#her legs wont disappear when she rides him!!!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

oh yea um

Sundown "Sunny" Summer (lazy) ref!

[mrsnancywheeler]

omg those billy things you just wrote... i was gagged!

but imagine his muse coming back after a fight and she is all like "ok, if you are going to call me a groupie then i will act like one". like walking away from him whenever he wont pay attention to her, openly flirting with eddie, and wearing the sluttiest outfits possible! and eventually it gets a little concerning so billy is like "wtf are you doing? youre mine." *cue the angsty and frustrated smut* but then after she just feels so angry, she did what billy wanted but he still wasnt happy! she is just so confused about her life, and i feel like this is maybe a month before she disappears at daisys house

-🦋

so real and so her

like you're young and confused and don't really know what you want or what he wants, so it's from this mixed place of I'll be the thing he says he wants but also an angrier, fine, I'll do what he wants and see how much he likes it. plus this is the beginning of the end, so the allure is starting to become even less fantastical.

but when billy gives you the look or comment that you're being too needy, you give him what he just want, space. for you to be just like every other rejected groupie and cozy up to the next member of the band. so the moment billy casts you away with his attitude and snide comments, you've cozied right up next to eddie.

eddie who will always respond to your advanced, lets you be touchy, isn't scared to be just as touchy and flirty back. it always grates on billy, but it does so even more when you're not stuck to his side at all. if he calls you don't come running desperately back, you take your time. you even flirt with warren a little and don't shy away from showing yourself off in extremely low cut tops and short shorts. the tension in the studio is palpable, so much so that even warren gets the message and tries to interact with you less, but eddie doesn't give a care in the world to how billy feels, so you stay cuddled up with him on most breaks unless billy specifically asks for your attention. and yes during this time you're totally is hiding off with eddie to suck him off or fuck because if billy doesn't want you like that, you can be the groupie mostly focused on eddie, who does make you feel valued, special, important.

and this behavior continues at the house, you'll take rides from anyone who offers, cuddle up with whoever, although you don't insert yourself anywhere like you're scared you might be overstepping. which confuses everyone because you're a friend, but it's like you've demoted yourself from that role fully to a groupie in the background. and billy is sick of it and during a break asks for you to come over to him and he's pulling you into a closet.

"what the hell is up with you?"

"what do you mean?"

"you know what I mean, you're-"

"look, billy, if you wanted your dick sucked all you had to do was ask. or I'm sure someone else would love that about now." before you can sink to your knees he's keeping you up.

"what do you mean by that?" he's seething.

"you know exactly what it means." and his lips are on yours, pushing your back against the shelf. he's quick to mark up your neck and chest.

"you're my girl. my fucking girl you get that? you're here for me." by the time he's got your legs wrapped around his torso as he pounds into you you're still just lost in whatever is it he's proclaiming. "I say you're my girl, tell other people that, bring you to the studio, you get talked about in the fucking papers, and you don't even talk to me in the studio. fucking ridiculous"

"billy-"

you're so close to pure ecstasy when his words are throwing you for a loop, "you close, baby? making you feel better then eddie, aren't I? you fit me perfectly. eddie could never-"

"billy!"

you gasp when he harshly thrusts up, "eddie could never take care of you the way I do, could he?"

you want to refuse to answer, to give him the satisfaction, but then he's hitting that spot that nearly has you losing complete control and you can't help yourself. "no billy, feel so fucking good. need you, oh my god, billy, so fucking close!"

he's smirking up against your jawline. "that's what I thought. it's okay, baby, let go. I got you, got my girl." and when you've both finally come undone and he's got you securely back in the ground. you're more confused then ever. "okay, now that you've thrown your little temper tantrum, we can move on, baby."

you're scoffing, "you're fucking unbelievable." you're storming out of the closet and he's following behind in disbelief.

"you acted out for attention, like a fucking child and I indulged you. why are you mad, now?"

"I don't know the hell you want from me, billy! 'youre just another groupie, realize your place. I could have anyone, you're not special.' and if I do that you get upset because I'm not only paying attention to you! and then it's all, 'you're my girl, just mine. I care about you, need you around. my girl. my girl. my fucking girl.' you make no fucking sense and I'm sick of it!" you don't care that the whole band is watching when you grab your purse in the studio.

and billy knows you're right, that he is constantly throwing you for a loop. he has no idea what to say do he just grabs your arms, puts your forehead to his and takes deep breaths until you reluctantly do the same. "why don't you just come sit by me and help me fix the sound up, baby?" and then you just start crying because of how overwhelming this all is and he nods, takes you on the other side of the glass to sit you down as he has the band run some instrumental things. his hand tracing patterns up your thigh as he works.

and this is all just yeah part of the buildup of her having enough lmao

[rasshu-benaiokny]

💥A SAFE RIDE💥 (a #GyutaroxRasshu short)

Rasshu Benaio; a hashira from the meiji period, is a special slayer that specializes in gathering reports and staying hidden! She can fight, she can scare, but the one thing she does better than anyone else is run.

The woman frantically flees towards her estate surrounded by the night. Holding her leg wound, she brandished a head bruise as her previous mission was taxing on her. A solo mission to steal a certain item from demon soon turned into an ambush that Rasshu barely fought through. She executed her victims in time, but before the last demon died, he screeched for back up! Silently scared, the hashira swiftly departs for her mansion where safety humbly sits! Wishing to arrive home without getting jumped, Rasshu quietly moves throughout the forest she found herself in… She never has any idea where she is but she does know where shes going, and she knows that if she keeps going straight ahead she’ll be home again! Sadly, her personal bodyguard is off far away doing his own thing so she cant be helped this night, though it would be nice to have company…

A warm feeling runs across the hashira’s cheeks as she happily thinks about her companion and what he might be doing… She tends to think about him when long trips are ahead. Running steadily, the hashira gives off an aura of bliss and warmth until a large rumble is felt close behind her! Something is near! Looking behind herself, she catches the red eyes of a large blood stained silhouette running after her!? Eyes widening, she starts to panic to herself as she understands that she wont be able to take on another demon, shes already roughed up as is! Suddenly the silhouette disappears from sight making Rasshu’s heart skip a few beats, prompting her legs to ramp up as she runs faster and faster!

Suddenly, a blunt force hits her chest as shes lifted up by a buff bloody arm! Rasshu roars as she starts to instantly stab the demon and with each slice she begins to register a familiar voice; Gyutaro’s voice! Surprised, she looks up meeting the tired gaze of her demon companion… His face painted in demon blood from a fresh kill, he lets out a conniving grin followed by a condescending laugh… He finished his own personal mission early so he was going to meet up with Rasshu eventually until he ran into some low level scum preparing to jump his hashira… Obviously, no one was going to even breath on his lady when he was around so Gyutaro had a fun time devouring such a meek demon… But, sensing the hashira’s stress, he decided to have his fun by scaring his poor slayer! Rasshu’s eyes dull as she glares at Gyutaro’s ugly face, how dare he scare her! Lodging her broken katana into his head, he slyly grins as a stream of blood runs down his face. Tightening his grip, Rasshu lets out a small squeak as she reluctantly realizes that this is going to be a long ride… but at least she’s safe…

[makahimetenshi]

How i meet your mother and the story of how Arya Maxson was concieved - Chapter 15

A while after both were hugging each other in bed, at first Arthur was unsure if he was allowed to do it but Nora crawled towards him and dropped her arms around his chest so it just felt correct to place a hand on her shoulder and another on her side.

-Im so sorry I don’t think I can follow anymore –she said breathing in with her eyes closed trying to gain some air

-Its okay im already empty –well that was strange- its just hard but after you shoot all your load you stop feeling

-So you are going to stay stiff until when? –well she can recompose in a pair of hours and ride back but…

-Maybe the morning

-You are not used to take this pills aren’t you?

-Why would i? –he raised an eyebrow- I mean I take them to exercise and keep on shape but…-oh that’s every man excuse right?

-I never see you at the trainyard with a boner -when he noticed that she was joking, he grabbed her by the skin of her arm and pinched her making her laugh.

-So are you planning to stay here until morning? –he opens his eyes wide, that’s right, it was the first time he spend the night in the tower, even that much time -should I dress and give your soldiers a room to rest and take guards of the ventibird?

Oh my gosh with that kiss he display that he came to see her and obviously for a booty session but if he stays in the morning he make the soldiers stay all night and wait for him for that. He blushed and felt so ashamed for his actions.

Not that he regrets or anything tho.

He gasped and look somewhere else –Its not a bad idea but I maybe ill should go

-Not with that between your legs –she laughed and he bite his lips, damn she was right- don’t worry ill bathe and go, i won’t take that long –for some reason she looks more revitalized than before, quirky, better humor than the other days.

Still, he didn’t like her to go, he kissed the sentinel in front of everybody and then disappeared with her for almost 6 hours and then she cames down to the heliport to offer his soldiers a room to spend the night more comfortable without the elder around her…it was obvious what was happening, he didn’t think this straight, he was driven from desire and adrenaline after the car drive from yesterday night. They will mock at her, talkback, of course he wont permit in his presence that the sentinel will be ridiculized for whatever business she had with the elder but he can’t prevent people from being jackass at their backs. Or talk.

-You sure?

God there was still that subject he didn’t tell her yet.

But how does she expect for people of the brotherhood to follow orders if she is not a sentinel? That aint right. Its true he still had to tell her.

The wonderful time they spend now might broke with so little.

-Yeah don’t worry –she said going out the bed and picking her dress and shoes, going to her wardrobe to get some new panties. For some reason he felt the absence of her weight in his arms when she get up.

-By the way where is the infamous heart shaped bed? –she laughed a bit at hearing that, still picking things around the room.

-Saved until I get to paint the roof of the building and the walls of my apartment so no one will see it, that bed will be my nasty secret

-Its going to be a surprise for any plumber that may come to fix a problem in the apartment for sure

-You sure you don’t want to shower with me? I know exactly how to regulate the water at perfect temperature.

He stay in silence for a second, then he realized what she meant and open wide his eyes

-Already?

Her face blushed and smiled a bit panicked for being caught like that.

-Well you are still hard…I mean we can play a little more…we can go slow…

He replied with a smile, to satisfy her? Everything.

-Sure, call me when the water is ready

In just a few minutes Arthurs lungs were fighting to work on his chest, between his accelerated heart, the hot boiling water were she bathed claiming it was the perfect temperature, his arms holding her waist to not fall and the recent fucking session he was exhausted. And she was in no better position, unable to stand up with her legs all shaky and tired, he had to hold her by the waist to not let her fall to the wet cold ground.

Gosh he could still feel the traces of her hot liquid on his leg. The sound of her exhausted breathing maximizes the sensation on his skin even.

-Do you want a blowjob? –she ask turning her head towards him, recovering her breath with a lot of effort. The way her red cheeks and wet hair fall all over her face make her look so temptress right now, makes him want to smash her again even if he didn’t have anything more to give, just because she deserved it for being hot

The man raised an eyebrow, confused, such high sex drive and he was the one in pills, was it something hormonal? She wasn’t thaaaaaat pregnant yet.

-No thanks –he couldn’t cum anymore, at this point it wasn’t for him, she just wanted to play with his body, his warm and flesh.

-Can I wash your head and scalp? –that sounded nice

-Can you stand? –she nodded and raised to place her back against the cold wall of the shower looking into his eyes at every second, in that position her boobs looked very tempting standing out but now he wasn’t turned on anymore…I mean he can if he stares directly for a minute…some seconds…

But his eyes looked at her and her vicious smile, his plan tonight really worked, guess he is paying that car just fine.

She picked up the shampoo bottle with unknown content and spread it on her hands as he relaxed for her to massage his scalp and hair. It feelt nice, the way her fingers moved felt nice, specially behind the ears, it caused him nice shivers and for some reason a ball of tangled strings on his stomach…maybe it was tickles, but he liked it, it was so relaxing, even his knees seems to fail for a few seconds. He close his eyes even if she was in front of him naked, naked and beautiful.

-This is supposed to be romantic but there’s your dong between your legs –he grunted unsatisfied, he was enjoying the silence and sensations, specially when her fingers travel down to his neck to do little touches

-And its going to stay there, better get used –she laughed, and for some reason that beautiful sound went directly to the tangled strings in his stomach, she keep massaging the back of his head just fine

Nora get dressed and armored in the end leaving him naked and clean in bed waiting for her to return, the man took the time to prepare his apologies for sure. She didn’t return until one hour later with a bucket of ice in one hand and in the other whisky and some aquapura, she really takes her pregnancy serious to leave alcohol at all, well of course she does, he age doesn’t leave place for second chances, this was a risky pregnancy no matter how healthy or active she was in a lot of fields, 46 was pretty bad even back then.

-Solved! Im thinking in having a room for brotherhood soldiers only who pass by sometimes, so they don’t use the tenant’s spaces and they don’t feel invaded by the new crazy owner connections…

-There’s something I have to tell you –said the man sitting on bed now realizing he may have dressed in case he has to run for his life out he room, sowry he was too relaxed. She blinked and didn’t understand, wishing that he didn’t break this wonderful moment they were spending together, it was awful regretting the man you just fuck after fucking him, makes you feel like a total idiot and she didn’t consider herself an idiot, hates to feel like that when reality hit her on the face.

-Im sorry I don’t have a fridge yet in the apartment that’s why all the food comes from the café up here…-she tried to change the subject for him to not ruin it, please do not ruin it

-You are still a brotherhood Sentinel –she blinked confused, processing his words, he said it so easy like it was nothing, there, laying on the bed, like just nothing

-What?

-I never dismissed you as sentinel

There it was when she exploded. Its surely felt like when the bombs dropped

-What!? –she screams and Arthur tensed at her tone, fuck

-Technically for the scribes at an administrative level you are still part of the brotherhood

-But I haven’t been doing chores or dutys for a month! –oh gosh he was mad

-Well you are a sentinel, you don’t have an actual obligation

-Why you didn’t dismiss me!? I told you since the first day! –she clarified- when I have the results of our pregnancy!

-I kinda forgot -then a cube of ice fly at the side of his head without him realizing, when did she…

-What the fuck!? –he didn’t realize when she get the hand inside the bucket, damn she was fast and sneaky

-I can fix it tho! –he said moving out of the bed, shit he should really dress before, why did he consider the entire speech but not dressing in case something went wrong? That’s an error of calculations…

-This was important for me! –another ice cube fly at his direction, shitshitshit

-I don’t even know why you want to be out of the brotherhood but –he jumped to avoid another ice cube flying to him, damn what it would be like having a cube scar in the middle of the forehead? Damn Danse was right, a bit at least!

-I don’t want to have any obligation to anyone but my baby! –she screamed, spit coming out from her mouth even.

-Im the father you have obligations with me! And im a brotherhood elder!

-This time nothing will be between me and my baby! –when she say that he understand.

He understands a lot of things.

She wasn’t carrying just his baby, she was also carrying a trauma from her previous marriage. From before the bombs dropped

Damn Danse was right. This wasn’t a good idea at all.

-Im sorry ill fix it –he said looking at her, she was very upset and altered, eyes red and veins marking on her neck- I promise I fix it.

-You better do it! –her hands were shaking and even her legs were tense, he could see her muscles under the skirt of the dress

-Im sorry –she bited on her lip and let herself fall on a divan next to her, covering her face with her hands as the bucket of ice fall to the ground, same with the two bottles, water spilling from the melted cubes into the floor

-ill clean that mess later –she said sighting, still hiding in the dark between her hands

Well at least she didn’t throw the whisky bottle to his head

He saw her tremble and almost cry and he felt shitty, this wasn’t his intention at all, he didn’t want to ruin everything, he imagined it could happen but not alter her so much…

-I guess both of us forgot things –damn and even with all this drama he was still hard, he wasn’t comfortable right now, he break the mood for real, didn’t want her sad at all…

-That’s why you call me Sentinel yesterday –her back moved lower in the divan- I thought it was a reflex

-Do you expect brotherhood soldiers to follow and do your commands without being part of the brotherhood anyway? –then she raised as realizing something for the first time and looked at him leaving the darkness of her hands, her eyes were watery but she had a bitter gaze, not sad entirely, but very dismayed

-You are right –she said and look somewhere else, he was trying to follow her eyes- I haven’t thought in that

Silence, he didn’t expect that from her. How can she not…expect…or plan even that? Does people just follow her and her wishes and that’s it? Its really that easy for her?

-Well…do you want it? –now she look at him crossing her eyebrows confused- do you want to retire from the brotherhood for real?

-Yes! –she repeated tired almost desperate, but clearly had a lot of conflict in her head like wires crossing, Arthur can see in her eyes how she realized she may lost a lot of power by doing that but still...

-Do you want to leave? –he ask again, coming closer

-Yes! –she screamed again, why he was questioning her!? –why do you want me in the brotherhood!? What do you want from me!?

-Nothing! I agree to our pact! I just think is a lot to loose! –maybe he should dress to have a serious conversation –I will arrange it for your retirement! –it’s a shame that she really was dumping all of this, all her years and work for the brotherhood advancement

-Were you expecting something else? Why would you forgot!?

-I don’t know! I just didn’t do it! I suppose its more easy for me to protect you inside the brotherhood! Its all I can offer and give! –she looked surprised at him- I want to protect you! And our baby!

Nora take some air and then look at the ground, trying to recompose, the bucket dripping of cold water didn’t help, it reminded her of her failure to keep it together.

-Im fine here –just here, by her own.

-But I want to protect you and the baby.

Both stay in silence until she spoke.

-Being retired doesn’t mean your can’t stay with us

-Okay

She looked elsewhere and Arthur come closer to get on his knee and take her hand between his fingers, Nora looked at him after some seconds and place her other hand on top of his, pressing

-You don’t have to run to retire me now I guess, you can stay until morning –she said that tired but it caused a little smile on Arthurs face.

-Good because I don't think they take me seriously like this –oh my gosh right he was still hard from the buffout, its kinda funny that they have this entire drama with him naked, she was so overwhelmed by emotions she also…kinda forgot…

Nora smiled a bit too, gripping his hand tighter

-You can walk naked and smack the table with your cock to assert dominance in the room

He laughed, and then went all serious from nothing, then, look at her eyes, pleading.

-Can I kiss you?

Her lungs fill with air, nose even getting inflated in surprise, until she breathed out and pull his hands a bit against her stomach calling for him

-Okay

The elder close his eyes and lean forward, just lightly pressing the tip of his lips on top of hers

[dr4cking]

His Jersey.

masterlist taglist

draco malfoy x reader | smut |

a/n : this was requested on my wattpad so yeah enjoy ig 😁✌️

draco walked downstairs, he was looking for his beloved girlfriend, he just finished praticing quidditch and taking a shower.

he goes to the common room and thats where he found her sitting on the couch eating some snacks.

wait- she looks different..

did she really wearing his jersey or his eyes are hallucinating?

he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and a blush appeared onto his cheeks as he realized y/n is truly wearing his jersey. he continues his steps walking forward to her.

"hey baby” he greets her making her look up at him and give him a small smile. she moves a little to give him a space.

“you look so fucking hot in my jersey." draco can feel his dick twitched under his boxers as he took a seat beside her and wrapped her in his arms.

"i look better in this than you, right?" y/n teasingly said to him, giving soft kisses to the tip of his nose making his smile get wider.

"so much better baby it suits you.. makes me wanna take you right here right now.." he runs his fingertips tracing its way to her neck making her shivered.

"merlin.. the things i wanna do to you, y/n.." he places wet kisses on her neck, his other hand playing at the bottom of -his- jersey that she wore.

"draco.. you just took a shower, dont you tired from the practice earlier?" y/n said between her whimpers making draco pressed their bodies closer.

"never gonna be tired to fuck you senseless, baby.." she almost moaned at his dirty words and now he practically grinding his crotch against the side of her right thigh making her feeling his growing bulge.

"lets take this to your room dray.."

"oh no need, darling.. we wont be making it there anyways.. just let me take you right here" he whispers seductively into his girlfriend's ear making her lips quivered.

"but draco.. what if someone walks in?"

"do you see anyone, y/n? just relax there's no one in here, it'd make this more fun" he grabbed her jaw with his fingers tilting her head to face him and capture her lips on his making her melted instantly into the sudden kiss.

he kissed her hungrily, nibbling at her bottom lip causing her to gasped, he took the chance to shoved his tongue down her throat making her moaned softly.

draco laid her down on the couch without breaking the kiss, he knelt in between her thighs and pulling her hips closer to him. he trailed down his kisses to her neck sucking on her sweet spot making his mark on her.

"may i?" draco looked up to her, asking her one more time as he tugged at her shorts.

"yes dray.." he smirked and pulling down her shorts revealing her glistening cunt in front of his eyes, he licks his lips before going down on her, eating her out while managing to keep the eye contact between them.

"draco.." he moans when he heard her calling his name like that, his moan sending vibrations into her aching cunt making her arched her back.

he pushed her hips down with his left hand to stop her from moving while his right hand slowly making its way to her cunt, he inserts two digits of his fingers into her pumping and curling them inside of her.

"shit- draco.." y/n whines loudly as the knot in her stomach tightened, he noticed and thrusting his fingers faster inside her hitting her spot over and over again, his tongue still skilfully playing with her clit.

"cum for me, love" draco murmurs still not letting go of her and within seconds he feels her cumming down into his tongue making he groaned quickly lapping up her juices.

"you're so fucking hot, baby" he gets up and straddles her, pulling down his sweatpants enough for his hard cock to sprang free. he hissed when the cold air hitting his sensitive tip.

y/n was about to take off her (his) jersey but draco quickly slapped her hand away.

"dont. wanna fuck you in it" y/n nodded at him, her mouth watered at the sight of his cock standing tall in front of her without realizing she opened her legs wider making him smirk.

"needy, arent you?" draco lining up his tip on her entrance making her gripped on the couch.

"please dray.. need you so bad.." y/n wrapped her legs around his waist forcing him closer to her it makes his tip slipped into her accidentally making both of them groaned.

"fucking hell y/n.. you're so naughty" and with that he slammed all of his cock into her letting himself disappear inside her, he let out a grunts when he watched their bodies connected, starts to rocking in and out of her.

he placed one of her legs on his shoulder while the other stay on his waist, the angle making him going balls deep inside her, profanities left their lips as he pounding harder into her.

"draco.. feels so good- oh my god" y/n clawed her nails on his back leaving some scratches.

"you feel so good, love.. fuck- how can someone feels this- good-" he cant even speak clearly as he snapped his hips harder and faster against her. his hands were groping her body and he slipped them in her jersey, squeezing her breasts and twirling her nipples.

"draco.. fuck!" she screamed when he just hit her spot and at the feeling of her nipples getting pinched by his fingers.

skin slapping sounds, moaning and dirty words filling the common room. its became to smell like sex. luckily, no one is here.

"cum for me, baby.." draco circled her clit on eight figures making her body squirming under him.

"draco- shit!" y/n let her second orgasm snapped through her body coming undone around his cock, her legs shaking as she still in the cloud nice.

draco groaned when he looks down and see his cock were covered in her liquids, he grips tighter on her hips leaving bruises as he feels his high approaching him.

"that's it baby take all of me- fuck fuck fuck y/n-" draco screamed her name out loud as his high hitting him hard, he spilled all of his cum into his girlfriend, painting her walls white with his liquids, y/n moaned feeling so full. both of them panted heavily as he ride out their high.

"that was so fucking hot, baby" draco standing shakily as he pulled up his sweatpants back then putting her shorts back.

y/n and draco laughed as they see the couch is messy and there’s a wet patch on it. they stopped when they heard footsteps entering the common room.

"lets go!" y/n giggles as draco takes her hand and leading her to his dorm.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

tagging : @dracoscum @hellounicorn @onyourgoddamnleft @whoreforgeorgeandfred @turn-to-page-394-please @underappreciated-spoon-321 @youreso-golden @silverdelirium @littlemissnoname13 @dracmalf0y-dm @f4iryluvy @starstruckgranger @lieswithoutfairytales @arzfia @famishedbeak @yiamalfoy @seriouslyinlove @slut4dracoo @alexthealexthealex

[inkykeiji]

all she want is payback for the way i always play that shit

characters: dabi | todoroki touya

genre: smut + angst

notes: aaaah yikes, sorry it’s so long???? the first part of a companion piece to i can take you there but baby you wont make it back; touya + reader have been fooling around for just under six months, our innocent lil good girl reader is the teeniest, tiniest bit more firm now. jealousy makes people crazy, yk how it is. touya is marginally softer for like, a second or two. | title credit: save that shit by lil peep

warnings: 18+, pseudo-incest (stepcest), public sex, cheating, drug use, generally toxic relationship (possessiveness, jealousy), size difference, dubcon if u squint i guess???, the tiniest bit of cumplay

words: 11k

synopsis:

Why can’t you just be mine? You want to ask, the words searing into your tongue, refusing to leave your lips.

“You’re gonna make yourself sick, angel,” he chastises softly, brushing your hair away from your clammy forehead as another shuddery sob rips through your chest.

“I want you,” you say instead, words garbled.

“You have me, baby,”

“All of you,”

His chest heaves with an exasperated sigh, head turning away and gazing up at the ceiling. “You have all of me, princess,”

      ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰         

In early February, your parents finally tie the knot.

“Now it’ll be official,” you remember Touya whispering in your ear, the night before. “I will officially be your niichan,”

The wedding is gorgeous—elegant and classy, just like Rei herself. A wintertime wedding is so beautiful, you tell Rei as she’s busy being fawned over by several stylists, adding the finishing touches to her hair and make up. She’s absolutely stunning, a lacy ivory dress clinging delicately to her small frame, accentuating her natural curves. It glitters gracefully in the pale sunshine streaming through the large bay windows, sparkling any time she moves.

Touya doesn’t sit with his family. Their eyes sear into your flesh, although Touya keeps his stare pointedly in front of him, glaring at the alter. But you can feel their gaze on your skin, can feel their eyes travelling up your body slowly, critically, sending shivers skittering up your spine. It makes your skin crawl, both of your hands curling around Touya’s, a tangled knot of fingers resting in your lap.

You’ve never seen his other siblings before. Rei talks about them sometimes, but never when Touya’s around. You know that once every month, the three of them join Rei and your father for a family dinner, but you’ve never had the pleasure of attending.

You’d missed the first family dinner by fluke, held up late at the library studying for midterms. But every occasion after that, Touya had made absolute certain that you weren’t there. You hadn’t thought much of it the first time it happened, too enraptured and tangled up in Touya to care, grinding desperately against him in the backseat of his car as his tongue forced its way down your throat. But then it happens again, and again, and it becomes too coincidental to ignore.

“Why do we never go to those dinners with your siblings?” you’d tried to bring it up subtly the third time you guys skipped out on dinner, heart thudding in your chest and gentle voice quivering slightly.

Touya sighed, raking a hand through his hair roughly, eyes not straying from the road ahead of him. It’s complicated, he told you in a quiet voice, and you were so startled, so shocked by his sheer, unadulterated honesty, that you couldn’t find your voice, rendering you incapable of replying. Touya didn’t bother looking over at you, didn’t need to, to know that his response surprised you.

The other Todoroki’s are all strikingly beautiful—not that you expected any less. The one with pure snow-white hair and gunmetal grey eyes captures your attention the most, looking as if he’s around your age. He smirks at you when he catches your stare, giving you a small, polite nod—though you can see that tiny glint of mischief in his eye, the same glint you’ve seen in Touya’s a thousand times before. Choking on a surprised gasp, you rapidly avert your gaze, eyes snapping back to the pile of hands in your lap.

Touya notices, of course, because Touya notices everything. He doesn’t say anything, but his hand squeezes yours tightly, just a little too tight to be comforting, as his eyes dart to his siblings across the aisle, glare losing most of its heat when it meets his brother’s stare.

Tense shoulders relax, falling slowly with the measured breath he exhales as he turns back to glower at the alter.

You know other guests are staring at you—you can feel their eyes, too. You know the pair of you look more like a couple than siblings, know you should both probably put some distance between yourselves, at least try to keep some semblance of normalcy, some masquerade of a typical sibling relationship.

But Touya’s knee is bouncing, and he seems…unsure. It’s unsettling, really—Touya always seems so confident in himself—and you can almost feel the tense anxiety rolling off of him in heavy waves. So instead of scooting away from him or untangling your hands, your other palm finds a spot high on the thigh pressed tightly against yours, small fingers beginning to knead the flesh.

Sapphire eyes find yours, and he gazes down at you with an odd sense of fondness in his stare, the tiniest smile ghosting across his lips. It makes your chest swell with pride, makes you want to grab his face and crash his lips against yours, forces a tingling warmth to spread through your veins. It shouldn’t, but it does.

He barely lets you leave his side that day, keeps you glued to his body, an arm wrapped tightly around you. He’s a constant, looming, protective presence, glaring at anyone who dares to look at you for more than a second.

“Touya-nii,” you laugh a little while leaving the ceremony, watching as one of your cousins immediately averts their eyes. “That’s my cousin,”

“And I’m your brother,” he says flatly.

You suppose he has a point.

The two of you find your parents and the rest of Touya’s siblings—yours too, now, you guess—standing around a limousine, beckoning you over.

Rei begins to explain their protocol for pictures—and yes, you both have to come—but you aren’t listening. Their eyes are on you again, you can feel them, gliding up your skin, taking sharp note of the way Touya has you pressed flush against him, the way your arm is wrapped firmly around his waist, little fingers twisting in his suit jacket as your heart begins to speed up.

Touya can feel it, too, and he looks down at you in concern, his thumb caressing your shoulder, before he meets the stares of his siblings with a glare so ferocious you’re surprised it doesn’t turn them to ash on the spot.

They offer for you to ride in the limo with the rest of them, Touya cutting them off as he curtly declines their offer—no thanks, you’ll take his car instead and meet them there.

Rei tries to reason with him, but the pointed look he gives her causes her to trail off mid-sentence, holding his eyes for a moment before a sad smile settles on her face, nodding once.

       ✰          ✰          ✰

Shinjuku Gyoen is nothing short of stunning in the wintertime. It had snowed this morning, around six AM, blanketing the garden in a soft layer of pure white powder, glittering delicately in the early afternoon sun.

Wide eyes drink it in as your face presses against the glass of the car window, your breath fogging it up. There’s something so whimsical and dreamy about snow, you think, about the way it softens even the sharpest of edges, the way it makes everything look prettier.

“You’re so cute,” Touya remarks, watching you from the corner of his eye, a hint of teasing in his voice.

“I’ve never been here during the winter,” you murmur in response, still captivated by the grounds.

Rei and your father are immediately whisked away by several photographers to do their photos alone, leaving the rest of you to litter the parking lot.

But the moment they disappear from view, Touya’s got you trapped between his body and the cold metal of his car, lips moving against the shell of your ear as he whispers filthy promises, things that force soft whimpers from your lips, things that make your legs feel like they’re about to give out as heat pools deep in your belly. He knows, of course, smirks and teases you even more when he feels you squeeze your thighs together helplessly, tells you you’re his perfect little slut and vows to reward you for being so good as soon as he can.

His other siblings are staring, you try to tell him in a quiet, broken whine.

“Oh yeah?” he breathes, pushing his hips harder into yours, practically grinding his hard cock against your waist. “Let ‘em. I bet they’d love to watch me fuck you stupid, huh? What do you think about that, baby? You want them to watch?”

A pathetic sound hitches in your throat and you bury your burning face in his neck, a low, wicked laugh rumbling deep in his chest.

He doesn’t let up on the absolute filth spilling from his mouth until he can hear your father hollering in the distance, calling for the kids and waving the five of you over.

       ✰          ✰          ✰

Pictures take too long, and Touya’s antsy by the end of it, picking anxiously at his cuticles as his knee bounces. He’s hauling you out of there the moment you’re officially released, a strong hand wrapped tightly around your wrist. You can hear his mother calling for him, and you look back at her desperately, mirroring her worried frown.

He doesn’t even wait for the rest of them to pile into the limo and leave, immediately rooting through his pockets the moment he’s in the safety of his own car, pulling out a little baggie of white powder. He can feel your wide eyes on him, watching his every movement, but his hands are beginning to shake, and panic is starting to rip viciously at his throat, and he just needs it all to fucking stop.

“There’s no way I could endure this shit sober,” he explains as he searches for something in the powder, cursing when he doesn’t find whatever it is he’s looking for. Frantic cobalt eyes dart around the car, landing on the glovebox, and he leans over you, hastily pulling a reflective object from the compartment.

It’s a mirror.

A tiny, circular mirror that he uses to tap out a line, fingers unsteady and breathing slightly laboured. The gentle sounds of his platinum credit card colliding with glass echo throughout the car.

Hovering over the small mirror, he pauses, a finger pressed to his nostril. He almost wants to tell you to look away, almost does, but he knows you’d disobey either way.

He doesn’t like doing drugs in front of you—you’re too precious, too pure and innocent and he doesn’t want you around anything that could potentially tarnish that. But he also can’t stand that look you get in your eyes, almost like you’re scared of him, on the rare occasions that you have caught him.

He nearly snaps at you when you quietly ask if you can help, if he needs someone to hold the mirror steady, currently balancing on the center console compartment, but you’ve got that goddamn look in your eyes, wide and terrified.

No, he says sternly, telling you that he doesn’t even want you near this stuff, much less touching it.

But cocaine highs don’t last long, he explains to you when you ask about the little round white pills clacking together in his pocket. You’re positive he shouldn’t be mixing drugs like that, positive that your apprehension and disapproval are written clearly across your face, based on the simmering look he shoots at you.

Don’t fucking start.

So you don’t. You swallow down your worries and sit nice and pretty and good for him, just like you’re supposed to.

       ✰          ✰          ✰

He only leaves you twice, briefly, throughout the entire night. The first is almost immediately after you enter the reception venue.

Depositing you near the head table, he tells you to stay put before he hurries away. You know where he’s going, what he’s about to do, an odd ache taking root and throbbing deep in your chest.

He’d scold you if he could see you, able to read your expressions like a fucking book, would tell you not to cry for him—he doesn’t need your pity. The words cut through your mind in a snarl, and you work hard to rid your face of the frown marring it; he’s already having such a difficult time today, and the last thing you want to do is upset him more with your concern.

Distraction, you need a distraction. Wide eyes scan the extravagant ballroom, all shimmering golds and beiges and crystal chandeliers, searching in a frenzy for something—anything—to rid your mind of images of pretty boys with inky hair and white, white, white.

You swear you hear your name, then Touya’s, hissed out in a sharp whisper, and your gaze lands on a small group of people not too far from you, with snow and fire for hair—the other Todoroki’s, huddled in a loose circle.

The air around you just feels off, you catch his sister saying in a low but frantic voice, eyes darting between her brothers. She sounds worried about you, you think, and it makes you feel weird. She shouldn’t be worried about you; Touya takes fantastic care of you. It isn’t any of their business anyway, you can almost hear Touya sneering in your head, and he’s right. You know he’s right.

Her brothers don’t look too keen on discussing the subject, especially the youngest, who keeps pulling at his collar and fidgeting with his cufflinks.

“Well, why don’t you go and tell her that yourself,” the one with white hair says, grey eyes connecting with yours. She whirls around quickly, mouth snapping shut when she finds your face. Her lips morph into a smile half a second later, and she waves you over.

You avert your eyes, hands tangling nervously in front of you. No. You shouldn’t go. You really, really shouldn’t go. Touya told you to stay put, and you can’t bear to think—don’t even want to consider—how furious he’d be if he found that not only had you moved, but you had moved to talk to his siblings.

You must spend too much time deliberating, though, looking back up to find them advancing towards you, only a few feet away. Your heart’s pounding almost violently in your chest, breath accelerating with each step closer.

“Hi,” she’s saying warmly as she reaches you, causing you to subconsciously take a step back. “We haven’t had a chance to meet. I’m Fuyumi,”

You want to say your name, to introduce yourself politely, but your lips are sealed shut, only able to manage a small sound of affirmation.

“Shouto,” the youngest says, cold heterochromatic eyes glancing at you for a moment before looking away. “M’Shouto,”

“I’m Natsuo,” the man with white hair smirks down at you, eyes burning into yours.

Some of your anxiety melts away as you meet his stone eyes; there’s something comforting about the way that he has Touya’s smirk, Touya’s mischievous glint to his gaze, Touya’s playful lilt to his voice.

You feel like you can breathe again when you’re looking at Natsuo, so you keep your stare directed at him as you stutter out your name, gazing up at him through your lashes.

“You always miss the family dinners,” Natsuo accuses with a knowing smirk, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “Y’know, eventually, our parents are going to catch on,”

Your blood turns to ice in your veins, chills crawling on your skin. He knows?

And he says it so nonchalantly, so casually, as if he’s discussing the weather and not the fact that Touya deliberately kidnaps you to fuck your brains out in his car every single time they gather for one of those dinners. Fuyumi and Shouto look over at him with brows furrowed in confusion, but you choke on a gasp, coughing a little and nodding.

Touya returns then, saving you from having to respond.

“What’s wrong?” he’s asking immediately as his hands find purchase on your hips, pulling you back against his chest and wrapping his arms around you. A soft sigh leaves your lips as you lean on him, heart finally beginning to slow.

“N-Nothing, niichan,” you wrap your arms around his, hugging them to your chest, and he squeezes you in reassurance.

“You sure, baby?” Sapphire eyes search your face as you tilt your head back to look up at him, scanning for any sign of distress.

He shouldn’t be using that pet name here, not in front of his blood siblings, not loud enough that any of the passing guests can hear him with ease.

He shouldn’t.

But that doesn’t stop it from sending sparks skittering up your spine, heat beginning to coil in your tummy. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t love it, if you said you didn’t get some sort of twisted satisfaction at the loud gasp that leaves Fuyumi’s chest, or the sharp intake of breath Shouto chokes on, coughing as he tries to cover it up, all at the drop of that one, simple, four letter word.

Touya loves it, too—you can see it in the way his smirk grows into a full smile, a grin big enough to crinkle the edges of his eyes, can see it in his gaze, in the way his cobalt eyes almost sparkle at their reactions.

Your gaze flits back to the three people standing in front of you—your step-siblings, your mind corrects—eyes gliding over their faces slowly.

Natsuo looks thoroughly entertained, a stupid little grin stretched across his face, amusement dancing in his eyes. Fuyumi and Shouto, on the other hand, look thoroughly uncomfortable, shifting a little in place, their faces screwed up with poorly masked disgust.

Touya’s smile drops the moment he looks back at them. Azure eyes scan the faces of his siblings cautiously, giving Natsuo one quick, sharp nod of acknowledgment before his gaze lands on the youngest. And the glare Touya gives him is nothing short of terrifying, practically snarling at the boy, a rough, dangerous sound that gets lodged deep in his chest. It makes the boy cower away, shuffling ever-so-slightly closer to his sister, who shakily glares back.

Lips tugging down into a frown, you look up at Touya, forehead creasing in confusion. He’s still glowering at the kid, eyes narrowing just a little before he huffs and turns away, leaving without speaking a word to any of them.

“Don’t you ever talk to them again,” he’s murmuring as he whisks you away, something malicious in his voice. “You’re my little sister,”

You nod obediently, promising him that you won’t, reassuring him that you didn’t even want to as you relay the entire situation. But he can see it, the curiosity swirling in your eyes, a question dancing on your tongue.

Because although Touya appears to be on seriously awful terms with his younger siblings, Natsuo seems to be some sort of exception. From the interaction you just witnessed, you’re able to deduce that something, some line of communication, must be present between Touya and Natsuo, evident in their shared looks and swift, discreet nods.

He sighs, irritation coating his voice as he demands that you spit it out already.

It makes you jump a little, but the words come tumbling out of your mouth the moment he commands them to, powerless to disobey a direct order.

“Does that include Natsuo?”

Your voice is so tiny that he barely hears you, brows knitting together. There’s an odd look in his eye as he observes you—something that isn’t quite jealousy, but close to it—nose twitching a little as he considers.

“Alone, yes,” he finally says. “With me around it’s fine, I guess. But you are not to speak to him alone, do you hear me?”

Yes, niichan, of course, niichan.

       ✰          ✰          ✰

Dinner is absolute torture, and the two of you can barely keep your hands off of each other. It starts innocently enough, discreetly enough, with palms on thighs, fingers brushing down arms, hands interlaced under the table. But the need to touch grows, and grows, and grows, these simple actions too teasing to satisfy that dull burning in the pit of your stomach, flaring a little more each time his fingers press into your thigh, or his thumb runs across your knuckles.

And you shouldn’t, you really shouldn’t start acting up now, not while the two of you are seated at the head table, looking out amongst the guests—a few months ago, you would’ve never thought to do something so indecent, so dangerous, in such a public place. But you just can’t help it, you’re getting restless now, brain going hazy with thoughts of him as your fingers trail up his thigh and ghost over his lap.

“Getting bold, are we, princess?” his hand catches your wrist, holding your palm in place and grinding up into it. His voice is low, head tipped towards you, sapphire eyes dark. A breath catches in your throat and he smirks, an evil little quirk up of his lips, raising an eyebrow at you in expectation.

You’re lucky they’re seated in a straight line instead of a circle, he murmurs in your ear, Natsuo snickering beside him. “Imagine what your daddy would think if he could see you, acting like such a desperate little slut in front of all of these people,”

A soft, broken moan escapes your lips without your permission, thighs squeezing together in an attempt to combat the heat pooling in your panties. Someone down the line of the table says something, but you’re too enticed by Touya to hear them, your father writing off whatever the remark was with an easygoing smile.

“Oh, those two are always in their own little world,” you hear him dismiss, voice sounding muddled and distant.  

“Be a good girl and sit still,” Touya growls in your ear, grip tightening to near bruising.

“But niichan,” you whine, much too loud, gazing at him with glazed, blown eyes. “Niichan,” you repeat, leaning forward to whimper in his ear, fingers flexing around the bulge in his trousers. “N-Need you,”

“If you can’t behave, niichan won’t let you cum later,” he breathes, though his voice is stern, heavy with the weight of the threat.

A pout forms on your lips as he releases your wrist, firmly placing your hand back in your lap and holding it there for a moment, a silent warning for your wandering fingers to stay put.

But he’s up and out of his chair the instant dinner’s over, moving so quick his seat wobbles a little as he grasps your hand tightly in his, practically yanking you up and dragging you along behind him.

The best thing about these fancy venues, he’s telling you as he strides through the halls, cerulean eyes searching for something, is that they have single person washrooms.

The granite is cold on your cheek as Touya shoves you up against the wall, head bouncing a little as it whacks against it.

You whine and he laughs, a cruel, piercing sound echoing off the walls.

“Aw, baby,” he coos contemptuously. “Did that hurt?”

“Y-Yes,” you whimper, eyes squeezing shut against the throbbing pain radiating through your cheek.

“Poor little thing,” he hisses, lips against your ear as his hands begin to bunch up your dress, gliding over your silk covered thighs, hands fisting in the material as he goes. Pushing it up around your waist, he leans back, hands travelling over the globes of your ass and kneading hard enough to make you cry out.

“You’re a slutty little brat, y’know that?”

Deft fingers hook in the waistband of your thong, all delicate baby pink lace, Touya snickering about how much of a whore you are, wearing such skimpy, slutty panties, as he lets the elastic snap back against your skin.

A little shocked gasp escapes your lips as he begins tugging the dainty fabric down your thighs—you had expected him to merely push them to the side, but he forces you to take them off entirely, stuffing the soaked material in his pocket.

“You think you can just tease niichan like that and get away with it?”

“No,” you whisper, shaking your head against the wall.

“No,” he murmurs, hips grinding against your bare ass. “Good girls don’t tease their niichans without delivering, do they?”

“No,”

“On your knees,” he orders, spinning you around and stepping back just enough to allow you to sink to the floor. “Get my cock wet,”

Little fingers work quickly, eager to obey, as they undo his pants, practically salivating as you free his cock from its confines.

“Your cock’s so pretty, niichan,” you breathe, eyes glittering with pure, potent desire as you take it in your hands, tongue darting out to trace the prominent veins.

“No teasing,” he growls, a hand knotting in your hair. “I wanna see you choke on it,”

You nod as best you can, mouth instantly falling open, reduced to nothing more than a wet, warm little hole for him to stuff.

And then he’s shoving it down your throat, the hand fisted in your hair holding your head still, and you gag around it almost immediately, working to force you jaw open even more.

“That’s it, that’s my good girl,” he rasps out, voice echoing off the walls of the washroom.

The praise has your heart soaring, has you sucking hard around him as he thrusts into your mouth, coating his cock in thick saliva and desperate to hear more. It’s intoxicating, every quiet moan you manage to pull from him, every breathless good girl that falls from his lips, makes you feel lightheaded and heady and dizzy for more.

His hips pump a few more times before he’s pulling you off his cock completely, devious smirk forming on his lips at your whine of protest, and commanding you to go bend over the sink.

Calloused hands are bunching your dress up around your waist again, toe of his shoe kicking at your inner ankles and forcing your feet further apart.

He doesn’t bother stretching you out, not because he doesn’t have the time to, but because he simply doesn’t want to. It’s truly one of his favourite things, to see tears fill your eyes while his cock stretches your cute little pussy, and he knows you love it too, don’t you?

Yes, niichan, of course you do.

His cock glistens with your saliva, sufficiently wet that it slides in easily enough, with minimal pain for him. And the soft groan he lets out as he watches your little hole struggle to take him, paired with your sweet little whimpers of his name, is nothing short of gorgeous.

It has your pussy fluttering around him, pulling a breathless chuckle from his lips as he fills you to the hilt, hips pressed against your ass.

And then doesn’t fucking move.

Your brow furrows, eyes meeting his in the mirror. You try to fuck yourself back on him, but he’s too quick, hands stilling your hips immediately and tutting in disapproval.

“Niichan,” you whimper. “N-Niichan, please fuck me,”  

“Do you think you deserve it?” he’s asking, tongue tracing the shell of your ear as he holds your gaze through the mirror. “After the way you behaved at dinner?”

“M’sorry,” you whine, wiggling back against him, his fingers digging into your flesh as he stops them, grip tightening. “Couldn’t help it, wanted you so bad,”

“Of course you couldn’t,” he smirks, hips starting to move slowly, teasingly, stilling after only three simple thrusts. A hand reaches down and finds your clit, forcing a gasp from you as his thumb brushes over it, back and forth, back and forth, featherlight grazes that have you arching back into him, trying to press further into his touch.

“Think you can cum just like this for me?” he asks, beginning to thrust shallowly again, just enough to have the head of his cock dragging against that spot buried deep inside your cunt, that spot he knows so well, then nudging your cervix. “Hmm?”

“Mhmm,” you nod, breath starting to come out in short little pants.

“Then do it,” he demands in a whisper, eyes still holding yours. “Show niichan how pretty you look, cumming all over his cock,”

And the combination of his deep, rough voice rumbling against your back as praises tumble from his lips, his thumb and cock, and the fact that anyone within a fifteen foot radius of this washroom could probably hear you, has you cumming within minutes with a sharp cry of Touya-nii!  

Touya laughs at how pathetically quickly you came, about how easy it is to have you creaming on his cock, heat seeping into your cheeks as you try to look away.

“My turn,” he breathes, yanking your head back up by your hair, fingers finding root in the intricate updo that has begun to fall apart. “And I wanna see your face as I fuck you, so keep your damn head up,”

And then he’s slamming into you with enough vigour to propel you forward, face pressed against the mirror, toes barely touching the ground. Every moan and whimper and mewl he forces from your throat fogs up the glass, leaving tiny glistening drops of condensation as they fade.

You’re trying so hard to keep your eyes open, to watch him as he fucks you, because he always looks so damn pretty.  

He’s stupidly attractive, with his shirtsleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, first few buttons undone and collar popped, revealing his sharp collarbone, smooth ivory skin stretched taut across it. Ebony hair clings to his forehead and neck delicately, coated in sweat, and he’s emitting the most glorious noises, heavy pants and little broken whines, peppered with praise.

Nails bite into your flesh as he holds you in place, hips snapping relentlessly, your fingers curling around the porcelain sink.

“You want niichan’s cum?” he growls in your ear, eyes burning into yours. You whimper in response, nodding against the mirror. “Yeah? Then fucking beg for it.”

Pleads are spilling from your lips immediately, nothing but senseless babbling as he pounds into you.

“Please, niichan, please, need it, your cum, stuff me with your cum,”

“That’s it,” he gasps, voice hoarse. “I want every single person in this godforsaken hall to hear you, I want every single person to know how much of—” he cuts himself off with a shuddery curse. “—How much of a slut my baby sister is,”

“Pretty please,” you whine out the words, eyes rolling back in your head. “Fill me up with your cum, niichan, I-I want it,”

His hips still just as your cunt clenches around him, cockhead pressed tightly against your cervix as he fills you with hot, thick ropes of cum.

He pulls out a few moments later, and you uncurl your fingers from around the rim of the sink, wincing at your appearance; lips bitten raw, hair beginning to fall from it’s elegant style, body covered in a thin layer of sweat.

You look back at him to find him already staring at you, expectantly, impatiently, hands jittery as he quirks his head towards the door.

“We can’t leave together,” he says, as if it’s obvious, even though you stumbled into the washroom together twenty minutes ago.

He needs more.

You nod, slow and dumb, staggering a little on your trembling legs. Grasping the doorknob you pause, turning to look at him again.

“What?” he asks as he searches through his pockets, not bothering to glance at you. He can feel your eyes on him.

“Um...” you shift nervously from foot to foot, lip caught between your teeth.

He looks over at you sharply, brows rising as if to ask why are you still here?

“M-My panties, niichan,”

Oh.

A wicked smirk spreads across his face, eyes twinkling, brows relaxing.

“What about them?”

“Well, I—I can’t return to the reception without them,”

“Oh, and why not?”

You pause, blinking a few times, at a loss for words. Why not? Because you can feel his cum beginning to trickle out of you, mixing with your juices and dribbling down your inner thigh?

“Exactly,” he says, when you take too long to reply. “Now be a good little girl and go. I’ll be out soon,”

       ✰          ✰          ✰

You don’t go back into the ballroom, terrified that you’ll be ambushed by his—your—siblings again. Collapsing in one of the plush chairs, you cross your quivering legs tightly in a desperate attempt to keep the cum oozing out of you from getting on your dress.

People are looking again, probably think you’re drunk based on the way you teetered over to the seat, or the way your hair’s begun to come undone from it’s intricate updo, wispy strands framing your face.

He returns from the washroom only a few minutes later, eyes finding you immediately. There’s a stupid, smug smirk on his face, thinks it’s so cute that he fucked you so good you can’t walk, can’t even get up, that you need your niichan to help you.

A pout forms on your lips, eyebrows furrowing. “Not funny,”

“Very funny,” he chuckles as his hands snake under your armpits, hauling you to your feet. You stumble a little, bumping into him and he laughs again, wrapping a sturdy arm around your waist and propping you up against him.

“Alright, let’s get this over with,”

“Oh, niichan,” you murmur and he pauses, glancing over at you. You reach up, your thumb swiping across his nose to collect excess white powder.

“Thanks,” he breathes, winking at you. You hum noncommittally, about to rub your thumb across his white dress shirt to clean it when he catches your hand, bringing your thumb to his lips and licking it instead.

It isn’t discreet. It’s slow and deliberate, tongue sticking out of his mouth, flattening it against your thumb and dragging it up, from base to tip. You’re sure someone saw that, but you can’t be bothered to care, not when another bout of intense heat rushes to your core, forcing you to squeeze your legs together, trying in vain to keep Touya’s cum from seeping out, from your juices traveling down your leg. A soft whimper leaves your lips, breathing beginning to accelerate as your eyes bore into his, now half-lidded and dark. He holds your gaze for a moment before something snaps.

“We need to go,” he says, voice firm with no room for negotiation. “Now.”

And, God, his voice is rough and raw and fucking dripping with desire. It’s got you nodding before he’s even finished speaking, a flock of butterflies invading your stomach at the downright sinful grin he gives you in response. Such a good girl for him.

Despite the fact that you’ve barely recovered from your previous orgasm, you nearly moan at his look alone, the urge to kiss him burning through your veins and alighting your entire body in direct juxtaposition to the shivers his eyes just sent rippling across your skin. The insatiable need overwhelms your senses, and it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous, how captivated he has you, entirely wrapped around his slim finger and hanging on his every word, how you’re positive that, in that moment, you’d do anything he asked.

You wobble awkwardly in your heels, legs still shaking and having trouble keeping up with Touya’s swift pace. You’re about to ask him to slow down just a little so you don’t break an ankle, when you bump into your father.

Who just so happens to provide you with the perfect excuse to leave early. You can practically see the gears clicking into place in Touya’s mind, sapphire eyes glittering as a sinister smirk spreads across his face.

Your father’s eyes widen as he observes your appearance, strands of hair sticking to your clammy face and eyes half-lidded, chapped lips beginning to crack, leaning heavily against Touya and seemingly too weak to stand on your own.

“Hi dad,” you greet hoarsely, wincing a little at how grating your voice sounds.

He frowns immediately. “Jesus, sweetheart, are you feeling alright? You look…” he trails off, forehead wrinkling with worry.

“Oh, she’s not feeling too good,” Touya says softly, smoothly, just the right amount of concern and compassion in his tone.

“Oh no,” your father breathes, frown deepening. “That’s terrible,” he clicks his tongue with a shake of his head. “Do you think you’ll be able to tough out the rest of the reception?”

You begin to croak out an answer, but Touya speaks over you.

“She’s burning up, sir,” he informs him, and it isn’t a lie—not exactly, anyway. Technically, if your father were to feel your forehead, your body temperature would be above average, a result of Touya fucking the absolute life out of you a mere ten minutes ago.

Touya looks down at you with painfully sympathetic eyes, but you can still see that little glint of mischief, buried under all of that artificial benevolence.

“Maybe I should take her home?” Touya muses, looking back at your father, mimicking his anxiety effortlessly.

“Mm,” he hums in agreement. “I think that’s the best thing to do,” his eyes dart to yours. “You really don’t look well,”

Oh, you’re sure you don’t. Resting a little more against Touya, you play up the symptoms a bit, whimpering quietly as little fingers twist in his shirt, nuzzling your face against his side. A soft noise of endearment sounds at the back of his throat, large hands readjusting your body to support you better.

Another whimper falls from your lips, but this time it isn’t from pretending you’re ill. You can feel his cum leaking out of you, slimy and cool as it drips down your inner thigh, and a sick thrill shoots through your body, abused cunt throbbing greedily.

Rei comes up behind your father then, wrapping her arms around his midsection and resting her chin on his shoulder, eyes flitting between the two of you carefully.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“I’m gonna bring this little princess home,” Touya explains, nodding his head at you in indication as he speaks. “She isn’t feeling very well, poor thing,”

And it’s scary, scary how terrific he is at lying, how easily he slips into that niichan role, the one painstakingly crafted and flawlessly maintained around your parents, the one he’s perfected at this point.

Rei doesn’t say much, only cooing in sympathy, remarking that it’s such a shame, but your father’s eyes soften. “Such a good big brother,” he praises, clapping a hand on Touya’s shoulder.

Touya has to consciously work to smother the smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he responds.

“You have no idea,”  

       ✰          ✰          ✰

Your parents don’t come home that night, opting to go straight to the airport from the venue, embarking on their honeymoon immediately.

It’s nice, playing house with Touya, having the entire place completely to yourselves. He’s been home an awful lot these past few weeks, more than he ever has in the past, and you get to experience things you never could before.

Every morning and every night, you cook breakfast and dinner together. You go grocery shopping together, wash the dishes together, fold the laundry together, all while stealing kisses in between; little domestic things you didn’t really do with your parents around.

You spend every night that they’re away in his bed, being fucked into his mattress, surrounded by the smell of him—campfire and Marlboros and expensive cologne—absolutely full of him in every sense.

You wake up in the mornings with his hand between your legs, playing with your cute little clit, or his cock pressed against your ass, grinding until you wake up. You have sleepy, slow morning sex while you’re both still half asleep, and it���s the most gentle he’s ever been. It consists of lazy, sloppy, messy thrusts against each other, hips meeting halfway—just grinding until he gets too impatient, though he usually lets you cum two or three times before he finally flips you over, trapping you under his body and slamming his hips into you, growling and grunting, your legs pushed up and folded on either side of you.

You get to fuck in the kitchen—not that you hadn’t before, but this time you get to take it slow. He eats you out while you sit on the counter and then fucks you into oblivion and it’s nasty, it’s disgusting, it’s so good. He cums so much that it’s leaking out of you, onto the counter, his chest heaving as he observes it with an odd little smile and a soft “fuck,”

And you get to fuck in the bathtub, that big jacuzzi in your parents room, water and bubbles sloshing around as you bounce on his cock, loud cries echoing off the walls.

It’s going great, until the last weekend of the honeymoon, a mere few days before your parents are supposed to return.

       ✰          ✰          ✰

A party.

Keigo tries to talk him out of it, tries to at least talk him out of letting you stay.

“She shouldn’t be here,” you hear Keigo hiss under his breath as guests begin to fill the house, Touya snorting in retort.

Keigo doesn’t think you should be around any of this at all—there’s no reason you should have to witness this shit, you catch him growling, gold eyes blazing. No, not a poor innocent babygirl like you, this isn’t the place for you.

But Touya’s too stubborn, too selfish to let Keigo take you out for the night. He knows he’s right, would rather not have you around these people, but he doesn’t have a fucking choice. The thought of you being out of his sight, out with another man, has anxiety rising in his throat, panic clawing at his chest.

As a result, you spend the entirety of the party being passed between Touya and Keigo. There are so many girls here, so many people you don’t know, wide eyes scanning the living room as your fingers twist in Keigo’s hoodie.

Niichan’s busy, Touya tells you, when you ask why you can’t just stay with him, when you ask where he keeps disappearing off to. Niichan’s working, don’t you know? Be a good girl and stay with Kei.

You can tell that Keigo isn’t happy about it. He coos softly when you timidly ask if he’s upset that he’s stuck babysitting you all night, in the middle of an apology when he cuts you off.

“It isn’t your fault, songbird,” he murmurs, gentle fingers tracing the curve of your face.

He’s even angrier at Touya when he takes that first girl back to his room, because the look on your face—the way it crumples accompanied by a soft, hurt sound caught at the back of your throat—kills him.

And it isn’t like you don’t know about his side whores. You do. They’re customers, he had snapped at you, the only time you had ever asked about it. But it’s an entirely different thing to actually have to witness it with your own eyes.

You can’t help the flare of jealousy that rises in your chest every time he takes a girl by the hand and leads them to his bedroom. It stings, burns, feels like a fire’s been lit in your chest, filling your lungs with dense smoke and making it hard for you to breathe.

Keigo tries his best to distract you, gentle fingers on your cheeks turning your face towards him, golden eyes softening in sympathy. He keeps you as preoccupied as he can, but it still isn’t enough. Your eyes are drawn to Touya every time he’s in the room—an automatic, instinctual reaction you couldn’t control even if you wanted to.

And every time you watch a girl giggle into his ear, or hop up with him, that fire smoldering in your chest blazes, rages, has you wheezing and hissing and pressing a palm flat against yourself, a desperate attempt to get the pain to stop.

Tomura’s here, too, though he’s sitting in a shrouded corner on his phone, the light from the screen reflected on his pale face, colours flashing intermittently. He looks absorbed with whatever he’s doing on there—probably playing a game, Keigo tells you, but why are you interested, anyway?

You don’t know, you aren’t sure, you can’t exactly put it into words. He terrifies you, but he sparks a morbid curiosity in you, too. He’s so silent, private, almost inobtrusive; and yet Touya never lets you anywhere near him. Your eyes keep flitting his way, as if trying to will something to happen, staring at him longingly and hoping he’ll look up from his phone for a split second and catch your gaze, that he’ll somehow magically get the hint that you’re desperate and dying to talk to him, and take the first step.

But it doesn’t happen.

Touya is thoroughly unimpressed each and every time he finds you sitting on Keigo’s knee or lap, leaning back against his chest as he speaks with that easygoing lilt that is so distinctly him, but there isn’t much he can do. The third time he returns to take you from his friend he can tell you’re beginning to get tired, can see it in your eyes, in the way you’re cuddling into a warm chest. He debates sending you to bed right then and there, but you protest, little hands tangling in Keigo’s hoodie.

“Aw, she’s alright for a little more, isn’t she?”

Touya’s sharp jaw clenches twice and he exhales slowly through his nose, eyes darting between your faces.

“Fine,” he says, although it doesn’t seem fine.

And you are exhausted, straddling Keigo’s hips, face pressed into his shoulder and hot breath evening out softly against his neck. Fingers ghost up and down your spine nonchalantly as Keigo talks softly to the people around him, his laugh vibrating against your chest and filling you with an odd, tingly sensation, a warmth that seeps through your body. You snuggle a little closer to him and he coos, readjusting you in his lap and wrapping an arm around your waist, holding you tightly to him.

“Don’t wanna go to bed with him,” you whisper, words muffled by his skin.

Keigo hums in question, squeezing you once. “Who, songbird?” he presses his lips to your ear as inconspicuously as he can, lidded gold eyes lazily scanning the room for your brother. “Touya?”

You nod sluggishly, little fingers curling in his hoodie, a silent plea not to let you go.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Keigo says softly with a small chuckle, but it sounds off to your ears—sad, even.

“Don’t wanna,” you repeat, pout evident in your voice. “Wanna stay with you,”

You wouldn’t have noticed the way his chest hitches at those four words if you weren’t pressed flush against it. But you feel it, feel his breath getting caught in his throat, reverberating against you as he clears it quietly. Unexpected guilt sours your mouth, makes your stomach turn to a block of heavy lead, weighting your body down.

“You know you can’t, sweetheart,” he finally responds, voice cracking just a bit, right on that last word. “Don’t hurt your niichan like that, he loves you,”

No he doesn’t, you want to say, but you can’t seem to force the words from your mouth, opting to shake your head instead, eyes shutting tightly against the burn of tears.

“He does,” Keigo says, more sternly this time. “Don’t doubt that,”

But you’re not so sure. If Touya loved you—really loved you—would he have disappeared no less than three times tonight, each with a different girl, leading them into his bedroom with those dark glittering sapphire eyes while they gaze up at him like he hung the fucking moon himself?

Honestly, is that even a question you want answered?

You keep your face buried in Keigo’s chest to block it out, to keep yourself from watching your big brother as he flits around the room, handing out discreet baggies in exchange for ridiculous wads of cash and talking in hushed voices, in code, to men who look much too old to be at a house party.

Eventually, Touya returns to retrieve you, bending down and speaking softly.

“It’s time for bed, princess,” A hand pets your head, and you flinch away.

“Hey,” you feel the couch dip beside you as he sits down. “Look at me,”

You’re shaking your head, trying in vain to press even closer to Keigo, but that doesn’t stop Touya from reaching out and gripping your chin, forcing you to face him.

Crystal eyes search your face carefully, wide and alert—he always works sober, you found out. He can tell you’re upset, can see it written plain as day across your face, eyes glassy with your lips set in a deep pout, eyebrows pushed together. Exhaling harshly, he closes his eyes, fingers rubbing at his eyes in exasperation.

“C’mon,” he says lowly, wrapping a hand around your bicep and tugging as he stands.

“No,” you nearly growl, shaking your head and viciously pulling your arm from his grip.

Touya stares at you for a moment, like he cannot believe you just had the audacity to tell him no, before he speaks, an incredulous laugh bubbling up from his chest. “What did you just say?”

Keigo’s sitting up straighter now, more alert as your body subconsciously curls into his chest, cowering away from your big brother. “Y-You heard me,”

Snorting in disbelief, Touya raises his eyebrows as his tongue runs along the front of his teeth, huffing out the remnants of a chuckle before his smile drops completely, blue fire blazing in his dark eyes.

“Get up,” he snarls, hand in a vice grip around your arm as he yanks harshly. The force of it has you practically falling off Keigo’s lap, though Touya catches you roughly before your knees hit the hardwood, hoisting you up by your arm to stand on unsteady feet.

“Move.” He instructs, giving you a shove in the vague direction of his bedroom. “Now.”

His chest bumps into your back and you stumble forward, yelping softly. He keeps pushing like this, strong hand clasping your shoulder so tightly you’re sure you’ll have five little bruises in the shape of his fingerprints in the morning, driving you to walk with the sheer force of his body.

“No,” your whispering, trying desperately to turn back and look at him as you approach his door, tears flooding your eyes, frantically shaking your head and trying your damnedest to plant your feet, heels digging into the floor in an attempt to stop him from pushing you forward.

“You really gonna say no to me a second time tonight? In less than fifteen minutes? You think that’s wise, baby?”

You don’t—of course you don’t. It’s probably one of the stupidest things you could do, in this situation.

But even though you know, know this isn’t a smart move, know you shouldn’t be testing him like this—challenging him like this, especially in front of so many people—you’re powerless to control the words that tumble from your lips next.

“I don’t want to sleep in a bed that’s been infested by your whores,”

They come out as a hiss—you don’t mean for them to, but they do, voice quivering under the combined weight of your fury and fear.

That gets him to stop, entire body going rigid. Icy dread rushes through your veins, panic clawing its way up your throat, forcing uneven breaths through your parted lips. Squeezing your eyes shut tightly, you brace yourself for the impact of his bellowing voice, shoulders tensing in anticipation for the blow, for him to really snap.

Except then he starts laughing, his hand relaxing around your shoulder, spinning you around to face him as he backs you up against his bedroom door, caging you in with his body.

“That’s what this is about?”

Eyebrows furrowing, you blink twice in disbelief, prompting hot tears to finally spill over. “I—Wh-Why are you laughing?”

“Because you’re being silly, princess,”

It hurts, stings like three massive spikes just shot through your heart, causes a tiny whimper to sound from deep in your throat, chest hiccupping with pathetic little half-sobs.

“Sil…Silly?” Time feels as if it’s slowed, your sluggish brain having trouble comprehending the situation unfolding.

His lips pull down into a frown, eyes narrowing slightly as he regards you with extreme precision. “Yeah,” he says, but his voice sounds far away, muffled, like you’re underwater and he’s speaking to you from above the surface. “Hey—”

Your head’s shaking again, in slow, delayed motions from side to side. “No,” you whisper. “No.”

You feel nauseous, and the proximity of his presence is only making it worse, making you feel like you could hurl at any moment. Little hands find purchase on his chest and push, stomach lurching painfully as your head spins.

He catches your wrists easily, holding them together in one large hand, his other coming to grip your chin and force you to look at him.

Thick silence settles between the two of you as Touya’s eyes study your face slowly, noting the tears flowing steadily down your face, the way your breath stutters with sobs you’re so desperately trying to hold back, the way your entire body trembles.

“Are you seriously upset over this?” he asks, laughing a little.

Your gaze holds his, tears casting a thick, gleaming screen across your eyes.

“Yes, Touya,” you whisper, wishing your voice didn’t sound as small and weak as it does. “I’m seriously upset,”

That’s the first time you’ve used his first name—just his first name, void of any honorific—in a long, long time.

It gets him to pause again, his usual and well-worn mask of passivity melting away for just a second as shock crosses his face. Then his features are hardening again, brows knitting together and creasing his forehead, eyes narrowing into near slits.

“Don’t be fucking stupid,” he spits harshly, the words cutting into your flesh. “You know none of them mean a thing,”

“Then why do you fuck around with them?” you shoot back almost immediately, voice fading into a whisper.

He glares at you, as if you’re wasting his precious time with such childish questions when he’s told you this already, and you can see the blue fire simmering in his eyes.

“It’s late,” he says curtly, voice sounding off to you. “You need sleep.”

You try to fight him on it, but he’s too quick, reflexes too swift, and he shoves you into his room, door slamming shut less than a second later.

Tears obstruct your vision as you stumble around, finally finding his desk chair and collapsing heavily. You don’t even bother trying to open the door, know it’s locked without having to hear that soft click! as the lock turns into place.

He’s right—it is late, well past three in the morning, and you are utterly exhausted, drawing your knees up to your chest and curling up in the plush chair.

But no matter how tired you are, you absolutely refuse to sleep in his bed. The party’s dying down, you can hear Touya’s muffled farewells as guests begin to leave while you fade in and out of consciousness.

You think you might’ve heard Keigo say something, might’ve caught the word stay, might’ve detected the annoyance laced in Touya’s voice as he responds, but you’re too worn out to reflect on it.

At some point in the night, Touya reenters his room, chuckling a little at your antics and carrying you to his bed.

The move wakes you, and you weakly protest—no, you don’t want to be in this bed, please, just let you go sleep in your own bed—but Touya ignores you entirely, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you tightly to his chest.

It’s then that the tears start up again, salt staining your puffy cheeks, head beginning to throb from dehydration.

“Shh, baby, shh,” he hushes you, nimble fingers combing through your hair. “I’m here, right here,”

If there’s one thing you’ve learned about Touya over these past few weeks, it’s that he becomes marginally softer in the middle of the night. Your fingers twist in his t-shirt, trying in vain to pull yourself impossibly closer, Touya making a soft noise akin to a coo in the back of his throat.

“I’ve got you, niichan’s got you,”

You hate it. You hate that he’s the only person you want comforting you right now, as you lay in his bed, surrounded by the smell of cheap perfume and clinging in desperation to him, needing him close, needing his body heat warming you and his hands on you. You hate the way your sobs come harder the more he soothes you, the heavy ache in your chest almost bruising, crushing your lungs and making it near impossible to breathe.

But you crave his comfort nonetheless. It’s a special kind of comfort, one that’s difficult to describe, one that only comes from the love and adoration and protection of a big brother.

Why can’t you just be mine? You want to ask, the words searing into your tongue, refusing to leave your lips.

“You’re gonna make yourself sick, angel,” he chastises softly, brushing your hair away from your clammy forehead as another shuddery sob rips through your chest.

“I want you,” you say instead, words garbled.

“You have me, baby,”

“All of you,”

His chest heaves with an exasperated sigh, head turning away and gazing up at the ceiling. “You have all of me, princess,”

There’s something in his voice that makes you stop, pause, his words reverberating in your mind. He sounds almost like…like he’s upset over this fact, like he wishes that you didn’t have all of him.

You want to press for more, to probe and prod and pick away at it, but exhaustion finally claims you, rendering you incapable of speech, your tongue moving sluggishly in your mouth as you desperately try to form words.

       ✰          ✰          ✰

It’s grey when you wake, only a few hours later, eyes sticky and dry from lack of sleep. Your head is pounding, feels like it’s been stuffed full of cotton, lips cracked and dry from dehydration, and a painful lump forms almost immediately in your throat when you get a whiff of sickly sweet artificial vanilla, then another of intense, synthetic citrus.

The tears are starting up again, collecting in your eyes and clouding your vision. It makes you nauseous, makes your skin crawl and your chest burn as your throat fills with acid. The tears sting, but you blink hard to keep them at bay. You will not cry, not in front of him, not in his bed surrounded by the remnants of those other girls, not again. You refuse to give them the satisfaction.

You spring up quickly, halfway through climbing over Touya’s body when a strong hand latches onto your wrist.

“No,” Touya mumbles, face half buried in his pillow. “Stay,”

“No,” you whisper, pulling yourself free from his grasp and hurrying out of his room. You can smell them on your clothes, on your skin, and it makes you want to scrub your body under scalding water until it’s raw.

Everything hurts—it hurts so much it feels like your chest is collapsing in on itself, like you can’t breathe, gasping for air as you stumble onto the porch, nearly tripping over your own feet as you stop and realize you have nowhere to go.

Touya has cut you off from all of your friends at this point; any spare time you had was now claimed by him.

And that’s exactly why he doesn’t bother rolling out of bed to follow after you, isn’t worried about you going anywhere, knows you can’t leave him, no matter how badly you want to. No, not a precious little girl like you, with nowhere to find refuge.

You sit down heavily on one of the front steps, vision so blurry with tears you’re barely able to make out the figure advancing towards you. They’re finally escaping your eyes, rolling down your cheeks as you blink twice, trying to clear them. Your chest stutters under the force of a sob you’re desperately trying to hold back, clapping both hands over your mouth in an attempt to silence it.

“Hey—oh no,” Keigo breathes the moment your watery eyes look up at him. You squeeze your eyes shut, causing more tears to leak out as your shoulders shake, whole body trembling from the force of your sobs, poorly muffled by your palms.

“No, no, no, sweetheart,” he’s saying as he rushes to sit down next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders tightly.

Keigo’s the closest thing you have to a friend now. And really, you should be embarrassed by the way you practically fling yourself into his arms, burying your face in his chest as your hands form fists in his t-shirt. He’s a little startled by your borderline violent reaction, but he recovers quickly, arms encircling your body and pulling you against him.

“It’s okay,” he says softly, one hand rubbing your back while the other pets your hair. “Hey, it’s alright, I’m here,”

And you hate the way his words almost directly mirror Touya’s, the way his low sultry voice turned gentle and soft as he carded deft fingers through your hair echoing almost painfully in your head. But Keigo lets you cry, lets you stain his t-shirt with salty tears and saliva until you’ve got nothing left, never stopping his compassionate motions.

“You…Stayed the night?” you pull back a little, the fact that he’s still here, blonde hair all mussed up from sleep, finally dawning on you.

“Well, yeah,” he says, a little bashful as he looks away and ducks his head. “Wanted to make sure you were alright, s���all. Last night was…” he trails off, frowning. “What happened?”

Golden eyes search your face, his forehead crinkling in concern. A beat of silence passes.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but…” kind fingers move to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “You’ll feel better if you let it out, promise. And, not to brag or anything, but I’m preee-tty good at this kind’a stuff,” he chuckles a little.

“Got in a fight,” you whisper, eyes staring intently at the brick wall behind his shoulder as your chin trembles slightly, memories of last night flashing through your mind.

“A fight? With Touya?” Keigo moves his head a little, forcing his face into your field of vision and catching your face with tender fingers when you try to look away.

“Yeah,” tears are beginning to well up in your eyes as you think about it, the sheer fact that you’re in a fight making your heart feel like it’s ripping itself to shreds. A chaotic storm of emotions brews in your chest, switching mercilessly and swirling together so quickly that you can’t even tell what they are. Your insides feel all jumbled up, and trying to decipher what the heck’s going on only makes your head ache more.

They torment you, a deep sense of anguish finally settling at the core. You’re confused, livid at Touya for being such a jackass; jealous, because you want him all to yourself; heartbroken, because you want—need—his approval, desperate to hear him tell you that you’re his good little baby girl.

You want to be his good little baby girl.

But it isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair, sweetheart. Get used to it, he had told you once, when you had complained about something so silly, so simple as him eating the last ice cream cookie sandwich (he made it up to you, of course, telling you he wanted to taste your cream—such a cheeseball—and making you cum three times before taking you out to buy more).

No, it isn’t fair, but you don’t care. You want him to be yours, too.

Keigo tsks, bringing your attention back to him, mouth set in a hard line as sad eyes watch you. “What was it about?”

“I-It…H-He—” a shuddery breath cuts you off, and Keigo draws you into his arms, holding you against his chest as the sobs start up again, sobs that make it feel like your body’s about to tear apart, desperately clutching Keigo to try and keep yourself together.

“Oh, songbird,” he coos, rocking you gently. “Is it…Um, the other girls?”

“Yes,”

“But you know you’re his favourite, right?”

“D-Does it even matter, if he’s still fucking them anyway?” you ask, pulling back suddenly as hot anger flashes through you. “Why does he need them? Am I—” a sob cuts you off, but you swallow it, persevering. “Am I not good enough?” your voice breaks on the last word, fading into a whisper, big teary eyes scanning his face almost frantically, seeking an answer in his expression.

Keigo blinks, surprised by your sudden brashness, then gives you a small, sad smile. “Only he can answer that, sugarplum,” he whispers, using the pad of his thumb to catch a stray tear and wipe it across your cheekbone. “But just because he’s fucking around, doesn’t mean that you can’t, too,”

Your head tilts to the side, brow furrowing. “What do you mean?”

“Give him a taste of his own medicine,” Keigo shrugs, leaning back a little. “He definitely deserves it, for making an angel such as yourself so upset,”

You sniffle a little, wiping at your nose with the paw of your sweater as you consider the prospect.

“Y’know, it technically isn’t cheating, since you guys aren’t in any sort of official relationship to begin with,” Keigo reminds you gently, nudging just a tiny bit more.

It isn’t right—you know it isn’t. You’ve never been one to fight fire with fire, often preferring to avoid conflict and drama, but you’re so hurt; you’re so angry at him—angry at the way he reacted, as if it was you in the wrong, angry at the fact that he doesn’t even seen to care about your feelings on the issue, because he knows you’ll come running back either way, angry because he’s right, as evident in the way pathetically clung to him last night—that all you want to do in that moment is cause him a shred of the pain he’s causing you.

It’s an impulsive decision that has you pulling out your phone, quickly scrolling through your contacts, thumb jabbing at Tomura’s name—Touya had given you his number for emergencies only—before you have time to think it through, before you have time to regret it.

Tiny thumbs fly across the keyboard, your heart pounding in your chest as adrenaline accelerates your breathing.

Hey. Let’s hang out.

Keigo inhales through his teeth next to you, and your eyes dart to him in surprise, as if you had forgotten he was there.

“Well,” he begins, though his voice sounds odd to you—unlike his usually nonchalant, happy-go-lucky manner. “That’s, uh, definitely one that’s gonna hurt him, songbird,”

You look back down at your phone to see Tomura typing a response.

Yeah, definitely. Pick a day.

“Good.”

[honeypirate]

Fate of the Clouds

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 Gajeel x Fem Reader 

unedited 

“Hi” you say softly, sitting beside him against the side of the guild house. “Leave me alone” he turned away from you, his voice gruff. He smelled like fireworks and his hair was singed in a few places. You reach out and pinch the end of a lock that was smoldering “all that gorgeous hair, would hate for it to burn” you twist on your butt, laying your back against the sun warmed grass and placing your feet up against the building, you place your hands behind your head as you looked up at the clouds. 

“Why?” his voice was laced with annoyance that you were 50% sure was fake. You look over at his face “why what?” you smile softly at him and you watch his guard fall just a little bit “why won’t you leave me alone?” you sit up again, crossing your legs and resting your hands on your thighs as you study him for a moment “Gajeel, if you really want me to leave and I’m making you uncomfortable, I will. But honestly, I’d like to get to know you. So if it’s alright with you, i’d like to lay here by you and talk, unless you don't want to, then we can just sit together.” 

You watch his emotions in his eyes, he couldn’t understand you. You were sweet and cute and he heard all about how strong a wizard you were. You watched him tear apart the guild hall but you were here by him. Telling him you wat to get to know him? He couldnt decide if you were joking or not. When he doesnt say anything for a few minutes you lay back again, smiling as you look up at the sky. 

After ten minutes go by and your eyes flick down to him, he’s looking at his hands in his lap “Do you mind if I talk to you? You don’t have to respond '' your voice was quiet, like it was carried to his ears on the breeze, his gaze froze on a scar he has on his knuckle “I dont mind” his voice was quieter than you had heard before. His usual anger was gone, just like you suspected it was just a cover for his real feelings. You sigh softly and look back up to the clouds “there is a cloud up there that looks like a horse” he looks up then, his eyes searching, you chuckle and pat the ground next to you softly. He looks down at you, considering, trying to figure you out, to see if you could be hatching a plan. 

He sighs and moves over so he was laying beside you, tensing and watching your face when you scoot closer to him, moving your head down next to his so you could find the cloud again “there” you point up and it takes him a moment to tear his gaze from your soft smile to follow your finger to the right cloud. You move back into your place and smile as you watch the cloud float away and become a blob again. 

“When i was younger..,” you look at him “now you have to promise me you wont tell anyone this, okay? Pinky promise me and since we’re friends you cant break it” you hold up your hand, pinky out and wait for him. His head turns, looking at your eyes and then down to your hand. His fingers drum against his stomach before he hooks his pinky around yours. You smile and pull your hand still connected to his and kiss the back of your thumb, pushing his hand towards his lips next “kiss or it doesnt work” his cheeks flush and he huffs in annoyance but kisses the back of his thumb anyway “thank you Gajeel” you whisper before your hands rest against your stomach again. 

“When I was younger, I had a job on a farm. I would use my water magic to help the crops among other things. I once rode a horse to check for the cows and was feeling really proud of my horse riding skill, I rode down the wrong path, got scraped off the back of my horse and thrown down the mountain. Had a nasty cut on my neck and i wasn't trusted riding alone again. I know this story is stupid, juvenile, but the point is this; trust is something that is really hard to earn, but worth every second. Sure i have other stories i could have told you, other magical ones where i fucked up missions. But all of them have the same point. Proving that you can grow as an individual, proving that people are worthy of a second chance, it’s nice that we even have that opportunity.” you point out another cloud “ooh look at that one! It looks like a starfish!” you chuckle and notice the smile on his lips  

 “Forgiveness has always come easy to me. I truly would like to be your friend and get to know you. No jokes, no dirty tricks. I’m here if you’ll have me Gajeel” he sighs gently, his hands holding his shirt in his fists, his knuckles turning white, after a few minutes his hands release his shirt and he relaxes into the grass.

 He doesn't get any bad vibes from you, if he had to put a picture to how you feel to him, he would picture a field of daisies on a summer day. “That one” he reaches up and points “that one looks like a dragon with a rider on it’s back” you chuckle and follow his finger to the cloud you could see the dragon but figured the rider smudged away “it does! That’s so cute” his cheeks flush and a true smile sits upon his lips. 

After another ten minutes storm clouds roll in as well as cold winds, you shiver and sit up again, turning towards him as he sat up next to you, you reach out slowly and when he doesn't move or say anything you gently run your fingers through his thick hair, pulling out the pieces of grass that stuck to him. “Thank you for letting me sit with you” you smile sweetly up at him, even sitting by him he was much taller and bigger than you. “Thank you, for wanting to” he avoids your gaze, his cheeks dusting pink yet again. 

Every day you would eat meals with him and talk, slowly you would convince others to give him a chance. Inviting others to sit with you both, he slowly opened up more to you and you would cloud gaze and chat about your missions and other things you have witnessed or experienced. but even then, you had to take missions that kept you apart occasionally. 

Excitement was flooding your system, you were a few blocks away from home and you haven't been back for a few months, your last mission was difficult and you spent some time in the hospital. You were so excited to see Gajeel you almost couldn't handle it, forcing yourself to take normal steps and not to run. 

You open the door and look around at everyone, looking for your specific person. Gajeel was in the back of the room, deep in conversation with Levy. Your smile disappears and you feel your heart skip before it crumbles into your stomach. You were happy for him, proud of his growth in the guild. You blink back your tears and then clear your throat softly, working your way through the crowd to the stairs to the dorm. 

You were supposed to be back today, where were you?! He was checking the door every few minutes, his heart racing and his foot tapping against the stone floor. He had gotten back from his mission a few days prior and was waiting for you, you sent him a letter saying when you expected to be back and he kept that letter in his inside jacket pocket. “Hey Gajeeeeel” Levy says as she comes over to his table and he groans internally, he just wanted to talk to you,. 

After humoring her for a few minutes he hears the door close behind him, he turns his head and looks for you but doesn't find you, his eyes lock with Mirajane and she points across the crowded room. When Gajeel followed her finger he sees the end of your hair and bag disappear up the stairs “excuse me” he says, cutting her off and standing quickly, running after you. 

The moment your door closes it’s being opened again, you gasp and your bag falls to the ground “why didn’t you come to me?” he asks, his eyes filled with hurt. You smile up at him and reach behind him, closing the door gently. “You looked busy” you laugh nervously and he furrows his brow “no, dont, don't do this, okay? I was counting down the seconds until you returned, I always count the seconds until you return. So please, come see me immediately next time. Okay?”  your breath hitches as you look at him, his words sinking into your heart. His eyes were wild and his hands were stretched out towards you, he wanted to hug you but you haven't broken the physical touch barrier.. until now. 

You throw your arms around his neck and he tenses, his breath hitching “I missed you so much Gajeel” you whisper and his body relaxes against you, his arms holding you to him tight as he buries his face into your hair. “I missed you too” you pull back and smile up at the dark haired man “wanna get some food and cloud watch and catch up?” you ask and he nods “i’d love to” he says, his gruff voice extremely softer than usual. 

Sitting at a table downstairs you eat your fill, after being gone for so long and not eating enough, it was like you were in heaven. “wow i cant believe you took 5 different missions in two weeks” you say as you finish eating. He laughs “i just took smaller papers so i could back here when you would '' you smile warmly, but he was too busy eating to notice the sweet look you’re giving him. 

You end up on your spot on the grass outside of the build, watching the clouds and talking. You show him your healing wounds that will most likely scar and tell him about your time in the hospital. He looks worried about you but tries to laugh it off “you were scars like badges” you giggle “well duh. I work hard for them” his finger tips brush one of your healed scars and he sighs “i wish you didnt have to get hurt though” he whispers and your heartbeat skips. His eyes meet yours and you smile softly, his eyes looking down to your lips and you almost lean forward to kiss him but before you can he’s turning his attention back to the sky. 

I am such a coward he thinks. How am i supposed to fix this? How do i get back to that moment. His eyes are on your face, watching the clouds reflected on your shiny eyes, the tufts of moisture that you gaze at like you’re reading his fate, and he gets an idea. “look at that one” he points and you don’t really know which one he’s talking about “which one? What does it look like?” He laughs “come see it from my perspective” he all but whispers and you roll on your side, bringing your face close to his to trace his eyesight to the right cloud. But his eyes were on you, on your smiling face and bright eyes, you were gorgeous.

“That one. Right there. It’s a cloud that looks like a cat” you reach out and place your hand on his bicep, your small hand traveling softly down his arm until your hand rests against his bracelet “I can’t find it” you whisper and pout, how could you be so adorable? “It’s right there I don’t know how you can’t see it” he chuckles and you turn your head around, trying different angles before you turn and look back at him “I can’t find it-“ your breath hitches when you notice his gaze is on you, a small smile on his lips and his eyes gentle. His hand moved to cup your cheek “you’re beautiful” his gruff voice was a low whisper, the wind blowing your hair behind you and rustling his into his face. Your hand moves without thinking, brushing his hair out of his eyes and cupping his cheek for a moment. 

“Did these hurt?” your fingers gently brush the studs along his eyebrow “they were magic” you hum, probably hurt as much as the guild tattoo. “These too?” your first finger gently slides down the side of his nose and he nods, his eyes never leaving yours, “what about .. these?” your thumb runs along his bottom lip before pulling it down gently, letting it smack against his teeth as you brush his chin studs. His eyes flick down to your lips and you lean in almost all the way before your eyes flick up to his “Gajeel.. Did you really miss me?” you whisper and a strangled groan escapes his throat “every day” his lips touch yours and you feel sparks burst across your skin, your hand moving to tangle in his hair as he pulls you closer to him. 

You pull back and sigh, your eyes closed for a few moments before they flutter open and meet his. He has a soft blush on his cheeks and a smile “should we form a group?” you ask and he laughs, bringing a smile to your lips “probably” he says as he brushes his fingertips across your cheek “but.. More than that right?” he asks with furrowed brows and you chuckle, pressing your lips softly to the tip of his nose before turning and looking up at the clouds again, like you could read your fate in the tufts of moisture. 

 “I love you Gajeel” you whisper and his breath hitches “you do?” he asks, reaching out and turning your gaze back to his. You smile and nod “yes” he smiles softly, a soft sigh of peace as he presses his forehead to yours “I love you y/n” 

[twomoonstwosuns]

epilogue.

back to you [series masterlist]

previous post · bonus chapter

pairing: professor!poe dameron x reader

warning: mentions of sex, language

word count: 2.7k

a/n: we made it, this story is over! I’m having lots and lots of feelings, so I wrote a separate thing to express more of those. i hope the ending did not disappoint, and thank you for coming along on this ride with me.

~bonus chapters being added, links in the masterlist~

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5 Years Later

The first thing you heard when you opened the door was giggling. 

The house was dark, the only light coming from the light above the oven. Even the jingling of Beebs’ collar was nowhere to be heard. Moonlight shown through the cracks of the blinds. The house was seemingly abandoned.

But you did hear giggling.

“Hello?” You called into the house, hearing nothing in return as you walked from the foyer to the kitchen. “Anyone home?”

You set the plastic bag you carried in on the counter and heard more giggling, this time closer to where you stood in the kitchen. 

“Boo!”

Little hands grabbed your leg and made you jump, the high-pitched giggling returning as you put your hand over your racing heart and looked down at the culprit. 

“I scared you, mommy!”

You laughed as you knelt down. The culprit had a big wide smile on her face. “Yes you did, but you’re not scary!” You said as you smoothed out her dress. “You’re the prettiest Tinkerbell I’ve ever seen!”

Addison Shara Dameron was an exact clone of you, apart from the chocolate brown eyes and dark curly hair that matched your husband’s. A surprise that came two years into your relationship, she was now nearly four years old and yours and Poe’s greatest joy in life. She was your mini me, your best friend, but she was a daddy’s girl at heart and Poe was just as in love with her as she was with him. 

Addie kept you on your toes, a force to be reckoned with despite her young age. She loved to run and laugh and smile and have fun…and was becoming quite the little trickster. Which is why you knew, without a doubt, that while scaring you on Halloween was most definitely her father’s idea, she gave no hesitation to do it. 

“Mommy, will you do my hair like Tinkerbell’s?”

“Of course I will, let’s go upstairs.” You stood back up and larger hands immediately grabbed your waist, making you scream. A deeper laugh sounded in your ear as Addie’s giggling resumed and lips pressed against your cheek. He squeezed your waist before letting go and you swatted his arm as he passed. 

“I’m going to get you back for that.”

“Looking forward to it, sweetheart.” He called over his shoulder. 

“Mommy, daddy wonts let me make my hair yellow like Tinkerbell.”

“I told you honey, your hair’s so dark that it wouldn’t show up and you said the wig was itchy.” She sighed loudly and you smiled as Poe turned on the kitchen light. 

The first thing you saw when the light turned on was the sparkle of all the glitter on your daughter’s face and arms. The next thing you saw was Poe, clean-shaven and dressed as Peter Pan in a long green tunic and tight green tights that left nothing to the imagination. He sent you a wink when he saw you staring.

“Addie, why don’t you go upstairs and get your Tinkerbell slippers and mommy will be up in a minute.”

You watched her as she smiled and ran towards the staircase, the sound of her little feet tapping loudly on the hardwood floor bringing you so much happiness. Poe also watched her until she disappeared before looking back at you. 

“This is supposed to be a family appropriate costume?” You gestured to his costume and eyed the tightness of the tights around his thighs. 

“Not my fault you have a dirty imagination,” Poe smirked as he walked back over to you. 

“Trust me, it won’t be just me. All the neighborhood moms are going to go crazy.”

Poe chuckled as he put his arms around your waist. “Well, lucky for them I only have eyes for one neighborhood mom.”

You mumbled a ‘yeah, you better’ as he leaned down and kissed you, a rumble of laughter coming from his chest. 

“You need to go get into your Halloween costume,” he said as he pulled back. 

“I know, I know, I’m running a little behind. My meeting went long and then I had to stop at the grocery store.”

“Why’d you stop at the store?”

You looked at the bag on the counter and smiled sheepishly. “We needed more candy…”

Poe cocked his eyebrow. “If I go into the pantry right now, is the bag of Halloween candy we bought for trick or treaters going to be open?”

You looked away and didn’t say anything.

“And are all the peanut butter cups going to be gone?” You bit back a smile and he laughed loudly at your guilty expression. “Babe!”

“I’m sorry!”

“No you’re not.”

“I’m really not, I was craving them so bad.”

He ran his hands along your waist, shaking his head in fake disapproval.  

“Don’t give me that look, my need for peanut butter cups is partly your fault.”

Poe sighed heavily and you smiled as you leaned up and kissed his cheek. 

“Yeah….yeah, fine.” You giggled as you kissed him, then several things happened at once. Addie reappeared in the kitchen, calling your name to go do your hair. The doorbell rang, which made Beebs start barking. 

You gave Poe one more quick peck on the lips before following Addie up the stairs to her room while Poe went to get the door, eager trick-or-treaters barely containing their excitement for candy. You grabbed a couple things from the bathroom: her purple hairbrush, the de-tangler spray, and the cheap glittery hairspray that would make her hair hard as a rock but fairy-like for a few hours. 

“Alright sweetheart, come here,” you said as you walked into her room and sat on her bed. Addie ran over to stand between your legs and you turned her around and started brushing through her hair.

You could now hear a new voice floating upstairs, loud and happy and familiar. Addie’s face lit up when she recognized it, too. 

“Papa Kes!” She exclaimed, looking towards the door. You gently moved her head so she was looking forward again. 

“I’m almost done and then you can go see him.”

“Papa’s gon’ be Captain Hook!”

“He is?!” You pulled her hair back tight and secured it with a ponytail, doubling over it with a green scrunchie and creating the bun. “Okay, turn around and close your eyes.”

Addie turned to face you and you shielded her eyes as she closed them and sprayed her hair with the glitter hairspray. 

“I wants to see papa and daddy have a sword fight!”

You chuckled as you brushed some stray hairs back and sprayed them into place. 

“Alright Tinkerbell, you’re all set!”

Addie ran out the door, shouting “Thanks, mommy!” as she does and “Papa!” as she made her way down the stairs. You set her stuff onto her dresser on your way out and passed the top of the staircase on the way to your room. 

“Arghhhh, there be Tinkerbell!” You heard Kes say in his best pirate voice, Addie’s giggles floating up the stairs to where you were. 

You quickly made your way into your bedroom and changed out of your work clothes and into the pale blue dress that would turn you into Wendy for the night. The weather was unseasonably warm for late October, which you were grateful for because Addie did not like the idea of wearing a coat or long sleeve shirt under her costume. Tying your hair back with a ribbon, you smoothed out your dress, your hands lingering over your stomach. 

You grabbed your shoes and made your way downstairs, passing Beebs who had his harness on and was ready for a nice long walk. You followed the voices to the living room but paused when you saw a light on in Poe’s home office.

“Don’t tell me you’re grading papers,” you said as you walked in. He hummed and acknowledged your presence and glanced up from his desk. 

“Oh, I’m not grading.”

You looked over his shoulder, wrapping your arms around his neck from behind. 

“What are you doing?” You asked, seeing him fiddle with a hot glue gun. 

“We had a wing issue,” he said, picking up a little silver jewel and nodding towards Addie’s Tinkerbell wings that laid across his desk. “A couple of these fell off. I told her they would if she kept playing on the playground with her wings on, but she insisted on breaking her wings in before Halloween.”

You giggled. “Well, you can’t ever say no to her, so you can’t be too surprised.”

“No, I really can’t.”

You smiled as you kissed his cheek. “Careful, you’re going to b—“

Poe hissed as the melted glue spilled over the sides of the silver jewel, burning his fingertips. He pressed the jewel onto the bright green mesh of the wing and shook his hand, as if the pain would magically go away. You walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a washcloth, getting it wet with cold water and bringing it back to Poe. He put the rest of the jewels back on and you gave him the washcloth. 

“Thanks.” He looked up at you as you leaned against his desk and smiled. “Well look at you, Wendy.”

“I couldn’t find a long blue nightgown or dress, you think this is okay?”

“Sweetheart, you will never hear me complain about you wearing a shorter dress.”

Even after being together for five years, Poe still had the ability to make you blush. He did it on purpose all the time, getting a good laugh out of it but giving you a kiss somewhere on your face every time as an apology. He grabbed your hand and pulled you onto his lap, his lips connecting with your jaw as you put an arm around his neck.  

“Happy Anniversary.”

“Happy Anniversary, my love,” you said with a smile and you leaned down and kissed him. “You know, I think out of all our anniversaries, this one is my favorite.”

“The anniversary of the first time we slept together is your favorite?”

You shrugged. “It’s the one that started everything. I love celebrating that.”

“Speaking of celebrating, you still up for making the trip downtown?”

You sighed heavily and run your fingers through the hair at the base of his neck. 

“I don’t know if I’m in the mood to be fucked against the wall tonight…your baby is taking all of my energy.”

He smirked. “Which one?”

“Both of them, but the one in the oven in particular.”  

He snickered and put his hand on your stomach where, in a just a few short weeks, a baby bump would start becoming more noticeable. 

“I’m sorry, I know we do it every year—”

“Don’t be sorry, hon. I know the first few months of pregnancy comes with a lot of fatigue. You were exhausted with Addie. We can celebrate another day. Besides, I had another idea in mind, just in case.” You looked down at him and cocked your eyebrow. “When we get home from trick-or-treating, we’ll get Addie bathed and put to bed, get into our pajamas and cuddle while you eat your weight in peanut butter cups and watch a movie.”

You looked at him adoringly, putting your other arm around his neck and pulling him into a hug. 

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” he chuckled as he hugged you back, a soft kiss being placed on your neck. He rubbed your stomach gently, a soft smile appearing on his face. “So, when do you want to tell Addie?”

“Maybe when there’s a bump…she’ll probably ask where the baby is and it’ll be easier to show her it’s in my belly.”

“You think she’s going to ask where babies come from? Because I don’t know if I’m ready to have that conversation with her.”

“She might. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let’s go trick-or-treating.”

He patted your leg and you stood up just in time for Addie to come running in, giggling as she looked back to see Kes peering around the corner at her. She hid behind his legs and Poe looked down at her. 

“I got your wings fixed, Tinkerbell.” She clapped her hands and he grabbed the wings, sliding the elastic bands up her arms. She ran around him and past Kes. 

“My wings is fixed!” She yelled, looking back at Kes. “I can flys now, you can’t get me!”

“Arrghhh,” Kes groaned, looking back at you. “She be having a point.”

You giggled as you watched her creep carefully back to Kes and then jump out of the way when he tried to grab her. Poe put his hand on your back and rubbed it slowly as you watched her play with her grandpa, the both of you already thinking about how much fun she’ll have with her new sibling. 

“Let’s go tricker treating!” Addie said excitedly, grabbing Kes’ hand and pulling him towards the door. 

You and Poe followed them out, Poe grabbing her trick or treat bag and her Tinkerbell blanket and you getting Beebs’ leash. He jumped up on you excitedly as you hooked him up, the eight year old corgi still having the energy of a puppy, but you knew he’d pass out either on your bed or Addie’s as soon as you got home. 

Locking up the house, you and Beebs followed the others out into the warm Halloween evening. The sounds of the neighborhood kids squealing with fright and gleefully talking about all the candy they’ve gotten was carried down the streets. A smile formed on your face as you watched them. Poe and Kes each had one of Addie’s hands, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and Captain Hook, and they led her down the driveway. You grabbed your phone and took a picture, the setting sun providing the perfect backdrop.

“Y/N!”

You were too busy looking at the photo you had taken to realize they had turned around and were talking to you. Your head snapped up, a slight blush forming on your cheeks. 

“We forgot to take pictures,” Poe said as he walked back. 

“Oh my gosh, you’re right! Addie, we’re going to take some pictures first and then we’ll get going, okay?” She sighed heavily, wanting to just go already, and you knelt down to her level. “Just a couple of pictures.”

She nodded and you gave her a kiss on her cheek and joined Poe in front of your garage. 

“You better let me in one of these pictures,” Kes said with a humorous smile. “I don’t get this dressed up just for anyone and you’ll want to document it.”

“Of course we want a photo with you in it, Kes.” You smiled at him and he shot you a wink. He came and stood beside you as Poe set his phone up on the car and coming over to stand on the other side of his dad. 

“Smile right there, Addie,” you said, pointing to the camera. She put a big smile on her face and Poe started the shutter timer, the watch counting down from three to take the picture. Kes went and grabbed the camera, muttering “perfect” under his breath and holding it up to take one of the three of you. 

As Kes took the picture of your perfect little growing family, in front of your perfect dream house, on a perfect and warm Halloween night, you thought about how this wasn’t where you’d thought you’d be just five years out of college. 

You decided you would text the group of friends you went out with later that night, thanking them for dragging you out to the loud and crowded nightclub. Because without them making that suggestion, you wouldn’t have found the love of your life. 

All it took was one night, where all order was suspended, and one drunken impulse to completely change the course of your future. 

There was absolutely nothing you would do differently. 

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[queenofwerewolves]

Future Hope - chapter 1.5 - Practice Makes Perfect

Our heroes didnt get their powers and knew from night to day how to manage them, especially those who had physical changes to their body. Our soon-to-be heroes were all reunited in Maria's house, they had planed to spend the afternoon practing and exploring their new limits and abilities, all helping eitch other.

They decided since Griff had the biggest change, they would focus on him first. At the moment they were out in backyard, eitch one giving suggestions on what to begin first.

"Pick us all up at once with your new muscles!" Said Muffin excitedly. "That's still too light! Pick us all up plus Maria's car" Said Spike, chewing once again on a bubblegum.

"You all leave Hellride out of this!" Maria responded angrily. "That car was expensive as fuck and I refuse to go back to a life of Ubers!" She crossed her arms, indignified.

"You named your car?" Kip answered from high up a tree branch, as cats do. "I name all my belongings, what of it?" Maria answered. "And they're all cool names, too".

"Hellride? Really?" Spiked scoffed. "Because she rides fast as Hell! Look can we get back on track and find something for Griff to test his strenght?!" Maria answered nervously with a touch of embarrassment.

"Unless we find an Indiana Jones boulder for him to spin on his finger like a damn basketball we arent gonna get any damn progress!" Spike shouted back.

Maria sighed and shook her head. "I hate it when you have a point.." Griff nervously scratched the back of his head. "There must be something we can do.." He quietly mumbled out.

"I got it!" Muffin shouted, they all turned to face her. "I forgot Im a fairy! I can just poof something up!" She said excitedly. Everyone stared at her with either a confused or shocked look.

"..How... Do you FORGET that you're a fairy?!" Spike blurted out nervously. "You have fucking wings! How does one forget they have huge pink glittery wings?!"

Muffin just shrugged.

Maria smiled wide. "OK Muffin, give us something huge and heavy for Griff to use!" Muffin nodded and grabbed her wand which had a muffin on the tip. "Wand cook, beat and bake! Give us a big large and tasty cupcake!" She waved her wand and out appeared from a bunch of pink glittery smoke, a nearly two-story house tall chocolate cupcake.

"... Why a cupcake..?" Blink asked as she peeked behind her mask, in slight awe and wanting to secretly a bite out of it. "I can only make sweets!" Muffin said with a shy tone. "Im not a fighter like you guys, I only want to make people happy and eat candy!"

"That is certainly the biggest pastry I've ever seen! So large and beautiful, I bet tasty as well!" "Not to mention DIABETIC AS HELL!!! We could die from a heart attack eating that! Or worse, we could get fat! Even fatter! And become even uglier then we already are! This is too overwealming I need a nap!"

Rooko and Rooki suddenly spoke, almost taking everyone off guard on how their friend Rook is suddenly two split personalities now based on the Youtube character ENA, one is always happy while the other is always sad, and depending on the situation they can go Manic or Miserable.

"OK Griff, show us what you can do!" Maria shouted excitedly. Without missing a second, Griff bent over and gripped the edge of the massive cupcake, after struggling a bit he slowly but surely, lifted the entire thing over his head, smiling proudly.

His friends cheered and applauded proudly. Feeling satisfied, he dropped the cupcake and dusted the chocolate crumbs off his hands and fur. "Yokusei!" He shouted, and with a naruto-like smoke poof, he turned back to his human self. Maria ran and hugged him tightly, which Griff embraced and hugged back with a slight twirl.

"Griff you were amazing!!" Maria said with a proud tone, Griff slightly blushed pink at the small punk girl and her excitement. "Oh shucks, it was nothing.." He said with a shy tone.

"Well, and seems we concluded Griffin's training." Togekiss said as they took a sip of tea. "He jump twice as high as a two-story house, his punches and kicks can knock down brick walls and possibly more if we werent limited on objects to test it with, he can hear twice as much then a dog could with his ears, and his sense of smell is impecable. Truly Griff is a strong asset to our team."

"I can only train my powers at night.." Said Spooks, holding an umbrella to protect her from the sun, now that it injures her. "Muffin's power is only sweet making. Togekiss has exceptional I.Q and can see simulations in the future like Garnet in Steven Universe, along with their strong telekenisis, and Kip simply draws whatever she desires, whether alive or not and it becomes a reality... That means it's Rook's turn to show us what she can do" She finished.

"Wonderful! It's our time to shine!" "I-I-I not ready! Everyone's gonna laugh at us! I-I might piss myself in fear!" "Oh pull yourself together dear! Our friends wont laugh at us!" "How do we know that?! They're just waiting to correct us on a dumb mistake!!!"

Rook's body shook and twitched as her eyes turned to static, suddenly her entire eyes turned black with a blue iris, she turned Miserable.

"They're gonna laugh and point at our foolish selves, we're gonna be so embarrassed that we'll wish that the Earth will swallow us whole and just fucking kill us now!! Go ahead! Laugh at us and our misfortune!!!"

"ooh shit" Maria said. "can someone calm her down?"

Rook's eyes change to regular as her Miserable side went away. "No need my good Queen! We are completly fine! Now prepare to be dazzled as we show you all what we can do!" q

Rook pulled out a harry potter-like wooden wand, waved it around. "Bloom and Blossom and protect who I love! Rise my pretties, rise high and above!" Rooki shot an orange light at the grass, which made dozens of flowers bloom and grow around Spike and Blink.

"This is only one of my tricks! It's a shield that protects them from almost anything! My main weakness is fire, because while plants are beautiful, they are also sadly very, very flammable"

"Cool." Said Spike before using his bat to aggressivly hit the flowers and the vines aside so he and Blink could leave.

"M-M-My turn I guess!" Rook took hold of the wand and waved it in circles. "Razzle Dazzle Shine and Show, make their body move it low!" Rooko shot a blue light at Spooks, which made unwillingly and uncontrolably start dancing and as the spell said, make her go low.

"O-OH GOD SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP I DONT LIKE HOW MY BUTT IS MOVING THIS MUCH!!" She shouted in desperation as she made a split and moved it even lower.

"M-My deal is with music! I-It works as a way of distraction o-or hypnosis and it lasts for 30 minutes un-le-less I say otherwise! I-I know it's a sucky power!"

"OK COOL CAN I STOP DANCING PLEASE IM GETTING A CRAMP!!!" Yelled Spooks, practically begging. Rooko flicked her wand and Spooks fell on the ground, panting. "OH MY POOR HAMSTRINGS THEY ACHE!!" She yelled in utter pain, meanwhile Maria and Spike were absolutely losing it.

"O-OH GOD MY STOMACH HURTS-" Said Spike in between laughter.

"OK you guys cool it" Said Blink. "It's our turn to practice now. We're the only ones who use regular weapons." She said drawing her sword and positioning her mask back in place.

"O-OK! OK!" Maria said getting up, she pulled out a small staff and whipped it, making it stretch out wide into a full, large red and black scythe, with a rose print on the blade. Spike spun his bat and spat his gum out.

"So. Who's ass Im kicking first?" Said Spike. "Wait on second thought this might be unfair." Said Blink. "Me and Maria had blades while Spike has a bat, maybe we should-"

Before she could finish, Spike swung his bat and hit Blink sword, knocking it out of her hand before kicking her back at the ground. Blink fell back hard before she could even process what happen, dumbfounded but angry, she snarled. "Oh it's on now Motherfucker." She extended her hand and the sword flew back to her hand, as she charged towards Spike, who moved out of the way as soon as Blink swung her sword, which if he hadnt been for Maria's scythe, would have sliced her right up.

"Dude! Chill! This is a pratice!" Maria spoke as both of their blades were against eitch other. Blink hopped and flipped over her and landed on a tree branch, croutching like a ninja. She put her hands together and in a small puff of smoke and disappeared. Spike and Maria were back to back, ready to counterattack Blink, what they didnt expect was for her to attack from underground.

Buring up from the dirt, she got both of them off their feet and charged after Spike, who barely managed to regain his balance before his using bat his block Blink's sword. A back and forth of clash-clings-and-clangs between metal begun, one attacking the other but eitch blocking every attack again and again.

Spike ducked a sword slash and roundhouse kick Blink's leg, which was effective since she's practically a ninja. She backflipped back on her feet and kept attacking swiftly. But a sudden scythe blade cut in between them, stopping the fight.

"That's enough!!!" Maria shouted. "You both are gonna end up hurting yourselves or eitch other! im ending it now!!"

"Oh what the hell dude?!" Blink shouted indignified. "I was about to beat him!!" "Oh please." Answered Spike. "Was that the best you could do? Sakura could do a better job kicking my ass" He scoffed. They began to argue loudly, genuinely angry at eitch other.

"THAT"S ENOUGH!!!!" Maria shouted, making them, and everyone else look at her.

"It doesnt matter would win that fight! This was a practice and not a competition!! The point of us being a team and getting powers in the first place was for all of us to make the world a better place, but the only way that can happen is if all of us work together!! As a team!!!"

They stood in silence, listening to her talk and set them straight.

"As cheesy as that sounds, it's true!! We shouldnt fight eitch other like this, you're not just my friends, we're all friends with eitch other! We all go along well and we know that, that's why I got you all together, because no one can bond better in a team then all of us together!!!"

"... She's right." Togekiss added, walking towards them. "We all started as simple individuals with free time on a website, but we all shared common interests, we grew closer.. And suddenly like that, we all became friends.. A family, if you will."

"We take care of eitch other and look out for one another." Said Spooks.

"Just like how you all did for me.. When I almost died. Almost died because of the shit and violent world we live in." Maria said.. With a slight crack in her voice.

"You're bringing in the same violence that almost killed me.. So please.. Please stop fighting.. We're all in this together.. Right..?"

Spike and Blink dropped their weapons and hugged Maria, and everyone else joined in as well.

"You're right, we're sorry Queen." Said Spike. "We got overwhealmed and we didnt mean it. We wont fight again, because you're right." Added Blink.

"We only have eitch other in this world, and if we want to change it we have to stick together, just like you said." Spike said one more time.

"And we wont let you down.. We promise.." Griff finished, with everyone agreeing with what he said.

And so they stayed for a moment, embraced within eitch other in a group hug. A family isnt perfect, there will be disagreements, but a good bond will always overcome those disagreements, and that's what they had, a good bond.

A bond that's practically unbreakable and untaintable. A bond that will soon be ready, and fight together to make the world a better place.

A bond that will the world's Future Hope..

[shhh-no-ones-home]

all i ever wanted jack daniels x reader

++++++++

imo this one is much better than the last. plus we get to see more of our faves lol. i hope yall like it!

Song: youre the one by greta van fleet

tag list: @cynic-spirit

+++++++++

"max! come back!"

i yelled, chasing after my six year old. i heard him giggle as he ran towards the front door of the office.

"gotcha!"

i said, grabbing his hand before reaching around him and picking him, placing him against my hip with a huff.

"mommy i wanna go."

he whined and i shook my head, opening the door.

"i know baby but you have to be quiet, there are people working."

i said and he nodded, twisting his fist into my red blazer as we got in the elevator.

"do i get to see your office again?"

he asked excitedly and i sent him a smile.

"yes baby, you get to tour the lab too if ginger remembered you where coming today."

i said and he bounced against me, kicking his legs. i could barely hold onto him.

"mommy look!"

he pointed as the elevator opened, the large statesman emblem was embossed on the wall. i nodded with a smile.

"you wanna touch it?"

i asked and he nodded, leaning forward with his hand outstretched. he placed his hand against it, rubbing his fingers into the grooves like he had the last few times he'd visited.

"is that my favorite little man?"

i heard from behind me and turned to look at champ making his way down the hall.

"champ!"

he screamed, wiggling out of my grasp and running into his arms.

"you're getting so big."

champ said with a groan as he hoisted him up into his arms.

"im six now!"

max said loudly as we began the short walk down the hall to my office.

"six?! you're practically a grown up!"

champ said, making max giggle.

"no silly, im not that old."

he said with a smile as we rounded the corner.

"well, big man, what do we have on our list of things to do today?"

he asked as i moved to my desk to start my computer.

"ginger said i could tour the lab!"

he said loudly as champ sat in the chair opposite me, looking up to me and giving me an almost impressed look as max got comfy in his lap.

"well doesnt that sound fun."

max nodded quickly.

"hey kiddo, how about when you're done, you have ginger bring you by my office. i got a present for ya."

champ said and i sent him a look.

"really?!"

max said, wrapping his arms around champs neck in a hug.

"thanks."

he said, champ laughing a little bit as he hugged him back.

"well i gotta get back to work buddy, ill see after the tour. yeah?"

he said, holding him and standing up, setting him down in the chair.

"okay champ!"

he said with a wave and i nodded to champ as he made his way to the door.

"dont forget that mission assessment today either."

he said and i nodded.

"im meeting with jack during the tour."

i said and he nodded before closing the door behind him.

"mommy when do i get to see ginger?"

max asked impatiently as i sat, laughing a little bit.

"let me call her baby and i will let you know."

°°°°°°°°°

"ginger!"

max yelled, letting go of my hand and running to her as the doors opened. to my surprise jack was standing there talking to her, looking to me with an interested look as max came barreling into ginger for a hug. she crouched down and ruffled his hair as he pulled her glasses off, tucking the temples behind his ears and smiling at her widely. i laughed a little bit.

"baby you cant just take peoples glasses without asking first."

i said and he looked to me with a frown.

"sorry."

he said bashfully, handing them back to her and watching her stand.

"its okay max. are we ready for that tour?"

she asked, placing them back on her face, and he nodded quickly.

"please, please, please!"

he said quickly, taking her hand.

"ill see you when we're done?"

she asked and i nodded.

"oh, i almost forgot, take him to the conference room when you're done. champ said he had something for the little mans birthday."

i said looking down at him and raising my brows.

"oh thats right."

she said, also looking down at him.

"youre what? twelve?"

she asked playfully and he laughed.

"ginger, you know i just turned six."

he informed her and she nodded, closing her eyes and acting it up.

"oh thats right! six!"

she said, leaning down to his eyes level.

"i think we have something special just for you in here too."

she said and his eyes went wide.

"really?"

he asked and she nodded.

"yep, but we have to wait till we go see champ before you can have it."

she said and he nodded quickly, squeezing her hand and pulling her forward.

"lets get to it then!"

he said and i laughed, waving as they disappeared further into the room. i shook my head and looked to jack.

"ready to get that meeting started?"

i asked and he nodded, following me as i turned to walk out of the lab.

"so,"

he said and i sent him a raised brow.

"whose kid?"

he asked and i huffed out a laugh.

"mine, jack, he's mine."

i said and he nodded.

"funny, you didnt mention him."

he said and i shook my head.

"forgive me for not informing the out of towner."

i said with a wink and he rolled his eyes.

"hey y/n."

tequila greeted as he rounded the corner just as we did. he tipped his hat to jack.

"whiskey."

he said. i turned around and walked backwards to look at tequila as he got further away.

"max is in the lab with ginger, party in the conference room after their tour."

i said and he fist pumped.

"ill be there!"

i nodded once before turning back around. jack sent me a look.

"what?"

i asked innocently and he shook his head.

"am i the only one that didn't know you had a kid?"

he asked and i laughed.

"guess so cowboy."

i said, opening the door to my office and letting him in.

"as your boyfriend i feel like i shouldve known before now."

he said and i snorted.

"jack you are not my boyfriend."

i reminded and he sent me a look.

"have we not been going on dates?"

he asked and i closed my eyes, shaking my head and making my way behind my desk.

"missions are not dates jack."

i pointed out and he shrugged, dropping into the chair on the other side.

"why not? if i remember correctly most missions aren't supposed to end with your tongue down my throat."

he said and i sent him a stern look.

"jack-"

he held his hands up.

"no, no, i get it. you dont want a relationship as much as i don't. we're on the same page."

he said and i sighed.

"jack we talked about this. we both have our reasons for not getting into it. i just... i dont want him to get used to someone and then things end badly again. hes already lost one dad, i cant live with the guilt of breaking his heart like that again."

i said and he nodded.

"darlin, i know better than anyone what its like to lose your family, but that doesnt mean we both cant move forward. we have shared experience in that department, maybe it could make our relationship stronger."

i looked to my desk for a moment.

"let me prove it to you. let me take you out on a proper date, let your kiddo get used to me as another statesman agent, and if things get serious later on down the line then great, we can let him know about us."

he said and i looked back to him, chewing the inside of my lip.

"fine. ill let him get close to you today, see if he likes you if you really do plan on hanging around for a bit."

he nodded.

"champ needs me here for a while, i wont be going back to new york long term for at least a few months. besides, you know how badly i wanted to be a dad once upon a time, let me show you i can do this."

he said and i sighed.

"alright, ill give you a shot. but for now lets just get to work. we have to finish this mission report before the tour is over."

he nodded once.

"yes ma'am."

°°°°°°°°°

"mommy look!"

max shouted as jack and i walked into the conference room, running to me wearing his very own black Stetson and bolo tie.

"champ said im an honorary statesman!"

he said excitedly, fixing the tie into place. i laughed a little bit, looking to champ sat at the desk before crouching down in front of him.

"and you are the cutest statesman there ever was."

i said, holding his waist lightly and kissing his cheek. he giggled at me before hugging me quickly and running back to the table.

"now you look like whiskey."

tequila joked, pointing to jack and max looked at him. his eyes went wide as he set his crayon down onto the coloring page he was working on.

"i wanna be like whiskey!"

he said boldly, sliding off the chair and standing next to him, copying the exact way he was standing. jack dropped to one knee and looked over at max.

"its like looking in a tiny mirror."

jack said, max beaming at his words. they both looked up at me.

"what do we think mom? dont we look alike?"

jack tormented and i sent him a testing look.

"i guess we have a new favorite huh?"

i said slightly amused and max side nodded.

"mommy, no one could replace you, but i cant dress like you your shoes are to hard to walk in."

he said, making us all laugh as he climbed back into the chair and went back to coloring.

"thank you baby, i appreciate that."

i said, taking the seat next to him and looking at the page he was working so diligently on.

"did we get more horses?"

i asked, looking to ginger and her nodding.

"i remembered how much he loved going to the stables last time he was here."

she said and i sent her a knowing smile.

"oh, yeah, he has been obsessed ever since."

i said, looking back to him. my gaze made its way to jack as he looked down at him coloring.

"you like horses buddy?"

he asked and max nodded.

"my favorite is the mustang. mommy even lets me watch spirit before dinner every night."

he said proudly, not looking away from his project.

"how would you like to see a real life one?"

jack asked and i sent him a look. max's head snapped in his direction quickly.

"you have a mustang?!"

he asked bewildered and jack laughed.

"yeah i do. ill make you a deal."

he said, pointing at max and max was hooked.

"next time you come in with your mommy, and she's okay with it, ill take ya to go see him. and maybe take ya for a ride around the complex."

he said and max looked to me quickly.

"mommy! mommy please! i wanna see the mustang!"

he said and i sighed, brushing some of the hairs out of his eyes.

"okay baby, next time you visit we can go see whiskeys mustang."

i said and he fist pumped the air.

"yes! thank you mommy!"

he said hugging me. i watched jack with a burning gaze as he sat on the other side of max. i looked to champ and he sent me an amused look.

"kids will be kids."

he said and i rolled my eyes.

"now, how about that birthday cake we talked about?"

[not-from-the-absence-of-violence]

to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones

Happy birthday @drowninginstarlights !!! had the whole elaborate well wishing on ao3 so i wont repeat myself but <333 tysm to @leenik-matagot for proofreading and letting me yell about it bc i wasn’t allowed to do it publically.

After the whirlwind that is their lives Travis, Gable, Margaret and Hildred finally get the soft date day they deserve.

Margaret adjusted her grip on Hildreds waist. Victory giving a small squawk as they picked up speed. They were flying over Burza Nyth, the city bustling with excitement of the upcoming competition.

They had all come to watch Hildred compete of course, and Hildred had offered with a wink to take her around to fly with the soon to be 7th time champion.

Margaret had flown a lot in her years, but there was something distinctly exciting about riding Griffins, so openly free in the sky, so dangerously close to falling, so fast.

Gable and Travis were flying next to them on Metatron, Gable looked breathtaking like this, their mind clearly focused, their hair billowing in the wind, Travis as a white snake wrapped around their shoulders making them look all the more impressive.

“Not sure how you are staying focused, dear.” Margaret murmured into their hair.

Hildred laughed openly. “They are truly a sight to behold.” she said, “I am not doing anything particularly complicated right now.”

They gilded gently not too far above the city, taking in the view of both the crowds below them and their partner easily flying next to them.

“If you two will stop gawking.” Travis yelled over the noise of the wind. “I say we do a little race.”

Gable paled a little and seemed to be about to scold Travis, but Hildreds back straightened as she adjusted her grip on the reints.

“You’re on!” they called, and then softer to Margaret behind her with a bright look in her eyes. “You better hold on tight, darling.”

Margaret obliged, easily clinging tighter after quickly checking she’s still clipped on by the safety line.

Gable’s easy demeanor shifted into steel as they shot a look at them. “How about through the cliffs?”

“Dangerous,” Hildred says, then they smile, “I like it, until the bridge?”

Gable nods. “May the best rider win,” they say with a grin.

Margaret feels the tension build as Travis counts down, as he shouts “Go!” everything seems to release at once as Victory picks up speed ridiculously easily.

Margaret gasps and yelps, Hildred laughs before her holding onto the reins with a fierce grip. Suddenly she gets why they do this, the wind in their face, the fire in their lungs, Margaret feels so achingly alive.

They near rocky outcroppings and seem in no way even close to moving away.

“Hildred, my dear?” Margaret murmurs into her neck.

“You gotta trust me okay?” she calls gleefully back.

And if there is something Margaret is good at it’s that, she gently takes a breath and lets go of the fear and she melts into Hildred’s back, feeling the string between them pull tight like another safety line.

Gable is only slightly in the lead as they slow down and expertly maneuver through the cliffs, they seem to be almost one with Metatron as they look like they effortlessly dodge the rocks, the sun glinting and making them almost glow.

Victory doesn’t slow down, instead when they are about to hit the cliffs they take a sharp move upwards.

Margaret catches on what they are about to do as Victory keeps climbing, Hildred muttering quiet encouragement as they go higher and higher.

Suddenly they break cloud cover, they are oh so far away from the ground below them. Margaret stares out in amazement, taking in a few quiet seconds where there is only her partner's heavy breathing and the rigorous flapping of wings.

“Ready?” they ask gently.

Margaret can’t help but press a small kiss into their neck. “Let’s win this.” she says softly and she can feel how her warm breathing shoots into Hildred’s spine, she can almost see their wide grin.

“You heard her Victory!” she says and then they are falling.

Margaret has never felt like she does then, as her entire body feels like it’s turning, and for a moment she’s lifted into the air and weighs nothing. There is an exhilarating fear of hitting the ground, there is Hildred in front of her warm and laughing delightedly, she’s dizzy with it. They are free, in that moment of falling, all her life and thoughts disappear as the sensation of plummeting takes over, consuming them both. She can’t help her scream in a mix of fear and giddy excitement.

Just before they are about to plummet into the vast ocean Victory fans out his wings and they soar again. Margaret exhales a shaky breath and slightly loosens her grip.

The race isn’t over however and Hildred shows no signs of stopping her relentless pace as Gable and Travis have now fallen behind, still struggling through the rocks while they easily speed over the water.

There is always something so enjoyable about gliding so tantalizingly close to the sea, like they are taunting fate, Victory's wings occasionally beating away water which splashes around them.

They near the city and people raise their heads to look at them, Hildred is waving at them now, making what are clearly necessarily flashy moves. Gable is closing in on them and mirrors them. It’s like a dance between the two of them as they attempt to keep up speed and out-perform each other. Margaret is sure they are going to be the death of her.

Hildred wins of course, but only by a little as she goes under the bridge and then loops around to land gracefully on top of it. Gable follows quickly, Metatron landing heavy next to them.

There is a small crowd that stares in surprise as Hildred, 6 times champion, strides across the bridge to Gable who sheepishly dismounts their bird. Travis who sees where the tide is going quickly slithers off their shoulders as they open their mouth to start on a warm congratulations.

Gable doesn’t get much farther than “Cong-” before Hildred practically climbs them and pulls them into a searing kiss, the adrenaline of riding still in both their veins. Gable makes a noise at the back of their throat and automatically holds their partner up, lifting her effortlessly Hildreds legs locking around their waist, deepening the kiss further.

Travis moves to Margaret, who is leaning on Victory both catching her breath and taking in the lovely view.

She lowers her arm without prompting so her husband easily slithers over her arm to rest on her shoulders. “How long until Gable realises they are in public and becomes supremely embarrassed?” he says quietly into her ear.

Margaret sees as Gable parts for a second only for Hildred to say something she can’t make out that makes them go red all over again and kiss her neck, Margaret is sure the way Hildred giggles will be etched into her mind forever, like a melody she’s always known.

“I say a while.” she says amused, and Travis gives an annoyed hiss in return. She gently runs her finger over his head. “Now be a good boy and don’t whine William, we still have time before sundown.”

That shuts him up quick, he buries his head in her hair like he can blush and she laughs.

Gable does eventually catch onto the gawking crowd around them and awkwardly but gently lowers Hildred onto the ground. She’s grinning from ear to ear while Gable looks onto the people mortified and bright red.

“Gonna give the winner a kiss?” Hildred asks as she moves towards Maragret. Travis utters a small “Oh for the luminaries sake-” before making himself scarce again.

“I think you’ve had plenty.” Margaret says playfully, leaning forward.

“Hm well,” they say, easily putting her arms around Margarets waist, “I did pretty well, Margaret.”

“Greedy are we?” Margaret says, but leans forward the rest of the way, resolving for a quick kiss before they have to go back to get ready.

Their lips meet and Margaret's hands easily move up to Hildred’s hair undoing what was left of their pony tail, Hildred groans as Margaret pulls away as she gently nips at their bottom lip.

Quick didn’t have to mean chaste after all.

“Well I do believe we have places to get to.” She says easily, moving away from a now blushing Hildred Gastaur.

Victory next to them squawks, probably at the lack of attention and Hildred laughs at him, gently petting him and murmuring praise.

Gable is staring at them enraptured, a glint in their eye that says they definitely would like to derail their nicely planned evening for something else entirely, Margaret can’t say she isn’t tempted, but there is a very annoyed snake curled around their arm and reservations made.

It isn’t often that they get this, the four of them, with Margaret still traveling around, Hildred staying in Burza Nyth and Gable and Travis firmly sticking on the Uhuru. It’s alright of course, they have made their lives and making place for each other is part of the brilliance of relationships.

Margaret certainly could have never imagined it going like this when she had met Hildred in those few months she’d spent wandering around attempting to figure out what the revelations that Travis Matagot bore with him meant for her.

They had gotten mixed up in some corsair business and something with Hildreds past and only after the adventure, while they were having drinks they had mentioned Gable. And well there can only be so many 7 foot tall, flaming sword owning people named Gable.

Margaret believed that fate took her where she was supposed to go, there was very no doubt in her mind this hadn’t been a coincidence. Later Travis had found her again, just like she had promised he would. They fell into step with each other so easily as she cradled his head and whispered his name with the same desperation she had so many years ago.

in the end it was surprisingly easy how the four of them clicked into place together, seamlessly. They carved out a place in the world for themselves sometimes with gnarled teeth and claws and sometimes with kisses as gentle as clouds in the sky.

And in this space moments like this; the four of them together with no other responsibilities in the near future are to be treasured.

Sundown is now nipping at their heels as they all get on the birds again, to get ready for their date night, a soft excitement filling the air as Gable waves them goodbye as they head to the docked ship, while Margaret and Hildred head to their apartment.

-

Gable fiddles with the buttons on their shirt as they stare in the mirror. Travis saunters in already ready, of course, his hair pulled back with one of Margaret's ribbons, his purple coat pristine and glinting in the low light of the room.

Gable shoots him an annoyed look. “Who allowed buttons to be this small.” they say, as their hands yet again fumble over them.

Travis smirks, “Do you want me to them for you?” he says.

Gable can’t help but fluster a little, but they also roll their eyes, trying to formulate a coherent sentence to get back at him.

Travis just walks forwards and in practiced familiarity places a hand on their chest. “Let me.” he breathes and then he goes, doing the buttons one by one agonisingly slowly.

“You’ve been hanging around Margaret too much.” Gable whispers as he does the top one, their faces so close, he looks up at them through his eyelashes full of feigned innocence.

He looks handsome in the low light, his eyes betraying a gentle softness, if they didn’t have dinner Gable imagines they would kiss him senseless there and there.

“I like to think I spend an adequate amount of time with my wife, Gable.” He says, sounding as annoying as ever and still not moving away, his hands still on their shirt.

So Gable indulges him, leans forward in a gentle kiss, not quite swooping him off his feet. He parts away grinning like a cat who has just caught something, as if he’s being sneaky, as if Gable doesn’t want this too.

They shake their head and move away to sit down, turning their back to him. “I still have to braid my hair, so it will be a little while.”

Travis whines petulantly, he moves forward to them, pressing his forehead between their shoulder blades, his arm encircling them, Gable can’t help but lean into his touch.

“Can’t we just go,” he murmurs into their spine, “No one will care about the braids anyway.”

Gable’s hair has been growing out again, it goes all the way to their lower back now and it is at least an inconvenience to have it lose.

Travis presses a kiss to their neck, “We have reservations you know.” he says, somehow still petulant as he kisses them right beneath their ear. Gable can’t help but laugh, bright and airy. “Do you have any more ribbons lying around then?” they ask, “Can’t have it completely loose.”

He pulls away, his grin turning slightly mischievous and playful. “Oh I have plenty.”

-

Hildred steps out of the bedroom satisfied, she’s changed out of the grimy riders clothes of the day for a simple waistcoat and pants, her hair is tied back up and she runs her fingers through her freshly shaved undercut.

Margaret has changed into a dress for the evening, pale blue standing out against her brown skin. She turns and smiles softly at Hildred. “Will you lace me up, dear?” she says, vaguely gesturing to the back of her dress.

Hildred can feel their face become warm as they take a few steps forward, gently taking the lace in their hands and lacing it up as requested. They finish it all together with a small bow, not being able to help herself; she leans forward and kisses the back of Margaret’s head. “All done.” they murmur.

Margaret turns around and she looks brilliant, her smile feels almost intoxicating and Hildred’s breath catches.

“You look handsome.” Margaret says, as she takes their tie into her hands to straighten it.

Hildred makes a sound that might almost be a word and then leans in for a kiss.

Margaret smiles against their lips, then parting for a second, “Would be a shame to ruin your lovely handy work.” she breathes, and Hildred can feel their face getting more red as they realise their hands are just about to undo the ribbon they just made

“Right.” she says her voice pitched high, “places to be.”

Margaret grins in a way Hildred is sure she’s picked up from Travis. “We don’t want to be late.” she says.

-

So they all arrive at the restaurant Hildred has carefully picked. It’s low profile enough she won't be painfully uncomfortable as she usually is in fancy places, but it’s homey and she knows the owner so there is a booth slightly at the back of the place open for them.

They have their usual playful fighting over who gets to sit with who, which ends up with Hildred next to Gable with Travis and Margaret sitting in front of them.

Margaret suggests they pick a lot of things to share and she seems adorably excited about the prospect, so they all agree without much complaint.

Margaret loves evenings like this, the soft lights inside the restaurant, the sweet laughter of her partners. They are all laying it on a little thick, brushing their fingers whenever they pass each other the small plates, generally attempting to get the rest to blush harder than they are.

They deserve it, Margaret decides, to be sappy and a little annoying as they bicker just loudly enough for the other tables to overhear.

As the night progresses Margaret can feel the pleasant humm in the air circling around her. There is so much magic between the four of them now, such potent old bonds, such lovely new ones, it’s intoxicating.

Margaret wants to pluck their laughter out of the air and keep it for herself, she wants those small gentle touches burned into her skin, she wants the looks they shoot each other etched into her mind.

“You alright there, love?” Travis says bemused, she hadn’t even noticed she had ended up nuzzled into his neck.

Hildred and Gable give her slightly less annoying fond looks from across the table.

“Hildred is practically on Gable’s lap.” she protests, but she can herself begin to slur her words slightly.

Gable immediately turns pink, Hildred however takes the opportunity to fully climb into their lap and grin winningly. “Yeah,” she says, “So?”

More magic feels the air, it’s pleasant and sweet and playful, Margaret imagines she’s letting herself indulge into it too much, but rarely does she get access to such amounts of this when she isn’t saving it for a spell, so she lets herself.

Gable mutters something that Margaret is pretty sure is “you’re going to be the death of me.” and she agrees.

Travis sligns his arms around her shoulder, his eyes having a bit of that genuine care that makes Margaret go dizzy all over again. “We haven’t been drinking that much have we?” he jokes.

“ ‘S the magic.” she says, “there is a lot of it.”

And a lot of it is hers too, her own strings tangled up in all these others, pulling her from all directions.

He smirks again then, addressing the other two “Look at us being so in love we have gotten Margaret drunk.”

Hildred cackles. “I think this means we are winning.” they say.

Gable shakes their head. “You two are incorrigible.” but they are grinning too.

-

Later they are all laying in Hildred's bed, it’s a bit cramped, but it hardly matters as they all enjoy eachothers sleepy company, limbs intertwined, hands in eachothers hair. Margaret keeps thinking about the magic in the air and how it will almost be sad if she didn’t use it for something.

“I have an idea.” she says, breaking the comfortable silence between them, “although it might be a bit overwhelming.”

“Is that a challenge?” Travis says next to her, his eyes bright.

“It is decidedly not a challenge,” she says smiling, “and we won’t do it if anyone doesn’t want to.”

They all sit up slowly, Hildred easily fit between Gable and Travis as they all look at her expectantly.

“When I do magic, sometimes I help people by experiencing their emotions with them.” she starts. “And I could, in theory, tangle our strings up in ways so we could essentially feel each other's affection.” she ends it with an almost nervous smile, “If that makes sense?”

They all just stare for a bit and it’s Gable who speaks up first. “We would...feel all the love you mean,” they say, stammering only a little, “without having to say it.”

“Yes that is what I’m getting at.” she says.

“Thats-” they start, then, “you’re a wonder, Margaret.”

Travis has something of an unreadable look on his face, Hildred however looks openly excited. “I’m in!” she says.

“I can’t tie us all together at the same time,” she warns, “I think the effect would be too much.”

Travis nods slowly, a small smile playing on his lips “Sounds fun.”

-

She starts with Hildred, gently winding the strings around her, tweaking them softly letting the magic flow through herself and her partner both.

Gable and Travis are cuddled up at the side, watching her work with rapt attention.

Hildred loves when Margaret does magic, seeing her in her element her tongue sticking out just a little bit as her hand winds invisible cords around her wrists.

She can feel the magic too, thick and sweet in the air and in her veins, there is a moment when something clicks and she knows it’s Gable’s. She feels briefly like she’s flying, the adrenaline of competition, the thrill, the marvel that they are.

She can also feel the love, like it’s wound around her heart, it pulls her in, Gable’s love feels like freefalling and she lets out a small gasp.

“Still alright?” Margaret asks softly, her hands on their shoulders grounding them.

“Yeah” she breathes out, “Just give me a second.”

After a little bit she nods and Margaret works on the next one.

Travis’ is interesting, it feels sharp somehow, playful even, but tight, like he only knows how to hold onto something to his chest and never let go.

Hildred loves Travis, of course they do, she treasures his friendship dearly, but sometimes it’s hard to know how much he feels back, but now here she can feel it coiling around her. She makes eye contact with him and smiles, for a second he gives her a genuine smile back and she feels the echoes of it in her chest.

Margaret’s is by far the lightest, it’s not small, it’s not lesser it’s just light, like summer breeze like a gentle rain. Constant, mellowing out the whirlwind of the other two.

They don’t keep it up too long, it feels like a soft hazy eternity but it's only a few minutes before Margaret easily undoes the strings.

Hildred collapses a little into Margaret who holds her tenderly. “How was it?” she asks, bright and full of curiosity.

“Fucking brilliant.” she says grinning tiredly, “I’m exhausted now though.” Margaret laughs behind them.

“Yes go rest now,” she says, as she gently lays them on the pillows by the headboard

“Who wants to go next?”

-

To Gable Travis’ love is so achingly familiar, it has a weight to it, and odd sharp angles and promises tied into it.

Gable is used to it but there is something new by it being naked on their skin, buzzing electrically through them. It feels like burning and it feels alive. It has a finality to them, the way you can only love someone you promised to die beside.

Hildred’s make them think of battle, fast pace, full of adrenaline, maybe it makes them think of dancing, of swirling around and falling into step with each other; whatever it is it’s passionate and it makes their face go bright red and their heart hamer in their chest.

Margaret’s love is like a lighthouse in a storm, like the morning star, it shows them the way home, it’s bright, it’s an anchor.

-

Margaret ties hers around Travis first, with shaking fingers she gently ties it around his fingers. They’ve done this before, in many many ways and he smiles as she loops it around his ring finger just a little tighter.

It is overwhelming, Margaret’s love is the tide of a river, it’s the crashing waves, it's a summer rainstorm. It feels like he’s drowning in it, somehow it doesn’t upset him, but he does take her hand, feeling the current run through them both. Their love is powerful, her love for him, her love for life, has shaken the earth and makes the luminaries move to her will. He feels it in his bones, shaking him too.

If Margaret’s is rushing waters, Gable’s is fire. All consuming, as old as time, ever present growing so complete he’s afraid he’ll get swallowed by it. Yet the warmth doesn’t burn, it’s comforting, it’s home. He doesn’t turn to ash under Gable’s gaze but he does melt a little. He let’s the phantom flames ghost over his skin, holding him tight.

Hildred’s in contrast to both of them is new, vibrant, it’s skipping rocks on the river bank, it’s the teenage years he never got to have, it’s spring in full swing when such things still make sense.

-

Margaret lays in the middle of all her partners, exhausted, but content. Hildred is tucked under her chin, burrowing themself into her. Travis at her back, his face pressed into her neck. Gable envelops them all, they are next to Hildred but their arm is almost long enough to hold them all, keep them close.

She doesn’t need to do any tying, she just lets herself lose into the magic, feels her husband's everpresent promise I won't let go of your hand. Feels how Gable loves strong enough to doom the world over it and feels the passion that drives everything in Hildred, but solely focused on her.

She doesn’t quite feel like she’s in her body, lost in the stream, lost in their swirling mix of devotion. She could spend hours categorizing it, Gable loves like religion and Travis loves like he could lose it at any time and Hildred loves like it’s the last thing she’ll do.

Gable’s feels like the eye in a storm, and Travis’ like the universe wouldn’t be right without it, Hildred’s feels like rebelion

She could go on and on but eventually the warmth and sleep catches onto her, and there while she’s still marveling at the dazzling constellations that is their love she drops off into peaceful sleep.

[dontasktheradiodemon]

Reading Area #1 (1/18/2021)

Click here if you’re like “What the heck is this about?”

Valera @autokrates joins Kyxs @usedhearts while reading in the library and pulls out some tea. They hang out and chat about, among other things, Kyxs's death, magic, weird inhuman reproduction, and alien/infernal politics.

Kyxs

Books always attracted him, like a fly to honey, and so it's no wonder that he finally ends up in the library. Most of the volumes on the shelves, he couldn't even read the titles of, but he'd found a nice sci-fi novel in a shelf and sat down with that, just casually flipping through it and skimming.

Valera

Hope Kyxs didn't think he'd get alone time, even in an estate big enough to get lost in. Here comes Valera, a leather bound alien text shoved under one arm, the other holding an oversized mug of tea. To their credit, they offer a little murbling trill in greeting before taking a seat across the way from him in a piled up coil of tail and armchair cushions hidden under a throw blanket. Ohoho, this fish is ready to get COZY.

Kyxs

He looked up with a blink when she entered, but smiled her way. He slowly shut his book and held it in his lap.

"Hey, Val, haven't had a chance to see you yet, nor a chance to thank you for inviting me along. This--" He gestured around them. "Is way better than being in a bunker waiting things out. I'm having a blast."

Valera

"So I can imagine!" They grin, then cock their head to the side and rearrange themselves so they can lean in to get a closer look at their guest.

"Extermination day is your..." Ahem. "*Death Day,* right?" They sound it out carefully, a clear division between two words that didn't belong together in their mind. "Happy Death Day, Kyxs. I hope you've been able to enjoy this one more than the last."

Kyxs

He chuckled, giving a nod. "It is, and thanks. Yeah, usually I have a drink of whiskey with Alastor and listen to the radio waves through the extermination and that's all. Having mixed drinks with my boyfriend and hanging out on a beach side island mansion? Maaaajor upgrade."

Kyxs laughed a little more. "So, still weird to know that we're all dead humans, huh?"

Valera

"Very." They snort, turning to put their tea on the end table next to their chair. "I've seen plenty of humans die, but not as many start walking and talking in new form right afterwards."

They tap the edge of their book, humming as they watch him. "I'm glad I could provide a change of pace for you and yours. I almost didn't offer! I thought it might be too forward with how little we actually know each other, and I'm a TERRIBLE judge on how humans or ex-humans will respond to... Anything, honestly."

Kyxs

"Well, I'm glad you did." He shrugged a bit, leaning his elbow on the arm of his chair.

"Y'know what the worst part of arriving in Hell is? The drop. One minute, you're dying peacefully, and then next--" They lift a hand, making a motion with a finger like something falling. A cartoon sound effect of falling and then a comedic smacking sound play on the air. It's as smooch as any Alastor's effects, but it's clear he's been practicing with the noises.

"You're falling and splatting on the ground. I had the unlucky fortune to do that a few scant minutes before the Extermination kicked off for that year, and as jarring as it is to just fall in, falling in on Extermination day is worse."

Valera

A frown. "I'm surprised you survived. Well, I mean.."  A dip of the head. "You *didn't*, obviously. But you didn't *double* die. How did

freshly fallen sinner not immediately get exterminated? You'd have been a walking target!"

Kyxs

"Simple: Alastor. He was waiting for me when I dropped in, immediately got me up and rushed me to a bunker. Didn't even ask anything of me until after the Extermination." He shrugged a bit.

"Without him, I'd have been double dead for sure."

Valera

"Ah. Must have been a fan of your work." They're just going to take a sip of their tea, don't mind them. They know you, sad radio boy.

Kyxs

His mouth snapped shut, but his expression is a familiar static smile. Kyxs takes a moment to blink and then take a breath, relaxing. He just had to remind himself that they were an alien, maybe they wouldn't judge him like other humans would?

"....Yeah. He was. He followed me, listening in via the radios around me, watching what I was doing. Said he liked my style, but that I could have more flair, more power. Offered to teach me, if I worked for him in exchange. I took the deal." He tries his best to act casual, but his next shrug is a little too stiff.

Valera

They watch him stiffen up, and roll their eyes at his carefully manufactured casual mannerisms. "Here's a little tip from your local theater major, kid. Alastor can get away with the stiffly smiling puppet man act because that's how he *always* is. If you flip the switch on suddenly, everyone is going to notice and be on edge."

Ssssip. Mm, good tea. "Anyway. Making a Deal with Alastor was stupid, obviously, but I'm glad it's working out."

Kyxs

He sighed. "I know, I'm working on it. I only have high school theater to rely on." He laughed, crossing his legs.

"Eh, not as stupid as some people might think. Alastor's actually reasonable, mostly. If he respects you, which I was fortunate enough to earn by my actions in life. He'll give you good terms then, but if you're an idiot and act like one around him, well..." He trailed off and shrugged.

Valera

"Earning his respect doesn't seem that hard... Unless you also want him to fear you just a bit." They grin, all teeth.

"Not that I'd know. I have *no* idea if any Alastors out there respect me. But I do have things they want, and that's good enough. The only ones I make deals with are the ones I know have a vested interest in my survival."

Kyxs

"I don't know about that, there's not much Alastor fears." He took a breath, his hand playing with the pages of the shut book on his lap.

"Which ones are vested in your survival? Or are you not allowed to say?"

Valera

"I disagree MOST heartily, dear boy! There's plenty he fears. But if you haven't figured out what yet, I'm certainly not going to tell you and ruin his fun!" They crack their book open, setting it in their lap as they tug the throw up over their shoulders. Hoohoo cozy time.

"I could tell you specifics, but I wouldn't benefit from you knowing. Suffice to say, the ones that like going to Earth for visits or ingredients make an effort to keep in my good graces. Free rides are hard to come by."

Kyxs

He nodded. "True, I don't know much about what other Alastors fear, only the one I know. Who can say which ones of them have the same fears?"

He leaned over, tilting his head to try and get a peek at her book. "What're you reading?"

Valera

A few seconds of watching him crane his neck, and they obligingly turn the book sideways so he can see text he absolutely can't understand. It was reflex, don't question it too much.

"This? Nothing special, really. It's a book on chronomancy, time manipulation and the like. This one is about creating pockets of reality where time is dilated. Not terribly useful to me, but I like to study the basics of anything I can."

Kyxs

She was right, he could't read it, but he enjoyed being able to see the script, it looked nice. That explination flew over his head, though, and he blinked. "Soooo, time travel? What's.....time dilation?"

Valera

"Time dilation is.." They pull the book back, brows furrowing. "To simplify it to an absurd degree, time dilation is where time slows down. So this teaches you the theory behind creating pockets of space where time slows to a crawl relative to the world outside of it."

Kyxs

"Think I read a fantasy western where someone could do that. Had to burn a metal with Allomancy to do it, though." He chuckled. "But that's....neat? Is that something you can do?"

Valera

"Oh yeah, totally." They toss the book at Kyxs, watching as it freezes in midair, then seems to fall in slow motion.

"I already learned how to break this kind of magic at its zenith, but I did it with brute force. I'm studying the theory to learn how to pick it apart instead of just smashing it with a metaphorical hammer. Because eventually I wont be able to just" here they whip out the airquotes, voice turning exasperated "'orbital drop kick' my way to victory."

Kyxs

Kyxs blinked as the book froze and watched as it kept slowly moving towards him.

"Orbital drop kick, huh? So you got a lot of raw power but no finesse?"

Valera

"Oh, uh. Yeah." They roll their eyes, reaching out to pluck the book from the air before it went too far.

"I ruin a lot of things, losing control of spells. There's actually a spot in one of my off planet estates that infinitely spawns chickens because I overcharged one part of a time weave." A pause. "So if you're ever hungry, paradox chicken is cheap."

Kyxs

Kyxs blinked again, and then laughed, putting his face in his hand. "Paradox chicken?"

He lifted his head and, still giggling, continued. "So, is it just a planet of chickens now, or do they disappear after a while?"

Valera

They snort, waving a hand dismissively as they settle back into their coils. "I put a portal underneath the point that whisks them away to a processing facility. But it sure LOOKED like it was going to turn into a chicken planet for a while there. I didn't exactly have a response plan ready for *an endless flood of chickens*."

Kyxs

"Endless chickens. You could solve world hunger-- or actually, ALL worlds hunger." He laughed again.

"Okay, what else have you fucked up magically?" He looks legitimately excited by this.

Valera

They sniff. "Oh you want to hear about all my FAILURES huh? Not my dazzling successes? I broke an entire MOON out of a time freeze you know!"

A moment, and then they drop the act, grinning again. "Veci learn to channel our magic through boards carved with symbols. They're rigidly designed and have a bunch of redundancies to keep dumbass kids from hurting themselves. They do all sorts of things, and ONLY those things. So I, of course, wired a bunch of them together and powered them all at once."

A long sigh. "Long story short, the whole kit and kaboodle went flying off into low orbit and is probably still going."

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed, harder this time. "Oh my god! Just bam, zoom! Off it goes! That's incredible."

He sighed and wiped at his eye. "Reminds me of when Alastor started teaching me magic-- nearly broke every piece of radio equipment I touched."

Valera

His host watches him, fins twitching as they hold their mug of tea in cupped hands. "Aw, hatchling's growing pains. I assume you've gotten better control since then?"

Kyxs

"Oh yeah, a lot better. I still don't have the simple finesse and control that Alastor does, but I'm also not a full fledged radio demon yet." He shrugged.

"I still have to concentrate for stuff that comes naturally to Alastor." To prove his point, an audience gave sporadic clapping after he spoke and he sighed.

"Like that. Still need to whip my audience into shape."

Valera

"So I've heard! You don't inspire the same fear, but you also didn't exactly spring into Hell fully formed and blasting Overlords with unfathomable power. Or whatever. I wasn't there for it, I'm sure his manifestation was greatly exaggerated."

Kyxs

Kyxs rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged a bit. "I dunno, I've looked into it, quite a bit, and most reports are shockingly accurate from what I can tell. Alastor doesn't like to talk about the specifics a lot, though. But he did kill just...a whole fuckton of sinners."

Valera

They shrug. "Sinners die all the time. But we're focusing on you here. Do you MIND that people aren't as afraid of you?"

Kyxs

"Not really? Like everyone's _so_ afraid of Alastor that he can't do much of anything without people running in terror. I can go places and do things on his behalf and even then people won't just up and run because of my mere presence. Being feared to that extent's gotta be tiring." He shrugs back.

Valera

Sip-- Oh, they're out of tea. Ah well. "Speaking from experience? Exhausting. Especially for someone who was previous used to being well liked. You should feel bad for him, but only a little. He did choose to do all that murder after all."

Kyxs

His head tilted, looking curious. "People feared you? Like they do Alastor? But....you're so nice?" His bright green eyes squinted.

"Though considering you can make a chicken paradox, I guess getting on your bad side is a bad idea."

Valera

Well, if he's going to say his piece.. They carefully set the empty mug aside, face blandly neutral as they speak.

"I was thrust into power at twenty years of age, unprepared and terrified. When people attacked me, I responded in turn. When their families protested, I held public executions, to prove a point. A plot of treason? I strung their bodies up for everyone to see!"

A shrug. "Once people see you pull the trigger on an entire city in response to something they did, they realize what they're trying to fight against only gets worse every time they try to put it down."

Kyxs

"Oh geez." Their eyes widen with each word and they look away, elbows on their knees and hands covering their mouth.

After Valera was done, they were quiet a moment. "Yeah, that'd do it," They muttered.

Kyxs sat back up, leaning back in their chair, arms crossing over their stomach. "I killed my father and brother. They were both my first victims. And then I went off and killed a lot of other people. Not a whole city's worth, but for one person just on their own? I killed a lot."

They shrugged. "I keep that under wraps for most of Hell, on Alastor's advice. Thought since you shared...." They shrugged.

Valera

What a strange heart to heart this is. They'd hesitate to call Kyxs anything more than a maybe-friend, but.. He tries. They offer a smile, one side crooked higher than the other.

"Weird that he'd tell you to keep a few murders under wraps, considering the circumstances! But I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe keeping your victims from deciding to settle the score personally."

A beat. "Oh. I haven't done a widespread cull since I hit thirty, so don't... worry? I guess? I made a deal; ten years of compassion after ten years of cruelty. Six in now, and people have gotten comfortable enough to insult me to my face."

Kyxs

"I think it's less about the murders themselves and more me being a serial killer and all the media coverage I had before I died. Some people in Hell go real hard for true crime shit and have no qualms about stalking you." He laughed softly.

Kyxs's head titled, curious. "What happens when the ten years are up? Will you go back to doing stuff like that or do you think your decade of compassion's changed you enough to not do it again?"

Valera

"Figures, even in Hell where killers are in spitting distance on any given street corner, the big names still get creepy fans. Ever had people ring into the station over you yet?"

The question catches their attention, eyes alight with mischief. "I'd started to find the devotion to compassion rather boring, but then it lead me to Pentious. I _like_ being attentive with him. Making him happy makes _me_ happy. It's pleasant! And weird!"

They magic up fresh tea, offering a duplicate mug to Kyxs. "In four years time, I'll likely have young children to worry about. Another thing I never expected. So.. The best answer I can give is.. I don't know! This year alone has upset my status quo immensely."

Kyxs

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, thankfully. It helps that Kyxs isn't the name I went by when I was up top. I _do_ get people calling in thirsty as fuck for Alastor, though. In a variety of ways."

Kyxs shuddered a bit, and then grinned.

"Oh yeah, love can do that. Having someone to share things with is just really nice. Whether it's a friend or a significant other, it's really nice just being around people you like and care about."

He blinked and tilted his head. "Kids? With....Pentious? I thought sinners were sterile?"

Valera

"You are." They go back to cupping their drink. Time for more explaining! "Veci can reproduce with anything that has a soul. Sinners like you and Pentious ARE souls, condemned to Hell for your sins in life."

A pleased hum.. And then they snort. "Before you ask, yes I'm sure it works, and I've got the embarrassing story about Alastor being my midwife to prove it."

Kyxs

He blinks again at that and finally takes a sip of the tea she'd given him.

"Ah, hm, I don't think I want to hear that story yet. I don't think I'm mentally prepared." He chuckled. "But that's really interesting. Is it cause your people are so much more magically inclined?"

Valera

"You will never be mentally prepared. And if you ever are, you'll have better luck asking Angel. He was there too." A dainty wrist to their forehead, and they sigh dramatically. "My BEAUTIFUL spusband, my knight in SHINING armor.."

But no, Kyxs was NOT ready to hear the story, and Valera was not about to share it. Instead they grin over their tea, mischief in their eyes. "To answer your question. Yes and no. We're very magically inclined, but we're also genetically all over the place, compared to humans. For example, I bet you had two genetic donors, both normal husband, and you came out looking like either of them. "

Kyxs

Another rapid set of blinks. This converstation really was getting a lot of those out of him. "Angel was there?" He grinned at her display. "Well, that explains everything, he's definitely a knight in shinning armor."

He nods, very seriously, yes absolutely, knight in shinning armor.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how humans do it. Two parents, both equal in indignity." He snorted into his tea as he took another sip.

Valera

Oh no, there they go back into their dramatic swoon. "Of course Angel was there! He was the one whisking me away once things started happening, the one right by my side through thick and thin!"

And cue another sigh, flowery as you please. Then they snap back to normal, chinhanding at Kyxs. "I've got seven parents. All genetically related to me. Though the indignity stands, anyone who thinks reproduction is beautiful is wrong, and worse, they're stupid."

Kyxs

More blinking! His eyelids are going to get tired at this rate. "Seven? If it's not too weird to ask, how?? I only know about human biology, so forgive the ignorance."

He was trying very hard to not giggle as he took yet another sip of tea.

Valera

Kyxs' eyelids were going to be so buff by the time this was over. "Well, in MY case the genes were harvested and then patched together in a controlled environment. Yes, that's right darling... I'm DESIGNER." Hairflip. Anyway.

"But it CAN happen naturally. The optimum mating period is fairly generous, as long as there's enough.. traits.. mixed in there by the time the shop closes, the results can be any mix of the parents... Or you just do it magically. We've got spells to avoid the sexual part of reproduction entirely. Options are out there, suffice to say."

Kyxs

He gives a BIG laugh at the hairflip. That was a good one, tickled his funnybone something good.

"I see. That's really cool. So like, anyone can have a kid if they want, I guess the opposite is true too? Like there's probably magical contraception and all that?"

Valera

Good, they live to entertain!

"Of course! I just use the standard non magical medical solutions. Keeps me from having weird magic interactions!"

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed again. "Oh God what kind of weird magical reactions can they cause?"

Valera

"I mean, I laid three eggs. So failure is a common one." They roll their eyes. "No, I know what you want. Sometimes you change colors if your contraceptive doesn't mesh well with your magic. Or you can turn sparkly."

Kyxs

"_Sparkly?_" Their eyes get real big for a moment there. "Man, I want weird magical reactions that turn people sparkly to exist in Hell that sounds funny as fuck."

They laughed and set their empty cup aside. "I take it yours meshes, though-- or are you normally blue?" Kyxs smirked.

Valera

"I hatched *red,* actually." They flutter their lashes... Then snort and shake their head. "That's true, but misleading. Veci change colors as they grow up fairly frequently, nothing to do with contraceptives. No, I use regular old injections, good for six months at a time. Though my old magical one would sometimes make my horns get blue speckles. As far as side effects, it was pretty harmless!"

Now it's their turn to lean in, eyebrow raising. "You've asked *me* a bunch of questions, but what about you? Any magical contraceptives on your side of things, Kyxs?"

Kyxs

Oh, the blinking time is back, that's good. He laughed after, shaking his head.

"Oh, no, not that I know of. Sinners being sterile and all there's no real need for injections? I don't know what's up with the Hellborns though, so maybe they got some." He shrugged.

Valera

"Oh, boo. Though the idea of Hellborns making minor contracts with...." They trail off, leaning back in their seat.

"Oh my gods. Do they make deals with Stolas? No, no... Unless they were trading for information on contraceptive *herbs*. No, they'd go to Gaap, probably? He's the prince who rules over that sort of thing, if my memory serves. I haven't brushed up on my knowledge of demons in *years*." Plus Gaap was the one that Alastor had called on for them.. They should send a gift basket.

Kyxs

"I've been lacking in my demon studies, honestly. I know about Prince Stolas, but Gaap's not familiar to me? Is he a Duke or...?" He trailed off, shifting to tuck his feet under him on the chair.

Valera

"He's a prince, same as Stolas. Though, that's assuming your Hell works the same as some of the others I've been to. I'd honestly suggest you do your own research when you get home, if possible. Though if you want, I could ask Stolas when I see him on our coffee date." They shuffle deeper into their blankets.

"Do you want a refill on the tea, or is that enough for you?"

Kyxs

"Oh! Yeah a refill would be nice." He picked up his empty cup to hand over.

"Yeah I should. I need to be in the know more when it comes to Hellborns rather than just sinner Overlords."

Valera

A twitch of their fin, and his tea is refilled. Who needs TEAPOTS when you've got MAGIC ~~and a teapot and tea cabinet in the kitchen you can draw boiling water and leaves from~~?

"Indeed! Though, really I should as well. If I'm going to marry a man aspiring to conquer, I need to learn everything I can to help support him in his efforts. His greatest enemies, possible allies, how to manage them.. You know. Political stuff."

Kyxs

He takes a sip of the new tea. Ah yes tasty.

"Yeah, I've been putting it off a lot because of the politics. But considering I'm bound to the Radio Demon, and he's working with the Princess, maybe it's a good idea to look more into things."

Valera

"Take it from a politician. Politics are the worst and I hate them. Death to politics as we know it can't come soon enough." A heaving sigh.

"It sounds like a good idea. If you're going to help your boss, you need to know what you're doing. If I'm going to help my husband, so do I. We're together in misery!"

Kyxs

"Yay!" Kyxs gave a little fake cheer and then laughed.

"Well, as they say, misery loves company." He gave a shrug. "But you said you were planning on having coffee with Prince Stolas? Swanky." He laughed a little.

Valera

They groan, nearly vanishing into their own coils as they slowly place their book over their face. Politicsssssss....

Oh, right. Stolas. They remain exactly as they are, voice muffled but much more cheery. "We're going to meet up and swap parenting tips over iced coffee! He seems lovely, so I'm looking forward to it."

Kyxs

"That sounds so wholesome for a chat with a Prince of Hell." Kyxs couldn't help another giggle.

"Then again, Hellborns are a lot different from sinners. Who's to say they can't be wholesome?"

Valera

They wave a hand, vague and airy. "Parents operate on a higher frequency. We make eye contact and a bond is established. In that moment, we are allies in exasperation and adoration for the weird tiny people we're stuck with."

The book is brought down far enough to peek their third eye over at Kyxs, surprise tinging their voice. "You've met Charlie, haven't you? She's a total sweetheart, and about as Hellborn as it gets."

Kyxs

"Oh yeah! I have, she's really nice. I think my brain just slots her into her own category cause she's Princess." He shrugged again.

"She's very _very_ enthusiastic about things, which is really adorable. I really kinda wanna meet her parents just to see how they could've raised someone as sweet and compassionate in Hell of all places."

Valera

"You know, fair. She's certainly not like any other Hellborn out there, with that parentage." The royal baby, the little Angel of Hell. Poor Charlie.

And then her parents. Ugh. "I've heard very little about Charlotte's parents." They begin, carefully. "But I've heard nothing _good_ about them. I think Charlie's personality is her own doing."

Kyxs

"That's a fair point. I've heard things about Lucifer and Lilith, and none of it wasn't someone doing some ass kissing, sooo..." He snorted and shrugged again.

"It'd make sense if Charlie was mostly a self made Princess."

Valera

"Quite so, Kyxs." The book is finally pulled away, set on the table between them so Valera can have both hands free.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to derail the conversation. Was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss?"

Kyxs

"Oh, not really. I kinda like derailed converstations, makes it easier to go with the flow." He tilted his head.

"Alastor hasn't been any trouble has he? I mean, the one that's my boss, of course."

Valera

They stare at him, blank faced as they process his question. Alastor... Trouble... His *boss* Alastor.... Had he? Had he been trouble? Quick, brain, go evaluate a specific Alastor even though they all looked almost identical. Which one was his boss? Not Stick, right? No of course not. So that meant...

A few seconds of silence, and... "Oh! Not at all. He's lovely. A model guest. Good shot, too." Nailed it.

Kyxs

"Good shot?" His eyebrow raised and he lifted his cup for another sip of tea.

"What was he shooting?"

Valera

"Fish! We went speargun fishing together on the pier. It was very fun, he's good company." Oho, a purr from the fish, good job Alastor, wherever you are.

"I almost feel bad for worrying, all the Alastors have been behaving very well. So far."

Kyxs

"Oh never feel bad about worrying about Alastors making trouble. They'd never be rude, but I will say if they weren't your guests, they would be making a loooot more chaos than they are." He shook his head and smirked.

"Sometimes it's funny, sometimes....not so much."

Valera

They open their mouth to respond, then hesitate, tension tightening their shoulders. "Yes. Sometimes not so much is right."

... Not going to elaborate on that, Valera? No? Alright. "Well, with him at least, we managed to get along well enough with weapons in our hands! Always a good sign. Hopefully even when he isn't bound by his manners we'll muddle through, but we'll see."

Kyxs

"Well, if he didn't take a shot at you with a weapon in his hands, I'd say you're at least good in that he won't immediately kill you." He laughed again.

"I mean, not that he could? I think you'd be able to take anyone in Hell, honestly. Maybe not Lucifer himself, but you never know."

Valera

They grimace, shaking their head at the idea. "I could take Alastor in a fight, but I don't know about any Hellborn. And even if I *could* take them on, I wouldn't want to. Fighting is *stressful*."

Kyxs

He nodded and shrugged. "Fair enough, I haven't actually fought anyone else in Hell, so I don't even know what a big demon magical fight would be like."

Valera

"Oh, you haven't? Do you even know what you're truly capable of?" Now they're interested again.

"If you want to get an idea, I could always spar with one of my friends while you watched. Sparring is one thing, that's just playing."

Kyxs

"Not like, fully capable? I've gone into uhhh, my 'true' demon form a couple times but never to really fight? Or at least not anyone who was even near my level in terms of power." He used airquotes around the true part, and then shrugged.

"But I wouldn't say no to seeing some sparring, sounds fun."

Valera

"Sure! Probably not this time, but we can absolutely arrange something when less people are around to get in the crossfire."

They've abandoned the idea of reading by now, just a bundle of fish in a blanket sitting pretty.

"So, Kyxs. What do you want in Hell? You're stuck there theoretically forever, have you got a goal?"

Kyxs

They pondered that question for a bit, one clawed hand scratching at the base of one of their horns.

"Not really sure? Beyond like, doing the radio thing, learning from Alastor, and playing music, I don't have big overarching goals? I'm.... kind of content with that? Which is weird when you think about it, being content in Hell of all places but hey." They shrugged. "I'll take it."

Valera

"That might be for the best, honestly. But yeah, there's a pretty big flaw in Hell's design."

They shrug. "Humans can adapt to just about anything. That's your claim to fame. Give them eternity and they'll build civilizations, like they did on Earth, and like they did in Hell. Mediocre food? You get used to it."

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed. "Don't let Alastor hear you calling Earth food mediocre, he'll take that as a challenge."

He leaned back, tilting his head to stair up at the ceiling. "Kinda makes you wonder how Hell's supposed to be a punishment when it seems like more of the same. Maybe that _is_ the punishment? You think it's gonna be a change, but it's not. I dunno, I can't claim to know what God was thinking when he came up with it."

Valera

"Alastor can take it as a challenge, I've rarely had food from Earth that actually tasted good. It's not made for a Veci tongue to enjoy. If he thinks he can do better than all the other attempts, let him!" A snort, and then they shrug.

"I can't say much for your God, but they never struck me as the creative sort. Or as all knowing as they act. It's kind of embarrassing, like a kid who made a mess and then tries to hide it." They pause, raising an eyebrow. "Though of course, I get to say that because I'm an alien with gods I can punch in the face. Yours seems a bit loftier."

Kyxs

"Yeah, loftier." He rolled his eyes. "He's an asshole. Thought so when I was alive and still think so now. His sons aren't much better, any of em. Though," He giggles, "It does make me laugh that the family who where the biggest bible thumpers are the ones in Hell with me, the heathen, now."

Valera

Well that earns him a quizzical look. "What does that mean? What family?"

Kyxs

Kyxs winced a little and glanced away. "_My_ family. My uh brother and father. Huge Christian bible thumpers and yet," He giggled again. "They're both in Hell now too. Looks like all their hypocrisy got the best of them."

Valera

They scrunch their face like they just sucked a lemon, sinking further into their blanket. "Gods, I forget that people having families is *normal*. Sounds like yours wasn't great though. I take it you were responsible for their surprise entrances to Hell?"

Kyxs

"Yeah. Said earlier that I killed em, but yeah. Knife to the neck for dear old dad and just a bunch of stabs to the chest for big brother." His face also scrunched. "Really had hoped that they'd been exterminated."

Valera

"Well sure, but I don't know how much family you have. Had. Have?" Squint. "Either way, good riddance. Next round, just throw them into the street yourself. You want a problem solved, do it yourself and all that!"

Kyxs

"Easier said than done, I don't know where they hole up for the exterminations, and I doubt they'd let me in so that I _could_ toss them out." He shrugged. "Just have to find some other way, I guess."

Valera

Valera scoffs, pointing a finger at Kyxs. "You have a lot to learn, kid. I hope Alastor teaches you how to properly track a target by next extermination. It's all about networking with people who want to be in your good graces."

A dismissive toss of the head, and the fish rises to their feet. "Speaking of family we hate, though, I should check on my *own* brother to make sure he hasn't said anything stupid to any of my guests. I'll see you later, Kyxs."

Kyxs

"I know how to track people, they just have some...powerful friends." He sighed. When Val got up, he nodded.

"Brothers are the worst. Alright, see ya later then, Val."

He gave a little wave as she left.

[theravencawsatmidnight]

Just My Type... pt Two

Summary. Kuroo is a vampire and just wants to spend time with you without your vampire hunting dad finding out.

As soon as Kuroo disappeared your father knocked and walked in with a wooden stake in his hand. He was a little bloody and angry. “Y/n. It's best to stay in tonight, i just had a run in.”

You shrugged sitting on the bed pulling the blanket up to hide your neck. “Okay father. Tomorrow i'm going with Kiyo so ill be home the day after”

“Going where?”

“...to the new museum that just opened , it's about hunting.”

He went over rubbing your head . “Sounds nice , be safe. Take your necklace with you y/n”

“Yes, dad.”

He left you alone and you jumped up to pack up a backpack with clothes, bandages, and shoes and anything else you thought you needed.

Meanwhile Kuroo was strolling along in the woods minding his own business watching the animals all run around when Kenma fell out of a bush holding his arm. Kuroo picked him up and dusted off his friend.

“Someone was not careful, I see.”

“Soo.. i was.. distracted..” the boy said a little tense.

“You gotta look after ya self Kenma, i wont be here in the morning.” He shoved his door open helping Kenma in and laying him in his coffin.

“Oh?.. where will you be?”

Kuroo smirked . “With my blood packet I adore so much.” He closed the coffin and went to his own to get some rest.

In the morning Kuroo woke up early to a dark house and Kenma was still asleep. He stretched and went to the kitchen humming to himself . “I wonder whats for breakfast,” he whipped the fridge open to see juice boxes filled with blood. “Ah, my favorite.” He teased and grabbed a bunch dropping them in his backpack. He put on his pretty sun hat and went outside to his car, driving to the meet up area.

Kiyo picked you up in the morning and headed for the station.

“Sooo, what cha gonna do?” Your friend teased

“Kiyooo”

“Oh cmon y/n, not everyday a vampire takes interest in us mortals.”

“I know, it's just a little difficult with my father around”

Kiyo pulled up to the station and grabbed her friend's arm before she got out. “I'll cover for you just don't get to bit up”

“Har har.”you got out closing the door waving. Kiyo waved and drove off leaving you there. You tossed the necklace on the ground your father gave you and soon enough Kuroo drove up .

He got out sipping a juice box and opened your door for you smirking, showing bloody teeth. You walked over staring at his hat with a raised eyebrow. It was a sun hat with flowers in it.

“Kuroo what is on your head”

“It's a sun hat and no you can't wear it.” He grabbed your backpack throwing it in the back seat and you hugged him tight.

“Hmm???”

“I'm just happy to spend time with you”

He smirked, picking you up, setting you on the hood of the car to kiss you. “Me too blood packet” he sipped his juice box.

“..are you going to do that the whole way?”

“Yep!” He picked you back up putting you in the car and climbing over you to the passenger seat.

“Kuroo!!”

He put a long straw in the juice box so he could drive and hold your thigh at the same time.

•••

It wasn't a long ride, just out of the woods. He pulled up to a cabin and gave your cheek a bloody kiss. “We have arrived”

“Is this your cabin?” You got out and grabbed your backpack .

“Yeeee… up.” He picked you up running inside kicking the door in and shut and dropped you on the bed getting on top of you kissing your neck.

“Kuroo!!” You fussed around pushing him up to see his pouty face.

“Maybeee i killed who owned this place. But I did it out of love for my blood packet.!!!”

You rolled your eyes pulling him back down to kiss.

Kuroo had pulled your shirt and bra off within minutes and was kissing all over your chest and moaning on it. He bit your left nipple and rubbed his knee into your core in an up and down motion.

You dug your fingers in his hair when he bit your nipple , hissing from the pain that surged from it . You kissed at his neck panting as you tried to talk. “Get me out of these jeans already”

Kuroo sat up on top of you pulling his shirt off throwing it elsewhere before moving down to unhook your pants and yank them down along with your panties, your slick connecting to your pussy and your panties. “Dirty dirty girl.” He took his pants and boxers off and laid down on you to kiss again.

••

Kuroo was a little rough with you and after it happened a few times you started to think he was not aware of it. Every few thrusts he went a little too far inside you and you had to tap his chest to get him to relax. You knew he was stronger since he was a vampire but god damn. It sounded like the bed was gonna fall apart.

“ kuroo..”

“Y-yes?!”

“Slow down ok..?”

“Oh.” His pace weakened and you let out a soft relaxed moan.

He leaned down to kiss you . “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. We know now. Here let me on top.”

Kuroo pulled out and took over your spot with one hand behind his head .

You slid down on his cock and couldn't help but smile. “Fuck your so nice Kuroo..”

he grabbed your hip digging his claws in . “Ride me, my little blood packet.”

You placed your hands on his legs riding him well into the afternoon.

••

You had bite marks all over your body, some were even bleeding and Kuroo wouldn't let you get cleaned up. Instead he would lick up your blood and kiss the mark he made.

Kuroo had cummed inside you but everytime you got upset he just waved his hand around. “It's fiiiine”

“Kuroo!! What if i get pregnant and the baby eats my insides?!?”

“.....it's fiiine.” He pulled you into his arms bringing you to the restroom. Before he could step in he looked down and saw you actually upset. He set you on the sink . “Blood packet. If you are gonna have a little vampire baby growing inside you then we need to turn you too. “

“I'm scared.”

“It only hurts for a second” he kissed you gently.”I'm not going anywhere, your father does not scare me.”

“ o-okay..”

He picked you back up and got in the shower to gently wash you up with a soft rag, being careful of the bites he littered you with. After he was done he sat you down in front of him between his legs so he could wash your hair and have you close to his chest.

••

You were tucked up in bed asleep with an ice pack wrapped on your arm. It was a deep bite mark but not deep enough to turn you. He sat on the roof of the cabin, legs dangling over the side . He watched the moon , a werewolf howl breaking his nice moment.

••

[artsninspo]

NerdBae - Part VII

Authors Note: a little something for all the faithful readers worried about Elle and Tre. Don’t want to keep you in suspense for too long.

Elle had heard the news upon her arrival in the house. Her oblivious parents asked her what the fight had been about and she’d shrugged obliviously.

“Tre’s bitch ass; is a bitch” is all she got from a very brief phone call to Gina. It was evident the argument had been about her. Her mother said she’d never seen Tre so mad, she’d never seen him talk to anyone like that. It took Elle everything in her not to comment that they didn’t know him as well as they all thought.

Still, Gi and Tre were blood and she’d never allow herself to get between that. Gi would go to hell and back for her and if she went to war defending Elles honour, Elle would have to reciprocate - it was only fair. The string of bullets sounds as Elle descends into the theatre room finding Tre sitting pissed and killing everything moving on the screen. Elle grabs a spare remote lifting it up and he pauses the game looking at her.

“I want to play” she gestures sitting beside him.

“Press this to run and this to shoot, this to change weapons” he instructs and she sits failing to contribute anything to their two person team as Tre murders everything moving. The same coping mechanism he’d used since he was fourteen. Only then it was grand theft auto and he ran over everything moving.

“Why’d you go off on Gi” Elle asks as he pauses to take a drink and he freezes.

“She went too far this time” he mumbles swallowing hard and clenching his jaw out of frustration.

“So you just had enough? What’s the difference this time?” Elle shrugs looking him over.

“She needs to mind her business, you already won’t look at me now that you know about my pastimes. You don’t want to be around me and now she’s up my ass” Tre explains more tense than Elle’s used to.

“I went through a lot over this past year Tre. Gina’s been a rock for me and she’s seen me through it. She knows when I’m keeping something from her and she worries because with Cameron I gave her cause to. So if she went at you hard over me - get upset with me not her. She always has my back” Elle asserts reciprocating Ginas energy and Tre exhales smiling slightly at their bond.

“Have I ever hurt you Elle?” He asks. “Have I ever given you cause to not trust me or be fearful around me?” Tre adds. “No, never” He asserts knowing its true. “I never will, I’m not Cameron and all of a sudden you can’t be around me, we don’t talk and you act like I’m some guy not someone you grew up with. All of a sudden I’m a stranger and my sister comes at me sideways like I’m some piece of shit who doesn’t care about you” Tre explains openly.

Meeting his eyes for the first time in a week Elle swallows understanding his frustration.

“Spoke to Lily”

“What?” Tre asks with alarm.

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure it was random - I was at the coffee shop.” Elle pauses. “She says you’re the best” she acknowledges looking at Tre. “I don’t think what you do is bad Tre, I may not understand it but I know you’d never hurt anyone and you deserve to be happy” Elle swallows.

Tre can see theres only truth and she means every one of her words but the sparkle in her eye is gone, so is her warmth around him. She’s armoured and he’s no longer allowed into her inner circle. She sighs looking at the ceiling before folding her arms.

“I don’t expect for things to get so sticky between us with everything that happened and the web of emotions. You do sex parties Tre and I’m not a fan of sex; you’re practically a sex expert” Elle shrugs trying to give him transparency. “If you think I’m a liar ask Gina; I’ve been celibate for over a year now” she explains.

“Why aren’t you a fan?” Tre asks.

Was it the fact that she almost never came? Or that Cameron had a smusher? Maybe after awhile of dealing with that she couldn’t even bring herself to getting wet? She’d tried with other men post break up but her brain would short circuit like someone suffering from PTSD and somehow it was a no go.

“Doesn’t matter men need sex, especially ones that are practically olympian at the sport - so lets just stop with the flirting” Elle reasons using her head for once.

“As a Dom its my job to give my sub what she needs”

“Well I don’t need to be spanked whipped or degraded” Elle asserts making Tre smile.

“Its not like that”

“Then whats it like?” Elle asks.

“Subs need and want different things, you have to observe, learn and listen before acting.”

“Then you should know I never want to be dominated so why put yourself through not getting what makes you happy?” Elle asks. Tre smirks at her naiveté.

“Ill apologize to Gina, flowers, Sephora gift card and spa day” Tre concedes changing the subject but it makes Elle smile.

“Thank you”

“How do I make up for Lily?”

“Water under the bridge Trevante” Elle stands.

“I have an engagement in Miami, I’d like you to come”

“Gina too? We haven’t been to south beach in a minute” Elle smiles but Tre shakes his head.

“No Gina, just us”

Elles brows bunch at his words.

“Tre” Elle sighs,.

“No, I’m not just letting it go. Just give me a chance - give me three days. If you’re not into me then fine. I’ll back off and respect your wishes. But you’re beautiful Elle and you don’t walk around with that confidence unless you’re playing pretend when it should be at all times.” Tre swallows. “And I won’t push you, I’ll respect your wishes but if you let me I’d give you the time and energy I put into everything else important to me”.

His words give Elle a wash of reveries. She’d misjudged his silence and observation for awkwardness when he’d been reading her like a book.

“Just give me an honest shot and I’ll respect your decision you have my word.”

“Ok” Elle whispers. Her response is a relief that makes him smile.

“Pack your necessities, you can go shopping while I tour spaces, then it’ll be just us”

“Ok”, Elle nods in agreement.

____

————

PART VII

“You really going to let some other bitch swoop in and take my idiot brother on a ride?” Gina asks as Elle looks around the penthouse in Miami.

“Gi, theres more to it” Elle sighs looking towards South Beach.

“I know there is you forgave him”

“Gi” Elle sighs. “Gi, you can’t mention anything, ever not even a snide comment”

“Now I’m fucking worried” Gina says on the other end of the line. Elle could picture her sitting forward.

“Its a bottom of the ocean type of secret”

“Then I’ll never tell” It was seldom they ever had to use those words trusting each others discretion with their secrets.

“Tre’s into BDSM, no we haven’t done anything but Gi. We both know - I’m not even close to being there”

“What?” Gina snaps. “He want you to spank and spit on him?” She asks.

“No he’s the spanker” Elle confides making gina laugh for a cool minute leaving Elle to smile.

“Ellie, Tre will respect you not having sex with him. But every guy isn’t Cameron - maybe your shrink was right about your body knowing something was wrong” Gi reasons forcing Elle to swallow.

“I know but” Elle sighs as the elevator dings revealing the driver. “Ill be down in a minute” she smiles getting her purse.

“But what babe?”

“It’s the kind of thing you share with someone you’re with and I don’t want Tre to look at me like damaged goods. Think I’m even more stupid for my decisions with Cameron. Let Cameron ruin me indefinitely - I’m just so in my head” Elle sighs heading out to catch the elevator.

“Tre will wait, don’t feel pressured, you don’t have to tell him the truth right away. It’s not a lie its personal but get out your head and give it a fair shot Ellie - he makes you happy.” Gina advises.

“I know right” Elle sighs. “Gi, why didn’t you warn me he got so fine and he knows all my cheat codes its not fair” Elle pouts as the door opens the driver is waiting outside the lobby.

“I wanted you to experience everything on your own time. Besides, I didn’t know if he’d be man enough. I’m pretty impressed by the chains and whips”

“Shut up” Elle laughs as the car pulls off.

She gets everything needed for a weekend in Miami, swimsuits, sundresses, sunscreen, illuminator, a summery fragrance and cute pyjamas and comfortable day attire. Even a fresh sugar wax since it had been awhile.

Tre’s at the condo when she returns with a satisfied smile.

“Thanks Pete” he says probably sending the driver a virtual tip. “Get dressed we’re going to dinner”

“Do we have to? Can we order in and go out for drinks tonight?” Elle asks sitting on his leg. The way he pulls her in closes makes her nipples harden as she snuggles into him. She’d been with Cameron for years and never felt the same kind of serene peace, chemistry and attraction.

“What do you want?”

“Oxtail and rice from a Jamaican spot”

“Alright” Tre agrees.

“Tre, I’m happy to be here with you like this” Elle admits feeling shy and Tre smiles genuinely nodding his head.

“Me too” he agrees tilting his head for a kiss. “Not on the cheek” he instructs making Elles eyes disappear in a laugh.

AN: Thanks for reading everyone, what do we think about the reconciliation and this Miami trip? Predictions? Promise Gina wont throw Tre’s lifestyle in his face :) Talk to me !

____

TAGS:

@bugngiz @lifelover4u @l-auteuse  @notsomellowmushroom @princessasaani @heavensangelxo @bakarilennox  

@tastingmellow @chaneajoyyy @thehomierobbstark @jad3djay @thickemadame @doublesidedscoobysnacks @aanairb @hooliemooliedonutshawp

@quietstorm-73 @thememoireeofme @tip222u @amelatonin @cherrystainedlipsbaby @keiva1000 @highlifeflylife

@queenflaws @uzumaki-rebellion @cutewylie @twistedcharismaaa @xo-goldengirl @lostennyc @xo-goldengirl

[nadezhda-wexler]

Lie With Me (And Forget the World)

Hi @ofbuttsandbombs, I am your writer for Fall Exchange (I really hope I am saying this right). You gave me so many awesome prompts that I really had to struggle to just pick one and stick with it. But I finally settled on “snuggling closer for warmth”. I really hope you like it because otherwise, *in Charles Boyle’s voice* I’m gonna kill myself. Just kidding, but I hope you enjoy it. 

Also shoutout to @amydancepants-peralta for being as awesome as she is and reading through this mess and helping me troubleshoot. she really is so amazing and kind helpful. Thank you so much. Also to @meepmorpperaltiago because whenever I need to talk, she was always there. 

And to @b99fandomevents thank you so much for making this happen. You guys are awesome and I really hope this keeps on going. 

  The morning light spilt into the room and with it brings the cold that Amy so desperately tries to keep out. The light prescribes a path for the tiny dust particles, dancing and swirling, almost like they too are revelling in the joy from yesterday. It’s a combination of both, with their feather-light touches, that wakes Amy up. Her consciousness returns to her gradually, and when she rubs her face, something that held the full cold of the night brushes against her cheeks. The thoughts of cold and dust and morning chores suddenly disappear and memories from yesterday- Ames, I love you, sex tape jokes, Will you marry me- explodes in her heart like those Fourth of July fireworks and she is almost knocked out of breath (again). Love and warmth fill her and she’s smiling, her eyes still shut, when she brings her thumb to run along her cold ring. It’s all real, she thinks, and her heart’s dancing again. She never thought something so cold could ever bring her such joy. But she supposes when Jake Peralta is involved, she should have checked her expectations at the door.

   She knows she needs to get up. Their competitive streak forcing them to tear through the house making a mess, laundry bins overflowing and dishes waiting to be cleaned. She knows she should start on that coffee, go through her planner and start making appointments and start calling relatives (because she’s engaged). But there’s a warm hand in her right hand and she just can’t.

  Jake is on his stomach, hair messy and rumpled (partly her fault), his right leg crossing hers at the ankles, his face turned towards her, right hand firmly in hers. His side is messy, less than before, but messy still. Both their clothes are haphazardly thrown around their room (they were drunk and deliriously happy, so sue them), and she knows if she went to the kitchen now, remnants of the omelette will still be there. This is her forever. The Fourth of July fireworks has nothing on her.

  (They had only been to the fireworks once. Jake had insisted they go see the Coney Island fireworks, as a couple about a year into their relationship. She had just closed a very gruelling case two days ago and was not interested in more exerting activities, but then he gave her his patented puppy-eyes and promises of massages (before, after and during, Ames. Whenever you want) and well, it had been too long since they had done something like this and what the hell, she too wanted to see the fireworks. Jake’s face as they sat on the sand, Amy tucked to his side, wrapped in a blanket he had remembered to bring, as the first illumination went up and exploded was worth the long and tiring walks, the crowd and the general restlessness. A photo of them, the colour of pyrotechnics reflecting off their faces with smiles that could light up the sky themselves hangs on their refrigerator). 

  A breeze comes knocking and a shiver responds and she is very rudely reminded of the cold. It seems Jake is too, as he hums and tightens his grip on her. So she moves towards him, her face finding its wonted place between his neck and shoulders and her lips lining his shoulders with floaty kisses.

  He sighs and pulls her closer, his smile etching into her hair. He mumbles good morning, voice thick, sleep lowering every note, breaking the silence. She mumbles it back, voice almost as airy as breath. She smiles again and she can’t believe that this, this right here is her tomorrow, her forever and she’s sure that if not for the hand around her waist, she would have floated away like a hot-air balloon, her happiness making her so much lighter.

  (She had booked them both a hot-air balloon ride, last year, during peak fall. A family friend owned it and was happy to oblige her request. But as soon as they got in, ready to take off, rain poured in from nowhere and drenched her big romantic gesture. The weather stayed the same pretty much all day and they couldn’t ride at all. But as they found a shelter, Jake said it didn't matter because all the best romances have at least one grand scene in rain and they ended up recounting and reciting all their favourite rain scenes. And as they were about to leave, he kissed her, long and languid under the shower. He still has that photo of her, staring at the sky in challenge, fall colours splashed behind her and the autumn leaves around her with a lone leaf somehow finding its way into her hair.)

  She wants to stay here forever, so she forgets the mess, the laundry and the dishes. She snuggles impossibly closer to him and breaths him in. He smells like his cologne, the precinct, like Shaw’s and a little bit like her. He smells like their awkward first date, the whirlwind second and fresh mattresses. He smells like yesterday, today and tomorrow. And the next day and the next day and the next day. He smells like home- as cliché as it sounds- smells like hers, always and forever.   

  He’s sketching patterns onto her spine, whorls achingly familiar, which her tangled thoughts are yet to figure out. Her brain slowly catches up and she feels him write love, love, love on her. She’s bursting at the seams again, so she kisses up his neck, tracing his jaw, settling on his lips.

  Their kiss is slow, without yesterday’s fire and passion, but with love and warmth abundant nonetheless. His hands are everywhere. Dragging across her spine, plunging into her hair, lacing with her fingers. They break for air and he brings their laced hands up. He looks like he can’t believe that the finger on her hand is real. He looks at her and whispers in a daze, we’re getting married. The joy, marvel, disbelief is reflected in her as she echoes him. He kisses each knuckle, lingering on her ring.

  She laces their hands together, again. She is about to capture his lips again when his phone started buzzing off the hook. He sighs and grabs his phone and says congratulations are pouring in, Santiago, the world is looking at us.

  She takes his phone and puts it away and kisses him long and hard and whispers onto his lips, the world can wait. 

[johaerys-writes]

Dorian Pavus/Trevelyan

A World With You, Chapter 21: Driftwood

Cassandra killing Varric with her bare hards is probably the last thing Tristan needs on a day like this. Or any day, for that matter. Dorian, on the other hand, is sorely tempted to do some killing of his own. A certain elf with a dreadful haircut and a penchant for sticking people with arrows is particularly high on his list.

Read here or on AO3!

***************************

The howling wind and their horses’ hooves on the soft snow were the only sounds for a long while as Tristan and Varric made their way back to Skyhold. Tristan rode a little way ahead, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, never looking back. He could feel Varric’s eyes on him, and could hear him shifting on his saddle, but none of them spoke a word to each other.

Tristan patted his coat pocket, cursing himself silently for having forgotten to bring his flask with him. Even if he had, though, brandy wouldn’t be enough to wash the bitter taste from his mouth.

It had stung to think that Varric had joked and drunk ale with him, played Wicked Grace and fought by his side for months, all while hiding something like this. Tristan himself had never even doubted him, never felt suspicious of him, not for a single moment. He should have known better. He should have been more careful, more observant, more astute. Varric had only been trying to protect his friend -or so he had claimed-, and had come clean in the end, no harm done, yet more questions nagged at him. What if he and Hawke hadn’t told him the full truth? What if they were luring him into a trap? What if more of the people around him, people he had thought could be trusted, hid information from him? What if plots and schemes were being arranged behind his back, and all he could see were smiling faces and courteous bows? What if even his guards had been stationed there to spy on him, by Leliana or Cullen or whoever wanted to keep tabs on him? What if….

Tristan let out an exasperated huff as he kicked his horse forward. The thought of a cup of warmed buttered brandy seemed incredibly tempting to him right at that moment.

He almost - almost - let out a sigh of relief when he saw Skyhold’s tall towers and its thick stone walls in the far distance. It stood high and proud amongst the jagged rocks, the emblem of the Inquisition as much as it was entirely distinct from it. A mystery in its own right, and the home that would never feel like home to him.

The high, stout gates opened wide as soon as Tristan tossed the hood of his cloak back. The guards at the gates stood at attention, knuckling their foreheads as he passed them by, but Tristan didn’t even glance at them. He unhurriedly rode towards the stables, where Master Dennet came out to greet him.

The horse master of the Inquisition had a dark, leathery face, deeply lined from age and hard work. His eyes, dark as buttons, glided over Almond, his brows furrowing when he saw her snow covered hooves. He stooped down, picking up one of her legs to inspect the shoes underneath.

“She needs new shoes,” he said tartly, taking her reins as Tristan dismounted. “Free Marcher coursers are not meant for riding through the snow.”

“Then see it done,” Tristan said, just as tartly, and his voice twice as clipped. “There’s nothing but snow around here, old man.”

Dennet gave him a hard look under his bushy brows, and let out a grunt as he led Almond to the stables. Tristan clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned around. As if a Fereldan could ever give a Free Marcher pointers about Free Marcher steeds. It seemed everyone was bent on testing his patience that day.

He barely acknowledged Nhudem and Maighdin that fell in behind him, appearing as if from thin air. The hold was now bustling with activity, agents and servants going about their daily business, recruits training by the straw dummies. Tristan noted with mild curiosity the peddlers that had set up their stalls at the lower yard and were showing off their wares to the passers-by.

There were certainly a lot more of them than there had been only months before. Tristan was pondering on how much had changed since they had first arrived there, when he spotted Cassandra in the yard. She had been showing two recruits how to properly bash an enemy with their shield when their eyes locked. She dropped her training shield on the ground and stomped up to him, her mailed bootsteps ringing across the stone walls.

“It was the Champion of Kirkwall, wasn’t it?” she asked him, her voice lowered to a hiss.

Tristan blinked at her, then frowned. “This does not concern you, Cassandra.”

“Where is he?” she growled, as if Tristan hadn’t spoken.

“Pardon?”

“The dwarf ,” she said, her voice thick with contempt. “Where is he?”

Tristan opened his mouth to ask her what on earth she wanted of him, when Cassandra’s gaze left him to fix on something right behind him. A scowl twisted her features and she stalked off, leaving Tristan to stare after her.

Varric was just a few paces behind them, and his eyes widened when he saw her approaching. He made as if to turn around and disappear through the crowd, when the Seeker caught him by his coat collar.

“What the-“ he started, but only managed to let out a sharp huff as Cassandra half lifted him off the ground and dragged him towards the armory building that lay beyond the training yard. The people around the yard had stopped whatever it was they were doing to stare at them, and a susurrus of whispers was slowly beginning to spread amongst the crowd.

With a sharp huff, Tristan hurried after them. Wonderful. Just bloody wonderful. Cassandra killing Varric was possibly the very last thing he needed that day.

He hadn’t taken two steps before a small girl emerged from the crowd and ran towards him.

“Papa!” she shouted, a wide smile crossing her face.

Tristan froze where he was, blinking at her. He almost edged back she approached him, getting out of her way, but she ran straight past him to throw herself on Nhudem instead.

“Meena,” Nhudem grunted as she hugged his middle tightly, “Papa’s busy now.”

He gently pushed her away, his nervousness plain on his features when he eyed Tristan. The girl had dark curly hair like Nhudem, but that was where the similarities ended. Nhudem had a long, straight nose and a wide mouth, whereas his daughter’s nose was short and somewhat hooked, and her mouth plump and pouty like a rosebud. She couldn’t have been older than eight or nine.

“I…” Tristan started, taking his eyes off the girl to look at Nhudem. “I didn’t know you had a family.”

Nhudem straightened, the corners of his mouth twitching. “I do, Your Worship,” he said simply. “There used to be more of us. My wife died when giving birth to Meena, and my brother in law was lost at Haven. May the Maker rest their souls.”

“May the Maker rest their souls,” Maighdin echoed solemnly.

“It’s just me and Meena now.” He gave the girl a warm smile and patted her on the head. “But we manage, don’t we?”

The girl frowned slightly, but gave him a nod. She was watching Tristan carefully with her big, honey brown eyes, and his heart tightened. He didn’t remember ever seeing so much sadness in a child’s eyes.

“I’m very sorry to hear that, Nhudem,” Tristan said, and he truly meant it. “Had I known…”

Had I known, what? What would I possibly have done? He felt a sting of shame at realizing how little he knew about the people around him. Nhudem and Maighdin had only been a nuisance to him so far, a necessary evil that he had had to put up with. He never once stopped to think about who they were, what their lives were like, what they have gone through, why they were even there. Blight, he hadn’t even bothered to ask Cullen about them. He had simply accepted it as fact that they were there to serve him and obediently follow him, without question.

As he was wont to do with everyone these days, it seemed. Even Varric, who he had been so angry with but a moment before, had been through more than Tristan could ever have imagined, although he never really spoke about it. Could Tristan really fault him for trying to protect his friend, perhaps the only true friend he had left?

For the umpteenth time that day, he cursed himself. The world needed him, yes, but he was not at its center. Nor should he be.

“Your Worship?” Nhudem asked when he failed to finish his sentence.

Tristan shook his head slightly and gazed at the armory building where Cassandra and Varric were. “You should take the rest of the day off,” he told him. “Spend some time with your daughter. Maighdin will guard me just fine by herself.”

He wasn’t sure whether that would even be enough to make a difference. But it was all he could do at that moment. He turned around and walked away before Nhudem could bring up an objection.  

With a sigh, and bracing himself for the worst, he pushed the door to the armory open. Even before fully stepping in, he could hear Cassandra’s and Varric’s voices tangled in a heated argument. The smiths that usually worked on the level floor had all gone out, terrified of the Seeker’s wrath. Tristan hopped up the steps to the upper level, where Cassandra had dragged Varric, and was greeted by the unparalleled sight of Varric running around a table while the Seeker chased him about, her face red with fury.

“You knew where Hawke was all along!” she growled at him. “You knew where he was, and said nothing!”

“You’re damned right I said nothing!” Varric ducked just as Cassandra swung at him with her sword arm, in a desperate attempt to catch him. He hopped several paces back, safely away from her reach, and looked at her defiantly, shaking his finger at her. “You kidnapped me. You interrogated me! What did you expect? That I would just give him up to you lunatics? The Templars wanted to kill him!”

Cassandra stopped running around, her eyes wide with disbelief. Her brow was gleaming with sweat and her chest was heaving, but she seemed to pay no attention to that as she glared at the dwarf. “You think I wanted to harm him? We needed him to lead the Inquisition! He was the Champion of Kirkwall. The mages respected him. If anyone could have talked to them and get them to stop that madness, it was him. And you kept him from us!”

“As if all your intentions are that pure,” Varric spat at her. “You just wanted to use him, with no regard for his own safety! That’s what your Chantry always does, isn’t it? Raise messiahs and then cut them down as soon as they stop serving their purpose?”

Cassandra’s mouth widened in a snarl. “You insolent, conniving little-“

“That’s enough,” Tristan interjected, taking a small step forward.

They both turned to him, surprise written on their features. Varric shot him a guarded look and said nothing before he turned away. Cassandra took a step towards him, her anger plain on her features. “Inquisitor, Varric lied to us. To all of us. He withheld important information at a time when we, no, the whole of Thedas needed it the most. He should be brought to justice. I will personally-“

“I said that’s enough,” Tristan repeated, more forcefully this time. He fixed Cassandra with a hard stare, until she grunted in annoyance and stalked away.

Both Varric and Cassandra had their backs to him, neither daring a glance at each other. Tristan looked from one to the other, and let out a soft sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. His head now was aching terribly, and he needed nothing more than a hard drink.

“Hawke could have been at the Conclave,” Cassandra said slowly, her back still turned. “If anyone could have saved most holy… If anyone could have led the Inquisition…”

Varric spun around to face her. “The Inquisition has a leader, in case you haven’t noticed! And a damned good one at that. Even if Hawke had been there, he couldn’t have saved Justinia. Nobody could have!”

Cassandra’s eyes were blazing with anger when she looked at him. “You don’t know that!”

“Cassandra,” Tristan said firmly, “Varric is not responsible for what happened at the Conclave.”

“Thank you!” Varric exclaimed, raising his hands in exasperation.

“That does not mean,” Tristan continued, giving Varric a hard look, “that I’ve forgotten that you hid your knowledge about Corypheus from us. You’d better not be hiding anything else, Varric.”

Varric prepared to retort, when he let out a defeated sigh. “You’re right, Blondie. Perhaps… I should have been more forthcoming. But Hawke is with us now. We’re on the same side. I want to beat that damned Elder One just as much as you do.”

“We all know whose side you’re on, Varric,” Cassandra hissed. “It will never be the Inquisition’s.”

Varric’s eyes narrowed in contempt, his lips tightening in a line. He turned away, stalking towards the stairs. “You know what I think?” he said, stopping short. “If Hawke had been at the Temple, he would have been dead, too. You people have done enough to him.”

Cassandra’s face twisted in a snarl, but she said nothing as she watched him walk away. She let out an exasperated huff as she brushed her palm over her face and plopped down on a chair.

Tristan glanced around the empty room. Maighdin had carefully stayed away from the entire affair, and was no doubt waiting for him downstairs. He couldn’t remember ever being alone with Cassandra before, save for that day where he had woken up inside Haven’s cold and damp jail, with her snarling and growling at him. She had seemed so terrifying to him then. It all felt like a lifetime ago.

He forced himself to take a step towards her. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, her shoulders heavy, as if she were carrying an impossible weight.

“Are you… alright?”

“Yes,” she said quickly, almost automatically. Then, her chest heaved with the depth of her sigh. “No. I… I don’t know.”

It was the first time he had seen her look so defeated. He searched for something to say, but could find nothing.

She rubbed the back of her head, threading her fingers through her short brown hair. “I never explained to Varric why we need Hawke. If I had told him… If I had made him understand…”

Tristan twisted his ring thoughtfully as he watched her. He had heard how desperately she and Leliana had been looking for someone to lead the Inquisition before he had appeared. He knew, better than anyone, that no one had wanted him there, at least at first. And he didn’t know if he could blame them. He was never the leader they had had in mind. He wasn’t strong, and he wasn’t inspiring, and he wasn’t gallant, and he could never hope to have the influence that Hawke seemed to have on people. He had been a mistake, a mishap, a snag in everyone’s plans from the very start.

Still, this conversation made him uneasy. He wasn’t an ideal leader, it was true. He had never wanted to be one either, yet he was. Because no one else was able to, or willing.

He looked at Cassandra, who had fallen silent again.

“What then?” he asked her, somewhat sharply. “If you had explained all that to Varric, what would that have achieved?”

Cassandra opened her mouth, then closed it. “Honestly, I do not know,” she whispered finally. “Hawke would never have agreed to it anyway. It’s not… it’s not even about him.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I should have been more careful. I should have been smarter. I should… I should have tried harder. I do not deserve to be here.”

The pain in her voice made Tristan’s heart tighten, sympathy flooding his chest before he could stop it. She didn’t even raise her eyes to his when he took a seat next to her, close but still carefully away.

“You don’t truly believe that, do you?”

“What if I do?”

Tristan sighed. “I think you’re too hard on yourself. Varric is right. Nobody could have prevented Divine Justinia’s death. I’m sorry.”

Cassandra’s lips pursed defiantly, but then she shook her head in defeat. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. “So, I must accept... what? That the Maker wanted this to happen? That he… That he...”

Her voice broke, cutting her sentence short. Her chest heaved with the depth of her sigh, and her shoulders trembled.

“I doubt the Maker had anything to do with it,” Tristan said quietly when Cassandra stayed silent. “There is no divine plan, no grand scheme that we’re all a part of. Sometimes you just have to accept that no matter what you do, things won’t change.”

“Is that what you believe? About yourself?” She raised her eyes to his. “You think you play no part in the grand scheme of things?”

Tristan gave her a small, pained smile. “I’m no chosen one. At least I don’t feel like one. In truth, I believe I’m just as lost and blind as anyone else. We’re all floundering in stormy seas, trying to keep our heads above water. Sometimes someone manages to hang on to a piece of driftwood for a short while, before that is swept away, too. Now, as to whether I’m the man drowning or the piece of driftwood everyone is clinging to, that’s a discussion for another day.”

Cassandra scoffed softly. “That’s a grim way of looking at things.”

“Yes, well,” Tristan sighed, stretching his arms over his head and cracking his neck, “people do say that about me, don’t they?”

“They do,” Cassandra replied. A small smile crossed her lips. “And other things, besides.”

“Oh? Like what, pray tell? I do hope it’s rumours of me sleeping with abominations and apostates again. I haven’t heard those in a while”

Her brows were slightly furrowed when she looked at him, but then her frown melted away when she saw his teasing smile. She laughed, and Tristan joined her. A brief silence passed between them before she spoke again.

“I want you to know,” she said, holding his gaze levelly. “I have no regrets.”

Tristan shot her a questioning look. “About what?”

“About you,” she replied, and she almost sounded gentle. “About everything. Maybe if we had found Hawke, the Maker woudn’t have sent you. But He did. You might not believe in a divine plan, but I do. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I believe you’re exactly what the world needed, when it needed it.”

Tristan blinked at her. Was that fondness he detected in her voice, or were his ears deceiving him?

She took a deep breath and continued. “I may not agree with every decision you make, but I do know this: few would be able to do what you have done. You were a prisoner, accused and reviled, yet you have emerged from every trial victorious. The Maker doesn’t rule you. You live or die by your own hand. That is worthy of admiration.”

Tristan swallowed thickly, wondering what to say. “I just do what needs to be done,” he said, shifting uncomfortably on his chair. “I don’t have all the answers. I’m not sure the ones I do have are even remotely right. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t at least try.”

Cassandra studied him carefully for a heartbeat. “I understand that now. The day you ascended the dais and announced your plans for the mages, I did not. I was angry. I was afraid that your decision would bring on a new war, that I had been mistaken in asking you to lead us. But I know now that it was simply my faith being tested. I am aware that you are not much of a believer, but I am. Andraste would not have sent you to us if you were not meant for it.”

Tristan shook his head. “I’ve made a lot of errors in my life, and will continue to do so. Perhaps you were right to mistrust me. I never wanted this. I believe you know that.”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” she said with a small smile. “But never doubt for a second that you are the right person for this. What you did in the Emerald Graves for the refugees, the way you dealt with those Freemen… Even that rogue Templar I asked your help with. You could have just said no, yet you didn’t.” She paused for a moment before she spoke again. “When I first met you I was blind with rage and grief. If anyone had told me when I first met you that I would one day be pleased to have you lead me, I would have throttled them. But I am. Truly.”

She fixed her dark brown eyes on his, her brows knit in determination, and Tristan returned her gaze levelly. He never expected Cassandra to say anything that would touch him so deeply. It was with a fair bit of surprise that he realised that… it felt good.

His smile was genuine and affectionate when it widened his lips. “Thank you, Cassandra. This… this means a lot.”

She returned his smile with a wide one of her own. Tristan was not used to seeing her smile, but he was surprised to see that it didn’t look out of place on her. Her features were still stern, but they somehow managed to look soft, too.

He cleared his throat and stood up before she could say anything else. “Well,” he said, “if that doesn’t call for a drink, then I don’t know what does.”

Cassandra gaped at him. “You’re joking, right?”

“Not at all,” he said. “We’ve known each other for months now, and this is the first time we’ve spoken without wanting to jump at each other’s throats. I believe that’s worthy of a toast, don’t you?”

She blinked, then laughed and shook her head as she stood up to follow him. They were almost halfway down the long stairs, when Cassandra touched his elbow lightly. “I’ve been meaning to tell you something else, Inquisitor. I’ve noticed you smiling a lot more lately. Whatever it is that’s causing it, it’s good for you.”

Without quite thinking about it, Tristan beamed at her as he hopped down the steps.

*******

The tavern was filled with people at that time of day. Dorian chewed listlessly on his breakfast, which seemed to be some sort of bland, tasteless stew once again - bits of meat that Dorian couldn’t even identify floated about its surface, along with mushy vegetables and a generous amount of grease. He was sure he would have gagged if he weren’t so hungry. He let out a soft sigh as he broke a small piece of bread and popped it in his mouth. He wondered with some amusement what sort of disgusted faces Trevelyan would pull, and how his nose would wrinkle had he been presented with a dish like that. The Inquisitor might have had the luxury of having sweet tarts and scones baked for him and sent to his quarters for his breakfast, but that same courtesy was not extended to the members of his inner circle, it seemed.

His research notebook was by his side on the table, and he slowly flipped through its pages, careful not to get any grease stains on it. Since they had come back from the Emerald Graves, he had spent most of his time studying the notes he had taken from the Venatori ritual grounds. He had been poring endlessly over any book on bindings and blood rituals he could get his hands on in the library, which, admittedly, were precious few. Blood magic was taboo everywhere, even in Tevinter. Most books have probably been burned already, and those that were there were so outdated, Dorian dreaded even studying their archaic diagrams and equations for fear of forgetting what little he knew already.

The piece of parchment that Dorian had found in one of the Venatori’s robes was somewhat more enlightening, but not by much. He was sure he had seen those glyphs before somewhere, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember where. Now, if only he could have Maevaris send him a few books, straight from the Minrathous library…

“Hey, Vint,” Iron Bull said as he sat down across from him, the wooden planks underneath his chair quaking with his weight, “what’s that you reading over there?”

Bull’s mug was full, the ale leaving a thick white foam moustache on his upper lip as he brought it back down upon the table. Dorian let his notebook fall closed. “Would you understand it even if I told you?”

“Try me,” Bull said with a grin.

Dorian shot him a bored look. “Shall I? Do they teach advanced magic to everyone in the Qun? I thought your people just sewed mages’ mouths shut and called it a day.”

The Qunari laughed and winked at him. With his one eye, it looked like he was just blinking. “Always the smart-mouth, I see. Nice. I like my men talky.”

Dorian rolled his eyes and stuffed his notebook in his coat pocket. “Don’t you have anyone else to throw those dreadful pick-up lines at? I’m quite occupied at the moment.”

“Well,” Bull said, looking him over carefully. “Someone’s in a bad mood today.”

Dorian scoffed in contempt, but in truth, Bull was right. His mood that day hadn’t been particularly good from the start. Not when he had woken up to a cold, empty bed, without Trevelyan by his side for the first time in days. Never in a thousand years would he have thought that he would miss being on the road and sleeping in his soddy tent and on his lumpy bedroll, but he did. Trevelyan’s chest pressed up against his back, his arm slung heavily over him, his warm breath that tickled the back of his neck, could make even the lousiest cot seem like a feather mattress. He had gotten used to the smell of his skin and his grumpy, sleepy protests as soon as he opened his eyes every morning, to his clever, reserved smile when they had their breakfast together, to the brief touches they managed to share when Varric and Cassandra weren’t looking.  

When they were travelling, there were no Inquisitorial duties to pull Trevelyan away before the day had even dawned, no meetings and judgements and whatever else it was he was doing that kept them apart. Yet now…

Dorian shook his head in annoyance, more so at himself than anything else. He was getting far too used to Trevelyan’s presence, he realised. If his life had taught him anything, anything at all, was that getting too attached to comfort was never good.

He pushed his lukewarm, half eaten stew away and made as if to stand up, when Sera appeared out of nowhere and slung herself on the chair right next to him. She flung a pack of cards on the table along with a small bag of coins.

“Alright, lads,” she said in her heavy Denerim accent, “which one of you’s is up for a quick game?”

Before Dorian could politely decline, the tavern door swung open and Trevelyan, along with Cassandra and his new guard walked in. Bright sunlight flooded the tavern through the open door, and every head in the room turned towards them.

Dorian’s heart fluttered when their eyes met. Trevelyan’s lips widened in a smile before he could stop it, and his dark eyes shone with delight. For a brief moment, he had the oddest feeling that it was just them there, gazing at each other through the crowd, amidst the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oaths and crude jests, the people around them fading in the background.

Sera’s snort beside him made him tear his eyes away, albeit reluctantly. “What’s gotten into him?” she asked no one in particular, shaking her head. Then, her eyes fell on Dorian’s flushed cheeks, and she grinned. “Or, rather, who’s gotten into him.”

Dorian blinked at her. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh, you’ll be begging for his pardon very soon, I wager,” she sniggered, nodding towards Trevelyan, who had stopped to speak to some new mercenaries that had just arrived in Skyhold.

“Is there supposed to be some sort of meaning behind that nonsense you keep spouting? Because it just sounds like incoherent blabbering to me,” Dorian said reproachfully, but his voice was drowned out by Bull’s laughter.

“You and the Inquisitor, huh? Didn’t see that coming.”

“No, you didn’t, did ya? Told you our Inquisitor would be good at stabbing. I’ve seen him use those daggers,” Sera said, wiggling her eyebrows at Dorian. He rolled his eyes and huffed in exasperation, and she smiled wickedly before extending her open palm to Bull, fingers curling, beckoning. “Pay up, big man.”

Bull let out a groan as he fished a small coin pouch out of his loose breeches and plopped it upon Sera’s outstretched hand. She let out a screeching laugh and shoved it into her pocket. Dorian glowered at them both.

“You have been placing bets ?”

“‘Course we have,” the elf said cheerfully, breaking a piece of bread and dunking it into Dorian’s stew. She chewed loudly and with her mouth open as she spoke. “The whole keep has seen you doing puppy eyes at him whenever he passes by.”

Dorian felt all his blood surging to his cheeks. For all his time in the Imperium’s courts, he seemed to have forgotten how to keep his embarrassment from showing. “I most certainly am not!” he retorted, and instantly wanted to bite his own tongue.

To his dismay, Sera laughed again and Bull joined her. It seemed everyone knew about what had happened in the Emerald Graves. Everyone knew about them .

Kaffas . So it really was a “them” now, was it?

His smile was tight and a touch forced when Trevelyan sauntered over to their table, Cassandra in tow and his guard standing just a few steps away. It wasn’t long before a serving girl brought two cups of warmed and buttered brandy, and a piece of apple cake they probably kept at the back, just for him.

“Cheers, Boss,” Bull said, raising his cup. “Good to have you back.”

Trevelyan’s cup touched against Bull’s with a light clink. “It’s good to be back. Those damned Orlesians almost got the best me.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Bull replied with a chuckle. “I heard you dealt those Freemen there a fatal blow.”

“I dare say that we did,” Cassandra said, smiling humbly. “They won’t be pestering the refugees anymore, that’s certain. And Corypheus will have one less pawn on his board.”

“That’s crackin', innit?” Sera chimed in slapping her palm on the table. “A good kick, right in his dangly bits!”

They all laughed, and Trevelyan laughed too. A rich, bubbling sound, that made a wave of longing wash through Dorian. Trevelyan’s palm reached for the small of his back, almost as if by instinct, and Dorian half jolted out of his seat.

Under any other circumstances, he would have sworn it was by accident. That he had simply been startled by the unexpected touch. Yet, he knew well that it wasn’t. Being overly familiar with him while they were travelling, in the middle of nowhere, was all well and good. Even if someone did spot them, they would just see a pair of giddy lovers. Very few would have guessed that one of them was one of the most powerful men in Thedas, and the other his Tevinter paramour.

Paramour. The notion still felt odd and foreign to him. Yet, he had agreed to that, hadn’t he?

He swallowed thickly as he brought his gaze up to Trevelyan’s face. It suddenly felt like every pair of eyes was on them. Trevelyan’s wide smile quivered on his lips only for a moment before it melted away, to be replaced by his usual placid, unreadable expression. He cleared his throat discreetly and edged back, putting a safe distance between them.

Right at that moment, Bull -bless his soul- started telling a particularly lewd joke, and soon everyone joined in the merriment. The others didn’t seem to have noticed much, or were simply too good at pretending that they hadn’t seen Dorian’s blush and Trevelyan’s awkward frown. Something told him it was the latter.

“So,” Bull said after the laughter had quietened down, “the Chargers and I were thinking of throwing a small celebration later tonight, now that you’ve all returned. Will you be joining us, Boss?”

Trevelyan’s eyes flickered momentarily to Dorian, before looking away. He straightened his back, avoiding Bull’s gaze. “I, uh… We’ll see. I have some things I need to take care of first.”

Dorian almost yelped when Sera poked him in the ribs and wiggled her eyebrows at him. He scowled at her and swatted her hand away, hoping that Trevelyan hadn’t seen her, but when he turned to him, he seemed utterly oblivious to their commotion. One of Josephine’s agents had appeared, and Trevelyan was talking with him in hushed whispers.

He turned to Dorian, who gave him a questioning look. Without a word, he drained his cup in a couple long gulps and set it carefully back on the table. Any sign of cheerfulness that might have lingered on his features only moments before was entirely gone now.

“I have to leave,” he announced, standing up.  “Please, enjoy yourselves without me. You’ve all earned it.”

Trevelyan’s back was rigid as a plank as he walked away, his guard close behind him. Dorian hadn’t realised he had been staring after him when Sera whispered in his ear.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“This,” she said, gesturing vaguely at his face. “Puppy eyes.” She leaned back a bit, regarding him seriously, perhaps for the first time. “You’re innit deep, aren’t you?”

Dorian scoffed, but his annoyance was only half-hearted. He let out a soft sigh, turning again towards the tavern door, catching a glimpse of Trevelyan’s blonde hair through the interstice before it closed shut.

“I am,” he whispered under his breath. “Maker damn me, but I am.”

“I’ll say,” Sera sniggered, plopping her dirty feet on the table. “Up to yer breeches in shite creek deep, you are.”

“Now you’re just taking the piss.”