#he should be nowhere near wade ever

[mimimigan]

If Deadpool 4 isn't Deadpool and Spider-Man I DON'T want it!!!

[tcwmatchmakingau]

The Blacklist

Summary: The coldest commander in the GAR meets a different kind of match when he makes an unscheduled visit to Daria’s office.

Commander Neyo vs. ofc: Daria Trace, featuring @littlemissmanga ofc: Yen (hope I got her lines just right🥰)

Rating: T

Word count: 1080

“I think I’d live here, if I wouldn’t drink enough caf to power an ion cannon,” Daria mused, as the barista passed cups of iced caf to her and Yen. She thanked the young woman and dropped credits in the tip jar before the pair headed to their favorite bench to people watch.

“You already do that. Besides when are you ever home?” Yen asked with a raised brow.

Daria was saved from answering when her comm beeped.

“Trace,” she answered smoothly.

“Daria,” Blizzard said nervously once the matchmaker answered her comm.

“Hi, Blizzard…is everything alright?” Daria asked, looking up at Yen with a puzzled expression.

“No, not at all. Commander Neyo is here again.”

Daria released a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of her weary soul.

“Let me guess, the woman I set him up with doesn’t follow orders?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Yen’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. Neyo was their most difficult client. He’d been on more dates than anyone, and despite Daria’s preternatural ability to put the right people together, she remained unsuccessful with the commander.

“He didn’t say. He barged in, and now he’s camping out in your office. Please come back. He’s so scary,” Blizzard whispered despite the fact that his desk was nowhere near Daria’s office where the commander waited for her.

“I’m on my way, love. If he gets fussy with you, just call Fox or Thorn,” she instructed.

“I’m going to call them now, so they’re in the area at least,” he replied.

“Ok, I’ll be there soon.”

As she ended the call, she looked up at Yen. The exhaustion and irritation evident in the set of her lips, and the quirk of her eyebrow.

“How many dates has it been?” Yen asked, eyes narrowed as she thought of how many times Neyo had been to the office to monopolize Daria’s time.

“To quote our darling, Blizz, ‘too kriffing many’,” Daria said, shaking her head.

“You’re going to have to swallow your pride on this one.”

“He’s going to ruin my track record.”

“That’s better than his unscheduled visits surely,” Yen offered, as the two of them took off for the office.

“I guess it is, I just,” Daria began before she remembered how much of a migraine Neyo had been.

She hadn’t even understood his presence in her office when he’d come in to build his profile. Unlike his brothers, Neyo seemed to just want a soldier that wasn’t related to him. Unfortunately, that meant his only viable matches were strong-willed people, that didn’t care about his rank or his authority. He’d barged into her office to complain about the ‘battalion of brats’ she’d set him up with, and demanded she find someone respectful.

Daria had leveled him with a look before wading back into the ever evaporating pool of matches.

“You know what? He has this coming. It’s not me, or our system. It’s him,” she said, taking an aggressive sip of her drink.

“There’s my girl,” Yen said with a grin.

As the pair of women arrived at the office they were pleased to see Fox waiting just outside.

“Blizzard called and said you may need assistance escorting someone off of the premises,” Fox said, folding his arms. “Who is it?”

“Commander Neyo,” Daria said, eyes locked onto Fox’s visor.

Fox sighed in irritation. “I should have known. Alright, I’ll be here when you need me.”

“Thank you, Fox,” Daria replied, as they entered the lobby.

“Oh, thank the Maker,” Blizzard hissed. “He’s been out here twice to ask where you are.”

“I’ll handle it from here,” Daria assured him, waltzing back to her office.

“Commander Neyo, you’re in my office during my lunch break again.” She took her seat behind the desk, resting her arms on the surface and clasping her hands together.

“Look, Ms. Trace, despite your reputation, you’ve been unsuccessful in finding what I’m looking for,” Neyo said, sitting back in his chair, and narrowing his eyes at Daria.

“You’ve rejected the last 5 matches for,” Daria paused as she brought up his file. “Ah, here we go. Insubordination, too affectionate, a clear disregard for authority, disrespect, and today’s lucky lady: frivolous hobbies?”

“Some foolishness with stuffed animals,” Neyo supplied. “I need someone obedient, self-sufficient, respectful, with the approved list of hobbies I sent to you yesterday.”

Daria looked at him, eyes reading his face like a book.

“No.”

“Excuse me.”

“Is this your first time hearing the word? I said no,” Daria repeated. “You don’t want a partner; you want a subordinate you can sleep with. That’s not why we’re here.”

“You had better watch your tone, Trace,” Neyo said, voice dropping to a low pitch, meant to intimidate.

“The only thing I’ll be watching is you leaving my office. I’m exercising clause 15c of our terms and conditions.” Daria pulled up the documents on her datapad, and passed it to the commander, clearing her throat before reciting the clause in question. “Owing to the fact that matchmaking is not an exact science, and therefore cannot be guaranteed, our matchmakers, that’s me, reserve the right to terminate the services of any client, that’s you, should it become clear our matchmakers are unable to assist the client in acquiring a successful match.”

Neyo stared at the datapad a moment, before looking up to meet Daria’s eyes. The glint in his brown eyes was downright dangerous, but Daria had gone toe to toe with politicians, the rich, and the entitled of every species. There was nothing but ice in her veins when a man challenged her.

“I’ve done all I can do for you, and I do not believe a continued professional relationship is in our best interest. Now would you like to show yourself out, or would you prefer an escort from Commander Fox?”

Once it became clear that Daria was not some shiny, who would roll over for him, Neyo decided to snatch up what was left of his dignity and vacate the premises. As the disgruntled commander’s steps faded down the corridor, Daria released a shaky breath, and relaxed into her office chair.

Blizzard’s head popped around the corner. “Absolute. Kriffing. Legend. I’m telling all the boys.”

Daria looked up at him with a grin, and took a sip of her watered down caf. “Ugh, non-profit or not, he owes me an iced caf.”

Blizzard’s laugh could be heard all the way back to his desk.

[scarlet-traveler]

“Hey Kats, can you check and see if I have anymore clothes in the closet?”

“Sure.” Katsuki finished folding the neon green shirt he’d been working on (thank fuck, he felt like his eyes would catch fire if he looked at it any longer), and he added it to the stack with the other shirts he’d already finished before wading through the sea of boxes in Eijirou’s room.

They had been at this for most of the day, working to clear out their dorms before they had to leave at the end of the week. Katsuki and Eijirou had wrapped up the former’s room yesterday, and now they were working together to sort through Eijirou’s belongings to see what he would keep and what he would throw away or send off to a thrift store.

It was a strange feeling, packing up their rooms. Ever since the summer of their first year these rooms—this building—have been their second home. They’ve seen their class grow and develop into the heroes they were now, seen them through everything from final exams to a fucking war, and all the emotions and memories to come with it, good and bad.

But now they were finally (finally) officially graduated, and now came the daunting task of getting rid of all the crap that had accumulated in each of their rooms throughout the past two and a half years so that the new first years could move in come April.

It was easier said than done. It never seemed like you had a lot of stuff to pack until you actually start trying to pack it away, and then you realize the three boxes you thought it would take to hold everything was nowhere near enough.

In Katsuki’s case, the number of boxes had been double what he’d guessed. He had way more junk than he’d thought.

It was also tricky to make progress when his himbo of a boyfriend kept getting distracted by whatever trinket he found stashed away under his bed or shoved to the back of a desk drawer. An easy bribe of barbecue if they could be done by tomorrow had instantly cut the distractions however, and now things were going smoothly. Eijirou was going through his clothes to see what would go home with him and what he could finally admit had been too wrecked by his quirk (dammit, the neon shirt went in the keep pile) while Katsuki handled the folding.

The closet was mostly empty, he saw, when he finally made his way over to it. “There’s just a few things left,” he called over to Eijirou as he reached for the articles of clothing still hanging in the back of the closet. He wrapped his arms around it all, aiming to grab everything in one trip, when his fingers brushed against plastic, and something crinkled.

Furrowing his brow, Katsuki tugged the bundle of clothes along the rack towards the front, revealing one of those cheap garment bags you get from a clothing store tucked away in the very back. Weird. Eiijrou didn’t usually have clothes fancy enough to warrant using this kind of bag. He usually left his dress shirts to hang uncovered with his regular clothes.

Curiosity had Katsuki rolling up the garment bag, and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “You still have our suits?”

They were just as tattered and dirty as Katsuki remembered them being, the sleeves of Kirishima’s shirt and blazer completely torn to shreds from using his quirk, the sleeves of Katsuki’s own long burned to cinders from a few too-powerful explosions, the flowers decorating his vest a dingy gray from soot rather than the vibrant white they should have been.

Some of the only physical remnants of that disastrous trip to I-Island in their first year. Katsuki had barely spared his own suit a second thought after taking it off following the events of that night, more focused on wanting to sleep the entire next day away. He hadn’t wanted to keep the suit, didn’t feel a need to considering the thing was wrecked, so he was surprised to find it with Eijirou’s in the redhead’s closet after all this time.

Eijirou looked up, a brief flicker of confusion crossing his face before his eyes widened, his face flushing red as his hand went to scratch the back of his neck. “Oh, y-yeah. I honestly forgot those were still back there.”

“Why’d you even keep them in the first place?” Katsuki asked, grabbing the suits along with the rest of Eijirou’s clothes and making his way back over to the bed. “They’re wrecked to shit and they don’t even fit us anymore.”

The simple question made Eijirou’s face burn even brighter, and he turned away from Katsuki, continuing to shuffle through the folded shirts as a distraction. “Wanted them for keepsakes, I guess,” he finally answered. “Sure, the trip didn’t exactly go as planned-”

“No shit,” Katsuki snorted.

Eijirou huffed, “Yeah.” A smile broke across his lips, sharp teeth seeming to gleam in the afternoon light filtering through the balcony door. “But even so, I didn’t want to forget it.” His gaze cut over to Katsuki, smile pulling wider. “Plus, it kinda felt like our first date, y’know? We had a whole love suite and everything.”

“Still can’t believe out of all the fucking rooms at that hotel that was the one we got.” Where that statement originally was steeped in anger, now his voice held an exasperated fondness. The room had been annoying at first, but looking back, he couldn’t bring himself to hate it as much.

Eijirou was right, after all. Katsuki couldn’t quite place when he had started to fall for the ridiculously nostalgic redhead he now called a boyfriend, but looking back, he was sure I-Island had been part of the push. He wouldn’t have chosen Eijirou as his plus-one if not for his then-unknown feelings, after all.

“Sap,” Katsuki elected to say instead of the disgustingly sweet thoughts filtering through his head at the moment. Eijirou laughed, because of course he did, and Katsuki couldn’t hide his own smile as he started folding the tattered suits to the best of his ability. “These go in the keep stack, yeah?”

Eijirou beamed, brighter than the sun, his smile always a star to guide Katsuki through his life. He hoped it never went away. “Yeah.” He suddenly grabbed Katsuki in a hug, squeezing him as he pressed his smile into blond spikes. “Love you, Kats.”

Katsuki hummed, eyes falling closed as he sank into Eijirou’s warmth. “Love you too, Ei.”

~

Fic I wrote for @krbkevents I-Island Week Day 1: Suits! Also on AO3!

[ttylfedora]

Try Again:Chapter Four

As always, characters belong to @lumosinlove 🤍

In which Regulus and Logan have a post-night-out catch up

Taglist: @fleetingpieces @spookypotato

Read on AO3 here

“Any normal person wouldn’t go out for a run to get rid of a hangover, you know.” Logan mumbled into his pillow.

Sirius chuckled as he set down the cup of coffee he got for Logan on the bedside table. 

“No, but some of us are blessed with easy hangovers, or, you know, we know how to handle our drink,” Sirius mused. He opened up the curtains to sounds of protest from Logan, who pulled the duvet up over his head. Logan tried to ignore the spinning room, alcohol memories from the previous night bubbling their way up to the surface. Or was it the actual alcohol? Either way, Logan definitely regretted the obscene amount he spent last night. 

He pulled down the duvet, letting his eyes slowly adjust to the light, only to find an amused Sirius sat at the desk. 

“If you're going to throw up, I’m sure the hotel staff would appreciate it if you made it to the toilet.” 

“Do you ever shut up? Merde.” Logan mumbled as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, room spinning. “I think I’m still drunk.”

“I think that's an accurate assumption.” Sirius stood up, clapping his hands together. Logan winced at the sound, head reeling at the sudden noise. “Come on, team briefing in 30.” With that, he left Logan to get ready, or some semblance of it because Logan would be nowhere near 100% ready for a team briefing in his current state. 

The shower was ice cold when he stepped into it, but Logan couldn’t find it in himself to care. The shock of the cold water woke him up. If it wasn’t for the time constraint he could have easily spent the rest of the day there, maybe the rest of the week. His muscles ached from the torture he put his body through from the previous day. It was days like this that he had to remind himself he did, in fact, enjoy playing rugby. The wins made it worth it. The achey muscles, not so much. 

As he shut the water off, he noticed his phone pinging relentlessly. Switching it to silent, he dried himself off and went in search of clothes- clothes that were thrown haphazardly all over the hotel room. His untidiness had earned him endless torture from his teammates but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He towel dried his hair a little more before placing his hat on top of it. The brief ping of his heart made him look up- because of course it was the hat Finn got him all those years ago. 

Seeing Finn with the new blond rookie- Leo he thought his name was- sent Logan’s heart plummeting. He looked… happy. Happier than he was ever with Logan. From the brief conversation he had had with Leo, though, he could understand why. If he was to ever meet someone who was the literal definition of sunshine, it was him- and it hurt.

It hurt that it wasn’t him that Logan was stealing looks from, soft brushes of hands in crowds. It wasn’t him who knew when Finn felt the need to leave. It wasn’t him. And it should have been. 

The sound of his phone ringing from the bathroom was enough to elicit a groan from him. There were only two people that could override the do not disturb setting- his sister and Pascal. He couldn’t decide who he wanted to speak to less given his current state. He let the phone ring out, only for his door to be pounded. Pascal it was. 

“Come on, open up.” 

Logan ran his hands over his face, wading through the mess to open up the door. 

“Ah, there you are. Full of sunshine as usual,” Pascal smiled. Logan rolled his eyes, returning to the room to get the coffee Sirius had brought into him which was most definitely cold, and his phone. He pulled his hood up over his hit and reluctantly followed Pascal through the hallway and down into the conference room that had been booked out by the team managers. 

Everyone was in various states of alertness. Regulus looked similar to Logan, sunglasses hiding what Logan was sure would be bags that would be considered designer. Sirius looked as chipper as ever, making light conversation with Nado, who looked like he could have done with another few hours in bed. Knowing Nado though, he likely didn’t get to bed. This was made obvious by the fact he had yet to change, and the poor attempt at rubbing a wine stain off of his top. Logan noticed that Barty and Evan weren’t there, though. 

He sat down next to Pascal, who was typing away happily on his phone. 

“Well well well,” Coach burst into the room, making Logan jump along with various others. A few grumbled at the noise, whilst others whooped back at him “how are we all feeling, Grand Slam winners?” he smiled. He was met with cheers from across the room. Logan half-heartedly joined in, raising his fist and bumping the air slightly. 

“Some of you are a sight for sore eyes,” he laughed, setting his glasses and the stacks of paper down on the table. “Everyone had a good night?” People nodded, some more enthusiastically than others. 

Logan zoned out of the rest of the briefing, the loose skin on the edge of his nail more interesting than the sounds of praise coming from the coaching staff and the management team. Had he not been so hungover, he may have heard the question that was sent his way. He looked up when Pascal nudged him.

“Sorry, can you say that again?” he asked, face flushing red. 

Coach laughed. “I asked if you- you know what, never mind.” He looked around the room at the team. “Judging by the fact some of you are probably still drunk-” a curt look at Nado, who looked up at the ceiling, suddenly very interested in how many tiles there were, “now probably isn’t the best time to be having this meeting. Rest up, enjoy the rest of the week and we’ll reconvene next Monday, yes?” 

The team nodded, thankful that they could  leave to either sleep off their hangovers or simply continue to drink. Logan looked over at Regulus, both chuckling to themselves at the state of the other. Regulus looked down at his phone and Logan felt his own ping. 

‘Breakfast?’

Logan looked over at him before typing his response. 

‘Maybe. Depends on what though. Not sure I can stomach much rn.’

Regulus laughed and walked over to him.

“Pancakes?”

“You read my mind,” Logan laughed, wincing slightly. “Let’s go before we get roped into drinking more.”

Regulus nodded and followed him out. He enjoyed Regulus’ company more than the others’ most of the time. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his team- he would go to the ends of the Earth for them, but the calm that Regulus carried around with him was enough to calm any storm. He was an easy person to be around. 

They walked in silence to the pancake bar they had found the last time they were in Dublin for a match, both immediately deeming it one of their favourite places as soon as they entered it for the first time. It was a quant little diner, out of the way of the hustle of Dublin’s busy streets. They sat down and ordered their usual, with extra helpings of all the sweet stuff now that they weren’t under strict diet plans in preparation for a big game. 

“So,” Regulus started, sipping on his coffee. “The new Irish hooker’s a sweetheart, right?” he asked, smirking over his mug. 

Logan scoffed. “Don’t you dare,” he warned. 

“All I’m saying is he seemed to enjoy Finn’s company.”

Logan scowled at him. He should have expected this really. If there was anyone on the team who loved gossip more than Sirius, it was his little brother. His little brother who moved in silence, listening to everything and watching everyone. If something happened, chances are Regulus probably knew about it before it ever occurred. 

“And good for him,” Logan shrugged. 

“Don’t pretend like it doesn’t bother you,” Regulus teased. The waitress brought over their plates, both of them thanking her before digging in. 

“Look, if I wanted to talk about Finn, I would have gone to breakfast with your brother.”

“No you wouldn’t have,” Regulus chuckled, hand over his mouth as he took another bite. 

“You’re right,” Logan said reluctantly. Sirius only knew how bad Logan was from the outside when he fell out with Finn. Regulus knew the ins and outs of it all, was the ear to listen when Logan would go on and on about how much he fucked up. The metaphorical and physical shoulder for him to cry on. Truthfully, Logan wouldn’t trade Regulus for the world, even if he was a metaphorical and physical pain in his damn ass. 

“Did you see how Nado and Kuny were with each other, though?” Regulus asked. 

Logan shook his head. “I can’t actually remember much of last night, enlighten me.” 

Regulus smiled at him and leant in. “They were all over each other.” 

“It’s about time,” Logan laughed, picking up his coffee and sipping it. 

“Right?” Regulus replied, waving his fork. “I mean there’s only so much I can watch of those two tip-toeing around each other. Glad they finally figured out their differences- or, you know, their sames.”

Logan nodded in agreement. Nado and Kuny were something else. He’d never seen two people work so well together on and off the pitch. It was refreshing to watch, sometimes. 

“Did I miss anything else last night?” he asked. 

“Uhm,” Regulus paused as he took another bite, “James and Kasey were dancing on the bar with their tops off, Sirius and Remus did body shots, Barty and Evan were off doing Barty and Evan things so god knows where they wound up but they seemed to be having a good time before then Thomas was going around recording and pretending to hold a microphone asking people who they thought would get the most drunk- you were the most popular answer by the way-, Alex gave a wonderful rendition of ‘Pocketful of Sunshine’ which had everyone in stitches. ”

“Please tell me if someone recorded that.” Logan laughed. Regulus looked at him as though the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Thomas,” they both said at the same time before laughing.

“You were arguably the funniest, though. You had ripped your shirt and decided that you weren’t the only one allowed a ripped shirt, and got the grump so most people ripped their shirts in solidarity. Oh, and there's a video of you giving us all a strip tease on the tables. Did you not see it in the chat this morning?” Regulus asked.

Logan groaned and shook his head, letting it fall into his hands. “Muted it. The buzzing was doing my head in.” 

“You also spoke to Alex quite a bit…” Regulus hesitated. Logan’s head shot up. 

“About what?” 

“You know what about, Logan.”

“Fucking hell. Was it bad?”

Regulus shook his head. “You mainly asked how he was doing and who the new guy was. Alex gave you a very ‘media safe’ answer and you weren’t happy about it. Went off and sulked before James handed you another drink and pulled you onto the bar as well.”

Logan groaned, once again.

“I’m never drinking… ever again.”

Regulus’ phone started ringing, his brother's name flashing up on the screen. Logan zoned out, finishing off his now cold pancakes and guzzled the rest of his coffee. 

“Team dinner. 6pm.” Regulus told him. 

Logan rolled his eyes- because how dare his job get in the way of his plans to do absolutely nothing all day. 

“Come on, you can mope about it later. It looks like it's going to rain soon and I’ll be damned if you’re the reason I end up sick.” 

They paid for their breakfast and left, opting for a more direct route back to the hotel than the one they took to get there in the first place. 

A flash of ginger hair made Logan double take. There Finn was, waiting at the crossing across the road from him, face flushed from his run. Logan quickly turned around, causing Regulus to look back in confusion, before looking back and spotting Finn himself. He grabbed Logan’s arm to sounds of protest, before walking down a different street, away from the one person that Logan didn’t want to see but could spend hours upon hours looking at. 

“He even looks good in those god awful shorts,” he mumbled under his breath. Regulus’s head rocked back as he let out a laugh. 

“You’re so whipped, man.” 

Logan looked at him in disgust. 

“Am not.”

“Are too.” 

“I can’t stand him.”

“Yeah, sure you can’t, buddy.” 

[umitscomplicated]

The Wolf Moon

I've been trying to figure out why I was so emotional the last two days, so I looked up the moon phase. Tonight is a full moon. It's about letting go and moving on, moving forward without baggage, cleansing. I have an irresistibly strong urge to get naked and get in water under the moonlight. I text a few people asking if they know of anywhere I can go do that. Coyote was the person I thought would know, but she doesn't. I can't think of anyone I know with a pool or hot tub. On a whim, I text Jaguar. I thought he might just say no and think I was a little out there. Instead he says, “Best question I have heard in a long time! I'd love to go if you find somewhere". Then about 20 minutes later, he texts back with an idea. There’s a lake nearby that has a campground. Yes, perfect. We make plans to go together. 

Honestly I just completely lost my fucking mind with this full moon. I am a very outdoorsy person. I’m from the north and have real winter gear. I was nowhere near as prepared as I should have been, because all I could think was naked-water-moonlight. So that’s how, a few hours later, I ended up at a campsite in the woods with a boy I’ve met exactly once. And it was literally the most magical evening.

He brought way too much stuff given we had to hike into this campsite, so we had to take a few trips back and forth to the cars. But on the other hand, I brought exactly as much as I could carry in one trip, and I maybe should have been better prepared. It was a low of 34F that night. I had some warm clothes, extra layers, and two sleeping bags. He brought an extra hat, socks, and jacket for me - which was just so sweet and thoughtful.

The campsite wasn’t right on the water, so we had to walk down a hill through the woods a bit to get to the water. Jaguar was so cute and found a sturdy branch I could use as a walking stick, to help me down the hill. We got down to the water, and it was pretty obvious there was no way for us to get into the water. We would need to either wade through about 20 feet of sticks, leaves, and muck; or walk down further and hop off about a 5 foot drop off into the shallow water. Neither of us was confident that I would be able to get out of either situation, so instead we just stood next to the water under the moonlight. None of the trees had any leaves on them, and the sky was almost perfectly clear. The moonlight was so bright, the water still, and everything was mystical. You could taste the magic in the air. We stood near the water and talked for over an hour, until we got cold and decided to go build a fire. 

He built the fire, and made some sausages. We stood around the fire and talked some more. We both just kept looking up at the moon through the trees. It was so surreal. Occasionally a plane would fly overhead, and break the spell for a minute. We talked about how that moon was about letting go and moving on. I had several things I needed to process still - the situations with Deer and Scorpion primarily. We talked about that and he said essentially the exact same things as what Dick Pics said, which was comforting to get the same perspective again. We talked about what he wanted to let go of, and he said he still has feelings for his ex. We also had just random conversation, like if we were any other mammal, what would we be? I said I would want to be a big jungle cat, like a jaguar, because I wanted to go to places humans never go, and to tear and shred my food with my teeth. He said that was a great answer, and told me about how he worked at a wildlife rehab in the jungle for a while, and they had jaguars. He said they were terrifying and so cool. We talked about how tonight was exactly what we both needed. It felt right. Like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The right place, at the right time, with the right person. It felt peaceful. I felt present. It’s the strongest and clearest I’ve ever felt that I was right where I was supposed to be. It felt really good, to follow this crazy instinct, and to end up there.

We got into the tent at around 1 or 2 in the morning. It was cold, so we each put on several extra layers. Then we ended up taking a few of them off each other, and playing around in the cold. He made kind of a roaring noise while kissing my neck, and I laughed and asked him what that was. He said, “A jaguar”. 

We woke up around dawn, after getting approximately 35 seconds of sleep. And I felt fucking incredible. I felt so alive and refreshed. We worked together to pack up camp and carry everything back to the cars - which was a lot easier when we didn’t need to carry firewood. We said goodbye at our cars, and there was a cute moment when he gave me a look and said, “I want to do this again.” I said I did, too.

[knockyasocksoff2022]

perfect crimes leave everyone unhappy

3,883 Words

Tetchou, normally an early riser, doesn't wake until his alarm (programmed to get progressively louder) makes the nightstand shake.

He's awake but not rested so it takes him a moment to realise that instead of the usual 9:00 AM, the clock reads 9:30. When it does click, he blinks until it reads 9:31. Then he gets up, rolling his shoulders until they pop. The quiet house swallows the sound as it's made, leaving him once again in silence.

Ever efficient, he dresses and eats quickly, not truly tasting the food.

He tries to think 'Do I ever taste the food? What was it that I even ate just now? Cereal, yes, but of what kind-' then catches himself. When he stops thinking of breakfast Kenji's words come back to him. Frustrated, he huffs, trying to lose himself in the walk, the mindlessness of it, the way he normally does, but he can't seem to. Not today, anyway.

Not when there are all of a sudden so many things. The crunch of gravel, the hush-hush of newly grown spring leaves, and the chirps of the birds that have dared return from the south early. Tetchou would swear that these things had not been here before, even in the last week which he knew on the calendar to be the start of spring. Yet, he knew that they indeed had been here. 

'So why am I just hearing them now? Is there something wrong with me?' White, white white, think only of white. A newly fallen snowbank. Pure, clean, beautiful, perfection.

He wades through his sea of white to the Fire station, stepping through the threshold at 10:05.

"You're late, Suehiro." A voice sharp, and clear admonished him in lieu of greeting. Its owner leans apathetically against the wall, eating a pear.

"I didn't sleep well." he knows by now to keep his response brief. Seeking sympathy from Jouno Saigiku will get him nowhere. Nobody else has much sympathy for him either. Well, maybe the Captain, but he's nowhere in sight. Probably in his office doing whatever it is he does up there.

"You sick or something? Well, don't come near the Captain or me, we don't want your germs." The voice of the youngest firefighter, Okura Teru, has an unpleasant quality when bounced off the concrete walls of the station. Even if it wasn't so distinct, Tetchou would know him by his reference to himself and the Captain as one.

(A/N: Yeah, I genderbent Teruko, lol)

Despite his words, the petite pinkette comes toward him, hand outstretched. "At least put on a mask, Jeez! No respect for your superiors!"

"He's not sick, Teru, quit your yapping. I can feel it in my bones." Jouno sticks his fingers in his ears, scrunching his face in discomfort.

Teru starts to reply, but before he can speak, Jouno's switchblade is at his throat. The two stare at each other, Teru's stubborn versus Jouno's evil. Jouno wins. Teru glares one last time, then drops his gaze.

He skips off to the table, pretending he cares less than he does, probably to mentally work the crossword just in case the Captain asks for help. Indeed, he starts scanning the page, smiling smugly as he does. He basks in his spot as the Captain's favourite, even though from what Tetchou has seen, the Captain favours Jouno, but it's far easier for everyone involved to let Teru live his illusion rather than incite his wrath by suggesting otherwise.

Teru knows, of course, he does. Jealousy is the reason why he dislikes Jouno so much.

"Thanks," Tetchou says, looking away from Teru, and back to Jouno.

"It wasn't for you, and you should put on the mask anyway. Your breathing annoys me."

"No. No point if I'm not sick." Tetchou flicks the mask back at Jouno.

He doesn't flinch, but leans slightly more left and allows the mask to fall into the garbage bin next to him.

Jouno. 

Jouno Saigiku is one of the most interesting people Tetchou has ever met. Tetchou has three centimetres on him, but he looks much taller. Tetchou thinks it's his personality, the air with which he carries himself. And it helps that he's slimmer too. 

His hair is white as the snow Tetchou always fills his mind with and no matter how much soot and ash covers all of the firemen, his hair is always clean shining white. It used to be creepy, but now in a sea of orange and black, it's refreshing, one might even say beautiful. The ends are soaked in red, like blood or flames creeping up, continuously reaching but never quite touching their target. His hair comes to his cheek, leaving his shoulders on display. He really does have a nice body. Many times Tetchou will just stare at him when he isn't paying attention. He'll stare and wonder how Jouno is so muscular despite never seeing him work out.

His eyelashes are white too, yet somehow they don't disappear against his pale skin, instead showing perfectly his expressions (usually ones of annoyance).

'If he was a woman I'd even overlook the sadism. . . . If he was a woman, if he was a woman, if he was a woman . . .'

"Oh, quit your staring. I can feel it. I haven't changed since you saw me yesterday."

Tetchou doesn't bother to ask how. Jouno's keen senses are a mystery no one has been able to solve.

"Sorry." The apology from Tetchou is genuine, Jouno knows this, but he waves him away anyway.

"Just shut up. I need peace" He doesn't dislike Tetchou, he's just not a very tolerant person in general.

-

It's been two hours since the start of the shift and still, there've been no calls or cases to investigate. Tetchou doesn't mind, and he does. He wants to be up and moving. He wants to be doing something.

He finds Jouno in the kitchen doing nothing. He stops and watches him for a bit. It's at times like these when he thinks that Jouno might be as restless as he is, that there might actually be some crack in his seemingly unshakable calm. And then it's gone.

Jouno turns, raising a pale eyebrow.

"Need something, Suehiro?"

" . . . No, I just . . . I'm just bored."

"Well then listen to the radio or something."

The thought hadn't even occurred to him, embarrassed for a reason he doesn't quite understand, he looks away. "I don't feel like it."

"Well, I guess it's just okay to bother me then, hmm?"

A question burns on the tips of Tetchou's tongue. But it feels wrong to ask, and he's not sure he wants to hear the answer, worried it will change too much of his mundane life. 

'What a ridiculous thing to think.'

So he asks something else that he can't seem to get out of his mind.

"Do you think we're important to aliens?" He says suddenly, the volume startling even him. Jouno cringes, covering his ears.

It's too late to take it back now so Tetchou continues, trying to keep his voice down. "What about the sun and the moon? Do they matter? Or are they just like any other star?" 

The words spill across the silence, rising like bread until they fill the entirety of the small kitchen. Jouno looks at him as if he just said everyone should start reading books again. Maybe . . .

"Yuuji, what on earth are you talking about?"

"I-I . . . I don't know, I just . . ."

"Stop stuttering. What's wrong with you today? Never mind, we'll be here forever if you answer that."

"I'm fine!" Tetchou says. It comes out as a shout. "I'm fine," he says again, softer, like a whisper, a plea. Maybe for himself more than anyone.

Jouno looks, in the way only a blind man can, at him, but says nothing.

"I have a feeling we're going to be dispatched soon."

Tetchou nods. Jouno can sense a job minutes before it happens, he's never been wrong.

-

Five minutes later the bell rings, the nasally sound ripping through the building like the fire its inhabitants create. Someone has been caught with forbidden knowledge.

"Ugh." Despite his prediction, Jouno still scorns the sound of the bell. "I wish these nuts would really stop it. Just get it in their thick heads that we're going to catch them every time. They remind me of you actually, Yuujirou."

The remark is casual but Tetchou freezes mid-step.

"What?" He's ready to deny it. He's ready to lie.

"What?" Jouno looks at him like he's stupid. He feels stupid.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jouno rolls his eyes (Somehow they stay closed when he does this, but Tetchou can see the minute movement anyway), "Because you're dense. Now hurry up. I want to burn something."

The firemen move with practised speed and agility even with all their gear. It's a routine—a habit. Down the pole, to the truck, out of the station, drive, burn, back in the truck, back to the station, repeat.

-

The Captain drives, with Teru in the front passenger seat. In the farthest row back, Tetchou sits across from Jouno. The seat next to Jouno is full of spare fire helmets. There's only one seat empty. That seat belongs to Tachihara Michizou. 

'I do miss that guy. He should have enough to leave soon. He must be going crazy around all those . . .' He doesn't know exactly what to call them, and his brain won't form the words he's heard so often.

'Too cruel,' he thinks, 'That's too cruel for people I've never met.'

He closes his eyes, imagining that he can be there with the boy. Tachihara is almost as young as Teru, only six months older. Was he ready for a mission so big? Is he okay?

'Yes, he's fine. He'll be back soon.'

When Tetchou opens his eyes Jouno is looking right at him. "I can tell you're thinking something, something more than you should." that look says. Jouno himself says nothing though. 

-

At the truck's destination a man, not much younger than Tetchou himself, is busy at work. Placing the final touches on a fireworks show that would make even the brightest pyrotechnicians jealous. It's an intricate trap of more than 1000 matches and palm-sized explosives, each and every one laid by hand.

He trunks to his accomplice, the owner of the soon-to-be burnt home, with a tear-streaked face.

"Seishi . . . does it have to be like this."

"Oh, calm now Mushi, you know it does. Mrs. Sasaki won't stay silent forever."

"Maybe, maybe she will . . ."

"She won't. I gave her everything but my last yen coin to delay her long enough so we could do this. So I could have the death I want." The older man brushes the dust from his hands off on his yukata and cups his helper's face, "Do you want to see me spend the rest of my days in some white padded room?"

"N-no, but there has to be another-"

"There is not. We must do this, Mushitarou-kun. I was found out weeks ago, no one holds onto such a secret for so long. They simply can't resist telling it."

"I can save them, at least some of them. If you do this they'll all die with you, at leats, if they locked you up there's a chance you'd get out. This . . . there's no coming back from this."

"Mushi, my boy, look at me."

Mushitarou looks.

"I am 30, by the time everyone realises how bad society has messed up, I'll be long gone. There is no possible way for you to save any of these tomes without sacrificing yourself as well and I will not, WILL NOT, have that. Yes, they will die with me, but it is far better to die at the hands of someone who loves you than to be a faceless meaningless victim. We will all die together, the books and I, and that is exactly how I want it, how I've always envisioned it."

Mushitarou nods.

"You know what to do, Mushi. Go and call them now, be a good boy."

"Goodbye, Kindaichi-san. I'll always remember you."

"Oh, don't get sentimental on me, we haven't the time for that, go!" Yokomizo waves him away with a smile.

Mushitarou tries his best for a smile as he walks out the door, leaving it open wide behind him. He heads to the phone book across the road and dials #451

The fire station answers immediately, the clear voice of a young boy saying "This is Station 13. Thank you for your call, what address would you like to report?"

Mushitarou swallows. "Yokomizo Seishi owns 100 Sun Street. A Western-style townhome. The place is absolutely full of books, you can see them from the windows."

The fireman giggles "Ooh. We'll be there soon. You can stay and watch if you like, but please maintain a distance of at least 7 metres away while we work. See you."

Musihtarou hangs up.

"You won't," he tells the empty phone booth, smirking. "Soon you're all going to go up in those flames you love so much."

Walking quickly enough to not be seen, but not so fast as to draw attention he hides behind the fence of the neighbouring house.

-

The truck stops with a violent jerk. The Captain is known for his quick, skilled driving, gentleness isn't a priority and usually doesn't matter since fire trucks get road priority anyway.

The home is a Western-style townhome painted in shades of dark red and black, like dying embers.

Teru laughs at the open door, and he and the Captain charge in without a second thought but Tetchou pauses. He looks at Jouno, who's also stopped beside him. They exchange agreement with their eyes. Something is off here. 

"A trap?" Tetchou's gaze asks

"No, they'd surely know better, and whatever it is we'll be ready."

"Yeah," Tetchou says aloud and they walk in.

The place is filled with books, in stacks of all heights, some leaning precariously from heights rapper than the Captain, others steady and sure up to the ceiling.

As soon as they're all in the main room they hear something that isn't usually heard in houses marked for burning. Never, actually. Footsteps. Soft and purposeful.

'Huh? What kind of nutcase stays inside? Normally they're out in the garden or whatever. They do know what we're here to do, right?'

Tetchou looks to Jouno again but for once Jouno has no answer, appearing just as confused as Tetchou. Tetchou notes that the expression is similar to a child's. Cute.

"Hello, Firemen! Welcome to my last ever lecture. Yes, that is a confession. I've been giving literature lectures in secret for years now, and don't try to find my students, the only record of their names is inside my very brain. Now that you're all here I can say a proper goodbye."

"What the hell?" Teru mutters, "What is this nut case going on about? Lectures?"

"Ignore him Teru, he's spouting nonsense, he needs help. EVERYONE! GET TO BURNING. LET'S FINISH THIS QUICK!"

Despite the Captain's booming command only he and Teru start to move, setting up the hose as normal.

"Are they planning to burn him alive?" Tetchou asks, suddenly unsure.

"No, of course not, he'll leave. Come on, go and convince him. You're good at that, at people I mean." Jouno said, but Tetchou swears that his voice sounds less crisp than normal. Surely Tetchou isn't the only one to notice . . .

It's true, normally he is better at emotions, but he can't make himself move. His feet are frozen in place as he stares at the man standing against the bannister as if it is a podium.

He clears his throat, smiling, "Poverty can be defined in many ways. Lack of money is one definition, true. But to me, the worst, and sadly most common poverty is lack of knowledge. 'Poverty is the mother of crime. If people are poor, they lose all sense of shame, and behave appallingly.' I'm afraid that that's what has happened to our little society. Without books, we've sunken into shallow stupidity filled with nothing but violence and the endless chasing of placebo euphoria." (A/N: Quote from The Honjin Murders)

He pulls a book from the stack next to him. It sways and tilts but doesn't fall. Then he opens it and begins to scan the page. The cover reads Death on Gokumon Island.

"Ah, here it is: 'There was the whole collection of Arthur Conan Doyle, Maurice Leblanc's Lupin series, and every translated work that the publishers Hakubunkan and Heibonsha had ever released. Then there was the Japanese section: it began with nineteenth-century novels by Ruiko Kuroiwa and also featured Edogawa Ranpo, Fuboku Kozakai, Saburo Koga, Udaru Oshita, Takataro Kigi, Juza Unno, Mushitaro Oguri all crammed in together. And then as well as Japanese translations of Western novels, there were the original, untranslated works of Ellery Queen, Dickson Carr, Freeman Wills Crofts and Agatha Christie, etc. etc. etc. It was a magnificent sight: an entire library of detective novels.'" The man suddenly bursts out in laughter.

"Why are you laughing?" Tetchou manages to ask. He finds himself not wanting to interrupt the man.

"Ah, it's just that I realised after I said it that 'an entire library full of detective novels' must be a terrifying thought for you Firemen, and that's funny to me so it made me laugh."

"Anyway, your friends have got everything almost all set up now, so I'd better get to my point, eh? Ah, how lovely this day is. The sun and clouds, so beautiful. I wanted to wait until night, to have my death under the full moon and stars, but I was so afraid of running out of time. . . ."

'Death?' Tetchou wonders. He scans the area, there are no bottles or pills and no rope. 'Is he going to jump down?'

By the time he sees the matches attached to the man's sleeve, it's too late. But the fire doesn't start with him. At first, there's a small crackle. Jouno hears it before he does, then Tetchou hears the roar, as the flame, as if appearing from thin air, from nowhere. 

"EVERYONE OUT! THE PLACE IS GOING DOWN! LEAVE THE GUY!"

Tetchou doesn't move. He can't stop staring.

This fire is different. Not strength and power, but beauty and grace. Unlike any fire he's started it doesn't rush the whole room, instead it travels an intricate path snaking along the walls almost as if someone set a fuse. As the house burns the man on the second floor smiles. He looks relieved. Fulfilled. Just as that boy from before had.

He can't leave him.

'I can't leave him. That's murder!'

"We can't leave him!"

"We have to! Come on!" Jouno pulls him towards the door, but Tetchou is larger and doesn't budge.

"I hate regret. So I've done whatever I've wanted to do. Up until now, it's been a satisfying life. But now... I've been given a time limit. Before then, I have to complete the ultimate mystery. Goodbye Mushi . . . I've loved you all this time . . ."

As he says these words the trail of fire reaches him, then jumps from the bannister to his arm, which he'd rested upon. A perfect plan. The flames consume him and then begin to take the rest of the house.

A single book flaa down, pages fluttering softy as it cascades toward its violent end. If he can't save its owner then can't he at least spare this?

"Yuujirou! Yuujirou! . . . Tetchou, what the hell are you doing? We can't save him, he's DEAD! We need to RUN!"

The use of his given name jars him out of the trance. He allows Jouno to pull him out of the burning house just as the beams begin to crumble. Teru and the Captain are in the truck and they shout for Tetchou and Jouno to follow. They both ignore it, the shouts fading into the rolling flames. Jouno stays with Tetchou in the garden and together stand and watch the fire eat away the house. They watch as it falls to pieces.

The heat of the midday sun and fire make it nearly unbearably but even so, they stay.

'Why do I feel so sad? Is it sadness I'm feeling, I don't even know.'

What comes out is, "Why is it so beautiful?"

Jouno leans almost imperceptibly closer and whispers the quietest Tetchou's ever heard him, "Because this fire was natural."

Mere metres away, Musihitarou Oguri falls down sobbing. 

'It's my fault. I set the match, and I lit the fuse. I killed Seishi. I love him and I killed him. . . . I'm a murderer. Is this what it feels like? How do the others stand it?'

When the house is nothing but a pile of soot and ash, Jouno walks Tetchou back to the truck. The Captain glares and Teru gives a suspicious look. Despite their apparent nonchalance nobody talks on the way back to the station

The rest of the shift is silent and uneventful. When Tetchou can't stand it anymore he heaves in the sink but he missed lunch due to the call so there's nothing to come up. It leaves his throat drier than before. From the restroom, he can what Jouno and the Captain arguing.

"He's always been attached to you, so get a handle on him."

"I don't like the way you said that. We are co-workers that is all."

"So? Fix him, get him out of his silly rut. He's a great fireman, we need him."

"Captain, he just witnessed a man's death in front of him knowing he could do nothing about it. Give him a day off."

"The rest of us are fine. He's strong. He can manage."

"Sir, with respect. No. He is strong, yes, that's why you like him, yes. But his world is black and white. Yuujirou's entire world is justice, he wants to save people by punishing them so they don't commit offences again, to better our society. He wants to save them from the insanity that is books, he wants to rehabilitate them in facilities, not kill them. He doesn't feel guilty for the death of a bibliophile, he feels guilty for his failure. He's in his head, he'll be no use to anyone tomorrow. Give him a day . . . sir."

A pause. Then a throat clearing in slight embarrassment "Very well, a half shift off will have to do."

Jouno's footsteps. 

'He . . . he knows me so well. When did we get to know each other so well, we're only co-workers (and that's all we'll ever be) we're not close. I only consider him my friend because he's the only one I really talk to, the only one I can talk to. I thought we barely knew each other. If that's so, why did he defend me?'

He spends the rest of the remaining time on the shift in a daze, hardly hearing as the Captain formally announces that he has a partial day off tomorrow. He nods, and thanks him robotically, promising he'll be in by 16:00 tomorrow.

His walk home is spent listlessly placing one foot in front of the other. He notes that the sounds he heard earlier are gone again and that he misses them. 

'Where did they go? Or was it me that was blind all this time?'

That's the only coherent thought his brain forms before he undresses and falls into bed.

Perfect crimes leave everyone unhappy.

Evene Fire Is Defeated By the Rain [Suegiku AU]

Heavily inspired by Fahrenheit 451, but with some major plot changes and obviously it's BSD characters. And my first time writting suegiku, yay!

[haloshornsinkstains]

Dirty & Clean [Strife x Reader]

Warnings: NSFW 18+, Sex in Public, Female Reader, Strife x Reader

“Clean water! Strife, look! Clean water!” The horseman chuckled behind you, the sound vibrating through your back as he urged Mayhem forward. “I know kiddo, I can see just as well as you from up here.” You tilted your head back, using your best pleading expression on him. “Can we stop? Please?” He hummed thoughtfully before nodding. “Course kiddo. Guess you want to get cleaned up a bit yeah? Wash off some of those layers of grime and stink.” You frowned, pouting a little, but nodded. You were, after all, covered in dirt, sweat, blood and who knows what else from endless days on the road and seemingly endless attacks. Apparently keeping clean in the apocalypse was nowhere near as easy as all the shows and movies had made it seem. Still, he didn’t have to point it out. Beneath you Mayhem snorted and shook his head, as if he too wanted to scold his rider as you made your way towards the lake.

When Mayhem finally came to a standstill you practically flung yourself from his saddle, throwing a quick thank you towards the horse as you raced to the waters edge. You skidded to a halt barely a foot from the water, suddenly tense as the overwhelming joy of finally being able to bathe gave way to the logical part of your mind. “Um, Strife? Do you think it’s safe?” Your horseman strolled up behind you, nonchalant as ever while his sharp eyes scanned the water. After a few moments he nodded. “Yeah, you’re good.” You sighed in relief, slowly starting to peel off your hoodie, once more focused on the idea of being clean. “Need any help getting your clothes off?” Strife’s low timbre rumbled in your ear. Before you might have jumped, or smacked him, but you’d grown used to the gunslinger’s lack of personal space and flirtatious nature. And you would be lying if his words didn’t spark a flutter of something in your stomach, gods what you wouldn’t do for his flirting to be real.  “Why do I get the feeling my clothes would be even more ripped if I took you up on that offer?” You teased back. “Maybe you should focus on washing off your own stink.” Strife looked surprised for a moment, golden eyes flaring behind his helm, before he burst into laughter. “This is why I like you. For the record though, I don’t stink.” “Keep telling yourself that cowboy.” You laughed, shimmying your underwear down your hips and walking into the water, not daring to look back.

You thought you heard a sharp hiss of breath behind you, but any certainty in the sound was quickly drowned by the gentle splashing of water as you waded into the lake, watching as the clean water was slowly stained brown by the dirt being washed from your skin. Your clothes weren’t much better, though it was only after you’d soaked them in the water that you realised you didn’t have any spare. A problem for once you were clean, you decided, too engrossed in rubbing muck from your skin and rinsing out your hair to think too deeply on it. You hadn’t even realised Strife had followed you into the water until an arm wrapped around your waist, pulling the most undignified shriek from your lips as you flailed backwards. “Hey now sweetheart, watch the goods.” Strife purred in your ear, pulling you back against the hard planes of his body as he straightened up again.  “Strife! What are you doi-” your question died on your lips as you tilted your head back to look at him. Strife was naked, fully naked, even his helm had been left on the shore. You’d seen him without it before, but never so close, and the sight was mesmerising. His golden eyes were warm as he looked down at you, the sharp angles of his face and the gravity defying dark spikes of hair that frame it like something out of a work of art. You wanted so badly to turn around, to study the rest of his body and run your hands along the hard muscles you could feel against your back. “Cat got your tongue?” He smirked, leaning down once more so his voice once again purred close to you. “Thought you might want a hand, y’know someone to get all those hard to reach areas.” You couldn’t help the soft moan that left your lips as you nodded, one that only got louder as his arms shifted to rub at your back and sides. True to his word he helped you wash the places you couldn’t easily reach, nimble hands ghosting delicately over wounds and scars as he tended to you. Until eventually those hands started to wander, sliding over your ribs and brushing just beneath your breasts as he relished the soft whimper that slipped from your lips at his touch. You leaned back against him, tensing when you felt something hard pressing against your lower back. Strife immediately lifted his hands from your skin in response, freezing as if he feared he’d done something wrong. Without him holding you in place you were finally able to turn and look at him properly, barely keeping the drool in your mouth at the sight of his body. Tentatively you lifted a hand to run down the muscles of his chest and trace his abs, only stopping just before the base of his dick. You glanced back up at him shyly, as if asking for permission. “Don’t stop there on my account.” He groaned. “You want me?” You whispered, looking back down to hide your worry. He caught your chin is his grip, forcing you to look back up at him. “Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” He grinned momentarily, before his expression dropped. “Real question is if you’ll let me. You know what I am-” You didn’t let him finish, leaning up on your tiptoes to press your lips to his as your hand ghosted over his shaft. After a moment of shock Strife responded in kind, his tongue pressing past your lips as large hands came down to grip at your ass, his body grinding against you. You gasped against his mouth as his hand slipped between your thighs, fingers sliding through the slick he found there despite the water’s best attempts to wash it away. Strife pulled back slightly, groaning against your shoulder as he slipped a finger inside you. “Fuck, sweetheart, this for me?” You whimpered in response, rocking against his hand as he played with you. “Yes! Yes, Strife, yes.”  He cursed under his breath, using words you didn’t understand but knew to be the Nephilim tongue, before lifting you in his arms. He manhandled you with such ease you might as well weigh nothing, positioning you over him. “If you don’t want this you better tell me now, I don’t know if I could stop once I’m finally inside you.”  You shook your head. “I want you Strife. But, someone could see us.” Strife didn’t say anything in response, slowly lowering you down onto him with a deep moan. One you couldn’t help but echo as he stretched you, leaving a pleasurable burn behind in his wake. Your hands dug into his shoulders, nails leaving crescent marks in his skin. When he was finally seated to the hilt inside you he stopped, pressing his forehead against yours and taking deep breaths while he waited for you to adjust to his size.  “Fuck.” He breathed. “So tight, like you were made for me.” You whined his name, eyes darting around to the shore surrounding you. “There’s no one there to see us sweetheart.” He reassured you. “Even if there was, you shouldn’t care. Fuck, I’d take you in front of the Charred Council if I could, show them how beautiful you are, how well you take me. You like that idea hmm? I can feel you clenching around me, I knew you were perfect. Mine.” “Strife.” You whimpered again. “Move. Please.” With that cocky grin once more in place he obliged, strong arms holding your hips in the air as he pulled back and thrust into you once more. You could do little but hold on to him as he took you, your moans and his filling the air around you. His cock brushed against all the most sensitive parts of you, pulling you towards the edge all to soon, his name a broken cry on your lips as you came around him. Strife groaned, filthy words mingling with praises as he held you closer. Still he didn’t stop, pushing you to the edge again and again, until your voice was hoarse and his name was all you could say. You lost count of how many orgasms had ripped through your body by the time he stiffened, his grip on your skin bruising as his thrusts become jerky and irregular. Your name in his voice sounded like a prayer when he stilled, spilling himself inside you.

[finelinevogue]

the lone wolf - II

Description - you now become part of Harry’s pack, but things still aren’t perfect

A/N - sorry this took so long but i just was never happy with the way i wrote it before, but hopefully this is somewhat okay now! enjoyyyyy

warnings : swearing, blood, violence

[ masterlist ]

After walking a lifetime you, and the rest of Harry's pack arrived at a house. 

Well - what was left of a house anyways. The building was in the middle of nowhere and bordering the edge of somewhere. There was a magical lake that reflected the moons emotions so perfectly that you were sure it couldn't be real. The house sat upon the border of the lake, a wooden jetty wading its' way into the water. 

The house, or shack as you might call it, was a wooden mess. It clearly had been abandoned for a hundred years or so - the green ivy branching in and out of windows being an indicator of that. The windows didn't all have windows and those that did were hanging on by a rusty nail. The door stood out though - painted with a red spiral. It looked fairly recent as the paint didn't look too chipped. 

"Welcome home then, Omega." Sara sighed and brushed her should against yours as she walked past. Stay away from Sara if you wanted to avoid bitchiness - noted.

"My name's Y/N." You spoke shyly back, not liking the tone of her voice she used to call you Omega.

"Yeah, whatever Omega." And with that she was through the front door. 

Rachel, Freddie, Harry and Adam all walked passed you and into the house too. Rachel and Freddie were so young and it made you feel sorry that they must've been on their own for some time too. At least they had each other, though. That was more than you could ever wish for. Adam and Harry looked really friendly and almost as if they were brothers. Adam looked much older but you could tell he was big softie regardless of age.

You stood, intrigued by what their individual stories could be. Had they been born and then left as Omegas? Had they had to kill their own pack? How did they find each other? Or, the thought only crossing your mind now, were they actually all blood-related and family? 

Lights appeared from inside, the flickering of candles and bright torches only. There was no way this place could have electricity even if they wanted it. In your experience, however, it was better to have no light than light. Hunters could find you too easily if you had lights on, but Harry must know what he's doing otherwise he wouldn't let there be light. 

You could tell Harry was a good man. He clearly cared for his Pack and that made your feel safe.

As much as you were intrigued to venture into the house and become familiar with the place, you couldn't. You hadn't lived in, or even stepped inside of, a house since leaving your Grandmas. It was quite a lot to take in today already; the near-death experience and becoming part of a pack all in one day was intense - even for you - so stepping inside a house would be a bit too overwhelming. 

Instead, you were drawn towards the moonlit lake.

The peacefulness of it all was inviting. There was barely a single ripple, except for the occasional one from a fish. You were thinking about going for a swim, but the lake looked as if it didn't want to be disturbed so you sat amongst the rocky shore instead. You moved your backpack to wear it against your front, so you could lie down. You closed your eyes to begin dreaming of a life where you weren't scared of living. You would most likely live on a small farm with a tiny cottage, a couple of horses and a dog and cat, where every day was the same. You would eventually get bored of the repetition, but remind yourself it's better than this. 

Your dreams would have to wait for you, though, because you felt him close. He didn't need to make a noise for you to know that he was there.

"You know there's a house with a bed less than 10 metres away?" Harrys voice finally broke the silence. 

"Mhm." You responded, not opening your eyes and instead playing a game to try and guess his facial expressions. It was quite funny, actually. You began chuckling to yourself going through each different emotion he could be portraying.

"What's so funny?" He asked, moving closer and the butterflies across your whole body intensified. 

"I'm playing a game." You chuckled and before he could respond you butt in, "You're frowning." 

"Ok." He dragged his syllables out as if he was slightly freaked out that you knew that whilst having your eyes closed. 

"Sorry if that creeped you out." You apologised, not knowing what else to say to him. Turning over on your side, to try and become comfier, was a challenge due to your overly large backpack. You wrapped your arms around it as if it was your mate and you were spooning. You curled into yourself because from how the sky had looked before you knew that it was going to be a cold night. 

"Y/N will you come inside, please?" Harry asked politely, still stood somewhere near you but you weren't sure from which direction. 

"I'm okay, thank you." You declined, not wanting to go inside a house yet. 

"Fine." Harry grumped and you heard him fuss around, before feeling him lay down next to you. He huffed until he found a comfortable position.

"What are you doing?" You whispered, opening your eyes as you felt his presence behind you.

"Well i'm not leaving you out here by yourself - especially when you have a flight or flight response." He chuckled to himself, his skin radiating warmth towards your body.

"It's fight or flight actually." You argued back.

"Yeah, but for you it's flight or flight." He laughed to himself, but shut up when you jabbed his leg with yours. He let out a soft wheeze, but then went back to being quiet. He definitely wasn't getting any sleep out here, not after knowing exactly what the comfort of a bed feels like. You, on the other hand, only were familiar with gravel or grass as a bed and so a bed would feel alien-like to you.

"Harry?" You turned to face him, manoeuvring your backpack around to your back again. When you met his gaze everything suddenly melted and there were no worries in the world anymore. 

Seeing his skin glow against the shine off the moon was angelic - a complete juxtaposition to the creature he actually was. His green eyes were just as penetrating as the first time you looked into them. His lips so full and pink. You took note of a small freckle he had on the side of his nose, where other smaller freckles all gathered around it. He was a vintage dream. The story behind he eyes was one of tragedy and anger - that much you could tell.

"Yes." He remained laid on his back. 

"Thank you." You smiled at him, his beautiful face being the last thing you thought about before you fell asleep. You were wiped out from the events of the day that you couldn't stay away from sleep any longer. You were that tired that you didn't hear Harry say thank you back. If you had heard him you would've questioned what an earth he was thankful for, and for that he was glad you were happily dreaming. 

Maybe even dreaming of him. 

•••••

The next week was spent hanging out around the house.

The morning after you'd fallen asleep next to Harry, you'd found yourselves waking up even closer - noses almost touching and pinky fingers intertwined. Rachel and Freddie had woken you both up, saying that they needed to get up so chores could be done. Harry was always the one to remind everyone of the strict regiment, but that morning he wanted nothing more than to remain laid close next to you. 

Sara had not grown any less cold towards you. In fact, you think she'd gotten worse. You didn't know what you'd done but she clearly didn't like you. It didn't hurt so much that she didn't like you, but more that she hadn't even given you the chance to see if she would. She hadn't spoken another word to you since they had met you a week ago, and at this rate you didn't expect her to ever talk to you again. 

Adam, Freddie and Rachel on the other hand were very welcoming. They filled you in on all your missing details. They explained their back stories; Adam being an Omega since birth and Rachel and Freddie leaving because their parents weren't nice people. Each of them had their own back story which ultimately lead them to Harry in one way or another. Harry had yet to open up to you, but hearing things from Adam it seemed he hadn't really opened up to anyone. 

You definitely felt like you'd become closer to Harry. He had managed to get you sleeping inside, even if it was on the couch downstairs. You refused to go upstairs, knowing that you'd have a slower chance of escape if necessary. He was very kind towards you, making sure you had anything you needed. 

He was completely lovely and you were completely falling for him.

This particular day was stormy and rainy - your least favourite type of weather. The storms that followed scared you. There was something sinister and chilling about them that made you cower in fear. Whenever storms had hit in the past you had found yourself hiding away from them.

"Y/N? Adam? Go get some wood for a fire this evening will you?" Harry ordered you both, seeing as you were just sat around chatting with him. Rachel and Freddie were busy chopping pre-existing wood, which is why Harry must have noticed that there wasn't enough. Harry and Sara were going off to fish for dinner. Sara was actually a really good fisher, it was just a shame she had a terrible attitude - at least towards you. 

So here you now were, finding wood in the middle of the woods. 

"Adam?" You spoke, as you walked side-by-side, "Are Sara and Harry like, you know, together?" You questioned. You weren't going to ask when Sara was right in front of you so you'd been waiting for this opportunity. Sara and Harry being together would help understand why she was so stand-offish with you. 

"No." Adam began, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them from the rain, "Sara has a girlfriend, apparently." He explained, which just complicated things more. It didn’t explain why she was so hostile towards you, or even why she’d be so protective over Harry. “Why do you ask?”

Oh, how fun this one was going to be to explain.

“Just get the feeling Sara doesn’t like me and i’m trying to figure out why.” You answered, not daring a glance at Adam because you knew he would be able to tell that you were trying your best to cover up the real truth.

“Oh Sara is like that with everyone.” Adam shrugged it off. 

“Not with Harry, though.” 

“With Harry it’s... different. Harry had a mate, you see, but she was kidnapped and tortured years ago. Harry tried and tried for years to find her and save her, but by the time he had sniffed out her scent it led him straight to her grave. He was a broken man then, and still is today, so Sara is extra protective over him as i’m sure you can understand why.” 

Your heart fell flat at the news Adam had just provided. Harry had had a mate. Mate’s were something sacred and ridiculously special within the wolf community. If you were bonded to someone, it was as if your soul had attached onto someone else’s. You were part of them and they were part of you. Learning that Harry was a part of someone else and he had a part of someone else inside him made your heart silent. You’d never felt your heart so hollow before, but it was as if a dark void had been cast over it and was swallowing every last beat of your heart. You shouldn’t feel like this, especially when Harry was the one that was in the most pain. He had gone through so much suffering and yet here you were worried as to why your own heart hurt. 

“What was she like? Harry’s mate, I mean.” You don’t know where the urge to know came from, but you had this desire to compare yourself to her.

“Thea was a wonderful human being. She was a lot like you, actually. She was fierce and strong and had this ability to befriend anyone and everyone. It was the greatest tragedy finding her buried 3 feet underground.” Adam shook his head and started to slow down his pace until he came to a stop, turning to look at you.

“I’m sorry, about Thea.” You apologised, not knowing why but you just did. Losing people was the hardest thing a person has to go through, you would know, so you wanted Adam to feel a little warmer by showing your own sorrow.

“Yeah. Those were difficult times.” Adam gave you a smile, but you knew it wasn’t genuine as it didn’t reach his eyes. You’d given too many of those smiles before. 

You hated seeing anyone sad, especially someone like Adam, so you changed the subject.

“So? Firewood?” You asked, rocking back and forth on your heels in anticipation. 

“Yeah,” Adam cleared his throat before continuing, “you go to the clearing that way. It spoils already be pre-chopped from last week. I’ll go this way to get the sledges to carry it all.” You nodded and walked off in the direction that Adam pointed you to go in.

The clearing wasn’t too large, but there was some firewood cut up, just as Adam had said there would be, hidden on the edges of the clearing so it wasn’t obvious people were living around here. You walked over to them, crisp leaves crunching underneath your feet and the smells of pine needles overwhelmed your senses.

Now that you were alone you had all the time to think about the conversation with Adam. When he told you, you’d never felt so sad for someone but also for yourself. The pain that Harry would’ve felt when the bond broke between him and Thea would’ve been the most heartbreaking experience and still he was the strongest man that you knew of. The respect you had for him already, only heightened. Thea must’ve been so lucky to have him.

There was a part of you, however, that was slightly jealous of Thea. She got to experience Harry in a way you found yourself craving more and more. You thought that maybe after some time you could be bonded to him, but with Thea that seemed highly impossible. You weren’t sure exactly when this all happened with Thea and Harry, but even if it was tens of years ago it would still deeply hurt to this day so pushing your feelings onto Harry was something you weren’t prepared to do anymore. You wouldn’t want to hurt him or his heart anymore than he already had been. 

Sara had also made it very clear that you weren’t cut out for him. You understood her hostility towards you now. You would stay away as much as you could and push any surfacing feelings towards Harry away. Far away. 

The wood was nice and dry, which would make it easier to carry, so you started to pick pieces up and collect as much as possible. Just as you had stacked a high pile into your cradling arms you heard rustling in the bushes, not too close but not too far away. 

“Adam?” You asked, calling out his name in hope that it was just him approaching with the sledge. “Adam?” There was no response though, so you assumed it must’ve been a passing deer or some wild animal. 

Until you heard a loud pitched male scream. 

You dropped all the wood and ran directly towards the sound of the scream, hoping for the life of you that it wasn’t Adam. The person who was screaming, continued to grunt and groan under their breathe. You followed it until you started to get a familiar metallic smell - blood - and the smell of something else too. You didn’t realise until you got closer and closer that it was the smell of wet dog. Adam. 

Running through the forest, back the way you came, you were quick to find the spot that Adam left you. You ran in the direction he had told you he was going as fast as you could. Your heartbeat raced too fast to be normal, even for a wolf. You had known this pack for a very short time and yet already you had this urgent and protective attachment over them. You spotted blood on the floor before long, but kept on following the smells instead because if it was Adam then he would’ve been clever enough to divert whomever, or whatever, away from him using his blood. 

After 2 minutes of searching, you found Adam leaned up against a tree and holding his thigh in pain. There was a lot of blood surrounding it too.

“Jesus.” You said in panic, coming right down in front of him and not wasting a second before taking your jumper off and then tearing part of your t-shirt. You used it to tie around his thigh, just above the wound where it looked like a silver bullet had landed, tightly. 

“The hunters are here.” He breathed out heavily, sweat running down his forehead. He groaned when you tightened the shirt around his thigh. You wrapped your jumper around his shoulders to keep him warm and preventing him from going into shock. Due to it being a silver bullet he would need to get it out as soon as possible, most likely with fire, but you couldn’t do it here. You needed to get him back home. Home. 

“You’re going to be okay.” You suggested, jumping when you heard the sounds of crinkling leaves and the safety on the guns clicking off. You knew what you had to do and you didn’t care about the consequences. “Right. I’m going to divert them away from you and when I do you’re going to run as fast as you can back to camp, okay? Get help and all stay there until I come back.”

“Y/N-” 

“Just shut up and do it, Adam.” You stood up first and then held out both hands to help heave him up too. He groaned as he got up, before breathing out heavily as if to mentally and physically prepare himself. You nodded to him once and he nodded back to you. “Now, go!”

You sprinted one way, towards the hunters, and Adam sprinted the other and neither of you looked back at each other. Both of you had tasks to do and orders to follow and you wouldn’t stop until your jobs were done. 

As you approached the hunters you could hear them communicating via walkie-talkies. You slowed down upon approaching them. Their heartbeats were very high, obviously in fear and apprehension. You could use that against them, you thought. Moving behind the trees you rustled them and made leaves fly everywhere. You howled a few times and jumped between trees to confuse them as to where and what you were. The hunters tried shooting you every time, firing bullets in the direction you’d just made a distraction. Each time you managed to escape with a few seconds spare. 

You moved behind one of the hunters and slashed his back with your open claws, holding your hand over his mouth to muffle his screams. You knocked him out afterwards with his own gun. You took the gun and thought you’d scored jackpot when you found tranquillisers in it instead of bullets. Silently creeping behind three more men you shot the tranquillisers into their necks and each fell down to the floor perfectly. You weren’t sure exactly how many more hunters were left, but you could hear at least 6 more heartbeats. 

You rounded another tree, keeping behind it and out of sight as you noticed the other 6 of them like you’d predicted all huddled together in a round circle facing outwards. There was no way you could take them down without dropping down into the centre of them. Sighing, you made a move between one tree and the next because you needed to get to a different tree if you were going to climb and jump down in the middle of them. 

“There’s one!” A hunter shouted and bullets were fired in the direction that you were running from one tree to behind another. 

Once you were behind the next tree you were okay, counting the seconds in your head before you moved to the next one. With only one more tree to run towards before you could climb, you thought yourself pretty lucky. As you ran towards the last tree, though, a hunter managed to shoot and hit. 

The bullet tore right through your abdomen and straight into your stomach. You stopped momentarily as the pain hit you, which allowed another two bullets to hit you in your back. You screamed out a painful cry as you managed to make it behind the tree and steady yourself. The bullets in your back stung like hell, but you could tell they were just simple bullets in comparison to the one in your stomach. You looked down and saw blood everywhere, the skin around the wound already turning blue and green from the poison. A silver bullet. 

“Fuck.” You whispered to yourself, hitting your head on the back of the tree. There was no way that you could climb now with these injuries. 

Footsteps approached. The hunters were obviously more confident in approaching you know they knew they’d hit and weakened you. You wanted to cry, but you had to be strong for yourself. You promised that you would protect your pack no matter what. Your new found love for them was stronger than any love for yourself or the future. You grunted as you stood up properly, but put on your best brave face as you tried to ready yourself. 

Only 6 of them, you reminded yourself. 

When the first hunter rounded the corner you attacked with a hard punch, an excruciating pain rippling through your side as you knocked him out cold. You turned around quickly, sensing that the second had his gun pointed to the back of your head. You took ahold of his gun, but he still fired the gun only for it to pass straight through the body of the third hunter. You shoved the gun into the second hunters face and watched as he fell straight to the floor too. The fourth hunter rounded the tree, but before you could hit him the fifth hunter came behind you and used his arm to wrap around your neck as he began his attempt of strangling you. The fourth hunter walked up to you and started punching you in the stomach, right on top of your fresh silver bullet wound.

“This hurting yet, princess?” He teased, raising his fist back for yet another punch. You didn’t have the air in your lungs to speak back.

“I don’t know. You tell me, princess.” Harry appeared out of nowhere and shoved his fist so forcefully into the hunters face he fell to the floor. The sixth hunter started to run away in terror, but Harry tranquillised him before he could get very far. The final, fifth, guy was quick to release you and head over to Harry to endure a good fight, but as quick as he was over there he was on the floor and knocked out. 

You fell to the floor and wheezed, trying to regain some oxygen in your lungs whilst also trying to forget about the deathly pain in your stomach and back. As soon as Harry had made the final punch, he was quick to rush over to you and kneel on the floor beside you.

“Look at me,” he ordered, but you were so in your head that you couldn’t until he went inside of your head too. That familiar feeling at the back of your neck made you shiver and allow you to feel all of him. “Look at me, Y/N.” 

You snapped your eyes to his and immediately felt safe. He looked frustrated and hurt and you couldn’t tell what was bothering him. 

“Focus on me. Focus on my eyes. Focus on my heartbeat.” Harry ordered again, but down the telepathic connection because this was the only way he knew he’d get you to listen.

“I can’t.” You softly spoke back, noticing Harry serve some goosebumps as your message reached him. 

“Yes you can. You will. I need you to breathe, Y/N.” He spoke urgently, but as your breathing was become more plateau you began to feel a lot dizzier and sleepy. “Stay with me Y/N. Focus.”

All you remember was lights out. 

[brainrotcharacters]

@brainrotcharacters masterlist

(set during Inversion) I Was Going To. sfw. angst. Babe and Angel pov while waiting outside the ward. They try not to be scared. They fail.

--

(writing prompt not mine) "Your enemy stands before you bragging about how he can copy your power and use it against you. Learning that, you point out how dumb that is since unlike you, he has no experience using that power." - In The Middle of Nowhere. enemies to lovers but I cut it before they could be lovers.

(writing prompt not mine) "You became a "supervillain", not out of any particular desire to do evil deeds or take over the world or whatever, but just because your friend is a somewhat underpowered superhero, and you wanted to make sure they had a "nemesis" who wouldn't actually hurt them." - My Bitch My Buddy.

(writing prompt not mine) "Pick a god and pray" - Pick.

--

(Logan/The Worst Wolverine x Wade Wilson/Deadpool) - The Almost Breakup. sfw. angst action. What would it take for Wade to want to get rid of Logan?

(Logan/The Worst Wolverine x Wade Wilson/Deadpool) - Real and Mine. sfw. angst fluff. occurs after the events of the movie. demanded by the gods.

--

(Klahadore/Kuro x fem!painter!reader) Colors - fluff. no established relationship. reader paints and sketches. requested by angeli-fucking-cat

(Nami x fem!reader) Drink - fluff. no established relationship yet. sfw. female reader. it's a meet cute where alcohol was involved. requested by 0amy5.

(Nami x fem!reader) - fluff comfort. sfw. female reader. domesticated moments of dating the girlboss. requested by fairy-geek-ackerman.

(Luffy x reader) Lifeline - angst comfort. sfw. gender neutral reader. I thought my meltdown was done but it wasn't, so I chose the live action as a coping mechanism.

--

(Price x filo!141!reader) Legacy - angst comfort. sfw. gender neutral reader. I awakened my daddy issues and create a little something for the platonic dad Price lovers of the fandom.   

(Ghost x 141!reader) She Wasn’t Always Like That pt 1 pt 2 - angst comfort. sfw. she/her. In Ghost’s humble opinion, the rest of the world isn’t appreciating her as much as they should.

--

(MCU crossover) MCU Moon Knight + Scarlet Scarab come to Talokan - sfw. headcanons.

(MCU/COD crossover) MCU Falcon as a member of 141/Los Vaqueros - sfw. situationship.

--

(Morpheus x f!OC) The Flying, The Falling - comfort. sfw. she/her. I remember the last dream I had where I flew, and I completely used it as reference. no use of Y/n because I said so.

--

(Steven x Marc x Layla x reader) You all right, love? - angst/comfort. sfw. she/her. mentions of suicide and death. Layla only arrives near the end. now beta'd.

(Steven x reader) The Home I Choose -  sfw. she/her. Steven and reader simp for each other, established relationship, reader writes to cope but can't write

(Steven x Marc canon timeline) Not Without Steven - Steven is rejected by the Field of Reeds, told through Marc's perspective

(Steven x reader) Name Me - she/her. Steven vs reader's parents, obvious avoidance of a last name, Steven fighting as Mr. Knight, reader gets kidnapped, crime + violence + blood because it is the spine of every superhero project ever, idk how sedatives and adrenaline shots work, reader is also a dual wielder.

(Marc x reader) With me, sweetheart -  sfw. she/her. Gender neutral reader. marc’s love language is actually sparring.

(Layla x reader) The Blue - sfw. she/her. reader uses painting as an outlet, reader's period doesn't sync with Layla's, established relationship, metaphorical dialogue, angst/fluff

(Layla x Marc x Steven post-canon timeline) All It Took - spectormobile is featured which means Jake is lurking but not addressed, Taweret the therapist friend

--

(Matt Murdock x reader) - Not A Bother If It's You -  sfw. she/her. mutual pining, parents worry about their child's future, angst comfort

--

(Ayato Kirishima x f!human!reader) - You're a ghoul? Cool,cool. -  she/her. established relationship

[cherienymphe]

Unrequited (Thor x Reader)

WARNINGS: NON-CON, loss of virginity, side of Loki x reader, reader has it bad for Loki

➥ {page breaks done by @firefly-graphics​ }

summary: you, a servant, are in love with Loki, your prince. He’s never noticed, and while that’s unfortunate for you, it is much to Thor’s delight because he has noticed. And he can’t stand it.

~

You stood along the wall with the rest of the servants, waiting as patiently as ever. The other girls beside you had been fidgeting for a while, Ingrid huffing for the fifth time in minutes, and you supposed that you couldn’t blame them. The feast had commenced hours ago, and it seemed as if an end was nowhere in sight. You, however, were more than happy to wait.

A familiar hand lifted into the air, long fingers snapping to beckon you over. Without hesitation, you answered the dark-haired prince’s call, feet hurrying to take you to him. You knew what he wanted as soon as he lifted his goblet, and you were extra careful in pouring him more wine. You’d hate to spill any on him.

“Thank you, Y/N,” he absentmindedly said, the words falling so easily from his lips.

You’d heard them probably a thousand times, and just like before, you always asked:

“Is there anything else I can do for you, my prince?”

And just like always, he said:

“No, that will be all.”

You kept your smile in place as he waved you away, heart sinking as you turned to join the rest of the servants on the wall. Your fingers scraped along the pitcher in your hands, and you let your eyes fall to the ground as a particularly loud laugh climbed out of the king’s throat. You cringed at the grating noise, lip trembling as you forced your beating heart to still.

Your eyes finally rose again, landing on the prince, and your heart clenched in your chest. His dark hair shone as it brushed along his broad shoulders, long fingers dancing along the rim of his goblet. He stood out amongst the rest of the rowdy guests, his quiet disposition a stark contrast in the rowdy room. He was always quiet though.

That’s what you loved about him.

Prince Loki didn’t care to be the center of attention…just like you. He spent his time reading and writing. Occasionally, you’d walked in on him drawing a sketch or two. On most days, he was subdued, preferring to observe those around him. You noticed that he took his time when talking with people, seeming to really mull over his responses before voicing them. He was such a breath of fresh air from-.

Your thoughts were cut short by that laugh again, and you winced. King Thor bellowed, completely tickled by something Hogun had whispered to him. You straightened and glanced away from him with a small sigh.

You had no ill feelings towards the king…none of consequence anyway. Everything about him just seemed to overwhelm you. He was too loud or too big or too abrasive. He was just too much. For as long as you’d known him, he was loud and demanding and a bit spoiled. Not to mention impulsive. He and Loki were so different that you often found yourself wondering how the two could even be related.

Fortunately for you, it seemed that Loki had finally grown tired of the antics, waving you along as he stood. You set the pitcher down and rushed to follow him, trailing behind him like a pet would. Sometimes you thought that you should feel embarrassed at how completely devoted to him you were, but you couldn’t find it in yourself too.

The prince was beautiful, and not just because he was a god, but because he was Loki. His green eyes sparkled like emeralds, and his pink lips had never once formed to say anything to hurt you, the opposite in fact. His voice could soothe even the crankiest of children. Prince Loki had never been anything but kind to you, even allowing you to borrow his books.

You were irrevocably in love with him.

You knew it was silly. He was a prince, a god, the highest caliber of royalty there was, and you… You were a servant. He would never look at you the way you looked at him, but you knew that his brother had a reputation for pulling servants into his chambers through all hours of the night. Heat settled into the pit of your stomach as you thought of Loki doing the same to you.

It became clear early on though that he was not like that. At first, you thought that it had just been you, and disappointment and sorrow had eaten away at you for weeks, but you soon realized that no one was warming his bed. You hoped that one day that would change. Even if that was all the prince wanted from you, you’d happily give it to him.

You’d do anything to please him.

“Draw me a bath,” he tiredly murmured just as you closed his chamber door behind you.

“Of course.”

You breezed past him, and through his bedroom, making your way into the bath. Loki didn’t like his bath water too hot, and you waded your hand through it many times to make sure it was just right. You added some soaps to it, grabbing the bowl of flower petals you’d placed beside the tub this morning. You were seated on it, tossing them across the water just as he made his way inside. You set it down, hurrying to help him undress.

“Thor was more energetic than usual tonight,” he said, sighing as he eased into the warm water. “How do you always manage to get it perfect?”

That last part was said so softly that you wondered if you’d imagined it, and you knew that it must have been said more to himself, not meant for you. You smiled anyway.

“Did you enjoy yourself, my prince?” you genuinely wondered, resting your arms and chin on the large bath.

His head was leaned back, eyes closed as he soaked. A small smirk danced along his lips, and you eyed it.

“As well as to be expected, I suppose. I’ll never understand why Thor demands my attendance to such trivial gatherings. Nothing more than a self-congratulatory circle jerk,” he sneered.

You swallowed a laugh at his crude language.

“Pardon my wording,” he apologized.

“It’s alright. Would you like for me to wash your hair?”

You were already moving as you asked the question, but his soft ‘please’ warmed your heart. Your fingers were gentle in combing through his locks, massaging his scalp. A low moan rumbled deep in his throat, and you ran your eyes over him as he relaxed under your ministrations.

When you were done, you cupped some water in your hands a few times before letting it run over his hair. You swallowed when he began to rise, and as much as you didn’t want to, you looked away.

“I’ll go turn back your bed,” you told him as you turned around to give him some privacy.

As you pulled his sheets and covers back, you couldn’t stop yourself from running your fingers over the cool material. You wondered how comfortable they were, how cool they’d feel against your skin. How cool they would feel while the prince had his way with you…

You snatched your hand back like you’d been caught doing something you shouldn’t have. You swallowed down your wanton thoughts as Loki exited, fully dressed for bed.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, my prince?”

Your voice was soft as you asked the same question you did every night, hoping against hope that he’d finally say what you wanted to hear. That he’d ask you to stay, ask you to share his bed, ask you to please him…

He threw you a smile, so small it was barely there, but you knew him so well that you could easily spot the subtle change in expression.

“That will be all. You’re dismissed,” he told you.

With a shaky nod, you turned and left. The minute you were in the corridor, you pressed your back to his chamber door, tears in your eyes. The desire that coursed through you should have terrified you, but it only fueled the hope in your heart. You had to hope that he at least desired you half as much as you did him.

When you finally got your legs to move down the hall, you passed the king’s wing. A feminine giggle echoed down the hall, and you turned your head just in time to see his chamber doors slamming shut, the tail end of a flowy dress nearly getting caught.

You blinked, lips parting as your shoulders sagged.

Your fingers ghosted over the beauty products before you, brows furrowed in confusion. You knew that it was wrong of you to sneak into Ingrid’s room, but you were desperate. You only wanted to borrow a few things that she wouldn’t even notice were gone. She had so much.

You bit your lip, wondering if this was even the right thing to do. What if he laughed at you, thinking you silly for this? What if he didn’t take you seriously after this? What if he thought less of you? What if you were only making a fool of yourself? With a sigh, you dropped Ingrid’s rouge just as her door opened.

There was a frown on her striking features as soon as her eyes landed on you. It was late in the night, and her hair was perfectly mussed, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. You had suspicions that she was the one you saw going into the king’s chamber earlier.

“Never pegged you for a thief, Y/N,” she chuckled, closing her door.

“I wasn’t stealing…only borrowing,” you replied unconvincingly.

“Uh huh,” she brushed you off, nearing you to see what you had.

She took it and turned it over, a small smirk gracing her lips.

“…and…just who are you trying to get all prettied up for?”

Your mouth opened and closed, words failing you as you pondered over whether or not you should tell her the truth. Deep down, maybe a part of you wanted to get caught. Maybe you wanted to ask for her help? You doubted that she’d help you without the truth though.

“Don’t tell me… You’re trying to gain the king’s favor…?”

Her voice was colder, eyes hardening as yours widened.

“The-the king?” you exclaimed, eyebrows rising.

She scoffed, running her eyes over you.

“I already have to fight for his attention with just about every other woman in this kingdom. I’d hate to have to put you in your place because you got way in over your head-.”

“No, no, heavens no,” you said, frowning in disgust. “I am not trying to seduce the king.”

The thought made your stomach turn. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes on you as you slowly rose to your feet.

“Well, then who? Because a girl like you doesn’t go rifling through other people’s things just to seduce no one,” she argued.

“Well, trust me, it is not king Thor. He’s all yours. He’s not exactly my taste…”

Her frown deepened.

“Who is?”

A soft sigh escaped you, and again, you wondered if you should be truthful or not. Ingrid would probably press you for details, and you weren’t ready to embarrass yourself further by admitting you were hopelessly in love with prince Loki. Your eyes reluctantly met hers again, and her face evened out as her eyes lit up.

“The prince,” she whispered, a genuine smile on her face, a light scoff escaping her. “I shouldn’t be surprised, and yet… I am. You were right. The king isn’t your taste.”

You swallowed.

“Can you…help me?”

“You sweet summer child,” she tsk’d. “You do understand that while the prince is definitely no Thor, he is still a man. There’s a very high chance that he’ll only want one thing from you.”

You rubbed your arm, gently shaking your head.

“I don’t care,” you whispered. “I just…want him.”

She let out a long exhale, eyes softening as she eyed you.

“I see. How…cute, but I’ll help you.”

She grabbed your arm, pulling you along.

“You wait on him hand and foot. I always thought you were just being a dutiful servant, maybe even a bit of a pushover, but now it all makes sense.”

“You don’t have to tell me how silly I am,” you mumbled.

“I’m not,” she chuckled, placing a finger under your chin, lifting your head. “I’m commending you.”

You were sure the confusion was clear on your face.

“The prince has seen how wonderful a servant you are. I’m willing to bet that he has never had one complaint about you. He thinks you’re perfect, and now you will show him that you have even more to offer.”

Her smile grew, and so did your nerves.

The night was spent with Ingrid teaching you everything she knew. How to walk, how to smile, how to speak. You hadn’t realized that seducing required so much work, and you suddenly realized that it was going to take more than you thought to get what you wanted.

When morning came, she helped you dress, whispering words of encouragement to you. She assured you that you could do this, could have him right where you had wanted him for years, and with her guidance, you left to go down to the kitchens to gather his breakfast.

You breezed into the prince’s chambers like you did every morning. You walked through his receiving room and laid out his breakfast before making your way to the large windows on the far-left side of his room. You pulled the drapes aside, letting the sunlight in just as a groan sounded from behind you.

“Is it morning already?”

His voice was always husky in the morning, deep and groggy from sleep.

“Yes, my prince. Do not forget that the king requested you join him this morning for a meeting regarding the-.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” he sighed. “Heaven forbid Thor tend to his duties as a king should without me by his side to guide him.”

When finished, you turned to help him out of bed. All of his movements halted as you neared, and you avoided his eye as you went to turn the cover back. You could feel his eyes on you, and your body grew warm under his scrutiny.

Ingrid had lent you one of her dresses. It was the typical cream garment that all of the servants donned, but the neckline sat lower, showing off a tasteful eyeful of cleavage. Where your regular dress had loosely flowed around you like water, this one hugged you, accentuating your curves.

You were startled when Loki’s hand found your wrist, stopping you. You finally looked at him, brows furrowed ever so slightly as he stared at you, a small frown on his own face. Your arm trembled at the feel of his hand on you, and he noticed, quickly letting you go. Much to your disappointment…

“Thank you, Y/N, but I can take it from here,” he quietly told you.

You nodded, backing away.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

For the first time, his reply did not come quickly. There was a brief pause, hesitation that had never been there before, and butterflies fluttered in your stomach. He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

“…no.”

Your heart sank, and you nodded, turning away.

As usual, the king was the last to arrive, everyone else having long taken their seats. Loki had been one of the first to arrive, and you had happily served him water while he waited. Thor strolled into the hall like there wasn’t a care in the world, taking his time in sliding into his seat before beckoning one of the servants over.

Your eyes did what they do best and fell on the prince. Other than his perusal this morning, nothing had changed. For a moment there, you had thought that he finally saw you as you saw him, but whatever you thought you saw was gone just as quick as it had come.

Did he hate the look of the dress? Your face? You had applied rouge to your cheeks and lips, keeping your hair simple. Ingrid had assured you that you looked ‘good enough to eat’, and yet… Your shoulders sagged as a stifling sadness fell over you.

What if it wasn’t a matter of getting him to notice you? What if he already did and simply…did not feel the same way? The thought of Loki never returning your affections because you did not appeal to him made your heart hurt, and you blinked back tears just as the prince beckoned you over for more water.

As you refilled his glass, you felt the odd sensation of being watched. Against your better judgement, you glanced over only for your gaze to connect with that of the king’s. You quickly looked away, topping off Loki’s drink just as the blond spoke.

“Brother, you do not think to introduce your servant to her king?”

You frowned in confusion, and so did the prince as you both looked to Thor. His blue eyes were on you still as a secretive smile graced his lips. You tilted your head at him.

“As many years as Y/N has served me now, you’ve never thought to formally introduce yourself,” Loki told him, frown deepening.

A spark of recognition flitted through the king’s eyes as he gazed at you, and a chuckle left him.

“That would explain why she’s looking as if I’d asked her why the sky is green,” he jested.

As he pointed that out, you worked to even out your face. You nodded at him before dismissively turning to Loki.

“Will that be all?”

“Yes. Stay close though. I have a feeling Thor will drag this meeting far beyond what’s necessary,” he complained.

You nodded at him, eyes lingering as you hovered for a moment before your feet reluctantly moved you back to the wall. Loki offered his input throughout the meeting, but it seemed that the king never liked whatever the prince had to say. You could see him growing more taut by the minute, and you longed to place your hands on his shoulders, easing his tension.

You wondered if this was all you’d ever be to him. A servant. The possibility of that seemed to be growing by the minute, and you started to feel so silly for thinking you could ever be anything more. You considered being bolder, possibly even just confessing to him, but you didn’t want to think about the humiliation if he rejected you.

Or worse.

What if he was so affronted that he dismissed you for good? You couldn’t truly imagine such a thing happening, but your mind was running wild with the possibilities. When you came back to the scene before you, Loki was rising, voice clipped.

He was angry, you realized, and you frowned. You took a small step forward as you eyed him, hating the way his face was twisted. He seemed to be scolding his brother, and when you looked to the king, you found his blue gaze already on you. Your frown deepened, and you hurriedly looked away just as Loki pulled away from the table, waving you along.

Without a second glance to the king, you hurried to follow him. He was grumbling to himself when you caught up to him, running a hand through his hair.

“What is my purpose of being there if he isn’t going to listen to a word I say?” he wondered.

“My prince, you know that your brother has always done what he wants to do,” you softly told him.

He slowed to a stop, shoulders heaving as he sighed. You reached for him before thinking better of it, pulling your hand back.

“You are right, but it does not mean I have to like it.”

You hated to see him so bothered, and you stepped closer.

“Would you like something to eat from the…?”

You swallowed the rest of your words as heavy footsteps approached, and you both turned to watch as the king neared. You took a few steps back to stand behind the prince, quietly acknowledging Thor. Your eyes landed on Loki again as his frown deepened at the sight of his brother.

“Loki, the meeting was far from over, and there is still much for us to discuss,” Thor boomed, a frown of his own covering his features.

The dark-haired man heaved a sigh.

“I’d hardly call it a discussion, brother if you aren’t actually listening to a word I say,” he complained.

Thor opened his mouth to say something when his eyes caught yours. He appeared to think better of it, blue eyes quickly running over you just as Loki turned to look at you as well. You frowned at the king’s perusal.

“Fetch something from the kitchens for us, and then bring it to my chambers,” he softly ordered, rolling his eyes.

You bit back a smile at his evident irritation with the king before nodding.

“Right away, my prince.”

As you walked past the king, you felt something catch along the fabric of your dress. You turned with a slight frown, but both the king and the prince were already walking away. You blinked, writing it off as you made your way to the kitchens.

It took you no time to put a platter together, grabbing some ale. When you returned to the prince’s chambers, he and Thor appeared to be locked in a stalemate. You set the tray down between them, filling their goblets as they glared at each other. You felt a bit awkward, so you touched Loki’s shoulder.

“My prince…”

He blinked, finally looking away from Thor before reaching for the platter with an angry huff.

“Thank you, Lady Y/N,” Thor said.

You sent him a quick smile in return, barely sparing him a glance before turning your attention back to Loki. His green eyes found yours, and they softened.

“Thank you, Y/N. You’re dismissed for the rest of the day. Thor and I have much to discuss indeed it seems,” he murmured.

You bit your lip, and you could feel the king’s gaze searing into the side of your face.

“If you’re sure. Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?”

He shook his head, and reluctantly, you stepped away. With a quiet sigh, you left his chambers without a farewell to the king.

The days that followed were…odd, to say the least. The king seemed to be around Loki a lot more, and by default, that meant he was around you more as well. You didn’t know how to feel about it, but you didn’t think you liked it. Not only was his presence upsetting the prince more than usual, and therefore upsetting you, but the king tended to stare a lot.

Having always been strictly a servant for the prince, you hardly interacted with Thor, but the few times that you did, you didn’t remember this being a part of his behavior. His ever-watchful eye unnerved you, and you soon started to wonder if he knew how you felt about the prince. You prayed not, because he didn’t strike you as the type to keep it to himself.

Unable to hold your tongue regarding his hard to ignore presence, you brought it up to the prince one night.

“It’s all rather tedious,” he sighed. “It’s nothing that I believe truly requires my input. That’s excluding his grand idea of me finding a wife.”

Your chin had been resting on the tub, fingers running along the smooth surface, when he spoke. You froze, feeling as if someone had taken a knife to you as you slowly lifted your gaze, eyes landing on him. He was leaning back with his eyes closed, the perfect picture of relaxation, a contrast to you at the moment.

“…what?”

Your voice was small, but the worry must have been evident, nonetheless. Loki chuckled.

“Do not fret,” he told you, finally opening his eyes. “No strange woman will be coming here to demand things of you anytime soon. I’m merely humoring him. Although, I will admit that he does seem to be rather persistent upon the idea.”

He moved to rise, and you looked away.

“It’s preposterous if you ask me. He suggests I began looking for a wife when he has yet to find a queen?”

You didn’t laugh along with him, knowing that the king had a rather annoying habit of getting whatever he wanted. The rest of the night was spent in silence as you helped Loki prepare for bed. If he noticed your strange behavior, then he did not comment on it, and for that you were grateful.

After quickly leaving his chambers, you found yourself amongst the rose bushes in the garden. Your shoulders shook as tears kissed your eyes, chest clenching at the thought of the prince binding himself to someone else forever.

A part of you had always known that this day would come, but you had never wanted to acknowledge it. You had hoped that something would happen before then. Of course, how could you expect that to come true when all you did was stare after him like some lovesick fool? A tear skipped down your cheek, and you hurriedly wiped it away just as you heard footsteps.

You thought nothing of it, knowing that many people ventured into the gardens throughout all hours of the day. However, when the footsteps stopped behind you, you had no choice but to turn. Surprise and confusion filled you as your eyes landed on none other than the king. Unlike before, you couldn’t get away with ignoring his presence.

“My king,” you greeted, standing.

You worked to school your features as he looked over you, a crooked smile on his lips.

“It is rather late for you to be frolicking about all by your lonesome, is it not?”

You frowned at his tone but brushed it off.

“I just wanted some solace and fresh air to think,” you told him.

He hummed, and you moved to leave.

“Goodnight, my king.”

He stopped you, and you looked to him with a small frown.

“It is late and dark. Allow me to walk you back to your chambers,” he offered.

You shook your head.

“I appreciate the offer, my king, but there’s no need. I’ve walked these dark halls alone many times before,” you replied.

You went to step around him, but again, he was there. You swallowed down your annoyance, biting your cheek.

“I’d feel much better if you allowed me to. I’d rest easy knowing you made it back safe.”

Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you nodded, choosing to pick your battles with the almighty Thor. He rested his hand on your back as he walked you out of the garden, and you stepped out of his reach. The walk back to your room was filled with silence, but you were not bothered. Your mind was too crowded with thoughts of Loki.

He said that he was only entertaining Thor, having no intentions of taking a wife anytime soon, but that could easily change. The king had a way of getting what he wanted one way or another, and for some reason, he wished for his brother to be married. Your frown deepened.

“I’m sorry for my odd behavior at the meeting the other day. You did not look as I was used to seeing you,” the king said after a while with a small chuckle.

“It’s quite alright,” you sighed.

There was a brief silence before he spoke again.

“I do hope everything is alright. You appeared rather upset in the gardens…”

You shook your head, somewhat annoyed at his uncharacteristic behavior. You had never known Thor to be so observant of another unless it affected him. The only time you’d notice him pay so much attention to a woman was when…

Your lips parted, and you looked away as realization hit you. Your eyes slowly looked to him, and you found his attentive gaze already on you. You pursed your lips, annoyance filling you.

“If it appeared that way then I apologize. It wasn’t my intention. I merely have a lot on my mind,” you told him, voice clipped.

“Such as?”

“Nothing of importance.”

Your tone left no room for questioning, and you heard him huff. Relief filled you when your door came into view, and you bowed to him with a quiet ‘thank you’ before walking away. You felt him grab your arm, gently, but it still startled you, nonetheless.

You looked to him with wide eyes, brows furrowed. He stepped closer, and if it weren’t for his hold, you would have stepped back. His gaze was intense, sparkling with something you had seen all too often, and disgust filled you.

“If my brother is mistreating you in any way, you are always more than welcome to serve me instead,” he quietly said, voice thick.

Your frown deepened, and you pulled your arm away before stepping back, watching as his face fell.

“Why would the prince be mistreating me? He has never been anything but good to me.”

He cleared his throat.

“I just worry that your behavior might have something to do with him-.”

“As kind as that is, it is not necessary. As I said, I merely had a lot on my mind. The prince could never put me into a foul mood. Goodnight, my king.”

You swiftly entered your room before he could reply, and you placed your ear to the door. He seemed to stand there for a while before finally leaving with a huff. You only sighed in relief when he was gone, quickly ridding yourself of your dress.

You quickly slipped into one of the night shifts Ingrid had lent you, feeling naked in the flimsy fabric. You felt like you were crossing a line, but you couldn’t allow the king to get his way and have Loki married. The night air felt even cooler as you stepped out of your room.

You felt scandalous, but so many of the other women had done what you were currently doing a thousand times before. There was no need to feel ashamed or weird about it. Still, if anyone caught you, you’d have to come up with something.

The walk to the prince’s wing felt long. It wasn’t late enough for him to be asleep, that much you knew. He usually had his nose buried in a book at this time. You slowed when you got to his door, heart surprisingly steady in your chest. With a deep breath, you smoothed the fabric before knocking on his door. You could hear his footsteps approaching, but with a frown, you realized that his weren’t the only ones you heard.

You looked over your shoulder just in time to see the king approach, his wide eyes taking you in. Your own widened just as the door opened behind you, and you felt your body grow cold at the predicament you found yourself in.

“Y/N?”

You spun around, facing Loki as confusion filled his features. He ran his eyes over you, a myriad of emotions swirling in their depths just before he finally noticed his brother.

“Thor. What is the meaning of this?”

Your mind whirled, and you blinked.

“I…believe that I must have been sleepwalking, my prince. I’m so sorry-.”

“Nonsense. Here, the nights are colder these days,” he said, taking off the robe he was wearing before covering your shoulders with it. “What are you doing here, Thor?”

You too wanted to know the answer to that, and it was hard to keep the irritated frown from your face as you looked to him. His own eyes were on you, and you knew then that he saw through your lie. He cleared his throat.

“I came to discuss something with you, brother,” he said.

Loki let out an exasperated sigh.

“Well, surely it can wait until the morning. I must walk Y/N back to her chambers to ensure she makes it to bed safely,” he told him.

You smiled at him at him as he pushed you along.

“Thank you,” you told him.

You caught the frown on the king’s face, but you ignored it as Loki rested his hand on your arm.

“You’ve never been known to sleepwalk before,” the prince murmured.

“I know. Well, at least not that I know of. I’m not sure what happened,” you lied.

“Anything could have happened. You could have fallen down the stairs, or one of the unscrupulous characters who roam these halls could have happened upon you.”

You sent him an appreciative smile. His hand was warm on your arm, and you inhaled, breathing in the comforting scent of him. You basked in his presence, but all too soon, you reached your door. You took off his robe, handing it back to him, but when he grabbed it, you didn’t let go.

A frown was on his face as you tugged on the fabric, pulling him closer. You blinked at him, smile widening as hope filled your eyes, unable to miss the way he ran his eyes over you.

“Stay,” you finally whispered.

His eyes widened, face falling as you made your intentions clear. Realization bled into his gaze.

“You were not sleepwalking…were you?”

Reluctantly, you shook your head. He heaved a sigh, and your face fell.

“Y/N…you are my servant. A good one. I cannot use my authority to-.”

“Why not? The king does it all the time-.”

“I am not Thor! I refuse to be,” he said, and your lips trembled. “I will not take advantage of you.”

You grabbed his shirt, pushing yourself against him. You watched his throat bob, a look in his eyes that you had always prayed to see.

“I want you to,” you quietly said, hurrying to continue when you noticed that he was about to protest. “My prince, I would do anything for you. I would give you anything you asked of me.”

He exhaled, and it was shaky, and you smiled. He hesitantly leaned in, and your nose brushed against his. He whispered your name so softly, the sound going straight to your heart…and stomach.

He kissed you, and you moaned against his lips. Your fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, and one of his hands pressed into the wall, the other going to your waist. Your heart soared, and you felt like you were floating as he moved his mouth against yours.

“Take me,” you breathed into his mouth.

He froze, and you could have cried. Your heart sank as he pulled away, his chest heaving, and lips swollen and red. He smoothed down the fabric of your night dress.

“I…am giving you the day off tomorrow,” he murmured, and you frowned.

“What?”

Panic filled you, but he hurried to ease it.

“Do not fret. I merely have much to think about and…I cannot do so properly when you tempt me so.”

Embarrassment filled you, and you looked away as a deep chuckle escaped him.

“Things are starting to make sense, and I’m realizing that you have been tempting me for days,” he whispered.

“I would do it again,” you said, kissing him.

He hummed into the kiss before pulling away and opening your door. He gently pushed you inside, green eyes sparkling in a way you’d never seen before.

“Sleep well for I shall not abandon you.”

You smiled at him, biting your lip as he turned to leave.

“Loki…”

He paused at the use of his name, looking over his shoulder. You sighed, lashes fluttering.

“I love you.”

He blinked at your confession, lips parting. He took a step towards you and kissed you one last time. You watched him walk away, and when you closed your door, you slid down to the floor, the happiest you’d ever been.

Your happiness only increased the next morning when you noticed a folded slip of parchment that had been slid underneath your door. When you opened it, Loki’s handwriting greeted you, and your eyes widened as they skimmed over each line.

He wanted to meet you tonight in the master chamber of the abandoned wing. You briefly wondered why there, but his next few words informed you that Thor’s presence had been rather persistent lately, something you too had noticed, and he did not wish to be interrupted.

You spent your entire day off in a daze, wondering what tonight would entail. You remembered everything that Ingrid had told you, even some of the things that had made you squirm, and there was a very high chance that you would be doing those things tonight.

When the night finally came, you felt your nerves increase like no other. It was late, and the corridors were empty, bare feet walking on the cool floor. You wore nothing underneath the robe, body bare and clean from your bath earlier. You weren’t afraid. You trusted the prince more than you trusted anyone else in the world.

The room was empty when you entered it, but light was cast onto your features from the candles placed around the room. The bed was made, but you wasted no time in turning it back, robe slipping from you, a whisper of fabric in the quiet room. It fell to your feet, and you slid into the bed, pulling the sheet to your chest as you waited for Loki.

You didn’t wait long, and you sat up when you heard footsteps approaching. A soft smile danced along your lips, excitement filling you as Loki approached. You watched as the handle turned, but when the door creaked open, it was not his form that filled the entryway.

Your heart dropped to your stomach, a frown taking over as confusion and fear and anger filled you. Thor’s eyes met yours, and you felt your breath pick up, chest heaving as he shut the door behind him. Your lips were parted, at a loss for words as you fought to voice your thoughts.

“Well…this is a first,” his deep voice hummed. “A woman has never been disappointed to see me before.”

“…wh-what? What is the meaning of this? Where is Loki?”

He did not answer you right away, and your frozen frame finally moved as he took a step forward. You hurried off of the bed, clutching the sheet to you as you reached for your robe.

“I see the way you watch him. Such devotion in your eyes,” he murmured, almost in awe. “What man would not envy such loyalty from a woman such as yourself?”

You froze again, jaw clenching and fingers tightening as the truth hit you.

“You tricked me,” you quietly spat, glaring at him.

You didn’t bother to school your tone, king or no king. You were disgusted with him. There wasn’t an ounce of remorse in his features, and your anger grew.

“How else was I to get you alone? Your eyes only ever see my brother,” he said.

“So you take it upon yourself to use deception to get me alone with you? Because that’s the only way I’d ever do so.”

His own jaw ticked, and he narrowed his eyes.

“You practically fall on your face to get away from me, but him you throw yourself at like a common whore,” he sneered, finally exposing himself.

You surmised that he saw you and the prince last night, and your stomach turned. You took no offense to his statement for it was true. You’d do anything for Loki.

“It’s okay for women to act that way as long as its for you,” you said. “I would do anything for the prince…and you can’t stand it.”

You shook your head at him, watching his face twist into anger.

“You’re like a child,” you said in disbelief. “You get anything and anyone you want, and still, you know no satisfaction.”

“You will watch how you speak to me,” he ordered, taking another step forward.

“You have tricked me! And for what? Because I want your brother and not you? You’re despicable,” you threw at him.

“One more word of disrespect, and I shall have your tongue,” he threatened.

“The prince would never allow such a thing to happen,” you smugly replied.

He straightened, and he knew it was true. You threw the robe around you, only allowing the sheet to fall once it was secured.

“You do not spare me a glance,” he finally said. “It is as if I am not there.”

You snorted.

“What does it matter? I have always shown you the proper respect, my king, but you are angered because I’d rather fall at the prince’s feet than yours? There are lines of women in this kingdom ready to do your bidding. Leave Loki and I be,” you snapped, flurrying past him.

He stopped you, and you sharply inhaled.

“Surely you could be just as happy giving me what you so desire to give him.”

You frowned, offended. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that Thor was hurt by your rejection. You shook your head at him, disbelief coloring your tone.

“You do not understand. I love the prince.”

You watched his fall, lips pressing together as he registered your confession.

“My loyalty and devotion to him is because of my love for him. I am in love with Loki. Do you get it now?”

He took a step back, letting go of you as he blinked, realizing that this was no matter of fleeting lust.

“That look that you envy so much is love, not desire. It angers you so because you have never known it,” you told him.

He glared at you, and you returned the look. You watched as he picked at a piece of lint on your robe, lip curling over his teeth.

“Then I will simply have to make you love me as well.”

He yanked you towards him, and you yelped, kicking at him. He pressed his mouth to yours, forcing a kiss on your lips, and you pushed your hands against his chest. He tore at the robe that covered you, and fear gripped you, a scream bubbling in your throat, but he swallowed it down.

You had always thought that Thor was too much, a list of things falling under the vague statement, and too strong was quickly added to it. He had you naked before him in no time, and you bounced against the bed as he threw you onto it. He fell over you, hands pinning your wrists down as he took his fill of you, eyes tracing every curve of your body.

“There is a part of me that regrets taking you away from my brother, especially like this, but the part of me that wants you all for myself already won.”

He kissed you again, and you only started to cry when you felt him moving to release himself. You had been prepared to ruin your reputation for the prince, risking the fate of marrying a second son or marrying no one at all. You loved him, but you would never risk such a thing for the king. Yet here he was, taking that choice away from you.

You screamed for Loki, desperate and afraid, but Thor’s lips covered yours once more, swallowing your cries. His beard tickled your skin, and his blond locks brushed over your face. You could feel the tip of him brush against you, and you trembled beneath him. He ignored your cries and your please, pushing into you so swiftly that the pain didn’t even register until moments later.

You yelped into his mouth, and he moaned into yours, trembling at the feel of you wrapped around him. Tears spilled from your eyes, anger and sadness paralyzing you. The king was in heaven…while you were in hell.

“Loki,” you sadly murmured, chest hurting at the thought of never being with him.

This angered Thor, and he snarled just before pulling his hips back and snapping them against you. You gasped in pain, nails digging into his arms as more tears ran down your face. His lips kissed at your cheek and neck as he thrust into you, low moans leaving him.

You turned your head away, anger increasing at the extent of Thor’s selfish nature. You hit at him, slapping his shoulders and face, curses flying from your lips. He quickly grew tired of your antics and grabbed your wrists, slamming them down beside your head. You sobbed in frustration.

His heavy breathing filled your ears as he slammed into you, every thrust making your heart clench in pain. You struggled to get your arms out of his harsh hold, but he only tightened them. You knew they would be sore in the morning.

Against your will, your core grew slick under his ministrations, the sound of his assault reaching your ears, making you cringe. He tried to kiss you, but you kept moving your head, refusing to give him what he wanted.

“You shall grow to love me as well,” he murmured.

You shook your head, and he pressed his lips to your jaw, groaning against your skin.

“I wish for you to show me the same devotion that you give to my brother.���

His thrusts grew slow, gradually pushing into your slick walls until you were forced to feel every vein and ridge of him. He moaned, a low sound from deep within his throat. You felt him shudder, and you did as well as warmth filled you, his cum slowly leaking out around his cock. He softened, but barely so, and fresh tears spilled.

He forced another kiss on you, grinding his hips into yours as he fucked his cum into you, the wet sound reaching your ears.

“I can give you the world too,” he groaned into your mouth. “I shall not rest until you look at me like you look at him.”

~

tags: @mcudarklibrary​ @darkficreposter​ @xoxabs88xox​ @harryspet​ @readermia​ @opheliadawnwalker3​ @nickyl316h​ @captainchrisstan​ @sebabestianstan101​ @villanellevi​ @lokislastlove​ @notyourtypicalrose​ @coconutqueen21​ @hurricanerin​

[anxiouslyfred]

Met in the Woods

for @dukexietyweek‘s prompt Pirates/Adventure, I focused on Adventure

Summary: Remus didn’t run away, he just went on a wander through the woods. Virgil got kicked out of their home and took to the woods to try and survive. Somehow meeting was the calmest part despite Virgil attacking Remus.

Warnings: vague fighting, eldritch being mentioned, self-esteem issues, homophodia mention

/\/\

Remus hadn't run away. Really he'd barely even left home, despite packing the largest pack they had full of survival supplies and taking off into the woods one morning before anyone else woke up. There was no point in writing a note, not when he'd definitely be coming home, at some point, probably.

The woods had always called to him, filled with mysteries and adventure if only he had the time to explore and find it, and finally Remus was following the call. He already knew where the first glade was to make a camp in, after that he could follow the river some knights mentioned when reporting their patrols.

He wasn't expecting the glade to already have a tent in it, or for said tents owner to have him flat out within seconds of emerging from the treeline.

“Who sent you after me? I'm not going back, whatever crap they've told you!” The person had a staff poised to strike and with all of Remus's weapons currently under him and tied to his pack he wasn't too inclined to make it an actual fight. Besides, not being recognised as one of the sons of the areas Lord? It was basically a dream Remus never expected to happen given the amount of public appearances he was bribed into.

“Nobody sent me, not a clue who you are. Can I stick my tent over here? Heading to the river at this time of night is just asking for a patrol to catch us.” Remus shrugged, rolling to stand up again only to jump back when the staff was swiped at his legs. What was with them trying to lay him out?

A snarl curled their lips and Remus was fascinated. Most people couldn't get quite so vicious an expression, not even an enraged Roman had managed it yet, although he did get complimented on being fearsome when rampaging. “Like I'm going to believe that! They kicked me out and now expect to get me dragged back, begging for forgiveness or some shit?”

“Woah, I've never managed to get kicked out before. How did you manage that and can I try? Sounds like the best release from responsibilities ever!” Remus leant forwards, although still staying out of the staffs range.

“Writing in a journal about liking how men look. Seriously, people will kick you out for the most dull stuff. Thinking there's dangers in too thin ice, and telling people to sharpen weapons with them directed away from you to avoid self stabbing, oh that's fine. Like watching spiders and write stories without even showing them to anybody about how hot the guy next door is, nope get the hell out.” Remus frowned while listening to the rant. Those motives really did sound incomprehensible, but the persons frustrated movements did sometimes cause their top to tighten and show off muscles or make his cloak move like bats wings over their arms.

It was enough that Remus was moving forwards, bending to catch the staff as it was swung, holding it still. “Seriously? The Lord's of this land are 2 men together. We've got non-binary folks as tax collectors and both of the Lord's sons are attracted more to masculine physics than feminine and your family kicked you out for that?”

“Explains why they do everything possible to keep us kids stuck to the farm, then.” The mumble was clearly not directed at Remus but he shrugged and nodded until they looked back at him. “So if you aren't someone sent to drag me home what the hell are you doing out here?”

“I'm Remus, and just felt like a wander. Male too by the way. Who are you? I've already gathered that you're here cause you got kicked out so won't ask why.” He answered cheerfully. Whomever this person was, they'd been more interesting than most people Remus encountered.

The suspicious glare that had been fading was back a full force. “Virgil. Human, and who the hell just decides to go wandering with a full pack including a tent?”

“I do. Wanted to escape for a while, and now I'm gonna stick with you too.” Remus decided, shrugging off his pack to start setting his own tent up. “All the better if someone actually does come after you, right?”

/VR\

Virgil didn't trust this guy. Who the hell just attaches themselves to a stranger they meet in the woods? There had to be something going on here, or the guy had to be freaking insane and liable to attack in a moment of rage.

“I'm going into that cave! Are you coming?” Remus cheered, pointing further along the river.

There at least was a cave this time, a large excavation into the cliff face that was on the other side of the river. The last 'cave' Remus had tried to explore had just be a darker type of rock that the mad guy had run head first into before realising.

“It's a cave on the edge of a river. You're going to slip on the rocks and kill yourself, or get attacked by a bear taking shelter in it.” Virgil ground out, but carried on following behind Remus getting closer to the cave with each step. “I'm not willing to die for a maniac who won't leave my side.”

Remus just shot a grin over his shoulder as he finally started wading through the water. “Then why are you still following me? Besides it'd be awesome to battle a bear. Maybe I could get some brilliant scars!”

“It's called self preservation, something you seem to have abandoned already. I'm more likely to survive if I have an idiot who runs into danger when predators decide human smells like a good dinner.” Virgil snarked back, pausing to take off their shoes and roll their trousers up before entering the water. They weren't going to have wet feet for hours, no matter how willing Remus was to get his shoes drenched.

They still weren't happy about entering the cave when hours later they were trudging back out a completely different entrance lugging a chest in addition to their packs. “I told you going in there was dangerous!”

“You didn't get hurt, did you? Only blood on either of us is from that, that, actually what the hell was that? We need to go home just so I can get that thing drawn, painted, memorialised for eternity on the walls and given some kind of name.” Remus was twisting to look back at the cave even as he kept moving, holding the other end of the chest.

“Can we figure out what we're doing with whatever the hell is in here? It's heavy and neither of us are going to be ready to fight with a massive chest carried between us.” Virgil dropped their end, effectively bring them to a stop and threw themself on the ground for a rest.

There was still daylight so they weren't worried about a threat approaching unseen and really needed to stop after the fight they'd just gone through. Any creature with that many limbs should be somewhere out at sea, not in caves nowhere near the shore.

“You take it. You're the one who got kicked out from home and nobody would leave something worthless in a cave like that. Bet you could get a house almost as good as the Lord's manor with the treasure in here.” Remus decided, having sat on the ground nearby for only a second before he was  rooting through the pack from his back. “Snacks, pen, ink and paper. You eat something. I gotta start planning out my paintings.”

Virgil was already shaking their head, backing away from the chest as though it would be forced onto them. “No no no no. I'm not taking all of whatever's in there. We got it together. You should get some of it. How about half each? Or you get 3 quarters and I get the rest since I would literally have been killed when that thing first came out?”

“And here I thought I was just a chance for you to escape when I jumped forwards. You were fighting there too. I guess we could go half each.” Remus sighed as though accepting any of it was a hardship rather than treasure won. “Only if you come home with me. Let me introduce my family to the greatest reluctant best friend ever!”

They gaped at that declaration. If anything Virgil would just call them and Remus acquaintances. Sticking together in the middle of woods when no other people has been seen for days could easily turn to barely acknowledging each other once back in town. “If that's what it takes for you to take the treasure that's rightfully yours then fine I guess.” They agreed, already moving stuff about in their pack to find the empty bags they'd managed to grab when hurrying to leave their old home. At the time they'd expected the bags to be for any belongings or tools they could make and acquire while alone in the woods but the contents of a random chest was what they'd need to hold now.

Virgil left Remus to carry on drawing while attempting and after about 20 different tries, managing to unlock and open the chest. They sat separating the treasure by types and into 2 piles of each, kept as even as possible. With the sky clear and dusk not due for a while, it was a relaxing enough break after the cave systems.

/VR\

Looking up at the manor that Remus had just started leading them up to declaring 'Home!' had Virgil reconsidering everything they knew of the place they grew up in.

That was the Lord's manor and for Remus to live here he had to be... nope, NOPE! Virgil had definitely not just accidentally run into one of the sons of the Lord that ruled over his town. Remus must actually just be like, one of the servants, or maybe a gardener? Places like this had gardeners and knights right? Remus must be something like that and had taken some time off too....

All of their rationalisations to prevent panicking about having attacked and then travelled with a Lord's son proved futile when as soon as Remus opened the doors servants were swarming him, asking where the young sir had been, did he have any injuries, and anything else they'd only do for... The son of the Lord's also hurrying through the hall to greet him.

“I went on an adventure!” Remus proclaimed, waving off the servants and turning to look for Virgil who had fully started panicking and wondering if he could turn and run now. “And I made a friend too. That's Virgil and he's brilliant!”

A servant was immediately coming over, offering to take his bag while the Lord's looked him over curiously, listening to Remus who was still talking utter nonsense; a fairytale of a Virgil that they couldn't fathom how Remus thought was them.

“Well anyone who has Remus as besotted as this is more than welcome to remain with us as long as you care to, Virgil. Are there any titles that you hold?” The Lord asked, smiling at them now and holding a hand up to pause Remus's ramblings.

“No, My Lord. I am estranged from my family currently and would not be in line for any titles even if that weren't the case.” They couldn't come out with a rant about being kicked out in front of a Lord, but to deny that they were probably the lowest of his lands would only lead to worse things later.

The Lord just nodded but Remus glowered. “They've got money though. Helped me fight a beast in a cave and we found this massive chest of treasure that can get him a home and stuff now. Seriously, even while claiming they wouldn't risk death for me they followed me into the cave and fought just as much as I did when this brilliant creature attacked. Someone get my paints set up in the gallery across from my room. I know what's going on the far wall now!”

“Money wasn't our concern, Son. I'll check if there's any titles we can bestow on them for bringing you home safely.” The other Lord spoke up now and Virgil was really wishing their parents had at least mentioned the names of the nobility that ruled over them. Maybe they could ask one of the servants soon, since Remus was likely to forget about them now he was back home and around his family.

It definitely seemed possible since with the comment about finding them a title the Lords were heading to other rooms in the hall and Remus was racing down a different corridor while a few servants came to direct Virgil to somewhere else. They just let themself be led through getting measured for new clothes and settled into rooms that had at some point been requested for them. They could at least work on getting a home here before the hospitality of the Lord's ran out preferably.

/RV\

7 days had passed and Remus was confused. Each morning he'd asked Virgil to come and help him paint, or join him in the science lessons he'd insisted on getting. Each time they'd nod and come along but disappear somewhere on route to where he wanted to go.

His best friend kept hiding from him and it didn't feel like a game or even like something they wanted to do if the wary glances each meal were anything to go by. It was like Virgil was expecting him to tell him to leave, gained some hope whenever Remus asked for them to do something together but gave it up seconds later as a lie. Remus wouldn't lie, especially not over wanting someone's company. He just wanted Virgil to be around him.

Today he was going to put a stop to it. He still chattered through breakfast, arguing with Roman over painting styles and trying to get Virgil to agree with him but he didn't move to get up or say anything after his meal was finished. He just sat, waiting for Virgil to finish eating and hoping he hadn't been cutting their meal short with the invitations.

“Do you not want to be my friend?” Remus blurted once they were the only ones still at the table, making Virgil startle.

“What, of course I, no, I do, definitely do but you, I mean, I thought you wouldn't. I'm just a nobody and you have all these exciting things that's you basically bounce in your seat when you talk about.” Virgil tripped over their words, clearly concerned over Remus's question but not sure how to answer it.

Remus just watched them try to reply, concerned but making himself be calm, still. “Then why do you keep disappearing when I want to share them with you? Sharing them would make any activities like a million times better! Hell just arguing with Roman is way more fun when I've got you beside me.”

“But I'm nothing!” Virgil exclaimed, pushing down on the table. “Why would you want anything to do with me except because of pity?”

“Yeah, definitely, I pitied a guy attacking me with a staff and stuck with him because I thought he needed some charity.” Remus rolled his eyes. “Pretty sure you are more than any scoundrel I could find walking into town just because you don't give a shit who we are, if you think something's dangerous or harmful you're gonna yell about it.”

“And you don't give a damn and do it anyway, claiming there's nothing dangerous that could harm you!” Their response was a glare that just made Remus grin.

He'd missed being told off while Virgil was constantly hiding themself away. “Still take more care than I would without the reminder. Besides I love that, always needed someone to give reasons for why they're upset and you just give them.”

“Love? Besotted? Why is everyone talking like we should be courting now? I don't even have somewhere to live. Get them to stop playing with my heart like that.” Virgil moaned, apparently focused on a word Remus had barely realised he'd spoken. Watching them lean on the desk it was clear there had been more said by the servants too in the last week.

He shrugged leaning back in his seat. “They aren't. If you'd actually let me find you or come to help with my painting this week you might have realised that I am very likely to fall in love with you.” He held back from saying it had already happened while coming back from the cave. It seemed like it would be too much for them, no matter that the painting in his gallery had basically made Virgil his universe, cradled and treasured by the creature they'd battled rather than fighting it.

Lost eyes looked over to him as they processed the words. “So we can be together together? I'm not – not going to get kicked out again for liking you too much?”

“Nope, I mean I made sure our rooms are next to each other deliberately so we could go through the courting without being too far apart.” Remus pointed out. “On that thought, can I actually give you your courting gifts now? I keep trying to but you disappear before I've got them out.”

Virgil nodded mutely for a second, watching him, before leaning forwards for a kiss, barely more than a peck before they were pushing away trying to get more distance between them. “Sorry, should've asked, but um, yes, courting, we can do that!”

“You don't have to ask if you want to kiss me, but if it makes you feel better we can do constantly asking.” Remus couldn't hold back his grin, and knew it was the one servants backed away, concerned over what his manic joy would cause today.

Courting first, and convincing Virgil they were far more than their mind said over time.

[xaharadesert]

Oblivious MC - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 5) x MC

*Nadia in an upcoming post*

A/N: Yay, more headcanons! I know these are slow but the new school system is kicking my butt. This next one is for the amazing @genderless-plant-likes-thearcana! They come up with lots of cool ideas for prompts to send to various writers, so you should definitely check out their profile! They came up with a super cute prompt this time; an MC who is super oblivious to their LI’s romantic interest in them! I really appreciate the specifics added in the request, they really helped me out! Thank you! While you’re reading you may notice the headcanons get a bit goofier as they though ;) my bad, but this prompt was too fun. Another side note: I ran out of bullet points and couldn’t fit Nadia into this post, so she’ll be getting her own! As always, I recognize Asra’s non-binary gender orientation but will be using he/him pronouns :) Please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes! Requests are open :)

❤️Julian❤️

He’s so in love with you

Like, more in love with you than he ever has been with anyone else

But he’s also insecure as heck

So when he starts dropping obvious hints about wanting to be in a relationship with you, and you just don’t get it...

He starts to think that maybe you only like him as a friend

I mean, he’s not being subtle at all

He flirts with you constantly, he sends you winks in the middle of a theatre rehearsal, he almost always has a hand on your should or back to guide you through the busier parts of Vesuvia...

Once he even stood up on a table in the middle of the Rowdy Raven and sang you a love song at the top of his lungs

You just thought he was being dramatic, as always

To you, Julian was an incredible friend

I mean, you maaay have had a teeeensy little crush on him, but he was such a sweetheart that you didn’t want to ruin the friendship you two had

You went on adventures together, you attended his theatre performances, and he did his best to support you in all your magical endeavours

Overall, the dynamic the two of you had was already incredible

And neither of you really wanted to ruin that

When Julian started thinking that maybe you only liked him as a friend he decided to be “selfless” and simply keep his feelings to himself

Of course, that would never work for long

Julian was a man of passion and, possible consequences be damned, he wanted you to know how he felt

So one day, when the two of you were at the Rowdy Raven together and he was tipsy enough to do something stupid, he stood up on the table and loudly announced his undying love for you

Believe me, even for Julian it was dramatic

It was a long speech about how amazing he thought you were, including vivid descriptions about each and every thing about your personality, appearance, and hobbies that he loved

So needless to say you needed cut him off a bit early so that the two of you wouldn’t be there all night

Unfortunately the first thought in your mind upon hearing this was “oh my stars he’s under some kind of spell”

You immediately dragged him out of the tavern and back to the magic shop to find some sort of cure, muttering theories under your breath the entire way

Julian, of course, was not under a spell and was feeling rather put out by your response to his confession

He wasn’t entirely sure where the two of you were going because you hadn’t bothered to share your suspicions with him (why would you? You thought he was being influenced by magic)

When the two of you reached your shop and you started skimming through books he finally asked what you were doing, seeming understandably surprised by the turn of events

You hesitated a bit, not knowing if it was worth explaining this to him, but settled on a brief explanation of “you’re under some kind of love potion and I need to break it” with a side of “please don’t do anything dumb while I try to help you”

Julian of course was, again, fairly shocked to hear this

A spell? What spell? He had been in love with you for months! There was no way it was a spell!

With his mind racing a mile a minute he finally realized what was going on

You were just really, really, REALLY oblivious to his feelings

This revelation caused him to laugh out loud, likely startling you out of your searching

When you looked at him in confusion and a bit of concern he only laughed louder, bending over and wheezing a bit

It took a while for him to calm down, even with your panicked response to his sudden change of emotion

When he was finally done laugiinh and had wiped the tears from his eyes he gave you the biggest grin he was possible of giving

He did his best to explain that no, he was not under a spell, no, he was not joking, and yes, he really did love you as more than a friend

He swears, the look on your face was worth the emotional rollercoaster he had been through that night

And you? Well, you probably needed a minute to process everything that he had just revealed

Of course, the feelings of love were mutual and you said as much when you could finally form words again

Julian was thrilled to hear that you loved him back

The two of you would be happy for many years to come, and even if Julian occasionally teased you about your obliviousness you could never truly be mad at him for it

🧡Portia🧡

She’s super open about just how much she loves you

Portia sees no reason to hide her true feelings, so she’s often very blunt about them

She’ll drop a “you’re gorgeous” or “I wanna kiss you” into a casual conversation like it’s nothing

But you somehow manage to not pick up on it

So of course, Portia doubles her efforts

She bakes you cookies in the shape of hearts, bring you nice flowers on her days off, and take you on what she considers dates, just waiting for you to pick up on her love for you

And yet none of this gets through to you

You think this is how Portia is with everyone

She was cheeky from the moment you met her, so when she tells you she wants to kiss you you just assume she’s joking

Everything else seems to just be an awesome friendship

Obviously Portia is super cute, and obviously dating her would be tons of fun, but there’s obviously NO WAY she could ever be interested in you like that... right?

Portia eventually starts to think you’re just messing with her

There’s no way you could be that oblivious

You definitely had to know she was into you, and you were just playing hard to get

She knows you have feelings for her too, the two of your wouldn’t be as close as you were otherwise

But, no offence, she’s getting a bit impatient

So she decides to just do what needs to be done

The two of you were walking through the market near your shop one day when she grabbed your arm to stop you in the middle of the crowd

She turned you so that you were facing her, looked you straight in the eye, and told you she loved you with the most serious expression you had ever seen on her face

As oblivious as you may be, there was no way for you to misinterpret this as anything other than the truth

Except there was

You assumed she was under a love spell

After the initial shock of finding out your friend was being influenced by magic was over, you immediately dragged her back to your shop without a word

Portia kinda thought you two were going home to make out and she was totally down with it

But when you entered the shop and started digging through your supplies, looking for something, she realized that maybe SHE had misinterpreted

She asked you what you were doing and nearly burst out laughing at the response

You thought she was under a spell? Seriously? You were actually that oblivious the whole time?

She thought it was the most hilarious thing she had heard in a long time

Eventually she managed to calm down enough to reassure you that, no, she was not under a spell

But of course you didn’t believe her, and thought that it was the spell talking

You went back to searching for an antidote while Portia continued trying to prove to you that she was genuinely in love with you

She listed the first time she realized she loved you, the first time she had said it to you to no response, the first time she had wanted to kiss you

She talked about how much she loved every part of you, from your personality, to your hobbies, to your insanely cool magic

Portia was nowhere near as dramatic as her brother could be, but she was very open about her love for you

Finally, you seemed to realize that she was telling the truth (no magic involved)

In turn, you confessed your feelings toward her as well

She gave you a bit of a sly grin and asked how she could be certain you weren’t under some magic spell

To this you responded by kissing her

So I guess she was right when she assumed you two were going back to your place to make out

The two of you were happy from then on, although Portia never let you forget just how dense you were

💛Lucio💛

It’s hard to imagine anyone could be so oblivious about his feelings

Lucio is the most in-your-face about his love for you

He leaves absolutely no room for doubt, which means it’s even more incredible that you don’t seem to get it

He has asked you to marry him about half a dozen times and you keep??? Laughing?? About it????

Doesn’t understand what’s happening

Nobody has ever done this sort of thing to him before, so his mind just blanks if he thinks about it too much

I mean there’s no way you could dislike him, right? You definitely return his feelings... RIGHT?

He’s insecure, but he’ll never admit that

Instead, he chooses to continue his over-the-top dramatic proposals and confessions until you say yes

On the other hand, you don’t really know what’s happening either

You know that Lucio’s a bit... strange, but this is a lot even for him

You start to think that maybe it’s his way of dealing with his feelings now that Nadia’s left him

So you decide to keep being a great friend to help him get through it!

And if that means wading through a bunch of strange emotional obstacles, then so be it!

(Lucio’s in the background banging his head against a wall in frustration)

It’s not like he doesn’t enjoy just being friends with you; he loves having someone around who genuinely cares about him

It’s just that he wants more

He hires people to build giant statues of you (which may be in poor taste, but who cares), he buys or sponsors all of your favourite shops, he always makes sure you get the best of everything

To you, this just seems like Lucio overcompensating for his previous “oopsies”

But one day it occurs to him that maybe you don’t understand his feelings because he’s going about it the wrong way

You’re pretty much immune to his dramatic proposals, so maybe he should try the opposite

So he put together a little plan

It wasn’t a particularly special night; no big occasion to be celebrated

He took you out to the balcony and leaned against the railing, looking oddly serious for someone who had no concept of emotional maturity

He took his time to prepare himself before speaking rather slowly and quietly in comparison to his usual tone

Lucio told you that he loved you, and he left no room for arguement

He didn’t embellish his words in any way, knowing that something simple would be the most likely way to get your attention

And boy did it work

You immediately assumed he was under some sort of spell

I mean Lucio? Acting like a normal person?? No way

You panicked right away and made a run for it, leaving Lucio behind on the balcony in your hurry to leave

Lucio, of course, was shocked, and more than a little offended to have been left so abruptly

People didn’t just leave him places without a good explanation

So obviously he chased you, yelling after you as you did your best to navigate the palace on your way to the library

Unfortunately for you, Lucio is surprisingly athletic and managed to catch you before you reached the door

He untactfully grabbed your arm, which caused you to scream, which caused him to scream, which caused everything to become even more of a mess than before

The two of you were just standing in the middle of the hall, screaming at each other

You wanted to find a way to free Lucio from whatever spell he was under, and Lucio wanted to know why you were running away

When you both calmed down (you being the first, of course), you explained your theory, which wounded Lucio’s ego even more than before

Lucio in return, replied in a not-so-polite manner, asking if you really thought he was stupid enough to be put under some dumb spell

Yes

Yes you did

Lucio had to explain his entire thought process behind confessing in such a normal way, which was pretty embarrassing from his perspective

But to you, it likely came across as sweet as it finally dawned on you that yes, he really was in love with you

The two of you probably had to immediately follow up the confession with a talk about whether or not he was serious about getting married

He was, but he didn’t want to make you feel awkward so he denied it

You two agreed to take things a little slower than he originally planned

The relationship was slightly awkward for the first few days, because neither of you quite understood what had happened the night of the confession

But either way, the two of you were happy, and that was all that mattered

(Although, when Lucio eventually asked you to marry him again it was just as chaotic and messy as the first time)

💚Muriel💚

Oh no, this won’t end well

Muriel is almost the epitome of insecure, so flirting is pretty much impossible for him

He tried a couple of times to be more forward, but when you didn’t respond to his advances he quickly backed down

He didn’t want to overstep, and immediately assumed you just wanted to be friends

Although, admittedly, he has seen other people flirt with you, and you don’t respond to them either

So maybe you’re just not interested in relationships? Or maybe you’re just as bad at flirting as he is

Either way, as much as he loved you, he didn’t push

From your perspective it would seem like Muriel just wanted to be friends

And frankly, anyone else around you would think the same thing

There was nothing particularly romantic about how Muriel acted around you

Arguably the boldest thing he was doing was spending so much time with you

But to you, this was simply a friendship

And of course, you greatly valued Muriel’s friendship

Once you had gotten past the rough exterior, you found that he was a giant sweetheart

He carved small wooden figures for you, and didn’t seem to mind spending time with you

Inanna loved you too, so that was a bonus

Your friendship with Muriel probably lasted much longer than it would have if either of you had any sense of romance

Neither of you tried to take things further because both of you were terrible at flirting and being flirted with

Eventually someone (Asra) had to step in and give Muriel a little push

Asra had known you for a long time, so he alerted Muriel to how oblivious you were and how to best confess his feelings

Muriel didn’t really want to confess at that point, because he didn’t want to make things awkward between you two if something went wrong

But his love for you outweighed his anxiety and he decided to do it anyway

It was a rather cold night, and the two of you were in his hut

You were both curled up by the fire (plus Inanna, of course), and you were telling Muriel a story about a particularly annoying customer from the day before

When you finished the story, a comfortable silence fell between you (which was something Muriel had always appreciated; silence with you was never awkward)

That was when Muriel took his chance and quietly told you he loved you

Except he said it too quietly and you didn’t hear him over the sound of the fire

I mean, you saw his lips move, and therefore asked him to repeat himself, but it was still quiet

Muriel hadn’t anticipated this, and accidentally repeated it in a voice that was much too loud for such a peaceful night

He immediately winced in embarrassment, only to be startled from it when you screamed

He had been anticipating rejection, but he thought a scream may have been a bit dramatic

But of course, you didn’t see it as a rejection; you thought Muriel was under a love spell

Why else would your quiet, anti-social friend suddenly confess to something you had never even seen him hint at before?

And more importantly, who had out the spell on him? Most people didn’t know about him, so it was either someone close to him, or someone EXTREMELY powerful.

You didn’t know which one was worse

You leaned forward, cupping his face in your hands and staring into his eyes, promising that you would help him

This only succeeded in confusing him, the poor man

He didn’t know what you were talking about, and you were starting to freak him out a little

When he asked if you were alright, you started to look confused too

You reminded him that he was the one under the spell, not you

Cue a chorus of confused “what?”s being exchanged by two confused people

In the end, Muriel realized that you had thought he was under a spell when he suddenly confessed

He blushed as red as a tomato and did his best to string together enough words to explain to you that he wasn’t

He genuinely loved you

He also quietly cursed Asra for making him confess, which suddenly helped a lot of pieces fit together for you

You nodded along and agreed that Asra’s meddling was problematic in this case

In the end the two of you spent a fair portion of the night just talking out your feelings and realizing that maybe you would like to be more than friends

Both of you were blushing a lot throughout the entire thing, and years later when the two of you were happy together, you mutually decided to never bring up how you had gotten together in the first place

Asra, however, had somehow found out, and was determined to never let either of you live it down

💙Asra💙

Subtlety? Never heard of it

Asra is the absolute best at letting you know just how much he loves you

Even despite your obliviousness, you are fully aware that he loves you

And of course, you love him back!

How could you not?

Except, the way you see it... it’s platonic love

And Asra is 100% okay with that!

You two share a heart, so he fully understands that you view the live that you two share as platonic

This doesn’t really bother him; as long as you’re alive and happy, that’s all that matters

He’s perfectly content to pursue a strong friendship with you

But of course, being the cheeky legend that he is, he has to slip in some flirting and teasing once in a while

He’ll wink at you in the middle of work, casually brush against you while passing you in the shop, and hold your hand as often as possible

But of course, you view this as friendship

Who doesn’t cuddle with their best friend literally every night? That’s totally normal

You couldn’t ask for a better friend than Asra; he’s always there when you need him and he somehow always seems to know how you feel

You’re incredibly grateful to know him, and you feel safe and comfortable living in the same space as him

Yep, definitely only friendship feelings

He shows his love in little ways to you every day

The two of you live together, so of course you will occasionally have a petty arguement and try to stay seperate for a while, but that doesn’t stop him

He’ll “forget” which chores are yours and do a couple for you, he’ll make your favourite drink “by accident” and then claim he isn’t thirsty, and he’ll casually send Faust into the same room as you if he thinks you’re crying

Overall, just a great partn- I mean friend

He doesn’t really feel the need to confess to you, but if he notices that you’re starting to feel a more romantic attraction toward him then he’ll definitely take advantage of that

If you only wanted to be friends, then, well, that was one thing

But if you wanted to be something more... then he was definitely more than okay with that as well

Asra didn’t exactly plan out how he would confess to you, and instead waited for what he felt was the right moment

He knew it would come eventually, and there was no real rush

So when the two of you were travelling together, and you were both stargazing late at night, the feeling struck him

You had just settled down from laughing at a joke when he gently tilted your chin so you were looking into his eyes

He told you he loved you, but there was certainly something more personal this time

But of course you were incredibly oblivious so you just grinned and said it back, not really thinking about it too much

Of course Asra knew you had missed the point, so when you went back to looking at the stars he propped himself up so he was leaning over you a bit and repeated it

This probably confused you a bit, but you said it back again, thinking that maybe this was some kind of game

He held back a laugh and tried again, this time putting more emphasis on the “love” part

You missed it, and repeated it back

At this point he was trying not to laugh, and knew that he had only one more try before he wouldn’t be able to hold it back

This time he tried explaining more thoroughly

He told you he loved you romantically; as in, a love that was more than platonic. Romantic, soulmate kind of love. Not friendship. Please get it this time.

Your mouth formed a perfect “o” as you finally got his point

For a brief moment, Asra felt relief, thinking that he had finally gotten his point across

Instead he received immediate and extreme panic as you quickly shoved him away. While screaming.

This certainly hadn’t gone as planned

He was desperately trying to calm you down while you rambled about every place you two had been on your trip, trying to locate a time where Asra could’ve been put under a love spell

Asra, of course, found this hilarious, and started laughing harder and harder while also trying to calm you down

This only caused you more distress, and soon there were tears streaming down your face while you tried to convince him that no, this wasn’t funny

He knew you were genuinely concerned about him, and he genuinely was trying to stop, but this had come out of nowhere and he didn’t really know how to respond either

Eventually, you both managed to calm down (but only the kind of calm where he would occasionally look at you and burst into giggles again)

He did his best- between giggle fits- to explain to you that he genuinely did love you and he definitely wasn’t under any spell

He told you that he had loved you for years, and that he always would

He also subtley pointed out that he had been flirting for years and you had just been completely oblivious

No confession would truly be complete without a bit of teasing

You probably felt a bit embarrassed, but he reassured you that it was just a part of your charm

Of course, you told him you felt the same, and the two of you went back to watching the stars, this time just a bit closer than before

From then on, not a whole lot changed in your relationship

The two of you were practically in a romantic relationship already, so really all that was different was a few more kisses and a slightly different intention behind the “I love you”s the two of you shared

[woah-were-halfway-there]

Island In The Sun

A/N: Finally the highly requested little (very long) vacation one shotttttttt, enjoy :)

Word Count: 7.8k

To you, summer was the best time of the year.

The weather was beautiful, the days were long, and the best part, Auston was off. Although you had nothing against hockey, you always loved the offseason because it allowed the two of you to relax and be together without worrying about being separated. As a parent, you loved it even more. 

One of your favourite things ever was seeing Auston and Mia interact together, and the summertime allowed you to witness that all the time. Whether it be them cuddled up on the couch watching a movie together, splashing around in the pool as Auston tried to teach your one and a half-year-old to swim, or even just the two of them walking ahead while you and Frank trailed right behind; you loved watching their bond grow. And there wasn't much more you appreciated than those special moments you got to share with your little family.  

However, since Mia was born, it had been a bit harder to find time for yourself. Not that you cared, though, because you loved your daughter more than anything in the world, but compared to before, it was much more complicated to do things and not have to worry about Mia's wellbeing as you did them.

It was even more challenging whenever you and Auston tried to have some alone time together. Sure, the two of you would cuddle up on the couch and watch Netflix every once in a while after putting Mia to bed, but going out or doing anything that was just the two of you for more than a couple of hours, simply had not been doable. 

Hockey season didn't help with that either. 

With Auston consistently coming and going for roughly six months of the year, the two of you struggled even more with getting some alone time. When Auston was home, of course, he'd want to spend time with you, but he also would be determined not to miss any time he could get with Mia. Therefore, making that much-needed husband and wife time more challenging to achieve. Sure, the two of you always took what you could get, but leading up to the end of the season, your friends and family would always go off on both you and Auston how a night to yourselves was necessary. 

Still, nothing extravagant happened. In complete honesty, the two of you were content with nights in that consisted of cuddling on the couch while Mia was asleep upstairs. It was simple. To you and Auston, it was perfect. Neither of you needed anything more than that, but then the opportunity to go on vacation with Auston's family came up.  

The Matthews family had plans to go to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for a week-long trip at the end of July. They had vacationed in the same area a few years prior, back while you and Auston were still dating and long before Mia arrived, but you couldn't tag along for the trip because of things going on at home. That was fine, though, you still loved seeing the pictures and hearing all the stories, but this time around, you were very excited to join. 

Seeing as Mia was almost a year and a half old, it was the first time you and Auston were travelling outside of the US or Canada with her. You knew the flight from Phoenix to Cabo wouldn't be an issue seeing as she was ok on the much longer trip to Toronto, but you were still very interested to see how she was with being in a completely new setting. 

You were most excited to see how she'd like the Beach, and luckily for you, she loved it. 

The first half of your week-long trip flew by. The day everyone arrived mainly consisted of getting settled into accommodations and relaxing a bit before the fun actually started during the following days. 

Speaking of accommodations, they were unreal and so lovely.

Along with some family friends, the entire family was set up in three different places within walking distance of each other along the Beach. The first house was a little bungalow where Brian and Ema stayed, giving them their own relaxing space to go back to after a long day with the fam. The next one was a much larger house that was able to accommodate more people. It had a pool, games and all different types of activities just there and ready to use. That was where Alex, Bre, as well as the friends that tagged along stayed. It was also where everyone spent the most time as a group unless you were all out doing other things.

The last house was a kind of villa type thing. It was a bit larger than where Brian and Ema stayed, but nowhere near as big as the house between the two, and was the perfect size for your little family. The villa had two bedrooms, one smaller one that wasn't even used but was stunning, and a huge master bedroom with a large ensuite and walk-in closet. It had a little kitchen and living room with massive floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the Beach and was the perfect little oasis for you, Auston and Mia. Sure, it felt a little empty without Frank roaming around, but you knew he was living it up back in Scottsdale while being watched by a close friend of Auston's.

Your first full day in Cabo was nothing short of amazing. 

You started the morning off by meeting up with the rest of the group for breakfast at a restaurant nearby. Everyone discussed how things were as they settled in the night before, then moved on to talk about what the day's events would consist of. It was established that after breakfast, the guys and Bre were going to do a round of golf. As they did that, you and Mia decided to spend some time on the Beach with Ema and Alex. 

It was super peaceful.

You spent a fair bit of time in the water, gently pushing around a standup paddleboard while Mia sat on it with her little lifejacket, smiling widely and giggling as you moved her around. After doing that for a little while, Alex said she'd watch Mia so that you and Ema could explore a little bit. That went on for a couple of hours before eventually being joined by everyone else. 

"Hello, Miss Mia," Bre chimed as she sat down next to you on the beach blanket later that afternoon, immediately earning a response from your daughter from where she sat between your legs playing with a shovel. 

"Look who's back, Mia! Is that your Auntie Bre?" You asked your daughter as she held onto your hands to pull herself into a standing position before wobbling towards Bre. 

"Tee!"

"Hi, sweet girl," Bre responded with outstretched arms so that she could pull Mia in for a hug once she was close enough. Mia hugged her tightly and let out a happy squeal before Bre set her down in her lap and looked back to you. "How's it going? What have you guys been up to all day?"

"Good, we've just been hanging around here," you told her with a smile. "I explored with your mom for a bit, then Alex and I got smoothies a little while ago, now they're out on the jet skis. Mia has been absolutely loving the Beach, but I haven't taken her swimming just yet. How was golf? Did you kick their butts?"

"You know it," she said matter of factly, making you chuckle. "Auston was a little cheesed."

"Of course, he was. Sore loser."

"Always!"  

She then explained how Brian had plans to surprise Ema with a little dinner that night, so he was back at their bungalow, setting up a reservation for just the two of them. She also mentioned how Auston had gone back to your villa to shower and should be joining any minute. 

As the two of you chatted, neither of you noticed Ema and Alex as they docked their jet skis and began walking towards you until Mia got all smiley again.  

"What's got you all excited, huh?" Bre asked as Mia started reaching towards something behind her aunt, making you glance in the same direction to see who it was approaching. 

"She sees your mom," you replied while smiling and waving to the two women approaching. 

"Ah, no wonder," she chuckled and stood up from her spot to go greet them with Mia. 

"Oh, hello there," Ema said as Mia tackled her in a hug, indicating that she now wanted to be held by her grandmother. 

"Wow, Mia, nice to know who your favourite relative is," Alex joked as she sat down next to you, nudging you with her shoulder. "You ready to go shopping?"

"Yeah, whenever you guys are ready!"

"Is Mia coming?" Bre asked as she, Mia and Ema joined you and Alex again.

"I don't think so," you replied. "Auston wants to take her for a bit to hang around the pool before she needs a nap, I believe."

"Fair enough," Alex nodded and watched as Ema walked with Mia to where the tide flowed onto the shore. "We probably have a few minutes before he gets here, do you mind if I take Mia in the water as we wait?"

"Not at all, I'll have her towel ready."

"Wait, I'm coming!" Bre called after her sister as the two walked towards the water. 

You sat back and watched as your mother and sisters-in-law took turns wading into the water while holding onto Mia until a small waved formed and brushed passed them. It was so simple, but Mia loved every second of it. Each time she touched the water, Mia would let out a squeal of delight and laugh before splashing around a bit, earning some dramatic gasps from Alex and Bre.

As you watched, you couldn't help but smile as your heart swelled with so much love. These three women had become such important people in your life throughout your relationship with Auston. They always loved and supported you, welcomed you as one of their own, and built a significant and lasting relationship with you. That love was shared with your daughter from the moment she was born and had only grown ever since. You were well aware of how much Mia adored her aunts and grandparents, and it just made you so happy that she was going to grow up with these amazing people always watching out for her. 

After a few minutes went by, there was a sudden presence of a person sitting on the sand behind you and pulling you close to them. You didn't need to turn around to tell that it was Auston with the way his arms instantly wrapped around you protectively, and his facial scruff brushed against your skin as he leaned his chin onto your shoulder, quietly observing his mom and sisters play with Mia as well. 

"Hey, you," you said after a moment of just sitting there in comfortable silence, before looking at your husband and smiling. "How was golf?"

"Oh, I'm sure you already know how golf was," he responded with an eye roll.

"You lost that bad, huh?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

You couldn't help but chuckle at the way he was acting, as he let out a huff and looked at you with a pointed glance. "Well, if it's any compensation, I'm glad that you're back even if you did lose to your little sister. Can't be better than everyone at everything, babe."

"Yeah, whatever, I'll take it," he replied with a grin. "Besides, I've got my prize right here, anyways."

He then leaned towards you, and you closed the remaining space between the two of you by meeting his lips with yours in a soft, sweet kiss. You could feel him smirk against you and had no intention to break away from him either until a voice interrupted. 

"Geez, get a room," Bre spoke up from where she stood in the water, sticking her tongue out jokingly once you looked at her. 

"Leave them be," Ema scolded her daughter before smiling at you and Auston. 

"Way to ruin the moment, Bre," Alex scoffed and stepped out of the water with your daughter. "But, I do think someone's excited to see you, Auston."

"Daddy!" Mia exclaimed and reached towards you and Auston as she and Alex approached. 

"Hi, baby," Auston grinned widely and reached up to take Mia from his sister's hold, not waiting any longer to snuggle her into his chest. "Did you have fun in the water?"

"Uh-huh," she replied as she leaned back to look at him and smile.

The two then started chatting, and you subtly moved from your spot between Auston's legs to grab Mia's towel so she wouldn't get cold. 

"Are you ready to hang out with me while your mom leaves us to go shopping with your aunts?" Auston asked Mia, making you roll your eyes as you stood up. Alex gave you a knowing look as the two of you just shook your heads.

"Yeah!" Mia said and cuddled closer to you as you took her from her dad and wrapped her in the towel.

"Mia, tell your dad that he's a drama queen," you spoke up and pecked her on the cheek.

"'Rama, daddy."

"Yes, drama!."

Alex started chuckling from where she stood beside you, while Auston huffed and looked at you with a pout. "You make it seem like Bre, and I are stealing her from you."

"Uh, have you seen the way the three of you shop? You guys won't be back for hours."

"Like you're any better," Bre deadpanned and gave her brother a look as she and Ema approached. "We'll be back before dinner. You'll be fine."

"Whatever," he said with a sigh before standing up and walking towards Ema. "At least mom wants to hang out with me."

Ema chuckled and shook her head. 

"I'm going with them. What do you mean?"

The look of absolute betrayal that washed over Auston's face as she said that was comedic and made everyone laugh but him. "Wow."

"Oh, babe, I promise next time you can come with us," you stated and walked towards your husband. Once you were close enough, Auston wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you close as he took Mia in his other arm. "We'll be back soon."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied and winked at you before glancing at Mia. "Looks like it's just me and you, baby girl. Is that alright with you?"

She didn't respond, just nodded before leaning against Auston's shoulder and knuckling at her eyes tiredly. You and Auston looked at each other knowingly after that. 

"I think I'm just going to take her back to the villa, cause someone needs a nap," your husband stated and brushed a little curl away from Mia's face. "You tired, mini?"

Whenever he called her that, you couldn't help but smile because of how true it was. Mia really was Auston's mini-me, and you loved it so freaking much. 

"Mhm," Mia replied before letting out a loud yawn. "Nemo, daddy?"

"Yes, sweets, we'll watch Nemo together," he said and leaned down to kiss her cheek before looking back to you. 

"We'll be back soon," you assured both Mia and Auston, but earned yourself an odd glance from your daughter.

"Mommy, come."

"No, baby," you responded quietly, your heart breaking a bit thanks to how she looked at you with her tired eyes expectantly. "Mommy will be back in a little bit, ok? I promise."

"Ok," she repeated before cuddling closer to Auston, showing just how exhausted she was. 

You then looked to Auston, who didn't miss a beat as he leaned down to peck your lips again. "Call me if you need anything, ok?"

"You know, I will. I'll see you soon," Auston said before giving you another quick kiss and then looking at his mom and sisters. "Have fun, ladies."

"Bye," the three of them said as you stood and watched him walk away with your baby. 

A moment later, someone nudged you with their shoulder to get your attention. 

"Ready to go?" Alex asked, already holding her folded up beach-blanket and other items. 

"Oh, yeah," you stated and moved to pick up your things before heading back to the house she and Bre were staying in. "Lead the way."

It didn't take long for the four of you to get where all the little shops and stores were, and it took even less time for the actual shopping to begin. You found a couple of cute clothes for yourself and even more adorable things for Mia, thanks to Bre and Alex's help. After that, you and Auston's sisters helped pick out a new outfit for Ema and somehow convinced her that she should wear it to dinner that night, although she was still unaware of her little date night with Brian. 

Once you finished shopping, the four of you returned to the Beach to get ready for the night ahead. Ema went back to the bungalow, while Bre and Alex helped you with the stuff you bought back to your villa. You were all excited to be back and see Mia again, but the house was empty when you entered. 

"Where do you think they went?" Bre asked as each of you set down the bags you were holding and looked around. 

"No clue," Alex replied and glanced at you. "Has Auston messaged you?"

"No, he hasn't," you told her and pulled out your cell phone to see that Ema had texted you instead. "But your mom did. She says to go over to your guys' place."

"That's where they must be," Bre said and started walking towards the door again. "Let's go. I wanna see my niece."

"I'm sure she wants to see you too," you chuckled as you followed after her and Alex back outside. 

The three of you walked down the Beach to the two-storey house you assumed everyone else was. It was early evening, so the sun was still up and would be for a few more hours, and you couldn't help but wonder what Auston and Mia had gotten up to while you were away. 

As soon as you stepped foot into the house, you got your answer.

"Y/N, go take a look by the pool," Ema said as she greeted you, Bre and Alex again. "I think there's something you might want to see."

Confused, you looked at Bre and Alex unsurely before walking by them and towards the back of the house. You could hear them and Ema following behind you and didn't know what to expect when you went outside, but your heart melted once you did. 

Brian waded in the pool with the other guys, while to the left of the door, Auston was passed right out on one of the lounge chairs, with Mia asleep on his chest. 

Mia was still wrapped in a towel, which made you think she mustn't have gone to sleep right away, so Auston brought her to the pool in an attempt to wear her out even more, but ended up making himself tired during the process as well.    

"They've been like that for an hour and a half now," Brian chuckled as he climbed onto a pool floaty. "Didn't even make it inside the house, they were both so exhausted."

"Please, I love them so much," you replied and couldn't keep yourself from awing at how cute the two of them were.

"They are pretty freaking adorable. I must admit," Bre spoke up as she placed her elbow on your shoulder and leaned against you as she observed the two sleeping beauties as well. 

"My favourite pair," Alex chimed in as she stood beside you and smiled. 

"Mine, too," you stated. "I don't want to wake them up."

But just as you said that Mia began stirring awake and started looking around as if trying to remember where she was. 

"Mama," she said with a yawn once her eyes landed on you, and Bre wasn't long in taking her arm off your shoulder so that you could go over to your little girl. 

"Hi, baby," you responded as you ducked under the broad umbrella and sat down on the edge of the lounge chair beside them, making sure to gently brush away some of the curls that fell in your daughter's face and smile at her. "Did you have a good nap with daddy?"

"Mhm," she nodded while still leaning against Auston's chest, which gradually woke him up as well. 

He stretched and groaned while wrapping his arm protectively around Mia before even opening his eyes, but when he finally did and saw you, he immediately grinned widely. 

"Hey, you're back," he said and sat up straight, his voice husky as he spoke. "Did you have fun?"

"We did," you replied, smiling as well before looking to Bre and Alex and winking at them. "Looks like you and Mia had some fun too."

"I don't even remember falling asleep," he admitted before looking down at Mia. "I guess we were both tired, huh, little miss?" 

"Yeah," Mia smiled before reaching towards you so that you'd hold her. 

"I bet," you stated while hugging your daughter close and looking back at your husband. "What do you say we head back to the villa and get changed for dinner?"

"Tee!" Mia called once she noticed Bre and Alex standing nearby, no longer paying any attention to you. 

"Well, I think that's a solid plan, but we may have trouble separating Mia from those two," Auston said as he stood up and glanced towards his sisters.

"Hi, baby girl," Alex spoke softly and crouched with her arms open as you set Mia down and watched as she wobbled to her aunt. 

"You know, you could always leave her with us as you went and got ready," Bre suggested as Alex stood back up, holding your daughter, and gave her arm a little squeeze. 

"Please, you'd never give her back," Auston scoffed, making you chuckle as you stood next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"And what about it?" Alex challenged while moving so that Bre could hold Mia. "I swear, you two never take any time to yourselves. This vacation is for the both of you too, you know?"

"Yes, and we love it," you answered honestly. "But, it's a different type of vacation now with Mia here, which is fine. Wouldn't have it any other way."

Bre and Alex both sent you soft smiles after that, before glancing at each other as if they were silently planning something. Auston seemed to notice their plotting too and glanced down at you before looking back at them suspiciously, but Bre spoke up again before either of you could say anything.   

"Fair," she shrugged and looked back to you and Auston. "But go get changed, we can watch her for twenty minutes. I'm sure you'll both be fine."

"But-," Auston started, but cut himself off as his sisters both turned around and headed back into the house with your daughter without saying another word, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched them go. "Did they just steal our daughter from us?"

"Looks like it," you giggled and turned around so that you'd be facing your husband. "C'mon, let's go get changed, and we'll have her back before you know it."

And so you did. The two of you headed back to your villa, telling Auston's family that you'd both be back in a few minutes. But what neither of you noticed was that both Bre and Alex came back outside with Mia and looked at their mom expectantly as soon as you and Auston were gone. 

"How are we supposed to get them to have a whole night that's just the two of them with Auston being so stubborn?" Bre asked as she sat at the edge of the pool, still carefully holding onto Mia.

"I definitely think Y/N will be easier to convince that it's a good idea for us to watch Mia for a night than Auston will be," Alex stated from where she stood before looking at Ema. "But we need to. Those two haven't had a date night in who knows how long, and what better time to do it than on vacation?"

"Exactly," Ema agreed as she walked into the pool and waded over to where Bre sat with Mia. "We're going to have to just bombard them with the fact that they're going to be alone for a night. Don't give them a chance to argue. They'll be fine if they keep busy, and besides, it's their anniversary soon. They deserve some alone time."

Bre and Alex nodded in agreement, and both began thinking of ways to make their plan work, while Brian continued floating around and became curious about how their plan would work out.

~*~ 

The evening was relatively lowkey after that. You and Auston returned to the house after getting changed, and everyone headed out to dinner. Once you all at the restaurant, Brain and Ema went their separate way away from everyone else for their little date night. While they were gone, the rest of the group ate a massive meal before eventually calling it a night and heading back home with plans to meet at the big house the following morning. 

The next day, everyone met up and went boating. Some snorkelled, some went tubing, and others just chilled on the boat and made the most of it before going back on land and doing other activities. 

That was what each day consisted of. 

There was always so much to do, as a whole or split up in groups, and being with Auston's family made it extremely enjoyable. Each busy day ended with everyone grabbing dinner together before going back to their respective homes to unwind and go to bed. But on one particular night later in the week, that changed. 

Everyone had finished eating and was just getting ready to start walking back to the houses when Ema picked Mia up from her chair and started walking away. 

"Are you going to stay with me tonight?" She asked your daughter as everyone started following after them, you and Auston being the last ones to trail behind.

"Yeah," Mia replied as she hugged her grandmother, making you and Auston come to a complete halt.

"Wait. What?" the two of you asked in unison, not noticing how Bre and Alex covered their mouths, attempting not to burst out laughing.

"What's going on?" Auston questioned, still obviously very confused. 

"Mia is going to stay with your dad and me tonight," Ema said as a matter of factly while she glanced at the two of you over her shoulder, making sure to send you a wink before looking at her son. "You and Y/N can have a night to yourselves tonight. Mia will be fine with us. We'll keep her busy and then tomorrow after dinner; I'll bring her back to the villa." 

"I think they planned this," you whispered as you leaned against your husband's shoulder while he stared back at his family completely dumbfounded. 

"Exactly," Bre stated. "You two have barely had any time that was just the two of you since Mia was born. Go, have a date night. Be a little reckless. We've got Mia."

"But not too reckless," Brian chimed in, making everyone but Auston chuckle. "Have some fun. The two of you are on vacation, one night away from your daughter won't kill you. Relax a little bit."

"But-," Auston started until you cut him off. 

"It's just a night, Aus," you told him, noticing how both Bre and Alex let out sighs of relief. "She's in safe hands. If anything happens, we're not very far away. I think a night to ourselves would be… nice."

"You should listen to your wife," Alex said while smiling at you and Auston. "We'll follow you back to the villa to get Mia's things, then let the two of you be."

"I-," he was ready to argue, but when he looked down at you and started thinking of how one night with you away from Mia wouldn't be too bad, he sighed in defeat before looking back at his family. "Ok, fine."

"Perfect, let's get going," Ema said and started leading the way back to the villa. 

"They definitely planned this," Auston grumbled as he wrapped a hand around your waist and continued walking next to you. 

"I know," you replied and shook your head while laughing. "Everyone has been trying to get us to have a date night, didn't know it was so bad that we'd have to be forced to do it."

"A date night with you isn't something I need to be forced to do. I'll take that any day."

"Good answer."

"Yeah," he chuckled too. "I've just gotten so used to being around Mia and not having to leave. This feels kind of weird, her leaving me for once."

"Oh, how the tables have turned," you teased and gave him a squeeze, to which he responded by leaning down and kissing the top of your head. 

"It'll be nice getting you alone," he said huskily, not noticing that it was loud enough for others to hear.

"Ok, at least keep it PG until we get Mia's things and leave," Bre groaned.

"Hey, you can blame yourself for this," Auston replied before reaching down to squeeze your butt, trying to get a rise from his sister. 

"Auston!" You scolded and stepped away from him. "God, you're such a pest."

"You love it," he responded cheekily as you let him pull you close again. 

"Debatable," you told him with a wink, before standing on your toes and pecking his lips before linking your hand with his and pulling him after everyone else. "C'mon, it's getting late, and Mia is going to need to go to bed soon."

"Yes, dear," he said and followed behind you all the wat back to the villa. 

Bre and Alex came over to help Ema gather Mia's things, but they didn't stay long. Before you knew it, they were all heading towards the door; getting Mia to blow kisses at you and Auston as they went.  

"Bye, mommy. Bye, daddy," she said while waving goodbye.

"Bye, baby," you replied while leaning against Auston, suddenly feeling emotional over the thought of your little girl leaving. 

"We'll see you tomorrow, princess," Auston said and held you a little tighter as you both said goodbye to his mom and sisters, and they eventually disappeared out the door. Once they were gone, you looked up at Auston curiously. "Guess it's just us now."

"What do you propose that we do?" You asked. 

"Well, there's that jacuzzi tub in the washroom that hasn't been used yet. What do you say I pour us some wine, and we relax in there a little?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

And that was how the two of you spent the night together. You relaxed in the tub, chatted, and just enjoyed each other's company before eventually getting out to shower off. However, neither of you made it to the shower because soon after wrapping yourself up in a towel, Auston was behind you, placing kisses along your exposed collarbone and holding you close. It didn't take long for things to get heated after that, and the night soon faded around the both of you as you made your way back into the bedroom. 

~*~

When you woke up the next morning, the space on the bed beside you was empty. A few beams of light peaked through the drawn blinds and danced across the room, illuminating the area just enough for you to take in the clothes strewn all over the place, and the thin bedsheet that clung to your body. 

The half-empty glasses of wine still sat on the bedside table, and your bra hung across the lamp on the other side of the room, but you didn't care. You were at peace as you snuggled into the pillows a little more and listened to the sound of waves as they crashed against the shore outside.

The waves soon faded into the sound of running water coming from the ensuite, and it was then you realized where Auston had gone off to so early on this day that was meant for the two of you to relax.

Wasting no time, you scrambled off the bed and wrapped the sheet around your body so you'd at least be a little covered as you greeted your husband and quickly made your way to the ensuite.

Once you entered the room, Auston immediately made eye contact with you in the mirror and smirked. His mouth was full of toothpaste as he finished brushing his teeth, and his eyes were very sleepy, indicating how much the activities from the night before seemingly wore him out. However, he still looked ridiculously hot to you as he stood there in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts.   

Without breaking eye contact, you walked up behind him and placed some soft kisses on the back of his shoulder before stepping beside him and beginning to brush your teeth as well. 

You kept sending each other glances as he moved on to shaving around his moustache a little, and once you both finished what you were doing, you were all over each other again. 

The next thing you knew, you were sitting on the vanity with your back pressed gently against the mirror and hands tangled in Auston's hair as he kissed you hungrily. You could feel the sheet slipping off with each movement you made and were quick in pulling it back up before too much could get shown off, making Auston chuckle as he continued kissing you shamelessly. 

A moment later, you both pulled away to catch your breath and look at each other knowingly. 

"Good morning," you were the first to speak as you leaned up to peck his lips once again, noting how swollen your's were already beginning to feel. 

"Good morning to you, too," he responded and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear as a smug grin danced across his lips. "Did you have a good night last night?"

"Cheeky," you responded while rolling your eyes at how he referred to what the two of you did once you got back to the villa. "But, yes, I did, and I think today will be even better."

"I don't know. Last night was pretty great. Pretty sure I'm going to have to wear a T-shirt all day to cover the scratches on my back."

"Auston!"

"I'm just messing with you," he laughed and leaned down to catch your lips in another sweet kiss, before moving away and walking towards the shower. "Well, we better start getting ready. We've got a busy day ahead of us."

"Busy?" You asked as you hopped off the counter and followed after him. "I thought we were supposed to, and I quote, relax. I mean, I'm down for anything. But I am missing Mia, though."

"Me too, which is why I think my family booked a bunch of things for us to do today. They want to keep us busy until we get her back tonight."

"What did they plan?"

"I honestly don't know," he shrugged and turned back around to face you. "I just woke up to a text from Alex saying we have to be down at the marina in an hour and a half, that's all I know. So I'm going to shower and get ready. Something is waiting for you in the kitchen if you want to check it out. Or you could join me in the shower, wouldn't be opposed to that either."

"Get in the shower, Matthews," you replied and rolled your eyes at his cheekiness again. "I'll make us some breakfast, then wash my hair."

You didn't leave much room for argument, because after that you were striding out of the washroom and back through the bedroom, not caring that you were still wearing a bedsheet dress. 

As you walked into the hallway, you wondered what the hell could be waiting for you in the kitchen, and was unable to keep yourself from gasping as you rounded the corner and saw a huge bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter. It wasn't hard to spot the little card resting in the flowers that had your name written on it, but before you could walk over and read it, a pair of hands gripped your waist and spun you back around. 

Auston's lips immediately crashed to yours, and you let out a surprised squeak, but quickly returned the kiss before pulling away slightly. 

"Happy anniversary," he mumbled against your lips before stepping back and smiling. 

But you were beyond confused and looked at him weirdly.

Anniversary? Anniversary of what? You raked your mind for ideas of what it was he talked about until something clicked, and your eyes went wide.

"Holy shit," was all you said before bolting back down the hallway towards the bedroom. 

You could hear Auston following behind you, but he was quiet as he watched you walk over to where your cell phone was sitting on the table and check the date. Sure enough, the date was exactly what you thought. 

July 30th, otherwise known as yours and Auston's first wedding anniversary, which you completely forgot about up until that moment.

Not a moment later, your phone chimed with a text from Steph wishing you and Auston a happy anniversary. Then came one from Mitch, then Alex, then Bre, then even more friends and family from home, which did not make you feel any better about the situation. 

"Oh, my God," you groaned and ran a hand down your face before eventually glancing back at your husband, who was looking at you with pure amusement. 

"You forgot our anniversary, didn't you?" He asked and stepped towards you. 

"No," you lied.

"Yes, you did, or else you wouldn't be so flustered."

"Ok fine, I forgot," you whined and flopped onto the bed, completely ashamed. Auston chuckled as he sat on the bed next to you and watched you sulk for a minute before finally looking back to him. "I'm sorry. We've just been having so much fun during this trip. I knew it was coming up, but I completely lost track of the days and didn't realize that it was today. Wow, I'm a terrible wife."

"No, you're not," Auston stated while shaking his head at your dramatics. 

"Yes, I am! Who forgets their first freaking wedding anniversary? Also, how are you so calm about this?"

"Because I'm not mad, Y/N."

"You're not?" You asked and lifted your head from the pillow to look at him better. "How? I mean, I would be. I suck."

"Because, babe, I get it," he told you seriously. "And no, you don't suck. Life gets crazy sometimes, and it's hard to keep track of things. Remember when I forgot Valentine's Day that one year?"

"Valentine's Day is not as important as our anniversary."

"Doesn't matter, I'm trying to prove that it's ok you forgot. I'm not going to hold a grudge against you over it."

It was impossible for you not to melt a little bit as he said that.

"Why are you so good to me?" You asked as he reached a hand towards you, and gently linked your fingers with his. 

"Because I love you," he replied. "Simple as that. How do you like the flowers, though?"

"I love them," you stated as you sat back up and quit your sulking. "They're beautiful, Auston. Thank you. Are you sure you're not mad?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he chuckled and shook his head before standing up. "I may never let you live it down, but no, I'm not mad."

"God, I think that might be worse than you just being pissed off at me."

"Not my fault you forgot our anniversary, now is it?"

"Auston!" You groaned and leaned back against the headboard, knowing that he most definitely would never let you live this down. 

"Love you," he singsonged as he leaned down to kiss you once more. 

"Love you too, even though you're a pain in my ass," you pouted before returning the kiss. 

"Your favourite pain," Auston stated as he moved back towards the ensuite. "But we really do need to get going, or Alex is going to be pissed that we missed whatever reservation she made."

Once the two of you were showered and dressed, you both made your way to the marina to see what the day had in store, but not without glancing at Ema and Brian's bungalow to see if you could see Mia as you went. 

When Auston gave the man who was waiting on the docks his name, the two of you were told that he was taking you both on a boat tour to see The Arch Of Cabo San Lucas and other tourist attractions such as the infamous Lovers Beach. 

"Fitting name," Auston said to you quietly as the two of you boarded the boat. 

"This kind of thing has Alex written all over it."  

"You think that's bad, Bre just texted me saying she booked us an hour at the driving range after this."

"Oh, god," you replied dramatically, but had to smile at how thoughtful and considerate it was of Auston's family to set everything up for the two of you. "As long as there's some type of alcohol, I'm game."

"Perfect," he responded as he sat next to you and the boat set sail. "Anything else you want to do before dinner?"

"I think I'll book us something at the spa," you told him with a smirk. "My treat."

"Sounds good to me."

The day couldn't have gone more perfect, and the fact that you and Auston spent it entirely together made it even more special. When evening came, you went to a dinner reservation for two, which was so lovely, but you were both a little antsy by the end of it.

"Think they'll let us take our daughter back now?" You asked your husband as you sipped on the last little bit of wine you had with dinner.

"God, I hope so," Auston said dramatically. "Not that I didn't love this time with you or anything, but I really miss her."

"I do too. This was needed, but I'm ready for us to get our little girl back."

"Couldn't agree more."

After you finished your drink, you and Auston walked hand in hand to Bre and Alex's house and couldn't wait to see everyone, especially Mia. Once the two of you arrived, it wasn't long before Ema opened the front door and pulled you both in for a hug.

"Happy anniversary!" 

"Thank you," both you and Auston replied while returning the hug.

"Did you two have a good day?" She asked and stepped back to let you enter the house.

"It was amazing," you told her honestly. "Thank you for doing this, Ema."

"Oh, don't thank just me. There was no way I would've been able to do it alone. Now, come."

You looked at Auston suspiciously as Ema began leading the two of you down the hallway, but he just shrugged. 

"Don't look at me," he started with a laugh. "They're up to something else, though. I feel it."

"Let's go you two," Ema's voice called from down the hall, not giving you a chance to respond.

"Guess we'll find out," you told your husband before making way down the hallway after your mother-in-law. 

But neither of you were prepared for what you saw once you entered the living room.

"Happy anniversary!" Everyone who came on vacation exclaimed. 

"'Versary!" Yelled Mia from where she stood between Bre and Brian.

It was then you were able to take in your surroundings finally. The room was decorated with balloons and banners all with 'Happy Anniversary' written across them.  There was also a cake resting on the table in the corner with a framed photo of you and Auston from your wedding day standing next to it. 

"You guys," you started as you covered your mouth and looked around at everyone with teary eyes. "Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," Auston said, and just couldn't stop smiling. He then looked down at you and pulled you in for a sweet kiss. "Happy anniversary, babe."

"Happy anniversary," you repeated before softly kissing him again, then pulling him in for a hug.

"Maybe I won't tell them that you forgot."

"Matthews, I swear to-." 

You were ready to ream him out but were interrupted by a small force tackling yours and Auston's legs. Immediately, you moved away from your husband and looked down to see Mia hugging you both tightly. 

"There's my girl!" Auston exclaimed as he bent down to pick up your daughter and hug her tightly, to which she returned. 

"Hi, sweet girl," you greeted as Mia looked your way and was soon tackling you in a hug as well. "Your daddy and I missed you today."

"'Versary!" She replied excitedly. 

"Yes, it's mommy and I's anniversary, princess," your husband said before leaning down to kiss her head. "Man, a lot has happened in a year. I just keep thinking of how small she was the day we got married."

"I know," you responded with wide eyes as you thought back to a year prior. "But, you know, although this past year was pretty amazing, I still think the best has yet to come."

"I think you're right," Auston agreed. "Can't wait to see what the next year brings us, and all the years after that."

"Me neither."

Both you and Auston were soon surrounded by everyone in his family, hugging and congratulating the both of you. They then went on to ask how yours and Auston's day went and had the biggest smile on your face as you relived it all. That smile remained for the rest of the evening as you mingled with Auston's, no, your family, and got even more excited with what the future was going to hold because you knew that with all of these amazing people in it, it was bound to be special.

// please let me know what you think! <3 //

[bunnimew]

SCP-5282

Rating: T  Fandom: Spider-man, Deadpool Relationship: Peter Parker, Wade Wilson -> Spideypool Tags: SCP AU, Mild depictions of violence, Humor Summary: For Fic or Treat 2020 on the Isn't It Bromantic? Spideypool server

There's been a facility-wide SCP containment breach and it's Peter's job to put them back in their cells. If he can.

On AO3 here.

Sirens had been going off, but someone must have flipped a switch somewhere because everything was too quiet, now.

Peter’s job with Nine Tailed Fox had seemed really important about twenty minutes ago. Protecting the masses, keeping chaos contained.

Now it seemed really, really stupid.

A breach like this was never supposed to happen. One or two getting out of their cage, maybe. The whole complex let loose? There were supposed to be a million and one checks in place to make sure this never happened.

It was almost easy remembering everything you needed to handle a single SCP safely. Look. Don’t look. Listen. Don’t listen. Each had a list and Nine Tailed Fox knew it by heart, but when the whole system broke, when the SCPs were basically thrown in a giant concrete bag, shook up, and pulled out at random, sometimes three at a time just to be froggy?

Then the list included Look and Don’t Look, and Peter had liked Dave, but once you lock gazes with 096…

Peter tried to focus on the problem at hand, and not his general anger at being here in the first place.

There was something in this room.

Peter could feel it. Could hear it. Listen. But he couldn’t see it.

He switched his goggles to night mode.

“966!” Peter said in warning. He lifted his firearm to aim, to hold it off if needed, but 966 was actually pretty easy. As long as they could lead it back to its cell in a timely manner, they should be fine. There was only one, though. The facility listed fou—

“Auugh!”

Peter spun to look for the last remaining member of his squad. “Rogelio!”

SCP-966-3, or at least Peter was pretty sure that was 3, was lashing out at Rogelio with its claw-like fingers. He either didn’t have night vision turned on or the sounds were already disorienting him, because Rogelio wasn’t even looking in the right direction when he put his hands up to shield himself.

Peter aimed again and managed to get off one round before the first instance of SCP-966 he’d seen caught up to him and suddenly Peter was feeling claws and seeing things and he liked Rogelio, he really did, but Peter had to save himself first.

His attacker was close enough that his shots couldn’t miss. But 966 was resilient, aggressive, and tenacious, and Peter found himself backing up right out of the room just trying to get out of its reach. If he shut the door, then he was shutting Rogelio in with two of them, and maybe that would have ensured his safety… but Peter couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself, so he still had what he thought was SCP-966-1 stalking him when SCP-966-2 appeared out of nowhere at his side.

By himself with two of these things? Containment wasn’t a possibility. They’d knock him on his ass long before he ever got near their cage. It was time to cut his losses.

Peter ran.

He ran, keeping an eye out for darkness on the floor, for movement out of the corner of his eye, for something in a place it shouldn’t be, keeping his ears tuned for the sounds of crying, of shouting, of shifting when there was nothing there to shift. Every time he opened a door, he was prepared to shut it immediately. Every time he turned a corner, he wondered if he’d blink and then never see again.

In a bout of paranoia, Peter slipped into an enclosed hall, the kind that led to cages, and pressed his back to the wall to catch his breath. He needed a plan that was ever so slightly better than, ‘stay alive.’ It was great short-term, but if all he did was run around forever, the SCPs would get him eventually. They didn’t have expiration dates the way Peter did.

“Hey! Is someone there?”

Oh, shit.

Peter looked at the wall beside him. SCP-5282. Object class Euclid. Sentient and Violent.

That told him nothing. That was half the SCPs in here.

5282… 5282… Wasn’t that the unkillable guy?

“If you’re there… please… can you help me?”

Peter almost laughed. The sentient SCPs were always like this. Please, I’m harmless. Please, let me out. Please, I’m—

Peter heard steps in the hall outside.

He would take his chances with the unkillable guy.

Peter hurried into the room with 5282 and shut the door behind him. At least 5282 was still contained. That made him a hell of a lot safer than whatever was out there.

“Oh thank God. I thought I was going crazy. Crazier. You know what I mean.”

Peter closed his eyes and took a breath. The SCPs that seemed like normal humans were always the hardest.

“So hey, I’m Wade. What’s your name?”

Peter turned to the observation window between him and 5282. “I’m not going to tell you that.”

The man behind the glass took a moment, then nodded. “That’s fair. I’m a crazy, dangerous anomaly-thing. But you should know, if you don’t give me a name, I’m going to pick one for you.”

Peter snorted a laugh. Of course, out of all the hallways on this whole floor in this whole fortress, he had to sneak into the one with a mouthy, presumptuous, legitimately unkillable, seemingly normal guy. Well, not much he could do about that except walk back outside to his almost certain death. How bad could it be?

“How’s Sugarplum? Sweet cheeks? Cinnamon bun? Maybe pumpkin. Or pumpkin pie. Sweetie pie? Baby cakes!”

Peter winced. “You didn’t even consider nicknames, did you? You just dove straight passed into pet names.”

“You were turned around too long,” he explained with a shrug. “I got a good look at your ass. Pet names are all we have now.”

Peter shook his head in denial. “I’m at least supposed to get dinner and a movie out of it first.”

“Hit that button behind you and I’ll take you right to the first theater we can find.”

The reminder brought Peter up short. This was an SCP. He knew that, he did, but somehow…

SCP-5282 was very dangerous this way.

“I’m not letting you out.”

5282 sighed. His shoulders slumped and his feet shifted and Peter felt bad about it.

Very dangerous.

“C’mon…” he said, and Peter knew whatever came after wasn’t going to be anything he wanted to hear. “You can’t just expect me to sit here, twiddling my thumbs, until everything going on out there returns to normal, can you?”

Peter thought he could see where this was going, and he didn’t like it. Because 5282 was going to be right. “Why not?”

“I can already tell you don’t buy it,” 5282 said. “I can tell you’re smarter than that, Baby Cakes. I might be an anomaly, but I’m still human. I need to eat. I need to shit. Nobody’s gonna come maintain my little cage until everybody else is securely back in theirs and that might take a really long time.”

Peter knew he wasn’t going to like it.

“I may not die, but I still hurt.”

Fuck. Peter turned away from 5282 and paced back and forth in front of the panels that controlled his containment. It wasn’t his job to consider these things. It was the scientists’ who ran this place. He was Nine Tailed Fox. It was his job to put SCPs back in their cages only.

But Peter hadn’t done so bad in his science classes, either. He knew very well the ethical struggle between knowledge and humanity. 5282 was dangerous. But could Peter just leave him here to starve and waste away until somebody finally came for him?

“Hey, Baby Cakes.”

Peter spun on his heel to glare through the glass. “That’s not my name.”

5282 shrugged. “I don’t know your name. I told you I’d pick one.”

Why couldn’t he have been an object? Sentient objects were easy to dismiss. They were objects.

5282 didn’t know Peter’s name, but Peter knew his. Wade. He was SCP-5282, but he was also Wade.

“I just thought I might try to make this a little easier on you.”

“Really? I didn’t know you could alter reality too.” Peter gestured at the glass. “Well, go on.”

“Hah,” Wade barked. “Good one. No. I meant, you’re stuck down here too, aren’t you? Nine Tailed Fox usually comes in threes and you’re alone, so I’m guessing shit hit the fan and somebody’s sending condolence letters later.”

The pit that opened up in Peter’s stomach was unwelcome at a time like this. He couldn’t afford to mourn yet. He really hoped Rogelio had gotten out of there.

“Yeah,” Wade said, and Peter suddenly realized he was clenching his jaw and his hands had balled into fists. Wade was reading him like a book. “I’m sorry about that. But you need help getting out of here, and I can’t die. Seems like a really good reason to hit the button.”

Technically, Wade had brought up two good reasons now. But one huge reason remained for leaving him in his box. Wade was an SCP, and he was dangerous. He wouldn’t be down here in the first place if there hadn’t been reason to contain him.

“How do I know you won’t kill me as soon as I do?”

“Because your ass is a work of art and I could never forgive myself for destroying such a beautiful thing.”

Peter stared. “Somehow I thought you would be serious about this.”

“I am being serious,” Wade insisted. “I would much rather shove my face in your ass than my hand through your chest.”

Peter shifted his stance and furrowed his brow. “Y’know, most SCPs would say things like, ‘I’m harmless,’ or, ‘I’m not supposed to be in here.’ That makes it very hard to parse, ‘I want to eat you out.’”

Wade held his hands out to either side. “Honesty’s the best policy.”

That assumed he was telling the truth. “So you’re not harmless?”

“I’m a very dangerous, unkillable anomaly,” Wade declared. “But I’m a very dangerous, unkillable anomaly who so far likes you and really just wants to get out of here.”

And you know?

Peter really just wanted to get out of here, too.

He hit the button releasing the locks on Wade’s door before he could think any harder about it.

The fact of the matter was, Peter had already been regretting his position in Nine Tailed Fox before he ever made it down this hall. Getting fired for this wasn’t really a concern.

Peter had already been nearly certain to die running around down here, whether he tried to make it to the surface or not. If Wade turned around and killed him, that might even be one of the better ways to go.

Peter already felt guilt about Wade being stuck down here. If he actually walked away from this and left Wade to waste, that would have weighed on his heart forever.

And the lack of concern Peter felt watching Wade run out of his cage through the tinted, darkened glass really sealed the deal for him. He didn’t regret letting Wade go free.

Peter sucked in a breath when the door slid open, in an instant suddenly sure he was about to die, but it was just Wade, mottled skin and standard jumpsuit much clearer now that there wasn’t thick, insulated glass between them. He waved his hand, gesturing Peter forward, and Peter trusted him enough to go.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go, Baby Cakes.”

“Peter,” he said. If they were going to be running around in this hellscape together, Wade might as well know. “My name’s Peter.”

Wade’s smile was brilliant.

“That’s nice, but it’s too late. You’ll always be Baby Cakes to me now.” He grabbed Peter’s wrist and tugged him through the door, back into danger. “C’mon. Let’s get us out of here.”

There was a lot waiting for them at the end of this hall. Getting out alive was almost certainly impossible.

But Wade’s warm, firm grip on his wrist did everything to make Peter sure.

This was the right decision.

Also Nine Tailed Fox could suck it.

[neerasrealm]

Fishing Trip

In which Slender takes Jeff on a fishing trip. Some cheesy father-son bonding ft angsty teen Jeff and just some good old fashioned SlenderDad fluff because I haven’t written any in a long time. Word count: 3603

Jeff did not want to wake up. 

It was far too early, his room wasn't even bright yet, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He groaned and rolled over, curling up and burying his face in his pillow. 

"Jeff, come on." A deep voice said behind him. He groaned louder.

"It's too earlyyyy..." He whined. "Lemme sleep!" 

The voice behind him sighed and yanked off his blankets. Jeff rolled over and glared at them. They were tall, with snow-white skin and absolutely no face. Slender. The eldritch monster that had taken Jeff in and insisted on calling himself 'father'. Jeff had vowed he'd never look at Slender as a dad like everyone else here did. 

"Come on Jeffery, it'll be fun. It'll just be the two of us, you'll enjoy it." Slender insisted. Jeff glared at him.

"I'm not going fucking fishing." He snarled. Yes, fishing. Slender wanted to take him fishing, like a father and son would do. Disgusting. He wanted to be Jeff's dad so bad it was embarrassing. 

"Watch your language young man." Slender replied, placing Jeff's clothes, neatly folded, on the bed using a black tendril. "Now get dressed. I'm making breakfast before we go and packing lunch. Is there anything specific you'd like?"

"Sleep." Jeff grunted back as he rolled over again. Slender sighed.

"Just get dressed." He murmured. "It's to be a warm day too, you know. You'll enjoy it." He added as he left the room. Jeff huffed and curled up again. Finally, some peace and quiet. 

His bed abruptly creaked and shifted as another weight climbed onto it. Something nudged his back and he whined. "Smiiile…" he swatted at his pet hellhound. "C'mon dude, I'm tryna sleep."

Smile growled and grabbed Jeff's shirt in his mouth, yanking him into his back. Before the poor boy could do anything, Smile dropped his hoodie right onto his face. Jeff yanked it off and glared at him.

"Oh c'mon, you're in on this too?!"

"Rrr."

"Like hell I care about Slender wanting to spend time with me!" 

"Rrrff!"

"So what if I hurt his feelings? I'm not his kid…" Jeff huffed. Smile glared at him sternly. He woofed quietly and climbed off the bed, wandering towards the door. Jeff sat up and watched him turn the handle with his mouth, then leave the room.

...fucking hell that dog knew how to guilt trip him.

Jeff reluctantly dragged himself downstairs after throwing on the ripped jeans, t-shirt and hoodie Slender had picked out for him. Nobody was around...nobody was even awake! With a sigh, Jeff shoved open the kitchen door. He was greeted by the sound of the radio playing, the smell of bacon, and the sight of Smile dog eating from his bowl.

Slender looked up from the stove and over at Jeff. He was wearing an orange button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and beige trousers. It was actually kind of odd seeing Slender outside his usual suit. He was also wearing a pink, frilled cooking apron. Because of course he was.

"Ah! There you are Jeffery." Slender greeted. "Sit down, breakfast is nearly ready."

Jeff grunted and sat down. A tendril reached over to the table and sat a mug in front of him. A mug topped with whipped cream, cocoa powder and marshmallows. He blinked. He grabbed the mug quickly and took a careful sip, getting whipped cream on his nose in the process. He was greeted by the taste of sweet hot chocolate. He pulled away and grinned. Slender's hot chocolate was the best he knew. 

He'd already drank down half the mug by the time Slender served up breakfast. He'd made...everything. Two fried eggs, three sausages, four strips of bacon- how was Jeff supposed to eat all of that? He looked up as Slender placed two more plates in front of him. One stacked with slices of toast, and the other with a single croissant.

"Eat up now. This is supposed to keep you going for the next nine hours."

Jeff blinked. "Nine hours?!" He exclaimed. Slender nodded. "You're gonna starve me!"

"That's why I made all of this." Slender gestured to the food in front of Jeff. "Now eat up."

Jeff didn't need to be told twice. Luckily for Slender, the boy was already starving, and Jeff had a knack for eating way more than his body should be capable of holding. By the time Slender had finished packing lunch for later on, Jeff had (nearly) eaten everything, and downed all of his hot chocolate. Slender put their lunches away in a large bag he was bringing with him, along with some bottles of water and a couple of capri-suns. As a treat. He zipped up the bag and looked at Jeff. 

"Are you finished?" He asked. Jeff grabbed his croissant and bit into it before nodding. 

"Yep!" He stood up and smiled. "Your cooking is awesome man."

Slender seemed to smile. "Well thank you, Jeffery." He said. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, now," he took off his apron and slung the bag over his shoulder. He then moved over to the fridge and pulled out a somewhat big plastic box. He closed the fridge again and turned to look at the boy. ‘’Can I ask you to carry the fishing rods?’’ 

Jeff shrugged. ‘’I guess-’’ he replied almost-reluctantly. Slender chuckled a bit as Jeff followed him out of the room and to the front hall where he’d left the two fishing rods they were going to be bringing. Jeff took one in each hand, finding they were surprisingly light. Slender looked at him and adjusted his bags. 

‘’Ready to go?’’ 

‘’Mmph.’’ 

The two of them walked through the woods. It was a bright, warm morning, and the woods were beautiful. Unfortunately, Jeff couldn’t fully enjoy it. He was tired. ‘’Why do we have to get up so early?’’ he groaned.

‘’Because, it’s most peaceful in the morning. And it means we can get back by early evening, so you’ll have more time to sleep.’’ Slender replied. ‘’You’ll be tired Jeffery, I can assure you that.’’

Jeff groaned again. ‘’Why? Isn’t fishing just- sitting around?’’ he glared up at the tall faceless entity. ‘’Why’re you even bringing me fishing? It’s boring!’’ 

‘’I take everyone fishing, Jeff. Whenever someone joins the household I make an effort to take them with me so we’ll establish a bond. It’s one on one communication, and it helps me understand them better.’’ he looked down at Jeff. ‘’And I want you to feel comfortable with me.’’ Jeff stared at him for a moment then looked down, muttering something to himself. Slender looked away and hummed. ‘’That and I get lonely out on the lake all day.’’

‘’Oh c’mon!’’ Jeff huffed. Slender laughed gently at the boy. 

‘’You’ll have fun, I promise.’’ he said. Jeff grunted.

‘’Where are we even going anyway?’’ he asked. Slender didn’t answer, just hummed and stepped over a bush. Jeff waded through it and looked around. There was a large lake bordered with tall evergreens. Jeff watched as Slender walked over and extended a few tendrils. They dragged a large wooden boat out of the bushes and set it by the edge of the water. He turned and looked at Jeff. 

‘’Come on, get in. I'll push the boat in for you.’’ Slender called calmly. Jeff walked over and climbed awkwardly into the boat. He set the fishing rods down and Slender placed down the bags, then pushed the boat gently into the water. Jeff wobbled a bit as the boat rocked. It didn’t help that Slender then just casually stepped into the boat, making it rock even more. He calmly sat down, as elegant as ever. The boat floated out toward the center of the lake and Slender picked up one of the rods. "See? Not so bad."

Jeff looked around the place. This lake seemed so...calm, so perfect. "Where'd this place come from?" He asked. Slender arched a brow.

"Well I'm assuming it formed via natural means." He replied. Oh. Jeff was half expecting Slender to say he created the lake or something. It wouldn't surprise him by now. "Here you go. I put the lure on for you." Slender held out the fishing rod. On the hook was a colourful plastic fish. Jeff took it and squinted at the lure. 

"Does that thing actually attract fish?" 

"Hm? Yes. They assume it's food because of the bright colours."

"Man, fish are dumb huh?"

Slender laughed a bit. ‘’I suppose they’re smart in other means.’’ he murmured. ‘’Now, you’ve never been fishing before, correct?’’

‘’Uh- yeah.’’

‘’Then I get to teach you how to cast your line.’’ Slender sounded quite happy with himself. ‘’You draw your rod back like this,’’ he threw the rod back over his shoulder. ‘’Then just throw it out!’’ he threw his arms forward, the line throwing itself off across the lake. He turned to Jeff and seemed to smile. ‘’Now you try.’’

Jeff turned to the water and inhaled deeply, like he was mentally preparing himself for something big. He threw back the rod, then lunged his arms forward. The line tossed itself across the lake, though it went nowhere near as far as Slender’s. 

‘’Good job!’’ Slender reached over and patted Jeff’s head. He tensed up, and by the time he’d relaxed and realised it was only more of Slender’s unsolicited affection, the hand had pulled away. He glanced at Slender.

‘’...it was a shitty cast.’’ he murmured, looking back at the lake. Surprisingly, Slender didn’t scold him for the language. Instead he shook his head.

‘’It was a fine cast,’’ he said. ‘’Now, to reel it back you just wind back the reel. See?’’ he demonstrated with his own rod, winding back the fishing line. Jeff nodded and did the same until the line had come back to him. He looked to Slender for approval. When he nodded, Jeff smiled a bit before casting out again. ‘’Are you having fun?’’ Slender asked, sounding a little smug. Jeff’s smile abruptly dropped.

‘’Wha-? N-No, course not.’’ the teen avoided his eyes, or lack thereof. Slender chuckled gently. 

‘’My apologies, I shouldn’t have assumed such a thing.’’ he said, turning away from him. Jeff glanced at him for a second before looking away, embarrassed. It was silent for a while before Jeff glanced at him again. 

"Hey uh- Slender...can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

He frowned at the water, unsure of how to phrase his question. "Why...do you even care about me?" It was a question he'd been wanting to ask for a while. Slender turned to him. "I'm rude and get on your nerves- I'm not a good kid like the others…"

"Jeff-"

"Like- like Ben right? Ben is perfect, he's polite, he's smart, everyone likes him! Then there's Sally- she's a cute little girl and she calls you dad- they all call you dad and I just-" he sighed, frustrated. "I dunno...I'm just- a problem. The kid that causes trouble. You don’t wanna keep me around."

Slender shifted and turned to him. He placed his hand on Jeff's shoulder, squeezing it. "Jeffery…" he said gently. "You're not a bad child. You are not a problem. You cause trouble, yes, but you're a teenager. I'd be worried if you weren't causing trouble." His voice was soft, loving. "You're full of potential. You're still young, and I know you only need someone to nurture it. You're a young boy, you should be having fun with friends and causing mischief. Not...sleeping under bridges and wandering neighborhoods at night." His voice dropped at that last part, his gaze resting on him for a long, long moment. The hand withdrew and Slender looked away. "I just want to see you in a home where you feel safe...that's all."

Jeff stared at him. It didn't make sense to him how Slender, this...thing, this creature, this kind kind person...cared for him. He hadn't done anything to deserve the kindness. He was a murderer, a kid his parents didn't want and couldn't love. A freak. But Slender...still wanted to keep him safe? See him...having fun, being a kid? 

"Why is it your business?"

"Hm?"

"Why's my safety and happiness important to you?" Jeff looked up at him. "Why am I so special?"

Slender stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. He pat Jeff's head. "You're an extraordinary boy. You're going to do great things, I can sense it from you."

"Why? Is that another of your magic powers?" Jeff asked. Slender looked like he might have smiled, if he had a face.

"Perhaps," he replied. "Or maybe I can see the future. Who's to say?"

Jeff brightened up considerably over the course of the next hour. He was still tired, yes, but Slender's voice was calming to listen to, and the air on the lake was warm and carried the scent of the woods with it. He was fun to talk to as well- Slender was good with witty replies and quick on the mark. He always seemed to know how to reply to Jeff, no matter what he said or talked about. 

‘’Yeah but like- it’s so much more than that! The story was going on in real time, as you yourself got older The Undertaker was too, like-!’’ Jeff’s excited rambling was cut off by his line getting tugged. His head snapped to his bobber out on the lake. It was silent for a second, then it got yanked down below the water. He gasped. ‘’Is that a bite?!’’

‘’Looks like it!’’

‘’Shit-! What do I-’’ he glanced at his rod and at the reel. He started winding it, tugging his catch back with some effort. 

‘’There you go, almost got it!’’ Slender called encouragingly. Jeff grunted and yanked his rod back, pulling the fish out of the water. He stared at the end of his line, where the fish hung, thrashing wildly. Slender clapped from where he sat across from him. ‘’Great job, Jeffery!’’ he chirped. ‘’It’s not often people get it first try.’’

‘’It’s not?’’ Jeff looked at him, surprised. Slender reached over and grabbed the fish, which had gone still, and pulled it off the hook. He nodded as he opened the cooler he’d brought with him and put the fish in before closing it. ‘’So like- I’m...good at fishing…?’’

Slender nodded again and sat back again. ‘’Seems so.’’ he said. ‘’That was a big one too. Good job.’’

Jeff smiled. ‘’Oh cool!’’ he bounced his legs happily. Slender reached over and took his rod from him, putting more bait on the hook for him. ‘’Wait- what’re we even gonna do with the fish?’’ 

‘’Eat it.’’ Slender replied. ‘’I brought some supplies to make a fire, and I’m going to smoke the fish. Does that sound nice?’’ he asked. Jeff nodded. ‘’I could teach you how, if you’d like. Then you could catch and eat fish all by yourself.’’ 

Jeff blinked. ‘’Really?’’ he asked, surprised. ‘’You’d do that?’’

Slender nodded. ‘’Means you can feed yourself. I can even teach you how to gut and fillet a fish, if you want that.’’

‘’You would?!’’ Jeff said a little louder than he meant to. He cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced away. ‘’I’d...love that, yeah. Sounds- cool. Or whatever.’’

Slender chuckled and pat the boy’s head again. ‘’Cool.’’ he said simply. Jeff looked up at him and grinned.

‘’Dude...never say that again.’’

The day seemed to fly by on that tiny boat. Slender seemed to be a much more skilled fisherman, as he caught way more fish than Jeff did, but the boy didn’t even notice. Every time he caught a fish he was met with praise and compliments that made him shake his hands with glee. By the time they got to lunch Jeff’s grouchiness had disappeared, replaced with excitement and talkativeness, and by evening he was calm and relaxed. Content to just quietly chat between the two of them.

‘’So how old are you again?’’ Jeff’s focus had turned to asking Slender questions about himself. It had started with just him, what he liked and why he liked them, but now he was turning to actually asking where the faceless creature had come from.

‘’Somewhere around four hundred.’’ Slender replied. ‘’I’m afraid I don’t have the exact year...age wasn’t exactly something we kept track of when I was young.’’

‘’We?’’

‘’My family. You’ve met Splendor, and I told you about Trender, yes?’’

‘’Yeah.’’ Jeff nodded, remembering Slender’s jolly sibling. How the two were related he had no idea. Splendor was full of so much energy and joy- not to mention he had a face. ‘’Damn...four hundred…’’ he frowned. ‘’You’ve seen some shit, huh?’’

Slender nodded. ‘’Plenty. Maybe a little too much.’’ he replied with a small laugh. Jeff smiled. ‘’Splendor is much younger though. He’s around two hundred and fifty.’’

‘’Gee, he’s practically a fetus.’’ Jeff replied sarcastically. Slender laughed and glanced up at the darkening sky. 

‘’I think that’s enough for the day. What do you think?’’

‘’Huh?’’ Jeff glanced out at his line. ‘’Uhh...yeah. I think I’m good.’’ he reeled his line back in, and Slender did the same. They rowed the boat back to the shore and Slender climbed out of the boat. Jeff hopped out, shaking himself off. He grinned a bit as he watched Slender pull out the cooler and walk over to another part of the shore, taking a seat by some bushes. Jeff followed after him and set his fishing rod down. He dropped down beside him, folding his legs and watching Slender set things up. He pulled a large wooden cutting board from his bag and set it down, then took out one of the fish he’d caught from the cooler. 

He grabbed a knife from the bag and looked at Jeff. ‘’You want to know how to prep the fish?’’ he asked. The boy nodded. ‘’Watch me then.’’ he turned back to the fish. Jeff watched as Slender chopped off the head, then the tail. Like an expert, he pulled out the spine and big bones, then cut the meat in half. Jeff watched him as he took off the skin, then picked out any smaller bones. He looked at the boy, seemingly pleased with himself. ‘’And that’s how it’s done.’’ he said. He held out the knife. ‘’Do you want to try it yourself?’’

Jeff looked down at the knife. ‘’You’re...giving me a knife?’’

Slender nodded. ‘’Yes.’’

‘’...on purpose?’��

‘’On purpose, yes.’’

Jeff grinned and took the knife. Slender took out another fish and slid the cutting board over to the boy. ‘’Now start with the head. Then you can pull out the spine with it.’’ he said. Jeff nodded and started sawing at the fish’s neck. He grunted, struggling to get through the bone for a few moments before the knife got through, beheading his catch. He pulled the head away, dragging the spine with it. Jeff looked up at Slender, smiling. 

‘’Did I do it right?’’ he asked. Slender nodded. The boy grinned wider. ‘’What’s the next step?’’

Slender pulled a plastic bag out and put the unused fish parts into it. ‘’You’ll be taking out the guts.’’ he replied.

‘’Oh hell yeah!’’ Jeff looked down excitedly, twirling the knife in his hands. Slender laughed.

‘’Slice open the fish’s stomach and just pull them out. It’s messy work. Do you want gl-’’ he stopped when he realised Jeff had already done as he was told and was tugging out bloody guts with his bare hands. The boy looked up at him, confused, and Slender laughed again. ‘’Or you can use your bare hands. That works too.’’ he said, patting Jeff’s head. 

Jeff laughed and shook his head, long black hair falling into his face. Slender pushed it back behind his shoulder and hummed. ‘’What’s next?’’ Jeff asked.

‘’Wash your hands. Then cut off the fins.’’ Slender said snarkily. Jeff laughed again.

Preparing the fish was more fun than Jeff thought it would be. He was already skilled with a knife, and cutting something up felt good. Not to mention Slender’s constant praises and compliments. Jeff ended up preparing three fish, while Slender did two. While Jeff put away the parts they wouldn’t eat and washed his hands, Slender set up the fire and set the fish down to smoke. He sat back and looked up at the evening sky. Jeff scooted over to him, then lay back on the ground. He sighed tiredly and Slender turned to look at him.

‘’So was it bad?’’

‘’Huh?’’ Jeff opened his eyes and looked up at Slender, confused.

‘’Fishing. You said you didn’t want to come.’’ the faceless monster tilted his head. ‘’Was it boring?’’

‘’Well- no-’’

‘’Did you enjoy catching fish?’’

‘’...I guess…’’

‘’So...you enjoyed yourself?’’

Jeff looked up at him then sighed. ‘’...yeah. I guess I did,’’ he looked away. ‘’Maybe I’d do it again…’’ he mumbled to himself. Slender chuckled and patted the boy’s head again.

‘’I won’t force you,’’ he replied softly. ‘’But I did have fun. Nobody else in the house really enjoys fishing, except maybe Cody, Tim and EJ, and they prefer to go with each other rather than me.’’

Jeff looked up at him, then smiled. ‘’Fine. I’ll be your fishing buddy.’’ he replied, pretending to sound reluctant. ‘’But only if you make that great breakfast again!’’

Slender laughed. ‘’I think I can do that.’’

[obxwhore]

The Night It Happened - Chapter One

Summary: It’s been two years since Ariana West, the fifth member of the Pogues vanished out of nowhere. After months of searching, they had no choice but to give up and her disappearance was left a mystery to her family and her best friends. After having the summer of their lives, the four remaining Pogues are met with shock when their missing friend stumbles into John B’s backyard, bloody and bruised. Ariana having no recollection of where she had been, and the group having very little trust with the law enforcement of Outer Banks, they rush to find out what happened to Ariana before it happens again.

Word Count: 1.7K

Warnings: Cursing, violence, mentions of kidnapping, mentions and images of abuse.

A/N: Hello! Thank you guys so much for the positive reception I’ve been getting from the prologue. I was really nervous to put my writing out there, so it really means a lot. This is the first official chapter. I’ve written and rewritten it probably around four or five times and I’m pretty happy with the end result. Let me know what you guys think! I’m still trying to figure out where I want to go with the story, but I’ll try to keep updates as consistent as possible.

 Find the prologue here: https://obxwhore.tumblr.com/post/620367150401585152/the-night-it-happened-prologue

Two Years Later; the Winter after the Treasure Hunt.

John B sat in a hammock in front of his house, watching his breath escape his mouth in clouds as it entered the cool air of a North Carolina winter. John B didn’t very much like cold weather, much preferring the feeling of crisp Atlantic waves on a hot summer day. But for some reason, he was content with the icy feeling of this year’s twilight. Perhaps it was because the cold reminded him of emptiness, the feeling that has been stalking him since he and Sarah returned from sea, gold-less. Disappointment flooded his veins every time he looked at a photo of his late father, feeling like a letdown. A failure. Drowning in the idea of what could’ve been. Regardless, the love of his best friends and his girlfriend have kept him afloat. It kept him comfortable.

The voice of his best friend JJ Maybank invaded his ears as he tuned back into the conversation currently being held between the Pogues and Sarah.

“-and when Barry had us all on the side of the road with a gun pointed at us.” JJ said, laughter evading his lips as if the near death experience was the funniest thing to ever happen to him.

“Or when John B literally drove a boat into the middle of a tropical storm.” Pope added.  

“I’m just glad we’re all okay and alive.” John B muttered, not quite in the mood for reminiscing.

“We should go on another adventure,” JJ had a devilish smirk on his face, “I haven’t felt a rush like that since school started back up.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for a good reason.” Kiara added.

“Maybe you should just focus on getting good grades. That should be an adventure all on its own.” John B joked.

“Easy for you to say, high school drop out.” JJ threw back. John B hadn’t actually dropped out, he just opted to take all of his classes online. He couldn’t bear the thought of returning to school, life being just as boring as it was before. So he didn’t. Sarah had bought him a fancy new laptop so that he could get all of his work done and for the most part, he did.

“Think about it guys,” JJ continued, “the Pogues and the Kook, back in action!”

“And what do you suggest we do now? What kind of quest do you see for us, oh wise one?” Pope retorted.

“We could run drugs.” JJ suggested bluntly.

“I think not.” Kiara stated, not amused.

“I don’t think I can afford another ‘quote-on-quote’ adventure. Ever since I was emancipated, Sheriff Shoupe has been up my ass making sure I don’t mess up.” John B added. After the murder charges against John B were dropped, he fought with CPS tooth-and-nail to stay on the island. He got a job at a surf shop and makes just enough money to stay afloat.

Rafe Cameron ended up getting charged with the murder of Sheriff Peterkin and Wade Cameron got charged with the murder of John B’s father, attempted murder on John B, and a few other charges surrounding his involvement with the murder of Peterkin. The trials for the father-and-son duo are still in progress. As a result of Wade’s arrest, no one knows if the gold ever actually made it to Nassau and John B is positive that Wade will never tell him.

“Fine,” JJ huffed, “then I guess I’ll just close my eyes and relive last summer over and over again.”

“I wish Ariana was there to enjoy it with us.” Kiara hadn’t meant to say it out loud, it just slipped. A blanket of solemnness fell over the group as they thought about their missing friend. Sarah looked down, feeling awkward at the mention of the girl that used to be a part of the group. She wished she had been able to get to know Ariana. They had met a few times, but they had never gone past surface level conversation because of the Pogues vs Kooks war. With the way the Pogues talk about her, she was sure they would’ve been great friends.

“I miss her.” JJ added, looking down as if to hide his face from his friends. Everyone agreed with him. Life after Ariana was hollow, but at the same time, they always felt her with them. No matter what they’re doing or how long it’s been, she lives in the back of their heads as a distant memory; a beacon of light when the darkness start to take over. When JJ’s dad unleashes his rage onto him, she is there in his head to tell him that everything is going to be okay. When Pope is thrown around by stray kooks during his grocery runs, she is there in his head to help him fight them off. When Kiara needs someone to talk to, Ari is there to hold her hand and listen to her vent. And finally, when John B is feeling utterly alone, Ariana is there to remind his that he’s not. That’s their friend; not present, but always there.

As the others slowly fluttered back into normal conversation, John B became a victim of his thoughts once again. His mind raced with sporadic images of his lost friend. Flashes of long brown hair, white painted nails, a breathtaking smile. The smell of strawberry shampoo raiding his nostrils as soft arms envelope him in a warm hug. Moments shared between them that he cherished more than anything in the world. His best friend.

A hand creeping onto his own shook him from his thoughts. But as he smiled reassuringly as Sarah, his girlfriend, all he could think about was the smell of strawberries.

•

•

•

Hours have gone by and the group is getting ready to say their goodbyes. The smell of burning wood is starting to give them headaches and it was getting pretty late, the moon shining bright in the sky now. JJ was staying the night at the Chateau, as he usually did. His dad sat like a stick of dynamite back at the Maybank house with JJ being the match needed to light it. Some nights, the blonde boy just couldn’t handle dealing with that. Pope wanted to stay over as well but ever since the event of summer, his dad had tightened the leash considerably. Kiara had to work early the next morning and Sarah felt like John B needed space.

Pope shot up off the hammock with a stretch, a yawn quickly following his movements. Kiara moved towards the radio softly playing music, reaching to turn it off and retire it back to the porch for the night. Unknown to the group, a girl was sluggishly making her way down John B’s street towards to Chateau. The color of crimson caked her face and body like paint on a canvas, fresh blood mixing with old. Dark bruises were polka dots on her body, shades of purple and brown swirling together to create an explosion of circles and handprints. There was dry dirt covering every inch of her body as if she had rolled in it all day.

When she made it to the front yard, she hugged her arms to her chest as the cold of the air began to really take its toll. A deep exhaustion settled on her leaving her ready to collapse, but she was determined to make it back to her friends. She had made it this far so she couldn’t stop now. She finally stumbled into the groups line of vision.

Kiara was the first one to notice. She let out a sharp, loud gasp as her hand flew to cover her mouth in shock. This brought the attention of everyone else. JJ followed her line of vision and has he reached the end, he paled to the color of paper as if he’d just seen a ghost. One-by-one, Pope, Sarah, and John B turned their heads and were greeted with the sight of their missing friend.

Tangled waist length brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, leaves and twigs stuck throughout. She was wearing a white tank top and baggy black pants, no shoes adorning her bare feet. The blood, dirt, and bruises were a plague to her body. She looked like she had literally crawled out of a cheap grave.

“Holy shit” John B took a step forward. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He and the rest of the Pogues had accepted a long time ago that Ariana was most likely dead. It had never seemed probable that she would ever come back, yet here she is.

“Holy shit!” John B repeated, louder this time, as he started to make his way towards the girl. Tears flowed freely down his face as emotions slammed through him. He thought he had lost his best friend forever, but here she was. He shrugged off his jacket, the frigid air giving him goosebumps, but he could not care less.

Once he reached her, he helped her get the jacket on. She started to become overwhelmed now, tears prickling her eyes as she felt warmth for the first time in two years. Everyone had the same feeling pooling through them at the sight of their friend: dread. The state of her being sent shivers down Kiara’s spine and JJ had to literally cover his mouth to keep down the bile that threatened to make itself known.

“What the fuck, Ari?” John B said, sobs racking his body now as he gently grabbed her hand.

“I’m sorry.” Ariana whispered, breaking her silence.

“You’re sorry?” John B questioned in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that she was apologizing for her own abduction, as if it were her fault.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Kiara  added, bringing Ariana’s attention to everyone else once again.

As Ariana looked up at the rest of the group, the vivid emptiness swirling through her eyes hit them like a punch to the face. The once bright emerald eyes that gleamed with excitement were now dulled and clouded. The once strong, independent, free-spirited girl was now just a hollow shell of who she used to be. And as all of this dawned upon them, John B, Pope, Kiara, Sarah, and JJ all had one thought in their minds. They were going to find and kill whoever did this to their friend.

 Taglist: @thelovelydreamer17 @sunshine-27-grape-juice @starswin @minnie-mitzel