#i think i got most of them but i may have forgotten some oopsies

[homosubtext]

okay I’ve been meaning to ask you this for DAYS but now I’m here bother you AND ask this

since you seem like a fellow swiftie, are there any songs off Midnights that make you think of Sakusa, Atsumu, and/or SakuAtsu? Also what are some songs of hers in general you associate with them?

anywho I adore you, sprinkling love and kisses on your forehead 💖

my 13 years as a taylor swift fan has been prepping me for this. let’s GO

midnights

labryinth - (so far this is all i have to offer from this album cause listening to new music is overwhelming so i can only handle a few new songs at a time) this song reminds me of sakusa. the pain of realizing that you have feelings for someone and that they’re Big Feelings is so hard and i think sakusa is definitely one to be like “fuck bro not again this sucks” when he likes someone. especially since it was fucking atsumu that he fell in love with, poor omi can’t catch a break. the resignation from the beginning of the song with the line “i’ll be getting over you my whole life”. it’s as if he immediately writes it off as something that would be impossible. something that’s not for him. he doesn’t think he gets to have that, and definitely not with atsumu. so immediately he’s just like ‘okay so i guess i’ll spend the rest of my life trying to get over this loser’ without even thinking of what could be if he gave it a chance. the line “you know how much i hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back” also just feels so sakusa to me. when things bother him, people brush it off and expect him to get over it quickly, never giving him time to process and recover from things. the line “you would break your back to make me break a smile” just screams sakuatsu because atsumu just wants to break through omis icy bitchy exterior to his icy bitchy interior <3

evermore

gold rush - oooooh man sakusa sakusa sakusa. “i don’t like anticipating my face in a red flush.” and “i don’t like that falling feels like flying till the bone crush” and “at dinner parties i call you out on your contrarian shit” is very much in character with him. the slight annoyance at blushing or being flustered around someone you like because oh my god how embarassing but also the fear of falling in love because it always feels so good until suddenly it doesn’t. onto the next, “cause it fades into the gray of my day old tea, cause it will never be” this line is similar to the part in labyrinth i mentioned. just the resignation here in accepting that this is a love that could never possibly happen

folklore

this is me trying - this song reminds me of sakusa a lot. I think he tries really hard and in relationships sometimes it may seem like he isn’t trying but he’s always giving his all.

mirrorball - i think this couples really well with ‘this is me trying’ but i think mirrorball is from atsumus pov. he doesn’t change himself for others but i think he thrives on attention and having focus on him. i think he struggles when it seems like sakusa doesn’t pay attention to him at first and I think it’s one of the first times in his life he considers changing who he is to try and get sakusa to like him. obviously he doesn’t change who he is and sakusa still ends up liking him anyway so it works out fine but yea

lover

daylight - this song makes me think of sakusa. the initial negative pessimistic outlook on love, life, people in general at the beginning contrasted with the end of the song where everything is bright and golden…… yea it’s giving sakuatsu <3

paper rings - i don’t have much to say about this one other than it makes me think of them and it’s fun and silly and i like that for them

afterglow - i think they have arguments bc they are both stubborn and assholes but i think they come together in the end to work things out

lover - the domesticity of this song just has a special place in my heart. the line “have i known you 20 seconds or 20 years” makes me think about how they met when they were kids at the training camps and then met again later in life when they both were on the same team, but things were different and they had grown up. “take me out and take me home” makes me think about how they would probably go out for little date nights but would ultimately go home together and spend time there too because sakusa is more of a homebody. the whole bridge of lover sounds like a speech that atsumu gives at the table when they have a dinner party with all their friends or something. like he just stands up and says all of that like it’s a wedding toast cause he’s over dramatic and loves kiyoomi so so much. the line “and at every table i’ll save you a seat” makes me think about how kiyoomi doesn’t like to be near other people so atsumu will save a seat next to him because he’s comfortable around him. also the “you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me” reminds me of them bc they’re both foul and rotten and i think it fits them

i think he knows - GOD this song is SO atsumu are you fucking kidding me. the DRAMA of the song and overreacting is so him. “wanna see what’s under that attitude” that is so so so atsumu @ kiyoomi are u fucking kidding me like he’s such a little shit about it too

reputation

gorgeous - the line “you should take it as a compliment that i got drunk and made fun of the way you talk” sakusa definitely got wasted and bullied atsumu for his accent. “you should think about the consequence of your magnetic field being a little too strong” sakusa definitely blames atsumu for making him fall in love LMAO. the line “there’s nothing i hate more than what i can’t have” yea of course sakusa kiyoomi, a youngest sibling, would say some shit like that smh.

1989

you are in love - the way this song frames loves makes me think of them. the unspoken “i love you”s that can be felt even if it is left unsaid reminds me of their dynamic. the line “one night he wakes, strange look on his face, pauses, then says ‘you’re my best friend’” !!!!! this line is so important to me !!! growing up, atsumus best friend was always osamu cause obviously ya know but there comes a point where atsumu is like ‘holy shit i think you’re one of my best friends’ to sakusa and i just think it’s a weird realization for both of them because they both know how telling and meaningful that is.

debut

teardrops on my guitar - i just think atsumu is dramatic and he would listen to this song and think about sakusa while he’s pining LMAO

whew that was probably WAY more than you bargained for but i have So Many thoughts about them !!! i will never shut up !! but thank you for asking and i hope you enjoy reading my analyses <3

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

Looks Like Someone Picked a Whole Bushel Of Oopsie Daisies

Chapter Eleven: Making the Most of a Weekend

I knowwwww I’m the worst author ever I’m sorry blah blah blah. But! This chapter is filthy so at least it’s a fun one, right? Also, the Airbnb they’re staying at can be viewed here. Now, onto the chapter!

You’ve been gone so long, I forgot what you feel like, but I’m not gonna think about that right now. I’m gonna keep getting underneath you, I’m gonna keep getting underneath you, and all our friends want us to fall in love.- Panic! at the Disco, The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty

Being separated from one’s soulmate was both emotionally and physically exhausting. It was also really, really depressing. It was just like, why bother? Why bother getting out of bed? Why bother going to school? What was the point? Dipper wouldn’t be there, and she wouldn’t get to see him again for awhile.

Whelp. At least her parents never monitored anything but her texts. She didn’t text Dipper, so, to their knowledge, she wasn’t in contact with him.

Not that they ever got a look at her phone, anyway. She was never home enough for them to see. The longest she’d spent at home at a time was one night. She never ate with her parents, and she still hadn’t spoken to them. She wasn’t planning on it, either. She didn’t have anything to say to them, and she certainly wasn’t interested in what they had to say.

Rolling over in Kristin’s bed (Kristin’s was the previous evening’s sleepover house of choice), Mabel grabbed her phone off the nightstand.

Dipper had messaged her. He usually did when he woke up.

Are you free this weekend?

It was a three day weekend starting the day after Valentine’s Day, which meant Mabel was feeling the separation hard, and therefore had a hot date with Ben & Jerry (both of whom were currently waiting eagerly for her in Kristin’s freezer). Okay, so it was more of a cold date, but, y’know. Semantics, right? Therapy was great, but eating several pints of Chocolate Therapy was cheaper and more fun.

So… technically she was free. But why was Dipper asking?

Yeah, why?

Okay, cool. Come to this address once you’re out of school. Go around back when you get there. Okay?

He typed out an address she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t too far from Kristin’s, but why would Dipper want her to go there? Regardless, she texted back a confused okay and left it at that. Sitting up in bed, she scratched her scalp lightly and looked over at Kristin, who was sleeping with her mouth wide open.

She poked her friend’s cheek. “Hey.”

Kristin stirred but didn’t wake. Naturally, Mabel poked her again, slightly harder. “Hey!” She raised her voice a bit that time.

“What?” Kristin grumbled blearily, blinking her eyes open. Her black hair was matted, and what had once been expertly applied eyeliner and mascara was giving her the usual racoon eyes. Not that Kristin minded, of course. Yesterday’s eyeliner can be made into today’s smokey eye, after all.

“Can you drive me somewhere after school?”

Kristin propped herself up on her arms and blinked up at Mabel. “Depends on where it is, I guess. Why, where you going?”

“I dunno, some-“ Mabel’s phone chimed, signaling another message from Dipper.

Oh, and bring enough stuff to last you through Sunday.

Mabel blinked and lifted her phone up to show Kristin the message. Kristin’s eyes narrowed against the brightness of the phone screen, then widened. She sat up abruptly, then snatched the phone from Mabel’s hand. She scrolled up a bit, reading their most recent messages, and handed Mabel’s phone back to her after a moment, a knowing smirk on her face.

“He’s taking you on a sex retreat,” Kristin said matter-of-factly.

“A- a what now?”

“A sex retreat,” her friend repeated. “Y’know, it’s a three day weekend right after Valentine’s Day so he’s whisking you away somewhere to fuck your brains out.”

“That is…” Mabel was going to say it was ridiculous, but then she thought about it for a moment. Dipper had a car. Neither of their Grunkles would take issue with him coming down to visit her; it was their parents that had an issue with them being soulmates. “A very real possibility, actually,” she finished.

“Oh, it’s totally what he’s doing. So, to answer your question,” Kristin got out of bed and walked towards her bathroom. “Yes, I will absolutely drive you to go on a sex retreat with your soulbro, no matter how far away it is.”

Checking Google Maps, Mabel said, “it’s fifteen minutes from school.”

Kristin grinned. “Badass! Pack up your shit, homegirl. I ain’t driving you back here before you go.” She glanced down at Mabel’s legs. “And maybe shave again before we head out. Don’t want any stubble the first time you see him after this long, right?”

Mabel blushed. “Right, guess not.”

Kristin patted her cheek with another smile. “Cheer up, buttercup. Today’s the day your va-jay-jay is back in business.”

Mabel grinned back. “Fingers crossed!”

“Exactly, now hit the showers!”

———————————————————————

When Mabel stepped out of Kristin’s car onto the sidewalk, she didn’t know what to make of the yellow Victorian house. She sent Dipper a quick here as she went around back, as he’d had told her to that morning, only to find a small rock garden in the backyard of the house, with a… a vardo? It sure looked like a vardo. The fanciest one she’d ever seen in her life. It was red and purple with a small porch, and it appeared to be quite long, too. There was a set of slender red double doors with round stained glass windows on either side, and the whole thing looked intricately carved and painted.

After a moment, the doors opened, and out stepped Dipper. He beamed at the sight of her, and she nearly dropped the duffel bag she had hoisted over her shoulder.

Scratch that, she actually did drop it, squealing and running over to him to jump into his arms. It was a bit difficult because the wagon-house-thingy was on top of a wooden platform that she had to almost trip over before reaching him, but in the span of a few seconds, she had her arms wrapped around him again and she buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent.

Mabel stood there for several seconds, trying to melt into his skin. A warmth had flooded her veins at the sight of him. She’d forgotten what it felt like to have him close, what he smelled like. She’d just decided she needed an oxygen tank full of Dipper-smell when he spoke, his lips against her scalp.

“I missed you.”

Mabel pulled back enough to look at him. She hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d seen him, and it was kind of hurting her face, but she didn’t care. He was looking at her adoringly, and she giggled. She was just so freakin’ happy to see him. Mabel couldn’t remember the last time she’d been that happy.

No, wait, yes she could. The last time she’d been that happy was right before her parents stormed into the hotel room like ruining everything was a contest with a billion dollar prize.

Well, whatever. They could suck it. Mabel was too busy to care about her parents and whatever lame-ass contests they’d entered.

“I missed you, too,” she finally told him. “But what’re you doing here?” She glanced around a bit. “Actually, what am I doing here?”

He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “It’s an Airbnb,” he said, taking her hand and pulling away from her. “After a fair amount of begging and no small amount of guilt tripping, Grunkle Stan agreed to pay for a three day weekend stay for us.”

He pushed open the intricate red doors and stepped inside, pulling her along after him. She followed after him, her shoes sinking into a plush rug, and her mouth dropped open.

Directly inside the doorway, there was what appeared to be a kitchen, albeit a small one; the cabinets were white with light brown countertops, a hammered copper kitchen sink, two actual stained glass windows (like, it looked like there were actual separate panes of glass for each change in color and shape), and several additional copper kitchen stuff throughout the tiny kitchen. It was more of a hallway than anything else.

Mabel rushed past Dipper excitedly, eager to see what lay beyond the kitchen-slash-hallway, and squealed again. “Eeeeeeee this place is crazy!”

“I knew you’d like it,” he laughed. “I’m gonna go grab your bag, be right back.”

“Kay!” she called over her shoulder, eager to get acquainted with her new favorite place ever.

Okay, so maybe it was her new favorite place ever primarily due to Dipper’s presence, but it was also really flippin’ cool. Directly across the narrow hallway, there was a door that, when opened, led to a very cramped bathroom. Cramped it may be, but it was also hella fancy. The walls were made of tiles fashioned from dark reflective glass, there was a tiny white sink sticking out directly below a window with a mirror fastened to the wood of the window frame, with a stained glass window directly beside the regular one. There was a toilet that had another stained glass window above it, as well as a regular window directly beside it, this one with a gold-colored curtain hanging over it. The shower had a black curtain in front of it but, when pulled aside, it revealed another stained glass window (yes, three for one tiny bathroom). The shower head was a waterfall-type situation, but it also had one of those handheld ones, which she knew from personal experience would be easier to rinse out her hair with.

“You all good in here, Mabes?” Dipper called, and she heard the thunk of her bag being dropped.

Fingers crossed her toiletries hadn’t made a mess all over her clothes.

She stuck her head out of the bathroom and looked over at him as he shut the doors behind him. “Uh, dude, I’ve only seen the kitchen and the bathroom and I’m pretty sure this whole thing is amazeballs.”

He grinned and stepped over to her. “I’m glad you like it, but was it really necessary for you to pack bricks?” He rubbed the shoulder he’d hoisted her bag over.

“Don’t be such a baby, Dippin Dots,” she said with an exaggerated eye roll and sashayed away to inspect the rest of the wagon-thingy.

Just beyond the countertops of the kitchen, there was a tall set of shelves that went to the ceiling, containing various kitchen-y items, including a microwave (which, good, because Mabel was seventeen and leftovers were her BFFs), and directly across from the shelves there was a fridge, which was also good, because as a living creature, Mabel required sustenance in order to survive.

The hallway ended, opening up into a more spacious area with a table outcropping from the wall directly beyond the set of tall kitchen shelves with two nice-looking folding chairs. There was also a set of white cabinets that started at the height of the fridge and descended almost like stairs. Against the back wall was a large wrap-around couch, and the cushions were purple (which was awesome, obvi), and there were hanging potted plants and more windows, too, including two more stained glass ones, and if she looked up…

Holy cheese puffs, was that a chandelier? Upon closer inspection, it turned out that yes, it was most definitely a chandelier, and a mighty fancy one at that, by the looks of things.

“Hoooooookay, brosephina, this is a pretty snazzy location we have found ourselves in,” Mabel said.

“Well,” Dipper began as he stepped up behind her, “I figured you deserved something nice.” He wrapped his arms around her middle and nuzzled her hair.

“Errrrr. Okay then. No issues with that here, lemme tell ya.” Then a thought occurred to her. This was a very nice house-wagon-whatsit, don’t get her wrong, but if they were gonna be there through Sunday, where were they supposed to sleep? Or… do anything else? Would he even want to do anything else? Never mind that. “Soooooo where are we supposed to, like…” she trailed off.

“Bed’s in a loft,” he said into her hair, his arms tightening around her waist. “Up those stairs.” He pointed a finger at the cabinets she’d noted earlier. Huh. So they really were stairs, then.

“Right, so, um…”

Ugh. Why was she so damn nervous? It was irritating. This was her twin, her soulmate, her boyfriend! He had literally been inside her! She had no reason to be nervous!

She was, though, and she didn’t really know how to voice what she wanted.

Kiss me. Touch me. Get your dick inside me, like, freakin’ yesterday, dude.

“W- would you like to see it?” His voice was awkward, and he sounded almost as nervous as she felt. “The bed, I mean.”

Mabel nodded and he pulled away from her, blushing furiously, and she tried not to giggle. Dipper rolled his eyes. “Shut up, just c’mon.”

“I didn’t say anything!�� she insisted as he grabbed her hand.

“I could hear you thinking,” he countered, leading her up the cabinets-slash-stairs.

She was still giggling through her nervousness when they reached the top of the stairs. The bed was a mattress directly on the floor with a striped comforter.

Hesitantly, Mabel sat on the bed. Dipper knelt down in front of her. He was looking at her lips when he took her hand again.

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” His voice was soft, like he was afraid he’d scare her away or something.

Mabel remembered what Kristin had said about sex retreats and being whisked away to have her brains fucked out.

And then she remembered that no, Dipper could not, in fact, read her mind.

“Why would you think I don’t wanna do anything?” Had. Had he never encountered a mirror? Seventeen years of existence and the boy had never encountered a mirror. What were the chances? He shrugged. “Have you even seen yourself, Dip?”

“Huh?”

She forced her nerves down. He wanted her. She knew he did. She just needed to reassure him that she wanted him just as much. “You’re really freakin’ sexy, bro.”

He smiled hesitantly. “So, is it okay if I…?”

“Look, man,” Mabel said, “if you try a thing and I’m not about it, I’ll let ya know, but otherwise, go for it.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“Uh, I am absotively posolutely sure.”

Grinning, Dipper leaned in to kiss her, and she smiled against his lips when he did. “I missed you,” she murmured against him.

He moved closer to her, pressing his body into hers. “I missed you, too,” he told her. “Now, I gotta be honest with you here, Mabes.” He pulled back a bit to look at her very, very seriously.

“Oh… kay?”

“This outfit,” he glanced down at her shorts and shirt. It was too hot for a sweater, so her top was light and breezy. It also showed off a bit of boobage, so there was that. “It’s cute, I like it and all, but I’d like it a lot more if it were on the floor.”

“Hmm…” she said thoughtfully. “On one condition.” She held up a finger.

“What’s that?”

“I’m only taking my clothes off if you take yours off, too. All’s fair in love and war, buddy-o.”

He grinned cheekily at her. “Is that right? And which is this?”

She shrugged. “Both, prolly.”

“Fair enough,” Dipper said with a chuckle before he pulled back to strip out of his clothes as fast as he possibly could. She was so busy watching him pull his shirt off that she totally forgot she was supposed to take her own clothes off, too. He paused before dropping his shirt to the floor. “Mabellllllllll,” he whined. “You said you’d take your clothes off, c’mon!”

“Right!” She started, almost surprised. “Right, right, sorry, my b.” Pulling her shirt over her head while simultaneously kicking off her sneakers at the heels, Mabel lay back on the bed, unbuttoning her shorts and lifting her butt to shimmy out of them. She wasn’t paying much attention to Dipper at that exact moment, or the way his eyes were wide and glued to her newly exposed skin, but when she finally got the shorts over her hips and down her legs, flinging them away from her with a flick of her foot, she looked up at him, and he was…

Whelp. He was totally nekkid, wasn’t he? She’d seen plenty of pictures lately (had a whole app she kept them in on her phone, even), but pictures on a phone screen ain’t got nothin’ on seeing her bro-bro in person.

“Looks like somebody’s happy to see me,” she grinned nervously at him.

“Gee, I wonder why,” he said sarcastically. “It’s almost like my soulmate is laying on a bed mostly naked right in front of me.” His eyes focused on hers for a moment before drifting back over her body again. “Which, by the way, you should be totally naked.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed, sitting up and reaching around her back to unhook her bra. He watched her, wide-eyed, as she pulled her arms out of the straps and flung the bra away. He watched, too, as she pulled her panties off the same way she had her shorts.

As it turned out, actually seeing how badly he wanted her, like, seeing legit physical evidence of it, well. It was something of a self-esteem boost.

He stared at her for several seconds. She stared back. Then he dove at her, and suddenly he was kissing her lips, her face, her neck, her breasts- it was quite a lot, really, and he seemed to be going pretty fast, too.

“Dipper,” Mabel gasped out as he attacked her nipple. There was really no other word for it. It was most certainly an attack. He was alternating between sucking it harshly and nibbling on it with his teeth, and it stung in the most delicious way.

He pulled off her breast with a pop, then trailed kisses down her chest and stomach, looking at her intently all the while.

“Wh- what’re you doing?” she questioned when he reached his presumed destination, spreading her legs to examine her body. Which, by the way, was tremendously embarrassing.

He looked back up at her. “Well, I was planning on, y’know…” he gestured to her vagina.

Mabel thought for a moment. “On one condition.”

“Another condition? Really?”

Nodding, she said, “you can eat me out, but only if I get to suck your dick after.”

He grinned up at her. “Deal.”

At that, he gave a torturously slow lick to her slit that ended just below where she really wanted it. She whimpered, which prompted him to do it again. And again. By the third incredibly slow lick, she was just about ready to scream at him before he thrust a finger into her and flicked his tongue over her clit in the same second, eliciting a gasp from her.

He thrust his finger in and out of her, slowly moving his tongue over her clit, and before long Mabel was whimpering again. “Ah- another,” she forced out. “Another finger, please.”

He complied, and when her fingers clenched the comforter, he moved a little faster inside of her, flicking his tongue in the same rhythm he was thrusting his fingers at, and she lifted her hips. He reached his other hand up to hold her down, to hold her still, and continued. “Close,” she gasped. “Don’t stop.”

Dipper hastened the flicks of his tongue, the thrusts of his fingers, and then he did something incredible. He closed his lips around her clit and started to suck gently. Mabel’s hand shot down to his hair, holding him between her legs, and her toes curled, bunching the comforter up in a tight grip beneath the pads of her feet, and she found herself instinctively fighting against the firm hand on her hip bone, trying to raise her pelvis closer to him.

“Ah- fuck, Dip, I’m gonna-“ he kept sucking her clit, only he started to flick his tongue over it at the same time, too, and Mabel shattered with a short, abrupt scream.

Her grip on his hair loosened and her hand fell to her side. Mabel’s entire body was tingling.

She’d forgotten how much stronger Dipper-assisted orgasms were than Dipper-free orgasms. She didn’t know if it was a soulmate thing, a Dipper thing, or an I’m-in-love-with-this-guy thing, and her brain was too mushy to care.

“Holy shit,” she panted, and he pulled away from her still-pulsing heat, pressing a kiss to the top of her thigh as he went. The extra tingles his lips caused traveled throughout the rest of her body.

“Sooooo… good, then?”

She glared at him. “Shut up, man, you know it was tops. Where’d you learn to do that, anyway?”

He reddened and looked away. “I maaaaay have done some online research.”

“What, like, porn?”

“Well, not for that specific purpose, no.”

“Then…?” she trailed off, looking at him expectantly.

“Okay, so I read some accounts from lesbians,” he confessed in a rush. “Mostly blogs and whatnot, and then I also talked to a few female friends I have-“

“Whoa there, pal,” she cut in. “What female friends? I dunno how I feel about you getting all the dirty deets from another girl.”

He blinked. “Oh, I talked to this lesbian friend I have, and also her girlfriend. Just… comparing notes, y’know?”

She looked at him incredulously for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. “Okay, okay, that’s fine. For a second there, I was worried you were exchanging extremely graphic details of our sex life with, like, Pacifica or something.”

Dipper blanched. “Yeah, no, not her.”

“Okay, cool.” After several more seconds, she looked him up and down.

Her bro was still sporting a big ol’ broner.

“I believe I was promised the opportunity to suck your dick in exchange for you getting the pleasure of eating me out.”

He blushed again. Holy bejeezus, he was adorable.

“You… you don’t have to, y’know,” he offered quietly.

“Well, yeah,” she agreed. “Of course I don’t have to, but it’s, like my new favorite hobby, brosephina.”

He grinned. “You’re pretty good at it, too.”

“Hmm,” she said, reaching down to grasp him. He gasped at the feel of her palm, and she motioned for him to lay down. “Maybe I’ll put that in college applications.” Once he was horizontal, Mabel leaned down and took the entire length of him in her mouth (or as much of him as she could fit, anyway) with absolutely zero warning.

Dipper groaned and leaned back against the pillow. “Fuuuuuuck.”

Humming around him, she bobbed her head, letting her lips slide over him and sucking in her cheeks. He reached down to grip one of her breasts, tweaking her nipple, and she moaned, the vibrations from the sound causing him to buck slightly into her mouth. She gagged a bit but kept going, pleased that he was enjoying himself so much.

Each time she only had the head of him in her mouth, she swirled her tongue around the top, dipping slightly into his urethra. “Holy shit, Mabes,” he groaned, fisting a hand in her hair. He didn’t push her head, though, for which she was grateful. Bobbing faster, obscene slurping sounds filled the loft, saliva dribbling down his shaft. His moans got louder, and she sped up as much as she could.

“Mabel,” he gasped. “Mabel, I’m gonna- you should move-“

She ignored him, grasping his testicles gently and taking him as deep as she could manage. She was pretty sure her nose brushed against his pubic hair on more than one occasion, actually.

He came down her throat with a shout that sounded almost pained, and she nearly choked on it all, but managed to swallow the vast majority of it. It was not pleasant-tasting, nor was the texture particularly appetizing, but when she looked up at him, he was gazing down at her like she was some kind of goddess, so it was worth it, she decided.

She pulled her mouth off of him, and when she did, a small amount of his semen dripped out of the side of her mouth. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

“So, how was it?”

He looked at her incredulously. “You literally just swallowed my jizz and you’re asking me how it was?”

Mabel shrugged, grabbing his half-drunk water bottle that was off to the side of the bed. She sat up, taking a swig from it to wash that nasty-ass taste out of her mouth.

Eugh.

“It was awesome, Mabes,” he told her as she set the water bottle back down. She smiled happily at him, then lay down next to him and rested her head on his chest. “Downside, though, is I’ll need a bit before I can go again.”

“Eh, that’s fine.”

Turns out he only needed approximately ten minutes before he could go again.

She’d still been laying on his chest contentedly when he started running his fingertips over the side of one of her breasts, and when she looked up at him questioning it, he kissed her.

Dipper turned his body towards her, slipping his tongue into her mouth, and she felt his hardness press against her.

She pulled away with a laugh. “Already?”

“I’m seventeen, Mabel,” he pointed out.

She shrugged and went back to kissing him.

No objections from this girl, thank you.

He climbed on top of her before too much longer, his arousal pressing into her stomach, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, one of her hands at the back of his neck, her fingers threading through his hair.

He reached between them with one hand to grip one of her breasts again, squeezing it lightly. He kissed her neck, sucking a bruise into the skin, and she moaned softly. “Dip,” she murmured. “I need you.”

He reached between her legs to stroke her, finding her wet again. “I need you, too,” he groaned against her neck.

“Then take me,” she begged, lifting her hips to meet his fingers.

Positioning himself between her legs, he thrust into her with a groan, his head falling against her, his forehead resting between her breasts. “You okay?” he panted.

Nodding, Mabel wrapped her legs around the backs of his thighs. “Keep going.”

Pushing himself up onto his hands, Dipper pulled out of her almost completely, and she whimpered at the loss, gasping when he thrust back into her. He kept up his slow, gentle pace, like he was worried he’d break her, and eyes were clenched shut with the effort to restrain himself.

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “Let go, Dipper,” she said softly. “Don’t hold back. You won’t hurt me, I promise.”

When he pulled out and thrust back into her again, harder this time, like she’d wanted, she moaned and grasped his arms, her fingertips digging into his skin.

“Fuck, Mabel,” he groaned, his hips snapping against hers. “I missed this so much.”

“Me too,” she agreed, lifting her hips to meet each of his thrusts. “Please don’t stop.”

He leaned down to press his lips to hers desperately, hungrily, and she returned the kiss with just as much ferocity, her legs tightening around him.

“Harder,” she begged. She knew she was begging. She didn’t care. “Give it to me harder!”

Dipper complied, pulling back slightly to watch her breasts bounce in time with his thrusts. Mabel lifted one of her legs up to rest her ankle on his shoulder, and they both groaned at the new angle, the new depth.

“You feel so good,” he moaned, slamming into her again. “Fuck, I don’t- I don’t know how much longer I can-“

“I don’t care, I don’t care,” she gasped out. “Just fuck me, Dipper, please!”

Dipper rose up to his knees, lifting her hips to meet his and holding the leg she’d placed on his shoulder still as he pounded into her.

Clenching the fabric of the comforter in her hands so tightly her knuckles hurt, Mabel couldn’t seem to stop herself from screaming, begging him for more, not to stop.

Putting a hand on her hip to hold her pelvis against his, he gripped her hard enough to bruise, and all she could think was that she hoped it did bruise, she wanted to feel the remnants of this for weeks-

She looked up at him, his pained expression, the way he was staring between them, watching himself slide in and out of her harshly.

“Get me pregnant, Dipper,” she moaned. “I want it so badly, please, I need it-“ she cut herself off with a cry when he thrust into her again.

“I can’t,” he forced out. “You know I can’t.”

“Please,” she said again. “I need it, I need it so bad, fuck-“

He thrust again, moving his hand from her hip to her breast, pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“Soon, Mabes, I promise,” he groaned, leaning against the leg she had on his shoulder.

“Now, dammit,” Mabel demanded. “I want you to fuck a baby into me now!”

“I want it, too,” he confessed, squeezing her breast roughly as he thrust into her. “But we can’t yet. I’ll give you one soon, I swear, just-“ he cut himself off. “Fuck, Mabel, I’m gonna- fuck-“

“Cum for me, cum inside me, Dip,” she begged, desperate for it, for him.

“I can’t,” he groaned miserably, then reached between them and rubbed her clit in quick, harsh circles.

“Ah!” Mabel cried out, her toes curling and her body freezing up as her orgasm ripped through her abruptly.

He didn’t stop pounding into her, not even for a second, only lifted his hand away from her clit to hold her hip again, his head falling back. “Mabes, I- I love you, fuck, I love you-“

She knew he was seconds away from orgasming; his thrusts were short and stunted, harsh and bruising. “Cum for me, Dipper,” she encouraged. “Fill me up.”

He groaned her name again, then, to her tremendous disappointment, yanked himself out of her abruptly, his release spurting onto her vulva. Her hips fell back onto the mattress, and he collapsed on top of her.

After several minutes, he lifted his head up to look at her. “Do you really want me to get you pregnant? Like, now?”

She thought for a moment before answering. “Yeah, I do.” He seemed startled by that. “But I also know it’s not really… feasible right now. I really, really want it, but I know it’s not a good idea.”

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her slowly, lovingly, nuzzling her nose with his when their lips disconnected. “I love you, Mabel.”

“I love you more,” she countered with a grin.

“I love you the most,” Dipper insisted.

“Oh yeah?” she challenged. “Think you got me there, don’t cha? Well guess what, buddy: I love you infinity times the most, so there.”

He blinked at her. “Uhhhh… that’s not how math works. There’s nothing more than the most.”

“I don’t give a rat tooth if it’s ‘not how math works’,” she said in her very best Dipper impression. “I dunno if you’ve met me before, but I’m Mabel Pines, and I’m redefining math.”

He snorted. “If you say so.”

“Damn right I say so!” After a moment, she noticed the stickiness between them. “Errr… can you get something for that? I’m feelin’ a bit jizztastic here, bro.”

“Right,” he agreed with a slight blush. “Lemme, uh… lemme get something for that.”

“Coolio, I’ll chill here.”

He nodded and went down the stairs.

Well, Mabel thought. This is gonna be one awesome weekend.

[ancient-myth-daily]

Atalanta Part Two: Meleager, The Argonauts, and the Calydonian Boar

i am returned from being dead and now hopefully will be able to post daily at least for a little while.  here’s part one

Atalanta, the athletic follower of Artemis with an oath of virginity and bears for parents, was really chummy with the male heroes of her day, especially Meleager.  Meleager was a Calydonian prince.  His mother was Althaea, a healer, and his father was the vintner king Oeneus (which means wine-man - this guy was basically a disciple of Dionysus who taught the Aetolians how to party down).  Most Greek Heroes, at least the male ones, have a god-daddy too and Meleager’s is Ares.  Meleager also had a bunch of siblings and I do mean a bunch, the most notable of which is probably Deianeira, and her story may have turned out very differently if Atalanta hadn’t ever met Meleager.  Very importantly, when Meleager was born the Moirai (the three fates) declared that Meleager would only live until a piece of wood which was in the family fire place was consumed by fire.  Althaea quickly put out the fire and hid the piece of wood.  

Naturally Meleager as a prince became a monster-fighting, quest-doing, god-pleasing hero, although he didn’t really do the woman-abducting that was so popular with the other guys, and in my book at least that makes him one of the better ones.  He actually was married to a woman named Cleopatra Alcyone, daughter of Idas and Marpessa, who seemed to have loved him very much.  Together they had a daughter named Polydora.  

Some point after meeting Atalanta, Meleager began to have feelings for her.  I feel really bad for his wife in this situation but it seems more like tragic feelings that Meleager couldn’t help rather than Meleager being unfaithful in his nature if that makes sense.  like imo cheating is always wrong!!! but Meleager didn’t even cheat?  he just pined.  it’s just a really unfortunate situation all around :(

You see, Atalanta returned Meleager’s feelings, but they never had sex because of Atalanta’s oath of virginity.  (and, as a side note, I will forever have the headcanon that followers of Artemis are on the asexual spectrum).  So Meleager was pretty depressed about his feelings and everything so he decided to join the Argonauts to take his mind off of it, but Atalanta decided to go on the quest with him.  This is only according to some sources, as some like Apollonius of Rhodes say that the Argonauts were all male and that a woman on the ship is bad luck etc.  According to the sources where Atalanta does join them, she joins in all their adventures and suffers an injury at the battle of Colchis, and is then healed by Medea.  

After the Argonauts got back Jason and Medea conspired to dispose of King Pelias.  During Pelias’ funeral games, Atalanta wrestled and won against Peleus, fellow Argonaut, king of Phthia, and father of Achilles.  

Around this time the vintner king Oeneus committed the cardinal oopsie of Ancient Greece by forgetting to honor Artemis at a festival where he honored all the other gods.  You’d think with the amount of Bad Stuff that happens when gods are forgotten people would learn but apparently not.  Artemis sent a chthonic monster called the Calydonian Boar, perhaps an offspring of the Crommyonian Sow, to kill men and wreck farmland and vineyards.  Not the wine!  Meleager went around Greece gathering all his hero buddies to save his homeland.  This obviously included Atalanta - even if they couldn’t be romantically involved they were like best friends and she was super good at hunting so she was an obvious choice.  This angered a lot of the men in the hunt, especially Meleager’s family and the native Calydonians since a lot of the more famous heroes had already allegedly worked with Atalanta as Argonauts.  

During the hunt, many of the men were killed.  Atalanta in a great victory was the first to draw blood from the boar, and then Meleager slayed the beast with his spear.  Since Atalanta had drawn first blood, Meleager gave her the hide of the beast as a trophy.  Meleager’s maternal uncles, the archer Toxeus and “striking” Plexippus, were really pissed off that the prize was given to a woman and tried to take the hide away from her.  A fight ensued between them and Meleager, and Meleager ended up killing them to protect Atalanta’s honor.  Meleager’s mother Althaea then took revenge on her own son for killing her brothers by throwing the piece of wood the Fates had linked with Meleager’s life into the fire.  The log was consumed and so was Meleager.  

When Meleager died, his wife Cleopatra Alycone died of grief leaving their daughter orphaned, and Meleager’s mourners, who were all but two of his sisters, were transformed by Artemis into guineafowl.  

this was an utter tragedy and Atalanta was very upset by it.  Unfortunately for her, the fame she acquired from the Calydonian Boar hunt led to her being rediscovered by her terrible terrible father Iasus, which ill talk about in part 3.  

sorry ive been inactive for so long btw!!! hopefully ill be more on top of things now.  

[bohemian-napsodyy]

Operation: Cabin Fever (Ahkmenrah x Reader)

Summary: After Ahk starts feeling a little down from almost never leaving the museum, you’re inspired to come up with your most risky plan yet.

Word Count: 5.7k (this could be NATM 4 in itself jfc it’s so long, I’m so sorry)

Warnings: no real warnings, but Larry’s pizza falls on the floor

A/N: So i just realized after going through my masterlist that even though I have a handful of Ahk hcs, i’ve never done a full-ass fic for him before??? THIS IS THE FIRST ONE?!? So that makes me even more excited to post this?!?!?! :D

I also got so invested in this to the point of making a playlist to listen to while you read!! if that’s your sort of thing of course :)

Stay Alive -- Jose Gonzalez

Bones -- Michael Kiwanuka

Blue Spotted Tail -- Fleet Foxes

‘Tis Autumn -- Nat King Cole

Everybody Loves Somebody -- Dean Martin 

If you don’t feel like listening to the whole thing, at least listen to the first two, I think they capture the vibe really nicely (and i may or may not have teared up a bit while listening to them as i wrote this oopsies)

Enjoy, my loves! <3

You knew something was wrong when you showed up at the museum and Ahkmenrah was nowhere in sight.

That wasn’t like him at all. He almost always was waiting in the main entrance, the smile on his face like sunshine as he ran to greet you with a tender kiss.

You looked around, glancing from side to side, almost expecting Ahk to be hiding somewhere in preparation to scare you.

But then you frowned. You knew Ahk was mischievous at times, but he had never, and would never, do anything that would make you worry like this.

“Hey, Larry?” You called out, frowning as you quickened your pace through the main hall. “Larry!”

The night guard stepped out of the break room at the sound of your voice, Dexter perched on his shoulder.

“Hey, Y/N!” Larry called out, beckoning you over with a friendly wave. You heard Dexter chitter some sort of monkey ‘hello’ to you. “You’re just in time, I ordered pizza again!”

“Thanks,” You replied quickly as you approached. “I’m not really hungry right now, but maybe later.”

Larry frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn down pizza so fast, what’s wrong?”

“Have you seen Ahk?” You asked, your voice filled with worry. “He’s normally here to meet me by the time I show up, and I was even late getting here today, but he’s nowhere in sight.”

“Now that you mention it Y/N, you’re right, that is a little weird.” Larry mumbled, half to himself and half to you. “Normally Ahk comes running from his exhibit whenever there’s pizza... he’d never turn it down.”

“Do you know where he’d be? You didn’t see him leave, did you?”

Larry frowned, shaking his head. “He wouldn’t do that, I don’t think. Check his exhibit first, and let me know if you don’t find him.”

“Okay,” you answered, already making your way down the hall. “Thanks, Larry!” 

“Bring him over for pizza when you find him!” Larry called out behind you. You could just barely hear Dexter as he chittered along in agreement. 

You raced down the hall until you reached Ahk’s exhibit. Nothing seemed out of order as you walked in — the Anubis guards bowed to you ever so slightly as you passed them. Even though they knew you better than anyone else in the museum, and they’d never hurt you, Ahk’s guards still terrified you sometimes.

“Is Ahk here?” you asked one of them, craning your neck as far back as you could, attempting to make eye contact.

The guard nodded, gesturing silently to the back corner of Ahk’s exhibit. Sighing with relief, you quickly bowed to show your thanks and raced over to Ahk’s sarcophagus.

Your beloved pharaoh was slumped down on the floor, arms crossed over his middle as he gazed tiredly at the floor. When he heard the echoes of your footsteps approaching, you caught him quickly look up, startled like a wild animal. When he realized it was you, Ahk resumed his previous slump of a position.

“Hey,” You greeted him, setting your bag down on the stone floor as you plunked yourself down beside him. “Everything okay? What’s going on?”

Ahk glanced at you, an appreciative smile gracing his features as he caressed your cheek gently.

“I’m just fine, Y/N.” He sighed, gazing into your eyes deeply before looking back down at the floor. “Really, I am.”

You raised your eyebrows doubtfully. “Larry ordered pizza…”

No response.

“…And I noticed on my way here that the janitor put fresh bags of Cheetos in the vending machines earlier today. Want to go raid them all like last week?”

“I’m not hungry,” Your boyfriend dismissed your idea with a limp wave of his hand. You shuffled closer, looping an arm around Ahk’s shoulders and pulling him in close to you.

“That doesn’t sound anything like you.” You commented with a sad smile. “You’d already be running to the vending machine before I’d even say the word ‘Cheetos’.”

Ahk simply sighed, and he slowly leaned over until his head was resting gently on your shoulder.

“You can tell me anything, Ahk,” You whispered softly. “Really. What’s going on?”

“Sometimes…” Ahk began tiredly. He reached over and took your hand gently in his. “…I feel as though I may have been better off without the tablet.”

You frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Look at the life I live, Y/N.” Ahk sighed, gesturing halfheartedly at his exhibit. “I can only see you at night. We only spend time here. You tell me stories all the time of all the wonderful things that happen in New York during the day, and I cannot experience any of them.”

You could almost feel your heart breaking as you listened to your boyfriend’s words. You wanted nothing more than to take him on a roadtrip, camping, even just a day trip to Long Island. But the tablet wouldn’t let you two do those things together.

“I have not left the museum in a very long time,” Ahk continued sadly. “It has begun to feel like a prison more than a second chance at life. Sometimes… sometimes I feel I would rather die once more and never wake again.”

You sighed, placing a kiss to the top of Ahk’s head gently. His words kept replaying over and over in your mind, making your heart feel like a heavy piece of metal in your chest.

“Don’t say that,” you scolded him gently, looping both of your arms around him in a hug. “Ahkmenrah, please don’t say that.”

“And why not?” The look he gave you was heartbreaking. His eyes were glassy with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. “You rarely sleep anymore, Y/N. You visit me when you should be asleep. And I have not seen Ra’s sunlight in centuries. The tablet’s magic has become more of a burden to both of us than a blessing.”

“But Ahk, being with you has been the best adventure of my life. Sure I have to take break room naps every now and then, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.” You answered, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “You might hate the tablet right now, but I’m telling you — it’s given me the greatest gift of my life.”

“And what is that?” Ahk asked doubtfully. You couldn’t hold in your giggles.  

“You, you goose!” You slapped his arm playfully. “What did you think I was going to say, the Easter Island Head?”

Your question earned a smile from your boyfriend. You ruffled his hair gently.

“Wait here,” You said, reluctantly untangling yourself from Ahk’s embrace as you pushed yourself up off the ground. “I’m going to pull some strings and see what we can do.”

“About what?” Ahk asked, mirroring your movements as he stood up as well. He started towards you anxiously.

“It’s a surprise!” You smirked. “But it’ll make you feel a bit better, I promise. Just… sit down! Don’t follow me. You can’t know about this… yet.”

Ahk sighed with a nod. “Alright.”

“I’ll be back!” You called out, dashing out of his exhibit so fast, you almost crashed into one of the cavemen hobbling by. 

“Larry!” You called out breathlessly. “Larry! I need your help!”

At the urgency in your voice, Larry and Teddy emerged from the break room and ran over, their faces full of concern. They each held a pizza slice in hand.

“What’s wrong?” Larry demanded worriedly. “Where’s Ahk?”

“He’s fine,” You dismissed with a wave of your hand. “He’s over in his exhibit, like you said. Ahk’s got… cabin fever.”

Larry widened his eyes in disbelief. “Cabin fever?”

“He’s just having a bit of a hard time dealing with always being stuck here in the museum.” You explained quickly. “Listen, I have an idea, I need your help.”

“Yeah, anything, what is it?” Larry asked. He seemed to have forgotten about the half eaten pizza slice in his hand.

“Ahk was telling me he’s never really seen the day in a long time, and we obviously know why…”  You began. Teddy took a bite of his pizza as he listened intently.

“…So I need you to confirm something for me. The tablet only activates at sunrise and sunset, right?”

“That’s right,” Teddy nodded. “Y/N, certainly you knew that already-”

“That’s my point!” You exclaimed excitedly. “I can take Ahk out to catch the start of dawn, and be back here in time for sunrise!”

Teddy and Larry were silent. They shared stunned glances as they gaped at each other.

“Absolutely not.” Larry declared, cursing a moment later as a large portion of his pizza toppings fell to the floor. “Dammit, that was the last slice of Hawaiian— look, Y/N, I know you and Ahk are a… thing… and I know how much he means to you, but I can’t let you take him out that early… I mean late… I mean… you know what I mean.”

“What about sunset?” Teddy offered with a hopeful smile. “Immediately after we all come back to life!”

You shook your head. “Ahk has seen the sunset before.” You replied, an edge of disappointment in your voice. “And by the time we get him changed into normal clothes and get outside, it’s already dark.”

Larry shrugged sadly. “Look kiddo, I think it’s really nice that you want to go to this length to help Ahk, but you have to realize how dangerous this is.”

Teddy nodded along with Larry in agreement. “Lawrence has a point, my friend. Ahkmenrah is the only living being in this exhibit. We don’t know what would happen if we lose him. We could lose the tablet, too.”

You sighed in defeat, gazing sadly at the pieces of ham and pineapple from Larry’s pizza that were lying on the floor.

“Besides,” Teddy added, touching your shoulder gently. “If things went wrong, you would suffer a great loss, Y/N. If something happened that wasn’t according to plan… you’d never see Ahkmenrah ever again. The tablet won’t be able to reverse that.”

“But I’d have it under control,” you protested weakly. “I’d set alarms on my phone, I’d have all of Ahk’s stuff ready to go for when we get back, I’d leave plenty of time.”

“Sorry, kid.” Larry shook his head, taking one final bite of his pizza. “I won’t allow it.”

“But-”

“No is no, Y/N. It’s just too risky. Teddy?”

“Yes, Lawrence?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Keep an eye on this one for me. Make sure she doesn’t leave the museum.”

“Larry!” You protested, your eyes wide at his request. “I’m not a child!”

“I know,” Larry replied, shrugging as he made his way back to the break room. “But I’m just taking precautions! Better hurry if you want pizza — it’s almost gone.”

You groaned, burying your head in your hands. You had to come up with a plan B, and fast.

To your surprise, Plan B came to you less than 24 hours later, in the form of Larry’s son Nicky. As soon as he walked in the doors of the museum that night, dressed in a similar hoodie and sweatpants like the ones you gave Ahk to wear outside on occasional evenings, you had your idea.

“Nicky!” You hissed, grabbing his arm and dragging him around a corner before anyone else could see. He yelped in surprise.

“Hey, what the hell-” You cut him off, shushing him harshly.

“I need your help,” You whispered. Nicky frowned.

“Oh no, last time I helped you I ended up babysitting Dexter for three hours while you and Ahkmenrah were up to god-knows-what in the storage closet the entire time, I’m not doing that again.”

“You won’t be babysitting Dexter.” You replied, rolling your eyes. “This’ll be easy, you’ll just have to sit there and… do whatever it is you do.”

Nicky narrowed his eyes. “Alright, where’s the catch?” He demanded.

“I’m trying to sneak Ahk out to catch the moments just before sunrise.” You explained quietly. Nicky let out a loud whoop, and you almost had to cover his mouth with your hand to keep him from giving you two away. The last thing you wanted was Teddy coming over to ask what you were up to.

“Watching a sunrise?” He asked, a mocking tone edging its way into his voice. “Is this another stupid ‘aesthetic date’ right off of Pinterest or something?”

“Oh shut up,” you grumbled with a sigh. “Look, Larry won’t let me leave the museum, he thinks it’s a bad idea-”

“I’m with Dad on this one,” Nicky interrupted with a smirk. “That’s so lame.”

“Nicky!”

“Okay, okay… sorry.”

“He’s getting Teddy to follow me around almost everywhere.” You added quickly, glancing behind you nervously to make sure the wax president wasn’t lurking somewhere nearby. “I need a decoy.”

“Oh,” Nicky smiled as he pieced together your plan. “You want me to be Ahkmenrah?”

“Exactly!” You exclaimed, beaming. You were thrilled that he understood.

“No thanks.”

“What!? Why?”

Nicky rolled his eyes. “There’s no way you’re getting me to wear that outfit of his.”

“Oh, come on!” You protested. “All you have to do is sit in Ahk’s exhibit with your back to the entrance, you don’t even need to say anything-”

“When was the last time his clothes were washed? He’s like… hundreds of years old!” Nicky argued with you in a hushed whisper. “I don’t even think he wears underwear, does he?”

You were about to answer, when Nicky held up his hand to stop you.

“Don’t… don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”

“I’ll proofread your Ancient Egypt essay for you if you help me.” You countered with a sigh. Nicky raised his eyebrows.

“Help me with my research, and I’ll agree… on one condition.”

“Fine. What is it?”

“I’m not wearing Ahkmenrah’s clothes.”

You paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to work through Nicky’s one rule.

“Could you do me a favour then, and run back to your place to grab another pair of sweatpants and a hoodie?”

“I think I know what you’re getting at. Sure, but it’ll cost you.”

“How much?”

Nicky smirked. “You write my introduction, as well as help me with my research.”

You groaned. This boy was insufferable sometimes.

“Fine.” You mumbled. Nicky beamed.

“Great! I’ll be back in a bit.”

Nicky dashed off just in time. As soon as he ran out the door, yelling to his dad that he forgot his laptop back at his apartment, Teddy rounded the corner.

“Good evening, my friend.” He smiled at you, patting you kindly on the back. “Any plans on this wonderful night?”

You shrugged, trying your best to act normal. You were never a good liar, and you hoped Teddy wasn’t very good at picking up on lies.

“Not sure.” You said casually, throwing in a shrug for good measure. “There’s a new show that just came out on Netflix that Ahk and I might watch together.”

Teddy nodded in approval. “Is our friend feeling any better?”

“Not really,” You admitted. That wasn’t a lie, Ahk was still pretty down in the dumps. “I’m sure after a few days, he’ll be fine.”

“I think so too,” Teddy agreed with a firm nod. “Perhaps I’ll suggest another dance party to Lawrence. Ahkmenrah seems to enjoy those. I could use a good party myself, in fact.”

You couldn’t help but smile at Teddy. He had a heart of gold. 

“I’d enjoy that too,” You replied, your heart beginning to race as you caught Nicky sneak back in, a backpack on his shoulders. He pointed down the hall towards Ahkmenrah’s exhibit before dashing off that same way. You had to hurry.

“Thanks, Ted. I, uh, I think I’m going to head off and visit Ahk now. See if we can make it through an entire season before sunrise, y’know?”

“Very well. Enjoy your evening, Y/N.” Teddy tipped his hat to you with a smile before continuing down the hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, you sprinted over to Ahk’s exhibit, almost tripping over your own feet as you did so. Nicky approached you quickly, Ahk right on his heels with an extremely puzzled expression on his features. To your surprise, Sacagawea stepped towards you as well.

“If you’re using decoys,” Nicky began with a smirk. “You’re going to need someone to cover for you as well.”

“Oh shit, I totally forgot.” You mumbled underneath your breath. “You’re a lifesaver, Nicky, thank you so much.”

“Does this mean you’ll write more of my essay for me?” He asked hopefully. “Absolutely not.”

Nicky gave you a harsh glare, before unzipping his backpack rushingly. He pulled out two black hoodies, and matching pairs of black sweatpants.

“Get Ahk to put these on now,” Nicky explained, shoving the clothes at you, then Ahk, who frowned even more at the black clothes in his arms. “Make sure Teddy and my Dad see he changed his clothes, and if they ask, just say he wanted to be more comfortable, I don’t know.”

“Y/N, love, what’s going on?” Ahk asked you slowly, his eyes darting from you, to the clothes, then to Nicky as he tried to piece everything together.

“It’s a surprise,” you answered simply with a smile, nudging your boyfriend playfully. He looked less than satisfied with your answer as he eyed you dubiously. 

“Is it alright if I admit I’m a little afraid of your… surprise?”

You grinned at Ahk. “I’m just as terrified too, but that’s what makes it more fun. Now put those on.”

Ahk glanced nervously at you and Nicky, who nodded in agreement. Before you knew it, Ahk had already begun to untie his shendyt, right in front of all of you.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” You, Nicky, and Sacagawea all yelled at the same time. Ahk froze, looking like a deer in the headlights as he stared at you with wide eyes, completely startled.

“Ahk, not here.” You said gently, unable to suppress the giggle that began to surface.

“But you said to put them on now-”

“Normally when we say ‘get changed’,” Nicky added, his face a mask of utter terror. “It means go somewhere private, put on your clothes, and then come back.”

Ahk nodded slowly as he quickly stepped out to the bathroom just a little ways down the hall from his exhibit.

“Now,” Nicky declared, turning to you. “I already talked to Sack when you were still over with Teddy, and we’ve got a plan for you.”

“You’re going to wear your clothes until just before you leave.” Sacagawea explained gently. “Then at the last moment, you’ll put on the clothes Nicky gave you. I’ll wear yours, and Nicky and I will take your place.”

You nodded, impressed by their plan. For someone who only got wind of your idea less than an hour ago, Nicky sure knew what he was doing.

“Y/N, you’re certain you’ve got this under control?”

You were interrupted out of your thoughts by Sacagawea’s voice. She placed her hand over yours worriedly.

“It’s quite close to sunrise… you’re sure you can make it back in time?”

You took a deep breath, quickly dismissing Teddy’s words from yesterday as they entered into your mind once more.

“I can do this,” You told Sacagawea firmly. “I’m prepared — I packed music, blankets and tea to keep us warm, and I also researched exactly when sunrise is going to happen.”

“You’ll be back before then, I hope?”

You nodded. “My first alarm is set for twenty minutes before sunrise. I’ve got three more alarms set every five minutes afterwards, just in case. That’s more than enough time to run back. We’ll just be across the street.”

Sacagawea smiled, wrapping you in a firm hug, which you struggled to return because of the clothes in your arms.

“I believe you,” She said gently. “I just want you two to be safe.”

You nodded in reply, returning her smile. “We will. I promise.”

“Y/N, what exactly are we doing that involves me looking like this?”

Ahk’s voice made you turn around, and you couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed on your face.

He stood at the entrance to his exhibit awkwardly, shifting his weight from either foot as he gazed at you nervously. The hood of Nicky’s pullover was over Ahk’s head, and along with the fact that he was in all black, he looked a bit like one of the shady characters you tried your best to steer clear of on your nighttime walks to the museum.

He looked absolutely adorable.

“What do we do now?” Ahk asked you with a frown as he approached, setting his carefully-folded Egyptian robes gently into his sarcophagus. You simply smiled as you looped your arms around his neck, pulling Ahk in for a swift yet gentle kiss.

“We kill some time. Want to start season two of Gilligan’s Island?”

Nicky and Sacagawea met you two in the break room at precisely five o’clock in the morning, the pair looking almost comical as they showed up wearing nearly the exact same thing as you and Ahk.

To say you were exhausted was a major understatement. You had spent the first two hours watching Gilligan’s Island with Ahk. The two of you had re-positioned the couch so that from the entrance, you’d only be able to see the back of your heads.

You caught Teddy poke his head into the breakroom briefly once or twice, but luckily he never hung around longer than a couple of seconds. So far, everything was going perfectly according to plan.

That being said, you wanted nothing more than to take a nap, especially with Ahk settled behind you on the couch. His arms were wrapped snugly around your middle, and he felt so warm. All you wanted was to close your eyes… just for a moment.

But you couldn’t. Ahk still didn’t know about your plan, and you were afraid that you’d nap for too long and miss your chance. So instead, you kept yourself awake by playing Monopoly for the remaining two hours.

Nicky smirked at you as he took in your current position on the floor. You were lying on your stomach, staring blankly at the game board with your face smushed against your hand as you waited for Ahk to make the next move.

“Ahk, it’s not chess,” you grumbled, rolling your eyes at your boyfriend, who was staring intently at the game board as if he were trying to move the pieces with his mind. “Just roll the dice and move it already.”

“Quiet, Y/N.” Ahk shushed you as he closed his eyes, shaking the dice gently in his hands. “I intend to win this round, but I need Thoth to hear my prayers and come to my aid. He cannot hear me if you keep talking like that.”

“Someone’s competitive.”

“I hate to interrupt your game, lovebirds,” Nicky began with a laugh as he took a seat beside Ahk. Sacagawea stepped over and carefully sat down next to you. “But I believe it’s time to begin Operation Cabin Fever.”

Your eyes widened in excitement as you bolted upright, feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline run through your veins. You accidentally nudged the game board as you stood up to grab you backpack, earning a loud cry of disbelief from Ahk.

“Y/N, how dare you interrupt my prayers to the gods, I-”

“You better go,” Nicky chimed in, nodding to the door with a laugh. “Someone’s getting grumpy.”

You giggled, grabbing Ahk by the hand and racing out of the break room with him stumbling after you.

“Y/N, may I ask you something?” Ahk asked you just as you ducked behind a wall, checking quickly to make sure Larry or Teddy weren’t anywhere in sight.

“Yeah, of course.” You answered, squeezing Ahk’s hand reassuringly. He frowned at you as he tugged his hood off.

“Please, I beg of you, on behalf of all the gods that watch over us, what in Amun’s name are we doing?”

“Well…” you began, trailing off as you sprinted down the hall once more towards the receiving bay. Checking either hallway once more quickly and finding that the coast was clear, you quietly opened the door and ushered Ahk through.

“Remember how you said you hadn’t seen sunlight in centuries?” You asked, closing the door behind you as quietly as you could. Ahk’s eyes widened as his reaction closely mirrored Larry and Teddy’s from yesterday.

“Oh no,” Ahk whispered quietly, already tugging you back to the receiving door. “No, Y/N, I love you very much but I don’t believe this is a good idea.”

You sighed, closing the distance between you and Ahk as you placed you hands gently on either side of his face.

“Ahkmenrah,” You said quietly. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do.” He answered softly, bringing one of his hands up to caress yours. “I trust you with my life, Y/N.”

“Then please,” you whispered with a small smile. “Please trust me on this one, Ahk. You know I’d never hurt you.”

Ahk nodded, leaning his forehead against yours as his arms circled around your waist.

“I know.”

You kissed him quickly. Just as he began to pull you closer and recapture your lips once more, you broke off with a laugh.

“What is it?”

“You’re shaking, Ahk.” 

He smiled anxiously, bringing his hands up in front of him -- they were trembling.

“Y/N, I’m afraid you’ve succeeded in terrifying a king.” Ahk mumbled matter-of-factly. You shook your head with a smile as you took his hand in yours.

“Come on, scaredy cat,” You laughed, carefully stepping down the stairs before starting your run to Central Park across the street. “We don’t have much time.”

You raced across the street, Ahk in tow, just as the indigo sky began to morph into shades of lavender and turquoise. Quickly shrugging off your backpack, you pulled out the blanket you had crammed in there, and spread it out on the ground.

“Do you need any help?” Ahk asked gently, placing his hand on your back as you dug around your bag.

“Take these,” you said with a smile, passing him two thermoses you had filled with tea. “And sit down, get comfy.”

Ahk gave you an appreciative smile and kissed your cheek before settling on the blanket, tugging your hand encouragingly to join him.

“Hang on,” You mumbled, digging around in your backpack. “I need one more thing, I know it’s in here.”

As you settled down beside your boyfriend, you pulled out a pair of earbuds, which you connected to your phone. You passed Ahk one, and he stared at it with a frown.

“What’s this?” He asked, inspecting it as if it were some sort of scientific specimen.

“You put that in your left ear,” You explained with a smile, as you put the other earbud in your right ear. “Like this, see?”

Ahk frowned, nodding, before doing the same.

As Nat King Cole began to play softly, you intertwined your fingers between Ahk’s and rested your head on his shoulder. He, in turn, leaned his head gently against yours.

“Look up,” you whispered. “Dawn is coming.”

The two of you sat together, holding matching thermoses of tea, as you watched the last of the night begin to fade away.

“Is this what you get to see… for an entire day?” Ahk asked you breathlessly. You looked over and saw his gaze entirely fixed on the pinks, blues, and purples that now filled the sky. His eyes were glassy, and as you gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, a tear slowly trailed its way down his cheek.

“You’re seeing the most beautiful part of the day,” You answered quietly, pausing to kiss your boyfriend’s cheek. “Everything else is… a little plain.”

“It’s been so long since I saw Ra prepare to rise.” He whispered, reluctantly taking his gaze off the sky to look at you. You almost started crying as well when you saw the emotion in his eyes. You had never seen someone look so entirely moved by something as simple as this.

“Nicky and Sacagawea…” Ahk continued, a little frown blooming on his face as he took a tiny sip of tea. “You got them to do all that… for me?”

You nodded, smiling at the thought of all the hectic planning you’d had to do over the last 24 hours.

“My initial idea didn’t require this much, uh, Mission Impossible-style planning,” you answered sheepishly. “But as soon as I mentioned taking you outside, and so close to sunrise too, Larry immediately put his foot down. He made Teddy my official ‘babysitter’.”

Ahk’s eyes widened, and he let out a little laugh. “Is that why Teddy kept walking by my exhibit earlier?”

You giggled. “Yes Ahk, that’s exactly why. Larry didn’t want him to let us out of his sight, in case I tried to sneak you out.”

Ahk nudged your shoulder playfully with his own. “And yet you snuck us out anyway.”

“You bet your ass I did. I wasn’t going to just sit there while you were feeling down. I had to do something to help.”

Ahk leaned forward, caressing your face tenderly as he pulled you in for a kiss. He smiled into it, before pushing you back onto the blanket. His lips moved softly against yours as he deepened the kiss, pausing only to lean his forehead against yours minutes later.

“No one has ever done anything so considerate for me, Y/N,” he whispered, placing a kiss tenderly on each of your cheeks. “Thank you. You are truly one of a kind.”

You felt your eyes prickle with happy tears at Ahk’s words. You reached up and booped his nose gently with the tip of your finger.

“I love you, Ahk.” You said simply, unable to shake the smile that bloomed on your face. He captured your lips with his own once more briefly.

“I love you more, Y/N.”

A loud ringing noise suddenly cut off the Dean Martin song that was playing from your earbuds, and you realized with a sinking feeling of utter disappointment that it was time to pack up and head back to the museum. Sunrise would be arriving soon.

“What was that?” Ahk winced, yanking his earbud out of his ear as he sat up in alarm.

“Sorry,” you apologized, pushing yourself up onto your feet and starting to shove everything back into your bag. “That’s the signal for us to go.”

The two of you packed up wordlessly, Ahk helping you speed things up by tying the blanket around his shoulders like a cape after he saw you struggling to cram it back into your backpack. Dean Martin still played through your earbuds as you raced back across the street to the museum.

“How much time is left?” Ahk called to you from over his shoulder as he yanked the receiving door back open, letting you pass through first.

“We’ve got just under ten minutes to get you back into your usual clothes!” “We’d better hurry then!”

Before you knew what was happening, Ahk had raced back over to you and picked you up, one arm supporting your back and the other under your knees. You yelped, instinctively wrapping your arms around his neck as he sprinted down the hall. The two of you laughed excitedly, high on adrenaline to the point where Ahk almost tripped, nearly sending both of you flying down the hall.

“You two are having fun, I see.”

Ahk skidded to a halt, and you realized with horror that the two of you had run into none other than Teddy. He sat on his horse, staring amusedly down at you as you still remained in Ahkmenrah’s arms.

“Well, you see, we were j-just…” Ahk stammered, glancing at you for help. He was just as bad of a liar as you were. But to your surprise, Teddy smiled.

“If you hurry straight to your exhibit,” Teddy whispered. “I’ll pretend I never saw you. I’ll also pretend that Nicky and Sacagawea never took your place.”

“You knew?” You asked, your eyes widening in surprise. Teddy let out a hearty laugh.

“Your trick may have worked for the cavemen, but not for me.” Teddy announced proudly. “And besides, I’d recognize Sacagawea anywhere.”

You sighed, your gaze falling to the floor in disappointment.

“The important part is,” Teddy continued, a warm smile on his face as he gazed admirably at the two of you. “You made it back in time, just like you said. Now, I’m not encouraging you to do it again, but if you hurry along now… I won’t say anything to Larry.”

Your eyes widened as you grinned at Teddy. Before you knew it, Ahk was already running once more. 

“Thank you Ted!” You yelled back as Ahk sped down the hall. “You’re the best!”

“Safe returns, my friends!”

You giggled with glee as the two of you made it back to Ahk’s exhibit, where he finally set you down. Dropping your backpack on the ground, you raced over to Ahk’s sarcophagus and dug out his usual clothes in order to help him change back.

Before you knew it, Ahk was whipping off his hoodie and sweatpants right in front of you, desperate to get his clothes back on in the handful of minutes you had left before sunrise.

“You know,” you began, biting your lip as your currently-shirtless boyfriend reached for his armbands. “It’s too bad we don’t have more time right now, otherwise we could’ve taken this to the storage closet again.”

In return, Ahk glared at you as he tugged his shendyt back on. “How dare you say something like that right as we have to say goodbye!”

You laughed, stepping in to kiss him goodbye quickly, before setting his crown gently on the top of his head.

“I’ll be here tomorrow, my king.” You whispered teasingly, before placing a small kiss on the shell of his ear. “As soon as sunset arrives.”

He smirked, pulling you in for one last passionate kiss before settling into his sarcophagus.

“Deal.”

[ellsey]

Agents of Shield Rewatch 6x12 The Sign

Yay! Flint!

But like this is a fear Flint right? Not a real Flint?

But also Izel can possess him? I’m super confused by this

May is talking to Sarge like he’s Coulson and ehhhh

Look at Deke stepping up to help yay!

Ugghhhh Sarge is not Coulson!!!

:( Be nice to Flint!

Oh look, more batsies

Fun

Omg their realization that they shouldn’t be on the radio hahahaha

Deke wants to impress his grandparents so badly

Oh noooooo Yoyo is maaaaaaaaad

Startup Deke is simultaneously the best and worst Deke

“I use math. Did I steal math??” HAHAHA

Fitz is right to be upset about the Framework code though

Jemma is using both a supportive and strong hand on Fitz’s shoulder

I know because I’ve been her hahahaha

“Whatever Nana and Bobo want, obviously, run it by me first, and then help them” I’M CRYING

I do like the shrike killing bullets

They’re going to burn through those bullets really quickly if they keep shooting these people like 5 times each

“We’ve got bugger lots”

“You said our grandson was a delight” This is so Jemma though

“He’s a work in progress” this is peak Jemma

So just a couple things I want to address here. First, yeah, Deke stole their stuff. And then adapted their ideas. But like...Deke never went to college or the Academy or anything and yet still has done some amazing stuff? He clearly took the year he has had and learned quite a but too. I think we all need to step back and acknowledge just how amazing what he has done has been. He shouldn’t be expected to understand all this stuff because he has no reason to be able to understand any of it quite frankly.

But also, one of the reasons Fitz is so annoyed by Deke is because Deke really is Fitz in a lot of ways. He’s not Fitz if Fitz had zero good influences in his life (because we’ve seen that Fitz), but he’s definitely Fitz if Fitz didn’t have his mom and a Jemma for most his life. Didn’t have loads of opportunity to life up to his potential. Didn’t have resources and people who understood him. This is Fitz if he had been left to the wolves as a child and not given the chance to be where he is now. And I think Fitz doesn’t like that potential Fitz very much. 

TLDR he’s projecting onto Deke

Deke’s whole speech here really gets to me. This is the heart of what they’ve been trying to accomplish with him (kind of clumsily) all season. To show that he’s someone who has very deep pain (and yet everyone on this show refuses to acknowledge it). Everything he had was torn from him. No one liked who he has, so he tried to become who thought they wanted him to be, but nothing worked. Nothing was good enough. He wants so badly to belong and to be loved. 

I know I have a lot of Deke related feels but he seriously gets the mom in me all riled up and I just want to give him a hug and let him know that he has a place here.

And I do think Jemma has been trying her best, but she’s been in a really weird situation. But Deke’s not wrong that he could have shared that with her. I hope that she will share some of everything with him in season 7.

Also major props to Jeff Ward for absolutely killing this scene

“It’s ok I’ve got problems with wearble tech anyway” hahahaha

But it makes sense

“most of the mice did not survive” DEKE

I appreciate that Izel brought her own cult-leaderesque outfit

GET FLINT HIS TACOS 2K20

Izel just wants her own backing choir how relatable

Oopsie poopsie Sarge can’t kill Izel

Mack is not happy and I support him

Nooooo May don’t make me cry

But also he’s not Coulson for real

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAY

I tried to tell her not to trust him omg

Well that went well

Enoch!

NOOOOOO ISAIAH IS A HUNTER NOWW!!!

I had forgotten how good these episodes are? They were definitely worth a rewatch. This episode rates a 100/10 on the Family scale because everyone of them is family (even if they still have some things to work out). But also it gets a 100/10 on the Bad Ideas scale because EVERYONE IS HAVING BAD IDEAS. Ayayaya.

The song for this episode is “Drumming Song” by Florence + The Machine dedicated mostly to Sarge. He was never going to escape the pull of Izel.

[thalassomania]

so here’s my super-duper belated @danganronpasecretsanta​ gift for @ofdesperationis​. it’s not finished--i’ve been a complete mess for a while now and i’m becoming aware that i may never be able to get this done.

but i wanted to submit what i have because i wrote approx. 14 pages and 8600 words. there was supposed to be more here and maybe there will be at some point but here’s everything i had.

trigger warnings include a lot of unreality, violence, and way too much despair. also spoilers for dr1, sdr2, dr3, and probably ndrv3 but i can’t remember at this point. i’m sorry, agh... i hope this is suitable at best. i can send other plot details too if need be.

main characters: junko enoshima, mukuro ikusaba, izuru kamukura

Junko Enoshima was a queen.

“Princess” was far too childish of a name for her, “empress” was nice but altogether too serious, and “Her Glorious Majesty of Despair” was apparently a mouthful. Being called a queen was precisely what she wanted, and she lived for it.

Any queen of her stature deserved a palace, and Junko was proud of her own. She placed a gloved hand over her forehead like a makeshift visor as she observed the castle's towers, stretching upwards into the sky. Her home was perfect, just as she was; unfortunately, though, her garden was still in need of work.

With a sigh gently carried by the breeze, Junko returned to her task. She turned toward her rose bushes and gingerly trimmed some wayward stems, wielding an oversized pair of rose-gold scissors and humming to herself. She paused occasionally to pluck a rose and place it in her cascade of pinkish-blonde hair, slowly becoming the closest possible approximation to a human bouquet.

As she reached out to pick another flower, her routine was interrupted with a sharp jab into her finger. “Ah!” she exclaimed, pulling her hand back. A thorn had made a minute hole in her pristine white glove, and a droplet of blood had begun to stain the area.

It was so charming that Junko couldn't help herself—she let out a stream of giggles as she held her pricked finger in front of her face. There was something uniquely endearing about it, especially when she considered what would happen if her blood didn't clot. Each time she raised her hand more ichor would fall from it, until anemia got the best of her and she collapsed, as if sleeping, into the garden that had caused her untimely demise.

The despair of the idea—killed by the flowers she loved so dearly—was intoxicating, as was the smell of the roses in her hair. She twirled, her magnificent skirt almost catching on the rose bushes that surrounded her. As her shoes pressed into the grass, she thought of the roots below stretching downward further and further, just as her tendrils of despair had ensnared those who dared stand in her way....

“Shh. Over here!”

Speak of the devil. Junko came to a quick stop and lifted her head in the direction of the noise. The rustling of the leaves couldn't have been more obvious. With her scissors piercing the earth like a sword, she lifted her skirt and began a silent patrol through the garden. There was at least one intruder in her midst—likely two, one speaking to the other—and she wasn't about to let such things slide. She couldn't deny loving the feeling of her personal spaces being soiled, but she loved spreading that despair to others even more.

There were two of them, as it turned out. Two small girls, too young to have wandered off on their own unless parents weren't an issue; good parenting was in short supply, Junko supposed. The taller of the two had countless clovers woven into her twin braids, so long that they reached her ankles and occasionally tangled with various twigs and other such trappings. The shorter ducked under an obscenely large hat, perhaps to shield her pale skin from the glow of the sun. They were smiling and giggling to each other as they wandered through the garden, and Junko smiled to force down an imminent surge of nausea.

“Hey. Hey,” the taller said, grasping the tiny hands of her companion. “This is nice, right? We can still find places to play.”

The other blinked dully, seemingly half-awake. “Uh...uh-huh.”

“There are still some good places.” The taller grinned. “Let's stay hopeful, alright?”

A slow nod. “'Kay.”

Junko could only watch their banter for so long before uncomfortable memories surged in her chest and she found it impossible to restrain herself. Sweeping her hair back behind her shoulders, she rose to her full height and looked down upon her unwanted visitors. “Excuse me! Just what do you think you're doing here?”

The taller girl jumped in surprise, immediately looking up to face Junko. Her smaller companion followed suit. “S-So sorry, Miss! We...we were just—”

“Intruding where you don't belong is what you were doing,” Junko corrected, folding her arms across her chest. “You have no idea just how much time I spend in this garden each and every day! I'll have to make you pay for entering my private quarters....”

“Please don't, Miss!” The taller girl's hands curled into fists. “We didn't do anything wrong! We were just looking for a new place to play, ma'am...I mean, Miss...I mean—!”

“Hush, child.” Junko stepped closer, light as a spider's web on the wind, and cupped the girl's chin in her hand. Blood smeared across her skin as Junko's gaze darkened, possessed with an ability far beyond anyone's understanding. “Feel as I feel.”

The briefest of locked gazes was enough to change something in the little girl—the light in her stare faded as her shoulders relaxed, her face devoid of expression.

The other girl fidgeted, lifting the brim of her hat to get a better look at her friend. “Nnah...Tenko, what's wrong?”

A sharp turn caused Junko's fierce eyes to meet hers. What little strength rested in her face melted almost instantly, replaced with an uncanny flatness. “...Ah....”

“That's better, isn't it?” Junko chirped, rising to her feet once more. “Maybe you'll think twice next time you try sticking your noses where they don't belong.”

“...Himiko...” the one called Tenko mumbled, her voice soft, “...what are we doing here?”

“...playin'?” Himiko replied, as if she had forgotten the reason she had gone outside at all.

“This is...no fun.” Tenko reached out to take Himiko's hand, but seized her wrist instead—the motion was sudden and painful for both parties, and she immediately set her free. “Let's go.”

Himiko nodded silently, her hat bobbing as she did, and the two children stumbled back into the woods. Junko felt the heaviness settling over their hearts and sighed happily; after all, girls their age were a breeze to turn. She took a deep gulp of the despair permeating the garden air, letting it fill her lungs and settle inside her like a newfound friend.

“Junko?” A voice from somewhere inside, calling her name. “Junko? Where are you?”

Excitedly, Junko let her head tilt upward—she'd know that voice from anywhere. “Coming!” she trilled, spinning around to fetch her scissors.

As she danced out of her garden and into the castle, a few clouds of greenish mist settled around the woods. Beyond them, all anyone could see was the dilapidated remains of what had once been grand buildings, the sorry chunks of asphalt that had once been streets, and most importantly, an entirely decimated campus that had once been known as Hope's Peak Academy.

♡

The clink of a porcelain teacup against its saucer brought Junko back to awareness. Time ceased flowing in her personal chambers—she had no idea how long she'd tuned out her sister's incessant rambling. Regardless, she cocked her head and tried to pick up at least a few words so she wouldn't get chewed out.

“...and environmental conditions are steadily deteriorating, with at least two surviving species of flowers finally giving in over the past week. Though their loss is unconfirmed, they will be assumed extinct until they are rediscovered somewhere in town.”

“Mm.” Junko sipped her tea, which had gone unpleasantly lukewarm. Despair flooded her thoughts. “How sad.”

“Very.” Mukuro Ikusaba bowed lightly, her hands linked. “Is there anything you'd like me to say to the general public on your behalf?”

“Nah,” Junko replied, casually placing her saucer on the miniature table before her. “Honestly, I couldn't care less.”

Mukuro's cheeks turned a blistering red. “S-Sister...please, listen to me. I've been handling your affairs for months now—the least you could do is respect the effort I'm going through.”

“Respect?” Junko giggled into her palms. “What made you ever think I respected you, or even cared?” With a delighted cackle, she stuck out a leg at just the right angle to kick a teacup off the table.

“Ah, hold on,” Mukuro said, darting forward to pick up the discarded pottery as it landed on the carpeted floor with a soft thunk. “Let me—”

“Oopsie!” Junko sprang to her feet and pressed her shoe onto the teacup. It shattered under the sudden weight, splintered shards littering the area around her ruby-red heels. “Seems as if I took a wrong step...upupu! Still feel like cleaning up after me?”

Mukuro lowered her head, her dark eyes glinting with recognition as she familiarized herself with Junko's latest method of pushing her. “With pleasure, dear sister,” she said as she cupped the pieces in her hands, the off-white color contrasting with the black leather of her gloves.

“That's more like it, mm?” Junko leaned back in her chair, coated in enough overly ornate decorations and fabrics to be called a throne, and grinned. “Finally, a task befitting of someone as lowly as you....”

For a brief moment, Junko could taste her sister's despair on her tongue. In the next moment, Mukuro charged at her and threw the teacup's remains straight into her face like a grenade. “Aieee!” she shrieked, flailing ineffectively. “You got me!”

Mukuro instinctively backed away from the thrashing mass of lace, velvet, and porcelain fragments. “It seems as if I have. Feeling the despair yet?”

“Only in the way you know best,” Junko replied as her body relaxed. “Sadly, you're still a bit too predictable...I daresay I'm feeling a whole new form of despair just watching you struggle.”

Mukuro folded her arms across her chest. “Tsk. Fine.”

“I'm growing bored....” Junko stood up, brushing the last of the teacup from her skirt. “I think it's playtime!” With a gleeful twirl, she picked up a large plush rabbit from the foot of her throne and wrapped her arms around it. “Isn't that right, little one?”

“Playtime...?” Mukuro paused, uncertain, before the reality of the situation came to her. “Oh, right. Enjoy yourself, then. I'll be cleaning the kitchen in the meantime.”

“Just because you tell me to do it doesn't mean I will! Hm...maybe you should be the Super High School Level Maid,” Junko called as she left the room, stroking her plush's floppy ears. “All you need is a short dress and some revealing panty-shots.”

Mukuro had an indignant reply prepared, but bit her tongue to stop from embarrassing herself further; after all, Junko had already slammed the tearoom door behind her.

♡

The Despair Castle—a tentative name, but a fitting one at the very least—had more than its fair share of rooms, and Junko had reason to love each and every one. Her bedroom always smelled of incense and allowed her to sleep on the finest of mattresses the world over. Her bathroom gave her a place to bathe in water saturated with rose petals, and she couldn't stop herself from chuckling at her warped reflection in the marble tiling. Even her dining room, which didn't need to be anything more than drab as drab could be, was decorated with flags in garish colors, paintings several feet tall, and custom dinnerware emblazoned with bear-shaped symbols.

Junko's playroom was by far her favorite, though, since it was the one room she didn't have to share with anyone; more accurately, the only room no one else was allowed to enter without her explicit permission. Even Mukuro grew boring after a while, and her toys were always waiting for her when she needed a change of pace. Sitting in the center of the circular room and surrounded by massive pillows and plush dolls, Junko hummed a surreal little tune and ran a brush through her seemingly endless locks of hair.

“Hm...oh, I'm sorry! Do you want a turn?” Junko asked the doll sitting in her lap. She used her free hand to tilt its resin head up and down in a gesture reminiscent of a nod and, with a cheerful smile, began to brush its hair instead of her own. The brush lightly tugged at the doll's pink hair, which ended in graceful little curls at its shoulders—the treatment wasn't doing it any good, but Junko didn't seem to mind. She found a strange sense of comfort in the rhythm of the brush and the way the curls sprang back into place each and every time.

“Feels nice, huh?” Junko asked the doll, moving its ball-joined arms up and down. “Bet you feel pretty silly for having failed me, Ryota.” She turned it around so it faced her, and she found herself earnestly smiling at its lifelike features—the “Ryota” this doll was modeled after had been captured perfectly. She admired the thin lines around the mouth and the faint dark rings underneath the eyes, chuckling even now at the anxiety visible in its features.

“Mhm! Pretty silly,” she repeated to herself as she placed the Ryota doll down beside her. “A panicked mess, too scared to do anything but cry like a baby...I'd be feeling the despair already if I were you. At least you're not alone, right?”

Giggling to herself, she lifted a smaller china doll with a nurse's uniform onto her lap. “That's right!” she said, in a purposely high-pitched voice to imitate this new arrival. “At least you're not alone! We'll never be apart anymore...we can cry together...!”

“You heard the girl!” Junko said to the Ryota doll, placing the nurse next to it. “You and Mikan can be together, okay? It was what you really wanted...or, at least, what she really wanted. I guess you can't really move without some divine intervention, but beggars can't be choosers. Now then...who else wants some special playtime with their queen?”

“Ooh!” Mikan chimed in. “I think Nagito does!” Junko rested on her stomach, now at the doll's “eye” level, and angled her arm so she was pointing to a wall-mounted shelf.

“Oh, really?” Hopping to her feet while trying not to dislodge anything in her pillow fort, Junko grabbed a white-haired porcelain doll and cradled it in her arms. It was well-worn from hours of its owner's brand of play, its hair brittle and paint chipped in places; despite the damages, though, its tired smile remained intact.

“Is she telling the truth?” she asked the doll, stroking its chest through its shirt. “I'd hate for anyone to be lying to me....”

“No liars here!” Junko piped up, in her Mikan voice. “Nagito told me he wants to be with you all day long, and go with you everywhere in the castle! Maybe even...in your bedroom?”

“Is this true, Nagito?” she asked, her pitch lowering at the drop of a hat.

“It's true, milady,” she replied in Nagito's voice—a bit deeper than her own, and just husky enough to sound sick. “I want to be by your side...forever.”

“Forever?” Junko spun around, pressing the doll against her ribcage. “That's a tall order, sir...Just what would we do together for all that time?”

“Well, if we really had an eternity together, I'd let you brush my hair and dress me in any way you like.” She made the Nagito doll's eyelids flutter cutely. “We could take baths together, and eat at the same table...that is, if you'd be willing to put up with garbage like me for that long. If not, I could always eat off the floor with your sister....”

“Even she's better than you,” Junko retorted, poking Nagito's cheek. “I can't put up with your self-hatred and hope bull for that long. Besides, I'm already spoken for! That reminds me....” She dropped the doll, causing it to land on the enlarged stomach of one of her plush bears. “I think I have someone I need to check up on.”

“Please, oh please, don't leave us!” Junko's Ryota voice was wobbly in a comedic sense. “We need you here, miss Junko! It's not the same without you! I'd rather die than spend another moment alone....” The Mikan doll, humorously, fell onto its side.

“Then suffer,” Junko replied to herself, smirking. Her eyes flashed as she pressed her foot into the carpet, just inches away from where the Ryota doll sat. “And who said you were on first-name privileges? I certainly don't remember saying it....”

“Not me, ma'am,” Mikan cut in, still toppled over. “Maybe he's a glutton for punishment.”

“Is that so?” Junko asked, tapping one finger against her chin. “I have a dungeon I need to visit...I simply don't have time to punish you appropriately! All I can say for now is that you certainly didn't deserve to touch the same hairbrush as your one and only Queen of Despair, Junko Enoshima!” A light kick sent the Ryota doll flying across the room, landing in a corner to be neglected for at least a week. When she didn't have time to enact one of her favorite ironic executions, abandonment was always a good second choice: it would leave her victims wondering when she'd return until the hope left them completely and boredom consumed their very souls.

Desiring a punishment was an entirely different can of worms, though...She pondered the idea of someone sitting in the dark for months on end, waiting for her to come back with an execution she'd spent many a night poring over. At first, the thought seemed too easy, but then she reconsidered: what if she came in, prepared to enact a punishment the likes of which had never been seen before...and then ever-so-casually went for a stab in the heart?

As she left the room, Junko clapped her hands and felt her cheeks flush at the thought of sending someone into such pure, unfiltered despair—it was almost too much for her to handle. Behind her, the lights flickered off and the toys were left alone. At some point, she'd have to order Mukuro to come in and clean up after her, but she had more important topics on her mind than her sister wiping dust from Ryota Mitarai's face.

♡

As a child, Junko had never taken time to appreciate the joy and fervor that came with running down spiral staircases; now, as an adult, she was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to set foot on one. The steps leading to her dungeon went downward in a fast and volatile circle, and she often found herself running up and down those steps until her breaths shortened and her heart raced.

Reaching the bottom gave her heart a whole other reason to race. Keeping one arm draped across the banister to steady herself, Junko peered into the darkness of the room before her. The only source of light was the evening sun filtering in from upstairs, its rays teasing against the stone floor. The so-called “dungeon” itself was always chilly—a coat rack near the entrance held two of Junko's favorite winter robes, in case her impromptu exercise routines weren't enough to keep her warm. All she could make out beyond the rack was a hospital bed and a squarish machine hooked up next to it.

Junko took a series of gentle steps into the dark. “I'm back, darling,” she called, cupping a hand around her mouth while using the other to slip a robe over her shoulder. “Did you miss me?”

There was no response from the bed's occupant, though they shifted slightly. Grinning, Junko strutted closer to the person in question—what had once been a well-meaning, if talentless, teenage boy had been transformed into an emaciated, pale-skinned figure unable to leave their resting place. A small cluster of tubes stuck in their arms kept them from moving much at all, seemingly attached to the nearby machine. Junko closed her eyes for a moment to listen to its slow, soft beeping, which quickened as she approached.

“Kamukura,” she breathed, alighting herself on the edge of the bed. “I'm here.”

The figure tilted their head in the direction of her voice, but didn't speak. Their eyes—formerly hazel, now slowly turning red—fluttered open and fixed their gaze on her.

“It's me,” Junko said, taking on a romantic edge. “Don't you remember?”

The figure winced as they struggled to move, eventually lifting a twitching hand to brush their bangs away from their forehead. Though the tips were brown, most of their hair had become a velvet black that made Junko's body pulse with adoration. She was, however, less than impressed with their response, which came out in little more than a dry whisper. “...who?”

“You forgot again?” Junko asked, stretching her legs across the bed and flaunting the shape of her thighs. “I'm Junko Enoshima. I rule the world, in case you weren't aware. You must be one lucky stud, since I'm madly in love with you and all that.” She held a hand out expectantly, her red nail polish glittering in the faint light. “And you are...?”

Their lips parted, emitting a faint wheeze. “...Jun...ko?”

“I'm Junko,” she said as her hand sank. “I'm the only one worthy of such a name.” She laughed sharply, moving some of the tubes to give herself more space to lay down—she stayed cautious, however, so as to cause them as little pain as possible. “And you are Izuru Kamukura...or, you will be, once your brain works again. Don't worry, I'm waiting patiently for that day; well, I am for now.”

Kamukura's eyes sparked with brief recognition, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared. “...I...am...?”

“Izuru,” Junko purred, snuggling next to them. She pulled at the collar of their flimsy hospital gown and rested her hand on their exposed shoulder. Their skin was clammy, but she'd grown used to it with time. She was more concerned about the state of the bed—it had gone unwashed for weeks, and even with medical adjustments and catheters, the smell of excrement lingered. In truth, her prisoner-turned-lover looked pathetic, but she was willing to ignore it; or, at least, until she remembered to ask Mukuro to clean the dungeon again.

“I...zuru,” Kamukura breathed, their voice hitching on a syllable.

Junko nodded, cupping Kamukura's face with her free hand. “Good job,” she said as she planted a kiss on their forehead. They flinched, but didn't react otherwise.

A moment of silence passed as Junko cuddled her mildly unresponsive partner. The lack of noise was welcoming, and Junko felt a happy sigh pass through her body—spending time with Kamukura refreshed her more than anything. When they could move on their own again, she'd decided she would take them for a walk in the garden and show them the world she'd taken over. She imagined their hair, which she assumed would be waist-length at that point if not longer, idly tickling the rose petals. A sliver of drool fell from her lips.

“Oops! Upupu,” she said to herself, wiping her face on her sleeve to avoid touching the bedsheets. “Hey, hey.” She reached behind Kamukura and lifted their head, fingers brushing across the nape of their neck. “Izuru. Look at that.”

Kamukura blinked slowly, trying to clear their blurred vision. “Where...?”

“Up there,” Junko said, pointing toward the staircase. “You see that? The light?”

Without waiting for a response, she continued. “That's the outside world. You can see some sunlight now, but it'll fade before too long and you'll be alone in the dark.

“That's what despair is like—every night, you hold onto your hope up there...and it fades away. You keep waiting for something different, but it'll never come. And that's what the world is like too. That light is the last of the old world. B.E.—Before Enoshima, as I like to say,” she said, having never said it before. “Get it?”

“Nn—” Kamukura whined as Junko tugged on errant strands of their hair to keep their attention. She curled them between her fingers, ignorant of Kamukura's obvious pain. Even as they cringed and tried to pull away from her, a light press of her other hand on their chest kept them firmly in place—the wires in their arms, too, prevented them from escaping. Junko's face flushed as she felt their heartbeat under her palm.

“The world you knew is gone; that is, if you can even remember what it was like. What lies beyond this room is my world...and when you're better, it can be ours. We won't have to share it with anyone. Not even my sister has to know—we can lock her up here and have the rest of the world to ourselves. No one will be able to tear the two of us apart.”

“Ah...” Kamukura murmured as Junko let go of them, causing their upper body to thump against the headboard. Their gaze drifted, becoming unfocused. “...that hurt.”

“Did it, darling?” Junko asked dreamily, poking Kamukura's cheek as she snuggled against them. “Maybe you're starting to feel again. That's a step forward, isn't it?”

Kamukura slumped back into bed, already exhausted. With a soft giggle, Junko ran her fingers across their forehead—mildly feverish, might have to get that checked out—and kissed their nose. She figured she would work toward kissing their lips, perhaps when they remembered how to kiss back. She could hear someone moving about upstairs, presumably Mukuro, but left her to her own devices; after all, this was her special alone time with Kamukura and she wouldn't let anyone take that from her.

Kamukura stared at the ceiling as the last of the evening light withered and died, their consciousness melting away with it. Junko, meanwhile, felt a smile form on her face as she rested beside her beloved. The machine beeped faintly as the duo's breaths synchronized—then, with little fanfare, the sun set completely and the darkness took them both.

♡

Not all queens necessarily had to look down upon their subjects, but Junko wasn't willing to skip that aspect of her daily life. She had more thrones throughout the castle than just the one in her tearoom, and her dining room throne was particularly elegant—a hand-carved wooden model that rose several feet above the other chairs around the table. Though it took some effort to climb onto the throne in the first place, Junko appreciated the perfect view it gave her of her rather sour mealtime company.

“Aren't you going to eat, sister?” she called from above. “There are starving children in...well, everywhere! In fact, there's one in the room with us as we speak, so why don't you eat before she sneaks another nibble?”

Mukuro's gaze snapped to the silver-haired child sitting across from her. She was thin and all too pale, her once-pristine outfit smeared with dirt and dried blood. Though she had been addressed, she hadn't raised her head or even made a noise of acknowledgment, seemingly preferring to blend into the metaphorical background. Mukuro knew her sister wouldn't have any of it.

“Come on now, little one,” Junko said, idly swinging her legs back and forth. “Why don't you try to snatch a pea or two? Children should eat their vegetables, right?”

“They are healthy, yes,” Mukuro mumbled, patting her cheek with a napkin. “So why aren't you eating any of them?”

Slowly and almost comically, Junko looked down at her plate of chocolate-strawberry cake. “...Well, I'm already grown up! I don't need to worry so much about eating right anymore.”

“You should worry,” Mukuro commented, delicately cutting her ham into pieces. “You want your reign to last as long as you do, right? You won't be around to rule the world for very long if all you eat is dessert.”

“Hmph!” Junko crossed her arms and huffed. “We'll see about that. You!” She pointed at her guest, who flinched but didn't react otherwise. “What do you think your queen should eat?”

The little girl cautiously raised her head just enough to meet Junko's blue eyes. “Ah...um...I think you should....”

“Go on. Spit it out.” Junko flicked a few cake crumbs in her direction. “Maybe I'll give you something nice if you answer correctly.”

“M-Miss Enoshima should...maybe...consider eating some vegetables when she can.” The girl fidgeted in her seat, uncomfortable with being the center of attention. “I-I could provide some for her...I know a few good recipes, a-and if you have the right ingredients, we can—”

Mukuro shot out of her seat to catch the fork Junko had thrown toward the stuttering child. “Junko! Would you really want...would you....” Her features softened as she struggled to find a way to get her sister to stop, while their guest whimpered in fear.

“Would I want what?” Junko asked, pointing a knife in Mukuro's direction. “I certainly wouldn't want to eat any of this runt's horrible cooking!” She laughed harshly, digging the knife straight through the center of her cake. “You're no Super High School Level Chef, are you?”

The child's face paled further. “...no, but....”

With a flourish, Junko leaped down from her throne—trying not to flinch when her boots hit the carpeted floor—and leaned in close. “But what, little one?”

The girl's muscles tightened as she managed a small, disdainful frown. “Kirumi.”

Junko's face twisted into a grin. “Sorry, what was that? I didn't quite catch it.” Across the table, Mukuro sat perfectly still and ready to launch into battle should the situation go awry.

The girl swallowed and stared straight at Junko, defiance shining through her chalky features and muddied cheeks. “My name is Kirumi.”

“Kirumi...” Junko said, drawing back like a snake. “Hm. I can't say I've heard that name before...and now that you're in my clutches, nobody will hear it again.”

Kirumi's confidence faltered. “Wh-What?”

“Take a look at this.” Junko turned Kirumi's head so it faced Mukuro and began rummaging through her dress. This particular ensemble was outfitted with seven different pockets in various places on the skirt, just in case she needed a secret weapon. “My darling sister and I are going to play a game.”

Mukuro pushed her chair out and got to her feet. “I'm not interested, Junko. Actually, there's something I've needed to talk to you about—”

“Ah-ah-ah! Too late!” Junko exclaimed as she withdrew a small, but needle-sharp dart and threw it straight at Mukuro's neck. With almost inhuman reflexes, she stepped out of its way, only for it to embed itself in the wall. “You have to play...or else, little Kirumi might meet an untimely end.”

Mukuro's pupils shrank. “What are you saying?”

“You win the game, and I might let her live,” Junko explained, twirling another dart between her fingers. “You lose, and...well, the prognosis is grim for our friend.”

“Wh-What is she talking about?” Kirumi asked, her bravado fading as she watched Mukuro dodge two more darts at a speed only Junko could match.

“You know damn well what I'm talking about,” Junko said between heavy breaths. Her body temperature rose as she sprinted across the room, tossing darts to and fro in a makeshift dance. Mukuro had to vault across the table at one point to avoid a particularly expert throw. “I saw her give you food under the table.”

“What?!” Mukuro cried, twirling in midair to save herself yet again. “You said it yourself—she was starving! Do you expect me to let her suffer?!”

“As a matter of fact, I do!” Junko said, with a haughty laugh. “Clearly, Kirumi has absolutely no fortitude or strength, since even I could refuse such temptations better than she did.” With no more darts to throw, Junko picked up a plate and lobbed it at her sister. “She had to survive to earn my respect, and you had to maintain your reputation as my despair-inducing sibling. Seems as if you both messed up big-time, hm?”

“Enough!” Mukuro roared as Junko hurled another plate. The sounds of shattering ceramics made Kirumi clap her hands over her ears, though she felt slight relief knowing none of Junko's ammunition had connected.

“I said you had to play,” Junko reminded her, sticking her tongue out in mild irritation. “I guess it doesn't matter, since we're out of time anyway.” She spun on her heel to face Kirumi and threw a steak knife straight toward her. “At least we can have a grand finale!”

Mukuro's breath caught in her throat as she made a flying leap in Kirumi's direction, catching the knife in midair and tumbling to the ground. A glass tipped over, red wine staining the tablecloth. Kirumi watched in horror and amazement as Mukuro got to her feet, a bit shaky but alive.

“Ooh, good job!” Junko said, applauding loudly. “Bravo! Bravo, I say!” She reached out to pat Mukuro's shoulder, but she shrank away from her. “Hm. Fair enough.”

“I've been trying to talk to you,” Mukuro said, taking a series of labored breaths. “Something...isn't right around here. It smells like roses everywhere, even when we're inside...haven't you noticed? A-And...and those clouds...aren't they getting thicker?”

Junko paused, as if in thought, but then sighed and folded her hands behind her head. “Nah. To be honest, I don't really care. If something's going wrong, that's your problem, not mine. And speaking of things that are mine....” She lunged forward and grabbed Kirumi, who squealed and flailed in her grasp.

“What are you doing?” Mukuro said, too worn out to put a stop to Junko's misdeeds.

“Finishing this brat off,” Junko replied, as casually as one would talk about the weather. “Why?”

“I...I won the game!” Mukuro spat, reaching for Kirumi. “You said you'd let her live if I won!”

“I said I might,” Junko clarified, squeezing Kirumi's face and pulling it closer to hers. “Besides, you should know by now that I don't play fair.”

“Junko!” Mukuro tried to grab her and knock her to the ground, but the game had left her weakened and exhausted. She slumped to the floor, her knees aching, as Junko's eyes met Kirumi's.

“Do as I do.”

In a matter of seconds, Kirumi's face had gone slack. Her gaze seemed colder, her breaths slower, her body limp in Junko's arms. When she put her down, she immediately stood next to her in a protective manner, looking down upon Mukuro's prone form.

“Now, you...” Junko began, putting her hands on her hips, “...you have no name. You had one at one point, though—and an identity, too. So on the basis of your old life, I'll ask you one more time: you're no Super High School Level Chef, are you?”

Kirumi sneered at Mukuro. “No, ma'am.”

“No!” Abruptly, Junko brought her foot down on Kirumi's, causing the girl to wail in surprise. “You will address me by name, servant!”

“N-No, miss Junko, ma'am,” Kirumi said, trying to keep her voice stable even with the despair coursing through her veins.

“Much better. Maybe you could take care of this pile of garbage while you're here...that is, if you really want to earn my love.” As Junko strutted out of the room, Kirumi tried to yank Mukuro up from the floor; however, she paused when she smelled something familiar in the air.

“...Roses,” she mumbled to herself, squeezing Mukuro's hand with both of her own. “I may have...enjoyed those, once upon a time.”

Outside, Junko's garden continued to grow, twisting around the castle walls and black iron fences. The world beyond her home seemed more distant than before, as the clouds misting the sky grew ever darker.

♡

“Hm.”

“What? What is it?”

“Hmmm.”

Mukuro stood as still as she could while Junko flitted around her, peering at her silky black dress from all angles. The frilled sleeves itched, and the skirt only reached to her knees—Mukuro's bare legs stuck out beneath, planted firmly in the plush carpeting. She would've changed clothes in a heartbeat if her sister hadn't been so insistent about her participation in today's activity.

Junko tugged on the skirt from behind, and Mukuro cringed. “Hm...I think this one shapes you nicely! If only you had bigger breasts to show off...maybe you could actually take your place beside me on the throne!”

“You wouldn't let me even if I did have them,” Mukuro said through clenched teeth.

“Fair enough,” Junko replied, with a chuckle. “You're not the type I'd share the world with anyway—way too selfish, and no sense of humor.”

“Right,” Mukuro grunted. “Sure.”

Junko stood in front of her sister, hands on her hips. “...You don't really like this dress, do you?”

“N-No,” Mukuro said, trying to maintain her composure.

“That's fair,” Junko replied, with a shrug. “Doesn't really match your complexion anyway.” She turned away, wading through a pile of squishy pillows and dolls she had yet to return to their shelves. “Go on and change. I won't look, just this once.”

With a sigh, Mukuro removed the ensemble. Even taking it off was uncomfortable, the lace making her itch even more as she pulled it over her head. Quietly hanging it up on a rack Junko had wheeled in earlier, she let herself relax for a moment. As she stretched her back, she spoke up again: “Junko? I'm done.”

“Mm?”

Mukuro's eyes narrowed. “I said I'm done.”

“Mm, sure.” Junko faced away from her, fiddling with one of her dolls. “Have you met my little friend, dear sister?”

Mukuro tried to keep her temper down—Junko had already grown bored of her and was looking for a new toy. “My dress, Junko. You said you wanted me to try another dress.”

“Huh? Oh!” Junko whirled around, a pale cloth doll hanging limply from one hand. “Of course! You'll like this one, for sure. It's leather!”

Mukuro's gaze drifted as Junko fiddled with the rack, pulling out a black dress that looked ready to squish Mukuro's spine into an entirely new shape. She watched Junko carry the doll alongside her, unable to tear her eyes away from its sad, unsettling stare. Most of its design was simple, complete with blue yarn hair and mitten-like hands, but its eyes were all too real and uncomfortably glassy.

“Do you like her?” Junko asked, shoving the dress into Mukuro's waiting arms. “This is Miaya. They don't make wheelchairs in her size, so she can't move without her queen helping her get around.” She raised and lowered Miaya's hands, making the red scarf covering most of her face bounce lazily. “Isn't she cute?”

Mukuro sucked in a breath as she tried to pull the dress on. “She seems...sad.”

“You think so?” As Mukuro changed, Junko sifted through the clothes on the rack and pressed a polka-dot ensemble against her body. “Check this out. I look like a cartoon character!”

“Mmph!” Mukuro exclaimed as she struggled to fit herself into the dress. “Y-You do....”

“Aw, is that too tight?” Junko was at her sister's side in an instant, messing with the zipper at the back of the dress. “Maybe we should try another one.”

Mukuro's breath caught in her throat. “Another...one?”

“Well, sure!” Junko tossed Miaya at Mukuro with a flourish before ripping the dress off, with extravagant gestures and sudden movements that made Mukuro wail in pain. “Don't you like playing dress-up with me?”

Now clad in nothing but black undergarments, Mukuro felt naked and embarrassed. She couldn't reply honestly—when she considered it, an image of the broken and damaged Kirumi flickered through her mind. “S-Sure,” she forced out, pressing the Miaya doll against her chest.

“You're lying, but that's fine.” Junko threw off her own dress, chuckling at she and her sister's matching lingerie. “You can't really get out of this anyway.”

“Right,” Mukuro mumbled, now burying her face in Miaya's hair. It smelled familiar to her, perhaps like a childhood home...but she only had a few moments to think of it before the doll was yanked from her, and her vision was obscured with another dress thrown over her head.

“My playthings are playing?” Junko chirped, wiggling into a dress of her own. “How cute! Miaya isn't playing dress-up right now, though. She can't move on her own, so I'd have to help her try things on...and this is our fun time! She'll just have to watch.”

Mukuro glanced at the Miaya doll, which was now splayed on top of one of the pillows. She could feel its gaze on her back as she changed, and the more she thought about it the more awkward she felt. She was a child in a fairytale castle, playing dress-up with her sister, but the game had gone on too long and she just wanted to go home.

After what felt like an eternity of trying on clothing, Mukuro finally stood before Junko in a silky black dress with a short skirt. It still had some of Junko's all-too-elegant touches, like white frills and puffy sleeves, but it was generally sleek and comfortable. Mukuro couldn't help herself—she twirled lightly, letting her skirt spin.

“Oh, you like it?” Junko tilted her head back in a fashion model's pose, clad in a similar dress but with pale pink silk and white and black frills. “Glad we finally found something that works.”

“Why didn't we just try these on first?” Mukuro asked, admiring the way her outfit wrapped around her body. “They do match nicely....”

“I guess I just wanted to keep you around,” Junko replied, rummaging through piles of discarded clothing. “Sibling bonding is always fun, don't you think?”

“Sure,” Mukuro said, half-heartedly. Her gaze drifted back to the Miaya doll, sitting in the same place it had before. “Maybe you should invite Kamukura next time.”

“Kamukura?” Junko got to her feet, holding both hands behind her back in a surprisingly graceful fashion. “You'd rather Kamukura take your place here with me?”

“N-Not like that,” Mukuro said quickly. “I just...I have other duties, and....”

“Don't worry! I understand.” Junko giggled. “I'm just glad you reminded me of the finishing touch for today's dress-up game!”

“What are you talking abou—” Mukuro was interrupted with a violent shriek as Junko whipped her hands out, brandishing twin pairs of shears. Laughing loudly, Junko tore into Mukuro's dress and ripped it to shreds in a matter of seconds, leaving a pile of silk and fluff on the carpet.

“Junko!” Mukuro exclaimed,  assuming a defensive position to shield her body. “What are you doing?!”

Junko spun around gleefully and tore into her own dress, creating another pile of fabric to join the first. “There's nothing quite like finding that everything I put you through meant nothing, right? It fills me with an all-new form of despair! Upupu!”

Mukuro cringed and shook her head, stepping away from her sister. Her right wrist was starting to itch, and as she looked down at it she realized Junko had nicked her. She pressed her thumb against the tiny wound and gently licked the blood off. Watching her sister's pathetic motions, Junko continued to laugh. “Well?” she asked, hands on her hips. “Feeling the despair yet?”

With no energy to fight, exhaustion settled in quickly. “Y...Yes.”

“Alright!” Junko cheered, jumping in place with excitement. “My test is complete! I can't wait to try this out on our next visitors...maybe they'll like becoming mannequins!”

Mukuro bit her lip and turned away, one hand pressed against her wrist. The Miaya doll sat and stared at her, a piece of a silky black dress covering part of her forehead.

Long after the sisters' foray into trying on clothing together, Mukuro went to sweep the upstairs floors while Junko wandered into her dungeon. The staircase was littered with rose petals, and the bed itself had a few roses scattered across its sheets. Even the machine Kamukura was hooked up to seemed to have roses growing around it, which Junko considered a rather romantic gesture—perhaps Mukuro had prepared it as a surprise for the both of them?

She nestled into bed beside Kamukura, twirling strands of their brown-black hair between her fingers while they reacted with little more than a half-lidded stare. They breathed through their mouth, each exhale sounding more like a dissatisfied sigh.

“You should've seen the look on her face, Izuru,” Junko said, twisting their hair into a small, makeshift braid. “It was simply...dazzling.”

“I...zur...u,” Kamukura mumbled, trying their hardest to lock eyes with Junko. “Yes.”

“Dazzled with despair,” Junko said in a singsong voice, letting go of the braid to press her finger to Kamukura's nose. “She wasn't expecting the scissors at all. I'm so glad I kept that Genocider girl around long enough to master her techniques.”

“Yes.”

“You could probably learn them too, if you wanted.” Junko leaned in close, her lover's bad smell tuned out slightly by the aroma of the roses. “You're capable of anything, after all.”

A slight head tilt. “Yes.”

“Hm.” Junko propped herself up on her elbows, unable to find a comfortable position. “Do you...remember who you are today?”

“I...zuru?” Kamukura asked, softly.

“I-zu-ru Ka-mu-ku-ra,” Junko replied, sounding out the syllables. “Repeat after me, okay?”

“Ka...mu....” They lost track quickly, pain dulling their senses. “...zu-ru.”

“Good enough,” Junko said, plopping down beside them. “You know you're mine, right?”

“Yes.”

“Mine, mine, mine.” Junko pressed her body against theirs, sleep creeping in with the lightest and gentlest of footsteps. “Forever mine.”

As she fell asleep beside them, Kamukura let their gaze turn to the ceiling. The room was pitch-dark and even colder than usual, and something about the roses was off-putting to them. They couldn't think about it for too long before their head began to hurt.

All they could think of doing was vocalizing—or trying to, anyway. So while Junko dreamed her life away beside them, Kamukura continued to mumble to themself. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes....”

♡

“Junko?”

Her Glorious Majesty of Despair stirred in her bed, but didn't wake up.

“Junko. Wake up.”

She kept on sleeping, tangled in her favorite red sheets.

“Junko!”

Finally, her eyes snapped open and she sat up. “What? What is it?” she exclaimed. “Your queen is trying t—ow!” With a wince, she rubbed her back and felt a noticeable ache. “Ouchies...that really smarts....”

“I assumed something was up.” Mukuro stood before her, looking less agitated and more concerned. “You were making weird noises in your sleep.”

“That's what she said,” Junko mumbled in reply, trying to straighten her spine. “Ahh...How did this happen? Nothing feels right...and I just had the strangest dream. I think. I'm already forgetting it...such despair....”

“Junko.” Mukuro spoke sharply, taking her sister's hand in her own. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Ew, what's this about?” Junko yanked her hand away and stuck her tongue out in mock disgust. “Don't touch me, commoner!”

Mukuro sighed in defeat and reconstructed her emotional mask, trying to be as straightforward as possible. “Junko, answer my question.”

Junko stretched her arms, slowly raising them over her head and lowering them back down with practiced motions. “...Hm? What?”

“Are you feeling alright?” Mukuro repeated.

“...I think so?” Genuine confusion rose in Junko's voice as she tilted her head, her hair bouncing with it. “Aside from whatever that dream was, and the ache in my back....”

“You were shrieking,” Mukuro said, her tone grave. “In your sleep, I mean. You'd stopped by the time I got here, but I could hear you from across the hall.”

“Sheesh,” Junko said, flicking stray hairs behind her shoulder. “I'm such a drama queen. Probably just feeling some unfiltered, pulp-free despair!”

“Please take this seriously,” Mukuro said. “I think something is wrong here. You see, when looking outside....”

“I think you're the one who's wrong. Think fast!” Junko shot up in bed and sprang to her feet, preparing to deliver a mighty kick and startle her sister. As she moved, though, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she found her reflexes slightly inhibited. Having just woken up would dull her combat sensibilities under ordinary circumstances, but this was far more obstructive.

Mukuro quickly swept her leg out to stop her, completely on instinct. It connected with Junko's ankle and she tumbled to the carpeted floor, her hair spilling out around her. “Aieee!” she cried, frantically brushing her bangs away from her face. “Ouchies! Ow!”

“S-Sister?” Mukuro rested one knee on the carpet, though she kept her distance in case this was a prank. “What's wrong?”

“This is wrong!” Junko pointed to her ankle, which was already turning slightly purple with the onset of a bruise. “I should have got you that time!”

“Perhaps we're evenly matched,” Mukuro replied, letting herself smirk for the briefest moments. “You can't win them all, you know.”

“Sure, whatever,” Junko mumbled, surprisingly upset over a bruised ankle. “I get it.” She stumbled to her feet, putting all her weight on her non-injured leg. “Sometimes the underdog has to win for the audience's benefit.”

“I'm...not an underdog,” Mukuro said, averting her gaze.

“Whatever,” Junko said with a wave of her hand. “I don't even remember what we were talking about. You're too boring to focus on, anyway.”

“That's a lie.”

“Which part?” Junko spun around, grabbed a pale pink bathrobe resting on top of her closet, and threw it over herself with a flourish. “'Cause you're definitely a bore.”

“You remember what we were talking about,” Mukuro said, standing her ground. “You're clearly just as troubled by it as I am.”

Junko blinked slowly and swallowed. “I have no idea what you're talking about,” she said, carefully choosing her words. “I'm not 'troubled' at all.”

“We're sisters, you know.” Mukuro folded her arms across her chest. “You can tell me if something's wrong.”

“Forget it,” Junko sang, though she gritted her teeth in secrecy; in truth, she was bothered by her lackluster attempt at a kick. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been a problem—after all, her back was sore and she'd just woken up—but it felt as if time itself had slowed to incapacitate her. She wasn't sure how to tell Mukuro this, or if she even cared enough to tell her, so she kept it to herself.

“...Forget it?”

“Forget it,” Junko echoed, digging through the bathrobe's pockets in search of a leftover snack. “I want something to eat.”

“Wait, what?” Mukuro raised an eyebrow. “You're...sure about that? I need to talk to you first. Please, look at this....” She approached the window at Junko's bedside and threw back the curtains—the world outside was obscured by soupy, greenish mist. Junko could see her garden if she squinted, but most of the Enoshima Estate was covered.

“...Bad weather,” Junko commented, nonchalantly.

“It's more than that,” Mukuro insisted. “Those clouds...they've never been this thick. Your garden's growing much faster, to the point that it's hard to even leave the castle to go hunting. Something isn't right here, and I need you to know that.”

“I need you to know that I don't care.” Junko swung her injured leg back and forth, trying to balance on one foot as she stood before her sister. “I want something to eat.”

“...Are you sure?” Mukuro asked, her gaze discolored.

“Absolutely-tutely,” Junko replied. “I need breakfast. Come on! Chop chop!” She limped away, trying to look as graceful as possible even when restrained by a sprained ankle.

Mukuro followed along behind her, her tone growing desperate. “But—but, Junko, please—”

“I don't care,” Junko said with a sudden firmness. “I can't think on an empty stomach, anyhow. Hurry up! Breakfast time!”

Mukuro lowered her head, absentmindedly running her fingers across the bandages now covering her itching wrist. “...You just had breakfast before your nap,” she murmured.

Junko turned slightly. “Sorry? I didn't know the underdog was speaking.”

Mukuro sighed, wondering if she'd fabricated the memory. “It's nothing,” she lied. “Just...just forget it, right?”

A light, forced chuckle echoed down the hall. “Yup! Forget it.”

[oftruths]

every step of the way | pt. 5

Word Count: 1,377

Warnings: none

Summary: Cassian and Reader finally have a much needed conversation after Reader waits many painfully long days for him to wake up. Meanwhile, on the way to Scarif, K2SO confronts Cassian about his recent behavior which leaves the captain a tad bit stunned. Takes place before and during the events of Rogue One. 

Notes: MY AP EXAM IS OVER AND LIFE IS SO GOOD!! I HAVE SO MUCH FREE TIME AND IM VERY EXCITED TO WRITE THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS OF THIS THING!! AH!!! I’m thinking of opening up requests once this series is done but I’m like 90% I can only write for Cassian because I’m too scared I’ll fuck up everyone else’s characterization, oopsies. 

Tagging: @wisestydia-15​

PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR

   The next few days were spent on any off world mission you could get yourself into since you had no reason to stay on the base other than moping around until Cassian got better. You never went on assignments that were longer than two days for being in fear of him waking up without you being there. Though you enjoyed longer missions since those were the kind you usually went on, short and quick were how you spent your days. 

   It was the night you had returned from Alderaan and a very small shoot out with some shady smugglers had left you tired and sore. After taking a shower, you slowly made your way back to your sleeping quarters and lied face down on your bed. A slight whoosh sound that indicated someone was entering your room made you groan. 

   “K2, you’re welcome to stay but I’m just really not in the mood to have a conversation right now,” you spoke as you rubbed your eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed.

   Your eyes widened at the sight. Cassian Andor was stood by the entrance of your cabin with clean clothes and bandages all over his body. His dark hair looked like a mess but the one yellow light that was lit in your room made it glow. Your lips went dry as you stared at the man in front of you.

   “Cass.”

   Somehow, the both of you moved towards each other at the same time. It took two quick strides for your arms to be around his neck, his hands to be sprawled across your lower back and your shoulders to be tucked under each other’s chins. Before you could even register that your best friend was alive and well, Cassian had slightly pulled away only to swoop his head down and capture your lips in a passionate kiss.

   A noise of surprise came from your throat but your eyes quickly fluttered shut as a new feeling erupted through you. It wasn’t your first kiss, no, but this kiss was something entirely different from the one’s you’ve had before. This one was full of urgency and fire but more importantly, comfort. With each passing moment, your knees started to feel as if they were about to give at any moment but Cassian’s grip on your waist kept you standing.

   You had been the first to pull away just because you were running out of breath but that didn’t stop Cassian from placing three smaller but full kisses on your lips. Your eyes stayed closed for you feared that if they were to open, the whole incident would’ve been just some cruel dream but eventually, you allowed yourself to look at him.

   “I heard everything,” he finally said after a few moments of silence.

   “Heard what?” Your heart started to beat loudly against your chest.

   “Everything you said while I was in that damned hospital bed.”

   “Oh.”

   Cassian let out a soft laugh and trailed his hands up the sides of your body to cup your face. “You are unbelievable,” he said before pulling you towards him once more and giving you a kiss that was even better than the last one. “I figured that I should let you know that I love you too. Always. Every step of the way.”

   "I-- but.. when?” you asked in disbelief. 

   “I... actually don’t know,” he sheepishly replied. “I’ve loved you for a very long time, (Y/N). I just didn’t realize until a while ago... and I think we both knew that it was there all along,” Cassian tried to hide his shy smile and it made your heart burst.

   “I had it all planned out, you know. I was going to take you to your favorite part of the planet. I know how much you enjoy laying in that field that’s out in the west. I even managed to clear both of our schedules for the afternoon and convinced Kalla to bake those honey pastries that you always make me get when I go to Tatooine... but then I heard what you were saying while I was recovering and i knew I had to race to where ever you were in the galaxy the moment that I was out of the medical bay and now--”

   You cut him off by grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him down towards you. Your lips met for the fifth time that night and you couldn’t remember a time where you had smiled so big. It only became wider when you pulled away and saw Cassian’s expression because suddenly, all of your problems were slowly melting away. “You are an absolute dream, Cassian Andor.”

   “Only for you, my love,” he smiled, brushing his nose against yours. “Our afternoon is still free, as a matter of fact. My little plan was supposed to happen in three days and we wouldn’t want those pastries to go to waste, would we?” 

   A wide grin erupted across your face as you laughed in delight, Cassian mimicking your actions. You felt like a child again. And innocence was something the two of you never got the chance to experience after the war took everything from the both of you. Thankfully, tonight was different. 

   “Come on.” You took Cassian’s hand in yours and tugged him towards your bed. You got under the blanket as he toed his shoes off and climbed in. “I have so much to tell you, I went to Bespin and it was insane.”

   The last that those memories had to offer was laughs filling the room while Cassian’s arm curled around your waist as you laid your head on his chest. He looked at you as if you were the brightest star in the entire galaxy as you recounted your stories and he couldn’t believe that the Maker had granted him with such a gift. Nothing had changed between you and Cassian at all. You still bickered and worried and loved, everything was just more amplified, now. You fell asleep that night feeling content as Cassian held you close. 

   “Cassian. Cassian.”

   The captain was being slightly shaken as K2-SO called his name. His eyes fluttered open before he sighed and looked up at the droid. K2 noticed how lately, Cassian’s eyes drooped in sadness and the odd emotions that radiated off of him -- the driod knew exactly what was going on. Nevertheless, they were on a mission and Cassian had to get his act together, the fate of the galaxy rested on these plans.

   “It’s time,” K2 simply said.

   He gave them a firm nod before rising from his seat and rubbing his eyes. Cassian put on a confident facade and climbed out from the cockpit, the Imperial droid following close behind. 

   “Hold on, Cassian.”

   “Yes, K2,” he replied exasperatedly. 

   “I couldn’t help but observe your slight change in behavior. It’s quite noticeable, I just wasn’t sure if you noticed.” K2 spoke in a rather reserved tone which surprising to most.

   He turned around and gave the droid an expectant stare as if to say, “I don’t have time for this”. Cassian crossed his arms and impatiently waited for K2-SO to go on. There was a room full soldiers who were waiting for his orders and he hoped that what ever his companion had to say was very important. 

   “I believe something has provoked your memories of Miss (Y/N) for recently, you are less grumpier but more unaware of your surroundings. I say that in the most respectable way, Captain. Even though I did not know her for very long, I have every reason to believe that she meant a great deal to you and quite frankly, she is missed.”

   “I understand that none of this may mean anything to you but I urge you to find a reason to keep up a strong fight although this may be the last mission we may ever undertake. I believe there is a 87.4 percent chance that that is what (Y/N) would have wanted, yes?”

Cassian sucked in a deep breath as he stood there, stunned. Everyone had been tiptoeing around the fact that their all so mighty Captain had been off in some other world for the past few days but here was K2, always there to tell it as it is. The droid was essentially the only being on the ship that had any lasting memory of you. The one’s who had known you had either forgotten of your existence or blocked your sad ending out of their head.

Still, Cassian could help but feel guilty about the way he wanted to invest himself in other people like Baze and Churrit and Bodhi and Jyn. You were the only person he had ever truly known, but, he wasn’t being unfaithful, he wasn’t being selfish, he was being human. You were gone and he owed it to himself to find the same beauty he found in you with other people.

   Cassian reached up and patted K2′s shoulder. “I have a feeling that you’re right,” he said with a small smile. 

   K2-SO blinked twice and nodded in satisfaction before walking past Cassian. He couldn’t believe what had just happened between him and the droid but for some odd reason, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his chest. The Captain straightened out his posture before taking a deep breath and entered the room full of anxious soldiers. 

[pandabearlikes]

Temporary Affairs II

 Table of Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Disclaimer: There may be a part in this chapter not suitable for younger viewers.  If you do not wish to read it kindly skip the section highlighted with the "※               ※                 ※" borders.  It’s more for comedic purposes than ahem, but let’s play safe ;).

  Chapter 13.  Happiness 

  A month flashed by in the blink of an eye.  Yoona turned from a pink wrinkly creature to a chubby happy little baby.  You soon realized that you had been scaring yourself with the whole “unfit to be a mother role” talk because you were practically an expert; it was so much easier than you had imagined because you were enjoying every moment of it.  Plus, Yoona was such a good girl.  She rarely threw tantrums without a reason.  In addition to all of that, your mother-in-law had bonded with the little princess.  There wasn’t a moment where they weren’t together. 

  “Aigoo!  Yoon-ie is such a beautiful girl, isn’t she?” your mother-in-law bounced the little bundle up and down on her lap. 

  You passed her a bib to wipe off the drool that escaped from the corner of Yoona’s lips.

  “She has such big round eyes just like her mother’s,” she complimented.

  A flush of pink covered your cheeks.  Yoona extended out her tiny arms as if asking to be held.  Your mother-in-law happily complied, bringing her into her chest. 

  “She’s spoiled rotten!” you exclaimed, giggling when the baby’s lips curled up into a sneaky smile. 

  The jingling of keys sounded from the front door.  You turned around to see Jongin and Sehun enter, chatting gleefully with one another.  In Sehun’s arms was Youngwoo in a mini suit and tie. 

  “Aww, my little Youngwoo-yah!” you jumped from your seat to greet the little prince. 

  Sehun gladly passed the baby boy into your arms.  You nuzzled into Youngwoo’s tummy and he giggled at your touch.  Holding him, you stalked back to the sofa to reunite with your mother-in-law and Yoona. 

  The little boy looked at Yoona intrigued to see another baby in the same room. 

  “Young-ie, this is Yoona!” you introduced in a baby’s voice, “Do you think she’s pretty?” 

  Youngwoo babbled happily in affirmation while Yoona scared innocently back at him. 

  “Oy, Jagiya, are you trying to play matchmaker?” Jongin asked. 

  “And what if I am?” you inquired, wiggling your brows. 

  “You’re really going to betroth our precious little princess off already?” he half-whined.

  “And what if I am?” you repeated.

  Jongin looked at Sehun for backup but Sehun simply replied, “I don’t mind”. 

  Your husband threw his head back defeated. 

  -----

  On a Sunday afternoon, a few weeks later, Jongin, you, and Yoona took time off to visit your parent’s place because they had been nagging to see the baby.  Eagerly, you pounced into the back seat, kicking your legs gleefully for you hadn’t been back to your old house in over a year.  Shaking his head in amusement, your husband carefully opened the back door and buckled Yoona into the baby carrier.  She flailed around, whimpering and crying at the unfamiliar atmosphere. 

  “Aigoo, my little princess.  It’s okay, Omma is here,” you immediately bent over to kiss her and rubbed her little tummy in a soothing manner. 

  After another round of kisses, coos, and peek-a-boos, the baby’s mood picked up.  Jongin and you sighed in relief. 

  “So are my queen and my princess ready to set off?” your husband asked in the driver seat while adjusting the rearview mirror. 

  “Yes Sir!” you saluted and he drove off. 

  On the way there, you and Yoona invented a new game called “Bye Bye Pacifier”.  Yes, you could have thought of a more creative title but it was really on the spot.  At the red light, Jongin turned around to peep at you two’s silliness and laughed.  Basically, Yoona would spit out her pacifier; you would go “oopsie” in a baby voice, pick it up then stick it back into her mouth.  She’d make this adorable noise between a giggle and babble and playfully spit it back out, thrashing her tiny arms around to motion for you to pick it back up for her.  By the time you were at your destination, you guys were at round twenty-five of “Bye Bye Pacifier”. 

  “Jagiya, we’re here,” Jongin announced after realizing that you were so focused in your playtime with your daughter, you didn’t even notice.

  “Oh,” you responded then turned to the baby, “Yoon-ie, you wanna see grandma and grandpa?” 

  She sucked on her pacifier, making a “toot toot” noise.  Awww.  I’m gonna meltttt.  Jongin got out of the car and opened the door for you.  You unstrapped Yoona and gently lifted her up onto your chest. 

  “Omma!  Appa!  I’m home!” you greeted as soon as the maid opened the door to the place you spent your childhood at.  You almost cried tears of joy. 

  “Aigoo!!!  My precious baby!” you mother rushed toward you.

  You extended one arm out, anticipating a hug but your mother U-turned and took Yoona out from your arms. 

  -____________-.  You pouted.  Beside you, your husband stifled back a mocking laughter and instead patted your shoulder. 

  Crossing your arm, you followed your mother into the living room area. 

  “Now that Omma has Yoona, she forgot about ________,” you pretended to be upset, but really you were so overjoyed that Yoona was so loved in the family. 

  “________ah, you’re not jealous of your own daughter, right?” your mother asked, not taking her attention off the cute baby in her lap.      

  “What if I am?  Even Oppa neglects me for Yoona,” you jokingly complained. 

  Next to you, your husband immediately retorted, “I do not!” 

  You turned to him and threw him to a goofy grin to make sure he knew you weren’t being serious.

  “Well, even if he did.  I wouldn’t blame him, Yoona is the most adorable little baby ever.  Huh?  Isn’t Halmoni right, Yoonie?” the older woman said, nuzzling her nose against your daughter’s tummy.  She squirmed around spitting out her pacifier.

  “Oopsie,” you automatically replied, squatting down to pick it up, disinfect it, and stick it back into Yoona’s mouth. 

  “Abonim, do you want to hold Yoona?” you heard your husband ask your father who had been silently watching. 

  “Yeah, Appa, do you want to play with her?” you asked, picking up the baby to give to your father but he grunted and shook his head. 

  So you hang your head in disappointment and held Yoona up to your face to kiss her chubby cheeks in case she was also hurt by the rejection.  But really, it was your way of comforting another in hopes of distracting yourself from the blow.  Upset, you turned around and sat back down beside your mother.  Just as you do, your husband stood up, walked over, took Yoona from your arms, and placed her onto your father’s lap.  The middle-aged man, looked up at his son-in-law stunned but then softened when Yoona cooed and bounced up and down joyfully in his hold.  A rare smile crept on his face and tears brimmed in your eyes.  Jongin sat down next to you with an arm around your shoulder. 

  You leaned your head into his chest and whispered, “Thank you”.  Squeezing your hand, he shook his head to defer the credit so you rewarded him a gentle peck on the cheek. 

  “_______ah, I have something to give Yoona, come upstairs with me,” your mother spoke. 

  “Oh no, Omma.  She’s already super spoiled,” you informed but your mother was stubborn.  So you nodded and followed her up, curious as to what the present was. 

  Midway down the second floor hall, you started to feel a bit homesick.  After all, this place was where you spent the first twenty-two years of your life.  It was where you took your first step, rode your first bicycle, cried when you failed your chemistry exam…etc.  Unknowingly, you stopped in front of your princess room and peeped in.  Everything was still the same –  the pastel pink walls, lace curtains, and princess chair.  You giggled recalling the time Jongin barged in to check on you after you had forgotten to give him a call after you got home.  We will meet again someday, thank you for being my escape for these twenty-two years.  I have found my home with Oppa and Yoona now.  With a contented sigh, you closed the door.

  As your mother dug through her drawers searching for the mysterious gift for your daughter, you waited outside to not pressure her.  That’s when your eye discovered that your father’s office door wasn’t locked.  Growing up, it was like some forbidden area that no one – not even your mother was allowed in.  Curiosity killed the cat.  Tiptoeing, you took a peep through the slit.  That’s when you saw it.  Instantly, a tear rolled down your face.  You opened the door and without your consent, your legs guided you forward to the image that captivated your attention earlier.  In the center of the room was a painting, oh so nobly framed in this gorgeous glass and crystal border.  But it wasn’t just any painting – it was “The Puppet”, your first ever work of art that got officially displayed at an art gallery.  Your husband had informed you that immediately following its exhibition, an anonymous buyer had purchased it for a large sum of money.  Never in a million years would you have guessed it was your one and only father.

  Your lips quivered and your face was immediately swamped in tears.  Lifting your hand, your fingers grazed along the painting.  Under it was a label that read, “My Precious Daughter, ________’s Masterpiece”. 

  “Appa…” your voice cracked and your shoulders shook. 

  Your attention turned to the other walls of his office, that were lined with other drawings and pictures, a few of them dating to when you were just the tender age of three.  It was a sloppy crayon drawing you did for a preschool assignment called, “My Family”.  Walking over to another wall, you sobbed seeing a ripped up painting that was taped carefully back together and framed in a delicate diamond border.  It was the watercolor landscape you drew and submitted to an Art Academy secretly, behind your father’s back, when you were applying for colleges.  When he found out, he had angrily torn it up and threatened to disown you if you dared diverge from the path of business he had intended you to walk.  But why was it here?  You wiped your tears to squint at the letters underneath.  “A Father’s Heartbreaking Decision,” it read.  You burst into tears. 

  “Waaaa waaa waaaa,” a baby’s cry caught your attention. 

  Gasping, you turned around to see Jongin with Yoona in his arms.  Next to him was your father.  Upon realizing you noticed him, he instantaneously turned to leave. 

  “Abonim!” Jongin called.

  “Appa!” you called too, racing out of the room to chase him. 

  He stopped in his tracks with his back facing you. 

  “Appa…” you called out again, slowly walking toward him. 

  From his shaking shoulders, you could tell he was crying.  So to give him face, you stopped a foot away from him and didn’t force him to turn around. 

  “…I really…really didn’t know you kept all my artwork…” you began tearfully.

  Swallowing, he cleared his throat and said with a cracked voice, “I didn’t want you to find out”.

  “But why?  I don’t understand Appa…I thought you said my art was worthless…” you sobbed. 

  “Appa…Appa was selfish,” he admitted, “To insure that my company would survive generation after generation…I sacrificed my one and only daughter’s happiness…not only her marriage but also her passion and talent”. 

  By then, you were already bawling a river.  Beside you, Jongin squeezed you shoulder.  You looked up at him with watery eyes.  He gave you a reassuring nod and a gentle push for you to walk forward.  So you did.  With quivering lips, you placed your hand on your father’s arm.  His body stiffened.  Slowly, you wrapped your arms around him. 

  “Thank you, Appa,” you sobbed. 

  For the first time he turned to you and you finally saw the extent of his break down.  His eyes were bloodshot red and her facial features sagged. 

  “No…you shouldn’t—“ he spoke.

  “No, I should.  Growing up, I was under the illusion that you thought my art was not good enough.  But now I know.  Thank you.  And because of you, I have found my eternal happiness with Jongin-oppa and Yoona,” you responded, tightening you hug around him. 

  He was silent for the next few minutes but gradually, he brought his hand up and patted your shoulder.  It wasn’t a lot but it was enough to show you that he cared and his actions against you growing up were all out of love.  With one last squeeze, you removed yourself from him.  Turning around, you realized that not only was Jongin and your daughter witnessing the father-daughter interaction, your mother had seen it all play out as well.  She wiped the tears that brimmed in her eyes and walked up to your with a velvet box in her hand. 

  “Here it is.  Your father picked it out,” she informed.

  “No, I didn’t,” you father immediately countered, fidgeting nervously. 

  “Yes, he did,” your mother corrected. 

  You sighed in anticipation and took the box from her hands.  Inside was a pair of golden anklets with bells.  You squinted your eyes and picked up the one that looked visibly worn out.  Inside was a deep engraving of your name. 

  “_______ah, do you remember that?  It was yours when you were a baby. Your father kept it to this day.  After you gave birth, he searched everywhere for a blacksmith who would make a replica for your daughter”, your mother informed.

  Holding back tears, you held the other anklet up to your eyes to see “Kim Yoona” engraved into the inside.  You held it up to your chest, sobbing. 

  Jongin walked over with Yoona and asked, “Abonim, do you want to help Yoon-ie put it on?”

  Biting your lip, you looked from your daughter to your father.  A whimper managed to escape when the older man blinked back tears, stepped forward, and took the anklet from your hands.  His body trembled but with determination, he gently slipped it onto the baby’s foot. 

  “Waa, so pretty, right Yoon-ie?” Jongin said, bouncing her up and down.  She squirmed around causing the bells to jingle. 

  Your father sighed and turned to leave but you called after him.  Holding out the box that contained your anklet, you asked, “Appa, do you want to keep it?” 

  He looked up to stop the tears from falling.  A wide grin spread across his face and he placed his hands over yours that held the box, “I’d love to”. 

  You threw your arms around him again.              

  -----

  One day as you were taking your sweet time soaking in a bubble bath, Jongin barged in to relieve his bladder.  You gasped, covering your body shyly.  Really…why were you that shy…Your heart raced in an insane speed, roaming over his body. 

  “Sorry, Jagiya, I really need to go.  I’ll be quick,” he apologized.

  After using the toilet, he turned around to leave but you slid open the glass shower door and popped your head out.

  “Oppa…do you want to stay?” you asked bashfully.

  His hand hovered over the doorknob, seemingly debating whether to stay or to leave. 

  “Oppa…” you called out seductively. 

  In seconds, you watched him strip down, tossing his clothes randomly all throughout the restroom as if creating a trail all the way from the door to the bathtub you were in. 

  ※               ※             ��   ※

    You huffed and puffed.  Sweet drops trickled down your forehead, down to the crook of your neck, stopping on the valley between your breasts.  Jongin teasingly licked it off with his tongue.  You groaned and he smirked. 

  “Stop teasing me…” you whined. 

  “Okay, Babe.  Ready for another round then?” he said lustfully. 

  Your eyes rolled back in pleasure as his bare skin touched yours.  A shiver ran down your spine like electric currents.  You clawed his back when he slipped inside of you. 

  “Oppaa…” you called out, bending your back forward to get closer against his body. 

  Flexing his neck, he flirtatiously grazed his lips against yours. 

  “You’re teasing meeeee,” you whined, grasping a fistful of his hair to keep him steady so you could kiss him back. 

  A moan escaped your lips when his tongue crept into your mouth. 

  And then suddenly, a loud wail sounded through the baby walkie-talkie monitor.  You blinked, confused and hazed at first from your lovemaking to recognize what was happening.  But when you did remember, you tapped on Jongin’s shoulder to get his attention. 

  “Yoona,” you managed to say in between a kiss. 

  “Should I go get it?” Jongin asked, still hovering over you, his hips still thrusting up and down. 

  “No, I can,” you replied, though you’d honestly much rather continue what you were doing. 

  Just as you were leaning over to grab your top, Yoona’s cries ceased.  Puzzled, both Jongin and you froze in place. 

  “I got it.  You two can continue doing…uh…whatever you were doing,” your mother-in-law’s voice shouted from outside the room. 

  “Oh my God,” you mouthed to Jongin but all he did was chuckle in delight. 

  “Guess we can go a few more rounds tonight then, Babe,” he leaned in to suck on your lower lips.  You’re such a teaseee you sex god. 

  But you always fell for his trap – always.     

  ※               ※                 ※

      On a Sunny afternoon, two months later, Jongin and you were sitting on the bed flipping through tourist magazines.  You knew you wanted to go somewhere romantic for your make up Honey Moon.

  “How about San Franciso?” Jongin suggested but you shook your head.

  “Nah, that place is so foggy!” you commented.

  Smirking, he draped an arm around your waist and seductively whispered, “You know what we can do in all that fog?”  Omg.  Oh no you didn’t, bad boy. 

  You felt the temperature rise up from your toes to the top of your head.  Taking the magazine into both your hands, you fanned it to lower your body temperature.  But Jongin, held onto your wrist to stop you. 

  “You know, I can easily help you with that instead,” he slurred.

  You bent your head back when he nibbled your ear.  Kim Jongin, you life ruiner!!!  And somehow within seconds, he was already on top of you, licking your lips to tempt you to fall into his trap again.  And you willingly fell.  But a sudden knot in the pit of your stomach caused you to push him away.  Covering your mouth, you dashed into the bathroom and threw up into the toilet.  Oh crap.  Kim Jongin, you did not…

   Your husband quickly sprinted into the restroom to check on you. 

  “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, his tone so much more serious than the one he used in bed. 

  Clutching your stomach, you continued to vomit into the toilet bowl.  Grimacing beside you, Jongin patted your back, hoping it’d make you feel better.  When you were done, you immediately flipped through the calendar looking for familiar red stars that you stuck on each month as record.  But you hadn’t marked anything this month.  With your mouth agape, you turned around to look at your hubby. 

  “What?” he asked confused at your expression. 

  “Kim Jongin…you did not…” you gritted your teeth. 

  “I did not what?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. 

  Shaking your head, you dug in the cabinets for a pregnancy test.  You never thought you’d be putting those to use so quickly.  Jongin’s eyes widened.

  “Jagiya…you’re not…” he began and you sent him a death glare. 

              So for the next ten minutes, the two of you waited quietly in the bathroom.  At first you were so angry and miserable that there was a possibility of #2 coming so fast after you had just gotten through the first pregnancy.  Well, and the fact that your husband had promised you a Honey Moon to make up for the one you guys missed because you got pregnant and had to cancel the first one.  But as the clock ticked, your frown gradually flipped upside down.  There were so many people in this world dying to have children but couldn’t and if God trusted you enough to gift you another little angel, then you’d be more than happy. 

  You looked up to glance at Jongin and realized he’d been silently observing you.  His face was filled with remorse and guilt. 

  Laughing, you asked, “What’s with the sad face?”

  “I’m not going to forgive myself if I got you pregnant so fast again,” he grunted. 

  With a contented sigh, you got up from the toilet seat and walked over to sit on the edge of the bathtub, next to Jongin. 

  “You know…Oppa…maybe it’s not such a bad idea.  At this rate, I’ll be done giving birth to our six children by the age of thirty!” you chirped, hugging his arm. 

  “But I promised you I’d take you on your vacation,” he sighed. 

  “Yeah, Kim Jongin you better not forget that.  I better get to go on a world tour after #2,” you joked. 

  Your husband’s spirits lifted seeing that you weren’t upset anymore.  The timer buzzed on your phone to notify you that the results were out.  Jongin and you exchanged looks of anticipation.  Closing your eyes, you said a little prayer. 

  Two lines.  A wide grin spread across your face. 

  “Yay, our Baby Rockstar is on board!” you exclaimed happily. 

  Next to you, Jongin sighed again and leaned in to kiss you on your cheek.

  “I’m sorry, Jagiya,” he apologized. 

  Frowning, you turned around and gave him a stern look, “I’m not angry at all…but if you continue to have that depressed look on your face then I will be.  I will come to the conclusion that you don’t want me or the baby”.

  “No!  No, that’s not what I meant at all,” he said defensively. 

  Smiling, you took both of his hands into yours and said, “Then let’s go celebrate!!”

  Jongin chuckled, thankful for your optimism.  You dragged him downstairs to share the good news with your mother-in-law, who you knew would be thrilled to learn that she was about to have another grandchild to play with. 

  Midway, your husband stopped you.  With a sigh, he gazed into your eyes.  You looked back into his.  Effortlessly, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear and subsequentially leaned in to give you a tender, loving kiss.  You kissed him back with just as much love. 

  “Jagiya, I really love you,” he confessed, “Like really, really”.

  “And I really, really, really love you too,” you replied, tiptoeing to give him another kiss. 

  When you two separated, he nuzzled his nose against yours. 

  “…But…I’m ready to add another ring to my collection,” you joked, pointing at the two that sat on your ring finger.  Hehe. 

  “Your wish is my command,” he slurred before closing the distance between your lips again. 

  You giggled into the kiss, feeling oh so, so blessed to have gone through the whirlwind of events to lead up to this point time where if someone asked you to describe in one word, you would simply reply with, “Happiness”.          

              a/n: ~CRIES A RIVER~ THANK YOU ALL MY LITTLE UNICORNS AND BUNNIES <3 >3< It has been an amazing journey with you guys through Temporary Affairs!!! o(╥﹏╥)o

  Jongin & his super sperms though haha.  & Youngna/ Yoonwoo ship sailing already when they’re only babies gahhhh legit love at first sight!!!  (▰˘◡˘▰)

  NOW WHO’S READY FOR BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION?!  WHERE ARE MY TAO BIASES?!?!  RAISE YOUR HANDS!!  SHOOT ME A MESSAGE!!!! 

  Also, a reminder to please, please vote for EXO in MAMA Awards.  Click here for post I talk about it: VOTE VOTE VOTE.   

 ????