#i think they were tucked behind a radiator and fell out when i removed a towel off of it

[kaijubrains]

I got home, and there was a pile of those tiny ziplock bags one might put pot in, just sitting on the floor of my bathroom.

I live alone and have never bought these empty bags

I think my house is haunted by a fucking weed ghost

[ghostisun]

cw: smut; group sex; water ghouls have pussies; consensual objectification; knots; brief aftercare

i dont even have an explanation for this :D

[head in my hands] do you think omega and aether conspire together as a form of their own bond?

✧･ﾟ how they gravitate to each other in a way that isn’t reminiscent of their other bonds, so it trickles into this yawning desire that they share? it’s instantaneous, unsaid—there are no explanations to whatever it may be; it just is.

✧･ﾟ how omega tells aether that he’ll teach aether how to seek pleasure? so he pulls delta in his room and aether drags dewdrop with him into omega’s den, and there’s this building tension that the two water ghouls could feel—it ripples so strongly, making the hair on the backs of their necks rise up.

("just say the word and we'll stop," omega murmured, breathing into delta's cool skin.

delta chuckled, feeling ticklish at the brushing caress of omega's lips, before turning around to meet the older ghoul's eyes.

"i trust you," they say. their voice was faint, a tender rasp, but it had omega's lips wobbling, his heart fluttering from within the cages of his ribs.

he pulled delta into his arms, unable to stop himself from feeling his beloved—every ridge, every tremble, every puff of their breaths. omega devoured them all.)

delta tries to be quiet, to blend into the background, because they've learned now that there are times that omega sheds his gentleness. and right now, right here with the new summons, delta knows that omega was radiating levels of danger that they were just at the precipice of being intimate with.

✧･ﾟ how omega and aether use the water ghouls like cocksleeves. they ignore the quiet sobs spilling from the bodies on their laps as they croon and coo to each other, not breaking eye contact despite the wet and hot plunge of their cocks in the water ghouls' cunts.

"if you twist your hand like this- yes, aeth just like that," omega sings, his voice petering into a pleasured hiss as he watches his beloved aether slide a finger in dew's cunt, all snug beside his cock—it is a perfect mirror to how omega has delta whimpering at the tight stretch of his cock and his pinky.

"do you like it like this, 'mega?" aether murmurs, his cheeks filling up with warmth when the familiar feeling of omega's quintessence brushes against his.

"i do, baby boy," omega rumbles, pride dripping from his maw. "you're doing so, so well for me."

✧･ﾟ how delta begs and whimpers, and dewdrop hisses and thrashes, their desires crashing, building; their bliss is almost mind-numbing, electrifying, razing through them as they slip further into the fog, but omega and aether continue to ignore them. the quintessence ghouls continue to exist for each other, suspended in their own element, leaving the water ghouls to feel every drag, every slide.

aether is the first to knot dew.

("it won't hurt," aether mumbled, cheeks tingling at the intensity of dew's gaze. "i swear to lucifer."

dew snorted. "that's not a concern, aeth, you know i trust you."

he roused from his spot on the bed, crawling to aether's side, not realizing how the weight of his words knocked all of the air out of aether's lungs.

dew curled on his side, nuzzling his face on the crook of aether's neck. "i can't wait to fuck you when 'mega's got you pumped of his quintessence."

aether shifted, tugging so dew was on top of him; his chin fell between the valley of aether's pecs. there was something intense in the way dew was watching him, his pale cheeks all bright with his lust and his eyes sparkling as though he was barely holding himself in.

he tucked a strand of dew's hair behind his ear, smiling. "i can't wait too, droplet.")

omega makes aether beg for his knot.

✧･ﾟ how omega and aether come down from their high and waft the fog away from their beloveds.

omega removes delta from his lap, soft quintessence magicking their soreness away. he murmurs praises, his words packed with all of his affection, and nuzzles his face on delta's so they can scent him. he scents delta too, of course, and peppers them with kisses, from their shoulders to the back of their palms, leaving bursts of his scent along every inch of delta's skin.

aether shifts on the bed, knowing that dewdrop wants to come out of the quintessence still stuffed by aether. so as he waits, he wipes the two of them clean, crooning wordless nothings in dewdrop's ears. it weren't words that calmed dew, that's what they both learned, but it was the sound of aether's voice. so that's what he does, whispering everything and anything to greet dew with as he wakes.

✧･ﾟ how the two of them meet eyes above their loves, shooting each other crinkled smiles, their quintessence tangling with each other.

[sionisjaune]

After a secret is revealed brocedes!

Nico burst inside the lab, the panels of his white coat flapping furiously behind him. 

“You,” he said, ripping a spare pair of safety goggles from the rack near the door and shoving them over his head. He stalked over to Lewis’s bench and slammed his palms down on the table. Lewis’s glassware rattled, and the spongy surface of the gel medium he was inspecting quivered underneath the microscope. 

“You got the Lauda Award,” said Nico. His face was flushed, and his hair was in disarray, barely mollified by the band of his safety goggles. “What happened to applying together, Lewis? We had a plan.”

Lewis nudged the petri dish out from under the lens and capped it, setting it to the side. Now that Nico was here, his work was certainly done for the day. “I decided to go for it.” 

“Ugh,” said Nico, an ugly noise in his throat. He carded a hand through his hair, freeing several locks from the confines of his goggles. His hair fell over his face in a floppy sheet, exactly like it had when he and Lewis were fifteen. Lewis watched him shake silently with rage and resentment, shivering like a malfunctioning machine. Eventually he produced a packet of folded papers from the pocket of his coat. He shook the paper in front of Lewis's face. “HAM4 transcription factor misfolding is related to muscle function in adults with cerebral palsy.” Nico’s whole face was screwed up, like he was tasting something sour. “Since when do you even work on this?”

Lewis's heart skipped a beat and began to race, blood pounding anxiously in his ears. He busied his hands flipping the microscope off. Nico was accusing him of keeping his research secret as if Nico didn’t close his laptop whenever Lewis walked behind his desk on the way to make tea—as if Nico didn’t shut the door to Toto’s office when he was in there, so that Lewis couldn’t hear them down the hall. As if their days of sharing crib sheets and editing each other’s papers weren't already a decade in the past.

“Where did you get that?” said Lewis, standing from the stool. He shoved the cover over the microscope and lifted the petri dish to return it to the incubator.  

“You really should lock your desk,” said Nico, eyes dark.  

Lewis blinked, and paused where he was, halfway across the lab. He spun around, petri dish in hand. “Let me get this straight,” said Lewis. “You’re accusing me of breaching your trust when you stole my research from my desk?”

“We had a plan,” Nico whined. It really was whining. Lewis used to think it was sexy, how Nico’s voice climbed to a woman’s breathless octave when he wanted something badly. “Fuck, Lewis,” he said. “One more year, and then we were going to do it together.” Lewis watched him make a big show of damning the lab safety protocols and removing his goggles to rub at his angry eyes. “It’s fucking over, now.” 

“We shouldn’t be collaborating anyway,” said Lewis, shaking. He turned back around to finish putting the tissue culture away. It was better if he didn't have to stare at Nico’s red face. “Our fields are diverging. We’re only going to slow each other down.” 

“I’m not talking about collaborating,” said Nico, coldly. “We’re done. Find a new apartment, and find a new fucking boyfriend. You seem to like that geeky post-grad just fine—maybe he’ll fuck you and let you leech off of his grant too.” 

Nico turned around and walked out in the same way he had entered, in a giant, theatrical flurry, flinging his goggles and Lewis’s research at the ground. The door slammed shut after him, and Lewis was left kneeling in front of the incubator, warmth radiating through the little glass window in the front, his dish of muscle cell culture tucked gently inside.

His research fluttered to the floor, a snowstorm of text and tables, and settled on the vermiculite. Some dreams died. Lewis decided he could live with that.

[twinkleimagines]

*Let me please you *

You’re a virgin and Rafe wants to show you what it feels to have an orgasm without taking your virginity.

Warning ⚠️ smut and language

Not proofread

Rafe had always admired you. You guys were the same age, same schools but completely different clicks. your parents were rich yes, but you didn’t act anything like a kook. You were quiet, shy. Never once put a single bit of make up on.

You had a natural beauty that radiated off of you for miles. which was what first caught his eye. Rafe being the kook king though , so popular in the crowds, he never really gave you the time of day. yanno, reputation and all- not that you were seeking it out anyways.

You were definitely one of the girls that were considered nerdy. you spent most your time with your nose in your book or at home. you didn’t go to parties, you didn’t wear make up, you didn’t have a boyfriend and you really didn’t have friends. 

Believe it or not though Rafe had definitely noticed you multiple times throughout the years. You were one of those girls that when he looked at you, you just looked so innocent and pure which if we’re being honest that’s exactly what you were and something about that just had him hooked to you. You were always so distracted that you never even realized the Kook king Admiring you from afar.

But now it’s the summer after your senior year and Rafe himself couldn’t stay away from you. It all started one morning when you both ran into each other at a coffee shop where you accidentally spilled your drink on him.

And honestly if it were anyone else he would’ve flipped his shit, probably cuss you out and make a big scene but when he looked down to see you, you’re innocent big (y/c/e) eyes and your loose curls tucked behind your ear as you frantically apologized for ruining his shirt, something in him switched and all He wanted to do was just hug you and protect you from the world.

Which He had done that ever since. He spent a little while talking to you at the coffee shop and managed to get you outside of your comfort zone, only a few months later becoming official in a relationship. 

So now we are here today. At this point you and Rafe have been together almost 6 months now. You knew what type of guy he was but the way he was with you was like a whole different side of him and you had honestly fell in love with him. nobody realize how infatuated he really was with artistic stuff like you and how intelligent he really was when it came to business. It was always hidden behind his partying Ways and fighting that nobody really paid attention to him like you did.

 you laid with your back propped up against Rafes headboard with a book in your lap as you silently read through the pages when Rafe walked in, his eyes landing on you.

“What are you reading ?” he asked. you sighed before lifting the book up slightly so he could read the back not breaking your trance from the page. 

“Oh” he responded quietly before placing himself next to you in the bed. He sighed heavily as you felt his fingertips trail up your thigh, gently running up and down as he watched you intensely as your eyes scanned the words across each page. 

“You’re so beautiful” he spoke out grabbing your attention. You glanced at him through the corner of your eye before going back to your book replying with a soft ‘thank you’. Hey grinned before placing his lips against your arm that he once had his head laying on. you furrowed your eyebrows together as you tried to continue focusing on the story in you book, only having to go back over the same paragraph because you didn't pay attention the first time.

  you sat for a second trying to continue reading your book but at this point it was no use because of his actions and how much they were distracting you. You finally caved in and put your book down on the nightstand before turning to the side facing him, giving him a sly smile. He smiled at the invitation before he sat up and placed his lips against yours. they were soft and plum, the taste of peanuts from his snack earlier still lingering on his tongue. Your moaned softly against his lips as he pulled you closer to him by your hips. you felt his hand rolling closer to an area thats never been touched by him (or anyone) so you jumped slightly before pulling your lips away from his.

“im sorry” he quickly spoke out, pulling his hand away. “you okay?”

 Rafe knew that you were a virgin.  it was one of the things that he loved about you. It wasn’t a goal of his to take your virginity or anything but he did love the idea that he was going to get to be the one to show you all the pleasures and be your first with everything. He loved knowing how innocent and pure you were and it gave him all the more reason to be protective over you. 

“Yeah I’m okay” you responded pushing some of your hair behind your ear. 

He sat for a second looking at you. Even though his eyes were staring into yours, you could tell he was deep in thought.

“ I have an idea, if you’re up for it” he finally spoke out breaking the silence. you felt your heart flutter as you heard the words fall from his lips. your mind quickly began racing, thinking of all the possible things he would want to try at this moment, 

  you knew at one point in time Rafe would want to take things further. He defiantly had his fair share in women, and you were surprised he had lasted this long without trying to go further than just make out sessions with you. but by now you had fantasized on what it would be like to go further  with him as well. 

“ I know you want to save and wait on your virginity” he responded breaking your train of thought. “ but what if there’s other ways I can make you still feel good without going to that level?” he offered, his voice soft and gentle.

You bit your bottom lip with nervousness as his large but soft hand caressed your thigh, rubbing back and forth with comfort. The only thing you guys have ever done this whole time was kiss and grope each other. You’ve never even experience and orgasm. Not even by yourself. You sat and hesitated for a second, questioning yourself if you were ready to take things further.  you were almost 20 at this point and you were very happy with the Rafe, so much that you didn’t even see the possibility of you guys not being together. 

you finally nodded giving him approval. he smiled widely at you, satisfaction radiating through him knowing that he was finally going to be able to please you in some way . 

“What are you going to do?” you asked, your palms getting sweaty from nerves.  He shook his head before placing his hand on the side of your face, rubbing gently circles with his thumb.

“ I just want you to relax princess.”

Rafe placed his lips back against yours before hovering over you, causing you to lean back, your head landing on his pillow. .

he placed one of his legs in-between yours, Your eyes widening as you felt his knee press against you applying pressure. you moved your hips slightly, feeling your body crave for that feeling again.  You gasped slightly as you realized he had done it on purpose when his knee continued moving back-and-forth against you. Your mouth stood wide open as your eyes close feeling the movement from Rafe.

“does that feel good baby?” he questioned staring down at you as if if he was a painter and  you were his own painting.

You bit your lip before nodding slightly opening your eyes to make contact with his.

‘Here come here’ he said before removing himself from above you, propping himself up against the headboard. “Sit on my lap” he instructed. you hesitated for a second before obliging. He tugged on your pajama shorts pulling them against your heated core before pulling you up against his crotch by your hips. 

‘Just do like this princess” he insisted as he applied pressure against your bottom with his hand pulling you forward towards him. You grinded youirself against him until your hips were touching his before he pushed back against on you, making you slide back down. he watched your face for any type of expression before repeating the movements once again pulling you forward towards him. 

You felt uncomfortable at first, not so much that you weren’t enjoying it but just because you had never done anything like this before and you weren’t sure if you were making a fool of yourself or not. But the feeling you were getting felt so good that you didn’t want to stop regardless of how you looked so you continue moving your hips against him. At first your movements were slow- your hips grinding against his very prominent Boner in between your legs as you slid up and down it. 

 you mumbled a few ‘fuck’s and ‘God!’ out , as well as Rafe’s name as your thighs slightly trembling around him.. Rafe  Pulled your hair away from your face so he could watch you. your eyes squinted shut as your mouth gaped open, moans slipping out. It felt good to him as well even though he wasn't inside you, but just watching you unfold on top of him beat any orgasm he’s ever had. 

“feels good doesn’t it princess?” he groaned out as your movements against him began to speed up. 

“ yes Rafe” you moan out loudly. even though you took Rafe by surprise at your outburst, he almost came undone right then and there. He had never seen this side of you and it was the hottest thing he had ever seen. 

“ it feels so good”  you breathed out, your arms placed over his shoulders as your hands tugged on his hair.  your hips were moving faster faster before soon started to feel this tingly feeling and the bottom of your stomach. it was definitely an unfamiliar feeling but it felt so amazing and it gave you a feeling of you needed to keep going as your climax was building up.

Rafe could tell you were getting close as your moans became uncontrollably consistent, and your body rocking against his became fast and rough, which Rafe was to just as close just by the feeling of you dry humping him and the sight of you. 

“Oh my God I think I’m cumming!” you cried out as you felt your clit throbbing. this unexplainable feeling rushed through your lower abdomen causing your hips to jolt forward a few times as you rode out your high. your hips finally came to a halt as you tried to catch your breath.  you laid your forehead against rafes before chuckling slightly, almost lost for words as to what you had just done.

“ Wow” was all you could say causing Rafe to laugh loudly while nodding.

“ I know princess, you're amazing” he praised. you shifted slightly against him before looking up in confusion as you still felt a hard Boner pressed against you. 

“wait, did you finish?” you asked.

Rafe shook his head no and you sat for a second with confusion. After the way he had just made you feel, you wanted to repay him by getting him off as well, but with you being so unexperienced you honestly had no clue what to do for him. 

“well what can I do?” you finally asked, pushing your curls behind your ear once again, another little thing you did that turned him on.

“You don’t have to do anything princess I was doing this for you” he said shaking his head. “ I wanted you to feel good.” you grinned shyly lowering your hand as you thought back to a few moments ago when you practically dry humped your boyfriend to an orgasm.

“Well I did feel good and I want to repay you, if you’ll let me” you offered with pleading eyes.

He sat for a second, this time him being the one to think it through. of course he wanted you to do stuff to him, but he didn't want to make you feel pressured. the thought of you wanting to please him willingly made his dick jump in his jeans. he finally looked you in the eyes, a nod following shortly after. 

“only if you want to princess” he responded. he waited patiently for you to assure him that you really wanted to do this before he pulled his long hard member out of his pants.

Throughout the 6 months that you have been together, this was the first time you had actually seen it. Not that Rafe was hiding himself, but he just felt it was best for when you were actually ready. you have felt it of course but seeing that now, you were flabbergasted.

“You’re huge rafe” you blurted out with your eyes wide. He laughed at your cuteness from the outburst that had caused your cheeks to turn cherry red. “Come here” he spoke softly, his hand grabbing ahold of yours.

“ I’ll show you what you can do” he said before placing your hand around his member,  his hand helping guide yours along his cock

“. Does it feel good?” you asked, your eyes focused very intensely on his expressions, needing clarification since you hadn't a clue what to do.  Rafe nodded while leaning his head back some, his eyes lowering.

“ yes princess” he said, his voice soft and comforting. He’s had plenty of hand jobs before, but it was different when it was yours. He  just had so much love for you at this point. You were the first girl he had ever spent time with and was in a relationship with that didn't include sex, which made you bond even more. The love he had for you was like no other, and so was the feeling of your hand around him right now. 

You bit your lip as you continued to pump your hand around him, squeezing slightly and twisting your hands in circles. Even though you had never watched porn or you had never personally done any of this yourself, you had read a lot of books that would sometimes go in detail into their sex scenes. You tried basing it off of what you had read, and by reading Rafe’s face, it was clear he was enjoying it.

You ran your thumb over his tip causing him to twitching your hands leaving a smirk on your face as you watched his breath hitch in the back of his throat>

“You’re doing so good princess” he praised. you sat for a second as you hesitated your next move before finally just lowering your head, wrapping your lips around him.  at this point Rafe was in complete shock seeing you build the confidence to please him the way you were. You were doing so good even though you had no prior experience.

“ princess your mouth feels so good” he groaned out, his voice deep and low. Your moaned slightly as you felt his fingers run through your hair pushing down slightly.

You weren’t sure why you were so nervous before but now that you were actually doing it and watching how much you were pleasing Rafe turned you on more than you have ever been in your entire life and you didn’t want to stop.  you continue bobbing your head up and down, your hand following in the same motion as Rafe continued to moan and praise you for your actions.

"baby I’m gonna to cum”  he breathe out his hips slightly bucking up into your mouth hitting the back of your throat. you gagged slightly, your throat clenching aorund him.

“Fuck baby girl” he groaned out as his member started to twitch. you could feel him tugging on your hair trying to pull your head up but with all the confidence you had and the adrenaline, you kept your head lowered down on him. your lips were almost touching his pelvic bone, his tip deep in the back of your throat. you held your breath as you tried not to gag but the clenching from your throat immediately set Rafe’s orgasm off, his warm load shooting down the back of your throat. your eyes widened for a second as you tasted a thick warm salty substance fill in your mouth. Rafe bucked his hips in your mouth a few more times before his hips came to a complete stop. You lifted your head up slowly ,  your mind racing about what you had just done as Rafe watched you, making sure you were okay with what had just happened.

 his member immediately got hard again when you looked up at him through your eyelashes, slowly wiping the side of your mouth off from the saliva that was placed on the side of your lips.

“ God princess you’re just so perfect.” Rafe said. He stared at you and thought about all the other things he wanted to do to you. he wanted to taste you and feel himself inside you but it was much more satisfying to him knowing that you willingly wanted to do these things with him and he that didn’t force you to do anything. Knowing that you waited all these years and he got to be the one to finally let you experience it was the biggest flex he had on himself. It brought a warm feeling in his heart. 

“Did you like it?” he asked after he cleaned himself off placing his member back in his pants. You nodded before looking down with a shy smile as your cheeks turning cherry red.

“ I did I really did” you responded before laying yourself down next to him, placing your head on his chest.

“ maybe we can even do some more later tonight”  you offered causing a big grin to form across his face.

****

Maybe part 2???

✨feedback , like and reblog is greatly appreciated 💗✨



[lantsovsupremacist]

nikolai lantsov: currents

warnings: nikolai lantsov being the best man ever wouldn’t you know 🙄☝️

spoilers: set during king of scars but no major spoilers!!!

you looked up from the paperwork strewn about the desk situated in a far corner of the war room. tucked away here, you would never be the first target. some might call it paranoia or chalk it up to the trauma of the civil war, but you simply preferred a spot to observe quietly in the shadows.

toyla and tamar followed the king inside, nodding at zoya, genya, and david surrounding you.

“oh. it’s you. it’s all of you. i...” the man, or more likely boy, who skittered into the room spoke in a squeaky tone, “an absolute honor. a dream, really.”

briefly meeting nikolai’s eyes as he turned around from shutting the door behind him, you transferred your line of sight to the figure now bowing at your feet. zoya scoffed, eyes rolling to the heavens. genya and david shared a cohesive frown.

dropping the pen from your hand, you pushed your hair over your shoulders and straightened. you listened thoughtfully as he gave an introduction to each of your fellow grisha, recounting his apparent conclusions of them. when he treaded the sparkling waters that were genya, your face began to drop into anger.

“the first tailor, who bears the marks of the darkling’s blessing.”

her flinch did not go unnoticed by you. and as the only one whose temper rivaled yours kept hers in check, you failed to. the pressure immediately began to decrease in the room and the air dry of any moisture. nikolai’s head whipped up, perhaps the one most familiar with your temperament (other than zoya in your shared youth—never happy to be on the receiving end of a soaked kefta in class).

his hands flew up, taking a step towards you, bartering with any position he could gain. your fierce protection over genya was not unknown to those close to you, a flaw in the monk’s faulty perception. you let your shoulders fall, calming any potential downpour.

if yuri noticed your show of power, he made no move to address it, “ravka’s most powerful tide maker. oh the stories of how the darkling sanctioned you with the power to drown men on land.”

you froze but not because of a lie. his words were all true. the darkling hand selected you for this special training at age eleven. you allowed the legend to transpire, protecting you much like kaz brekker, dirtyhands of ketterdam. this was not a lore you would repeat with starry eyes and dreams of an otherworldly fantasy. none of the lives you had been forced to take before jumping ship to join sturmhond during the civil war could be washed away.

for all of your hard edges and brutal words, there were chinks in your armor that could not be hidden. tamar and toyla brought a hand to their weapons in startling unison. zoya’s eyes called out for yours.

nikolai’s features immediately darkened, an eclipse shadowing the usual light in his eyes. he rose from his chair slowly, exhibiting all of the power that he had inherited.

the shameless monk managed to hold himself upright but the unchecked tremble of his fingers exposed the fear instilled by the king’s actions.

“if i ever hear of her name—any of their names—leaving your mouth again,” nikolai began, his words sharper than the edge of his sword, “for any purpose in any country,” nikolai paused to watch yuri shrink under his steady gaze, “there will be nothing left for your believers to mourn into martyrdom.”

you held your chin high, your eyes twin daggers poised to launch across the room and eagerly embed themselves in a target. the ire in your chest began to subside upon witnessing yuri’s response to your boyfriend’s threats, only to be readily replaced by a flush of desire as his hazel eyes sharpened.

breaking eye contact with the monk who could not decide where to offer his, you glanced about the room. zoya had steeled herself beside you, radiating enough anger to address each of yuri’s mislead and misspoken opinions. even david’s face appeared from behind the book in his hands, though he kept his page by leaving it open to rest on his lap.

“am i correct in my assumption that you have heard me clearly,” nikolai’s voice carried across the walls, not quite commanding any longer but instead demanding the attention of those stood inside.

“y-yes your highness,” yuri stumbled out weakly as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his wiry nose.

after finishing up matters with your friends, nikolai took off out of the room, glancing back to make sure you intended to follow. you fell in step behind him, remaining quiet until you reached the stairs leading up to his chambers.

“i could have handled him, you know,” you pressed nikolai, hands repeatedly flexing and unflexing as they brushed against the sides of your blue kefta. your tone held no anger, simply indicating a truth.

nikolai drummed his fingers against the railing, pausing before turning back to face you, “of course you could have, love, but where’s the fun in that for me?”

you appreciated his willingness to defend your honor but the playfulness in his tone felt forced. he did not even make an attempt at his trademark smile imbued by charm and confidence. you decided in that moment that you would do to see it’s safe return.

“nik,” you spoke, repeating yourself after the absence of an answer, “nik.” your hand finding its way into his own hanging limply at his side.

“do you really see yourself in that way?” his voice shook, nearly choking on his final words.

any time the topic was brought up, nikolai was reminded of your stance. you had broken down to him the night after the darkling fell at the hands of alina starkov. no matter any of your friend’s persuasion, you stood firm in your position. you deserved to pay for the harm you inflicted on so many innocent. you were a monster, one who had given in to being handcrafted by another.

the untroubled nature with which he typically carried himself had vanished. your own expression faltered. his particular kind of magic, knowing smirks and careful quips that were like incantations for smiles, vanished.

and while it was normal for nikolai to drop the facade of a charming king around you, the pain held in his eyes plummeted your heart into your stomach.

“i think i did once,” you replied airily, not wasting your breath on a lie that nikolai could surely detect before the sound waves settled, “right after the war ended.”

nikolai chewed on the inside of his cheek anxiously, “but you’ve intentionally chosen past tense to describe these feelings.”

“yes,” you nodded, drawing your lover closer to you by the lapels of his jacket, “always so observant. it’s only of the many things i admire about you.”

nikolai sighed, closing his eyes and letting his blonde curls fall upon your forehead. you brought a hand up to stroke his cheekbone, soaking in the warmth of his skin pressed up against own.

“your strength,” nikolai said after a moment, drawing a hand to your waist, “your perseverance.”

“hmm?” you hummed quietly in question, content to reside with him inside this moment only belonging to the two of you.

“qualities i admire in you, my love,” he smiled after a moment, not entirely to be described as filled with confidence but surety nonetheless.

the flush of color in your cheeks always reminded nikolai of the pink dahlias planted in his favorite corner of the garden. maybe it was because it was where he had first kissed you. he decided that was probably his reason, although he never needed one to justify the beauty of either the memory or girl in front of him now.

too caught up in the memory, nikolai’s lips dipped to yours. you could always grasp a lingering taste of saltwater no matter how far away he was from sea, how many weeks removed. it reminded you of home. it was home.

“i love that you protect me, sobachka” you whispered against his lips, down his jaw and neck.

you did not need the exaggerated tales of your terrifying capabilities to destroy to wear as armor anymore, for you had the best man you had ever known to guard you.

as his hand wove into your hair and the other spiraling lower down your back, your breath hitched in your throat when he answered, “i can do so much more than that, my sea.”

nikolai settled on a simple quip, something guaranteed to make you smile. as a boy, he dreamed of a girl who would laugh at all of his jokes. when he grew, he figured many would be forged, a fallacy to fall in good graces with the king. he had yet to detect a lie within the giggles that left your lips.

the golden haired king would do anything to see you smile. he would pour hours into chasing perfection for you. once, he had even allowed toyla to confer with him about romantic poetry. despite the recitation being quite dreadful, you had laughed the most you had in a long time that day. now, just to catch up with the smallest piece of that magic again, he brought a new poem to you each night.

“i thought that i had seen the most gorgeous sights as sturmhond,” he began, unable to help biting his lip at your smallest quirk of a smile, “the volkvolny showed me how to fall in love with the endless waves at sea.”

you sucked in a breath, immersed in the way he spoke so intentionally. he was entrancing. you loved to hear about his travels before you met him, immersed in his storytelling.

“but none of them were every as beautiful as the ones you make,” he finished with a grin.

instead of reaching up to smack him at the cliche, you ignored your first reaction and instead pulled him closer to you. with your hands tucked against the back of his neck, you allowed your thumb to ruffle his lose and unruly curls. here, he was soft and gentle, untouched by his role.

“our ship had four other tidemakers,” you voiced softly, recalling your betrayal of the darkling after sturmhond’s crew imposed a mutiny, “but you chose me to lead the crew. you told me that was because i was the most powerful, but i certainly wasn’t with the waves. my power was not as practiced with currents.”

“but they were the prettiest,” he chuckled with puppy dog eyes honoring his nickname.

you gaped at this confession, “are you telling me you picked me as a leader during a war because the waves i created were pretty?” the initial seriousness in your tone melted away with every breath.

“i remember calling them the prettiest,” he twisted your hips, swaying you with him, “didn’t help me that the girl that could make them was the most gorgeous one i had ever seen. darling, i’m a prince, so i will inform you now that i have met a lot of people.”

your laughter was more delicate now, trailing off as you found direction in his eyes, “i had not been trusted with currents in years,” your voice softened, “he wanted my power elsewhere. i hated all of it. do you know the only memory i have of my parents is my father guiding the currents with me while we fished outside of town as a child? i was so excited to create like that with my power but all i did was destroy,” fighting back any moisture building in your eyes, you continued, “you gave me that back, nikolai.”

nikolai felt his heart stir inside his chest. he caught up to one of his most favorite smiles of yours. a rarity it was, reserved for the quietest and most understated moments that you could hardly share due to the both of your occupations and temperaments.

“i love every part of you,” nikolai dictated, “every drop of saltwater in the sea could not compare.”

you repeated the phrase before stilling, “well, now you’ve gone and ruined this with another one of toyla’s fictions.”

“ah, ah,” he tsked, “i made that one up myself, love.”

[aquagirl1978]

Congratulations Aqua!!!!! You deserve all the love! And thank you for always writing such exquisite stories and hcs.

May I request Jean + Kisses #14 +

Thank you @atulier-mururun for the request! Ooooh....look at that pepper! Your wish is my command, here is some spicy Jean smut.

And thank you for letting me borrow a line from THIS POST which provided the inspiration for this story.

Stolen Kisses - Jean d'Arc x Reader (Ikemen Vampire)

Pairing: Jean d'Arc x Reader (Ikemen Vampire)

Prompt: kisses in the rain

Tags: NSFW - Minors, DNI

"It looks like it might rain... If you're thinking of stealing the umbrella again, I hope you're prepared for me to steal a kiss."

With a glint in your eye, you grabbed the umbrella from Jean’s loose grip, and ran towards the carriage.

“Mademoiselle!” You heard him call out to you, the rest of his sentence muffled by the crack of thunder in the not so far off distance. You paused for just a moment; as you glanced up in the starless sky, a raindrop fell onto your eye.

Wiping your face with your sleeve, you noticed Jean approaching out of the corner of your eye.

“Mademoiselle!” Jean huffed, his cheeks flushed from following you. Placing his hands firmly on your shoulders, he turned you to face him. “Did you not hear my last words to you?”

You tilted your face up to his, a smile curling on your lips. “Oh..” you cooed, “you mean when you threatened to steal a kiss from me if I stole your umbrella again? This umbrella?” You proudly held up the umbrella, a smug smirk spreading on your lips.

A flash of lightning filled the sky, as droplets of rain began to fall down upon you.

“Mademoiselle, this is not safe. Go now, in the carriage.” When you didn’t appear to move, Jean grabbed your hand, and pulled you into the awaiting carriage.

“There, that’s better,” Jean said after shutting the carriage door. He took a seat next to you, his violet eye piercing yours. “Look at you, you’re all wet now.” With a gloved hand, he wiped the wet strands of your hair, tucking them behind your ear.

You shivered; not so much from the cold, but from his gentle touch. You closed your eyes and leaned into his touch. His fingertips grazed your lips, tracing the lines of your slight smile. He dipped his head towards yours, somewhat hesitant, before brushing a kiss on your lips.

His lips were cold and moist from the rain, but his kiss was sweet and gentle. You reached out to him, your hand wrapping around the base of his neck, fingers tangling in his dark locks, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

When his tongue sought entrance into your mouth, you parted your lips, your mouth needy and wanting, sighing and trembling.

Jean pulled away, concern filling his voice. “Are you cold?”

Your heart tugged at his innocence. “Yes, Jean, I’m cold,” you replied, your eyes half-lidded. “Can you warm me up?”

“You need to come closer then.”

You scooted closer to him on the seat, your knees touching, your hand resting dangerously high on his thigh. “Is this close enough?”

Jean shook his head; taking your hands in his, he guided you so that you were seated on his lap, your legs straddling his, your arms around his next as you gaze into each other's eyes face to face. “This is good.” He wrapped one arm securely around your waist, the other reaching up to caress your cheek.

Your hand hovered over his cheek. “May I?” He nodded silently.

This small and simple act of removing his eyepatch had become something so intimate, so reverent between you; you're filled with a feeling of awe every time you perform this act, treasuring the fact that your lover entrusts you with this.

Your hand wavered as you brought your fingers to his face; his ethereal beauty overwhelmed your emotions. Gently cupping his cheek, you gaze into his vibrant violet eyes, the depths of love reflected in his eyes unfathomable.

Your mouths met in a passionate kiss, your hands wandering, roaming, exploring. Your hips rubbed against his, his heat radiating through the layers of his clothing.

Wordlessly, your bodies shifted, allowing for garments to be moved and removed. His violet gaze pierced through you as you steadied your palms on his chest, slowly lowering your body onto his until he was fully inside you.

Rolling your hips against his, your back arched and you tilted your head as you moaned with pleasure. Head empty, your body was driven by desire for your lover. He stole not just a kiss from you, but your breath and your heart; the love you had for this man was transcendent. Your body was his for the taking.

His hands were firm on your hips, pressing your body tight against his. He left a trail of biting kisses along your neck, pink marks blossoming on your skin. When he sunk his fangs into your delicate skin, you lost all control, your body succumbing to your lover as he trembled inside you.

The rain poured down in the darkness as the carriage rolled on its way to the mansion, two lovers tangled together, blissfully stealing kisses from one another.

[imagininglotsofthings]

Bucky Barnes x Reader: Mystery Fever (Extended)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem reader

Word Count: 1,715

Summary:

 I extended this from last night. 

 Okay, this blog is anonymous, but I wanted to write this. I have this ultra-rare condition called Nephropathic Cystinosis, and it is discussed in this one-shot. Not in great detail, but it is. And Cystinosis Fever is a thing that has happened to me. It’s possible I’ll continue with this sort of thing....Let me know if you want more. For the moment it’s a reader insert, but may turn into something else. 

*******************************************************************************************

Y/N sat at the kitchen table in the Avengers compound, in the shared kitchen and she didn’t feel quite right. She got up to fill her water when Bucky walked in.

He smiled upon seeing her. “Hey, doll.” His grin widened as he walked over to her and curled a hand around her waist, placing a chaste kiss to her lips, which he immediately noticed were chapped. And her skin felt too warm under his touch, the body heat radiating off of her was more than was usual for her. He pulled back slightly and pressed his lips to her forehead, letting them linger there much longer than necessary. She knew exactly what he was doing but didn’t say anything, she knew he was trying to hide it under the guise of a forehead kiss.

Then he frowned and dropped all pretense, pressing his flesh hand to her forehead. His frown deepened. “Doll, you’re warm. Really warm.” He moved his hand from her head to her cheek and she leaned into his touch, humming slightly at how good it felt against her overheated skin. “Y/N, what’s wrong?”

She looked up at her boyfriend, bleary eyed, and smiled softly. They had only officially been an item for a couple of weeks. Before that, they had been going out about a month, and two weeks ago, Bucky had asked her to be his girl. He was protective before that, but after, it was like some sort of primal need of his that he couldn’t control. The need to protect her, take care of her, and keep her safe always there. And the fact that his girlfriend had an ultra-rare and potentially dangerous disease just made the urge even stronger. Bucky knew that Y/N had Nephropathic Cystinosis. A lysosomal storage disease. A genetic, metabolic condition that caused fifteen secondary conditions in Y/N’s case. There were only a few others in the compound that knew. Tony, Pepper, and Steve. Bucky looked almost ashamed when he didn’t know what it was, but she assured Bucky most doctors didn’t even know. About 2,500 people in the world had it. Then she went on to explain it to him. After that, he was determined to learn all he could about it, how it affected her, to go to her doctor’s appointments with her (when he could and when the next one came up), you name it. She realized this was something she’d never really discussed with him before, because well, it hadn’t come up yet. And this hadn’t happened to her in a quite a while.

“I think…” she mumbled, and Bucky waited for her to continue. “We used to call it Cystinosis fever when I was younger.”

His heart did a little lurch. Cystinosis fever? There was a specific fever his girl could get with this condition? “What’s that?” he mumbled.

“It’s an unexplainable, sudden onset fever. It can last a couple hours or a couple days, never really sure.”

He nodded slowly. “What else happens, other than the fever?”

“Depends. It’s different every time. Headache, nausea, cough, exhaustion, dizziness…” she trailed off and leant her head against his chest and gripped his forearms. He though she was feeling some dizziness now. He rubbed her back and then sat her down in the nearest chair.

“I’m gonna take your temperature.”

“Bucky, I can take my own-“ but he’d already walked off to get the thermometer from her room. He was back in a flash and knelt down in front of her.

“Open up,” he said and she obediently opened her mouth so he could place the thermometer beneath her tongue. A minute or so later it beeped and he removed it, looking down at the numbers. “102.2,” he mumbled, glancing up at her. “Alright, come on.” He hoisted her into his arms. “I’ll take care of you. Let’s get you to bed.”

Tony walked by at that moment and smirked, as usual his mind in the gutter. “Feeling frisky, Barnes?”

“Shut up, Tony,” he grumbled, his face going slightly pink. Bucky and Y/N hadn’t even been intimate like that yet, and he couldn’t help the flush on his cheeks, nor could his girlfriend. “Y/N’s not feeling well.”

Tony’s features softened. “What’s up, kid?”

“Little fever, I’ll be fine.”

“Well sure, with the bionic man to take care of you, those germs better run if they know what’s good for them.”

Even Bucky couldn’t help but smile a little at that.

“Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you hand me that bottle of water?”

“Sure.” He handed Y/N the bottle and she held it carefully.

“Need any help, Barnes?”

There was hint of a glare in Bucky’s eyes as he looked back at him. “I can handle this, Stark, thanks.”

Extended ‘Ending’

Bucky deposited Y/N gently onto the bed, and took the bottle of water from her, setting it on the nightstand. She had been dozing and looked around. “This is your room,” she mumbled, though she curled up on the bed as Bucky pulled his sheets over her and tucked them in around her. 

“I know,” he said, another light blush dusting his cheeks. “It was the closest to the kitchen.” 

“Thank you,” she said, a yawn parting her lips. 

“Sure.” He smoothed her hair back. “What else do you need?” 

“Nothing, I just...” she paused, and Bucky leaned forward a bit, but Y/N threw the covers off and Bucky moved out of the way she ran to his en suite bathroom. He followed and saw her bent over the toilet, vomiting up the little that was in her stomach. He walked up behind her and crouched down, gathering her hair in his hand to keep it out of her face, rubbing her back. It took several more minutes before she stopped and stood up, wiping at her eyes with her right hand. Unfortunately, since learning about her medical condition, and being trusted enough by her to let him see these parts of her life, he’d seen her throw up several times. And every time, her eyes would tear like crazy.

“You okay?” Bucky asked, still rubbing her back. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, walking over to his sink and splashing cold water on her face, then grabbing a cup and rinsing her mouth. The sad thing was, she meant it. To her, this wasn’t a big deal. She got sick like this (threw up) several times a week. She told him that for years there she threw up every single day. To Bucky, though, it was. To see his girl bent over the toilet, throwing up the little contents that was usually in her stomach. It was often nearly a fight to get her to eat, this condition affected her appetite, too. 

“Right,” Bucky mumbled, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it, then ringing it out. “Come on, doll, lay back down.”

She did as he said and laid back down in his bed, and he again pulled the sheets over her, then knelt down in front of her and dabbed her face, forehead and neck with the wet cloth. This was something that he learned made her feel better, even when she claimed she was fine. As she had a tendency to do, often to Bucky’s dismay, She hummed and closed her eyes and he placed the cloth down. “It’s right next to you if you need it.” She nodded, “What else do you need?”

“Where’s my water?” she mumbled, opening her eyes. 

“I’ve got it.” He grabbed the bottle and opened it. She smiled some and shook her head gently as he held it to her lips. “Bucky I can..” He shrugged and she rolled her eyes playfully, then took a big gulp and then another. This was something else Bucky had learned. For her, Cystinosis caused chronic dehydration. Which meant she was always, always thirsty. She took another big gulp. 

“Doll, stop,” he said softly, gently pulling the bottle away from her mouth, a trickle of water falling down her chin. She went to wipe it away but Bucky beat her to it. “You’ll make yourself sick again.” 

She huffed out an irritated sigh, but didn’t argue. ”Alright, it’s right here. Don’t make yourself sick, alright?”

She nodded. 

“Okay, what else do you need?” 

She nibbled her bottom lip. 

“What is it?”

“Can you stay with me?”

Bucky was confused. “Of course, that’s what I was going to-”

“No, I mean, in here.” She gestured to the bed. “I just...” she hesitated, suddenly shy. “I want to...cuddle. Want you to hold me. That would make me feel better.” 

Bucky smiled, his whole being feeling warm and his heart swelling with affection and....was it love? The word scared him, but he didn’t overthink it or even mention it out loud, he didn’t want to scare Y/N off, not with saying that so soon.

“Sure, babydoll, of course.” She smiled up at him, her cheeks a light pink. 

“I’ll make you something to eat later.”

Her nose wrinkled.

“Later,” he repeated with a grin, and she nodded. “I’ll make the soup my mom used to make when me or Steve were sick. Mostly Steve.” She gazed up at him with a smile, her eyes full of affection, as well.

“I love to cook,” she muttered, turning her face into the pillow.

“I know, doll, but not today, okay?”

She sighed. “Alright. Overprotective,” she muttered, but he could hear the smirk in her voice. He was, he knew it, but he couldn’t help himself.

“For you, yeah.”

He took off his shoes and his long sleeve shirt (there was a shirt underneath it) , but left everything else on. He wasn’t sure they were quite there yet. Then he moved to the other side of the bed, hesitated a moment, and lifted his covers, crawling in behind her. His arm draped over her waist and his other hand went to her hair, scratching lightly and soothingly at her scalp until she fell asleep in his arms. And though he didn’t want his girl to feel sick, he loved holding her like this, and hoped there would be many more chances in the future to do just that. He kissed her top of her head, but stayed up to watch over her. His girl, his little warrior. 

[airplanned]

All the Trashy Novels Part 29

It’s a long one, because it’s the smutty climax.

Part 1...Part 28

***

Link pulled his horse to the side of the road as they were riding past the wetlands, right before the fork away from Zora's Domain.  She stopped and waited impatiently as he crouched down in the tall grass and snuck towards the water.  What was he doing?  It was impossible to tell with him.

A minute later, he shouted, "Ha!" and stood up with his hands cupped together.  He came up to her horse, lifted his hands for her to see, and uncupped them.  Inside was a dragonfly.

"Oh!"  She slipped off her horse to bow her head over the cave of his hands and peer inside.  When it launched itself upward, she meeped and jumped back, laughing and pressing a hand to her chest as it darted off.  At some point she had taken hold of Link's wrist.

He smiled at her and shifted, twisting their hands until hers was locked in his, and then pulling her off the road and towards the water.  He caught her another dragonfly, and she caught him a frog, explaining its medicinal properties and how one day she would use it to run experiments on him.

"You're already running experiments on me," he said.

"No.  You are assisting as I run experiments on myself."

"What experiments will you run first?"

"I need more data points.  Duration and intensity of the glowing.  I need a survey of the other factors that may be involved before devising a more strenuous set of experiments."

His mouth quirked, as if he were trying not to laugh at her.

She shoved him into the shallow water.  

A second later, he'd grabbed her around the middle and pulled her down with him, and splashing and spluttering, she'd had to fight her way to sitting.  He grinned at her, and she covered his face with her hand.  He took the opportunity to lick her palm, and she shrieked and ranted about how gross he was all the way to the citadel.

There they stopped for the night: one last night sleeping in a bed in exchange for playing princess as the general gave a guided tour and then hosted them at dinner.  But the tour turned out to be much more interesting than she'd expected.  A team of Sheikah had brought in a handful of guardians with the intention of adding them to the citadel's defenses.  They were a bit behind those from the Royal Tech Lab, and had to be aimed manually, but they still outstripped the cannons.  The general and the Sheikah soaked up every word she said, and soon she was gesturing wildly with her arm half inside a guardian, her face streaked with grease.

"The general's in love with you," Link whispered as he walked her to her room.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Everyone here's in love with you."

"No, they're not.  They're just too far removed from the castle and haven't heard the terrible gossip about me yet."

"Okay, but if you ever need a fake Akkalan boyfriend, I bet he'd volunteer."

"I do not require a fake Akkalan boyfriend."  She paused at her door.  "How is your fake townie girlfriend?"

"We broke up."

"Oh?"

"She didn't like that I was leaving town for so long.  And she didn't like that I was going with you.  She's very jealous of you."

"Well," Zelda said.  "She should be.  Everyone here is in love with me."

He nodded.

"Everyone at the castle will be disappointed."

"They'll get over it."

"What will you do the next time you get a bite mark on your neck?"

He lifted his eyebrows.

She lifted hers back.  Then she closed the doors behind her and went to bed, smirking.

They reached the Spring of Power late the next day.  As Link set up camp, Zelda ducked away to see the Goddess statue.  She didn't change into her prayer dress or step into the water.  She couldn't sort what she wanted into words that might reach the Goddess.  She was out of practice praying.  Instead, she bowed her head and clenched her hands before her, gathered all the worry and hope and pleading that tightened in her chest and mentally projected it into the heavens, hoping the Goddess would hear her.

Link gave her a cautious look as she returned.  She realized that she usually left her prayers feeling lost and worthless and small.  Link must have noticed.  He must be expecting more of the same.  But this time felt different.  It wasn't a gladness that she'd heard others describe, but maybe the hope and determination that had pushed her on for the past few days was bolstered by the Goddess.  Then again, maybe it was the absence of a sense of defeat.  She gave Link as honest of a smile a she could as she accepted the bowl he passed to her.

"I'm alright," she said.  "I'm going to figure this out."

"I know you will."  He said it so easily that it disarmed her. 

Because of the depression in the ground, the sun seemed to set earlier than usual.  They ate in silence, and she pretended the warmth on her face was from the fire. 

She snuck a few looks at him--his posture easy, the planes of his face lit orange in the light.  He was handsome.  She'd never thought about him that way before.

She blinked, handed back her bowl, and retreated to her tent.

She arranged everything to her liking. She had a comfortable bed roll and a number of blankets fit for a princess.  She had a soft glowing lantern and a pocket watch and the Sheikah Slate and a journal with a pencil.  She made sure the pencil was sharpened.  She changed into a shirt with fine embroidery around the collar and a softness that belayed wealth, but it was also far too big for her, fitting a bit like a sack that barely covered her rear.  She didn't wear anything else.

She was suddenly overwhelmed with nerves.  But she took a shaky breath and stuck her head out of her tent.  "I would like to run an experiment.  If--if you have a moment."

He looked up from the fire, his interest piqued, and she ducked back into her tent before he could see how badly she was blushing.  Once in her tent, she put on as much bluster as she could to hide her nerves, ordering him to remove his boots and his sword and his shirt.  She thought about asking him to remove his pants, but that seemed a bit pushy.  Maybe she needed to be pushy?  "And your pants," she said.  "But your undergarments can remain."

She then had him lie on his side on her mat.  "You will observe and take notes," she explained, showing him were the pocket watch and journal were.  She tucked her hair behind her ears, lay down facing him, and hooked her leg over his hip.

He looked mildly surprised, but went along with it.  And that was weird, right?  This was weird.  She was taking advantage of how he couldn't deny her.  She was royalty and possibly the key to saving everything he knew from destruction.  Maybe should should find a way to--

"You're over-thinking it," he whispered.  He'd made himself comfortable, resting his head on his arm and a hand on the small of her back.

She huffed.  Then she closed her eyes and worked her hand down her body.

"Want me to help?"

"I don't want you to be too distracted to record your observations."

"Right.  Good.  Because this isn't distracting at all."

She pinched him with her free hand, and he laughed.  It was soft and low and she could feel his breath against her face.  It did more to arouse her than her own hand, which slid between her legs.

His hand moved to her bare hip, and once he did, she could feel how much she moved against him, how much her hips rocked.  He didn't try to control her rhythm or hold her still, and she found her movements growing even more animated as the pleasure built around her.  She bit her lip and breathed.  

His voice was soft like his laugh when he murmured, "What are you thinking about?"

"What you would say if you were talking to me."

"What would I say?"

"'That's it, Zelda. That's so good.'"

Not missing a beat, he said, "You're so good, Zelda.  The way you move, the way your whole body moves.  You're so emphatic.  In everything you do.  Your whole body moves when you talk.  And now, Goddess look at you, the way your shoulders move and your back arches."

Her shoulders rolled even more, her breath coming quick.

"Call me something sweet," she said.  In her head, he called her darling, and it wasn't quite right.  She always stumbled over it.  She couldn't hear it in his voice.

He leaned in to kiss under her ear, sending a shudder down her spine.  He whispered, "You're my peach."

She gasped, her hand picking up speed, a spike of pleasure rocking through her.    His hands wandered inside her shirt, down her leg.  Dizziness crept in around her edges.

"That's it.  That's it.  Let go.  I've got you."

He had her.  He would catch her when she fell.

"Look at me."

She tried twice to blink open her eyes, and when she finally managed, he was there, a heat in his eyes and adoration on his face.  The rhythm of her hand stuttered, and then his fingers had replaced hers, picking up the rhythm she'd set as he pulled her fingers into his mouth.  It all happened so fast that she thrust her fingers against his tongue a few times before realizing.  His eyes darkened and then rolled as he moaned and sucked greedily at her fingers.  The movements of his hand matched her own, except steady and sure when she faltered, when her body jerked, and her breath caught and caught and caught.  Link would catch her.  She threw her head back and grinned, riding every wave, letting herself fall.  She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss as she burned and burned and burned, still smiling against his mouth.

"Zelda?"

She blinked dreamily up at him, and there was a click as he snapped her picture with the slate.  He turned it around to show it to her. 

She was glowing.  Her whole body surrounded by a halo, her skin golden as if she had become the sun.  The picture smiled dreamily back at her.

"You've been glowing for two minutes and fifteen seconds and counting."

"You timed it?"

"Of course."

She beamed at him, and she could see from her hands on the slate that she was glowing more brightly.  Beams of sunlight radiated off her.  

She reached for Link's cheek and closed her eyes and reveled in the warmth in her chest, the shape of it, the pressure of it.  It was like...happiness?  A warmth of affection that had been there for a while, but had never before tapped into the power of her soul.  She hadn't let it.  She'd held it at bay.  She had pushed it aside to berate herself and turn her insecurities outward.  She'd thought the Goddess was spiteful, but the Goddess was love, and she rewarded those who loved.  To protect her country, she first needed to love it.

"Link?"

"Yeah?" He brushed hair from her face.

"I don't hate you."

"You sure?  That was a little fun."

"Only a little?"

"This is better."

She laughed and dragged him in to kiss her as she glowed.

***

Part 30

[captainsimagines]

To Topple A Giant || Chapter One

Summary: You had made it your mission to destroy even the smallest evils. When the opportunity arises to finally take down your own family after years of gaining their trust, you reach for it. And so does Steve, the man who represents a symbol of everything you hate. 

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader || Avengers x Reader

Part 1 of 10 ~ Mini-Series

Trope: ‘Enemies to Lovers’; mainly angst, mutual pining, fluff, and eventual smut

Warnings: This story contains mature themes and discussions such as extreme canon violence, strong language, emotional angst, mentions of Endgame deaths and recoveries, sexual situations, and emotional/physical abuse. All trigger warnings will be listed before the chapter. This is purely fanfiction. 

Word Count: 4000+

A/N: Ooo, let’s hope this does numbers! I love myself some ‘enemies to lovers’ tropes. It’s been a while since I’ve written Steve fanfics. :)

~

Wakanda, 2018, 4:04 pm.

     The flash of bright white light temporarily blinded you, sending you back to the ground and cupping your face in self-defense. But as quickly as the initial crack, it was over. Eerily silent and loud at the same time. The birds whistled their same tune, some higher-pitched than others. The wind seemed to blow louder, rustling the leaves from the trees and landing all around you and your teammates. 

“Thor?”

You lifted your head at the sound of Steve’s voice and checked if the coast was clear. All that remained of the evil was a new blood-stained hammer - a hammer that Thor was watching intensely, as if the answer lay hidden there. It was the only remnant left and your mind was already wondering how to use it to bring that evil back to finish a fair fight. 

“Where’d he go?”

The birds stopped singing. 

“Steve?”

You whipped your head around at the sound of Bucky’s confused voice, watching as one of your best friends dropped his gun and looked up at Steve as his hands began to disappear. In a matter of seconds, Bucky - or what became of him - fell to the dirt below. No one spoke, and you watched as Steve tried to control his breathing as he took a knee to place his shaking hand over his best friend’s ashes. A life and mind brought out of the darkness to finally amend those knots he had twisted, now ceasing to exist. In the distance you could hear Okoye shout in turmoil and Rocket begin begging. 

“What’s happening?” you finally choked out, turning just in time to see Wanda lift her head to the sky, defeated and out of will, and succumb to the same fate. “No!”

You ran and fell beside Vision’s now gray and decaying body, reaching over and palming through Wanda’s ashes. You rubbed them between your fingers, inspecting them, and brought your hand to your chest. The pit of your stomach churned as you sat there, immobile and numb. 

“Sam!”

So many names were being called but soon everyone who remained fell silent. The trees were still guiding the wind, leaves falling into the ashes of your friends, a sign of a new and unwanted chapter. You felt Steve drop beside you, turning Vision around to see the damage to his body. You winced when you saw the gaping hole in his forehead. 

“What is this? What’s happening?”

Natasha ran to where you were seated, hand over her stomach as if she was ready to vomit. And once she took one look at Vision, that’s exactly what she did. 

You removed your hands from your chest to look at them, the ashes still there and practically mocking you into finally believing this as reality. “Did we just lose?”

Steve was moments away from a full-blown panic attack. He simply looked up at the trees, watching the way the sunlight still burst through with no disruption. “Oh god.”

You caught Steve as he tipped his upper body toward you, wrapping his arms around your waist and holding onto something real. He had to believe you were real. Anyone. And you were the closest person to him. You shut your eyes and held him, running your hands through his hair, wincing when you realized Wanda’s ashes were now on him.

You held him tight, praying to any God you chose to believe in at that moment, that Steve wouldn’t disappear too. 

Unknown Location, 2025, 1:07 pm.

     The air was incredibly musty, as if each person who struggled for breath in this room at one point or another left a piece of their soul floating in search of last minute penance for their sins. And the man in front of you was no different, choking on the purple blood that dripped down his neck and onto his now unbuttoned, white dress shirt. His chest was rising and falling, his breathing becoming less labored with each blink of the eye. His hands were tied behind his back and to the chair he sat on, a flickering light in the corner of the dark, concrete room somehow mocking this man’s last remaining seconds of life. 

“I’m not an evil person,” you started, kicking one of the legs of the chair to startle the poor man. But your guilt was minimal - it’s not like you wanted to do this - but knowing this man did exactly what everyone said he did, hands red and dripping with young blood, you selfishly took pleasure knowing this man would look at you when he died. “It’s just my job as third in command.”

You gave the man a small smile as you bent down to his level, head hanging in shame, slow breaths now pausing in between each intake. You looked to the other party in the room, handing them the gun in your holster, and walked out the room as the sound of two gunshots rang out. 

Left twist. Sting. Breathe. 

You washed away any smell from that godforsaken room, giving extra attention to the roots of your hair and under your fingertips. 

Scrub. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. 

The crack of your neck frightened even you, and you stood under the burning shower for a few more minutes before deciding the sting was enough. You changed into the most comfortable sweats you owned, surprisingly calm for such a gruesome morning you had, and took your time with your skin care routine. 

Circle. Wash. Dry.

Soft music played in the overhead speakers, the classical sounds vibrating from one wall to another and surrounding you with something tranquil - something still. There was nothing to expect from such a sound, only the next repeated chorus, no words or drops - just tranquility. You could barely hear yourself breathe but you were at peace - or mostly - and ready to sooth your growing headache behind the eyeballs with more than just music. You slipped on a pair of comfy, forest green socks and bent them at the ankle to achieve an even fluffier look. You applied your favorite perfume, lotioned up your hands, and donned your tacky friendship bracelet. 

One for you. One for Bucky. One for Peter. And one for Wanda. 

You hummed the whole way to the common room, waving at the morning staff as they fixed lightbulbs, covered holes in the walls, and swept the floors. One muffin and a cup of coffee later, you were resting with your head in Wanda’s lap as she filled your thoughts with your chosen sceneries.

      “I can make you see anything you have already seen, so yes.”

“A miniature golf course, Peter’s high school graduation, a field of all kinds of flowers, and Natasha.”

Wanda stilled her floating hand, smile faltering for a moment before she nodded. “Okay… okay, I can do that.”

     They were images well-drawn out, slow and steady to make the atmosphere similar to when you were actually there. They seemed to float across your vision, comfortable in their positions and radiating the same warmth you had felt the first time around. A moving picture. Wanda really had excellent control of this. 

     “I won!” Sam leapt into the air, pointing at a disgruntled Bucky, who stepped off to the side to not throw Sam over his own head. “I won!”

“How is it possible for you to get a hole-in-one each fucking turn?” Bucky groaned, moping in Wanda’s shoulder as she held him and struggled to keep herself standing from her own intense laughs. 

“I think we got a cheater on the loose,” Steve grinned, pointing at the ring Sam was trying to discreetly tuck back into his pocket. A friendly gift from T’Challa, no doubt. 

“Nuh-uh, give me the fucking proof, Wilson!” Bucky roared, wrapping his arm around Sam’s neck and tugging him forward. “I will not admit defeat if there was foul play involved!”

Sam escaped the hold, climbing onto the rock located to the side of the flag and a sign that read ‘do not climb on rocks’. 

“It just helped me calculate all things geometry, Barnes. We’re good.”

Bucky looked as if he was going to leap on him again, but before he could even finish that thought, Sam slipped on the wet surface and plummeted into the rushing little river. 

Laughter erupted and did not cease until you were escorted out of the fairgrounds by four security guards. 

     A flick of Wanda’s wrist and a new memory began forming, colors blending like an oil painting, dried and covered with a glossy varnish, ready to hang. 

     “Don’t trip on your way up, kid.”

Peter swatted Steve in the side as the super soldier left the room, leaving Peter alone in front of the full-length mirror. He adjusted his tie and tried to lay that pesky dangling strand of hair over the top of his head.

You got up from the couch and made your way over, wrapping your arms around Peter and resting your chin on his shoulder. “You’ll do great. We’re all so proud.”

“It’s just high school…”

You frowned and turned him to face you. “No, you should already be in your second year of college. This is seven years in the making. We are all so proud.”

Peter could feel the slight burn at the corner of his eyes but he swallowed it down, giving you a small smile and a hug. 

“And can you trip? Don’t you stick to all surfaces?”

Peter scoffed and pushed you away, his tiny smile never faltering.

     You could feel Wanda shift her legs underneath you, searching for the most comfortable position as she continued her work. You sighed, already feeling the therapeutic effects. 

     “They’re all so pretty!” you yelled cheerfully, running through the field with your arms extended to the sky. Bucky and Steve followed close behind, leaning down every so often to pluck the flower of their choosing and adding to the bouquet in their hand. 

“Which did Tony prefer?” Steve asked, snapping you from your pollen-filled, ecstatic state. 

“Aesthetic beauty, Rogers! Natasha was a sucker for anything pink and sunflowers.”

Bucky nodded, seeming to take that information into consideration as he plucked the yellow and pink flowers only. Steve chose the most healthy looking flowers, his hand struggling to hold them together as he reached the two dozen mark. 

“I think we’re good. These are good.”

You smiled at both super soldiers and admired their bouquets, leaning over to sniff their masterpieces. “Awesome.”

     Wanda sighed as she neared your last vision, debating on showing you your chosen moment instead of another one. This moment always hurt Wanda as she wasn’t there to witness it, but it was special to you. There were so many others to choose from, but you insisted this was the one you always wanted to see. And Wanda was always hesitant at first - but when she lifted her hand slowly and dropped the memory back into the front of your brain, she couldn’t help but smile. 

     “Are we ready?”

Everyone was practically bouncing on their heels, both excited and terrified. Time travel was new to humanity and you were to be one of the first to experience such a thrill. You were going to get everyone back. 

You squeezed Natasha’s hand once more before you walked back over to Thor and Rocket. You all nodded to each other, saying ‘goodbye’ and ‘good luck’ with your childlike expressions. 

“See you in a minute,” Natasha grinned, her cheeks reddening with a friendly blush as she looked over at Steve. Her hair was pulled back into a braid, a braid you had helped her make, and she was carrying an extra pair of socks in case of a long hike. 

Then a blast of color surrounded your body and the smell of peaches as you landed on Asgard filled your overstimulated senses. 

     You opened your eyes and smiled up at Wanda. You didn’t want to see old memories with your friend, but the most recent. It was like you were grasping onto that last memory of her, not wanting to change anything about her last smile, her last laugh, her last shred of existence. It was oddly calming, and so you hoped Wanda would understand. 

You thanked her again and proceeded to the kitchen. It was bigger than the one before, the soft forest green color of the walls a nice contrast from the blue ones before. You laughed to yourself and your conscience as you silently thanked the explosion that obliterated the horrid blue walls, quickly backtracking at your dumb thoughts. Still, you chose to joke about everything that happened before to avoid falling deeper into yourself. The kettle started howling, smoke circling around the tip. You poured your tea, dropped two cubes of sugar in, and added a little milk. 

It was quite bizarre how quickly you could bounce back from the morning you had. A very bloody, order-filled morning. When one order was given, you had to come up with a plan on how to not disregard the other. You had to listen to Fury and your father, gaining a few feet on each side without toppling the other. Still, it took a physical toll on you. But with Wanda’s help in easing your mind and the very sweet tea you nursed, your emotional baggage was pretty minimal. It sometimes scared you how easy it all was. 

Your morning carried on quietly as you sat on the concrete curb, happily sipping your tea in your sweatpants. You could hear Sam and Scott arguing about something a few feet away from you and Bucky taking his afternoon jog around the track. Quite distracted, the sudden ‘thwip’ and superhero landing of a certain teenager scared you enough to spill a little of your tea. 

“Goddamn, dude!” you whined, looking up at Peter as he tried to control his laughter. 

 “I’m sorry, I thought you saw me!”

“Excuse me for being distracted by the hot super soldier just over there,” you joked, pointing over at Bucky. 

Peter rolled his eyes and sat next to you, immediately reaching over to take the tea from you and take a sip himself. You let him, as you had no other choice, rolling your eyes anyway. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you had classes today?”

Peter handed back your cup, “Nah, I’ve only got classes every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“Ugh, that sounds great. I remember I scheduled my classes for every day of the week just to have more units,” you sighed, taking another sip of tea. 

 “Stupid.”

You pushed Peter’s shoulder playfully, both your laughter catching the attention of Sam and Scott. But as quickly as you had distracted them, they ignored you and went back to bickering. 

“I’m just here to see my friends, sue me!”

“Nope, you’re always welcome,” you smiled, holding out your wrist and bumping your bracelet with his. “How was your week otherwise?”

“Eh, nothing major. Just trying to navigate the world now that they know who's behind the mask.”

You gave Peter a look of sympathy, still mad at the sudden manipulation of the kid after such traumatic events. You had promised him you would protect him by any means possible, as did the rest of the team, but he seemed to be navigating the situation just fine. Staying away from reporters, scheduling his classes during the most isolated gaps of the day, and signing dozens of forms that promised to protect him, give him royalties, etc. After you had brought everyone back, it seemed the least the new management/orders could provide for you all. 

“We all have our days,” you muttered, handing your tea back to Peter. You two sat there for a while longer, enjoying the slight breeze and taste of sugar. 

An agent rounded the corner and spotted you, jogging up and handing you a yellow folder that was sealed in plastic. “For you, from Fury, from whoever before that.”

“Um, thank you?” you said as the agent walked away. You inspected the folder, turning it over in your hands and playing with the thin plastic. 

You lifted it up to Peter’s face, “Here, smell it and tell me if there’s poison.”

Peter scoffed, “I can’t do that!”

“Don’t you lie to me.”

Peter muttered to himself as he took the folder from you, sniffing it awkwardly. “Smells like paper, dude.”

“Cool, thanks.” 

You ripped the plastic off and unhooked the folder, dropping the single item onto your lap. Peter just sipped your tea and watched you open it. 

It was another envelope, but this one was white with custom-printed indents that swirled across the front and a big, red blob of wax smushed- with your initials- sealing it. You ripped it open and pulled the invitation from inside. You must have read it a thousand times, eyes rapidly scanning the small page with secret meanings. 

“You got invited to a wedding?” Peter asked, taking it from you and reading it himself. 

“Yeah, but this is so much more than that,” you said, snatching it back and standing up from the curb. You quickly went back into the compound, searching for the one person who needed to read it also.

You seemed to find everyone before you found the super soldier who wasn’t out for a jog, a line of somewhat concerned superheroes following behind you from room to room. Eager minds and yet, inflexible rib cages full of anxiety and worry, all ready (and quite not) to tackle the new evils of this new world. And whether they followed you blindly or with functioning minds, they were prepared. 

With the rest of the team behind you, you burst through the second floor with the invitation held over your head. Steve stopped mid-bite, milk dripping from his bottom lip as he stared at everyone in confusion. “Um…”

“It’s time-” you started, pulling the stool from next to him and sitting down. 

“Time for what?” Steve interrupted, his mouth still full of cereal.

“Time for this,” you motioned to the envelope you were handing him. “-to finally end.”

Steve read the invitation word for word, the wrinkles in his forehead becoming deeper as his mind worked. You couldn’t quite discern the feeling in the pit of your stomach, twisting and spinning into a tight coil, seeming to spread to the others as it grew in pressure within you. 

“All three?”

“All three,” you confirmed. 

Peter pushed through Bruce and Rhodey, “What’s happening? What’s gonna end?”

You looked over at Steve, his bowl of cereal now forgotten and soggy. 

His eyes were distant and rather cold, hands extended on his knees as if he was drying the accumulating sweat, shoulders building tension. 

“Steve, we can finally end this. We have to tell everyone. It won’t be enough if it’s just you and me.”

He wanted to explode, in both anger and anguish, to stumble over his intact persona and leave it behind - someone he hasn’t known for a long time. It ate away at him each day since Fury notified him of your selfish choice, burrowing into his now tarnished soul in the most sadistic way. But the prospect of finishing this chapter - a chapter that was unexpectedly halted when half the world disappeared - was considerably euphoric. A chance to move on. 

“Okay.”

Rhodey already had knowledge of your background, recruitment, and family but Steve’s initial involvement - the start of it - was still a mystery. You sat everyone down in the living room, making room for the others who arrived later, and clapped your hands together. “Story time!”

Steve groaned, face already pressed against a throw pillow. “Just tell them.”

You rolled your eyes at him. 

“You know whose spawn I’m from,” you began, snickers from your amused friends encouraging you. “To better transport their product, they sent me over to the states to attend college like the good little girl they think I am.”

Sam cracked open a beer and lifted his legs up onto the couch, sitting back with a massive smile on his face as he got comfortable for your story. He handed another beer to Scott. 

“Wait, product?” Scott asked, taking a sip from his drink. 

You smirked at him and tapped your nose twice, amused by his ‘O’ reaction. “Anyway, by then I already knew that I wanted out of the game. I didn’t like that life, I didn’t like the violence, I didn’t like my family.”

Steve knew that was an understatement, a cruel and restrained statement from your part, and he wanted to tell everyone just how justified you were in your words, how real you were being, and how much help you would certainly need for this. But like always, he remained silent. 

“But Fury got to me before I could leave. So, we made a deal. I would train as a field agent and he would promote me every other year to lessen suspicion on this whole ordeal. The deal being I would play both teams.”

By now, your whole team was intrigued. 

“I would do what I could for my father and still have my family’s trust, while feeding the information to SHIELD and our lovely star-spangled man over here,” you pointed over at Steve. He gave you a tiny but forced smile. 

“But after the collapse of SHIELD, my father only became more violent, more hard-headed, more suspicious. He- uh-” you stuttered, flashbacks suddenly filling your head. Wanda watched your eyes dart rapidly, sensing the rush of blood to your legs and tips of your fingers.

“He was power hungry,” Wanda said, immediately feeling your heart rate lower. Although you never actually said it, she could tell you were grateful for her intrusion. 

“Yeah, exactly,” you cleared your throat. “But Steve’s involvement all started when Fury asked me who would be the best front - the most reliable front.”

“So, with only Fury and the bad guys knowing - Y/N named me as her partner in crime,” Steve explained, head hanging low as if it was such a disgrace to do what you openly did. You knew his troubles with coming to terms with such an offensive role were multiplying daily, but you were now this close to stopping  every bad force involved. 

 “So, Captain America is the ultimate drug smuggler,” Scott spoke, somehow trying to comprehend the information all at once. You and Steve both nodded in confirmation and avoided the wide and questioning eyes looking back at you. 

“Yeah, he’s essentially the top boss.”

“Y/N-,” Steve interjected, but you beat him to  it. 

“And here we are! Him and I both invited to the wedding.”

Wanda stretched out her words, “The wedding?”

“Yes, the wedding - where three of the most famous and powerful drug lords south of the border will be attending and ready for our taking - including my father.”

Steve stood from his seat, posture straightening as he spoke to the group. “The invitation reads like a threat. No cameras, no plus-ones besides those listed specifically on the card, no speaking to reporters before or after. The trust Y/N has gained would unknowingly make us the contraband of the party.”

After going through more specifics about the whole situation, Bucky finally raised the question eating away at his mind this whole time. “Whose wedding is it, anyway?”

You grinned that stupid little grin Steve always prepared himself for. It was the grin you would display whenever you were going to make a serious matter a joke, or brush something serious off your shoulder as if it didn’t bother you. The sarcastic grin he always wanted to wipe off your face as you defied orders. 

“My lovely little sister’s.”

Rhodey stepped forward to take the invitation for personal inspection, “When is it?”

“A week from tomorrow,” you beamed. “Which means I got to get shopping for a wonderful little, red number!”

“Please, be more excited about this,” Steve groaned, sarcasm dripping off each syllable. 

You flicked your right hand up and in position to flash your charming little middle finger at him, a river of fluffed ego and delight flowing to your cheeks as he huffed and left the room in a stumbled march.

“So…” Scott’s voice ripped through the awkward silence. “We’ve been secret drug smugglers this whole time?”

~

Please let me know what you think! I listened “The Archer” by Taylor Swift and I was like... yes, I see this, lmao. Tell me if you would like to be tagged in later updates! xxMoni

[hockeyboysimagines]

Say it to me softly

Chapter 4

Warnings: heavily implied mentions of sex, some nsfw below the cut, swearing, mentions of cheating, angst, fluff.

This is such a long chapter, but I am giving you something at the end I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for😉 trust me there will be more. Enjoy babes💕

“GOD my feet are killing me!” Nash kicked a shoe off each of her feet sending them flying across the floor and dropped her purse on her dresser. Travis followed behind her and watched as she sat down heavily to remove her earrings.

Take your own advice

Nolan’s words swam around in his head clouding his vision.

You can do this Konecny.

“ Uh Nash. Can I talk to you?” She turned in her spinning chair, and he almost passed out as she gave him a sweet smile, still removing an earring.

“ What’s up?”

But her smile faded when she saw his expression. He rubbed his hands on his dress pants and then shoved them into his pockets.

“ Trav? What’s going on?”

He let out a shaky breath.

“ We’re best friends right? Like real best friends?” She frowned

“ Of course we are Trav. Why?” Her expression changed to confusion and she frowned.

“ Are we though? “ he asked bravely “ Just best friends? I mean people ask all the time and I’m starting to have to ask myself. I know we get annoyed at how many people don’t believe us but do you ever wonder why everyone thinks we are? For Christ sakes Nash, we spend more time together than I spend with my own teammates and I miss the fuck out of you when I’m on the road.”

Her expression was unreadable so he kept going not giving her the chance to stop him.

“ I live with this revolving door of questions in my head all the time. Are we just friends? Do I like her? Does she like me?” He added the last part softly.

Nash’s eyes were closed but he could see tears threatening to spill over her lower eyelids when she opened them.

“ Don’t do this Travis. Please.”

“ Nash I-“

“ Stop!” She jumped to her feet and grabbed both of his wrists “ just stop. I’m not-I’m not good enough for you okay. Your my best friend and your going to realize that and then I’ll lose you and I just can’t.”

“That’s Justin talking and you know it.”

Travis regretted what he said the minute it left his mouth.

“Can we just pretend you didn’t say all that!” The tears fell freely now, streaking down her cheeks and dripping on to her dress.

He shook his head, looking down at her hands squeezing his wrists. “ I can’t pretend Nash. Not anymore.” He said sadly. He reached forward to dry the tears on her cheeks.

“ Travis please-“ he stepped backwards and walked out of her room.

Out of her house.

Out of her life.

******

Several blocks away, freshly changed out of their formal attire Nolan and Sawyer sat out on her small balcony. It was cold, so she had pulled a small space heater outside, each of them with wine glass in front of them.

“ What are you thinking about?” Nolan asked from his spot next to her as he stared at the stars. Music playing softly from her bedroom and floated outside through the cracked door. She chuckled.

“ That awful haircut your mom made you get before the draft. You looked so funny.”

He turned very slowly mouth hanging open, eyes squinted.

“Rude.”

She laughed throwing her head back and examined him.

“ Okay okay it didn’t look that bad. I just like it this way better.”

Nolan felt his cheeks burn and was thankful for the dark to hide them, even though she knew he was blushing.

“ I like you this way too.” He said softly. She chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear “ What, anxious and wine drunk?”

“Not what I meant asshole.”

“Now who’s the rude one?”

“I meant-I mean I like you here. In Philly.”

“ I like me here too. Winnipeg is just so sad. It’s home but it’s full of some pretty dark times too.”

“I know.” Nolan bit his lip and boldly reached for her hand.

She turned face half illuminated by the street lights. Nolan froze for a second suddenly aware at how close she was. He could feel the heat radiating off of her.

“Nolan.” She whispered as his hand came up to rest on her cheek. Her eyes slid closed and he leaned in.

RINGGGGGGG

They jumped apart and Nolan hurriedly reached for his phone, fumbling with it before reading the caller ID.

Fucking Travis.

“Hello?” He answered in a huff.

“Pat? I need to talk to you man where are you?”

He frowned “I’m at Sawyers. What’s going on?” She leaned over ear pressed against the other side of the phone.

“Can I come over?”

******

Travis sat with his head in his hands. He had come in and thrown himself on Sawyers couch 10 minutes before but hadn’t spoken a word. While Nolan was concerned about his friend his almost kiss with Sawyer was still on his mind.

“Travis?” She said gently sitting next to him and leaning down to look at him.” What happened?”

“I told her.”

She looked confused

“Told her what?”

He looked up at Nolan who nodded slowly “Holy shit.”

She looked between them eyebrows furrowed, before her eyes widened and she covered her mouth.

“You told Nash that you-“

“Yeah and it blew up in my face.”

“Fuck.” Nolan sighed and sat on his other side patting him on the back “I’m sorry Teeks I didn’t mean-“

“It’s my fault. I-I brought up Justin.”

Sawyer looked confused again, but Nolan shook his head and mouthed “later”

“Why don’t you stay here tonight? I’ll get you some blankets and a pillow and we can talk about all this tomorrow okay?” Travis nodded and Sawyer left to get him blankets and Nolan bumped his shoulder.

“It’s all gonna work out buddy. I promise.”

Travis fell into the sofa like a zombie asleep before Sawyer even turned out the lights.

Once they were alone she crossed her arms and asked the question he had been dreading.

“ Who’s Justin?”

Nolan sighed and sat down on her bed.

“Nash had this boyfriend, Travis never liked the guy. He destroyed her life. He started by changing the way she dressed, and then isolated her from her friends. She would never give up Trav but she lost a lot of friends because he made her feel so guilty about having them. Then he started keeping her home. She was like a prisoner Sawyer. And then she got sick or something and went to the doctor....they ran some tests and he had been cheating on her the whole time, and gave her something. She lost her shit. It was terrible.”

Sawyer sat down next to him.

“That’s awful.”

“Travis almost killed him. It took me Carter and Kevin to hold him back when we helped Nash pack her things.”

He was quiet for a few minutes before he added quietly “ I would do the same for you, you know if someone did that to you.”

She smiled, a big genuine smile and reached across the wrap her arms around his shoulders and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry Nols. That won’t ever happen.

******

The next 3 weeks were miserable.

Nash spent an increasing amount of time cutting herself off from society and had stopped coming to games. Sawyer and Libby had finally had enough and picked the lock to her apartment door and came barging in, to find her curled in a hoodie that she had been wearing for 3 days. Sawyer glared at her and put her hands on her hips.

“ What is this? Some kind of pity party?”

“ It is. And your not invited so get out.”

“ I will not. “ Sawyer kicked a pile of clothing off the coffee table and sat down on it, yanking the remote from her hand and throwing it across the room. Libby looked at Nash sadly, remembering herself in this position not that long ago, crying in bed over Joel.

“ Listen to me. Travis is dying without you, and judging by the smell in this apartment right now I’m assuming you are too. “ Nash felt tears coming to her eyes at the mention of his name, but blinked them away. “ Do you really think that he would have poured out his heart that way if he didn’t mean it or are you that dense?”

“He’ll change his mind. They always do.”

“Oh Nash.” Sawyer reached forward and grabbed her hand clutching it as the tears Nash tried to keep at bay rolled down her cheeks.

“Travis is NOT Justin. Not even close. He has been sleeping in my apartment for a week now because he says his reminds him too much of you. His game is suffering and his mother is worried about him. Nash you have to fix this with him.”

“ You don’t understand-“

“I do understand.” Sawyer said eyes softening “But trust me when I tell you that Travis loves you, maybe more than anything. Please just talk to him. Please.” Sawyer herself looked close to tears as she spoke, and turned to Libby for help.

“Ive been there Nash and I know it’s hard, but Travis needs you. “ Libby sat next to Sawyer on the coffee table and grasped her other hand “And your going to feel so much better when you talk to him and work this out.”

“And if it doesn’t work out?”

Sawyer and Libby looked at eachother before turning back to her each squeezing a hand “Then we will be here for that too. With wine and tissues for as long as you need us.”

Nash chuckled and they pulled her into a hug. She couldn’t ask for better friends, blessed that the Philadelphia Flyers had brought both of them to her life.

******

“So it went well?”

Nolan and Sawyer were each 4 beers deep later that evening. Travis was staying with Kevin while Ryanne and Claude planned to throw a last minute get together in an attempt to get Nash and Travis in the same room together the next evening.

“I think so. She loves Travis obviously, she’s just afraid to get hurt. And understandably so.”

Nolan nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

“ I think it’s all gonna be okay.” She rubbed her arms and stood, walking a few steps to the kitchen to throw away the empty bottles. Nolan watched her as she moved, long hair catching the light. She had on this tight little T-shirt and a pair of second skin leggings and he could feel himself getting hot under his clothing.

“ You know.” She said turning to him as she leaned against the counter “ Libby told me that she fell in love with her best friend. What’s that story?”

Nolan smiled “ Libby and Joel are sorta like us. They’ve been friends forever and then one day things changed. Beezer said it took a lot of time and Libby spazzed over it but he never gave up on her.”

“Sounds like Beezer...and Libby.”

“Hey can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

She was still leaned on the counter, arms braced on either side of her.

“ You said to me a few weeks ago that what happened to Nash could never happen to you. Why is that?”

If someone had lit a match between them it would have sparked, as the tension grew thick in Sawyers tiny kitchen. She stared at him, unwavering before she answered.

“Because the only person I’d ever let in my life wouldn’t do that to me.”

Nolan swallowed “ Who’s that?”

“ I think you know the answer to that question Nolan.”

******

The get together was just the team.

Rain was pouring out of the sky in buckets as the wind howled through the buildings in south Philly. But Ryanne and Claude’s home was warm and cozy and full of laughter as wine and liquor flowed through it. Nash had been hiding in the kitchen for the last 20 minutes but with some coaxing she had loosened up and was smiling now, between Libby and Sawyer taking silly pictures with Ryanne and Gina. Travis entered the kitchen, eyes big and sad and Nash smiled in spite of herself just at the sight of him. As the girls excused themselves they each gave Nash a squeeze.

“I’m glad you came.” Travis said hands in his pockets. He looked good, his hair looked longer than it had 3 weeks ago. Nash smiled weakly and tucked her hair behind her ear. Over his shoulder she made brief eye contact with Sawyer and Libby who both gave her a thumbs up.

“Travis I-“

“I’m sorry.” He blurted out “ I shouldn’t have pushed the issue and I wouldn’t have said anything if I had known it was going to push you away.”

He took a step closer to her eyes looking sad before continuing “ I just. Jesus I fucking love you Nash. And it’s okay if you don’t love me that way, I understand. But I can’t just keep pretending that we’re friends and that I don’t feel differently about you. I had to say it out loud because it’s been eating away at me inside. It killed me to see what Justin did to you.” Nash flinched at the mention of his name and felt like crying, watching Travis pour his heart out in Claudes kitchen, eyes pleading with her to say something.

“Travis. It’s not that I don’t love you, you know I do. I’m just scared.”

“ And I get that. I would never do to you what he did Nash. Please tell me you know that.”

“ I know. I know your not Justin. I’m just still really hurting.”

“I understand if your not ready” He was looking sadly at his feet hands still in his pockets.

“ I didn’t say that.”

Travis smiled slow at first and then it grew wider. He opened his arms very slowly and Nash fell into them, gripping the back of his shirt.

“We can do as fast or as slow as you want. I’m not going anywhere. I promise you.”

And then Nash looked up and kissed him right on the mouth, in the middle of the Giroux’s kitchen as a sea of applause and catcalls erupted from the living room. Sawyer let her head fall on to Nolan’s shoulder. He breathed out a sigh of relief not only because things were whole and peaceful again, but because of that there would be no one to interrupt him when he finally made his move.

******

Travis fell into bed, still smiling while Nash curled up in bed in her own apartment across town. Libby and Joel had come home and spent the rest of the evening curled up, watching a movie and the Girouxs congratulated eachother on a job well done over a glass of white wine.

******

She wasn’t quite sure how it happened. One minute they were standing in her living room and before she knew it here they were wrapped up in bed together his lips pressed against hers, hands leaving goosebumps as they moved across her skin, pulling her shirt up over her head.

Nolan’s eyes burned into hers as he pulled her leggings down agonizingly slow, and tossed them to the side. He shed his own pants and slowly pulled his shirt over his head. Sawyer propped herself up, and really looked at him. His once lanky frame was now padded with rock hard muscle, and his jaw more defined than she had ever seen it before. He was no longer the shy boy from Winnipeg but someone different who stood in front of her. His hair, long and shaggy fell around his face and into his eyes. She watched the muscles in his arms flex as he moved hovering over her, nose brushing her neck as he planted soft kisses down to the base of her throat. His hands were hot on her cold skin, and she shivered underneath him in anticipation. He picked his head up to look at her and kissed her very softly, but methodically fingers brushing her hair from her face, as his deep voice came in her ear.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”

[queridopascal]

Could you do number 45 with Javier, please? Maybe where the reader is a female DEA agent and takes a bullet for him.

Your writing is incredible btw, thank you for doing these!

Aw anon, you're so sweet, thank you for your feedback and thank you so much for this request, hope you enjoy it ❤️

Confession (Javier Peña x DEA Agent F!Reader)

45. You took a bullet for me

Warning: mention of blood

Prompt taken from this list

JOIN A TAGLIST!

The peculiar smell of disinfectant made your nose wiggle involuntarily and you opened your eyes, finding yourself surrounded by the cold tones of a hospital room. 

Looking down at your covered body, you felt as if the dotted blanket was enveloping you like some sort of vice, keeping you secured to the mattress. You moved your shoulders to loosen the tight grip of the blanket and tried to lay on your side, but the excruciating pain coming from just above your left hip caused you to hiss in so much pain that your sight went black for a moment.

"Por favor, acuéstese." ("Please, lay down.") a middle-aged nurse rushed to your bed.

"¿Que pasó?" ("What happened?")

"Te dispararon, tienes que descansar." ("You got shot, you need to rest.") she tucked you in, looked briefly at your vitals and left the room. 

As you closed your eyes, fragments of memories reappeared in your mind: the wild ride through the streets of Medellín, the ambush, busted doors and windows and, ultimately, the gunshots. 

You could still hear the machine guns, the screams, the cries… everything, as clear as ever. 

"Can I come in?" 

You were so absorbed by the memories that you didn't notice Javier standing just outside your room, until he knocked lightly on the doorframe and you turned to him.

You nodded silently and he walked in, closing the door behind him, a pained look on his face. 

"How are you feeling?" he took your right hand in his and squeezed it gently, the pad of his thumb grazing your knuckles. 

"Fine… I guess." you shrugged lightly before tilting your head to the side to meet his gaze. 

His brown eyes were the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. Even when they were filled with apprehension, they somehow managed to radiate a sense of calm. 

"Do you remember anything?" he asked and you nodded, turning your face to stare out of the window. 

You both fell silent for a long moment, the only noises you could hear were your breaths and the beeping sound of the heart monitoring machine placed right next to your bed. 

All of a sudden, Javier's hand left yours to move up and cup your cheek. You leaned into his touch, relishing in the warmth of that gesture before he turned your face towards him. 

"You took a bullet for me." he stared at you with tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. 

"I-I don't…" 

You didn't recall having done that, but the moment you saw Javier cry, it all made sense. 

"Y-you risked your life… for me." he sniffled, wiping away the tears with the back of his other hand. 

"Oh, Javi..."

You were both crying now, his body collapsed on yours and he carefully wrapped his hands around you. Instinctively, one of your hands rested on his back while the other tangled through the hair at his nape, his face resting on your shoulder as you both tried to contain your sobs. 

"It should have been me… in this bed…" he muttered against your gown. 

"No, Javier. Please, don't say that." you pulled away and shook your head in disbelief. 

How could he even think about saying such things? 

"Look at me." you put both hands on his cheeks so your eyes were at his' level "Things like these can happen, it's our job. You were the one who told me during my first week here in Colombia, remember?" 

Javier exhaled a shaky breath then nodded, his brown eyes never leaving yours. 

"And… I don't want you to say that it should have been you staying in this hospital, I don't want you to even think about saying those things." 

"It's just… I was scared to death." he grabbed your wrists and removed your hands from his face, keeping them in his "When I saw all that blood, and… when you fainted in my arms it was like the whole world was crashing down around me." 

"Javier, I…" was everything you managed to say between your tears. 

"But now you're here, you're alive and… I don't want to spend another day on this planet without you, because..." he swallowed and took a deep breath, his eyes lost in yours "...because I am in love with you." 

Pushed by a sudden force, you crashed your lips to Javier's as the tears kept streaming down your face. It felt like floating mid air: his taste was ethereal, able to cure every evil, and his lips were so soft and delicate, like cotton candy. 

You pulled away for an instant before kissing him again as your hands traced the contour of his jaw and neck, wanting to memorize every single detail of him and that moment.

PERMANENT TAGLIST: @sleep-tight1 @mssbridgerton @imcalledflorence

JAVI TAGLIST: @xjsteph

[lovelyspencerreid]

made from the same star

here’s another little something I wrote at 2am in my feels. If you wanna know the vibe I was going for, play the song “Tomorrow’s Song” by Olafur Arnalds. Literally listened to that on repeat for this. Anyways, still wondering when I’m gonna have something like this in my life but whatever, I hope you all enjoy :) (also I change tenses alot????)

Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral Reader

1.2k words

Summary: spencer and his love sit on the kitchen floor having a soft conversation in the middle of the night.

He spins you around the kitchen to the delicate classical music escaping the worn music player in the corner of the room. Warmth radiates off your flushed faces, nothing more intimate than spending the evening swaying in each other’s arms. The twinkling lights adorning the kitchen reflect in your lover’s eyes, making them seem as infinite as the universe. You feel at peace as he delicately slides his hand to the side of your face and you lean into his touch. The only word you are able to find to describe the moment is ethereal; you feel as though you are in the presence of the universe itself.

You never did believe in the idea of true love, of finding your person, your soulmate, your everything – but standing here before you, here he was. Even more perfect than your younger self may have ever imagined.

He pulls you into his embrace and you bask in the feeling of love – of loving and being loved. Tangling your fingers into his hair, you pull his face down to meet yours. You both smile into the kiss, a gentle kiss you hardly feel, softer than the pure snowing falling outside the kitchen window.

Sliding down against the cabinets, you end up in his lap, never once breaking the kiss - holding on as if he was the only thing keeping you grounded. Placing your forehead delicately against his own, you can’t help but release a sigh of pure relief.

You shift in his lap as to be able to look up at the skylight. The stars and the universe don’t compare to him -- the beautiful soul that your body rests on. Placing a soft kiss against his cheek, he returns the gesture by looking at you the way the moon looks at the stars.

“Spence?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think we’re soulmates?”

After a moment of thinking, he puts his finger up to his lips.

“Theoretically speaking, it is presumed that your chances of finding your soul mate is only 1 in 10,000 or about .010%. But nothing about this is mathematical… it’s not something you can justify with a quantifiable ans–”

“I think so. I think we’re made from the same star,” you quickly respond before his rambles continue.

You position your head underneath his chin and nuzzle in and he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. He chuckles, the genius in him urging to tell you that scientifically, that isn’t possible… but he resists. For once, he doesn’t need logic, he doesn’t think with his brain – he feels with his heart.

“You think so?” he asks.

“Mhm, I think we’re meant to find each other in every lifetime because our little star particles try to find their counterparts. They traveled so far to get here, they have to be together.”

“I don’t want another lifetime, I just want to stay in this one with you.”

You pause, mulling over his words, while rubbing your thumb gently over his hand.

“...Spence?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“Will you let me go first?”

“What on earth do you mean?” he questions, concern lacing his voice.

“I mean, when it’s our time, I don't want you to go first. I want to be selfish and leave first, I can’t bear to witness the lack of your existence. What ever will my star particles do?”

“I’m not going anywhere for a long time,” he responds surely.

“Promise me?”

“I promise.”

He pulls you in closer, even more so than you thought possible, caressing your every feature. You feel a warm droplet land on your face, looking up to see tears streaking his cheeks.

“Oh, Spence I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“No, no it’s not that. I just love you so much. You and your star particles.”

“Hm. I love you and your star particles too.”

You intertwined your hands and pulled his to your mouth, your lips delicately leaving small kisses on each of his knuckles.

“Do you know the moment I fell in love with you?” he implores.

You perked up, removing your head from his shoulders and straddling his lap on the cold kitchen floor.

“No, do tell.”

“The first case you were in on, once we caught the unsub… we were on that plot of land in the middle of nowhere. It was the middle of the night and you could see every individual star and I couldn’t help but think you shone the brightest out of all of them… I saw you mouthing words to the sky, and I grew curious. Upon closer approach, I overheard you talking to the moon, clutching your necklace. I knew in that moment that I was doomed. Nothing about you made sense and at the same time everything did.”

You listened intently to every sentence he produced, hanging on to every last word.

“You big sap.” You lightly smacked his arm.

“I’m just recalling the truth, blame my brain,” he responded, giggling.

“You and that big beautiful brain of yours… I remember that. Y’know what’s funny? That’s the same night I fell in love with you … ironically enough, I caught you staring at me with the most precious expression on your face as if we hadn’t just witnessed the horrific events of our job. I knew then and there that you were a wonderful soul and you were the soul for me.”

“Oh, whose the sap now?”

“Shut up Spencer, you know you love it.”

“That I do.”

He let out a warm breath with his chuckle and you swore it was the loveliest sensation on the planet. Nothing felt more intimate than this moment. You pressed your nose against his shoulder and inhaled his scent – a mixture of vanilla and something sweet you couldn’t quite place your finger on. He slowly rocked you in his arms and you could feel yourself dancing on the edge of sleep.

He hummed along with the music, contemplating where the conversation might lead. Your quiet snuffs made his heart full, he pet your hair as you slowly closed your eyes. And when you nuzzled into his chest, clutching onto his shirt, in that moment, he knew.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, my darling?” You mumbled almost incoherently.

“Will you marry me?”

Wide-eyed, you sat up and rubbed at your eyes with your hand covered by the sleeves of his cardigan. You searched his eyes for any hint of a joke – but alas, you found none.

“Say it again.”

“Will you marry me?”

Tears brimmed your eyes as you looked at the man sitting before you and you began to nod profusely. Stray strands of hair flying as you pressed your lips to his, almost inhaling him, trying to soak in his entire being.

“Oh Spence, of course I will… Yes! Yes.”

He cradled your face in his hands, breaking the kiss just to look at his love’s face. Nothing could be more perfect, no proposal more fitting for your relationship. Soft, intimate, silly and of course entirely sappy.

He dug into the pocket of his cardigan and pulled out a delicate ring, laying his hand flat out as an invitation for your own. You placed your hand on his and he slowly slipped the ring onto your finger. Admiring it for no more than a second, you pulled him back in for yet another kiss.

“I love it Spencer and I love you even more.”

“Impossible. I love you more.”

You stared into his eyes, a smile adorning your respective faces. Breaking eye contact, you looked down at the ring, taking notice that it was in the shape of two hands holding a moon… and on the side it had one simple phrase engraved into it.

‘After all, we were made from the same star.’

[sjmsstuff]

Light and Dark

Chapter 3

A/N: back at it again, this time with a slightly shorter chapter, I’ve been swamped with work, don’t hate me x. Small bit of angst but like not loads.

Warnings: major warning for sexual abuse if you want to skip it just stop reading at <~> and start when you see it again, just know Gwyn had a nightmare.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6,

Gwyn was entirely sure she was an idiot.

A fool, an imbecile, an utter buffoon.

She could hardly look at Az all morning at training and then she could hardly think of anything but him as she worked in the library.

Nesta came down an hour after they parted at training, looking flushed and happy.

It was astonishing the difference between who she was when she first arrived and the female who stood before her now. Happiness radiated from Nesta when it used to disapate in her presence. Her slender frame was no longer thin and skinny but toned and full. Her eyes looked less weary and the bags had disappeared.

The two friends chatted as Nesta completed her duties for Clotho and Gwyn scampered through the jobs Merril had given her.

Thankfully the cranky priestess was cloistered in her office for the evening, meaning Gwyn could talk without needing to look over her shoulder every few minutes, like a guilty man waiting to be apprehended.

Merril was still researching the idea of multiple worlds layering on top of each other. To be completely honest Gwyn had no idea what she was on about half the time but nodding and scurrying hadn’t failed her yet.

She left Nesta hours later to return to the dreaded office with an assortment of copied and highlighted texts that Merril had requested, each organised and double checked to avoid any scenes.

Though Gwyn had thoroughly enjoyed the first clash of her friend and her superior, she was not especially eager for a rematch. Clotho may be upset if one of the cleverest priestesses could no longer write.

Or breathe.

Merril was sitting with her back to the door when Gwyn entered, so she quietly deposited the books on a small table. Merril waved her off without looking up and Gwyn took that to mean she was dismissed.

Dinner was a dismal affair. She was close with a few of the other girls but shared nothing like the connection she, Nesta, and Emerie lived for. Probably because she hadn’t killed and nearly died for her fellow priestesses.

They were missing out.

Gwyn returned to her dormitory that night, resolutely not thinking about hazel eyes, soft mouths or slender, scarred fingers.

Instead she drifted off to sleep, humming a quiet melody.

<~>

Hands grabbed her waist, her heart. Someone was screaming, it sounded like her sister but she wasn’t sure.

She wasn’t even sure how she could hear anything over the pounding heartbeat in her ears.

How could Gwyn have a heartbeat when she was dead? Maybe she wasn’t dead yet, maybe she was just dying. It would be over soon.

Men laughed around her. Bile crept up her throat.

Her skirts were around her waist.

Cold wood bit into the back of her bare thighs.

Her thighs were forced open. There was a speck of soot on the ceiling.

Someone should probably clean that off.

She thrashed but it was no use when her wrists were locked. They felt trapped in stone.

Stone that smelled of death and stone that dug it’s nails into her wrists, biting like the teeth of a hound.

His sweat dripped down onto her face. It felt too similar to blood. The children’s blood, Catrin’s blood.

He robbed that special occasion from her. She wanted it to be important, it was supposed to be important, that moment in a woman’s life and it was stolen.

He was finished.

More lined up.

She stopped thrashing. She couldn’t move.

Broken.

Another unbuckled his belt.

A slash of red, then glowing blue siphons and-

<~>

Gwyn woke with a gasp.

She was out of bed and tugging on a dressing gown before she could even think about what she was doing.

Out of the dormitories and up into the library. It was quiet, fae lights burned low and sleep hung heavy in the silence.

It was probably hours away from dawn.

Up the stairs and there, a door. She swung it open and Nesta stood before her.

“Gwyn? What are you-“ Nesta looked concerned, Gwyn probably looked a state.

Cassian stood behind his mate, blade in hand, scanning the hall.

Nesta reached for her but she jerked out of reach, she needed-

“Gwyn?”

A smooth, deep voice. She almost collapsed in relief.

Instead she turned towards the warrior standing at the foot of the stairs.

Gwyn fell against his chest before she realised she had moved. Strong hand wrapped around her, then quickly withdrew. Soft shadows encased her instead. Singing soft words of comfort and they soothed her.

Azriels chest rumbled as he spoke to Nesta and Cassian. Then he attempted to guide her up the stairs but she clung to him.

He was the only solid thing in the raging sea and she wasn’t going to let go of her lifeline.

Instead Azriels strong arms wrapped around her legs and waist and she was softly carried into a room that smelled like home. ***

Gwyn woke hours later as dawn filtered through large windows that covered one wall. She was curled in an armchair, a softly moving pillow rising and falling beneath her head.

A pillow that smelled a lot like Azriel.

She shifted slightly in his lap to look up at his sleeping face. Dark eyelashes that shadowed high cheekbones, fluttered slightly. Gwyn shifted some more, readying to get up, but strong arms wrapped around her, tucking her in close, burying his head in her hair.

She sat there, comfortable in Azriels arms for minutes or hours until the sun rose fully, bringing with it the realisation of where she was, and what had brought her to this comforting embrace.

Embarrassment shifted her weight again, waking Azriel fully. His arms loosened, hazel eyes filling with concern, no doubt from the memories of the night before.

Gwyn rose fully, “Thank- Thank you for that,” she gestured vaguely to the chair they had been tucked in on, “But it really wasn’t necessary for you to sleep with me in your arms, your neck probably hurts and you would’ve been more comfortable in your own bed, not that I’d want to be in your bed,” Gods what was she saying? “It’s just that you probably would’ve been-“

“Gwyn.” Az still lay prone in the armchair, wearing loose bottoms and a thin sleeping shirt. Gods he was pretty in the early sunlight.

“Ye- Yes?”

“It’s alright,” He smiled softly, “I’ve slept in worse conditions and you didn’t really want me to let you go.”

Mother, could she get any more red?

“And, well,” he coughed slightly, “it didn’t really seem proper to bring you to my bed.”

Yep, she definitely could get more red.

“Oh, well, em, thank- thank you, again” she was making it worse.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

No. Yes? No, she wasn’t ready to relive that experience before breakfast. She had only told two people what happened. Nesta and Emerie. Azriel knew because he was there but she wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“No, I’m fine.”

His expression was unreadable, but he rose, “Come, let’s eat breakfast. Cass and Nesta might join us, if they can separate for long enough.” ***

Nesta and her mate were indeed sitting next to each other at the table when Gwyn entered.

Nesta smiled kindly at her and Cassian winked in greeting before returning to the conversation with his mate. Gwyn took in the easy nature with which they chatted, Nesta occasionally leaning back to laugh at something Cassian said, the way Cassian’s eyes seemed to flare with pride every time.

She glanced over at Azriel who sat across the table from her and realised he had been watching her.

She resisted the temptation to look down, instead keeping his gaze and smiling back when he smirked at her.

Gwyn realised belatedly that Nesta had said something to her.

“What?”

Her friend’s eyes flickered between Gwyn and Azriel, “I said ‘you and I need to get Emerie and go to Velaris’. Rhys kindly agreed to winnow us and he’ll be here in about an hour.”

Gwyn’s brows furrowed, “Why are we going to Velaris?”

Gwyn had been to the city of starlight only a few times, but enjoyed each excursion immensely.

Nesta smirked, “We’re going dress shopping for Starfall.”

Chapter 4

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Tag list: @bookstantrash @perseusannabeth @champanheandluxxury @sayosdreams @princessofmerchants @princessofmerchants-reads @azrielsshadowsdanceforgwyn @illyrian-valkyrie @lovelywordsandwine @thron3ofbooks @velaaaris @gwynkyrie @acourtofmidnightsnacks @simpforfictionalmenandwomen @bittermuire @mirubyai @velvetrays

[americxn]

part two of "his darkness" please? i loved that imagine sm pls pls do a part 2 💖

His Darkness (part 2)

wordcount: 1.2k warnings: swearing, mentions of blood

a/n: I really hope this is okay, I wasn’t too sure which direction to take this so I went with some fluff. Thank you ! <3

“Kai!” You raised your voice, your chin lifted to the open door of Kai’s guest bedroom that you had been residing in for the past two days. Kai appeared in the doorway scowling slightly at how he had no other choice but to obey your requests. You grinned at him as he entered. “You’re enjoying this far too much.” He grumbled, coming over to where you lounged in a nest of pillows and quilts on the double bed. You hummed in agreement, carefully sitting yourself up and throwing the covers back from your torso. “I need a piss. Help me?” You asked, holding your arms out expectantly. With a sigh, he came over to the edge of the bed, supporting your waist as you scooted to the edge of the mattress. His hands remained gently braced on your torso as you stood slowly, hissing a bit at the pain that radiated dimly from your side. “You okay?” He murmured in your ear as you gained your balance on the floor. You nodded, starting to walk slowly to the bathroom door. “I’m fine. You can stop mother-henning.” He scoffed at your comment as you shuffled to the bathroom door, Kai’s hands never once leaving your body. “I saw you literal minutes from death not long ago, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop ‘mother-henning’.” He pushed open the door of the en-suite and led you to toilet. It was an effort to get you lowered onto the cold seat without disturbing your slowly healing bullet wound, Kai’s neck craned at an absurd angle in order to give you privacy as he helped to hold you upright. The room fell silent as Kai’s hands left your waist and he hurried out of the room so that you could do your business. You called for him once you had finished, enjoying every damn second as he helped you to your feet, reaching down with his eyes closed to help pull up your pants. “I have some bad news.” You said, standing at the sink and washing your hands, Kai stood directly behind you, ready to aid your walk back into the bedroom. “I started my period.” The fear in his eyes at you words made you laugh so hard that it was an effort not to crumple over the sink, your close to hysterical laughing interrupted only by the occasional “ow, ow, ow” as the force of your laughter shook your whole body. “I’m joking.” You admitted through laughter, his blanched face staring at you with wide eyes through the mirror at the possibility that he would have to deal with that too. Kai breathed a sigh of relief, uttering a “thank fuck” before helping you back to your nest of pillows and blankets on the bed.

Kai only came back to tend to you later that night, claiming that he had been busy with cult meetings and planning senate speeches. You only shrugged, having been thoroughly enjoying your afternoon of binge watching netflix, Beverly or another cult member occasionally bringing you snacks and drinks of water. Now you lay on the bed, a towel having been laid out beneath your torso as Kai knelt next to you, an array of cloths and bandages sitting beside him. You hissed softly as Kai peeled off the bandages from your wound, the slight crusting of blood pulling on the sensitive flesh as he removed the dirty gauze. “Sorry.” He muttered, pulling away the last bits of material and surveying your injury. “It looks better than yesterday.” He assured, diverting his attention to the supplies at his side. “Hmm, maybe I’ll purposely tear the stitches just to have you at my every command for just that bit longer.” Kai’s lips curled upwards ever so slightly; you knew that you were the only person who he allowed to talk to him in this way. The thought made your cheeks heat slightly. “Your least favourite part.” This was Kai’s only warning before he lowered the hydrogen-peroxide soaked cloth to you side. You yelped quietly as it began to sting immediately, but Kai’s touch was gentle as he cleaned your wound, careful not to press too hard. “Actually,” you bit out, you hand coming to grasp onto Kai’s other wrist as he worked, “forget what I just said. I swear it gets more painful every time you do it - OW.” You cried, the sound trailing into a shaky laugh as a wave of pain rammed into your side. “Or,” you continued, just talking as a distraction, “you do it on purpose as revenge for having to help me piss and shit every day.” Kai gave the cloth one last careful sweep over your side before abandoning it for a clean sheet of gauze. “I hate that it hurts you.” He said sincerely, his brow furrowed in concentration as he gently placed the square of white bandage over the now clean injury. “But, having to help you ‘piss and shit’, as you put it, hurts a lot more.” You giggled, reaching up to pat the top of his head in thanks as he placed the large adhesive bandage on your side. You watched as he stood, taking the used bandages and quickly discarding them in the en-suite bathroom’s bin. “Seriously though,” you began as he re-emerged from the bathroom, hurrying over to help you as you pushed yourself onto your elbows with a grunt. “I really do appreciate it. I would quite literally be dead if you hadn’t had been there. So thanks, I guess.” Kai snorted as he helped you make your way up the bed to the headboard, pulling back the covers for you so that you could once again nestle into the bed’s warmth before placing them back over you. “You’re welcome. I guess.” He replied, his eyes fixed on you as you snuggled deeper into the bed with a content sigh. His eyes were soft when he pulled back, standing by the bed. You met his gaze, causing him to jerk into motion, reaching for the remote control on the bedside table and chucking it onto the duvet next to you. “You’re being very... un-cultleadery tonight.” He raised an eyebrow. “You mean I’m not being an asshole tonight?” You nodded in agreement, taking the small black remote and beginning to scroll through the home screen of netflix. “I’m just tired.” He said quietly. There was an odd tone hidden somewhere in his voice and his eyes didn’t leave yours when you looked at up at him once more. With a sigh, you lifted up the covers, cringing at the cold air that attacked your bare legs. Kai’s eyes softened when you patted the spot on the mattress beside you. The material of his pants was cold and rough against you skin as he slid into place next you somewhat awkwardly, you struggling to shift over to give him more space. “You’re so quiet today, should I be worried?” You commented lightly as you reached over his body to tuck the covers around him, slightly concerned at his odd demeanour. “Just tired.” He responded simply, laying his head back slightly and closing his eyes. You surveyed him for a moment, his stress evident in the small crinkles at the corner of his eyes. “Well,” you began, snuggling into the bed, your head coming to rest gently on his shoulder. “I could honestly do with some company.” You said, flicking through netflix as you spoke. “And lucky for you, I’ve got some of The Vampire Dairies to catch up on, so get comfy.”

[nicknellie]

@over-under-through1 requested: I was wondering if you could do a modern au/nobody dies with Willex and a sleepover/sort of comfort?

Okay, so in my professional opinion, this is probably one of the cutest things I’ve ever written. Thank you for suggesting it, I hope you like it!

Title from All You’re Dreaming Of by Liam Gallagher.

Underneath the Moon

For the first time in almost eighteen years, Alex had the house to himself for an entire night. His father was away on a work trip, some head-office-organised bonding experience he’d been less than excited about; his mother was out of the state entirely, having a girls’ weekend with her four sisters; and his little sister was staying at his aunt and uncle’s house while both parents were away because as responsible as Alex was, he was only seventeen and his parents hadn’t been foolish enough to leave him in charge of a twelve-year-old who had a tendency to dodge rules.

Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this excited – having free rule of the house felt like a dream come true. The moment he was alone, he had quietly broken every rule that had ever been set out for him: he had worn his shoes in the living room, rested his feet on the furniture, eaten ice cream straight out of the tub, watched a horror movie, and stood in the middle of the living room bellowing curse words for half an hour for no other reason than that there was nobody to stop him. They were petty acts of rebellion, sure, but to Alex they felt freeing and supremely satisfying.

His plan was to have a party. Well, not a party party – there was no way he’d be able to clean up all that mess before his father got home, and having so many people in the house would scare the living daylights out of him. The party would consist of just him and his closest friends having fun together, eating pizza and playing Just Dance and probably sleeping through most of it.

He opened up the group chat which consisted of him, his boyfriend Willie, and his best friends Luke, Reggie, Julie, Carrie, and Flynn. After typing out an invitation for them all, he read it through more times than he could count to make sure all the information was right. But before he could hit send, his phone buzzed with a notification from Willie.

Abandoning his own text, Alex opened up his private chat with just Willie. The text read: I’m feeling a little fragile, do you mind if we hang out?

Usually when Willie felt down it was something to do with his adoptive father, Caleb. They argued a lot, Alex knew, but Willie was normally quite closed off about the whole situation – Alex figured he would talk about it more when he was ready, so he had never pried.

He opened up the group chat and deleted his long message, thankful he hadn’t sent it, before going back to his conversation with Willie. Alex shot back a quick reply asking if Willie wanted to spend the night at his place before he could overthink or regret it.

Alex had stayed over at Willie’s a few times but never on purpose. He often fell asleep while they were having a movie marathon because being wrapped in Willie’s arms like that was sinfully comfortable and Willie radiated heat, so it was easy to doze off. He would wake up in the morning groggy and with no clothes to change into and no toothbrush to use. And Willie hardly ever came to Alex’s house because it was easier for them if they avoided his parents, so he’d never been able to spend the night.

But his parents weren’t here and Willie could be and this time Alex could plan to be with him all night.

Willie replied with an affirmative a moment later and Alex began the slightly unnecessary task of making the house look presentable. There wasn’t a lot to do; his mother had made sure everything was tidy before she had left for the airport, and Alex hadn’t made too much of a mess in his rule-breaking spree earlier. All he needed to do was straighten a few cushions and clear away a few plates and bowls he hadn’t taken to the kitchen earlier.

It was getting dark by the time Willie arrived. Alex could always tell when Willie was at the door because he didn’t ring the doorbell like any normal person, he held the button down and let it ring until somebody answered. It drove Alex’s parents round the bend, which was half the reason Alex found it so endearing.

Willie did the same that night, holding down the button and letting the shrill chime of the doorbell draw Alex to him. When Alex opened the door, Willie was looking up at him with a smile on his face and his board tucked under his arm.

“Hey hotdog,” he greeted, standing up on his tiptoes to press a kiss to Alex’s cheek. “Good day?”

“Yeah,” Alex replied, wrapping him in a one-armed hug and pulling him inside the threshold of the house. “How about you?”

Willie shrugged evasively. “Great now that I’m with you.”

Alex smiled in return, shut the door behind him, then took Willie’s hand and led him to the living room. They plonked themselves down on the sofa and Willie automatically curled himself around Alex like a koala.

This had been what Alex was expecting – when Willie was down, he did his best to cover it up. He hid his sadness behind avoidance and false smiles, but little gestures (like holding Alex so tightly that he thought he might actually burst) were what gave him away.

Willie picked up the remote and flicked the TV on, landing on a David Attenborough documentary. His eyes were trained on the television like it was all he ever wanted to see, which was how Alex knew that there was something he was avoiding talking about.

“Hey,” he said gently, tilting Willie’s head to face him with two fingers under his chin. “You sure you’re okay?”

Willie swallowed but clearly decided lying wasn’t worth it, giving a short shrug. “I don’t know. It’s just been a long day.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alex pressed carefully. “Because if you do then I’m more than happy to listen.”

He was given a weak smile in return. “Not tonight. Maybe just help me cheer up?”

“Of course,” Alex said, nodding. “What do you want to do?”

“Well, first I want to do this – sit and talk with you. Then I thought we could make cookies, I even brought the ingredients for that amazing recipe you made for my birthday.” He nodded down to a plastic carrier bag that Alex hadn’t seen before, placed down by their feet – he could see an ungodly amount of chocolate in it and couldn’t help but smile. “And I want to sleep with you.”

Alex short-circuited. He had not been expecting that. His face flushed and his mouth bobbed open and closed in a half smile – he didn’t think he could form words anymore.

“Oh, wait, that sounded wrong,” Willie said hurriedly. Alex breathed a little easier. “Not like that. No, I just meant I want to sleep next to you, you know, together. Like I said, it’s been a long day.”

“Right,” Alex said, half-relieved. “Right, okay, that makes more sense.”

Willie giggled – that was always an unfair thing to do because it was guaranteed to make Alex lose his mind – and rested his head on Alex’s shoulder. “I love you, hotdog.”

“I love you too.”

They stayed curled together on the sofa until the documentary finished, Alex gently weaving his fingers through Willie’s hair, Willie clinging to Alex like his life depended on it. It was calm and quiet and hardly anything like what Alex had previously planned for that night, but he wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

As soon as the credits began to roll, though, Willie was up out of his seat, had picked up the bag of ingredients and was making his own way to the kitchen. “Come on, hotdog,” he called over his shoulder, “I’m hungry.”

Smiling fondly, Alex followed him to the kitchen and pulled from a shelf the old recipe book he had used a hundred times as a kid. He used to bake with his mother when he was little because they both enjoyed it and they had fun together – they still baked together every now and then, but it was filled with stony silences rather than banter and the only time either of them spoke was when they asked the other to pass them something.

Still, Alex enjoyed baking and he always would, and it had become his favourite pastime with Willie now. Willie was hopeless in a kitchen, but Alex was a whizz and the combination led to mediocre results – the end product didn’t matter, Alex thought, as long as he and Willie had fun making it.

It didn’t take long for things to descend into chaos, as was to be expected when Willie was placed in a kitchen.

“Willie,” Alex said, reaching for exasperation to cover up the adoration in his voice, “if you keep eating the chocolate chips then there won’t be any left to put in the cookies.”

“Don’t worry,” Willie said dismissively. “I bought plenty, there’s still three bags left.”

“We only need one bag for the cookies, why did you buy so many?”

“To eat,” Willie replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Alex tried to look unimpressed but quickly gave up when Willie fed him a chocolate chip, beaming, and he simply had to smile.

The smile had vanished when he’d smelled burning.

“Is something on fire?” he asked, peering past Willie to the cooker.

There was no fire, thankfully, but the chocolate that Willie had been melting was quickly turning black and sticky and it stank of smoke. Willie let out a curse that would have sent Alex’s mother running for the hills and tried to salvage it in vain, scraping at the sides of the bowl with a spatula, trying to un-burn the chocolate.

To top it off, the smoke alarm started beeping.

“Okay,” Alex said, steering Willie away from the stovetop and handing him a tea towel. “You go wave that at the alarm until it stops beeping, I’ll sort out the chocolate.”

Willie did as he was told, whipping the tea towel around his head like a lasso as he made his way out to the hallway to fight the fire alarm, and Alex turned the heat down on the stove, gently removing the bowl of chocolate. He disposed of it easily enough, but there was some fused to the cooker, so he scrubbed at it to get it off. By the time he’d done as much as he could, there was still a small stain, but it was hardly noticeable. As Willie came back, Alex started melting the chocolate himself.

“Sorry,” Willie said, slipping his arms around Alex’s waist from behind. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s fine,” Alex replied, awkwardly turning his head to place a kiss on the tip of Willie’s nose. “It just means you get one less bag of chocolate chips to eat – I’m using them for this.”

Willie groaned and buried his head between Alex’s shoulder blades, mumbling something about life being so unfair. Alex shook with suppressed laughter.

Alex took over control of the cookies from then on, at Willie’s insistence. It wasn’t the easiest of tasks because Willie refused to let go of him, so whenever he needed to move around the kitchen he had to employ an awkward shuffle so that Willie could come too. Still, by the end they had a fresh, warm, gooey batch of heavily chocolatey cookies and the grin on Willie’s face was worth all the hassle.

Alex watched him take his first bite and smiled proudly as Willie’s eyes closed in contentedness. “Good?” he checked.

“I am so in love with you,” Willie replied. Alex wasn’t sure if it was directed at him or the cookie, but he took it as a win.

They found themselves sprawled on the sofa again, the cookies and a half-eaten packet of chocolate chips between them. They ate in comfortable silence – Alex was conscious that it was almost ten o’clock and that it would be a good idea to go to bed soon and that people weren’t supposed to eat before sleeping, but he ignored those niggling thoughts. He enjoyed simply being with Willie, together in his house for once and happy.

Willie was the one to break the silence.

“I was arguing with Caleb earlier,” he said, looking at the cookies instead of Alex.

“Yeah?” Alex said, careful to keep his voice level. “About what?”

“He wants me to start doing shows at the club again,” Willie sighed. “I thought we agreed months ago that after I turned eighteen I wouldn’t have to do the shows if I didn’t want to. And I don’t want to. But he says that apparently the crowd miss me and I should come back.”

“That sucks,” Alex said, hating how lame it sounded. “I’m sorry. Are you still looking for your own place?”

“There’s practically nowhere in my price range,” Willie said, “but I’m supposed to be viewing an apartment next week that might be doable.”

Alex tried for a smile, reached over and held Willie’s hand. “Well, if it works out then you can move out and you’ll be free. No more guilt trips, no Caleb – you won’t even have to think about going back to the club.”

Willie smiled weakly. “Will you come and view the apartment with me?”

“If you want me to then of course I will. Anything, Willie.”

With one last tiny smile, Willie dropped the subject and finished the last bite of his cookie before checking the time. Alex didn’t miss him stifle a yawn.

“Come on,” he said, tugging Willie’s hand and pulling him up. “You’re tired, let’s go to bed.”

Willie didn’t look too enthusiastic about being made to sleep, but he didn’t protest. While Alex got changed in his bedroom, Willie got ready for bed in the bathroom. Suddenly Alex wasn’t sure how all this worked – was it weird for him to be waiting in the bed when Willie entered the room? Surely it was weirder if he was just stood next to it awkwardly and only got under the covers when Willie came in? Maybe, he thought, he should try to make himself look busy so that he wouldn’t seem strange when Willie came in. He tried it, rummaging around in his chest of drawers, but then realised that if Willie asked what he was looking for he wouldn’t have an answer.

He stopped, took a deep breath, and just climbed into the bed. He picked up his phone and scrolled through social media, just for something to do with his hands. Maybe that would look more natural anyway.

When Willie came into the bedroom, he jumped beneath the bedcovers like it was all he had been wanting to do all day, curling around Alex, resting his head on his chest and his hands on his abdomen. Alex put his phone down and pulled Willie closer, hands clasped around his back. He had no idea why he had been worried about this – doing anything with Willie felt natural and safe, why should this have been any different?

“Thank you for everything, Alex,” Willie said softly.

“It was my pleasure,” Alex returned, burying his face in Willie’s hair. “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”

Willie laughed. It sent shivers down Alex’s spine. “Yeah. I know. Goodnight, hotdog.”

“Goodnight, love.”

But Alex couldn’t sleep. He tried, he really did. For whatever reason, he lay there for hours, unable to drift off. Maybe it was having Willie so close, knowing he would stay that close for a long time. Maybe it was the summer air drifting through his open window, warm and soft even though it was nearing midnight. Maybe it was the fact that he’d gone against his gut and eaten those cookies right before sleeping. Whatever it was, Alex couldn’t sleep.

He moved his head to look at Willie, the tiniest movement possible, and saw that Willie’s eyes were open too.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked, tracing Willie’s cheekbone gently with his thumb.

Willie shook his head. “Can you?”

“No,” Alex returned. Then he had an idea. “Wanna do something cool?”

Willie beamed and the two of them clambered out of bed. Alex picked up his duvet then crossed the room to his half-open window and wrenched it open completely. Because of the layout of Alex’s house, his bedroom window led directly onto a gently sloped section of roof. He hoisted himself through the window, then did the gentlemanly thing of helping Willie through too (though he was more than certain Willie could have managed it on his own, more gracefully than Alex had too).

Alex laid the duvet down on the roof like a picnic blanket, sat himself down and patted the space next to him for Willie to join him. The night wasn’t cold – it was summer, so the warm air danced across their faces, keeping them cosy and comfortable while they lay together underneath the moon, watching the stars and the deep night sky.

“I come out here sometimes,” Alex said softly, “because it feels lonely. Not in a bad way, just… it feels so far away from everything and everyone. It’s nice to just be alone sometimes.”

Willie hummed, a gentle response that settled some deep unnameable worry inside Alex’s chest. He softened, melted against Willie, relaxed.

They stayed there for hours, Willie pointing out constellations and giving them names and stories that Alex was almost certain were made up (“That’s Lord Crumpet, he vanquished the dreaded army of Abominable Snow Crabs which is why he has a pincer for a hand.”). It was simply nice.

Once Willie started to yawn, the ends of his nonsense sentences lost to his exhaustion, they crawled back in through the window and back into bed. Warm, close, cuddled, both of them were asleep within seconds.

[asmo-ds]

May I request Satan reunites MC with their cat who passed away before the exchange programme? (I have a HC that Satan’s domain in hell is the cat heaven)

Forever My Kitty

Satan x gn!mc fluff

Summary: While mourning the loss of their dearest feline friend, MC is summoned to the Devildom, where she meets a fellow cat lover who end up aiding her in the best way possible

A/N: I love this prompt I need my soft angy man and YES HIS DOMAIN IS CAT HEAVEN, also naming the cat whiskers because its the most simple generic cat name I can think of

Mourning the loss of your pet is not the ideal time to be summoned to Hell. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to MC, they showed up to the Devildom with tears running down their face, nose red and runny, and glossy, puffy eyes to top it all off. Just minutes before they’d been summoned they’d discovered the frail lifeless body of their beloved feline, Whiskers.

“Seems like bad timing, I’ll try making this quick so you can get to your new home faster,” a man with tanned skin, golden eyes, and blood-red hair spoke, coming closer with a handkerchief, and wiping the salty tears from their cheeks and giving a soft smile.

After Diavolo’s explanation of why MC was in the Devildom and who the hot demon men they’d be staying with were, MC was quick to crawl into their new bed and continue their sobbing session from earlier that day. 

----

After a couple of weeks, MC had grown closer with the Demon Brothers. They eventually began to smile and laugh more, allowing the deceased pet to leave their mind for only moments at a time.

MC loved Satan, they thought he was the kindest and most patient out of all the brothers. They understood how much he loved cats, but every time cats were mentioned they couldn’t help the painful stinging in their chest. 

Whiskers had been their pet since they were ten years old, losing them after all that time should have been easy, so why wasn’t it?

“MC,” Satan said waving his hand in front of their face, bringing them out of their own head and back into Satan’s room where they sat, studying together, “we’re going to fail the Human Culture exam if you don’t pay attention. When did you tune out? We can start from there,” he said softly, running a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated with MC’s attention span.

“Sorry. The last thing I heard was when we were discussing human world pets,” MC sighed, guilty for causing such trouble for the Avatar of Wrath.

“Are you allergic to cats?” Satan suddenly asked.

“Huh? No?” MC answered, confused about his question, suddenly growing a bit sad thinking about Whiskers once more.

“Cats make you sad, do you not like them?”

MC was a bit taken back. They had been so sure it wasn’t obvious. If I tell him and then he tells his brothers, then they will all call me silly for being so sad about the death of an animal, they wouldn’t understand, MC thought.

They snapped out of it when they felt a hand land on their cheek with a soft and careful touch. Satan had reached over to wipe tears off their cheek. They hadn’t even realized they’d began crying, but now that they were aware they’d already started, their walls broke down and they sobbed loudly. 

A panicking Satan pulled them into his chest, letting them cry as he rocked them softly and whispered softly, “I apologize if you don’t like cats I won’t discuss them in your presence anymore-”

“No no no!” MC sat up quickly, worried that Satan was putting too much blame on himself. “If I tell you this... do you mind keeping it quiet and not telling the others? I think they’d find it silly...” MC looked up at him, teary-eyed and hiccupping.

Satan made a motion as if zipping his lips and throwing away the key, making MC smile a bit. 

MC explained everything. “The day I was summoned to the Devildom, I showed up crying- you were there, right?” Satan nodded, "Just minutes before I was brought here, I went downstairs for breakfast. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I realized my cat, Whiskers, had not come to see me yet, which was odd as she showed up almost every morning to trip me. I brushed it off as her being old and tired as I saw her resting on the couch. After grabbing some breakfast I sat next to her and pet her. When I noticed how cold she was I tried not to believe that she'd passed away. I cried for a few minutes, preparing to say my final goodbyes and give her a proper burial," MC took a shaky breath and attempted to stop crying, "But just as I opened my mouth to say some final words to her, Diavolo was in front of me and I was no longer in my world."

Satan held MC tighter, "I am so sorry for your loss, MC," He whispered in their ear, "you can cry now. I'm here for you I promise, I won't let anything make you cry like this ever again, I swear on my life."

Satan picked up MC, bringing them over to his bed and laying down with them. When their breathing slowed down and it was obvious they'd fell asleep, he placed a chaste kiss on their forehead, before tucking them under his covers and heading to the library to find a book he knew would be able to help him make MC happy.

---

MC stirred, slowly peeling open their eyes and reaching their hand up to wipe the crust that'd formed on their waterline. When they tried lifting their hand though, they found a larger one intertwined with their own. They blushed and suddenly took notice of the larger body spooning them from behind, limbs tangled with theirs and warmth radiating onto their skin. They turned slightly, smiling towards the sleeping blond demon with red cheeks. Hesitantly, they removed their hand from his in order to wipe their eyes and see better.

As MC moved to lay back in their previous position and wait for Satan to wake up, they heard a purring sound from the lounge chair that sat a few feet from the bed, causing them to look up and gasp at the sight before them.

"Whiskers?!" MC shot up, accidentally kicking Satan in their struggle to untangle from the blankets. They fell off the bed, onto the book covered floor still tangled up in a sheet as they quickly crawled to the feline in front of them that had by now woken up and was also making their way to meet MC in the middle. 

When MC's hand made contact with the familiar fur and the cat headbutted them with love, they began to cry. This wasn't a dream, Whiskers was here.

"I know the place where cats generally go when they die," a groggy voice came from behind the human. They turned and saw Satan laying on his side, softly smiling at them. "I pulled a few strings to find Whiskers and I brought her here. She's not a normal cat anymore though, she is stronger and has instincts to protect you."

"How so?" Satan reached over, pinching MC's cheeks harshly, to which the feline responded with a hiss and Satan just barely missed its claws. "Whiskers! Be nice to him," MC commanded. Whiskers looked at Satan with disgust, to which he laughed. 

"Rescuing her came with a price though..." Satan said, MC tilting their head in response.

Satan pulled off his shirt, causing the human to turn red and look away out of respect for his privacy, no matter how badly they wanted to see him.

"Whiskers didn't seem to like me very much at first, but I think that we'll manage to get along for your sake," the blond said, walking over to MC. MC looked at him and gasped as they saw his abdomen had been scratched up, presumably by Whiskers. "She ruined one of my shirts AND I'm gonna have to listen to Asmo rant about my skin being ruined until further notice, therefore you owe me."

"Anything! I'll do anything to repay you, Satan!" MC smiled innocently, making Satan chuckle as he gripped their jaw softly with one of his hands, turning their face to him. They blushed as he put a hand on their nape.

"I want you to repay me, by allowing me to call you mine," Satan smirks, slightly blushing. 

"Sounds like you're just doing ME another favor," MC smiled, tilting their head, brushing their lips against Satan’s softly. The man was about to fully kiss MC when suddenly there was a furry head, pushing them away from each other and begging MC for attention. 

"Whiskers! Don't cockblock me!" MC scolded before giggling and wrapping the cat in their arms and crawling over to Satan to hold him as well. They felt complete for the first time in a long time.