to come in and take a closer look. The floor was swept before bed, and the lights come on to bathe the room in a pleasant ivory hue.

While some people drudge on in their day to day lives, Hinata counts herself very lucky to have a job she loves every day.

Having twenty minutes before it’s time to open, she does one last sweep of her inventory, making sure nothing is empty or misplaced. The coolers holding cut and pre-arranged flowers hum in the quiet, and Hinata uses the last bit of time to water the plants in the windows. Raindrops slither down the panes, warping her view to the outside like a watercolor painting. The tones beyond are mostly dreary, greyed out by the overcast weather.

But Hinata loves the rain. And Winter as a whole, even if it means most plants are dead or sleeping. In here, and in the attached greenhouse, she gets to be surrounded by them all year round. And help others enjoy them, too!

Just as she finishes, the clock strikes nine, and she flips the sign in the door to, “Open”.

Of course, she doesn’t expect many walk-ins. This time of year, most of her patronage comes online, or on the phone: people ordering bouquets, for the most part. As much as she loves arranging flowers, it does make her sad not to see more potted plants sold. After all, cut flowers only last so long. Pretty and eye-catching...but so quick to wither. A bit of a waste, really.

But not everyone can handle a full-time plant, of course. And she’d rather someone unable use cut flowers than let a live plant fade.

Checking her website in the meantime, Hinata finds a handful of new orders, moving them to her tablet as she gets to work creating the arrangements. Most probably won’t come to pick them up until tomorrow, as per her warning to wait at least twenty-four hours. But she might as well get them done now, just in case something else comes up to -

Jingle!

Coming up a bit short as the bell over the door rings, Hinata blinks wide eyes in surprise. A customer! Given the rain, she’d assumed few would bother to come in!

A man stands by the door, shaking off his umbrella just outside before closing it and stepping fully inside. He gives the shop a curious once over before spying her by the counter.

“Hello,” she greets, giving a smile. “How can I help you, sir?”

“Uh...looking for a plant…”

As always, Hinata withhold a small snort at the comment. Given he’s come to a flower shop, that much is...typically obvious. “Of course! Do you have anything specific in mind?”

“Not really? I...don’t know much about them, in all honesty,” he replies, a hand at his neck.

“May I ask what the occasion is…?”

“Just a bit of a pick-me-up for my mom. She’s got those Winter blues, y’know? And she always has a garden in the Summer, so...I thought maybe having something in the house would give her something to do.”

At that, Hinata perks up. “I see! Does she, um...have any favorites?”

“I really don’t know,” he offers, giving a small huff of sheepish laughter. “I barely know what any flowers are regardless.”

“I see...well, what about a favorite color?”

“Well, most of her flowers tend to be bright. Yellow, orange, red...mostly red, I think.”

“Hm…” Hinata moves to the front, looking over her collection. “Amaryllis is usually a good choice. They’re v-very easy to care for, and have very pretty red blooms,” she begins, gesturing to one she has in a dark green pot. “And she can move it outside in the Summer! Every year it will get a little bigger as the bulb grows.”

“...bulb?”

Hinata hesitates for a moment. “...um...sort of like an onion…? It’s a s-structure for the plant underground, and the plant grows up from it. It allows a plant to be a perennial, meaning...it will come back multiple years, rather than just one, like an annual.”

“Oh...well, I guess that will work.”

...she hasn’t shown him anything else, but it seems he’s not picky in the slightest. “All right! Do you like the pot it’s in? I can change it out if not.”

“That should work.”

“Perfect.” Taking the plant from the display, Hinata sets it on the counter and starts ringing up the exchange. “I’m sure she’ll be glad to have some color in all this dreary weather, huh?”

“Yeah, that was my thinking. Mom’s always been the sort to really dim down during the Winter. She likes the snow when it’s still fresh and pretty, but when it’s just rainy and foggy, it sort of wears on her.”

“Understandable,” Hinata agrees.

“Hey, uh...how long has this shop been here, by the way?”

“Well...let me think…” Hinata pauses, counting the times. “...at least about twenty years?”

“Whoa, seriously?”

“Mhm.” Scanning the barcode, Hinata fiddles with the register. “It was my m-mother’s. She divorced my father when I was very young, and came here. The shop owner employed her, and we lived upstairs. Eventually she managed to buy it. She passed away a few years ago, and...it’s been mine since.”

He suddenly feels rather awkward, shifting his stance a bit at the somber subject. “...I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you…”

“I just, y’know...thought you looked kinda young. I looked online first and saw you run the place.”

“I’m twenty-four.”

“Huh, me too. Did you go to school here…?”

“I was homeschooled.”

His brows lift. “Wow...so your mom worked and taught you? She must’ve been one hell of a woman.”

That earns a warm but somber smile. “...she was. Her name was Hanako.”

“Guess that explains why I don’t recognize you. What was your name, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“...oh! It’s Hinata. Hinata Hyūga.”

“I’m Sasuke Uchiha. Nice t’meet you.”

“You too.” Smiling a bit more genuinely, she gives him his total, accepting cash and giving him the proper change. “I h-hope your mother enjoys her flowers!”

“Maybe I’ll come back and let you know how it goes. And uh...see if I need anything else. Uh...do I need anything else?”

“Not for now, no. I keep everyone properly watered and fertilized, but she’ll likely need some plant food and fertilizer once it runs out. And once it gets too b-big for the pot, it’ll need a bigger one. But she should be all set for now!”

“Ah, thanks.” Cradling the pot in one arm, he prepares to open his umbrella with the other. “Have a nice day.”

“You too!” Skirting around the counter, she holds the door open for him, waving as he makes his way down the sidewalk. Huh...he walked…? In this weather?

...what a strange man.

Curious, she pulls her phone from her pocket, doing a little digging through a few friends’ Facebooks. Within a minute, she finds him: a mutual friend of several of her own. Huh...funny how they’ve never crossed paths until now. Of course, her being homeschooled is likely to blame. She knows a few girls her age through her mother’s friendships with their mothers, but otherwise she’s rather...reclusive.

Curiosity piqued, it takes her a moment to remember she was indeed working on something - or, starting to - when he arrived.

Best get back to work.

                                                        .oOo.

     Random modern flower shop AU cuz...I felt like something a lil fluffy lol - also this idea for the family dynamic wouldn't leave me alone. In other words, Hanako leaves Hiashi before having Hanabi, so she doesn't pass from birth complications. She DOES still die a bit young, but gets to properly raise her daughter on her OWN terms.      Might be something neat to explore in a canon setting at some point, too.      Anywho! Sorry for missing last night, I just...had a day that kept piling things on, so I took the evening off to spend some time with my brother. It was a much needed break~ But! I'll be back in a jiffy to post another so I don't fall any further behind! As always, thanks for reading~

[kissandships]

Danny Reagan had had his fair share of fights in his life. The first fist fight he had ever gotten into was when he was five. He lost terribly, and got suspended for a week. One of the worst fights he had had was when he was eight. The resident bully was teasing him, and the Reagan went savage. He kept hitting and punching and screaming at the bully. Over the next few years, the fights were smaller and garnered a few days' suspension. As a teen, the fights got more personal, and he ended up losing a lot of friends. He was okay with that, though, because he kind of liked being on his lonesome. Today, though... today, he wished he was with someone. His girlfriend, Marianne Romano, just broke up with him in twenty five seconds over the pay phone. She basically said she was bored with him, and she didn't like him hanging out with "that blonde bimbo". What was worse, was that they had just been let out for three weeks of Christmas break. He had been hoping to spend the break with  Marianne.

Danny frowned as he sat on the swing in the park. He was supposed be watching his baby brother, but he was more focused on sulking than anything else.

"Is this seat taken?"

He looked up to see the familiar friendly face of his newer friend. She wasn't a new friend, a just-met-you-three-days-ago friend. He had known her for about two months, and found he really enjoyed her company. Despite his mood, he let a smile play at his lips as he shook his head.

She sat down on the swing next to him, lightly swinging with her feet on the ground. Silence passed slowly, and she sat properly on the swing, her feet dangling a little bit above the ground. "Are you here with someone?"

"Little brother."

"Oh. What was his name? James?"

"Close. Jameson. Jamie because Jameson's too long and stuffy."

"Agreed. But the name works. Just look at Jameson Parker!"

Danny smirked; his friend liked those campy '80s detective shows with pretty men in the lead. He enjoyed them too, but not as much as she did.

"Do you think it's too cold to have ice cream?"

He looked over at her; her head was to one side in a cute manner, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. "What do you think?"

"It is never too cold, hot, rainy, snowy, hail-y, foggy, humid-y, or stormy to have ice cream."

Danny chuckled, "I forgot you were an ice cream ho."

"I am not!" She argued, a huge smile on her face.

He just looked at her with his 'yeah-Uh-Huh-sure' face. A pregnant silence hung in the air for a very long time. He wasn't sure what to say, but he strangely felt comfortable talking about just about anything. "What's your favorite season, Linda?"

"Late fall and all of spring." Linda looked to the sky. "Winter's too dreary. Summer's too hot. Fall is nice, cause it's a little cooler, and I get to wear my boots. Spring is a pretty good balance, and I get to break out my cute outfits. What about you?"

"Summer all the way."

"How come?"

"No school."

"You're gonna be disappointed when you get a full time job."

"I know. This summer's gonna be my last summer of freedom."

Looking down, Linda said quietly, "if you want, I'll lament that with you."

He looked at her. "What?"

"When I'm not volunteering, that is. We can spend it in the park with some friends, or at the pool, or wherever you want to." When he didn't answer, she blushed. "Or not. I-it was just an idea.... I should go."

"You don't have to."

"No, I should. You seem pretty down, and this small talk is awkward. I'll leave you alone." She stood from her swing, and started walking away.

"Linda!"

"Yes?"

Suddenly, calling her back seemed like a bad idea. "Uh... could you sit some more? Just for a little while, until you really need to go."

Linda rocked on her feet, considering. She looked up to the sky once more. Danny was suddenly struck with the realization that she was more than just pretty. He knew every guy wanted to date her, with very good reason. Her outward appearance was very appealing, but he, out of nowhere, realized that she was like an angel on the inside.

Sitting back down, and lightly clutching the chains with her lavender gloves, she mused, "ice cream does fix anything."

He smirked, "I might have to take you up on that offer."

Linda turned her head to him, "really?"

He nodded. "In the summer. When we're dead set on wasting valuable time."

She smiled with her teeth and her breath froze. "Do you want to talk about what's making you sad?"

Danny thought for a moment, screwing his lips in that contemplative pout Linda was quickly falling in love with. "Not yet."

Linda nodded, "understood. If you ever wanna talk.... about the weather, your family, a problem.... I'll be willing to listen. But not if you're gonna bombard me with stupid sports stuff!" She pointed a lavender finger at him.

"No sports. But thank you. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

The winter snow covered the park, making it look very serene. If he wasn't so down in the dumps, it would've been a very nice Saturday afternoon. He looked at his watch; 2:00. "Hey!" Okay, that was too forceful.

"What!" Linda matched his force, a smile tugging at her pink lips.

"Do you maybe want to come over? You can bring Jimmy, and we—" he stopped short. He was going to sound so lame if he asked her what he was going to ask.

"Can do what?"

Before he could answer, Jamie came bounding up to them. "Hi, Linda!"

"Hey, Jamie."

Jamie had met Linda a few times, but, luckily for the seven year old, he was good with names. "Do you want to come and make cookies with me an' Danny?"

"I, uh, promised the rugrat that I'd help." Danny blushed, shrugging.

"On one condition."

Jamie raised his eyebrows.

"They have to have chocolate in them!"

Jamie nodded, "the best kind!" He grabbed Linda's hand and yanked it gently.

She got the hint, and was soon being pulled to the bus stop.

While they waited, Danny whispered, "I forgot you were a chocolate ho as well."

"I am not!" Linda argued, laughing, holding Jamie's hand. She dramatically stamped her foot and put her free hand on her hip.

"Drama queen."

"Sloppy dresser."

Maybe the holiday wouldn't be so bad after all.... especially if  his new friend continued to visit.

[renaer-is-allegedly-hot]

session 9 notes

Tea time as in the oneshot period session u do

Adam is rolling at disadvantage medicine check

Sylvia is playing as Sarah (16)

Marguerite is Snapette (14)

Has not had it before

Lillian is Samantha (15?? 14???)

Has had it before

Can provide inspiration

Sarah picks room c painted purple and dripping stuff from the ceiling

Takes snapette and samantha with her, do it

Adam casts message

"are you guys ok?"

Snapette is a little freaked out bc hasn't had it yet

"I don't knowww"

Samantha says don't worry it's just a routine procedure "she'll be ok don't worry about it"

6

Adam casts shatter at the wall

3d4 damage from middle school girls roll to hit above an 6

Adam has to roll wisdom saving throw at 15

At disadvantage (on next attack)

ROLL INITIATIVE

Adam: 12

Sarah: 5

Snapette: 19

Samantha: 19

Samantha

Snapette

Adam

Sarah

Samantha's turn

2 for persuasion

Snapette

5

Adam casts sleep

Snapette is asleep

Sarah

4 for persuasion

Samantha

6 for persuasion

Adam

Hideous laughters samantha but on the ground laughing

Sarah

        Ok next one as in real one ig

     "lillian has a gaming setup confirmed"

"lillian is a hardcore gamer"

Ok actually

 Last session we were following a lead, we took a rest but now we wanna go to the cemetery

We're gonna go get that rock

"Does the rat have a bed ??"

It's a cemetery but also a park

It's still foggy

We're gonna walk until we come across a taxi ig

Aerana is leading in front, adam towards middle, cel towards back

Asyna and theo don't care

Not fog it's rain

Don't see too many ppl out but as we leave the dock ward we see ppl trying to find cover

Pass through the dock ward unhindered

Eventually we flag down a carriage

V old tiefling man w an eyepatch and a beard coming down in two forks but w one shorter than the other

3c each

"take these coppers . Old version of me"

"eh . What r u doing up this time of night"

"oh we're just gonna go pay our respects to the graveyard"

"we have many graveyards which one r u going to"

"just u know the general - the city of the dead"

"ah headed back there again, eh?"

"again?"

"what do you mean by again?"

"my eye must've been deceiving me I could've sworn I spoke to u the other day"

Adam is not allowed to roll perception???????

"oh no no sir I haven't met u before in my life"

His depth perception is gone

He was doing typical rounds and ran into young man who needed ferry into city of the dead

"there's a lot of tieflings in the city . We all look the same"

No one else is on the carriage

It's late afternoon-ish here

Just dark bc cloud cover it's v rainy

Fast travel ?

He tries some conversation but normal guy

Arrive at a thing with a cage castle thing that's locked up

Metal grate thing in front of the door??? PORTCULLIS

It's so rainy

Looking beyond it there's a lot of carefully manicured lawns

It's locked

A wench looks pulled

If adam were stronger he could push it open

Cel rolls perception for guards

10

Can see light or smth passing through ?? Smth in the place

Kinda bobs a little that "might suggest a lantern"

We can't see it

Adam casts mage hand to try and open the wedge from the other side

There's an actual lock

Lillian rolls a 6

Everyone is confused I am also confused

Everyone is low rolling; cel rolls 8

"how climbable does the wall look"

23 aerana unlocks the door

You're trying to figure it out in the rain

Adam is mage handing the inside part

20

Could not put the lock back on but close the gate

Adam is putting it in george the bush

"I'll be so happy to take this lock off your hands"

It's an awakened bush

"we'll come back to you george bush"

Passing through, it's p creepy

We follow her instructions

Small lake w a small bridge

Asyna has 14 passive perception

This is a p sizable area

she hears out of sync footsteps

Someone stepping when we aren't

Someone walking with us behind us

Asyna rolls perception check disadvantage

a 2

Asyna pretends she looks back to talk to someone behind her

Looks over shoulder, still walking w everyone

Doesn't see anything

The rain and the dark r making it hard for us

Adam is leading

"hey adam . There's someone maybe following us"

Adam's already terrified and now he's peeing

He has actually peed

Was already kinda freaked out by the bus driver

Adam stops leading

Turns to asyna "y ou wot"

"what ? Keep walking let's keep walking"

"but you said"

"nononono"

Asyna perception at disadvantage

11

Adam stops

We've all stopped

As adam is talking to asyna asyna hears the footsteps where we've stopped walking and then they stopped

Cel roll 6

Aerana rolls 20

U whip ur head back to see

U hear ??? "what languages do you guys speak"

U hear what sounds like someone cursing u can't tell what it is

U tell the group

Asyna just says "hey"

Oh we can hold an attack

Let's hold an attack

Adam is holding his urine

"adam's a heavy drinker . You guys don't know that about him" - jacob, 2020

The hey is not answered

Hear a little more squelching

Sounds from the right, 7 perception check

Hard to tell, maybe

Adam does not have detect magic

Bruh dom's gonna kill us right now

On our right we hear stomping in the mud

4 short hooded figures randomly appear

Some kind of weapons they're holding w longer grayish beards and the start rushing to us to attack

I literally rolled a nat1

17 for adam

7 for theo

6 for asyna

Nat1 for cel

Nat1 for aerana

Adam is first

They look like dwarves but they're hooded w v white beards

Four of them in melee w us

All will make charisma saving throw

They don't look like zents or guards

Look like kind of thugs

Fail, nat20, nat20, fail

Whenever the failed ones make an attack roll, -1d4

Uses cutting words on one of the passed one, on next roll needs to -1d6

Two of them rush over after adam does and suddenly it looks like they start to straighten up in posture but they just grow in size

For better or worse they've become larger like the dweargar

They're dweargar

One of each of the attacked ones ig

A third grows in size

Theo's turn

Tries to shoot small one

"kill the baby dwarf"

Rolls an 8 to hit, misses

Asyna's turn

"It would just be a soggy ape"

We're trying to figure out which animal asyna should turn into

She's gonna turn into a crocodile bc one time jones put a crocodile out

We're going to the zoo after this session

There are dippin dots at the zoo

There are not dippin dots at the zoo?

The ice elemental could make a version of dippin dots

Dom gets frozen lemonade at zoos

There are not dippin dots at the zoo but in the summer they have the equivalent of shaved ice

Now asyna's gonna attack

18 to hit

7 damage

Bite attack ? Grappled ? Dc12 saving throw ? No dc12 to escape

He's stuck in the jaws

Who's stuck in the jaws ? The big one one of the big ones the bained one

Oh wait how big is the crocodile

Large

It works

Small one becomes large now all four are large

Cel's turn

Takes the one that just turned big

Casts hunters mark and then hits with sword

1d6 of damage, 2 from hunters mark added

15 to hit with bow, 14 damage

Aerana's turn

11 damage

Big one that adam didn't hit

U poke a lil hole

He's wearing chain armor and u shear through it a little

Adam

Casts vicious mockery on the one you just hit

He will take 3 damage "the only reason you got big physically is because you're compensating"

And disadvantage on next physical attack

He's next

Ah he's gonna attack u

He misses

Other one goes

The big bained one

Marguerite took the small bained one

Nat1 lmao

Tries to swing at adam and doesn't hit

Grappled man gonna try to escape, is large so does he escape ? Yes he escapes

Theo's turn

Theo will hit the one that just tried to escape w bow

14 to hit, does it

Deals 5 damage

The one u n adam hit is a little worse for wear along w the last one to turn big boi

Theo can add sneak attack bc asyna is within melee range

Adds 8 damage for total 13 damage

Now he's also not looking great

Theo abandons bow to sneak attack w sword

Asyna's turn

18 to hit

6 damage

Same guy theo got

"how do you want to do this?"

Chomps him in half

He tastes salty

Ok so in total like 26 damage to take out ?

Upon seeing the crocodile the other one is gonna fight asyna

Despite -1d6 to hit, has advantage bc larger size and never mind ?

12 armor class, he hits

6 damage

He smashes snout in "it hurts . But ur fine"

Cel's turn

It is the one with hunters mark

Uses bow

23 to hit, 11 damage

Looks like he's on his last legs

Aerana deals 14 damage

"how do you want to do this"

Cut off the legs then he slides off his own legs and collapses

Bleeding out as he kicks the bucket

Adam

"how do you want to do this"

1 health lmao

"what I roll will tell me the level of roast that kills him"

"your mother was a badger mole and your father was a worm"

He hyperventilates, asphyxiates, then dies

Bruh next time u should pull a criminal minds death smh

He rolls a 3 and doesn't hit anyone

Theo's turn

Makes an athletics check to climb onto him?

I want a burrito

I'm gonna make a burrito after we play so I can start s14

Gonna try to intimidate

" we just killed all of your friends but we'd be willing to keep you alive if you answered some questions for us "

"that is the most polite intimidation I've ever heard" dom, 2020

Rolls with advantage

8 lmao

He looks scared but it didn't work

"is theo like a mormon or something???" jacob, 2020

"dnd but it's mormons"

Asyna's turn

Rolls a 2, snaps and it doesn't work

Cel's turn

Pulls out sword to intimidate

"last chance fucker or we kill you"

17

Bc we're in melee he drops his weapon which did not grow in size with him

Adam is gonna change his shorts

It looks like he's wearing a skort

You take his war hammer

Time to interrogate

Cel is pulling him down???? He's medium size and cel is filled with rage

Eye contact ???? Or ok athletics check

14 athletics check it works gets him down to eye level

"who sent you?"

Doesn't answer

Asks in undercommon

"I was sent by noska"

"noska's with me at the guild"

It is the xanathar guild

"why?"

"we figured you five would have the stone"

Adam comes back

"we do have the stone in fact"

Deception check

19

Intimidation and deception are specific ways of persuading

19 deceives

"we already had it"

He looks at adam and says "that so? Well uh then you have it on you now?"

"uh no . Check the bottom of the ocean ."

His eyes widen

"so why don't you go tell your xants"

"you . You didn't ."

"oh . We did."

He's not used to communicating through an interpreter

Says smth along the lines of "you idiot there's half a million dragons in there"

Now he's just yelling at us

Cel whips out sword and offers to behead him against the

We could cut out his tongue and opposable thumbs

And then let him go as a sign to the xants

Carve a message into his chest

"who else are you hunting for"

"nobody right now . I guess ,, well, no .. No, not really - mostly just the rock"

"well it's gone . See rock see stone at the see shell at the see shore"

"here's the thing buddy boy we know you're looking for it and we don't like you"

"so you can skedaddle"

"when did adam get so cocky?"

"right after he learned vicious mockery"

Adam spanks him

He shrunk to a medium size

Or maybe adam didn't spank him

Tl;dr he's not gonna snitch and doesn't give us a name

"I still wanna know your name, fucker"

It's gorrick

Sylvia would've called him ocean

"if you know a crow person named bingbong-" "that's not his real name" "-if you know a kenku whose name is a gong sound, can you tell us where he is?" "well there's lots of different kenku but I don’t' know they all look kind of scruffy and they all wear cloaks so I can't tell" he doesn't know

"he reluctantly gives you his pants" dom, 2020

"but is he packing tho" marianne, 2020

"roll for perception at disadvantage" "16"

"from what you can tell… this guy can taste enlarge/reduce on himself, so yeah" dom says, begrudgingly, 2020

For the record . I was joking . But he made me roll

"is that dead one packing shmeat" "NO, HE IS N O T" jacob and dom, 2020

"you idiots are dead xants r gonna come and make your lives hell"

We see lantern lights just bobbing around in the darkness

Arrive at one of the wealthier areas w big pillared, raised pedestals w coffins n statues

Eventually make it to a small covered stone building not too much larger than a shed

One of the things has been pushed open

Smashed lock on the ground

Adam thaumaturgies and walks in

Adam makes the light blue

10 feet in there's a 10ft open chamber; off to left and right are two different stone coffins that have been covered up; don't depict any particular person but some writing on it

Further in two raised sections with set of stairs leading into darkness between them

Cel rolls investigation check to see if someone was there

Rolls 21, somewhat dusty inside and can see some footprints

2 pairs that look human-sized

Writing on coffins just have names of garloth family with age and short passage

The footprints look like they go both in and out

Honestly ? Proud of my question asking if the footprints are going in the same direction . Me one year ago would not have thought

Adam goes deeper into the darkness

Going down it's warmer, pathway abt 10 feet wide

More coffins; one to right one to left

Contents have been ransacked

Tops have been broken (wood)

Some bones have been removed

Cel rolls 21 to see if they were buried w anything

Passage extends 50 feet down

All coffins here have been ransacked

Two more coffins have also been ransacked

60 feet down adam can see a side passage

Bc of the light adam can see smth sparkling in the dust

Door set into the wall

Adam picks it up

Looks like a key

Adam tries it for the locked door

Adam runs 19 investigation but it doesn't appear to be trapped

Looks like this door has scratches like long gouges

Key adam found does not fit

Cel picks it

More ornate coffin inside, untouched

Cel rolls for investigation, 10

Unsure abt traps

More dusty in here, some dirt falling from ceiling

Adam looking for rat-sized entrances

Investigation check

11, can't see

Other coffin made to look like a person, last name garloth

Cel opens the coffin

Strength check w advantage

Nat20

Wedges crowbar under stone, it slides off and hits the ground, kicking up some dust

Inside is a dead person

Cel investigates for stone

13, it's just a dead man

Rings just look fancy

Based on our info

The stone is p sizable

Adam puts all the rings on at once and as he tugs the rings off the skeleton the head rolls and falls to look at adam

"I'm gonna cover the face and keep tugging - does it come off?"

"the finger comes off"

Naya's gonna scry w the key

"are you still a crocodile?"

"oh ok I guess I'll revert then"

Naya hops away

Will do investigation checks for rest of tomb

Adam is licking the floor, rolls 13

Adam gathers the door was not opened before we came in

Hard to tell w the footprints now that we've come in

Someone did come in tho before us

Cel is investigating and adam is giving inspiration

"are you doing bardic inspiration then?"

"yeah"

"do I get a song?"

"there once was a halfling named cel she was searching for bodies in a cell but there was one trap everyone did a laugh(?) and down the hole she fell"

"you've been inspired to avoid all danger"

Four were unopened Ig

11 it doesn't open ?

Nat20 for second coffin

Dead person inside

Investigates for stone, 8

Doesn't see anything

There's an entrance the door at the front of the mausoleum that a rat could fit through

No rat-sized holes in the coffins

Only lead is the key

Naya looks like she's leaving so we're gonna follow

Eventually led to another entrance/exit of the cemetery in a different direction

Still raining but not quite as heavily as before

Getting closer to midnight

Naya starts leading us towards trades ward

Pause point?

[ener-chi]

Hi! Can I have a reading? I'm Victoria S, I have short, wavy hair with red highlights from the sun and green eyes. My Sun sign is Aries. Thanks!!

Hi Victoria! Your request was popping out at me for some reason, so let's give it a shot. Here we go:

I see… a door… I phase through it… I’m in a large room… big windows… sunlight is shining through, onto the floor… I see a girl, sitting on the floor, in the light… sitting cross-legged… it's pleasantly warm here… like mid-morning on a Saturday in the Summer… such a nice feeling compared to the cold, rainy weather I've been having… anyways… the girl… I'm getting… brown?? wavy hair… she's wearing it down… she's wearing loose, comfortable clothing… some shorts, a white?? t-shirt I think… her eyes are closed in meditation…

I feel her energy well… It's very fiery… but like… hmm how to explain it… it feels like the sun… the sun is fiery and hot… but all we feel from the sun is its' radiant warmth… it is like that… the girl is fiery and hot… but her energy is radiant… her personality… seems a little bit more reserved, chill… but she absolutely has a fiery side… I have an image of almost like a fire flare behind her eyes as she gets passionate about something… her energy levels spike when she talks about something that she loves…

The girl's eyes pop open, and she stretches… she stands up… she turns and sees me… smiles big, eyes close and head tilts as she waves… hello… stretches some more… jumps up and down, getting pumped… she turns and looks at me, waiting…

Transition…

I see… the girl… she's walking… down the street in a town… once again, it's wonderful weather outside… early morning… small shops… she's wearing flip-flops and shorts… I think she has her hair up in a bun… brown shades… I think I'm seeing her chewing some bubblegum… she's walking, just taking in the area… it has the feel of a farmers' market, but I don't see the booths or anything… she sees a shop that she likes and walks in… small, local shop… kind of dusty… books… shelves with… books… on the outside… there's a second floor… she walks up… it is a bookshop confirmed… more old copies of books line the shelves that fill the upper floor… she peruses the books… she finds one and sits down in the sunlight provided by a window to briefly go through it… satisfied, she stands up with the small book and heads downstairs… pays for it… the shopkeeper is an old man, balding, little bits of gray hair on his sides… wire, rounded spectacles… he is grateful as she leaves, back out into the sunlight…

Transition…

I see… the scene is darker… I think I see the girl in the backseat of a car, at night… she's on her phone… I see her a little bit more clearly than before… I think her age is late teens?? College perhaps?? Maybe right on the cusp… Not entirely sure, but I do think she is young…

The car feels like an Uber or something… her and the driver don't know each other… the scene stays like this for a while… then she gets to where she is going, thanks the driver, and gets out…

She steps out outside of a restaurant… once again… even though it's night, the air is still cool, yet warm… smells, and feels good… she walks inside of a large building… I think it's a restaurant?? Bowling alley?? Let's go with restaurant and see what happens… she tells the hostess something, and she is taken to a table… a guy stands up and greets her as she sits down… young… handsome, definitely… he's got thick brunette hair… it's short, and spiked… he's got a clean shaven face, but he's got well defined features, and warm eyes… dimples… a nice smile… he's wearing a stylish, casual button up… yup, this is definitely a date…

I fast-forward a little bit… they talk… the girl seems a little bit more reserved than normal… a little shy… but the guy has a very outgoing personality… and it's not long before she is very engaged in conversation and laughing… they have a good meal… the guy orders dessert… they linger longer than they planned… then they leave… the scene skips ahead and I see the girl riding back in the back seat of a car… looking at her phone… smiling… her thoughts filled of her interaction…

Transition…

I see the girl… she's back in the large room at the beginning… she's sitting on the windowsill, looking out the window pensively… she notices me, and turns and looks at me with a big smile… she thanks me… you're welcome… she waves goodbye…

Transition…

Okay! Wow. This was a good reading, at least on my end anyways. When I was trying to decide which reading to do, as I read yours my third eye begin to burn and so I figured I'd do yours. My third eye continued to burn as the reading progressed, so that's excellent I guess?? Lol anyways! Impressions!

So I was able to really hone in on your energy. You have a very distinct energy, and it's wonderful. I spent a good portion of this reading talking about the weather; part of that may be that I'm growing tired of winter, but more than that I think that it is reflective of your energy. It reflects the inner warmth and passion that you have inside of you. Also, I think that it is definitely like your "aesthetic" - well, maybe not your ideal aesthetic, but you felt 100% in your element. That's the word that I was looking for.

I'm not sure what the significance of the bookstore was, but it was a nice scene. Perhaps you can draw something out of it. As for the date scene… well, clearly I see some romance in your future. I'm actually a little jealous, the guy I saw was super attractive, and totally my type lol. But yes! I'm not sure how the two of you cross paths, but I absolutely see major chemistry… let's see… can I see anything else beyond that… the future is very foggy but I caught a brief image of you two walking down some path holding hands, so I think that the odds of you ending up together are likely!

Welp. That's all I have. Thanks for your request! This was a fun reading to do. I hope that it resonates, and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Blessings!

[mymusehatesme]

Silver and Gold

Words: 1235

Part: 2 of 7: In which trust is important.

     Part one, three, four, five, six, and seven.

Summary: A beanstalk in the woods and your curious brother are not a good mix.  He steals from the giant that lives in the floating castle and you are left to deal with the consequences. [Gender neutral reader.]

This is an at least half-white Mixed!Reader, as their mother is Kelly Kline, but the father is not described.

Warnings: Sarcasm, anxiety, trust issues, yelling, and over-protectiveness.

Masterlist

You didn’t know it was possible to scream as loud as you did, the wind whipping around your face and your hands around Balthazar’s throat.  You were trying your best to choke him, but since you were falling to your death with no solid ground beneath the two of you, you just squeezed.

His face was turning a lovely ripe tomato shade when he finally loosened your grip and holding your hands between his so you couldn’t hurt him anymore.  “Now, Y/N, I need you to listen-”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH,” you shrieked in his ear, hoping you’d damage his hearing a bit, “YOU ABSOLUTE BASTARD, YOU’VE KILLED US!”

“Darling, please-”

“DON’T YOU ‘DARLING’ ME!”

“I couldn’t leave the premises unless I had someone with me!  You saved me!  I could have kissed you, I was so happy!”

“DON’T YOU DARE!” Gravity was a bitch.  A cruel, heartless bitch.

“‘Could have’!  I said, ‘could have’!”

“SCREW YOU!  WE ARE FALLING INTO OBLIVION!”  The inevitable kersplat was waiting for you. Properly, this time.

You fell through the clouds and you saw the glittering gold of the blue ocean stretching out below you.

You were going to miss your family when you were dead.  You couldn’t remember what the last thing you said to your mother was.  “Stay here and take care of mom,” were the last words your brother heard you say.

Balthazar turned you around, and held you close, wrapping his arms around your waist.  You couldn’t see anything beyond receding clouds. “It’s going to be all right, trust me. Trust me.  Please, just trust me.”

It was hard to trust people.  Even harder when the person asking to be trusted was the same person that pulled you out of a window and now you were falling, falling, falling-

Trust.  His dying wish was for you to trust him.  All right.  You could do that.  “Okay,” you whispered, closing your eyes, “I trust you.”

You didn’t know if he heard you, but he must have felt you relax a bit.  He was muttering something.  Words.

It was okay. You trusted him.

Kerspla-

An arm around your neck.  “HEY!”  Water, water everywhere – “No, go away!” – lapping at your face – “Do your worst, then.” – and not a drop to drink.

As soon as you became aware that Balthazar was the one speaking, you gasped awake and flailed in the water.

“Calm down! Love, please calm down, I’ve got you,” he soothed.  He was putting up a good front, but you could hear the panic in his voice.  He was scared, too.

“I can swim,” you offered, once you had your bearings and began treading water, “I can swim.” Wow, you were terrified.  You hadn’t been this terrified since… well, since you realized Balthazar was pulling you out the window and couldn’t do anything to stop him.

“There’s a ship,” he said, trying to ease the tension, “I know it’s a ways out, but I’ve been yelling at it.”

The arm around your neck that was keeping your head above water pulled away and you looked around. You saw the ship that Balthazar was talking about, but you couldn’t tell if it was headed your way or not.  If you stretched out your arm, you could barely cover the ship with your finger.  The spark of hope you had was extinguished when you had a dreadful thought, and you asked, “What happens if they don’t spot us?”

Balthazar looked at you, breathing a little heavy.  For a moment, you thought you saw him see his life flash before his eyes – he knew the answer as well as you did.  Then he smiled, caught your chin with his fingers, and said, “Chin up, darling. They saw us fall.  I made sure of it.”

“Then why were you yelling?”

His smile faltered, but he secured it before it slipped too far.  “I like to stay busy.”

After a few hours, it was definitely closer, but still far enough away that you worried the sun setting before you were rescued.  In those hours, Balthazar managed to make you more paranoid about the things lurking in the ocean depths than you had been before.

“Did you know,” he began, directly after recollecting his encounter with a siren, “that sirens are different than merfolk?”

You shook your head. This was the only source of entertainment and you didn’t want it to stop.  Balthazar had a lot of stories and you had a feeling he was trying to distract himself, as well.

“It was once thought they were, in fact, the same species, but we came to find out they are cousins of a sort,” he continued, “Sirens are base – they sing to lure their prey into treacherous waters and then eat them.  They can shift their scales to legs and walk amongst humanity, but they only do that in rainy or foggy weather.”

“Why?”

“Well, they can’t speak, you see.  They can sing, but that’s it.  That’s really what drives a siren, is food.”

“Huh.”  Assuming this was all correct, of course, and he wasn’t just pulling crap out of the air.

“A mer is a little different.  They can’t shift on command, but they do sing and speak.  They’re also a bit like dragons.”

That caught you off-guard.  “What? What do you mean ‘like dragons’?”

“Oh, er,” he stalled, realizing a bit too late that he may have opened a door he wasn’t prepared to deal with, “they like shiny things.  Jewels, broken glass, mirrors, pearls, rings… they can’t help themselves.”

The way he finished that sentence made you narrow your eyes at him.  He was leaving something out on purpose.  Maybe he didn’t want to scare you?  “All right,” you conceded, not missing how he relaxed when you ceded to his point, “What else about mer?”

“They can. Cause storms.”  He spoke haltingly, a sharp change from his earlier endless spouting of knowledge (or bullshittery, you’d have to wait and see). “And they can wield magic, too – that’s how they can get legs and walk amongst people.  Drawback is, they can’t stay out of ocean water for too long, or else they’ll dry up and die.  I’ve seen that happen, too.”

You blinked and studied him.  He looked a little sad at admitting he’d watched a mer die.  “Did they suffer?”

He clenched his jaw and looked away.  “Terribly.”

“The mer was your friend.”

“Yes,” he bowed his head slightly and you saw that he had closed his eyes, “Yes, she was.  She taught me everything I know – magic in particular.”

You stayed quiet for a moment, allowing a bit of silence out of respect for the deceased. “I’m sorry.”

He took in a deep breath and his sadness was gone.  “Yes, well,” he turned back to you and smiled – though not as carefree as you knew it could be, “it was decades ago.”

“Doesn’t mean it has to hurt any less.”

Balthazar regarded you in a neutral manner, perhaps readjusting some of his assumptions about you. “Thank you,” he said at last.

You smiled in confusion.  “Thanks for what?”

“For trusting me.”

You wondered how many people had hurt him in such a way that he felt the need to thank you for trusting him.

Then the shadow of the ship fell over the two of you and you were pulled from the water shortly after.

< part one     part three >

[acuppellarp]

If you’d like to participate, simply reblog this post. And please remember to send asks and not just answer them! If, say, 10 people reblog it, each of them should have received at least 10 asks by the end of the week :)

Meme Monday: Fall Edition

🍂 The Texts

[ TEXT ] hlep i thuoght cider was non aclohloloic

[ TEXT ] I DROPPED MY CANDY APPLE

[ TEXT ] send fall themed nudes 

[ TEXT ] we’re sluts. and sluts don’t go apple picking

[ TEXT ] i feel like dicks look like decorative autumn squashes

[ TEXT ] So "Abstinence August" was a bust. Maybe I'll try for "Sex-free September" or "Only if we're facebook official October"

[ TEXT ] It's like even though I'm not in college anymore my body still knows it's the fall and is putting itself into competitive binge drinking mode.

[ TEXT ] I woke up to a half empty bottle of cider on my dresser. I drank it and have no regrets. Morning.

[ TEXT ] let’s go get lost in a corn maze and make out

[ TEXT ] if you were an apple i’d pick you

[ TEXT ] i think you left your sweater here the other day

[ WRONG # TEXT ] i bet ______’s lips taste like candy apples

[ WRONG # TEXT ] ______ is more annoying than the pumpkin spice trend

[ WRONG # TEXT ] don’t judge me but i want to drag ______ into a corn maze and do unspeakable things

[ WRONG # TEXT ] help i keep wearing ______’s sweater because it smells like her

🌰 The Starters

“I miss when it was actually warm outside.”

“I’m in pumpkin spice hell.”

“How many caramel apples do we need? Two? Twenty? Four hundred? I’m buying four hundred.”

“There’s nothing quite as satisfying as stepping on a super crunchy leaf.”

“You ever realize that the fall smell everyone loves so much is just the scent of dying plants?”

“The Fall is the best time for blankets and [hot beverage of choice].”

“Take a walk with me. It’s so crisp and nice outside.”

“Ah, the Fall. The harvest season. Perfect for harvesting souls.”

“Let’s go get lost in a corn maze. It’ll be fun!”

“I want a pumpkin spice latte and I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

“Does this sweater look good on me?”

“I made you a scarf.” / “You made me a scarf?”

“This flannel is itchy.”

“I don’t understand the Fall hype.”

“If I see one more maple-flavored thing, I’m going to fight someone.”

☕ The Scenarios

It can be anything from a journal page, to a letter, a memory from their childhood, a dream...

A football game

Decorating for Fall

A pumpkin patch

Apple picking

S’mores and a bonfire

Baking a pie

Sweater weather

A harvest festival

A camping trip

Knitting a scarf

A corn maze

A foggy fall morning

A rainy day

A hayride

A cozy afternoon

🍁 The IC/OOC Questions 

Answer IC and give an OOC explanation - maybe your character’s lying, or she’s keeping something to herself - out her OOC!

You and ______ get lost in a corn maze. What happens next?

You’re spending a cozy afternoon cuddled up on the couch with blankets and warm cocoa while it rains outside. Who do you pick as your cuddle partner?

What’s your favorite Fall-themed movie? If you had to live the story in it, who would you like to play, and who else from ACup would you cast as the rest of the characters?

Fuck in a corn maze, Marry in a sweater, Kill with a pumpkin: _____, _____, _____

What’s your favorite Fall memory involving an ACup girl?

If there was a Fall tradition similar to the mistletoe at Christmas, which ACup girl would you want to catch under the cinnamon bunch?

Who in ACup looks great in a sweater? Whose sweater would look even better on your bedroom floor?

What’s the most romantic scenario you can imagine in the Fall? Which ACup girl would you like to share it with?

You and ______ are caught in the rain. Is it funny, romantic, annoying, or something else entirely? Describe the scene.

If you had to pick an ACup girl to represent the Fall, who would you pick? What about her reminds you of the season?

Which ACup girl would you take apple picking? Would you pick any apples, or would you get distracted doing something a little less wholesome?

If you raked up a huge pile of leaves, which ACup girl would you allow to jump in them even if it meant you had to start all over? 

______ shows up at your doorstep with a warm homemade pie. Do you eat it, smash it on her face, or forget about the pie and eat her instead?

If ______ was a pie, what flavor would she be? Why?

If ACup was a school, who would you want to play the teacher you get an inappropriate crush on?

[alliebruns-blog]

Rat Race Recce Report: Subterranean Snowdon

Now a few if you may know my feelings about cycling. Cyclists are cheats, bikes are cheat machines, some of them poo in their lycra, horse attacking half wits etc. but that didn’t stop me from from biting Jim’s arm off when he asked if I wanted to come to Snowdonia to recce one of the new Rat Race Projects - ‘Subterranean Snowdon’. 

I’ve done Snowdon a few times - Snowdon trail Marathon, Snowdon Ultra etc, but this promised to be more than trotting up a mountain and stumbling down again. 

Sometimes it pays to be short....

The premise is that you start of half a mile underground in the old mines at Llanberis. You make your way up to the surface and jump on a mountain bike (gross) for 15 miles to the foot of Snowdon then run up the Watkin Path- possibly the most technically difficult way up - its’ got ridges  and drops and all sorts. You know how I like a ridge right? (Spoiler - I don’t). Once you get to the top you run down the other side and then abseil down 3-5 waterfalls to the bottom. Sounds fun right? Looks good on paper right? Reality is it’s the most exhilarating, exciting and terrifying fun you can have in 12 hours. 

We stayed the night in a little hostel in Llanberis and after a big old breakfast and briefing myself, Ross (our safety guide ninja) Jim, Darren and Handsome Pete made our way towards that start of the event - the slate mines at Parc Padarn. It was a little overcast and chilly but nothing to get upset about. Yet. 

Yeah, that’s a train.....

We’re put in a tiny train that looks like a well dodgy, yellow vertical version of the DLR, and clank our way down the mine shaft. A little bell goes and the doors open - we are now half a mile underground in a warren of still functional mines. It’s pretty dark in mines isn’t it? That’s why I was wearing a stupid at with a light. Our guides were great and led us through the little passages (poor Handsome Pete bashing his head every 3 seconds, Jim and I not having that problem at all) until we reach a pretty steep rail track that obviously hasn't been used for some time. We have to climb up it, towards the light - a climb that starts off ok but ends as more of a scramble. I’m not really that claustrophobic but this gets your heart rate and anxiety going for sure. Once at the top, it’s straight onto our bikes which have been waiting for us at the top of the mine. This is where it starts to get funny. 

Follow the light, kids. 

This is the hole we popped out of......

I haven't been on a bike for ages (boris bikes drunk don’t count) and I am so glad we had Helen - our lovely mountain bike guide - to help.  I basically had to learn how to ride one again - and it is NOT the same as running. Whereas Darren looked like he was about to win the Tour de France, I came across more Pee Wee Herman. 

Thrilled. I was thrilled. 

But that’s ok. I didn’t fall of. And Helen was brilliant. She was really encouraging and gave me some amazing tips - and didn’t laugh at me once for being shit. Well maybe once but that was because I was being shit. If the idea of riding a bike puts you off doing this - don’t let it. There loads of support and (don’t tell anyone) I actually had a really good time!

Standard Pete Rees crouch. 

The first part of the ride is roads - downhill and fast and really good fun. The uphills were a struggle for me - running and cycling are very different AND I am bad at maths AND I’m not really very ambidextrous which made changing gear just LOL-worthy. Darren was flying up the hills, Jim was flying up them, I was getting off and walking a bit and flying DOWN them.  Handsome Pete was hanging out the back of a van filming us. Standard. Then it started raining. (It now won’t stop raining until the second we finish the trip). 

After all the fun of the roads and the beautiful farm tracks comes the really hard bit - mountain biking down very steep, very wet technical terrain. It would be hard enough to run down with trail shoes and not slip, let alone ride a bike down. I looked at the trail with slight horror wondering how I was every going to be able to do it, but once again Helen gave me a masterclass about putting my seat down, balancing and standing up - and down I bounced actually LOVING it and not falling off. Darren on the other hand had bought his MAMIL bike and DID fall off. Lessons learnt? You need a mountain nike for this or else you’re going to be carrying it on your shoulder. 

Over to Darren on that......

Jim and Darren survey the “track”

At this point we had been on the bikes for about 3 hours and the rain had really set in - we were all pretty much soaked. The beauty of Snowdonia make up for it though and although wet, by the end of the second leg we were all feeling awesome. 

Serious briefing time at the start of the Watkin Path....

Quick stop at the trucks to get a change of gear, and we were off up Snowdon along The Watkin Path. This is one of the most beautiful routes up with waterfalls and woods and a gradual incline before you start to get to the big boy section. It was still drizzling but as we ascended it got worse and worse. It’s about 6km to the summit, but its a lung buster with some decent scramble sections and some terrifying ridges to deal with. It got to the point where it was so foggy and rainy I couldn’t see Handsome Pete or the Guide who were no more than a meter in from or behind me. 

Love a water feature....

Visibility getting worse

OK, where is everyone? 

The good thing about this for me was I couldn’t see the drops on either side of the ridges. Anyone that read my UTA blog knows that I have a really bad fear of ridges with drops on either side. The best thing is if all I can see is cloud or fog - and that’s how it was here. Gutted there were no views, massively relieved there were no views. It was REALLY fucking windy though. 

Lovely ridge. Thank God I can’t see it properly. 

We were all soaked and freezing and even getting changed at the Summit in the lean to of the NOT OPEN cafe seemed like false economy - the rain was NOT giving up but I was freezing so wicked on a couple more layers and put my sodden jacket back on. 

Up we go - there were sheep up here - how the fuck did they get up there? 

Lovely view from the top.....

And down again.....

We started the trot down the Pyg Pass - again it was GREAT that is was so foggy and I managed the trot down pretty easily with no view. As we descended the fog lifted, but the rain and wind remained. We kept moving, because whenever we stopped we got cold. It was technical trail and bogs, technical trail and bogs, all the way up and down until we finally got got to Cwm Dyli Waterfall. It was huge and so noisy you couldn’t hear yourself think. It was awesome. 

This is FOR real people. First waterfall drop. 

We were in a cloud at the top of the falls, and we were totally soaked and it was windy. We were all starting to get cold so did our best to keep moving while Ross and the Rat Race squad got our abseil kit ready. It was at this stage that it dawned on Handsome Pete that he might have to abseil. I had not been thinking about this part, because I needed to get over bike fear before anything else. But now, looking at the ledge we had to throw ourselves off backwards, the slippery ledge that had tonnes of water gushing over it, it became a little bit real. 

No audio apart from waterfalls - but this is where I explain to Pete there are 5, FIVE abseils. You can add your own subtitles for LOLs. 

Handsome Pete was having none of it and decided to him from up the top - filming was being made very difficult by the rain and the fact we didn’t really have a waterproof casing for the camera. Quite how my phone survived this ordeal even in my bag, is beyond me, but the only shots I have of the waterfall abseils are shots from a previous recce - but you get the idea! 

Fun vs Not fun. You decide! 

We managed 3 abseils. I HAVE done this before (in Thailand where it’s dry) and I know where I should be putting my feet etc but it’s a different kettle of fish when you have tonnes of water gushing over you, and the rock you’re going down is VERY slippery and VERY smooth. It’s a case of not freaking out, really. The minute you realise you have started to freak out, you start to freak out more then it’s game over. 

I got to the bottom of the first drop and fell in the plunge pool like the lady I am, then got roped up for the second one. This one was huge - there’s a picture of it above. I was literally being waterboarded by nature. You can get the idea of the power of the water in this video taken the week before on the same waterfall. 

There came a point towards the end where I totally lost my footing and swung straight into the rock and under the falls. It was actually quite glorious but fucking painful. I just kept swinging in and out like a pendulum, occasionally bashing against the rock, until Stuart - one of the badass RR experts - managed to pull me out by my harness. Embarrassing but hilarious. My bruises are amazing. 

The third one was smaller and much more manageable and their was the option of doing 2 more, but it was late and we were all freezing and starving so we called it a day. In better weather it would have been amazing and I would have kept going all day - as it was I was very wet and cold and I knew it was stupid to carry on for no reason. 

End of the day, the whole squad got together for a curry before an amazing nights sleep. Love the Test Pilot Squad! 

So is this something I would do again? 100% yes. It’s a brilliant challenge for anyone who’s relatively fit (enough to run a 10k I reckon) and the support is amazing. I knew I could do all the things I did, I just didn’t know how much I would enjoy it. It’s hard - don't get me wrong - it’s a really long day and you are on the go the whole time but it’s also fun and beautiful and exhilarating and it teaches you stuff about your organisational skills and brainhole. Top tip for anyone thinking about this? Take a spare waterproof if it’s raining and don't scrimp on waterproof trousers - lifesavers. 

Next up? It’s Man Vs Coast with the Rat Race crew and a little recce on a sandbank that’s been put off and put off and put off. Fingers crossed for this time!