#i think he should be allowed to kill people whenever he wants

[triptychofvoids]

metal pipe falling sound effect

[aimless-imagines-for-fun]

Vacation: Part one

PART TWO PART THREE

Pairing :: OPLA!Sanji x fem!Reader

Warnings :: 18+ Content, NSFW/SMUT, Oral(f recieving), Semi-Public sex(they did it in an alley), Light teasing

Word Count ::  3,373

Summary :: After being forced on a vacation at the Baratie, you catch the eye of a certain blond cook who loves to tease you.

A/N :: I was trying to find the right mix between pervert simp anime Sanji and suave charming live-action Sanji. There will for sure be a part two.

Go watch the One Piece live-action.

“I see a place we can stop to make repairs, Captain Tommy,” You said, eye still focused on the small floating mass in the distance.

You worked on a merchant ship for a wealthy businessman named Greylock. You were his top secret contract negotiator. The reason you were a “secret” was because he never introduced you as a negotiator. You would always find your way to sneak into his potential clients’ and contract partners’ inner circle to figure out what type of people they were and what they wanted. With this personal knowledge, you would then come up with the best plan of action to secure a beneficial deal for the business. It was easy for you thanks to your typically quiet demeanor. You knew when to stay silent and read the room.

Captain Tommy, Greylock’s business partner, set a course for the wooden structure floating. “Let’s hope the owner’s kind enough to let us port for a while.”

“How long do you think it’ll take to repair the damages?”

“The storm banged us up pretty good, not to mention all the scrapes we’ve gotten from pirates.” He glanced around the ship. “I’d say at least three to four weeks.”

You cursed quietly under your breath. “Greylock isn’t going to be happy about that.”

Captain Tommy shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do. The ship’s falling apart. We won’t be able to make it to a port town before the ship sinks.”

You knew Greylock would be upset once you told him, so you took precocious measures to alleviate the anger.

You stood with him on the deck, watching as you approached your soon-to-be temporary home. "You know sir, you've been mentioning wanting to take a vacation for a while."

He sighed, shrugging. "That's because I'm getting older and tired of working. I became a merchant to see the world, not to work endlessly."

"Well then, how about you finally take that vacation now while we repair the ship?"

He turned his head to give you a weary look. "Take a  vacation while the ship is repaired?"

You nodded with a smile. "Captain Tommy told me it would take at least three weeks to repair the ship. Instead of worrying about work, you should relax during that time."

"(Y/N)-"

"And you can give the crew a chance to rest. Were y'all dreary from that dreadful storm, not to mention the attacks we had to endure before?" You patted his shoulder. "You know what they say, a happy crew is a dutiful crew. And a tired crew typically ends up killing someone."

Grey lock laughed at your made-up saying, but you were able to persuade him. "You're right. We've been working too hard recently without a break." He looked out once more, finally in the distance to see the name of the place you'll all be staying for the next month. "Lads!" He shouted loud enough to grab everyone's attention. "I want you lot to enjoy yourselves at the Baratie. Think of our unscheduled stop as a surprise resort! Haha!"

Immediately the crew lit up. While everyone cheered and began to talk about what they'd do with their spare time, aside from repairs, you looked up at Captain Tommy. He had a small smirk, giving you a wink. He knew if anyone could get Greylock to give the entire crew a break, it'd be you.

-

You walked into Baratie behind Greylock and Captain Tommy. It was typically for the three of you to grab a bite together whenever you arrived at a new town so that you could discuss your work objectives. Today, however, it was simply a meal between friends.

A fish man greeted you at the entrance, accepting a small fee before allowing you to take your seats.

You looked over the menu, wondering what to try first. You'd be around for a while and we're sure you'd get to try a few items on the menu before departing. Greylock and Captain Tommy chatted with one another, used to your silence. They knew that you spoke when you felt you needed to.

The swing doors to the kitchen flew open. You glanced up from the menu, seeing a blond man to have caused the small ruckus. He looked upset, brows furrowed and tight lips turned down.

'I wonder what got him so riled up,' You thought.

You kept your eyes on him, noticing he was making his way to your table with a tray of bread rolls in hand. When he was about halfway, he noticed you sitting right of Greylock and his mood instantly seemed to pick up. After his eyes locked with yours, his gaze lit up and a dashing smile graced his lips.

Seeing his mood do a complete one-eighty after spotting you, you shot your eyes back down to your menu. 'Please don't be our waiter. Please don't be our waiter. Plea-'

"Hello gentlemen and fair lady, my name is Sanji. What would you like to drink to start you off? We have several rare Micqueot vintages in stock."

Almost throughout his entire introduction, you could feel his line of sight fixed on you. He didn’t mind that you didn’t look at him. It allowed him to sneak a glance at your chest without being noticed.

"Anything fancy would be a waste on me. I'll just have a simple whiskey to start with," Greylock said. Captain Tommy put up two fingers, requesting the same.

"And what will you be having, darling?"

"Hm… I'll have a sweet tea."

"A sweet drink for a sweet girl understood."

Your eyes shot towards him, a little shocked by his straightforward demeanor. He gave you a quick wink before walking away.

Now, it was time for the old men to act like school girls. 

Greylock started the teasing first. "Awe, our little (Y/N) has a young man who's interested in her," 

"And by the small blush on her cheeks, I'd say she's interested too."

"Wh-what blush?" You stuttered, only now feeling the heat center in your cheeks.

"The one that's covering your entire face." Captain Tommy laughed.

"Shut up. I was just caught off guard by his remark." You practically shoved your face into the menu, embarrassed to face the men before you any longer.

They continued laughing for a moment before talking about what to order.

After Sanji came back with your drinks, it was time for you three to place your orders. Again, your colleagues ordered before you. This time though, you spoke right when Captain Tommy finished his sentence.

"And I will have the seared ahi tuna."

"Do you want the chocolate sin cake after for dessert, love? It's so moist it'll melt in your mouth, I promise," He said in a sultry tone for no other apparent reason than to get a rise out of you.

And once more, you were left stunned and your face was heating up. You were certain he was only teasing you, but you were still upset giving him the presumed reaction he wanted.

"She would love the chocolate cake!" Greylock's hand patted your back hard, causing you to fall forward a bit on the table. "It's been a while since she's had a good pastry."

“Coming right up.”

He left with a swift turn on his heels and when he was out of sight you glared daggers at the two accompanying you.

“What do you think you’re doing, sir?”

“Trying to make sure you have a fun time here.” He took a swig of his whiskey before continuing. “Listen, you’re always working hard for us, and you rarely make any time for yourself.”

You sink in your seat a bit. He was right. On the rare occasion you did flirt with others, it was to secure a deal, and then, you were gone.

“Plus, the boy’s easy on the eyes. You’d be mad to not give him a chance.” He bursted out laughing.

Captain Tommy was a bit more comforting with his words. “You probably won’t interact with him much, so don’t mind him.”

Choosing to believe him, you relaxed for the remainder of the meal. ‘Captain Tommy’s right. As long as I don’t come here again, I probably won’t run into him.’

Too bad you had a crew that loved to go out because about two days later, you found yourself back at the Baratie. This time, Sanji wasn’t your waiter which you were more than thankful for. Captain Tommy and Greylock might’ve teased you a bit, but the men with you now would have embarrassed you so much you would never step foot out of your living quarters again.

Around mid-way into your meal, you excused yourself from the table to go use the restroom. While walking down the hallway, your attention was on the various paintings that decorated the wall.

Since you weren’t paying much attention to what was in front of you, you collided with a firm chest. You nearly stumbled back until a pair of arms wrapped around you, holding you in place.

“Ah-! I-I’m so sorry! I should have been paying attention to where I was… going…” You looked up at the person you had bumped into, locking eyes with a familiar blue-eyed blond.

He gave you a large grin, replying. “No need to apologize madam. I should be the one apologizing,” You tilted your head, “for disturbing a fine piece of art like you.”

You immediately turned away, hoping he wouldn’t catch your growing blush. “Can you please let me go?” You asked timidly.

You felt his hold tighten for a quick second before letting you go. Without another word, you rushed past him to the women's restroom.

Sanji watched you run away, a playful grin plastered on his face. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with this one,” He mumbled, already missing the feeling of your body pressed against his.

-

This would be how every interaction you had with the blonde cook and occasional waiter, played out. You would try to be formal with him, he'd make a flirty or suggestive comment, and then you'd start to blush or stutter.

Typically it was whenever you went to eat at Baratie, but there were a few occasions when he managed to catch you outside.

-

"I must be in heaven because I'm seeing an angel before me." You tensed up in your seat and froze upon hearing Sanji.

You were at the small outdoor bar next to the giant fish-headed restaurant. Around the end of the first week, you noticed that the place had a pretty good view of the sunset. Sure, you saw the sun set often, but you rarely actually watched it fall below the horizon line, disappearing until morning. It was a minor peaceful event you wanted to enjoy on your supposed vacation alone.

The sky had already darkened by this point. You were just around to finish the drink you had.

"Good evening, Sanji."

He sat next to you, pouting playfully. "Come on m, (Y/N). We've known each other for over two weeks now. There's no need for you to keep acting so stuffy all the time."

You crossed your arms. "I'm not stuffy."

"Yes, you are. Every time I see you it's always a quick sentence or two before nothing but silence. I'm starting to think you don't like me."

'I wish it was that simple.' In fact, you were having the opposite reaction. You were used to making contracts and business deals with people when you spoke to them. You weren't used to being openly flirted with for no reason. 

Like always, you avoided making eye contact with him. This time, you fixed your attention to the remaining ice cubes in your drink.

He leaned closer to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. "Or maybe, it's because you're too shy to admit you like me," He whispered, hot breath hitting your ear and sending a tingle throughout your body.

You snapped your head around, face burning up when you saw how close he was. That damn coy smile plastered on his perfect lips.

He chuckled to himself, brushing a strand of your hair out of your face. "That's it, isn't it?"

"Why do you keep messing with me?" You bluntly asked. Frankly, you were getting tired of his game, even if you weren't entirely sure what this game was.

This was the first time you had caught him off guard. He leaned back a bit, tilting his head. "What makes you think I'm messing with you?"

"If you actually had an interest in me, you would've told me or showed me by now. You just keep saying sweet nothings to mess with me and I'm sick of it," Your voice was growing frustrated, finally voicing your opinion. "I'm trying to enjoy my vacation, not be bothered by some- Hey!"

He grabbed your hand, lifting you from your seat with a tug and pulling you away. You followed, partly because you were unable to pull away and partly because of curiosity as to where he was taking you. He led you to a small alley a bit away.

Before you could question his intentions, he leaned down to press a firm kiss onto your lips. His hands fell to your hips, holding onto you with a firm grasp and locking you against the wall behind you. Almost as if he were afraid you’d try to escape. His nerves were quickly set to rest when you began kissing him back, your hands holding his shoulders. His tongue licked your bottom lip and you gladly parted, allowing him to shove his tongue in your mouth.

After some time, he pulled away and began trailing kisses down your neck. As he did, you felt his hands wander to the button of your shorts.

Feeling him work to undo them you asked him, “What are you doing?”

He pulled away, a coy smile still on his face. “Showing you that I have an interest in you.”

He began to pull your shorts down and you felt your heart begin to race. You weren’t directly out in the open, but if someone going down the main walkway happened to turn their heads they’d spot the two of you.

“Sanji, wait- What if- Ngh!”

He started rubbing your clit through your growing wet panties, chuckling at the quick response he got. “‘What if’ what, darling?”

You glared at him, trying to voice your concerns, but again, he continued to distract you with pleasure.

He knelt down on one knee, grabbing your left thigh, and hooking it over his shoulder after completely removing your shorts. You watched with half-lidded eyes as he pushed and held your underwear to the side, revealing your pussy. He stuck his tongue in first, licking up your folds while maintaining eye contact with you through his blond locks. He continued this motion and you bit your bottom lip, hoping not to make a noise.

He wasn’t having any of that though. If there was one thing he loved, it was to know he was doing a good job. At first, he had started to tease you a bit because he thought you were cute when you got flustered. As the days went on, he noticed that you might not have said much, but you couldn’t hide your physical reactions to him. Your face was almost always flushed around him. Your grip on whatever you held tightened with the simplest of sentences. It made him wonder what type of lover were you? Quiet, non-verbal, highly responsive to the slightest touches, etc.?

He had just never gotten you alone to figure it out, until now.

He sucked your clit, earning a squeal in response. Your hands immediately shot down to his head, grabbing hold of his hair.

‘She looks so cute trying to stay quiet.’

He could feel his pants tightening around his crotch, watching you squirm because of his touch. It was getting difficult for you to stay up with one leg, especially when he slotted two fingers into your wet cunt. He curved his fingers in you, moving them slowly at first before picking up the pace to match how quickly he was flicking his tongue against your clit.

“Sa-Sanji, I- I don’t think I ca-can last much longer,” You whined.

Even without you telling him, he could tell you were getting close. Your walls had started to tighten around his fingers and he had to hold the thigh of your standing leg to support you. He would’ve loved to have you come undone around his tongue, however, for his first time with you, he wanted to fully see your expression.

He pulled away and you let out a loud sigh of relief, panting a bit. You were a little disappointed you hadn’t finished but were hopeful to continue this in a more private enclosed area. Your head was a bit fuzzy though, and you didn’t pick up on the small noise of him undoing his trousers or when he completely pulled down your panties.

He grabbed your thighs and housed you up to position the head of his penis right at your entrance. When you felt it rub against your slick folds, your eyes widened. The two of you watched as he pushed his cock in, seeing it disappear in your cunt. He groaned, eyes rolling back for a moment at how tight you were wrapped around him. You whined, feeling his length fill you up.

Slowly, he rocked his hips back and forth, giving you a chance to adjust to him. He watched your face with amusement, a mix of pleasure and embarrassment in your expression. You were still biting down on your lip, hoping to be as discrete as possible given the situation you were in.

With one swift hard thrust though, you let out a moan. Your legs wrapped around his hips and your arms around his shoulders. You buried your face into the crook of his neck, allowing him to clearly hear all your little whimpers and mewls of delight.

After hearing your moan, he began to thrust harder, wishing to hear more of your voice. You could hear his grunting too, breath growing heavier and heavier with each stroke inside you.

No longer needing to hold you up with both hands, one of them slipped underneath your shirt, sliding under the cup of your bra. He groped your breast, happy at how soft it was in his hand.

The harder he continued to thrust, the shakier your moans got. You were getting close to your release again and he wasn’t far behind, his own breathing now becoming ragged. Now, with each thrust, he could feel your walls tighten around him. Wanting to make sure he got a good look at your face when you came, he briefly removed his hand from your breast to tug your hair back. With your face pulled away from his neck, he plastered his lips against yours, shoving his tongue once more in your mouth. After, his hand returned to groping your breast.

His grip on your thigh was so tight, that you were sure there would be markings. With how hard he was kissing you, your lips were bound to be puffy when he stopped.

Your mind was becoming foggy and all you were focused on was the pleasure you were in, no longer caring someone caught you. You moaned against his lips, your entire body growing tense in his hold. Your walls clamped around him, finally hitting your high.

Seeing your eyes fall shut, engrossed in the feeling of climaxing, combined with how your cunt squeezed against him, he hit deep one last time before unraveling himself. His cock pulsed in you, dumping his entire load inside, savoring how your body milked it.

He pulled away from the kiss, each of your breaths now shaky trying to regain your composure. Your head fell back against the wall, eyes remaining on him.

“What do we do now?” You asked.

“We plan out the rest of your vacation. You’re here for at least one more week, right?” He kissed your cheek. “That gives us one more week of fun, darling.”

[uravitypng]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟

pairing: wolf hybrid denki kaminari x chubby cow hybrid reader

summary: denki kills and eats hybrids, you're his newest target... at least his target at the beginning...

word count: 3.8k words

a/n: this is actually quite messed up but i really like it, i've been writing this for ages!! i hope you like it !! please check the warnings before reading !!

content warnings: prey/predator, dubcon, smut, unprotected sex, knotting, yandere denki, stalking, manipulation, mentions of denki killing and eating people, blood (not descriptive), pet names, kidnapping (but lowkey willingly), reader is turned on by the thrill & danger, praise, degradation - mdni / 18+

cow hybrid reader and wolf hybrid denki!!! he's an actual predator and god you look so tasty. typically he goes for bunnies but you look irresistible. his yellow fluffy ears paired with a sleek tail that matches, along with a black tip end, resting against the side of his leg and a glint of a sharp tooth as he smirks disarming people who should be on high alert around him. slanted, hooded, golden eyes that scream impure desire. he's charming and friendly. just because he's a wolf hybrid it doesn't mean he's dangerous... he wouldn't hurt a fly... that's the last thought that runs through the bunnies heads who become his latest meal think at least.

denki drools when he spots you for the first time, he's seen cow hybrids before but none as beautiful and appealing as you. you're so soft and plump, dark patches litter your skin and your ears droop down the side of your face, two small horns at the top of your head just poking out of your hair too little to do any actual damage. always wearing short denim shorts and skirts with room for your small tail. overalls, dungarees and skin fitting button up shirts that leave little to the imagination. it's mouthwatering as he watches you bend down and tend to your vegetable patch. often twiddling your fingers whenever he spots you, he's been following you for days to know about it and he wonders if you can sense when he's watching you. he doesn't wait this long with other hybrids but he wants to watch you longer. he doesn't know why. he finds you fascinating.

one afternoon your hare hybrid friend visits your cottage in the middle of the forest. "i'm just saying you need to be careful all alone out here. hybrids have been going missing lately in the woods. no one has heard from alice in weeks and she lives closer to you than anyone else does."

your friend peers at you while you look away, instead focusing on your wooden table separating you two. you're not ready to look in his eyes yet, you know the concern will be evident. you glance at your lilies in a vase that are starting to wilt and your blue ceramic teapot with a homemade tea cosy covering the middle section that alice made you last christmas.

he frowns and crosses his arms, you can practically feel his annoyance and displeasure of you avoiding replying.

you take a sip of tea and finally fully digest the information, making eye contact with him. "i appreciate you looking out for me but i like it here. i don't want to move into town."

"move in with me then. i'm on just the outskirts. please, i don't want anything to happen to you." he tries to convince you but you don't budge.

"i'll be even more careful, i promise. i'll always double check the doors are locked and never go out after dark." you shut down the conversation and move on to how your sunflowers are growing quicker than normal this year. you don't want to move, you love your cottage, 'alice has probably just gone to see her family and forgot to tell everybody.'

denki watched as you bid your friend goodbye and he did not like the way you wrapped your arms around him on the doorstep, his taller body engulfing yours and he tells you to promise him you'll be safe. denki hated it. you're his prey, no one else is allowed to touch you.

alice isn't the only one that goes missing, hare doesn't taste nice. no one is allowed to touch you. his pretty heifer.

you unknowingly had denki's rapt attention, so much so that he ended up spraining his ankle on a tree trunk while observing you from the tree line. at that point he decided this little waiting game of his was done, he wanted to get it over with, now annoyed, you're not fast enough to run away from him even with his dodgy ankle and not fast enough to give him an exciting chase so he wants you gone. he does want to hear your voice close up and get you to trust him though, that's always his favourite part (even more than chasing). luring someone in the open, close enough for him to pounce.

today you ventured further in the forest than normal looking for berries to collect for the pie you're planning to make clutching a woven wicker basket tightly so you don't drop any berries, wanting to make it back home before dark just like you promised to your friend. also wanting to be home soon to start making your pie. you're planning to have an early night, you didn't get much sleep last night you swore you heard something outside but chalked it up to the wind playing tricks on you but the doubt still lingered, walking downstairs wrapped in a blanket as you triple checked you locked the doors.

even with a sprained ankle denki was still able to sneak up behind on you and surprise you, wolves aren't labelled as predators for nothing and he hasn't been following you for weeks without your awareness because of luck. "hey sweetheart," he's leaning against a tree bark and looking you up and down hungrily.

you jolt at the sudden voice and yelp turning around to look at him, startled at the handsome hybrid. you're no idiot though, you back away slowly, not taking your eyes of him. warnings from your friend blaring and running through your head. cautionary tales from neighbouring kids as children. your mother drilling into your head at a young age not to trust strangers, not to trust predators no matter how pleasant they seem. she told you stories about how many people still dehumanise hybrids, ostracising them from society. how it's rare to see none hybrids living in hybrid settlements but it still happens, love still happens, love conquers all. but predators... stay away from them. they will do anything in their power to get you alone and make you disappear. there is no such thing as love or friendship or kindness that a predator can feel towards prey, no wolf will love a bunny, no bear will befriend a cow.

"i-is there a problem sir?" you keep backing up, your back hitting the tree. you're cornered. he's faster than you and you know it, wolves are known for being good runners and you are notoriously known as a bad runner from anyone that knows you. you're not going to end up like one of those missing hybrids though, you'll find a way out of this, you're close to your house and you know not to trust a wolf. you're not going to be deceived...

"'sir'? i like that." he smirks and your face heats up. you're not going to be deceived...

"if you'll excuse me i have somewhere to be, someone is waiting for me." you try to keep your voice level and move around him.

denki slams his hand against the tree you're currently backed up against and growls, "don't think so babe," your eyes widen and he leans downs to breathe low in your ear, "why don't you talk to me instead. i get lonely and you're so pretty. i'll be better company than who ever you were planning to see." a shiver runs down your spine and before you can say anything else he crowds your space even more and presses his finger against your lips to stop you from talking again. with his other hand he's lifting your top up and stroking your waist gently.

you should resist. you should run. you don't move.

the voices of reason from your loved ones fade away as his words make you feel wanted and the way he's touching you makes you feel desired. instincts screaming at you, 'he's a wolf! this is a trap!' you ignore it. his hands on you just feel too good. you've never heard of wolves liking cows before, maybe he is just lonely because people don't trust him just because he's a wolf hybrid. you know what that's like, people assume things of you just because you're a cow hybrid.

denki smirks as he takes in your reaction, your shoulders slack and your body relaxes, 'adorable.'

you won't fight him now, you're going to be delicious.

denki digs both his hands on either side of your wide hips, keeping you in place, he doesn't want you to move and try to wriggle away. he breaths in deeply as the scent of your blood permeates the air from the way his sharp fingers from his paws are pressing into you.

you're physically frozen apart from a small quiver. a million thoughts flash through your head, 'this was always his plan, i'm going to die here.' he ignores your tremble and goes to bite you neck, tearing your jugular and killing you. his teeth grazes your skin and you unknowing gasp loudly making denki immediately freeze in his tracks because with that gasp comes a spike of a new smell and it's triggering his dick to harden.

his grip on you gets tighter and you whimper. he raises his head from your neck to look you in eyes in disbelief, "are you really turned on right now?" your mouth opens and closes, no words coming out. he swallows and his disbelief grows at your lack of a rebuttal or any answer, "i'm planning to kill you, you know?" everything is the silent and denki can hear your heartbeat loudly in your chest. "are all cows this fucking stupid?" more silence. denki lifts his head up to look at the sky and grits his teeth inhaling deeply before looking back at you. "jesus you smell so good."

he presses his leg in between your chunky thighs and you whine at the contact. denki groans and his eyes darken even more than they were. if any of his friends saw him right now they would be grossed out, it's not normal to want to fuck someone you're planning on eating. bakugou would tell him he's messed up in the head. maybe he's just horny in general, he wonders if sero is still single, sex with him is always so mindblowing. the thought of that makes him growl again...he doesn't want sero, he wants you, he needs you.

your eyes are cloudy and your blood is starting to drip down staining your skirt. denki glances at you and sees a dazed look on your face, "fuck it," he murmurs under his breath and rips off your underwear, disregarding your shocked shriek. he takes what he wants and he wants you.

he hurriedly unbuckles his belt and shoves down his jeans, pooling down at his ankles.

denki wastes no time slamming his cock into you and starts thrusting at a brutal pace. "feel so amazing, such a pretty little cow." tears run down your face as soon as he stretches you, it's painful and you've never taken someone as big as him before especially when no foreplay has happened. "too many clothes," he mumbles again and tears off your shirt, pulling your bra down and grabbing your breasts harshly, groping to his hearts content, occasionally pinching and flicking your nipples causing you to wince. your pussy warm and getting wetter, sucking him in every time he goes to pull out causing him to growl deeply. your moans get louder and the pain dulls into intense pleasure. little moos escape your mouth and it makes denki go even more feral, wanting you to keep making those sweet noises.

this whole time you haven't been speaking, you don't want to speak, you don't want to think about what will happen after this and after you had gotten used to the pace you stopped making any noises apart from a hushed sob or two. eventually one particular thrust leaves you squealing loudly mixed in with a loud moo. your head feels fuzzy, like its full of cotton wool and you're pressing your body closer to him and trying to match his pace he doesn't stop you, enjoying your neediness for him. "wan' more. need more. want you s'bad," slurring your words and hiccuping. denki is stunned by your attitude, this whole time you've been surprising him. picking up your plush thigh he wraps it around him higher and starts pushing into you harder. you scream loudly and try to hold onto his arms, losing your grasp as your body bounces on his cock. "lemme come," you beg.

"awe, you wanna come," denki teases you snickering, "think you deserve it?"

you nod your head frantically. "yeah, yeah, 'm good and pretty, jus' like you said."

he hums like he's actually considering it before answering "i never said you're good. i said you feel good. i might let you come later."

you start blabbering, fat tears streaming down your face as you beg and plead but he just smirks with a gleam in his eye. "i'll think about letting you come if you take my knot like a good girl." his pace becomes even harder than before and you feel something forming, it's enlarged, swollen, bulbous, that's getting bigger continuously smacking against you but not going in.

"knot?" you tilt your head confused. if your head was more clear you'd have an idea what it was, sometimes when you go into town you hear people talking and once you had heard about knots in passing.

"are you serious, are all cows this dumb?" he teases you and cackles.

pouting, you deny his accusation, "'m dumb, just don' know."

denki quirked an eyebrow, looking amused, "oh, when did you become so vocal?" he says playfully. "you'll find out what a knot is in a minute sweetheart."

wanting desperately to come you nod your head while your moans and ah's increase. "ssshit, gonna give it to you pretty girl," he groans and pushes his fat knot, ropes of cum spilling into and stuffing you full. a silent scream escapes your mouth and you lean against denki's lithe chest, a little moo comes out and you shake.

he growls at you telling you not to move after you start shifting and wriggling, unable to pull away from him and his knot. it's hard for you to keep still, you thought it was painful before but the larger stretch makes you feel like you're being torn apart.

as you lean against denki and pant heavily a light blush forms on his cheeks. in the back of his mind he's thinking about how he wants to wrap his arms and never let you go. he's brought back to reality as he hears your sobs and his eyebrows furrow. it shouldn't matter to him in the slightest that you're in pain, it's his plan that in the next hour you won't be breathing but he doesn't like it...

"want me to make you come now sweetheart?" he soothingly asks you. in between sobs and small cries you tell him you want to come and he lets you. "you've such a good girl. you've been such a good cow. so obedient. cute little heifers get to come."

being plugged full of his cum and his cock still hard and throbbing in you, he grabs hold of your pillowy thighs and spreads them further apart, lifting one up to perch it around his slim waist after slipping down his leg previously from hard thrusts shaking your body. his other hand going down, unknowingly he retracts his sharp nails to make sure he doesn't hurt you at all, and presses against your clit, making figures of eight, at the same time grinding into you and gyrating his hips.

denki can't stop his groans as he feels you clenching around him. he speeds up, wanting to feel you come around him and his knot.

you arch your back and your eyesight goes starry, you moan as you climax and denki helps you ride out your orgasm. denki groans again feeling you come undone. cunt now puffy and swollen. the pain begins to dull after such an intense orgasm but you still clutch onto denki's top tightly. he sees that you're still in pain and frowns, caressing your soft skin in a second attempt to calm you down and relax you.

there's so many thoughts running through his head right now as he holds you, thinking about how beautiful you are and how you make his heart skip a beat. he thinks about your cute patchy skin and supple body that feels so heavenly. thinking about the judgemental comments from people if they saw what just happened, and people could, neither of you tried to muffle your voices and you're out in the open. thinks about if he's starting to change his mind about you... thinking about what he was planning... it would be a waste of a couple weeks of watching you but he's thinking about how if anything did happen to you he'd be gutted. he thinks about how if he saw another hybrid try to hurt you he'd be furious. he'd make them pay. he would want to protect you, keep you safe. make sure you're his... 'safe? mine? what am i going on about. i don't think i'll go into the forest again for awhile... i'll stick with bunnies from now on...'

he's jolted from his thoughts as you copy him, tenderly tracing circles along his hip. denki intakes air as he feels the tender touch, almost lovingly, it nearly makes him cry with how you're touching him. your mind is completely blank and your face displaying bliss from the aftermath of sex. you're so pliant right now, he could just take you, no one would notice, you'd just be another hybrid that's gone missing in the woods. you wouldn't even fight him.

denki starts talking quietly, making it very clear what he says is for your ears only which makes it all the more sweeter and he tells you that you're beautiful and asks about the berries you were carrying and which berry is your favourite. he whispers to you about how he sprained his ankle earlier and little stories and anecdotes stuff like how he was once electrocuted when he was a toddler holding an umbrella in a thunder storm and how he lived surrounded by non-hybrids a lot of his life but he's still wary of how they might have turned on him at the drop of a hat, he carries that anxiety with him even now, hidden but still there. he lived there before he found his safe haven, his friends he met, hybrids like him, he called them like-minded and you weren't really sure what he was referring to.

you hum listening to his stories and press your body against his even more due to getting cold from the lack of clothes you were wearing and the sun that's staring to go down.

after a while of more of his stories you ask, "can we kiss?"

"huh?"

"we haven't kissed this whole time and i think we should."

he bursts out laughing and accuses you for only wanting to kiss him because of his teeth which you vehemently deny causing him to laugh more. "alright sweetheart, i'll give you what you want." tilting your head up he kisses you delicately before evolving into something more hungry, his tail swishing softly and languidly behind him as he licks into your mouth, tongues intertwining, and teasingly trails your bottom lip with his teeth.

his knot begins to soften and he knows soon he'll have to pull out. he holds onto you tighter not wanting to let you go and that's when he's made up his mind. he's not going to let you go. you have no choice.

you whine and he hisses under his breath as he takes his cock out and watches his cum drip down your thighs, wanting to get you both home as quick as possible so he can go down on you and feast on your combined taste. denki holds onto your waist to keep you from falling over, your knees wobbly from standing in that position for so long. "i've decided what i'm going to do with you." you gulp and try to stay calm, at least you've had great sex before dying. "i'm keeping you." he grins at you.

"w-wait what?" you ask confused.

"i thought i was gonna to eat you." he explains and you nod your head gathering that was your demise. "but now i want you as my cute little girlfriend."

you're stunned, genuinely speechless. "i have questions... can i ask questions?" you request timidly.

'cute,' denki thinks before smirking and teases you replying, "maybe later, first lets get home."

you aren't refusing to leave with him, it's not even because you're worried it's your only option, it's that you want to leave with him. you know how wrong that is, on multiple levels, but somehow you want to trust him and put your faith in him. you want to think he sees you differently than before or differently to others. you see him differently too, not just during sex but afterwards too, all those words exchanged and chaste touches, you want more. it's wrong... but that doesn't mean you don't go willingly with him.

if you knew what denki did to your friends you wouldn't be compliant. if you knew the extent of what he's done you'd prefer to die and be with your friends but denki will make sure you never find out, he'll never let you out of his sight.

denki licks his lips and you panic worried that even this last minute was a ploy to get you to completely let down your guard but he stares at your bare chest. before you can have a reaction to his stare he shrugs off his jacket and drapes it over your shoulders, fixing the rest of your clothes the best he can, his hands hovering in between your breasts. "don't want anyone looking at what's mine."

he holds onto your hand and walks in front of you in the direction of his house. "i'm kaminari by the way. you can call me denki. you can also stick with 'sir' if you want." he smirks and turns to look at you causing your eyes to widen as he mentions the use of sir. "this entire time i never told you my name sweetheart, i can't believe i didn't tell you or you ask about it."

"that never crossed my mind, i was more concerned about being eaten." you say seriously and denki chuckles.

"understandable sweetheart. i told you mine so it's your turn. what's my pretty girlfriend called?"

[fatkish]

First time asking 🤭🤭 but I wanted to make a request for upper moon demon Kokushibo x hashira fem/reader headcanons with him as a lover (sfw and nsfw, if you’re comfortable writing it ofc👉👈 (˶˃⤙˂˶)

Kokushibo x Hashira Fem Reader HC’s

SFW + NSFW

Kokushibo must have seen something in you, maybe it was your resolve or bravery to face him knowing that you’d most certainly die, or maybe it was your strength

Either way, whatever it was, congratulations, you’ve gotten his attention

Your relationship was definitely rough at the start

Perhaps you kept running into him during your patrols

Every time you came across him you’d have a short battle, maybe exchange some flirtatious words and then eventually he’d leave

No matter what, you kept coming back and so did he

Every night you’d stop him from eating people but you’d get hurt in the process

Eventually you just flat out asked him why he became a demon if he was a demon slayer

He then revealed to you the truth about the demon crest and what it would mean for those who awakened it

One night, you saw him and stood next to him, you asked him if he was ever lonely

Surprised by your disregard for the rules, you sat down beside him and laid back, looking up at the stars, completely ignoring the fact that he could kill you

When he mentioned that you were being foolish about letting your guard down, and that he could kill you, you simply replied with ‘and yet, you still haven’t’ and patted the grass besides you

Kokushibo decided to sit down next to you

You asked him again if he was ever lonely being a demon

He told you it had its moments

You asked if it was worth becoming a demon

He told you it was

You then sat up and looked him straight in the eye and told him, “I don’t think you’re evil. I don’t want to kill you, but I have to make sure that you don’t kill anyone, if you’re willing to not eat anyone, I’ll let you drink my blood whenever you’re hungry”

To say he was surprised by your sincerity was an understatement, he was shocked but didn’t show it much

That’s likely how your relationship came to be

Kokushibo started to develop feelings for you and you for him

He would stay at your estate (Kagaya already knows and has allowed it since he believes that you may yet change Kokushibo and that he will change his ways) during the day

At night you both would train, he’d teach you and you’d become stronger

One of the things Kokushibo loves is when you rake your nails and scratch his scalp. Running your fingers through his hair, gently combing his hair whilst scratching his scalp. He’ll lay his head in your lap while you do this

If you’re cold, he’ll let you snuggle up to him. He’ll sit down with a blanket around his shoulder, once you sit next to him, he’ll wrap his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer

He would go on patrols with you and watch you from a distance

When you both learned that Nezuko had conquered the sun, you decided that Kokushibo should get treatment from Tamayo so that he’d no longer be under Muzan’s control

When the final battle came, Muzan didn’t expect Kokushibo to defect and help in fighting him

You and Kokushibo were an immense help and you both managed to survive the final battle

After losing most of your friends and having awoken your own demon crest, Kokushibo proposed that you become a demon to which you agreed

You and Kokushibo built a house together, you both live together and you watched as your friends grew and passed away

You learned medicine and you and Kokushibo both are able to survive off of small amounts of blood alone

You both run a small nighttime clinic similar to what Tamayo did, you supply Yushiro with blood

Although you were saddened by the loss of your friends, Kokushibo stayed by your side as you grieved

As time went on, you and Kokushibo would both come to love the other more

Eventually as things settled, Kokushibo would become more bold

You still enjoy food so when you would cook, Kokushibo would come up from behind you and wrap his arms around you

During the day, you both would sleep

Eventually you both learned to gain energy from sleeping, and you both decided to then open a small dojo

Kokushibo enjoyed teaching the art of swordsmanship to young people

At night, sometimes you both didn’t do much sleeping

Kokushibo is a very passionate lover. He dovotes himself entirely to you and your pleasure

If you haven’t cum at least three times, then he believes he’s done something wrong

He’ll lay you down and run his hand all over your body, slowly caressing you and mapping out your body

His kisses are slow and deep, making sure to convey his vast love for you

He’ll use his fingers to explore your insides, curling and scissoring you, making your toes curl

He’s very methodical with his approach to sex, taking his time and making sure to feel everything

He’ll pinch and nip at your chest, taking his time to mark your chest with love bites, giving each breast and nipple, through attention

By the time he reaches your nethers, he’ll have already brought you to the edge and back at least twice

He’ll then spread your legs and begin to feast on you, using his tongue to explore every inch of you, slowly and steadily licking and sucking on every inch of your sensitive flesh

The way he eats you out makes you see stars, he’ll bite and suck on you, shoving his tongue deep inside you, twirling it around as he grips your thighs

When you cum on his face, he makes sure to swallow and collect every last drop of cum you have to offer

Once you’re throughly prepared in his eyes, then he’ll gently and slowly sink himself inside you

Making sure he feels each and every inch of your silken vice like flesh, letting you slowly swallow his entire length

Once he’s fully sheathed inside you, he’ll slowly begin to thrust, taking his time and feeling every inch before pushing back in

He’ll use his thumb to circle your clit or pump your dick while he slowly thrusts

His slow pace is enough to drive you mad

When he starts to speed up, he’s changing the angle and begins to aim for your g-spot/prostate

Once he’s found it he doesn’t stop his assault on it, he’ll abuse it until he’s done for the night

As he speeds up his thrusts are getting harder and rougher, making your insides clench down on him

He’ll start kissing you and biting at your neck as he speeds up

When you cum on his cock he fucks you through your orgasm

[d34dg1rl5]

Dbd hc drabble

Trickster

• He is so in love - with himself. But also with you. Which is crazy.

• Once you are dating this maniac there is no backing out of it.

• There are times when he sits you down on a log and he starts to sing some of his songs (choreo included). You should feel so honored - he literally is giving you a private concert!

• Trickster hates to be touched. At least at the beginning of your relationship. As time goes on he will let you touch him. At first slight hand holding, then quick hugs, longer hugs and after quite a while he will allow kisses.

• He loves kisses everywhere, but mostly on his chest/abs. He will feel like a king that is being worshipped (he seriously thinks of himself like a king sometimes).

• He loves to kiss you on your temple or the back of your hand - like a prince with his princess.

• During trials he usually spares you. Sometimes not.

Knight

• Tarhos is a special case - if you date him you date the whole crew.

• JK! But if you guys aren't alone you will ALWAYS be accompanied by the knights of the Compagna.

• Tarhos is SO protective of you. If someone steps even a little bit too close his hand is already on the shaft of his sword. You have to reassure him that everything is alright and that no one will hurt you.

• Tarhos will always spare you in trials - he thinks of you like a damsel in distress. He kills the dangerous people around you and you will be granted the hatch.

Frank (Legion)

• Frank is just an edgy, angsty teenager, he doesn't know any better. He will be so madly in love with you once you're together with him.

• He just wants to cuddle and be with you. He needs your warmth and loves when you are the big spoon. He barely got any love throughout his life.

• If someone hurt you Frank is going absolutely feral. Who did it? Where are they? He will fucking gut them like a fish!!

• Don't be mad with him, he is trying his best for you. :(

• This boy will always give you the hatch - if he hurts you it's by accident!

Danny Johnson (Ghostface)

• This mf.

• He is in love with you. Unhealthy.

• He makes pictures of you whenever he can, you won't even notice him! He keeps his favorites in his pocket, he has to keep you close to him for good luck!

• During the trial he loves to stalk you and then tackle you in a hug. He only will let you go if you give him a kiss.

• Remove his mask? Negativ. (If you got this reference i love you). He will remove it eventually. But for that you have to earn his deepest trust and show him that it's okay.

• He is so pretty. I picture him having brown curly hair, brown eyes, a slight stubble on his chin and a scar on his lip which he got from a fight with a victim (He is proud of that scar, he loves victims who fight back).

• He just loves to quickly move his mask over his mouth and then kiss you on your face.

[flippinpancakes64]

The Cullens reacting to their partner being missing.

Some people kidnapped the wrong person at the wrong time, what would the Cullens do in that situation? How would they take care of her after finding her?

I love your work, I can read everything you've done over and over again, have a nice day!

The Cullens when you’ve been kidnapped

Thank you so much for the kind words! It always makes me so happy when you guys say that you like my works so much!

Also I know I just opened requests… but I am closing them again 🥲 sorry guys. I have over 20 requests in my inbox rn and I don’t want them to pile up too much! Please be patient with me

Thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy!

Edward:

You told him that you were going to your friend’s house

Initially, he wanted to walk you there, but you refused

It was the middle of the day and you can take care of yourself

So off you went

You were supposed to text him when you got there, but a text never came

He was getting antsy

It was only a minute or two after you should have gotten there, but he was ready to bolt out the door

His concerns were solidified when Alice rushed into the room and he saw the vision of you getting tackled and pushed into a van in her head

He was on his way in a second

He followed your faint scent until it stopped in front of a warehouse

He didn’t bother to stop and listen through the doors, he just barged in

You were tied up on the floor, unconscious

Two men were nearby in the middle of an argument

You weren’t the person they were supposed to get, but rather someone who looked a lot like you

Either way, they were screwed

Edward wasted no time in killing both of them

He scooped you up and ran all the way to Carlisle’s clinic

He insisted that you stay the night to make sure you were okay

He is not leaving your side after that

You’re not even gonna be allowed to walk the five feet to the bathroom without him

Sorry not sorry

If he was alive, he would have almost had a heart attack, and he’s not about to have that happen again

Alice:

She was so preoccupied with visions at the moment

There was a tracker vampire who seemed to have it out for Jasper, so her mind was constantly tracking him

You felt bad even bothering her to tell her you were going to the mall

She just gave you an absent nod as you left

She was watching the vampire in her mind, watching as he made different choices, chose different paths

She was so distracted she completely disregarded the vision of you

She only noticed your absence when the sun began to sink behind the horizon and you were still nowhere to be found

It took her a lot of thinking to even remember where you had gone

Instantly, she took out her phone and tried to call you, nothing

A text, nothing

Your location had been turned off too

Then she caught another vision

This time of a group of men holding a gun to your head and pulling the trigger

Instantly, she was up

She replayed the scene over and over in her mind, trying to track down where exactly you were before it was too late

She flew into the basement of the house just in time, the men were loading the gun as she burst in

Swiftly, she knocked everyone out, and killed the man with the gun

You were in hysterics, so scared of what almost happened but also relieved to see your girlfriend

She just held you for the rest of the night, apologizing over and over about leaving you for so long, about not noticing that you’d been gone

From that point on, she made sure to ALWAYS tune in whenever a vision had you in it

Jasper:

You wanted to go out to the club

But Jasper’s not really into that scene

He’s gone with you a couple of times, but it’s never his first choice

So when you ask him if he wants to go, he declines

He accompanied you two days ago, that’s his club tolerance for the week

So you get all dressed up, give him a kiss goodbye, and you’re out the door

He isn’t too concerned, you’re going with your friends after all

He does start to worry, though, when 2 am rolls around and you’re still not home

Usually, you’re home around 1, but sometimes you spend the night at your friends house

He calls you, nothing. He texts you, nothing. So he calls one of your friends

She answers completely wasted and says she hasn’t seen you in a little bit

You went to the bathroom a couple of hours ago and she just assumed you went home or something

He always knew that friend was an idiot

He’s out the door in a flash, driving down to the club you were supposed to be at

He sees your car out in the front lot, and right next to it, a suspicious looking white van

Inside, he can hear your muffled screams

He rips open the door and sees a man holding a knife to your throat, asking you all manners of questions that you have no clue how to answer

Jasper’s always been very cautious about how he acts around you, he doesn’t want you to see him as a monster

But in this instance, he gives in to the beast

He’s shaking by the time the man is dead, and he frees your from your restraints

He needs the rest of the night to wind down and just hold you

He apologizes over and over for scaring you, for leaving you alone, that that even happened in the first place

Does not leave your side ever again

Rosalie:

You and Rosalie were out on the town

You wanted to go see all of the new shops that had moved downtown, and she couldn’t say no even if she tried

So off you went, coffee in hand and Carlisle’s credit card in Rosalie’s pocket

You were in a boutique, looking through all of the pretty dresses, when you found a beautiful dark blue velvet dress that you thought Rosalie would look perfect in

So you found her size on the rack and shoved her into a fitting room

Only while she was in there, a group of three guys came up behind you and grabbed you, pulling you outside

They didn’t get very far though before Rosalie stopped them

She ran out of the dressing room, dress still on

She set off the sensors as she ran into the street

She roundhouse kicked one of the guys, knocking out three of his teeth in the progress

The other guys she simply punched and they were down, crying for their mommies

Luckily, they didn’t have the chance to hurt you

So even though you were shaken up, you were okay

As she’s standing there holding you, waiting for the police to arrive, you have the nerve to laugh

“What the hell are you laughing about? You almost died!”

“You look really pretty in that dress, Rose”

She just rolls her eyes and kisses you

Emmett:

You were at one of your friend’s apartments in the city center

He was moving in and asked if you would come help

So obviously you said yes and obviously you brought your mountain-sized boyfriend who could lift the whole moving van

The three of you were working hard, grabbing stuff from the van and carrying it up the stairs

You had sat down on the ledge of the sidewalk for a second, catching your breath and drinking some water when a guy came up to you out of nowhere and tried to grab you

Emmett heard you and dropped everything instantly

But by the time he got down the stairs, you were gone

He could hear your muffled scream getting fainter as the man dragged you farther away

He bolted as fast as he could in the direction of your voice

When he caught up, he didn’t even bother asking questions

Punch first, questions later

Only he killed the guy

Not that he’s upset that he did, he’s just sort of frustrated that he’ll never get to know why that asshole thought it would be a good idea to try to take his partner

Either way he’s not letting you out of his sight

The only place he relaxes is when you’re at home and safe

Constantly on guard

Poor guy just needs to relax

Esme:

You had been begging her for a week straight to come with you to this concert

But it was a slipknot concert, and definitely not her speed

She entertained you for a little bit and listened to some of their music to see if she would want to go with you, but yeah that wasn’t happening

So eventually you gave up and decided to ask one of your friends to go

She promised she would make it up to you when you got home, only you never showed up

It was getting late, nearing 3 am, and you were still nowhere to be seen

She tried calling, texting, anything, but you weren’t there

She was getting really worried, when suddenly she got a call from your friend

Your friend was in hysterics, crying and screaming, it was hard to understand them

But from what she gathered, your friend’s ex boyfriend had showed up and drugged you, dragging you away from your car

And from what else she gathered, he wasn’t intending on taking you, but rather your friend

She immediately got in her car and sped down to the concert center

When she got there, there were at least 4 cop cars

Your friend was standing next to one, talking to an officer when Esme showed up

The officer pointed her in the direction of a different cruiser, and you were inside, blissfully asleep

She could have started crying she was so relieved

She got the story from one of the officers, apparently the ex realized he had the wrong person and turned around to try to get your friend, only to see that the police were already there

Stupid idiot

You didn’t remember a thing when you woke up, which was probably for the best

Oh well, at least now Esme will go with you to every concert

Carlisle:

He has a lot of enemies

Even though he has tried so hard over his expansive lifetime to be cordial to everyone, some people just can’t be reasoned with

He knows this, but he never thought anyone would go after you

He was at the clinic when he got a call from Alice, saying that she saw a man with red eyes taking you in your sleep and killing you

She didn’t recognize him, but after giving his description, Carlisle knew exactly who it was

He figured he had a couple of hours to get to you and prepare for the man’s arrival

But he didn’t

He took a lunch break at work and drove to your house, intending to warn you of what was to come later that night

Only you weren’t there

Your bedroom window was broken and your sheets were tossed all over the bed

Not to mention the stench of vampire that permeated the room

He completely forgot about your midday naps

He was instantly in searching mode

He got Alice and Edward to help track you down, both of their skills valuable for this

He found you in an old factory, a bite on your ankle that was slowly filling you with venom

While Edward and Alice killed the man, he sucked the venom from your wound, the whole time praying that you would be okay

You were knocked out cold for a week after that

He kept you at his home clinic, making sure to keep an eye on you at all hours of the day

He feels so guilty

But the moment you wake up and look so happy to see him, he feels better

Vampire! Bella:

She’s had her fair share of danger

I mean, when she was human she was a magnet for it

But in her time of knowing you, you’ve never posed much of a threat to yourself

So she’s never been too worried about you

You had asked her earlier if she wanted to go to the movies with you, and she had declined

She needed to go hunting, and it was going to be a perfect night for it

So you both went your separate ways

She left her phone at home, opting to keep it safe while she throws herself around the woods

When she gets home, it’s late, and you’re nowhere to be seen

She opens her phone to call you, only to find you already left her a voicemail

Not a good sign

She listens to it, and she can hear you whispering, your voice quivering with fear

You’re in the trunk of a car, and you have no idea where you’re going. You don’t know the guys who took you, and you’re scared

That’s all she needs to hear

It doesn’t take her long to track you down, your scent very prominent to her

On the other side of the door to the house you’re in, she can hear two guys arguing about what to do with you

Apparently you saw something you shouldn’t have seen

Oh well, now they’re going to see the last thing they’ll ever see

She feels a little guilty about killing the guys, but on the other hand she doesn’t

They had the gall to kidnap her partner, so they can deal with the consequences of that

You are now not allowed to leave the house without her

She follows you everywhere

And she’s always super close

Yes, she even follows you to the bathroom

No one will ever touch you again

[extremely-judgemental]

Can we talk about Tamlin again? His story is infinitely sad.

During his younger years, he hides his true nature for the fear of his father and brothers. He has no interest in being a High Lord and is completely satisfied working with his brothers-in-arms and protecting his court. Ultimately his powers come through and he's hated by his brothers. He obeys every command from his father so that he isn't assumed to be a rebel and ends up betraying his mentor. Since then he lives in fear of Rhysand and resists him little whenever insulted because of his guilt.

With his father's murder he becomes the one thing he didn't want to be. He has to leave the life he loved to become someone his people need. Despite the lack of proper training with the court matters, he accepts the one job he always hated.

He offers home to Lucien making an enemy out of Autumn, his neighbouring court which no one would do for a complete stranger who isn't much of a benefit to his court in any way. Lucien becomes his only friend, confidant and family.

I think no one talks about this part as much as they should. When Amarantha establishes her rule, he's the only High Lord allowed to walk out freely. She gives him fifty years to break the curse. Not only is his court condemned all the same, he can't blame failing to save Prythian on his imprisonment like the other HLs could. Knowing Tamlin is warrior at heart, it's heartbreaking that he has to willingly send his 'brothers' to their death. What isn't addressed (enough or at all) is the resentment others UtM or in Prythian develop towards him for not undoing the curse already or trying enough when he stopped sending his sentries out to die. Every time Amarantha does anything remotely cruel, Tamlin would be blamed too for turning his back on entire fae population. Somehow this is glossed over as if fifty years of captivity wouldn't affect the way others see Tamlin.

He finally finds someone who loves him and could potentially break the curse. He ensures her family is taken care of when he didn't have to, long before they fall in love with each other. But he sends her away for her safety damning himself to more blame and hatred. He accepts his fate as Amarantha's toy when the woman he loves returns only to be treated like a circus animal and tortured and abused. He watches as the entirety of fae population bets against her life, watch Feyre almost get killed twice and truly killed once.

Once they are free, he has to build his court back up and also protect Feyre and his people. Even after all those years, he doesn't trust himself qualified to be a HL and takes advice from anyone including Ianthe who manipulates and betrays him, who he believed to be his friend.

We know how it goes from here. Feyre leaves with the one who abused her UtM. Rhysand gloats whenever he can. Tamlin makes a deal with someone crueler than Amarantha. He believes Feyre finally is safe from Rhysand only to realise she's played him. He loses Lucien. He loses the trust of the very people he cared about so much. He cares about the realm enough to spy for the other courts though no one believes him or even likes him. He helps Feyre and her sister. He helps bring the one man he hates so much back to life for her sake. Even after everything his court still suffers from what Feyre and the war did. For a soldier to watch his land wither away, it must be one of the worst nightmares.

There's one scene that always gets me. The one in ACOMAF where Tamlin is with his sentries, talking and laughing with his people during some gathering. That was supposed to be his life, he almost had it if he had the chance to heal. But all of it was stripped away because he loved Feyre and tried over and over again to protect her, blindly sacrificing everything for her. Then I remember Tamlin in his manor, empty and in ruins, with no one around.

To come to think of it, he has received hate almost all his life. Sometimes, rightfully so. But mostly for none of his fault. Maybe he deserves a break after all.

[hikarimiyanaga]

Her biggest regret

Warnings : Cheating. Angst.

A one-shot I needed to get out of myself as I try to navigate my life-work-games balance. Lmao. Chapter 4 of the Queen's Bride should be released within the month.

You freeze as you see them kiss. The wind in your lungs taken away by the sight.

You knew it.

You knew from the way she looked at him. From the way she spoke of him. The way she touched his arm.

Because all the things she did to him were once yours.

She used to look at you like you make the sun go up.

She used to speak like you were the only thing that mattered besides her children.

She used to touch you every night and revere you.

You let out a strangled noise and they both look at you.

You step inside and get your bracelet. What once held her promise of forever. But now it just burned you. Burned your heart.

"I'm giving this back." You say as you take it off your wrist and you see pain cross her eyes. "My apologies on disturbing you, Your grace." You quickly slip away after that. You run and run as you get to your tent. So much so that you don't hear her call your name. You don't hear her reject Jon's touch as she watched you run. You don't hear her anguish scream as she held the bracelet that once promised what you wanted.

-

You spent your days training. This was your life. This should just be it. You shouldn't have fallen for her. For the queen that you served. But here you are anyways.

You pant as Grey Worm looks at something behind you with silent anger in his eyes. He's always been a big brother to you. Always there and always guiding. There was a reason you are the only woman in the unsullied. Too strong to become a slave so you became a soldier instead.

You don't dare look behind for you knew whom his silent anger is for. You can feel it though. Her burning stare. You cover his eyes.

"Stop looking at her like that. You won't be marching in front if everyone thinks you want to kill her." You whisper then drink water.

"But she-"

"No buts, Grey Worm. She's still our queen." You can see the defeat in his eyes. The gratitude winning over the want to protect you.

"Go run. So she can't see you. That is the one thing I will refuse her of." You chuckle at the vindication in his voice.

"Thank you." You say then you slip away from his presence.

-

You've been avoiding her.

Daenerys could tell. What once was your spot was always given to different people each day.

What once was your voice greeting her as she checked on her army was always replaced with Grey Worm's.

And she knew of it. But there was nothing she can do. She betrayed you. She didn't keep her promise.

She stared at the bracelet she gave you. The one you gave back to her.

She can still see it, the pain in your eyes. The unshed tears as you took it off. The way you always ran away from her whenever she wanted to find you.

She can't help the sob that escaped her as she held it.

She wished she could take it back.

She wished she never felt attracted to him. Because that once fleeting attraction only made it worse when she saw the hurt in your eyes.

"Your grace." Jon calls out as he slips inside her office. The one thing that you always did whenever it was this time of the day. She longed to see you do it again. To come get her whenever it got too late. To bring her food once you knew that she skipped dinner in order to work more.

"You should eat, your grace." Jon further opens the door and she sees the servants he brought with him.

"Do not let them in." She says and the dothraki who was stationed to her quickly made a cross with their spears as to not let the servants in. And she marveled at how you always did that even if she never said it. How you were so attuned to what she wanted that even if she never voices them out, you always just know and you always do it. "Lord Commander. This is my office. No servant is allowed to enter here even if you came with good intentions."

"My apologies. Then I can-"

"No. I will get out of here myself. I do not trust your servants to not poison me." And it seemed paranoid but she had too many assassination attempts made by so-called servants to not consider such thing.

"My apologies again. Then I will leave you to it." She watches as the dothraki close the door and go back to their original position.

'What a stark difference.' She thinks to herself. 'She never once did that. Not even made others help her when she always brought me food.' And she also remembered the bandages on your hands as you held the food. And the confession from Grey Worm that you learned how to cook just so you can give her food when she overworked herself.

"I'm such an idiot." She cried once again as she gently held the bracelet.

-

It was a silent night, you realize as you got stationed in front of her chambers. Grey Worm figured that it's been two months since then and you also insisted on the position. Besides, you were only here as she slept, so you figured that you won't even see her.

"Y/N." You flinch as you hear Missandei.

"My lady." You call out and she slaps your arm.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that already."

"You did but-"

"No buts." You groan as you silently curse your brother. What a loudmouth.

"My apologies then. Missandei." She grins then takes your arm.

"Come."

"What! But my station."

"I can cover, Y/N." You glare at your comrade as Missandei pulls you to another room.

"Grey Worm might be my brother but he can get jealous too, you know?" You speak as Missandei stripped you of your uniform.

"Shut it." You chuckle as she gets annoyed.

"What are you trying-" You stop as she shoves some clothes onto you.

"Wear those."

"What-"

"Wear them." That was the final thing she says as she slips out of the room.

You look at the trousers and pants. It was a fancy version of what you usually wore.

'What could it be for?' You think but you wear them anyways. You know how Missandei can be if she isn't obeyed. Besides, you just know that Grey Worm will give you spartan training if you even thought about disobeying your essentially sister-in-law.

-

You arrive at her office and look at the basket and jar of wine in your hands.

Apparently, Daenerys have been missing all her meals for the past few days. Only opting for the bread to munch on as she toured and saw progress in her plans.

"She's punishing herself." Missandei says to you as she drags you. "Her guard always say that she cries at least once while she held your bracelet."

"It's not my bracelet anymore." You say with such pain in your voice that Missandei hugs you.

"It's yours. Even if you don't want it to be anymore." You sob into her shoulder as she comforts you. It's been months but you still haven't moved on. You never will, you knew that. Your fragile and broken heart will always be hers even if her heart wasn't yours anymore. "Just bring dinner to her, please. How will any of us see her ascend to her throne if she starves herself in the process?"

And so here you are. A bundle of nerves, just anxious.

"Get in, give her food then get out. Easy enough, right? It should be! Damn it!"

"Just get in." You look at Tyrion and frown.

"Even you?"

"I know what she did is unforgivable but you should-"

"I know what lies beyond. I know their atrocities." You say in resolution and open the door. The two dothrakis on her station sees you and slips out of the office as Daenerys continues working.

"Missandei? Can you just give me a glass of wine? One that can fi-"

"You should eat properly." You speak and you see as her hand stops writing. As she slowly looks at you. You smile sadly at her as you walk up to her desk. "Here." You clear her desk of her documents, bringing them over to the table in her office then bring out the contents of your basket. The ones you cooked with your own hands. She silently watches as you do all these. You don't forget to give her a glass of wine then smile at her. "Eat."

She looks at the food and wine then she tears up. Gods, how she missed this. How she missed you.

"Is this a dream?" You can hear the yearning in her voice for this to be her reality. And you know it is, the hurt and pain in your heart right now is the proof.

"It's not." You say as you pour yourself a glass of wine. You never liked the thing, always sobering through celebrations and such. And so, dream you will never drink this, you and her know that so you drink the glass in one go. You grunt as you put the glass down. You never liked it's effects before until now. The alcohol in you seemingly giving you courage to face her. "It really isn't. So eat, please." Daenerys nods and begins to help herself to the food. She watches as you pour yourself another glass.

"Do you-" She tries to stop you but you didn't want to remember this night. You didn't want this pain anymore.

-

You were drunk by the time Daenerys finishes her food. The entire jug of wine was almost emptied by you if she didn't stop you by your sixth glass.

"You know." You begin as you felt yourself get dizzy. "I knew there was a reason why I don't like wine. My self-control is slipping out of me. I can feel it." You giggle and laugh.

"Y/N-"

"And you! The love of my life!" You smile as you look at her and Daenerys felt like she travelled to the past where you looked at her like she was a goddess walking on the ground.

"Such a tragedy. I knew you would find someone better. I knew it in my head but I just- I still gambled my heart." You sigh wistfully as the pain squeezed her heart. "And I never got it back." She stares at you as you walk to her.

"Tell me, your grace." She felt another squeeze at the unfamiliar address. You stopped calling her that when the two of you made love for the first time.

"Was it fun?" She froze at that. "Was it good when you kissed him? Or when you fucked him?" You refuse to believe that any sane man would be able to resist her charm. Hell, even you couldn't resist it.

"Did it feel good when you broke my heart?" You couldn't stop the tears now as they flowed freely onto her lap. She looks as you give her a defeated smile. The same one she always sees when you decide to sacrifice yourself for a comrade, but this time, combined with your tears, was more painful than every other defeated smile you ever gave. Because after those defeated smiles. After the battle is over, you always walk over to her and give her the brightest grin and the most gentle kiss. But now, she knows she won't have that anymore. "Did you laugh when you heard it shatter? Was it- was it worth it?" You sob as you kneel. You can't think anymore. If you were sober, none of this would be spoken to her. None of this would ever known to anyone. You are an unsullied. Bottling your feelings and not showing any emotions was what you were trained for. But alcohol brought everything out. Your every self-deprecating thought, every pain and every sorrow. Because as much as you were known for your smile, no one knows how you looked when you are in grief. No one until Daenerys came. She can only watch as you sobbed until you fall asleep. She can only shed silent tears as she whispered her apologies to you.

-

You wake with a massive headache. One that makes you groan as you sit on the familiar yet unfamiliar bed. You haven't been here in a while.

"Fuck. I'm never drinking alcohol again." You grunt as the pain hits you again.

"That would be for the best." You freeze as you hear her voice. You hear her shuffle around then a cup appears in your vision. "Drink up. The maester said this would help with the pain." You shakily accepts the cup and drink it one go. The pain now concentrated at your tounge as the hot tea travels through your body. You look at her face and you can't help but voice out the first word that gets in your head.

"Dilaw." Daenerys tilts her head and you blush as you facepalm for yourself.

"Di- what?" She asks and you cover your face.

"Literally, it means yellow. But another meaning means happiness. Or source of it." Daenerys blushes as she hears your explanation. In any other day, you would grin then kiss and hug her but instead pain grips your heart instead. "I should go." You stand and avoid touching her. "Thank you for letting me sleep here. Farewell, your grace." Daenerys stops you before you can even open the door.

"I'm sorry." She says as tears flow through her face. "I'm so sorry. I took you for granted. I took everything we ever had for granted. But please, Y/N. Please give me another chance. Give me the chance to make everything right. Give me the chance to pick up your heart's broken pieces. Give me the chance to make it whole again."

"Your grace." The title makes her grip tighter on your wrist. "I have no more right. No more fight. And no more courage in me. You have taken all of those away." You shake as you finally let everything out. "You have always owned the heart you broke with your own hands. I never got it back."

"Then let me earn your trust again. Let me by your side again. I'm begging you, Y/N. Without you, everything feels wrong. Everything I'm fighting for felt empty. Every promise and plans I make felt futile."

"I can't. Not yet, at least. Please give me more time. More moments to myself. Then maybe, I can ease myself into your side again."

"Then I'll wait for that day." She finally lets go and you look at her. Look at her tear-stricken and wipe her tears away.

"Thank you, Dany." The familiar address gives her hope in her heart even as you slip away from her room.

You don't run anymore. You walk as you go outside the castle.

You knew that eventually, the inevitable will happen. That you will be hers again. Because your heart that you always protected was now guarded and owned by a dragon.

-

PS.

I will hit myself if I don't get chapter 4 out. I swear.

I need more hours in the day, to be honest. I hate working 9 am to 6 pm 😭😭.

[kindofatheatrekid]

Soft Yandere! Veteran HCs (and a special something at the end!)

So I basically fell in love with this nameless man I wrote on a whim- And now I’m giving the dude a name now- My precious moot helped me to cement his identity as a jaded, Russian veteran and I obviously leaped at the chance of making an old dilf. I fucking love this man- 😀

This is definitely NSFW so…

MINORS DNI. MINORS DNI. MINORS DNI.

That’s better! ❤️

Soft Yandere! Veteran who’s at least twenty-five years your senior— and makes sure that you remember that. He’ll make sure that any bratty attitude coming from you will be promptly shut down. Whether it’ll be through a spanking session or giving your mouth something better to do… Well. It depends on how much you’ve pissed him off already. ^^

(Don’t worry, though. He’s too much of a softie to not ensure that you’ll enjoy every second of your “punishment~” 😮‍💨)

“In my days, cadets used to have their teeth smashed in if they mouthed off to their superiors. Shouldn’t you thank me for my leniency, love?”

Soft Yandere! Veteran who makes sure that you’re always well fed. He may have some food insecurity problems, and would never want his beloved to ever experience that gnawing hunger he felt in his earlier years. So say au revoir to any diets you want to do!

He’s a good cook too, so you bet he’s going to feed you every time you see each other. You’re always going to be greeted with food as aftercare— there’s no arguing on that. He will force-feed you. 😓

“A diet? Tch. You don’t need that. Just eat, dear. You need the nutrients for later.”

Speaking of aftercare! Soft Yandere! Veteran who knows exactly what to do after years of fucking women. …And maybe some men but we don’t talk about his soldier years- The man will wipe you down and massage every part of your body that aches after his rough treatment. Believe in the old man who has chronic pain every day because of what he did in his youth- He definitely knows how to relieve any muscle aches. 😌

Soft Yandere! Veteran who is a huge cuddler. He’s taller than you and is just a brickhouse— you’re not going anywhere if he wants to cuddle with you. He probably has a size kink, loves seeing you try to fit him in your mouth. He’ll be so condescending about it too, goading you on while he’s reading the newspaper like the senile man he is. 😩

“Come on, love~ Is that really the best you can do? You can take a bit more, right? For me~?”

Soft Yandere! Veteran who is Russian! The man never speaks crass words, though— always a gentleman through and through. His mama taught him right! He has to make sure that you remember your manners with him too! Say please and then he might give you what you want. It depends, though. Have you been a polite lover to him today? 🤔

“Mmm… I don’t know, Солнце… You’ve been so naughty today. I think you should beg some more for my cock~”

Soft Yandere! Veteran who has episodes of depression whenever he remembers the young men he killed in the battlefield. You can find him on the floor while staring at his countless medals— bottles of everclear on the floor with a few cigar buds in the ashtray nearby. A hug from you will help him a lot…

(Please replace the bitter cigar in his mouth with your sweet lips. Give him something else to think about. Better yet, why don’t you spread those thighs of yours? That will always get the old man going! 😊)

“...Thank you, лапочка. I needed this.”

Soft Yandere! Veteran who will never let you go. You’re just too pure for the world… He’s directly seen how dirty humans can be. You’re like a spring breeze to him, allowing him to relax his mind for the first time since he was drafted. Just listen to everything he says. Don’t you believe in him? 🥺

“...People… They can be cruel. Especially to wounded rabbits like you.”

You didn’t think that I’d just make headcanons after painting a scene in your head, right? Dear gods no! I want to be a nice author to you all! (At least until my mind decides to switch up and make angst- But you’re all safe! For now.) 😈

Anyways! I’m going to show y’all a blowjob scene with this old man now! Have fun! ^^

(It’s gender neutral this time because you’re sucking his dick-)

You thought he was being too cruel right now. Here you were: on your knees, serving the man while he was enjoying his morning cup of coffee. If you could talk, you would’ve whined at him for his attention; to get that dumb paper out of the way so he could fuck your mouth like you knew he could. He was undoubtedly affected by the way your lips were wrapped around not even half of his cock, though. There was a reason why his hand had a firm grip on your hair— not allowing you to pull away nor go deeper.

The old man had way too much patience compared to you, not even budging when you start to paw at his clothed thighs. He’s spent years on the battlefield, dear. The man can neglect his own needs as long as you learn your lesson. Your parents must have not taught you very well, but that’s fine! He can show you exactly how to stay in the lines.

Your desperate whimpers send shivers down his spine, the vibrations making his warm cock grow hotter— a familiar warmth pooling underneath his stomach. His hand tightens around your locks, a deep sigh escaping from his lips before he even knew it. You got what you wanted, his attention. And oh… You have his full attention.

A low growl was your only warning before he forced his cock down your throat— his hands now occupied with pulling your hair like it were a horse’s reins. You couldn’t breathe; he was big, and he knew that. You could barely see his sly grin through your tears, but you could feel it. By the way his hand was kept on the back of your head to keep your spit-covered lips on his cock. By the way his other hand was patting the top of your head so affectionately. By the way he cooed at you like he wasn’t choking you on his dick right now.

“Aww~ Is there something you want to say, Солнце? Come on~ Use your words for me, hm?”

The bastard was taking pleasure in your helplessness; he knew that your throat was far too occupied to do anything but let out a few muffled whimpers. Whimpers that went straight down to his weeping cock, his balls tightening even more when he sees how prettily you were silently begging for his mercy. The old man was just getting his rocks off at this point.

He kept on using you, bobbing your head over and over again— he was an old soldier, he knew precisely how long he could keep you gagging before you’d pass out. It was like a game to him in a way, seeing how far he could physically push you before you were on the brink of passing out. You were seeing both stars in your eyes and black spots; your adrenaline peaking from this deadly game. One where all you could do was trust the man in front of you that he knew what he was doing.

His endurance was no joke even after over a decade, you didn’t know how long it was before you could finally taste something bitter on your tongue— his head tilting up as he groaned. You were still gagging, your head pushed as far as possible when he came in your throat. The thick, slimy liquid going down your throat effortlessly as he slowly slides you off his limp dick. A round of coughs greeting you after your lungs were suddenly filled with oxygen after a while with barely any.

All he did was pat your head, grabbing a cloth from the table to clean up the mixture of his cum and your drool and tears off your face. His palms tenderly cupping your cheeks afterward— steadily lifting your face up before he presses a soft kiss on your now clean lips. A satisfied smile curving up his lips when he sees your blissed out, lost expression; your usual bratty self not seen at all.

“Hm… Better.”

Translation:

Солнце = sunshine

лапочка = sweetie pie / cutie

BRO. THIS. THIS DOES THINGS TO ME. Y'ALL LIKE THIS OLD MAN TOO, HUH??

"I know what you are."

[mimimui]

bllk boys as your not-so bf

includes: isagi, bachira, chigiri, nagi, reo, rin

tags: use of profanity, use of 'babe', one-sided(?), angst if you squint hard enough, discord in nagi's

a/n: inspired by my not-so bf (we don't talk anymore) :b srsly idk if that guy actually liked me or not but anyway .. enjoy !

even if he's at soccer training, he answers all your texts right away. you've seen him reply, or rather, not reply, to his other friends whenever he was with you. it feels as if isagi gives you special treatment, but in reality, you barely talk in real life. he pays you no mind when you pass by him, as if you were strangers. sure, he can act like that all he wants, but he can't forget all the late night talks you had.

you've shared secrets, fears, ambitions, and questions with each other. you've exchanged greetings, selfies, and "i love you"s, yet he's able to act as if you're nothing more to him. you look at him and there's a familiar pang in your heart, one you've experienced many times before.

how much longer is he going to hide his true feelings for you? does he have feelings at all?

the morning of the sleepover your friend hosted, you and bachira lie down comfortably on the bed, clicking through your friends' instagram stories. you're on his chest and his head is on your shoulder, him being the one clicking through while you hold your phone. he occassionally makes comments about them, saying things like "that was funny" or "ooh that one's pretty, introduce me sometime?"

you frown at his comment, but he doesn't see it. you two are always so close, holding hands and whatnot. you're always mistaken as a couple, but bachira denies it quicker than you do, which is a sign you should probably take. when you all go home, your friend sends you a picture they took of you and bachira on the bed and teases you.

your heart wrenches as you tell them "we're just friends."

you share a lot of your things with chigiri, and he does the same. you always find him asking to borrow your hairbrush, if he can take a bite of your food, use your phone, and more than you can remember. can you recall when you let him use your shirt after training? yeah, that was the only thing of yours he never gave back. why would he even keep that shirt?

on his way home, his teammates asked him if the shirt belonged to his significant other. he pauses for a moment, but then ultimately denies even having one. you get a bit irritated at times, and he has to snap you out of your thoughts at the cafe you two frequent. here you are, once again sharing a drink with one straw. yes, one.

from all the indirect kisses you've shared, you should actually just kiss at this point.

you and nagi play video games together everyday. you're always seen duoing together, so a lot of people mistake you two for a couple. after soccer training, nagi's quick to turn on his computer and ask you to play games with him. fps, rpg, horror... you've played so many games together you've lost count.

in vc, he hears you groan and he stifles a laugh. you complain the player that killed you is cheating as you click through the players to spectate nagi. when you're about to mention the flank, he says something that makes your heart pound. maybe you're imagining it, or maybe it's because of a shitty headset, but did he just call you 'babe'?

you shake your head, brushing it off. you probably just heard wrong.

reo connected his online payment to your food apps, so you don't have to pay for your orders. you refused at first, but as your face recognition detects his face, your phone was now his domain. he tells you to order food whenever you want, and not to tell him when you do, he doesn't mind.

but as you see him carrying an extra lunchbox with food he made himself, you wonder who he's going to give it to. you're not bothered, of course, it was just a cooked lunch. made by reo. personally. you mentally slap yourself for thinking about it so much. are you even allowed to be jealous of the lunchbox's recipient? you're just reo's friend, and you already have access to his online wallet, so what's the problem?

yeah... what's the problem?

he's annoyingly good at minesweeper. rin effortlessly completed the board, while you're still stuck deciding between the bottom or top tile. he acts nonchalant about his umpteenth win that day, but you know he wants to brag about it to you so bad.

you sigh in defeat, asking him for another rematch, which he gladly agrees to. and, just like all other times, he completes his board first. this time, instead of laughing at you for being slow, he takes your device and completes the board for you. he complains you take too long, and that he gets impatient when his love isn't done with the game.

wait. his what?

thanks for reading (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

[hoejosatoru]

Star Crossed

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Togame Jo (characters are 21+, readers skin color and hair color/texture not described)

Summary: Being the sister of Bofurin's leader can get complicated. But when y/n accidentally hooks up with the vice leader of your rival gang? It's straight up messy. Y/n has to navigate her loyalty to Bofurin while also combatting nagging feelings about the man she is supposed to take down.

Word count: 14.5k

a/n: I got EXTREMELY carried away with this. I have no idea how this happened. BUT ALSO for the first scene of this togame will be referred to as James and y/n will be referred to as Alice because they give each other fake names when they meet. But James = Togame. hopefully that is not confusing lol. If your name is actually Alice idk why to tell you girlie sorry

Warnings: Drinking, fingering, smoking mentioned, y/n is mentioned to have past relationship with Hiragi and they hook up off screen, vague knife play, enemies to lovers, some stuff togame does could be considered stalking but y/n is also doing it back (like a cat and mouse), oral sex both m and f receiving, unprotected sex, creampie, getting walked in on, gun violence, blood mentiontion, very inacurate medical stuff please just suspend your disbelief for the plot lol, mentions of parent death, reader discussed past attempted sa, not proof read

You were looking for trouble. You could admit that.

Things were tough at work, if being a gang member counted as work. Really, it was more your life. They were so intertwined it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. So, life was just tough at the moment. Such is the burden of being one of the top members of Bofurin.

Your brother, Umemiya, was top dog. Respected by those who followed him, feared by those who were against him. Though, he didn't care much for people fearing him, it was simply a means to an end. He understood that most men only responded to power and fear and so he leaned into it, when needed.

Bofurin was mostly made of men, but being his sister allowed you the special privilege of being one of the few women involved. Certainly, you were the highest woman in the organization. You trained to fight - and kill, when necessary - with the best of them, yet that didn't stop you from getting stupid rules. Like this fucking curfew.

"Curfew my ass," you grumbled to yourself as you slipped out your apartment. Whenever things got tense between Bofurin and Shishitoren, your top rival, Umemiya insisted on you laying low. He didn't want to you going on missions or getting involved in business. Nor did he want to going out late or basically doing anything that could be considered fun.

You got it, you really did. You knew he was just looking out for you. You were truly one of Bofurin's best weapons. Shishitoren doesn't know what you look like, nor would they expect to a woman to be as skilled as you are. Their inclination to underestimate you would always be one of your biggest weapons. At the moment, though, your identity was your biggest asset. Not only did it help with gathering intel, but it kept you safe. If they knew who you were, who you were connected to, the target on your back would be massive.

So, yes, you got why Umemiya worried and tried to protect you. But you were a grown woman, and a stubborn one at that. You believed that you could handle yourself and your track record affirmed that. So if you wanted to go out one night and have some fun, was it really that bad?

You didn't think so, which is why you found yourself at a seedy little party. You heard about it through some Bofurin members, which should make it risky to attend but it was a masquerade party. Even if a few of them did attend, you'd easily blend in with the crowd. And even if Ume did find out, he couldn't be that mad. At least your face was covered when you went out.

But you weren't worried about that now. The dress you were waring fit you like a glove and you knew you looked hot. It's been so long since you've been able to wear something cute. You just wanted to drink and dance and blow off some steam. This underground party where everyone was anonymous and no one was asking questions was the perfect place to do it.

And you were enjoying all of that when you sensed a presence behind you. You were at the bar, trying to get the poor bartender's attention, but he was clearly overwhelmed by the amount of people swarming him for a drink. You felt him standing there, could feel his eyes on you.

You turned around cautiously, finding a tall man with a mess of dark hair. His face was masked, of course, but you could see emerald eyes glittering with mischief behind them. Something about him nagged at you, like a memory you couldn't quite recall. You reckoned it was the alcohol swimming at the edges of your senses and ignored it.

"Beautiful thing like you shouldn't have to wait for a drink," he said. Confidence rolled off him, in a way that some would describe as arrogance. You knew his type, all women did, but you were willing to play into his banter.

"And just how can you tell I'm beautiful with a mask on? Or were you just hoping I'd fall for that?" you questioned.

He grinned, amused by your attitude. "I've got a sixth sense for beautiful women that not even a mask could hide." He put a hand out and the bartender responded to him immediately, much to your chagrin. "What're you drinking?"

"Whatever you are."

"I like your style." He ordered two shots of vodka. "Basic, but it get the job done." You accepted the drink, your hand brushing his. Your stomach flipped, which could just be the alcohol you've already drank or it could be that this guy was peaking your interest. You haven't had fun with a man in a minute. You were too busy beating them up, usually.

"You know, I don't usually accept drinks from strangers," you mused.

"Oh? Guess that makes me special," He smirked. "But the name is James. And you?"

"Alice," you lied. You weren't stupid enough to give this random guy your name, as innocuous as he may be.

"Cheers." Your classes clinked together before you knocked them back. The alcohol blazed down your throat and settled in your stomach with a warm glow. You were at the pleasant level of buzzed, still in control but loosened up just enough to have some extra fun.

"Wanna dance?" you asked, already grabbed for his hand. He didn't protest because men who looked at you like he was looking at you never did.

"It would be my pleasure." You pulled him to the dance floor, which was crowded with bodies pressed against each other and swaying to the music. The air was hot and thick, but you didn't care. You let the music guide you, inching closer and closer to James until there wasn't an inch of space between you.

Your back was pressed to his front, your ass grinding against him to the beat. His hands snaked around your waist, feeling up and down your sides shamelessly. One hand edged dangerously close to the hem of dress, but only hovered there teasingly. You could feel him growing hard against your and your body reacted instantly, desire surging in your lower stomach.

You spun around, your eyes connecting in silent conversation. The charged air swirling around you sparked as you pressed your lips to his. You wrapped your arms around his neck, glad for the heels your wore so didn't have to stand on your tip toes to kiss him.

James responded immediately, one arm wrapped around your waist, the other gripping your ass. He kissed you deeply, with a confident ease that only made your body buzz. He slid one leg between your thigh as other dancers jostled around you, paying no mind to the two of you. His thigh brushed against your cunt and practically purred against him. Any chance of you making a smart decision was gone.

"Wanna find somewhere private?" James asked, breathless. His pupils were blown out, darkening his eyes and making them churn with desire. The second you nodded, he was leading you out of the crowd.

You wandered down the hallways, finally finding a door labeled storage. James tried to open the door, but it was lock. He frowned. "Got a bobby pin?"

You always kept one on you for these exact moments. You didn't want to show your hand, that you had such a skill. Better for him to not wonder, like you were wondering about him as you pulled the pin from your hair and pressed it into his palm. If you were any less consumed by need at the moment, you may have questioned the ease at which he picked the lock.

He grinned at you, incisor catching the light. "Special talent."

"Let's hope that's not your only one."

The door slammed shut the second you two slipped inside. He had you pressed against the wall, picking up where you left off on the dance. "I'm taking this shit off." James tossed his mask to the ground. Even in the darkness of the closet you could see he was devastatingly handsome. His nose was strong, his face angular, his eyes swallowing you up.

You followed his lead, letting your mask fall off your face. He cupped your face, brushing your cheek. "Mmm, knew I was right. You're fucking stunning." Your stomach fluttered, charmed despite yourself.

He kissed you again, unencumbered by the masks. You tangled your hands in his dark strands as he squeezed your ass. He bit into your lower lip, tugging slightly. His leg parted your thigh, urging you to grind against him. Your hips rolled and a moan escaped your lips at he delicious friction. He squeezed your tits as you rocked yourself against him.

The more you worked yourself up, the harder he got. He couldn't resist touching your cunt anymore, knowing it must be dripping. He could already feel a wet spot on his pants. He slipped his hand under the hem of your dress.

"Oh? What's this?" He pushed your dress up, revealing the knife you had strapped to your thigh. Shit, you forgot about that.

"What you've never seen a girl with a dagger before?" you brushed it off as a joke.

"Can't say I've had the pleasure." He finger trailed down the length of the blade, before trailing back up your inner thigh.

"Well you better hurry up and touch me or I'll be forced to use it on you."

He chuckled. "Don't threaten me with a good time, angel." He cupped your cunt, making you roll your hips against his palm. He kissed you again as he pushed your panties to the side, running his fingers through you soaked center. The coolness of his rings against the heat of you made you gasp.

"Fuck, angel, you're soaked," he mused, toying with your clit. "This all for me?" His middle finger slid inside you, pumping lightly. "Can feel you squeezing me already."

"You - fuck- love to hear yourself talk, huh?" You were embarrassed by how flustered you sounded already, but god this man was good with his fingers. He slid his ring finger in with his middle finger, curling against your g spot.

"Feels like you love listening," he replied. He fucked his fingers fasters, making you moan to prove his point. Your hips were bucking to match his movements, chasing the pleasure of his touch. "Look at you, fucking yourself on my fingers. How'd I get so lucky to find a nasty little thing like you?"

"James ngh-" you gasped, gripping his shoulders. The sound of your wet pussy getting fucked with his fingers filled the storage room. It was sinful, erotic. When his thumb found your clit your body sparked with the euphoric warmth of an orgasm. You moan, leaning your whole body weight on to James as your knees buckle.

"Atta girl," he praised, "So good for me." He held you with his other arm while he slipped his fingers out of you. He brought them to his mouth, sucking your release off them. "So sweet."

Before you could respond, the sound of a phone ringing filled the room. James reached into back pocket and frowned. "Sorry gotta take this." He turned away from you, listening to someone on the other end. "I'll take care of it," was all he said before hanging up and turning back to you.

"I hate to leave you now, angel, but duty calls," he said. "Can I get your number? Maybe we can finish this sometime."

"Oh, yeah sure." You normally don't give random dudes your number, but your brain was too hazy from coming down that high to think of something fake. You gave him your work cell number, knowing you wouldn't be answering him and could just block the number. As fun as this was, you didn't have time for the bull shit that came with hook ups.

"Thanks for the treat," he said, wiggling his fingers. You rolled your eyes, but waved goodbye as he slid out the door.

"Well, shit," you said to yourself when you were alone. Trouble was certainly found.

***

You woke with a dully ache behind your eyes. Definitely not the worst hangover you endured, but enough to make you grumpy. The texts you woke to did nothing to quiet the pounding in your head. Umemiya was scheduling an urgent, emergency meeting. Great.

It seemed that there were many of these meetings recently, which took the anxiety out of you as you got ready. You were more worried about keeping a normal appearance. If you look hungover, your brother would certainly be suspicious of what you did last night.

"You look lovely," Suo commented sarcastically when he saw you. You plopped down next to him, glad for the cool air up on the Bofurin base's roof.

"You really know how to make a girl feel special, Suo," you grumbled. Suo was one of your closest friend in Bofurin, despite his little barbs.

"Did something happen last night?" he asked as your brother and the rest of the Bofurin higher ups filed in.

"I'll tell you later."

Everyone settled around the table as Hiragi wheeled at the projector you used for meetings. The look on his and your brother's face made your stomach twinge with nerves. Something was up.

"Welcome everyone," Ume began, "I apologize for calling you all here so urgently, but we've had a major break through in our work against Shishitoren." Everyone seemed to lean forward, eager for the new information. "We've uncovered the identity of Togame Jo."

Murmurs broke out. Shit, this was big. Bofurin has been trying to get his identity for months now. We knew he was the right hand of Choji, one of the most fearsome members of Shishitoren. However, he always kept his identity concealed when he went out. You only had shoddy, vague descriptions of him from members who have crossed his path - and lived to tell the tale.

"Here's his picture. Make sure you spread it to everyone in your division," Ume stated as the photo Togame filled the screen.

The world seemed to fall away from you. Those eyes staring at you from the screen were all too familiar.

Suddenly it hit you, that nagging feeling you had when you saw James last night.

He was tall... green eyes... dark hair...

The descriptions his victims had given. It was him, James was Togame Jo.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Your blood was roaring in your ears, so you almost missed when Ume said your name. "Y/n, I want you to help on this."

"M-me?" you hated how you stuttered, but you couldn't help it. Your mouth felt dry and cottony. Not only were shocked that this was Togame, the man you hooked up with last night, but you were confused that Ume would want you involved in this at all.

"I've heard you loud and clear about wanting to be more involved," Ume said. "You are our secret weapon. He doesn't know what you look like, but he knows the rest of us. You are our best chance to get him." He paused, clearly not fully happy with this plan, but accepting he didn't have a choice. "It will be dangerous, but I don't think that bothers you."

Everyone was staring at you, waiting for a reaction. Your brain was functioning at a mile a minute, trying to process everything that was just thrown at you. Your skin felt hot and prickly under their gazes. You had an irrational fear that they could see your guilt on your face, that they knew what you did.

"Of course," you mustered up. "I'll do it." You hoped you sounded more assured than you felt. If Ume thought something was amiss, he didn't comment on it.

The rest of the meeting was a blur. The only thing that stuck out to you was Ume giving anyone who encountered Togame the permission to use lethal force, if necessary. Umemiya did not give that out lightly, so you knew how serious this was to him.

Your brain felt scrambled as you were trying to figure out how the fuck you were going to sort this out. Should you tell Ume? You know you probably should, but this was the first time he was trusting you with something big and this would totally destroy that. But he if he finds out somehow he'll be even more pissed.

As the meeting was clearing out you came to the only possible conclusion: you needed to eliminate Togame before anyone could find out.

Your eyes flicked up to his image on the screen, your body swelling with anxiety. The photo of him, you realized, was from last night. He was slipping out of the party, never having put his mask back on. So there were other Bofurin members there. Shit, what if someone saw you?

"Y/n, can you stay for a minute?" Ume stopped your train of thoughts. You nodded, not trusting your words. Everyone else filtered out, leaving just you and your brother. Paranoia gnawed at you. Did he know? Was this some sort of test. No... he couldn't. He wouldn't have asked you to help in front of everyone if he knew.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," you answered a little too quickly. "Seriously, I am. I just didn't sleep great last night. Something I ate, I think." The lies slipped out of you with surprising ease.

"I'm not saying this to be... patronizing," Ume stole the word you used often, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips. "I know you're strong and capable. I know you can do this. I don't love the idea, but Hiragi convinced me." Ume gave you a pointed look.

Your heart squeezed atet the mention of Hiragi. You dated for a bit a few years ago. You really loved him, but you guys just didn't work out. You've hooked up a handful of times since the break up, but you never got back to a serious place. Your friendship was strong enough to weather that, but you weren't as close as you once were.

Ume were convinced that you two were meant to be. He'd be over the moon if you guys got married, making Hiragi his true brother. It made you emotional that he pushed so hard for you. He knew what this would mean for you. But it was bittersweet, making you feel more guilty about what you did the prior evening.

Ume continued, "Bottom line is, Togame is dangerous guy. I need you to promise me you'll be honest with me. And with yourself. If it seems too much, too dangerous, we'll find another way."

"You worry too much Ume," you sighed. You were trying to brush off his praise of you. It felt undeserved at the moment.

"I'm serious, y/n," he replied. "You're the only family I have left. Promise me you'll tell me if you need help, or if something goes wrong. It won't be a poor reflection fo you at all."

"I promise," you lied. It felt heavy on your tongue. Bitter.

"Okay," he nodded, "I trust you."

God he was really trying to make you feel like the biggest piece of shit. You debated telling him, but you couldn't stand the shame of it. He was right, you could do this. But you had to act quickly.

"Y/n, wait up." It was Hiragi hustling up behind you as walked home. "Mind if I join you?"

"Ume didn't send you, did he?" you questioned.

"No, I just wanted to see how you were doing," he replied, "You seemed a bit off today."

You shrugged. "Just slept like shit and was not expecting the meeting to be about that." At least that wasn't a lie. "What did you have to do to Ume to get him to put me on this? It looked like it pained him."

Hiragi chuckled. "I knew you'd want to do it and it just makes sense. Dangerous, but makes sense." He sighed. "And Ume does believe in you, you know. He just doesn't wanna see you hurt. None of us do."

"I get it," you nodded. "I'm going to handle it. The sooner Togame is out of our hair, the better."

"No argument here," he replied. "Any plans on how you're going to do it?" That was the magic question, wasn't it?

In the brief amount of time since this was all dropped on you, your mind has been churning with plans. It dawned on you that he didn't know who you were. Sure, he saw your face, but what did that matter if he didn't realize who you were? You could use that your advantage.

"Dunno," you replied, "I could probably seduce him. I figure a guy like Togame would be easy enough to fool if you get him horny enough."

Hiragi grimaced. "I don't love that plan."

"Of course you don't," you replied. "I don't love it either." Your mind swam with memories of last night, how easy it had been to get that close to him. You hated how your body fluttered at these thoughts. God if only you had known then... "I'm not going to actually sleep with him. Just get him alone, when he least expects it." You weren't sure if you were saying that to reassure him or yourself.

You were outside your apartment then and Hiragi stopped to look at you. "Just promise me you're not gonna put yourself in unnecessary danger."

Well, that ship has sailed. "Unnecessary danger is kinda my thing, Hiragi."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm serious, y/n."

You groaned. "You and Ume are so serious. You guys gotta lighten up." You sighed, ready to be alone. To shower, clear your head. "But I promise I will be smart about this." At least as best as you could, but you kept that to yourself.

Hiragi nodded. "If you need anything, don't hesitate. I know how Ume can be with you and I don't want to feeling like you have to hide shit from him. If you're in a bind, but don't wanna go to him you can always come to me. You know that, right?"

You did and that was the worst part. The way Hiragi looked at you, sometimes you wondered how much his feelings lingered for you. You thought about spilling your guts to him right then and there. You did trust him, but this wasn't a minor hiccup. Togame seeing your face was a huge deal. Not to mention you didn't want to have to answer question as how he saw your face, especially not to Hiragi.

Somethings you knew he would hide from Ume for you, but you weren't sure if this was one of them. More than that, you didn't want to put him in that position. To have to choose between betraying you or betraying Ume. You had enough on your conscious right now and wouldn't add that.

"Thanks, Hiragi," your voice was thicker than you expected, fighting off emotions. "I'll let you know if I need anything." With that, you said your goodbyes.

You showered, ate, hydrated and the ache in your head subsided. You turned ideas over in your head, trying to whittle them down to being smooth, sensible. You'd wait for Togame to call you, you'd play along and get him alone, and then capture him. Kill him, if needed.

The latter made you uneasy. Killing wasn't foreign to you as a Bofurin member, but it certainly wasn't very common place. Umemiya believed in the inherent value of human life. Bofurin's goal was to keep the town safe, which meant driving out those who wreak havoc on the innocent. Ume, of course, was not opposed to using force to achieve this goal. He'll tell anyone who will listen that fights are a language.

There are very rare occasions where it is clear fists aren't enough. Weeds that have been plucked and yet grow back time and time again. That was the Shishitoren higher ups, a parasite on the town that needed to be ripped out, root and stem.

You've never been put on a mission where killing the target was the object. You've only had to kill someone once and it was in self defense. You shudder at the memory. If the rumors about Togame were true, you knew he had to be stopped. Still, the thought of killing him in cold blood brought you no joy.

You would try to capture him, let Ume handle him, but there was a risk. Would Togame tell Ume about you? Would Ume even believe him? Surely you could just say he was lying.

The sound of your phone ringing pulled you from your thoughts. Your work phone. You didn't recognize the number, so it had to be him. Your stomach was in knots as you clicked accept.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Alice." It was Togame, that was for sure. And the way he said the name told you he knew it was fake. Shit.

"Who is this?" you kept your voice even.

"You wound me," Togame replied, "I thought we shared something special last night, y/n."

Fuck, how did he know who you were? This was bad. "What do you want?"

"I think we have a lot to discuss."

"Go ahead, then."

"Hmm, I find in person so much more... productive," Togame replied, the lilt in his voice telling you he was enjoying this.

"And why would I trust that?" you practically laughed.

"I never lie to beautiful women." You wished he could see you roll your eyes. "And because I'm putting myself just as much at risk by meeting with you." That was true. He took your silence as an invitation to continue. "Just you and me, no fights, no weapons. Just a conversation... Though if you have that little knife of yours strapped to your thigh again, I wouldn't object." You could practically hear his smirk over the phone.

You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. It was stupid, horribly stupid, but there was a chance you could get something out of him that would be helpful. "Okay. Meet me at the dock at 10pm. There's a spot behind 3 big shipping crates by the water that's private."

"It's a date." Before you could protest that it most certainly was not a date, he hung up.

You seen the rest of the evening playing a variety of ways this could play out. Many of them ended with you captured, or worse. You debated calling Hiragi, but you just couldn't bring yourself to do it. You didn't want to bring him into this met, at least not unless it was dire.

At 9:30 you set off for the docks. The location you gave Togame was your favorite place to clear your head. The shipyard wasn't exactly the safest place to hang out, but you never ran into anyone at this particular spot. It was perfect for when you needed to disconnect from everything. You hated that you now gave it away to Togame, but it was the only place you were sure you could talk uninterrupted.

You were stationed at your spot by 9:45. Perfect. You wanted to be there before Togame so you could scope out the area. You stood with your back towards the water so he couldn't sneak up on you. You were about to steel yourself for the wait when you heard footsteps approaching.

"Guess we both had the same idea of getting here early." Togame swaggered in dressed all in back, save for his yellow Shisitoren jacket. He seemed utterly relaxed, as if he was meeting an old friend.

Much to your dismay, he was every bit as attractive as he was last night. You were hoping it was the alcohol that had clouded your vision of him, but no. He was devastatingly, annoying good looking.

"Nice to see you angel... or I guess I should say princess," Togame smirked. Your blood boiled.

"Don't call me that," you snapped. You had, against your wishes, been given the nickname of the princess of Bofurin awhile back. It started out as a joke, but the more you expressed your hatred of it, the more people used it. Eventually, it traveled out to those beyond Bofurin and since they didn't know your real name, that was what stuck. It irked you to no end.

"So hostile," Togame mused, "And here I thought we were going to have a nice little chat." He looked out on the water, lights glittering on the inky water. "This is kind of a romantic choice. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you wanna pick up where we left off last night."

You groaned. "That was a mistake."

Togame feigned offense. "Ouch."

A thought hit you like a shock of ice water. "Did you know who I was last night?" It was bad enough that you hooked up with Togame by mistake, but if you had been manipulated? It made your skin crawl.

"No," he answered seriously. "There was a small team in Shishitoren assigned to uncovering your identity, but I was not one of them. Last night was just a very happy accident."

"For you, maybe," you grumbled. "But why not? Aren't you their second in command."

Toagme shrugged. "The detective stuff is grunt work. Besides, it was risky digging into you. At the time we were still trying to cover my identity, but cats out of the bag now it seems."

Your blood ran cold. "So there are others? Who know about me?" You scanned the area again, certain you were going to be ambushed.

"Relax, princess, it's just you and me," Togame said. "But yes there are. The small group looking into you, myself and Choji, but that's it for now."

"For now?"

"Ah, that's why I'm here," Togame replied, taking a few steps closer to you. You wanted to back away, but you also didn't want to come off as afraid. You decided to stand your ground. "Choji doesn't trust the grunts to capture you without killing you or fucking it up. You're worth more to us alive."

Your bristled, "I'm not a fucking object to be taken."

"Neither am I and yet you would capture me all the same, wouldn't you?" Togame questioned. You frowned because he was right. "I thought so. It's not pleasant work we do, but it needs to be done." He signed, pulling out a cigarette and taking a drag. "It's a nasty habit, know. Hope you don't mind."

"Can you just get to the point, please." You were exhausted and agitated.

"I'm offering you a chance to surrender without a fight," Togame replied.

You couldn't stifle your laugh. "How tempting."

"I'm doing you a favor," Togame said, "Like I said, Choji doesn't trust the other guys to do the job right, but he also isn't a patient guy. He gave me two weeks to capture you. After that, your picture will be released to everyone."

Fuck, that would not be good. You would have to tell Ume if it got that far. "How do you know that I won't capture you before then?"

"Cause I'm good at what I do," Togame replied.

Annoyance flared at his underestimation of you. You had to remind yourself that was a good thing, it would be easier to surprise him. "So what I come with you and then god knows what happens to me in Shishitoren?"

"Shishitoren has a rule," Togame explained, "Whoever brings someone in has dibs on that person. No one else can touch them, unless Choji says otherwise. He would listen to me. What I'm offering you is protection." You mulled over his words, trying to gauge the truth of them, if you could even trust him if they were true. You knew all too well what could happen to you if you were captured by a group like Shishitoren.

Ultimately you didn't know if you could trust him, but you did trust yourself. "I don't need your protection," You replied, "Two weeks is more than enough time to hunt you down."

"Hmm, I cannot deny that sounds fun," Togame mused, "Always loved when women chase me." He dropped the cigarette, grinding it into the pavement.

"Then we are done here," you replied, ignoring his comment. "I'll let you go now, but starting tomorrow I'm not holding back. I'm not scared to kill you if you resist."

Togame laughed. "I bet you've never even killed a fly."

Your anger flared and in a second you were on him, knife unsheathed and pressed against his throat. You savored the tiny flash surprise in his eyes as you shoved him against one of the shipping containers. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Mmm I was hoping you'd use that thigh knife on me," Togame smirked, unbothered by the position he found himself in. You could do it, you could press the blade further into his skin and end this now.

Togame saw the wheels turning in your head and put an end to them immediately. He flipped you around lightning quick, pinning both of your hands over your head. The pressure he put on your wrists caused your grip on the knife to loosen, then slip from your grasp. He caught it with his free hand, pressing it your throat. The blade was icy against your warm skin.

"As hot as that was, I'm not trying to die tonight princess," he whispered in your ear. "Or ever, for that matter." You tried to squirm away from him, but he was too strong. His thigh was slotting between your legs, too much like the position you'd been in the prior evening. Your body betrayed you by responding with a hint of want.

"So two weeks, you and me, and the best will win," Togame said. "Do I get a good luck kiss?"

"Fuck off," you spat.

Togame sighed. "I'll get that kiss one way or another." He released you, flipping the knife back to you. "See you soon, princess."

With that you were alone, staring down the barrel of two weeks that were likely to change everything.

***

And so began your game of cat and mouse with Togame Jo. You went for a run the following morning, hoping to clear your head. Later in the day you received a text from Togame with a photo of you jogging.

That's a cute little set you got on

He was referring to the matching bike shorts and sports bra your wore. It happened to be your favorite, but now you were scowling at it. How had he been so close you didn't notice.

You had to one up him.

The next day you used the intel Bofurin had provided you on Togame's movements. You staked out the coffee shop he frequently, snapping a picture of him picking up his order.

Didn't picture you as an oat milk guy

You had texted him. He responded instantly.

I'm just happy you've been picturing me. Any other fantasies you want to share?

His message bothered you because you had been fantasizing about him. Your mind kept drifting to that night, his kiss, the way he touched you... You tried to convince yourself it was meaningless intrusive thoughts, but it didn't help how ridiculous it felt. You should be focusing on capturing him, not how it felt to have his fingers slide between your thighs... Anyways.

It didn't help that you were now sending photos back and forth every day, getting closer and closer to one another. It was almost like a game, how close could you get without the other noticing? To make matters worse, Togame started calling you.

You ignored it at first, but curiosity got the best of you. At first it was just little taunts about seeing each other, but the conversations became longer and longer. You actually found yourself looking forward to them, waiting by your phone in the evening.

All the while you were inching closer and closer to each other. Once, you'd been tailing him, certain he was unaware. But a few turns led you to a dead end, which nothing but a post it on the concrete reading nice try princess.

Never one to be one upped, you led him on a wild goose chase the following day. You left him a polaroid photo of yourself flipping him off.

That night Togame thanked you for the photo in that sweet, syrupy voice of his. Telling you he was going to keep it in his wallet. You blushed despite yourself.

You were being absolutely ridiculous, you realized. A week passed, half the time before everyone in Shishitoren would know who you were, and you were blushing over some stupid comment from Togame. It was idiotic. You were treating this like some stupid game, forgetting how dangerous your opponent was, how high the stakes were.

You weren't proud of how you tried to get your mind off things. Hiragi came over and you turned that damned phone off, shoving in the darkest corner of your drawers. He was in your bed within an hour.

And it was good, sure. Having dated Hiragi he knew your body well, but it didn't stop your mind from drifting to Togame. If you believed in magic, you would think he's bewitched you. Realistically you were just being weak, letting a guy get in your head like this just because he was attractive. Maybe Ume was right to not trust you with serious stuff if this is how you handle it.

When Hiragi left the next morning, you felt worse than before. Nothing changed and now you felt guilty about using Hiragi. You'd hooked up a few times, so you didn't think it was that big of a deal. But knowing you had ulterior motives he wasn't privy to made you feel bad about it. Ugh.

Like clockwork, Togame called you that evening.

"You had another guy over last night? And hear I was thinking we had something special," Togame mused.

"Didn't take you for the jealous type," you replied.

"I've never been a very good sharer," he replied. "Especially not with Bofurin guys."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not sharing anything with you, then," you replied.

"That was Hiragi, wasn't it? That your type? Good guys?" Togame questioned.

"And what if it is?" You bristled, more in defense of Hiragi than anything.

"You'll be very bored," Togame yawned, "Does he even satisfy you."

You thoughts of the prior evening, Hiragi's hands in your hair, your bodies press together, him slipping inside you. The orgasm good, but not like that night with Togame...

"Yes," you answered.

"Hmm was that hesitation I sensed, princess?" Togame purred. "Is he not getting you off? You know I could."

"Beginner's luck."

"Oh? Wanna test out that theory?" Togame replied. "I've been wanting to get a second taste."

"Goodnight Togame." You hung up and tossed your phone away.

***

Thank god your friends were having a girls night. You needed to relax and get your mind off things. Not only were your thoughts about Togame incessant and irritating, but you were edging closer to the 2 week mark. Just a few days stood between you and the entirety of Shishitoren knowing who you were. You could feel the clock ticking.

But not tonight. Tonight you were just hanging out with your friends, getting wine drunk, and thinking only of gossip and drama. It was exactly what you needed.

You talked well into the night, but insisted on going home even though your friend said you could say. The alcohol was wearing off, but there was still the slightest buzz in your body and all you wanted was your bed. Your place was just a few blocks away it would be fine, you had told her.

Perhaps it was the buzz, or the way you let your guard down around your friends that had lulled you into a false sense of security. You were certain you would have heard the footsteps if it wasn't for that.

"Hello, princess." The voice was low and close to your ear. Too close.

You spun around, your knife whipped out and pressed agains the neck of-

"Togame," you gasped. Adrenaline and fear coursed through your system, making you breathless. "What the fuck?" You were pissed at him for scaring you, pissed at yourself for being so oblivious that it allowed him to scare you.

"It's dangerous for you to be walking home alone at this hour," Togame replied. He hadn't even flinched when you pulled the knife on him.

You grumbled, tucking the blade back into its hiding spot. "Yeah, you're the danger."

"There's worse things than me out here, princess," Togame replied. Something about his words sent a shiver down your spine. "Let me walk you home."

You eyed Togame, wondering if this was all some ruse. He could have just gotten you, easily. That really freaked you out. But... he didn't. There was a curiosity about him that nagged at you. Maybe, you wondered, getting those questions answered would put him out of your head.

"Walk me to the park, I don't wanna go home yet," you replied. You started walking, not waiting for him to agree. This time you were keenly aware of his footsteps trailing right behind you.

Togame broke the silence as you settled down onto a bench next to a willow tree. The park was usually bustling with life, but at this hour it was still and silent. "Another romantic spot you've chosen for us."

"Are you incapable of being serious?" you replied flatly.

"Usually," Togame grinned.

Despite his aversion to giving straight answers, your curiosity got the best of you. "Why didn't you grab me back there? You completely caught me off guard. You could have..." You trailed off, the bitter taste of almost defeat preventing you from finishing the sentence.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Togame considered. "I guess I'm not ready for this to end yet. Having too much fun."

"So you just want to toy with me longer?"

"I wouldn't say that," Togame replied, "I'm a bit... conflicted about what comes next. I don't take pleasure in the idea of handing you over to Choji as a bargaining chip, but I owe him. I'm just delaying the inevitable, I suppose."

"You're nothing like I expected," you commented.

"Oh? What did you expect?"

"I just thought you were going to be, well, evil," you replied, "The rumors about you make you seem like a monster, but I don't see that. At least I haven't yet."

On some level you felt Togame could just be showing you what he wanted you to see. That he was playing the long con and trying to lull you into a false sense of security. But you realized you weren't truly afraid of him. You were afraid of getting caught, of what Choji might do to you, of disappointing your brother, but Togame? He didn't strike that deep fear in you that you've experienced from some other men.

Togame chuckled. "I'm certainly not a saint, but I'm no devil. I reckon it's easier for guys to make me out to be a monster than admit they were beat fair and square. You on the other hand live up to the rumors."

"What rumors?"

"Well, for a while all we knew was Umemiya had a beautiful little sister," Togame explained. "You're every bit as stunning as they say, which makes my job harder."

"Really? Is that all they say about me?" you replied, ignoring how Togame's words brought a tint to your cheeks. You were more annoyed that people only commented on superficial shit because you were a girl, most likely.

"To be fair, Ume did a really good job of hiding any information about you," Togame replied. "Honestly, you've surprised me in a lot of ways too. I kinda expected you to be bratty." Togame smirked. "Which, I guess you are, but you're also strong, brave, and smart. Being your enemy isn't easy."

Pride surged through you. People often questioned your abilities, whether it was because you were a girl or Umemiya's sister. Either way, it always made you feel like shit, like everything you've accomplished meant nothing.

"Thank you," you replied.

"Of course," Togame said. "Can I ask you a question now?"

"Sure."

"That night at the docks, I made a joke about you killing and it seems I touched a nerve," Togame said. "It's left me wondering, have you ever killed someone?"

"I have," you replied, your voice thin.

Togame raised a brow. "Did it not go well?"

You sighed. "You could say that." Your arms wrapped around yourself instinctively as the memories flooded back. It wasn't a story you shared with many, but for some reason you wanted to tell Togame.

"It wasn't my intent to kill the guy, at least that wasn't the plan going in," you began. "He was a run of the mill creep, harassing women and just a nuisance. We thought he was harmless at the time. I was supposed to just scare him off, but then he pulled a gun on me. I wrestled it away from him, but in the scuffle he got me to the ground and I hit my head hard."

You took a deep breath trying to calm yourself. "I was dazed and he... he was trying to get my pants off and..." You shuddered at the memory, how you could still feel his hands on you to this day. "Luckily he didn't get far because I shot him then. I wasn't necessarily trying to kill him, I just wanted him to stop, but it he died."

"Fucking bastard," Togame snapped. "I'm glad you killed him. I would have done it myself if you hadn't."

"I don't regret it. If it wasn't me, it would have been another girl. Someone who wouldn't have been able to defend herself," you replied.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, it's fucking awful," Togame said, "Men that prey on women are the scum of the earth." You were surprised by how genuine he was, the fire behind his words.

"Shishitoren doesn't exactly have the best reputation, you know," you replied. You knew some of the members have done some bad things.

Togame's face darkened. "Believe me, I know. But when I find out about it, they are dealt with by me personally. Trust me when I say I make them regret it before kicking them out." There was a fervor to his voice, one that comes from person experience.

"You seem very passionate about that," you commented.

"My dad beat on my mom," Togame told you. "I was really little, my memories are only vague now. I just remember being really scared and feeling so powerless. I couldn't help my mom then, but if I can stop other abusive assholes now I feel like it makes up for it somehow."

"He sounds like a piece of shit," you replied. You hated the thought of Togame cowering as a child, watching something no kid should ever have to.

"He was. He left us when I started getting older," Togame said. "I think he knew I would fight back when I was big enough. Those few years without him, when it was just my mom and I, were some of my happiest." He stared off into the distance for a moment, lost in a memory you couldn't see. "Then my mom got sick. Advanced form of cancer. She was gone within a year of the diagnosis. I didn't have anyone, no other family or anything. That's when I met Choji."

You found yourself leaning into him as he spoke, drawn to the story, drawn to him.

"He brought me into Shishitoren, gave me a purpose and a family. I honestly don't know if I would have made it without him," Togame admitted. "I feel like I owe him now. I'll do practically anything he asks because he was there for me when no one else was."

You looked at Togame then. Really looked at him. His story changed your view of him completely. You understood him, you realized, more than you ever expected to. You wondered, then, how different things would have been if Ume had met him and not Choji.

"I'm sorry Togame," you replied. "Ume and I lost out parents when we were younger. Robbery gone wrong. It was so painful, but at least I had my brother. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through that on your own."

"I guess we are more alike than we ever thought, huh y/n?"

"Yeah, I guess we are."

Togame was a good person, you decided, but was led astray by feeling indebted to a man who was not good. But if it had been Ume? Someone who would have kept him on right path? If you had met under different circumstances...

You had the sudden urge to kiss him. It was not a feeling borne of lust, rather of the desire to be close to him. To feel him. Togame's eyes met yours and you sensed it in him too, that desire. But you were scared of breaking this moment, of shattering this fragile thing that was taking root.

You opted to take his hand, warm and rough in yours, and squeeze it gently. You went to pull it away, but Togame held you.

"Y/n..." he breathed.

"I should go," you replied, without moving.

A silent conversation happened between the two of you. An understanding of the inevitable coming.

Togame nodded. "I'll walk you home." You didn't protest this time. You walked together in a weighted silence, exchanging quiet goodbyes at your apartment.

You fell asleep thinking only of Togame.

***

You went for a walk the next day, trying to calm the storm of your mind. There were only two things you knew for certain: feelings for Togame had taken root in you and if you didn't turn him in in the next 2 days everything would go to shit.

A headache was starting to form when your phone rang. The number you've come to know as Togame's flashed across the screen. Call it intuition or an anxiety disposition, but you knew something was wrong.

"Hello?"

"Y/n, where are you?" Togame was breathless, almost frantic.

"I'm in the park. What's wrong?"

"Choji, he released your picture."

Your blood ran cold. "What? I thought we had two more days?"

"He was in a mood. He thought I would have caught you by now. Fuck," Togame said. "They're coming, you gotta get back to your place. I'm on my way."

"Shit okay," You replied. You told him the route you planned to take, one that was out of the way, hoping you couldn't be followed. Togame said he was going to try to catch up with you. "Thank you, Togame."

You hung up then, walking as briskly as you could without drawing attention to yourself. You thought you were doing well until you rounded a corner and saw a bright yellow jacket heading towards you. You turned around only to find another one coming up the block.

Shit. You took off down an alley, following the twists and turns you hoped would confuse them. You could hear their footsteps behind you, buzzing like angry wasps hunting you down. Your pulse was hammering in your ears, knowing they were gaining on you.

"Fuck," you gasped. You hit a dead end. You turned around bracing to face your attackers.

"Well if it isn't the princess of Bofurin," one of the men said with a nasty smile. "You're quite the prize."

"Fuck off," you snapped.

"No can do," The other man replied. The both stepped closer to you, caging you in. "Why don't you just come nice and quietly with us? We'd hate to mess up that pretty face of yours."

"No fucking way." You pulled your knife out. "You want me? Then you're gonna have to kill me."

You lunged at the first man, slicing him across the arm. He let out an angry yelp. "Fucking bitch!"

The both went after you, you were more agile, maneuvering away from them. You landed some blows on them, but they were tough. It wasn't enough to knock them out. The circled you, getting you closer and closer to the wall, with nowhere to go. The knife was knocked out of your hand, hitting the concrete with a clatter.

"Got you," the other guy sneered. He reared back, poised to strike you, but he was suddenly ripped away from you.

"Togame?" the first man said, bewildered.

You'd never seen such anger in Togame's eyes. He was in a frenzy, beating the man who was about to hit you into the ground.

"Dude what the fuck? We're on the same team?" the first man yelled. Togame paid him no mind. The man tried to pull him off his partner, but Togame shoved him away. "I'm not dealing with this bull shit."

He pulled out a gun, aiming it right at you. You gasped, ducking just in time to miss the bullet that whizzed past you and struck the brick behind you. You felt a white hot pain on your ear, your fingers coming away with blood. For a horrible second you thought you had been hit, but the bullet had only grazed you you.

All Togame saw, though, was you bleeding due to another man. He snapped, jumping the guy that shot you. He ripped the gun out go his had and pistol whipped him, knocking him out cold. He kicked him, despite the guy being unresponsive. You were afraid he might kill him.

The other guy tried to get up, staring daggers at Togame. All other thoughts left you as you lunged at him. You beat him to the ground, dodging his blows as best you could. With a final punch to the face, the man went limp.

You and Togame stood, both panting. "Are you okay?" He was cupping your face, inspecting you for signs of damage.

"I'm okay. Let's just get out of here before they get up."

You made it back to your apartment unscathed. Togame was flurrying around you the second you were alone.

"You're not okay, you're bleeding," he frowned, looking at your ear. Some of the blood had dripped down on to your shirt, making the wound look worse than it was.

"It just grazed me," you replied.

"You could have died." You shuttered at the truth you had tried to ignore. A few millimeters separated you from death. "Do you have a first aid kit here?"

You directed Togame to it, who insisted on caring for your wound. His had were delicate and diligent as they cleaned the wound. You sat on your bathroom counter, Togame leaning so close to you, you could feel his breath fanning across your skin. It made your stomach flip.

"Am I going to live?" you joked.

Togame cracked a small smile. "Yes, but only because you have such a great doctor." He finished secure a tiny bandage to your ear, his hand dropping. You deflated at the lost of contact.

"Togame," you said, looking into his emerald eyes. "You saved me, but what does that mean for you? Are you going to be in trouble?"

Togame shrugged. "I'll tell Choji I was about to capture you and those two idiots busted in and ruined it. He'll believe me. I just... I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

"Me too," you admitted.

Togame looked at you with longing. "What do you want?"

What a loaded question. You weren't even sure if you knew what you wanted, in a long term sense. You couldn't think outside of this moment. And what you wanted now was clear to you. "I want you."

It was like a switch was flipped then. All your reservations gone in an instant. Your lips connected with his and your word was set ablaze. You had kissed him before, of course, but this was totally different. This was more than just hunger and lust.

You wrapped your legs around Togame's waist, holding him close to you. He gripped your ass, lifting you off the counter. His tongue slid into your mouth, pulling a soft moan of contentment as he walked you to the bedroom.

You were a tangled mess as you fell together on the bed. The weight of Togame on top of you equally comforted you and flamed your desire. He was so solid, so strong you couldn't stand any layer of clothing being between you and his skin any longer.

"Someone's eager," Togame teased as you yanked off his shirt.

"Like you're not?" you countered, giving the bulge in his pants a squeeze. You pulled your own shirt off, relishing the desire that flooded his eyes when they flicked down to your chest.

"Oh, I definitely am." Togame leaned back over you, caging you in. "I'm not scared to admit it." He was kissing down your neck sucking at your skin. "I haven't gone a night without thinking about you since we met." He was at your chest now, his tongue tease your nipples.

He continued down your body, his breath against your skin as he spoke. "Been dreaming of touching you against." He slid your pants down your legs, pressing a kiss to your cloth covered cunt. "Dreaming of tasting you."

You squirmed, aching for release, for him. You murmured a desperate plea for him to continue.

"This time, y/n," he slid your underwear off you, "I want to you say my name when you cum. My real name."

Togame licked a stripe up your dripping cunt, shamelessly moaning. "Fuck you're so sweet." He ate you out like a man starved. It was messy and frenzied, but diligent. He knew exactly how to work you up, rolling your throbbing clit with his tongue before sucking on it.

Your hips bucked as your hands knotted in his raven-black hair. Togame groaned in response, loving the stinging pull of you gripping his hair.

"Jo!" you moaned as he pressed his tongue inside you. It was warm and wet and sinful as he fucked you with his tongue. The sound of his name on your lips drove him near mad. He cock was heart and aching as he ground into the bed for some relief.

You rolled your own hips, chasing the high that was building rapidly. Your throbbing clit bumped against his nose, sending jolts of lightning pleasure through you. "You like that y/n?" Togame mused. "Like fucking my face with this pretty little cunt of yours?"

You whined in response, words escaping you as he swirled his tongue impossibly faster. It was so much, too much. Your orgasm hit you with white hot pleasure, consuming all your senses.

"Jo- ngh," the words slurred out of you. Togame hummed contently against you, lapping up every bit of release. He was painfully hard then, but it no rush. He wanted to savor ever bit of you.

You, however, were not so patient. You were yanking him up by his hair, desperate to kiss him again. He chuckled against your lips as you pawed at his pants. "What's the rush, angel? We got all night."

"Need you," you murmured into the kiss. You were hooking when you heard your name. You were so lost in the haze of lust that you didn't realize it wasn't Togame who had said it. Your head whipped around to find-

"Hiragi," you gasped. You were frozen in shock. Your brain couldn't compute Hiragi being here in this moment. Hiragi appeared equally shocked.

"What the fuck is going on?" He was glued to his spot in the doorway, like a deer in headlights. You were vaguely aware of Togame beside you, poised like a cat who was debating pouncing.

"I-I can explain," you stumbled over your words. You were scrambling to put your clothes back on. It was nothing Hiragi hasn't seen, but you felt too exposed. You sensed Togame doing the same, all while keeping his eyes carefull trained on Hiragi.

"I thought you said you weren't going to sleep with him," Hiragi said, a current of emotion in his voice. He was just shocked, he was hurt. Although you have not been together for awhile seeing you with another man- Togame no less- was like a knife in his heart. Your shame was instantly amplified with guilt.

"I'm sorry Hiragi I-I didn't expect to..." Your voice trailed off because how could you tell Hiragi you developed feelings for Togame? You hadn't even fully admitted that to yourself.

Hiragi snapped. "You were supposed to be being smart y/n! Just lured him in and capture him. What the fuck where you thinking?"

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Togame scowled. "Was this a trap, y/n?"

"No Togame I swear-"

"No?" Hiragi was bewildered. "Don't tell me you want to sleep with him."

"Of course she wanted to," Togame replied, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Why don't you tell your little friend the truth."

Fuck, this is bad. No matter what you said, you were screwing yourself over. If you admitted you wanted it, it would destroy Hiragi and your brother would certainly find out. But if you lied, that would ruin what you've developed with Togame.

Togame took your silence as an answer. "Whatever. I don't need this bull shit." His words were angry, but his face was crumpled with sadness. He walked towards your window, where the fire escape was.

"Togame please wait." You rushed after him, but he shrugged you off.

"I don't like being used, y/n," Togame snapped. "This meant something to me, but if it was all an act for you, I have no reason to be here any more."

"It wasn't, Togame please." But he was already gone, anger and hurt preventing him from listening to you.

You were left with Hiragi now, who was staring at you dumbfounded.

"You actually have feelings for him? For Togame fucking Jo?"

What was the point of lying now? "Yes."

Hiragi made a sound of disgust. "Seriously? He's just fucking playing you. You walked right into his trap. I thought you were smarter than this."

Anger flared in you. "He's playing me. And I know exactly what I'm doing. He's not wha everyone thinks."

Hiragi scoffed. "He's really got you fooled. He's a piece of shit, y/n. Everyone knows it."

"He's not! You don't know him like I do," you insisted. "He's been good to me."

Hiragi searched your face. "These past two weeks... have you been with him?"

"Not... sexually," you cringed. "This was the first time we ever, well..." You explained how you met Togame, without knowing who he was. "We've been in contact since then, but this was the first time it got physical. I didn't plan to feel this way, honestly, I had planned to capture him. But then, I don't know, it just happened."

Hiragi looked utterly disappointed in you. Disappointed and heartbroken. "Ume trusted you with this. I trusted you with this. Hell, all of Bofurin was counting on you to get this done and this is the shit you pull?"

You stared at him, not knowing what to say. Nothing felt right.

"I wasn't enough for you, but Togame was?" Anger bled out of his voice, replaced by pain.

The way Hiragi looked at you then broke you. You never wanted to hurt him. "Hiragi please-" You took a step towards him, but he stepped back holding his hands up.

"Don't. I can't even look at you right now," he replied. "I'm leaving."

You didn't bother trying to stop him. You dropped to the floor when you heard your apartment door slam shut, sobs wracking your body as you felt your world crumble around you.

***

The next morning you woke feeling worse than you had with any hangover. Your head throbbed but, worse, your heart ached. You reached for your phone, finding the inevitable 'we need to talk' text from Ume. He told you to meet him at the rooftop in an hour. Ugh.

You got ready, feeling like you were preparing for your own funeral. You tried to figure out what you were going to say, if there was any way to explain this that made it seem like less of a disaster. You were coming up painfully short. You couldn't stop thinking about Togame, how he looked when he thought you were tricking him. What must he think of you now?

As if reading your mind, you received a text from Togame. He was asking you to meet to talk. You knew you should go see your brother, but what if he kept you on lockdown? You'd never be able to explain things to Togame and he'd go on thinking you used him this whole time.

Umemiya was already mad at you, how much worse could it get? Maybe if you could figure things out with Togame, you could advocate for yourself more to Ume. Maybe you could make him see Togame as you see him. You had to give it a chance

You texted Togame back, saying you'd be there in 15 minutes and set off for the address he sent you. You prayed things hadn't been totally ruined between you two as you weaved between pedestrians on the sidewalk.

If you hadn't been so caught up in what you were going to say to Togame, you might have thought more about how it was odd he was asking you to meet in an old warehouse. You may have noticed that it was oddly quiet as you approached, a stillness that is manufactured by someone trying to make a space seem unthreatening.

But you were so wrapped up in your thoughts of Togame, of your brother, that you were shocked when you stepped inside and found yourself face to face with Choji.

"Hello y/n," he said with a mean smile. You immediately turned to run, but two men jumped out to block the door, aiming guns at you.

Fear flared inside you. Fear and sadness. Had it been Togame who has betrayed you this whole time? You had no time to process this as Choji ordered the guards to grab you.

"Get off me!" You thrashed, trying to get away from their grasp. But they were too strong, too comfortable pressing the gun against your back. You knew you had to comply, to at least live longer. They manhandled you into a chair, tying you down.

"Leave," Choji commanded his underlings coldly. They complied wordlessly. Somehow, being alone with Choji was scarier than being outnumbered. "So you're the infamous y/n? I have to say I'm disappointed." He yawned, as if bored. "I was told you were well trained, but you seem rather weak to me."

You ignored his barb. "Why don't you untie me and see about that."

"Hmmm, I don't think so," Choji replied. "I'm more interested to see how you'll fair against someone else." Choji took out his phone, sending off a text to someone. Moments later, a back door opened and Togame walked in.

"What the hell is this surprise abou-" Togame stopped dead in his tracks when he saw you. The look of fear and confusion on his face was like a wave of relief over your body. He didn't know about this. "Choji what is this?" He demanded.

"I thought you'd be happy, Togame," Choji replied. "I did your job for you."

"It was you who took my phone then?" Togame said. "You fucking lied to me."

"Oh? And you haven't been lying to me?" Choji raised his brow. He seemed calm on the outside, but you could sense anger brewing inside him.

Togame scowled. "I have always been loyal to you."

"Prove it," Choji replied. "Hurt her." Choji pulled a knife out from his sleeve and tossed it at Togame's feet. "Cut her up and I'll believe you."

Togame looked from the knife to Choji to you a decision settling over him. "No."

Before Choji could reply, the entrance burst open as Umemiya and Hiragi ran in. "Y/n!" Your brother cried when he saw you.

Choji pulled out a gun, leveling it at them. "Take a step and I'll blow your head off." He turned the gun to you. "And her's too." The conviction in his voice and the flare of violence in his eyes told you he would keep his words.

"Choji you don't have to do this," Togame stepped forward. Choji swung the gun in his direction, those he looked much less in inclined to shoot Togame.

"What the fuck has gotten into you Jo?" Choji snarled. "Did you forget you answer to me?"

"Come on Choji, don't point that at me." Togame took another tentative step forward. "Can't we just talk about this?"

Choji let out a dark chuckle. "Talk? You wanna talk about how you're going to betray me over some Bofurin bitch?" His anger was seeping out of him, cracking the cold facade. "We've been loyal to each other for year, Jo. And what? You fuck her stupid little cunt and betray me? I didn't know you were so stupid. Or weak."

"Don't fucking talk about her like that." Togame snapped. "I'm not fucking scared of you Choji."

You were watching this interaction in a fearful silence. The air felt charged, one wrong spark and it would erupt with violence. Sweat beaded your forehead as you worried what Choji might do. Not even to you, but to Togame.

"You've forgotten your place, Jo," Choji spat. A mean gleam sparked in his eye. "But I think I know how to remind you." Choji swung the gun in your direction.

You vaguely heard your brother scream behind you, but the world was falling away from you. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as the gun let out a loud BANG. Your eyes scrunched shut, your whole body tensing as you braced for the impact, for the pain.

But it never came. When you finally opened your eyes you saw Togame on the ground in front of you, blood seeping out of his shoulder. Choji looked as shocked as you felt.

"Togame!" you cried desperately fighting against the ropes the bound you. Choji fled with a curse as Ume and Hiragi rushed to your side. The second they cut through the ropes you flung yourself down to Togame's side.

"Fuck Togame, why did you do that," you cried. Blood stained his shirt where he was hit. You applied pressure to his wound, feeling the warm blood seep between your fingers.

Togame let out a groan of pain as he shifted to look at you, but grinned. "Just felt like doing the right thing for once."

Tears sprung in your eyes. There was no denying how you felt about Togame and the fear of losing him now was suffocating. "Please Ume, please we have to help him!" you begged your brother.

Ume looked like he didn't quite know what to make of what he saw, but nodded nonetheless. "I already have Hiragi calling for help. It's going to be okay, y/n."

You turned back to Togame, who was breathing raggedly. "If you die on me I'll fucking kill you Jo."

He smiled again. "Wouldn't dream of it, princess."

Help arrived quickly, whisking Togame away. It was Bofurin's special team of doctors, one that allowed us to avoid hospitals in sticky situations. You wanted to go with Togame, but your brother insisted you get checked out yourself.

"I'll be fine, y/n, I promise." Togame squeezed your hand before they slid him into the back of a van.

You were taken in Ume's personal car back to his place. You were quickly deemed fine, just a little scratched up. Ume insisted you rested at his place overnight to make sure you were okay. Togame, he insisted, was in good hands and he'd instructed the doctors to keep him updated.

You slept fitfully that night, only pure exhaustion pulling you into the depths of sleep. You woke to good news: Togame was fine.

"Can I go see him?" you asked.

"They recommended he rest a few days," Ume replied. "You can go then. We have a lot to discuss in the meantime."

You shrunk under your brother's stare. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?"

"I would say so."

So you explained it all. How you happened to meet Togame, not realizing who he was until the meeting the next day. How you fully intended to go through the mission as planned, wanting nothing more than to support Bofurin and gain your brother's confidence that you could handle difficult assignments. How you slowly came to know Togame more, finding he was nothing like the rumors that proceeded him.

"I really didn't mean fo this to happen," you explain. "I just... I was scared of letting you down. I know I should have told you right away, but I thought I could figure everything out on my own. Show you I was capable. But I really fucked that up. I'm sorry Ume."

Ume was quite the whole time as the words poured out of you, his expression unreadable. Your heart pounded as you waiting for his response.

"I'm sorry too, y/n," Ume said, surprising you. "All I've wanted was to protect you, but I see that I've gone overboard. I never meant for you to feel like I didn't trust you or didn't you were capable. There's no one I trust more than you, but also no one I worry about losing more."

Hearing your brother's praise warmed you. "Seriously?"

"Of course," he affirmed. "Of course I'm upset that you weren't honest with me, but I can understand why you did what you did... And this stuff with Togame, you really like him?"

"I do." You surprised yourself with how quickly you responded. "I think he's a good guy, Ume. I want you to get to know him like I have."

"I can't lie, the thought of you doesn't make me feel great," Ume admitted. "But I trust your judgment. All I know about him is what I've heard from others. If he is important to you, I wanna get to know him more."

You hugged your brother. "Thank you Ume."

He squeezed you back. "Of course, y/n. We are definitely going to have to talk about this more, but there's someone else who wants to talk to you."

Ume left the guest room he had you staying in and returned with Hiragi. "I'll give you two some privacy." He shut the door behind him, leaving you alone with Hiragi, who was hovering uncertainly.

There was a beat of awkward silence before you spoke. "I'm sorry Hiragi. You of all people did not deserve how I handled this."

Hiragi moved finally, sitting next to you on the bed with a sigh. "Is Togame... is he your boyfriend?"

"No, not exactly," you replied. "I know I have feelings for him and I have a lot to work out with him. But I can see myself with him."

"Were you with him when we... hooked up last week?" Hiragi asked, struggling to look at you.

You winced. "No, I hadn't been with him physically at that point if that's what you mean." You sighed. "I knew I felt something for him, but I thought my emotions were just screwed up. You were comforting and safe, I thought it would settle my mind. I never expected that I would develop really feelings for him. I'm really sorry I dragged you into this mess, Hiragi."

"You know, I kinda thought we'd end up together eventually. Guess I've been listening to Ume too much," he chuckled humorlessly. "I was hurt shocked when I saw you two, but I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

You shook your head. "No, I definitely deserved to be yelled at. I hate that I hurt you, I never intended that. I hope you know I care about you so much."

Hiragi nodded. "I do. And I want you to be happy and not have there be any issues between us. I value you as friend no matter what."

Tears pricked in your eyes. You didn't realize how scared you were at the thought of losing Hiragi in your life until this moment. "And I want use to stay friends, no matter what. You will always be special to me, Hiragi. Nothing and no one will change that. I hope we both find who make us happy. You deserve that more than anyone."

"Thanks, y/n," Hiragi hugged you tightly. "But I hope you know if Togame ever hurts you I'm beating his ass myself."

You laughed. "You have my permission. Hell, I'll help you if he hurts me... but I think he might surprise you."

"We'll see about that," Hiragi replied. "You rest up, okay?"

You nodded. "Thanks for coming by, I'll see you soon."

****

You woke to good news the following day: Togame was well enough for visitors. He was resting at his apartment, which Ume drove you to. You almost laughed at how absurd this was. Never did you think Ume would be dropping you off at a Shishitoren's place, but the last two weeks have certainly turned your life upside down.

"If you need me to come get you, just give me a call," Ume said as you climbed out of the car.

"Thank Ume." You shut the passenger door and hurried up to Togame's place.

You were breathless when he answered the door, wearing only a grey pair of sweat that sat low on his hips. His body was perfectly toned; a little line of hair disappearing into his sweats. The only thing that indicated he was injured was the bandage around his left shoulder. That did nothing to detract from how good he looked.

"Hey," Togame smiled.

"Hey."

You practically flung yourself into him, squeezing him into a tight hug. You were careful not to hurt the left side of him, but Togame didn't seem to mind. He wrapped his right arm around you, pulling you into him further.

"Sorry for the lame one armed hug," Togame murmured into your hair. He breathed in your scent, perfectly sweet. "Doctor said I gotta let the left arm rest."

Togame shut the door behind the two of you, leading you to his couch. His place was surprisingly clean and organized. "Are you okay? Is your shoulder fucked up?"

"I'm okay." Togame's thigh brushed against you as he sat. You could feel the heat of him even through the layers of clothing. "Doctor said I'm the luckiest man alive. The bullet missed all the important stuff. He gave me some meds to help with pain, so I just need to rest and let it heal."

You let out an exhale of relief. "Thank god... But why? You could have gotten yourself killed? Why didn't you let Choji..."

"I would never have been able to live with myself if Choji hurt you and I stood by and did nothing," Togame answered. "I've turned a blind eye to the shit Choji does for so long, but I couldn't ignore this. It would make me no better than him and I'm starting to realize I want better for myself."

"I'll never be able to repay you, but I hope you know it means the world to me. You saved my life," you said. You took his hand in yours and squeezed it.

"I would do it a hundred times over, if I had to," Togame said. "When he pointed that gun at you, I realized I couldn't live without you."

Your heart fluttered at his words. "Togame, about what Hiragi said-"

"You don't have to-"

"No, please I want you to know I wasn't trying to trick you," you insisted. "I made a joke about seducing you to catch you before I really knew you. It was never an actual plan and I never thought Hiragi would take it seriously. It's important to me that you know that I was with you that night because I wanted to be. There was no motive besides my feelings for you."

The soft smile that graced Togame's face made you melt. "I understand, y/n. I should have heard you out instead of storming out like an asshole." His grin morphed into something more sly. "I'm just glad I lived to hear you say you wanted to seduce."

You groaned, but with laughter. "It was a joke!"

"Sure, sure." Togame's hand was on your thigh, rubbing little circles in the most maddening way. You slid off the couch, nestling yourself between his legs.

"Well, if you're not going to believe me," you ran your hand up his inner thigh, squeezing him through the sweats, "Might as well make it true."

Togame's eyes flooded with desire seeing you on your knees for him. Never did he think he would have the princess of Bofurin like this, but never did he think he would be falling in love with her.

He cupped your cheek, his thumb rubbing over your bottom lip. "I really am the luckiest man alive."

You grinned, pulling his sweats and boxers down to reveal his length. He was long and thick, flushed a pretty shade of pink at the tip. He was already hard by the time you licked a stripe up the underside of him. You swirled your tongue around his fat tip, making his hips stir.

"Don't tease."

You obliged, taking him in your mouth. You hollowed out your cheeks, sucking him in deeper as you bobbed your head. Your tongue teased the underside of him, his cock throbbing in response. He slid his hands in your hair, causing you to moan around him. Togame hissed at the sensation.

"Fuck your mouth is heaven," Togame groaned, his head falling back on the couch. You moved faster, spurred on by his praise. Your hands stroking the parts of him your mouth couldn't reach. You could feel his hips lifting ever so slightly, trying to get further down your throat.

Togame gently pushed you off him. "''M gonna fucking bust if you keep doing that," he explained when you pouted at him. "Wanna do that inside you. Been driving me crazy that I haven't felt you yet."

Togame was helping you to your feel, pulling you to his bedroom. "Are you okay enough to do that?"

Togame scoffed. "Nothing is going to stop me from fucking you right now, y/n."

You blushed as you hit the bed, Togame climbing on top of you. He favored his right side, but over all seemed fine. You were in no position to argue with him.

Togame helped you get your clothes off, admiring your form. "So fucking pretty." He leaned in and kissed your neck. "And all mine."

"Jo," you gasped as he slipped his fingers between your legs. He toyed with your clit as he kissed you. His fingers slid inside your pussy while he sucked on your neck and chest. You were soaked in seconds, your arousal dripping down his fingers. Togame would have liked to prep you more, but he simply could not go another minute without being inside you.

"Need you Jo," you murmured. Your hips were stirring, craving more of him to soothe the ache inside you.

"You got me, angel," Togame cooed. He gripped the base of his cock, rubbing his tip through your soaked folds. You mewled as it nudged your throbbing clit. 

Finally he lined himself up to you, letting out a groan as he pressed into the tight ring of your cunt. You sucked in a breath feeling yourself stretch around him. "Fuck, you're so tight." He slid in and out of you in short strokes, helping you both adjust. "So fucking wet too."

He dropped down to kiss you as he rolled his hips. His strokes were deep and languid, as if to savor every moment. Togame wasn't in a rush to get off, he just wanted to feel your warm cunt around him. 

Your breath was more labored with each roll of Togame's hips. His fat tip hit that sweet spot inside you so deliciously. You rocked your hips up to meet him, your clit nudged by the base of him. Sweet little noises left your lips, driving Togame wild.

"Feel good, angel? You liked when I fuck you like this?" Togame said. He picked up his back ever so slightly, making you body shudder. "Know you do, can feel you squeezing me."

"Please, Jo." You didn't even know what you were begging for, you just knew you wanted more. Wanted him. 

"Gonna make you feel so good," he babbled on. He was losing his patience to take things slow as you wrapped your arms around his neck, playing with the dark curls of hair. "Been dreaming of having you like this for so long."

"'S good Jo," you slurred. "Feels so good." Your body was trembling, desperate for the release you've been craving. Like Togame, its felt like you wanted this for so long. He was good with his hands and his mouth, sure, but ever since that first night you've been wanting this.

Togame reached between you and rubbed your clit, drinking in the moans that escaped you. "Go on and cum for me pretty."

Your back arched off the bed as pleasure flooded your veins. You were writhing as the euphoria temporarily took control of your body and mind. Nothing existed outside of the two of you in that moment. "Jo-nngh."

All of Togame's composure was lost watching you cum on cock while moaning his name. His hips stuttered, spilling himself deep inside you. You felt so warm and full of him as he rode out his high, your name dripping from his lips. 

Togame stayed inside you as he peppered kissed all over you. You giggled, holding him close to you. "You're perfect," Togame murmured against your skin. "I don't deserve you."

You cupped his face in your hands, making him look at you. "You do, Jo. You're a good man." 

Togame smiled gratefully. "I hope I can prove that to you."

"I know you will," you replied. "I know things will probably be a bit complicated right now, but I want to figure it out together."

Togame turned and kissed your palm. "Together." 

No promise ever sounded sweeter.

[purple-plum-petals]

⊱ You Can Do Better Than Me ⊰ || Boothill X Reader

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮        Character(s): Boothill (Honkai: Star Rail)        Reader Type: Human, Not the Trailblazer (Gender-Neutral Pronouns)        Warning(s): Break-up (Miscommunication/Assumptions… Not Permanent), Negative Body Image/Self-talk (Regarding Boothill), Use of Petnames (Boothill calls Reader “darlin’” and “sweets” and Reader calls Boothill “honey” and “love”), Slightly Suggestive Ending.        Genre: Drabble, Angst, Fluff (Hurt/Comfort), Pre-Established Romantic Relationship        Word Count: ~2500 words       Prompt: “What part of ‘I want you, and only you’ do you not understand?”        Author’s Note: Hello everyone, I come back to you briefly with a random Boothill drabble because this cowboy has been on my brain for the past three months and I needed to get something written for him ASAP. I actually got both him and his lightcone on release day, so I’m still hyped about that (didn’t even need to break my F2P status either hehehe 😎). I will get around to writing a multi-chapter fic for him as soon as my summer semester is over and all of the current requests in the ask box have been answered. I’ve been managing the workload relatively well so far, but it’s genuinely been so overwhelming in terms of content/information that my brain can barely form coherent sentences after class and work. 😭 Anyways, have some self-conscious Boothill and my beloved hurt/comfort. Maybe instead of saving the horse, we should save the cowboy. Also… let me know if anyone is interested in a part two, and I’ll be happy to write it. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)             Tag-List: @anonima-2 – I know you wanted me to tag you if I got around to writing a Boothill X Reader fic, so here it is! It may not be a multi-chapter one, but I hope you enjoy this little drabble.

→ If you enjoyed my work, please reblog it if you can! Exposure on Tumblr is based on reblogging content rather than liking it, so your support would be much appreciated!  ♡ ╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

You had known Boothill for quite some time now. You had crossed paths with the elusive Galaxy Ranger throughout the years, so many times that you eventually lost count. Three times was uncommon, five times was rare, but over twenty times? That was absolutely unheard of given the vast expanse of space. It got to the point where you both noticed how frequently you would meet, the two of you making jokes that the universe was pushing you together.

Boothill had thought for a while you were sent to capture and/or kill him by the IPC but, after a particularly intense “discussion” (where he proceeded to hold you at gunpoint, as he frequently did with most people), you were able to confirm that all of the times you two had met were indeed just an exceedingly rare coincidence. It was something you would occasionally bring up to tease him about nowadays, poking fun at the fact he had literally held his future partner at gunpoint. It was a memorable event to reminisce on when asked by others ‘how did you two meet?’.

Years had passed since that unforgettable interaction, and both you and Boothill were happy and content in your current relationship. All of that time together with him had given you insight into how the cowboy typically behaved. He could be brash and rush into trouble head-first, but he was also immensely intelligent and could think of a plan on the fly to get himself out of even the stickiest situations. He was the type of person who frequently spoke his mind, not allowing his tampered-with Synesthesia Beacon to completely censor what he wanted to say… which is why you were as worried as you were lately.

Your boyfriend hadn’t been as talkative as he usually was. He had returned from a three-month-long trek around the galaxy a few days ago, and he had been distant ever since he came back. His replies had been clipped, and he had a strange look in his eye whenever he glanced your way; he hadn’t even looked at you for more than a few seconds since his return.

Tentatively, you made your way over to where he was sitting by an open window in your home, the breeze gently blowing the strands of his black-and-white hair to and fro. You stepped closer to stand next to him as you asked, voice tender as you spoke, “Boothill, honey, what’s wrong? You’ve been more reserved than usual these past few days, and I just want to check to see if you’re ok–…”

Then, he spoke, his voice firm as he cut off the rest of what you were going to say, “…I wanna break up.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach at his words, and you felt your palms begin to clam up with sweat as you whispered, “W… What?” You swallowed harshly, stepping closer to him as you asked, double-checking to see if you had heard him correctly, “What did you just say?”

“I said I wanna break up.” He says once more, voice rough as he turns his head ever-so-slightly to watch you from his peripheral. It felt like the world had stopped moving when he confirmed what you had always hoped you would never have to hear, and you feel your eyes begin to water. He finally, after so many days, looks at you directly after what has felt like eons. Whatever expression was on your face caused him to flinch before he looked away once more, staring at his hat on the nearby table.

Boothill sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he continues to speak, his voice gentler than usual as he tells you, “I don’t think this,” He pauses, taking his hand and gesturing toward himself before finishing his thought, “…is good fer you.”

Your emotions were fluctuating so quickly that your mind didn’t know what to do with all of them. First, you were worried about your boyfriend, then you were heartbroken when he said he wanted you two to go your separate ways, and now? Now you were angry, a sudden burst of frustration filling your veins at his reasoning behind wanting to end your relationship. Your heart aches as you exclaim, trying not to pay attention to the wetness forming along your lashes, “Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?”

Boothill is back to refusing to look at you, so you try to move into his line of sight as you ask, your hands flailing about as you speak in a desperation-laced tone, “What, exactly, isn’t ‘good for me’ Boothill?”

He turns his head to look at you, standing up from where he had been sitting as he holds his hands out, trying to placate you as he says hastily, “Listen don’t – don’t get the wrong idea, alright?”

“How can I not get the wrong idea when you suddenly tell me you want to end our relationship!?” You yell back, feeling the tears begin to trickle down your cheeks. You were angry, sure, but the soul-crushing feeling of separating from the man you loved so deeply pierced your heart like a knife. Your frustration quickly began to be tainted with sorrow, your voice coming out softly as you ask him, your mind desperate for some kind of answer as you place a hand on your chest, “Did I… Did I do something for you to come to this decision?”

Panic floods his expression immediately as he reaches out, his hands resting on your shoulders as he leans down to look at your face. He quickly tells you, one of his hands coming up to gently cup your cheek as his thumb brushes away your tears, “No, no, no, no – you didn’t do anythin’, darlin’. You’ve been perfect in every way, I just…”

He pauses, gaze traveling to the ground as he thinks of what to say. His cold, metallic fingers against your skin are comforting to you in a way you couldn’t describe – comforting in a way no one else would be able to understand. Boothill’s eyes meet with yours once more as he continues speaking with a bittersweet smile, “You could do so much better than me, sweets. I don’t want to hold you back.”

The anger you had felt was suddenly back in full force as you asked him, brows furrowed as you questioned, “How?”

Your hands come up to hold onto his, the one that was still lovingly cupping your face as you ask, leaning forward toward him as you speak, “How could I do better than you? What are you holding me back from?”

Boothill shakes his head, saying with a frown, “There’s so many things I can’t give you… I can’t give ya a peaceful life, I can’t give ya a family…” His voice cracks slightly at the word, but he continues to speak as he begins to pull his hand away from your face, “You deserve someone who’s around more often – someone who can be there for ya whenever you need ‘em.”

Boothill chuckles bitterly, removing his hand from your grasp as walks over to grab his hat off of the nearby table, and you’ve never felt so cold and empty in your entire life. You watch helplessly as he places the hat on his head, staring as he begins to make his way toward the front door as he tells you, “You deserve someone who doesn’t cause you to jump every time their freezin’ cold hands touch ya – someone who can actually feel ya.”

You step toward him, reaching out to take his hand in yours and effectively stopping him in his tracks as you say firmly, “Boothill, shut the fuck up. Aren’t you going to at least ask me what I think about this?”

Boothill sighs, turning back around to look at you as he speaks. He doesn’t do anything to remove his hand from your grasp, instead gently squeezing it in a comforting manner as he tells you, “Listen, sweets, I just think it’s for the better that–…”

“No, it’s not.” You say, your voice strong despite the tears that had begun to flow down your face. You look up at him, bringing his hand to place on your chest as you tightly hold it over your heart, telling him firmly and genuinely despite the way your voice cracks, “I don’t care if you can’t give me those things. When did I even say that’s what I wanted in life?”

“Why wouldn’t you want that?” Boothill asks, looking down at you as if you had grown a second head, as if everything he said he couldn’t give you was something that everyone would want. He looks conflicted as he tells you, trying to take his hand back as he steps away from you and closer to the front door, “You deserve to be happy – you deserve to have someone who’s there for you.”

“What if all I want is you, huh?” You tell him, refusing to let go of his hand – refusing to let him leave your life in such a way. Your hold on Boothill’s hand was tight because you knew, deep down, if you let his hand slide out of yours, you’d never see him again. You look up at him as you speak, a spark of determination in your eyes which causes Boothill’s cheeks to flush a light shade of blue, “No one else can give me you. You’re the one that makes me happy – not some dream life, not some perfect family – just you.”

“You don’t want me, darlin’ – I promise, once I’m gone, you’ll move on an’ another lucky fella will have the honor of being able to love ya.” Boothill tells you with furrowed brows and a smile, his sharp teeth peeking out from behind his lips as he tries to convince you he’s not what you want. You could feel your eyebrow twitch in frustration at his words, your tears slowing down as you refute his claim.

“What part of ‘I want you, and only you’ do you not understand?” You ask him, a tinge of hurt and frustration mixed in your voice as you reach out to firmly hold both of his hands in your own. Boothill allows you to do so with no fanfare, a conflicted expression on his face; his fingers twitch in your hold. He watches as you close your eyes and take a deep breath, hesitating for a moment before once again looking at him as you whisper, “Listen, if you want to leave, I’m not going to stop you or hold you back, but…” You pause, smiling warmly at him before continuing, “but I want you. I want to be with you, not this hypothetical ‘fella’ you’ve envisioned who would give me a perfect life.”

Before Boothill could open his mouth to try and argue again, you quickly add on as you bring one of his hands to your lips, pressing a light kiss to his digits as you tell him, “I don’t care that you’re cold to the touch – I don’t care that we won’t have a picture-perfect life together…” You feel the tears beginning to form on your lashes again as you run your thumbs along his knuckles, telling him sincerely, “I’ve never imagined a future without you in it, love.”

Boothill looks down at you, his expression a clash between his adoration for you and the heaviness of the situation. He shakes his head, bringing one of your hands to his lips as he presses a kiss to the back of it as he tells you, voice uncharacteristically quiet as he admits, “I… I don’t want to leave, sweets. I just…” He hesitates as he makes eye contact with you, raising a brow as he once again gestures to himself as he asks, “Are you sure this is what ya want?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life,” You tell him, letting go of his hands as you instead wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you as your bodies press against one another. His arms wrap around your waist on instinct, pulling you close to him as you press your foreheads together. You stare into his eyes and bring a hand to his cheek, placing your palm against his face as you run your thumb along the skin under his eye. He leans into your touch, turning his head to kiss your palm as you tell him with a smile, “Rain or shine, good or bad… I want to be beside you throughout it all.”

“Heh, well… I’m glad I get to be by yer side.” Boothill says, opening his eyes once more to look at you. He leans forward, pressing a kiss to your temple as he whispers, almost as if he didn’t want the world to hear him – to keep this tender moment a secret between the two of you, “…Thank you for choosin’ me out of the rest of the blokes in the galaxy, darlin’. I’m a real lucky guy to have someone as wonderful as you.”

“I’d choose you in every universe, Boothill. That’s a promise.” You reply with a smile, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, almost as if you were teasing him.

He smirks at both your words and your actions, saying with a raised brow as he leans back, tilting his hat up with one finger as he speaks, “That’s quite a big promise there, darlin’. Sure you can keep it?”

“Oh, I’m sure.” You reply, matching his expression as you huff, “Don’t doubt me, cowboy.”

“I won’t, I won’t…” Boothill says with a chuckle. He pauses, his smile faltering slightly as he looks down at you. Your eyes were still slightly red, and the stains your tears had left on your cheeks were still present. He pulls you closer to him, nuzzling his face into your neck as he takes a deep breath in, muttering against your skin, “Aeons, I love ya… I love ya so fudgin’ much.”

“I love you, too, honey.” You reply softly, running your hand up and down his back when an idea pops into your mind. It was a mischievous one, and the mere thought of it causes a smirk to grow on your lips. You reach up and grab the hat from his head as you instead place it on yours, asking him flirtatiously, “Why don’t I show you just how much I love you?”

“Well… I certainly like the sound of that.” Boothill replies lowly, his eyes half-lidded as he gently caresses your face, smirking at his hat now resting atop your head. He leans down and kisses you, whispering against your lips in a sultry tone, “Plus, I’d like to apologize for makin’ you cry… Can I, darlin’?”

The tone of his voice was enough to make your heart start beating faster, and you could feel your cheeks begin to warm as you replied quickly with a simple, “Please do.”

[after-witch]

Horrorfest: This Confession Has Meant Nothing (Yandere Derek Goffard x Reader)

Title: This Confession Has Meant Nothing [Yandere Derek Goffard x Reader]

For Horrorfest request:

I don't have much of an idea beyond Derek as Patrick Bateman style serial killer. You're his final girl/boy. Surviving his spree.  he hates how fascinated he is with you.

Word Count: 748

notes: yandere, mentions of killing, derek wants to (maybe) kill you; reader is a sex worker

You are one, stupid ugly piece of shit. You’re worthless. Gutter trash. So far beneath him that you’re almost not worthy of killing; not worthy of him scuffing his shoes, handcrafted genuine leather that costs more than rent at your shitty apartment for a year. More, maybe. 

You are nothing. Just some bones and a meat suit, just something to bide his time with, something for him to (maybe) fuck and film and when he’s bored enough, dissect. He even tells you his real name (Derek Goffard, and you looked impressed, and you SHOULD BE) because he’s going to kill you so why not? 

You’re just something to discard with the morning trash, the morning paper, maybe his nice shoes too because he can buy a new pair whenever he fucking wants. An inconsequential speck.

And yet.

He can’t stop thinking about you. 

About the way your lip curled up at him when you realized what he’d done to Susie or Cheryl or whatever her name was. Doesn’t matter. A woman he bought for the night after he bought you, and you were pretending to get along so well that for a moment he assumed your first reaction to seeing her bleeding out from the knife sounds in her torso would be to reach out. Grief. Horror. Shock.

But no. Instead, you’d looked at him… straight at him… like you had the fucking right And you sneered. Actually sneered! With this look of hatred in your eyes that told him you thought you were better than him, that he was shit and you were gold.

You really were fucking stupid, weren’t you? 

But then how--and the thought creeps into his brain and he smacks it out viscerally with his hand--did you get away from him? How did you make it out of the condo, into the hallway, down the stairs (ALL those stairs) and out the front door into the night? How hasn’t he found you yet?

Maybe you didn’t have to be smart to survive. Yeah. That made sense. Animals survive in the wild all the time, don’t they? Not all rabbits are eaten by wolves. Some are just fast enough to scurry off into some hole to hide out in, to live another day, to fuck and breed and repeat the cycle until they are either roadkill or fall prey to an eagle or some shit like that.

You were his rabbit. 

But he wasn’t going to let you get away. He couldn’t imagine you getting away, cleaning yourself up, getting out of the city. You’d get some job that pays the rent and meet someone; maybe you two would have kids, and you’d be a grandparent or something ridiculous like that, decades down the line.

No.

That wasn’t what he wanted for you. Not when he’d killed so many others in the past few weeks. Not when he recognized you for what you were: his, in some way. His to kill. His to finish with. 

Yeah, that would be nice. After he killed you, he’d take a break from it for a while. Maybe see if he could get a promotion at his dad’s business. Find someone to get engaged with--appearances, and all that--and pop out a kid. He could always go back to killing if he felt like it.

That’s the way the world works. He was allowed to kill because he was richer and smarter and better looking. You were going to die because you were nothing beneath his (expensive) shoes. 

He just has to find you first. Oh, and when he does… he presses his face against the car window, breath fogging it up. He can just imagine what he’ll do to you. Hurt you. Kill you. Keep you? All three sounded enticing.

His fingers itch, his cock goes hard, just thinking about it.

The street lights are dim in this part of the city, but bright enough for people to make out the faces on the corners, the curve of bodies standing close to the curb. 

If you ran, you might have run right back here; where you ply your trade and get your drugs and maybe have a few people you call friends. It’s where he picked you up the first time, after all.

And he’s got all the time and money in the world to track you down again.

[banes-favourite]

Can't stop thinking about the implications of spending your most important childhood years abused and belittled and treated like shit.

Enver was at his most developmental stage and the idea that he was worth less than dirt was beaten into him constantly. There is no way that didn't affect him in the long run, force him to cover himself with fancy clothes and big words so he wouldn't have to face the fact that he is just a useless street urchin running after success like an ant striving to step on the moon. It's such a nonsensical thought for him to actually climb the ranks and yet he did it, but I don't think that feeling of worthlessness ever went away. It's why he always will want more and more, because he will never truly feel good enough. No matter how many people he steps on, how many innocents he kills, how many titles and honours and power he gathers, it will simply never be enough because he wasn't born to ever be good enough. He will always be little useless Enver Flymm, son of a cobbler, an annoyance to his parents and a burden to the world. That shit never really leaves you.

Not to mention the physical damage he'd have to put up with, as if the psychological torture wasn't enough? Imagine being reminded of your time spent breaking your barely-developed nose and harassed every which way every single time you did something as simple as taking a step or moving the wrong way. The broken bones which never quite healed right, the burnt and destroyed skin, the engravings of a slave cut so deep into you that you will never be rid of them. How does he feel whenever he trips and his knee cries out in pain, reminding him of the time it was snapped in half like a twig and not allowed to heal? How does he feel whenever he reaches for something and his radius and ulna shoot a shiver through his nervous system, a reminder of all the times he used his forearms to hide his face from repeated kicks and punches? Can he still taste the blood in his mouth, smell the copper and burnt skin that lingered on him? Does he wonder, standing in the mirror, how his face would have turned out had it not received so much abuse? How his nose should normally look? How his eyes shouldn't be as dark as they are? Does he envy the man he was not allowed to grow into?

just some thoughts

[findingcrow]

Okay, its been a couple months since my last Roomies post which means I need to ramble more (mainly because I consume the found family trope like its oxygen I need to survive), so here we go again!!!

The Roomies (Grian, Etho, and Cleo in Secret Life) are genuinely my favorite group out of all of the life series. They are the very definition of found family. They made the trope, actually. And what's worse is that they were doomed from the beginning.

Grian, known for abandoning people for the hell of it anytime it's convenient. The last time he was really loyal to someone was in Last Life with Scar, and after how that ended, I like to think that he was afraid to make any connections like that again. He messes with people for the sake of it. He is the embodiment of chaos itself.

Cleo, known for her violent and merciless nature. Throughout the series, she's constantly making a long list of people to kill when she gets the chance. It's not often she displays openness with people, especially knowing how the life series always ends. The last time she did, her family was splitting by the seams and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She refuses to not be in power again like that.

Etho, extremely serious and yet not at all. He'll lie when he needs to, he'll mess with whoever he wants, whenever he wants. He does his tasks, bumps into everyone and no one on the way. Known for being loyal, but loyal to who? All of the other seasons are done, he has no solid allies, besides BDubs.

And yet after the divorce arc, Cleo and Etho reunite, Etho allowing Cleo to stay when she was trying to escape Tango and the others. It's more for connivence at first, maybe helping out with a task here or there. They made a home and continue on.

Then Grian asks for a place to stay- just as Cleo had all those episodes ago- and they say yes. They know that there's a high likelihood of him killing them when the time comes to it. They look between each other, remembering all of their pasts and all of the blood shed, and they realize that they're just the same as the man standing at their door asking for shelter. Not a home, just a shelter. That's all this is for the three of them, it's a roommates-for-connivence situation.

But over time, they all get... closer. Maybe it's after the zombie apocalypse, where Grian's first thought after realizing is, "I need to warn Cleo and Etho" or where Etho purposefully wards the zombies away from his friends. Maybe it's after the traps set specifically to kill them. Maybe it's after Grian begs Etho and Cleo to do the "zombie dance," where Cleo tries her best despite not even knowing it existed.

There was never a specific moment where they decided they were no longer roommates and that they were family. It's rarely acknowledged until Grian is speaking with the two of them where he swears to never hurt them, even after all of them turn Red. Etho and Cleo, in return, agree.

When the end eventually comes, like they all knew it would, they stick together. They climb high up, high enough where they should be able to live in peace together for the rest of eternity. But they're found, just like the game is meant to go, and everyone knows there's going to be people who don't come down. Etho is one of the first.

There's no mistaking the cries that are shouted when Etho falls. Grian and Cleo watch intently, only wanting Etho to run faster. They don't hear his final words, they don't hear him say "I'm going home, everybody. I'm dying in my home." They don't get to be there, in his last moments, as he passes away in the home they made together. All Cleo and Grian can do is mourn for a short moment before trying to save themselves. Grian calls out, "No, Etho, my boy!!!" eyes straying to their home, staying there for a moment, not being able to know what happened there, other than his family being dead. Cleo begins to do something similar- "Etho, you're my bo..." She lets out a sob, her voice cracking, before she quickly distracts herself. She understands now what the goal of the game is, how everyone else is playing it. They're willing to do anything to avenge Etho, even if it means getting killed themselves.

Grian and Cleo- only two of their trio, a blank space left open where another should be- work together, barely leaving each others side. But eventually they're found, even with their trap doing so much damage. Cleo is the second to go, cornered and slaughtered.

Grian was the last to join The Roomies and the last to leave, and he made sure it counted. He fought not only for himself, but for his fallen family. He's only one person, but he fights with the strength of all three of them. Eventually, he's killed, just like the others, but at least he did what he could. He tried, and that was all that mattered.

I'd like to think that Etho and Cleo were waiting for him, then. Etho had waited for Cleo, both of them tearing up at the fact that they got to see each other again. They cheered from above, watching Grian fight off so many more than himself. And when Grian joined them, they opened their arms, the same that had held on so tight throughout the series. The three of them, The Roomies, they had named themselves, were only thankful that their last memories of each other's faces weren't the bloody versions from their deaths.

The three of them were so different. They had different personalities, different friends, different backgrounds. They knew that in the end, only one could win. And yet they were willing to die for each other, ready to murder the whole server in cold blood for even trying to hurt any of them. After trying so hard to not be attached, they couldn't help it.

Family isn't always the blood in your veins; sometimes its the blood on your hands. Sometimes it's the hand that holds yours, despite it being red-stained and calloused. Sometimes it's the ones that would be willing to spill more blood with you, for you, even if it was illogical. Sometimes it's the stupid animals that you named together, sometimes its the adventures that ended up causing pain but you can laugh through because you're not alone.

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 80)

Alexia Putellas x Character (36) - Ridley Part Two

Masterlist (other parts here)

((**8.7k**))

Guess who's back!

(DISCLAIMER: Although I've toned it down a lot, it is still bloody. Gory. Confronting.)

This is PART TWO of TWO for Ridley. You DO NOT have to read this! This is simply me getting out what's been in my head for a while about Ridley and her darker side and military ties. I understand this may be graphic and morally grey for people, though as I said, I've tone it down a lot and have given disclaimers.

Feel free to skip these two Ridley parts as you won't be missing anything in the main story. :)

RIDLEY POV PART 2

Ridley didn’t hesitate for a second. She was moving out of muscle memory with one hand grabbing the assailant's wrist, her cast hand reaching behind her to grab their neck as she simultaneously spun and bodied her attacker into the ground. Once she was on top – she only had one more split second to determine if they were part of Cumar’s crew, and at the identification of that, she drove his own knife into his chest, her hand covering his mouth to avoid loud, alerting sounds.

It was never a nice thing, but it was so common to her now that she knew she wouldn’t lose sleep over it. Even as she watched the light drain from his eyes.

“Injured?” Becks asked.

She knew she had a slight cut from where the knife had grazed across her abdomen just below her vest as she’d spun, though it was barely a thought. “Okay.”

He nodded and grabbed the dead man’s arms. “Wombat, help move him. Fuzzy, scout.”

Fuzzy ducked off into the trees as the two men hid the body in case someone else showed up and found him. They didn’t need any alarms set off.

Ridley had questions but waited until the others returned. In the meantime, the two women kept quiet with their backs to each other, scoping the area. It was enemy territory after all.

In no time, the Becks and Wombat appeared, and they all stayed in that area, getting more irritated at the second at the feeling of staying in one place. That’s what got you killed. But it was only a few minutes before Fuzzy returned shaking his head. “Nada, pack is stashed.” He pointed to the tree and all of them took note of it.

Becks nodded and turned to Duce. “Copy. Why was he here?”

It was a valid question.

“Expected,” she admitted. “I did assume Cumar would have scouts, though I’m very surprised he’s alone.” She looked at Fuzzy. “Nothing? Really?”

“Nothing within a few clicks.”

Becks frowned. They all did. Why was he all alone?

“He’s being punished,” Ridley murmured, and they all paused. She caught Wombat’s eye. Although he hadn’t been captured with her, he did understand where it was coming from. “Cumar. Whenever someone disappoints him, he does this as a way to win back favour. You get sent out to scout alone, and he won’t accept you back unless you bring him the head of an enemy.”

There was a moment of silence amongst them all.

“So… just the one then...” Wombat said, and they all nodded in unison before they started to track north.

Each of them wore a pack now except Fuzzy, and each held with them a close combat rifle, along with their pistols and other weapons. They were allowed to choose which suited them best, though ultimately the M4A5 Carbine was perfect for this task. Only Duce carried an extra and it was a Barrett M82, a sniper rifle. She was the best sniper of the group.

They approached carefully through the trees, their three remaining packs heavily weighing them down and as Fuzzy did, they stashed their packs along the way. They found the first group of Cumar’s men and made quick, light work of them without needing to fire a shot. Although their target was purely the retrieval of the boy, Akeem, they needed to think in advance of their own safety. Should guns start firing at Cumar’s base, the others would come running and they couldn’t allow that. That, and they wanted to stay hidden for as long as possible.

And so, station by station, group by group, they took out his security teams scattered through the trees as quickly and quietly as possible. If they had chained them up, they could escape. If they had left them alive, they could make contact and put them all in danger. So they did what they were trained to do, and tied up loose ends as they moved through the area tactically.

It was the best way to think of it and not get into your head; by thinking of them as just that. Loose ends. Potential threats. It also helped to know what these men had done. They’d beaten, abducted, killed, tortured and raped. In her head, she justified it by knowing many more people would be safe now that they were gone.

As they took out the last of the security camps quickly and quietly, four of them stowed their knives, though Becks had always preferred brute force. As she confirmed with a signal that the others were done, she turned and saw him snap the last man’s neck sideways and up which was a terrifying show of just how strong he was. Becks pulled him into the brush where he wouldn’t be seen and gave his signal to Ridley.

They all knew what was required of them now. The group had cleared their path in, and now the last of the packs needed to be dumped, which was Becks’. Their packs were spread out along their route so far and stored in different positions – all GPS tracked. They contained the necessities to survive in that area. Food, water, electrolytes, medical supplies, navigational aids, weapons and more. It was essentially a supply dump in case they were stranded.

They didn’t fuck around from there, though. They needed to keep moving quickly in case they alerted anyone with an unanswered radio call to one of the groups they’d been through.

They advanced on Cumar’s place now a lot lighter, sporting only their black combat gear which held no identifiable logo. No markings nor brands nor colours that would tie them to any country or division. For all Cumar’s people would know – they were independent mercenaries. For this same reason, the bottom half of their faces were covered, Ridley knowing that if Cumar saw her, he’d known she was Australian SASR. That’s another thing to avoid. A political war.

Cumar’s place was an old prison in the middle of nowhere – inland and southwest of Mogadishu, Somalia. He’d repurposed it from abandoned, and intelligence agencies had only discovered it a few weeks prior, with the involvement of Duce’s team. From here – he was protected by the trees around him as well as the sky. As made obvious by the SEALs – anything that flew over was shot down immediately. On foot was the only method available to them.

As they moved close enough to view the large prison campus themselves, they reached a point of no return. A point, where they couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t be spotted. A point, where bullets could start firing at any second.

Duce called that point she had estimated as they approached. “P.O.N.R.”

Ridley’s mind kicked into another gear as those letters came through her headset. She could be dead any second, and it made her feel… alive.

They all acknowledged the PONR and continued, warier than ever. They barely made it another 50 metres before-

“Contact!” Fuzzy called, just before the sound of bullets littered the air. Ridley immediately identified the points as two old prison guard towers. Duce, Fuzzy and Wombat took one of the towers out, and Duce set up in it to sniper.

“Tower one down.”

Becks and Ridley took the second tower and left it empty.

“Tower two down,” she called as they assessed their approach path from there. From their position of advancement towards the prison – there was only one more tower in view which would hinder their approach. “Holding due fire. Take the third.”

Duce snipered the third tower which provided enough so that Wombat and Fuzzy could take it out.

“Tower three down. Providing cover.”

As soon as that was called – Becks, Duce and Wombat provided cover from the three towers which hindered the hostiles in the prison walls enough for Ridley and Fuzzy to approach. Gun up, she sprinted, seeing Fuzzy in her periphery. A bullet tore past her arm, grazing the skin and she immediately felt the hot flash and the blood begin to drip.

She didn’t stop. She knew from experience that it wasn’t bad enough to stop. She took aim where it came from and shot the hostile as he leant over the railing. Her shot made a whizzing sound through the air and hit her target directly. She jumped sidewards to avoid his body hitting the ground as she made it to the building, her arm slamming into the wall near the entrance where Fuzzy also arrived. He nodded, out of breath and entered the building, Ridley right behind him. They worked their way through the halls, picking off the hostiles one by one, targeting the face of the building which impeding the entry of the others. Eventually it provided enough relief for the others to enter, and separately, worked their way through the building, targeting the different areas where they thought Akeem may be.

“A-block clear.” Ridley called over the headset.

“B-block clear.” Wombat.

“North courtyard.” The sound of a groan and then a shot. “…clear.” Becks.

“South courtyard clear.” Fuzzy.

“Barracks clear visual.” Duce called. The barracks were outside of the main building and they had agreed to not unnecessary go outside unless it was their last option.

Ridley rounded a corner and the end of her carbine was grabbed and she was wrenched forwards. She immediately ducked from the knife she knew was awaiting her throat and spun, kicking her assailant hard into the wall. She swung her gun to her back and jumped back from the next swing, smacking the knife out of his hand and landing a punch to his abdomen and then jaw in quick succession. An arm came around her neck and grabbed her then, squeezing tight and lifting her from the ground. The man in front of her battered several punches into her ribs while she was immobilised by the second assailant. She managed to swing her body up and kick him in the face, feeling his nose give way as he fell backwards into the wall. Her feet hit the ground as she started to black out from the chokehold, though she found enough energy to leap up and throw her head back into the man behind her.

The man shouted something in Somali and stumbled back into the railing, dragging her with him. She was 30 seconds away from a full black out. A sudden sharp, hot pain hit the side of her thigh, and she grunted in shock. Suddenly, she had a weapon. Ridley kicked the broken-nosed assailant on the floor, ripped the knife from her thigh and slammed it into the neck of the man behind her, feeling the rush of hot blood on the back of her neck and down under her vest. Her cast hand scream in pain as she did so, though she paid it no mind. The assailant behind her dropped and she ripped the knife forwards towards the back of her head, which subsequently tore through his throat.

Ridley snatched her pistol and shot once into the head of the broken-nosed man on the floor in front of her.

“Infirmary clear.” Fuzzy.

“C-block clear.” Wombat.

She stumbled forwards and groaned, grabbing hold of her thigh. It didn’t hit the artery. She put a little pressure on it to feel the blood flow and then took her tourniquet out from her belt and slid it up her leg, tightening it above the entry wound on her outer thigh.

“D-block clear.” Becks.

She gasped as she tightened it and put pressure on her foot to test. Duce hadn’t answered in a while – and she knew exactly where she was originally headed to next. Ridley swung her gun around and did her best to run towards the cafeteria. It was very central in the building, and easily the best defended.

She entered the café to see what she’d expected. Half the room was taken up by supplies. Weapons. Drugs. Guns. Akeem was there, gagged and chain to a pole. Duce was there, bloodied and on her knees with a gun to her head by someone Ridley recognised as Cumar’s son, Bashir. Cumar was in the middle of the group, watching the proceedings. They hadn’t expected Ridley at that moment, though. She put a bullet through each of the guards before stepping into the room. Bashir hesitated his task and as his head spun to her, gun switching from Duce to Ridley, she fired a shot straight through his shoulder.

With a cry, he fell backwards, and Duce was on top of him in seconds, pinning him.

Cumar went to spin and- “DON’T you fucking move.” Ridley warned as she approached.

“Akeem and Cumar located - cafeteria. Two hostiles.” Duce made the call to the team.

Ridley heard shots and footsteps louder and closer. Her eyes didn’t leave Cumar’s. She could tell he was trying to judge if he could spin and grab his gun in time. He took a step back and she took a warning step forward. “Don’t.”

Becks entered the room and paused, waiting for the outcome.

“Not one move. On the ground, hands behind your head!”

Cumar hesitated like his son, his face turning from a sneer to curiosity. “It’s you, isn’t it? The one who escaped?”

His English was quite good for a third language.

Ridley didn’t answer. “On the ground, hands behind your head!”

He muttered something in Somali to Bashir, and she heard her name amongst it.

She took a step forward again, her gun still very much aimed at his chest.

“The one I couldn’t break… Ridley.” He murmured, his eyes lighting up as if he wanted another chance.

He’d sneered in her face. Cut her flesh. Bruised her body. He came back again and again. He wasn’t interested in anything other than pain. He had a sort of fascination with it and justified it as simply trying to get information. He didn’t. Not from her. And when he didn’t, he made her watch as… James…

That was the worse torture she’d ever endured. Not the physical, but the visual. Having to watch her friend take his last breath. A person she’d laughed with, drunk with, opened up to. That was the kind of pain that made her keep her distance from everyone, including Alexia.

“Your friend was breakable though. What was his name again?”

She knew Becks was behind her and could almost read his thoughts. ‘Don’t let him get to you.’

“Don’t hurt him!” Bashir screamed from the ground until Duce gagged him. She held him there, and Ridley could hear him yelling against his gag. Screaming for his father. Together – they were the worst kind of father and son.

“Wings-” Becks started from behind her.

“No.” She responded. He wanted to take the burden of the situation from her shoulders. But she didn’t need him to.

“John?” Cumar continued. “Jim?”

She took a deep breath and took another step forward. “Reach for that gun and I will put a bullet in your heart.”

Although Cumar wasn’t their primary target – he was so high on the UN wanted list, that he was listed only as a shoot to kill.

“Joshua? Jackson?” Another step back towards his gun.

“One more warning. On your knees. Hands behind your head. I will not repeat myself.”

“Oh… that’s right. It was James.” He said his name like he didn’t care, because truly, he didn't.

James with the kind eyes and the bright smile. James, the guy who’d saved her life when she was just starting out in the Airforce. James who had only joined to hide the fact that he was gay, and the only person who knew was Ridley, and Wombat.

A tear pricked at her eye, but she didn’t let it fall. She took a deep breath and without thinking about it – her mind turned to Alexia to calm itself. Alexia. Her skin and her smell. Her style, her laugh, her smile. Her fucking eyes and that freckle on her neck where her lips had been… Ridley’s mind cleared. Her hatred subsided.

“James.” Cumar snapped and spun. When his hand touched the gun, she landed two shots into his chest and watched as his back hit the container of weaponry behind him.

Bashir screamed against his gag and tears ran down his face.

Cumar smirked at her and turned his head towards his son where it lulled to his chest with a final breath.

Ridley stood upright, lowering her gun and felt… relief. So much so that she hadn’t heard Fuzzy enter the room.

“Fuzzy – get the kid,” Becks commanded. “Wombat – you can come in now.”

Becks must have been keeping him out to avoid emotional bias.

Footsteps behind her.

“Wombat – photograph the area. The kid. The weapons. The body. Duce – tie him for transport.”

She watched as Fuzzy untied Akeem who clung to him. Wombat with his locked jaw as he photographed Cumar as evidence he was dead. Duce as she sat Bashir up and tied his arms for transport. His focus was on one thing only – Ridley.

She felt a large hand on her shoulder. “You did excellent.”

“I know,” she replied. She felt strange emotions in the pit of her abdomen at the idea that the mere thought of her Spanish footballer had driven that hatred from her. Had calmed her. “If I hadn’t arrived first, would you have let me in the room – or kept me out like Wombat?”

Becks removed his hand and waited until she turned to look at him. “I trust you above anyone else. I trust your judgement. If you weren’t going to make the right decision, you wouldn’t have entered the room yourself.”

He was right. As usual. His words just reaffirmed what she already knew.

Her eyes swept the room, knowing they needed to move, and quickly. She touched on each of the important areas to memorise for the debrief. Fuzzy was up and ready with Akeem as he put a small vest on him and gave him instruction in Arabic. Wombat was tearing open containers – photographing the evidence. Duce was also standing with her hostage, ready to go. Ridley turned her attention away from Bashir who was still glaring at her – and only her. She’d just replaced an enemy with and enemy.

“He’s not out objective. He’s a large liability and we can’t fly back with the addition of his weight and Akeem’s.” It wasn’t an argument – it was a discussion.

“He’s worth the risk and you know he is. We need to neutralise his influence, and we can’t kill him without an order or as defence.”

She already knew this, but it was her job to question things in order to make good decisions as a group. In their line of work, Bashir would just replace his father and continue to do as he did. If they successfully took him, he’d face an international tribunal and live the rest of his life in prison.

“Agreed. I can get us just back across the border. We can make contact in the air for ground support to meet us and clear the road to land.”

Becks nodded and they relayed the information to the team. “Let’s move.”

As they’d only approached from the south, they hadn’t taken out any of the security camps in any other direction to the prison, and now they were all arriving. They hadn’t been there long though, and still had time to get to the aircraft ahead of them.

The seven of them fled the prison and now, subtlety be damned, took a vehicle and drove it south to the landing strip. Along the way there was gunfire and shots equally back and forth, though they managed to stay ahead with a decent pace.

“Reloading,” Ridley shouted and knelt to the safety of cover as Duce drove like a bat out of hell. Akeem was up front, hiding in the footrest below Fuzzy as Becks held down Bashir and both Wombat and Ridley took the offensive positions from the back.

“Injury status!”

They team shouted their okay’s one by one. Ridley grabbed at her leg which was still seeping fresh blood. “I’ll be okay.”

“Reloading!” Wombat shouted and ducked. Ridley rose to take his position, firing on what she now identified as an entire convoy coming after them. Although it was hard to see in the dark, she knew there must have been hundreds of people. It wasn’t her best Tuesday, but certainly not her worst either.

Ridley felt a large hand grab her thigh and feel around the wound. She groaned, not ready for the pain.

“You’re losing a lot of blood.”

“Very aware of that.”

Becks loosened the tourniquet, and she momentarily felt relief before the searing pain began as the blood began to flow more freely. He tightened it again. “We’ll alert medical in the air. Hang in there, Wings.”

“Coming up on the airfield!”

“Wombat, Fuzzy, take the kid and bail out. Start the pre-flight checks and get the engine running. We’ll double back.”

“Rome-” Wombat started and then saw the state of her leg. He nodded, knowing he’d be quicker on foot than she would in this state.

“Duce?” Becks yelled over the roar of the engine and the sound of shouting and bullets.

“Just around this corner. They’ll be a few hundred metres from the strip and we can double back using the F-track.”

The one they’d identified during prep.

“Copy. Get the brake lights.”

Wombat and Ridley leant over and smashed the brake lights.

“Get ready to jump, lads!”

Becks and Ridley took to cover fire and as the road turned tightly and Duce hit the brakes to slow them enough for Wombat and Fuzzy to jump out, pulling a terrified Akeem with them. As soon as they were out, she hit the accelerator again. Ridley could only see them in the dark long enough to see Wombat’s hand raised in acknowledgement of their safe landing.

Duce drove them to the F-track, which was a trail almost invisible in the dark. She managed to get far enough ahead to take a quick 360 spin into the darkness and turn the lights off as she sped backwards behind the scrub. They stayed low and quiet, Becks holding Bashir to stop him from writhing about as they watched the vehicles rush past them, still firing into the darkness. They only needed to buy themselves five minutes to get the plane into the air safely.

Lights off, they drove up the track slowly which almost parallelled the road they were just on and made a judgement call to rejoin the road in the other direction when they couldn’t see any more speeding vehicles. It was a public road – after all.

They turned and drove into the trees as far as they could before the terrain forced them to abandon the vehicle. They took to foot from there, moving in unison towards where they knew the aircraft was.

Just as they saw the aircraft, there was a slight pang of relief, though Ridley knew they were far from safe. She locked her jaw as she ran with a limp, her good hand on her gun to stop it from bouncing, and her cast hand on her tourniquet to ensure it wouldn’t unwind. Blinding pain, with each step. She hobbled behind, watching Becks half carry, half drag Bashir in front of her.

‘You deserve this for what you did to Alexia.’ She thought. It was meant to be a playful thought to ease the pain, though it did hit her hard.

She felt the bullet whizz past her head before she heard it firing. And then the sound of ATVs.

“Contact!”

Wombat started the engine and Fuzzy held the canopy open, taking aim at the hostiles. Duce made it to the aircraft first, being the lightest. She hopped in and took up a cover position with Fuzzy. Becks was hit through the shoulder and fell, clutching it. Ridley stopped to grab him.

“M.. okay.” Was all he said. They both turned to get Bashir who was already on his feet and running in the opposite direction. He wasn’t worth it.

“Go!” Becks called. Wombat pushed the throttle forward and the plane began to move. Ridley sliced the rope tied to a branch just above eyesight and Fuzzy’s pack dropped down. He always loved to hide them in the treetops, and they’d need the medical supplies for both her and Becks.

Becks leapt onto the wing and Fuzzy dragged him inside by the shoulder strap of his vest. With a heave, Ridley threw the pack into the aircraft and leapt onto the wing, grabbing at Duce’s extended hand. Before she was pulled in, blood spattered her face at a bullet hitting Duce’s extended arm. She yelled and recoiled it on instinct. Ridley pushed herself onto her knees and felt a bullet slam directly into her back, knocking her forward off the wing. She barely missed the propeller as she fell, pulling her arm in to avoid the landing gear. She gasped and clutched her headgear, grateful that it took the blow of her weight onto the ground.

Winded, she pushed herself to her feet and began hobbling along the landing strip. She saw Wombat hesitate, but Cumar’s men were just too close.

“GO!” She yelled through her headset. She saw the devastation on their faces. The aircraft was too far away from her now and they all knew that if they waited for her, they’d be caught, or a bullet would tear into a fuel tank. “���Wombat – go. That’s an order.”

Becks grabbed Fuzzy’s pack and threw it from the aircraft for her, and as she didn’t slow her run as she grabbed it and swung it onto her back, grateful.

The sound of ATVs came closer, one in particular. Ridley ran as fast as she could in the pain she was in, watching as Wombat pushed the throttle all the way forward.

‘That’s it, then,’ she thought, as she heard the single ATV leading the others approaching her.

Just before the canopy on the aircraft closed, a single bullet was fired from Duce’s rifle, hitting the ATV rider in the head. Ridley spun to watch as he flopped off, and it came to a halt. She made the decision to backtrack and take it.

“Thank you,” she strained into her headset, knowing that Duce have just given her a chance at survival.

“Come back to us,” Duce replied, emotionally, which was very unlike her.

“My note..”

“We’ll be waiting for you to come tear it up.”

Ridley swung up onto the ATV and hit the throttle. She blindly shot behind her and drove laterally across the strip to fire more accurately at the oncoming vehicles – to provide cover for her team. As the aircraft passed the treetops and she knew they were safe, she holstered her gun and ducked to give less of her body a chance of being shot at – and accelerated as fast as she could through the trees.

Was this it? Was this how she died? She wondered at her note. Every mission they went on – they each wrote a note to friends, family, loved ones. It tied up all loose ends and said whatever they wanted it to say. There was a rule that the rest of the group had to follow the instructions on the note – should they not make it back. James’ had left instructions for Wombat and Ridley to tell his crush that he loved him, to tell his family that he was sorry, and also requested that the pair wore the gayest clothes they could find to his funeral. As is the way – they did just that. And they cried, in the most flamboyant dresses anyone had ever seen.

Her note… Alexia. No one would read it until they knew she was never coming back. It was private, and they respected each other, though she did wonder as to their reactions. Leaving most of her things to Blue… except the house in Barcelona, London, and Chiquito. That was all Alexia’s.

She’d fumbled over the words for a while until she settled on simplicity.

*Tell her that I love her and that some things can’t be replaced. Tell her she is that for me...and always will be.*

The words she wrote had dragged the truth from her. She loved Alexia. She loved her.

She chanted those words in her head as she ducked and weaved through the trees. She drove until she ran out of fuel, and abandoned it, settling to go on foot from there. She hobbled along, gasping for breath and starting to get faint from the lack of blood. She didn’t even want to see the state of her back, and knew even though she was wearing a vest, the bullet had done damage to her ribs.

When she knew she couldn’t possibly continue in that state, she stopped at a tree suitable to spend some time and did just that. Taking the tree climbing spikes from the pack and attaching them to her boots, using the claws in her hands, she climbed. It was difficult with the pack, but she’d reserved enough energy for it. This is why she stayed so fit. Survival.

She settled onto a branch tall enough to not be spotted easily, and tied herself there, in case she fainted or fell asleep. Taking the medical supplies out, she was finally able to tend to her wounds as best as she could, knowing that she’d need another surgery on her hand if she ever made it out. Her leg… was another story. She bit on her packaged bandage while she packed the wound, and then used the bandage to strap it. With this, she could loosen the tourniquet.

After a little water and food, she felt herself drifting and knew not to fight it. She took a small nap in the tree, and when she woke, she planned. She took out her tablet and located her tracker, seeing where she was. During her planning, several men and ATVs passed below her, yelling about her. One of the men was Bashir, now bandaged up and leading the manhunt.

She couldn’t go down the coast as they controlled the water. Their ATVs were hunting offroad. They had checkpoints along the main road. Her best option was an airstrip nearby. They couldn’t see it from their satellite images and so they’d brushed it aside as an unlikely possibility, though there was still hope. If she could find an aircraft, any aircraft, she could get out. She just needed to cross the border.

It was several clicks inland of where she was, and she’d need to cross the road, but she could make it if she was careful, and lucky. Very, very lucky.

When she sounds of men and vehicles around her had subsided enough, she climbed back down from the tree and started to move, highly alert that she was in enemy territory. A few times, she needed to stop and drop or find a ditch to lay low in and simply pray. Pray to a god she didn't believe it.

She crossed the road and after a few clicks of terror, she happened upon the field. That’s basically what it was, a field. It was just as wide as if was long which meant she’d be spotted much easier. As with every airfield, she found a hangar and crept around the back to peer through the window. She spotted a little Cessna inside guarded by two men. Bashir was smart. He must have sent them to hide inside, knowing she may try to escape like that. Though he must have been very stretched for manpower, covering the large area they were hunting her in. He’d have men at the boats, the jetties, the checkpoints, the multiple search parties, even back at the prison in case she dared risk returning. This made her feel confident that they were alone, and by the looks of them, they didn’t expect her at all.

She took a breath and stepped inside through the back entrance. They were fully grown men with guns, yet they were not nearly as trained and experienced as she was. Ridley took them both down without having to fire a single bullet to aware anyone of where she was. She dragged them to the back of the hangar and checked over the aircraft, removing the covers and testing the flight controls. Using the step and handle, she groaned her pain as she pulled herself up far enough to check the fuel levels in the wings. They weren’t full, but with only her weight, she dared that it would get her to Mandy Bay.

Without wasting time, she unloaded all the excess weight of manuals, chocks, supplies from the aircraft and left her unnecessary pack items there also. This was it. She was going to risk taking off.

Ridley pulled the hangar doors open as slowly and as soundlessly as possible, enough to be able to pull the aircraft outside. From engine start up, she needed to go. She didn’t have time for checks. Before jumping into the aircraft, she listened around. She could hear cars close on the road, ATV’s a few clicks away, and some rustling in the trees with a little wind.

Hopping in, she primed the engine and took a deep breath. Opening the throttle a quarter inch, she started the engine and threw the mixture to full. Once the engine roared to life, she taxied the little four-seater to where she needed it, applying much more throttle than necessary to heat up the oil. The last thing she needed was the engine to seize. God knows how long it had been sitting there for.

Ridley looked around her and spotted lights coming through the trees as she sat, ready for take-off. She took as long as she dared to heat the engine up before she couldn’t wait any longer.

She applied full throttle, pulled the steering column back and took her feet off the brakes, hurtling down the field, bumping along the way.

Oil temperature in the orange. Airspeed alive. 30 knots. 40. 50. 60 – “Rotate.” She called out of habit as she pulled back. She heard gunfire behind her and chose to focus on her attitude indicator instead. She went lights out and pitched up as much as she could without stalling – to climb as fast as possible away from the bullets. The climb performance was atrocious, and so she also chose to not bank any direction for the simple reason that she didn’t want to present more aircraft for them to shoot at. Passing 3000ft, she turned and saw the lights flooding the field she was just in. She continued to climb, darting inland to gain height before risking a move across to track down the coast. She was tense the entirety of the way, watching her temperatures and the lights of the vehicles swarming around the ground to her right. She had no idea how she’d not been caught with the sheer amount of them.

They were like ants, except worse. They killed and stole and raped and took what didn’t belong to them. Cumar was dead. But she feared that without Bashir in custody – they’d just created a whole new animal.

She flew with lights out until she’d passed the border, and her tension eased a little. So much, in fact, that her thigh, hand, and back began to throb with pain and she became faint as her adrenaline subsided.

Without a headset, she was unable to make any radio calls, though she knew her team would be tracking her GPS and stand down the jets as she came in to land. The reliable Cessna was all but running on fumes as she landed around 0330, finally back on friendly soil.

Ridley taxied the aircraft over near the jets and half-faint, still managed a chuckle at the image of a small Cessna next to jets worth over 100 million dollars each. She stopped where the crowd had formed, and watched her team run over as she pulled the mixture out and shut the engine down.

Ridley didn’t even have to open her door and step out. Becks all but ripped the doorframe out as Wombat dragged her from the aircraft.

Hugs.

Kisses.

Grateful words.

Tears.

She felt her crew all help to carry her to an awaiting stretcher where she was led into the medical tent for assessment.

She was stitched up, patched up, given fluids and food. Her team came in with their General and a man in a suit as she was eating.

“Wings, this is Aamir. His son is Akeem.”

Aamir looked like a kind man, truly. He shook her hand and let them all know just how grateful he was for saving his son. He offered them the world. Anything they wanted. Being a billionaire, his favour was a great thing to have, and she knew that they’d gained that for life.

Ridley replied to him as much as she could in her weary state. Becks murmured some words to him and he nodded, leaving the group alone with their General. Together, they debriefed. Ridley ended it with her happenings, and he seemed much more than satisfied. With the death of Cumar came relief, and an offer of an award to her for her bravery and success in taking down someone the world had been trying to find for decades.

‘It was all luck,’ she thought to herself, though smiled and accepted the kind offer.

After he left, Becks handed Ridley her note. Her team looked at her eagerly. She went to tear it and found herself pausing – instead holding it to her chest. “I think I’ll keep it…” she murmured.

They knew better than to argue against that. In fact, they smiled.

At 0445 Ridley found herself outside, looking up at the stars and wishing for peace. This was her life. She looked over at Akeem entering his dad’s private jet and smiled as he stopped to wave at her. He was a brave kid.

“Headed home?” Becks asked as he sidled up next to her.

“I’m not sure,” she murmured.

“It’s a simple decision, no?”

She turned to look at him curiously. He was usually exceptionally quiet, so it was easy to know when he had something he wanted to say. He smiled at her look and gestured to the jet. “Aamir is happy to take you to London. If you leave soon, you’ll get there before she leaves.”

Her heart leapt. Alexia. He knew. How? She was leaving? Why?

Her thoughts scattered across her face, and she was too tired to hide them. “How…?”

He knocked his shoulder gently into hers. “I keep tabs on you. On all of you. You know this.”

It was how he cared. How he loved.

“I won’t tell you what to do, because I respect you too much. You make your own decisions. But what I will say is that you keep going back. You always gravitate back towards her. She makes you happy. I never thought you’d find anyone… hell, I don’t think any of us expect to ever find anyone. You’re the lucky one. And you’d be doing us all a disservice if you didn’t try to have what we all want.”

She caught her emotions in her throat. Of course he knew everything. He loved his team like his family. More so, even. “How do you know I’m not trying?”

He looked back at the jet he was staring at before. “You arrive late and dishevelled, wearing a hardened Ridley façade I haven’t seen in years. Trying too hard to cover those emotions. You left her.”

“She’s better off-”

“Without you?” He turned to her again. “Tell me – did you give her a choice before you left?”

She froze. She… hadn’t. She’d given her every single choice except that one.

‘But you did it for her,’ she thought.

“And don’t even tell me you did it for her,” he said, annoying Ridley with his intelligence.

“She’s… public. You know we need to fly under the radar.”

“Wings, you know you don’t fit into that category. Yes, you need to stay low. But you know how to protect yourself, and her. You can do it all at once. You don’t lack in that department. Most people need their time to dissociate. You’re all Ridley, all at once. The soldier, the protector, the lover. You don’t split them like everyone else does. It’s you. That’s what makes you different.”

It was the most he’d ever complimented her, and that's exactly how she took it all – as a compliment. She was whole.

“I’d put her in danger…”

Becks scoffed, and it’s the first time in her life that she’d ever heard him do so. “There is no better protection than you. And us. That is no excuse to not try.”

She lowered her head into her hands and grabbed at her hair. “How can someone like her… someone as fucking perfect as her deserve someone as fucking.. fucking.. broken and horrible as I am?” She raised her head and looked him in the eyes. “Huh? I’ve fucking slaughtered people like animals.”

“Those people were animals. You did what no one else could. That’s why we do what we do. To save everyone else. To do the things they can’t. We hurt ourselves and taint our souls so they will sleep well at night. That’s loyalty. That’s patriotism. That’s love.”

It was the most Becks had ever opened up. The most he’d ever said at one time.

That’s love.

He handed her a tablet with an open screen. “They’ve booked tickets back to Barcelona at 2pm. If you leave now, you’ll arrive just in time given the headwind. I’ve upgraded them to first class and forced the deadhead crew onto the next flight.”

Ridley stared down at her name on the tablet. “She shouldn’t take me back after what I’ve done to her.”

He smiled and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “That’s how you’ll know she’s the one for you. She won’t just let you back in with open arms. She’ll make you work for it.” Ridley rolled her eyes. “Trust me. I know you, Wings.”

They both sighed and looked up at the stars again. Somehow, he’d forced her to accept herself and how she felt. She deserved to be loved.

Saying her goodbyes to her team with lingering hugs, she boarded the private jet and as she always did – she headed towards Alexia.

She was fed well on the plane and managed to shower, catch some sleep, and even dress into some clothes Duce had given her. They landed 30 minutes before Alexia’s plane was due to depart which gave her just enough time to tell the ground crew to standby on her luggage and on Chiquito.

Would she come with her? Would she even want to see her?

Ridley made her way to the gate and saw the flash of her blonde hair and that familiar frown on Alexia’s face as she passed into the airbridge. Her heart leapt into her throat.

Ridley avoided the line and went around the desk.

“Five minutes,” she murmured to the familiar woman at the gate, touching her shoulder on the way past. The woman smiled at her and nodded. She knew her.

On board, she gave a knowing nod to the cabin crew before making her way to first class, where she knew Alexia was seated. Her stomach fluttered as she watched her tighten her seatbelt and change a song on her phone. She sighed and her expression was… heartbroken. Ridley had done this to her.

Her feet moved towards her automatically, her eyes only for the Spaniard.

Ignoring the pain in her thigh and back, she knelt in front of her, holding back the urge to touch her.

Alexia’s entire body froze in surprise. Her expression flickered to wonder. Worry. Pain again. Those hazel eyes darted from her eyes to her hair, neck, lips, scar, and back to her eyes. Ridley reached up slowly, ignoring her painful ribs, and pulled Alexia’s noise cancelling headphones down and around her neck gently, hoping she wouldn’t shy away from her.

“La Reina..” “Ridley..” Alexia breathed, almost without words it seemed. There were a few moments of silence as they just stared at each other, talking without words. Alexia unclipped her belt suddenly and leant forward, closer to her. So close she could almost taste her… Ridley locked her jaw and hoped she wouldn’t see the bruises, nor the blood beginning to seep from her wound through her pants. “You left,” she whispered in a voice that betrayed her hurt. “I did.” “You fucking left, Ridley.” Anger. Ridley nodded, leaning forwards… just needing to be close to her. “I’m sorry, Lex.” Her fingertips brushed Alexia’s hair from her cheek and just that small touch send shivers down her spine. “I need to say something, if you’d let me.” A pause. “Go ahead.” “I ran… I ran, and I’m sorry. You deserve better.” She needed to open up and be vulnerable. Becks all but told her this. “Lex… you can’t understand how torn I am… how conflicted. Half of me wants you to leave and find happiness elsewhere, away from me, so I don’t taint your beautiful soul with my darkened one. The other half begs for you, yearns for you, dreams about you and selfishly wants you close to me, always.” “You always said that you weren’t good for me, but I never believed you. I still don’t.” Her eyes told Ridley that she was telling the truth. Ridley sighed and looked down in shame. “I feel like I’m not good for anybody, and I didn’t want to put that burden on you for simply loving me. I went away and couldn’t stop my thoughts. I was conflicted. But amongst my confliction, I missed one very important thing. I didn’t give you a choice.” She looked up at her again, mirroring Becks’ words and thinking on her past 24 hours. “My soul is tainted, Lex. I’ve done horrible things that I’ll regret for the rest of my life. But I also know that I’ve never felt about anyone, the way I feel about you. You’ll always be safe with me, whether it’s physically, mentally, financially… I’m still working on the emotionally part. You bring far too much out of me in that regard.” She watched as Alexia’s lips trembled.

A flight attendant tapped Ridley’s shoulder. “Boarding is almost finished.”

Ridley nodded. “I’ll be two minutes.” She turned back to Alexia; her eyes open to her emotions. “Lex, meeting you broke a spell I’ve been under for a long time. Meeting you made me realise that maybe I was worthy of love after all. You took up space in my heart before I even knew it, and now, it seems you’re there to stay. I feel sorry for the Ridley before you because she didn’t realise how much love and happiness she was missing without you. You’ve changed me forever, and I’ll happily spend the rest of my life trying to thank you.” She cupped her cheek and stroked it with her thumb. “Regardless of if you want to stay or go…” Ridley was giving her what she’d unknowingly denied her before. A choice.

Alexia’s trembled and leant down, her hands touching her, and her cheek pressed against her own. She feel of her skin against her own sent a wave of peace she’d never known through Ridley’s body. “I’m damaged..” she whispered against Alexia’s cheek. Her last, fleeting attempt to dissuade her. “You’re human…” Alexia replied softly against hers, nudging it a little. “I’m broken.” Alexia’s hand gently moved down and rested over her heart. “You feel whole to me.” Whole… whole with her. Ridley’s hands found Alexia’s wrists and gripped on, wanting to keep her right there. Wanting her close.

Alexia’s lips brushed up her cheek, over her temple and to her forehead where she gave a single, passionate kiss. Much more than she deserved. “I’m right here.” Ridley felt a shiver run down her spine at that reassurance. Alexia’s large hands were either side of her jaw now, her cheek resting against her eyebrow. Ridley let them rest like that for what felt like an age, and not long enough at the same time. Eventually and fully against every fibre of her being, Ridley pulled back and found her eyes again, her expression distraught.

Alexia blinked an emotion, and her lips parted.

“I’m sorry I ran,” Ridley whispered. “It’s okay.” “It’s not. Not at all. Now the choice is yours, Lex.”

Alexia paused to think before she spoke. “I want you, Lee. In every single way. But relationships are a two-way street, and they start with us as individuals. I want you. I lov-“ She stopped herself and Ridley sucked in a breath just as she did. They loved each other. Alexia loved her. “I… but right now you need to find that part of you that doesn’t believe you deserve to be loved, and you need to learn to love yourself. To know in your heart that you deserve to love and be loved.. because you do. You fucking do. You deserve the world.”

Ridley’s face almost betrayed her relief she’d been harbouring since her conversation with Becks. He’d said that if she was right for her, she wouldn’t let her back in easily. Ridley hardened her face to neutral, trying to hide that it was what she wanted to hear. “You’re… right.” Alexia leant forward again, and kissed her on the forehead. “I know. And I truly hope you can find that, because you deserve to have the love of your life.” She pulled back. “Is there any hope for us?” Please be hope. Please. “If you can learn to love yourself, and promise me that you’ll stay. That you won’t run away again. That you’re ready to move forwards, together.” Ridley paid close attention to her words. “I need you to be here for me, like I am for you. I need security.” “How will you know that I’m ready?” Alexia smiled. “You’ll fight for me. For us.” Ridley tried to hide her smile. Becks had been right. “Until then… can we be friends?” “Friends who love each other, yes. Yes, please. I’d like that.” Ridley knew she needed to fight for her. To not leave her again. To show her she was in it. “Hm.” Ridley looked over her shoulder and gestured to the flight attendant who came by. “No change to the manifest. Please stand the ground crew down. Leave the baggage and pet on board.” She nodded with a smile and left.

“You’re leaving Chiquito with me?” “I can’t take him away from you..” “He’s yours.” “I think you’ll find that he’s ours now.” Alexia failed to hide a look of unfiltered joy. “We can share him…” Ridley smiled and Alexia’s eyes went straight to her lips and then her cheek. She reached out and touched her scar. “Deal.” She agreed. Ridley tried to look as normal as possible as she rocked back on her heels, ignoring the almost unbearable pain, and stood. “Goodbye, Alexia.”

Alexia caught her arm as she went to turn, and pulled her back down, their faces close enough to share their first kiss. The thought certainly crossed her mind. “Ridley?” “Yes?” “Don’t leave again. Fight for me. Fight for us.” Ridley’s pride crept up. She leant over to clip her belt up, pulling it tight across her hips and wondering at how good she looked strapped up. Her thumb found those lips she couldn’t stop thinking about, and traced them softly. “I will. Do you know why?” Alexia’s eyes widened, and she shook her head against her thumb. “Because you’re fucking mine, Alexia.”