#i did spend a week or two just coming up with obey me-related questions. and like i said i still have a lot more sitting in my drafts

[melverie]

Hi Hi! I hope you are having a great week! I just wanted to thank you for the Ask Obey Me MC & OC Ask Game post. It's very complete! I've been answering question by question all morning, which increasingly develops my MC more and more, and it never ends! It's simply very good because so far I've only put it on paper to draw, but nothing to write. I loved so much! Thank you very much!!

Heya! Thanks, I hope your also having a great one! 💚

You're super welcome!! And that's great to hear that! Getting a feel for your OC's character is always so cool, and I'm glad to know that my ask game helped you get there <3

Are you planning on doing the ask game on here btw? Because I'd like to send you a few asks about your OCs if you wouldn't mind 👀

Originally I actually had a lot more questions written down, but since this is the very first time I ever made an ask game I was kind of scared that it might be wayyy to many. So I tried to cut it down as far as I could. I even started whining to some of my mutuals about how I had way too many questions at some point. Now it sits at a total of 72 questions and I'm kind of sad that I didn't add more lol

I might actually release another version with even more questions, but that's entirely dependent on how well the ask game does on my end

[archived-kin]

diluc ragnvindr and the secret spouse

note from kin: i was running around dawn winery looking for any chests i might have missed when this idea suddenly popped into my head. honestly i was tempted to do this similarly to the obey me solomon piece i did a while back and give diluc a husband but then i figured i should probably keep it gender neutral for both the girls and the gays

this is super short but i’ve had writer’s block for AGES so at least i got something out! i hope this isn’t so awful it burns your eyes out :,) i tried my best okay

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn!reader, diluc, aether, paimon

pairing(s): diluc/reader

warning(s): none

genre: fluff!!

You wake to the distant buzz of household conversation and a distinct absence of the usual presence beside you. Slightly disoriented, you sit up, rubbing at your eyes as the morning light peeking around the edge of your heavy velvet curtains casts the creases of the sheets around you into sharp definition.

A still-steaming mug sits on the bedside table, indicating that it hasn’t been long since your dear husband got up and made you your usual morning cup of tea. There’s a little red flower sitting on the saucer - a Windwheel Aster, which, if the flower language the two of you have developed over time still stands true, means that he’s still at home. He’d have left a Snapdragon if he was going out, a Calla Lily if he’d be gone for the day, or a Cecilia if he’d be away for an extended period of time. Of course, he tells you these things in person when he gets the chance, but, well - duty calls, and duty certainly doesn’t wait for a sensible wake-up time.

You throw your arms up and stretch, limbs trembling slightly as all the knots and cramps that have built up throughout the night finally straighten out. Windwheel Asters usually herald a good day in your household - though with Diluc, they can become Snapdragons and then Calla Lilies in the blink of an eye - and you’re looking forward to spending some time with your husband. It’s been a busy week for the both of you, what with an unexpected increase in the number of Abyss Order attacks cropping up around Mondstadt as well as several sudden unexplained deaths of hunters from Springfield, and you’d really like to have twenty four hours to just relax.

Diluc’s usual coat is still draped over the chair beside the desk, so, after a moment’s thought, you pull it on over your nightclothes. You have the weekend off, anyway - all your pending cases have been essentially solved and are ready to go - so you don’t see any need for donning your usual detective garb, though you do feel tempted to put on your trademark scarf to ward off the morning chill.

You take a few minutes to make the bed and open the curtains before you sit down in the armchair by the window to enjoy your tea. You can see several of the usual workers milling about between the grapevines, as well as what looks like a carrier balloon being docked just by the road. That’s new - deliveries to Dawn Winery usually come by carriage, but then again, the fact that the balloon also appears to be smoking extensively and is being accompanied by a very dishevelled-looking man who looks close to tears indicates that this probably isn’t a delivery,

On further inspection, you realise that your husband is standing nearby the smoking balloon, conversing with a young man with long golden hair tied back in a braid that you’re not particularly familiar with. You’re sure you recognise him from somewhere, though - in the same way that you might recognise the general composition of a painting you’ve seen in passing.

You don’t have time to continue contemplating the boy’s identity, though, because next thing you know, Diluc is leading him inside. You drain the remainder of your tea to the dregs with one gulp and pull yourself to your feet, resolving to go down to greet the two.

While you don’t bother with changing into something more formal, you do take a moment to wash your face and freshen up your breath with some of the mint-water Diluc keeps in the bathroom. You’re not fussed about keeping up a ‘respectable’ image, but you do at least want to be presentable.

Diluc is sitting with his back to you when you slip into the front room, still dressed in just your nightclothes and his overcoat, now with your feet tucked into a comfortable pair of slippers as well. The boy he’d invited in is the first to notice you, looking up from the map in his hands and face steeling slightly as he registers your presence.

An odd little fairy of some kind is bobbing about behind him, chewing on what looks like a large slice of cake. Her eyes widen to the size of saucers as she spots you, exclaiming so loudly that she sprays crumbs all over her unsuspecting golden-haired companion.

“Who’s this?!” she shrieks, alarmed in an almost comically exaggerated way. Her shock sends her even higher into the air, and she threatens to hit the ceiling head-on. “Y-you don’t look like a maid!”

You raise an eyebrow, mildly amused. “That would be because I’m not a maid.”

Diluc finally turns around, eyes lighting up slightly when he sees your choice of attire. A small smile curls at the corners of his lips as he moves to the side, leaving enough room on his seat for you to settle down beside him.

His young friend’s eyes dart between the two of you rapidly as Diluc continues droning on about something to do with transport balloons and the influx of monster activity in the area without a word as to your sudden appearance. He’s certainly quick-witted, you’ll give him that - he seems to deduce your relationship almost immediately.

Still, he asks about it in a polite and roundabout way - bless the boy. You can imagine that he’s a little afraid of making assumptions, especially about a man like Diluc.

“Is that your coat, Master Diluc?”

Diluc pauses in the middle of his explanation, eyebrows lifting slightly. You don’t know why he seems so surprised by the boy’s question - after all, the impression of the prideful Darknight Hero he has probably doesn’t incline him to think of him as a relationship-y sort of man.

“...yes.” He says finally. You don’t miss the way he steals a glance at you through the messy fringe of his red hair.

“Why so surprised?” You chime in, smiling at the boy as he straightens up slightly at the sound of your voice. “Surely you’ve deduced our relation already?”

He looks thoughtful for a moment. “Are you two… partners?”

You laugh. “Well, you could certainly put it like that.”

“You’re so clueless, Aether!” complains the boy’s fairy companion. “They’re obviously dating or something!”

Aether shoots her an unimpressed look. “That’s what I meant, Paimon.”

“Your name’s Aether, then?” You note. He nods. “Good name, Aether. You seem like a smart boy.”

“Hey!” The fairy glares at you, but it doesn’t really have much effect when she’s got the face of a baby lamb and crumbs still decorating her lower face to boot. “Don’t forget about Paimon!”

“Paimon’s a lovely name too,” You comply with a smile. “Very trustworthy.”

She looks appeased by the compliment, crossing her arms with a smug grin aimed at her taller companion. “See? Paimon’s trustworthy.”

“I heard them, Paimon,” sighs Aether, wearing the kind of expression that tells you he has to put up with this sort of thing a lot.

“What are you doing up so early?” Diluc asks you, and you start slightly at his sudden question. “Normally you sleep til noon on Sundays.”

You shrug and give his thigh a firm pat, taking great enjoyment in the way his ears flame up slightly at the gesture. “Guess I just missed your lovely face.”

The red of his ears darkens. “...you’re ridiculous.”

“You’re cute,” you counter with a smile, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. He chuckles in spite of himself, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a smile that he rarely lets anyone but you see.

“You’re both gross,” Paimon decides with a pout, and the two of you suddenly remember the presence of the two other people in the room. Aether is pointedly staring at a painting on the wall, but at Paimon’s words, he hurriedly turns back.

“No, no, it’s fine,” You laugh, waving off Aether’s apologies for his fairy friend’s comment. “The maids often say the same thing.”

“The maids wouldn’t say such things if you didn’t insist on being so affectionate everywhere,” Diluc comments, though the smile still tugging at his lips tells you that he definitely doesn’t consider that a bad thing. “If you don’t want them to talk, perhaps you should take it down a notch or two.”

“Who said I didn’t want them to talk?” You counter, inching closer to him again. You'll refrain from kissing him right in front of Aether and Paimon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tease him a little. “Besides, you’re one to talk. You’re the one always hanging off my shoulders whenever you get the chance.”

Diluc, however, doesn’t seem to have the same qualms as you about abstaining from affection in front of guests. His smile widening almost playfully, he gently lifts a hand to your chin. “Oh? Are you complaining?”

“Who said that?” is your response, and you lean in and kiss him.

It isn’t until the two of you pull away that you realise that Paimon has started making gagging noises as Aether frantically tries to shush her, all the while determinedly refusing to look in your direction. You almost feel bad for the kid - he clearly isn’t the best with affectionate couples.

“Sorry, sorry,” You say airily, moving away from Diluc, though you keep a hand resting on his knee.

“Is this what all married couples are like?” Paimon says, still wrinkling her nose in disgust. “If so, Paimon doesn’t want to get married, ever!”

Aether, still avoiding direct eye contact with both you and your husband, mutters an exasperated, “Bold of you to assume anyone would want to marry you.”

She immediately kicks him in the head, nearly knocking the poor guy right off the sofa. “Paimon heard that!”

“What a rowdy pair,” You comment cheerfully as Aether retaliates by flicking Paimon hard in the head, sending her spiralling halfway across the room with an indignant yelp. “You really do make strange friends, Diluc.”

He makes an odd chuffing sound in response to your words. “They aren’t any stranger than you.”

You shake your head. “You still married this strange detective, didn’t you?”

“I suppose I did,” He smiles softly again, setting his right hand over the one you have on his knee. “I wonder if I made the right decision?”

You give his knee a reproachful pinch and he gives short, sharp laugh in response - something that you don’t hear nearly enough from him. “Of course you did!”

You move to jab him in the sides, knowing exactly where all of his sensitive spots are, but he stops you quickly, seizing both your hands in his and firmly refusing to let go. You struggle for about a second before giving up and slumping against him with a dramatic huff.

“You’re too strong,” You complain, though your affectionate nuzzle into the side of his neck directly contradicts your pseudo-annoyed words. “I don’t like it.”

Diluc chuckles, knowing full well that you love the fact that he can lift entire tables without breaking a sweat. “Whatever you say, darling.”

The look that you give him as you raise your head nearly knocks all of the breath out of him. The adoring grin on your face doesn’t relent as you lift a hand and brush his cheek, your touch feather-light and sending shivers down his spine.

He finds himself leaning in again, overwhelmed by your presence. You smile knowingly and reach up to meet him - only to be interrupted with a start.

Paimon complains, half-disgusted and half-resigned, “They’re doing it again!”

[fandom-go-round]

Can I ask for an Obey Me! request? Where the brothers (if you dont want to do all of them then just whoever you feel like writing for) make casual comments about weight related things and they dont realize it upsets the plus size reader until later. like causal comments like "oh that's allot of food" and stuff like that. hurt /comfort please! love you!

Warnings: Fatphobia, Hurtful Comments about Reader’s Weight, Insecurities About Weight, Crying, Emotional Reactions

Mammon:

Mammon always has a way of sticking his foot in his mouth and this is no exception. You’re at a modeling job with him, waiting for him to finish up his shoot so you can go to dinner together. You had grabbed a large smoothie on the way over and are sipping as you watch, half curious about how modeling works and half checking him out. You’re almost done with the smoothie when he makes the comment, coming over to hang on a quick break.

“You’re not gonna need dinner at the rate you’re goin’!” There’s no malice in his voice but you freeze, eyes wide as you look to see if he really said what you thought he did. Mammon doesn’t notice, jogging back over to the set as his manager calls him over. The rest of your smoothie quickly goes into the trash and you spend the rest of the shoot looking at all of the models and cursing yourself; of course the Devildom values skinniness like Earth does.

It takes Mammon days to notice that he’s upset you, mostly because he’s too busy running the high of having money again. He does notice when you dip out of movie night and refuse to let him take you to dinner. Everything comes to a head when he barges into your room demanding an explanation and you’re crying.

He feels like absolute shit when you tell him what’s wrong. He blows off all your reassurances that you’re used to this and that you know he didn’t mean it. Weight isn’t an issue that Mammon has ever had to deal with but he does know about being teased and made fun of. He’s quick to beg your forgiveness and make things right. He becomes your number one supporter, buying you cute clothes and whatever you want to feel better. He’s quick to snarl at anyone who even makes a comment vaguely talking about weight in your direction. Mammon would support you if you wanted to lose weight but might pout a bit; he loves that you’re soft and have places for him to grab onto.  

 Leviathan:

Everyone knows that anime and manga have some of the most unrealistic women out there. That doesn’t stop people from being into it or loving 2D women more than real women. Being into anime before the Devildom had you prepared for this but Levi takes it to another level with Ruri-chan. You shouldn’t have been surprised by the comment but you would have thought Levi might be able to understand, considering his own insecurities.

“I don’t understand how anyone wouldn’t want to look like Ruri-chan! She’s the perfect woman!” You’re mind takes it the way you’ve always taken comments like that: ‘perfect woman’ means thin. You make an excuse to leave quickly after that, Levi only half noticing as he goes into another rant.

He doesn’t understand why you keep avoiding talking to him! An episode of your favorite anime is out and you refuse to come watch it with him! It’s blasphemy! It takes him almost a week to work up to nerve to come to your room and demand answers. Levi is a stuttering mess but when he finally gets out what he wants to talk about you look away, seeming almost as embarrassed as he is.

Levi starts to spiral in the middle of your explanation, blaming himself for being a gross otaku and giving you these thoughts. He know anime expectations are unrealistic (it’s one of the reasons why he likes it) but its another to see it used to hurt people. Both of you end of crying and there’s a lot of frank talk about body image. It’s a good way to bond, even if it did happen for a crappy reason. Levi is more sensitive to what he says and tries to find anime with more diverse characters. He also starts trying to find more plus size hentai… not for any reason in particular though!! He just wants to make sure there is some, that’s all!

 Asmodeus:

Hanging out with Asmo can be a blessing and a curse. He’s beautiful and loves fashion and you love to go shopping with him. The downside to that is you have body negative days that tend to match up with Amo’s feeling great days. The shops in the Devildom are a lot like Earth’s; plus size store exist but they’re more expensive and harder to find. Asmo doesn’t fit into any of the stores you do and you never ask to go, not wanting to point out the obvious differences between the two of you.

“You really should take better care of yourself darling, just think of all the things that would look good on you if you did!” You freeze immediately at his words, dropping whatever you had been looking at like it burned you. Asmo had been watching you in the mirror, eyes trained on your hair and skin but all you could think of was your weight. That’s a harsh comment, coming from the Avatar of Lust and you have to resist the urge to burst into tears in the middle of the store.

He knows the moment you start holding back tears that he’s messed up but he has no idea what to do. He tries to explain himself but you wave him off just saying that ‘I’d like to go home now’. You both leave the store after that, heading back in silence. You quickly go to your room and skip dinner, making everyone interrogate him about what happened. Satan is the one who points out that it might be weight related and Asmo has to resist the urge to cry at the table.

He bursts into your room the next afternoon and forces you to get up. You were planning on staying in bed the entire day but he convinces you to have a spa day with him. You’re not mad at Asmo, just yourself. You know how vain he is so it shouldn’t have surprised you. Asmo, however, apologizes for the first ten minutes, practically begging you to forgive him. You have a conversation about dos and don’ts and Asmo takes it to heart, listening to you and trying to understand your struggles. After your spa day he surprises you by bringing out a mountain of outfits; he had run to some of the shops that fit you and got things! If there’s anything you hate it’s quick to disappear but he wants to pamper you and this is the best way he knows how.

 Beelzebub:

Beel loves hanging out with you because you love food like he does. Not to the same physical amount of course, but you’re always willing to try new things and go new places with him. Everyone knows that if there’s a new restaurant you and Beel (and sometimes Belphie) are going to be some of the first people in line. Just because you love to eat doesn’t mean that you’re immune to the things people say about the two of you. You just wouldn’t have thought that Beel would say anything.

"That’s a lot of food.” You freeze, looking up from your plate to look across the table. Beel’s eyes are locked on your plate and not his own, even though his plate is pilled much higher than yours. “Are you going to eat it all?” You don’t hear anything after his second question, appetite suddenly gone. He doesn’t wait for your response, eating his own food with vigor and eating yours once you push it over to him.

You stop going out to eat with him after that, hardly eating at school or at the House of Lamentation. Sure, you eat enough so that no one says anything but Beel knows better. You don’t snack like you used to or eat cakes with him, you just eat and then that’s it. He talks to Belphie about it and his bother helps figure it out; when did they stop eating? Why? He puts it together after that, feeling horrible once he remembers you talking about how people used to make fun of you in the human world.

Beel shows up at your door the next day, a box from Madame Scream’s in hand and a determined look on his face. He asks to talk to you and you have a conversation about what he said, ignoring the box even as his stomach growls. He apologizes for upsetting you and says that he doesn’t care what size you are, he likes you for you. If people are going to make fun of you or try to bully you, he’ll protect you because you mean a lot to him. You end up splitting the box of treats with Beel, happier than you have been all week. He doesn’t tell you but he prefers that you’re bigger; he’s a big guy after all and it’s a relief not to worry about hurting you as much.

[trafalgar-law-wife]

Squiddy and the Obey Me Brothers Relationships!

This is an Obey Me x Squiddy head-cannons. Squiddy is my Obey Me persona and this is her relationships with the brothers. 

Lucifer

When Squiddy and Lucifer first met she was beyond terrified. I mean come on, bro is in his demon form pressing her out and threatening her life. If he asked her to jump, she'd ask how high.

When Lucifer first seemed to be warming up to her, she swore to Mammon that Lucifer was plotting her demise, and how him being nice to her was a ploy to make her drop her guard so she could slip up and he'd can punish her.

Honestly, it took a while for Squiddy to get close to Lucifer and let her guard down and truly trust him. Occasionally whenever the two hangout together for a drink, Squiddy will flirt with the oldest because she loves to see him flustered.

Mammon

Now with Mammon, Squiddy could relate to how his brothers were treating him, so she always made sure to be nice to him. After she helped him obtained his one true love, Goldie, Mammon asked why a weak human like Squiddy was being so nice to him, to which she responded, "Everyone deserves to be treated nicely, besides I bet you're a cool guy." And with that, Squiddy gained her first pact and oh so very clingy friend. she does not mind at all <3

Now just like Mammon, Squiddy has a bit of a money spending problem. She will happily go gambling with Mammon if that means she can spend more time AND buy her in game purchases, it's a win-win situation....until the both of them are running away from the casino after losing an all or nothing bet.

It goes without saying that these two got close real quick, often having sleepover's in her room, plotting how to make money by gaining pictures of Lucifer, going out together. Unlike Mammon though, Squiddy will not steal from the other brothers and is often stopping Mammon from doing so. But whenever it is just the two of them hanging out they just vibe, Squiddy casually flirts with Mammon, and the both of them telling each other things they'd never tell anyone else.

Leviathan

The moment Squiddy mentioned she liked anime and gaming, Leviathan thought he was living in one of his favorite anime's "This normie isn't totally a normie! She likes anime and gaming too! is she my soulmate?!?!?!" After explaining to him how this is not an anime, the two of them seem to hit it off. They both had even forgot about how he almost killed her a few days ago in a trivia quiz!

These two will spend hours in Leviathan's cosplaying, gaming, cosplaying WHILE gaming, binge anime, and binge anime while cosplaying. Half of the time while cosplaying they forget to lock the door, all of the brothers at some point has either seen the two of them half naked, in some questionable costumes, odd poses, the whole shebang.

Now Leviathan is in no way calm with Squiddy whenever she decides to just get dressed in cosplay in his room, he's a babbling mess. Looking away, sneaking small glances at her, gets flustered and goes on a rant about how much easier this would be if she just got dressed in her room, yet insists for her to get dressed in his room when doing the more...revealing cosplay's because he didn't want his brothers seeing Squiddy like that.

When it's just the two of them, Leviathan is a panicked mess whenever she sit near him, lay with him in his bed, or even share the same blanket. The both of them are competitive during games....doesn't mean Squiddy is good at competitive games, but a simple flirtatious comment is enough to keep Squiddy's win streak high against Leviathan.

Satan

Like Lucifer, Satan scared Squiddy, especially after finding out about his torture books. After being reassured for months that he'd never her, Squiddy began to slightly relax, until he got upset about her denying to make a pact with her. Now she was definitely avoiding him, always hiding behind Beelzebub or Leviathan whenever Satan entered the room. This amused Satan for awhile until he felt the urge to get closer to her.

Satan approaches Squiddy with a simple question "Do you like to read?" And Squiddy responded with "If manga and fan-fiction counts then definitely!" Satan has never heard of fan-fiction and demanded Squiddy explain to him what is was. She immediately pulls out her D.D.D and goes to an human world app called 'Wattpad' and proceeded to show Satan the safer options of what she reads. She explains to him what it is and he is utterly disappointed in what she had said. He laughs at her and proceeds to grab her wrist and take her to him room. All day Squiddy was held captive in Satan's room being forced to listen to him read fantasy and other fiction books. Simply because he though she might like them. he was not wrong

These two can be caught in the library reading whatever Satan picks out, because he plans to show Squiddy the wonders of "true literature"

Asmodeus

Squiddy feared of Asmodeus, not because he appeared intimidating, but because she didn't want him to figure out what type of things she's into. She's aware that his seduction doesn't work on her yet she still refuses to look him in the eye. Squiddy enjoys hanging out with him but hated how she became a flustered and stuttering mess around Asmodeus. The way he would caress her body, whisper compliments in her ears, it drove her crazy.

Squiddy didn't mind doing skin care routines with Asmodeus, she always told herself in the human world that she'd get into one and never stuck with it, so its nice to have a demon to constantly remind her about it. During these skin care routines Asmodeus is constantly flirting with Squiddy and it throws her in for a loop. Squiddy was never the one being hit on, she was the one hitting on her friends; her SHY friends. Asmodeus loves to see Squiddy hot and bothered but obviously wont do anything without her consent.

It took Asmodeus about a month to figure out what Squiddy was into, and when he confronted her about them she absolutely panicked. He noticed the way she'd intensely stare at the brothers hands, or the way she'd crossed her legs in her seat whenever she got called certain names, or the way whenever she sat on his lap and he'd do what he normally does flirting, touching, or teasing, how he'd feel her core throb on his leg, and so much more. It was all too cute for Asmodeus not to bring it up. Squiddy tries to fight for her dignity, but alas, nothing gets past the Avatar of Lust.

Beelzebub

Beelzebub's height intimidated her, I mean bro literally towered her, but she did loved it at the same time. Beel was always kind to Squiddy because she never touched his food. When Squiddy mentioned how she wanted to help get his brother back, and fix him and his brothers relationship he was elated. He'd join Squiddy and Mammon in her room to have movie nights and even teach Squiddy how to make him and his brothers favorite meals.

Beel will willingly share his food with Squiddy if she asks, he doesn't mind at all. When he found out about Squiddy's sweet tooth he used her favorite desserts to bribe her into working out with him, he knows Squiddy is not in shape athletically, and he wants her to be healthy. So for every 3 weeks she works out without any complaints, he'll take her out to Devildom's best bakery for a dessert binge.

Squiddy has insomnia, and she will often go to Beel's room and snuggle into him because he's a great cuddler in Squiddy's opinion. Unlike Levi's tub she doesn't wake up with neck cramps, unlike Mammon, Beel isn't sprawled across her uncomfortably. Unlike Asmo, Beel isn't constantly trying to get a rise outta her, Unlike Satan...Beel's bed is actually useable, Belphie is a instant no from Squiddy, she doesn't want to bother Lucifer with her insomnia knowing he has a bunch of work to do. So that leaves Beel, a gentle giant who keeps his warm embrace until the morning. or until he gets hungry in the night.

Belphegor

Squiddy actually liked Belphie when she was helping the demon brother to escape his imprisonment. She was overjoyed when she saw the barrier keeping him locked in his prison be broken. That was before he killed her. That was before Squiddy traveled back in time and watched her past self bloody body being held in Mammon's arms as he sobbed. This made her heart shatter. When she made eye contact with Belphie and he went to kill her again, she decided that she would never forgive Belphie.

Literally the next day when Belphie was being all lovey dovey towards Squiddy she was disgusted. She couldn't believe homeboy, didn't even give her time to recover from what she saw. Squiddy is still respectable towards Belphie, especially around the other brothers but she is extremely passively-aggressive towards him. She refuses to do group work with him, and refuses to have a conversation longer than 5 minutes with him.

He knows that he cannot change the past so he returns the passive-aggressive attitude but will do anything she say in hopes that she’ll forgive him one day.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

OBEY ME! LESSON 55 DETAILED SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION/THEORIES

*I wrote this days after the lesson was first posted and never bothered to go back and edit it so meaning there will be me theorizing about the next lesson as well

*I write a small para for each chapter and I write it immediately after finishing that chapter so there’ll be theorizing about the next chapter too

*I swear more than usual here

*Some of the dialogue is heavily plagiarized and a few is lifted directly from the story, the game is to figure which is which.

*Summaries and Discussions/theories for all the other lessons can be found on this blog under #obey me spoilers or #my theories or #my headcanons

OKAY! So first off the background for this is absolutely gorgeous and shows a real demon. You know the kind you’d imagine an actual demon to look like and everything’s dark (black, grey, brown) there’s a castle on a mountain like area with a narrow suspended pathway leading to it, there are crows flying around and a person in a robe pointing what looks like a lit wand at a snarling attacking demon, there are skulls and what looks like weapons on the ground and my favourite part: a person in a long robe, kneeling on the ground, covering the top of their face with their hands and wailing to the sky. It’s all tailor made to my taste and I love it! There’s one locked lesson.

It’s breakfast time and Asmo & Beel are heading to an all you can eat global sweet sampler, MC questions it and Asmo says you can get desserts from all over the world there and Asmo’s hoping to live stream it. Asmo invites MC but Mammon interjects asking them to come see “cute horsies” with him. “’Horsies.’ He’s so pretentious. Shut up, it’s the fucking horse race. ‘Horsies.’” Says Levi. Levi invites MC to a real life TSL themed escape room (that sounds really fun tbh), Satan invites them to come watch the sci-fi movie they were talking about, in their home theatre. (he’s actually watched it 3 times already but he read online theories about it and now he wants to see if he can catch the basis for those theories in the movie). They all start arguing about it (except Beel who’s just eating) when MC gets a text from Diavolo congratulating them on their 5th star and wishing them luck for the other 2 and inviting them to an amusement park date. Everyone – MC included – is kind of baffled by the one on one date with Diavolo. They ask any of the others if they want to tag along but they all refuse but Beel asks if MC can take Belphie along since he hasn’t really left the house in a while and Beel’s worried. MC texts asking if they can bring Belphie along too and Diavolo says the more the merrier and I just know this is gonna end in disaster like did Belphie ever even resolve all the problems he had with Diavolo back in S1?

Beel drags Asmo along to wake Belphie up because a.) he doesn’t want Asmo to leave to the sweets thing without him b.) they need all the help they can get to wake him up. MC suggests using force and Asmo happily volunteers to grab Belphie, turn him over and drop him on the ground, Beel says they can’t do this to poor Belphie cause Beel’s a sweetheart, and says the most force he’ll allow them to use is by tickling Belphie, which Asmo then does. It doesn’t work so Asmo says if they’re gonna use force they should do something like this right before he screams “ASMO DIIIIIIVE!!!” and jumps on top of Belphie as Beel protests and I love that despite what you’d assume from his aesthetic and despite what Asmo would like you to believe he’s a lot more rough and tumble and violent (I just really love the sweet with hidden edges trope as much as I love the jerk with a gooey centre trope). Belphie says ow and Asmo brightly and sweetly cheers that he woke up as if just seconds ago he hadn’t used a wrestling move on his sleeping baby brother. Beel says that though Belphie’s body is awake his mind isn’t (relatable), Beel fixes Belphie’s bedhead and Asmo complains that Belphie’s a stereotypical spoilt brat youngest child and says that Diavolo obviously would’ve wanted a one on one day with MC. Beel says he knows and it’s another reason he wanted Belphie to go. Asmo agrees saying that after everything if MC chooses their boss over any one of the seven guys MC actually lives with it’d feel wrong. Asmo tells Belphie to keep an eye on them and not let it turn into a “whirlwind romance”, Belphie just asks for his pillow and Asmo’s upset cause he doesn’t feel confident about the plan now. Poor Diavolo being constantly cockblocked

On the way Belphie complains about being forced to do this when his schedule is just as busy but MC says all he does is sleep and he says because naps are important to him and he takes them seriously. He wishes he could go back home and asks why of all the demons he had to be stuck with Diavolo (so guess those issues are still around good to know). MC asks if he still dislikes Diavolo cause of his fondness for humans and Belphie says he’s fully gotten over that whole human genocide phase which is great to have confirmed. They ask why he dislikes Diavolo – lots of reasons. He always thinks he’s right and expects to get his way about anything and everything and never listens to anyone’s opinions. He hadn’t bothered to listen to Belphie back when the exchange program had been proposed and Belphie was against it (and I mean to be fair back then Belphie was 100% okay with killing the entire human race for no reason other than the fact that he blamed them for Lilith’s death when really they had nothing to do with it and it was definitely the angels’ fault. I mean I don’t think I would have listened to him either and he really does have the spoilt youngest kid personality. I think out of all the brother’s Belphie’s the one who has the fondest memories of the Celestial Realm – probably helped by the fact that Lilith was still alive then – which is why he never blamed them for what happened and instead directed all his anger at the humans) Lucifer hadn’t let Belphie plead his case (what case Belphie!? That all humans should die!?) and that Diavolo’s surrounded by demons like Barbatos and Lucifer who shield him from criticism (and yeah I agree that this is true and that it’s a bad thing but Lucifer wasn’t shielding Diavolo from criticism when he refused to let Belphie plead his case, he was protecting Belphie cause if Diavolo found out Belphie wanted to kill humans he would have thrown him in jail like he did back at the end of S1 and MC you dumb fuck can you pls tell all this to Belphie) and that Diavolo doesn’t understand that he’s been saved from criticism and Belphie hates that about him and he shudders at the thought of spending the day with Diavolo. On the way they run into Simeon and tell him where they’re going, he says Luke’s been wanting to go there since he saw a ad for it and MC says they could take Luke along with them but he says Luke’s at a cooking class today but that he’d probably love to hear about it when he gets back. Simeon then takes off saying he has a meeting. Belphie goes to call after Simeon to tell him something and catches a glimpse of the person Simeon was supposed to meet. He’s surprised and says “Is that…” and when MC asks what’s wrong he said he must have just imagined it and that the person Simeon was meeting just looked really familiar and HOLY SHITTTTTTT GUYSSS rfhiefjoSJKWDLDADJSJ was I right are we really gonna get to see angels???? That’s the only explanation, right? It would have had to be Michael or even Raphael and there’s only a few lessons left and this and the next lesson are probably gonna focus on Diavolo and Belphie’s relationship and following the patter MC should get their 6th star next lesson, then the two lessons after that will be their final exam for the 7th star and then the last two lessons will focus on saying goodbye as the brothers go back to the Devildom and all that’s gonna have a lot going on but if they’re teasing the angels being here now could they manage to slip them in or will that be too much? I mean they’ll be introducing a whole new (or two whole new) character(s) and ahhh I’m rambling but pls I need the tension and angst between them and the brothers ok I’m done.

When they get there Belphie complains about how crowded it is and MC tries to look for Diavolo to which Belphie points to a group of fangirls surrounding Diavolo. Diavolo answers them sweetly and one of them says he’s even better looking irl and another shyly asks if he wants to walk around with them. Belphie cuts that short by barging in and asking Diavolo what’s going on, Diavolo happily greets Diavolo and one of the girls realises that Belphie called Diavolo ‘lord’. Diavolo apologises to them and said he’s already made plans with friends (and ugh he’s so sweet I love him just wanna give him a big hug I bet he gives great hugs), the girls are very understanding and sweet about it and they leave. Belphie’s a lil shit and says “Aww, too bad, Lord Diavolo. I’d hate to interrupt just as they were hitting on you…” and Diavolo laughs it off saying it wasn’t like that (and can Diavolo not understand sarcasm or does he just ignore it? Both seem highly likely) Belphie disagrees and says they were clearly hitting on him and Diavolo changes the subject and says he can’t believe Belphie actually came, MC explains why and Diavolo says it’s understandable that Beel was worried after Belphie hadn’t left the house in a week (Me, who hasn’t left the house in almost a year: :’) ) Belphie says he knows Diavolo wanted a date with MC but too bad cause now Belphie’s gonna third wheel them. Diavolo tells Belphie not to be ridiculous and that he’s happy that Belphie came (and the thing is other than a small twinge of disappointment this is probably the truth). Belphie says that it probably won’t be a good idea to go around calling him “Lord” Diavolo given the way the girls reacted, Diavolo says he can just call him by his name since he wouldn’t mind but Belphie says he himself would mind and anyway if Lucifer or Barbatos found out Belphie wasn’t using his proper title they’d kill him. So Belphie suggests a nickname which Diavolo’s really happy about and MC suggests DD (they can also suggest John or Cap’n), Diavolo adores it and asks them to call him it all the time hereafter (I want to give him a hug so badly). Diavolo then happily and with lots of exclamation points goes on to say that it’s time to let their hair down and that Barbatos had made minute to minute schedule for them to follow so that they could enjoy the park to the fullest and Belphie says he wants to go home

Diavolo keeps unsuccessfully trying to get Belphie to wear a themed headband and take a group photo, saying he also wants to wear the headband on a boat ride and the ferris wheel. Diavolo gives MC sad puppy dog eyes (which I’m sure he uses successfully on Lucifer regularly, but that don’t affect Barbatos at all) and MC can’t refuse, asking Belphie if there’s anything that’ll get him to change his mind. He says no but he’s not stopping the others from doing it, Diavolo says since they’re here as a group they all should do it, Belphie snaps saying he doesn’t like how Diavolo’s using MC as a tool to bend Belphie to his will and he says he’s going home. Diavolo tries to stop him but he marches off and Diavolo drags MC off to chase after Belphie. Diavolo grabs Belphie by the arm outside the park and begs for a chance to apologize, Belphie denies it and tries to free his arm. Diavolo refuses to let him go saying he should have listened to and considered Belphie’s opinions now as well as in the past, Belphie’s shocked and MC asks Belphie to just hear Diavolo out. He agrees but tells them not to have any expectations of what this’ll accomplish.

Belphie says he doesn’t want to wear the headband or take pics and that he’s only gonna ride what he wants to, Diavolo agrees with all that. He asks if Belphie will stay with them and Belphie agrees and Diavolo is just so brightly stupidly happy and I can completely understand how he was able to make Lucifer question his entire world view. Diavolo’s so happy he starts waving Belphie’s arm around unconsciously and then asks Belphie what rides he wants to go on as they make their way back inside, Belphie doesn’t answer instead he’s blushing and annoyed and asks Diavolo to let go of his hand. Belphie wants to ride ‘The Twisting Freefall of Death II’, MC & Diavolo would like to not freefall to their death thank you very much. Belphie quotes the ride as being, “the single most terrifying experience in the world where you’ll scream for mercy and receive none” Diavolo says, “Did you say scream for mercy…” Belphie happily agrees. Diavolo turns to his last hope, MC, and asks how they feel about this. I like to imagine that even MC has a line where their lacking self-preservation will kick in. Belphie just smiles saying it won’t actually kill them (this would have been more reassuring coming from someone who didn’t once murder MC but whatever.) They can also ask Diavolo how feels about it. After the ride Belphie’s cackling loudly and gushing about how great it was. He’s especially happy about the look on Diavolo’s face during the ride, saying he’s never seen it before (probably the look of a demon praying to God for mercy). MC can say that Belphie seemed to be having a lot of fun, cheer how the ride was the best or say they thought they were going to die. For the 3rd option Belphie very cheerfully says MC’s alive and ok. Belphie asks Diavolo how it was only to realise Diavolo’s missing. He fell off the ride at its highest peak. He’s dead.

They’ve tried texting Diavolo but he doesn’t read them. Belphie wonders what kind of person actually gets lost in an amusement park unless they’re 5. Then he says “…is that what it is? Is he actually 5 yrs old?” He remembers that mammon got lost in a park once too and says the only thing the two of them have in common is that they’re both basically children, They then run into my favourite character in the entire game – the butcher (is2g this man needs to become a recurring side character) who is here with his wife and daughter. He asks them if the rest of the harem is here too and Belphie lets him know that unfortunately they’re here with a new inductee who got lost. The butcher offers to help and asks for a description. MC says he’s the owner of the corvo hotel chain and the butcher wonders who the fuck are these people in the first place to know someone like that and then because the butcher’s the sweetest person alive he too starts worrying about diavolo, scared that he might have gotten kidnapped. Belphie says “there’s no one in the human world oh shit I mean THE WORLD. THE NORMAL WORLD ALL US HUMANS - BECAUSE WE ALL ARE HUMANS - LIVE IN” the butcher now probably used to how weird this cult is (because they definitely are a satanic cult with their extremely obvious demon names, how weird and unused to normal life they are, 7 of them being obviously infatuated by the eighth one but the butcher’s not gonna bring this up cause with the amount of meat they buy from him he could keep his family afloat for years AND pay for his daughters college tuition) ignores this and says he hasn’t seen Diavolo but advices them to check the information desk and ask them to page Diavolo over the loudspeakers. They thank him and Belphie promises to stop by with Beel later, the butcher says he’ll see him then and tells them to take care (I love this man). Barbatos text MC asking how they’re doing and which itinerary of his they’re following cause yes apparently he made more than one and telling them he trusts them to take care of diavolo (and I can’t believe it took me this long to realise Barbatos is a helicopter parent). MC leaves him on read. Lucifer then texts them saying Satan told him where they’d gone and telling them that since the two of them are with Diavolo he assumes he’s okay but just to clarify make sure nothing happens to Diavolo. MC leaves him on read. Belphie says that Barbatos and Lucifer are way too overprotective. Barbatos and MC then realise how fucked they are if either of them find out that they’ve lost diavolo and so decide to skip the whole loudspeaker thing.

They can decide if they want to check by the lake, the ferris wheel or the last ride they went in. He’s not at the lake and they choose to take a boat across the lake to get to the ferris wheel cause it’s faster than going around it. Belphie actually enjoys the boat ride and asks if the two of them can just enjoy themselves together for a bit instead of looking for Diavolo, MC says “I’m worried about Diavolo also can you not remember how fucked we are if we don’t find him”. Belphie gets jealous that MC seems to care more about Diavolo than him (they’re just been practical! If the roles were reversed they’d have shut Diavolo down to look for you!) and says that even they have a real soft spot for Diavolo (He’s like a giant golden retriever!!).  There’s an announcement over the loudspeaker for MC and ‘Snoozy’ saying that DD’s waiting for them at the info desk. Belphie’s not happy about ‘snoozy’ (understandable)

[nostalgic-pancakes]

Watching the starlings as autumn draws in

Summary: Tommy and his friends try on some skirts, and he reflects a bit on how they all got here. (It's a happy story) Title from September by Sparky Deathcap

Pairings: None! Platonic everyone (esp in irl fics_)

Read on AO3 (preferred place to read)

Word count: 2570

Warnings: None, except for surface-level references to the exile/prison arcs, but not much.

Other notes: I wrote this in a fit of madness last night in like three hours at 2 am, so i’ll probably edit it honestly but for now, enjoy! (If the CC’s ever display discomfort with this type of fic I will take it down)

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"WELCOME BACK TO THE STREAM, BOYS!" Tommy exclaims, rubbing his hands together as he starts rapid-fire answering questions about the stream, and the stream title from chat. It's funny, how over time, Tommy's come to see Chat as this one entity- an old friend. The nervousness of answering questions as a fifteen year old with nothing but a big personality, a twitch account and a copy of Minecraft is all but gone now, nineteen years old and happier than he's ever been.

Dreadfulzombie19: what are u doin this stream

"THANK YOU FOR ASKING, Dreadfulzombie19, today is gonna be a bit different, innit Tubbo?" Tommy raises his voice a bit at the end of his sentence, just loud enough for one of his flatmates to hear him. When Tubbo yells back an affirmative, Tommy turns back to his setup. Chat's gone a bit wild again, even though he, Tubbo and Ranboo have been living together for over a year now.

"Okay, okay, calm down chat- so recently I was at university, as usual right? And I had an eight AM class again, and… yeah I can see you all can relate."

"BUT! BUT! On my way back to the flat, I saw something really cool." Tommy hesitates in his speech to take a sip of coke again- his blood pressure's been acting up lately and watches Chat to wild again, asking him what he saw.

"Okay, so there was a shop- new place, which doesn't happen often this is fucking Brighton- and they sold skirts and dresses and stuff with adjustments for AMAB sizes!" Chat goes a bit bonkers, but Tommy's mod team- a little smaller than it used to be, now that he isn't the centre of YouTube or Twitch attention anymore, none of them are- are handling it, and pretty well.

"So I had to go, right? As many of you probably know, last year, I made the astounding discovery that gender-based stereotypes and expectations are, in fact, fake and I should not give a SHIT. And so I go in and look through the stuff- it's a really poggers shop by the way, and I find the perfect thing- it was the most poggers skirts and shit, okay? So, today's stream is going to have me wearing this pogchamp shit and wearing it right, with the help of…" Tommy ends his monologue by picking up the joke shaker-things that Phil had gotten him as a housewarming gift last year and indicates for his first two helpers to enter the office.

In walks his mother, face obscured from view as always, waving to the camera, and Wilbur, also wearing one of his only skirts for this occasion. Eret had taught him, on a phonecall in the skirt shop that week about the different types of skirts with a handy diagram. Wilbur's was a pleated circle skirt, brown to offset the bright yellow of his sweater and beanie, the same colour as his hair. It's very swoosh-y, so he's wearing black leggings with his regular shoes too. Motherinnit's also wearing her favourite skirt, a baby blue prairie skirt, Tommy thinks, and it's one he's seen fairly often.

Wilbur ducks down in order to show his face to Chat, and ruffles Tommy's hair while he's at it. Tommy's taller, but not by much, so Wilbur still fucking makes short jokes, That fucker.

Chat is now going so fast that he simply cannot read anything but some of the all caps messages and can barely make out some of the emotes.

"Okay, OKAY, CALM DOWN CHAT! WE HAVE TO GET TO FUCKING BUSINESS!" Tommy yells into the mix, like he did when he was sixteen and used the 'many people find me annoying at first' intro. Nowadays he just lets the content speak for itself. Anyone who wants to be here already is, by now.

Wilbur laughs a bit, and that hasn't changed at all. "Tommy, how is chat supposed to calm down if you're not calm?"

"I am their god!! They will obey via sheer digital willpower!" Tommy replies back, pretty zealously (What? An English Literature class is mandatory for his film degree, and The Great Gatsby by Zelda Fitzgerald is a good book, as are most of the other assigned ones. He's had entire conversations with Techno with just lit quotes and it drives everyone insane. Tommy loves it.) Chat seemingly has listened to his godlike abilities, with a few OG's spotting his half-quotation of one of Dream's last lines in the Dream SMP. The rest are spamming 'MOTHERINNIT'.

"If having a shitty magic trick book from a washed-up politician makes you a god, then what does that make me?" Wilbur replies, with one of Foolish's lines and swatting his hand at Tommy. Tommy swats back.

"Bitch" "Arsehole" "Shithead" "Fuckface" Wilbur finishes cheerily, as if this happens all the time. It does. Chat's used their antics now, four years of consistently making content together will do that for you.

Eventually Motherinnit reminds them both to get back on Topic, and Tommy goes back to facing the camera, addressing Chat directly.

"Today, my beloved mother, and my idiot brother-" "hey!" "And maybe my flatmates will be joining me to show off some cool as SHIT skirts! And a dress or two. We all have our selections, right?" Everyone nods in affirmative, even Tubbo and Ranboo. Though the camera can't see them. Ranboo's just come home from his final class, then. He should probably take the first hour back off, and judging by how Tubbo is forcefully judging Ranboo to the shower, he probably gets it. Tommy signs an affirmative to both of them, and gets back to the camera, where Wilbur's showing off all of his (very poggers) very stupid brown or yellow skirts. Tommy's are in cool colours, for fuck's sake.

"Oh yeah, Puffy just confirmed she'll be on stream! She'll be here in about twenty minutes, accounting for fucking traffic, and Niki' going to get onto VC after her own stream, what game is it this time?"

"GRIS." Wilbur answers.

"Poggers- she is the SHIT and will join us soon! So expect some QUALITY QUALITY content this stream!! Remember to not spam her chat to finish faster." Exclaims Tommy, even if it ends up as a light warning, as he picks up his own very poggers skirts from the extra armchair in his office to show the camera.

One is the classic red and white, mostly white but with bright red on the waist (elastic) and the bottom, and it reached to about Tommy's knee, if worn at the hip. It had no pleats, but the red bits were a very nice velvet texture, and while the skirt was heavy, it still had very much swoosh value, and pockets!! Big ones!! He slips the skirt on top of his jeans before entering camera view, the skirt visible in all its classic Tommyinnit glory, as he takes his place right next to Wilbur, who just took. a quick spin at the behest of several dono's., Skirt spying out from his lower shins all the way to his knee, making visible one of his (many) petticoats. ("What? It's cold all the fucking time here, Toms.") Tommy also makes a quick little spin, skirt flying outward, not upward, so it looks like he's hula hooping for a moment there. Lastly, Motherinnit spins around too, and while her skirts do not swoosh, she looks opulent, like she was about to go to waltz with the enemy, for whom she has a dagger in the back of her dress for. (He finished Anna Karenina and the Six of Crows duology within the same week and has not yet recovered. Jack Edwards is laughing at him as he thinks in his English Lit Graduate glory.)

It's fun, trying on different skirts- he and Wilbur accidentally bought the same dress at one point, which they paired up to wear, darting off into their respective changing rooms while giggling like idiots with their checkered blouses and the grindl skirts that Niki had sent over when she heard of this stream idea, laughing the whole time. Tubbo enters as dramatically as possible with Puffy, and while Tubbo looks really fucking good in his handkerchief skirt with embroidered bees and plain white shirt, it's Puffy who steals the show with an exact, real life version of her red banquet dress.

Fans from way back in the SMP, before Tommy had started branching out start going insane and are bringing back emotes Tommy wasn't sure were still available, but she is fucking stunning- deep shades of red and crimson, with slits on either side of her waist and all the detailing. She'd gotten the contact for her dressmaker through Bernadette Banner, Tommy recalls- she was so fucking cool when she streamed with him once, and gotten him to swear less and supplant those world's with bigger ones to intimidate instead. While he still curses like a sailor as part of his persona, it's less so and he does way less in real life these days, unless the situation calls for it. It's also just rude, especially in uni libraries, where he spends too much time these days wondering why he didn't read more as a kid.

Puffy's stolen his audience for a WHILE, and Niki coming on hasn't helped any, so Tommy exits camera view for a while to hug Ranboo really quickly- he's had midterms and has basically been dying all month.

Everyone on this stream- Tommy, Wilbur, Motherinnit, Tubbo, Puffy, Niki and Ranboo enter the camera frame after entering their dressing rooms for the last time on this particular stream, Puffy with full in-character wigs and makeup, Tommy in an Edwardian-Gothic reminiscent black and red dress, Ranboo in something he bought when he gap-yeared in Japan, punk lolita or something, Niki flaunting her pink in a Marie Antoinette style show of finery, Tubbo dressing in all green this time, something like a very deranged biology teacher who hasn't slept in days (Tubbo hasn't-Tommy has to get into that), Wilbur like a forest-nymph, all earthy tones and swishy fabrics and nature highlights, and finally Motherinnit, who hasn't changed but is here to take pictures as they all lean in together to fit into frame, as drastic as their height difference is. Niki is going to be edited in later, and everyone on the 'Dream SMP but nobody does Dream SMP and we're all fucking nerds' discord server is going to get a copy.

The stream wraps up there, after about two hours, and it's only about six in the evening- a far cry from the late nights and long hours from the beginning of Tommy's career, so everyone runs to their changing areas for the last time, into pajamas now, and packs away all of the clothes they wore, properly, as to not incense Karolina Zebrowska, and Jemma, Dan's wife, who would look at them disappointedly and nobody wants a sad Jemma because that means no cooing at their son. Also it just feels shitty.

Everyone huddles in Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo's living room, and they out on UP for like, the millionth fucking time (they still cry when Ellie dies), and Tommy is leaning into Wilbur's side and feeling his mum play with the hair in his very small, stubby ponytail he's developed by being in Uni as he and Tubbo intertwine their legs together and Ranboo rests his head in the tangle of limbs, playing with his fidget cube. Puffy stays on Wilbur's side, intently texting someone and smiling the whole while, and Tommy takes a moment to reflect (something he's been getting better at doing) on how the actual hell they all got here.

The Dream SMP was always going to end- everyone knew it, if course, they were the fucking writers. But by the time they did, not only were their respective brands too closely intertwined to just… sever that quickly, but they'd become too close to even want to. So the SMP discord never shut, even though Dream and George had planned it months ago, and they continued supporting each other with their interests. Wilbur made a lot more music solo, with his band and even just random ass streams where he practiced guitar for an hour. He kept playing Minecraft, but it wasn't his main focus. A bunch of people left. More stayed. YouTube left him alone.

Dream, George and Sapnap are still Minecraft streamers, but their YouTube channels are mostly blogs of them being poor excuses of adults with other former SMP members joining in sometimes. Tommy and the Dream Team were closer than ever, even though the seeds of their friendship had been sowed when they used to linger after heavy streams together, reassuring each other that none of that was true and that nothing like… that would happen in real life, because Dream had used real abuse tactics, and those still hurt unless immediately taken care of. So they were. It was a running joke that Dream was stuck at 99 million subscribers since nobody really wanted the face reveal anymore. The other Dream team members were doing peachy.

Phil and Techno were also still primarily Minecraft streamers, but they also released things like advice videos and mental health stuff, especially for relationships. They had a new scripted series where Tommy was a minor character. The dadza jokes were still as real, and yes, outside of streaming, both of them were lovely people and responsible adults (mostly). They collaborated with DanTDM and co a lot more now.

Puffy and Niki kept doing games, but did lots of different ones, testing point and clickers to triple A titles, and making it all fucking hilarious while they were at it.

So where had that left Tommy?

After the Dream SMP, he'd kind of had no idea what to do, and he was going to University for the first time, so he just… did whatever he thought would be fun. He learned about vintage fashion from the queens themselves- Mina Le, Bernadette Banner and Karolina Zebrowska and had fun learning how to sew for the first time, fixing and making his own clothes for the first time, clunky as they were, Wilbur had cried, genuinely, when he saw the Lovejoy shirts that Tommy had made for the band. He'd found a genuine love for literature in university, so Tommy started talking to booktubers and studytubers like Jack Edwards and Noelle Stevenson. Tubbo and Ranboo had joined him, fucking around in any YouTube niche they found even remotely interesting. Eventually, they all found a happy medium- a bit of everything.

Some people obviously weren't happy with that but Tommy was happy as he was, making what he liked with his best friend's, living together close enough to most of their friends (family) to have fun and drop in on one another at ass-o-clock in the morning to comfort, to laugh. His sub count hasn't gone up in a while- most of his audience is static, with about 80-90k online on a stream at any time.p

It was a nice feeling, to have carved out a space for himself and the people he loves, and be is so, so glad that he got this chance.

Looking at his mostly asleep family, Tommy thinks 'yeah. Life is good.' as the last thought before he sleeps.

[sierraraeck]

Why Men Suck

BAU x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Summary: Reid has to talk to Aundreya about what’s happened and try to explain himself. Aundreya has an unexpected visitor in a high stress situation. Story eleven.

Category: Angst.

Warnings: Cussing. Shots fired. Very quick mention of suicide. Implied abusive relationship.

Word Count: 3.4k

I walked into the office with a whole new demeanor. A whole new attitude. A whole new level of confidence.

I was a whole new person.

I wasn’t exactly the old street and prison me, but that was a lot closer than the pathetic, emotional version who’d possessed my body for the last year and a half.

I walked in with a new fire in my eyes, a new growl in my voice, a new ice block in my chest. I walked in like I owned the place. And everyone could feel it.

“Hey, Aundreya,” Prentiss said, a little hesitation coating her voice.

“Hey,” I said, “Do we have a case?”

“I believe so. Hotch said he wants us in the briefing room in five,” she replied.

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I was in the hallway approaching a small table with snacks on it when he caught my attention. I was wondering when this would happen.

“Aundreya, wait,” Reid called after me.

I turned on him. “Why? What could you possibly say to me right now?”

He let out a huge breath. “Is this about what Morgan and I talked about on the jet?”

I put my hands out and cocked my head to the side, letting him know that was exactly what this was about.

“She’s just someone that I’m talking to for my headaches, and I knew she could help with the case.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not.”

“We both know you are. Why would you need to call her on a payphone, then? Why would you need Tara to drive you there instead of me or Derek? Why have you been so secretive about who she is?”

“It’s because I just wanted to keep one thing-”

“Personal?” I finished, raising my eyebrows.

“That’s not what I mean,” he huffed.

“I think that’s exactly what you mean. And she must be pretty special if even the possibility of her getting hurt is worth risking both of our lives.” I started to turn away, heading back down the hallway.

“I didn’t-”

“Yes. You did. Last time I checked, you didn’t know for sure if that was even where she lived, yet you were willing to get shot and put me in the line of fire for her.”

“Aundreya, please,” he pleaded for me to let him explain, but there was nothing to explain.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. You’ve made what you want pretty clear,” I stood there staring into his sad eyes. I wanted to walk away so badly, but I just had to ask, “I just have one question for you. Did you call her that night?”

“What?”

I already knew he called her throughout those two weeks, and I realized that he even called her the night before we returned to work when I was freaking out about where he was. But I wanted to know if he called her right after we…

I swallowed. “That night. Did. You. Call her?”

He looked me dead in the eyes and responded, “No.”

It didn’t make it hurt any less, but at least he didn’t add insult to injury. I’d gotten my answer, so I pushed by him, heading back to the round table room, suddenly having lost my appetite. I didn’t even reach the steps before a loud bang echoed off the ceiling.

I whipped my head around and saw Reid in a choke hold, a man holding a gun to his head. But that wasn’t just any man.

That was my father.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

All of the desk workers who weren’t armed were clumped together near the coffee maker or were ducking under their desks. Anyone who was armed had their weapon drawn and aimed at my father. Our team members were all standing behind the railing to my right in a line, each one panicked and furious, guns trained on the man who held Reid.

He scanned the room until his eyes landed on me. A smile spread across his face and he said, “Hello, Aundreya,” he sneered, letting me know he knew about my name change.

“Hello, Joe,” I returned.

“What? Come on, no ‘hi dad?’” he fake-whimpered.

I scoffed. “We may be biologically related, but you are not my dad.”

“Ouch,” he smiled.

“Yeah, well the truth hurts,” I said, raising my eyebrows. That was what he always loved to tell my sister and I whenever he was trying to manipulate us into believing his lies.

He laughed. “Well it looks like I did teach you something after all.”

My emotions were on a whole new high. Everything seemed to be crashing around me, and one of the only honest connections I thought I’d made had just shattered. I was sick and tired of letting other people affect my emotions and the constant lies that people told and truths they deliberately withheld. “Yeah, you taught me that loving someone meant manipulating them and lying to them and degrading them and the ones they love. You taught me how to mimic those behaviors for my own personal gain. And you did a great job teaching me that I can’t trust men and that they can’t treat me right, especially in relationships,” I offered, my voice strong.

“Honey, that is not at all what I taught you.”

I wanted to vomit at his term of endearment. “Great, then I guess it’s your borderline personality and narcissistic genes that got passed down that made me this way. My bad.”

He shook his head in disbelief, that same smug look absorbing his features, but changed the subject. “So you’re in the FBI now, huh?”

“Sure am. I enjoy putting evil men away, envisioning that they’re you I finally get to put handcuffs on. Who knows? Maybe you coming here will finally satisfy that desire,” I said with a smirk, holding my gun up a little higher.

“Oh really? How are you going to do that? I mean, I guess you could, depending on how much you care about him,” he said, gesturing toward Reid with the gun still trained at his temple.

“Oh, him? Yeah, I don’t really know him,” I said. At the moment, that statement felt true.

“Are you sure? I thought I saw you two spending quite a lot of time together recently,” he said.

My eyes got wide. “You’ve been stalking me?”

“I have to say, you are quite a hard person to track down these days. I just wanted to make sure it was actually you. I’ve wanted to see you, talk to you, but I knew you’d never respond to me directly.”

“I can’t imagine why that would be,” I snapped.

“I just want to know that you’re doing well.”

“How considerate. Well I’m great, so you can leave now.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you all are just going to let me walk out of here,” he said. He turned his attention to the rest of the team. “So this must be the BAU?”

“Yep,” I said, popping the ‘p’, “Your point?”

“Are they really as great as I’ve heard?”

“We do close a lot of cases.”

“But are they good people?”

“Yes, they’re in the FBI. What are you getting at?” I’d had nearly every possible argument with this man, so I always had a good idea where things were going. But this? This confused me.

“Do you all really consider each other family?”

Then I got it. If he was trying to inflict the maximum amount of pain on me, he would want to know who I cared most about so he could hurt them.

“Not really. We just work together,” I stated. I didn’t want to add any more than I had to, especially if I was reading the situation wrong and he wanted to hurt people he thought were hurting me. By taking Reid as his hostage, I couldn’t tell which one was true.

“But what about this one?” he said, peering down at Reid.

“What about him?”

“You don’t consider this one family?”

“I just told you, even if I’ve been talking to him more recently, I still barely know him.”

“Uh-huh. So you wouldn’t mind if I just killed him, then?” he asked.

My heart was pounding. I knew that he was most likely trying to inflict maximum pain on me, so showing that I did care about him could be lethal, but I didn’t want to say yes and have him obey my wishes. The one time he would.

I took a deep breath, knowing if I hesitated any longer, he’d know my answer. “No. Not really. I mean, I don’t think you should kill anyone, newsflash it’s my job to make sure people stay alive, but if your question is if I have a personal sway one way or the other, the answer is no. He’s not as important to me as some of the others.”

Reid made eye contact with me, and the look of hurt in his eyes was devastating. He actually believed me. He genuinely thought that because I was mad, I would just flip that criminal switch and want him dead. I didn’t really know how to take that and I couldn’t think about it now. I had to stay focused. At least I had confirmation I was doing a good job being convincing.

But of all the things I thought I knew about shooters, about hostage situations, about my father, I did not anticipate his next move.

Joe approached me, shifting his aim from Reid, who was still in a chokehold, onto me. I stood my ground, refusing to cower under his advance. He tossed Reid like a rag doll in front of me, and without blinking, stepped around behind me. I felt the barrel of the gun swipe some hair out of the way, then come to rest on the back of my head as he commanded Reid to his knees.

This was going to be an execution.

“So you don’t think I, or anyone else, should be killing people? But what about you, daughter?”

I swallowed, vaguely aware of how he was using me as a human shield, not a single person behind him who could get a shot off. This one was on me.

“Those days are over,” I casually noted.

“Which days are you referring to? The killing days or the more recent scheming days?” he asked.

How much does he know? He couldn’t know about … That’s impossible. No one knows about that.

“Both.”

He laughed. “I guess we’ll see about that, ‘cause I don’t think you are getting out of this without having to tap back into those skills.”

“What do you want?” I asked, enunciating each word carefully.

“I want you to kill him.”

I refused to look down at Reid up until that point, but after that, I had to. I looked down at him looking up at me, his expression clearly wondering what I was going to do.

I may be angry and upset, but I would never do something like this to you, Reid. I willed him to read my mind.

“What?” I was still processing his request.

“You heard me. You kill him, and the rest of us walk out of here.”

I shook my head and right as I did, he pushed the barrel farther into my skull.

I knew I couldn’t turn around and shoot Joe: he would be able to shoot me much faster and would probably shoot Reid as well before the team could kill him. I knew I couldn’t kill Reid. That was just a given.

But there were three people in this equation, leaving me with one last variable to manipulate.

I turned the gun on myself.

I contemplated just dropping it all together, but I figured that would result in the first outcome I’d envisioned. But threatening to take away the person he wanted to hurt or force back into old habits, taking the common denominator away, I knew that would foil all of his plans. And I’m known for self preservation not being suicidal, so it would be a scenario he would have never considered.

“No.”

“What are you doing?” I could hear the slight panic in Joe’s voice, the same feeling reflected in Reid’s eyes.

“I said no. I told you, those days are over for me. If you want to hurt me, then you should know that the person I care the most about, above all else, is myself. What would you do if I decided to ultimately protect myself from you once and for all?” I asked. When I got no response, I concluded with, “So take me. I’m who you’re here for, right? So just take what you came for.”

“You seriously mean that?” he asked with a glimmer of hope.

“I’m not one to play games.”

He grabbed me by the arm and demanded I drop my gun, pressing his own to my temple. I did as he said, all but placing the gun in Reid’s hands, giving him one last look that tried to convey as much hope as I could without just winking at him.

I continued to walk slowly, Joe still using me as a human shield, on our path to the exit. He reached the glass doors and turned around, about to push through with his back. But I knew something he didn’t. Those doors were deceivingly heavy.

I used the back of my head to jam his nose into his skull, simultaneously ramming his head into the glass doors. They budged, but not enough to knock us both completely off balance. I cranked my body out of his grap, and turned around to face him, hitting him hard enough to disarm him. The shock of my blows gave me the upper hand as I reached for his weapon, claiming it as my own. I now stood in front of him, the tables having drastically turned.

“FBI. Put your hands up,” I said smugly. He wore an expression of pure rage which only increased the pleasure I got from this moment. “Joe Spade, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of multiple FBI agents.”

He put his hands up and I tossed his gun aside, quick to replace it with handcuffs. “It looks like I was able to not only get out of this situation without having to kill anybody, but also fulfill my fantasies of handcuffing you after all.”

I brought his hands down behind his back and tightened the cuffs as much as possible. I walked him forward a few paces so he could really get a good look at my team members.

“You see those people up there behind that railing? Those people are my family. They actually look out for me, and I will always look out for them. Those ladies over there? They are like my sisters, compassionate people I aspire to be like. And those men? They’ve taught me that good men and healthy relationships do exist. All of them have helped me overcome my trust issues and anxiety when it comes to opening up and letting people in. They’ve shown me what love truly looks and sounds like, and I’ve started to learn how to reciprocate. And you know what? They are the reason that I didn’t kill you,” I snarled, letting him, and the rest of the team, digest that. “Take a good, long, look. Because they are the only reason you are alive right now.”

I made him stand there for a few seconds, marinating in that information, before yanking him towards the door, handing him off to the officers that were to escort him down to a squad car.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

“Ohmygod! Are you okay?” Penelope squawked as she rushed toward me.

I couldn’t even get a response out before her lung-squishing hug surrounded me. I hugged her back but quickly answered, “Yes. I’m all good.”

“Are you sure? That was … I mean that was-”

“I know. And I’m okay,” I said with a reassuring smile.

“Did you mean all of that?” she asked me with hopeful, gleaming eyes.

“Yeah,” I replied, but I could tell that Rossi heard my uncertain undertone. For the most part.

“What was that?” Rossi interjected, stern but concerned. “You put yourself in harm's way and made a reckless, stupid, decision.”

Yeah because focusing on myself up to this point has worked out so well for me. I decided I’d try something new, and look at that, not giving a damn about my safety worked out for all of us.

I kept those thoughts to myself and opted for, “It worked out. I’m fine.”

“What's happened to you? You went from yelling at a guy who reminded you of your father to not even being phased by your own. Not to mention he was holding a gun on you,” Morgan acknowledged. I knew what he was getting at, all of them noticing my change in attitude this morning before all of the madness that followed.

“Well, shit happens. Things change,” I stated coldly. I saw Reid cringe from behind the rest of the group.

“And I guess so do people,” Rossi said pointedly.

“Yeah,” I finally looked at Reid, skimming my eyes up and down him, “They do.”

A moment of awkward silence passed over the group before Hotch said, “Let’s all take the rest of the day off. We’ll start on our new case tomorrow.”

The group agreed and each gave me their varied versions of condolences and then turned to check on Reid. Most of the rest of the bullpen had already left, receiving the same deal Aaron gave us, and our team started slowly breaking apart so they could grab their stuff. Soon, that just left Reid and I standing there. I went to walk by him on my way to get my stuff when he stopped me.

“Aundreya, wait,” he squeaked.

I turned to face him, waiting to see what followed.

“I know it doesn’t make this any better but I am sorry. I never intended for this to happen.”

“I believe you, but the damage has been done.”

“I know. I just … I don’t know-”

“Look Reid. Everything I said was true. I let my guard down, I let you in. I trusted you, which went against every instinct in my body telling me to run. For the first time in my entire life, I felt like I could breathe. Like I could actually breathe. Do you know what that feels like? For my whole life, I have been suffocating under the weight of my father, the Slaughterer, the streets, just waiting for the next bad thing to happen. I never knew what it felt like to just be okay and to feel safe. Until I met you. I had just started to break down my barriers, my entire belief system, because I started to understand that I was wrong, that not everyone is out for themselves, just manipulating me for their own personal gain then tossing me aside like garbage. I mean, you just met the one and only male role model in my life! That’s what I thought everyone, specifically men, were like! And just when you started to prove me wrong… I’ve tumbled all the way back down to square one. So was what you did world-ending? No. Is that the worst thing that could have happened, that you could have done? Definitely not. Our job proves that every day. But it felt pretty massive to me,” I ranted.

I didn’t mean to raise my voice or draw attention to the situation, but those thoughts had been playing an intense game of Pong inside my head for a while, and I just had to get them off my chest. It was Hotch and Prentiss that were straggling, and while they were out of earshot, they weren’t blind.

I let out a nervous laugh, absorbing the irony of the whole thing. “And you told me you would never hurt me,” I shook my head in disbelief, “Look at us now.”

I reached around him to grab my stuff and barreled toward the door without another breath.

It wasn’t fair of me and I knew that. We fucked and maybe that was it. It’s not like we were together and he was cheating on me or something. We actually had never even talked about what we were, and now, maybe we never would. I guess I would just have to accept that the whole thing, all the lead up and shit, was just a fling. A harmless, nothing-to-get-your-panties-in-a-wad-over, fling. So maybe I did dish out too much, and he didn’t really deserve all that, but I couldn’t worry about it now. I’d said it, and it made me feel better to say it, and I wanted him to know how much it hurt. Sure, he’d just had a gun to his head thanks to my father but so had I, and there really is no better time to get emotional than after a shared trauma.

I got home and laid on my couch, recounting the events of the day.

He mentioned my scheming. He couldn’t know, could he? But he seemed like he might’ve…

That would be yet another fun excuse to recount to the team, if they even remembered or felt courageous enough to ask.

But for the time being, I curled up on my couch, queueing up the series finale of ‘Sherlock.’

Taglist (open)

@justanothetfangirl

@kris-stuff

@wooya1224

[mamichigo]

Fic: lemon flavored days (1.8k)

Pairing: Giyuu/Shinobu

Tags: Pre-Relationship, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Birthday

Summary: Giyuu doesn’t think his birthday matters; Shinobu doesn’t quite agree.

N/A: Commission for the ever supportive @azu-sama. You are a dear, thank you for giving me the chance to work a bit on this universe.

*

Giyuu rested his head against the windowsill, phone secured in between the crevice of his shoulder and the press of his cheek, freeing his hands to fidget with the fork in his hand.

“Did you get the one I told you about?” Makomo’s gentle voice asked from the other side of the phone. “The lemon one?”

Giyuu licked the frosting sticking to the fork and nodded, only remembering he was in a phone call a second later. “Yeah, I did.”

“Did you like it?”

He considered the empty plate where his cake had been; the taste of it had reminded him of summers when he was much younger, spent trying to bake for Urokodaki, and the victory of finally getting it right (though he, Sabito and Makomo were all covered in flour by the end of it). A hesitant smile appeared on his face, and Giyuu hummed.

“It was good,” was all he said. From the way Makomo chuckled, however, she understood exactly what he was thinking of—she always had a talent for doing that.

“I’m glad,” she said, and they both didn’t say anything for a little while. There were hushed voices coming from Makomo’s end, and he could imagine her bundled up in a too thick scarf and walking down a snow-covered street, making her way back from work. Giyuu ached at the thought of it.

“Sabito told you earlier?” Makomo continued, like no time passed at all. “About visiting you.”

“Yeah.” He hesitated again. “…Sorry I couldn’t make it this year.”

“It’s okay, we understand you’re busy. We are, too, after all,” she said. “But we’ll be there as soon as we can, I promise.” Giyuu opened his mouth to reply, but Makomo added, in a softer voice, “Urokodaki-san will come too.”

At this, Giyuu smiled again. “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Giyuu,” Makomo reminded him, gently. “Happy birthday. We’ll see you soon, so enjoy today, okay?”

Giyuu glanced at his empty apartment, and thought of the contacts in his phone, none of which he felt he could call. “Yeah, I will.”

*

A bit more tired than usual, Giyuu rubbed at one eye while pointing at a line in the book in front of him, explanation coming easy from years of practice. The little girl sitting next to him, Himiko, nodded along with his every word, small face shoved close to the pages in her curiosity. However, it only took one long, drawn-out yawn from Giyuu to break her concentration.

When he realized she was no longer listening, Giyuu stopped, and faced her stare head-on.

“Are you tired, Tomioka-sensei?” She asked in her raspy voice.

“A little bit,” he admitted, thinking that would be the end of it.

“Is it because you were having a birthday party last night?”

Giyuu blinked at her, surprised at the question. Not that the assumption was right, but the mention of his birthday did surprise him. “How did you know it was my birthday?”

She grinned. “You told me yourself!” Himiko reminded him. “And I wrote it in my notebook so I wouldn’t forget.” She pointed to the red notebook on one side of the table, where she kept everything she thought was important—this included the name of the pretty flowers her aunt brought her once a week, the parts of their history lessons she liked the most and, apparently, Giyuu’s birthday.

Himiko seemed proud of herself for remembering, so he smiled at her in encouragement. “You did well.”

She beamed brightly, then launched into a rant on what she would do for her own birthday—she was quick to reassure Giyuu that he would be invited to it.

Giyuu was just reflecting on what would be a good present for a little girl when a knock at the door made them both pause and look up. Kochou smiled at him, and Giyuu returned the gesture entirely on instinct.

“Tomioka-sensei, you should take a break for a few minutes,” Kochou reminded, all too aware of Giyuu’s tendency to forget to do just that. When Himiko complained, Kochou put her hands on her hips. “And I won’t accept ‘but’ and 'later’ this time.”

Giyuu looked from Himiko to Kochou, cracking at the way the latter raised her eyebrows at him. He got to his feet, though not before promising Himiko to come back in a few minutes.

When he passed, Kochou patted his shoulder briefly. “There’s food in the break room with my name on the label, the second container is for you,” she said. Then, she looked him up and down in consideration. “And there is coffee as well.”

“Oh,” he said awkwardly, then bowed his head, uncertain of how to show his gratitude otherwise. “Thank you.”

“Off you go, shoo,” Kochou said teasingly, gesturing him away.

Giyuu obeyed, gratefully stretching his limbs and making his way to the break room.

When he came back later, he didn’t question the way Himiko was whispering something into Kochou’s ear, and the curious look the two of them were giving Giyuu—Kochou’s was especially mischievous.

*

Even on Winter break and no classes to be had at school, Giyuu seemed to be just as busy as ever. Preparing for the new school year while still volunteering at the hospital took more out of him than initially expected. For that reason, Giyuu had all the intention to collapse into bed as soon as he made it home that day, but a call from Kochou had destroyed that plan in the span of a single second.

That was how he found himself dragging his feet to the gate of the Kochou residence at eight in the evening, eyes stinging and unfocused.

Perhaps it was exactly the tiredness that made the lack of chattering young voices from inside the house go unnoticed to him; not even the fact that Kochou opened the door by herself—instead of accompanied by one of the triplets, like she usually would—seemed strange to him. Giyuu simply followed Kochou inside without questioning it.

No wonder he almost jumped out of his skin when a loud chorus of “Happy birthday!” greeted him once he made his way into the house. He had to blink several times to process the confetti in his hair, the smiling faces in front of him, and the absurd amount of food displayed on a large table in the middle of the room.

“Tomioka, that’s quite the expression you’re making there!” Rengoku yelled, laughing without reservations.

Kanroji fidgeted like she wanted to approach and check on him. “We didn’t break him, did we?” She asked.

“Don’t worry, that’s just his usual stupid face,” Iguro reassured her, which didn’t seem to help at all.

“Iguro-san!” She chided, waving frantically.

“Iguro is right, he always makes that lost face whenever he has to interact with people,” Shinazugawa said with a mocking snort.

That made Kanroji beg them to stop, which in response had Iguro and Shinazugawa arguing that they weren’t wrong.

Kochou elbowed his side hard enough for Giyuu to stumble and snap him out of his blank state.

“Did you go into shock?” Shinobu asked, teasing but somehow still kind.

Giyuu took a moment to take in his surroundings again. His usual drinking group was there, with the addition of Kanroji and Kochou herself. It had enough people to feel look and sound lively, but not enough to be overwhelming. As an afterthought, he realized a good portion of the food on the table was baked, which made him wonder if maybe Shinazugawa hadn’t made them himself.

“I organized this,” Kochou declared, answering the question in Giyuu’s mind. “I didn’t have to do much, though. Sanemi-san took it upon himself to do most of it. He sounded mad when I talked to him, you know?.” She chuckled, then looked up at Giyuu. “I distinctly remember him yelling about you being an idiot with no social skills.”

Giyuu had no doubt that had in fact happened.

“How did you know?” Is what Giyuu asked when he found his voice to speak again.

“Himiko-chan told me.” He recalled the hushed conversation he had witnessed, just two days ago, and nodded in understanding. “I can’t believe I had to find out from her instead, you’re so difficult, Tomioka-san.”

Giyuu shuffled on his feet and turned his head to the side, so kochou wasn’t in the corner of his vision. “I…”

He didn’t get to finish, as Rengoku lost interest in whatever was being said by Iguro and Shinazugawa and decided to pull the birthday man into the circle, giving him painful pats on the back as he repeatedly congratulated Giyuu.

Giyuu gave Kanroji a pleading look, but there was nothing she could do once the other three joined in to tease and congratulate Giyuu, somehow doing both at the same time. Soon, he was too engrossed with shoving pastries into his mouth to worry about his interrupted conversation with Kochou.

It was only later into the night, when Iguro had his head on the table, mumbling incoherent complaints while Rengoku laughed and poked at his head, and Kanroji was too distracted by Shinazugawa making her taste every single food and give her opinion on it, that Giyuu heard a shuttle go off. He looked up from his drink, finding Kochou smiling at him.

“So you can show to Makomo-san,” she explained. “They’d all like to know you had fun, right?”

Given how often Sabito worried about his social relations, he wouldn’t be surprised if he cried happy tears at seeing a picture of this little party at full swing.

Instead of replying, however, he asked something that been burning at the back of his mind the whole night: “Where’s the rest of your family?”

Shinobu tilted her head. “Oh, I asked my sister to spend the night at Himejima-san’s place today,” she said. “Of course, the girls went with her. You’d be too shy to enjoy the party otherwise, wouldn’t you?”

She said that like it was only natural, a logical conclusion. And perhaps, to her, it was exactly that, which only made it the more unbelievable. Giyuu felt his breath falter, something heavy settling in his stomach.

He looked down at his drink. “…I didn’t think it would be important,” he said, voicing the thought he had earlier. “To tell anyone about my birthday, that is.”

Kochou looked like she had something to say to that, but if she did, it never came out. She simply pressed their shoulders together, and whispered, “Of course it’s important,” like it was never a question.

Giyuu felt the sudden urge to call Sabito, to ask him to put him on speaker so Makomo could hear as well as he told them everything about this night.

“You better do something for my birthday as well, your hear me?” Kochou said. “Otherwise I’ll never do anything for you again, you emotionally constipated idiot.”

“I’ll think about it,” Giyuu replied, easy and playful. Kochou protested and lightly slapped his arm, making him laugh before he could stop himself.

The smile hurt on his cheeks.

[nelllraiser]

skin and bones | morgan & nell

LOCATION: the vural coven daycare center. (a coven member’s house, made into a daycare) PARTIES:  @mor-beck-more-problems and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: a zombie and a witch walk into a room full of emotionally turbulent children who have magical powers directly linked to said emotions. what could do wrong? 

It wasn’t that Nell didn’t like children. In fact, she quite enjoyed spending time with them and their funny little brains and ways of thinking, the world not yet having a concrete grip on them and their minds. But she would have appreciated it if Nisa had at least asked her if she had any plans before volunteering her for coven daycare. Of course, it also doubled as an after school program, providing for kids who needed a place to be while their parents still went about their work day, and a place to ask magical questions as well as work on their mundane homework. Nell guessed it didn’t matter all that much that her plans for the day had been detoured. After all, Morgan could still come drop her things off here. It just meant that Nell had needed to send her the address of the modified house turned children’s center. The buzzer for the door rang, and Nell set down the toys she’d been using to play along with Heather, a rather precocious little witch. “Alright, time for homework, now. I’ll be back in just a second with my….friend.” Morgan and her were still friends right? It only took her a second to open the door, revealing the smattering of children behind her to Morgan. “Hey, sorry for the change of plan.”

After the week of the mimes and Rebecca coming back, Morgan’s willpower to do anything out of her admittedly basic routine had flattened. So of course she was only getting to her book donations today. It stung too much of failure and disappointment to sell the family grimoires to The Archive or some online retailer, She couldn’t bear feeling the stiff spines watching her from the attic space, and Cece hadn’t wanted them when she offered. And the coven was, or had been, a kind of family to belong to. It made sense for them to keep the books safe. Maybe they would do better for some other, less cursed kid. Morgan was as resolved in this as she could have been. And yet, when Nell opened the door, Morgan couldn’t help but avert her gaze to the plastic storage lid in front of her. “It’s fine,” she said. “Stuff happens.” Sometimes big, woops now you’re dead stuff. And others-- the sound of a child’s wailing caught her attention--spur of the moment babysitting stuff. “I just wanted to make sure you guys have these. I know there aren’t uh...that alchemy isn’t a big thing in the coven. But there’s uh, there’s other stuff. Practical magic. Potions. Herbalist notes. And so...maybe it can help you guys. Or something.” She held the box out to Nell, still not quite looking at her.

Morgan wouldn’t even look at her, and Nell could only guess as to why. Had their awkward, strange online interaction really been all that bad? Or was it simply that Nell was a reminder of all Morgan had lost? Either way, it made Nell’s heart sink, and fumble a bit for words. “Yeah, totally uh- stuff.” She hated this, the not knowing and the wondering, and she’d done it too many times before with other friends. Nell wanted to ask how Morgan was doing but- it hadn’t gone all that well last time, had it? The sound of one of the kids upset had Nell whipping her head around over her shoulder, trying to make sure that nothing was being set aflame or anything of that like. Babysitting little witches was certainly a job that required a lot of...attention when they had the powers they did. But the books and bin in Morgan’s hand pulled another tug of worry from her gut, and Nell accepted them tentatively. “Are you...sure? I know that-” Her words were broken off by a louder yell, and Nell turned to find a Heather that had been perfectly peaceful and quiet a few moments ago, now glowing with magic, her mouth open with a childish yell pouring out of it.

“I’m sure,” Morgan said quickly. “I’m not a witch anymore. I can’t use these for anything. But you can. You and your family, the coven…” She was cut off by the sound of more wailing. Morgan followed Nell into the house, leaving her storage tub of books in the hall. There was no obvious sign as to what had started the problem, the other children were staring at her, some frightened, some annoyed, some fixing to start wailing just by the contagious quality of distress. Morgan gave Nell a sidelong glance. She looked at a loss. “Okay,” she said, summoning the voice she used on her students. “Who can tell us what happened?”

Nell didn’t have time to argue with Morgan whether or not she was a witch at this point, not when there was a ticking, magical time bomb in the middle of all the kids, threatening to set off the rest of the magical time bombs with her distress. She went to Heather, crouching down a bit to meet the girl’s eyes and place soothing hands on her shoulders. “Hey, don’t worry. It’s alright.” The last thing she needed was the little girl to show off some of the power she’d already started exhibiting, and it seemed like Morgan was doing well-enough with getting to the bottom of the matter. One of the little boys stepped forward to answer Morgan’s question. It was Bartie, short for Bartholomew, and the self-appointed policeman of the group. “It was Wren!” he said without hesitation, pointing towards one of the taller girls in the group. “She pulled Heather’s hair!” Wren, sufficiently indignant, puffed up as she prepared to defend her name.

“Was not!” she yelled back, her own cheeks turning a little pink. Somewhere behind the girl, a heavy stack of books began to hover, as if ready to obey the youngster's unknowing command. 

“Snitches get stitches, kid,” Morgan said, coming over to the table. “You can help without throwing your friends under the bus. Wren?” The little girl nodded, thinking she had been vindicated. “Lying is bad. Don’t get in the habit. You’re a good kid, say you’re sorry instead.” Of course, as luck would have it, seeing her tormentors being taken care of by the adults wasn’t making anything better for the crying Heather. Morgan exchanged a concerned look with Nell. Was there a set protocol for this sort of thing? A how-to manual? Being an only child hadn’t prepared her much for this, and Morgan didn’t know if she could bring herself to calm the way her own mother had. Books were rattling in the bookcase, glass was trembling off their shelves. Behind them, something shattered. The children screamed. “Heather?” She prodded. “It, uh, it is heather, right?”

Nell, of course, had been the youngest sibling, and therefore usually the one who’s tantrums were being taken care of by either Bea and Luce, or her parents. Thankfully, her time here in the daycare had taught her at least a couple of tricks for dealing with children. Heather nodded through her trembling bottom lip, somewhat taken with the two adults lending all their undivided attention to her. “It’s alright, Heather. Like I said, Wren’s gonna apologize and she won’t tug your hair again. What if we get some juice? I know we have some more graham crackers leftover, too. You can do that dipping thing you like.” Heather seemed to be decently placated by the mention of snacks, reaching out to take a hand of Nell’s, and one of Morgan’s into each of her tiny hands, latching as if they were human security blankets. Unfortunately, it seemed that Wren’s anger stemmed more from Heather getting more attention than anything else, and a soft whoosh filled the air as the rather heavy coffee maker in the corner of the room flew towards the comforting scene. Nell’s hand shot up with fight-ready reflexes to catch the thing by its cord as it flew, just barely keeping the thing from careening into Heather as hot coffee spilled out onto the floor.

Oh. Oh, Morgan had got this all wrong. She looked, panicked at Nell. “Shit.” Oh, that was bad too. And that coffee maker was a really close call. “Good catch,” she said, eyes flitting helpless between the two children. Heather was fine, maybe even too smug that she had been rescued from flying coffee. But Wren? Wren looked betrayed. How could she. How could Morgan pretend to be her friend and then only care about Heather? The toy cars on the floor started spinning and rattling. The other children huddled together, yelling at Wren to stop. Nope, nope, nope, this was no good at all. Morgan didn’t know which problem was more appealing, but she gestured with her head for Nell to handle the crowd control. They trusted her, right? And she had sisters. Morgan--well, she liked to kid herself that she was good with kids, but this wasn’t anything like the one-on-one tutoring sessions she’d done at the volunteer center. 

“Hey,” she said, extracting herself from Heather and sitting down directly in front of her. “Hey, Wren?” She moved to touch the girls shoulder, but she was having none of it. Morgan caught sight of Nell again, mouthing, Any ideas? 

“This hasn’t been a great day for you either, huh?” she tried. “Can you take a breath and talk to me about it?

Nell grimaced, only having just barely managed to not swear in front of the children as well when the coffee pot had flown. It was really only one magical child disaster after another with these guys, and Nell hadn’t expected Wren to feel so...well- emotional. “Hey, hey-” she began, following Morgan’s indication that she should help calm the brewing mob of ankle-biters. Of course, Morgan and she weren’t even that much taller than some of the older kids here. “Look- come over, here! I wanna show you guys something.” Nell was blessing the name of whoever gave kids an attention span inversely related to their tempers as the children huddled on over to where Nell was drawing a hasty summoning circle on the floor. In a few moments, there were some vegetable lambs playing within the confines of it, sniffing the little fingers of the children that were being offered to their fuzzy, little noses. Nell looked back to Morgan, and simply shrugged, signally that she didn’t know what baggage it was that Wren had brought along with her from school. Wren was all too happy to share, though. 

“I don’t wanna talk!” Wren exclaimed, tiny fists throwing themselves down against her sides. The toys around her tumbled, one breaking clean in half. But then Morgan’s voice was so soft, almost as soft as her fluffy hair looked. “Can I touch it?” she asked nicely this time, pointing towards the locks near Morgan’s shoulders. She didn’t wait for permission, simply reaching out to gently pat the stands. “They are soft. I like soft things. My kitty-” Again her lower lip trembled. “My kitty’s soft. Mom said my kitty was sick, and now she’s over the rainbow bridge and with the other nice kitties, and her fur was the same color as Heather’s hair and-” She cut herself off, her lip quivering again. “But I want my kitty! She’s mine!”

Morgan leaned in to let Wren pet her hair. Whatever made her feel better. She nodded along to her story, listening carefully. Oh, this was bad. Her heart sank, understanding. How old was this kid anyway? Was this the first thing she’d seen die? “That would make me really mad too. I had a kitty like that once. And it really sucks, you know? It’s the worst feeling when something that’s yours goes away.” She leaned in dangling her hair before Wren’s little fingers. “Can you tell me more about her, Wren? What was her name? Mine was named Catty. And she loved to play with this one plushy bunny. Did your kitty have any favorite toys?” She held her arms up to block a flying box of crayons. As they rolled around the floor, she reached for her little hands, offering hers out in turn. What she needed most was to burn off some of the energy she was holding over this. You know, before she broke the house.

Nell stayed where she was making sure the kids didn’t grab too harshly at the little lambs who were frolicking around on the rug. “Gently,” she reminded one while listening to the conversation between Morgan and Wren. She hadn’t known about the cat, and Nell’s own heart ached for the little girl. Wren seemed to be warming to Morgan, though, happy to continue petting the woman’s hair.

“Your’s is Catty? Like a cat?” she asked tentatively, as if wondering if this was something she should smile at. “Mine’s Fluffy, because she had lots of fur. She liked feathers the most. Sometimes mommy would bring some home, and make them fly around, and Fluffy likes to chase them.” It seemed that Wren hadn’t yet completely made the transition to past tense. Wren put her small hands in Morgan’s, squeezing them a bit once connected. “It’s not fair that she has to go! Why can’t she come back?” The toys seemed to have calmed a bit with Wren, their shaking looking more like trembling now.

Morgan smiled back, encouraging the little girl to smile. Fluffy was a good cat, as far as cats went. She squeezed Wren’s hands tight, encouraging her to do the same. “No, it’s so not fair. It's the worst. It’s the worst feeling, that she can’t come back.” She got on her knees, encouraging the girl to stand up. “None of it’s fair. It just happened and it sucks. It sucks so hard. And it’s okay to be upset about it. You can squeeze my hands as hard as you want, with how upset you are. All that energy? All of you that you miss her with. Just pour it out, through here.” She squeezed Wren’s hands again and nodded as the little girl began to tighten her grip. Her eyes began to water again, but the room around them was turning quiet. “Yeah, just like that. Think about it real, real hard and let it go. You can squeeze harder, it’s okay.” Zombie touch problems could come in handy sometimes after all. “Tell me more about fluffy. Anything at all. I bet she was the best cat. And talking about her? That’s the best thing you can do sometimes when you get all bottled up, okay?”

Wren nodded solemnly, and did her best to follow Morgan’s instructions, letting her feelings dissipate around her and her magic release the energy it needed to. “She was the best cat,” the little girl mumbled modelling Morgan’s use of past tense back to the woman, like she was suddenly exhausted after all that she’d gone through in the last few minutes. “The fluffiest. And she liked to meow at the birds. She wasn’t supposed to sleep with me at night but- I let her in anyway. And mom said ‘you’re both too cute to do anything about it’.” Wiping at her face, the little girl’s shoulders finally relaxed before she simply came out with. “I’m tired.” Meanwhile, Nell heard from across the way, picking up on Wren’s words as she sent the vegetable lambs back from whence they came. 

“It is getting close to nap time.” A groan went up from a few of the other kids, even though it didn’t apply to the older and school-aged ones. “Why doesn’t everyone go get ready, and then we can have a story. And you all-” she signaled the older bunch. “Can keep going with your homework.”

Morgan followed the kids’ lead, half carrying Wren as she trailed behind the others to where the blankets and pillows lay. Each child seemed to have their own spot and ritual for settling down. Even Wren, too young to be self conscious, toddled over to pick up an alien stuffed toy almost her size to cuddle with. Satisfied enough, she went back into the main room to find Nell, wiping her brow. She had no idea where the little girl’s magic energy had gone, exactly, without her being able to consciously absorb it. She had no idea just how intense, how heavy it might have been. Sometimes the smallest bodies bent under the heaviest weights. But most of the house was intact, and only a few toys had been broken. ‘SORRY’ she mouthed to Nell, gesturing with her head to meet discreetly in the hall. “Well that was...something,” she sighed. “Sorry, again, if I overstepped. Is this what things are like here all the time?”

Nell followed after Morgan once she’d told the oldest, most responsible child to come get her should anything be needed, and left the door just slightly ajar so that she might hear her name if called. “No, no, you did great!” Nell exclaimed, her previous awkward energy replaced with an earnest one. “It would have been much worse if I had to deal with it by myself. And like- you literally did wonderfully with Wren. I didn’t even know that her cat- well- you know.” Another little stab of guilt filled Nell for not having realized there was more going on than she’d realized. “And it’s not always...quite that exciting but- getting this many magical kids together— well it’s hardly ever boring. I’m honestly surprised the house is still standing at this point.”

“You can say dead, Nell,” Morgan reassured. “Fluffy’s dead, I’m dead, only difference between us is I’m still kicking and talking.” She shook out her hands, as if there might actually be some energy pent up in there. “And, you know, you couldn’t have figured out what was up. Even I didn’t think it was more than just some kid being petty. But I guess grief can make jerks out of five year olds and adults alike. You were good, getting the rest of them to cut it out long enough for her to calm down.” She offered the young witch a smile. She’d missed being around her, and the way chaos seemed like just another day in town whenever they were together. She hadn’t thought that feeling could find her again, and sensing its echo in her silent chest made her ache. “Well, with someone who rolls with the punches as good as you, I bet they’re in pretty great hands. And I bet you’ll take good care of my old stuff too.”

“I mean- I know. It was just sad- thinking about a kitty that’s gone,” she finished somewhat self-consciously. Nell was generally tough as nails, ever-ready to fight the world and anything it might hold, but kitties held a special place in her heart. “I don’t see you kicking, though,” she tried to tease, wondering if it was in good taste. She just wanted things to feel normal again. “Yeah, looks like grief is the true, universal unifier.” The comment seemed a little uncertain, as if she weren’t sure whether or not Morgan was talking about the strange grief her and those close to her were going through, unsure whether or not to mourn something that was dead yet still here, living in front of their very eyes for lack of a better word. “Thanks anyway, though. Even if I’m ready and able at all times,” she chuckled with a touch of sarcasm. Her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, she began to nibble it gently, not sure whether she should say what was on her mind or not. But worry had never stopped her before, had it? And they’d already had those strange words online. What was there to lose that wasn’t already lost? “I’m sure we can make use of the old stuff. But Morgan...you know...I mean it when I say you helped. You did something not everyone can do, and well- even if you’re undead now-” How to say this? She’d tried her best online, and where had that gotten them? “I’m not trying to upset you, or try and downplay anything that happened, or how you feel, or anything like that. But you still have...those parts- like I was talking about. The things that are you and no one can take. Your identity. That’s what that was in there- talking to that little girl.”

Morgan let out a sad, breathless laugh. How lost must she be, to have the same lifeline thrown at her over and over again and still not know how to catch it and reel herself in. Every time she thought she had a grip, that she might know what being ashore would feel like again, she slipped, or she crashed into a moment that proved just how far she still had to go. “The bones are good,” she said, rapping her knuckles on her arm as she held herself. “I’ve got good bones, or so I hear, but I just can’t seem to dig them out all the time.” She started for the door. “You’re fine, Nell, really. You’re not being--you’re fine. But the thing is--” What was it? Why was she clamming up and pushing Nell away. A minute ago everything had been nice, even normal. Was that the  problem? That she’d almost forgotten what she was for a second, and then she’d remembered? Morgan held herself tighter. “I’m not coming back all the way, Nell. I got lucky in there. I still know some things maybe, but I’m not a witch anymore. The next thing that happens--I don’t know. At some point, I do become functionally useless! And you could’ve handled that just as fine without me, and...it was nice, okay, to be able to do something for you, it was! I miss...being able to help. To do things, be things besides miserable all the time. And I even forgot I was dead for second there, but I am, and the whole thing was just a fluke!” She lifted a hand to tug at the roots of her hair, grounding herself back in her body with the sharp feeling. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “For everything.”

It was happening again, wasn’t it? Just like it had online, though it seemed to be overlayed with more sadness rather than frustration this time around. A flicker of panic found its way through Nell as Morgan went for the door, not wanting this to be how they ended things today. “You don’t have to, Morgan. Even if- even if not all of you comes back, this is still you, even if it’s changed. And being a witch isn’t just- magic.” Right? Being a witch wasn’t just the feel of that power coursing through her. “It’s family, isn’t it? And you don’t- you don’t get kicked out of family just because-” you couldn’t do magic. She faltered, trying to push down the part of her brain that was wondering...was that not what Nisa had done to her, in a way? Perhaps not in the same sense, but Nell hadn’t been able to do a particular kind of magic and...it had left her worse off in the eyes of her mother...hadn’t it? So she rephrased. “You don’t get left out of- of this family for not being able to do that. “Don’t we all just...become useless at some point? Isn’t that what we have each other for? To fill in those gaps? Like you did today? It’s okay if-” She’d been readying to say more until she saw just how upset Morgan was becoming, and stopped mid sentence, recalibrating. “Morgan- Morgan, it’s alright,” she said softly, reaching up to try and grip the hand that was clenched in the woman’s hair. “You don’t have to say you’re sorry. This isn’t your fault. None of it is. You didn’t ask for this shit to be handed for you.”

The saddest part was not knowing what Nell’s hand really felt like. She wasn’t much of a touchey-feely sort of girl. When they bonded, there was always some pride in the way. The only other time they’d held hands had been for a spell, and Morgan’s concentration had been on the summoning to think about much else. She had no memory to tether this moment to. She only knew that Nell must miss her to reach out like this, that she must have left some little hole behind when she died. Morgan reached up to pat her fingers, gently, the way she practiced with Deirdre. She didn’t know what was more frightening, more awful: that she could never fill the space she’d left behind, or that she could, all along, and simply hadn’t yet. “I know it looks bad, but it helps,” she said, giving her fingers a careful squeeze. “I don’t feel things like you do. It’s...filtered through a haze, pressing in through this big, cold blanket. Something has to be hard enough to get through.” She lifted her eyes to meet Nell’s, just holding her tear ducts in line. She didn’t understand how this balanced out, how she’d earned her kindness, and it took no small amount of concentration to keep her frail reserve somewhat in place. “Thank you, Nell. I uh...I think I’m gonna go, but I do wanna still, I mean, I’m trying. I’m trying to figure my shit out. And maybe...I don’t know. Maybe we can talk more some time. I can crowd control the kids sometimes in a pinch, apparently. It’s not like I get normal-tired anymore. And I’d like...I’d like...what you said. But right now, I think I should go.” She held her gaze, mouth quivering, willing her to understand.

It’d been nice, working together for those few moments like they had before, falling back into those somewhat chaotic rhythms. It was only natural for Nell and Morgan to fall into them. After all, their first meeting hadn’t exactly been peaceful. Then there’d been the few times she’d been blessed enough to do magic with Morgan. It always felt strangely intimate, melding energies with another to make something together, or solve something together. With a pang, Nell realized that...perhaps there was more to grieve for than she’d initially thought. To think she’d never know Morgan in that way again- to feel them becoming one to create something good and beautiful- it took her by surprise, though she still firmly believed her words about witchdom and family. “I know,” she simply said, not wanting Morgan to feel like she had to explain herself if it made her uncomfortable. “I just- I didn’t want you to...hurt yourself.” But that’s all Morgan seemed to be doing lately, at least in Nell’s eyes. Tearing herself down, and ripping scabs off of wounds that couldn’t heal fast enough to handle the rate at which Morgan seemed determined to reopen them. It hurt to see her friend like this, more than she could put into words, and it seemed that all she could do was go along for the ride, and try her best to support Morgan. “That’d be nice,” she offered, not entirely sure what to say anymore. “I’d like that. Both the- working with the kids- and the talking. It’ll be alright,” she finished as Morgan took her exit, Nell’s hand waving forlornly at the closing door. It had to be.

[ohshcscenerios]

hi!!!! i think my request didn't go through:( i sent it a long time ago and didn't wanna ask cause i Fu igured u were busy!! but u said ur askbox was empty so i m sending it again if it's alright!!! i would like to request a one shot where kyoya breaks up with his gf and the awkward and sad middle (cause she's friends with the hosts) and how they get back together!!! thank u ♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️

Oh my goodness I’m so sorry your ask was lost! I’m so glad you asked again! I hope I can make it up to you! I hope you don’t mind but I made the girlfriend Haruhi because I favor writing in third person and having two solid perspectives really helps me write the story freely. I have no idea if this is going to be good because I tried to write this as fast as I could for you! I hope you enjoy this one-shot!

Kyoya absent-mindedly checked the Ootori stock market on his laptop as hosting hours came to a close for the day. Their guests were beginning to pack up their belongings and head towards the door in pairs. Within minutes the last pair of guests left; officially closing the club for the evening.

“Finally.” He sighed, relieved to be rid of the noisy bubble-headed heiresses. He cared for his friends and he cared for their club but he couldn’t care for their guests on the same level. Sometimes Kyoya envied Tamaki for his unique personality that allowed him to love and appreciate everyone at the same standard. It certainly made entertaining the ladies much easier. However Kyoya couldn’t see past their trained smiles and greedy eyes. His guests in particular craved an intellectual, a man who could balance their emotions as well as a checkbook, but his guests weren’t any better than the rest. They still gawked at him with high expectations. They still waited for his smooth words and innocent smirk to swoon them. They didn’t care to know the real Kyoya, only the façade he offered. They didn’t want to know the real Kyoya. There was nothing for them to gain by knowing the real Kyoya.

But she knew the real Kyoya. She fought tooth and nail to peak at the man hiding behind the mask. She had known him… and accepted him… once.

He didn’t want to think about that right now. He never wanted to think about that – her. He ended their dangerous connection, corked the bottle, and stored it away where she would only live in his memories. That’s where she belonged… if only he could fully convince himself that was true.

“Hey Kyoya, we’re going to leave a little early today. My dad wants to go over graduation details and the twins want to pitch their ideas.” Tamaki casually said as he collected his jacket and school satchel. The twins were waiting at the doors, a few steps ahead.

Kyoya only nodded and stood up to collect his things. He really should be leaving as well. He had to meet with his father tonight to further discuss his arrangement.

Tamaki and the twins silently left, leaving Kyoya seemingly alone in the music room. Mori and Hunny didn’t attend club today due to having late university classes so he should be the only one left.

“Kyoya.” Her voice…

.

.

“What are you saying Kyoya.” Haruhi asked; her thin patience evident in her gravel voice. When she agreed to meet Kyoya at his hosting couch after club hours she didn’t expect to have the conversation they were now having. Her only clue to his true intentions was the emotional distance today. He rarely looked her way, rarely spoke to her, and when he dismissed their guests he made sure to turn his back to her.

Now it all became clear. At first she thought he was stressed out because of school work or his father but she had been horribly wrong.

“I apologize Haruhi but this our best choice. We should break up now while our relationship is still young. If we continue it will only hurt worse in the end.” Kyoya gently explained behind his cool composure.

“Exactly, our relationship is still young. How can you end our relationship now? You’ve only gotten your feet wet.” Haruhi felt a pressure growing in her nose as the swell of tears threatened to spill over. She wasn’t necessarily angry with his choice but rather his timing. They had a solid friendship between them but their romantic feelings were still in their infancy. They hadn’t explored their feelings for each other yet. She had so many thoughts and desires she’d eventually need to unpack and she had hoped to do it with Kyoya. Unfortunately it didn’t look like that would happen now. Kyoya was willing to walk away before they delved into each other.

Did he truly find no merit in her? Was there not emotional merit or relational merit? Were they better off as remaining strictly friends? She would probably never know and yet those questions would haunt her for weeks to come.

Kyoya adjusted in glasses which gave off their signature glint, “I apologize for ending this courtship so early but it is for the best we end it now.”

“And why is it best? Why should we break up?” Haruhi argued, hungry for an explanation.

“There is no use for us to continue romantically. Your intelligence doesn’t outweigh your commoner status and unfortunately the Ootori family cannot overlook that. It is best we remain friends and move on.” His voice nearly cracked when he said the word friends and though it was barely a warble Haruhi caught it. Kyoya wasn’t telling her the entire truth. He was lying to her… but why?

“Kyoya, I understand you’re graduating at the end of this month.” Haruhi said wearily, as if skeptical.

Kyoya arched an eyebrow, “Yes I am, as is the rest of my class. What is your point?”

Suddenly, it clicked. There was only one reason why an Ootori son would need to be single before his high school graduation.

“Your father is ordering you to enter an arranged marriage.” The hushed words were spoken in one breath. They sounded like silk but speared Kyoya right through his pride. Without looking her in the eyes he reluctantly nodded.

“You’re going to let your father dictate your happiness?” She was beginning to grow angry now. Not only was Kyoya blindly obeying a greedy dictator but he was willing to throw her – their happiness and affections – away so he could continue to chase his inheritance.

If that was how Kyoya wanted to live his life… then…

“Fine.” Haruhi stood from the couch.

Kyoya reached to grab her wrist but she swiftly pulled it away just as his fingers grazed her.

Haruhi please, don’t do this -.”

“I’m not doing anything Kyoya. Matter of fact, you aren’t either. You’d rather roll onto your back to appease your father than fight for yourself.”

Kyoya stiffened, “That isn’t fair to say. You and I live in very different worlds. You still do not fully understand the obligations I’m expected to fulfill. You wouldn’t survive in my world.”

Haruhi turned to leave, “And yet you wanted to court me.” With her final statement ringing in his ears she took her leave; letting Kyoya drown in his damning thoughts.

.

.

“I didn’t know you were still here.” Kyoya said honestly. He watched her shuffle her feet, uncertain whether to approach him or gather her things and leave him behind. Her hesitation felt nice to him. He liked that she wasn’t sure how to think of him.

She once abhorred him, called him a coward, and couldn’t look him in the eye. It was the lowest he’d ever felt. His father’s insults, his brother’s taunts, and his classmate’s gossip couldn’t compare to her disappointment. She was the only woman to ever understand, accept, and love him… and he threw it all away for his family’s name. It was almost ironic; he fought most of his life to prove himself worthy of recognition and respect and when he finally obtained that… he turned her away. Although his fight was waged against his father he found what he starved for in her; her deep chocolate eyes, her contagious smile, and her genuine words. He had found it all within her as if all of his desires were neatly wrapped up in one person. Yet… he turned her away.

She was right to call him a coward.

He was a coward.

He was too afraid to fight for his own happiness – for them – for her – and in consequence he would spend the rest of his days sharing his bed with a stranger. He threw away his only chance of a happy marriage, a happy family, and a happy life just to fulfill the Ootori’s needs.

What about his needs?

As the third son, his needs weren’t important.

But she made them important.

She made him important.

“Haruhi, may I ask five minutes of your time? I’d like to discuss your debt balance.”

.

.

Haruhi felt a pair of arms snake around her waist from behind which nearly made her drop the tea set she was carrying on a silver tray. The kitchenette was empty, as so was the host club, and she knew exactly whose nose was snuggling into her ear.

“Kyoya, darling, you almost made me drop this expensive tea set. You can’t surprise me like that.” Haruhi sighed.

Kyoya only chuckled and kissed the shell of her ear, “Maybe I wanted you to drop it,”

“And why would you want to me to destroy this collectible set from Loitre?”

“So I can make you pay for it later.” Kyoya trailed his mischievous kisses along her neck and down to her shoulder; smiling at feeling her sudden goosebumps.

“Kyoya please do not be ridiculous. You wouldn’t risk however much these costs just to tease me.” Haruhi scolded with a hint of deviousness which Kyoya firmly noted.

Kyoya loosened his grip around her waist and grabbed her hips; pushing his thumb into her skin right above her bottom. He smiled at her gasp.

“Kyoya… you really shouldn’t-.”

“Shh… Haruhi… No one is here. There’s no need to be so uptight.” He teased.

Haruhi decided to concede and carefully set the tray on the counter. She couldn’t risk dropping the fragile set. Even though she was dating the shadow king and somehow earned his affections she wasn’t above earning another debt. In fact, her current status in his life made her more vulnerable to debt. Kyoya would use anything to keep her tangled in his web.

She spun herself around and draped her arms behind his neck. Kyoya smirked and dove in, taking advantage of her submission. He greedily tasted her luscious lips as he pushed her into the counter.

.

.

“I’d rather not today Kyoya. I told my father I would come home after school.” She responded with a tint of disgust. Her once indifferent demeanor turned cold and it hurt him. It hurt Kyoya to see her erect her own mask before him.

Before they dated she didn’t hide behind anything. Haruhi wore her heart on her sleeve and willingly spoke her mind. It wasn’t her fault that others couldn’t decode her thoughts and emotions… but Kyoya could. He could read her like a book. Page after page he savored all that made Haruhi so delectable and pure. He honored her honesty and rewarded her authenticity with his genuine self. He gave her the real Kyoya in return for her unpolluted love.

He was a fool to give her up.

He was a fool to surrender their beautiful future for his family’s name sake.

Yes, he was a fool.

“Haruhi, I beg you to listen to me.” Kyoya stood from the couch and joined her where she stood, taking her hand in his before she could pull away. “Please give me five minutes of your time.”

“You’re begging me?” Haruhi asked in disbelief. Her questioning eyes exposed her cautious spirit to which Kyoya understood and prepared himself for the rejection. He hurt her too much for forgiveness. He gave her a taste of true love and yanked it away just as quickly.

He suffered alongside her but he couldn’t confide his emotions and thoughts to her. They understood each other’s pain yet they couldn’t even look at each other.

“Alright, you have five minutes.” She said.

.

.

“Kyoya, I need to ask you when the host club is hosting their spring ball. My customers aren’t sure if the dates.” Haruhi asked as she stood behind the entertaining shadow king. His guests were polite to keep quiet while Haruhi spoke though they didn’t appreciate the stolen minutes.

Kyoya cleared his throat, “Haruhi, it’s important for each host to be updated on hosting affairs. I recommend glancing at the calendar after club hours. The spring ball is the third Saturday of March.”

Haruhi nodded, satisfied with the answer, and was about to walk away when a thought struck her odd. She turned back around and asked, “Which calendar Kyoya? I don’t remember ever seeing a calendar in the music room.”

Kyoya adjusted his glasses and spoke again, this time with a little more growl, “The calendar in the second dressing room. It’s in the very back behind the storage shelves… far from wandering eyes…” He glanced at Haruhi, willing her to understand his silent proposition.

A few awkward seconds ticked by before Haruhi realized what Kyoya was exactly saying. She smiled, quickly nodded, and returned to her table looking forward to seeing that calendar.

.

.

“I apologize for hurting you so badly.” Kyoya conceded, daring to stare into her deep chocolate eyes. He saw strong emotions flash across her irises; agitation, confusion… hope. Her eyes quickly disregarded her hint of faith and quickly displayed her anger.

“Why are you opening old wounds? Can you not let sleeping dogs lie?” She was very angry. Almost too angry. The strong emotionally display was a clear disguise for something else. There was something else clawing her throat but she continually swallowed it back. Kyoya developed suspicions but he needed to be certain. He needed to know if she really could be his again.

He needed to know before he gave his life away to another woman.

“I love you Haruhi.”

The words spilled into the room before his mind could comprehend their merit. His unspoken truth – the burden that crushed his confidence day after day, forced him to painful writhe in bed, mocked him for his cowardice – was now floating in the air between them. Whether she would accept them he couldn’t be certain.

“Yet you won’t be with me…” Her voice cracked along with her faux strength and Kyoya watched her cold demeanor crumble around her ankles. Tears threatened to spill from her glossy eyes as she fought the quiver in her lip.

Kyoya couldn’t bear it any longer. This woman – this woman – was supposed to be his and he’d be damned if he made the same mistake again.

“I will. I will be with you.” He croaked out, a little surprised that his magical spell also collapsed.

Their naked emotions exposed their trembling hearts and Kyoya couldn’t stand one more second of it. He stepped forward and grabbed her nape, pulling her to him as he leaned down. Their lips crashed together. It was electric like fireworks bursting free from their cardboard shells. Pleasurable pulses raced throughout his body as he welcomed the familiar taste of her skin.

“Kyoya.” She barely mumbled in their kiss.

He pulled away but held her head firm in place with his two hands, “I love you Haruhi Fujioka and I want to be with you.”

He kissed her again but pulled away just as she began to reciprocate.

“I don’t give a damn what my father wants for me. He doesn’t want to account for my happiness. You are my happiness.”

He placed another peck on her lips before leaning his forehead against hers and whispering, “Marry me Haruhi. Be with me. Be my wife.”

“Your father has already arranged your bride.” Haruhi said, sounding very regretful.

“My father made the arrangements but I didn’t.”

“What about your family Kyoya? What about bringing merit to the Ootori name?”

“I was a fool for having you believe you do not bring merit. Your merit far outweighs any business proposal. You are worth more than any bride my father presents me. I need you. I need you Haruhi. Marry me.”

Haruhi pulled him back and kissed him for all she was worth – for all her love was worth – and Kyoya couldn’t help but smile as he kissed her back. He faintly heard a whispered yes amidst their nips and nibbles, encouraging him to wrap his arms around her slender waist and deepen their affections.

Every boat needed an anchor. Every bird needed its wings. Every turtle needed its shell.

Kyoya needed Haruhi.

.

.

“Haruhi, can you please stay after club hours? I would like to discuss your current debt balance.” Kyoya asked without looking away from his laptop. Haruhi quipped a soft yes before returning to her clean up duties. Hikaru and Kaoru offered to stay behind and help her clean in exchange for coming to her house for an hour after school. Haruhi was dreadfully tired after the chemistry exam that day and accepted their offer, although it pained her to think about the two devils inside her apartment.

Now that Kyoya demanded her attention the twins were forced to take a rain check. Unfortunately that also meant their help was cut short. After she agreed to stay behind they grabbed their bags and left disappointed. Apparently they were only willing to help as long as their reward stood firm.

Haruhi finished packaging the last clean teacup into their cardboard boxes when she heard Kyoya’s laptop click closed. Haruhi thought that weird considering her debt was on his laptop, unless he simply wanted to tell her a number in which he only needed his memory. But why would she need to stay behind for a measly number?

“I’m finished Kyoya.” She announced as she walked over to his hosting couch.

He patted the cushion beside him and adjusted himself to sit slightly diagonally. Haruhi sat down where he indicated and looked at him with bright expectant eyes.

“Haruhi, you and I have been good friends since your first year and I’ve enjoyed our friendship immensely.” Kyoya began confidently. “You and I get along very well. I enjoy talking with you and sharing ideas with you. I also enjoy your companionship. I think you and I would make a good pair, don’t you agree?”

Haruhi blinked a few times before she croaked out a timid yes. Kyoya smiled and interpreted her silence to continue.

“I would like to court you, Haruhi. I’ve already spoke with your father and he gives his blessing. I would very much appreciate the opportunity to formally court you… if you’ll have me.”

Haruhi felt she was choking on her shock. Kyoya’s boldness stripped her of her voice, leaving her utterly speechless. She’s had romantic feelings for Kyoya for a while not but accepted the fact he would forever overlook her due to her social status. He had grown more handsome as time went on, teasing her ever growing feelings for the shadow king. At first she convinced herself to keep it as a harmless crush but time proved her weak. Her feelings grew stronger with each passing day. He slowly became more human; a man with emotions, insecurities, and faults. He slowly let his guard down around her as they developed a deeper friendship. He was soon no longer the heartless shadow king but a strong-willed Ootori trying to balance the world on his shoulders. Haruhi surprised herself when she grew to wanting to help bear his burdens.

To hear those words roll off his tongue made her want to smile. And so she did. She smiled.

Her smile said it all. She didn’t have to say anything. Kyoya knew her long enough to know when she offered a genuine smile it could only mean good news.

So he offered her a smile of his own. 

She hoped this would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. 

[sunlit-days]

Ginny Weasley’s Boyfriend

Pairing: Harry/Ginny

ao3

That was a good day to be Harry Potter. In fact, every day of that week was a good day to be Harry Potter – something very different from any other day in his entire life when being Harry Potter was by far considered something good by himself.

And the reason why? Well, he was finally Ginny Weasley's boyfriend.

After nearly a year of trying to hide his feelings, dealing with the fact she was his best friend's little sister and Ginny having a boyfriend, today, he could finally hold her hand as they walked together, hug her whenever he wanted, smell her hair without looking like a creepy and the best part, kiss her.

Kissing Ginny was an out-of-the-world experience, Harry was sure of it. Nothing would ever compare with the sensation when her lips touched his or her sweet taste on his tongue. Kissing her was something that made him feel invincible, it was almost as if he was just a sixteen years old boy in love with the most beautiful girl in school.

On that particular day, Harry woke up earlier than usual — Ron still snored, as always, in the next bed —. It was Saturday and the bedroom window showed him the sun was shining on the outside, but not too heated. Perfect for what Harry had in mind.

Throughout the week, he and Ginny had spent a lot of their time together, but most of it, they were studying, and always around people. Harry appreciated the fact that Ron and Hermione were happy for him and Ginny, he couldn’t express how happy he was that Ron had “nicely” accepted their relationship, but it has only limited things he could do with his girlfriend when her brother — who is also his best friend — was nearby.

Harry had planned everything, he would go to the kitchen, ask Dobby to go buy those cinnamon candies that Ginny loved so much at Honeyduckes and ask the elf to make some sandwiches so they could snack in the afternoon, after that they would go for a walk around the lake, or they could just go fly on their brooms. Yes, Quidditch was the perfect option to end a perfect day if they had time.

After Dobby finally let him go off the kitchen, Harry headed straight into the great hall because probably Ron, Hermione and Ginny would already be there. Harry spotted them as soon as he walked in, at the same place as usual and he couldn’t resist smiling when Ginny felt his presence and looked at him.

"Hey." He kissed her quickly after sitting next to her. As small as the kiss was, the contact was enough to make his heart race. "I know you're going to study now, but I thought we could have a picnic later by the lake, what do you think?"

"I'd love to," Ginny answered truthfully before laying her head on Harry's shoulder and he gave a kiss on his girlfriend's forehead.

"You two are so sweet." Hermione couldn’t resist commenting.

"Yes, so sweet they give me stomach ache," Ron added sulkily.

***

Later, Harry was already waiting, sitting under the tree when Ginny arrived. They had gone to that exact place after their first kiss in the common room where they had talked for hours and kissed for a few more... Harry used to think of that spot as theirs since then.

"Sorry I’m late," she said as she sat beside him before leaning in to kiss him. Harry held her face affectionately before going deeper into the kiss, which Ginny promptly matched. She kept her hands tangled in his locks of hair and Harry grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to him.

"The food..." He managed to say between the kiss. If they kept kissing, they certainly would not be able to eat — which wasn’t even a bad idea at that point.

"The food... Okay." Ginny took a deep breath, moving away from Harry. "So, this was all a plan to get me alone, Mr. Potter?"

"Maybe." He smiled back.

They ate talking about simple things, about classes, about Ron and Hermione and their stupid fights, about how annoying Snape was being, about Quidditch. With Ginny, he had no bad times, Ginny was like a feeling of fresh air in his life, but Harry knew they would also have profound and heart-to-heart conversations when it was needed.

Ginny laughed at something Harry said and tossed her hair back, at that moment a ray of sun chose to cover them, especially lighting up Ginny's skin. She stopped smiling when she realized that Harry had become serious.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Come here." Harry spread his legs so that Ginny could settle between them, which she promptly obeyed. He hugged her by the waist and put her hair to one side to give him better access to her neck where he laid a soft kiss. "You smell incredibly nice." Harry couldn’t contain himself and ended up saying out loud something he usually only thought about it. Ginny turned around to look at him, a blush covered Harry's cheeks and she covered the place gently with her hands, making a tender affection there.

"I really like you, Harry Potter." She kissed him again, stronger this time, holding onto his hair as if she needed to stay on the ground. Every time they kissed like that, they had to stop for some reason, this time neither of them had any intention of stopping.

Before Ginny, Harry had almost no — or none — dating experience, kissing that way was still a new sensation to him that Ginny was glad she was the one teaching it to him.

Their tongues met in a way not yet so familiar, a little more hunger present in that kiss, a growing desire for something both of them knew couldn’t be accomplished there. Every time they kissed it was different, exciting, but both Harry and Ginny knew that feeling would never go away completely.

When Harry's hand found the soft skin beneath her blouse, Ginny stepped back. Not because she wanted to, but because it was very necessary.

"Sorry," Harry pleaded, his eyes filled with something that looked like guilt.

"Don’t apologize." She smiled and gave him one last chaste kiss on his swollen red lips before move away to avoid kissing him again the way she really wanted, but if he kept looking at her that way, she would lose all consciousness and just snog him all over again. "I want it as much as you do," Ginny said, not to make him feel better about what had happened but because it was the truth.

She leaned against his chest once more, looking out over the garden where some students were still standing It was nearly dark now. When she felt calmer, Ginny stepped away and faced him again. "When did you realize that you liked me more than a friend? I know that was when you and Ron saw me with Dean, but when did you really realize that you were attracted to me? "It was something she was really curious to know.

"Well... After I saw you and Dean that day, I started to notice a few things I had not seen before," Harry started and Ginny motioned for him to continue, "for example how beautiful and funny you are. "

"Yes, I'm very pretty and funny, I know," she interrupted him, laughing.

"And very modest." Harry tickled her belly and Ginny laughed even more until he stopped and spoke again. "I started wanting to spend more time with you, both on the Quidditch pitch and out of it, I started thinking about you very often. But I think the main thing was when I started… Dreaming about you. "

"What kind of dreams?" She asked, raising her eyebrow and smirking.

"Ginny," he censured her. "Kinds of dreams that I can’t tell you."

"Why not?" She insisted.

"You know why." Harry's cheeks again hit that rosy tinge that Ginny liked so much and was already getting used to seeing.

In the distance, a small Ginny Weasley was really proud that teenage Ginny Weasley could make Harry Potter blush.

"Boys," she said simply, as if that single word explained everything.

"I also wanted to ask you something." Harry spoke after a few seconds and Ginny stared at him encouraging him to speak, now if he’d ask about her dreams... But in fact, what Harry said next surprised her. "Am I a good boyfriend?"

To anyone who had seen it from outside, they might have thought that was a normal question, but Ginny knew that there was something deeper behind it. Something related to the lack of love — of all kinds or love — that Harry had suffered since childhood. Ginny leaned closer, practically sitting on his lap and hugged him by the neck.

"Harry, you asked Dobby to pick up my favorite candy just to make me happy, you held me up yesterday while I cried about my exams and told me that everything would be okay, you help me to study in your free time without complaining, you make me feel beautiful and funny and desirable. You always believed in my Quidditch potential when neither of my brothers did. I feel safe in your arms, but you know and respect that I can defend myself,” Ginny stroked his face before concluding," you're not a good boyfriend, you're a great boyfriend.”

He brought her lips to his and they felt at home. The kiss was quieter this time, more tender than before, in a way to show everything they could not put into words.

"And the fact that you’re a very good kisser also counts a lot of points in your favor," she teased before kissing him one more time.

[kylosupremeimagines]

Kylo Ren X Reader: Do I Want To Know? {Part One}

Request 1: I'd like to request an imagine based on Ben's official transition into Kylo Ren under Snoke. Also, the TLJ visual dictionary mentions that Snoke had another apprentice at the same time as Kylo and it would be interesting to see how that relationship would have gone down. Thanks.

Request 2: Hi! Can you please do a one shot about the reader training with Kylo? please and thanks. 

Master List 

A/N:  I’m doing this with the reader being the other apprentice! And for your outfit, I found a photo reference that I thought was really nice. The headpiece is optional. I thought that these two requests would go great together to make a short series. Probably about 3-5 chapters. I hope that’s okay guys! And sorry if this chapter is a little short, the next one is going to definitely be longer. 

It had only been a few months since Kylo had burned down the Temple. His past. The haunting image of the flames as they reached the bodies of each fallen padawan, the screams of his fellow peers following them being cut down. It just wouldn’t seem to leave, only coming back and tainting his dreams - or rather nightmares - every night.

Kylo’s mind ceased to stop pulling him right back to that night, forcing him to face doubt that it was even the proper decision. With the numbing, dismal emptiness in his stomach, there were moments that it was all he could really think about. Was he truly justified? Part of him said no, but what was he going to do about it now when there was no turning back?

Sitting on the end of his bed, a hand ran through his raven black locks, detangling a few knots with such ease. The contemplation only grew, questioning where his future would take him; not just what would happen a week from then, a year, but in the long term as well. Oh, what was he to become?

His one true anchor was his grandfather, a person in which he could look up to in admiration. Everyone else he cared about failed him, from his parents being absent for parts of his childhood and pushing him off to the side, right up to the most recent events of his uncle coming close to killing him. 

Luke, when Kylo figured out their relations to Darth Vader - Anakin Skywalker - he questioned why he wasn’t good enough. If Luke refused to kill his own father and even was able to redeem him, why was he prepared to kill his nephew? Was there really no hope from him?

Clenching up his left hand, he balled up the soft fabric of his sheets in his fist. Luxury was most certainly something that came along with joining the First Order. He actually had his own private chambers, and not some measly hut, where he finally had a kitchen that did not just consist of a flame and a pot. And finally, a bed to sleep on, with luxurious bedding and sheets to enjoy.

His favorite change had to be all of the food he now had access to. Since he was the Supreme Leader’s apprentice, Kylo had full access to the High Command kitchen. But of course, he always went with ordering his own ingredients to cook for himself rather than having a meal prepared for him. One of his comforts was getting to cook his own food.

Kylo’s chestnut brown hair flickered up to observe the star through the window to his room, admiring the luscious beauty that came with them. It astonished him how much there was out there, after spending the longest amount of time out in space. Always on the move, the start of his training took place in Supremacy, considering that Snoke spent the majority of his time within the colossal ship.

His gaze glanced to his nightstand with a buzz of his datapad. Using the Force, he brought the small device over to him and bit his lower lip upon acknowledging it to be a message directly from his Master. Much to his surprise, it was a request for his presence, instructing Kylo to meet with him immediately. Very rarely did he see the Supreme Leader for purposes other than training, and he already did his usual rounds for the cycle. 

Reluctantly, he slipped it into his tunic pocket and stood from the bed to let out a heavy sigh. As he always carries his saber, Kylo clipped the weapon to his belt. The door closed with a hiss just as fast as it opened. What in the galaxy was he needed for? 

As per usual, he paid little mind to the other officers around. Considering that the was not too immersed within the Order itself just yet, not many even acknowledged who he was. If anything, none of them respected him all because he was, what they may call, Snoke’s lap dog. To Kylo, they just didn’t know the importance of having someone like him or the other Knights of Ren working with them. 

The Force was always such a powerful tool and something pushed back in many societies. After the Sith and then finally the Jedi were wiped out, the Force being brought up as something of high importance became less of an occurrence. Just from what he knew, it as a mysterious source of power that none should ever dismiss.

His nose crinkled for a moment as he approached the doors to Snoke’s Throne Room, waiting a moment before pushing them open with the Force. Praetorian Guards stood all around, nearly blending in the with blood red of the surrounding walls. “Ah, I see that you finally join us, young Ren,” Snoke spoke, voice booming throughout the room.

As Kylo grew closer, he took notice a black-clad figure kneeling before the Supreme Leader and an instantly Force connection he had never once felt, even with his time on the Supremacy. Just as always, he too knelt before Kylo, right beside the new entity. Glancing over, his eyes locked with your (E/C) eyes, noticing your brows raising a bit. “What… is it that you summoned me for?” he inquired, gaze returning to Snoke. 

“I thought that it was about time that I had you meet someone,” Snoke explained, leaning forward and gesturing to you with his right hand. “you aren’t my only apprentice, as this here is the first I ever took in, only but a couple of years ago,” For the first three months Kylo was learning under him, Snoke never found reason to reveal it to either of you about one another, leaving not just him in surprise but you as well. 

“Master, why am I only finding out about this now?” you had to break into the conversation. 

“I did not believe it was appropriate for either of you to know about the other’s presence just yet. He needed time to get used to the transition amongst our ranks. But now, you two are ready to start your training together.”

“How am I supposed to work with him if I’m only finding out about him now?”

“Do not question me!” he spat out, standing up from his throne to approach the pair of you. “the likes of you two are the only beings in the entire First Order in which I recognize as full-fledged Force users, the only two in which I willingly train. You will learn to work together and prove to me and the rest of the galaxy you are forces to be reckoned with. It does not matter to me how you feel about having an equal but you will learn to work as one, upon my orders.”

“Of course, Master,” you and Kylo responded in unison.

“Good, good,” a smirk formed across his pale, deformed features, stopping before you and gesturing for you two to rise. Obeying his command, Kylo stood up the moment you did as well. “Kylo Ren… (F/N) (L/N)... I will mold you two into the perfect soldiers, two of the most powerful beings in all of the Galaxy. So, as I mentioned, you are now to train with one another, as equals. Where one of you lacks, the other will fail to thrive unless you catch up to the other’s ability.  You are to trust each other with your lives and work together to grow in strength. I can only take you so far, the rest is up to you to discover for yourselves. Individually is one thing, but together? You will be able to accomplish so much for the First Order.”

“What should we do to start training?” Kylo wondered, unsure of where things would even begin. With dozen of thoughts racing through his mind, he wasn’t entirely sure how to take things in or what to make of it all. Another apprentice? He was lead to believe there was something important about him, so was that not really true.

“I believe that you must have a better sense of each other’s Force Connections, so I will not be having you go right into training,” he told you. “instead, I would advise you to get to know one another, considering you will be working very closely,” when it came to all the Knights, he was not opposed to them sharing personal connections since it made for better cooperation, a flaw that he saw within the Sith before who would be at each other’s throats for even the littlest things.

Kylo shared yet another gaze with you, both frozen in place for a moment before he nodded. “As you advise, Master.”

“Now go, do as you please. Just remember that your training will be joined from now on, you will be informed of your lesson and training for tomorrow later in the evening.”

Without saying another word, Kylo turned on his heels to make his leave of the throne room, shortly followed by you. Once you two were out and the doors hissed closed behind you, he turned to face you. The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly before turning in your direction. “I know it’s a little informal, but why don’t we talk with some lunch?”

There were some doubts that played at your thoughts, a bit skeptical when it came to the idea of having what you could call competition for Snoke’s approval. But if you were to work together, what would be the harm? “I don’t see why not.

Tag List:  @scheherazades-horcrux @alladeline @attorneyl @babybluelukex@glitzescape @dancewaterdance02 @celiholland @crkylo @celestiaelisia@lyraeluna @peacefulwizardfox @twdlover2000 @cs-please @xultraviolet@xfeathered-serpent @fizzywoohoo @topsykretts92 @ayatimascd@delicatelyherdreams @ddriveringg @littlegirlsdontplaynice @yymmaarr@darlinguris @bellaren18 @queenofheartsmegs @themauvemage@starlingmehdarling @anti-climactic @Mollmoll01 @toytalababy @programlyfe @Msperlalapin

[manuelmueller]

Fabian, age 12

Fabian is twelve when he buys the mugs. He finds them at a small market shoved into the corner in a busy street close to his school. The stand that sells them has an assortment of them, but it’s two specific ones, side by side, that catch his eye.

“I’d like those,” he says, pointing at them, and only grins when the vendor gives him a slight confused look.

It’s his task to make breakfast the next morning – okay, not official, but since he’s always the first one out and about on weekdays, he often prefers to. He knows that his dad is probably awake. A tiny smile tugs at his mouth when he visualizes Dad’s deep, sarcastic sigh when he wakes up to Papa’s weight on his chest just like every day before then deciding to let him sleep for a bit longer.

The mugs are a deep red colour and sport pretty much the same design. Except, well. He twirls one of them in his hand, considering, recalling how Papa took him to the movies the other day when Dad was at a conference of some sort, and grins.

He turns on the coffee machine, hops on the counter; and then he waits.

“Fabian?”

It’s rare that Papa is up this early. Usually, he’s the last one to shuffle into the kitchen, yawning and scratching his stubble. Today he looks surprisingly put together considering it’s only seven in the morning, and proceeds to give Fabian a loopy smile.

“Morning Paps!” Fabi grins even wider. Then he picks up the freshly made coffee, handing it to him.

Papa frowns, then purses his lips. “Number One Dad?”

Fabi nods. Papa smiles.

They spend the next few minutes, before there’s a crash being heard from the hallway, seconds after Dad ambles into the kitchen.

“Morning, my dears, hope you slept well!”

He’s freshly showered, the hot steam still trailing after him. He smells clean and Fabi gets a whiff of it when he steps around him to pull Papa into their short obligatory good morning peck.

Then, he notices the mug.

“What’s this?”

Fabi grins again. “I have one for one too!” He hands it to him, and Dad frowns.

“Why does he get ‘Number One Dad’ and I just get ‘Dad?’”

Fabi shrugs – “aren’t you Dad?” – but of course, his dad immediately spots his shit-eating grin, wagging his finger at him.

“You cheeky little bugger! You only watch out young man.” He pinches Fabi’s cheeks, and Fabi laughs while Papa just stands there, contently drinking his coffee as he listens to them banter back and fourth.

The next week, Dad takes Fabi to  the game he’s commenting. Officially, he shouldn’t, but he’s never been one to obey to rules all too much – not when it’s not harming anyone, at least. And after all, Bayern usually only come to Hamburg once a year.

Fabi’s excited – even if, as a St. Pauli player, still wrinkles his nose a bit every time he goes to the Volksparkstadion, it fills him with glee to see games in person, in a way that’s so different from when you watch them on TV or heck, even when you play yourself. In a way, being a fan is the most passionate you can be in football, and so, Dad hands him a VIP pass and ushers him inside.

Upon one of his colleagues asking, he’s just a kid whose parents he’d promised to take him – which isn’t wrong, per se, but it still stings every time when they pretend that they’re not related, that Fabi isn’t his son, his and Papa’s.

Fabi is frowning, but Dad just ruffles his hair. He points at the forwards skipping over the grass as they’re warming and smiles at him. It’s a forlorn smile, one that tells tales of nostalgia and fading memories, but it’s the proud look in his eyes that makes Fabi’s heart beat faster.

“One day, that will be you.”

The morning after, Dad gets to drink his coffee out of the #1 Dad mug.

From that day on, Fabi assigns the mugs each morning however he sees fitting in the moment.

It’s shortly before Fabian’s birthday that they get into an argument.

He’s promised to clean his room four days ago, and Papa finds him reading on his phone on the window bench in the living room instead. He’s holding the simple ‘Dad’ mug, a rarity, as most of the time, their close bond warranted the almost permanent fixture of the ‘#1 Dad’ one on his place on their table.

Papa starts berating him with that disappointed face of his as Fabi grows smaller and smaller, knowing that he has let him down. After five minutes or so Dad comes home and after quickly asserting the situation he concludes that Papa is being too strict. 

Papa disagrees, and after half an hour, his parents are yelling at each other while Fabi stands with his back against the corner, too scared to push through to the door and go hide out in his room like he wants to. 

It takes a lot to get Papa angry, but once he is, his voice is loud, booming, appearing in bouts and dying down again whereas Dad just interrupts him, ranting yelling in frustration. They don’t argue often, almost not at all, and never this violently. Experiencing it makes Fabi feel like he can hardly breathe anymore, especially considering – gosh, he sucks at his bottom lip, biting down on it until he can taste blood – that he’s the one who caused it.

Dad is shouting again, clutching the mug in his hand tighter and tighter ... 

“AND JUST BECAUSE THE TWO OF YOU ARE SOO CLOSE DOESN’T MEAN PARENTING IS A ONE-MAN SHOW, YOU KNOW?!”

Dad looks like he regrets his words as soon as he said them. 

The mug in Papa’s hand bursts with a shattering noise that resonates off the walls like ice cracking under pressure.

Then, abruptly, everything falls quiet.

The red shards look out of place on the light wooden floor, and Dad heaves a deep sigh, crouching down, picking them up carefully. To Fabi, he’s never aged, always looking just like he does in his memories aside from his slowly greying hair, but now, he looks like an old man.

“Fabian, please go get the dustpan for the smaller pieces.” He looks up, and the lines on his face are deep. Carefully, he opens the trashcan as Papa stands frozen.

“Babe, let me look at your hand.”

As Fabi shuffles out of the door, he can just see out of the corner of his eye how Dad turns the faucet on, carefully cleaning Papa’s bloody hand.

Later that day, they all sit on the couch, Papa in between Fabi and Dad, his hand wrapped like a Christmas present. Luckily, the cuts were only superficial, but it still had looked messy when Dad patched him up, so carefully and lovingly that Fabi is sure he wasn’t the only one wondering why they were even arguing in the first place.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, and Papa turns his head, his eyes deep and warm.

“Oh Krümel. You have nothing to be sorry for. I just overreacted. It’s alright, I promise.” His smile is tired, but his hand is warm on Fabi’s shoulder, and as he pulls him in, pressing a kiss on his head, he feels like he did as a little kid, when his papa’s pride was all he needed to feel content.

Dad clears his throat.

“I’m sorry, too. Had a really shitty day at work and no reason to take it out on you. I hate when I drive you to the breaking point, sweetheart. I know you’ve been stressed lately, I shouldn’t have provoked you even further.”

Fabi sniffles. “I love you both, you know? And I love you too dad, so much even, I know that ...”

Dad quiets him with half a smile and a raised hand. 

“I know. You’re the best son either of us could wish for. And you and your papa,” – he smiles at the man in question – “have a very special bond. It was there long before you were born and I will never be able to compete with that. But –” he reaches around Papa,  pushing a curl that has come loose from Fabi’s hair back up – “the beautiful thing is that I don’t need to. Because I love you two as much as a person physically can, and I know that you both love me, too.”

He ruffles Fabi’s hair. “But next time, when your father tells you to clean your room, you do it. Alright?”

Fabi nods. “Promise.”

And then he snuggles into Papa’s side, and everything is well.

It seems almost like fate when the market is back two days later. At first, Fabi doesn’t even want to go look at the stands, but then, something catches his eye. He doesn’t think that the vendor recognizes him, but she smiles at him warmly when he points at the mug he wants and wraps it up in old newspaper.

He sprints home, and luckily, both his parents are already back from work. He’s panting, but he makes the beeline for where Papa is sitting in his favourite chair as soon as he’s kicked off his shoes.

“Here!”

Papa gives him a curious look but then starts to carefully unwrap the bundle. His hand is still plastered with several bandaids, but the cuts healed well enough, even without having to see a doctor.

“Oh,” he breathes when he sees what Fabi brought him, a small, genuine smile gracing his lips. He leans forward to hug him, and Fabi beams.

When Dad enters the living room as well, incidentally sipping his coffee out of the red mug, and spots what Fabi gifted his partner, he chuckles.

From that day on, coffee in the Müller house is served in the red mug and a blue one that say ‘#1 Dad’ and ‘#1 Papa’ – because in the end, they’re both the best parents that Fabi can think of.

(He doesn’t cry when for his birthday, they serve him his hot chocolate in one that says ‘#1 Son’. He definitely doesn’t.)

[romanoaudrey]

surprise delivery | audrey & gio

Parties: @romanoaudrey and @giovanni-fiore

Date: Tuesday January 26th

Location: Watch station

Summary: Audrey brings Gio the box of donuts she homemade with Cressida’s help. {Nothing much except talking/getting to know each other a lil more}

Audrey still didn’t really know what she was doing- or why. She met the guy for all of an hour, didn’t know his last name (or what Gio even stood for) or even his number. All she knew was he was kind and stubborn and made her cave and obey without much of a fight. Maybe it was just because she hadn’t submitted properly in a while....or maybe it was because of the way he stared into her eyes when he’d tugged her to safety— but either way here she was at the Watch precinct less than a week later, a decently-sized box of homemade donuts in her arms as she walked to the front desk and gave the person there a little smile. “Hi, um...this is kind of random, but is there an officer named Gio here today?”

Gio had just finished in the gym, needing to work off some energy with all the tension from the recent arrests of suspected arsonists. His uniform shirt hung open to reveal the crip white tank top and one of his Dominant symbols--the shield of St. Michael--resting on a gold chain around his neck. He was just making his way back to his desk when he heard his name and paused. Finding the source of the voice, Gio blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to see Audrey again so soon. What was she doing here? "Audrey?" He asked. "Everything all right?"

Audrey: Before her question could even be answered she heard her name and she looked up and over, eyes widening just slightly at the sight of the man in question. She couldn't even help the way she looked him over for a moment since the last time she'd saw him they'd both been bundled up in their coats. Her eyes landed on the medallion in the middle of his chest for a moment before back up to him and she flushed a bit before smiling and turning to him. "I--yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Sorry for just dropping by unannounced, if you're busy I can come back another time.."

Gio: Realizing what he looked like, Gio paused before moving to do up the buttons of his uniform. "Sorry about that. Just got out of the shower. Usually I'm more put together." He cleared his throat before catching her pretty green eyes with his. "I'm not busy." A smile pulled at his lips. "You just came to see me?" That was... interesting. She had been on his mind a few times since they had met, but he hadn't thought he'd made that much of an impression.

Audrey felt her face getting even hotter as he buttoned up his shirt, obvious that he'd caught her staring and she mentally berated herself before quickly shaking her head, "You look fine, Sir." She assured him softly, finding his eyes were already on hers as she looked up at him once more., completely ignorant to how the woman at the desk was clearly eavesdropping. At the question she paused though, hesitating in how to answer before she let out a breath and gave a little shrug, "Sort of. And to drop something off."

Gio: His brow raised as she mentioned she had something to deliver. "And what is that?" Something related to a case? Or something else? "Anything I can help with?"

Audrey: She couldn't help but huff out a little laugh and she shook her head at herself, "No, it's not...--I feel kinda dumb now. This is so silly..." it's like she said the last bit to herself more than in actual reply to him and she shook her head again before turning the box in her hands and reaching for the lid to open it, "My um...my cousin helped me make them. I just thought after our conversation maybe you would get a kick out of it. And I figured if anything you and your coworkers could eat them and....and like I said it's totally dumb but.." she trailed off with a shrug, chancing a glance up at him.

Gio: Donuts. She made him donuts? He had actually made them. That couldn't have been easy. "You didn't have to do that. I'm sure the guys will love you for it, but you definitely didn't have to do that." Reaching out to take them, his dark eyes met hers before he grinned. "You want to split one?" He asked her. The receptionist at his left dropped her eyes, attempting to hide that she was intently interested.

Audrey hated how pale she was because it made it quite easy to detect even the slightest bit of a blush on her face. Still though she kept her eyes up on him and let out a little hum in response. "No, I know. But I figured if I was doing this I might as well do it right. And my cousin loves baking so she was happy to help..." she was waiting for his reaction, to find out if he thought it was as silly as she was making it out to be in her head, but when he just grinned and offered to share it it caught her off guard. He tended to do that, she'd noticed. "Oh--um. Yeah, sure. If you'd like. They're all actually pretty good. We made a bunch of different kinds since I wasn't sure what you'd--they'd like."

Gio: “Well... glad to have given her the opportunity to bake with you, then,” he said. He caught her slip and very nearly decided to tease her. Still, he didn’t want her to turn bright red and clam up. Gio was pleased when she agreed to split it, though. “Well, I’m sure I’ll like them all. Which is your favourite?”

Audrey: Despite the blush, Audrey still nodded, "Me too. I've only just met her recently so we're getting to know each but but..it was nice to spend the afternoon with her." it was nice to be able to say that to someone from outside of the family, people who wouldn't judge Cressida if they'd known how she'd gotten to Verona at all. The other girl reminded Audrey of herself and it made her want to make sure Cress was safe from how vicious her family could be. "Here's hoping." Audrey commented before looking down into the box, "Oh um.." she inspected them all before pointing one out, "This one I think. Blueberry with lemon icing. There's a really good chocolate cinnamon too though."

Gio: “Only just met her?” He asked. “She from far away or something?” Gio had grown up with all the cousins who had been local to Sicily, and even some who weren’t. He wondered what it was like to not be close to family. “I’m a sucker for chocolate. You want some coffee or tea? Full disclosure, it’s kind of like muddy water, but it’s free.”

Audrey: "It's.....a long story." Audrey replied, shrugging a bit instead of even attempting to delve into her family history. "But regardless she's here now and we get along pretty well. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her, maybe have her teach me a thing or two more in the kitchen ." at the offer she shook her head, giving him a smile, "No, I'm alright for now. Is there a desk or something for you we can go to so I can put this down for you?"

Gio considered before holding up a finger. “Let me... go ask my boss if you can come back. One sec.” With that, he disappeared behind the divider to ask permission, and he got just a little bit needled for wanting to bring a submissive behind the desk before ultimately being told to give the order that any confidential information should be flipped over. The donuts, his boss decided, would be a good break from the stress of the recent arrests. Coming back to Audrey, Gio took the box from her. “You have to promise not to judge how much paperwork I’ve got on my desk.”

Audrey: She furrowed her brow for a moment in confusion before realizing oh, right. Watch station.  Every single person in there would probably want to arrest her if they knew of the things she's had to do. She tried not to tense up and think about it as he walked away (and she also tried not to think about the receptionist's eyes darting to her again) before finally Gio came back to her. She let him take the box, letting out a calming breath before nodding and letting out a laugh, "I'll try." She assured teasingly, smiling up at him as she nodded for him to lead the way.

Gio: Making his way over to his desk, he began to clear the papers as quickly as he could before setting down the box. Leaving her to wait again, he popped over to the kitchen before returning with a plate and a knife. “Take my chair,” he told her before picking up the donut that looked the most like chocolate cinnamon. Slicing it down the center, he lifted his half before watching for her to take her own piece. “So you’ve been making donuts. Anything else interesting since I walked you home?”

Audrey let him clean the area, finding it kind of endearing how much he tried to clear away in such a quick amount of time. She didn't mind the mess though. When he offered his chair she just nodded, unbuttoning her coat and unraveling the scarf from around her neck to place on the back of the chair before moving to sit down. She smiled as he cut one and she took the other half, laughing as she shook her head, "Afraid not- unless consider someone trying to walk out on their tab and I managed to stop them before they got away as interesting." She joked, breaking a piece of the donut off to pop into her mouth.

Gio took a bite of the donut and gave an approving sound. He had a sweet tooth that he rarely indulged. And this was delicious. “Wow,” he told her. “This is amazing.” As she told her story, he gave a huff of laughter. “Next time, get his name and I’ll come arrest him.”

Audrey watched, waited for him to take the first bite, a rush of relief pouring through her and a smile growing happily on her lips at his approval. "I'm glad you like it." She replied softly as she took another piece. "What. You want to be the officer I have at my beck and call? I could quickly take advantage of that and call you for every little mishap." She teased with a laugh.

Gio shrugged. “If you did that, I might have to arrest you,” he teased. He very much doubted that Audrey would ever do anything which would merit an arrest. She seemed far too sweet.

Audrey: "I think I at least deserve to know your last name before you're putting cuffs on me, Officer." Audrey shot back quickly, both to deflect from the very idea of being arrested, and..because, well. She wanted to.

Gio blinked, confused for a moment.  When he realized her double entendre, he gave a cough, moving to rub the back of his neck. “Well, er, it’s Fiore. Officer Fiore, at your service.”

Audrey: "Fiore." Audrey echoed, looking to his face as she said it before she nodded. "And so Gio, that's short for...?" She asked, taking another piece from her half of the donut, glad to get the attention off herself and to finally get an answer that she'd been itching for for days now.

Gio: “Is this an interrogation?” He asked her with a quirk of his brow before leaning forward to lift his name plate from the desk and pass it to her.

Audrey huffed, pursing her lips a little into an almost-pout. "You know my full name. I figured it's only fair if I knew the same." she answered as he passed her the plate and she took it. Giovanni. "Giovanni Fiore." She murmured allowed, looking it over for a moment more, passing it back to him with another smile, "It's nice to officially meet you." She told him before nudging the box to him, "Have one more?"(edited)

Gio: He nodded. “To be fair, I didn’t ask your last name. My middle name is Antonio, in case you were wondering.” As she pushed the donut box toward him, Gio laughed. “You want me to get fat?” He asked. “I need to fit into my gun holsters.”

Audrey: "Yeah, but you still know it. So...." She teased, giving another shrug before full on grinning. "Corin." she responded, figuring she might as well keep it all equal. At the response she got next though she rolled her eyes as she shook her head, "Oh please. I highly doubt that word could ever be associated to you." She mused, leaning over to go through the box before picking up the blueberry one she'd mentioned before before looking back up at him. "Come on, one more. Please, Sir?"

Gio looked at her, wondering if he should consent to a second. But the way she asked him had him grinning. “Split this one with me, too,” he said, offering up a fair condition, in his opinion. “Any other pressing questions?”

Audrey was soon again grinning, quite pleased with herself for getting him to cave as she nodded, "Deal." She agreed, putting it down onto the plate and bringing the pad of one of her fingers to her lips to clean off excess icing before taking the knife to cut it in half. Think I can leave with your number this time? "How long have you been an officer for?"

Gio: His eyes watched her mouth as she sucked at her finger, but forced himself to look away. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, and he normally didn’t feel so funny around submissives. But then, most of the submissives he had met didn’t look like Audrey.  “I passed the entry exam when I was twenty-one. And then I went to four years of the academy. So after that... almost ten years?”

Audrey: She hadn't noticed the way he watched her as she focused on cutting the donut perfectly in half, smiling as she finished and she eagerly passed it over to him, wanting his reaction to this one as well. When he started speaking though she looked up again, quickly adding up the numbers. She'd figured he was older than her, but now she knew (more or less) by how much. "Impressive." She told him honestly, looking up to his eyes again. "You're lucky to have found what you're passionate about and wanting to do for the rest of your life so early."

Gio nodded, his eyes dropping for a moment to focus on the donut. His reason for becoming a Watchman certainly wasn’t one he was going to share. He had gotten by for almost a decade without outing his family. “Yeah, I like helping people.”

Audrey had noticed the way his gaze moved away, how he'd reacted to this question as opposed to the others and she filed that bit of information away for now, instead just nodding, "That's a pretty good quality I think." she mused, her expression softening towards him. "Is there anything else you wanted to be? Like maybe when you were growing up? I had a dream of being a singer when I was like four. My brother would be able to prove it with embarrassing videos back home. I also wanted to be one of those people who swims with and trains dolphins."

Gio considered. “A professional football player,” he told her. “I was captain of my team in secondary school. Had some offers from scouts, too. But I didn’t know if I wanted that kind of hype.”

Audrey: There he went again catching her off guard. She blinked up in surprise, a brow raising. "Really? That's...wow." She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head, "Again. impressive.  And now I'll probably affront you by saying I probably can't even kick a ball properly." she teased, shaking her head at herself as she continued eating.

Gio: “All it takes is practice. My best friend Bobby was terrible at it. It only took a few months to whip him into shape. He could have gone pro, too. But he ended up going to work for his grandfather’s business.” He was edging close to a danger zone, but he could fudge the truth if he had to. “I love watching it. Part of me wishes I had enough time to coach it.”

Audrey: "I guess that's a thing in all parts of Italy. Family pressures into the family business.." She murmured as she now was the one to look away. She'd never be allowed back to school unless she took business classes to be useful to the family. Freddie couldn't really follow his love of the outdoors, and Arden was close to losing everything if he didn't conform soon to what the family wanted. Mateo was stuck guarding people who hated him, and she herself was stuck doing the Heads' dirty work. All for the family. There was no escaping it. She somewhat lost her appetite then and put the rest of her donut down, moving her hands to her lap as she finally looked up at him, "Maybe one day you'll find the time. Life should be about more than just work, yeah?"

Gio: “Well, he wasn’t forced.” At least... Gio didn’t think so. “But that is a thing in my family and the ones I grew up with.” Mostly because they were all mafioso. Still, he noticed how she quieted and blinked before trying to change the subject. “My mother used to try to push me to learn to sing so I would be the next Tom Jones or Sinatra. Too bad I can’t really do it.”

Audrey nodded, figuring the subject was getting a bit touchy for the both of them so maybe it was best to just let it die off there. She instead grasped onto the topic change, a little smile pulling on her lips once more. "My mom loved Sinatra." she said it softly, fondly, looking down to the table for a moment before back up to him. "I don't think I'm all that good at it either so I don't really do it anymore like I used to when I was a kid. Aside from maybe in the shower- but I feel like everyone can sing in the shower."

Gio: “Just because they can doesn’t mean they should,” he teased. “I fall into that category myself.” He had noticed her use of past tense when she mentioned her mom and he definitely wasn’t going to ask about that. She had already closed up once. “I took up guitar to compensate. That I am pretty good at.”

Audrey: "I think as long as someone's enjoying themself and isn't harming anyone else that they should feel free to do it all they want. Yourself included, mister." she teased him, wanting to keep things light- especially when she'd realized her slip in mentioning her mom. Guitar. Yet another thing on the ever-growing list that surprised her. She'd hadn't pegged him the musician type. "Another thing I always wanted to learn but never really got around to. I was put into piano lessons as a kid, but I never got passed the remedial class. I can still play chopsticks fairly well." she told him with a little grin.

Gio: “If you say so. But clearly you don’t have an older brother who liked to shriek ‘That’s Amore’ at five in the morning when you were a kid.” He shook his head, remembering how his dad used to pound on the wall with a snort. “Hey, chopsticks is impressive. I mostly picked it up so I had something to do when I was bored.”

Audrey let out a little snort, shaking her head “Nah, can’t say I have. Instead my brother would have me getting lost in the woods with him and hoping to not break any bones as I was made to climb a tree.” She smiled as she said it though, remembering times like that with Freddie fondly. “Well maybe one day If you’re bored enough I can hear you play.” Audrey replied before realizing how it’d sounded and she looked away, her face once again turning various shades of pink as she looked down and focused on the bit of donut remaining.

Gio: “He a big hiker or something?” Gio wanted to know. That was a cool hobby. He had never really gotten into it. “Or like an extreme rock climber maybe?” He raised a brow, giving a grin. “I mean... I’d offer but my apartment is basically a closet.”

Audrey laughed, nodding “Both. He’s big on nature. Like..really big. We’d go on hikes weekly. Nature trails, climbing rocks like they were small mountains. He knows all about different plants and things in nature. What is and isn’t safe. All that stuff. He’s another who realized young what he’s passionate about.” Even if he had to conform it into the confines of being appropriate for the family and so he could be useful to them. She shook her head then, covering her face for a second before Carding her fingers through her hair. “No..you absolutely don’t have to. I was just being silly. Instead what you should do is finally go and offer some of these donuts before I make you cave again and have another. There’s a salted caramel one in there somewhere.”\

Gio: “Does he do anything with it?” Gio wanted to know. “Is he... like... what are nature jobs? A botanist? Or a ranger?” He didn’t mean to embarrass her. He just didn’t want to bring her home to his apartment where it was small, a little cluttered, and more than a little intimate. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not exactly offensive that you might want to hear me play one day.” Shaking his head, he got to his feet and lifted the box. “I’ll be right back.” With that, he made his way to the kitchen to set down the sweets there, box open to invite the rest of the Watch to help themselves. He was still confused as to what he had done to get Audrey to want to hunt him down, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. As he returned to her, he moved to lean against his desk once more. “Thank you again for bringing them. You really didn’t have to do that,”

Audrey: “I’m sure he’d love to be a ranger or something like that. But instead he’s interning at an agriculture officer per the family. It’s about as close as he can get to the outdoors while still pleasing them.” She explained with a little shrug. She watched him walk away then, trying not to feel awkward sitting alone at his desk as she glanced around at the other Watchmen around. But soon enough he was back and she just shrugged, “I know but....I wanted to.” She replied softly. I know I was pretty stubborn the other night but you stayed anyways. You wanted to make sure I got home safe and...there’s not too many people in my life right now that would care that much. So I guess I just wanted to find a way to somehow show my appreciation. Besides, who doesn’t like sweets and donuts regardless of reason?” She asked with a little grin.

Gio:“Well... agriculture is farming, right? That's sort of like nature, right?" Her family seemed a little tough. She had already said she wanted to get away from them, and she now was saying that her brother couldn't be a ranger because it wouldn't please them. He had also heard a few things around the station about the Romanos. Mostly that the Heads were intimidating as Hell. "I love donuts," he answered. "And it... Of course I wanted to make sure you were safe. Like I said when I met you: I'm not in the habit of leaving women alone in the dark. If that's not a standard here, I hope to change that." People didn't care about her? Why not? She seemed incredibly sweet, she was beautiful, and she was interesting. But Gio didn't know everything. He just trusted his feelings about people. And he had a good feeling about her.

Audrey: “Yeah, sort of. I just want him to be happy, you know? My sisters are in Ragusa still so he’s all I really have here aside from all my cousins. And he’s always taken care of me; especially now. So...he really deserves to be happy.” If there was one thing she was adamant about in her life, it was her brother. “Well, good.  I hope you get to have at least one more then. Or maybe we can make those little donut holes instead so you don’t feel as guilty eating them.” She mused softly. She felt like she’d said too much though again and she bit her lip, just giving a little shrug and a smile “I won’t speak for all of verona, because I don’t know everybody but...yeah. Here’s to hoping you do too. Or that hopefully next time I’m stuck outside alone at night I can find another nice person like you. or..maybe just hope to find you.”

Gio: "How many sisters do you have?" Gio asked. "And yeah, I want that for my family too. Happiness, that is. Is he... not happy?" Was that a question Gio was even allowed to ask her? He didn't know, but she kept bringing up all these sad things, and he felt weird just avoiding them like he didn't care. At her words, he cocked his head before giving a grin. "Maybe I'll find you," he teased before pausing. "That... sounded a lot less creepy in my head."

Audrey: “Two.” Audrey responded with a nod. “One older and one younger. I’m the second oldest.” She explained before biting her lip “He’s...I think he is. As happy as he can be given the job choice.” She hoped she’d worded it well, didn’t want to make him question too much. She finished off the last bite of her donut as he spoke and she rose a brow, smirking at him before huffing out a laugh. “Not really creepy, I promise.”

Gio: grinned. "Oh good." He didn't want to cut this short, but he couldn't keep her in the station for long. "I don't... I don't want to throw you out, but the boss is giving me the look." He ran his hand awkwardly through his hair, hoping she didn't take it the wrong way. "Thank you again for the donuts."

Audrey: “Good.” She echoed in agreement. When he spoke again her smile fell just slightly, looking a bit confused before she realized what he meant and she looked around before flushing a bit, a bashful smile tugging on her lips. “No! No it’s fine. Besides, you’re on the clock right? So I shouldn’t be keeping you from your work anyways, even if it’s for donuts.” She assured before shaking her head “It’s no problem, really.”

Gio: He grinned again. "You can distract me whenever you like, Audrey," he teased. "I'm off really late tonight, but maybe I could grab your number? Just so next time I'm ready when you show up. If that's okay."

Audrey: "Careful, Officer Fiore. I might just hold you to that." Audrey told him as she moved to get her scarf from behind herself, a little smile on her lips all the while. But then there he went catching her off guard again, asking for her number, and paused in winding the scarf around her neck before looking back up to him, her smile widening. "It's okay." She told him, pulling her phone out of her pocket and unlocking it to offer it over, "Here. Put yours in."

Gio: "Did I just get myself into trouble?" Gio asked as he took her phone. Carefully, he keyed in his number before handing it back. "Fair warning, I'm terrible at texting. Better at phone calls because I have to actually remember to answer a human voice."

Audrey bit her lip to try and hold back her smirk but soon caved and let it show as she took the phone back "I guess time will tell". She saved the number and then called him, waiting to hear the ringing before ending the call. "There, now you have mine too." She stood up then, running her fingers through her hair to push it back as she looked up at him, "I like phonecalls more too, for the record. Much more personable."

Gio nodded, still smiling. "Well I guess I'll find out," he responded. "See you around, Audrey."

Audrey pulled her coat on, giving him one last smile as she gathered her things and moved to stand in front of him again, nodding. "I'll see you around. Have a good rest of your day, Gio." she told him with a smile, looking up to him for a moment more before finally turning and heading out, feeling positive about the entire thing and even giving a parting smile to the receptionist who'd once again eyed her as she walked by.

[dailyaudiobible]

01/09/2019 DAB Transcript

Genesis 20:1-22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalms 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22

Today is the 9th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a joy to be here with you today and taking the next step forward. And I think we’re far enough into our new year to kind of begin to understand that there’s a rhythm and to begin to understand that the Bible isn't this static old-fashioned book that is irrelevant, that there's a bunch…a bunch of things that it is willing to speak directly and truthfully into our lives. And if we will and heed it that it will change the way that we live our lives. And, so, welcome back for the next day forward. And that will lead us back into the New International Version, which is what we’re reading from this week and back into the book of Genesis chapter 20, 21, and 22 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, you know, we encountered a pretty harrowing story yesterday with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and we talked about that and the way that we subtly move toward judgment, even judgment of God and how that that can estrange us in our journey that we’re taking through the Scriptures yesterday. And, so, today, we kind of encounter another one of those types of stories where God tells Abraham to take is a promised son Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. And we’re not gonna get into all of that because that story will unfold very, very clearly over some time, other than to just point out God and Abraham had entered into a covenant with each other and covenantal language is something that we will, you know, we will encounter quite a bit. So, we understand that the two of them joined together in covenant, which meant that nothing was off-limits from the other. So, when God tells Abraham to go and take his only son, and He’s very specific about this with Isaac, Abraham is in covenant he cannot withhold anything. And, so, he does. Of course, his trust and faith is in God and Isaac is the son of promise, so Abraham can simply say, “I must follow God even though I don't know how this is gonna work out, but I do know that my son is a son of promise and through my son many generations will come. This is what God told me. In fact, he marched me outside and had me look up the night sky and try to count the stars. So, there's this promise and I need understand what's going on, but I do trust the one I'm in covenant with.” We know how that story worked out but what we may not have paid attention to is the thread of redemption that begins to show itself at all kinds of points in the Bible and this is one of them because Abraham did not withhold his son from God and God didn't take the sacrifice of a human being, instead He sent his own son, His own only son. Now if you’ve been a believer for a long time, then you know, you can connect those dots pretty easy. If this your first trip through the Bible and encountering the stories of the Bible, this one is one that kind of touches a lot of things and will become more and more apparent as we move forward because Isaac is going to have a son of his own, a couple of sons of his own, and they’re gonna change the whole story, but let's…let's go back into the book of Matthew.

Jesus is saying some very important and very forthright, like, non-ambiguous things that we should pay attention to, “judge not, lest you be judged.” That was yesterday. And again, like if you’ve been a believer for a long time you’ve probably encountered the stories of Jesus before. And, so, it's really easy to just encapsulate them into their story form and not really listen to the words Jesus is teaching. What Jesus is saying is revolutionary and when he said it in the first century it was fundamentally revolutionary. We’re used to hearing the words of Jesus now, so it's not quite like…has that kind of impact unless we slow down and listen to what He’s saying. So, let's just examine what He said today. “Many will say to me on that day”, Jesus says, and He's talking about Judgment Day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly. I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers.” Okay. So, this is another big deal on our faith journey because we can spend our whole lives trying to get our beliefs correct and our theology airtight and waterproof. We can think that every day that we learn more about God or learn something else about Jesus, then we are drawing closer and closer to Him when Jesus is saying, “there's going to be people who call on the Lord and prophesied in His name and have even cast out demons in His name, and even performed miracles in His name, and He will still say, I didn't know you.” So, what have to realize is that all of our flurry of activity that keeps us busy, that keeps us thinking that we’re drawing closer to God, all the stuff that we might do around our faith that's great, it's just not the point. What Jesus says He will say to those people is, “I never knew you”, which must mean that the point is that we can know Him and not only know about Him and that is a pretty big distinction because if you zoom out and apply these principles to any relationship in your life you would have to say that knowing about somebody is not the same as knowing them. And that should prick us a little bit because when we think of our spirituality and our faith journey, you know, then it's centered around acquiring knowledge most of the time, trying to dial it in, know what to believe, know the spells and incantations, know the potions. Like, I know that's not literal, I'm just saying, like, that's what we boil it down to. If I can say the right mantras, If I can pray the right prayer in the right order doing the right things with the right attitude then God will do something for me, like, just give me the recipe, show me how the recipe works, what I can add and what I cannot add and how to make this whole thing work, just somebody tell me how to do this. Relationships do not work that way. You can read every marriage book that has ever been published…well…you probably couldn't because there's too many that have been published to read in a lifetime, but you could read, I don’t know, the 20 most popular books ever written on marriage and still not know how to be married because it is a relationship and that happens in the spoken and in the unspoken and that does not happen based on the rules. Like, if you're living a rules-based marriage, then you're probably not very happy in it. When you are in a life-giving relationship the rules become apparent and you obey them. Like, I'm not going to commit adultery because I will not break the heart of the one that I love. I'm not going there because of what it would do to the person that I have given my heart to. And you obey the rules because you are in love. Jesus speaking in the first century is speaking to a people that have taken the law, and I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself...ahead of ourselves…because we haven't gotten to the law yet, but these people had taken the law and made their relationship with God all about obeying the rules, which bypasses the idea of a relationship other than just a relationship by proxy because you are behaving a certain way. Jesus is saying to that mindset, you can do all of the right things in it and still not know me. And, so, once again, and I mean, we’re not quite, you know, only just a little over a week into this journey so you can still jump off this boat and swim back to shore probably but it won't be long before we’re so far in the deep that these things that come along and you have to sit with them and really begin to examine your faith and understand what it's made of and where it's headed because my story and the story of thousands and thousands of people that I have spoken to over these last 13 years doing this is one of confusion about faith. Like, how do I know when I'm doing…like how do I know that I'm doing the right thing and believing the right thing? And, so, we’ll redouble our efforts to get the knowledge. And man, that's my story, that is even how I'm wired, to acquire knowledge to truly understand what it is that I'm talking about, but I have found that even if we could know everything there is to know about God that is still not the same thing as being in a relationship with God because I can know everything there is to know about my wife and not be in a relationship with her. And we human beings are wired to be relational people. So, it's like already baked into our DNA, we know when we’re in a relationship and we know when that relationship is life-giving and we also are aware when we are in a bad relationship and it is life taking. So, we know this intuitively, we’re made for relationship. It’s just the ways we try to relate to God are by acquiring knowledge about Him and that's only part of the story. Actually being together in a relationship is what we’re invited into. So, there's some things to think about and examine. Like, what is the status of your relationship, because maybe the state of your life mimics the state of your relationship with God.

Prayer:

And, so, Holy Spirit come, we invite You into that question and we’re again thankful. I mean, yes, yes, with Your word You are pressing into us, You are You are pushing us back. Like, we came into this boldly thinking we may have had much more figured out than we do and You're using Your word to kind of push us back and humble us and we’re now beginning to feel the truth flow into us and ask the right questions of us and of our faith. And this is the beginning place, this is the place where wisdom begins to be planted and flourish and the fruit of the spirit begins to be cultivated within. So, we invite You Holy Spirit to show us. What's our relationship like? Are we unhealthy with You? What needs to change? What needs to go? What needs to stay? What needs to be moved around? You can answer these questions because You have promise to lead us into all truth, You have promised us that there is a narrow path that leads to life. And, yes, few find it but we want to be one of those people. So, we’re humbling ourselves before You and saying there is no question that is off-limits, You can press in on us in any way that You want to. We are hungering and thirsting for Your righteousness, we are hungering and thirsting to live in this world as we were intended, and we don’t want this confusion and this stress and this anxiety that You're telling us that we don't have to have. You told us yesterday, we don’t have to worry about anything, we don’t have to worry about tomorrow, it’ll take care of itself. And, so, we want to live in that place, but we won’t be able to live in that place with a bunch of knowledge, we’ll only be able to live in a place walking with You in deep intertwined relationship. So, come Holy Spirit. We pray into these questions and may their answers be honest, and may they be life changing. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, and of course, its where you find out what's going on around here.

One thing that I’ll mention today that's been mentioned in the past is the Daily Audio Bible shop. There are resources in the Daily Audio Bible shop that we've assembled specifically for this journey, the journey through the year and through the Bible. And, so, you can check those out and there are also other resources, other writings and stuff. What we were just talking about in terms of a relationship with God, there's a longer conversation about that contained in a book that I've written called “Reframe” and you can get that anywhere, but you can also get it in the Daily Audio Bible Shop and that really is an exploration of what we are talking about when we say we’re in a relationship with God. What does that even mean? One of the things any relationship means is that you know the other person, which is what Jesus is saying. I'll tell them plainly, I never knew you. Like, you did all this stuff in my name, but I didn't know you. So, relationships are knowing and being known. And, so, we go into a conversation that’s much more lengthy then we can do just in one sitting here. And, so, if that peeks your interest you can check out that resource, it’s called “Reframe, from the God we've made to God with us.” And that's in the Daily Audio Bible Shop as well as bunch of other resources. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage and I thank you profoundly and deeply, humbly for your partnership. What we've done we've done together as I've said so many times. And so, as long as we do this together we’ll continue marching forward. And, so, thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Morning beautiful family, this is Pastor Gene a from Bradenton Florida. I love you guys very much. We had a wonderful, wonderful season of prayer and evangelism and reaching out to others that culminated with our 20 years later wedding celebration. The enemy opposed us every step of the way, but I can say victoriously that the gospel went forth and that many people that did not know the Lord __ bless the __ with the gospel over and over again through our wedding and that was my plan. But I’m really calling to say thank you one more time to Brian, Jill and the whole Hardin family for their love and their efforts to shepherd us. I love you guys very much. I also want to say hi to those of us who are coming back to listen and particularly welcome those that are listening for the first time. Guys, my name is Pastor Gene, I’m Gene McIntyre, I live in Bradenton Florida. I started listening to the DAB, last November it was 5 years, when I was in a very dark place. I’ve had a lifelong struggle of anxiety and depression. And although I’m a woman of faith and I pray, God has chosen not to heal me at this point, but I was going through a very, very severe depression and I was in a very dark place and I looked for a Bible that I could listen to, instead the Lord give me a Bible that I could listen to, a wonderful pastor in Brian Hardin, and a wonderful family of faith in the community of the DAB. So, I, like Brian has said over and over again, I’m not the same person that I was last year and I’m definitely not the same person I was five years ago. So, if you just started listening or if you came back, my encouragement for you is to stick with, stick to the Lord, stick to his word, stick to this community, you will never be the same. I love you family. Have a great 2019, Pastor Gene from Bradenton Florida.

Hey everyone, this is Kristy from Kentucky, I’m back. I want to thank each and every one of you who have prayed for me over these past several years. Those of you who have heard me before know that 17 was extremely hard year, I lost both my mama and my daddy that year, my mom in May and my daddy in October and it has just been extremely difficult for me. I have a brother and I loved him so very much and I lost him in 2005 and he was my only sibling…so…and I have no children. So, this has been a very hard hard transition for me. I praise God to have an amazing husband who is just by me and who has loved me and has been patient with me through these past couple years and I just want to thank each and every one of you for praying for me. You have lifted my heart and my hands in a time when I could barely walk. And, so, I praise God for carrying me through these years and I praise Him for each of you who have meant so very much to me. And, so, anyway I wanted to call and tell you that I love each of you. Happy new year. And by prayer for 2019 is to be able to continue the ministry that my mom started and to find that sense of humor that my daddy had and gave to me. And, so, I’m praying to come back strong in 2019. Alright everyone, I love each and every one of you and I pray that each of you are having a most blessed and lovely day. Take care.

Hi daily Audio Bible family this is Will from beautiful Bozeman Montana. Happy new year, it is January 3rd and God is good, He is so good. Woo!!! I’ll tell you what, I’m just excited to go through this journey with you. I ended 2018 pretty good…pretty good. You know, walking along with the DAB family, know that each and every one of you are in my prayers and I’m just looking forward to what God is going to do to each of us, especially the challenge to maintain. It’s been so good, I’ve been so challenged, I promise you that, but I love the Lord so much and I just thank the Lord for you all DAB family. My prayers go out to you, may you all have a prosperous 2019. Brian and Jill, God bless you, thank you again for this ministry. Love you DAB family. Father, we love You and we praise You in Jesus name.

Hi DAB family, this is Viola from Maryland I hope you’re all doing well. Brian and Jill, God bless you. I’m also excited. I’m looking forward to what God has in store for you guys __. And Ben, well done with your present, well done. Rohkim, my sister, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. I pray that God will wrap His arms around you all, that God will touch you, God will fill you, the word of God says that God is close to the brokenhearted. And, so, I pray that God will be close to you, He will provide for you, He will be the husband and the father in that family, in the name of Jesus. My sister, I’ll be praying for you. God bless you. I’m also praying for all those who are struggling in their marriages that __. __ what I have for your brothers and sisters. I pray that God will help you, able to be kindhearted to one another, to be tender, and loving to each other, that you will be quick to forgive one another in the name of Jesus and that you will make allowance for each of your faults. You know, there is nothing that God cannot do, even marriages that are failing, that people are separated, the Lord can bring you together. And, so, my prayer for your marriages is that the Lord, the son of righteousness, who is Jesus, __ healing, healing in His __ over those marriages in the name of Jesus. So, do not lose hope, it is not over when it’s over. And even when it’s over God is still working. God bless you all and I’d love to shout out to all my friends and the sisters that I’ve made in this ministry and even all the brothers that ping me on Facebook. God bless you all. This is Viola.

[lokis-little-kitten]

Brat pt III. Dom! Loki Laufeyson

Title: Brat Writer: Lokis-Little-Kitten Pairing: Dom!LokixReader Rating: 16/18+(Depends on country) Warning: Language, explicit sexual content, BDSM, Kitten-play Summary: Loki found a comfortable life with you, his little kitten, when the drama starts...

Intro, part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, MASTERLIST, Story’s I Love. 

When everyone is finally out of your home Loki and you sit back down in your chair with Thor on the couch. The two of you just stare at him hoping he will disappear into nothing so you and Loki can go back to your comfortable lifestyle. 

‘‘I’ll go get the guest bedroom ready,’‘ you mumble and stand up. You almost run towards the first guest bedroom and start making the bed properly. You lay down a towel and washcloth when Loki walks in. 

You look up and smile. ‘’Hey,’’ he muttered. You walk towards him and see his worried face. ‘’What is it,’’ you ask laying your hands on his shoulders. He closes his arms around you and hides his face in your neck to kiss it. 

‘‘I’m sorry,’‘ he whispers and then looks up. ‘‘What for? Loki this wasn’t you.’‘ He sighs deeply and holds you close. ‘‘I feel like I should have done something...’‘ You smile a little and give him a short kiss. ‘‘So what, we have someone here for a week. That’s okay.’‘ 

Loki laces one of his hands in your hair and massages your hair. ‘’We never have someone over, especially not for a week.’’ You sigh deeply and then try to smile. ‘’I know but-’’ ‘’No buts. This is the one place you feel safe and comfortable. Everywhere we go you always tense,’’ he softly speaks as his hands roam your back, ‘’just like you are now.’’ 

‘‘Maybe I just need to play to relax some,’‘ you grin. You place a kiss on his jaw and then go down to his neck. He pushes you back and gives you a stern look. ‘‘You know what my opinion on quickies is,’‘ he smiles. ‘‘Fine,’‘ you chuckle, ‘‘we could go swim, watch a movie or-’‘ 

The door flies open ruin the mood once again. ‘’There you are,’’ Thor speaks loudly. ‘’I thought you had gone,’’ he booms once more. ‘’Nope... just here,’’ you say annoyed. 

You let go of Loki and finish up your work. ‘’We need to talk,’’ Loki speaks and drags his brother out of the room. ‘’Pet,’’ he calls before walking out, ‘’go to your room!’’ He drags Thor out before you can reply properly. 

Quickly you go upstairs and walk into your room. You climb on your bed and watch some video’s on your laptop. 

Loki sits down Thor on the couch. ‘’Some rules,’’ Loki speaks rapidly to be done with it. ‘’The second floor is off limits unless I accompany you. Whatever you do ask permission from me or Y/N. The chair is completely off limits. If we are not around your stay in this living room or in the guest room. Understood?’’ Thor stands up clearly not happy with what he hears. 

‘‘I am not one of your submissive toys, Loki, I do not have to listen to you.’‘ Loki seems absolutely furious which is telling Thor he made a mistake by saying that. ‘‘Well guess what, these are not my rules Y/N made them for when her friends come over. Even if they were mine, these are the house rules for all guests. So it would be nice if you obeyed them for once!’‘ 

‘‘Alright then...’‘ Loki smile happy with himself and then walks upstairs towards your room. ‘‘Hey, pet,’‘ he smiles when he sees you. ‘‘Hey,’‘ you reply and come off of the bed. You walk up to him and hug him. 

‘‘It’s only a week,’‘ you mumble sensing his discomfort. ‘‘I know, darling.’‘ He rubs your back kindly and holds you close. ‘‘How about I take Thor our shopping for some clothes so you can make this place Thor proof,’‘ you then say before kissing his jaw. ‘‘Sure you want to do that?’‘ ‘‘Of course! If he is going to be here for a week he needs something more than what he is wearing now.’‘ Loki smiles and nods. ‘‘Alright then.’‘ 

You smile and get out of the room to Thor. You find him in the kitchen with your cookies. Whenever you have been good or did something you didn’t want to do Loki rewards you with them. ‘’Put them back,’’ you whisper angrily. 

Thor pulls up a brow. ‘’There just cookies.’’ ‘’There mine,’�� you pout. ‘’Thor put the treats back,’’ Loki now sighs from behind you. ‘’You guys are intense,’’ he whispers and puts them back on the highest shelf of a cupboard, ‘’there just cookies.’’ 

You run a hand through your hair. This is going to be a long week... ‘’Right,’’ you breathe, ‘’I will take you out shoppin’ since you need some other clothes then... that.’’ You make a gesture towards his clothes with a disgusted face. 

‘‘Thanks,’‘ Thor huffs but then agrees to coming with you. Loki kisses you goodbye and then you leave for town. In there you buy Thor some two suits, two pair of jeans and a few shirts. 

You then sit down in a café to drink coffee and eat something. ‘’Why do you love Loki,’’ Thor then asks you randomly. ‘’Because he is everything I could ask for and more.’’ You take a sip of your extra strong coffee smiling. 

‘‘What does he give you? My brother was always very closed off. I never saw him so loving to anyone...’‘ Suddenly a new side of Thor came out, a much more gentle and respectful side. 

‘‘I was always the black sheep of the family. My mother was a teen mum and my grandparents pressured her into keeping me. She loved me but always felt like she could never give me what I needed,’’ you start to explain.  

‘’I was alone most of my time in quite a rough neighboorhood. Loki takes care of me and keeps me safe. He makes sure he spends time with me and loves me. He does all of that without me asking for it. He is funny and kind and gentle... He opens up to me and can relate to what I have been through. He made mistakes but he knows and now does his best to make it right.’‘ Thor smiles and nods. 

‘‘What does he do exactly? I do my best but I don’t understand everything in this realm yet.’‘ ‘‘He buys lots or old empty flats and builds new ones. He invests in a lot of things that help people get back on their feet. The new flats are luxurious but a great price.’‘ ‘‘How does he make a profit?’‘ 

‘‘Their tiny. One or two bedrooms mostly so he rents out many of them and their very wanted. The investments in other companies do wonders and he owns parts of companies that he makes a great profit from,’‘ you explain. Thor nods slowly. 

‘‘That sounds good.’‘ ‘‘Very.’‘ You drink some more coffee and take a bite of your salad. ‘‘And what do you do,’‘ he asks, ‘‘or don’t you work?’‘ You smile and swallow. 

‘‘I work as a producer by Morgan Pochin Music Productions three to four days in the week.’‘ ‘‘Really, that Loki allows you to,’‘ Thor says surprised. ‘‘Loki got me this job,’‘ you say a little offended. ‘‘That he dominates me doesn’t mean he keeps me locked in the house.’‘ He quickly holds up his hands. 

‘‘How I knew him he would not allow that. He would say-’‘ ‘‘That he will provide for me and that I don’t have to worry my little head about that, quote-unquote,’‘ you repeat Loki his exact words when you stressed about certain bills. 

He chuckles and nods. ‘’Exactly.’’ You chuckle a little bit. ‘’He makes sure I don’t have to work. I work because I want to work.’’ He nods smiling. ‘’Solid.’’ ‘’Very. Now finish up because it is almost six and we still have to do some grocery shopping.’’ Thor eats everything like he is missing the train back home while you do your best to keep up. When you also swallow your last bite you quickly pay and walk out with all of the bags. 

‘‘Let me,’‘ Thor quickly says as he takes all of your bags. ‘‘I will make sure you get all of this back from Tony. I do not mean to be a burden.’‘ You shake your head. ‘‘No, not at all. I barely spent money so it’s fine.’‘ 

You suddenly feel a lot more comfortable around Thor now he is a lot more respectful and kind. Why can’t he be like that at home? 

You take a cap to a grocery store. As you put on your seatbelt Thor starts to talk again. ‘’Do you think there is any hope for my brother and I to become like we once were?’’ You look him in the eyes and tell him straight up no. 

‘‘Oh...’‘ Is his only reaction. ‘‘I do think you can be close again if you would have an attitude adjustment.’‘ ‘‘Me,’‘ Thor asks. ‘‘Yes! You have been on his nerves since the moment you walked in. If you would act like you do now he might see that you have an intent to become close to him.’‘ Thor huffs and crosses his arms. 

‘‘That is ridiculous! Name me one thing I did to be on his nerves.’‘ ‘‘The cookies,’‘ you hiss through clenched teeth. Thor rolls his eyes that gets him a slap on the back of his head from you. ‘‘That is exactly what I mean! It may not be important to you but it is to us. You don’t have to ridicule something because you don’t understand it.’‘ 

Thor is silent for a moment. ‘’And it wouldn’t hurt to respect him a little bit and our rules!’’ You look out the window until you hear Thor mutter something. ‘’What?’’ ‘’Maybe you are right...’’ ‘’Ya think? Just try to pay some respect and you will see that everything will go smoothly.’’ You arrive at the supermarket. 

‘‘I will try. You know my brother best so I will take your advice.’‘ ‘‘Thank you,’‘ you smile. An hour later you get back home and find Loki in the chair. You put down the bags in the kitchen and then quickly go back to kiss him. 

He smiles when you do and tries to pull you on his lap. You chuckle and quickly pull back. ‘’I can’t. I have to put away the groceries.’’ He sighs deeply but then lets you. Thor silently sits down on the couch. 

‘‘Loki, I have to apologise for the way I behaved. Y/N talked some sense into me and made me realise that I was being disrespectful to you and judged you without having the whole story.’‘ Loki seems quite surprised by this outing. ‘‘Well, thank you...’‘ Loki gives Thor a small nod and then quickly walks up to you. 

He places you on the counter and smiles. ‘’Stay,’’ he smiles before quickly kissing you. He then walks to the cupboard and gets you a cookie. ‘’What is this for,’’ you question. ‘’You got my brother to apologise. I’m considering to give you the whole jar.’’ You chuckle a bit and kiss him again. 

‘‘It wasn’t that hard. I just gave him a stern look and cracked him across the head.’‘ He smiles widely and kisses you passionately. ‘‘Why do I deserve you again,’‘ he smiles against your lips. 

‘‘I have to clean up the rest of the food,’‘ you mumble your face only an inch away from his. ‘‘Let me.’‘ He lets go of you and quickly cleans up everything else. 

You climb off and start to get everything ready to cook. You put on music and together with Loki you start to cook. Thor sits silently on the couch all that time. ‘’Thor,’’ you call, ‘’if you are bored you can watch some telly in the film room!’’ He stands up and thank’s you. 

When he is gone Loki wraps his arms around your waist from behind and presses his crotch against your back. You feel the large hard bulge press into your back as you chop up some veggies. 

‘‘Yes,’‘ you ask innocently. ‘‘Why don’t you get on your knees and help your master out, hm?’‘ He starts to take off your shirt and reveals your bra. You look at him with large eyes. ‘‘We’re cooking...’‘ 

His thumb rubs over your nipple hardening it. ‘’So? You are a good little kitten and won’t let anything get dirty... right?’’ He pulls the bra down to expose your breast to his touch. 

Your panties are slowly getting wet as he now also works on your other nipple. You put down the knife and lay your head on his shoulder. A soft moan escapes your lips as you close your eyes. 

‘‘Be a good kitten and kneel for me.’‘ You turn around and lower yourself until you are on your hands and knees. His finger guides you while you do to show you how low he wants you. 

You look up wanting already forgetting about the dinner you were cooking. ‘’Good girl,’’ he smiles and pets your head. His hand quickly moves to his trousers and opens them up just enough for his cock to come out. 

You bite your lip and wait for him to allow you to suck him off. ‘’Do you want some milk, pet,’’ Loki asks you. ‘’Yes, master.’’ He smiles wickedly. ‘’Then earn it.’’ That is your sign. 

You move your body up and wrap your mouth around his large cock. You swirl your tongue around his tip until some pre-cum drips out giving you a taste of what is sure to come. 

Then you start to lower yourself onto him slowly. Everything you can’t take in you start working with your hand. He grabs your hair and pushes you a little further down and holds you there. You swirl your tongue as much as possible and moan. The vibrations make him wild and he starts to buck his hips. 

Soon he fucks your mouth harshly until he ultimately cums. He shoots his seed in your mouth which you greedily take. You make sure to lick him completely clean and catch everything that drips from your mouth only to lick it off your fingers. He smiles widely as he sees you take all of it. 

‘‘You are such a good girl.’‘ Loki made clear that taking all of his cum was extremely important to him. It was good manners to him and seeing you so greedily take everything so happily is like a compliment of the highest rang. 

‘‘Thank you, master,’‘ you then say swallowing the last bits. He pets your head a little and then lays his hand under your chin. ‘‘Good girl,’‘ he pants, ‘‘such a good girl.’‘ You smile widely at the compliment. 

Loki quickly fixes his trousers and you your shirt. ‘’Want a cookie,’’ he asks you already walking towards the cupboard. You suck your thump hoping some of the taste is left on it. ‘’No, thank you,’’ you say, ‘’I don’t want to wash it away just yet.’’ You stand up from the ground and start washing your hands.

Your last comment earns you a wide smirk. He loves how desperate you are for him. 

Part 4

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