#i have a nightstand now and a tall lamp and a short lamp and curtains 🥰

[dulceackles]

Sleepy cuddles with Dami tho where he cuddles you to sleep 😥

Midnight cigarettes | Damiano David

Requested: yess and this is so cute i was excited

summary: midnight romance, that's all i have to say

Pairing: Damiano David x reader (she/her, third person)

if you have wishes for any other pronouns whether it is to switch them in some fic or write a new one using specific pronounces let me know!

word count: i was on my phone when I finished this so I couldn't count them now but i'll later. It's a rather short one but i think it's cute.

content and warnings: fluff

Y/n had not been sleeping well for the past few weeks. Maybe it was stress from work or just bad timing, She couldn't really pinpoint it either. Once again, like last night, she snapped awake in the middle of the night.

She could hear Damiano's slow breathing next to her as he lied sound of sleep. She turned over to look at him. Even asleep, he was an angelic sight. She let out a sign and brushed her hair away from her face as she got up to sit on the edge of the bed.

She grabbed a lighter and cigarette pack from her nightstand and walked to the balcony door leading away from their bedroom. She tried to open the door as quietly as possible and stepped outside to the balcony inhaling the fresh summer night air. A light wind blew her hair as she lighted the cigarette on.

Their balcony wasnt enornous but it was good enough for cigarettes even though the housing association didn't really allow smoking on the balconies but y/n didn't really feel like walking all down outside in the middle of the night. On the corner, there was two old slightly rusty chairs and a tiny table. She sat down in one of them and looked at her view.

She watched the sleeping city as she inhailed the smoke smeared air. Some cars still ran on the street lamp lightened streets and some lights were still on in the tall standing buildings and maybe that was the salt and pepper of nights, there was always something even when you taught everyone was asleep.

From behind her, y/n heard the balcony door creak. She turned her head slightly and saw sleepy looking Damiano enter the balcony.

"Good evening, shall I asked why are you up?" Y/n asked with slightly monotone voice jokingly putting on a usher like character. She didn't want to wake him and she knew he was busy enough with his job to not get sleep.

"Noticed my one and only had run away." He said and reached to the table to grap a cigarette from the pack, "And that she was breaking a law" he continued as he lit the cigarette in between his fingers.

"Shhhh" y/n hushed and waved her finger in front of his nose, "it's just a guideline" she giggled.

Damiano slightly smirked at her before starting to smoke his cigarette as well and sitting down with her. He studied her a while before asking, "why are you awake?"

"Just woke up, kinda slept badly" she answered him, "I don't know why but i haven't slept very well for the past few weeks"

"Well I thought you had been little grumpy reasently." He chuckled at his own joke and gently kicked her feet underneath the table.

"Hilarious one, aren't you?" Y/n laughed with him.

They sat in a silence for a while, enjoying the night around them before they had both finished their cigs.

"Some animals sleep with only their other half of brain asleep and still here we are as humans having trouble falling asleep." Y/n thought

"I was fine before you started to make noises" Damiano yawned

"Hey, i tried to be as quiet as possible." Y/n laughed, "sorry for waking you up." She said.

"No it's fine. The bed got cold anyways" he looked at her warmly, "Now come," Damiano got up and stretch out his arm for y/n, "I want to get back to sleep" he said while yawning.

"You sure? You look very energitized." She joked as she took his hand who was clearly running out of batteries. If she was honest, so was she.

They walked back into the bedroom and through the curtains and slide back underneath the bed sheets. Damiano quickly wrapped his arms around her and pressed her agaignts his chest.

Y/n could feel his stubble gently scratch her thin skin as Damiano buried his head on the back of her neck. She placed her hand on top of his and string their feet together like roots grew together underneath dirt. She felt the heat of his chest and his slow breathing, everything about him made her insides sparkle and skin feel electric.

He placed tiny kisses on the behind of her ear. She could smell his sent and it made her feel safe and ease. She knew she was the luckiest girl that she had found a man like him so early in her life and she never wanted to let go of him.

"Kiss me" she whispered slightly turning her head towards him.

He rose to his elbows to gently press his lips agaignts hers and she relaxed agaings his warm touch. Y/n deepened the kiss slightly which made Damiano smile into the kiss. He slowly pulled back and looked her into her sweetened eyes before placing one last kiss to her forehead.

"I love you" y/n said as she fixed her position underneath the bed sheets.

"I love you too" Damiano whispered while getting back into cuddling her, "now sleep, Pretty thing. It's already midnight".

And she felt his breathing get slower and slower as she drifted away.

[myxsweetxeverything]

{𝓡𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓼𝓽} 𝓑𝓵𝓾𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 {𝓣𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽/𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓮𝓷}

Here’s a short, SFW excerpt that’s part of a special request for @sheisthesisterofnight (sorry for the absence, loves! RL has been difficult sadly...). Full version, smut included, will be posted onto AO3 as soon as I am finished 💖

Trent wasn’t sure what had pulled out of dreamland first. It was either the heavy rainfall outside, or the subconscious realization that the other half of the bed was empty. He yawned loudly. “Mariqueen?”

When she didn’t say anything back, he began to worry. He turned on the lamp sitting next to him on the nightstand, and in its warm glow found that was completely alone in the room. Now this was getting worrying. Trent’s eye darted around the room. “Q?” He said as if that would make her magically reappear next to him safe and sound.

All thoughts of fear and horror were swept away when he caught the slightest glimpse at the corner of his eye of a shape through the curtains of the screen door. He turned his head just in time to see an oh so familiar silhouette standing behind the curtains. At that moment, Trent felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Of course - the damn balcony. All that worry and stress when she had been on the balcony this whole time.

He shook his head. Now that he was up, at the very least he should go and see what she was doing up so late.

Slipping out of bed, he groggily stumbled to the sliding door, moved the curtains over and opened the door. Standing wistfully out on the balcony, resting her elbows on the railing, Mariqueen didn't seem to notice him through the pouring rain. The cool night air was so soft he almost didn't notice her hair rustling. Trent quietly stepped closer, not wanting to interrupt her as she watched the rain. When he was close, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist, his skin pressing against the sheer black material of her skimpy nightgown.

Mariqueen chuckled when he planted a kiss on her neck. "Hey, sleepy head."

Trent pulled her closer to him and rested his chin on the back of her shoulder. The cold rain splashed against them both. "What are you doing up so late?" He asked. "We have to hit the road early tomorrow." He kissed her neck again, earning him another chuckle.

"I couldn't sleep," She said. "So I went outside."

"Maybe leave a note next time," He said. "I was about ready to tear apart the hotel room when I couldn't find you."

"I thought you said your days of messing up hotel rooms were over."

Trent shrugged slightly. "If it meant finding you, I'd destroy the whole damn building."

"Destruction, how romantic…" She rested her hands over his. A soft humming emanated from her throat as Trent gently swayed her back and forth. It took him a moment to realize that she was humming the lyrics to "Blue Moon".

Staring out over the balcony, into darkness mingling with the street lamps and the rain, it occurred to Trent just how high up they were. Really, really high up. It had only just hit him how tall the 'top floor' was. He wasn't afraid of heights, but the feeling of being that high up, where the ground was so far down and the stars - if obscured by rain clouds and light pollution - were so much closer, was almost unreal. At least he was there with Mariqueen, keeping him grounded in reality, or at least something like it.

Her humming transitioned to singing, her voice soft but still loud enough to hear over the rain.

"Blue moon, you saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own…"

He wanted this to last forever. Just them, the night, and the rain.

The singing stopped. Mariqueen gently grabbed his wrists and pulled them down to her hips. Before he could ask what she was doing, she whispered, "Let's get back inside."

Trent nodded. He knew that tone very well.

{𝓣𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓮𝓭}

[20moonchild21]

𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁 [𝗯𝘁𝘀]

⇉ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 2

[Pairing]

Jungkook x female!oc; bunny!Jungkook x Human!oc

[Warnings]

mentions of violence, violence, nightmare, suffering, swearing, angst, traumatized JK, mentions of past and abusive behaviors, ear pulling

[Words]

4.5k

[author]

Here is my second chapter of Sehnsucht! I am so excited what you think of it!

The next chapter will already be out at Wednesday (17 February 2021), because I am stuck in quarantine, which means that I have plenty of time to update.

Also, don’t forget to check out the stories that inspired me to write story of my own. I linked them in my masterlist or in my announcement, or if you are too lazy to go back there, just scroll to the end of this chapter. They all wrote their own Hybrid!BTS au, and all of them are so unique and well-written!

⇉ They are amazing and deserve to be read!

If you have any recommendations, wishes or critics don’t hesitate to write me a message. I won’t bite, promise!

Stay healthy and safe!

Mꨄ

[chapter 1 ||| chapter 3]

“Silence everyone!” The man in the black robe yelled. “ The jury has deliberated. In the name of the people of the United States of America, I announce the following verdict: The accused is guilty of the act of illegal residence without official authorization and/or without being in the company of his rightful owner. The verdict has been pronounced and is immediate. I declare this trial to be ended”

He hit his brown hammer onto the block and immediately the audience in the room began to cheer, while an amount of bright flash lights lighted up the room.

“No.” The girl whispered in shock as the judged spoke his verdict.

Her head shot up, looking up to the middle of the room where a big glass box had been placed. Inside of the giant box sat the bunny Hybrid. His hands were cuffed together with a big metal ring that was connected with a cuff at both of his ankles, so it was almost impossible for him to make one step after another.

Around his neck he carried a large collar, from which the girl knew that it would send a heavy electronic shot through his body if he would try to break out.

He looked like he was some kind of felon, that needed to be locked up for the rest of his life, while everything he wanted was to feel safe and protected.

The girl shot up from her seat. She didn’t even care about the people in the room whispering about her, calling her traitor or other insults. But she couldn’t care less in the moment.

“Jungkook!” She cried as she reached the cage. By now, the tear were running down her cheeks, dropping onto her black robe. “I am so sorry Jungkook. I am so sorry! I – I tried anything.. I – “

“You said you would protect me.” The boy didn’t even bother to lift his head as he spoke. “You said you would keep me safe. You promised. Why did you lie to me?”

“I tried, Jungkook! I tried so hard.” Her knees gave in as she sunk to the ground.

He was right. She promised him that she would do anything to keep him safe with her, and now? Now, they were in the court room with the Hybrid cuffed up and the lawyer crying in front of his cage, completely powerless to the announced verdict.

“Why didn’t you try harder?” The bunny asked again, this time lifting his head to look directly into her eyes.

“I – “ The girl tried to explain herself. She wanted to tell him that she will do anything for him so that he wouldn’t have to go. But it was already too late.

Two tall men were coming up beside the cage. They unlocked the door and stepped inside, directly towards the helpless and cuffed up boy.

“NOOO!” The girl yelled and tried to push herself up from the ground, but she couldn’t. She was held back by two large security men, who were holding her like she weighted nothing. “NOO! Let me go! No! Jungkook!”

The men inside the glass box had uncuffed the boys collar, and were now pulling him up by his left ear. The bunny Hybrid hissed in pain. He tried to struggle and stop the men pulling him with them, but because of his hand and ankle cuffs, he was completely powerless.

“NOO!” The girl was still yelling and kicking around as if she was a maniac.

Cameras were pointing their flash lights directly onto the struggling Hybrid, while the rest of the audience laughing at him, as he was dragged behind the men and out of the courtroom.

“Hope, help me!” He screamed over and over again. “You promised! You promised! Hope!”

Her name was the last word she heard from him, before the big, heavy doors of the courtroom fell shut with a loud thumb, and there was nothing she could do about it now.

“Jungkook! NOO!”

With a loud gasp the girl shot up from her bed she was laying in, breathing so loudly and heavily like she was running out of air. Cold and icy sweat was running down her neck and chest, while her heart seemed to jump out of her ribcage every second.

She turned her head panickily around the room, trying to make out the big glass box, or the judge or the camera flashings, but instead her eyes were met with darkness. It took her another few minutes to finally realize that she neither had never been in any courtroom, nor had she ever been part in a court hearing recently, and especially not as a lawyer.

A dream. It was only a dream.

Like someone took all energy out of her body, she fell back onto the soft matrass of her bed. Her hands and legs were numb and shaking, with the shock still sitting deep in her bones. She closed her eyes and tried to took some deep breaths.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

It took her another 10 minutes, but eventually her heartbeat finally calmed down, while her lungs began to contract less and less forcefully. The girl turned her head to the side.

6.54 a.m. was written onto the small digital clock that was put onto her nightstand. She closed her eyes again. Never in her life had she been so glad to see this numbers, even though she hated to wake up before 8 o’clock. There was absolutely no chance that she could go back to sleep again this morning.

“Fuck.” She whispered ad drove her hands over her face.

She kept lying in bed for another 20 minutes, before she decided to go up. She definitely need a shower right now, or else she would stink like a wet dog, because of all the amount of sweat she had produced during this intensive dream. Only the thought caused a shiver running down her spine.

She grabbed a pair of shorts and a new t-shirt from inside her drawer, before tippy-toeing out of her bedroom, hoping to be quiet enough to no wake up the Hybrid sleeping in one of her guestrooms.

When she was all washed up, and back into her bedroom, she went over to her small dressing table. She sat down and was about to brush her wet hair, when suddenly the noise of something hard breaking rang through the apartment.

She shot up from the small chair she was sitting one. Her first thought was that someone had broken a window and was now trying to sneak into the apartment. But lucky for her, she lived in the 3th. Floor of the living complex, and she was pretty sure that no one climbed up her to break into her apartment.

The only one that could have caused that noise was…the Hybrid sleeping in her guestroom.

She gulped, as her heartbeat increased, pumping the adrenalin through her throbbing veins, once again this morning. She was not scared that he had broken something on purpose, but more that he might had hurt himself.

Quickly and with a beating heart, she made her way over to his bedroom door. As she stood in front of the room, she slightly knocked onto the door. Though she was worried and curious, she should show some respect of his privacy, before entering.

“Jungkook?” She spoke carefully, as the soft knocks haled around the hallway.

She waited a few seconds, hoping he would answer, but the apartment stayed silence. There was no noise or voice at all, just pure silence.

“Jungkook? I am coming in, okay?” She didn’t waited for his answer, the worries about him, lying in there hurt and helpless was stronger this time.

With a quiet squeak, the door was slowly pushed open by the small girl, and as the gap was big enough, Hope carefully sticked her head through the gap between wall and door.

The curtains that she had closed the previous evening, were still blocking most of the sunlight, letting the room stay dark enough to sleep, but bright enough to see anything.

The bed, that she had placed the scared Hybris inside the previous evening, was a mess. The sheets and duvet were pulled back and spread out messily all over the bed, while the pillow was wrinkled and laid on the foot end of the bed.

But there was no sign of the boy. He was gone.

Curiously, she pushed the door more open and took a small step inside the room. Beside the messy bed, everything looked normal. The closet, the table, the painting on the wall, the lamp on the night table…wait no. There was no lamp on the night table anymore.

And then Hope counted one and one together. The clinging sound she herd earlier was the sound of a breaking porcelain lamp, that was now lying on the floor, spread out in hundreds of pieces. He must have accidentally pushed over the lamp.

She breathed out with relief. The lamp had neither been expensive, nor had it some kind of meaning for her, but this didn’t change the fact that she was worried about the Hybrid, that was still nowhere to be seen.

She decided to first clean up the broken pieces, before looking for the boy. The front door was locked overnight, so there was no chance he could have left without her noticing. She turned around to get the dustpan from insider her storage room, when suddenly, something heart breaking caught her eyes.

Behind the pushed open door, hidden in the corner as she had entered the room, sat Jungkook in the same position she had found him the evening before. He had pulled his knees up towards his chest with his arms locked around them tightly. His lips where pressed together, as if he was trying to not make any sound at all, and his ears covering his eyes.

Her hands were trembling with anger. Anger at those people who had traumatized this poor boy so much. She hoped deeply for them that they won’t ever cross her path, or else she won’t give a guarantee for anything.

She took a deep breath, kneeling down with slightly shaking legs.

“Jungkook?” She said calmly, hoping that her voice was didn’t scare him even more, but he didn’t move an inch. “Jungkook, I can see you.”

A slight whimper left his lips and he tried to push himself eve further into the corner of the room, shaking his head while mumbling ‘no, no’ all over again and again.

“N - no, please, don’t be scared Jungkook. ” She spoke again, voice cracking. “I – I am not mad at you. I promise.”

Nothing Hope said seemed to calm down the shaking Hybrid. He stayed still in the corner of the room, with his eyes covered. The girl wanted nothing more than to run over to him, hugging him tightly and never let him go again, but she knew that it would make the situation worse. He needed to decide to trust her by himself.

She slowly stood up and left the guestroom, getting the dustpan along with the vacuum cleaner from her storeroom. She collected up the lightbulb and some bigger pieces from the floor, before she swept up the rest of the porcelain pieces and throwing it into the thrash can under the table. To make sure that there were no small pieces of sharp porcelain left, she vacuumed all over the floor once more.

As she moved back and forth, she steeled some glances at the boy from time to time. He had removed his ears a little bit, so he could watch her closely cleaning up the floor, his eyes were wide open.

When she was done, she turned off the vacuum cleaner and laid it back down onto the floor, before turning once again towards the door, and kneeling down to be at the same eye level as the boy.

“See? Everything is already cleaned up. Like nothing happened at all.” She tried to sound to use a joking voice. He should realize that a broken lamp was nothing he should be worried to be punished for.

He didn’t show any kind of reaction. He just kept looking at her with his big, brown deer eyes, that could melt any heart, and his hair spread out into all directions. But to he surprise, he hadn’t covered his eyes again.

This made her proud. She didn’t care that he didn’t said anything, or that he didn’t move an inch as she spoke towards him. But that he wasn’t covering his eyes anymore as she spoke, which he did the night before, showed her that they were already making process, and she would do anything to keep going this path.

Step by step.

“Okay, I will let you alone some more and make breakfast for the both of us.” She smile at him, not forced this time. I was a real smile. “Feel free to join me whenever you like to.”

She stood up and grabbed both utensils she had used to clean up the room, before leaving. She didn’t close the door though, wanting to show him that he wasn’t locked up.

Meanwhile, the Jungkook was still trying to process what just had happened.

He didn’t mean to break the lamp at all, but when he woke up this morning, he was so scared because he thought he had fell asleep onto his owners’ bed, which he was not allowed under any circumstances.

His mind had still been too tired to notice the different surrounding he was in, so he had tried to leave the bed as fast as possible, before his owners would catch him. He had pushed the duvet off of his body and was already about to jump out of the bed, when suddenly, his arm hit something hard and knocking it over.

In his trance he had tried to leave the room as quick as possible, but it was too late. He could hear someone knocking at the door while calling his name.

That’s how he found himself in this position. Curled up in the corner of this room, shaking slightly.

But to his surprise, the small girl, Hope was her name, she had found him the previous evening, stepped inside the room. Never in his life had he been so relieved to see a human, even though he had just known her for a few hours.

He kept sitting in the corner for another 20 minutes, before the smell of something delicious hit his nose. He took a sniff and immediately, his stomach began to growl loudly. A blush covered his cheeks and he quickly looked around, but no one had been there to hear the loud growl.

She said that she would make something to eat and that he could join her, but she already gave him something to eat last night. It had been more than he could have ever asked for and he was thankful for that.

His stomach growled again, even louder this time.

Should he take the risk and leave the room? What if she was joking, and he wasn’t allowed to join her for breakfast? But then, she had allowed him to sit on the table with her, and she offered him a bed to sleep. On top, she didn’t punish him for accidently breaking her lamp, she didn’t even sounded mad at all.

His heart was pointing heavily, as he decided to take the risk and actually leave the room. His hunger was stronger than his fear this time.

He slowly rose from the ground and sticked his head out of the room he had slept in. Last night, he was so tired that he hadn’t even had the power to take in his surroundings, so now he was even more surprised.

He was now standing in a small, bright hallway that was leading somewhere to either side of him.

To his left side, the hallway ended just a few meters next to him. At the end of the hallway, as well as opposite and to his right side where beautiful white doors, from which he didn’t know where they would lead to.

To his right side, the hallway lead into another, open and big room, which he recognized to be the living room with that big sofa, that had looked so soft last evening. He had to hold back his urge to just sit down there and drove his finger over the soft fabric, because he was not allowed to.

He made another small step outside his room. Everything in the girl’s apartment looked so inviting and warm. The floor and walls didn’t transmit a cold and shivering impression, like he was used to. Instead, the wooden floor felt soft and the wall actually tempted him to walk along.

He took another step.

The wall next to him caught his attention. Hanging there were many different pictures all over the wall, and as he took a closer look, he saw a familiar girl on every single one of them. On some of the pictures, she was seen alone, sometimes only smiling and sometimes she looked welled dressed, holding some papers proudly in her hands.

But at the majority of the pictures, she could be seen with many different people. On one, she stood next to an older women , but at some others, she was with people her age, pulling funny faces into the camera.

The corners of his mouth raise unwillingly as he watched the pictures closer. The girl seemed to be like by many persons. Maybe she –

“Oh, you just came in time.” He quickly turned his head and looked at the same girl. She was just putting a small basket with bread onto the table. “Breakfast is ready, you can sit down if you like.”

He took one last glance at the pictures, before he carefully made his way up towards the table, where the girl was already sitting. On the chair next to her, she had placed a second plate, but the stool was empty. For a short moment, he wondered if it actually was for him, but she began to speak again.

“You can sit down here.” She pointed at the stool with the plat in front of it. “Of – of course only if you want to.”

He felt his own cheeks redden, as he saw the tiny blush on her cheeks. He quickly nodded and sat down on the stool next to her. His eyes went wide when he saw all the food on the table. It wasn’t as much like his owners would put up, but he saw the effort she had put into decorating the plates.

She had prepared a small plate with cheese and sausage, and another one with different vegetables, like cucumber slices and tomatoes. Next to the vegetables stood a small basket with bread and toast, and next to his plate she had placed a glass of what looked like orange juice and an egg.

“I – I didn’t know what you would like to drink, so I just gave you an orange juice, but you can also have a coffee if you like.” She said as she pointed at a brown liquid in front of her plate.

He carefully shook his head, not knowing what to say. He was overwhelmed with all the kindness she showed towards him. He didn’t even know why she was so nice to him. He was a strolling Hybrid. He was homeless and he causes trouble all the time. At least that’s what his owners always told him.

The girl meanwhile had taken a slice of bread and was smearing some onto it. Once again he didn’t know how to act. Should he just wait for her to put something onto his plate, like she did last night, or did he actually had the permission to take anything.

“You can take whatever you like.” She once again answered his question, as if she could read her mind. She must be really smart to always see what he was thinking about.

Hesitantly, he grabbed a slice of toast from the basket. He watched from the corner of his eyes what she did with her slice, and just copied her movements.

When breakfast was over, Jungkook watched the girl as she stood up from the table, taking her plate with her. She walked into the kitchen and put it into the sink.

Once again, he tried to copy her movements. He quickly got up from his stool and carried his plate over to the kitchen.

“Oh, this is nice of you.” She smiled friendly at him, as she turned back towards the sink. “Just put it over there, please.”

This scenario repeated over and over again. While she washed the dirty dishes, he would get one decoration after another from the table. Every time he came back, she showed him where to put everything. He put the butter into the fridge, the salt into the shelf over the stove and the kitchen roll into the drawer next to the sink.

He was not new to such actions. At home, he would always clean up after his owners after they were done eating, but they would never treat him that nice. They would yell at him to do faster and quicker. He shivered at the thought of that.

“Thank you for your help, Jungkook.” The girl had turned around as she whipped her hands dry, bending her upper body slightly as she thanked him.

He was completely overwhelmed at this gesture. Never in his life had someone bowed towards him. Normally, he was the one to bow.

“You’re welcome.” He just whispered.

The day passed quicker than she thought. In the morning, she had called one of her male friends, asking him if he could give her some of his clothes.

��Don’t ask why.” She had told him as he stood in front of her door.

Jungkook was once again about to just take of his clothes in the middle of the living room, but she quickly told him to change privately in his room. His eyes literally popped out of his head when she said ‘his room’. He looked like a child on Christmas eve, and it was more than adorable to watch.

Excitingly, he ran back and forth between his room and the living room, showing her all the clothes. Most of them were still a little bit too big, but she guessed that he would gain a bit more of weight over the next weeks, so he was going to fit in.

Over the next few weeks. Few words with big meaning.

Hope just assumed that he would stay here, with her. She didn’t even think once about why he had been out there since the morning, or of his owner was looking for him. What would she do if he would stand in front of her door, wanting his Hybrid back? He or she obviously treated the poor boy terribly, but then, she didn’t had any authorization about the bunny Hybrid.

Authorization.

She wanted to throw up while using that word. The boy, and any other Hybrid, was a living being, with an own consciousness and own needs. He should be free to have a choice over him and his life by himself, and not anyone else.

“Wow, that looks good.” She smiled at him as he came back with the last shirt to try on.

He nodded quickly and looked into the big mirror next to the front door. He turned his body from one to the other side, before droving his hands over the shirt, ears bobbing with excitement.

Hope was fascinated by his ears. He had told her earlier that he was a holland lop bunny Hybrid, which were known for their floppy ears and they were especially rare with grey fur, like he had.

While hanging down, the soft, fur covered ears reached shortly above his chin, and she had to hold back the urge to touch the soft hair. Ears and tail were the most sensitive and intimate body parts of a Hybrid, which no one should be allowed to touch without the Hybrids permission. Sadly, no one cared about that.

They often grab and touch Hybrids’ ears, pulling them or clipping some tags through them. As well as their tails. She just wanted to arrest anyone to show such a disrespect towards a Hybrid.

She snapped out of her thoughts, just as Jungkook entered the room again, carrying all the clothes she had given to him. His face didn’t show excitement anymore, while he had his ears straighten flatly against his head.

“Those are for you, Jungkook.” Hope said as she stood up from the sofa. “You can keep them all. They – “

“No.” He simply said, almost hissing at the girl. He laid the pile of clothes carefully on the sofa, before lifting a shirt up, holding it right in front of the girl’s face. “Smell.”

Confused, she took the shirt and smelled at the fabric. It smelled….like nothing? She looked back up at the bunny hybrid, who was standing in front of her, looking expectantly at the girl.

“I don’t smell anything.” She said and smelled again. Maybe she caught a cold? “They aren’t smelling like anything.”

“Smells like man.” Jungkook said, as he shook himself. “Bah! Should not smell like man.”

“Oh, okay. You don’t like the scent of Brian?” She asked amused, and he nodded quickly. “I will go and wash them.”

Hybrids don’t just had outer features of animals, they also had all their senses, which means that they were extremely sensitive to smells or sounds. Though the clothes were all washed, they probably still had Brian’s scent from when he had carried the clothes in his arms.

She laughed slightly and walked into the bathroom with the boy was trailing behind her, watching as she turned on the washing mashie. When she was done, she turned back towards Jungkook.

“There you go. All washed up.” She said, but he still did not look satisfied.

“You.” He said and sniffed the air in front of her.

“Me?” The girl asked confused, as he practically smelled at her. Did she smell bad?

“You smell like man.” He said, cocking his right eyebrow up. “You should not smell like man.”

“Oh.” She laughed quickly, bending her head to smell her shirt. But being a human with a human nose, it was impossible for her to smell anything. “I was standing close to Brian earlier when I took the clothes. Maybe that’s why I smell like him. I will take a shower.”

15 minutes later, she came back from the bathroom. Jungkook was having the time of his life, watching the Simpsons on TV. He didn’t even notice her coming up from beside him, because he was so caught up from the colourful cartoon.

“Better?” She laughed at him and his head snapped towards her.

He watched her up and down, before taking some deep sniffs. He thought for a while, before he nodded and turned his attention back towards the TV.

“Better.”

[taglist]

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@starlightauroras-writes

[fairestwriting]

title: piece of my world

word count: 1562

summary: Phoebe shuts off the game before she goes to bed, but it doesn’t seem to end there.

commissioned by @invaderphoeb ! hope you enjoyed it and thanks so much for the support <3 also available on ao3 here !

guidelines for commissions are here, in case anyone else is interested

That game had an interesting prologue.

Phoebe chuckles when she switches the phone off, letting her face meet the mattress for a second, smiling. She had fun with it, there were more chapters to look into later, but for now the prologue would have to be enough — It was that long already, all of its parts stretching far into the night.

She yawns, turning around on the bed, now laying on her back instead of her stomach. It had been her friend’s idea to have her play it, knowing her love for Disney movies and its villains, and she’s grateful for the recommendation. It had been a fun night.

But naturally, everything needs to come to an end, and this far into the night, Phoebe really needed to get some sleep.

Hopping off the bed, they leave their phone on the nightstand and dig into their closet for a couple moments before retrieving their favorite pajama set, changing without thinking about much of anything. They hang the clothes they’d been wearing previously on the chair near the desk, then get under the covers, snuggling up until they’re comfortable.

Pip, their dear teddy bear, had been resting on the nightstand, next to the phone, but soon enough it’s in their arms again, squeezed tightly as they nuzzled it with a small smile.

It’s funny seeing how the personalities of the villains translated into these characters, how they held that sort of familiarity she felt when she watched the movies, but turned into something new and refreshing. She didn’t know exactly who was who yet, just a handful of scattered names her friend had mentioned to her, but seeing some elements on the character’s designs, she had a couple of guesses here and there.

It was an interesting game, really. Phoebe was excited to play some more in the morning, she thinks, and drowsiness began to cloud her mind.

That cat, Grim, with his blue flames a boasting, prideful dialogue, and the headmaster Dire Crowley, with that mask and flashy blue clothing, stay in her mind for a bit. Kind of like they’re staring at him through water, Phoebe sinks into the pool of her thoughts, slowly fading away as sleep takes over, and they don’t leave.

What a funny game. She wonders which characters she’d get to know in chapter one — Which villains were personified there, and how. Crowley’s words, in that specific tone of voice he had, echo along incomprehensibly, and she thinks of this one red haired boy who had chased after Grim in the story.

In Phoebe’s blurred vision, he’s running like that, in those robes. She wonders where he was headed, briefly.

. . .

“What happened here?”

“Where the hell did this come from… who is this person?”

“Are they conscious? Everyone, step away…!”

The world blurs and unblurs, everything darkened with the still not faded unconsciousness of Phoebe’s brain — Not many thoughts run through her mind, is she dreaming? The place around her can barely be seen, but it doesn’t look like her room.

No, it doesn’t look like her room at all.

It’s purple all around, odd lighting comes from a chandelier and hanging lamp lights in a sort of lavender or reddish tone. There are windows on the walls, decorated with intricate framing that looped in all sorts of arabesque-like designs, long dark purplish curtains covering their corners, mirrors all around.

Near those walls, coffins floating ominously, emanating glow from a circle on their very centers that kept fading in and out, with all those people around him too, Phoebe notes vaguely, but he can barely move. He feels something poking at him, first at his wrist, then on his face—

“What are you doing? Don’t touch them like this, or it’ll be off with your head…!”

What…? Phoebe tries to open his eyes, but it’s difficult. The voice is eerily, slightly familiar, the line definitely so, taking her way back to watching the classic Alice in Wonderland in a rainy night, curled up in blankets and holding her—

The teddy bear. Where was it?

“Oi, it looks like they’re waking up…” A rougher, deeper voice comes into play after a couple of steps, Phoebe still can’t see right, but she knows there’s a man looming over her, intense eyes that stand out between darker skin and hair.

Her vision unblurs slightly, for a moment. She sees the slash of the scar across his eye.

“This looks strange…” A faraway mutter by an analytical voice, quiet yet it calls for Phoebe’s attention, she sees another tan man on the borders of the crowd, long hair cascading over his shoulder. A shorter one with white hair and red eyes standing by his side. “Kalim, stand behind.” He says, it comes out commanding, misplaced when it came to the image he got through

“Ehh, Jade, what’s going on? Did the entrance ceremony just get interesting?” Another faraway sound, a giggle among many other mutters.

“Mm, it seems so, Floyd.”

Blur again, but it doesn’t last too long before it leaves again, and the faint shapes of other people come back into Phoebe’s field of vision. The voices around Phoebe don’t stop talking, gawking at them like they’re some sort of lab rat to be experimented on, they want to stand up and tell them to back off, to ask where the hell they are, what sort of dream is this? But they can’t move at all, every limb feeling like it’s been cemented onto the floor.

Despite the way their eyes kept darting around, not even their lids could stay fully open—

“What the hell is that…” Someone else is giggling, leaning forwards, a sly smile with orange hair and red eyes.

“Shush, you’re gonna get into trouble, and we didn’t even get sorted yet..!” A person nearby, short dark hair and eyes of the same color, scolds them.

Phoebe is mostly trying to move. Wiggling fingers or toes, squirming, but it’s like they’re trapped into their own body, fading in and out of consciousness, only one foot into the bizarre dream, and the other…

“Has the headmaster not said he’d check where that person came from?” The voice near the one Phoebe could link the name Floyd to asks, just a tad closer, had he taken a couple steps towards them? “I don’t believe I see him anywhere.”

“Super weird, huh. I like it.” That Floyd drawls, sounding just on the edge of a giggle. “Hey, Jade, d’you think they’re from anywhere we know? Maybe some first year who just passed out here?”

“What are you… you two, get away from them, what excuse would you tell if they found you hovering over an unconscious body?” A new, unfamiliar voice perks up. Looking around drowsily, Phoebe finds the source of that duo, two tall teal-haired young men, a third, smaller and silver-haired one popping up between them through the crowd. “Keep away. This is not our problem to solve—”

“Eh, but Azul likes getting up on other people’s businesses, doesn’t he.” Floyd laughs.

“Now’s not the time for this!” A new voice scolds — the boy who’d said that familiar phrase, off with your head, she finds out he’d been small, red haired, and…

Realization hits even through the haze. Was that the game’s prologue?

“Really, where is that headmaster…”

“You know you can’t trust that guy, all he cares about is…”

“But it’s more interesting like this, right? Entrance ceremonies are so boring…”

Murmurs and more murmurs around them. Phoebe resigns herself to the dream. Maybe she’d wake up. Maybe she’d tell her friend about it tomorrow morning, laughing about how easily the game had trickled into her head, turning into this weird frenzied fantasy.

Because it wasn’t real, right? There’s no way something like this could be!

“Silence!” Another voice — One easily recognized, even before the eye-catching figure of a man in flashy garments and a bird mask steps in hurriedly. It’s that headmaster Crowley, his eyes glowing slightly in the dim light. “Don’t crowd around the unconscious person like this—”

“But do you know where they come from?” The scarred man with a deeper voice says, but takes a step back anyway. The headmaster looks around, frantic.

“Of course! Of course I do, perhaps they’re a student, just…”

“Is that… is that teddy bear glowing?”

The headmaster gasps, Phoebe feels a spark of energy hitting her mind again — Her teddy, she pleads in the back of her mind, trying to move, to look around, and she finally sees Pip, laying right next to her, who would now, but a soft glow emanates from the plush of its body. Phoebe’s efforts go towards stretching her arms to grab it, just hold it again, but it’s still impossible.

“This doesn’t look good.” The headmaster says in an uncharacteristic, quiet voice. “Students! Kindly do step back, I’ll be taking them to the infirmary?”

“But are they a student?” The bossy red-haired boy questions. “Headmaster?”

The voices begin to melt and muddle together like ingredients stirred into the same strange syrup — Phoebe sees glowing eyes through a mask very clearly as her body is picked up, internally panicking before the teddy bear is also taken from the floor and placed within her arms.

It doesn’t take too long for everything to go black again.

[pagingevilspawn]

Loving You Is A Losing Game - chapter one

okay, wow. so this is the first full chapter of loving you is a losing game! i’ll keep this short by saying that i know this isn’t the greatest, because i just started writing seriously back in like, may. but i do hope that you guys will like this!! 

____ 

~*~

"a broken heart is all that's left"

~*~

the sun beat down through the room's window, a gentle hue settling on the white curtains. the sun shone on two people in a bed, holding onto each other so tightly, so securely, but yet somehow, so passionately, like they had been doing it for so many years. it looked like a habit, the man's hands wrapped around the woman's middle as her head was buried deeply into somewhere between the man's bare chest and neck. his nose was nuzzled into the girl's dark brown locks as they slept. away were the worry lines caused from overwhelming stress, and instead was replaced by the smallest hint of a smile on both person's lips, so tiny, barely there, but it was as if they knew that just by holding one another, everything was going to be okay.

she wasn't quite sure what time it was. all she knew was that the sun far past what is considered to be it's rising point. it beat down on her skin, a golden glow reflecting on her olive tan. she was currently in the state of being asleep yet awake at the same time. she knew things were going on around her, but she was much too tired to actually open her eyes and face the day.

all she was really able to focus on was the comfort of her pillow. she snuggled in closer to it, inhaling the scent unconsciously, a mix of mint and aftershave, different than what she remembered, but she was liking this smell so much more.

she took these special moments and them close to her, she knew by now her 'pillow' was really just her husband. it had been a long while since he'd held her so closely like he currently was. the sun's rays were much too bright now, she could tell even from facing away.  it was too late to fall back asleep. she tries to pry her tired eyes open, but is mostly unsuccessful, since she wasn't sure if she was still awake or just in a dream.

once she knew she was on the more conscious side of things, she lets her ears wander, listening to the sounds of her room. the birds chirping softly outside, the quiet snores coming from her husband.

she gains the feeling of touch back, noticing then how her skin felt hot. an arm was wrapped around her center, and another was on her shoulder. she decided she didn't want to open her eyes just yet, she didn't want to ruin the moment. she forgot what it felt like to be held in his arms so securely.

as she buries her nose in his neck something feels different.

actually, everything feels different.

the smell of old spice and men's cologne wasn't present, but the new smell of mint and aftershave, the one from earlier. the arm around her midsection was muscular, much more built than she remembered it to be. and the chest she currently had her palm on, this was not the same chest she was used to. this chest didn't have any hair on it, last time she checked her husband still had the neatly trimmed hair on his chest. on this chest, she could feel the muscles pulsing as he breathed in and out, something she wasn't used to. the chest she knew was strong and muscular, but not like this.

it was then she decided it was time to open her eyes. she expected to be met with the face of her husband, but no, oh no. this man, this man was most certainly not her husband.

this man's jawline was sharper, had a five-o'clock shadow rather than a full stubble, shorter hair that was a shade darker than the color she was used to, and this man's lips were a bit more full and red.

she felt her eyes grow wide as she took in the situation. she realized she didn't have any clothes on other than her underwear, so did the man. she quickly wiggles out of the guy's strong hold, trying to grasp what the hell happened.

her eyes dart around the room, not noticing that the man was starting to shift towards consciousness as well.

clothes.

they were everywhere.

her black lacy bra was hanging loosely from a lamp on the nightstand. her dress that she briefly remembers putting on the night before is in a puddle by the foot of the bed. the man's shirt was strewn across a chair in the coroner, and a pair of nice black jeans was curled up on the floor.

she swallows the lump in her throat, trying to grasp the situation.

she had sex with a man who wasn't her husband. she woke up next to a man who wasn't her husband. she had enjoyed being in the arms of someone who wasn't her husband.

"what the fuck?" a deep voice asks from behind her, she lets out a small squeal, turning around and covering her bare chest in the process, ignoring the pounding headache she had, it was the absolute least of her concerns.

she starts pacing around the room, grabbing a robe from a closet and finally meeting the eye of the man, who looks just as shocked as she did.

the man gazes around the room, taking in its current state. he knew something was different this morning, but he just blamed it on having slept so well.

the hair he smelled that morning was like vanilla, not coconut, but he insisted it was just a change of shampoo. the body he was holding was much smaller and daintier, a large comparison to the tall figure of his wife.

"shit." he breathes out.

his wife.

"shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." he curses, running his hand through his hair.

he looks up from his wedding band, only to meet the face of a woman, an attractive woman. long brown hair in curly ringlets and golden brown eyes. her pupils are wide as she paces the room, fiddling with the wedding band set on her finger.

she throws her head back unexpectedly, bringing a hand to her mouth "i'm a dirty adulteress whore!" she lets out all of sudden, her eyes getting a bit wet.

she bites her bottom lip, much like he was doing right now, "oh god." she mumbles to herself. the brunette begins her pacing again, "he's gonna be so mad, oh god, he's gonna be so mad." she says quietly to herself, so quietly that the man doesn't hear her.

the male on the bed sat still, not quite processing the information that was flowing through his brain. he cheated on his wife. he fucking cheated on his wife.

god, he was so stupid, he told himself he had changed, he told himself he was a better man. he thought he was a better man. he thought he had put his cheating days behind him, but that seems to not be the case.

and the worst part? he couldn't even think of this girl's name. the woman unexpectedly sits down beside him, a look of pure disbelief present on both of their faces. his mouth opens and closes a few times, the words he wanted to say not being able to come out.

the woman finally speaks up, her tone of voice only really able to be described as bewildered. "i just cheated on my husband."

the man nods, "i just cheated on my wife."

after a few beats of silence the girl bursts into loud fits of laughter, making his head pound harder than it was before, but ignores it, much like he assumed she was doing.

he looks to the girl with eyebrows raised. was this chick mental? she was laughing about the fact that they were both cheaters?

well, he did kind of know, he could assume she was laughing instead of crying. but he still thought she might be crazy.

but for some reason, he couldn't help but laugh along side her. her laugh was infectious, and it sent tingles all through his body. before they knew it, the two were bent over laughing, tears coming out of their eyes.

why were they laughing? they both had no idea. laughing was prolonging the crying session, sure. but it really did no good other than make their heads hurt worse. all they knew was that the sound's of each other's laughs made them giggle more. it was pretty messed up, the fact that they were laughing over the fact that they were dirty, dirty cheaters. it was wrong, but for some reason, they couldn't stop.

the two chuckled for a few minutes more, wiping at the wetness in their eyes once their giggles died down. they were left in an uncomfortable silence, refusing to meet each other's gaze. a large switch from their situation just seconds before. they should leave the room, they knew that. they knew that they should walk out that dark brown door and never look back, pretend last night had never happened. they knew they should. but for some reason they both stayed put.

it was like a magnet was pulling them together. they'd never felt like this before. they were sitting side by side, not touching, yet it seemed just being around each other set their skin on fire.

the man lets out a breath through his pursed lips, trying to think of something to say. "i'm alex." he settles on, eyes flitting to look over at the girl.

the woman bobs her head up and down. "brooke."

"i feel like crap." brooke speaks up after a few beats of heavy silence, turning the wedding set on her ring finger. she felt dirty. really dirty. she had just broken a vow, a promise. the one to be loyal to her spouse.

she drums her lips and runs a hand through her hair, finally submitting the pounding headache she had. she hisses, squeezing her eyes shut as she finally becomes more and more aware of her senses.

alex was one in the same. he could tell that the room smelled of alcohol, though there were no bottles present. he had a massive hangover, and the sun was shining way too brightly. with that thought he gets up from the massive bed -not without having to steady himself first- walks over to the curtains and snaps the white fabric shut. alex walks back over to the bed wordlessly, sitting down in the spot he occupied before, an awkward silence taking over them.

they didn't know what to say. there was so much, but neither could decide what there was to discuss first. sorry? no, they both obviously enjoyed it last night, based on the scratch marks he had on his back and the hickey's she had all over her body. but they should say sorry right? but what were they sorry for? cheating on their partners? definitely, but what good would come out of telling each other that and not their spouses? none. were they sorry that they cheated and enjoyed it, even if neither could remember it? were they sorry for the fact that they had done it? were they sorry that they had a role in the act of adultery? an apology to the other would be useless.  

but for some reason, the silence hanging over them- albeit awkward- was comforting in a way. there was a level of understanding between the two, whether it be for the whole cheating thing, or for something else, they didn't know. all they did know was that it was there.

brooke suddenly begins to feel nauseous, the events of last night and the guilt finally catching up to her. she makes a mad dash for the bathroom and can barely make it to the toilet before she's puking her guts out.

after a few heaves she feels her hair being pulled back from her face, making her jump the slightest bit, but ultimately rests and begins to spill the contents of her stomach once more.

alex collects the brunette's hair in his hand as he tentatively rubs a hand on her back, watching as her body jerks from leaning over the bowl again and again. he felt bad, is all he could really say. he had no idea why he was holding a woman he didn't knows hair as she got rid of what seemed to be half of her body weight, other than the fact that he felt bad. he felt he owed it to this girl, to do the least bit of a kind thing.

the guilt of cheating on izzie was huge, but combined with the fact that he also helped this girl cheat on her husband only seemed to add gas to the flame.

after a few minutes of brooke puking her guts out she flushes the toilet and leans down against the cold tile of the bathroom floor, making alex let go of her hair as it sprawls out all around her like a fan. she bites her bottom lip, not having the energy quite yet to sit up and rinse out her mouth with water. she swallows the large lump in her throat, trying to keep the tears in her eye at bay. "i've only been married for three months."

the man nods, licking his lips as he lets out a sigh, running a hand through his short hair. "i've only been married for two."

god, he felt like shit. he felt like complete and utter shit. he thought he was past it, the cheating and not being loyal. but here he was, in boston, waking up next to a woman he didn't know. he cheated on his wife. his wife who was just starting to get better. the wife who had cancer, the wife who had just lost her best friend not even a month and a half ago. and to repay her, he goes ahead and cheats on her? he feels worthless, stupid. like he was the little seven year old fat kid who was getting yelled at by his dad for being a waste of space.

"fuck." he groans, burying his head in his hands.

brooke nods, she felt it too. sure, paul had been acting a bit different lately, more possessive, more controlling, but it was only because he loved her. that was no reason to go and cheat on him. he gave her everything, a nice house, nice clothes, a large meal on the diner table every night. and this is how she repays him? cheating on him while at a medical conference, too drunk to even remember it? she was a horrible wife.

"yeah. fuck."

[popcornanon]

Glass

A/N: Ok so this is the first time I have ever done anything like this. Please be nice or I cry. There’s probably some mistakes. I’m very new to this. Anyways, here’s a lil story.

Also, shoutout to @agenthotchner for help and support!

Warnings: blood, gore, mentions ptsd, hallucinations

Hotch x Reader

Word Count: 1.2 k

You jolted to an upright sitting position. The screams and blood still flooded your dreams every night. Your eyes scanned the darkened room as you huffed heavily trying to calm your heart beat. Your whole body was coated in a cold sweat. A movement to your left startled you but as you turned the bedside lamp on, you saw the familiar body of Penelope Garcia. She stirred in her sleep, mumbling something about the light being on. It had been five weeks since you’d been released from the hospital and you still needed someone to be with you when you slept. If you slept.

Slowly, you reached for your phone and noted the time: 2:14 am. You carefully lifted the covers and exited the bed. Your hands trembled with post-nightmare anxiety. Entering your bathroom, you closed and locked the door as you usually did now a days even in your own apartment. The light already shone brightly above the mirror and sink. Hands still shaking, you gripped the sides of the sink. You couldn’t get the images from your dream out of your head. Picture after picture, you saw more vivid details flash in your mind. You shook your head trying to escape the violent depictions. Your skin was clammy and you felt like you were going to pass out. You turned the water on and grabbed your water glass but your eyes wandered to the mirror for a split second. What you saw made you drop the glass. It shattered and shards flew into the sink and scattered on and around your bare feet. But you didn’t even notice the glass as you held your breath and your eyes widened. Your gaze didn’t leave the reflection.

The reflection of your face was completely covered in blood. Blood poured from every opening. You were crying tears of crimson. It dribbled from your nostrils and ears. Your lips blended in with the blood flowing from your eyes. The whites of your eyes pierced through the mirror in a river of red. Still not daring to take a breath, you shakily lifted your arms and hands only to see several long gashes that bled with warm, fresh blood. Finally, a breath came out of your lungs but it was actually a bloodcurdling scream. You shoved your forearms into the running water, scrubbing and scouring but the water did nothing to rid your skin of the mess. You panted hysterically as you ran to the shower, stepping on the fallen glass. Throwing back the curtain, you turned the shower head on. You didn’t care that the water was icy cold, only about washing away the madness. You tried and tried to clean the blood away as you helplessly cried. Your pajamas becoming heavy as they became soaking wet with the cold water. You suddenly heard banging on the bathroom door and you screamed and cried louder.

~ ~ ~

“Sir, it’s me…” Penelope rapidly said into her phone. “I’m so sorry to call you this late but…I think she’s locked herself in the bathroom and she’s crying and yelling and…I don’t know what to do… Yes, I’m trying to talk to her but I don’t think she can hear me… Okay, thank you. Please hurry.”

~ ~ ~

More and more blood seemed to pour from your arms and head. It dripped furiously and diluted in the water sitting stagnant in the tub. Nothing stopped it.

Abruptly, loud banging came from the door and you screamed for him to get away. You knew it was him coming to hurt you. The door burst open with a powerful force and a tall man entered the small bathroom. It was him. His face was twisted with hatred. His probing blue eyes bore into you. You screamed and threw anything you could find at the horrible creature.

“Get away! Get away from me. No!” You yelled, chucking a conditioner bottle.

“(Y/N), it’s me! It’s Aaron…it’s okay, it’s me.” He approached with his hands up.

His face morphed into a familiar one. You looked from his face to you arms again. They were free of blood and only the raised skin from the scars you bore ran down your forearms. There was no evidence of blood anywhere around the bathroom. You sank to the bottom of the bathtub, hugging your knees to your chest. You sobbed as the stream of water pelted your face. The man slowly approached and turned the faucet off. You shook from the cold and anxiety. The man descended to his knees and leveled his face to yours. You shivered again fiercely. You completely dissociated, not registering the man or woman now hovering in the bathroom doorway. The man slowly reached his hand out to help you out of the tub. At first you didn’t notice, it startled you but then you saw his soft umber eyes. You held out a wobbly arm and the man hoisted you out of the slippery tub but as soon as you were out, you collapsed with exhaustion. The man, you now seemed to recognize as Hotch, caught you. He grabbed a towel from the rack with one hand as he steadied you on the toilet seat lid with his other hand. He wrapped you tightly in the soft towel but you continued to tremble.

“Penelope, will you help get her into some dry clothes?” He looked to Garcia who was still frozen, staring from the doorway.

“Ye…yes, sir.” She rushed to the dresser, flinging the drawers open and collecting an oversized t-shirt and pj shorts.

Hotch stared into your pale face but you barely noticed him as you eyed distantly at the hand towel ring. You rocked back and forth on the lid of the toilet. He rose and retrieved a small first aid kit from the cupboard and began to tend to the glass in your foot. He bandaged the foot. He then left the bathroom letting Garcia assist you in getting dressed. He cracked the broken door on his way out.

Penelope peeled off the soaking pajama shirt and slid the new dry shirt over your head. She helped you stand up and helped you into dry underwear and shorts. Then she led you past the broken glass, to your bed and tucked you in. Hotch stood by the bedroom door until Garcia had you settled in. He walked over and knelt down next to your bed.

“(Y/N), we need you to take this sedative. It’ll help you sleep. Can you do that for us?” He said gently.

You nodded a slight nod. He handed you the tiny pill and a plastic cup with water. Once you swallowed the pill, he set the water on your nightstand and began to rise.

“I’m…sorry.” You squeaked out.

“Don’t be, it’s okay. Get some rest.”

“Will you stay?”

“If you want me to.”

You nodded again. He turned to speak to Garcia.

“Penelope, thank you for taking care of her. I can stay if you wish to go home. Jack’s at a sleepover tonight, so I’m free.”

“Okay, that’s fine. I’m just two floors away if you need me.” She gathered her overnight bag and Hotch walked her out, then locked the door after her.

It was now just after 3:00 am. Hotch returned to the bedroom, approaching your nightstand and saw that the sedative had worked. You were now asleep and curled up in a ball. Aaron turned out your light and walked out of your room, cracking your door. He made a bed out of your couch for the night, already thinking about what he would make for breakfast in the morning.

[valkyrisffvii]

Secrets

Setting: Mithra’s apartment in the Shinra Building, Midgar

POV: 3rd person

Summary: Mithra invites Sephiroth over to her home so the new couple can spend time together, and she reveals some of her deepest secrets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mithra sat on one of the barstools in her kitchen area, mindlessly staring at her phone. She finished cleaning up her apartment earlier to make it look presentable, as Sephiroth was going to be spending the night with her. Apparently, her apartment was nicer than even the 1st class SOLDIER’s, as it was originally a suite for Shinra’s guests. 

The two of them had been together for about a week now. Mithra still felt somewhat overwhelmed and in disbelief at the fact, but Sephiroth had reassured her that he loved her and wanted the relationship. Also, thankfully, there were no rules in SOLDIER that forbade dating among members. Additionally, the two of them had agreed that their relationship could become public, as doing such would prevent fangirls from causing problems. 

There was a knock at her door, and Mithra quickly hurried over. She peered through the peephole and saw the tall, silver-haired First standing on the other side. Heart racing, she opened the door to let him in.

“Hello, my dear,” his smooth voice did nothing to calm her down. He placed his duffel bag down and pulled Mithra in for a hug. Normally, Sephiroth would never perform such a physical act, but Mithra somehow brought out this side in him. Mithra hugged him back, burying her face into his shoulder.

“Hello, love,” she mumbled into his coat. She leaned up to kiss him, which he gladly accepted. Mithra then led him into her living area.

“Your home is very nice,” he said. “I now understand why Zack and Cloud like to hang out here so much.”

“I do my best to accommodate. I made Zack his own jar of puppy food.” 

Sephiroth could not help but crack a small grin; Mithra knew her friends too well. The living area had a television as well as a large couch and a coffee table. The kitchen was in the same room, with a nicely-sized kitchen island that sported several bar stools. Sephiroth spotted several of Angeal’s cookbooks perched on the countertop, showing that Mithra had been borrowing them and experimenting with new recipes. 

Mithra opened one of the doors that led out of the living area to reveal the bedroom. Maroon sheets and pillowcases adorned the king-sized bed, and a matching comforter was draped over the foot. Each side had a nightstand with a pink salt lamp, and the nightstand on the left had a caddy with several small items. Opposite of the bed was a full-length window whose curtains were currently drawn. 

“You can leave your bag there.” Mithra gestured to the dresser against the wall next to the door. “The left side of the bed is my side. I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the right side.” She paused, getting nervous again. “Unless you don’t feel comfortable sleeping next to me, then you could sleep-”

Sephiroth shushed her.

“Relax, love. I’ll be more than comfortable sharing a bed with you. I’m sure your bed will be much warmer with me in it.” He winked at her, inciting a giggle from the now-relaxed Second. As she helped him get settled, Mithra could not help but adore the way Sephiroth could both fluster her to the point of blushing and instantly relax her all in the same breath. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The evening had consisted of the two talking about their lives and gossiping about their friends. Mithra cooked them dinner with the help of Angeal’s cookbooks, and, unlike the times she cooked with Zack, the kitchen stayed relatively clean. They also played chess, which Sephiroth won every single time. Mithra and Sephiroth only grew closer during that time. She had always known that they were more similar than she originally thought, having no clue who their parents were and being mostly solitary in their youth. It almost seemed like they were meant to be together.

It was 9 PM when they both decided to get ready for bed. Mithra showed Sephiroth to her luxurious bathroom, which sported separate shower, whirlpool spa, and toilet rooms that both connected to a vanity and sink area. Not even the prestigious 1st Class SOLDIERs had this amenity.

“I know that you’ll be taking a while with that hair of yours, so I’ll go and shower first.” Mithra gathered her clothes and went into the shower room, finishing her shower within five minutes. She changed into her preferred sleepwear which consisted of a sports bra and shorts, and she went back into the bedroom where Sephiroth was sitting on the bed. 

“You look quite adorable,” he said playfully, which resulted in an equally playful punch in the arm. He pretended to be hurt and chuckled as he went into the bathroom to shower.

Ten minutes had passed, and knowing that her boyfriend would be taking a while, Mithra went to the bathroom and opened up the small skincare refrigerator that sat safely on a vanity away from the sinks. She applied her toner and creams, considering asking Sephiroth if he was interested in trying out one of her mud masks sometime. As she walked back to her bedroom, she failed to notice the large, slippery puddle that a certain someone had dripped in the middle of the floor.

“Fuuuck!” she cried as her feet slid up from underneath her. Luckily, before she could collapse on the floor, a strong pair of hands saved her by catching her under her arms. Instead of laying flat on her back on the floor, Mithra’s body was now propped up by her heels and her rescuer. 

Mithra opened her eyes and looked up to see her silver-haired lover who currently sported the most smug face she’d ever seen. To add to her embarrassment, the only thing covering him was a white towel wrapped securely around his hips. She could feel the heat rising in her face as she gained her footing and looked away. Sephiroth stepped in front of her, smiling at how cute she looked. She looked up and was met face to face with a broad, naked chest, which she could not take her eyes off of. She was snapped out of her trance when she felt his velvety lips press against her forehead.

“Sephy! Why are you walking around and leaving puddles everywhere?” she cried. “Go dry yourself off and put on some clothes while I clean up the mess you made!”

“You know, I could use my towel to wipe the floor...”

“No!” Mithra practically shoved him back into the shower room and went to mop up the puddles, all while fighting the urge to peek in on him getting dressed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After she had wrung out her mop and left it out to dry, Mithra headed back to her bedroom and sat on her side of the bed. She laid back against the pillows as she doodled on her tablet with her prized stylus. Drawing proved itself to be a favorite pastime of hers. It helped her relax and unwind in between missions and long training sessions with Angeal. She had drawn portraits for all her friends, which they appreciated immensely. 

Mithra was currently working on yet another sketch of Sephiroth. She knew that she was falling for him when she found herself drawing him over and over, constantly trying to get more and more accurate with her portrayal of the famous SOLDIER. Having spent plenty of time with him lately, she basically had his entire face memorized.

The bathroom door opened, and Mithra turned her head to see Sephiroth standing there. His hair still laid flat on his head with dampness, and he had slipped on a pair of black sweatpants, leaving his bare chest exposed. Mithra could not help but crack a small smile at him. He came over to sit next to her, peering at her tablet and the drawing she worked on.

“Drawing me again, aren’t you?” He asked teasingly. He looked more closely at Mithra’s work, his eyes sparkling.

“I’ll probably be drawing you a lot more, my dear,” Mithra responded, looking up at him and getting lost in his minty-green eyes. She noticed that his usual slit pupils had dilated slightly, now resembling ellipses. Before he had confessed his feelings towards her, Mithra had rarely seen him look at anything with the amount of love and adoration he currently exhibited. He was always so serious and dedicated to his work. He chuckled in response to her statement. 

“If you ever want me to model for you, I’d be honored.”

“Remind me to bring my pen and tablet when we go to Costa Del Sol,” she laughed, placing her items down and scooting herself in between his legs with her back resting on his chest. Sephiroth wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. He then leaned back against the headboard and began to mindlessly fiddle with Mithra’s short brown locks, a stark contrast to his long silver mane. 

As she shifted her head, he noticed something peculiar under her hair right behind her right ear. He pushed the hair aside to reveal a long, raised scar that marred her skin from right behind the tip of her ear to about halfway down her neck. He could not stop staring at it as his finger went to trace along it, causing Mithra to cease her movements.

“How did you get this scar?” He asked curiously. Mithra did not respond, as thoughts of how she’d explain its story swam in her head. Even though it had been so many years since that event, the memory was still fresh in her mind. It was one of the things that made her hate her life in the slums, and how glad she was to have been able to find a new life at Shinra. 

“Mithra?” She turned slightly so she could look at Sephiroth from the corner of her eye, and her scar was still fully visible to him. 

“I got it when I was sixteen. I was in the slums and I was leaving a bar because I had to return a stolen item to a client,” she explained. Sephiroth only stared at the mutilated skin, running his thumb along the length of the healed scar. “I was just outside the entrance when a man reeking of booze grabbed my arm and told me I looked pretty. He asked me if I was interested in having some fun with him; he was obviously trying to get me to sleep with him. I refused and tried to pull away, and he eventually got so mad that he slammed his half-empty bottle into my head. He aimed for the right side of my face, but I was quick, so it ended up hitting me behind the ear.” Her hand came up to meet his. “It still hurt like a bitch though. If I didn’t jerk my head I probably would’ve gotten glass in my eye and gone blind on that side.”

Sephiroth only looked at her in horror. How could someone do that, and to a sixteen year old no less? He concealed the anger and hatred he felt towards that man; Mithra was most likely safe from him for good now, but that wouldn’t stop Sephiroth from killing the offender if he dared to show his face. By now, Mithra had turned around to face him, her hands on his shoulders.

“I know what you’re thinking. I give you full permission to impale him with Masamune if you see him. I still vaguely remember what he looks like.” She paused to reach behind her ear and touch her scar. 

“Experiences like that one are what taught me all the skills I’ve needed to survive. After I staggered from the pain, I ran for my life. It wasn’t until a year later that I had the courage to leave when I knew that I had had enough,” she sighed, looking down. “I had to hide from several people who were angered by my refusal to submit to them. That’s how I became so good at staying in the shadows and being undetectable. Well, my job as a thief helped me also.”

By now, she felt like she had said too much. Mithra hung her head, afraid to see her lover’s facial expression. His hand came under her chin and gently forced her to look at him, just like how it did when he kissed her a week ago. She stared into his eyes and swallowed thickly.

“Mithra,” he began, “I am so sorry that you had to experience that. I did not know that your skills were the results of such traumatic events.” He pulled her in for a tight hug, her head buried in his neck and his hand stroking her hair. 

“You are such a strong person. I have seen the compassion you exhibit and the hard work you put into everything you do. You have overcome so much adversity, yet you still have a kind heart.” He pulled away slightly to caress her cheek, looking into her eyes yet again.

“I love you so much, Mithra, and I promise that I will do everything within my ability to protect you. If anyone tries to hurt you, they will have to go through me first.” By now, Mithra was blinking back tears of love and adoration. She slammed her lips against his in a long, passionate kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms around her waist. She knew he was the one for her, and he knew it too. They separated for air, resting their foreheads together. 

“Sephy, you were the first man to catch my eye and the first man I fell in love with. I will always be by your side,” she said, her voice full of raw emotions. By now, there was an evident sleepiness in her voice, and, despite trying her best to look at him, her eyes were drooping. Sephiroth chuckled and kissed her nose in thanks.

“Someone is falling asleep. Why don’t we call it a night?” Mithra nodded eagerly, turning off the lamps. Sephiroth laid on his back, extending an arm to her. She happily nestled against him, her head on his bare chest. She could hear the calming rhythm of his heart beating. His arm came to wrap around her waist, and she tangled her legs with his. Peaceful slumber overcame her almost immediately, and her mouth was frozen in a small smile.

“Good night, my love,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. He soon drifted off as well, looking forward to what the future held for the both of them.

[gamingleopard28]

RWBY Shattered Eye AU

(If you would like to make the AU into a comic I don’t mind, just give me the credit for the AU)

          Volume 5 School Fight

     After Cinder knocked Jaune to the floor she starts walking over to kill Weiss, but then notices an unconscious Ruby to her right then saying “Eye for an eye”. She then lifts Ruby up with her right arm by the shoulder with her spear in her left hand. Jaune yells out a “NO!” but Cinder doesn’t care. She slowly shoves the spear into Ruby’s right eye in order to make it as painful as possible. Yang cries out a “NO!” just before running to Cinder and tackling her which caused her to drop Ruby pretty hard onto the floor. During the moment of confusion Weiss, Qrow, Jaune go to keep Ruby alive while Nora, Ren and Ozpin/Oscar keep them protected from Mercury, Emerald and Hazel who are still trying to fight them. Meanwhile Yang is aggressively smashing Cinders head into the floor to a point where to fix it would require a landscaper as well. After Qrow realizes Ruby should be fine he goes over to Yang who is still pummeling Cinders face and manages to pull her off so he can check on her. Yang's face is filled with tears that are boiling as they fall, her hair is ready to basically explode at this point. Emerald helps Cinder up while Qrow calms Yang down to a point where she can think rationally enough to not lose her other arm.

At this point the fights are Qrow and Yang Vs Cinder and Emerald, Nora and Ozpin/Oscar Vs Mercury and Hazel. Jaune and Weiss are keeping Ruby alive as Jaune finds out he has his semblance. 

     While the chaos is happening Raven and Vernal who just watched all of this happen in about a minute decide to go down the elevator and see if they can get the relic without Cinder. Cinder notices them going down the elevator and lets Emerald know she is going down it. After Emerald covers Cinder as she disappears down the elevator shaft. Emerald, Mercury and Hazel move over to cover it and stop Qrow, Ozpin and the kids from getting in. Ruby has been moved to a safer corner and Weiss is now fighting again after getting her aura back. 

In short things mostly proceed as normal, White fang is stopped, Yang gets the relic and Adam goes missing. 

     Blake walks in through the hole in the front, looks around and notices Yang and Weiss kneeling next to Ruby, but she isn’t looking the same as she last saw her and it wasn’t really the outfit. Then Blake realized that Ruby was bleeding from her right eye and ran over to check on her. After cleaning the blood out for a little bit the got her onto a more comfortable surface, 2 medics came in and got her onto a stretcher and started asking the basic questions like “What happend?”, “How Long?” and so on. After which they began bringing her to a medical tent but stopped just outside in order to let the crowd clear. While they were stopped Yang brushed her left hand across Ruby’s hair to which Ruby then open her eyes weakly asking in pain “ya-ng?” before passing out. While passing out she could hear Yang’s voice getting quieter until she was unconscious.

          Between Volume 5 and Volume 6

     Blinking weakly Ruby opened her eyes and winced from the pain across her body but mostly in her right eye. Looking around she noticed that her right eye was more blurry and had a fairly thick black line going through its middle, she still remembered what happened to her and how Yang saved her life. Yang! She needed to find Yang. After spending probably about 2 minutes getting out of bed because of the pain she managed to get to the door after realizing she was connected to an IV bag with water in it. After opening the door she looked down both ways, to her left was a door about a foot away and to her right was a hallway about 8 meters long with doors along the walls and lead into a living room. The noise from the talking kind of irritated her a little so she checked the door to her left which wasn’t super quiet but didn’t creak. Ruby wasn’t exactly quiet with her entry and got the attention of Qrow and Ozpin who were in a conversation. Ozpin told Qrow could have some alone time and exited the garage. Qrow quickly got Ruby a chair as Yang stopped working on Bumblebee (her Motorcycle), grabbed a bag labeled Samples and helped Ruby sit as the asked her some basic questions like “Are you hungry? Are you hurting? Do you feel sick?”. Ruby answered “Yes. Yes. No.” and so on. Her eye did start to bleed but Yang was quick to get it with a tissue. Ruby asked why she had a bag labeled Samples and was told that the medics found some kind of dust in her eye and asked for them to keep samples. After she stopped bleeding from her eye they had a hug which made Ruby a bit more happy and managed to make her smile a little, then she was helped up out of the garage and to a table for about 10 people and get her some food. While passing by everyone else they saw her and all felt a bit bad as Ruby went from zipping around to looking like a kitten with broken legs as she slightly limped and stumbled each step. She didn’t even have much of a smile on her face, it even looked like moving kind of hurt her. Ruby did ask Yang how long she was asleep and Yang told her almost 2 days. Ruby then ask who changed her, which makes Qrow tell her “We made a rule that guys aren't allowed to change your clothes for you.” and Yang also tells her that she did.

About 2 hours later at 9:00 am Taiyang knocks on the front door. Qrow answers and lets him in and he immediately asks were Ruby is. Qrow tells him and lets him know to be quiet as noise makes her uncomfortable. 

     Tai basically does what he did after The Fall of Beacon and asks if she wants anything. Ruby just says a hug and to be able to sleep which Tai then realizes that his precious Ruby isn’t the same as she was before this happened which causes him to cry while hugging her. Ruby does ask if Zwei is okay and her lets her know that after her fight at haven Raven came back and is currently living with him as her tribe kinda got destroyed, and she is taking care of Zwei. After he leaves her be Yang comes in to give her a Hug and change her IV bag. Ruby then manages to go to sleep as her room is pretty nice. Sage green walls with dark brown floor trim, the floor is a nice soft wood. The room is 5 meters wide by 4 long parallel to the hall. Her bed is made with a sturdy wood and a comfy mattress, the sheets are a nice soft light brown cloth with about 1 ft of a fluffy material she likes to cuddle with and some soft pillows. Occasionally Yang, Blake and Weiss have peek in while she was doing it. Yang’s reaction was “She is so cute like that”, Blake’s was a warm smile, and Weiss was a mild blush. Everyone else reacted in their own way, Jaune and Ren saying ”As long as she’s happy” and Nora saying she knew it would work, Tai and Qrow just felt better knowing she could still be happy. On the left wall there is a window with a curtain that is mostly kept closed. Along the wall opposite side from her bed there are two 1 meter wide by 1 foot thick by 2 meter tall bookshelf's on opposite sides of the wall and a nightstand next to her bed with a lamp on it. She got up later for dinner, talked a little bit and goes back to her room to read a little and sleep. During the night she has a Nightmare and ends out screaming a little as she wakes up and then starts crying. Yang is in her room in a few second followed by Tai and Qrow, everyone else was to tired to get up at like 1 am. Yang, Qrow and Tai were all trying to calm her down from her nightmare. They did manage to calm her down and made sure someone was with her every night in case it happened again.

Throughout the rest of the 2 weeks every night she had a nightmare but was quickly comforted. Also every once in a while someone would check up on her and help her with something or just relax with her. Mainly it was the girls but occasionally Jaune or Ren would come in and give her some cookies or lunch. While the girls did their respective things with her, Yang would generally come in to help her shower, Blake would read with her, Weiss would explain what happened that day or cuddle with her as Ruby asked of her and Nora would help her with exercise. Ruby did get better throughout the week, even being able to walk around the house on her own in 5 days. Although Ruby wasn’t allowed outside unless it was the backyard or she was with someone as she still couldn’t really fight right now. Another 5 days later team RWBY went to a mall which is were Ruby got her present for Yang. Before leaving the blanket Ruby had is packed up because the blanket was actually bought by them for her.

          Volume 6

     The train ride is mostly the same to the normal one, only difference is Ruby has a nap and a Nightmare but is comforted by Weiss. Weiss covers Ruby from a Grimm swipe, The train crashes and and Jinn explains what Ozpin hid from them WBY does get angry at him but Ruby tells her to knock it off and asks Ozpin if he hid it to protect them. He says yes and Ruby then explains that they have bigger problems then trying to kill each other like shelter and food. In the house where Weiss and Ruby just sleep together and Ruby doesn’t have a Nightmare. During the well section Maria realizes that Ruby’s eyes are even stronger than they should be probably because her right one has less eye holding back the light. As they come through the cellar Qrow asks whats happening sounding more sober than normal as the Apathy slowly crawl out of the cellar, he then throws a few bottles at them with Weiss before running out of the house with Ruby and Weiss. They get to Argus without any incident. After everyone reunites they go to Saphron’s house, and relax while explaining what happened. After a little bit Saphron comes in and sits in one of the couches and then Ozpin explains that he did hide the truth from everyone, Jaune holds him against the wall and screams at Ozpin which causes Ruby to go into one of her Panic attacks, starting of with a scream and then intense crying and her right eye flashing a little bit. Everyone looks at Jaune and Ruby in a surprised look as Jaune is caught off guard by that and drops Ozpin letting him back off from Jaune who’s in a startled state. Yang and Blake are next to Ruby in a second and Weiss is in about 2, and they start calming her down. Everyone else decides to give her some space as Yang, Blake and Weiss bring her upstairs to rest while Weiss watches over her. Jaune did get some dirty glares from Yang for like 5 seconds until she gets distracted by Blake nuzzling her to get her to stop. Terra then comes home as well with the child and sits down next to Saphron. Later when everyone is going out to get food Ruby and Weiss stay back in case of a Nightmare or Panic attack. They find Maria and learn about Ruby’s eyes and that they seem a lot stronger than they should be. Then they all have dinner. The next day they all go to the Atlas airfield gate and Cordovan she tells them Weiss and Ruby are allowed because Weiss because her father wants her back and Ruby because of the samples, but everyone else is not. After trying to see if they could make an exception Weiss has an idea and backs off and calls someone. Then Cordovan gets a call about 30 seconds after Weiss, Finishes and tells the team that they have one hour to get their things and be back, when they get back they pack their stuff as well as Qrow’s things. He comes back surprisingly not at all drunk. Ruby is somewhat happy but also really confused as to why. When they return to the airfield they are escorted to a small airship and flown to atlas. On the way there Ruby gives Yang the present which is a Gift card for Strawberry Sunrises, a cleaning kit for her arm, a new pair of sunglasses and a few tools that she can attach to her arm. Yang lets out a little laugh and hugs Ruby really hard to a point where she can’t breath. Meanwhile Cinder did have her fight with Neo but she ran away from Cinder as the intense wind reminded her of how she failed Torchwick. Later Cinder finds Adam who has an airship and she explains that together they can destroy team RWBY and that on a specific date he will assassinate Ruby before she wakes up which will lower team moral and make Adams target (Blake) easier to get. Cinder will finally have Ruby dead and more maiden powers. He agrees and lets her on as they head for Mantle.

Team RWBY and JNR was well as Qrow and Ozpin/Oscar land at atlas and are greeted by Penny, Ironwood and Winter who thanks Weiss for calling her rather than doing something reckless. Penny lightly tackles Ruby and then notices the scar in her right eye. Ruby tells her its fine and that she doesn’t want to talk about it but Weiss will fill her in, which Weiss agrees too. Ironwood somewhat loudly goes “YOU’RE SOBER?!” to which Qrow replies yes and lets him know about Ruby and noises as she is noticeably uncomfortable. Winter is absolutely caught off guard by Qrow being sober and just jaw dropped. The Ace ops watch from a little ways away glad they are having some fun and then introduce themselves.

          Volume 7

     Weiss went to catch Ironwood, Winter and Penny up on what happened, Jaune, Ren and Nora went for training, Yang went with Maria for tuning for Maria’s eyes and Yang’s arm and Ruby went with Blake to the lab where they took the samples and explained that they may be able to make lights that kill Grimm making cities a lot safer and so they also take a blood test as the samples are dried up by this point. Blake stayed by Ruby in case she had a panic attack as she knew what to do unlike the scientists. Luckily she didn’t have one and managed the appointment pretty well and even got a lollipop and a cookie. Then everyone met back up. After learning about the Amity Project they got their new outfits and weapon updates and to learn about Ironwoods plan. Then they help clear out the launch site and then are shown their dorms. Next they have the training montage and get their licenses. Everyone ends out going to the Movies or to the voting party and it goes as normally until Tyrian attacks. Penny fires her swords at him and then loses him in the crowd and then hears Ruby yell something before it goes quiet and the light come back on. Everyone sees the swords but also notice none of them a bloody or correctly aligned to hit any of the dead bodies correctly to kill them. Then Penny realizes Ruby is missing...

Meanwhile many blocks away Ruby is tied up in a chair while Watts and Tyrian are talking about the how the plan went well and other things. After a little bit Watts Unties one of Ruby’s hands after setting up a chess board and asks if she wants to play. She accepts and they constantly tie. Watts is impressed and even Tyrian is interested in the game while still absolutely confused on what they are doing. 

     Afterwards they manage to sleep until Ruby gets woken up by the riot and a Nightmare. Tyrian yells at her to shut up and gives her a small cut with the non poisonous part of his tail which makes it worse and Watts tells him its time to leave. Back in atlas about 2 hours ago Yang, Blake and Weiss got to their bunks but noticed Ruby wasn’t there but assumed she was helping Penny with something until Ren and Nora burst into the room and tell them Ruby’s been kidnapped which Yang almost doesn’t even take an airship down to Mantle. After about an hour and a half they go back miserably and sit there still in their huntress outfits for a few minutes and then they get a call, “We found her. While getting out of an abandoned basement they were spotted by protesters as they have Wanted and Warning signs everywhere and so a squad of robots looked over at them and start sprinting towards them as the start running down the alleyway”. After about 10 minutes of running while Ruby is bawling her eyes out, an airship pops in front of them and the speaker says: “Put your hands up!” to which they decide to ditch Ruby so Tyrian just dropped her on the ground pretty hard which isn’t helping with her bawling. The squad of robots and the airship chases after them. Ruby is still just bawling her eyes out which are starting to flash. Another airship lands on the street and Yang, Blake and Weiss hop out and run over to her. When they get to her they immediately start to try and calm her as Blake cut the ropes but Ruby was still bawling her eyes out and had even started soaking her clothes. After about 5 minutes of hugging, head rubbing, even a few kisses and a lot of tears she finally was able to be moved to the airship and explain while sobbing what happened as Yang texts it to Qrow. Meanwhile Qrow, Ozpin/Oscar and Ironwood are having a little break and Qrow is offered a bottle and he only has a little bit. Then he is asked why he isn’t drinking as much to which he explains that he feels that he was to drunk to keep Ruby safe and that it might get her or him killed and would make her and Summer happy. Then he gets a text from Yang explaining that they have her and what happened as well as that she isn’t badly hurt but was bawling her eyes. He nearly dropped the scroll as Ozpin decides to ask what is it and Qrow tells them shocking them. Back with team Ruby, she is still mostly sobbing but not as bad so Yang tugs her along while she cries into Yangs shoulder, Weiss hugging her from behind and Blake up ahead just telling people to give her some space as they are getting notifications that Ruby is no longer missing. After getting to their dorm and calming Ruby down to just tears, Penny comes in knowing its been a bit over 2 hours since she disappeared. Penny is shocked that Ruby is crying as she has never seen Ruby cry before. She asks Ruby is she is okay and she replies “Yeah... Sorry I scared you.” and then hugs Penny who returns it telling her she is a good friend. After Penny leaves Ruby is asked if she wants anything and she says: “Maybe to sleep all together?” to which they accept her request and start unfolding the couch into a bed. (In this AU teams have separate rooms) After changing into night clothes they go to sleep on the bed. (If you are curious this is the order from left to right: Weiss, Ruby, Yang, Blake.)

     In the morning around 6:30 Yang woke up got out of bed easily since Blake had curled up on the bed, and started making some breakfast. Some PB&Js with milk and cookies for Ruby who was still asleep as Blake started to wake up. Then turning back to what she was doing yang then sees Adam and stumbles back ready for an attack that never comes as there is no one there. Blake rushes to Yang's side and asks why she is blocking from nothing to which she explains she thought she saw Adam and that he is out there still. Blake listens and then looks at Weiss who is waking up then jokes “Morning princess” to which Weiss doesn’t really care as she is being held onto by a sleeping Ruby. They all look at her smiling as she hasn’t been in a really great mood since haven, and then Ruby mumbles something along the lines of “We-iss... love... youuu...” which causes everyone to look quite surprised. About 3 minutes later Ruby wakes up and realizes she was holding Weiss and quickly lets go with her face going red and asks if she heard anything while she was asleep to which a blushing Weiss replies “N-o... yes” causing Ruby’s face to go very very red. Yang is basically dying laughing at this point and Blake is getting ready for CPR as Yang is laughing, choking and wheezing heavily. After they calm down without Yang needing CPR they have their breakfast and check their scrolls to see they have been given a day off and literally can’t do any missions today. So they just relax with the time they have like spending some time in the pool, going to the arcade, Even going to the library which Ruby finds a really good book that is like 10 inches wide which impresses Blake, they even play a little bit of tag and a few other activities. At some point they find Penny and have a chat with her and Winter. After that they go to a club that is fine with faunas and okay for Ruby (It isn’t loud enough to cause a panic attack). Then they head back to the bunks to which Ruby climbs onto her bed and immediately falls asleep. Later they had dinner with nothing really happening.

     Early in the next morning at about 6:55 Adam is waiting in the hall waiting for 7:00 as that is when the doors open and the cameras to turn off. Just as they turn off and the door unlocks he heads inside, but someone sees him enter. As he grabs a wooden box to stand on so he makes sure its a kill, gets on it raises the knife above Ruby’s chest and brought it down. “Hey!” while bringing down the knife it misses her heart and goes into her stomach, Weiss kicks his legs out from under him and he hits the floor hard and Penny starts disarming and arresting Adam. Weiss is now trying to get the knife out of Ruby’s stomach while Yang helps Penny with arresting Adam. Blake is still waking up from her dream about cat nip or something I don’t know. After getting the knife out of Ruby, Adam was arrested and put into a cell with his weapon in another secure room. Later around noon Ruby and Weiss have a walk in a park and end out sitting on one of the benches under a tree. Weiss asks if Ruby did love her to which Ruby replies yes and then kisses Weiss on the cheek, Weiss then returns the kiss but on the lips for a few seconds before breaking off. Both are blushing very hard as  Yang and Blake then come around the tree and go “Congrats!” to which Ruby yelps in surprise “YANG! I thought you were on a date with Blake!” to which Yang just replies “Yes but we also went here”. 

The rest of the time is of training and dating. Everyone thinks Weiss and Ruby are very cute together even Qrow. Not much really happens for a while.

     When they are invited to the Schnee manor not much really changes other that Bumblebee and WhiteRose flirting with their partners. Jacques gets arrested, Tyrian gets arrested, Watts getts messed up and RWBY + JNR + Ace ops are saving civilians, team RWBY gets called up to atlas to talk to Ironwood a little bit before Ace ops are finished up. While getting to atlas Cinder frees Adam and arms him and reminds him of what to do before she heads to the winter maiden. While running down the hall Adam is waiting behind a pillar for Ruby who is at the front, then comes past the pillar after seeing something red looks over and sees Adam with his sword raised and all she can do is block with her arm and- He cut right through her left arm (at just about past the elbow) which made her cry in pain as he front-flipped outta that convenient window. Ruby is now on the floor bleed badly and Yang is trying to stop the bleeding and Weiss is trying to calm he down the the blood flow isn’t as bad while Blake makes sure he isn’t coming back as he slides down until she can’t see him any more. She then check on Ruby who is still crying in pain but not as bad, Yang tells her to get some help. So Blake runs down the hall to the medical wing where some doctors are working with scientists on her blood samples and the dust that has been extracted, opens the doors and tells them Ruby lost her arm and one of them grabs a kit Blake sees is labeled Ruby and asks where as she shows them. By now Yang has Ruby's head on her thighs while calming her down and Weiss is still trying to stop the blood dribbling out of her arm. The doctor put some bandages that are really absorbent on the wound before spraying some antibacterial spray on it. Then with the kit open Blake, Yang and Weiss could see that it had 4 small and large joint pieces and 2 forearm, leg, thigh and upper arm parts so they were ready for something like this. After putting on the arm they gave her a blood injection so she wouldn’t pass out. After about 15 minutes they managed to get to Ironwoods office with Ace ops, who didn’t really care about Ruby’s arm to much. After Ironwood shows the black glass thingy Salem then does her thing and when telling Ruby about what her mother said Ruby then replies angrily “Well I’m angry. Meaning I will rip your legs off if and drag you to hell myself I have to” which shocks everyone including Salem who just ends the conversation. Then Ironwood explains that he is abandoning Mantle and declaring Martial law to which Ruby then tells JNR + Ozpin and Qrow + Robin about Ironwoods plan before he cuts her connection and after their one liners he pulls out his gun and shoots her in the chest breaking her aura. Yang attempts to hit him back but is deflected. After Ironwood leaves and the airship Qrow, Robin, Clover and Tyrian are in crashes the Ruby does her one liner and zips past the Ace ops. The fights go as per normal until the end where Tyrian is standing over clover ready to kill him until Qrow jams Harbinger through Tyrian who laughs like he does and then passes out from blood loss, and Qrow flops onto the snow from exhaustion and is arrested by Clover’s reinforcements. Weiss, Yang and Blake's fights end normally but Harriet manages to start choke holding Ruby as the rest of her team is ready to help her. Ruby then smashes Harriet’s foot with hers and then backs up into the wall, uses her semblance to get out of her grasp, Kicks her in the stomach and then full force punches her in the face with the robot arm slamming Harriet into the wall. Harriet is completely unconscious and Yang can’t help but be proud and a little scared of Ruby. Then Yang and Blake go to the airship while Ruby and Weiss go to find the winter maiden, find Cinder and Ruby uses her eyes on her. Penny becomes the winter maiden, Winter gives them a head start, Oscar learns how use his semblance, Ironwood gets mad and Salem is here.

To be continued...

I would continue but am now waiting for Volume 8 to be released so I can stay somewhat on track with the story and location(s)...

[dickd0c]

STRIKE

CHAPTER THREE — “reciprocate”

Breakfast wasn't fun.

Nic pretty much waddled out of Tank's room and into the kitchen, where Athena and Riot were already there and clearly trying their hardest to muffle their laughter. Glowering, Nic plopped herself down onto a chair, wincing when she hit it hard.

"Sleep well?" Riot asked, his voice wavering as he tried so respectfully not to laugh at the girl he just met.

"Wonderfully," Nic grumbled, resting her head in her palm as her eyes drifted off. Closing her eyes briefly, she remembered what Tank looked like hovering over her with a hand enclosed around her throat and his dick wrecking her pussy. She opened her eyes with a shake, clearing her throat as she hoped nobody could read her mind.

"Protest was cancelled today," Athena said glumly as she slid a bowl of cereal over to Nic, who gladly took it. "There's going to be shit weather all day."

As Nic looked outside, she nodded at the heavy rain rattling the windows.

"Which means we can't bring you to your home either," Riot pointed out, though he didn't look too upset about that as his hazel eyes sparkled at her.

"I think I lost my phone in the protest," Nic sighed, playing with the ends of the shirt. "I'll have to buy a new one."

"Morning, everyone!" Tank strolled into the room, clearly happy. "How did everyone sleep? I, personally, had a wonderful night."

Riot let out an amused snort, finishing up the milk in the bottom of his bowl of cereal.

Biting her tongue to keep from saying anything rude, Nic glared down at her cereal. She didn't regret any of the events that took place the night before. No, if anything, she wouldn't mind reliving them. But all the other occupants of the apartment now knew what her moans sounded like.

Nic looked up at Athena, who was wearing a low-cut top, at Tank, with his bulging muscles, and at Riot, with his towering height.

And they were all attractive. Nic wasn't sure if that made it worse or better.

Alpha walked into the kitchen, stretching his back. His wavy black hair wasn't sweaty like yesterday, but messy in a stylized way. "Can you try to be quieter next time?" he asked bluntly, not even sparing Nic a glance as he opened their fridge to take out the orange juice.

"I'm going to go shower!" Nic yelped, nearly stumbling over herself as she escaped the kitchen as quickly as possible, not wanting to stay long enough to hear more embarrassing remarks.

Face burning red, Nic slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. Eyes closed, the girl slumped against the door, calming herself down. With an exhale, she pushed herself off the door and began to strip herself of her—well, Athena's—clothes. Naked, the girl turned the shower on, waiting for the temperature to become nice and scalding, before she stepped inside, washing the sex from the night before off of her skin.

Once done cleansing herself, Nic turned the shower off, reaching behind the curtain for her towel. After a few moments of aimlessly patting around for it, she froze in realization.

She had forgotten a towel. And fresh clothes.

"Shit," Nic cursed quietly, putting her hands on her hips. Hopefully, someone was out in the hallway and could hand her a towel, right?

Sighing aggressively, the girl stepped out of the shower, shivering at the cold air biting her skin and hardening her nipples.

Carefully, Nic cracked the bathroom door open, peering out into the hallway. Nothing. Not a single noise nor a single person. She figured they must have all still been in the kitchen. Forcing herself not to panic, she crossed her arms around herself, wondering what else she could do.

Across the hallway, she saw a door. Brightening up, Nic realized it was a door to a bedroom. Nic wasn't sure whose, but that didn't matter if everyone was still in the kitchen.

Making sure nobody was about to go down the hallway, Nic made a run for it, opening the door and closing it behind her as fast as she could.

"Nic?"

Nic swiveled around, cursing when she found herself face to face with riot. He was only four feet away, and like a gentleman, he kept his hazel eyes above her collarbones. Nic smiled awkwardly, using an arm to wrap around her chest and her other hand to cover her lower bits.

"I'm so sorry," Nic stuttered, giving him a pained look as she pressed herself against the door.

Riot have her an awkward smile back glancing around the room before heading into his bathroom. When he walked out, he tossed Nic a towel that she caught and pressed against herself as quickly as possible, noticing it was oddly short.

"Did you forget to grab a towel?" he asked, eyes dropping to Nic's now covered chest.

"Yea." Nic said shamefully, crossing her arms, "and I forgot to get clothes from Athena."

Riot smiled, chuckling softly. "Wait here. I'll grab you something."

Nic nodded, smiling slightly as Riot walked past her. Her eyes followed him out the door, taking note of their height difference. He wasn't as tall as Tank, but tall nonetheless.

Nic looked around the room. It was mostly barren, but Riot had some things put around. There was small picture frame on top of his bedside table. Nic walked over, hands placed tightly on the towel, and bent over to look at the picture. In it were four people Nic recognized to be Athena, Alpha, Riot, and Tank, but all maybe a bit younger. Nic wondered how long they had been friends.

From behind her, Nic heard the sound of something dropping.

Turning around, she saw Riot with his jaw dropped and his eyes lowered. Nic immediately blushed, realizing with her bent over like that he must have seen more of her than expected.

Though not nearly as much as he saw when she first walked in.

He bent down to pick up the clothes he had brought her, and when he straightened back up and looked Nic in the eye, she saw a glint in his eyes that she had never seen before. His hazel eyes which were usually so bright and rather innocent, had darkened.

"It's almost as if you do this on purpose," he scoffed, smiling slightly as he walked over to Nic with the clothes.

Nic opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't have any words to offer.

"You know, I heard you last night," he said in a light voice, but his eyes were still dark. "You were really loud."

Nic pushed herself back against the nightstand, watching Riot stalk over to her like a predator. One of her hands clutched her towel tightly.

"Was he really that good?" he asked, tilting his head as he stopped just a bit in front of Nic. She tried to reach for the clothes clutched tightly in his hand, but he simply tossed them onto his bed. "Tell me. Was he?"

Holy shit, Nic thought to herself, quivering under Riot's intoxicating stare, why is everyone in this house so... horny? Not that I'm complaining...

"I said, tell me."

Nic gasped when Riot slammed his hands down on the nightstand, just inches away from her body. There was something burning in his eyes, something in between fury and passion, and it was making that spot below her stomach churn.

"I—" Nic was at a loss for words, trying to figure out what Riot wanted to hear from her.

"He made you moan pretty loud, didn't he?" Riot pressed, suddenly lifting Nic up and setting her down so she was fully sitting on the nightstand. One of his hands was snaking up the edge of the towel, brushing against her thigh.

Nic swallowed, her throat dry, as she nodded tentatively. Her eyes dropped to her thigh, where Riot's large hand was pushing it away from her other leg.

"But did he make you scream?" he whispered in her ear, nibbling gently on her earlobe. Nic shivered, pressing her chest up against his.

"N-no," she said weakly, so consumed by the man in front of her she forgot to hold onto the towel. It didn't fall down, but it hung loose on her.

"No, sir," Riot corrected, tightening his grip on her thigh.

"No, sir," Nic said breathlessly.

Riot smirked before pulling away from her. He took a few quick steps to the door, closing it and locking it. When Nic blinked, he was right back in front of her, eyes on her chest.

"I don't think you need this anymore," he said, peeling the white towel off of Nic's body before she could even respond.

Nic shuddered when he lifted her up to remove the towel, throwing that on the bed along with the clothes. When he looked at her again, she was fully naked and exposed to him.

Normally, in a situation like this, Nic's first instinct would be to cover herself with whatever is nearest. However, Riot had already seen her naked just moments ago, not to mention her experience last night that left her wishing for more of it.

"Do you think I can make you scream?" he asked innocently, reaching behind Nic to remove the lamp and the photo from off of the nightstand, placing those on the bed as well.

"I'm not sure," Nic replied truthfully, squeezing her legs closed as she leaned back to rest her palms on the nightstand. "You might just have to prove it, sir."

With a smirk, Riot knelt down in front of Nic, parting her tightly squeezed legs with ease. Nic curled her toes, watching Riot examine her most sensitive body part. Carefully, he moved her forward a little, positioning her legs so they hung over his shoulders.

"Did I do this to you?" he asked quietly, taking one of his long fingers and dragging it through the wet folds of Nic's pussy.

She gasped slightly, curling her toes and wishing for more. Nic tightened her legs over his shoulder, pushing closer to her center.

With a chuckle, Riot let his finger slip into her. He curled it inside her body, making her arch her back just a little. A moment later, there were two fingers inside of her, then three, making a small moan tumble past her lips. Riot's movements were slow, pumping his fingers in and out of her pussy at the most excruciating rate possible, all the while watching Nic's face contort with massive pleasure and mild pain.

All of a sudden, his thumb found her clit, eliciting a yelp from Nic's mouth. As he started to pick up his pace, his thumb rubbed circles around her nerves, making her grip the edges of the nightstand like it was her lifeline. He pressed hard against her clit, and Nic threw her head back in pleasure.

"Fuck," she moaned, grinding her hips against his hand as best as she could. All of a sudden, his mouth was on her clit while his fingers pumped in and out of her at a faster pace. His scruff rubbed against the inside of her thighs, sending shivers up her body. One of Nic's hands found his dreadlocks, twisting them in her hand as he sucked hard on her tender clit. He sucked it, flicked it with his tongue, even gently ran his teeth against it. "Please," Nic begged, tugging as hard as she could on his hair, making him hiss against her.

This only made Riot slow his pace again, smirking against her.

Nic groaned in frustration. "Please, sir," she repeated herself, feeling as though she were close to tears.

"What do you want, baby?" Riot asked, pulling his fingers out of her. He reached a hand up and moved Nic's chin so she was forced to watch him. As soon as her heavy-lidded eyes met his, he stuck his fingers in his mouth one by one, licking them clean.

Panting, Nic moved one of her hands up to her breast. In the cold hair, her nipple was hard as she played with it. "Make me scream," she pleaded, squeezing her nipple with a whimper. "Make me come."

That was all Riot needed to hear. His head buried back in between Nic's legs, he picked her up with ease, slamming her back against the wall next to the nightstand as she stayed up only by his hands right above her ass and her legs tight over his shoulders.

Nic buried her hands back in his hair as his tongue started lapping up all of her juices, eliciting a non-stop moan from her mouth. She thrust her hips forward, trying to get Riot's tongue as deep inside her as it could go.

"Shit," she groaned, her breathing shallow. One of her hands leaving his hair to move to her clit. Slowly, she rubbed in circles, shaking at the stimulation.

Immediately, Riot smacked her hand away, roughly scraping his teeth against her hypersensitive bundle of nerves. Nic shouted, tugging on Riot's hair as he alternated between lapping up her dripping pussy and roughly scraping or flicking her clit.

"Oh, I'm so close," she sighed breathlessly, massaging her breasts with one hand as Riot's hands on her ass tightened their grip.

Nic's legs started shaking as her orgasm began to come near. Loud moans filled the room, slowly turning louder and louder as she was screaming incomprehensible words, feeling Riot suck on her clit.

"Riot!" she screamed, bucking her hips, throwing her head back, and curling her toes as the orgasm took over her entire body. Riot didn't seem to care, only attacking her clit more aggressively, over-stimulating her. He kept going, giving her what must have been the longest orgasm she had ever head, until Nic couldn't take it anymore. With one hand, she pushed his forehead back, panting loudly.

Looking slightly dazed, Riot dropped Nic onto the floor carefully so that she landed on her feet. He pushed her against the wall and kissed her deeply, letting her taste herself all over his lips and tongue. One of his hands snaked up, giving one of her nipples a painful squeeze, before he pulled away, leaving Nic slumped against his wall.

"Normally I ask girls to reciprocate," he said, picking up the clothes he had brought her from his bed. "But I think I want to save something for next time."

[by-nina]

Years and Years

A Royai fanfic Rating: M (sexual content) Genre: Romance Word Count: 2,048

A/N: Hello everyone I miss writing and I miss Royai! And I was feeling both soft and very spicy so this is what came out of it. Y’all know how much I love taking them back to the Hawkeye manor.

“For starters, the last time I saw you here, I had you burn my back. And before that, I was both an orphan and my father’s successor to you. I don’t know how I should see you, Roy Mustang; you’re a different person every time you’re here, even now.”

There is a four-hour drive from Central to the Hawkeye manor at the outskirts of East City. What was once a dirt road that barely saw visitors to the old house welcomes Riza one morning, and it is only then that the finality of her visit sinks in for the first time. A young family had bought the house three months ago, with the promise that they would manage and spend for the renovations themselves. Her only purpose is to collect some old things of hers and her father’s, and maybe get a bit of cleaning done as courtesy to the family.

           Roy had decided to come along without question, or even any kind of discussion. She had simply mentioned the purchase in passing one day, and then her planned visit, and under a still-dark sky that morning, he showed up outside her apartment with his car. It made perfect sense, Riza reasoned. He might have left some of his own things during his time as her father’s student, and he would have more use than she would for whatever research materials her father had left behind. Above all, it’s a huge house—she needs the company and help.

          “We’re here, sir.”

          He is already awake, but he has difficulty opening his eyes. Riza decides not to wait for him, and she steps out just to look at the old house. She breathes as slowly as she takes it all in. There is a heaviness about it, like a weary weight on tired shoulders. Since her departure for the military, her presence has been replaced by that of overgrown vines and weeds. Despite all this, it hasn’t changed much; the structure still seems solid and functional. Nothing that a fresh coat of paint, new wood trimmings, and landscaping couldn’t fix.

          Roy joins her in gazing up at the house. “So this is it, then. Shall we get to work?”

          “A ten-minute break won’t hurt.”

          “No, no, I’m in perfect shape.” Roy swings and stretches his arms. “That nap for half of the trip helped a lot.”

          “I couldn’t let you drive all the way, though, could I? You’ve already done me a huge favor by coming along.”

          Riza finally takes her eyes off the house, and as she turns, she’s greeted by a smile that she wallows in greedily, and then guiltily. The warmth that rises in her cheeks is damning in the cool early morning breeze. Thankfully, Roy grants her another favor by not remarking on it. “Come on.”

          Every part of the house seems to creak as they enter—the fence, the door, the floorboards. The interiors aren’t as bad as Riza expected. Other than a few mold spots on the upholstery and a layer of dust on the remaining furniture, everything seems to be intact and functional. Of course, it isn’t as if she had left the house entirely untouched once she entered the military. She has dropped by now and again just to make sure it hadn’t fallen to ruin, and the young family has seen it for themselves—there are spots where the dust has been disturbed on the hardwood floors.

          “So, where should we start?”

          “Hmm.” Riza pauses for a moment. “There’s not a lot down here. I’ll go through the living room and the kitchen—you can start with my father’s study.”

          Roy clicks his tongue. “All right.”

          Clearing the ground floor is an easy half-hour task, as there are very few things on display that could be considered sentimental. Riza takes the only three pictures in the living room—the last Hawkeye family photo, a solo portrait of her mother, and herself as a baby with her mother—then she proceeds to the kitchen, which is far more promising. She recovers some brass pots and pans, an heirloom dining set with matching silverware, and wooden cooking utensils. Riza gathers these into a box and places them in the trunk of Roy’s car, and then she heads upstairs to check on his progress in the study.

          She pokes her head through the door. “How are you doing, Colonel?”

          He is crouching by the bottom of a crowded bookshelf at the back of the room, carefully absorbing each title. This is the first thing that takes Riza back to a vivid memory of her childhood, when a much younger Roy first became acquainted with Berthold Hawkeye. Shirt half-tucked, hair standing at the back—she can see the boy there almost as clearly as the man.

          “Well, the libraries in Central would cough up a fortune for a collection like this, and this shelf is all just general alchemy titles,” says Roy as he straightens up. He has a tattered book in hand that Riza didn’t notice right away. “You have stuff on philosophy over there, and biology in two full shelves there—that’s not yet getting into physics and chemistry, which is of course a lot more extensive since your father studied flame alchemy, and…”

          He trails off at the sight of Riza, who has become a picture of amusement—leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed, eyebrows raised, and a smirk lifting one corner of her lips. Roy clears his throat. “Anyway, I’ll try to finish this quickly.”

          “Take your time, we have a long day ahead of us.”

          Riza’s gaze is then drawn to a door at the end of the hallway. The sight of it alone is enough to fill her with nostalgia, enough to know that she needs to take precisely twelve steps to reach it. She opens the door, and she is all that has changed about the room.

          There are a few old books on her dresser and on a shelf that also holds a few memories of schoolgirl days—certificates from school and notebooks filled with both learnings and idle doodles, a few photos here and there, but nothing too personal—they come from official portraits like those from her graduation days, and class photos at assemblies. There’s an old porcelain lamp and her mother’s hairbrush on her nightstand. In her bedframe is a mattress long stripped bare, spotted with mold.

          She enters the room as if it were a sleeping beast she doesn’t want to wake. Only her reflection in a tall mirror startles her, but it might have something to do with the unfamiliarity of her freshly cut hair, which is once again as short as it was in her younger years. In contrast, the way she sinks as she sits at the end of her mattress is still a very familiar feeling. Riza is content to stare at the dusty curtains ahead of her for a while, until she is interrupted by the approach of Roy’s heavy footsteps.

          “So,” he says, slowly entering and examining the room, “this is the bedroom of young Miss Hawkeye.”

          She simpers as she turns to watch him. “You know, it’s not appropriate for strange adult men to enter young girls’ bedrooms like that.”

          “No!” Roy clutches his chest in mock pain. “I can’t believe you still consider me a stranger after all these years.”

          “Well, I’m open to suggestions. What should I consider you?”

          “It’s simple, really.” He takes a few careful steps to the side of Riza’s bed, then hesitates for only a few seconds before sitting in a spot perpendicular to hers. The mattress groans as it accommodates his weight. “When you’ve known someone for nearly all your life, you’ll eventually realize how you truly see them. It could go one way or the other.” A pause. “I realized that about you long ago, Riza.”

          Riza ignores the swooping in her chest. She laughs wistfully, her eyes cast downwards.

          “Oh, I don’t know. For starters, the last time I saw you here, I had you burn my back. And before that, I was both an orphan and my father’s successor to you. I don’t know how I should see you, Roy Mustang; you’re a different person every time you’re here, even now.”

          “Am I really just one of those things to you?”

          She looks up to find a knowing and hopeful expression on his face. He doesn’t need to ask; Riza knows exactly what he means by asking the question that he did. But surely he knows that she needs him to take the lead—that she has kept far too many hard truths to herself for honesty to be easy?

          Roy reaches for her hair without warning, raising goosebumps as his hand brushes against her nape. She is made aware again of how short her hair is now, cursing how exposed it leaves her feeling. Riza swallows hard, visibly. Somehow, it’s just the push that her nerves needed.

          “You’re not,” she whispers. “You haven’t been for a long time.”

          Suddenly, they’re face to face within an inch of each other. Riza leans in to close the gap, with their foreheads touching first, and then their noses. And then, only hesitation hangs between their lips. The moment stretches out with Roy taking a last lingering look at her features up close. Still, it’s he who kisses first, soft and cautious.

          There are a million lines that they have crossed to find themselves here, and the kiss does not answer when or how those lines were crossed. Ishval, the move to Central, the Promised Day—there's no point in figuring it out now. It's only one of many things that they have never needed to discuss, but somehow already knew. Still, even as Riza kisses him back, Roy pulls away with a deep breath. “Is this okay?”

          She responds by kissing him again and nodding eagerly—then her hands reach for him, one tugging at his button-down and the other taking his hand up the split in her skirt. Roy takes his cue; he guides her back down to the bed and her legs along the length of it. He is careful with his weight as he settles on top of her. All the while, their kisses become more fervent, greedier, until every little movement they make is lost in a flurry of reflex actions that are unrehearsed, but familiar from years of being side by side.

          When he finally enters her, Riza freezes for a brief moment as she is seized by the most tantalizing waves. She helps him find his pace by moving against him as well. Slow, then a little faster, then slow again—there is a different kind of pleasure at each pace, as well as some pain to work around. They find more places to kiss each other and place their hands, and at the sound of each other's moans and shuddering breaths, she becomes wetter and he throbs in anticipation.

          They settle on a certain tempo as they begin their final climax. Riza can no longer tell where it aches or stings, but the impending pleasure takes her mind off it.

          “Please, Roy—please—ahh—”

          Roy is moaning her name as she comes, and then again, until the waves stop and leave her spent. He thrusts a final time and then finally pulls out, deflating on top of Riza. For a minute, they are nothing but sweaty bodies, panting, and a plesant residual buzz. The wetness spreads onto the mattress. She holds him close, fingers in his hair.

          He settles into the spot next to her once he recovers. Roy kisses her forehead, and then her shoulder, and then her hand—and then he doesn't let it go. She inches into him until she cannot get any closer, and they are face to face again. Riza is the first to smile. He laughs, and it's the first new thing she has seen about him in a while. The second is his voice as he asks, “For how long?”

          She touches his face with her free hand. “Years.”

          Roy closes his eyes solemnly and nods once against the mattress.

          “Years.”

          He lets go of her hand then, pulling her close instead. There will be more questions about where this leaves them, Riza is sure—many of them to be dealt with once they return to their daily working lives at Central. But while they are there, she decides that this is all that matters: she is falling asleep in her old house for the last time, and in Roy’s arms for the first.

[beyond-the-mirror]

Nocturnal Encounters - An Incubus! V x Reader story

It’s been a long time but the second night is finally ready! In which the reader is plagued by dreams of our lanky boi and she wonders who he really is. Next chapter they will finally meet personally I promise!

It’s a quite long chapter and once again I hope you don’t mind.

Second Night: Dreams

Your eyes fluttered open at the warm sunlight that filtered through the curtain, letting out a long yawn before sitting up and stretching your arms.

Normally you were a light sleeper, more often than not you would feel a little heavy and drowsy at mornings, you were not a morning person after all. However this particular day was different, not only were you feeling quite rested, but your sleep wasn’t interrupted at all last night. Maybe you were more tired than you believed? But then you remembered the dream, how it felt completely different and unusual from others that you had before.

Shaking your head from your thoughts, you reached your hand towards the alarm clock on the nightstand. Checking the hour your eyes widened, no wonder you felt so rested.

“What?! I overslept?! Ugh, stupid alarm!”

You shot out of bed and right into the bathroom, taking a shower and getting ready at mach speed. There’s no way you could afford getting late to work, not after you had so much trouble finding this new job.

After putting on something decent to wear today, you headed to the balcony to quickly water your plants. You had just finished when something caught your eye, a single feather tucked under one of the pots stood out. Curiosity had once again taken the best of you as you picked up the feather and inspected it closely, its dark midnight color mesmerizing you with the way light reflected on it revealing blue and purple hues. Running your fingers through the feather’s elegant, sharp silhouette , you found its texture so incredibly soft and smooth, you couldn’t help but wonder what kind of bird could have such gorgeous plumage.

“So beautiful, maybe a crow flew over here, or a raven perhaps…” You muttered to yourself. Now that you think about it, you were in need of a new bookmark since you lost your previous one, this feather could be an excellent replacement, of course you would have to clean it first.

Suddenly your mind was brought to the present once again

“Gah! Stop wasting time (Y/N), we have a job to keep!”

Quickly grabbing all your stuff, you rushed to the door, not even stopping to eat some breakfast before leaving for your job. You were definitely going to feel a lot hungry this morning.

The same dream kept coming back over and over again. Every night you would find yourself in a different scenario, a garden, a pond, a clearing in the middle of a forest… and in every single case, the same man would appear before you, always embracing you, always caressing you, and always whispering poetry in your ear.

The first few times you thought nothing of it, but as time went by you started to become wary, not to mention the fact that the dreams were all strangely lucid and that since that first night, you have been sleeping for longer than usual. Who was this man? Why did this particular dream overwhelmed you so? What did his presence mean? After all, people say that sometimes dreams carry an important message with them.

Many times you tried to talk to the man in your dreams, to ask him the reason for his constant visits, yet you never could. It's almost as if he kept you in some kind of trance that numbed you and made you feel lighter, a warmth enveloping your entire being that lulled you into submission. At the end he would always turn you around in his arms and lean towards you, your eyelids fluttering close as his breath fanned across your lips, but just moments before you could feel his kiss you would wake up.

To be honest you were scared, your thoughts wandering around any possible explanation to your current predicament. One thought crept to your mind, one that made a cold shiver run through your spine

Demon

Attacks were uncommon in the city but definitely not unheard of, though they were not frequent and they’re usually dealt with by a locally infamous demon hunter, there was still a small possibility that one could have found its way into your mind. Still, you had never heard of a demon that could interfere with dreams, so maybe the idea was a little farfetched after all.

You looked at your alarm clock, the numbers displayed marking fifteen minutes to midnight. Letting out a sigh you closed the book you were unsuccessfully trying to read in order to help you relax, tucking the black feather you had found a week earlier between the pages. Reaching for the lamp on the nightstand you turned off the light, reciting a short prayer before pulling the covers over yourself.

It was only a matter of time before he arrived.

“A recurring dream you say?”

“Yes, it’s always the same every night. I have never met this man in my life, and yet he is always there”

You were having a conversation with your best friend, having decided that you definitely needed someone to vent out your worries and maybe ask an advice. She had invited you to the small coffee shop near your workplace for lunch before you had to go back to your job.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you, my dear, have a crush on somebody”

“Now is not the time for jokes! I’m genuinely concerned about this”

“Sorry sweetie, you know can’t help but tease you a bit” She booped your nose gently, making you giggle. Although she couldn’t really solve your problem, she was definitely succeeding in making you feel a lot better.

“Maybe it’s trying to tell you something, like someone new you’re about to meet? Or maybe a person you’ve already met but just don’t remember?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know. Though I can assure that if I already met him, I would definitely remember him” You let out a sigh. She immediately reached for your hand to support you.

“Don’t worry sweetie, nothing bad has happened so long right? I mean, from what you told me you’re still able to rest at night. If you’re worried about your job and oversleeping, you can always go to bed a bit early than normal to compensate, maybe that’ll help?”

“I suppose you’re right, thank you, I really needed that” You smiled, she stood for a moment to give you a hug. 

“If anything happens or you start feeling unwell, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll do anything in my power to help”. You can’t help but thank the heavens for gifting you such an amazing friend.

You decided to change the topic and spend the rest of your lunchtime just hanging out and relaxing with your best friend.

Running to the bus stop, you managed to catch it on time before it left. Today was a really busy day, forcing you and your coworkers to stay overtime and catch up with pending work. The only thing worrying you is that it was already dark outside, you just hoped the walk to your apartment will be uneventful.

You were reading your book when you noticed the bus already approaching to the stop near your home, closing it immediately and putting it in your purse, the feather still marking the pages you left on.

Once your feet where on the sidewalk you took a deep breath, just a few minutes of walking and you’ll be back in the comfort of your home. However as you continued, you couldn’t help but feel nervous as you noticed the street being unusually quiet and empty, you knew what they said about quiet nights in Red Grave. Just a few more steps though, you clutched your purse tightly, just a few more-

“Well then, what do we have here?”

A tall figure stepped out of an alley stopping you in your tracks. By the way the person slurred his words, you could tell he must have been drinking.

“P-Please excuse me, you’re in my way” a small stutter left your lips and you cursed yourself silently for acting so meek at such moment. You tried walking around the tall man, but just as you thought he was going to leave you alone he took your wrist in a strong grip.

“Let me go right now!”

“Hey that’s a nice bag you have there, maybe if you hand it over nicely I will consider letting you go” His putrid breath could reach your nose and it almost made you vomit, yet you maintained your ground and refused to give him what he wanted.

“I said LET. GO!” With a quick shift of your weight, you used your free arm to elbow the man in the stomach, following immediately with a strong kick right between his legs. As soon as your wrist was free, you immediately bolted towards your apartment, thanking the heavens above that you took those self-defense lessons last year.

“You BITCH!” You heard your attacker scream behind you, right before his running steps started to be heard. If he was armed or not you didn’t care and you definitely were not going to look back, the only thing in your mind was running non stop until your reached your home.

The beat of your heart pounded in your ears just as strongly as the steps behind you. The door to the building was right there, you immediately dug in the pockets of your jeans for the key without slowing down a single moment. Almost. Almost there. Your hand grasped the door handle right at the same time you felt a breath on the back of your neck. Time seemed to stop, looks like you were not going to make it after all. You closed your eyes and braced yourself, and then-

A yelp of pain erupted from behind you. You were shaking uncontrollably, curling over yourself waiting for the man to attack you… but nothing happened. Slowly, you opened your eyes and even though you were scared to, you forced yourself to turn around.

He was gone. Your attacker was nowhere to be seen, as if he had just vanished in thin air. Your legs wobbled and gave away, hands holding onto the door handle for dear life and your heart in your throat beating as if it were about to explode. Steadying yourself, you inserted your key in the door and ran up the stairs to your apartment.

You didn’t bother to cook dinner, the incident made you lose your hunger completely. Instead you immediately changed into your pajamas and boiled some water to make yourself a cup of tea to try to calm your nerves.

After emptying your cup, you climbed on your bed hoping to get some sleep. You were safe. You were safe.

Once again you found yourself inside a dream, this time you were laying on a large bed in the middle of a white bedroom, a tall glass door in front of you led to a beautiful rose garden, looking down at yourself you were now wearing a white silk nightie that barely covered your behind.

A tap against the floor sounded behind you and you turned around right away. There he stood once again, the green-eyed man.

He was tall and lanky, black ink flowed through the entirety of his torso and arms, he wore a long black vest with ties on the front laced in a corset-like fashion, as well as a pair of skinny black trousers with a chain on the side, he was completely barefoot and you noticed a silver cane on his right hand, that must have been the source of the sound.

He approached slowly and placed his cane gently against the wall beside him, he leaned towards you and scooped you in his arms, carrying you bridal style towards a door behind him. To be fair he was making you quite nervous, and yet you once again  found yourself relaxing at his touch.

The door led to a bathroom, you noticed a tub filled with water surrounded by a few candles, petals and water lilies floating gently on the surface of the water. The man put you down on your feet and ran his hands soothingly up your arms, taking the straps that held your dress up, he gently pulled them off your shoulders, letting the nightie fall swiftly on the floor.

With a small gasp, you lifted your arms to cover your breasts and preserve your modesty, but with a soft kiss on the side of your neck he took your wrists in his hands and slowly lowered them, revealing your naked form to him.

“Sweet dreams form a shade, o'er my lovely infants head. Sweet dreams of pleasant streams, by happy silent moony beams.” He whispered into your ear like every other dream, once again carrying you in his arms and lowering you gently into the bathtub. The water felt cool against your skin, the scent of the candles and the flowers relaxing you more so. Taking a seat behind you, the man used his hands to take some of the water and pouring it over your shoulders and neck, never once stopping his poetry. You couldn’t help the small moans and whimpers that left your lips.

“Sweet moans, dovelike sighs, chase not slumber from thy eyes. Sweet moans, sweeter smiles, All the dovelike moans beguiles.” His hands took one of the lilies that floated around and placed it behind your ear, tucking your hair before placing a kiss on your temple. His hands kept massaging your body, his voice and ministrations keeping you in trance like always.

Suddenly, you found the energy you needed to finally speak. “Who… who are you?”

His hands froze completely, not a single sound could be heard except your breath.

“You… you always appear in my dreams, every time you embrace me and hold me in your arms like… like a lover would. And yet, I don’t know absolutely anything about you.”

He still didn’t move or make any sound. “May I at least… know your name?”

Finally, the man took a deep breath before answering “… You may call me V”

V… what a strange name. You considered the possibility that wasn’t his real name to begin with.

“May I know why are you always in my dreams?”

“… I’m afraid now is not the right time for you to know yet. But I can assure you, all your questions shall be answered eventually.”

You pouted, finally you ha gained the strength to talk to him and now he won’t give you any answers. You felt his fingers tipping your chin up, making you look into his green eyes.

“Little wanderer, I will not let anyone or anything hurt you again. Fear not my little one, for I shall keep you safe and protected, that is my promise to you.” With those last words, his long fingers tapped into the center of your chest, making you fall in that deep trance once again.

Like all other dreams before, you were completely at his mercy.

The human whimpered pathetically on the floor, crying desperately in fear of the creature before him who gave him a look of utmost disgust. The wound on his side was bleeding, painting the concrete beneath his figure crimson red.

“P-Please, p-please… I beg you… M-mercy, m-mercy…”

The demon huffed in annoyance “You bore me deeply human, I have decided that you are simply unworthy of my time, let alone killing you”

Sharp, pointed claws waved in a dismissive manner, which the human took as a sign to scramble to his feet and flee in terror. The creature lifted his hand to his lips, licking them clean from his unfortunate victim’s blood. He moaned at the delicious taste, though it was not his preferred food, a bit of the red liquid made a sweet treat from time to time.

His mind then went to the girl he encountered weeks prior, after all, if it weren’t for that small gift he left on her balcony he wouldn’t have been able to help her from that filthy scum that just left. A lustful groan left him, he couldn’t help but imagine that the blood in his claws was actually her own essence, thus making his tongue start lapping at a much more vigorous pace. Oh how he wanted to take her, claim her for himself. But he had to be patient, if she was going to give herself to him, it had to be out of her own volition. Incubi prided themselves on their ability to bring their partners absolute bliss and pleasure, and although sadly some don’t follow that nature, he proudly considered himself to be one of the former.

“Little wanderer, I will not let anyone or anything hurt you again. Fear not my little one, for I shall keep you safe and protected, that is my promise to you.”

[benhardyisdaddy]

In The Shadows - Part 2

MASTERLIST 

(heres the second part, i hope its okay <3 if u want tagged in any series of mine, just send me an ask <3 okay ily BYEEE)

Word Count: 2,333

The banging sound of a distant door closing makes you jump awake. You’re laying on a bed. You move your eyes around the cream colored ceiling and stare. You slowly turn your head to the left and see a brown nightstand with a little orange pill bottle and a glass of water perched on it. You attempt to sit up, but get lightheaded again. You squeeze your eyes shut and wait for this feeling to pass, which it does in seconds. You attempt to sit up once more, this time much slower. You succeed. 

Your eyes roam around the tiny room and take everything in. A tall white lamp is in the right corner of the room, while two giant closet doors take up the remaining space. A window is to your right, covered with bright yellow curtains. A door to the far right is open, revealing a toilet and a sink. You scan the room once more and your eyes land on the pill bottle again. You reach to grab it, but your arm is tugged by something. A slight pinch makes you pull back and look down. An IV has been inserted into your right arm. You stare at it and gently touch the long tubes that are connected to it. You follow them up to a medal stand with a large IV bag with a white fluid inside, slowly dripping down. What is this?! Why is it in me?! A sharp pain makes you grab your head.

You look back to the pill bottle and this time use your left arm to grab it. You read the label and it says IBUPROFEN 500 MG. Pain medicine. Whoever took me must have known that I was going to need this. You turn the bottle around and make out the name BENJAMIN JONES. You grab the bottle from its white lid and push down and twist. Damn these child proof locks. You finally get it open and shuffle out three tiny white pills. You pick one up and bring it close to your face. Yep, it's ibuprofen. You pick up the glass of water and carefully smell it. Yep, it's a glass of water. You slip the three tiny pills into your mouth and swallow. Hopefully these will help with this brain shattering headache you currently have. 

You close your eyes and take in a deep breath. Then it all comes back to you. The field, the leaves crunching, the running, the man who picked you up. Your heart begins to race. You look back down at your arm and slowly peel the tape off of it. You take in a deep breath and hold it as you rip the IV out of your arm. It doesn't hurt as bad as you thought it would, which is a relief. You grab the white bed sheets and fling them off of you. You’re still in your clothes. You look at the window and decide whether or not to try to jump out if, depending on high we are up. As you debate whether or not to jump, footsteps are heard from just outside your door. Someone is walking towards it.

You pull the sheets back over your legs and place the IV against your arm and re tape it. You lay back down and close your eyes. Hopefully whoever this is doesn't realize that the IV is out. You slow your breathing and act as if you’re still asleep. The door slowly opens and in walks the person. You try to look fast asleep as much as you can, but only feel as if you look utterly ridiculous. The person walks up to you and lays a cool hand over your forehead, feeling for a fever. You try as hard as you can to not flinch away from their touch. After a moment, they walk to your right side and tap on the IV bag. All you can hear is their breathing. It's steady, but deep. 

The person walks around for a moment and then finally exits the room, closing the door behind them. Your eyes shoot open and look towards the door. You’re alone again. You pull the sheets off once again and un-tape the IV. You slowly hang your feet over the side of the bed and step down. The hardwood floor is cool beneath them. You put down all of your body weight and a light creaking sound is heard. Shit, shit, shit! You pause and close your eyes, listening for footsteps running to the room. Whoever this vampire is, why haven't they just killed you yet? What are they waiting for? You take a small step forward and sigh in relief as the floor doesn't creak again.

You slowly tiptoe to the window and look down. You’re on the second story of this house. Below you is a long gravel road that eventually hides behind bushes. A tiny house is seen from miles away, but that's the only house you can see. You look for a latch on the window and unlock them. You slowly grab the bottom of the window and pull up. Nothing happens. You try again and it doesn't budge. You relax for a moment and try for a third time.

"I knew you weren't sleeping," says a voice.

You whirl around as fast as you can, startled. The tall man is leaning his shoulder against the door frame, smirking. You take a few steps backwards, until your back touches the window. You look to the bed and spot the long tube that was attached to your arm. You run for it and grab it. This will never protect you from him, but it's all you have right now. The man keeps smirking and watching you. What kind of sick game is this? Save your victim and then eat them?

"Window's been nailed down for a while now." he says.

You say nothing as you just stare at him. On the inside, your whole body feels like an earthquake, trembling with fear. But somehow you manage to keep the outside calm. Show no fear, even though that's all you’re feeling. You feel tears threatening to form in your eyes, but you quickly blink them away. You continue to stare at him. This man has short blonde hair and bright green eyes. Dark bags are underneath them, showing either he’s very exhausted or he’s exactly what you think he is. His outfit of shirt, jeans and shoes are all black.

"Bit cliche," is all you can say, voice slightly shaking.

The man looks taken back at your choice of words. He shakes his head not understanding.

"The outfit," you explain. "Bit cliche for a vampire to wear all black, don't you think?"

His smile drops as he looks down to admire his wardrobe. He looks back up and smirks again.

"What's that saying again? Black like my soul." he teases as he chuckles to himself.

You don't laugh. He shakes his head and takes a step further into the room.

"Don't come near me!" you shout out.

He pauses in his tracks and watches you. He looks down at the tube in your hand and raises a brow.

"Is this some kind of game for you? If you're going to kill me, just do it!" you scream at him.

He lightly cocks his head as if he's trying to make sense what you have just said.

"I already told you," he says. "I'm not going to hurt you. Believe it or not, I was trying to protect you."

You roll your eyes at his comment.

"Yeah, sure, because stalking somebody is protecting them, right? Because vampires save lives instead of taking them? I know what kind of monster you are." you snap back.

From the look on his face, he doesn't appreciate you using the word monster. His green eyes suddenly turn dark.

"I am not a monster." he whispers as tiny white fangs slide down from his gums, revealing themselves.

The sight of his fangs make your eyes go wide. You push yourself even further back against the window. Your heart races as you squeeze the tube in your hand. He suddenly realizes what's happening and quickly stops. His fangs slide back up as they disappear within seconds and he stares at you with apologetic eyes.

"You were dehydrated," he slowly says. "You were pretty much dead if it wasn't for me."

"You stalked me! You kidnapped me! Why not leave me for dead!?" you scream back, feeling hot tears slip down your cheeks.

You were crying because you were terrified and angry. He watches as you silently sob to yourself. He looks to the ground and sighs.

"I'll explain everything to you, I promise. Just… Please get back in bed. Let me put in another IV for fluids, okay?"

You shake your head.

"No! You are not touching me! I want to leave. Now!"

The man looks to me and then to the bed.

"Please." he begs, closing his eyes out of frustration. "I'm just trying to help you. If you want to live, you’ll let me help you. I'll explain everything, I promise. I’m not going to hurt you. If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it by now!”

"You. Are. Not. Touching me!" you hiss through gritted teeth.

The man closes his eyes once more and a look of irritation washes over his face.

"If you leave, you’ll die!" he shouts back at you.

“Not if you kill me first!”

"No!" he yells. "You'll faint again and they'll get you! Not me! Just please," he says calmer. "Let me help you. I will not hurt you."

What's happening to you? You don't know why, but you listen to him. Yeah, yeah. You trusting anything a vamp has to say? Is it a blue moon? You watch as his eyes lighten back up to the green they were before. He’s almost shocked that you were actually walking to get back in bed. You take a few steps and slowly sit down, not taking your eyes off of him. He walks up to you and you flinch back. He pauses and puts his hands up in front of him in defense. 

He slowly reaches for the IV bag and grabs the tube. He messes with it for a moment then slowly walks to the right side of the bed. He opens the nightstands drawer and pulls out some supplies. He looks to you and then to your arm, as if he's asking a question. You look at him for a moment and then your head feels light again. You squeeze your eyes shut and quickly hold out your right arm to him. A second passes and then his hands are on you. You flinch again as he wraps a blue band around the top part of your arm and presses his finger against your skin.

“Just looking for a vein.” he explains.

You then feel the coolness of an alcohol pad and prepare for the sting. The needle is quickly inserted into your arm and you don’t dare to move. It's quickly pulled out and all that's left inside is a tiny tube. He rips off some more medical tape and places it over the IV. Once he's done, he connects the IV to the long tube.

"Done." he finally says.

You open your eyes and look back to him. He's sitting on the edge of the bed smiling. What's with this guy and smiling? As if anything's worth smiling for these days. Then again, his species aren't the ones being hunted. You clench your jaw before speaking.

"Okay, I got the IV in. Talk."

The man then stands up, opens the drawer and starts putting the supplies away.

"I was out looking for food," he starts.

All you can do is picture him stalking another innocent young girl and using her for his afternoon snack. You shutter at that thought.

"And then I smelt you. Human blood. I didn't think there were any more of you left, so I searched and found you, which wasn’t hard to do. I saw you in the field. You were by yourself which, by the way, is the absolute dumbest thing to ever do.” he says sternly, looking down at you.

You lock eyes with him and then look down at your hands. He keeps watching you as he continues.

“I watched you for a moment… And then I heard them."

He pauses and closes the drawer.

"Heard who?" you ask, scooting back against the wall.

"More of me. The not so nice ones. I'm assuming they smelt you as well. They were coming for you and thankfully they saw me. Then you ran."

"Why did you chase me? Why not let them get me? Or better yet you? Why help me?"

He sits back down on the edge of the bed and you try to scoot back even further. He just stares at you with pleading eyes.

"I know what I am. I know what I'm capable of and how people think of me, but I'm not them."

You sit there quietly and listen as he speaks. Every word that pours out of his mouth is coated with sincerity. You can tell by his eyes that he's telling you the truth. You’re good at telling if people are lying or not with their eyes. It's a gift. Most vampires you have ran into had this certain look in their eyes. Anger, hate, lust. But his eyes were different. They were calm and truthful and almost scared. He's scared? How can a vampire get scared? You keep quiet for a moment and then slowly shake your head.

"I can't trust you," you finally say.

He stands up from the bed and walks to the open door. He pauses and just before he turns to leave, he speaks.

"I know."

Then he shuts the door behind him.

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[uncannyarcana]

Excerpt: Uncanny Arcana Chapter 1

Word Count: 1799

There was something quiet in the transition from fall to winter. Summer was a time of activity and motion and energy, and Spring was the cautious, long stretch after waking up. Between those two, when the air turned cool and the world ebbed into a comfortable quiet, filled with toasting fires and snow boots and throws the size of couches, the universe offered a breather. Time for reflection. Preparations for the year to come.

Sleep.

Something Beaumont Saint-Victor very much wanted as she dug through the last boxes from the move earlier that day. Most everything else had been unwrapped and allocated to its new home within a home, from bathroom to living room to kitchen.

“Remind me again why I’m the one cooking tonight?” Essie called from the kitchen. Esther Ramsey, as Beau found out early into their five-year relationship, held many talents, but cooking anything more complicated than premade or frozen dishes, was not on the list. The kitchen and all things culinary were Beau’s domain, and she planned on making a proper house-warming dinner once everything settled, but a full day of back-and-forth from the moving truck and a couple trips to their old places for forgotten left her barely enough energy for her current task. Essie had done an equal amount of work and somehow drew from hidden energy wells

“Because your hot shapeshifter girlfriend strained her back lugging our bed frame upstairs,” she called back from the couch in the living room. “And you need the practice.”

“Aw, poor baby. So if I call Joel he’ll back up that excuse?” From her tone, Beau knew she was joking.

“He’ll probably tell you to remind me to lift with my legs next time.”

She heard Essie laugh from the kitchen and smiled to herself. Joel Brannon had been Beau’s best friend for almost thirteen years and the only one out of the three of them that had the right license for the moving truck. Together he and Beau ran a bakery with a small apartment above it, which they’d shared until a few days ago when the bank approved the mortgage for the new brownstone. He’d helped with the heavy stuff before heading off on a business lead earlier that day, promising to call if anything came of it.

She paused to pick out a newspaper-wrapped object from the box. Folding back the paper, she revealed a black ceramic sculpture. “Does your seal thing go on the mantle or in the bathroom?”

“What seal th—oh, my walrus! He’s the centerpiece of our living room! He’s going on the mantle, of course.” A moment later she muttered, “I’m mildly offended you had to ask that…” Another small jest, though by the volume she wasn’t sure if Essie meant her to hear it. Most others wouldn’t have unless they were standing right next to her. Beau wasn’t most others, though.

Long ago, before the gods had names history remembered and humans were just banding together in larger settlements, magic ebbed and flowed through the world like water in a river, calm and gentle in some places, chaotic and dangerous in others. Creatures of legend walked the same earth as humans, and for a time both coexisted with each other with cautious respect. The old gods were the source of that magic, and as a gift to their most devout followers, shared some of that power, creating the first Uncanny beings. Shapeshifters, vampires, and witches. Able to control small magical facets within themselves, they eventually found their place in the world, from valiant protectors to cruel overlords.

As more organized religion spread, Uncanny found themselves pushed to the shadows in fear of being destroyed in the name of new gods that drew followers with conquest in mind. Eventually, magic and monsters went the way of legend. Entire species went extinct. Those who managed to stay alive long enough to pass their gift also passed their fears and hesitations of interacting with their human cousins to the next generation. It was safer skirting and surviving in the dark than exposing themselves in the light.

In Beau’s case, risking a peek out from under the curtain had reaped pleasant results. She’d met Essie in the bakery while the latter was finishing her Master’s degree at the local college. At first Essie’s excuse had been its close proximity to campus and the free Wi-Fi. Then it progressed to good food and strong tea. Next the student discount that only applied to her, which Beau swore wasn’t as exclusive as she made it out to be. The final step came when Essie asked Beau to a movie after she closed up for the night. They’d been together ever since.

After an altercation with another Uncanny local on Essie’s behalf, Beau fully drew the curtain back, easing her into the fact all the creatures she loved researching and tracking were in fact real, and most held day jobs because rent was a bitch no matter the species.

Sometimes supernatural senses had their drawbacks, Beau reminded herself. The memory of the first time she spent the night at Essie’s apartment came to mind. The walls had actually been a decent thickness, but the damn neighbors hadn’t understood the concept of consideration, and nothing was a better mood-killer than the muffled, rhythmic beating of a headboard against a shared wall.

At least Essie hadn’t suffered through the other sounds.

She snorted with a short laugh and went over to the fireplace, placing the walrus in its new home beside their little Hearth Guardian. A housewarming gift from their friend Kat, a witch and a well-respected doctor in the city., The stained ash wood sculpture was about four inches tall and carved in the shape of a housecat. It helped ward off bad energies, she’d explained as she finished etching a protection sigil underneath the doormat that morning. Beau scooted the two figurines closer together before returning to her spot on the couch. More items found their places in the living room, things equal parts hers and Essie’s, and soon Beau moved onto a larger box labeled “Bedroom.” A small knot settled in her stomach.

“Hey, babe?” she called over her shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna go put some stuff upstairs. Holler if you need me.”

“I promise not to burn down the house while you’re gone.”

Beau half-smiled, but the feeling swirling in her gut was neither pleasant nor welcome. Wordlessly, she ascended the stairs, box balanced in one arm as she stepped over the baby gate that kept Strudel, their Cairn Terrier mix, on the ground floor. His bowl, bed, and toys had been some of the first things they’d configured in the new place, and he had resigned himself to snuggling up in his plush bed beside the unlit fireplace as his parents continued redecorating.

The master bedroom was the second door on the right, preceded by the one full bathroom, and across the hall from what would become Essie’s editing studio. Beside that was a small guest bedroom that still needed furnishing, but that would come in a day or so.

Beau nudged their bedroom door open with her foot and slipped inside. Looking around, it seemed almost complete save for what she held in the box. Beau set it down on her side of the bed, closest to the door, and cut the tape seal on top with the pocket knife she kept in her back pocket. Most of its contents consisted of personal knick-knacks and memorabilia, mostly Essie’s, which Beau either put aside for her to position how she liked or returned them to their places from memory.

Her things filled out the bottom. She didn’t have quite as much as Essie, considering that not so long ago her life had been ill-suited for collections. Still, each one was taken out and put in its place with care, their range only going as far as her nightstand. When she came to the last item, hidden away underneath everything else, she paused. It was a black wooden box just large enough to house a few manila folders, tape recorder reels, and an old picture with singed edges. Beau stared at it for a long time, almost afraid to touch it, lest the things inside would spill out and somehow pull her down a road she never wanted to walk again. A familiar tightness filled her chest.

Five things. Count five things present with you right now, Beau’s grounding techniques echoed in her head.

The bed, her pillow, Essie’s pillow, the lamp, the window. She breathed in, held it for seven seconds, and slowly released. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. Beau grabbed the box and slid it under the bed. Then she turned and went back downstairs.

Miraculously, the house hadn’t caught fire while Essie was left unsupervised, and the smells that greeted Beau at the kitchen entrance made her mouth water. She made an exaggerated sniffing noise as she padded up behind Essie.

“As I live and breathe, is that progress I smell?” she asked, exaggerating her southern-Louisiana drawl while gently wrapping her arms around the shorter woman’s waist. Short wasn’t very fair, though. Average, Beau should say, in height and build. Essie played softball back in her college days, and had the sweatshirt to prove it, although nowadays it functioned as a sleep shirt, which she paired with a set of baggy sweatpants and tube socks.

Essie laughed, the sound light and pleasant. “Maybe you should have more faith in your girlfriend, Saint-Victor.” Habitually she pushed her glasses back up. “Everything go okay upstairs?”

“Yeah, just had to take a minute.”

“The box?”

“Mm-hm.”

Essie’s shoulders dropped a bit, but only for a moment, before she turned and offered Beau a taste of the stew. Beau took it, carefully considering the flavor.

“Needs more spice,” she admitted, swallowing.

“You do realize you live with someone from Atlanta,” Essie said flatly, going back to stirring the pot.

“Atlanta’s still in the south. And a little heat’s good for the winter. Clears your sinuses, warms you up. ‘Specially now that’s getting cold out.”

“That’s why God invented coffee, hon’.”

Beau hummed a response, resting her chin on Essie’s shoulder when the latter leaned back, taking in the coconut scent of her dark hair. She kept it up in a loose ponytail more often than not, a stark difference to Beau’s smoky black hair buzzed close at the sides and only slightly longer on top, hinting at natural waves. “But, seriously, it’s great. Reminds me of home.” They fell into a comfortable silence, the only sound coming from the bubbling of the pot and Strudel’s tags clinking together as he trotted into the room, impatient for his own dinner.

And then Beau’s cell phone rang.

[im-abanana]

“Meant to Belong” [1/3]

Wanted to write a fanfiction about BATIM (Bendy and the Ink Machine), and especially about my new ship Bendalice (Bendy x Alice). I just put it on AO3 too, but whatever, I’ll post it here too! :P 

This first chapter is Angst, but the next two will be Angst, Fluff and Smut, so be careful with the next ones and, if you don’t like it, don’t read it. Said so, I hope you’ll enjoy!

Summary: Hidden very deep inside his soul for many years, there was a shocking emotion that made the little devil realize that the fallen angel wasn't just a simple co-worker, or a friend, or a rival, or a family member to him; but more, so much more. Their peculiar bond was a little more... complex, unique, maybe genuine. In other words, somehow they were meant to be together, drawn and designed to truly belong to each other. But all the pranks, all the fights and all the teasing sometimes made everything difficult, especially after that particular night.

The thick door of Alice's private dressing room slammed loudly behind her back as the fallen angel walked towards the huge mirror on the wall, sitting in front of it and sinking her aching head in her gloved hands, sighing out deeply and trying to calm the raging thoughts that were invading her mind. “Why can't Bendy just understand that he isn't the only one working on this show? Why can't he be friendly, or at least kind to me and Boris? Why can't people and kids realize how much of an arrogant, spoiled brat that demon is? Why do they...” a wheeze escaped the girl's black lips as the last part of the question carved its way inside her brain, forcing her to feel a sort of guilt, even shame, in the core of her chest. “... why do they love him more than me?”.

She shouldn't have been jealous of Bendy, Alice was aware of that, and somehow the realization that she envied her co-worker made her feel sick in the stomach. Yes, that perfect little angel, the character supposed to be a perfect and gentle creature, envied a stupid, mischievous little devil; she envied the joyful sparks of light in the children's tiny eyes when he would walk on stage with that smug grin of his, she envied the praises Joey and the parents would give him after every single set, while she and Boris would just stay silently behind the curtain and compliment each other, she envied the larger quantity of “Bendy Merchandise” the creators sold every month, she envied... everything.

She envied his whole fucking existence and, very deep inside her heart, no matter how much she desired to become a star and shine at least half as bright as him, Alice knew she would have never reached Bendy's popularity. “Especially after tonight... how could I be so careless?”.

Tripping over Bendy's stupid tail, right in front of dozens of yelling kids while she was singing and dancing on stage side by side with the devil in question and the poor naive Boris, had been mortifying enough, definitely... those brats' ruthless laughter still echoed in Alice's offended mind, and the worst thing was that even the previously calm and uninterested parents completely lost it when the angel made that single mistake! And all because of that stupid step, that one slip! Com'on, it wasn't her fault if that idiotic demon cut her off all of the sudden; he always wanted to be the center of attention no matter what, and Joey knew it very well! But despite everything she said or her sincere apologies about her rash actions (“You could have injured Bendy as well!”, they carelessly said.), she was the one who got severely scolded backstage by the whole crew, except the sweet and generous Boris, of course. “And in an hour I'll have to perform once again in front of those people. Just great, fantastic, exactly what I need to feel better... I'm sure that “The Butcher Gang” would entertain those children way more than me, maybe I should ask them to cover for me. Ugh, but Joey would be furious, I have no choice it seems.”.

The only reasonable thing to do was sucking it up and walking tall and proud on that stage, not caring about the stinging criticism or amused gazes. As long as she didn't have to bear Bendy's wiseacre grin, everything would be fine.

At that exact moment, the wooden door behind the angel squeaked, sign that it had been opened by someone, without any warning, and then discreetly closed again with a silent thud. Alice's muscles tensed for an instant, and when she slowly turned around to see the mysterious visitor's face, she had to hold back an irritated groan and a few insults that came to her mind incredibly fast. “Aww! Don't give me that sneer, toots! I came here to check on you!”.

“Get lost, Bendy. I'm not in the mood to put up with you and your childish games.” the young woman replied with pure hatred, staring at the tiny demon standing right in front of her, as usual not scared or intimidated by her enraged expression; the devil's black jacket, the one he was elegantly wearing during their performance, was rapidly tossed away as Bendy made himself comfortable, sitting on a chair and relaxing, as if everything was his private property. And he still had that idiotic, conceited smile on his face... “I said get lost! I did not invite you inside!” Alice repeated with a snarl when she realized she had been completely ignored, getting up and clenching her fists. “Did you hear me, you stupid devil!? This is my dressing room! These are my things! That is my chair! And I want you out of here right now, you understand!?”.

“Woah, calm down Angel Cake, no need to be so snarky! I just came here to congratulate with you... for the perfect landing on the stage, especially on your butt! Seriously sweetie, after tonight the creators should change your slogan in -She sings! She dances! And she falls on her huge ass!-!” Bendy simply replied with a small shrug and then with a coarse laugh, smirking in response and turning in “his” chair, his pitch black eyes blinking joyfully as Alice got even angrier and grayer on her smooth cheeks. Oh, how he loved to tease that angel! “Uhh, someone's mad, toots? Eheh... ehy, com'on Angel Face, put that hairdryer down! I'm just playing aroun-! Alice... please, put that thing down. N-no, don't! Boris, Joey! BORIS AND JOEY, HELP ME! Alice wants to hurt me! AHH!”.

The black haired girl threw at the short demon the hairdryer, a spray can, a shoe, a thick book, a desk lamp and even a small table she found in a corner, managing to predict his erratic movements and scoring at least three perfect hits in the face with the last objects. “Golly toots, calm down! Don't ruffle any feathers, and just sit do-! Umh... ops, right, I'm very sorry! That was way out of line, I admit it! Forget what I just said and... no, stop with that stuff!” Bendy hid behind the nearby couch and bit his pale lower lip as he immediately recalled that Alice, in fact, didn't have wings. Sometimes the spiteful devil would call his graceful co-worker dumb names, like “Angel Cake”, “Angel Face” or “Toots” when he simply wanted to flirt, but the most hated of them all was definitely “No Wings”; being a horned fallen angel, an imperfect creation that represented pride and betrayal by nature, had always made that talented woman feel uncomfortable on stage, almost under constant pressure: after all, that kind and good-hearted angel was supposed to be a perfect and beautiful artist, but it was clear to see that, when all eyes were locked on her, she felt worse or maybe in danger, despite she tried to hide those nasty feelings with sweet smiles and a strong character. “I swear, this time I didn't mean it! I shouldn't have said that and I apologize for that, ok?”.

“Get. The. Living. Hell...” Alice hissed and lifted a pretty big wooden nightstand with both arms, her dark and shiny irises glowing red for a moment as she literally shouted the last part of the phrase and hurled that piece of furniture to him at the same time, not caring about destroying her refined sofa or anything else, really. She just wanted that intolerable cartoon out of her sight, once for all. “OUT! I've heard enough from you, Bendy! Go away!”.

Dodging the violent hit with a nimble leap, the tiny demon raced towards the dressing room's exit at full speed, his pointy tail tightly pressed between his shaking legs in defeat and pure terror. “You got that toots, leaving now, goodbye, see you in one hour, get ready and beautiful and prepared for the big show, babe!!!” Bendy nodded with great vigour, desperately crawling outside and closing the white door behind his narrow shoulders, giving up and choosing to live. Damn, what a jerk, he was just having fun!“Phew... That was too close indeed... jeez, what's wrong with Alice tonight? I was just kiddin', she is too overly-sensitive! Bah girls, I'll never understand them!”.

But that's when Bendy heard a quiet noise, an easily recognisable sound that filled his careful ears and made him freeze in his shady track when he realized what he had just done: his usually joyful and positive co-worker was silently sobbing behind the layer of wood that separated the duo, her slim face buried deeply in her tapered fingers. He, with his unintentionally cruel and selfish words, had made Alice cry and had probably hurt her already damaged spirit. Sadness, nervousness, humiliation, insecurity, fear, incomprehension and rage merged all together, causing a painful weep to escape from the angel's wet lips and a couple of heavy, inky tears to stream down her soft and marked cheeks.

Well, damn crap. Good fucking job, you made Alice cry, you stupid little dancing moron. You... you made your co-worker upset right after an important performance, very well done.

“She never cried before... or did she?” Bendy asked with a gentle huff, mostly to himself, dropping down and pressing the left side of his artificial skull against the thin drywall, guilt and sorrow filling his short limbs and spreading quickly along with an empty hole, consuming the energies of the middle, throbbing spot of his incredibly gaunt chest. “Did I ever... even notice?”.

Of course you didn't notice her feelings or Boris' ones, you idiot. You're just a egotistical little shit, you only care about yourself and your popularity, and no one else. Right?

No, wrong, so wrong. Of course he cared about that kind angel and about Boris, they were his best friends. Well, his only friends, to be fair... and making Alice suffer or breaking her heart was the last thing Bendy wanted to do, despite how much he loved to tease her, underline his own attitude or sometimes fight with her, verbally and physically. That little demon thought that everyone knew that he was just kidding, that all he liked to do was playing around and having fun, not only with the kids, his little beloved fans. But now he evidently took a bad step...“You fucked up Bendy, you hurt one of your own friends.”.

You shouldn't lie to yourself like that, you know?

Yeah, he shouldn't have indeed. Hidden very deep inside his soul for many years, there was a shocking emotion that made the little devil realize that the fallen angel wasn't just a simple co-worker, or a friend, or a rival, or a family member to him; but more, so much more. Their peculiar bond was a little more... complex, unique, maybe genuine. In other words, somehow they were meant to be together, drawn and designed to truly belong to each other.

No matter if they were living and thinking creatures, capable of taking their personal decisions and freely express their temperament, the innate attraction they shared was still there, impossible to remove or ignore. Was it because of his purpose, for the audience, was it just a trait he couldn't erase from his artificial DNA? Or was it because after all, it was a real feeling, spontaneous? “No. She is my rival, that's what we truly are, that's what we both chose to be. Joey might tell me that Alice Angel is my official love interest, but we both know this won't happen. I am the number one, I must be on top of this whole show, I won't give up the place I've earned just for love!”.

So, you're even admitting that you're in love with her, uh? Nice move, you idiot!

That wasn't good, oh no, that wasn't good at all! He had to fix the situation as soon as possible, no matter what, even if the idea of facing her again in a few seconds was rather scary and intimidating, so much that Bendy had to rub his throbbing temples with his white gloves. “Grow a pair Bendy, you're the boss here! Yeah, you're the big star! Now walk into that room and deal with Alice!”.

Damn right he was! And besides, he still needed to get his black jacket back.

[adaleya]

Sex

Pairing: James Moriarty X Reader

Requested By: the-devil-wears-westwood-221b

Prompt: #83 - Sex

Summary/AN: PLEASE READ THIS SO YOU DON'T GET CONFUSED!!!

Oh lawd! I knew this one would be requested sooner or later! Not that I mind...>.< But I am super nervous about posting this, as I don't want it to come off sounding so cheesy, yet it's not something I'm used to writing a lot, so go easy on me if it sucks. :(

So a little back story on this before I leave you alone to enjoy. This was actually written as a chapter to a fanfic I am currently working on. It involves a woman character I made up who met James in school and gives snippets of their life as they grow up together as friends and eventually get married and their life afterwards. The whole thing takes place before, during and after Sherlock. I rewrote this to fit the Moriarty X female reader theme. So to keep everyone from getting confused, it takes place five years AFTER The Reichenbach Fall! Still confused, let me know! If you all want to read the fanfic, I will be posting it on here when it is finished. Might be a while consider I am doing the prompts, plus I actively post on an STRPG forum, have class and work. Anyways! Now, I shall leave you alone. ^.^

Rating: It get's all the ratings!

Warnings: Sex, cussing, more sex.

~!~*~!~

The bedroom was beautiful.

Fluffy white carpet lined the floor, reaching all four corners and bleeding into the light gray carvings that bordered the walls. The room itself was painted a darker gray, the white accents pulling the theme together. A huge window lined one side, doors leading out onto a balcony that over looked the city. The white lace curtains fell over the window, flowing in the light breeze that whispered into the room. A vanity sat against the far wall in the middle of two closets, lined with beauty products and perfumes, a tall mirror attached to the back. In the center of the last wall was the king bed, lined with silk and framed with dark oak. Huge pillows lined the top, with a beautifully crafted comforter. The canopy fell from the ceiling, it's white lace elegant and soft. Next to the bed on both sides sat two nightstands, matching the dark oak of the bed with crystal table lamps.

The room was fit for royalty.

You stood on the balcony, looking out at the beautiful lights of the city. A black nightgown covered your body, silk with intricate lace trim. It held from a clasp around your neck, a slit running down the side from your left hip. Your hair was down, falling around you in the light breeze. Your face was clean of makeup, skin clear and soft.

You turn and walk forward a few steps, the dim light of the candle sitting on your nightstand casting a soft glow across his face as he stood by the door. He was looking at you, no trace of a smile on his lips and none gracing yours. You stared at one another from across the room, a contest.

Your plan had worked.

You held a calm demeanor as the anger boiled within you, a long silence filling the room. You leaned against the door frame and him, standing before the bedroom entrance, hands in his pockets. Finally it was him that broke the silence, “well...you got me out of hiding.” He says, his hands coming out of his pockets as he tapped his wrist, “tick tock darling, you're wasting my time.”

You can't help but laugh, a short giggle leaving you as you push off the frame and walk towards the bed. That was the wrong thing to say. You pick up your phone, answering a message and throwing it back down on the nightstand, angry. His words had only fueled the fire, two could play at that game.

“Honey...” He says, drawling out the word as he walked towards you, “don't tell me you did all this just because you wanted to ignore me.” He stopped when he reached you, looking down at you with his hands back in his pockets. You didn't turn around, didn't look up, didn't move or speak and suddenly he was on you. Grabbing your arms he pulled you around harshly, “I SWEAR, if this is why you caused all this ruckus and ruined my plans, I will....”

“It's been five years, James!” You scream, pulling your arms from his grip and pushing him, “five long and lonely years I've waited for you to come back like you promised me! Yet year after year I was disappointed!” You pushed him back until he was against the wall, “I've stayed loyal to you! For five god damned years and I'm fucking tired of it, I don't want to be alone anymore! I just want my husband back, I just want to feel like I fucking mean something to someone!” You smack him across the face, your body shaking in anger as you turn away and walk back to stand by the bed, “I just want my life back.”

The room fell silent again, not a single sound but that of the clocks tick as the seconds passed by. You weren't sure how much time had went by when you finally heard him move. He stopped behind you, your heart pounding in your chest from the anger, and the fact that you knew you were playing with fire. You would never admit it, not even to yourself, but deep down you were afraid. You were to do as you were told for his plan to work, stay out of it, but it had been five long years and you were done waiting.

The back of a finger fell against your bare shoulder, tracing the soft skin down to your elbow and back up to your neck, pushing your hair out of the way. You felt him press against you, his hands falling on your shoulders and running down the length of your arms and moving until they were around your waist. You could feel his breath on your neck before his lips touched your skin, kissing the back of your neck softly. You closed your eyes, your hands coming up to rest on top of his as you realized just how much you had missed his touch.

For him, it fell on him like a ton of bricks when you sighed and leaned against him willingly, that agonizing ache of missing you, yet he was angry. The fact that you had brought his plans crashing down around him brought his anger to it's breaking point. He wanted to smack you, to throw you against that wall and scream at you for ruining everything, yet the other half of him missed you, missed everything about you. The one person he had ever let into his life, whom he hadn't seen nor touched in five years was back in his arms.

It was a war within his mind.

“You, you ruined everything.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper as his arms tightened around you. He could feel your body tense against him, your breath quicken just a smidgen, yet that calm demeanor held strong and he wanted nothing more than to break it. He roughly turned you around, this time he was the one pushing as you stumbled back into the wall. He was on you in a flash, his face inches from yours, “all because you were...LONELY!” He screamed at you, “all my work for NOTHING, every bit of it ruined because you couldn't wait a little longer!” His grip on your arms tightened, pulling you forward and slamming you against the wall again. You struggled, managing to pull one arm from his grasp and smack him across the face again but this time he hit back. You stopped your struggling, you cheek stinging. “I should kill you.” He snarled into your face, and for the first time since he had known you, a flash of fear crossed your eyes. He sucked in a slow deep breath, letting go of your arms and bringing up a hand to caress your cheek, a sense of satisfaction within him when you flinched at his hand.

You had always been his equal, never beneath him and this thrilled him.

“But...I won't.” He placed a hand on the wall behind you, the other coming up under your chin and pulling your face up to look at him. He towered over you, the dim light making him seem more sinister, more evil. He smiled as he moved forward, covering the short distance between you and placing his lips on yours. The kiss was soft and you didn't protest and he didn't force anything, it was as if nothing had happened and nothing had changed and this was normal. But it wasn't, it had been five year for both of you, five long years whether he wanted to admit it or not.

When he pulled back he placed a finger over your lips, stopping you from speaking. He knew you wanted to apologize, something he wasn't in the mood to hear as it would do nothing to fix anything. Instead he pulled away, removing his suit jacket and tossing it onto the floor. He reached for your hand, watching you eye it for a moment, you wondering if it was safe before you regained your composure and gave it to him. He pulled you to him, and everything spiraled down from there.

It started with a hungry kiss, him holding onto you roughly as his lips crashed against yours. You met him with equal force, which only egged him on even more. It wasn't just his anger that fueled him, but his lust, his love and need for his wife. He pulled at your nightgown, undoing the clasp around your neck and letting it fall to the floor in a wave of silk. His hands ran down the length of your body, pulling you against him as he moved you both towards the bed where you crashed into a heap of tangled limbs.

He pushed himself up onto his knees and unbuttoned his dress shirt, all the while you worked on his belt. Before too long he was undressed and hovering above you. You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him to you forcefully in a fury of passion. His lips explore your body, one he knew oh so well, traveling across your collarbone before making his way up your neck, over your chin and back to your lips.

You felt him tremble under your touch, a gasp leaving your lips. You fell into a rhythm, two bodies intertwined together. He grabbed your hand, tangling his fingers between yours as he pushed it above your head and into the pillow, his face buried in your neck. You moved together, your bodies connected in every way. His movements were rough, angry and full of lust yet you met him with equal anger, digging your nails into his shoulders and calling out his name in pleas of pleasure.

Then suddenly he stopped, his breath coming out in short gasps as he looked at you below him. He knew you well, knew everything about you, eighteen years of marriage would do that. He loved you, you were the only person he had ever loved, ever trusted and opened himself up too. You knew everything about him, he was venerable around you, an open book. No matter how angry he was, no matter how long he was away, or how many beautiful women he met, he was yours and yours only.

He let go of your hand, cradling your face and kissing your lips softly, “look at me.” He said, as he began to move again, slowly, softer. He knew you were getting close, your eyes closing and body tense. “No, I said look at me.” He whispered, looking into your eyes as he kept his movements steady, a slow build. He could feel everything, see everything as you let go beneath him, your eyes locked onto his the entire time as you arched your back. Your nails digging so deeply into his shoulder it was sure to bring blood, but he didn't mind.

It all felt good to him.

You were breathless afterwards, your nails pulling from his skin and moving down his chest, yet your eyes never left his. He laughed, a cocky smile forming on his lips as he lifted himself onto his elbows. “What?” You ask, a smile on your lips as you saw your husband the way he used to be, cocky, arrogant and so loving.

“Oh, five years and I still have that magic touch.” He says, his voice playful, mischievous with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Hmm...” You place a hand on either side of his face, pulling him into a kiss and using it as leverage as you push him onto his back. You sit on top of him, pulling him up to you so you were sitting in his lap. It was your turn to be the evil one. You began to move, finding your own rhythm as his arms went around your waist, supporting you. He buried his face in your chest, trailing kisses as you slowly brought your hips forward. He looked up at you, your arms resting around his neck, fingers finding their way into his hair. You grabbed a hand full, pulling his head back painfully, it was a turn on for him, like a masochist.

That was the bad thing about all this, was not only did he know you so well, but you knew him. You brought him to the edge, stopping and kissing him as you let that sweet pleasure settle, only to bring him back up again. You did this to him many times, until you could feel him trembling under you, aching to release. You gained a better grip on his hair, pulling his head back again roughly and looking into his eyes just as he did you, moving your hips at a slow pace as you brought him back to that very edge one again. You slowed down even more, his breath coming out in shaky rasps, his whole body tense and vibrating. His eyes were in a haze as he stared up into your beautiful (y/e/c) eyes, he was under your spell, unable to break free. “Let go for me, darling.” You whisper, a smirk on your lips as you tighten your grip on his hair even more, all the while digging the nails of your other hand into his shoulder again. That was enough to send him over, it was pure ecstasy, every nerve on his body a pinpoint to your every touch, every movement of your body. His arms tightened around you, his muscles in spasm as he reached the highest point, unable to keep that deep primal growl from leaving his throat, all the while his eyes never leaving yours.

You place a kiss to his forehead, letting go of his hair as his eyes finally close and he rests his head against your chest, regaining a bit of control over himself. You stayed together, two bodies interlaced together in a mess of sweat and emotions. His deep breaths filled the silence in the room, still coming back down from his moment of pleasure. He felt you tug on him, letting you pull him down until he was laying on top of you. He lifted his head, pulling himself back onto his elbows and looking at you. He placed another kiss to your lips, “this changes nothing.” He says, and you nod in agreement.

He rolled off you, reaching across and pulling the covers over you both before wrapping his arm around you and pulling you to rest on his chest. You stayed that way most of the night, holding one another yet neither one able to sleep. Your fingers traced around his chest, down his stomach and back up, his running through your hair, both of you deep in thought. Finally you broke the silence, lifting yourself up on your elbow and looking at him.

“I know, and trust me, you won't be getting off that easy.” He says, already countering you before you spoke. You glare at him and he smiles, knowing how much you hated it when he did that. “I cannot deny that I didn't want this as well, I've missed having you around.” His hand landed on your arm, his thumb rubbing against your skin mindlessly. “But the things you ruined, that cannot be undone and I'm considering having you stand before a firing squad because of it. We'll just have to wait and see...”

You ignore that last comment, “you're not leave me again.” You say, not as a question or a statement, but a demand, an order.

He raised an eyebrow, he liked it when you were this demanding of him, it was sexy. He grabbed your arm and pulled you back down, placing a kiss on your lips and settling back into pillow. “Not anytime soon, my dear.”

Not much longer and you both were asleep, your hand on his chest with his fingers interlaced with yours.

~!~*~!~

[truereviewpage]

How To Make Inexpensive Curtains Look A Lot More Polished & Our New Master Bed!

You haven’t seen our master bedroom in a while (except for small peeks on Instagram) because we owe you a certain curtain-related confession. But first, I get so many questions about our new bed – and why we upgraded from our old Ikea one – that I thought it was time to formally introduce you to this beauty that we got nearly a year ago. Yes, as in last November.

 bed / nightstand / bench / similar art / similar rug / duvet / chandelier / faux plant

Why a new bed? Well, at first glance, our new bed isn’t wildly different from what was there before (which you last saw last May when we blogged about getting the new consignment store rug). Both headboards are a light wheat-colored linen, and they work well in the peaceful low-contrast bedroom we’ve been working towards lately. But the key difference is that this a legit bed – as in, headboard and side/footboards – all upholstered in the same fabric. Previously it was one of those metal frame situations plus a headboard we made ourselves.

And actually, at one point we did have that same headboard attached to a different bed entirely: the Ikea Edland canopy bed that we chopped the posts off of years ago (who remembers Ed the Bed?). But we swapped beds with our guest room at some point when we were over the floating-up-on-legs look for our bedroom (a regular bed frame + bedskirt gave us a more grounded and substantial look). We also found ourselves yearning for a proper boxspring situation for our mattress, which just sat directly on old Ed’s slats.

Our free took-twenty-minutes bed swap was definitely a step in the right direction, but we knew an upholstered bed would look more finished than the bedskirt + metal frame scenario. We actually don’t mind a bedskirt (2 of 3 beds in the beach house have them), but it always bugged me that it would never be the exact same white color as the duvet in here – and since it’s a much bigger room than the beach house bedrooms, you view it from a lot further away and notice that fact a lot more.

So long story long (have you met me?! no story is short), after five years of bed swapping and adding a skirt and reupholstering the headboard, we just went for it and ordered a fully upholstered bed. Not without twenty hours of research and hemming and hawing though (again, have you met me?!).

similar lamps / nightstand / bench / similar art / chandelier / curtain rod

The best thing about buying a new bed for our master bedroom was that it meant we could steal the headboard from our room and reunite it with Ed the Bed and bring them both to the empty beach house last fall, and put them in the middle bedroom. So essentially instead of buying a new bed for the beach house – we got to buy the bed we always wanted FOR OUR MASTER BEDROOM INSTEAD, and use ol’ faithful Ed + our homemade headboard at the beach house, where they totally fit the bill.

similar mobile / gold frames / similar headboard / lamps / pink art / square blanket

So even though he’s seen a few incarnations and lived in three different houses, Ed’s been with us for nearly 8 years (and the headboard has lived on for more than 6). Pretty soon they’ll be welcomed into the 10-year club! (If you haven’t read that post about the items in our home we’ve had for ten years and still love, it’s one of my favorites.) 

But back to our new (*cough… year old… cough*) bed. This post is probably making her feel very unloved so far, since we haven’t even blogged about the upgrade, but that’s far from the truth.

I LOVE THIS BED SO MUCH I AM TEMPTED TO BUY IT AGAIN FOR THE BEACH HOUSE MASTER BEDROOM (and just use that headboard/frame combo in the duplex somewhere). It’s such a nice feeling to have an actual bed after a series of metal frames and headboards attached to the wall or the bed in various ways. It kind of feels like adulting, but not quite as annoying as cleaning the house or buying band-aids every week (am I the only household that goes through approximately 1,000 every three days?! Are the kids eating them?!).

Anyway, my bed BFF is called the Sanford Linen Upholstered Panel Bed and we got it from Wayfair last November. It comes in all of the standard sizes (twin up to california king) and in two colors (the “Talc” color is what we got – and there’s a “Kelly Green” that’s definitely more of a statement). At the moment it’s 30% off, putting a queen bed at $628, and one of the reasons I went for it is because a ton of clean-lined and classic upholstered beds that look like this this are in the $1,000-$2,000 range (like this one and this one), so I love that this is a great neutral color and a timeless shape that looks more expensive than it is.

It doesn’t look NEARLY as dark or gray as it does in the listing photos (which was a pleasant surprise for us – because it really does mean it would work anywhere). I’d call it a warm linen color, that’s just barely on the warmer side of the gray-beige line, but it could completely live in a room with gray or tan walls, which I love. Given our history of moving beds around, the more places a bed can work, the better. And it has a really nice linen-looking texture that makes it a bit more interesting in person than you can probably tell in the website photos:

We also liked that it has these small vertical panels flanking each side of the headboard. The “wings” give it an extra little detail and coziness that our flat DIYed headboard didn’t have (although you could definitely make this version yourself – just upholster the side pieces and attach them in the back with some sort of flat metal bracket).

This bed still requires a boxspring, which we like (feels more like a real adult bed that way, and it’s better for our mattress, we hear) and I’ll warn you that if your mattress isn’t as thick as ours (ours is 12″) there might be a small gap between the top of the mattress and bottom of the headboard… so you might want to add a mattress pad or just place your pillows along the back of the bed in a way that you can’t see that area (sleeping pillows + a few decorative ones could totally cover it).

similar lamp / nightstand / similar art / curtain rod / duvet

I actually realized that there’s a reason for that space, which is: so you can change the sheets more easily. If the headboard squished up against the top of the mattress much tighter, you wouldn’t really be able to change the fitted sheets without a ton of effort – so I actually appreciate that detail.

Also a few people have asked “wait, are the black feet of your bed ugly?” and I didn’t even know what they meant and had to run upstairs and look at them in person, but I guess in the online photos where it’s cut out and placed on a white background they’re really clunky and obvious, but the bed’s feet are set in a bit from the upholstered frame, so they’re basically in the bed’s shadow if that makes sense. I literally never notice them or “register” that there are those little black feet in real life because the upholstered part is pulled forward, so that’s really all you see.

Ok, now that I’ve told you everything you could possibly wonder about our bed…. let’s turn our attention to curtains. BECAUSE CURTAINS ARE HARD. Our old curtains in here had been some wheat-colored cheapies I grabbed at HomeGoods years ago, but after we installed white curtains throughout the entire beach house, I developed what can only be described as an animalistic craving for white curtains in here again.

similar dresser / gold frames / bench / similar rug / similar chair

So much of the room had been beige-ish, that I just thought crisp white curtains would freshen things up and not make the whole space feel like we had a sepia filter on it. So I craigslisted the tan curtains, and on a trip to Ikea sometime last winter we loaded up on three sets of our favorite affordable white curtains (Ikea’s Lenda curtains) for the bedroom. But the reason you haven’t seen an “our bedroom got two updates!” post about this room is because is has taken me nearly a year to finish fixing the curtains (thereby completing this update) so they no longer look like this:

Yup, we lived with them like this for nearly 12 months, and I gotta say, I’m not even ashamed of it. Life is busy, (see: adulting) and curtains can be high maintenance, so they might just end up at the bottom of the list. And this sloppiness underscores the dilemma of Ikea curtains. We LOVE them for their nice heavy white fabric and their affordable price: just $25 for two 98″ tall curtains (which means they’re long enough to go from floor-to-ceiling in a standard eight foot room). And if you have extra tall rooms you can also get two of their 108″ length for $35.

And now for a curtain-related side rant: don’t buy too-short curtains at Target! I don’t even know why anyone makes 86″ curtains because it’s SO MEAN and they’re never tall enough to make a room look as good as it could with 95″ (or taller) curtains!

Unlike Ikea’s cheaper Vivan curtains, the Lenda ones have a decent weight to them – in fact they look extremely similar to curtains sold by West Elm and Pottery Barn but they’re a heckova lot more budget-friendly. But let me tell you… Ikea’s photos of these curtains are so not-selling that when people ask where we get our white curtains and we link to them, 100% of people say “that’s the wrong link” – because they’re actually sold with big tabs on the top and they have these country-looking tiebacks, and they essentially look nothing like this:

They look like this:

I know.

This doesn’t look like the same set of curtains. But it is.

And these are the exact same Lenda curtain panels too. We’ve probably had them in our office for the longest amount of time (four years or so) and they look great. We got two sets for each side of that large window so they’d look extra full – and our entire curtain cost was $50.

woven blinds (pecan color) / desk chair / desk / bench / rug / similar faux plant

But… if you’re someone who just wants curtains that you can throw up on a rod and have them look awesome, these aren’t them. Getting them to look presentable can take a significant amount of effort in our experience, but after it’s all said and done, they can look pretty darn decent. Plus they’re washable (which is a great thing in a house with kids and a dog – or a rental house like our beach houses) and they’re not so expensive that they’re precious – so you can relax and not freak out if kids twirl around in them or hides back there, which is a daily occurrence in our house.

So what are the things we do to turn these formerly-tab-topped curtains into what you see in the photo above? I thought you’d never ask. Here’s my process:

Step 1: Wash them on hot and dry them on high to pre-shrink them (they’ll shrink a ton – maybe 5″, but in a standard height room that’s just fine – and you NEED to preshrink curtains before you hang them. Otherwise if they get dirty later and you launder them, they’ll look like bad highwaters when you hand them back up.

Step 2: Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut off the tabs right above the sewed line where they’re attached along the top edge.

Step 3: Fold the top edge over once to hide where you cut the tabs, making sure the fold goes toward the back of the curtain (facing the window). Once it’s all clipped that fold looks just like a sewed top seam and has a nice finished look.

Step 4: Clip your rings on along the fold. We use 6 ring clips per panel: one on each end and then one on every other vertical seam, which you can see above. Your spacing my be different if you’re using different curtains, but ours are about 10″ apart.

Step 5: Slide two pre-washed & clipped panels onto your curtain rod, and hold it up to determine the best height to install it. Remember to go high and wide around your window, but not so high that the curtains don’t touch the floor, and not so wide that they look flat (volume from the curtains draping is really pretty). We typically go around 8″ beyond the window trim on the sides, and like to hang the rod a few inches below the ceiling, but use the length of your panels to determine the best height.

This was a far as I made it with these new curtains for basically a year, so if yours look something like the messy picture below – don’t worry. We’ve all been there. Well, at least I have. Many times. And I’ve lived to tell the tale. In fact it wasn’t until last week that we finally carried out the final two steps.

Step 6: Iron or steam your curtains. We steamed the curtains at the beach house while they hung in place – but we found that we got the best result with two people doing that (one to hold the curtain taut, the other to steam – this is our steamer, btw). So to get the smoothest result at home with just one person on curtain duty, we took them down and ironed them. I knocked out four of them before bed one night last week, and John did the other two the following evening (which explains why the hairy arm in this picture is his and not mine).

Step 7: Once the curtains are pre-shrunk and fully relaxed, it’s safe to hem them if you need to. Sometimes you get lucky and they shrink enough so that you can hang them high without needing any hemming – but a little is usually necessary for us. I like to use no-sew hem tape, but I tried a new cheater-way to hem these and it worked, so I’m sharing it. NO HEM TAPE OR SEWING REQUIRED!!!

I just unclipped them one clip at a time while standing on a chair and folded them over until I liked the way they hit the floor below (just the slightest little break – like they’re kissing the floor) and reclipped them to hold them that way. The fold of fabric is in the back of the curtain, facing the window, so you don’t see it from the front – it actually just looks like a nice thick top hem when the light shines through.

You can’t really tell that I took a short cut, and it means if they ever shrink in a future washing (or we decide we want more or less fabric touching the floor) we can just adjust them just by unclipping them and changing the fold. Genius? Probably not. Lazy? Most definitely!

Are they the most luxe high-end curtains out there? Nope. Do we think they look nice, hold up well, and add softness & height to a room? Yup. Did we do the entire bedroom for $75? Yup. And that’s less than the cost of one of these stock white 95″ curtain panels (and we got 6 panels!). Getting custom curtains can also be significantly more expensive – and it can make them feel extra precious. They’re also not usually washable which is a huge selling point for me when it comes to these.

Maybe someday we’ll feel fancy enough to splurge on custom curtains. Using them in some of our showhouse projects means we’ve experienced the difference firsthand (really, they look amazing and perfectly graze the floor and don’t even need to be steamed – they arrive totally ready to hang). So this isn’t an anti-custom curtain rant or anything – we just know lots of people who can’t swallow that custom curtain price tag right now, and might want something that feels easier to live with/wash for this season of life. So hopefully this elbow-grease-but-affordable method can help you get SOME sort of window treatments in your house. And you know I won’t judge you if it takes a year to get them finished.

Also, dogs don’t have to adult. I wanna be Burger.

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve had white Lenda curtains in this room (but they got stolen for the office at one point). So here’s that story, and more curtain projects/tips from over the years:

Using Iron-Tape To Hem Lenda Curtains

How To Make No-Sew Curtains From Any Fabric

15 Minute Blackout Curtains for $15

18 Tips For Picking The Right Curtains

Psst- Wanna know the paint colors in this room, or any other room in our house? Click here for a whole-house rundown. And if you want to get our free email newsletter (it’s like a bonus post that comes right to your inbox each week) click here to get on the list. 

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