#how to explain the yearning between a man and his land

[august-undergrounds]

started reading grapes of wrath today and i actually love it so much. fuck y’all who say it’s boring you’re just not as in love with american soil as i am i guess

[monstersholygrail]

I have an idea but can’t put it to words please help me.

Skeleton bf X Human reader

You sit on the couch, back straight as a rod, and on your third official date with your hopefully soon-to-be Skeleton bf. You had been set up by a mutual friend who thought you two would be absolutely perfect together. You trusted your friend and you were coming to trust the man next to you. Enough so that you felt comfortable going over to his place to have dinner and watch a romantic movie.

Skeleton Suitor was fascinated by humans and what they could do. He doesn’t remember much of his own time as a human and now as an Eldritch Linch his life is obviously very different. You actually thought it was quite sweet, to see him experience casual human interactions for the first time again.

Kind of like now, for instance. You can see Skeleton Suitor’s eyes boring into the television as you watch the film. Usually, you’d probably be a little freaked out if a guy was watching a make-out scene so intensely. But with him you simply found it endearing. His yearning was plain to see and it made your heart race a little.

“W-what does it feel like? This human form of connection?” He suddenly asks and you jump in your skin as his voice breaks through the quiet atmosphere.

Your cheeks tinge pink as you try and explain. Mouth parting and closing, sputtering to attempt putting it into words. No one had ever really asked you that. What it felt like to be kissed by someone you liked. Your cheeks grow hotter as an idea crosses your mind.

“Would you like to find out? With me that is,” you quickly offer in a bashful manner.

Skeleton Suitor’s head whirls around to look at you, jaw dropping a little. His glowing eyes glimmer a little more brightly and your smile widens, realizing just how much you truly want to kiss him.

“Yes, I believe I’d like that very much. With you,” he responds, so formally you almost question if he actually does. But then he moves.

His tentacles reach you before his hands do. You jump a little, gaze darting to them. Their smooth slick texture wraps around your arms and your full waist and he pulls you to him with ease. A short gasp leaves you as you’re drawn along the sofa, your hands landing on his surprisingly firm chest as you reach him.

“Are you sure you would like to kiss me?” He asks in a nervous whisper. Your eyes flicker between his and his mouth, nodding eagerly.

His hands rattle, revealing how bad he’s shaking. Yet as his hands come up to cup your cheeks they grow more sturdy. You melt into his touch, conveniently leaning closer to him as well. Skelton Suitor inhales shakily.

He glances at the tv once more as if checking with himself how it’s meant to be done. Then his attention is on you and you know you’re currently occupying every single one of his thoughts. Both of you lean in slowly, the tension growing and simmering more the less distance is between you.

Just as your lips reach his smooth mouth, a tentacle that acts as his tongue reaches out and swipes along your bottom lip. You inhale sharply, your belly bubbling with arousal. He takes the chance as your lips part and slips his tongue inside your hot mouth. Your hands tighten on his shirt, a soft moan leaving you as you meet his passionate kiss.

You easily get swept up into the kiss, not expecting a kiss with a Lich to be so fucking hot. But the way he expertly devours your mouth with his tongue has your toes curling and your holes clenching around nothing. You try and keep up, finding yourself not wanting to break away from the kiss even as you quickly run out of air. Fuck, you feel so hot. Your body burning for more of him.

Eventually you have to force yourself to rip your mouth off his and suck in harsh mouthfuls of air. Your body tingles with a heat you’ve never know and your mind screams at you, begging to pounce on him again. You look at him, eyes blazing with lust and they meet his to see mirroring expressions of need.

“Why does my body feel so hot?” You ask breathlessly, your skin itching and crawling to touch and touch and touch him all over.

“It’s my tentacle, of course. The one in my mouth is naturally covered in an aphrodisiac in order to enhance the sensation of a Lich’s partner.” He says like you’re already suppose to know all of this. When your eyes widen at his explanation his face drops. “Did you not know?”

No, no you did not. And it looks like you’ll be doing a lot more on this third date than you had planned for…

[circle-with-me]

summer’s in the air, heaven’s in your eyes

pairing: matt dierkes x female reader

tags/cw: 18+MDNI!! unprotected vaginal sex, the tiniest bit of spanking, overstimulation, skinny dipping, teasing, angst, fluff, yearning, hurt/comfort.

word count: 3.3k

tag list: @deathblacksmoke @darksigns-exe @malice-ov-mercy @baddestomens @sitkowski @cncohshit @lma1986 @sprokat @rain-down-on-me @honeytama @thisbicc @blackveilomens

author’s note: this is the third installment of my summer series. it ended up being way longer than i intended but matt has rotted my brain so he gets a long one :)

dividers by @saradika-graphics

It was supposed to be a girl’s trip. You and three of your best friends decided to go to the lake for a week. Your boyfriend of three years broke up with you at the end of May. It was sudden and unexpected, but you both kept it amicable. It would take a couple of weeks before his new place would be ready so you allowed him to stay in the spare room until then. 

Not even two days later you walked in on him and his coworker having sex in your room on your bed. After you chased both of them out of the house with a baseball bat, threw his things in the yard, and changed all of the locks, you locked yourself in your room for a month. Your friends eventually came to your rescue, dragging you out and forcing you to shower. Telling you that you desperately needed a tan and some social interaction.

The lake trip was branded as a girl’s trip but you knew your friends had plans to get you laid. You had no plans on getting involved with anyone. All you wanted was a relaxing trip and to forget about the break up. 

Meeting Matt wasn’t a part of the plan.

It wasn’t your fault he happened to be in the cabin next to yours and his dogs just so happened to take a liking to you.

It was annoyingly cliche how you met. He threw a tennis ball too far and it landed between you and your friends. Not long after it landed, so did two very wet and enthusiastic dogs. They were suddenly enthralled to find themselves among new friends—making sure everyone else was equally as drenched as they were. 

Matt came running over apologizing profusely trying but failing to wrangle them, who you later learned were called Boo and Zeus. Your friends huffed about how they were going to have to reapply tanning oil, grabbing their towels to dry off. Meanwhile, you were too busy having a rom-com, wind in your hair, “Take My Breath Away” playing in the background moment as the gorgeous man in front of you spoke. 

He offers his hand to you and you gladly take it, admiring the tattoos that cover his arm. You ask about them and he promises he’ll tell you all about them if you accompany him and the dogs on their nightly walk. He works fast, you’ll give him that. He beams at you when you agree—nearly stumbling over Zeus as he backs away, nervously telling you what time he’d be by to get you. 

It’s endearing how he shows up a few minutes early. 

He stands outside patiently; Boo and Zeus wait excitedly by his side. He’s freshly showered by the looks of the still damp ends of his hair—black baseball cap sitting backward on his head. The nervous smile he gives you as he hands you Boo’s leash makes your tummy do flips.

Conversation with Matt is easy. He keeps his promise and explains the tattoos on his arms, utterly appalled that you’ve never seen Lord of the Rings and making you promise to watch them once you return home. He catches himself droning on (his own words) about it and apologizes but you think you could listen to him read an instruction manual and find it interesting. 

You learn that he’s a tour manager for a band you’ve never heard of. He’s almost thrilled to hear this—telling you that once women hear that he works with Bad Omens they’re far more concerned with getting autographs or meeting their favorite member. He laughs it off but the way he chews the inside of his cheek tells you it bothers him more than he lets on. Fighting your nerves, you lace your fingers with his and squeeze his hand. 

“Everyone knows that tour managers are the hottest guys in the industry anyway.” You smile at him. He laughs and you don’t miss the way his eyes flicker to your lips. It’s all a little overwhelming—after all you just met this man. He counters your claim with self-deprecating humor but the way his thumb lightly brushes over the back of your palm tells you that he’s smitten. Maybe a little summer distraction wouldn’t be too bad after all.

You weren’t sure how he talked you into it. It could have been the alcohol coursing through your veins that made you feel a bit brave. Or maybe it was how his arm wrapped around your waist, eyes sparkling even through the darkness, that made you agree. Regardless of the true culprit, you found yourself shucking your clothes off and running naked off the pier and into the water.

Neither of you accounted for the water being so cold. Matt’s teeth chatter similar to yours as he swims closer to you, angrily murmuring about the temperature. The giggles that escape you don’t help his mood. He starts to swim off but you grab him by the arm, wrapping your legs around his waist. 

As you lean in to kiss him, your bare breasts press against his chest. You feel him suck in a breath and hold it when you tighten your legs around him, trying to maintain some self control. Smirking against his mouth, you drag your tongue across his bottom lip, and you feel the hands that were hesitantly on your waist shoot to your hips. 

“Warm enough, yet?” 

Matt blows out the air he was holding as he laughs. The open mouth kisses you leave across his jaw have his head tilting to the side so you have more access. You decide to test the waters, teeth scraping across the surface of his neck. He jerks a little, but the fingers now threading through your hair prompt you to continue.

“Yeah,” He finally responds in a breathy laugh. “Yeah—I, um… I’m definitely warm now.” His fingers flex into the meat of your hips, fingernails scraping against the skin. The hand in your hair pulls you off of his neck and kisses you harshly, tongue exploring your mouth. He squeezes you tight around him, pressing his erection into you. There’s no insistence behind it—he seems perfectly content rocking his hips slowly against you. Every gasp and mewl that leaves your lips is quickly devoured by his mouth on yours.

It’s comical, you think, how confident you were that you wouldn’t meet someone on this trip. You planned to enjoy your Fourth of July week with as much alcohol, sun, and alone time as you could get. Then, day one, Matt Dierkes comes along and ruins your plans in the best way—now you’ve spent every minute of the past four days together. 

It was made known on day two when you would be leaving. He learned you lived several hours away, while you learned this was a regular getaway spot for him—his house being less than an hour from the campgrounds. He toured frequently with the band and wasn’t home that often. It wasn’t an issue. You’d spend some time together, maybe get laid, then move on with your life.

Except it became so much more than that. 

Matt was kind. Kinder than you’d ever experienced. He held your hand everywhere you walked, thumb caressing the back of your hand like it did the first time you hung out. He took a genuine interest in your life and what you enjoyed doing for fun—and was so god damn adorable talking emphatically about his own interests.

The reality that you would ultimately have to leave him in a few short days loomed over you. The closer the day came the more the tension in the air thickened. You tried not to let it bother you, but there would be times where you would catch him staring at you—a somber look that screamed “please stay” but the plea was never spoken out loud. 

It all hits you so fast and nearly knocks the breath out of you. The hands roaming your body, lips covering every inch of exposed skin, and the  beautiful eyes that peer up at you like you’re heaven sent are all temporary. Somehow, losing a man that you’ve known for less than a week feels more devastating than the one you knew for three years.

Matt stops what he’s doing as your face contorts and immediately gives you space. He pulls you further up his torso and moves his hands back to your waist, stroking your back as he places your foreheads together. There’s no third degree, no sign of disappointment in his face. You think that somehow he knows exactly what is bothering you. 

“Are you sure you have to leave on Friday?” He asks, as if you needed the reminder. The sadness in his voice is evident and you’re pretty sure ripping your heart out would be less painful. Your emotions overwhelm you so you nod meekly, afraid of your voice betraying you. Matt presses a kiss to your lips, whispering that it will be okay—that he’ll do what he can to make it work, and you think you believe him.

There was a plan set for tonight. A perfectly laid out plan:

Take the dogs for their nightly walk. 

Have dinner. 

Go watch the fireworks on the lake. 

Easy. 

The dogs got their walk. You were on time to go to dinner, but when you came out of the bathroom in a yellow floral sundress that hit just at the right spot below your knees, Matt's eyes darkened. He pulled you in by the waist and skirted his hands up your thighs. He kissed your stomach over the cotton fabric of the dress and when his fingers brushed over your already wet aching core, plans were instantly changed. 

You did get to see the fireworks, kind of. From the window of the cabin—the one behind the bed that Matt had you on as he slid his cock in and out of you so agonizingly slow you thought you might crumble into a million pieces. Somewhere between rounds, you lost track of time. Each push inside of you reminds you that you’re spent but you can’t find it in yourself to care. As long as you’re with him, you’ll happily stay in this bed for eternity.

Matt picks up on it, though. The way your body shakes beneath him. How desperate your whines have become. You’ve been so good for him—cum so many times for him—he can’t believe you’re real and you’re his. Even if he can’t make it work after tonight. You’re his for now. 

“I know it, honey,” He soothes you, softly kissing your collarbone. “I just want to remember every inch of you.” He slows his pace to a near stop and the sob that tears through you makes his brain go numb. You’re making that sound for him. For his cock. He buries his face in your neck, trying to will the throbbing away. 

“Baby,” You pant, threading your hand in his blonde locks. “Please, please move.” The way you arch into him forces a groan from the back of his throat.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Matt whispers, kissing behind your ear. 

“You won’t, need to feel you,” As your body writhes underneath him, he breaks—pulling out of you and flipping you over in one swift motion. He smacks and grabs your ass, kneading the plump flesh with his palms. He gives you a few more good smacks before he’s kissing and marking up your back. 

“Get on your knees for me, baby,” He requests, but he’s already got his hands on your hips pulling you up to meet him. You feel his cock at your entrance and he doesn’t ease into you this time. The stretch and the ache hurts in the best way—you beg him to move faster. 

If there was ever a moment that you wished you had eyes in the back of your head, it would be now. The vulgar noises Matt makes as he thrusts into you are so intoxicating you have to see his face. The reflection of him in the window gives you minimal help and the sheer force of his hips against yours make it more difficult to maneuver around… but you have to see his face.

When you turn and see him, he’s glistening with sweat— eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. His jaw muscles are clenched so tight they’re bound to snap any second. His eyes stay fixed on where the two of you are connected and you wish you could see it too.

Matt catches you staring and leans over, wrapping a large hand around your throat and pulling you against his chest. His hand stays only to keep you against him, the other slithering around to your center to circle your clit. He sinks deeper into you, so deep it feels impossible—hitting the perfect spot each time. 

He recites the sweetest filth in your ear, every part of him working ardently to chase both of your highs. When you reach yours the dam breaks—the hold he has on you being the only thing that keeps you from collapsing into the bed as your legs give out. Matt twitches inside of you, filling you to the brim. 

He guides the two of you back down to the mattress on your sides, your back held tightly against his chest. Aside from your heavy breathing and the fireworks in the distance, it’s completely quiet. He remains inside of you, unwilling to part from you for a second. You fall asleep like this—with him softening inside of you—and pray the morning arrives a lot slower than it normally does.

You’re awake long before he is. The desire to turn in his arms to admire him as he sleeps makes you ache.  He’s sleeping so soundly you can’t bring yourself to disturb him. He softly snores into the crook of your neck, still holding you in the same position that you fell asleep in.

When he wakes up, he litters your neck and cheek with kisses. He doesn’t move from his spot, though—just tugs you even closer. He’s hard between your legs but makes no effort to remedy it. There’s no conversation. No tears. You stay slotted together until you’re dangerously late to leave.

Matt helps you pack your luggage and the car. He refuses to let the girls put their own bags in the trunk and if he had it his way, they wouldn't have carried it out of the cabin either. 

“You have some stubborn friends,” He gripes, playing tetris with the last couple of bags.

“Independent is the word I think you’re looking for.” You smiled at him.

The two of you head back to your own cabin—the one you barely spent five minutes in the whole week. You wanted to do one last sweep of the place to make sure you hadn’t forgotten anything. Matt sits on the edge of one of the beds, quietly watching you. You ask him if he’s seen your sunglasses but he ignores the question.

“What if I don’t let you go?” Matt blurts out. Thinking he’s joking you laugh, but when you turn to look at him, he’s completely serious. “What if—ah, fuck—what if you tell your friends to leave without you? You call your boss at that stupid job you hate and tell him to go to hell. And you stayed.” 

“Matt..” 

“I know it’s fucked. We just met. If anyone else did this I’d call them a damn idiot but..” He pauses, lifting his hat to card a hand through his hair before placing it back. “There’s something between us. I don’t know what to call it yet, but I can’t stand the thought of you taking off and never finding out.”

“Matt, this all sounds wonderful but it’s not that easy. I have to work. I need a place to stay. I can’t just drop everything to stay here.” 

Matt looks at you bewildered. “I know I just spouted out a lot at once but which part of what I said makes you think I’m not going to take care of you?”

All of the air is immediately sucked out of your lungs. You stand in front of him, staring like a deer caught  in the headlights. Matt’s right, this is fucked. You just met. It would be insane to do this. This whole trip was to get over a relationship, not start a new one. Meeting Matt was not part of the plan! Yet—

What if it was?

“I was thinking—” Matt interrupts your thoughts. “I was hoping that you would stay with me. I have a house. It’s nothing special but I have a spare bedroom you can have if you’re not comfortable sleeping with me, yet.” 

He closes the space between you, smiling as he takes your hand. 

“A job I can help with too. You can come on tour with us and be our merch girl. Steve desperately needs help at the merch table,” He leans in and whispers as if there’s anyone else in the room that could hear you. “If you ever tell him I said that I’ll call you a liar.” 

You slap his arm playfully as you laugh together. He takes your face in his hands kissing you through your giggles. You circle your arms around him and lay your head on his chest sighing. There’s so much to consider in a short time. The thought of uprooting your whole life to take a chance like this—it all seems impossible. The fear of leaving and never finding out, however, was devastating. 

“If you’re not ready for all of this, I understand,” He confesses. “I still would like to keep in touch with you. See you when I’m not touring.”

The horn honks outside and your world closes in on you. Going home would be the safest option. You have a job, a home, friends, stability. You also hate that job, live in a townhome that holds nothing but bad memories for you, and have friends who are more worried about their  tan than their friends’ wellbeing.

Staying with Matt meant taking risks. Traveling the world with people you barely know. A completely new job. Living in a tour bus and hotels for an unknown amount of time. You’re used to stability. There is nothing stable about this option. 

Somewhere deep inside a new version of you creeps out and screams, “Fuck stability.”

Staying with Matt meant traveling the world. Making new friends. Friends that he’s spent the last week raving about and how much they’d love you. Learning a completely new job that sounds so much better than the crap office job you have. Being crammed in a tour bus or a hotel room is better than being reminded of a failed relationship day in and day out—not to mention being alone. 

And the best part? You’ll have Matt. 

The dread that covers his face when you shift to look at him turns to hope when he sees you grinning at him. He searches your face excitedly, eagerly awaiting for you to say something. You stand on your tiptoes, kissing the bridge of his nose, which he promptly scrunches. You think you can get used to this.

[frvnkcastles]

I'd love something where the reader used to work at The Beef from the bear show, bur had to move to NYC and met Frank, she ends up feeding him the best Beef this side of the east coast and he instantly falls in love, then she makes him the Family Spaghetti and he's like "I wanna fuckin marry her" internally? Fluff?

But the reader is very much cooking out of stress as that's how she feels she can i guess win people over to stick around?

(I was the cunt in school on wedges day where I'd shout every one in my group wedges since otherwise I think they wouldn't stick around me,I wasn't smart enough for them but I paid for food.

I still do this with my baking business)

HONEY, DON’T YOU LEAVE ➵ F. CASTLE

Summary: You and Frank bond over your cooking, but you can’t shake the feeling that that’s all he wants from you.

Warnings: Hurt/comfort, language, feminine nicknames

Word count: 2k

Author’s note: Gahhhhh, I am so annoyed that I’m being so slow with requests but college is back in motion and it has NOT been a soft landing, I have been immediately flooded with things to do. On top of that I’ve just been really tired and unmotivated, but I’m trying my best to write at least a little every day! Anon, thank you so much for your patience. I don’t really do crossovers so it’s never specified where the reader worked before, but I hope you like it anyway! I’m sending you so much love <3

Frank fell in love with you quicker than he cared to admit. He had closed himself off from the possibility of finding someone new, not really interested in making connections of any kind, but you came and conquered his heart with immense ease.

It was complete luck, too. It wasn’t unusual for him to pay a visit to a diner for some food and coffee, but you definitely weren’t supposed to be there. You had a history of working in fairly successful restaurants, yet when you had moved to New York, you faced great difficulty with landing a job that you actually wanted. The places you thought were right on your level turned you down, but you needed money for rent, so you lowered your standards, and wound up working for a diner — the same one Frank stumbled into that night.

It had been mostly uneventful and quiet, and you were left alone with the responsibility of closing. There were no other customers except Frank, but he didn’t seem that open to conversation, so you stayed stationed behind the cash register.

And then, two armed men burst in, their faces concealed with ski masks as they held you at gunpoint. With shaky hands, you began to empty the register, but you didn’t have the time to hand over all the money when one of the guys was knocked out to the ground. You flinched, watching in shock and fear how your only customer beat up the other guy and wrangled the gun out of his hands only to whip him in the face with it. You didn’t know what to do, but it seemed he didn’t need your help — within a minute, both armed men were rushing out of the diner with their tails between their legs.

Stunned speechless, you stared at the tall, rugged man who remained. He caught his breath and then turned to you, his sharp features making you swallow. ”You okay, ma’am?” he grunted, his deep voice incredibly enchanting, and you managed a nod. He was about to turn and return to his seat but you found your voice and spoke up.

”Thank you. Let me make it up to you”, you uttered out, making him halt but the look he gave you was almost amused.

”You don’t owe me anythin’, ma’am”, he replied casually, but you weren’t budging.

”Well, I kinda do. Anyway, the food here is… not that great, so maybe you could let me cook for you? Um, we’re closed tomorrow so there’d be no one else here”, you explained, the words coming out of your mouth before your brain fully processed what you were promising him. You were really yearning to cook again, something other than eggs and bacon, and he had definitely earned it.

He eyed you up and down, weighing his options for a second before reluctantly nodding. ”Aight. If you insist”, he agreed, sparking a smile on your face as you nodded to confirm that you weren’t having it any other way. You told him what time to arrive, and as he returned to finish his sandwich, you couldn’t help but feel giddy.

The next day, you got to the diner early and started working on what you hoped would be a meal to remember. You were mostly excited, and at least cooking kept you busy, which meant you didn’t have the time to worry about being alone with the man. Although he had saved your life, it was hard not to be intimidated by him.

As soon as he arrived at the diner, though, he quickly proved to you that there was nothing to fear. He called you ma’am right up until you told him your name and insisted that there was no need to be formal, and when he introduced himself, he did it in a way that was undeniably charming — and polite. You had seen him around the diner enough to know that he wasn’t a chatty person, but as you brought out the food, he attempted to get to know you better and it made your heart race.

You maintained small-talk, but you couldn’t deny you were nervous to find out what he thought of the food. Once he dug in, though, his eyes immediately widened.

”Wow”, Frank blurted out, a little taken aback by the sheer deliciousness. ”Sweetheart, this is amazin’. Where’d you learn how to cook like this?” he inquired, far too curious to not ask.

With heat on your face, you smiled. ”Uh, well, cooking classes mostly. I used to work at a restaurant. Hopefully I will again some day soon. And a lot of practice at home, of course”, you explained, and nodding along your story, Frank divided his attention between the heavenly food and your equally enthralling voice.

”I bet you will. Your talents are wasted in this place”, he commented, making you chuckle softly.

He didn’t stop praising you throughout the meal, but he also asked follow-up questions, keen to learn everything about you. In return, he vaguely opened up about himself, though you could tell he was holding back a little.

That said, the time you spent in that diner over that meal was enough for him to get hooked on you. He kept stopping by for weeks until he finally got the nerve to ask you on a date, suggesting that you’d make dinner together. It hadn’t taken you long to start falling for him, either, so it was easy to agree to what you didn’t realize would bloom into a serious relationship.

Truthfully, you sort of skipped the casual phase. Frank could be an intense man when it came to relationships, even if he hadn’t really thought he would find himself in one. Nevertheless, he felt strongly about you early on, and your first date developed into constantly spending time at each other’s places and sharing a bed on most nights. He tried his best to impress you with his cooking, and while it certainly wasn’t awful, there was a lot you could teach him — and he received the help willingly, eager to listen to you and learn more about your number one passion.

The night that you cooked the spaghetti recipe that your family had followed for years, he was done for.

Maybe if he hadn’t been so captivated by you, and the food, he would have noticed the tension in your shoulders and the constant chewing on your bottom lip. You were quickly falling back into the bad habit of weighing your own worth based on your cooking, convinced that the moment you’d stop making all these elaborate meals for Frank, he would walk out on you. Your way with food was undoubtedly a perk of dating you, and right now, you were struggling to think of any other ones.

”I hope you like it”, you smiled nervously as you handed over the plate of spaghetti to Frank. He gave you an affectionate look and thanked you before giving the food a go, and in an instant, his heart soared.

The food was amazing, but so were you. You had so much talent in you, and when Frank looked up from the plate and met your gaze, he felt so much love in his heart. He admired you and everything you did, finding you so utterly beautiful and amazing and… God, he wanted to marry you.

He had to fight the urge to just announce it there and then, giving you a small smile. ”I’m speechless, sweetheart. You outdo yourself every time. I’m one lucky asshole”, he declared proudly, making you smile but you couldn’t hide the anxiety in your eyes. Would he consider himself lucky if you didn’t cook for him tomorrow?

He noticed the hesitation on your face, though. ”Hey, darlin’. Somethin’ wrong?” he asked with worry evident in his voice, and you rushed to wave it off.

”I’m okay. I’m glad you like it, baby”, you promised, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand.

Only a week later, the issue resurfaced. You came down with the flu and you were rendered useless for a couple of days, giving you a great deal of stress. Frank was all over you, providing you with medication as well as something to drink and eat — and he was not letting you do a thing by yourself. You were his patient to care for and any attempt to get up from the couch was shot down within seconds.

Once his attention faltered from you and he disappeared in the bedroom to find you a cozy sweater, you made your way to the kitchen. Sniffling and aching all over, you began taking out pots and ingredients, and the noise immediately alerted Frank.

”Nah, nah, sweetheart, what’d I tell ya? You ain’t doin’ a thing except rest tonight. You’re sick and you need to just lay down, aight?” he reminded with a firm tone, his hands coming to cover yours in an attempt to stop you.

Reluctantly, you admitted defeat but it didn’t take long for the frustrated, anxious tears to fill your eyes. Frank’s stern expression fell and he tilted his head down at you, concern taking over.

”Hey, hey, hey. I know it sucks but you need to listen to your body right now”, he sighed, trying to understand what was making you cry. You covered your face with one hand as the tears streamed down your cheeks, and with his heart breaking, Frank hauled you into his arms, shushing you softly while wrapping you in a tight embrace.

”I just don’t want you to leave me”, you admitted faintly, and right away, Frank’s eyebrows knitted together and he pulled back to give you a confused look.

”Sweetheart, I ain’t goin’ anywhere. Why would you say that?” he frowned, genuinely surprised by your confession.

With a sniffle, you shrugged. ”You love my cooking. And I guess it’s the main reason you’re with me. So, if I stop cooking… why would you stay?” you explained the logic that you had built inside your own head. But Frank didn’t agree with you, and the fond chuckle that he huffed at you was enough to imply as much.

”Baby, I do love your cooking, but it definitely ain’t the main reason I’m with you. I love you, hear me? I’m with you ’cause you’re so fuckin’ kind and understanding and real supportive. And you make me so goddamn happy. I’d still be just as in love if you stopped cooking for good, yeah? It’s great but it ain’t why I adore you so much”, he countered while lifting one hand up to your jaw and tipping it so you could meet his eye. He looked completely serious, and you really wanted to believe him.

”You mean that?” you asked carefully, and he wasted no time in nodding to confirm.

”I fuckin’ mean it. I, uh… I kinda wanna spend the rest of my life with ya”, he cleared his throat, and astonished to hear that, your eyes flew wide open and a wide smile curled your lips up high.

”Frankie… I want that, too”, you breathed out, earning a tender look from him. He leaned down to kiss your forehead, the soft feeling of his lips making your heart do somersaults.

”Hey, I’mma take over the cookin’ responsibilities this week. You just get cozy on the couch and I’ll whip somethin’ up for us, yeah?” he decided, and you shot him a teasing grin.

”Sure you can handle it?” you wondered, taunting him, and he responded with a mixture of a laugh and a scoff.

”My girl’s a comedian now, huh? Get outta here”, he grumbled, gently patting your ass to encourage you towards the couch.

He may not have been as good of a cook as you were, but he made an effort and stayed true to his promise, not letting you anywhere the kitchen until you were feeling much better. And even then, he insisted on helping or occasionally being in charge, just to show you that you were a team and you didn’t owe him anything.

[sinnomel]

Absolutely Peachy

Pairing: Gale x f!Tav

Summary: Tav and Gale's conversation after Elminster's visit goes great. Slight angst but it ends cute imo.

A/N: First post breaking my very long writing hiatus to write about Gale because there aren't enough fics. Let me know if you'd like more one shots cause I think the world needs more Gale ( ´ ▿ ` ) - Sin

There was nothing in this world that could’ve prepared Tav for the surprise encounter with Elminster. She was hoping that she could meet the esteemed wizard under happier circumstances, perhaps when this damned tadpole was out from between her eyes, attempting to command the helm that is her brain. 

The wise old man was jolly at first, introducing himself to the rest of the group, reprimanding Gale for his lack of decorum and grace. Tav thought nothing of it, inviting the elder to their camp, despite Gale’s scowl, awaiting for Elminster’s true reason for appearing before them in the shadow lands.

However, after the food and wine, Elminster’s visage seemed less friendly, less warm. His words were cold, concise, and fatal. Gale was to gain Mystra’s forgiveness on one condition - he was to essentially explode, destroying the curse within him and everything in a large surrounding area. It could rid them of the Absolute, of course. It could bring death to a lot of people if he decided to do this in or near Baldur’s Gate. Usually, this would be a decision that the group would push past, finding the cure for the tadpoles being their priority as the clock was ticking on them becoming mindflayers. However, this revelation had Tav’s heart sinking to the ground below her. 

Tav had become particularly close to Gale, finding her feeling solidified after spending time with him in between camping and the battlefield. A complete accident on her part. There was something charming about the man’s rants, how his eyes lit up explaining the Weave, talking about his cat and how he would spend his days rummaging through the literature that covered the walls of his tower in Waterdeep. Tav never intended to fall for Gale, yet here she was. 

It was clear as day what her thoughts on the matter were, as Gale had asked if everything was alright once Elminster and everyone else had retired to their respective tents and bedrolls. Tav was beside herself, “Am I alright? Absolutely peachy Gale.” Gale’s eyes held a hint of sadness as she continued. “I’m definitely alright. I’m wonderful knowing that Mystra herself has offered you forgiveness but only under the guise of the afterlife,” she spat. “Tav. I understand your frustration. Trust me, I too am frustrated with Mystra. But I can no longer satiate the hunger of the Orb that rests inside of me. There is nothing that I can do. This is my fate,” he explained, his hand twitching, as if involuntarily reaching out for her hand but stopping himself because she’s upset. He can only assume that his touch would only lead to more anger and hurt. If only he knew how much Tav yearned for his touch, how much she would fantasize it under the stars, sometimes without her knowing how she got to that topic of thinking.

“Since when have we ever listened to fate?” Tav asked, her gaze off towards the right where the water seemed to stand still and the only sound accompanying them was the soft crackle of the makeshift fire off towards the center of camp. “We have tadpoles that threaten our very existence. Every hour that passes, we teeter on the brink of becoming mind flayers. How long have we traveled together and not a single tentacle has sprouted?” she asked. Tav was breathing heavy, the conversation weighing on her physically. She couldn’t comprehend why he was giving in to this demand - his life was on the line and would he so easily throw it away? However, in that instance, Tav realized that this is coming from a selfish place. In this moment, Tav realized that the reason she was so uncharacteristically upset about Gale throwing his life away for the sake of Mystra’s forgiveness and to satiate the Orb maintaining its nest in his chest is because she has grown to love the wizard of Waterdeep. 

Perhaps her eyes had given Gale indication that she had realized something, as he asked “Tav, what’s-“ “Do not ask me what is wrong Gale. I fear I realized something a bit too late. I do not wish to talk about it right now…it isn’t appropriate.” “Is it about me?” He intercepted. 

Tav stumbled and said nothing. Her gaze was now on the dirt ground, her heart pounding out of her rib cage. She was silent for a beat, but Gale was patient. If she was willing to speak, he was more than willing to listen - it would be ironic if she listened to his rambling and he couldn’t do the same. Tav, despite just saying that she didn’t wish to speak on the matter, could not stop herself.

“I’m acting out of emotion rather than logic, Gale,” Tav started. Her eyes slowly made her way up to his own brown ones, making this conversation harder. She could feel her heart changing rhythm upon meeting his gaze, how her body yearned to be held in his embrace in this moment, how she craved a chaste kiss. 

Gale seemed to put two and two together, or rather, what he thought was two and two. 

“I know this seems very obscene and I may never be granted forgiveness. Trust me, I don’t wish to die. But Mystra wants to rid the world of the Absolute. My demise might very well be the only thing that could stop-“

“I love you.” 

Gale was taken aback and fell silent, completely off guard by the three sweet words he would often dream of hearing from Tav’s lips. Perhaps he had imagined it? He dared ask, hoping his imagination, or the amalgamation of his heart beating so thunderously in his chest wouldn’t disrupt the orb.

“Pardon?” Gale asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he took a step toward her. “I love you Gale. I don’t want you to succumb to that entitled goddess for my own selfish reasons,” Tav started, unable to stop her words from coming out. If not now, she felt, when? Who knew when Gale would just decide to commit to Mystra’s possible false promises. 

“There is always another way. We’ve constantly found alternatives to problems. Please…don’t go through with this. Do you not wish to live?” the appointed leader of the group asked the man before her. She could feel the warm accumulation of tears threatening to pour over the edge of her tear ducts, the shakiness of her breath not helping her. 

Gale was speechless. He didn’t know what to do. He always painted this picture of how he wanted to profess his love to Tav - a beautiful sunset in Waterdeep whilst both of them spent the hours in his tower, two glasses of wine served out for them and Tara, his cat in his company, along with the countless books he seems to have. The piano would play songs from their travels to incite conversation of nostalgia, how they felt in those moments, laughing about their perilous travels. And when the sun hit the golden hour, the sky would be adorned with pink, orange and purple clouds, he would place his forehead on hers, his gaze focused on her soft lips and utter…

“I love you.” 

But they were here, in this camp, the conditions of his profession of love not met. Perhaps this was how it was supposed to be because he wouldn’t make it back to Waterdeep. Perhaps he won't live past a couple nights from now. 

“Gale…Say something,” Tav said, her voice cracking, two tears escaping their captivity, trailing down her cheeks. Gale couldn’t think of any words. Instead he chose to react, slowly closing the space between them. His hands made their way up to her cheeks, softly wiping away the stray tears. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was torn. He very badly wanted to rid himself of the Orb and obtain Mystra’s forgiveness, but on the other, he had Tav, who had seemingly loved him unconditionally. None of his magic was necessary to woo her. Not his history of being a prodigy of magic, not his mastery of spells, not his conduction of the weave. Just him. 

Gale couldn’t help but close the space between himself and Tav, placing a soft kiss upon her lips. In this moment, he forgot all about Mystra and her empty promises, the orb, all of it. All that occupied his mind was Tav and how soft her lips felt against his own. He pulled away, staying close.

“I love you too.”

[the-muppet-joker]

Adam's Second Sin

Warnings: Adam (the Bible) x Joker x Kermit, breeding kink, discussion of God's hypocricy, muppet hole

♤♡◇♧

Adam screamed in frustration. How was he meant to populate the earth without Eve? As much as he despised her, he yearned to spread his seed across the land and just... BREED. He balled up his fists into his hair, lost in thought, when suddenly... A rustling from the bushes, with a hushed, crazed laughter and an amphibious-sounding moan.

"Shhh... Kermit, you have to keep it down, darling~ or the very first man will hear us... or is that what you want, you filthy exhibitionist <3"

Adam's errection perked up, listening. "I think I have found something worth breeding," he thought.

He pounced like a lion into the bushes, gasping at what he saw. Another man... how could this be? He had so recently been cast from the Garden of Eden, and believed after vowing to part ways with the traitorous Eve that he would never see another human again. But here, on the ground, was the Clown Prince of Crime himself. And what was this...?

Pinned below Joker, face-down in the lush grass between the bushes, was a blushing, drooling muppet. Joker's white hands were wrapped around the frog's green felt wrists, and what intruiged Adam even more... was the clown's white member pumping deep into Kermit's tight hole. Adam gulped.

Kermit's eyes met Adams and he stuttered, trying to alert Joker to their intruder. However, Joker's throbbing cock was so thick and felt so delicious in his hole, that he very quickly forgot how to speak and instead whined like a whore, twitching under the green-haired man.

"Ahem," said Adam. Joker lept up in suprise, jumping back just as he began to cum. White, milky ropes of seed burst from him like a firework, painting the grass below as well as Kermit, whose empty hole twitched around nothing as he wailed im despair. Joker's seed had miraculously missed Kermit's hole, despite splashing nearly everywhere else.

Joker's cock softened as his eyebrows raised. He grinned with his beautiful red lips and his shining white teeth. Like a shark's, with eyes just as predatory.

"Well I'll be damned! The father of humanity, come to watch our lovely display. I suppose we should be honored," the clown purred. "Perhaps we should call you Daddy? Ha, simply a joke. That is why they call me the Joker," Joker explained.

"Oh," said Adam. He considered this. He considered his lust, his primal need to breed, and the considerably breedable muppet lying painted in white on the ground.

Adam considered God. He wondered what motivation his Father had when creating him. What was Adam's purpose? Eden had been a paradise, but there was no meaning there. He was always destined to sin. Perhaps that was the reason God could never look him in the eyes. He was not the firstborn. He was the lamb to be sacrificed so that all of humanity would be allowed to live, to love, and to fail. And then to be condemened for their predestined failure. Adam realized he was created to sin and pass that sin onto humanity.

Well, so be it, Adam thought. I will sin on the outskirts of Eden. I will fuck this muppet until he is pregnant.

He nodded to himself resolutely. He turned to Joker, who had one eyebrow raised and a half-hard cock.

"No. Do not call me Daddy. I am your equal... may I please breed your beautiful muppet?"

Joker laughed in surprise, turning to Kermit who was still writhing and moaning on the ground. "Kermit? What do you think, darling?"

Kermit looked up, "Y-yes. Please..." he croaked.

Adam was rock hard and ready to fuck. Not make love, no there was no love left inside of him. It had been taken alongside his rib.

The man positioned himself behind Kermit, dragging the tip of his length alongside Kermit's pulsing, wet hole. "Gods... Kermit, I see why Joker was so worked up and excited," Adam growled, pushing in to the hilt.

"Fuck! Adam!" Kermit screamed.

Adam pumped into him, deep and hard, animalistically.

"Fuck.. Kermit.. Ah, hah, yes, hahhh~"

Joker was softly chuckling and stroking his member at the sight of his lover being pounded into with such vigor. What a view, he mused.

"OOOOHHHhh, Adam~" Kermit moaned like a prayer.

Kermit was fucked so hard that his moans began to sound instead like a beautiful song, familiar to Adam. He came with tears in his eyes, nearly roaring when he did so. His salty seed felt different to Kermit, but he came as well despite the different feeling causing him to wish it was Joker's cum inside him.

As Adam pulled out, a single string of cum connected his cock and the delicious, overflowing hole.

"Now he is pregnant with my child," Adam stated grimly. He feared what human-muppet hybrid would be spawned by this affair, a fear that earlier had been quelled by his lust.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Joker's insane laughter and Kermit's weak giggle. "What!" Adam demanded.

"Muppets," Kermit laughed, full of cum, "can't get pregnant, silly."

"WHAT?" Screamed Adam. "Then how will I repopulate the earth? Somebody needs to be impregnated!"

"And someome certainly will..." said Joker, approaching with his errection approaching first.

The clown winked at the human. "Tell me, darling, what do you know about mpreg?"

To be coninued

[oxygenbefore1775]

am i wrong giving my all making you stay tonight

➥zeke x fem!reader

➥tags: canonverse, the year is 850 just before zeke is deployed to paradis

➥cw: major mentions of hatred towards eldians, star-crossed lovers and forbidden relationship trope, zeke is a narcissist and a dick here, the reader is also not that nice tbh, twisted marriage proposal and all that comes with it, zeke has some morbid fascination with his death, derogatory treatment from zeke (it's hella toxic); nsfw! (mdni) but it's at the very end so don't hesitate to scroll all the way down if you wanna skip all the explanation to them fucking, rough fucking, man handling, prone bone, kinda dacryphillia, talking during sex, one instance of hair tuggung

➥wc: 8.4k — no beta we die like my sleep schedule while writing this

➥summary: the night zeke tells you about his upcoming mission on paradis doesn't go without its consequences.

➥a/n: so i have this huge-ass zeke fic that i'm writing in my mother-tongue and because i'm sooo original w my content on tumblr rn i'm just gonna translate some parts of it here with some alterations - prepare for some incoherent shit, i warned you, that's like the most delulu zeke i have ever written

He is not to be trusted.

There's a deceit lacing his each word.

Cold and cunning, he was nonetheless charming. You would be lying if you denied the scorching languor that the ice of his blue eyes kindled in you.

Fleeting sentiments filled your mind in his presence, renderring you deaf and numb to your own thoughts. Not to mention his words, their poison failing to fill your absent body as you often lost the thread of the conversation. A lopsided grin curled his lips whenever you found yourself confused and unable to answer his simplest of questions, yet again, your thoughts a molten and twisted mass. You knew no end to his teasing for your frivoulness that he elicited from you with naught but a look.

Who were you, compared to the War Chief Yeager? Neither wits nor status was on your side to rebuke his taunts. Courage was failing you, fleeing at the mere sight of the red gracing his left arm. Retaliatory jabs never landed, the harsh words melted at the tip of your tongue before ever reaching him. How he reveled in seeing you like this, feeble and helpless. Just some stupid Eldian girl, that's what you were in his eyes. Unfit to be by his side.

And yet, he yearned for it nonetheless. Otherwise there was no other explaination to the slight arrogance bleeding into the way he spoke to you, leaving no other interpretation but that of a hunter taunting a mortally wounded beast. A whim, display of power, oversaturated and evident.

Occasionally he would condescend to your polite and humble requests, presenting them in a way that painted him as virtuous, as if you should be overflowing with gratitude and praises for his mere consideration of your proposals. He, however, never stooped to an open request himself, whether it be willful ignorance or inability to put thoughs into words. In such cases you were left to rely blindly on your own insight, forced to navigate through the murky water of his genuine intentions.

But witnessing this facade of complacency that masked his features most of the time disappear never failed to amuse you. How easily it could be shattered with a simle act — merely increasing the distance between you by a few steps during your routine strolls or better yet vanishing entirely from his line of sight amidst the crowd. That's all it took for the cold arrogance to crumble away and give way to a barely palpable unrest as he sought to bridge the unfavourably long gap that had grown between you unbeknownst to him. Not too close, though, being wary of avoiding the contact between your bodies.

The game he played to you was cruel yet he persisted in subjecting you to it, time after time. The true nature of his motives eluded you. The shadow of pleasure he took in poisoning your thoughts was hard to deny. Until he inhibits you whole, there would be no stopping to the suffocating hold over you. You were keep falling victim of this, though, the torment gnawing at your body and mind.

His unbroken gaze was the image etched in your memory for eternity. As well as the burning need to keep you near, by his side. Like you not staying at his apartment for the night could cost him his sleep. Like not laying his eyes one you could cost him his peace.

He remained oblivious to the fact that you noticed all of this. How could he possibly entertain those suspicions? A stupid Eldian girl would never. And still...

His gait lacked definition for someone who got the military drills beaten into him from the young age. Strange — even the deepest of thoughts usually failed to lure out a reaction from his body. Always static and phlegmatical, now he paced up and down the room, forgetting you were here in this room with him altogether.

With quick glances, you attempted to read his expression whenever he would pass your form curled up on the couch, and all in vain. His features remained an unpenetrable mask robbed of any emotion. Maybe it was the coffee. Shifting your gaze to the table covered with dirty mugs, your assumption had some reasoning behind it but you quickly brushed it off. He'd been like that long before resorting to the caffein.

Hesitation coursed through your every movement as you struggled to come up with a proper reaction. As intriguing as it was to find out what exactly had been plaguing the mind of steadfast War Chief, you couldn't muster up the insolence of striking up a conversation first. Who were you to inquire, anyway.

"One could hear your thoughts from a mile away."

His voice shook the cushioned silence of the room, bearing the same shadow of amusement he usually graced your way, as if the last hours weren't filled with restless pacing. Looking up to meet his gaze, a spark of amusement melted the cold of his eyes. The chance to divert his churning thoughts towards such a trivial remark seemed to bring him a little relief.

He prompted you with a quirk of his brow. "Speak what is it you have on your mind, or else you might burst."

There was that grin again, dark and painting his features in shadows. You shifted on the couch, nails digging into the flesh of your palm. At this point, each word you were going to say hardly veiled any obscurity since he'd already knew the nature of her question. He liked being proven right.

"Nothing really," your voice lacked the lively rebuke that usually sounded in your constant bickering back and forth, his unrest had seemed to rub off onto you as well. "You just seem off."

Your overtly careful choice of words elicited his soft chuckle. For a few moments he looked down on you, pondering just how much of information he should tell you. If he should tell you. After all, it was the knowledge not meant for the likes of you, civilians.

The light-hearted tone of his voice bore a stark contrast to the atmosphere and the words he was saying. "They're sending me to the island." His lips pressed into a thin bloodless line once he fell silent, his unbroken gaze on your face.

A deep line etched between your eyebrows. Still puzzled, you looked up at him searching for some sort of visual purchase.

The island of devils — any warrior would be elated at the prospect of proving their worth to Marley in battling the spawns of Paradis. Yet this sense of pride never captivated Zeke. More than anything, frustration seemed to have bled into his fair features.

Question, perhaps stupid in its naivete, plagued you so you let it leap off of your tongue. "Is this good or bad news?"

"And what do you think?" He retorted, pained playfullness still lingering in his voice. "When you send four Titans to an important mission and this is followed by five years of silence, how good can those news be?"

The air in the room became thick with smoke and smell of tobacco — Zeke must've lit a cigarette without you noticing. Your nose wrinkling, you slid to the other side of the couch where the gray thick cloud couldn't reach you. Uncanny thoughts soon started festering in your mind.

You cringed at your own way of thinking yet you couldn't help but to ask once more. "Are you—" unflattering crack snaked its way into your voice. "Is it going to be for a long time?"

He must've found your seeming worry endearing. His shoulders trembled in a fit of silent laughter, taking amusement in you. Like a pet who suddenly pulled a trick unbefitting of their intelligence. Artificial light cast dark shadows on his face as he neared the kitchen table, taking a sip from one of the half-empty mugs.

"I can only imagine." He stole a gaze at you, eager to capture the row of fleeting emotion painting your features. "Those four must've done a gravely mistake and now fear to face the punishment or died a long time ago. Now they expect me to clean up after them." Benevolent grin tugged at the corners of his lips. "Warrior children, what a joke to Marley's army."

You shunned the way you had received the news. The insolence to fear, to assume the worst when you'd come to imagine him away on his mission was unacceptable of you, stupid Eldian girl. Your mind shouldn't be a harbor for such doubts. Zeke Yeager is a powerful warrior, the strongest in the unit. The red armband akin to the blood he'd spilt as an honorary Marleyan, a testament to hsi long service for the country. The island devils would be a little challenge for someone like him as his strength a prowess doomed him to imminent success. Your eyelashes fluttered as you sought solace in embrace of your arms, hiding your face in between your knees, away from his piercing stare. And yet you had the worries and you let them slowly eat away at you.

A temper tantrum would hardly influence Marley's decision and rid you of your predicament, but it didn't make you backtrack on your blind desire nonetheless. And he'd be thrilled to see your tears, especially if he was the cause of them.

Solitude started to weigh over your head like a dark stormy cloud. To be apart for such a long time rang so foreign to you. Foreign and cruel. Being at Yeager's side bore its benefits which you didn't hesitate to reap and now that the threat of those upsides being ripped away from you hung in the air, you felt... annoyed. You smiled to yourself at the fact that you'd finally been able to pin down your emotion. Annoyed sounded about right. And nothing else.

Noticing your downcast look, he decided to seal off your state with another barbed remark. "Spare Liberio your distraught sentiments. You weren't supposed to know about this in the first place. And I'd like to keep it that way in the eyes of the other people."

The ice in his gaze was persistent as he locked eyes with you. Not persistent enough to prevent the lopsided grin from twisting your lips.

In a fit of distorted glee, you inquired, your voice barely above whisper, "Why did you tell me about this then?" The words dripped with a mix of curiosity and spite, as if you had unraveled a hidden agenda beneath his carefully constructed facade. Your eyes bore into his, searching for a glimpse of vulnerability or truth amidst the web of deceit that surrounded him.

He was never easy to nail down so you didn't believe your luck when you caught a glimpse of emotion, as weak and light as the candle's flame, flicker in his eyes. And you didn't care for the nature of it — be it the amazement at the precision of your question or the anger with your insolence — it pleased you as long as it wasn't the usual cold spite. You found comfort in the knowledge that he, just like you, may be subservient to something other than his logic. That you're not the only one affected by the news of departure. The satisfaction was short-lived though as his features quickly acquired the same expression as before, a blank canvas you couldn't read.

The nicotine must've cleared his senses seeing as he scoffed at you in a condescending rebuke. "So that you won't make any fuss once you find the house empty." His hand reached to rest under your chin but you didn't accept the gesture, turning your head the other way. Stubborn behavior befitting the image of a stupid Eldian girl he painted you as in his mind. "It's still very much a secret mission so only limited number of people are allowed to know."

His touch rejected, he returned to the table, from which he continued keeping his unwavering gaze on you.

Did his remark suggest that his family was included in this selected group? Meaning, he went out of his way just to tell you? And for what? For you not to worry? Watching him form the corner of your eye, you couldn't help but to adore the stark discrepancy between his words and actions.

"I'll consider this your act of courtesy towards me." You shot back meekly, the tone of your voice suddenly growing more humble. At least you would have the satisfaction of having last word even if it meant resorting to your obsequious self.

Now, after a cigarette or two, he appeared utterly unfazed as if he weren't gambling with his own life by venturing onto the island of devils. When it came to his life, he never seemed to hold it at great value. You were the one to do it in his stead.

Curiosity took the better of you as you turned your head to face him, a hint of concern seeping through your facade. "How dangerous will it be? If the other Warriors had been on the island for five years, then those devils must be strong enough to pose a threat." You couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the mission potentially stretching beyond five years for Zeke. As capable and talented as he was, five years to his life were something that he just didn't have.

Zeke leaned back in his chair, the lazy twirling of smoke rising up out of his cigarette in contrast to the sharpness of the sneer that quickly appeared in the depths of his eyes. "For someone so uninvolved in the military campagns of Marley you seem to have too many questions about this mission. What's with the constant inquiries?" His words dripping with misleading benevolence.

His question momentarily silenced the room, knocking the air out of your lungs. Perhaps you indeed asked too many questions for someone of your station, someone who's supposed to be in a strictly comradely relationship with Zeke. You felt the tension growing more palpable the longer you kept him waiting. The glint in his eyes spoke volumes, a mix of amusement and knowing, hinting at the fact that he'd already got himself a satisfactory answer to his own inquiry. Part of you sensed that he'd guessed it right.

Nonetheless, you rushed to state the opposite in a futile attempt to undermine his own conclusion. "I think it's only logical of any Eldian to take interest in this mission." You pursed your lips before speaking again, feeling how artificial your words sounded leaping off your tongue. "The fate of the whole world depends on its outcome, does it not?"

At this point you'd grown too weary of him, his presence already intoxicating as it is. Why'd he brought you into his house? Just to tell you about his leave, take joy in seeing you shedding a shred of worry towards him but to mock you later for expressing those? Your drilled, bordering on automatic, response didn't win any favour with him yet managed to amuse him to some extent, evident in the way a mischevious grin split his face as he stood up from his chair.

His steps rang louder and louder with him approaching the couch you were sitting on. You let out a relieved sigh, cradling the hope that he'll finally grant you with leave, having had his share of playing games with you.

His eyes told otherwise. "No." He simply shook his head, denying you the last opportunity to leave his house. "I'll argue that there's more to it."

With that, his voice took on more sweetness that he usually allowed himself whilst talking to you which surprised you. At this point of your conversation he'd usually stoop down to tasteful taunts, a stark contrast to the moderation he was currently excercising, making your mind teem with thoughts.

"All the correspondence is forbidden for the Marleyan warriors whilst on the mission. Were you aware of that?" Still lacking a full comprehension of his motives, you nodded your head, your eyes big and doe-like. Nonetheless, he accepted your curt response, elusive benevolence seeping through his features. "Not if it's meant for the close family members, though. Also honorary Marleyans, like me. On that front Marley had been exceptionally allowing."

Again with the obscureness, as if expressing his thoughts in straight sentences would rob him of his last breath. Still, you continued to look at him, your eyes fixated on the enigma that was the fleeting chain of emotions lacing his features. The tips of your ears burning, the supressed frustration at having to sit here and listen to him welled up inside you. His monologue had just took off yet he was already dousing you with mental excercises you were unwilling to solve at this late hour.

Feather-light touch grazed against your temple, his fingers tucking an unruly strand behind your ear, bringing you back to the sound of his musings. "Wouldn't you be worried not knowing about my whereabouts on the Paradis?"

You rushed to deny his groundless assumptions but you found your lips too heavy to utter a word. Thus, he continued, a sliver of benevolent amusement in his tone. "Who knows, perhaps I would be captured or even killed and you would have no idea of my fate?"

The words sounded strange coming from him. He never paid any mind to the morbid consequences that may happen to him whilst on a mission and now that he was shedding light to it in front of you, it filled you with more confusion.

Still, you leaned in closer, intrigued by this newly discovered oddity of his, wanting to her what else he had to say.

"Aren't you?" He called out to you yet there wasn't a hint of condescention to his voice. As if he genuinely took interest in your answer, waiting for you to respond.

And you did answer, with a shallow "yes" whispered in the room. Usually you refrained from such vulnerability as this was often followed with barbed taunts, punishing you for the display of affection to someone as unfeasible as him. But this time, he seemed to had welcomed it.

The spark in his eyes was warm, an exception of his facade you rarely got to see. "Well, I just might help you to get rid of your worries. Would you like that?" You let him touch under your chin, lifting your gaze to see his.

In that moment, the fog of confusion clouding your mind began to lift, revealing glimpses of his true nature. Your eyes widened in surprise as you finally captured what was lurking behind the blue irises. He captured your gaze, too, as well as the sudden recognition, hence the smile, soft and warm, melting the curve of his lips as he opened his mouth to speak. You didn't have to listen to him to know what he was about to say yet it didn't substract from the surrealism of the situation.

"Be my wife."

Out of all the blows, this was by far the most cruel and perverted. The idea seemed too far-fetched, too out of reach for it to have any meaning behind it. You had grown accustomed to his teasing, his banter and the way he seemed to enjoy keeping you on your toes. Can this be another one of his games? Another way to rattle your composure?

Your gaze quickly turned skeptical. You couldn't risk remaining vulnerable in his presence and at this moment. You kept waiting for the mask of pretense to slide right off his face, for him to announce that he had indeed tried to trick you. Yet it stayed all the same, as if the expression was genuine, eyes brimming with inviting warmth like before. Still, doubt lingered within you.

Why should this day be a precedence? An upcoming operation on Paradis couldn't possibly cause this shift inside him. He'd been on other missions before and never before had his unwavering level-headedness left him.

He is not to be trusted. The words that were still echoing in your head are not to be trusted. The mantra sealing your lips, you tried to ward off the terrible temptation to give into what he was saying. He wouldn't hesitate to drag you through the mud if he finds out that you'd fallen prey to his words.

"You can't mean that." It was your final verdict. If he wasn't the one to aknowledge it then you had to be.

The smile on his lips gave way to a lopsided grin, as if your response didn't come as surprise to him. So it had been a game after all, you mused as you allowed yourself a mental praise for your own foresight.

"But I can." The rebuke remaining soft, he kept looking at you, waiting for your eyes to meet again.

It was of no use to you, though. All that you would see in the icy pools would be either that inviting warmth again or a blind wall. And neither of those would cast any light on what had been truly driving his actions all along.

The air felt silent and still. This — all of this — wasn't happenning to you. No night being spent at his house, no awkward pause between you two, no twisted words of proposal. It was all too much for the likes of you, common Eldian girl.

Regardless of your thoughts, he rushed to crush them, bringing you to the undeniable and inevitable reality.

He called out to you again, "So what?" the grin that seemed to appear on his features so often suddenly faded. "Will you be my wife?" You could only chuckle at his courtesy to having finally asked you, instead of bluntly stating his wishes.

With that, he sanked down on the sofa cushions, sitting next to her. The knowledge of his taunts, sometimes ruthless in their nature, implored you to momentarily refrain from answering his question and allowing him to continue, instead. The sincerity had no place in the words he was directing towards you. His statements were not to be held at face value, you had to remind yourself.

Nevertheless, you succumbed to the temptation that had been gnawing at you for a long time as you let your head fall onto his shoulder, the precise movement leaving no room for interpretation of your intentionall gesture. He would be hardly angry with you for such a display of weakness. Quite on the contrary, as your begrudgent vulnerability flattered him immensly.

The weight of the gone day suddenly crushed over you in waves, robbing you of any strength. "A lovely young captain's wife." The saccharine in his tone started to taste bitter. "Mrs. Yeager who would wait for her husband to return from military operations, her body and and soul devoted to him only. Who would meet me with joy and every evening after a working day take off my boots for me."

Wrinkling your nose, you otherwise didn't let your momentary disgust become apparent to him via your posture.

Alerted by your silence, he turned his head in your direction. His breath, hot and tart with tobacco, seared your face. "What do you say?"

Wife. The time had long come for you to forget this word. At this moment and in your position, it was an unthinkable thing for you. Who were you in comparison to the prized asset that Zeke was to the country? He was also no exception, even if the red armband signified otherwise. Bound by his service to Marley, he would never be allowed to dedicate even a sliver of his attention to something not pertaining to his warrior duty.

But on rare occasions you granted yourself the indulgence but also the freedom to your own dreams and you intended to do it today as well. Even if it was the first time for you to voice your hidden desires to someone else, let alone someone who figured in your dreams so often.

The warmth slid along her thigh where he ran his palm across your skin in a thoughtless caress, his touch radiating with heat. Just as thoughtlessly, you caught his movement, taking two of his fingers into your palm.

Being an Eldian in an internment zone, your fate had been sealed long ago yet you found comfort in the knowledge. With your future set in stone, you had all the freedom to fantasize about your chimerical impossible life.

Soon enough you started speaking, your words bearing the same bliss that his were. "Then your huge bath would be all mine and I would bathe in it every day. Definitely with bubbles. And you wouldn't be able to tell me anything against it."

Your ears caught a faint chuckle escaping his lips, accompanied by a subtle exhale.

The prospect of sharing a life with the captain held an irresistible allure. Despite all the taunts lacing his words, a grain of truth resonated within them. This was perhaps the best outcome an Eldian from the internment zone such as yourself could ever hope for. A sharp-tongued and occasionally unbearable husband aside, the advantages of such a union far outweighed the disadvatages. As the capitan of the warrior unit, his duties would often take him outside of Liberio, leaving you to revel in the opulence of your home for many days and even weeks to come.

Contrary to his words though, you would hardly harbour any sentiments over him not being by your side as he had teasingly described to you. Your heart would be unlikely to languish in lamenting the frequent separation, seeing as the luxury of your home would occupy your whole mind, sparing not a single thought for your warrior husband. Even in your sweetest dreams the love that typically exists between the spouses was conspicuously absent in your marriage. Such an emotion was barred for the two of you, as you remained essentially strangers to one another.

Your eyes dropped to the entanglement of your fingers from which he was in no hurry to free himself.

You started to forget yourself, as the most sincere of words weighed heavy on the tip of your tongue. "But also the coffee that you would brew every morning. I really like it."

His lips momentarily twitched, as if your timid praide had either amused or touched him.

A casual impudence found its way into his retort. "Oh no. After I get married I won't go into the kitchen at all so it will all be the responsibility of Mrs. Yeager." He dragged out the last words a little. "I don't want a wife who can't even make me coffee."

The warmth of his body enveloping you, you pulled your knees to your chest and settled into the comfort of your position. Usually, neither of you was insolent enough to seek proximity in each other's presence in this way. Besides sex, your bodies rarely touched, but at this moment it was all too tempting to mind your self-restraint. And yet, your move didn't provoke irritation in him. Instead, it seemed to have awakened a temporary surge of affection within him. He even opened his arms wider, as if embracing you more deeply. However, you couldn't ignore the subtle stiffness in his gestures, a reminder of the hopeless underlying truth about your relationship. You two were far from being a married couple and the likelihood of you ever becoming spouses seemed increasingly remote.

Possible or not, the illusion was sweet enough to numb the cynicism of your predicament.

Yet another breath of his scorched the shell of your ear. "But will you teach me? How to make coffee?" Your inquiry laced with naive politeness, you smiled as you felt his chest, a barely audible hum rumbling the air. "Will my husband have any other expectations of his poor tireless wife?"

In a feigned attempt to challenge him, your palm closed around his fingers even tighter, as if she wanted to attract even more of his attention to her.

This ploy of yours appeared to be succesfull, seeing as his hold of you grew closer. "Your husband would like you to spoil him with your cooking every day." He said with a soft chuckle. "Not that I have tried your food but that is all trivial. My regeneration can withstand the effects of any poison so your cooking would hardly deal any damage to me, no matter how disgusting it may be."

You fell silent at the lack of a proper rebuke, letting yourself get lost in this moment that you doubted you would see again any time soon.

And you were proven right. Just as you began to embrace the newfound comfort of your position, your hopes to have this moment last a bit longer were swiftly shattered. The warmth in his voice dissipated, replaced by a chilling tone as he leaned in to whisper into your ear. "Why deceive yourself?" His words dripped with cold determination. "I know all too well why someone like you would like to meddle with someone like me."

With no further explanation, he presented you with his armband, bright red fabric carelessly thrown onto your hand. The shift in his disposition was so sudden that you took a second to even register the feel of rough cloth against the skin of your palm. Disturbed by the intrusive nature of his inquiry, you tried to pry yourself away from him yet he didn't let you, his fingers finding their place under your chin to turn your face to him. The pools of his blue eyes were colder than ever, studying your expression, not losing sight of each fleeting emotion painting your features, as if the silent observation would provide him with more answers instead of just asking you directly.

Yet you didn't feel fear. In all the time that you had known each other, he never gave you the reason to be afraid around him. This surely had to be attributed to his charms since his each action, no matter how twisted or condescending, held a certain allure over you. Even now as you were pinned down in your place and forced to continuosly look back at him, all you could feel was frustration welling up inside you.

Your exasparetion started to overflow, evident in the way your brows knitted together. "You're hurting my neck," you voiced your discontent in a soft manner, only to be met with his unamuzed gaze.

He only got closer to you, your bodies pressing up against each other, his lips so near to yours that your mouth began to water at the bitter taste of tobacco dancing on your tongue.

Your protests were heeded, and he released his hold on your chin, seemingly satisfied with gazing at you. Another whisper, hot and sibilant, flowed into your ear. "It was hard not to notice, you stared at it too often." Instinctively, your hand tightened its grip on the red fabric, drawing it closer to your chest. "But I can understand your fascination with that thing. What is it that you want exactly?"

Considering all his past actions, his question sounded almost too caring, too soft and too thoughtful for someone like him. Were you a bit more perceptive in that moment, perhaps you would have been touched by his genuine interest but instead you couldn't help but to feel exposed. Maybe you did stare at it too much, as hardly a conversation with him went by without your excessive attention being drawn to some piece of fabric instead of the person it belonged to. You hoped that he hadn't been awake during the nights when you dared to harbor enough insolence to take the armband from his nightstand and pose with it in front of the mirror, the reflections of you with a red ring circling your left arm looking so dreamy and beautiful.

Hardly any Eldian in the internment zone didn't want to be an honorary Marleyan, and you were no exception. In fact, you were the most trivial showcase of this bold desire. It can give you a better life and safety and freedom, most of all. Freedom to go beyond the stone walls of the internment zone, even if for just a while.

In all your life you never came to think that the armband could be attained through the means Zeke had proposed to you not so long ago.

You were thankful to him for still keeping his composure. At least one of you had to. "So what is it? Everything, I assume?" You felt his breath hitch as soon as you answered with a curt nod. "Then everything it is. And I will give it to you."

The right words were coming hard to you yet you couldn't wait any longer to voice them. Pulling away, you finally put some distance between you two, finally free from his suffocating warmth. "Are you hearing yourself right now?"

Your attempts to reason with him were quickly put to rest with a single gaze he graced your way. The intensity in his eyes made your words falter on your lips, as a knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Right now, each of my word has weight so listen to me while I'm still talking."

Surprisingly, it worked. But it wasn't for his concise argument but rather the oddly familiar expression in the depths of his eyes. As you gazed deeper into those pools of blue, you saw a reflection of your own yearnings, a crack in his flawless facade. A pained smile bent your lips as you reveled in the realization that Zeke had given way to the same sentiments as you. And you thought once that he was insusceptible to this. A dark chuckle escaping your lips, the gravity of your predicament started to set in. Fools, both of you.

In a haste you took off his glasses before kissing him. You didn't want the metal frame to poke you in the eye again should the angle be not right.

His lips felt dry against yours, the tart taste of tobacco doing little to prevent you from sliding your tongue into his mouth. He smiled into the kiss as he felt you settling back into his embrace, the cushions collapsing under the collective weight of your bodies.

Your aggressive initiative was a welcome dynamic, with you quickly straddling his lap as he was left to take in the feel of your body. The coil in your stomach began to wind up with each painstakingly slow movement of your hips. The sloppy sounds of kissing rang loud in the room, interrupted only with your breathy whimpers whenever you grazed your sweet spot.

It took him all his strength to pull away, fake and long-soiled paragon of self-restraint lacing his tone when he spoke to you. "The couch would be too narrow for this." The voice barely above whisper.

With that, he grabbed you under your knees, drawing your legs closer to his body for a better purchase. Instinctively, you wrapped your hands around his neck and leaned into his chest so you wouldn't fall when he picked you up. His fingers sank into the pillowy flesh of your thighs as he carried you into the bedroom, your body barely a burden for him. A curt laughter rose from your chest and got lost in the tussels of his fair hair. You hadn't thought him to be so strong outside of his Titan form.

The springs of the mattress wailed as he let go of you, initiating your short fall. He looked down on you, his movements suddenly lacking resolve but his eyes still transfixed on your form. Reluctant to give any more thought to the ponderings teeming his mind, you didn't intend on waiting idly for him to join you. In the growing heat of the room your clothes became a nuisance, just another one of the barriers standing between you two.

Your fingers untypically spry for the state that you were in, you reached for the rows of buttons on your clothes, unburdening yourself layer by layer all the while watching him watch you.

Evidently, the sight of your naked form helped him come to his senses quickly as he stepped closer to the edge of the bed. In a bout of anticipation coursing through your veins you extended your arms towards him in an alluring invitation, starving to taste the tobacco on your tongue again.

All the same dark grin of his told otherwise. Instead of granting you the satisfaction of having his mouth on yours, he grabbed the hold of your hips to flip you over, tight grip sure to leave marks on the skin in the morning to come.

His weight came crushing over you, knocking the air out of your lungs and pinning you in place. Although he was using both of his hands to support his body, with each at the either side of you, it brought you little relief.

"Like I was saying," his lips pressed against the shell of your ear, you felt as if the reverberations of his voice reached your brain. "Marley allowing me to marry is more real than you think. Don't think they would refuse their most valuable asset in such a trivial matter. Maybe I'll even start winning more wars for them."

Your mind refused to give any more attention to his words, demanding a tangible satisfaction instead. You tried to arch your back in hopes that the sudden contact of your pelvises would make him forget his musings, forcing him to stoop down to the same level that you found yourself on, but it was all futile. Under the immense pressure your lower torso was rendered immobile, as if fused with the plush mass of the mattress.

The skin on your shoulder tingled with faint prickles where he rested his chin. "The armband, as significant as it may seem, is not the solution to each of your problem in the internment zone. A glorified scrap of fabric signifying that you're just a bit less miserable than all the others, that's what it is, really." he spoke, his voice tainted with sullen knowledge.

You absolutely hated how he remained so stationary while in arguably the most compromised position and how you lacked the power to change it. "Then why are you willing to go through the trouble of giving me one?" You hissed into the cradle of your palms, tone brimming with impotent dissatisfaction.

The next moment you felt him grabbing a fistful of your hair, with a violent tug forcing your head to turn to the side, your neck almost snapping from the sheer power of the motion. You were met with his gaze, angry yet at the same time seemingly insulted by your insolence to question his motives again. You responded in kind, your eyes watching his lips in anticipation of yet another one of his countless self-serving musings to be voiced. But you didn't hear any. He let go of your hair just as suddenly, nudging you to face away from him.

Sitting up straight, his body weight shifted towards your thighs as he was straddling them. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed his shirt falling to the ground. The sound of the belt buckle coming unfastened was the next thing you heard, the soft clang of the metal clasp filling you with thrill.

His hand snaked its way to your abdomen, pressing against the small of the belly to make you raise your hips and you felt happy to oblige, displaying yourself nicely to him. His touch lingered on you for quite some time after that as both of his hands traveled to the back your thighs, absentmindedly caressing the supple flesh in lazy broad strokes. A surge of goosebumps cascaded across your body, each wave driven not only by his scorching touch but also by a sudden flash of realization.

He must have noticed how shamelessly wet you were. The positioning of your hips left barely any room for his imagination and presented him with the delectable view of your slit, slick covered and pulsing with heat. Exasperated, you bit down on your lower lip to supress a desperate moan all the while he took his sweet fucking time to revel in the way your cunt flutterd around nothing begging to be filled. As much as you wanted to feel him inside you, you kept your pleas to yourself, left solely at the mercy of his self-restraint which you hoped had started to diminish already. You'd rather die than make your weakness for him known again, as if your body wasn't enough of an indicator already.

Eternity might have passed but he eventually moved, shifting some of his weight back onto his arms as he mounted you.

You couldn't help but gasp at the way your walls enveloped him, struggling to take his girth at first. A drawn-out raspy fuck emitted from his chest once he entered you, his motion slow yet persistent as he slid his cock deeper inside you. Careful not to harm you, he halted whenever your breaths became too shallow and frantic from the stinging of the stretch, not moving any further without your leave.

Minutes later you felt him reach the deepest part of your cunt, the immense pressure from his continuous thrust built at the bottom of your stomach, so unbearable that it rendered all the other sensations non-existent. There was no way he couldn't feel your body tensing up below him. Nonetheless, he kept on pushing, as if trying to break you. Even as you tried to get away from the uncomfortable feeling, he stopped you, putting his palms over yours as another way to pin you down. The weight of the pressure bore down on you relentlessly, within mere seconds, tears began to bead on your lashline, threatening to cascase down your cheeks and fall onto the sheets.

The skin of your nape grew hot where he doused it in kisses. Twisted sense of comfort welled up inside of you in hopes that his caresses, so out-of-place yet so warranted, would at the very least provide some relief to you. It seemed that he would persist until you fully succumb to him. A whispered praise poured into your ear once all the struggle left your body and your flesh became pliable to him.

Only then did he back down. Letting you catch your breath as one of his hands traced its way to your face, brushing a strand aside to get a better look of your eyes glistening with tears.

Little did you know that it would be the final act of gentleness he bestowed upon you for a long time, leaving you yearning for more. You didn't even had the time to savour it as he set a new unforgiving pace.

Beyond the tingling sensation of his cock dragging against your walls in a brutalizing manner, sharp hissing grazed your ear. "Why in hell would I go through the trouble of giving you one," he tantalised, each of his thrusts only adding to the mockery. "So you won't forget that you're mine while I'm be away".

"Mine and safe," he murmured then, confident that you won't hear him.

It wasn't his voice. It sounded so unlike him in this moment, frail and vulnerable, but you were the only people in the room so it must've been him.

A jolt of pleasure railed through your body with the tip of his cock hitting your sweet spot over and over again, driving you wild. Your pleasure became apparent to him as well, his motions gaining more precision to increase the blissful sensation for you.

Struggling to form words you nonetheless tried to, your lips and tongue heavy. "So this is what comes with being your wife?" You couldn't believe the tenderness lacing your tone at this moment. The sentiments were a cruel thing, not something you were supposed to have towards him, nor he towards you.

His reply was overtly eager, as he leaned closer to you, your bodies pressing together almost seamlessly. "Pretty much," his voice rang in your ear. "You must admit that you're very fortunate."

You craned your neck to face him, curiosity sparkling in your eyes. Taking in your alluring look, he couldn't resist the glowing skin of your shoulders, so transfixed on tasting the salt of your sweat on his lips that he ground to a halt inside you.

All you could do was rile him up even further, a chuckle escaping your lips. "Oh yes, the prospect of having you cater to my every whim sounds like a remarkably enticing endeavor on my side."

As your words hung in the air, a mischievous glint danced in your eyes, reveling in the effect they had on him. The corners of his mouth curled into a sly grin, mirroring your own playful demeanor and growing heavy with somber tone. With that, his hold on you became tighter, his hand groping at the fat of your thighs.

His hips snapped against yours with such a force that you nearly mewled, feeling the reverberations of his thrust echoing throughout your body. "Enjoying it while you can." His voice dropped to a low, husky timbre, tinged with a hint of challenge and sneer. "You've got only five years left for that."

This level-headed bordering on indifferent demeanor in a blind disregard of his own words struck a nerve with you. You gulped some air, desperate to conceal the outburst within you.

You wished he hadn't remind you of the imminent futility of your secret musings. You wished he would just carry on with pounding into your leaking heat with no thought to it. As he moved inside you, sinking his cock inch by delicious inch, the pleasure of it faded even if your own body continued having visceral reaction to the process, your gummy fluttering around his girth. Now, only lament had residence in your mind. If it wasn't for your unfortunate fate of having been born as Eldians, perhaps you could have a chance at a normal life. Without the constant thoughts of him slipping away.

His resolve undying, he pressed your body deeper into the mattress, the pressure of his hands driving the air out of your lungs all the while his cock kept winding the coil in the pit of your stomach.

"Widowhood would suit you so good."

His voice remained just as mocking as before, as if the life that was put on the clock wasn't his. You, on the other hand, were precisely the one not entertaining such remarks. "Tell me." You could barely make out the words amongst the squelching sounds. "Tell me, will you mourn me? Funeral would be hard to organize, admittedly, with no body left for you to bury, but-"

You rushed to hide your face in the sheets. You heard enough. You didn't want to hear anymore of his taunts.

The words still reached your ear. "Will you cry for me like a good wife should for her husband?" He came to a halt deep inside you yet again, ready to break you should you not answer. "I've never seen those eyes cry before. So will you or will you not?"

The satisfaction wouldn't come so easily to him as you remained motionless under him. Only your shoulders quivered with subtle tremors, betraying the hidden distress that stirred within you. As simple thing such as breathing brought you a lot of struggle so you could only hope that your poise would last through all of this.

"It's not like I've taken your tongue away," he mocked.

A gesture of feigned compassion, you felt his fingers card through your hair, lulling you into false sense of security in hopes of luring out a desired reaction out of you. The sweet tone of his voice came off as cruel and mocking as he coaxed you for an answer, his fingers toying with your clit only adding to the torture.

Sick twisted pleasure, that's what he was getting from all of this. Your answer to his inquiries evident to him, he nonetheless wanted to hear it falling from your lips, dry and bitten at.

Yet, when he spoke again, his voice shed all its malice, barren as it trembled slightly. "At least remember me after I'm gone, would you do that for me?" He called out your name and it sounded vulnerable coming from him, his tone etching deep within your memory.

With a lump forming in your throat, you struggled to find your voice as well as enough air to form a response. There was no purchase for your mind as a scorching wave of orgasm coursed through your body, your face contourting in pleasure and your cunt squeezing in around him. With that, the last bit of poise left you and you broke down completely.

"Yes!" you pushed past your lips, hot tears streaming down your cheeks and your shoulders shaking with each sob.

In this moment you suddenly grew unaware of your surroundings, deaf to his whispers pouring into the ear and numb to the tingling stretch of your core as he was chasing his own high.

The skin of your inner thighs soiled with his seed, you would normally rush to the bathroom to wash away the stench of sex but this time you thought against it, curling up on the bed instead once he rolled off of you. Only now you began to feel the weight of your confession. Why did it have to be you alone to crack under the surge of sentiments that held immense power over you?

He decided to stay in bed as well, watching you struggle to come to terms with what you had just said, complacent grin plastered across his face. Evidently, you made him very happy this night.

"When are you leaving?" you asked in a raspy voice, watching him as he watched you in the enveloping darkness.

His fingers reached for a stray strand, sliding it behind your ear. His tone was thick with mindless glee. "In a couple of weeks, plenty of time for me to convince Marley to green light the marriage." The kiss he left on your lips acquired a bitter taste with time. "What will you say?" At the lack of suitable words, you just nodded dumbly.

He is not to be trusted.

There's a deceit lacing his each word.

But as you gazed deeper into his eyes, glinting in the dark shroud of the night, you let him deceive you yet again.

(phew)

[annaphoenix1994]

The Way a Cowboy Should

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Four days in the saddle can have a toll on a man, but not a true cowboy like Bud Dutton. Simon admired him - how the man never complained, how he always had a quick wit about the different situations before him, how he never ceased to tell a joke when the time was right, and how honorable he was with anything he did. With dusk approaching, the group was becoming restless after being fueled by beans and coffee and in desperate desire of a shower and a warm bed to sleep in. 

Even with all of these desires arising on everyone's mind, nobody - even Baler - found the time to complain about it. "Baler?" Simon directed, getting his attention. "Go put that cow back in line." 

"Um... H-How do I do that?" 

"Ride up on her left flank and guide her back into the herd!" 

"O-Okay!" Baler nodded, nudging his horse into a lope as he kept his eye on the cow, using his horse to guide the cow back into the herd, looking back towards Simon with the hopes of approval, a big smile smearing across his face after realizing he had done something new. "I want to chase another one!" 

"That time will come, lad," Simon shouted. "Get back in formation!" 

Laughs. Genuine, happy laughs were exchanged between the men - and Teeter - as they herded the two-hundred head of cattle through the valley, eager to get them to Lick Creek to lay over for the night before making their way back to the ranch, each eager to return home to the loved ones waiting for them. With every dusk and dawn, Kiera never failed to slip into Simon's mind, the thought of her greeting him with a warm smile and yearning kiss followed by constant admiring of their children. It never bloody gets old, he thought. I can't wait for her to be my wife. 

After nightfall came, it was roughly eleven o'clock before the group got the cattle and horses settled in for the night, Simon settling under a nearby tree to shield him from the morning sun when it arose. Sitting with his back against the bark, he crossed his ankles as he scrolled through the photos of Kiera and his children on his phone, wishing he could be granted with a bar of service to send a quick I love you text message, grimacing as he didn't have the privilege he had wished for. 

"One day, you'll be glad to not have that little box beeping at you every twenty minutes." Bud chuckled, his saddle landing next to Simon before he slowly took a seat next to him. 

"You're still awake, old man?" Simon chuckled, watching Bud take a seat next to him before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out two cigars. 

Bud reached one over to him, "I invite you sir to celebrate another drive." 

"I better not. Kiera would kill me-"

"Why'd you think I brought these cigars for a trip she wasn't on?" Bud chuckled. "Eva threatens to kill me every time she smells the smoke on me, but she don't. I quite like makin' her mad sometimes," He admitted while both of them chuckled. "She's cute when she's mad." 

"You and me both, sir. I quite like making your daughter mad sometimes," Simon admitted. "On minor things, though-"

"No need to explain," He chuckled. "I know what you mean. You still planning on that honeymoon you were telling me about?" 

Simon smirked, "Yeah. I just want to give her something extravagant - something she had never done before. I figured what better way to do it than for our honeymoon." 

"Well, you know Eva and I will be more than happy to watch the kids for you," Bud smiled, nudging Simon's elbow with his. "I quite envy you - I'd never been able to dress up in period clothing." 

"Me either, but her favorite show is Peaky Blinders and there's a sort of convention in Birmingham and I know she'd love to dress up in that time period. And I meant to tell you, but I never could get you away from earshot of her - there's a ship coming back to the states that sponsors the convention, so we'll be coming back to the states in that time period so to speak." 

"She'd love that. I don't know what Squeaky Blinders is, but I'm sure she'd love it."

Simon chuckled at Bud's misunderstanding, "I'm quite excited for it too."

"Well, I have something I want to give you," Bud said, puffing a cloud of cigar smoke as he reached into his coat pocket. "Consider it as a wedding gift for future use." 

Simon furrowed his brows as he fondled with the two pieces of folded paper between his fingers, taking a few moments before he opened the folded papers. 

A land deed with a handwritten note:

"I know, it's a lot to take in," Bud snickered. "But don't get all sentimental... I've done shed my tears when I wrote it." 

"Sir, I- I truly don't know what to say-"

"Your reaction is enough, son," Bud assured him with a smile, clasping his free hand on Simon's shoulder. "I've been chompin' at the bit to give this letter to you, but I figured now is the right time." 

"What makes you say that?" 

Simon saw that Bud had something on his mind, like he knew he had to give the deed to him soon but chose not to pester him about it. "I just... Felt like I needed to give it to you before the wedding."

"I-Well, thank you, sir. Really. I don't know how I can top what you've done with this place." 

"Your kids, Simon. They are what makes this ranch a home."

Simon smirked, "You sure it's not past your bedtime?" 

"My bedtime is when I'm dead'n gone, buddy." 

The men chuckled, Simon shaking his head as he tucked away Bud's gift within the confines of the breast pocket of his jacket, his gaze turning to Bud when he saw him splay a wool blanket over his legs. "How'd you tote a blanket up here, old man?"

"I traded out my slicker and I gambled it wouldn't rain. I think I gambled right!" 

"You know, I've come to believe perfection only lives in little moments, ya know? Can't be sustained over hours, just instances - little wisps of time. Then the world becomes imperfect again. This day damn near proved me wrong." 

"And to think I didn't think you'd be sentimental," Bud snickered. "But, if it wasn't perfect, it was damn near close." 

"Yeah, damn close indeed." Simon replied, he and Bud sharing a laugh.

"A former British S.A.S sittin' on the side of a mountain in Wyoming with his old goat of a father-in-law, sleepin' with his boots on after tellin' me at one point he'd never step foot in America - Damn, this world may have a chance yet." Bud poked as he laid down against his saddle. 

"You keep your head up in that saddle, old man. I don't need to listen to your snoring. I hear it enough lying next to Kiera at night." 

Bud laughed, "Where do ya think she gets it from? Her dear old daddy. Thank the good Lord she didn't get her looks from me!" 

"She still would've been perfect enough for me." 

"Wise words, son. Wise words." 

Simon chuckled, "Just like Kiera has told me before: if you can't sleep through a man's snoring or hers, you're not tired enough." 

"I remember tellin' her that when she was a little girl. She'd always complain about my snorin' when we went on cattle drives." 

"I bet she was a little savage growing up, yeah?" 

"Buddy, you have no idea! You better hope that little girl of yours doesn't have a spittin' image of her attitude!" 

"I have a feeling she will be," Simon smirked. "I've already prepared myself for it." 

"Good man," Bud yawned. "I'll see you on the other side." 

"I'll see you on the other side, mate. Goodnight." Simon chuckled, oblivious to what Bud actually meant. 

"Goodnight. Keep forgettin' you're a Brit." He teased. 

"Hopefully my kids learn my accent." 

"Let's argue about this in the morning." He snickered. 

"Sounds like a plan to argue over tea." 

»»-------¤-------««

Simon awoke once he sensed the sun arise, sitting up and running a free hand through his hair before putting back on his hat. He looked over at Bud, seeing his mouth agape and his eyes closed peacefully. Considering it was still somewhat dark with minor light from the morning sun, Simon decided to leave him be knowing that the old man deserved his rest. 

"Looks like I slept through your snoring, old man." He chuckled to himself before walking towards the high line to saddle up his horse, surprised that he saw Baler with Johnny and Teeter, each doing the same. 

"I don't mind working for less than minimum wage, but these mornings with no-coffee rubbish..." Johnny complained, his voice hoarse with exhaustion. 

"It's cowboy shit, baby." Teeter giggled. 

"It'll just make it taste that much better once you get down the hill, Soap Sud." Baler snickered. 

"There you go, mate. Drink up some of that cowboy wisdom!" Simon chimed, his face decorated with a smirk as he joined them, patting his horse on the neck with his free hand while his saddle and pad occupied his other. 

"Just one peaceful morning without you poking at me would be great, L.T." 

"Unfortunately for you, that'll never happen." 

"Where's grandpa?" 

"He's still asleep. I figured I'd let him sleep in since all we have to do is ride back to the ranch." 

"Woah, stone cold Simon has a heart?" Teeter poked. 

"It's a cold one, but it's soft for ones he respects." Johnny answered for him. 

"Ain't that the truth." 

"Alright, now I know who's in charge of cooking breakfast." 

"Who?" 

"You, lad."

"Why?" Baler scoffed. 

"Because you're the first one to have your horse saddled and already talking your shite. Go on." 

The teen huffed, slumping his shoulders as he made his way towards the small fire, sitting on a nearby log as he prepared to heat a can of beans for breakfast. I can't wait to eat mom's breakfast tomorrow, he thought. 

"Father of the year, eh?" Johnny teased. "Looks like you have him all under control." 

"I don't know about that, but we've come a long way that's for sure." 

»»-------¤-------««

Once the morning sun shone across the Wyoming landscape, Simon took notice that Bud hadn't joined them for their late breakfast. Staying on foot, he led his horse towards the tree that he and Bud slept under the night before, seeing him in the same position since he last saw him. "I know it's our day to ride home, but we can get there sooner if you wake up, mate." 

Once he got closer, his playful smirk faded into a frown once he saw the purple and light blue haze that took over his complexion. 

Bud had passed away. 

Sighing heavily through his nose, he looked down at his feet, unaware that a tear had slipped down his cheek. "Well, I couldn't have thought of a better death for you even if you paid me," He sighed. "Sir, I know what you meant when you said you'd see me on the other side. I just hope you're waiting for me with a cigar and a glass of whiskey." 

"Dad! You coming?" Baler shouted from less than a hundred feet away, riding his horse closer to him and stopping once he realized what had happened. "Oh, shit. W-What do we do?" 

"Go get the satellite phone from Teeter. We're not leaving until he is taken care of." 

"Yes, sir." 

»»-------¤-------««

Several hours later, Simon, Johnny, Baler, and Teeter arrived back to the ranch, Baler taking Simon's horse to settle them in while Simon was left to deliver the news to Eva and Kiera, his heart breaking at the thought of what he was to say when the time came.

He forced a smile when he watched Eva stand to her feet after seeing him approach from the porch, a warm and welcoming smile splaying across her face. "Come back in one piece I see!" She smiled. "How are you, sweetheart?" 

"I'm well, thank you," He breathed, welcoming her embrace. "I wouldn't stand too close, I probably don't smell too good." 

"Honey, I can't count on my little old fingers how many times I've smelled Bud with cologne. I'm used to the smell of a man who's been laying in the dirt and sleeping against leather," She giggled, reaching up to wipe a streak of dirt from Simon's cheek. "I figured he would've walked up with you? Did he get caught up talking again?" She smiled. 

Simon sighed, "Where's Kiera?" 

"She went into town with Kristen. They took the kids. Something about going for lunch. She said she tried to text you-"

"No, no, that's okay. I didn't have service the entire time," Simon shook his head. "I-I need to tell you something, I-"

Simon's heart broke when he watched Eva's usual and cheerful face fall into a frown. "Wh-? Si-Simon?" 

She watched him shake his head, avoiding eye contact with her as she slowly put together the pieces. "I'm so sorry, love-"

"-How?" She began to cry, her knees buckling from under her as Simon hastily reached out to catch her, helping her sit on the nearby chair while he rested on one knee in front of her, his frame nearly towering over her as she sat, letting her cling to his coat while she cried, providing a comforting and empathetic embrace for his mother-in-law. 

"Like a cowboy should," He sighed. "His head on his saddle, looking up at the stars, and having a humorous conversation with a friend. He closed his eyes and passed in his sleep." 

He held Eva close as she wept, letting her use the collar of his coat to wipe her tears, "I sure hope that conversation was with you, Simon. He spoke so highly of you." 

"I know," He assured her. "We even had a cigar." 

"I'm not surprised," She forced a playful tone. "I smelled it on you before you even said anything."

"He mentioned he always liked to pick at you and make you mad." 

"That he did," She sniffled. "I can't lie and say I enjoyed that stupid little smirk he did when I'd get irritated with him." 

"I saw it every day, love." 

[worriedvision]

Here is part 2 of this fic! It's the one where Alhaitham and Reader were friends since they were young and there's a bunch of feelings that get tweaked about. I'd recommend reading the first part because it would bring the background to this part! I was planning on this being the last part but of course I had to leave it was a multiple ending thing because it would start to get way too long. Be patient, they'll come soon!

--

You decided to sign up for one of those speed date programmes. It was risky, and you heard the eligible bachelor's were downright creepy or some form of red flag, but you wanted to find someone that you could be with. Since your last conversation with Alhaitham, you never saw him in his usual spots. You knew he was trying to avoid you, and it just solidified that you ruined any chance of keeping the connection you had with him.

Your speed dates didn't go well, but neither did the other people looking for men. You land up making good friends with quite a few people, bonding over the stories you had of the guys at the speed dates that objectified their "potential trophy" as one man stated. As great as it was to make friends, and finding hobbies through them, you still yearned for a lover.

You couldn't stop thinking of him, and you thought getting someone to be a rebound would somehow help.

--

"Kaveh, why did you gather us here?" Cyno asks, Tighnari nodding in agreement as he looks over for a response.

"I want you two to sign up for that speed dating-"

"Hold on, none of us need that..." Tighnari trails off, Cyno crossing his arms and looking away. "What's this for?"

"Fine, I'll explain." Kaveh sighs, sitting down. "I've noticed Alhaitham sulking around the bar at the time the speed dating is taking place. If I was to guess, it has something to do with one of the people there."

"I would rather not find out how much strength he has by testing his jealousy." Tighnari protests. "He's a fully grown man, surely he knows how to make a move."

"...you two better keep the rest of this to yourselves, got it?" Kaveh asks, continuing before he can get a rejection. "I overheard a confession from his childhood friend and all-time crush. Trust me, it's obvious from everyone but them. He rejected them, explaining he wasn't interested in a relationship for the reason of needing to maintain one."

"I'm still not...oh." Cyno realises, sharing a look with Tighnari. "How about we both go along together. That way, if Alhaitham does try something, it'll be two against one. Not that I think he'd try that in public." Cyno suggests, Tighnari finally accepting it.

--

There was one day you couldn't go along to the session, work particularly hard, and the next session you saw Alhaitham with one of your friends. It was clear he was there as a successful match. As much as you didn't want to admit it, it hurt to see him courting someone after he told you he was emotionally unavailable for social reasons.

"Good evening." You hear a deep voice say, waving you over. "Care to join me?"

You decide to take a seat in between Tighnari and Cyno, the seat Cyno patted. You made friends with them, finding it nice that you were able to talk to them without looking for the chance to get away.

"Oh, _!" Your friend exclaims, hugging you before ordering a coffee. "The one time you weren't here, a handsome man came in!"

"I'm happy to see you've got someone." You smile softly, knowing for a fact Alhaitham was staring at you. They walk back after getting their coffee, Alhaitham engaging in conversation once again.

"Still not over him?" Cyno asks, you nodding. "Don't force it. From our conversation, I can tell you don't need to do speed dating to find someone."

"I have to agree with Cyno here." Tighnari hums out, taking a quick glance. "He's certainly moved on quicker than you have."

"I mean, it was one sided." You brush off. "It only makes sense that he was able to move on. Maybe after my confession, he decided to give romance a chance." You shake your head, groaning out. "I shouldn't be telling you two about my failure of a romantic life."

"I find it quite interesting." Cyno reassures. "Well, if you are interested, feel free to join me at a table any time I'm here. Due to work, I can't come often." Cyno nods, leaving for his work after waving goodbye to you.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you!" You head your friend exclaim. Looking over, you can see Alhaitham with a small gift for his date. Alhaitham responds with a simple 'I know', which does actually go well, before walking out with his date - walking them home.

"He isn't worth crying over." Tighnari grumbles, turning to you. "I think Cyno is a better match for you. And I'm not just saying that to be a wingman, I know Cyno is better with these things." Tighnari reassures you, taking his leave after finishing his drink.

The bartender looks over the moment the door closes, and they decide to throw in their opinion for free.

"The whole time Alhaitham's date wasn't looking at him, he was stealing glances at you." The bartender states. "He was here the time you weren't, and I think he was looking for you."

"So he's decided to use a friend of mine to find out where I am?" You raise a brow, thoroughly confused. "He wouldn't do that."

"Whatever you say... Just saying, he looked bothered when you were talking to your new pals."

[bengiyo]

Absolute Zero Ep 6 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Adult Soon finally started asking basic questions about the time travel he’s experiencing and trying to determine how he might potentially change anything. He continued to date Young Ong-sa and explained their history. He told Ong-sa that they shouldn’t be together even as he confessed that he loves him. He also left a letter with the DVD store owner. The show is slow in ways that haven’t been great, and they’re muddling the time travel component.

“If we can start over, my answer will be the same.”

Does he not remember his interaction with the strange man next door? If so, why is he saying the same things?

I can’t believe we went over a month without interacting with Young Soon.

Wait? Is Soon back in the future now?

This butterfly motif is actually starting to irk me.

Oh, don’t pull out the Dutch angles now. This man went and fucked with the timeline and now they want me to be like “oh no! it’s off!”

Yep. Time for Ong-sa to panic and spiral.

They sent Ong-sa in the rain to cry on the bridge in the middle of a Boy Sompob song. I feel bad for Young Ong-sa, but I’m just baffled by Future Suansoon. I understand that he’s grappling with the lonely future he’s set for himself by making these changes, but it’s all just so inherently stupid.

We didn’t need the kids to confirm that everyone noticed that Ong-sa was in love with Soon.

On paper, shifting the way we saw this first interaction between Ong-sa and Young Soon is fascinating. Instead of it being some kind of coincidental meet cute, this is twisted by Ong-sa yearning for a version of Soon that he already knows and trying to find it in the younger version of him. However, it’s been so painfully slow to get here that it all doesn’t land for me. It just feels really messed up in a way that diminishes the romance. There could be a really fucked up kind of viewpoint here about when and where the love between them began, but the asymmetry is really bothering me.

After six episodes I genuinely cannot recommend this show. It’s not been a very rewarding experience, and I mostly find myself bored at this point. I had a lot of hopes for this show, but It’s not delivering. How could they make a time travel romance so sleepy?

[searenbound]

Commission for @laurenmarieie

They requested an OC x Kaminari love letter with nsfw, I took the personal liberality to make this a proposal letter instead of a confessional.

Warnings: I don’t know how I ended up writing erotic poetry but yeah, erotic poetry, also if you disagree with Kaminari being actually well read and a poetic romantic then keep it to yourself

Pairing: Denki Kaminari x Tenchu Yaoyorozu (OC)

Why he writes it.

It’s been a long time coming honestly, you don’t date someone since you were second year and well past graduation when you’re both established in your respective fields without falling madly in love and wanting to marry them all the time. At least that’s how it feels for him and in his experience he has a much better time explaining his depth of feelings through written word. It’s something they share, plus isn’t it cute? He leaves her love notes all the time! Isn’t it special to expect a silly note and find his proposal instead?

How the letter actually looks.

He’s quite the romantic at heart, but no one until Tenchu has given him the opportunity to romance them like this. He pulls out all the stops on this one. Careful calligraphy that he’s perfected over time, on special vintage style writing paper with the gold trimming on bordering it. Spritzed with her favorite cologne of his and tucked into a white envelope, sitting on her writing desk with a rose laid across it.

How he gives it to Tenchu.

He doesn’t make it a big secret she needs to find out like some might. They’re the anxious type and he doesn’t want them worrying themselves into insecurities they’ve worked passed. Instead he says he’s left something on her desk accidentally and since it’s not uncommon for him she shrugs it off. Only to be surprised with his gift and then him knelt with a ring when she’s finished reading it.

What it says

How should I even start this?

Should I compare you to a muse that inspires me?

You’re so much more to me.

Should I compare your beauty to that of goddess?

It wouldn’t land quite right because you are a goddess in my eyes.

Should I tell you how I live to adore and worship you?

How the sweet nectar that flows from between the plump lips between your thighs is enough to nourish my for days?

How your touch makes me ache and yearn for relief, for release in that sacred place you’ve allowed me entry?

Ask for forgiveness that I so greedily spoil myself on you and hardly ever allow you to return the favor?

I’m sure you know, and I’m sure you don’t mind.

I’m certain as well, that you believe yourself to be the selfish one. You’re not princess.

Selfish is the man before you who takes the treasures of having you as a wife without gracing you with the title.

So Tenchu Yaoyorozu, please do me the honor of calling you my wife. Will you marry me?

[taekookfests]

single parent fest - fic reveals season 2

I know his name, I think about him every day. by Alice_KimTJN [link] 56.7k Words | Completed | Mature 

When Kim Taehyung comes back to Korea with his little daughter, his best friend Jeon Jungkook is there for him, ready to help him and put back together the broken pieces of him. But what happened between two best friends when without warning ancient feelings resurface together with an old promise that for Jungkook very much still stands? Broken and blue, Kim Taehyung finds Home again.

raising chaos by goofyarmy [link] 54k Words | Completed | Explicit

“Oh, no, don’t get me wrong,” Jungkook purses his lips. How does he explain what happened without scaring the new teacher? “She wasn’t bullied or something like that.”

A flash of surprise crosses Taehyung’s face, his eyebrows raise just the slightest before going back down. “Okay…”

“It's just that… she can be difficult,” Jungkook confesses, guilt all over his voice.

“I’m used to difficult kids,” Taehyung replies with a smile.

OR

When single father Jeon Jungkook has no other choice but to send his problematic 7-year-old daughter to a new school, the help he needs comes in the form of the sweetest teacher he has ever met.

Sweet lies - or The moment I knew who you are by Btsbangtan7 [link] 47.6k Words | Completed | Mature

Taehyung an Omega was short on money and saw an opportunity to get back on his feets, babysitting for a little two year old pup.

What could go wrong... Just the one note that they only want Alphas but who cares right, he just needed to hide his rank for the job!

He's not in the slightest attracted to the Single father Jungkook, not at all..

And Jungkook was never in his life more confused to suddenly feel something for an Alpha who turned his world upside down!

(You Know It's Not the Same) As It Was by Ship_Awakens [link]  31.1k Words | Completed | Explicit

In which Taehyung and Jungkook have always been close, but when Taehyung’s daughter crash lands in their lives, pulling them even closer together, they start to realise that feelings they thought were unreciprocated might very well be after all…

call it what you want. by moonchild__04 [link] 28.3k Words | Completed | Explicit

Taehyung, forty-years-old, travels along California with his kid, Nicholas, fourteen-years-old: a vacation made of sun, sea and surf. Taehyung desperately wants to rebuild the relationship with his son. His life is satisfying, he has a brilliant job and a nice apartment and a very smart best-friend in New York City, but something is missing, even if he doesn’t even realize it - until he meets him. Jeon Jungkook, thirty-three, a backpack and a notebook full of drawings and dreams. Jungkook is headed to San Francisco to search for a part of his family, but something - someone - holds him back where he is. In the middle of their personal crisis, Taekook fall in love in the most unexpected and sudden way. 

Anam Cara by Karla24WinTaeBear [link] 27.6k Words | Completed | Explicit

Kim Taehyung has been working two jobs to support his pup when Jeon Jungkook bursts into their lives. Taehyung has been burned by love before and now hates alphas even though one of his jobs has him constantly surrounded by them. Will Jungkook be able to break down the walls around Taehyung's heart and prove that he's the alpha Taehyung needs but didn't ask for?

The Paper Knife Murder by NaymeeTR76 [link] 27.1k Words | Completed | Mature

Detective Inspector Jeon is called to the estate of mega rich and powerful Chairman Kim to investigate a murder.

Coming face to face with a blood soaked Kim Taehyung and his small daughter, Jungkook hopes beyond all hope that this beautiful man is not the culprit.

Come back Home (to me) by aa3 [link] 25.4k Words | Completed | Mature

Taehyung knew the present was unpredictable, but he didn't think that his past would bump into him in a supermarket of all places. And then begins the continuation of his stupid heart's yearning as his past finally wants to comeback as his present.

Jungkook doesn't have a lot of regrets, but one thing was running away all those years ago. And now as he looks at what he lost due to that he just doesn't know what to do. And Jungkook really is trying to trudge that path of past to redo his faults.

In-between them a pre adolescent Ryujin, the daughter of the said self-torturing past , just might want to bang their heads together and make them see sense.

sex education (let’s talk about you and me) by loveremainsthecure [link] 21.6k Words | Completed | Explicit

When sex therapist Taehyung finds out it’s time for his son to take sex ed at school, he decides to create his own class in hopes of offering a more inclusive, sex-positive approach for the students. After getting his idea approved, Taehyung’s excited to start. There’s just one catch: he has to teach the class with assistance from Jungkook, Taehyung’s least favorite person and his son’s favorite teacher.

I dare you to kiss all the moles on my body by tanniesmorningdew [link] 15.5k Words | Completed | Mature

Taehyung is just trying to give his daughter the best that life has to offer, even if it means taking insults for his profession until he breaks down

Jungkook teaches etiquette to young children, he's good at his job, until he meets a parent who is even more impossible to deal with than the kids he teaches.

Kookie and the Bears by Ablyba649 [link] 6.1k Words | Completed | General Audiences

At twenty four, when asked "are you seeing anyone?" Taehyung had said "yes". 

He wasn't. But by the next family holiday, at the age of twenty five, he was a father. 

At twenty six, he was engaged. 

At twenty seven he was married. 

Now, at twenty eight he was divorced and sole custodian of his daughter

Spring Love by taekoosmoon [link] 4.7k Words | Completed | Not Rated

Bakery owner Jungkook on his usual day at work meets a cute little girl who apparently has an obsession for breads and left her father behind ... for breads. On cue a panicked Taehyung stumbling into the bakery only to see his darling daughter laughing with a pretty boy. Oh and Taehyung loves pretty things.

you know I have no chingu! by kicksomeacid [link] 33.5k Words | Ongoing | Not Rated

"I have a son, his name is Hyunjin, and he’s five years old. He’s in kindergarten and if you’re wondering, his favorite subject is art.”

“Well, he’s not very good at it,” Jungkook mumbles.

In which Jungkook discovers his secretary of three years has a child, and he's less than thrilled.

lavender haze by firewaterkv [link] 9.1k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

All his life Jeongguk has liked to plan. And plan. And plan some more. So when takes his kids to Hawaii for their first vacation as a family, he's confident nothing can go wrong. Until his ex-wife unexpectedly shows up and throws a wrench in his plans. Caught off-guard and wanting to seem less pathetic to her and her new boyfriend, he blurts out he's dating the kids' babysitter, Taehyung, and luckily, Taehyung decides to go along with this act for the next four days.

But soon the act starts to feel too real, and Jeongguk finds out that no matter how much you plan your life, it manages to throw some (welcome) surprises your way.

Peripheral Encounter by Maddyinluv for ifyoudontlisten [link] 6.1k Words | Ongoing | Mature

Taehyung, a divorced, workaholic office worker, is in the middle of a road trip with his teenage son when he stumbles into Jungkook. They contrast in appearance, personality, and struggles, but somehow they feel a string that draws them together. Who knew that the chance meeting will alter the lives of the three of them, and possibly more?

you're still in my bed, when morning comes by tanniesmorningdew [link] 3.8k Words | Ongoing | Mature

Kim Taehyung swore he would never date anyone with a child, he doesn't hate kids, just the burden and implications of having to take care of someone else's responsibility

Jeon Jungkook hasn't dated or fallen in love with anyone in years after breaking up with the mother of his child. Not until he walks in a studio to get his tatooe done and he meets the owner

Or

Can past hurts be healed or there's too much baggage for love to blossom?

To all the Kims I've loved before by littlemeowmeow_7 [link] 2.3k Words | Ongoing | Teen And Up

Single father Jungkook divorced of his wife because of lack of communication. Tired of seeing him lonely, twins Jongin & Taemin (11 yo) decide to write a letter to all their dad ex’s crushes in high school after finding a mysterious memories box. What they did not expect is receiving three answers of three men all named Kim. Chaos ensue.

of sweet smiles and lollipops by kalleninlove [link] 2.1k Words | Ongoing | General Audiences

The five times dentist Jeon Jeongguk catches Taehyung’s daughter stealing lollipops from his desk, and the one time she doesn’t.

Speak now (or forever hold your peace) by charjooning [link] 2k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

"Speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I object."

Everyone gasped as Jeongguk turned around searching for the voice and what he saw froze him

His lost lover, Taehyung holding hands with a child.

(a huge thanks to @/prplannie for helping me compile all these fics!)

[pulaasul]

Forge Mine Own Path - ED 3 (Velvet Intervention)

Despite what they knew, Keiwa was there unconscious but alive and things are explained to them.

Shoutout to @rainixdra​ for helping me with the plot of this one lol.

FFN I Ao3

1 I 2 

---------

Suddenly, a blue light shone in the space between all of five people inside the building. They looked at it expectantly hoping for good news.

As soon as the blue light faded, it left a standing Tsumuri, an unconscious shirtless Keiwa on the floor, and four unfamiliar people all wearing blue.

Sara immediately rushed to her brother's side and began touching his wrist and neck before sighing in relief and crying her heart out in joy.

"Then…" Neon looked at the elder Sakurai expectantly.

Sara, the relief in her system prevented her from forming words but she did convey the news to everyone around her, with a strong nod.

"Thank goodness." Neon sighed. "Thank goodness." She repeated as tears formed in her eyes.

"But how?" Ace asked the question no one seemed to be asking. "I was under the impression that he was sacrificing himself for us."

"He was indeed hoping to take down the god of desires with him," the long-haired woman among the quartet of blue-wearing people spoke. "However, just as how the embodiment of human desire for death cannot be extinguished, the embodiment of human wishes can not be extinguished."

"The embodiment of human desire for death." Michinaga repeated one part of the sentence.

"Were Keiwa's efforts and sacrifices all for nothing?" Sara looked up at the people wearing blue.

"No, it wasn't all for nothing." The short-haired woman shook her head with a smile. "While they continue to grow and accumulate as people grow and desire, they can still be flopped? Dropped? Stopped?"

"As my sister was saying," The only man in the group interjected. "The embodiment of human wishes can not be extinguished but it can be halted and be scattered before it can take its form again."

"But, people desire for anything every time." Michinaga growled.

"And he too will reform," The youngest of the group responded. "But he is weakened and cannot do everything as he had been doing."

"Unlike the embodiment of desire for death, who constantly tries to end all sentient life, the embodiment of desire for wishes can bide its time and will reform well past all of your lifetimes." The long-haired woman finished.

"There is a form for the desire to die?" Michinaga couldn't help but fixate on that fact.

"Yes, just as there are embodiments of yearning for bonds, desire to be controlled, and many others, so too the desire for human death." The youngest of the group responded.

"Elizabeth, we weren't supposed to interfere." Margaret sighed.

"But dear sister, I did not," Elizabeth shook her head dramatically. "I simply erected a barrier between his attack and us, I certainly did not think that it would have protected him."

The youngest of the group shook her head.

"I'm sorry but we weren't supposed to interfere." The youngest of the group stated honestly. "I do not know what the consequences are for our interference…"

"Dear Lavenza, only Elizabeth has interfered in the course of events, as she has left the Velvet Room, it is my understanding that her interference is well within the scope of her journey." The only male in the group offered.

"Indeed," The long-haired woman chuckled. "And we were mere witnesses of her journey."

"I'm glad you see it my way, dear sister." The short-haired woman – Elizabeth – smiled warmly before turning towards the conscious people in the group. "Until our paths floss? Gross? Poss? Whatever."

As the quartet of blue-wearing people disappeared the way they arrived, by way of blue light shining on them and fading alongside the light, the short-haired woman seemed to have dropped two beads.

They rolled toward the unconscious members of the group.

Suddenly a single flower sprouted from each bead and two blue butterflies landed on them, one for each flower.

The butterflies and flowers faded from existence before a single petal fell on top of the unconscious Mitsumi and Keiwa.

After Keiwa and Mitsume glowed blue, the both of them started coughing, waking up from their slumber.

Tsumuri and Ace rushed to Mitsume's side.

Sara and Neon rushed to Keiwa's side.

"Wha-what happened?" Keiwa asked in a really hoarse voice.

Sara's response was to hug her brother as tight as she could.

"Nee-chan… I'm sorry."

"No, you're here now," Sara responded as she hugged her brother. "That's all that matters now."

"The ambulances are arriving soon," Michinaga reported. "We need to figure out a way to explain Tycoon's and the goddess's appearance."

"Mitsume."

"Fine, Tycoon's and Mitsume's appearances."

Ace suddenly removed his expensive cardigan and stripped himself of his shirt and gave it to Sara.

"Are you sure, Ace-sama?"

"Just accept it." Ace insisted as he wore his cardigan again and donned the DGP's jacket, after a long time he hasn't worn them.

"Geats, you and Na-go need to scram."

"Wha- Oi, Buffa.

"Ace, no one knows that Mitsume-san is your mother, we can't be seen here, we're too public of figures to be involved here." Neon explained.

"Ace, I'm going to be fine." Mitsume assured her son.

"Fine, you better not harm my mother, Buffa."

---------

It took weeks for Keiwa to be released from the hospital. The doctors were quite worried that there were some bones that healed incorrectly and there were some infected wounds.

As for Mitsume, it took years for her to be finally out of the hospital. Spending centuries as a statue has atrophied her muscles and she needed to stay in the hospital to rehabilitate her motor skills.

It came as a surprise to both Keiwa and Sara when their parents, who were supposed to be dead, came and visited Keiwa one time.

It turns out, Tsumuri used the last of the powers Sueru had implanted in her to make one big wish.

A wish that would have been granted had Keiwa won at least one DGP game.

Tsumuri's act of using the last of Sueru's powers forced her body to drop unconscious, it was a sight to see Ace so frazzled from seeing his sister unconscious.

He does care about Tsumuri-san.

Michinaga on the other hand almost stormed into Keiwa's room after he saw his best friend greet him, like nothing happened, at work.

"A little warning, next time."

"There won't be a next time," Keiwa hoarsely explained. "Neither Tsumuri-san nor Mitsume-san has the power of Eros anymore."

"I see." Michinaga turned his back on the Sakurai.

"For what it's worth, Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Keiwa shook his head.

"and I'm sorry."

"I can't forgive the deaths, Michinaga." Keiwa closed his eyes. "Turning into bubbles was painful, if not for me awakening to that, I would have really died."

"So you didn't?"

"While I didn't, I was transferred to someplace else, where I did, multiple times."

"You mentioned that,"

"The paper attack I subjected you with was far tamer than the darkness version, it literally burns your skin."

"Why? You had all the reason…"

"I may find it hard to forgive, but I'm not vindictive." Keiwa shook his head. "In time, maybe I can forgive what you have done, but not now."

"I can understand that."

---------

Keiwa found himself in a place, not unlike where the goddess once stood.

In the center, was a man in a white suit with a blue butterfly mask on his face.

"Welcome to the Collective Unconscious." The man greeted. "We meet again, my friend."

[hollandsmushroom]

OMG YAY ok so what about tom doing push ups and you are getting super horny watching him, so you ask him to stop just for you to get under him and... you know, suck his dick while he's doing push ups jgbkgbkgbkh if this is too filthy for you let me know

(Mouth)Fucking Pushups

HNNNG!!!!

Word count: 1705

Warnings: 18+ NSFW MINORS GO AWAY! blow jobs, sweat and mouth fucking.

Request/Chat with Me

“Tom!” you called out through the seemingly empty house, dropping your keys in the dish on the entryway table, the clatter sounding through the walls as you followed the faint hints of music to the basement, pushing the door open, the sounds getting louder, loud enough that you knew Tom couldn’t hear you but you still thought you would call out again.

“Tom?” you tried again but your voice was drowned out by the beat that was vibrating through the ground beneath your feet as you stepped down the carpeted steps. When you reached the bottom of the stairs you stood on the solid hardwood floor, the beat of the music even more intense against your soles. Though you normally would have been fascinated by how the feeling rose through your body, any curiosity had been replaced with a keen interest in the man in front of you. He was laid out on a yoga mat, the flesh of his belly rolling slightly as he curled his upper body up off the floor, his biceps taught against the short sleeves of his shirt, his hands gripping the opposite shoulders. His brown eyes were squeezed shut in exertion and you knew that you should make yourself known but he looked too dialectable to interrupt, you just wanted to sit and admire as a drop of sweat trickled between his pecs. You sat on the seat of the rowing machine, pressing your feet into the floor so the seat wouldn’t roll down the metal slide and watch. His knees were spread and you could see the way that his shorts had hitched up his hips, accentuating his cock through his basketball shorts, tightening on either side of his balls and it made you gulp. You felt yourself beginning to yearn for him, your mouth was salivating as you watched him, so fixated on the space between his legs and the continuing loosening and tightening of his shorts that you didn’t notice Tom sitting up, breaking open his eyes to find you sitting there watching him.

“JESUS FUCK!” He cried out when he saw you, still having thought that he was alone while he was working out. His words shocked you out of your cock lusted haze and made you jump, nearly falling off of the erg but his hand wrapped itself around yours and pulled you back to a stable position, also using you as a way to hoist himself off the floor so he stood above you, his sweaty brown curls falling in front of his quizzical orbs as he hooked a finger under your chin and brought your eyes to his, tearing your gaze from his glistening abs that were now in front of your face and you just wanted to smear your lips across them.

“Sorry for scaring you, Tommy” you utter, as his thumb brushes your cheek, your words eliciting a small chuck from Tom.

“It’s alright, love, how long were you sitting there?” he queried, wondering just how long you had been silently staring at him, well by the looks of it, admiring him, and he couldn’t help the blush that rose from his chest at the thought of you just tracing every curve of his body with your eyes without him knowing.

“Don’t actually know, but don’t let me interrupt you look like you still have things to do” he furrows his brow at your words, fully prepared to stop working out and spend time with you but you seemed pretty set on letting him continue so he didn’t argue, ducking down and stealing a kiss from your lips before returning to his mat.

His knees met the foam first then catching himself on his hands, pushing his legs back into a push-up position and dipping down. This position gave you a stunning view of his ass, how it squeezed when he bowed down to the floor, the way his grunts made it over the loud music was making your thirst for the man in front of you simply multiply. You couldn’t stop yourself, you had literally just told him to go back to work and there you were opening your mouth to ask him to stop.

“Tommy?” you called out, making him stop his actions and turn to look at you from over his shoulder, his brows scrunched with laughter.

“I thought you told me not to let you interrupt” he chuckled as he held himself in a side plank, his eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile as he watched you stand. “Whatcha doin’ love?” he asked as you laid down so your shoulder was flush with his hand.

“Giving you motivation” you insisted, pulling him pack down into a push up position by tugging on his shoulder, forcing him to fall over you.

“Was doing just fine without it” he laughed as you puckered your lips, inviting him to bow his elbows back and press down to your lips but as soon as he nearly reached them you dodged to the side, pressing a kiss under his ear, licking over the juncture very softly making him gasp. God his noises were gonna be the death of you.

“W-what was that?” he asks when he pushes back above you, elbows locking as he looks at you intently.

“A kiss” you explain, looking at him like he was dumb to cover your devilish desires, and your explanation seemed to be enough to satisfy Tom as he began to lower himself again, and this time you pressed a kiss against his collar bone, sucking lightly until he pulled away.

“Y/n” he groaned, looking down at where your head was but not it was just your hair, having scooted yourself down so you could kiss your way down his chest. His skin was salty against your lips but you didn’t mind, you cared less about his sweat and more about the fact that you could now feel Tom’s hardening cock pressing into you when he lowered down. It was pressing into your belly now as you peppered kisses down from his belly button, tracing your tongue along the waistband of his shorts.

“Y/n, what are you doing?” Tom panted but you ignored him, pulling his shorts down until they were resting part way down his thighs, beneath his ball sack, his cock springing free and hitting you in the chin. You tilted your head down so your chin rested on your chest, letting his cock between your lips and rest on your tongue. You could sense Tom’s apprehension, almost able to hear the worried whimper of your name that was building in his throat but you decided to skip that part, wrapping your arms around his waist and digging your hands into his asscheeks and pulling him down, forcing him to do a push up.

His cock brushed the back of your throat but you managed to contain the gag that it triggered, letting him pull from between his lips as he pushed back up only to have you pull him back down again, removing one hand from his ass cheek and wrapping it in a searing grip around his hardon, positioning it so he would slip eagerly in between your salivating lips.

“Fuck” you heard Tom murmur in pleasure, his ab muscles were twitchin in your view as you opened yoru jaw just a little bit more, taking him in further when his body rises and falls again, he was enraptured by your mouth, focused on the wet friction of his dick against your tongue that he forgot what his arms were doing until he felt like he couldn’t hold himself up anymore.

He sat back on his knees, his cock still nestled in your mouth as he gripped onto your scalp, pulling your head forward as he began to fuck into your mouth, bringing himself closer and closer to the edge with every jerk of his hips, his tip still brushing against the back of your throat with every stroke and it was making you gag, your throat clenching around his length, the constriction a sudden shock that was enough to send him over the edge, his cum shooting down your throat and spreading across the insides of your cheeks as you sucked harder and his cock, draining him for every ounce of cum that you could possibly manage until he couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He was moaning and whining and convulsing on top of you, unable to support himself he feel forward, catching himself on his palms as he pulled out of your mouth, a choked gargle leaving your lips as cum began to drip down your now empty throat, pushing yourself up from between his legs and letting his body fully collapse onto the mat.

“Fuck” He winced, having landed on his overly sensitive cock, crushing the spongy flesh slightly making him roll over onto his back.

You looked over your shoulder to admire your work, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand as you laid down next to him, resting your head on his chest as you looked up into his hooded and tired eyes. Your fingers traced down his accentuated abs muscles until they reached his cock, tracing very gently over the wet and tired skin earning a couple more twitches from him as you maintained eye contact.

“If I knew that was gonna happen when you watched me work out I would have made you come to every session with me” he laughs, fingers brushing your forehead as you tried to hide your face in his chest.

“Hey, none of that” he ordered, pulling you up so you were now above him, your knees on either side of his hips and lips only centimeters apart, breath hot as your eye contact made your belly erupt into little butterflies.

“I love you” he murmurs, closing the space between the both of you slowly.

“Love you too” you assure, setting your hips down onto his and feeling his cock again. “Love this cock too” you giggle, grinding down slightly, feeling it harden.

“God, you’re gonna kill me” Tom groaned, making you cease your actions and throw your head back in laughter.

Join my sleepover

♡Taglist♡

@capital-koreasofia @marvelhasmyheart235 @iluvdeja @quaksonhehe @lovehollandy12 @thollandneedy @prancerrparkerr @parkerpeter24 @hollandsour @spydeysense @harryhollandsgirlfriend

[annaphoenix1994]

Ch.103 - The Way a Cowboy Should

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

Simon makes an unfortunate discovery.

Two days in the saddle can have a toll on a man, but not a true cowboy like Bud Dutton. Simon admired him - how the man never complained, how he always had a quick wit about the different situations before him, how he never ceased to tell a joke when the time was right, and how honorable he was with anything he did. With dusk approaching, the group was becoming restless after being fueled by beans and coffee and in desperate desire of a shower and a warm bed to sleep in. 

Even with all of these desires arising on everyone's mind, nobody - even Baler - found the time to complain about it. "Baler?" Simon directed, getting his attention. "Go put that cow back in line." 

"Um... H-How do I do that?" 

"Ride up on her left flank and guide her back into the herd!" 

"O-Okay!" Baler nodded, nudging his horse into a lope as he kept his eye on the cow, using his horse to guide the cow back into the herd, looking back towards Simon with the hopes of approval, a big smile smearing across his face after realizing he had done something new. "I want to chase another one!" 

"That time will come, lad," Simon shouted. "Get back in formation!" 

Laughs. Genuine, happy laughs were exchanged between the men - and Teeter - as they herded the two-hundred head of cattle through the valley, eager to get them to Lick Creek to lay over for the night before making their way back to the ranch, each eager to return home to the loved ones waiting for them. With every dusk and dawn, Kiera never failed to slip into Simon's mind, the thought of her greeting him with a warm smile and yearning kiss followed by constant admiring of their children. It never bloody gets old, he thought. I can't wait for her to be my wife. 

After nightfall came, it was roughly eleven o'clock before the group got the cattle and horses settled in for the night, Simon settling under a nearby tree to shield him from the morning sun when it arose. Sitting with his back against the bark, he crossed his ankles as he scrolled through the photos of Kiera and his children on his phone, wishing he could be granted with a bar of service to send a quick I love you text message, grimacing as he didn't have the privilege he had wished for. 

"One day, you'll be glad to not have that little box beeping at you every twenty minutes." Bud chuckled, his saddle landing next to Simon before he slowly took a seat next to him. 

"You're still awake, old man?" Simon chuckled, watching Bud take a seat next to him before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out two cigars. 

Bud reached one over to him, "I invite you sir to celebrate another drive." 

"I better not. Kiera would kill me-"

"Why'd you think I brought these cigars for a trip she wasn't on?" Bud chuckled. "Eva threatens to kill me every time she smells the smoke on me, but she don't. I quite like makin' her mad sometimes," He admitted while both of them chuckled. "She's cute when she's mad." 

"You and me both, sir. I quite like making your daughter mad sometimes," Simon admitted. "On minor things, though-"

"No need to explain," He chuckled. "I know what you mean. You still planning on that honeymoon you were telling me about?" 

Simon smirked, "Yeah. I just want to give her something extravagant - something she had never done before. I figured what better way to do it than for our honeymoon." 

"Well, you know Eva and I will be more than happy to watch the kids for you," Bud smiled, nudging Simon's elbow with his. "I quite envy you - I'd never been able to dress up in period clothing." 

"Me either, but her favorite show is Peaky Blinders and there's a sort of convention in Birmingham and I know she'd love to dress up in that time period. And, I meant to tell you but I never could get you away from earshot of her - there's a ship coming back to the states that sponsors the convention, so we'll be coming back to the states in that time period so to speak." 

"She'd love that. I don't know what Squeaky Blinders is, but I'm sure she'd love it."

Simon chuckled at Bud's misunderstanding, "I'm quite excited for it too."

"Well, I have something I want to give you," Bud said, puffing a cloud of cigar smoke as he reached into his coat pocket. "Consider it as a wedding gift for future use." 

Simon furrowed his brows as he fondled with the two pieces of folded paper between his fingers, taking a few moments before he opened the folded papers. 

A land deed with a handwritten note:

𝒮𝒾𝓂𝑜𝓃 𝑅𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓎,

𝐼𝓉'𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈. 𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓎𝑒𝒶𝓇, 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒦𝒾𝑒𝓇𝒶'𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝟩 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒. 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒-𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝓆𝓊𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝓁𝒾𝒸𝓎 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇. 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓌𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝓉, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓁𝓎 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝓌 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒶 𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒦𝒾𝑒𝓇𝒶 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝓊𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒. 𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑒𝓅𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝓃. 𝒲𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓇𝒹 - 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝒾𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝓈𝒾𝓇, 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒷𝒾𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒾𝓉. 𝒞𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓉𝓊𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔! 𝐼 𝓉𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝒻𝓇𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔.

𝑅𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈,

𝐵𝓊𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐸𝓋𝒶 𝒟𝓊𝓉𝓉𝑜𝓃

"I know, it's a lot to take in," Bud snickered. "But don't get all sentimental... I've done shed my tears when I wrote it." 

"Sir, I- I truly don't know what to say-"

"Your reaction is enough, son," Bud assured him with a smile, clasping his free hand on Simon's shoulder. "I've been chompin' at the bit to give this letter to you, but I figured now is the right time." 

"What makes you say that?" 

Simon saw that Bud had something on his mind, like he knew he had to give the deed to Simon soon, but chose not to pester him about it. "I just... Felt like I needed to give it to you before the wedding."

"I-Well, thank you, sir. Really. I don't know how I can top what you've done with this place." 

"Your kids, Simon. They are what makes this ranch a home."

Simon smirked, "You sure it's not past your bedtime?" 

"My bedtime is when I'm dead'n gone, buddy." 

The men chuckled, Simon shaking his head as he tucked away Bud's gift within the confines of the breastpocket of his jacket, his gaze turning to Bud when he saw him splay a wool blanket over his legs. "How'd you tote a blanket up here, old man?"

"I traded out my slicker and I gambled it wouldn't rain. I think I gambled right!" 

"You know, I've come to believe perfection only lives in little moments, ya know? Can't be sustained over hours, just instances - little wisps of time. Then the world becomes imperfect again. This day damn near proved me wrong." 

"And to think I didn't think you'd be sentimental," Bud snickered. "But, if it wasn't perfect, it was damn near close." 

"Yeah, damn close indeed." Simon replied, he and Bud sharing a laugh.

"A former British S.A.S sittin' on the side of a mountain in Wyoming with his old goat of a father-in-law, sleepin' with his boots on after tellin' me at one point he'd never step foot in America - Damn, this world may have a chance yet." Bud poked as he laid down against his saddle. 

"You keep your head up in that saddle, old man. I don't need to listen to your snoring. I hear it enough laying next to Kiera at night." 

Bud laughed, "Where do ya think she gets it from? Her dear old daddy. Thank the good Lord she didn't get her looks from me!" 

"She still would've been perfect enough for me." 

"Wise words, son. Wise words." 

Simon chuckled, "Just like Kiera has told me before: if you can't sleep through a man's snoring or hers, you're not tired enough." 

"I remember tellin' her that when she was a little girl. She'd always complain about my snorin' when we went on cattle drives." 

"I bet she was a little savage growing up, yeah?" 

"Buddy, you have no idea! You better hope that little girl of yours doesn't have a spittin' image of her attitude!" 

"I have a feeling she will be," Simon smirked. "I've already prepared myself for it." 

"Good man," Bud yawned. "I'll see you on the other side." 

"I'll see you on the other side, mate. Goodnight." Simon chuckled, oblivious to what Bud actually meant. 

"Goodnight. Keep forgettin' you're a Brit." He teased. 

"Hopefully my kids learn my accent." 

"Let's argue about this in the morning." He snickered. 

"Sounds like a plan to argue over tea." 

*

Simon awoke once he sensed the sun arise, sitting up and running a free hand through his hair before putting back on his hat. He looked over at Bud, seeing his mouth agape and his eyes closed peacefully. Considering it was still somewhat dark with minor light from the morning sun, Simon decided to leave him be knowing that the old man deserved his rest. "Looks like I slept through your snoring, old man." He chuckled to himself before walking towards the high-line to saddle up his horse, surprised that he saw Baler with Soap and Teeter, each doing the same. 

"I don't mind working for less than minimum wage, but these mornings with no-coffee rubbish..." Soap complained, his voice hoarse with exhaustion. 

"It's cowboy shit, baby." Teeter giggled. 

"It'll just make it taste that much better once you get down the hill, Soap Sud." Baler snickered. 

"There you go, mate. Drink up some of that cowboy wisdom!" Simon chimed, his face decorated with a smirk as he joined them, patting his horse on the neck with his free hand while his saddle and pad occupied his other. 

"Just one peaceful morning without you poking at me would be great, L.T." Soap sighed.

"Unfortunately for you, that'll never happen." 

"Where's grandpa?" 

"He's still asleep. I figured I'd let him sleep in since all we have to do is ride back to the ranch." 

"Woah, stone cold Simon has a heart?" Teeter poked. 

"It's a cold one, but it's soft for ones he respects." Soap answered for him. 

"Ain't that the truth." 

"Alright, now I know who's in charge of cooking breakfast." 

"Who?" 

"You, lad."

"Why?" Baler scoffed. 

"Because you're the first one to have your horse saddled and already talking your shite. Go on." 

The teen huffed, slumping his shoulders as he made his way towards the small fire, sitting on a nearby log as he prepared to heat a can of beans for breakfast. I can't wait to eat mom's breakfast tomorrow, he thought. 

"Father of the year, eh?" Soap teased. "Looks like you have him all under control." 

"I don't know about that, but we've come a long way that's for sure." 

* 

Once the morning sun shone across the Wyoming landscape, Simon took notice that Bud hadn't joined them for their late breakfast. Staying on foot, he led his horse towards the tree that he and Bud slept under the night before, seeing him in the same position since he last saw him. "I know it's our day to ride home, but we can get there sooner if you wake up, mate." 

Once he got closer, his playful smirk faded into a frown once he saw the purple and light blue haze that took over his complexion. 

Bud had passed away. 

Sighing heavily through his nose, he looked down at his feet, unaware that a tear had slipped down his cheek. "Well, I couldn't have thought of a better death for you even if you paid me," He sighed. "Sir, I know what you meant when you said you'd see me on the other side. I just hope you're waiting for me with a cigar and a glass of whiskey." 

"Dad! You coming?" Baler shouted from less than a hundred feet away, riding his horse closer to him and stopping once he realized what had happened. "Oh, shit. W-What do we do?" 

"Go get the satellite phone from Teeter. We're not leaving until he is taken care of." 

"Yes, sir." 

* 

Several hours later, Simon, Soap, Baler, and Teeter arrived back to the ranch, Baler taking Simon's horse to settle them in while Simon was left to deliver the news to Eva and Kiera, his heart breaking at the thought of what he were to say when the time came.

He forced a smile when he watched Eva stand to her feet after seeing him approach from the porch, a warm and welcoming smile splaying across her face. "Come back in one piece I see!" She smiled. "How are you, sweetheart?" 

"I'm well, thank you," He breathed, welcoming her embrace. "I wouldn't stand too close, I probably don't smell too good." 

"Honey, I can't count on my little old fingers how many times I've smelled Bud with cologne. I'm used to the smell of a man who's been laying in the dirt and sleeping against leather," She giggled, reaching up to wipe a streak of dirt from Simon's cheek. "I figured he would've walked up with you? Did he get caught up talking again?" She smiled. 

Simon sighed, "Where's Kiera?" 

"She went into town with Kristen. They took the kids. Something about going for lunch. She said she tried to text you-"

"No, no, that's okay. I didn't have service the entire time," Simon shook his head. "I-I need to tell you something, I-"

Simon's heart broke when he watched Eva's usual and cheerful face fall into a frown. "Wh-? Si-Simon?" 

She watched him shake his head, avoiding eye contact with her as she slowly put together the pieces. "I'm so sorry, love-"

"-How?" She began to cry, her knees buckling from under her as Simon hastily reached out to catch her, helping her sit on the nearby chair while he rested on one knee in front of her, his frame nearly towering over her as she sat, letting her cling to his coat while she cried, providing a comforting and empathetic embrace for his mother-in-law. 

"Like a cowboy should," He sighed. "His head on his saddle, looking up at the stars, and having a humorous conversation with a friend. He closed his eyes and passed in his sleep." 

He held Eva close as she wept, letting her use the collar of his coat to wipe her tears, "I sure hope that conversation was with you, Simon. He spoke so highly of you." 

"I know," He assured her. "We even had a cigar." 

"I'm not surprised," She forced a playful tone. "I smelled it on you before you even said anything."

"He mentioned he always liked to pick at you and make you mad." 

"That he did," She sniffled. "I can't lie and say I enjoyed that stupid little smirk he did when I'd get irritated with him." 

"I saw it every day, love." 

[sepia-mahogany]

Platonic Hanahaki

The stories are just as widely known, of loving and losing, of yearning and forgetting, common in present time as they were years ago, of loving someone so deeply, without desire but not without passion, of kings and warriors, of lovers and brothers, of people not kin not lovers, growing in their lungs the flowers with thorns that cut deep, and drank away their blood without leaving any survivors.

Of course the tales are many, as tragic as they are, of how a man who killed his beloved for making him feel what he deemed unnecessary, his beloved who offered him a little white carnation, covered red in blood, but he held up his sword and cut through flesh, only to follow few days later in his grief.

Or of how a woman travelled across seas, in search of her soulmate, for the agony of her blood kept her comfort, for the heartbeat that echoed along with the garden she grew inside her lungs, because it meant her beloved was well, until one day, she coughed up a black rose and sank to her knees, disappearing from the world.

Of course, there were the ones who lived and got their happy ends, filled with their beloved ones caress or tears of guilt, and so was recorded, the flowers turning to dust and fading away, for their love had been acknowledged, so why the need for the reminder in their veins? Only marks appear on their skin, the place where they first made contact, sometimes the cheek, sometimes the hand, sometimes unseen under the clothes from when they rough-housed as kids.

------------

Jiang Fengmian closed the book that he read, the pain blossoming sharp in his lungs, since that night when he sat, staring at the lotuses under the moonlight, his mind drifting to moments of the past, of longing of what once was, Lotus Pier once his home, felt more like a shackle around his wrists, yet this was his responsibility and he would bear the weight.

He thought to the day he waved away his dearest friend, the one by his side since they were young and grown into the men they were today, and as life went on, it was natural and it was expected, so Fengmian had not been forlorn but rather joyfully wished them well with sincerity and hoped they could visit some time in the future.

He was happy for Changze, for he had found his One, he’d seen the way he looked at her and she at him, he may have held affections for one of them but his love for their friendship outweighed it, and he would be content if they were healthy and successful in the path they chose, but even he knew with their own busy lives, it would be difficult to meet for a long time, so he bid them farewell and cherished their memories.

He didn’t feel as disappointed over his marriage as he originally did, it might have been arranged because of Meishan Yu Sect’s pressuring and his mother’s continuous desire for wanting one of theirs to be his bride, ‘to be the stern hand to his mellowness’ she had said, and what kind of a filial son would he be if he broke the betrothal off now?

And it was not as if he knew the Third Lady of Meishan Yu personally, seeing his brother-in arm’s relationship, his heart could not help but swell with hope, perhaps they could come to understand one another? He looked at his flowers, the ones he had grown with them, and the purple lotuses blooming near the entrance and thought, would she notice how the the colour reflected her eyes? Maybe a boat ride would help? Making future plans with anticipation, he felt a smile blooming on his face.

The day of the wedding came and went, except the chambers of the first night of the married couple remained empty, for his wife had requested for separate quarters in the privacy of their room, he agreed, perhaps she was nervous? Knowing each other better was better than consummation with a stranger, he nodded to himself, he should probably help make her comfortable as her husband.

He approached her room after he finished dressing and knocked lightly, and hesitantly called out “Third-lady?” The door opened, by one of the two girl’s Yu Ziyuan had brought over, and he saw his heart skip a beat when he saw her sitting clothed in Yunmeng Jiang’s purple, her violet eyes staring at him, her lips pursed in a line.

“What is it?” she asked, annoyance clear by her expression, he hesitated yet again, perhaps he had come too early? Yesterday had been a busy banquet. “Would you like to come to the pavilion with me today?” her eyes narrowed and he thought he saw a brief anger flash on her face, was she misunderstanding his intentions?? “The flowers are quite beautiful and the weather is quite good today, tea outside seems a calming time, doesn’t it?” he added, trying to make sure his tone did not seem too hurried, except she became even more angry.

Just when he expected her to refuse, she nodded curtly, “What time?” He let out a breath he did not even realise that he was holding, “Whatever seems comfortable.” He smiled at her gently, her eyes roamed over his face once again before she looked away, knowing full well she meant for him to leave, he got up.

He was happy throughout the day and it must have shown on his face, because his right-hand man told him to leave the Sect work to him for today and ‘just go Sect Leader!”, he had prepared the afternoon snacks himself, the place polished and ready for a wonderful evening, despite that, he still could not help but anxiously look over everything as he waited for her arrival, and she arrived, wearing the same robes as she was in the morning.

He got up to extend her seat. “Good Evening, Third-Lady” She had been looking around the garden since she had entered, he thought it out of appreciation, since these were the flowers they cultivated for years, until her eyes landed on him, which held the same anger as they did earlier in the morning. He served her the tea which she held tightly in her hands, and he found himself worrying, “Is something wrong?”

He expected her to say that the tea was not up to her taste at best, he expected her to criticise the garden’s decor at worse, what he had not expected were the words that left her mouth. “So this is the garden you cultivated with that woman? And you dared to bring me, your wife, here on the first day after our marriage?” She hissed, her words crisp and cutting, he felt confusion, followed by horrified upon realisation of the implications. 

“Third-Lady! What are you saying??”

“What am I saying?! Do you deny it? Do you take me for a fool? You married me once you were rejected by her, everyone knows that and you think that I will sit here calmly while being disrespected!? What do you take me for??” She yelled at him, slamming the cup down, he was truly shocked and frozen in his spot looking at her in bewilderment, had that really been what everyone was saying?

However, she took his shocked silence for agreement and got up to leave, “Third-Lady wait! It isn’t as you think, at all! Let me explain, we were friends and nothing else” He saw her pause, her back towards him so he hurried to explain.

“Changze brought her over once, to show her the garden we had cultivated since we were kids.” He paused to take a breath, “The only thing that was planted upon her suggestion were the purple lotuses-” He saw her head tilt as she looked the flowers, with a hopeful heart he thought, ‘maybe..?’ But before he could finish, Yu Ziyuan had turned around, a sneer upon her lips as she trampled upon the flowers next to her.

‘...to be the first thing you see, when you enter the garden.’

She left him staring at the trampled flowers, the tea cup tipped all over the table from when she smashed it in anger, and he sat there, processing what had happened, until a disciple knocked at the door, “Sect Leader?” The disciple peeked inside to catch his eye and stammered, “The meeting is about to begin, some urgent things came up and-” he smiled and replied “Of course, I’ll be on my way.” He sent the disciple off, grabbed a few napkins to clean up the table, and picked up the trampled flowers from the ground.

The days that followed went on without much words spoken between them, he did not dare to make the first move, because if she could misunderstand him in ways to such high extents, he was not sure what she would think if her sent over gifts, even if the thought of sending some crossed his mind, her scowling face and the violet of her eyes reminded him of that day, leading him to stay away.

He entered the garden, as months went by, the flowers that were once blooming wilted, just like everything in life had its end, some more sooner than the others, some caused by another, he thought as his eyes lingered on the place where once the purple lotus flowers stood. 

--------

“She’ll love them!” Cangse Sanren had said with that confident smile of hers, giving him thumbs up with both hands covered in dirt from where she planted her side of the lotuses with Changze, who nodded as well when he looked at him. “The ones on the right are from us, the ones to left were planted by her were own future-husband.” She grinned as he could feel flush creeping up his cheeks, he cleared his throat accompanied by Changze’s fond sigh. 

“She’ll probably melt, Sect Leader Jiang, down on his hands and knees in dirt, planting flowers in her-” Jiang Fengmian cut her off “Okay, enough! Enough!” he muttered, wiping his hands clean and looking at Changze, who only looked the other way as his wife cackled, the traitor. “Besides I plant flowers anyway, so does Changze, it’s not anything special like that.” He said defensively, Cangse Sanren had the audacity to roll her eyes, at Sect Leader, and his own home at that. “Sureee, Fengmian, sure.” 

---------

When he began to plant new fresh seeds, it took him much longer without Changze doing the other half, now, the thought of even considering Yu Ziyuan to plant the other half seemed laughable, he had been wrong in thinking they could come to understand one another, but now what was done was done, he could not exactly with separate her just within a few months of marriage, so he took a deep breath and decided upon a peace offering.

She was the Violet Spider, with a harsh temper and equally cutting words, what would be a gift that would be to her liking? He did not need to ponder over it for long, because to his surprise, he was approached by her during the evening, when he was alone. “I want to handle the training of the disciples.” She stated more than asked, Jiang Fengmian hesitated, that was a mistake, “What? Don’t think I’m good enough to train Yunmeng Jiangs disciples? Not good enough as your-” he cut her off,

 “No! That’s not what I was thinking-” the original instructor had been hand picked and carried the legacy of his forefathers, how could he alter what was passed down for generations- “Did you speak over me!? Trying to silence me, are you? With how you married me as a substitute for her? Is that not it?? Is that why you’re so hesitant?? Or perhaps is it that I’m a woman and you’re scared-” what?? “My Lady! That’s not it at all! I-”

“Then prove it, or else it's not believable at all, what other reason would you have then, to think that I am somehow inferior in your mind?” Her words dripped with poison, her eyes locking onto him, eyes of a venomous spider, he raised up his hand to massage his forehead. “Its not that simple! The instructing handlers have been passed down through generations, I cannot just change it on a whim.”

And she leaned back, smug as if she had won the argument, “Then perhaps it is not I who is lacking.” He felt cold all over, the anger he felt giving him no warmth, insulting his friends, insulting him, and now his sect. “Third-Lady, please be careful of what you speak, careless words aren’t able to be taken back easily.” Her smile remained, “Who says these are careless words? I mean every one of them, your Sect teachings haven’t produced any excelling disciple for the past years, while other Sect’s flourish, give me the reigns and I’ll show you how its done.”

Not only accepting all her words as intentional, but also implying she could do better than the Jiang Sect’s teachings over hundreds of years, he realised more and more what sort of a person he had been tied down to, would it not be better to just end the marriage? He instead looked over her smug expression and took a deep breath, “Fine, but give me time.” She nodded and left at that, a means to an end, giving her the benefit of the doubt, he did not know at the time, would turn out to be one of his worst mistakes.

It took him months but he managed to get some disciples under Yu Ziyuan, but his concerns were not simply over the teachings, if Yu Ziyuan could act the way she did with him, well with disciples? So he supervised the training lessons, but again to his surprise, other than some curt words, she did not verbally attack them the way she had attacked him, so it wasn’t her behaviour in general, just with him.

Of course he had called over one of the disciples randomly, although nervous and stuttering, the boy had answered that the training was going quite well, and with no reports or complaints in the following months, he could not do anything but let the matter drop, with this however, the matter of their distance remained as it was.

Soon he found that she relocated the aides he had, he had been angry of course, and immediately gone to her. “Where did you send Li Feng and the rest? And with what authority, you have no right-” she cut him off slamming her hands on top of the table. “With authority as your wife!? Or have you forgotten who your wife is?? So what? Can’t I move around servants here??” the anger churned his insides more so than anything else. 

“Those people aren’t servants, Li Feng is my right-hand man, please refer to them respectfully.” He tried to speak as calmly as possible, she glared at him “As the Madam of this house, I can do however I want.” he pinched the bridge of his nose, looked at her, her violet eyes, and exhaled. “Every action I do is met with anger, scorn or contempt,” He began, voice devoid of previous anger, “Then perhaps we should part ways.” He finished and her expression changed.

Out went the anger from her glare, instead for the first time she looked at him with shock instead of rage, and it was the first time he heard her stutter. “F-Fengmian, you can’t…” He looked at her, much relaxed with his mind made up, “Third-Lady, we clearly aren’t meant to be, we are completely different.” He turned his back and made to leave, with his hand on the door handle, “How dare you do this to me?”

Still the same, he closed his eyes, “How dare you, when I work day and night to train your disciples, how dare you, when you agreed to marry me in the first place, if anything, it's all your fault these things happen!” She yelled and he turned to look at her in disbelief, she cried “Why did you marry me if you were going to abandon me later?? How dare you!” she grabbed the nearest object, a cup and threw it at him, but he caught it before it broke.

‘Your fault’ she said, how was it his fault with any of it?? With how she behaved- “Have I caused problems in your Sect?? Have I gone out of my way to harm your people? All I did was rearrange the schedule setting but you seem to think I have committed treason?!”

She looked at him with anger “Did you not approach me first on that day? I was fine in my own quarters but you had to approach me.” He did but it was for purpose of getting to know each other better!

“Then all I asked was to train your disciples, only to get your suspicion” She huffed angrily “Do you think think me blind? That I would not if you called them to check if I was abusing them?? What do you take me for exactly!?” She saw him staring wide-eyed and nodded “You don’t get to ask for separation when I’m one who has suffered, after I’ve worked so hard, you could make some efforts too, if you weren’t so obsessed with that woman, and hate me unreasonably for not being her, then perhaps you would know!” She left, slamming the door behind her.

Her words repeated over and over in his head, ‘your fault’, true he had approached her first that day...but..and again the thing with disciples, he felt guilt creeping up in his heart, he should have tried harder if she misunderstood him, he should have explained it better, in a few days he saw his aides once again under him, but instead of greeting him like they usually did, they looked at him as if a stranger. 

“Is everything alright?” He asked, Li Feng answered “Of course, Sect Leader.” He nodded, not noticing anything odd, except over the next month, he realised they were treating him distantly, he couldn’t share with them what was on his mind, nor any of his opinions, being met with “As Sect Leader wishes.” Was Yu Ziyuan right? Was he the one lacking in communication? But he never had Changze misunderstand him...

In his state, he did not notice rumours spreading about how Jiang Fengmian did not like Yu Ziyuan because he was ‘still in love with another woman’.

Most of time was spent busy with his work, not knowing how to face her again, days became months, he would sometimes reminisce over his past times, feeling guilt weighing him down and pain in his chest, there no reason for him to feel anything out of the ordinary, until one day, when he was sitting in his room while looking down at his garden, the flowers did not bloom, he thought, and he felt a wave of coldness wash over him

Thinking how the once lively Lotus Pier turned into a place of coldness for him, his wife refused to talk to him, his aides and friends looked at him with judgement in their eyes, and then the pain increased unnaturally, until he couldn’t help but take in deep breaths helping to no avail, and then he coughed.

He coughed and coughed until he could feel his lungs bleed and he tasted metal on his tongue, until he could feel thorns scratching his throat as he choked with panic overtaking him, barely able to breath he vomited, instead of feeling his blanket get wet from what he thought was bile, he opened his eyes to be greeted by flowers, lots of carnations, stargazer lilies and purple hyacinths mixed together, covered in blood and vines.

He laughed, he had not laughed since the day he got married to Yu Ziyuan, he laughed and laughed bitterly, tears forming in his eyes, he felt so alone, he thought ‘how good would it be if I could just leave?’, at least, he thought between breaths, at least they are alright, it had been a long time since he had heard from his friends.

--------------------

A year had passed just like that, Yu Ziyuan’s angry scornful comments continued any time he so much as tried to speak to her that he gave up trying, his aides while weren’t exactly the same with him anymore, he did catch them staring at him with concern sometimes, few reassurances had them going back to work.

Hearing knocking at the door, with Yu Ziyuan’s “It’s me”, exhaustion filled him, and his heart skipped a beat with fear, of course it wasn’t that he was afraid of her, but her reaction, her words if she knew, he glanced once at the hiding place of the book and got up to open the door, tired as he did not want to face more of her tirades or whatever she wanted from him.

She walked in, eyes roaming over his room and sat on the edge of his bed, “Fengmian” she began, and he took a deep breath, she wanted to ask for something when she spoke like that, “What is it Third-Lady?” he asked, a bit resigned.

“The people have been talking.” She said a bit curtly, that phrase always sent his thoughts back to when they first talked, and since whenever she uttered it, it was almost always followed by anger, he did not like it at all.

Though reluctant, he still asked weakly “About what, Third-Lady?” she looked away. “Heirs” With that one word, he felt a surge of that unpleasant coldness forming in the pit of his stomach. “‘Heirs?’” he repeated, he had known that one day he would have to consummate their relationship, and he had foolishly avoided it being brought up, with what reason could he deny this?

“Make up your mind, people have been talking, how Fengmian has not touched his wife since her arrival.” She said, turning to look at her, the violet of her eyes made him sick, his thoughts filled with the purple hyacinths covered in blood, he felt breath come short to his lungs. “Give me time, Third-Lady.” He whispered weakly, and winced when he realised it was the wrong thing to say as her expression twisted.

“Do you hear yourself? Always ‘give me time’ whenever I ask you for something, haven’t I given you enough time to come to yourself? Always dazed nowadays!” She snapped and he flinched, “Third-Lady no! I-” She interrupted “Don’t speak over me!” She got up, and walked closer to him, prompting him to take a step back. 

“You, always yearning for your beloved it it?” She sniffed and he felt his heart drop, she couldn’t possibly have known, he went alone and- “You...you had people following me??” He whispered, angered, afraid, he did not know what he was feeling, except that he wanted to be far far away from her. Were it the people he once called his aides? 

“Does it matter? Who knows when you’d meet up with that wh-” He slammed his hand on the door “Third-Lady, please leave.” He said taking in deep breaths to keep the pain at bay, “Just go” He added when a look of anger overcame her yet again “Fengmian you-” he didn’t let her speak. “You want heirs? Heirs right? Let's talk about that later, out” He pointed to the door, she bit her lips but ultimately left, knowing her words wouldn’t be needed any more having accomplished what she came for.

He closed the door and tried to move to the inside of the room, where he coughed, coughed until blood poured down his mouth, blood until the purple flowers fell from his mouth, it was getting worse than before, he huffed and washed clean the blood, washed cleaned the flowers, a drawer he opened, entirely filled with violet flowers, a reminder of the fool he had been. 

He sat on his knees as he stared them, despair heavy on his face,  “Ah Changze, what am I supposed to do?”

So, they shared the moment of what should have been their wedding night, he left as soon as morning came, with the urge to vomit yet again at his throat, and it was not entirely due to the diseases spike, he would hope that was the one and only moment time they would ever have to take part in matrimonial duties, for her cutting words didn’t ever seem to hold back, no matter the occasion.

Months passed and confirmation came that she was with child, it was a relief to him, less about acquiring an heir and more not having to deal with the woman, except in her state she was more unbearable than ever but he couldn’t say anything, for he would be met with her rant of “You did this to me!” From her, he fulfilled her every wish, but he couldn’t think to be with her in the same room for more than a few minutes, without bile rising to his throat.

But when the day of the birth came, he sat as she held his arm, as she screamed in pain, that was the least he could do as her husband, suppressing all moments of disgust he felt upon her touch, and after hours and hours, he got to hold his daughter while her mother took rest, and his heart filled with love, his little one, she was his dearest child, Jiang Yanli.

For a few days, things seemed better, Yu Ziyuan seemed to hold back on her anger, he assumed she had been happy as well, how wrong he had been, when she came to him and spoke about betrothal with her Sworn Sister, Madam Jin of Jin Sect, and he felt disbelief coursing his veins and it was the first time he truly raised his voice at her. “No.” he said firmly, no matter how much she yelled or screamed, he refused.

He had said, “Her marriage will done with her own choice, no matter what.” he thought later that had been a mistake, because Yu Ziyuan started to arrange play-dates between Yanli and the Jin heirs son, he still refused, until Jiang Yanli herself came to him, claiming she loved the boy she saw but barely knew anything of, if she did, she would have seen the disdain the boy held for prospect of marriage, the same disdain he saw in Yu Ziyuan.

The woman came to him again, “A-Li likes him, or are you going to deny what you had said?”  He wanted to argue, Yanli was barely old enough to understand but knowing Yu Ziyuan, he knew there was no way she would give up, so he agreed, hoping to break it off later in the future, when Yanli was old enough to understand, his daughter would know that there was no love lost between her and the boy.

Until her 3rd birthday, when it became more and more obvious that Yanli could not form a core, and Yu Ziyuan’s anger burned again, he tried to keep Yanli around him more than her, but when she came asking to talk to her daughter, as her mother, he could not refuse, his daughter usually looked down instead of looking at her.

One of those days, when Yu Ziyuan had come to ask, Jiang Yanli held tightly on his clothes and looked at him with her light coloured eyes, Ziyuan’s purple reminded him of poison, of those hyacinths in his lungs, and Yanli’s reminded him of those purple lotuses, that he had grown with love, he made an excuse, and the woman huffed away, “Fine, send her over later then.” He did not, “She was tired.” He said calmly, when Yu Ziyuan later yelled at him.

They had to share the bed once more when the question of heirs was brought up, and he had spent the rest of the day in his room, vomiting, sick to his stomach, both the blood and the food, for the first time since Yanli’s birth. As usual, he cleaned up without letting anyone know.

Nearing the evening, he heard a light knock at his door. “Father?” He heard, Yanli call out, he got up to open the door, and invited his little daughter in, “Father’s not well?” she questioned as she climbed up onto his lap, he patted her head lovingly. “Father is okay. A-Li does not have to worry, but he wonders what has she been doing? I saw her go to the kitchen earlier today.” He pretended to be puzzled.

“A-Li learnt how to make soup from Old Fa!” She said excitedly, holding her hands together. “But Mother says its a servant’s job, she doesn’t like it.” She wilted and he looked at her directly. “Father would love to eat a-li’s soup.” She looked at him hopefully, “I know it’d taste delicious!” She cheered up. 

“I made it for father today.” She ran out and came back with a bowl filled with what was..the soup. He drank it anyway and gave a strained smile, “Could use a little less salt” He choked out, and her smile was worth it.

Weeks passed peacefully, he was with Yanli in the kitchen, watching as Old Fa taught her how to knead, cooking was one of the few things that brought a smile to her face, seeing her so excited, he relaxed as well, until Yu Ziyuan joined them, he hadn’t expected her to, given her mindset of it being a servants job,  “A-Li you’re doing it wrong.” She said after watching her for a moment, in the same tone of voice as she used when training disciples.

“A-Xuan won’t like it if all you can do is cook, come with me to the training grounds.” She said, he cut her off “A-Li doesn’t have to do everything for him.” And Yu Ziyuan turned to him “If you want her to do a servant job then that's on you, she’s my daughter too, and as the daughter of Violet Spider, she should be able to fight! Not partaking in these weak acts-” He cut her off “Third Lady! Control your words!”

Before he could say more, soft sniffles cut him off, he looked at his daughter, her hands still inside the dough, tears she was trying to wipe on her shoulder, “Third-Lady is not allowed in the kitchen anymore.” He said and watched Old Fa escort her out, not before Yu Ziyuan shouted, “You cannot keep me from training my daughter!” She yelled as if he had ordered her banishment instead.

“No one is keeping you, if you have nothing good to say to a-li, it's better if you stay away from her, Third-Lady, take the day to cool off” He nodded towards the door, “Fine! If you want your daughter to be a weak-” he cut her off “Third-Lady! Leave.” She threw one last look at them and left fuming.

He knelt next to his daughter, pulled her into a hug. “A-Li is sorry Father!” She sobbed, and rubbed her back “A-Li doesn’t have to be sorry, a-li’s mother should be saying sorry.”

“Mother says father doesn’t like a-li” She said after calming down a bit “Because a-li looks like her mother-” he pulled back to look at her in the eye and enunciated his every word, “A-Li is not her mother, a-li is my beloved daughter, and I love everything a-li does” He told her comfortingly. 

“A-Li is not weak, a-li is peaceful, there is strength in nurturing and kindness.” Yanli finally seemed to calm down, hiccuping but not sobbing anymore, he wiped her tears away and smiled “Father loves a-li a lot.” he said as he kissed the top of her head.

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And then the day came when Yanli’s little sibling came into the world, accompanied by just as much of screaming, but less hours lost, Yanli cooed over her little brother, a tiny little thing in her mother’s arms, she reached out and lightly pressed his cheek, “So small.” Her father chuckled and said “A-Li was also this small when she was born.” Yu Ziyuan showed a rare smile as well, “His name will be Jiang Cheng.” She said.

Things went a bit smoothly after that, even though Ziyuan was the same as always Yanli his beloved daughter was eight years old, and his son, Jiang Cheng was four, his core formed well and he thought Yu Ziyuan had been happy, so he had not expected when she was walked into his room and started yelling,

 “Why are you ostracising your son!? Yanli’s going to be married into Jin Sect and yet you spend time coddling her! And you don’t spend the same amount of time with your son?”

He really hadn’t expected her random onslaught, nor where she was coming from, his son was working hard, and he had overlooked his training personally, teaching him the Jiang teachings along with Yu Ziyuan’s own training. “Oh is it because I’m his mother? Because you cannot handle seeing your own son when you want to see a son with her-” Where was she coming from, he felt horrified, “Third-Lady! What’re you saying!?”

The door swung open and their son, Jiang Cheng stood shocked, scared at being caught and tears in his eyes, before he ran away. He turned to her disgust forming heavy, before leaving her where she stood spluttering how she didn’t mean for him to hear her.

He found his son sobbing as Yanli comforted him in his room. “Mother doesn’t mean it.” Yanli told him as she rubbed his back, “She loves you.” He only sobbed louder, “But she’s right, Father likes you more because he hates me. He likes that boy more-” Yanli looked as if she didn’t know what to say, and Fengmian felt confused, who were they talking about?

“No, I absolutely, do not.” He said and his children froze and turned to him, “You do! Why do you make me work more than everyone else!?” His son got up, and lightly started punching him from where he reached his knees while he sobbed, Jiang Fengmian, placed a hand on his shoulder, suppressing the pain in his heart and lungs.

“Because A-Cheng is going to be the Sect Leader, A-Cheng needs to be strong.” He said evenly as his son shook his head. “That’s not what you said to Jie!” and ran to his bed, “A-Cheng listen-” His son turned to look at him with anger “If you did then you wouldn’t have that disease!”

Jiang Fengmian stared at him, too shocked to feel anything. How? Or Why? Did she tell them that?! How did she even- his thoughts cut off as he thought back, if she could send people tailing him, what couldn’t she do? 

He looked at his daughter who avoided his gaze, “A-Li?” she answered silently “Mother said Father would replace him for-” She frowned, trying to remember a name, “‘Wei Ying’, the son of your-” She sneaked a peak at him “Your ‘beloved’.” And looked away, as if feeling guilt.

“A-Li, no, I love you both, how can she-” Yanli nodded, “I know that you love us, but A-Cheng thinks Father doesn’t like him because of Mother…” she hesitated. “And that you regret it wasn’t someone else, instead.”

He regretted, he regretted letting his children near Yu Ziyuan’s poisonous words, but the only regret was Yu Ziyuan, not his love for his children, it was not something he would ever regret, he didn’t even know Wei Changze had a son. 

“A-Li” He began gently, knowing A-Cheng was listening when his shaking under the blanket stopped, “They were my friends, like you and-” He thought for a second, “-like you and A-Cheng, we grew up together but they were my friends, and you’re my children, I love you both.” He kissed the top of her head and her shoulders dropped in what could only be relief, and reached up to pat Jiang Cheng’s head under the blanket, and left them for a moment.

He knocked on Yu Ziyuan’s door, only to find it open and empty, he walked inside and opened the cabinets and drawers until he found what he was looking for, for her to know she must have- and there they were.

Pages over pages, written in a familiar writing, ranging from containing details of travels, requesting permission to visit, to mentions of ‘Wei Ying’s’ birth, he felt tears form in his own eyes, with his heart filled with overwhelming pain and indignation, he now understood her random bursts, they were each time a letter was received, over jealousy-

Before he could go out and confront her, the pain in his lungs became unbearable, he choked and coughed, no matter how much he tried to restrain it, he coughed until he collapsed to his knees, why now? His body heated up feeling thorns tear at this lungs and throat. 

He could barely breath as he vomited, vision fading from the corner of his eyes, he was confused until he caught a look of the flowers he coughed, pure black roses mixed with the hyacinths, the rose thorns dripping with blood, no sign of lilies and carnations, his heart and soul filled with agony and he cried, and then he knew nothing more.

When he woke up, he felt nothing, he knew he hated Yu Ziyuan, but he felt nothing but blank emptiness, when he stared at the woman standing at the door, his children on either side of his bed. “Oh good, that you’re awake.” She hissed as if he was an inconvenience and he found no rage, and he nodded calmly instead.

He knew his friends had passed but he did not, could not feel grief, he knew he loved his children, so he reached out with both his hands, patting them as they muttered apologies while sobbing. “It wasn’t your fault, father was a bit sad, and was already sick, but he’s well now.” He said gently, and once the children left, he looked at the woman who was his wife and said “I’ll bring A-Ying back.”

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Authors note

Jfm knew he cared for Wei Ying, yet he felt nothing.

He knew he loved his children, he felt nothing,

He knew he hated his wife, yet he felt, nothing.

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So yesterday i was looking through @angstymdzsthoughts  and came across platonic hanahaki and thought hey sounds angsty, and thought ‘hey what if jfm had platonic hanahaki for cangse sanren and wei changze?’ i deliberately tried to keep it ambiguous which one he was in love with XD Madam Yu kept assuming and he didn’t give a fuk about correcting her, also like i couldnt bring myself to even write them spending the night together idk y, took a lot of effort lol. Started out with thinking hanaki, got more of JFM’s descent to feeling nothing oof.

Also like it turned out more focus on the fact that even before wwx was brought to lp, there would still be yzy biching and making everyone miserable so-