#he also told us about celebrity encounters

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

As a pre-birthday treat, middle sister took myself, my mum and my younger sister to a local Spanish restaurant

It was underground - I've never been to any sort of underground place before

[fromevertonow]

Suzanne Collins is one of the few contemporary writers who realizes the importance of names in her stories and the significance they bear. They add so many layers to the story, additional meanings that otherwise would not have existed.

The original trilogy:

Katniss: named after a plant of which you can eat the roots. Her father taught her where to find it and told her that “as long as you can find yourself, you’ll survive” (quote may be a little bit off, but it’s from one of the early chapters in THG). Additionally, the leaves are in the shape of an arrowhead, referencing her skills with the bow which her father also taught her how to use.

Peeta: literally bread lmao. But bread is one of the basic nutritions humans need, a little bit goes a long way to keep you alive. Peeta’s presence in Katniss’s life also kept her alive, literally and figuratively—the burned bread he threw her in the flashback and their complicated relationship.

Primrose: a plant with medicinal purposes, even more significant in light of her work as a medic in Mockingjay.

Gale: literally means “strong wind” and considering that in every encounter with Katniss he’s caused some reaction, he pulls her into directions she maybe initially doesn’t want to go in. Additionally, his name also represents his determination and steadfastness in his beliefs.

TBOSAS

Lucy Gray: named after William Wordsworth’s poem “Lucy Gray” which is about the titular character of the poem who got lost during a blizzard. She literally got lost in snow. Rachel Zegler sang this poem in two parts on the original soundtrack of the movie. When Snow asked who the girl in the song is, Lucy answers that she’s a mystery, just like her.

Snow: aside from the obvious snow references, I think his name is most significant in relation to Lucy and the poem. The only one who knows what caused her disappearance is Snow. He is the reason that Lucy is gone. But her traces in the snow are still visible. He will always remember her because the memory of Lucy has manifested itself in every part of his life.

Coriolanus: named after the Roman general (and also the titular character of Shakespeare’s play), Coriolanus wanted to attack Rome and become its ruler. He was scorned and celebrated by the people, only to be later exiled from the city by them. In TBOSAS, Coriolanus is the star pupil at the Capitol’s academy but sent into exile to the districts after he won the Games with Lucy through cheating.

Volumnia: Coriolanus mother who played a part in his ascent to power. In TBOSAS, she almost serves like a mentor to Coriolanus, teaching him how to think in terms of power.

(Edit) Sejanus: a roman soldier who was betrayed by the roman emperor Tiberius, just like the future president betrayed him.

(Edit) Plinth: got this info from here, but it was too good not to include here. A plinth is a base for a statue or vase to stand on. After Sejanus’s death, all of the Plinth fortune was given to Snow for being such a good to friend him. It was this money that skyrocketed the Snow family from poverty to filthy rich. The Plinth money was the foundation upon which Snow built his power.

There are so many other names that have historical (mostly Roman and Greek) connotations—Plutarch, Seneca, Cinna—but also regular names like Trinket and Beetee bear meanings that represent the character beautifully.

Names are important. For any lover of literature or (aspiring) writers, please look closely at them. They can shape your story into something unique.

Feel free to correct me if I’ve said something wrong. I know there are many names missing, but I can only add so many examples ✊🏻😔

[coralinnii]

Congrats on reaching the 2.7 K followers milestone!! If it's okay to ask why specifically 2.7 K?

anyways I heard you were taking requests so I'll request something to celebrate with you :-D

I was wondering if you could do one where Idia, Kalim, Azul, Riddle rejects Fem!reader but ends up falling for reader after that, how would they react when they need to reject her and when the realization of them liking her back hits? (I tried to come up with an og idea but idrk if this one is actually good enough writing material :'-D)

 ‧₊˚✧ Waking up Too Late ‧₊˚✧

↳ Realizing their feelings for fem!reader after rejecting you 

feat: Idia ❋ Kalim ❋ Azul ❋ Riddle genre: slight hurt/comfort, open ending note: no pronouns were used but reader is written as a female in mind, reader can be interpreted as Yuu!reader, 

Question: Why specifically 2.7K? Well... I wanted to do something when I reached 2k but by the time I finished my initial wave of requests and WIPs, it already reached 2.7K ^_^" There wasn't a real rhyme or reason... I was just really late to the game

extra note: the joke in the start of Azul’s section doesn’t mean anything bad about him in general. It’s just Azul reminds me too much of myself during my younger days and I wasn't the biggest fan of myself back then.

Also, if anyone is wondering... I haven't stopped writing. I was just unable to find time for myself during the last 3 months because my classes and work didn't leave me time to do much outside of that. Seriously, I had assignments due on weekdays AND weekends! If none of you know who I am or didn't even realize I was gone... ignore me and have a good day ^_^

2.7K Followers Writing Event 2023

The Big Ooff

Regardless of Idia’s feelings before or after the confession, he rejected you in fear of change. He was content with the way things are, where he doesn’t have to worry about things like romance and relationships. 

Idia can’t imagine being the main protagonist for anything. He’s not the cool main hero or the handsome prince that gets the pretty girl. That's for the extroverts with high charm specs (a.k.a not him). Afterall, when does the NPC ever win? 

So when you, his friend and confidant, his solace and only exception, told him that you held feelings more than friendship…well, his system short-circuited. 

While the two of you said it wouldn’t change your friendship, you still wanted time away from him to heal the hurt. Idia agreed that the risky emotional roll dealt some real backlash to both of you.

The Realization

Idia tried to deny it, but he started imagining an alternative universe where he did accept your confession that fateful day. 

If he were to zone out during his level grinding sessions, he would vaguely envision himself in the same position, but perhaps with you lying next to him or even running your fingers through his flames. These daydreams would surprise him literally off the bed, his aforementioned flames burning a cute pinkish hue.

Some days when he’s browsing around online shops, he would occasionally encounter items that remind him of you.

Now, that in itself is not new but rather it was when he imagined how cute you would be if he got these items for you. Instead of your usual pleasantly surprised thank you, would you lovingly embrace him, maybe even kiss-! 

Ortho was startled to see his brother suddenly falling off his gaming chair, with his hands suspiciously covering his face. 

Crap, not only did he realize his feelings for you (which in hindsight probably was not surprising in the least), but he actually would like to be in a stupid lovey-dovey relationship with you. 

His Next Moves?

Continues to deny everything. So what if he wants a relationship with you? He can’t handle this new step even with these newly realized emotions. Plus, he was the one who blew his own shot by rejecting you the first time. 

So, he falls to his coping mechanism which is to deny everything and that he’s perfectly fine the way things are. 

When the two of you returned to your typical routine, he tried to keep things the way it used to be, as the same with you. 

Except it’s not quite the same. 

You weren’t sure if you were being conscious or that it’s been a while since you two hung out, but you felt that Idia was slightly more…attentive you could say?

He would give you first bids of the better controller before picking anything himself. If you seemed the slightest bit uncomfortable while sitting, the blue-flamed senior would offer you a comfier spot on his bed and a blanket if you wanted, before sputtering that he meant nothing weird about it.

He says he’s fine, but Idia’s is in no way the usual closed-off, sometimes cocky genius you knew before. He’s jittery, more prone to shriek and burst into pink flames to any of your gestures, and according to his little brother his heartbeat is slightly faster than usual. 

It’s weird…it’s like he actually acknowledges you as a woman…

Oh.

“Ahh, I seriously chose the wrong choice option. The story path…I wonder if I could still salvage a good ending…”

The Big Ooff

Kalim’s overly friendly nature, while harmless, is somewhat misleading and confusing to those around him. I mean, if someone threw a grand luxurious party for you, it’s easy to assume that you were someone special. Unfortunately, Kalim is simply just…too friendly. He would do this and more for just about anyone, no matter how special they may or may not be.

Nonetheless, you still wanted to tell him your feelings. You wanted to tell him how his smile and laugh hastens your heartbeat as you smile back. That you feel butterflies every time he extends his hands to you, coaxing you to dance with the boisterous Housewarden of Scarabia. 

To everyone’s genuine surprise, the snow-haired student sincerely apologized to you, not able to return your feelings the same way. All of your friends and also Scarabia was so sure that their Housewarden thought differently of you, but news quickly spread that Kalim never thought about being more than friends with you.

The Realization

To clarify, Kalim never thought about being more than friends with anyone. He’s happy to have so many friends, what more could he possibly want?

But your words did shake him mentally. He never realized that you would feel this way for him. On days when he can’t keep track of the lessons at hand, his mind would doze off and wander back to your confession. 

“Hastening heartbeat, feelings of butterflies, always wanting to smile when you do…”

The more he thinks about your love symptoms, he’s realizing how similar those feelings were to his own when he’s around you. It was why he would always try to find you in a crowd, or why he wanted to be your dance partner on any occasion. Sure, he’s happy to be around everyone, but he feels especially good when it's you.

The pieces are connecting, the clogs are aligning, and soon…

“JAMIL, I THINK I’M IN LOVE TOO!” 

“IS YOUR LACK OF INTROSPECTION THIS BAD?!”

His Next Moves?

Man is now a fool in love. He has this goofy smile on his boyish face at the slightest mention of you. Everytime he thinks about you, he keeps attempting to buy one or two grand bouquets of flowers for you, each flower as beautiful as you, much to Jamil’s chagrin as the vice-Housewarden has to keep reminding him of a crucial fact. 

“You two aren’t dating. Actually worse considering your prior actions.” 

Jamil’s brutal but accurate words brought Kalim back to harsh reality as he realized his mistake in not realizing his feelings soon enough. But not one to wallow in the past, Kalim sought to tell you his feelings just as you bravely did before. 

Whether I personally think if that’s a smart move is irrelevant

Whatever your response is to him, Kalim would fully respect your choice, prioritizing your comfort and feelings over his newly uncovered ones. Despite his well intentions and honest feelings before the realization, his carelessness hurt you and he needed to consider your healing process. 

Kalim would still act like a love-sick fool, however. Buying beautiful trinkets because he thought of you but won’t push them onto you if you couldn’t handle the heavy sentiment (thank Jamil for that). 

Though a little more sheepishly, he would still extend his hand to you hoping for a dance, small little gestures to make you smile even the slightest bit brighter…all this and more because “I like you” and nothing else.

Just because he’s slow in figuring things out, his feelings won’t change so easily. This special feeling of happiness, of love… he’s grateful that you taught him this whole new world.

"I��m a little much? Haha, sorry. I get really happy when I see you...It feels nice being in love with you.”

The Big Ooff

Please reconsider 

Ahem. Azul has grown accustomed to your presence. Perhaps even look forward to it throughout his daily routine, even assisting you in whatever trouble you always seem to get involved in. Some would accuse him of favoritism, but Azul argued that he was simply a gentleman treating a lady right.

He’s too observant to not notice that these sentiments are somewhat mutual. He thought of you as too kind and generous as to spend your spare time helping him around the lounge or to keep him company when the Leech twins get a little much. 

But he was surprised to learn that your feelings were deeper than he initially predicted. There was such sincerity in your voice as you confess your feelings that it shook Azul to his core and turned his human legs weak. 

However, he still had so many aspirations he hasn’t reached yet, opportunities he can’t miss. He can’t afford to split his time for something like romance, something that didn't register to him as urgent in the first place. Love is all well and good, but success is better and more tangible.

He’s careful with his words, gratefully thanking you for your confession and complimenting you with a list of traits he admired about you. 

But you should know Azul by now. He’s hyping you up before ultimately giving you crushing news. Like a company recruiter telling you weren’t chosen despite your apparent talents. 

You knew this, but it still hurts to have your dynamic treated equivalent to that of a business relation. 

The Realization

Azul understood you needed time away. Certain things were said that can’t be taken back and it’ll be a while before you two could feel comfortable around each other again. 

During this time though, the Housewarden truly felt your absence. He feels it when someone else takes a seat in his office where you usually occupy, when his mealtime feels less fulfilling because you weren’t there to enjoy it with him, when his headaches get worse from stress and you weren’t there to lend a comforting hand. 

This sense of void was like a stream of cold water slowly trickling into his body and mind until he felt heavy and almost drowning. What an odd sensation for a deep-sea merman. 

His mind became cluttered. He can’t focus on his work when all he could think about is where you might be and what you were doing. 

He reached his limit when he realized that he couldn’t even hide this internal conflict from Jade or Floyd when their keen eyes pick on every moment of his loss of focus, and they have an inkling as to the cause. 

…Dear Sevens, he might have made a great miscalculation on his own feelings.

His Next Moves?

First off, he’s going to spend some time in his pot. He needs some personal time reflecting over his own obliviousness and self-sabotage. 

Once that’s over, he now has to figure out how to remedy this. A plan to get back into your good graces after the blunder. 

He is a greedy merman. If he’s going to do something, he wants the best outcome possible, which is you forgiving him and accepting him while forgetting the past even happened.  

He’s read through countless relationship books, advice found online, and personal intel that his schoolmates were forced to generous enough to offer under an NDA. 

He’ll use the knowledge he remembered from your confession to his advantage, highlighting the parts of himself that he knew you liked about him. He shows off his good side in hopes to reignite what attracted you to him. 

If there’s anything to expose his intent with you, it’s the flush of his pale skin when you finally thanked him with that sweet smile he missed so much.

"I’m not one to lose an opportunity when within my reach. However long it takes, I’ll earn back what I’ve foolishly lost.”

The Big Ooff

Riddle was, in all seriousness, taken aback by your confession.

The studious Housewarden of Heartslabyul is definitely smart, but he’s just slightly lacking in the people-reading department. 

To him, you were simply a very loving person. He thought perhaps you were on the shyer side but always worrying about his well-being, making sure he’s taken breaks and to enjoy himself between his duties.

You were still a little rambunctious as lately you seem at odds with Ace as you’re quick to smack and silence the mischievous redhead who seems to snicker more often than usual as of late. 

Frankly, you left him stunned, his face similar to a deer in headlights. No textbook or lecture has prepared him to reply back to your sincere confession. 

In the end, he rejected you while giving his full honesty. Silly things like love and relationships were subjects he never thought to consider in depth, and he wasn’t sure it was something he wanted at the moment. 

He tried to explain the best he could, but you couldn't stop the aching feeling of your heart breaking. 

The Realization

Your relationship with Riddle took a blow but it was not destroyed. Albeit some awkwardness here and there, life flows relentlessly as usual. 

But that fateful day would occasionally sneak its way into Riddle’s mind during his spare moments to himself, recalling your determined face, coupled with his memories of your beautiful, clear eyes.

Nowadays, his heart would tighten, his throat would feel dry, and his breathing would be shallower whenever his thoughts sway towards you. 

Spurred by these odd symptoms, he finally looked more into the topic of love. The more he delved into talks on relationships, seminars on emotional attraction, and even tropes from novels, the more it feels as though he’s going down a rabbit hole of new emotional discoveries. 

For a while, the Heartslabyul dorm was on edge as they feared for their necks every time their terrifying Housewarden suddenly turned franticly scarlet out of nowhere.

Alone in Riddle’s room, surrounded by articles and books littered on his once pristine desk, Riddle found his conclusion; he’s in love too

His Next Moves?

Riddle isn’t actually sure how to approach you anymore. This whole “in love” experience is all too new to him. He couldn’t bring up this embarrassing topic with any of his peers, and much less with his mother (Sevens knows he doesn’t exactly want to replicate a relationship like his parents). 

But he couldn’t handle the sudden sensations of nerves that occur every time he’s close to you. He can’t keep up constantly chastising himself internally for flinching every time he passes a tart or a teacup to you during Unbirthday parties. 

He can no longer focus during his study sessions with you as he’s now fighting with himself as he dreams to hold your free hand or to brush a stray lock of hair from your endearing face. 

Was it as difficult to deal with as it was for you? Was this the reason you decided to confess to him? But the thought of speaking to you about something so intimate invokes nerves in him that he couldn’t understand.

No, he should learn from your example. If the natural progression of his feelings should be clear communication between those involved, then he will face this challenge as confidently as he does with any other. 

Prepare yourself, the stubborn Riddle has made a goal for himself. 

“I admit my inexperience has hurt those I cherish. Next time, I will respond to your bravery in kind.” 

[otomiyaa]

1403

Venom x Eddie

[Fic Reupload] - Venom fic reupload to celebrate the 3rd movie which I'll see tomorrow. This fic is originally from 2020.

Summary: Eddie’s neighbor seems to have forgotten about the scary encounter with Eddie and Venom, and is back to being a noisy prick. While Eddie has gotten used to it, Venom can’t get any rest and decides to troll so they can get their revenge. (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 1.5K

Eddie murmured in his sleep. He squirmed. "Hmmmhm. Hmmmm. Nope."

"Yes." Despite the fact he talked in his sleep, Venom felt how his host’s body was still in a state of rest, while he hadn’t been in hours. His senses were tingling. 

That damn neighbor was being loud again. It hadn’t been long since he slowly started to show his old behavior again. As if he’d completely forgotten about Eddie and Venom’s warning to him. Venom had already offered Eddie to chomp his head off, but Eddie had clearly told him no. No, because he is not a bad person. And no, because Eddie could live with it now. 

Yeah, easy for him to talk. Venom was restless. Symbiotes could go a long time without rest, but nights like this when Eddie was in a deep sleep and he was lying awake, yeah, those were hella annoying. He had no idea about the time right now, but the neighbor’s noise had continued for long enough to keep him awake, unable to find any sleep. 

Venom was bored. He thought about taking Eddie’s body out for a nightly outing again, but remembered last time’s scolding. He had promised to at least leave him peacefully in bed this time. Sigh. 

So, out of boredom, he was playing around with his host’s body. Not in a bad way of course. He used Eddie’s own hands to lightly tickle him, but it did not seem to cause any reaction.

Intrigued, Venom continued to try. Eddie murmured some more. Venom’s attempts grew more aggressive. “Yes,” he said again as he tried to tickle Eddie. In the end, Eddie did wake up, but he wasn’t laughing.

“The hell you doin’?” he asked sleepily, and he yawned and stretched out. Venom however pulled his hands back and continued to use Eddie’s own hands to poke and scribble at his tummy.

“Tickling you. Looks like I cannot do it like this. Not with your hands,” Venom said. Eddie rolled his eyes and yawned again.

“We’ve been over this. I can’t tickle myself. Now stop being random and get some sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“How’s that?” Eddie asked, sounding as if he was about to fall asleep again.

“1403,” Venom answered. “1403 has kept me awake again. He is awful.” Eddie chuckled tiredly. “I know, I know. He is quiet now, so get some sleep.”

“We should get him back,” Venom said. “I already told you, no one’s eating him. He’s loud, not bad,” Eddie muttered. 

“No eating. We should make some noise too. Show him what it’s like,” Venom said. “Like, right now. He’s probably sleeping.”

“No one’s gonna make any noise,” Eddie said, but he then tensed up when Venom - this time with his sneaky tendrils like he had often done before - tickled his sides teasingly.

“Are you sure?” he asked. He could feel how Eddie’s entire body tensed and tried to fight the sensations. 

“Venom - no. Not now, no. No no no, HAh!” Eddie quickly brought his arms over his face to muffle himself, but Venom was having none of that. Taking over control, he moved Eddie’s arms up over his head, and for extra steadiness, restrained them there with his tendrils. 

He then formed two claws, and wiggled them eagerly above his host’s stretched out, helpless torso. Eddie only sighed sleepily, his eyes rolling back.

“Venom, noooo. Please no, just let me sleep. What time is it, fucking four in the morning isn’t ihi-AHAhh! You fuhhuckin’ pahaharasite!” Eddie cried out, throwing his head back when Venom dug in without mercy. 

“You are going to get louder than that Eddie. We will wake him up,” Venom said excitedly. Tickling Eddie was never boring. He himself felt great whenever he did it. Eddie sounded hilarious. What a lovely instrument, this human tickling-thing. 

“HEHEh-NOhahaha!” Venom had often tickled Eddie like this. Mostly during the day. Sometimes the noisy neighbor would be making music at the same time. Other times he was at home, but never said anything. 

In the hallway he sometimes looked at them awkwardly, with a judging look. Of course he often heard Eddie laugh so loud the whole building could hear. He was in no place to argue, making noise himself.

Still, doing this, Venom hoped he would be waking up now, curse Eddie Brock’s loud and random laughs and squeals at this time in the night and furiously pull his pillow over his head. Venom chuckled. No. Even with his pillow over his head, he was going to hear Eddie’s laughter. No matter what.

“VEHEH-Venahaha-Venom! NAHaha-pahha-you parasite!” Eddie shrieked when Venom took no moment to build up any longer. He tickled Eddie in multiple places at the same time. His exposed underarms, his ribs, his stomach. He even teasingly wiggled his tongue under his chin before he said, “Come again?” 

“PAHAH-PARASITE!” Eddie called him through his hysterical laughter. Venom let out an evil laugh. “Oh, Eddie,” he cooed before even adding a new tickle spot; his hips and waist area got added in the mix. Venom had the power to tickle him in all those places at the same time, and make him laugh like this.

But what he liked about it was that Eddie was calling him parasite, and any wise being would know this only motivated Venom to tickle him more. Rather than argue his way out and claim his night’s rest back, Eddie rather provoked him. Venom loved that. He loved to be provoked, and show Eddie what it would result in.

“As you wish, Eddie,” he said fondly. Eddie’s shirt had been pushed up all the way to his neck, and his tendrils tickled all over Eddie’s bare torso. 

“HAAHA! NOT Thehere - Vehehen-VEnahaam! NOhoho!” Eddie roared when Venom added some extra pressure in his sensitive armpits. 

“Just a little louder.” Venom shot out a few extra tendrils that slithered down to the end of the bed where they captured Eddie’s bare feet. 

“AAHAAH!” Eddie was hysterical, hilarious. Also cute. Snickering, Venom sought that one spot he had discovered a little while ago. Moving his head down as well so he could spot it precisely, he now could only hear Eddie’s loud laughter and pleas, instead of also seeing his happy face.

“GHAAHA-get bahahack here!” Eddie warned. “Oh I’d love to. But first...” Venom found the spot under Eddie’s toes that he had been looking for, and swiped at it with some extra tiny tendrils. Eddie’s entire body shook in response. Brilliant.

“EEEehhe! Stahhaap! Y-you’re so meheheeeaan!” Eddie whined. “AAAHH! NOHOH!” Eddie’s loud squeals bounced off the walls, and right through - Venom was sure of it. If this wasn’t ruining 1403′s night rest, he had to be dead. Anyone would wake up from this. 

“ENAGh-ENOUGH! VEHE-VENOM gahaha-damn iiiit!” Hmm. Venom started to think that maybe he had given Eddie enough of this random tickle torture that interrupted his sleep. 

“We did well,” Venom complimented as he slowly ceased the tickling, giving the spot under Eddie’s toes a final tickly lick before he moved back up. He released his body and watched him tremble, his chest heaving with each deep breath.

“You suck. So bad,” Eddie sighed breathlessly.

“But you still like us.”

“Fuck you,” Eddie cursed, a big smile still plastered on his face. “Happy now?” he then asked. 

“I think so. Let’s see tomorrow.” Eddie didn’t even ask him what he meant. He already fell asleep again. Fast asleep. He must’ve been exhausted. Thinking about that, Venom started to feel tired too. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to take some rest after all. And rest he found. Even if it was a mere couple of hours, he was content.

Indeed, as Venom suspected, the next morning when they walked into the hallway and ran into the 1403-neighbor guy, he had bags under his eyes. He looked like he had a bad night.

 “Bad night huh?” Eddie asked. Noisy neighbour shot him a look.

“Yeah,” he said. Eddie laughed. “I know aaall about it,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and heading out before him. 

“We were successful,” Venom said proudly,

“That we were. You had your revenge, good for you,” Eddie said sarcastically. Venom chuckled.

“Good for you too,” he replied. “Let’s do it again tonight.”

“Venom, no. NO!” Eddie let out a squeaky laugh when Venom sneakily tickled him in the middle of the streets. “Then I’ll take us for a nightly mission again. Sleep is overrated.”

“No - you won’t do that either, no! Vehehe-Venom! Not in puhuhublic!” Never in his life had Venom felt as entertained as when he was with Eddie. There were always ways to find joy, and with his host’s sensitive body at his mercy all day and night, it was the easiest thing ever to find that joy and indulge.

“I know. Let’s tickle you every night until 1403 moves out.”

“VEhehenom, no!” Yes, a joyful life. Venom was happy. 

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for sleeping with a 20 year old?

tw: mentions of potential grooming, age gap relationships, nsft/nsfw, vague discussions of sex

So, me (38m) and my wife (39f) are in an open relationship. Basically, we’re both bisexual and not quite ready to limit our sex lives to one person yet. So, we decided to allow friends with benefits situations outside of our relationship. No romantic stuff, no dating, just sex.

In January, my wife went to stay at her best friend’s (28f) house and have some fun together. I don’t mind at all, I was kind of glad to have our apartment to myself for a week. Now, there’s this queer bar that me and my wife frequent and it’s a good mix of all age demographics and identities.

There’s this one trans guy, I’ll call him M, that most people in the local community know because he’s very attractive. He reminds me of a very short Eric Draven mixed with Eddie Vedder. (Oddly specific, I know) Like, he has long-ish curly brown hair, big brown eyes, the sweetest smile ever and he dresses very well. A little grunge here, a little rockstar there. Good jewelry. You get it.

I always catch people staring at him when he’s at the bar with his friends. (We live in Europe btw, legal drinking age is 18.) In short, I find him very cute. He’s basically a micro celebrity among the community and he doesn’t even know it.

So, while my wife was away I went down to the bar and his friend group invited me to come sit with them. We started talking, he’s super funny and we began talking about Pearl Jam because of the shirt I was wearing. Found out he’s obsessed with the music scene of the 90s, specifically rock and grunge, and I happen to have a collection of merchandise of the big 4. I invited him to come check it out and he eagerly accepted. None of his friends wanted to come, so it was just us two. Showed him the stuff, he got super excited about it and I even let him keep one of my Soundgarden shirts and some CDs.

I offered to cook dinner, we ate and then had some weed brownies for dessert. We got posted on the couch, talked for a good while and he began confiding in me. I’m not gonna go into detail because that’s shitty, but he basically told me he’d never had a positive sexual experience up to that point. Apparently all of his exes were switches leaning submissive and he’s purely submissive, so things never really worked out and he never finished with any of them.

I told him about me and my wife’s arrangements and some other stuff about our sex life. (Don’t worry, my wife is 100% okay with this. Even in this context.)

Here’s where I might be the asshole, if not the creep:

Now, I was pretty high at that point and I joked about how I could give him a positive experience. To my surprise, he actually eagerly accepted. I was a bit hesitant because we were both buzzed, but he kept reiterating that he’s consenting and that he’s sure he wants this. So, I made sure he had a good night and he actually ended up sleeping over and we cuddled. It was super nice and he seemed genuinely ecstatic about it the next morning, it was adorable. I was honestly just happy that I was able to give him a positive sexual encounter.

We exchanged numbers, kept texting for two days and he ended up coming over again. Had some more fun together and he went to go sleep over at a friend’s place. At that point, I sort of realized that I may be catching feelings for him. Which is against me and my wife’s rules and also just a horrible idea, especially considering the age gap. So, I let him know that I need some distance and he was super understanding. He was understandably a bit disappointed but didn’t complain or anything.

Once my wife came back, I told her about everything. This is just a thing we do because it helps avoid speculation and unnecessary jealousy. We always tell each other about what happens with our other sexual partners, but only if they consent to it. Which most of them do because they’re our friends. She seemed a bit unnerved by it, not because of the fact that I had feelings for him, but because of the age difference. She said it’s weird and predatory and told me she needed some time to think.

Apparently, she went to go check in on M and asked him if I pressured him into anything. He said it was a 100% mutual thing and he’s very much into older guys, so he enjoyed it quite a lot.

This put her mind at ease but I’m still quite shaken by it. I never stopped to consider the fact that the age difference is quite concerning. I can’t help but feel like a nasty creep that bribed some poor 20 year with old band shirts to come sleep with him. I don’t like that I didn’t even think about it. Talking with M came so easy and we share a lot of interests. I’m not about to go and say he’s 'mature for his age' because he isn’t, he acts like any other 20 year old.

I was just so focused on how attractive and interesting he is to me, I fear I might’ve acted extremely selfish and should’ve stopped to take his lack of experience and his naivety into account. Of course he’d sleep with me, he’s 20 and doesn’t know any better. It should’ve been my job, as the older adult, to put a stop to it. Please don’t hesitate to give it to me straight.

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[petertingle-yipyip]

STRANGER (ii) - KAZ BREKKER

tags: @beekeepingageissome @shadowzena43 @nikfigueiredo @mp-littlebit // previously // next // i hope i didn’t miss anyone for tags! //

Pairing: kaz x davina rollins (enemies to lovers)

Word Count: 6,271

Summary: Nothing is simple in Ketterdam. Davina learns a hard lesson when trying to expand her snakes. Bloodied with a bruised ego, she think she finds help in an unlikely ally, only to have to run. Again.

The next few months were uneventful. You continued your usual pattern of withdrawals and reconnaissance. You watched Kaz and the Dregs, even visited Nina Zenik a few more times to make a better acquaintance with her. You had no plans for her specifically in your overall schemes, but having her vote of confidence may prove useful for your potential alliance. Plus, it didn’t hurt to befriend a Heartrender.

But she always asked the same thing. “Your boss hasn’t claimed her little ring yet, has she?”

And your answer was always the same. “No. It’s not the right time, I suppose.”

And it wasn’t. Your gang, while managing decently filled coffers, was minuscule. You were a small, yet arguably skilled group. And it wasn’t just Kaz Brekker you had to convince. Even though he was the harder of the two to persuade, you’d need enough of a footing to convince Per Haskell. Unless a time came when Kaz took full control, he was technically Haskell’s lieutenant, and the old bastard could veto any deal you made with Dirtyhands.

“We need to start venturing out.” You told your lieutenant. You were seated in your office, spinning the tip of your blade against your desk. You had done it so much you had worn a little divot in the wood. “We need to start doing jobs or running cons.”

“Word is there’s a gambling hall near the Crow Club that’s struggling.” Melli offered up eagerly. “It’s a solid location.”

“Then why is it struggling?”

“Advertisement?”

“Melli.” You let your blade fall to the wood top and stared your lieutenant in the eyes.

“I think the Dreg presence keeps them from really capitalizing.” She answered, tugging at her sleeve.

“And you think adding snake presence will do anything towards pacifying Brekker and his Crows? They don’t trust me or any of us, and if Brekker finds out who I really am, he’ll burn down any business attached to us. Whether or not that is before he drags me, kicking and screaming and bleeding, to my father’s feet, I couldn’t tell you.”

“He won’t.” She tried but you simply raised a brow. “You’re careful, Davina. If he hasn’t figured it out by now, after he took you captive, he won’t find out unless you let

him.”

You tapped your finger against your desk in thought. You stared at your discarded knife and wondered if it was worth the risk, especially after your last encounter with him. The hits to your ribs had broken two and left your lungs bruised. Getting them healed was a pain and if you thought hard enough, you could still feel that pain in your chest.

Out the corner of your eye, you saw Melli fidgeting with her sleeve again and you redirected focus to her idea, though you made a mental note to talk to her about that tell. If you left Melli to run the hall, it could maintain your anonymity while also bringing in funds outside of your father’s unintentional donations. It could also be an opportunity to get in good with Haskell.

“Go see what the owner might sell for…” You waved her off, trying to ignore her giddy smile. “If it’s not an arm and a leg or my eternal soul, I will consider it.”

“Yes!” She celebrated.

“But.” You said firmly and her giddy movements halted. “It’ll be your passion project, meaning you will be responsible for any and all failures or success, and you’ll be compensated accordingly from the profits. And if we take it, I intend to use it as a foot in the door with the Dregs.”

At that, her mouth fell open.

“I can offer Haskell a small percentage of our profit to allow us to operate within his boundaries.”

“That’ll make us look weak!”

“We’ll look approachable.” You countered.

“We don’t need Dreg approval.”

“We’ll need Haskell’s good graces if we want to get Kaz.”

“We don’t want Brekker. You do.”

“You’re right.” You nodded. “And while I respect your opinion as my lieutenant, I’m not debating this with you. Dime Lions won’t hesitate if they get a chance to wipe us out, neither will the Razor Gulls. Especially if either of them figure me out. You want the gambling hall?” You made a platform with your fingers as your elbows came to your desk. You rested your chin on said platform. “You have my terms, Melli.”

She opened her mouth, likely to argue, but thought better of it. Instead, she nodded with a heavy, defeated sigh and stomped out the door. You dropped back into your chair and rubbed your tired eyes.

If you had known how tiring it was to run a gang, plot revenge, and seek alliance from your father’s sworn enemy, you may have thought twice.

You decided you wanted something stronger than the poor quality coffee Melli kept warm in the main room. You tossed your cloak over your shoulders, fastened it at the base of your throat, and slipped out your window. You slid down the peak of the roof from the building practically leaning against yours and caught yourself on the usual broken guardrail at the edge. It hung off into a sliver of an alleyway and the small space became a small altar to Sankta Alina.

You were always careful not to disturb it when you made your landing. Once, you even drew your own sun on the wall around it.

You pulled your hood up and blended into the streets. You were lucky to set up business in a building that was near the edge of the Barrel. It was out of your father’s reach and that was what was most important. But in the nights you needed the comfort of bustling nightlife and drinks, you wished you had found something a few blocks closer.

At the end of the night, you were safe when you slept. You were warm every night. You were fed, not always well but you and your snakes never went without necessities. It was all you could ask for to start with, yet did nothing to quell the need for more.

You didn’t end up at any clubs or bars. Instead, you ended up walking the canals until you reached the one spot that you hated, yet always found a way back to. There was a small space where you could see Reaper’s Barge. It was far enough that you couldn’t make out any specific bodies, if there were any, and you couldn’t smell the rot or decomposition. It was just the salty tang the ocean always left in the air and the ever present mist hovering. You used to wonder if the Council of Tides had put that mist there, but you came to be thankful for it. It seemed to keep the worst of the dread away.

“When they said the monsters were in the shadows, it was supposed to be a story.” You threw over your shoulder after you felt the stare at your back. “You weren’t supposed to take it literally.”

“There’s enough truth in every story. Besides, I am the nightmare.” He answered. 

“So I’ve heard…” You nodded. “Some say you’ve got bones for hands, the flesh rotted away by all your misdeeds. Others that you don’t have hands at all but are just cursed with phantom fingers. I’ve also heard you have claws, so which story has your truth?”

“All of them. Or none of them. You can pick, really.”

You were surprised to find he seemed relatively docile and it made you wonder how long it would take for you to say something that provoked him. And part of you wanted to try.

He came and stood by your side.

“Are you here to slice me open again?” You joked and turned your head. He stared ahead and you stuck your arm out, exposing your bare forearm. “Go on then.”

He glanced down then and pushed your arm away with a sound that almost resembled a chuckle. Then his eyes found your face, tracing the length of scar from his cane. It burned with the memory and you almost felt the stream of blood down your face again.

“I think it adds a certain charm. Don’t you?” You tried another joke and he shook his head, looking away. You frowned to yourself and looked back to the water. “Why are you lurking in the shadows anyway?”

“Midnight stroll.” He answered calmly.

“With a leg like that? I don’t think so.” You scoffed. “Is it even midnight?”

As if on cue, the bells began to ring.

“Oh, Saints.” You muttered.

“Let that be a lesson.” He commented and you turned towards him. “I’m almost never wrong.”

“Almost? So it is possible.”

“Nothing is impossible.” He shrugged. “Improbable, yes, but not impossible.”

“The Wraith told me pride would be my downfall, yet here you stand.”

“As I’ve mentioned, Dear, I’ve already died.”

You nodded slightly and looked back to the water nearer the Barge. When you went there, your thoughts always strayed to Jordie. You wondered how long he had been in the water, if there was anything left of him. You wondered if Kaz had been in the water or did someone have to pry him off his brother’s body, screaming for the only family he had? You always shuddered at the thoughts.

“How is Davina?” Kaz asked suddenly.

Your eyes moved, head staying forward. You saw he was leaning his elbows on the railing. His leather clad hands were fidgeting with the cuff of his shirt beneath his coat, and the moonlight bounced off the silver crow-topped cane at his side.

“She worries.” You confessed. You had missed Kaz so dearly, so you were taking the small opportunity he had given you to just talk. “She’s not sure we’ll have enough to offer when she needs to make the deal. That’s part of why she doesn’t come out often.”

“Why she sends you, Melli?”

Your comfort was yanked away at his words and your hand began to creep towards the blade inside your collar. You were a fool to think there was anything other than malice in his intent. “What?”

“Yes.” He turned towards you and you took an instinctive step back. “You see, after our last run-in, I looked into the little clutch she’s built. Fortunately for her, not many know her roster, but her lieutenant’s name has a few whispers.”

You felt a swell of panic. If Melli’s name was known, how long did you have until yours was tied to your face? Was the gambling hall a ruse to lure Melli, thinking you would show, for capture? What would happen to Melli?

“I am not Melli.” You said firmly, maintaining eye contact even though you wanted to bolt to the gambling hall.

“Are you telling me-“ He lifted that cursed cane and you pulled the blade from the sheath. “-that my sources are wrong?”

“Not quite.” Another step back. “There is a snake named Melli and Davina trusts her, but I am not Melli.”

“Then who are you?”

“You're Kaz Brekker, aren’t you? Figure it out.”

In a swift movement, the blunt end of his cane slid under the fabric of your cloak, where the clasps met, and he pulled you forward. You stumbled slightly and his free hand grabbed your face, leather-clad fingers digging into your cheeks. You could’ve sworn you had felt the sharpness of the fabled talons he hid, but you knew it was your imagination.

Kaz was human. You knew that, but he was also dangerous.

“If you value your hand, I suggest you let go.” You threatened but with his grip your words were mumbled.

He just raised a brow and pushed you to step back. Your empty hand grabbed his forearm desperately as he bent you backwards over the railing. You felt yourself lifting off the ground, toes of your boots scraping the ground and you scrabbled for purchase.

You could feel the dull end of the cane pressing on the underside of your chin. You gripped his arm tighter and you saw a change in expression. His jaw tensed, the grip on your face faltered, his entire body seemed to go rigged. In that hesitation, you acted.

You found the upside down crow’s head and slammed your foot down on the beak. You felt it slide away before it clattered to the ground. You slashed your knife in a careless move, seeing it skate along the front of his hip. He winced slightly but you let go of his arm, holding to the railing instead. You put the knife’s handle between your teeth and braced the other hand against his chest.

You shoved as hard as you could and he stumbled back. You tumbled over the railing, slamming your side into it as it spun your arm in your socket. You glanced down and the darkness made the water seem hauntingly endless. You turned back to climb up and you saw the silver arc. You yelped and had to switch hands in a hurry, the impact of the crow’s head vibrating through the railing. You thought to yell at him for trying to break your fingers but he swung the cane again. In a panic, you simply let go and fell into the waters.

You were dripping wet when you got home. Your cloak was sticking to your chest, hood heavy against your forehead. Your knife was lost to the waters and your teeth were chattering, loose hairs sticking to your face.

“Send Melli to my office when she returns.” You told one of the snakes in the common room as you stomped away, leaving squishing sounds and wet footprints in your wake.

Almost immediately after you slammed the door, a light knock sounded before it opened. You turned and saw Melli.

“You’re unharmed?” You asked. You were worried but your voice was level. The cold waters had seeped the heat of your anger and worry away.

“Yes.” She nodded and you could see her trying to hide the smile. “The owner’s willing to sell, but he isn’t the majority owner. He says that’s why it doesn’t seem as profitable lately. Once ownership changed, he stopped advertising or putting in much effort other than paying the bills and bringing in enough for his family!”

“Fine. How much does he want?”

“5,000.”

You blew out a sigh and unclasped your cloak, draping the fabric over your desk with a wet thump. “I supposed it’s fair if he doesn’t own it all. What can you put in?”

“What?” Her smile fell.

“You wanted it. You’ll run in. You need to put in. I’ll cover some and the snakes’ coffers will do the rest. So what can you put in?”

“Um.” She tugged her sleeve and you glared at the nervous movement of her hand. “Maybe… 1200?”

“Good. I can give 1800, and then the other two wi-“

“If you put in more than me, doesn’t that undermine what I put in?”

“First.” You held up a hand. “Don’t cut me off, Melli. I’ve had a horrid night, if you couldn’t tell, so I’m in no mood.”

She closed her mouth tightly and nodded.

“Second, it’s not about you or me putting in more. It’s about lessening the strain on our gang’s funds. We’ll meet tomorrow night with him. Now, who’s the majority owner?”

“You won’t like it.” She sighed.

“Who, Haskell? Because I swear if I have to deal with Brekker again so soon.”

“You saw Dirtyhands?” She quirked a brow. “I suppose that explains why you look like a wet cat.”

“Yes, and he is continuing the infuriating habit of making my life difficult. He nearly broke my fingers before throwing me into the canals. And he thinks I’m you.”

“What?” She laughed.

“He found out your name as my lieutenant and he thinks my hooded charade is you, which means you need to be more careful for a while with your name. Understood?”

“Of course.” She began fiddling with her sleeve. “Do you still want an alliance?”

“I want to watch my father suffer.” You said plainly, leaning your palms flat against your desk. “I want to take from him the same he took from me as a child, and if it takes wooing Kaz Brekker - who wants the same thing, mind you - into some sort of partnership, so be it. Now for Gods’ sakes, Melli, quit picking at your cursed sleeve and be a lieutenant! Who’s the majority owner?”

Her hands folded behind her back and she righted her posture. She drew her shoulders back and lifted her chin.

“Pekka Rollins.”

“Truly?” You smiled and she nodded. “Well, maybe this is a good idea after all.”

The next night, you dressed for the first public appearance of Davina Rollins since her disappearance. You left your hair loose and left your cloak. Instead, you wore a fitted vest, similar to a corset but with thicker straps and less restriction of your breathing. It was another Grisha made item but this one had been far cheaper than your cloak. You had gotten it from a Fabrikator at port who had deserted the Second Army so she was willing to give it away for practically nothing. It had several knife sheaths and was damn near impenetrable.

You wore it over a dark blue long sleeved button up, tucked neatly into your pants, with two knives tucked into their homes. You wore your usual boots and added a pair of black leather gloves. The accessory made you think of Kaz and you found yourself wondering why he had added the gloves. Was it simply for mystery or something more?

You shook the thought away and reached for the last thing you needed. A dark piece of fabric that you had cut and sewn into a makeshift mask. It would cover the lower half of your face and loop over your ears before you pinned it into your hair. The hooded cloak could hide most of what you did, but you needed a statement with a true appearance.

Well, as true as you could risk.

Your deal with the man was easy enough. Paperwork for the sale would be submitted in the morning and you had him send word to your father that he was selling and the new owner wouldn’t pay him anything. You also had him add that you would be at his doorstep at midnight. Melli tried to talk you out of it, but your own spite drove you to it.

“You should meet in neutral territory. Is that what that square is for?” She reasoned and gestured towards the area most deals between gangs were made.

“I don’t know enough about the way it works there.” You shook your head. “Besides, it’s too open. Stadwatch can be bought, people can turn. I won’t risk it.”

“It’s riskier doing this!”

“Well, I’m sure dear old Dad will be too shocked to try to kill me.”

“Davina.”

“Go home, Melli. You know your tasks if I don’t return.”

“Abandon the revenge against Rollins. Forget allying with the Dregs. Make our own name.” She listed with a nod to punctuate each command. “I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to. The deal is the deal.”

You were ushered into your father’s office quickly. Two large Dime Lions stood post and your father kept seated at his desk. You crossed your arms and your fingers grazed the handle of the blades. You were glad to know they were easy to reach.

“What business?” He finally spoke.

Hearing his voice sent a chill through you. He sounded the same, yet completely foreign. He had no warmth towards you, no yearning or longing. He wasn’t your father. Just the Barrel Boss, head of the Dime Lions, Pekka Rollins.

“Is that how you speak to your daughter?” You tried and raised a brow. “The power you claim to have has made you cruel.”

“Am I to believe you’re Davina?” He laughed. “My daughter wouldn’t hide. She’d face me as she is.”

“I wouldn’t hide?” You cocked your head. “Papa, I’ve been hiding for years. Who do you think has been building the snakes that have been making neat little dens all across your precious Ketterdam?”

You thought about taunting with the account, but if you lost those funds, your gang might drown unless the gambling hall proves fruitful.

“Snakes.” He spat. “Vile little creatures.”

“Maybe we’re more alike than I wanted to believe.”

A Dime Lion kicked at the back of your knee and you fell. Your father came around his desk and knelt in front of you, jerking your head towards him by your chin.

He stared into your eyes, scanned your face, looked at your hair. He was looking for some resemblance and you hadn’t realized how much you had changed until then. Yes, you had changed your hair, but also the set of your shoulders had changed. You didn’t cower from eye contact. Your voice matured. You held your head higher. Your round, childish cheeks had sharpened.

Even under your mask, after staring enough, he recognized you.

“I thought you were dead, Davi.” He said softly. “Where were you?”

“I tumbled with the Reaper.” You smiled beneath your mask. “I knew my time was coming when I left. I could either die at twelve or at ninety three. You’d be surprised how many thought I was so pretty, they bought a room.”

His mouth opened for a response but you spoke again.

“Yes, my tongue’s grown quite sharp with spite in my time away. I sold off my pride, figured it was easier to focus on that price you put on my head. Ego never pays so I found men who would.”

“You went into the Pleasure Houses?” He sounded disgusted.

“There was no one I wouldn’t fight to get what I wanted. Can’t you see? Worthless parents make stupid kids. Your conscience never compromised, not even when it killed the only two friends I had growing up. Looks like the apple didn’t stray very far.”

“You aren’t my daughter.” He shook his head. 

“I am Davina Rollins.” You said firmly. A hard right hook that you didn’t expect hit your jaw.

“I am the only daughter of Pekka Rollins.” A left hook that made your head jerk.

“I am the leader of the snakes.” You saw the next hit coming so you leaned away. “And I will not cower from you.”

You could taste the blood in your mouth while you got back to your feet. You made a show of dusting off your pants before you ran your tongue over your bloodied teeth. You turned your head, pulled your mask down, and spat on the floor, scanning the room to see it was still the two thugs at the door before replacing your cover.

Them plus your father. You might be able to do it. You had two blades but no pistol. Disarming one of the three was a possibility.

“That how you greet your children now?” You commented and adjusted your shirt sleeves. “I feel bad for the boy.”

“Do not speak of my son!” He shouted. “You abandoned your family!”

“Maybe.” You nodded. “And I miss my mother dearly, but that was all I left behind in that house.”

“Watch how you speak to me, Daughter. You may bear my name but you gave up your place here.”

“No, you never intended a place for me here. I was part of your schemes, always, but your empire was never going to be mine… You think I didn’t hear your whispered conversations with Mama? Maybe that’s part of why I decided to build my own. Not why I left, of course, but I’m sure we’ll get to that.”

“Why are you here?” He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“I came to face you.” You explained, putting your arms out to either side dramatically. “As I am, of course. I’m taking possession of that neat little gambling hall a few blocks from the Crow Club.”

“That pisspot?” He laughed. “It brings in pocket change, Davi.”

“First, stop calling me that. You have no right.” You said firmly and you saw one of the men make a move toward you. Your head snapped in their direction. “If you like the bones of your leg intact, do not kick me again.”

He hesitated but stepped back so you faced your father.

“Second, if it’s so poorly, you should be glad I’m taking it off your hands.”

“I keep it as a thorn in Per Haskell’s side.” He explained, waving his hand through the air. “A reminder that I am everywhere.”

“Save me your dramatics, please.” You rolled your eyes. “The paperwork will be submitted and you, dear Dad, will not be involved in my new project.”

“Why do you want it so bad?”

“Profit.” You shrugged. “Isn’t that what it’s all about in Ketterdam? In Ghezen’s name and such.”

A faint explosion sounded from outside and you wondered what gang was riled up now.

“That place won’t feed your snakes.” He shook his head.

“I didn’t come for advice.”

“And yet clearly you need it, Little One. How about this? You bring your snakes and come here. We will welcome them with open arms and I can teach you how to truly become what you wish.”

“No.” You said flatly. “My snakes are mine and mine alone. I’d rather die than ever consider your help.”

“You’re a child.” He laughed, the condescension heavy in his words. “You won’t best me.”

A shadow passed by the office window and you could’ve sworn you had seen a glint of silver.

“Like calls to like. I’m sure I’ll make allies.” You answered.

You heard a pistol draw behind you.

“Tell your man to stand down.” You warned and your hand inched towards your blade.

A second pistol.

“You should’ve called to meet in neutral territory, Davi.” He sighed, then signaled to the men behind you. “It was nice to see you, one last time.”

You felt the hand on your arm and you reacted. You freed your knife and slashed, cutting a deep line across the man’s face. You whirled and saw the pistol raising. You gasped and dropped to the floor, the bullet landing somewhere in the wall. You reached forward and grabbed the man’s pant leg, yanking it towards you till he fell to his back and the gun fell away.

You sprung for it but the heavy foot of the other pinned your hand down. You cried out and you felt the squish of your flesh against the ground. Your other hand guided your knife along the back of his ankle, slicing through the tendon, and the man’s leg gave out. You rolled away and clutched your hand to your chest.

With heavy breaths, you jumped up and held firmly to your knife, the other hand still pulsing from the pain.

Another explosion, this one close enough to rock the building. You glanced towards the window but you saw your father pointing a gun at you.

“Oh Saints.” You complained, missing the safety of your cloak. “All this trouble just to kill me, Papa?”

“It’s not personal, Davi.” He almost looked regretful.

“Feels personal.”

You threw the knife in your hand before he fired. The blade buried itself to the hilt in his shoulder and it made his arm jerk, his shot going off course and he fell into his chair. The bullet burrowed into your own shoulder - of course it managed to miss the protection - and you couldn’t help but cry out. The force of the bullet made your arm jerk back and you stumbled towards the wall behind you. You slammed your hand against the wound as the pain shot down your arm.

You took in the scene ahead of you and quickly plotted a way out. There was only one Dime Lion standing, still armed. The fallen one had dropped his gun, as did your father. You could see he was torn between helping your father and going after you. You, however, needed to get out. You figured the gunshots would’ve called more Lions on the other side of the door, and the office was too high for you to take the window, so you needed a pistol of your own. You took a deep breath, clenched your jaw, and dove for the closest gun.

As soon as your wounded shoulder hit the ground, you winced sharply but refused to let it stop you. You held the pistol tightly, ignoring the way it felt slick in your bloodied hand, and dared a glance at your father. His Dime Lion had decided to help him instead of pursue you so you ran.

You burst through the door and found a surprisingly empty hallway. You didn’t hesitate, barreling down and taking the stairs two at a time. Every step sent a jolt through your arm and you cursed your father’s name each time. When you made it to the ground floor, that’s where you found the rest of his gang.

They were shooting at something in the streets but a few saw you come into the room. They pointed and opened their mouths, but your bullets came faster than their voices. You shot at their chests, bullets piercing lungs and hearts, before you ditched the gun and climbed through a nearby window. It took you into an alley and you crept along the building till you reached the street.

Habitually, you reached for your hood but found nothing. You sighed and ran a hand over your face, smearing the still wet blood along with the sweat on your forehead. The cold feeling of the leather was a stark contrast to your burning skin and the searing pain, so different you flinched away from it, but it also reminded you of Kaz. You groaned slightly and wiped your sleeve across your eyes instead.

You shook the thought and peered out into the streets. Your meeting had gone completely array and with the fire fight and explosions in the street, you needed a new way home. You took a few steps out and looked deeper into the night, trying to figure out what they were shooting at. You saw nothing, not even return fire. Curious, you dared another couple steps.

“Hey!” Someone yelled. “It’s Davina!”

“Get her!”

“Don’t kill her! The boss wants her alive!”

No he doesn’t.

You turned and ran. The pumping of your arms caused more blood to seep from your shoulder and you tried to ignore the pain. You looked over your shoulder just once and saw three of the Dime Lions in pursuit. They were smaller than the build your father usually employed, but you assumed it made them better for chases like the one you were currently involved in.

You knew you couldn’t go straight home. You’d lead them right to your snakes. There was a smaller place closer, a safe house that you had commandeered from the Razor Gulls before you had your current building. It wasn’t much but it was safe enough, with what you’d need to clean and bandage your shoulder.

You made a mental note to put out word you were looking to employ a Healer.

As you were running, a hand grasped your wrist and pulled you into an alley. You screamed but their other hand covered your mouth as you were pinned to the wall. Their body was pressed lightly against yours, your back flat against the wall, while they watched the streets instead of looking at you.

Your eyes were wide until you recognized who it was.

Kaz.

You sighed deeply in a strange sense of relief. Kaz was in no way your ally but at least he was familiar and unlikely to kill you in the alley. You two stayed huddled in the alley until the Lions ran by, shouting about which direction you went.

When you could no longer hear their footfalls, he backed away.

“You’re bleeding.” He said with a frown.

“I’m aware.” You said through heavy breaths. “Hurts like hell too, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t.”

You rolled your eyes slightly. “Why are you here, anyways?”

“Are you really questioning me when I just saved you?”

“Yes, because you don’t just appear when someone needs saving, Kaz.”

“I heard you were meeting with your father. I wanted to see if it was true.” He said with a small shrug, as if you should’ve known.

“And do you believe it?” You asked.

He stared at you in study for a minute. His eyes seemed to take the same path your father’s did. Your eyes, your nose, your face shape, your hairline. He looked you up and down before the ghost of a smile graced his lips and he gave you a small nod.

“Hello, Davina.” He finally answered and you smiled behind your mask.

“Hello, Kaz.” You replied, relief plain in your voice. “It’s good to finally talk.”

“We should get you to a Healer.” His tone changed and you saw a shift in his body language as well. Tension, control, like elastic ready to snap. Your brows furrowed and suddenly felt no relief in his sudden appearance.

And he hadn’t answered what he was doing there.

“No.” You said carefully. “I don’t want to go to Nina Zenik.”

“I didn’t say Zenik.”

“You didn’t have to. Why are you here?”

“I’ll explain later, but you won’t hear any of it if you decide

to bleed out in an alley.” He snapped.

“You’ll explain now.” You pulled your blade. You knew he was right. You were still losing blood, though it had slowed. You were tired, light-headed, growing weary with every step. Your bulleted arm was growing heavy, more useless with every pump of blood that left. But you would die fighting the Bastard of the Barrel if that’s what it took. “Or you can bleed out with me.”

“Dammit, Davina.” He sighed. Another figure appeared at the entrance to the alley and you whirled on them quickly.

You grabbed their shirtfront and slammed them against the wall. His hands went up in surrender as your blade threatened his throat.

“Woah!” He said quickly. “You wouldn’t slit my throat if I’m unarmed, would you?”

It took you a second but you recognized him.

“You’re Jesper Fahey. You’re never unarmed.” You countered.

At that, he grinned widely. “True, but you can see my hands, Love.” His eyes darted to your shoulder. “And I think you’ve already taken one bullet tonight.”

You shoved off him and glared back to Kaz.

“Oh, Saints. Kaz!” Jesper complained. “You shot her?”

“I did no such thing.” He said plainly. “The idiot got herself shot somewhere else.”

“A parting gift from my father.” You spat. “If you were just here to verify I was alive, why bring your sharpshooter?”

“If you think I’m daft enough to plot against the Dime Lions alone, then you’re a fool.” Kaz countered and you didn’t miss the hint of condescension.

It made you think the figure from before wasn’t just shadows. “No, I suppose that’s my job, as you do so like to point out.”  You looked to the rooftops.

“The Wraith here too?” You asked.

“She’s good.” Jesper praised. “Maybe we shouldn’t-“

“Shut up.” Kaz muttered. “Davina, Dear, we really should go.”

“What were the explosions?”

“Wylan’s handiwork.” Jesper said proudly. “Nothing dangerous, moreso just sound and some bright lights.”

“It shook my father’s building.” You deadpanned.

“Well.” He grinned again, his face alight with the thrill of a fight. “Maybe a little dangerous.”

“This wasn’t curiosity.” You turned on Kaz, his expression as unreadable as ever but he gave up the charade. “This was a heist. You wanted to kidnap me. Was my lieutenant not enough? Breaking her ribs, throwing her into the canals, that wasn’t enough?”

“You think me a fool?”

“You don’t want to know what I think you are.”

“Your lieutenant is a girl named Melli. She was visiting a small gambling hall last night and, funny enough, she didn’t wear that little cloak. And her hair was a different color, different cut, and her face was rounder than the hooded one. So, either you have multiple lieutenants or the girl you send out is someone else. Which is it, Dear?”

He knew something. You could see it in his eyes, even in the minimal light. You could hear it in his voice. He knew more than he was claiming, and he wanted to goad you into a confession.

“I’m going home.” You said firmly, though you could feel your hand with your blade trembling. “I’m hurt. I’m tired. I’m pissed off and in no mood to fight with you, Brekker.”

“No, we’re due for quite the chat.”

You sighed and tucked your blade away. You looked to Jesper, who was a bit uncertain of what to do next.

“Sorry about this.” You muttered.

His brows furrowed and as he opened his mouth to speak, you punched him in the throat. He coughed and grabbed his throat, so you grabbed his forearms and shoved him at Kaz. Both men fell in a heap so you took off running towards your little safe house.

You’d clean your wound, pry out the bullet, sleep off the worst of the pain. In the morning, you’d meet with your unnamed Healer before you returned home and planned what the hell you were going to do next.

[deeppenguinstudent]

Andrew and Jean brainrot friendship is hitting HARD and it sucks because there's barely any content for them!! So I'll just make my own hcs☺️☺️☺️

hc that when cat teaches Jean how to cook, he learns how to make popular french sweets and gives them to renee the next she visits. Andrew sneaks a sweet and is absolutely enamoured by it that he decides to make Jean his own personal sweet chef

hc that during a night at edens when usc tags along with the Foxes for a celebration. a creepy guy tries sits uncomfortably close to Jean so Andrew nudges himself between the two and practically drawls himself on Jean to prevent the man from even so much as looking at him.

hc that jean and Andrew shit talk about Neil and Kevin's love for exy behind their backs because they find them reassessing a match right after they win the championship.

hc that renee sometimes asks andrew to look after Jean when andrew follows Neil to california to lollygag around and to check up on Jean from time to time and andrew obliges bc he knows Jean is extremely important to all the people he loves most.

hc that when Jean has panic attacks or nightmares the first person he dials is andrew because they both just need someone who understands what they went through sometimes. someone who's experienced the shitty life they were dealt with just in different ways.

hc that they both smoke in parks and talk about nothing and everything just for the sake of it.

hc that jean tells Andrew stuff that no one knows about him because he's just easy to talk to. And Andrew's surprised because that's the first time anyone has ever said that about him

hc that Neil and Andrew force Jean and Kevin into therapy together because they both just need to be okay and they need to heal from whatever evermore put them thru.

hc that the only person Jean ever told of his feelings about kevin to was Andrew. the only person he trusts with that secret he harboured so tightly in the Nest was Andrew.

hc that none of the foxes or usc (except Neil and renee perhaps) understand Andrew or Jeans sudden friendship but it is welcomed. especially how Andrew becomes softer after looking after Jean and how Jean allows his guards to go down when he's next to Andrew.

hc that Andrew gives Jean a knife and shows him how to use it in case he needs to stall so someone can save him.

hc that both Andrew and Jean discuss about literature and make so many nuance remarks about it that's its like their secret language. also Andrew and Jean translating literature in their own languages to eachother so the translation of the literature does not get lost in meaning.

hc that Renee Andrew and Jean go cafe hopping as they recall on things that happen in the past month to eachother sipping on drinks and eating crepes like normal highschoolers.

hc that Kevin sometimes invite Jean for night practices but after some time Jean opts to hang with Andrew in silence instead of playing Exy like a maniac.

hc that Andrew allows casual touches between him and Jean because he knows its what grounds Jean. How sometimes when they are alone he allows Jean to sit close to him, allow Jean tap his fingers absentmindedly on Andrew.

hc that after Jean's graduation he pulls Andrew into a real hug. Something unexpected for both of them but they both just need it. Jean uncharacteristically thanks Andrew and Andrew acknowledges it with a relenting nod.

hc that after Jean tells Andrew about his encounters at the Nest Andrew gets so angry. He gets so angry that during practice the next day he swings all the balls away from the goal with such power that even Kevin questions his sudden lack of apathy.

hc that jean constantly drives down his trauma and Andrew tells him to shut the fuck up everytime he does

hc that betsy hears about Andrew speaking on Jean and gives him advice on how to help Jean

can someone pls hear me on them oh my god

[weirdsht]

Disillusioned 4 . Musings

a/n: double update in celebration of something I can't say out loud <333

tags: Hidden Injuries, Observant On

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are open and welcome

Buy Me Dessert

Navigation Masterlist prev . next

“You look anxious what’s the matter?”

“Cale-sunbae, the two hooded people over there are elves. I fear that Raon-nim might get discovered.”

They are currently in an inn near the Ten Finger Mountains.

Cale could immediately tell that this trip was gonna be a headache. Why else would elves go down to where humans are if it doesn’t entail a headache?

“Ignore them, act as if you don’t notice them or their gaze.”

Ignoring the elves and making Raon spin in a circle seems to work somehow. Well, he got confronted by the elf but they left him alone for the most part even if they acted weird.

The Henituse’s eldest son just hoped that would be the case until he got the Fire of Destruction and got out of this place.

Safe to say that future Cale is definitely going to curse his past self for jinxing it…

Meanwhile, while Raon and Cale were busy obtaining the ancient power, _____ was left with the rest of the group in the inn.

With nothing else to do, Mary and _____ are just enjoying their time sightseeing while casually chatting.

“This is my first time seeing such scenery. I’m thankful to the young master-nim.”

Mary’s voice may sound like a GPS but _____ could tell that they were grateful to Cale Henitue. How could they not when they feel the same way?

“What about you _____-nim? Do you love nature too? Maybe you’ve been to even more places with beautiful views.”

The question made the healer look far away as if reminiscing something. For a moment Mary thought they were looking back at all the places they'd been to. However, the sadness in their eyes told her otherwise.

“Hmm, well not really Mary-nim. You and I are more similar than you think. I know it's weird considering that I’ve been living above ground compared to you. But this is also the first time I have been allowed to appreciate such sights.”

The necromancer wanted to ask questions but did not after seeing such a serene expression on the healer’s face. The previous sadness in their eyes has been replaced by something Mary can only describe as contentment.

They chatted for a few more minutes before the kittens called _____ so they could play.

While playing, Cale came back and announced the change in their plans. They are now going to help the elves because they are being attacked by Arm.

_____ never had another encounter with Arm after the plaza incident but knows the details as to what they’ve done. They understand to an extent just how horrible of an organization they are.

Everything went smoothly for the most part. Well except for the part where Cale bled and fainted but _____ could tell that the man was fine thanks to his ancient power.

They just felt sorry that they couldn't do anything about his hunger.

_____ did their best to aid the young master’s regeneration powers to speed up his healing powers. However, they could do nothing about the consequences of using such volatile power.

Nonetheless, even if _____ knew about Cale's condition, others did not. And unfortunately, the healer couldn’t say otherwise. 

It was because they figured that it would be more beneficial for Cale if the elves thought that he made a great sacrifice to help them. That was why the healer opted to keep their mouth shut.

That and the healer were low-key scared at how vicious the group looked.

_____ was aware that the group was a bit vicious, they were all experts after all. But seeing it firsthand really intimidated them.

So to not show their feelings, the healer opted to help the injured elves recover. Something they did because of their sense of responsibility as a healer, definitely not because they have people-pleasing tendencies.

Naturally, their number one patient was the young master. _____ always makes sure that Cale is fine first before leaving to aid others. 

The healer was mostly alone in this endeavor for the others opted to stay but Cale’s side. To which _____ completely understands. Still, On always check in on them. Something that _____ found cute and endearing so they made sure to always assure the silver kitten that they aren’t overdoing it.

For that reason, on the one day _____ could tell the wounds of the people they were healing were catching up to them they still made sure to assure the child. Act as if nothing was amiss. That morning they tended to Cale as usual before excusing themself to go rest, reasoning that they felt more lethargic than usual.

It wasn't just for the sake of appeasing the child. It was also because Cale was already unconscious. It'll be too much of a liability if another one becomes sick.

What _____ failed to consider is the fact that On was super observant.

The others may not have noticed it as their attention was on Cale, but On noticed how the healer’s hands seemed to be shaking a bit when they checked on Cale. Or how they had to hold on to a wall to stop themself from limping.

On noticed it all.

A few minutes after _____ excused themself, the kitten told the group she was going on a stroll. 

It’s not like On lied, she just didn’t say that the destination of her stroll would be _____’s room.

When On arrives inside the room the first they see is an unconscious _____. At a distance, it looks like they were just sleeping. However, upon closer inspection On could see how they were struggling to breathe. The poor healer was almost wheezing.

On might not admit to it later but the sight scared her.

It reminded her too much of when they were on the run from the Cat Tribe.

During one of the days they were trying to escape, her brother became sick. They had nothing on them except for the few things they managed to snag before running away and the clothes on their back.

They certainly did not have the resources to cure Hong.

Luckily the red kitten managed to get past it. But still, that experience left a scar on his older sister.

And right now On felt as though she was relieving that experience but this time with _____.

“_____? _____?”

Even after the kitten lightly shook them they still wouldn’t wake up. So she opted for the next best thing, which was lifting their sleeves.

Underneath their pristine white sleeve was a bandage tainted with blood.

The sight shocks On. The wounds didn’t look too bad as only little blood seeped through the bandage. Nonetheless, the mere fact that _____ is wounded was shocking.

Because On could tell that it was most likely a side effect of their healing abilities.

There was no way they got injured. Everyone made sure that the healer was far away from fighting and made them focus on support.

Another possibility is them being bullied by the elves.

However, why would the elves do that to one of their benefactors? It just doesn't make sense.

So the only possibility left in On’s mind was _____’s mysterious healing powers.

“I am so gonna tattle to Cale when he wakes up.”

On pawed _____’s face for a bit before helping them get more comfortable. She essentially played nurse. Cleaning their wounds, changing the bandage, and ensuring they don't develop a fever.

She did all that while trying not to cry.

Not that anyone would know as she has no plans of telling anyone until her guardian wakes up.

[ravenssilver]

Maybe something with Phantom getting left out of dinner in the beginning? Started with someone intentionally or accidentally leaving his plate off, and he's too nervous to ask why he doesn't get one when Aurora does. He eventually stops coming to dinner, and someone starts to notice just how sickly, and dizzy the smaller ghoul looks because he's too afraid to ask for any food or take any yet

unfortunately this is is part one of two :( i got super caught up in writing a whole mini story, and i felt bad for taking so long, so here this is!

1.4k words of phantom being neglected because i can’t get enough of the heartbreak

cw: mention of body issues, phantom is nervous about being around the pack, small scene of phantom vomiting, i guess some of this could be seen as an ed? the ask is a good wrap of cws!

also, ‘quint’ is used in this instead phantom or aeon, and will likely be that way in the next part :)

under the cut, if you please<3

He didn’t have a name. At least, he hadn’t come up with one.

The others referred to him as Quint, just to get names straight among him and his summon buddy, Aurora.

He stared at the ceiling as he laid in bed, his eyebrows furrowed.

Aurora had a name. Did she pick it out? Or was it Cirrus and Cumulus? Why didn’t the others pick out a name for him?

He sat up with a sigh, feeling hungry.

He glamoured himself as best he could, only having enough of a grasp on the ability to hide the different color splotches in his skin.

As he walked out of his room and to the common area, he stared down at his arm which was buzzing with his quintessence induced glamor.

Aurora’s markings were beautiful. The subtle yet bright flows of pinks and purples and blues blended perfectly with her skin. The small swipes of green made her look like a perfect painting that had hours of detailed brush strokes put into it.

His markings just looked like splotches. Random globs of paint flicked at a canvas in a half-assed attempt to make art.

He wondered if Aurora ever tried to glamor away the markings of her skin. Surely not, as she was gorgeous. The colors of her skin showed her personality and her connection with confidence and self love. Her mental state flowed healthily through her skin, the beauty of security blending in with her vessel.

He sighed and dropped his arm back down to his side, trying to focus on his pack’s laughter just around the corner and the scraping of forks against plates.

His steps slowed for a moment.

Dinner had started?

Confused, the newly summoned ghoul sped up only to slow down again. He peaked around a corner, seeing his pack at the dining room table. All the chairs were full, all plates had someone behind them and were stacked with the delicious cooking of Swiss and Mountain.

Every chair was full. Every plate was stacked.

There was no space for him.

A little ball of anxiety formed in his stomach, making his quintessence spark. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he stepped around the corner and shuffled to the kitchen to fix himself a plate.

Though, he was quick to realize all the food prepared was on the table.

Mountain and Swiss had prepared a feast in celebration for the pack’s first dinner together. Dew and Rain had just returned from a small trip away with Copia for business, of course everyone would want to celebrate.

He looked at Dewdrop and Rain. He took in their appearances, memorizing his first in person encounter with them as he was simply used to seeing them over FaceTime.

His eyes traveled to Swiss and Mountain as he set his plate back in the cupboard.

Maybe they were just swept up in the joy of being reunited with their partners and that’s why they forgot to prepare a plate for him.

He nodded to himself and snuck out of the dining room.

That’s okay. He can eat leftovers tonight and he’ll have a plate tomorrow.

He sighed as he brought his fifth night of leftovers to his room. It was long after dinner, and it was long since the others had retreated to their rooms.

Tomorrow, he told himself, I’ll have a plate tomorrow.

He knew, deep down, that he had been forgotten. Of course he knew. Twice was an accident, a coincidence, maybe. Three times, if you had self respect, was a pattern.

But for the young quint, it was an accident.

It was an accident just like the fourth time, and now, this time.

He slowly ate his potatoes, his churning stomach fighting against every bite he took. He was lost in his thoughts, off in his own world of anxiety and the pain of knowing he was being left out of his own pack.

He hadn’t been able to keep food down when he realized that he had been forgotten. Every night he would eat a meal long after dinner, only to be bent over a toilet not long after.

He celebrated every bite he took and could swallow, having not been able to get this far the night before.

Though, his food was quick to come right back up when he heard Rain’s laughter in the next room over. He tossed his plate down and rushed to his bathroom, which wasn’t helpful since it was right next to Swiss’ room, which Rain was in.

He hurled into the toilet as Rain’s laughter continued, now accompanied by Dew and Swiss’. And once his stomach had no more food to send back up, it sent its own acid instead.

He felt like he was dying. He was light headed, his body was trembling, and his throat burned and felt like it was closing up. He sobbed as he flushed the toilet, struggling to close the lid due to how shaky he was.

He knew Swiss, Dew, and Rain couldn’t hear him over the sounds of their laughter and Swiss’ record player. He knew that he hadn’t bonded enough with Aurora, Cirrus, Cumulus, or Mountain for them to feel his strife.

That just made him even more sick.

He gave up on even going to dinner a week ago.

He also gave up on leftovers after Swiss and Mountain started cooking smaller portions after having a conversation about how they always had “too much leftovers.”

He sighed as he pulled on a shirt that was too big for him. He thought it was the shirt Swiss had given him when he was summoned, but after staring down at it for a few moments he realized that it was his shirt.

A shirt he had bought with his own allowance money from Copia.

Why is it so big? Did the dryer stretch it? He asked himself, messing with fabric for a few more moments before he left it alone, opening his door and leaving his room for practice.

He sighed to himself as he walked into the practice room early, seeing Copia sitting in a chair as he waited for the ghouls.

“Ah, hello, Quint.” Copia smiled at him as he looked up. “Hello…” He choked out, not realizing his voice was so hoarse. Copia’s eyebrows furrowed and he stood, watching as the new ghoul struggled more than usual to pick up the Fantomen.

“Are you alright…? You look, how shall I say… pale? Worn out?” Copia asked, looking concerned for his ghoul.

The quintessence ghoul looked up, apparently a bit too fast for his body’s liking. His head spun and he stumbled back slightly, eliciting a slight exclamation of surprise from Copia. The ghoul stumbled back into a chair and sat ridged for a moment before sloppily acting like he had meant to fall.

“I’m fine.” He stated, his shaky fingers doing a run up the A string.

Copia stared at him for a moment, a bad feeling swirling around in his stomach.

“You will tell me if you are not, yes?” Copia asked, worried about his ghoul. “Yes, Papa,” the small quint nodded, shaking out his hands to try and make his trembling go away.

Copia’s frowned deepened as he went to say more, only to be cut off by the loud clamor of the rest of his ghouls crowding into the practice room.

Copia sighed, knowing the conversation would have to be put up on a shelf for the time being.

“Dewdrop.”

The fire ghoul turned around as Copia called his name. He watched his pack slow down for a moment, only to be reassured with a soft smile from their Papa that Dew hadn’t done anything wrong.

Dew watched as the pack nodded and walked out of the practice room, Quint following behind and slipping out of the room just before Copia called for him.

The fourth Papa sighed deeply, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Is everything alright, Papa?” Dew asked, sensing Copia’s worry. And though it wasn’t far off from the man’s usual demeanor, Dew could tell this was different.

“No.” Copia sighed, knowing he had to be blunt. “I am worried for our young Quintessence. Have you noticed anything off about him?” Copia asked.

Dew’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head, going to say something, only to realize just how much of a ghost the new quintessence had been.

“I… I haven’t seen much of him at all, actually. He’s never shown up for dinner and he stays in his room all the time.” Dew responded, now realizing where Copia’s worry was coming from.

“Keep an eye on him, yes?” Copia requested. Dew gave a curt nod and walked out of the practice room, quick to catch up with his pack.

[something-tofightfor]

Aphelion - 12

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x Female Reader, Oberyn Martell x Ellaria Sand

*Please be sure to consider all chapter warnings before reading! Warnings will be updated for each chapter in individual posts as well as on the Masterlist.

Warnings: language, discussion of the past, mentions of violence, blood and death, mention of self-harm, NSFW, vampirism, biting. sex talk - Oberyn and Ellaria are together in this chapter, but it's offscreen.

Word Count: 14,251 (whoops.)

Summary: It's one night out - and you need it.

When Tyene and Toban take you out to give Oberyn and Ellaria the privacy they need, you're able to fill the night with something that you've been lacking for the previous weeks: non-vampire company.

While out, you spend some time talking with everyone, digging just a little deeper into how - and why - their family has lasted for so long.

Back at the apartment, the group springs something on you ... and you decide to take your chances and let Oberyn know exactly how it makes you feel.

A/N: First of all, we're very sorry that this has taken a literal year. Life happens, but we're back at it with our favorite Vampire Prince. We appreciate your patience, and we really and truly hope that this chapter is everything you've hoped for - there's not too much left to this story now, but I can tell you with certainty that this chapter contains the bulk of their last "relaxed" moments before shit hits the fan.

Thank you for reading. Happy Halloween (if you celebrate!) Questions or concerns? You know where to find us.

Catch up with the Aphelion masterlist here!

(banner by @valkblue )

You hadn’t stopped smiling since Toban handed you the phone and told you to invite a friend out for drinks. And once Nora showed up at the bar you suggested, you knew the smile wasn’t likely to fade any time soon. Oh, I really fucking needed this.  

The past two weeks had been surreal in every way. 

Just fourteen days earlier, you were at Golden Lion’s Halloween party, and the biggest shock had been the fact that Oscar - the alluring and attractive stranger you’d met in a chance encounter a few days prior - was also in attendance. 

Since then you’d watched that same attractive stranger wield what you thought had been a prop blade in an alley fight as he saved your life from a brutal attack while risking his own. You’d also learned that his name was not Oscar but Oberyn Martell - Prince of Dorne and one of the immortals known as Others that you always assumed were just the stuff of ancient folklore. 

All of that would have been enough to fill your Bingo card of things you never even dreamed were possible. But it was only the beginning. 

From the ease with which you’d accepted who and what he was, to the undeniable physical and emotional pull you felt toward him; from the paralyzing fear that filled your heart when you thought you might lose him, to the overwhelming urge to do everything in your power to help him not only survive but also conquer his enemies, you’d been on a non-stop adrenaline fueled rollercoaster. And it’s not over yet. 

Under normal circumstances, you never would have gone through so many life-changing events without opening up to Nora about it. The two of you rarely went more than a day without talking, even if it was just about the mundane details of your Thursday afternoon. The fact that you hadn’t been able to talk to her at all, let alone tell her about everything you’d been through, had made the stress of it all seem heavier. For obvious reasons you still couldn’t tell her most of what had happened since the last time you spoke, and you weren’t sure if that would ever change. 

But as she wrapped you in a tight hug and then slid into the seat across from you at one of the high-top tables, you realized that it didn’t matter. Not that night, anyway. That night, all that mattered was that for an hour or two, you got to have a normal night out with your friend.

As discussed with both Toban and Tyene prior to Nora’s arrival, you kicked off the conversation with your cover story for being MIA for the last two weeks.  You explained that immediately after the Golden Lion party, the company contracted you for another big project. This one, unlike the archival work they’d had you doing previously, dealt with much more sensitive information - and as a result, the confidentiality protocols were far more strict. 

“The two other people on the team both had to travel pretty far for this job. Golden Lion put us all up temporarily in a hotel downtown so we’d be able to work together and not have to commute anywhere.” You didn’t love lying to her, but it was more like a stretched version of the truth than an outright fabrication. Plus, you had previously worked on projects that required you to relocate for the duration, so you hoped that Nora would buy your explanation without too many follow up questions. “And in the chaos of packing and all that, I lost my phone and just got a new one today, so that’s why I haven’t called or texted or anything until tonight.” 

You were met with a smirk. “Yeah, that and the fact that you hooked up with rooftop bar guy. I’d lose track of my phone, too.” You rolled your eyes as she winked. “So is this him?” Nora asked, cocking her head in the direction of the bar, where Toban stood waiting for your drinks. What? Oh, she must have seen me talking to him when she got here. “The guy you absconded with after the Halloween party for… hmm, let’s call it a -” She held up her fingers to make air quotes. “A long weekend of do-not-interrupt style sex and- ” 

Your eyes went wide as you cut her off. “Oh my god, Nora, no.” In your peripheral view you could have sworn you caught Tyene barely conceal a snort from across the room. You knew without a doubt that Toban had also heard the assumption. But while he was likely to just brush it off and never bring it up again, you could already hear Tyene teasing you about it every chance she got. Oh well, nothing I can do about that now. 

You let out a small huff of laughter and shook your head. “Toban is one of the people on my team for the new project Golden Lion has me working on. We get along well, but… no. It wasn’t him.” 

She clicked her tongue. “Here I thought I was gonna get to meet the guy that charmed you out of that costume you spent days making. What’s his name? You never told me. And where’s he tonight?” 

Oh, he’s busy fucking the side effects of an ancient immortal’s powerful blood out of his system so that he can focus on finishing a two thousand year old revenge plot. You cleared your throat. “His name is Oscar, and he already had plans for tonight.” Circling your wrist, you went on. “Some kind of family obligation I think.” 

Nora gave you a small frown. “Well that’s a bummer. But-” Her frown curved upwards, morphing into a smirk. “Since he’s not here, that means you can tell me everything. So spill.” 

You laughed, one hand coming up to cover your eyes as you shook your head. Oh, Nora, even if I could tell you everything, I’m not sure you’d believe me. Dropping your hand back to the table, you looked up at her wearing a small smirk of your own. “Okay, well, I’m not gonna tell you everything, because…” You trailed off and rolled your eyes at the ceiling. “Some things need to stay between me, Oscar and the walls, if you catch my drift.” Like the fact that I kept him alive by letting him drink my blood, or that he gave me a mark of protection that he hasn’t given anyone else in hundreds of years. 

Nora scoffed. “Fine. I’ll settle for whatever you can tell me. Like… What’s he look like? What does he do for a living? And, the most important detail -” She held up one finger and tilted her head, fixing you with a serious stare. “What’s it like to kiss him?” 

At her third question you felt your cheeks flood with warmth. Pretty sure he invented good kissing. Letting out a breathy laugh, you answered her in order. “Well, he’s so goddamn handsome that he literally called me out for staring at him when we met.” Nora snorted as you went on. “He’s got gorgeous brown eyes and an incredible smile. Dark hair, tall, strong - like, really strong.” Immortally, supernaturally strong. “He dresses really well, too. Like, he looks just as good wearing clothes as he does out of them.” Tyene is never going to let me live that one down but I don’t care. 

“Hot.” Nora’s smile widened. That doesn’t even come close to describing it.

You laughed and addressed her next question, telling her that Oscar was an art and antiquities dealer, and that he was at the party because he was doing business with Golden Lion. That was a fabrication, again one that you decided on beforehand. But it also had some anchor in the truth - between his pendant, the spear, and - you were positive - countless other items of priceless value that he likely owned and had stashed away in places around the world, he could at the very least be deemed a collector. And he definitely has business with the Lannisters, so… 

Luckily, Nora didn’t press you for more on his occupation. “Nice. So he’s hot, cultured, smart and has good taste.” She ticked those qualities off on her fingers and you nodded along with each of them. “Now what about the smooching?” 

You took a big breath, your tongue poking into your cheek as you tried and failed to contain your smile. Letting out a sigh, you looked your friend square in the eye. “Dizzyingly good. It’s hard to stop, honestly.” 

“Ah!” Nora drummed her fingers against the tabletop. “Good for you! So is this like, a thing?” She flattened her forearms in front of herself and leaned over them. “Are you guys like, seeing each other?” 

One hand came up to the side of your neck, your fingertips instinctively finding the place where you wore Oberyn’s mark on your skin. You thought about what he’d told you about why he’d stopped offering his protection, even to those he cared deeply for - and about what it meant that none of that mattered to him when he marked you. Toban’s words from the rooftop echoed through your mind - “I am glad that it will not be the same with you.” - as though he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Oberyn intended to offer you more than just his protection. 

Your chest swelled as you recalled what Oberyn had said regarding finally finding someone to make that offer to  - “I will be the luckiest man on this planet if they say yes.” Throat going dry, you heard your own voice as you almost uttered the words “I love you” to him as you were falling asleep. 

If all of that didn’t qualify as a thing, you weren’t sure what did. 

“We, um…” You swallowed, dropping your hand down to the table and letting out a nervous laugh. “I think so, Nora.” Nodding, you bit your bottom lip and shrugged. “We’re not… we haven’t really talked much about the future or anything.” Your head shook from side to side. “We’re just seeing how things go for now though.” 

That was true. 

As much as you wanted to believe that you would be in Oberyn’s plans - and in his life - after things with the Lannisters had been settled, you needed to make it to the after, first. As much as you wanted to let yourself imagine what being with him without a constant threat hanging over your heads might look like, you needed to get out from under it before anything you imagined could become possible. 

Nora reached across the table and placed her hand on your wrist, one eyebrow arched high. “But you like him?” 

At that, you couldn’t help the amused sound you made as you blew out a burst of air. “God, yeah.” You rolled your eyes at the way heat bloomed in your cheeks and in the center of your chest at the admission. “Yeah, I like him. A lot.”

“I can tell.” She beamed at you, gently shaking your arm. “This is as over the fucking moon as I’ve ever seen you, and it sounds like this Oscar feels the same.” Releasing her grip, she drew her hand back, resting that elbow on the tabletop and her chin in her palm. “I’m happy you’re happy, even if it’s new.” She wrinkled her nose. “Just be careful and all that shit I’m legally obligated to say as your friend.” 

You laughed again. “I will,” you assured her. In more ways than you mean, I will. “I promise.” 

She nodded once. “Well, if this does turn out to be a thing, I hope I get to meet him next time.” 

I want that to happen. So much. “If it does,” you winked, giving her a small grin. “You will.” 

“Good.” She narrowed her eyes before letting them dart over to the bar, catching on Toban again as he and Tyene started heading back your way, drinks in hand. You had to stop yourself from laughing as her expression turned almost comically wistful. “So, quick question. Do you know if tall, chiseled and handsome over there is fair game? Because…” She widened her eyes, nodding as she spoke out of the corner of her mouth. “Definitely would hit.” 

At that you snorted. Partially because you’d had a sneaking suspicion that Nora would be attracted to Toban, but also because you knew that he had just heard her comment even though she thought she was being covert. You had no idea if Toban enjoyed the company of humans the same way that Oberyn did, or if he would even entertain Nora’s flirting. But what could it hurt? “Yeah,” you let out a huff of laughter. “Go for it.” 

“Go for what?” Toban asked, a grin tinting his voice and lighting up his green eyes. He set a beer down in front of Nora before taking a seat next to her. “Drinks? We already have those.” 

You pressed your lips together as you watched Nora try to look less flustered than the man’s proximity to her was causing her to be. “Yes we do, thanks to you.” She beamed at him, one hand wrapping around her pint glass. 

Beside you, Tyene plopped into her seat and slid you one of the two drinks she carried, shooting you an amused sideways glance and raising her eyebrows. Yeah, I know. You shrugged as Nora continued answering Toban’s question. 

“No, um, we-” She motioned with her pointer finger between the two of you. “We were talking about a work thing. I was asking her if I should…” Laughing at herself, she shook her head. “Nevermind that, though, we’re here to have fun.” 

“We are.” Tyene spoke up, lifting her glass. “Cheers to that.” 

For the next hour or so that was exactly what you did. 

Conversation flowed easily between the four of you, Tyene and Toban joking and engaging with Nora like they’d known her as long as you had. At one point she mentioned an upcoming trip to Lisbon for her cousin’s wedding, and Toban, laying his wide palm over her forearm and causing her eyes to dart excitedly to yours before snapping back to his, offered enthusiastic recommendations of some of his favorite places in the city. You snorted into a sip of beer at just how raptly she listened, the woman propping her elbow on the table and leaning her chin into her hand. Subtle.

When you finished the first round, Nora excused herself to the ladies’ room, Tyene popping up to tag along so she could touch up her makeup while you and Toban grabbed refills. 

“Nora seems like she’s having a good time.” He leaned against the bar rail and faced you with a smile. “I hope you are, too.” 

You grinned at him as you stepped up to the bar and waved down the bartender. “I am.” You closed your eyes, letting out a sigh. “I really am.” Opening your eyes again, you gently knocked his elbow with yours. “Thank you for this.” 

“My pleasure,” he responded with a quick wink before turning to place the drink order with the man who had just appeared in front of you. “We’ll take four more of the same, and you can put it on my tab. Thanks.” The bartender nodded and headed for the taps, Toban returning his attention to you. “I do have something to ask you, though.” 

You tilted your head, eyebrows drawn together. “What’s up?” You stood up straight and crossed your arms over your chest. Is something wrong? “Is everything okay?” 

“Everything is fine, I promise. If there was a problem, we’d already be gone. ” He placed his hand on your shoulder and you instantly relaxed, dropping your arms again. Damn, that’s useful. “I just still have to take care of finding someone to -” 

“Oh!” Your eyebrows flew up as you realized what he was getting at. He still needs to feed. “Toban, if you need to drink I’ll let you -” 

He shook his head then, cutting you off. “That’s not what I was going to ask you.” He gave you a grateful smile. “Thank you, I appreciate the offer, but you wear Oberyn’s mark.” Your eyes widened. Oh, shit, is that some kind of etiquette thing that I just fucked up? “And while I’m sure he would not be upset, that is a line I won’t cross for my own reasons.” I … don’t know what that means, but now I want to. 

You swallowed. “Okay. So what um -” The bartender showed up then, dropping off two of the four drinks you were waiting on. “Thanks,” you accepted the glasses and waited for him to step away to grab the others before finishing your question. “What did you need to ask me then?” 

Toban shot a glance in the direction that Tyene and Nora would be returning from, then settled his eyes on yours. “I was wondering if you would be okay with me drinking from Nora.” 

The shock you felt registered as a quick outburst of laughter. “What?” You blinked at him, your expression still halfway between amusement and confusion. “You’re asking me permission to…” You trailed off as the bartender set down the other two drinks. 

“Thank you,” Toban nodded to the man. “You can keep it open for now.” Once he’d walked away to take care of other patrons, Toban resumed the conversation the two of you were having. “I’m asking if you would be okay with it, or if you would rather I found someone else. But if I do that, I should start looking soon because we’re probably going to be ready to head back in another hour, give or take.” 

Even though you didn’t want to rush the night, a jolt of excitement passed through you at the prospect of getting back to Oberyn. Ugh, Nora was right, I really am over the moon. But as difficult a task as it was, you set aside your eagerness to be back in his arms and focused on Toban’s question. Because it’s important. We didn’t just come out tonight to socialize, he needs to be ready for… for what’s coming, and that means he needs to drink. 

Clearing your throat, you considered what he’d asked you. “I…” Honestly, I feel like if I say no and Nora found out, she’d be mad at me, so…  You shrugged. “I know you won’t hurt her, so I don’t see why not.” 

Toban locked his eyes with yours. “I won’t hurt her, you have my word on that.”

You nodded. “I trust you, Toban. If it feels right between you … I won’t think it’s weird or anything.” 

He grinned. “Thank you.” Wrapping his hands around two of the glasses, he jutted his chin over your shoulder. “They’re back, we should go join them.” 

Picking up the other two, you followed him back to the table. Well, Nora, you did say you were into him. Let’s see what happens. 

As though she could hear your thoughts and needed to prove them true, your friend spoke up then. “So I noticed that they have a dart board here.” She brought her free hand up and across her body to point out the black and white circular game board. Your eyes flicked in that direction and then back to her face. “Anyone feel like playing?” 

You narrowed your eyes. “You want to play darts?” 

Nora blinked twice and gave you a tiny head shake which you took to mean play along. “I think it could be fun.” Her eyes shifted in Toban’s direction and then back to meet yours. 

Deciding to give her just a little bit of shit, you scrunched your nose. “Are you any good at darts?” 

She widened her eyes at you and pressed her lips together, and you had to take a sip of your drink to keep from bursting out in laughter at the flash of mock frustration in her eyes at your question. “Well, I don’t know. But I’m sure Toban could teach me.” She turned to face him, her cheeks lifting into her eyes with a broad smile. “You look like you know what you’re doing.”  

Tyene snorted before Toban could answer. “Oh, this should be good.” She linked her arm through yours and spoke your name. “C’mon, looks like we’re teammates.” As you stood, Tyene looked over to Nora and jerked her chin in Toban’s direction. “He’s really good with pointy things. He can definitely teach you.”

With that, your group moved to a high top table near the dart boards, the four of you playing a few games. Much to your and Tyene’s - and likely Toban’s - amusement, Nora took every opportunity to ask him  for help with her aim, your friend practically swooning when the man placed his hand on her back and adjusted her stance. This is officially the strangest wingwoman situation I have ever been involved with, but it’s fine. 

Midway through the third game, during one of Nora’s shots, Tyene’s phone dinged from inside her jacket pocket. “Hey,” she flicked her eyes from the screen up to meet yours, and then turned the phone around so that you could see the screen before glancing up to catch Toban’s eye. 

Setting your mostly empty glass on the table, you looked down at the message. 

You can come back whenever you’re ready. 

The words, though simple enough, made your heart pound against the walls of your chest as soon as you’d read them. Excitement to be back in the apartment with Oberyn swirled with a sudden rush of nerves over the potential for awkwardness, knowing what went on while the three of you had been out with Nora. What if it’s weird? What if he… 

Without thinking, you lifted your fingers to brush over the invisible mark on your skin. You felt your own pulse thrum under your touch as you marveled again at the importance of the sigil you wore. No. It won’t be weird. Nothing will be different, it’s just… 

Tyene cleared her throat and slipped her phone back into her pocket. “So I’m thinking we let Bullseye McGee and Toban win this round and then head out. Thoughts?” 

The uncertainty you were feeling seconds earlier vanished as you laughed, muttering “Bullseye McGee” under your breath with a shake of your head. “I think that’s a good plan,” you responded, lifting your glass and tapping it against Tyene’s. “What about -” You tipped your head in Toban and Nora’s direction. “Doesn’t he still need to -” You widened your eyes, and then it was Tyene’s turn to laugh. 

“Yeah, he still needs to walk Nora home.” She winked exaggeratedly, and you took the hint. He’ll take care of that at her place. Got it.  

“Right.” You nodded, winking back at her, and then you finished the last of your drink. “Okay then. Let’s go lose at darts real quick.” 

You caught Toban’s grin as he listened in from a few feet away, and then you stepped up to get Nora on the same page as the rest of you. Well, close to the same page, anyway. Conjuring up a yawn, you reached over to squeeze her elbow. “I think we should probably get going soon. Tomorrow’s a big day for our project, and -” Your stomach flipped inelegantly at the truth of that statement, but you did your best to ignore it. 

“- And you need your beauty sleep.” Nora finished your sentence, pinching your cheek teasingly before rolling her eyes. “Fine, be a buzzkill.” She draped her arm around your shoulder. “But let’s finish this game first. I’m feeling a comeback.” 

You laughed. “Oh are you?” You gestured to the board, where her last dart was still stuck two wedges to the left of where she was aiming. “Alright, then. Let’s see it happen.” 

Twenty five minutes later, you’d hugged Nora goodbye before asking her to let you know when she got in, and then you watched as she and Toban headed down the street in the direction of her building. It was probably about a fifteen minute walk for them - roughly double the time it would take you and Tyene to get back to the apartment you’d been staying in. But the night air was pleasantly cool so you didn’t mind the walk and you knew Nora wouldn’t, either. Especially because it means more time with Toban. 

The thought made you laugh to yourself, prompting Tyene to ask what was so funny. 

“Oh, maybe it’s the fact that I sent my normal human best friend off to make out with an immortal she just met.” 

“An immortal who is planning to drink her blood,” she added, pointing at you with a smirk. “Don’t forget that part.” 

That drew another laugh from you, as you once again pondered how all of this was actually happening in your life right now. That train of thought brought up another question. Wait a minute…  You looked over at Tyene, curiosity cutting a crease between your eyebrows. “Actually, about that part specifically…Can I ask you something?” 

She swiveled her head in your direction, short hair bouncing with the movement, and gave you a small shrug. “Sure. Go ahead.”  

Okay, now how do I word this? “How, um -” You hesitated, clearing your throat and reaching across your body to adjust the strap of your bag. “On nights like tonight, when you go out to -”  Fuck, just ask the question. “How do you drink without the person knowing?” You dropped your arm back to your side, head shaking slightly. “Don’t they feel anything?” I definitely did. “Wouldn’t they… I don’t know, don’t they notice?” 

“Oh, simple,” she replied, facing forward and continuing to walk without missing a step. “We just hypnotize them.” 

You clicked your tongue and gave her a playful swat on the arm. “Tyene.” She laughed at the false exasperation in your tone, the sound contagious enough to make you laugh, too. “I’m being serious.” 

“And how do you know I’m not? Hmm?” She glanced over at you with one eyebrow raised. “You ask a question, I give you an answer, and you automatically assume I’m fucking with you?” Her left hand came up to her chest. “That hurts, you know?” 

“Well maybe if you don’t want to be the girl who cried Direwolf you could try - I don’t know - not fucking with me every chance you get.” 

That only made her laugh harder, her head tipping back. “Yeah, yeah,” she replied. “But where would the fun in that be?” 

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, I’m sure you’d find ways to have fun without playing confuse-the-human.” 

She draped her arm around your shoulders and pulled you in. “Hey, I’ve gotta strike while the iron is hot. I won’t be able to play that game with you forever.” 

She winked, giving you a small squeeze before releasing you. Her words made you suck in a quick breath. She keeps… Your heart thudded hard, and you knew she could hear it. It was far from the first time that Tyene had alluded to the fact that she didn’t believe you would stay human once Oberyn finally had his revenge. You didn’t love to admit it, but you knew that there was a part of you that wanted her to be right. But I still don’t know if - 

Your thoughts were interrupted as she spoke again. “Think of it as a rite of passage.” I will absolutely not think of it that way, but okay. “And if it makes you feel any better, you’re way better at picking up on my bullshit than others have been in the past.” 

“Oh, good.” You said it sarcastically, and through a smirk. But you were aware that the ability to pick up on - and call her out on - her bullshit actually meant something to Tyene. Your smirk grew into a real smile. “I’m so glad.” I am, though. “But can I please get a real answer now?” 

She snorted. “Yeah, alright.” The two of you stopped at a corner, Tyene pressing the button on the post to change the signal. You watched as she did another quick scan of the area, her eyes darting around to make sure that you weren’t being followed or listened to. There were other people out on the street, but they were all self-contained in their own little groups and pairs, none of them paying the two of you any attention. After a few seconds, Tyene confirmed your safety by continuing the conversation. “The answer is actually a simple one, even if it doesn’t involve hypnosis.” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “We can control what our bite will feel like.” 

You felt your eyes widen in surprise. Oh. It wasn’t what you were expecting, but it immediately made sense - they wouldn’t want to harm or scare the humans they drank from, but when encountering an enemy, they had the ability to inflict intense pain. Like when Oberyn bit Gregor in the alley. He definitely wanted it to hurt then. 

The walk signal changed and Tyene stepped off the curb, with you following half a step behind. “So,” you took a longer stride to catch back up with her. “So to them it just feels like… nothing?” 

“Well I don’t know if I’d say it feels like nothing. I like to think that after four hundred years I’m a little bit better at making out than nothing.” 

“No, I -”  You groaned, the sound turning into a laugh as you brought one hand up to your face.   “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” 

“See?” The point of her elbow bumped your bicep. “Very good at recognizing my bullshit.” She laughed, letting her arm drop to swing naturally with her gait. “But to actually answer your question, all they feel is the rush from kissing a stranger.” She shrugged. “No one’s going to complain about a little nip on the lip or one of us paying some extra attention to their neck.” No, I guess they wouldn’t. “And we always heal them when we’re finished, so there’s no marks or cuts. No proof.” She looked over at you, pausing to look past you and into the night for another check of your surroundings, her eyes coming back to yours after a few seconds. “We only take small amounts, so they typically don’t feel any side effects. But since we almost always pick someone at a bar it's easy enough to blame any slight dizziness during or immediately after on the alcohol.”

You hummed. “That makes sense.” 

You weren’t entirely sure, because it was dark and you weren’t as familiar with the part of the city the apartment was in as you were with other areas, but you thought you were getting close to the building. Probably just a few more blocks, and then - 

“I’m guessing you’re asking because Oberyn didn’t mask it when he drank from you?” 

“Um.” You blinked, clearing your throat before responding. “No, he… I definitely felt it. I mean -” You shook your head. “I knew what he was going to do, even the first time. I told him to do it, so I guess there was no reason for him to. And he was -” You took a breath that shook as you tried not to think about how close to death he was when the poison was at its worst. “He was injured, so maybe he couldn’t control it as much because of that?”  

“From what Ellaria told me, he would have been too weak to control what you felt closer to when she arrived.” That tracked. The poison in Gregor’s blood had left him so debilitated that he hadn’t even been able to heal you after a certain point. And I was so out of it I didn’t even know it was happening towards the end. “But,” Tyene held up one finger. “Not when he first drank from you. He would have been able to make it painless then.” 

“It didn’t hurt,” you clarified, shaking your head. “I thought it would, but it didn’t.” Heat rose to your cheeks as they lifted in an involuntary smile at the memory. “It was… it felt good.”

Tyene chuckled under her breath. “Leave it to Oberyn to try to pleasure his last meal.” The words were barely out of her mouth before she swung her head in your direction. “I’m kidding, I know you mean way more to him than that. And I’m not trying to make light of how serious the situation you both were in was.” She sighed. “That is like him, though. Thinking more about the people he cares for than he does himself. He wanted you to understand what was happening, because you’re not just some random hookup from a bar.” She smirked. “But he also wanted you to like what was happening, because you’re not just some random hookup from a bar.” 

No, I guess I’m not. You thought back on everything Oberyn had told you about his past - about Isabel and Cameron, and how much they each meant to him. They both knew what he was. He trusted, respected, and loved them enough not to hide it from them. Not to hide himself from them. It was overwhelming to think that that list now included you - that he had already started to feel the same way about you that he felt about them. That’s… I shouldn’t think about that. I should focus on - 

“You know,” Tyene broke the silence, her tone more serious than usual as you turned the final corner that brought your destination into view. “I don’t think I thanked you yet, for everything you did for him.” She sighed, tipping her head back to look briefly up at the sky. “In my first life, I lost my parents when I was still young. But once I met Ellaria and Oberyn?” She paused, turning toward you and wearing as soft a smile as you’d ever seen on her sharp features. “I never felt like I didn’t have a family. They both became like parents to me.” Oberyn had told you as much about Tyene’s history. But hearing it from her - hearing the emotion in her voice - made it hit much harder. “Losing him would have been…” 

She trailed off and you understood why. There weren’t words to describe that kind of loss, especially after centuries spent together. 

Reaching over, you took her hand and squeezed it. “I hope you never have to finish that sentence, Tyene.” 

She returned your squeeze and then lifted her hand to swipe at her eye. “Me fucking too.” She laughed and then you did, too, and then you were walking through the glass lobby doors and into the building. 

The elevator ride up to your floor was quick, with no one else getting on or off. As soon as the light indicated that you’d arrived, Tyene stated that she was headed straight for a shower. “The last apartment had shitty water pressure, so I’m taking full advantage while we’re at this place.” 

“It did, and I don’t blame you,” you responded. You got the feeling that while she was at least half serious about the water pressure, her immediate plans also had to do with giving you and Oberyn some time together, and for that you were grateful. “Enjoy it.” 

She scanned the key fob against the lock, the mechanism beeping as it opened. “Thanks, I absolutely will.” 

You followed Tyene through the door, turning to close and lock it behind you. As soon as you slid the deadbolt into place, and before you could turn back around, you heard your name. “You are back.” 

A syrupy smile spread across your face at the sound of Oberyn’s voice close behind you. “We are,” you replied before you moved, his hands reaching for and landing at your waist. 

“He just means you!” Tyene called from the hallway. “He doesn’t really give a shit that I’m back!” 

That made a laugh burst out of you, your forehead leaning forward against the door as Oberyn’s fingers curled more tightly around you. 

“I do care that you are back, Tyene.” You could tell without looking that he was speaking over his shoulder to her. “But -” You closed your eyes and took a breath through your nose as you felt his lips press behind your ear. “I did mean you.” 

You turned to face him then, one of your hands landing on his shoulder, the other resting flat against the right side of his chest. “I am,” you corrected your response. “Hi, Oberyn.” 

He smiled as you said his name, his eyes shining like dark suns and making you suck in a breath. 

Oh, he’s… There was a slight change in them from earlier, a brightness you hadn’t seen since he kissed you on the balcony at the Halloween party. It hit you hard to know that in that moment he was as much himself as he had been before his encounter with Gregor in the alley. 

There had been a subtle, underlying dullness in his eyes while he was suffering the effects of the poison, and a sharpness to their glint after Ellaria had given him so much of her blood to save him. But now he’s… You lifted your hand from his shoulder, bringing it up to rake your fingers through his hair, and Oberyn’s smile grew with the contact. This is all him, and exactly as it should be. 

“Hi,” he murmured in response, his grip moving from your waist to the crooks of your elbows before sliding down your arms to take your hands in his. “Did you have a good time?” 

You nodded, letting him pull you away from the door. “I did. Seeing Nora was…” You sighed. “I really needed that.” 

Oberyn ran his hands back up your arms, giving your biceps a light squeeze. “Good. I am glad that you were able to spend some time with her.” He dropped his left arm back to his side then, but lifted his right so that he could cup your cheek. “But I am even more glad that you are back. And that you are safe.” 

Pressing into his touch, you hummed. He’s so warm. “Me too. I knew I was safe with Tyene and Toban, though.” 

“You were.” His thumb swept over the crest of your cheek, and then his eyes narrowed as they flicked to the door and back to your face. He dropped his arm, looking over your shoulder at the door, and you took the opportunity to slip your shoes off. “Where is Toban? Did something happen, or -” 

From the hallway, Tyene poked her head back into the room, answering before you had a chance to. “He walked his midnight snack home to make sure she got there in one piece.” She disappeared again, the sound of a door closing behind her telling you that she’d likely gone into one of the bedrooms. 

You snorted, leaning into Oberyn’s chest and laughing. Nora would actually love to know that she was just referred to as a midnight snack. The context isn’t even important. . 

His arms came around you then, holding you close like he wanted to absorb the feel of your laughter. It made your heart flip. Oh, Oberyn. You wound yours around his back and turned your head to fit yourself against him, feeling the vibrations of his voice as he spoke again. 

“Wait a minute. Does that mean…” He pulled back just enough to look down at you, an amused expression on his face. You peered back up at him, barely holding back another laugh as he arched one eyebrow. “He drank from Nora?”

You wrinkled your nose and nodded. “Yeah, I think that was the plan. But don’t worry, she was definitely into it.” 

Oberyn chuckled, the sound bringing a warm amber tone to his voice as a teasing smirk played on his lips. “So she met someone at a bar and she probably let them bite her?” One eyebrow formed a perfect arch. “You and your friend are a lot alike.”  

Rolling your eyes, you let out a scoff. “Yeah. We are. Apparently we’re both irresistible to men who just want to drink our -” 

He cut you off with your name, dipping his head so that he could speak low into your ear. “It is not only your blood that makes you irresistible to me, issa ōños.” 

A shiver passed through your body as that phrase rolled from his tongue, making your heart skip in a way that you knew he could feel. “Oberyn.” 

Straightening up once more, he looked directly into your eyes and released you from his embrace. “You are my light.” He skimmed the tips of his fingers over the skin at the corner of your eye, then dropped them down to the side of your throat. You kept your eyes on his as they flicked down to follow the motion of his touch. “You are the end to the darkness I have known for so long.” You sucked in a sharp breath as he traced his mark, your mouth falling open and his gaze returning to yours. “And that has nothing to do with what runs through your veins.”  

You sighed as he let both arms fall to his sides, your tongue darting out to wet your lips before you slowly nodded. How do I even respond to that? “I know.” 

It was barely a whisper, and it felt inadequate compared to what he had just said to you. But you wanted him to know that you understood how serious he was about you. Even though he just spent three hours in bed with Ellaria, it doesn’t… You swallowed. It doesn’t matter. Doesn’t change what he’s feeling or what he wants. 

“Do you?” He asked, his smile poking a dimple into his cheek. “Good.” He took your hand then, gently pulling you away from the front door. You let him lead you towards the couch, but as he did, you realized something. Wait. He hasn’t… “Now come, tell me about your night. What did -” 

“Hold on.” Stopping a few steps from the couch, you tugged his hand so he’d turn back around. There was a question in his eyes, but you didn’t let him ask it, instead reaching for his other hand. Guiding both to your waist, you let yours land on his chest and shoulder. “Aren’t you going to kiss me, Oberyn?” 

His fingers curled in the fabric of your shirt, a husky sigh coming from his throat. “Is that what you want?” You hummed, moving your head up and down. “I wasn’t sure, because of what you said before you left.” He tilted his chin downward, eyes glued to your lips. “About how you didn’t know how you’d feel after…” 

“Hey.” You shifted your hand from his shoulder to the side of his face, calling his attention back up to your eyes. “I know. And I still don’t think we should… do anything in bed tonight other than sleep.” You scrunched your nose. “Or I guess, I’ll sleep and you’ll just watch me.” That earned you a small chuckle. “But right now? I feel like I want you to kiss me, Prince - Oh!” 

He didn’t make you wait one second longer, taking the rest of his name right out of your mouth as his lips met yours, parting to take your lower one between them. 

His left hand moved from your waist to the middle of your back, fingers splayed along your spine to urge you closer, while the right came around to cradle the back of your head. You closed your eyes and let out a quiet whimper at the swipe of his tongue along the inside of your bottom lip, immediately granting him what he was asking for. He deepened the kiss with a soft stroke of his tongue along yours, taking you right to the edge of the dizziness you’d mentioned to Nora. 

Nothing about the way that he kissed you gave you any indication that he was still thinking about the things he’d done earlier that night with Ellaria. In fact, every time he kissed you, despite your knowledge of the truth, he made you feel as if yours were the only lips he’d ever kissed. And that’s after only a few weeks. Your knees shook at the thought of how it might feel to be kissed by him after a year or two. Or 10.  

You groaned as you licked into his mouth, the point of your tongue slipping over his teeth and finding that his fangs had descended. He’s not trying to hide them at all anymore. That means… Oh, fuck. You tried to keep the next thought at bay, but your defenses were useless once you felt him nip gently at your lip. 

Imagine what it would be like to kiss him after a few hundred years of it. 

Your heart thumped unevenly and you sighed into the kiss. Stop. Stop it. You needed to rein yourself back in before he noticed how carried away you were letting yourself get. But pulling away from him was difficult, especially when you heard the gravelly sound he made as your tongue slipped over the elongated points of his teeth again. Oh, fuck, Oberyn. It’s not fair.

“If you keep doing that,” he mumbled against your lips. “It will be very hard for me to stop kissing you.” Illustrating his point, he kissed you again, that time surprising you by pulling you down and onto the couch beside him. 

You hummed out a laugh, both of your hands landing on his chest and resting near his collarbone. “Would that be such a bad thing?” 

He wrapped one arm around your shoulders and used the other to drape your legs over his lap. “A bad thing? No.” His thumb swept back and forth over your leg as he said your name. “Very much the opposite. But,” he paused, leaning in to trail his lips across yours and up to the corner of your eye. “I do want to hear about your night.” Straightening up again, he loosened his hold on you. “We will have plenty of time for more of that later, if that is something that you want.” 

Of course it’s something I want. “Fine,” you agreed, pulling your legs back to your side of his body and shifting slightly on the cushion. Oberyn withdrew the arm he had around your shoulders to let you get situated. You bent one knee, leaning it against his thigh, and tucked that foot beneath yourself as you held up one finger. “But I’m gonna hold you to that.” 

Oberyn smiled, and you thought you caught a quick flash of something that almost looked like uncertainty in his eyes. But they were bright and warm again by the time he spoke, his hand coming to rest atop your bent knee. “I hope that you do.” 

You glanced down at where he touched you, letting out a sigh at the way you could feel the warmth of his palm through your jeans. “I’m sure that I will.” Bringing your focus back to his face, you leaned sideways into the couch cushions, ready to regale him with the tale of your night out. “But you want to hear about bar hopping first, right?”

“I do.” He nodded. “How was-”

Wait. Is that…

His question was cut short by the sound of your gasp, your eyes widening at the glint of gold that you saw beneath his shirt with the small movement of his head. His chain. The pendant.  “Oberyn,” you breathed out his name, lifting one hand up to run your fingers over the solid links. “You have it back.” 

Gently, almost reverently, you untucked the chain from under his shirt, exposing the ornate pendant that hung from it. When you lifted your eyes back up to his, it hit you - what it meant to see him wearing it again. It’s how it should be. Though he hadn’t complained once since Ellaria took it from him, you knew that Oberyn hated not being able to feel the sun on his face for any length of time. The brief moments that he’d been permitted to use it while moving between apartments aside, it had been a full week since he had been able to step outside in daylight. You were glad that he had that back again. 

It also meant that you were right about what you saw in his eyes - that he was back to himself, the lingering traces of Ellaria’s more potent blood all but gone from his system. You knew that she wouldn’t have given it back to him yet if that wasn’t the case. Yes, he’d need it for the engagement party the following day, since it started before sunset. But you knew that Ellaria would have waited until the last second if she thought there was even the slightest chance that Oberyn couldn’t be trusted with it. And she didn’t. You swallowed a knot. Because he really is back to himself. 

Seeing that chain around his neck meant that the nightmare that started in the alley, when Oberyn had been poisoned and so gravely injured that every second that followed made you fear his death, was finally, truly over. You didn’t let yourself think about the fact that it also meant that in less than twenty four hours, Oberyn would be face to face with Cersei and Tywin Lannister. This is just about him. Not them. 

“I do,” he responded, reaching for the hand you’d used to free the chain and bringing it up to his lips. They brushed over your knuckles, and then he lowered your hand to press it over the pendant. 

You felt the ridges of the intricate design against your palm, your fingers spreading over the soft fabric of his shirt. “How does it feel?” 

His fingers slipped between yours, curling shut around your hand and the pendant. “Right.” He spoke your name then, smiling around the syllables. “It feels right, having it back.” 

I bet. You bit down on the inside of your cheek before you nodded, giving him  a smile, too. “Good.” He released your hand, letting his own fall back to his lap. You did the same, but kept your eyes on the pendant. The sun was still out when we left, I wonder if… “Did you get to use it?” 

You looked up at him again when he answered. “No. It was already dark when Ellaria returned it to me.” That’s a shame. “But even if it was still light out I would have waited.” 

What? Why? You shook your head, confusion forming a furrow between your eyebrows. “Waited for what, Oberyn?” 

He blinked, long lashes sweeping slowly shut and then opening again to let his eyes rove over your face. “For you.” That caught you off guard, your heart skipping a beat at the adoration in his expression as he continued. “Ellaria saved my life, and that is something that I will always be beyond grateful for. But you are the reason that there was anything left for her to save. You are the reason that I will get to feel the sun again.” Using the hand that had been resting on your knee, he tucked the pendant back under his shirt, then reached for your hand. “And I want you to be there when I do.” 

Me. He wanted to wait for me.

You hadn’t realized that a tear had rolled down your cheek until you tasted salt on your lips. “Then I’ll be there.” Your voice warbled slightly, throat thick with the sudden rush of emotion that his response hit you with. “With you, right at sunrise.” 

Another stray tear slid from your eye but Oberyn didn’t let that one reach your lips. Using his knuckle and then thumb, he swiped it from your skin and gave you a smile that turned his eyes to soft leather. “Sunrise sounds perfect.” 

Any time with you sounds perfect, Oberyn. You let out a sigh. “Too bad we have to wait -” Leaning forward, you reached for the phone on the coffee table, tapping the screen so that you could read the time. “- six and a half hours.” 

The warm sound of his chuckle reached your ears as you leaned back into the couch cushions, Oberyn’s arm winding around you to pull you closer. “A handful of hours is nothing.” His lips found a spot near your temple, pressing a kiss there as he continued. “I have waited lifetimes for this. For you.” You sucked in a breath as you straightened up to look at him, the remnants of his laugh still present in his eyes. “I can wait a few more hours.” 

“Oberyn,” you whispered, unable to reply with anything else. You still felt slightly tipsy from the few drinks you’d had earlier, a pleasant buzz humming through your brain and body. But it was nothing compared to the intoxicating feeling of knowing that Oberyn Martell wanted you. Your heart skipped and you knew he heard it from the twitch of his smile. You shook your head, forcing yourself to continue. “You’re one hell of a romantic, you know that?” 

That earned you another laugh, deeper and richer in tone. “Well I have always said that I was a better lover than a fighter.” He brought the hand that was resting near your waist up to curl around your bicep as you rested your head against his shoulder. “And I am an excellent fighter.” 

You hummed out a small laugh of your own. “And so humble, too.” 

Before either of you could say anything else, the phone buzzed on the table and you sat up to grab it. That’s gotta be Nora letting me know she’s home. Opening the message, you confirmed it with a snort to yourself. 

Hot Toban got me home safe and VERY sound if you know what I mean. ;) 

You typed back a quick response, letting her know that yes, you did know what she meant, and that you were glad. You hesitated, thumbs hovering over the keyboard for a few seconds before you added one last line. 

I promise we’ll go out again soon! 

I hope. 

You knew you weren’t completely in the clear yet and that there were still things that could get in the way of you making good on that promise. But you were trying not to dwell on that fact as best you could. Because worrying won’t change anything at this point. There was a solid plan in place. All that was left to do was to enact it. And it’s going to work. You leaned forward to set the phone back on the table. It has to. 

“Everything alright?” Oberyn asked, his eyes on you as you settled into your seat again. 

You nodded, smiling. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Nora was just letting me know that she was home.”. 

His expression warmed at that, eyes lightening. “You two care about each other very much.” 

It wasn’t a question, but you answered anyway. “We do. I’m lucky to have her.” That was putting it mildly - your friendship with Nora had made your life better in just about every way. You didn’t grow up with a sister, but you’d found one in her. 

“A friendship like that is a rare thing. I’m sure she feels just as lucky to have you.” Oberyn returned his palm to the top of your thigh, giving it a light squeeze. “And I’m glad that she got home safely.” Me too. “Now, will you please tell me about your night?” 

You laughed. “I promise it was a very normal night. But, since you want to hear about it so badly…” 

You took him through the whole night out, telling him about the first place you went to with Tyene and Toban, describing the burger you ordered and the excitement you felt when Toban handed you the phone and told you to invite a friend out. You told him again how good it was to see and catch up with her, about how effortlessly she fell  into conversation with the rest of the group, about her very unsubtle crush on Toban and the rounds of darts that you all played. 

By the end of your retelling, Oberyn was grinning. “It sounds like it was a good time.” 

“It was,” you answered, reaching for the hand that he still had on your leg and lacing your fingers with his. “The only thing that would have made it better is if you were there, too.” 

The words were out of your mouth before you could stop them. Shit. That sounded desperate. But Oberyn didn’t seem to agree. Instead, he leaned in and nuzzled his nose along the side of yours. “Then we will have to make that happen soon.” He kissed the corner of your mouth, pulling away to see the smile his promise put there. 

“I’d love that.” I really would. You sighed, leaning against him as he lifted his arm to let you come closer. For a few seconds it was quiet, and you could hear the sound of water rushing through the pipes, meaning that Tyene was still in the shower. But wait… “Oberyn?” He hummed a response. “Where’s Ellaria?” 

“She is in her bedroom, making some last minute adjustments to what we are wearing tomorrow.” You felt his fingertips slip beneath the hem of your shirt so they could brush over the skin at your waist. “She will be out when she is done. Or when Toban returns, whichever happens first.” 

“Nora doesn’t live too far from here, so he should be back soon.” 

“But I finished first anyway.” You heard Ellaria speak as she entered the room. 

At the sound of her voice you sat up and turned to see her wearing the same dress she’d had on when you left, though her hair had been secured into a long braid. You wondered if she ever looked less than the dictionary definition of elegant, but as she gracefully lowered herself into the chair opposite you, you realized what a ridiculous thought that was. 

“Did you have a good time?” She asked. “Tyene said she had fun but I didn’t get much else out of her because she was hell bent on getting into the shower.” 

You laughed. “She told me how much she was looking forward to it, so that tracks. And to answer your question, I had a great time. I’m glad it was able to happen.” 

You spent the next few minutes recapping the night for Ellaria, Oberyn’s arm still around you the whole time, his fingers continuously sweeping over your skin. It struck you how normal it felt to be sitting there that way with the two of them. 

Though you knew - and accepted - what was going to happen while you and the others were out of the apartment, before you left you weren’t sure how you’d feel when you got back. And that didn’t just include Oberyn - you were unsure about what it would feel like to interact with Ellaria afterwards, too. But… Nothing is different. It was a striking difference from what you’d felt before she’d arrived for the first time, and you were unsure of how to feel about how quickly you’d started to feel comfortable with Oberyn in her presence. I’ll think about that later.

Tyene sauntered in with a towel wrapped around her hair as you finished bringing Ellaria up to speed. “Did you tell them about how we kicked ass at darts?” She perched on the armrest of Ellaria’s chair, one leg crossed over the other at the thigh. “Because we definitely did.” 

“I did! I -” 

But halfway through your response, the atmosphere of the room changed entirely. In a single second it became tense, the same way it did just before Toban and Tyrion had arrived. You took a breath and held it as the three of them exchanged pointed glances, and began to worry the longer they remained silent. What’s happening? 

You heard the faint sound of footsteps in the hallway, and then Ellaria shot to her feet, her eyes locked on the door as though she could see right through it. Is it Toban? You felt Oberyn stiffen beside you and your heart started thumping nervously behind your ribs. Or is it… Are we safe? 

Ellaria crossed the room as the door opened inward, and you finally exhaled when you saw that it was Toban. Oh, thank fuck. The relief, however, was short lived, and judging by the tightness in Oberyn’s jaw, you knew that something was off. And as soon as Toban fully entered the apartment and you got a good look at him, you realized what it was immediately. 

He fought someone. 

He didn’t appear to be injured, but he looked generally disheveled - for him, anyway - his shirt bearing a small rip near one shoulder, dirt rubbed deep into the fabric there, and his hair tousled. What the fuck happened? Who did he fight? Was it Gregor again? 

You stood up, unsure which was racing faster; the beat of your heart, or the questions tumbling over in your brain. 

“Toban.” Ellaria spoke his name while she reached for his arm. Her braid fell over her shoulder as she angled her upper body to get the best view of his face. “Are you alright, my love? What happened?” 

He finished with the locks and turned so that he was looking directly at her. Lifting his hands to take her face between them, he locked his eyes with hers. For a handful of seconds it was as though you, Tyene and Oberyn weren’t even in the room with them. “I am fine.” He nodded once, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head before meeting her eyes again. “I promise.” 

You noticed the small movement of his thumb over her cheek, his touch an instant comfort to her. She visibly relaxed with his reassurance, the tension dissipating from her shoulders. You were struck, not only by the depth of the connection that was shared between Others and their Creators, but at how extremely human it was for Toban to be able to soothe her with such a gentle, innocent touch. It was equally impressive for him to want and need to give her that comfort. They love each other so much. So deeply. 

You swallowed and returned the squeeze that Oberyn had just given your hand. He does, too. Even with his and Toban’s history, he loves him.

Just as you were about to turn to look at the man whose hand you were holding, Toban surprised you completely by stepping away from Ellaria and directing his focus toward you. He spoke your name, placing one large hand on your shoulder. “I want you to know that your friend is safe.” 

Eyes widening, you gave a quick shake of your head. “Nora? Yeah, I - she -” You withdrew your hand from Oberyn’s and used it to gesture toward the coffee table, where the phone still sat. “She texted me, and -” Oh. A sudden weight dropped into your stomach as you connected the dots and realized what Toban was actually telling you. Oh, shit. You let out a burst of air, dizziness buzzing through your brain and goosebumps prickling your skin as you sucked in another breath. Oh my god. Your next words were barely above a whisper, your voice shaking slightly. “There was someone at her apartment.” You swallowed. “The Lannisters, they s-sent someone to her apartment? They-” 

They sent someone there to kill her. 

Your knees buckled then, but Oberyn didn’t let you fall, his arm swimming beneath yours to wind around your waist. “I’ve got you.” He spoke softly, lips close to your ear as you leaned your weight into him, letting him steady you. “You’re alright.” He kept his arm in place, even as you got your legs back under you and Toban continued. 

“They did.” The blond man confirmed your assumption, a chill speeding down your spine. His emerald eyes briefly flicked up to meet Oberyn’s before returning to yours as he said your name, the tone of his voice soothing. “They did, but they did not succeed. Nora is safe, I promise you.” He nodded once. “I made sure of it.” 

That means he killed them. He killed them before they could kill her. You swallowed hard, tears stinging the corners of your eyes as you tried not to think about what would have happened had Toban not decided to walk Nora home. Reaching out with one hand, you gripped his forearm and squeezed. “Thank you, Toban. That means everything.” 

His expression softened with your gratitude. “You don’t need to thank me, I would not have let anything happen to her.” 

A tear rolled down your cheek as you took a shuddering breath. “Well I’m thanking you anyway,” you managed, before your throat tightened again. 

Toban simply nodded, patting the hand you had on his arm and giving you a small smile. “Of course.” You dropped your hand when he lifted his, the man shifting his attention again, turning to Tyene. “What about you? Did you run into any trouble on your way back here?” 

Something in the way that he asked made you feel like the attempted attack on Nora wasn’t entirely a surprise. Did they expect something to happen tonight? You glanced up at Oberyn before turning towards Tyene for her answer. 

She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “No, nothing. Guess Tyrion was right about them not wanting to send out too many of their fucking goons so close to the big event.” Wait, what? You stiffened, standing straighter and taking some of your weight off of Oberyn. So Tyrion tipped them off that someone might… that something might happen tonight? Why didn’t… Why didn’t Oberyn say anything about that? She rolled her eyes and examined her cuticles. “I wouldn’t have minded, actually. Fewer of them for us to take on later, and-”

“Speaking of Tyrion’s input -” You turned to look at Ellaria as she cut in, the concern on her face still present but fading. “You didn’t bite, did you my love?” 

That question struck you as strange. Why wouldn’t he? That’s the most efficient way for them to fight, isn’t it? There was something you were missing. There had to be. An uneasy feeling swam through your stomach as pieces started falling into place. 

“I did not,” Toban responded, those three words erasing the rest of the worry from Ellaria’s face. He clapped one large palm to Oberyn’s shoulder. “I think Oberyn’s experience with their poison was more than enough for all of us.”

“What?” You startled yourself by asking the question out loud, and then four pairs of eyes were on you as you shook your head. “What are you talking about? Tyrion’s input?” You looked from Ellaria to Tyene, the girl removing the towel from her hair and tossing it onto the couch with a frown. Why isn’t anyone - You looked up at Oberyn, a furrow forming in your forehead at the almost guilty expression he wore. “Oberyn…” You took a breath and let it out shakily. “What’s going on?” 

He took both of your wrists in his hands as he spoke, his eyes looking directly into yours. “I… I did not want you to be worried.” 

You felt your eyes widen as your mouth dropped open in shock. He knew. He knew that someone would be looking for us tonight. And if Tyrion told them not to bite if they were attacked, that means… You were knocked dizzy with your next thought. That means he knew that the Lannisters were using the same poison they gave to Gregor in all of their foot soldiers. It meant that your fun night out was truly anything but that. 

“Didn’t want me to be worried?” With a scoff, you withdrew your hands and crossed your arms. I’m going to be worried until this is all over. “We’re a little bit past that, aren’t we?” You shook your head. “I would have never invited Nora out if I knew she was going to be in danger because of it.” 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw the others leave the room, and as they did, something else hit you. 

“Oh my god,” you muttered, letting out a ragged breath. “She already was in danger, wasn’t she?” You blinked rapidly, licking your suddenly arid lips. “That’s why you had me call her to -” Another incredulous breath rushed from your lungs. 

Oberyn spoke your name, his tone laced with apology. You looked up at him and instantly wished you didn’t feel as angry and upset as you did. But I am. He… He should have told me. “We -” He frowned, closing his eyes and correcting himself. “I knew that there was a strong possibility that someone close to you would draw the Lannisters’ attention after you went missing,” he admitted, opening his eyes again. “But nothing was ever going to happen to you or to Nora.” 

You blew air through your lips. “You can’t say that for sure, Oberyn.” Shrugging, you shook your head. “What if Tyrion was wrong, and they sent ten men instead of one?” You cringed. “And I’m not just upset about Nora. Toban and Tyene were in danger, too, and you -” Your throat tightened as anger mixed with hurt and a touch of embarrassment. “You just had me believe that it was all fine, and-” I should have known. I should have known that a night out wasn’t just a night out. Not with everything that’s going on. 

“I am sorry.” 

You knew that those three words coming from him were a rarity. And when you searched his face you saw that they weren’t just words. It was there in his eyes, too. A part of you wanted to forgive him right there on the spot, wrap your arms around his neck and tell him it was fine. No one was hurt, and you knew that he had good intentions. Part of you wanted to just let it go, let him kiss you senseless until sunrise and chalk the deception up to him doing what was necessary to keep you from worrying. 

But it’s not just about what could have happened. It’s about the fact that he kept the truth from me. 

That was where the hurt was coming from. You weren’t one of them. You weren’t immortal, you weren’t powerful. You were, by comparison, painfully human. But you were just as much a part of what was happening as anyone else in the group. You deserved to know what they did, especially when it came to your also-human friend. 

You realized you hadn’t responded to his apology when he spoke your name. Breaking yourself free of your thoughts, you focused on Oberyn as he took a small step towards you. “Please, let me explain why I -” 

You stepped backwards, his frown deepening with the distance. “I will.” You swallowed and shook your head, the corners of your eyes starting to sting. “But I need a minute. I need… I just need to process this, Oberyn. Can you -” You blinked and a tear slipped free, his shoulders falling as he watched it roll down your cheek. “Can you just give me some time?” 

He nodded, eyes still tracing the salty track left behind on your skin. “Of course.” His hands clenched into loose fists and then fell open again at his sides, and you knew that he was resisting the urge to reach for you. You knew because you were doing the same. “Take however long you need.” 

You took an uneven breath and let it out, then returned his nod and forced yourself to turn away, leaving him standing in the living room. 

You felt slightly better after a hot shower. 

A hot shower and a good cry, to be exact. 

Standing under the steamy water, you’d let your emotions flow freely. You let yourself feel the delayed fear of finding out that you and people you cared about had been in real danger. You gave in, just for a few seconds, to thoughts of worst case scenarios - of you or Nora, killed by some Lannister lackey, of Tyene, poisoned like Oberyn, but unable to stave off death because she wasn’t as old or powerful as he was, of Ellaria losing Toban, of Oberyn losing you. You let yourself feel anger and rage towards the Lannisters and Gregor Clegane for creating the entire situation. You let yourself feel the smallness that came from being left out of the loop. 

And only when you felt that you’d emptied the tank did you get out of the shower, find a comfortable pair of sweats to put on, and climb onto the bed. Sitting back against the pillows, you brought your hands up to your face, dragging them down over your mouth. What a fucking night. 

A knock on the door startled you then, your whole upper body pivoting towards the sound. You figured that Oberyn would wait for you to go to him when you were ready to talk. Because that’s what he said. You blew out a long, slow breath, licking your lips before speaking. “I’ll be out in a minute, Oberyn.” 

If the knock hadn’t surprised you, the voice that responded would have - especially with its softness. “It isn’t Oberyn,” Ellaria said, adding your name. “Can I come in?” 

Sucking in a small gasp, you blinked at the door. “Um -” You stood from the bed and took two steps closer, heart thumping in your throat. Ellaria? Why is she… She wants to talk to me? “Yeah, h-hold on.” You let out a slow exhale and closed your eyes, trying to finish pulling yourself together before reaching for the doorknob. They opened as you opened the door, revealing the stunning woman on the other side of it. “Hi,” you muttered with a sniff, stepping aside to let her in and closing the door behind her. “Sorry, I -” 

She shook her head, cocking it to one side. “What are you apologizing for?” 

You let out a small, humorless laugh and gestured at yourself. “For…” 

“I understand why you were upset.” She crossed her arms, nodding. “Honestly, you handled it better than I would have.” Taking three long strides, she crossed to the bed, turning so that she could lean back against the mattress without actually sitting down. “More importantly, though -” She fixed her eyes on yours as she continued. “Oberyn understands.” 

Your mouth dipped in a half-frown. “Did he ask you to-”

She gave you a small smile. “No, I’m not here because he asked me to talk to you. I am here because I wanted us to have a chance to speak… without Oberyn present.” 

You felt your eyes widen at that, your mouth falling open. “Where is he?” You cleared your throat. “Won’t he be able to hear us?” 

“He is upstairs, on the roof.” She tilted her head to one side. “And technically, yes, he can hear us. But he won’t be listening.” 

You recalled what he told you about how he learned to tune things out to give others privacy. And he’d never eavesdrop on Ellaria. Clearing your throat, you nodded. “Okay. Should I sit down? I was… I was just about to go and talk to him before you -” 

“You can sit if you’d like, but what I have to say will only take a minute.” She waited to see if you would move to take a seat, and when you didn’t, she went on. “I know that he made a mistake tonight, not telling you things that you probably should have been told, and asking the rest of us not to tell you, either.” You felt your forehead wrinkle as you drew your brows together, but stayed silent while Ellaria continued. “But I also know that you mean as much to that man as finishing things with Cersei and Tywin does.” 

You sucked in a gasp, floored by what she had just said. “Ellaria, I…” 

“I also know that he has a good reason for everything that he does.” She surprised you again by lifting one side of her mouth in a smirk. “He may not always get things right, but he has his reasons.” 

When you spoke, your voice was thin, still breathless from the idea that you meant as much to him as she said you did. “I’m sure he does.” 

She stood straight then, her smirk spreading into a warm smile. “There are so many people in the world he could have chosen. But I am very glad that he waited for you.” 

Your heart slammed erratically at that. It was the first time that Ellaria had basically stated that Oberyn planned to offer to change you. That he wants to make me his first. 

“I… Ellaria, I’m not sure what to say, I -” You sputtered, mouth suddenly dry. 

“You don’t have to say anything.” She crossed the room, pausing to place her hand on your arm. “Just go listen to what he has to say.” Her fingers tightened briefly on your arm, but after she spent a few seconds letting her gaze wander over your face, she released her grip and left. 

You stood there for a solid ten seconds, one hand over your mouth, uneven breaths fanning out over your fingers. Then, without thinking twice, you grabbed the folded blanket from the foot of the bed, stuffed your feet into your shoes, and made your way out to the elevator. 

There was a slight breeze when you reached the rooftop, the cool air making you shiver as you stepped outside. 

You saw him immediately, Oberyn’s silhouette dark against the skyline as he stood near the railing, looking out over the city. He obviously knew that you were there, but you could see the moment that your presence registered with him, his shoulders lifting slightly. He turned, but even as you crossed the space he was still in shadow when he spoke. “I would not have blamed you if you did not come up here tonight.” 

There was a sadness in his tone and you briefly wondered if he was afraid that he’d gone too far, that you’d want nothing to do with him. Couldn’t be further from the truth, Oberyn. You cleared your throat, wanting your voice to sound certain. “Well, we have a sunrise date, remember?” 

He sighed out your name as you tossed the blanket onto the outdoor couch and came to stand beside him. When you finally got a good look at his face, you frowned. Oh, he looks - “I am truly sorry that I did not tell you everything you needed to know. And I am sorry that your friend was in danger because of me.” He shook his head, turning away from the view to meet your eyes. “I thought that I was protecting you both but I… I was wrong.” 

“I know, Oberyn.” You pressed your side against his and wrapped one arm around his waist, his arm winding around you so that you were both looking out at the lights. You sighed, resting your head against him. “I just… I think I’ve handled the truth pretty well so far. You have to give me credit for that. I can take the truth, even if it’s dangerous.” 

He turned to press a kiss to the top of your head. “I know,” he murmured into your hair, the strands still damp. “I know you can.” 

You tightened your hold on him then, your next words coming out just above a whisper. “You should have told me.” 

“You are right, I should have.” He turned to face you, bringing the arm that was around you up so he could cup your cheek. “I would like to explain why I didn’t, even though it was wrong, if that’s alright with you.” 

You nodded, leaning into his palm. “Okay.” 

He swallowed, letting his hand fall from your face to rest at your hip, and you realized that whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be easy. “I was thinking about Elia.” 

That sucked the air from your lungs. Oh, Oberyn. 

“I was thinking about how when the Lannisters had my sister and her children killed, they did it to get to Ellaria. They did it because they knew that hurting me was a good way to hurt her.” You could hear the vitriol he felt for them even through the sadness in his tone. “ And I know that now they are trying to hurt me, and they know that the best way to do that would be to hurt you.” He sighed. “I know that Nora is like a sister to you.” You felt tears prick your eyes again. She is. “I know she is who you called the first night we were together, when I asked you if anyone needed to know that you wouldn’t be home. And I know that you would have been devastated if anything were to happen to her, just like I was when I lost Elia.” 

You didn’t want to interrupt, so all you did was nod, encouraging him to go on. 

“When I made my choice to become what I am, when I said yes to Ellaria’s offer, my decision was influenced by Elia’s death. With more than two thousand years of this life gone by now, I like to think that I would have made the same choice if my sister had lived.” He heaved an unnecessary breath and shook his head slowly. “But I will never know for sure.” Leaning over, he rested his forehead against yours and spoke your name. “I do not want it to be the same for you.” 

Oh my god. Holy shit. He… 

“When I gave you this…” He lifted his head and brought his hand up to your throat, thumb brushing over the invisible mark on your skin. Your eyes fell closed at his touch, a small breath escaping your lips at the way it felt. “When I gave you my protection, it was not just others of my kind that I promised to protect you from. It was all things that would cause you harm. All things that were within my power to keep from hurting you. And I foolishly thought that if I didn’t tell you about the Lannisters watching Nora, if I just had it taken care of without you knowing, that I was somehow protecting you from feeling that fear.” 

You looked up at him then, silent tears falling freely. “Oberyn…” 

He leaned forward and brushed his lips near the corner of your eye, catching a salty drop before it fell. “I am sorry.” He repeated the same action on your other cheek, kissing away another tear. “I promise it will not happen again.” 

You had no idea how to respond to what he’d said, so instead you simply wound both arms around him and buried your face in his chest. He held you like that for several minutes, until your tears stopped coming, and then, as though he knew that you were overwhelmed by the way he had all but confirmed what Ellaria had hinted at, he simply took your hands and led you over to the couch. 

“It is a good thing you brought that blanket if we are going to stay out here until sunrise.” He pulled you down with him, letting you settle against him before making sure that you were adequately covered. 

“Like I said,” you yawned. “We have a date.” 

He chuckled then, the sound welcome after all the tension of the last hour or so. “If you fall asleep before then I will not take it personally.”

You hummed a small laugh of your own. “Good, because I probably will.” Another yawn broke though. “Just wake me up if I do.” 

“I will.” 

“I bet it’ll feel nice,” you mumbled, exhaustion starting to set in. “Feeling the sun on your skin.” 

“And you in my arms,” he added, his voice like warm velvet. You nestled closer as his biceps flexed around you, and then you felt the press of his plush lips near your hairline, their contact lingering as he spoke. “The last time I felt both of those things, I was unsure that I would survive and terrified that you might not.” He dragged the tip of his nose over your forehead to drop another kiss to your temple. “This time, I know that we both will.” 

You ran your fingertip along the links in the chain around his neck before letting them slip over his skin beneath the collar of his shirt. “We will,” you mumbled. 

You felt yourself slipping under then, but you could have sworn you heard him repeat those two words, and then add a few more. “We will. And then we will have forever.” 

[v-h-lupin]

Maurauders Era Characters if they were Demigods (with explanations)

ive been listening to Epic and rereading my harry potter writing (really trying to work on my fanfic, im just stretched kinda thin)

edit: here is pt. 2

anyway

this is pt. 1 because I will be doing more, and golden trio era characters too

Remus Lupin:

This boy is the most Son of Athena kid i have ever seen in my entire life look at him He is so smart in so many different ways I just he's so quick witted and brave, and he was so ready to throw himself into battle. strategizing to use his unique attributes even when his superiors (who had political leanings) told him otherwise. But his intellect doesn't mean he has a lack of empathy he's also really crafty but not in the "hot gluing pieces of felt in the basement" type of crafty he's just got such a good mind

James Potter:

Ok ok so hear me out Hermes. Hermes Hermes Hermes. Hermes is the god of so many things-- Jack of all trades, really, and James is just so damn good at everything he does. He's also incredibly fast on a broom. He makes friends wherever he goes (pretty fitting if your father is the god of travellers) and is mischevious without dipping into the villain area (most of the time).

Sirius Black:

Aphrodite. Hands down. Did not have to think when I said this. Everyone at school is fully aware that he is attractive and he can charm almost anyone. he is very charismatic. He can speak French and I BELIEVE Italian... ok it just... makes sense to me... (btw regulus will be in pt. 2)

Peter Pettigrew:

Also Hermes. Let me explain-- Beyond the fact that it would justify him feeling closer to James, we can use the other side of the Hermes coin for this. Hermes is the god of pretty much anything you encounter on the road. Hermes is not evil or anything-- but he does technically protect thieves and liars. Peter and James have parallels that make me believe both of them would be sons of Hermes, but their hearts were different.

Lily Evans:

This one was hard. I was thinking Demeter- then Apollo- then Athena- Hestia isnt an option but like, it might fit if it was-- I'm gonna say Athena because while YES, she does learn healing magic, she's also just incredibly bright in general. She and Remus are both brainchildren ok She's also very witty in her comebacks and stubborn-- im referring to her behavior in general, not just when it comes to james. For example, even though Petunia hated her, she still was so determined to have a good relationship with her sister.

Mary MacDonald:

OO, oo, i want to say Aphrodite, but then I remember that sirius is aphrodite and that would be WEIRD but if sirius was anyone elses kid, mary would be an aphrodite kid, i just, like? look at her. she celebrates her femininity, she's so confident in herself, i love her

other than aphrodite, I might say... Hebe. Seems like a deep reach, but she's the goddess of youth.

Marlene McKinnon:

APOLLO. Apollo. Apollo. Marlene has always wanted to be a healer. She's also a great flyer. I don't know what else to say about it but like- Apollo? yes, yes

[cupids-archives]

Can you do an Chill (busty if you like! Im kind of busty myself :P) who hides it on always using oversozed sweatshirt Female y/n that just talks with MK, who likely just met and talked Sun Wukong once when MK introduced him to her on Pigsy Noodles, and he just straight up went obsessed after that?

Srry if i requested in the wrong place that you indicated <33 plus, i love your work!

━━━━━━━━𖥔 ࣪ small fic ft. yandere! sun wukong ₊˚♱ ━━━━━ ₊˚♱ contains: obsessive behavior, small nsfw. ₊˚♱

🪽 ៹ ࣪ this was a bit rushed so lmk if you want a part two or a better/longer version <3 🪽 ៹ ࣪

you were being swarmed by the staff at pigsys shop, your hands tucked in your sweater while they ask you silly questions. “where are you from!! mei asks, uncomfortably close to your face, “and where did you meet mk??” tang says peeking over you, “you guys do know she’s not my girlfriend right…”

mk finally speaks up and you can feel the excitement in the room drop, some of them even looking dejected. the only person in the room who seems to light up at this, is the strange man sitting in the corner, he’s a celebrity so you tried to ignore him through your visit here but it’s almost hard as his follow you every time you get up or excuse yourself. soon most of the people in the shop spread out, starting to do their own things. leaving just you, mei, and mk, it was a little awkward at first but soon lightened up.

“i never thought that THE monkey king would be that weird.” you randomly say, still thinking about the awkward encounter. “he usually isn’t, I don’t know why he’s acting like that” he looks almost scared like he was worried about the guy. “I didn’t even think he would show up, to be honest, when you told me you were the monkey kid I thought you were just joking,” the conversation turns back to the happy one it once was. you guys continue talking about stupid stuff until you want to leave, you wish goodbye to your new friends and start to walk back home.

you can almost feel eyes on you on every step of the way, feeling observed and uncomfortable. you quicken the pace, you feel exposed even with having so many clothes on. you get back to your house safely, making sure to lock the doors. your head immediately hits the pillow, feeling tired, but your mind is happy after an successful day. “you look so adorable when your sleeping.” you immediately jump up looking around to see whoever just talked to you. the hair on your skin feels as if it’s rising and the paranoid feeling comes back again.

you convince yourself it’s just your imagination and start to drift off again, but you feel a cold hand to under your sweater, touching the sensitive skin around your breast. this time however you can’t move, you feel frozen to the spot, the only thing you can move is your eyes, looking up to see the monkey kid fondling you, looking down on you with such intensity like he’s been in love with you forever. you also notice your not in your room, somehow being transported to some weird magical place, one that you can’t help but call beautiful,

“I’m sorry for doing this so suddenly,” the king says, getting closer to kiss your soft lips, “I just couldn’t help myself.” he takes off your sweatshirt completely. immediately nestling between your breasts, “you should stop wearing those big shirts. you look so pretty all naked for me”

[missfrustration]

on a no name basis (toji fushiguro x fem!reader) 18+

rating: explicit 18+, minors please do not interact!

A/N: posted in 2022 on my ao3 account! reposting on tumblr. enjoy this! (p.s. a yukata is a summer kimono for future reference)

tags: pwp, smut, vaginal sex, one night stand, outdoor sex, creampie, spit as lube, spit kink, size difference, begging, dom toji fushiguro, dom/sub, some praising, dubious consent, choking, no use of y/n

word count: 2.6k

During your time at the city’s summer festival, you have been captivated by this man who crossed your path over an hour ago. At first, you noticed him passing you by on the bustling main road of the festival. You were celebrating the night with your friends, dressed in decorative yukatas, and noted how interesting he was. Not only was he not in any festival attire, but his aura and energy were almost intimidating. In addition to that, he towered over most people with ease, and his unusually muscular build told a story he was not one to mess with. It was captivating. Honestly, it was hard to look away from him until the very last moment before the crowd swallowed up his appearance. 

It wasn’t until you saw him the second time about thirty minutes later that you decided you wanted to follow his trail. While you and your friends were busy chatting on the edge of the festival, you could spot him off to the side with seldom people around. Once again, his presence was intriguing. At first, his large build attracted you. Still, as your thoughts on him had settled, it was also his low-profile demeanor and natural confidence that you decided to approach him. 

You excused yourself from your friends for the rest of the night. After some drawn-out goodbyes from friends who didn’t want to see you go, you delayed your final departure and ultimately lost sight of him. You look to the main street for any signs; no dice. You bet on walking to where he stood last and working it out. 

You spot him after a few minutes of searching in more reserved crowds. He is a ways away in a vacant area, sitting alone on a ledge and watching the city view. You’re feeling rather lucky with how you could spot him from where you were, that you could barely tell it was him until you walked closer. With the festival being at a higher elevation, it gives you and him a perfect view of the city. It’s the ideal opportunity for you to approach him now! With the summer festival coming down from its peak hours, you find it hard to believe that people will walk this far out to see the view and potentially disturb your encounter with this stranger. 

You were a few trees away from reaching the clearing he was situated in when you stopped yourself. Oh, god . You thought. I have nothing to ask of him. You stop in your tracks, hiding behind a tree about a hundred feet from him to recollect yourself, develop a decent set of lines to hold a conversation and prepare yourself for-.

It didn’t take long for him to call you, leaning his head back to look in your direction, “You seem very interested in me, young lady.” He calls out to the wooded area you were in.

Thus, it leads you to your current situation. When the stranger opens his mouth, you feel stuck on what to do. Responding to him with anything was complicated when a man twice your size casually called out to you. After a few moments of your stammering with no sound coming out, the man leads the conversation again.

“Have I met you before or something?” The man scratches his head, gets up from his seat, turns to you, and walks your way. He ponders to himself, searching his brain for an answer. “I don’t recall seeing you during a job. And I know you aren’t hired to take me out with that presence.” He looks you up and down with chilling curiosity, like he’s searching for any hint in your figure.

You’re thoroughly confused now. His job? You think. I couldn’t even imagine if I had seen him before or not when I can't even think of his career. “No, I don’t think so.” You feel anxiety bubbling up in your stomach, thinking this might have been a bad idea to follow him. 

“So, what gives?” He asks with surprising intrigue and closes the distance between you two. In no time, the strange man’s figure towers over you. You see the outline of all his muscles before you in the moonlight. His shirt firmly sculpts his body, with sleeves cutting off perfectly at the peak of his biceps. His gray sweatpants hug the top of his hips and taper into a looser fit at the legs. A chill runs up your spine. His face looks like one of a beast with only a tinge of humanity. With his size, your tiny figure seems even more diminutive than whom you face.

“You’re not getting scared, are you?” He must have sensed your uneasiness too well. He almost looks a little amused by you. 

“Of course not. Do I have a reason to be scared?” You save face, trying your best not to look intimidated.

He gives you a knowing look, leaning down until your faces are only inches apart. “That depends on why you're here, silly girl. Namely,” He says mischievously, “If you wanted to get closer, you could’ve just asked for it.”

You feel your face warm up at his perfect guess, “I suppose I didn’t want to be too forward. I’ve just,” You look away in embarrassment, “I’ve been curious about you.”

“Oh? Curiosity can be dangerous, young lady.” He places his thumb and forefinger on your chin, tilting your head so he can look at you closer. He murmurs, “Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?”

You freeze under his eyes; his words keep you in a longing gaze on the man as his firm grip on you keeps you still. Even if you wanted to leave, you doubt you could physically back down from this man. His subtle forearm veins tense with the grip he has on you. A chill runs down your spine in lustful excitement, and warmth comes to your face. “I’m willing to find out.” You whisper seductively to the man. In his mind, he sees the flustered, half-lidded woman before him and realizes what she wants; now, it is what he wants. 

“Well, you’ll certainly do.” He says with a subtle smirk. Before you move, his hands quickly work on your summer kimono ties, undoing them with little struggle. The chilled air hits your skin as the once-tightened fabric loosens. You shiver slightly before your entire body starts to heat up, wanting to take off more to expose yourself to the mysterious man. You quickly aid in loosening the ties with nimble fingers, which only encourages him to keep going. 

Not like you’re complaining.

Once the ties had been tossed to the ground, the man used his massive hands to rest on your shoulders and grip the hem of your yukata, ripping it off of you only to reveal the light camisole and skirt you were wearing under. The heavy, silky yukata fabric instantly slips off you and down to the ground, rustling the fallen leaves under you two. The camisole straps freely fall off your shoulders, revealing more of your chest line. This affects the man more than he lets on, as he suddenly spins you around, facing away from him, before roughly guiding you to the first tree he can push you to. His palms press against the bark as he begins pecking sloppy kisses up and down your neck, earning you a longing sigh of relief. You feel his body weight needingly press into you as he reaches one arm down to palm your ass while pulling down the skirt. Now, one arm pins you against the tree as he continues running his other up and down your tiny body, with thick veins clearly popping out from his muscular forearms. He slowly retreats from your hips, bringing his calloused, rough hand below your mouth. 

“Spit.” He grunts.

You pause, wondering what exactly he means by that. It isn't for a few moments before the realization pops into your head, instantly turning you on. You shiver, swiftly doing what he says. Collecting the saliva inside your mouth, you spit it into his already cupped hand. It slowly pools to the center of his palm as it leaves your mouth. Although you spit out as much as you could, it only formed what looked like a small circle in his massive hand. 

He scoffs, leaning down to whisper in your ear again. “Oi. Listen, you don’t understand what’s about to happen.” 

Your mind blanks at the proximity of his whispers. His hot, wet breath starts to dampen the top of your ear. You feel something poke into your backside, but you don’t realize what’s causing it until the tall figure utters more words. 

“You’re dealing with this, ” that poke turns into a hard press, which you immediately recognize as his now freed erection. A huge erection. “So, unless you want that pretty pussy fucked raw…” He reaches to your mouth again with your spittle still in his hand in a chilling, demanding voice. 

“Spit. More.” 

His words evoke a sense of need once more, and you immediately search in all the corners of your mouth to spit out as much as you can. After conjuring enough to dry your mouth entirely, you slowly gob it into his hand in a wordless exchange. He begins to drag his hand away and lower to rub on himself when a strong string of saliva connected from the pool to your lip breaks, quickly dribbling off your chin to your chest's hot skin. It starts to run onto the top of your breast and slowly roll down.

“Didn’t get it all in my hand, huh?” He asks. “Let me get that for you.” He grins as he leans down, pressing his long, hot tongue on the wet skin to sop it up. As he trails down to your hardened nipple, this emits a delightful moan. He opens his mouth to welcome more of the skin of your breast, instantly warming up in his mouth, now protected by the chilly forest air. He continues with a few flicks of his tongue on your nipple, making you tingle in pleasure. His mouth slowly travels back to the tip of your ear as he starts to pump himself with your spit as a lubricant. 

“Get ready.” He stops pumping, dropping his cock onto your back and tapping it a few times on your ass. You hum a breathy yes, pussy throbbing as his hands end up on your hips, lining your hole up to his wet cock. Gradually, your pussylips part, and you hold your breath as he presses his head in firmly. 

“Mm- Ah!” A loud yelp leaves your mouth. Immediately you cry out when his head enters, feeling stretched beyond your abilities before starting. Fuck, he’s bigger than what you felt pressed against your back earlier. You start panting and whining for him in a panicked tone, and the pain begins to dull. You feel embarrassed for reacting so strongly to just the head. 

His other hand runs up to your chest and firmly places his fingers between your breasts as his body presses against you. Thanks to his grip, you aren’t in control of where your center of gravity is now. He continues his ease into your cunt, slowly sinking himself into you while he keeps his hands on your shoulder and ass. 

“Do you feel how fast your heartbeat is going?” His voice is breathy and wet as his lips press on your skin behind your ear. He bottoms out entirely inside you and does not pause before pumping in and out of you again. 

You swallow, barely being able to because of how dry your mouth is, and nod languidly as you pant harder. You feel your heartbeat pound a fast, intense rhythm that resonates throughout your body and ears. 

“I plan to pound into you as fast as your heart beats. I will go even faster the more you want this. You should think about that before we keep going.” He smirks with knowing intimidation. Although it seemed threatening, it just turned you on more. Your eyes widen as you whimper in a very unconvincing agreement, your blood on fire as you pant at his words.

You hear the muscular man grunt and shift behind you, “Fuck, I can feel how much you liked that. Hah, shit. You’re more fucked up than I thought.” He genuinely chuckles at you while you feel somewhat embarrassed.

His dick is moving slower inside of you now. You groan in disapproval.

“M-move,” You plead. You feel so much want from this man that it’s driving you crazy how still he is, especially after the words he just muttered in your ear. You want so much more right now than what he could be doing. 

He snickers at you, now wholly unmoving. He lets go of his grip on your body and instead wraps a hand around the shaft of his dick while his head stays in your pussy. “No way. Now that I know how bad you want it, I won’t move until you beg for it.” He seems genuinely amused at the citation, taking the most advantage of it. “Beg how much you want this inside your pussy.”

“But, but-”

“Beg for me. Now.” He grunts at you. 

Although you have just met this man tonight, you are already drawn to do whatever he wants from you. You try to move your hips against him in protest, trying to get any relief from the fraction of dick he has inside you now. His hand pushes you forward, forcing your body to lean against the bark. He’s locked you from moving, evading your plans, and keeping your hips from grinding against him. You groan in need and disapproval.

“Well, that won’t work, silly girl.” He snickers, keeping an iron grip on your back, “You’ll have to give me what I want.”

With no other option, you pause and catch your breath.

“Please,” you whimper. Your cheeks tint pink at what you plan to have come out of your mouth next.

“Please, what?” He asks. His giant right-hand wraps around the side of your waist with the same pressure as his left hand still grips around his length. He is keeping only an inch of himself in you.

“Please… fuck my pussy.” Your voice is a whisper now, but you feel his head rock back and forth inside you. You hiss in pleasure as another inch of his cock plunges into you.

“What do you want right now?” He growls, waiting for a response from you.

“I… I want your cock. Please, please. Hahhhh…” He gives more leeway, slowly plunging his head in and out of you at a sluggishly agonizing pace. 

“How bad?” The man simpers. He increases the pace to a snail’s now. Even then, the feeling is so divine. You scratch against the tree before you, tightening your core and clamping around his dick.

“So bad. So fucking bad. Oh, my go-mmmnnn~.” Your knees shake violently in anticipation of more as they threaten to buckle under you. The man senses this, lifts you, and wastes no time readjusting the both of you to keep you positioned for him. 

“So compliant. What a slut. Keep begging for me, and you’ll get what you want.” He lets more of his length slowly enter in and out of you. You desperately want more of him, realizing the more you beg, the more he will give you. Now, as you are eager to feel more of him. 

You feel the pleasure build up, slowly losing composure and ability to stay quiet. “Please fuck me. Please… fuck my pussy.” You let go of any embarrassment you once felt as pure desperation and lust coats your voice. 

You cry out again. “God, I need you so bad. I need you right n-AH! Fuck!” You scream in pleasure as the man releases his hand from his length and sinks his entire cock inside you. You didn’t realize how much more of him you needed to prepare for, but it was way more than expected. The screams in your mouth are so out of control that they feel like butter slipping through your throat. Your weight buckles completely under you as you mewl and moan. This time he lifts you, steadying yourself against the tree. Your hands claw on the bark, barely keeping your posture, yet the strength of his hands that grip your body keeps you stable enough. 

The man is relentless, immediately jackhammering into your already sore cunt. Your entire body violently shakes at the pressure being put in and out of your core, but his firm grip keeps your hips still. You twitch and convulse at each movement, gripping anything before you for any desperate release to your pleasure. You can only claw at the tree bark you are pressed against and can’t help but take every single inch of cock that he plunges into you.

“I can’t, hahh- fuck!- I can’t keep quiet.” You moan out. You feel embarrassed, but the embarrassment of being caught by stranglers from the festival worried you the most. Although you two are basically in the trees, the thought is current. 

“Just breathe. Nobody else needs to hear your sexy voice but me.” He leans in huffed whispers, licking a long stripe up your neck to nip your ear. You try as hard as possible to stay quiet, only panting heavily with soft cries of pleasure.

“Hahh, thaat’s it.” He groans in satisfaction. “You are so good for me. Tch, dirty girl.” He growls in your ear. You can only respond in soft whimpers at this point in fear of moaning loudly if you speak. His hand vices around your body and snatches onto your neck, gripping your chin to tilt it towards him. You look at this man’s face, filled with hunger and pure lust, and can’t help but be more at his will.

“Open your mouth.” He demands. You waste no time opening your mouth, wondering what he plans to do to you next. 

You hear the man clear his throat, then feel a warm glob of liquid dribble into your mouth. Your eyes widened, welcoming his warm spit down your throat as he pounded harder into your pussy. The sensation overwhelms your throat, with saliva dripping from your mouth and onto the ground. Your heart beats louder with the messy exchange of saliva that starts building up your release. 

“There you go again.” The man is quick to notice this too. Almost off of a hutch, it’s like he knows how much faster the beat of your heart increases as he also increases his thrusting speed. Your slick cunt, as well as your spit, has lubricated both of you. All you can hear is the deafening sound of his balls clapping against your pussy as the pressure increases. It rings in your ears, making the build-up to your orgasm even more dizzying. 

You become unintelligible, wanting to take a break from how good this stranger makes you feel to process every stream of passion you have shared to enjoy this thoroughly. In reality, you both know how badly you want to cum, and how close it is coming up.

You grab onto the tree relentlessly to brace yourself for your orgasm as your other hand claws onto his wrist with need. He can tell by the pulse of your cunt that you are close. He slips his hand under your arm and up to your neck, putting pressure on your airways as you teeter over the edge. 

“You’re mine now. I want to feel you shudder from me. Fuck.” His face buries into your shoulder, and slowly his coils of pleasure unravel from how tight your pussy is starting to twist around him. He couldn’t take it anymore. Neither can you. 

“Fuck!” You scream. Releasing your last hesitations, you fully let yourself loose, moaning into an earth-shattering orgasm. The man takes his dick out only to plunge it in repeatedly to help you ride out of pleasure until he can’t hold back any longer. 

You feel warm creamy liquid shoot into you as you ride out your high. The tall man has kept a firm grip on you this entire time, which is just now diminishing that he has finished his peak. Over and over, he stammers his hips into you, grunting from how hard your pussy clamps around him.

“Hah, hahh... Fuck.” It isn’t until he stops his hips that he gently places your figure back on the ground. His dick escapes you as the warm liquid slowly seeps down your thighs. Your legs shake as your total weight feels too intense on your feet. You feel so much pleasure post-orgasm that you barely care about this. Instead, you rest on the tree bark and catch your breath as the man does the same. 

There is a pause in the air while you both try to collect yourselves from, frankly, a good fuck. You let go of your entanglement of each other and recover until you two end up looking at each other with a relaxing air. He ends up breaking the silence in the end.

“Hey there, I’m Toji.” 

[aricarianis]

Mask and Mirror | AO3 Simon "Ghost" Riley / Female Character Rape/Non-con, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Predator/Prey, Stalking, Violence, Aggression, Choking.

THIS IS A HORROR STORY. Chapter 1: The Stranger In The Shadows Estimated reading time: 19 minutes.

There are only two rules on Halloween: have fun, and watch out for the freaks.

When an unassuming girl tries to lose the masked stranger stalking her on Halloween night, a spine-chilling game of cat and mouse begins. Each encounter grows more dangerous and intimate, blurring the lines between predator and prey. As tension and terror build, it’s only a matter of time before one of them is forced to surrender—if they make it out at all.

The last autumn breeze brushed past a face that dared to be uncovered on All Hallow’s Eve.

It was cold enough to signal the onset of the darkest season, but not quite enough to force girls into warm clothing. Halloween was the one night where inhibitions faded and impulses ruled. For her, it was also the last chance to have some fun—pull a trick, take home a treat.

Confined in the soft cage of her mermaid costume, she made her best effort to walk quickly, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. Partygoers brushed past in waves of theatrical ensembles. In the flashing lights and dark street corners, it was too easy to lose sight of someone. Which pair of wings or which set of bunny ears belongs to whom is anyone’s guess.

She, on the other hand, was hard to lose sight of. Being a mermaid for Halloween was hardly a groundbreaking idea, but the looks of disgust directed at her spoke for themselves. Most mermaids weren’t pallid, perpetually damp and slimy. Their costumes weren’t covered in a mucuous dark liquid that spread to their skin like a filthy sea rash. Their hair wasn’t tangled like seaweed, with nails as sharp as broken shells.

If philosophers who believe humans are inherently bad are correct, and goodness is just a layer people wear each day, then stripping that layer away should keep others at bay. No one should want to come close to something that looks deliberately sickly and unnerving.

No one but the man that kept trailing her, ignoring the warning signs.

Some might argue that being chased by a freak is part of the Halloween experience. After all, it’s the night when masks allow people to wear their ugliness openly, when the veil between real and imaginary gets a little too thin. Good people feel free to be a little bad, and bad people feel free to make the night of horrors live up to its name.

There’s a strange type of comfort about being at a Halloween parade, with celebrations and bonfires that have existed long before our time. The fake blood, the rusty houses, the dirty streets; air heavy with possibility. Any shoulder bumped against could open a door to the unknown. The music—too loud to let screams through. The people—too drunk to perceive danger before it’s too late. Anyone running past could be having fun or could be in genuine danger. Nothing seems safe, and that liminal space of perception, that limbo between bliss and horror that permeates every corner of Halloween night, is what keeps us coming back to celebrate death—as a reminder we’re alive.

Experiencing that limbo is Halloween’s ultimate allure. But sometimes the fantasy breaks, the veil lifts, and you realize that the danger isn’t imaginary.

The burn she felt in her legs as she tried to lose him in the crowd was real enough.

He stayed close despite the ever growing mob.

She grabbed her phone to call her friends once again. It seemed futile with all the noise, yet she tried. After a few minutes, a familiar voice cut through the buzz and made its way to her.

“Mae!” Her friend’s wings bounced as she waved enthusiastically.

Mae pushed through the crowd to get to her newfound safe haven.

“I told you not to call me that in public.”

“It’s short for mermaid—”

“No, it isn’t.”

“And… it’s just for tonight. It’s not safe to give our real names to strangers, you know that. Tonight, you’re Mae and I’m… Fae.”

Mae gave a light chuckle and nodded in agreement.

“Fake names aren’t much of a safety guarantee, I tell you that,” she said while looking around, but there was no sign of the man. She leaned in, close enough for her words to be just between them.

“I saw him.”

Fae turned to look at Mae, the gleam in her eyes matching the glitter on her lids. “Are you sure? There are a lot of masked people here.”

“I’d recognize that skull mask anywhere.”

A loud smash rang out, and the sharp echo of broken glass traveled the air alongside slurred insults—a brewing brawl. Suddenly, bodies pushed against one another like schooling fish. Mae grabbed onto Fae’s wrist, and as Fae’s eyes trailed up, Mae knew whose hand lay on her stomach. She felt the warmth of a body pressing against her, solid and unyielding; his form swallowing hers completely.

For a second, time stopped. She lifted her head, glancing over her shoulder to meet his eyes—dark as the night sky behind him. Her jaw clenched, anger bubbling up at her own vulnerability. She could’ve sworn she saw a movement, a slight raise of his cheeks behind the mask. Time resumed. A change of position, an unknown push, Fae’s other arm finding hers. Gone.

A man his size shouldn’t be able to vanish so easily.

“We need to get the others! Where’s your phone?  Mine's in Jennifer’s purse.” Fae raised her voice as the agitated horde pushed them to the sidewalk.

“Jennifer doesn’t get a fake name?” The confusion in Mae’s tone turned to heaviness as she searched her purse.

“My creativity only goes so far,” Fae replied. “Come on, give it to me.”

“It’s not here.”

“What do you mean? You just had it.”

“Yeah, I did, but I-I can’t find it. I swear, it was right here, it must’ve…” Mae trailed off, scanning the ground, hoping her phone would somehow be there, though deep down, she already knew it wouldn’t.

Their eyes met. The knowing exchange spoke before they could.

“The girls were at the bar at the end of the street when I left to look for you,” Fae said first, nodding toward the direction. “We can start there.”

“We have to get my phone back.”

“It could be just some creep trying to get your attention—”

“Now he has it.” Mae’s anger simmered back up.

“Or... it could be someone trying to hurt you,” Fae said softly, as if assessing her friend’s next step. “You've never had to deal with one like him before.”

“Well… I’ve always loved first times.”

Mae grabbed Fae’s wrist and led the way, her grip tightening as they squeezed through the last of the crowd toward the bar. The quick steps confined in her costume made her legs burn again—a sensation she now knew all too well, and only because of him.

Costumed folks packed the bar, as the air hung thick with booze and bad decisions. In their corner, Mae stared blankly at the far wall, hardly listening as Fae recounted the story. Something in Fae’s tone—how she spun it like a fairytale rather than the gruesome folk legend it truly was—kept Mae’s anger simmering beneath the surface.

“AGAIN?” Tammie’s disbelief pulled Mae back into the moment. Jennifer signaled for her to keep it down, holding the phone to her ear. Tammie leaned in, repeating more quietly, “Again? How many times now, three?”

“Five,” Mae snapped, her voice tight with frustration. “Son of a bitch has followed me five times in three weeks.”

“Not used to a little attention, huh?” Jennifer smirked, clearly savoring the drama. “I told you to do something about it on the third time.”

Mae rolled her eyes. “I didn’t think it’d go this far, Jen. The guy just seemed like a random creep, not a—”

“Stalker?” Tammie finished, crossing her arms. Her usual easygoing demeanor shifted to one of concern.

Silence settled around them, despite the rowdy bar.

“Nothing?” Tammie asked Jennifer, signaling toward the phone.

Jennifer shook her head, the phone still glued to her ear.

“It’s not too late to let it go, babe,” Fae’s soft tone came back as she caressed Mae’s arm. “You’re the last person to go into things without a plan.”

Mae clenched her jaw. “You know damn well he can’t keep that phone—“

“Hello?” Jennifer blurted, eyes wide. “Can you hear me?”

The girls all turned to her, holding their breaths expectantly. Jennifer furrowed her brows as she turned to look at Mae, sharing a glance of mutual confusion before passing the phone to her.

“Hello?” Mae’s voice grew tense, eyes narrowing. “Yes, yes I understand—”

The girls scanned Mae’s face for some hint of explanation, but got nothing. They couldn’t find reassurance in each others’ worried expressions either.

“Why are you…” Her expression shifted from disbelief to irritation. “I understand… Simon.”

Mae handed the phone back, feeling discomfort permeate her body, and watching the girls’ faces contort with anger as they reacted to what she’d just heard.

The Haunted House. Fifteen minutes. Alone.

Despite their protests, the girls reluctantly agreed to let Mae go. It was a public space, after all, and he’d never tried anything dangerous while in a crowd. Maybe it’d be a simple exchange, a creepy way to ask for her number. But what were the odds?

Something weird happens once, it’s an accident. Twice, a coincidence. Three times, a pattern. By the fifth time, it’s hard not to think of it as a threat.

Simon didn’t mind to be seen as a threat; he’d learned early that his quiet intensity threw people off. The way he scanned the most unassuming places, how his every step was measured, balanced; movements so controlled they felt artistic—a dancer gliding across a shadowed ballroom.

Big guys like him were supposed to soften the edges, to show their faces, smile, make themselves smaller. But that wasn’t his training. That wasn’t who he was. Each time he chose not to wear the layers people expected, it was as if they could smell the blood on him, no matter how long it had been washed off. He’d made a living off of realizing his threats, and he was one of the best.

Of course, his nature became a hindrance when he craved human contact, which is why dating was off the table. He fulfilled his desires on other bodies, but never looked for love in them. Love is the most volatile element in any situation, and to be as good as him, you have to give up anything uncertain. In his line of work, predictability is the key between life and death.

He spent most of his free time roaming around the towns his team was stationed at, not only scanning places but people. How they moved, how they talked. The joyful screams of kids when their fathers picked them up. The wrinkles deepening on old ladies’ faces as their husbands repeated the same old stories. How deep a lass bit into the caramel apple she shared with her friend. The way her lips moved and gleamed. How the wind carried the earthy aroma of the forest, the sweet scent of the treat, and her. How she strangely caught his gaze and stared back, longer than anyone would, waving slowly as her sharp nails cut through the air.

There was something off about her, something under the surface. Like touching a wall warmed by the day's sun, even though night has fallen. Or standing outside a seemingly calm room, only to hear faint screaming as a prisoner denies information. Things you’d only catch if you’re watching closely. Attention you only pay to what you’re familiar with.

He trailed her for the first time after she went back for a second caramel apple. The second time was at the local mini-market, her cart stocked with an expensive brand of wine. The third time, he saw her loading luggage into the boot of her car at two in the morning. The fourth was at a restaurant, where she laughed with a group of men, and he sent a bottle of that same wine to her table. The fifth time, he stepped in between her and a street brawl, adrenaline rushing through his veins like a long-lost pulse. His grip on her wasn’t protective; it was a taste of control.

He stared at her phone, patiently counting down the fifteen minutes. Strange how her entire world was just a numerical combination away. Each time the screen lit up with the names of other men, something in him twisted tight. None of them knew her like he did. Did they see how the light made her caramel-stained lips glisten? Taste the remnants of expensive wine lingering on her tongue? Feel the sting of her sharp nails as they left marks that only he could reciprocate?

On that first night, he stared into the void, and the void didn’t flinch—it stared harder and waved back. Unbroken. Defiant. He can’t afford to crave affection, so he made it his mission to watch her surrender. The quiet command in her eyes fueled the mad man within, and he’d treat her like any opponent: study her, approach her, break her.

The most quiet houses often turn out to be the scariest. They look mundane, traditional—the kind of place where a family would lead a regular life. Yet, that façade can be enough to hide the horror inside. Domestic privacy becomes the foundation for a certain brand evil, one that allows fear to fester like mold. Modest walls turn into breeding grounds for monstrosity. Haunted houses, then, are symbols of honesty, of all the decay and abandonment humans are capable of creating.

There’s not a more honest month than October. As Mae entered the local honesty spot, cobwebs danced to the sounds of wood groaning against wind. Plastic spiders and makeshift ghosts welcomed passersby as the flickering jack-o’-lanterns showed them the way. The man inside might as well be another haunted attraction.

The draped black cloth on the walls served as a backdrop for the fake fog swirling at ankle height, forcing Mae to watch her every step. She carefully navigated each room, searching for the skull mask she now knew too well, and the man behind it. The loud whirrs of animatronic witches and the sudden clatter of popping skeletons set her nerves on edge, as if warning her about the last room in the upstairs hallway.

The sign on the door made it clear—that place wasn’t part of the attraction. It was a makeshift storage room for personal belongings, a reminder that the house wasn’t haunted for eleven months of the year. As she peeked inside, her gaze swept across the room until she made out his form. He was staring at a portrait cramped on top of a dresser, next to other family items. A man, a woman, two happy girls and a dog. Normal, certain—an unusual type of predictability for him. He seemed at ease, peaceful. For a moment, his imposing frame and odd behavior seemed almost misunderstood. A view shaped by a pessimism she knew too well.

That feeling lasted until he looked over his shoulder and met her eyes. The way the light seemed to retreat from his gaze as it bore into her soul meant, this time, she was right to assume the worst.

“Give it back.” She stood on the doorway, palm open in demand.

He remained in place as if he were part of the furniture.

“Look,” her sharp gaze signaling an anger that never went away “I don’t know who you are or what you want. If you’re just some weirdo freak who doesn’t know how to ask a girl out, fine.”

She gave him a split second to react, to show that she had read him right. He was stone.

“But if you’re here because you think you can intimidate me—”

His arm shot out, slamming the door behind her. Right hand digging into her jaw; the left tangled in her hair. Her skull met the door with a sharp crack, and the room spun in the echo of her interrupted words. Yet the weight of his body wasn’t enough to crush her defiance.

“—means you haven’t learned anything from all the stalking.” Her voice barely cut through the ringing in her ears. Pain seared through her head, but she clenched her jaw, forcing herself to hold his gaze.

His hot breath cut through the cold air in shallow bursts—not from exertion, but from something raw and primal: rage fused with obsession and desire. He tightened the grip on her hair as his right hand slid to her throat, squeezing just enough to make it clear she was not in charge. Her eyes widened, a short gasp escaping her lips, and he took her parted mouth as an invitation to close in, their lips brushing against the rough texture of the mask.

“I learned that this,” he spoke into her mouth, his grip tightening around her throat, “is what you needed. You needed someone to control your disobedience.”

Mae furrowed her eyebrows in complete confusion. The weight of Simon’s words twisted something in her stomach, making each exhale heavier than the inhale that preceded it. Nausea creeped in and she felt a wave of tingles on her nose—a sign that his twisted reasoning was taking root.

As the first tears welled in her eyes, he let out an amused chuckle and released her throat. The sudden rush of air into her lungs stung, and she gasped sharply, a sound that turned into an unsteady wail as she noticed his gaze dropping lower. A chill surged through her before she even registered his free, rock hard member pressing against her stomach. It was as if the room itself contracted around her, suffocating with its silence. The veil had lifted—this horror was real.

Her body jerked reflexively, muscles going taut as a wire. Simon’s free hand moved down her skirt, fingers searching for her entrance with a methodical, invasive precision that made her skin crawl. Jackpot. He stroked over her folds, rubbing rough circles on her clit to get her body to react as it would if she were a willing player in this scenario. Her mind raced in an attempt to pinpoint what she could have done to deserve this. But she knew better. This wasn’t her fault, even if the terror whispered otherwise. This was what happened when you brushed too close to people like Simon—quiet beasts that reeked of blood.

“S-Stop, please, Simon, I—“

“Are so wet f’me,” a smug tone on his voice. “Gonna say you don’t want this, luv? Cunt dripping all over my hand and you’re gonna lie?”

Even overwhelmed, Mae’s mind searched for options. She was the last person to go into things without a plan. The first step was to slow down her breath—hard to do when Simon was already using her wetness to bully his thick digits into her; each stroke drawing a hum of approval from him. He rested his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent as if to answer one of the many questions he had about her. His hot breath, the weight of his body, his rough movements—all filled her senses. Yet she had to find ways to ground herself in the bleak present, to craft the perfect opportunity for an escape.

Mae shifted slightly, feeling the solid surface of the door pressing into her back. The faint steps of the last visitors leaving the house echoed from somewhere distant, signaling that they were alone. She closed her eyes briefly, recalling the layout of the house from her earlier tour. If she timed it right, there was still a chance.

Drawing a breath, she softened her expression, letting her hands move to Simon’s hips. His eyes lit up with a twisted satisfaction as she began to trace her fingers around his cock. “See?” he murmured, his voice low and triumphant. “Just needed some obedience fucked into you.”

But the look in her eyes was anything but submissive. In a sudden, decisive move, Mae clamped her teeth down on the exposed skin of his neck while her nails—sharp as broken shells—raked into his balls. Simon's eyes widened in shock, his grip faltering just enough for her to push her full weight against him. She managed to break the distance between them, the momentum sending him stumbling backward.

The reprieve was brief. He swung back with a brutal slap that cracked like thunder against her face, the force disorienting her and leaving a burning trail of pain that echoed through her skull. She staggered, vision blurring and darkness creeping at the edges, but she didn't let the agony stop her. Mae bolted for the hallway, every muscle straining as she tore through the space and spotted the back door.

Simon’s roar followed, along with the heavy thud of his boots closing in as he wiped the blood dripping from the bite. But she was already out, sprinting toward the woods, the cool night air biting at her skin while an all too familiar burn crept back up her legs.

Trees blurred past in quick flashes, yet Simon’s footsteps were nearly soundless. His breath was steady, pulse in perfect control. The forest was his ballroom, and he moved like a seasoned dancer, leaving no trail behind him despite the thrill of the hunt. Twigs snapped nearby, a deep rustle to his left, a faint crunch to his right. Probably a deer, maybe a bear. To an untrained ear, the woods were brown noise; to him, an orchestra conducting his every step.

The darkness had no effect on him; his trained instincts led the way with ease. He paused, sensing her movements through the undergrowth—chaotic, erratic. Naive girls who think they can escape if they draw a little blood. He knew exactly where she was headed; her scent lingered in his system. He tilted his head to the left, eyes tracking to the right. A footfall right ahead. Jackpot.

Her messy disposition blended seamlessly with the chaos of the woodland. Breathless, disheveled, defeated—a creature in unfamiliar territory. Fish out of water.

She stood a few feet away, slightly hunched in surrender, a stark contrast to her usual proud self. Too easy. A faint prick of unease nudged at the back of Simon’s mind; after all, she had drawn blood the last time he got too close. Still, he pushed forward. He couldn’t have misjudged a simple chase. He was too skilled, too well-trained. One of the best.

He moved patiently over the foliage, cautious as if not to startle a wild animal. She remained still, vulnerable, accepting whatever fate Simon had prepared for her. One step, not too far. Another, closing in. Third step. Loud woosh. Acute pain. A bear trap. Suddenly, a fierce electric sting shot through his limbs, his own body turning against him. A taser. Muscles locked, forcing him into uncontrollable spasms. His back scraped against the rough ground as disorientation set in, making him oblivious to the shadows slipping into his blind spot.

Before he could react, his arms were forced back, wrists bound tightly together. The harsh scratch against his skin warned him of how little time he had before he was fully restrained. He struggled against the bear trap clamping his leg—a painful inconvenience—while the bindings around his wrists constricted further, vertical loops added to prevent any twisting escape. Smart.

Without wasting a moment, they secured his wrists to his waist and loosely bound his elbows, preventing any upward movement even if he managed to wriggle. With his limited upper body strength, finding leverage seemed impossible. The bear trap made it easier for them to restrain his legs, rope wrapping tightly around his lower thighs and knees. To finish the job, they pushed him against a tree, encircling his torso with the final length of rope, fully immobilizing him. As they stood at his feet, admiring their handiwork, a sinking realization settled in—he recognized the three familiar faces. Loyal friends she has.

“Should we get it out?” Jennifer asked, panting lightly as she examined the extent of his leg injury, her expression focused.

“I’m not done with him yet,” Mae retorted, monotone as she bore into his eyes.

“What are you gonna do, babe?” Fae interjected, concern etched across her face, but it wasn’t enough to sway Mae’s resolve.

“Nothing he hasn’t done first.”

Simon watched as the women faded into the forest, leaving him at Mae’s mercy. His uneven breath and racing pulse revealed his disbelief, body heating with the anger of being caught in this situation.

“Good show, lass. Am I bear snack now?” Simon scoffed, his need to regain the upper hand surfacing, even if it was futile.

“Was that your plan for me?”

“Yeah… and I was the bear.”

Mae nudged the trap with her foot, drawing a low grunt from Simon. “You were.”

“You’re a proper nutter, you know that?” His breaths grew shallow and rapid, betraying his frustration.

Mae bent at the waist, lowering herself until her face was just inches away from his. Her gaze steady and unyielding. The void staring back. "Birds of a feather, aren’t we?"

With a swift motion, she tore his mask off and stuffed it into his mouth. Shallow and deep scars littered his face, moonlight glinting over each mark. His nose was crooked, broken one too many times. His eyes—dark, bottomless—widened as he watched her slowly remove her costume, piece by piece. Confusion and dread seeped into him as he struggled to anticipate her next move, to guess what trick she’d pull.

The light traced her form, hugging the curves and lines of her body. Soft yet firm, peaks and valleys of pure poetry that relaxed him at the sight—first time in too long.

She leaned down, straddling his lap, her hands slipping between them as they stared into each other’s eyes. Simon furrowed his brows as he felt a pull on his hips. He dropped his gaze to see his pants halfway down his thighs, his member firmly in her hand. She began to stroke it, slowly, feeling the pull of his skin under her touch. “Is this what you wanted?”

Simon grunted, unintelligible, as the mask suffocated his words, his forehead creased in confusion. His body reacted as if it had disconnected from his mind, unaware that this was not how it was supposed to happen.

“I thought you wanted to control me,” Mae sneered as she picked up speed. “You can’t even control yourself.”

Simon took a deep breath as he felt his cock swell under the friction. He struggled to regain composure, to remind himself who was in charge. This was a game—a game he could easily win if he could keep his impulses in check. Keeping his cool under life-threatening situations was part of his job; this should be no different. He was too skilled, too well-trained. One of the bes—

“Open your eyes,” Mae commanded, and Simon obliged, not even realizing when he had closed them. With practiced ease, she pooled saliva at the back of her throat, letting it gather at the tip of her tongue before she opened her mouth—thick strand glistening in the light before landing on the tip of his cock.

Simon could only respond with deep, muffled groans, his face contorted in rage. This was not how it was supposed to go. Veins bulged along his member, which at this point was fully engaged. Precum leaked as he shook his head in frustration, ashamed at how his body betrayed him, welcoming the assault even as his mind rebelled.

Mae raised herself slightly, adjusting his angry red tip right at her entrance, still wet from the earlier invasion. With a slow, methodical movement, she crouched down, easing his thickness into her cunt—tight and fluttering at the incursion. It was massive, almost impossible, the type of weapon used to bring more harm than peace. She shuddered at the thought of how things might have played out were she still under Simon’s reign, yet she remained impassive. “Control yourself.”

Simon’s brows furrowed in plea as he struggled against the ropes—desperate, confused, guilty. He was overwhelmed at the detachment, at how all the physical sensations were there but his mind couldn’t enjoy it. He just wanted out.

Mae picked up the pace as she squatted on his lap, walls spasming at the forced entrance. She could feel him in her bones, splitting her open, invading even when he was out of control. It wasn’t as comfortable as it could be, but it was worth it for his look of terror alone.

He felt dizzy as she fucked him so hard his back scorched against the tree. His pulse pounded in his ears, her warmth and slick mirroring the heat pooling in places he wished it wouldn’t. Simon squirmed, his eyes pleading with Mae to stop as he teetered on the edge of orgasm.

“Control your fucking self!” Mae shouted, her voice brimming with rage. “This is your fault. This is what you made me do!”

Her hands clamped around his throat, surgical, cutting off just enough airflow to push him toward unconsciousness. To Simon, her intentions seemed far more sinister. He let out a hoarse scream, overwhelmed by a surge of anxiety, shame, and a fear he hadn’t felt in years. Her hips plunged, the familiar burn creeping up on her legs as her cunt choked him—violent thrusts sprinting towards the end, demanding. Shockwave. He twitched and grunted as the climax spread across his body, the impact reverberating through them both. His cum leaked from her pussy as the realization dawned—he had severely underestimated his opponent.

As Mae’s movements slowed, her grip around his throat tightened. She watched as his eyes grew heavy, each blink longer than the last, while a disorienting fog clouded his mind.

“Do you know why people wear masks on Halloween?” Mae asked, her voice as calm as rocks in a seastorm.

Simon squinted in confusion, his body going slack beneath her hold. A tremor rippled through his limbs, marking the last moments of resistance before surrender.

“They believed the line between the world of the living and the dead blurred, and that spirits could walk the earth. They started wearing masks because they thought they could protect themselves from evil by blending in,” she continued, her tone hypnotic. “But, you see, we don’t know what evil looks like.”

His eyes fluttered, unfocused, a final shudder running through him as he hovered at the edge of darkness. The moment hung suspended, enough for Mae’s voice to cut through one last time before he slipped entirely into the void.

“Would you be scared of the boogeyman if he looked like me?”

[bl00dst41ned]

*.·:·.✦ glimpse of us *.·:·.✦

pairing: trent alexander-arnold x female oc (name: sasha)

summary: in which trent has not turned the page on their history

author's note: inspired by glimpse of us by joji (have been obsessed by it lately)

contains: i guess it's angst

word count: 972

“Why then, if she's so perfect, do I still wish that it was you?”

The guests gradually filled the birthday venue as Trent stood at a corner of the room with his teammates.

“Even on your birthday, you cannot look good” Virgil joked to Joe as the rest of the group laughed.

Joe’s girlfriend had invited Joe’s entourage for his birthday and obviously, everyone showed up to celebrate with him. Trent saw the night as an opportunity to bring his girlfriend Taylor to introduce her to his friends.

“Trent, d’you want something to drink ?” Taylor brought Trent aside, speaking with a smile.

“Just juice for now, please” He send her a smile back, watching her as she headed to get what he asked for.

Taylor was one of the most caring girl he encountered. She always made sure he was okay and did not need anything. Some would say she’s even the perfect girlfriend. 

“Here” A higher pitched voice took Trent out of his thoughts. He grabbed the glass Taylor was handing him, thanking her with a forehead kiss and a low “thank you”. 

Even with all of that, Trent knew deep down who he belonged to. Everything she did for him he wished it was Sasha. Every day he hoped she would come to him.

“Said I'm fine and said I moved on”

He turned back to the group and went back to talking to them. Joe, who stood right next to Trent, leaned down to his ear.

“You know she’s coming right ?”

Joe didn’t even need to say any names, Trent knew who he was talking about. Sasha and him had broken up months back but he had moved on with Taylor, who was amazing with him.

“I know, I don’t care” Trent shrugged, his face as neutral as possible.

Trent’s fake uninterested expression did not fool Joe. Or anybody else to who he told so. Not even himself. Not a day went without thinking about Sasha. As much as he tried to think otherwise, he was still deeply in love with her and craved to be in her presence and flood her with all that love. But he would never admit it and rather pretend to others.

As he engaged back into his teammates’ conversation, his head turned as soon as he heard that one voice.

He admired how she walked with assurance, her natural hip sway enchanting him. She looked better than ever.

She smiled and ran carefully to Joe’s girlfriend, giving her the warmest hug. Trent observed the entire scene, not missing any of her moves. 

After greeting her best friend, Sasha headed to the group of boys. Trent took it as an opportunity to get a front view of her body, which had changed from the last time he saw her. She came in the circle they had formed, hugging each one of them. 

“I don’t think I know you” She said as she stopped in front of Taylor “I’m Sasha, nice to meet you. I’m Joe’s girlfriend’s friend”

“Hey, I’m Taylor, I’m Trent’s girlfriend” Taylor smiled back.

Sasha also had caught that Taylor was oblivious to who she was to Trent and decided to play it off. She shook her hand rapidly, continuing her little round of greetings. She mumbled a quick “Hello” to Trent, coldness laced in her voice. Her stern tone felt like a hit to Trent’s face. There was no more affection or love for him.

“I'm only here passing time in her arms hopin' I'll find a glimpse of us”

The party was in full swing, people dancing everywhere and having a good time. Trent sat at his table, Taylor in his lap. 

Through the whole time, she had not left his side, intimidated by all of the people she did not know, though they were extremely nice with her. Trent was thankful nobody brought up Sasha around Taylor.

“Wanna dance ?” Trent asked as her favorite song played.

She energetically nodded, grabbing his arm and bringing him to the dancefloor. His arms automatically wrapped around her waist as they started swaying to the sound. His eyes met hers as his mind drowned in the brown color of her iris.

Within a blink it looked like he was now alone in the room with his girl, dancing slowly to the music. Trent admired these dark brown eyes he loved since the first day. His eyes wandered around her face, taking in all the features he loved. Her little nose he would randomly peck, her full lips he loved to kiss and taste, her smile he loved to see after giving her all his affection. He observed every bit of that perfect face he loved more than anything.

“Trent, watch your feet” Sasha giggled as she avoided Trent’s messy steps.

“Sorry, I’m not good at this” He apologized, giving her a peck on the cheek.

She met his stare, her innocent look making Trent weak, as always. She grabbed his face in her hands bringing him into a deep kiss. Their tongues soon joined the kiss, moving in sync as their heads leaned to the side to be even closer.

They soon pulled away and Trent opened his eyes, facing Taylor’s happy expression.

Trent zoned out thinking back on what just happened. It was a dream but it felt so true. Her face, her touch, her voice. It was just like it used to be. He spotted her in the room, dancing with her friends, having the most fun. She seemed so carefree like nothing was on her mind while he spent the night tormented by his thoughts and feelings. Their breakup was his greatest mistake and he didn’t know how to fix it. Or if he could even do so. For now, he just wished she would feel the same as him.

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[blueesnow]

They didn't give out that much details about why Syo admired Ryuya, huh...

Back in game, while Syo did admired Ryuya bcus of ケン王, in truth he actually just admired his character at first. Young Syo was actually quite pessimistic i mean who wouldnt when your doctor told you that you can't live that long, he believe that just because ケン王 was this admirable and brave guy, it's not like the actor who played him share the same characteristic as well. He thought that it was nothing more than just a fiction, welp until he actually met Ryuya himself.

It was like around when he was a middle schooler..? I remember he got into a fight with delinquents and the one who saved him at that time was Ryuya. It was definitely a shock sight for him to saw the real ケン王 on a flesh in action. He realized that he's not just an actor, but he's the real ケン王 himself. It was at that time when he finally properly admired Hyuga Ryuya and wanting to be an idol just like him.

I feel like what makes this encounter much more sweet is the fact that Ryuya also remembered Syo as the little brat he used to save before. They're also much more closer in the game too, like damn they had a spar on the first homeroom of all things?? And you also got Ryuya giving Syo love advice (damn this one's gold and Syo's reaction at this is the best lol), and he also literally made a celebration with all of the S-Class members after Syo's post-surgery.

Like of course Syo would sometime admired him from a distance (and Ryuya realized this too), but that didn't stop them from having conversation together. I just hope they delve them more rather than just a vague "Syo admired Hyuga-sensei" www