#i didn't post this one already did i? i was sleepy last night when i made it idr

[danieyells]

(x)

[starsinthesky5]

you belong with me (mini fic): hotel room || joe burrow x reader

description: sometimes the need to feel each other is just too strong to resist

a/n: SURPRISE! a little bitty standalone type fic before we get to the angstiest fic I've ever writtennnnnn ;) horny hour came to WORK in this fic...

also woah? two fics from me in 1 weekend? and I wrote this in a day? what. so if this is trash, boring, or me yapping, that’s because I wrote this within the last few hours and im sleepy 😋 this was inspired by 2 requests! thank you, you know who you are💗💗

anyway, go check out the one if you haven't!

word count: 5.9 k

warnings: smut (there’s thigh riding in this one 😜), language

you belong with me series masterlist

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"Oh, fuck," Joe whispered to himself as he opened the photos that you just sent him from your hotel room, the need to see you growing just like the tent in his pants as his hormones started to soar.

You both were away in Kansas City for the weekend ahead of the highly anticipated AFC championship game between the Bengals and the Chiefs on Sunday night. Joe had flown to Kansas City with the team as usual while he chartered a private plane for you that was a few hours behind him and he made sure that he booked you a hotel room specifically at the hotel that the team was staying at. He felt comfort in knowing that you were safe and close to him--you were just 8 floors beneath him--since you came to KC alone since his parents would be flying in early tomorrow morning.

Since you technically weren't allowed to see Joe and didn't want to go out in the City all alone, you found yourself absolutely bored out of your mind, not being able to find any entertainment or way to pass the time all alone. You found yourself like this a few weeks ago as well, the night before the first playoff game of the post-season, and remembered what you did to cure your boredom and entertain yourself and Joe.

Spicy Photos.

He loved them the first time so you knew he'd love them just as much this time. Maybe it could even become a 'night before a game' tradition?

So then, you found yourself half naked--only clad in a skimpy, lacy purple lingerie bra & pantie set--seated in front of the large body mirror and tapping away on your camera as you changed up your poses to show off the parts of your body that Joe was obsessed with (your thighs, your breasts, your ass, the crook of your neck where he liked to mark his territory).

Joe got your photos a few moments ago, and he was losing his mind. Especially because you were so close to him right now, close enough for him to see you. Or was he close enough for you to see him?

"Fuck, Y/N," he whispered again as the growing erection in his purple shorts was becoming more and more visible. He needed to see you so badly, he couldn't control himself. Not when you were this close to him. Last time, he was a whole half hour away so he was mostly okay, but this time...this time it was a different story.

Joe opened his camera and snapped a photo of the tent in his pants, a cheeky grin on his face as he went back to your chat and responded to your photos.

Joe: i miss youuuuu

You: i miss youuuuu too, if you couldn't already tell by the photos ;)

He then attached the photo of the tent in his pants, typed up a silly caption, and sent it to you, wishing he could see your reaction in person.

Joe: image 📸

he misses you too 😋

Your eyes widened as you opened the photo and saw what he had just sent you, the silly caption that he typed with it making you bust out laughing.

"There is no fucking way," you laughed to yourself as you flipped onto your stomach and laughed even harder into the pillow as you imagined Joe taking that photo and typing up that stupidly adorable caption.

"I can't believe he just sent me that photo," you smiled to yourself, still not quite used to this part of your relationship. How could Joe be so sexy and adorably silly at be the same time? You went back to the texts and quickly typed something up to make sure he didn't think you left him hanging, playing along with his silliness.

You: i miss him too 😪

Joe raised an eyebrow at your sudden straightforwardness but was amused that you were playing along with him.

Joe: you and that damn purple lingerie are reallyyyy doing something to me

He scrolled back up to the photos you sent him, tapping on one that showed off your beautiful smile but also gave him a good view of your perfect breasts. "Fuckk," he shakily breathed out while throwing his head back onto the pillow as he placed his hand on the tent in his pants, the pressure that was building becoming too much for him.

Joe was obsessed with your chest. Whether it was laying on it after a tiring workout while you played with his hair or it was him leaving little love bites along your nipple while he was sending you straight to heaven with each thrust, that was his favorite place to be.

He needed to feel your lips on him again, he needed to feel your fingers scratching down his back, and he needed to feel you.

He needed to see you right now.

Joe quickly went back to the chat, this time hitting the Facetime button instead of texting you. You immediately picked up, a grin growing on your face as you saw his adorable flushed cheeks.

"You're needy tonight," you giggled.

"I need to see you," he said while running his fingers through his hair and moving his curls back. "Like really bad. I can't do this,".

"Joe, you know I can't," you said as you sat up on the bed, his eyes falling down as your body came into the frame. You weren't in the lingerie anymore, but you were wearing a slinky tank top which showed off your beautiful breasts.

"Baby, please," he pleaded. "I can't,".

"If I get caught on your floor, it'll be hell for both of us. Probably me more than you since you're the star of the show and they can't really do anything because it'll hurt everything," you said while moving your hair back.

"Nobody will give you hell, you're my girlfriend. Everyone knows that now," he smiled.

"I know, but being your girlfriend doesn't give me a free pass to bend the rules that every NFL team has to follow," you sighed.

You wanted to see him so bad, but you were scared that you'd get caught and didn't even want to think about what the consequences would be. They had NFL players stay at a hotel the night before a game for a reason--home or away--and it was to prevent any and all distractions and to prevent them from partaking in activities that would release the energy they needed for game day. You both were already pushing it when Joe booked you a room in the same hotel he was staying at, the Bengals Travel Coordinators were not super happy about it, but Joe being Joe somehow convinced them to let it slide just this once.

"Do you have the Mascot suit on you by any chance?" he giggled, referring to the first time you joked about sneaking into his room by trying to pass as the mascot.

"Damn, I think I left it in my other suitcase," you pouted, a soft chuckle coming from his mouth in return.

Although he was laughing with you, he was still serious as hell about getting you in his room one way or another.

"Y/N," he said, turning serious again. "Please. I just need to see you for a little. I'll make sure you won't get caught,".

"And how will you do that?" you asked him, part of you wanting to hear him out.

"You can't come up the elevator because we have staff guarding the it up here so that nobody can come up here other than Bengals personnel, but there are stairs that connect every floor and my room is just 3 doors down from the stairs on this floor. I know that they make the rounds around my hall and the hall on the other side so you'll just have to wait for them to turn the other way," he explained.

"Why does this sound easier than I thought? Was this all I had to do to see him?" you thought, contemplating what you should do.

You would be lying if you weren't as turned on as Joe was right now. That photo he sent you made think some things and feel some feelings but you ultimately came to the consensus that you needed him right now.

Your brain was fogging up with thoughts of Joe. Thoughts of his lips pressed against yours, his hands massaging your plush skin, the dirty sounds of pleasure leaving his lips, the mere sight of him on the brink of coming undone. He was the only thing you could think about right now. With the way your heart was pounding in your chest and the way the heat was slowly rising up your body, you were either two seconds away from passing out or two seconds away from saying something that would really set you both off.

"Please," he begged again, a gush of wetness pooling at your core because of his husky voice.

"Fuck it," you whispered, you needed Joe. "I’ll be there in a little bit," you said as you got up and hastily searched for your clothes.

Joe immediately sat up on the bed, a huge satisfied grin on his face as a thrill shot up his spine. "I love you," he smiled.

"I love you too much, that's why I'm doing this," you giggled as you placed your phone down on the dresser and quickly slipped on your flimsy sleep shorts and tank top. "I'll see you in a few, okay?" you said to him once you picked up the phone again.

"Be careful," he said before you gave him a quick nod and hung up, then placed your phone back onto the table so you could slide your Uggs on. You grabbed your room's keycard and took a deep breath before opening the door.

About 10 minutes later, you were slowly climbing up the stairs as you were hot, sweaty, and out of breath. "W-what the fuck," you sighed as you stopped to collect your breath. "I need to go to the gym more," you panted, rolling your eyes when you saw that you were only on floor 7 and still had 4 more to go and you already climbed up 4 flights of stairs.

"Only for Joe," you laughed as you continued up the stairs. You wouldn't be caught dead doing this for another man, but for Joe? Anything. You'd move planets for the person that you've been in love with for 9 years if he asked you to, and you had the comfort of knowing that he would do the exact same for you.

Another 10 minutes later, you finally made it to the 11th floor.

"Holy fuck," you said while wiping the thin layer of sweat off your forehead, quickly crouching down once you saw one of the Bengals staff members through the little window in the door. "Fuck," you whispered as you peeked your head up to see if they saw you or not, which they didn't.

"Any minute now," you whispered, waiting for them to turn around and go down the other hallway.

You watched carefully for about two minutes, getting impatient as they took their sweet time before you saw them turn around and start walking down to the other hallway.

"Finally," you whispered to yourself as you stood up and quietly twisted the door handle, carefully stepping out into the hallway before gently shutting the door behind you.

You slowly walked down the hallway, counting 3 doors down from the stairs but realizing Joe never told you which door 3 doors down was his room.

You reached for your phone to text him but were met with an empty pocket. A frustrated sigh leaves your lips when you realize you left your phone on the table.

"Ugh. Left or Right?" you whispered to yourself as you looked back and forth between the doors. "This is like a game of roulette," you soughed. You eventually chose the left door, accepting that if you were wrong you would quickly leave the floor with your tail between your legs and go back down 8 flights of stairs to your room.

"Okay," you breathed out before making your hand into a fist and knocking on the door, in an uber-specific pattern.

Two quick knocks, "Knock-Knock", matching the start of the chorus with a steady beat.

Pause for 1 second.

One slow Knock "Knock", reflects the continuation of the melody.

Pause for 1 second.

Two quick knocks, "Knock-knock", follows the rhythm as the chorus progresses.

Pause for 1 second.

Two quick knocks, "Knock-Knock", ends the pattern in sync with the final beats of the chorus.

It aligned with the Chorus of the song "Night Changes" by One Direction, a song you and Joe were obsessed with back at OSU. A song you made a special knocking sequence to for times you showed up at each other's rooms unannounced for whatever reason. You made this special sequence up because there were times you didn't want to see other or hang out with other people, but you always wanted to see each other no matter the circumstance. This knocking sequence always let you both know who was at the door.

"Hm, that's ironic," you giggled as you remembered the Chorus of the song.

"We're only getting older baby and I been thinking about it lately, Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes, Everything that you've ever dreamed of, Disappearing when you wake up, But there's nothing to be afraid of even when the night changes, It will never change me and you,".

It did drive you crazy just how fast the night changed for you and Joe. Everything around you changed in the past 9 years--your ages, your careers, your lifestyles, your relationships--but the one thing that never changed was you and Joe.

And that was the one thing that was never going to change.

While you were lost in thought, you felt the door open as a whiff of air hit your face, your precious 6’4 boyfriend standing right in front of you.

"Oh thank god," you said, letting out a relieved sigh before you felt Joe grab your hand and yank you into the room, quickly closing the door before he leaned down and smashed his lips against yours. You were a bit taken aback by the intensity of the kiss, but it only took you 5 seconds to melt in Joe’s arms and lose your cool. His hands were firmly placed on your waist, the pads of his fingers massaging the soft skin of your hips, as he backed you both up to the couch across the room.

He felt the back of his knees hit the couch before he pulled away from the kiss and plopped down, spreading his legs extremely wide as he patted his lap for you to sit down. "Come here," he smirked, you gave him a quick nod before placing a knee on either side of his thighs and sitting down in his comfortable lap, the hardness underneath you making your hormones take over.

You cupped his face with your hands and pulled his face closer to yours, capturing his perfectly pink lips in another kiss. His hands landed on your waistline again, "Mm, I haven't heard that knock in years," he said in between the kiss.

"I had to let you know it was me," you whispered as you slid your lips to the corner of his mouth, peppering wet kisses up his jaw as his hands slid underneath the flimsy fabric of your tank top.

"I missed you," he rasped as you felt his other hand land on the back of your head, pulling you right back to his lips.

His hand then moved to the straps of your tank top, slowly pulling one down as he pulled away and moved his lips to your collarbone.

"Joe," you quietly moaned as you tilted your head to the side, exposing more of your neck for him to worship. You felt him attach his lips to his favorite spot on your neck, rhythmically sucking and biting the skin as he marked his territory--a special reminder to those who didn't know who you belonged to.

"Baby," you breathed out, grabbing his head by his hair and pulling him back up to your lips, your noses bumping into each other as your tongues tangled in each other's mouths. It was driving you insane, the more his hands moved around your body the more desperate to feel him everywhere you got. You wanted him to rip your clothes off and have you right then and there, but you were playing a risky game. If anyone walked past his door, they would 100% hear you two going at it.

His hands dropped down to your ass, kneading the flesh with his large veiny hands as he began to rock you back and forth in his lap. You instantly pulled away, taking note of how his big blue eyes were screaming 'fuck me' at you right now.

"Joe, we can't," you breathlessly said, his movements not stopping at your hesitance.

You feel him grab your waist again, scooching you over so that you are now straddling one of his thick, muscular thighs and not his lap. "Yes, we can," he whispered in your ear, heat pooling in your stomach as you feel his large thigh against your aching clit.

Joe continues to slowly rock you back and forth against his thigh, a tingling sensation all over your body as your clothed clit rubbed against his thigh; the flimsy fabric of your shorts practically had you bare against his leg. You leaned your head back as you let out a moan that was a little louder than you both preferred.

"Fuck," you whined at the stimulation his thigh was giving you. Joe lifted one of his hands to cover your mouth, "Shh, baby. Another one of those and this will be over a lot faster than we want, and it won't have a nice ending either," he warned as you looked back down at him.

You gave him a nod as you continued to move back and forth against his thigh, his purple shorts riding further and further up his leg because of your movements. The wetness from your core was seeping out of your underwear, and your rocking hips were spreading it along his thigh.

God, you loved his thighs. They were so thick and muscular and the perfect seat. Whenever you saw photos of Joe doing his typical man-spread, you lost it. The thighs were always the highlight of the show, not his face, not his arms, his thighs.

"That's it, baby," he said while guiding you back and forth, somehow enjoying this even more than you were even though he was receiving no stimulation from this.

"Joe," you whimpered, his big hand muffling your moan, feeling him bounce his leg underneath you which made your moans come out in short gasps. "J- Joe," you moaned again, your belly fluttering at the new movement.

You lifted your hand and moved his hand off your mouth, then leaned in and captured his lips in another kiss to hopefully stifle your moans.

Joe was taking part in a mental battle right now, trying to fight off the urge to take you to the bed in front of him and fuck you into oblivion. He needed to feel you more than he already was, but if he did you both would get caught very quickly.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head that could solve your problems--the shower.

Nobody would be able to hear you both in the bathroom, especially with the running water.

He decided to hold off on that for a few minutes, allowing you to continue to do what you needed to feel your rapidly building high. He pulled away from the kiss again, lifting your head with his hand, "Look at me, Y/N," he whispered. His thumb stroked your bottom lip as he looked intensely into your glossy eyes, "Keep going," he encouraged, your movements getting faster against his thigh.

"Joe, I'm so close," you quietly whimpered, your clit pressed firmly against his thigh as the band in your belly tightened. You ran your hands up his arms, then gripped his shoulders as you continued to ride his thigh, your body starting to tremble on top of him as his cock grew harder at the feeling of wetness spreading along his leg.

"That's it, that's my fucking girl...you're so fucking sexy riding me like this," he whispered in your ear, his hands wandering along your body again as he pressed a kiss to your ear before lightly biting your earlobe. “Come for me, come on my thigh,” he whispered.

"Joe," you moaned loudly, dropping your head to the crook of his neck as you picked up the pace, your pleasure just a few seconds away. There was truly no place you'd rather be right now than the comfortable embrace of Joe's arms. This was your home. He was your home.

You bit down on the tan skin of his neck to stifle your moan, knowing that this one would be particularly loud as you let yourself go. "Mmph, Joe," you moaned as you felt the band in your tummy snap, your core gushing with wetness as most of it seeped out onto his leg.

"Fuck, Y/N," Joe breathed out, feeling a cool moisture pooling on his thigh as you quivered above him. "Baby, I need you," he whispered in your ear, your face coming back up from the crook of his neck.

"Joe, I- I told you, we c- can't," you choked out, aftershocks of your high washing over you.

"We can in there," he said as he motioned to the bathroom with his head.

All the hesitance and apprehension left your head about 4 minutes ago, so you honestly could not care less about what would unfold once you got in the bathroom. You didn't care if you got caught, as risky as that sounded. "Okay," you nodded, Joe immediately got up from the couch with you in his lap, his hands firmly placed on your ass as you wrapped your legs around him. You rested your cheek against his chest, whispering "I love you" to him in which he pressed a loving kiss to your forehead in return.

A few minutes later, you were in the bathroom, completely bare as the hot water of the shower was falling around you. You were pressed up against the cool glass of the shower door as Joe was spending some more time around your neck, especially at his favorite spot.

Your fingers played with his wet curls as you used them to pull his face back up to yours so that you could kiss him again. "We have to be quick," you mumbled in between the kiss. "I have to get out of here before lights out,".

"Okay," Joe nodded, his hands reaching down to cup your ass, hoisting you up as you wrapped your legs around his thick body. "Fuck, I needed this," he sighed as he looked deeply into your eyes again. "I needed you,".

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then," you smirked before pulling him back for another kiss, this one way messier and needier than the others.

After another minute of attacking each other's swollen lips, Joe lined his rock-hard cock with your already-soaked core, thrusting all the way inside as you let out a loud moan and threw your head back against the glass.

"Ah, Joe," you hissed, the feeling of him filling you up all the way still new even though you'd done this quite a few times since December.

"Fuck, Y/N," Joe groaned as he felt your walls wrap around his thick shaft, his hips snapping into yours after a few seconds of getting comfortable.

"Oh my god," you cried out after you felt his cock grazing your g-spot, your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

"Yeah? You like that?" Joe panted in your ear after giving you another hard thrust which made him hit the spot.

"Yeah," you whimpered, his cock continuing to slam into your cervix, making you re-think your entire existence. The way he was going about this was driven by pure lust, love, and need. This was exactly what he needed right now, and you were giving it to him with open arms; and open legs.

You were the most addictive thing on this earth, he could never stay away from you and if he tried, he'd have withdrawals. For example, if you didn't sneak into his room, he would've had all this pent-up energy inside of him that would most likely turn into anxiety for tomorrow's game. But it wasn't, thanks to you.

For most, this would be a distraction. But for Joe, this was the best way to relax. The perfect way to collect himself, he just needed to be with you. You always made him lose his worries, lose his nerves, and make him calm down. You were exactly what he needed.

And you almost said 'No' to coming up to his room, pathetic.

A few minutes later, Joe leaned back a little and leaned down, sucking your nipple into his mouth as he rhythmically rolled his hips into yours, making sure that he touched every spot on your body that he loved.

"Don't stop, Joe. Don't ever stop," you cried out, feeling your second high building in your stomach as he continued to pound into you. You ran your nails along his back, lightly digging into the skin while Joe hissed around your breast at the burning sensation he was feeling.

After a few moments of showing your perfect breasts some love, he moved back up to your face, "Y/N, you feel so good," he moaned.

The sights and sounds of his flushed cheeks, tousled & wet curls, and open-mouthed moans drove you insane.

You felt your legs starting to burn from the rough thrusts of his cock, also because of what transpired on the couch earlier. "Babe, I'm close," you panted as you gripped his broad shoulders.

"Hang on for me," he softly whined, picking up the pace of his deep thrusts which sent you straight over the edge, your walls tightening around his veiny cock.

"Oh my fucking-," you moaned before you felt the tip of his cock hit a spot he hadn't hit before, causing your orgasm to rip through your body like a strike of lightning. "Joe!" you screamed as you grabbed his wet curls and tightly pulled on them.

"Y/N," Joe panted as he dropped his head to the crook of your neck, your walls convulsing around his twitching cock. "Fuck, I'm," he choked out, his orgasm begging to be released.

"I know, I know," you soothed as you rubbed his back while coming down from your high. "I'm here," you said while kissing his reddened cheek. "I'm right here,"

A few more thrusts later, you felt him let go as your walls were coated with warm spurts of his cum, Joe continuing to whimper and moan into your ear as he felt his high come over him. "F- Fuck, you're incredible,".

"I love you," he panted, trying to catch his breath as he gently let go of your legs and set you back on the ground, your knees buckling as you fell right into him. "Woah, I got you," he smiled as he wrapped his arms around you.

"I love you," you giggled as you clung onto him, the hot water falling on both of you making you feel even more refreshed than your previous orgasms.

About 10 minutes later, you both dried each other off and made it out of the shower. You slipped your clothes back on before brushing your wet hair in the mirror while Joe changed into a fresh pair of shorts behind you, your eyes widening at the red scratches on his back.

"Oh, shit," you gasped as you flipped around to look at his back. "I'm sorry,".

"No need to say sorry, princess," he smiled. "I like it when you leave a mark," he winked.

"But the guys are probably going to give you shit for it," you frowned. "They'll see that those are fresh and figure it out,".

"If the guys find out, they'll be too busy bitchin' about how it's not fair for them to not be able to see their girls before a game to care that you broke about a dozen league rules," he laughed. "Besides," he added as he placed his hands on your waist and flipped you around so that you were facing the mirror again. "I left plenty of marks on you," he said while resting his chin on your shoulder and moving your wet hair to the back to show off your neck, a prominent purple love bite on your neck with a few small, faint ones scattered around it.

"Good thing I brought extra concealer," you giggled as you felt Joe pepper kisses along your neck.

"Mhmm," he hummed as he looked back up and met your tired eyes in the mirror. "I still can't believe you actually snuck up here. We should do this more often next season,".

"Woahhh, slow down, Burrow. I had to climb 8 flights of stairs to get up here. My legs are about to snap in half and I have 8 more flights to go down to go back to my room. This is def a once in a once-in-a-blue-moon deal," you nodded. "Stairs are not my thing,".

"Fine," he sighed, earning a pleased smile from you. "I'll be looking forward to the next time we get to repeat this little rendezvous, though,".

"I know you will," you winked before looking up at the clock, seeing that it was almost time for you to make your sneaky exit. "I should get going," you said as you flipped around in his hold.

"Okay," he nodded, tucking your wet hair behind your ear.

"I'll see you at the game tomorrow, okay?" you nodded.

"Yeah," Joe nodded again while giving you a soft look with his eyes.

"I want you to know that no matter what happens tomorrow night, I'm so proud of you, Joe. You've truly had one of the best years since you've been in the league and regardless of what goes down tomorrow, you did your best and went above and beyond. I love you so much and I'm so happy and proud of you," you smiled while you cupped his cheek and pulled his face down to press a kiss to the crown of his forehead.

"Thank you, Y/N. That really means a lot," he said while letting out a deep breath. "I love you. Thank you for being here," he said while leaning in for a sweet, purely innocent kiss.

"I'm always here," you said against his swollen lips after you pulled away.

After a few more minutes of saying goodbye to each other, you took a peek outside the hallway to see if the coast was clear; which it was.

You stepped outside into the hall, slowly and quietly inching towards the door to the stairs before you heard a familiar voice call your name behind you. "Y/N?" the deep voice spoke up.

"Fuck. Ja'marr," you whispered to yourself, instantly recognizing the voice and turning around.

"Y/N? What the hell are you doing up here?" he loudly said as he walked closer to you.

"I....uh....," you mumbled, not being able to come up with an excuse for why you were on this floor.

"Wait a second," he said as he looked at your wet hair, the purple spots on your neck which you clearly couldn't cover since your makeup was in your room, and your blissed-out facial expression and glow.

"Ain't no fuckin' way," he said, bursting out laughing as he realized he just caught you in a walk of shame. "No fucking wayyyy,".

"It's not what you think," you nervously shook your head.

While you were attempting to come up with an excuse, Joe opened his door because he heard a ruckus outside and decided to see what was going on, but he froze at the doorstep once he saw both you and Ja'marr look back at him.

"Oh my god," he said while laughing harder once he saw Joe's wet hair matching your wet hair. "You two seriously...right now...at the team hotel...oh my GOD," he said, his entire body shaking at how hard he was laughing.

"Ja'marr please don't tell anyone," you begged as you looked over at Joe.

"Joe, you do realize she probably just broke about a dozen rules by doing this, right?" Ja'marr asked while looking back at him.

"It was actually my idea," Joe said while scratching his neck, his cheeks turning red out of embarrassment.

"Man, why you so fuckin' horny lately?" Ja'marr shook his head, a laugh coming from your lips as you saw Joe's cheeks turn even more red. "I get you have a hot girlfriend and you're making up for 9 years worth of sex, blah, blah--not to be weird--but damn Joe, keep that shit in your pants till you get home," he lectured.

"Yeah, Joe. Keep it in your pants," you teased as you gave him a wink.

"Y/N, please. Spare me," Joe playfully rolled his eyes. "Maybe save the lingerie pics for when we get back home then,".

Your jaw fell open at his lack of filter considering you were with Ja'marr right now.

"Okayyy, I don't need to be a part of this conversation," he laughed. "Yall can have your lovers quarrel later. We have 5 minutes before lights out and the staff comes to check the rooms, Joe. So Y/N needs to get outta here or you're both fucked,".

"Well, I was just leaving until you stopped me," you huffed.

"Well, your secret is safe with me...for now," he grinned. "Yall owe me, remember that," he said while pointing at you two.

"You got it," you laughed as you gave him a salute. "I'm gonna go now," you said while looking back at Joe, a small smile on his lips as if he was enjoying this situation.

"Bye, Y/N," Ja'marr waved like a little kid.

"Bye, Ja'marr," you laughed before looking back at Joe.

"Bye, J. I love you and remember what I said earlier," you said while shooting him a loving smile.

"I love you too, and I will, " he smiled while giving you a small wave.

"Man, are yall still talking dirty right now? For real? 'Remember what I said earlier?' No. Joe don't need to remember whatever the fuck you whispered in his ear while going at it," Ja'marr said with a disgusted look on his face.

"That's not what I-...you know what? Never mind," you said while throwing your hands up and turning around to open the door to the staircase, a smile tugging at your lips as you heard Ja'marr and Joe laugh behind you while you closed the door behind you and slowly made your way down the stairs.

"Man, yall are really something," Ja'marr said when he walked back over to Joe's doorstep.

"What do you expect me to do," Joe shrugged. "I've been after her for 9 years. Let me have my fun with my girlfriend,".

"Have fun, but don't have too much fun," Ja'marr laughed as he patted Joe's shoulder and walked back to his room.

"That's considered too much fun? Please," Joe whispered to himself while turning around and going back into his room. "We're just getting started," he said with a content grin on his face.

--The End--

[stepinthyme]

The Red Means I Love You

Alice Wu Gulliver x Necromancer!Reader

Your girlfriend told you she'd be gone to finish some buisness, and you feel her death happen. You refuse to let her go.

Word Count: 1k

Content: second person, no use of Y/N, ressurection, kissing, fluff, blood and gore, Alice is naked but that is not the focus here. Reader is refered to as "girlfriend" at one point, but otherwise this could be read as gender neutral

A/N: If no one will feed me, I will feed MYSELF. I may cross post this to ao3 in the morning, but I needed to get this out of my head while it was all still fresh. This is very heavily inspired by Marcille's ressurection of Falin from Dungeon Meshi, but fuck it, if Billy's allowed to ressurect Tommy by putting his soul into another kid's dead body, then theres gotta be at least one other person able to do necromancy, and why not do lesbianism. Alice is probably a little ooc but I did this in like an hour, cut me some slack.

Today, running the butcher’s was very slow, predictable for the sleepy little metropolitan area of Eastview and Westview. It was run of the mill and average, what everyone in the town basically forced it to be ever since the scarlet witch scared half the people within a three mile radius.

You were just finishing the last of closing procedures and headed into your apartment above the shop, making a quick dinner and settling in for a simple night watching tv when you could feel it. The moment Alice's life was snuffed out. No, more like drained out of her, in a drawn out action. She had told you she was just going to finish some family related business, that she'd be back before the night was over. She'd be back before you knew it. Kissed you on the cheek and everything like she did when she'd head off to work.

Before you had even really processed anything else, you were already setting up the ritual, drawing out a sigil with chalk, placing candles in the appropriate places, scouring your cabinets for all the assorted offerings needed.

You and Alice had met because you were outcast witches. She had distanced herself from the craft after the death of her mother. And you were known as the disgrace of all green witchcraft. You were an odd duo, but you were happy so long as you were together. She had asked you a few times how you had earned your title, and you always laughed it off.

She was going to finally learn why you were called that very quickly.

You were grateful for your day job as a butcher, as you used magic to carry large cuts of cow and lamb, bones and all from the commerical freezer to the living room. plopping them haphazardly onto the sigil. It wasn't her body, but it would do in a pinch. You would deal with any consequences later. You lit the candles and got onto your knees, placing your hands on the sigil as you began the incantation you had done at least a dozen times. Your voice almost seemed to echo through the room as forbidden magics are called upon.

In a basement a couple miles away, death reaches out for a soul, only to see her violently yanked away from her grasp, disappearing from sight.

You continue to shout as the meat and bone fuse together, almost melting as it reformed itself into a human shape, features slowly refining itself to resemble the soul now bound to it. The last touches are added as your girlfriend, albeit covered in blood and naked, now lies in the middle of the circle. You nearly collapse, but you stare anxiously, hoping, praying, that it worked.

Alice's eyes snap open as she bolts upright, gasping for air. You release a breath you didn't realize you were holding as the tears finally roll down your face and pull her into a tight hug.

“Alice! Alice, I thought I lost you, I..”

You continue to squeeze her, kissing various spots on her face, not caring about the copper taste of the blood. Alice seemed to be finally coming out of shellshock as her hands found their way to tangle in your hair. Her eyes met yours.

“Is… is this real? Am I really here?”

“Yes Alice, you’re really here, I promise. You're here. I'm here.”

Without much warning, you were pulled in for a deep kiss. If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought she hadn't seen you in months with how desperate it was. Your tongues danced with no clear rhythm as you tried to get enough of each other, only stopping when you both needed air. Alice let out a huffy laugh of disbelief.

“How did you… how did you even do this? I was dead. I saw death.”

You glance away, picking at some of the melted wax on one of the candles, suddenly conscious of what you had done, how much of an overreach it might have been.

“It's. A long story, trust me. I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore after this, I just-” Alice gently takes your hands in hers, rubbing circles with her thumbs.

“Hey, hey. It's okay. Look at me?” You meet her gaze once more, her warm eyes looking softly at you.

“It's okay. What happened was weird, yes. But I think quite literally breaking the laws of life and death is maybe the most romantic thing a girlfriend has done for me. Just don't make a habit of it, okay?” You can't help but laugh at that.

“Only if you don't make a habit of it. What even happened?” Alice paused at that.

“It’s also a long story. I’ll tell you after I get cleaned up. You should probably too, considering” she gestures to your now bloodsoaked clothes, and you nod.

“I’ll take care of the cleaning in here while you shower, and I'll meet you in the bedroom later after I get washed up. If you're still awake by then, we can exchange stories. Otherwise that can wait till morning. Alright?” She nods, placing one last kiss to your forehead before attempting to get up and then immediately falling over. You stand up, offering a hand to her.

“Need help?” She takes it, and you help pull her up, resulting in a much more successful attempt to stand than the last one.

“I thought I was supposed to be the one protecting you.” You can't help but giggle at the remark.

“Everyone needs help once and a while. The usual doting can wait for later.”

You walk with her to the bathroom to make sure she doesn't fall again before even making it to the tub, before heading back to dig through the supply closet. You pull out the cleaning supplies and head back to the living room area, and the now giant stain of blood and chalk on your floor. Necromancy is a bitch, but it's all worth it now that you have Alice back with you. Whatever happens next, the two of you can sort it out together.

[stxrrgirlz]

Stepbro!Beomgyu x Stepsister!reader

Wc. 1.3k

A/n. I never fully finished kinktober from last year so I’m taking the time now to fully finish it. That means I’ll be posting 4 new fics before this month ends. I won’t be participating in kinktober this year buttttt I will be posting during it! I missed y’all <3333

1:34PM

Your apartment wasn't big enough for both of you; it already felt claustrophobic with just you and Beomgyu living in the place, but when he's constantly inviting friends over to stay the night, it gets even worse. You can't count on one hand how many nights you've walked out of your room with just an oversized shirt on and met with one of Beomgyu’s friends laying on the couch.

While you didn't mind his friends staying over every once in a while, the recurring visits from them made it hard to walk around your own home without the worry of flashing someone.

Sometimes you wanted to kick Beomgyu out of your apartment but he needed a place to stay during college, and your parents convinced you over many long phone calls to not put your stepbrother in a horrible situation like that. You weren't quite sure what to do about this problem, but one day when Yeonjun almost walked in on you showering, you decided to have a talk with him.

You sit on the couch in your living room with a bowl of cereal in your hand, slowly lifting up the spoon to your lips and crunching down on it. Hearing Beomgyu’s door open, you turn your head and speak with a mouth full of cereal.

“Come here,” you pat the seat next to you.

Bemogyu sits down next to you; he looks shy, and his hands are placed directly on his lap as if he's nervous of making contact with you. noticing his behavior, you raise an eyebrow and him.

Swallowing your cereal, you begin to speak in a confused voice.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, did you need anything?”

You lean in closer to him, putting the back of your hand against his forehead. A crimson blush develops on his cheeks as he stays perfectly still.

“Well yeah, but you're just acting weird.”

“Oh- sorry”

"No, it's fine; however, I wanted to talk to you about Yeonjun... or all your friends.”

You lean back from your previous position from in front of his face.

“I mean, it's nice to see you socializing, but there isn't enough space for them to stay over every day, not to mention they don't know how to knock.”

Beomgyu nods slowly, “Well, I'll invite them over less.”

“Thank you”

You nod with appreciation and focus on continuing to eat your (soggy) cereal.

Beomgyu takes a controller from the coffee table and turns on Mario Kart, handing you your own controller silently. Looking up from your lap and staring at his face that has already turned back to the screen. Moving slightly closer to him, legs touching so you can get a better view of the screen. Beomgyu freezes up before relaxing again as he starts the game.

The next few hours pass slowly, and you start growing sleepy. Beomgyu notices and turns off the console. Stretching out your arms before laying your head on his shoulder. Beomgyu adjusts himself so he's fully lying down and you're clinging onto him from the side. You can hear Beomgyus' heartbeat when you lay your head on his chest, adjusting your leg so it reaches across his body, making your ass perfectly positioned on his dick.

Hearing Beomgyu groan, you try to lay still so he thinks you're sleeping. His hand moves from your upper back down to your ass, groping the flesh in his veiny hands. Making a move, you slowly start to move your hips up and down, grinding on his sweatpants. Beomgyu doesn't say anything about your advances and instead reaches his hands into your pants from the backside and moves them down to your ankles with his hands. You kick off the rest of your pants without his help.

Beomgyu moves your pants to the side and dips his hand into your folds. Feeling your wetness, he quickly flips you onto your backside, with him hovering above you, making it easier to maneuver. Beomgyus’ hands skillfully work their way deeper into your cunt, collecting your slick on his hands on the way, slowly scissoring your cunt open, preparing you for his length.

Letting out a lengthy moan at the feeling of his fingers inside your gummy walls, you arch your back, pushing yourself into him. Beomgyu nuzzles his face into your neck and keeps a lethal pace with his hands. Before adding a third finger to your tight cunt, he pulls away from the crook of your neck and initiates a deep, passionate kiss. Your lips latching onto each other, almost as if they were made for each other. As Beomgyu pulled away from your lips, he quickened his pace, focusing all his attention onto your clitoral area as his thumb circled the sensitive part.

Your lips part to breathily moan out Beomgyus’ name and stutter out a warning before you cum. You feel your fluids dripping onto Bemogyus fingers. Beomgyu uses his clean hand to lift up your chin, making eye contact with you before sticking his fingers in his mouth and licking them clean.

Beomgyu pulls away from your body to pull down his own sweatpants. You sit up a little and you meet with Beomgyus bulge, the cum staining his boxers; you can tell he's been painfully hard for a while now. You use your hand to pull down his boxers, and his length jumps out at you. Beomgyu uses his hands to push you back down to lay comfortably on the couch again and uses his hand to grab his cock and guide it through your folds.

You wrap your hands around Beomgyus neck, letting out a short, breathy moan straight into his ear. You feel Beomgyu stretching you out. You feel every single vein, and even the slight curve at the tip, he filled you out so well, unlike any other guy who's tried to make you cum.

“fu-fuck you’re too tight, baby.” Beomgyu whispers gently into your ear.

”s’ too big,” you whine back in defense.

Beomgyu lifts up your hip to get a better angle and slowly starts moving in and out of your tight cunt. Your nails fly to the beomgyus back, gripping it tightly, leaving lasting marks from your tight grip. As you get used to beomgyus length, he continues to move, moving his mouth to your neck to suck and tease the area. Red and purple marks follow wherever his mouth goes from his roughness.

Beomgyu pulls back from your neck and makes eye contact with your lust-filled eyes. He can see the way your mouth contarts and moves to let out sounds, making it known how good he makes you feel. He reaches his hand down to your clitoral area to stmulate it, helping you get to your climax quicker. Beomgyu knows he's not going to last any longer in your cunt when he feels your cunt squeezing him tightly, giving him the signal you're close.

“m’ so close,” moaning out as you dig your nails tighter onto Beomgyus back.

“I know, baby, you’re- fuck, squeezing me so tight.”

Beomgyu quickens his pace, adjusting himself yet again to hit your G-spot.

You look down to see a gush of liquid coming out of your cunt, covering your face as Beomgyu pulls out, embarrassed that you squirt all over Beomgyus's bottom half. Beomgyu removes your hands from your face and holds eye contact with you as he lets himself come undone all over your stomach.

Beomgyu falls on top of your body, using his hands to fully cover you in his embrace, your bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces, sounds of heavy breathing filling the room. You both lay there for a while, taking in that you just fucked your step-sibiling. Beomgyu gets up after a while, getting a cloth to clean you up with and moving you to his bed before laying down with you and holding you in his embrace.

[stffed]

morning person - laios touden x gn reader

a/n: part two to this post. i am starved by his lack of content so i must sustain myself

the sun's rays hit laios' face, causing him to blink his eyes open. he was still tired, having barely slept that night. his dreams were filled with falin screaming and crying for him to help her - to save her. if it weren't for the fact that in between those dreams of screams and anguish that his mind was filled with a blank void - of him, floating in nothingness - then wouldn't have called what he experienced that night sleep at all.

he rubbed at his eyes and looked over to the other side of the bed. you were sound asleep, mouth open and drool spilling past your lips. your head was propped against one of your arms while the other was draped across laios' body. it was quite adorable. if he could, laios would have it immortalised forever in a portrait and carry it around with him.

laios leaned over and pressed a kiss to your forehead. he gently shook your body in an attempt to wake you up. "it's time to wake up, y/n."

your hand flew from his body to you face. groaning, you rolled over. "five more minutes. i'll be up in five minutes."

he shook his head. honestly, he should have known better. despite you being the one to dictate that chilchuck, marcille, you and himself would leave for the dungeon at first light, you were yet to wake up. the dungeon had skewered his sense of time as they could spend nights under a blazing sun and days under a starlight sky but you were used to the surface (and waking up on your own time).

you seriously weren't a morning person.

a knock at the door made laio turn his sleepy head.

"are you two ready? me and marcille are ready to go when you are," came chilchuck's voice. if he strained, laios could hear the clunk of bags moving about.

"we've just woken up. give us," he yawned, "ten minutes and we'll meet you in the kitchen."

there was some rattling (presumably marcille holding back chilchuck from breaking down the door) before it faded off down the corridor. laios looked back to you and smiled.

you seemed so peaceful. with drool spilling from your mouth and tufts of hair unbrushed, he couldn't see anything other than beauty.

was this the life outside of the dungeon that he was missing? going to bed with you, waking up with you, just spending the day with you? he could count on one hand how many times he had seen you this past month. laios had missed the last time he was in the dungeon, he always missed you whenever the two of you had to be apart. he had made it a habit of returning to you as soon as possible the minute they would leave the dungeon. maybe that was why your house was his first point of call after being they returned to the surface.

laios loved being in the dungeon. all the monsters he could see and the new environments to explore. but he also loved you. and it broke his heart a bit every time he had to leave you to go back. well, he didn't have to go back underground but he chose to. did you ever hate him for that? for leaving you behind every time? for choosing the dungeon over your relationship?

you sat up, rubbing at your eyes. "morning." you grumbled, words muffled by a yawn.

laios brought his hands to your face and gave you a kiss. you were far too sleepy to reciprocate but you did your best. when he pulled away, he squished your cheeks together gently.

even through your sleep-addled eyes you could see the wheels turning in his head. what was he doing, thinking so early? this was the time to sleep not the time to think.

"come on," said laios. he removed his hands from your face and got out of bed. "Let's go save falin."

the next time that you all walked out of that dungeon, with falin in tow, would be his last. he was already thinking about the next time he would be able to wake up next to you. and the time after that. and after that.

[bowandcurtsey]

hihi! posting this another time because anony slid into my dms with verification :3 Thank you for that and thank you for the loooong wait! I've been busy in irl stuff like dealing with house reno shits. sigh.

Also this request came from HERE. And also, Nozel is already in there so we'll do Fuego and some other characters that I wanted to try, hehehe

Characters: Black Clover : Fuegoleon | Zora x f! reader Haikyuu: Ushijima | Kageyama (post time skip) x f! reader tw: nsfw-ish, minors dni. Unchecked works. I'll try not to describe too much of body size but reader is in a body size that can fit into the men's clothes.

Fuegoleon Vermillion

The sun was already high up in the skies, a rare occurrence for Fue to still be in bed. But it was his day off and he was happy to snuggle in bed with his beloved, you.

He reached out his arm to pull you closer, taking in the scent of your hair and - wait. There was a musky scent. It was coming from your clothes.

His eyes fluttered open in confusion, you smelt manly and familiar.. you smelt like him. You were wearing his sweat shirt from the night before.

Then he recalled, the late night love making session ended with the both of you falling asleep in each others arms naked.

Seeing you in his clothes, you must have been cold, which covered your frame nicely like a cute night dress turned up a flame in him. The fabric covered all his markings that he left on your skin from last night, yet you in his shirt meant that you belonged to him - wholly.

He found his member harden against your behind, wanting more of you, wanting his clothes wrapped around you, your skin full of his marks and your womb full of his seeds. Again.

Zora Ideale

Well this man hardly wore anything on usual days so he was pretty caught off guard when he woke up, finding you in one of his old hoodies one morning.

He stood there for awhile, looking at you in his hoodie, barely covering your ass. Your butt cheeks stuck out a little as you walked around the kitchen.

His arms wrapped around your waist from behind, giving your ass a little squeeze.

"where in the world did you find this hoodie?"

"mhmm from your side of the closet? It was pretty cold this morning so I just put it on~" you gave him a peck on the lips as you returned to your cooking.

"with nothing inside?" your boyfriend was feeling you up from above the hoodie.

"well this was warm enough- "

you didn't finish your sentence because he turned off the fire and carried you onto the dining table

"maybe breakfast can wait pretty girl," he lifted the hoodie a little, double confirming that you were indeed wearing nothing.

"baby! it's cold today!" you protested as your squirmed under his hold.

"I have no problems fucking you in my hoodie babes."

Ushijima Wakatoshi

There was a gala last night and you were dressed to the nines, looking sexy and beautiful in your maroon dress, while your man looked a sharp and smart in his maroon suit.

Of course everything came off the moment the both of you came home; you both couldn't keep your eyes off each other throughout the entire gala.

But this, was another thing altogether.

He called you, telling you to wake up because he got your favourite breakfast on the way home from his morning jog. But what he didn't expect was how you looked so fucking sexy in your bed head, sleepy face and in NOTHING except his huge white shirt.

"You're back from running? That was fast.." your words were still slurry from sleep.

"You look sexy like this." your man was not a person of words so he was always simple and straight to the point.

"I have no idea where my pjs are and this is the only thing I could put on..." you were trying to explain but you were scooped up in his huge arms as your thighs was wrapped around his waist.

His member was already poking at your entrance from under his trackpants.

"Toshi I can't, I'm still sore from yesterday..."

He didn't answer you, he was already pulling the cloth apart, exposing your breasts and sucking on them.

Kageyama Tobio

Your boyfriend was set to leave home again, to represent his country this time, for the olympics. You're proud of him, but you always miss him badly.

And on the mornings that he has to leave, you find yourself unable to let him go.

After rounds of love making last night, you were exhausted but you had to see him to the door. You hear fumbling around the house, him taking a shower and making some final packings. The car would be here soon to pick him to the airport.

You got out of bed, and put on one of his old jerseys.

"I'll miss you," you said sadly, standing at the kitchen doorway as he refilled your water bottle - something he always did for you before he left, so that you'll remind yourself to drink more while he was away.

He turned around blinking a few times at your outfit, or rather whatever that was barely covering your naked body.

He looked at his old karasuno jersey, he loved this particular one, in black and the number 9, and you looked so good in it, but all he could think of was your body and how he savoured it the night before.

His cheeks flushed a tint of pink, even after all the years together he was still flustered with you sometimes.

He pulled you close, pulling you up on the kitchen counter.

"I have a little more time.." he spoke quietly, his hands and fingers swiftly going underneath his shirt, pulling your panties off again.

His car was coming to pick him, but before that, he thought he'll coat your insides with his seeds again. How could he resist when you were in his favourite jersey?

[redishflavor]

if you saw the other one no you didn't

someone's John dory ask got eaten and I can't find my previous draft on it 😔

A/N -> I'll be starting school soon again so I won't be able to write as many fanfics as right now, but still send it requests! I just won't be able to publish them as fast as before 😅

but anyways (this is way longer than my last one damn)

John dory x reader headcanons

okay let's get one thing straight

this man has been in the wild for over idk how many years

he probably is secretly touch starved

and he's probably really bad at flirting

let's say this is after the events of TBT, so he's back in society again (probably)

hes bumped into you a few times and during those few times it was just some small talk here and there

but then when he bumped into you again he decided to flirt

with a terrible pick up line

after he said that he gave a look that was like "Yep, still got it"

he does not got it

you just looked at him, looked away and snorted

he thinks it's working

it might be

without him asking, you gave him your number on a peice of paper

there was a small not under the number (yall choose idk what to put) with a small heart at the end

(ur stinky but funny ❤️) (I sorry I had to😭😭)

he didn't read the note, he js put it on his wall in a frame

he was the first to text you

just a simple "Hi this is John dory"

and you know how some people type something but not send it?

he did that

"PLEASE PLEASE DATE ME 🙏🙏" then he deleted it to respond 'normally' to your text

after a few weeks of talking to each other you were the first to ask if he wanted to go on a date

he probably has never responded so fast to someone on his life

I js had to add this but he probably lost his other glove bc Rhonda ate it

anyways back on track

the first date you two went on was at a small Cafe (idk I panicked😭)

you two talked about a hunch of stuff but then settled on the topic of bands

one of your favorite band was BroZone

his eyes visibly lit up at the word BroZone

asks a bunch on questions like "who's your favorite band member" or "what's you favorite song"

takes his SWEET TIME telling you he's THE John Dory from BroZone

so many questions from both him and you

but after that date he offers to walk you home

and that's also how he got your address

a few more dates later he's the one to make the first move

a small text saying to meet him up at the Cafe they had their first date in

hes already there looking a bit flustered

after you two sit down he asks if you want to date

and that's how yall start dating (I am so sleepy rn guys)

every now and then he would send small gifts to you like flowers, candies, anything that reminds him of you at almost any store he goes to

he likes compliments, both giving and receiving them

when he's spending the day at your place he likes to cuddle with you

or hold you in any way

hug, hand holding, any touch basically

LOVES when you kiss him

like pepper him with kisses and he's melting

grab a bucket and mop he's gone

when he first introduced you to his brothers they had many questions

when Poppy met you (probably through Branch)

you two both bonded over dating a member of brozone

as you and Poppy were fangirling over them JD just looked at you lovingly

like he almost forgot his brothers were there

he loves you too much

he also gets you free tickets and backstage passes to every single one of BroZone's concerts

you've never missed a single concert

and you have way to much merch (mostly JD's merch) (and it's signed with his signature)

I think I might end it here bc I'm running out of ideas and any longer to post this would end up taking longer to post because school starts in like 2 says for me 😭😭 anyways I hope this was good for whoever asked this and again so sorry I lost your ask! I hope you have a great day/night!!

[fatgirlonadate-blog]

21 Days - Day 3

Annoying. Everything about today is annoying. The sun is shining too brightly, the birds are singing too loudly, and your apartment is too damn small. You thought going on a walk might help—clear your mind, stretch your legs, exist in nature, all that good stuff. But all you've managed to accomplish is being annoyed outside rather than inside.

Leaves crunch beneath your feet on the sidewalk as you make your way back toward the house. There's really nothing to see out here. Sure, it's beautiful. The trees are a bright collage of red, orange, and yellow, and the small town has a certain charm to it. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the bustling streets and skyscrapers of Linkon. You'd like to enjoy the scenery and the cool autumn breeze, but all of it is lost on you.

There's a reason for your bad mood, but you don’t want to admit it. You've tried to deny it, avoid it, distract yourself, and pretend it doesn’t exist. But you know why you're upset. It's because of a certain someone with sky-blue eyes and a name that rhymes with savior.

Last night, you'd crawled into bed early and read Moments' posts until you fell asleep. You woke up shortly after to the feel of warmth against your back and one of Xavier's strong arms wrapping around your waist, pulling you tighter against him. He nuzzled your neck, his lips ghosting past your pulse point, and mumbled something unintelligible before falling back asleep.

It's unclear if he did it in his sleep or on purpose, and you're not sure you even want to know. The feel of his warm breath against your neck and the way his fingers stroked the soft skin below your belly button is burned into your memory.

But this morning, when you'd woken up, Xavier was already gone, and the spot where he had been was cold. That alone wasn’t enough to upset you. It was the fact that, once you'd gotten dressed for the day, you realized he wasn't even in the apartment. No call, no text, no note on the fridge. He was just gone.

It shouldn't bother you. You're certainly not his keeper. You've been his neighbor for months and have gone days at a time without seeing him or knowing where he was. Hell, you didn't even know he lived in your apartment building until recently. But this feels different. Shouldn't a fake husband let his fake wife know when he's going to be gone for hours? And shouldn't a fake husband stay in bed and wait for his fake wife to wake up in the morning after cuddling her all night? Even your delusional thoughts are pouting.

You shove your hands deep into your jacket pockets as you turn down your street and head toward the house. You're not sure why you've let yourself get into this mess. You know better than to develop feelings for anyone; no one ever feels the same way about you. Out of the four men in your life, only one seems interested. And, even with him, you're not quite sure if Sylus wants to win your heart or cut it out of your chest.

He's also not Xavier.

You reach the front door of the apartment in what seems like record time. You thought you'd taken a long route, but apparently, it wasn’t long enough. You fish the keys from your jacket pocket and swing the door open with more force than necessary, slamming it shut behind you.

Xavier is sitting at the dining table, casually eating cherries from a bowl as if you haven’t been worried about him all day. He looks up at you with sleepy eyes and a soft smile on his face. "Hey, welcome home. Would you like anything to eat?"

"Where have you been?" you demand, ignoring his fake husband questions. You mean for your tone to sound angry, but instead, it just sounds whiny and petulant.

Xavier raises a pale eyebrow at you but doesn't otherwise react. He pops another cherry in his mouth. "I went to the store. We didn’t have a lot of groceries. I had to guess at your favorite snacks. You like chips, right?"

You stand in the doorway and stare at him for a long moment. He's infuriating. How does he not understand what you're actually asking?

"Why didn’t you tell me you were going to the store today?"

Xavier cocks his head to the side, studying you for a moment like he's choosing his words carefully. "I didn’t think you'd care. But I'll tell you before I leave next time."

You nod and finally take off your jacket and shoes. "Good. You should. We're on a mission, and we don’t know the neighborhood. What if something happened to you?"

Xavier furrows his brow. "What could happen?"

You sit down at the table across from him and snag a cherry from the bowl. "I don’t know. What if you got hit by a car? Or attacked by wanderers? I wouldn’t have even known where you were."

"You were worried about me," Xavier says, and the smile tugging at the corner of his lips seems to brighten the whole room.

"I was not worried!" You start to argue but then give up with an exaggerated sigh at the look on his face. "Fine, maybe a little."

"Maybe a little," he echoes quietly, leaning forward to catch your eyes with his. "I promise that next time, I'll text you."

"Thank you," you say, popping another cherry into your mouth.

You snack in comfortable silence. It’s nice, actually. You've never felt the need to babble or fill the silence with him. It's easy to just exist together.

"Oh," Xavier says, looking toward the kitchen as if he's just remembered something. "I got something for you. Close your eyes."

You look at him curiously, feeling excited despite not knowing what it could be. "You did? What is it?"

"Hold on."

He slides his chair back from the table to stand up, and walks into the kitchen. He disappears around the corner and you hear the sound of something rustling. "Eyes closed?"

"Yes!" you call out, closing your eyes obediently.

Xavier’s soft footsteps come closer until he stops in front of you. His hand encircles your wrist and pulls it away from your lap, and you feel him press an object into your hand. He uses his other hand to close your fingers around it. It’s slim, smooth, and cool to the touch.

"Open."

You open your eyes and are met with a flash of blue and white before you're able to focus on what you're holding. Flowers—a bouquet of small blue and white flowers tied with a simple silk ribbon.

"Oh," you breathe out in surprise. "Are these wildflowers?"

Xavier shakes his head. "No, they're forget-me-nots."

Forget-me-nots. You hold the flowers up to admire them. They're beautiful—simple but beautiful. You've heard the name, but you’re not sure you've ever actually seen forget-me-nots before. They’re far less common than roses.

"Thank you," you murmur, still looking at the flowers. "You got me flowers?"

Xavier nods and drops his hands from yours, stuffing them in his pockets. "Yeah, they made me think of you."

You glance up at him, surprised to see a faint flush on his cheeks. He looks so shy and sweet that your heart does a funny little skip in your chest. This man. This man is going to be the death of you.

"Why these ones specifically?" you ask, hoping not to sound ungrateful but curious to know. You suppose he didn’t get roses because they’re too romantic. But you've never even seen a bouquet of this type of flower before. It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing someone just buys on a whim.

His blush creeps up to his ears, and he rubs the back of his neck, no longer meeting your eyes. "Well, they’re forget-me-nots."

"Yes..." You agree, drawing the word out. He had already said that.

"They’re forget-me-nots," he repeats, gesturing at them with one of his hands. "You give them as a promise to never forget someone, and when you look at them, you’ll be reminded of who gave them to you."

Your mouth forms a silent "o," and you glance down at the small flowers with new eyes. He bought them because of their meaning. He wants you to always remember each other, to never forget.

Without thinking, you set the flowers down on the table and stand up, throwing your arms around his neck in a hug. He stumbles back a step in surprise, his hands going automatically to your waist to steady you. After a moment, you feel the shyness leave his posture as he wraps his arms around you.

"Silly boy," you say quietly against his shoulder, "You know I could never forget you. No matter what."

He exhales harshly near your ear, hugging you even tighter in response. You feel the press of his lips against your temple. When he speaks, his voice is low and more vulnerable than you've ever heard it before. "Promise?"

"I'll always remember you," you promise him.

As you pull away, you can’t help but notice an almost sad look in his eyes. It’s a strange expression for the happiness of the moment, but you're familiar with it. You’ve seen that look on his face a dozen times over the last few months. There’s a secret in it, you think—one he's not going to tell you and that you'll likely never understand. ___________________ Do not fear, the spice is on the way!

[lil-elle]

Locked Out

group: xikers

pair: stranger!minjae x fem!reader

genre: fluff, college au, boy next door (I guess??)

word count: 1.4k

content: no warnings, just like one or two curses ♡ (istg I can't write without them)

a/n: HAPPY MINJAE DAY 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 (also yes there will be a part 2, it's already pretty much done im just sleepy and wanted to at least post this ON mjs bday)

part 2 is HERE

“You're kidding….” You mumbled as you searched frantically through your bag for your dorm key. You'd pulled almost everything out of your bag at that point and yet there was no key to be seen. Desperately, you yanked on the door handle, hoping by some miracle it wouldn't be locked, but you weren't surprised when the handle didn't budge. You sighed defeatedly as you leaned back against the sturdy door and slid down, mind flashing back to your roommates words: “I won't be back until tomorrow morning, okay?”.

Slowly packing the things you'd pulled from your bag back in it, your mind raced through possible alternatives to sitting sadly outside your dorm all night. “Stay with a friend?” You didn't have many close friends that you'd feel comfortable staying the night with. “Go to a hotel?” Probably the most comfortable solution, but…expensive. “Bust the door down?” You chuckled to yourself as you pictured your weak body barrelling into the door as if you yourself were a battering ram.

A sudden door clicking open perked your attention and you lifted your head to see the door of the room across the hall open, a pretty boy with caramel brown hair and thick framed black glasses peeking down at you.

“Um…you okay…?”

It was only the beginning of the semester and you weren't exactly the type to go around introducing yourself to your neighbours, so this boy was a complete stranger to you. You didn't recognise his face, voice, or know his name. Nothing.

“Uh…” He looked down the hall confusedly and that's when you realised you'd just been silently staring at him, your face going red from embarrassment as you quickly stood.

“S-Sorry! I- um…I'm just…locked out, is all.” You muttered embarrassedly, prepared for him to laugh at you for getting yourself into such a stupid and silly situation.

He stepped out of his apartment, looking at you with a concerned expression, far from the amused expression you were expecting.

“Oh um…Did you…have somewhere else you could go?”

You felt slightly flustered by the care he was showing, something you weren't used to, especially when it came to college boys. You couldn't deny that it made your heart skip.

“Oh I-I don't actually…I was probably going to go to a hotel…I guess.” You chuckled awkwardly as you looked at him, getting a good look at his face and realising how handsome this boy actually was. You saw him look up and down the hall again, unknown thoughts running through his head, before his eyes landed back on you. He swallowed and took a breath in before speaking.

“You could…stay with me if you wanted?”

Your mouth fell open slightly and you just stared at him. You couldn't deny that it probably wasn't a very good idea to accept such an offer from a stranger, especially a man, but you also couldn't deny how genuine he seemed. While you weighed up the pros and cons of his offer, he stood nervously waiting for a response.

“I-I'm sorry, that's probably weird, isn't it?” He stuttered anxiously. “You're not going to stay the night with a stranger…” He scratched the back of his head. “I didn't really think before I spoke…idiot..” That last part came out whispered towards himself and you couldn't help but feel an amused smile pull at your lips.

This boy was different. Not like any of those cocky, confident assholes you now call exes. Or those sleazy, playboy dirtbags you surrounded yourself with in high school. This boy seemed kind yet unsure, like all he really was trying to do was offer some help to someone in an unfortunate situation but he didn't know quite how.

A small giggle escaped your throat despite your desire to hold it down, and he looked at you with a slightly shocked and nervous expression.

“Sure…that's very nice of you…” You smiled at him and he suddenly perked up, a smile crossing his face as well and his cheeks filling with a little pinkness. He was like a kid asking you to buy him a toy and you'd just said yes. It was cute.

“Well, c-come in!” He smiled brightly, stepping aside so you could enter. You swiftly pulled out your phone and texted your roommate about the situation as you made your way into his living room, so she knew just in case he did end up being a creep or a psycho. Slipping your phone back into your pocket, you slid your bag from your back and looked over at the boy now making his way to the kitchen.

“Um so…can I just put my bag down here?”

He nodded with a soft hum of agreement and you placed your backpack on the coffee table.

“You hungry?” He called out and you spun around, seeing him grab out what looked like boxed leftovers from the fridge. It seemed like either him or his roommate was quite the cook.

“Oh! U-um it's okay, you don't have to-”

“All I have to do is heat some of it up, don't worry. You a fan of uhhh…” he spun one of the boxes around in his hands, clearly he isn't the one that made it then.

“...Curry? Wait no…no, yeah, I think it's curry…”

You giggled softly as you walked over to him, placing your hands on the island counter and leaning over slightly to see the food in his hands.

“I'm assuming you're not the one that made this?” You spoke through giggles, turning your eyes to look up into his. He left out a soft amused sigh.

“Yeah…Hunter- my roommate is a big chef. Meanwhile…” he removed the lid of the container and sniffed the contents, “I just eat whatever he makes for me.”

“Makes for you? Wow, lucky!”

He chuckled and placed the container in the microwave to heat up for 2 minutes.

“Well he said he feels bad that he's never around so he makes extra for me as like compensation? I guess?”

You leaned your chin on your hand as he spoke. His voice was soft and something about the way he talked kept your full attention.

“Never around?”

“Oh yeah, he's always doing stuff like going to the gym or dance practice, going to the beach, the park, hiking. Y'know, the outdoors-y type.”

“Bit strange to be outdoors at, what, 8pm at night?”

He chuckled awkwardly and scratched his neck.

“Oh…yeah he's probably just out with some girl tonight.”

“WOAH? A player too?” You said amusedly as he laughed and pulled the curry from the microwave, stirring it around before placing it in front of you with a fork.

“Kinda. Loves outdoors and good with the ladies? Complete opposite to me.”

You gingerly poked at the curry with the fork, stabbing into a piece of chicken and blowing on it lightly.

“You're not good with the ladies? Come on~ I'm here right now, aren't I?” You teased before popping the chicken in your mouth. You knew the flirty undertone that the words you spoke held, but you said it anyway. “Why is that?” You thought as you stared up at the boy's smiling flustered face.

“I-I brought you in out of the kindness of my heart, not because you're a girl.” He explained, a shy smile and a small blush on his face. “I would've done the exact same thing if you were a guy.”

You smirked, swallowing your bite and pointing the fork towards him.

“That's still gentlemanly. Plus…maybe you swing that way.”

“Pfft-”

He let out a short laugh as you continued eating with a satisfied smile on your face.

“This is really good~” You remarked, too distracted by the food to notice the way he was looking at you, expression soft and admiring.

“...I don't think I caught your name.” He spoke up after a few seconds and you looked up into his eyes.

“Y/n.”

He smiled and stuck his hand out.

“I'm Minjae.”

You grasped his hand and shook it, feeling a slight electric shock when your hands met. Or maybe that was just the feeling of your heart skipping as he held eye contact with you, his caramel hair falling delicately over his forehead and his glasses sitting low on his surprisingly pretty nose. Either way, you felt something, familiar yet different from anything you'd felt before. You were looking forward to getting to know this boy.

-

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

TAGLIST:

@chocoeon @hyunukitty @ihyeokzu @cake1box @chiiyuuvv @shortnstupid @dogyunslover

[sandboxscenes]

A Halloween Reversal

Inspired by @matchaitham's post here and @i23kazu's post here.

A/N: My brain wouldn't leave this alone after I saw the posts. I thought the posts were cool and had a 'what if' moment. I haven't actually gotten past Sumeru's archon quest yet, but I wanted to write this anyway. Self-indulgent, but it's a fun idea to think about. Happy Halloween! :3

Characters: Diluc, Neuvillette, x gn!reader (hybrid), established relationship

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Crack?

Summary: After some shenanigans, you ended up turning into a hybrid! How do they react?

Word Count: 3,203 (1,128 - Diluc; 2,075 - Neuvillette)

Diluc x Cat hybrid! reader

After Diluc had gotten his hands on yet another "supposed" Barbados relic, you volunteered to be the one to handle the exchange, as Diluc was supposed to get back from a trip that evening.

However, when the next day came and you hadn't left your room, Diluc was concerned. He heard your footsteps pacing around in your room, so he knew you were up. But yet, the door to your room was closed. He went up and knocked on the door. Then, he heard a muffled sound, a loud bang coming from your side of the door, along with a loud owww.

"Are you okay?"

The confusion and concern in Diluc's voice was palpable. It sounded like you had a cat in your room, but how could that be?

Diluc frowned. He checked in with Adelinde when he came back last night, and she didn't mention that you brought home a cat last night. All she told him was that you left the relic on the living room table for him, and that you were going to take a shower. She also informed him that after your shower, you curled up with a book and fell asleep in your room.

Adelinde's report seemed normal enough, so what happened?

Diluc knocked on the door again, more urgently this time. "Hey, are you-"

"Diluc," came your soft reply from the other side of the door. "Not so loud."

Diluc raised his eyebrow. He lowered his hand from the door. That was an odd statement. He didn't seem like he was knocking loudly any more than he did before. If anything, the way he knocked was perhaps a little more rushed, but not loud.

You continued. "I'm glad your home. I'm fine, and you saw the relic on the table, right?"

"Yes. It's a fake, like the others." Diluc paused. "Did something happen with the relic?"

"Um, yes."

Diluc froze. His heart sank. The idea that something could happen with the exchange was one of the possibilities he thought of, but didn't see as likely. Even though he figured the relic was fake, he didn't think the seller would give you trouble. In fact, since the negotiated price was close to what the seller wanted, there shouldn't have been a reason for the seller to be unhappy.

"It wasn't the seller," you hurriedly added. "It was after I got the relic. It was a little dirty, and I tried to clean it. I got all the dirt and dust off, but I felt sleepy. I wanted to take a shower to clean myself off, but when I got up, I…"

"You…" Diluc mirrored.

"Promise you won't laugh? Or get scared and run?"

"I've fought Hilichurls and Abyss mages. No matter what happens, I won't run."

"Promise me!"

From the other side of the door, Diluc was silent. Even though you raised your voice with him, he heard your voice quiver. He realized that whatever you were asking of him was serious, if it affected you this seriously.

Diluc nodded. "I promise. Please, let me see."

He heard the door latch unlock from your side of the room. The door creaked open. In a flash, you pulled him into your room, and shut the door.

It took a minute for Diluc to processed what happened. You literally dragged him into your room a single motion before he could blink. That was already weird, as you always seemed to have trouble catching him off guard prior. But now that his eyes could focus on you, he could see something was definitely weird.

Diluc saw two black cat ears poke out from the side of your head, and a long black tail behind you. His eyes widened. A light blush started to color his cheeks as he tried to look you in the eyes.

"This was from this morning?" he asked.

You nodded. "Yeah. I woke up, and I had these."

"Do you mind if I come closer?"

You shook your head. "Go ahead."

Diluc stepped closer to you. Now that he could see your eyes clearly, he saw that your eyes seemed bigger, in addition to everything else. Diluc raised his hand, unsure. It hovered in midair, until you took his hand and gently guided it to your ears.

"It's real, I promise. I found that out the hard way," you remarked. Your eyes traveled to the clock on your nightstand, as you sighed. "My alarm was twice as loud today."

Diluc ran his hand over your black ears. The fur on your ears was silky smooth to the touch. He felt how your ears twitched under his touch. Every slight movement seemed to bring you closer to him, and he felt you leaning into his touch unconsciously. He heard a purr, and pulled away, concerned that he was hurting you.

He watched you jolt back to reality. Your tail swang wildly. He saw your cheeks turned a deep red. He saw you pull away from his gaze and move away from him.

"I'm sorry," you said, "When you did that, I- I don't know what came over me. It just felt so good. But anyway, I think I ended up with some cat attributes as well."

Diluc's eyes widened. "When I knocked, that other sound I heard was from you too, wasn't it?"

"Guilty." Your head lowered slightly in shame. "I was surprised when you knocked. I didn't think you would be up. I thought you would sleep for a while yet, since you just came back and all. I was hoping these would go away when you got up."

You sighed and pointed to your ears. "Diluc, I don't think I can go out until these go away."

Diluc wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. He gently squeezed his arms around you, enough for a secure embrace. He rubbed your back to comfort you. He wasn't a man that was good with words, but he hoped that his simple action would be enough to communicate how he felt. He was here for you.

"Then, neither will I," he whispered.

"Then, do you mind if I can request something from you, Diluc?"

"Anything." Diluc paused. "Within reason, at least."

Diluc smiled as he looked down at you. He saw a red blush creep up on your cheeks, and saw your ears twitch. He could see the relief in your eyes, and felt you relax.

Hand in hand, Diluc guided you to the bed. Both of you took a seat on the edge of the bed. Diluc felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned to see your head on his shoulder.

"Can you pet my ears again, please?" The words came out softly and quietly.

"Of course."

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

Neuvilette x Electro Dragon!hybrid reader

Today's trial lasted longer than Neuvillette thought. But it was finally over. In the end, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale rendered the final judgement, a judgement he agreed with.

Now, it was finally time for him to go home. His eyes fell on the Melusine that ran up to him.

"Monsieur Neuvillette! Monsieur Neuvillette!" A Melusine stopped in front of him.

Neuvillette's expression turned serious. "Are they doing alright? Did something happen?"

"They are, but they are asking for you. I tried to take a look to see how they were doing, but they locked the door. They said that they would not open it until you came."

"I see. Let them know I will be on my way soon."

"I'm sorry, Monsieur."

"It's not your fault. I will handle this. Please thank everyone else for their hard work, and have them take a break before going back to their job duties. Send my sincerest gratitude to the rest of the Melusines. Thank you for watching over them."

It took a little less than an hour for Neuvillette to reach you, given that there were some minor technical issues that prevented the Aquabus from leaving on-time. But to him, it wasn't quick enough. His hand subconsciously gripped the cane in his hand a little tighter. In his head, he mentally ran over the possibilities about what may have happened to you to warrant such odd behavior.

Yesterday, you told him that you felt ill, so while he had to leave to preside over the trial, he asked a few Melusines to watch over you until he returned.

For a Melusine to come to him and inform him today that you locked the door to the room, and even more so, refused to open it until he came home, meant something happened. He wasn't quite sure what happened. Perhaps your illness got worse while he was away, but it didn't make sense for you to lock the door for that reason. He and the Melusines have seen you when you were sick a couple of months ago. Was this new illness you had that much worse?

When Neuvillette reached the house you both lived in, the house was quiet. The other Melusines that had been scheduled to watch you, left. But perhaps that was for the best, as you requested for him specifically. He cleared his throat.

He knocked on the door twice, and announced his presence. "I'm home. One of the Melusines informed me that you were looking for me?"

Neuvillette heard the door open slightly. He peered inside, but it wasn't open enough for him to see inside or to see you.

"Yes," you hesitated. "Are you alone? Did everyone else leave?"

Neuvillette re-adjusted his hands on his cane. "I am alone. I have informed the rest of the Melusines that they can take a break before they resume their original job duties."

"Okay."

When you opened the door, Neuvillete wasn't sure what to expect on the other side. Perhaps you would still be in your sleepwear, wrapped with a blanket. Or perhaps you would have made a blanket fort on the floor of your room, when the temperature in Fontaine got uncomfortably humid.

But when Neuvillette saw the purple patches of scales that decorated half of your skin, the black and purple horns sticking out of your head, and the very long purple tail behind you. He was speechless. Such a transformation was something that shouldn't have been possible.

Neuvillette heard stories about the adepti and other beings in Teyvat that had human and animal features, but this was the first time he had seen a dragon human hybrid. Given that you were born a human, this did not make any sense to him.

Neuvillette's thoughts were interrupted by a low buzzing noise that seemed to resonate above him. He looked up and saw that the lights above you and him were dim, dimmer than usual. Odd. There was only one setting for the lights - On. There was no way to control how intense the brightness of the lights were, but compared to the lights surrounding him and you, they were noticeably darker.

One word escaped from the Chief Justice's lips.

"How?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was when the Melusines and I explored Elynas last week? Or maybe it was when I went to look at the ruins of the old Fontaine Research Institute? Or when I went to explore the area around the Court of Fontaine?"

Your hand ran through your hair anxiously. Your tail swished frantically, and seemed to feed off your anxiety of the situation. "I don't know!" You cried, "I don't know! I don't know how this happened."

The lights above you and Neuvillette seemed to increase in intensity. But then, as you cried, the lights above you, cracked. Even with the cracks, the lights above you seemed to get brighter and brighter.

Your next words came out quietly. "Neuvi, I'm scared."

What happened next was pure instinct. Even if you asked, he couldn't explain it. Neuvillette grabbed your hand and moved both of you away from the lights, as shards of shattered glass came crashing down in the place you both were.

"Please. Let us go outside to discuss this."

You hesitated. "Do we have to?"

Neuvillette saw the hesitation in your eyes immediately. You were clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going outside. But then, his eyes noticed the lights above you increased in intensity. He kept his eye on the light and found that it was pulsing, and that the pulses were getting stronger. He didn't want the lights to shatter once more or for you to get hurt.

"We can stay near the house. We can go near the beach, away from people. I guarantee that there is no one there tonight."

You bit your tongue and nodded. Neither of you said anything. Up until you got to the beach, you didn't let go of his hand the entire time. Selfishly, Neuvillette found himself wishing that he wished it could last even a little longer.

Neuvillette stayed quiet while you sat down on the sand. You pushed your legs up to your chest, and cried into your lap. The clouds in Fontaine darkened.

It hurt watching you like this. Someone as strong and as capable as you, crying in front of him. You rarely broke down in front of him, and given how much you muffled your sobs now, he heard it in the way your voice cracked. He knew that this transformation affected you deeply. Even if he couldn't see your face, it hurt that he couldn't do anything for you. What could he even do? He didn't even know the whole story.

All he could do is watch silently as your tears fell and you cried.

After some time, the river of tears slowed, and the cries lessened to sniffles. More than once, he raised his hand in an effort to comfort you, but he was unable to follow through. He wasn't sure if you wanted him to touch you right now or if you would even accept it. Once he was sure you were more composed, he asked.

"If you want to talk, I will listen."

It was a short statement. Short, sweet, and to the point. Apart from listening, he was not sure what else he could do. In his observations of humans, he noticed that sometimes, being willing to wait for someone else to talk could yield more information than asking questions.

You nodded. "Neuvi, I woke up yesterday like this."

Once you were willing to look at him, Neuvillette noticed your eyes changed. Instead of your usual color, your irises were a deep purple. It was the same color as those Electro visions he saw people have, except deeper. Your hands touched your horns, and ran down the purple scaly over your right arm.

"I was scared. I wanted to take pictures to show you and ask you about it, but the minute I held my kamera, it buzzed, cracked, and then it started smoking. I did eat, but I wasn't able to finish the meals the Melusines cooked for me, so I threw it in there. After that, I shut off the lights, and locked the door. I didn't want anyone else to see me, and I didn't want to hurt anyone else."

Neuvillete stayed quiet. He wrapped his hand on top of your clenched one. He felt how tense you were underneath him and squeezed your hand securely. Enough so you knew he was there beside you.

When you tugged on his other free hand, Neuvillette allowed you to guide it. He felt warmth through his gloves. You turned his hand over, and faced it upwards. Your fingers traced the blue eye shape embedded in the palm of his gloves. The way you traced the shape in his palm left an odd tingling sensation in it.

Quietly you asked, "Neuvi, do you think I'll be stuck like this forever?"

The chief justice quietly pondered your question as he flexed his hand. While he had heard of the Adepti and other people with animal features, this is the first time he's heard of a spontaneous human transformation. Not to mention, it seemed like you turned into an electro dragon hybrid at that. This was new territory, even for him.

"I am not sure," Neuvillette admitted. "This is the first time that I have seen something like this."

Your face fell at Neuvillette's answer. Your purple eyes clouded over. It was clearly not what you wanted to hear.

Neuvillette sensed your unhappiness with his answer. But he wasn't sure what to do. Gently, he took your hand by the wrist and held it up in front of both of your faces. You blinked, and looked at him in confusion.

Neuvillette's eyes settled on the tops of your fingers. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated. There was a small bit of internal satisfaction when he saw little bits of electro energy come off your tips. He watched you gasp in surprise when you realized it too.

When you traced Neuvillette's palm earlier, he felt something odd. When you would trace his palm, it was gentle, but this time, it caused his palm to tingle. Coupled with the way the lights flickered and shattered, he intuited that you were radiating electro energy. He also figured that the amount of electro you emitted was at least tied, in some way, to the emotions you were feeling, much like how it rained in Fontaine when the hydro dragon cried.

"Is that from me?" You asked, a shocked expression on your face. "But wait, how have I not shocked you?"

As an answer to your question, Neuvillette raised his hand to show the gloves he wore. He intertwined his hands with yours, and he felt the tingling sensation in his hands intensify. "I can still feel your electro shocks through them, but it is manageable."

Your face turned red at his comment, and you released his hand. "Well, if it's too much, you can stop."

While Neuvillette found your reaction adorable, he knew that you were not pleased by his answer. He needed to rethink this situation and his answer. Neuvillette cleared his throat. "That's not what I mean."

"Then what did you mean?" You shot back.

Neuvillette took a breath. "I mean, that I find you beautiful."

Your eyes widened. Your jaw dropped. You were shocked. Shocked.

"How- What- Why?"

Neuvillette looked at you with a soft smile. "Simply that." He took your hand in his and kissed the top of it. "Even if this is how you look from now on, you are beautiful. No matter what form you take, human or dragon hybrid, you are beautiful."

At this unexpected confession, you got flustered. You tried to hide your face by leaning into Neuvillette's chest. A red tint graced your cheeks. Your tail curled around you both, and pulled you closer together. Neuvillette could feel the electro energy building in your hands. Then, he released your hand.

Even after Neuvillette released your hand, the tingling sensation was still present in his palm. But he could still feel you nuzzled his chest. It was comforting and warm. After a few moments of silence, you spoke again.

"Even if I am like this forever, will you stay?" you asked.

"Always." Neuvillette replied.

[nejiverse]

Hi! I was thinking, I know it’s not suggested take dinner very late but I’m always cooking at midnight so may I request a scenario with tecchou making dinner at midnight (very soft please ^^)

12 AM

Tecchou Suehiro

Midnight sounds like an ideal time to have dinner to me 😆😆

cw: none

600ish words

You tossed and turned in your sleep, your arms reaching to your side but you couldn't feel him. The oh so charming Tecchou.

You scoffed. Last time this happened, Tecchou was outside in the cold without any jacket and was watching a colony of ants randomly.

He claimed that they were more active in the night and the colonies would be bigger.....he ended up catching a cold and you were burdened with a whiny Tecchou who never stopped complaining for a whole week!

Getting out of bed, you groggily walked out of your room, a faint smell of curry lingering in the air.

You narrowed your eyes suspiciously when you saw Tecchou stirring the pot gently. You couldn't see what he was making since his bare back was facing you but your reckoned curry rice. It's the only thing he knew how to make after all.

You noticed his head nodding up and down occasionally which made it known to you he was trying to fight away his sleepiness.

"What're you doing?", you spoke in a quiet voice seeing as it was literally the middle of the night.

Tecchou's shoulders jerked up not expecting to hear your voice at all.

" 'M hungry", he muttered, his lids barely able to stay open.

You wrapped your arms around his torso. "Why don't you sleep first. You can eat in the morning".

Tecchou pointed to the clock ticking away on the wall. "It's morning already".

Yeah, real funny. "I mean when the sun is actually up".

Tecchou frowned. "I need food now". As he said that, he used a spoon to scoop a bit of curry up and blowed on it before offering you a taste, in which you happily obliged.

Your face immediately tightened. You didn't know what it tasted like but it definitely wasn't just curry.

"Did you add something to it?", you asked hesitantly. You weren't sure if you actually wanted to know. The smell was so normal that you forgot about Tecchou and his weird food combinations.

He nodded innocently. "A bit of chocolate and kiwi".

Your mouth fell agape.

"Why would you do that?!", you exclaimed.

He shrugged his shoulders before putting a finger up in the air in a matter-of-factly manner.

"It's supposed to make you stronger".

...

You gave him an unimpressed look. "And how'd you find that out? By one google search?", he nodded affirmatively.

Tecchou nonchalantly placed some rice and curry on his plate, offering you a plate too but you kindly declined when you saw the kiwis inside still had the skin on them.

He let out a small huff, grabbing a spoon, along with a fork. You were confused as to what he needed the fork for but decided to pry no further.

Tecchou sat down at the table and you figured the least you could do was sit with him, even if you knew he'd just be sending you glares for turning down his food.

"...what're you doing this time".

The man currently had the fork up to his right eye, closing his left eye in front of you so he could see you through the fork.

"You're in jail for not eating my curry".

"You mean your chocolate kiwi curry?".

"Yeah!!".

masterlist :)

a/n: I saw the fork thing on a pinterest post and thought it was too cute for me not to add

[thefallennightmare]

Hi~ I’m the Matt girly from earlier in the week 😆 hope you’re doing well!! I am here for headcanon Tuesday!

So I’ve got 2 prompts, you can either pick one or do both or whatever pleases you💕

1-(Okay so this I feel could be for like everyone in BO if you want or just Matt) Coming home and finding reader in lingerie waiting for him👀 …I feel like no matter anyone’s body shape everyone looks hot af in lingerie😤❤️

2- Cute👏🏻 Hot👏🏻Sexy👏🏻Sleepy👏🏻 wake up, morning sex with softdom Matt! …that’s it, that’s the post 😅🤭

@thescarlettvvitch @mitchhbitch @missduffsblog @hayleylatour @sleepyomens @loeytuan98 @artificialbreezy @marvelousmal @bngurngheart @lma1986 @concreteemo @dsireland86 @wild-child-7747 @calleyx13 @illmakeyousaywow @jaded-and-hollow-souls @thatchickwiththecamera @itsafullmoon @shilohrosechicken @klutzy-kay24 @shadowseve @burning-outx @lookwhatitcost @exitwoundsx @thisbicc @pathion @cookiesupplier @sammyjoeee @whenthesummerdies @flowery-mess @xxkittenkissesxx @its-inourblood @madomens @collidewiththesavannah @xserena-13 @cncohshit

I am most definitely going with prompt #2. SMUT BELOW THE CUT!

Soft fingers grazed up and down the length of your spine, memorizing the grooves.

You shivered under Matt's touch and hummed when his lips followed the path of his fingers.

"Good morning," your voice was laced with the slumber you were still trying to shake off.

Matt hummed before dragging his fingers over your already-slicked folds. "You're wet already, baby?"

You didn't say anything, only pushed yourself closer to him as he lay behind you.

"What do you want?" His hand snaked up your abdomen, ghosting over your breasts to rest lazily across your neck.

"You."

He hooked one of your legs over his hip and slipped inside of you. His pace was slow and languid. Matt wanted to feel all of you as he fucked you.

"Touch yourself," he rasped while grazing his teeth over your shoulder.

Two fingers to your clit, you brought your orgasm closer and closer. Soon your body felt like it would ignite and thought Matt's pace would increase.

Instead, he continued to slowly fuck you, his soft moans in your ear causing your heart to flutter in your chest.

Sleep still clung in the air. Tangled with the scent of you two becoming one. Soon with a quiet cry, you came undone and shook in Matt's embrace.

"So good," he praised.

His cock twitched inside of you before you felt the all too familiar warm feeling between your legs.

You knew you should have gotten out of bed to clean yourself since you never did last night. But Matt quickly wrapped an arm around your stomach and pulled you closer to his bare chest which was warm and sticky with sweat.

You could feel his heartbeat against your back.

"Let's go back to sleep," he suggested with a yawn then a kiss to your head.

You smiled. "Sounds good to me."

[skzfictions]

The Delivery: A SKZ Halloween Story (Part II)

~Masterlist~

part I / part III

********************************

summary: You are a pizza delivery driver for none other than the popular Domino's Pizza. However, because it is Halloween night, the orders your store has been receiving have been rather...interesting, to say the least. But little did you know you were currently on your way to deliver to your most unpredictable guests of the night...

genre: attempted spooky and eerie vibes; Halloween, comedy, general fluff; supernatural

pairing: Stray Kids X GN! Reader

word count: 4.1K

a/n: Hi everyone! I wish it hadn't taken me so long to get this posted, but anyways, Happy Halloween! 🎃

***********************************

. 🍕🍕 .

Boom!

Crack!

Roar!

Your eyes shot wide open at the roaring sound of thunder but upon opening them, all you could see was... black.

All you could see was a black void that wouldn't end, that is, until your sleepy eyes began to slowly adjust to the darkness of the room you were currently in.

You breathed slowly as you tried to clear your brain fog and remember where you were at. It wasn't until you felt a mattress underneath you that you realized you were currently lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.

Instantly, you shot straight up at the realization.

Your head moved in every direction as you tried to take in the surroundings of the dark room you were in. It was nearly pitch black, the only sliver of light in the room coming from the lightning that flickered through the curtains of the window adjacent to you.

Boom! Crack! Roar!!!!

From the sound of it, the rain hadn't let up since it was still storming outside. You felt exhausted even despite the fact that you had clearly slept. In addition, you could feel a dull ache in the back of your head which you massaged to try and soothe; however, as you rubbed at it, it was then that you realized why it was probably sore in the first place.

A sudden flashback popped into your head. It was images of you attempting to make a pizza delivery to eight young men right before you...fainted?

You paused in massaging your head as the scenes started to replay in your mind of you driving up to the large mansion, of the guy from the intercom asking you to meet him at the back of the house, of his bright, unthreatening smile that turned out to be just a trick to lure you inside. And him calling out to the rest of his friends who trapped you in like prey as well as what they had said just before you had passed out.

Good job, Felix! This one’s definitely cuter than the last one we had.

I just hope this one tastes better than the last one, too...

BOOM!

The thunder roared again causing you to jump out of the bed in fright.

Realizing for the first time that you were still in your Dominos uniform, you felt your pockets for your phone but it wasn't there. You even felt on the bed, too, just to see if it was there but it wasn't there either.

Once you realized you had no phone to contact anyone for help, you moved on to your next plan.

Escape.

Before your brain could even catch up with what your body was doing, your legs were already moving you to the opposite end of the room towards the door.

You didn't know whose room you were in or how you had gotten there, but you knew where you were going. You were going to get the hell out of that house!

Coming up to the door, you reached to turn the knob only to be morbidly surprised when the damn door wouldn't budge even a little.

You halted for a moment and stared at it in confusion. Trying again, you fidgeted with the knob but it still wouldnt turn.

"Oh. Come on!" you groaned as you began to realize that it was probably locked from the outside or lodged shut by something. "Open! Open! Open!"

In desperation, you gripped the knob with both hands and began to jiggle it with vigor but your attempts were futile. The door wouldn't budge, at all.

You sighed in defeat as you let go of the knob, and stepped away from the door.

There had to be another way out, you figured.

BOOM! CRACK! ROAR!

You turned and looked at the window, illuminated due to the flashes of lightning from the thunderstorm. That's when you realized your second means of escape.

The window!

Heading straight for it, instead, you peered out the window only to see you were high up which meant you were going to have to jump down to escape. It was a risk you were willing to take though.

You attempted to lift the window up from the bottom pane only to find that just like the door knob, it wouldn't budge either. Once you noticed the lock on the window, you figured maybe that was the reason it wouldn't open, but even when you tried to pull the lock, you realized it was stuck as if it was wielded shut.

But that wasn't going to stop you. With hellbent determination you continued to pull at the lock. You were going to get that lock open no matter what even if it was the last thing you d-

"You can try to escape all you want..."

"AHHH!"

On impulse, you had screamed, startled from the unexpected sound of a low voice from somewhere behind you within the dark room. Immediately, you spun around to try to see who it was that spoke only to be greeted with the same black void. It was just too dark to see. Regardless, the low voice continued...

"But I guarantee you won't be getting out of here alive that way."

You swallowed hard.

Then suddenly, with the sound of a soft "click," the once dark room illuminated with dim light and you found yourself faced with the person to whom the voice belonged to.

A young man with long dark hair sat on the other side of the room, seated in a lounge chair, one leg casually crossed over the other, his chin placed in the palm of his left hand and his right holding the beaded string to the tall lamp right beside the chair he sat in.

You stared in shock at the young man who, on the other hand, looked at you with an indecipherable expression. Only the large bed placed in the center of the room between the two of you kept you both apart.

ROAR!

It took you a minute of staring at the young male across the room from you before it finally registered in your brain what he had just told you.

“What do you mean I won’t be getting out of here alive that way?” you asked through gritted teeth, aggravated by what he was implying. In fact, you were so aggravated that you didn’t even let him respond when he opened his mouth to speak, cutting him off instead, to blurt out, “No, wait. Who are you and where the hell am I?”

When he opened his mouth to speak again, you cut him off in all your fury.

“You guys all tricked me!” you yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “Your blond friend. He did this! This is kidnapping! You’ll all go to jail for this!”

“Jail?” he repeated, sounding offended, but not really. In fact, he sounded more amused than anything. “Now is that any way to talk about the people who took in a poor, drenched, and stranded pizza delivery person and invited them into their home for the night?" His thick lips spread into a lopsided smile.

“Stranded?” you repeated, doubtfully. “What are you talking about? My car was fine when I got here.”

The young man shook his head thus causing a few tendrils of his long hair to fall into his face. "There was an accident on the town bridge. It's closed down for the night. Your co-worker had messaged you to make sure you were okay.” Your eyes widened when you noticed him begin to pull out your phone from the pocket of his pants. “Luckily, your nice customers were more than willing to keep you for the night until the storm clears up and the bridge is open again. Your co-worker thinks you're in safe hands."

"You guys lied to my co-worker?" you asked in disbelief.

The young man looked up to the ceiling, momentarily as if he were thinking your question over. “Technically, we didn’t lie,” he responded before letting his dark eyes land back on you. “You are welcome to stay here if you so choose.”

After everything that had happened to you this evening, this did not sound like a good idea to you in any way, shape, or form. “Why would I want to stay here? You and your friends kidnapped me and then you just said I was gonna die if I tried to escape.”

The young man rolled his eyes. "No, I said you wouldn’t make it out alive that way if you chose to jump from the window.” He then used his head to gesture over to the window you were trying to escape from earlier. “This mansion is three stories high.”

At this news, you frowned. "Oh."

You must have miscalculated how high up you were when you looked out the window.

"But that still doesn't change the fact that you and your friends all tricked me just to lure me into the house!" you continued.

This got a chuckle from the young man and he nodded, before agreeing. "Guilty."

Something about his nonchalant manner ticked you off a little bit.

"Why?" you asked, suspicious.

“Well…” The young man had started to respond but he would stop by the sound of heavy footsteps steadfastly approaching the door. Then, before you knew it, the door to the room would suddenly burst open and slam into the wall behind it. You jumped at the sudden intrusion. Then, immediately following the sound of the door slamming into the wall was a voice even more booming than the thunder outside.

"Hyunjin, what the hell is taking so long!” the voice that belonged to another young man demanded upon him entering the room. “Everyone downstairs can sense that y/n's awake."

The first thing you noticed about the intruder was that he was stocky like a linebacker. Broad shoulders, big arms, and an even bigger, muscled chest. He looked like he could crush you like a twig if he wanted.

Stocky guys’ attention turned to you once he saw you standing on the opposite side of the room and he fixed you with a harsh expression cold enough to freeze hell over. He then looked back over at the young man who you now knew was apparently named Hyunjin.

"Why haven't you brought them down yet?"

Hyunjin had already moved out of the chair he had been seated in as he made his way over to Stocky guy. "Sorry. This one's a little hot headed. Lots of questions, too."

Now that they were standing next to each other, you could see how differently they were built. Hyunjin was built much more modelesque as he seemed to stand about a head taller than Stocky guy, but was also much slimmer like not a single ounce of meat was on him. Despite their differences, both men were definitely handsome, that was for sure.

Just at the thought, immediately, you shut your eyes and cringed. You could’ve face-palmed yourself in that moment for admiring the both of them despite your current situation. Wasn’t letting yourself admire their beauty enough to let your guard down what got you in trouble in the first place?

"Hot headed, huh?" Stocky guy asked, curiously, looking back at you. "Minho will like that." He then began to move towards your side of the room, hand stretched out towards you like he was going to grab for you.

"Come on. We should go meet the others before they get any rowdier. Seungmin is getting on Minho's nerves and now he's about ready to toss him across the dining room if he doesn't get to eat soon."

You assumed they were talking about the pizza you had delivered to them earlier but you didn't see why they would need you for that.

"Actually, I should go,” you moved back before the Stocky guy could reach you. You then turned to the young man named Hyunjin. “You said I could stay if I wanted, right? Well, I thank you for the offer, but I think I should be getting on out of here. All I need is my phone and..."

"You're not going anywhere…" Stocky guy said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" you asked, raising your brows.

He then turned to Hyunjin. "You told y/n that they could leave? You know the guys will never let that happen."

Hyunjin smirked, then answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I was just trying to get on y/n's good side first, so that maybe they would choose to stay instead."

"Well either way no one is going to let y/n leave so we might as well be upfront," Stocky guy said. "Especially after how long it took to find someone who would satisfy everyone's cravings."

That last little remark stuck out to you causing you to frown in confusion which you voiced aloud. "What?"

Both males glanced at you but before anyone could answer, another male suddenly appeared in the doorway. It was starting to become a party.

"Guys, everyone wants to know what's taking so long…" He paused once he noticed you standing in the corner of the room. "Ah, so you are awake."

Unlike when Stocky guy had come bursting through the door, this young man's voice was much softer in comparison.

"Don't worry, Innie," Hyunjin told the young male. "We're coming down now."

Again, Stocky guy began to make his way over to you, but you shook your head.

"No. I don't want to go," you refused, moving back only to stumble once the back of your legs hit something and you realized you had backed yourself into a nightstand. "I don't want to meet anyone. I just wanna leave."

No one said anything. Instead, the three guys all looked at one another and seemed to have some silent agreement as each of them nodded in unison.

The next thing you knew you were being picked up like you were nothing more than a rag doll and were being thrown over Stocky guy's broad shoulders.

"Hey! Ah! What the hell? Let me down?!" You screamed incessantly as Stocky guy continued to completely invade your personal space and carried you out the room, followed along by the other two males. "Did you not hear me? I said I want to leave!"

You attempted to bang on the back of Stocky guy but it had no effect on him, at all. Not only that but it was actually more painful for your fists to hit him considering how rock hard his muscled back was, so you chose to flail, and scream instead.

But still, no one paid your screams any attention as they brought you down an especially long flight of stairs. Seriously, despite your screams you might as well have been whispering because no one gave the slightest indication that they gave a shit what you had to say.

Even being upside down, thrown over Stocky guy's shoulders, as you took in your surroundings you could see how extravagant the mansion was. You knew whoever these people were they must be filthy rich.

You were eventually brought into a dining room at an especially long wooden table and plopped down in a chair at the very end of the table.

Once seated, you straightened yourself up and looked around the table. You saw four of the seats were already occupied but once the three remaining men took their seats as well, the entire table along with you in addition, was filled.

However, something about this didn't sit right with you. Before you had passed out earlier that night, you knew for sure you had counted eight men, so that meant one of them was missing.

But what surprised you even more was who was seated beside you.

Felix! You recognized the pretty blond, instantly, remembering the name one of the guys had used just before you had passed out.

"You!"

He seemed amused that you recognized him because he flashed you with that same innocent but bright smile that had tricked you into trusting him enough to walk into a house full of strangers.

"Hello, love," he said with that familiar deep voice that had definitely stood out to you the first time you heard it through the intercom. He was still grinning at you, and under different circumstances you definitely would have sat there and admired his beaming smile all night long because he really was just that pretty, but you knew better than to fall for it this time.

"You tricked me!" You yelled at him before turning to the rest of the table. "You all tricked me and kidnapped me! You'll go to jail for this!"

"Well, this one seems hot headed," you heard one of them mutter, causing your head to snap in their direction which was at the opposite end of the table. You took notice of a man who, despite his rather handsome features, looked stone cold. In fact, he looked a bit intimidating as he let his dark eyes roam your frame, unabashedly.

His elbows were propped up on the table and his hands were clasped together as they held up his chin. A small smirk seemed to be peeking through his stone features though.

"Ah, kidnapped is such a strong word, don'tcha think, y/n?" Another one of them spoke saying your name in a manner that was a little bit too familiar considering you had just met them all that night under rather uncomfortable circumstances. The one who spoke was a young man with big, round eyes and slightly puffy cheeks that resembled something that of a squirrel.

"Jisung is right," Felix finished in response, nodding to his friend before turning back to you. "Remember you entered the house, willingly."

You stared at him incredulously. "Only because you tricked me!"

At this, he chuckled and repeated the same thing Hyunjin had said to you earlier. "Guilty!"

You bit your lip to try and refrain from yelling a slur of curses at him.

What is this? you wondered. A joke to them all?

At that moment you didn't care how gorgeous he or any of these guys were. You wanted to go off on all of them!

But it would be the sound of another low voice, close enough to be right above your ear that would cause every curse you planned to hurl at the boys to die in your throat.

"We may have tricked you to come inside," your breath hitched as you heard the person speak from right behind and with every word you felt their breath tickle the tip of your ear. "But I can assure you that we are all more than willing to make it worth your while."

Following immediately, you looked up to see yet another young man hovering above you. You knew this had to be the eighth person that you had noted as missing from the table a moment ago. He looked down at you before letting his eyes fall on the rest seated at the table. The room was completely silent now.

"How?" You asked the man, skeptical.

In response, he flashed his pearly white canines at you, a stark contrast to the nearly jet black eyes that sat just a couple inches above them. You didn't know what it was but something about his smile made you feel a little uneasy.

"Well, we should probably start with proper introductions, first, right?" His dark eyes scanned everyone at the table and they all seemed to agree. He turned back to you.

"Y/n, welcome to the SKZ mansion," he began as he stretched out his arms to gesture to the mansion. "My name is Bang Chan and I'm the oldest among the eight of us. The second eldest is Minho, followed by Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin, the youngest."

Chan had gestured to himself and to each member at the table as he introduced them all.

He then continued. "I'll cut straight to the chase. The eight of us would like to formally invite you to prepare dinner for us this evening. You see, pizza actually isn't our…taste. Truthfully, each of our tastes is rather...unconventional, to say the least, but if you are willing to stick around and make us an exquisite feast, we will supplement you with a rather hefty monetary sum."

Your brows shot straight up.

"Are you serious?" you asked bewildered. "You want to pay me to cook dinner for you all?"

Is that what this is really all about? you wondered as your mind filled with questions. Is this what they were talking about in the room earlier?

Stocky guy, apparently named Changbin, had mentioned something about you "satisfying everyone's cravings" but what did that mean? And what possessed them to think you were a chef by any means? And they had unconventional tastes? The most exquisite thing you could make was ramen noodles and even that you messed up sometimes. You could hardly be trusted to make something extravagant.

But all your worries about cooking quickly disappeared as one of them answered, "Cooking won't be necessary." It was the stone-cold looking one. Minho, if you remembered correctly. "Just the preparation."

You nodded, still feeling unsure of everything.

Scratching at the back of your head you voiced the next question that popped into your mind. "Just how much money are you offering?"

Chan stared at you for a moment with a smirk. He seemed to be pleased with something but you had no idea what about. He moved to the corner of the dining room where a cart with a covered plate sat on it. He picked up the plate with the silver cover on it and brought it over to you, placing it down right in front of you.

His arm came around your frame to lift the cover off the plate and your eyes feasted on a stack of cash thicker than a block of cheddar.

"One thousand," Chan said.

Your eyes widened twice their normal size at the sight of the money.

A one thousand dollar tip? you thought. Just to prepare some food? This had to be too good to be true. Surely there was a catch.

As a relatively broke student working their way through college and surviving on minimum wage plus tips from your delivery job, there wasn't much you wouldn’t do for extra tip money. In fact, that was partially the reason for the predicament you were in right now but even despite how desperate you were even you had your limits.

Just what did they want you to "prepare," exactly?

With this thought in mind, you asked them just that and you were mildly surprised by the answer you received.

"Yourself," Chan said simply.

Your head tilted to the side in utter confusion as you stared up at him. "Ex...cuse me?"

Then suddenly, Chan bent down so that his head was level with yours and you sucked in your breath, holding onto it for dear life. He was less than an inch away from your face as he looked square into your eyes as he spoke without an ounce of amusement.

"We want you, y/n," he said definitively leaving no room for confusion as to what he meant. He looked at the rest of the guys at the table. "You see, we are not humans. We are a vampire clan…"

You felt your heart rate speed up as you looked at everyone else at the table as well only to notice that everyone's eyes were now feasting on you, looking like they were ready for their meal right this instant.

Chan turned back to face you as he continued. "And what we each have a taste for…" He paused in his speech as let those black, black eyes of his tilt downward to land on your exposed neck.

"...is you."

[umbry-fic]

Epitaxy

Summary:

Cursed to be the saviour, she wonders if she must walk eternally alone.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia

Characters: Colette Brunel

Relationships: Colette Brunel & Lloyd Irving

Rating: G

Word Count: 5584

Mirror Link: AO3

Original Post Date: 29/08/2024

Notes:

Written for the TOS 21st anniversary celebration! Happy birthday Symphonia! 🎉 (This is the furthest thing from the theme of "celebration" haha but I wanted to write my favourite character :P)

Something of a Colette character study, written to Empurple by Harumaki Gohan. There is a slight canon divergence regarding Colette's illness. More notes are in the endnotes on AO3.

~~~

The world had fallen away from her unfeeling fingertips, numbness creeping up her skin like an insidious creature, seeking to devour her whole. Her mouth tasted like ash, her heart coldly silent in her chest, so much so that it could be mistaken to have shrivelled and died. Rays of sunlight danced cheerfully across the room, but they seemed so oddly far away, their warmth unable to reach her. An unbearable pressure was building up inside of her, but when she opened her mouth to let it rush out of her, she found that it got stuck in her throat, her lips unable to utter a single sound.

Her entire body beginning to tremble, she raised her gaze to the mirror she knew hung on the other end of the inn room, already certain of the sight that would face her.

Red eyes met her gaze.

Colette shot awake, blanket clutched close to her chest as she panted, panic squeezing tight around her heart as she struggled to get air into her lungs.

She had no desire to find the same mirror that had starred in her nightmare, hanging tauntingly on the opposite wall and encroaching into the corner of her vision, reflecting her terrified form. But she had to know - and thus, keeping her gaze firmly rooted to the floor, she silently got off the bed and padded over with hesitant steps, her breaths still rattling in her chest and threatening to overwhelm her.

Heart pounding in her ears, she jerkily raised her head, bracing herself for what awaited her.

Blue. Her eyes were still blue. The same as they were when she checked every morning after waking up and every night before going to bed.

All the breath rushed out of her, and she gingerly placed a hand against her reflection. Her mirror image didn't waver at all, nor did it dissipate like a mirage crafted just to dangle false hope over her head. Her wide blue eyes didn't darken and dissolve into red - they remained the very shade she'd been born with.

Just a dream, she told herself, in an attempt to calm her rapid breathing. It was then that she noticed that the glass against her palm, which should have held the early morning’s chill, didn’t register at all against her skin. Neither did the smooth wooden panels against her bare feet. There was only the faint echo of sensation, a prickling like the cold was attempting to force its way past a nigh-impervious barrier.

Turning her hand over, she sighed, watching her Cruxis Crystal wink in the morning sunlight as she shifted away from the mirror. One of those days, then.

“Colette?” A voice blearily called out her name, a messy head of brown hair slowly finding its way out of the mess of the covers she’d made in her flight from the bed. “Is something wrong?” Lloyd asked, holding back a yawn, sleepy russet eyes blinking at her.

For a moment, she was tempted to say nothing. But…

Redirect, Zelos had sighed the last time they'd seen each other, reluctantly giving her advice as he slumped over a table, the shared weight of her secret, heavy but brittle, resting in the space between them.

“Bad dream is all,” she whispered, her shaky voice easily carrying over the silence.

It wasn’t a lie.

Just not the full truth.

“Come here,” he offered readily, his gaze flooded with so much affection that she couldn’t help but look away, guilt raking its claws over the walls of her heart. The boy she loved wore his heart on his sleeve, and he was not at all aware of the complicated web of deception she had once again spun around him as she continued to pull the wool over his eyes. Nails digging into her arm, she wanted nothing more than to confess the truth, to ease the vice grip over her heart. But as always, the words stuck in her throat, growing thorns that lodged themselves into flesh.

Even now, she couldn't live true to herself.

Still, she gladly clambered into his open arms, his familiar embrace calming her as she buried her face in his chest, grasping for the tiny fragments of warmth she could salvage. His presence was comforting - that was a single truth that would never change. Fingers ran through her hair as his lips brushed against her forehead, his gentle touch slowly soothing her, even as she was stabbed in the heart with a dozen broken shards.

As she took his hand, she prayed that one day, he might understand.

~~~

When she’d stepped out of the Seal of Fire and into the arid desert, leaving behind crumbling rocks and a smothering sense of heat that had been relentless, she didn’t realise she’d left behind something else among the endless, smouldering lava, lost forever.

Agony had held her in its clawed grip as she struggled to draw breath, what felt like burning hot metal pressed against her chest. Sleep was the furthest thing from her mind that night, and she gasped a sigh of relief at the peek of the morning sun over the dunes of sand, for with the gentle touch of sunlight left the pain, leaving her hollowed out but alive.

It was only once the sun said farewell once more, sinking below the horizon, that she was able to place a finger on what had been missing for the entire day as she walked alongside everyone else, seeing nothing at all as she retreated into her thoughts. The gradual pull of fatigue had been absent, leaving her wide awake even as darkness set in. Sleep had been a constant, if unnoticed, companion all her life, and it had simply vanished within moments, leaving her to stare at Kratos’ still back under the brilliant light of the stars as he sat guard and she feigned sleep.

Quietly, she told herself it was a good thing. It meant she would never again be plagued by nightmares of her possible failure, of all the people she would have condemned to suffer if she didn't complete this Journey. It meant she had more time at night to let her gaze rove over the friends she held dear, who she would inevitably have to let go of when she ascended the Tower. Her gaze lingered on Lloyd - the unruly flop of his fringe over his eyes that could never be tamed, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the soft expression on his face as he slept.

Just a little more time to memorize that which was precious to her.

As the days passed, bone-deep exhaustion settled in every inch of her body, unable to be alleviated by the solace of sleep. While her eyelids didn't feel heavy, her head did, like her brain was stuffed full of cotton wool, liable to leak out of her ears. She passed the nights counting the stars, staving off thoughts about all the ways she was inadequate. Already, she was so far from the perfect image of the Chosen that existed in everyone's minds. A lost cause from the very beginning, no matter how many times the priests chastised her, for it seemed nothing could mould her into that perfect figure that everyone wished to see.

Unbidden, her thoughts turned to an old memory. Of waking her father up as a small child, no longer able to remember the bad dream that had so rudely torn her from the gentle embrace of sleep, but still shaken, tears welling in her eyes. Before everything had changed, before she’d learned to hide her emotions and draw away from those around her even as she stood right next to them, to tuck away anything that could be considered undesirable.

Suddenly blinking away tears that never came, she was glad that they had been taken from her, if only so they could not give her lie away.

With the chilly night air that made her shiver and the stars as her only company, she passed the night alone.

~~~

She’d denied it, at first, the hints of green speckled on her shoulder the more pressing issue. She'd brushed off the gradual wavering of her senses as nothing, firmly pushing it into a tiny box in her mind that didn’t need to be opened. Nights when she couldn't sleep were simply because of worry, keeping her up and unwilling to give her a break. Meals she couldn't taste must be because of anxiety. Days when the touch of her peers faded to a whisper of warmth…

As the green scales continued to spread down her arm, each inch of skin it took hostage radiating a burning pain, she kept quiet. There were more important things to be done! Like reuniting the two worlds, putting a stop to Cruxis’ machinations, and ensuring no one else had to suffer. Compared to what everyone else was going through, her own problems were minuscule.

Even after her affliction was exposed to everyone, as she shied away in shame, clutching her arm close to her side, she said nothing. She was already worrying all of them enough, making them run around the two worlds, wasting time just to find a cure for her. This would surely go away once she was cured, so there was no need to tell them.

None of them suspected a thing. The genuine joy that had bloomed in her heart when she’d first wrenched free of the prison her soul had been trapped within had been enough to convince them that the loss of her senses had been put far behind them, even as that joy withered.

After all, it had been enough to convince her as well. The soft brush of the wind against her skin, the patter of raindrops against her palms as she’d raised them to the sky, the food she had practically shovelled down during dinner, the taste enough to bring her to tears… It had been enough to convince her, for a short time, that it was over. That she could be…

It's your own fault, her voice echoed in her ears when she stared into the mirror, watching herself get consumed by scales that glinted in the light of the dawn, reminding her of the Cruxis crystal attached to her neck, no longer able to be removed, a constant reminder of the role she had played.

Surely this was punishment for her failure. For abandoning her duty, for hesitating at the final sacrifice. For even daring to think that she was allowed to be happy. An imperfect weakling, through and through.

All she could do was endure.

~~~

She frowned when she raised the fork with spaghetti wound around it to her lips. It tasted like nothing, its texture like cardboard against her tongue. Across from her, Lloyd was grimacing and eating around the chunks of tomato like his life depended on it, loudly complaining all the while and barely avoiding spitting chunks of food into Genis’ face as Genis frowned at him. The sight, and the usual consequences (namely Professor Raine smacking Lloyd on the head with a rolled-up textbook) were usually enough to elicit a smile, but now all they did was light an uncomfortable flame in her heart, licking at its walls.

So this was the next thing to be sacrificed, then.

When Lloyd ran over to her and offered her the tomatoes, as he’d been doing since they were children, she took them from him, telling him that he didn’t need to take her bell peppers anymore. Ignoring his surprised blink and the slow furrowing of his brows, she forced down the tomatoes he’d left behind on the plate, feeling each piece as they dragged painfully against her throat. Her free hand held onto his tightly, refusing to let go, clinging to his gentle warmth.

She could still remember the moment she’d first tasted bell peppers as a small child. Her grandmother had packed her lunch for a long afternoon spent entirely with the priests memorising the scriptures, having to endure their barbed tongues whenever she stumbled over a verse. She’d sat down on one of the pews, shoulders slumped in exhaustion, before sitting ramrod straight when she felt a glare settle on her. Shakingly taking one bite of her lunch, she’d promptly choked and spat out the accursed slice, unable to stand its texture against her tongue.

The priests had not been happy. To be picky over food was too petty a thing for the Chosen, they had said with those severe expressions drawn on their faces, reminding her of the leering monsters that crept in dark shadows in scary stories. Think of the people who had laboured over the fields to grow this produce, who had shed sweat under the vicious sun, while the threat of the Desians hung over their heads all the while. To refuse to eat the food that had come from those efforts would be like spitting on it, like forsaking the gratitude of the people she would save.

It was not fitting behaviour for the Chosen.

So this was a good thing, she decided on the days to come, as she accepted new meals from whoever was cooking that day, uncaring of what it contained as she forced down all that she could. There was no longer any need to be picky when everything tasted the same.

She could finally live up to those virtues that had been hammered into her skull since she was young, which had always been out of reach, no matter how much she chased after them with her hand outstretched.

Because without that, she had nothing at all.

~~~

“Couldn’t sleep?” Zelos’ casual voice broke the silence of the night as he slid smoothly onto the stool next to hers at the otherwise empty dinner table.

She swallowed, realising she hadn’t heard him coming at all, as lost in thought as she had been. Over the flickering flame of the candle that had been burning all throughout the night, valiantly keeping the shadows to the corners of the mansion, his piercing gaze rested on her, causing her fingers to tighten on the handle of her cup. A cup of coffee that she knew was hot, but was barely warm in her hands.

“You're really not going to tell anyone?” he asked, leaning forward, their respective Cruxis crystals reflecting the waning light, the tone of his voice telling her exactly what he was talking about. The tension leaked from her shoulders, and she sighed. Figures he would be the one to catch her in the act.

It might have been easy to pass him off as nothing more than a lazy, arrogant young man, but behind that facade was a highly observant person who had also worn the mantle of Chosen, who had witnessed the ugliness that hid behind the shiny veneer of the title.

“You didn't either,” she whispered. It was not an accusation, nor a judgement. Simply an observation.

Sheena had told her about the orange wings that had shone on his back in the darkness of the Tower. And that would mean he’d endured the very same process she had - slowly losing everything, and yet keeping it all under wraps, a secret cradled close to the chest. He'd done it alone, spent the sleepless nights awake without letting anything slip.

“You're right, I didn't.” The smile that sliced across his face was bitter and tired, a far cry from his usual smirk. “But you could say there were… extenuating circumstances.”

She sucked in a breath, feeling the cold of steel against her bare neck, and shoved those memories far away.

“I will tell him.” She hated how weak her voice sounded to her own ears, even though she wasn’t painting yet another lie. She wanted to tell Lloyd, with her own words, without needing to have the truth dragged out of her like a chain, link by painful link. She wanted to place her trust in him, like he’d told her to, for she knew he would never betray it. “Just….”

It was so difficult to push the words onto her tongue, to ignore the tiny voice that still whispered in the back of her mind that her suffering was hers alone to endure.

“I know.”

She stared at the steam rising from her cup, and they both lapsed into silence. A moment of commiseration between two liars who had never learned how to stop lying, who found it nearly impossible to bare their souls, fearing a retribution that would never come.

Two smiling fools, through and through.

“You don’t have to stay up with me, you know.”

“I really can’t sleep.” Zelos waved off her protest, and she smiled gratefully at him, even knowing the reason he couldn’t shut his eyes was because of the vivid images that would flash behind his eyelids when he did, haunting him even now, months after the worlds had been reunited. She had experienced the same, after all.

It was the simple matter that her heart now felt just a little lighter, the weight of her secret shared between two souls.

~~~

Stumbling out of the Balacruft Mausoleum, she heaved a sigh of relief, having once more successfully driven off the assassin that kept popping up along their Journey. She wished to know what fueled the determined spark in the assassin’s amber eyes, so that they might come to an understanding and lay down their weapons. She had no desire to shed any unnecessary blood.

“Colette!”

She turned as Lloyd’s voice reached her ears, eyes widening when she nearly lost her balance and fell. It was then that she realised he was holding her hand in his.

When… had he taken her hand? She hadn’t even noticed. Had he been holding it the entire time? How… hadn’t she…

“Your hand!” Lloyd exclaimed, worry written across his face, and she stared at the blood oozing from the cut in her palm. A wound she hadn’t even felt, would never have even realised she’d sustained if he hadn’t pointed it out.

Red leaked and leaked over her skin, and she found herself suppressing trembles as she was unable to tear her gaze away, even as he fussed over her. The dying embers of her soul scattered to the wind, pouring out of her from a crack that could not be sealed as she remained frozen in her own tiny world, an incessant buzzing in her ears. She had long since stopped resembling anything close to human - she was no longer even the girl who had walked out of Iselia, knowing she would never return.

Even as Lloyd refused to let go of her hand, she found that she could no longer feel his touch. Not the roughness of the calluses she had memorised long ago, not his fingers running soothingly over her knuckles, not his warmth which had never failed to make her feel safe. It had been locked away from her forever, and she could only struggle to remember the ghostly remnants of it, nothing but cold emptiness against her skin.

This was fine, she whispered to herself that night. It meant she could no longer feel pain from all the tiny scrapes and bruises she accrued from her various trips and falls. She would no longer have to bite her lip to stop herself from crying out in pain, rapidly wiping away tears with her arm so no one would see. It was…

Curling into a tiny ball, she screwed her eyes shut, all the lies she had told nipping relentlessly at her heels.

~~~

It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried telling him. There were so many instances when she had tried, when she had opened her mouth only to stumble at the finish line. When she’d taken a bite of the lunch they’d prepared together while camping in the forest and found it bland against her tongue. When he’d rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his back while she sat calmly, having counted the stars all night. When she’d tripped and he’d caught her, the two of them nearly toppling over, his arms securely wrapped around her waist, his warmth failing to reach her.

She had tried, and tried, and tried, in a way she never had before. To clumsily get the words out, to explain that the Angel with eyes the colour of blood had never left, looming behind her at all moments with a cold hand on her shoulder, grip so tight it hurt.

But he always seemed so happy.

So light, the weight that he’d carried with him for the final leg of their journey having been lifted, scattering into tiny motes of stardust. His smiles were bright as he explored this newly reunited world, awe and wonder clear on his face as he helped as many people as he could, all while collecting Exspheres at a steady pace, moving ever onward towards his goal.

(There were, of course, still nights when he awoke gasping, eyes wide and seeing something else entirely, his hands twitching for his swords. She would hold his hand on those nights and hum softly under her breath, running her fingers through his hair until he relaxed.)

And, every time, she would close her mouth, swallowing the words.

She didn’t want to weigh him down. To hold him back in any way. To shatter that joy with something as trivial as what she was facing. After all, it was nowhere near as bad as it was before!

On most days, she could enjoy the warmth of his embrace. On most days, she could fall into the thoughtless escape of sleep, letting all of her anxieties dissipate. On most days, she could taste the sweetness of fruits, coming to rest on her tongue. On most days -

Whenever her thoughts raced in this direction, she would forcefully bring it to a stop, letting her excuses run right into a brick wall. She could at least admit to herself that it wasn’t alright, not at all. That she was once more drowning as she painstakingly maintained the perfect facade, waiting and waiting for the day the forming cracks got too wide. Terror that she was doomed to slip back into that prison roiled within her - a wild, vicious beast, clawing away endlessly at her insides. Old guilt over her perceived failure as Chosen still refused to die, hissing in a discordant chorus that this was already a merciful punishment - she deserved so much worse.

Holding close the memory of a little girl who had so easily opened her heart, she would sit silent, reminding herself not to lie to her own self anymore. At the very least, she could do that much.

~~~

Lloyd had dug and dug, refusing to give up, until he had finally dragged the truth from her. The ugly, bleeding truth, once more leaving her hollow, her heart having been scooped out of her chest long ago. But somehow, he hadn’t glared at her in disgust, even knowing now what she’d become, knowing that something had broken permanently inside of her. He had only pulled her closer, and she had -

Her throat had burned, and she’d wanted so badly to cry, for reasons she couldn’t understand. But she could admit that it was nice, for someone else to know. For there to be someone helping to cover for her, so that she didn’t need to pretend so much to be sleeping, or eating. For a few moments, she could release the mask and let it drop to the dirt, and simply be. Now there was someone who really knew, who could pull her back when her mind drifted away into that endless void. She was so exhausted, whole minutes slipping between her fingers sometimes when she couldn’t recall what she’d just been doing.

The fourth seal stole her voice, and swaying unsteadily outside the Tower of Mana, she barely restrained herself from scratching at the pale skin of her neck, hoping that it would somehow free what had been taken from her. With her voice permanently dead in her throat, there was no longer any hiding her condition from the rest of her companions. The veil had been ripped to shreds, leaving her vulnerable.

There was no rejection to be found there either. Only compassion and even anger, all for her sake, so passionate and warm as it washed over her, patching the cracks in her soul. It was a kindness she didn’t deserve nor understand, but she craved it nonetheless, cherishing it as she counted down the days till which she would have to climb the endless stairway to Heaven.

Still, she concealed the final piece of the puzzle, knowing she had to keep it hidden at all costs. That was a truth that no one else could know - it was a truth that she could no longer even reveal, no longer having the words to do so, even if the temptation was there.

Slipping from her inn room in Hima after speaking a farewell for each of her friends in her thoughts, she gave the stars that had kept her company for the past months a final glance, before taking the first step towards the Tower that loomed in the distance.

~~~

She giggled when the little puppy licked her hand, its rough tongue leaving a trail of sticky saliva behind. Not at all minding the mess, she petted its head with her clean hand, ruffling its brown fur as its tail rapidly wagged. Next to her on the bench, Lloyd grinned and leaned back against steady wood, content to watch her as the gentle breeze caressed their skin.

“Bye, puppy!” She waved farewell to the dog as it padded away. It was so cute! The ways its ears flopped, its soft fur… There hadn’t been time to come up with a name for it yet, but if she and Lloyd came across the same dog tomorrow, she would certainly do so!

Turning her head to once more squeal over the puppy to Lloyd, she met his warm gaze, and… And all of a sudden, she found that she didn’t want to lie anymore. She didn’t want it hanging over her head constantly, creeping into her thoughts during peaceful moments like this one, casting a cloud over her cheerfulness as she suddenly found it impossible to breathe.

“Lloyd? I… I have something I need to tell you,” she whispered, taking his hand, watching his expression go from curious to worried, likely finding this situation very familiar. Even as she sat silent, slowly mulling over the words she was attempting to string together, he didn’t say a word, occasionally squeezing her hand to remind her that he was right there beside her, ready to listen.

The unrelenting fear from before was still there, rearing its ugly head and beginning its final vicious struggle. Fear that something terrible would happen, that this was still her fault, really, that she should just shut her mouth and endure like she’d always had. But it was easier to pin the emotion down, to take a deep breath and step past it, for she could vividly picture Lloyd’s reaction - he would call her an idiot for keeping any of this from him, and then he would do his very best to help her. Because he loved her, even if it had taken a while for that to sink in and become fact in her mind.

Perhaps he would be angry that she’d kept this from him for so long, lied and concealed as if her life had depended on it when she’d promised she wouldn’t do it again. But she could deal with what came after. Once she was finally free, once she had eased the burden she’d carried, once she knew, with full certainty, that she would never need to let go of that which was precious to her.

She wanted to be the one to speak the truth this time, instead of having to hiss it through gritted teeth. To finally break the cycle.

So she pushed past the lump in her throat, letting the first word fall from her lips. Clumsy, messy, unrefined. But it was a start.

The rest would follow.

~~~

With her heart locked in chains, all she could do was curl into a tiny ball, no longer bothering to suppress the tremors that wracked her entire body.

She had all the time in the world to think, watching through red eyes as her body moved without her input. The world seemed so far away, muted and quiet, and so she pulled further away in the opposite direction, inch by inch, something shuttering in her heart. All that swirled in her mind were not the memories she had wished to cherish before she had set out for what she had known to be her final journey, but rather the events of the last few months.

Everything that she had lost, her entire self gradually, excruciatingly being carved out of her, for this. She had thought what awaited her was death, but surely this was worse. Unable to die, all of her thoughts stuck in a never-ending loop in her head as she slowly faded away, endlessly facing her failures, reflected in the floor of the Tower of Salvation, and carrying the legacy of a dozen other girls, staring at her with dead eyes and wings that had lost their light long ago.

What appeared in her mind was the young girl who had been so open with her feelings, who had freely sought the company and comfort of others, who hadn’t hesitated to speak the truth. That girl was long dead - she had personally sunk the knife into her heart and scattered the tiny pieces into the night, murdering her old self in pursuit of the perfect Chosen who she could never find.

Yet she was all she could think of now.

She’d been such a fool. Who had she really been lying to all this time?

~~~

She couldn’t breathe, the air freezing in her lungs as blood congealed in her throat. Her wings, usually weightless, now felt like they were pulling her to the monochrome earth. An Angel, chained to the ground, unable to fly -

Someone shook her awake, her breaths coming rapidly, one after another, tumbling into each other until they all got tangled together. She couldn’t see much through her blurry vision, just a smudge of vibrant colours that was a stark contrast to the images that had flown through her mind just moments before. A hand gently brushed the tears from her cheeks as a voice calmly talked, all while she simply breathed, returning to a steady rhythm instead of the stuttering mess it’d been before.

“It was just a dream,” Lloyd whispered into her hair as she opened her eyes once more, his arms lowering to wrap around her - an impregnable wall that would always protect her. “You’re alright now.”

Taking a few more deep breaths, she leaned into his touch, resting her cheek against his shoulder. Warm, though it was a little muted.

“How is it today?” he asked, because he always did nowadays whenever she awoke violently from a nightmare. It was a routine they’d both become used to. Her sense of touch was the most volatile, and it tended to fluctuate with her mood. It was useful for him to know if it had gotten particularly bad, so he could keep a watchful eye for the things she tended to miss whenever it dipped below a certain threshold - the small scrapes she sometimes accrued from innocuous activities, or the larger injuries that she might not realise she’d sustained from when they stumbled into an unavoidable battle.

The tender manner with which he tended to her wounds - carefully bandaging a deep cut, or applying ointment to a small scrape - always made her heart clench in her chest as gratitude welled in her heart. He never begrudged her for wasting time, never complained, even when she was the one to bring up how it was an inconvenience. Only bumped her shoulder with his, telling her with great conviction that he really didn’t mind.

On the worst days, when all her senses went haywire and everything was too loud, each little sound blaring in her ears like a siren, he would sit with her and keep her company, gently refusing her insistence that she was fine to move on. And on the best days, he would initiate contact as much as possible - the curling of warm fingers against her own, the brush of soft lips against her forehead, the safety of an arm around her bare shoulders - giving her more to remember on days when she felt endlessly cold.

“A seven?” she replied, pressing her hand against his to gauge if the number was accurate. “I don’t think it’ll get any worse.”

Nodding, he opened his mouth to say something more - only to let out a massive yawn that made her giggle. “We… can rest for a little while longer.”

Still giggling, she snuggled closer to him, amused to find that he had fallen asleep mere moments after those words had left his mouth. Letting her eyelids flutter shut, she pressed her ear to his chest. Wrapped in a gentle embrace, she drifted off to the steady sound of his heartbeat.

In this moment, she was loved.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

Crosspost from AO3. Post-movie sort of what-if with a more 'realistic'(?) vibe utilizing a blend of different lores and the concept that magic and magical entities and rules shift and evolve as the world does. Maybe I'll actually continue this one this year 🙃 So I hope you enjoy and feel free to ask questions, talk about your own ideas or headcanons with me. Enjoy and happy spooky season!!

She was different after that night. They all were. She could feel it down to her bones, a creeping something just waiting to make itself known. Allison was quieter, scared, like she daren't look over her shoulder for what she'll find. Max was always tired, slow and aching in his movements. There were strands of grey already showing themselves in his dulling brown hair, soft lines forming at the edge of his blank eyes. And she wasn't sure what had happened to her.

Allison had theories, of course she did. Dani wouldn't be surprised if she had a good deal of the answers too. But the older girl spent almost two years too scared to let Danni know anything as she and Max searched. Ever since that night, there had been strange happenings starting in their sleepy little town that held so many secrets. Perhaps it was because of the Sanderson sisters, three powerful witches with a claim on Salem now vanquished beyond hope of return. Or perhaps things had always been this way, they could just see it now.

Could see the haughty men and women with mystery in their smiles and power dancing in their eyes. Her friends laughed at the strangers dressed in outlandish flowing dresses and robes with all sorts of oddly shaped hats and mantles. Danni sighed wistfully watching their animal companions trailing after them. She made sure to smile enigmatically and mutter cryptid greetings with a respectful nod to her curious new neighbors waltzing down the streets as the glow of not quite sunset settled over their small town.

Lone travelers came into the town next, once the sun had set, pale skin glowing in the moonlight and their too-white teeth gleaming under the streetlamps. They found what passed as a nightlife in that sleepy little town and gave it a power all on it's own. Made it something dark and waiting for you to drop your guard. She worried for Max and Allison, dragged in by their friends and too afraid to say no and just stay home lest something happens they could have prevented. She tries not to think about the gaunt figures that stay just on the edge of society, bruises -like the lovebites Max and Allison gave each other they thought they were so good at hiding- on their necks and wrists and silvery scars that most anyone else would miss if they didn't know how to spot a thrall.

Danni made sure her friends kept away from the shortcut through the park by the seedy motels when the groups of leather-clad bikers or vans full of grumpy looking hippies came through the first full moon after that Halloween night. All of them tired and wary of anyone not from their own little group, especially those who only came out after dark. She tried not to push too hard when she saw Mary walking home from school with one of the shaggy haired boys that had roared into town with the last pack of monthly visitors. Kids being enrolled in school was a sign of permanence that made her stomach sink and roil so much she almost ran home to Allison and Max.

She learned how to whisper low enough that no one could hear the foreign words rolling off her tongue as she and her friends walked past that too familiar graveyard on their way to the movie theatre. She learned the best ways to hide the little baggies of salt, vials of holy water and blessed silver flasks of sacramental wine she kept with her at all times. She began to only wear jewelry made of silver or iron and even gets ahold of some of the real gold rings from her grandma's old jewelry box. Allison gives her a small sgian-dubh covered in runes and with a hilt wrapped in rough paper-thin leather that reminds her of Winifred Sanderson's book. She doesn't ask where the older girl got it.

"What changed?" She whispers one night as she curls up between Allison's warmth and Max's ever weakening form. "Why is everything so… so different?"

"Oh sweetie," Allison sighs and runs her fingers through the loose strands that had escaped Danni's braid. "Magic is coming back to Salem. With the protection of the Sanderson sisters gone Salem is free game for… everything out there." Her voice is too soft, too careful. "There's no one to protect the town anymore, and people are taking notice."

"We could do it." Max's voice is hard and a little cold compared to Allison's. Danni can feel the glare the older girl gives her brother over her head. "We have the book and we have all of those notes you found Allison, we could do something about-"

"Max Dennison, you will stop that. You already lost a piece of your soul. I don't need to lose the rest of you to some stupid idea that-"

Danni keeps her voice low as she burrows deeper into the older girl's side, her brother wrapping his arms a little tighter about the two of them. "Why is it stupid?"

Allison cuts back a pained whimper as she curls tighter about Dani and wraps her arms as far around the siblings as she can. "Oh you Dennisons are going to kill me."

[mortallyandrogynoussheep]

1/100 days of getting my life back together

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

So I decided to try to do a thing for the first time ever since forever - try to start having a blog(?) again, because, well, the brain rot is real. I've deleted twitter for now to give my brain some rest, because a lot of things were stressing me out.

My life has been a real mess the last few months and I really need to get my shit back together. This semester was the biggest flop so far (which is not to say that much - it's only a second one, but still) and I'm really upset about it.

I've come off one of my meds, that were making me insanely sleepy whenever I tried to focus (still have no idea whether that was a real thing or no, but they either way were not doing anything for me), got back on antidepressants, that are a-okay to me, at least side effects wise, and I was hoping that NOW I will be so much better at school. It got so much worse.

Not my room, but the vibes sum everything up quite perfectly. Everything feels insanely hard to do. I feel like a failure. I'm stressed and lost, but we persevere to the best of our abilities.

Anyway, I am writing this post one day after the 3rd of July, because I figured I should start somewhere, and despite wanting to have the first entry be as perfect as I want to become later, I figured that I have already tried that approach earlier, and it always falls off. Maybe it's better to start bad, slowly trying to build up all the habits and changes.

After all it is 100 days of trying to get my life together, not 100 days of describing my life being together.

Anyway, on 3rd of July I wanted to do some document related work and do some job applications, but because of fucking up my sleep schedule days prior to finish an assignment (which I got 100% for, insanely), I could not resist falling asleep in the day and then waking up late in the evening. That then scaled to 4th of July night, when I could not fall asleep again until 4 am, and the cycle repeated again.

So, yeah. T'was a flop. I didn't do anything good or productive for studying. The only thing I managed to accomplish was tidying up the place a little, but not the dishes. Luckily, my boyfriend helped me with that. It feels so much better to be able to work as a team on tasks that feel this big and unbearable.

2/100 days of getting my life back together

Thursday, July 4, 2024

It is currently 13:44 as I am writing this. Woke up (or more so, thankfully, got woken up by my boyfriend) by about 12:30. Still feel very poopy, but in today's plans are to do some studying for the first out of my two exams, and maybe a little bit for the second one.

DB 2

DB 3

SE2

dishes

DB 4

Probably will keep editing this post for any relevant updates that are not shitposts.

15:08 - 16:02 finished the db2 and 3 bits, 3rd one was way shorter than I expected. it turned out that I already had a set of flashcards on quizzlet there on it, so that was a win. originally was planning to study for one hour, but then finished 6 mins earlier, because my brain was fried and finished the dishes on my break. now back to studying

16:17 - 18:01 finished working on the SE2, but the lecture was kinda short and won't be that important at the exam, so I can't say I studied it properly. i will put more thought into it later (maybe), but not for now, since my ass is BURNING from the heat of upcoming deadline for the exams and there are more complex things i need to learn. started working on DB 4, which was an addition on initially planned to-do list. a little more than 1.5 hours of trying to understand the lecture made my brain feel GONE. i started to feel very irritated at the end, so im gonna be taking a break.

18:36 - 19:52 some minecraft break for mindlessly and quietly doing some things around our base. cleaned up the ground for where i want to build our house, transferred some stuff and organized it in a new chests system. the project will take A LOT of time so yuh. did i spend too much time on it? yes. will i do it again? also yes, probably. then we ate some dinner and now im comming back to some studying and note taking.

21:09 - 22:22

did some more note taking on DB4, not finished with it yet, but I think I'll call it a day for today. I'll probably play some more Minecraft before sleep and reread my notes and flashcards too. overall I feel still kind of unsatisfied with the day and its' results, I think mostly because of this is 1.5 hour game break, but it is what it is for now. overall I guess I did do some stuff done today, so it's still a win, right?