#i dunno maybe i should fuck around with his robes and try some stuff out

[emborami]

Through the years, from popinjay to coxcomb to maccaroni to dandy to dude

[moneymasnn]

Can we have one with mason where y/n and mason hate eachother but have to sleep in the same bed together and one thing leads to another if u know what I mean😳 and mason ends up confessing his feelings 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Druken Mistakes| Mason Mount smut

Gif by @mountsmason

blurb: After being forced to share a room with mason, you both end up making one huge druken mistake.

notes: I haven't proof read this so don't judge guys. Lemme know if you want a part 2 xx

warnings: smut ;)

“Listen I’m really sorry guys, but it’s one night. We can get you separate rooms tomorrow, I promise” says Ben, pinching the top of his nose bridge.

“I’ll sleep on the reception sofa" you say before Bens huff interrupts you.

“Y/n? Come on, seriously stop acting like a child. It’s one night, it’s my wedding tomorrow so don’t ruin it for me by kicking up a fuss. please?"

“Okay, fine” you roll your eyes and look up to mason standing next to you, he was unusually quiet.

“Mase? Im really sorry mate, its just one night” says Ben with pleading eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry mate. Your getting married in the morning you have enough to worry about”.

Conveniently the hotel had double booked the rooms of the maid of honour and best man, that just so happened to be you and mason.

It was around 10pm at night, you were cold and standing in a huge, fancy reception hall, your grip tight on the handle of the small suitcase beside you. Being told you would have to spend the night with mason is the last thing you needed to happen tonight.

Ben scurried off to go find his mum before he goes to bed, all the stress of marrying the love of his life tomorrow I suppose. Mason was stood at the desk getting the key to our room.

It was a long and quiet elevator ride, until you spoke up.

“You better not try anything mount-“

“I wasn’t planning too”

“Good. Because if you think I’m going to end up having some cliché mediocre sex with you just because we are maid of honour and best man then you are completely wrong.” You huff, once again gripping your suitcase handle.

“My abilities in the bedroom are far from mediocre, daring”

You felt your cheaks heat up at the comment, as mason smugly walks out of the elevator with a smirk on his face. I hate him.

He swiped the card on the door to a gorgeous manner hotel room. However, you could only see one towel, and one robe and, and... there was only one bed.

Of corse there’s only one bed. What was I expecting, bunkbeds? This can't get any worse. I need a drink.

“I can sleep on the floor” mason says, snapping you out if your gaze.

“Don’t be ridiculous. We can just stuff a pillow in the middle of the bed”

Mason just awkwardly laughs and sits on the bed, his back up again the headboard as he sits on his phone.

You sit at the desk and pull out the hotel phone.

“What are you doing? Who you calling?” Calls out mason.

“Room service, going to need a drink to get me through tonight. What do you drink?” You ask him, the phone against you ear as it rings.

“I don’t mind” he mumbles.

“White? Red? Should we get champagne?”

Mason found you extremely intriguing, you were confident and he was well, he was mason. “get some white, and ask if they're still doing food.”

“Hiya, can I get 2 bottles of any white wine to room 67 please? Thank you, and are you still doing food?”

And before you knew it you and mason was both say cross legged on the bed, a bowl of cheesy chips in the middle of you both and random tiny alcohol bottles from where you had drained the mini fridge, mason demanding that you had to do shots. You were on your third glass or maybe forth? Asking each other the randomist of questions.

“Okay, okay, I’ve got one, what’s the most embarrassing thing your parents have caught you doing?” Says mason.

“I dunno, probably something like dancing in my room naked when I was 15?” you say talking a sip of your wine, “you?”

Masons cheeks blush as he looks down.

“No. Fucking. Way. Mason Mount please don’t tell me your parents have walked in on you having sex?”

“Yep, most traumatic moment of my life” you and mason were in fits on the bed, laughing away.

It got to about 1am there was so doubt the two of you were drunk. You were both ignoring that you were going to have raging hangovers tomorrow, instead just enjoying each others company. You had managed to get on like a house on fire, which for you and mason was completely out of character, you were supposed to hate each other.

“Why do you hate me?” You couldn’t stop the words from spilling out of your mouth, a burning question that you’ve always wanted to ask mason.

The smile on his face fades as he downs the rest of his drink, pouring out another one. “I don’t hate you”

You sit there in silence for a moment before mason speaks up again, “why do you hate me?”

You look up at him with a simple smile, “I don’t hate you” you say, repeating his words.

“Y/n?”

“Mason”

“What would you do if I kissed you?”

“I don’t know” you mumble.

You look up to stare into his dark chocolate brown eyes, you could easily get lost in his eyes. You examine every freckle on his nose before your eyes dart down to his tongue that was wetting his lips before he speaks up again.

“Y/n?”

“Mason”

“Can I kiss you?”

You just nod your head frantically before masons hands make there way to your face and your lips collide, your teeth clash as you feel his smile on your lips. The kiss was slow and passionate, nothing like you have ever felt before.

You lean forward pushing all your weight onto mason so your on top of him, his hands move from you face to your waist where he gave a tight squeeze.

Once you pull apart for air, mason brushes the hair out of you face and behind your ear.

“You’ve got no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that” he breathlessly says.

“I think you should do it again”

“Me too” he mumbles onto your lips.

He tasted like wine and mint. His skin felt like soft silk. His hair felt cotton and his lips felt like they were made for yours.

Mason places his hand on your back as he turns you over gently, so he’s now on top. You're both trying to not break the kiss while taking your clothes off at the same time.

Masons lips remove from yours for a split second as he helps you remove your jumper and t shirt, he stares at your breasts like a teenage boy who’s never seen a pair of boobs in his life.

"your beautiful, you know that?"

You tried to hide the blush rising on your cheeks.

His face then moves to your left boob as he starts to trace circles with his tounge. His free hand rubbing your other boob as his thumb traces your hard nipple.

He then pulls away and placed kisses from your torso to your stomach, leaving a sloppy kiss on your pubic bone.

Mason sits up and pulls his top over his head as he then dives down to pull off your joggers and knickers, throwing them somewhere around the room.

You were completely naked, but for some reason you didn't feel exposed.

Mason snaked his hands under your thighs and placed them on his shoulders.

You felt his hot breath fan you leaking core, his tongue fattens as he does one long lick up your wet slit. Mason savers this taste, just incase he never got the chance to taste you again.

And with that his tongue was doing everything right. He gently swirled your clit before he dipped in an out of your hole teasing your slightly.

"mase, im so close"

"hold it for me, darling" mason says as he pulls away.

You felt a whine leave your mouth as he pulled of you to sit up and pull his joggers off.

"patience sweetheart" he was standing there naked, and it was...big. You watched as pre cum leaked from his tip as he climbed on top of you. He placed a kiss on your temple. He held eye contact with you as he ripped open the condom packet.

He put the condom on and lined himself up with your slit, he slowly inserted himself in you, you both gasp in sync once he is completely inside of you. Your legs wrap around his waist as you watch your back fro a better angle.

Mason intertwined your fingers and held your hand above your head. His moments were slow at first, slow and deep, every time he pulled out and pushed back in he hit your g spot.

"Mason, faster"

And before you knew it mason was pounding inside of you, the only noise in the room was both of your heavy breathing and the slapping of your skin.

You knew it wouldn't be long before you came, you felt a knot form in your stomach, it growing tighter with ever thrust. You knew mason was close too by how sloppy his thrusts were getting.

He took his hand out of the grip of yours and placed them in his mouth, then using his wet fingers to rub slow circles on your clit.

"cum with me y/n, please"

And with them simple words of encouragement your back arched, your skin squashing together as mason felt you grow tighter. your orgasm hitting you hard.

Mason collapsed on top of you, his face burred in your neck as he was still inside of you.

"I think I love you" muffles mason into your neck.

You just giggle and place your hands in his hair, knowing it was the alcohol talking.

[calpalirwin]

Adventurous Spirit

Summary: Ashton becomes more and more of a (lovestruck) hippie.

Word Count: 1.6k

And away, and away we go!

__

Ashton’s adventurous spirit was what had drawn you to him in the first place. Sometimes you weren’t sure what he loved more: being a drummer or being able to travel the world as a result. All you knew was Ashton seemed most at home when he was on the road, making the most of every moment, and you were an absolute sucker for someone who loved life with that much fierceness.

With tour dates lined up, and studio time charted out, life at home buzzed with the excitement of what was to come. Then, the world shut down.

The first week, you watched anxiously as Ashton paced about the house, phone glued to his ear as plans B through Z were discussed and refined, tension slowly building up in his neck and shoulders. But with an album release so close, the feeling of restlessness didn’t get a chance to settle in, and for that you were grateful.

About a month and a half into lockdown, you found him sitting on the couch, staring blankly into space. “Hey,” you said softly, sitting down next to him, and pulling him out of his trance. “You good?” you asked, your fingers dragging slowly up and down his arm.

“Hmm?” he questioned, giving a small shake of his head. “Oh… Yeah, I’m good, I guess.”

“You guess?”

Ashton shrugged. “It’s hard to put into words. Like, I’m thankful for the time to slow down. Because I know I sometimes worry you with how much I work. And my body could probably use the rest. But not knowing how long this lasts is… It fuckin’ sucks. Because there were a lot of things I always said I’d do if I just had the time. And now I do. But how much time? How long am I stuck here?”

“Well” you started with a slight teasing tone, “I’m pretty sure you have time to make a garden, and get some chickens if you’re really dedicated to that.”

He giggled lightly, then sighed. “I just hate not knowing. I don’t want to lose myself.”

“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry about that. Just take it one day at a time, and go from there.”

“I suppose that’s true. And hey, I got you, right?”

“Of course,” you smiled at him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good. Cuz I need you more than I can put into words.”

“I love you too, Ash.”

~~~

You both stared at the box of Superbloom merch, you in awe, and Ashton somewhat dejectedly. “Oh, c’mon!” you urged, nudging into his shoulder. “You could be a little excited. You worked hard for this.”

“I am…” he defended. “But I want to do more.”

“More with the release? Or more solo stuff?”

“More with the release. I want to celebrate. I want a chance to play it live. I want everything the guys and I wanted with Calm, and this shit,” he thrust an angry finger in the direction of the window, “won’t go away!”

“So let’s celebrate.”

“How?!”

“We get tested, and we get out here for a bit. Camp in the desert under the stars for a few nights. I dunno. We’ll figure it out.”

“That… is not half bad. But that only solves one of my problems. I miss performing, babe.”

“Virtual concerts are a thing, you know.”

His eyes lit up in a way you hadn’t really seen for months, before he was kissing you passionately. “You! You’re a fuckin’ genius!”

You laughed against his mouth. “Thanks, I try.”

His forehead knocked against yours, his eyes holding yours steadily. “You are everything to me.”

~~~

If there was a downside to suggesting a weekend getaway for the Ashton’s album release, it was that it revived his desire to travel, and the desire was now stronger than you ever remembered it being.

“You’re becoming a hippie,” you joked as you guys woke up in the back of a pick up truck in the middle of nowhere.

“Becoming?” he laughed. “Thought I always was.”

“Well, it’s becoming more prominent now,” you laughed with him, running your hands through his hair. “I don’t think you’ve let your hair get this long since 2016.”

“Ah yes, the first hippie Ash stage. I’ve learned a lot since then.”

“So this is Hippie Ash 2.0?”

“The new and improved hippie.”

You both broke out in a fit of giggles, before you sighed in content, curling yourself into his side. “So where to next?”

“Anywhere we fuckin’ want to. Well… within reason. The guys and I are discussing the next album.”

“Shit, already?”

He shrugged. “Might as well. Gotta be prepared for when the world opens up again. Wanna hit the ground running. Make up for lost time.”

“Well, fuck. Let’s go somewhere with the guys then. A working vacation.”

“Working vacations are my favorite types of vacation. But after the holidays. I’m getting used to lazy vacations where it’s just me and you, and I’m not ready to give that up just yet.”

“Oh, some place with snow would be cool. Maybe a cabin so we don’t freeze to death.”

He took the hint, pulling you into him with the blanket. “Sounds perfect.”

~~~

You awoke to an empty bed, sunlight, light laughter, and weed smoke filtering in from the open window.

“Morning, Luke,” you greeted as you found the blonde in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with his hands wrapped around a coffee mug.

“Mornin’,” he nodded, side stepping out of the way of the coffee machine. “Still practically a full pot if you want a cup.”

“Nah, I’m good for now. Ash?”

“Outside getting high with Cal.”

“Fuckin’ hippie…” you chuckled, headed for the front door of the cabin, Luke’s own laughter following you out.

Calum had a camera in his hand, pointed at Ashton who sat on a couch in his robe, a random disarray of items scattered nearby on the ledge of a firepit. “Oh, hey, Y/N!” Calum said, noticing you first, as Ashton looked over his shoulder at you.

“Hey guys,” you smiled, taking a seat next to Ashton on the couch and leaning into him. “Starting the morning off on the right foot?” you asked with a pointed glance at the ashtray with the cigarettes and blunts.

“Oh, yeah,” Ashton drawled, shifting to wrap his arm around your shoulders.

“Ever think you lean into the hippie stereotype a lil too much?”

“Nah. Haven’t gone completely off the grid.”

“Yet,” Calum snickered. “There’s still time. Luke kinda did, and I’ve never seen him happier.”

“I dunno. I’m already pretty fuckin’ happy.”

“That’s true,” Calum nodded, then clapped a hand against his leg. “I’mma head back in. Maybe shower. Maybe get another cup. You guys good?”

“Yeah, we’re good, mate.”

“You know,” you spoke up as Calum headed back inside, “when this first started last year, I was really worried about you.”

“Worried about me? Why?”

“You said it yourself back then. You’ve always pushed yourself harder than you probably should. I mean, face it, Ash, you’re restless. I was worried about all the things you were worried about. That you’d get stuck, or lose yourself. But then, I dunno. I guess I stopped because I realized how silly it was to worry about you. I mean, you’re you. You’re always gonna make the most of whatever you’ve got. Even if what you got was a year that wasn’t anything like you originally expected it to be.”

“This year was harder than I anticipated. And I did get stuck, and I did get lost. Like those moments did happen. Because you’re right. I’m restless. I’m at my most relaxed when I’m constantly on the move, either doing something or working towards something. So, yeah. This past year fuckin’ sucked. But it was also everything I needed at the same time.”

“Sometimes you gotta lose yourself to find yourself?”

“Something like that, yeah. So, while this past year has taught me a lot, it’s also solidified a lot of things I already knew to be true. Like how I couldn’t have done any of this without you. More than that, I don’t want to do any of this without you. And I wasted too much time trying to reconcile how both you and the band can be the adventures I want to spend my whole life chasing before realizing that I don’t have to.”

“Ash…” you cut in softly. “I’d never make you choose between me and the band. Or me and anything, for that matter. I’m always going to support whatever makes you happiest.”

“No, I know. That’s what I’m trying to say. My life with you in it is what makes me happiest, because you are what makes me happiest. In a year where I didn’t know which way my life was going from one day to the next, the one thing I knew for certain was that I’d have you. It made the dark moments bearable, and the light moments much brighter. That’s not something I want to give up. You’re what I want, now and always. So,” he got up from the couch, reaching into the pocket of his robe as he sank to his knees in front of you. “Marry me.”

You gasped as he snapped open the little box and cool metal slid across your left ring finger, your mind in a whirlwind of both his sentiment, and the fact that he said “Marry me,” more as a direct statement. “Mrs. Hippie does have a nice ring to it.”

“So, that’s a ‘yes’?”

“It’s a million ‘yes’s, Ash. You’re the love of my life.”

“And you’re mine.”

__

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[gothighunicorntolerance]

At last, my Big Bang fic!

When Roman and his friends go hiking, they expect to see some birds, some lizards, maybe a deer if they were lucky- not a hidden cave with a sleeping person inside, unable to be woken up by anyone. His friends decide to let the sleeping person stay put, but there’s some feeling Roman just can’t shake off. Red chapter one below, and the full fic on AO3, accompanied by amazing art by @littlebigmouse

taglist: @theimprobabledreamersworld @edupunkn00b @ts-storytime

AO3 link

art post

The tranquility of the forest was quickly interrupted by the banter of several people standing by a parked car, their faces illuminated by the pink-tinted full moon low on the horizon.

“Come at me, Mothman! I have a very juicy ass you would LOVE!”

“Remus, you IDIOT. Mothman lives in West Virginia!”

“Well what about the skunk ape, Virgil? Don't you want to see the Skunk Ape? SKUNK APE! SKUNK APE!” He chanted, his voice echoing in the parking lot.

“Remus, would you shut up?!” Roman shoved his brother. “We are actually going to try and find wildlife like deer and stuff, and that’s not going to happen if you keep shouting for cryptids to fuck you.”

The rest of the group sighed collectively at the antics of the twins, though Roman didn’t pay much attention to his friends’ groaning.

“Anyways,” Roman said louder than necessary. “Logan, you have the compass, right?”

“Of course. I also brought several yards of paracord, just in case. And also cereal bars, batteries, and water.”

“Thank you for being the responsible one,” Roman laughed. “Virgil, it’s your job to make sure that the entire state of Florida doesn’t find out that my brother is a monster fucker.”

Virgil groaned. “You know that’s going to be impossible.”

“Just punch him when you think he’s about to say something stupid.”

“Oh, like this?” Virgil smacked Remus in the arm.

“Ow!” Remus groaned.

“Well, I thought you were about to say something stupid.”

“Can we please just get on with our hiking-adventure-whatever you’re calling it?” Janus spoke up.

“Please.” Logan agreed.

“O-KAY! Into the woods!” Roman sang.

The five hikers walked down the small dirt path, the mud from last night’s storm splashing their ankles. The colors of the sunset were barely visible through the branches of the trees, which cast long shadows onto the ground and Roman still quietly humming all parts of the song by himself.

As Roman’s song ended, trailing off into the instrumental bits, Remus had finally shut up about various cryptids, and the only sounds were the squelching of mud sticking to their shoes and the occasional snap of a stick or crunch of a fallen leaf underfoot.

The May nights were cool and humid, so most days like this, Roman wore cheaper jeans and a hoodie that he was willing to throw away if it got too dirty or torn.

About half an hour into their adventure-hike, Logan silently passed around flashlights to everyone, which Roman gladly accepted. It had gotten dark quickly, to the point where Roman had been barely able to see his feet.

Suddenly, Virgil, who was in front, stopped.

“Deer,” he whispered, aiming his flashlight into the trees.

Roman followed the flashlight beam onto a huge buck, its pelt speckled with mud and antlers extending far beyond its ears.

“The inside spread is over twelve inches,” Logan whispered.

“That’s big, right?” Janus asked.

“Yes, it is. The largest recorded spread in the state of Florida was nineteen and a half inches.”

Roman knew that Remus was about to open his mouth and say something stupid, and apparently, so did Virgil, because Remus groaned again after he was hit in the shoulder, the rest of the group snickering.

The deer eventually ran away, and the group continued on until the dirt path ended.

“Hey, look at this!” Virgil waved the group over to where he was standing, shining his flashlight into a large opening in the side of a rockface.

Roman jogged over and looked into the cave- as far as the flashlight illuminated, he could see moss and other plants clinging to wet stone.

“I haven’t seen this before- I think I’d remember,” Janus commented.

“It must have been uncovered by erosion from the storm last night,” Logan added in.

“Let’s go in!” Roman and Remus said at the same time, grinning at each other. They might not agree on much, but when it came to deciding whether or not to explore a creepy-looking cave, the answer was always going to be yes.

“Don’t you think we should- never mind,” Virgil sighed as the twins started swinging their flashlights across the wet ground of the cave.

“Look at this!” Remus whisper-shouted to Roman, pointing out some kind of slime growing on a rock.

“That is disgusting, put it down or I’m not letting you in the car,” Roman said as Remus began to poke the slime.

Remus stuck his tongue out at his brother but reluctantly stopped poking the unfamiliar growth. Roman turned around to see that the rest of the group had followed them in.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Virgil asked worriedly. “I mean, this cave wasn’t here before, and we might be the first living things to step in here in maybe hundreds of years.”

“And this is how people find monster boyf- OW!” Virgil once again took it upon himself to hit Remus in the arm to stop him from talking about various cryptids in a non-child-friendly manner.

“Caves such as this one are particularly interesting because you never know what you might find- oh, look!” Logan pointed to another small opening at the back of the cave.

“I’m going to crawl through!” Roman declared after the group had spent a minute or so deciding what to do.

Roman got on his hands and knees and started to wedge himself through the opening, quite aware that he would likely have to put his clothes through more than one wash cycle to get the stains out. He bit down on the flashlight, illuminating what was in front of him, but only barely.

When there was finally room for Roman to stand, he turned and called through the opening, “I’m fine! You can come through, it’s safe!”

The second part of the cave was much wider than the first part, and Roman was able to stand without hunching over.

Swinging his flashlight across the ground, Roman suddenly gasped.

There was a man laying on the ground, hands folded across his chest, dressed in- were those robes?

“Guys…? You might want to see this…” Roman called out again, his voice shaking.

“Ro? Are you okay- HOLY SHIT!” Janus crawled through, his eyes wide with disbelief and perhaps a little fear.

Remus and Virgil came through next, Remus uncharacteristically silent, his mouth open in an ‘o.’

Logan was the last to crawl through, and he, like everyone else, stood silent, looking at the figure laying in the center of the cave, arms crossed over their chest and wings spread out- Roman rubbed his eyes. This couldn’t be real- he couldn’t have found some guy in a cave that hadn’t been touched in years!

Maybe they had gotten drunk or something and put on a very realistic-looking cosplay and then ran through the woods? Remus had done odder things, so it couldn’t be completely ruled out.

Janus slowly walked up to the figure, stepping over the silken blue robes and putting his hand on their neck, careful not to knock off the wire framed glasses.

“There’s a pulse, but it’s really faint.” Janus announced to the group. “They’re definitely not dead.” The hikers stepped closer to the sleeping person, forming a circle around them but careful to not touch the giant gray bird wings sprouting from their back. Roman noticed a strand of curly brown hair had fallen into their eyes, and resisted the urge to reach out and tuck the strand of hair behind their ear.

After a moment of silence, Roman spoke up. “Should we… try to wake them up? I mean, what else should we do?”

Roman was careful not to touch the sleeping person. Roman wouldn’t admit it, but he was afraid there would be some kind of horror movie scene- where as soon as he got close enough, they would sit up and try to murder him. Or something like that.

Logan crouched and tapped his phone, and the default alarm sound echoed through the cave. The person didn’t stir.

Virgil stepped up next, unscrewing the cap of his water bottle and pouring the contents onto their face. “Seriously? Nothing?” Virgil muttered.

“Let me try,” Janus said, grabbing the person’s shoulder and shaking them.

“Alright,” Remus said, stepping forward and rolling up his sleeve. He looked up at Roman, grinning, before bringing his arm down to the person’s face and slapping them on the cheek. Roman cringed at the echo it created, but there was still no reaction from them.

“How the fuck did that not work?” Remus stared at the still-sleeping person.

“Heavy sleeper?” Roman suggested.

“Coma?”

“Dead?”

“Are we about to be on Buzzfeed Unsolved?”

“Underlying medical condition?”

“Alright, it’s your turn, Prince Charming. Go do a true love’s kiss on the guy. You never know,” Remus laughed.

“No way! I’m not touching that guy with my finger, let alone my mouth!” Roman protested as Remus tried to drag him over.

Another beat of silence passed before Virgil spoke up. “I think we should leave. This dude’s probably not okay, and I don’t want to have to call the police or paramedics. I don’t want to get involved in anything, whether this guy is just stoned or in a coma or whatever.”

“Yeah.” Roman said after a minute of consideration. “You’re right. I don’t want to get involved. We should just- I dunno, leave the guy here? Maybe check later to see if they’re okay? I mean, they’re not dead.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and soon crawled back out the way they came. Roman exited last, and couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at the sleeping figure. A small part of him wanted to stay behind, try and wake them up.

But Roman ignored that feeling and left the cave with the rest of his group.

Once the group srood back on the path, all a little shaken or confused from what they had just seen, Roman said, “let’s all just go back home. If we want to, we’ll come back next week or whenever to make sure the guy’s either okay or gone, but for now just leave it alone.”

Roman said the last part for himself, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that he was missing something. He shook his head and followed Logan and Janus, who had already started walking back to the parking lot through the wet grass and still-sticky mud. Even in the dim light, Roman could tell the two of them were holding hands. Roman opened his mouth to tease the two of them but thought better of it. They had all just seen something pretty weird in that cave (Roman was still trying to decide what he really saw), and Logan and Janus hadn’t announced that they were together, probably for the exact reason that Roman would tease them.

Oh well, there would be plenty of moments for teasing later. For now, Roman just focused on dragging his feet along the muddy path back to the car, though he kept glancing over his shoulder. He told himself that it was to keep an eye on Remus and Virgil and make sure they were still behind him, but the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something still lingered.

[supercasey]

So I've been playing The Hades Game like fucking mad for the last few weeks, and although I'm not very far in it (at least, I don’t think I am; I’ve only beat Hades once!), I'm absolutely in love with it! Anyways, a certain idea has been kicking around in my head for awhile now, so I thought I'd share it with y'all; feel free to tell me what you think of it! (Warning: spoilers for when you beat Hades the first time!)

Anyways, I've already seen a really cool AU post for if Demeter raised Zagreus on the surface by herself (which you can find HERE; please check it out, the outfit for Zag alone is an amazing concept, and I love the artwork!!!) but I keep thinking about an AU where, after Zagreus dies at birth, Persephone runs away and takes his wrapped up body with her.

On the surface, she reconnects/reunites with her mother Demeter, and with her aid, the two of them manage to resurrect the newborn baby, though now he has more white in his hair than anything else. After that, Persephone sends Hades a letter to tell him that Zagreus is alive and well (because she actually has some fucking class), before proceeding to raise Zagreus on the surface with her mother, far away from the entrance to hell. The Olympians also help her out a bit, but mostly they just help by hiding Zagreus when it’s necessary.

(The rest is under a cut ‘cus this got a bit long, sorry!)

Years pass in relative peace, until Zagreus is about as old as he is in-game (I think he’s around 20-25ish???) and is living well, working with his mom and grandma to take care of their gardens and live peacefully away from mankind; he especially loves tending to the animals and guiding lost mortals to safety. However, one day while foraging for fruit in the deepest corners of his mother’s signature garden, Zagreus happens across a strange man in long robes, who introduces himself as Thanatos.

The two men get along swimmingly from minute one, and after agreeing to meet with each other again soon, they leave and tell their families/friends all about the experience, having no clue who they are to each other. After all, Thanatos was told growing up that his lord’s first wife died giving birth to their first and only child, who was a stillborn, and Zagreus thinks his father died of disease (his mom didn’t have to heart to tell him anything bad about his dad). Needless to say, they’re gonna be in for quite the shock soon.

Cue Hades losing his shit and calling on Thanatos, Megaera, and Achilles to go find his progeny and bring him home; he gives them special permission to leave the Underworld without any resistance, trusting Than to lead the way back to Zagreus. Achilles is less than thrilled to be performing such a morally grey task for his master, but Meg and Than are eager to prove themselves, so he begrudgingly agrees to help, even if it hurts his conscience to do so.

Persephone and Demeter also freak the hell out on their end, scared shitless by the fact that Death incarnate has just met their son/grandson, and they’re worried that he plans on coming back again soon. Demeter suggests sending Zagreus to live with the Olympians until this all blows over, but Persephone disagrees, wanting her son to stay nearby in case he grows ill (it’s implied that she’s a bit overprotective of him, mostly because she’s afraid of him dying again; this also means she refuses to let him know that he’s in any danger, believing it would only make things worse for him in the long-run). Frustrated but understanding her daughter’s pain all too well, Demeter at least convinces her to call on the Olympians for aid, which Persephone agrees to do.

The gods promise to help of course, but... well, they're low-key lying; they wanna see how this plays out first.

After several days of traveling through hell (literally), the “let’s kidnap Zagreus” gang makes it to the surface, and they immediately head to Persephone’s garden. All this time, Zagreus has no idea that he’s being targeted, so he goes about his chores as usual, only to run into Than again, and hey, he brought some more friends for him to meet! Zagreus is friendly with all of them, being raised to be very polite by his guardians, and while he’s busy chatting with Than and Achilles, he doesn’t notice Meg sneaking behind him. Just as Zagreus is rattling on about how the animals have been faring this summer, Meg stabs Zagreus in the back with a blade coated in Hades’s blood, cursing him to belong to the Underworld again.

With Zagreus now unconscious from a sedative that was mixed with the blood, the trio hurry off with him back to the Underworld, but not without Persephone seeing what they’ve done to her son. Horrified, she begins to sob, and winter arrives in the mortal world without so much as a fall season in-between this and the summertime.

When Zagreus comes to, he finds himself in a bedroom similar to the one he has in the game, but it’s much cleaner and has less objects of personal value to him. Hades is standing at the foot of his bed when he wakes up, and very calmly, Hades tells Zagreus that he’s his father, and that from now on, Zagreus will be living in the Underworld with him and his people, where he so obviously belongs. It’s a shame his mother can’t be here, of course, but they just need to wait awhile, that’s all; surely she’ll come to her senses and return home soon, now that her husband and son are here.

Zagreus jumps out of bed and faces his father as soon as he’s done monologuing, ready to tell him off for what he’s done, but to his shock, Hades hugs him as soon as he’s on his feet, and admits that he’s waited for this day for a long, long time. He asks his son to please just accept that this is his home now, and despite still being a bit surprised (and subtly hugging Hades back because Longing), Zagreus tells him straight up that he can’t, that he has to get home, especially with winter coming in a few months!

Dejected but not overly surprised, Hades simply nods in acceptance, but he still warns Zagreus that it’s no use trying to fight it; he’s stuck here, now and forever, so he may as well get comfortable and try getting along with him, because no one’s going anywhere anytime soon. Zagreus is horrified, but he nods nonetheless, unsure of what to say or do just yet.

Later that night, as Zagreus is struggling to sleep in this new, unfamiliar place, Achilles comes to him and apologizes about what’s happened, and although he can’t magically fix everything for him, he tells Zagreus that it actually is supposedly possible to escape; it’s just that no one’s ever done it before. Driven by his desire for freedom and the thought of reuniting with his mother, Zagreus tells Achilles that he’s going to find a way out, no matter the cost. Achilles congratulates him on his tenacity, but warns him that it won’t be easy. Still, he’s willing to help Zagreus as much as he can.

From then on, I imagine the game playing out very differently from the original, with a rather frazzled and scared Zagreus trying to get home to his mom and grandma, but with none of his training from Achilles in this AU, he has to rely on something his mother taught him; his connection with earth and all it’s inhabitants. Or, in his case, his connection with the spirits of animals (a cross of his dad and mom’s powers). That’s right, I’m making The Hades Game into a fucking Pokemon-ripoff, but still with some rouge-like elements mixed in (mostly with Zagreus not keeping his animals after runs).

Having royally fucked up in not stepping in sooner to protect Zagreus, the gods end up helping him out by sending down animals associated with them for the young god to tame for a run (I’ll come up with them later). They usually offer a selection to choose from, and from there Zagreus can build up a team and use it to try and escape the Underworld.

To replace weapons, I like to think he’d have “signature” animals that can help him out for any of his runs, specifically ones from Achilles, Poseidon, Zeus, Demeter (once he reaches the surface at least once), and eventually even Hades gives him one if they bond together enough ((yes, it’s Cerberus... kinda; it’s a puppy version of him, otherwise he’d be OP as fuck)). Zagreus’s signature animals can all be given names, and they keep certain skills that they pick up through enough experience battling in the Underworld for Zagreus.

As for story-line stuff, Zagreus ends up in a very fish out of water situation as he tries to get to know everyone in Hades’s house (he’s still our kindhearted Zag, after all, and he knows most of them aren’t to blame, not even really Than!) while also focusing on his goal to get home to his mom. Hades ends up being a lot nicer to him in this AU, perhaps overly so, as he’s trying to make his son like him more in order to make up for lost time (and fill the hole in his heart that Zag’s initial death as an infant and Persephone leaving with him created). It’s part of the reason he’s even letting Zagreus try to escape; he wants him to learn that it won’t work on his own terms (and maybe also scare the kid so bad that he comes running to him for comfort afterwards).

Also, I should really note that Zagreus is 100% a sweet country farm boy in this AU, and he has no idea what the fuck is going on with pretty much anything in the Underworld, much to everyone’s astonishment. For example:

Meg: Gods, it must be weird getting used to everything down here, huh? Sick of stepping in bat shit yet? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, and Dusa’s pretty good about cleaning it up to begin with. Zagreus: I mean, I guess? It’s not that different from chicken shit tbh. Meg: What the fuck is a chicken???

After that... yeah, I dunno. I’ll try playing Hades some more, see if I think up anything else that could be interesting, but for now, I hope at least someone ends up liking this dumb AU (if not, I’ll still like it... might even try my hand at drawing for it a bit tbh). Again, please check out the person who’s post/art I linked earlier in the post, ‘cus their art is really awesome and inspired me to include Demeter more in this AU!

[toothpastecanyon]

We Creatures, Chapter 3

When Alcor felt Mizar calling to him, he came to help. Perhaps, this one time, he should have stayed asleep.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

“I spy with my little eye… something beginning with e.”

“Is it elves?”

“What? No!”

“Just checking,” Mizar sat back in her seat. “Just checking, uh… electricity! From the lights?”

“No.”

“Elm tree! I see some elms over there.”

Alcor grinned. “Nope.”

“Okay… fuck, I give up. What is it?”

“Okay, are you ready? You’re gonna kick yourself: Everest.”

“Ev… Everest?” She raised an eyebrow. “Like the mountain in the Himalayas?”

“Yeah!” He chuckled to himself. “You know, I’ve gotten a not-insignificant number of summoners over the years who wanted me to teleport them to the top of Everest and back. Some of them worded it better than others, but you humans are just obsessed with that place - it’s so funny to me!”

“That’s great, but this is the third time you’ve named something only you can see.” She crossed her arms. “I don’t think this Eye Spy game is working.”

“Oh… that’s okay! I have other road trip games! How about twenty questions - we pick something in the environment and, uh, the other person asks you twenty questions about what it could be…”

He launched into an explanation. In the back, Mizar rolled her eyes. She was grinning, though.

______________________________________________________________

They rounded a curve on the interstate, radio blasting.

“We gotta hooooold on to what we got!”

“It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not!”

Mizar was using a soda can as a microphone. “We got each other, and that’s enough for noooow, we’ll give it a shot!”

“OHHHHH, we’re halfway there!” Alcor swerved in time to the music. “OOOH-OHHH, livin’ on a prayer! Liiivin’ onnn a prayyyy-aaa-err!”

______________________________________________________________

“And so I told her, you can’t ride a pig into battle, Mabel. Waddles - his name was Waddles - is too small, and let’s face it, he’s not really a fighter. He rolls - rolled - in the mud all day, he ate carrots, he’s not really down to charge through a cultist’s basement and strike fear in their hearts”

Mizar was slumped in the back, methodically ripping up gummy worms. “Mmmhm.”

“But, uh, a bit of a size change, and boy was I wrong.” Alcor chuckled, one hand on the steering wheel as they cut through a forest. The sun was still up, but it was blocked by the trees; every so often he’d squint as a ray peeked through. “Kind of glad that didn’t become a regular thing. A horse-sized pig is, uh, more intimidating than you’d think.”

“Mmmhm.”

“But yeah, she did funny things like that… all Mizars tend to do stuff like that… but always a different thing, you know?”

“Yeah…”

“I dunno, maybe I’m explaining it weirdly.” His smile faded a bit. “It’s been a long time since I thought about her… too long. I just… I sort of forgot, I guess? It feels like I can’t’ve - she was my sister, but… I guess time does that to you.” Alcor stared forwards. “Everything fades. In time.”

The silence stretched, and Mizar frowned a bit. She glanced over at him.

“Dude?”

“Huh?” He blinked. “Oh, sorry! Think I blanked on you for a second there.”

“Always encouraging to hear that from your driver.”

“Heh, yeah…” Alcor nodded, and then looked back at her. “So what about you?”

No reply. He looked back, and saw she’d gone still.

“Mizar?”

“What do you mean, what about me?” Ostensibly nothing had changed about her, but Alcor could feel a sort of carefulness in her choice of words now. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, and Alcor made a face.

“I didn’t mean anything serious by it. I just thought I’d get to know you a little bit more!” He shrugged. “You know, uh… oh, what’s your name? I never asked you that.”

“You’ve been calling me Mizar, right? That works.”

“Well, Mizar’s your soul’s name. You have a name apart from that, right?”

“Sure I do.”

“Yeah?” There was a pause. “Uh, what is it?”

“…Smith.” Mizar ripped a gummy worm in half. “John Smith, there you go.”

Alcor struggled to keep a smile. “Okay, Mizar, uh… so you lived in New York, huh?”

“Yeah. You gonna make me give you an address now?”

“No, I- ugh. Forget it.” Alcor rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t trying to pry, I was just trying to get to know you. Why are you so against that?”

“Why do you want to know so bad?” Mizar sat up a bit. “Look, genuinely? I’m sorry that’s frustrating for you. When I summoned a demon, I wasn’t exactly thinking I’d have to make small talk with them.”

“What does that mean?”

“Means I actually kind of like you, dude! And I feel bad, but I can’t risk…” she trailed off, then cleared her throat. “How about this. Once we get to the desert, you can ask me anything you want, okay?”

Alcor frowned. “Okay… I’ll wait for the desert, then.”

“Thank you.” She sat back a little. “Thank you, Alcor.”

He didn’t quite know what to say to that. The conversation seemed like it had reached its end, and he started fiddling with the radio again. Most of it was adverts, though; it felt like sometimes the stations were coordinating to all go on break at the same-

“Look out!”

Mizar’s voice shot through him like a knife. He looked up and noticed there was something in the road - a deer! He swerved hard, and then he tried to swerve away from a tree right at the bend in the road but it was coming up too fast and-

The impact broke on him like a wave slamming against a hard cliff, and the sound of glass and metal shattering split his body’s eardrums. He felt his head crack against the steering wheel, and when he looked up he had to blink through the blood.

There were… legs? Legs through the windshield, and a sweatered body wrapped around the tree, and Alcor felt a raw fear flood through his being.

“Mizar?” He tried to get up, get out of his body, but something held him in place. “Mizar!”

And then she moved. He froze.

“Ugh…” Mizar shifted, and moved her neck off the right-angle it was making with the tree’s trunk. She rubbed her head. “Ow.”

Alcor watched with wide eyes as she shook herself off, and started extracting her legs through the opening. All the broken glass on the hood hadn’t left a scratch on her, it was…

“Impossible,” Alcor breathed. He saw her eye settle on him, her face flash through a million expressions before turning carefully blank. “You’re not human.”

“It…” She hesitated. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to go.”

He tried to sit up, but something was keeping him rooted in place. It was more than being trapped; he tried to step into the Mindscape, but something had tethered itself to his very soul and bound him to the Earth.

“I can’t.” He frowned. “I’m… trapped?”

“You’re trapped?”

Bound to the Earth… Alcor lifted up his shirt, and found a branch impaled through his abdomen, skewering him to the seat. It was young, thin, but before his eyes, he watched it grow thicker, watched bark form on its trunk, and creep up his skin.

Mizar saw it too. “Shit,” she said, and backed up. “They’re here. They want you.”

“The elves?”

“Yeah… I have to go now.” She jumped off the car’s hood. “Sorry, dude.”

“Mizar? They want me? Wh-what does that mean? Mizar!”

But she was gone - vanished into the darkness. Alcor gritted his teeth, then he summoned a flame and tried to burn the branch. Nothing happened; if anything, a couple leaves sprouted where it should have turned to ash. The bark kept climbing up his chest, and he felt… strange. A little drowsy. It was easy to resist - for now.

But there were voices, and he pushed all that to the side.

“...No, child.” Elvish - spoken softly, like a song. “Do not chase the startled bear into its cave. Have patience, patience…”

He could see three pairs of feet, approaching. Two of them were clad in bark armour - the middle wore a long, flowing robe, and continued forwards where the other two stopped. It walked right up to Alcor, and for the first time in a very long while, he could feel a little bit of apprehension.

It was just an elf, he told himself. Just a mortal. Whatever it was, he’s a demon, he could take it…

The feet stopped in front of a mangled car door. Then they leaned down a little, and a face appeared through the broken glass. By the ears, they were elven, and by the locks of brilliant white hair framing their face, they were ancient indeed.

“Greetings, demon.” said the elf in a quiet tone. “You’ve made a mistake.”

Then they smiled. Alcor did not like the way they smiled.

“You’ve made a mistake,” He growled. “I don’t know how you’ve got me bound, but you can’t keep it up forever. If I get out and you’ve hurt one hair on Mizar’s head… what are you doing?”

The elder was waving at the other two. In unison, they kneeled on the ground, and started whispering to it. The bark creeping up Alcor’s chest started accelerating.

“Alcor the Dreambender,” the elder turned back to him. “You don’t know what a Sanctuary is, do you?”

“Wh-”

“No, you wouldn’t. Thus far, you’ve been a wise demon; you’ve stayed out of our affairs, and we’ve stayed out of yours.” They smiled. “Or perhaps, you’ve just been a lucky one. If you were wise, you wouldn’t have meddled last night, would you?”

“Meddled?” They leaned back as the elder leaned in close. “You were trying to kill Mizar, you- get back!”

“Let me educate you, child.” They whispered in his ear. “We will grow a great forest over your body. We will live in this Sanctuary, we will walk these woods, and our every thought will keep you bound, will keep you aslumber. And your wistful dreams will cause flowers to bloom in the springtime.”

With a smile, they stepped away, and spoke again.

“Now, do you see? Do you see why you should have been wise, demon?”

Alcor growled. After a moment, he got his claws under the bark encircling his neck. With a little effort, he ripped it away, and glared up at the elder.

“You can’t bind me forever. I’ll get out - you’ll regret this!”

“Hmm… perhaps. But not in time to protect that which you travel with. This… Mizar, you say?”

“Don’t you dare.” Alcor lunged at him. “Don’t you dare! D̞̖̟̱͉O̡͖͇̫N̳̦̳̫̮͎̯'T̹̼̮̤̠͢ͅ ̻̼Y̮͖̜OU҉͙̠̪̭̞̭ ͙̥͍̙͚̹̻D͈A̵̞̠̫̙̲̝R̠E͚̜̺̫̬!̦̤̬͉̪”

“A Mizar…” They stroked their beard. “So that is how it enlisted your help.”

“She҉ is̡ ̵mi͠ne͘!͜ S̸h̸e ìs mine̢!̕ ̷You̧ ̷hu̴rt̢ my̕ Mi͘zar,̴ ̸I ̢W̨ILĻ ͢ḰĮLL͢ ̨Y̵OU̧!”

“But she is not your Mizar.”

Alcor frowned. “Don’t you tell me who my Mizar is - I can feel it. I know!”

At that, the elf… laughed. He growled.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“Oh… it’s not funny.” They sighed; for once, the smile seemed to dip. “It’s not funny. I suppose it just… to see it happen again, it’s strange, is it not?”

Alcor watched the elf look into the distance. In their eyes were a thousand memories, and in their furrowing brow, a thousand pains. It seemed like an eternity before they spoke again.

“I had a daughter, once,” they started. “Long ago. Before I was one of the elders. Before the Transcendence. Shalana, her name was.”

Alcor watched the elf smile.

“And she was so full of life. She loved to dance with the wind and the leaves. And she loved everyone around her.” They shook their head. “She trusted everyone around her, and… she was mistaken.”

Alcor frowned. “What happened?”

“This is why you outsiders shouldn’t meddle.” They glanced up at him. “You ask me what happened - any elf would know what happened, but you are…” they sighed. “You don’t know of the Blighted Ones - they are hunters of us. Very specialized hunters; humans would see through their tricks, but we-“ they gestured at their visor. “We cannot. And you cannot, either.”

“What do you mean?” Alcor raised an eyebrow. “I have enough magic to see through any illusion-“

“And it is your magic that prevents you from seeing the truth! These creatures feed on magic - they twist your Sight, you cannot trust what you see!” The elf clenched their fists. “Just like Shalana could not See. She thought it was a friend who wanted to walk the forest with her; instead it was her doom.”

Alcor made a face. “I’m… so sorry to hear that.”

They looked at him, and did not smile. “You dare apologise to me?” They hissed, and leaned in closer. “You dare apologise to me when you saved her murderer last night!”

Alcor felt the elder grab his suit and wrench him in close. He was too stunned to resist.

“I spent millennia pleading with the Elders to hunt this creature down! Now I am one, and you dare interfere? You dare deny her justice? And for what?” They dug angrily in his suit pocket, and drew out the dewdrop. “For this?! This is what I’ll lose my retribution over?!”

Alcor couldn’t respond. The bark creeped up his neck, and he was fighting to keep his eyes open. The elder was only a blur as they pushed themself off of him.

“No…” they said. “Calm. Be calm. The mountain does not sway like the wind around it.”

He tried to sit up, but he was rooted to the seat. Nothing budged.

“I should not be surprised by this,” said the elf. “I should not. After all, what does a demon know of love?”

The bark was stretching over his jawline. Alcor could hardly summon the strength to panic anymore.

“Sleep well, Dreambender. You will wake to a better world- what is that?”

His closing eyes rolled over to look, and he saw something drop from the trees. There was a snarl, a cry, and the two elves stood up; suddenly the sleepiness fell away from him, and he jolted awake.

Mizar - or whatever she was - was the first thing he saw. She had the elder pinned, and with the back of her hand she slapped the visor off his face. They pushed her off and jumped away, covering their face.

“No! No! My eyes deceive! You’re not her!”

The two elves drew their swords and closed in. Mizar danced back as they slashed, glanced to the car, and then ripped off the side door and used it like a shield. One elf stabbed and stuck their sword in; she twisted it out of their hand, bashed them to the floor, then pounced on top and ripped out their throat.

The other elf raised their sword and drove it down through her back. She let out a cry, but in a flash she was on her feet again, eyes on the blade. They tried to slash at her; she caught their arm, twisted it back, and slammed them into the dirt.

Then it was silent, but for the quiet whimpering of the downed elf. Alcor watched her slowly, slowly kneel down to their level. She gripped their shoulders, and turned them over to face her.

He couldn’t see their face - only a sweater, and jangling bracelets on her arms. But the elf saw something else; he saw them go rigid, saw their feet kick up leaves as they struggled to get away, heard their groans turn to a desperate cry -

“No, no! No! Help! Tarathiel, aid me! I-”

Then Mizar struck. Alcor flinched at the scream, at the crack of bone and gristle; a deep pit formed in her stomach as he heard her begin to eat. Yet the more he watched, strangely, the fuzzier she seemed. Whatever she was doing, it was like the world around him had formed a kind of censor, and even the sounds of it faded sharply.

Like something was twisting his Sight… Alcor looked down at the visor that had landed on the front seat. He took a deep breath, and then ripped his hand out of the bark that had encased it, grabbed the visor, and put it over his eyes.

Now he saw without Sight. Now he saw the Creature that he had called Mizar.

It wasn’t human, no. It was much taller, and so, so thin. It was covered in a layer of fine yet shaggy hair, lending a greyish tint to the pale skin beneath; around its legs it was matted and grimy with dried sewage. Its hands were curled, clawed things at the end of its sticklike arms, and it was digging them into the elf to scoop out meat and dripping organs.

It was… oh, stars. Alcor felt a rush of primal fear at the sight of it, and he couldn’t help but gasp.

The Creature heard that; it froze, and then its head snapped around. Its face: its eyes were up where its forehead should’ve been, and the rest was all mouth, dripping with blood. Its jagged teeth glinted like broken glass as it turned and knuckle-walked towards him.

Alcor couldn’t help it; he growled, he leaned away as far as he could. “No… stay, stay back!”

He threw a blast of fire its way. It melted the side of the car, but nothing happened to the Creature - no, worse than nothing. His fire swirled around the narrow, bloodless hole in its chest, and sealed it.

“I’m warning you!” Alcor watched it squeeze itself through the opening in the car; it was so much larger than it looked. “Don’t come any closer, don’t - d-don’t touch me! What are you...”

It was reaching its filthy claws towards his face. He stiffened as they scraped against his forehead… then carefully closed around the visor, and took it off. The glow-eyed, primally terrifying being that hunched before him suddenly-

-just looked like a Mizar again. Felt like a Mizar again. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, there wouldn’t have been a doubt in his mind that this was his sister smiling sadly at him.

“I’m sorry,” said the Creature, with her voice. “I did lie to you. But… look, if I’ve built up any goodwill with you since we met… can you just hear me out? Please?”

Alcor didn’t move, didn’t speak. He didn’t know what to say. He watched the Creature’s eyes flit down, and fix on the branch that was keeping him in place. It reached out a lie of a hand.

“Here, let me get you out of that.”

[pretendrocketships]

Speak

About: One look and you know what to do.

A/N: Fluff for once lol. Feedback is wanted, ask open! 

Song: Speak by Jhene Aiko

--

Everyone has their favorite day of the week. Some like Wednesday because it means the week is halfway over. Others prefer Fridays and Saturdays that bring the fun of going out and downing drinks. The best day in your the house? Sunday. You were accompanied by your boyfriend, him always saying “Sundays are our days.” With all the time you spent wrapped up in each other on Sunday, one of the worst feelings was waking up Monday morning knowing your paradise had to come to an end. From tour to PR ploys, to other friends and family, Sunday was the only time you knew you had Shawn all to yourself. Sometimes you felt selfish, and you’re sure some people thought you were too, but you wanted to have them try and share their best friend, and boyfriend, with a million other people. Even though it sucked, never for a second did you think of trying to take away Shawn’s dream or the life he worked so hard to build for himself. You rolled over expecting to run into a strong body but were met, face first, with a cold indent of where Shawn should have laid. You groaned and grabbed his pillow and molded it until it filled the space he usually took up. You gave yourself a good fifteen minutes, maybe twenty of pretending your boyfriend was still in bed before you got up and tried to start your Monday.

You grabbed your clothes from the walk in, tempted to grab Shawn’s sweater so you could linger in your Sunday traditions just a little longer. Before it got too weird, you made your way to the bathroom to start your shower and the rest of the dreaded day.

Showers are your quiet times. The heat of the water and the steaming of your bathroom always seemed to calm you down. Shawn always made sure to show you the water bill just to make sure you knew how much you do value your showers. You reached for the shampoo bottle and heard the what you could only describe as typical Monday morning chaos going on downstairs, along with a slew of swears. “Babe? That you?” you called out, working the product into your hair. After you got no response, you turned all your attention back to your hair and singing the same commercial jingle that was stuck in your head over and over.

“You know I always tell you asking that is pointless? If I were a killer, all you’d be doing is letting me know where you are so I could come get you,” he pointed out, without announcing his presence. The thud he heard was the conditioner bottle slipping out of your hand and into a body wash bottle, and then finally landing on the floor.

“Shawn!” you yelled. “What do I always tell you about coming places unannounced! Specifically, the bathroom where I can’t see you come in!” You caught wind of his soft chuckle behind the curtain.

“Well if you would stop leaving the door unlocked,” he scoffed, “or wide open, we wouldn’t have the problem now would we?” It was silent besides the steady stream of the shower. You pictured him fiddling with his phone on the charger, or going through the clothes you brought with you, to see what he would get to see you in. It was a bad habit he picked up when you went on vacation to Hawaii last month. “Love these shorts on you,” he mumbled while fiddling with your pile of clothes.

“Where’d you go this morning?” you questioned, trying to keep conditioner out of your eyes to the best of your ability. “Left me to get through Monday morning alone.” You finally turned the water off and peaked your head out of the shower, awaiting his answer. You studied him while he gathered his answer. He was rested against the wall of your bathroom. His lashes were locked for a moment before looking up to shoot you a small smile.

“Had to take care of something, last-minute meeting about the label and last minute album changes. Sorry, meant to leave a note.” You’re not sure what it was, but something about the way his voice lacked more excitement had you staring at him waiting for more. After he answered you, he went back to his phone, reply to fans or just cringing, remembering his old vines.

“Babe?” you questioned, now in a robe standing in front of him.

“Jesus, (y/n)! I thought you were still fucking showering; don’t do that!” You snickered.

“Said the pot to the kettle,” you said smirked before resting your head on his chest while he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. “What’s up, Shawn?” You felt him tense slightly. He began raking his fingers through your wet hair.

“Whatcha mean, honey?” Deflecting. It was Shawn’s specialty, and he was good at it.

“Dunno, you just seem off? Whenever you come home from meetings and stuff, you’re usually excited and rambling endlessly, but today you’re just kind of quiet.” You shrugged while looking up at him. “Just checking in on you.” He sighed and looked away.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” He leaned down to kiss your hair, taking a second to smell his favorite shampoo. “Love you for that though, always worrying about me.” You shook your head at the typical antics of your boyfriend.

“You don’t have to ‘just handle it’ when you have me.” You grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bedroom. “Sit.” You pushed him onto the bed and sat on his lap. “Now talk.” He let out a small laugh while going back to playing with your hair, his fingertips running made up patterns on your scalp.

“Babe, it’s nothing. Just started out having a bad day, that’s all.” He let his chin rest on the top of your head and closed his eyes, relaxing into your touch.

“I want to hear it, if you want to tell it.” Your continued persistence made him smile as he started to disclose his morning to you.

“And they said I couldn’t do it! And of course that got me upset, and I just felt like they were trying to control me and my image!” You nodded along as he talked about the meeting that dragged on through most of the morning. “God and it lasted forever! If you’re going to make me sit through this meeting at least let me get a word in!”

“Calm, babe,” you said, your turn to rub soothing shapes into his chest. He continued on, his words allowing you to travel with him through his day.

“Okay, so this was totally my fault, but you can’t make a special that tastes like ass!” You laugh as he told you about stopping at your favorite coffee shop and trying something new for the first time.

“You know what you like! Why do you insist on trying new things?”

“Because I like to pretend I’m adventurous, you know this!” He whined, and you laughed hard and long into his chest.

“Mess, I’m dating a mess.” He grinned wide before pulling you closer to his chest.

“Maybe. I mean probably. But you love me anyway, and I love you for that.” Your eyes were closed as soft kisses littered the side of your face.

“I think sometimes you forget I know you so well, and it makes me laugh. I knew something was up the second you weren’t in bed with a note, or text, or anything. You know I try and give you your space for a bit, but I’m never going to wallow in a poor day. I’m always here.” He beamed down at you before lifting you up, eliciting a squeal from you. ”Shawn!”

“I missed breakfast with my girl, and I’ve decided we’re having pancakes!” He announced as he made his way towards the stairs with you in his arms.

“Shawn!” Shawn, it’s literally one in the afternoon.” You said reminding him just how much of the day he’s spent away from you. He stopped to make eye contact with you.

“The beginning of today kinda sucked, and I was bummed, but you turned it around, and I know how you get when I do crazy things like buying you a car or whatever else, so I’m simply going to make you breakfast to say sorry for missing it this morning, and thank you for always having my back.” Pulling his head down, you enjoyed your first real kiss of the morning.

“To the kitchen, we go.“

[gilbirda]

Payment

After winning their silly little bet, Lucifer had arranged a vacation for him and his detective in a private island. What he doesn't know is that she had plans of her own.

<< Prequel

[Read in AO3][Read in FF.net]

"So," she heard the voice followed by a loud thump of something really heavy hitting the floor. "What do you think?"

Heavenly, was her first thought, but she was sure he wouldn't like the humour behind her words. Instead, Chloe pulled up her sunglasses and stepped into the mansion - she refused to call it a house - by the beach where Lucifer apparently wanted them to spend the rest of the week.

A beach in a private island, because of course The Devil owned a Caribbean island in the Bermuda Triangle. Despite the creepy mysteries behind planes and boats disappearing here, he had assured her that there wasn’t anything supernatural about this place; and as a bonus they had plenty of privacy here. The smile as he said it told her that he wasn’t exactly referring to nosy neighbours or unwanted visits.

She had never been in a private island. Or any island. One would think that with a famous mother she would have traveled a lot, but the fact is that she always been too busy with her studies and acting school to keep Penelope company in her travels.

Chloe smiled, swallowing down the knee-jerk reaction to Lucifer’s absurd wealth shows, and turned to see his buried under an equally absurd amount of luggage. It was his own fault, insisting that he chose everything she would wear or need as part of their bet, so she didn’t offer any help as she would have any other moment.

He didn’t seem tired, anyway.

“It’s nice,” she shrugged with a smirk, putting back her sunglasses and going inside the mansion with a flick of her hair.

.

Chloe was having the time of her life. She knew it was petty of her, but sometimes being predictable was boring and wasn't Lucifer complaining all the time about getting bored? That she could use some excitement in her life.

Seems like teasing the Devil was her new favorite pastime.

Serious teasing. Sexual teasing. Hinting promises and leave him hanging all day, being extra careful with her tongue movements as they ate ice-cream before, making unnecessary eye-contact every time she responded with an innuendo.

She really have been trying to read this book for a while, too, but Lucifer’s glare was too heavy to ignore even if he had been as quiet as a cat as he hovered around her.

A shadow was cast over her, but she didn’t lift her head to look at him.

“The main protagonist is about to have mind-blowing sex with the Dark Lord, so please move. You are blocking the light.”

The Devil snorted. “Why do you read that crap when you can have real-life mind-blowing sex with your own Dark Lord?”

He was trying so hard to conceal his frustration that her mask of controlled boredom almost cracked for it. It was endearing, watching him squirm and get all bothered because of her.

“Chloe…” he practically whined.

The woman smiled and closed the book, taking off the sunglasses. Maybe it was time to stop her game. She knew that they were here because of that stupid bet and that she was supposed to be living the fantasy of a deserted island with her boyfriend; but the truth is that she had been brewing a plan for this little vacation.

Lucifer thought she wouldn’t notice how he tried so hard to meet her needs, sexualy speaking that is; but the fact is that she did notice him withdrawing every time she presented a more active front. She knew he liked going down on her and tending to her every whim and plea, they had talked about it before, but it didn’t mean he didn’t have a preference or two. He had eons to try everything, true, and he must have a favorite position or kink.

So far she hadn’t approached him about it, but she was going to change that.

“Yeah?”

His expression was a mix of kicked puppy and Trixie’s face when there’s steamed broccoli for dinner.

“Please.” She wasn’t sure if she liked how he sounded saying that word; but the sensation surely won over the impulse of comforting him immediately.

Chloe smirked. “Join me for a quick shower?”

His smile lit up like a Christmas tree.

.

Breathing heavily, Chloe considered her boyfriend as he rearranged his bathrobe, his hair beyond salvation after the attack of her hands as he did so many wonderful things between her legs.

“Want more?” his voice made her focus on his eyes. They glinted with mischief.

“Uh-huh,” she shook her head, jumping off the bathroom counter. Didn’t bother with a towel, though. “Just thinking.”

“About?” he offered her another robe, opening it for her to pass her arms through.

“You.”

“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes at his tone, “but what about, specifically?”

She could cower and let it go, she knew; but between with the deep relaxation after a perfect shower followed by a mindblowing orgasm, she felt bold and brave. She came here with a mission.

“What do you want?”

He blinked. “I’m afraid I don’t follow. You mean for dinner? Or…”

“Sorry. Let me rephrase it,” she cleared her throat, looked at him in the eye, leaning in a bit. “Tell me, what do you desire?” she said trying to mimic his accent.

Lucifer snorted and pinched her nose. “Awful. Just awful. Don’t do that ever again.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t,” Chloe batted his hand away. “But my question still stands. What is it that you most want?”

“You. I thought it was obvious,” he frowned like it was a stupid question.

“I mean, hm…” her bravery was vanishing. “In sex. I know you have a lot of experience and everything… Let me finish!” she said when he opened his mouth to, probably, reassure her once more that monogamy wasn’t a torture and she was more than enough and Detective, please, nothing can compare. “I have a point. What I wanted to say is, I have noticed how you do a bunch of stuff for me but don’t ask anything in return.”

“I thought that it was okay to do something without it being a deal…?” Chloe could almost see the question marks floating around his head.

“Yes! Yes, it is. But, trust me I can’t believe I’m saying this, I would do anything you ask of me. Doesn’t matter how kinky or, dunno, weird.”

“Anything…” he murmured the word, taking a step back, analysing her.

“Tell me, I’ll understand,” she looked down at her fidgeting hands, forcing them to stop. Here it goes, she though. Lucifer, the King of weird kinks and forbidden desires. What kind of thing would be the Devil’s kink? His one forbidden desire? The man who spoke of sex as an everyday thing, who had a BDSM dungeon (she knew about its existence, but never been there) fully stocked, who could draw the darkest and deepest fetishes of people without blinking.

Lucifer was still watching, considering, making her more nervous. Was it so fucked up that he didn’t want to talk about it out loud?

“Detective,” she jumped at his voice, “while I appreciate the thought, you don’t have to do anything for me. What you already give is more than enough for an eternity.”

How could he deliver such corny and cheesy phrases without sounding tacky? It was a mystery, but her money was on the accent. And his height.

Chloe took a deep breath. “I know. I’ve had my fair share of guilt tripping boyfriends pressuring me into sex to know you are not one of them.” He smiled dangerously, making it clear that he wanted the names of those ‘boyfriends’. “This is something I really want to do. And who knows, maybe I’ll like it too?” she gave him a tentative smile.

Lucifer relaxed, smiling back, closing the space between them to softly place a kiss on her lips.

“I love you,” he whispered like it was a fact.

And it was.

“Then tell me what you -”

“Stop right there if you value your kidney,” he grumbled. The devil didn’t like her butchering his catchphrase, it seems.

“I wasn’t going go say it.”

“Liar.”

She smirked devilishly, pushing him towards the bed, amazed once more when he let himself be pushed.

“What is it?”

Was it a blush in his cheeks? “Promise you won’t laugh.”

She frowned. “Laugh?” Chloe frowned.

“Yep. Promise.”

“I promise, sure, but I wouldn’t laugh at you anyways.”

He searched inside her eyes for a few seconds before sighing, closing his eyes.

“I want you to dominate me.”

Her eyebrows went to the hairline. “That was unexpected.” But she rolled with it, as she always did with her partner. “I thought Maze…?”

“Dear Mazikeen sure is the dominating type in bed,” he conceded with a slight nod, “and I let her do with me what she wanted more than a few times. But what I crave is more than pain and restraining. True submission is about -”

“Trust,” Lucifer saw the gears work inside her pretty brain. She knew him well, knew about his opinions about free will, about his issues with trust. Hell wasn’t place of trust and friendship, he had told her plenty of times. Maze was his trusted bodyguard and lover, but she was, after all, a demon. “And you trust me.”

“With my whole life.”

Chloe kissed him, hard.

“I don’t do pain, though,” she grabbed his face, looking at him in the eye. “I wouldn’t-”

“I know,” he smiled.

“Good. Then I’m game, if you excuse my inexperience.”

Lucifer moved her so he could stand up from the bed, straightened his bathrobe, and flashed her a charming trademark Lucifer smile.

“Worry not, Detective! We can start with something simple.” With long strides, he glided towards a dresser by the bed, opening a drawer and retrieving some stuff from inside. “Have you ever used one of this?”

Chloe should have expected this. She should, with how the conversation was going. But she wasn’t ready to see a pretty and shiny (and new, she noticed) strap-on with the dildo already attached. She had flashbacks of a moment a long time ago, with a young Chloe awkwardly kissing a woman, a girl who thought that “she was just experimenting” and “just a phase”. Yeah right.

“Once,” her voice didn’t falter, thankfully.

“Nice,” he smiled, showing a lot of teeth, “I want to hear about that story sometime.”

She made a face. Of course he would want to hear about her sex life, even if it wasn’t as colorful as his.

Chloe stood and approached him to retrieve the strap-on, one hand on his chest to push him back towards the bed. He let her, stealing a kiss as he walked backwards. The woman snorted.

“So,” she said, watching him from above, weighing the dildo in one hand as she contemplated what to do next. She wasn’t usually dominating in bed, but… well, it warmed her heart to hear his reasons behind wanting it. “Take off the robe.”

He nodded and did as he was told, making a show of it.

Chloe smiled softly. “Now, I want you to....,” she looked around, considering her words, “kneel.”

His knees made a dull sound when they contacted with the wooden floor, but he didn’t make an expression of pain. Chloe put her free hand on his hair, petting him softly, trying to dictate what kind of dominance she was going for. She didn’t do pain, didn’t do humiliation. He had suffered that enough in his life; and she was absolutely sure that it wasn’t what he was asking for with his request.

“You look so pretty like this, Luce,” her smile was soft, “I love how vulnerable you look around me.” Her hand went down his face, caressing his lips. He leaned into the touch, but didn’t say anything.

“I love kissing you knowing that I am the only one. That your lips are mine,” her nails scrapped his scalp softly when she grabbed a bit of hair, not enough to hurt. “Are they?”

“Yes,” his voice didn’t tremble, but he closed his eyes. Chloe smiled.

“Good. Stand up.”

Being so close to him, his height made him tower above her, but that didn’t make her cower down. It never did.

“On the bed,” she slapped his backside when he turned to do as she told him. “Good devil.”

“Always.”

“Uh-huh, didn’t give you permission to speak,” she stood before him, placing the strap and the dildo somewhere on the mattress and focusing on him.

He arched an eyebrow, but bit down whatever he was going to retort with.

“Now, for your little slip of the tongue, you are not allowed to move,” she locked eyes with him as she kneeled between his legs, her intentions clear. “No words, but you can make sounds. And no touching me.” Her growl was good, he decided. Pasable.

Without preamble, she took him into her mouth, delighted when he jumped and fisted his hands on the sheets. He enjoyed touching her, her face, her hair, her shoulders, anything, as she does her blowjobs; she was sure that part of it was to make sure she was real and was actually doing it. She liked it too, not going to lie, even if sometimes he got a bit rough.

Okay, maybe those times turned her on more that she was going to admit out loud.

She looked up as she bobbed her head up and down his length, smiling around him once she found a very flustered devil, jaw locked in place, trying very hard to control his own body from reaching for her. His eyes were shifting between normal brown and hellfire red, the only sign that she was doing exactly what she wanted.

Lucifer should have expected this, he thought. His Detective was cunning and clever, with a mischievous streak buried deep under her sensible clothes and brown shoes. What he didn’t expect was looking down to find her swallowing him further and further, her face scrunched in concentration as she overcame her gag reflex with the ease of enough practise.

Once she managed to reach all the way up, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Throwing his head back, he moaned loudly, her name on the tip of his tongue, remembering in the last minute that he wasn’t allowed to say words. His hands trembled on his sides, the urge to grab her head and pound into her throat consuming his thoughts until he couldn’t stop imagining it even with his eyes opened.

She kept her head down one moment that felt like eons before withdrawing, taking a deep breath.

“Do you like it?” her lips were swollen as she smiled her question, one hand idly stroking his cock with care. Lucifer nodded hastily, taking the break to breathe himself. “Good devil.” He shivered at her praising. “I love watching you like this, too. I love doing this to you knowing that I am the only one who can touch you like this. Am I? You can speak.”

"Yes.”

He was close, she knew. It was tempting to give her all and make him cum after the teasing, but she was strong enough to ignore the siren’s call.

“Good, good,” she nodded and let him go. Lucifer gasped, looking at her like she had just murdered his puppy. “No talking,” she reminded him when he opened his mouth.

Lucifer rolled his eyes in a very Decker way.

“On the bed,” she made a gesture with her chin, a soft smile on her lips. “Good devil,” the woman said as he did so, ignoring the smug smile when he laid down, hands behind his head, and proudly presenting his Luciferness for her.

Chloe reached for the harness, her hands finding their places in the straps and quickly fastening the contraption between her legs. She felt in control, dominant, and exactly in tune with what she wanted to do. Lucifer watched her with anticipation while she went for the lube and applied a generous quantity over the silicone, stroking the false cock to thoroughly spread the glossy substance.

She kneeled between his legs, reached for a nearby pillow and put it under him, ordering him to lift his hips with a soft slap on the leg, before spreading even more lube on her right hand and grabbing his member by the base, waiting for confirmation. He nodded briefly, letting her hand slid down, biting back a retort about not really needing prep, duh, who has she thinking he was?

“Before you start bitching about it, remember how vulnerable,” she made a point by squeezing his cock almost to an uncomfortable point. He jumped and gasped, but not really for the pain, “you are around me. Trust me.”

The thing is, he did.

Chloe put in a finger, lazily pumping him with her left hand, looking into his eyes as she added almost immediately another finger. She felt him relax into the sensation, not really aroused by it but enjoying the feeling of his Detective touching him in such delightful ways.

The woman added another finger, slowly spreading them, focusing on the rhythm and his reaction to it.

Lucifer gasped when she deemed him sufficiently prepared and withdrew her digits, pouring some more lube just in case.

“Thank you for allowing me this moment, Lucifer,” she caressed his chest as she shuffled closer to him, her fingers leaving wet tracks on his tanned skin, “I love how doing this to you makes me feel. How your body responds to me,” she said as she probed the entrance with the plastic toy.

Without any further warning, she slowly pushed the dildo in, watching out for any discomfort or pain in his expression. He had closed his eyes, one of his hands floating near her hip as if reaching to guide her. Chloe waited for a moment.

Lucifer’s breath hitched when she withdrew as slowly as she entered. No one told him it would be like this. No one could have warned him it could be like this. Sex with the love of his life was amazing and everything but, bloody hell, this woman…!

She thrusted right back in, and he actually mewled in response, his hands choosing to fist around the sheets again. Was he allowed to touch her again…? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure anymore about anything. Why was Chloe doing this? He should have asked sooner. Hell, he should have offered sooner, if this was what got her into his bed.

“You can speak,” her words were like fresh water in the dessert.

“Chloe,” he grumbled, his voice a hybrid of a growl and a moan. “More.”

She didn’t say anything else and picked up the pace a little, her hands searching for anchor in his thighs to power her thrust, searching for the balance of force and speed he craved.

“More!” He arched his back, feeling like something was quite there but not there, making him mad with the need, like scratching an itch he couldn’t reach.

Instead of going faster, Chloe gradually stopped. He opened his eyes, horrified, scared that he said the wrong thing or wanted too much, or she was finally realizing that dating a celestial maybe wasn’t exactly what she wanted-

“On your belly,” her breathing was labored but her expression focused. She slapped his stomach softly when he didn’t move. “I have an idea, one that maybe won’t require cramping my legs.”

In a daze, Lucifer did as told, missing the pressure of the dildo inside of him, missing the reassurance of seeing her face and asses if she was okay or not. His back may not be scarred anymore, and she was allowed to touch him where she wanted now, but he still felt utterly vulnerable in his position. Maybe she knew this?

Chloe run a finger over his spine, right between where his wings would be. “Wings. Out.”

“Chloe?”

She kissed his back instead of answering.

Taking a deep breath he unfurled his enormous wings, careful of not pushing her out of the bed in the process. This wasn’t the first time he showed her his cursed appendages, even during sex; but it was the first time she asked for them. She knew about the conflicted emotions around them, the pain and the loss, about the grooming and what it entailed. What it meant to be touched there.

“I’m going to touch your feathers, maybe pull them. Is that okay with you?” her voice was soft, not demanding at all, breaking character for the one question he knew he could answer truthfully.

The words came easy. “Please do.”

He felt more than saw her nod before feeling the silicone cock touching him again. He angled his ass better for her, delighted when her hands bracketed his hips like they were made to be there. Just as naturally and easy, she pushed in and started to pump in and out again, slow at first as she found the position to power through what she wanted to accomplish.

Lucifer’s arms trembled when her hands roamed up to his wings, her nimble fingers finding places that triggered shivers and sighs and nice feelings; and places that send lighting to his groin, too. He moaned after one powerful thrust, his hand sneaking down, trying to reach that extra completion…

“Uh-huh,” she slapped the hand away.

“No?” he turned his head to look at her beautiful naked body, the visuals of her cock disappearing inside of him giving him the shivers.

“Nope.” She grinned in a very him way, pushing in a bit harder to accentuate her point. She was in control. She did the action.

“O-okay…” he almost screamed, but bit down the urge.

Lucifer closed his eyes, letting himself feel the friction and the delicious sensations she provided. He screamed when she grabbed a handful of feathers and pulled, careful of not hurting him too much even if she couldn’t know that with her human strength she couldn’t really damage his wings. She pulled again, this time accompanied by another powerful thrust.

His arms trembled, unable of supporting his weight anymore, and fell down, losing the last bit of control he held over what she was doing to him, letting himself be held down by the woman.

“Detective,” he moaned into the pillow. She hummed, raking her nails deep into his wings, sending electric currents through his body. Lucifer screamed again.

“My name, Lucifer. I want to hear my name.” Her voice couldn’t be louder than a normal conversation, but it rang loud in his brain.

He didn’t know if it was her tone or how the new angle made the silicone hit just right but he was sure that he was close again. Still, it wasn’t enough. Nothing was enough. She was enough, but there were so many things he wanted to do with her. It was always like this. He wanted so much, too much, and he wanted all with her. She said she wanted to fulfill his desires but would she really?

He turned his head to look at her delicious form, her focused expression, her lower lip between her teeth in concentration. She was sweating and breathing hard, but she looked… radiant.

“Detec-”, she slapped his ass, glaring at him when she found his eyes. “Chloe,” her name sounded like a plea. “Please don’t stop.”

She was going to ask what he meant, when she felt the resistance to her movements increase, his legs trembling slightly, and she understood now. As he came, she kept moving at a slower pace, guiding her actions by his breathing and the tone of his moans, how he looked at her with eyes switching between dark brown and hellfire red.

He was beautiful like this, she concluded. His hair messed beyond repair, utterly wrecked and helpless under her body. She pulled some feathers again, smirking when immediately he screamed her name, arching his back as much as she let him.

“Don’t stop, please,” he kept saying, this time with eyes glowing red, “Please.”

And she didn’t stop. Chloe kept thrusting and pulling and caressing and slapping; slowing down sometimes, notching the speed a bit up when she found the strength. Her legs were burning, but she kept going. She could do this. She wanted to do this.

It wasn’t until he eventually stopped pleading and mewling and moaning that she ceased all movements. She was tired. And needed a shower. And water.

Slowly, she withdrew the silicone cock, Lucifer’s body falling limp on the bed. She worried for a moment that she had hurt him, but when she rushed to check if he was alive she found him awake but silent, watching her in a daze-like state. She snapped her fingers and he moved his eyes to hers in question, but didn’t do anything else.

Deciding that it was okay as a response, she unfastened the straps and got out of the bed, waggling towards the bathroom as fast as her tired legs could. She wetted a cloth and came back to clean a still unresponsive Lucifer, wrestling with his celestial weight and wings to turn him to clean the bodily fluids clinging to his skin. He would need to shower too, but that was for the them of the future.

For now, napping.

If he agreed or not, she couldn’t know. The only signs that he was alive were his still changing eyes watching her every movement, a blank expression in his face. She had broken him, she knew. For a few seconds, she considered getting this moment captured in a photo for future blackmail, but she dismissed the idea with a smile.

Once they both were clean enough for her standards, she threw the cloth to a nearby table and proceeded to yank the sheets from under the Devil’s body. If she was tired before, she was about to collapse now. Chloe didn’t care if it wasn’t night yet, she was going to nap.

At last she got under the covers with her boyfriend, spooning his unresponsive form, wings and all. She closed her eyes, humming with delight.

“Chloe,” she heard him whisper.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.” His voice broke with emotion. She didn’t comment on it.

“I know,” she kissed the back of his head. “Now, sleep.”

“Okay.”

[sassaetcie]

Silver x Idia (The Molten Charcoal) chapter 7 [END]

Finally the end of the fic!!! (spoiler: big weeb reference, I apologize if you find this cringe bruh)

Okay so... I kind of... played videogames all night (lol). Couldn't sleep and all. Of course if I had been to sleep during the date... it would have been awful but... I still went like this... I could... have asked Ortho to bring Silver into my room immediatly but... that would have been too much. I mean... It pains me to go outside but... How far would have I annoyed anyone if I had? I had trained myself to go out of my room anyway so... This shouldn't have been that hard. Sure water was killing me, and I was butchering this very water but... My steps felt... mine. Not a heavy haze or this kind of shit. This was no longer intoxicating smoke. My legs, my hands, my arms, my fingers. I had... took back these... things. Were they things any longer? I... kind of did something weird, too. I mean... was it weird? Of course it was since it was me (www) but... I still can't tell if it was... smart, at least. I... wanted to prove Silver this day was important and... not that it was just... another 'date'... Well it was another date but. Not like this... I... wore my ceremonial robe. I mean! Not to show off... But it has a hood so... I could hide my hair and all... Sure it was stupid, it was stupid, it was so fucking stupid?! It was both a Sneak +100 and Sneak -100 outfit... Or did some people wear it before... for the ceremony day aside? I... just wanted to wear a... pretty outfit... to show him how... I... feel things for him? So... I did. The hood felt comfortable, and still does. Of course... the flames could still set it ablaze if something were to happen... or make it happen. So I... wrapped my hands in the black, frozen, cloth. I strangled this body with all of this dark, sun-absorbing fabric. I couldn't master all of these limbs so far but I... was slowly getting how to handle them, right? I just needed to be... sure. That none of them would go their way. I asked of my fingers to go and fuse with a brush, to let some of these normal drops mix with this hair yet-to-be mine. A sound appeared in the room. The brush had fallen down, as it should. Yet I... grabbed some air with these fangs of mine. Yeah, I could, at least. In the worst case, it would have been my... last date. So... it was just the (current? www) final showdown! I needed only to create some steps and carve them through reality. I was able to interact. I drag these bones, these diamond and dry bones. I certainly could do something with this basis. My tibia obeyed. My backbone obeyed. My skull obeyed. This basis of bones... My bones arrived, linked with this weak flesh ready to cry under the heat, pine over water. We... I... entered the shadow once more. His lake-like eyes were as dim as my flames, probably. Darkness hindered us from burning each other.

-Oh, you are pretty early.

-S-s-so... are you... weren't you... supposed to be here at 6 pm... It's barely 5:50... W-w-w—well not that I wanted to see you later or whatnot! I j-j-j-j-ust... thought I would... be... no, nevermind.

The prince raised his hand and ulna on the little hat Diasomnia was so fond of (lol, I dunno but...), bringing it back onto the side of his head it was supposed to befriend. Had it even moved??? I didn't... really notice back then, tbh.

-I... wanted to get there before you do... I thought you might think I was betraying you if I didn't.

-H-h-h-h—huh?!

-I mean... I have heard from the others you are quite prompt to have anxiety and panic... attacks?

-Y-y-y-eah that's true...

-So I wanted to make sure I would be there before you. I want to go with you and see how we will understand our feelings, even if they end up different. Well, let's go.

-Y-y-y-yes...

Did he expect me to reach my hand to him? He stood up so quickly I still don't think he wanted me to but... He would have told me for sure. Silver was so honest he couldn't possibly mess up like this... Even though that wasn't necessarily messing up... Maybe he was just tired??? I tried to walk as fast as I could. As long as I was with him... I was myself, after all. This crown of flames was no more. But was I pacing too fast, tho...? Nevertheless...  he would have told me if this was unpleasant... He would have told me for sure. Silver was honest to the point of hurting others. And yet cared about harming, unlike a certain red pest (asshole.). So... the doors opened before I even knew they were there.

-Oh... So I guess this is your room.

-Y-y-yeah... Guess it's a bit messy, huh...

-It feels honest. I only know of another room as messy as this one but I do not really go into others's rooms a lot.

-T-t-t-thanks, t-then...

I guess that was the best answer to make... I didn't really want to be looked down because I didn't tidy up my room or some stupid shit like that... And he didn't look down on me because of so stupid a shit...

-Hmm... You sure got a lot of figures... Oh, is that Ryougi... Shiki?

-Huh?! You know her?!

-Yes. My old man watches quite a lot of anime and... well, a lot of different things.

-S-s-s-so... Do you recognize this one?!

-Oh, is this a Phos...phophy...llite one?

-Yes! Yessss!!! You sure know a lot of stuff!!!

-My old man told me the show this person is from was quite sad... Do you appreciate sad shows, hm... Shroud?

-O-oh... Huh...

He could have thought I was definitely a grim person (well I am but...)...

-I kind of, yeah... Catharsis and all that stuff, I think... y-you know...

-Oh, I understand. I was just... curious. Will we sing sad songs as well?

-W-well if you don't feel like singing sad ss-s-stuff... I would understand, d-don't worry Iwontforceyouanyway...

-I do not mind that much. I want to try.

-Hmm... Sad songs can help us show our feelings from what I've read s-s-o...

-I understand... Shall you start? I can start if you feel uneasy.

-I... think I can start. You're... n-n-ot the kind of person to mock weak and dumbasses, right... so it should be alright... I just hope it won't... huh...

-I won't laugh at all. Your bravery is worthy of praises, Shroud.

-Can you... call me Idia?

-Understood, Idia.

He couldn't possibly have mocked me. How many burdens had I pushed on him? I flattered his ego by saying he wasn't the kind of person to mock weak... Asked him to use my name... He would break something if he were to lie to reality...

-I'm... going i-i-in, then.

And of course it wasn't the first time I was singing... Even among people. We had already had some singing contests on servers wayyyy before... Setting up the off-vocals, the mic... even without a mic it would have been alright, tbh. I guess I wanted to... at least show I was good with computers, lol...

-Étoi... le... et toi...

I guess French was just a way of covering whatever these words watering through my throat were. How dared I use something like this? How dared I use such a stereotyped love strategy?

-Et toi... et moi...

Words were floating around. I could not see them but... A blue gleam, a usual blue gleam had disappeared. I closed my eyes several times, yes. For numerous seconds, certainly... One... Two... Three... Whatever. The heat didn't force them open. And his soft eyes of water were not asphyxiated nor asphyxiating.

-Le monde... est vous...

"You"... Yes. The mic feels cold between my hands, my ten fingers, my ten white and carved phalanx yet to be carved again phalanx. This world was... not theirs, after all. Nor was it made of this Water, this One Normality.

-Vous êtes... le monde...

Yes... We are part of it and so... Water, Flames... Whatever. Your eyes aren't made of one lake drowning the whole world except I.

-Étoile... et toi...

You are made of fire and water. I am made of lava and ice, into mirrored proportions, no matter what they are.

-Et toi, et moi...

Surely, you weren't especially my prince, nor a special element fated to me. There was no such... sad thing as this, even if this world is (lol) made of all of these. But you wouldn't have chosen me because of some "rules".

-Tout ce que je vois...

No matter how carved is your bone-like hair, no matter how frozen is this ice-like hair... You are not made of one flow of water. Your iris are... yours. How many skies did you gather between what I was barely grasping as stupid water?

-Tout ce que je ressens... Tu es mon uni...vers.

Yes... You are a shard of this world's mixed elements, and you lent me your hand from some words you had chosen among realities.

-I don't really know what you said but... I feel like I understand how it was supposed to feels.

-R-r-r-really?

-Your voice really seemed... soft, I would say? I didn't feel like it was supposed to be sad but more of a... saudade feeling? A melancholic... hm, yes that's the word, happiness? At some point, you were smiling, I think. I like to hear you singing but... It's more I like when you sing of this specific thing... Happiness while melancholy... And  a soft voice... Was it a love song?

-H-h-h-hm... hm...

-I... really like it. But it was different than when Malleus... hm, Head Malleus, played violin. Sure it sounded pretty but... I felt something.

-You... You did?!

-Yes.

-Then huuuuh... should we... call this... ?

-We should ask someone else but... maybe?

I was just... so happy I kind of feel lazy to write the rest. I mean, what good will it make anyway? I feel waaay less stressed (lol). So... I've spoken with Ortho... How I needed to update him and all... But first I had to tell him he... didn't have to take care of me anymore. I guess this was just temporary but... I'm sorry, Ortho. Silver... probably solved more of my problems than you did. I guess it took me 18 years to be Idia.

[Started Recording at : 9h15 AM : Tenth Day.]

Thus ends this special Recording of a Shroud non-heir. Idia has found happiness. The Shroud family shall not be anymore.

And so these years of learning made Ortho himself.

-Yes. I am Ortho Shroud. Thank you for watching or listening to all of this. I wish you happiness as well. I hope you will find yourself like we did :)

[Ended Recording at : 9h17 AM : Tenth Day.]

[chubbyooo]

Blurred Lines: Cursed Past Chapter 85 - Love Over Great Distances

Hey all Gacen is back its been so long since this orange oaf has done stuff which kinda makes sense since he's been with Risha Gacen begins the search for Sumalee but makes sure to keep Risha close

Gacen felt calm, he hadn’t left Risha’s side since arriving on Gabredor Prime, the planet was so weird it was so remote but also so beautiful, he had to admit he hadn’t been looking at the planet's beauty much though. He looked down at her lying in his arms and smiled, she really had waited for him, their love was real, he stroked her hair as she looked up at him still looking as smarmy as ever but clearly happy he was here. It was impressive she’d managed to get this set up in five years but not surprising, she could do anything when she set her mind to it and he’d help her whatever it took, he wasn’t a coward anymore.

Gacen frowned thinking to himself “so how do you think Sumalee is going to react when she sees me, throw me down the stairs or just groan” Risha laughed shaking her head at him

She smiled “she doesn’t hate you that much just the right amount, that sweet spot I found too” Gacen faked a gasp acting all offended “oh come on don’t make me feel bad dumbass” she sat up putting her forehead against his

Gacen smiled “I know I’m just kidding I’ll do my best to convince her despite the fact I’d rather just stay here with you, I only just got back and now I have to go again” he pouts at Risha who to no surprise doesn’t jump to comfort him

She tapped the comm link she gave him “you may go but I’m not letting us seperate that easy you better talk to me the whole time i spent ages getting these encrypted so it’s safe for us to talk” Gacen smiled at her 

He teased “awwww you did that for me you must really love me” Risha smirked rolling her eyes

She leaned forward “don’t flatter yourself or I’ll be forced to divorce you” Gacen chuckled right back to their old routine

He faked surprise “you wouldn’t dare” Risha chuckled to herself clearly happy to have her ‘dumbass’ back

Risha winked “oh just watch me” she pulled him in close for what he assumed would’ve been a snide comment but as she did her face softened and she just hugged him tight

Gacen hugged her back “aw Rish I guess we can’t quite go back to what we were, a few things have changed after all” she nodded squeezing him tight “it’s ok it’s ok though I promise I won't turn this off ok” She let him go wiping her eyes and smiling

She punched him playfully “you better not we can’t have anything bad happening to the future Queen's husband” Gacen smiled at her laughing to himself what an odd nickname

He tested his comm “testing one two, ‘Rish...loves... me’ you getting that ‘best...I am…the...best” Risha put her hand on her forehead

She chuckled “I’m already regretting giving you that but yes it does work” she tests her own “and you should be able to hear this ‘No...he...isn’t’” Gacen gasped comically as she spoke

He smiled “well it seems to work Rish” he looked out the window “has M4-SK prepared the ship” Risha nodded following him to the door “and he understands his ‘role’ right he seems eccentric even for a droid” Risha shrugged holding onto his hand

She sighed “I dunno probably he may be weird but he gets really in character so is much more reliable if he gets caught just don’t give him too much backstory or he’ll try to work it in” Gacen made a mental note to avoid that

Gacen took her hands and smiled “thanks Rish I promise I’ll be back in a flash with Sumalee” he pulled her into a long kiss after which neither really wanted to let go holding each other for a few minutes

Risha eventually broke away “well you best be back soon I have other things I need you for” Gacen gave her a quizzical flirty look “I don’t mean that! I mean other missions, come on Gacen that stuff goes without saying” Gacen chuckled squeezing her hands before turning to walk to the ship

Once in the cockpit he turned on the comm link leaning against the wall “hey girl I hear your home alone want some company” a long elongated sigh came back through with what sounded like a stifled laugh as well

Risha tutted “you are the worst I swear” Gacen strolled to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's chair

He responded “yeah but I’m your worst it’s too late to back out now you admitted how cute you find me” M4-SK looked at him quizzically but didn’t press the issue 

Risha groaned “are you gonna be like this the whole trip” Gacen knew what the answer was but just whistled innocently…

Later they were coming up on Wayland and M4-SK had been asking questions “if I may I’d like to know a little more about my character” Gacen had done his best to avoid answering questions so far but he couldn’t hold out forever

Gacen groaned “you’re a protocol droid for me a travelling mystic” he gestured to the robes he was wearing that vaguely resembled the Jedi robes he’d seen during his time in the republic

Risha came through the comms “ooo wow what a mysterious hermit of course he has magic powers why not show me a few” Gacen rolled his eyes she’d been making fun of his outfit non stop

M4-SK rubbed their chin “yes I’m aware but do you really think people will buy you as a mystic what if I played the mystic” Gacen frowned at him what was so unconvincing about that

He put his hands on his hips “um first of all rude and second of all droids can’t do magic it’s literally impossible” M4-SK tutted clearly disagreeing

He continued “maybe in your small minded universe but in the acting world anyone can be anything” Gacen had a look of disbelief on his face and leaned back whispering into the commlink

He asked “does he have any idea this isn’t a play?” why of all the droids was he stuck with this one

Risha responded equally unsure “Honestly I don’t know I’ve told him over and over but he just seems to ignore me so eventually I just gave up” Gacen sighed of course

He sat back up “hmmm maybe a good idea as an experiment but for now we need to nail this so I’ll play the mystic” M4-SK shook his head going back to co-piloting

He tutted “fine but it’s your funeral when the reviews come in” Gacen just decided to ignore him as the planet of Wayland came into view, it was a mainly mountainous planet with many trees dotted around and as they brought the ship down they found there was a decent number of inhabitants they landed close by and soon encountered the Crystal skinned humanoids.

After a quick translation from M4-SK and a crude drawing of a togrutas montrals they were directed towards a mountain with a flat plateau in the side of it, overall it seemed promising now it was just about convincing Sumalee to come with him

As he walked up the mountain he continued to talk to Risha “so why do you think Sumalee came here I thought she was a respected member of the jedi” Gacen put his hand up against the wind as it blew his cloak back he felt very out of his element

Risha responded quickly “I’m not quite sure apparently it’s one of those ‘strong in the force planets” Gacen got that vibe he wasn’t sure why “and you know she was never really the most ‘by the code’ Jedi” that was true 

Gacen smiled “I mean she knew us that’s pretty not by the book” she had given them far too many favours and pardons over the years

Risha agreed “exactly it may just be that she wanted to strike out on her own” Gacen guessed that was possible

He shook his head “well let’s just hope that she’s more agreeable to smugglers named Gacen than before” Gacen hoped so anyway he didn’t ever appreciate being on the wrong end of a lightsaber

He made his way up the mountain and by the end his feet were as sore as can be he was not a climber, he leaned on the stick he’d found to use as a walking stick. “Yes I made it oh my god I’m so tired” he took a moment to rest 

Risha teased him “oh you poor thing whatever will you do” Gacen rolled his eyes looking up at the rest of the Plateau

He saw at the end there was a figure floating in the air seemingly meditating, he recognised the montrals and hoped this had all been worth it.

She turned and lowered herself to the ground “you have come here seeking answers mystic? Well go ahead ask away” she lifted her hood revealing the red skin of Master Sumalee

Gacen gritted his teeth ready “well not exactly” he took his own hood off with a cheesy grin “I actually came here seeking you, what’s up girl how’ve you been” Sumalee’s expression dropped

She sighed “oh fuck” she strode towards him “what do you want Gacen and if you’re going to ask me where Risha is I don’t know” she folded her arms and turned away

Gacen held the back of his neck “weeeeeelll I actually may have the answer to that question” Sumalee turned around her face softening “and I’ll tell you if you listen to my proposition” Sumalee seemed to consider it for a few seconds

She took a long pause “you get five minutes otherwise I throw you off my mountain” Gacen nodded that seemed fair, he’d have to talk fast...

[shadowdragonia]

Critical Role Campaign 2 EP95

Under the cut because spoilers. Basically me rambling for a bit about Caleb and not trusting him :D

Okay so rewatching the M9 talking with “The Traveler” and look... first time through it was all laughs and stuff, but second time through and paying closer attention.... it is really unnerving how quick Caleb jumped on board with helping the Traveler.

I see a lot of people in twitch chat going on about Caleb supporting it because of Jester and because he secretly loves her or whatever, but y’all...

Y’all, Caleb sees a POWERFUL being sitting in front of him asking for help and you can already see the gears turning, Caleb even said it himself “We help you out and maybe you help us out with some certain shitty people.”

All I’m seeing here is Caleb saying and doing whatever he has to to win favor with The Traveler and try to get the rest of the M9 on board with this so that he can have a potential powerful weapon to use against Trent and the other assholes. (which side note, using seeming to make all of your friends wear culty green robes without their say when many are clearly conflicted at the moment and 3 of them very much follow their own gods, kind of not cool bro)

Your friend introduces you to her god who turns out to not actually be a god and she LITERALLY just found that out the night before after having believed this being to be a god for around 20 years now and everyone else keeps asking what Artagan’s goals actually are and asking him to explain himself for lying to Jester about being a god and asking Jester how she feels about that and if she’s okay. MEANWHILE all Caleb seems to be focus’d on is “give powerful being whatever they want so I can use him like a weapon to fuck some assholes.” 

Which yeah, fuck Trent and the rest of the assholes, but single track mind hello?

I dunno its just, watching this scene over again is making me see the same Caleb from like 90 episodes ago and realizing that he really has not changed or grown much if at all. He’s had moments where you can wonder “oh look, he cares” but does he or is it all manipulation and using people to get what he wants? I mean last episode when everyone was yelling at Beau for her deal to leave the M9 and Caleb told her “Don’t go” like she had told him before. We all thought that was a super sweet call back and he cares so much, but also Beau is a powerful monk with powerful connections, she is useful and he needs her, so which feeling really fueled him when he said “Don’t go” to her? 

If you’ve gotten this far I feel I should add that I am in no way complaining about Caleb as a character at all. I find all of this fascinating as fuck and the idea that Caleb isn’t at all who he is portraying to the group, that he is still wearing that same mask around them, is fucking great. Don’t get me wrong here, I LOVE Caleb as a character but I also don’t trust him or anything he says. I still question his story about that mysterious woman that undid the modify memory or whatever Trent had done to him and cleared his mind, yeah because that was a little too fucking convenient especially after we SAW the place he was being held in and learned a bit more about it. Like, Caleb would had been under watch while being here, close watch. But this some what crazy woman also being held there just happened to walk up to him and just happened to do something that cleared his mind and fixed up his memories and then he was able to kill a guard and steal their anti scrying necklace and also get away from the special building where very powerful mages study powerful things but also keep powerful mages that have lost their minds or become dangerous under close lock and key because they’re dangerous if they were able to easily escape into the world? Really? Look I didn’t believe that story when he first told it and after seeing the place and learning more about it, I don’t buy it. 

I don’t know. I don’t think we know Caleb, at all. Or maybe we know Caleb, we know the Caleb that Bren created, we just don’t know Bren at all because all he’s shown us is Caleb. I think he’s still lying and hiding and manipulating and one day the mask will actually drop and I am excited to see if that actually happens. 

Or maybe I’m wrong about all of that and Caleb is just an awkward traumatized nerd who was tricked into killing his parents and now he wants revenge against the man who tricked and tortured him while also looking for a way to fix his past mistakes.

Or maybe thats the role Bren is playing to gain the right sympathy and avoid too many questions while going after his goals for different reasons.

Who knows. I sure as hell don’t, but its fun to think about. 

[warren-lauren]

13 with Gwilym Lee as a smut. Thanks :)

Warnings: swearing, smut, jealous!Gwilym

Photo credit: @orwocolor

13: Are you jealous?

Are you jealous?

Gwilym watched from the side of the set, staring at you and Ben as you did your scene together. He wasn’t needed on set for the time being but he couldn’t just sit in your shared trailer waiting. When he’d gotten the call to play Brian in Bohemian Rhapsody he was thrilled, he was ecstatic when you’d gotten the call too. It was a rare thing the two of you get to work together so he was looking forward to it until he began thinking about a certain scene that would have to be filmed and all his excitement disappeared. Your, sex scene, with Ben.

‘It’s not a sex scene, Gwil.’

'You take your top off and, you’re riding him. It’s a bloody sex scene!’

'I’m sat on Ben’s lap, kissing him. That’s it.’

He knew it was stupid of him to be feeling like this, after all, it was your job to act out what you were told. He couldn’t help it, he hated seeing Ben (or anyone for that matter) rubbing their hands all over you.

Your giggling drew Gwilym’s attention from his self wallowing. You and Ben were still sat on the bed together, Ben had his hands resting on your thighs as you laid one of your hands in his abs with the other behind his head, the pair of you laughing at something Roger or Brian had just said to you.

The director called reset on the scene, causing Gwilym to screw his face up and groan. He just wanted the scene to be done and you to have your top back on.

'Ignore what Brian says, love. I love’ I’m in love with my car’, it’s a great song. You should be proud of it.’ You smiled at 'Roger’ as he held your waist.

He nodded smiling. 'I am.’

'Really?!’ Your hand flew up to cover your mouth. 'I mean-’

'YOU HATE IT TOO!’

You shook your head quickly. 'No, no, I just- I wasn’t sure, if, you were- I- Want to have sex?’

“Cut! Well done, guys.”

Gwilym let out a breath he’d been holding, glad he didn’t have to watch anymore. As Brian and Roger spoke to you and Ben (once you’d slipped on a robe) he made his way over to where you were, waving his hand to get your attention.

Your face lit up when you saw him. “Oh, excuse me, guys.” You excused yourself and made your way over to Gwilym, smiling up at him. “Hey, baby.”

“Well done, love. You were great.” He wrapped his arm around your waist as he pressed a quick kiss to your lips.

You nodded smiling. “Thanks. Glad that’s over with. I kept getting death glares, being so close to a topless, Ben. Think someone’s jealous.” You teased, glancing over to Joe with a smirk.

“No, I’m not!” Gwilym snapped, his eyes widened a little as yours snapped back so you were staring up at him with a frown.

“I didn’t mean you, love,” You shook your head as you pointed over to Joe and Ben who were joking about. “I meant, Joe. You know how they get.”

Gwilym nodded as he looked over to his friends. “Yeah, I know, I meant, I’m not surprised, Joe was.” He chuckled, trying to brush his blunder off. Maybe you wouldn’t catch on. “C'mon, let’s go have lunch.” He turned around and began to walk away.

“Gwil?” You asked as you followed after him but he didn’t look back. “Gwilym, are you okay?”

He nodded. “Fine. Why?” His answer was short as he looked dead ahead of him.

You shook your head. “Nothing,” You began. “You just said- doesn’t matter.” You frowned. “Oh, shall we ask Ben to join us? I wouldn’t mind going over a few lines with him.”

“Why can’t you do them with me?”

“It’s better with, Ben.” You gasped when you walked into Gwilym’s front. “What are you do-”

“What do you mean 'it’s better with, Ben’? What’s he do that I don’t, aye?” Gwilym glared down at you as the pair of you stood outside your trailer.

You shook your head with a deep sigh. “Oh, I dunno, perhaps being the actual person I’ll be acting opposite.” You frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

He shook his head, looking down to his feet with a shrug. “Dunno, maybe it’s something to do with you wanting to be all close with 'topless Ben’.” He scoffed.

“Topless Ben? Why would I wa-” You let out a deep sigh once it clicked.

You’d been Gwilym’s girlfriend long enough to know when something was bothering him that he didn’t want to share with you. If he was looking at his feet or not keeping eye contact there was something wrong, you worked that out after just a week of living together. You found that out after he finally caved and told you he’d tried washing your new dress he had accidentally spilt red wine on.

You also knew when he got a little jealous. It tended to happen when you had a new part that remotely had something to do with you having to touch a man.

You reached up and brushed some of his short brown hair from his forehead. “Gwil, can I ask,” You smiled softly up at him as you cupped his face. “Are you jealous?” You giggled.

Gwilym pushed your hand away with an annoyed scoff. “Don’t be fucking ridiculous. Why would I be jealous? You’re my, girlfriend, Y/N.”

You let out a bigger laugh. “Who’s doing her job. Just like you do, so you know, this stuff has to happen and yet, every fucking time, you get all,” You shook your head, trying to think of the correct word. “Pissy.”

“Pissy?”

“Yes, pissy. Like a, needy, child… Who hates sharing his things.” You huffed, pushing past him to go into your trailer.

Gwilym followed you, slamming the door shut. “Let’s get one thing straight,” Gwilym grabbed a hold of your arm and spun you around to face him. “I, in no way, am ever, going to fucking share you. You, are mine!”

Gwilym cupped the back of your head as he crashed his lips against yours in a passionate kiss, forcing his tongue past your lips to deepen the kiss. Your hands screwed up in the material of his shirt pulling him closer as he slid his other hand down your back pushing you closer to him.

“Mine.” He growled against your lips.

You pulled away looking up to him. “Show me then.” You challenge him with a smirk.

Gwilym began grinning as his eyes darkened with lust. “Glad too.”

As Gwilym pulled open your robe, throwing it somewhere across the trailer, you began pulling at his shirt and soon that and your bra joined your robe. His big hands cupped your bare breasts and began kneading them as he leaned down and softly kissed and nipped at them.

You gasped at the pleasure he was causing. As much as you enjoyed it, you couldn’t let him mark you. You swatted his hands away, “You’re gonna mark me, Gwil.”

He smirked against your breast. “Damn right I am.” He said before he sucked on your nipple.

“No,” You moaned softly, try to stop him by pushing in his shoulders but it felt so good. You gasped, your eyes rolling back at Gwilym biting gently on your hard nipple.

He groaned at the feeling of your nails scratching down his back, pulling back, letting your nipple go with a pop.

“Should probably take this skirt off, shouldn’t we?” He asked as he looked down to the tiny skirt you were wearing.

You nodded biting your bottom lip as you looked down at his long fingers toying with the hem of the skirt that was mid-thigh.

“Or, I could bend you over after I’ve eaten you out, making you scream my name from just my tongue,” Gwilym whispered darkly as he leaned down. “What do you think, babygirl? Want me to fuck you from behind? Play with these pretty tits?”

You nodded humming. “Yes.”

“Beg!” He smirked stepping back from you as he began undoing his belt, pulling the leather all the way out causing it to snap and making you jump.

“B-Beg?” You gulped. “But, wh-why?”

Gwilym shrugged as he easily kicked his trousers off before taking a seat on the small bed that was in your trailer. “Oh, I don’t know, because I said so,” He smirked up at you. “Or I’ll get you so riled up, you’ll really beg me to let you cum and I won’t let you, until the fucking premier.” His gaze darkened as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

You gulped nodding your head slowly. “Please, Gwil, make me cum.” You asked moving a little closer to him.

Gwilym rolled his eyes at you. “That it?” He scoffed.

“Please, Gwilym,” You began, trailing your hands down your chest. “I’ll do anything. You know you want to. To kiss me, touch me, taste me.” You moaned to yourself as you lightly pinched your nipple as you stood between Gwilym’s legs. “Make me cum, Gwilym. Fuck me, please.” You leaned forward so your lips were brushing his earlobe. “Let Ben know who I belong to, Gwil.” You purred.

It happened in a flash; Gwilym reaching out to pull you down onto the bed so he was hovering over you, his lips crashing against yours in a fierce kiss that was all teeth and tongue. You rolled your hips against Gwilym’s thigh as he gripped your hips with his large hands.

“Fuck-”

“Mine.” He moaned as he ran his lips across your jaw, nipping and sucking as he did. “Mine!” He growled, ripping your underwear from you as he worked his way down your throat and chest.

“Oh, shit!” You gasped loudly when Gwilym’s teeth sank into the skin just under your breast.

“So wet, already, love?” Gwilym asked as he ran his knuckles through your folds, raising his head to look at me. “This better be because of me, babygirl.”

You nodded gulping. “All you, Gwil.”

“Hmm,” He smirked, slapping lightly at your mound making you yelp. “It fucking best be, as well.”

Just as you were to say something he pushed two of his long fingers inside your cunt, your eyes rolling backward as you moaned put loudly, trying to role your hips into his hand nut Gwilym just held your hips in his other arm. His thumb rubbed circles over your clit as he slid his fingers in and out of you.

“Desperate for me aren’t you?” He smirked. “I can feel you squeezing my fingers. Do you want to cum?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Not yet,” Gwilym pulled his finger from you, making you whine at the lost. “Not, until, my cock is inside you.” He quickly dropped his underwear let his hard cock free.

You couldn’t help yourself from licking your lips as you watched him pump his cock, pre cum leaking from the tip.

“OH! FUCK!” You let out a deep groan as Gwilym didn’t waste any time pushing all the way into you.

You gasped as Gwilym bottomed out, holding you by your hips as your skirt bunched around your waist. He raised your leg by the knee and hooked it over his hip, pushing deeper inside you. Gwilym growled into your neck as your nails once again scratched down his back.

“You feel so good, baby.” He moaned, pulling back from you as he moved both your legs so they were over his shoulder letting him hit deeper. “Shit!”

“Fuck, Gwil, yes,” You reached up with a hand to brush his sweat-covered hair from his forehead. “So, good. Yes!”

Gwilym turned his head and pressed a kiss to your calve. “Fuck,” He growled.

You were close, he could tell by the way your pussy tightened around his cock, the soft little moans you were making, the way you were screwing your eyes shut as you tangled your fingers in his hair with one hand and gripping the shittest beneath you with the other.

“Knees, now!” Gwilym quickly pulled out of you and stood to his feet. You let out a needy whine at the loss of the full feeling. “Now!” He snapped, grabbing at your hips and flipping you over.

Once you’d pushed yourself up onto all fours, Gwilym quickly pushed his cock back inside you. He reached around your front, cupping both your breasts as he began thrusting in and out of you. He laid kiss after kiss across your shoulder until he came to just below your ear.

“Who do you belong to?”

“You.” You moaned. “I belong to you, Gwil.”

“Who do you, love? Tell me you love.”

“I love you. I love you. Fuck, Gwilym, I love you!” You cried out when Gwilym pressed his fingers to your clit and began rubbing circles over the small bud. “FUCK!”

“Fuck… I love you… Oh, God, baby. So much,” Gwilym wrapped his hand around your throat and turned your face to his so he could crash his lips against yours. “Love… You…”

Gwilym stilled, your cunt squeezing his cock almost so he was unable to move as you came. His breath caught in his throat as he felt you reach back and gently cup his balls.

“Shi-” He cried out as he came.

—————-

“Love,” Gwilym smiled, softly laying kisses across your forehead. “You need to wake up.” He chuckled softly as you screwed your face up and whined.

“Why?” You sighed tiredly, hiding your face in his chest.

“Because we have to be back on set soon,” Gwilym whispered. “C'mon,” Just as Gwilym was about to pull you up there was a knock on the door. “Just a second.” He called out, pushing himself up from the bed. He quickly pulled on your robe before answering the door. “Hey, guys, what’s up?” Gwilym smiled at Ben and Joe.

“Hey man, we were just wondering where you guys were, but, I guess, you were in here,” Joe smirked, nudging Ben.

“Yeah, we were just taking a nap.”

Ben nodded gulping. “Yeah, I, hmm, I can see.” He nods in your direction.

Gwilym glances over his shoulder to where you’re laid in the bed still napping. The sheets were barely covering you, showing your bare chest and the skirt bunched around your middle. He looked back to the two men, pulling the door so they couldn’t see you. “Yeah, poor little thing, she’s knackered.”

“You mean naked.” Joe giggled, receiving an elbow in the side from Ben.

“No, she’s not. We napped with the skirt on.” Gwilym winked before slamming the door shut, turning back to find you giggling under the covers. “What are you laughing at?”

“You, idiot.”

“Oh, me, the idiot? Okay,” He smirked, grabbing a hold of the sheets and pulling them off you. “They saw your tits.”

“They what?!”

[shekinah-the-second]

The Nerubian empire being in a tundra always made me wonder why Blizzard chose such a weird place for spider people. In the unlikely event that spiders do end up living in the tundra, it likely wouldn't be for very long. Spiders are more likely to survive in forests, where they would hibernate in the winter, or in the case of some species, simply die and while the next generation of spiderkin mature and head off to eat ALL the insects. Spiders like warmer climates best, because that's where the food is most likely to be. In WoW's case? You bet your ass there's insects in warm places.

Logically, Silithus would be where the Nerubians should be. It's warm, there's no shortage of food, and look at that, they think they have an empire. Ohhh, child.

Logic isn't the only reason I think of Silithus when I think of the Nerubian empire. When I hear Abub'arak--or read it, I guess--one name comes to mind: Anubis, god of the afterlife. I don't know if Blizzard meant to invoke this when they created Anub'arak, and heaven knows that there are more blatant images of Anubis in the Ahn'Qiraj raids, but it still springs to mind. It doesn't help that the Nerubian empire uses powerful colors in their empire when we go to Azjol-Nerub. Black, blues, greens, and most striking to me, purple. (And no, I cannot show you an image, mostly because the screenshots I've taken of the dungeon are focused more on my character than on the architecture. Sorry!)

Now, purple doesn't just pop out at me because it's my favorite color. It's also because, in WoW, it's invocative of shadow magic, which we've seen primarily in Twilight's Hammer, who fucking love Silithus. Their robes are a dark violet, dark enough to the point where I wonder if some of them died from heat exhaustion, and the crystals around Silithus are a rusty purple-ish hue. The parallel of a spider empire and an insectoid one are not lost on me either, and that's something I believe Blizzard intended (though whether or not they were successful with this intention is up to the reader).

Now, as much as I love Wrath of the Lich King, I do think that with the Nerubian Empire and its remainders, few that they were, should not have been in Northrend. We already had the Scourge, an old god, more trolls, dragons, and proto-humans. Not every expansion needs to have ALL THE LORE crammed in, as too much on one's plate can lead to people not wanting to eat at all (which is a common complaint I hear about Cataclysm, that there was way too much going on). If it were me, I would have the Nerubian Empire, or what remained of it, in Silithus. Instead of night elf buildings in the area, there would be Nerubian. There would be a constant war, ever shifting with the sands, between the Qiraji and the Nerubians. The night elves, in my humble opinion, would be wise enough to stay out of that, but would still monitor it. After all, the victor could and probably would be their next enemy. Hell, even the dragons would probably stay out of it, though they would watch from the skies.

Back to Anub'arak now. In Wrath, he's undead. He's been dead for a long time, and Ner'zhul decided to raise him from death and force him and his minions into servitude. The ones who are alive despise the Scourge and see Anub'arak as a traitor. The undead ones, well, they probably don't really think. Except for Anub'arak himself, since he's actually able to speak and not just hiss and skitter and kill. Northrend is rife with undeath, but it's not as commonly seen in Silithus. Yes, there are the ghosts of sentinels and druids, but those are more spirits who have unfinished business. That is not to say, however, that something cannot be undead in Silithus.

Enter Moam.

This thing is not undead, but what it is is a living statue. It was built by Emperor Vek'lor as a Destroyer that would put all others to shame. Apparently he succeeded, too, because this guy's a boss in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj. The reason I bring this up, though, is because it started out as a statue, something that was inanimate and not alive in the slightest. But C'thun gave it life, and it became a living statue. To me, that isn't all that different from giving a corpse life. I'm not talking a fresh corpse, such as someone who is dead for ten minutes tops. I'm talking dead-dead. Like, mummy dead. Not being able to be revived even as a miracle dead. You get the idea, I'm sure. With this in mind, this would work for an undead Nerubian and his minions to once again rise from the depths of the sands, or hell, just remain underground and be forced into servitude of their enemies. Well, the leader of their enemies, I guess. But I still like idea of at least one Qiraji being a dick about it and having the Nerubian "servants" do the menial work. And Anub'arak? Oh yes, you can be damned sure there would be hell for him to pay.

Now, theoretically, this could go on for some time. Let's say the Qiraji were more vindictive about it, and they end up torturing some Nerubians to death (again). C'thun could bring them back to "life," but I don't think he would do this forever. C'thun, remember, is using the Qiraji, and their bullshit would probably not interest him. Why should he fix their toys if they're just going to keep breaking them? He doesn't care about their petty egos. He wants the world. Let's say Anub'arak does die again, and the Qiraji ask C'thun once again for him to be raised. C'thun does so, but he also brings back Anub'arak's intelligence. No longer is this beast a mindless slave. Oh, and he remembers the humiliating defeat, as well as the tortures from his previous lives. He ain't here to do the clean-up anymore, unless it means cleaning the Ruins of Ahn'qiraj of all this insectoid filth.

Now, imagine this in-game. It would be big, I think, because Silithus was pretty huge when the questline and raids were released. Imagine walking into the Ruins, and doing it as normal, with the possible hints here and there that there's something going on at the temple that was not meant to. Of course, this piques the interest of the player, and probably their characters as well. RP-wise, this has a lot of potential. Going into the Temple, it's an entirely different scene. It's all-out war between the Nerubians and the Qiraji. You could potentially pick a side, with a Qiraji quest-giver on one side of the entrance, and a Nerubian one on the other. Choosing one over the other would lead you to be Neutral with the side you choose, and Hated with the side you're against. You could also choose not to accept either quest, but this would make the raid harder, as you'd have Qiraji AND Nerubians coming after you (whether or not the loot would effect this, I don't know; loot in vanilla WoW was random as all hell, and any kind of increase in drops were practically negligent).

The quest you choose would lead to a cutscene, which would be a convenient way to load the raid so you would fight the appropriate bosses. The cutscene would basically be the NPC talking about war and them and rewards and blah blah, you're clearly evil, but so are they, so give me shinies. The camera would pan through the temple, showing Qiraji and Nerubians fighting to the death, and showing the appropriate bosses where they would be, whether they were Qiraji or Nerubian. If the raid leader did not choose a quest, however, the raid would be presented as thus: there would still be fighting amongst Nerubians and Qiraji, but once aggro'd, both would attack the raid. The bosses would all likely have scenes. For example, Prophet Skeram and a Nerubian prophet. They would be bickering and hissing at each other, both wanting to stop the raid as it enters, but wanting to do so for Qiraji/Nerubian. Each boss would have a different loot table, but only one would be fought (no, we are not doing Twin Emperor fights for every raid boss, that is suicide). Depending on which one is aggro'd, the other would fuck off, basically saying something along the lines of "I hope it hurts for you as much as it has me" or maybe "I'll enjoy watching this." I dunno, I'm not good at boss one-liners.

The Prophet Skeram/The Prophet... Thoth'ax? (Look, I'm trying here, okay?) Silithid Royalty/Nerubian Miners Battleguard Sartura/Silkcloak Obzor Fankriss the Undying/Lykho'sedat the Patient Viscidus (seriously, though, fuck that thing, go frost or go home, I guess) Princess Huhuran/The Silver Bones Twin Emperors/Anub'arak Ouro/Scorpio? C'thun

I'm not going to go through every boss encounter with painstaking detail (although if there is interest in it, I'll definitely come up with attacks and strategies!). This is just a basic idea of what players and characters are going to end up facing. Either way ends up leading to C'thun, but once C'thun is down, in comes the quest giver, crawling in and skittering up to the party. He thanks you, for whatever that's worth, and you get rep boost (in addition to the reputation you have gained and lost from killing one side instead of the other), but something unsaid also happens. A quartermaster is present in the entrance of the dungeon, next to the questgiver, when entered a second time. Of course, vanilla wasn't known for giving out tons of reputation, it was all about the grind, you get to see what wears are being sold to you that you can get in exchange for what drops from mobs and bosses. Of course, this would be gated by reputation, with the best loot being available at Exalted, but starting at Neutral, you can get food/drink and potions that would give you a minor boost on some fights (+10 shadow resistance, for example, or a bonus to HP). For the Neutral goodies, it would require "shells" that drop from trash mobs. Starting at Friendly, you'll need drops from bosses, because that's when you start getting the good stuff. Weapons, armor, rings, trinkets. Relics and totems, too, because druids and shamans need love, too. Maybe off-hands as well, but I don't remember off-hands being used prominently in vanilla.

As always, I would love to hear feedback!

Moam image courtesy of Wowpedia.

[halfofxerxes]

Okay so a WHOLE LOT of trigger warnings apply here as this is a Xerxes drabble, it is HIGHLY EXPLICIT (it is POORLY WRITTEN but they are doing the sex the whole time), slavery, exhibitionism, a little bit of exploitation, and illness. THERE IS PROBABLY MORE BUT DAMMIT LINDA GET ME PICTURES OF SPOODERMAN

Van was feeling decidedly undesirable. The thick, nasty feeling of dirt and filth under his nails was driving him crazy, almost as bad as the sound of people nearby having a good time. He just… Couldn't dig out this deal fast enough. One of his friends comes over, bending over to rub his crotch against Van's ass in a teasing manner, kissing the back of his neck.

“You're going to miss the paaarty.” He warns Van, “All the nice men will be spent and tired.”

“Don't get on me unless you expect to finish what you started.” Van grumbles, turning around to pounce in him, bracelets jingling as they play.

“Someone might think you're hiding out here because you're afraid you'll choke.” Here this dumbass decided to mime sucking a dick.

Van laughs, leaning down to kiss him soundly.

“Here, maybe I do need a little to get ready, can you help?” Van smiles sweetly, only for his friend to shake his head.

“I'm needed back out there, if you want it I have to do it where people can see. And it has to be hot, none of your shy hugs like nothing is happening. You're cute, but you're going to get old you know? No one is going to want shy old men, and you're not that great of scholar.”

“Bold words for a guy who can't read. I can teach you, you know, you don't have to do this for the rest of your life.”

“Why fight it? You can read and you came back to dance. And to fuck.”

“Oh- Fine, you go ahead and get ready, I'll be out for you to make a show of, so stay close.” Van turns back to scrubbing his hands, trying to get his head clear.

It was a favorite thing for them to play at, though Van always liked a little more seclusion when he could get it, but to come out walking as if he were a strange free man, only to get sweeped up in a haphazard dance with his friend was a thrill.

Being bended over one of the show railings at the end of the dance, the hem of his robe thrown clear to show off his shapely ass and genitals was always a favorite, those who payed attention to him whistling their approval, the pink hue of his not yet erect penis showing brightly as the blue folds fall away. His friend was rubbing Van's testes and thighs gently as he spread his legs apart.

The tease doesn't even slip into him right away, instead having Van rub him up first, getting him nearly throbbing before he makes a show of shoving into Van, not even hitting the right spot.

“Come on, how hard can this be?” Van asks, trying his best to force the stiff penis to hit, starting to feel a little desperate.

“You gotta want it, or I'm going to mess up your pretty back.” His friend is undoing the robe Van's wearing, clearly enjoying himself.

“Please! No one is even looking at us anymore, just rub it!” He starts to stand up, his friend pushing forward to trap his hips against the bar, Van's penis fully engorged and on display.

“I told you it's gotta be hot, try some of those dance moves.”

Rolling his eyes, Van starts to roll and twist, feeling his partner move with him. There was a reason for this, of course. Van was notorious for sitting there and taking it instead of making it look fun, even when he was enjoying himself. He was, as they say, boring as soon as he got stuck.

Now that there was some action going on, the eyes were back on them, which is all his friend had wanted in the first place.

“That's it, there we go.” His friend was saying, finally hitting that sweet spot.

Van starts moving against him in earnest now, reaching down to grab his own cock, only for his friend to grab it away after a few strokes, something else they had talked about doing.

“You know I hate doing that,” Van says softly, turning to catch his lips, “It feels weird.”

“If it didn't I wouldn't pull your hand away.” His friend replies, “Are you ready to finish, or are you wanting to wait?”

“...mmm…” It wasn't meant to be a response, Van's body was going into the warm, comfortable place that he liked better than the finish, and his friend slows down his thrusts to keep him there, even while he's pretending to paw at his genitals.

“One of these days you'll learn to ask me for this.” His friend teases, “You know I won't say no this, but it's hard to put on a show when you're falling asleep.”

“Oh but where's the fun in that?” Van asks, kissing him again, and again, “You'll always know right where to hold me.”

“I'm still a slave, my dearest featherbrain.” His friend replies, “I'll be dead one day, all of us slaves will, long before your feet even come back to earth.”

“Don't be ominous, it's not hot.” Van teases, but the words worry him. “Besides, people are starting to lose interest.”

“Alright, alright. Fuckin’ bossy today, here I come get you to party and all you want to do is fuck one guy and go to sleep.”

“Said as if you're not that guy.” Van snarks, “Besides I said get me started, not bore me to death. If I fall asleep that's on you.”

His friend mocks his tone of voice, bending him over again, punctuation each sound with a neat little thrust, giggling as Van squeaks.

“This is why you dance I guess.” He whispers into Van's ear, “Clearly you don't have any talent for this work. I'm going to get you to drip, you fine with that?”

Van nods, and his friend starts rubbing his penis with his open hand, only lightly grabbing it to rub his thumb at the tip, carefully tracing the sensitive flesh. Van can't help the shivers running through him, each one causing him to press against his friend's thick hardness, the sweet sensation coursing through him only to be offset by the feeling from his friend's hand.

“There we go, you're doing great.” His friend whispers, pulling him up halfway so people can see Van's throbbing, wet erection, his slick hand going to rub at Van's balls “If you're done, you know we can stop whenever.”

“Here,” Van sashays his hips, pulling down his friend's face to kiss his cheek, before whispering in his ear. “Just tell me we can get some juice together if you can spend yourself on me.”

“You know I really should go to paying guests.” His friend replies, “But I guess this group of guests is enjoying us well enough.”

Van glances out, seeing several people with their hands in their robes, the soft moment ranging from furious to leisurely. There's even a lady who has her skirt up and presenting them with the way she's touching herself.

“Hey look,” Van says, nudging his friend, “That's the closest I've seen a woman's thing.”

“Yeah, you get used to it.” His friend replies, reaching a hand in to pull at his nipples, “I had one try to sit right under me when I was showing and ended up getting the white stuff all over her thing. She seemed pretty happy about it and put her fingers inside herself until she came.”

“What, semen?” Van asks, and he feels his friend shrug rather than sees it.

“You know, the white stuff. Don't give me that look, I'll describe it to you, if you want.”

“No, no no, I'm fine.” Van assures him, “I know what you mean. Did she try to wipe it off?”

“No, which is why I remembered it.” His rhythm is slowing down as he thinks, Van putting on a little bit more of a show, reaching down to hold the hand at his crotch, making it seem as if he's starting to approach the edge.

His friend pats his chest in thanks, working though the thought he had.

“You know,” He says finally, “It was like she was sticking it in her thing. I dunno why.”

“Mm.” Van replies, deciding not to tell him. He keeps a sharp eye on the masturbating woman though, ready to bolt if she tried to get a baby from him.

“Do you think it's fine?” His friend asks, sounding a little anxious, “I've never had a woman that close and it was kind of intimidating.”

“It's probably fine, but you might want to tell the master if she comes back and tries it again. He might want her to pay more.”

“Oh! That's right, I don't even think of that.” He sounds relieved, and he picks up his pace again.

Van places their hands on his belly, his friend gladly pulling him closer to him, pulling him and the cloth around him to show off the scar on the side, Van pulling smoothly as if he's trying to fight this. There's a palpable excitement to that, a low groan from the onlookers at Van's pretty struggles.

“You sure?” His friend asks, “How far?”

“Lets wrestle for a bit.” Van replies. “Try to keep on top of me.”

“In you?” His friend checks, getting a nod. “Okay.”

His friend acts as if he's getting rough with Van, biting at his neck and bury himself too deep for comfort, though it was mostly Van pushing forward sharply and him with his pelvis held back.

They would sometimes have this kind of sex in reality, but Van hated doing it on stage, no matter what anyone said to him, or who he did it with. That kind of violence was only for himself, with people he knew would stop and let him stop.

He pulls off to the side, his friend rolling with him, their playing from earlier catching up to them, his friend doing all the pouncing now. His friend forces him to all fours, and he wiggles his ass against him like a dog wagging his tail. The groan produced isn't fake, nor is the way his friend is rubbing up against that sweet spot, one hand around his waist, the other pulling at Van's hair.

There seemed to be a limit to how much the slaves could take until they started going for climax at any cost, Van knew he had that when he was topping as well. It was always a little disturbing being on either end of it, feeling like a beast rutting.

“Come on,” He says softly, “Hey. Let's stand up.”

His friend doesn't hear him at first, but after a moment, he blinks, pulling them up, this time pushing Van against the bar for the finally, showing everyone how violently his cock was twitching with every touch, how he couldn't help but pull a leg up as the head of his erection was fondled, all the while kissing at the neck of the man who had 'subdued’ him.

“I'm gunna do it.” His friend whispers, “Are you?”

“Just a bit longer, please.” Van whispers back, “Pet that spot.”

“Bossy.” His friend teases, though takes a deep breath, carefully guiding himself to hold against Van. “But hurry, I can't keep it long.”

Van nods, pressing back against him, having to keep moving as his body bucks against him. His friend presses him into the railing, both of them ready to burst at any second.

It starts with a cracking sensation at the top of his head, a liquid feeling down the curve of his back, and then all at once the world around them is flashing white and black, a pulsing taking him back over and over.

They're standing, gripping the bar, painting and messy. Van doesn't look out to the crowd, all he ever wanted was behind him the whole time. He turns, kissing him deeply, murmuring soft things to him.

“Bossy.” His friend says, kissing him back, “Lets get some juice.”

They find a place to sit, laying in each other's arms with their cups, watching the shadows of the palm trees.

“Say.” Van says, sitting up, “If I ever get a house, would you want me to bring you there? I could free you and give you a name and--”

“Van.” His friend sounds really upset, sitting up slowly. “Van, you can't. Maybe the name, though you know I can't remember new things very well.”

“Why can't I? I earn money, I'm free, I can do what I like.”

“...I don't want to tell you this, but…” He undoes his sash fully, showing off brown, ugly welts of skin. “Your master looked at me, he says that it's gunna kill me, whatever it is. Our master took us-- me to many doctors and he's upset that I cost him so much. I have to earn it back before I die, and you can't waste your money on my debt.”

Van is trying his hardest not to cry, his hands shaking on the cup.

“You should have told me sooner.” He says finally, looking up at him, “Is he gunna do… that thing?”

“Only if I can't work anymore.” His friend says softly, “But you know I'm the best, so he's going to hold off until the absolutely last day.”

“You are the best.” Van says, hugging him tightly, “Better than the best. Look, I'll talk with the master, both mine and yours, and I'll be there with you when you go, no matter what.”

“I'd like that.” He says after a moment. “...Do you want to give me a name anyway?”

Van thinks about it for a moment, blinking slowly.

“Percy.” He says finally. “It's short for Persistence.”

His friend has to take a moment to consider it, before nodding.

“I like it.” Percy says, a slow, happy smile making its way onto his face. “But what makes it short for anything?”

[toothpastecanyon]

Mizar the Mediocre, Chapter 1

Alcor gets a summons from a strange Mizar. Maybe there's still something to recognise, here.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

Mizars. Alcor had known so many of them through the ages, and he’d seen that they tended to follow a theme. They were somebody bubbly. Somebody spontaneous. Somebody who stood out from the crowd. He’d seen Mizars who were doctors, lawyers, adventurers, cultists, demon hunters, people who led radically different lives from Mabel… but there was always something to recognise.

And he liked that.

______________________________________________________________

You’d think a place nicknamed ‘Sin City’ would get a lot of visits from Alcor, but he’d been to Las Vegas relatively few times. Maybe he just wasn’t the demon that came to mind when one was down on their luck in the casinos… regardless, he was mildly interested to find a summons drawing him there, and he was  very  surprised when he realised what soul was summoning him.

A Mizar? Huh. Well, he’d better go see what she wanted.

The first thing that caught his eye was the view. They were high up in some sort of hotel room, and the tall windows opened wide to cloudless skies above and the sprawling city below. The carpet was zebra print - it made his eyes vibrate a little - and the two perfectly laid double beds looked like they’d never been touched by a living being, much less slept in. A school bag slumped at the foot of the further one.

Alcor frowned. There were a couple of candles encircling him, but no chalk… and no summoner, it seemed. It didn’t take long to find out where they went; there was a gasp from behind the bed, and he quickly floated over.

“Hello?” Alcor saw his summoner huddled against the bedframe, clutching a metal tray to his chest. “Mizar?”

Mizar was… certainly different this time round. He looked like he was in his forties, balding, dressed in a leopard print dressing gown and pink camo crocs. He squeaked when he saw Alcor floating over him, and cowered under his tray.

“Why aren’t you in your circle?” He pressed himself up against a bedside table. “The website said you were going to stay there!”

Alcor blinked. “Uh… you didn’t draw a binding circle, dude. You didn’t even draw a summoning circle.”

“Don’t blame me! I tried, but it just wasn’t working on the carpet, so I thought I’d wing it, and-”

“You thought you’d wing it? Wing a demon summoning?!” Alcor watched him curl up tighter. He pinched his nose. “Okay, well, I’m here now, and lucky for you, I’m not going to hurt you. What do you want?”

There was a moment of silence, and then Mizar peeked up at him from behind his tray. “You’re not gonna hurt me?”

“No, you got very lucky. You should never summon a demon without a containment plan; other ones wouldn’t hesitate to-”

“Oh, that’s great news!” He popped up and tossed away the tray with a giant grin. “Ashley’s gonna love me for this!”

“Ashley?”

“My daughter! She loves demons - watches that Magical Mizar show of yours all the time. She’s not gonna believe that I got the real Alcor the Dreamlender to show up!”

“She- wait, Dreamlender? It’s Dreambender!”

“Oh, it is?” He tied up his dressing gown. “Huh, guess I misread it. Well, anyway, wait there for a second, will ya?” Then he turned towards the bathroom at the other end of the room and called, “Oh, Ashley! Sweetie? You there?”

There was no reply. The man shot Alcor a nervous smile.

“She, uh, said she wanted some alone time to chat with her friends - but that was a whole fifteen minutes ago, I’m sure she’ll come out any second now! Ashley, darling?”

In the awkward silence that followed, Alcor just stared. This… was Mizar? This was where his sister’s soul had ended up? In this weird older guy whose aura tasted of cheap motel food and desperation?

Okay, maybe he shouldn’t jump to conclusions. This guy was probably cool, somewhere. He cracked a smile.

“So, uh… what’s your name?”

“Hmm? Oh, I suppose I didn’t introduce myself yet!” The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Martin! But you can call me Mart. Mart the Fart. That’s what my ex-wife calls me, it’s, uh… it’s all in good fun!”

“Okay…” Alcor took his hand, and then frowned when Mart put an arm around him. “Are you trying to steal my wallet?”

“Whaaaat? Noooo… I just, uh, I wanted a hug!”

He rolled his eyes at that, but before he got a chance to reply, a scream rang out from the front of the room. Mart jumped up.

“Ashley?”

“Dad, run!” A terrified teenager had flattened herself against the front door; she stabbed a finger at Alcor. “That’s - demon! Oh my stars!”

“What? Oh, Ashley, sweetie, it’s okay! I summoned him!”

“You…  what?”

“He’s with me, it’s fine!” Mart tried to jump over a bed, but tripped on his robe and fell down the other side. “Ow, uh, yeah! Surprise!”

“Wh- Surprise?!” 

“Cause you like Magical Mizar, right? He’s the Alcor actor!”

Alcor winced at the waves of horror-turning-to-fury coming off of Ashley. He raised a hand. “Uh, just for the record, I’m not planning to hurt anyone. Also I didn’t actually act in Magical-”

“What the fuck, Dad?! You put everyone’s lives in danger just so you could reference some stupid show?”

Mart’s smile froze on his face. “Uh… do you like it?”

Alcor cringed. Bad question. Bad, bad question.

“No!” She snapped. “Absolutely not! I haven’t even watched Magical Mizar since I was, like, six! It’s like you don’t even fucking know me!”

“Sweetie, I-”

“Just leave me alone!”

With that, she slammed the door in his face. Mart stood there for a second, then shot Alcor a nervous smile.

“Uh… teenagers. Wow.” He jabbed his thumb at the door. “You know, she must’ve learned those four letter words at her mother’s place. Which is fine! I just, I didn’t teach her those.” He tried for a chuckle. “Surprising.”

Alcor pursed his lips. “Yep,” he said, in the ensuing silence. “Very surprising.”

______________________________________________________________

They ended up watching TV for a little while. Mart sat on the bed and started flicking through channels, and Alcor - seeing no obvious summons in need of his attention - awkwardly floated in the corner of the room.

“Ugh, golf. Bor-ring. Let’s find something exciting, right, Alcor?”

He tried to keep his eyes on the screen, but they kept straying down to the man in the leopard print dressing gown… the Mizar in the leopard print dressing gown.

“Oh, My Strange Curse is on!” Mart pointed to the TV. “You heard of this show, buddy? I saw an episode once where a guy got cursed so that nobody would believe a word he was saying. I thought it was kinda fake, but hey, it’s a fun bit of reality TV!”

“I see.” Alcor stared at the screen, where a guy was talking about how everything he ate randomly turned into Christmas ornaments. “So what do they do in the show? Do they hire cursebreakers to come in and help them?”

“No? They sorta… just talk about how weird their curse is for thirty minutes then say they should do some exercise and eat better. It’s… it’s kinda mean, actually.” He changed the channel. “Let’s watch something else. Ooh, Babyfights!”

Alcor rolled his eyes, but he looked up at the sound of a door creaking open. Ashley was peeking out of the bathroom; her eyebrows raised a little when she caught sight of him floating in the corner of the room, but she didn’t scream again. After a moment, she closed the door behind her, and came walking over to sit on the other bed.

Mart didn’t seem to notice, so he cleared his throat.

“Hi.” He tried for a wave. “Ashley, right?”

“Wh-? Oh, Ashley! Hi, sweetie!”

“Hi, Dad.” Ashley’s eyes flitted over to Alcor. “So, uh, is he just a thing, now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is the big, all-powerful demon floating on the ceiling just hanging out with us now, or what?”

“Oh, Alcor?” Mart looked up at him, and shrugged. “I mean, I’m okay with it! The more the merrier, right?”

Ashley didn’t say anything to that. He gave an awkward smile. “I can leave you guys alone if you want.”

She kept staring at him for a second, her eyes dull, her lips turned down, her aura grey and guarded. Finally, she turned away, and looked to the TV.

“Whatever.”

And they sat there, for a little while. Nothing much happened. Mart looked over at Ashley and smiled, but she was looking down at her phone all of a sudden. He went back to flipping through channels.

Alcor twiddled his thumbs. He looked outside, at the great big city just outside this little room. Las Vegas looked strange in the middle of the day; the neon lights were dulled, the concrete bleached by the desert sun. There was barely any green, barely any relief from the greyish-white that stretched all the way to the mountains far in the distance. Without the cover of darkness, the City of Lights just looked… sad. Bland. Out of place.

Boring.

He looked over at Mart and Ashley. “Hey,” he started, and tried for a smile. “So, uh, what do you guys do here, usually?”

“Huh?” Mart looked up and grinned. “Oh, in Vegas? What can’t you do? It’s my favourite place on earth!”

“Dad likes the casinos.”

“Not just the casinos, sweetie.” He cracked a grin. “Though those are pretty good. There’s tons to do here!”

Alcor cocked his head. “Like what?”

“Well, there’s, there’s a restaurant downstairs. Serves really nice food.” Mart pointed at the phone. “You can even get it delivered up here!”

“Dad, I think he was asking about stuff you can do  outside  the casino.”

“Oh? Oh, yeah, you can do stuff outside too! There’s… um…” he scratched his head. “Oh, there’s like a cool water show every night! I took Ashley there once, it was really pretty, I loved it.”

“It was alright.”

“Yeah!” He grinned at her. “We should do that again sometime!”

“Ehh.”

“No? Oh, that’s okay too.”

Alcor looked over at Ashley. “What do you want to do?”

“Me?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t care. I’ll probably just, I dunno, be here. Why?”

“I was just curious.”

She gave him an odd look at that, but before she could say anything else, Mart suddenly let out a loud laugh.

“Oh, my stars, look at this!”

“What?”

“They’ve got a mini golf tournament on TV!”

Alcor cocked his head. “You like mini golf?”

“Oh, yeah! I used to work at a mini golf course - they even let me sleep in the windmill!” He pointed. “Like one of those! Except it was smaller. And not that clean. And you had to know where to lie, so the nails wouldn’t... the pros always have more of a budget, y’know.”

“I see.” He smiled, despite himself. “So I bet you’re pretty good at it?”

“Am I good? Well, I don’t wanna brag, but I’d say I’m pretty c’est la vie at it.” Mart shot him a grin. “Why’d you ask? You think you can beat me, Mr Dreamputter?”

“He probably can, Dad.” Ashley didn’t look up from her phone. “Don’t start betting stuff.”

“Wha- oh, hah! You know me too well, sweetie. Don’t worry, I  totally  wouldn’t do anything crazy, like… bet a demon fifty bucks I can beat him in a round of mini golf.” He winked at Alcor. “Unless he wants to make things interesting.”

Just the sight of that sleazy grin made Alcor’s demon instincts go into overdrive. He grit his teeth. “I was thinking it’d be… more of a friendly game.” He managed, resisting the urge to take the easiest deal he’d seen in ages. “What do you two think?”

“Aww. Well, I’m still up for it!” Mart sat up and looked at his daughter. “Ashley, sweetie, you got your phone out. Think you could google where the nearest course is?”

“Mhm.”

______________________________________________________________

“Alright, just… move stuff around if you need to.” Mart pulled his seat forward to let Alcor in. “Sorry, backseat’s a bit of a mess. I wasn’t expecting a friend!”

A ‘bit of a mess’ was an understatement, Alcor thought as he shoved a mountain of scratch cards into the middle seat. All the legroom was taken up by crumpled hawaiian shirts and neon-coloured jeans; they gave off a faded but still-distinct stench of alcohol. He was almost afraid to move them aside.

“Alright, sweetie, seatbelts! You good back there, Alcor!”

“Yeah?” Alcor pulled a sleeping bag out of the way. “Why do-”

“Camping! I don’t sleep in my car.”

He blinked. “Uh-”

“Just, heh, wanted to make that clear. I don’t sleep in my car.” He reached over and patted Ashley’s shoulder. “Your old Dad’s doing great for himself, don’t you worry about a thing, uh… mini golf! Yeah! Let’s addios!”

Mart peeled off and took a hard right out of the parking lot, burying Alcor in scratch cards.

“Hey, Ashley! Put on my good tunes, will you?”

“No.”

“Hah, uh, alright! I’ll do it myself.”

A stream of loud pop music filtered into the back seat. Alcor perked up at the voice.

“Is this…?”

“Marcia Sinderson’s greatest hits, volume twenty-one?” Mart turned up the volume. “I found it in a bargain bin a few months back - I don’t even think she was alive when they made half these tracks but I love it!”

The music did contain a lot more  ‘whoaaa’ s than lyrics, but Alcor chuckled when Mart rolled down the window and started singing along. Ashley sank into her chair, groaning.

This was… interesting, he thought. Strange in many, many ways, but somehow… familiar. And he liked that.

He’d missed hanging out with his Mizar.

[thewalkingdeadimaginings]

No Regrets: Part 10

Okay, since it was my birthday this past weekend. I turned twenty-two and before anyone asks, no…playing that Taylor Swift song is not funny and I’ll punch the next person to do it hahaha! But since it’s my birthday it’s author’s choice and I choose THIS because I do adore this story. Anyways, once I post this, we’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming. The next request might take longer…well…longer than usual. Which is actually pretty damn long these days. ANYWAYS, it’s a bit of a challenging request but I’ll get it done my loves!!! ❤

No Regrets Part 10

Spencer had stayed away for the most part but things were still tense in their little community. Spencer always had a big mouth and he wasn’t going to be quiet about anything Mia or Daryl said or did. Mia was afraid that Spencer would antagonize Daryl to get him to do something stupid and she wasn’t sure what Daryl’s limit was. So she made sure that Daryl and Spencer never saw each other. She’d been successful for the last week and a half but it was exhausting.

Daryl never slept in his own bed anymore. He slept over at Mia’s so much, he might as well move in with her. But he would never mention it to her. She hadn’t said anything about it so clearly this wasn’t something she wanted, right?

He was already lying in bed when Mia came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth. She kicked off her slippers, sighing as she fell into bed with him, wrapping her arms around him like a teddy bear, “I’m sorry, Daryl.”

“Sorry?” he said, “For what?”

“For dragging you into this drama,” Mia mumbled, “I never thought Spencer would behave like this. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, ya know?”

“Forget about him,” Daryl retorted, “He ain’t important.”

“I know you’re right,” Mia said, “It’s just hard, ya know? Our relationship is so new, I’d hate for something this petty to ruin it.”

“Ain’t that new,” Daryl said, “Been at least a month and a half, yeah? That still considered new?”

“Well, kinda,” Mia replied with a shrug, “Although, we’ve moved pretty fast in that month and a half. I mean, we’re practically living together now.”

“We are?”

“Yeah,” Mia mumbled, “All your stuff’s here and you haven’t slept in the same house as your friends for at least a week. Besides, I like coming home with you and having dinner and going to bed with you every night.”

“Yeah,” Daryl grunted in agreement, “It ain’t half bad.”

Mia snuggled up closer to him, lifting her head for a moment to kiss his cheek, “I’d have you around all the time if I could.”

Daryl looked out the window, wiggling from under Mia’s grip and sitting up in bed, “You’re really diggin’ me lately. But anyway, we should probably get up.”

“Guess you’re right,” Mia sighed, groaning as she sat up, “I need to see Jessie anyway. We’re gonna visit with Denise probably. What’re your plans for the day?”

“I dunno,” Daryl muttered, “Not much to do right now. Might go on a run, be back tonight. You don’t gotta wait up for me or anything if I end up late.”

“Just be safe,” Mia said, wrapping her arms around Daryl’s shoulders, “Need you back here in one piece.”

The run ended up being longer than Daryl had anticipated. He’d ended up losing track of time while he hunted and grabbed various supplies he found during his travels. When he arrived back at Mia’s, all the lights were off so it was safe to assume the lights were still off.

Then again, he was viewing the house from several feet away. He just hoped Mia wasn’t up late worrying. She’d been really attached to him lately and he didn’t want to end up upsetting her. It took them up until a month ago to get here, where he wanted them to be. Happy, maybe in love, he wasn’t entirely sure yet.

He sped up a little as he passed by Deanna’s house. Mia wanted him to avoid Spencer and he was happy to oblige. Even passing by his house made him angry. He wouldn’t even turn his head to look at the house. He just wanted to pretend it didn’t exist.

“Hey.” Daryl probably should’ve kept on walking but he didn’t. He stopped there in the middle of the street, cringing at the sound of that man’s voice.

“Fuck off,” Daryl snapped.

“Talked to Mia yet today?” Spencer asked. He had been sitting on the porch swing but he stood up and leaned against the railing.

“I’ve been gone all day,” Daryl retorted, “Why? What did you do to her?”

“Me?” Spencer chuckled, “I didn’t do anything. But you did.”

“I didn’t do shit,” Daryl snarled, “I don’t know what anyone around here told you but it ain’t true. And Mia knows that.”

“Except this is in fact true,” Spencer argued. He pushed himself off the railing and started down the steps. Daryl clenched his fists as Spencer stood on the sidewalk, his toes dangling off the curb.

“What, you talk to Mia?” Daryl said, finally turning to meet Spencer’s stare, “Last I heard, she didn’t wanna see you. What could she possibly have to say to you?”

Spencer ignored him and continued, “You’d be amazed by the secrets that Mia keeps from you.”

“She doesn’t keep secrets.”

“You don’t even know her,” Spencer scoffed, “Why’re you still wasting your damn time?”

“What does it even matter to you anyway?” Daryl muttered, “I don’t have time for this. I’m outta here.”

“Did I bruise that manly ego?” Spencer continued, “You and your people shouldn’t be here. Your leader can clean up as much as he wants but you’re all still animals. Why does my mom trust any of you?”

“You’d better shut up,” Daryl grumbled, “I ain’t afraid to kick your ass.”

“Try it,” Spencer snapped.

“Don’t fuck with me!” Daryl shouted. He stomped away, hurrying towards Mia’s house when he heard Spencer’s footsteps following him. He wanted Daryl to hit him so badly but he had to resist. His yelling had woken a few people up as he started seeing lights turning on. Rick and the others were the first to step out of their houses to see what was going on.

“So, you just make empty threats,” Spencer said, “Get your friends to fight your battles?”

“You don’t know what I could do to you!” Daryl thundered. The one house he didn’t want lit up, started lighting up. Mia’s bedroom light turned on, followed by the living room a few seconds later.

“Oh good,” Spencer chuckled, “Mia’s up.”

Mia’s front door opened and she stepped out as she was tying her robe shut, “What’s going on out here? Daryl? Daryl, you’re back! Spencer, what the hell are you doing now? I thought I told you to leave us alone.”

“Jessie’s husband told me you’ve got a secret,” Spencer said, “He overheard you two talking.”

“And the first thing he did was tell you?” Mia replied, “I’m calling bullshit.”

“It’s just kinda hilarious,” Spencer said. He started walking towards her but Daryl wasn’t about to let him anywhere near her. Without thinking, he grabbed Spencer by the shoulders and yanked him backwards. Spencer stumbled and nearly fell on his ass but he recovered quickly before he could. He smiled, the satisfaction coursing through his body like a sweet drug as he swung his fist. After that, the two men were tangled up in the middle of the street, throwing punches at each other which attracted even more attention.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Rick shouted as he ran towards the scuffle, “That’s enough!”

Mia came after Rick, tugging on Spencer’s arm as hard as she could, “Stop it! Spencer knock it off!”

No one else besides Rick and Mia dared to go anywhere near the flying fists and just stared with dropped jaws and wide eyes. Finally, the commotion woke Deanna and she was fuming as she approached the group, “Spencer! What in the hell are you doing?!”

He immediately jumped away from Daryl, wiping the blood from his nose, “Mom, this guy you supposedly trust to live here just started a fight with me!”

“That ain’t what happened,” Daryl snarled as Mia fell to her knees at his side, looking over the wounds Spencer had left on his face. Mia nodded in agreement as she helped him onto his feet.

“Spencer started it,” Mia said, “He’s been an ass to us for weeks. Keep your son away from us, Deanna.”

“Everyone, get back to bed,” Deanna instructed, “Spencer, we’ll talk about this in the morning. Get back into the house right now.”

Mia eagerly brought Daryl back to the house, refusing help from Rick, his group, and the others. The two of them both just wanted to be alone for the rest of the night.

“Hold still,” Mia said, cleaning the blood off Daryl’s wounds, “I can’t believe he’d stoop that low.”

“What was this big secret?” Daryl inquired, “Spencer kept mentioning it over and over again. What were you and Jessie talking about that her husband overheard and told Spencer?”

Mia grabbed Daryl’s hand and started up the stairs, “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay? You’ve had a long day and you need some rest. Come on.”

Daryl was confused and slightly bitter that Mia wouldn’t tell him what this big secret was. And the more she resisted, the more stressed he became. Clearly, it was something big. But what in the hell would Mia have to hide from him?

Early the next morning, Daryl was awake with the birds, his thoughts and worries from last night forcing him up. Mia was still fast asleep, which was unusual for her but Daryl wasn’t going to wake her up. His tossing and turning must’ve made it difficult for her to fall asleep last night. But he couldn’t help it. He was so anxious.

Daryl decided to head downstairs so he could wait for Mia without accidentally disturbing her or being tempted to wake her on purpose. He stood by the window in the living room, watching as a few people walking past, starting their days early like he was. Some were walking their dogs, others were headed to their jobs. Daryl stood by that window for hours, watching the sun come up and the community coming to life as everyone started emerging from their homes and starting their days with smiles and laughter while Daryl stood there like a fool waiting for Mia’s big secret. How was it so easy for them to be happy while he couldn’t manage to hang onto it for more than a few days before disaster struck and he was full of anxiety and anger again? The routine was becoming exhausting.

Soft footsteps came down the staircase but Daryl didn’t turn around. Mia stood at the bottom of the stairs, pulling on a loose thread from her robe, “Daryl? Are you upset with me?”

“Nah,” he grunted, “Just…if you want me to beat it, you should just tell me.”

“I can assure you that I don’t want you to leave,” Mia said, “The only reason I didn’t tell you yet was because I just wasn’t sure if you can handle it. And it’s not written in stone yet.”

“Mia, how the hell are you gonna find out how I’ll react unless you tell me?” Daryl snapped, “For Christ’s sake, Mia! Everyone and their goddamn mother knows what this big secret is and I’m in the dark here.”

“In my defense, I didn’t think Jessie’s husband heard us,” Mia argued, “And I sure as hell didn’t think he was gonna talk to Spencer. I didn’t even know those two were friends. Can you at least turn around and look at me when I tell you this?”

Daryl stayed where he was, stubbornly keeping his eyes on the people passing by. Mia sighed, leaning her head back and shrugging in defeat, “Daryl, come on.”

“Just tell me,” Daryl muttered, “Spit it out.”

“Fine,” Mia scoffed. What she said next finally made Daryl turn around to look at her. He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right or he thought maybe she was making a joke. But the look of panic in her eyes made the latter less likely, “I think…I think I might be pregnant.”

OKAY, OKAY. I’ve given my birthday present to myself I will return to the regularly scheduled programming hahaha! AND I KNOW, I KNOW. My other story, our leading lady is pregnant. ARE YOU SENSING A PATTERN YET?! I love pregnancy and babies and I HAVE A PROBLEM OKAY. But I am not seeking help because judge me all you want but I love it and it’s my goddamn story okay hahahahah! Okay I’m done, thanks for reading and I love you!