#he took a loooooong while to make

[craftiestsloth]

I am done making this little guy, Im not used to making human characters so that they took a while. He is a birthday gift for a friend

[gumisleftbuttcheek]

Megumi X femreader soft sex pretty pls? 🥺🥺🥺🥺 (Like pls make it loooooong)

𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐲

𝙈��𝙜𝙪𝙢𝙞 𝙁𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙤 𝙭 𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Note + Warnings :

A VEERRRYYYY long fic

Confessions.

smut

Not proofread..

𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐲 - 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐲

The golden rays of the current evening shone through the pristine windows of the cafeteria of Jujutsu High while it also outlined your pleasing features while you play with the small slice of matcha cake sitting on the plate in between you and your best friend, Megumi.

"Don't play with your food." He grumbled as he didn't even spare a glance at you, his body faced towards the large open windows overlooking the sparring oval, surrounded by tiered benches where other jujutsu sorcerers would be sparring or be sitting by the benches to chat.

"How do you even know what im doing? You're not even looking at me." You reply back which makes him scowl and turn his head to you. His brows were furrowed while he also had a pout on his thin lips which made you burst out into laughter which blended into the buzzing chatter of the cafeteria.

"Will you stop that!" He scolded, while hiding his flustered face in his collar. He would never admit it but he absolutely loved seeing you laugh, especially if it was because of him. He loved the way your eyes would glisten under the golden lighting, making your whole face beam while you big smile would literally lightup the whole room. Your laughter died down as you continued to eat your cake, his eyes glued on you.

"Can you hurry up and finish your food.. i wanna go back to my dorm." He complained.

"You can just go back if you want. Ill come later."

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm not letting you go to my dorm alone."

And with that, you decided to say no more and continued to eat your cake.

Soon, you both were in his dorm. You had taken a shower there now and you were currently laid on his couch, in his hoodie and your shorts while you scrolled on your phone as he was sat on the floor, playing on his PS5.

"Gumi theres a party at Yuujis place this sunday." You tell him, while shuffling around on his couch.

"I'm not going" He says sternly which makes you instantly roll your eyes.

"Why? Can you just pleaase come for this one? Everyones invited and I really want to go." You begged but it was no used.

"No." "Please?" "No." "Pleaseeee"

"Fine. I'll think about it" He says, letting out a dramatic and very annoyed sigh while his slender hands toyed with the controller, his face stuck to his tv while you were clearly distracted by his side profile. "What?" He grumbled.

"How did you know i was looking at you?" You question.

"I can see it from the corner of my eye, idiot" He'd say and huff which makes you from and kick him in the head with your bare foot.

"Don't call me that!" You whine as he dodged your attack. He just sighed and continue to play his game while you stayed content and scrolled on your phone.

At night, you were snuggled next to Megumi in his comfy and soft bed. Both of you would usually have a sleepover at his place every friday since it was clear you both enjoyed spending time together. His back was leaned against the headboard, reading a book about history while you were snuggled by his side, scrolling on your phone. Eventually, you fell asleep. He saw that and put his book on his bedside table as he took your phone out of your hands, turning it off and setting it ontop of his book whilst he pulled the blankets up higher, making sure you were warm. He then turned off the lights off and laid down with you, falling into a very deep sleep.

In the morning, you woke-up to Megumi in the kitchen cooking breakfast for the both of you. You took some time to adjust but when you were fully aware of your surroundings, you reached out to grab your phone from his bedside table just for a a hand of slender arms taking your phone away.

"Hey!" You whine, looking up at him.

"It's not good for your brain if you go on it first thing in the morning." He says, letting out a sigh. "Anyways I made us breakfast."

"Okay!" You said excitedly, sitting down at the small table. You looked down to see two slices of toast with a sunny side up, very thinly sliced bacon and some melted cheese on it while there was another small bowl of blueberries, sliced kiwi and sliced banana. "This all looks so good" You tell him as you sipped on the glass of water and started eating hungrily while he took frequent bites from his food. "So what should we do today?" You ask, averting your gaze to look at his emerald irises.

"You suggested the restaurant 15 minutes away from the dorms.." He mumbled.

"WHAT! You still remember that?" You exclaim, in complete shock which made him roll his eyes and nod. You then smile. "Oookaay! I wanna go." You tell him, cheekily stealing a slice of kiwi from him which he turned a blind eye on.

In the evening, you were both walking to the cafe in peaceful silence. The sound of the trees, distant chatter and wildife filled the silence.

"Y/N." He said, trying to start a serious conversation but it seemed like you weren't paying attention at all.

"Gumi look at this!" You call out to him, holding a butterfly. He quickly swatted a hand over it to make it fly away which made you pout.

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"Why would you do that?"

"They're dirty.." He mumbled, or maybe he just wanted to talk to you about..

"Hurry up! The cafe is right there." You say, grabbing his large hand with your smaller one and pulling him towards the restaurant. It was just a large restaurant which was lively and had lots of different Japanese dishes. He let out a deep sigh, sitting down infront of you in the enclosed area of the restaurant.

After you had both finished your meal, you both headed back towards your dorms.

"Y/N" He says sternly which makes you look up at him. Finally. "I need to talk to you. About something" He continues to walk next to you.

"About?" You asked in a curious tone. He took in a deep breath and stopped in his tracks.

"Do you ever see us being.. more than friends?" He asked quietly. You stood beneath him and pondered the question.

"Maybe. Why?" You've honestly never thought about such questions.

"I.. just can't imagine my future as you staying as my friend." He said in a calm tone while looking down at you, towering over you.

"What?"

"I'm saying I like you, gosh!" He said, clearly annoyed. Your whole body froze. You knew you liked him too but never in your whole life had you thought you'd share feelings for eachother. There was a looong pause of silence until he spoke-up. "Y/N?" He took a step closer, whilst you wrapped your arms around him as he gently hugged you back.

"I.. like you too" You mumbled into his chest which makes him let out the smallest tiniest smile ever which you didn't endup catching a glimpse of.

"Yeah?"

You nod. He looked down as you, you looked up at him. You let out a giggle.

You decided to stay over the night, to talk about both your feelings for eachother and both your boundaries when it comes to a relationship. Eventually, you fell asleep snuggling him like usual but tonight was different. Tonight you were able to sleep because he was gently stroking your hair which instantly led you to fall into a heavy sleep.

In the morning, you felt a large thumb gently rubbing your cheek. You opened your eyes to stare up at Megumi as he looked down at you, sharing a silent moment together while he continued to gently rub your cheek.

"Party today" You remind him which makes him groan. You giggle and roll around to reach for your phone just for him to grab you by the waist gently and put you down. "Hey!" You say.

"You already know the rules. No phones right when you wakeup." He says with his deep raspy voice.

"You sound like my mum." You tell him, he gives you an eye roll.

"Are you hungry?" He asks, receiving a nod from you. He quickly gets up to make breakfast for the both of you. You follow him into the kitchen to spectate and eventually, you both were munching away. He had his eyes locked on you while you talked about whatever.

At night, Megumi let you shower at his place again so you both could get ready for the party together. When you had finished and blow dried your hair completely, you realised something was missing. Your dress for the party! You quickly wrapped yourself in your towel as you walked out to look for your dress.

"Gumi have you seem my dress? The one for the party." You looked up at him.

"This one?" He held up your black dress. You nodded to try and grab it but he held it out of your reach which made you frown. "Who said i let you wear this?" He asked annoyedly.

"What? I can wear what I want." You said. He huffed and put your dress aside.

"Come here." He gestured you to come closer. You walked up to him and he wrapped his arms around you.

"I'm not letting other people see you.. like that." He mumbles while taking off the towel you were wrapped in which made you flustered. He gently picks you up and places you on his soft and clean bed. "Are you okay with this?" He asks gently, looking down at you.

"Yeah but.. what about the party?" You asked.

"We're not going." He'd say as he took off his hoodie, revealing his toned abs and large biceps.

He leaned down and tucked your hair behind your ears as he kissed your forehead.

"You're so beautiful" He whispers while a large hand run up your thigh then rested on your waist, gently rubbing it while he looked down at your smooth body. He looked at your face to see you at peace. You weren't showing any signs of being uncomfortable so he decided to take a step further. His hand moved higher up, a part of his thumb gently brushing against the side of your breast, feeling how soft it is. His hands gently cupped your breasts and very slowly massaged them.

"You're so soft baby." He mumbled. You nodded in response as you felt his thumb gently circle around your nipples. He then rub his thumb over your nipple which instantly hardened it. "Sensitive?" He teased which made you blush. His thumbs pressed down on your nipples teasingly as if they were buttons. You felt tingles trail through your body. You then felt his tongue suck on your left breast which made you gasp and instinctively bring your hand to his hair to grip onto it whilst he continued to suck. He eventually started to circle his tongue around your nipple, and teasingly flick it with his tongue until he lifted his head, releasing your breast with a small 'Pop!' sound. He looked down at you, then gently kissed you, exploring your mouth. You suddenly felt a hand go dangerously near your core until it rested on your inner thigh, gently massaging it while he kissed you lovingly. You were so into the kiss you didn't even realise his hand was starting to gently trace along your core until.. his thumb pressed against your clit which made you gasp. You quickly broke the kiss to look down and saw his thumb gently letting go of your clit, just to press down on it.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, tucking your stray hair behind your ears. Your hand clenched onto the blankets when you felt him flick your clit as you let out a soft moan. He smirked, deciding to massage your breast slowly while his other hand gently traced your core.

"You're already so wet." He says, leaning down to look at your core. With two fingers he spread the puffy folds apart, as he inspected it and then let go, closing the shut. He then opened them again, just to let go teasingly.

"Guumiii.." You whined as he chucked deeply.

"Needy?" He asked as he gently slipped a finger in.

"Ah~!" You moan, spreading your legs open. He kept his finger still, not moving it as your hips started bucking, trying to feel something but his other hand gripped onto your hips.

"No. Stay still." He says, while he slowly takes his hands out which makes you whine but he quickly dug them back into your cunt again. The grip on the blankets tighten as you giggle. He eventually started moving his hand, gently slipping his finger in and out slowly. Enough to please you but not enough to bring you to a release. Eventually, he added another finger in, gently moving his fingers in and out. After some time, he took his hands out, licking his fingers clean while looking at you, then at your cunt. He lowered himself as he started sucking on your core, slowly circling his tongue around you clit while your hands gripped his spiky messy hair all while you'd let out soft moans.

"Are you okay?" He'd say softly, while pausing to look up at you. You'd nod so he'd continue his ministrations. After a while, you heard him takeoff his pants.. then boxers until you saw his long veiny cock in an angry red dripping with pre cum.

"Can i put it in..?" He asked quietly. You nodded. He gently aligned the mushroom of his tip against your cunt, then slowly went in. You quickly squeezed your eyes shut, gripping onto the blankets tightly as you could feel tears pricking the back of your eyes.

"Shit, you're tight.. Is this your first time?" He spoke up. You nodded and his gaze softened. He tried to be more gentle, massaging the sides of your thigh until he was half-way in. "Almost there" He reassured, trying his best to slow down. You opened your eyes to find your vision blurry, your cheeks flowing with tears. He saw this and gasped, quickly pulling out.

"Hey.. are you okay..?" He quickly cupped your cheeks. You nodded while he wiped your tears away.

"Y-You can keep going.." You mumble.

"Are you sure?"

You nod. He nodded too, then slipping himself in slowly as his hand held your smaller one, his thumb rubbing your palm. Over time, he was completely inside you. He didn't move, wanting you to get used to it until your hands let go of the blankets and your body wasn't so stiff. He slowly started moving against your tight gummy walls while groaning. He gently went in and out softly while he watched you squirm under him. He moved his finger to gently run his thumb over your clit, gently flicking it, making you moan. Slowly, he picked up his pace, knowing he had hit your g spot since your moans were more frequent and louder.

Eventually, you hit your climax. He watched you come undone beneath him, while he came in you. He let out a whimper, then pulling out, needing to rest for a bit.

He then got up and went to the bathroom, coming back with a small damp towel, gently patting your core and cleaning you up.

"Do you want to take a bath?" He'd ask gently. You shook your head and he nodded. He went to the bathroom to give himself a rinse then came out to see you wrapped in his blankets like a sushi. He chuckled to himself, walking over to you.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, earning a nod from you. He quickly got up to make something for you. He came back with a glass of chocolate milk and a wrap, with lettuce, corn and fried chicken. You unwrapped yourself to eat. Megumi sat beside you, eating a wrap himself.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Alright.. a bit tired." You responded. He nodded.

When the both of you had finished eating, he quickly washed the dishes then snuggled in bed with you, cuddling you.

"Gumi?" You look up at him. He looked down and hummed in response. "Can i get a kiss?" You asked. His face instantly turned red as he avoided eye contact. "What! Just kiss me. It's not that hard" You say, teasingly.

"Easy for you to say.. you're so bold.." He responds which makes you giggle. Eventually, you fell asleep in his arms. He looked down at your face, the moonlight outlining your features. He gently kissed you forehead and whispered.

"Goodnight, idiot"

[theunbearableweightofpedropascal]

Angel Pt.3

Charlie Swan x f!reader

A/N: This was in the drafts a loooooong time and I'm so sorry for that!

Summary: You and Charlie have a weekend away in Seattle.

Warnings: (smut, blowjob, p in v, cunnilingus, overall nastiness and degeneracy)

Word Count: 7.1k

Helen had become a little more than a coworker to you. She was one of the only people who kept her opinion of you and Charlie’s age gap to herself. If you had to guess you figured she didn’t really care, probably because she has a life. Either way, it was a nice change of pace from the judgemental stares you got around town. Though if you were with Charlie they somehow turned into smiles.

At first, you two tried your best to keep things between you two, and Helen. Date nights were usually in Port Angeles on weeknights to minimize run-ins. The only place in town you two would go to was the diner, and even the folks of Forks had deemed that to be insufficient evidence. All good things come to an end though, the pair of you were caught when Charlie got a little handsy while walking you to your door. 

For some reason, your nosey neighbor Miss Daphne had to choose that moment to go ‘check’ her mail. You had the sneaking suspicion she saw Charlie’s cruiser and decided to spy on you herself. After all, she was the same nosey bitch that ratted you out to your parents for sneaking out to go party on the rez. The scandalized gasp that left her mouth was exaggerated but it did do the job of separating you and Charlie. 

There was no denying what you two were when he had your red lipstick smeared all over his mouth. She spared no time spreading that gossip like wildfire. Your mother came to tell you the ridiculous rumor she heard and you had to tell her you were dating the Chief of Police. For 3 months. She very obviously didn’t approve however she never said that directly to you. 

Tension was thick in your house and Charlie wanted you to come over so he could cook you dinner. He said Bella was going out with Edward and his family. Of course it was steak, potatoes, and green beans but it really was good. After dinner you made Charlie sit down while you did the dishes. 

When you joined him on the couch his attention was no longer on the game. His hand inched its way up your thigh and brought his lips down to your neck. You called out his name like you were out of breath and he knew he had you wrapped around his finger. Turns out the Chief of Police was so grumpy because of pent-up energy. His mustache tickling your neck was the last straw before you turned your head to meet his lips. 

Charlie’s tongue parted your lips to explore your mouth. You tilted your head wanting to feel all of him. His body caged you and he used his weight to pin you down. It took no time for your legs to part and give him easy access, and he followed your lead and pressed his crotch into yours. Once he heard you making those pretty sounds he began to unbutton your shorts. 

Of all the times for Bella to get in a fight with Edward and come home early, now is the most inconvenient. When she burst through the door there was no time to cover up what you two were doing, but the 17-year-old already caught her dad dry-humping his girlfriend on the couch. The countless strings of “Oh my God” all the way to her bedroom followed by a slammed door told you everything. Needless to say, the mood was ruined but you stayed until the end of the game. 

On the way back to your house Charlie had told you he was stealing you away for a weekend of no interruptions. You appreciate the gesture and move your hand to rub the back of his neck as he drives. The heavy sigh that leaves his mouth at your petting lets you know it’s working.

You figured he was thinking of taking you up to a bed and breakfast in Port Angeles. 

“As long as I get to spend time with you.” Your offhand comment had his tummy fluttering like he was 16 again. He could feel the three words sitting in his throat. Not wanting to make the same mistakes twice, he decides to swallow them down in favor of taking things slow with you.

He never quite mastered how to be sentimental, Charlie dreaded having those kinds of conversations. 

“You know I care for you right?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I know I can be a bit standoffish.” 

“I would much rather be with someone who says they love me through their actions. Too many people talk a big game.” You hate how much Charlie seemingly doubts himself in his relationships. No doubt it was because of Bella’s mother. 

Everyone heard about what happened, they married just as quickly as they divorced. The fact that she did it while his parents were ailing was just another nasty nail in the coffin. From the corner of your eye, you see Charlie turn his head your way, your words touch him. 

The familiar street lined with houses you’ve passed a million times comes quicker than you’d like. When Charlie puts the cruiser in park neither of you move to get out. You turn your body to look at him while still playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. 

“Do you think we scarred Bella for life?” You figured she knew about you two but to see it live was a different story.

“Oh please, I’m sure she and Edward,” Charlie drags his name with an eye roll before continuing, “have gotten up to much worse at his house.” 

His disdain for his daughter's first boyfriend is not only funny but somewhat ironic. Although it’s a little immature you understand why he’s so protective of his only daughter.

“What should I pack for this getaway?” Before he can give you a bullshit answer you raise your finger and emphasize, “Don’t tell me anything is fine because it’s not.”

Charlie folds his lips into his mouth to stop himself from smiling. To him, it doesn’t matter he wouldn’t complain about seeing you in anything. 

“Alright, one fancy outfit for dinner, a couple casual outfits, a swimsuit, and comfortable shoes. Everything else is up to your discretion.” His guide was simple enough but the swimsuit part caught you off guard. 

“See how easy that was?” You tease him.

“Mhm looks like it’s past your curfew.” Charlie’s line of vision leads to your lit porch. The window next to the front door has a visible split in the blinds, presumably by your mother. 

“Goodnight.” You turn to face Charlie.

“Night baby.” He gives you a quick peck on the lips before you head towards your house. 

The blinds quickly go back in place as you near the front door and your mother opens the door for you to come in. But not before she waves at Charlie. You step through the threshold and have no idea what to expect.

“Looks like you two are getting serious huh?” As well as you know your mother she doesn’t give anything away. 

“It’s getting there.” The two of you stand in front of each other in the low light of the foyer.

“Do you really see a future with him?” The air around you becomes thick at her apparent disapproval. “Honey, I just want what’s best for you and I don’t think it’s with a man almost as old as your father.”

“Thinking and worrying about my future is what got me here. Constantly trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations of me was suffocating.” Your voice becomes hostile in defense of Charlie.

“And you think running around town with Charlie Swan of all people is gonna help?” This conversation is slowly eviscerating any contentment you were feeling with Charlie. 

“I have no idea but he’s the only person that doesn’t make me feel like a disappointment.” Though your parents said they would always support you, you know they had higher aspirations for you. “I’m gonna head to bed.” Your teary eyes were aimed at the house slippers your mom had on. 

With no response, you turn to make your way to your room leaving her at the bottom of the steps. All the progress you thought you’d made these past months feels futile. Even worse, your mother is probably right, there isn’t a future between you and Charlie. Everyone else sees it but you two. 

Pulling your suitcase down you try to focus on the present and enjoy what you two have. Soon enough your mood picks up when you mentally go through the packing list Charlie gave you. The trip wasn’t for another couple days but excitement around a weekend getaway had your suitcase sitting in the corner with your travel outfit laid on top. 

………

There aren’t many times you’ve woken up happy, but the morning of your trip was the exception to that rule. You woke before your alarm was set to go off if only for five minutes. While checking your phone you see two messages from Charlie.

Remember we leave at 5:30 sharp! - 4:55 am

I mean it. - 5:00 am

Lucky for him your excitement is aiding in your punctuality. 

Sir yes, sir! 5:30 sharp. - 5:03

You laughed at your joke before pulling on leggings and a tank top. In your bathroom, you wash your face to get you alert. After you brush your teeth you pack the rest of your essentials into your suitcase and zip it up. With everything put up, you double-check you aren’t missing anything important. 

Your black zip-up hoodie lays on the edge of your bed before you put it on and take care of your hair. The familiar sound of your ringtone fills the silence in your bedroom and you flip it open to see Charlie’s name across the screen. 

“Hello Sergeant,” You greet him in a frigid voice and you can feel the eye-roll through the phone. 

“At ease soldier, I’m down the street and I’m praying you’re ready to go.” You can hear the desperation in his voice.

“You’ll be happy to know that I am ready.”  Although he can’t see, you smile from ear to ear. 

He tries to mumble but you hear the “Thank God” through the phone. With the roll of your eyes, you snap your phone shut and begin lugging your suitcase downstairs. At the bottom, you see a dim light from the kitchen and you have a feeling it's your mother. She pokes her head out to see you and surprises you by approaching. 

“Leaving already?” She takes a sip of coffee while keeping her eyes on you.

“Yeah, Charlie’s down the street.” Awkward isn’t a deep enough word to describe how this interaction feels. 

“Well have fun,” She wants to say something else so you pretend to be busy yourself to make it easier. “Maybe Charlie could come over for dinner sometime.” 

The subtle longing in her eyes tells you she doesn’t like the way last night's conversation went more than you do. This is her way of extending an olive branch and you eagerly take it. 

“That sounds nice-” A heavy knock sounds at the door and you quickly hug your mother before answering. 

Charlie smiles down at you before seeing your mother standing a few feet away. He clears his throat and steps inside your foyer. 

“Morning Stef,” Your mother nods with a small smile in return. “These your only bags?” He flicks his head at your suitcase and purse.

You tell him yes and watch as he slings your purse over his shoulder then grabs your suitcase to take to his car. You glance back one last time to smile at your mom before heading out the door. Charlie’s already at the passenger door waiting for you to climb in. As always you thank him with that pretty smile and he feels heat pool in his belly. You relax in your seat while he begins pulling back out onto the street. 

“If we were going to Port Angeles why’d we have to get up so early?” It was only about an hour away so you were confused about why leaving early is so important. 

“We’re not going to Port Angeles,” Charlie’s words confuse you more but he doesn’t elaborate.

No matter how much you glare at the side of his handsome face he doesn’t pay you any mind. All he does is place his right hand on the inside of your thigh. 

……….

At this point, you’ve been in the car for over two hours and you’re getting antsy. The radio’s boring, Charlie isn’t talking, and your book is in the trunk with your bags. Just as you’re about to bug him about how much longer you see the familiar port booths. He’s taking you to Seattle for the weekend. 

The gasp that leaves your lips gives you away and he finally looks over at you with a smile. He puts the car in park before getting out to get the bags, and you focus on stretching your legs. When he approaches with all the bags you wrap your arms around his neck to pepper kisses all over his face. As annoyed as he acts, Charlie finds your affection refreshing and he pats your butt. 

“Baby we gotta get on the boat.” His reminder warms your cheeks and you remember you’re in public. 

With one more kiss you take your purse since Charlie insists on rolling the suitcases. He makes sure to dig out the ticket from his jacket pocket while the two of you are in line. The moment you two are through boarding you grab onto his bicep like it’s a life-vest.

“You know I would’ve had fun in a bed & breakfast but this is so much better, Char.” The excitement rolls off of you in waves that reach Charlie.

A large smile and a kiss on the forehead is all he replies with. In his mind, he pats himself on the back for making you this happy. The place he booked with is one of the fancy five-star hotels that you barely want to leave. He couldn’t wait to see your face when you saw it. 

The whole ferry ride you stayed inside, unwilling to risk getting a cold from the whipping winds outside. Ultimately you end up reading the book in your purse when Charlie falls asleep ten minutes into the journey. It was only a thirty-minute ferry. 

…………..

The familiar sounds of horns and commotion floated to your ears the second you stepped off the boat. Refreshing as it is to hear you can’t say you miss it too much. Charlie guides you along with him when he picks up your bags, the smile on your face is unmatched. 

“The hotel is a few blocks from here if you don’t mind walking.” He pulls out a marked-up map and you can’t help the giggle that comes out. 

“Sounds good to me.” You quickly take the handle of your suitcase before Charlie tries to lug both. 

He fixes you with a look but tells you the direction you’re heading in. His red flannel suits him , especially today, and all you can do is visually follow his lead. The mumbles piling out of his mouth don’t register to you. After almost a full mile a fancy hotel pops up to your right and you’re in awe. The bottom level is decked out in glass and cars come up to a valet. 

“That’s us,” Your head swivels in his direction quickly at his omission. 

Warm air engulfs you when you walk in the revolving glass doors of the main lobby. The white marble tile reflecting the crystal chandeliers makes it brighter despite the time of year. Once you arrive at the desk Charlie handles logistics and your turn around to take in your surroundings. 

Velvet couches and flowers permeate the area, not that you mind. It somehow reminds you of your grandmother's living room. Suddenly a room key appears in your vision and you realize it’s yours. 

“I got us a suite.” The way you look at him makes his heart beat out of his chest. 

“Lead the way, Sergeant.” Your low voice excites him and he almost forgets you’re in the lobby. Instead, he nods his head in the direction of the special elevators before taking off. 

He places his keycard into the slot and he hears the elevator making its way down. As the door opened he let out a sigh of relief since you two would be the only ones in it. 

“How long have you had this planned?” You snuggle up next to him in the elevator after it takes off. 

“A few weeks, certain events sped up the process though.” He’s glad that you’re enjoying yourself so far, that’s all he wants.

The short walk from the elevator has your heart pounding, this is the first trip you two are taking as a couple. You were nervous. Charlie slid the key into the slot and opened the door to a mini apartment. The living room was in view from the door and you walked further into the room abandoning your suitcase. 

You noted the hotel art and standard desktop before making your way into the bedroom. A king bed awaited you with a breathtaking view of the city. The skyline would come to life in a few hours but it was still beautiful to see. Arms wrapped themselves around your waist while you were still looking out the window. 

“That’s not all you know.” His voice next to your ear sends a shiver down your spine but you follow him out onto a balcony. As if the suite couldn’t get better there’s a hot tub on the deck and you realize why he told you to pack a swimsuit. 

While you’re taking in the scenery Charlie sets up the hot tub for use. Since it’s still early morning wind is nipping at your skin but it could be worse. The moment you hear the thrum of the mechanics come to life, you give a sly smirk in his direction. 

You walk across the deck to get close to him before asking, “How long ‘til it’s ready?” 

“About twenty minutes.” He keeps his voice low while peering down at you with hunger. 

You waste no time before slanting your lips against his eagerly. His nose presses against yours before he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. Your tongue licks into his mouth and the groan that leaves his lips is sinful. Even though you don’t want to, you pull away. 

“I should change.” You rub your hands down his chest before hurrying inside with a massive smile. 

Your suitcase sits at the entrance and you quickly grab it and head into the bathroom to touch up. Quickly, you strip out of your road trip clothes and begin to raffle through your suitcase for your two-piece. A white, minuscule bikini finds its way into your eyesight and you waste no time putting it on. 

You place your hair up in a clip before walking back out with your suitcase beside you. Charlie is on the phone in the living room and you place one of the complementary robes on you. When you join him in the living room you realize he’s ordering food so you take a seat on the couch. 

Only now do you grasp that you haven’t eaten a proper meal yet. 

Charlie’s back faces you and all you can think about is the expanse of his shoulders stretching the material of his flannel.  You’re so distracted you don’t realize he’s hanging the phone on the hook before turning to you. He states that room service should be here soon and that he’s going to get changed. 

In the meantime, you retrieve your book from your purse and return to the couch with your legs tucked. The intricacies of your murder mystery keep you so occupied you lose track of time until a knock sounds at the door. When you look through the peephole a uniformed man is standing next to a cart. 

You let him in and he leaves a huge platter of breakfast stuff and a bottle of champagne in his wake. Fruits, omelets, and bacon fill your nose with their specific scent. The grumbling in your stomach starts and you see Charlie coming out of the bathroom. Suddenly your hunger is momentarily forgotten when you see his robe fully open with swim trunks as his only article of clothing. 

“That was quick,” He immediately transfers the food from the cart to the table in front of the couch for easier access. 

The food didn’t stand a chance and not even five minutes later the two of you ate everything edible. Charlie rocks forward to stand up and heads back over to the cart to gather the glasses and champagne. 

“You ready?” An uncharacteristic wide grin stretches his face and you mirror one back before getting up to follow him. 

“This view is amazing Charlie.” You wrap your arms around his waist and bury your face in the back of his fluffy robe. He moves to place the glasses and bottle on the table next to the hot tub before turning in your arms. 

“Anything for you Angel.” His lips are next to your ear and you playfully push him back. 

“Alright, I need to get in the water before my toes freeze.” You wiggle your toes for dramatic effect. 

He takes the cover off and steam rises through the air as the water bubbles furiously. He rolls up his sleeve to check the temperature of the water. The moment Charlie shrugs off his robe to go in you zero in on his form, for a man his age he’s in exceptional shape. He sits back carefully in front of the jets before letting out a groan of satisfaction. While he stretches his arms he raises an eyebrow at your clothed body. 

Wasting no time you untie your robe and leave it on the patio chair before tip-toeing your way to the steps. The heat of Charlie's gaze sears into you, his eyes lock onto the barely-there material clinging to your body.  He feels the blood rushing below his waist but he can’t stop looking at the small triangle top and your hard nipples. The thong bottoms aren’t much better either. 

“Jesus,” You smile in satisfaction at how he’s openly gaping at you. Mission accomplished. 

“So you like it?” You play coy while wading over to where he sits. 

“A little too much I think.” He places his hands on your hips, gently rubbing his thumb on the skinny string wrapping along your side. You lift your knee onto the bench lining the hot tub to straddle Charlie’s lap. Your nails find themselves running over the hair along his chest. 

“I hoped you would.” Your voice turns to a husky whisper as you look into his dark eyes. 

His blunt nails dig into your hips and revel in the effect you have on him. This time he brings his lips to yours, slowly savoring your lips on him. Usually, when the two of you are together you don’t have uninterrupted privacy, and damn if he doesn’t make the most of it. Nothing is on your mind besides the feel of his body against yours. 

Your hands find themselves running down his chest and past his happy trail to dip into his swim trunks. After feeling your hands grip him the languid kiss turns heavy fast. His mustache tickles  your upper lip while you stroke him underwater. You feel him take slight pauses in your kiss to take small but deep breaths.

His hands move up from your hips to untie the back of your bikini sending a flutter through you. The string tied around your neck barely stays together so he flings it to the side. Charlie’s hands squeeze your breasts before lightly pinching your nipples causing an involuntary buck of your hips. 

His swim trunks do very little to hide how much he’s working with. You take advantage of the thin material and slightly rock your hips over him. A hiss leaves your mouth at how good dragging yourself along his cock feels. You arch your back, pushing your breasts further into his golden touch. The kiss is sloppier than ever but your mind only focuses on maintaining your movements. 

“Sit on the edge.” Charlie’s lust-filled eyes stare back at you as he pulls away. He stands you up, a pronounced tent is now poking at your stomach. The cold air bites at your hips so he slides your bottoms down until you can safely step out of them. Wind combs over your body yet you don’t feel a chill.

Thankfully the two of you were high enough up that most people wouldn’t see anything. The balcony railing was a solid gray that stood over five feet so Charlie wasn’t worried about anyone witnessing. You lean against the railing as he spreads your knees apart. This time you at least trimmed the edges of your bush but mostly kept it intact.

Charlie immediately goes to kiss his way up your thighs, but you need more. You feel squeamish from the way he works himself up your body. Patience was never a virtue you possessed.

“Baby please,” The desperation in your voice is prevalent and Charlie understands. 

The backs of your knees are supported with his hands while he licks at your folds. The moment his lips circle your clit you waste no time arching your back to meet him for more. He looks up at you for his favorite sight, and he isn’t disappointed. Your head is thrown back, and your knuckles white from gripping the tub’s edge.  

Charlie’s dark eyes are fixated on you, there’s nothing decent about the way he’s mouthing your cunt. He sees the rapid rise and fall of your beautiful chest and he wishes he could suck on your pretty tits. Your jaw remains dropped at the way he skillfully pulls any noise out of you. Your hands find themselves tangled in his hair while your hips continuously buck into his mouth. 

Charlie takes it all in stride knowing that he’s the one making you lose control. His lower face is wet with your essence and he wouldn’t have it any other way. The railing behind you works to hold your body up while your spine turns to jelly. His tongue circles around your clit once and you know you’re done for. Heat spreads across your body through your core. 

There is no better feeling than your thighs clamping around his head. Sadly you loosen your hands from his hair so he eases himself off of you. Charlie begins to help you stand, the warm water only makes your pilant body want to rest. Suddenly you’re swept off your feet by Charlie and he takes you to the bathroom. He seats you on the toilet before running to go back out to the balcony, seemingly to turn off the hot tub and retrieve your bikini. 

When he steps back in the bathroom he has a glass of water for you and he goes to turn on the shower. You gulp down the water not realizing how much of your energy was depleted. 

“Thank you Char,” You huff out with drops of water falling from each side of your mouth. 

Charlie doesn’t say anything except rubbing his thumb along your cheek with a small smile. 

“Come on, let's get you in the shower.” You place your empty glass on the counter and make your way inside the steamy glass shower. You notice Charlie isn’t following you. 

“You’re not coming in with me?” Your question has him pausing at the doorway. “Please Charlie, what if I slip and fall?” 

With a roll of his eyes, he turns around and drops his trunks on the floor before joining you. “Better?” His lips nibble on the top of your ear as he drags his hands down your body. 

“Mhmm,” The hot water cascades down the front of you while Charlie stands behind you feeling you up. His hands squeeze and massage your tits while he kisses your neck. 

As much as you love the way he’s making you feel, you turn around and gently push him towards the back wall. Slowly you drop to your knees while gripping his thighs for stability. The moment you look up at him through your lashes you can see the way his chest heaves. His cock is hard and aching as evidenced by the pre-cum dripping from his red tip. 

You lick it away and see Charlie’s fisted knuckles turn white from anticipation. Deciding to take the high road, you suck his tip into your warm mouth and let your tongue flick around him. His sharp intake of breath assures you he wants more. You purposefully circle your tongue down his shaft, making sure to twist your head each time you go down further. 

His hips gently rock into your sinful mouth, loving the way you so eagerly take him. 

“Feel so good Angel,” His whiny voice only spur you on to take him deeper until your nose is nuzzled in his pubic hair. Immediately you feel his hands tangle in your hair while steadily pumping into your mouth.

You push against his thighs for a break and watch the string of spit coming from your mouth connect to his tip. After a deep breath you go back for more despite the tears in your eyes. His hands welcome you once again as you bob your head over his length. Your mouth is so full you feel him twitch. 

His low grunts turn into huffs of air. All you can see when you look up at him is his Adam’s apple bobbing. The state of him only spurs you on and you hollow out your cheeks. A surprised gasp is the only warning you get before his load shoots down your throat in spurts. You ease off of him and feel the last of his cum on your lips before licking it off. 

Once again Charlie stands you up and kisses you, the both of you can taste the remnants of each other on your lips. A quick clean-up is all either of you has energy for before drying off and taking a long-awaited nap on the bed. 

…………….

Upon waking up, you remember the bottle of champagne still hadn’t been used. You grab your robe and quickly bring it back in before fetching some ice from the vending machine. By the time you make it back to the room, you see Charlie half awake and sprawled all over your side of the bed. 

Instead of forcing him to move you discard your robe before laying over him. 

“So what’s next?” Your arms are crossed and you lay your head in the crook of your elbow. 

“Jesus woman,” A heavy sigh leaves Charlie’s lips while he pinches the bridge of his nose. “If I could get five more minutes of sleep, I thought we could do some exploring before dinner.” 

“And by five minutes you mean another hour?” You side-eye him knowing you’d be on your own for a while. 

“You know me so well baby.” With that, he shut his eyes and you get off of him to put on some lounge clothes. 

Since you were left to your own devices you don’t see a problem drinking the champagne by yourself. With your sweatsuit on you dig in your bag to find your iPod and headphones before heading out with the champagne. 

Stepping back out onto the balcony it wasn’t as chilly as before, probably because you have on actual clothes. The traffic noise from below was now drowned out by Britney Spears. You put your knowledge of opening champagne to use and it doesn’t turn out bad, since you weren’t injured. 

While sipping from the bottle you took in the way the slight sunlight hit the bay and illuminated the dark waters. At the same time when you turn your head to the right you have a solid view of the famous skyline. Charlie booked a place with the best of both worlds. But you found yourself drawn to the streets below, trying to see what places you’d end up dragging Charlie into. 

…………..

Charlie rouses from his nap and checks the room to find you. He gets up to put on his sweatpants so he can check outside. A smile cracks his face when he finds you sprawled out on the lawn chair, with an empty champagne bottle next to you. 

Although he had plans to go sightseeing with you before dinner, it looked like you two would lounge until then. He transfers you over to bed before getting in with you. The TV had a few movies for rent so Charlie picked action for him and a rom-com for you. 

“What time is it?” You don’t move from the comfortable position Charlie must’ve placed you in. 

“Almost time for me to call Bella.” He has his reading glasses on as he sits against the headboard.

“What are you watching?” You slide to his side and prop your leg over his.

“That Impossible movie I missed.” 

“You mean Mission Impossible?” You barely finish asking the question before you’re laughing.

You know what I mean, that’s what matters.” He grumbles at you and a smile tugs at the corner of your lips. 

He’s not wrong so you lay your head on his chest, rubbing on his belly. 

……………

The steakhouse Charlie made reservations for is dimmer than outside. Polished wood glistens off the lanterns scattered around the place. It had been so long since you saw this many tables in one restaurant. Even though there is an indiscernible amount of tables, the noise is subdued. And the cherry on top of the sundae is that you and Charlie don’t have to play coy tonight. 

“I didn’t think you owned a suit.” Your thumb rubbed up and down his jacket in amazement. 

“I own a tux too, I just haven’t had good enough reasons to wear 'em’.” Charlie winks at you.

Your hostess starts the path to your table which seems situated in the back. To your surprise she’s led you into a private room for two with sliding doors. “Enjoy your meal.” 

“If you keep this up you’ll never get rid of me.” He wasn’t getting rid of you either way. 

“Why would I want that Angel?” He heads to your chair pulling it out. 

“You do have it pretty good huh?” You narrow your eyes playfully at him as you sit down. 

“Better than pretty good.” At his words your thighs clench. It hadn’t been five minutes in and you were ready for him again.

Charlie rounds the table while you pluck through the menu but one question stays on your mind. “How’d you do all this?” 

“Talked with a travel agent and she helped me with all this.” He pauses before asking you, “Do you like everything so far?” 

“I love it, it’s almost too much. Almost.” A smile cracks Charlie’s face as he listens to you. 

He wanted the whole weekend to be special because you deserve it. He knows the gossip that circles Forks bothers you, hell it bothers him too. Some people believe the only reason he’s with you is for his mid-life crisis. 

“I uh,” He clears his throat and reaches over the table for your hand. “I want this to be special for you.”

It feels like he has more to say so you place your attention solely on him. 

“Angel, I love you and maybe I’m jumping the gun here-” Charlie’s would-be rant is interrupted by you leaning over the table to kiss him. His mustache tickles your top lip and you can’t help but giggle. 

“I love you, Sargent.” A breathless whisper leaves your lips. 

“Should I come back later?” Your waiter is parked in the entrance of your private room. 

“No, we’re ready.” You wipe some lipstick off your date’s mouth before sitting down.

Although you thought you were prepared to enjoy whatever time you could get with Charlie, you know better. The fact that he did all this almost made your eyes water. There’s no one you could see yourself happier with, and you don’t care how short-sided that sounds.

Dinner sails by and it feels like you two are in a different world. It feels like only a few minutes between each course. For the first time in what feels like forever, Charlie feels that familiar ball of warmth settling in his stomach. He could listen to you complain about The Notebook all night. 

…………..

The ladies at reception smile at your boyfriend carrying you through the lobby. Heat fills your face even though you begged him to do it. You thought it would be nice to walk back but he knew better. Of course you didn’t listen and Charlie has had you in his arms for over fifteen minutes. Not that he’s complaining, too much. 

In the room, you head straight to the shower and he moves over to the bed. Football highlights are heard over the water pouring down in your shower. You want to roll your eyes but the familiarity makes you giddy. Not only did he surprise you with the best romantic getaway, he told you he loves you. 

Charlie watches you exit the bathroom and head straight for your suitcase, picking through it. Once you find whatever you’re looking for you slip right back into the bathroom. 

The emerald green lingerie you packed for this trip is simple. All the extra snaps and zippers would only annoy Charlie, instead you chose a see-through lace panty and bra. In the mirror, you put Vaseline on your lips and finish up with mascara. The perfume you brought has been sprayed and is settling on your skin. You play with your hair before deciding to rejoin Charlie in the other room. 

He is perched on the ottoman in front of your bed, jacket off and his tie hanging loosely. Sports commentary once again playing on the TV while you approach him. You sit on his lap instantly garnering his attention. 

“What’s this?” He takes advantage of your current position to trail kisses along the nape of your neck. Your answer turns into a moan when you feel Charlie’s thumb circling your clit through your lace. “You make it so hard for me to keep my hands off you.”

While he continues his torturously slow pace over your clit, he dips in your bra to roll your nipple between his fingers. Saliva pools in your mouth as he works your body like a well-tuned instrument. Your nails dig into his dress pants while your hips slowly grind into his growing bulge. Nothing pleases him more than watching you writhe in pleasure.

Charlie slides his fingers into your panties to rub your wet folds. Once his fingers become wet enough, he rubs them against your entrance. Quick airy breaths leave your mouth in time with his pace. He brings his fingers back to your bundle of nerves, fastening his rhythm.  

“Such a good girl for me,” Furiously you nod your head at his statement, unable to form the words to reply. “My beautiful Angel.” A shiver runs down your spine from his words. 

Sinful doesn’t describe the sounds filling the bedroom. A coil of tension makes itself tighter and tighter in your belly. Your pussy clenches over nothing, trying to alleviate some of the pressure. White washes over your vision when the coil finally snaps. Your mouth is open but you know there’s no sound leaving it. 

You deflate against Charlie trying to catch your breath. His rough hands caress your shoulder, letting his thumbs knead into your shoulders. “C’mon,” His lips peck your cheek as he eases you up and toward the bed. 

The moment your back hits the mattress you feel your panties coming off. Cold air hits your wet core and you instinctively bring your knees together. Charlie is right there to spread them back apart, this time he replaces his finger with his mouth. He licks into you deliciously, the remnants of your orgasm making you more sensitive. 

Seconds, minutes, or hours have passed with his head buried between your legs before he surfaces. His mustache is covered in your arousal, and you taste yourself when he slants his wet lips over yours. Hastily, he undresses himself before sliding into your already-sopping cunt. Unlike other times, he’s in no rush. Deep, loving strokes have your eyes rolling to the back of your head. 

Your eyes lock on Charlie’s as he’s burying himself in you. Neither of you can look away from each other. A warm fuzziness rests in your lower stomach. Even your breathing matches his and the weight of his chest against yours brings comfort. When he comes in you, proclamations of love pour out of his mouth into yours. 

……………

The rest of your trip consists of sex, eating, and sightseeing. By the time you’re packing to leave Seattle the smile on your face gets brighter every time you look at Charlie. 

“We should go out more, Helen was telling me about a pastry shop opening up in Port Angeles.” Your bright mood easily transfers to Charlie when he looks at you.

“As long as they have blueberry pie.” He throws over his shoulder while inspecting the hotel room for missing items. 

“Alright,” A loud clap follows his declaration. “Time to hit the road.”

A frown covers your face even though you know you can’t stay forever. Hair prickles your forehead before you feel his lips kiss it. “We’ll be back and we have to be back in time to pick up Bella.”

“Doesn’t Bella catch a ride from her boyfriend?” You follow him out the door toward the elevators.

“As if she doesn’t spend enough time with him.” His grumpy old man voice is back and the elevator is filled with your laughter.

“She’s a teenage girl with her first boyfriend, I’m surprised she still sees you at all.” You bump into his side with your elbow.

“I just don’t wanna lose her again.” This kid of vulnerability was becoming normal with Charlie.

“You won’t,” Confidence fills your voice because you know that could never happen. You seal it with a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

[mt-oe]

𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧…𝐃𝐖𝐌𝐀?—soul eater au mizu!

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Hey dears!

Firstly, thank you so much for always leaving funny and kind replies on my fics, and being so nice all the time <3 All of you motivate me so much and make me enjoy writing more ////

Second, I know this isn't a request, but it's my birthday today! I have no idea how to celebrate this year and what better way than to make a crossover with the first anime I've ever loved?

Truly, I'm so happy to be making something anyone can enjoy on my birthday. Thank you so much for appreciating my writing <3

Hope all of you enjoy! Mwa mwa :*

warning/s: not proofread, mentions of weaponry, she/her he/him they/them for mizu, reader thinks mizu is a man

note/s: made mizu the weapon because of the scene where she said she was made of mixed metal

...

Ah...

It's so motherfucking hot.

Is Nevada...always like this?

Fuck.

"How much more?" you groaned out loud to yourself, collapsing on the seemingly never-ending staircase for the nth time that morning. Sweat was dripping down your forehead and back like bullets. You could feel your head pounding and spinning from the sweltering heat, too painful to even look up at the sun that was, quite literally, laughing at you.

But, you knew you couldn't give up right now. Not when the school of your dreams was just at the top, waiting for you. Your index finger hooked itself under your collar as you got up again and started making your way up again. "Ah damn it. Why the hell is the sun laughing?!" you yelled, voice hoarse from the drought in your throat. Step by step and complaint after complaint.

It took you a while—a long long loooooong while—but after a few more collapses and some prayers to Lord Shinra, you finally arrived. Wiping the sweat off of your face, you looked up and marveled at the grandeur of the building in front of you.

Death Weapon Meister Academy. DWMA for short.

The place where weapons and meisters from all-over the globe gather. A well-known institution dedicating itself to preventing the formation of another kishin through training students in combat and teaching to control their abilities as weapons. Entrusted and funded by countries all-over the globe, that's how much of a bigshot this place was.

Everyone on the goddamn planet knew about it. The school that the world's hero headed and where the world's heroes were formed. Anyone in their right mind dreamed of attending school here. Heck, this was your life long dream since you were a little kid. Luckily for you, you were born in a family with a lineage of meisters so admission was an easy process.

Thank you, dear ancestors. I hope all of you are resting well.

With a bated breath, you took a step forward, the wind cooling your body down as you looked around. This place was absolutely beautiful. Even more than what you had imagined or seen in pictures. The strong breeze blew against you, making the vastness of the place felt. Turning around, you gasp at the beautiful view of Death City.

'Guess this'll be my new home,' you thought with a small smile, taking in the scenery. The houses looked like little dollhouses from above, so cute and quaint. Despite being surrounded by the desert, the city did not look even the slightest amount of dead. In fact, it looked quite busy with all the people out on the streets.

You sighed dreamily, thinking about the life you'll be living from now own. All the lessons you'll learn, the friends you'll meet, what the dorms looked like, how the food tastes. You'd probably face a lot problems too.

But, first things first, you have to find a weapon.

That shouldn't be a problem, right? I mean, look around. Students were walking and mingling all around you and some of them were alone. There's probably lots of weapons that were in the same situation as you. Maybe you could ask them?

Stepping inside the building, you fully expected someone, maybe a student or a faculty member assisting the newcomers. But what you saw was the last thing you could have thought of. The moment you came in, by a table where some brochures were placed, you immediately found...a zombie?

You looked up at him, eyes wide open and shaken by his existence. The zombie stared—was he even staring? You couldn't even tell—back at you, a slightly serious but overall neutral expression on his purple face. 'Welcome Freshmen!' the sign above the door near him said. This was definitely a unique welcome. You opened your mouth to say something but couldn't find the words.

...

"Weapon or meister?"

HOLY SHIT IT TALKS.

Your body jolted at the sound of his voice before looking behind you to check if he was talking to you. You nodded before opening your mouth to reply, a string of stuttered incoherent words could be heard before you finally replied. "M-Meister," you replied nervously.

The figure nodded and handed you a brochure and a nameplate with the word 'meister' on it. "You can find a partner inside. If you don't, there's a dorm warming party in the evening." His blank eyes stared at you for a moment longer before he spoke again, "I'm Sid. A faculty member. Welcome to DWMA."

Attaching the tag on your shirt, you nodded at him with a slight smile. Seems like he was a good guy after all. "Thank you sir," you said, heading inside the room.

Inside, lots of students have gathered already. Some were just chatting amongst themselves and some where trying to convince others to be their partner. There were some who were arguing over who another person would choose. However, there were those who just sat somewhere, waiting for someone to approach them.

Similar to them, you sat down on a random chair, looking around at who could be your potential partner. You knew you couldn't choose just willy-nilly. The wavelength of your souls had to match and so does your personality. No one wants a partner that they couldn't get along with after all.

After a few more students entered, Sid closed the door before clearing his throat to gather everyone's attention. "I guess this should be everyone," he said, looking around and nodding. "I'll reintroduce myself. I'm Sid, a faculty member here in DWMA. All of you are gathered here to find your partner."

At the mention of 'partner', your heart began beating faster from excitement. The thought of finally finding someone whose soul matches yours, to go on adventures with and defeat bad guys with, thrilled you. "Once you're sure, head over to me to register. Registration ends a day before class starts."

With that, you pushed yourself up from your seat to begin interacting with others. Though it soon dawned on you that interacting wasn't the hard part nor was it finding someone who's personality was compatible with yours.

It was finding someone whose soul was on the same wavelength.

The first attempt you had tried was with a young woman who claimed to have lived in Nevada her whole life. Her weapon form was a baseball bat, and you would soon come to know that weapons that were incompatible with their meisters were immovable. Literally.

Upon transforming in your hands, an indescribably heavy weight suddenly pulled you down to the floor. With determination, you placed your hands on the handles and tried your best to lift her up to no avail. Both of you apologized to each other before going off to look for another person to try connecting with. In short, your souls didn't match. Incompatible.

You tried again, now with a morning star. Again. Incompatible.

Again. A 9mm pistol? Incompatible.

A butterfly knife? Incompatible.

A sabre? Incompatible.

A gauntlet? Incompatible.

A karambit? Incompatible.

A rapier? Incompatible.

Incompatible. Incompatible. Incompatible.

A sense of defeat washed over you as most people in the room soon found a partner, some even a trio. The event finally ended with you being one of the only people who wasn't able to find a partner. Your stomach twisted with disappointment though Sid tried to reassure you.

After receiving your monthly allowance, you headed to the dorms to finally get your room assignment. You knew it was childish to feel so down especially when the deadline for the registration was still a few days away, but you couldn't help yourself.

'What if I don't find one?' you thought to yourself, frowning as you watched your senior introduce the dorms to everyone. Worry was running through you, making it impossible for you to pay complete attention to what she was saying.

Going up the stairs, you were finally introduced to your room. Trying your best to cheer up, you thought maybe your roommate could be the weapon you were looking for. Or maybe you could be besties or something.

However, as soon as you reached your room, your senior suddenly stopped before you could enter. "Err...I know this is a bit difficult to understand, but as of the moment, you don't have a roommate yet," your senior, who you found out was named Tsugumi, said with a sheepish smile. "B-But don't worry! They said they already had someone in mind. Your roommate just..umm...didn't appear today."

Your eyebrows furrowed slightly. What do you mean you don't have a roommate yet? Was this some sort of joke? You haven't even made a friend yet nor have you found a weapon, and now your roommate was missing.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking a bit nervous from your reaction. You tried your best to give her a smile, but the curve of your lips just wouldn't cooperate as easy as it usually did. "Yeah. I'm okay! Just a bit worried," you replied.

Tsugumi doesn't seem to be convinced but decided to let you be anyway. "I'm sure she's fine. I heard she was penalized for dueling with another student without faculty supervision. She'll probably be here by tomorrow. For the meantime, why don't you settle in?" she tried to reassure you, to which you nodded with a small smile of your own. "I will. Thank you."

After she left, you opened the door to your room before stepping in. Closing the door behind you, you sighed and made your way to the bed. The bed squeaked slightly under your weight, echoing throughout the room. A sigh leaving your lips as you looked around.

"The dorm warming party. If I don't find a partner or a roommate there, I'm speaking to the faculty," you whispered to yourself with a push of exhausted determination. You stood up again and gave yourself a little puff of air. For the meantime, you fixed your side of the room. At least you could pick which bed was more comfy.

---

Evening soon came by and most students in your dorm had gathered to celebrate the dorm warming party, though it was obviously turned into some weapon-meister finding event again, you didn't mind. You were just as desperate as the other students.

As everyone interacted with one another, you once again tried your best to find a weapon whose soul matched with yours.

You met a man, a karambit, who hailed from the same country as you so you got along quite well immediately. Having someone to talk to about familiar experiences especially in terms of culture and tradition comforted you despite your situation. Maybe the similarities you had could tie your soul's frequencies together?

After a few more chats, the two of you decided to try and see if your souls matched. However, upon his transformation, the familiar physical and emotional weight of rejection pulled you down. You, once again, couldn't lift him up. Incompatible.

Oh death, what was going on? Why can't you find someone to be your partner?

Apologizing to the man, you mingled with the other students, determination wavering but not depleted. No, you weren't going to let the night end without a weapon.

A flail? Incompatible.

A scythe? Incompatible.

A tanto? Incompatible.

A machete? Incompatible.

An M16? Incompatible.

A musket? Incompatible.

A double-crossguard long sword?

You didn't even know those existed but still...Incompatible.

Incompatible. Incompatible. Incompatible.

A deep disappointed sigh left your lips as you stepped out of the dorm to get some air. This was unbelievable. You've been trying all day! At this point, you were starting to doubt if you were ever going to find a partner.

Dear ancestors, I'm sorry if I disappoint you.

Groaning, you made your way to the city. Maybe a bit of exploration would cheer you up. Step by step, you made your way down the stairs to the streets of Death City. The streets were a lot more quiet than it was earlier. Only a few shops were still open and it looked like they were getting ready to close too.

It didn't really matter to you though. You were just here to take a walk anyway.

As the night deepened, the streets soon grew dimmer and dimmer. Soon enough, you found yourself lost within the city's labyrinth-like streets. An eerie aura soon covered the dark streets, as if you were going to get kidnapped any mome—Hey no! Don't think like that! You're fine, you're fine! Perfectly fine haha.

Nervously, you hummed a small shaky tune to distract you from the spooky atmosphere, turning around to try and make your way back to the dorms. Suddenly, the wind blew incredibly cold, goosebumps ran down your skin. A feeling that someone was watching you suddenly loomed over you, making your stomach flip.

"N-No that can't be haha," you told yourself, rubbing your arms to try and get rid of the shakes in your system. "The city is safe. The city is safe. It's just my imagination. I'm just really upset and I'm imagi—"

crash!

"—ning..things.."

Your blood suddenly ran cold at the sudden loud sound, heartbeat echoing loudly in your ears. That was definitely not your imagination. That sounded very real and that sounded like it happened right fucking behind you.

Hesitantly, you turned around slowly to take a look, hoping it was just a cat or something. But upon looking, the only thing you saw were sharp blue orbs staring at you. Glaring at you.

Oh shit.

Immediately, you sprinted forward, hoping to find someone or something that could help you. Your lungs burned from the lack of oxygen and your legs ached as you continued to push yourself beyond the limits of your corporeal body.

This was absolutely the worst day of your life.

First, you couldn't find a weapon whose soul matched yours. Second, your roommate, who you had hoped to be friends with, didn't appear. And now, you were being chased by someone or something that you couldn't even see from how dark it was. Worse of all, you couldn't fight because you didn't have a FUCKING WEAPON!

You could hear the mysterious figure's footsteps following close behind you, chasing you down tirelessly through the dirty and smelly streets. Your knees trembled from fatigue, heartbeat echoing louder than your footsteps. But the person chasing you sounded so close, you couldn't stop now.

Suddenly, the footsteps disappeared, the sound no longer following you as you ran. A part of your brain sighed in relief at it's disappearance, but the other part felt more paranoid from its absence. The logical side of you knew that it didn't disappear. There was no way it would after chasing you for so long.

Your suspicions were confirmed as a new sound could be heard behind you from a distance. Footsteps significantly heavier than those chasing you before. Looking back as you ran, your eyes widened in fear as you saw red eyes staring at you hungrily from a distance. A big burly bald man, reaching past 6 feet, carrying a mace heading your way. To make things worse, as you ran forward, you were immediately stopped as the streets cut off into a dead end, leaving you with nowhere to go.

Turning around, you looked at the person chasing. Without a doubt, this man's soul was definitely a kishin egg. But fuck, you can't do shit. Not without a weapon.

A shaky breath left your lips as you looked up at the sky, slowly accepting that this was where you were going to die. A weaponless meister whose journey in DWMA barely began. Your eyes glazed with tears, both of frustration and fear, looking up at the moon that was...grinning?

"Oh why the hell are you smiling?" you muttered, glaring at it. Hearing the man's footsteps close to you, you turned to look at him fearfully. The man didn't smile, nor did he talk, his arms merely lifted his mace up as he approached your defeated figure.

Man...at least this dude had a weapon, you thought. Ears ringing, you closed your eyes and waited for your impeding death.

...

Why is it not hurting yet?

...

Any moment now?

"Are you going to keep standing there?" a strained voice asked. Immediately, you opened your eyes to see a tall figure, hair in a bun, blocking the mace with what seemed to be a katana. You opened your mouth to speak but before you could, the figure had already turned to look down at you with a glare.

A soft gasp leaving your lips as you saw his eyes.

Blue. Like the ones from earlier.

The hypnotizing shade shaking you to the core, but at the same time hypnotizing your soul.

Realizing that you were frozen in place, your savior let out a loud "tsk" before looking back up at the kishin egg. As the enemy lifted his mace to swing it down, Mizu parried it with great force, a loud metallic crack resonating in the air as small bits of the sword flew. Upon seeing this opening, his hands grabbed your wrist, slipping away from the enemy and dragging you along the streets.

Static went through your mind as the two of you ran. Your eyes never leaving the mysterious new person's figure. It seems that there weapon from earlier wasn't a demon weapon as you expected, so you still didn't know if he was a meister, a weapon, or a regular person. You didn't even know if he was actually a good person.

Your savior wore what seemed to be a haori, tied close with an obi at his waist. His body seemed to be lean and his grip on your wrist was firm, but not enough to hurt you. A gasp left your lips as he suddenly pulled you into a corner, holding your body close to his. His heartbeat was so loud, you could feel it against your back.

"What are you—mmph!" He immediately covered your mouth with his hand, peeking around the corner to take a look at the enemy before immediately pulling back. Pulling you closer, a shiver went down your spine as you felt him lean down close to your ear, breath tickling your skin. "I'll distract him, you run. Got it?"

Breathing deeply, you tried your best to think, but the upcoming footsteps was making your anxiety rise, fogging your mind. With no other choice, you nodded. Taking your signal, your savior released the hand covering your mouth, putting the broken blade down on the ground.

Your eyes widened as you watched his hand transform into what seemed like a blade. Blue like his eyes with wave-like patterns, sharp edge telling you that this person was definitely already used to transforming.

The moment both of you felt the enemy's footsteps stop near your hiding spot, his untransformed hand immediately pushed you away before jumping in front of the enemy. Without another thought, you ran away, feet picking up the pace immediately.

A small part of your heart ached, feeling guilty for leaving the man behind after he had helped you. You felt horrible. Like something was wrong and you should go back to help him. The uncomfortable feeling running so deep you could feel it in your...soul?

You couldn't take it anymore. Before you could go on any further, your feet slowed down until they halted. The moment you did, you heard a loud crash by the street where you had come from, and that was all it took for you to run back.

On the ground, your savior laid, trying to pick himself up, but it was clear to you that he was hurt and exhausted. Your eyes darted for anything that could help you until they landed on the broken blade from earlier. Hurriedly, you picked it up, rushing parry the upcoming attack.

Anticipating the pain of the impact, your savior gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw. But to her surprise, the sound of metal crashing against metal could be heard before metal shards flew in the air as you parried the attack with all your strength.

Her eyes widened in shock, hands immediately pushing herself up before his sharp blue eyes glared at you with such ferocity. But before he could tell you to run away once again, you threw the sword away and gripped his hand, preparing to pull him away.

The moment she felt your hand in hers, Mizu didn't know why, but her mind went blank.

The rage inside her quelled and her heart began beating faster. She was so used to fighting alone, to using her abilities as a weapon for herself, to closing herself off. But right now, it felt like she wanted to transform for you.

It felt safe. Like your souls were connected.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Mizu had transformed into a weapon in your hand. A small gasp leaving your lips as you felt her form shift into something different and her weight become lighter. You turned your head to look at her, eyes widening as you gasped.

In your hand was a katana. A beautiful one at that. The blade itself was a distinct shade of blue which reminded you of the sky before sunrise. A wave-like pattern adorned the hamon in an almost artistic sense. Despite the beauty of the blade, the cutting edge itself was extremely sharp. Almost scarily sharp.

The handle felt different to the usual Japanese swords you have seen around the school, having no cords wrapped around it. However, it appeared to be a slight cream-ish white with patterns on it, reminding you of handles made of ray skin. Around the handle, you couldn't help but smile ever so slightly at the menuki wrapped around it. It was...cute. Not something you'd expect from someone so intimidating.

"Keep your eyes on the enemy!" you heard his voice say, snapping you out of your trance. Immediately, you looked up before dodging another attack just in time. Your body shook with fear and the adrenaline rushing through it. You couldn't even feel your face with how scared you were. Before both of you could comprehend it, you were already running.

Fuck. You could feel your soul shaking.

Unbeknownst to you, Mizu could feel the fear running through you too. She could feel how erratic your wavelength was becoming as she watched you flee the scene with her in your hand. But it was no use, the enemy was close behind both of you, hot on your trail.

Your feet continued to run as fast as you could until you found a small corner to hide in. Panting softly, you looked at the blade in your hands, biting your lip in shame. "I'm sorry," you whispered to him, curling up into a ball. "I...I'm scared."

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you. A part of her wanted to tell you off for being such a coward, but another part believed in you even if she didn't know why. Mizu sighed, looking down at her own feet, before looking off into the darkness. "I understand," he mumbled, making you look up.

He groaned to himself, unable to comprehend how compelled he felt to open up to you. Maybe she just didn't want to admit it, but deep inside her, she was scared too. "I...my soul is impure. Made by a kishin egg's and a good soul," he started, the sudden revelation making your eyes go wide.

"Not many meisters wanted to pair with a weapon whose soul was mixed with a sinners, and those who did...were incompatible." He looked up at you, before giving you a small smile. "That was until you," he chuckled, voice resembling a sigh. "It's fine if you're scared. We're both new to this after all."

You gulped thickly, looking at Mizu guiltily. His story tugging at your heart strings but at the same time calming you. No, you weren't going to let both of you die like this. You're not going to disappoint your savior who trusted you enough to let you hold him for the first time.

Gathering as much courage as you could, you shakily stood up, hand gripping the handle tighter. Her eyes widened as she watched your eyebrows knit together and your slightly swollen lips part as you took a deep breath. Her smile turned into something more genuine, more proud of you. "Look sharp, okay?" Pulse pounding loudly, you made your way out of your hiding spot, scanning the area until you made eye contact with the kishin egg.

The coward in you wanted to run, seeking the comfort of safety. But, you were a DWMA student weren't you? This was finally your chance to prove it.

The ground trembled as the enemy ran towards you, you swinging his mace aiming for your head. Dodging swiftly, you took the opportunity to stab the enemy's foot, making him keel and bend over in pain. With the new opening, you cut his hamstrings to render him unable to stand. All slashes done with ease, amazing you with how great of a weapon your savior was.

In attempt to save himself, the enemy prepared himself and parried your incoming attacks. But it was no use, with how light the katana in your hand was, you easily overwhelmed him, slashing his arm off before finally cutting his head off.

A loud thud could be heard as his body fell to the ground, head rolling to your feet, making you shudder. You watched as the enemy's remains turned to ashes, revealing a soul. A red soul. A kishin egg, as they called it.

You gasped as your savior suddenly pulled half his body out of the blade's sword and reached for the soul floating in front of you. His blue eyes narrowed at it, inspecting it before putting it into his mouth. Your eyes followed the outline of his throat as the red orb traveled down in what you could describe as an oddly smooth but very ever-so-slightly attractive manner.

But wait...

...

I think we forgot an important detail here.

"What the fuck?!" you yelled in surprise, making the man jolt back into the sword before glaring at you. You stared at him, then to the wave pattern on the flat of the blade, then to him, then to the cutting edge, then back at him.

Mizu looked visibly confused as you lifted him up and continued to stare with awe and wonder, wondering why you were acting so weird. "I'm holding...a weapon," you breathed out, grin tugging up your lips. "I'm actually holding one. I'm holding you."

You couldn't believe it. In your hands was a weapon.

An actual fucking weapon. One that didn't slam against the ground when you tried to carry it. One whose soul matched with yours.

Finally.

A katana? Compatible.

He looked at you, raising an eyebrow. Admittedly, the situation made her feel weird, but the look of amazement in your eyes told her that although she wouldn't like to admit it, your soul actually felt at peace with hers just as hers was with yours.

As if the two of you were sharing a moment more intimate than it seemed.

Taking a step back, you watched as Mizu went back to his human form. You've watched students transform before, but seeing Mizu transform made your heart soar with joy. After all, you were watching your partner transform. Your weapon They were your weapon.

Yours.

His eyes stared down at you as you continued to look up at him in amazement. Eyes tracing his features, taking in every detail, the way his mouth moved as he spoke. The sound of him clearing his throat snapped you out of your trance and to look at his expectant expression. "Mizu."

"P-Pardon?" you stuttered out sheepishly, pinching your arm lightly to make sure you weren't dreaming. "It's my name. You'll need it," he said with a nonchalant tone, turning to head back to the academy. Letting out a series of incoherent stutters, you walked right behind him. "I'll need it...?" you repeated, a smile of confusion and excitement tugging at your lips.

"Don't look so confused. You're my meister now, aren't you?"

[charliehoennam]

fists of fury.

a/n: it took me a loooooong while, but i made it just for you @harmonity-vibes

pairing: billy hope x f!reader

summary: billy invites his girlfriend's ex, and stalker into the ring to squash their beef the classic boxing way

warnings: violence, stalker ex boyfriend, jealousy

SHARING IS CARING, REBLOG IF YOU LIKE IT

Sweat trickles down your chest as your feet gently stomp against the treadmill. You breathe in and out, trying your best to keep your breathing under control using a technique you’d learned from your boyfriend, Billy.

From the corner of your eye, you spot the dreaded asshole you hate dealing with every single time you come to the gym: your ex, Tony.

You had dated for a couple of years and even lived together during your relationship. Although it’s been months since you broke it off with him and moved out due to incompatibility, Tony’s still been chasing you around the city relentlessly.

Most of it has been at the gym. You’ve tried everything to avoid the jerk like changing your schedule to work out at night instead of in the morning. It wasn’t enough for him to get the hint because he still showed up to work out at the same time as you.

Billy was livid when you accidently brought it up. You didn’t think too much about it, especially because you knew Tony wasn’t the kind of coward to beat on women. He didn’t scare you, just annoyed the living shit out of you.

Convincing Billy that you had it under control wasn’t easy, but he gave in when you agreed to work out with him at Tick’s gym.

The past couple weeks went as smooth as you’d hoped. You could finally work out without Tony pestering you to give him another change, making inappropriate comments on your form or spotting you against your wishes.

You felt like you could finally work out in peace. Until you saw the familiar face walking through the door. The way his eyes scan the room tells you he’s looking for you. Placing your feet on the either side of the treadmill, you stare at him in shock.

 You’re not surprised that he found your new gym. Your concern is how Billy will react once he notices Tony’s entered his territory.

You look over at Billy and thankfully, he’s too busy in the ring with Tick to notice Tony’s arrival. With a heavy gulp, you stop your cardio earlier than usual and walk over to take a drink from your water bottle. Your heart races with every step. You try to tell yourself it’s just from the cardio, but you can’t ignore how cold your hands as the blood rushes away from them.

“Just keep going. Act like you don’t know he’s here” you think to yourself, shaking your hands out.

You reply to your own thought with a nod and walk over to the weights. You could keep jogging on the treadmill, but the muscle training area is closer to the ring. If you’re closer to Billy, he won’t approach. Or so you hope.

Tony knows you’ve been seeing Billy for a few months - ever since you’d met and hit it off at a charity event which you had put together for underprivileged kids – but you’d already come be very special to both Billy and Leila.

You’re certain Tony knows about Billy because you’ve told him over and over again that you’ve already moved on. He always brushed it off, assuming it was a lie or some excuse to get him to leave you alone, but he insisted that he wasn’t going to give up on you.

Trying to focus on the music that blares in your headphones, you take the time to stretch your legs out and calm yourself down. You close your eyes; focus on your breathing and the addictive rhythm of the song you’re listening to.

Once you feel your legs are ready to begin your daily lunges, you turn to walk across to get your lightweight dumbbells but instead, you’re met with a wall of muscle standing behind you.

“Fuck,” you sighed ripping your headphone off to rest them around your neck.

“I was talking to you, but I don’t think you heard me. Music’s pretty loud. That’s not good for your hearing, you know.”

“The fuck are you doing here, Tony?”

“I thought I’d come check this place out. Wanna get back into boxing, you know?”

“You haven’t boxed in years” you say with a roll of your eyes as you push past him.

“Well, never too late to go back, right? Especially when the love of my life has a thing for boxers.”

You sigh annoyed and turn your back to him to continue your work-out, but you sense him following close behind you, so you decide to stop and face him.

“First of all, I don’t fetishize boxers. Secondly, I’m not the love of your life. And third, you need to fuck off, alright? It’s been months, Tony. Move the fuck on.”

“I told you, baby. There ain’t no moving on. You’re the only one for me. There’s only you.”

He reaches for your hands, but you quickly pull them back and glance at Billy praying he hadn’t noticed, but it’s too late. His broad shoulders square as he leans over the ring’s rope. Free from the gloves, Billy lifts his water bottle to take a drink as his other hand balls into a fist. Nostrils flares angrily as his jaw clenches. He’s watching closely with a predatory and calculating stare, empty of any emotion except for rage.

“Ay, Tick. Gimme a minute, yeah?” he says apathetically.

Following his stare, Tick quickly recognizes you but not the man talking to you. Having listened to Billy’s venting the past weeks, he can only assume it’s the ex he’d been complaining about.

“Billy, take it easy. You got a match next week.”

“Nah, I got this, coach.” Tick sighs watching Billy climb out of the ring.

Usually, he would try to stop a fight from breaking out outside the ring. The only reason he doesn’t try to stop Billy is because he knows he can take Tony on and also, he’s grown to hate the scumbag just as much as Billy.

“Hey, asshat! You gonna leave my girl alone or do I gotta bash your walnut brain in ‘til you take the hint?”

The punches that normally echoes throughout the gym grow quiet. The tapping of jump ropes and clanking of weight cease. Along with the silence, tension fills the gym as all heads turn to Billy.

“Billy, he’s leaving,” you reply quickly as Billy climbs out from in between the ring’s ropes.

“Come on, baby. Don’t start nothing, please. He’s not worth it.”

Billy hears your words, but all his tunnel vision can narrow in on is Tony, who chuckles and sizes Billy up with his eyes moving up and down Billy’s body, daring him to go on.

“Yeah, you think that’s funny? Let’s see if you’re still laughing when I knock your teeth out.”

“I’d like to see you try, man” Tony smirks fearlessly.

“Billy, stop” you say trying to stand in between them to stop their arguing, but your efforts are deemed hopeless as Billy gently pushes you out of his way to step closer to Tony.

“Ay! Ain’t gonna be none of that in my gym,” Tick shouts from the ring. Tony looks over at the coach, but Billy stays locked on your ex. “You wanna settle your beef, you settle it in the ring.”

Billy nods and smirks at the man.

“C’mon. Settle this like a man. You think you’re better, right? Big and bad, stalking my girl around. Put your money where your mouth is. Or are you gonna be a little bitch about it?”

“Who you calling a bitch, man?’ Tony replies shoving Billy back. “I’ll knock your ass out.”

“Make it happen, man, I’m right here.”

You sigh running a hand over your face as Billy snarls at your ex. You know Billy is more than capable of handling himself, but it doesn’t mean you enjoy seeing him fight. You tolerate it because he loves boxing.

Matches are easier to watch because it’s just business. This fight is anything but business. You fear that Billy might get blinded by his rage. The last time that happened, his wife paid with her life.

“Billy, stop this. This is ridiculous,” you say lowly as you follow behind him as he marches towards the ring.

“Stay out of it, babe. Ain’t just about you now.”

The steeliness of his words almost feels like a warning to stand down, like your pleas aren’t going to change his mind and they’re only a waste of breath. Billy can be stubborn, but it’s a man’s world. When egos are wounded and prides are stake, nothing can change his mind.

Tick’s confirms Tony’s signed waiver as Tony gloves up in one corner. Billy stands at the opposite corner, staring the man down like a lion hunting a gazelle. His body sways as he shakes his arms to loosen up, but his head doesn’t move. His gaze stays locked in on Tony, eager to strike.

There’s a darkness to his eyes that unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. You’ve seen him fight plenty of times, but this time, a cold terrifying chill runs down your spine. Your stomach drops heavily with the weight of the fear of what’s to come.

If it weren’t for the gloves, Billy’s fingers would be twitching with adrenaline. His anger towards the creep has been building up ever since you told him about Tony. His rage doesn’t simply stem from a seed of jealousy. It stems from a deeper root, one dug in the cold wet ground of his being.

He hates that a woman, his woman, can’t feel comfortable in public because this man. He hates the control over your life that that’s been stripped from due to someone who thinks he’s entitled to it.

The last time he defended his woman, he lost control. Although Tony doesn’t seem to mind Billy’s predatory gaze, after learning to channel his madness into control, Billy’s focus has never been clearer and, unbeknownst to Tony, it makes Billy that much more deadly.

You could hear a feather drop with the heavy silence in the gym. With all eyes on the ring, a bell rings and the fight begins.

Fidgeting anxiously from one foot to another, you want to look away. You don’t want to watch because you know it’s hardly a fair fight. Tony hasn’t boxed in years and Billy’s got years of experience under his many belts.

Billy puts his training with Tick into practice as the men inch towards each other. Blow after blow. Swing after swing. You watch Tony get tossed around like a rag doll. His strength to stand is still admirable, but it doesn’t long.

Once Billy’s punch sends him to the ropes, Billy loses all control. You watch, frozen by shock, as Billy is washed over by a fury unleashed like a wild dog from a cage too small.

His glove strikes Tony, square in the face, over and over again. Tick shouts at Billy, claiming the fight is over, but you doubt Billy can even hear anyone at this depth of seeing red.

Some of the experienced boxers quickly climb into the ring. One of them pull at Billy’s sweaty gray tank, desperate to separate the pair before Billy lands himself a homicide case. It isn’t until an arm locks around his head that Billy ceases his blows to Tony’s red and swollen face.

Billy tries to pull away from the men dragging him off your ex, refusing to part from him like a dog refuses to part from its hunt until it’s devoured.

As Tick and some other guys race to check on Tony and provide aid to his injuries, Billy is dragged to the locker room to calm down. You follow them, looking over your shoulder at the damage done to your ex.

“Let him go! He’s good! Just leave. Leave him alone to calm down!” you shout above the madness.

Billy paces angrily, trembling with adrenaline as the guys hesitantly follow your command. You watch him move back and forth as he spits his teeth guard out on to the floor and rips the Velcro of his glove off with his bare teeth.

“Look at me.”

He doesn’t hear you at first. Or at least, you don’t think he did though it is entirely possible that he ignored you.

“Look at me,” you repeat more firmly.

His nose flares with simmering rage as he stops in his track to turn his head, still anxiously balancing from one foot to another.

“Breathe, Billy… It’s just me here.”

Taking a deep inhale through your nose, he mimics you and releases the air through his mouth. You repeat the technique again and again, slowly approaching him like a savage and dangerous animal.

As his feet still their anxious movement and his fists begin to unball themselves, you gently lift your hands to cradle the thick sides of his sweaty tattooed neck.

He gazes into your eyes, feeling his pounding heart slowly settle in his chest.

“Come back to me, baby,” you whisper watching his healing eye blink as his pupils shift. “You with me?”

“I’m with you, baby.

[mah-t-wordblog]

Sooo I wrote this a loooooong time ago, this fic was first about some ocs of mine, buuuut it turned out so cute that I needed to change this into my favorite GAY BOYS YAYYYYYYYYY

Fresh paint

Lee: Marc Anciel

Ler: Nathaniel Kurtzberg

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡

Ships: Marc x Nathaniel

Warnings: This is a tickle fic, if you don’t like it, just scroll down

This fanfic is originally in Portuguese, my English is translated using an automatic translator, if there are any big errors you can tell me so I can fix them

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡

The idea of ​​a date was good, Marc and Nathaniel got together to paint some pictures that the redhead saw on Instagram

“What do you think?” Nath showed him the video on his cell phone “we paint our hands, then we put them in the frame”

“I think it’s so cute!” The other smiled “come on, where’s the paint?”

The two searched the apartment for paints. Nathaniel picked black, green and blue

“It’s our eyes colors” he said smiling

Marc smiled so big, thinking that it was the cutest thing of the world

“Wait, I think I still have the shirts I used to paint”

Nathaniel took two white t-shirts, they were old, but they weren't very stained, except for a few drops of paint here and there.

Then they painted the entire canvas black and waited about 20 minutes for it to dry.

"Now I'll paint your hand green" Nathaniel said, painting the palm of Marc's hand, "and stamp it like this."

He placed his hand on the canvas, marking it. When Marc took his hand away, the drawing of his palm was colored on top of it.

Nath did the same thing with his own hand, now painting it blue. When he finished, Marc was very happy.

"Look! It’s so cute, Nath!"

Nath smiled at him "sure, do you want to paint the other one?"

"Yes!"

This time, Marc painted the picture black by himself while Nathaniel stirred the colored paints.

He put blue paint on his hand and prepared to put his palm on the canvas again. Marc looked at him, and giggled a little

"Did you already put the paint on? Oh my god, you have to wait for it to dry, idiot." He laughed.

"Oh fuck” Nathaniel laughed “I forgot, what do I do?"

“Now stay” Marc laughed

But the artist wanted to play a little if his boyfriend

“I won’t stay like that, I’ll clean it on your clothes”

“What? Nahath!”

He ran his hands over Marc’s old T-shirt, but instead of actually cleaning his hands on the clothes, he squeezed the sides of him, getting Marc by surprise

“Hey! Dohohon’t”

“Let me clean my hands”

He wasn’t cleaning them, definitely, that little-

The brunette squirmed and tried to hold Nathaniel’s arms

But he increased the attack a little more and made him stop defending himself, scribbling on his armpits and driving Marc crazy

“You called me an idiot~ was that because you wanted this?”

Yes it was, the writer laughed louder

“You’re not going to say anything?”

He nodded, squirming

“Okay then” Nath smiled

Nathaniel raised his hands a little, squeezing a place that he knew was even more sensitive

“AhahaHAHA NOHOHOHO!” Marc said softly in the middle of laughter

“Now you can talk, right?”

“YOHOHOU’RE DIHIHIHIRTYING MEHEHEHE”

“No, I’m cleaning myself, getting you dirty is just a consequence” Nathaniel smirked

The writer shook his head from side to side, kicking the air to try to get even two seconds to breathe

“Do you think it’s clean yet?” Nathaniel asked, as if his boyfriend could have a normal conversation now

“YES YEHEHEHEHES PLEHEHEHEAHASE”

Nath just smiled

“So can I paint my hand again? I won’t be an idiot~?” Marc nodded, unable to speak

“Okay, but if the paint is not dry yet” he approached “I’ll have to clean it all over you again~”

Marc blushed, felling butterflies flying in his stomach in the middle of the tickle sensations

So Nathaniel did as he had agreed and stopped, but before getting off the other, he ran a blue finger across his nose, leaving a stain

“How cute” he said loud enough for Marc to hear and make him blush even more

“Stop…”

Marc looked at himself in the mirror and saw that his T-shirt was full of blue stains on the sides, from the hands that had attacked him

‘Omg omg omg omg omg’ Marc trough, he would probably wear this all the time at home, shhhh

Marc placed a trembling hand on the painting canvas, seeing that his finger came out black, the paint was still fresh

But Nath was already painting his hand blue again

“So? Has the paint dried yet?”

Marc blushed “y-yeah”

“Are you sure?~”

He nodded

“Then show me the finger you touched the screen with”

Marc showed his black finger, his stomach churning when he saw Nathaniel smile

“I don’t think the screen is dry, and I won’t get a blue hand, no I won’t~”

He approached his boyfriend

“I-It’s not my fault if it takes a while to dry” Marc said a little nervously and already giggling

“I think it does, and that will be your punishment”

Nathaniel attacked him again, causing more loud laughter

He watched his boyfriend laugh, smiling

Is Marc’s smile that beautiful? I think only he knows

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡

Thanks for reading 💛💛 one of my favorites

[salmonskinrolltf]

I’m an 19 year old jock, brown hair, brown eyes. Could you send a copy of the Dukes of Hazzard Seasons? I really like Bo Duke from the show. Something about his himbo redneck charm just makes me fall for him.

Your Be Kind Rewind tape and die have arrived! You roll the die because the web site said you should, but when you roll a 1, nothing happens. You shrug and pop the Dukes of Hazzard tape into your VCR, hitting rewind so you can make sure to catch every moment from the beginning.

As the tape begins to rewind, you think about how you always kinda thought it made more sense for Bo to be gay, or at least bi. He certainly always seemed to prefer the company of Luke to any of the women in his life. You figured he needed a wild, rough-and-tumble redneck guy who could show up in his life and shake him out of his heteronormative upbringing, show him how different it can be to have a little fun with another willing guy.

Unfortunately, that someone can’t be you. Bo’s not real, first of all. But more importantly, you’re too much of a clean-cut jock for that. You think back to your latest game, and how great the uniforms made the asses of the other players look. Especially that one guy - what was his name? you can’t remember - when he was going to make a… basket? Field goal? What sport do you play again? You shake your head as your memories go fuzzy like an old television that needs adjusting.

You decide to reboot your memory by tracking back to the most recent thing you remember and working your way back to the present from there. You cycle through the fuzzy colors and blurry shapes until you hit on something. Siphoning gas from the sheriff’s tank so you could go on a joy ride. Now that memory is very clear, thankfully. What did you do after that?

As you ponder, you feel a tickling on the back of your neck as your hair grows, slithering down in a greasy tangle. The tickling hits your shoulders, and then your mid-back. You shake your head and your mullet flutters against your back. God, you love that feeling. It was hard-earned, too, it took you years to grow all that shit out.

The next memory falls into place. Going mudding with some of your cousins the day after your joy ride. What a good time! You shake your head again and the tickling transfers to the front of your face as a greasy brown beard drapes from your sideburns down across to your chin, a mustache sprouting as the cherry on top of the unkempt, disheveled sundae.

You stroke your beard as you smile and remember going cow-tipping the next day. You picked the biggest cow, of course, to prove how strong you are… While you think about your prowess, your athletic muscles actually shrink down a bit, leaving you with skinny arms and a slim torso where your ribs are in plain sight.

Getting hot, you remove your shirt and stuff it in your back pocket. Your memories are finally traced back to the game you were trying to remember… That game of darts you were playing at the local bar the other night. God, Buck’s arms looked so daggum delicious in that sleeveless denim shirt. You scratch your chest and light brown hair swirls in a spiral pattern from around your nipples, eventually spreading across your entire torso.

And that last memory brings you back to the present… what was it you were doing right now? You were getting ready to watch something, right? It was a… A… You wanted to watch the sunset from Makeout Point, yeah that’s what it was. But you didn’t want to go alone, which is why you parked your truck here by the local bar. You look around to see a serene roadside bar, the trees gently swaying in the humid breeze. You wipe sweat from your forehead, glad you already took your shirt off so you aren’t feeling too overheated. It’s been a loooooong, hot summer.

Suddenly the squeal of tires distracts you from your reverie. A slick car pulls up and out climbs the most handsome blond guy you’ve ever seen in your life.

You chuckle to yourself. This guy is a hunk of all-American beef, but you can see a little sugar in ‘im. You know he’d be willing to experiment if a stud like you showed him the ropes. He wouldn’t be able to resist your sexual magnetism. You spit on the ground, then whistle, catching his attention. He looks over at you and you wink. “What’s your name, pardner?” you ask.

[sereinlikessleep]

Little rant about Grusha because I had time

So uh listen to my ramblings I had nothing better to do and I’m bad at articulating my points and thoughts 😭 ok cool? Cool

Rant about Grusha because I have nothing better to do. So like I’ve been noticing a lot of people are dissatisfied with Grusha’s injury and it’s been bothering me a tad because the main reason is that it isn’t lining up with their head canons or the severity isn’t enough. That’s fine feel that way but people are treating it like Grusha’s being dramatic and while I agree the little shite can be dramatic at times with all of his ice puns he’s not wrong. As someone who has a former athletic background and has dabbled in snowboarding a bit and has multiple people around me who do snowboarding on the regular I feel qualified to give my 2 cents on the topic. So based on the anime Grusha has a leg injury and as someone who has and has a family with a loooooong history of knee injuries it isn’t a small thing. When your sport requires balance the knees are crucial, while I sustained a minor knee injury for pushing myself too hard in running I have family and friends who had to go through literal years of physical therapy and muscle training and they still can’t achieve the same results they had before and after injury. And that’s why this injury is so big for Grusha, it’s been well established that this man is a perfectionist and cares about results more than anything else. (IE why he quit snowboarding and failed Liko) I also don’t think people understand how fast snowboarding is, a turn that Grusha took at the speed he was going (average snow boarders go 30-40 mph since Grusha was at a pro comp we can assume he was going at least 50-65 mph) and the fact that it was his leg got hurt likely meant he fell feet first or landed on his knees which makes the likelihood that he broke his leg even higher. A close friend of mine was snowboarding and tripped while she was doing it and she’s not pro, she was doing it casually but she landed so hard that she cracked her helmet into 2 pieces and would’ve died if she wasn’t wearing it. Lesson take away is that snowboarding is dangerous and Grusha is very lucky he only ended up with the injury he has now. 

Now comes the hard part after a sports injury, physical therapy. A broken leg is going to require months of physical therapy at the least and knowing Grusha and how closely his identity as a snowboarder was this was probably hell for him and when he was finally cleared to go back he can’t get the same results he used to get. I’ve seen this happen, someone can’t get the results they used to and because you’re just trapped in this cycle of going from the best to only mediocre and you can only go as far as mediocre. For someone who was once considered the 2nd best snowboarder in the world this has to hurt. I didn’t mention it but even after physical therapy you still have to be careful because now you’re more at risk of re-injuring that part of your body. My cousin used to be good at basketball but she had a knee injury and had to quit because she couldn’t keep up and she was always close of injuring her knee again. For someone who likely did snowboarding almost 24/7 much of Grusha’s identity was intertwined with the sport not being able to return to his glory days is world shattering. Now he has to find something else to do, and pokemon battling was that next thing, he obviously threw himself into it with the same and possibly more effort than snowboarding because this is the one thing he has left and cannot let it go. So forgive him if he sounds dramatic or his injury wasn’t as sever as you expected it to be just know that Grusha is a perfectionist who values results more than anything else, snowboarding is dangerous, injuries suck and can last long times and be career ending. Thank you for coming to my ted talk :3

[x-bee-x]

What's this? A fic from me in the DSMP category because there was canon lore? In 2024?

I was watching or getting ready to watch someone else, I had my follower list open at least, and saw Jack was live and there was something about logging onto the server later in his title and wait what. I knew as soon as I updated some friends about said happenings, I muted the Discord channel I sent it in in case people wanted to talk more about it and maybe sent spoilers later, and I was on here very little because I knew even though I'm not 100% in the fandom anymore and certainly not a fan of all the members, I would like to see it for myself. So I watched the vod the next morning and oh my god.

I did not expect to get literal chills the moment he logged on and the first thing we saw was the bench. And I almost cried when we saw Las Nevadas. And I did cry a bit when we saw Tech's house. Regardless of how much I care about the streamers who were part of that as of late, I did at one point, very much so. This was something I did not expect, it was so nostalgic and emotional and actually warmed my heart a bit seeing so many fans come together during and after it happened. This was a really unexpected and lovely way to tie things up, I thought they kind of were already in all areas for me at least, but I think that this was a good way to finally properly say goodbye.

Epilogue

No warnings

1,438 words

Tommy was. Somewhere.

He wakes up he thinks, he opened his eyes at least, running a hand through his blonde curls.

And.

He didn't think he was alone this time. Or well, he wasn't always, Tubbo was there sometimes, but this was a different sort of person feeling.

"H-hello?"

He typed into his communicator for the heck of it.

"Hey."

Jack?

"Wh-where have you fucking been?"

"Casino.

Been here for years mate.

Made loads."

He was.

He was in Las Nevadas?

This whole time. This whole time?

Tommy stood at the top of the hill at the entrance of the faux desert and sure enough.

Someone with one blue and one red eye, a head of buzzed hair with a headset on top, a blue short sleeved hoodie, and camouflage pants stood at the bottom.

"Let me bless you, my boy, it's been too long."

He threw a couple of diamonds at the feet of younger, who probably looked just as puzzled as he felt.

"Jack. Seriously.

What happened?"

"What do you mean? I've just been here. Playing roulette."

This whole time? This whole time.

"Wanna know where I've been?

Come with me."

"Hold on, can't leave on a loss, gotta get that big win."

Jack came out eventually, and they walked out of Las Nevadas and along the Prime Path together, he has somewhere to show him.

"It's good to see you."

"You too, man."

"I've been here."

"Here? Under the bridge?"

"Out in the distance. That way.

I've got a house. It's nice."

"I haven't seen anyone for a loooooong time.

Well, maybe Tubbo, every now and again."

Tommy and Jack walked, or well, Tommy walked, and all the sudden Jack's voice became quieter and quieter somewhere behind rather than beside him.

"Me either, casino's been empty.

Honestly, I just steal money from the safe's to gamble with. I could take it all if I wanted, but the thrill keeps me in there.

Gambler's addiction, they call it. One day I'll win big. 99% of people quit before then.

But not me. I'll make it. It's been years, but, it's coming."

He turned his head to the boy with heterochromia behind him, blonde waves bouncing lightly.

"You're not very good at catching up, are you?"

"Just telling my story, man."

Jack said while he jogged to be once again beside him.

"Never thought I'd be around these parts again. I moved far from here to get away from it.

It brings back too much. Joy, fun, sadness, pain. Too much of all of it.

But it's nice to see a familiar face."

The path they took to get to their destination was familiar, and this time he knew it was safe as well as convenient, no one with a mask he had to worry about being on the other side, or worse yet, chase him.

A bridge of cobblestone among the dark red brick and close to unbearable heat, from one swirling purple transparent gateway surrounded by obsidian to another, and they were spot out onto a soft cold white blanket.

"I don't live around here."

"Oh. I thought that's where we were going?"

"No, god no. Do you know how long it took for me to get back here?

I come here a lot though"

A house, a cabin to be exact, sat the same as them in the nearby distance.

It was cream colored with chestnut colored accents, a matching wooden roof and front door, and a chimney that stood tall and sat bare, no plumes of smoke emitted which once came from it.

"Cool. It's quaint. I like it.

Maybe I'll bye it when I win big!"

Tommy looked to the older boy with two colored eyes beside him, opened his mouth but decided against saying anything, then opened it again to say something after all.

"This is Technoblade's house."

"Oh. Maybe I won't do that then."

"How long do you usually sit here like this?"

"As long as I need to.

Sometimes minutes. Sometimes hours."

There were areas of fences close by on the surrounding property, the occasional bray or bah or grunt echoed through the air, and sat in the otherwise quiet.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Hit me."

Tommy fidgeted with the fingers on one hand in his lap as he found the right words and considered them being actually spoken.

"Do you ever.

Like, despite all the war, and the fighting, and all the- well, all the mess- how much it sent me a fucking mess.

Do you ever miss it? Those days? The people? Or, well, the way they were. The way it all was."

Jack looked at him, something like softness in his features.

"Sure. It was all a bit much at times, and I'm not sure I'd wanna do it all again.

But I miss it sometimes. It was fun, really."

"Yeah, I don't think I'd do it all again either. But. I don't know, I've tried to move on. My little cottage far away, my humble paradise. But that trails a lot into my mind."

"I think it trails onto all of our minds sometimes, wherever we all are.

But we all have to move on, find our own destiny sometime."

"Okay. Phew. I'm glad it's not just me."

"Chasing the win keeps me happy.

I like who I am now, probably more than I was. But that doesn't mean he was bad."

"You like being a gambler? Over an incompetent fight loser?"

Jack laughed, soft and genuine, and Tommy fidgeted a bit harder.

"I guess they're not great options are they."

"Sorry, that was a bit harsh, I don't see many people."

"One of them means I might win someday, I was never gonna win back then."

His face held that expression again, soft, almost sad maybe.

"I've still got my one life. One canon life.

And I intend to use it the best way I can."

"What do you mean? How do you wanna use it?."

"You know. I've not got a clue.

But I'll figure that out later.

For now, I've got my cottage, and my new pet! Oh she's adorable. Mareep, she's a little sheep I caught.

But you know, things are okay for me.

Tubbo and his fucking bees I see also every now and then. He's doing pretty well for himself. Selling fucking honey."

"Oh, that's good. I thought he exploded when I blew up everything.

I can't actually die I don't think, so I never know whether these things are bad for everyone else or not."

"I guess being the president of L'Manberg teaches you a few logistical things, aye?

Not that either of us would know anything about that."

"Well."

"Well."

"I haven't seen anyone else besides Tubbo."

"Yeah, you two are hard to separate."

"Tell me about it."

"I think I like it that way for now though.

The quiet life."

"Quiet is nice. This is nice."

"It's good to see an old face though. I know I said it before, but it really is."

Tommy pushed himself up and off the snow beneath them, a couple joints popped, Jack did the same, they stayed standing with the cabin behind them.

"Well, I can't stay for long, I've gotta do things like feed Mareep."

"Yeah, I got some places to see, now that I'm out.

Haven't left there in a while, probably should go check on some things."

"Is there anything else you wanna ask me? I have no questions for you."

Jack looked like he might have something to say, but was going through the roster of words in his mind, carefully considering them.

"Are you happy?

I guess that's really all I'd care to know."

Tommy opened his mouth to respond, closed it, gave a whisper of a smile, ran one of his hands along his pant leg in a partial fidget and a partial way to rid himself of the cold, then opened it again.

"Getting there."

They both nodded gently.

"I'm glad."

"It's good to see you, Jack."

"It's good to see you too, Tommy."

"I hope you get that big win someday.

Oh, and hey. Don't let anyone bye this house."

"I won't."

"I might not see you again. But I hope to lhear about it if you win big."

That's okay. You will. I can deal with just knowing that you're happy."

Tommy held out a hand.

"So long J Money."

Jack shook it.

"Bye Big T."

They both looked to the cabin once more, gave a two finger salute, and went their separate ways along the snowy path.

[gummy-sunnybear]

I have a concept for both Capricorn and Cancer!!! The remaining astrals I have to make!

Capricorn - I at first was confused on how to make Capricorn on wether or not for her to be Dionysus or more like Amalthea and then I realized! Why not make them both?

Capricorn is sort of another healer for the astrals though they are a little more carefree when it comes to her medicine... But he still tries to be responsible!

She is very stressed and is always worrying about the other astrals' wellbeing... Though this leads to them forgetting about their own... Like for the love of god... Give her a nice hot bubble bath, a nice bottle of wine and some relaxing music...

Another thing is that they are very gender ambiguous! Though going by she/her.... They do like looking more masculine! Like having a stubble on her chin and having quite a bit of body hair!

A lot of people like calling them "Cappy" for short and also she makes really good wine as well!

Cancer - A very energetic astral! She is considered to be the youngest of the astrals! Presenting herself in the body of a 15 year old and being the mental age of the same age.

Cancer is very fun to hang around and is actually kinda like a student to the other astrals!

Cancer really wants to learn on how to be healer so she studies under Capricorn's wing to learn more! Cancer also studies with Aquarius, Sagittarius and Leo to learn how to control themselves at times... Since on the battlefield.... They have quite a lot of violent and impulsive tendencies...

But Cancer means very well towards others and is very helpful!

Cancer is very female presenting but doesn't mind if others use They/Them of He/Him! At times they even encourage it as it make them feel very freeing!

(These two are the final of my Zodiac characterization! For TSAMS! I had a lot of fun making each and everyone one of the astrals.... Though it took a loooooong while.... I finally finished! These are the last astrals I shall characterize for now... I had fun... Now I can rest)

OOOO!!! I ADORE THISSSS!

[fangaminghell]

Okay so, I’m an idiot who’s obsessed with Zenith.

What’s he like in your AU?

Hi :)

Oh Zenith, there's a lot going on with him, and hopefully I remember everything cause I haven't touched his stuff in a while.

So basically - Zenith was born and raised in the Infernal Cult. The infernal cult has been around for. A loooooong while, not exactly around the time that the region was created, but definitely somewhere along the line there. Zenith's story actually takes place in the 19....20's? Yeah the 1920's. Details aren't fully realized, but at that specific time, he was the head of the infernal cult, right after his mother. And at that specific time, he had a rival- the chosen of meloetta, Riya. There was a confrontation between the two, and Riya took Zenith's life ....in exchange for her own. With Zenith dead, the infernal cult pretty much crumbled without it's leader, despite the efforts of it's even most devoted followers. The story would have ended here, a tale of a hero dying to rid the world of another evil.

Would have ended.

See, Zenith did die. And he honestly thought he was a goner until he got a visit from none other than Nyx. And Nyx had a deal for him. She would bring him back to life, even give him a bit of power akin to his old rival, in exchange for his service to her. He would collect the crystal shards for her,and then give them to her when the time comes. Zenith agreed without even thinking. So then and there, Zenith was able to crawl back up from the dead, and revive his cult from what little it has become. Oh and he's also basically immortal. This deal was really enticing you can see why Zenith didn't even think before agreeing. That's the backstory.

In modern times, Zenith is still a librarian.....in his spare time anyway. But his main cover up is actually being the Torren regions most beloved idol. Turns out Zenith had a knack for singing and showman ship- something that actually caused his rivalry with Riya I bet- she was a singer dancer in the 20s. As for the power that Nyx given him, like I said it was essentially a bit of Riya's. He had the power of voice. While he couldn't fully mind control people, he could still slightly influence them/suggest to them via his voice. Hence why he honestly has such a big fanbase. The details are iffy for this part, but his biggest goal is to use the crystal(?) to amplify his voice powers to the masses. Taking it from subtle suggestion/ influence to full blown mind control. Also he most likely doesn't use his real name lol. I imagine Zenith had plenty of fake names over the years, hence why he was able to stay underground for so long. That and just being sure to keep his looks hidden unless he can hide it well, like as Zachary or whatever his idol persona name is.

Zenith in my au is also pretty loyal to Nyx, seeing her just as much as a god as Groudon. That being said.....if he were to be able to get the upper hand on her and take her out, he probably would. The guy really likes power, and if he can no longer be on a chain to someone else, he would. Still, I see him as being pretty devoted....even when Nyx hardly gives him anything after that lmao.

God, can I talk about him and Jaern for a second? They both are so similar but are so different in one big way. Both have this public persona of someone that is beloved and kind and charismatic and has the public's best interest at heart. But even with that persona.....Zenith knows who he is. He knows he wants power, he knows he enjoys the feeling of having people under his thumb. He knows that. But Jaern is convincing himself that what he is doing is in the name of justice, in the name of making the world a better place, when the reality is, he just wants to feel powerful. I haven't fully figured out how they would interact in the plot, if at all, but if they did, it would be so interesting bc I know Zenith sees the right through Jaern's bullshit. It's why he both kinda Jaern amusing and an insult. Because he's not owning it. Being a cult leader, to Zenith, is owning what you want while fooling the masses. If Jaern doesn't believe that what he wants, simply put, is power,then what is he doing. Who is he trying to fool, himself? Please. So as his idol persona, Zenith loves just picking at the guy whenever they have the chance to meet. I don't know if Jaern knows that Zenith the idol is Zenith the cult leader, I haven't fully fleshed that out, but man, I just love to imagine the power dynamic they have. Zenith has been a cult leader for a long time, so while technically, Jaern has the power of law by his side, he is honestly pretty helpless to the raw power that is the Infernal Cult,and they both know that. It's just. Fbghftbjvedhyg, I hope I'm making sense here.

But yeah. That's Zenith from what I can remember. If I didn't make it clear, I think he's a little fruity. He lived too long to give a shit about gender norms and who likes who, he's literally going to take over the world, who cares ( spoilers: he still dies bc lol Nyx never mentioned his immortality was linked to how much she needed him, so once he failed, he was good as dead).

[homosociallyyours]

10&30

THANK YOU FRIEND!!! This got LOOOOOONG so I put it behind a cut. The crime stuff should be better but guess who's not in the right mindset to invent a frame job? It's me, hi.

Framed for a crime they didn't commit/only one bed

OK, it doesn't quite fit but immediately my brain jumped to the Belle & Sebastian song, "White Collar Boy" that describes a guy who stole from his job trying to do his community service until the woman he's chained to decides to escape and drag him along.

In this AU, Harry is the white collar criminal-- he was working at the Gucci store and taking a few goodies for himself when he got caught. But listen, they were damaged, ok?? Like. If you're paying Gucci prices there shouldn't be any loose threads or similar, right? And yeah, sometimes Harry was the one who pulled loose the threads. But in fairness, that sweater looked really good on him!! So did those trousers, I mean-- yes, the squats have done wonders for his arse but those TROUSERS, they took it to the next level!

Unfortunately none of that convinced his manager or the judge, and he considers himself lucky to get assigned to pick up trash at the local pier. At first he gets to do it alone, but after a few weekends he's told he's gonna have a partner. Who he's gonna be cuffed to. The indignity!

But then he SEES said partner.

Louis is all shaggy hair and cigarettes and somehow making the coveralls they have to wear actually look good, and Harry would be smitten with him if not for the fact that he keeps trying to move them further down the pier toward the docks, where they've been told not to go.

It all comes to a head about half an hour before they're supposed to be done for the day. The cop in charge of them comes to herd them back to where they should be and Louis, using the dull end of his plastic trash grabber arm, whacks the cop in the head and bolts, leaving Harry no choice but to follow. When Louis jumps into the trash barge that's headed out, Harry takes the leap too.

Harry freaks out, of course, and they fight about it a little bit before settling down and stewing for a while.

---

"You're not ugly, really," Louis says, chin resting in his hand as he studies Harry in the waning daylight. Harry looks back at him with a withering glare before rolling his eyes and huffing as he tries not to wonder if the trash bag he's lying on just moved, or if it was his imagination.

"Wow, thanks for the compliment," he deadpans.

"I just mean-- you could kiss me if you'd like. Might help the time pass."

Harry scoffs. "My time would be free right now if it wasn't for your shitty little stunt back there, so pardon me for not being entirely thrilled by the idea of snogging you." He squirms into a sitting position, tugging at Louis' arm until he adjusts his position. "Why would I kiss a criminal, anyway?"

"Oh! So you think you're better than me, hm?"

Harry swallows, mentally kicking himself for walking right into that. "Well I'm not the one who-- did whatever you did." Nice one, Harry. Really.

"Mm, that's right. You," Louis studies him for a moment, reaching out with his free hand and picking a bit of trash from Harry's hair, "stole something, didn't you? Nothing much. Bit of petty cash, maybe? Ooh, or a little returns scam at a high end shop." Harry scoffs, looking away from Louis' too blue eyes as he feels his cheeks heat with embarrassment. Before he can deny it, Louis laughs. "I'm right! Aren't I?"

"Yes," Harry says, kicking at the fast food cup that's sticking out of a nearby trash bag and studiously avoiding Louis' gaze.

"And me? What did I do?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Harry asks, picking at a hole in his jeans. "Not a professional criminal who can tell that kind of thing with a look."

It's Louis' turn to scoff. He wrenches his arm away, sending Harry scrambling to keep himself sitting upright. "You're a right prick," he says, crossing his arms over his chest in spite of the fact that it means he's got one of Harry's hands captive there with him, dangling just over his stomach.

"So," Harry says, edging closer. "What did you do, then?"

"Nothing," Louis says simply. Harry shakes his head, gearing up to call him an idiot and a few other names, maybe, when Louis holds a finger up to silence him. "I was framed."

---

So it turns out Louis shared a locker at work with a guy who seemed nice enough, but was actually using the business as a way to build a network of stealing and selling prescription meds and some harder drugs. He'd put a false back into the locker that Louis hadn't even thought to look for, and then when law enforcement figured out where the drugs were coming from, the guy tipped them off.

Louis' escape had actually been planned for a while-- he and his best friend Liam have come up with a way to expose the guy who framed Louis, and he picks them up on a little boat that Louis and Harry have to swim to just as night falls.

They end up having to shower together at Liam's house and share a bed that night, and Louis is actually a very good cuddler, it turns out? Plus he laughs at Harry's dumb puns. And even when Liam's roommate shows up with a saw finally get them (kind of) out the the handcuffs, Harry decides to stick around.

He even takes part in the scheme to catch the guy who framed Louis by pretending to want to buy drugs from him and getting the guy to admit everything on tape. It takes a couple of months, but Louis and Harry do get free and make a nice little life together that's mostly crime free. Unless Harry really needs a little designer shirt, in which case...he might still try to scam it.

[nervouslaughter05]

Of Monsters and Men Chapter 5: Back Together

A/N: I'm not dead!

Apologies for the loooooong wait and the shortness of this chapter. I've had a lot going on in my life between the writing of chapter 4 and now, which has left me with VERY little free time to actually sit down and write. I joined the military, went through bootcamp, got engaged, and am now getting ready to ship off to my first duty station. Not to mention all the little things in between with a crazy ex and insane family shit.

Anyways, with that out of the way, I give you chapter 5! Enjoy!

CW: mentions of injuries (nothing descriptive), language, mentions of killing

Come yell at me on Twitter @vegas719 and my art insta @timetoart05

Masterlist

Grizzly sighs, sitting up with a wince from where she lay on the floor. Sleep was impossible for her at this point. Between the dull buzz under her skin from the insanity of the last 24 hours and the aching of her injuries, she wasn’t able to wind down. Ghost had insisted she try to get some sleep while he took the first watch–jesus christ did that man ever sleep?–and she’d been unsuccessful thus far. 

Despite how worn out she felt from the injuries she’d sustained and the work her and Ghost had done to secure the safehouse, rest seemed damn near impossible while the worry of the fate of the rest of the team ate away at her brain.

She rises to her feet, bracing against the wall for a moment before moving towards the door where Ghost was. After laying down for so long, she had a profound limp, but Grizzly knew that the more she moved the sooner it would go away. At least that was the hope anyways. 

He obviously hears her, because she knew for a fact that no one came within a 50 mile radius of the behemoth without his knowledge. 

Despite that, he doesn’t make any move to acknowledge her. He just shifts slightly like he’s trying to get more comfortable, adjusting the grip he held on his rifle. Grizzly leans against the wall next to the doorframe, not wanting to sit down again because she doubted she’d be able to actually stand back up. 

“You should be sleeping,” the lieutenant tells her, his gruff voice breaking through the silence. “And keeping pressure off of that leg.”

Grizzly shrugs, looking blankly at the ceiling. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Something unspoken transferred between them, and Ghost didn’t say anything further about it. There were nights where they’d been out in the field and had witnessed the restlessness that came from witnessing too many firefights and the like. She had her demons, and she could only imagine the things he was trying to process with the shit he’d been through. 

So, instead of tossing and turning all night long–unable to sleep, she had elected instead to get up and put her energy to use. 

“You can go rest,” Grizzly suggests to him, moving from near the doorway to standing next to him. “You’ve been up for hours already.”

Ghost doesn’t seem to agree with her reasoning, replying, “And so have you. Plus, you’re injured.”

She rolls her eyes. “Never stopped either of us before.”

They both fall silent again, noises from the woods around them permeating through the thin walls of the house. She remains standing beside him before the pain of standing becomes too much and she elects to sit down instead. She accepts the fact that now she would probably just stay in this same spot all night to avoid further aggravating her injury. 

‘It would’ve been better if you just didn’t move at all in that case,’ Grizzly thinks to herself before pushing the thought away. 

They sit in silence together, listening to a cricket somewhere in the house chirping away. It’s peaceful in the nighttime here despite the circumstances under which they arrived. It reminds her of before she joined the 141 when she was just a corpsman in the Navy being deployed with Marine Raiders. She can recall many a night in the field with her Marines that they would be camping out in their camp waiting for the next day when they’d go out in an assault. She’d be counting her supplies and checking over her medbag while her Marines joked and laughed amongst one another. More often than not, she’d end up joining in with little jabs of her own every now and then while she prepped. 

Part of her missed it, but she knew that at this point with her rank being what it was she would barely spend time actually in the field and mostly doing admin work. Since she was one of three enlisted on a team run by two officers, Grizzly was able to continue operating in the same arena as before. While the pay may not be the best or the ranking up wasn’t the greatest either, she still loved every moment of being able to go out every day for a new adventure. 

It was like a drug to her, inducing an adrenaline-laced high everytime her kit went on and they loaded up into the field. 

If it hadn’t been for Price finding her where she was stationed out in the desert of bum fuck only God knows where, she would’ve been stuck in an office doing stacks upon stacks of paperwork when she wasn’t handling the treatment of casualties coming into the camp. Thinking of Price further reminded her of the situation they were in. Grizzly finds herself wondering about the condition of her other teammates. 

Had they been captured? Were they just in hiding and waiting for a good time to make the journey to the safehouse? Had they contacted some sort of evac and were on their way to hers and Ghost’s location to get them the hell out of whatever kind of shitshow they’d all been forcefully rolled in?

She sits with her thoughts, not bothering to vocalize them since she has a feeling Ghost was likely doing the same albeit in a slightly more callous way. In a vain attempt to distract her train of thought away from worrying about the condition of her teammates, she starts to hum softly. It’s a country song she’d been listening to for days straight, not able to get enough of it. 

“Your mind is wandering, I take it.”

Grizzly’s attention is drawn to the lieutenant, taking a moment to process what he’d said before formulating a response. “Just a little. Nothing unusual for me.”

He makes a small hum in reply. “I’m very aware.”

“Speaking of wandering minds, you need to get some rest otherwise it’s going to be the both of us like that in the morning,” Grizzly tells him. “I know that I need to rest, but so do you. I’ve gone on missions in the past and functioned in much worse conditions than this.”

He doesn’t say anything, the silence stretching between them. It continues to carry on and on for several minutes before she’s convinced herself that he just won’t say anything back–<i>because of course she had to have a lieutenant like that</i>–when he actually acknowledges her request. 

He shifts so he can lay down somewhat comfortably. “Alright then, Grizzly. Trustin’ you to make sure we’re not both dead by the morning.”

“It already is morning LT,” Grizzly replies with a soft chuckle. “If my watch is anything to go by.”

She doesn’t have to look at him to know the man was likely rolling his eyes at her comment. 

“Wake me up if anything happens.”

“Aye, aye sir.”

00000

Several hours had gone by at this point, and Grizzly knew the sun was going to be rising soon. It was baffling to her how they had spent nearly 48 hours at this point in the same location when it should have been less than 12. It was all planned to be a get in and get the fuck out type of mission.

And yet.

There’s a rattling sound down the hall, which Grizzly assumes to be the fat raccoon they’d come across upon first arriving in the safehouse. She keeps listening for a few more moments, no longer hearing anything. Relaxing just enough to still remain vigilant but also so she could rest against the wall comfortably, she continues to mull over various thoughts in her brain. 

The rattling noise returns after a couple minutes, and with it come the soft whispers of a human voice.

Instantly, she’s on full alert with her rifle ready in her hands. Ghost is mere feet from where she’s sitting, so she kicks out one of her legs and jostles his chest. He wakes with little effort on her end. A brief thought questioning whether or not he had actually been sleeping all this time goes through her mind, but it’s shoved away in favor of worrying about what was going on right now. 

Albeit somewhat groggy from the look in his eyes, Ghost is already gearing up for a fight without her having to say anything. He rises to his feet and she follows suit–just at a slightly slower speed due to her injury. Heart beating in her chest and adrenaline coursing through her veins, she posts up on the opposite side of the door frame than the lieutenant and waits for further orders.

“Wait.”

“Aye, sir.”

The door to enter the house creaks open down the hall and there’s a brief second where dread cuts through her belly. Just as soon as it comes it’s gone however. Grizzly locks in and readies herself for whatever is going to happen next, knowing that whoever just entered the safehouse may very well be there to kill the both of them. 

Footsteps. Three sets.

The very familiar sound of combat boots touching against the ground halts, leaving her with no clue as to where exactly the intruders were in the hallway. There’s a few beats of silence, leaving her to think something was about to happen, and then she hears a short whistle. A pause. Another short whistle. Another pause. Another short whistle. 

Ghost whistles back once, drawing it out slightly longer and it’s repeated back. 

Grizzly releases the breath she hadn’t even noticed she’d been holding in and is greeted with the unruly mohawk of her favorite Scot. Price and Gaz follow behind him. The hours of worry she’d been carrying for her teammates falls from her shoulders and the relief which comes with it is a welcome feeling. 

She doesn’t take long to relish in the emotion, knowing they all likely needed to be treated. Grizzly kneels by her pack, instructing the three other members of her team to sit and let her treat them. Despite each of them insisting there was nothing serious they were dealing with, she still conducts full head to toe exams as needed and treats what is seen fit. Price had fought her the hardest on it, but she had refused to listen and proceeded to treat a gunshot wound to his upper thigh. Upon finishing up with her treatment to them at a satisfactory level, Grizzly goes to assume her watch again. 

However Soap, the least injured of the three–which was immensely surprising to her–insisted on taking the watch instead. In pain and finally starting to feel exhaustion weighing down her bones, she doesn’t argue much and lays down in the back corner of the small room they were all posted up in. Within minutes, sleep claims her and welcomes its calming embrace with wide open arms. 

A/N: A big thank you to anyone who has stuck around to see the new release of this chapter after so long. Love ya'll!

[secret-sector-antag]

🦇⚔ Dhampir Hunter V ⚔🦇

Intros/Profiles Part 3/?: Veni, vidi, dictavi [Potential CW for mentions of death and the following grief, as well as brief (albeit fictional) political stuff. Nothing overly detailed/gory, but just in case]

"Ingannamorte" Surname of Italian origin. Translates to "deciever of death" ("inganna"= "to decieve"/"decieves", and "morte"="death".) A rather fitting name for a creature of the night...

The Ingannamortes of Schprekenheim, at least loooooong ago, were the absolute rulers of the land. Being a subtype of vampire known in the area as StrigOwie, they lived up to their name: bring about immense suffering and misery, feeding off of it, and continuing the family name for generations to come.

However, despite the threats of torture, exile, and/or annihilation for any sort of political dissidence, the peasants of the land began to band together and fight back. After several attempts at a coup, the family have since fallen to a more underground, "figure-head"-like status. 

The then-current heads, Havaska and Polaris Ingannamorte, had a full plate on their hands: keeping the power of the family flowing throughout the land (but with a less...heavy-handed approach), other standard royal duties...and now, bringing up the next heir: Syberia (pronounced "Sĭh-Bĕ-reeyah").

For a while, things were actually...relatively okay. Syberia was growing into her role of one day becoming the head of the family...but as she began to learn about her family and the absolute power that they used to hold. She wanted a piece of that pie; none of this "figureheads-who-stand-in-the-background" business. And she was vocal about it. As she grew and had more of a hand in things, she became louder and louder- despite her parents doing what they could to try and quell that fervor.

Then disaster struck.

Havaska, mother to the latest heir of the Ingannamortes, had been murdered. While the "heat" between the royal vampire family and the peasants had disspated quite a bit over the years, a small extremist group wanted to make their mark...by doing what the several coup attempts back then couldn't: getting rid of the vampirs for good. While the group was quashed incredibly quickly (c'mon, you're fighting against vampires; and it wasn't like these guys were professional hunters), the toll it took on the remaining two Ingannamortes. While they grieved, Syberia saw this as an opportunity for them to bring that "iron-fistedness" back into play...but Polaris, her poor old Papa, was heartbroken. No matter how much she tried to convince him, he would not go all scorched earth and bring the entirety of Schprekenheim to heel. This, of course, led to increased tension in the already emotionally-bedraggled household.

...Then a little bit of light entered back into their lives...or, at the very least, Polaris's. A peseant woman known as Cerealia, who had brought it upon herself to continue to plant flowers on the deceased queen's grave, as well as keep the area surrounding area looking nice, was spotted by Polaris. Initially, he was a bit testy (how dare some...some commoner intrude on his land!), but seeing what she was doing, the ice that had come to surround his heart began to slowly melt. For the first time since he lost his wife, he had begun to feel...happy. Syberia, being Syberia, was suspicious. Who was this plebian, and what did her Dad see in her?! She was trying to usurp the throne, she just knew it!!

This, of course, wasn't true. Cerealia had no hidden intentions and genuinely cared about the forlorn king. Though one could argue that this took place very quickly, Polaris and Cerealia were soon married. And eventually, they welcomed another child into the kingdom.

Syberia was furious. Okay, yes, she was still the next in line to rule, but who the hell was this...this half-blood to come in and usurp what was supposed to be her time with her dad?! She wasn't acknowledging that peseant woman as family- even if she now bore the royal last name. But of course, under the treat of being sent away to the lower part of Schprekenheim to live out her life (or at least until she calmed the eff down and worked out her rage and resentment) in, potentially, a tall tower all by herself (almost like a "grounded for life" kind of scenario), Syberia let that hatred simmer. And simmer. And simmer. With her sister, that hatred did occasionally manifest as the standard acts of sibling rivalry, but her..."stepmother", eugh... was understanding, having been one of several siblings herself. However, even with the assurance that both kids were loved equally, it didn't mean she went unpunished for acting the way she did sometimes.

Things were going okay, it looked like.

Until they weren't.

Polaris and Cerealia had mysteriously perished on a trip to another village, as a show of goodwill. Some say that Syberia had a hand in it, but no one can be 100% certain...especially now since she's taken on the role as the head of the Ingannamorte family and will silence anyone who questions her. Playing to the public, she uses the death of her parents as her "reasoning" for bringing back the harshness that the family was once known for long, long ago.

Schprekenheim has been under her dark rule for who knows how long, and S.C.A.R.E. seeks to bring her and her army of monsterous creatures of the night down- to restore some semblence of peace to the region.

Can they do it?

Will she bring the band of freedom fighters to heel and recruit them to her undead army?

And more importantly...where's this sister of hers? She wasn't with the then-king and queen on their trip...she seems to have mysteriously vanished...

----------------------------------------- Syberia Ingannamorte Voice Claim: Eden Riegel

Codenamed "Nightside" by the organization, she is a fierce vampire that has plunged the region into darkness and misery. She is a manipulative creature that will stop at nothing to keep the iron grip she has on the area from loosening. With the passing of her parents and now as the official head of the Ingannamortes, there's nothing getting in her way to stop her....or so she thinks.

But of course, what is a queen without a bit of help?

"Faust" Voice Claim: Steve Valentine

Codenamed "Phantomblade" by the organization, Not a lot is known about this kid. It was shortly after Syberia's parents' passing and the disapperance of her sister that he came into the picture.

Acting as the confidant to the new ruler, 'Faust' does what he can to maintain order and acts as a "one man band"- directing creature hordes to deter any do-gooders, directing who keeps watch over the Ingannamorte hold, acting as Syberia's bodyguard and informant, among other roles. In short, Faust would give his life to save Syberia. ...He...doesn't exactly have the choice to not. At least, not anymore. That half-face burn (covered by the half-face mask) had to come from somewhere after all...

[hmtaxidermy]

Howdy! I’m a fellow taxidermist from Texas! I went to lone star state school of taxidermy and have been working in a small shop for the past year. I hope to start my own shop one day- do you have any tips or tricks? What was it like to start your own taxidermy business? What’s been the hardest part? 🦌🖤

Hello!!

First of all, I’m so sorry for taking so long to answer this! I promise I wasn’t ignoring your ask. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how busy it’s been. That being said:

Welcome to the club!

(Loooooong post ahead)

Fair warning, I’m just gonna ramble. I also am still in the infancy of running my own business, so I can’t give you anything with too much meaning, but I’ll try.

It’s been a slow start, but every day my business gets bigger! I think having faith and patience truly is the toughest part. It’s so easy to go a couple weeks with no phone calls and start to worry. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Keep your job at that shop while you build up your business. Only leave when you have consistent work rolling in. I’m not even at that point yet myself! You won’t get a lot of work in under your own business for your first year or two. Take what you can and produce good mounts. The quality will bring in more customers. Never sacrifice it. I’ve gotten a lot of my customers from word-of-mouth alone.

You will need to work on your business’ mounts on your days off. It’s hard juggling your own projects and your day job’s, but you will gain so much needed hands-on experience from your day job that will fast-track the quality of your mounts. Lone Star is great at providing a solid foundation, but I’ve personally found that the repetition of working at an already-successful shop is what’s refined my mounts. That being said, don’t be afraid to look into how the world champions go about their mounts and see if any of their tactics work better for you! (This applies to your business’ mounts only. Mount any work at your job how your boss wants you to.)

No hate to Brian at Lone Star, but there are easier and more effective ways to mount birds than what he teaches. I highly recommend looking into Shane Smith’s tutorials and materials. I personally use Smith’s line of mannequins for all my birds. I think you’ll also find using an artificial beak so much easier than the real one. (Assuming you even took the course that included birds/you even want to offer bird services.)

Not necessary, but I recommend Breakthrough Magazine for tips and tricks from award winning taxidermists. It’s also just nice to look at the competition mounts.

Make a good website for your business that includes a gallery! People are only going to go with you if they like how your mounts look. You can check my website as an example. (Shameless plug: harvestmoontaxidermy.com)

Another hard thing for me, personally, is price-setting. When I first opened HM, I was too scared to price too highly, afraid I’d scare off customers. Don’t do this. Yes, you may scare away some folks, but you’ll find that people are willing to pay your prices. Don’t shortchange yourself, especially with how much work some of this stuff takes! Look up other taxidermy shops in your area and see what they charge as a reference. I can’t tell you exactly what everything should cost because it varies from area to area. My euros may be more or less expensive than the euros in your county.

—

On the more legal side of things:

Go to your city hall and register your business/business’ name. Look up your business’ name ahead of time to make sure no one else has it or something similar in your area.

Use Wildlife Resource Documents (can be found for free on the Fish & Game website) when you intake customers to legally transfer the ownership of harvested game from the hunter to you.

If you plan to work on birds, get a Migratory Bird Permit to be able to legally store and mount them. Do this months ahead of offering bird services. I submitted for mine and didn’t get it back for, like, 5 months.

I like to fill out a WRD when a customer comes in and fill out a “mount desired” form on the back of it. Have your customer sign both sides, agreeing to the WRD and to the mount/price. (Pic attached)

Get a Sales and Use Tax permit. All businesses in Texas (small or otherwise) are required to collect and pay sales tax. Look up what your sales tax rate is in your area. Texas has a flat 6.25% rate, but some cities will add an additional percentage on top of that.

Pay your taxes. You’ll most likely have to pay your sales tax quarterly. You can do so very easily on the Comptroller’s website. You still have to pay income tax at the end of the fiscal year just like everyone else, but you get to deduct your sales tax payments from it!

Open a business checking account with your bank. I don’t remember if it’s illegal to conduct business via a personal checking account, but last I heard it’s at least highly discouraged. It’s also nice to keep it separate either way.

—

Other than that, look into getting catalogs from supply companies! McKenzie, Van Dyke’s, Matuska, Jetz, and Headquarters are all great for mannequins and general supplies. I’ve also got catalogs from TASCO, Joe Coombs, Payer Eyes, and Woodland’s Scenes-n-Nature just in case. I also love using The Taxidermist’s Woodshop for all my euro plaques.

You’ll mainly be using McKenzie for your supplies, but it never hurts to have back-ups. Sometimes a customer prefers a mannequin only Jetz sells, or sometimes you prefer how one company sculpts mannequins for a certain species over another. The more mounts you do under your own business, the more you’ll figure out which product lines suit you best. It’s all trial and error.

—

I believe this should be the majority of it?? Please feel free to reach back out if you’ve got a question over something I haven’t covered.

TLDR; Register your business, get Sales Tax permit and Migratory Bird permit (if mounting birds), Look up your local sales tax rate, Pay your taxes, keep your day job for a while, and most importantly, have faith in yourself.

You’re going to do some amazing things ♥️

[ravendruid]

Be In My Eyes - Chapter 22

You can read the previous chapters here or on AO3. I'm so sorry it took me over a month to update. I got extremely busy and overwhelmed in September. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted because I have a few projects that I'm working on at the moment. But keep an eye open for updates. Cozy up, it's loooooong. Summary: Keyleth's date with Kashaw ends abruptly when a mysterious woman calls him. Luckily for Keyleth, an unexpected savior comes to her rescue from the torrential rain.

The cold and slightly damp autumn wind blew against Keyleth’s face and slithered down the lapel of her jacket and inside her turtleneck, making her shiver. She assumed her father’s jacket was warm enough to handle Emon’s fall weather since it did wonders for her back home, but something about the crisp air of the city made her rethink her options. If this is what it felt like, only one month into fall, the months leading up to winter were about to become unbearable soon. There was something about the ocean breeze that seeped deeper into her bones than the mountain cold. Maybe it was because Zephrah was conveniently tucked between two large mountain ranges, protected from the stronger winds and chill, while Emon’s arms were wide open to receive the sea-salted air. 

Thankfully for Keyleth, the dark green awning of the coffee shop became visible just as she turned a corner. The sight of it and the promise of a warm coffee made her smile and quicken her step as she wrapped her brown jacket further around herself. This was not her usual locally owned coffee shop, the one she spent hours in, studying with Percy and the girls, but a franchise chain that Keyleth didn’t care much about. Due to Keyleth’s town being isolated, big franchises like this coffee company didn’t usually bother to open up shop. Because of that, she grew fond of locally and family-owned businesses and preferred those to the big corporations whose wages were barely enough for their employees to survive. The interior was sleek and modern, in wood and glossy black tones, with some green accents that people learned to associate with the brand. 

Keyleth cringed at the loud noise of people chatting, the machines steaming and pouring drinks, and just at the overall racket of the environment. Her stomach dipped as she looked around, seeking Kashaw among the crowd. She finally spotted him at a table not far from the large window that overlooked the main street, hunched over a paper cup of coffee and his phone. Keyleth sighed and took a tentative step toward the wooden countertop, where a female employee with shock-blue hair and the look of someone who was dead inside greeted her with a very fake smile and cheerful voice. Keyleth stumbled a little on her words, halfway looking at the immense chalk-like menu behind the counter as she perused her options. The woman at the counter stared at her, never breaking that annoying fake smile, but her nails tapped impatiently on the counter, making Keyleth’s anxiety worse. When she finally realized they didn’t have any of her favorite drinks, she merely asked for a regular latte. Keyleth didn’t have to wait long for the drink. She had barely finished paying for it when her name was called, and the same white and green paper cup as Kashaw’s was placed on the counter next to the register. She picked it up, glancing a smile at the barista who, by now, was already scrambling to prepare the next order. Keyleth shrugged and walked to the table where Kash was still buried in his phone. She cleared her throat as she got within hearing distance, and only then did the man look up to greet her.

“Hey,” Kashaw said, setting his phone down on the table and smiling at Keyleth.

“Sorry I’m late,” Keyleth wasn’t late. She had arrived five minutes before the scheduled time, but she still felt like apologizing for making him wait. 

“No worries,” Kash waved his hand. “Take a seat.”

Keyleth nodded, set her cup on the table, and peeled off her jacket, draping it over her lap as she sat on the wooden chair on the other side of Kash, who was now sipping on his coffee. From the way his head tilted back, Keyleth figured his coffee cup was practically empty. She asked if he had been waiting for long, but Kash shook his head at her. Yet she didn’t feel relieved. Keyleth finally brought the plastic lid of her cup to her lips, tasting her coffee. It was too sweet, and she quickly regretted not asking for plain black coffee. 

“Not up to your liking?” Kash chuckled. He must have seen the look of offense on her face as she set down the cup. 

“It’s fine,” She lied. Why was she lying? It’s not like Kash made the coffee himself. 

Keyleth started rotating her cup in her hands, head bowed in silence as she analyzed her nails. It had been a while since she had them done. Maybe she should treat herself to a manicure to celebrate the end of the midterms. Perhaps Vex and Pike would like to join her and make it a girls’ day thing, although she had a feeling if they extended the invitation to the boys, they wouldn’t say no—perhaps Grog would—since they all seemed to take good care about their appearance. The awkward silence that settled between Keyleth and Kash was interrupted by a low snort as Keyleth pictured Grog at a nail salon, his large frame trying to fit into the small lounge chairs as he got his feet and hands taken care of. On second thought, maybe Grog would also like the pampering. He has lived with Pike since they were children, after all. She has got to have done some makeovers on him growing up.

“What’s so funny?” Kash finally asked with a cocked smile. 

“Oh? Nothing,” Keyleth offered, sipping on her coffee. “Did you get rain on the way here?” She saw the still-damp umbrella hanging from the back of Kash’s chair. 

“Uhm? Yeah, I did,” He answered, peering over his shoulder and back at her. 

“It seems like I got lucky then. I only realized I’d forgotten my umbrella by the time I was in the elevator. Thankfully, it stopped raining when I got to the atrium, so I was able to get here without getting drenched.”

Kash hummed in response with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. They looked at each other for a while, not knowing what to ask until Keyleth finally settled on starting with the basics.

“So, what do you do? Do you only work for Gilmore as a barman?”

“No. I’m in community college studying business management. Gilmore’s is just a part-time job to pay for tuition. I also work at a tattoo shop, but the money wasn’t enough,” Kash explained. 

Keyleth sipped her coffee again and said, “That sounds cool.”

“It’s okay. It’s whatever. It’s actually pretty boring sometimes.”

The conversation moved on from school without Kash asking Keyleth what she was studying. In fact, he didn’t ask her many questions at all. Keyleth led the conversation, asking him about what he liked to do in his free time, to which Kash told her he loved playing soccer.

“Do you play regularly?” Keyleth asked. She wasn’t really interested in sports, but she was trying to be nice, and asking Kash about what he was passionate about seemed like a nice thing to do.

“No. I wanted to try out for the college team, but their schedule conflicted with my classes and work.” He answered with a shrug. 

Keyleth nodded and took another sip of her latte, which did not get better the more she drank. She figured she could change the subject when Kash didn’t develop further, this time picking questions about his likes. Kashaw told Keyleth about being a huge music fan and how he had been playing guitar since he was younger, going as far as having a band in high school. Keyleth thought she finally found common ground with the man, deciding to ask him further questions about his musical interests and about his band, which he had no problem answering. However, much to her disappointment, Kash didn’t seem to care enough to ask her about her music interests, or even if she heard of the bands he mentioned (which she did, one of them was actually her favorite, but he wouldn’t know that because he didn’t ask and didn’t let her speak). 

The conversation flowed decently from thereon, with Kash talking the entire time. Keyleth felt her anxiety and insecurity grow with every sip of her coffee, which didn’t take long for her to finish, thanks to Kash not allowing her to say anything other than a couple of questions related to whatever he had been talking about at the moment, and not asking Keyleth any questions about herself. An hour later, when Keyleth’s eyes were glazed on the empty cup she kept rotating in her hands, Kash’s phone started vibrating on the table, interrupting his monologue about the time he and his friends decided to explore an abandoned house that other people claimed was haunted. On the screen was a picture of a woman with vibrant red and white hair and a menacing look. Keyleth didn’t have time to see the name before Kash picked up the phone and answered the call, but her curiosity had been peaked by whoever this mystery woman was who made Kash forget all manners.

“Hey Z. What’s up?” Kash answered, not paying Keyleth any mind. She squirmed on her chair and looked around. A couple was chatting and holding hands across their table not far from the window. Keyleth felt some jealousy in seeing them. One of the women was leaning with her elbow on the table, watching and hearing her partner talk with so much attention and care. It must be nice to have someone who wants to hear everything about one’s day or what they have to say. Keyleth spared a glance at Kashaw, whose phone was glued to his ear. From it, she could hear a woman’s voice, although she couldn’t discern what she was saying.

“I was just grabbing coffee. I’ll be there soon, Z,” Kash told the woman on the line. Keyleth’s stomach turned as she realized he hadn’t mentioned her or that he was on a date. Did he not consider this a date, then? Had Keyleth been putting the cart ahead of the oxen?

After another moment of silence where Keyleth focused her eyes on her hands to avoid looking at Kash, he ended the conversation with, “Okay, I’ll get you coffee. I’ll see you soon.” Keyleth finally lifted her gaze to him, offering a timid smile that Kash didn’t see because he was still staring at his phone, texting someone. After sending whatever message was more important than acknowledging Keyleth’s presence, he finally lifted his gaze with a slight look of surprise as if he had forgotten all about Keyleth.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” He said, getting up from his chair and grabbing his umbrella. Before Keyleth could open her mouth to answer, he continued, “It was nice hanging out with you, Keyleth. Text me if you want to hang out again!” Kash didn’t wait for a reply. He strolled quickly to the counter to order a coffee before Keyleth had time to process, and by the time she finally replied, “Likewise,” Kash was already out the door.

Keyleth stared at her empty cup. The annoyance it had brought her earlier was now completely forgotten in the back of her mind. In fact, her mind felt empty, and her senses unfocused. The noise of chatter and espresso machines was suddenly gone, as were the people who occupied the tables around her. Keyleth stared at the emptiness, hands still on her lap, not thinking about anything. It was not a good silence. It was a silence she tried to escape. A silence that preceded a panic attack. Only when a clap of thunder roared outside did Keyleth realize she had been staring ahead. The cacophony of sounds rushed back so hard that she felt an overwhelming need to run away somewhere quiet and isolated. But, as Keyleth turned her head out the window, she saw the pouring rain outside and knew she was utterly screwed without an umbrella. 

“Fuck,” Keyleth swore between her teeth. She grabbed her phone, willing her hands to stop shaking, and opened the apartment’s group chat. She wrote something, then deleted it and typed again. She couldn’t find the right words. What was she supposed to say? ‘My date left me hanging in a really loud coffee shop, and I don’t have an umbrella to return home. Please, someone, come save me before I start panicking’? No. They would surely make fun of her—especially Scanlan, who had teased her endlessly the previous night at the bar once he found Kash flirting with Keyleth. She deleted what she typed and wrote instead, ‘I forgot my umbrella, and it’s raining. Can anyone bring me one? I’ll buy you a coffee”.

Keyleth barely had time to lock her phone when she received a text from Vax asking her where she was. Once she recovered from the initial shock, she texted him her location, to which Vax replied, “I’ll be there in five minutes. No coffee needed”. Keyleth’s shock still locked her on the chair as she stared at the message for longer than she intended. Although Vax had claimed he didn’t need a coffee, Keyleth paid him no mind and ordered a black coffee as payment for him and waited for Vax outside, underneath the green awning. 

Vax kept true to his word—as Keyleth knew he would—showing up five minutes after sending the text and not a minute later. Although Keyleth was expecting him, she was still taken aback by the sight of her slender friend—or roommate?—approaching her in a hurried step, with his hair up in a ponytail and wearing a very different attire than what she had seen him earlier. In fact, Keyleth was so stunned that she didn’t hear Vax say hi to her because all she could pay attention to was his lilac button-up shirt and a vibrant purple umbrella with golden dots. 

“Keyleth, hello?” Vax was still standing under the umbrella, just out of reach of the awning where she had been waiting for him. Only when Vax waved right in front of Keyleth’s eyes did she realize she hadn’t said anything. 

“I didn’t know you owned colored clothes,” She blabbered. Oh no. That’s not—I didn’t even say hi. Keyleth’s cheeks reddened once she noticed. However, from the chuckle Vax let out, he didn’t seem to mind. 

“It’s Gilmore’s. He lent it to me,” He answered. 

Oh. Gilmore’s, Keyleth thought. “Oh, that’s—okay,” She said.

“I heard you needed a way home.” Vax cocked his head in amusement.

“Yeah, I forgot my umbrella,” Keyleth replied bashfully. 

Vax’s gaze moved down from Keyleth’s face to her free hand, where she was indeed missing an umbrella. He then saw the coffee on her other hand, and the corners of his mouth curled upwards. When he returned his attention back to her face, he did so very slowly, looking at Keyleth, wrapped around the jacket that was at least one size too large on her, the soft make-up she had done, and the braid that fell past her shoulder landing with a dark red elastic above her breast pocket. Keyleth swallowed hard at his piercing gaze, feeling a familiar pull in her navel. It had been a while since Vax had looked at her—actually looked—and she realized she missed it. He never made her feel uncomfortable when he did it and never felt disrespectful towards her, unlike other men. Maybe that was why Keyleth’s cheeks grew even warmer as Vax’s lips curled up, almost in approval at what he saw. 

“I–I got you a coffee, like I promised.” Keyleth finally handed him the warm cup. Vax shook his head, saying, “I told you you didn’t have to,” but he still took it from her and sipped it carefully. 

“Sorry if it’s not that good. They—” Keyleth looked above her shoulder to the interior of the shop and then back at Vax with a grimace, “—don’t have a huge selection of coffees for such a famous franchise.”

“Yeah, I prefer the coffee shop on campus.” Keyleth nodded, agreeing with him. “Shall we, my lady?” Vax offered his arm. Keyleth took it, wrapping her arm around his, and stepped under his umbrella. He positioned it so she was fully covered, even if that meant he was slightly exposed. As they started walking home, Keyleth couldn’t help but wonder what this date would have been like if it had happened with Vax. He would have waited for her, ordered his coffee with her, and asked her so many questions about herself. Vax always took an interest in her and what she was interested in. He was always patient and showed curiosity in her opinions. And not to mention, Vax drank every word Keyleth said as if he needed it like water to survive. Vax would have probably pulled her chair or opened the door for Keyleth and wouldn’t have ever left her in the middle of the date to bring another woman coffee. No. Especially that.

Keyleth was so buried in her own thoughts she didn’t realize the awkward silence that had settled, only disturbed by the thick rain pattering on the umbrella, until Vax spoke to her in an uncertain but curious tone, “How was your date?” 

Keyleth opened her mouth to answer but realized she had never told him she was going on a date. In fact, her exact words were, ‘I’m going to meet a friend for coffee.’ So, how did he know about it? A bulb lit up in her head. Vex had told her brother, of course.

“I think it was okay,” Keyleth finally said.

“You think?” Vax looked at Keyleth over the rim of the plastic lid of his cup, confused. 

Keyleth shrugged and replied, “Yeah. I have never been on a date before. I don’t have any terms of comparison.”

“I wouldn’t either. I’ve never been on a date.”

“Are you kidding?” Keyleth asked, stopping on the sidewalk and pulling Vax’s arm with her. 

Vax shrugged and offered a sympathetic smile. “Is it that shocking?” He asked. Of course, it was. He had to know that, right? 

“A little,” Keyleth replied bashfully.

“Why?”

Keyleth blushed and looked for somewhere to hide, but they were still stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“I—” She stammered. Someone walked past Vax and her, giving them an annoyed side-eye, to which Vax replied with a scowl. However, the message was clear, so he moved Keyleth to the side, under a balcony. It took Keyleth all the courage she had to say it, and when she finally spoke, she didn’t dare look at Vax, opting to stare at their shoes, “You’re good-looking. I would assume you’ve been on tons of dates.”

Vax’ildan choked, and his spine stiffened. Keyleth felt it from how his arm tensed around hers. She finally dared to peek at him and saw a timid smile on a very, very scarlet face. When his eyes found Keyleth’s, she swallowed hard. He had pushed her against the cream-colored wall of the apartment building when he had moved them and was standing close enough to where they were both fully covered by the umbrella. His coffee cup was inches from Keyleth’s hand around his arm, warming her cold fingers. She could practically hear his heart beating fast in his chest and wondered if he, too, could listen to hers.

“T–thank you, Kiki,” He said bashfully. 

Kiki. Her eyes widened at the term of affection. She hadn’t heard it in so long. Keyleth missed hearing Vax call her by the nickname. She forgot how he said it with such sweetness and love. Love. 

“So, how come you’ve never been on a date?” She found the courage inside her to take her eyes away from his just so the flame that had lit up within her would ease. 

“I’ve never been in a serious relationship before,” Vax explained. Keyleth cocked her head, daring to look at him again—a mistake. That was a mistake. She quickly averted her gaze before her legs gave out on her. “I’ve had hook-ups and one-night stands with people but never a long-lasting relationship,” Vax finished with a shrug.

“I can’t blame you. Relationships are complicated,” Keyleth mumbled, now looking at Vax’s calloused hands holding the umbrella between them. His black nail polish was flaky and lacking in a lot of places. Keyleth wondered if he did his nails and make-up or if Vex’ahlia had a hand in it. She had never seen Vax without his signature eyeliner, so seeing him without it was weird. He must have been in a rush to go get her. But he mentioned his shirt was from Gilmore, so maybe he had gone to the barman after their meeting by the elevator that morning. ‘I’ve had hook-ups and one-night stands,’ the words echoed in Keyleth’s mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if Gilmore had been one of those hook-ups or one-night stands.

“Yeah, they can be,” Vax agreed with her.

“One day you think you’ve found someone you trust, and that might be ‘the one’—” Keyleth looked up at Vax, rolling her eyes at the expression, “—but then something happens, and they are gone.”

Vax gave Keyleth an apologetic smile, lowered the hand holding his coffee to brush his fingers against hers, and said softly, “Keyleth, all relationships have highs and lows, regardless if romantic or platonic. There are moments of suffering and fighting, but if it is a strong relationship and a relationship that is meant to be, then it’ll work out.”

“Sometimes things that are out of your control happen, and you end up suffering. Like your partner dies, and you’re left with a five-year-old kid that you now have to raise on your own, not really knowing how,” Keyleth’s eyes filled with tears. She had never spoken about this feeling out loud to anyone, not even dared to dwell on it for too long. With one hand still around Vax’s arm and his fingers affectionately brushing her other hand, Keyleth allowed her tears to fall down her cheek as Vax gave her a look of recognition and compassion.

“I’m sure they loved each other very much,” Vax whispered, pulling in closer to Keyleth. He stopped brushing his fingers against her hand and shifted around to unwrap his arm from hers. Keyleth looked at him, confused for a moment, but then he wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her closer so her head rested against his chest.

“They did, but I don’t remember it,” Keyleth’s voice was slightly muffled by Vax’s shirt. It felt warm and comfortable, and she missed being held like this—especially by him. Although his familiar scent still lingered on his hair and body, the smell of lavender and patchouli from his shirt overwhelmed her. Keyleth considered not pulling away for a moment, not while his arms surrounded her with such softness and his breath puffed against her temple. But she was starting to get a headache from the scent, so she straightened up, looking at Vax in the eyes. Even without eyeliner, they were still mesmerizing and sharp. Keyleth didn’t step away from him or remove his hands from her waist. That was his step to take since he had been the one to take the initiative to hold her. Instead, Keyleth stood there, watching him intently, and continued, “All I know are the tales my dad told me growing up. They’re not my memories, so sometimes they don’t feel real.”

“I know how you feel,” Vax let go of her but didn’t step back either. His eyes shone with fear as if he was scared he had overstepped his boundaries with Keyleth. “It was real, though. Was it not? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here today. You wouldn’t have been born if your parents didn’t love each other.”

He was right. Keyleth knew that, but she still shrugged in silence. She looked above his shoulder, her eyes tracking the rain that fell just outside their cocoon of safety. Keyleth forgot how safe Vax made her feel. Even if they were in the middle of the street where anyone could hear their conversation, Vax made her feel like they were alone, in a bubble of silence. 

“I don’t know what a happy relationship is either. My parents never got married,”

Keyleth turned her eyes back to his and saw sadness mixed with anger. “Oh?”

“It’s a really long story,” Vax explained. Keyleth waited, but when he didn’t add on, she didn’t push any farther. She nodded and wrapped her arm with his again. 

“Let’s head back,” She whispered with a soft smile. Vax nodded and followed her. 

“Was the date that bad?” He asked a few minutes later.

Keyleth snorted and gave him a look as if to say, ‘You have no idea.’ With her attention focused on not tripping or stepping on a puddle, Keyleth finally told Vax all about the date with Kashaw: how he didn’t seem interested in her at all, how he only talked about himself, never asking questions about her. 

“He didn’t even say I looked good,” Keyleth all but groaned, moving her free hand to point at herself and gesturing it up and down her body. 

“What? That guy is an asshole,” Vax grunted. Keyleth felt anger radiate from his body.

“Yeah. He kind of is.”

“Are you going on another date with him?” Vax asked, avoiding looking at her by sipping on what was left of his coffee. Keyleth smiled at the blush on his cheeks.

“He told me to text him if I wanted to,” She narrowed her eyes in anticipation of Vax’s reaction. 

“Are you going to?” He asked, nervously biting his lower lip. Either Vax noticed she was looking at him and was ignoring her on purpose, or he was too embarrassed to acknowledge her because instead of looking at her, he threw back the rest of his drink. 

“Probably not.”

Keyleth felt it before he spoke, the slight flame of hope that lit up in him. She smiled, looking ahead at the approaching campus gates. “Do you think he will text you for another date?”

“I doubt it. It’s not like it was a romantic date or anything.”

Vax stopped in his tracks just under the metal archway that said University of Emon. Keyleth stopped and turned to him, surprised to see him smile. “It wasn’t?” He asked with a gleam in his eyes.

“Of course not, Vax. I barely know him. I just met him at the bar last night, and at first, I thought he was trying to be nice. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to know him better as a friend.”

“Oh,” Vax said before he turned back onto the paved road that led into the campus residential area. He swerved to one side of the path, dragging Keyleth with a soft yelp so he could throw away his empty cup into a trashcan. “Well, that’s—” He started but trailed off, not finishing the sentence. Keyleth chuckled and closed the distance between them, patting his hand affectionately on her arm. 

They didn’t speak for the rest of the short walk that took them to arrive at Greyskull Keep. However, just as Vax closed his umbrella and they walked through the atrium doors—welcomed by a warm wave from the central heating—he turned to Keyleth with a flirting look and said, “For what is worth it, I think you look really pretty, especially with those boots. They look amazing on you,” He winked. 

Keyleth blushed and mumbled a thank you. She wanted to bury herself in her jacket and not see his face or that darn look he was giving her. “They’re Vex’s.”

Vax cocked his head, not surprised because he probably could tell Keyleth didn’t own that kind of shoes, but in expectation of further explanation. Keyleth shrugged and said, “She told me not to wear my yellow sneakers. I don’t know what’s wrong with them.”

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with your yellow sneakers, Kiki,” Vax said, offended that his sister had expressed that to her. “I love them.”

Keyleth chuckled and bumped her shoulder against his. “Well, at least one of the twins has good taste,” She joked. Vax joined her laughter as they reached the elevators. Keyleth stopped before he did and looked at Vax, still laughing lightheartedly. It was a rare sound, without a doubt, one she had only heard enough times to count on one hand’s fingers. Because of that rarity, Keyleth absorbed every second of it, like a plant absorbs sunlight. 

“Do you want to know something funny?” Vax asked her once the elevator doors closed behind them. Keyleth nodded, leaning against a wall as Vax leaned against the opposite, their feet meeting in the middle, boot to boot. “I completely forgot I had set up with my sister to do Trinket’s monthly bath today, and you won’t believe who she asked to help her instead.”

“Who?”

Vax gave Keyleth a knowing look, wiggling his eyebrows before he spoke, “Percy.”

“No way,” She said, surprised. “He went to help Vex?” Vax nodded in response, and Keyleth snorted, “He totally has a crush on her.”

“Oh, yeah. I know that.” Vax said nonchalantly. 

“Wait, how do you know? Did he tell you?” Keyleth asked, pushing away from the wall and standing closer to Vax as the elevator approached their floor.

“Yep. Percy told me last night. We had a… heart-to-heart conversation about feelings,” Vax replied, stepping away as soon as the doors opened.

A ‘heart-to-heart conversation about feelings’? What does that even mean? Keyleth scowled at Vax’s back so intensively she forgot to exit the elevator. Thankfully for her, Vax noticed and pulled her out just before the doors closed, and she got taken to another floor.

“That motherfucker,” Keyleth cursed, taking her arm from Vax’s hand with a scowl that was not directed at him but at her other best friend. “He didn’t tell me he told you.”

Vax laughed and started heading out for their apartment door, but Keyleth grabbed his arm and dragged him onto the door that led to the stairwell. “Has he told Vex yet?” She asked him, closing the door behind her. They were so close to each other again that she could practically feel his body radiating heat.

“No, because he doesn’t think she feels the same way,” Vax lowered his head, but Keyleth couldn’t tell why.

“Vex totally has a crush on him.”

“Do you think so?” Vax looked at her, worried.

“She could have asked anyone. Why didn’t she ask Grog?” Keyleth arched an eyebrow.

“Maybe he was at the—” Vax started to say, but Keyleth interrupted him, “Please. Grog is the most logical person to help give Trinket a bath. Vex would have thought about him first if it truly was for help. Besides, Grog loves Trinket. I’m sure he would easily skip the gym to help Vex if she asked him. Have you seen how those two snuggle on the couch all the time?”

“I guess you’re right,” Vax mumbled. Keyleth noticed his cheeks were growing redder with each word that she spoke.

“She also invited Percy to study with her all the time this week. She’s totally smitten by him.” Keyleth smiled mischievously. Vax merely nodded, looking everywhere but at her. Keyleth tried to search his gaze, but he still avoided her until she asked what was wrong.

“Your hands are freezing.”

“What?” Keyleth looked down. She hadn’t noticed that she was still holding Vax’s hands from when she dragged him into the small area. Her cheeks flared up as red as his, and she took her hands away as if she had burned herself. “Shit, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Vax whispered, looking at her from underneath his eyelashes. Keyleth gulped. “Kiki, I—”

“Thank you, Vax,” Keyleth stopped him. She had a feeling she knew what he was about to say, but she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. “For coming to save me from the rain.”

“Of course,” Vax shook his head. “I wasn’t going to let you return home in the rain.”

Keyleth smiled and stepped away, opening the door and gesturing into the hallway. Vax nodded and followed her, making the short trek to their apartment door in silence. Only when he put the key in the lock did Keyleth speak, with a fake air of importance, “You’re my knight in shining armor, Vax’ildan.”

Vax chuckled and bowed slightly at her, waving a hand toward the dimly lit apartment, “You’re welcome Your Highness.”

Keyleth snorted and walked in, looking over her shoulder to say, “I’m not a princess.”

“Maybe not in this universe. Maybe you were one in an alternate universe,” Vax winked and closed the door behind him.

“Only if you were my personal guard. Sir Vax’ildan.” 

They both laughed as they went through the motions of getting rid of shoes, jacket, and umbrella. Keyleth held the brown coat draped over one arm, stretched the other above her head, and brought it down, only to rotate both shoulders, attempting to relieve any tension on her shoulders. 

“Where did you get that jacket?” Vax asked, nodding at it.

“I stole it from my dad.” When Vax laughed at the answer, Keyleth retorted, “What’s wrong with it? Don’t make me take back what I said earlier about at least one of the twins having good taste,” Keyleth scowled at him playfully. 

Vax raised his hands defensively, saying, “I was just thinking that maybe that’s what scared Kashaw.”

“Why? Is it that ugly?” Keyleth brought the brown jacket up to inspect it, but when she didn’t find anything unpleasant about it, she scowled at Vax again as if daring him to say so about her father’s jacket.

“No. It’s not. But it might have given off a vibe that it’s a boyfriend’s jacket. Maybe Kashaw thought you had a boyfriend.”

“He didn’t seem to care about it and didn’t ask, anyway.” Keyleth pouted. Something crossed Vax’s eyes. Something that made Keyleth take back her pout and turn her back to, walking him towards the hallway. He followed her, his piercing gaze almost digging a hole between her shoulder blades. Once they reached the door to her room, Vax leaned against its door jam and asked, “What are you going to do now?”

“Maybe stud—”

“Kiki,” He admonished her. Keyleth jumped slightly. Who would have known that the nickname he usually filled with love and care could also be firm and threatening? “We literally just finished exams. Give. Yourself. A. Break.” He punctuated each word with a step closer to her, ending up with his feet against hers and flicking Keyleth’s nose. She almost considered looking offended at him, but then she saw the glimmer and the crinkle of a smile in his eyes and lost it (and the only thing stopping her from pulling him into a kiss was her fast heartbeat and the focus she had to redirect from her brain to her legs to keep herself from falling into a mess, or maybe the fact that they weren’t at that stage...yet).

Oh. Oh, no. Keyleth realized it a minute too late. Vax was already pulling away from her and opening his bedroom door when something clicked in her mind.

“Are you okay?” Vax asked, noticing she hadn’t replied. Keyleth gulped and nodded. Her eyes were still wide in shock at her realization. She shook her head, forcing herself to file that thought away for later, and said, “Yeah. Sorry.”

“No studying?”

“No. I think I’m going to call my dad. It has been a while since we talked.”

Vax nodded, “That’s a great idea. I… I really liked talking to you today. It has been a while since we did that.” Vax admitted bashfully.

“Yeah… it has,” Keyleth looked at her hand on the doorknob. An awkward silence started to settle between the two like a snowflake about to hit the pavement, but Keyleth stopped it before it could land, “I’m gonna go call my dad now. Bye, Vax.”

“Bye,” He replied as Keyleth walked into her room.

The door closed, and Keyleth was left with the gray clouds beyond the window, casting a gloomy light in the bedroom. A tear slid down her cheek when she realized, with a broken heart, exactly how much she missed talking with Vax, how comfortable and safe she felt with him, and how easy it was to say what was on her heart to him. They still had a long path ahead, but this felt like the first stitch to mending her broken heart. A stitch of golden thread, like the lines of fate from the fairytales her mother used to read to her. Keyleth still had that nagging realization from moments ago in the back of her mind, but one step at a time. First, to repair their friendship, and then… then she could think about whatever came after.

Without further thought, Keyleth wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and grabbed her phone, dialing her father’s number. The calling beep sounded three times before a click, and Korrin’s voice said, ‘Hello?’ on the other side.

Keyleth smiled warmly at her father’s voice and readied herself for what was about to come, “Hey, Dad. You won’t believe what happened today.”