#halloween is every day if you’re sick and twisted like me | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spookyspaghettisundae · 2 years ago

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We're Being Played

Morning broke. Night died. Sun rose over the skyline of Las Vegas.

Invisible to the naked eye, a vortex of souls converged on a small diner in Sin City. Inaudible to human ears, the coalescing pool of shattered consciousness screamed as one. The teeming confluence flowed past oblivious faces on sidewalks, like wind traveling between the steel and concrete, engulfing all traffic, and seeping into every crack of every door and window.

Spiraling, churning, it concentrated on that diner, meeting at the eye of the storm. On the woman dubbed Karma.

She got off the chair at the head of the table and slid onto the booth’s cushioned bench, coming to sit right across from Jericho Kane.

“You know,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “that waitress just overheard what you were saying. So she’s probably going to go call the cops.”

Karma smiled at him. “So what?”

“Well, I know your game. You want me to run away like a little bitch. Whether that juices up your juju, or you’re really just another sick puppy who enjoys it too much, I don’t really care. I’m not giving you the satisfaction either way.”

The waitress, who had indeed overheard Karma mention her mission to murder Jericho for Michael, dialed 9-1-1 on the phone behind the counter, casting terrified glances at her from across the diner. The rest of the patrons looked oblivious.

The sun rose behind Karma. It cast her shadow upon Jericho, and formed a strange halo around her head.

The vortex of souls screamed at her.

Incapable of devouring the light.

Her light.

Death had twisted them. The churning void screamed at Karma to inflict the same perceived injustices upon others, just as she had inflicted injustice upon them.

In such ethereal form, Karma was deaf to their voices. The clarity of her mind firmly rooted Karma on this side of the veil, incapable of perceiving their ghostly presence.

They called to the machete hidden inside her leather jacket. They remembered the cracked white porcelain mask, the last face they had seen before she ended their lives.

Like most other people, Karma could not perceive the vortex of souls. Neither could Jericho. With dour mien, he glared at her.

He asked, “Isn’t this the part now where you hurl more petty insults at me? Call me stupid and tell me to run away? ‘Cause I’m telling you, I ain’t playing your game, asshole.”

The waitress cupped a hand over her mouth as if that could hide what she was speaking into the phone’s receiver. Her face screamed at Karma with the same fear that the teeming souls had experienced in their last moments.

Wide-eyed. Sensing the unstoppable force of Karma.

Blank in the face of a living, walking, breathing terror.

“And you know what?” Jericho added. “Fuuuuck you. It was only days ago that I wanted to die, that I tried to make it happen myself. I tried pulling the damned trigger to blow out my own damned brains and it refused to work.”

He put a finger to his head and cocked his thumb to illustrate the notion.

Peeling her gaze away from the terrified waitress, and leveling her attention fully on Jericho, Karma told him, “Well, dipshit. I reckon I said I have great news for everybody, but it’s kind of good news and bad news, all jumbled up, just depending on who you are and how you’re looking at it.”

“What are you fucking babbling about? Please, spare me this crap. I didn’t know you talked this much when you ended people, and I’m already fed up with it. I always figured you were more of a—I don’t know—a Halloween, Jason Voorhees kind of type? What is this shit?”

Karma’s smile faded as she pondered how to frame things. Then she offered him a lopsided grin.

He was right. The police would show up soon enough. Karma had no desire to kill a bunch of officers.

Not today.

She had something else in mind.

“Shut the fuck up and listen,” she snapped at Jericho. “Michael told me to kill you so the agents of the House of Change can’t get to you and you can’t blab to them.”

“Well, whoop-de-doo, I don’t wanna get caught by those freaks, anyway. I can go off myself right now, I’ll just go shop around for some booze and sleeping pills, hit up a roach-infested motel, and call it a night. Couldn’t you fuckers have just told me on a phone call? I’m so tired of seeing you assholes face to face.”

Karma sensed a lie in there. She sensed that glimmer all her victims shared.

That spark. The suicidal ones possessed it.

That will to live.

He was lying. She had never seen that glimmer in him before. Something had changed, but she wasn’t vested in exploring his inner workings.

“I don’t work for Michael, stupid,” she told him. “I work for Klemens. If Klemens told me to kill you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You’d be running for your life until I corner you and gut you like a fish.”

Jericho leaned back in his seat. His brow scrunched up in genuine confusion.

Karma continued, “Much as I hate your guts, I prefer it if they stay inside your pasty Doughboy belly. I enjoy watching you squirm like the pathetic worm you are. I enjoy your suffering way too much, shit-head. So if I’m not getting a direct order from Klem, I’m not doing shit. As much as I shit on you, I hate Michael way more than you. That smug fuck. You know, I dream of the day Klemens tells me to end him, because, let me tell you,” she paused as she leaned over the table, locking her murderous eyes onto Jericho’s, and speaking in the most seductive voice she could muster, “I have so many fantasies about that.”

She tried not to envision them now. Tried to stay focused.

Jericho squinted at her. The gears were turning behind his forehead.

He looked so stupid to Karma.

She flinched when he slapped his palm against the table—all cutlery and plates and coffee cups clinked and rattled upon its surface.

He blurted out, “Thank—fuckin’ thank you.” He enunciated every syllable with comically sharp clarity. “I cannot believe we finally agree on something. Fuck. Michael. Holy shit. You know, what I just saw, before I got here, he—”

“Yeah, whatever,” Karma interrupted him. “Let’s get out of here, talk elsewhere. That waitress called the cops. I already killed someone today and it was fun. I don’t have appetite for piling up a bunch of bodies right now.”

She snatched a fry off the plate on Jericho’s side of the table and ate it in front of him, hoping to provoke a reaction.

To her disappointment, Jericho ignored her, crammed a fist inside his black leather jacket’s pocket, and produced some crumpled dollar bills which he littered the table with while getting up.

Before he could head for the door, Karma slid out of the booth, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him around.

She shrugged off whatever daggers he stared at her and pulled him along behind her like a little child in her hand.

Instead of heading to the diner’s front door, she walked them to the doors leading to the toilets.

On the way, she renewed her eye contact with the waitress.

Winked at her. Drank the fear she glimpsed in the waitress’s frozen grimace.

The vortex of souls screamed at Karma. Their essence lingered in the shadows cast by the rising sun.

Karma smiled to herself, knowing how much this would confuse the waitress and the cops. As she pushed through the swinging doors and dragged Jericho along, they stepped from one space into another. The room behind those doors was not the hall the doors were supposed to lead to, but the way space folded when she willed it so.

They had passed through the bathroom doors into a closed record shop a few blocks down the street. Past endless rows and shelves of compact discs and vinyl records and band merchandise, she kept dragging Jericho along behind her, marching towards the next door in the back of the store, labeled EMPLOYEES ONLY.

“Okay, enough,” Jericho protested. “Let me go, I’m not some kind of fuckin’ child. We can hoof it from here like normal people.”

Karma squeezed his arm tighter, to the point where she knew it hurt him, and smiled to herself as he grunted in discomfort. She kept dragging him, right through the next door.

Instead of leading into the private office in the shop, they stepped into a busy kitchen of some fancy hotel, yet another few blocks down the road. Brightly lit, with steam rising from pots and pans and the smell of food sizzling and bubbling everywhere around them, several cooks in their white attire looked up from their stations.

“Uh, you can’t be in h—”

“Fuck off,” Karma said. Her words cut like knives.

The chef clammed up in response.

Never stopping once, she continued frog-marching Jericho through the huge kitchen until they pushed through the door to the hotel’s restaurant.

It instead led into a back alley between different buildings, several blocks away yet again, now on the opposite side of the Strip, where a tired-looking man looked up at them from the crates he was hauling outside.

He only shook his head and continued working as the odd couple passed him by through the alley, disappearing into the next door, and reappearing another three blocks down the road, in a paved lot behind a department store.

A truck honked and then beeped, backing up to a loading bay with painful slowness. A shout here, workers shuffled around in the back, and Karma finally let Jericho go.

The screaming vortex had followed them all the way there.

It formed the black holes through which she stepped whenever she used doorways to phase from one place to another.

Jericho glared at her and rubbed his arm through the leather jacket.

To continue belittling him as she so enjoyed doing, Karma leaned against the wall and buried her hands in her sweatpants’ pockets, with the casual air of a high school drug dealer she used to know.

“Now… we got some breathing room. Let’s talk.”

Jericho shot a glance over his shoulder at the workers, all too busy and likely paid too little to pay any attention to the two strangers at the edge of their employer’s lot. Well out of earshot.

He hugged himself. Emitted a weary sigh.

“Why does Michael want me dead now?”

“I wanted to ask you the exact same thing,” she said with a smirk. “Because you sure as hell were never that important.”

He clicked his tongue and sighed in frustration.

“Gimme a break. You love murder. You don’t really care who you kill.”

She shrugged. “You ain’t wrong about that.”

“And that’s something that you and Michael have in common. Probably even that FBI director, Collins. Unlike you fucks, I don’t actually enjoy killing people. I’m not saying I’m, like, sane, or—”

“Let me stop you right there. I have very little in common with Michael. He and I are very different. He murders to work his magick, like the man who kneels in church, begging God for answers to his prayers. I murder because I like it. That thrill of the hunt, the sweet stink of your fear. I work magick because I am your god, your own personal reaper.”

Jericho scoffed and threw his arms up. “All smells like the same bullshit to me, whichever way you wanna word it. You trade your time and soul for some fleeting power.”

Karma laughed.

“Capitalism has poisoned your mind, dumb-dumb. You only see trade, exchange, everywhere. Like some kind of alchemy for idiots. Like you need lead to make gold. You can waste your life looking for a way to do that, or you can just look for gold. Gold is gold. Gods are gods.”

“And, like, what—you think you’re a god? You’re just some crazy-ass psycho chick who has got more power than she has any right to have.”

Her confident smile faded. He had struck upon a vein of truth.

“That’s the gold, Jerry Can. Doesn’t matter what I deserve or not. I don’t pay a price to walk through those doors, walk through time and space like they’re nothing, or deal death like it’s nothing.” She poked his chest, provoking a grimace from him before she added, “My nature is not transactional. I’m a wolf, you are sheep, and I’m a wolf because you know you need to fear my teeth.”

Still sporting the grimace, he asked, “Still not seeing the difference between you psycho fucks. Aside from him being able to cure cancer and see the future, and you can just—what, teleport through doors? Wow.”

“The difference is, Michael is—you know what? Forget it. This is stupid. You’re stupid. Just tell me what you think you did to piss him off so spectacularly that he turned to me to end your sorry existence.”

“I don’t know. You may have not been paying attention, but I’m pro league at pissing people off.”

“Yes, yes, you’re an asshole. It’s your biggest strength, we all know that. But unless you have a hunch as to what you did to warrant a magick hit on you, I have some thoughts of my own, and I’d like you to help me workshop some ideas here.”

He rolled his jaw and studied her with a skeptic air about him. Bit his lip until he noticed her scanning his every tiny expression.

“Okay,” he said. He patted himself down until he found a pack of cigarettes, produced a smoke, and lit it up. “I’m kinda… well, color me intrigued now. Kind of a new experience to not be left out of the thought processes of your shitty little cabal.”

“You’re part of it, jackass. I don’t know what Klem sees in you, but you must serve some purpose we’re all not seeing. To give you some credit, I think you play dumber than you are.”

Jericho blew out smoke. Stayed quiet. Stewed on that.

She continued, “I think Michael wants to cover his tracks. And I think he wants me dead in the process.”

“Like I could kill you? Please.”

“No, stupid. Obviously not you. But if I’m offing you without getting the okay from Klemens, I might have our king cracking down on me. And I…”

“Are you afraid of Klemens?” Jericho’s tone shifted, hitting a surprisingly sympathetic note. “Why do you even work for him in the first place?”

The vortex screamed behind Karma.

The sun had risen so high that it illuminated the whole lot, and warm light bathed her face.

She closed her eyes before the cold blue in them could sparkle, before they could glitter like luminescent gold upon ocean waters, and change the fearsome image she knew Jericho had of her.

“He never threatened me, and I don’t think he ever will,” she finally said, with an eerie softness to her every word. “He… praised the purity, the beauty of my art. He showed me how I could find ever greater strength in it.”

Silence fell between them. The truck at the loading bay chugged and rumbled, some workers shouted at each other. The world kept on turning.

Karma exhaled sharply.

Jericho said, “That’s fucked up.”

“Fuck you,” she muttered.

“I’m not sorry. It’s fucked up. Typical for him to blow sugar up your ass for—what, murder? Art? You’re all out of your fuckin’ gourds. You’re just an assassin who can teleport.”

This comment struck the flint in her belly, shedding a spark of anger in her gut.

Karma kept that place perpetually clean. Healthy diet, disciplined living, seeking harmonious rhythm in everything. Her body was a temple, and her mind a monastery of order and cleanliness, just like every space she inhabited.

No dry wood nor junk there, not even dust—nothing that could catch fire from the tiny spark of such petty insults.

Jericho Kane, as far as she was concerned, understood so little about the cosmos despite meddling in its mysteries that it bordered on something comedic.

“Maybe, one day,” she said with lasting softness, “you’ll wake up and see you’re the punchline to every shitty joke you make.”

She opened her eyes and looked away from the light, albeit staying firmly rooted in its soothing radiance.

In lieu of his response, she added, “But I’m not holding my breath.”

This, in turn, had struck a nerve with him.

He quietly smoked until her cold gaze drilled too deep into his tortured soul, and he averted his eyes.

“Klemens is my only friend in this world,” she said. “Neither you nor Michael are. He appreciates what I do. And I appreciate his sense of justice. I take some pride in being the royal executioner, if you will. And you—”

Karma poked a finger at him.

“You are not scheduled for the chopping block. At least not yet.”

He glared. Not at her, but down the street, to where traffic drifted by.

“He also promise you the, what, 'world of our desires’? Is that it? There’s something you want, only he can help you find?”

Karma shook her head.

“Forget it. Let’s focus. What did you do?”

Jericho ruffled his already messy hair and took a nervous drag from his cigarette.

“Fuck, man, I don’t know. Michael’s done some seriously fucked up shit. He sacrificed three people right in front of me and almost fried my brainpan to scry on that FBI agent, Parker.”

“Par for the course with him. What did you do?”

“Nothing. Nothing!” Jericho groaned, pacing back and forth on the spot, now lost in his own meandering thoughts. His mind was probably as much of a mess as his appearance, Karma reasoned.

At least he was thinking now.

“Did you say anything, do anything?”

“No! He pulled that shit and he gave me, I don’t know—he is giving me really bad vibes. Like he’s plotting to do some fucked up shit, way beyond his normal level of fucked up. He knows exactly what the old man is after, and it finally clicked for me. He’s after it himself, and to hell with Klemens, and you, or me, or anybody else. And—”

“I don’t give a shit about your vibes, you’re as bright as an unflushed turd in a toilet. What. Did you. Do?”

Jericho raised a hand, a finger outstretched, then shook his head.

“I didn’t do jack-shit, I was planning to go back to the ranch and talking to Klemens about—”

“You were thinking about it.”

“Yeah I was,” he froze. “He can’t read thoughts. Right? Shit. Fuck-shit. Can he read minds?”

“No, stupid,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t think he can. But he has visions of the future, and he must have seen something involving you he didn’t like. So, rewind. You were thinking about going to the ranch to tell Klemens. Talk to him about what? What were you going to tell Klemens?”

“Are we fucking workshopping your theories now or workshopping what I need to tell Klemens?”

“Maybe both,” she said, arching her brow for emphasis. “Focus, dummy. What are you going to tell Klem?”

Jericho flicked the smoking cigarette butt away from himself, spraying embers over pavement. “I think Michael is…”

Karma rolled two fingers, wordlessly urging him to think faster. Like she had to rev the engine of his brain. “Michael is… Michael is what?”

“I don’t know!”

“Looking for that book… for Klemens. Why is he looking for the book for Klemens?”

“Because… Klemens asked him to?”

“And why is Klemens looking for the book?”

“I don’t fucking know. He’s the,” Jericho stuttered, as if he struggled to admit something in the process, “he’s the damned… h-h-he’s the king, you know, the guy sitting at the center of THE HIGHWAY, that crazy old German fuck is pulling all the strings. He wants to reshape reality with the book or some such shit. Everybody keeps saying it allows time travel, or dimensional travel, or whoever the hell knows what.”

Karma shook her head. “Why does Klemens know of this book, or even what it’s supposed to do?”

Jericho fell silent. His eyes widened.

“Because Michael told him about it,” he muttered, the words dying into weaker and weaker whispers as they escaped his lips.

“Mhm,” she murmured. Finally, he had started thinking. High time to encourage him further. “Now, riddle me this. You know I don’t see the future, I can’t read minds, and I can’t just murder you if I feel like it but don’t know where in the world you are. How, do you think, did I find you in that diner just now?”

Jericho nodded. Licked his lips. His eyes flashed with cascades of realizations.

“Michael told you where I’d be.”

Karma nodded. “Yeah. And you ever stop to wonder how those House agents found you in Chicago, a place you got no business being in?”

“Oh, fuck me,” he groaned. “Shit, fuuuuck. We’re being played.”

“And that—that’s who I am. That’s how I’m different from Michael. I obey the laws of nature. I am a god among men because that is the role nature gave me, not one I lay claim upon. I do not see myself as standing taller than my king. I only kill, and I revel in death. Klemens builds. He creates. He made all this.”

With a sweeping gesture of an arm, she meant to show him the whole world, and all the beauty she saw in it. Karma meant it with every fiber of her being.

Jericho, stunned, only stared blankly into a grimy corner of the alley, leading out of the lot behind the department store. His nicotine-stained fingers twitched. He itched with the urge to take action.

Karma felt it. Burning inside his heart.

Behind her, the vortex of souls silently screamed.

They wished for her not to spare him, but to ply her blood-riddled trade. To add his spirit to their dark ranks. To swallow him in that ever-growing sea of dust and shadow, to which all minds connected, both living and dead—in this city, and in every city, and on every road, and in every gloomy corner of the vast world.

The screams melted into whispers on the wind, a warm breeze through the brick and steel of buildings, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on edge.

She almost glimpsed the cloud of screaming darkness behind her.

Almost.

Here, she stood firmly in the light.

Jericho remained speechless.

Thus, she spoke instead. “Michael… he doesn’t follow any rules but his own. A snake who wants to take what Klemens built, and I’ll bet my life on him seeing himself as greater than any of us combined. He does not obey the laws of nature. He thinks he stands outside of it all. He thinks he can make the rules. So, what say you—how about we finally put the smug conniving fuck in his place?”

Jericho locked eyes with her. He smoldered with a determination so alien to his demeanor that he almost looked like another person altogether.

For a split-second, this almost threatened to instill in her a shred of respect for him.

Almost.

He immediately destroyed that himself. His usual sledgehammer to the glass window.

He finally replied, “Fuckin’ right we will. I hate that sick fuck. Let’s go, right now, take me to the old man. We tell him everything we just talked about. He’s gotta see reason, right? If he hasn’t blasted his mind into oblivion over building that new homunculus, he’s gotta see reason.”

“Okay,” Karma said. “Good to see you’re not as stupid as I think you are. Just… one more thing before we go. I have one question, and there will be hell to pay if I find out you lie to me about this.”

Jericho clenched his jaw and hooked his thumbs into his pockets, shifting his weight with an air of newfound confidence. Or a complete lack of self-regard. She could never tell those apart in him.

“Shoot,” he said.

“That old green book they want. You don’t want to take that for yourself, do you?”

Jericho’s face twisted with revulsion. He looked like he loathed the very thought of it.

“That stupid fucking book? Fuck no. If it does what Michael claims it does, I’d stay the hell away from that shit. Miles away. Fuck that book. Fuck no. The sooner I stop hearing about it, the better. Why,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You want that book for yourself?”

“No,” she said. “Everything about it stinks. Whether the story’s true or not. After all the candor I graced you with, you should understand me better now. But let me spell it out for you. I don’t fuck with rituals and relics. They’re just a fast lane to the looney bin, or getting put six feet under too soon. No thank you. Pass. It can burn in hell for all I care.”

Jericho swiveled, rubbed his face, and ran his hands through his hair, projecting an air of exasperation.

He groaned again and said, “I can’t fucking believe I’m agreeing with you, out of all people��out of all the fucking people in this fucked-up world, I’m agreeing with you. It’s like fuckin’ opposite day.”

“Cool,” she said. “Are you done pissing against the wind? Ready to speak with Klemens? Can we go now?”

Jericho nodded, producing another cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up in the fluid motion of a chain-smoker. She despised that vice.

The vortex screamed behind Karma. The shadows watched. Saw all of existence meeting again at a new crossroads.

She could not hear those tormented cries, now crying for her blood as the door opened behind her, and a different brand of death presented itself.

While Jericho stuffed away his cheap plastic lighter, the cigarette drooped and then dropped from the corner of his mouth. Tiny embers exploded from the cancer stick’s tip where it landed on the dirty asphalt between his old boots.

If the vortex of souls could not experience the injustice of adding this sad man to their ranks, then it yearned to witness a different breed of justice.

Karma turned to investigate what Jericho had seen—whatever had frozen him with such shock and awe.

An Asian man and an African American woman had stepped out of the door.

The man cracked a smile over the heavy pistol he was gripping in both hands, pointing its muzzle at Karma’s heart with expert discipline, and just enough range to ensure its accuracy, but too much range for Karma to lunge at it.

The woman stayed stony-faced as her eyes darted back and forth between Jericho and Karma, keeping her shotgun trained so its blast could blow away both of them with a pull of the trigger.

“Hi, guys,” said the Asian man with jovial music to his tone. “Heard we’d find you here.”

The vortex of dead souls screamed.

Justice awaited.

Karma’s entire body turned into taut steel wire, poised to act. Her mind raced through every scenario—she could only avoid one weapon’s shot but not the other. She could move but get hit by both. Use Jericho as a living shield, get winged, and pushed farther away from the nearest door. Push into the two agents from the House of Change to surprise them, still getting shot in the process.

And Michael wouldn’t be healing her injuries this time around.

This was what he had orchestrated.

The pieces had all fallen into place.

The vortex screamed. Michael had been whispering sweet nothings to it for the longest time. Unlike Karma, he used his rituals to stay in touch with the souls of the dead, to bleed them of their secrets, and bind them into new flesh.

“We,” said the black woman, “are going to skip the whole rigmarole. Don’t even think about it. We’re not going to shoot you now, we’re going to take this door, go to our boss, and talk like civilized people together. No bloodshed necessary.”

“Just a friendly little chat,” said the Asian man.

“I’m so tired of talking,” Jericho said, “can you please, just, shoot me now?”

“You wanna talk?” Karma asked. “Don’t listen to him. We can talk, alright. I’d love to meet your boss. I’d love to talk.”

The Asian man feigned amusement with a short mock laugh. “Yeah, sure. Just drop whatever guns you got, Aileen Wuornos. You too, Bonzo.”

“Bonzo?” Jericho scoffed. “Oh, fuck you.”

Karma held up a hand and carefully opened her leather jacket, exposing the machete and porcelain mask.

The vortex screamed at that cold emotionless face, resting inside the fold her coat.

Workers in the storage area beyond the loading bay finally caught wind of this situation. The sight of guns spooked them, signaled by an audible gasp in the distance, and three people fleeing deeper into the bowels of the department store while garage doors slammed shut.

Pinching her weapon of choice between two fingers to signal compliance, Karma pulled the machete out and unceremoniously dropped it. The blade clattered on the ground, alongside Jericho’s revolver.

The Asian man clicked his tongue. “'Kay, I’m satisfied. You try anything, Miss Ford’s gun right here is loaded with explosive shells, and she will, uh, turn you two into paste.”

He raised his gun, signaling a truce was on. Taking a step back, eyes glued on Karma, he opened the door to the building.

It did not lead into the building, but a long corridor.

A long, narrow corridor yawned beyond that door. The velvet blue carpet inside looked like it belonged in a fancy old New England building. The light fixtures on the walls inside the corridor looked like they came from an era several decades past, fashioned from polished brass, and featuring a design altogether alien to whatever commercial basement the door should have revealed instead.

Karma tilted her head. Part of her desired to know how they did that.

She knew how to step through doorways, effortlessly crossing distances in an instant, but she could not open doors like that for others. Only pull them through with her.

The vortex of souls screamed louder.

Their thirst for blood—her blood—would stay unquenched.

Guiding the Asian man’s gesture of invitation, Karma entered the door, entering that mysterious corridor. Jericho muttered profanities as he followed.

When Miss Ford shut the door behind them all, the vortex could not follow. It had been locked out from this otherworld.

Separated from Karma for the first time since her first murder, the vortex screamed into an endless void.

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after-witch · 2 years ago

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27 horror movie and book quote prompts

“Congratulations. You are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive. But not you. Not anymore.” (Saw)

“I’m scared to close my eyes; I’m scared to open them." (The Blair Witch Project)

"Even if you were to die your connection to your boyfriend would still remain. Even if you were to die your link to the world would remain. So why are you living?" (Suicide Circle)

“What an excellent day for an exorcism.” (The Exorcist)

“I believe death should be repulsive, so we don’t grow too fond of it.” (FearDotCom)

“Never look back. The past is a wilderness of horrors.” (The Wolfman)

"We've traced the call...it's coming from inside the house." (When a Stranger Calls)

"It was the Boogeyman." (Halloween)

"I told you, I feed erratically, and often enormously." (Shadow of the Vampire)

"The things we do for love like this are ugly, mad, full of sweat and regret. This love burns you and maims you and twists you inside out." (Crimson Peak)

"There's evil in the wood." (The Witch)

“Am I walking toward something I should be running away from?” (The Haunting of Hill House)

"Because you were home." (The Strangers)

"We eat the year away. We eat the spring and the summer and the fall. We wait for something to grow and then we eat it." (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)

"Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?" (The Witch)

"You weren't supposed to help her." (The Ring)

"In the sudden, brief silence, she heard something within her turn over. Perhaps only her soul." (Carrie)

"I hear it playing while one of you is screaming. Screaming down in the dark somewhere. Screaming the last scream you'll ever--" (Jeepers Creepers)

"The walls speak to me. They tell me secrets. Don’t listen to them, press your hands against your ears..." (Mexican Gothic)

"The flesh is weak... Only the soul is immortal and yours belongs to me." (Angel Heart)

"I take back every bit of energy I gave you. You're nothing. You're shit." (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

"You know, there are rules, you should be more careful. You might upset someone." (Trick 'r Treat)

"Home is the place where when you go there, you have to finally face the thing in the dark." (IT)

"Careful. This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life, for one last scare." (Scream)

"The blood is the life... and it shall be mine." (Bram Stoker's Dracula)

"There was a cold, musty smell coming through the open doorway: it smelled like something very old and very slow." (Coraline)

"We're only as sick as our secrets." (Doctor Sleep)

#horror #horror prompts #horror writing #writing prompts

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lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 3 years ago

Text

Not Enough

has anyone else just wanted Danny to go completely fucking feral at Dash? anyone?

yeah me too

this is some truly self-indulgent shit y'all

"Hey Fenton!"

Danny slammed his locker shut, sighing as Dash clapped him roughly on the shoulder.

"I'm throwin' a huge ass Halloween party this weekend, ghosts are all about Halloween right? You should totally come!"

It wasn't the first party Danny had been invited to since being outed as Phantom, but somehow Dash didn't seem to get the hint that he wasn't even remotely interested.

"No." Danny snapped, he threw his bag over his shoulder and turned his back on Dash, walking away without another word.

"What's your problem?"

Danny stopped, turning back around with a face of utter disdain.

"Excuse me?"

"I've been trying to be nice, but all you do is just brush me off! Like you can't even pretend to be busy or something?"

Danny stared, mouth halfway open as he tried to find the words to respond.

"Are you actually serious?" he finally choked out, almost too bewildered to be angry.

Almost.

"You're not still mad about all that stuff from before right?" Dash asked. "Like, I don't even do that shit anymore, it's over."

"Is it?" Danny's eyes flashed brightly and Dash took a half step back as the air went cold. "Because I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that I pulled Mikey out of his locker."

"Well, yeah but that was Mikey." Dash laughed. "C'mon man, I wouldn't do that to you. We're totally cool now, so why you gotta keep blowing me off? You talk to Kwan like it's not big deal, and he used to wail on you all the time!"

Danny took a deep, slow breath, then another.

"Have you considered that maybe it's because I don't like you?" Danny said through gritted teeth.

Dash huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at the ground.

"Look, I get it, I was a jerk, but it's over! I'm actually trying to be nice, now you're the one being an asshole."

Danny looked as though he'd been slapped.

"You're such a fucking idiot Dash." Said Danny, his voice trembling with barely restrained rage. "You can't just treat someone like shit every single day for two years and then expect them to get over it because you invited them to a few parties."

"Then how come Kwan gets to hang out with you?" Dash could feel his face heating up. "You're just gonna let him off the hook? That's not fair!"

"HE APOLOGISED!"

In one thunderous moment, every locker in the hallway slammed open, sending papers and books flying across the floor. The few students still packing up their things got the fuck out of dodge, whether this was a ghost thing or a Fenton thing (was there even a difference at this point?) they wanted no part of it.

Dash couldn't move, his feet felt heavy, he wasn't entirely sure if Danny had done something to him with his ghost powers, or if he was just afraid.

Because he was certainly afraid.

Even after everyone found out, Danny still didn't use his powers at school unless it was a ghost emergency. He didn't use them for pranks, didn't use them to get even, didn't even use them to show off.

But he was sure as hell using them now, and Dash suddenly realised why he was always holding himself back.

He was terrifying.

Danny took a few steps forward, stopping barely an arm's length away from where Dash was rooted to the spot, trembling.

"Kwan apologised to me." He said, quietly this time. "He apologised to my friends, he even apologised to some other kids, and when I told him that I wasn't ready to forgive him, he accepted that and left me alone until I was ready to talk to him again."

Dash wanted to speak, but he couldn't seem to make his brain form the words he needed, it was too busy buzzing with danger run danger get out run run RUN.

"You made every single day of my life miserable for two whole fucking years, and that isn't even counting the bullshit you pulled in middle school. How do you feel right now Dash? Does it scare you to be around me? Does it scare you to be at the mercy of someone that you know damn well can hurt you?" Danny leant in, grabbing a fistful of letterman jacket. "I hope it does, because now maybe you'll have an idea what it was like for me going to school every fucking day knowing that you would be there, ready and waiting to hurt me. Every single FUCKING day."

Dash found himself being thrown backwards, his feet finally able to move again as he caught himself.

"I'm s-sor-sorry." he mumbled, his lips felt numb and tingly and his head swam with panic as he struggled to get the words out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Danny's voice cracked, his face wasn't twisted in rage anymore, his eyes were blue once again, and shining with tears. "Are you really sorry for hurting me? Or are you just sorry that the guy you were beating the shit out of turned out to be Phantom?"

"I didn't... I didn't know." Dash gasped out, he could barely hear his own words, all he could hear was his own heart beating loudly in his ears as he struggled to draw in breath. "I didn't know it was like that, I just thought-"

Thought what? What had he thought? That he wasn't really hurting anyone? That it wasn't that big a deal?

No, he hadn't thought that, because he hadn't thought at all.

"And you're gonna stand here and tell me I'm an asshole." Danny was almost sobbing as he raggedly spat out each word. "Because I won't forgive you for something you never even apologised for. This is the first time you even acknowledged that you were an absolute jerk to me, and you followed it up by demanding that I just get over it."

Dash stared down at the floor, it sounded terrible when Danny put it like that.

"I wasn't... demanding anything." he said, he was embarrassed by how whiny he sounded. "I was just trying to make it up to you, I was trying, I just thought... it's not fair that I can't have second chance. I was trying so hard and all I wanted was a second chance-"

"I DON'T CARE." Danny's eyes were screwed up tight, but it didn't stop the tears of fury from pouring down his cheeks, his voice so shredded with pain it was barely recognisable. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU. I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT. I DON'T OWE YOU A SECOND CHANCE. I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING. YOU FUCKED ME UP AND YOU. CAN'T. FIX IT."

Dash didn't know what to do. Danny was openly sobbing, his breaths came out in grunts as he couldn't hold the rage and misery back.

He was still standing within arm's reach, Dash cautiously put out a hand, to comfort him? He wasn't sure, but he barely brushed Danny's shoulder before Dash found himself spinning violently and his cheekbone exploded with sudden pain as he hit the floor. Cold hands drew away from him roughly.

"DON'T TOUCH ME." Danny screamed. "DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING TOUCH ME EVER AGAIN."

Dash watched as Danny grabbed his backpack and his footsteps disappeared down the hall.

It was over, just like that it was over.

Dash sat up and touched his face, he wasn't bleeding but he knew it would bruise pretty bad. It hurt, he would be squinting through one eye for a few days.

Danny could have done this to him at any time, he could have done it to him every day if he wanted, and maybe he would, now that he'd done it once.

The thought made Dash feel cold as dread pooled in his stomach.

The next day Dash told people he'd gotten his black eye from playing football, his team knew it wasn't true, but they didn't ask. He kept his eye out for Danny, wondering if he would pop up invisibly and knock him off his feet, or drag him through the floor, or hit him when nobody was looking.

He clung to Kwan's side all day, afraid to be alone.

Phantom could be anywhere, he could get him anywhere, if he wanted to hurt Dash nobody would be able to stop him.

Nobody had been able to stop Dash, and he didn't even have superpowers.

But in the end, nothing happened.

Dash went through the day untouched. Danny didn't even look his way. Not once. He just acted like yesterday never happened.

But it did happen, Dash still had the bruise on his cheek, and the terror set deep in his bones.

In the following days, weeks, months, Danny still never touched him, never looked at him, never talked to him. Dash realised that Danny probably wasn't going to do anything else after all, that maybe he hadn't even meant to hurt him in the first place.

He was a hero after all, he protected people, even people he didn't like. The only time he had ever come into contact with Dash again was to haul him out of the way of a ghost, and he did so with the same care as he would with anyone else.

Danny wasn't like him, he didn't gloat about hurting him, he didn't revel in the fact that Dash was scared of him. He just went about his day, acting for all the world like Dash didn't even exist.

Dash never gave him a true apology, it was clear Danny didn't want one, it was far too late for that.

It left Dash with a sick feeling of unfulfillment. He understood now what Danny had been going through, the pain, the terror, he wanted Danny to know that he was truly sorry, that he really had changed this time.

But he couldn't, because forcing an unwanted apology on him would just make Dash the asshole all over again, he was trying to steal a forgiveness that he could never have.

So he had to find his closure somewhere else.

He stopped picking on Mikey, and Nathan, and all of the other nerds he frequently hassled. He even tried apologising to them, some forgave him, others didn't, and he had to be okay with that. He struggled not to lash out, it still felt unfair, the world had always told him that you were supposed to forgive people when they apologised. It always happened that way on tv, in the cartoons he grew up watching. The mean kid would apologise, the other kids would forgive him, and they would all become friends.

He was realising that the real world was a whole lot more complicated than that, he didn't earn forgiveness just because apologising was hard, he was learning fast that he didn't earn any brownie points for taking responsibility for his actions. He was just doing what any decent person should.

It took him a while to come to terms with that, to stop being angry at people for not letting him make it up to them. For not letting him prove that he had changed.

All it took was to occasionally pass by Danny in the hallways for him to cool his jets and think more clearly. To remind him that he was the bad guy, he was the one who hurt people, that his victims did not owe him anything.

In his last year of school, he had found himself watching the juniors below him falling into the same behaviours, the same struggle for power and control. Pushing other kids around without so much as sparing a thought to how it made them feel.

After a lengthy chat with Mr Lancer, Dash was given permission to pull out younger students from detention one day a week. He would talk to them, ask about their lives, ask about their feelings. He would ask why they lashed out, why they thought it was okay to treat people that way. Most of them didn't have an answer, or simply refused to give one, but he would push, he wouldn't let them hide in ignorance like he did.

Some of them did feel guilt for the way they treated people, and they only needed someone they could talk to who could understand what they were going through, so they wouldn't take it out on whoever was around at the time.

Others would take more effort, they need a far stronger push in the right direction, they were defensive and combative, selfish and unapologetic.

Dash had been one of those kids, he knew they would be hard work, but he did his best. He couldn't help all of them, some were simply unwilling to change.

So he contacted the school-board, he pushed for better protection for students, more programs to help troubled kids, he volunteered to keep running his own counselling groups even after he graduated.

It still never felt like enough.

After graduation he turned down his favoured college to attend one closer to home so he could continue his volunteer work. He joined petitions and rallies for change across entire school districts, he spoke at other schools' anti-bullying campaigns. He'd attended enough of them in his own childhood that he knew they did next to nothing, but it gave him the opportunity to reach out to kids for one on one support.

He found more volunteers for his counselling groups, he helped people start them up in other local schools. It was a lot of work, especially when he was also juggling his college studies. He was taking a major in psychology, it was brutal, Dash had never been good at studying, but he'd decided that this was what he needed to do, this was important to him.

It still wasn't enough.

It would come at him in the night, as soon as he laid his head down on his pillow. He would see the faces of all the kids he hurt, it felt so much worse the older he got, they just looked younger and younger every time the memories came back to plague him.

He had beat the shit out of children. Kids who were the same age as the students he now counselled. He beat them until they were bloody or bruised, he shoved them into lockers, pulled pranks that humiliated them in front of the whole school, and he had laughed.

He'd laughed at their pain.

When the guilt weighed him down, he would begin searching for new programs to volunteer for, new petitions or rallies to get behind, always finding another way to help protect kids like Danny from kids like him.

And to protect kids like him from doing things that would one day haunt them.

He had spread himself thin across every school in the district, barely keeping afloat at college, but it wasn't enough.

It was never enough.

Kids still slipped through the cracks, schools were still too lenient, there were too many kids, not enough volunteers.

Casper High was holding another anti-bullying assembly. It had been a few years since Dash had attended one at his old school. This year they had excitedly announced that they'd even secured an appearance from Phantom himself.

Dash's blood ran cold, his hands shook as he went over his notes, he was slated to do his speech alongside Phantom's, they would be sharing the stage for a solid 75 minutes, barely a few feet from one another.

When Danny showed up he was already in Phantom form, Dash spotted him discussing emergency exit plans with one of the organisers in the event of a ghost attack.

He was so different from when they were in school.

He was tall, and broad, he stood with confidence and had a good natured charm to him. He was a hero, he was strong, he was brave. He could fight monsters ten times his size with a smirk and a witty one liner. He could take on anything, he wasn't afraid of anything.

He was a kid, running down a hallway, screaming words that still pierced through Dash's mind every time he saw the hero's face.

"DON'T TOUCH ME."

Dash's hands clenched around his notes, shaking so violently that they barely even looked like words.

"DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING TOUCH ME EVER AGAIN."

"Dash?"

A deep voice cut through the chaos in Dash's mind as cold hands closed over his tremblings ones.

"It's good to see you again."

Phantom was smiling at him, his hands still closed around Dash's.

"Good... good to see you too." Dash mumbled, not able to meet the man's eyes.

Phantom paused before releasing Dash's hands.

"I've heard all about your work." Phantom grinned as Dash finally looked up and met his eyes.

"Yeah." he said, and then before his mind could catch up with his mouth, he blurted out, "I'm sorry, for everything."

Phantom's eyebrows rose for a moment, before he gave a gentle smile and clapped a hand on Dash's shoulder.

"I know." he said warmly. "Thank you."

They gave their speeches, Dash had told his story many times before, the victim that he'd pushed to breaking point, the boy whose words drove the change that made him the man he had become.

For the first time ever, that boy was listening.

After the assembly had packed up and the volunteers were heading home, it was Danny Fenton who approached Dash and asked if he wanted to go grab a beer together.

Dash thought it would be rather awkward, but Danny had plenty of experience socialising with the public, awkwardness slid right off him, and soon enough Dash found himself laughing alongside Danny as he told a story about the new misadventures of the Box Ghost.

He returned to his dorm that night, head still swimming from one too many beers, and he had the best sleep of his life.

He pulled back on some of his volunteer work, hunting for new people to take his place as he focused on college. He was falling far behind, but he would work hard to make his way back. As a volunteer he could only do so much, but with the right education and training, he could do so much more.

The guilt still haunted him, every so often when the pressure and the stress weighed heavy, it would creep back into his mind. It would probably never go away, not entirely, but at least now he had his closure.

Finally, it was enough.

#lula's fanfics #I'm still in a creativity funk so this isn't like #my best work #but I needed to get it out of my system #danny phantom #dash baxter #danny phantom fanfiction #tw bullying

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writingandimagining · 3 years ago

Text

High Up in the Astronomy Tower (Part 23)

Part 1 | Prev | Next | Masterlist

Summary: Skeeter meddles again right before your return to Hogwarts.

Word Count: 2.6k

Rating: Teen (other parts M), 💗

Add yourself to the taglist for updates here

Draco Malfoy From Death Eater to Homewrecker?

Pictured at the Malfoy Charity Event is Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter’s girlfriend (Y/N) (Y/L/N) in a rather intimate embrace. Does this signal the end of Harry Potter’s relationship with the young woman or something else? Sources indicate the rivalry between the young Malfoy and Harry Potter has cooled and that that might have something to do with Miss (Y/L/N).

Rain splattered against the roof of King’s Cross Station. You watched the rivulets slide across the glass. It has been raining for a few days now, nothing unusual in London, but it didn’t help your mood.

“(Y/N),” you sister called.

You blinked and looked over to her. She was waiting by your mother and father at the entrance to Platform 9 and ¾

“Coming, coming,” you called.

You passed your cart with your luggage to your sister, a time old tradition of her being the one to run through the barrier first.

Leanna whooped and dashed through the entrance. You shared a grin with your parents before following behind her.

You came out on the other side to a mostly empty platform. You had arrived early, hoping to avoid the crowds after the near constant circulation of Skeeter articles speculating on your relationships with Harry and Draco. For a week now she had been rehashing the photos of you and Draco at the ball and you and Harry in Hogsmeade and in the eighth year common room on Halloween. As embarrassing as it was at least your name wasn’t being dragged through the mud like Draco’s.

Potions Master Draco Malfoy Lures Harry Potter’s Girlfriend Away?

Is Anything Off Limits to the Former Death Eater Draco Malfoy?

Harry Potter Not Seen Since the Affair

It made you sick, but you knew if you made any attempt to correct it or speak out your words would only get twisted and the situation would get worse.

“Thanks, Lea,” you said, taking the cart from her.

“You know I won’t be doing this for you anymore,” she said, puffing out her chest. “I’m going to have my own luggage next year.”

You chuckled. “And I’ll be your professor next year.”

Leanna paled and you threw your head back laughing.

“Don’t remind me,” she grumbled.

You reached out to ruffle her hair, but she batted your hand away darting to hide behind your mother.

“No hug?” You said, putting on an exaggerated frown, giving a few fake shaky exhales like you were about to cry.

Lea stuck her tongue out but dashed back over for a quick hug before she spotted a kid she knew.

Your father gave you a brief hug before following Leanna. She was prone to disappearing if one of you was not following her every move.

You turned to your mother, and she smiled at you, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She had left the topics of Harry and Draco mostly alone but you knew she was close to bursting, though with sympathy or advice or some combination of both you couldn’t tell.

“Do you have everything?” Your mother asked.

“Yep. Athena, luggage, and the broomstick,” you said.

Your mother nodded and you sighed.

“Spit it out.”

Your mother pursed her lips, and you crossed your arms. You had a good relationship with her, but the unsolicited advice was something you had never enjoyed.

“What are you doing with those two boys?” Your mother asked.

You blinked. That was not what you had expected.

“What are you talking about?”

“It seems like you’re stringing them along.”

Your jaw dropped.

“Seems like? From what? Skeeter’s slander?” You shouted.

A few passerby’s gave you a weird look and you ducked your head.

Your mother looked away and sighed.

“(Y/N), I know you. I know you’re scared. I know you don’t want to get hurt. I know you don’t want to feel stuck. Don’t you feel stuck now though?”

“Do you really think I haven’t talked to them about this? Do you really think I’m just playing with them? Is that the kind of person you think I am?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then what’s your point? This pressure to decide, as if there’s a decision to be made at all, only exists because people love to meddle in their lives. Regardless of how it came out the friendship I have with both of them, not to mention the fact that we’re Hogwarts newest and youngest professors was going to make us targets of this sort of shit regardless.”

You mother raised her eyebrow at your cursing, but you plowed on.

“There is nothing I can do to change what other people are saying. We have talked. We are all aware of what is going on and what we want. I can’t make Skeeter stop this and I’m going to change who I am or what I’m doing for her benefit.”

“As long as no one gets hurt.”

You nodded.

Your mother smiled, a true smile this time.

“I love you, (Y/N). I just don’t want you to get hurt, whatever that means.”

“I know, mum. I love you too.”

You gave your mother a hug and left her to find your father and sister.

You boarded the train, moving to the very back. As much as the Slytherin’s had all but claimed this part for years you didn’t think anyone would try to kick you out.

You levitated your trunk and broom to the overhang and placed Athena’s cage on the seat next to you.

You pulled your headphones on, riffling through your purse until you found the right tape.

Oh, let the sun beat down upon

my face

With stars to fill my dreams

I am a traveler of both time and

space

To be where I have been

Sit with elders of the gentle race

This world has seldom seen

Talk of days for which they sit and

wait

All will be revealed

You closed your eyes and settled back into your seat. Athena hooted softly and you blinded reached your hand through the bars for her to nibble on your finger, soothing her nerves and your own through the repetitive action.

Talk and song from tongues of

Lilting grace

Whose sounds caress my ear

But not a word I heard could I

Relate

The story was quite clear

Oh, oh

Muffled voices broke your revere and you glanced to the door. A few students were shuffling away, seeing that you were occupying the cabin.

You shifted and kicked your feet out so they were resting on the opposite bench.

Ooh, baby, I been flying

No, yeah, mama, there ain’t no

Denying

Oh, ooh, yeah, I’ve been flying

Mama, mama, ain’t no denying, no

Denying

You slipped into the rhythm of the music, not quite asleep or awake. You dropped your hand from Athena’s cage and a muffled sad hoot broke past your headphones. You cracked your eye open, and Athena was looking at you expectantly.

“Silly girl,” you murmured and wiggled your fingers past the bars of the cage again.

Oh, all I see turns to brown

As the sun burns the ground

And my eyes fill with sand

As I scan this wasted land

Trying to find, trying to find, where

I’ve been

The noise of students arriving grew and you turned your music up to drown them out.

Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves

No trace

Like thoughts inside a dream

Here is the path that led me to that place

Yellow desert stream

My Shangri-La beneath the

Summer moon

I will return again

Sure as the dust that floats high

June

When movin’ through Kashmir

You more felt than heard the door to the cabin rumble open. You opened your eyes, ready to shoo someone away, but you were met with Harry standing there, luggage in hand.

“Hey,” you said, sitting up and pulling your headphones off so they hung around your neck.

“Hi,” Harry replied, looking awkward in the doorway.

“Didn’t think you’d come back here.”

“Avoiding me?” Harry asked, hurt not well hidden in his voice or on his face.

You shook your head.

“No, no. Of course not. Just surprised that’s all.”

Harry shifted. You hadn’t spoken to him since the first Skeeter affair article broke. You hadn’t spoken to anyone actually.

“Do you want to sit with me?”

Harry didn’t move for a moment before he hoisted his bag and shoved it in next to yours.

“You brought the broom?” Harry asked, eyes lingering on the broom that was wrapped and laid across the top of your suitcase.

“You said you were going to teach me.”

Harry’s lips twitched into a faint smile, and you relaxed slightly. He wasn’t mad.

“How was the rest of your holidays?” You asked once he had settled back into the seat across from you.

Harry opened his mouth only to be interrupted by Ron and Hermione slipping into the cabin.

“What are you two doing here?” Harry asked.

“Took us forever to find you and we don’t even get a hello?” Hermione asked.

“Hello, Hermione. What are you doing back here?”

“Sitting with you.”

Harry rolled his eyes and you grinned at him. Ron and Hermione stacked their cases next to Harry’s on the shelf before sliding into the seat next to him. They grasped hands and Harry made eye contact with you, eyes wide.

You snorted and Harry slipped into the empty seat next to you.

“Who’s is that?” Ron asked, gesturing to Athena.

“My owl, Athena.” You replied, stroking her feathers through the cage.

“Didn’t know you had an owl.”

“I left her at home for my sister to use, but I’ve started to need my own owl more, so I’ve brought her with me.”

“You have a sister?” Harry asked.

You laughed. You forgot that you had only just become friends with these three.

“Leanna. She’s ten.”

“Next thing you’re going to tell us you have a secret fortune or Merlin is your ancestor,” Ron joked.

“Luckily for you it’s a no to both of those.”

Someone cleared their throat at the door and the four of you turned your heads. Blaise and Draco stood at the door looking a little stunned at the presence of three Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw in their domain.

“I think we’ve been overrun, Draco,” Blaise joked.

You rolled your eyes. “I didn’t see your name on the door, Blaise.”

Blaise chuckled and you grinned, trying to keep it light-hearted. Blaise had been neutral enough to you in the past, so you didn’t mind him though he seemed to still be friends with Pansy and Theo.

“There’s enough room if you want to join us,” you offered, moving Athena’s cage to the floor between your feet.

She hooted, as if objecting to her new spot but you shush her, running a finger down her spine. She calmed and you looked up to see Draco and Blaise seemingly having a telepathic conversation.

Blaise rolled his eyes and then hoisted his bag. He dropped into the open seat next to Hermione, leaving the last seat on your right as Harry sit against the window on your left.

You made eye contact with Blaise and his smirk told you everything you needed to know, an intentional move to leave the only spot for Draco next to you.

Draco sighed but levitated his trunk to sit on top of Blaise’s, before sitting next to you, making a point to touch you as little as possible.

“Where’s the rest of ya?” Ron asked, an accusing tone in his voice, though what he was accusing them of you couldn’t be sure.

“Who’s the rest?” Blaise asked.

“Pansy and Theo.”

“Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb?”

You choked and Blaise grinned at you.

“Who knows where they are,” Draco said before Blaise could keep going. “Doesn’t matter much to us.”

“And why is that?”

“Pansy’s a bitch and Theo is her lapdog,” Blaise said. “Could you not tell?”

“And you’re not?”

Blaise sat up, indignation alight in his eyes.

“So, what did everyone get for Christmas?” You interjected before a fight could break out.

Hermione began rattling off the presents she received, and you sighed in relief. You could count on Hermione to cut the tension, regardless of her feelings towards her former bully and his friend.

You relaxed back into your seat your shoulders brushing against Harry and Draco. A jolt went through you at the feeling, and you shied away from them both. Neither seemed to notice, but you were acutely aware of their bodies just centimeters away from yours.

Harry sat listening to the others talk, seemingly relaxed, but upon further inspection he was nervous and tense. His fingers moving between tapping on his knees to pulling at the loose threads on the bottom of his ratty sweatshirt.

You worried your lip and turned your gaze to Draco. He sat, rigid, next to you. It seemed like he was listening, but you could tell his mind was somewhere else.

“What did you get for Christmas, (Y/N)?” Ron asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

“Oh, um… My parents got me some clothes. My sister made a jewelry holder for me.”

Blaise gave an exaggerated yawn, and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I got that broomstick up there,” you said, pointing to the handle poking over the edge of the rack.

“Really? From who?”

You glanced at Harry, “Harry seems to want me to break an arm.”

“You did fine last time!” Harry said.

“You have a death wish, just not for yourself,” you joked, nudging him with your elbow.

Harry shook his head, a smile on his face.

“And this necklace.” You pulled the green pendant out from underneath your sweatshirt.

“That’s beautiful,” Hermione cooed, leaning forward to look at it more closely. “A snake, interesting.”

She looked up at Draco and you. You shrugged, hoping your cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. You glanced at Draco, but his face gave nothing away.

The train shuddered to a start, and you rocked back into your seat, brushing against Draco’s arm. He pulled it away quickly and you stifled the urge to look at him. The interaction already too on display.

You could feel Harry’s eyes on you and when you looked at him, he had a questioning look on his face. You shrugged. You didn’t know what to say, you didn’t think there was anything to say.

Easy conversation flowed between Ron, Hermione, and Blaise much to your surprise. Harry made a few offhand comments while they talked, but he mostly listened, seeming torn between watching the hills rolls by and the conversation.

You glanced at Draco, but he had pulled a book out of his shoulder bag, clearly signally he had to desire to talk to anyone. You peered at the book, trying to make out the title. Draco must have felt your searching look and he held up the book so you could read the cover.

Pride and Prejudice

You grinned, making eye contact with him over the book. Draco’s look softened from the rigid poker face he had been keeping up since entering the cabin.

“Glad you like it,” you murmured.

Draco nodded before refocusing back on the book. Not the most encouraging reaction, but probably the best you were going to get at this point.

You settled back into the seat and pulled your headphones over your ears.

You hit play and fell back into the music.

Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails

Across the sea of years

With no provision but an open face

Along the straits of fear

Oh, oh

Tags: @benbarneswife1 @oh-my-overlord @hotleaf-juice @redcoatgirl @captainamericasinnocence @sugarlustry @eggs-whiskey-snipes @saayanaaa @haybalessss @marshmellowhat1 @bigpoppajes @dracosdarling @itchywitch33 @smilfoy @meaganjm @draw-back-your-bow @fiannee @supervoldejaygent @rorilisa @do44y @meipotter @katesreading @darkenwolfie @i1k @not-quite-joy @bella-vasquez216 @courtneeishuman @kareniliana @mauihs @scarlet-says-hi @chiefdreamercherryblossom @the-jess-life @dreams-in-blxck @letoof @haroldpotterson @little-ms-awkward @tranquiiit @catgirlmush @gracebtw @issatheartist @hearts4spidey @bloodyhell07 @livingperceptionsworld @cxtetxm @intoxicatingbullshit @pansexualmommamess @kovaillustrations @valdayluv @johnmurphys-sass @riptid-ee

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faerieorbitars · 2 years ago

Note

hi hello how is the disney anime boy game going. what kind of freaks are in there

steeping my fingers together. i’m glad you asked! allow me to extrapolate about anime guys. i will try to be brief (1/484)

i’m partway into the 2nd book of the main story now (there was a halloween story event i paused the main story to go play really quick) so the only book i’ve properly beaten is book 1. but that’s the one with my favorite guy and also i’ve picked up a few other things from unlock-able character vignettes so i’m qualified to talk about all a lot of these guys i think

the basic plot of the game is that you, the mc, have been isekai’d into the twisted wonderland for an unexplained reason, and you find yourself in a magical academy with no way back home. so the headmaster let’s you and the annoying animal sidekick you meet enroll at the school and live in the abandoned dorm while he looks into getting you home. various shenanigans ensue as you meet the other students and try to get them to become friends with you (and with each other (because crazy enough, villain based characters tend to not like togetherness and team effort))

also in the lore of the universe the villains were the founders of the school and i think some of the established kingdoms across the land so obviously they’ve written history to favor them so the funny anime guys you meet aren’t actually Them. they’re meant to represent their villain and do have some of those characteristics but they have story arcs and become generally good people if they aren’t already

one thing i’m enjoying so far is with a premise like that you’d expect a dating sim aspect but no. no dating sim . this is a friendship sim. you’re all going to get along or so help me god

far and away my favorite character is riddle rosehearts who’s based on the queen of hearts he is so. look at him

the 1st book centers around him and his dorm and the fact that he’s a tyrant harshly enforcing the millions of rules put in place by the queen of hearts, which all the students in his dorm hate so so so much until they eventually all stand together and he’ll him Hey we literally can’t stand you and the way you punish us for bringing the wrong flavor of tart to an unbirthday party. you have control issues. and also anger issues. to which riddle has a magical temper tantrum and then gets persona 4 shadow self’d about it

(there’s a recurring subplot about how magicians can become victim to a condition called overblot, where an overuse of magic combined with extreme levels or stress and duress corrupt the mage’s body. it also gives you a very sick ass outfit. overblot riddle was fucking SERVING)

(i also just like this sprite)

so you beat the ink out of him and learn via flashback that his childhood was literally so shit because he had a very controlling terrible mother (planning every day down to the hour his Entire life) and since he ended up becoming the honor student she wanted from him he decided she Had to be right so he’d emulate her because otherwise he’d have to confront some Truths about himself and how he was raised and he didn’t wanna do that shit at All. and then he cries and makes you an apology tart and loosens up on the rules

all of the stories seem to be following this plotline so i will bring more updates of how things shake out for the other funny guys as i get to them

as an aside here’s my second favorite character so far kalim al asim. he’s not based on a villain he’s supposed to be the sultan from aladdin . he’s literally the only nice person at the school before the mc shows up to spread friendship amongst the populace

also he has a moment with riddle in one of his vignettes and it’s so. hm. i mean what do you want me to say about this

other epic characters: epel felmier who’s based on the poison apple from snow white. he’s a 5 foot pretty boy (same king represent) from the dorm with a passion for fashion and all things beauty and elegance and grace but he’s just a farm boy who likes sports and magical motorcycles. also i think there’s something wrong with him (this is from a vignette where he’s carving apples into little figures)

and another top favorite is lilia vanrogue who appears to be like. just some kind of bat. but he’s like hundreds of years old and used to serve as a lord and knight to a queen fighting in epic battles and doing wars and then he settled down and raised/trained like everyone in the diasomnia /sleeping beauty dorm . like he’s actually adopted and raised one character in that dorm from infancy who openly calls him father At school. but no one has seemed to figure out that this guy is not a teen/young adult/whatever. i think he enrolled at the school as a bit

they don’t even do any of the weird shit you would usually see with a character who’s older than they look trope. he’s like. just here as a gag. and he says weird things that imply he’s much much older than everyone else but he has a good laugh about it and treats all the other students in a very goofy fatherly way but he also gives like good genuine advice when they ask for it. also his relationship with his son is good and it’s very obvious how much they care for each other. they had like a rocky bit years ago where his son (silver) finds out he’s adopted and runs away in the rain and gets very sick but lilia nurses him back to health and silver decides that he doesn’t care about being adopted anymore bc he knows his father loves him. fictional fathers that actually care for their children and their emotional well being and are there for them when needed win #boygrind

that’s all i got for now boss. like it’s not but this is a lot of information so i’m choosing to say no more. once i get to book 3 with azul the ursula guy i Will come back with more because there is SOOO much wrong with him i can TELL

anyway goodnight tristate area

#i’m shocked by how conventional it can be and then turn around and do something Completely different it’s actually like refreshing #and they are oh so sillay #i haven’t even gotten into some of the other characters like deuce (ex delinquent stereotype trying to be an honor student for his mom)#every character is charming and sweet even if it’s under an ‘i’m a stand in for a villain so i’m acting villainous here’ blanket #twst #thank u for checking in btw i needed somebody to ramble to. i’ve been developing my mc as a whole new oc for fun also. with backstory #i May post about him once i’ve drawn a design i like #but as a clue he is based on the antagonist of a musical i like very much who would be WILDLY inappropriate in a disney movie #whom i am giving the anime boy-ification beam treatment this game gives to its villains #farraigeart #ask

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marauderundercover · 3 years ago

Text

Day 6: Party

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE

Continuation of days two and three

Marinette grins at her reflection in the mirror. The costume was perfect- close enough to the original that you could tell who she was, but also with her own touch so that she didn’t hate looking at the costume. She’d even curled her hair slightly. The knock at the front door makes her squeal in excitement, knowing exactly who it is.

“Cass!” She cheers, opening the door and grinning widely at her best friend. Sure, Cass didn’t talk a lot (she was like Luka in that way), but she always seemed to know when Marinette needed help out of her own head. And she was eternally grateful for that. She was even more grateful that Cass had agreed to do a duo costume with her since Jason apparently didn’t want to dress up. He was ‘too old’ or something. Well, Marinette wanted to have fun and wear a damn costume.

“The suit is amazing! I’m not sure the cowl I made will be good enough for it.” Marinette says worriedly, examining the stitches on Cass’ costume. “Where’d you say you got this?” She asks, frowning. It was definitely higher quality than the Halloween store downtown. Cass just smiles, the one that basically says ‘not telling’. Mari just grins, used to it by now. She passes the cowl to Cass and grabs her own domino mask, sliding it on. Posing next to Cass in the full length mirror, Marinette takes a picture and sends it to the group chat that Jason had recently added her to. Dropping her phone into her purse and grabbing her keys, she turns to Cass.

“Ready?” She asks.

“Ready.” Cass says. Marinette grins. Look out, Gotham, Batman and Robin are out on the town.

---

Dick squeals as the picture comes through on the groupchat. He was beyond relieved that Jagged had scheduled his Halloween party two weeks before the actual holiday. It meant that he, and the rest of his brothers, could actually go instead of being on the extra patrols they always had to schedule around the holiday. Grinning, he opens twitter.

@flyingrayson

Look at my little sisters! Aren’t they the cutest?! #halloween #Waynefam #jaggedstone

[image description: One girl stands with a hand on her hip, dressed in what is obviously a spin on a Robin costume, including: a domino mask, black tights, dark red tunic with a Robin logo, gold belt, knee high emerald boots, and a dual sided cape black on the outside and gold on the inside. Another girl stands next to her with her arms crossed over her chest, dressed in what is obviously a Batman costume, including: black catsuit, yellow utility belt, black cape, and a redesigned black cowl.]

---

Marinette pecks Jason’s cheek and grins.

“What, not a Robin fan?” She asks teasingly at his frown. He huffs.

“Not really. More of a...Red Hood guy.” He says, and she snorts.

“Of course you’d like the one with guns.” She says, shaking her head with a smile. “His costume is actually probably one of my favorites. Well, besides the whole helmet thing.” Jason grins, pulling her in and giving her a sweet kiss before he glances behind her and groans.

“My brothers just walked in.” He says and she smiles.

“Go say hi, I’ve gotta go ask Uncle Jagged a question really quick. I’ll be right back and Cass and I can show your brothers our awesome costumes in person.” She says, pecking his cheek before walking away. She looks around for Jagged, but frowns when she doesn’t see him in the main room. Pulling out her phone, she sends him a quick text asking where he is.

In the garden with Fang!!!!!!!

She shakes her head fondly. Of course he skipped out on his own party to spend time with his crocodile. Smiling, she heads out to the garden to try and get to him. She’d wanted to see if the man planned on being in the US around Thanksgiving. Bruce had already invited her (probably to get Jason to show up) and said she could invite any of her family as well. Since her parents and superhero partner were both dead and her grandparents didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, she decided she’d really love Jagged and Penny to come instead. As she walks outside, she’s shocked that Fang doesn’t immediately run up to her.

“Uncle Jagged?” She calls, frowning. Where was he? And why was it so dark out here? Fang was scared of the dark. Jagged never would have brought him outside without more lights on, he was too protective of him. She tenses when she notices a slumped figure next to the bench Jagged had put in the gardens for when she visits. It was one of her favorite places to sit and design.

“Hello?” She calls, watching the figure for any movement. Seeing none, she steps closer and her stomach drops. Immediately she runs over and checks her Uncle for a pulse. She sighs in relief when she feels it, but the gash on his head is worrisome. How-

“Hello, Birdie!” An amused voice rings behind her, making her blood run cold. She whirls around and manages to catch a glimpse of the man’s pale face before a thick piece of metal flies at her head and the world goes black.

---

“Jaybird! Where’s Mari and Cass? They’re blowing up on twitter, even MDC liked my tweet!” Dick says happily, making Jason scowl.

“Did you seriously post my girlfriend all over your twitter?” He asks grumpily. Dick nods.

“Oh yeah. Her and Cass looked too cute to keep it to ourselves. Where are they anyway?” Dick asks, scanning the room.

“M said she needed to go talk to her Uncle about something. Personally, I think she was just avoiding you guys. You all crowd her every time you see her.” Jason reprimands, crossing his arms. Replacement rolls his eyes.

“It’s ‘cause she’s so much cooler than you. And she’s not an asshole like you are.” He says.

“Something’s wrong.” Cass says, suddenly appearing at Jason’s side. He jumps slightly, but then frowns at her.

“What?” He asks, surprised to see the deep scowl form on her face.

“Don’t know.” She huffs.

“Well if Cassandra believes that something is wrong, we should investigate.” Damian says, looking relieved that he wouldn’t be asked to socialize with anyone. A startled scream from outside makes the five vigilantes tense before running towards the noise. Jason curses when he realizes it’s Penny Rolling, Jagged Stone’s….something. She’s kneeling by a slumped figure, shaking it until a groan escapes it. Jason feels his blood run cold when the figure’s hair catches the light. It’s Jagged. Then where-

“Where’s she? Where’s she at?” Jagged slurs out, blinking wildly.

“Who?” Penny asks, gently holding the man’s face. Jason frowns at the gash.

“M. He wanted ‘er.” He says, and though the man is looking around crazily and slurring his words, Jason can tell he’s completely serious. And M-

“Do you mean Marinette?” Jason asks, stepping forward. Jagged frowns, but nods.

“Crazy clown.” He adds before turning and throwing up in the grass. Jason growls and turns on his heel, ready to go hunt the damned clown down. Out of everyone in this damned city that he could’ve targeted, why did he choose her?

“Jason, wait.” Dick says, grabbing his wrist. “We need to have a plan. Come on. You can’t just go out like this.” He reminds him lowly, Jason’s eyes narrow but he follows anyway. Might as well use the good tools. That fucking clown won’t make it to morning.

---

Ice cold water falls over her and Marinette sits up, gasping in shock at the sudden temperature change.

“Little cold, Birdie?” A voice asks before walking around and standing in front of her- a huge smile on his face and a thick piece of metal in his hands.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Marinette says, trying not to let her voice shake. This was the villain. The one she never wanted to meet. The one that gave her boyfriend nightmares that he couldn’t explain to her. And now she was alone with him.

“If you’re sure, we could have some...fun before Batsy arrives.” He laughs.

“Why would Batman show up?” She asks. “You do realize this is just a Halloween costume, right?” She flinches as the piece of metal- a crowbar, she thinks shakily- stops inches in front of her face.

“How stupid do you think I am? Of course it’s a costume. A costume posted by one Dick Grayson. You’re a Wayne, somehow. And Batsy always shows up when a Wayne is involved.” Joker says, his twisted grin making her sick to her stomach.

“I’m not a Wayne! Batman isn’t going to come for me.” She argues, cursing her decision to not wear her earrings today. Some days were harder than others, especially leaving in a mask. Even if the mask was a costume. Every time she tried to put on her earrings today, she shook and started to panic. Granted, it was probably for the best. Because she would definitely be tempted to transform and she did not want to give Joker that kind of knowledge.

“Wayne or not, one of the bats will come. You have friends in very high places, Birdie.” Joker tuts, twirling the crowbar in his hand. She flinches as it nears her face, making Joker laugh. “If I wanted to hit you, I would.” He says. She doesn’t even have time to figure out what he means because her shoulder explodes in pain. The pain is blinding and she wants to scream but no sound will come out of her mouth as she gasps for breath.

“That’s no good. A silent bird is a dead bird. So sing, Birdie.” Joker demands, and he aims slightly lower this time, shattering her left arm. And she screams. The pain tearing at her throat nothing compared to the pain in her arm, her shoulder. She sobs, the shaking making the pain worse, but she was unable to stop. It hurt.

“S-stop!” She manages to yell, nearly biting her tongue when Joker grabs her chin and forces her to look up at him.

“Hmm. You’re right! The internet should definitely see this.” He laughs, pulling a phone out. She shakes her head, flinching as he whacks the crowbar against the floor near her chair. He points the phone at her, and she knows he’s recording. The bastard.

“Hello Gotham! Look at this little Birdie. I’m afraid she flew too far, and now we have to clip her wings.” He says, sighing as if he’s actually apologetic. He sets his phone up on the table and stalks over to her before turning and waving at the camera. She watches him move the crowbar around warily, her breathing shaky. God, she hoped Jason wasn’t watching this. Hoped he was somewhere safe, not trying to go do something stupid. She winces as Joker acts like he’s about to hit her, only to stop before the crowbar actually connects with her good arm.

“I told you, I’d only hit you if I wanted to.” He chuckles.

“Go to hell.” She spits out, ignoring the voice in her head (that sounded suspiciously like Tikki) telling her to shut up. To not antagonize the crazy man with the crowbar.

“Gladly.” He says with a grin, rearing back and swinging the crowbar out to hit her in the ribs. Her scream echoes around the room and she has no time to catch her breath before he’s attacking her ribs again. Tears stream down her face, but she can’t scream, she can’t even catch her breath. I’m going to die, she thinks, and the thought is terrifying. She didn’t want to die, she wanted to live.

---

“Do we have a fucking location or am I about to go shoot up every goddamned warehouse in this city?” Jason growls as he zips through the streets on his bike. He knew Babs and Alfred were back at the cave, watching the livestream and working to locate Marinette. And even though he couldn’t see the video, the audio playing through the comms was enough to make his stomach churn.

He didn’t give one singular fuck what Bruce said. He was going to kill that goddamned clown the minute he saw him.

---

Marinette glares at the Joker, barely able to keep her head up. For some unknown reason, he’d decided to use his fists on her face instead of the crowbar. Not that she was complaining. She wouldn’t have survived multiple hits to the head. Not with the force he had. She watches him, and she knows he’s saying something, but she can’t tell what it is. She’s too tired, too hurt, to care what he’s saying anyway. Unless it’s some magical cure to stop her from feeling like she’s broken into a million pieces, she doesn’t want to hear it.

Eyes wandering behind him, she’s relieved when she notices the costumed figure. The cowl, the cape- Batman did come. How strange. Though, she had assumed that Joker was live streaming. So that could definitely explain that one. Deciding she was out of immediate danger, she lets her eyes droop shut, reveling in the darkness that surrounds her. She let’s it stay, and she can feel things slipping away, some of the pain lessening. It’s nice, until someone is poking her and talking much too close to her. She lets out a whine as the person forces her eyes open.

“‘m tired.” She mumbles, wincing at the pain that comes with breathing, with talking.

“I know, kid, god I know. Just keep your eyes open.” A voice says. She blinks, the blue marks on the suit in front of her helping her to identify the vigilante.

“Couldn’t fight.” She spits out, tears springing to her eyes as her attempt at conversation makes her chest ache.

“But you’re fighting now, you’re staying awake. You’re doing such a good job, I’m proud of you. Stay awake kiddo.” Nightwing says quietly. She vaguely feels the ropes slide off her wrists and ankles. Fighting to stay sitting up, because slumping will hurt more than she’s willing to allow, she sighs.

“Jason’s gonna worry.” She mumbles, and Nightwing hums.

“Ambulance is almost here, kid, just stay awake.” He says instead of asking about Jason. She hopes Jason is okay. Hopes he isn’t mad at himself for letting her go talk to Jagged alone. Suddenly, sirens are close and she lets the world finally slip away.

---

The pain is the first thing that clues her in. She isn’t dead. Which is a relief. But the way her entire body aches, is not a relief. Forcing her eyes open, she sighs at Jason’s slumped form in a chair next to her bed. She wished she knew how long she’d been in the hospital so she could scold him. Because he was still wearing the outfit he had on at the party. Which meant he hadn’t given himself a break. Just as she’s trying to decide how to ask the nurses for pain medicine, Jason’s eyes open.

“Marinette!” He gasps, starting to lunge forward, then stopping himself. “I thought, god, M, I thought-”

“‘m okay.” She says softly, and he frowns.

“Okay? You were nearly beaten to death with a goddamned crowbar. You’re not okay.” He argues. She sighs.

“I’m alive, and I’m with you. I’m okay.” She insists, wincing. He looks like he still wants to argue, but stops himself. He scoots closer and holds her hand, kissing the back of it softly.

“I’ll never leave you.” He promises. She smiles softly, before falling back asleep, finally safe.

Tag list: @maribat-october-rarepairs @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess

#angst #maribat #maribat oneshot #jasonette #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat jason todd #maribat joker #maribathalloween21 #maribat dick grayson #maribat tim drake #maribat batman #maribat damian wayne

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leahblackk · 3 years ago

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Hello so for Halloween angst i had two ideas

1. Y/n and spencer have been besties forever and he gets a girlfriend and then the story tells how y/n suffered and then he is getting married and the rest is up to you! (happy ending hopefully)

2. Y/n and Spencer are having an affair bc he's married to Maeve and it's very angsty

Hello! No one of these has happy endings so I gave the second a twist. I would never let Spencer cheat on my girl Maeve.

Warnings: Mentions of affair but nothing actually happened. Please don’t see Maeve as the bad one here, she’s just so amazing.

As Halloween came to the door, Y/n was excited to celebrate with her boyfriend, Spencer Reid. Both of them were fans of the spookiness and the cold breeze of October.

She walked through the streets of DC while a coat held her trying to prevent the cold from freezing her bones, and then she saw a little store of sweets. Y/n excitedly entered the shop sounding the little bell above her head and made her way through the store to then to her apartment.

She softly entered thinking that it only was her. She left her coat and shoes and walked around with her mismatched socks up to her room to eat her sweets and watch some spooky movies, but he heard Spencer talking.

“Yeah, I’m glad we can talk,” he spoke moving around. Y/n stopped from opening the door and coming in and stood up outside with a smile hearing her boyfriends voice, “Oh yeah, I just came in actually,” he spoke again.

She wondered who was the other person in the other line, “No, she’s not here apparently,” he said, and Y/n frowned and Spencer chuckled, “Yeah Maeve, but is a shame we can’t meet.”

She stood frozen. Maeve? Who was Maeve?

Y/n finally open the door and Spencer looked at her with a smile with his phone still on his ear, “I’ll call you later, bye,” he said and put the phone down looking at his girlfriend. She looked gorgeous, “Hi angel,” he greeted.

Y/n didn’t know how to react. She didn’t want to make a scene about it, after all, she didn’t know who Maeve was. But, it hurt her just to think Spencer could fall for someone else. She knew he wasn’t capable of cheating, he just wasn’t like that. But the wonder still remains.

“Hi,” she said with a small smile stepping in and sitting in the bed with the bag.

“What’s that?” Spencer asked trying to make more conversation as he saw his girlfriend weirdly. There was something about it that wasn’t right with her, but he couldn’t figure out what just know.

“Some sweets. I didn’t know you were here so I planned on watching some movies and eating them,” she spoke, her voice almost a whisper looking at her hands as she feared her voice would break.

“What’s wrong, angel?” Spencer asked as he heard her. Getting closer to her, but she didn’t let him, standing up.

“N-nothing. Don’t worry, I’m just really tired. Did you eat anything?” She softly asked looking up at him looking at his concerned eyes.

“Yeah, I did. We all ate after the case. Why? Are you hungry? I can make you something or we can order some take-out, your favourite food,” he asked trying to take care of her. To ease her worries. But that didn’t work.

“No, it’s okay. I’m not hungry, I just wonder. So I have some work to do so I’ll be out there if you need anything. Y-you should rest,” Y/n was out of the room before she heard Spencer’s response and went to the small balcony they had, closing the door and locking it. She turned around while the wind violently moved her hair and left her tears out, looking back from time to time to see if Spencer wasn’t there looking at her.

…

Spencer wonder what happened for her to act so distant, so worried and the pain in her eyes it really broke him. Was it him? Or something happened when he was away? Or maybe she was falling out of love?

He didn’t know but either way, he was really worried. He needed to talk to her.

Spencer walked to the balcony, where he knew she was, she always work there or when she’s upset. He tried to open the door but then realized it was locked and there it was the confirmation to his doubts; Y/n was definitely upset.

Spencer knocked on the glassed door waiting for her to open it and hopefully she would hear the knocking and she did. She hugged herself while she opened the door, and Spencer felt the cold air when it touched his skin, “Y/n are you out there with this cold and without a cardigan or coat? You’re gonna get sick,” he said taking her arm and letting her step inside. She didn’t say anything, she just gave him her back.

Spencer closed the door and looked at her. He walked to her putting his hands on her cold arms and caressing them, “What’s wrong, angel?” He asked once more, but there was no response.

He put one hand on her waist turning her around, and he saw the tears falling down her cheeks, “Angel,” he whispered voice full of pain to see her in such a state, “What’s wrong? Please please talk to me. I wanna help you,” he pleaded, hugging her, but she didn’t hugged him back. Spencer had to ask now, the question that haunted him, “I wanna know. Did something happen when I was away? A-are you? Um, don’t you love me anymore?” He asked, voice breaking in the process.

She looked up at him with confusion, “What?”

“Yes, you’ve been acting weird since I came home. You didn’t let me touch you or get close to you and it worries me,” he said looking at her trying to read her.

“Spencer if you want to break up with me do it know, seriously. I can’t with this anymore,” now Spencer was confused.

“Why would I break up with you?” Y/n looked down and didn’t say anything, “Angel please talk to me.”

“I-I just,” she sighed, “I don’t want to be jealous or possessive or anything at all, but I’m just worried and when I came home I heard you talking with someone, M-Maeve. And you said it was a shame you couldn’t meet, and that got me thinking that maybe you are the one who fell out of love. And believe me, I-i don’t judge you at all, I just wished you could’ve told me sooner, and if Maeve makes you happy then I’m happy for you,” Spencer’s heart broke.

He couldn’t shake his head fast enough, “No, angel no,” he said trying to make her look at him, “I would never fell out of love with you, in fact, my love for you grows every day with everything of you and I would never want anyone else, let alone cheat on you. Maeve is a doctor, she’s my friend and she had helped me with my migraines and I wanted you to meet her but things are complicated with her right now, and I really appreciate her but, she’s not you,” Spencer spoke. She didn’t look at him, she was ashamed. “look at me, please,” she didn’t follow so Spencer grabbed her face with both hands and put their forehead together, kissing her cheek, “I would never fall out of love with you, angel. No one compares to you, I’m so in love with you, you have me wrapped around your finger and if you want to see me happy as you said before just look at me,” Y/n did, Spencer caressed her cheek giving her a quick pick on the lips, “There she is. The prettiest girl in the world,” he kissed her cheeks and then her lips, taking his time, “My pretty girl,” he repeated between kisses.

“I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions,” she whispered. Spencer shook his head.

“You actually acted very maturely. I would’ve begged you not to leave me if I ever heard you talking like that with someone else,” she shook her head.

“I love you,” she spoke.

“Hm, you love me?” She nodded, “Guess what? I love you so much more. More than anything, you know that right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. But I will keep reminding you for the rest of my life if that’s okay with you.”

“Only if you let me do that too.”

“It would be an honour,” he said kissing her while they smiled in the middle of the kiss.

#angst halloween #spencer reid #criminal minds #dr spencer reid #doctor reid #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid imagine #criminal minds fanfiction #Spencer Reid angst #Spencer angst

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shirophantomvox · 4 years ago

Text

Random date night with Illumi, Hisoka, and Chrollo

Hello, anon! Ask and you shall receive! This prompt is very interesting and I will try to keep it in character as much as possible. To sum this up, Hisoka would take you to an ice cream shop, a carnival, or apple orchard while Illumi would rather go to an art or historical museum. Chrollo would persuade you to attend a book reading/author signing or go hiking. Depending on who you are and what your ideal date is, I’m sure you’d find them all fun. Going to a carnival or apple orchard is my go-to since I’ve barely been because they’re all in the suburbs. These headcanons are explained much more than the others. That is why Chrollo and Illumi seem to be short, but they’re not. Also, I can’t wait for Halloween because these headcanons are going to be amazing. I am extremely sorry if there are grammar errors! Taking classes on Zoom is frustrating and now my brain has to relearn everything that I lost in 3 months! Before we get started, I have a few announcements.

This post is more laid back than my other headcanons because I tried to keep it as canon as possible.

I want to thank you all for 65 followers! It means a lot! I’m happy to see that a lot of you enjoy my writing and like it enough to follow me! I have a challenge for you! When I reach 100 followers, I will host some type of writing event here...but I need ideas. I’ve seen some pages do specials where you can send an ask and pretend like you're talking to a character and I respond with what they’d say. SEND ME IDEAS! I WILL CREDIT YOU!

I will be stepping back a little more than before. I’ll still be logged in and re-blogging but as far as writing posts like this...it may only be once or twice a week. You see, I’m in college and I’m struggling financially and I have to work on scholarships. If you all send me an ask, be patient.

Voltron posts will only be created based on asks. I will not be writing posts about VLD if no one requests them. I do not receive any feedback from it anymore and no one seems to like them.

Now, let’s get into the post.

Let's start with Illumi first.

Headcanon 1: Illumi has a secret admiration for different types of art but he specifically enjoys pop art and surrealism. He has commented on how surrealism makes his brain twist and his feelings swirl as he tries to figure out the piece and what inspires it.

He prefers not to participate in tours as he likes to digest the art at his own pace.

Headcanon 2: In his spare time, he paints on a canvas. His art style consists of both surrealism and abstract art. For a person with a dark personality, his compositions always contain bright colors and abstract techniques that leave you wondering about his TRUE personality. He is truly a good man with a bright personality but after being abused for so long, those behaviors/personalities have been shoved so far down his throat that they may not come back up.

He has a bad habit of asking you what you thought about every single piece of art you passed. The conversations were great but this is a date after all. The playful conversation slowly turns into a lecture about art. Although you loved your bf’s dictionary-like brain it also drained your energy.

One of his favorite artists is Vincent Van Gough. Although he favors surrealism, Van Gogh’s art style was mind-blowing to him. So amazed that he buys several Van Gogh t-shirts from the gift shop.

His favorite piece created by Van Gough is “Starry Night”.

He notices that you are becoming bored and decides that it is time for MORE excitement, one that you are certain to enjoy.

“Where are we going,” you ask, pretending to be interested.

“Down to the basement. We are going to have a bite to eat.”

Since Illumi rarely smiled, when he did smile it drove you wild. The anticipation of what his next move was going to be is what drove that wildness. Being a bounty hunter was thrilling already but dating a smart, badass assassin was totally out of your league but it worked out.

Headcanon 3: Illumi’s idea of being romantic is dramatically different from yours. He believes just spending time with you on the couch was enough. He is correct; but if you have the time and funds, your time together should be a little spontaneous. You insisted on dates outside of the house because his family will not stay out of your business.

“Illumi, I am too hungry for more trivia.”

He chuckles. “Don’t worry. So am I. That is why I’ve decided to take you to a wine and cheese party.”

Huh? Wine and Cheese at 3PM? That’s ok. When was there a time limit on when you can drink alcohol?

Illumi has indirectly attended parties as such when he was 15 years old. He never drank, but he watched as his mother’s friends (surprisingly) talked about business and their children. This time, you weren’t going to talk about business for once. Instead, you two were going to actually talk about what couples discuss.

Headcanon 4: When introduced to alcohol for the first time, Illumi immediately stated how he hated brown liquor. That includes Hennessy, Jack Daniels, etc. It makes him sick to his stomach. He prefers to drink Smirnoff mixed with fruity drinks like strawberry or pineapple.

He loves it when you make these drinks for him on a summer day.

Hence the title wine and cheese, you both go to a stand-up table, place your brochures down, and actually have a wonderful conversation not involving work or hunting.

Illumi smiled a few times, more than usual. Whenever he appears to be softer even around you, that is because he has mellowed out and doesn't have the overbearing weight of his family on his shoulders. You set him free.

Hisoka

According to a one-shot that another manga artist created, they expressed that Hisoka was found on the side of the road, was taken in by someone that worked at a local circus, and learned Nen in a matter of days. Hisoka’s clown look and having the skills of a magician proves that this has to be canon in some way.

Headcanon 1: Given this potential backstory, going to a carnival is his go-to every summer. He wants to take you to a circus but saves that for you as an engagement gift.

Everyone with a heart knows that whether or not you’re in a relationship or not the carnival is fun as hell! Expensive fried food, elephant ears, funnel cake, ICEE’s, rides, and stuffed animals are to die for!

Being at a carnival relaxes him so his bloodlust isn’t activated unless someone bumps into him and causes a scene.

Headcanon 2: PDA is something that Hisoka does well; he doesn’t overdo it but does it enough where people get the impression that you are a couple and aren’t ��best friends”.

While completing a mission depending on how rough it may be, he insists that you tag along to see how he handles the situation. You’ve already seen his ruthlessness from Hunter’s exam but he insists.

His sense of pride gets the best of him sometimes. Sometimes his head is so big that it reminds you of a large birthday balloon.

Headcanon 3: ANYWAY, given his nature, he is very adventurous, dangerous, and courageous. If he wants to go on the Demon Drop, he’ll do it and you DO not have a choice in the matter. He’ll tease or guilt trip you into doing something that you would not like to do.

“Well, you wouldn’t want me to cling on to someone else, would you?”

“No. Of course not,” you reply.

“Let’s go then, scaredy-cat.”

As a hunter, you’ve seen worse. Why are you so afraid to go on a ride?

Headcanon 4: At apple orchards, cornfield mazes are one of his favorites. You cannot for the life of you figure out how to get out but he can. He grabs a scarecrow and scares you from behind. That annoys you but is nothing compared to later on that night.

Oh. My. God. It’s haunted house time!

“Hisoka, I’m not going in!”

“Why not? I’ll protect you.”

“Because they’re monsters and I already have to deal with one.”

It took him a second to catch on that you were talking about him.

“That’s going to bite you in the butt, kitten.”

Headcanon 5: Like Killua, Hisoka has a sweet tooth. Don’t allow his buff appearance to fool you!

He LOVES caramel apples, elephant ears, funnel cake, freshly squeezed lemonade, fudge, and cotton candy. How can this man manage to stay in shape? The world may never know.

Headcanon 6: He isn’t one to play by other people’s rules but he sets his own rules with your relationship that you both must obey. One of those rules says that neither of you can be on your phones while together.

Headcanon 7: Hisoka insists that you both wear either matching pants or matching shirts to avoid unnecessary flirtation.

He isn’t jealous but on “us time”, he doesn’t want to lose a single second.

Headcanon 8: Hisoka only jumps in when necessary. Given that you’ve passed the hunter’s exam and work as a bodyguard, he knows you can handle your business. If the person can’t take a hint, then he steps in. They almost back up immediately considering Hisoka is towering over them.

When the moon shines, you both go to the car and off to sleep in your comfy king-sized bed.

Chrollo

We all know that Chrollo loves to read! What does he specifically like to read? What Genre? Does he like to read alone or with other people?

Although Chrollo is a thief and must be hidden in the shadows, the authorities have called off the search for him for at least 3 years. Slowly but surely, he begins to find himself in the outside world again.

Chrollo once discussed a book with the Phantom Troupe when they were being transported to another place for a mission. He read “Tears of a Tiger” by Sharon M. Draper.

The reading sessions are opened with an affirmation and a reason to be thankful to be alive. He says he is thankful for the troupe, glances at you, and smiles. No one catches on to that sly face except for Phinks.

Headcanon 1: Chrollo is very silent and shy to an extent. He only associates with people he knows and trusts. You are the social butterfly at this moment.

Chrollo tags along behind you like a shy child, holding your hand while you stick out your free hand to greet everyone.

Today, the book club was going to read “Divergent”.

Headcanon 2: Although he loves to read, he hates it when others read out loud. Most people are drably read and it annoys him. After a while, he takes over. Chrollo was tense the first 30 minutes of the meeting because two cops were there but neither of them noticed it was him.

Headcanon 3: Chrollo often acts the part of the character that he is reading in the book. His tone, attitude, and emphasis on certain words keep the group engaged. He is complimented on his acting!

“Good Job, honey,” you whisper.

He responds by tightly squeezing your hand.

His tone was so impressive that the host insisted that he read for the entire night. He was ok with that because in between reads he was often distracted by a lovely pair of jeans and shoes you had on. You were into writing, so hearing others read and act out the characters helped.

Headcanon 4: In some settings, Chrollo is very braggadocious. He insisted that the group read one of your stories so you could be provided with feedback.

“We’d be delighted to view your story, y/n!”

“It will be fun!”

The book club wasn’t a stereotypical club that only consisted of soccer moms but instead consisted of men and women who were involved with a business, law enforcement, health, etc. This was an open space for everyone to relax and forget about their demanding jobs.

After the meeting, the group went to dinner at a nearby pizzeria. You all enjoyed large pizzas, beer, salads, and dessert. How could your stomach (or anyone’s stomach) hold that much?

Chrollo laughed so much that it made you question if he was your actual boyfriend or not. He even engaged in conversations with the two off-duty cops! For once, you helped Chrollo experience the greater things in life; true love, friendship, and happiness.

“Thank you,” he whispered and slyly placed a kiss on your hand. “For everything.”

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gignikinszz · 3 years ago

Note

anakin is on the train and this dipshit infront of him has been humming christmas songs everyday on his morning work commute for the past week and it’s the middle of fucking august so he’s ready to confront this motherfucker for his crimes against humanity and his eardrums then boom obi wan meet cute

anon. im obsessed 💍💍💍💍 ficlet under the cut xx

i took a few liberties with this, but i hope u still like it :)) modern au, annoyances to lovers but only from anakin's pov, 1.3k. mentions of christmas music and horrible hours of the morning beware

It was 5:15. Five-fifteen in the goddamn morning. It was six in the goddamn morning, and it was the middle of August. The seventeenth of August, to be exact.

The third week, to the day, of Anakin’s personal hell.

Some context: Anakin was on the train, just trying to get to his job at a local bakery, still trying to wake up. He’d been late that morning and hadn’t had time for coffee, and was therefore grumpy. Grumpier than usual. So fucking grumpy.

And that same motherfucker from the past three weeks was singing. Again.

Now, Anakin wasn’t a cold-hearted monster, okay? He wasn’t against singing, not at all. Not even at 5:15 in the goddamn morning on a Thursday. Not even on the train. No, what he was against, morally and spiritually and on all levels (including physical), was the fact that the stranger was singing Christmas music. In August.

Today, it was Jingle Bells, though really, the song should’ve been named Jingle Hell. Overly jaunty, reminiscent of fifth-grade showcases, jarring and horrid, even when sung with a voice as nice as Christmas Music Man’s. A disgusting display of Christmas cheer, absolutely murdering Anakin’s poor eardrums, making him wish for the fiftieth time in the past twenty-one days that his stupid dog and stupider cat hadn’t totally destroyed his earbuds fighting over them, and that he wasn’t too busy (lazy) to go get new ones.

God, he was going to lose it. If he heard one more annoying-ass sing, he was going to—

… you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I’ll give it to someone special…

Last Christmas. The stranger, who always, for some sick and twisted reason, sat directly behind Anakin, was singing Last Christmas.

“Yo, dipshit, can you, like shut the fu—ck.” Anakin choked as he finally got a glimpse of the stranger. “Not up. Um. You can keep singing. Bye.”

Oh, shit.

Oh, shit. He was hot. Oh, fuck. Oh, god. He was so fucking hot and Anakin had just called him a dipshit. And spazzed out. And, worse, told him he could keep singing his awful Christmas music. He’d told the most attractive asshole motherfucker he’d ever seen that he could keep singing Last Christmas. At 5:15 in the goddamn morning. In the middle of August.

Oh, fucking shit.

Anakin spent the rest of that (thankfully not-very-long, after his outburst) train ride in silence, rethinking his life, wondering how someone so hot could be committing such heinous crimes against humanity. It didn’t make sense, at first. The man had looked nice. Or just hot. Anakin didn’t know. He’d been wearing a sweater vest with nothing underneath, showing off his very muscular arms, and he’d had very soft-looking hair. How could someone who dressed like a slutty 80-year-old have such poor taste in music? Have such little respect for Anakin, and Anakin’s eardrums, and the world at large?

It didn’t make sense, but when Anakin talked to Ahsoka, who was opening with him that day, she told him it did.

“You know,” she said, “if he’s really that hot, there’s gotta be something wrong with him. So the universe is fair and shit.”

And Anakin had to agree. There truly was something wrong with the man. Deeply, deeply wrong. Disturbed, even. Not that it made it fair that Anakin still had to suffer every morning. Or that his eardrums felt like they might die.

The next morning, he resolved to put a stop to it, good looks aside. For the sake of both his sanity, and for the world. Well, the world of the train at 5:15 in the morning. It was important to him, okay?

So he steeled himself the next morning. Got up early so he could get coffee and fix his hair, because presentation was important in these sorts of confrontations. Not for any other reason. Anakin also wore his nice work shirt, the one without too many stains, for the impending argument, of course. He would’ve looked his best while telling any asshole to stop fucking singing Christmas songs on the train at ass-o’clock every morning, whether or not they were hot.

Okay, maybe it had something to do with the fact that the guy was hot. Whatever. Sue Anakin for wanting to make a better second impression.

When he got to the train, he felt all wound-up, just waiting for the inevitable. For Holly Jolly Christmas or All I Want for Christmas is You or Chestnuts Roasting on the Open Fire of Anakin’s Burning Hatred for Christmas Songs. Or whatever that last one was called. His knee was bouncing, fingers tapping, heart pounding in anticipation. For the inevitable confrontation, of course.

It began five minutes after Anakin sat down. 5:18 in the morning.

Fucking Spooky Scary Skeletons.

An insult to Anakin’s pride, to his honor, to his family, to the month of August, to Halloween, and to the world at large, that’s what the man behind him was singing. An insult of the highest order, and Anakin had only had one cup of coffee.

So he did something wild, something insane, something totally out of character for him.

He waited.

He waited until the train made its next stop, the one before his, and he moved quickly to sit across the aisle from the man.

“Hey,” he said before he could chicken out. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Hot Asshole turned to look at him slowly. “What do you mean?” He asked, all posh and British and refined, and wow, Anakin was beginning to understand the appeal of those love-hate, enemies-to-lovers, 100k slow burn type relationships. That was hot. Despite, or perhaps even more so because of, the man’s infuriating little eyebrow thing, it was really hot.

“Your stupid music,” Anakin heard himself saying, refusing to back down despite the sight in front of him. “Sir, are you aware that it’s August?”

The man smiled. Pretty, Anakin’s mind supplied. Shut up, he snapped back.

“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked, folding his hands over one knee, crossing it over the other.

Anakin blinked, slowly, trying to let his brain catch up. “Well, you’re. It’s. That’s a Halloween song,” he said, feeling dumber by the second.

“And?” The man was still smiling, all innocent, and Anakin was suddenly unsure if it was nerves or annoyance making his face flush.

“And, um—well—whoever you are, you’re singing Halloween music. It’s August.”

“I’m Obi-Wan,” the man said unhelpfully. “And I don’t see what the issue is. Spooky Scary Skeletons is about bones. The human body. Personally, I think bodies are relevant year-round, don’t you?”

No, it was definitely annoyance.

“That’s about spooky, scary skeletons. It’s a fucking Halloween song. And even if it was applicable, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been singing fucking Christmas music every day for the past three weeks.” Anakin gave the man his best glare, but it didn’t seem to phase him. On the contrary, he just smiled a little brighter.

“It’s just what’s been stuck in my head,” he said, sounding innocent. “I don’t know what you want me to do about it.”

“I—just—I—I want you to go out with me!” Okay, so Anakin didn’t mean to say that. In the slightest. And Obi-Wan was looking at him weirdly, and also, that wasn’t even a good solution to what Obi-Wan was asking, so Anakin opened his mouth to backtrack, but before he could—

“Okay.” Obi-Wan shrugged, smiling slightly. Anakin’s heart did a funny little somersault. “Is this your stop?”

And shit—it was, and Anakin hadn’t even gotten past the initial asking. No time to ask for horrible, hot, annoyingly heart-pounding Christmas Asshole’s number.

But that was fine. After all, Anakin was probably going to have to tell him to sing an appropriate song the next day, as well.

#i am AMAZED by how fast i wrote this lmfao this prompt hit me like a train (pun intended ;))#fuck the word soumersalt all my homies hate the word soumerastualt #star wars #star wars fanfic #obikin #obikin fanfic #obikin fanfiction #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi x anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker x obi wan kenobi

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monstersandmaw · 4 years ago

Text

Male vampire x male character (nsfw) Part Four

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Sorry for taking 84yrs to post this. I thought I had shared it. Sorry. Hope you enjoy all the same.

Wordcount: 10,904 (story total: 23,704)

Heads up in this part for continued, but easing, tense familial relations, some angst/heartache (not heartbreak though), and some (consensual) blood drinking.

Part One (sfw), Part Two (nsfw), Part Three (nsfw)

Alec let out a shaky breath and crossed to the sofa, sinking down onto it as his legs finally gave out. “Vampires,” he said, hardly daring to believe the word he was uttering.

“Yes.”

“And you’re one?”

“… Yes.”

“And my family…?”

Sebastien’s voice was tight on the other end of the line as he said, “Hunts my kind. Well, those of us who aren’t registered with the ‘Guild of Hunters’ —” his tone turned acrid as he spat the words out, though he kept his voice low and quiet.

“What does that even mean? I don’t know what any of this means… And did you know about my family? I mean, before? When you started dating me?”

Sebastien took another deep breath. “Yes. I knew. And it was a long time before I fully convinced myself that you did not.”

If Sebastien had thought it was some kind of trap, that would explain his reticence at the beginning for sure.

“And were you planning on telling me any of this?” Alec snarled. God, his chest hurt so much. The deception was like Jeremy cheating on him all over again, only this time the betrayal was coming from two fronts at once: from his love life and from his family. Not that he’d had all that solid a relationship with the latter to start with. Perhaps this explained why.

“I hadn’t planned on becoming your boyfriend at all,” Sebastien snapped.

“So, what, I was just a quick diversion? A casual fuck you kept coming back for because I’m such a fucking chump? Is that it?”

“No,” Sebastien sighed. “Not at all. I fell for you. Like the horrid cliche I am, the vampire fell for the hunter, and by then I had no idea how to tell you. I’ve not been with a human before, so this is all very new to me.”

Alec ran his fingers through his dark hair to buy himself a moment. “You… You haven’t?”

“No.”

“How… How old are you?”

“Do you really want the answer to that?”

“Yes!” His phone was slippery in his fingers now from the sweat on his palm but he couldn’t bring it away from his ear long enough to put it on speaker. He needed answers.

With another cavernous sigh, Sebastien said hurriedly, “Very well. I was born in 1897 and turned on the battlefields of the Great War — World War I, that is. I was dying, and a vampire named Felicity who had been working as a field nurse turned me. My first run-in with your family was not long after I moved from France to America. They were working with the American Hunters’ Guild on a case which had nothing to do with me.” He let out a shaky breath and said, “I got in the way and I nearly died. Those were the days before the treaty, of course, and before I moved to England.”

Despite his still-spinning mind, Alec managed to croak, “What treaty?”

“Those of us who get our blood from sanctioned blood banks and do not live-feed are exempt from being hunted like animals.” He spoke like he was quoting from a law code; cold and clinical; detached.

God, the way he said it made Alec’s skin crawl. It was as if he were being permitted to exist on the grounds of good behaviour and, he supposed, that was exactly the case. Even so, Alec couldn’t help the next words that just fell out of his mouth. “So you weren’t planning on feeding from me?”

“Of course not,” Sebastien retorted but then appeared to rein himself in with yet another steadying inhale. “No. It’s been decades since I’ve fed from a human directly. I didn’t plan on starting with you.”

Alec slumped back into the sofa cushions and stared up at the ceiling of his tiny apartment. “Fuck.”

After a long silence, Sebastien’s gentle tenor sounded in his ear. “Are you alright?”

“No,” he said. “I’ve never been close to my family - my dad was always an arsehole, but… I can’t believe Theo’s involved in all this. He was such a sweet kid, and we were really close until…” he swallowed thickly around the rising lump in his throat.

“Until?” Sebastien prompted when he stalled again.

“I can’t believe this is all real,” he muttered. “Until he turned sixteen and started to ‘work out’ with dad. I was at uni by then, getting my fine art degree, but whenever I came home he was just… different. Harder. Sharper. More focused. Guess it makes sense now… Well, as much as… you know…” he gestured vaguely to the empty apartment with his hands, “… as much as all this can make sense. Fucking… vampires…”

After a heartbeat, Sebastien added softly, “Quite literally.”

Despite himself, Alec snorted. “So… where does this leave us?”

Now it was Sebastien’s turn to feel clearly uncomfortable. Eventually he said, “Alec, I don’t think it’s wise for me to see you currently. Not with your family being what they are.”

His heart twisted, even though he’d been half expecting it. “You still think they’d… what, stake you, or whatever it is that vampire hunters actually do to you lot?”

“There are many ways to kill a vampire,” he said flatly. “And your family knows all of them, probably more. You need to work this out with them first as well. Talk to your brother. He seems the more reasonable…”

“I can’t believe Ellie’s in on it as well. And my mother? Fuck…”

“Talk to them.”

“Will I still see you at work at least?”

The awkward silence told him all he needed to know, even before Sebastien said, “I just sent in my letter of resignation.”

“That was quick,” he hissed, stomach dropping. “You only just left.”

“Supernatural speed,” he replied bitterly. “Comes in useful for typing papers and getting out of awkward situations…”

That sparked another question in him. “Supernatural powers, huh? Can you turn into a bat too?”

“No.”

Then he thought of Sebastien’s Halloween outfit. “Wolf?”

He thought he detected a faint smirk in Sebastien’s response. “No, sadly. No shape-shifting for me. Felicity is not of any extraordinary bloodline, and thus, neither am I.”

“Right,” he grunted. “Of course. Is she… is she still around?”

“Felicity? Yes. We meet every now and again. She and her wife spend most of their time in Venice these days.”

“Her wife? She a vampire too?”

Sebastien swallowed audibly. “Yes.”

“Did Felicity turn her too? Would that make her wife your sister?”

“No.”

He frowned. “Did she know her as a human though?”

“Yes.”

After a moment of spinning thoughts, Alec asked, “Did… you turn her?”

“One doesn’t tend to turn one’s own intended. Between a sire and their turned, there can grow… tension. Not always, but it can be enough to ruin a relationship that was seemingly solid before. Something about exchanging blood changes the soul… or so we think, anyway. It was an honour to be asked to sire her.”

“Right.” Alec felt slightly sick. “Will I at least see you before you leave?”

“I think it best if we don’t. Not while your family is still… ‘investigating’ me.”

“Are you really in danger from them?”

“Quite possibly. My name is on the treaty, but…”

Something twanged painfully again in his chest, swiftly followed by the fizzle of fear through his veins. “But what?”

“But vampires and hunters are not supposed to sleep together, Alec…”

“Don’t bang the enemy? How very Romeo and Juliet,” he snorted. “Fuck. Why does every good relationship I have turn to shit?” he asked, not of Sebastien but of the universe itself. “What did I do?”

“Alec —”

“—Don’t. Don’t make it worse by apologising or something. It’s fine. We were only together a month. I’ll get over it. You’ll move on. Heck, you’ll fucking live forever, right? What’s a month to you anyway? Nothing, right?”

The bitterness in his own voice nearly choked him, and without thinking, or even saying goodbye, he just hung up and let his phone lie in his limp fingers on the sofa cushions. It lit up and rang a moment later, but he didn’t answer it. Six more times Sebastien tried before finally giving up.

Kay was an absolute blessing in the next few days.

He didn’t tell her immediately about the whole vampire thing, but after he’d calmed down enough to be able to look at Theo without immediately busting a vein in his forehead, he hashed the basics out with him, and then told her everything. Alec told her about his newly-discovered, secret family occupation which, apparently, stretched back centuries. He told her about the fact that his eldest sister and younger brother were monster hunters in their spare time, and he told her the real reason Sebastien why had vanished overnight without a trace — yes, Alec had gone to his apartment building, only to be politely informed by the doorman that Dr. Dulac was no longer in residence and did not leave so much as a forwarding address.

That, above almost everything else, shattered Alec’s hopes of seeing him again. Like thistledown in the wind, Sebastien had simply flitted away somewhere else.

She took it about as well as he had to start with, but when she saw the seriousness in his eyes, and when, three weekends later, she came to his apartment for a definitely-not-awkward dinner with Theo, she saw video footage that Theo and his father had captured from various hunts of supernatural creatures beyond only beautiful vampires. Then she believed him. Ghouls, ghosts, reanimated corpses, demons… you name it and Theo could tell you about it.

Alec spent Christmas with Kay’s family, and Theo met him for New Year drinks in the city, joined by Ellie. It wasn’t anything like the family dynamic he’d always longed for, but the new degree of openness between them went some way to mending his still bruised heart. Slowly. Gradually. Piece by tentative, honest piece. He never joined in, but Theo started to tell him a bit about what they did. It still sounded barbaric to him, but at least it was true.

He had no word from Sebastien, and the number he had saved in his phone had been disconnected.

With the arrival of spring, Alec found himself more than usually dissatisfied with his job. He was a good teacher, and he enjoyed seeing his students’ talents evolve and grow, but the ever-increasing admin ground him down, and the politics of the faculty and the university as a whole wore on him.

“Have you seen this?” Kay asked one afternoon as they shared a takeaway coffee beneath the drifting cherry blossoms. Petals spiralled down like pastel pink and white wedding confetti, and he watched with an absent smile as a terrier snapped and sprung around on his hind legs trying to catch them while his owner stood and talked with her friend nearby. “Oi!” Kay asked, digging him in the ribs.

“Hmm?”

“Have you seen this?” she asked, shoving her phone under his nose.

He blinked, refocusing his eyes, and read the article’s headline aloud. “Council offers artists the chance to win a sponsored exhibition in the town hall with this unique competition.” He blinked. “So?”

“So?” she gawped. “You can’t be serious?”

“Send me the link. I’ll forward it to my students. They might like that.” That earned him a smack upside the head, and he scowled. “What was that for?”

“Alec, you might be the dumbest smart guy I know,” she said. “I showed it to you so that you could enter it, you giant idiot.”

He blinked. “Me?”

“I saw those charcoals you did the other week of the cathedral! They were amazing!! And the abstracts too… I still want one, by the way.”

“It’s already wrapped up for your birthday,” he groused. “You really think I should do it?”

She rolled her eyes and drained the last of her coffee without gracing him with an answer. Of course she thought he should.

“When’s the deadline?”

“Next Thursday,” she said without looking at him.

Alec licked his lips and swallowed. “Will you help me pick some images to submit?”

Her answering grin was feral.

In all honesty, Alec forgot about having even entered the competition until the letter dropped through his door six weeks later announcing that, to his utter astonishment, he had been selected as the winner. Tears blurred his eyes and he sat down heavily at the tiny kitchen table. He’d never entered any of his own art into anything like this in his whole life, and the first time he does, he gets a whole fucking public exhibition out of it?

“Maybe this year won’t be so bad after all,” he murmured. “New year, new start…” His chest still ached when he thought about Sebastien, and he hoped he was doing alright, wherever he was.

Theo had been searching for him, probably by way of apology for lying to his big brother for all these years, but he’d turned up very little. Sebastien had gone to Venice first, it seemed, presumably to spend time with Felicity and her wife, but had disappeared completely after that, with only rumours flickering here and there that he was in Paris, St. Petersburg, Prague, and then potentially Florence. Maybe.

“Venice seems like a pretty sunny place for a pair of vampires to live,” Alec commented, but Theo shrugged.

“They don’t burn up immediately in sunlight, or your professor would never have been able to take a day-job at the university. They’re sensitive to it, some more than others, but it takes a full day of constant sunlight beating down for them to burn properly.�� The callousness of his brother’s response shook him, even after all these months, and Theo must have seen it on his face because he sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said, and then added, “You really loved him, didn’t you?”

Alec shrugged. Yes, he wanted to say. I thought so. “I only knew him for a month or so,” was what he said carefully instead. “And even then… turned out I didn’t know him anyway.”

Theo, who had been lounging on Alec’s sofa with his legs spread and his head tipped back into the cushions while Alec made supper, asked quietly, “Did he seem… normal to you?”

“Normal?” Alec asked, not sure he’d heard his brother correctly.

“Yeah… like… did you ever suspect he wasn’t… you know…?”

“Human?”

Theo grunted and nodded his head. “Yeah. I guess.”

“No. Obviously not. Never crossed my mind. Why would it have?”

Theo scowled and turned his eyes to regard him. Alec knew that Theo looked like a younger version of himself, if maybe in better shape, and he wondered if he’d have the same steely look in his eyes if he’d been deemed ‘man enough’ to become a hunter, or whatever bullshit criteria their arsehole father had used to select which members of his family were to become soldiers and which would live normal lives.

“What?” Alec demanded.

“But you slept with him, right?”

“I’m not talking about that with you,” he said, briefly brandishing the wooden spoon at him.

Theo pulled a face. “I’m not asking about your sex life. Gross. No, I mean…”

In that moment, Alec spotted a flash of something in his brother’s blue eyes that softened him to the kid. He turned off the gas and went over to where Theo was now sitting hunched over with his elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair. When he looked up at Alec’s approach, his face showed open vulnerability in a way he’d not seen since they were young children and Theo had got himself into trouble at school.

“What’s going on?” Alec asked, seating himself next to his little brother.

Theo bobbed his knee like a deprived caffeine addict and bit his lip. With glassy eyes, he croaked, “I keep asking myself if we did the right thing…”

“What do you mean?”

The bravado of Theo’s early twenties melted away to become a worried, frightened, guilty little boy again and he said, “I mean… if what we do is right…”

“You mean… hunting?”

“Yeah,” he croaked.

“What set this off?”

His brother quirked him a humourless smirk and said, “You always did know when something was bothering me.”

Alec remained quiet, just watching him.

“We teamed up with some hunters from Edinburgh for a ‘vamp gone rogue’ case and we finally found her yesterday. She… She’d been turning people; trying to amass some kind of small army to take over from another vampire further up north. She was insane… like, completely, sociopathically insane, but… the people she turned… they were just…” he blinked, and Alec saw with a jolt that his eyes were full of unshed tears. “They were still just people.”

He feared he already knew where this was going. Still, he asked, “What happened?”

“Father wanted to put them down. They were terrified, chained up… still on the point of lashing out…”

Bile rose in his throat. “Oh god…”

“One of the hunters said she knew of a vampire who could help rehabilitate them; help them adjust to their new lives. One of them didn’t want to live as a vampire though, so father just…”

Theo didn’t need to finish that for Alec to know that father had ended the newly-turned vampire’s life in a heartbeat. “And the rest?”

“The other three went with the hunter. I don’t know what happened, but… I trust her. It’s just… father taught me and Ellie that vampires are mindless killers when they feed… that you can’t get close to them, that all they want at the end of the day is blood no matter what they tell you… but…” he looked up at Alec. “You’ve been fucking miserable since the whole Sebastien shit-fest. I know you’ve been trying to hide it, and you’ve got the exhibition coming up next weekend, and that’s great, but… I know you’ve stopped putting yourself out there. And we did that. We fucked it all up for you. I just…” he ran his hands through his hair and sent it into wild disarray. “I just wonder if you could really have been happy with him after all.”

Alec pulled his brother close and hugged him. “I’m not going to lie,” he murmured into his brother’s dark hair. “I’m furious with father for keeping everything from me, and for making you and mum and Ellie lie to me and Angie about it as well, but… if I hadn’t seen Sebastien’s eyes go red — yeah, I thought it was just a reflection or something — and if I hadn’t seen the way he sleeps literally like the dead… I’m not sure I would have believed you anyway. I don’t forgive him for it either, but…” he sighed deeply. “I forgive you, Theo. And Ellie.”

“And mum?”

“I’m still working on that.”

Theo went slack beneath him and snaked his arms around his brother’s waist for a moment. “Thanks,” he mumbled into Alec’s shirt.

“You’re still coming to the exhibition?” Alec asked as he pulled back and went back to the stove, giving Theo a moment of privacy to pull himself together.

In truth, Alec was a little shaken too. Their relationship had been slowly patched over the intervening months, but it still wasn’t particularly close, and the matter of Sebastien had been a permanent, proverbial elephant in the room. That Theo was questioning their father’s teaching came as an immense relief to Alec though. He poured them each a glass of wine, and the two spent the rest of the evening in a quieter kind of closeness than they’d yet shared.

When the evening of the exhibition drew round, Alec was quite frankly, a bit of a mess.

“C’mon,” Theo grinned, patting the lapels of his jacket down for him and grinning up at him. “Where’s that Twayblade hunter courage, huh?”

“Must have skipped me and all gone to you,” he quipped back. “Fuck. I’m so nervous. Why am I so nervous?”

“No fucking clue,” Theo chuckled. “You’re awesome and they’re gonna fucking love you.”

“Language,” Alec said instinctively and Theo’s laughter redoubled.

“You’re a big fucking hypocrite, you know that?” Theo laughed just as Kay sidled up with three glasses of champagne awkwardly held between her hands.

“Help a girl out here, would you, boys?” she asked, proffering the glasses to them.

Alec resisted the urge to down it in one — he’d probably only choke on the bubbles anyway — and filled his lungs instead with a big gulp of air. He tried to send all his nerves into the air and then blow it out of his body in one heaving sigh to leave him calmer, but it just gave him a head rush, so he sipped the wine and turned to look around the gallery from the corner where he’d been lurking.

“What if no one shows up?” he blurted, earning him a scowl from Theo and a pout-and-eyebrow-raise combo from Kay.

He needn't have worried in the end. The marketing team had done their work, and within an hour the place was heaving and all but three of his pieces had been reserved. Scratch that. Two.

The fact that almost all of his students had turned up as well to cheer him on and trade high fives, and scrounge free alcohol and food from the canape trays, warmed him in ways he didn’t know were possible.

Overwhelmed and a little bit tearful, he stepped out of the town hall’s main exhibition space and into the small corridor that led to a fire exit and a grotty back car park beyond, letting the flush die down from his cheeks. This was what he’d really wanted right from the moment he’d graduated all those years ago; to be an artist in his own right, with people buying his work at exhibitions… It almost made him giddy to think that he had a chance to do this full time now. It seemed that Sebastien had been right when he’d said he could really make something of himself.

Ah, there was the crash in his mood that he’d been waiting for. Nothing good lasts forever, right?

Would Sebastien have been proud of him if he knew about this? Would he have been there that night, by his side? Would they even have lasted that long anyway, even without his family’s interference?

The noise in the room was gradually dying down when he gathered enough courage to step back into the echoing hall. The pale wooden floors gleamed in the low light, the white of the temporary exhibition walls almost glowing, in stark contrast to the black and grey of his charcoals. He’d chosen mostly charcoals for the show, with a few acrylic abstracts for flavour, and apparently people loved them. Every single one had a red ‘sold’ dot beneath the label now, he noted as he cast his eyes around the room.

Then his gaze snagged on someone standing with their back to him, hands clasped loosely behind them, a long, silver-blond ponytail hanging down their back. And Alec’ vision slipped sideways.

Sebastien.

It had to be him.

No one else stood with posture like that. No one else was so tall and lean and elegant and god-damned graceful, even when just standing still. And no one else stood quite as still as that.

He let out a ragged breath and swayed slightly, glancing around. There was no sign of Theo or Kay just then, and only one or two couples meandered admiringly around the room. And there, fixated by one piece in particular, stood Sebastien.

Inhaling for courage, Alec approached and came to an unsteady halt a few feet away from him. He didn’t look real, somehow. His beauty had always been striking, but now in the low light he seemed like a mirage, with his warm olive skin and contrastingly pale hair, that cut-glass jawline and —

— He turned and met Alec’s gaze with dark brown eyes alight and glassy.

“You’re here,” Alec breathed, at a loss for anything else.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Sebastien said, and the sound of his voice sent a wild tingling through Alec’s whole nervous system. The man — vampire — looked uncharacteristically shy, uncertain, as he half turned to face him.

“Gotta say,” Alec said, scratching the back of his head, “I wasn’t expecting to see you again.”

“Should I leave?”

He chewed his lower lip for a second and Sebastien’s eyes tracked the movement before he blinked and looked back at the charcoal in front of him. It was of the Lady Chapel of the cathedral; one of the most tranquil places Alec had ever been. A shaft of light lanced down from a Gothic window high on the right, scattering fractured shards of light onto the stone floor, and behind it, just barely visible as a grey, misty outline, sat the small altar.

“You’re religious?” Alec asked.

“Mm,” Sebastien nodded. “Surprising, I know, given my ‘condition’, but there you have it.”

All the smalltalk then suddenly boiled up into thick irritation inside Alec and he scowled. “Where have you been? And why now? Why come back now? What do you want?”

He must have raised his voice fractionally because the couple admiring the seascape to their left shot them slightly scandalised looks, as if he’d started swearing in a sanctuary, and he bit back the wave of anger, halting it in its tracks.

“Shall we step outside for a moment?” Sebastien asked and Alec nodded tersely.

Passing Kay and Theo who were sitting in the chairs near the drinks table, Alec cast his eyes at them and watched Theo tense visibly. Kay laid her hand on his thigh and shook her head, at which Theo nodded and sat back, eyes hard, mouth set, but at least he didn’t appear to be on the point of leaping out and staking Sebastien on the spot.

Alec mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ at them both, and followed Sebastien out on to the street.

“You’ve patched things up with your family then?” Sebastien began, standing perfectly still beside the brick wall of the Victorian building while Alec paced.

“Mostly just with Theo, but yeah. Why are you here?” he asked again.

“Honestly? I missed you. Couldn't get you out of my head. I went all over Europe, and even to Asia briefly, and nothing I did distracted me from you, from leaving you. I had to come back.”

“You could have called,” he said, instantly regretting the way it came out like a petulant teenager’s sulking.

“And what would that have achieved?” Sebastien asked evenly. “I was hundreds of miles away.”

“You could have come back sooner? Talked to me in person?”

Sebastien sighed. “I was afraid that your family would come after me. I needed to disappear.”

“Theo convinced father to let you go. As you said yourself, your name was on the treaty, and you didn’t hurt me or hypnotise me, or whatever… did you?”

“No,” he said, pale brows pinching with evident distaste.

“Could you have?”

Sebastien levelled him with a dark look. “Yes, but… that’s not something I enjoy doing. It’s a survival mechanism — to make people forget what they’ve seen — it’s not something to be used lightly.”

“Ok, but you could have, and you didn’t, so that was another reason to let you go,” he said. God he wanted to kiss him. The realisation hit him like a gut punch and he turned away. Alec ached inside and out for those lips, those hands, those eyes… “Fuck,” he whispered, barely audible. “Are you staying?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

Alec rounded on him, frustration pouring out of him again. “Don’t answer my question with one of your own. Are you staying or not?”

Sebastien remained eerily calm, but a heartbeat later Alec saw that it wasn’t serenity in his eyes but sadness. “If you want me to, I’ll stay. I want to try again, Alec. I want… I want to be with you. I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you.”

“Feel? As in… present tense?”

“Yes. It hasn’t faded. Not with all the days and distance between us.”

“God, you sound like a shitty romance novel hero…” he scoffed. “I almost believe it.”

Sebastien spread his hands and said, “I am who — and what — I am. You know me, Alec, in a way that no one else ever has. I was utterly myself with you, except for the fact that I kept my nature from you. I hope you can at least understand why, if not forgive me. Everything else was genuine. I have never done that — been that open, that vulnerable — with anyone.”

“Even knowing what my family are?”

“Even then.”

Alec looked up at him and saw his own reflection in those dark, rich brown eyes. “Show me.”

Sebastien’s angelic face soured into a confused frown. “Show you what?”

“Your eyes. Your fangs. Show me what you are.”

“Now?”

He looked around. The street was empty on either side, with the only people around gathered outside a bar further up the street.

When he turned back to say yes to Sebastien, he found blood red eyes glowing in the man’s face. “Holy fuck,” he hissed. Every already-chiselled line on Sebastien’s face had sharpened somehow, his cheeks hollowing a little, perhaps to account for the additional hardware he now sported in his mouth, and his eyes seemed a touch more sunken. And they glowed as if lit from within.

Heartbeat thrumming out a wild tattoo, he stepped closer and Sebastien went utterly still. His chest ceased to rise and fall, and he didn’t even blink as Alec raised his fingers to his left cheek. “Show me.”

Sebastien swallowed and parted his lips. Angling his jaw a little to one side, he showed Alec the elongated canines, three quarters of an inch long. “Careful,” he murmured as Alec made to touch them. “Vampire venom is potent, even in small doses.”

“Does it really do what the hunters say it does?”

Sebastien’s red eyes glittered almost playfully. “I don’t know,” he smiled, seeming to relax a fraction. “What do they say it does?”

“Drives your victims wild, acts like a date rape drug, makes humans lose their will and their inhibitions…”

At that, a hardness returned to his features and his lip twitched in a lopsided snarl, like a wolf backed into a corner. “That’s certainly one take on it,” he said. “It creates a rush of euphoria. It’s supposed to make feeding a pleasant experience for all concerned. Endorphins in the blood make the taste sweeter, and the human feels no pain or fear.”

“Right. Gotta say I like that one better,” Alec said with a shaky smile. “But I’m not gonna risk it right here… And fuck me, your eyes are incredible.”

“They’re still red, hmm?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Closing his eyes and tilting his face upwards a little more towards the cloudy night sky, he inhaled deeply. His features softened again, and Alec watched, fascinated, as the slight bumps behind his closed upper lip slid away into nothing, presumably as his canines retracted into his gums. When he opened his eyes, they were their usual, endlessly dark brown once more.

“Better?” Sebastien asked, oddly self-conscious.

“No,” he said. “Just different.”

Something prickled on the back of his neck and he turned to find a woman silhouetted against the light of street lamp halfway up the road. “Friend of yours?” he asked, tense.

“Felicity. She came with me.”

“Why? Surely you don’t need a wingman… or, you know, woman.”

With a tiny smile, Sebastien said, “You make me more vulnerable than you realise, in more ways than one. And we weren’t sure if your family would be here.”

“Or whether they’d want to flambé you…”

“Precisely.” He inclined his head and the woman did the same, turning and vanishing even as Alec blinked.

“Can you do that too?” he asked, still gawping after her.

When he turned back, he found that Sebastien had stepped in close to him - close enough that his faint, woody cologne wafted gently around them and he felt his knees wobble slightly. He’d missed this. Oh god, he’d missed this. “Mmhmm,” Sebastien hummed. “I can.”

“Kiss me,” Alec whispered. “Please…”

Sebastien didn’t need telling twice. He took Alec’s face in both his hands and crushed a passionate kiss to his lips so hard that Alec’s mind went perfectly blank for a few beautiful seconds. When he came to, he grabbed Sebastien’s narrow hips and tugged him close, making the vampire grunt as their bodies connected.

This time, he took Sebastien’s ponytail in one hand and began to pull on it gently. Sebastien yielded at the pressure and tipped his face back, exposing the entire column of his throat to Alec without resistance. The gesture left Alec stunned and breathless. In his research with Theo over the past months, he had learned that for a vampire to expose their throat to another implied absolute trust. Overwhelmed, he pressed his lips to the bare skin and felt Sebastien gasp, grabbing at his shoulders suddenly to keep himself upright.

Over and over, the vampire shuddered tangibly beneath his touch and gasped sharply again, panting. As he shifted his hips against him, Alec felt Sebastien’s growing hardness, and at the same time, Sebastien drew back, eyes screwed shut. “Stop,” he laughed. “Not here.”

“I want you,” Alec moaned, one hand on Sebastien’s chest. “Fuck, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I want you too,” Sebastien smiled, opening his eyes. They glowed scarlet again. “And because of that, this —” he said, gesturing to his red eyes, “— isn’t going to go away quickly this time.”

“This too?” Alec said, boldly cupping the obvious bulge in Sebastien’s smart black trousers gently with his hand and making the vampire groan.

“Yeah, that too.”

“Your place or mine?” Alec asked with a dizzy grin.

“You decide. I’m booked into a hotel one street over for the next two days,” he said. “If that affects your decision in any way.”

“Yours,” he said. “I… I’ll just…” he looked over his shoulder and caught sight of the exhibition banner dangling by the door. “I should…”

Sebastien nodded slowly. “I’ll be here.”

“You’d better be,” he snarled as he adjusted himself and prayed no one would notice. He took a few steadying breaths on the threshold of the town hall and then disappeared inside.

Kay raised her eyebrows at him when he reappeared.

“Not a word,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Your hair’s a mess,” she said conversationally. “Is it windy outside?”

“Fuck off,” he grimaced and she laughed. “Where’s Theo?”

“He left out the back way,” she said. “But he told me to tell you to enjoy yourself tonight, and that he’ll stand by whatever makes you happy.”

Unexpected tears prickled his eyes and he tugged her into a hug that was probably meant for his brother.

“You can thank us later,” she said, shoving him off her. “Go be with your Prince of Darkness…”

“I’m not sure how much he’d like you calling him that,” he said as he stepped back. “I’ll have to wrap things up here first…”

It seemed to take forever, but he finally found the events coordinator and after an interminable conversation full of congratulations, agreed to stop by the next day to take down the exhibition and sort the sales out. His heart was thudding when he stepped back outside, but he let out a huge sigh when he saw Sebastien leaning against the brick building, face tilted towards the moon that was just peeking out from behind a bank of cloud.

“It’s like one of your charcoals,” Sebastien said without tearing his eyes from the sky.

Alec crossed to him and smiled when Sebastien met his gaze, red meeting blue. Alec slid his fingers into Sebastien’s where his hand hung quietly by his side.

“Ready?” the vampire asked.

Alec nodded, and let Sebastien lead him back to his hotel.

They barely made it into the lift before Alec was kissing him, backing him into the mirrored sides of the lift with a thud before the doors had even closed. He stopped suddenly, drew back and laughed, and Sebastien — who looked like he’d just got whiplash — asked, “What?”

“Vampires do have reflections after all…”

Sebastien rolled his eyes and gave an indecorous snort-laugh. The sound was rich and warm and it filled Alec’s whole consciousness for a moment. “It’s only the antique ones with genuine silver backing that don’t show our reflections. Technology has evolved, thank goodness. Now, if you don’t mind, you were kissing me senseless…”

“Sorry,” he laughed, grabbing Sebastien’s white shirt collar and tugging him down again. They nearly didn’t get out of the lift at Sebastien’s floor, but as the doors began to close again, Sebastien slid his foot into the path of the doors and dragged Alec out.

Clothes landed in a steady line on the carpet between the door of his hotel room and Sebastien’s bed, ending with them both in only their boxer-briefs on the pristine white surface of the bed. Alec was tipped back onto the duvet and lay there staring up at Sebastien who was now no longer hiding his nature from him at all. Red eyes blazed in his face and as he opened his mouth to breath heavily, the tips of his fangs were just visible. There was no denying that he was a vampire.

“Was it like this before?” Alec asked hoarsely. “I mean… did I just not see it?”

“I had to work very hard to rein all this in,” he said, kneeling on the bed and crawling a little way up it. His own boxer briefs strained at the crotch where his erection tented the fabric, and Alec’s own black ones were stained with a little spot of wetness where his cock twitched with eager interest. “I only let it slip once or twice, but you were distracted at the time.”

Alec smirked and then moaned as Sebastien’s palm skimmed up over his groin and over his stomach. He’d always been a bit self-conscious about the softer parts of him, but Sebastien worshipped him like he was some kind of immortal god, lavishing attention on him over and over until he was shaking and gasping and sweating. “Please!” he begged after what felt like hours. “Oh god, please…”

Sebastien slid off the bed and deftly removed his own underwear before encouraging Alec to lift his hips for him and drawing his boxer-briefs down too. Before Alec could think or process what was happening, Sebastien was between his legs again and had swallowed the entire length of his cock to the back of his throat in one.

“Oh fuck,” he hissed, mind whiting out.

Sparks of pleasure shot up his spine as Sebastien worked him alternately with his mouth and his hand.

He teased him, licking the slit at the tip where pre-come beaded profusely now, teasing the delicate folds of skin until Alec thought he was going to shatter apart with want. Just before it got too much to bear, Sebastien would take him back into the wet heat of his mouth and work the underside of his cock with his tongue, swallowing occasionally and making Alec’s head spin all over again.

His balls tightened and he spread his legs wider, instinctively opening himself to Sebastien.

The vampire moaned against his cock and Alec whimpered. Pulling off him, an obscenely inviting thread of saliva and pre-come connecting them briefly, Sebastien sat up and reached for the top drawer of the bedside table. “Vampires neither catch nor transmit diseases,” he said, “But if you still wish to use protection —”

“— I haven’t been with anyone since you,” he rasped. “And I’m clean anyway…”

“As you wish,” Sebastien smiled, withdrawing an almost-new bottle of lube and sitting back down between his legs. Alec eyed it and Sebastien laughed shyly. “I opened it last night…” he admitted and Alec grinned.

That smirk shattered into an open-mouthed groan as Sebastien’s finger slid inside him and he began to prepare him. There was nothing perfunctory about it either. Sebastien took his time to work him open, his fingers fucking into him slowly, almost reverently, until he crooked them and Alec yelled as white-hot pleasure shot through him.

“Still so sensitive,” Sebastien crooned and Alec just shivered in response. His thighs were quivering too now from the effort of not bucking upwards into the empty air, his cock drooling freely over his slightly soft stomach with each futile twitch. He knew he was a wanton mess, and he couldn’t quite find it within himself to care. It seem to drive Sebastien wild anyway.

When Sebastien added a third finger, still stroking up and down his thigh with his other hand, Alec broke.

“Please, please, please,” he whimpered, out of breath and desperate. He cracked his eyes open and looked down at Sebastien to find that his red eyes had been almost eclipsed by his blown pupils. He gave a weak buck of his hips to try and encourage Sebastien to get on with it, but the vampire seemed utterly transfixed by him. He worked his fingers over Alec’s prostate gently but with absolute precision, and it was going to make Alec lose his mind altogether.

“Pleasepleaseplease, I need you, please…” he wailed as Sebastien’s mercifully short and blunt fingernail caught him just so and sent another jolt through him.

Finally the vampire moved, but as he withdrew completely, the loss almost shattered him. “Shh,” he smiled, stroking a soothing circle at Alec’s hipbone. “I’m still here…”

Alec whimpered like a wounded animal but his foggy brain accepted that the loss was only temporary, and he watched as Sebastien took his own flushed cock in his hands and slicked lube up the length of it in a couple of efficient strokes, head bowing under the attention it was receiving at last. He’d focused solely, completely, on Alec’s pleasure for all that time, and the realisation sent a fresh wave of lust rolling through Alec’s entire body.

He spread his legs, but Sebastien caught Alec under his left thigh and raised his leg easily, exposing Alec completely. Before Alec could process anything, his tip was nudging at Alec’s entrance, and then he had sunk all the way in to the hilt.

Sebastien froze then, bowed forwards over Alec like a supplicant, canines openly bared, eyes screwed shut, not even breathing.

“Sebastien… please…” Alec grunted. He’d never felt as full and whole as he had with Sebastien inside him, and yet this wasn’t enough. He’d ached for this. For months, he’d ached for it, and still it wasn’t enough. “Bast, please…”

Finally, the vampire opened his searing red eyes and began to move.

Slowly at first, he picked up his pace until Alec’s back was arching and his fingers clawed great furrows in the sheet beneath him. With each thrust, Alec saw stars at let out little fractured, broken gasps. Sebastien was quiet, almost silent, while Alec himself was unable to stop the sounds from tumbling out of him. He moaned and whimpered, gasped and cursed and begged until Sebastien yanked him further down the bed and lifted his hips a little way off the mattress entirely.

From this new angle, it was so blindingly good that Alec went alternately taut and limp with ecstasy. “I’m close,” he gasped over the slap of Sebastien’s hips meeting his skin.

The vampire snarled then; an inhuman sound that sent the hairs prickling all down Alec’s body.

“Come for me,” Alec begged in a whisper, opening his eyes and watching as Sebastien chased his release with a ferocity he’d never shown before. He wasn’t careless with his strength, but he was certainly forceful. Had Alec wanted to grunt ‘stop’, he knew the vampire would halt, but that was the furthest thing from his mind as he watched the flawless perfection of this man above him. “God you’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “Come for me, Bast…”

And at the sound of his name, uttered in little more than an abbreviated wheeze, Sebastien went still, hips spasming as his spine arched back like a bow at full draw, mouth open, head thrown back, fangs bared, eyes rammed shut, a sheen of sweat covering his perfect, bronze chest, his silver hair falling around him like a veil.

The sight of him like that wrenched Alec’s orgasm from him with such sudden force that he almost blacked out, and he clenched around Sebastien’s still-twitching cock as he spilled all over himself. Vaguely, he felt Sebastien trying to withdraw, but he grunted, “Don't… not yet… please… I… unngghh…” Unable to finish the sentence as the last shock waves fluttered through him, Alec went limp against the bed, breathing hard, his blood roaring in his ears.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before Sebastien did finally move, but eventually he slid his softening cock out of him and Alec grunted at the cool slide of the vampire’s release down his thigh. He was too spent and exhausted to care about the mess though, and as Sebastien collapsed onto the bed beside him, he cracked one eye open.

Sebastien lay on his left side with his cheek pillowed on his bicep, facing Alec with his eyes closed, and he didn’t seem to be breathing. Tentatively, clumsily in the daze of his recent, mind-blowing orgasm, Alec reached out and touched the delicate skin on the inside of his arm. Sebastien jolted like he’d received an electric shock, and opened his eyes. They still burned bright red, but the rest of his face seemed a little softer somehow.

“You alright?” Alec asked.

Sebastien nodded.

“Been a while too, huh?” Alec grinned, flopping back down to stare at the ceiling where little points of light still sparkled across his vision every now and again.

“Not since that last night with you,” he said, words slurred with exhaustion. “Unless you count my rather pathetic climax alone last night, which I certainly don’t.”

“Not at all?”

He shook his head but didn’t speak again. The vampire lay perfectly still — perfectly undead — and perfectly vulnerable beside him without even a sheet to cover him. His cock now lay soft across the top of his right thigh, still drooling a little and making a mess on his olive skin. Not half as much mess as Alec was currently sporting over his torso, he mused with another smile.

With Sebastien showing no sign of stirring, Alec rolled carefully off the bed and headed on shaky legs to the shower. When he returned, Sebastien hadn’t moved, and he slid in beside him, drawing the sheets up around them and lying there to stare at him in the dimness of the unlit room, processing everything. Sebastien was back, and apparently wanted to stay. He could hardly believe how well that day had gone.

Waking the next morning with a cool, lean body pressed against him, Alec sighed, relieved that it hadn’t all been some kind of fever dream brought on by the stress of the exhibition.

The fact that the man next to him was an undead vampire who didn’t breathe in his sleep was a bit unnerving, and the way he had his cheek now resting on Alec’s collarbone and his nose pressed against his neck should also probably have been a bit of a warning, but Alec couldn’t bring himself to move, except to place a soft kiss on his forehead.

Suddenly, as if surfacing from boundless depths, Sebastien’s body heaved and he drew in a great, sucking, rasping inhale through his mouth. His lips brushed against Alec’s pulse and Sebastien began breathing heavily there for a moment.

“That will never not be weird,” Alec murmured.

“Apologies,” Sebastien muttered, trying to roll away. He paused, freezing, and then whispered, “I fell asleep…” as if that was something miraculous.

“Yeah, you passed out almost as soon as we both finished,” he snickered.

Sebastien turned his big, dark, doe eyes on Alec and said, “No, you don’t understand. Vampires don’t just shut down like that the way humans do. We only sleep somewhere we know is secure and safe…”

“Oh,” Alec said significantly as the realisation plunged through him. He tucked his arm under Sebastien’s head and tugged him closer so that their bodies were once again flush with one another. “I’m glad you felt safe…”

Sebastien sighed, trailing his fingertips across Alec’s chest in absent circles. His cock twitched too, and Alec shot him a look.

With a bashful smile, Sebastien said, “I can’t help that I find you attractive, Alec…”

“Wasn't complaining,” he grinned.

It was a long time before they rolled off each other that morning, with the sun well up and the sheets damp with sweat and tangled around their ankles. Vampires, it seemed, had a longer refractory period than humans, but Sebastien also came so big when he did that Alec wasn’t surprised. He gave everything to Alec when he came that Alec could quite happily lie there all day just staring at him as he came down afterwards.

The room was chilly, however, and when Sebastien seemed to have dozed off again around ten o’clock, he headed to clean up. Again.

As the steam billowed around him, he tipped his head back into the stream of searing water and nearly yelped as the shower door opened and let in a rush of cold air as Sebastien stepped into the stall as well. Cool hands found his waist and then strong fingers kneaded his arse appreciatively before Sebastien kissed and nibbled up his shoulder and traps to his neck. Instinctively, Alec tilted his head to one side and Sebastien moaned, pressing open-mouthed kisses there over and over as the hot water coursed around his lips.

The sensation must have been too much for him because he pulled back sharply with a hiss and Alec turned to face him, water still streaming down around them. Sebastien stood frozen, eyes red, staring at Alec’s neck. “I shouldn’t…” he began. “That was stupid of me… I…”

“What happens to the treaty if the human is willing?” Alec found himself asking. He’d thought about it a lot before drifting off the previous night. If Sebastien had wanted to drink from him, to feed on him, what would happen to the tenuous peace between hunters and vampires like him.

“Don’t,” Sebastien said through gritted teeth. His canines were elongated, Alec noted.

“What happens?”

“The only way it’s permitted is if the human agrees by written contract to become the vampire’s source.”

“‘Source’?” he asked. “That sounds like an official title.”

“It is,” Sebastien said, relaxing a fraction and putting his hands back on Alec’s hips. His cock stirred with interest and Sebastien smiled. He leaned back in, as if proving to both of them that he could do this, and kissed down Alec’s neck again from the junction of his jaw all the way to his collarbones. He ground his hips against Alec and they both began to harden again.

Alec’s hand went to Sebastien’s cock and he started to stroke him gently, knowing he was still sensitive from their last round. Sebastien let out a ragged exhale, the cool breath making Alec shiver slightly in the heat of the water.

“So…” Alec pressed gently, thumbing across the top of Sebastien’s flushed cock.

“Hmm?” he asked, a little stunned.

“What is a source?”

“A human becoming a vampire’s source means that the vampire drinks only from that human. It’s… an ancient - ah - custom,” he said, gripping Alec’s shoulders as Alec upped the speed and adjusted his grip to tighten just a little around his now fully hard cock. “Rarely used today, but still… nngh…”

“Mmm?” Alec grinned, loving that the vampire’s thoughts were unravelling under his touch. “Go on.”

“You’re a menace,” he laughed breathily, nipping playfully at his neck and then kissing him hard. Alec’s back suddenly hit the icy tiles behind him and he yelped, rearing into Sebastien who wasn’t all that much warmer, though the heat of the water was raising his body temperature from the ambient temperature of the room.

“So if…” Alec began, somewhat distracted as Sebastien’s kisses continued and the vampire raked his fingers through Alec’s wet hair, scraping luxuriantly across his scalp hard enough to make him break off and groan. “If… if I wanted to become your…”

“Don’t,” Sebastien whispered. “Not yet. Not so soon after… all this time.”

The subtext was clear. Let’s see if this is going to last before I risk my life with the hunters guild and your family, shall we?

“Fair enough. Nothing to say I can’t suck you off now though, right?”

“Nothing at all,” he whispered and then immediately cursed as Alec sank to his knees and did just that.

It was only as he was handing in his own letter of resignation that the truth really sank in for Alec. He’d gone from post-grad assistant in the department to a full lecturer, where he’d stayed for six years, and now he was moving a little way out of the city, and moving in with his boyfriend of a year. A vampire, nonetheless. His life had gone from miserable to wonderful in that relatively short time.

Sebastien met him at the edge of campus after he’d handed the letter personally to the head of department. Standing under the verdant cherry trees, Sebastien looked like a vision. He wore tight, dark jeans and a loose shirt, half untucked, with his long hair tied back in a loose plait, fly-aways wisping around his head like mist. Alec walked straight up to him as the vampire opened his arms, flung his own arms around Sebastien’s neck, and hugged him.

“All done?” Sebastien asked without pulling back.

He nodded and popped back down from his toes. They were both tall men, but Sebastien had a few inches on him still. With a slightly doe-eyed expression, Sebastien smiled and kissed him gently. “I love you,” he said softly between kisses.

“Come on, you big sap,” Alec said. “I’ve got to be out of my apartment at four.”

“Such a romantic,” Sebastien sighed melodramatically.

With Sebastien’s supernatural strength, loading up the little van they’d hired for his stuff didn’t take long, and after giving his keys back to the landlord and signing the final bits and bobs, they were on the road.

The old farmhouse had been a find of Sebastien’s, and it needed some work. “Well, what else am I going to do on long, impossibly sunny summer days while you’re running your own business from the little art studio at the bottom of the garden?” Sebastien had laughed when they’d first viewed it, the back of his hand pressed to his forehead in a terribly ‘put upon’ gesture. “I might as well spruce the place up.”

“It needs more than a light ‘sprucing up’,” Alec had said, brows raised at the rotten wooden beam and the tired 1950’s kitchen. “And don’t tell me you made your wealth flipping houses back in the day.”

“Would you rather I told you I robbed the Bank of England and they still haven’t noticed?” he replied archly before planting a kiss squarely on Alec’s scratchy, stubble-darkened cheek.

With a scowl, Alec had shot him a look. “I honestly don’t know whether that’s a lie or not…”

“It’s a lie,” Sebastien snorted. “I can’t believe you think I’m a criminal.”

“You’re a vampire,” he’d retorted. “You could probably have just walked in there and demanded a small fortune in gold ingots and they wouldn’t have objected…”

“Please. I do have some scruples. And besides, I only use my charms on poor, miserable artists to get into their pants…”

“And their hearts too, apparently,” he’d scoffed as they’d left the dilapidated house with Sebastien’s hand in Alec’s back pocket, fingers firmly cupped around his arse.

It took another six months for the work to be completed, and even with Sebastien’s not inconsiderable talents in the DIY and home improvement departments, they still had to call in a team of builders to fix the pointing in one wall and to sort out a few other structural issues. But by the end of the work, the farmhouse was quite frankly the most stunning place Alec could ever have dreamed of living. Exposed oak beams and a fireplace big enough to park a tractor in were only half of the best features of the place.

One clear, frosty evening in late October, the pair sat outside on the recently finished patio, a small cast iron fire-pit crackling away and sending sparks and heat twisting up into the night sky, a glass of wine each in one hand and their free hand clasped around the other’s.

“Bastien…?” Alec said, not taking his eyes from the mother-of-pearl points of light in the sky above.

“Mmm?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately about… about becoming your source.” He didn’t miss the sharp inhale from his partner, nor the way Sebastien went completely still in the wooden chair beside him. He also didn’t say anything. “I’d… I’d like to ask how often you’d need to feed from me, and… what the repercussions would be for me as the human…”

Still Sebastien didn’t speak for a long time, and Alec worried he’d spoilt the serenity of their evening with the sensitive question. Finally, the vampire cleared his throat and Alec realised with a jolt that he was near tears.

“Bast?”

At the sound of the pet-name, Sebastien blinked rapidly and two mirroring tears tracked down his cheeks in perfect synchrony. “I thought you’d forgotten all about it,” he said in a hoarse croak. “I didn’t want to bring it up again.”

“You should have done, silly,” Alec groused, and he was met with a watery smile that didn’t meet his eyes at all.

“Well, to answer your questions,” he said, trying to sound unaffected even if he clearly was. “Every three months is safe enough, so long as you take an iron supplement. If you don’t, you might feel a little more tired right afterwards. We generally take slightly less than a person would give at a blood donation, if that helps put it into context.”

Alec turned and frowned at him.

“What?”

“You’ve gone all clinical,” he said, shuffling a little and setting his wine glass down on the edge of the stone fire pit. “Do you not want this anymore?”

Sebastien swallowed thickly and looked away. In the ochre and copper flicker of the flames before them, his suddenly red eyes seemed to glow like coals. “More than you know…” he rasped.

“Then what’s the problem?”

He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment before turning back to face Alec with glassy eyes. “I’m frightened.”

Alec’s scowl deepened and he rose from his chair to straddle and sink down into Sebastien’s lap. Settled in his new position, he kissed Bast’s lips and stroked his loose, white-blond hair out of his eyes. “Of what?”

“Losing control. It’s been… decades since… If I hurt you, Alec… it would break me.”

“How about we start small? Just a taste?”

Sebastien looked so young then in the firelight. He suddenly looked like the twenty year old man he had been when he’d been conscripted into the army and sent out to battle to die, only to be turned at the eleventh hour by a nurse in a field hospital who’d seen something special in him. Thank god she had, Alec mused.

Alec leaned back a little and brought his index finger slowly to Sebastien’s lips. The vampire swallowed, red gaze drifting down to watch its approach before looking back at Alec’s face, searching, questioning, doubting.

Alec nodded and slid his fingertip a few millimetres into Sebastien’s mouth. The vampire inhaled, closed his eyes, and then opened his mouth properly. Alec brought the pad of his fingertip to the underside of his right canine, and pressed.

After a moment, the pressure gave way and a prick of pain like a needle pierced his skin. A bead of blood welled there instantly and he withdrew to let it swell. Sebastien clearly smelled the blood because his pupils dilated and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Easy,” Alec said. “It’s only a drop.” And with that, he turned his finger over and held it above the tip of Sebastien’s tongue.

Paralysed in a heartbeat of terror, Sebastien sat rigid, frozen, wide eyed, but Alec lowered his finger to meet the slight roughness of his tongue, and Sebastien’s eyes rolled. He moaned and let his tongue play across the tiny pinprick wound, fingers digging into Alec’s hips. The tiny wound had already stopped bleeding, but he sucked gently, drawing a little taste more. Then he released Alec and stared at him, a look of stunned awe on his beautiful face.

“How was that?” Alec asked, briefly thumbing a fond arc across Sebastien’s cheekbone before dropping his hand.

“Manageable,” Sebastien murmured.

“Ok, I have to ask, do I taste good?”

The tense spell that encapsulated both of them broke and Sebastien cracked a smile, fangs and all. “Yes,” he rasped.

“So… I can become your source?”

“If you wish it, yes. You can withdraw the honour at any time. I won’t hold you to it.”

“Good to know,” he said, only half laughing. A moment later, he said, “When… When do you want to start… you know… properly. Formally?”

Sebastien’s eyes had drifted to the rabbiting pulse in his neck.

“Now?” he asked. “It’s only been a few weeks since you went to the blood bank though…”

“That’s…” he said, hands finding Alec’s waist and holding him gently. “That probably works in my favour this time. Are you sure you want this?”

“To be ‘yours’ on your terms as well as mine? Of course,” he smiled, and watched as another tear rolled down his perfect olive cheek. He tilted his head to one side, feeling a little sheepish, and said in barely a whisper, “Whenever you like.”

“Really? Now?” Sebastien hissed, chest suddenly heaving. “Just like that?”

Alec laughed quietly. “It’s not as if we’ve just met. I know you, Bast. I trust you. I wouldn’t offer this to just any old vampire, you know?”

Unable to stop the smile from twisting his lips, Sebastien finally relented with a nod. “Alright. But not here. You’re going to want to be more comfortable.”

“But I’m already comfortable here,” he whined playfully, wiggling his hips in Sebastien’s lap, eliciting a deep, rumbling groan.

With a roll of his red eyes, Sebastien sighed. “Stubborn arse,” he grumbled without sting.

“You love my arse.”

“Yes, you’re right. I do,” he said.

Tenderly he ran his thumb down the line of Alec’s carotid and inhaled deeply. “I love you,” he whispered. And then he leaned close. He took his time kissing Alec’s neck until he was gasping and rocking his hips against Sebastien.

“Please…”

“Last chance,” Sebastien said against the skin of his throat.

Alec shook his head. “I want this. I’m yours.”

So the vampire sank his fangs into the artery. After the initial surprise and sting, Alec’s whole body lit up as the venom hit his bloodstream, and he bucked into Sebastien who held him still with what should have been frightening ease. There was no fear behind the gesture, only longing and love and sweet, aching, rolling, unending pleasure.

“Oh fuck,” Alec moaned, going limp in his arms as Sebastien began to feed, withdrawing his fangs to draw more deeply on him while he held him easily in his arms. The vampire moaned, lips locked against his skin so as not to spill anything. The motion of his throat suddenly fascinated Alec as he swallowed down his own life-force, but before he could raise his hand to touch fingertips to his Adam’s apple, pleasure exploded in his mind and he forgot everything.

When he came back to himself, he was inside, lying on their bed, with a small, soft dressing over his neck, and Sebastien sitting quietly on the bed beside him, staring down at him and holding his hand. As he blinked his eyes, he frowned. “What…?”

“It’s intense the first time,” Sebastien murmured fondly. “I did say you’d want to be somewhere more comfortable.”

“ S’perfect,” he slurred. “Fuck me…” he added, more curse than command.

“Maybe later, hmm?” Sebastien smiled. There was a flush to his cheeks that Alec had never seen before, and a brightness to his eyes.

“C’mere,” Alec said, patting the bed beside him. With Sebastien lying silently next to him, Alec rolled over and hooked one leg over Bast’s thigh. “Love you,” he mumbled, sinking into a deep and exhausted sleep, even as Sebastien’s hand came up to cradle his head.

The vampire smiled, kissing his forehead. “I love you too.”

___

Hope you've enjoyed this 23,700k story! Looking forward to your comments as always. Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

#vampire #exophilia #male vampire #male vampire x human #male vampire x male human #vampire x human

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passivenovember · 4 years ago

Text

You Look Stupid When You’re Sad.

Steve Harrington smelled of sour patch kids and unbaked cookie dough.

Billy didn't think it was a bad smell, exactly, just weird; intense, heady, and stuck to the walls of his brain. Doughy when the sunlight couldn't dry the track marks of Steve's sweat before nap time, heady when it got into Billy's system and stuck with him like the thrum of his heartbeat.

Wherever Billy went Steve Harrington was there. Like a shadow. A noisy, scrawny, wire-frame glasses wearing shadow that elbowed its way into the chair across from Billy's during lunch and followed him around at recess; three feet behind and always pretending to spot interesting shapes in the clouds when he thought Billy wasn't looking, but.

Billy was always looking.

It was so weird.

Steve was so weird. The way he made bright, happy noises when he was paired with Billy for station time, how he always drug his mat over from the other side of the room to sleep next to Billy when it was time to zonk out after second recess despite knowing that the spot was saved for Barbara, Billy's actual best friend.

She got nightmares and Billy liked to be there to hold her hand while she dreamed but every afternoon, without fail, Steve came wondering over with his lip stuck out in a question.

It was confusing.

Steve was so confusing. The way he hugged his mat to his chest, chin quivering with a little, "Okay. Sorry, Bills." Every time Billy slapped his hand on the carpet and growled that the spot was taken. Occupation, not reserved for pasty-kneed dorks with wire frame glasses, and.

Billy didn't want to make the kid cry, or anything, but he always managed to do just that. Paint himself as a bad guy.

Billy rubbed his forehead as Barb settled in on his left hand side one afternoon after such an altercation, smiling so big her lips disappeared behind the plastic frames of her glasses.

"What's wrong, Stevie?" She asked, and.

Billy tried not to be jealous.

Steve hiccupped, cheeks growing redder by the second. "I wanna nap with you guys but Billy won't let me."

"Hey, that's not--"

"You can sleep with us if you want to. Billy has a really big blanket, maybe he can share with both of us." Barbara looked at him expectantly, like. "Right Billy?"

And it was dumb.

It was so dumb, that they were staring at him with hopeful eyes and Steve's chin was still quivering and Billy didn't want to be the bad guy; he wasn't Mesogog and he didn't want to hurt the kid's feelings, but.

Steve Harrington got under his skin. With his soft hair and big brown eyes, always following Billy around and begging for the space to be made. Billy got clumsy and nervous when Bambi was nearby, and.

The idea of sharing space. Sleeping next to Steve with his chirpy little noises and warm soft hands, it.

Made Billy feel like he was breaking out in itchy red bumps.

No.

He would stick to his guns; the blanket just wasn't big enough for three people. But then, Billy's grumpy brain supplied, Steve could steal Barbara and keep her as his own best friend if Billy didn't let him stay, so. It was time to cut his losses.

"God, you look stupid when you're sad." Billy muttered.

Steve started crying again.

Billy really wished he'd stop that.

"I'm sorry, Billy. I know I'm dumb but I don't mean to be." Steve whimpered. He tucked his mat under his arm and made to get up.

And leave.

As if Billy would let Steve make him look bad in front of everyone, especially Barbara.

"Lay down, dork." Billy grumbled, tugging the blanket up around his shoulders and peeling it back for Steve reluctantly.

Harrington's smile was so bright it could've melted crayons when he settled in close, chirping happily as Billy pulled the blanket around them and tucked in on impulse. The room went dark, Mr. Talamantez reminding them to count butterflies if sleep wouldn't come.

It didn't.

Steve smelled too much like cream and sugar for Billy to get any rest at all.

"Whatcha making, Billy?" Steve asked, pink tongue poking out in concentration as he peered over Billy's arm at his art project.

A stack of pink and red construction paper was Billy's favorite thing in the world because it meant endless possibilities. Pink was soft and sweet, red was passionate and cool. Like hot wheels and firetrucks and hearts full of warm oven mitts, so.

He pulled the leaflets from his backpack during circle time and got busy, carefully folding the delicate paper hamburger style and then tracing swirly, dramatic lines for each heart on the page.

Valentines was Billy's most favorite day of the year.

Even more than Christmas, even more than his birthday, and only a little bit more than Halloween because on Valentines? The whole universe was covered in flowers and little tin wrapped chocolates and love hearts were the best thing for a kid to make with scissors.

Billy ignored Steve's tongue, turning his shoulders to the room. "I'm making love hearts."

"For who?"

"None of your beeswax."

"Okay," Steve said happily, grabbing a handful of markers and re-situating himself much closer than Billy would've liked. Steve's Nike's tapped the itsy-bitsy-spider on the rug as he declared, "I'm drawing batman on a surfboard!"

And Billy tossed aside his first ruined Valentine. "Oh cool, I don't remember asking."

"That's okay," Steve giggled. "Sometimes I get motor mouth. My Daddy says it's 'cause I'm a fruit."

"My daddy called me that sometimes before he got sick." Billy turned to glare at him. "That's not a good thing."

"It is to me!" Steve giggled again. He was always doing that. "I like Kiwis. My mommy packed some for lunch and I had them for breakfast. They're yummy in geek yogurt. They make me smile because they have beards!"

Steve cackled like kiwi's having beards was the funniest thing on earth and Billy wondered what there was to be so happy about.

He tried not to smile at Steve's dumb face. "I think you mean Greek yogurt."

"Yeah, probably. If I'm like a kiwi, that's alright, I think." Steve's tongue poked out again. "Surfboards make me think of you." He declared, and.

Steve smelled like toasted chocolate on s'mores, his hands somehow kicking up more of his sugary sweet odor each time he reached for a new piece of paper. Billy didn't know how he was supposed to get anything done when his circle buddy smelled like a chocolate birthday cake.

It was kinda gross.

Billy pulled out a sliver marker and traced Stinky Butt Max on one of the smaller Valentines, remembering to fold down the corners so the sensitive skin on her palms wouldn't get hurt when she inevitably started smacking him it.

The pink Valentine looked more like a chewed up Starburst gummy this way, but. Max wouldn't know the difference.

Steve peered over his shoulder again, cooing softly. Like a baby dove. "That ones pretty, Bills! Is Max your Valentine?"

"Ew," Billy wrinkled his nose like he sometimes did when Max needed a diaper change. "She's my baby sister, don't be an Ick Monster."

"What's an Ick Monster?"

"Somebody who makes weird jokes and says weird things, so." Billy shrugged, scrawling his mothers name on a second love heart. He poked Steve's tummy with his marker. "That's you, I think."

Steve giggled before slapping Billy's hand away, and. Watching him work.

After a while Steve inched closer. "So you don't have a Valentine?" He wondered, and.

Billy didn't understand the question. "Mr. Talamantez said we're all each other's Valentines so nobody feels sad."

"Yeah, but. Everybody has someone they want to smooch on Valentines." Steve started playing with his hair, fingers twisting waves in a sea of brown, like they sometimes did when he was nervous. "Someone they like best-best. Better than all the other kids."

Now it was Billy's turn to giggle. "That's icky."

"Smooching?" Steve's eyes sparkled. "It's fun sometimes."

"Like you've ever kissed anyone."

Steve looked offended. "Have too."

"Have not."

"Have too," Steve pouted, crossing his arms.

Billy began work on a third Valentine. "Who did you kiss?"

"Nancy Wheeler."

Billy snorted, not sure if he wanted to imagine Steve kissing Nancy Wheeler, or. Kissing at all.

Steve's chin started quivering. "You don't believe me?"

"No." Billy said lightly, capping the marker with a sniff.

Kissing was not fun. It was wet and violent and looked like it maybe hurt a little bit, the way he'd seen his mom and Susan kiss when he got up to go potty at night. Billy regarded Steve through easy, narrowed eyes; Steve wasn't the kind of boy who kissed like that.

"How come you're so weird?" Billy wondered.

"I like being weird." Steve said, reaching for a green marker to color in his surfboard. Steve nodded at the small pile of Valentine's strewn on the carpet between them. "You should put the love hearts on foam when you're done."

"I was already gonna do that, genius."

Billy wasn't already going to do that, but he'd eat a centipede before he let Harrington know he came up with a good idea.

"They could be superhero colors!" Steve hollered suddenly. He was so loud all the time. "That way your mommy and sissy can know that you love them because they're cool. Like Aqua-man."

Billy frowned, watching Steve fold his Batman drawing over and over again until it all but disappeared from sight. He leaned back against the wall with an eye roll, shocked out how much Harrington lacked any concept of taste, or.

Shame.

"Aqua-man isn't cool," Billy said. Because Aqua-man wasn't, he was like. The lamest of them all. "His only power is making the bad guys drown, at least the other heroes can punch really hard."

"Punching isn't always the best, though." Steve tucked Batman into the front pocket of his shirt, leaning into Billy's space. "Sometimes punching just makes the bad guys stronger. Like Wilson Fisk."

Billy frowned. "Punching works for Spiderman."

Steve considered this fact, pink tongue poking out from the corner of his mouth again. He thought really hard for a long time, as if Steve didn't have Spiderman socks on everyday at recess when he removed his Nike's to fill them with rocks.

Such a weird guy.

Finally, Steve smiled. "I like water, though. Your eyes are like water. From the fountain in the hallway, and like the lake at camp." Steve pushed his way into Billy's space, frowning with his head cocked to the side like there was more thinking to cross of the list. "You're very pretty, Billy. Like a cloud."

And.

Billy didn't have the words to articulate the way Steve's smell went a little crazy after that, like a bag of powdered sugar had caught fire from a signal light once he realized what he'd said. Billy waited for Steve to take it back, because.

Boys calling other boys pretty wasn't allowed in Mr. Talamantez' classroom, or. Anywhere else.

Steve didn't take it back.

"You wouldn't like Aqua-Man's water, 'cause you'd drown." Billy said, getting back to work on his Valentines if only for a distraction from the way Steve was watching him. "He doesn't control his power very well and sometimes the mean guys get hurt real bad."

Steve kept right on talking. "I wouldn't be a mean guy though," He reasoned, sliding impossibly closer on the alphabet rug. "I'd help him fight crimes. Like Captain Underpants!"

And.

Billy had nothing to say to that, sucked in and drowning by the way Steve's eyes were glittering.

"You're a weird guy, you know?" Billy breathed.

Steve's giggle went right to Billy's tummy, teaching it to do backflips, somehow.

"That's okay." Steve said, reaching back for a fresh piece of paper. "You'll remember me better and maybe you'll ask me to be your Valentine."

Steve's hair fell across his eyes, head bopping along to whatever song he was singing to himself today. His lips glittered like a frosted donut. Like he'd been eating a strawberry ice cream cone instead of confusing all the boys around him.

Maybe you'll ask me to be your Valentine.

Huh.

Billy started work on a new love heart and pretended not to notice.

On Tuesday morning Billy woke to the smell of pancakes and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Maxine was already up.

Her long red hair was piled on top of her head in two Princess Leia buns. Susan had put in little heart clips and the pink dress Billy's mommy had made special was already covered in mashed banana and something that looked like magic marker.

She was all ready for Valentines day.

Billy didn't understand why they bothered trying to make her look dainty when Max was more interested in destroying Billy's favorite toys and starting fires.

She sat on the floor of the room they shared together, sucking her thumb and playing with Billy's favorite race car. Her wet, chubby fingers made the blue Camaro shine brightly with spit and Billy felt like his face was burning up.

"Hey," He said, rubbing at his eyes. "Hey, you're getting spit all over my--"

"Race car!"

Max held it out to him triumphantly. Billy frowned, moving to grab it from her chubby little fist. "I know that's my race--"

"It's a blue car," Max said thoughtfully. She looked at him, like, "Blue cars are my favorite."

"It's my favorite too--"

"Can we share?" Max wondered, putting the little wheels on Billy's knee and letting the car zoom back and forth. He imagined that Evel Knievel was in the drivers seat wondering why his car wasn't first in the race.

She looked happy, like always, to be playing with Billy's toys.

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess we can share. It's Valentine's Day."

Max seemed to enjoy that. "I like today!"

"You do?"

"Yup," She said happily, little chubby fingers tangling in Billy's hair because he hadn't brushed it yet. "Candy and sour gummy worms and kisses from cute boys!"

Billy glared. "You're kissing cute boys?"

"Uh-huh!" Max hollered. "Lucas gave me a dandelion."

Billy thought long and hard.

About Valentines Day and all the things that came with it. The pink shirt that hung pressed in his closet, fresh cupcakes with plastic rings, a bag of Scooby-doo Valentines Susan had picked up at the market for all his classmates, homemade love hearts at the bottom of his backpack. Three with red foam, one with a delicate lace doily, and.

Kisses.

Max was getting flowers and kisses from a boy.

From someone special.

Billy took the race car from Max's hand and drove it around, thinking about boys with brown eyes and soft hands.

Maybe you'll ask me to be your Valentine.

"Wanna eat some breakfast, Max?"

"I had 'nanas." She said with a smirk.

Billy hummed, standing to get dressed. "Mama probably made chocolate chip pancakes, you don't wanna eat something special?"

Max's little red eyebrows pinched together. "I can have yours?"

And.

Billy didn't know what was so necessary to her about taking everything that was his. Playing with his toys, sleeping in his pj's, eating his breakfast, it was like Max didn't know how take something and make it her own.

Billy pulled the pink shirt over his head, feeling every bit like a turtle when Max did the same with the collar of her dress.

"You can have my pancakes." Billy concluded, puffing out his chest. "If you'll be my Valentine."

"You don't have a boy to kiss?"

"I might," Billy picked the race car off the ground with a smile. "This is practice for when I see him at school. So, will you be my Valentine?"

She thought about it.

Long and hard, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth, before nodding with her entire body. "I think he will."

Billy sighed. "Really?"

"If you give him sour gummy worms and smooch his forehead he will," Max said.

And.

Maybe things would turn out okay. Billy nodded, grabbing the race car and driving it across Max's forehead, careful that the little plastic wheels didn't get stuck in her hair.

From the stucco ceiling of the classroom beautiful strands of silver and gold hearts painted a mirage of stars.

All the desks had a rose and a cardboard mailbox intended for the delivery of Valentines and at the center of the room a table filled with cupcakes and strawberry Capri-sun packets. Preparation for the party this afternoon, and.

Mr. Talamantez had turned their space into a glittering, perfect fairytale.

Billy hugged his basket of Valentines close to his chest and tried not to search for Steve before dropping his backpack at the cubby station.

He was right in the middle of tugging his special sweater down over his head when Barbara scooted in next to him, pretty in a little pink jumpsuit.

She handed him a tiny, delicate giftbag full of chocolate hearts and dinosaur erasers, smiling from ear to ear as Billy hugged her nice and tight before handing off something he had made special. A tiny paper crane his mommy helped him fold, and a bunch of rainbow goldfish sat nestled in a basket of paper Mache.

They were her favorite snack in the whole world and Barbara was Billy's favorite person, so it seemed fitting.

She hugged him and Billy smiled, peering around the room for a head of wavy brown hair. "We could share our presents with Steve," He muttered, like. It wasn't a big deal or anything. Billy tugged on the sleeves of his red sweater and tried to stay cool. "Where is he?"

Barbara pointed to the book shelves.

Steve was sat under a string of twinkly lights, shoulders tucked against the pillows Mr. Talamantez set aside for circle time. His face was buried in the crook of his elbow, and.

He was crying.

Of course he was crying.

Billy felt the Valentine in his pocket grow heavy.

Barbara said, "Steve broke his glasses, maybe you could make him smile?"

And.

Billy wanted to do that. Longed to make Steve giggle and chirp with happiness like the annoying little Meadowlark he seemed be. It would be so easy to. Walk over there, tap Steve's shoulder, and say the words.

Pose the question.

Will you be my Valentine?

Steve was making huffy, nervous little noises when Billy came to a stop beside him.

"Hey Harrington, playing with all your friends?" Billy sneered, confident that Steve would giggle like he was did, but.

When he finally turned around his face was red and puffy. As if he'd been crying all morning and all night, too.

"What do you want, Billy?" Steve whispered.

He sounded sleepy. Spread thin, like the last spoonful of jam on burned toast.

"What's wrong?" Billy asked carefully. "What happened?"

Steve sat and rubbed at his eyes, chin wobbling as more tears spilled over. "My daddy broke my glasses." He whispered.

And Billy hated it.

He always hated when Steve cried but today. Right now, he.

Felt like he had to do something about it.

Billy took the love heart from his pocket and sat down next to Steve, cuddling back into the pillows until their shoulders were touching. It took all of five seconds for Steve to settle in next to him. Roll his head back against the wall until he was looking at Billy with a question in his eyes.

Steve looked at Billy's shoulder and back up at his face, like.

"Can I--"

"Come here, stupid." Billy grumbled, Pulling Steve in until they were cuddling on the pillows.

Steve chirped. It wasn't his usual sound, light and airy, it was.

Thick.

And heavy.

Like a blanket sopped with rain water. Steve buried his face in Billy's neck. "I don't have any Valentines to give this year."

"That's okay."

"I made something special for you," Steve whispered, pulling back to study Billy's face. "I know Mr. Talamantez said we weren't supposed to, but--"

"Will you be my Valentine?" Billy's stupid mouth said.

Steve blinked at him, and.

Billy wanted to hide in the bathroom for thousand years.

Steve pulled away to sit crisscross-applesauce. Facing Billy, like this was something important. "Huh?"

Billy mirrored him, tucking his hands away so they wouldn't shake when he held out the love heart.

It was pink. Big and bright and outlined with a white doily that Susan helped him glue around the edges. Billy had dug through Max's box of stickers for the one with Winne the Pooh, the one he'd been saving for someone special. Winnie was covered in tiny valentines, eating right out of a jar of honey with a butterfly sitting on his nose, and.

Billy had thought it was perfect.

He worked for hours on the font. The saying that made his mommy laugh when he read it to her; you're bear-y sweet. Be my Valentine.

Steve took the love heart in his hands, and.

Didn't say anything.

Billy frowned. "I just. Remember you asked me to be your Valentine, or. For you to be mine. And--" His hands were shaking again. "It's stupid. God, this is--"

Steve leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

It was gentle. Like the brush of butterfly wings, barely there and then gone before Billy had a chance to really register the movement, or. Think about what it could mean.

Steve wasn't crying anymore when he said, "I'll be your Valentine."

Billy's brain took a minute to catch up. "Huh?"

"I'll be your Valentine, Billy." Steve giggled, staring down at the love heart once more. "This is so cute. I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was a baby. My mom always put me in footie pajamas that had Eeyore on them. And tinker bell too, sometimes. You could've put the Red power ranger on there instead. He's my favorite--"

Billy sat back against the pillows.

He was learning that Steve Harrington was weird.

Like a puzzle with one piece missing, or. An empty tube of bubble mix. Steve was colorful and loud and all over the place with opinions. He shined bright and loved hard, and.

Sometimes it was best to sit back and listen.

Happy Valentines Day!!

I really just sat down and wrote this. Wow. Anyway--thank you for reading and supporting my work. Your comments and endless kindness keep me going when I don't always feel like trucking on, and I wanted to do something to remind you that if this was an elementary school classroom I would give you so many lollipops.

#harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #valentines day #first kiss #kidfic #soft billy hargrove #I know I'm late #but I love ya #and I will everyday #so really #everyday is valentines #not to be a fucking sap #but it;s true

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elianamarie-blog · 4 years ago

Text

The Things You Give Pt 13

AN: Another part is up! Let me know what you’re thinking of the series so far because I’m thinking of ending it soon because I’d hate for it to go on longer than needed. But I am having a lot of fun writing it and love hearing back from you guys! Thank you all for those that have been reading since the beginning and if you’re just finding the series, welcome! Enjoy!

Steven Hyde x Reader

October 15, 1978

The Forman Kitchen

Point Place, Wisconsin

The morning at the breakfast table, things still hadn’t changed between the three teenagers, but they were at least able to be around each other without fists flying, so y/n took that as a plus. Y/n could barley eat though. She had woken up feeling sick to her stomach; the thought of food repulsing her. She nibbled on her toast and couldn’t even sip on her orange juice without wanting to vomit.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Kitty asked concerned. “You’ve barley touched your breakfast.”

Y/n groaned. “Just feeling a little sick is all.”

Kitty hummed and pressed the back of her hand to y/n’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm. Maybe it was something you ate.”

Y/n groaned again and put her head down. “Maybe.”

“Hey Dad, can you pass the bacon?” Eric asked, stretching arm out.

Y/n gagged and groaned. “Please don’t say bacon.”

Eric smirked and grabbed a piece, biting into it. “Mhmmmm…bacόn.”

“Please stop,” she grumbled, her stomach churning.

“It’s so juicy and chewy and the fat at the end is the best part,” Eric continued, laughing.

“Oh, God! Did you have to say that?!” she screeched as she made haste to the nearest bathroom. She could feel the contents of her stomach rising before she made it to the bathroom.

“Did you really have to do that?” Kitty asked, disappointed.

“Yes,” Eric responded. “Yes, I did.”

Kitty shook her head in disapproval and brought her fork of food to her mouth.

Red glared at his son before returning his attention to the newspaper.

“What?!” Eric asked. “She started it!”

“Oh, boo hoo, she broke your dolls,” Red mocked.

“G.I Joes,” Eric corrected.

“Whatever,” his father answered. “Whatever she did isn’t worth making her throw up over.”

Yes, it is, Eric thought.

Y/n returned to the kitchen, her skin ashen and her eyes sunken. “I think I’m going to go back to bed so I don’t barf all over the table.”

“Well, okay honey,” Kitty said getting up and taking her plate to the sink. “I’ll bring you some soup later, okay?”

Y/n shook her head, making a face of disgust. “Please, Mom. I can’t even think about food right now.”

“Well, you have to get some food in you,” Kitty responded. “Otherwise you’ll get even more sick.”

Y/n nodded. “Okay. I just really want to go back to bed.”

“Okay sweetie,” Kitty responded, rubbing her daughter’s shoulder. “We’ll see you later.”

Y/n nodded and stole a glance at Hyde before she made her way upstairs.

“Eric, I need you to mow the lawn later,” Red demanded as he finished his breakfast.

“What? Why can’t Hyde do it?”

“Because unlike your sorry ass, I actually have work,” Hyde replied.

Eric glared at him before turning back to Red. “Why do I always have to do it?”

“Because I said so!” Red barked.

--Time Skip—

“So, you think you got food poisoning, huh?” Donna asked that night over the phone.

Y/n nodded before she realized she was talking over the phone. “Yeah, I do. Every time I move, my body screams at me. My back is hurting so much. And my stupid cramps aren’t helping any either.”

“Have you been throwing up that much?”

“Yeah,” Y/n replied, wiping her sweaty and oily hair out of her face. “I think I pulled a muscle in my back or something because of it. Even my boobs hurt.”

“Nausea, back aches, and tender breasts,” Donna counted off. “Hey, you may be pregnant.” Donna chuckled at her own joke.

“Ha ha,” Y/n chortled. “You’re funny. Definitely not pregnant.”

“Yeah? And how do you know?”

“Because I’m supposed to be getting my period in a few days. These could be symptoms of PMS. Or maybe both.”

“Supposed to,” Donna pushed, putting emphasis on her words.

“Shut up,” Elena laughed. “Stop saying that. I’m not pregnant. Eric would throw himself off a cliff if that happened. Or Hyde. Or Eric would push Hyde off a cliff. One of the three.”

Donna chuckled. “But seriously, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just can’t do much for a couple of days.”

“Okay, well if you need anything, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks Donna,” Y/n said. “I’m going to go to sleep. I’ll talk to you later.” “Alright, rest easy. Talk to you later.”

Y/n hung up the phone before turning back around and falling back asleep, feeling her stomach churning. Pregnant.

The word echoed in her head as sleep quickly enveloped her. --Time Skip—

“Guys!” Kelso called as he barged through the door in the basement. “The Omen is on TV right now!” He hurriedly made his way over to the television set, switching on the movie.

“Kelso, what the hell, man? We were watching that!” Hyde piped up. “C’mon, it’s Halloween season!” Kelso argued. “Tis the season to be jolly!”

“That’s Christmas, moron,” Jackie said from behind him.

“Well, whatever! I think we should get in the spirit.”

The gang groaned as they leaned back into their seats.

“Hey, where’s y/n?” Hyde asked.

“Oh, she’s upstairs sleeping,” Donna answered nonchalantly.

“Still? It’s six o’ clock,” he responded. “She’s been upstairs since this morning.”

“Well, food poisoning is a real bitch,” she replied. “And so is PMS.”

“Alright, TMI,” Eric said and got up to turn up the volume on the TV.

“Oh, Eric, don’t be such a prude,” Fez said. “It’s completely natural. In my culture, we honor women whenever they go through their monthly ordeal. It’s kind of a big deal. We thank the gods and celebrate their womanhood. Then, we bring them flowers and chocolates and some candy too. Or whatever else they’re craving. They get a week off and can stay at home in bed while their husbands, brothers, fathers, or sons take care of everything.”

“Wow…can I join your culture?” Donna asked.

Fez chuckled. “Sure, if you feel like eating bugs for breakfast.”

Donna grimaced. “Never mind.” She turned to Eric. “Why don’t you do that for me?”

“Because a woman shouldn’t bleed for seven days straight and still live,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah, I don’t trust anything that can bleed for that long and not die,” Kelso said.

Hyde looked at him amused. “You can’t even be with a woman for seven days straight, let alone be there for her during her monthly problem.”

“Not true! I was with Jackie for three years!”

“And you cheated on me at least once a month!” Jackie responded. “Hey…wait a minute!”

“You guys, women are sacred. They need to be honored and cherished during this time because the pain they go through, we will never understand,” Fez said gently.

“We don’t understand?” Hyde said. “Have you ever been kicked in the nads?”

“Okay, sure, but imagine getting kicked in the nads for at least 3 days straight,” Donna responded.

“Oh, God!” Eric said, squirming in his seat. “I can’t even imagine that!”

“Well, sometimes, it’s even more painful,” Jackie added.

“What does it feel like?” Kelso asked, staring at her.

“Well, it can feel like someone is taking a knife to your pelvis and slowly twisting it,” Jackie responded causing all the men in the room to squirm, except for Fez.

“Fez, man, how are you not effected by this?” Kelso asked.

“I grew up with five sisters,” he responded, shrugging. “Nothing I’m not used to.”

“Are you guys seriously talking about periods?” Y/n asked as she slowly made her way down the stairs.

“Hey, you’re up,” Donna stated. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty lousy,” Y/n said. “But I’d rather be miserable with company than go through it alone.” She plopped down on the couch next to where Hyde was sitting.

“Are you going through your…girl problem?” Kelso asked nervously.

“What? No,” Y/n replied. “I mean, I could be, but it could also be food poisoning.”

“Well, what did you eat?” Hyde asked.

“Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that you guys didn’t eat,” she replied.

“Must be the PMS thing then,” Donna said, laughing when Eric shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Can we please stop talking about my sister’s cycle? It’s giving me a very vivid image that I’d rather not have.”

“Y/n, do you need anything?” Fez asked sweetly. “Chocolate? Water? A hot water bottle?”

Y/n smiled at him. “Why, yes, Fez. That would be lovely.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back!” Fez beamed and hopped out the chair to run out the door.

“Hey, man, why are you taking care of my chick?” Hyde asked, stopping Fez at the door. “That’s my job.”

“Then why aren’t you doing it?” Fez shot back.

Y/n’s mouth fell open in a laugh as she covered it with her hand. Donna and Jackie tightened their lips to keep themselves for laughing.

“’Cause she didn’t ask,” he responded.

“She shouldn’t have to,” Fez said calmly. “You should just do it for her. That’s how you keep your woman happy.”

“Then why couldn’t you keep Jackie happy?” Hyde quipped.

Y/n gasped. “Steven!”

“No, no it’s okay,” Fez said, oddly calm. “You know, Hyde, normally that would bother me, but not today because I’m not the one having another man making my woman happy.”

Hyde grabbed the nearest object—a magazine—and threw it at Fez, but before it could hit him, he slammed the door shut; the magazine hitting the door with a thud.

“He’s right, you know,” Y/n responded with a smile.

“Do you really feel that way?” Hyde asked her.

Y/n shrugged. “Not really. It would be nice though.”

“I see,” Hyde said and stood from his chair, stalking his way to his room.

“Steven, wait!” she called after him. “I wasn’t being serious!”

He flapped a hand at her without turning to look at her and slammed his door.

“Wow,” Jackie said, puffing out her cheeks. “That escaladed quickly.”

Y/n shrunk down in her seat, feeling guilty. “What else is new with this group?”

“This is great!” Eric beamed, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion. “Now Hyde is mad at you too! Not just me.”

Y/n groaned and stood up slowly. “You’re an immature dillhole. I’m going back to bed.”

“What should I tell Fez when he gets back?” Donna asked.

“That I’m upstairs and he can come up.”

“I don’t think Hyde will like that very much,” Kelso mentioned.

“Who cares?” Eric griped.

“Look, I’ll deal with Hyde later,” Y/n responded, ignoring her twin. “Right now, I just want to feel better.” She trudged up the stairs, leaving the group alone.

“What a mess,” Donna said.

“Tell me about it,” Jackie responded. “Eric, are you still mad at them?”

“Of course, I am!” he responded, surprised that Jackie would ask him such a question. “How can I not be?”

“Well, you can try not being mad,” Jackie suggested sarcastically.

“Eric, give it a rest, yeah?” Donna said. “It’s been over a week.”

Eric growled and leaned back in his seat.

“He was supposed to be moved out by now,” he mumbled.

“Shut. Up. Please,” Donna snapped. “He literally has nowhere to go. You have to be a real prick to throw him out on the streets. It’s not like he murdered your sister.”

“You just don’t get it, Donna!” he whined. The whole group groaned.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah we don’t get it because it’s not our sister and we would be pissed too if Hyde was nailing her, blah blah blah. Seriously, Eric, I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we’re sick of hearing about it,” Kelso said, irritated. He just wanted to watch the movie. Why wasn’t anybody respecting that?

Eric furrowed his brows at his friends. “You guys really feel this way?”

“YES!” Jackie, Donna, and Kelso said in unison.

“Oh. Well, then, fine,” Eric grumbled and stood up.

“Where are you going?” Donna asked.

“Since you guys are tired of hearing about it, I’m going to go somewhere else.”

“Oh my God, you are such a drama queen,” Donna groaned. “Just sit back down and watch the movie with us.”

“Nah, I’m good. See you guys later.” With that, he grabbed his coat and shut the door, leaving the three teenagers left to watch the movie.

“He’s gotten more annoying than usual,” Jackie commented.

“You know, Jackie, normally I would be offended by that, but this time I have to agree with you,” Donna responded.

“Well, now we can watch the movie,” Kelso said.

The three sat in silence on the couch until Kelso tried to sneak his hand up Donna’s leg.

“Kelso!” Donna screeched as she slapped his hand away.

“Damn, Donna! I was just looking for the remote!”

“The remote is on the table, you idiot,” Jackie pointed out.

Kelso looked between the two girls with a hurt look. “Women are mean!” He stomped out the basement, forgetting the movie.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged, returning their attention to the TV before Donna got up to change it back to the channel they were watching.

--Time Skip—

Y/n stared down at the home pregnancy test, shock filling her. Positive. The test was freaking positive. She was going to be a mother. Oh God, how would everyone else react? What kind of mother was she going to be?

“Oh, Y/n, how could you?” Kitty asked from behind her, hurt playing on her face.

“Wait, Mom--!” Y/n tried to call after her mother before Red showed up at her side.

“How could you be such a disgrace to the family?!” Red shouted, his face turning pink. Kitty turned to her husband’s side and started sobbing. “Look what you’re doing to your mother!”

“No, but Daddy—” Y/n said, tears welling in her eyes.

“Wow, you’re such a whore!” Eric laughed as he suddenly appeared by their parents’ side. “And here I thought Laurie would be the one to get knocked up from some rando.”

“What?” she asked her twin, tears cascading down her pale cheeks.

“Wow, little sister, you certainly top me,” Laurie said, smirking.

“Laurie?” Y/n questioned.

“I’m leaving you,” Steven said coldly, appearing in front of her. “You were just a fling. You knew this from the start. I can’t have a baby with a loser.”

“You said you loved me!” Y/n screamed.

“I lied,” Steven said and smirked. “I only strung you along so that I could nail you. Now, look at you. You’re fat and alone.”

Y/n looked down and saw that her stomach had enlarged. “What?” she whispered.

“We can’t have you in the family,” Kitty suddenly said. “We can’t have a whore in the family.”

“You have Laurie!”

“At least she didn’t get pregnant!” her mother shot back. “You and your mistake can get out of our house, out of our lives. You’re no longer welcome!”

“No, Mom! Please, I need you. I need Daddy and Steven, please. I can’t do this alone. I need you more than ever.”

She went to grab his hands, but he jerked away from her. “Well, you’re gonna have to do it alone.”

Tears cascaded down her face as she tried to blink them away, but as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. Suddenly, Y/n found herself sitting alone in a total darkness, a single light shining above her.

“No,” she whimpered, looking around. “No. No. NO!”

Y/n jerked awake, sweat coating her forehead. Her breathing was slightly heavy as she glanced at the clock. 2:08AM. She sighed and fell back onto her pillow, fingers threading through her sweaty and knotted hair. She couldn’t believe she’d been asleep for eight hours.

Her room suddenly flooded with light as Kitty, dressed in her pink robe, hair a rat’s nest, stood in her cracked door. “Y/n, honey, are you alright? I heard you yelling.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Y/n replied. “Just had a nightmare.”

“Oh, honey, it’s okay,” Kitty replied and moved closer to adjust herself on the bed. “You know, when you were little, you would get nightmares all the time. And the only thing that would soothe you and get you to go back to sleep is when I would gently caress your hair until you fell back asleep.”

Y/n smiled softly. “Too bad I’m older now, huh?”

“Oh, nonsense,” Kitty said and leaned over, caressing her hair back. “You’re never too old for your mother’s love.”

Y/n smiled and turned on her side, facing Kitty.

“You wanna talk about it?” she asked her daughter after a moment of silence.

Y/n thought about it for a minute. She actually wanted to talk to her about it, but she knew if she did, she could open up something that she really didn’t want to. Even if it were just a dream, Kitty would know that it was something much deeper than that.

“No,” she responded after a beat. “I’m okay. Thank you, though.”

“Of course sweetheart,” Kitty cooed. She continued to smooth Y/n’s hair, effectively calming her down. Fifteen years later and it still works.

Y/n could already feel sleep overcoming her again. “Thank you, Mommy,” she mumbled as her eyelids grew heavier.

“You’re absolutely welcome,” Kitty responded and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Y/n whispered before falling asleep once more.

⧝⧝⧝

Y/n woke up the next day, just as horrible as the day before. She dragged herself out of bed and trudged downstairs to see her family eating lunch.

“Morning Sunshine,” Kitty cheerfully greeted her. “You must be really sick to sleep in till noon.”

Y/n grunted back and grabbed some orange juice and sat down. The smell of their lunch making her nose curl, repulsing her.

“How’re you feeling, kitten?” Red asked.

“I’m okay,” Y/n responded. “Could be better. Still feel kinda nauseas and tired.”

“You want some dry toast?” Kitty asked. “You haven’t eaten much.”

Y/n nodded tiredly and put her head on the table. “I’d love some actually.”

Kitty smiled and got up, popping bread in the toaster. “Oh, your foreign friend dropped off some stuff for you. I left it here on the counter.”

“Hm?” Y/n hummed, looking at Kitty.

“He said something to do with your menstrual cycle, so he dropped off a hot water bottle, some midol, and a box of chocolate.”

“Oh, come on, Kitty, not while we’re eating!” Red exclaimed, disgusted.

The whole time, Eric and Steven had been quiet. Steven glared at the gifts through his aviators. Eric rolled his eyes and continued to eat his lunch.

“What a sweet boy!” Kitty laughed. “You know, I don’t think I’d mind if you ended up with him.”

Y/n smiled as Kitty set a plate of two slices of dry toast in front of her.

“I’m going to make you some tea as well. You gotta get some liquids in you,” Kitty stated.

“Kitty, don’t put ideas in her head!” Red said, throwing down the paper he was reading.

“What do you mean by that?” Y/n asked, offended. “Is it because of his skin color?”

“What?” Red asked, scrunching up his face. “God, no! I don’t want you dating anybody. You’re too young.”

“Dad, I’m eighteen,” Y/n deadpanned as she nibbled at her toast. “Eric and Donna have been dating since they were, like, eight.”

“No, we haven’t,” Eric argued.

“Shut up, yes you have,” Y/n said.

“Eric’s different,” Red continued. “Eric is a man, or as close of a man as he can get. Besides, Donna is the best he’s ever going to do.” He started laughing, but he was the only one who found that funny.

“Thanks Dad,” Eric deadpanned.

“Red Forman!” Kitty exclaimed.

“What? It’s funny!” Kitty gave him a hard look making him shut up. “Fine, it’s not.”

Y/n managed a small smile before bringing a piece of toast to her lips. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m not even seeing anyone.”

Eric stopped mid-bite to give side eye to his twin sister. Y/n returned a hard, cold stare to her brother as if to say don’t you freaking dare.

“So, Fez gave you those huh?” Steven asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Y/n replied. “That was really nice of him.”

“Yeah, real nice,” he responded slowly.

“It was,” Y/n replied, staring at her boyfriend in suspicion. “You got something to say?”

“No, why would I?” he responded. “Why would I have anything to say that my best friend is flirting with my…other best friend?”

Kitty stood at the stove as she waited for the tea to heat up and squinted her eyes at Steven before looking to her husband who was giving him the same look.

“What’s your deal, Hyde?” Y/n asked him, growing annoyed with him.

“Oh, nothing,” he responded. “I’m just saying that he’s never done this for another girl before unless it was Jackie.”

“Steven, what’re you getting at?” Red asked him.

“Oh, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me, Y/n?” Hyde said, staring coldly at her.

Y/n returned the glare. “If you’re insinuating that Fez likes me, you are terribly, terribly wrong.”

“Then why would he do it for you?” he asked impatiently.

“I don’t know!” Y/n responded, flabbergasted. “Because he wants to be nice?”

“Nice, ha!” Steven hollered, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. “Guys don’t do things just to be nice.”

Y/n gave him a look. “Why do you care so much what he does?”

“Yeah, Hyde. Why do you care?” Eric asked with a smirk.

Steven realized what he was doing and looked at everyone who was looking at him with furrowed brows. He straightened his posture and looked down at his lunch, clearing his throat. “I don’t. I just find it rather odd.”

“And if Fez does like me, what’s it to ya?” Y/n asked, cocking her head to the side.

“It doesn’t,” Hyde replied coldly, taking a sip from his iced tea.

Y/n lifted an eyebrow at him before finishing off her toast.

“Is there something going on between you two?” Red asked.

The couple stole a glance at each other before looking to Red.

“No, not at all,” Y/n replied casually.

“Why would there be?” Steven asked.

“I don’t know. You’re acting weird,” Red commented. “Stop it.”

Steven grinned at him. “Yes, sir.”

“Here’s your tea, sweetheart,” Kitty said, bringing over a mug of tea. “And I put in some honey, Honey.” She laughed at her own joke.

Y/n chuckled softly. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Oh, by the way, Sasha called for you yesterday,” Kitty said, sitting back down.

Y/n perked up. “She did? Why?”

“I’m not too sure. She wanted to talk to you about something, but I told her you weren’t feeling well. So, I took down her number and told her you’d give her a call back when you feel better.”

“Yeah, I’ll call her back once I can stop vomiting.”

“And yet, you’ve been able to achieve that this whole time,” Eric said sarcastically. “Must feel nice to finally be able to achieve something for once. Congrats, sis.”

Y/n glared at him. “If I could control it, I’d do it on you right now.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Kitty cut in. “Finish your lunches.”

“I can’t. I’m going downstairs to watch TV,” Y/n whimpered.

“Okay. Don’t forget your tea!” Kitty called out.

Y/n turned back around and grabbed the warm mug between her cold hands and made her way downstairs. On her way, she grabbed the midol and the hot water bottle.

At this point, Steven was seething as he watched his girlfriend take Fez’s gifts.

“Alright, well, I’m heading out for a few,” Steven announced, quickly getting up. “Thanks for the lunch, Mrs. Forman.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, dear,” she responded.

“Wanna come?” Hyde asked Eric.

Eric looked up at him. “What for?”

“Just come on,” Hyde pushed and grabbed Eric by the shirt, tugging him out the door.

“But I’m not finished!” Eric whined.

“You are now,” Hyde said before closing the sliding door.

“What’s with them?” Red asked.

“I have no clue,” Kitty responded, not caring. “They’re always up to something.”

Outside, Eric shoved himself out of Hyde’s grasp. “What the hell, man?”

“Get in the car,” Hyde ordered, unlocking the El Camino.

“What? No,” Eric said, standing in his place.

“Get in. We have to talk.”

Eric crossed his arms. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Great. Then you can just listen,” Hyde responded standing in front of the driver’s side door, waiting for Eric to get in. His arm rested on top of the car casually as if not a care in the world. “You going to get in?”

“Why should I?”

Hyde groaned. “Just get in the car, man!”

“Are you kidnapping me?” Eric asked as he slowly made his way to the passenger’s side.

“Of course not.”

“You gonna take me to the middle of nowhere, take my clothes after you convince met to skinny dip in the lake, and abandon me while I walk around naked and afraid like last time?”

Hyde rolled his eyes. “I came back for you, didn’t I?”

“Three hours later!”

“For the love of God, just shut up and get in the car!”

“It was so cold,” Eric whimpered as he slid in the front seat and shut the door. “Where are we going?”

“For a drive,” Hyde responded and backed out the driveway. Once they were on the road, Hyde broke the silence. “Listen, man. This whole thing between you, me, and Y/n has gotten way out of hand.”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“What happened to you shuttin’ up and letting me talk?”

Eric sighed, making a face. “Fine.”

“Look,” Hyde began. “I know you’re pissed off at us for dating and going behind your back—”

“And lying.”

“…Yeah, and lying about it. But I need you to know that everything I said is true. Y/n is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and when I say that I will do whatever I can to make her happy, I mean it. And this whole ending a friendship over it is stupid.”

Eric stared at Hyde in disbelief. “You’re serious about this? About my sister?”

“Yeah, man. That’s why I’m here talking to you,” he responded and turned onto the main road. “I know we could’ve gone around it differently, but come on man, what would you have done? You’ve been saying that we need to put ourselves in your shoes, well put yourself in our shoes. Imagine if Donna was my sister, but you really liked her. What would you have done?”

Eric was silent for a minute. “Well, we probably wouldn’t be friends considering you kissed her and tried to get with her.”

Hyde gave an exasperated sigh. “Man, will you focus?”

Eric thought about it for a second. “I guess I can understand that.”

“And I want you to know that I won’t disappoint her. I will take care of her and make sure she gets everything she wants and needs. I’m not going to be like the rest of my family and be a deadbeat and end up in prison. I will do good for her.”

Eric turned his gaze to him and suddenly felt an anchor of guilt settle in the pit of his stomach. “Oh, man. Look, Hyde when I said that…I didn’t mean it. I was angry and—”

“It’s fine,” Hyde said, cutting in.

“No, no it’s not,” Eric turned to face him. “It was wrong of me to say that to you. It’s just that…she’s my sister, man. My twin, you know? My favorite sister. I can’t help but feel, you know, maybe a little overprotective of her.”

“No, but you were right,” Hyde confessed and turned onto the highway. “I probably was headed down that path anyway. But being with her has actually made me want to be better.”

Eric looked at Hyde like he had two heads. “You look like my friend, but you don’t sound like him. Where’s Hyde?!”

Hyde chuckled and turned off the highway, noticing Eric calling him his friend. “I know. It’s sickening.”

Eric laughed and turned back around, facing the front. He noticed they were entering downtown. “Hyde…where are we going? This isn’t just a drive anymore.”

“You’ll see in a minute,” he said and continued down a narrow road before stopping in front of a super store. He turned the car off and sat back quietly. “Just so you know, this wasn’t easy for me to talk about it. So, if you tell anyone, I’ll deny the whole thing.”

Eric nodded and looked at Hyde seriously. “I’m still not happy about it, but I guess I don’t have a choice but to accept it. You two really do seem happy.”

Hyde nodded and looked down. “We are, man.”

“Just…don’t hurt her,” Eric said. “Then I’d have to kick your ass and then I’d end up getting my ass kicked and then Red will kick my ass for getting my ass kicked and then he’d hunt you down like a dog and then he’d kick your ass.”

Hyde sat there in stunned silence. “Wow…that’s…detailed. How long have you been sitting on this?”

“Pretty much since I found out.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Eric replied. “Also, one more thing. I don’t wanna hear or see you and my sister doing anything. The image of you two doing anything makes me want to hurl.”

“Deal,” Hyde chucked. “So, are we good?”

Eric looked at him for a moment and grinned. “Yeah, man, we’re good.”

Hyde nodded and the two boys lifted their hands, bringing each other in for bro-hug.

“Can I just ask you one question, though?” he asked.

Hyde hummed.

“Why her? Why Y/n?”

Hyde sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t know, man. She’s different. She’s smart and actually funny, interesting, and genuine. Really sweet and cares about others beside herself. Besides, she’s smoking hot.”

“Well, I’d never thought I’d hear my best friend put my sister and ‘smoking hot’ in the same sentence,” Eric retorted and pretended to gag. “Really, really unpleasant.”

“I know. I just said that because I think it’s funny,” Hyde laughed.

Eric slugged him in the shoulder. “And every time you say stuff like that, you’ll get hit.”

They laughed lightly together before Eric slapped a hand on Hyde’s shoulder. “And, uh, don’t worry about my parents. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks, man,” Hyde replied. “Well, let’s go inside.”

“Why are we at this one?” Eric asked, joining Hyde outside the car. “You know there’s like three different stores in town. Why this one?”

“Because this is the biggest one in Point Place and they have everything I want.”

“Which is?”

“You’ll see.”

As they entered the store, Hyde went for the first thing he saw: flowers. Specifically, half a dozen red roses. Then he went towards the freezer section, grabbing a pint of her favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip.

“Ice cream?” Eric questioned.

“I heard chicks really dig ice cream during their…problem time.”

“Yeah, Donna eats like four of those.”

“Damn,” Hyde sighed. “I’m, uh, I’m not very good at this. All I know is I want Y/n to feel better and I was kind of a jerk earlier.”

“Yeah, about that,” Eric piped up, browsing the ice cream flavors. “Why were reacting that way?” Eric’s eyes grew a fraction wider. “You were jealous, weren’t you?”

“What? No. I don’t get jealous.”

“You so did!” Eric laughed. “You hated that Fez bought all that stuff for her because you felt like a bad boyfriend for not thinking about it earlier!”

“You wanna get your ass kicked this early in the day?” Hyde threatened.

Eric continued to laugh at him. “Just admit it. You totally did.”

Hyde rolled his eyes as he found his way to the soft drink section and grabbed a few bottles of ginger ale. “Okay, fine, maybe a little. But he shouldn’t have been hitting on her. She’s my chick. I should be the one getting all the stuff she needs.”

“And that’s what you’re doing now,” Eric stated, looking around. “Is that why you brought me here? To help you find stuff that she would like?”

“No,” Hyde answered as they entered another aisle. He found a tin box of saltines and bent down to grab them. “I know what she likes; I don’t need you for that. I mainly brought you here so that we could sort crap out.” He picked up a box of assorted chocolates, something he knew she’d like.

“You trying to tell me something?” Eric smirked, causing Hyde to chuckle. “Don’t you think you maybe going a little overboard?” He asked when he noticed Hyde putting everything in the basket.

“Maybe,” he answered honestly and led Eric away from the grocery section. “I just want her to know that I care.”

“Well, she’ll definitely get that message,” the twin responded and noticed where Hyde was leading them. “Seriously? Condoms?”

“You don’t want me to knock her up, do you?”

“I’m still trying to accept you two and by you doing this in front of me is really bumming me out.”

Hyde laughed cruelly. “That’s kind of funny.” He quickly grabbed a pack and threw it in the cart. “Just don’t look at ‘em.”

Eric sighed and looked away. “What else are you giving her?”

“Besides a good time?”

Eric dramatically screeched and squirmed. “Please. Stop. Saying. That.”

Hyde burst into laughter, laughing at his friend’s discomfort. “That will never get old.”

“You’re a sadistic son of a bitch, you know that?”

—Time Skip—

Y/n laid on the couch in the basement, wrapped up in a blanket, mindlessly watching tv. She was in and out of consciousness for the good part of the afternoon. Even though she was sick, she was still upset about her little dispute with Hyde.

When did he become so jealous? Why would he think that of Fez? And worse of all, why didn’t he trust her enough? It hurt, but she was more curious as of why. She could feel her stomach beginning to churn again as it was ready to bring back up what she brought down earlier.

Please, God, no. She quickly sat up, the room spinning for a minute, before she ran back to the bathroom and found herself with her head in the toilet. This had to be the forty-fifth time in the last couple of days of her spending time kneeling in front of the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach into the light green basin.

She held her hair back as tears pricked the corner of her eyes. It hurt so much and all she wanted in that moment was just to stop. What in the hell did she catch that made her feel this violently ill? After she was sure she was done, except from the dry heaving, she wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet. She sat against it for a little while longer, wishing her stomach would calm down enough for her to get a good sleep in. She couldn’t help but let a few tears escape. Her back was hurting, her body was aching, and her throat was burning. And on top of all that, she started cramping earlier in the day and the pain hadn’t subsided.

“Y/n?” she heard from the basement living room.

She groaned in response and heard footsteps approach the door to the tiny bathroom. She twisted her face in pain as another surge of nausea reared its ugly head. Hyde appeared in the doorway just as he saw her turn her pale and tortured face into the basin once again. He could hear her whimpers through each retched gag.

“Awe, Doll,” he cooed and knelt down beside her, rubbing her back. He gathered her long hair in his hands and tried to look anywhere besides the toilet. He gently shushed her and reassured her that he was there now for her.

Once she was finished, she fumbled for the handle, and pulled down. Hyde handed her some tissues to wipe her mouth. She gratefully accepted it and sat up fully, leaning against the wall.

“What’re you doing here?” she croaked. “I thought you were pissed at me.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here,” he responded and helped her off the floor. He wrapped a protective arm around her waist and guided her back to the couch where Eric also sat.

“Are you here to fight? Because this isn’t how I envisioned our first fight.”

He gently sat her on the couch, handing her the blanket and chuckled. “No, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Then what?”

“Mainly to give you these,” he responded and handed her the roses.

Y/n’s face softened as she weakly grasped the flowers in her fists. “What’s this for?”

“An apology,” Hyde responded and took a deep breath. “I know I was a jealous jerk earlier and…I’m sorry, okay?”

She looked at him in the eye. “Why were you?”

“I don’t know,” he responded and rubbed his neck. “I just…I just didn’t like seeing some other guy bring you things that I should be bringing.”

She meekly set the flowers down on the coffee table in front of her. “Steven, do you not trust me?”

“What? Of course I do.”

“Then why did you act like Fez was going to hook up with me and I wouldn’t be able to say no?”

“No, it’s not that. I…I—can you hang on a second?” he turned around to look at Eric. “Can we get a minute?” he asked impatiently.

Eric’s smug look never left his face. “Sure. Doll.”

Hyde stood abruptly, intimidatingly. Eric laughed and ran upstairs.

Y/n knit her eyebrows together. “You guys are okay now or something?”

“Yeah,” he cleared his throat and sat back down. “That’s another story.”

Y/n nodded. “You were saying?”

“Look, Y/n, when I saw Fez jumping in to immediately take care of you, I guess it felt like I…wasn’t doing my job as your boyfriend. And then when you said it did bother you, I knew I wasn’t. And…that maybe what everyone thinks is true.”

“Which is what?” she pressed.

“C’mon, you’re really going to make me say it?”

“Yes,” she responded sternly.

Hyde sighed and tore his eyes away from hers. “That…I’m not good enough…for you. There. Ya happy?”

Y/n sighed, giving him a sad look. “No,” she responded gently and grabbed his hand. “No, I’m not happy. You can’t think that. You can’t let Fez get to you like that and it really didn’t bother me that you didn’t jump up to help me either. I’m a big girl. I can very well go get the stuff myself.”

“So, you don’t mind?”

She smiled gently. “No. Yes, it’s nice if you did that stuff for me and trust me, I’d love it, but I’m not going to make you do it for me. I want you to want to do it for me.”

He smiled at her and kissed the side of her head. “I did get you some things though.” He leaned down and grabbed the white bag, laying out the contents on the table. “I got you some ginger ale and saltines to help you with the nausea and then when it passes, I got you some chocolates and ice cream to satisfy your cravings.”

The look of sweets made her stomach churn, but she smiled through it and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, baby.”

“You’re welcome,” he said quietly and kissed her head once more. He noticed that she was shivering and gently stood. “I’ll be right back.” He high tailed it to his room and brought back a sweater. “Here.”

She grabbed it gratefully and threw it over her head, inhaling his scent: musk and woodsy. He settled on the couch next to her as she cuddled his side. He grabbed the blanket and threw it over both of them.

“So, how was your day?” he asked her.

“Fantastic,” she responded. “I spent the day throwing up my body weight and writhing in pain.”

“Sounds like a blast,” he chucked.

“Oh, yeah, it was like a party in the toilet,” Y/n responded and chuckled when Hyde made a face. “How was yours?”

“Well, you know, it was fine,” he responded.

“You and Eric work things out?”

“Yeah. He’s still not happy about it, but he seems to—or trying to at least—accept it. I made him see the bigger picture here.”

“Which is?”

“Us doing it.”

“Steven!”

He threw his head back laughing. “I’m kidding.”

“You better be,” she said and reached over, grabbing the ginger ale. She laid back into his side and took a sip. She hummed and set it in her lap. “Thank you, Steven. This is probably the best thing anyone has ever done for me.”

He smiled at her gently. “Anything for you, doll.”

“Awe that’s so cute,” Eric called from the staircase. “It makes me want to vomit.”

Y/n scowled at him. “What do you want?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you,” he said and sat down in the opposite chair.

“You want to yell at me again?”

“No,” he responded and looked at the ground. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I know I was an ass and I should’ve handled it better, but c’mon, my best friend and my sister, hooking up. I never thought that this would happen and to say I was shocked is an understatement.”

“I know,” she responded. “But you still said some pretty hurtful things, Eric, and you can’t take that back.”

“I know and I wish I could. You’re my sister, the best one at that, and Hyde, you’re like a brother to me and I just…it hurt, okay? I can understand not wanting to tell anyone else, but to hide it from me? I felt like you couldn’t trust me.”

Y/n cast her eyes down, feeling guilt. “I’m so sorry, Eric. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. Lying to you wasn’t easy for me.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“How would you take it if we just straight up told you?” “

Yeah, Forman, what would you have said if I straight up said, ‘I’m nailing your sister.’ I bet you still wouldn’t have taken that lightly.”

Eric shuttered at the thought. “Yeah, definitely wouldn’t have. But it still wouldn’t have been as bad as me catching you.”

Y/n looked at her twin for a moment before letting out a groan. “Dammit, I hate it when you’re right.”

“Yeah, and it’s not like I’m not going to kill you or anything.”

“Well, to be fair you did try to disown us,” Hyde defended.

“Okay, yeah, but I just didn’t want to look at you guys at the moment,” Eric said.

“But kicking us out of the group and the house was the logical answer?” Y/n squinted at him.

“Yeah, not my finest moment,” he agreed and sat down next to Y/n, causing her to shift over. “I’m really sorry, Y/n. I hope you can forgive me.”

Y/n looked at her brother, eyes getting all misty. “Only if you can forgive me.”

Eric smiled at her. “C’mere little sister.” He brought her in and hugged her tight.

Y/n reciprocated by wrapping her arms tightly. “I’m only two minutes younger.”

“Still,” he chuckled. “Besides, if I don’t forgive you, then I won’t have a sister anymore.”

“We have Laurie,” Y/n responded, pulling away.

“Do you really want her close?”

Y/n paused, pretending to think it over. “No, I really don’t.”

Eric chuckled. “Look, Y/n. I know I was a jerk, but you’re not only my sister, you’re my best friend and I don’t want anything to come between us.”

Y/n nodded, smiling and wiped at her eyes. “Me too.”

“I’m still not entirely happy about you two and to be honest, I’m not sure if I ever will be, but I want you two to be happy and if it’s you two that make each other happy, then so be it. I just don’t want to see any of it.”

“You got it,” Y/n responded, feeling lighter about the situation.

“I’m going to give you the same speech I gave Hyde,” Eric continued as Y/n’s eyebrows knitted together. “I’d never thought I’d have to say this to my sister about my best friend, but don’t hurt him. I may not be able to kick his ass, but I can for sure…try to kick yours.” As he was saying it, he knew it wasn’t true. Even if it was, he wasn’t going to do it anyway.

Y/n cracked a wide smile, a smile that she hadn’t been able to muster for the last couple of days, and nodded. “Okay, bro. That sounds fair.”

He turned to Hyde. “Just so you know, if you get her pregnant, I will have to find a new and interesting way to kick your ass.”

“Trust me, man, that ain’t gonna happen,” Hyde responded.

“Yeah, we’re careful,” Y/n responded, adjusting herself to be laying against Hyde. Her stomach and back were starting hurt again and she was desperate to find some relief. Hyde threw an arm over her shoulders, bringing her closer. “Besides, Dad would literally stick his foot in both of our asses.”

“And somehow, he’d still find a way to blame me,” Eric said.

“Hey, Y/n baby,” Fez called out, entering the basement. “How’re you feeling? You get my gifts?”

“Hi Fez,” Y/n greeted with a tiny smile. “I did, thank you. It was very nice of you, but I’m not feeling too much better.”

“Sorry to hear that,” he responded.

Y/n shrugged and snuggled deeper into Hyde’s side. “What’re you doing here anyway?”

“Just wanted to come by and see how you were feeling,” he responded.

“No, you didn’t,” Hyde spit. “You came here to see if she was alone, didn’t you?”

Fez made a face at him. “What’re you talking about? No, I’m not!”

“Yes you are!” he said and stood up. “Now, knock it off before I make you the first person to touch his chin to ass!”

Fez looked offended, placing his hand on his chest. “Have you been spying on me?!”

“Steven, honey, it’s not that big of deal,” Y/n said, trying to calm down the situation.

“Yeah, honey, listen to your lady,” Fez said, starting to get nervous.

“No, Y/n, he needs to understand respect,” he replied.

“I’m sure he gets it now,” Y/n said, signaling Fez to run now.

“No, he doesn’t,” he responded. “If he—”

He was cut off by the slamming of the door as Fez ran outside, away from him.

“He’s not getting away that easily,” Hyde commented before darting to the door.

“Hyde, no!” Y/n called after him. She jumped up from her seat, despite her stomach and head screaming at her.

Hyde ran out the door, causing it to slam against the wall. Y/n followed him out the door, ignoring the sudden faint feeling she had.

“Steven, stop!” she called again, her voice weakened and wavering. She could see Hyde quickly gaining speed on Fez.

Fez screamed as Hyde tackled him to the ground on the Forman’s front lawn. Eric was behind Y/n in a flash, watching the scene in front of him unfold. Hyde struggling to get Fez in a choke hold, Fez fighting to get out of his grip, and Y/n yelling at him to stop.

“Steven, enough!” Y/n shrieked weakly, her voice quieting as the world started to spin, the edges of her vision darkening. “Steven, please…”

Her vision darkened as she hit the ground, making the two boys suddenly stop to jerk their attention towards her. Eric dropped to the ground next to her.

“Y/n!” Steven shouted, letting Fez go and running over to her. “Y/n!”

And that was the last thing she heard before she was swallowed by darkness.

Tags: @lieswithoutfairytales @mdittyz123 @n-dg-wm @undead-sierra @random-thoughts-003 @taysirene

#Steven Hyde #steven hyde x reader #that 70s show #That '70s Show #that 70's show fanfic #Eric Forman #Donna Pinciotti #jackie burkhart #fez #Michael Kelso #red forman #kitty forman

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