#i can't stop laughing some people are just honest to god stupid

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

you know the god!Gale cope has reached all new levels of cringe when people will write essays about how tara is a secretly evil emissary of mystra sent to oppress gale and spy on him and decide that his mother bullies him too for like no fucking reason.

[doctorho]

Thinking about how Jayce would probably lose his marbles if you called him a good boy…..even if it was meant to just be a casual compliment or a teasing one at that he’d lose it. He’s so puppy coded and I need him.

oh yeah. i think his brain would just like. melt a lil bit. like?? he knows that a lot of people look up to him and respect him and all that, but he's also so so far removed from all of it. it's desensitized, the public adoration isn't really for him, the people just like that his near-disaster of an invention worked out for them and their profits.

the first time he hears people call him the golden boy his brain does a little spasm of that can't be right. don't they know he was seen as a dangerous criminal? don't they remember?

they don't know where he came from. and they don't care. it's stupid and pretentious, that they would now applaud him for the same thing he was condemned for before. and he remembers being just-a-student, just-a-foreigner, back when no-one really believed in him. back when they felt sorry for him. rolled their eyes when he talked.

and he knew! he knew what they thought about him.

so now the sudden change of public opinion feels... shallow.

he doesn’t trust it.

he knows he proved them all wrong, and he knows they value his opinion now, he knows they honestly do value what his work brought to them and the progress it's made possible, but that's about it. he doesn’t really let it get close to his skin.

so when you suddenly look at him like you see him, it's all the more jarring.

and then one quiet night he's hauling around some crates in the lab with you, and he picks up something that you're just about to point out needs to be moved, you blink and say good, a little surprised, thanks.

it sounds honest.

like it's for him. truly.

and then you're explaining the order of things again, and he just listens, helps out where he can.

you're only started saying the "can you-" when he's already at the other end of a long crate, ready to help you lift it.

"oh," you say next, "you're well trained."

that rewires his brain a little bit. he needs to recalibrate his breathing. he just barks out a short, surprised, breathless laugh as he lifts.

"Viktor doesn't really do a lot of the heavy lifting around here," he says as a way of explanation, even though that doesn't really feel like an answer. his brain is begging to go somewhere else with this, his muscles purring to life, itching to let him show you how well-trained he could be. gods, you have no idea how good he'd be for you if you asked, he's vibrating with just the idea of it. and the only thing stopping him from telling you this is that he doesn't know how you'd feel about it.

you just hum in answer, and together you lift the crate on top of the pile. he tries to gather his brain from the goop it's turning into. takes a breath. you've got work to do, and you're just co-workers, maybe friends, anything else would be a push.

and then he hands you a tool just as you're about to ask for it, and you hit him with the good boy, and he's pretty sure his brain melts and drips down all the way through his spinal cord, pooling at the pit of his stomach.

he can feel his pupils dilating.

he just takes a breath and tries not to visibly shiver, but he's not stupid. he can see that you've already seen his reaction, and oh, that's just not fair.

it's like you're studying him.

despite being fully clothed, he feels naked, and he can't fucking look away from you regardless. the room is dim and quiet and he knows most people have gone home already, and you're just watching him.

and then you smile a little, knowingly, and move on with the task, and he's left standing there, trying to reel in his brain-goop.

that feeling is left purring in the background of his head for the rest of the night. nothing else out of the ordinary happens, if he doesn’t count the occasional looks you give him, the ones that feel like...something.

and so time goes on. except now he catches you complimenting him more. still in mostly-innocent coworker context, but then every now and then there's a quietly murmured good that feels just enough like something else. something that belongs in the dark, with just the two of you behind a closed door.

and he is desperate to find out if you really mean it like that.

he is desperate for a lot of things.

the next time you're alone with him after hours, unfortunately it's after a whole night of sweet, glittering torture; he's escaped to the lab in the middle of a semi-formal event, at just the respectable point in the evening where he could get away without raising too many questions. and you'd left with him, dressed up in stupid, gorgeous formal wear, with your posture confident and skin shimmering under the golden lights, and he'd felt relieved being out of the crowd and breathless just looking at you.

when he gets to the lab, he immediately pulls out his notebook and starts scribbling down the idea he'd had, feeling like he could finally exhale getting it out.

you linger near, watching, leaning to the desk next to him. hand him an eraser when he needs it.

"thanks," he breathes, trying to ignore how small the space between you two felt. he keeps writing, and doesn't watch you crossing your legs from the corner of his eye.

"no problem," you answer, and then it's quiet until he puts down the pencil.

he looks over his work, and you gently press one single finger to the top of the notebook, tilting it downwards so you could read it too. he lets you, silently, and just watches your reaction.

"good idea," you eventually say.

"you think so?"

you lift a brow slightly. "yes," you answer, then meet his eyes. "why would i lie?"

his head is empty.

"to make me feel better?" he tries, and he knows it's not a real argument.

you hum, let go of the notebook. lean a little closer to him, and fill his senses with your scent in the process. "i'm not really in the habit of doing that. besides," you counter, "i don't need to lie to do that."

your voice is quiet and smooth like velvet when you say that, and jayce is pretty sure his every sense is working in overdrive now. his brain is an ember, still smoking, and his spine is an iron rod glowing hot, waiting to collapse. he's pretty sure he can feel the electricity in the room on his skin.

he meets your eyes and waits.

you smile, and yeah, he's done for. he's warm wax for you to mold as you please, and he's pretty sure that if you touched him now he'd melt to the floor in a single a man-sized puddle.

"you like being praised," you continue, and oh, he did not think that hearing it said out loud would make him feel like this. like his spine was begging to curl in on itself, like he's ready to fold, like he's ready to beg, and you haven't even touched him. "and, conveniently," you smile with a small chuckle, "you are very good at what you do."

he is suffering. he is burning from the inside out, slowly.

because this? strictly speaking, if you wanted to see it that way, this could still just be about work, and the leap it would take to flip it over to something else was miniscule, but still there.

he takes a small, shaky breath.

"yeah?" he asks, his heart shaking. squeezing the edge of the desk just to focus that energy on something.

you smile again. lean a bit closer. "yes," you answer, short and sweet, and then, "and, i'd imagine, at a lot of other things, too."

he exhales a surprised laugh, and closes his eyes, shaking his head a little. swallows around the remains of his composure. "like what?"

"like..." you tilt your head a little, and then place two fingers under his chin, tilting it up slightly, making him instantly meet your eyes. making him instantly melt under your hands. making him want to purr.

"would you get on your knees for me if i asked?" you say, and he feels like he's in a trance as he does, the fire at the bottom of his stomach curling into itself at the action. he holds eye contact the whole way down as best he can, and he likes the small smile you give him and the small thing flickering in your eyes.

"good boy," you say, and tilt his head up gently again, just enough for the presence of your fingers to be there, and the exhale he lets out next is halfway into a whine.

he's been burning for this. and hearing you say that soothes some itch in his brain, swallowing it up in a blazing delicious fire, and he wants to drown in it.

"you've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you." you say, and it's not really a question.

"yes," he answers anyway, exhaling out some of the tension at his core.

"and why didn't you say anything?"

"i was just-" he breathes, then swallows, takes a breath, "following your lead."

your fingers move from his chin to the left side of his jaw, brushing up his cheek gently, and he can barely think. he can barely form words. it's so gentle that his whole body focuses on that one small point of contact.

it's blinding.

you smile at him, and he's pretty sure his brain melts all the way through, his insides all a warm sticky mess, glowing and hot and swirling at the bottom of his stomach.

he'll gladly drown in that, too.

[hufflepuffsthunderdome]

A Bit More Time (Part Eight)

Schlatt x gn!reader <-P. Seven P. One ???-> Summary: You've finally had enough and decide that you need to talk to Schlatt about how you're feeling. Alcohol and feeling's don't mix well. Warnings: angsty! Crying, drinking, mentions of panic attacks and a breakdown, nothing graphic A/N: Look who's back! I love going mia and abandoning my tumblr for months. Expect this story to have 2 or 3 more parts, probably ending with some smut - I have the rest of it planned out so hopefully I won't take as long this time. Thank you all for being patient ❤️

It's been nice having Jay back in your life; he's slotted back in so easily and patched right over the hole he left in your heart all those years ago when he all but disappeared on you. He's brought comfort and familiarity again that you've just never found with anyone except him.

For the past few weeks, it's been comfortable, working back from awkward past friends, to learn each other's movements again, figuring out how each of you slots into each other's life again as your friendship settles. You hang out a lot now, spending a lot of time with each other just doing nothing, running errands, going on drives, watching movies - just existing together in an incredibly domestic way that you always thought your friendship would evolve into, just with a different title than you hoped.

That's been the real kicker in all of this, the aching still in your heart as you slump down in the couch next to him, leaning slightly into his side as you watch a movie in his living room and remind yourself that you can't reach out and curl up into his lap the way you want to. You'll just make it awkward if you say anything, so you keep your mouth shut.

It hasn't been easy. There was a particularly hard night a week ago when you stumbled upon him on Bumble, which you signed up for in an attempt to take your mind off him, which failed spectacularly, and realised that he was putting himself out there for other people, not you. You had swiped on him, sending him some stupid message as your hands shook and tears flooded your waterline, which you swallowed back when he called you and tried to laugh off his embarrassment at being caught like that.

"Oh my god," your friend Bec squealed excitedly over the music, playing loudly in the bar you had gathered all your friends into, wanting to show Jay the few spots you had become regulars of before he left. She thrust a phone over to you, Jay's eyes following curiously as he peered down over your shoulder, "that guy with the dog matched with me."

You whistle as you take the phone, hiding your grimace as you read his poor attempt at an opening line, but smile excitedly back at her, "that's so good! He was so good-looking!"

"Is this Tinder?" Jay asks next to you as he fails to hide his disdain for the pour attempt at a pickup line this guy decided would be the key to getting him laid, eyes shifting up to meet yours when you nod and hand Bec her phone back, "god don't tell me you're on these apps."

You just shrug and huff out a laugh, "I'm on Bumble," you mumble back, a bit embarrassed as your cheeks flood with heat when you hear him laugh next to you. You nudge him as you reach for your drink, "don't laugh. How else am I meant to meet guys?"

He presses the tongue to the inside of his cheek as his eyes meet yours as he goes to say something before looking away, reaching for his own drink, "any luck?"

You just sigh and shake your head, "not really. No one worth my time yet."

It's just past midnight when you finally work up the courage to go, when the sick feeling in your stomach becomes too much, and you throw your hoodie on and charge out the door before you can give yourself a chance to backtrack. You hadn't been able to stop thinking about Jay all night, for longer than that if you're honest with yourself, and you've worked yourself up into an anxiety-fuelled panic that is fuelling most of your movements now.

The Uber driver doesn’t say much, thank god, and you spend the ride nervously watching the familiar streets roll by, each one pulling you closer to whatever it is you’re about to walk into. You don’t even have a plan — no neat little monologue lined up, no dramatic one-liner, nothing. Just a buzzing feeling in your chest that says if you don’t do this now, you never will, and a sick anxiety that follows as you near closer to Jay's apartment.

You’re halfway up the stairs to his apartment when you realise your hands are shaking. You knock once, loudly. You don't hear anything at first and consider leaving, taking the first chance you can to let yourself run away and forget you ever wanted to do this.

"Wh—" Schlatt squints at you through the crack in the door, voice slurred and groggy, “the fuck’re you doin’ here?”

Your heart drops a little. He’s drunk.

"Can I come in?" you ask, trying not to let your disappointment show. His eyes are bloodshot and heavy-lidded, hair messy and and clothes wrinkled, like he's been tossing around for hours. He leans against the doorframe, blinking hard as if trying to make sure it’s really you, willing his eyes to focus and not see straight through you.

He swings the door open without answering.

The place smells obviously like whiskey, there's a half-empty bottle of Jameson on the coffee table, a show paused on the TV, and the blaring light coming from his office where he's left his streaming set up turned on. He walks in ahead of you, stumbling a bit before collapsing back onto the couch, head lolling onto the cushion behind him.

"It's midnight," he groans as he lets his eyes fall shut, his words sound almost pained as he sinks into the cushion.

"I know," you say back as you stand there, awkwardly, unsure of where to situate yourself as you watch him.

"Why're you here?" he says, the words snapping out of him in a way he hadn't expected, both of you flinching at his harsh tone.

You just stand there, not really sure what to say, as the words die in your throat and your brain goes blank of any of the thousands of things you've been dying to tell him over the past few weeks. After wishing for this moment for song long, months of longing and waiting and wishing, you're finally here, and you're floundering.

His eyes finally open to meet yours with a groan, as he blinks hard at the light pouring down the hallway, "I'll call you an Uber."

"what?"

"What?" he echoes back, though it sounds more like he's trying to defend himself from an accusation rather than ask a genuine question.

"You're kicking me out?"

"Is there a reason you're here?"

"We need to talk."

"Then talk," he says, his eyes intense as they stare at you, glossy with he effects of the alcohol as the storm of emotions swirl behind them.

"I don’t know what we’re doing," you force out, trying to keep your voice steady, even as it threatens to shake.

"That much is clear," he says as he forces a laugh, finally sitting up as he slumps over, head in his hands, as he rubs his face.

"Can you be serious?" you snap as you move forward, feet coming into his line of sight, even as he continues to avert his gaze from you.

"Can you just fucking tell me what's going on?"

"I like you!" you yell suddenly, the words coming out in a ramble of emotion, "I fucking like you ok? I like you and I've liked you for years now and I know you like me too but god you keep fucking pushing and pulling me and I don't know where I fucking stand."

He stays quiet.

"I don’t know what we’re doing," you continue, trying to keep your voice from rising further, "I don’t know if you’re trying to keep me close or push me away, or if you just want to have your cake and eat it too—"

"Don't make this about me being selfish," he cuts in sharply, jaw clenched.

"You are being selfish," you say, blinking back angry tears, "you've been selfish our entire friendship! I've liked you for so long and you fucking new that! You ruined any chance I had in highschool for a normal relationship, even fucking formal went to shit because you couldn't handle your emotions. Fuck and then you just stopped trying!" you say as the tears finally fall, "you fucking abandoned me when I needed you, you just stopped being my friend." Your chest heaves painfully as you begin to sob now, struggling to take in air as you feel a panic attack rise, "I turned up for you even when it was hard, I was always there."

"I never asked you to be," he spits, the venom in his voice shocking you as you watch him reach for the bottle of alcohol on the coffee table.

You watch him drink away his sorrows as he stands on shaky legs, pushing past you to walk away into the kitchen as you continue to sob in his living room, your head feeling dizzy as the room feels suffocating around you.

It's the kind of sentence that confirms all your worst fears, a gut punch that drives home the exact anxieties that plagued you for years when you thought about Jay. Once again, he has to remind you, your relationship exists on his terms.

You hear him shuffling around in the kitchen, glasses clattering that echoes violently in your ears as you shut your eyes, trying to force your breathing to return to normal. When you open them, he's standing there, watching you from the archway to the kitchen, swaying unsteadily on his feet as you continue to sob.

You don't know what to do, your eyes burn with tears as you both just stare at each other in silence, him, too scared to speak, and you, too heartbroken.

Finally, he says your name, soft and whispered as he moves forward to you, standing in front of you as he abandons the bottle of alcohol onto the couch. The apologies fumble out as he takes in the sight of you, crying like this in front of him, because of him, tears falling freely down his cheeks as he finally realises the extent of the damage he's done.

"I didn't mean that," he says gently, afraid to startle you, as he gently reaches for your hand, letting out a shaky breath of relief when you let him take your hand, "you know I didn't."

You just nod as you take his hand, forcing yourself to count your breaths as you calm yourself down.

"You're so important to me," he says softly as he steps closer, your bodies almost touching as the smell of alcohol on his breath invades your senses, "I've been a fucking awful friend to you."

"You have," you say softly, no real bite to your words even as you confirm his fears. As much as this hurts, as much as he hurts you, you know he didn't mean that, deep down he does care about you, years of friendship like the two of you had can't be faked.

"I want you," he confesses softly, "so badly. I have since school," he takes hold of your other hand, squeezing them comfortingly, "but I want to be good for you."

You nod softly as you shut your eyes, your breathing steady as you lean into his touch. "I want you to have everything you deserve," he continues, "and right now, I can't do that for you."

A tear runs down your cheek, "I can't wait forever."

"I won't make you," he promises, "just a little bit more time."

Lovely patient people who are interested in this: @jellybell92 @olive823 @schlattandcompany @imgayandvoreethatsall @aesthetixhoe @mads-hemmo @elliejell @schluttforschlatt @kyxmlii @stoneybun @lambyblurbsfics @fancy-fleur-blog @falseplastictrees @stupiddguitarwh0re @m4yjail3rr @nagisasugino

[masclesbianism]

— ࣪ the hauntings.

— ࣪ synopsis . the haunting of jackie taylor is everywhere for shauna. she's sees jackie so much in you but she's confused if she's in love with you or her dead best friend.

pairing . shauna shipman x female reader

G . angst and fluff ꔫ

the lingering of jackie taylor was never stopping and shauna knew that, she knew she could never see her best friend again and even if she could jackie would've never forgave her for the shit she'd done. but that doesn't forget that she's everywhere. her scent, some of her clothes, her blanket she was sleeping on and that god damn necklace. it wasn't a secret that shauna wears it everyday but she can't deny the guilt she feels when she does so.

but she still has the lingering taste on her tongue whenever she swallows and it hurts. everything hurts to her and it won't stop, that was until shauna started seeing you. she always saw you passing by helping out tai and van but she couldn't stop herself from seeing jackie. she hated that, she hated you so much cause of how much u were like jackie.

shauna didn't know when she would snap it felt like her skin was rotting every second of every day. you were just so perfect. the way your hair would fall so naturally, the excessive jewelry u kept, the laugh u would let out of a stupid joke van made, and those green eyes. your eyes was probably the most thing that made shauna think of jackie, of course it was jackie had the most beautiful eyes ever it was like looking into lava lamp from the way she had u memorized.

shauna loved that about her and she hated that u resembled that so well. shauna tried to not show the hate but it honestly was really hard i mean can u blame her u were a carbon copy of jackie which made her want to cry.

the first time she started to notice that she was in love with you was when she laughed for the first time in a while. it was a really corny pick up line you made while you guys were sorting through ur luggage cause to be honest who packs this much on a trip for only a few days. shauna was sitting down next to you while you guys were both picking apart your suitcase, whenever the room got quiet for too long you put down the shirt you had in your hands and looked at shauna.

“do you know any pickup lines?” you said while messing with the charms on ur bracelet and shauna turned her head to you looking at you up and down in a more confusing way and not a why are you talking to me way.

“um not really why” shauna tilted her head and saw you scrunch your nose for a while, which shauna noticed you often do that alot.

”i know some reallly good ones wanna hear?” you clapped ur hands in a excited way as your eyes lit up.

“uhh sure” she replied as she laid down on the mattress which she saw that you did right after.

“u spend so much time in my mind i should charge u rent girl” you giggled a little at your own add on to the pickup line as you refused to look a shauna for her reaction to that unfunny pickup line.

and surprisingly shauna started laughing like actually laughing. you've never seen her give you a real smile but a laugh? yeah she'll take it. “oh my god is that real?” she wiped her eye from them being watery before because of all the dust up here.

”yes it is! i swear” you turned your head to look at the doe eyed girl who was smiling at you and for a second you guys just stared at each other. a little longer then people normally stare at each other but it just felt right. at least to shauna it felt that way, for a moment she forgot everything that has happened but at the same time she still remembered everything. for a hot minute shauna saw jackie looking at her smiling with that same uniform jacket she had on, “do i look like her shauna?” she heard and saw jackie talking to her and shauna wanted it to be real god she really did. but her conscience knew it wasn't which made her snap out of it in the most subtle way.

”shauna?” you said as you waved your hand in front of her face and shauna looked up at you the smile that she originally had on faded a while ago.

”we should continue unpacking” you commented on the suitcase that you guys barely unpacked, which sounds like we're going on a trip to las vegas or something but no we're literally stuck in the wilderness. shauna wasn't really over the moment that just happened but her eyes still kept wandering to you and she didn't know if she wanted to kiss you or cry in your arms.

that's what really fucked her up she didn't know what she felt. was she really in love with you or her dead best friend? that shit really kept her up at night which was every night, she couldn't sleep at all cause she kept thinking of you and jackie. whenever she tried to go to sleep she kept smelling your scent, you smelt almost like vanilla same as jackie's perfume she always kept in her bag.

it was everyday. shauna couldn't get you out of her mind every time you were walking she saw jackie walking around which made her start ignoring you. she couldn't handle the pain from just looking at you, it hurt it really fucking hurt. every time you would try to go up to her she would walk away or just not respond and if she did it was some snarky remark.

shauna was naturally a over thinker she thinks she was just born with that. born with the will to care about people so much it fucks up your mental health and how you take care of yourself. but as she normally does she was doing just that right now, she was sitting on the porch playing with a strand of her hair while pecks of snow was falling on her hair. 'does she love you?' kept replaying in her head like a puzzle of a rubric cube, shauna didn't know but she couldn't just go up to you and just flat out kiss you to get her answer. but the more she thought of it the more overwhelmed she got, the pace shauna was messing with that strand of hair got faster and everything felt like a ticking time bomb in her mind.

then she just stopped and stood up while she started to sob, she covered up her mouth so nobody could hear her let out these honestly pathetic sobs. shauna wanted to curl up into a ball and just hide, hide forever but that wasn't what she really wanted was it? she wanted needed you. she needed it so bad that she got overstimulated from how much she was crying and she felt the cold start falling on her body, shauna could almost feel like cold was slowly eating at her insides. shauna honestly couldn't move she couldn't find the upper body strength to move and she was like a shadow.

that was until you came outside and saw shauna just standing up sobbing. ”shauna? what are you doing out here?” you put a blanket on her shoulders as she tensed up from the warmth from the blanket. she tried to make words come out of her mouth but she just couldn't all that came out was cries.

“cmon let's go inside.” you looked at her as you understood the state she was in and you softly put a hand on her back, leading her inside and upstairs to the attic.

you placed her down on the mattress while she was still sobbing but not as much whenever she first started crying, and you started wiping down the snow that was in her hair until you couldn't really see anymore. “wanna tell me why you were crying?” you spoke in a soft tone as you kneeled down to her level.

she didn't know what to say. she couldn't just say ' i don't know if im in love with you or my dead best friend because you are literally a carbon copy of her.' shauna tried to say anything but she couldn't really focus because of your hand that was on hers it honestly made her want to cry more.

but eventually she said something it took a while but could u honestly blame her. “i- i think no i know im in love with you and im confused because i don't know i actually love you or jackie which you look alot like her and i just i can't —” shauna spoke faster than usual as she put her hands in her hair and just started sobbing more, you couldn't really think of anything right now. where you actually that similar to jackie? the fact didn't really scare or weird you out more of a does shauna really love me to the point she started seeing jackie or did she always see jackie in you?

but you ignored your problems for a second and hugged shauna, the way she just melted into your arms felt natural to the both of you guys. the violent sobs that came out of her almost made you want to cry with her, you put your hand in shauna's hair softly rubbing her scalp in a soothing way not wanting to hurt her at all.

you never spoke you just wanted her to let all of her sobs out, i mean when was the last time she actually hugged and had a meaningful moment with someone like this. shauna laid her head on your chest and hugged your waist as her sobs started to get quieter.

shauna never wanted this moment to end that's probably why she kept holding onto you until you made the move to let go. “are you okay now?” shauna simply nodded her head as she wiped her eyes and looked up at you as she fidgeted with the ring on her finger.

you placed a hand on her cheek and tilted your head sideways as you tried to find the right words to say after what she just told you.

“do you love me?” you asked her as your hand was still on her cold cheek. shauna didn't know what to say whatever came out of her mouth was complete nonsense but she still got to say something at least.

“i- i don't know i love you but i don't know if im confusing you with jackie i just i- i dont know.” shauna started picking at her skin on her thumb and you placed ur hand down on hers which made her stop picking at it but she still had the urge to.

to be honest shauna didn't have the right energy to answer all these questions not in the state she was in right now and you noticed that. “okay, well uhm goodnight shauna.” you stated as you got up and was about to leave the attic but shauna pulled at your arm. “can u stay with me? please.” you then softly smiled as you nodded and shauna was waiting for you to lie down first before she can.

you laid down and she did the same right after you while also putting the blanket on both of you guys. you stared at shauna as she was trying to fall asleep but just couldn't from how hard she was struggling to. shauna just gave up and noticed that you were just staring at her in those kinda loving eyes.

shauna didn't know how much the tension was going on but it must of been enough for you to kiss her. you just slowly leaned in and tucked a hair behind her ear that was in front of her face, kissing her soft lips. you didn't mind the coldness since she was outside for a period of time but you honestly could tell she got warmer by the second. shauna wanted to pull you in closer she really did but she didn't wanna fuck anything up and the taste of your sweet lips was enough for her even if it was a small portion of what she wanted. you pulled away and looked up at her eyes then her lips. shauna softly smiled at you it wasn't a regular or big smile but you'll take it, you just wanted to see her happy for once.

shauna paused before she said anything but she eventually had the courage to do so. ”i love you.” shauna sleepily said as she bit her cheek and look anywhere but your face. “i- i don't care if you don't think i don't but i believe i do. i truly do.” shauna added on and you kissed her cheek which surprised her a little. “i love you too.” you replied and smiled back at her which she responded with a little laugh.

she then found herself cuddled up into your arms slowly falling asleep, she found your presence comforting and it's probably the only way she could sleep from now on was from you just being there. it was the only sense of comfort that she found in this hellhole, but she knew she loved you and maybe that is what finally made her sleep peacefully.

@ bro don't read this while listening to the marias i was acc suffering crying on my knees 💔

but enjoy this gut wrenching fanfic .. i luv yall

taglist - making one soon 🤞🏼

© masclesbianism don't copy my work ask if ur gonna remake something similar pewkie thank yeww

[hunterwritings]

I love your Miguel with a bubbly reader! Can we please see more of it? Like maybe Miguel is scolding the other Spiders and Reader walks in and Miguel is like a whole new person but still wants to murder the other Spiders? It makes me think of the tik tok where its like "IM GOING TO KILL THE NEXT PERSON I SEE" *Reader walks in* "Hi honey!" *Miguel with heart eyes* "Your back! I missed you so much (insert Miguel gushing about how much he loves Reader in front of Spiders)"

THIS IS THE TROPE I LIVE FOR

only for you | miguel o'hara

summary: Miguel acts like a completely different person with you around. warnings: none | wc: 1075

"How could you let something like this happen?!"

Miguel was seething; Miles swears he could almost see smoke coming out of his ears. The spider teens had almost disrupted another canon event and almost caused the universe to collapse.

"Listen Miguel, I know the kids made some mistakes but, that's exactly what they were! Mistakes!" Peter B. Parker tried to reason with him, with his hands stretched out and a stupid smile on his face.

"You want to put the fate of the multiverse on a goddamn mistake? I will not risk that." Miguel fired back.

"To be honest, I don't know what the big deal is, they ended up fixing it." Peter added. Miguel snapped his head around to face him, his eyes would be burning holes through him if looks could kill.

"No Peter, you don't understand the importance of this! And clearly, neither do you all!" He said, gesturing towards the teens. "It just shows that you are just as responsible as a child! So Peter, do yourself a favor, and shut the hell up." Miguel had venom laced in his words.

"Ooo...kay." Peter responded, shaking his head and pursing his lips together.

"Miguel, we know that we made mistakes and we are sorry, it will never happen again." Gwen tried to apologize genuinely to him.

"Uh, I don't apologize actually, I see nothin' wrong with what we did-" Hobie protested, Pavitr elbowed him to signal him to stop.

"You all know exactly what we do here, you know the importance of keeping everything in line. I'm this close to kicking you all out of Spider Society!" He yells, showing his fingers pinched together.

"You can't kick us out if we all quit!" Hobie laughs.

"Hobie!" Gwen snaps her head around at him.

"I- I- I can't even deal with you right now!" Miguel holds his pointer finger and thumb to his temples as he turns his back to them.

Just then, you swing in from the other side of him and jump down to land next to him. "Hi Miguel." You smile as he turns to look at you.

"Gracias a Dios [thank god], I'm so glad you're here (Y/N)." He seemed to have relief flow into his body as he reached over a pulled you into his chest. You chuckled in surprise from the sudden affection as he tightly wraps his arms around your shoulders. "Felt like I was about to lose it in a couple more seconds." He whispers into your ear.

"Well luckily, I showed up right on time then." You giggle as he lets you go and you look up at him with a smile.

"You have no idea." He smirked and shook his head.

"Oh thank god you're here (Y/N), I was afraid he was gonna start biting soon!" Peter laughed as you turned around to face the group. Miguel stared him down.

"Soo, what's going on here?" You curiously ask.

"Trying to have a serious conversation with people who have no respect for what we do around here." He snaps to them.

"Don't look at me! I wasn't even there, I'm just trying to stand up for the kids!" Peter says, holding his hands up in defense. Miguel just groans and shakes his head.

"Oh Miguel, maybe you should go a little easy on them." You say, walking up to him. He rests his hands on your hips and sighs when you lie your hand on his cheek. "I mean, we should be happy that no one got hurt and the universe is still intact." you smile at him and he matches your smile.

He hums in response. "Plus, I think this lecture will scare them enough to where this shouldn't happen again." You add.

"You'd be surprised how many of these talks I've had." He scoffs and smirks.

You laughed loudly. "Just remember they're kids and they're trying their best." You smiled and he nodded. "Be easy on them." You added.

"I will." He said softly.

You grinned before leaning up and pulling his neck down to pull him into a sweet kiss. You felt him smile against your lips as he hummed. You pulled away and smiled at him before hearing a beeping on your watching.

"Oh, I've got a situation going on in my universe." You say tapping the hologram on your wrist.

"You need any help with it?" Miguel asks, ready to leave in a second if asked him to.

"No, it's nothing major, don't worry. It shouldn't take that long, I should be back before dinner." You say, pressing another quick kiss to his lips before turning and walking the other way.

"Oh! Maybe I'll grab some food from that Italian place we always go to!" You say, walking backwards to face him and smiling widely while opening up a portal behind you.

"Sounds like a good plan, my love." He agrees with a smile.

You chuckle before pulling down your mask and jumping into the portal as it closes.

Miguel's smile lingers on his face before seeing Peter B. Parker in his peripheral before he slung his arm around his shoulder and laughed. "Oh wow, you really love them huh? I can tell by the way you don't act like a raging monster when they're around." He jokes as Miguel just stares ahead, his demeanor was agitated. "Get off of me, Peter." He said with no emotion.

"Okay, not gonna risk getting my arm torn off today." He says, backing off from Miguel.

"Aw, seems like you're really in love, eh?" Hobie jokes and Gwen shoves him slightly.

"You're not helping, Hobie." Miles says anxiously.

"I'm not trying to." Hobie says in all seriousness.

"Okay, everyone out. We're done here. " Miguel says with his back turned to them and his hands on his hips.

"Let's leave before he changes his mind." Gwen whispers to the rest of them.

"If I have to do this again for any of you, it's gonna be the last time." Miguel warns as he points at them.

"Yes Miguel, we understand and we promise." Gwen says genuinely.

Miguel sighs and turns his back to them as they all turn to leave the room. A slight smile came to face at the thought of you prancing back into his space with food in hand. He stood and watched his communicator in case you needed his help, and waited for you to come back.

[crushh-existz]

Hot & Heavy (1)

childhoodbestfriend!ellie x reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Synopsis: Before you went to university in NYC, you and your childhood bestfriend, Ellie, had a pretty messy fight and haven't talked since. Dina convinced you to move back to Jackson after you graduated to get some work just until you can settle down in a nearby city. You needed the money while you soft-launched your photograghy business and you missed your friends and family anyway. Dina swears up and down that Ellie moved away years ago and you were stupid enough to trust her.

Warnings: cursing (more to come probably..), NOT PROOFREAD, men dni

1 Month Prior…

"Calm down babes, like I said, she moved out of Joel's like two years ago!" You sighed into your phone as you held it to your ear.

"I dunno Dina... Even if she's not in town, what if I bump into Joel? Like would he think I'm just this evil monster who's praying on his family's downfall??" Dina scoffed on the other side of the line.

"You're actually hopeless oh my god. No way you're saying this to me right now."

"UH-? You never can be to cautious." You could feel her eyes rolling through the phone.

"Trust me you're fine. Besides, Joel has been out a lot lately. He's always down at the lake hunting, even I have barely seen him." You sat silent for a moment, shifting on the metal bench of the bus stop. "I miss you girl, everything will be okay. I can't wait to see you home, JJ has been waiting for you too!"

You sighed. "Yeah... You're right. How's JJ been?"

"Great actually! Jesse's parents have been helping me a lot actually. He actually started preschool a week ago." You couldn't help yourself from smiling to yourself.

“Really? Oh my god is he already that old…” Dina laughed into the phone and replied with a 'mhmm'. You sigh before looking up and finding the city bus sitting just before you. "Shit- I gotta go the bus just got here. Bye girl- I'll see you in a bit."

11.09 6:26 A.M. - Your POV

It's been a few weeks since you got back to Jackson. If you're completely honest, being back here made you hot in the face. It was nostalgic really seeing old townsfolk and you didn't realize how much you actually missed all of them. Thankfully no signs of Joel or Ellie. You did see Maria and the market but it didn't seem like she saw you.

You sighed, laying your head onto your desk. You've been editing photos from a recent trip to the lake with Dina for the past half an hour now and finally got the lighting to look how you wanted. You checked the time and cursed under your breath once you realized your first shift at the local cafe you applied to was starting soon. You slid your headphones over your ears to go get ready.

11.09 7:16 A.M. - Ellie's POV

Ellie sighed as she trudged behind Joel going to get his morning coffee before he would drag her out to hunt. She didn't really enjoy the idea of spending hours in the mountain snow staring at some animals until he finally choose one to make into his next meal.

"Y'know there's a grocery store across the street I can just grab some meat-"

"Kiddo, some time in your lifetime you need to learn patience and what better example than hunting?"

"I just-"

Ellie was cut off by Joel walking up to the register and ordering his classic black coffee. Ellie really couldn't understand how he could drink that crap but who was she to judge anyway. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders as she looked around the cozy shop. She didn't drop by often due to her lack of reason to. Just occasionally when Dina requests or when Joel needs her to pick up his order before he goes out to work.

She noticed small things like the fairy lights hung over the bathroom door and the small vines adorning the walls of the small shop. She also watched the workers as she zoned out the bustling of the people in the shop. Her eyes drifted from the man taking Joel's order to the girl standing before the glass display and taking photos of small pastries. She lingered her gaze on her, watching her focus on what she seems to be doing, which also made her look like a huge creep but she really couldn't tear her attention away and she couldn't figure out why.

She brushed it off as she pried her eyes away and follows Joel out of the cafe with his now acquired coffee. They left with a chime of the entrance door and started walking to Joel's pick-up.

"Hey kiddo, was that who I thought it was?" Joel asks before he takes an audible sip of his coffee. Ellie thinks about his question for a little ask she adjusted her leather jacket that she borrowed (permanently stole) from him.

“Mmm… What do you mean?” Frosty puffs of air float about as she asks him, reaching behind her to grab her water bottle from the side of her backpack she wore.

“That looked like that one friend you never seem to talk about anymore. Few years ago she was all you seemed to talk about. Never remembered her name though..” Joel seemed to ponder while the gears turned inside of poor Ellie’s brain as she brought the bottle to her mouth and just started to take a sip of her drink.

Realization hit her like a bus once she got to the passanger door of Joel's pickup, stopping in her tracks and starting to choke on her fail attempt at drinking. Joel looked at her confused and a bit worried.

"...Kiddo? You alright..?" Joel asked with furrowed brows as he peered over at her over the top of the pickup, basically just the messy auburn peaking over. She hastily got into the truck chucking her backpack into the footwell of the car. As he followed suit he watched as she messily wiped her face.

"... Yup- Just.. Went down the wrong pipe." He shrugged it off as he pushed the key into the ignition and decided to drop it.

"Whatever you say kid."

11.09 8:12 A.M - Your POV

Work was slow today, which you understood since you assumed finals were creeping up on students. That was one thing you do NOT miss since graduating and you're glad to be free from such hell. While your coworker was out in the front making sure to serve the few customers that did sprinkle in, you were in the back looking over the product photos your boss requested to take. Yes, it was for free, but it would be good for reference for future clients. Baby steps, was what you were telling yourself.

As you looked over them, you actually found yourself proud your work! Maybe you could fix the lighting a bit-- But nothing Adobe Workshop couldn't fix! You did accidentally catch some customers in the back of some photos but you could just easily cut them out.

While looking over one particular photo you took of a small coffee cup, steam visibly exiting the top of the cup, camera panned towards to the front glass door to get a blurred affect of two customers. She didn't realize she captured them in the moment but she saw a tall older man with a young woman beside him. They had their backs turned, exiting the cafe as he sipped his newly brewed coffee.

Funny how they looked familiar.

09/11 9:57 A.M. - Ellie's POV

The whole car ride Ellie was quiet other than shortened responses to Joel's lecturing on a subject she couldn't quite remember. As her thoughts raced it felt like hot blood pulsing in her veins, heavy memories weighing on her brain. Really, she thought she would never see your face ever again after everything she said to you. She really didn't understand why it took her so long to recognize you. Maybe it was the way you seemed a lot less scared of the world, the way you comfortable took up more space like you knew you belonged. Maybe it was the loose curls you let adorn the frame of your face, the curls she remembers you burning to a crisp just to be straight.

"It's so hard to maintain, does it look like I have that type of time?" Was what you would quip back whenever Ellie had pleaded to let your natural hair show at least once. She always thought it was pretty and suited you better than the straight hair people have bullied you into wearing in high school.

Joel snapped her out of her endless thinking by stopping the car, signaling they have arrived. Joel looked over to her as he pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Ready?"

Ellie replied with a small 'mhmm' before grabbing her bag and stepping out of the pick up.

11.09 2:43 P.M - Ellie's POV

—

A/N: LAWDDD omg i forgor about this until moot told me to hurry tf up... THERES GONNA BE MULTIPLE PARTS cuz lowk.. forgor what i was doing with this but trust ill figure it out. I DOUBT THERES GONNA BE MORE THAN 5 PARTS. i hope i did okay cuz lowk never done this b4.... OKAY BYE HOPE YOU LIKED ITTT lemme know what to improve on bc trust i need it...

Inspired by the lyrics of this song!! (the song's meaning is nowhere near what this fic is abt but it's just how I thought abt it..)

[kvrokasaa]

Haikyuu boys: Love at first sight

GN!Reader, no pronouns mentioned.

Includes: Hinata, Suna, Atsumu, Osamu

Shoyo Hinata

Hinata pouts while Daichi is scolding him for trying to steal the ball from Asahi again. He sulks and turns his head, blocking out Daichi's voice. Yes, he loves the captain dearly, but he can't stand when there's a perfectly good set and it's not for him. In all fairness, he didn't know that he was practicing for decoy, he thought this was spiking drills.

As he turns away from Daichi, he hears a laugh. It's a beautiful melody. His eyes raise and he sees Y/n. Who's this? Why are they so beautiful? Y/n is hunched over, laughing at something someone said. Their cheeks are almost red from smiling so much. They stand up and playfully smack their friend's shoulder. Y/n turns and sees Hinata, they wave a little with a big smile. Oh, right. Y/n is in Hinata's class. How has he never seen them before?

Hinata can feel himself smiling at their cuteness, waving back as if in a trance.

Rintaro Suna

Suna sighs as he sits on the bench. He has to take the train home again. What a hassle. To be honest, he doesn't care for crowds, but he'd rather walk home then be in a stuffy train with people pushing him left and right. But the weather said no today, it was storming, and he didn't bring an umbrella.

Suna unlocks his phone, passing time while waiting for the train. But before he can open his desired camera roll to laugh at Astumu, he hears it. The sultry laugh. He turns his head and sees Y/n. They are in the same class, but he's never noticed them. They're with a group of friends, but they still turn and wave at Suna when they see him.

They're nice to him, unlike other people. His fangirls. He waves back with a small smile, almost like it was nonexistent. Maybe he should ask for their number.

Atsumu Miya

"Sorry!" He hears the word before he feels the ball hit him. Astumu may act nice, but he's ready to tear this person a new one. He turns around, ready to scold this mystery person, but he stops in his tracks.

A beautiful person, someone that he doesn't recognize. Are they new? Iwaizumi did say that the msby team is getting a new manager. But he failed to mention how beautiful they would be. They bend over into a bow and apologize again. "I'm so sorry. I was throwing up some balls for Hinata-chan and then one flew and hit you. Please forgive me!" Even their voice is cute. An angel.

Astumu smiles, but quickly hides it. It's not a far assumption to think that other members are crushing on you too, look how beautiful you are. But maybe he would have a chance.

Osamu Miya

Osamu sighs, ready to leave the class and drop it. This stupid girl won't get the hint. He isn't into her, she's not even his type. Plus, she can barely cook. He knows that he probably shouldn't judge someone, but they're in culinary class! They should've learned how to cook in high school.

Osamu is getting ready to sigh for the nth time in a row. But then he feels an arm wrap around his waist. "Sorry it took so long. There was a line at the shop. You good, babe?" Osamu looks down and sees a random person carrying a bag and a clean apron around their clothes. His breath catches in his throat, and he feels the urge to wrap his arm around their waist. "Y-yeah. I'm good," Osamu has to clear his throat before he finishes his sentence. God, are you an angel? "Just some girl who won't leave me alone."

He looks down at you again and swears that he never saw someone as beautiful as you. He wonders what he did in his past life to even come across you. The girl finally leaves, and he thanks you for your help.

As class carries on, he found out that you were a new student and you wanted to open your own bakery. Even your food looks delicious. Even more reason to get to know you. He smiles; Osamu knows that he'll learn to like this class again.

[silverynight]

The roommate

<--Previous

Part XVII

Izuku is walking down the street next to Kirishima when he has a weird feeling in his chest; he wouldn't call it exactly a premonition, but something's certainly not quite right.

Or maybe he's just worried and sad because his boyfriends don't talk to him about important stuff as much as he'd like them to.

"Do they make you happy?" Kirishima asks, suddenly stopping; it's early in the morning so Izuku supposes they have time to chat a little bit.

The green haired man sighs and closes his eyes; Kirishima gets closer, and Izuku notices he's usually silent that day, which is kinda weird for a guy who's bright and loud in general.

Maybe Izuku is just overthinking everything so he doesn't have to actually answer his friend's question. Kirishima is his friend, even though they have a little bit of time knowing one another, Izuku feels like he can trust him.

"To be honest, I'm a little bit frustrated with them at the moment," he confesses, deciding that the truth is the best thing in this case. "But they do make me happy and even though neither us get it right on the first try, the important thing is that we keep trying."

When he opens his eyes, Kirishima is right in front of him, in his personal space, which is not entirely weird coming from someone as friendly as him, but Izuku takes a step back anyway.

"You were supposed to say that they don't make you happy," Kirishima blurts out, and the irritated expression he makes is one Izuku has never seen on the pro hero before.

Then, it hits him.

"Ah," he mumbles as a shiver runs down his spine. "A mimic quirk, of course."

"I knew you were a clever one," Kirishima says, although Izuku knows that's not him at all, but someone who has made themselves look like the pro hero.

"What happens next?" Izuku asks, trying to think, for a brief moment he considers shouting, but he doesn't know if this villain is capable of hurting the people around too. He reaches into his pocket for his phone and tries to blindly call someone.

"Nothing," the fake Kirishima says, shrugging. "For some reason you're still happy with them, despite them treating you like this. I only take the unhappy ones."

"But why do you kill them?" Izuku asks; he's not sure if he wants to distract them or he's genuinely curious about it.

"I didn't kill her!" The fake Kirishima snaps suddenly, baring his sharp teeth and making Izuku realize that the real one must look terrifying when angry. "They're lying to you!"

"She was one of the people you took." Izuku points out, trying his luck; he hopes it's not running out just yet.

"Yes, but she escaped. I only keep them."

Izuku shakes his head because nothing makes sense. Of course they're lying, right? They're the villain.

And yet... Izuku feels like they're not.

"Who killed her then?"

The fake Kirishima growls, probably guessing that Izuku doesn't actually believe them.

"I don't know, but that one was already fucked up... her boyfriend was an abusive motherfucker. She was relieved when I took her."

"But that can't be possible because..." Izuku stops his mumbling to think properly; he doesn't notice but his own fingers have stopped trying to make a call. He's too trapped in this puzzle to think about anything else. "If you took her then her boyfriend was a pro hero, because you only take..."

"Difficult to believe a pro hero beats his significant other up? Come on!"

They're right of course. How can he forget Todoroki's mother? Pro heroes are just humans at the end of the day.

"That's why you're doing this? To prove everyone they're not saints? That they're not angels or gods?"

By creating a problem like that one, by kidnapping people they force the police and other pro heroes to dig into their lives; that's how the secrets come out. But why hasn't anything reached social media yet?

"That's one way to put it," the fake Kirishima laughs in a way the real one never would. "But this stupid society keeps covering up their mistakes. I'm tired of heroes having everything they want when they deserve none of it!"

Ah. They want to punish pro heroes.

"You should let the other people go."

"Nice try," the fake Red Riot pats Izuku's cheek gently, before they kiss him on the forehead. "I like you a lot. But no, they're not ready to go. If I release them they'll go back to their pathetic little lives."

A group of people rush down the street, most of them are trying to go to work or school and are too immerse in their own problems to pay attention to their surroundings.

"I'll come back for you later," the fake Kirishima waves, joining the crowd. "When they make you unhappy, because they'll fuck up eventually, I know they will."

The fake one tosses something in his direction and he realizes that it's Kirishima's phone. When did they take it?

Izuku doesn't know how he gets there, but his body takes him to work, like every morning. However, he collapses on the ground and can hear his coworkers and Hatsume rushing towards him.

"It's okay, I-I'm fine. Just give me a minute," he's shaking, but it'll pass, he's sure of it.

Suddenly, Katsuki's arms are around him; he's still in his civilian clothes. Izuku blinks a couple of times, wondering how he found out, but then notices that Kirishima, the real one, is right behind him.

Part of him is afraid of Red Riot for what happened, but Izuku finally notices that even though his eyes are the same color as the fake ones, his are full of genuine kindness and concern.

He should've realized what was going on sooner.

"Shoto is coming," Katsuki whispers in his ear, taking him in his arms. Then, he turns to Hatsume and adds: "I'm going to take him home now."

Izuku wants to say that he's fine, but the truth is that he's not.

They meet Shoto halfway and the three, no, the four of them, because Kirishima is following them too, go back into the apartment.

"Here," Izuku hands Red Riot his phone. "They gave me this."

"I thought I lost it. I'm sorry, Midobro."

Hearing that nickname makes him feel relieved.

"It's not your fault," he assures him. "I should've been more careful."

Izuku expects questions, he waits for them and tries to prepare answers, forcing his brain to remember details, but he's still in shock.

He's going to fail them.

However, the questions don't come; Shoto is on the phone talking to someone else, telling them to look for someone who looks like Red Riot; Izuku knows they're probably gone and looking like someone else by now, but it's worth a shot.

Katsuki hands him a cup of hot cocoa and Izuku realizes that despite needing answers, despite knowing time is against them, they're not forcing Izuku to speak.

They're giving him time, they're taking care of him first.

Do they make you happy?

He starts sobbing, unable to stop the tears, even though they're useless. Katsuki leans closer and kisses them away.

"What is it? Did they hurt you?"

Izuku shakes his head and suddenly Shoto's arms are around his shoulders.

"It's okay, you're safe now, I promise. We got you, love."

***

"I'm ready to talk now," Izuku says after a while; Kirishima is gone and he knows Shoto needs to go to the agency as soon as possible, but he's staying only because of him.

"Are you sure?" Katsuki asks in a whisper, almost like he's afraid of hurting Izuku with his voice.

Izuku usually doesn't like to be treated like something fragile, but he can tell they're both as scared as he is.

"We thought we were going to lose you," Shoto mumbles then, kneeling in front of the couch Izuku is sitting on.

"I'm still here," he mumbles, pulling the blanket closer to him.

Then, after taking another sip of his hot cocoa, he tells them everything that happened. Well, most of it.

"They take the people that are unhappy with their pro hero partners," Shoto starts talking to himself, pacing around the room. "But why did they want to take you?"

"Are you..." Katsuki doesn't finish the question, but he looks miserable. "I'm sorry, Izuku."

He pulls the blond into his arms; knowing he hasn't slept since his shift ended.

"They didn't take me because I'm quite happy with you two, even though you frustrate me sometimes."

"I'm sorry," they both apologize again, probably thinking about their latest argument.

"We were wrong about trying to shield you from everything, even the information that could've prevented this incident," Katsuki blurts out. "But it won't happen again."

"You're part of this investigation now," Shoto says then and after giving Izuku a kiss on the cheek he adds: "And we'll try to talk things out more often."

Izuku takes a deep breath, feeling like a weight has lifted from his shoulders.

"Thank you, that's all I want."

"Now I need to go to the office to look into the girl's death again."

"Do you believe what they told me?"

"Not really, but if they said that it's probably worth a shot looking into it."

"Can I see what you have on the case so far?"

"I have the case file in my laptop," Katsuki nods, heading towards one of the bedrooms. "And I'll gladly show it to you, but I'd like you to rest for a while first."

"You too! You haven't slept!" Izuku scolds him. Then, something occurs to him that makes him look from one to the other. "Wait! How do you know it's me? Why haven't you tried to ask me–"

"Hey, it's fine," Shoto whispers, kneeling in front of him again. Izuku doesn't realize he's shaking until his boyfriend takes his hands in his. "You're safe."

"It's for the same reason you haven't tried to prove it's us either," Katsuki smiles, sitting right next to him. "No matter how good they are at mimicking, we could tell if it wasn't you. And you know that too."

Izuku takes a deep breath and pulls them both closer to him; he feels their lips pressing against each side of his face.

Yes, he'd recognize them anywhere and perhaps that's why the villain chose Kirishima to mimic instead of one of them.

"We'll keep you safe."

"We'll keep each other safe," Izuku corrects Shoto as Katsuki smirks.

"That's right, nerd."

***

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[catbountry]

One of these days I'm gonna get completely zonked and write out an entire fucking essay on why Mister Metokur sucks and I don't like him, but I feel like I could just say "he kickstarted the internet dumpster fire that was GamerGate" and have justified my position completely.

So fucking tired of orbiting communities that talk about internet weirdos/drama and seeing creators kiss the fucking ring of some guy just because he's got a voice for radio and surrounds himself with people who are stupider than he is so he can toss them aside as soon as they inevitably do some stupid bullshit that he can make fun of and feel justified in doing so, like Sargon of Akkad and Ethan Ralph, all while lamenting that internet culture has changed since the 2000's and people on the internet like furries now more than they like otaku.

Oh yeah and he's using James Somerton's suicide note as an opportunity to expose Hbomberguy for shit he did nearly two decades ago and shame him for "troll's remorse." If I didn't highly suspect that this is another ploy by James to manipulate people into feeling sorry for him, I'd probably be more disgusted, but it proves this man just operates on pure spite. Like yeah, I get it, overly-performative troll's remorse is fucking cringe, but you're on a podcast with Null making jokes about "stinkditches" and saying unambiguously racist shit while laughing (in a video conveniently deleted from YouTube from September 17th, 2022). And if it weren't for Jim's army of asskissers, I'd probably be way more open about this sort of thing. But who's even reading my Tumblr at this point anyway?

The first time I remember being alarmed by him was that video he did on that creepy pedo who looked at photos of kids in bathtubs, and he was in a call with this guy and some girl said pedo was friends with, and Jim lost his patience and called her a "hole" and to shut up. People kiss Metokur's ass over this video. I don't even know if any action, criminal or otherwise, was taken against the dude and it was just an exercise in lording not being a pedophile over some deeply disturbed guy who probably had some kind of mental disability.

I am pretty much always going to have a fixation on strange internet people, internet drama, and horrifying nightmare people given unrestricted internet access. This is a character flaw of mine. I have tried to view these people more fairly in recent years, though to be honest, there's quite a few of them that are pretty goddamn hard to feel sorry for. But I also recognize a lot of my fascination was probably, at least partially, trollshielding; if I join in with the people making fun of these people, that means I won't be a target. It was a survival strategy learned from childhood and I'm not proud of it. But I also can't do the full troll's remorse because some of those people I talked shit about really were awful people. That doesn't make it okay when I would be snarky and judgemental towards people that didn't deserve it. Trying to stop a pedophile or helping shed light on a zoosadism ring doesn't make you a good person because even bigots hate pedos and people that torture animals. Congratulations on having the faintest resemblance of a conscience, it'd be nice if you could show that same outrage on behalf of black people and trans women. But we know you ain't doin' that.

Also I swear to god if somebody refers to him as "daddy Jim" and they're not taking the piss I'm gonna give them such a pinch.

P.S. James is very likely alive, btw. Who could have seen the serial liar and manipulator telling lies and emotionally manipulating people?

[wifting]

(-v-) Cautionne helps to comfort you after a rough day. \(-o-)/

-ˋˏ✄ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You sit curled up overwhelmed at the occurrences you've been put through. You try to hush your loud unsteady breathing so the microphones wouldn't pick up your panic.

:a door opens:

Cautionne:Er.. Labrat?

oh god he must have heard you. You quickly try to make yourself look put together, you can't be seen freaking out by some kid.

Cautionne:Did you really think you could hide from me in my own room? You really are just a stupid STOP agent..

:he sits down on the floor next to you:

Cautionne:Ugh stop making me feel bad.

"What?" You thought. Is he concerned about you? The person who's been making your life hell with what looks like little to no remorse is pitying you? What kind of joke is this?

Cautionne:You need to realize how pitiful you look right now, labrat

:he scoffs:

:he stops and looks like he's thinking for a second:

Cautionne:Ugh here get up I'll show you something.

You get up and follow him to a drawer in the room. He opens the drawer which houses a collection of neatly lined up... Something in cases?

:he pulls one of the cases out and opens it:

Cautionne:you see this

:he pulls something out of the case:

Cautionne: this is a CD. Bet you don't see these often? Orr are you old enough to remember when these were still more commonly used?

:he laughs slightly:

You knew what a CD was, they weren't THAT old. Though this type of casing was different from how you see them used these days. You think back on when you were younger, didn't your uncle have a ton of CDs in cases like these?

Cautionne:This one is the best one in my whole collection! I bet you wouldn't recognize it though..

:he looks a bit upset for a second before getting back to his usual confident demeanor:

Cautionne:Take a gander Labrat!

:he closes the case and holds out the front of it towards your face confidently with a large grin:

The case was a distinct blue with four men standing somewhat awkwardly on it with some text in the corner. You didn't recognize it at all.

Cautionne:These guy's music is so good! This album is my favorite one

:he looks down at the case:

So it was a music CD? Huh you had nearly forgotten people used to keep music on those.. You were never really a guy for the retro nostalgia core stuff

Cautionne:Yeah this one is so cool! The instrumentals and composition are just so-

:he catches himself and puts back on a bit more of a serious tone. He didn't wanna look like some kid:

Cautionne:to be honest the reason I showed this to you is because well

:he slouches slightly and his facial expression softens:

Cautionne:I thought these songs could help you feel better.

Help me feel better? You were confused on why he would want to help you feel better at all considering how much he seemed to despise you.

Cautionne:to be honest.. Urgh :he shows a slight disgusted face about what he's about to do: sometimes even supervillains have to show some compassion..

:he has a sentimental look in his eyes:

Cautionne:when Dr Danger and I got here she found some of these CDs in storage at this place and well since we didn't have much else to do to pass the time we would listen to them a lot.

:he grips his skirt and looks down embarrassed:

Cautionne:truth is: these songs helped me a lot in those times.. I just wanted more people to get to hear them. Would you... Listen to them with me.

Huh? So he just wanted you to listen to some songs with him? That's all? Well.. It couldn't hurt

Cautionne:Really you're interested!

:he brushes himself off and goes to his desk to grab what looked like one of those old music player speakers:

:he clicks open the speakers cover for where the disk goes and takes the disk out of the case and puts it in:

Cautionne:You better like this Labrat. This is what good music sounds like

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺

:he presses the play button:

====================================✄

-🏀

[bondew]

lmao imagine not having friends cade, and imagine ur friends leaving u for sport dazz! losersssss!!

Cadence Lane.

As the professer walks in i fix my posture and move my gaze from the window to him. My laptop is already open on fresh word doccument, along with a second tap with the project. I've already emailed it so I doubt we will use it, best to stay prepared though. He begins to ramble and the 60 people in the room are visibly bored. I end up doodling on my pale hand with a black pen, still paying attention but just keeping myself occupied. I've forgotton about the idea of taking actual notes and I'm just remembering everything important. It may sounds like I dont like what I do but when you have the same chatty teacher each lecture you just eventually get sick of it. I can't stop thinking about that boy from the library, I wonder why he didn't stay with his friends, I mean they looked like they were having a great time. He was weird, reading about bugs instead of being with your friends. Like if I had friends I would spend as much time with them as possible, and I'd feel pretty shit if they were having a bunch of fun without me. Not that I want friends! That's so stupid. Maybe they're mean to him? I wouldn't be too surprised, they seem very different to bug boy. Two hours later half the class are dead asleep, the rest are bored out of their minds and a couple weird students are all bubbly and awake. To be honest they are probably survivng on caffine. I pack up my things as we get dismissed, sliding my laptop and pencil case into my black messenger bag. Shoving on a white coat over my turtle neck I step out into the hallway, just a couple steps out i run into someone. "God! Watch out!" I say by instinct. I stare at the persons as they beg to be forgiven, "Oh! I'm so sorry sir!" They smile sweetly and looks at me. "Bug boy?" I accidently say aloud. "Oh yeah! Haha!" He holds up the heavy book. "Oh shit- um I didn't mean to say that out loud, sorry!" Wait why the fuck am I apologising- I never do that! I look back up and he's just laughing while walking away.

Bug Boy.

For some odd reason as we practice my first scene, which Juliet isn't even it I'm shaking- like I may get nervous sometimes on stage but never during rehearsal?! Despite this I think I did an ok job, it's just weird how I'm so nervous today, when I woke up I was fine! God.. I spot my friends walking down the hallway as I exit the auditorium, running to them I instantly just start smiling and joking away. My friends complain about their classes and then before I can even start on mine, they all excuse themselves so they can go to training. My smile fades but I wipe it back on and just keep walking. Suddenly I bump into someone. "God! Watch out!" They snap, and I start apologizing continually. "Oh! I'm so sorry sir!" "Bug boy?" They say and I stare into their emerald eyes before realizing that they sat in front of me in the library, I hold up my book and start laughing. "Oh yeah! Haha!" I start to walk away but I still hear them say something and then mutter to themselves. I make my way off campus and find a ramen shop, I actually see a couple of my friends outside of the group but decide to just eat by myself. Swiping my card I buy a bowl and sit down at the bar seats. They don't come over to me so I assume they didn't see me. The food comes out quite quickly and I start slurping. I wonder why that guy remembered me, am I that memorable. Well it was only a couple hours ago- and I did wake him up. Oh shit- Now I've woken him up and bumped into him! He probably hates me.. I hang my head and the front of my hair touches the soup in the bowl, I pull up my head and wipe the tuffs with my sleeve. Picking up the bowl I slurp down the soup and pay before leaving. My couple friends are still in there, they were probably just talking. Luckily my literature class got cancelled since my professor is sick so I can just go back to my dorm. The streets are quite empty as I cross back to the UNI, suddenly a cast of grey storm clouds shower me in rain and I am forced to run back. Slumping down on my hard mattress I grab a towel and aggressively shake my head. Pulling off my wet clothes, I hang them on the windows and change, leaving my shirt off. I sit down at my desk with a blanket wrapped around me I check my emails just in case my professor uploads any work. Sadly she did and I'm forced to write. I begin to thoroughly read the email and I'm shocked when it's free writing. She never lets us do free so this is quite exiting. We have to write at least 10,000 words, my current work in progress has around 8,000 so I just continue that. Around an hour later it's finally at just over 10,000 and I can submit it. I make sure to replace all the swear words and recheck my spelling and grammar about a million times.

[spikeymarshmallows]

wholeass Edizzy brain-dump that I posted into discord once, but I wanted to share with people, about subdrop, topdrop, all those very very fun and shitty emotions yayyyyy.

Just imagining they're maybe still just... fucking. or hell, they're together properly, and they've been doing kink shit for ages. and it's great and hot and fun.

They kiss all hot and nice just inside Ed’s door before they part ways for the day. Izzy has bruises across his butt and down his thighs. Ed had really gotten him worked up the night before, and they'd gone way harder than they had before. It had been so fucking hot, Izzy pleading pleading pleading, and Ed kept expecting Izzy to hiss in the way that Ed now knew meant "slow down, just a little, but don't fucking stop"--but it just never came. [he's not aware he's doing these mental checks, but there's a moment through the haze of INTENSE HORNY that he's like "....Is Izzy okay??" but nope, Izzy is doing amazing, this isn't a self-harm through kink thing, he's just SOARING]. Ed's arm is kinda sore from it, if he's honest with himself.

Maybe it was something about the constant prostate-milking-edging Ed was doing. Who knows, certainly not Ed. (certainly Ed. >:)))) )

Either way, they're both on their own highs the next morning. Deep, hard kisses before work that have Ed pushing Izzy up against the door, gripping the back of his thigh to swing his leg around Ed's hip, fuck fuck, no, no, we gotta stop, can't be late again or the crew are going to give him so much shit.

Izzy's on cloud fucking nine all morning. He keeps leaning on the railings of the ship in such a way that it'll press on his bruises, and he's so glad he’s got a good poker face about these kinds of things. He's kept his facial expressions under control, but he's definitely enjoying the bruises too much.

The tiredness starts to hit that afternoon, but that's fine. It IS afternoon and they had been up just past midnight fucking each other stupid.

Hmmm. He hopes Ed isn't too tired. He'd mentioned through a laugh that morning that his shoulder was sore from laying into Izzy so hard the night before. He'd laughed, kissing Izzy and calling him a needy little slut. Izzy had glowed, laughed, rubbed at Ed's shoulder and dug his thumbs in as Ed cuddled against his tummy. Ed had been tracing the edges of the marks that he could reach as they lounged that way.

Ed had laughed then, and Izzy had too. But... did Ed think he was needy? like, actually needy? Izzy knew he could be needy, but Ed had always said he liked that. He liked being wanted so much, that Izzy made him feel wanted and desired, that Izzy was always ready to jump on Ed's dick at a moment's notice, that he couldn't seem to get enough of Ed as Ed couldn't seem to get enough of Izzy. 

Okay, but... but... what if Ed did find him needy, and not always in the good way? Like, Izzy actually didn’t mind helping the crew out, particularly when some of them were absolute naturals and listened to everything Izzy said, actually took it on board. Izzy liked feeling like he was needed and wanted, that they respected him and his knowledge and experience, but... yeah, some days, he kinda wished they’d just run their fucking drills without needing him to watch their every move, could just do the shit they needed to do without being told all the time.

And Ed, Christ. Izzy loved Ed so much but he got annoyed at her needing him sometimes. Ed was constantly changing his mind, chasing after this whim and that, doing absolutely ridiculous shit. Sure, it always worked out, and it cemented just how brilliant Ed was to Izzy, but Christ alive, it annoyed the fuck out of Izzy some days.

....Ed and Izzy weren't even in love. Ed didn’t love Izzy the way Izzy loved him. Surely Ed got annoyed at how needy Izzy was.

Izzy just... he just wanted to know like, Ed wasn't mad at him. That he didn't think Izzy was annoying, and he'd had fun last night. God, what if Izzy had pushed him too far by continuing to ask for moremoremore? What if his arm was actually sore? It was funny that morning but maybe it was really bothering him today. Shit, that’d be just like him—Ed had started complaining about his knee a few months ago too—what if that was something Izzy had done too?

He kinda wanted to see Ed, then. Like, really badly. They hadn't made plans to see each other that night and Izzy had the last watch, but it was pretty normal for them to hangout about half the nights of the week. But... hmm. Jack had been sailing with them the previous few weeks; Ed hadn’t had a night alone in weeks. He probably wouldn’t mind a night alone, certainly didn’t need Izzy coming in with his… *emotions*. (he hadn't said as much, but Izzy knew.  ....Izzy didn't know, but okay, maybe he was spiralling a little bit, checking the same number of barrels in the hold over and over again, forgetting what his count was halfway through each time).

And anyway, poor Izzy is standing there, suddenly doubting everything. A thousand questions that really amounted to "am I too much???" swirling in his stressed lil head. 

He was clenching his jaw so hard that he was starting to get a headache behind his right eye. Ed always poked his jaw when he noticed Izzy doing that, sometimes laughed and used it as an excuse to shove his fingers in Izzy mouth. "Protecting your teeth, baby" he'd joke sometimes, pulling Izzy's cheek in weird directions, just to be a pest. Sometimes he'd use the fingers in his mouth for.... other purposes

anyway, Izzy spiralling. He goes back to his room.

For the first time in months, he doesn't breathe a sigh of relief when he shuts out the world.

He's usually SO GLAD when he gets to his room. He's spent all day around the crew and shit, and here he can just… relax. Enjoy the darkness, the quiet.

But now? The room is empty. and dark. It doesn’t feel safe. It feels… empty.

That's fine, Ed usually asks for him around sunset.

But the sun sets and he tenses, half-hopeful, every time he hears the sound of someone walking near his room. No knock comes.

Izzy changes out of his clothes, puts on his other set, these ones a little cleaner. The bruises look amazing, Ed will be thrilled. Knowing him, he'll probably rub against them gently, then the fucker will bite them because it's funny to watch Izzy huff and squirm. 

He's all clean now. But his stomach is tight and he's not hungry.

And nobody has knocked on his door.

Ed's probably just busy....

Or maybe he just needs a break from Izzy. Maybe he just needs a quiet night. Last night had been intense, and Izzy knew it took a lot out of Ed sometimes. Sometimes he needed to decompress. Months ago, when Izzy had heard him say that for the first time, and had made excuses to go. Ed had huffed and pulled him by the vest to sit his ass back down, Ed meant "decompress as in smoke with you, not be left alone with my own miserable thoughts".

Maybe he needs a break from Izzy.

That's fine.

Izzy is fine.

Eventually, someone opened his door—Ed never fucking knocked, and it didn’t usually bother Izzy, but tonight it fucking *did*. Izzy is sitting stiffly at his desk, trying to have a Normal and Relaxing Evening Damn It. He's picking at his dinner that he’d brought back to his room. 

He almost doesn't want to turn to look at him. He could show Ed he's all Independent. He doesn't rely on Ed for his comfort. Hell, he doesn't need comfort, he's strong and capable of taking care of his own emotions, thank you! Not to mention, if he needs to be comforted afterwards... Maybe Ed will go easier on him. And Izzy doesn't want that. Izzy wants to keep doing all the weird and intense shit they're doing. He wants to do more. Wants to go harder.

God. Does that make him a freak? Or more of a freak? He knew the stuff he liked was weird. He'd never tried it with any of the whores he'd slept with... He knew how the crew would talk if they *knew*. 

If what he liked was normal and okay, people wouldn't talk. If they knew Israel Hands, first mate to Blackbeard, the bastard they respected and feared, liked to bend over like this, *loved* the ways that Ed hurt him, brought him to his knees and degraded him… Well, they wouldn’t respect him anymore. If Izzy was the one giving the pain, it wouldn't be as big of a deal.

Shit.

He really did like some fucked up stuff, didn't he? What kind of person liked to be hit while having sex? What kind of person begged for harder hits across the backs of their thighs? What kind of person liked a little blood in their fucking, loved the burn and the ache? What kind of person came without permission when someone worked them up and *finally*, after what felt like hours, spat in their mouth? That was some real fucked up shit. God, and he sometimes... sometimes... when he was really far under... he'd call Ed "Daddy". Not always. He never meant to, it just... sorta.... slipped out.

But Izzy didn't even like his father! Gross! He'd never thought of his father that way, what the fuck!! So why did he sometimes call Ed "Daddy"?

Ed clears his throat.

Ed's there, acting all... fine. And Normal. He was thinking of going here, and the weather was perfect for it, shouldn’t take them more than a day or two, and sorry he hadn’t seen Izzy all day, there’d been endless distractions and drama from a few of those new blokes they’d picked up a few weeks back, anyway, did Izzy wanna hang out that night?

"Nah, I'm okay. I'm... gonna have an early night, I think."

"Oh. Yeah. That's fair. Totally cool, man." Ed sounds a bit funny. He doesn't sound relieved, like Izzy expects. "Tomorrow night then?"

"Uh, yeah. Maybe. I'll... I'm pretty tired, I'll have to see."

"oh. Yeah. Cool. That's cool."

SO. Izzy goes to bed early that night.

He does not sleep well.

Next day, much of the same. He's feeling brittle and fragile, and he's snapped at everyone, even Charlie, who is by far Izzy’s favourite crew member, and his head hurts because he slept like shit and he clenched his jaw real bad when he did. 

He hasn't heard from Ed. 

Sure, he hasn't gone to find Ed either. But he's trying not to be needy. He can handle his own feelings. 

....He just... he wishes he didn't feel so gross and disgusting for calling Ed "Daddy" in the heat of the moment. And did he have to cry just before he came? God, so pathetic. And Ed's shoulder was probably still fucked. Had Ed even had fun?? Had Izzy given him what he wanted from that? Like, sure, Ed had come (twice) but... was he just... humouring Izzy?

The day passes miserably. He keeps pressing his bruises, and biting his tongue when he does because it stops tears springing to his eyes.

Gross. He's going to cry again??? Well, that made him feel more pathetic. God, he was so stupid.

This whole thing was so stupid.

He goes back to his room.

When it comes time to eat, he struggles to swallow it, even though what Cook’s made is actually pretty decent. It keeps getting caught in his chest. 

Ed comes to his door again.

Ed launches into a story about his day, about this place Jack had said was worth a visit, that maybe they should consider getting a cat for the ship because there were rats, and Ed wondered if rats could be trained, and wouldn’t that be fucking cool, to train the rats to attack people, just set out a plank and the rats would take care of the rest, and yeah, actually, he was gonna try that, yeah, never mind the cat idea, this was way better.

Izzy hums as Ed talks, doesn't say anything. The tightness in his chest eases a little as Ed is talking to him the same way he always does. Ed doesn't... doesn't sound mad at him. He doesn't sound like he's sick of Izzy and thinks he's needy and gross and awful.

Eventually, Ed stops for a breath, exhales heavily. "Shit, sorry, I've been talking at you for like... fifteen minutes straight. Don't think I took a breath there."

"You gasped just before you asked if rats could be trained to attack for you." Izzy feels miserable, but a tiny tiny smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he says that. 

"Oh cool, okay, one breath in fifteen minutes, that's not bad, right? Reckon I could make a decent swimmer, Izzy? S’longer than you, I reckon." 

"ha."

Ed's voice gets softer, gentler. "How're you feeling? Sleep okay last night?" 

Izzy swallows. He wants to bite out some excuse, find some way to end this conversation, before he can annoy Ed. 

He must be silent for longer than he thinks. 

"Iz?" 

Ed so rarely calls him that, unless he's trying to annoy him. Sometimes he'll call him that after Izzy calls him "Daddy" too... 

"Um. No, I didn't really sleep well." Izzy finally chokes the words out. He's impressed at how normal he sounds. That sounded normal, right??

Ed is silent for a long moment. "Hey, uh. Wanna crack into that fancy wine we got last week?" Something is off in his voice. 

Izzy's gut drops. 

This is it. Ed is going to end things. He wants to soften the blow on Izzy with liquor. 

Izzy wants to make up an excuse, a reason why he can't, but his ears are roaring and he's gonna be sick. Eventually he agrees, light and easy.

Izzy doesn't know what to do with himself, says he’ll go get the wine so Ed can get comfortable. 

He takes a swig of it as he makes his way back to Ed’s cabin. Another one just before he knocks on Ed’s door.

Ed looks good, legs propped up on the desk. God, he always looks good. Nervous, a bit hesitant. 

"Hey."

"Hey." 

Izzy doesn't think to move to let him inside.

"Uh, wanna come in?" Ed asks eventually. 

"Oh. Right. Yeah. Sure."

Izzy stands helplessly just inside the door. Ed’s standing, and Izzy doesn’t know if he should sit down across the desk, or if they should go sit on Ed’s bed; they often sprawl there, but usually much later in the night. Besides, Izzy isn’t there for… for *that* tonight… This is… This is the end.

Izzy isn't sure conversation between the two of them has ever been so stilted. Eventually, Izzy sets the wine down on Ed’s desk, pours them both a drink.

When he turns around, Ed is standing an arms length away, looking so sad. 

"Can I... hug you?" Ed asks tentatively. 

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. This is it. He's gonna hug Izzy, try to soften the blow, surely. 

Izzy nods mutely, even though he wants to be sick. 

The hug is awkward, and Izzy's arms feel wooden as he rests his hands on Ed's hips. He keeps expecting Ed to let go. Ed doesn't. Instead, he takes a big breath in... exhales long and slow. 

And Izzy doesn't know what happens, but something in him just breaks.

He squeezes his eyes shut, trying so hard to stop the stupid tears. He pushes away from Ed, or tries to. Ed lets out a little sound that could almost be described as "wounded". He pulls Izzy back in. 

Izzy is shaking, and trying so so hard to keep it together. He's trying so goddamn hard and Ed is just holding him, and it's so stiff and weird, and Izzy is going to fucking break if Ed doesn't let go of him soon, he needs to get out of there, but Ed is still holding him and--

"hey, hey, it's okay...." Ed is murmuring against the spot where his jaw and ear meet. "I'm here, I've got you." 

And Izzy isn't crying, but he can't stop shaking, and his knees feel weak and standing is so hard and Ed is trying to pull them back towards the bed, not letting go of him.

Izzy isn't really sure how they make it those few steps, but Ed is pulling him onto the bed, shifting him so that Izzy is basically cradled against him, his legs thrown over Ed's thighs. The whole time, his other arm doesn't leave Izzy's shoulder, not until they're settled on the edge of the bed. Izzy can't stop shaking, and fuck he's crying now, not a lot, but he's sniffling and his nose is stuffy, and he can't quite breathe right. And Ed is just holding holding holding him. 

"It's okay, I'm here. It's okay, I'm here. You're okay. You're safe. You're so good, Iz. You're so fucking good."

And it's so stupid, it's so fucking stupid, but every time he thinks he's hit the final breaking point, he splinters again. Ed just keeps holding him, and saying sweet words and kisses his temple and now his hands are running through Izzy's hair, blunt but calloused fingertips running over his scalp.

Izzy expects to sob. He feels like his chest is cracking open, and he's still wanting to be sick. But he doesn't sob. Tears just start running down his cheeks, and they won't stop. He's given up (for the moment) trying to push Ed away, Ed's grip on his shoulder is so tight, it's almost like Ed needs to hold Izzy as much as Izzy needs to be held. 

Ed keeps pressing kisses to the side of his head, the top of it, holding Izzy harder even than the way Ed holds him down and fucks him. 

Izzy finally manages to get a hold of his emotions, is able to somewhat stem the tears. Afterall, if Ed is here to end things.... he... he'd rather get it over with.

"Sorry," Izzy chokes, sitting up a little more and furiously rubbing at his leaky eyes with the heels of his palms. "I dunno what's wrong, just. It's stupid." He laughs, but it's empty. 

Ed narrows his eyes at him. "Izzy..."

Izzy gives a tight smile, shifts back a little to put some space between them. "Sorry, shouldn't have done that. But uh, thanks?" 

Ed is looking at him weirdly. "What?" 

Izzy shakes his head quickly, as if he's shaking off the sadness, the tears. He smiles, or tries to. "Sorry, um. Why'd you want the wine? Do you... need to talk about anything?"

Ed blinks. "I... should I... not? Want the fancy wine?" 

"Well, I dunno. I just wanna say... I've... appreciated. Everything we've done. And everything you've shown me. It was... uh. Really cool."

Really cool. Wow. What a ringing endorsement. 

Ed blinks again. The silence stretches.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ed asks, voice almost squawking the way it does whenever he's mad or confused.

Izzy isn't sure what to say. How to word it. Words aren't his thing, those are Ed's. He wishes Ed would just start the whole "hey, it's been really great what we've been doing but...." 

But Ed isn't saying that. He's just looking confused, annoyed--oh god, he's looking annoyed. Any of the warm feelings Izzy hadn't even known were filling him dropped back to ice. Ed was annoyed at him. Fuck. Shit. Fuck, shit. 

"I'm sorry," Izzy finally says, closing his eyes. 

"For what?" 

"I..." 

Before Izzy can fumble his way through more words, Ed is yanking him forward again and pulling him back into Ed's arms.

This time Izzy sobs.

Two days--in many ways, it feels like two decades--worth of tears start forcing their way through his chest and throat. He's crying, snotting against Ed's shirt, and the sounds he's making are so gross and big and ugly, and Izzy hates it, and hates that they won't stop, and that he just feels so stupid, and weak, and pathetic, and stupid, and pathetic, and needy, and fucked up and broken. 

He barely realises it but he's just saying he's sorry, over and over and over, and Ed is holding him, rocking him a little, telling him every time that it's okay, it's all okay, he promises. 

Ed's lower back must be hurting him because he shifts them further up the bed when Izzy calms for a brief moment. Ed still won't let go, just lies back against the blankets and pulls Izzy against him, keeps Izzy against him by wrapping both legs tightly around him.

When Izzy finally calms, his head is throbbing. And Ed is still there. Ed pushes up a little, pushes until he's sitting. Holds Izzy's face in both of his hands, wiping the damp hair at his temples, wiping the tears that keep leaking down Izzy's sore face, presses kisses to his forehead and lips. 

"Oh Iz," Ed whispers, pulling him back in. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Through tears, Ed finally coaxes words out of Izzy. How shitty he's felt the past two days. How gross and awful he feels. How, fuck, how he wishes his stupid mouth hadn't told Ed that because he loves what they do and he doesn't want them to stop just because he's feeling gross. How he hates how fucked up he is. 

....How he's sure Ed is here to end things with him. How he's sure Ed thinks he's a pest, and Izzy's stupid feelings of being gross and fucked up are a bother.

And Ed is just so very "what in the actual fuck??? Ending what we do???? are you insane? Did I hit you too hard the other night? We have rules against anything hitting your face or head for a reason, but did I somehow do it accidentally??" He probably doesn't have the language to know about "drop" per se, but he totally knows the feelings that Izzy is talking about. How sometimes he'll crawl into bed, stare off into space, wonder what the fuck is wrong with him that hitting someone gets him so fucking hard. How seeing those marks on Izzy, hearing him cry out in pain makes Ed feel lightheaded with power and arousal. Like, he knows he's fucked in the head, but yeah, he always feels kinda shitty after they do this stuff. But after a few days, he's usually okay again. He usually tries to see Izzy as much as he can the few days after, because it comforts him. Izzy is always so fucking happy to see him, and usually still glowing from the fuckery they got up to. And it's harder to condemn himself, to hate himself, when Izzy seems so delighted at what they do. Izzy doesn't hate him for doing dark, fucked up stuff to him. Ed isn't evil, or a monster. Izzy still likes him.

And he tells Izzy all of his... admits he feels a bit weird and clingy... how he's always asking to see Izzy every night for a few nights after they've gone hard. Yeah, he knows it's not super badass pirate of him, but like, the day after Izzy called Ed "Daddy" for the first time, Ed had had a panic attack about What That Said About Him and whether he was even worse than his dickhead of a dad. 

Once the adrenaline has worn off, he always beats himself up. And he feels bad that he hasn't told Izzy all this, but he didn't want Izzy to think he didn't like what they did. He just sometimes needed a few days to feel okay again. He didn't want to stop what they did, and he always worried that if he told Izzy about these feelings, maybe Izzy would want to stop. Izzy was always so soft and doting with him, didn't like Ed to suffer, which, by the way, Ed found totally adorable.

so. YAY. Communication. Izzy curls against him and cries a little more, and Ed keeps telling him he's so good, he's so good, he's amazing and, he loves him, and----

shit.

well, he hadn't meant that. wait, no, like, he meant it. he just... hadn't meant to tell Izzy yet, because... like, as he said, weird and clingy, and he knew Izzy liked him but.... Ed was probably seeing something that wasn’t there and---

Izzy kisses him, shuts Ed's anxious ramblings up. Whispers he loves him too.

It's not the sexiest either of them have ever felt. But they're soon peeling off clothes, and pressing into Izzy, and it's sweet and gentle at first, but then Ed's fingers brush over the bruises at the back of Izzy's thighs when he goes to move Izzy's leg higher around his waist, and... Izzy gasps and hisses. Ed grins, digs his fingers in a little, enjoying the sounds Izzy makes and the way he tightens around Ed like that... 

And yeah, they'll definitely have to talk more later, but they're at least being honest with each other about how they feel after these things and want to continue and maybe next time... well, next time, they make plans to see each other for the next few nights. Just in case.

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

heyyyyy! if you're still doing the dragon asks game, can I request fire and poison? 👉👈 thank youuuu ❤

Thanks! :D

Fire: share a snippet with some dialogue you’d like to show off. Here's an excerpt from Houses Full of Deceit:

With heavy sarcasm he asked, "What do I owe this pleasure to? Have you been hired to kill me or have you come to turn yourself in?"

Colman laughed. Just once, and with an odd rattle in his chest. "Neither. You'll never believe this but I've come to you for help."

"Really." Yo-han leant against the door-frame. "What sort of help? Did someone hire you to murder their enemy and now won't pay?"

"Not quite. Have you heard of the Hastings murders?"

"Not a word," Yo-han said. Now he regretted not buying international newspapers regularly.

Colman looked up at the ceiling. He didn't sit up, or prop himself up on his elbows, or move any part of his body except his head. "Horrible business. Husband, wife and three children all dead. Shot in the head. And guess who's got the blame?"

Yo-han frowned. "You didn't kill them?"

Colman gave him a downright offended look. "Have I ever killed children?"

To be honest Yo-han had no idea. He'd never been able to work out how many murders Colman had actually committed. Luckily Colman didn't wait for an answer.

"I was in Italy when the Hastings — Hastingses? — were murdered in London. First I heard of it was when I was recognised at the Italian customs. Had to run for my life. Got hold of a paper and discovered the whole thing's been pinned on me. My picture's in every paper in England and most of the ones in Europe too. So I decided to leave Europe. Got as far as Siam by pretending to be a missionary, then I met an attaché of the American embassy in a bar. He'd just been reassigned to Japan. So I got him drunk, stole his tickets, and got on the ship under his name. When we stopped at Seoul I went for a walk around the harbour and never came back. Then I wormed my way into the British embassy, found your address — you'd be amazed what people will say when they think you're Lord So-and-So — and came here."

"You seem to have had a very exciting time," Yo-han observed dryly. "And when did you get injured?"

Colman's casual façade cracked. As he looked at Yo-han, weeks of exhaustion and fear showed on his face. "How did you know?"

"You haven't moved once since I arrived. Either you're unbelievably lazy, or you're trying not to aggravate an injury."

Colman moved his left arm away from his side. "Remember when I said I ran for my life? I meant it. In Bangkok I was recognised again. That was why I resorted to something as stupid as identity theft. The guy went at me with a garden fork, believe it or not. It's shallow but hurts like hell."

Poison: share a snippet that’s all about relationships (good or bad). Here's an excerpt from Silver Glass:

This is not how David wanted to bring Alec into his bedroom. Alec is still shaking. He collapses onto the settee and stares into the fire. David pours him a glass of water and sits beside him. He wraps his arms around Alec's waist and rests his head on his shoulder.

"You'll have to marry her," he says. Alec makes a noise like a wounded animal. "Listen to me. She can destroy us both. You'll have to marry her, collect evidence against her — do you think she'll be faithful? — and divorce her the first chance you get. Ruin her reputation so well that no one will believe anything she says against you."

Alec cranes his neck to look at him. "But David…" He closes his eyes and visibly steels himself to continue. "No church will marry us, no law recognise us, but in my heart I'm married to you. I can't stand in front of God and man and swear to take that woman for better or worse, forsaking all other. It would be a monstrous lie."

David kisses him. He tries to pour all his unhappiness, all his rage at the situation, all his love for Alec into the kiss. Alec responds in kind.

When they break the kiss David presses his forehead against Alec's. Alec wraps his arms around David and pulls him closer. They watch the fire together.

"I couldn't continue this relationship with you," Alec says sadly. David knows him, knows his efforts to reconcile his sexuality with his religion, and was expecting this. "I'd be legally married to her, so I would be breaking a commandment."

"Aren't we already breaking commandments?" David asks. He doesn't want to be a married man's secret lover, but when the marriage is a sham built on blackmail it can hardly be considered binding.

Alec smiles ruefully. "Not one of the ten commandments, unless you count this as covetousness. I can list every reference condemning us, but only adultery is forbidden in the ten commandments."

They fall silent for a while. Alec has stopped shaking. David can guess what's going through his head, and knows his decision before he declares it.

"In the morning I'll tell her I agree to marry her," Alec says, and he says it as if he's reading his own death warrant.

David tightens his grip on him. The morning. It's afternoon and morning is getting rapidly closer. He calculates how long it will be before their absence is commented on. Not long enough. Especially if they miss dinner. But after dinner…

To hell with restraint. He can sneak out of Alec's room and back to his own before the servants start their rounds.

"You know, we haven't had our wedding night yet," he says.

Adding Deceit's and Glass's taglists: @lightgriffinsect​, @oh-no-another-idea​, @kittensartswriting, @writingpotato07, @sarahlizziewrites, @acertainmoshke, @author-a-holmes, @sam-glade (Let me know if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist!)

[the-firebird69]

Really you guys don't know what you're doing. The Mac proper and I think Dave himself went ahead and made a company called Harley-Davidson they had me and my wife work on it and help design the bikes the basic rudimentary by kind of based on my phone huffy I had I sent it back. The people laughing made the bikes and they made the Harley but they named it and they named it Harley which is a fool or gesture and David's son they don't mean me. So you place yourself on top of a pig pile I believe and you're doomed now another thing that's bad is Dave was in on it too and he knew about it and I think that the Mac proper and you are in for a show

Zues

We know about the stuff. Yeah. We know everyone's after it. We know it is for. We understand you're crazy. And you're behind but you don't understand you're behind. So you have this attitude. It's not really massive attitude but it's annoying. You're walking around like you're in high school same things like you're in high school being b****** like you're in high school everything about you is exuding some sort of childish argument you're having that we're not really part of and just kind of spitting insults at people. And there are a few things that are humorous about what you're doing I don't know if it's your woman probably is one guy came by and said I'm a Giants and he wasn't aware of what he was doing is holding his little teeny girls pocketbook it's about 4 inches long by 2 inches by an inch and a half solid and it was painted like the rainbow but it really bright light one. Now we think the two got together and did this to him to show that they look stupid and silly and like children and it's gross they're like Thanksgiving turkeys. Honest to God and it's a bja and they're bigger their Giants are 150 to someone said almost 300 miles that's a huge difference in class and they have armor and it's gross and they're itching to get out and they can't stay in there anymore they have diseases and they're gross they want out and they want air and they're screaming for it by the way and they they have to have it and they want to take down the Giants above them so you're not in your own field you usually Sledge Giants and you wouldn't slay your own it's not what we're saying you idiots you'll say each other that's true and we know about the Giants below and so do the Mac proper not really and the foreigners probably not we checked the demons and they don't get it so yeah you're in for a treat and you're going to be astounding there's no way on Earth the ship 11,000 miles long can take a giant 11,000 miles long the armor on the Giants because their mutants is virtually impenetrable to the ship and you'll be devastated and combined laser in the form of a juggernaut would definitely stop him it just barely it'll only be twice as big and not by the mass or volume or firepower so you're kind of like lame and it's a nightmare and it's gross really gross

Hera

Nothing they're saying is there some female Giants and they have big humongous giant butts and my husband says my name is Seymour butts but please not just one of them LOL

..

This is horrible they're saying stupid things it's supposed to be some sort of slide and starting out to be a massive joke and horrendous it's going to be gross it's going to be blood and guts everywhere is weekly Giants are going to be exploded by ships nasty I'm going to release the kraken and other monsters to devour them so shut the hell up

Thor Freya

We don't care for the complaining but they are suffering and we remove bugs and other things all the time they say why not monitor me like it should and we say they were there from last time from when you were somewhere else and he says oh yeah so why don't you just inject a small amount of poison we do all sorts of stuff I don't really have to start doing more of it now I can't stand hearing them it's a lot of suffering huge amount of bugs no but was scanning for him all the time and constant problems little bit if you make an MRI that goes up and down as stupid but yeah nothing s*** so damn hard to take care of them you might get wasted because we don't know what we're doing we're told that by a bunch of people no I understand what you're saying you turn around that's another trick by them now Geronimo was brought back to Florida he wants to find out where and it might be where Trump goes and he said enough of this s*** he says

Bja

Olympus

[thedaredevilsgirl]

Just Not Enough For You-Part 1

Warning: friends with benefits, angst (reader is insecure about her appearance and personality, jealous, comparison, drinking) this was inspired by the song Nada Contra by Clarissa (it's a Brazilian song, I know that most here speak English, but I still recommend listening to it, it's very good).

A/N: To be honest this idea seemed better in my head and didn't come out exactly as I wanted, but I still liked the final result so I decided to post it. Part two will probably be posted early next week. Hope you like it💗

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Your mind kept repeating the word as you went outside the Hard Deck with the excuse of getting some air, not that it was a lie, it was actually quite hard to breathe in the same environment as Jake and the miss perfect.

Of course you wanted him to be happy, that's why you broke the deal with Jake, to set him free so that he could find someone better to love, someone as perfect as he was, someone who certainly wasn't you.

Why were you so sad? It was all your fault, he was only with her because you let him go, so why are you so sad?

"I think this better be the last time" you say picking your clothes up quickly from the floor.

  "Wait, what?" Jake asked so confused, he thought everything was going so well, and it was true "I thought you liked this, what about our deal?"

   The damn deal, friends with benefits, how to continue with the deal when you had broken the biggest rule of it, no falling in love, just fuck, get something out of your system and enough is enough. Jake made it very clear he wasn't after a relationship, and you thought the same until that stupid smile captured your heart and you realized you were totally in love with him.

   "I like it, but we can't go through with it."

   "Why?" he asked still so confused as he watched you put on your clothes instead of his shirt and lay down to sleep next to him like you always did on the nights you had sex (and even on the ones you did nothing).

  "I...I just think that we should be sleeping with other people, I mean of course we should, meeting new people and not getting stuck in this bullshit" you say as if it doesn't hurt.

  "Are you sure this is what you want?"

  "Yes, I'm sure" big liar.

  You start to retreat from the room, ready to leave when you hear him calling your name, almost like a broken whisper.

   "We're still friends, right?" you could swear you saw pain flash through his eyes, but it should be something from your imagination.

   "Yes, friends" you smile and hope he doesn't realize it's fake, and finally walk away.

   This couldn't go on, not when you knew he didn't want anything serious, not with you, not when he can get something better, it was better to end it now and hope the pain was less.

But wasn't, was tearful.

It didn't even take a month before there was another girl in your place, the beautiful and gorgeous Jude, they were already on their third date and God she was pretty and a wonderful person which only made it even worse.

  You didn't want to compare yourself, but it was impossible to stop the negative thoughts about yourself when she was around.

  That's why you left the bar, not being able to take it anymore but still unable to avoid watching them from the window outside.

  You see Jake put his arm around her shoulders and whisper something in her ear that makes she laugh.

Why did they have to look so perfect together?

   The smile on his face slowly disappears as his gaze crosses yours on the other side of the window.

  "Shit" you say to yourself as you look away and take a long sip of your drink trying to erase the shame of being caught in the act.

  "Are you feeling okay?" Jake asks a few minutes later standing next to you.

   "Yeah, I just needed to take a breather, the bar seemed pretty crowded tonight" was a great excuse, Jake knew you hated crowds.

  The two of you stare at each other for a long minute, not knowing how to continue that conversation, drowning in those unspoken words and undisclosed feelings.

  "You look beautiful" he finally says and he sounded so sincere.

   You wondered if he noticed that that was his favorite dress, the same one he would always gently pull off your body, the one he said made you look like an angel.

  "My beautiful angel" was what he said before he kissed you for the first time that night on the beach.

"my angel" whispered between your thighs before finally making you his, Just his.

The silence hangs again, he couldn't look away, but he quickly shakes his head, drawing from it whatever thought was making him confused at that moment.

  "Well, I have to go, I promised to take Jude home so..." He leaves a soft kiss on your forehead.

   "Okay," is all you can say without bursting into tears.

   "I...take care and be well okay?"

  You nod and watch him leave with Jude at his side.

   It was their third date, you knew they would probably be doing more than kissing that night, the mere thought of him touching her made your stomach churn, giving her the pleasure that only a few weeks ago he was giving only to you.

  You get back inside the bar as quickly as possible.

  "Penny" you catch the attention of the woman behind the counter "Give me a glass of the strongest drink you have."

  "Are you sure dear?"

  "Yes, please."

  "Are you okay?" Phoenix asks sitting down next to you already knowing everything that had happened to you and Hangman.

  "Fine" you say before turning the entire shot over in one go once Penny has placed it on the counter "Everything is wonderfully fine, one more shot please."

━─┈✩☽🌑☾✩┈─━

Hello" Jake speaks with his voice still hoarse from sleep.

"Bangman" he hears your inebriated voice on the other end of the line and it is enough for him to wake up automatically getting worried about you "My favorite pilot, my Jake" you give a short chuckle.

"Are you okay? Where are you?" he quickly gets out of bed ready to pick you up no matter where you are.

"My Jake...but you're not mine are you? And it's all my fault" by the tone of your voice you make it clear that you were crying.

"Honey what are you talking about? Please tell me where you are."

"It's all my fault" you repeat "Jude is beautiful, you really did well to choose her, the two of you are perfect together, it even annoys me."

"I... What's going on angel, please, I'm getting worried" Jake says.

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against her, the truth is I wish I was in her place, the truth is I am dying of jealousy here" you laugh again, but there was no amusement there, just pain "I know I was the one who ended our arrangement, but the truth is I couldn't go on, I couldn't because I love you, I love you so much it hurts, I ended it all because I knew you would never love me back, why would you love me? I can spend hours here talking about all your qualities and I'm just me, you can have models, beautiful and funny girls, and I know I'm good enough to be a casual fuck but never good enough to be a girlfriend, I'm easy to forget, easy to replace, it wouldn't be any different this time right, that's why I let you go" Jake only realizes he was crying now, with the excruciating pain of hearing the woman he love talking so badly about herself.

"Angel, please listen to me, this is not true, none of this is..."

"My God, what are you doing? No calling guys when you're drunk" he hears Phoenix's voice on the other end of the line before can continue speaking "Jake, I'm sorry about that" he is a little more relieved to know you had someone with you.

"Natasha, where are you guys? I'm going to go get her right now."

"Nat, give me back my phone, I need to tell Jakey that I love him even if I am insufficient to him" you speak in the background.

"We are at The Hard Deck, I can take care of her, but Jake...she needs you."

[thepaintedlady00]

The Sandman and the Girl Without Dreams

Chapter 8: Later

TW: blood, violence, salty Penelope, fluff, dirty thoughts, slight smut

This chapter is going to be 👀 interesting, settle in, she's longer than chapter 6 was so get some snacks and a drink and enjoy! 🥰

Why don't the Endless have fucking cell phones? I thought bitterly to myself as I stared at the man holding Morpheus' ruby. Something was wrong, I could feel it in the unusual quiet of the mark. Ever since our reunion it had pulsed with the steady thrum of him, what he was feeling or even just the soft caress of his power. But, ever since our departure in Hell all feeling had faded, and as I stared at the man holding the ruby I couldn't shake the feeling he had something to do with it.

He didn't beat Morpheus, no, this stranger was nowhere near as cunning nor powerful even with the stolen jewel. Something had happened though, but what? In the background the news reported some kind of traffic accident as the kind waitress stepped up to his table and smiled. "Best seat in the house. How are you doin today?"

"How am I doing today? Well… I'm feeling better than I have in quite some time, thank you." He said with a smile, one that didn't feel quite genuine or fake.

"Mmm. I could use some of that. What's your secret?" The waitress asked.

"Shall I tell you the truth?"

"Well, honesty is the best policy."

"That's what they say isn't it? Well, I hope that's true." He held up the glistening red jewel and smiled. "This is my secret."

"It's gorgeous," the waitress remarked.

His eyes shifted to hers, an unsettling gleam in them. "It makes dreams come true."

The waitress laughed a little. "I bet it does. And what are you dreaming of? New house? New job?"

"A new world. A more honest one." I practically scoffed. Honesty coming from a thief, how ironic.

"That is the dream, isn't it?" She sighed. "Well, can I get you a cup of coffee while we wait for our dreams to come true?"

The ruby seemed to flare as he spoke, "Yes, please. But we won't be waiting for long."

"Well I'd better hurry and get you that coffee then." She turned, heading around the counter as he watched after her.

This man was weird, but not the usual kind of weird, everything about him was just off in a way that I couldn't place. But watching him stare at everyone in the diner made a pit form in my stomach. That pit made me decide it was best to stick around for a little, to see if Dream would be close behind or if I'd be finding a way to get his ruby and get back to London on my own. His sand sent me here, that must mean he knew and was coming back for me. I'd hoped as much at least. 

Getting back to London with nothing to my name would be complicated, not impossible, but a lot more work and criminal activity than I'd wanted to have to do. My stomach growled again and I cursed myself quietly. You know better than to go off with Johanna without your wallet! Stupid, stupid! I eyed every plate the waitress brought out. It had been a long night, being in Hell and all, and I was starving not to mention exhausted. I sighed, Why the fuck can't I just go home and take a nap? Or a shower? God I probably smell so bad right now. Johanna was going to kill me when I got back.

The diner had a few more people come in. A girl, frantically checking her phone every second and moving around in her seat nervously. A young man preparing for a job interview. And a couple, a classic example of people that fought to look happy but very much so were not. There were various conversations going on throughout the establishment. The couple made small talk with the waitress, asking about her son and her writing before just as politely arguing about what the man should order. The girl and young man talked about his job interview and how poor of a matchmaker the waitress was. It was all so normal, standard for some small town diner, then Mr. Weirdo Ruby Thief started doing whatever the hell he was doing and shit started getting weird. 

The waitress stopped in front of me and opened her mouth to ask if I needed anything but then realized something and stopped herself, rushing back over to the man with the ruby. Our eyes locked and a hint of confusion flashed over his face before she spoke. "I'm so sorry, sir! It's their anniversary."

"Yes, I heard you introduced them."

"Yes I did." She sounded proud.

"And you're not really a waitress, are you Bette? You're a writer."

She chuckled. "Well, I'm a waitress who writes."

"Fiction? Non-fiction?"

"Well, all my characters are based on real people, but it's fiction I guess because my stories always have a happy ending."

The man nodded. "Well that's because you know when to stop."

"How do you mean?"

"The problem with stories is if you keep them going long enough they all end in death, don't they?" He said calmly, the silence swallowing something in the waitresses mind before the ding of the kitchen bell pulled her out of it.

"So, what'll you have handsome?" She asked.

His jaw tightened slightly as he looked out the window for a moment. "Ah. May I ask, you don't really think I'm handsome do you?"

For a moment she struggled to answer, but as the ruby glowed in between his fingers she suddenly blurted out, "No, of course I don't."

He gripped the jewel tighter. "Why did you call me that? Why did you lie?"

"I don't know…" She stuttered. "I guess I was just trying to be… I just wanted to make you feel… I wanted you to like me.'

"I do like you," he said softly, so softly I almost didn't hear. "I like this version of you much better, don't you?" When she nodded, quick, tense and uneasy he continued. "Isn't it a relief to tell the truth for once? Don't you wish we could live in a world where we could say what we actually think?"

"I do."

"Well it starts with us, Bette, you and I are going to change the world. Make a more honest one."

They stared at one another for a while before she walked away, her features twisted into confusion. Everything started getting worse from there. No matter where I looked, no matter what conversation I honed in on, anger and frustration filled the diner. The young woman stood to leave, but just stood there, looking at the door before the waitress said in a dead voice, one devoid of all the cheer it had held earlier. "Did you hear from Donna?” No reply, just a shake of her head. “You wanna wait a little while longer?"

She turned around and nodded, taking the seat she’d just vacated and settled back in.

After that anyone that tried to leave would end up the same, confused, frozen before they'd just go back to their seats. Sometimes the whole diner would reenact when they'd first arrived. All the while Weirdo Ruby Thief made slow rounds through the place, having conversations with everyone he could. I didn't hear them all, but the ones I did revolved around lies and truth. After about two hours my head was swarmed with the noise and the tension. It was thick in the air, so much so it made it hard to breathe as memories of a similar environment began to resurface.

I set my head down on the counter, taking deep breaths, trying to keep myself tethered to the present. He was coming. I told myself, over and over and over again until another thirty minutes had passed. Dream you fucking ass you'd better come get me. I thought with a sigh. A hand suddenly hit the counter beside me and startled me straight up. The ruby man smiled, but even that was wrong. "Hello."

"Hi." I replied tensely.

"You seem to be the only person here that the ruby doesn't affect. That means you must be the only other honest person here."

I arched my brow. "I wouldn't say either of us is purely honest."

He chuckled. "The ruby does not lie."

"Well, let's test this magic ruby then?" I leaned a little closer. "I am a four eyed alien from a far away planet. Is that a lie?"

"Obviously," he said.

"No, did the ruby tell you it was a lie?"

His smile grew tense. "Well no."

"Let's do another one then, something simple. I am very tired and hungry. Truth or lie?"

He looked visibly shaken. "I… I don't know."

I hummed. "It must be broken then. Maybe you should go home and figure that out."

"My ruby has never not worked before. How are you doing this?"

"Your ruby?" I laughed. "Do you not know who it really belongs to?"

He tilted his head, looking at me curiously. "You know of the ruby, and its previous owner?"

"Yeah, previous might not be the word I'd use when he gets here. He doesn't really like it when people take his stuff and claim it as their own."

"How do you know all this?"

I sighed, spinning in my seat slightly. "Listen buddy, I've had a really long night so unless you want to buy me some food I'd really appreciate it if you just fucked off back to your weird little ruby corner."

His lips twitched. "You're rather rude aren't you?"

"Only to thieves that like to run their mouths and play dollhouse with random people in diners."

"I'm not playing!" He insisted. "I am ridding these people of lies. I’m building a better world."

"Ridding them of lies?" I asked, looking around at the misery that had already begun to set in. "Because to me this looks like you doing your freaky thing to keep these people from leaving just so you can feel some tiny ounce of power. As for this whole better world of yours eradicating lies won’t fix all the issues the world has. The truth holds evil in it just as much as lies do. And using a stolen magic ruby to achieve this perfect world of yours is just not the way to go, especially when it’s clear that it’s hurting these people."

He looked offended at my words, but sat next to me regardless. "What is your name?"

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you?"

"You haven't tried to leave." He smiled. "And I think I know why."

"You don't."

"You want to see how this plays out. You're here to test me, to see if I can truly rid this world of lies."

I fought the urge to laugh. "Ah, so you think all this is about you."

"Isn't it though? Is that not why you're here?"

"I honestly don't know why I'm here, weird ruby guy. But I can tell you for certain it's not for you. Though I'm not opposed to sticking around and watching the real owner of that ruby kick your ass."

"My name is John. John Dee, or I suppose Burgess might be appropriate."

I went stiff for a moment, the memories of that damn house echoing in my ears before I looked at him closely. He resembled Roderick some, but looked so much like Ethel I didn't know how I'd missed it. With a laugh I nodded to myself. "You're Ethel Cripps bastard. I heard the rumors but never thought I'd actually run into either of you."

He shook his head, fingers stroking over the ruby, almost nervously. "You knew my mother?"

"In passing. I knew your father and your brother too."

"How?"

"They kept me chained up in their basement for two years before sending me away to an insane asylum."

John looked conflicted. He still couldn't quite tell if I was telling the truth or not. "That's not possible… you, you would be hundreds of years old."

I shrugged. "I've got a very good skincare routine."

"What were they like? The family I never had?"

Wrong person to ask for a heartfelt story bud. "Roderick, your father, was an abusive piece of shit that didn't care about anyone but himself or power. Alex, your brother, was a coward and a real lousy friend. And you, it would seem, didn't fall far from the tree."

He shook his head. "No. I'm helping these people."

"Listen, John, if you really want to help these people let them go home. Let them lie to themselves, to others, because it's not your business. You're not god and you sure as hell aren't the Sandman."

"You know him." I stood, making my way to the door. "You can't leave! The ruby won't let you."

Hand on the door handle I looked back at him. "Fuck you and the ruby. I'm going to wait for the real owner to get here and then maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get to watch him take the damn thing from you along with all your weird psycho powers."

The door slid open and I stepped through, flipping him off as I went, but as I closed the door I turned to a sight that most definitely wasn't a diner parking lot. A long path of tall hedges was now in front of me. God damn it. I turned to look back around the door, which was now gone. "Great, so now I can't even walk through doors without teleporting places… That's just awesome." I grumbled to myself continuing down the path.

It just had to be a maze, didn't it? A maze that I had no way to determine which way was the beginning or the end. I just walked forward, hoping that one of these paths led to food. The hedges were well maintained and the path beneath my feet looked like gravel but felt as smooth as a well made sidewalk. Soon butterflies began appearing, starting with just one or two but quickly turning into dozens lining the hedges and fluttering off down particular paths, almost like they were leading me, and I followed because, well it couldn’t exactly get any worse than lost in a magic maze and starving. Eventually the hedges opened up to a large circular courtyard. All the paths led here, at least that's what it looked like from the quick look I got before the butterflies suddenly swarmed me.

They circled me with the feather light touches of their wings until I stepped forward, trying to get out of the bubble they'd created, and slammed face first into a solid mass. The butterflies quickly began to disperse revealing the tall figure I'd run into. He was clothed in a long gray robe and looked down at me with white clouded eyes. As I stumbled back he steadied me with a single hand, the other held a large book to him as chains rattled together with his movement. The smell of dust and old paper overwhelmed me.

"You are early," he said calmly. "Or perhaps you are on time…"

"Y… You were expecting me?"

"No." He stood in front of me for a moment. "You're bigger than you were last time."

I looked down at myself, still in the dress Dream had magically given me. Bigger? Last time? "I'm sorry I don't understand what's happening."

"Most don't." He said, walking away, his tall figure casting no shadow in the sunlight as he moved to a small table set with tea and snacks. He promptly took a seat and began pouring himself and me a cup of tea.

I looked around the garden, at the beautiful flowers blooming and the tall statues that depicted seven figures. They all felt so familiar as I stopped at one of the statues, my eyes tracing its chiseled features, settling on the pendant that hung around her neck. Death? I moved to another, a face I'd seen so often, the shoulders and lithe figure one I'd been pressed up against only hours ago. If I had any doubts, the raven that stood beside him washed them away. Dream. It had to be him.

"I believe you have met my sister, Death, and that you are intimately acquainted with my brother, Dream."

"I… I wouldn't say intimately," I answered nervously.

"I would. This is inevitable when it comes to the two of you."

"What is all this?" I asked.

He lifted the cup in his hand. "Afternoon tea."

"No, this place… You…" I shook my head and looked at him. Maybe one question at a time would help speed things along? "Who are you?"

"I am Destiny." He said plainly.

"You're one of his siblings… an Endless." I answered nervously.

"Yes."

Looking around at the large hedges and statues I sighed. "What is this place?"

"My garden. You have traveled here many times."

"It feels familiar but I don't remember…"

He nodded. "You were quite young. The most recent time was after. You were as you are now."

Then it came back to me. "You were there, outside the club that night."

With a shrug he took a sip of his tea. "I've not left my garden. You were here, you walked past and you chose a path."

"So I was just hallucinating then?" It wouldn't be the first time.

"No. You had a choice in front of you. To enter the club or to wait, this choice brought your mind, at least, to me. You saw me where you were, and I saw you where I was. Just because you did not see the garden or the path doesn't mean it wasn't real."

"The last time I saw you… You said 'it likes to change for you'." I looked at the tea and the small decorated plate of food as I took the seat across from him. "What did you mean?"

"I meant what I said."

I sighed. Of course Destiny would be vague as fuck. "Okay, well then what did what you said mean?"

"That it likes to change for you."

We stared at one another for a moment. "You can't be serious with this." He didn't react, merely drank more of his tea. "Fine! What is it and why does it change for me?"

"It is this, the book, it tells me of what is to come and how it shall be. What is written is usually more definite, set in stone, there are some changes through the eons, often to choices made and choices not. It just seems to do so more for you."

My eyes glued to the chain around his wrist. "Are you a prisoner to it?"

"I suppose that is one way to see it." He gestured to the food. "Eat, Penelope. You are hungry."

"You know my name?"

"I know a great deal about you. Your favorite color, your favorite among my flowers, your preference of tea and food."

"How?"

"As I said, you have been here many times. You did not have this many questions, though, you were just as vocal then if not more so."

I filled my plate, unable to ignore the pangs of hunger rumbling through me. If this was poisoned at least I'd die with a full stomach. While I ate and drank Destiny was silent. He just sat, sipping his tea and occasionally looking around the garden. I couldn't tell if he was blind or if his eyes just looked that way and I had the feeling he wouldn't answer even if I asked.

"This is the most you're gonna give me, isn't it?" 

He turned back to me. "You may have all the food and drink you wish."

"No, I mean answers."

"I do not interfere in the affairs of mortals."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because here is where you were meant to be."

"How do I get back?"

He gestured to the maze around us. "You choose a path."

My eyes narrowed. "And it'll take me back to the diner?"

"It will take you where you are meant to go."

"Of course." I stood and looked around at the plethora of paths. "What happens if I pick the wrong one?"

Destiny stood beside me, a hand on my shoulder. "No path chosen is simply right or wrong."

With a heavy sigh I looked up at him. "You've been nice and all, but talking to you is very difficult."

He made a noise, not a laugh and not a scoff, something in between. "You have told me this many times."

When I turned back to the hedges the butterflies had returned, clinging to the hedged path on the right, some swirling out to circle me or land in my hair. "What's with the butterflies?"

"Butterflies often represent metamorphosis, change and rebirth." He stated. "They tend to arrive with you."

"They aren't yours?"

Destiny squeezed my shoulder. "Good luck, Penelope."

I watched him walk down another path, the chains echoing in the distance before the noise was gone entirely. Turning back to the butterflies I shrugged, starting down the path they marked. "Guess I'm gonna just have to trust you guys."

Following the butterflies through all the twists and turns of the maze was easy, but after walking for what felt like hours I was starting to second guess their purpose. My feet ached, even with the comfortable shoes and smooth path. After a while, an eternity maybe, I stopped. "Are you even leading me the right way?"

The mass continued down the path and took a left turn. With no real options I followed and turned to find them lining the edges of the diner door. "Damn, okay. Sorry for doubting you." I put my hand on the handle and gave the hedges one last look. "Bye I guess."

I stepped into the diner, now darkened by the night outside and nearly slipped. The floor was streaked and splattered with blood and their air was filled with the tang of copper and burning flesh. The bodies of everyone that had been in the diner littered the floor and there at the end of the counter with a bucket of ice cream and a spoon sat John fucking Burgess. Anger filled me at the sight of him, unbothered, uncaring of the lives he’d trapped and let die here. He turned at the sound of the bell above the door and smiled at me. 

“You’re back.” I marched towards him without a word and shoved his bucket of ice cream off the table before moving to sit three or four seats away from him. “That was very rude.”

“Yeah, well murderers don’t get ice cream.”

We sat in the dark, the only sounds coming from the old tv in the corner for what seemed like forever. I kept my eyes on the wall ahead of me, scared that if I looked at the bodies, the blood for long enough I’d be dragged back into the blood that drenched my own past. After a while the power went out completely as thunder and lightning filled the sky outside. John turned and watched me. “I’m not a bad person, you know.”

I scoffed. “Okay, John, whatever you want to believe.”

“I just want to build a world without lies.” He said. “Is that such an evil thing?”

I turned and glared at him. “It is when this is what you build it on. You killed these people.”

“I -”

“Don’t.” I warned him. “If I hear one more word come out of your mouth I won’t wait for the Sandman to get here and kick your ass, I’ll do it myself.”

He didn’t seem afraid, but uncertain, so he remained quiet as we waited in the dark. It didn’t take much longer until the door to the diner opened with a ding and the sound of his familiarly light steps echoed in the diner entrance. John stood first, but I could feel Dream's eyes glued to me. With a smile I turned. “You’re late.”

“Are you hurt?” He asked, voice calm and gentle, though the rage of his worry hit me like a train. 

“No.” I assured him, standing up and moving closer. “But, I’m very confused as to why I’m here.”

“As am I,” he admitted, eyes running over every inch of me in a quick double check. “Are you alright?”

I knew what he meant, and all I could give him was a weak nod, one he saw right through. Lifting a hand from his pocket he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek. “Wait outside with Matthew while I finish this.”

I eyed the door. “Maybe I should just stick with you? The last two times I’ve tried to leave you I’ve ended up in a not so fun place… And the door might teleport me somewhere random again.” His eyebrows rose slightly at the word again and I waved him off. “We can talk about that later.”

Dream opened the door for me and nodded. “Go, please.”

“Okay,” I mumbled. “But if I end up in some random shit hole you’d better come for me.”

“I’m certain you’ll be fine for a few minutes,” he said, that spark of amusement reassuring me as I stepped out into the cloudy night. 

Matthew was perched on top of one of the cars in the parking lot. “Hey, Penny! How’d you get here?”

“The magic sand,” I answered, sitting on top of the hood and looking over at him. “What the hell happened to you guys?”

“The magic ruby,” he replied.

I chuckled and hugged myself in an attempt to stay warm while I waited. “This magic shit is absolutely out of control.”

He cawed. “Tell me about it. So, you were with the ruby thief?”

“Yeah, for a little bit.” I sighed. “Then I got teleported to Dream’s brother's garden and had tea with Destiny.”

The bird looked over at me in awe. “Wait what?”

I laid down across the windshield. “It's a very long story, dear Matthew.”

***

Dream had felt something after sending Penelope back to the Waking World, it was only a slight twinge, an uncomfortable itch at the back of his mind and so he’d chosen to move forward in his final quest to retrieve the last of his stolen tools. Donning his helm and using his sand to take him and Matthew to where his ruby was hidden, for the first time since his release Dream felt at ease. Here he was, in the warehouse, about to complete his quest to regain his power and save his realm, but things didn’t go as he’d planned. Upon his arrival he could feel his power radiate from the jewel but something was different. It had been altered, changed. When he’d reached out to it the blast had knocked him clear into the wall and there he had remained for hours until the burning tug of Penelope's piqued anxiety woke him.

It hadn’t taken him too long to locate the ruby, the path of ruin that lay between it and him spoke volumes of whomever had altered it. The power, his power, was being used to strip humanity of their dreams and ensure their descent into pain and anger and panic. Outside the diner Dream felt her, here, but how? Why? With a simple instruction for his raven he entered the diner. “Wait here, Matthew.”

There sitting rigidly in one of the counter seats was Penelope. The blood was pungent in the air and though Dream hadn’t looked down at the bodies that lined the floors he knew that they’d died gruesomely. The man that had stolen his ruby and altered it stood, looking at him with a curious gaze, but he didn’t care, all he saw was her. When she turned in her seat and gave him a tense smile he nearly lost control of the tempered anger he’d been slowly burning away at. “You’re late.”

If there hadn’t been blood or bodies or a thief in their midst he would have chuckled, but he could hear the unsteadiness in her voice, could feel the clawing of old painful memories dragging down the walls she’d desperately tried to keep up to save her from the horrors they’d bring with them. So, as gently and as calmly as he could he uttered, “Are you hurt?”

“No.” If her answer had been anything different nothing would have been able to stop him from tearing every inch of this diner and the man within it to shreds. “But, I’m very confused as to what I’m doing here.”

“As am I,” he’d admitted, eyes looking away at the bodies and blood that were quite similar to what he’d seen in her memories. She now stood in front of him and he couldn’t help looking down the length of her in search of any mark or injury, nor could he help the lingering touch. “Are you alright?”

The weak nod she provided did little to calm his worry, but it was the glossiness of her eyes that told him everything he needed to know. “Wait outside with Matthew.”

Penelope looked at the door nervously. “Maybe I should just stick with you? The last two times I’ve tried to leave you I’ve ended up in a not so fun place… And the door might teleport me somewhere random again.”Again? She waved him off. “We can talk about that later.”

He took a step back and opened the door for her, eyes looking out into the parking lot before he gave her a nod. “Go, please.”

“Okay,” She grumbled. “But if I end up in some random shit hole you’d better come for me.”

He couldn’t help the tiny smirk and the wave of amusement that filled him. “I’m certain you’ll be fine for a few minutes.”

Dream watched her hop onto the hood of the nearest car and begin talking with his raven before he turned his attention to the thief, John Dee. John Burgess. He resembled his brother in their old age, but his eyes reminded him too much of Roderick. “Hello. I’m John. I’m glad you’re here. The power has gone out. So there’s no TV, and no one left to talk to now that our rude friend is gone.”

His jaw clenched at the implication that Penelope was in any way his friend. First he steals my ruby and now he intends to insult my lady? “What is it you think you’re doing?”

“Saving the world from its lies.” He believed he was truly saving them, Dream noted. The ruby had affected his mind from the start.

“The ruby wasn’t made for that.”

“Oh, you’re the Sandman. My mother was right in assuming you’d come for it, and our friend told me you would be coming.”

“You must return it to me so that I can repair the damage you have done.”

An offended look flashed in John's eyes. “I’m not giving it to you, it’s mine.”

“It is harming you, John, and your world.”

“It’s revealing the truth,” he persisted, but the sorrowful look on his face told Dream that somewhere deep inside John knew the truth of his words. “This is the truth of mankind.”

“No. You’re wrong. This is the truth of mankind.” Over his shoulder the vision of the diners' casual pleasantries played. Dream watched John's eyes flicker between the faces of those he’d driven to madness.

“They’re lying to themselves. It’s all lies.”

“Not lies, John. Dreams.” He corrected calmly. “Kate dreams of running away, where no one will find her. Garry dreams of proving his father was wrong about him. Bette dreams of creating something that matters to people. Their dreams inspired them. Their dreams kept them alive. But if you rob them of their dreams, if you take away their hope, then… yes, this is the truth of mankind. The ruby is hurting you, John. It has too much of my power within it. It stole more when I tried to use it.”

“Then perhaps if I use it to steal the rest of your powers, I will be the king of dreams.”

For a moment Dream felt afraid. He was weakened, and he had much more to lose than he had at the beginning of his quest. But, he pushed through it and said, “If you’d rob a Dream lord of his power, you shall do so in his realm. In dreams.”

Much like the dreams of his family line John Burgess dreamt of the mansion. Morpheus didn’t care to take in the details, focused solely on preparing himself for whatever fight John Burgess would give him, and when he finally broke free of the dreams hold and looked around at the crumbling ruins of his palace with a mocking cry, “Is this your palace… Dream lord? Is this your throne… King of Lies? Well it’s mine now!”

The walls around them coated in orange flames, devouring what little remained. “Are you watching? Can you see me? Using your own powers to burn away your lies?”

“You must stop,” He’d answered, appearing before him. “It is not too late to save yourself.”

“Oh, you think it’s me that needs saving?”

“Your father stole the ruby from me and cursed you with it.”

“You mean he blessed me with it. Your reign ended when my father captured you. Your kingdom is my birthright. Your power resides within me.” He could feel the ruby draining what remained of his power, his life as he sank to the ground curling in on himself. Yet, in spite of the pain, Dreams' thoughts were on Penelope. If she had felt the pain he did during his duel with Lucifer, she would certainly feel this as well. He was afraid. Afraid he’d fail her, afraid she’d come to try and save him and be lost again because of him. “How does it feel to know I hold your life in my hands?”

“You’re hurting the dreamers,” he managed to say. You’re hurting her.

“Well it’s time they woke up!” John shouted. “Your life and your lies end now.”

His hand closed tightly around the ruby, crushing it in his hand and releasing the power within it. Dream felt a rush fill him, his power - all of it returning all at once. In the palm of his hand John stood, praising his own victory before he noticed where he was. “Thank you, John.”

“But I killed you,” he said in a shaking voice.

“You destroyed the ruby and released the power inside it. I would never have thought of that. I’d forgotten just how much of myself I had placed in the jewel.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“I could. Perhaps I will.” He thought for a moment, looking down at the worried face of the man who’d never truly been given a chance to thrive without his ruby’s influence. In spite of what he had done in the diner, and long before, Dream knew Penelope would choose mercy. If she knew what he did, saw the dark fester of corruption placed within John Dee by the ruby and the lies of his mother, she would spare him. And so, Dream said, “But the dream stone was not made for mortals. And it came to you through no fault of your own. So, no, John. I will not kill you.”

He took him back to the only true home he had, whatever facility he had been staying within before his release, and laid him gently back onto his bed. “Sleep well, John.”

He would not hurt anyone ever again.

***

I looked down at my arm, watching the black veins that had begun to spread a few minutes ago fade away, the pain had died down, now just a tiny fragment of the discomfort had remained. Matthew looked over my shoulder at my arm and sighed. “That’s probably a good sign, right? If you’re okay then surely the boss is too… right?”

“I don’t know,” I said worriedly. “I’m not sure how it works.”

The diner door opened and Dream stepped out into the chilled air shrugging off his coat. I jumped off the hood of the car and grabbed him. “Are you okay?” My eyes looked for any scratch or visible injury but found nothing. “What the hell happened?”

He draped his coat over my shoulders. “John attempted to use the ruby to steal what remained of my power. He failed and is now back where he belongs.”

“So, did you get your ruby back?” I asked, letting my hands fall away from him to greedily shove them into the long sleeves of his coat.

“In a sense. I retrieved the power within it.”

“Is that good?”

“The stone itself held little importance, my power was what I required from it.”

I nodded, rubbing my arms to help heat them. “Okay, well you got any more fun little scavenger hunts planned?”

He shook his head, his lips twitching as he made an effort not to smile. “No, this was the last.”

I hugged myself and smiled up at him. “Do you feel better then?”

“I do.” He admitted as we started walking away from the diner and the lingering smell of blood. The streets were littered with destruction, cars burning and trash blowing around, no doubt it was caused by John before he’d gotten to the tiny diner.

“All the damage the ruby did, can you undo it?” Matthew asked from the ground beside us.

Dream sighed. “The ruby didn’t do this. John merely used it to reveal wounds that were hidden, but never healed. Soon the rebuilding will begin. In this realm and in mine, but tonight at least, humanity will sleep in peace.” His gaze shifted back to me. “How is it you were not among the bodies in the diner?”

I leaned into him slightly as we walked and shrugged. “The ruby didn’t work on me. Got any idea what that's about?”

“I'm not sure,” he said. “But I am glad that it did not affect you.”

“Oh, were you worried about me Dream?” I said in a light tone, bumping him with my arm.

“Very.”

My heart fluttered at the admission and I smiled up at him. “It’ll take a lot more than a little jewel to take me out, Dream of the Endless.”

He stopped suddenly and I felt the rattling of his nervousness. “I would like you to accompany me, back to my realm.”

“I thought it needed to be repaired.”

“It does,” he said. “But I promised you a conversation.”

“I can wait a little longer, Dream, you don’t have to-”

“I also do not wish to part with you yet. Not after finding you at the center of danger twice now because of my absence.” He sighed and closed the distance between us, resting his head against mine. “It would ease my mind considerably if you remained beside me for just a while longer. But if you wish to return home I will escort you there and make certain you remain safe as best as I can.”

With a smile I said, “I am rather curious to see this famous dream world of yours, I hear it’s all the rage.”

Taking his sand from his coat he looked down at me with a tiny smile. “It is not yet returned to its former glory, but I think you’ll still find it to your liking.”

I put a hand over his pouch. “This isn’t going to send me somewhere random again, is it?”

“No,” he gently pulled me into him. “I will ensure you do not stray from my side again.”

“Good.” I whispered as heat flooded my face.

From the ground beside us Matthew tutted. “You’re gonna make sure I don’t get sent to any murder diners too, right boss?”

I closed my eyes as the sand moved around us, my hands clutching onto Dream’s arms as the spinning sensation washed over me and just as quickly faded away. For a minute I was scared to open my eyes as a light breeze caressed my face. “Open your eyes, Penelope.”

At first all I could see was the black of his shirt, but as I looked down at the ground black sand nearly engulfed my shoes. I lifted my head and looked out at the vast expanse of mountains and tall carved gates. I knew this place. I’d thought of it so often on those restless nights, desperate to dream. The sound of the ocean beating against the shore moved me from Dreams arms as I moved to get a better look at it. Tears began filling my eyes at the sight, it was far more beautiful than I could have imagined. With a bright smile I turned back to him. “How is this possible?”

Dream shrugged. “I don’t know, but I am glad to welcome you to The Dreaming.”

“It’s incredible,” I whispered, desperately trying not to cry. 

“This is just one small piece of it,” He told me, a sense of pride filling me as he looked out at the ocean. “Soon it will all be as it should.”

“My Lord!” A voice called out. Beside me Dream moved to meet whomever it was trying to get his attention, but I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from the view. I never thought I’d get to see it, none of this.

Dream’s gentle hand on my arm pulled me at last from the ocean as I turned and met the eyes of a very surprised looking woman. She wore a fancy outfit that looked like a suit but far more embellished. The glasses hung low on her nose, causing her to push them up so she could stare at me in shock a bit more clearly. She was beautiful, everything about her elegant. “Lucienne, this is Penelope.”

Lucienne smiled at Dream first, before she smiled even wider at me. “Hello, my lady. It is an honor to meet you.”

I blushed at the fancy titles. “I’m hardly a lady, Penelope is just fine.”

“I was not expecting visitors, my Lord,” she admitted. “I thought something horrible had happened when you did not appear back at the palace. I am glad to see that I was wrong.”

Dream held his arm out to me. “Would you like to accompany us back to my palace?”

I nodded, probably a bit too eagerly. “Absolutely!”

“Unfortunately there is not much of it left, but I will repair it soon.”

Arm in arm we walked to the large gate, carved with details and images I’d never be able to imagine. Without thinking I reached out and ran my hand long it, jumping when the gates shook and began opening. From my side Dream said nothing, merely looked down at me with tender eyes. It was the first time I’d seen him look so relaxed, so happy. I liked it.

In the vast bleak distance a crumbling castle stood, the trees and fields all darkened and dead. It was a sad sight, but as we moved deeper along the path the forest and grass and plants seemed to start regaining their vibrant color until the entire path was beautiful and teeming with life. I left his side to look around in awe. “This is amazing, Dream.”

He and Lucienne stayed close to one another, occasionally speaking softly as I explored. At a slight fork in the path Dream and Lucienne continued on the main road, heading toward the palace, but as I wandered closer three little butterflies flew past my head and down the smaller path. With a tiny smile I followed them. After they led me out of the maze in Destiny’s garden I had to assume that they’d lead me somewhere important. The path widened and led across a small bridge, opening at the end to what looked to be a garden and two houses. The graves that lined the rim of the property were a bit startling, but the place didn’t feel ominous or dangerous.

Two voices bickered in the distance. “Cain! Cain come see, the trees have gotten their leaves back!”

“You’re seeing things again, you twat!”

“No I’m not! There's really leaves on them, and birds!”

As I moved past the still dead plants and looked around the large fountain at the center of the small courtyard I saw one of the figures. “Hello?”

He turned, startled, and looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh, he… Hello!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just following the butterflies and they led me, well here.”

The man quickly regained his composure, moving towards me with a beaming smile. “It’s quite alright! We haven't had guests in ages! Cain! Cain, come quick, there's a guest in the garden!”

Another man walked quickly from one of the houses, a pitchfork tight in his hand. “Abel I swear if you call me out here one more time I’ll-” His eyes grew wide at the sight of me and he looked at his companion. “There’s a guest in the garden.”

“I told you!” He cried cheerfully. “Forgive me, my name is Abel, the owner and keeper of the House of Secrets. It is a pleasure to meet you, uh, what is your name?”

“Penelope!” I replied offering him my hand.

He shook it happily and laughed. “Penelope! Oh it is very good to meet you!”

Cain shoved his way between us, shaking my hand gently but firmly. “I am Cain, owner and keeper of the House of Mysteries. Forgive my brother's unseamly manners.”

“It’s alright,” I insisted while looking around. “You have lovely homes, both of you.”

“Thank you! Apologies for the state of our garden. I’m afraid it’s been in a state of disarray for a century!” Abel said.

I shrugged off Dreams' coat, hugging it to my chest as I knelt down to inspect the flowers. My fingers gingerly touched the leaves and stems. “They’re not too bad, they just need a bit of love and attention.”

One of the butterflies fluttered from over my shoulder, landing on the wilted petals of the flower I held. It sat there for a long minute, beating its wings before flying into my hair. There right before my eyes the flower began to change, the darkened wilted petals twitched and began to regain their soft velvety feel and their pigment. Then, all around us the flowers began to come back to life. Water began pouring from the fountain and soon everything in the once dead courtyard breathed in new life. Cain and Abel looked around in awe before they turned to me. Cain spoke. “How did you do this?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I assured them standing. 

Abels eyes found the black mark on my arm and he quickly elbowed his brother and mumbled into his ear, pointing slightly. Cain’s eyes went from annoyed to wide as saucers in seconds. Before I could ask if they were alright the two of them were bowing and speaking rushed apologies and praises of thanks. A flash of black filled my peripheral vision as Morpheus and Lucinne made their way across the bridge. Oh, right… I bit my bottom lip. I was supposed to be following them. At first Morpheus looked upset, but the expression quickly softened as the two of them took in the space and the still bowed and speaking brothers. 

“Cain, Abel,” He called to them, finally snapping them out of their state and back up.

“Lord Morpheus!” They cried in unison.

He came to my side and I held his coat out to him. “I don’t think I need this anymore, the weather here is quite lovely.”

With a smile he looked to the sky. “Yes, it seems to be clearing up nicely.”

As he pulled his coat back on Cain and Abel approached. “Thank you, my lady!”

“Our garden has never looked more beautiful!” Abel insisted.

I smiled at the two and shrugged. “I didn’t do anything, I was just looking at the flowers.”

They looked at each other and then to Morpheus, who spoke first. “It seems you two have already been introduced to Penelope.”

“Yes,” they both said. 

“She is quite welcome in the House of Secrets!” Abel stated gesturing to the house on the right.

Cain’s brows furrowed. “She’s also welcome in the House of Mysteries!”

I laughed at the two as more butterflies began filling the courtyard. Beside me, Dream looked around before looking down at me with a curious glint in his eyes. “I’m afraid tours of your houses will have to wait. We are going to attend to the palace now and then, I believe we are overdue for an important conversation.”

With a smile I nodded at him. “Yeah, we should probably get to that.” Turning to the brothers I shook both their hands. “It was a pleasure visiting, I’ll try to come back again for a tour of both your houses, they sound amazing.”

Each bowed once again. Cain spoke, “It would be my honor, my lady.”

Abel bowed lower and followed his words. “It would be mine as well, my lady, you are welcome anytime!”

With a gentle tug Dream led me back across the bridge and to the main path. “It seems Constantine was right to warn me of your talent for disappearing.”

I blushed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wander off. I was just following these guys.” I gestured to the butterflies that fluttered through the air around us. “They like to lead me places and are, I think, trying to be helpful.”

He looked at them before returning his eyes to me. “You know these butterflies then?”

“Don’t sound so sarcastic, Dream,” I said with a smirk. “They helped guide me out of your brothers maze.”

Dream stopped walking, his eyes clouding over with concern. “You were in my brother's realm? When?”

“A few hours ago. When things started getting weird at the diner I left, but when I opened the door and walked through I was in the middle of a hedge maze and the door kind of vanished behind me. These little guys led me to an opening where I ran into your brother, literally.”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “What did he say?”

I shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, does he always answer questions by not really answering them?”

“Yes,” he said, continuing down the path. “I suppose he can be quite cryptic. Though I’m surprised he spoke to you at all, he does not interfere with the affairs of mortals.”

“Yeah, he told me that much. But he seemed to know me already,” I said thinking back on the encounter. “He said I’d been to his garden many times before, that I was smaller the last time he saw me. It was odd.”

Dream hummed, deep in thought. “I suppose a conversation with Destiny is overdue.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I answered. “You have a lot on your plate now that you’ve got your stuff back and besides, something tells me he wouldn’t really tell you much more than he did me.”

“Very well,” he looked down at me. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No! He was quite polite. We had tea and snacks.”

“He offered you tea? Snacks?” He inquired with a hint of amusement.

“Is that not something he does often?”

“No, it is not.”

I shrugged. “Well, maybe it’s because I’m such good company.”

The fondness of his eyes nearly took me to the ground. "That you are, my lady."

Every time he said it a shiver ran up my spine and flooded me with heat. I knew he felt it by the too smug upturn of his lips. His eyes watched my reaction, the darkness drinking it greedily. I nudged him. "Cut it out."

"I have no idea what you are referring to."

"You're an ass," I whispered.

A few quiet moments passed before he asked, "So, you've met Destiny. Any other siblings of mine you know?"

"Your sister, Death," I replied. "She was there the night I pulled myself out of the river. And I don't really know who the others are, so I'm not sure."

Morpheus nodded. "When you said goodbye to me, that last time…" His jaw clenched for a moment. "I knew you weren't planning on coming back."

I looked up at him and smiled sadly. "I know. I felt it."

"I wanted to speak to you then," he admitted. "I wanted to tell you not to do it."

Guilt filled me, something that hadn't been his intention judging by the way he quickly tried to speak. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would affect you…" I looked at the ground. "I honestly kind of thought it wouldn't have bothered you that badly."

"Why? Why would you have thought that?"

I shrugged. "You're you. You're a god, more than a god and I'm just me… Just a human. I figured to you I was just a spec in your endless lifetime."

He stopped, lifting my chin with his fingers. "Do you still think this?"

"No," I replied softly. "No, I don't. I feel it… What you feel for me, at least some of it."

"You are no minor spec, Penelope Barlow, you are every star in the sky, a galaxy in my endless lifetime."

I cleared my throat, wiping away the tiny tears that had begun to sting my eyes. "So, was that the only time you wanted to talk to me?"

"No," he smiled. "When you first called me Sandy I nearly broke my silence."

Laughing I wrapped my arm back around his. "Yeah, that's what it looked like."

"I also…" he paused, a tentative feeling pulling on his lungs. "When he told you to beg me… If you had, I would have spoken. I would have given him whatever he wanted if it meant keeping you from them."

I was crying now, as I looked up at the side of his face. Through a wobbling smile I asked, "Were you angry with me?"

Morpheus turned his head quickly and without breaking his stride wiped my tears and squeezed my arm. "No. I could never have been angry with you, Penelope."

I mean if we're doing the confessions now I might as well get it off my chest. "While I was… While I was there, I was convinced you'd hate me, or at least what I'd let myself become."

A bleak silence surrounded us for a moment as we slowly followed Lucienne down the path. "I have lived for a very, very long time. Over the course of my life I've hated many people and beings with ease. So, believe me when I say that I would never be capable of hating you. Never. You could single handedly destroy me and The Dreaming and I would not hate you."

I shook my head. "I would never!"

He nudged me gently with a soothing pulse lulling the guilt back to sleep. "Good, because I would truly find it difficult to feel saddened for my realm with the sight of you wielding my power before me."

A wave of that want we'd shared in Hell washed over me like ice water. I chuckled. "I mean, I can think of better scenarios for that."

"As can I," he replied, returning his gaze to the path ahead.

“So, is that something I’ll be able to do?” I asked once it seemed both of us had grown calmer. “Use your power?”

“I’ll admit, I’m not quite sure.” He answered. “There have not been pairings such as ours between a mortal and an Endless before. In fact such a thing should be impossible, and yet…”

“And yet, here we are,” I finished for him. “An odd pairing indeed.”

The words Lucifer had said resurfaced as I looked up at his relaxed features. Soul bound. I wanted to ask him what they meant… If they meant what I felt they did, but all the words I had ready in my mind faded once I saw the bridge. Two stone hands held it up out of the water, pieces of both were chipped or cracked, but the hands held the bridge firmly, refusing to let it fall into the water below. I let out a soft breath and shook my head as my eyes moved to the palace. Even crumbling and faded as it was, its beauty was undeniable. Faint glimmers of the golden domed rooftops caught the rising sunlight. The carved stone was dull and missing in large chunks but it reminded me of the statues of marble from Rome and Greece, no less beautiful even severed. 

Beside me Morhpeus sighed. “Such a sorry display. I had hoped to bring you here after I’d finished repairs, but…”

I could feel his hesitation at admitting something so vulnerable in front of Lucienne, who’d stood patiently at the side of the bridge, waiting for us. “It’s beautiful, Dream. Even like this.”

His starry eyes glittered back at me as we walked across the bridge and to the large palace doors. Beyond them was a large empty room with a set of twisted stairs and at the top, lit by three broken windows was Dreams throne. For a moment I was overwhelmed by the fact that this was all real - all had been real the whole time. The man gently letting go of my arm to move deeper into the crumbling space was a king… an immortal one. As he stopped in the center of the room he took a deep breath and raised his hands. Beside me, Lucienne gripped her book tighter and held her breath.

I felt the power before I saw it. Strong, steady and raw. It was him, every last piece. The glass and rubble lifted into the air, tiny glittering particles of sand swirling around the room with them. All around us the air grew tighter, the mark on my arm sang along, reacting to the power, to him. Everything moved, restoring to its rightful place and above head the ceiling, or lack thereof, of stars seemed to grow brighter as the color of the palace, of The Dreaming, returned. Once everything was finished and Dream's arms lowered back to his sides a light huff of air escaped his lips. “At last, my palace is as it should be.”

Lucienne released the breath she’d held and smiled at him. “Is there anything you require of me, my Lord? A list of all that still needs repaired perhaps?”

“Later,” he replied, turning to her and gesturing down one of the long hallways. “For now, I think there is a specific task you should see to.”

With a smile and a look of realization she hurried down the hall, the two of us following after her. As soon as the doors opened and the large expanse of books and papers came into her view she made a soft noise. Her fingers ran along the bookshelves and she clutched her notebook to her chest. “My Lord…”

“Welcome home, Lucienne.” He said. “I thank you, for your unwavering loyalty during my absence.”

“Thank you, Lord Morpheus.” The smile on her face was one of unbridled joy as she leafed through the papers left on the desks and looked through the books on the shelves.

Once she’d moved far enough away Dream turned to me and gestured towards the table. “I believe it is at last, later.”

“So it is, Dream King.”

“Ask your questions, and I shall do my best to answer them.”

I laughed, leaning against the table instead of sitting. “I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning, then?”

With a nod I looked down at the mark, lightly tracing over the raven shape. “Was it a gift? Or was it an accident?”

Dream thought on the question for a moment. “Both, I suppose. While I did not give it to you knowingly, it is born of a sacred gift, one I could not control even if I’d wanted to.”

The words returned. “In Hell, Lucifer said that they heard rumors of you being soul bound to a mortal. Is that what this is called?”

“Yes. It is common among humans, though I believe the term is different. Mortals cannot see the mark that connects them to another, but given the oddity of our circumstance you and others seem to be able to see it as if it were a mere tattoo.”

“So, what exactly does it mean?”

He sighed softly, not out of frustration or annoyance, more out of mindfulness. He was thinking of what to say, how to say it so I would understand his meaning. So, I waited patiently. “Humans call them soulmates. Among the Endless and other beings it is called Soul Bound. Its meaning is different depending on the individuals, but the simplest answer I can give you is that you and I are bound together, soul to soul. Whatever it is that I am made of, you are too.”

The words I’d heard so long ago echoed in my head. “Two tethered stars…”

Dreams head tilted slightly. “Where did you hear that?”

“Right before I pulled myself out of the river, I heard a voice… I don’t remember exactly what it said, but I remember those words.”

He hummed in response. “An accurate phrasing I suppose.”

Destiny’s words joined all the others in my head. I cleared my throat and fidgeted with my fingers in front of me. “During my, uh, tea party with Destiny… He said that we were intimately acquainted… That such was inevitable when it came to us. Is that…” God, how do I put this without sounding desperate? “Is this pull between us just the mark?”

“No.” Dream replied, moving closer to me. “The mark binds us together, this is true, but it cannot make either of us feel things that are not already there. The… pull… That’s just how we feel.”

I blushed, chewing on my lip a little before saying, “It’s quite a strong pull.”

Dream chuckled, moving even closer. “They’re quite strong feelings.”

“Mine or yours?” I finally looked up at him, meeting the darkened gaze that bore down into me.

“I would argue they’re equals, as we are.”

“Equals? Does that mean I’m queen now?”

“If that’s what you wish,” he said, eyes falling to my lips.

I smiled, continuing my teasing. “Would I get a crown? You don’t have one.”

He made a noise, a huff and a chuckle. “I’ve not needed a crown, but I could make one for you if the queen is what you decide you wanted to be.”

“Maybe later,” I whispered, moving in closer to him, leaving just a small distance between us.

With a hum of acknowledgement he spoke, “I won my duel against Lucifer.”

My heart nearly stopped. “You did.”

“I believe I was promised a kiss.”

“You were.” My hands moved to smooth over his coat. “Would you like to be rewarded for your noble victory now, Dream Lord?”

“Yes.”

With an unbelievably smug smirk I lifted myself up, using his coat. “Very well.”

When our lips met it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck between us and we both pulled back a little breathlessly. My heart hammered in my ears as his hands pulled me impossibly closer, squeezing my side slightly and gently cupping the back of my neck, easing my head back towards his, easing our lips back together. It was soft, almost feather light, both of us testing the waters for a moment before his hand on my neck pulled me into a deeper kiss.

The slow, languid movements of our mouths were more intense than I imagined. I'd kissed people before, but while those all felt hollow and stiff this felt impossibly, unbearably deep. I felt the swell of emotions that built inside him and that he poured into the kiss. Everything was relaxed… Everything felt as natural as breathing, so much so I'd questioned why we hadn't been doing this the whole time.

In the distance a book hitting the floor pulled us away from one another. Dreams breath fanned across my face as he brushed his nose against mine before settling his forehead to mine. I swallowed, unclenching my hands from his coat. "Well, how was your reward?"

"Worth the wait," he said with a relaxed look on his face. "It will be your turn to ask for a kiss next time."

"Oh? You intend to make me beg you for a kiss?" I questioned, sounding far too breathless than I'd intended to.

Dream smirked. "Beg? No. Not yet at least."

I tried to mask the sharp breath I took. "You should know, Dream Lord, I'm not much of a beggar."

"A challenge?" He posed. "How refreshing."

Just as we stepped away from one another Lucienne returned with a stack of books in her arms. "Everything is just as I left it!"

"What are these?" Dream asked.

"A few volumes on soul bonds," she answered. "I figured you two would want to do some digging, seeing as this is the first record of this kind of pairing ever happening."

"Thank you, Lucienne." I grabbed a book from her pile, leaving through the pages carefully while Dreaming held his own book, but looked at me instead of the pages. 

We sat across from one another, reading or at least I was, when I felt an odd sensation, like something tickling my head. "Can you hear me?"

My eyes flashed up to him from across the table. "I don't know, can you hear me?"

A grin flashed as his eyes slid down to his book. "I can almost always hear you."

"This is new," I noted, resisting the urge to scratch my head.

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"No," I insisted. "I kind of like hearing your voice in my head."

I could feel the thrill of my words rush through him. "Shall I repay the favor then? Give you a taste of what I've been enduring for the past day?"

"I have no clue what you're referring to, my Lord."

Eyes looked up from the book, gleaming with the challenge in my words. "Perhaps I should make you beg for a kiss, since you seem so persistent in trying to get a rise out of me."

I smiled, looking down at my own pages. "If I were trying to get a rise out of you I'd be thinking of much dirtier things."

"Like what?"

"The memories of you naked perhaps?" I bit my lip. "Or maybe your lips being put to better use than the pouting you do so often?"

Fire filled my chest, burning straight to my core. I adjusted in my seat, squeezing my thighs together trying to alleviate the sudden strong ache. Morpheus lowered his book just enough to flash his smirking lips at me. "Problem, my lady?"

"That's cheating, you ass."

Beside us Lucienne made a noise. "I’ve found something interesting, according to some reports, soul bound individuals might be able to communicate through your thoughts alone, how intriguing. Have either of you tried that?" We glanced at one another, my red cheeks were all the answers she needed as she shut her book and sent the two of us a glare. "You were just doing it weren't you?"

"Yes," he answered. "We were just… Testing the limits."

"You're going to end up right back in Hell for that," I joked, fighting a laugh.

Lucienne had promptly excused herself, leaving Dream and I to tease one another silently. Eventually we'd both grown tired of pretending to read and had instead started walking back to the throne room. As the dim light of the sun began to set out the large windows I sighed. "I should probably go home. Johanna is going to kill me for disappearing without warning."

Dream gently pulled me closer to him. "I'm sure Constantine will understand, given the circumstance."

"Understanding isn't exactly one of her strongest talents, especially since I’ve been gone for almost two full days.”

He pulled his pouch of sand from his coat. "I shall keep you safe from her wrath then."

"You sure you know how to use that?" I teased. "Wouldn't want to get lost."

"You're not letting that go, are you?"

"Not anytime soon."

"Fret not, you won't get lost, not with me beside you," he replied, his hand pushing me tighter against him. "But you should still hold onto me."

I regathered the front of his coat in my hands and tugged myself into him, just as we had been moments ago. His eyes flared, the darkness hungry and wanting as I murmured, "Like this?"

With a thoughtful noise his hand pushed me even closer to him. "Perhaps a bit closer."

"Better?" I asked, nose bumping his.

"Much." With his free hand he poured the sand, letting it swirl around us. 

As the sand fell away, revealing the dark office in the apartment, neither of us moved, dared to break apart. I smiled at him, eyes flashing to his lips. "Thank you for bringing me back."

His eyes did the same. "It was a pleasure to have you, at last, visit The Dreaming."

"I had a wonderful time. Your realm is spectacular."

Our hot breaths swirled together. "You are always welcome to return. Anytime you wish."

Finally I lifted myself up higher on my feet. "Were you satisfied with your winning kiss, Dream of the Endless?"

"No." His voice was low, the power it held curling around us. "With you I doubt I ever will be."

Humming, I pulled on his coat more. "Maybe another will help?"

A smug smirk spread on those perfect lips. "Are you asking me to kiss you, Penelope?"

"Please," I breathed and in an instant his resolve was broken. His hand fisted into my hair, pulling me the rest of the way into his lips. 

This kiss wasn't like the first, there was no tentative gentleness, no soft caressing. This kiss was fire, tongues and teeth and need. My hands moved from his coat to his hair, twisting into the dark locks and tugging slightly. When a soft moan escaped him I did it more, chasing the sound. With two long strides he had me pinned against my desk, the wood scraping against the floor, making us both pull away and look at one another, breaths heaving.

Wordlessly his hands gathered up the silky material of my dress, tugging it up higher, higher, higher until my bare thighs pressed back against the wood. His hands squeezed my sides as he lifted me, effortlessly on top of the desk, neither of us caring when a stack of folders fell off. I gasped at the feeling of his cold fingers dragging down my legs until they reached my knees and he pulled my legs further apart, slotting himself between them and leaning over me. 

"If you want to stop," he began breathlessly, "You need to tell me."

"I want more," I replied in a heated groan.

"More," he hummed. "How much more?"

His hands slid up my thighs, under the silk, his fingers brushing my core, where I wanted him most. My sharp gasp filled the air between us as I pulled his hair. "All of you."

The stars in his eyes were gone, replaced by a hungry, consuming darkness. "As my lady commands."

His thumb brushed across the soft fabric of my panties once and then the sound of them tearing echoed in my ears and when he moved to do it again the fabric was gone. I let out a huff. "What if I liked that pair?"

"I'll get you another." He rasped as his thumb lightly glossed over my clit. My hands fell to his shoulders, digging into the fabric of his coat, and my head fell back against the wall. Morpheus took advantage of the opening and pressed an open mouthed kiss to my throat, moving slowly to various spots, sucking hard enough to leave at least a few marks behind as his fingers mimicked the pace.

His free hand pushed my hair over my shoulder and pulled my sleeve down, latching his lips onto my shoulder and biting down hard. The moan that left me was louder than I was expecting, but any embarrassment I might have felt was burned away as his fingers pushed down harder and moved faster. My hips moved against him, trying desperately to quicken the pace, but before I could get too comfortable with the rhythm I’d created his free hand grabbed my hip and held me down against the desk. I whined softly. "Don't get greedy now, my lady, just take what I give you."

I huffed, pulling his hair and lifting his head from my neck. Lips against his I said, "I wouldn't have to be greedy if you'd give me what I want, Dream Lord."

"Very well," he whispered, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he pressed a soft kiss to my lips just as his fingers dipped in between my wet folds, teasing for only a second before sliding in. 

My eyes closed as he swallowed my moan with his kiss. His hand moved from my hip to my neck, tilting my head back and exposing my throat to him again. I gripped his hair in one hand and used his shoulder as leverage as I ground myself against his fingers. "Morpheus," I whined softly.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Johanna said with a whistle from the doorway.

I gasped as his fingers left me. "Johanna!"

Smirking, she held her hands up innocently. "Don't stop on my account, I just needed to grab this." She grabbed the hand crossbow and started out the door. "Glad you're not dead by the way! When you and your Sandman are finished I can give you a wallop for making me worry."

"Get out!"

"I'm going!" The door slid half closed behind her before she stuck her head back in. "Just a word of advice Sandman, she goes absolutely nuts if you-"

"JOHANNA!" I yelled, throwing the nearest object at the door just as it closed. Morpheus and I looked at one another for a moment before I slumped against his shoulder, giggling softly. "I'm so sorry."

He chuckled and rubbed my back. "Don't be, we probably should have checked to make sure we were alone before we engaged in our pleasantries."

"Pleasantries," I said, lifting my head to smile at him. "Does that mean you enjoyed it?"

"Was there any doubt that I was enjoying myself?" He asked curiously.

"No," I mumbled, playing with his coat. "I just don't want you to regret anything."

“Regret?” He lifted my chin and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "I could not regret any moment spent with you.”

I pressed my lips back to his, gently coaxing his mouth open and tangling my tongue with his. When we pulled away, I bumped my nose against his and smiled. "Does that mean you'll be back for another… Kiss?"

"Among other things, yes."

"When will I see you again?"

“Soon,” he assured, kissing me again before pulling back and pouring his sand into his palm. "Goodnight, Penelope."

"Goodnight, Morpheus."

Standing alone in the office was bittersweet. I was home at last, after a literal night in Hell and day stuck at some crazy diner and being teleported all over. It felt relaxing to be back in such a familiar space, but at the same time my body tingled at the emptiness it felt now that he was gone. I sighed and forced my slightly wobbly legs to move to the door and face the wrath Johanna had prepared for me.

I didn't even get fully out the door before the shoe hit me in the thigh. "Ow!"

"You wanna tell me what the hell just happened?"

"You interrupted a very heated make out session?"

She scoffed. "Make out session? Is that what you're gonna call it?"

"Shut up! I've walked in on you doing way worse!"

Johanna nodded. "Fair point. Now where the hell have you been?"

"Hell." I answered. "I got dragged to Hell last night. Then after a fun conversation with the devil our friend the Sandman showed up and tried to send me home with his magic sand. But, surprise twist, I wound up at some crazy American murder diner with a lunatic. Obviously I tried to get out of there as fast as I could and had a lovely tea party with the Sandman's brother, Destiny."

Silence. Then she whistled. "Fuck thats… Thats…"

"Absolutely insane?"

"Yeah that sums it up." She rolled her eyes and came closer, shoving my shoulder lightly. "Are you okay?"

I smiled. "A bit beat up but otherwise fine."

"Good, you scared the hell out of me… No pun intended."

"Well, now that you’ve promptly ruined my night and embarrassed me, I'm going to go shower because I smell like an egg."

Johanna laughed. "Try not to get dragged to hell or teleport!"

I flipped her off and headed to my bedroom. It felt strange being here after all I’d been through over the past day, but soon the comfort of having my things around me settled in. The space was small, as was common for an apartment I’d found, but I didn’t have many personal possessions so it was tidy and well organized. The bed was pushed against the wall opposite the door, with room on either side of it. A small window that looked down into the street was covered by white curtains and a little armchair sat snuggly in the corner with a pile of books on top of the worn cushions and a packed bag ready and waiting. It had been a long time since I needed to use the bag, Johanna had even suggested I unpack it at one point, but I never did just in case.

Grabbing a soft pair of shorts and a loose fitting shirt I headed to the bathroom, gently folding the dress Dream had changed mine into and putting it in my laundry hamper. My clean clothes sat on the countertop as I hopped into a boiling hot shower and finally felt the grime and stress slide off me. It was a wonder what hot water could do for a person, and after the day I’d had I needed it more than I thought. I spent a long time just letting the water massage my sore muscles before I eventually got out and got dressed.

A loud thump echoed in the living room, pulling a feeling of unease and perhaps paranoia into my chest. “Johanna, that you?”

No response. I grabbed the small blade out of my night stand and slowly opened the door, peeking out into the dark hallway before moving. The living room was only lit by one small lamp in the far corner and a sliver of moonlight from the windows. On the floor was a broken mug and a spill of whatever drink had been inside it, but no one was in sight. Maybe Johanna had been called out in a rush and knocked it over? 

My gut tightened, warning me of the coming blow before I’d even seen it. Two large arms wound around me, crushing me into the body of my assilaint. Without hesitation I dove the blade into his arm and then quickly shifted my body weight, pulling me out of his loosened grip. From the floor I had more options, the knees tried and true. As my heel hit the side of his knee a sickening pop filled the space and he went tumbling down with a string of curses. One look at him and I knew exactly who he was.

“Adam.”

“Barlow.” He ground out through his clenched teeth. “Been a long time. So long I almost forgot what I bitch you are.”

“I could say the same to you. How many more did you bring with you this time?”

“With me? Just the usual bunch.” On cue two more people moved from the shadows.

I didn’t see their faces, I didn't need to to know who they were. “Lucy, Greg, I’d say it's good to see you but I don’t want to lie to people about to get their asses kicked.”

“Don’t make this difficult, Barlow.” The shrill voice of the woman said. “Elias is done playing games.”

“Yeah he’s not very good at them,” I responded coldly, shaking off the fear that the mere sound of his name filled me with.

“Fine, have it your way.”

As the two of them lunged forward toward me a crossbow bolt shot right over my shoulder and into Lucy’s eye. The shrill cries filled the room as Greg tackled me to the ground. Johanna ditched the crossbow and jumped over him, pushing his shoulder down into my knife. She leapt on top of Adam and with her own blade dug it deep into his throat. I pulled my knife up Gregs shoulder, hot blood splashing against my cheek. His hand wrapped tightly around my throat, squeezing so hard I could feel my blood moving beneath his fingers. With a quick pull and an even quicker push I forced the blade into his throat and twisted, holding it there until his grip went slack along with his body weight. Tossing him to the side I lay on the ground, gasping for air, attention quickly finding Johanna in the darkness as she was thrown onto the floor next to me by a very angry, half blind Lucy. I forced myself up, pulling her by the leg down onto the ground with us and Johanna without missing a beat finished the job. We both collapsed onto the bloody floor and let the silence wash over us. The adrenaline pulsed through me, keeping my body and mind from feeling the weight of what just happened.

"You gonna call him?" Johanna asked as she caught her breath.

"I'm gonna have to, aren't I?"

"Well I'm not cleaning this mess up."

I sighed pulling the phone from my blood soaked pocket. "He's gonna be unbearable."

"He's always unbearable," she argued. "Useful though."

I dialed the number with my stiff fingers. It only rang once before he picked up. "Ma moitié, it has been far too long!"

"Pierre," I replied with a sore smile. "It's good to hear your voice."

"I can say the same to you, but something tells me this is not a social call."

"Sorry, if you're busy-"

He scoffed. "I am never too busy for you my darling! How many this time?"

"Three. But I have a feeling they won't be the last."

"I will be there first thing in the morning, Ma moitié. Are you hurt? I can have one of my associates come for you."

"I'm alright Pierre," I said. "I've got Johanna with me."

A chuckle. "This is good! The witch is sturdy!"

I laughed and Johanna sent me a glare. "If he calls me sturdy at any point in your conversation I'll kick his French ass when he gets here."

"She has threatened to kick my ass, no?"

"Play nice," I said to both of them.

"I am always nice," Pierre argued. "Now, stay safe my darling I will see you soon."

"Thank you, see you soon."

I tossed the phone in the general direction of the couch and melted into the floor. There we lay, as we had so many times before, in a pool of blood in silence dreading where the next step would take us.

"Are you going to have to leave?" She said it so quietly I almost hadn't heard her. 

"No," I replied. "I'm not running this time."

A soft, relieved sigh left her. "Good. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd miss my friend too much."

Friend such a simple word and yet from the mouth of Johanna Constantine it felt like the highest of praises. "I would have missed you too, Jo."

Groaning, she stood. "Don't get all sappy on me Barlow."

"I would never! Not when Pierre will be sappy enough for both of us."

She groaned again, moving toward her bathroom. As the shower started I felt the pain of the fight start to settle in. With a heavy sigh I put my hand over my heart, feeling its steady beating beneath it. I'm alive. I did my best to keep my thoughts from focusing on the lives I'd just taken, guilt and remorse swimming inside me, an untameable ocean that I was adrift on. So, I turned my thoughts to Morpheus, to the Dreaming that I'd only just returned from. Warm calm spread over me and the sound of echoing waves played in my ears and the sand beneath me felt warm. It felt so real, so soothing.

I dug my fingers into the sand and my eyes snapped open. This feels real. Sure enough I was back on the beach, black sand sticking to the spots of blood that coated me. How the fuck?

"Lord Morpheus has sent me to escort-" The sound of footsteps approaching had me whirled around, eyes meeting Lucienne's as she took in my bloody and disheveled appearance. "Oh! My lady, what's happened?!"

I smiled, an action meant to sooth her worry but with my current appearance probably only added to it. "It's nothing. "I, um, I'm not sure how I got here."

Lucienne approached slowly, almost looking as if I were some wild creature. "Lord Morpheus has a theory. He sent me to escort you to the palace."

"That would be much appreciated. Thank you Lucienne."

"Are you sure you're alright, my lady?"

"A bit of a tussle back in the waking world, but I'm fine." I said, pushing the pain that wracked my body down and desperately trying to avoid the pit of disgust and remorse that settled in my stomach.

She merely nodded before leading me back down the path that Morpheus had taken me down not long ago. As we neared the palace I felt him through the mark clearer and clearer with each step. The warm wave of his power soothing over me made me forget the forming bruises, the pain and blood and the building weight of what I’d done.

He stood at the top of the stairs, in front of the throne, leafing through the pages of a book. "When I said you were welcome back whenever you wished I didn't quite expect your return so soon. Though I suppose..."

His voice trailed off as he looked down at me. The glistening blue in his eyes quickly shifted with rage and I suddenly remembered what I looked like. Nervously I looked down at my sandy blood covered self. "Oh! I'm sorry for tracking all this sand through your castle."

Morpheus descended the stairs slowly, deathly calm. "Who did this?"

"Dream, breathe," I said, attempting to soothe.

His anger flared. "Who?"

When he finally stood in front of me I smiled at him and placed a gentle hand on his jaw. "Breathe. I'm alright... It's okay."

His eyes trailed over every new mark that I'd gotten from the fight, but they stayed locked on the forming hand shaped bruise that covered my throat, that lapped over the small marks he'd left there just hours ago. "Okay? No. This is far from okay. Tell me who did this so I can see that they shall never awaken."

"That's not a problem." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Johanna and I already took care of it."

His eyes only softened slightly. "Are you hurt?"

"No, the blood isn't mine." I answered, melting into his chest and breathing in his comforting scent. Tears pricked the edges of my eyes as I said as solidly as I could, "I don't know how I got here, but I'm really really glad to see you."

His arms were around me in an instant, his hands not shying away from the mess of sand and blood. "I have you."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into his chest. "It's probably very annoying having me getting into constant troubles."

"It is, but that's not your fault." He said as he lifted me into his arms. "For now let's get you taken care of."

I didn’t register us moving, maybe we hadn’t, but when he pulled away we were in a different room. Large stained glass windows illuminated us in color. I was about to ask him where we were when I saw the large silk adorned bed and the realization hit me, along with the obvious blush. This is his room. It was clean and held very little in it, which for Dream only made it feel more like his. He moved through the room with ease, though he was far from relaxed. His shoulders were stiff and the muscles in his jaw were strained by how hard he was clenching it. 

“Morpheus,” I said softly. If he’d heard me he didn’t react, waving his hand and a large bathtub appeared, already filled with hot water, bubbles and flowers. I smiled a little at how much thought he’d put into such a mundane thing. Body still stiff as I moved closer to him, a gentle hand rubbing along his shoulders. “Morpheus, I’m alright.”

He turned to me, eyes swimming with anger and guilt, his emotions burning between us. “Forgive me.”

“For what?” I asked softly.

“I should have stayed, should have made sure you were safe before departing. I should have left Matthew with you at the very least.”

I stroked my fingers along his jaw. “Breathe.” Pulling his hand to my chest I let him feel the beating of my heart beneath the skin. “I’m alive. I’m here.”

His forehead pressed against mine. “May I help you undress?”

“Oh you’ll have to, I’m quite stiff.” I said lightly.

If he had been anyone else I would have felt embarrassed, weak, at the very feeling of his light caresses and soft kisses as he undressed me slowly, though if the magic tub appearing told me anything he didn’t need to go through all the effort of physically undressing me, instead he chose to, which only further proved that Dream of the Endless wasn’t anyone else. I felt safe, comfortable, unbearably adored. It was different… As he helped ease me into the warm water I looked up at him and felt a pang of guilt fill me. He had so much to do, taking care of me was probably the biggest bother. He pulled his coat off, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and sat next to the tub and moved my hair from my face. “Stop.”

“What?”

“Stop thinking you’re a burden to me.” His voice was soft, far too soft. “If I had anything more important I would be doing it. But this, you, are the most important thing in my realm currently.”

I sighed. “I’m still sorry. You shouldn’t have to worry about me every time you leave.”

Dream slowly began rinsing my hair out, working his fingers through to detangle the sticky strands coated with sand and blood. “I know what it feels like to lose you, Penelope.” My breath caught in my throat. “I know what this world feels like without you in it and so I will worry… Not because I think you are fragile, or incapable, but because I do not wish to ever feel that emptiness again.”

I leaned into his hands. “I… I’m sorry that I put you through that.”

His blunt nails scratched my scalp, pulling some of the tension from my body, and he pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “No more apologies, just relax.”

“If I relax anymore I’m going to fall asleep,” I mumbled as his hands moved to wash my face off. I looked up at him with a tired smile. “Is this how you do your sandman thing? Hot baths and scalp massages.”

He chuckled, the rigidness of his body slowly starting to ease. “No, nothing so intimate I assure you.”

“Oh, so I’m just special then?”

“Yes.”

After all the blood and grime was washed off me Morpheus wrapped me into a soft, warm towel that I just knew by the feel of it had been made with magic. He then redressed me in clothes similar to the ones I’d arrived in, but softer and clean. I was so tired I just leaned against him, snuggling into the coldness of his skin. I didn’t remember him taking us back to the apartment, but there we were, him moving around my room to tuck me under my covers, and me keeping a firm hold on him for fear he’d simply vanish.

“Will you stay with me?” I whispered, eyes far too heavy. “Just for a little?”

Morpheus joined me on the bed, pulling me into him the second he got settled. “Of course I will.”

I lifted my head from his chest and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, one he returned. “Goodnight, Sandy.”

“Given your sleep deprived state, I’ll let that go just this once. Now, go to sleep, Penelope.”

Even with the bodies and blood no doubt still in the living room and the ever present weight of what this attack meant lingering in my bones, I slept. It was the first time in a long time I felt truly safe, truly at peace.

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