#i intended to fully read if before replying but i have not and felt bad about it the whole time im sorry

[chrysopoeias]

i love your royai fraternization post. if you are a fanfic reader, you might enjoy Well-Behaved Women by ehmazing on Ao3. It's a post-cannon post-royai-marriage fic from the perspective of Sheska about how women are treated in media and the politics around Roy as the Prime Minister and Riza as the First Lady. It has a tonne of sweet moments and a lot of interesting worldbuilding.

Sorry to reply months later. I read the first I think two chapter when you sent this, and I thought it was pretty good! Pray for me to finish it One Day(tm). I’v heard from others it’s a good one too, so anyone reading this with more patience check it out I guess!

I’m honestly not that much into post canon royai dealing with politics, but sometimes maybe I can be convinced.....

I liked Hawkeye being afraid of needles and no one expecting she’d have such reaction. Feels very fitting for her.

[hannieween]

lover | heartbreaker drabble | c.sc

You and Seungcheol finally get a chance to get away from finals, homework and your parents.

✧ pairing: choi seungcheol x female reader ✧ genre: fluff, smut (18+) ✧ aus: boyfriend seungcheol, uni student cheol, flashback drabble ✧ word count: 2.7k

✧ warnings under the cut!

✧ warnings: this drabble is connected to my heartbreaker series, so smut with plot, pussy whipped cheol, unprotected sex, pull out method [don't do this i do not recommend], big dick seungcheol, edging, cumming on skin, a little 🤏🏻 bit of breeding kink. pet names: angel, baby (hers) babe, baby, (his)

✧ disclaimer: minors dni this post is intended for 18+ readers ONLY. please have your age stated in your description and try not to look like a bot please 🙂.

✧ author's note: this kind of came out of nowhere so please excuse the grammar and spelling errors lmao

four years before

Going on a mini trip together for a weekend was exciting. To you, it implied lying to your parents to get out of town, forgetting about finals, about restless nights of studying but above all, being with your boyfriend, Choi Seungcheol.

You told your parents you were staying with your friends for a sleepover, which somehow worked. But in reality, you were going camping with your boyfriend, whom they still have some reserved opinions about.

Seungcheol and you had been dating for six months at this point. And everything felt like a dream to you. Granted, your parents do not like him, despite their lack of comments about him. But you were young, and you were in love.

He is closer to graduating, so he seems more relaxed about university than you. The idea of going camping was his, seeing that you were about to reach a breaking point due to stress and sleepless nights. His power to convince you to drop everything and go was more efficient than you thought.

The windows were rolled down, letting the hot spring summer air sweep inside. Your boyfriend kept one hand on the steering wheel, and the other was busy grabbing your hand, playing with your fingers. And occasionally, he would slide it on your bare thigh, inching his fingers up and then down.

You were hot on the face and neck, eager to jump on him. You were still exploring a lot about intimacy with him, but God, you wanted him. You wanted him so bad it was nearly embarrassing.

So, when you got to the campsite, it was nearly impossible to yank your gaze from his thick body. The way his biceps flex as he worked setting the tent up. He had refused to let you help him to do the heavy work. But every now and then, he would just point at something and say, "Would you pass me that, baby?" partly because he knew what you were thinking.

It was as though he could read your mind.

The sun set; you had a nice afternoon with him. So, when it is time to get inside the tent, you felt so fucking nervous to be spending the night in the same bed, or sleeping bag, with him.

Few were the nights you both had had the chance to sleep with him. Mostly just naps. But the first time you slept together was some five months ago, when you had your first time with him.

So now, your body was so close to his, to his warmth. You shared the same sleeping bag that could fit the both of you. Arm to arm with him, your knee brushing his. He shifted positions, lying on his side next to you.

"Do you have to sleep shirtless?"

Seungcheol cocked one eyebrow at the sound of your question. "I always sleep shirtless," he replied, a smile tugging at his lips, making its corners twitch. "I sleep with even less, actually," he chuckled, propping his head on his fist to look at your face fully. "Why, baby, do you want me to put something on?"

"No," you mumble quietly, starting to feel hot on the face and this time, it is not because of the hot weather. "It's just distracting," you said with an airy tone, you sighed.

But the reality is, this is your boyfriend, you just have to endure the weight of being so unbearably and embarrassingly attracted to him.

He finds your awkwardness cute. Granted, everything you do is cute to him. So, a smile breaks free on his face, almost knocking the air out of your lungs over his striking beauty. "Distracting, huh?" he mumbled, his eyes scanning the features of your face, as if trying to memorize the way that they look whenever you are flustered.

You only gave him a nod with your head, feeling shy. But you lifted a finger nonetheless, and started tracing a line over his collarbone. "I like you," you whispered, though that much was obvious. You have already told him you were in love with him.

"I know," he chuckled, trying not to shiver under your light touch that was now trailing down the middle of his chest, between his pecs. "I like you too," he said, his voice beginning to strain over the tension he was feeling in his body.

"I know," you said too, breathing out a giggle and the sound of it appeared to have an effect on him.

His gaze went soft and he could no longer try to hide the way your touch made him feel. So he leaned over, placing a hand on your cheek, making your sweet gaze lock with his before slotting his lips between your own.

"I love you," he emphasized, the emotions fluttering inside him making his voice a mere shaky whisper. It is the need he felt for you, to feel you whole and close to him, to make you his.

Seungcheol had never been in love. Not like this. Everything you did, made him a little crazy. "I love you," you mumbled back, the sweetness of your voice was what egged him on.

He dived for another kiss, this time a deeper one, his lips captured yours, moaning in your mouth when you parted your mouth slightly, giving him access to his tongue.

"Baby," you breathed, breaking the kiss only for a second because his lips are pressing on yours repeatedly. His hands slid from your cheek, his fingers now tangled in your hair. "Cheol," you called breathily.

"Yes?" he hummed, peeling away from your lips so he could see your face.

"Did you..." you start your question, but then, "Nevermind," you shook your head lightly.

But Seungcheol is not content with that, obviously. "What?" he mumbled. "Tell me," he insisted when you just shook your head in reply.

You know if there is something that drives him up the wall, is to wind him up and then leave him hanging.

"Tell me," he laughs lightly and your heart jumps at the sound. Then, he climbed on top of you, trying to tickle the answer out of you. "You bratty little thing," he gritted when you tried to fight his hands off.

But he continued poking at your ribs with his fingers, enjoying the sweet sound of your laughter and your squeals.

"Stop, stop," you wheezed, brushing a tear from the corner of your eye.

Seungcheol decided to let his joyful attack die. He placed a hand next to your head, leaning over to trap your lips with his own, giving you a chaste and quick kiss.

He was just about to slump back on his spot next to you when your hand sneaked on his nape, bringing him into a hot, rushed kiss.

Defenseless, he grunted in your mouth, his arm gave in, so his body fell on top of yours with a crash. "Baby," he chuckled, trying to lift his bodyweight off you.

His protests were quickly muddled by your needy lips, kissing him fervently. He was moaning into the kiss already, swept away quickly by the warmth radiating from your body. And when eased the lower half of his body on top of you, you could feel just how hard he had gotten with just teasing you.

Oh god. You thought. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

"Babe," you muttered, emboldened by the fact that he had given up to the make out session amply. And you know that it was very difficult to him to stop once he had started. "Did you bring condoms?" you blurt.

It was as though a bulb ignited over his head. "Is that what you wanted to ask me?" he breathed on your mouth.

"Did you?" you pressed, his chest was squeezing yours.

And you were convinced now that he could feel the frantic beating of your heart.

"No," he admitted, cursing himself silently because that was at the top of the list of things he did not want to forget.

"Baby," you reproached.

"I forgot," he chuckled, continuing to kiss you.

But you could tell that the fiery need is dissipating with each kiss. He kissed you slowly, but then he broke away, and was just about to roll over when, "Please, just a little bit longer?" you asked, holding his bicep to stop him from peeling away from you completely.

He placed his elbows next to your shoulders, so his forearms are framing your head. "You know how this goes, angel," he said softly, his fingers brushing away the hair from your face when you stay silent, so he kept going. "We kiss, we want more..." he sighed heavily, but out of the tight pressure gripping his heart.

You knew the idea was crazy, but goddamn, you want him. And you were unbearably horny. "You could pull out," you suggested, the anxiousness fluttering inside you making your tone waver.

Seungcheol stiffened for a second, and then let out an airy chuckle, thinking you were joking. But when you remained looking at him, nervous, his smile dropped. "Baby, are you serious?"

"I am," you reply, warmth tingling on your cheeks, your eyebrows knitted. "Please? Please, babe. I want to feel you."

Seungcheol scanned your face with his eyes, over and over again and that is how you knew, his mind was reeling.

He leaned over, placing soft and sweet kisses on the corners of your lips. "I could get you pregnant," he muttered gently. "What if pulling out doesn't work?"

"I don't care," you blurt, feeling an ecstatic shudder invade you.

"You don't care if I get you pregnant?" he laughed, amused by the thought that you were so needy that you were starting to be reckless. "Wanna have my babies?" he mused, his voice low again, raspy, and so dangerously sexy.

"Yes" you whispered shakily. "I want you."

And that is everything he needed.

He went all in, truth be told, he used to consider himself strong-willed. But that was before he met you, and fell on his knees for you, basically.

In seconds, he worked on you to tear your clothes off. You were so horny that the cool air of the night did not get to you. He ripped your clothes off, like a mad man about to ravage you whole.

He kissed every single inch of your body, loving the way you called out his name, the sounds of your moans. But it was the way you looked at him that drove him absolutely crazy.

Seungcheol made a trail of kisses from your lips, to your chest, kissing your nipples, cupping your breasts with his large hands while he teased your nipples with his tongue, making you moan salaciously.

Good thing you were in the middle of nowhere and chances were, completely and absolutely alone, you thought.

He laughed breathily against your skin, sneaking a look at your face before continuing to kiss your tummy, trailing down. Then kissed your belly button, making you flinch at the feeling of his wet lips against a very sensitive spot.

His hands gripped your thigh from the upper-front area, so you got a glimpse of his fingertips digging on the plush of your skin before lapping up the juices from your pussy.

You thrashed, crying out in pleasure as his tongue laves at the taste of you. Seungcheol moaned with you in delight, giving your folds broad strokes with his tongue.

In the months you have been his girlfriend, you have had few opportunities to do this, so everything is so very new to you. Every feeling, every touch feels electrifying.

Seungcheol loved it. He loved that you were discovering this world with him. He was your first everything, and he was so eager to explore his deepest, darkest fantasies with you. And he knew that you were eager to do too.

He loved the sound of your voice, the taste of your skin, your pussy. He loved eating you out so fucking much he wanted to do that for hours, to give you orgasm after orgasm. And one day, he would.

"Cheol," you call out breathily, tensing and shaking beneath him. He had started to tease your swollen clit with his tongue pointed against it, swirling around it.

That unfamiliar but needed burning sensation was pooling inside your belly, and Seungcheol knew it was closer because of the sounds of your moans, airy, so very lewd.

You succumbed to your orgasm fast, enjoying the sweet, sweet pleasure consume you in shockwaves. You thrashed, crying out his name loudly, fingers curling in his black, unruly hair.

Seungcheol wasted no time, getting to his knees as you pushed his sweats and boxers down to his mid-thigh, he leaned on top of your body, slotting himself between your shaky thighs.

You could not help it. Your eyes wandered down his frame. Seungcheol has a thick body. Thick thighs, thigh biceps, thick neck. You swallowed hard, spotting his cock, fully hard, his cockhead glossy with precum.

He saw the needy look in your eyes, you want more, he realized. But he decided to stop and tease you a little, grabbing his thick, veiny cock, gliding the tip between your folds, nudging your engorged clit.

You winced and moaned, your hands flying to his shoulders, anchoring yourself to him.

"Look at me, baby," he muttered, his voice raw in need.

And you do. You looked at his eyes, he pressed his chest against yours before pushing his cock inside you. The warmth and wetness made him moan at once, his mouth parting and you saw his self-control dissipating as he started thrusting his cock inside you.

But he rolled his hips tortuously at a slow, calculated pace. Still looking in your eyes, enjoying the way your body trembled beneath him.

"Cheol," you called out breathily.

Seungcheol was going insane, he knows there is no way he could last long like this. "Fuck, you feel so good," he gasps.

"Seungcheol." you insisted, your teary eyes searching his face. "I think–I'm going to come," you gasped, closing your eyes and stirred on the sleeping bag, trying to resist the fiery waves rippling through your body.

Seungcheol moaned, unable to look away as you came on his cock. Your orgasm came fast, and hard. But he kept going, pushing into you desperately now.

"God, fuck," he gasped, dropping his head on your shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. "Fuck!" he gritted, pulling out of you in a split-second.

You were both breathing hard against each other, but Seungcheol is shaking, rigid, trying with all of his might to not come. He decided to force himself to get you to your high at least one more time.

You waited, still shaking with the aftershocks of your orgasm. You felt almost embarrassed for coming five seconds after he went inside you.

But he recuperated quickly, positioning himself between your legs again, determined to keep fucking you raw. He was driven insane by the sounds of your moans, by the way you trembled and looked at him.

He edged himself two more times, overstimming himself. What did it was to think that one day, he might just keep fucking you full of his cum, and get you pregnant. He could no longer contain himself, pulling out of you to pump his throbbing cock with his fist, groaning loudly as spurts of warm cum land on your tummy.

He breathed slowly, trying to get his heart rate down. He looked at the mess on your tummy, the beads of white, sticky cum on your lower abdomen. Then, he looked at your face, thinking of apologizing.

But instead, he spotted the fascination plastered on your face, you were wide eyed, lips glossy, skin dewy in sweat. You like this, he realized. And that might have sent him into a frenzy.

"So," he begins, his breathing still ragged. "You wanna have my babies?" he smiled.

✧ author's note: this is not proofread i'm sorry. if there are some fluctuations between verb tenses, that is because i typed this in a mad state at @cvntrlseecvntrlvee who is the sole culprit of my seungcheol brain rot.

anyway,

✧ STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 5 ✧ JOIN MY TAGLIST | PREVIOUS CHAPTERS | BUY ME A COFFEE? (●'◡'●)

© TO HANNIEWEEN — I DO NOT ALLOW TRANSLATIONS, CONTINUATIONS, REIMAGINATIONS OF MY WORKS OR THEIR REPOSTING ON OTHER WEBSITES.

[cxlamarisalxmi]

Being Miguel’s legitimate daughter that he left behind and hosting Venom [FEM]

[Platonic Drabble]

c/w: cringe writing, angst

—

[Unedited]

“How dare he?”

You ignored the symbiote raging in your head as you watched your father Miguel finish the battle with the Green Goblin variant. Binding him with glowing red organic webs and aligning him up and over his shoulder.

“How dare he return here?!”

“Venom,” you trailed exasperated. Obviously you weren’t happy at all to Miguel either but he hadn’t even seen you yet so what does it matter? Originally you and Venom had fully intended to take down Goblin and inform Peter B. Parker there was a variant in your dimension. (Don’t ask how you know him).

But then Miguel showed up instead, and honestly you should’ve expected that he would because he was the one who led the spider society. And he was among the first to know of any anomalies or unusual readings in any dimension.

And only Jessica and Lyla were a witness to the internal conflict inside him at the prospect of going to his daughter’s dimension. The daughter he abandoned in favor of a different one, a different daughter, a different universe… a different life.

He was absolutely certain that you hated him and you did, you held such bitterly angry and maliciously hateful feelings for him for such a long time. When you were young all you felt was confusion for his disappearance, but as you grew older and as time passed those feelings turned from rage at his betrayal… to utter heartbreak and despair at his departure.

For the longest time you’d believed that you’d done something wrong, because what had tog done that was so bad? What had you done that was so wrong? You didn’t mean to.. whatever it was you didn’t mean to.

Eventually you had come to learn that this was not a fault of yours, but of Miguel’s. You didn’t do a damn thing wrong, and you didn’t deserve this. Nobody did.

So you grew in the suffocatingly isolating darkness that was hate and grief. And as time passed you built walls thick and tall surrounding yourself, barbed defenses to protect your broken and vulnerable pieces. Behind those steeled doors you also tucked away the last part of your inner child, to keep her safe and protected.. from ever feeling this abandonment again.

When you were fourteen you’d found Venom, and at the time you had been living on the streets for close to two years. At fourteen is when you had very nearly quit on life, being alive was pain.. constant hurt that was very close to swallowing you whole.

Venom had stopped you, not because they had talked you out of it but more so because you were intrigued by the way they had glided across the ground. Even more so interested by the way the deep onyx goop slid up your hand before sinking into your body.

And you’ve been together ever since, the constant babble of the alien grated your nerves slightly but other than that you’d grown to love having them attached to you. And you wouldn’t change it for anything—

“[Y/Name]?”

You froze, previously having turned away from the scene of Miguel opening a glowing golden portal on the street below your perch to make a swift exit. But his voice had stopped you, and you’re not sure why you had even bothered to halt in your tracks.

“Wonderful,” you spat with toxin, “you remember my name.”

Miguel shouldn’t have been taken aback by your response, and he shouldn’t have been thrown off by your bite. He didn’t deserve to feel confused as to why you had responded to him so aggressively— because he knew why you had.

“Of course I do, I gave it to you.”

“Right,” you replied boredly before you were moving forward intent to leave the conversation there.

“[Y/Name]!” He called, and again you shouldn’t have given him even a second of your time but your broken and guarded heart longing for answers seemed to work your feet for you.

“[Y/Name], keep moving. Or I will. He does not deserve your time. He does not deserve you.”

“Did you ever wonder if I had even survived after you left? Did it ever cross your mind even once if I was still alive?”

“I checked on you regularly.”

“I see, the technology to travel through the multiverse also grants you the ability to peer into the lives of people you have ruined.”

You still hadn’t turned around, refusing to give him any sort of indication that you had actually cared about whatever it was he had to say.

“Look, I-I know that I’ve screwed up. I know that I hurt you—”

“Hurt me?” You chuckled humorlessly, a hitch of pain in your throat and fire on your tongue. “Hurt. Me? You may have before.. but you’ll never hurt me again.”

Venom had come through on the last word, enunciating the end of the sentence with a snarl. Ferocious and purely built from the pure emotional pain they could feel coming from their host.

Miguel subtly flinched at the deep growl in your tone, not enough for you to see but enough of a twitch that your heightened senses had picked up on it.

And you chose that moment to make your escape, stepping forward and utilizing Venom to vanish within the pitch black abyss of the shadows. The added darkness provided by the night sky and waning pale moonlight casting deeper shadows aiding Venom in helping you disappear entirely.

“[Y/Name] wait!—” Miguel reached out expecting to touch flesh but was met with nothing.

He stepped back, looked left then right then both directions once more before he exhaled tiredly and leapt back down to the road below. He lifted the Goblin and threw him in before jumping in himself, the portal closing behind him leaving the desolate street in utter darkness once again.

You had watched, this time from the gargoyle statue attached to the side of the roof’s lip on the building above. Venom formed off your shoulder, their head with white eyes and a mouthful of razor sharp teeth complimented well by the black ink of their exterior. And their head stretched off your shoulder by several tendons and tendrils still attached to your body.

You met his blank, milky white stare as he spoke.

“He will return. Whether he wishes to talk or— something more.. what will you do?”

“I made my feelings clear, if he returns. If I see him in my universe again. We. Kill. him.”

You watched as Venom’s grin grew exponentially at your sinister promise. The ominous threat on Miguel’s life exciting him after all the years of trauma and pain he had inflicted upon their host Venom wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth in and never let go.

And if granted the opportunity he would seize it with little to zero hesitation.

Every Spider-Man needs a nemesis, no emotionally richer story than having that nemesis be your own daughter.

“You are sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’ve grown cold. Sinister.”

“I am what he made me.”

—

a/n: I’m a little stoned and had this abrupt idea— 🫢 this is weak and maybe a lil’ cringe.. I know that, I’ll make it legit when I’m not baked 😐👍🏽

[knmaskitten]

Love me back ⊹ ♡

Pairing: Kageyama Tobio/ afab!reader.

Summary: inspired by love me back by fromis_9. You moved to your new house thanks to college, and one day, as you were preparing to deliver a gift to your neighbour, you encountered said person, Kageyama Tobio. After that, you keep longing to bump into him and slowly get him to correspond to your feelings. But when that does not happen, you plan a scheme with your best friend as the ultimate test to see if Tobio likes you or not.

warnings/tags: afab!fem reader. No use of y/n. Neighbours to lovers. Kageyama really is bad at expressing love. Reader is head over heels. A little bit of physical descriptions but nothing specific like hair color, length, etc. You use Oikawa Tooru to make Kageyama jealous. Oikawa is your best friend.

notes: I wanted to write this since so long ago, Kageyama is one of my favorite boys. As always, this was not proof read so I apologize for any bad grammar. Not necessary but english is my second language so have that in mind while reading. As always my AO3 is here (I post there first).

wc: 2,500

It was so utterly frustrating having to look at him all day long, knowing how your heart wanted to escape your ribcage every time you exchanged glances with his dark ocean eyes. You longed to see him every day, whether the sun was at its highest or lowest. You wanted to see him. For him to notice you and to exchange more than just “Hi” or “How are you?”. You’re sure you would have a stroke if he ever said something related to your outfits, which you carefully picked whenever you were going to “accidentally” bump into him.

Being neighbours with Kageyama was going to be the death of you. Your anxiety went through the roof when you thought about him, which was no bueno. Your cortisol levels were so high that your therapist advised you to finally blurt out a confession to him so you could be let out of this misery. But no, you were not that kind of girl anymore. All your life, you were the one who always had to confess to everybody, and you hated not being the one being confessed to. This had a huge impact on your self-esteem and made you doubt if you were loveable enough to be even considered a lover.

You were a nice lover, you thought. It isn’t like you haven’t dated anyone before this crush. Your first boyfriend, Marco, was a nice guy™ and you two had a very nice relationship. The thing is, your first relationship was just nice—not passionate, not vehement, not ardent, not fervent—nothing. Just nice. And it was rare to feel what you felt towards Kageyama; you were sure it wasn’t just infatuation; you could already feel what it really was and what it really meant. 

You were Kageyama’s right-side neighbour. You moved by yourself, next to where he lived, a few years ago because of college. You met him on your second day in your new home. He was returning from practise; he looked sweaty and tired. He had a jacket that said “Japan” on it, a volleyball ball on his right hand, and his sports bag on his shoulder. His hair was dark and messy, giving him a certain kind of freshness. You were casually walking towards his house, a friendly gift on your hands, hoping to form good bonds with your neighbours.

He observed you carefully and analyzed you, as if he were searching for something else behind your clear intentions. He did not smile at you, but he did stop walking to face you fully, silently questioning you. So you nervously replied:

“I’m…I’m your new neighbour!” You tried not to yell, but your words came out a lot louder than you intended to. This made you feel wobbly, with the tray in your hands threatening to fall to the ground. “I made some strawberry shortcake for you.” You pointed with your head towards the tray; it was a cute, soft pink platter with a ribbon design. It was trembling slightly thanks to your jitters.

“Thank you.” He bowed towards you, his hair moving with its movements. You paid attention to how his muscles flexed and then relaxed, creating wrinkles in his jacket and sports shorts. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anything for you.”

“That’s not necessary; this was just a small gesture. You dont have to give me anything, really.” You blurted your verbiage out without thinking. What was going on? You usually weren’t this awkward with people. You had confidence, which you slowly but surely cultivated through the years, and it was really hard for your ego to accept that a mere boy could have this impact on you.

He was a handsome boy with knowing eyes; his eyes were hungry to analyze the world around him, and the profound, dark blue ocean that his eyes were had you wanting to explore every nook and cranny in them. He was taller than you—almost 20 centimeters taller, giving him a certain kind of power over you. He had a toned and muscular figure, which coincided with the fact that he was a volleyball player, which you admired. You guessed he played in the Japanese volleyball league, making him a professional at what he did. And that was so interesting.

It just occurred to you that he perfectly could have rejected your dessert, given the fact that he needs to eat well and your shortcake was considered junk food. This fact struck your heart like lightning, making you feel butterflies in your stomach. He looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to pass him the tray. It seems you were in awe for too long because he gave you a frown.

“Right, sorry, here you go.” 

"Later.” He said while walking towards his house, leaving you perplexed.

That was the first time you two had any interaction. You took every opportunity you had to talk to him: sometimes you needed sugar, other times you needed a kitchen supply he had, and one time you needed help grabbing something from the top of your kitchen cabinets that you couldn’t reach. Other times you nonchalantly waited outside your home, seemingly sweeping your entrance, while you knew he would return from practise around this hour.

One particular time, he looked strangely dazed and out of tune, which you knew (by observing him so much) was weird. You had your broom on your hand, and the leaves in the cement were in a little pile right to your feet. You kept looking at him without a care in the world, scrutinizing him. This did not go unnoticed by him.

“Do I have something in my face?” He straightforwardly said, making eye contact with you. His back was ever so slightly arched and his hair was sticking to his forehead. His blue eyes were lit up with annoyance.

“Kageyama-kun, are you alright? You look out of it.” Worry seeped out of your words, a tender breeze brushing your hair.

“N—no! I mean, yes! I’m fine” He replied a little bit flustered, like he didn’t expect you to read him so well.

You left your broom on the side of your fence and you started walking towards him until you faced him. Face to face, he had to arch his back a little bit more to look at your eyes, which were full of a weird determination.

“Kageyama-kun I know I’m not your friend, but I can help you if you desire; I’m right next to you, and I swear I will do my best.” You stated that you were dead set on helping him out; even if he rejected your offer, you wanted to let him know you were worried about him. The sun shone on the right side of his face, highlighting his skin in a dance of light and shadows. This made time slow down around you, leaving just the two of you in this odd bubble you created.

“I…” He pouted, averting his gaze from yours as he frowned. “I just had a bad practise, that’s all.” He reluctantly said it in a mumble.

With all the will and courage you could possibly muster up, you walked even closer to him and gave him a big, tight hug, mumbling in a low and serene tone, “You’re still an amazing player.”

He trembled and then squished out of your hug, flustered. “I know!” he yelled, pointing to you with his index finger. ”I won’t lose!”

Kageyama was never socially good, and he was even less good with friends. So he did what he knew best: yell and challenge. You stood still, thinking you fucked up, your feelings bubbling in the pit of your stomach as anxiety started to gain a strong presence in you.

“S—sorry.” You muttered before walking rapidly towards your home, obviously not before taking your broom with you. You stopped on your heels, turned towards him and gave him a bow “Excuse me!” You yelled, leaving him there.

And after that, you both exchanged conversations that tacitly had something behind them. You sometimes thought Kageyama hated you and other times that he merely had to stand your presence, but once you thought he saw you as something else. You wanted him to look at you the way you looked at him, to long for your presence like you did his, to analyze your figure and eyes like you did his. To invite you on a damn date! If he didn’t hurry, you were going to finally accept the advances of a guy at your college.

In the battle of egos, you were not going to lose; you had a strong resolve, and that was: Kageyama had to confess to you. And it is not like you didn’t do anything to achieve this; you kept giving him gifts and kept advising him when he looked troubled. You secretly loved when he gave you attention, even if it was just crumbs. You had the opportunity to know a little bit more about him in every exchange you guys had, craving every chance you had of getting his attention. The feeling of his eyes on you, looking at only you with a certain kind of intent.

This went on for about six months—six long months of crumbs. And you were so not having it that you managed to get Kageyama’s phone number and his socials (you always waited for him to text or call you, but he never did, so you reluctantly had to be the one to initiate the conversation), but even then, you were not certain as to what he felt for you. Did he love you as well? Did he hate you? You were so nervous, uncertainty filling your body to the brim.

So, you decided to do a scheme with your best friend, Oikawa Tooru. This was evil in many ways, as you knew the rivalry Tobio had with your best friend. You met Tooru on a trip to your aunt’s house in Miyagi, and after a weirdly funny encounter, you two hit it off as best friends. You rarely met, but this was no excuse for how close you two grew together. It really was a coincidence that the “stupid setter from Karasuno” that Oikawa often talked about turned out to be Kageyama, which was stupidly funny.

You definitely were not the type to do these type of schemes, but you were desperate. You needed at least a glance that said I love you—a lovingly full of attention glance. And this fact also ashamed you; a guy had you craving attention; he had you in the palm of his hand, and he was so oblivious to it. This simply made you furious; you were not one to give into a guy this easily, and it made you angry that he didn’t show any signs.

So, you decided to carry out your plan. You called Oikawa and discussed with him:

“Tooru-chan, accept, please.” You pleaded.

“Using me! Huh! And to make Tobio-chan jealous! Him, of all people!” He said, frustrated and a little bit offended. “Why him, dear? Why him?”

“Please, Tooru, he means a lot to me.”

“But he is an idiot if you have to go to these lengths to get his attention.” He scolded you.

“But, Tooru, I love him!” You cried over the phone.

There was a brief silence on the other line; you could only hear the faint sound of static.

“You are lucky I’m in Japan right now.” He said, resigning to your plan.

“I love you, Tooru! You’re amazing!” 

Happily, you hung up the phone. The plan was as follows: he was going to pick you up for a “date” at the time Tobio arrived home from practise, and then you two were actually going to go out because Oikawa asked to at least have some real time with his best friend. So you texted him with the date and time he had to be at your front door. You insisted on him looking extra handsome that day and reacted with, “I’m always extra handsome! >:c” .

When the day came, you decided to pamper yourself. You wore makeup today; you wore a light pink eyeshadow that highlighted your eyes, applying a little bit of glitter at the center of your lid. You carefully placed your blush to make you look naturally flushed. You did your winged liner and used mascara. You successfully enhanced your natural beauty. You left your hair down, as it was what you were most comfortable with. You wanted to look cute, so you picked a white, flowy dress that made you shine. You paired it with black Mary Jane shoes and white socks, as well as a pearly necklace with a purple gem. 

At six thirty, your door bell rang and a text bubble appeared on the screen of your phone: “Open the door, dummy.” . And so you hurried up. You put your phone in your black purse and grabbed a black jacket to pair your dress with. You ran downstairs towards the door and opened it very happily.

“Tooru!” you exclaimed, excited. As you hugged your friend tightly, you peeked over his shoulder and saw Kageyama’s figure approaching. You whispered, "Ok, Tooru, let’s do it. Kageyama’s coming”

You knew you were going to get a reaction from him, but not this one. He stopped, looking between you and Oikawa; he got the clue instantly as he saw you both well dressed. You could swear you saw fire coming out of him.

“Oikawa.” He said it in a low tone, angrily.

“Tobio-chan!” He cheerfully replied.

“What are you doing with her? How do you know her?” He blurted out, arching his brow, walking closer to you.

“Going on a date. Not that its any of your business.” Oikawa gave him an annoyed smile.

“No, you’re not.” You swear you and Oikawa are still in your places, surprised by this. Your heart started to race. 

“You’re not fair!” You yelled at him, feeling overwhelmed. “You ignore me, then forbid me from going on a date?”

“I…its just…I." He started.

“You what?”

He then walked towards you fully, and taking you by the shoulders, he kissed you passionately. His hands were not moving, and you were so stunned that it took you a second to correspond with him. Oikawa stood still, a little awkward. He decided to slowly walk towards your door and leave you two to it. He was still going to have his time with you nonetheless.

“Oikawa is not the right guy for you. I am. I think I love you. I want you.”

You didn’t say anything, as those words were the one thing you wanted to hear the most, for the longest of times. And you had it now, and it felt amazingly odd; it was a new feeling that meant your love was reciprocated. 

“Oikawa is my best friend. I love you, idiot.”

And then you hugged him, and this time he hugged you back.

Thank you for reading <3

masterlist and more.

[thewingedbaron]

Owlcatober Day Eleven: Medals

So glad to be back to writing. Its been a WEEK folks! Hope you can forgive me for missing a few days, things have been real weird the last couple days. This fully self-indulgent scene between Allix and Arueshalae should help :)

Seriously, thanks for reading these. Interacting with everyone has been so so fun this month ;-;

Medals and Recognitions (1,446 words)

Fandom: Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous

Ship: Arueshalae/KC (Allix)

Warnings: Very Cute.

Read here under the cut, or over on Ao3

The doublet itched. Allix turned himself this way and that, studying every inch of his costume in the full length mirror. That’s what it felt like, a costume. He was dressed to the nines in a custom tailored suit, dark satin green with forest brown accents. It fit him like a glove, everything in its proper place except for the gods damned doublet. 

With a sigh, he removed it, buttoning up his shirt to fill some of the gap. He was left with a neckline just short of plunging that exposed the tops of his collarbones. Not a bad look, by any means, but a touch less formal than the tailor had originally intended. He could deal with that. 

As he studied the suit, his eyes could not help but travel to the man behind it, tail swishing anxiously as he looked himself over. Just short of three years ago, he’d been a bounty hunter, down on his luck, drifting through the world wound in search of more dangerous targets for heavier sacks of gold. Almost three years ago, he’d awoken in a square in Kenebres, bleeding from the chest with a dragon leaned over him. In those three years, he’d lead armies against the forces of the abyss, tread through the worst horrors a mortal could imagine. He had almost been an angel, though Heaven would have likely rejected his… contrary nature had he followed through. Instead, he’d given up his power, become a mere mortal again, and then lead one of the most daring military campaigns in Golarion’s history that had ended in the death of two demon lords and the closing of the World Wound, which had plagued the mortal realms for more than a century. And yet… 

When Allix looked in the mirror, he saw the same roughshod mercenary desperate to scrape up some coin before he starved. His eyes had crows feet at their edges. His thick beard was beginning to show a little more gray than he was comfortable with. Scars, new and old littered his body like the words of a fairytale, each telling the story of a different battle, a different danger. His horns were chipped in places from uncountable close calls, but they were still his horns. Without the adrenaline of combat, he found that his hands shook slightly, but they were still his hands. His eyes looked older, wiser, more tired from the great trials he had undertaken in the last three years, but they were still the same blood red color, flecked with bronze. Despite it all, he was still… him. 

Soft arms wrapped around his shoulders, as softer lips pressed a kiss into his hair, gently drawing him from his musings. 

“You’re thinking too hard.” Arueshalae murmured with a soft smile. “I can see it in your eyes.” 

She was dressed in a deep blue dress that complimented her eyes and hair. Gold highlights and jewelry adorned her wrists and neck. Her hair had grown longer over the intervening months. With no reason to fear her own beauty any longer, Arueshalae delighted in trying different styles and fashions recommended to her by their friends. This was one of her, and Allix’s favorites. 

“Only good things.” Allix replied, leaning into her embrace. “We’ve all changed so much from when this all began.” 

“We have.” She said. None had changed more than the once succubus, now redeemed follower of Desna. Allix felt a swell of pride in his chest as he met his soon to be wife’s eyes in the mirror. She, amongst all others, had climbed the steepest cliffs and faced the greatest dangers. To give up his powers was one thing, but the throw off the yolk of the Abyss, itself. To  find compassion, forgiveness, and love in a place that taught only blood and hate? He could think of no greater challenge. 

“Ready to go?” She asked, drawing him from his thoughts once more. The former Knight Commander suppressed a cringe. 

“Not at all.” Even after leading the crusades, fighting gods and monsters alike, he still did not feel comfortable in crowds. Especially ones gathered in his honor. “Are you?” 

“Absolutely not.” Arueshalae laughed. “All those eyes focused on us? Do mortal ceremonies always have to be this large?” 

“Only ones orchestrated by a Queen that wants the world to know exactly who saved their collective ass, I suppose.” Allix returned her smirk. “Think of it, Kings and Queens, nobles from across the world, all gathered to pay us respects.” 

“I think I’d rather just go back to the cabin.” 

“Me too, love.” 

Arueshalae stuck out her tongue at him in the mirror, scrunching her nose in distaste. “At least we won’t be alone up there.” 

“Very true. Did they finally talk Lann into a suit?” 

“I believe they tried, right up until he threatened to turn the next person to come into his room with a coat into a pin cushion. I believe they have settled on a nice robe for him in the Crusade’s colors.” 

“I don’t suppose he took the title either?” 

“Of course not, but the Queen agreed to sponsor his first three ships in his trading fleet. I think he values those more than any empty title.” 

“Good.” Allix smiled. 

“Darling.” 

“Love?” 

“You’re delaying as much as you can. But we do need to leave this room.” Arueshalae smiled, pressing another kiss between his horns. “Come now, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home.” 

“You have such a way with words.” Allix grinned, turning to kiss his love proper. “Hand me Finnean and we’ll get on our way.” 

She passed him a beautiful sword, the vessel that once contained the lost soul of a Pathfinder named Finnean. Allix’s preferred weapon was the heaviest crossbow he could find, but he had carried the blade through the remainder of the crusade in the memory of their friend, now released to explore the afterlife. It was a beautiful blade, and a comforting weight on his hip as he took Arueshalae’s arm and the pair stepped out into the hall to await the Queen’s escorts. Her guard arrived a short time later, the majority of their party in tow. 

Greybor had remained in the Abyss. The dwarven assassin had little interest in the Queen’s recognition, and had his hands full running his new business. He had, however, sent them a lovely letter. Also missing from the gathering was Regill, who, despite his exile from the Hellknights in the later days of the campaign, believed he needed no recognition for his efforts, and had politely declined the ceremony. The rest, however, eagerly accepted. 

Embraces and words were exchanged as they joined company, walking together down the wide steps toward the Queen’s own courtroom. From there, the party would proceed to the front steps of the palace where they would receive their honors and recognition, alongside many other officers, warriors, and heroes of the crusades. Allix had spent weeks pouring over the long list of martyrs, heroes, and soldiers that had served, hand picking dozens to receive their medals alongside him, and hundreds more that would be awarded honorifics in their own time. Every soldier who had served in the final taking of Iz and the closing of the World Wound would receive their recognition, as well as a large enough pension to keep them fat and happy for the rest of their lives. 

In the courtroom, they were joined by two more familiar faces, Irabeth and Anevia. The Knight Commander’s most trusted advisors easily fell into step with the rest, chatting and hugging their way to the great doors of the palace. There, they stopped for one final time, listening to the distant remarks of Queen Galfrey as she addressed a mixed crowd of hundreds of crusaders, emissaries from a hundred nations, and a dozen Kings and Queens from the various kingdoms and empires that had contributed to the fight. 

When it was finally time for the Knight Commander’s party to be recognized, the little group was quickly organized by the guard and set to wait just by the doors. Two by two they would be called up to the dais to stand with the Queen, until all had joined. At the front of the line, Allix exchanged a glance with Arueshalae. 

“Nervous?” He asked. 

Arueshalae looked him up and down, then back at the line of their friends, closer than family, behind them, and shrugged. 

“How could I be?” She asked. 

Allix grinned and planted a kiss on her lips as the grand doors were thrown open. Together they faced the world, fingers and tails intertwined.

[jingerhead]

Hiii, for the wip game. Dialed up to eleven!

Hi lovely anon! Thank you so much for asking about it! Play the WIP game with me here!

This WIP is smutty, you are all forewarned. I remember seeing someone posting this prompt on twitter and I asked their permission to write it, and now it's been a while since then but I still fully intend to do that hehe.

Andreil are voice actors for an audiobook, but not just any audiobook. A very, very smutty audiobook. Andrew is dying inside because Neil is WAY too good at this and he SHOULD be treating this like his job, but all he can think about is the fact that his hot coworker is about to whisper sweet nothings into his headphones. This fic is about 70% tension before getting to the actual smut between andreil and I'm looking forward to experimenting with that. I feel like smut has never been my strongest point, along with attempting to build the tension beforehand. Here's a snidbit for you to read if you'd like!

~*~

Point is, Andrew had prepared himself as much as he could. He could pull off a believable sex scene if it meant getting paid, and it wasn’t like this was a long one, either. One of the many that would come later, but that was besides the point. He wasn’t immature, or disgusted or irritated by the situation. 

For fucks sake, you’ve fucked men before, Andrew thought to himself, shuffling the script papers propped up in front of him.

He could do this no problem. Even if Neil was standing right across from him, eyes dark and body relaxed, as though he was already locked into character. Neil’s acting skills were sometimes terrifyingly good.

“Alright, chapter seven scene two,” said the director, voice loud in Andrew’s headphones. “Recording. Start when you’re ready.”

This was nothing new. Neil stared at Andrew, not yet moving to say his line to start the scene. Andrew straightened up, looking back and taking in a breath as quietly as he could, then nodded once. Neil didn’t do anything to acknowledge the go ahead, only glanced down at his script once as though he had to remember what his line was. When he was done, he looked back up, immediately locking on to Andrew’s eyes again.

“I hope you’ve been a good boy for me, baby,” Neil began, voice deep and echoing through Andrew’s ears.

Listen, Andrew had read the script beforehand. He knew what the scene entailed, and knew how it read to be more of a turn off than anything else, but the moment Neil said that line…the cringy line that only a rich CEO in a bad romance book could deliver, Andrew felt weak at the knees. It was unfair because this was a job. Andrew shouldn’t be getting turned on from hearing his coworker talk sensually into the headphones he was wearing. 

It took him a second to recover enough to say his own line. Thank god any pauses could be edited out later. “I’m not your baby,” Andrew said firmly, trying to turn his arousal into anger. “And you’re only getting this for a night, Turner.”

“Hm,” Neil hummed, shifting his weight to one leg. “But you’ve been good?”

The huff Andrew let out was a bit too shaky. “I didn’t look through your shit like you asked. Happy?”

“Very.”

The script called for a pause. Andrew knew why, because in the book Dante Turner had walked around Yael Hunter to take off his suit jacket and tie, like he was going to change without a worry for privacy. “I know you won a night with me,” Andrew read, “but don’t think that means you can do whatever you want. I didn’t go through your things because that’s none of my business, but I’ll leave if I have to.”

“Then leave,” Neil replied, heaving a loud sigh. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do, Yael.”

Another pause. “That’s…”

“Were you expecting otherwise?” Neil leaned in closer to the microphone, until his voice was so overpowering in Andrew’s mind that he couldn’t hear or think about anything else. “Do you want me to list what I’d do to you if you let me?”

[violets-in-her-arms-writes]

Find the Word {2}

Thank you @thewriteflame for tagging me!! You can (and should) check out her post (here) 💜

My words were Joke, Jump, Brown, Bug, Book

I'm really excited because this time I was actually able to answer with only extracts from La Fledgling! Yay!

(as usual, you can find my answers under the cut 😊)

JOKE

Really. Did they really think that humans, weak and mortal, were the most dangerous, the most threatening enemy, the shadow that crept under the door and through the cracked windows? Did Anthony fucking Rodin really think that Lou checked every exit and never turned her back on the door because of the humans? Don't make me laugh. If she jumped at the lightest door slam, if she always looked over her shoulder, if she was afraid at nightfall even though darkness should have become her refuge after her transformation, it was certainly not because of people like me. No, the problem was the other bloodsucking monsters that walked the streets like they owned them and attacked innocent women and followed them home to murder their entire families. Humans. Ah, that's a good joke. "Johanne," Lou whispered, who could probably sense my anger rising.

JUMP

My gesture must have drawn her gaze to my neck because I saw her eyes on my necklace. Fuck, my necklace! My heart began to beat faster as my hands crumpled the black fabric of my dress. I hoped it would hold up, I hoped she wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary in my work, I hoped she wouldn't notice the enchantments Ana had woven into it, I hoped she wouldn't smell the potions we had used to bind it together. I hoped, I hoped, I hoped. (I was so, so close to start praying again.) She reached for my throat, but stopped before touching me, saving me from slapping her wrist as I would have done with one of mine. "Sorry." The vampire apologized as if she fully expected me to jump at her and smash her face in. Honestly, who bends ninety degrees to apologize, right? "It's nothing," I said, brushing off her apology with a wave of my hand. "I'm just not used to being touched like that." "'Precious,'" she murmured.

BROWN

"She's hiding something from you." "Of course she's hiding something from me," I replied without looking up from the book I had been pretending to read since Ana had stormed into the room. "This is Lou we're talking about. She's always trying to hide things from us and it never lasts very long. Besides, I keep things from her too, remember." Most of the experiments Ana and I were attempting were always on the edge of legality and we both felt it was safer to keep her out of our extracurricular activities. Oh, and there was also my occasional drug use. Well, I say "my" as if I were the only one guilty and our best friend was just watching my self-destructive tendencies, but Ana was as guilty as I was. And she had just as many secrets. Some of which I didn't know. And some I didn't even intend to find out. What I did know was enough to give me anxiety and I would rather protect what little sleep I had left, merci bien. I had no doubt that whatever she was hiding would turn the last of my brown hair white, the hair that had resisted the bullshit of the girls and Lou put me through. "But she's hiding something bad from you," Anaelle said, snapping her fingers in front of my nose when she saw me staring into space. "I can almost feel it."

BUG

"Louise," I yelped. The use of her full name compelled her to turn around and face me. Her brown eyebrows were furrowed in concern and her pale pink mouth parted, probably to ask me what was wrong, but I beat her to the punch: "Lou, there's a bug on my leg!" Now that's why I always wore pants! Because at least I couldn't feel the bugs climbing on me. The very idea of feeling their forked legs clinging to my leg hair made me want to throw up.

BOOK

"Did you know that the coven connection was permanent?" I spat out very quickly, as if by getting the words out faster, I could get rid of their weight and what they represented. Ana looked at me, speechless, before blinking a few times, like this would help her hear something other than what I had just said. "What?" "The coven bond. It's irreversible. Definitive. Forever." "Are you kidding me?" "Yeah, of course I am. It's just like me, to joke around about something like this." "It can't be irreversible!" she protested. She clapped her hands together and a dusty old book fell from the ceiling into her outstretched palms. She opened it to the correct page and began to read, her slender finger following the faded ink as she carefully articulated aloud: "The coven bond, binding by blood and spirit, two vampires or group of vampires, keeps the bloodlust in check - also known as sangula practica - and is essential to the formation of strong, self-effacing vampires." "I still don't know what a "solid, self-effacing" vampire is," I warned her before she could ask the question.

Tagging : anyone who wants to give it a try, really ! Have fun 💜

Words : difference; desire; dress; dare; deep

[voidaspects]

Didn't mean to leave you on read, i wanted to respond to this as soon as i saw the reply but i wasnt sure how to. I genuinely appreciate that you took the time to read all this and respond to it, even if you disagree, and I wanted to make sure I didn't come off argumentative. I also wanted to try and finish watching that interview you mentioned before I properly responded to this, but I've been too busy to.

I will say though, from everything I've seen about the behind the scenes of this series, I do think there's more ambiguity than your response would entail. Maybe we're both coming at this from the wrong angle, who knows. I'm someone who's tried to track down every piece of media, both official and behind the scenes, that I possibly can, but I definitely missed that one that you referenced, and I'm excited to have something new to experience.

I realize this is a bit of a non-response to your claims, but not responding at all felt like it may give the wrong impression. Your valid, and your stance here is valid, even if I've yet to be fully convinced of all your points, I'm genuinely glad to hear them.

Regardless of how our interpretations diverge, I'm just happy to engage in talking about something I enjoy with other people. This post wasn't some big essay, it was just pure, unfiltered stream of consciousness and perspective I had on the initial reveal.

(Also nothing I said was meant to be a negative, additionally. The only negative thought I have about any of this so far is that I don't think monster baby is a compelling enough villain to carry the entirety of the marketing like it is right now lmao. I don't even think they're bad, but wow they are being hyped up)

(Edit: actually, not to ruin what I was saying, and again, don't want to be combative, but I strongly recommend rewatching that interview you were referring to, while keeping in mind what I was talking about in my original post. There are several segments in it that actually reinforce what I was trying to say, rather than disprove it. There's a point in the interview where he explicitly talks about the importance of ambiguity and how the interpretation of the audience is an important factor in the storytelling? Remember, I didn't say that the series didn't have an intended story that it wanted to tell, I said that it told that story through implication and let your brain fill in the gaps, and that's where the individual interpretation of the narrative comes in)

(Also which item listing are you referring to? I was curious and went looking around, but every single item description for the second game just refers to it as "the world" or derivatives of that. Not trying to debate you or anything, I'm just genuinely curious where you encountered these item listings? I'm not setting out to disprove you, I genuinely want to know about what you're referring to)

My initial thoughts on what we've seen from Little Nightmares III so far:

okay, first of all-

ohmygodohmygod it's happening this is the best day of my life I'm eternally grateful we get more of this oh my god I'm so happy-

okay, with that out of the way, I have more in depth thoughts. My overall feelings on the reveal are incredibly positive, but with the caveat that this is still visibly missing some elements from the initial LN formula. This isn't to say that this will be bad in comparison, just different, and I feel it's worth it to put a spotlight on that.

The most obvious example of a change in philosophy is the inclusion of multiplayer. To be totally honest, I was actually worried about the idea of them including multiplayer, because the idea seems to stand against the linear artistic experience that the series is recognized for, but the way they've pitched the multiplayer does sound pretty unobstructive, so I'll bite my tongue on that. I do think it has a risk of making the experience less cohesive though. It's clear that the decision was inspired by LN2, but that undersells the amount of individuality that six has in that game. You can't recreate the volatile emotions of your interactions with her if there wasn't the moments where she's not there with you, and you can't have the scripted moments where she acts of her own accord to serve the narrative, if she was meant to serve the dual purpose of being a vessel for another player. idk, I suppose we'll see.

The other visible element that branches out from the original philosophy is the very clear push towards grounded, overt storytelling. Little nightmares from the beginning has presented it's story in a very deliberately vague way. Typically, it pushes the story beats through implication, and let's your brain fill in the gaps to get the intended story beats alongside some lingering uncertainty of the conclusion you've come to. it's not a game that is meant to be explained (contrary to what some youtube videos might tell you lol. the truth of little nightmares story is, explicitly, what you personally take away from it. some people view six as sympathetic, some people view her as purely heartless, and neither conclusion is wrong (please don't fight about it ; ;)

anyway, point is... this new entry is distancing itself from that element that's been inherently baked in until this point. like in the initial development of the first game, they removed all references to real world language, there is deliberately no spoken language in the series. the only exception so far, out of every piece of media in the series, has been the comics, which were cancelled and decanonized (though those characters still exist in that universe somewhere, in my heart ; ;) and the press release material, which has been the backbone of all explicitly stated Little Nightmares facts. we wouldn't even have character names if it weren't for that stuff, there are no names stated in any of those games!

with that said, and while it is cool as hell that they exist... making the new announcement of additional story media in this universe be through audio drama is a bit of an odd choice, isn't it? like... inherently? with this in mind? Like I'm over the moon with excitement, I'm not complaining, but the change in philosophy is pretty visible, right?

also, speaking of the universe, another example of the shift to more overt and clear storytelling is that they've officially given the setting a name. this isn't strictly new, we have "The Maw" "The Nest" (still canon in my heart ; ;) "The Pale City" and the new game, in turn, has "The Necropolis"

and yet, another name in the marketing has been "the Nowhere," a name that has been exclusively described with language implying we are already familiar with it, e.g. "welcome back to the Nowhere" and "are you ready to return to the Nowhere?"

This name has never been used in any previous media, as far as I know, but I think it's pretty clear that the underlying implication is that "The Nowhere" refers to the entirety of the LN universe.

not to sound like a broken record, but... my reaction remains a simultaneous "this is cool as hell" and "this was made with a very different philosophy in mind."

I predict that LN2 will have a much more cohesive story, grounded in a specific and defined setting. We've lost the ambiguity present in the series' identity, but that could lead to some cool things in the future.

overall? I'm extremely excited and incredibly optimistic, but do think that we should go into this new experience with the understanding that it might be a different one. There is visibly a new team working on this one, and while they may not have put as much focus into the subtleties of this franchise's identity, they are very clearly trying to stay true to the overall identity. you can tell in the art style, it's borderline perfect, and it's very clear that the people working on this knew how important stuff like that was to this game, and to us. This won't be the same experience that Tarsier would have made, but Tarsier was content to not make any more of this experience, so a new direction is far from blasphemous. I'm overjoyed that we're getting this new experience, with all it's little differences, and I can't wait to see what they do.

(also, to anyone who's curious about the design philosophy of the original game, I highly recommend this presentation. I feel like not enough people have seen this, and it's so interesting)

[gretavangroupie]

Bloom (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5

Chapter 4

Official Bloom Playlist

Warnings: ALL of them. Angst, Smut, Smut, Smut. 18+ ONLY. Minors DNI

A/N: This is a long one, I just couldn't stop. We are talking 9k words. Enjoy.

“Now that I know you exist, how do I not love you.” -Butterflies Rising

You aren’t sure why your eyes are opening, something must have woken you. You feel for Josh and he is not there, his side of the bed is cold. You lift your head up and look around in the dark, the alarm clock reads 2:07am. You see light coming in underneath the bathroom door. You hear a little bit of what sounds like whimpering and you know exactly what’s going on.

You jump out of the bed and grab the boxers off the floor and quickly slide them on. You walk quietly over to the bathroom door, you don’t want to scare him. You gently open the door and Josh is sitting on the bathroom floor with his head resting on the toilet seat.

“Josh, are you okay?” You ask gently, squating down to kneel next to him.

“No, I woke up because I felt something coming out of my ear, and I came to the bathroom to clean it up, and I got so nauseous when I stood up I had to run straight to the toilet. I can’t even stand up with out vertigo, how am I supposed to continue this tour? I can’t even lay on my side because the pressure is so bad. I can’t jump or move without it causing pain.” He says venting. “What am I supposed to do?” he asks, and you can tell he is heartbroken.

You reach out and rub his bare back as he groans in pain. “What can I do?” You ask him.

“Be here, stay here with me.” He pleads. “Yes, okay, I’m here, whatever you need.” You reply.

He leans over, his head falling into your chest and you just hold him, rubbing his head until his eyes started to grow heavy and his breathing evens out, knowing you weren’t too far behind him. 

You open your eyes and you’re not sure how you ended up back in bed, but here you are. Josh is sitting up next to you reading a book. You turn your head to look at him. “How did we get back here?” You ask with a groggy voice. “Well I woke up in the bathroom, basically laying on top of you, you were freezing from falling asleep on the tile, so I carried you back in here and got us tucked in. I can’t have you sleeping on my bathroom floor the first time you stay here.” He smiles at you.

“I have no recollection of this at all.” You laugh up at him.

“You were out pretty good, Im glad one of us slept well at least.” He says.

“Aw Josh I am so sorry that this happened and that you are hurting.” You say grabbing his arm craving the warmth of his body on yours.

Josh sets his book down on his side table and grabs your hand. “I missed you pretty girl.” He says.

“I missed you too, even though it was barely two weeks” you laugh.

“Really? It felt a lot longer to me” he smiles at you before leaning down and playfully kissing your cheeks, your forehead and finally your lips while laughing and not letting you move. 

You pull him on top of you and deepen your kiss. You both feel the energy change between you, suddenly becoming more serious and needy. You look up at Josh silently asking if he is sure he is ok. He smirks and nods back at you, before taking your lips back to his own. 

You snake your hands into his curls and gently tug his head back to gain access to his neck, he groans slightly at the pressure of pulling his hair.

You trail kisses down his neck nipping and biting until you reach his chest. He flips you both to where he is now underneath you and you are on top straddling him. You sit up and begin to roll your hips into his just to tease him. He raises an eyebrow and looks to you and says “Don’t start something you can’t finish babe.” You laugh and say “Oh I fully intend to finish” with a wink. “Oh, someone is a little bit dirty are they, I had no idea” He says with a surprised smile.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me…” you say grinding harder into him. His hands migrating to your hips pushing you down harder to where your center is directly on top of his now very hard dick.

“I think I am ready to find out” he says coyly.

You reach down and pull your shirt over your head exposing your bare chest to the cold, you nipples hardening in response. 

“Stay still for just a second” Josh says. “What?” You ask confused. “Im committing this to memory” he says. You blush in response.

He lifts his hands like he is holding an invisible camera and snaps a picture of you before pretending to throw it behind him as you giggle a little.

He smiles and says “Ok now you can continue…”

Running your hands down his chest you push your self backwards and gently move your hands further down his stomach stopping when you reach the base of his dick and gripping it tightly while working it up and down, never breaking eye contact. “Babe, I…you…” he manages to say between heavy breaths.

 “I know, just feel it” you reply continuing your movements. His fingers gripping tightly into your thighs and his neck and head arched back, you hear a slow groan slip through his mouth, an indication that you are hitting the right spot.

After another minute or so, you lean up and reach for his side table drawer, hoping to find condoms. Jackpot. You grab one and carefully rip it open, and slide it onto him, before leaning over to kiss him right at his base.

You look to him to make sure he is ready and he nods fast letting you know to hurry.

You raise up onto your knees and position yourself over his ready and waiting dick, his hands guiding your hips as you slide down the length of him. You both moan simultaneously as he fills you completely from this position. The stretch of him inside you the sweetest pain. 

“Fuck if I did not imagine this every night for the past two weeks” he says, eyes closed in sheer bliss. “Trust me baby you are not the only one” you say and you begin to move your hips in a figure eight, reaching that sensitive spot deep inside, when you moan softly a clear indication of your pleasure.

“More of that.” he states

“What, you want to hear how good you make me feel? Is that what you want Josh?” You say as you begin to move faster.

“Fuck, yes” he says.

You start to move up and down the length of his dick, gripping as tight as you can on the ascent.

“Alright we have to change positions or I am going to cum right now” he says. “Hands and knees, now”. You feel a wave of warmth wash over your face and a warm feeling in your core.

“Oh, a little bossy are we?” You say playfully.

“You love it, don’t you? I can feel it. You’re wet as fuck.” He says.

He positions himself behind you and easily slides back into you with force. “Damn you are so tight and gorgeous like this.” He says. He continues his movement as you feel the coil inside of you growing tighter and tighter when he reaches around and grabs your tits and pulls you in tighter. The extra sensation sending you over the edge as your orgasm takes over your body. 

“Fuck” he groans as he repeatedly drills into you another moan escapes your lips a little louder than the first.

You feel his dick flutter inside of you and you can tell he is close, so you embellish a little.

“Josh, oh my god, you feel so good inside me, you’re so deep and fill me so good, you know just how to make me cum so good for you.” you continue.

“Im gonna cum baby, i’m cumming right now” he pants. 

You feel his dick twitch violently and he crumbles on top of you as he releases breathing heavily on your back. After a minute of catching his breath he pulls out of you and flips you over to your back and immediately climbs over you and begins kissing you anywhere his lips can make contact. He stops only to say “Be mine. Be with me, I can’t share you not even for one more minute”.

“You never did..” you say back to him “and okay, but only if you’ll be mine back.”

He smiles and nods and takes your face in his hands and kisses you slowly, memorizing your mouth and how it feels. 

“Mine” he says with a huge smile before getting up and heading to the bathroom, motioning for you to follow him.

After a shower and fresh clothes you and Josh spend most of the day lounging around listening to music, quietly of course, and enjoying each others company. 

You get a text from an unknown number.

Unknown: Hey, it’s Jake. Are you with Josh by chance? He hasn’t called or texted any of us back and we were getting a little worried.

You look over at Josh who is laying on his couch. “Hey have you looked at your phone since you got home?” You ask.

“Actually, no? I have only been keeping up with that thing to talk to you, and you’re here, so? Actually where is it?” He says nonchalantly.

“I’ll find it, but hey, your brother is worried about you. He texted me, what should I tell him?” you ask.

“Tell him that I am ok and that I’ll call him later.” He says. “Thanks beautiful” he smiles.

You: Hey Jake, I am with him right now, he is doing okay. Seems to be in good spirits today, but he has misplaced his phone. We are gonna look for it and he said he will call you later today. Don’t worry too much, he is in good hands.

Jake: Thank you for being there with him.

The next few days went by quickly just working, hanging out and various other activities with Josh. You had made a few runs to your apartment to grab clothes and your computer so that you could work from Josh’s house. A few quick grocery runs and a few visits from the guys filled the days, each of them asking how his doctor appointment went. It was not the news any of you wanted to hear. Josh had in fact ruptured his ear drum fairly significantly and his doctor recommended him taking a few weeks off to see if any progress would be made towards it healing. You knew that Josh was taking this harder than he let on. You spent the next few days holed up in his house together, trying to speed up the recovery process.

Around 5:00 Josh walks out of his home office, “Babe, I am going to go meet with our manager and the guys at the office. We have to come up with a plan. Will you stay tonight?” He asks gathering his keys, and looking for his phone.

“Again? Josh it's been like 9 days in a row, Amelia is going to think I have been kidnapped!” You laugh.

He stops what he is doing and grabs your hands in his.

“You know you don’t have to, I just like it better when you’re here. It's not so empty and cold.” He says.

You look at each other for a few seconds, and you cave. “Okay okay, one more night, but I do HAVE to go home at some point. My plants are probably all dying.” You smile at him.

“Good, I will see you in a bit.” He says with a smile, grabbing your face and kissing you quickly before rushing out the door.

Having his whole house to yourself, you decide to order in and watch a movie on the couch while you wait to see what time Josh will arrive back home. Some Lo-Mein and the Notebook really puts you in your feels. You must have dozed off because the next thing you know you hear the keys in the front door unlocking it. What time is it? You look at the clock with one eye squinted. 11:30. Josh looks upset and you know the meeting must not have gone well. You see him scan the room until he finds you. 

He comes and sits down next to you on the couch and put his head in his hands. “We have to reschedule a bunch of shows. They don’t want me to even try to perform, they are afraid I will lose my hearing in my ear if I force it.” 

You grab his arm and smooth your hand up and down “I agree with them babe, take time now so it can heal before you lose your hearing or worse” you say.

“I just hate rescheduling shows” he says.

You pat his arm agreeing silently.

“The only good part of this, is that I will be here for a little longer than expected. We were supposed to head back out in 2 days.” He says. “Looks like we have at least another week or two now.”

You shrug and smile up at him. “So now you’re really going to miss me when I go home and work this week.” You say coyly.

“You’re going home?” He asks.

“Yes, I have to get some stuff done and you are very…distracting” you say suggestively.

“Distracting you say?” He says leaning into you.

“Yes!” You reply laughing. 

“Distracting like this?” He says almost a whisper, leaning in placing his lips on yours.

“Or distracting like this?” Sliding his hand up the hem of your shirt. “Or maybe like this?” Pushing you down onto the couch, hovering over top of you.

“YES exactly like this” you say looking into his eyes, now filled with lust.

Well maybe since you keep saying you’re going home I should show you what you’ll be missing out on.” He says pout playfully.

“Maybe you should take it easy like you brothers said” You retort.

“Not a chance in hell” he says pushing you back down, furiously finding your mouth with his, his tongue desperately searching for yours. You reach up and lock your arms around his waist pulling him closer to you.

“Josh should we move from the couch?” You ask.

“Mmmhm, you naked in my bed in 5 minutes” he says. He gets up and walks over to the kitchen, removing the whiskey from the cabinet and pouring two drinks. He looks over at you, still on the couch, “tick tock, darling. You won’t want to see what happens if you’re late.” He says smugly.

Your eyes about bulge from their sockets and you jump up and head to his bedroom. You quickly strip down and crawl underneath the blankets. 

Josh is stepping into the room two seconds later, clicking his tongue, he says, “Just in the nick of time. You’re lucky angel, next time that may not be the case.” He says taking drink of his drink and handing you yours. 

You take a large gulp wondering what exactly he means by that. You notice your body betraying you when you can feel the wetness pooling at your core. How could his words make your body react this way?

Josh seems to notice the gears turning in your mind and smirks, “What’s wrong sugar, are you feeling a little bit…aroused?” he asks, setting his drink on the side table.

“No…” you lie with a smile.

“Oh now you’re lying to me? That’s a very bad girl…” he says crawling towards you.

“I never said I was good…” you reply, challenging him.

“Oh you shouldn’t have said that…” he says before tackling you all the way down, pulling your arms over you head and pinning them there with one hand, his other pulling the duvet down the get access to you.

“I will never get tired of having you naked in my bed every night.” He says staring down at your form.

“You better get a good look, you’re leaving for tour again soon, and god knows the next time you’ll have me like this…” you say with a smirking smile.

He looks up at you, “Come with me”. 

“Josh…”  You reply

“Just think about it.” he says before continuing to kiss you.

You decide to leave it at that and let him continue on whatever mission he is on at the moment.

“Keep your hands there, don’t move” he says, releasing his hand to open his side table drawer. He pulls out a condom and quickly takes off what’s left of his clothes before rolling it on to his now, very hard length.

You nod your head in approval before he continues. 

“Now where were we? Hmmm were you a bad girl or a good girl?” He asks.

“I was good, but I can be bad when I want to” you say.

“A smart mouth too? Very bold angel.” He says lining up with your core.

Reaching down, his hand finds your center and his fingers find their way to your clit.

“Wow, you really do like it, don’t you?” He says “you are completely soaked for me.”

He begins to circle around the sensitive bundle of nerves with his fingers causing a groan to escape your lips. 

“There it is angel, let me hear that pretty voice.” He says 

You begin to whimper again as you feel the tension start to build inside of you.

“All of that and i’m not even inside of you yet.” He continues.

“Then get there” you demand.

In a second he is pushing inside as far as he can, perfectly hitting that sweet spot inside you. 

“Oh god, Josh” you cry out.

He starts to push in and out faster while making sure to hold your hands in place. 

Gripping your hip for leverage he begins to slow down and concentrate on harder deeper thrusts.

“Fuck angel, it’s too good, I have to slow down or I am going to cum and I am not ready yet. Not done with you.” He says.

“Let me touch you” you beg.

“No, that’s what makes it fun. If you touch me I will have to punish you.” he says with a smirk.

“Punish me?” You ask confused.

“Yes angel, that’s the rules tonight.” He states.

“Rules? What kind of punishment?” You ask.

“That’s for me to decide, but don’t worry baby, nothing you can’t handle.” He says smugly.

He begins to pick up the pace pushing as hard and deep as he can. The sound of your skin slapping together, tightening the coil inside of you. Josh bends down and bites your nipple and it sends you through the ceiling. Your orgasm rips through you like a tornado. You tighten around him and Josh responds with a groan and is taken by his own orgasm. You lay together for a moment before he releases your hands and kisses you on the forehead.

He pulls out of you and takes the condom off tying it in a knot while making his way to the bathroom. He returns with a wet washcloth for you. It’s late now, nearly 1am.

“We need to go to sleep, I have to work in the morning, and suddenly I am not looking forward to that so much.” You say while cleaning up yourself. Josh takes the washcloth back from you and puts it in the dirty clothes basket in the closet. 

“Did you think about it?” He asks.

“Think about what?” You ask.

“Coming with me. Well us, I guess.” He says.

“Josh, I don’t see how that would work. I have a job, a roommate, you’re on a bus, that’s no place for girlfriends.” you say.

Blushing about saying girlfriend out loud you turn away from Josh hoping he doesn’t see. I mean, you are his girlfriend now right?

“Angel you don’t have to be shy, you can say you’re my girlfriend. That’s what I have been saying anyways.” He says tucking the both of you into the duvet and turning off the lamp.

“We can figure it out. Make it work. I need it to. I don’t want to be away from you. I want you with me.” He says into the pitch black room.

You scoot over towards him and snuggle into his side, “I want that too.” you say before you lay your head on his chest and you both drift off to sleep.

.

.

.

You and Josh spend the next two weeks practically attached at the hip. He wants you to stay almost every single night, and you did except maybe two. Even then he still asked you to come back. You start to feel a little bit sad about the fact that he is supposed to leave to go back on tour tomorrow. He has asked you probably ten times if you will come with him, but you can’t leave Amelia. You have a job and responsibilities. If none of that existed, you would be there. You told him that but he still persists. If only there was a way to have both.

.

.

.

Josh insisted you spend the night at his since he was leaving the next morning. You spent the night completely wrapped up in each other talking and laughing and enjoying the little bit of time you had left together. Josh was sure that his ear was feeling better after a few test runs in the studio. They decided to head back out for a few shows, leaving tomorrow for Charlotte, North Carolina. As you woke up next to Josh this morning, things were a little bit somber. Both of you knowing that you’d have to say goodbye for a little while and neither of you willing face that fact just yet. He showed you, multiple times, how much he was going to miss you. And begged you to try and come to a few shows. With the promise of a maybe, you helped him go through his tour checklist and made sure he had everything he would need. Grabbing the t-shirt he threw haphazardly on the bed, you fold it up and put it in your bag. 

“Oh you’re taking that I see?” Josh smiles.

“Only if i’m allowed I guess, it smells like you. It will for a little bit at least” you say.

Josh noticing that you are feeling sad, walks over to you and grabs it and puts it in your bag.

“Take it, take anything you want actually.” He says reassuringly. “At least I can be with you that way.” He says with a soft smile.

You throw your hands around his neck tightly and pull him as close to you as you can.

“I am going to miss you so much Josh.” You say into his chest.

“Ahhh this is the worst part about tour, I am going to miss you too. So much. More than I can even say right now.” He says, returning your embrace and kissing the top of your head.

“You know I will call you as much as I can, text you or FaceTime you when I can find my phone.” He laughs.

You nod your head knowing its just temporary. You help him grab his bags off the bed and head to his car to send him away, unsure of the next time you’ll see him. Putting your things in your car, he locks up his house and comes back to you.

With a final kiss and more sweet words, he jumps into the drivers seat and and heads down the road.

Later that night after settling back in at your apartment, you and Amelia catch up over dinner. You feel like you haven’t seen her in ages even though it’s only been a few days.

“Are you going to go to any shows while they are gone?” she asks casually.

“I think I might try to go to one or two, but I want to surprise Josh. I don’t want to tell him.” You reply.

“Oh! We can get Danny or Jake to coordinate it!” She says excitedly “That will be so fun!”.

“I have Jakes number, I will see if I can get him on the phone later.” You say.

You discuss details and plan while you finish up dinner, and cleaning up.

After a long hot shower and a long skincare routine you crawl into your bed for what feels like the first time in forever. It’s different than Josh’s bed, less inviting and slightly colder. Thinking about him you grab your phone and find that he had sent you a text a few hours ago while you must have been hanging with Amelia.

Josh: Made it to Charlotte, missing you.

You: It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet, and you already miss me? 

You: I miss you too, my bed is cold and not nearly as comfy as yours.

He replies surprisingly quickly, for how long ago he texted you.

Josh: I thought you had already forgotten about me. ;) Trust me, these hotel beds are nothing to brag about. I would much rather be there.

You: Aw, I’m sorry, Amelia was prying into my life over dinner. I could never forget you, more likely you’ll forget about me. You’re off busy being a rock star, remember?

Josh: Don’t worry, I will always have all eyes on you, beautiful. 

You physically feel your heart swell.

You: Show tomorrow, then where to? 

Josh: I believe we head to Birmingham, Alabama and play there on Saturday, then we head to New Orleans. It is going to be a busy few days for us but I guess they have some fun things planned too.

The gears start to turn in your head, sure he only left this morning but, you can’t help but to want to be with him any time you can.

You send a quick text to Jake.

You: Hey Jake, can you call me when you get a chance? Away from Josh if you can manage.

Jake responds immediately.

Jake: Call you in 5

You quickly go back and reply back to Josh.

You: I am going to go to bed now, but I hope you have a good show tomorrow, call me after? Like last time?

Josh: As if that’s even a question, of course. Goodnight angel, dream of me.

You: Always do. Night Joshy.

A few minutes later your phone vibrates with a phone call from Jake.

“Hey Jake!” You say happily.

“Hey girl, what’s up?” He says in a husky sounding voice.

“You’re not with Josh right?” You ask.

“No, he is in his room asleep I guess, I don’t know” he replies.

“Okay great! So, right before you guys left this morning he begged me to come to a show, and I was just talking to him and he said you have a show on Saturday and then you head down to New Orleans, and I was kind of thinking about maybe surprising him? He seemed sad when he left this morning.” You say. “What do you think?”

“I think he would love it if you came out. We actually have a whole thing planned in New Orleans if you can make it. I can keep a secret.” He says. “I will talk to our coordinator when he isn’t around tomorrow and i’ll get back with ya” he states.

“Do you think we can pull it off without him finding out?” You ask.

“Definitely, i’ll make sure, our little secret.” He replies.

“Thanks Jake, I owe you one!” You say.

“Ah you don’t owe me anything darlin, he’s my brother and would do the same for me.” He says.

“Okay, well, thank you, talk soon?” You say.

“Yeah I will hit you up tomorrow. Have a good evening.”  He says.

“You too, bye Jake!” You say hanging up.

You place your phone on your nightstand. Exhausted from your emotional morning you fall asleep quickly.

.

.

.

You wake up well rested and feeling content, you and Amelia chat over coffee and you tell her about talking to Jake last night and how plans are in motion. You get ready for the day and are feeling very confident with your outfit and makeup combo. You hear your phone buzz and go pick it up.

Josh: Good morning, I hated waking up without you. I hope you have a good day today, and I can’t wait to talk to you tonight? FaceTime maybe?

You smile to yourself while typing your reply.

You: FaceTime, definitely. Break leg tonight. :) 

Your work day is uneventful and dragging on. Around 2:00 your phone rings and its Jake, hopefully calling to tell you the plan.

“Hello?” You say.

“Hey girl, I have a plan for you.” He says.

“Im listening…” you reply.

“Okay, so the coordinator told me that Nashville is only about 3 hours from Birmingham if you want to come to that show, but I was thinking maybe you should come to New Orleans instead and surprise him when we go out. Sam and I’s girlfriends will be there, should be fun.” He says.

“The coordinator said she can pick you up at the airport undetected by Josh and get you delivered to us.” He says, “ You just have to let me know, I know it’s kind of last minute.”

You think on it for a second, you’ve never been to New Orleans before, and you do have sky miles to use up…

“Lets do it, i’ll book my flight and text you the details.” You say.

“Sweet, i’ll talk to the coordinator and let her know you’re in. Josh is gonna be psyched.” He says giddy.

“Okay just make sure he doesn’t find out, and I will see you in a couple of days.” You reply.

“Trust me he won’t find out. See you then.” He says and hangs up.

You book your flight and text Amelia and tell her your plans, hoping she can keep it a secret from Danny, then you text Jake the info on your flight.

The rest of your day is chaotic but goes by quickly, packing and preparing to go out of town for a few days. 

Around 11:30 you are ready for your FaceTime date with Josh and can’t wait to hear about the show.

As you’re scrolling through instagram, your phone begins to ring and you quickly answer.

“Hey baby!” Josh says with a huge smile.

“Hi handsome!” You reply “How was it tonight, how are you feeling?”.

“Ah, it was great, it was great, we had a great show and feels good to be back up there. My ear is ok, about as good as I expected, a little pain here and there but I was able to push through.”He says.

You give him a sad smirk and look at him. You can tell he has just gotten out of the shower, his curls still wet and hanging in his face.

“I don’t want you to “push” yourself too hard babe.” You say.

“Don’t worry about me pretty girl, I promise I am okay.” 

“You know I will though.” You say. “How were the fans, were they excited?”

“Oh yeah, they were stoked, you know I searched the whole crowd but didn’t see you.” He said playfully.

“I was there in spirit” you joke back.

“Ahhh, I miss you. I looked today and our next break is in about two-ish weeks near Thanksgiving.” He says.

“Yeah, see I’ll see you before you know it!” You smile, knowing he has no idea just how soon it will be.

“I will be counting down the days.” He replies.

You see commotion in the background of his video, and see some people start walking away.

“They have summoned me to the bus. I have to go but I will call you tomorrow.” He says.

“Okay, well try and get some rest tonight, and I will talk to you then. Night night!” You say.

“Goodnight angel.” He replies.

The call ends and you are left with a small hole in your heart knowing that he isn’t feeling his best, and there is nothing you can do to help. However, surprising him in a few days should do the trick.

The next day or two goes by uneventfully and you are itching to leave for New Orleans tomorrow. You talk to Josh each night on the phone, probing to see if he has any clue about you coming down. When each call ends with an I miss you and a countdown on days you decide you are in the clear.

.

.

.

After an early morning at the airport, you wait at baggage claim to be collected by the guys travel coordinator. You have never met her but Jake sent you her number and you texted to let her know you had arrived. She finds you in the crowd of people and makes her way to you. You noticed few people in the airport wearing Greta Van Fleet t-shirts and smile to yourself knowing they must be fans coming in town for the show. On your drive to the hotel the travel coordinator who is named Lisa, tells you about how everyone is out exploring the French Quarter today and will be meeting back at the hotel later before going out for Halloween tonight. You arrive at the hotel and she gives you a key to Josh’s room so that you can surprise him when he walks in. 

You take the elevator to his floor and find his room. You unlock the door and when you walk in your instantly greeted with the sight of Josh’s things. You see clothes laying neatly on the bed, various items on the desk, his pillow on the bed and toiletries on the bathroom counter. The only thing missing is him. You set your bags down, hidden from the view of the door. You plug your phone into his charger, almost dead from your long flight this morning. You aren’t sure exactly what time they will be arriving back to the hotel but you are impatiently pacing around the room. You decide to lounge on the chair in the room and turn on the tv and try to watch the news to calm your nerves. You don’t know why you’re nervous in the first place, it’s just Josh. You decide that maybe it’s just anxious energy. Jake did say that his girlfriend and Sam’s girlfriend would be here so you would have to meet them. 

Lost in your thoughts you snap back when you hear talking in the hallway followed by the sound of the keycard in the door. You sit up and smooth your hair out and rub your clammy hands together before standing up. You shake out your limbs and stand out of view of the door. 

The door opens, and you hold your breath, only to let it out when you hear Josh walk straight into the bathroom. He must have to pee, you tell yourself. After a minute you hear the sink turn on and know that he will be out any second. The door opens and Josh walks out looking down at his phone. 

He stops suddenly, stunned when he sees you standing next to the bed. He lifts his phone up and turns it toward you gesturing that he was just about to text you.

“Oh my god? What are you doing here?!” He says running towards you.

Before you could even respond he is taking you into his arms and pulling you in for a kiss. He places both hands on your face and cradles your head in his hands.  Deepening the kiss you pull him closer to you by his hips. 

“How are you here? How long have you been waiting up here?! Dammit Jake. Said we HAD to get another drink before we came back. I should have known.” He says.

“I have only been here for about an hour, Lisa picked me up from the airport. Jake and I planned it the day you guys left for Charlotte.” You replied. “I think that answers all of the questions, now back to this…” you say pulling him in for another kiss. He shrugs his jacket off and kicks off his shoes to the side of the room. His hand finding the hem of your shirt, sliding it up underneath the fabric feel the warm and soft skin of your stomach.

You moan a little at the contact of his skin on yours. “Josh” you whisper into his mouth.

“Its only been a few days but I am dying to touch you angel.” he says into your neck, kissing along your jaw and down your throat.

“What are you waiting for?” You ask craning your neck to give him more access.

Like lighting he is carrying you to the bed laying you down and holding himself over you. 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” He says staring at you with a smile.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” You say pulling him closer to you.

His eyes darken slightly, “That is naughty angel, any other day I would spank you for keeping that from me. But I have missed you so much I might let it slide. Maybe.” he says running his tongue over his bottom lip. 

“So do it.” You say defiantly.

Cocking his head to the side he blows out a deep breath, “Don’t tempt me beautiful” he says. 

“I will take you right here, and soon. But right now we have to get ready.” He states, standing up at the end of the bed. 

“Ready for what?” You ask.

“We are all going out as a group to Bourbon Street tonight. It is Halloween, and we all have costumes.” He says.

“Oh really, what are you going to be dressed as?” You ask.

“Well, I am going to be the Pope.” he says smiling.

“Oh god” you say laughing.

“Not quite, but close.” he retorts

You push his shoulder for making fun of you.

As you both get ready, you talk about the past few days and anything else that interested you both. You tell Josh how you saw fans at the airport and how cool it must feel to have people fly across the country to see him perform. 

“Actually we will probably see people tonight who will inevitably recognize us, but we will have security with us, so don’t worry.” He says.

“I am more worried I am going to see pictures of myself on the internet again” you say jokingly.

“I’ll tell security you don’t want pictures and they will do their best to make sure no one gets any, if that’s what you want.” He says. “Happens more often than you’d think.”

“I know it must be annoying to have people constantly speculating about your personal life.” You say.

“I am used to it at this point, but I would like to keep you to myself for a little bit longer.” He says taking your hand.

“I will hang out with the girls tonight, that should throw them off our trail.” You say.

Raising your hands to his lips he presses a soft kiss to your knuckles.

“I can’t believe you’re here. I don’t deserve you, angel.” He says.

You help him with his pope hat and you cannot stop laughing. Josh in this costume is hilarious. You opted for a tight black spaghetti strap dress that makes your tits look amazing, fishnet stockings and and heeled boots. You were not prepared with a Halloween costume, one detail Jake left out of the plan. After blowing out your hair, you step out of the bathroom and are greeted with Josh sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, still laughing at him in his costume. 

“Angel, you look incredible.” He says.

“Im not an angel tonight, father…” You say seductively.

He raises his eyebrows and gets up from the chair making his way to you.

“Keep talking like that and I will make good on my promise from earlier.” He says.

“That’s the plan” you whisper in his ear.

He grabs your arm as you are walking away, forcefully pulling you into him. He grabs your head and pulls you into a kiss, both of your mouths slightly parting granting access to each others mouths. Your tongues begins to swirl together, hot and needy. His hands squeezing your perfectly situated tits through your dress. You pull away from the kiss with his bottom lip between your teeth causing him to release a low growl. Furiously he pulls you back, and imitates your actions. Feeling his dick growing harder by the second against the thin fabric of your dress, you grab it with your free hand and stroke it through the fabric. His left hand glides over your center over your fishnets. You can feel how aroused you are and you’re positive he can too. He moves his hands to the waistband of the fishnets to find entry beneath. Sliding through the top he returns his hand to your center and feels for the edge of your panties with two fingers. Sliding under the hem of the barely there fabric his fingers glide through your wetness and he lets out a desperate “fuck”. “Angel it has been too many days since I have been inside of you” he cries.

“I told you, tonight i’m not your angel.” You reply.

With that he sends two fingers plunging inside of you, curling into that overly sensitive spot. You knees buckle and he catches you with his other arm. Regaining your balance you feel his thumb circle your clit repetitively. Hitting both of your sensitive points so effortlessly, you feel the tension building when he whispers into you, “cum for me, cum on my hand I need to taste you. Do it now. Do it for me.” 

The tension breaks as your orgasm begins to  take hold of you. “Fuck Josh don’t stop!” You cry into his chest as you rest your weight on him. You are sent spiraling tightening around his fingers and feeling the wetness around them inside of you. When you finally regain control and look up at Josh he is staring directly at you. He removes his fingers from you and sticks them directly into his mouth, sucking them as he pulls them out. 

“You are the most divine woman I have ever seen” he says. “But the next time i’m inside of you you’ll be begging first.”

“That sounds like something I can get behind.” You say coyly.

.

.

.

You meet everyone in the lobby, and group up to catch Ubers. You and Josh share an Uber with Jake and his girlfriend, who are dressed as Westley and Buttercup from The Princess Bride. Jakes girlfriend is so kind and welcoming you can see why Jake loves her. 

After about 15 minutes the Uber pulls up and lets you all out on Bourbon Street. Reunited with the other guys and the security team you begin your descent down the incredibly crowded street in search of alcohol and debauchery. You and the other girls hang back and watch the guys make absolute fools of themselves while in costume. After seeing a few fans and a few blocks of walking, you all make your way into a bar where a blues band is playing. It was the music you heard from the street that lured the guys in.

When you all get inside you make your way to the bar for a drink. You order drinks for the girls and a Gin and Tonic Double for yourself. The guys all have some sort of mixed drink called a ‘Hurricane’. A drink you were not willing to risk. A guy dressed as Michael Myers approaches you at the bar making small talk, asking you what you’re dressed as for halloween and if you had seen any crazy costumes tonight. As he talks he places his hand on your arm, and you begin to get slightly uncomfortable. You step back a bit wondering where the bartender is with those drinks. While he is talking you scan the room looking for Josh only to find him already staring at you with a very serious ‘if looks could kill’ expression. You break eye contact knowing that you’ll be hearing about this in a second. 

“Drinks up” the bartender calls to you. You grab the drinks and head back to the table the girls are sitting at. 

“What in the world was that?” One of them asks. 

“Yeah that guy was totally checking you out.” Said the other.

“I don’t know, I was just waiting for our drinks and he wouldn’t stop talking!” You say laughing.

Taking a large gulp of your drink you see Josh look over to you cutting his eyes at you before looking away. Oh, he is mad…but, you didn’t do anything?

“I think Josh is mad? He keeps giving me death glares from across the bar?” You say.

“Oh, yeah he is a bit of the… jealous type. Part of the twin thing you know?” Jakes girlfriend said. She has been with Jake for quite a few years from what you have gathered from stories. She would know Josh better than anyone, she’s with his twin brother after all.

“Should be an eventful evening” she says with a wink.

Josh keeps his distance from you for most of the rest of the night, and you’re starting to wonder if maybe you did do something wrong after all. Maybe you made a mistake coming down here too? You hang back with the girls the rest of the night, but towards the end of the fun, people are catching Ubers back to the hotel and you, Josh, Danny and his friends are the last ones left. 

He walks away from his dwindling security team and approaches you for the first time in what seems like 2 hours.

“Are you ready to go?” He asks curtly.

“Only if you are.” you reply.

“Let me tell the guys” and he walks away. You stand there awkwardly wondering why he is being so cold towards you. After a few minutes he walks back pulling out his phone.

“Looks like the Uber is right up here, let’s go.” Putting his arm around you.

Ok maybe he isn’t mad after all? You’re so confused but decide to gather up the nerve and just ask him before it goes on any longer.

“Josh if I did something…” You question.

“Did something? Did something like flirt with that guy right in front of me, my brothers and friends, for all of them to see…” he says with an attitude.

“Josh I was not flirting with him, I was getting drinks. He approached me and wouldn’t stop talking to ME!” You retort.

“I saw his hand on your arm!” He yells.

He opens the door for the Uber and you both climb in the backseat.

You sit there quietly staring out the window when you feel your phone buzz.

Josh: We will finish this conversation when we get back to the room.

You: You want me to stay, still?

Josh: Of course I do.

You: Could have fooled me.

Josh: Don’t say that, you know how I feel about you.

You: Right now I’m not so sure.

Josh: Then I will show you.

The car pulls up at the hotel and you both climb out, heads fuzzy from the alcohol. You make your way through the lobby, up the elevator and into the room without a word to each other. 

You sit on the edge of the bed, and Josh stands leaning up against the dresser. “Im sorry that I…” You begin before being cut off by Josh. “Stop. Don’t apologize. It’s me. I know you didn’t do anything.” He says before continuing “I have been drinking and I was feeling jealous. When I saw him touching you I… I don’t know what came over me. I am so sorry, I should be the one apologizing for ignoring you all night, I just thought… I just can’t stand the thought of someone else touching you. You’re mine. No one else can have you like this.” He says eyes turning dark and approaching you.

“When you said that I should know how you feel… what if I don’t?” You ask.

He leans over you kneeling, forcing you to lay back onto the bed. “I will tell you, then I will show you.” He says suggestively.

Leaning further down his lips meet your neck and begin biting and kissing small rough and wet kisses down to your collarbone.

He whispers quietly against your neck, “I feel like the world stops spinning when we are in the same room” placing a kiss behind your ear.

“I feel like I want you to be a part of everything I do” kissing your cheek.

“I feel like no one could make me feel the way you do” kissing your jaw.

“I feel like I am lost with you” kissing your throat.

“lost in you” kissing your sternum.

“lost without you” kissing your nose.

“and I feel like maybe I am even falling in love with you” he says, kissing your lips. 

A gasp leaves your mouth.

Your hands reach up into his hair pulling him closer.

With hads softly exploring each other, you both push your legs to move further up on the bed.

Josh pulls the straps of your dress down and shimmies it down past your waist, leaving you naked, besides the fishnets and thong you’re still wearing. Josh still in his pope costume.

“Josh fuck me, please. I have been waiting” you beg.

Without another word he pulls your fishnets and panties down in one swoop. Jumping up he pulls his pope costume over his head and takes off the remainder of the clothes underneath it.

He goes to his toiletry bag and you hear “Fuck!” loudly from the bathroom.

He walks back over to the bed.

“Baby you are not going to believe this but I do not have a single condom. We must have missed that on our checklist.” He says whining.

“We don’t need one” you reply.

“We don’t?” He asks.

“I started birth control almost immediately after meeting you. Call it intuition. I am good to go and I for one cannot wait to feel you inside of me.” You say stroking his dick.

“Jesus Christ” he says climbing on top of you.

He runs two fingers through your soaking wet slit, “how long have you been like this angel?” He asks rubbing circles around your clit. 

“Since you gave me the death glare at the first bar” you reply.

“You have been wet for me all night and didn’t tell me?” He asks picking up the pace of his hand.

“To be fair you wouldn’t come near me, and if you had I would have probably fucked you in a dirty bathroom, but this is so much better.” You reply.

Lining his cock up with your opening the feeling of his bare tip pressing against you made your whole body shiver with anticipation.

“Fuck me Josh, please” you beg and he obliges. 

Sliding his dick into you stretching your wet pink opening to the max filling you deeper than you remember. “Josh baby you feel so good like this” you whine.

“Angel if you keep talking like that I am gonna cum and I am so far from done here.” He says as he begins a forward and back rhythm.

“Harder Josh” you beg.

“I told you you’d be begging” he says as he begins to violently slam into you, the contact of your skin slapping repeatedly against each other, echoing through the hotel room. Groans crying out from Josh’s throat telling you that he is enjoying this as much as you are, without a condom. 

“Turn over, hands and knees” he demands.

Doing as he says he continues his assault of your sensitive g spot. Crying out in pleasure you tell him you are close. Suddenly you feel the stinging slap of his hand on your ass.

“That is for talking to another guy right in front of me.”

He slaps your ass again, “that is for letting him touch you.”

“Fuck Josh” you cry out in the most glorious pain.

He slaps you once more “and that is for being a cock tease earlier. I should have taken you over my knee right then”. He continues to pound into you from behind.

As the words leave his mouth your orgasm shoots through your body propelling you to another dimension only to be brought back to Earth when you hear Josh telling you of his impending undoing.

“Angel I am gonna cum, do you want me to pull out?” He asks hastily.

“No Josh, fill me. Im yours. I want it. Mark me as yours. ” You say completely fucked out.

“Goddamn” he grunts harshly and you feel his burning hot cum streak the walls inside of you. His cock continues to pulse inside of you giving you every last drop he has to offer.

“Jesus Christ, I am never wearing a condom again.” He says before collapsing on top of you.

“You know you should really watch your language, you were dressed as the pope tonight. Actually, should I call you father?” You ask playfully and he smiles at you he replies, “No, but you can call me Daddy.”

[fennelwrites]

the cottonweed pokemon (volo x reader)

You weren’t ungrateful, necessarily; the passage of time had worn down your stronger feelings about your present situation, and it was moving in a way to know that these beautiful vistas were created just for you. (And you’d be lying if you said Volo wasn’t good company.) But it felt a bit like living in a snow globe; picturesque and serene, but unchanging and devoid of life. Now, as you stared across the vast plain dotted with flowers, you couldn’t help but populate it with people and Pokemon in your mind.

(volo wins au. cw: stockholm syndrome (implied). contains spoilers for the postgame of pokemon legends: arceus.)

read on ao3

A soft breeze caressed your cheeks as you slowly walked through a large meadow, taking in the sight of the flowers and plants as you did. The sun was warm, but not unpleasantly so; puffy white clouds made their way across the sky, never threatening to turn into storms, and a pleasant fragrance wafted through the entire area. It was, to put it simply, perfect.

As it was intended to be.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed since the…incident at the Temple of Sinnoh. You didn’t like to think on it much; after all, does anyone truly enjoy reflecting on their failures? Though you’d defeated Volo in the initial battle, Giratina’s strength proved too much for you and your team. You fully expected to die there, shutting your eyes and bracing yourself against the Renegade Pokemon’s onslaught. But when you opened your eyes again, you were alive; so was Volo, holding you to his chest as he reveled in his victory.

The stretch of time between then and now was a blur, the days (weeks? months? years?) blending together into a thick fog in your mind. The only thing that signified time’s passage at all were the new places Volo created. On the first day, he created the meadow you stood in now; a gift, of sorts, to christen this new universe. There, he kissed you for the first time, and you kissed him back, sealing your fate among the flowers. From there, he had given rise to forests and mountains, rivers and lakes, everything you could dream of. All for the two of you to enjoy.

Alone.

You weren’t ungrateful, necessarily; the passage of time had worn down your stronger feelings about your present situation, and it was moving in a way to know that these beautiful vistas were created just for you. (And you’d be lying if you said Volo wasn’t good company.) But it felt a bit like living in a snowglobe; picturesque and serene, but unchanging and devoid of life. Now, as you stared across the vast plain dotted with flowers, you couldn’t help but populate it with people and Pokemon in your mind.

“Something troubling you, my dear?”

You didn’t have to turn around to know who it was; Volo was the only other person in this world, and by now, you knew the sound of his voice like you knew your own. You shook your head as he moved to stand beside you, both of your gazes fixated on the sprawling field. “Nothing much,” you replied. “Just thinking.”

Volo hummed in response, lightly placing a hand on your waist. “Anything you’d like to share? I do so love hearing your thoughts.”

You contemplated for a moment, deciding how best to articulate yourself, then turned to face him. “I was just thinking about some things I miss…from before.”

You tensed as Volo’s expression soured almost imperceptibly. “Oh?” he asked, his pointed question left hanging unspoken in the air between you.

“That’s not to say I don’t like it here,” you quickly added, trying to diffuse your lover’s bad mood. “I just found myself missing my Pokemon, is all. They’d love this place just as much as we do.”

Volo smiled, and you felt the tension evaporate from your body. “I see,” he said, pulling you closer and gently tucking a lock of your hair behind your ear. “I miss my Pokemon too, sometimes. I have many fond memories with them.”

“Mhm,” you replied, loosely draping your arms around his waist. “It’s not just my team, either; this meadow is lovely, but I keep expecting a Grass type or two to cross my path.”

You laid your head against his chest, listening to the gentle drum of his heartbeat. “Y’know,” you continued, gazing out at the flowers as they swayed in the breeze, “these flowers remind me of one of my favorite Pokemon.”

“Do they now?” Volo replied, his voice creating gentle vibrations on the top of your head. “Which one?”

“Not one from Hisui,” you answered. “It’s called Hoppip. I remember the first day I got to explore on my own, I searched high and low for it.” You smiled to yourself as you remembered scouring the Obsidian Fieldlands for the pink Pokemon, only to return to base camp empty handed.

Volo simply smiled, threading a finger through your hair and turning it. “Describe it to me?”

You blinked in surprise. Volo had been entirely focused on the future for the entirety of your time in this world; why would he be interested in the past worlds now? “Well,” you began, “it’s pink, and it has two leaves on top of its head…”

Volo gazed down at you as you described the Pokemon to him, occasionally interjecting with a question or comment. Soon, you found yourself describing Skiploom and Jumpluff as well at his insistence. By the time you were done, the sun had descended a fair bit in the sky, casting golden light across the meadow.

“Sorry,” you mumbled sheepishly, burying your face in his chest.

Volo laughed, gently leaning your head back. “Now what are you apologizing for? I asked you to elaborate, didn’t I?”

He pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, smoothing your hair gently with the hand not around your waist. “Anyway,” he continued, pulling away from you and taking your hand in his, “before the sun sets, you must see what I put together today.” That familiar, ambitious glint had made its way back into his visible eye, his excitement evident as he tightened his grip on your hand. “I think you’re going to like it!”

As he led you out of the meadow, you turned your head and gave the flowers one last glance; a melancholy smile formed on your face before you turned back and allowed yourself to be led away.

---

Soft grass brushed against your ankles as you once more made your way through the meadow. You knew the sun was out, but you couldn’t see it; that was thanks to the hands currently covering your eyes. Volo had informed you that he had a “surprise” for you, and though you insisted that you wouldn’t open your eyes, he took it upon himself to prevent you from cheating.

“Is this really necessary?” you asked, gesturing vaguely to the hands over your eyes as you were led through the grass.

“Of course!” Volo replied; you could hear that wide grin of his in his tone. “Would I ever lead you astray, my love?”

“...I’m going to elect not to answer that question.”

Suddenly, Volo stopped, and you stumbled over your feet for a moment before regaining your balance. “Alright, are you ready?” Volo asked, his voice right next to your ear.

“As ready as I can be,” you replied, bouncing on your toes impatiently.

When Volo removed his hands from your face, your jaw dropped.

The meadow itself had barely changed since you were last there; what had changed were the vast amounts of pink, yellow, and green creatures floating around in it. Everywhere you looked, you saw small, catlike Pokemon drifting on the breeze and calling out to each other with little chirps.

One, a dark green Pokemon with two familiar leaves on its head, drifted over to you. You held out your hand, and it settled down onto it, greeting you with a delighted chirp.

“Well?” Volo asked, catching your attention. “How did I do?”

You blinked, looking at him and then back at the small creature in your hand. Was this…his idea of a Hoppip? You gently pet the Pokemon, smiling as it purred. “They’re adorable,” you finally managed to say.

The not-Hoppip chirped, as if signaling its joy at your approval.

“Just adorable?” Volo pressed, his grip on your waist tightening ever so slightly. “Is it accurate?”

You frowned, unsure of quite how to phrase the fact that he’d gotten the colors wrong. “Well…”

“Say no more,” Volo interjected, reaching for the not-Hoppip in your hand. “I can start over–”

“No!” you exclaimed, pulling the Pokemon away from him. “It’s…that won’t be necessary.”

“Why not?” Volo asked, a worried expression forming on his features. “I want them to be perfect for you.”

Your face flushed as you met his gaze; you’d never seen such genuine emotion in Volo’s eyes. At least, not this kind of emotion; the mania in his eyes at the temple was certainly genuine. But this nervousness, this desperation…this was new.

The realization hit you like a truck: he wasn’t talking about the Hoppip at all.

You gazed down at the not-Hoppip in your hand again, smiling as it chirped at you. “They are perfect,” you said, gently petting the leaves atop its head. “Sure, they’re not the Hoppip from my world. But I love them for what they are, not what they aren’t.” You set the not-Hoppip adrift on the breeze again, then turned to face Volo fully. “Thank you,” you concluded, reaching up and gently caressing his cheek with your hand. “These Pokemon…this world…they’re wonderful.”

A nervous smile formed on Volo’s face as he gently pulled you closer by the waist. “Good,” he said softly. “I’m glad.”

You didn’t miss the way his grip tightened as he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours; it reminded you of the first time the two of you had kissed in this meadow. That day, you’d been a mess of nerves, overwhelmed by everything new around you. And though you knew Volo was responsible, you couldn’t help but cling to him; he was a comforting bastion of familiarity in a new, unknown world.

Now, though, he clung to you; it was as if he was afraid you’d drift away if he let go. The tension in his hands betrayed the gentleness of the kiss you shared. In that moment, it became clear: he was lonely, just as you were.

You were the one to draw back first, immediately pulling Volo into a tight embrace. A few bright yellow not-Skiploom drifted by, and you smiled as you felt the tension disperse from Volo’s frame. He pulled back slightly, gently touching his forehead to yours, and met your gaze with a genuine smile.

“So, what kind of Pokemon would you like next?”

[obey-only-me]

The Brothers and Diavolo’s First Kiss with MC By: Akuzondelivery

Lucifer

- You had stayed behind to help clean up after the student council. Lucifer stayed as well to walk you home.

- On the way out you dropped some of the folders and documents from today’s meeting.

- “I’ll help, you’ve already done so much. Thank you MC.” Those eyes and that smirk looked up to you.

- You suddenly felt how close you were to him and stiffened.

- It was Lucifer who was so good at reading you, he noticed your tensed demeanor.

- “What’s wrong?” His gloved fingers reached to tuck a strand of hair away from your face. Though you were trying to hide it at the moment.

- “No, nothing’s wrong. Ready to go?”

- You hurriedly placed the stray papers away and turned to a looming gaze.

- “Oh-!” Lucifer gently lifted your chin and placed a soft kiss on your cheek. Something he’d done to tease you in the past.

- He pulled away with a smirk, fully intending to stop there but something just clicked.

- He eased forward again to ensnare your lips in his. You let your impulses get the best of you as you kissed back, bracing yourself against his chest.

- Breaking for a moment his crimson eyes focused solely on you

- “I...lets continue this in my room.”

Mammon

- You sat together on the floor of your room while watching a drama.

- He had spent some time during the episode play on his DDD.

- “Hey! MC! Check it out, I’m on the new ad for that last shoot I did!”

- A lot of attractive female and male demons wore formal wear mixed with sportswear.

- And there dead center was Mammon looking as gorgeous as ever. For some reason you felt a rush of heat run to your face.

- “H-hey, what’s with that look?” Shit he noticed right away.

- Instinctively you covered your face with your hands to hide. “Don’t look dummy!”

- You hear him come closer, laughing like an asshole.

- “Oh so MC can’t be charmed by Asmo but by the Great Mammon?”

- You feel his hands on your wrists as he gently placed a kiss on your forehead.

- “C’mon, let me see your face. I want to enjoy this moment!”

- You lower your hands with a frustrated pout, face red like a cherry.

- “Aw don’t pout at-“

- You cut him off with a lip crashing kiss, leaning into him with a little more enthusiasm than you expected.

- There was a long pause after as you both stared at each other’s redden expressions of surprise.

- “You...you should...do that again.” He whispered, staring at your lips.

Levi

- You knock on Levi’s door with the final season of the newest anime craze from the human world.

- Today the two of you are bingeing the whole thing! Levi almost snatched you into the room already excited to start.

- You sit side by side with your finale survival kit. Tissues, bandaids, chocolate, blanket, Teddy Beel, and of course a Ruri-Chan plushie.

- Fast forward four hours and the chocolate is gone, the blanket is in use, and Levi had a bandaid on his hand that he slammed into the floor after a particularly hard to watch scene.

- “It’s just...so hard to say goodbye to this world.” Levi sobbed.

- “I know, my heart isn’t ready to say goodbye to Akira senpai!”

- “MC! I! Will be your Akira senpai!” Levi had turned to hold your hands together as he spoke.

- He seemed so serious but you knew he was caught up with the story.

- You smiled but couldn’t reply as he gave you a sweet and tender kiss.

- “That’s-that’s my confession...to you MC. I’m! I'm confessing to you MC!”

- You are absolutely stunned, thinking carefully a moment you return his kiss, throwing the blanket over you two to hide your blushing face.

Asmo

- You met up with Asmo to shop for a new casual outfit.

- After finding a store with lots of things you liked, Asmo asked for a fashion show.

- If a piece looked particularly good he would applaud and ask for a strut.

- After you were done changing into your street clothes Asmo is standing right outside the changing room door.

- Kabe Don, obviously still trying to enchant you even though it’s never worked.

- “You know I'd love to see you model some things for me privately.”

- You laugh, knowing how flirty he gets.

- “Well that’s too bad, I’d rather put on a show”.

- Without warning you leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips.

- You whimsically brush pass a frozen Asmo toward the checkout counter.

- Asmo is taken completely off guard and sputters out an inaudible response.

- Determined to return the favor tenfold.

Satan

- You were in the library in Satan’s room, returning a book he leant you.

- He turned from a shelf he was scanning to greet you.

- After placing the book on a nearby table you leaned against the table while resting against it, facing Satan as he walked closer to you.

- “I’m glad you liked the book, there are a few more in that series you should try.”

- He brought over three other volumes and placed them on the table next to you. Very slightly his face grazed yours.

- He realizes how close he is to you after noticing your blush.

- “Your face is so red...what are you thinking?”

- You let out a small noise as he closes the distance between you, fitting himself between your legs as you hop to sit on the edge.

- Kisses you gently, intending to pull away until he feels you push back slightly.

- Thought he would just tease you but ends up holding your hips closer as he continues.

- Tongue gently asks for permission to enter before twirling and kneading yours.

- You’re a red, blushing mess when he’s done with you.

- “Hm hm, you’re so cute MC...”

- Goes for a few more kisses.

Beel

- You were meeting Beel at the gym to get a bite at Hell’s Kitchen.

- A game was coming up and he’s been training a lot more than usual.

- He had just finished his last set on the weight bench.

- “Give me a sec to clean up.”

- You wiped the bench down and waited for him to get out of the locker room.

- Beel had a twisted look of discomfort when he came back.

- “Ugh, my arm is sore. I might have done too much.”

- “Here, show me where.” You said while already grabbing the right bicep.

- Your fingers kneaded gently where the muscle felt tense, focusing on how firm his arm and the rest of him felt. All while standing so close together.

- Beel stayed silent until you looked up to gauge his reaction.

- Before you could ask anything he kissed you gently, lingering when you didn’t pull away.

- “That feels better, thank you”

- Maybe he didn’t think anything of it as a demon but you as a human were glued to that spot, savoring the moment.

- “C-can...I have another?”

Belphie

- You were waiting in the garden at your favorite napping spot.

- Belphie was on his way to join you but you’ve been studying a lot and couldn’t fight it anymore.

- He saw you spread out on your blanket asleep already and pouted slightly.

- “No fair, we were suppose to nap together.” He mumbled as he threw a pillow down next to you and slowly slithered himself around you.

- Loooong cuddles turned into tight hugs. Has your body always been this warm and soft? Suddenly he couldn’t get enough contact with you. He wanted more.

- You shifted slightly before turning around in his arms to face him.

- The way you smiled in your sleep was irresistible to him.

- Softly Belphie pressed his lips against yours. Trying not to wake you, he gave you several more kisses.

- After deciding he’d pushed his luck enough he pulled away, but you were already heading towards his lips with another kiss.

- You wore a sly look as his cheeks grew flush.

- Completely shocked he froze. “I couldn’t help it...I want to kiss you more too.”

Diavolo

- Was very excited to have you visit the palace. You had asked him for a gift next time he went to the human world.

- He had just arrived back and summoned you to his palace to show it off.

- You watched as he brought out a 2000 piece puzzle of kittens in a basket.

- “Humans love these right? I found so many of them and so cheap!”

- So precious, you can’t help but start the puzzle with him. He watched as you shared your strategy to make the puzzle easier.

- Diavolo listened to you intently, smiling while watching your nimble fingers dance around for the right piece. Spending time with you was more important to him anything.

- After completing a corner you noticed Diavolo had stopped putting pieces together.

- “Do you need a break?” You asked with a smile, knowing this could be overwhelming.

- Instead he lifted your fingers and gently brushed his lips against them. Your face beamed with a deep red glow.

- But the prince didn’t hesitate to take advantage of your frozen state, placing an equally soft kiss on your lips.

- “I’ll take that as repayment...”

[cow-smells]

You’re Mine [Eli Hawk Moskowitz x Reader]

Requests: 1. there’s a new girl on miyagi-do, she’s classmates with sam, hawk, miguel, tory, robby, demetri, etc... for some reason, she and hawk didn’t like each other (he can be on cobra kai or eagle fangs, that’s your choice), and one day they make a bet, which this girl wins. hawk has to be her slave for a whole week. BONUS IDEA: a stolen kiss during a fight. maybe admitting feelings for each other? i’d love that! ( @berriewrites​ ) 2. love the hawk smut but i’d also love some fluffy hawk about him secretly liking the reader who’s in miyagido but he tries to act all tough and hide it (anon) 3. AHHH CAN WE GET SOME HAWK FLUFF!? I love the idea where you swear that you don’t like him and you guys make eye contact from a distance when he’s standing with his friend group and you’re standing with yours and you get flustered and he can tell and he smirks and just ahh (anon)

A/N: this took so longggg this came out longer than expected (and honestly i could go on, but i wanted to get this out already) + real life has come hitting all at once and its been overwhelming lol. thanks for being patient and sticking around <3 i enjoyed writing some fluff (amidst a flurry of smut reuests loool :)

Words: 2981

Warnings: none

Read this on AO3

Summary: You don't like Hawk. He's a bad person, that much you know for sure. You're ready to make his life miserable when he loses a bet with you, but then you actually have to spend time with him...

   You didn't like this.

Forgiveness seemed to be a virtue that evaded you. Eagle-fang and Miagi-Do were uniting and everyone seemed to be all for the union – except for you.

Some things were simply unforgivable. For you, Hawk breaking Demetri's arm was one of them.

You and Demetri became nearly inseparable friends when you both joined Miagi-Do. He had told you all about his former friend Eli and how he'd abandoned him in the favor of bullying him in any way he could come up with; that bullying taking a turn to the extreme when Hawk took to breaking bones.

    Demetri had since forgiven him, but you hadn't.

Demetri had a softer heart than he let on, and he missed Eli terribly, so when the latter suggested they work together he gladly accepted.

But you were more objective about the situation, as you weren't a part of it, and forgiving such cruelty was beyond you.

    The one good thing about the dojos coming together was the intense dedication that grew on everyone. Now that you had a common enemy, many participants would hang around in Miyagi-Do's dojo long after training sessions, training until you could hardly move your limbs.

     The sun had ago long fallen when you and the remaining students took places around a mat, ready for the sparring session to begin.

With Daniel and Sensei Lawrence gone, you had taken to writing down names and pulling them out of a bowl to decide on sparring partners.

    All the negative emotions you felt channeled in to great excitement when Miguel called your name – followed by Hawk's.

You could have sworn you saw a look of something you couldn't read – concern, perhaps, or fear? Before he seemed to share your excitement as he stepped on to the mat with a grin that was almost predatory.

    Two could play at that game.

    “You're as good as dead,” you said, your voice dripping venom. Hawk's smirk just grew.

    “Is that so, princess? I'd like to see you score as much as a point.”

A light bulb lit in your mind.

    “Yeah?” you taunted. “What if I get three?”

Hawk laughed. “You got a lot of confidence, don't you? I'll tell you what. If you can score three points on me and win, I'll...” He bit his lip as he thought. “I'll let you boss me around for a week. Whatever you want.”

The blood rushed through your veins, ready more than ever to fight. You were grateful for the lack of your sensei, knowing this nonsense wouldn't stand if he were here.

    “Deal.”

    “Are you guys done?” Miguel huffed, standing between you two, ready to referee. “Good. Bow.”

    You bowed without intent and got straight to attacking. Hawk didn't expect it; he came from the dojo that prides itself on strike first and yours cared mainly about defense. You earned your first point within seconds.

    That only served to throw Hawk off his game further. He dived in right away for the attack and was caught unprepared when you fell, sweeping his leg.

    You earned your second point.

By that point, Hawk might as well have been fuming out the ears. His brows furrowed in anger as he looked at you like you were the most vile thing he had ever seen; that satisfied something within you.

    The flurry of hits and misses was so rapid you were caught unprepared when you managed to land a punch on Hawk, Miguel's voice rising as he named you victor.

    Hawk huffed, clearly exerted. You smiled. “You're mine.”

You were fully intending to use this bet to its full potential.

The next day was Saturday, and Hawk, true to his word, showed up at your doorstep at 9 p.m sharp, just as you had ordered.

You paid him no kindness when you opened the door, not exchanging a word with him before demanding: “Helmet?”

Hawk handed you a helmet, not looking particularly pleased about the situation but not being able to stop himself from taking in an eyeful of you anyway.

You needed a ride to tonight's party – that's where Hawk came in, beginning his work for you as a personal valet. Accordingly for the event, you were dressed meticulously, showing off your best features – and if you were to judge by Hawks reaction, you were on your way to turn heads.

You climbed on the motorcycle after him, circling your arms around him loosely; but when he kicked off and started the ride, you couldn't help but tighten your hold.

    The party was overcrowded with people from the moment you got there; Yasmine's parties tended to get a bit... excessive.

You ditched Hawk the moment you got sight of your friends, ditching the helmet on his bike to run over to Sam, Moon and Yasmine.

Yasmine didn't hide the dirty look she sent at Hawk. “Ew. Who's the freak?”

You grinned proudly. “My valet. Ignore him. Actually...”

You looked over to the drinks table; someone had tapped a keg and it was being swarmed with people.

    “Hey, Hawk!”

Hawk turned to you, the slightest furrow in his brow as he had already joined his own friends. You pointed at the drinks table. “Vodka soda!” you ordered.

He rolled his eyes, but did it anyway. Your friends watched wide-eyed as he obeyed you wordlessly, bringing over the drink. “Anything else, princess?”

    “Yes,” you gave him a judging once-over. “Don't drink tonight. I want to get home in one piece.”

He bit his cheeks and glared at you before growling “Fine” and returning to his friends.

At some point you didn't even want a drink any more, it was just fun ordering Hawk to go fetch you another one; and so, you found yourself unintentionally drunk, laughing mindlessly at anything said and swaying on your feet.

You didn't even know how late it had gotten when Hawk came in the living room looking for you, ready to go home as most the others already had.

You had earlier made him promise to take you home as well, and – something you were quickly learning was, Hawk was definitely a man of his word. He spotted you half-sprawled on the couch, laughing with Yasmine at something you didn't fully register. Your cup was askew in your hand, contents about to spill over when Hawk grabbed it out of your hand, placing it on a table nearby.

    “Come on, Y/n. It's time to go.”

    “Not yet!” you grinned gleefully, taking hold of his wrist and shaking it dumbly as you spoke. “Later! We're having fun!”

Hawk placed his free hand on yours that held him. “It's four AM, Y/n, time to call it a night.”

    You didn't reply, instead resorting to pouting like a child.

His eyes softened (the puppy eyes never failed to work) – but his jaw clenched. “If you don't come now I'm leaving you here.”

    “Fine!” you hurriedly rose to your feet, using Hawk for balance. “Bye,” you pouted at Yasmine childishly as Hawk pulled you away from her and out of the house.

The sudden quiet of the outside was nearly overwhelming, Hawk's voice sounding too loud for you. “How am I supposed to get you home when you're this drunk?”

    “I'm not drunk,” you answered instinctively, knowing that you very well were.

    “If you can make it to the bike in a straight line, I'll believe you.” You look at his bike, ten feet ahead. You decide to keep holding on to him. “That's what I thought. Listen. You gotta stay awake, okay? I can't have you falling off in the middle of the road, or making me sway, because then we're both dead. Got it?”

    “Dead. Got it.”

Hawk didn't look convinced, but placed a helmet on you and buckled it anyway.

It was about ten minutes in to the ride when Hawk pulled over. He turned to you, his voice as serious as he could make it; you simply smiled, somewhat dazed. “This isn't going to work.”

    “Hm?”

    “Y/n!” Hawk called, trying to wake you up a little. “Don't fall asleep!”

    “Yes, sensei.” you slurred. Had you been any more awake, you might have noticed the way Hawk's eyes widened at that.

Hawk had to refocus himself to go on. “I'm serious. Look... My house is closer than yours. You can sleep it off at mine, and I'll take you wherever tomorrow. Okay?”

    “Okay,” you shrugged, your mind not caring about much other than regaining the warmth of Hawk's body pressed against yours.

Minutes later you pulled up at an unfamiliar house. Hawk unbuckled your helmet and set it aside, helping you off the bike and guiding you inside, motioning Shhh as he led you through the corridor of his darkened house until you reached his room.

The most natural thing for you to do the moment you saw a bed was to collapse on it. In the seconds Hawk turned his back on you to find you Pj's to wear, you had fallen asleep.

    Looking at you on his bed, Hawk exhaled heavily. He was very aware of your hatred of him; what he couldn't understand was, if everyone else forgave him, why not you?

It certainly didn't help that you looked the way you do, that you were talented, and that everyone loved you.

So Hawk undid your shoes and pulled them off, laying a blanket on you before leaving you to sleep.

    You woke up groggy, somewhat hungover and in a strangers room; an interesting start to the day.

You didn't really want to leave the comfort of your lonesome in the room but it was clear you would have to face the music at some point, so you womaned up and left the room.

Following the smell of food cooking, you walk down a hallway to find a red-haired man in the kitchen, his tattooed back to you, muscles flexing as he flipped a pancake.

With his hair down, it took you a moment to register who you're seeing; who's bed you spent the night in.

    Hawk.

Your first instinct was to groan, to cower in to yourself in regret; but then you remember how tenderly he treated you the night prior, making sure you got safely to a bed, letting you have his bed.

You swallowed your pride and stepped in to the kitchen. “Morning.”

Hawk's shoulders jumped in fright as you startled him; you couldn't help but giggle. He quickly rightened himself, straightening his back and flexing his abs as he turned to you.

    He was good looking and he knew it. You hated him.

However, you felt your power returning to you as he couldn't help but look you up and down, your disheveled clothes revealing a bit more than they had the night before. Hawk inhaled sharply, reminding himself of who he was, how he was supposed to act: unfazed.

    “Bout time you got up.”

You frowned, looking at the kitchen clock. “What do you mean about time? It isn't even noon yet.”

    “Yeah, well,” Hawk flipped a pancake on to a nearby plate. “You wanted me to take you to the mall today, right? I have practice later, so it's gotta be now.” The Eagle-fangs were holding weekend practices of their own, something you weren't a fan of.

    “Jeez, fine,” you sneered, allowing yourself to sit at the kitchen table. Amidst the chaos that was waking up in Hawks bed, you had totally forgot you previously asked him to take you out today. Yasmine's parents were making her take tutoring lessons, Moon was doing some spiritual healing thing and Sam was with Miguel, so you were left all alone – but you certainly didn't intend on spending Sunday at home, doing nothing.

    Hawk finally shut off the burner and joined you at the table with a stack of pancakes and two plates in tow. “Eat away your hangover. I'm not gonna hold your hair up if you hurl.”

Breakfast with Hawk ended up being a surprisingly civil affair; so was shopping. There was something exciting about dragging him along after you, shop after shop, having him carry your bags and modeling clothes for him. And honestly, you were loving the effect you had on him. You knew he was trying to hide it, but you could see the way he grew antsy when you tried on bikinis. You loved teasing him, knowing he couldn't have you.

    What also didn't hurt was the way you two turned heads walking down streets together. You were undeniably gorgeous, and he... While at first you thought it was the bright red mohawk that grabbed peoples eyes, after a close inspection you couldn't deny he had fair features, too. You had to look away whenever he tensed his jaw, accentuating his jawline, or if God forbid he smiled, you had to deny the way his smile made your stomach knot up.

    As though to top off the experience of him, by the time you finished shopping, Hawk would have been late if he was to take you home, so you suggested he take you to practice with him and just take you home once he was finished. And oh my... You did not need to see him fighting. Having a whole hour to see his biceps flexing as the threw punches was doing you no favors; when you were both practicing you were too busy with yourself to notice him, but right then you had a whole hour to do nothing but stare.

At the end of the practice you rose when Hawk approached you, ready to go. When his sensei understood you were waiting there for him, he asked Hawk, “Yours?”

Hawk didn't answer; he merely smirked that Hawk smirk of his. His sensei nodded proudly. “Nice.” Creep.

You had a couple more days to squeeze the most you could out of your bet, and by all means were you planning on using them.

Hawk was taking you to school and home every day on the back of his bike – to Miyagi-do, too. It became a regular thing to see you two together, and if anyone was expecting you, they expected Hawk, too.

Just as the previous mornings, you and Hawk walked in to school together. Seeing your friends, you bid him goodbye and went to join them, your eyes lingering on him a bit too long as he said hello to Miguel.

Yasmine's jaw dropped as she looked at you, her expression scandalized. “What?” you asked.

    “You're totally in to the freak!”

    “What? No,” you denied – but even as the words left your mouth, you could hear your lack of conviction. “No.”

You looked back to where Hawk and Miguel stood; this time, he caught your eye. Then, with total audacity, he winked at you.

You felt heat rush through your body.

The smirk that grew on him suggested he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

    You hated it.

Deciding to put an end to this madness, you wordlessly leave your friends and march up to Hawk, a new rage running though you.

He stopped talking with Miguel when you reached him; Miguel visibly tensed at what he felt was a dangerous situation for him to be in.

    “Sidebar,” you ordered. Hawk smirked.

    “After you, princess.”

You hoped no one would notice when you lured him in to an empty classroom, but in all honesty, it was you and Hawk. There were always eyes on you two.

You turned to him once you were engulfed in the silence of the room. “Listen. I don't know what you're playing at, but cut it out. I own you, got it? Don't go winking at me in the hallway like I'm your girlfriend or something.”

You expected to see him cower, blush, show any sign of intimidation – but there was no such emotion. The smirk he wore only grew in confidence. “You sure about that?” he asked cheekily. “Because it seems to me like you'll find any excuse to be around me.”

You couldn't believe the audacity of this boy. You were stunted for words; he went on. “Be honest with yourself. Once the week is up, you'll still find reasons to talk to me.”

You bit your cheeks; you hated how he was right, how he read you so easily. “And look, I'm done playing this game too.”

Your stomach dropped. Was he about to reject you, without you even confessing? “I'm not playing with you,” you tried to say intimidatingly, but your voice came out too small for comfort.

    “Me neither. So...” Hawk looked down at you; you could have drowned in his ocean eyes. You averted your gaze to the side, crossing your arms.

    “Fine. We can call it off early.”

Hawk chuckled. You wanted to punch him. “You still don't get it, do you?”

You returned your eyes to Hawk, ready to chew him out when he placed his hands on your cheeks, pulling you to him for a kiss.

You could feel yourself melting in to the kiss, feeling a rush of adrenaline run through you as you finally got to experience what you didn't want to admit to yourself that you craved so deeply.

When he finally pulled away, he kept his hands on you, your noses nearly touching. “I've wanted to do that for a long time,” Hawk admitted.

You half-smiled. “It's only been a week.”

Hawk had burst in laughter, his thumbs caressing your cheeks. “You still don't get it.” Before you could protest his words, his lips met your once more.

    Maybe you could find it in you to forgive him, after all.

[storiesofsvu]

The Washington Saga Pt 7

Elizabeth Keane x fem!reader hint of Casey Novak x OC Mentions of Elizabeth Keane x female reader x Casey Novak. Warnings: language, lots of political drama, maybe a mention of sex crimes. Hints towards smut. 4142 words…

A couple of days had passed since you had arrested O’keefe, and he still hadn’t lawyered up, choosing to stay in lock up over anything else. You figured he was trying to sort out which charges he could actually be charged with, and how severe they would be, and if he had a way out of them. You’d done a fair share of digging, but weren’t able to find much so far, though it was confirmed that he had posted the Andrew video, though it had been sent to him from someone else.

Currently, you, Beth and Casey were flitting around the residence, getting ready for the day, the coffee was flowing freely, Casey at the helm of making breakfast, Nic trotting around at her feet while he waited patiently for any dropped food. Beth smiled softly in the ensuite, wrapping her arms around your waist as she pressed a gentle trail of kisses into your neck while you finished your make up.

“Mornings like this are far superior.” She murmured and you smiled.

“They truly are.” You replied, twisting your head so you could catch her lips in a kiss.

“You look beautiful.” She pressed a soft kiss to your clothed shoulder and you felt your cheeks heat.

“So do you M’am.” You assured her, tossing her a warm grin through the mirror before she left a kiss on your temple, moving back through the bedroom to grab her coffee again.

There was some casual small talk throughout breakfast as you updated each other on your current situations, but things were mainly light, friendly, not indulging too much into work until you were working on putting dishes into the sink to add to Casey’s small load that she’d offered to do.

“Hey…what’s the twenty fifth?” She asked, not even glancing over her shoulder from the sink. Your eyes slipped to the calendar as you sipped at your coffee.

“Tuesday.”

“No.” Casey half laughed, “maybe it’s an amendment or something? Intake the twenty fifth? Revoke it? I can’t remember…”

Both you and Beth froze, your eyes meeting as hers coffee mug hit the island much heavier than she’d intended it to, she would have been concerned about it breaking if it hadn’t been for Casey’s words.

“What?” Her voice hardened, causing Casey to freeze, realizing she’d accidentally brought up a touchy subject. Beth’s eyes narrowed as she looked back to you, letting you take the lead in the conversation considering Casey was your friend and you’d know much easier how to coax things out of her, and the last thing Beth wanted right now was to push the wrong buttons through yelling or freaking out.

“Do you mean invoke? Invoke the twenty fifth?”

“Oh…yeah…that was it..” She fumbled, trying to cover as it was clearly a big issue but she couldn’t exactly bring up the very illegal things she’d been doing to try to help keep an eye on things as you figured them out legally. She’d already dismantled her own career, she couldn’t take down anyone else with her. You and Beth exchanged another very worried yet angry glance, the older woman’s hands gripping tightly around her coffee mug as she waited for you to press for more information.

“Where the fuck did you hear that?” You asked, your attention now fully on the strawberry blonde still standing at the sink.

“I’m not sure?” She shrugged sheepishly, barely glancing over her shoulder at the two of you, “might’ve read it in a book somewhere? Overheard someone I maybe shouldn’t have? Is…it’s…bad isn’t it?” She winced.

“It means someone truly believes Elizabeth isn’t fit for office!” You practically snapped back, “it’s invoked when the current president dies, isn’t in their right mind, or is physically too incompetent to continue to run the country so the VP steps in! If someone is trying to invoke it during the campaign?! We’re fucking done for.”

“I..I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s not like you knew, Case, I’m sorry, things are just…on edge right now.” You apologized, your eyes shooting to Beth as her phone beeped, your hand squeezed at her wrist reassuringly.

“That’s Rob.” She muttered, “I’ve got to go.” She paused very briefly to kiss your cheek before turning to the other woman, “and Casey? You try like hell to remember where you heard that, you hear me?”

“Yes M’am.” Casey ducked her gaze from Beth’s, knowing that this was all business talk despite being in the residence.

You let out a heavy sigh, your eyes closing briefly as you ran your had over your face, sucking back the rest of your coffee.

“We should get going.” You murmured, “we’ll be needed in the West Wing today.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” Casey apologized, knowing that she’d made a potentially decent day go down the drain right at the start.

“No. It’s fine.” You squeeze at her shoulder, “if you overheard it somewhere it’s better we have a heads up rather than it come out of the blue.”

You gathered your things, double checking all the electronics were turned off before you turned to Nic, letting out a quiet whistle, “you coming to work today boy?” He let out a very excited bark and bounded towards the door, practically pawing at it knowing he would get extra treats and all the scratches if he made it to the West Wing and specifically to Paley’s office. You made sure the residence was locked and made your way through the halls, Nic happily trotting away, pausing for pets from basically everyone you encountered on your way to the other half of the White House.

“Uh…” Casey began, “would…now be a bad time to say that I have plans tonight?”

“Plans for what?” Your head titled as you looked up at her.

“Uh…dinner…mainly….”

“Wait..” you nearly stalled in your tracks, “did…did you meet someone out here?” Your face broke into a grin and Casey laughed as her cheeks flushed.

“Yeah?”

“Oh my god! Casey you have been holding out on me!”

“She’s…one of the tour guides, her name is Alice.” She flushed, admitting the few things she for sure knew about the girl, though they had been pretty regularly texting.

“Jesus.” You laughed, “I get multiple criminal cases leading to The Supreme Court and you get a girlfriend, how is that fair?”

“I mean… you do have…” she murmured, noticing the frown taking over your face as she gestured in the direction of the Oval.

“Yeah…” you glanced around quickly before lowering your voice, “the most important secret in the country for the next four years.”

Casey shot you a soft, sympathetic glance as you rounded the corner nearly straight into Carrie, who had clearly been waiting outside of your office. You went through quick greetings before she wanted to start going through things with you about what they’d found so far on O’Keefe’s computers, so you settled into work.

**

Carrie had left after an hour of giving you updates and printouts of what Max had found, needing to get back to her own work. Currently, you were pretending to go over it while you were trying not to stare at Casey.

You knew she knew something.

You’d known her for far too long to (now, properly caffeinated and not distracted by Beth’s softness) realize that she certainly had been asking about invoking the twenty fifth. She’d been fidgety and avoiding your gaze all morning, any conversation was left to scarce responses, barely a glance and one word answers. You were about to call her on her bullshit when Saul knocked on the office door and your attention got rerouted to him.

“O’Keefe wants to talk.” He stated.

“Okay, so go for it.”

“He only wants to talk to you.”

“Fuck.” You rolled your eyes, collecting the file you had on him already, you nodded to Casey and followed Saul through the halls of the White House until he lead you into the professional side of an interrogation room. You briefly greeted Heather who was standing on your side of the glass, part of you was intimidated by her watching your interrogation, but part of you knew she was only there for a second legal eye on the situation. “You sure he isn’t just playing games? We already have his electronics….he’s going down for this child porn charges.”

“I think he knows more than that.” Saul replied and you raised a brow, “beyond the Andrew video….he knows who sent it to him, and he knows more…he just wants queen for a day before he’ll give it up.”

“Did he ask for queen for a day?”

“Not in those words.” He sighed, “but he thinks whatever he knows is enough to lower the charges set against him.”

“He doesn’t even know the full set of charges?” You groaned, “considering he stupidly hasn’t lawyered up yet.”

“Yeah well…he’s a cocky asshole.”

“Like I don’t already know that.” You stated dryly, nodding to Saul to follow you into the room, “Mr. O’Keefe, you had a good couple of days?”

You crossed through the room, your file folder dropping onto a spare table as you sat on the ledge of the table perpendicular to where he was sitting at the table as Saul settled against the wall, only waiting to step in when you absolutely needed it.

“Wonderful.” He mocked in his drawl that made your stomach churn, “you know you could really do something about the facilities.”

“Not my problem.” You replied with a smirk, “I have about a million other more important things to do right now, so what is it that you think is so good it’ll get you off the hook?”

“I can tell you where the Andrew Keane video came from.”

“And our computers can tell us the same by lunch. Do better.”

“Your computers will tell you a burner email address, but before you waste your time tracing it, the pieces of the video came from an a combination of a US Army issued computer bin number….and a White House computer bin number.”

“I don’t have time to play games O’Keefe!” You slid off the table, your hands gripping it as you leant over him, “you want some of your charges lessened or dropped? I’d start fucking talking.”

“General McClendon’s death wasn’t a heart attack.”

“God if you are about to start your hate speech and say that it was Keane’s fault? You’re wrong!”

“You’re awfully defensive.” He smirked and you felt your blood boil.

“I’m her attorney.” You reminded him through gritted teeth and he chuckled.

“It was organized.” He leant back against his chair, “all of it. The first bombing, the assassination attempt, the entire ploy to destroy her presidency? They tried to take her down so far as to pin a fucking murder on her, to tarnish her image because of her coward son?!” You cast him a very hard glare at that one, “Keane should never have been president in the first place.” He glared up at you.

“Okay.” You smiled softly, “so give me proof. I don’t give a flying fuck about what you did with anything sent to you, but I’m much more concerned about what you know about the assassination, about bombs, and who sent you the video of Andrew, because it was someone tarnishing political privilege.”

“What do I get from it?” He asked with a grin and you glanced back to Saul.

“Your child pornography distribution charges will be dropped to misdemeanour. And considering you were a small distributor I might be able to avoid the registry.”

“That’s all you’ve got?”

“That’s an extra eight years dropped off Brett…” you rolled your eyes.

There was a moment where you held each other’s eye contact, daring the other to break first, O’Keefe had a lot more on the table than you could ever dream of, he was done for, federally or less than. He finally let out a huge grumble, running his hands over his face as he realized that everyone he was involved with was incredibly higher up than him. That if the situation got out otherwise, he would be the one thrown under the bus, especially considering he already had warrants out for his arrest.

“General McClendon was in charge of the assassination. He had orders to take down the President no matter what, and they would pin it on Peter Quinn. When that didn’t happen…we thought during the campaign would be the best spot. Paley had McClendon killed, thinking it would have Keane impeached but it took too long.” You let a small swear out, knowing there was a reason you never trusted the senator as O’Keefe huffed.

“What?” You snapped.

“Don’t I get something out of this?” He asked and you rolled your eyes.

“If this information checks out I’ll take a year off your federal sentence. Now keep talking.”

“The witness they have?” O’Keefe smirked and you grimaced, “she’s been sleeping with Paley for years.” He abruptly stopped talking at that point and you sighed, rolling your eyes.

“I suppose you think you’ve given me enough?”

“I think I’ve given you everything.” He raised his wrist, gesturing to the fact that it was cuffed to the table and you laughed.

“Bold.” You moved through the room, “we’re gonna go verify your bullshit and see how many lies are true and then we’ll maybe let you go from the table.”

You gave him the tiniest of smiles as you left the room, followed by Saul, who immediately asked,

“What now?”

“We dig as far as we can into everything O’Keefe just told us.” You let out a breath, “and in the meantime, this is absolute hush hush, the three of us, Carrie and Max. Absolutely no one else.” You assured.

“Not even the President?” Saul eyed you in the ‘this isn’t work’ way and you nodded.

“She’s in the middle of a campaign, she doesn’t need potential rumours and bullshit destroying her mental state right now.”

“Okay.” He gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Before you could even turn to Heather your phone rang, you nearly rolled your eyes, pulling it up to your ear.

“Yeah?”

“It’s Carrie. We found where the Andrew video came from, and traced the bin numbers.”

“And?” You felt your heart race in your chest.

“One comes from McClendon’s laptop and one from Paley’s desktop in the White House.”

“Thank fucking god.” You nearly dropped the phone as you hung up, turning back to Heather, “can we get warrants for all of Paley’s electronics?”

“Off a criminal’s word?” She raised a brow.

“We have physical evidence the emails came from him.”

“Then meet me in my office in an hour.” She smirked, and you felt your breath catch in your throat as her eyes flicked down then rake up your body slowly, “you know, you’re pretty hot when you’re all riled up.” She smirked as she vanished from the room and you felt your cheeks heat as you fumbled with your things, nearly sputtering at the look on Saul’s face.

“What?” You asked, trying to avoid his gaze.

“You have a type.” He laughed and you scoffed, swatting at his arm.

“She is married! And you know I would never do that to Beth. Besides! She was hitting on me!”

“Live while you’re young.” He teased with a laugh and you scoffed again.

“Yeah, maybe while I’m not trying to dismantle an entire political take down.” You picked up your phone again, beginning to dial Carrie’s number, “I’ll call you as soon as shit gets going.”

You gave Saul a brief nod before you left the room, moving through the White House to where you were needed to be. You ever so briefly caught sight of Nic inside Paley’s office and you nearly growled at the sight, whistling at him to get out of the space, to trot around after you for the next little bit before returning to the residence.

**

Beth was, as usual, completely exhausted as she trudged her way through the halls, ever so thankful that Rob was willing to take on a little bit of extra paperwork while she worked her way through the process that a campaign brought. Originally she’d thought maybe it would be a little bit less work considering she was was already in office, but these recent smear campaigns meant it was just as hard, if not worse. She’d never been happier that she’d pulled you on staff, knowing that you knew just the little tweaks and leverage to make things happen, not to mention the added company.

She was pleasantly surprised when she pushed open the door to the residence to find Nic immediately greeting her. She gave him a few moments of scratches as she kicked off her shoes before she moved through the space, finding you in the kitchen, her heart warming at the sight.

“You spoiling me?” She asked softly as your head turned, laughing as you realized she was home.

“Your day was probably much more annoying than mine.” You greeted her with a gentle kiss that she hummed against your lips, “it’s the least I could do.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, kissing you once more before she moved around the island, “Casey here?”

“Casey…” you smirked, leaning against the island to face Beth as she moved through the space, “went out for dinner…and I’m pretty sure it’s a date.”

“Oh?” Beth raised a brow, “and here I was thinking you were going to convince her in to joining us.” She smirked and you laughed.

“She’s only in D.C temporarily, I’m sure if you wanted her to join she won’t say no.”

“Yet she’s on a date with someone?” Beth teased, retreating into the bedroom.

“I will keep you updated, considering you seem so obsessed with her.” You teased back with a laugh, moving back to the stove to check on the gnocchi.

“Hey…” Beth’s voiced softened as she moved back into the open kitchen, “as much as I would love her to join us, you are all I want or need.” Her arms wrapped around your waist from behind as she pressed kisses into your shoulder.

“I know.” You flashed her a smile, kissing her quickly, “and I’m not going to say no to her joining..” you smirked, “if whatever she has going on isn’t exclusive….I’ll…talk to her.”

“Alright.” Beth pressed a kiss to your temple, tugging down plates and wine glasses, pulling the wine from the fridge as you started to plate up dinner.

“Table or couch?” You asked.

“Couch.” She replied and you paused as you finished prepping dinner, gently grabbing her wrist as you pulled her back to you.

“You okay?” You asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“Beth….baby please….”

“I…” she let out a weary sigh, “I’m just exhausted already and we’ve barely begun the debate season. A regular campaign is enough but with all this extra horse shit going on?”

“Not to mention you haven’t been sleeping very well.” You cast her a glance and her cheeks flushed.

“You picked up on that?”

“I’m a light sleeper, you know that.” You pressed a kiss to her cheek as you picked up the dinner plates, “but we can talk about that later, eat now.”

Nudging her in the direction of the couch, she followed you lead, picking up the wine and settling into the couch beside you. You avoided all news outlets and threw on a movie channel to make sure you were able to avoid any and all political bullshit for a little bit while you both decompressed from your days.

There was a little bit more small talk, catching up with each other, talking about Beth’s schedule and plans for the campaign trail and debates that was coming up over the next couple of weeks. A bit of back and fourth over whether you would be able to travel with her or not, considering you were working a pending investigation. She offered to take care of the dishes since you cooked, and you settled yourself on the floor in the kitchen to brush Nic, he’d been leaving a larger than normal amount of hair around the White House that week, and was well overdue for it.

“How are things going with that?” Beth asked, tossing a glance over her shoulder from the sink.

“O’Keefe’s attempting to name names.” You replied with a sigh, “we’re digging into it.”

“Care to share?”

“I will update you when we have official and legal information.” You nearly smirked as she scoffed a laugh.

“Oh come on.”

“He claims that everything came from within.”

“We already knew that. There’s no way someone not in the White House or army had access to the original video.”

“No, I mean everything.” You urged as you pulled a clump of hair off Nic’s brush, tossing it into the garbage, “he gave us three names. Claims they orchestrated both the bombs in Manhattan, the assassination attempt, the Andrew video and they have other plans—“ you stopped as your brow furrowed, your hands pinching at something buried under Nic’s fur near his collar, “what the fuck have you got stuck here buddy?” Your fingers finally got it de-matted from his fur, realizing it was attached to his collar.

“I could probably give you my personal opinions on who some of those names could be, I mean”—

“Stop talking.”

“What? Me telling you I think”—

“Beth shut up!” Your head snapped up to her gaze as you pulled the bug off Nic’s collar, holding it up for her to see. Her eyes widened, a panic racing across her face. You tossed the bug onto the kitchen island, letting it continue to pick up on the t.v in the background while you dragged Beth into the bedroom, slamming the door behind you.

“Please tell me that’s not what it looked like?” She asked in a hushed whisper.

“Where’s Nic been recently? How much could he have picked up on?”

“He’s been everywhere!” She groaned, “cabinet meetings, the Oval, campaign strategies, mock debates, I had him in a no phones with me the other day that was only three people! Fuck!”

“I think you’re forgetting something pretty important…”

“What?”

“Nic’s always in the residence with us…whoever planted that bug has very verifiable evidence of our relationship. If that gets out, you will lose this election.”

“Oh bullshit.” It was a lie, a complete lie and she knew it, but lying to herself was the only thing keeping her somewhat calm as her heart began to thunder in her chest. As if everything wasn’t at stake already….

“Beth! I hate to say it, but you are already on thin fucking ice! Half the country thinks you had someone killed. Having Warner on your ticket isn’t enough to pull in the republican vote you need if they all know you’re galavanting around with another woman! We need to find out who did this and penalize them before they leak this! Never mind everything else they’ve probably found out!”

“Well what’s your gut telling you?” She asked, her hand circling your wrist, bringing you back to earth. Your brain somewhat calmed your eyes widened as you realized exactly where this must have come from.

“Fucking Paley!”

“Are you sure?”

“Nic’s been in and out of his office for weeks now! Paley’s been keeping treats in there for him.”

“Mother fucker.” Beth ran a hand over her face, “I knew he had it out for me, but sinking this low?” She huffed, watching as you pulled the door open, “what’re you doing?”

“Destroying the bug and calling Heather.” You turned back to her, softly clasping at her shoulders, thumbs rubbing soothingly at her skin, “breathe, okay? I’ve got this. I’m probably going to have to go back to the office though, update Casey when she gets home?”

“Okay.” She let out a sigh, a small shake echoing through it and you leant in, kissing her softly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Try to get some rest.” You shot her a small smile before you slipped through the door, letting Nic slip back through it so he could nuzzle up to Beth, hopefully able to calm her down.

You tossed the bug, and had Heather on the phone by the time you were out in the hallway. Your second call was to Rob, knowing that he was still kicking around somewhere in the West Wing, and you looped in Saul considering he was in on all the O’Keefe thing. Paley certainly seemed determined to take Elizabeth down, no matter what he had to do. The thing was, you were even more determined to make sure she didn’t get destroyed, and that she made her way to the other side of this winning her second term.

__________ @screenee @jamiethetrans @disaster-and-disgrace @natasha-danvers @veteranwerewolf95 @laurenhope13 @imlike-so-gaydude @svulife-rl @gay-ass-bitch @oliviaswifey @mysticfalls01 @cmmndrwidw @bumblebear30 @paulson-hargitay @molllss @snowsgay19 @solemnnova @svushots @nocreditinthestraightworld @yourtaletotell @cerberus-spectre @thatgaygiraffesquirrelgirl @emskisworld @ex-uallyactive @addictedtodinosaurs @rosiewritesagain @imaginaryoperagloves @wandasbrat @lustvolle-liebe @disn3y7 @samwithnoplan @multifandomlesbianic @swimmingstudentchaos891 @anne-gillettes-wh0r3 @season4scullyhair @whimsicallymad @alexusonfire @mmmmokdok @lazarettta @muscatmusic18 @sia2raw @ladysc @season4scullyhair @Annieray2020 @dxtery @Awkwardreadera

[pwarkluv]

❝ what is love? - l.mk ❞

lee mark x reader | fluff | 2k words

WARNINGS | lowercase is intended, idol au, love at first sight au, 6thmemberofitzy!reader, shy!mark and shy!reader, fluff bc that’s what i’m best at LOL, another request :), just enjoy <3

REQUEST | “hii i read ur electric love fic w jisung and i really loved it :DD could you do the same for mark ? still as the 6th member of itzy ofc :D” - my lovely anon <3

SUMMARY | he wonders what is love, but finds the answer in you.

AUTHOR’S NOTE | inspired by the song “what is love” by twice (english lyrics by genius translations)! ANOTHER REQUEST HDSFKLDSJHF IM SO SO SO SO EXCITED! i wanted to change up the setting so it’s still 6th member itzy, but not in weekly idol :P ALSO this was inspired by when nct dream, itzy, and stray kids sat next to each each other in that one award show so yeah lolol. IM SO SORRY I LOST THE MESSAGE WHERE MY ANON ASKED FOR IT BUT I STILL WROTE IT FOR YOU! I LOVE YOU, THANK YOU, NEVER BE SHY TO DM ME ;)

what is love?

mark knew the general idea of it; the sappy moments movies show, the “butterflies in your stomach” feeling books portray, the pain and hardships songs make you feel. 

but he’s never been in love, at least not like this.

❝ how could it be as sweet as candy? ❞

training at such a young age molded mark into the perfect idol, and with that he was fully aware dating would look bad to the public. he accepted the fact that he might never find love, all to help achieve his dream. 

but as cheesy as it sounds, the canadian wished to be loved. 

yes he was loved by his members, his family, his friends, his fans; but the type of love he longed for was something none of them could give him. 

mark wanted to feel the sweetness of being in love, the giddiness you’d feel whenever you talk to them, the pounding of your heart whenever they’re near. he wanted to experience the overwhelming need to be with that person, like if they’re gone for too long it’s like you can’t breathe.

was being in love like making a song for the very first time? or was it like eating watermelon all the time?

so many questions with no answers, the boy left to wander in his own thoughts. 

❝ how it’s like flying in the sky? ❞

he smiled bittersweetly as the newly wed couple danced around in confetti, the sound of laughter and cheers resonating around the room. one of nct’s managers that had been with them since the beginning invited them to her wedding, to which the team obviously accepted. 

all 23 of them were happy for their noona who found her happy ending. mark could only watch in awe at the sight of the two lovebirds, the love and adoration for the other evident in the way they looked at each other.

his heart tugged a bit knowing he wanted something like that too. 

“being in love is like flying in the sky.” his manager explained to the boy as a makeup artist experimentally brushed strokes on her face. it was a couple hours before the ceremony when mark knocked on her hotel door, wanting to visit his favorite noona before she finally said ‘i do’. 

his question left his mouth before mark could fully register what he was about to say, the poor boy flushing a bit as the woman laughed at him. 

“are you in love mark? is that why you’re asking me how i knew i was in love?” she teased as mark stutterd, denying her accusation.

“n-no i swear!” he said as his manager continued laughing, the makeup artist having to pause a bit to let her get it all out. “i’m just curious.” mark said quietly trying to stop the heat from rushing up to his cheeks. 

“well being in love is a magical feeling.” the woman said, turning a bit serious. mark sat up straight as he listened intently. “when you realize you love someone, it can be a scary thing. love isn’t perfect mark, and i want you to know that. there are moments where you want to scream and rip your hair out, or cry to let it all out.”

the boy nodded in understanding, having a bit of knowledge from all the good breakup songs taylor swift writes about. 

“but it can also change your whole world.” she continued on. “it’s like seeing the world again for the very first time and the colors are more vibrant. it’s like having a permanent reason to be happy, and a reason to stay.” she explained as the mark sat quietly trying to comprehend it all. 

❝ i wanna know know know know, what is love? ❞

the poor boy’s head couldn’t wrap around the thought of you. 

his heart hammered in his chest as he secretly glanced at you, desperately trying to avoid suspicion from fans and his members. you were just too breathtaking, having the canadian looking back for more. 

the moment he first laid eyes on you, it was like an epiphany. you were the answer to all his questions.

so this is what it feels like, mark thinks to himself as he looks back on all the things he’s heard about love. 

the butterflies, the pounding of your heart, the “seeing the world in a whole new perspective”, mark felt everything and as much as he felt excited, he was scared.

as harmless as it sounds, award shows were a risky thing for idols. being surrounded by fans of different groups as well as said groups themselves always seemed to cause a bit of a stir between fans.

between dating rumors and rumors about beef between two idols, anything could happen.

but usually mark would be okay. he’s been doing this for a long time and knew how to behave.

however what he didn’t expect was to see you, the tiny rookie idol from the newly debuted girl group ‘itzy’. 

nct 127’s table was right next to yours which let mark have a clear view of your pretty eye smile as you laughed at something lia had whispered into your ear. your laugh was bubbly and contagious, the boy having to physically stop himself from wanting to laugh too. 

he was panicking, but mark couldn’t tell if it was in a good or bad way. 

❝ what does love feel like? ❞

your breath hitched as you saw the boy sneak glances at you from the corner of your eye.

the mark lee was looking at you, your heart racing as you tried to deny the fact that he was staring you down. there was no way the dude you’ve looked up to your entire trainee life is noticing you, no way at all.  

everyone has heard of mark lee even if you weren’t into kpop. he was just that iconic. 

you’ve been an nctzen since the very beginning, being there for nct u’s debut stage. in fact, nct was the very reason you decided to audition to become an idol in the first place. you looked up to the team but more importantly you looked up to a certain canadian in the group.

originally doyoung was your bias in nct when nct u first came out. but as the years passed by you found yourself more and more intrigued by mark, having him absolutely wreck your bias list.

since then you’ve been a loyal mark stan, even rapping his part in cherry bomb for your audition tape which ultimately led you to become an idol yourself. 

you refused to believe you were in love with the dude, not knowing a single thing about him. there was no way you could love him, not if you’ve never even met the boy.

but your heart seemed to prove you wrong as it beat wildly knowing mark was sitting right there on the table next to you. 

“you okay bubs?” lia asked in a worried tone, leaning in to whisper into your ear. she saw the way your leg bounced in a fast rhythm, knowing you only did that when you were nervous. 

you forced a smile as you hesitantly looked her way, knowing that she could take one look into your eyes and know you were lying. “i'm fine unnie, don’t worry about me.” you replied as sweetly as you could, wishing the elder wouldn’t notice a thing. 

though you two and yeji were the eldest in the group, all being born in the year 2000, you were the baby of the unnie line. lia and yeji knew you the best, having grown up with you after all. 

the girl only gave you a look before taking your hand in hers to give a soft squeeze. “i know you’re lying but i won’t push you. also mark lee from nct 127 is totally checking you out.” lia said, whispering a bit on the last part. she winked as you flushed, looking away in horror. 

-

johnny nudged the boy next to him with a small smirk, clearly seeing the heart eyes he was giving the girl in the table next to them. mark jumped a bit at the feeling, looking at his hyung with confusion.

“so y/n of itzy?” johnny said with a small smile as the younger immediately sat up straight. 

“is it that obvious?” mark whispered back with a hint of fear in his eyes.

if any of the fans were to get a hold of this… the boy could only shiver at the thought. 

johnny’s playful smile dropped a bit at mark’s worried look knowing how he must feel. they were idols after all.

“don’t worry, i only noticed because she was looking back at you too.” he said, mark flushing at the revelation.

“really?” he asked a little out of it. 

“i say talk to her after this?” the elder said, laughing a bit when mark jumped in his seat, immediately saying no. 

❝ will love come to me someday? ❞

“unnie why are you making me stay in the dressing room~” you whined as the end of the award show came along.

you just wanted to go home, your body worn out. not from all the dancing but from the way it viciously pounded in your chest whenever you ever thought about mark. 

lia only smirked in retaliation as she brought a hand up to squish your cheeks. “trust me, you’ll thank me later.” she said as she walked out of the dressing room, bumping into a 6 foot tall boy with a smaller boy behind him. 

“oops sorry.” she said a little playfully, as lia gave a wink to johnny knowing their plan was going accordingly. johnny only gave her a small smile, but if you looked closely you could see the mischief in his eyes. 

“hyung where are we going?” mark asked, a little weirded out by the two’s interaction. johnny only ignored the boy, dragging him by his arm as they walked down the hallway. 

“hyung i swear if this is a prank i’ll-” mark’s words were cut off as the two entered a door, only to see your confused face staring back at him. 

“oh shit.” he cursed under his breath, a little taken aback from how beautiful you were. one whole award show later and you were still as gorgeous as when he first saw you sitting down in the table next to his. 

your confused face quickly turned to an embarrassed one as you noticed the boy, turning another shade of red when you noticed he couldn’t take his eyes off of you.

“hi y/n, my name is johnny and this is my band mate mark.” the taller boy said, holding his hand out in a handshake. 

“h-hi i’m y/n.” you stuttered, not expecting to see the boy you’ve been daydreaming about for the past two hours to be right in front of you. 

mark gawked at the sight of you, his mind malfunctioning as the words seemed to get stuck at the tip of his tongue.

“markie right here has something he wants to ask you.” johnny said, pushing the younger in front of him with a grunt. 

this seemed to knock him right out of his trance, a hand coming up to the back of his neck as he stared down at the floor with pink cheeks.

“do you maybe wanna-”

“yes.” you blurted out, a hand covering your mouth in shock. “i-if you were gonna ask if i wanted to hang out sometime, the answer is yes.” you said a little shyly as the boy smiled. 

all this time mark thought he was gonna find love, but maybe love found him instead. 

“i’ll pick you up at 6 tomorrow evening.” mark said with a sweet smile as he took a step back only to be pushed back up again by johnny.

“you don’t even have her number you dumbass.” the elder scolded, disappointed at how dumb the boy was. 

your laughter caught both of the boy’s attention as you put your hand out with a small smile. “you want my number or nah?”

[myhockeyworld87]

Not So Dangerous Liaison - Sidney Crosby - Part 27

Word Count: 3,429

POV:  Reader

Warngings: Language, NSFW, Smut

Notes:  Here we are again. I think you all might kill me in future chapters so for now, let’s enjoy this one...haha. As always love your feedback and Happy Reading! Let me know what you guys think.

Not So Dangerous Liaison Masterlist

It was less than two weeks after your conversation with Mario that you and Sid were traveling to Los Angeles for the All Star game. Geno and Anna were supposed to be with you, but because of an injury, they had to back out. It was better for him to rest up anyhow. For Sid, it was more work than fun, though he did have a more carefree attitude than when he's normally on the ice. The two of you did sneak in some nice alone time over the few days.

Once you were back in Pittsburgh, it was business as normal. Well, maybe normal wouldn't be the right word for you, as you were busy helping with the Stadium series game that would take place at the end of February against the Flyers. Your hours were a little later when you were in town, which Sid didn't mind as he just spent extra time on the ice or watching films while he waited for you. You insisted that you could just take separate cars, but he wouldn't hear of it. It was really quite cute of him. 

The days leading up to the game were packed. The guys were doing media and squeezing in practices with their new equipment, while you worked behind the scenes with the rest of the crew setting things up. You wanted Heinz Field to feel just like PPG Arena did for them. The weather had everyone in a tither as Pittsburgh had got a bit of a warm front. Days leading up to the game saw temperatures in the seventies which was almost unheard of, for a February in Pennsylvania. In fact, on the day of the family skate, you were all literally wearing jeans and lightweight sweaters as you stood around watching the guys practice. 

"Will you hold Scar for me?" Vero asked. You were watching the guys practice with the ladies today, instead of by the bench. It was a rare occurrence that you got to take a game in with them, so it was a nice change of pace. She handed baby Scarlett off to you while she bent down and put on Estelle's skates. 

"Hello, sweetness," you said to the one-and-a-half-year-old, kissing her little cheeks in the process. "Do you see daddy out there?" You pointed out where Marc Andre was and Scarlett smiled. 

"Hi, daddy!" She yelled, but you weren't entirely sure he could hear her, as he was all the way down in net. "Unc Sid!" She exclaimed when Sidney came by and tapped on the glass. 

"Hi Scar!" He waved at her then gave you a look. One you weren't entirely sure you'd ever seen, before skating away leaving you to wonder what was going through his head. Practice ended soon thereafter and you all joined the guys out on the ice. Though most of them shed their pads due to the heat of the afternoon sun. 

"Ice looked a little slushy," you commented to Sid when he skated over to you.

"It's not bad. They said the temperature's supposed to drop tonight and tomorrow so we'll be ok. Come on." He grabbed your hand pulling you out onto the ice with him. It was something you still weren't comfortable doing. Sid could literally skate circles around anyone, while you still had to concentrate if you wanted to go backward. He recognized that and always made sure he held onto you so that you wouldn't fall. "You looked good out there." He said offhandedly as you made your way around the now shiny surface of the ice.

"Huh? I wasn't doing anything. I'm pretty sure I should be saying that to you."

"That's not what I meant."

"Obviously," you said hitting him playfully and losing your balance at the same time. Sid righted you with ease so that to the casual onlooker they never would've seen you stumble. 

"I meant holding Scarlett."

"Oh well, she's easy to love that's for sure. I'm going to miss them when they go." With the expansion team coming to Vegas, it was already widely known within the team that Flower would be the member they would choose. It was crushing, not only to you but to Sid as well. Your friendship with the Fleury's was one of the things you both treasured most; they were the reason you were with Sid right now. And while they would always be some of your best friends' things wouldn't be the same in Pittsburgh without them. 

"I know," Sid replied wistfully. "But we've still got them for now." You skated around a few more times, before he let you go, only so that he could wrap his arms around your midsection and skate with you from behind. It was definitely intimate and you were surprised with all the media around that Sid was into such a public display of affection. Sure there had been the parades, but usually, he tried to keep your relationship out of the public eye if he could. "I just think you really looked good." He whispered in your ear.

"You've seen me in this outfit before."

"Not that, you know…" You had to crane your neck back to look at him, but you noticed he was turning a bit red and it had nothing to do with the unseasonably warm temperatures. "Holding Scarlett." He finally spit out. "It makes me think about having our own."

"OH!" The word came out a little louder than you intended. Of course, Sid had confessed that he wanted kids with you. It just seemed like something that was further away in the future and not something that he'd been thinking about recently. 

"I know you're going to tell me it's too soon, and maybe you're right. I just can't help but think about it on days like today." You looked around then, watching all the guys skate with their significant others, some with kids while others had kids on the way. You could see the allure. As the two of you continued to glide around the ice, you let your mind wander to what it would be like. It was easy to picture, especially after watching Sid this summer with his Little Penguins camp. He'd be holding your son's or daughter's hands, much like Flower was doing now with Estelle, helping them navigate the ice. When Sid's hands tightened around your waist you couldn't stop yourself from wondering what it would feel like to be growing his child inside you. You found yourself relaxing more into Sid's embrace as you daydreamed about your future. 

"It's definitely a nice picture," you finally sighed, letting him know that you weren't opposed to the idea.

"Yeah, yeah it is." His voice took on a dreamy quality and you knew he was imagining the same thing as you. It seemed like one minute you were caught up in your little fantasy and the next you guys were having to leave the ice and it was back to reality. Not that your reality was a bad one, you still had Sid and for now, that's all you needed. 

Sid was right temperatures definitely cooled down. By game time the following day, it was barely thirty degrees and falling. You were bundled up in a coat with the team logo on it along with a matching tossle cap on your head. Sid had been mad that you hadn't worn the one all the ladies got with their guys' number on it, but you had insisted that when you were on the clock you were rooting for the entire team and not just him. At the moment you were wishing you had it so that you could put it on top of your current one. Your teeth were chattering and you kept bouncing on the balls of your feet to keep you warm. 

Midway through the first Sid scored, which had you jumping up and down and cheering along with the team as well as the thousands of fans in the stadium. It did little to help get you warm and you were practically running to the locker room tunnel by end of the first. You grabbed a cup of hot tea while the players went over the first period and where they could make improvements. It went pretty much the same way in the second, even though Nick Bonino scored early the Flyers were able to cut the lead in half with a goal from Jakub Voracek. Again, you raced off to get warm as soon as the horn sounded. 

Your feet were numb by the time Cully scored a goal early in the third, and though the Flyers scored on a power play, Chad Ruhwedel sealed the Pens victory with over five minutes left in play. The stadium erupted with the win, though it did little to warm you up. You stayed long enough to watch the team skate around in their little victory lap, then headed back down to the nice warm locker room. 

Of course, Sid had to do media, which meant you were there even longer. He was afforded the luxury of a nice hot shower before the two of you headed home. "Can you please turn the heat up?" you whined once you were in the car. "I'm freezing."

"It was a bit cold out there, eh?" Sid commented as he turned the heat on your side of the vehicle to max. 

"Ya think? I thought I was going to freeze to death when the snow started to fly."

"Babe, it's all part of outdoor hockey." He grabbed one of your hands in his. "Fuck, you are cold. You should've worn thermals or something."

"Trust me I will next time. I think it's just worse because of how beautiful it was yesterday."

"Well, as soon as we get home, we'll get you in the tub."

"Uh, yes, please." The ride through the city, while mostly traffic free, seemed endless. 

"Head upstairs, babe and I'll bring you up a cup of tea as soon as I get rid of my gear." Not having to be told twice, you made your way up to your shared master bath and started running the water. You hated stripping out of your clothes, as it felt like the only warmth your body had at the moment but as soon as your toes touched the steaming water, you sighed as the warmth heated your skin. You were fully immersed up to your neck by the time Sid came up with a steaming mug full of tea. "Better?"

"A little," you answered taking a sip of the drink he'd prepared perfectly for you before setting it back down on the ledge of the tub. "Still a bit chilly." 

"Well in that case." Sid started to strip out of his clothes. Divesting himself of his suit that he'd worn to the game. He folded it over the chair you used to put your makeup on, so that it didn't get any wrinkles, then made his way over to you and the tub. "Scooch up, babe." You did and he scooted in behind you, easing you back against him once he was comfortable in the water. His arms wrapped around you instantly and you felt engulfed in his heat. "This better?"

"Mmm much." You were completely content wrapped up in your boyfriend's arms with the water lapping around you both, so you rested your head against his chest. "You played really well tonight," you mused shutting your eyes and just giving yourself over to the warmth that was Sid.

"It was a lot of fun. I love playing outdoors. It's so authentic." Only Sid would put it like that, but you knew what he meant. "Though I wish you would've dressed warmer baby."

"I'm fine now." You took another long sip of tea, the temperature perfect. 

Sid kissed your temple. "Good, can't have you getting sick on me." 

"God no, I'll have to sleep in the guest room, if that happens."

"Why?"

"I'm not going to be responsible for getting the star player sick." You told him, turning your head so that you could look him in the eye. "You will not be missing a game because of me."

"I'd still probably end up missing a game because I wouldn't be able to sleep without you in our bed." His arms tightened around you, almost as if you were going to run off to the guest room right then. "But we're not worrying about that now, because we are definitely sleeping in the same bed tonight." His lips captured yours then, stealing your breath away and heating your body all the way to your core. You could feel his erecting grow against you as the kiss went on. It was nothing to reach behind you and wrap your fingers around his length. He moaned into your mouth, before gently sucking on your bottom lip as he broke the kiss. "You know two can play that game." His hand stole down your stomach and slipped between your folds, the water making it easy for him to caress you there. Your hand stuttered on his cock as he slid two fingers into you. Sid took the opportunity to grab your wrist with his free hand so that you could no longer manipulate him as you liked. "Lean your head back and enjoy this for a bit."

"But…"

"We'll get to that." He told you as he settled you against him once again. He shimmied his legs so that they were in between yours but only for a moment so that he could spread yours wide; your legs now splayed on either side of his. Sid's fingers continued to toy with your pussy, alternating between pumping in and out of you and rubbing circles on your clit, while his other hand tweaked your nipples into taut little peaks. Before you knew it you were panting with need, the chill of the evening game completely forgotten as Sid stoked a fire deep within you. His lips came down on the nape of your neck, his tongue driving you wild just as his fingers were. It was all too much as the water gently lapped at your skin. You felt your body gently rise into his touch, yet he held you firm working you towards that peak you craved. It didn't take long for your orgasm to hit. It washed over you like a wave cresting on the sand as your body trembled, this time not from the cold but the pleasure of Sid's touch. "You're so fucking sexy when you cum." His warm breath sent a shiver down your spine.

You were so sated you almost didn't want to move, but then you wanted him to experience the same ecstasy that you'd just felt. "We should…" you went to tell him that you should move to the bed but Sid had other plans.

"We'll be fine here, just kneel for a second." Your legs were already on either side of him, so it wasn't hard. He adjusted himself a bit, sitting more upright in the tub, before bending his knees slightly for you to lean against. You turned your head to the side to see him stroke himself a couple times, before lining himself up with your pussy. "Now just come back a little." You did as instructed; your pussy engulfing his cock as you basically sat reverse cowgirl on him. With his knees bent you leveraged yourself against them and started to ride his cock. "Fuck baby, you feel so good." His hands were on your hips making sure you wouldn't slip in the tub, but controlling your pace as well. 

Water sloshed against the sides of the tub, some of it spilling over the sides. "Oh shit," you moaned out knowing that you were making a mess of the bathroom floor. 

Sid could see where your thoughts were going. "Forget it, (Y/N). We'll get it later." He accentuated his words by thrusting up deep inside you. The action making you groan with desire. "That feel good, baby?"

"Yes," you cried out as he hit your g-spot again. "Right there," you panted and he hit the spot over and over again until you were convulsing around him in your second climax. 

"Jesus, (Y/N)," Sid moaned as your pussy gripped him like a vice. The grip he had on your hips tightened as he rammed into your cunt. He was so close to falling off the edge and cumming with you but he wanted to hold off, make it last longer, give you one more orgasm before he sought his own pleasure. Sid slowed his thrusts then, as you relaxed momentarily against his knees. "So fucking beautiful." It took you a moment to catch your breath before you started to move again. His thrusts weren't as deep as before, giving you a moment's reprieve before he went at it again. You knew Sid, knew he could keep up this leisurely pace all night if he wanted. The water was cooling though, and even though your body was still on fire after two orgasms you had no wish to be cold again. It was then that you decided to move your hips, rocking in a motion that you knew would drive him wild. And it did. It wasn't long before he was bucking up into you again. The water going everywhere now. Some of it even hitting his designer suit which rested across the room on the chair. "Fuck, (Y/N)," he hissed out and you could tell he wouldn't last much longer at this pace. He let one hand snake around to your clit. His fingers applying just the right amount of pressure there, as he rubbed circles into the little nub. 

"Sid, I'm gonna…"

"Yes, baby, yes," he groaned on the verge of hitting his peak as well. You were both there with a few thrusts. His hot cum filling you up as you quaked around him. The pleasure so intense you swore you saw stars. Sid collapsed against the back of the tub and while you wanted to follow, the position you were in did not make it that easy. It took a little maneuvering on both your parts, but soon you were back to lounging against Sid.

"We should get out." The water was definitely cooled now and this time you shivered from it.

"You still cold?"

"A little."

"Well, let's get you in bed then." The towel you had laid out was completely soaked, so you just laid it across the floor as you moved to get out of the tub. "Careful," Sid warned as you stepped out onto the shiny marble floor. You moved quickly yet cautiously to the cabinet and grabbed both of you a towel while laying down a few more to soak up the water. 

You'd just finished wrapping the fluffy white towel around your body when Sid scooped you up and headed towards the bedroom. "Sid, stop! I need to clean up that mess."

"It'll dry." He must have been anticipating how the night would go for the bed was already turned down as he placed you in the middle of the mattress. He scooted in behind you, discarding his towel in one swift motion, before sweeping the covers over both of you. His hands made quick work of ridding you of the wet cloth that was helping you dry. "They say body heat is the fastest way to warm someone up."

"Hmm, is that so," you said turning in his embrace. 

"Mmmhmm. I'm sure I read it somewhere."

"I'm sure you did. I'm just wondering what else this book said."

His hands were roaming up and down your back and gliding across the globes of your ass. "Oh, lots more."

You kissed his neck wanting to return the favor he had given you a while ago, then you moved to his chest before saying, "such as?" You continued your path downward over Sid's abs.

"I'm sure there was…" he sucked in a breath as you placed a warm kiss on his pelvis. "Fuck I can't think of a word." 

You grinned up at him from beneath the covers. "Let me see if I can make you forget all together." Sid lost all train of thought as your lips connected with his cock. The night continued on like that for a few more hours before the two of you were so sated you could do nothing but sleep. 

[ikeromantic]

Middle Ground

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfic - approx. 2200 words. This scene occurs well after the events of the romantic epilogue. Fluff.

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Bonding

“So . . . separate beds?” Mitsuhide’s wry smile was only a little bitter.

“Yes. I know it’s silly. I’d . . . I’d rather be in there with you.” The chatelaine, soon to be Lady Akechi, looked down, her expression a mixture of shame and defiance.

“It’s fine. I will have you all to myself soon enough. What is a night or two apart?”

She looked up without raising her head, trying to gauge his emotions.

Mitsuhide wasn’t having any of that. He took her chin between his finger and thumb and gently lifted until her gaze met his. “It is fine.” Then he leaned forward to brush a kiss across her cheek. With his lips almost close enough to touch her skin, he added. “Are you so eager to be in my arms again? Do you want to . . . test out the guest room? Or your childhood bed?”

He had the intended effect. She shivered and licked her lips. “You are so bad!”

“You are the one protesting our brief separation.” Mitsuhide pressed another kiss to her cheek and leaned back.

She crossed her arms. “You’re right. It’s just a few nights. But when we get back to the city -” a wicked smile turned her lips up at the corners, promising all sorts of fun.

“So forward, my little mouse. So eager. You make me wish we were home already.”

“That’s the idea.” She turned and threw him a saucy look. “Something to dream about.”

Mitsuhide chuckled. “Good night, little one.” Something to dream about indeed. He watched her hips as she walked down the hall, until she turned into her room and shut the door. She really had no idea what impact she had on him. He wondered if it was his practiced art of hiding his true emotion, or simply that she couldn’t see how beautiful she was. How desirable.

He went into the room and shut the door. It was so strange. The electronic hum of household devices. The cold fluorescent light from the street lamps in his window. Distant traffic sounds blending with barking dogs and strains of music. Mitsuhide felt suddenly very alone and very out of place.

Despite his refusal, the thought of spending one night, much less three, without his little one, felt impossible. A burden too heavy for him to bear. He needed to feel her in his arms, to fall asleep to the sound of her breathing, the beat of her heart. Her warmth grounded him in this strange place.

Mitsuhide gave a dry, soundless laugh. Who was the little mouse now?

Slowly, meditatively, he dressed for bed and lay down. He would embrace this world, different as it was from his own. He had to, because it was the one that gave birth to his beloved. And so, listening to the heartbeat of this small town, the viscous thrum of modern life, he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Miyake and Sasuke arrived the following day at lunch. They met up at a local restaurant. Youko was friends with the owner and able to borrow a few tables in the back for privacy.

Minoru, the chatelaine’s often grumpy father, seemed to be on his best behavior. Not smiling, but distantly polite to the two newcomers. He thawed a little when his daughter threw her arms around each of the men in greeting.

No one said much as they ate. Youko and Minoru sat beside their daughter on one side of the table, glancing up at her strange friends. Sasuke, Mitsuhide and Miyake sat across from them, looking nervous.

It was Sasuke who finally broke the silence. He cleared his throat. “I understand your daughter told you about our time in the Sengoku. Understandably, you want proof. You have questions. We are here to give you what evidence we can.”

Minoru snorted. “What do you get out of this charade?” He gestured to Mitsuhide. “Is he paying you?”

Miyake looked as if he wanted to speak up, but Sasuke beat him to it. “No. I am here because your daughter is my friend.” He reached into his bag. “I know it isn’t much, but I brought my ninja kit as proof. These - these are smoke pellets. And that is a kunai. This is a sleeping poison, and this -” he went through the items, explaining what they were and how he made them. Detailed descriptions of the tools and materials he had available.

When Sasuke finished, Minoru looked thoughtful.

Youko smiled across as Sasuke. “You seem a very resourceful young man. And you are also the one that discovered these wormholes?”

“Yes ma’am.” Sasuke dipped his head, embarrassed by the compliment.

“It could just be you have a - a fascination with this stuff. Read a lot. Saw some movies,” Minoru said. His gruff voice held more than a hint of doubt. Even he didn’t buy his own explanation.

Sasuke nodded. “I could have. But even that would not yield the encyclopedic knowledge I’ve developed. I would go into greater detail, but I imagine you don’t have the underlying historical education to make use of most of the information I could provide. Unless . . . Are you a history buff?” His voice sounded different at the end, as if this question was important. Light glinted off his glasses, hiding his eyes. The air around him was charged, almost crackling with a sudden and unexpected energy.

“No. I can’t say I am,” Minoru replied.

“Hm, too bad.” The strange tension in the ninja disappeared as suddenly as it came.

Mitsuhide nudged Miyake. The warrior muttered something under his breath and then rolled his shoulders. “Alright, old man. I don’t blame you for doubting us. I’d think I was crazy too, or lying. But what Lady Akechi told you is true. She’s been living with my lord for the last few months. And it’s a good thing too. He smiles a lot more now. Eats too, and sleeps almost like a human.”

“Miyake,” Mitsuhide growled. “That’s not the kind of evidence they need to hear.”

“Sorry, but it’s the truth. And if you don’t mind me saying, well, even if you do, your daughter makes for one hell of a princess. She makes the servants happy to do a good job because she notices the little things. And the guards . . . they’d all die for her, and not just because Lord Akechi demands it. She’s kind and good to all of us. I don’t get to spend time at the castle, but I hear how she remembers birthdays and congratulates newlyweds and -”

Youko laughed, a sound Mitsuhide recognized. Much like his own little one, but matured. More elegance with just the same amount of joy. “It sounds like you have a following,” she smiled at her daughter.

The chatelaine blushed. “I really don’t. He’s exaggerating, mom. Really.”

“He is not,” Mitsuhide chided. “Though I don’t think that’s the kind of proof her father -”

Minoru interrupted, his gruff voice quieting the table. “It’s clear you’ve gotten to know her. My little girl.” He gave her a brief smile. “I am still . . . it’s a lot to take in. This wild story. But she stands by it and there is clearly - something true in it.”

His daughter hugged him. “I knew you’d come around, papa.”

He dislodged himself from her unexpected embrace. “I didn’t say I’m buying the whole story. Just,” he waved his hand, “some of it rings true.”

The tension at their table eased, and conversation began to flow more naturally. Youko and Minoru had a lot of questions, and were finally ready to hear the answers.

***

Kyubei followed Ranmaru through the thick forest undergrowth, barely able to make out the dirt path he led them down. This was supposed to lead to a safe house, one that Kennyo agreed to meet him in. He wished the demon-abbot had a taste for teahouses instead of abandoned forest shacks, but it could be worse.

He could be with Hideyoshi, hunting Motonari across the ports. Kyubei wasn’t afraid of pirates, but being on a boat . . . the constant roll of the ocean waves made him sick as a dog. No matter how many trips he made, he never gained any kind of tolerance for the motion. So this, the dirt and the bugs and the thick air under the trees, was a better deal all around.

“This is it.” Ranmaru stopped just before the path opened on a small clearing. There was a half-rotted shack ahead, once a shrine to some local deity, now fallen into disrepair.

Kyubei was surprised to see he wasn't’ the only one here to speak to the monk. Another familiar figure sat on the wooden steps outside the shrine. “Shingen?”

Takeda grinned up at him, pushing a lock of sweaty hair out of his face. “If it isn’t Mitsuhide’s maid!” He laughed. “Kidding, kidding! I just expected to see the kitsune out here himself.”

“He is otherwise engaged.”

“Is he?” Shingen’s smile was dangerous now. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with our missing ninja, would it?”

“If it does, I’ll send him your head,” Yukimura spoke up from somewhere to Kyubei’s left.

Ranmaru put his hands up, laughing as if this were all so silly. “It’s too early for threats. Come on! Let’s make some tea and relax. The abbot will be here shortly.”

Kyubei turned his head a fraction, just enough to see Yukimura lower his spear. “Tea would be good.” He ignored the younger warrior’s scowl as he followed Ranmaru to the shrine.

He didn’t sit, but stood near Takeda, resting his back against a tree.

Shingen, for his part, pretended to be fully relaxed. It wasn’t quite effective though. His brow held a waxy sheen, his eyes looked sunken and fevered. Worse, his breathing was labored. A rasp, harsh as a winter cough.

Kyubei watched him carefully. This was a bad situation. A dying man had fewer qualms than one that had to live with his decisions. He hadn’t realized Takeda was so bad off though, despite the reports he’d received. The Tiger of the Kai was legend. Not a man to be taken down by sickness. And yet.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Yukimura snapped, coming to stand beside his lord.

Shingen chuckled. “So protective, Yuki.” His laugh turned into a thick, unproductive cough. When he finally got control of himself, he directed his attention to Kyubei. “So. Where did your lord and my ninja go off to? And don’t tell me you don’t know. There’s too much tying their disappearance together. I’d rather not have to kill you today for lying to me.”

Another situation he wished he had his lord’s guidance. What information was safe to pass along, and what plans would the ripples of this conversation affect? Kyubei swallowed. “I suspect they have gone to visit the chatelaine’s home. 500 years in the future.”

Shingen nodded as if this was the answer he expected. “Sasuke asked me if I’d like to visit his hometown. He said - he said they could cure me.”

“And then he left without you.” Yukimura punched the shrine wall, causing the whole building to tremble.

Ranmaru poked his head out. “Hey! Careful or you’ll bring the whole thing down on my head!”

“Sorry,” Yukimura growled.

“If it is any consolation, I don’t believe Lord Akechi or Sarutobi left when they did intentionally. The information my lord left indicates the trip was meant to take place later. He was still . . . putting things in place for his extended absence.”

“That’s bull,” Yukimura grumbled, but he relaxed his grip on the spear.

They had no more time to talk it over as Kennyo’s shadow fell across the clearing. He came out of the trees like a spirit, the rings on his staff clinking. “It appears you found me. Again.”

Shingen grinned. “Well, old friend, I did have to hunt through every abandoned shrine in the province to get to this one.”

Kennyo snorted in disbelief.

“Ranmaru brought me,” Kyubei bowed. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“I have little time or patience for guests. Tell me what you want.” Kennyo crossed his arms.

“Your help with the false emperor.” Kyubei didn’t look up from his bow. “We both know Ashikaga is dead. The scribe we set up in his place, or the men around him, have gone astray.”

“I could care less. Let the exiled shogun harass the devil-king. Nobunaga and his pawns can go to hell.” Kennyo’s eyes were dark and full of anger. It radiated from him like heat from a fire.

Shingen shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I hate him too. But it’s not just him getting hit. These idiot daimyos in his retinue are conscripting farmers. Villagers. Innocent folk that should be left out of a power grab.”

The demon abbot’s eyes fell on his old friend. “And you believe this is a worse fate than what the Oda have in store for them?”

“I do.” Shingen’s gaze didn’t waver.

Kennyo’s shoulders shook and it took Kyubei a moment to realize the abbot was laughing. He shook his head. “You always were a fool, Shingen. But fine. I will tell you what I know. I don’t think you can stop what has been set in motion.”

Next: Double Dating