#i couldn't concentrate on anything and i couldn't pinpoint the reason

[sherlock-is-ace]

.

[mattsdolll]

𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 - 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨 . . ୨୧

hockeyplayer!matt x quietgirl!reader

𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 . . their entire lives they've always had a strong disliking towards eachother, what happens when matt makes her cry? i've never wrote anything like this so feel free to critique ! this is soo cliché😭 ib: august by chase atlantic. enemies to lovers, somewhat forced proximity ??,kinda angst, smut, mention of panic attacks, no use of y/n, p in v, unprotected sex.

this is my first time writing semi-angst & smut so this is kinda basic and i lowkey hate this fic but i love the concept of it. more work coming soon since i'm finally out of my tumblr slump & will be more active, in honor of me back in my chase atlantic phase..

"how do we expect to be anything when we don't try to be anything?"

2.8k words

enjoy🤍

year eleven was tough on everyone, matt especially. he had always struggled with school but with hockey and midterms he was stressed. next year was graduation & everybody had to take school very seriously in the hopes they'd pass. he had a couple of friends aside from his brothers, most who he didn't speak to much. nick and chris were the few people that were keeping him sane during this period of his life, he hated it. hockey was his escape, it let him get his pent up frustration out in a healthy way. you and matt had never gotten along, as pathetic as it sounded you were "rivals".

your relationship with matt was agnostic, for no particular reason there was just a strong disliking towards you on his end - or so you thought. you were too busy doing better things in your life. you could never pinpoint why but he just couldn't tolerate you. your entire lives he just seemed stand-offish about you. about a year and a half ago, everything changed for the worse. you had gotten into a massive argument over something trivial, your memories of the fight were vague. ever since then you had ignored him and he returned the favor. he had taken a liking to one of your closest friend and you had an issue with it, believing she deserved better, she did. you could almost hear the anger coursing through his veins as he screamed at you that night

"you can't just fucking do that! i liked her and you..you messed up everything! i wish you would just-" the brunettes words echoed through your head, he was furious, frustrated and deeply hurt, you couldn't see that at the time. you wondered if you were wrong in trying to protect your friend. you wondered if he had good morals. you wondered if you made a mistake, did you make him hate you?

you were suddenly snapped out of your thoughts, your teacher calling on you to present your assignment to the class, the eyes of your classmates staring into the back of your head as you made your way to the front of the dull room. you began your presentation, a lame low effort articulation of your view on mental health until you met his gaze. the brunettes eyes pierced through your soul, that look of pure concentration was bothering you, it was somewhat troublesome, he wanted you to mess up, he knew the eye contact would make you lose focus, you pathetically stammered over your words. you forced the rest of your speech out of your mouth, returning to your seat, he smirked to himself, his eyes following your body as you walked. you wanted to crawl into a hole and die, you hated public speaking or expressing your feelings vocally, it was something you'd struggled with as a child, he knew that.

it was a cold night in august, fall dawning upon the small town. the leaves slowly dying, sweaters being worn, pumpkin spice becoming the not so new trend. one of your close friends had offered you tickets to the game tonight, held at the school's ice rink. you were hesitant. she gave her ticket to you because she had gotten sick and didn't want to put the ticket to waste. you had no plans tonight, never mind getting ready to actually leave your bed. you took a hot shower, the scorching water streaming down your body. you blow dried your hair, straightening it and tying a low ponytail, lacing a black bow around the brunette locks. you threw on baggy jeans along with a black tank top, small silver hoop earrings and white sneakers, along with a black jacket draped over your arm. you drove to the venue with heavy eyes. you touched up your mascara and lip gloss in the mirror, the remnants of your makeup from earlier still evident on your face. you made your way into the school stadium, the cool breeze of the ice hitting your skin.

the game was somewhat boring to you, you had no idea what it meant to shoot or what dribbling was, but you tried to make the most of it. there he was, only a few meters away from you. the boy skated around the ice flawlessly, the void-like pit in your stomach felt full, your insides fluttering. you couldn't help but be impressed, you had never seen him play before, you never realized he was so good. he scored a few goals, the score was 7-5. his team was ahead, until the opposing team knocked matt out of the way, causing him to tumble over, falling on the ice. the crowd gasped, the opposing team scoring three points for their goal. matt hit his mouth against his helmet, blood leaking from his lips, he skated to the bench, cleaning up. you felt suspense building in your stomach, his appearance disheveled, hair scruffy, face sweaty, you couldn't help but think he looked..different. were you enjoying this?

apparently you were, you didn't exactly like matt, you just enjoyed watching the games, the games where he was the most important player, over and over and over..seeing him get so frustrated, it was like some kind of amusing pastime. after one of the many games you'd attended. during one of the mid-season games, his team on a winning streak. he had "finally" spotted you in the crowd while on the ice, he nearly choked on his spit, seeing you watching him play, he felt a sense of cockiness rush through him, the urge to win now unbearable. he needed to prove how good he was, but why? he scored the winning point, his team cheering and celebrating, his friends lifted him up over their heads. on their way to the locker rooms. you took in the familiar sight of his disheveled, ruined appearance, drinking in the sight. he caught you staring, however, a cocky grin spreading across the boys lips. you attempted to mask your embarrassment but it was too late, he kicked off his gear in the locker room, changing everything but that hockey jersey. the short sleeved top hung off his body perfectly, the color contrasting his eyes.

"stalking me now?" he teased, sitting next to you on the bleachers, the way he sat so confidently all of a sudden, not like his usual self, his demeanor was alluring, you had never felt this way about him until now. well maybe since last month. "i wasn't stalking you, i had nothing better to do tonight" you tried to protest, he simply chuckled. "yeah? and last week, the week before..and before.." he drawled cockily, he had seen you, every game, gawking at him. how could you not have noticed? "you don't talk much, hm? didn't get taught how to communicate growing up?" you went quiet, you hated talking, you were never allowed to growing up. you had developed this "don't talk unless spoken to" mindset and it carried on into your school career, resulting in you having little to no friends. it was a very touchy subject to you and you hated how badly it got to you.

matt was only teasing, trying to make a conversation until the tears brimming your eyes almost instantly made matts cocky grin disappear, his expression now evident with worry. you felt the familiar feeling of your throat closing up, your heart began to throb harder. you couldn't even mutter out a word, you got up and headed out in fear of breaking down in front of him, the last person on earth you'd want to look weak in front of. you settled on the grass by a small garden on the school grounds outside a now locked and empty classroom.

the second you took off matt knew he had made a mistake, he rushed after you, somehow losing you in the process. he found you eventually, sitting down with your knees to your chest, calming yourself down. and in that moment, he saw himself in you. he knew how it felt, the horror washing over you as the air deflated from your lungs, your throat tightening, he hated that feeling. he knew it all too well. he needed to provide you some sense of comfort, solace from his touch. he made his way to you and sat next to you, gently putting a hand on your shoulder. "hey..breathe, you're okay." he whispered reassuring words into your ear. you weren't having a full blown panic attack like you usually would, but this was still bad. you felt the feeling slowly ease out of your body, you felt like you could breathe again. "thats it..doing so good.." he whispered into your ear, stroking your arm. his words went straight to your core, something about the tone or the resonance of his voice in that moment did something to you, you felt your inner thighs become drenched, your heat beginning to ache.

"i'm so sorry, yeah? i didn't mean to make you cry tonight, or that night last year, i liked her, a lot. she never spoke to me or even looked at me, i just wanted her. i was right there but she was busy doing other things, she was everything to me, her smile, her teeth when she smiled, her hair..that haircut, the way it shaped her face..i..i was in love, okay? and i couldn't have her." he rambled out. the things he had described were some kind of literary illusion. this "girl" he was describing was nothing like the girl he so called wanted. this "girl" he was describing didn't resemble her at all actually. this "girl" was you.

all along, he wanted you. you never wanted him back, but you wanted him now. was it too late? did you miss your chance? did he still have feelings for you? why did he ignore you for a year? your thoughts rushed through your brain scatteredly as you tried to form a single word. he tilted your face towards his, seeing that panicked expression written on your face. he wiped the tears that stained your cheeks, trying to make it up to you. you gazed up into his eyes, noticing the different shades of blue and slight haze of grey in them. you noticed the tiny freckles on his face, so slight you could only see them under the moonlight, you noticed the way his curls fell over his forehead so perfectly as if sculpted in God's vision precisely. he was so perfect. you held eye contact for a few seconds, you wished you could, taste him, savor him. you batted your eyelashes at him, and that was all it took to drive him insane; your eyes. the specks of color in them were so beautiful.

he noticed the pleading look in your eyes, as if you were begging for him to do it. it did him in. the last bit of his conscience telling him to stop fell away, and all that was left was his urge to kiss you. he got a bit closer, his hands still resting on your face as he inched his face closer to yours. he tilted your jaw and pressed his swollen lips into yours. your eyes fluttered shut, giving into his touch. the kiss lasted for what felt like hours. he prodded his tongue against you, silently begging you to let him kiss you deeper, his hands finding their way to your jaw, eliciting a soft gasp from your lips. he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue massaging yours. you felt yourself gravitating back toward the grass, him laying you down gently. his hand cupped the back of your head before you hit the ground.

it felt like sweet relief, pain and pleasure coursing through your body. you felt like you were on fire from how desperate you were for him in that moment. he hovered over you, gently kissing you. you tugged his jersey, pulling him further into you. your nails scratched down his back, almost hard enough to draw blood, drawing a guttural moan from him. he looked down at you desperately, your eyes flicked from his eyes to his lips

"i want this"

you whispered softly, finally vocalizing your wants. a new experience to you, yet it felt perfect with him. he looked down at you for reassurance. "yeah? you want this, pretty?" he cooed softly, your pussy ached. you gave a weak nod for him, giving him permission to touch you. "i want this, please." he sucked and nipped at your neck, pressing against you more, his touch gentle but eager. you writhed underneath him, the sensations throughout your nerves becoming unbearable. "matt..do you want this?" he paused briefly, staring at your face. "yeah pretty, i want this, i want you." his lips latched onto yours, trailing hot open mouthed kisses along your neck. his hips subconsciously rolled against yours rhythmically.

you felt his now hard cock pressing against your thigh, causing you to moan softly. you couldn't describe how badly you wanted him, he wanted you just as much, he was just hesitant to take you right then and there, in the middle of a garden. he wanted it to be special, but his need was overlapping his thoughts. he kissed you once more before pulling away. "need to feel you, fuck- pretty..please?" the boy begged, you nearly salivated at the sight. you gave a quick nod to which he quickly took his shirt off, hooking his fingers under the loops in your jeans, tugging them down. you quickly pulled your shirt off as well. he slowly stripped you of your clothes, leaving yourself in nothing but underwear. he groaned at the image, tugging his own pants down, his hard dick slapping against his stomach. it wasn't huge, but it was definitely big. his cock twitched in his hand as he pumped it a few times, pre-cum leaking furiously from the reddened tip.

you watched him in pleasure as he slowly approached you, lifting your hips a little. "lift your hips f'me" he mumbled, holding you in place. he pulled your panties down slowly and teasingly, you winced as the cold air hit your pussy. he rubbed his tip up and down your folds, admiring you. "such a pretty girl, hm? all f'me.." you crumbled, whimpering pathetically. a small smirk tugged on his lips as he eased into you, stretching your walls out. you groaned at the burn, it was uncomfortable but felt so good. he pulled out halfway before gently thrusting his hips into you again, letting you adjust a little. "fuck, angel youre so tight..have you never been fucked before?" he mewled, feeling you clench around him. you shaked your head weakly, pulling a desperate moan from him. he gradually picked up his pace, his cock going deeper with each thrust.

your pain faded into pleasure, small gasps leaving your swollen lips, he watched your tits bounce with each thrust, finding it incredibly endearing. he leaned his lips down to your nipple, sucking at the flesh gently. you laced your fingers through his loose locks, tugging the curls. he loved it, moaning against your breast. a string of saliva left his lips as he pulled his face up to look at you, your fucked out expression causing his cock to twitch harder. he buried his nose into your neck, speeding up more. the sound of skin slapping echoed through the halls, he panted softly. "shit, angel..'m so close..gonna cum, can i cum inside you, baby?" he whispered into your ear, how could you deny him when he begged so sweetly? you nodded, threading your fingers in his hair, the knot in your stomach beginning to unwind.

his thrusts grew sloppy, his cock twitching desperately. your walls enveloped him deeper and deeper. you gripped his shoulders, a pathetic whimper fell from his lips as his orgasm washed over him like a wave. cum spurted from his tip, painting your insides. your orgasm soon washed over you as well, both your liquids mixing at some point in the process. he slowly and carefully pulled out, looking down at you nervously. "was that okay? did i do good?" your jaw almost fell open, how could he ask that? "matt..that was fucking amazing" you mumbled softly, drawing a smile from his lips. he giggled softly, collapsing on you. he was like a whole new person, you barely recognized him. "yeah? i did good?" he giggled. you smiled sleepily. "mhm, so good."

he planted a gentle kiss to your lips, brushing a strand of messy hair out of your face. "pretty" he whispered admiringly. "can i take you home?" you nodded a little. you couldn't believe your life. you just had sex with the guy who you thought hated you for nearly two years, then again, how could you expect to be anything when you don't try to be anything?

. . .

tags !

@mattscoquette @blahbel668 @emely9274 @pearlzier @wompwomp-1

[boskadoff]

uh so Fiddleford is canonically likes men? And I guess Ford confirmed aro/ace hhksdkskdk

ok guys i- you-

I dont- post anything but the demons came back and they came back hard AhhHh

Why you making me write this why nobody else reporting this strong cannon

BoB confirmed two sexualities: Ford is aromantic and asexual, and Fiddleford likes men.

Lets start with Ford, cause its shorter:

BoB basically reiterated and highlighted that Ford is attracted to nothing.

Its actually very clearly pinpointed that Ford is aromantic/asexual. Why clearly? Like Alex chose, out of ALL the things to reveal about ford in Bills mind invasion section, is that he is "plansexual". He basically is indirectly says Ford feels no attraction. He is aromantic/asexual. Coupled with journal 3 entries "romance baffles me", and its confirmed.

Now Fiddleford, this is very interesting because it affects the story:

One, it clearifies why Fiddleford agreed to help with the portal. Bro just was GAY.

To extrapolate, he was from an area that expects traditional marriage Tennessee. He went through with it, probably wasn't super comfortable though seeing by how eagerly Fiddleford accepted Fords offer. So, integrating this new cannon, bro just always was gay for Ford and couldn't resist the opportunity to spend time with him.

Now lets gather all harder Book of Bill evidence

Bro knitted him gloves with many DRAFTS. (Shows how important it was to him to get it right)

Bro made him a snow globe of his lab.

Notice how it was HAND MADE.

He gave Emma-May nothing? He had time, he could have not made Ford two things, made one with for Ford and one thing for Emma-May. But he didn't?

The snowmen? And a whole picture of it??

Bill refers to Fiddleford as a third wheel.

They were roomates, obviously on very goods terms

"Try to forget"

"TheY emBraCed"

It was a very strong concentration on, and even mentioned in the same story, the gifts that Fiddleford gave. Notice how Alex SPECIFICALLY said Emma-Mays argument woth him was because Fiddleford gave her nothing. Which basically contrasts insanely with TWO HANDMADE gifts for Ford.

Lets couple with Journal 3 soft evidence where

His computer password was "Stanford"

The singular bed in the bunker.

Fiddleford knew when Stanford was possessed, shows how attentive he is.

He wrote up Fords research for him to publish.

Bro left his family for a while to spend time with Ford in isolation.

Disney decided to edit the phrase when Stanford says "happy to no longer be traveling this path alone" to " …happy to be traveling it with a friend". Basically showing the book was aware how gay these two sound.

Im note sure if Ford ever recipricated these feelings, he probably thought of Fiddleford as a very good friend, at most subconsciously some kind of QPR.

But BOY did Fiddleford fall for him.

In terms of why this might have been added to BoB:

I believe Alex saw how strongly Journal 3 implied Fiddauthor, (I watched too many interviews, and there were questions about those two, so it WAS on his mind) and just decided to finally clarify their bond. He eluded direct statements, but obviously made a call.

He may have also found the need to clearify why Fiddleford was so eager to jump in and help Ford for so many months, it is kind of murky evidence to say he just wanted to help out and leave his family for months for the heck of it while his son was still young. (Also in Twitter a long time ago, also kind of accepted that one jelous girlfriend meme of Bill Ford and Fiddleford where overlaid)

Moreover, the Alex didn't have to mention Fiddleford in the Book of Bill, all loose ends of his story were tied in Journal 3. Book of Bill was only supposed to be about Bills story, and clearification about his relation with Stanford. But he added Fiddleford anyway. And not only did he, but he chose to incorporate it in the Christmas scene: a very specific, often intimate time. This did not need to be included for any lore reason on than their relationship. It literally serves ZERO major purpose other than to elaborate on the relationship. Sure there were some minor mentions of fords childhood winter traditions for the funnies, a reference to dipper and mabel time traveling (footprints), and the santa goat story, but it revealed very little about any of it to defend the existence of that whole scene. It mostly supported already known lore with a silly santa goat story that circled around to Fiddleford being the hero anyway. Basically Christmas story = confirmed Fiddleford likes Ford more than his wife, which leads to gay romantic/QPR implications to his character.

Now, its clear that Fiddleford likes Ford, and by extention in some capacity likes men. So is he gay or bi? Not much evidence obviously, but I speculate he was gay, because if he had the ability to also like women as much as he liked men, why jump to the first woman so early in life and marry her? It feels like an impulse decision, he could have waited for others he liked more, to actually make gifts for them for christmas. He married her as if he was trying to hide something. Although no strong evidence to establish this.

And lastly, arguments may ensue because it was not "clearly stated given on a platter", but Alex communicates very indirectly about most lore, often leaving things for interpretation. Repeating the same information twice among two works, AND incorporated an INCREDIBLY specific scene about Christmas is pretty reinforced evidence of his intent.

I feel like Alex is kind of being devious and is toying with the audience because he knows there is a group kind of losing our minds over this particular relationship, hence the hazy statements and stories.

But I feel like summarizing what he wrote and the way he wrote it, there is no other reason why that content exists other than to confirm their sexualies and romantic preferences, and how it supports the plot of the story.

TLDR; update Fandom.con, Fiddleford likes men. Ford is aro/ace.

Like uh do you all agree or am I crazy or uh skmebody save me or 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

[usopps-devotee]

can you PLEASE write some fluff/comfort for your angst Luffy writing? 😫 i wanna give him forehead kisses and cuddles PLEASE

(it was amazing btw!!!)

Anon I know what you asked for but imma make this a series and giving this to yall next time, but life has been interesting (derogatory) since the beginning of February 😋

Pt 1 not your fault

Tags: angst, hurt/comfort, like one mention of blood, no harm tho its used as an expression, please know it's okay to ask for help sometimes, mention of skipping meal.

Wc 1.3k

It's been some time since you found him crying, the only immediately noticeable change is Luffy seems to be more aware of you and touch you than before. Maybe that's why he noticed your disappearance today. The reason why he's noticed every flinch within the last week, the tears that started to well up but didn't fall when you dropped a teacup, trying your best to laugh it off as Sanji and robin assured you it was okay. The moment of deep breaths after any loud sounds, Luffy swears he saw your soul leave your body when Usopp and Franky started to try something new with Sunny's cannon. Zoro was there to notice the last one too joking about you being jumpy, your captain surely noticed you becoming quieter after that moment.

So when he walked into your room without knocking, he didn't mind being hit in the face with the pillow you threw. Not knowing or caring who it might have been, only focused on the darkness of being hidden under the covers. You heard his footsteps come closer as he tried to figure out where your head was. When it was located he sat down and pulled you into his lap. Not bothered to move the plush fortress you are surrounded in. Being so close to him helped, your body relaxed at the contact, not knowing how much you may have needed the connection.

"You missed breakfast, Sanji said you missed dinner as well." 

Knowing this isn't exactly about the missed meals, while he is worried about that, it's more so the fact that you haven't left your room. Being one of, if not the most, cuddly members of the crew seeing you spend so much time alone was jarring to him. After all, if Luffy had a problem he came to you. So why couldn't you do the same, was he the problem? Is someone else on the ship? What could be disturbing you so much?

The worst part is if you were honest, you didn't have a clue. You had just been feeling wrong, completely off without reason. Now that your captain has found you alone and distressed, it only makes the tangles and knots in your gut feel worse. Guilt plagued you as you didn't have to see his face to know that his wide eyes had been staring down at you for any movement, for any symptom that you could be getting better or worse. For any kind of response really, he just hopes it's not more remorse. When he does finally feel you move it's a good 30 seconds of trying to get one hand out of the blanket before you're tugging him closer. There's the feeling of his arms wrapping around your body as his heartbeat can now be heard through the thick blanket. You're not sure how much it helped but it definitely helped the tears stuck in your eyes finally fall.

You feel yourself starting to shake as a voice in the back of your head tells you you're being dramatic. You have no clue what started this ache, with him here you can't push it down till it goes away like you were trying to do. It bubbles up and slowly consumed you, not able to pinpoint whatever emotion this is all you can focus on is how overstimulating everything is. You can't concentrate on his heartbeat anymore, you can hardly breathe. Choking on the first sob before you feel it come up. There's nothing to hide, you're mental state is as scattered as paint across a floor. Desperate for something, anything, to ground you. Luckily luffy is still there, peeling the covers off from over your head, you're too trapped in it to notice that most of the movement isn't coming from you.

He's worried about you hyperventilating, the last thing he wants is for you to pass out at a time like this. You haven't even told him what's wrong yet. You helped him with him and he wants to do the same, he wants to solve it if he can. He made sure to take things slowly, not rushing to any conclusions, just being there in the moment. Seeing your face filled with tears made him want to jump into action. There has to be something he can do to get them to stop. All he could think to do was hold you close, going as far as to place the shank's hat on your head to see if that would help. Everything only made you sob harder.

The hand thought placed on his chest now balled into a fist gripping his shirt for dear life, the other wrapped around his shoulders so you buried your face in his neck. It's highly plausible the rest of the crew can hear your despair, as your captain Luffy would make sure you are not teased for this, just as he put Zoro through a mini hell for laughing at you days before. He wants to treasure you, you're the only one who lets him feel human, let him feel and express instead of hiding behind his smile. He's so lost in his thoughts he almost missed you speak.

"Thank you."

It's hushed and horse, no surprise as all you've done today is sleep and cry. But it's the only thing you can think to say. To your surprise, those two little words shocked Luffy. Why are you thanking him? He hasn't done anything yet? Were you just overwhelmed? Now he's just as lost in your emotions as you are. He really doesn't want to rush, nor does he know how to ask. Confusion is written across his face, he does reach one conclusion. Touch helps, he helped him, it was helping you, so what had you done that night that when you comforted him? He's brought back to the kiss you placed on his forehead, full of warmth and comfort, maybe the same would work for you.

Sheer embarrassment, terror, and panic flooded through your system as Luffy tiled your chin up towards his face. Causing more tears to well up and fall but he kisses them all away. Starting from where they would gather and fall off your chin he worked his way up one side of your face, kissing all the tears he could see and then the corner of your eye before moving to the other one. For the first time in days you smile, you smile, it's not faked, forced, or caused by nervousness. None of it, it's a real, genuine smile. It makes Luffy beam from ear to ear as he now sprinkled kisses anywhere he could reach. It makes you laugh, he's never been happier to hear the sound of your laughter. He'd kiss you forever if it meant you'd never be sad again. But he still had that nagging question in his gut.

"What made you cry in the first place?" He almost reconsidered the question when the smile immediately dropped from your face. Maybe he should have asked another day or basked in it a bit longer. "I- I don't know, I just- everything feels so-" Wrong, out of order, discombobulated. Like your heart has been thrown against a wall just to see the blood splattered. There's definitely a strong emotion behind this all but you're struggling to articulate it. Whatever it might be. "It's fine if you don't know, just tell me how to help, okay?" You nodded thinking, trying to get your mind out of the dark place that it currently resides in. The only thing that has helped so hard was him, his voice, his arms, the sound of his heart beating, his smell, his kisses, everything about Luffy rang with comfort there was nothing else you could want or need but him.

"Please just don't let me go."

[melit0n]

Part three to the Sleep Token FX post. Some of these I've picked up on my own, and others have been pointed out to me by @reveries-of-my-mind and @moonchild-in-blue through their reblogs of my original post about Vore. A lot of these FX bits are more obvious, so I decided to just put TMBTE in one post.

Part three includes: Take Me Back To Eden

Part One -> One, Two, Jaws and The Way That You Were

Part Two -> Sundowning and This Place Will Become Your Tomb

+ If I've missed something, feel to add your own thoughts!

Note- some of these are FX, others are sound mixing and music bits I wanted to mention. Any song you don't see mentioned are songs that I couldn't find anything to pull out of them. Plus, reminder; these are my interpretations, I'm sorry if you can't hear what I hear, or you think something different.

Chokehold

- Lots and lots of digital, glitchy FX which sets the mood for the album. This is also repeated throughout all the songs in the album, which works with their algorithm-esc, robotic theme (both lyrically and musically) in their songs for this one.

The Summoning

- Unfortunately, everyone's favourite jazz-metal amalgamation doesn't have any other SFX notes other than carrying on Chokehold's glitchy FX motifs.

Aqua Regia

- Jazz café ambience shown throughout the song, also, every single instrument other than the main paino is echoed and or muffled.

+ Fun fact! Aqua Regia is Latin for Royal Water. It's a concentrated solution of Hydrochloric and nitric acids, and is one of the only acids that can dissolve Gold; it's used in the jewelry trade to test the purity of Gold. Not a clue what Vessel is trying to get across with that, but his obsession with chemistry and biology motifs strike again.

Granite

- The screetch of the guitar chord at 2:32, right before the breakdown, sounds almost like a car hitting the breaks and skidding. Works well with Granite's theme of car crashes. You can almost imagine someone having an argument in the car, and the screetch is a result of things going a bit too far.

Vore

- Like I said in my original post, in the beginning (first fifteen seconds), along with the scratchy guitar chord, there are chewing and swallowing sounds. The song is quite literally from the point of view of being stuck in the throat of a God.

- At 3:23 to 3:30, there are bird noises similar to the ones at the start of TMBTE! They're incredibly subtle, but they're there. If you can't pinpoint it, there's a squeaking noise at 3:27, which is just a bird tweeting!

Rain

- From 3:55 to the end of the song, there's rain, which is obviously very fitting. Not specifically rain tapping on a rooftop, but more so rain pouring down a gutter, at least to me.

Take Me Back To Eden

- From 0:00 to 0:40, there's echoed animal noises, like if you were to stand in the middle of a rainforest. The song starts of in absolute silence, only broken by nature; not a human made noise to be heard. It's quite literally Eden. These sounds are there throughout the song, they just get much harder to hear the longer Vessel sings and the more instruments they later on top of eachother.

- At 1:42, there's either a Lion's or a Tiger's roar.

- From 3:10-3:16, there's the sound of thunder.

- A lot of the jingles you hear in The Summoning are repeated here! E.g; 3:40 and, more clearly, at 4:50 and 7:50.

- The lyrics "we were tangled up like branches in a flood; it was no accident" are direct refrences to the lyrics in Chokehold.

Euclid

- The song is 5 minutes and 13 seconds long, but Vessel only starts singing at the 13 second mark. The first lyric? "Just run it back, give me five whole minutes". We, as the listener give him five whole minutes to say what he's gotta say. Further, the song ends on the exact same piano chord that it begins with; the song, in of itself, is a loop. Anytime you play Euclid on loop, you are running it back and giving him five whole minutes. One of the reasons Euclid is my favourite (next to Aqua Regia) for this album.

- The lyrics "the night belongs to you" and "this bough is broken through" are lyrical refrences to The Nigh Does not Belong to God from Sundowning and When The Bough Breaks from One. The oldest album, and ST's first produced album.

- From 4:02 to the end of the song, a verse from The Night Does Not Belong To God is played. It completes the produced album trilogy, and, with the five stages of grief, allows for acceptance and healing. Euclid not only loops itself, but loops the three albums together. Sundowning, TPWBYT and TMBTE are an endless loop that can and will be played as many times as needed for Vessel, for you, as the listener, to heal. To accept change. To realise there's more than denial, anger bargaining and depression. And I think that, in of itself, is beautiful.

---------

Album Notes: Sleep Token really put their whole soul into this album huh. By far, it's the one that uses SFX the most, and rounds out Sleep Token's own genre as a whole. We see snippets of older songs used throughout the album, both lyrical refrences and actual chunks of old songs taken out and placed within other ones. 10/10, would cry to again.

Thank you for reading through all my thoughts and feelings, whoever you are. Remember, the night belongs to you; worship <3.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 24

"Please concentrate. I need you to be as precise as possible."

Sakura tried to neaten her posture, but it was already perfect.

"I didn't know she was following me until she spoke." Sasuke was perfectly professional. His hands probably weren't clammy at all. "I couldn't visually follow the movement she made."

"With Sharingan?"

The Sandaime might have been the slightest bit incredulous.

Sasuke's jaw was a little tenser. "Yes, Sandaime-sama. With the Sharingan." He adjusted his footing every so slightly. "The suspect collided with Gaara-san, and then as far as I could tell, both disappeared."

"Indeed." He tapped his fingers on the desk just once. "Please repeat once more her words, with tone and body language as you remember them."

Sasuke dutifully repeated the conversation for the second time, though this time he neglected to mention that she had mussed his hair afterwards. That was a shame, because it was the best part, as far as she was concerned. Was his hair cute that way?

Was the Sandaime making eye contact with someone behind them? Sakura didn't let herself look. After a moment, the feeling that he wasn't paying them full attention fled when his attention came to rest on her. "You have had the most extensive interactions with Uzumaki-san in Wave, Sakura-chan." She shook, a little. "Please give me your honest impressions of her at the time, not those you formed with new information after returning to Konoha."

She took a shaky breath. "I thought she was intelligent, kind, and reliable. I also thought she was frivolous, self-centered, and socially intense."

"Intense?" The Sandaime raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Sakura remembered the toothy grin that had not fit Aiko-san's image. "At times, she seemed more affectionate to us than was warranted by our brief acquaintance," she said slowly. That wasn't quite it, but she couldn't think of a better way to phrase the oddity that had twinged at her. "Or maybe it was disproportionate investment?" she tried. "She expressed concern for our team's well-being and cohesion that doesn't make sense coming from an unrelated shinobi, and pushed the boundaries of reasonable behavior from the civilian she was portraying."

"Did any particular interaction give you a strong sense that something was unusual?"

She didn't have to think about it long. She'd gone over this in her head more than once, trying to pinpoint anything that would have given away the civilian charade. "The conversations we had the first night," Sakura admitted. "I'm not sure what exactly struck me as so odd. The conversational content was mostly normal- she asked about our families, gave some compliments, and talked about how she knew Tsunami-san." She snuck a glance at Naruto. He was looking forward, at the wall.

"The blatantly odd thing was that she was shocked to see Naruto," Sakura said quietly. She resisted the urge to look at her shoes. "Uzumaki-san dropped her teacup, and then invited him to join us. Not long after, she had a conversation with Tsunami-san in the hallway, addressing her concerns about Naruto's health."

Sasuke shot her a sideways look with a question. He hadn't read her report, and she hadn't mentioned that aloud.

She avoided making eye contact and put her chin up a little higher.

"I thought Uzumaki-san was just a friendly person when she asked us about our lives and families. But Uzumaki-san is related to Naruto. Somehow. So she was almost certainly more interested in Naruto, and being nice to Sasuke and I to obscure her focus," Sakura put forward. "She was trying to gather information about him in specific." She cleared her throat.

That stung, a little. She'd thought… it had felt nice to think that she was someone's favorite. And Uzumaki-san had offered her career advice, not Naruto or Sasuke. That wasn't like Kakashi-sensei at all. She hadn't even seen him since he told her to follow Sasuke during the invasion. Of course, most of the senior jounin were suddenly missing. But she… she didn't think he was dead. Someone would have told her.

Sandaime-sama was already moving on, turning his attention to Naruto. Sakura tore her attention away from her sadness and anxiety and back to the less painful immediate topic.

'Aiko-san didn't care about what I said when I talked about my family. She only asked me questions so that it wouldn't seem odd when she talked to Naruto.'

Of course Aiko-san had asked about family. That would be the reasonable thing to do if she was surprised to see a relative. She had to have recognized him by his features. That probably meant she knew who his parents were? Or that he had a strong Uzumaki resemblance, Sakura decided. Aiko-san hadn't really asked about parents… lack of interest? That strongly fit with the theory that Aiko had recognized Naruto by one or both of his parents.

She stole a glance at her teammate. He did have unconventional features. His coloring was unusual, but it was the shape of his face that was just a bit foreign. Did Aiko-san's face look like his? She strained, but couldn't exactly remember. She needed side by side comparison. If Naruto looked a lot like Aiko-san…

'I probably would have noticed,' Sakura thought dryly. 'I saw them next to each other a lot. So unless Naruto is the only one of the two with distinctive Uzumaki traits, that must mean that it was the parental recognition.'

The really weird thing… if asking about siblings wasn't just idle conversation, then… why would she do that? That only made sense if she thought Naruto should have a sibling, or was invested in knowing if he had one. Or knowing if he knew he had -

Her mouth opened in an O.

She looked up, blinking quickly and trying to catch on to where the conversation had gone. Naruto was still talking to the Sandaime, relating something about his training with Jiraiya and Aiko-san sitting in on it. That was a surprise to her, but it made a sinking kind of sense with the theory she had to get out into the open.

It burst out of her without any decorum. "Aiko-san wanted to know about Naruto's family because-"

"Haruno-san," a voice snapped out, shouting enough to cover her voice. "Do not interrupt your Hokage."

She jerked.

A jounin she'd seen around was giving her a stern look. How long had he been in the office?

Everyone was looking at her. She felt her face flush scarlet with embarrassment at her rudeness, but the shame was fighting with the urgency to share her theory. "But," she tried. "There was – I had a thought." Her voice piped down to nearly nothing.

"It's quite alright, Genma-san." The Sandaime was giving her an intense look. His tone was paternal, but she wasn't soothed. "Sakura-chan is a agitated by events, as we all are." He gave her a smile. "Genma, would you escort her out for a breath of fresh air? I think we could all use a moment. Once you return, I'd like to hear your thought, Sakura-chan."

Meek and embarrassed, she avoided looking at her teammates and allowed the jounin to lead her out. She'd been so disruptive that she'd been removed from the briefing. That was… she was never going to let Ino-pig know that her temper was still so poor.

"Haruno-chan, let's have a walk," the jounin- Genma? Genma-san- said, so gently that it was almost certainly an apology for shouting at her. "Have you ever seen the jounin breakroom?"

'Obviously not! Do I look like a jounin?'

She gave him a smile. "No, sir."

He stuck his hands in his pockets and gave her a grin as he started walking in a way she'd never gone before. It was incredibly goofy. Against her conscious desire, she found her shoulders relaxing a bit.

"You know, I've gotten excited enough to mouth off in a debriefing," he confided. "It happens."

Sakura managed a weak laugh and trotted at his left side. "Naruto does it a lot. I'm sorry. I'm not usually like that."

"I believe it," he said generously. "Hold up, we better be quiet for a while. You don't want to disturb people working in this area." He held open a stairwell door for her, but jogged up the stairs fast enough that he passed her again before he reached the exit. He unlocked it by typing a number string in faster than she could see. The door buzzed and he held it open for her. They passed a desk with two senior shinobi who watched them walk by silently.

'This is definitely not a place where I belong.'

She didn't know if she wanted to slink or to try to look confident. She settled for trying to look a lot less interested in their surroundings than she was. It was hard, when they kept passing doors with names she didn't understand and spiderwebbing seals that she wanted to take a closer look at.

"Most of this belongs to offices you've never heard of," Genma said quietly. "Maybe you'll find yourself in one of them, someday."

Sakura gave him a polite look to hide her doubt. On the jounin floor? She was talented enough to make chuunin, for sure. But jounin? Probably not.

He chuckled, so her thoughts probably hadn't been as hidden as she'd hoped. "Oh, you might be surprised." Genma-san opened a sliding down and sauntered inside. She followed a step behind and pulled the door shut automatically.

The room was noticeably warmer than the hallway. It was actually very comfortable. It had big windows and a ring of soft seating. There were three coffee machines crowded onto the counter space, which was somewhat ominous.

"This is the jounin lounge?" Sakura asked, even though she was pretty sure.

Genma-san plopped down in a puddle of light from a tall window. His adam apple moved as he adjusted the senbon in his mouth- when had he put a weapon in his mouth? Ew. "Yupp," Genma-san verified. He closed his eyes.

He was… a little weirder than she'd thought. Sakura picked a seat reasonably close and sat primly, smoothing her dress over her knees. "It's empty."

Genma-san snorted. "Sure is. It has chairs, too. Anything else that you spot?"

Sakura pursed her lips, because obviously she had been politely prompting for information about why it was empty and how he'd known that. But… well. It was all above her clearance. So he'd probably understood and chosen not to answer, she reasoned.

"What was it, earlier?" Genma-san cracked an eye open to peer at her. He seemed only mildly curious. "What was so interesting you started shouting over the Hokage?"

She winced at that description, but it wasn't wrong. "We know that Uzumaki-san is related to Naruto," Sakura started.

All she got in response was a nod and a sort of 'go on,' wave.

She licked her lips. "Uzumaki-san knew Naruto on sight, which implied it was by resemblance. That could either mean a general clan resemblance, or a resemblance to a specific person, likely a parent. She asked about family casually, but was not interested in pushing for details about parents. That implies that she knew who the parent was, because she would have been trying to establish that person's identity if she was trying to figure out how Naruto was related to her."

Genma-san opened his eyes. He was watching her impassively. Something in her hindbrain twinged a warning that something wasn't right, but she couldn't stop now.

"So she knew Naruto on sight, by his resemblance to a parent." By this point she was talking fast enough that Iruka-sensei would have asked her to calm down. "She asked about siblings- why would she do that? Either she wants to know if he has them, or she suspected or knew that he has at least one sibling. She seemed surprised that he said no- she actually asked that twice."

Sakura took a quick breath. "So she really thought Naruto had a sibling and she was surprised to hear that he didn't. So. That probably means that she has strong reason to think he has a sibling. She could just be wrong. But if she's not wrong? She probably knew details about this person, and they're probably older than Naruto. She wasn't trying to find out if this person existed, she wanted either current details or to find out what Naruto knew about this person. And he knew nothing. That's very odd, if he really has a sibling. Why would she know if he doesn't know?"

Sakura knew her pitch was unpleasantly high but the panic of realization was back again. "Because she's the sibling. That's how they're related. She didn't know about Naruto, so when she met him, she wanted to know if he knew about her."

Sakura stopped, breathing hard. It took her a moment to realize that Genma was giving her only a small, mildly incredulous smile.

"That's…" he shook his head gently. "That's remarkably well-done, Sakura-san." Genma-san pulled the senbon out of his teeth and twirled it.

She looked at him. "You're not surprised," Sakura said. "You… had the same idea? Does the Hokage think so too?"

The Jounin let out a whistle. "Kid, you're going to go places with a brain like that." He crossed an ankle over his thigh. "But where you're not going is back to that office to share your theory."

Sakura stared. "That sounds like you're going to kill me."

Genma-san didn't laugh. "We're investigating the possibility of treason, Haruno-san." His voice was suddenly, painfully weary. "I hope you understand the serious nature of what you've stumbled upon here."

Wait, what? Her thoughts were roaring, but self preservation had finally hopped forward to keep Sakura's face blank. Treason? Aiko-san couldn't be a traitor unless she'd been a shinobi of Konohagakure. And surely they would have recognized her if she had been- she hadn't even changed her name.

'Whatever is going on… it isn't Aiko-san who is in trouble.'

"Yes," Genma-san said. "Consider this your notification that your speculation is classified. Speak to no one, unless the Hokage tells you differently." He sniffed once and stood up. "I think it's about time to go back, don't you?"

'No one?' Sakura wondered, mechanically following. 'Not… tell no one except your jounin-sensei? Did he just… leave that out? Or if Kakashi-sensei not supposed to know about this? Is that why he didn't come to this meeting- they thought he might think the same thing that I did?'

She didn't say a word. But… by the time they reached the Sandaime's secretary to ask approval to enter, Sakura was concentrating on one question:

'I wonder if Naruto could tell me who his parents are. I thought they must be dead. But the Sandaime wouldn't waste his time investigating possible treason from dead people.'

When the door opened, she saw the Sandaime look at Genma-san too quickly for Sasuke and Naruto to catch. Genma-san did… something fast with his right hand that Sakura couldn't see.

She plastered on a smile.

"Are you feeling better?" the Sandaime asked kindly.

Sakura nodded, and slipped into an apologetic bow to hide her face. "Yes, thank you. I'm sorry. Please excuse me."

"It's no trouble." He was making uncomfortably direct eye contact when she lifted her head. "You returned at a good time, Sakura-chan. I was just asking your teammates if they had any questions and concerns?"

Naruto threw his hand up and waved. "The Yondaime!"

"That's a rumor," Sasuke-kun muttered, leaving off the "idiot".

"Kiba said Ino said-" Naruto started arguing. She lost interest. She could ask Ino directly and get better information than Naruto would report.

Sakura pressed her lips together and tried not to be too obvious about looking Naruto over. In profile, he was… kind of cute, she grudgingly admitted. In a girly way. Maybe his nose could be a match to Aiko-san's. Was their eye shape the same? She snapped back to paying attention when Naruto broke semi-dignified reporting posture in order to plant both hands on the Sandaime's desk.

"It's not a rumor that you fought the other Hokage, right old man?" He grinned obnoxiously.

Sakura winced.

Her teammate leaned his weight onto the Hokage's desk and let his feet come off the ground. "That's true, right?" Naruto wiggled his butt. She looked away hastily. God, he was so embarrassing!

"Get down, idiot!" Sasuke-kun hissed. He grabbed Naruto's collar and yanked the team disaster back to his feet. Naruto went with a squawk and immediately tried to jab Sasuke-kun in the gut.

The Sandaime watched the tussle with impassive fondness. "That's true, Naruto," he agreed. He pulled open a drawer and extracted his pipe. "Orochimaru revived past Hokage. However, his control was broken." He lit up his pipe. "Thank you for coming, team 7. I believe the mission desk downstairs has work for you. After that, please report to the hospital for your check-up appointments. You will be getting a full physical, with x-rays and bloodwork, so be prepared. Goodbye."

All three genin saluted on reflex. Sakura was halfway out the door before she realized that the Sandaime hadn't answered Naruto's question.

She woke up. Aiko moved slowly, smoothing down the futon cover again and again with her palms to get the wrinkles out. She stood and grimaced at the taste in her mouth. Mission number one was to brush her teeth. The toothbrush was- where had she left the damn thing? It wasn't in the cup to the right of her sink, it wasn't sitting on the rim, it wasn't-

"This is just sad," Sanbi commented. "You must plan better if you will attempt this lifestyle."

He was right. Aiko flinched and fed her own restored chakra to the Rinnegan. Her purple toothbrush innocently looked back at her from where it was balanced on top of her face wash.

"Why did I do that?" Aiko frowned and tried not to make eye contact with her reflection as she cleaned her mouth. "That's a stupid place to put a toothbrush."

"I usually do my best not to wonder," Sanbi said contemplatively. "Last week, you left it on top of the clothes washer. Also, the lid to the nori that you misplaced last night? It is actually under the sofa."

That didn't sound right, but she didn't remember well enough to argue. Aiko caught her mirror self's creepy eye and frowned automatically. When she spat out the foam, she conscientiously put the toothbrush into the cup where it was supposed to live. "Stay," she muttered.

When she made her bleary way out to the kitchen, Aiko paused. It was weird to see someone else there. "Good morning," she decided. "How was your night?"

Gaara didn't look at her directly. In the clear light of day, the stains and wrinkles on his clothes were apparent, as was the sallow quality of his skin.

'Has anyone taught this child about hygiene?' Aiko wondered. 'He doesn't seem to take care of himself well.'

He needed to be outfitted. She should delegate it- but he was her kid. She needed to take care of him.

She ruffled his hair as she walked past- or she tried to, anyway. She scraped her fingers on a cloud of sand.

She checked Gaara's face. He seemed more resigned than wary or standoffish… She didn't think he'd been the one to push her away. So Aiko raised an eyebrow and slowly, deliberately reached past the slowly churning resistance to run her fingers through his rough hair. Two guesses as to what the grainy texture at the base of the strands was- "You need a bath, little one." She stepped directly in front of him and pulled her hands back to herself. She made a note to wash her hands- there were old, spare bis of people in that sand. Gross.

'I wonder if I can get him clean sand. Can sand be washed? His sand should be washed.'

Gaara was watching her with slightly narrowed eyes, but he didn't seem to outright reject the idea of a bath.

"After we eat breakfast, I would like for you to shower and borrow some of my clothes. Once you're out, we can go shopping for your personal effects and have what you're wearing now washed." She waited for a response.

He opened his mouth after a protracted silence. "Fine."

'Oh my god, he's talking to me.'

She beamed at him. That was the first word of the day, and it was a good one.

"You are alarming that child."

Aiko toned her grin down to something more dignified and turned to scavenge for breakfast. She filled the rice cooker halfway and turned it on- oh, that was going to take a while… The fridge held 5 eggs, some more cabbage and onion, soy sauce, mirin… Milk. Not much else.

Well then. They were going to eat scrambled eggs with chopped onion and cabbage on top of rice. And then she was going to find more vegetables, because he needed to get on a healthy diet.

Which reminded her…

'I need to contact Konoha and politely remind them that I expect the accommodations for my puppies to include age appropriate amounts and variety of nutrients. None of that gruel bullshit. I'm not doing that to their people.'

Sanbi sighed.

"Breakfast is going to take a while. Let's go find something you can borrow, okay?" Aiko didn't wait for a response. It was enough to know that he followed her to her bedroom and stood in the doorway while she dug through the cheap plastic drawer set in her closet. She scavenged two long-sleeved t shirts. Neither of them really seemed like his style- they were both slightly stretchy material. One was red, the other dark blue. As for pants- The only thing that seemed remotely plausible was a pair of the dark gray uniform pants. They might even be fine- it was the smallest size available. They were a little long on her, but all her height was through the torso. So…. Probably okay?

She held the options up for his perusal. "Can you stand to wear this for a few hours?" She held eye contact until he shrugged.

That was probably the best answer she was going to get, so she shepherded him into the bathroom. "Gaara, please use my shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Oh, a clean washcloth, just a second…" She pulled her loofah out of the shower and tossed it in the sink. She found a threadbare pink washcloth in the second drawer, which would do. She held it out until Gaara unfolded his arms to take it from her.

His brow was furrowed.

'Does… He does know how to take a shower, right?' Aiko hovered a moment, unsure. 'He is nearly a feral kid. And from a city with severe water use restrictions. It's… it's pretty possible that he's never used a shower.'

Well then. She stepped into the shower area and glanced back to make sure she had his attention. "This dial adjusts the temperature. I have it at a heat I like, but you can move it to anything. I'll start the water-" she did just that. A gentle rumbling echoed out of the pipes. She took the showerhead off of the hook and angled it to show him the green button underneath. "When you want the water to spray, press this button to turn it on. Press it again to turn it off. When you're done, you can turn all the water off with this lever. If you don't remember, just leave it and I'll get it."

That… That felt pretty through. Could there be something else?

Um. Towels. She only had two, and one was still damp from her shower before bed. So she pulled the other off the rack and draped it within reach of the shower. "You can use this." Aiko pursed her lips. "I'll be in the front room, taking care of morning mail, breakfast, and starting a list of supplies we need for the house. If you think of anything, you can add it to the list once you're done. Please take your time- the rice won't be ready for 40 minutes anyway." She hovered, but that was it. Aiko ran a hand through her hair. "I'll see you when you're done."

Gaara took a slightly appalling hour in the shower, judging from when the water started to when it cut off, but she wasn't entirely certain he had actually taken a shower until he padded around the corner with soggy hair, wearing both of her shirts at once. They were soaked around the neckline.

She did not sigh. She got up, found a big, soft kitchen towel, and gestured him into the tiled room. He came, frowning slightly.

"I want to dry your hair, okay?"

Gaara looked as though he was considering commenting, but settled for a nod. It was just like when she'd hugged him: he started off stiff and aloof, and relaxed in bits and pieces until he was actually leaning his head back into the towel. It was with slight regret that Aiko finished and pulled the cloth away.

She managed to get him fed and tug him out the door within fifteen minutes. The workday was starting around them- genin and chuunin were reporting to the missions office, and scattered civilians were taking their bleary-eyed walks to the fishing docks or construction sites.

'The stores are not open at this hour.'

Aiko felt slightly stupid.

"It's earlier than I realized," Aiko eventually admitted.

Gaara probably thought that his reaction was subtle, but even in her peripheral she saw him steal a quick glance at her.

"Let's go to my office. It's still closer to the shopping areas, anyway."

When she walked in, chuunin scattered. Saito was presiding over the office staff as they began hauling the day's mission scrolls to the front desk. She gave Aiko only the briefest of glances, but a coltish genin hauling the enormous master binder of staff looked incredibly alarmed to see her.

'You'd think it would not be a surprise that the Mizukage is occasionally in the Mizukage's office.'

Sanbi huffed. "Very occasionally, as it were."

Dickhead. She had other things going on, alright?

She pressed her lips together sourly and walked past. The clock in her office claimed it was 6:34. When a frightfully thin genin with light brown hair brought in a tray with coffee at 6:39, Aiko was reading details on the construction report for the repaired bridge. She tried to make eye contact and smile, but the boy ducked his head and set the coffee on her desk as far from her as possible.

Gaara watched this happen, perfectly still on the straight-backed chair across from her desk.

Aiko resisted the urge to sigh. "Thank you," she said. "I need a few things. First off, let's add a cup of tea to my morning order whenever Gaara-kun comes with me to the office. Secondly, tell Saito-san that I'd like to locate a couch and a short table for the back wall, as soon as is reasonably possible. And when Mira-san comes in, she should have a list of medical personnel in the village. I want that list fleshed out with contact information and someone to guide me to each address on the list. I want to tour every clinic and hospital today, preferably before 3pm."

He repeated the orders silently back, mouth moving.

That was… well. A bit unusual, but okay. Aiko waited patiently.

The genin blinked rapidly and then nodded. "Yes." He tapped his fingers against the now-empty tray he'd brought her coffee on. 3 taps, 5 taps, 3 taps, and then he forcibly stilled his fingers. "Will that be all?"

"Yes." She managed a smile, because she was starting to suspect that his ticks had nothing to do with her. "Goodbye."

He left without further comment, which was oddly funny for a reason she couldn't put it in words.

Aiko shook it off and went back to her reading. Gaara had initially turned down all offers of entertainment, but after about an hour he drifted to look at the bookshelves on the wall. When she set down the last invoices for the dock materials, he was a good twenty pages into a book of Kirigakure's political history.

'I need to read that one,' Aiko remembered, slightly guiltily. She knew what Konohagakure cared to teach, but it probably wasn't the same or as detailed.

Ah well. It was nice to see the tension off of Gaara's face. He seemed more peaceful than she'd ever seen, with a boring book and the second teapot of the day set by his side.

He looked up and caught her smiling at him. Gaara frowned instinctively. But after a moment, he seemed to deliberately wipe the negativity off of his features and give her a nod.

She nodded back and then pulled out Mifune's letters again to reread them and implant the details into her memory. Then she drafted a letter to Konohagakure.

At 9, she took Gaara out for the basic supplies of clothes and toiletries and groceries. He was completely disinterested. She gave up on getting his approval for most things and simply picked out a combination of the practical and the whimsical. He didn't seem to have any interest in decorating his room, but it was just too bleak to leave without anything personal. It might have been too ambitious, but she had a small bookshelf and a miniature table added to the huge order to be brought to the house and assembled while she was at work. Hopefully he would find something he wanted to put on them… But just in case he didn't, she picked out a few potted plants of various sizes.

In mid-morning and the early afternoon, she spent her time touring small clinics and checked in on the main hospital. She took her masterlist of persons and places with her and made notes of impressions and facts after each encounter. She left swirling eddies of terrified and confused medical workers in her wake, but that couldn't really be helped. It was going to take time for the general populace to feel safe around a Mizukage. In the meantime, she had work to do.

They needed everything, frankly. They needed more doctors and nurses, they needed better training, more and better medicine, more and better facilities and equipment. The project would have to be approached in starts and stops, but it had to be started.

She called in the man whose half-remembered name started with "Yama" and had a meeting about the contents she needed him to draft in proposals and letters to Mifune. Gaara watched on with surprising engagement for a 12-year old. Granted, he was a 12 year old who would have become Kazekage by 14 in another world, so maybe she ought to be making a concerted effort towards furthering his education with the assumption that he had political ambitions. The meeting ended at 3, at which point she took the time for a good, long stretch and surreptitiously found out that her assistant's full name was 'Yamagi'.

'After lunch, I need to make a chart of my administrative personnel and make sure I know who is reporting to whom, so I can make any changes necessary and keep bad combinations apart.'

Oh. After lunch, huh. That should have been hours ago.

"I'm hungry," Aiko said, in a tone of realization. Had she… She looked at her ward guiltily. "Gaara, I forgot to feed you. Are you hungry?"

He gave her his full attention. "I am not a cat."

Well, yeah. She was aware of that. Cats could feed themselves.

'It's time for a break.'

Aiko stood up and laced her fingers over her head, reaching as far up as she could reach. She felt the stretch down her sides and shoulderblades. "Let's take the afternoon," she said. "A late lunch, and some kind of outing. There's a library I want to visit, and we could see a park, museum, go for a run or do some training- what do you like?"

Gaara just looked at her, as thought he had no idea what to do with this question.

She swallowed. "I'll pick lunch, and you can think on that while we eat." She crossed the room to pull open the door and call for her secretary. Mira-san came instead, holding what must be the finalized copies of mission reports from the first shift, ready for her notarization and pending filing.

Aiko felt oddly guilty for saying it, but- "I'll be out of the office for several hours. I'll return between 6 and 7."

"You have a meeting with Terumi-san at 6:30," Mira said sternly.

She gave the older woman a look, raising her left eyebrow. "I'm aware," Aiko said simply. She held out a hand. After a moment, Mira passed over the binder. "Thank you. That will be all."

She locked up the office from inside. Gaara watched, apparently disinterested. When she held out her hand to him, however, he grabbed it with enough force to turn her fingers white and that somehow turned into something that was almost a hug. Aiko smoothed down his hair with her free hand and did not comment on the desperate force with which he pressed his head into her collarbones. She had meant to hiraishin them away quickly, but she ended up just holding him until he started to lean his head away.

Aiko took them to Grass.

Gaara stepped away quickly in the sunshine, but he didn't pull his hand free. So she kept hold of it. They walked down the city streets of an area she was only passingly familiar with until they found a cafe that looked half-decent. Aiko picked a soup, salad, and sandwich meal with coffee, but Gaara seemed more comfortable with more traditional, home-styled offerings. He ate all his tsukemono- he liked sour and bitter flavors, then?- and the soup and broiled fish, but he left a good portion of his rice.

The libraries in Grass's civilian capital were impressive stone buildings, haughty and dark against the skyline. Gaara drifted along behind her while she collected a few things from the architectural college's library, one tome from the medical college's building, and then finally perked up when she went to the general library. She glanced down at him, fussing with the canvas strap of her bag. It was digging into her shoulder from the weight of the books inside, but she could fit a few more things.

"Anything you want," Aiko promised lightly. "I'll be at that table reading. Why don't you have a look around? Pick at least one book out. You can take more, but I'll be coming back next week. So you can always get something else then."

True to her word, she set to reading in the enforced quiet of the public areas and let him explore without her hovering or guiding. He didn't go far, which was a little saddening, but it did make it easier to keep an eye on him until she got too immersed into what she was reading about foundations and frames.

'I should have listened to Yamato more,' she regretted. 'Over the years, he's told me a lot offhand. I wouldn't be starting off with so little understanding if I'd paid attention.'

She definitely couldn't ask him now- not about architecture in general, and certainly not for clues about how to improve and use her Mokuton. Obito had been right that she could use it, and with a lot more stamina than Yamato. But her control was just sad. She needed a lot of practice, and she needed a lot more understanding of what she should be trying to do.

Pursuing it as a side project was the best solution. Using Mokuton would drastically increase speed and decrease costs associated with importing materials and skilled labor. There was minimal danger in commissioning Yamato for many of the building projects. But some things were in areas where he couldn't be trusted, or would need to have secret floor plans, and definitely couldn't afford to have any of the deliberate weakness that he might be tempted to plant.

She knew Yamato. He was not going to rig an orphanage or footbridge to fall. But he would sabotage government buildings, and bring back information about important locations of food and water supplies, of electrical lines and other such infrastructural weak points.

Gaara was sitting beside her with a closed book on the table in front of him when she looked up. She checked her watch compulsively- 5:30.

They still had some time, then. She tapped her fingers on the table and smiled at him. "Is there anything you want to do?" She held out her hand for his book, intending to put it with hers.

Gaara put his hand on it and slid it away from her. His bony hand covered the title protectively.

Aiko blinked. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to take your things. I just thought I'd carry it for you."

He looked at her heavy canvas bag and then away. Stubborn baby.

"Let's get you your own book bag," Aiko decided. She stood up and headed for the checkout counter, relieved that he followed. "And then?"

She didn't actually expect him to answer. So it was surprisingly thrilling to hear him say, "What kind of museum?"

They used her forged library card to check out all the books like the criminal she was, found him a dark blue bag in a store meant for the university students, and then used their remaining half an hour in a museum detailing the history of the local castle and the series of clans who had inhabited it. She thought Gaara might actually want to see the castle- she promised him that they would do that when they returned the next week.

There wasn't, like, an official tour or anything. The castle was still inhabited. But they were shinobi, they could break in.

'Or I guess I could request it, as the Mizukage?' she vaguely considered. Probably not. That would complicate things. Sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. It was best to just be so sneaky that no one would know they'd been by.

Her office was just as she'd left it, but when she unlocked the door, she found a couch in the hallway immediately outside. Aiko poked her head out and looked around- there were some other small additions further down: a table, a vase with flowers, a lamp, some small pillows. Huh. That was good service. When she began hauling items in, Gaara assisted without comment. She was walking backwards with one end of the couch when Mei entered the area. The older woman raised an eyebrow, but she swooped in to help Gaara without comment.

"Good evening, Mizukage-sama," Mei said. "May I be of further assistance?"

Aiko walked past to grab the lamp and set it on the table. Gaara was already putting the pillows on the couch. "No," she said, belatedly. "I don't think so." She paused. "Ah, did you submit a request for refreshments on your way in?"

"No. I will do so immediately. Coffee, and…." Mei let her voice trail off, looking at Gaara implacably.

He looked at Aiko. She nodded, trying to prompt him to speak for himself.

"Water will be fine," he said.

She resisted the urge to tell him he was doing a very good job. He probably wouldn't respond well to that. Instead, she just nodded and dithered for a moment over where she should sit. She'd like to sit with Gaara on the couch, but… that seemed more appropriate for less relaxed times. This was an informal meeting with Mei, but Mei was not her friend.

Aiko sat behind her desk and gestured Gaara to the couch so that Mei could take the seating he'd been haunting all day.

When Mei returned, she expressed no more curiosity about Gaara than she'd demonstrated last night, at their longer discussion at Aiko's home. At first, Aiko noticed Gaara listening intently to their conversation. But it was truly boring stuff- dossiers on possible diplomats, information of Hunter-nin and Black-Ops procedural minutia- and after a while he began alternating between his library book and taking neat, deliberate notes on a pad of office paper. She needed to get him notebooks, then.

After Mei left, Aiko took the piles of paperwork with her to the couch and did her reading and stamping there. Mira-san had gone home, as well as most of the day staff. But one of the skeleton crew waiting for the last mission reports of the day trotted in and out, bearing coffee and water and tea. When asked, they went out and returned with steaming curry for dinner. She and Gaara ate there, as the sun went down and drafts of various letters and proposals were sent in for Aiko's approval at the end of the office day. Before 8, all of her in-going correspondence had been dealt with, reports read, requests for the following day filed, and the changes to her schedule approved. She led Gaara out past the front desk as security came by to lock the building for the night.

It was dark. Like, really dark. The city lights weren't on yet- it hadn't been prioritized. But there were some lanterns burning in attempts to entice customers into the few restaurants open, and ambient noise that kept the city from being too creepily empty.

At home, it was something of a relief to see that the genin team she'd had take her things home had done a nice job with putting away groceries and filling up Gaara's bedroom and adding his toiletries to the bathroom. Someone had even added some things of their own volition- she'd need to find out who was responsible for realizing she was out of floss and replacing it. That was thorough and thoughtful.

'I wonder what dad is doing in Konoha.' She curled up on a cushion in front of the in-ground firepit without lighting it. 'The Sandaime can't possibly trust him yet. Will he reach out to Naruto right away?'

Would Naruto even deal well with that? Would-

"However interesting those troubles, you do not have the leisure time to struggle with them. You have many fascinating problems of your own. Shall I list them?"

'You're a mediocre and mean turtle.'

There wasn't much heat in the insult, because he was right. She needed to remember that she served Kirigakure's people, not Konoha's. She didn't have to be cruel, but she couldn't waste away resources and energy that her people needed.

"Gaara," she managed. She didn't have to look over to know he was paying attention. "Do you have any ideas about what you would like to do? You don't have to do any kind of shinobi work for us- it's probably inadvisable unless you decide you don't want to return to Suna at all. But you should probably be contributing while you're staying here. It sort of looks like nepotism if I have everyone but my kid helping out, you know?"

It took nearly a minute for Gaara to decide to come closer. Aiko reflected that he walked like a cat: near silent, and with an aloofness that said his chosen path had absolutely nothing to do with anyone else who might be in the room.

"Apprentice," he said.

Aiko actually turned to look at him so he could fully appreciate the way she was contorting her face. She didn't know what emotion it was conveying, but it was definitely moving in an interesting way. "I would like clarification."

"I'm going back to Suna." Gaara's lip curled, and teeth peered out. "Eventually."

She waited.

He seemed to think that was enough.

It was not enough. "That's your choice," Aiko said as patiently as she could manage. "Weird, but okay. Who are you apprenticing to and why? Or are you asking for an apprentice?"

"You." The word was spat out, to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. "You're like me, but they listen to you. I need to be able to do that as well. Show me how to make them respect me. I'm the only one Sunagakure has who is strong enough to lead."

She leaned back on her cushion and braced her weight on her palms. "That sounds like the opposite of what I asked for," Aiko countered. "I asked how you might contribute to Kirigakure, you're saying that you want a lot of my time and attention." She shook her head, feeling the weight of her hair swaying behind her. "Make it worth my while, and we can talk."

Gaara crossed his stick-thin, anemic arms, ad tried to look tall. "Kirigakure will benefit from competent leadership in Sunagakure."

"Probably. How can you know you'll be a competent leader?"

He scoffed. "Is it your teaching abilities that you doubt, or my capacity for learning?"

"I doubt a lot of things," Aiko rebuffed. "The time and attention I can dedicate to your education, your emotional capacity to bond with civilians, the likelihood that Sunagakure's citizens are going to react as Kirigakure's have, and yes, my ability to teach you to govern given that I have a style you are not suited to, and I'm making shit up as I go." She paused. "Constantly," Aiko stressed. "I don't know what I'm doing. I can't teach you how to manage a city because I'm still learning. I encounter a problem, I seek out information and attempt to predict future problems and work to preempt them. I can teach you how I think and problem-solve, but I can't teach you how to do that job."

"My current skill-set is killing people," Gaara said flatly. "Whatever you have to teach me can't make me worse."

That was just untrue, but sort of sweet in naivety. "I could teach you about-" Aiko stopped, remembered how young Gaara was, and frowned. "There's a lot I can't teach you about. But fine. I'll consider your proposal with a trial period." She pulled her hands onto her lap and leaned forward. "You work for me, now."

"How long is this trial period?" Gaara asked.

She tilted her jaw up. "As long as it needs to be."

"That's not good enough." He was turning a bit red, pupils dilating in the darkness. "I can't be away from Sunagakure indefinitely, nor can they mistakenly think me a traitor."

They held eye contact. Aiko kept waiting for him to turn away or change expression, to either back down or become aggressive. But he just matched her stare.

She cracked a smile. "Fair enough." She gave him a half-bow. "It's a deal, then. I'll make sure that doesn't happen. I will either accept or reject you as an apprentice within a month."

He took a moment and then bowed uncertainly. "Uzumaki-shishou?" Gaara asked. "Aiko-sama?"

Both of those were weird and markedly more responsible and adult-sounding than she felt, but one was significantly less weird to hear. "Aiko-sama," she confirmed. Ugh. So weird. "We are both going to be learning on our feet, Gaara. Tomorrow I want you to accompany and assist an architectural specialist. I think that your sand could be very useful for his construction project. Demonstrate your abilities, learn from him. I'll expect you in my office at 4pm for a detailed report of his thoughts and what you've understood." She stretched. "I'll have someone take you to him at 8 tomorrow morning. Be ready to take direction."

If she'd told that to Sasuke at that age, she would have gotten a sneer. Naruto? Whining. But Gaara only nodded.

It was a little unnerving. But she went about her night as if she wasn't bothered by the compliance. She answered some letters, sent an updated set of orders to the third border post with a courier, and showered before bed. Even in the hot water, she couldn't relax. Eventually she gave up and wrapped her towel around her body and laid on top of her sheets. The damp towel and her sopping her made her cold and uncomfortable.

"I really should hang this towel up so that it dries," Aiko said to herself. But she couldn't find the energy to move, even to unwrap the towel and push it off the bed. Whatever. She closed her eyes, dreading everything. She let the Rinnegan sleep.

Some of the tenseness in her neck washed away with the sinus pain she hadn't exactly noticed building over the course of the day. She stared bleakly into the darkness for a while. There was a pressure in her chest. It wasn't like something sitting on her body. It was like there was something small and hard pushing outwards inside of her breastbone, trying to open up a space to contain… something. Anything.

It was difficult to muster the give-a-damn to finish getting ready for bed, when her body felt so heavy and tired. Eventually, she contorted enough to reach her fingers along the wall along her head and flip off the lights. It was hard to know how long it took for her to fall asleep.

[karenarella22]

Second.

Hello everybody, hope you're doing great, this is a new chapter o my novel, we'll devolped the story a little bit more, and now we are entring Aeryne's world as well, this is short one but I hope you like it. There is graphic content in all of the chapters so read at your own risk.

***

-All available units go to the Church on Lane St., there are reports of neighbors asking for help...again-I hear on the radio as I take the second bite of the slice of pizza that a few minutes ago had become my lunch.

-This is Wolf, I'm a minute away from the scene- I wipe the corner of my lips hoping to clear any sign of my recent and very limited lunch, I put on my seat belt and drive to the blessed Church. I hope I haven't had my lunch interrupted by a couple of kids throwing eggs for the third time this month.

I walked over after leaving the car parked where it couldn't be dirty with rotten eggs.

Arriving at the doors of the Church, I managed to see the commotion of the neighbors around the priest who tries to keep the crowd calm, although at first glance he does not seem to be able to calm himself.

-Good morning everyone...- I approach the entrance of the place- What happened father?-

-Come... with me and you will see the misfortune daughter- look at the entrance of the place with visible obfuscation and begin to walk slowly and reluctantly towards whatever it is that is there inside.

The chapel of San Bernardino is a meeting point for the community that Father Marcos built years ago with the help of the neighbors. I follow in his footsteps discovering for the first time in a very long time the construction inside, high ceiling, black mahogany that covers the entire property with a mystical mantle typical of churches, the altar in front of the pews for the parishioners to pray.

I arrive at the internal courtyard of the property where the priest abruptly stops his march.

-This is as far as I get in daughter- I continue the indicated path until I locate the reason for such a commotion.

-Father get out of here, make sure no one enters or leaves the parish- I take out my cell phone from my pocket and dial my partner who is working on an armed robbery on the other side of the city, due to the lack of personnel in the station for the vacation season we have to divide the tasks so as not to overload ourselves with work, but this is almost the exception, the whole office is in charge of whatever this is until we find the murderer.

As the reinforcements arrive I begin to review the scene.

The victim has the characteristics of a man in his 40s, he is facing the north wall of the building, his knees are bent and he appears to be "praying". His body is covered in what looks like a white cotton robe that reaches a little below his calves; his hands are tied with a rope under his chin. No obvious alterations of any kind are seen considering he was brutally murdered with the chapel's cross nailed into his skull.

The most disconcerting thing about this, if there could be anything else, is the sentence written on the wall on the other side of the small inner courtyard in what appears to be blood.

"...I was created by DIVINE power..."

The writing sounds familiar to me from somewhere but I can't pinpoint exactly where, I keep collecting information trying to stay focused but the surrounding environment makes me very uncomfortable. The air feels thick, some pigeons fly to their nests above the bell tower moving from here to there. If we add to the scene the fact that I haven't set foot in the Church since my abrupt flight from town, this is not an ideal situation.

The cloudy weather, plus the setting in which I find myself, makes this moment worthy of a horror movie. I drown those thoughts in my head, despite having many problems with the creed that the Church preaches, I must keep my personal affairs aside since it is useless for me to concentrate on the hatred I have for it, to do my job well I have to concentrate on the victim.

The wound on this poor man's head is very deep and makes me think that the perpetrator is probably a man or woman with a lot of bodily strength.

From time to time I turn my vigilant gaze around, the place gives me chills reminding me the dark times of my past that come back to haunt me on daily basis.

I take a deep breath trying to forget the memories as I continue to catalog all the evidence with great care.

[helldustedstories]

If there was one thing Stolas was used to, living in this palace, it was not having any privacy. At one point, he had thought that his room could be a safe haven, that he could retreat there when he didn't want to be bothered, when he needed to be alone. And while that was true to some extent, the staff still reported to his father.

It had been one of the staff members finding his journal and showing it to his father, along with his recent attempt that had finally forced Paimon to do something, to seek some sort of treatment for Stolas. Which was why Dr. Bel was here.

He wraps his arms around himself, pulling at his feathers without thinking, his gaze somewhere around Dr. Bel's shoulder instead of making eye contact, despite how much his father and his tutors scolded him for not fully looking at people. She had offered him a smile, was trying to get him to open up to her, but he's just so tired. He doesn't want to do this song and dance; all he wants is to get this over with.

But at the same time…., she said that anything he told her would be kept in confidence. The idea that he could have a space to talk, to say everything he couldn't tell his father, even for just this moment?

Maybe that's not so useless after all. Not like him. He's the one who's useless. Pathetic and worthless, the way Stella's always telling him, every time they meet, the way his father looks at him, clearly disappointed every time he sees him.

He had tried so hard to live up to everything his father expected of him, had thrown himself into learning his grimoire, had learned at an exponential rate, if his tutors were to be believed, but it still wasn't enough.

He wasn't enough, wouldn't ever be enough. Which was the other reason he'd tried to take himself out of the equation. If he wasn't constantly disappointing everyone, wouldn't they be better off? Wouldn't everyone's life be better without him in it?

Stolas takes a deep, shaky breath, letting it out slowly, even as he curls further in on himself. He's not entirely certain he can trust her not to tell his father what he says…., but at this point, what does he have left to lose?

"I couldn't see any other options," he says finally, his voice small, far wearier than his sixteen years should be. "Father doesn't listen to me when I tell him how miserable I am, and…," he trails off, hesitating. But he'd started; he might as well actually tell her. "Did you know they're planning my wedding for my eighteenth birthday? I've been engaged since I was ten years old, and I thought I could get out of it somehow, but…., that's the day my life truly ends."

He lets out another sigh, pulling on his feathers in earnest, looking down into his lap. His mind is racing; there were so many different things he'd thought about, so many different reasons he'd had for wanting to escape. It's hard to pinpoint just one. "I've never been good enough for anyone. I thought….everyone would just…..be better off without me."

There had been a time that Stolas had thought, even if his father dictated what his job would be, where his powers would be concentrated, he could still have something of a life of his own. But everything had been written in stone for him, since he was ten years old. He was doomed to live a life that he didn't want with a spouse who hated him, destined to be a failure for the rest of his life; he truly hadn't seen any other options.

// @hlylight / @slecp

Stolas Goetia; xx/xx/xxxx Goetia Private Residence; 8:03 AM (In-Person) Stolas is meeting today to discuss a change in behavior, interpersonal relationships with family, and a possible diagnosis of depression. When asked about their recent emotional difficulty, Stolas brought up their father (P); Client also showed melancholia in voice and movement.

Members of the Goetia class were not a rare addition to her couch. They were the most delicate of Hell's hierarchy using external control, status, and their access to magic to hold the line between herself and the rest of Hell. It was fascinating to watch but exhausting to participate in. Stolas seemed to be another victim of the demands they ask of their lineage; an unfortunate but routine problem. It will likely end the same way many do—

While Paimon had been (brutally) honest in his reasons for contacting her, it was better to build a rapport with the heir. Trust will go further than anything else especially once they discuss medication and long-term care. A plan. Good.

Bel shifted to uncross her legs, arms falling to her lap, a small smile on the lips. Trust me. " What I need to hear is how you feel. I am not interviewing your father but you and what is said is in confidence between us— " While she felt that Paimon would ask, her notes were her own and he would not step a line with her. He liked his cozy nest too much to risk it.

[imaginesbymonika]

Morals

Pairing: Javier Peña x reader

Plot: the heartless man suddenly becomes quite warm

Warnings: a lot of swearing, fluff towards the end, humor in between

Masterlist | Masterlist Pedro Pascal

Song to listen to while reading

She was starting to get too close. Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen. He had a reputation, and a good one as well, he couldn't damage that. Thinking about those prostitutes he was meeting up with, he was capable of pinpointing down his emotions. However, when he looked at her, he somehow felt differently. Maybe it was the age difference that was messing with his head, the way he craved to protect her but also to fuck her brains out. Fuck. Could it be? Javier Peña falling in fucking love?

"You're okay?", a voice asks, bringing the brown-haired man back to reality. "Yeah.", he responded dryly, before his eyes once again found their way back to her.

Y/N Y/LN. A fellow DEA Agent, god, a promising one too. Never missed a target. Narcos were calling her "punto rojo". She was as feared as she was wanted. Murphy furrows his forehead as he slowly follows his partner's eyes. Only shaking his head once he discovered who he is staring at:" Peña.", he hisses, his eyebrow twitching in unadulterated enjoyment:" Would you stop doing that and concentrate on the documents?" Lord, he was trying. 

"Did you already fuck her yet? Or...?", Murphy's voice is hushed, but Javier still glances around- hoping that no one is overhearing their little dialogue. "I haven't.", he simply responds:" We just went out to grab a few drinks, nothing more." "Nothing more?", the blonde man looks at him in honest astonishment, his eyes widen:" Well, that's new. Usually, you-." He stops, as the realization hits him. He chuckles before ultimately bursting into loud laughter. A few people turn their heads to peek in their direction, and Y/N does too. When she meets Javier's gaze she smiles softly, before her attention shifts back to whatever is laying on her desk.  

"What?", he hisses:" What's so funny?"

Steve leans closer until he is only a few centimeters away from his friend:" You like that girl, that's why you haven't fucked her yet." But Javier just rolls his eyes, as frustration settles in:" Listen, Y/N is 10 years younger than me, asshole. I still have my morals." But as soon as he finishes his sentence, Murphy once again begins to laugh at him which only makes him rub the bridge of his nose. If anything this was giving him a headache. 

"Who are you trying to fool, huh? Yourself? Good job, buddy. That might work with someone who doesn't know you. But I do, and we both know that you don't give a shit about morals.", he takes a folder into his hands:" You just don't want to fuck this up- you like it, acknowledge it."

Javier doesn't answer, instead, he takes one folder into his own hands and walks straight past him. Maybe he should quit seeing her- but that thought alone just made his insides turn. That couldn't be good, could it? Fuck. 

"That sounds reasonable.", Y/N mumbles, turning away from her colleague. She puts a few papers into her bag before she adds:" Maybe he turned up because it was important. When I'm coming back tomorrow, we will review that first thing." The tall man in uniform nods before a cunning smile appears on his face:" Any plans for tonight, agent?" 

However, before Y/N had any chance to react someone behind her clears their throat. "Yeah.", a familiar voice declares:" She's busy." Javier's voice is stern, while he stares at the man in front of him. " Ja-." "Oh really?", he replies, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He must be new. Usually, no one dares to talk back to Javier. No one. The brown-haired agent chuckles drily and takes a step towards him:" Really."

"Okay.", Y/N intervenes and steps in between the two men. She holds up her arms:" That is enough. Yes, I am busy-.", she explains staring at her colleague, before turning to glance at Javier:" Because I am going home, alone!" She grabs her bag, before walking out of the room. "Good night.", she says without looking back. She doesn't have to. Y/N can sense how his eyes are burning holes into the back of her head. 

Javier watches how she walks out of the front door before he looks at Murphy. His partner is giving him two thumbs up, before winking at him. Fuck. 

"Y/N, wait!"

The young woman rolls her eyes but proceeds to walk slower toward her car. " I know, that you heard me.", he calls after her. Y/N sighs and eventually turns around:" What?", she growls, abruptly feeling awfully frustrated by him:" What the fuck was that? Huh?" Javier stares at her. He had no idea why he reacted the way he just did. Maybe it was true what Murphy said, he truly didn't have any morals when it came to women, and he was willing to break every rule for Y/N:" I don't-."

“Don’t you fucking play with me, Peña!”, she hisses, holding up her finger:” Don’t you dare!”

A weak chuckle escapes his lips while he shakes his head:" Okay, fine. Hermosa. Listen." He pauses. He was really about to tell a girl, that he likes her. Never in his life did he ever do something so fucking stupid. Javier feels how his pals start to sweat. How the fuck does one confess their romantic feelings? Y/N looks at him for a moment, before she shakes her head in disappointment:" This is pointless.", she says before turning around. 

"I enjoy spending time with you." Shit, here he goes. At that Y/N's eyes widen and she stops dead in her tracks. "I- I enjoy spending time with you, and judging by the way that asshole was looking at you I knew he was about to ask you out. I-. The thought of someone else doing that with you- going to the same bars, talking about the same topics... honestly, I don't like that."

"You- oh my god.", she spins around:" I cannot believe what I am hearing... you- you don't like that?" The agent throws her hands into the air before she continues raising her voice at poor Javier. She lifts her head and glances at the night sky as if someone else is listening:" Can you believe that?! He doesn't like that!" "Y/N, I-."

"No, Javier.", she stares at him:" I am not someone you can play with, and act all territorial whenever you like to. I am not some type of toy-!" "When did I say that?", he cuts her off, taking a step forward:" Don't you think that if I would see you as a toy, something to 'play with', I wouldn't have made a move already?" Y/N opens her mouth to react but closes it almost instantly. He was right. 

He exhales:" Listen, Y/N. I usually don't do this, but-."

"Then don't.", she says, her voice is suddenly much smoother than before:" Come on, let's go." "What?", Javier asks, raising his eyebrows in confusion. 

She chuckles:" Let's grab a drink. You don't have to say something unless you're ready to say it.", a smile emerges on her lips:" I get it." 

Y/N can see the way his face immediately relaxes. He watches her walk away before he quickly follows her to her car. Fuck, he really hoped that Murphy didn't witness that, that fucker would never shut up about it. 

[crescent-yoon]

Lovers In The Night 🌙

Ib: Lovers In The Night - Seori

Summary: What happens when a boy and a girl meet for the first time, only to have this one night. All by pure coincidence.

🌙

Bullies. That's how you managed to bump into Yang Jungwon. It was funny, really. The bullies were the one that chased you but you didn't know whether to be angry or thank them because that's how you met Jungwon after all.

They were chasing you over god knows what, you had been running from them for so long that you hadn't even begun to remember anymore, when you had bumped into something hard that had caused you to fall onto the ground.

"I'm sorry." You shyly and quickly nodded towards him, hearing the bullies approaching. Their loud feet stomping on the pavement as they ran in your direction.

"Hey!" One of the bullies yelled as they came to a stop a few feet behind you. "Y/N. Where do you think you're going? You can't avoid us."

You couldn't find it in you to move or glance behind you. All you could do was bring yourself to stare at the ground, almost completely forgetting about the boy in front of you.

"She's with me." He suddenly speaks up with a clear of his throat.

Why is he sticking up for me? You thought to yourself.

"Isn't that Yang Jungwon?" You heard another one of the bullies say.

So, Jungwon was his name.

"That is okay, right?" Suddenly, he looks down at you and asks you, "they're not bothering you, are they?"

It was the kind of tone that someone uses when they already know the answer, or the kind of tone a parent uses to lecture a young child.

"N-no?" You couldn't help but stutter as you looked and saw the fear in the bullies' eyes.

What's the matter with them? You internally asked, confused but you wouldn't dare question it aloud.

"Alright, well." He flashed a smile, it seemed almost misleading. "You can leave now. Y/N's with me."

The bullies all bowed politely in acceptance and quickly ran back in the direction the had chased me from. While you still sat on the ground, watching it all.

Once they were out of the two of yours peripherals, he looked down at you with a smile. Though this one was different. This one seemed genuine.

"Jungwon." His dimples showed as he extended his hands out towards you partially for a handshake and partially to help you up.

"I'm Y/N." You returned the smile, dusting of your hands on your pants before accepting his hand.

It seemed as though he was going to say more but his own thoughts had interrupted him.

With wide eyes he asked, "Doesn't your ankle hurt?"

Confused, you had looked down only to see that your ankle was bleeding just a bit, but you had felt fine.

"No, I'm alright." You laughed, nervously. You weren't sure why you were nervous but you weren't uncomfortable.

"Come on." He sighed as he suddenly bent down, back in front of you.

"Huh??"

"Get on my back."

You weren't sure why you had agreed. I mean, your ankle had felt just fine and you had only met Jungwon approximately 5 minutes ago.

"Where are we going?" You asked, wrapping your arms tighter around him as he carefully stood up.

"The convenience store," he grunted as he started walking. "They're always open and you're ankle is going to get infected if you don't take care of it."

You didn't have any objections seeing as how you were quite a forgetful person. By the time you got home, you'd be so exhausted that you'd forget about your ankle entirely.

"It isn't far away. It's probably down the block from here."

"Do you live around here?" You asked as you rested your chin on his shoulder. "I don't think I've seen you around before."

"I used to live around here but recently I moved to Seoul because of the things happening in my life right now."

"Oh, did something bad happen?"

"Quite the opposite, actually." He grunted as he placed me on a chair in front of the convenience store. "Amazing things happened to where I could fulfill my dreams."

More was on the tip of your tongue. You wanted to ask what that dream was but as he was straightening out his flannel he asked, "do you want anything, like a drink or a snack, while I'm in there getting stuff for your ankle?"

Though you were hungry, you had already felt bad enough that he had carried you there and offered to treat your ankle. So, you just shook your head and watched him go inside.

As you waited for him to come back out, you couldn't help but notice how beautiful the moon looked.

Soon, Jungwon had come out of the convenience store with what looked like more than he could carry. He was holding a bag with the handles in his mouth (you had assumed that it was probably items for your ankle), two sodas on his sides, keeping them there with his arms, and two bowls of noodles in his hands. You had stood up to try and help him but he just shook his head and mumbled a firm 'no' at you.

After he has set the items down with a bit of hassle, he slid one of the sodas and bowl of noodles towards you as he put your ankle on top of his thighs.

"I know you said that you weren't hungry but I could totally see through you." Jungwon laughed as he began opening a bag of cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "It was so obvious that you were hungry. I really don't mind buying you food, plus it'll be a good distraction for you."

"A distraction?" You tilted your head, mouth full of noodles as you began to feel a stinging sensation on your ankle.

Now you had known what he meant. It was to distract you from the fact that he was going to clean your wound up and it would burn.

You tried your best to keep still and continue eating as he treated your ankle. You even tried to ignore the fact that now, he had moved on to the cotton swabs and ointment. You were most definitely trying your hardest not to flinch, scared that you might injure him and then you'll both need to be treated.

You were halfway done with your ramen when he had finsished cleaning it and wrapped a bit of gauze over your ankle.

He gently patted your ankle as if he were indicating that he were finished and that it's okay.

"See. All done." He mumbled as he took a bite of his noodles. "And you're ankle is swollen, by the way."

"Thank you." I smiled gratefully at him as I finished eating as well. "I can still walk though. So you really didn't need to carry me and you really didn't have to do all these nice things for me."

"It's fine, really." He tilted his head at me, his dimples reappearing again. "Plus, I was going to ask you for a favor."

It caught you by surprise but you answered with a, 'sure'.

"I don't know the next I'll be around here, so if it's okay with you, hang out with me. Just for this one night."

Somehow he kept managing to surprise you and always, you couldn't find it in you to say no to him.

"Alright." You said, causing Jungwon to burst with glee.

You two had finished eating and before you knew it, he was holding onto your hand and running with you far off into the darkness.

"Where are we going?" You asked a you tried to keep your feet in place with his, wincing from time to time from your ankle.

"That's the beauty of it, Y/N." He yelled over the sound of your footsteps. Though you were behind him, you could hear the excitement in his voice and feel it in the way he gently squeezed your hand. "We don't know! We'll just have to adventure!"

You kept running as far as each other's feet carried you until you two had found an arcade and a claw machine outside.

"Wait, Y/N!" He stopped and pulled you over to the claw machine. "Let's play this! I bet I can totally win you something!"

You were in happy disbelief. How could this boy get so excited over winning something for you and why would he want to do that?

You watched as he attempted and immediately failed. He looked at you in shock and pointed at the machine as if he were in utter disbelief that he had just lost.

"Wait. Did you see that?" He shook his head playfully as turned back to the machine again. "Let me try it again."

At this point, you couldn't help but be amused. You knew that it was a game designed for people to lose but you couldn't help but find it funny (and a quite cute) that he was concentrating so hard.

After a few more attempts, you started to glance at the arcade. Curious about what games you and Jungwon could play on there.

"Can I try it?" You smiled at him after he had lost another attempt.

"Sure." He smiled with an amused look on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned on the glass, putting another coin in the machine for you. "But don't expect to win though. You saw how it went for me. It's deadly difficult."

You couldn't help but shake your head with a smile as you pinpointed the plush doll that you had wanted to win. You really wanted to get the sheep plush. It reminded you a bit of Jungwon for some reason. After a few seconds of trying to center the claw, you decided to push the button that makes the claw grab it.

You jumped up and down in joy and surprise as you had managed to collect it. You hadn't even noticed that you had quickly hugged Jungwon.

His eyes had widened and he stood there in shock. Partially due to the fact that you got a plush doll in your first try and partially because you had just hugged him and he felt tingly inside.

You handed him the sheep plush with a giggle as he still stood like a statute and began walking off into the arcade.

It took him a second to come to realization but he ran after you with the plush doll in his hands and grabbed your hand to make sure that you don't wander off anywhere else.

You had no idea why but you felt all tingly inside when he had done that.

"What do you want to play?" Jungwon asked you as he swayed your intertwined hands together, holding the sheep plush in his other.

"Well, we just have tonight right?" You turned to look at him unsure of the meaning of the gleam in his eyes. "So let's enjoy everything."

You two giggled and played in the arcade for at least a good two hours. Sometimes he'd beat you and tease you a bit for losing, and other times, you'd beat him and do a little victory dance just to gloat. You were having so much fun that you hadn't even remembered about your ankle.

"Where to next, Y/N?" Jungwon smiled at you brightly, the sheep plush still in his hand while a bunny was held tightly in yours, yet he still swung your hands back and forth.

Of course you hadn't mind it, but you were getting serious butterflies everytime he held your hand and showed that smile.

"I picked the arcade, so it's your turn." You giggled at him, a bit shy suddenly.

"Let's just walk around for a while." He continued walking alongside you, holding your hand and putting it in his coat pocket due to the chilly night air.

You two didn't stop walking until you reached a bridge where the night sky could be seen clearly and the moon shine so brightly.

"Does your ankle feel better? I totally forgot about it." He spoke to you as he kept his eyes fixated on the moon.

You glanced back at the moon too as you squeezed his hand, "It's fine. You really shouldn't worry about it so much."

After responding, the summer air seemed to fill the silence before Jungwon spoke once again, "The moon looks beautiful tonight".

But when you glanced back at him, you noticed that he wasn't looking at the moon but at your intertwined hands.

"It does." There was honesty in your answer, but there was also affection laced into the tone of your voice.

Another silence. But at the same time, you felt like your heart was beating so loud that even Jungwon could hear it.

"Can I kiss you?" He spoke after a while, just barely being able to meet your eyes. The shock on your face was evidently clear.

"What?"

And before you knew what had happened, the boy had leaned close, releasing the hand that held yours to cup your face. And nothing had stopped you the moment your lips had intertwined instead, but your heart had urged you to return the kiss.

"I wish we didn't only have this night and I'm kind of sad that it's over so soon."

"Me too." You looked up at the moon, trying to avoid his eyes.

You held onto his hand and he walked alongside you. Not knowing where you were taking him. You two just walked in silence until had stopped in front a house.

1130 Jungwon thought to himself. I'll keep that in mind.

"Well, this is my house." You turned as you smiled at him. "I've got to go inside. My parents are totally going to be in my case in the morning for being home so late. Thanks for tonight, Jungwon. It's the most fun I've had in a long time."

You began to walk towards the door until a gentle force pulled you and Jungwon's lips had met with yours once again.

"Tonight was the most fun that I've had in a long time too, Y/N."

Those dimples reappearing once more.

"Let's trade plushies." He smiled as he switched his sheep plush for your bunny one. "That way, hopefully, you won't forget about me and I won't forget about you too."

Like you'd ever be able to forget Yang Jungwon.

It was then that you knew what that gleam in his eyes was earlier that shone even now, only in front of you.

Affection.

"Hopefully, I'll get to see you again one day. You might see me again sooner than you think."

It was a sentence that you had gotten slightly confused about but you took his weird for it.

"So then.. this isn't a goodbye," you hugged him. "This is just a really long see you later?"

He hugged you back gently, that being enough of an answer for you. After releasing you from the hug, he gently nudged you towards the front door.

"Go on." He smiled with a wave, his dimples peaking out underneath the moonlight. "I don't want you to get in more trouble because of me."

Waving to him as you gently closed the door, you had wondered if you'd really ever see him again.

You ran upstairs and laid peacefully in your bed with your sheep plush, the memories of tonight replaying in your head.

It wasn't until your friend had forced you to watch an Enhypen stage that you knew what Jungwon truly meant that you might see him sooner than you think.

This was Jungwon.

But the secret between the two of you, the one night that belonged only to you two that you had known of. Getting to be each other's Lovers In The Night.

Author Side Note: This was originally supposed to be a Jake X Reader story but I couldn't find images that suited what I had in mind. I soon realized that Jungwon was perfect for this story.

[zorkaya-moved]

Beelzebub couldn't quite pinpoint why, but it made him happy to know that his large hands were good for a reason other than holding copious amounts of food. He only hoped that as he pressed the flats of his thumbs against her lower back that he wasn't hurting her. Leaning forward, tongue peeking out from between his lips in concentration, he pushed small, deep circles into the knots she had directed him to. "Does it feel okay? I'm not hurting you, am I?"

@xamassed

unprompted asks. ( always accepting ! )

For all holy and unholy reasons, Beelzebub was not supposed to be so good at giving a massage. Perhaps, it was the size of his hands that made it possible or he knew the right way to massage certain body parts from his sports training, it wouldn't be surprising as she herself was taught how to relax certain muscles through massages and other ways. Sore muscles were always quite the mood breaker, but she was not expecting Beel himself to offer to give her a massage when she spoke of her sore shoulders and her hurting back. It would be embarrassing for any other woman to admit the reason for such soreness, but Sokolova was anything but ordinary - she would've spoken that the major trouble that causes her this distress was simply her chest, the heaviness of those mounds was something people tend to not understand how many things it would bring besides just looking pretty. There was a price for everything, for every single good thing along with beauty.

She was glad it wasn't Asmodeus who would be doing this massage, because it was so hard to hold back from making any sounds. The way Beelzebub approached this massage was a smart move, making her get used to his touch before doing as she instructed, but it was harder to give instructions when he pressed just the right place with the right amount of power that made her toes curl and her close her eyes shut, exhaling loudly to simply not sound like they were doing something other than a massage. Something told her the sound she'd make would make all people in this damned house misunderstand everything, but then again, there's no care about this since she was getting a free massage that did feel great. It's been weeks on her end without one, almost unbearable at this point because her complaining about some pains to herself under her breathe was showing her need for service like that.

As she'd turn her head to glance at him from her lying down position, her lips would curl upwards into an encouraging smile. There's no way she wanted him to stop, it felt fantastic.

"Y-Yeah, it feels... fucking great," she'd stutter a bit as he continued to massage that one knot that was harder to get rid of than others. It felt good, all too good. She'd dare to say better than sex, but she also didn't want to go that far to not make things even more awkward and make Beel just stop altogether. She would not voice any of those thoughts simply because she just might ask the Avatar of Gluttony to do this again in the future when she'll need it, noticing on his kindness and his happiness to serve a good cause. So kind, like a teddy bear. She will count her blessings even if they came as demons if it served her well - she was more than happy to accept. "Haa... It, it feels really good. Keep at it, just a bit more pressure and go... mhmm, g-go along my spine up bit by bit," breathy tone of her voice would signify the state she was in, trying her best not to just let those sweet sounds continue to fall off her tongue like poetry. There's something magical in his touch and how his hands covered her back, fingers just finding those spots and applying pressure with such tender care. She wouldn't even dare to speak how warm, nay, hot his hands were. Maybe she was simply getting a bit cold, but it didn't matter.

"You're not hurting me, don't worry," Zarina would speak on an exhale, closing her eyes to indulge in the feeling once more. "I'll tell you if it becomes too much. Just keep at it," oh how glad it was Beelzebub that was giving her a massage instead of several other demons.

Zarina could imagine Levi refuse immediately, blushing immediately if she would let any sound. Asmodeus might've made her feel other types of excited which would be dangerous and she thought that she only didn't ask Mammon because she might've been just ... No, she will not think of that. Of course, she'd never ever ask Lucifer and he would've never accepted. Belphegor? No chance she'd let him do anything to her when other brothers were not present. Satan? No chance as well as she didn't trust his patience and his strength.

"As long as I don't say 'stop' or 'it hurts,' you can continue. You can ignore any other sounds, they're from... how good of a job you're doing," she'd add before anything else. It would be better to just make him understand that Sokolova would tell if something was wrong. It would be just impossible to hold back some moans and other sounds that without context just might be too lewd for a certain audience. Sadly, her deep and seductive voice played that role in causing some misunderstandings. "Thank you, Beel."