#i was hoping and praying people would pick up on this person at a hot ass crowded party wearing a fucking leather jacket was vi 😭

[valalice]

i don't even know how to respond to this, because i'm just buzzing! first, thank you so much for reading and supporting! in my eyes you are HUGE, so again, thank you 🤍

and for you to say the introduction is insanely good? literally falling to my feet! i'm so pleased to hear that you're interested to see what i'm cooking up (which is beyond abundant, i think i'm even more excited than the readers at this point), i just really wanted the introduction to not feel like a proper introduction. i wanted the reader's to come in not expecting much, then leave hooked for the next chapter wanting to learn, read more about it, and that i somehow managed to execute AND achieve that is beyond me.

i could honestly babble on and on about rockstar!vi and popstar!reader... but i'll just leave that all up for you guys to read about!

PRELUDE: POPULARITY CONTEST

punk rockstar!vi 𝑥 fem!popstar!reader

summary. label mandated events. everyone dreads them, but social networking is a must; an art form managers have mastered and a sport to artists in order to thrive in the competitiveness that is the music industry. and it’s here where the two of you were closer than you had even thought.

warnings. it's just the prelude, so no major warnings. angst a little bit. industry parties. mentions of alcohol and drugs. original non-canon characters. mentions of not so great friends (surround yourself with people you love). not much more i can think of, if i missed any, please lmk.

wc. 1543

a speaks. well! here she is! the first chapter of the series. i'm not completely satisfied with it, but it's just the prelude, a little teaser for what's to come, she is on the shorter side because it is a prelude, regular chapters will be longer! and with that i have to plug my ao3, i will be dully posting her on tumblr and on ao3, so if you prefer the formatting of ao3 over tumblr's then feel free to head over there! there will be no explicit of vi within the prelude *wink* but the next chapters y'all will be fed, i promise! and lastly thank you so much from just the amount of sweet comments saying how excited you are for the series, it not only motivates me but also warms my heart. i love you guys, thank you for the support. happy reading <3

for the fame series masterlist. read it on ao3. series playlist.

YOU STARE STUNNED at your manager. Mouth agape, skin drained of all its color, and eyes wide, bulging even, to the point where if you even tried to widen your eyes further they’d pop out of your sockets and roll onto the floor ridden with fallen confetti.

“And you chose to tell me this now?” you questioned, voice fluctuating to a pitched shrill. Out of the frustrated and impending heavy stress-ridden weights you already feel stacking on your shoulders and in hopes that your manager could hear your distaste for the delivery of this news over the bumping music.

“I didn’t know when to tell you.”

There wasn’t enough restraint nor care to hold the scoff that bubbled up in your chest, up to your throat, and out your mouth. “So, here was the perfect place, Corinne?” quirking an eyebrow.

“I knew the news would get you,” pausing to look down the length of your antsy figure, a clear standout in the sea of swaying people against each other. Trying to gather the right words that won’t send you off your rocker, further. “wound up. And I was right. But you’re at a party, the environment is fun, loose, and light. Enjoy it, you’re with friends.” she eases, inching closer towards you, knowing what works with you in the near decade of being your manager.

Your eyes bore into Corinne's, squinting at her just before dropping to eye at the little glittery clutch in your hand that matches your skirt. Flicking at a few of the glitter specs on the clutch with a manicured nail before huffing, shoulders deflating upon the exhale from the involuntary hunch you had them in seconds before. 

Corinne’s words soak past surface level for a moment, absorbing, and trying to understand that, while unideal, being in an uppity environment could busy your racing mind from running laps around any and all possibilities on why your boss urgently wants a meeting with you. Yet, still, you would’ve much preferred this news in private. Wrapping your arms around yourself, looking over your shoulders to the people in the room—some faces you knew, whether they're fellow artists, celebrities of varying lists, or casual socialites who find their way into parties like these often, but most of whom you don't know, that's how it's always been; being in a room full of people who you have no idea who they are, yet they know everything about you. Turning back around to Corinne, “None of these people are my friends.”

“Then, colleagues.” she fixes, raising her voice when the music starts to roar.

Instead of scoffing a humble chuckle takes its place. “Colleagues who want to see me crash and burn into the Bermuda Triangle to never be seen again. Then, yes, they are.”

Corinne gives you a look you know all too well, a disciplinary look when the older woman thinks whatever you’d just said was inappropriate. Her head drops and a hand finds home on her waist as her body slants. “Morbid. These colleagues who ‘want to see you crash and burn’ are also fighting with each other to get a feature.” 

“There won’t be much to feature on if I get fired.” you gloom, grey, thundering clouds of pessimism altering your mood.

“You’re the label’s darling, no one’s getting fired.” she comforts, or tries. Even after all these years, it’s still foreign to her to properly comfort you in moments like these, but she does her best as the arm against her side raises. The coldness of her hand on your upper arm startles you, an icy comfort soothes over your burning skin, relaxing into her touch. ‘You’re the label’s darling’ runs on repeat like a record on a record player, the only thought that occupies the dark space of your mind right now, attempting to stomach the words in hopes that you’d digest them and be able to believe that Corinne is right.

The pressure of her hand leaves your arm, the pads of her fingers wisping down your upper arm as she catchers her arm to lay at her side once again, taking a step back from you with a click of her heels. Now, it’s Corinne’s turn to look beyond her shoulders to observe the room, everyone’s in their own fantasy land—maybe that’s due to the boos and drugs making their rounds through the room for each guest to get their desired fix—yet, she digress when she focuses attention to the younger in front of her. The pesky grey clouds persisting overtop of your head, your slumped figure reminding her nothing less than a kicked puppy; she pitties you.

“I’m going to network. I think I spotted that one videographer you’ve been wanting to work with.” She hoped that with this mention you’d perk up, but she got nothing more than a tight-lipped smile followed by a weak nod.

“It would be pretty cool if we got him to work on the new album visuals.”

Corinne shares her own tight-lipped smile with you. “Atta girl. Try to loosen up, yeah? You’re going to get more knots if you stay tense.”

A feathery light laugh falls from your lips that she turns her worries to the hypothetical knots you’ll develop. “Noted. I’ll see if I can find my friends.” contradictory to your earlier statement, but it’s a win-some-lose-some situation when all you’ve got is a small pool of people to refer to as a friend. Never genuine a friend, no, but you do develop a bond when mutual use of each other is used to forget the loneliness that is guaranteed with fame.

“You mean colleagues?” she quips, testing you on your past ideology.

There was a space that became as the two of you began to drift apart. “They’re starting to overlap for me.” you shrug, already knowing that both wish to see the same thing happen to you. Leaving Corinne to watch as you disappear into the abyss, pleased that you’ve regained even just a bit of pep in your step—she knows you too well to not know how to get your spirits back on track.

Working your way through the crowd you shout your fair share of “Excuse me’s” and “Right behind you’s”, refraining the best you can from elbowing your way through after a few shoves to yourself; although you’re almost positive that most deserve the elbow. 

Balling your fist up, still grasping your clutch in your grasp, as you bring your hands up to your chest, thinking you’ll move fast through the crowd without your arms at your sides. Just when you’re near the other side of the room you hear the shouts of your name—stage name, but name nonetheless—through the music, certain that when you exit the building your ears will be ringing and your heart still vibrating in your chest cavity from the blaring music the DJ is mixing up. Whipping around you squint, attempting to see the caller of your name past the blinding light effects. With defeat, you shuffle through the crowd, following the indicator of the person’s arm flailing in the air every so often.

Not knowing what happened next, if your foot got caught or if someone had shoved you again, but you end up bracing onto someone’s back. Taking a hold of their broad shoulders the best you can, cringing when the blunt sound of your clutch meets the person’s back in the abrupt moment, while your other hand desperately tries to get a grasp on them, but you end up just missing the mark as your sweaty hand (courtesy of the cramped space) slides down the leathery smoothness of their jacket.

It’s a blur when you crane your neck to look out to the crowd once more upon the call of your name, a hand snapping around your wrist and pulling you into their grasp—it’s Gwen, her model legs reaching you quicker than you would’ve ever been able to. Before you can process an apology for bracing on the random person, Gwen is already whisking you through the congested room. Too preoccupied with trying to catch a glimpse over your shoulder from where you previously were to pay attention clearly to whatever she’s rambling about, not that you could hear her anyway over the DJ’s newest mix. But as you move further along, you can no longer spot the mystery person, or well their back, who had generously been in the right spot at the right time for you to catch yourself on them. Not that you’d be able to know what they looked like, just going off of the fact that they’d be wearing a leather jacket—though who would wear a leather jacket in here?

The question would linger in your mind for the rest of the night, scoping through the crowd for anyone who had on anything eerily similar to a leather jacket. And when the night rounds out to an end you’re left with an irk buried deep beneath your skin that the question is left unanswered, with no real reason on why you’re bothered by this.

Yet, this incident out of many—the countless right times, right places missed—unknowingly brings you one step closer to the meeting that’s always been bound to occur.

thank you for reading <3 remember to comment and reblog!

for the fame series masterlist | next chapter (coming february 14th!)

permanent taglist. @oceangalore @ellabbss @marvelwomenarehot0 @r3starttt @e11iewilliamsgf @sevikas-baby

🎥 series taglist. @sawaagyapong @baylegend6 @hauntedbydreams @sevisrealwife @dameacia @tdawg2012 @usuck @foralltheprettygirls @aphrodyk3 @ar1anw3n @jupitism @into-f0lkl0re @minaridior @sinsyster @prwttiestbunny @amsxdoll @ur-ur-urmom @drunkalex @ozzeryyyo @catrapplesauces @soltwent @velieditss @p13rreg4sly @vaebear @viietta @violetszn

if you'd like to join the "for the fame" taglist please comment here on the original master post of the series! if you'd like to join my permanent taglist fill out this form!

[verstappenf1lecccc]

Charles leclerc x reader, your his assistant that He has been pinning over forever and drops hints and like a lovesick puppy to you but your oblivious and innocent to it? Know you can do this rlly good lovely — F1driverszona 🤍

More then just an assistant

i love f1driverszona so much!! hi bae this is for you :)

comments and replies are always appreciated!!

When you accepted the job, you knew the challenges you'd face wouldn't be easy. However, you never anticipated your boss being one of those challenges. Charles was never a difficult person; he was always easygoing and well-spoken. He only became difficult when he had his eyes set on a specific target—or in this case, a specific person. His last assistant had left for another job, leaving Charles with a significant position to fill. Interviewing hundreds of people day in and day out was exhausting, and he was honestly on the verge of promoting any random intern. But then, you walked in—hair flying, papers everywhere; in short, you looked like a hot mess. Yet, he couldn’t take his eyes off you.

Your looks weren’t the only thing that impressed Charles. Your CV was more than impressive, showcasing all the hard work you'd done. The sudden decision to hire you had tilted your world upside down. You went from living in a small apartment in a rather miserable neighborhood to residing in the country’s best penthouse. From day one, it was clear that your boss had a soft spot for you. You often got away with things others didn’t, like showing up to work late, leaving early, and skipping those horrible meetings. You were given all the liberties in the world, yet you never took advantage of them. This habit of yours often left Charles scratching his head, wondering why you never took advantage of his kindness and leniency.

Charles knew he'd had his eye on you since day one. Each day you walked into his office made him smile wider. Everyone around you both knew how captivated Charles was by you, yet you remained oblivious. It was hard to ignore the feelings you had for Charles, but for the sake of professionalism, you often suppressed them. It was challenging, especially considering how kind and handsome he was. His smile had you weak, and the veins in his arms, especially when he flexed, had you wondering how his hand would look wrapped around your neck—anyway. Charles always kept you on your toes with how he handled you. His hand would always find its way comfortably to the small of your back, or he'd always be hands-on, even for the smallest tasks.

One specific incident genuinely made you wonder if your boss had feelings for you. Charles never bothered you after work hours, as he was a gentleman. So when you picked up his call one evening and heard the blaring music from a club, you knew something was up. Before he spoke, you heard a very drunk Lando yelling, “Look at you, Charlie! Can’t even stay away from her for more than a couple of hours!” His reply would have made you swoon if only you understood French: “Mon bébé, je jure que je ferai de toi ma femme un jour, mon amour. J'aimerais pouvoir dire ça sobrement.” When you asked him the next day what he'd said, he simply brushed it off, saying he’d tell you when the time was right.

You had made the mistake of talking about Charles to your overly enthusiastic best friend, Eli. You'd always felt something odd when you were around Eli but brushed it off since he'd been in your life since you were five, and you weren't one to think poorly of people. Eli, who was oddly against your feelings for Charles, proposed a plan to get you two together by showing up at the Italian Grand Prix as your boyfriend to make Charles jealous. Though you had a bad feeling, you reluctantly agreed.

Monza was always magical, especially since you worked for Ferrari. You loved seeing how fans adored Charles and Carlos. You even joined the locals in praying for a Ferrari win, secretly hoping it would be Charles. When Charles qualified P4, everyone assumed it was because the car lacked pace. However, Charles was distracted by seeing you with Eli. It wasn’t the fact that you were with another guy—it was how uncomfortable you looked. Eli insisted that pretending to be your boyfriend meant he could touch and hold you as he pleased, making you so uncomfortable you wished you could disappear. He justified it as "part of the plan."

Race day was the first time you spoke to Charles again. His responses were curt and had an edge to them, which was unusual. All he wanted to do was pull you into his arms and kiss you before the race. Instead, you exchanged a meek, “Good luck, Charlie.” He simply nodded, determined to win for both of you.

When Charles miraculously won the race, his first thought was of you. He couldn’t wait to see you and planned to pull you into his arms and whisper the same words he’d said while drunk. This time, though, he was sure you would understand, as you now knew some French. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. The strange feeling you had around Eli turned out to be justified—he was trying to drug you, hoping to manipulate the situation to drive Charles away and take advantage of you himself.

Eli had been slipping drugs into the water you drank. He knew you didn’t drink alcohol and had to be creative. Midway through the race, you began to feel dizzy, struggling to focus. Around lap 45, you sensed something was seriously wrong, and luckily, Rebecca noticed too. When Eli left momentarily to fetch more "water," you encountered Rebecca, who saw how pale and clammy you were. She informed Andrea and took you to the medical center, where you eventually collapsed.

When Charles crossed the finish line, he was on an emotional high—until he heard what happened to you. Charles never saw himself as a violent man, but when he heard about Eli’s plan, he couldn’t hold back his fury. He confronted Eli, who confessed to his scheme. It was a stupid plan, one intended to tear apart two people who clearly belonged together. Charles’s only concern, however, was you. Seeing you quiet and still made him realize how much he depended on your presence.

You had been unconscious for eight hours and were taken to a nearby hospital for safety. When you finally woke, you felt a rough hand over yours. Charles had stayed by your side the entire time, his eyes tired yet softening as you stirred. Slowly, your memory returned, and so did the panic of recent events. It took Charles an hour to calm you down. A week later, Eli was arrested for his crimes, and Charles barely left your side. Later that week, he finally asked you out.

He wasn’t the smoothest, but he composed a song on the piano for you and played it as he invited you to a high-end restaurant you’d always dreamed of. Toward the end, he finally said the words in French that he’d kept close to his heart: “La dernière fois que j'ai eu le courage de te dire ces mots, j'étais ivre. Cette fois, je suis sobre, et je suis complètement amoureux de toi. S'il te plaît, sois mon amant?”

You simply replied, “J'ai toujours été à toi, Charlie. Tu m'as juste fait attendre." And that’s how, against all odds, you two finally found each other.

French to English :

"My baby, I swear that I’ll make you my wife one day, my love. I wish I could say this sober."

"The last time I had the courage to say these words to you, I was drunk. This time, I'm sober, and I'm completely in love with you. Please, be mine?"

"I've always been yours, Charlie. You just made me wait."

[biteyoubiteme]

Omg congrats on 1k!!!

Soobin in the killa and gbgb performances have been killing me lately.. 🫠🫠 can i request a fic where reader goes down on him after his performance for either of these songs? Seriously never wanted to drop to my knees and suck a dick this badly in my life before this man 😵‍💫

baby, now, now, now, now

soobin x gn!reader

synopsis: he just looks too hot after a performance.

warnings: 🔞!!! oral (m!rec) prob forgot some sorry

wc: 1k

an: thank you so much! it was actually so hard to pick between gbgb and the killa for this lol but these photos spoke to me and picked themselves out. I go crazy watching these performances so I get you on a deeply personal and spiritual level okay and I rewatched the killas stage so many time to get inspo for this and omfg thank you for this ask I love watching that stage. but I hope you like this! not proofread forgive me sweet angel im forever indebted to you

[m.list] [1kevent m.list]

It was not the first time you’ve seen the performance but it was the first time you’ve been there in person. This was entirely different from all the practices you’ve sat in on, every misstep followed by yeonjuns guidance, the soft laughs shared between the people in the room aiding the relaxed feel of the studio. 

But here, sitting in the little private suite overlooking the stage you’re at a loss for words. No one should look that hot on stage, not even your own boyfriend. Maybe it’s the lights that hit soobin just right, the way they keep catching his hair; shiny with sweat. The big screen zoomed into every detail, black tank top stuck to his skin, his bicep flexing just enough to make the wrap around his arm look as if it would pop off from the force. 

It’s enough to make the crowd go wild, the echoing cheers and screams louder than you imagined them. Every single one of them fawning over the way he looks, the way he moves, so in sync with yeonjun. It's almost impossible not to keep your eyes trained on soobins hips. Shirt cut just long enough to reach the waistband of his pants, just short enough so that every time he moved his arms or rolled his body it lifted up, exposing his midriff. Watching them dance during practice, Soobin was mostly dressed in sweats and a hoodie, unbothered by appearances when no one was around to see. Now here it's the opposite, your mouth watering at the way he's moving. 

You're familiar with the way his hips move without anyone around, here with everyone watching it only makes jealousy bubble up for a second. And when he stretches back, arms above his head, so much of his skin on display for the camera to catch. It was addicting to witness. 

When the two of you finally met backstage soobin couldn't tell if you were angry or tired. Never did he expect you to lead him over to the nearest dressing room, the lock twisted before you pushed him against the door. 

“I'm all sweaty,” he chuckles, hands instinctively on your body already, head rolling back as he lets you kiss up his neck. 

“I don't care,” you mutter, hand reaching down to palm him over his pants. 

It took very little for him to get hard when it came to you. Just knowing you were watching him set his nerves aflame, but he worked so well under the slight pressure. He knew what got to you, knew the possibility of this very thing happening now, he could scope your neediness as easily as he could his own, both of you tethered together in that department just fine. 

When you got down on your knees before him, fumbling with the button on his pants, he was whimpering, and already praying no one would walk past and hear him. The second you got your hands on him he was moaning in the back of his throat, pursing his lips as if that would help any with the sound. 

You don't even have to work to build up any spit, your mouth watering on its own just having his pretty cock in front of you. Your thumb rubbed over his slit, spreading the beading precum around his pink tip. “You looked so good out there,” you say in between kisses along his shaft, “performing so well I couldn't stop thinking about sucking you off,” 

You trace your fingertips across his veins, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath he takes. “You sounded so pretty on stage, will you make sure to let me hear you while I make you feel good?” 

He doesn't even get to finish his nod before your mouth is on him, so hot and wet he can't help the moan that leaves him. You hum in response, the vibration traveling up his spine and down his knees. He could buckle under the feeling alone, your free hand not circling what does not fit into your mouth is wrapped around his balls adding enough pressure to make him see stars. 

Reaching out to the door handle for leverage, he needs anything to keep himself up, his head rolling back as you try to take him deeper down your throat. Even just the wet sounds of your working mouth makes his thighs tremble. 

You move to pull away for only a second, enough so that you can go back to using both your hands when he pushes his hand into your hair. “No please don’t stop,” he whines pushing you back down onto his cock. You give a muffled yelp that has him moaning when he hits the back of your throat, so slick with your saliva he pumps in and out of your waiting mouth with ease. You don't even care about not breathing, on the cusp of just about to choke and pure bliss as he uses you. His hips work just as well as you knew they would, your hands wrapping around his thighs to help keep yourself still for him as he thrusts. 

He's a mess of whimpers as he feels his orgasm build, your nails digging into the fabric of his pants, “oh god- I’m about to cum- I’m- I’m cumming- I’m-” he lets your head go as he cums, body slumping against the door as his cock twitches on your tongue, mouth flooding with his release, the saltiness so familiar to you as you swallow.

When you pull away his cock is slick with your spit, rivulets still connecting you to him as you giggle. You give him a few loose tugs, his hips jerking back at the stimulation to his sensitive tip where you place light kisses. 

He reaches out to brush his thumb across your cheek, tracing it down to rub at your just fucked red lips. “You're so good to me, what did I ever do to deserve this mouth?”

taglist 🏷: @kissmekissykissme @bts-txt-ateez @apeachty @seungfl0wer @lunesdesire want to be added to the taglist? check out my rules to see how to join! want to be taken off the taglist? send an ask! also a little thank you to @beomiracles for looking at this and not letting me set myself on fire over it

[exocaliii]

❦︎ Is That What You Want? (It's You)

| Se-mi / Player 380 x fem!reader |

Summary: In the worst possible place, you reunite with someone you never thought you would see again. Fortunately for you, the looming threat of death unveils many long lost feelings you both tried (and failed) to let go.

Word Count: 6.4k

Warnings: mention of suicide, death, violence, hurt/comfort, occasional use of Y/N even tho I do try to avoid it, lots of YEARNING, kind of a childhood friends to lovers typa scenario, kissing (but it's only in like one paragraph at the very end sorry freaksters....)

A/N: SEMI FIC HERE TO MAKE UP FOR HER FUMBLE IN THE LAST ONE!!!! this one is also extremely plot heavy as u can see from the word count LOL but I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY!! tried to show her softer side in this as well as her playfulness! this is for the people asking for a se-mi fic in my inbox sorry I made the post before I could click "respond to ask" and now im afraid I might actually delete everything so... this is for u whoever u are <3 I didn't read it over this time y'all so praying for no typos... ENJOY

—

When Se-mi first spots you, you’re crouched down in front of a table and surrounded by four other women as you throw the gonggi pieces into the air. For a solid minute, she thinks her eyes are playing tricks on her - that or this person that bears a striking resemblance to her first real friend wasn’t you at all. However, when your team rapidly advances around the bloodied track, she’s allowed a closer look at you; your hair has grown longer and you’re just a bit taller than the last time she saw you, but your eyes are still the same and that’s what confirms it for her. 

She doesn’t cheer when you win - her throat feels strangely tight and her heart is heavy in her chest even with your victory - but she does feel an overwhelming sense of relief as she watches you bound past the finish line. Seeing you smile and laugh once again stirs something inside of her, an emotion she hasn’t felt for years. 

Before you completely disappear behind the doors of the field, she swears she sees you turn around and look directly at her, vague recognition clear on your face. 

—

“Hey, where are you running off to so fast?”

Laughter rings out behind you as you pick up your pace, clutching your bag tight to your chest. Multiple footsteps fall in behind you, and with a short glance over your shoulder at the agitated faces of the girls trailing you, you realize today might not just end with a bit of teasing. It’s New Year’s Eve though and the sun is mostly set, so maybe they won’t knock you out cold so you can make it home on time to welcome the new year with your family.

“C’mon, aren’t you gonna pay us back?” For what, you want to shout, but before you even get the chance to respond, the footsteps behind you suddenly speed up. You’re practically thrown to the ground with a single hard shove on your back, arms flailing as your bag scuttles across the concrete. “My dad said your family owes us some money, you know, and I don’t mind getting it from you.”

Your head is spinning and your nose feels oddly hot, but you hear her words loud and clear and they send a deep feeling of shame through your entire body. A hand tangles itself in your hair as your head is pulled back, causing yet another fit of laughter to ring throughout the alley. “Fuck, her nose is bleeding so much! Did you break it?”

The one holding you by the hair reassures her group that you’d be fine, they could just say you fell because currently, it was your word against five other students. A part of you begins to wonder if anyone would even come help if you screamed right then - the alley was right next to the school, someone was bound to hear you. 

As the other four begin to sift through your bag for any valuables, you find your mouth sealed shut, afraid that even a whimper of pain would turn the attention of this pack of wolves back towards you. You didn’t have much in your wallet these days, and what you did have was pocket change for emergencies. They would go home disappointed either way, but whatever kept you from getting beaten the worst would be preferred. 

“What the hell, she’s only got like 5000 won in here.” The tallest girl turns to you with both confusion and disdain evident on her face. “Are you really that fucking poor? Where’s the rest of it?”

She stands right back up and so does the other three, all slowly advancing on you as you were held down by the fifth. You don’t even struggle against her loose grip on your hair, slowly coming to accept the fact that you might just have to take a beating for today, because there is no ‘the rest of it.’ 

Perhaps, if you’re lucky, they’ll get bored fast at your lack of reaction to anything they do and you’ll only go home with a bloody nose and a couple easily hidden bruises. 

You can accept that fate, you can accept your place in this world. 

“What the hell’s going on here?” 

Everyone’s heads, even yours, turn towards the lone girl standing at the entrance of the alleyway. With the setting sun behind her, her face is mostly casted in shadows. You think you recognize her as one of the troublemakers in your math class, constantly getting sent outside to stand in the hallway and ‘think about what she’s done.’ Even after being in the same class for two years, you still haven’t quite learned anything about her beyond her antics. The reason for why she’s butting in though, is also lost on you.

“Mind your business, Se-mi.” So that’s her name. It fits her. “We’re just teaching this one a nice lesson in karma.” 

How ironic. Five girls beating on a younger classmate would definitely bring them amazing luck for the New Year.

Se-mi’s eyes trail down towards the ground, towards you, and her eyes take in your bloody nose and the deep-blue bruise already forming on your cheek. For a second, you think she might just leave you here like anyone else would, but after some obvious inner contemplation, she speaks up once again.

“She looks like she understands it just fine now,” she says mockingly, beginning to walk closer towards you all. Her eyes are sharp, leaving no room for argument, and you only wish you could be half as strong to stand up to these girls. “Maybe you guys should just head home.” It sounds less like a suggestion than it does a threat, and your attackers respond in kind. 

“What, you got a problem with us?” It’s obviously not a real question, but a chance for Se-mi to back out now before things get serious. She doesn’t.

“Yeah, I do, so what’re we gonna do about it?” 

Inwardly, you curse yourself for inadvertently placing this stranger at risk to get beat up right alongside you for a problem that definitely had nothing to do with her. 

For a second, the girls are silent, but you can practically feel their anger growing as the one on top of you lets go of your hair. Se-mi stands her ground, expression just as cold as always as they try (and fail) to intimidate her with their glares. You’re frozen in awe of this idiot for both her courage and her poor decision-making skills.

It’s no surprise to you when the tall one lunges forward to try and land the first punch in the inevitable fight, but Se-mi is quick to dodge it and redirect her momentum right into the side of a trash can. All hell breaks loose after that, and for a second, you think your savior might just win the fight with pure skill and experience alone, but reality catches up to you both. 

With pure numbers, they bring Se-mi to the ground, and even though you scramble to your feet and try to fight them as well, you’re humbled even faster with your already pre-existing injuries and lack of knowledge on any forms of fighting. The tall one is the angriest, screaming curses at you both as you’re kicked and punched on the ground. Se-mi’s attempt to get back on her feet is thwarted by a solid hit on her face, and your lack of an attempt is rewarded with a fist right to the center of your ribcage, knocking all the air out from your lungs. 

As you’re beginning to think they might really want to kill you both, sirens in the distance interrupt the bombardment of pain on your sore body. 

“Shit, is that the police? Have we been spotted?” Their voices are now twinged with a hint of anxiety at being caught, and fortunately for the two of you, that’s all it takes to end the assault. “Let’s just leave.”

With a final kick to your back, the girls quickly grab their backpacks and run for it, long forgetting your own bag and the 5000 won that started this beatdown in the first place. 

—

As you look around the giant room for a place to eat, you find yourself unconsciously scanning the crowd for a familiar face as well. 

A part of you is sure that it was her that you walked right by in the middle of the last game, but you were so focused on facing forward to make sure you wouldn’t trip that you weren’t able to get a clear look at her face. Even after you won, you were given little to no time to do anything on the field before being ushered back to the main room. Now, you’re beginning to think that the looming threat of death is making you cling even harder to long lost dreams, but you hope that isn’t enough to make you hallucinate people you used to know. 

Sitting down on one of the unoccupied steps, you open your container and begin digging in, forcing yourself to forget the foolish dream that’s been occupying your mind for hours now. Even during the vote, you found your hand drifting towards the bright red X just in case she really was here and at risk of imminent death (just like everyone else). In the end, the blue patch on your chest is unchanging, and no imaginary companion will change that.

“Y/N?”

Your neck almost snaps clean in half with the way your head shoots up to see the person who just called your name, a name you are 100% sure you didn’t give to anyone here. Yet, when you see who it is, you’re somehow even more surprised than you would’ve been if it was some stranger. 

Se-mi casually stands right in front of you after what felt like a lifetime without her. She smiles - no, smirks at the recognition evident on your face and plops herself down right next to you.

“Long time no see, 399,” she says, her voice teetering on the edge of teasing and what might be genuine happiness to see you again. Of course, she has to ruin the moment by reminding you of the situation you had to reunite in, and you glance down at the number on her chest as well.

“Yeah, it’s good to see you again, 380.” You add as much sass to your voice as you can manage in the moment, but it comes out just as soft as you meant it in your heart because it is good to see her again. 

For a moment, the two of you can only stare at each other, picking up the differences in each person’s appearance since the last time you met. It’s the kind of peaceful silence that you haven’t been afforded for far too long, and now that it’s given to you, you can’t bring yourself to be the one that breaks it. Luckily for you, it seems like Se-mi can’t either, because all she does is stare at you with an indecipherable look in her eyes. If you had to describe it, you might say that it’s the unspoken equivalence of the softness in your voice from earlier (by now, you understand full well that the most genuine emotion you’ll get out of her might just have to come from carefully reading every one of her expressions). 

For a long time, the two of you simply eat in silence, basking in each other’s company. Your legs occasionally brush with how close she sat to you, but it doesn’t feel awkward in the slightest; if anything, it’s comforting, reminding you of your youth together before the real world caught up. 

“So, you know what I’m gonna ask you.” As always, it’s her that breaks the silence between you two, and you can’t blame her for being curious. Afterall, this was a horrible place to meet someone you know.

“My father’s business finally completely collapsed, and now we’re getting chased around the country by loan sharks,” you say, laughing a bit at your own situation. It didn’t take long for you to decide that Se-mi deserved to know the truth, but you knew she would be the last person to judge you for such circumstances. “I didn’t have any other options besides this.”

She doesn’t look at you with pity for your answer. It’s one of the traits you appreciated most from her back then. 

“What about you? How’d you end up in this shithole?” 

Your question earns you a laugh that as always, never fails to make you smile right back at her.

“I mean, I can’t say I’m getting chased around, but I’ve got a bit of debt I need to handle.” She almost decides to cut her story off there, but you’re looking at her with such genuine interest in your eyes that she can’t bring herself to hide the rest from you. How long has it been since someone cared so much about what she had to say? “College was… too expensive. I didn’t have anyone that could help out, so I’ve just been working random jobs here and there.”

Unfortunately, her answer seems completely honest. You wish you could’ve been there by her side, but your own family was dealing with a lot then too. 

“Why didn’t you just… continue to try to make it work out there?” You’re praying that your question doesn’t come off as insensitive, but she seems to find it amusing if anything. “Why would you risk losing everything like this?”

That last phrase earns you a scoff this time, and she turns away with a strained expression, clearly struggling to keep her ever cocky smirk on her face.

“I don’t have anything left to lose. This place is my chance to get a headstart or just…” The rest remains unsaid, and even though she’s speaking so casually, your heart drops at the insinuation. “...I haven’t left a mark on the world at all, Y/N. What happens here really won’t matter much to anyone out there.”

For a second, you’re stumped as to how to answer her. There’s some twisted truth to her reasoning, and you’re sure that if most of the people in this room died tomorrow, their deaths would be passed off as mere victims to loan sharks or suicide. That, or their disappearances wouldn’t be noticed at all. But no. It isn’t the same for Se-mi, and you desperately want her to know that.

“It would matter a lot to me.” You try to make it sound casual so she doesn’t tuck tail and run like she usually does, but you know it left an impact on her with the way her eyes drift to the ground and her brows furrow just slightly. “You left a pretty big impact on my life, you know that?”

As you turn back towards your food, Se-mi glances at you from the corner of her eye. There isn’t a hint of deception or even sarcasm in your face, in your voice, in any part of you. It’s a level of honesty she’s only ever experienced from you, and after being apart for so long, she had forgotten how soothing it was to be on the receiving end of such genuine kindness. 

For years now, she had found herself searching for you in every face she came across, in every friend and partner she had, in every short moment of peace she was allowed in her rocky life. Now that she’s finally found you though, she’s not sure what to do with herself. 

For the rest of night, right up until lights-out, the two of you bask in the silence once again. In your own separate ways, you both sit there and think about each other. You consider what you lost when you were separated from her. She considers the fact that she might’ve just regained something she can now lose if her own life is lost, and the thought of it terrifies her. 

When it’s time to sleep, it’s Se-mi that gets up first, albeit with a great deal of hesitance. The two of you part ways, and before you can get too far, you hear a faint whisper from behind you.

“Good luck tomorrow.”

It makes you crack a smile, turning around to see her still looking at you. Her smile is still strained, but now, there’s a hint of happiness there.

“Yeah, you too, and goodnight, Se-mi.” 

Even now, the sound of your soft voice calling her name makes her heart skip a beat.

—

“What the fuck was that…” 

You finally begin to stir awake at the groans and curses coming from beside, and all your body feels is pain.

God, they really did a number on you didn’t they?

“Fucking cops didn’t even stop for us,” the voice groans again, now paired with a faint shuffling as you watch her attempt to get back on her feet through your incredibly blurry eyes. All you can manage is to roll onto your back, looking up to see the pitch black sky.

Wait, black?! 

How long have you been out?!

“Uff!” A loud clatter of boxes graces your ears as you glance over to see her - Se-mi, was it? - right back on the ground. From the looks of it, her legs were also feeling extremely uncooperative. You already feel like shit, but she took a majority of the beating so she probably feels even worse. Guilt courses through you as she groans in pain, rolling onto her back to mimic your position. 

For a couple minutes, you both lay there in silence, staring up at the empty night sky. In the far distance, cars zoom past on the main road, likely salarymen rushing to get home to their families in time to celebrate New Years.

By now, you've come to the realization that you'll probably would have to celebrate yours alone on the ground this time, considering the fact that your body was not letting you get back up. For now, at least, maybe you can get to know your savior (or rather, attempted savior).

“...I’m sorry about this,” you whisper, sighing heavily into the cold December air.

“Did you get a few hits in on me too?” She’s clearly mocking you, but you can’t even be mad right now. 

“Still… sorry.”

“It’s whatever.” A beat of silence follows. “I never liked those bitches anyways.” 

The second part is almost whispered as if it were a secret between the two of you, and you let out a small chuckle, cutting yourself off before it becomes a laugh as pain shoots up your torso at that small movement. 

In the tranquility that follows, Se-mi begins to fully question why she was laying there on the cold concrete in extreme discomfort for a stranger - well, not really a stranger, but she doesn’t even know your name. Then she thinks back to the ugly feeling she had in her gut watching you get cornered by those stuck-up rich kids, unwilling to even fight back, and she thinks she might’ve done the right thing despite how meaningless this encounter might become. 

She looks over at your bruised face thinking about how similar you looked to a kicked puppy at that instance, and she can’t help but push your buttons even more. 

“Aren’t you glad we were able to save your 5000 won?” 

The absurdity of her statement distracts you from the pain you feel, and after a scoff and a slight shake of your head, you find yourself genuinely laughing for the first time in a long time. It doesn’t take long for her to follow, and after a couple moments, you both find yourselves giggling like children at the shitty situation.

You enjoy this rare moment of companionship for only a couple seconds before you begin hearing loud shouts in the distance.

They’re counting down, but you’re nowhere near home and neither is she.

“5!”

“Hey, what’s your name?” 

“4!”

You turn your head and answer her, and she smiles at you.

“3!”

“I’m Se-mi.” 

“2!”

It’s different hearing her name from her own mouth, spoken without any of the hatred that your attackers infused into the word.

“1!”

You both look up just in time to see fireworks lighting up the once dark sky, red, yellow, and green hues reflecting in your eyes as you force yourself to relax and take in the moment. 

In this moment, with Se-mi by your side, you don’t feel as lonely as you expected yourself to be. It’s a feeling of comfort you’re rarely given, but you openly bask in it as you think about the confidence and bravery it must’ve taken to stand up against five people like that. In another life, perhaps, you could be someone like her, protecting people like you. 

Like a knight in shining armor.

“Happy New Year, Y/N. I’m going to sleep now.” Your head snaps over in her direction as she folds her hands behind her head and closes her eyes, getting way too comfortable on the ground of a shady alleyway.

“What?” No response. “What the hell are you talking about? We’re not sleeping here!”

She bluntly ignores you and her breaths get heavier, but it’s obvious that she’s just pretending to be asleep. The thought of getting up and leaving by yourself crosses your mind, but you can’t bring yourself to part with this girl just yet.

With a resigned sigh, you roll onto your side with a pained groan and close your eyes as well, praying that no mysterious van comes to kidnap you two in this moment.

“Happy New Year, Se-mi.” Silence. “And thank you.”

You’re already facing her so when you peak open your eyes, you see her lips twitch upwards at your choice to stay, and that solidifies the deal.

When morning comes the next day, you don’t even bother going home first before walking alongside her to school. You sit next to her in class for the first time, and you share the lunch you bought with her under the guise of ‘not being able to finish it.’ She’s resistant at first, but eventually, she indulges you. 

This routine continues for the next two years. It’s only interrupted when you break the news to her that your father is forcing the family to flee because of his growing debts. 

That night, you both walk back to the alley and lay there together under the stars.

You think you might’ve seen her eyes water once or twice, but you say nothing, unwilling to break the sacred silence between the two of you. It’s the last one you share for years, until you inevitably see her again in the worst possible place.

—

As everyone begins filing out to head to the next game, Se-mi feels an uncontrollable urge to break away from her current group to go find you once again. She can already see you in the distance, but even though the two of you make eye contact for a brief moment, you look away upon seeing her already large group. 

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she begins to turn away from the rambling of Thanos and Nam-gyu behind her, but a meek voice calls out her name and stops her.

“Where are you going?” 

It’s Min-su, and he’s looking at her like a lost animal terrified of losing its protector. A wave of guilt crashes into her at the thought of leaving this poor boy to the sharks, and even though your face is still the only thing on her mind, she wonders if it’s worth it to betray her new group. 

If she left now, she might not make it through this next game. 

If she dies now, she won’t get a second chance at life (and a second chance to live by your side again, but she pushes that thought to the side for now). 

“Nowhere, let’s go.”

That’s all it takes to appease him, and with one last glance over to where she saw you last, she reintegrates herself back into the group and moves forward. 

—

Even though the first two rounds pass by without a hitch, you think this game might be the most dangerous one yet. You’ve got your own little group from the Six-Legged Race, but as the announcer called for rooms of four, you watch the youngest girl of your team get shoved out of your group by two others (sisters, if you remembered correctly). It’s heartbreaking to hear her cry out as you all ran away, but you can’t save her and save yourself at the same time. 

You’ve made it this far, and you’d be damned if you were sent home an empty handed corpse now. 

As the platform begins to spin again, you pat the shoulder of the woman standing next to you - 047. She was closer to the younger one than you were, and her death obviously shook the poor lady up. Her reaction makes you realize how distant you’ve been to everyone since you arrived (with one notable exception, of course), and you find your own heart beating hard against your chest at the thought of being abandoned as well. 

“3 players.”

Of course.

For a second, the four of you freeze. The sisters are holding onto each other’s hands with a death grip, and you know now that it’s between you and 047. A part of you thinks about shoving her down so you could run away with the other two, but something behind her catches your eye before you can do anything.

It’s Se-mi. 

She’s standing completely alone, hand held out towards nobody, and not a single other person from that group you saw her with earlier by her side. 

Like it’s muscle memory, you shove past 047 and run the fastest you’ve ever ran right at her. You hear a faint yell of gratitude from behind you as you wrap your arms around Se-mi and pull her forward towards one of the empty rooms in the distance. The impact seems to wake her out of her stupor, changing your awkward position so that now, you’re running side by side with her hand in yours. Along the way, you grab a stray girl up from the ground by the back of her sweater and pull her along to complete the three. 

As you all clamber into the room, Se-mi slams the door shut behind you, barely missing the time-out buzzer. The lock clicks shut, and you hear gunfire outside, but she ignores all of it to turn around to look at you. This is the most emotional she’s looked since you’ve reunited, eyes downturned with sadness and a hint of fear at how close she was to death. 

Ignoring the girl repeatedly thanking you to your right, you walk up to Se-mi and pull her into a tight hug, relishing in the warmth of her body. 

“I’m glad I made it in time, 380.”

You feel her arms beginning to wrap around you before the lock clicks open, forcing you to pull apart to exit the room. Your hand doesn’t leave hers, and it’s a clear signal that you’ll be sticking by her side for the rest of this game.

Se-mi doesn’t even find herself searching the arena for Min-su and the others as you walk with her back to the platform, completely distracted by the tingling sensation in her hand as you interlace your fingers together. It’s a feeling that’s new to her, being chosen by someone in a manner like this; of course, she’s been desired before, maybe even loved (despite her inability to return the other person’s feelings), but this is different somehow. In this scenario, it’s you, not some random girl she met at a bar. It’s you choosing to risk your life to make sure she continues living, and in the wake of this realization, the feelings that she’s been shoving down for countless years come rushing back to her. 

As the next rounds pass by, you remain unchanging by her side. Even as the announcer calls for 2 players, you don’t even hesitate to pull her with you, leaving behind everyone you joined up with in the last couple rounds. 

Even after you run over the blood of countless others, you never let go of her hand, and she never lets go of yours.

—

“You really saved my ass back there.”

Here, back in the comfort of this familiar room, Se-mi has regained her usual joking nature, smirking at you as you nod, very clearly proud of yourself.

“Yes, I did. Maybe you should give me your share of the prize money for that,” you say, holding out your hand to her. She laughs and wraps her arm around your shoulder, walking you back over to the steps where you had your first conversation. 

“Maybe I will, or maybe I’ll pay for a couple meals together instead.” The innuendo isn’t lost on you, and your face goes red as she gets even cockier. “It’s time I pay for you for all those lunches, but dinner wouldn’t be so bad either.”

Your face is still turned away from her in embarrassment, but she can still see the blush on your cheeks, revelling in her own ability to make you fold. You mumble something under your breath, but she’s too focused on her victory to hear you. 

“What was that?”

“I said, you’ve already saved me plenty of times before, more times than you can count, so I should treat you first.” 

The warmth in her chest returns full force, and now, it’s her fighting to keep a blush off her face, lest you start embarrassing her about that too. She wonders, what would it be like to take you out on a proper date? She imagines you all dressed up, and in that moment, she decides what she wants to spend her prize money on first when you all leave this place. 

She wants to buy you flowers. She wants to take you to a nice, luxurious restaurant and show you off, then under the stars, she’ll ask you to be hers.

“Whatever you say, pretty lady.”

That earns her a smack on the arm and a scoff as your face starts burning once again (to Se-mi’s absolute delight). 

The moment is unfortunately interrupted by the main doors sliding open, and you watch as the pink guards file in. At the front table, two giant buttons lay waiting for the remaining contestants. Everyone around you begins to speak in hushed tones, obviously discussing their plans for the next vote. 

“Are you going to change your vote?” As you spin around to face her again, Se-mi gestures down at the blue patch on your chest. 

During your entire walk back, you had been contemplating your unchanging choice to stay and risk your life. For the majority of the first two days, you lived life believing there would be no consequences to your death. You wouldn’t lose anything - your life was already in immense danger outside this place, so your family wouldn’t be too surprised if you turned up dead either. There was nothing to lose and everything to gain, and so, O was the easy choice.

Then Se-mi walks back into your life and complicates the hell out of it. 

Now, you realize that if you vote to stay, you’re also voting for her to stay and risk her life. If either of you died here, you would be wasting this chance cast upon you to experience the world by her side.

“Yes, this should be enough money for my family to be able to live normally again.” 

She nods, and even though it looks like she’s still contemplating her decision, Se-mi made her choice as soon as you took her hand in the last game.

“Even if there were less money in the pig right now, I think I’d still pick to leave.” You smile softly at her and look her directly in the eye as you continue. “Being wealthy is a faraway dream, but for now, I just want to live in the company of those I love.” You squeeze her hand and hold your gaze, and this time, Se-mi isn’t able to hold back the blush that rushes onto her face.

If these games don’t take her out, you’ll really be the death of her.

—

As you silently eat what is hopefully your last meal in this place together, two groups of men clamber out of the bathroom. They’re bloodied and there’s a horrifying look of pure bloodlust on many of their faces, and you feel your heart drop. 

Would there be a fight tonight? Is that allowed?

Se-mi sees the fear on your face and gently rubs her thumb on the back of her hand. Despite her best efforts though, your concerns are not assuaged and you realize that getting shot by the pink guards might not be the only way you can die in this place. 

These people are hungry and hopeless, and you fully understand the lengths many would go through for a second chance.

“Se-mi, sleep with me tonight.” 

Her eyebrows raise and she smirks, but even this attempt to lighten the air with her usual humor doesn’t work, but still, she agrees immediately and you try to swallow the lump in your throat. You’re sure that no matter what happens, you won’t find sleep tonight, but that pales in comparison to your desire to protect Se-mi at all costs. 

You won’t leave this place without her. 

—

As the strobe lights turn on and off, your eyes bounce around the room as you search for somewhere, anywhere that might be free of the insane violence. Every way you look, there’s some sort of fight happening - that or you’ve just watched someone get brutally murdered in their own bed. For a second, you consider that you might be safe if you and her just stand still in your little corner, but a man rounds the corner and you feel yourself freeze up.

“Come here, you fucking traitor bitch!” It’s 124, and he looks like a rabid animal with red painted across his face and a bloody fork in his hand. In the back of your mind, you slap yourself for not keeping the utensil for self defense. 

Se-mi attempts to shove you further behind her as he begins charging at you two, but before you can even make a move, a glass bottle shatters at his feet. You all look up to see a young man that you don’t recognize, but from the rage on 124’s face, you figure he might’ve been one of his old teammates. 

In their distracted states, you rush forward, grabbing a shard of glass from the floor and swinging it right at the man’s head. Unfortunately for you, you still have absolutely no skills when it comes to fighting and he easily dodges the hit. It doesn’t feel like some slow motion action movie when you see his fork flying at your neck at full speed, but somehow, you’re fast enough to lift your hand so that it punctures right through your palm instead. You scream, and behind you, Se-mi calls your name as well. 

In an extremely painful rush of adrenaline, you maneuver his and your body to switch places, trusting Se-mi to take care of the rest. In the few flashes of light that you’re granted, you see her rush forward with her own shard of glass in hand, unforgivingly jabbing it right into the side of 124’s neck. 

“Fuck! Fucking bitch!” His scream pierces your ears as he finally lets you go, and you don’t waste the moment you get. Pulling his fork out of your hand, you slam it down into the side of his head with all your strength. 

A beat passes, then he falls to the ground unmoving. 

“Are you okay?! Let me see!” Se-mi rushes forward and takes you in her arms, dragging both of you backwards towards the wall as she inspected your injuries. In the rush that followed watching someone die by your own hands, you can barely feel the pain at all. All you can focus on is the woman in front of you and how afraid you were when 124 charged at her. 

“Se-mi - Se-mi, listen to me,” you choke you, using your bloody hands to gently hold her face. Her eyes are glossy with unshed tears, and you can see how much the encounter shook her to her core. “When we leave this place, promise me you’ll stay by my side.”

Your voice is desperate and you can feel your own tears rising, vision getting blurry as you struggle to wipe them off with the sleeve of your sweater. It looks like Se-mi barely heard your request with the way she was still scanning your body for any serious injuries. 

“What?! What are you-”

“Promise me! Please!” You’re openly sobbing now, holding onto the one thing keeping you moving in this world, and finally, she focuses her gaze back on your face. With a quiet voice, she finally responds to you with a shaky smile.

“How could I ever leave you?”

Her eyes are the most expressive they’ve been, filled with concern and what looks like love, the same love that you’ve held for her ever since you were 16. 

With trembling hands, she holds your face just as you hold hers and leans in, pressing her lips against yours. It’s not gentle - it’s more desperate if anything, but you feel like flying in that moment. As your legs slowly give out, she holds you carefully in her arms and lowers the both of you to the floor. 

Finally, as you begin to drown out the surrounding chaos, the world around you falls silent as well. You close your eyes and imagine that you’re back in that alleyway, finally at peace with the person you love the most.

When you open your eyes again, she’s still right there in front of you, and you’re the happiest you’ve been since the day you met.

—

A/N: PLOT MONSTER STRIKES AGAIN!!! anyways this was inspired by a cherry waves edit I saw of her on TikTok where she told min-su "I thought you wouldn't deceive me" so I had to give her a girl that she KNOWS would never deceive her... okay guys hope y'all enjoy and as always plz PLZ LMK WHAT U THINK!! I love interacting with y'all im serious... and for the no eul lovers I see u and I hear u... but its gonna be a bit till that one comes out cuz im about to start second semester college... hashtag NOT FUNNY ANYMORE

also im still playing around with the layout of my posts so if I keep doing different sht and it throws u off im so sorry LOL

[cvntluver444]

7 mins in heaven w ellie😇😇😇😇

thank you so much for your request and your support love!! <3

✞ 7 minutes ✞

✿ summary : the request!

✿ warnings : smut minors/men (boys) dni, puss rubbing, dirtyy talk, shy reader, sweet ellie, ellie teaching reader, reader is in closest!!!!!!, mentions of reader in str@ight relationship, almost getting caught!, if i missed any lmk pls!

��� a/n : thank you for supporting my works as always! this is not my best work bc i used all my creative brain juice on my last fic so i am so sorry! unfortunately, i am headed back to school this weekend so my writing is going to slow down, but i'm not stopping don't worry babies. im hoping to put out 2-3 fics a week still!!!! keep sending in those requests! I have one more to work on, so to the anon who requested it its coming i promise my love!!!!

ALSO i did kind of make this a personal fic im so sorry LMAO basically i just explain how when i finally realized i was gay YAYAYA !!!!!!! but yeah warning again the reader in this is based on me so it is like finding out you're into girls later on kind of thing so if this is something you're not interested in feel free to skip! I hope you like it lucy!!! (idk if that's your real name im just going to call u that teehee) i love you all so much! muah

✿ as always, please remember to keep spreading information on and support Palestine!!

daily click

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

you anxiously played with your fingers as the last of the party guest gathered around the huge circle. your friends and you decided to spend your saturday night at one of your classmates party, resulting in you now dreading your turn in the 'truth or dare' game.

"you okay?" you turn your head to your left as your eyes land on your friend, who clearly could pick up on how nervous you looked.

"yeah i'm fine," you tell her. "just hope i don't have to do anything stupid or embarrassing. she laughs at your comment.

"don't worry, i doubt you'll even get picked. there's a lot of people here and were all drunk so, who cares!'. her shouts fills the room, drawing a couple eyes toward the two of you. you giggle and hide your face, trying to tell her to keep it down. in the midst of shushing her, your eyes graze the room, watching people roll their eyes at her behavior. but your eyes catch someone else's and you freeze.

ellie williams

she sends you a soft smile, a dark look in her eyes. you gulp and look away quickly. god, she was so hot you thought. you hope she couldn't how flustered she made you. you hope no one could. your whole life, you've always had no problems catching boys' attention. you could have a whoever, whenever, but with this luxury came its flaw. you never actually liked the boys you went out with, you just loved being loved, being in a relationship. you never understood why you felt that way, but just continued on normally, not giving yourself a chance to actually explore more about yourself. but when you first met ellie freshmen year, the feelings finally became visible, especially after finding out she was also into girls; however, you were still not sure if she felt the same. This caused you to once again burry your feelings and close yourself up. You were too scared, and way too sober to even try to talk to ellie.

suddenly, a loud voice can be heard yelling throughout the house. "truth or dare starting now in living room," on boy shouted. your palms became sweaty and you prayed that everyone would pick up on your uncomfortableness and just leave you alone. as always though, the world likes to work in funny ways, and you feel a large presence sit next to you and tap you on the shoulder.

"hey," the boy smiles, "cool if i sit here?" you just give me a simple nod of your head and continue your attention elsewhere, your thoughts interrupted once again. "you look good tonight, by the way". you turn back around, and give him a quiet thanks, and before he could respond, everyone around you begins to pick who will go first for the game.

after three or four people went, you began to grow annoyed. the man next to you could not take the hint, and you were the only person here not having a good time.

"alright williams," the room cheers silently, "truth or dare". your attention is now fully on ellie. she stares up at her friend who just picked on her, small smirk on her face as she answers with a confident dare. "hmmm," her friend hums out loud, looking around the room. you swear you see their eyes stop on yours for a second, before they get an idea. "i dare you to do 7 minutes in heaven," they pause and the room is filled with oooo's. your heart drops a bit. "a person of your choosing." now everyone was going crazy. everyone knew ellie was gay, and everyone knew she made every girl gay, so it was a pretty heavy dare.

ellie smiles up at her friend, sage you think their name is, before she slowly starts scanning the room. you quickly look down, hoping that your avoided eye contact would make you more invisible. your only focus now was watching your fidgeting fingers and giving back half asses answers to the man beside you who still will not shut up.

you hear ellie suck in her breathe before she slowly gets up from the ground. all you wanted to do in this moment was sink into the ground, not sure how you were going to handle seeing ellie pick another girl that isn't you and go fuck her in the closet. too deep in your thoughts, you don't hear the air leave your friends lungs as a certain someone stalks towards you. you only know ellie is right in front of you once you see the beat up sneakers sneak right under your vision.

your eyes widen and you cant breathe. there has to be someone behind you right? no, she could not pick you. in fear that you would be disappointed when looking up, you keep your head down, telling yourself that you're just-

your friend next to you quietly says your name, excitement laced in her voice. she was the only one you told, the only one you could trust with something so personal to you, so to say she was absolutely ecstatic to see ellie pick her best friend, well that was an understatement.

after your quick reality check, your line of vision trails from the top of her feet, all the way to her line of vision, where you see hear towering over you, smirk on her face. you felt like you were going to throw up.

"wanna come with me?" she asks you, that little smile never leaving her face. you look around the room, everyone in just as much shock as you. you look back at ellie, and without thinking twice, you nod your head yes.

she grabs her hand out for you to take, and you two make your way into the closet in between the living room and kitchen, but not before ellie yells something along the lines of keep yourselves busy, and don't be pervs. you feel like you're dreaming, you can't believe ellie williams picked you. but suddenly, you're brought back into reality when she closes the closet and turns on her phone flashlight.

"so," she begins, "how's your night been." you now grow extremely insecure at how little you've been talking to her, not knowing exactly what to do next considering you've never been with a girl.

"oh uh," you begin, "it's been okay. what about yours?" stupid stupid stupid.

"pretty good. saw that guy talking to you. you looked uncomfortable so thought i would save you." she gives a light giggle, but your heart drops and you look at her with sad eyes.

"oh uh yeah haha thanks," you attempt to say, sadness clearly laced in your voice. ellie picks up on it.

"are you okay? did he do anything?" she asks you, coming closer, concern reading all over her face. you blush at how much she cares about you.

"no, no, he didn't do anything, just was annoying," you let out a breathy laugh. "i guess i just thought that we were gonna, ya know, since you picked me, um, never mind this is stupid." your cheeks are now red with embarrassment, and ellies face softens at your rambling.

"aw, no sweetie. just because i picked you doesn't mean we have to do anything. i know you're not into girls." she gives you a friendly tap on the shoulder. ouch. your heart has now sank completely, and you slowly go to reach for the closet door handle. ellie looks confused, before she panics and grabs your hand.

"where are you going? it hasnt been 7 minutes yet sweetheart," she asks you.

"i was just gonna go back. kinda boring just doing nothing here." you tell her sadly.

"well, what do you want to do?" she still hasn't caught on? at this point, you feel like you will never get another chance again. with your ego still a little boosted that she chose you, you answer her.

"i wanna kiss you, ellie," you tell her. she freezes in the spot she's in before she slowly relaxes and relief washes over her face.

"i wanna kiss you too." she tells you. you look up at her, hope in your eyes, and she slowly grabs yours chin with her fingers and pulls you towards her. your lips meet and you both slowly start to make out. now you know why it was called 7 minutes in heaven. pleasure rushed through your body, and you instantly melted into the kiss. it was the first time you actually felt something when kissing someone, and in the bliss of this new feeling, you now put your arms around her shoulders.

the kiss deepens and turns more sinful as ellies hands now trail down to your ass and give it a light squeeze. you moan into her mouth and she groans back in response. her hands now start exploring your body, covering every inch of you until they make their way down towards your loose jeans. you quickly pull away, feeling like a complete virgin even though this kind of stuff is nothing new to you.

"woah, hey, you okay? we can stop if you want," ellie tells you, scared that she may have gone too far.

"no ellie its not you, its just," you try to find the right words. "i've never actually been with a girl before." you tell her, shame written all over your features. she lightly grabs your face once more as she gives you another passionate kiss.

"im happy to help you through it, and if you ever want me to stop, you just tell me." she explains, leaving light kisses all over you exposed next and chest. you moan out as you give her your permission to continue. her lips find her way back to yours, taking control of the kiss. in between each breath, she made sure to tell you how beautiful you were, and how much she had been dreaming of this. you return the compliments, gasping when ellie now picks you up and leans you down on the closet floor.

now on top, she puts all her weight on her elbow, as the other one trails down from your chest, then your stomach, to finally the place where you needed her the most. still kissing you, her fingers undo your buttons. once your jeans were shoved down, and your panties moved to the side, ellie breaks the kiss.

you whine from the loss of contact, and she shushes you. "is it ok if i touch you?" she asks you politely.

"yes, ellie. please touch me," you beg her. "want you so bad." her lips suddenly reconnect with yours, and her fingers start rubbing light circles on your clit. you moan as she teases you, never feeling this way with any guy you've ever been with.

"you make the prettiest noises," she tells you, nipping at your lips. "fuck, and you're so wet too." her talking alone brings you even closer to your high, another new feeling.

you feel her fingers now trail down and tease your entrance, making the most sinful sound. she bites her lips, then starts pumping two fingers inside of you.

your eyes now roll to the back of your head and ellie falls to your side, the new position allowing her to finger you even faster. your head leans into her shoulder, and tears brim in your eyes from how good shes making you feel.

"faster, please," you beg, now staring into her eyes. the innocent look on your face causes her pussy the clench.

"yeah baby? you want me to go faster?" she teases you. "ill do anything for you beautiful." that was enough to send you over the edge, and you start to shake and she speeds up her motions.

"els" is all you can get out, but she knows exactly what you're trying to say, telling you to let go and cum all over her fingers.

and you're about to, until you hear yelling outside the closest door, and people are banging on your door, telling you seven minutes has passed.

you and ellie groan, and you're about to scream out of frustration, before ellies low voice cuts you off.

"i want you to get dressed and meet me outside my car, we can finish this at me." she tells you, a loving look on her face. you giggle and give her a quick peck, before jumping up and putting on your clothes.

you two come out of the closet, rushing towards the front door, completely ignoring all your friends and strangers random questions flying your way.

"where are they going?"

"are they holding hands?"

"do you think they did anything?"

"they so fucked."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

✿ a/n: heh, they came out the closet. anyways, like i said, very personalized im sorry i hit my penjamin and im in my feels but i really hope you guys liked it! my requests are still open! love you all so much and don't forget to follow because i post frequently!! <3

[elsweetheart]

what you heard : part one

synopsis: you start to develop feelings for your boyfriends dealer.

♪ what you heard — sonder ♪

cw: reader is a bisexual woman dating a man, brief descriptions of having sex with a man, weed, alcohol, ellie’s sexual thoughts, blink and you miss it mention of throwing up, a man being really mean and a bad boyfriend, gay girl drama, ellie is kind of a homewrecker but reader doesn’t technically cheat, but mentions of it. kind of angsty at times? a little?

an: whew this is kinda lengthy !! idk how many words so… don’t ask me :( i hope you all enjoy it! i’ll start writing part two asap!

Ellie didn’t hate any of her customers, no. That would be bad for business. She just simply… preferred some over the others. Louis was one of those customers that she wouldn’t exactly reserve her best weed for. Not originally, at least. He was like a lot of the other guys on campus, average. Brown hair with the same old outfits, love of sports, and friend group. She could find one hundred of him. She kept a pretty exclusive clients list, not wanting to overwhelm herself with business whilst she’s really trying this year to stay on top of her studies. He wasn’t the most polite, and he was always showing up without texting first — but he paid, and that was good enough to keep him on as a customer.

Alright, maybe that wasn’t really the reason Ellie kept him on as a customer.

She always liked to check out the social media accounts of the people she sold to, try and figure out what kind of person they were, who they knew, and if they seemed like the type to give her up if a cop came knocking. Also, simply put — the girl was nosy. Don’t let her nonchalant demeanour fool you, her Insta-stalking skills rivalled the FBI. She knew she probably shouldn’t, and she did feel a little weird doing it — scrolling on her bed one evening in a hoodie and basketball shorts, she typed in Louis’ name to the Instagram search bar.

He had one picture up of you, the rest were pictures of him and his friends at parties. Real classy, she thought. She clicked the picture, wondering what kind of girl would have to be desperate enough to go out with a guy this… meh, and oh… Oh. You were smoking hot. It was a halloween throwback, a basic couple costume with Louis dressed as the devil and you, ironically enough dressed as an angel. He kept his sweaty pink hand on the curve of your ass as the two of you laughed. She wondered what was funny. He got lucky, she thought. Very lucky.

Ellie tapped you, and a tag emerged on the screen with your name. Pretty name, of course. Private account — much to her disappointment.

It would be totally inappropriate to follow you, right? Her customers girlfriend. Ellie clicked her own profile, gazing at it thoughtfully. Her profile picture was a black screen, and she had zero pictures up on her account. She had a considerable amount of followers, given her reputation but she didn’t follow many back — just a few very loyal customers, and her best friends Jesse and Dina. It would be weird to follow you right? Yes. Very weird, Ellie. She closed out the app, and pretty much forgot about it.

It was always the same exchange with Louis. He turned up, either unannounced or 2 hours late — burp, demand weed whilst barely sparing Ellie a glance or a thank you, and then head out. She didn’t always mind — not being a huge fan of small talk anyway, though she could do without the burp. He’d had texted earlier in the day, asking — no, telling Ellie that he would be passing by to pick up his usual ‘at some point’. A quiet knock rapt at the door around 02:23PM. Ellie swung the door open, coming face to face with you.

“Hi… Ellie?” You smiled. Hopeful, sweet, even prettier in person. You were wearing a little sundress with the cheap thin material that hugged every curve on your body, and if she stared a little longer like she wanted to she’d start to border on creepy. Ellie cleared her throat, fighting out a greeting and praying it would come out relatively normal.

“Yeah.” Was what she landed on. Whatever, play it cool. Pretend you didn’t try and stalk her Instagram.

“Louis isn’t coming, the weed is for me and he told me where to buy from, so… hi.” You grinned before telling her your name like she didn’t already know it.

“Hey. I’m Ellie.” And with that, she stepped aside and let you in.

It was like you brought the sunshine in from outside with you, because as soon as you stepped into her room Ellie felt too warm in her grey hoodie. She pushed the sleeves up as your eyes flickered around her dorm, realised she felt stupid and pushed them back down.

“How much you want?” She was pulling out the metal box from her drawer, glancing up at you as your brows furrowed unsurely — thinking as you tugged at your glossed lip. Ellie tried not to stare.

“Uh—” You breathed, and it relaxed Ellie slightly to see that you seemed more nervous than she did somewhat— just for a different reason. “Louis told me to just ask for what he usually gets? I’m sorry, I’ve never bought my own weed before.” You cringed, and then cringed again at the word choice. Ellie smiled fade into a soft chuckle with a nod that said ‘I bet you haven’t.’ She should have guessed, when did pretty girls ever buy their own weed?

“You’re good. I know what his usual is.” Ellie reassured, digging around in the nuggets. She pulled a couple out, placing them down on her scale before bagging them up. You held out your hand unsurely, and she pressed the plastic baggie into it. Your mouth opened to say something, and Ellie’s hand froze above yours as she watched you — trying to work out what might be wrong. “What? Is this not…”

“No, sorry. It’s perfect. I assume. I’m not sure. I just… I don’t know how to roll these. Lou told me to buy my own weed seeing as I am the one who wanted to smoke and — it’s okay. I’ll just Google it.” You shook your head, feeling your cheeks turn warm at your own rambling. Ellie stopped you as you went to shove the baggie into her pocket with a calm smile, raising her eyebrows as if to say ‘Hey, it’s okay. Chill.’

“I can roll it for you. It’s no biggie.”

You visibly relaxed, and Ellie could tell because of the way your chest collapsed slightly, not suffocating your tits against the material of your dress anymore which she couldn’t help but glance at as you looked away. “Thanks. Sorry.” You guffawed, your embarrassment seeming a little relieved as you stepped back, leaning against her desk as she pulled her chair and tray out to do the rolling.

“Louis not buying your weed for you?” She conversed, eyes on the rolling paper as she carefully packed it. Your head snapped towards her, realising that you were the one who blabbed that. Her eyes glanced up at you briefly when you didn’t immediately answer.

“No. It’s… okay though.” You justified, a mass of shame swirling just below your rib cage. You didn’t wanna talk shit about your boyfriend to a stranger, even if the stranger had a totally welcoming vibe about her — and your boyfriend was cheap. Ellie tsk’d lightheartedly, shaking her head. “Against the rules, man.” She comment quietly.

“What rules?” You furrowed your brows defensively as she continued packing.

“You don’t let your girl buy her own weed?” She repeat obviously. Something about the way she said it made the embarrassment in your stomach dissipate into butterflies, which widened your eyes slightly at the disloyal feeling.

“Oh.”

Silence for a beat or two as Ellie concentrate. You notice the lesbian flag on her pinboard.

“It’ll probably just be me and my friends that smoke it anyway. The weathers nice so we’ll be at one of those frat pool parties… You don’t go to those?” You tilt your head, and her eyes lingered on you as you did so at the sugary sweetness in your gesture. God, you made her teeth hurt.

“Nah. I hear those things get weird and horny. Straight people… no offence.” She glances towards you once more, the ‘no offence’ holding little to no weight. Ellie didn’t seem like the type to give a shit about offence, anyways.

“I’m bisexual, but I understand.” You giggle, pushing yourself back to sit more on her desk, swinging your legs as you watch her roll. Her fingers froze for just a moment, before she continued rolling.

“Oh yeah?” She conversed, absolutely despising how a flame of hope flickered in her chest. Nope. Not doing this again.

“Yeah, actually I…” You chuckled. “I started college with the hopes of finding a girlfriend. Things just… didn’t end up that way I guess.” You shrugged, and you seemed happy enough but Ellie could sense the disappointment buried deep.

“Huh.” Ellie let out as she licked the rolling paper, firmly closing it up. She kind of hoped you were watching her as she did so. You weren’t. “You know if you squint really hard Louis could be a lesbian.”

“Really?” You raise an eyebrow.

“Nope.” Ellie pushed her chair back, standing. You chuckled and she smirked, pushing the two pre rolls she’d made into a bigger baggie and then presenting them to you. “This gonna be enough?”

“Oh yeah, I’m a total lightweight.” You giggled girlishly and she nodded, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she watched you fish around in your purse, unzipping an inside pocket to stuff the rolls inside.

“Cute.” She let slip with a smile, and your heart fluttered a little. You berated yourself for that silently.

“What extra do I owe you? Do you charge for rolling or… I don’t know how this usually works.” You pulled out your pink zip up wallet, the zip a glittery jewel between your fingers.

“Nah. No extra charge.” She held her hands up and you raised your eyebrows in surprise. That was a lie. She did usually charge extra for that, but one thing about Ellie was that she was a sucker for the pretty girl discount.

“Really?” And out came the doe eyes, your dark heavy eyelashes weighty above your pretty eyes as you looked up at her in awe. It was Ellie’s hearts turn to flutter.

“Really.” She smirked, not breaking eye contact (much to her surprise) as she pinched the cash payment from you between her pointer and middle finger knuckles, only swallowing down the giddiness when your fingers brushed hers. You grinned, zipping your wallet back up and tucking it away, feet tapping on the floor a little like you just couldn’t contain your excitement (Which made Ellie want to squeeze you.)

“I know you said it’s not your thing, but you should come to one of the pool parties. Most of the time the people there are cool. It’ll be good for business.” You wiggled your eyebrows which made Ellie’s smile uncontainable, teeth actually on display now which she honestly never did. No one was ever funny or cute enough.

“Maybe.” She rolled her eyes with a smile, walking you towards her door.

“They happen every weekend. Would be cool to see you there.” You fixed your bag over your shoulder before turning back to her. “Nice to meet you, Ellie. You’ll be seeing more of me.” You nodded formally, and the auburn haired girl tore her eyes away from the visible band of your underwear through the material of the dress when you looked back at her, muttering a “Good.”

Ellie always came away from these kind of things wishing she said more. She knew you had a boyfriend, but something about you seemed more curious. Like you weren’t totally against the idea of flirting back. Maybe it was all in her head because of the stupid crush she’d already developed. She didn’t understand it, how could someone like you feel fulfilled by someone like him. Ellie would never let you pay for your own weed, she’d treat you right. She had the means to be able to spoil you, which she didn’t need proof to know that Louis didn’t. Hell, he couldn’t even pay for his girls weed — Ellie knew stingy when she saw it. He probably wasn’t even making you cum. Not like Ellie could anyway, but then again who could? She’d like to think she had a gift — but maybe it was a guitarist-fingers thing, and years of deftly rolling tight joints.

Ellie shook her head free of the thought — sure she was a little grey-moralled — but thinking about finger fucking one of your customers girlfriends on a sunny afternoon felt a little wrong even for her. She was heading off to meet Dina to exchange notes for a class she missed, again just about willing herself to stay focused this semester. The two of them chat over coffee, the notes barely touched as the two friends joked around. When a pensive silence filled the space between them, Ellie spoke up — picking at a hangnail in a way she hoped was casual.

“You ever been to those campus pool parties? The ones at that douchey frat house?” She shrugged, glancing up at her darker haired friend.

“Uh, yeah. Like once or twice.” Dina frowned before snickering, raising a doubtful eyebrow. “What, you interested? You don’t even enjoy regular parties, hermit.”

Ellie’s jaw dropped slightly in offence, letting out a scoff before taking a sip of her coffee — still scalding hot on her tongue. “Excuse me. I’d be there strictly on business. I heard it’s… I was told I should go.” She explained. Dina’s smirk deepened, eyes lowering into slits.

“Who is she?”

“Why do you assume this is about a girl?” She rolled her jewelled eyes, before glancing around the cafe just incase anyone was listening to her pathetic segue into talking about you.

“Because last time I suggested you come with me and Jesse you nearly threw a textbook at my head.” Dina argued, making Ellie sit back in her seat, looking away in defeat as she crossed her arms over her light grey hoodie.

“She’s got a boyfriend. So it doesn’t matter. Just said it would be good for business and… the customer is always right, so I’ve been told.” Ellie rushed out, Dina’s shoulders dropping with a pitying look.

“Oh Ellie. Why put yourself through that?”

“She’s bi — okay stop. This isn’t about her. I was just asking. Fuckin’… forget it.” Ellie flipped the page of her notes now, going to scribble down what Dina had written to get her mind off the conversation.

“Alright, alright.” Her friends held up her hands. “Defensive.”

Ellie didn’t see Louis much from that point on. Same time, every week — you would be on her doorstep. Ellie wasn’t sure if it was just out of convenience, or maybe you had wanted to see her. You had the same spritely, sunshine attitude each time you stepped into her dorm — lighting it up with your smile and your pretty dresses. The auburn haired dealers heart was beginning to ache in a painfully familiar way. An unrequited crush, a girl she couldn’t have. She wished she could say this was the first time she’d crushed on a girl with a boyfriend — but that would be a lie.

Each time you left, the giddiness would fade out into a prickly, warm and uncomfortable anger settling in at the pit of her stomach. Occasionally, you’d let slip the way Louis treat you — and if you didn’t say it, she could tell by the look on your face when his name would come up. Your classes were stressing you out, hence needing her weed to unwind in the first place, and your boyfriend was doing nothing to ease your anxiety, instead choosing to go out and get wasted with his friends each night. You deserved better, and she knew it wasn’t her place to say but shit, it was killing her. You were killing her. She could treat you better.

From outside the frat house, she could hear music, laughter, and water splashing from down the street. Ellie stood with Dina and Jesse, already regretting her decision.

“Fuck this. I’m turning around.” Ellie attempted to swivel, but Jesse grabbed her arm.

“No you’re not. You’re here to sell, remember? Got a friend with money, said he’d pay you good.” He gave her a light shove towards the door, Dina rolling her eyes at the two’s antics. Ellie felt overdressed, wearing her short sleeved blue worn denim shirt unbuttoned over a wife beater and shorts with her Converse, pockets stuffed with pre-rolls gifting her that usual marijuana infused smell that followed her around that said ‘Hey everyone! I’m a dealer!’ Upon stepping out into the backyard, it was clear what kind of party it was. The sun was still shining, and people seemed pretty drunk already — jumping off the low roof and into the pool, girls on the outskirts squealing in their bikinis. The floor was practically vibrating with the bass from a Drake song and the sun was sizzling the back of Ellie’s neck — recipe for a headache, she thought. She’d sell her shit, and get out.

She knew you’d be here. In the back of her mind she knew. And yet, her heart still damn near thudded out her chest when you were suddenly right in front of her, arms extended with a big toothy grin. Ellie had almost panicked, not ready for the confrontation. She hadn’t even gotten herself a drink yet, hadn’t even smoked yet and here you were. You were wearing a white bikini and it looks so pretty against your soft skin. She was looking at your tits again.

Ah, shit.

“Ellie! M’so happy you came! I didn’t think I’d ever see you at one of these!” You all but squealed, throwing your arms around her neck and pulling your body taut against hers. Ellie didn’t have to look at Dina and Jesse to know that their eyebrows were practically in their hairline, taking in the scene in front of them. Your bikini top was damp still clearly having taken a dip in the pool earlier, along with the ends of your hair and she felt the wet triangles pressing damp spots into her own chest, your tits pressed up against her. You even had the nerve to let out a happy little ‘mmph’ moan as your body collided with hers. Were you really that happy to see her? God, if I had a dick right now, it would be rock fuckin’ hard. Thank fuck I don’t, Ellie thought— eyes opening again, not realising that she had squeezed them shut to suppress a moan when she’d hugged you back.

“Uh, yeah! Told you I’d consider it.” She tried to play it cool when she pulled back, taking in your giggly expression. You didn’t let go of her arm as you pulled away, and a waft of alcohol drifted through to Ellie’s nose, suddenly helping her understand the situation a little better. You were pretty drunk, but where was your boyfriend? Ellie scanned behind you, searching for his brunette mop only to be met with several dozens of them. Great. She felt a spike of anger in her chest again, violently protective. Who just leaves their girl wandering around in a bikini, drunk, at a frat party? “Wheres your little boyfriend?” Her expression flattened out, and she caught herself. She didn’t mean for it to come out like… that. Luckily, you were drunk enough to not notice the bitterness in her tone.

“Louis? Oh— uh…” Your bottom lip stuck out as you spun around on your tiptoes to see over heads, scanning the yard for him before spinning back with a shrug. You dropped back down onto the balls of your feet and your tits bounced in Ellie’s peripheral vision. “Who knows.” You giggle, eyes jumping to Ellie’s two friends, silently watching with amused smirks.

“Oh, uh— these are my friends. Dragged me along here. Dina,” She pointed. “And Jesse.” He gave you a little wave.

“Hi!” You chirped with an adorable little wave, before telling them your own name. “I’m not usually this…uh—”

“Drunk?” Ellie leant forward quietly with a smirk, like it was a secret just between the two of you. You giggled, turning back to her, introductions long forgotten as your face morphed into a theatric pout, blown out puppy dog eyes and all.

“Who says I’m drunk? Maybe I’m just really friendly.” You practically pur, suggestiveness dripping off your tone as your hand pulled her by her arm just that little bit closer, soft fingertips over her tattoo. Just as Ellie scrambled for an answer — your name was called in a familiar voice. Louis.

“Babe, there you are.” He sounded irritated, and Ellie straightened her back, jaw squaring ever so slightly. Be friendly, Ellie. He’s a customer — she remind herself. A shitty one, but he still pays you.

“Oh…” He took Ellie in, eyes jumping over her attire before glancing back at you. She just admit, she did look violently lesbian that day — and the body language between her and his girl wasn’t looking all too great to fresh eyes. “Hey.”

You reluctantly let go of Ellie’s arm, which didn’t go unnoticed by the brunette boy.

“I was just catching up with Ellie!” You grinned, and God — were you aware of just how flirtatious you looked batting your eyelashes up at her like that? In front of your boyfriend?

“Yeah, I see that.” Louis’ eyes didn’t leave Ellie’s, which of course she took as a competition without even thinking. She took a step closer, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She stood around 5’7. Taller when she wore boots. Taller if she fixed her posture. He wasn’t much taller than her, so she pretty much met his eye. Her heart skipped a few beats knowing you were watching her, but she held his gaze anyway— tilting her chin up a little. “Thanks for looking after my girl.” He spoke, which almost made Ellie want to laugh.

“Any time.” Eye to eye, the smirk that tugged at her lips held more meaning and the two of you knew it. Oh, she’d look after you alright. Louis’ eyes flickered away, glancing over at Dina and Jesse before back to her, stepping away and putting an arm around your shoulder.

“Come watch me play beer pong?” He spoke to you and you shrugged happily, taking the drink out of his hand and sipping. The freckled dealer couldn’t help but briefly think about how if you were with her she would have cut you off by this point, wrapping an arm around your waist and telling you that you’d had enough to drink, maybe suggest grabbing you a water. As he lead you away, you craned in his hold to wave at Ellie, who waved a few fingers back— watching closely. It was a casual crush before, but now it was on. She didn’t like Louis’ smugness, nor his general attitude or the way he was neglecting you. She had to take you and leave him with nothing. No, Ellie. You’re being like him. She’s not a piece of meat. But she knew the protectiveness didn’t stem from that. Did she think about you sexually? Yeah. But she could give you more than that. You were a sweet girl, and you should be treated as such.

“That was tense.” Dina raised her eyebrows, breaking the auburn haired girls concentration, her gaze snapping back to her friends.

“Oh, uh — he’s fuckin’… weird. I dunno. I give him my shitty weed.” She shrugged it off, looking over her shoulder once more to watch you disappear inside.

“I get it now, though. She’s a total smoke show.” Dina dropped her hand onto Ellie’s shoulder who sighed, shaking off the whole interaction.

“Whatever. I need a drink.” Ellie rolled her eyes, stepping away.

“She was hot.”

“Jesse, it’s okay when I say it. Not when you say it.”

“What? You just called her a smoke show! You’ve never called me that.”

Ellie left the bickering couple behind to find a beer, needing something cool and alcoholic to wind her down. Why was she getting so possessive over someone that wasn’t hers? You were making her feel like a creep, and she didn’t like that. Ellie did not catch feelings easily, despite her past mistakes. So like… what the fuck?

She didn’t see you for two weeks.

Maybe you’d realised you shouldn’t be giving her the eyes. Maybe Louis stepped up his game, who knows. Neither of you had even purchased any weed, and it was approaching exam season so Ellie knew you were stressed. But did she know? Was it presumptuous of her to ‘know’ how you feel?Just based off several occurrences and conversations when you’d come to her dorm to pick up? She tried to shake the feeling of you, your skin grazing hers and your pretty eyes staring up at her — and it was actually working. Maybe time does heal everything. Until of course, she went to the library and the clocks reversed on themselves.

She had to admit, she was falling a little behind in her work. She had gotten so preoccupied in selling that she had almost forgotten to be, well… a student. Her backpack was making her shoulder sore so she switched it to the other as she wandered through the building, fairly quiet for a Tuesday. She felt a pit of irritation bud inside her when she saw someone sat in the seat she wanted, the one that was away from everyone else in the library. She note the pink laptop case, the Hello Kitty stickers on the water bottle, the bracelets on the protruding arm. Oh, it was you.

Ellie was planning to walk on by. You’re here to do work, not flirt or get yourself involved in some kind of sapphic shenanigan. Your head was on the desk, and she figured you had fallen asleep — which almost made her smile fondly before she caught herself. Not yours, Ellie. As she stepped away however, she heard a sniffle. Then another. Ellie froze, willing herself not to do it. It’s not your responsibility Ellie, you can walk away and pretend you never saw. She pursed her lips, turning around anyway.

As she did so, you were lifting your head from the table, wiping your cheeks and nose of tears. You had this pitiful pout on your face, streaming eyes all pink and glossy and your nostrils damp in this oddly adorable way. Ellie still had time to creep away, but she didn’t. She couldn’t.

“You uh… you good?” She stood awkwardly, making you snap your head towards her in surprise. She didn’t miss the way your eyes widened slightly in embarrassment at seeing a familiar face in such a vulnerable moment.

“Oh — Ellie. Um, yes. I’m fine.” You tried, but when you held her doubtful gaze — your lip wobbled again.

“Okay.” Ellie sighed after a beat, pulling up a seat and dragging it to your small table. Yep, she was doing this. “Talk to me.” She spoke in a hushed tone. She was so gentle with her voice and her eyes and her general demeanour — something you weren’t so used to — it soothed you enough to calm you for a moment and you revelled in the unfamiliar but warm feeling she brought you.

“I don’t wanna bore you with it.” You shook your head with an demure chuckle. Ellie wanted to reach forward and wipe your tears away, her hands itched on the table in-front of her instead.

“We’re literally in the library. I promise you that nothing is more boring than my text-book.” She raised an eyebrow with the attempts of making you laugh. Instead, you watched her for a moment. Ellie could tell you were wondering why she was being so nice to you. Does she treat all her customers this way?

“It’s… stupid. Louis just…” You sigh, as if the mere mention of his name makes you cringe. “We’re not that serious. So… I don’t care what he goes off and does in his spare time,” Interesting, Ellie noted. “But he gets really mad. And when he gets mad he gets mean. I guess I just need thicker skin.” Your voice cracked.

“Or you need to be with someone who’s not an asshole.” Ellie snipped before she got the chance to stop herself. Your eyes met hers again, a little wide in shock. “Sorry.” She closed her eyes, collecting herself. You blinked and two fat tears rolled down your cheeks.

“It’s… okay.” You whispered, playing with your bracelet. A silence sat between you two, just the sound of quiet shuffling in the library and your sniffs.

“Look, don’t let him get to you. You don’t… deserve that.” She shook her head and you nodded slowly, accepting. It was as if Louis were purposely giving her more reason to dislike him, and it was getting harder to hide her distaste for him. Snide comments were slipping out more frequently, Shit — she could barely even contain her facial expressions when his name was mentioned. Something had to be done soon, because she didn’t know how much ‘pretending’ she had left in her. Thankfully, the two of you seemed to have developed a bit of a friendship — so she felt less guilty about bashing your boyfriend, as you seemed understanding due to his often unlikeable ways.

“You done here soon?” Ellie looked around at the library. You wiped your cheek, hitting save on your laptop and shrugging.

“Didn’t really have any work to do, just didn’t know where to go.” You pout sadly, making Ellie have to dig her nails into her seat this time so that she didn’t lean forward and kiss it off you.

“Y’wanna smoke? On me. You need cheering up.” She stood up, swinging her backpack back on, studying long forgotten. You looked up at her hopefully, a glint of reluctance in your eye. You didn’t know why it felt wrong, you weren’t technically doing anything wrong. Just two friends hanging out, right? Louis wouldn’t know that you’re attracted to her. You wasn’t even sure if Louis remembered that you were bisexual for Gods sake, despite telling him a whole bunch of times.

“Really? I can pay you Ellie…” Your eyebrows knit together, and she was already shaking her head.

“My treat. I don’t like seeing pretty girls cry. Makes me wanna cry. You want me to cry?” She joked, pointing at herself in disbelief. She felt relief at the giggle that made its way out your throat, covering your mouth as to not disturb the other library goers. Pretty girls. The words echoed around your head until your face was hot before it dropped into your stomach and made a nest there.

“Okay.” You agreed after a moment. What harm could it do? Louis was an asshole, and the guilt began to slip away as you stood up — remembering all the nasty things he’d said to you.

“Alright, good.” Ellie grinned, turning her face away for a moment so maybe you wouldn’t see how excited she was. You did.

_

“Thats a terrible first high story.” You giggled, taking a draw from the joint.

“What? Fuck you let’s hear yours then!” Ellie gaped, leaning forward from her seat on her bed to take the joint from you as you exhaled. You bit back your smile, letting your pink, watery eyes sail off in thought at you recalled your first time smoking.

“Kay, so… I was 17.” You staged dramatically, widening your eyes slightly as she smirked at your theatrics, leaning back with her eyes glued to you. If you weren’t so blazed, maybe you’d feel nervous under her simmering gaze. “Best friends brother let us smoke some in the backyard with his friends. I tried to play it cool, but I smoked too much and start laughing and I couldn’t stop. Like — it was painful, and I was scared because I couldn’t stop laughing. And they were all looking at me like what the fuck… so I went inside, tried to calm myself down and I threw up on the carpet. Like a distressed cat.” You pouted lightheartedly as Ellie chuckled along with your story.

“Threw up? How strong was the weed? Damn.” She laughed and you shook your head.

“It might have been the shots we’d done before hand to calm our nerves. Bad idea.” You cringed and she nodded, eyes still piercing into you as her laughter died down.

“That might’ve been it, yeah.”

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as she brought the joint to her lips once again, sucking in as she inhaled the pungent smoke. Ellie always got this confidence about her when she smoked. Well — she always had this slightly cocky demeanour about her, but for the most part it was an act. A need to protect herself. A defence mechanism that helped her get by — being a dealer was a social ass job. But smoking made that feeling real. She knew that was bad, relying on weed for real confidence and all, but hey — she’ll take what she can get.

“How you feeling? Any better?” She tested the waters, almost sorry she brought it up when you remembered Louis’ existence, expression melting a little into one of slight disappointment. One that said ‘Oh yeah… him.’ Like you’d forgotten for a moment.

“I guess. Not gonna let it bother me like you said. I don’t have the energy.” You shrugged, tearing your gaze away to study your baby pink manicure instead. Ellie scoffed out a little chuckle, finally stubbing out the joint. The noise attracted your attention and you met her analytical stare.

“Can I… ask what you see in that guy? Not judging just… curious.” She held her hands up in defence, but you didn’t exactly jump to his rescue. Infact it took you a moment to think about it.

“I don’t…” You stop yourself from saying ‘I don’t know’, your pride still burning despite the weed letting your guard down. “He’s… nice most of the time. Kinda guy your parents want you to bring home. He’s not as bad as he seems around other people. I guess he makes me feel wanted when we’re together?” You consider, but the way you say it makes Ellie think that you don’t even fully believe it. “I think… it was gonna be just sex. When I first met him anyway, but if I’m being totally honest the sex isn’t worth it on its own so I dunno… I thought I’d feel more fulfilled by a commitment, you know?”

Ellie was delighted, to be honest. It was music to her ears. You were just spewing about how unfulfilled you were, and she was starting to feel more and more confident that she could convince you that there was a bigger and better world out there. She laughed, openly — letting the joy of the moment go to her head for a minute.

“Oh that’s funny?” You giggled back, chucking a small brown sentimental looking teddy bear at her from her bed. You pursed your lips and she could tell despite your laughter you were knocked slightly insecure by her reaction.

“A little.” She looks off to the side. You want to chuck something else at her but there’s nothing to throw.

“Why?” You push. You know why.

“Your boyfriend can’t fuck.” Her stomach tensed as another laugh bubbled up and you rolled your eyes theatrically, pushing yourself up just so you can dramatically change your position to face the other way on the bed, arms crossed and brow creased.

“Not opening up to you again.” You push out and she nudges you gently with her foot, a more sympathetic (yet equally amused) expression still at the surface.

“No, I’m sorry. Go on.” She waved her a hand a little in the smoky room, nudging you again with her sock covered toe.

“Thats it! There’s nothing else to it. My boyfriend can’t fuck and it sucks. I hate everything.” You complain, not daring to face her. She can’t help but burst out laughing again, the back of her head leaning back to rest on the wooden headboard as she runs a hand over her eyes, shielding herself from the bright dorm light, and you. She lets out an ‘ahhh’ at the end of her outburst.

She hears you whine her name, and she takes more pity on you this time purely because you sound so cute.

“Alright uh— tell me what he’s doing wrong. I’ll give you pointers to give to him so he can fix his shit.” She tries suddenly, as if just being struck by the idea — and she feels you slowly look at her. She pushes her chin down to her chest, looking at you now as she removes her hand from her eyes. You blink at her a couple of times, still pretty, still high as a kite.

You inhale through your nose, eyes drifting off in thought as you turn back towards her, invested, tucking your feet beneath your ass. You hum, coming up blank. “I don’t know. I feel like… you either got it or you don’t, you know? Sex is… emotional. Well, it should be. To him it’s just… getting off.” You shrug, opting to pick at a loose thread on her grey bed throw than look at her. The smirk is still dying on her lips like the slither of sunlight resting on water at the culmination of a sunset. She takes a little longer to think, brain fogged by her high.

“So… okay.” She pushes her palms into the bed to sit up a little more. “What do you like? I don’t really pin you as someone who… wants to be in control.” She analyses, watching you carefully for a reaction. She notices the flick up of your eyebrows and guesses — correct.

“With him there’s no… no one is in control. It’s not one person calling the shots or any kind of dynamic it’s just… we just fuck and that’s it.” You sound sad this time, like bringing the conversation to forefront was making you realised just how unhappy you were.

“Do you cum?” She asks abruptly, and you nearly choke on your own saliva. You think it catches her off guard too, because she looks away from you for a moment and itches her head before deciding fuck it, and goes back to staring. You bite your lip. Well there was that one time, you were on your back — Louis on top, you had a hand pressed between the two of you, rubbing your clit in quick sloppy circles as he got busy. Your eyes were closed. Did you cum? Kind of? Your eyes were closed. You were somewhere else. Somewhere softer and warmer, and it didn’t smell like beer and sweat. You shake your head, no. It was the closest time though, but Louis got all hostile about you touching yourself during sex. Said it was insulting, that you undermined him. You shook off the memory.

“No?” She whispers, eyebrows raised to the high heavens as if she just couldn’t fathom having sex and not making her partner cum — because that’s exactly what she was doing. She felt that hot tingling anger again in her chest, but it was dulled out by the weed — leaving her with just a light irritation at the back of her throat. “Thats fucked up.”

“Is it? I mean… orgasms take time. Doesn’t just happen in five minutes… that can get exhausting.” You defend, and you’re not sure why. You both know there’s no excuse.

“Nah.” She sniffs, not quite bothered to begin on how wrong you are. She switches the subject slightly instead. “So let me guess, missionary everytime?”

Your eyes widen, pressing your fingers over your lips to stop the childish giggle from bursting out. Ellie’s eyes widen too, realising how, well — down bad she was acting. She felt like a teenage boy on Snapchat playing truth or dare asking an uninterested girl if she’d ever send nudes before.

“Uh— fuck, you don’t have to answer that. Just making conversatio—”

“Most of the time. I think…” You decide to share something to make her feel less invasive, not wanting the conversation to end. You actually enjoyed getting to talk someone about this. “I think I’d feel good on top, maybe. But, hmm. How do I put this?” You thought. You looked at her for a moment and she gazed back, waiting on you to continue. Her breath caught in her throat when you crawled up toward her. “Lay back, please?” It was a request, not a command — and Ellie thought she might be dreaming when you straddled her with a frustrated expression.

You settled, and she was hyper aware of the feeling of your pillowy ass dropped down onto her thighs over her warm crotch.

“Okay, say I’m here. In this position.” You explain as well as you can, and when you give a few demonstrative bounces on her phantom cock her hands instinctively land on your hips to steady you. Fuck. Fucking shit. You don’t even seem to notice, or care. “This,” You point at your position. “Is me being in charge and… I don’t want that. It— it doesn’t get me off. I don’t wanna feel like I’m dominating them.” You whisper the last part like you’re telling her a secret at a girly sleepover, and she catches herself grinning before she scrambles, running over what you just said in her brain.

“Wait. Nah, that’s…” She adjusts herself slightly sheepish because she can feel herself blushing. Be cool, Ellie. Be dominant. “Thats bull. It doesn’t matter what position you’re in, it’s about how you make them feel.” She shrugs, and when you continue to stare at her, pink, glossy wide eyes— she carries on, you requiring more explanation. “If you’re on top working overtime, he should be telling you what a good job you’re doin’. How pretty you look doin’ it.” Her voices rasps in the way it does when she gets horny and she hopes she’s not giving herself away. Your mind goes a little blank, succumbing to the daydream of receiving that kind of praise. It makes your skin feel clammy. Louis isn’t below you in your daydream. Your freckled friend breaks your trail of thoughts. “And,” She’s smug now, and raises her knees behind you, planting her feet down on the bed and thrusting upwards a few times making you bounce a little, gripping her tighter. “Doesn’t matter if you were on top. I could still be the one fucking you. Just like this.”

You pause, only because you’re frozen in fear that she can feel the sudden floodgates open between your legs— praying to every God imaginable that you don’t leave some kind of pathetic wet patch on her. She thinks you’ve frozen at what she’s said.

“Uh— I mean Louis. Louis could still be the one— yeah.” She shrugs off, squeezing your hips with her warm fingers and you’re suddenly aware of your compromising position again, shaken from a dream. You slide off her quickly, bringing your knees to your chest and your back to the cool wall beside her bed. You were not a cheater. It doesn’t matter that the two of you didn’t kiss, or fuck, or whatever — what would have happened if Louis had walked in and seen you in your very gay dealers lap, pretending to have sex? You were not a cheater.

Ellie’s mouth was agape, like she wanted to say sorry but just couldn’t find it in her to feel sorry enough to say it. Her eyes were worried however, worried she’d made you uncomfortable or pushed it too far.

“I should… I shouldn’t stay. It’s getting late and—” You started looking for your bag with your laptop in it, where did you put it again?

“I’m sorry I— I didn’t mean to be weird. That was… I made you feel—” Her tone was apologetic now.

“No, no. It’s not that. I’m just hungry and I get weird when I’m… when I haven’t eaten. You’re fine. I mean, you were fine. Nothing weird just… friends hanging out, right?”

It hurt her, but Ellie nodded anyway. You were going back to him. It always ended this way.

“‘Kay. You got everything? You gonna be okay getting back? You’re still high.” Ellie stood, awkwardly dawdling behind you as you scooped up your purse. “I can walk you back—” She started patting her pockets for her key card.

“It’s okay, really. It’s still light outside and it’s a short walk. I think I need just… fresh air and quiet.” You avoid her eyes, but turn to face her as you back towards her door.

“Okay.” She was disappointed. “I hope you feel better now, ‘n stuff.” Your hand pushed the cold metal handle down and the hallway of her building was just as muggy, but it felt like a relief when some of the smoke from her dorm was released.

“I do.” You could look now, standing in the hallway as she didn’t move past her doorway. The distance made it safe enough to look at her pretty eyes without feeling you were going to do something bad. “Thank you Ellie. I owe you one.” Your brows knit together sincerely. Sure, I have a favour I need — break up with your boyfriend.

“Sure.” Ellie left it there, shook her head like it was nothing. “Text me and just… let me know that you got in okay. Yeah?” She continued to speak to you as you backed up down the hallway, awkwardly fumbling with your bag. It was wrong to let a girl walk back home high and alone. She thought about you walking around drunk and alone at that frat party. She was Louis this time.

“Will do. See you, Ellie.” Her name sounded like music when you said it. She had a new favourite song.

Your dorm was cooler, refreshing to be in when you got back. Your first mission was to look in the mirror and you sighed almost angrily seeing how flustered and a little dishevelled you look. You wanted to take the clothes off that touched her, still stinking of weed. You wanted food in your belly to flush her out. Flopping onto your back on your bed you pull your phone out, ignoring the texts and calls from your boyfriend — all to send a message to your dealer.

‘got back safe, thanks again😊’ You regret the emoji, but the Read: 5:13PM was immediate so there was no time to regret it for long. Three bubbles and then ‘Good’. You stare at the text, and then stare past the phone. You didn’t want to answer Louis right now. He could wait until tomorrow.

part two

[takamimami]

Heaven in Hiding

Pairing: Keigo Takami x fem!reader (use of Y/N)

This one-shot was inspired by a fan art drawing I saw on TikTok by x.4haru and also some KadeArt pics - The NightHawks brainrot is so real. (Kadeart inspo: here, here, & here :3)

CW: SMUT; praise kink, orgasm delay/denial, cum play, choking, 'Sir' kink, dacryphilia, degradation kink, slight consensual non-consent, brat taming 0_o, yakuza/gang affiliations, references to drugs --- word count: 10.9k

🔞NSFW; MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS KEEP IT MOVING🔞

Summary: Enigma (e•nig•ma) A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand. Your night out goes just as you wanted it to, but not with the person you’d expected.

The wind had a bitter bite to it as it blew your jacket open, sending a brisk chill through your whole body. The rain had picked up a bit, causing you to pick up your walking pace as well. Easier said than done, however, given that the black stilettos you chose to wear tonight were nearly six inches high and the matching bodycon dress was threatening to ride up your thigh and expose your ass. You cursed yourself for your attire choice at this moment, knowing that it was your tipsy and single brain that told you to dress this way. It didn't help that the only free parking was nearly a block away from your destination. 

"Let's go to Camelot," they said.

"It will be fun," they said.

"We can meet some 'lookers'," they said. 

Well, you were still hoping that the last part would be true. It had been a hot minute since you had seen any sort of action, and being that you just got off your period, you were hoping to be humping something other than your pillow tonight. 

You shook your head at your impure thoughts keeping your head down to not ruin the makeup that adorned your face. You noticed a few black feathers strewn on the ground in front of an alleyway, most likely from crows that frequented the busy alleys. As you neared your destination you felt eyes on you, and you nervously scanned the area to make sure you were in the right place. You were relieved to see the entrance to the club just up ahead, indicated to you by the big lit-up pillars with "CAMELOT" written on each one. There was a line of people stretched down the sidewalk, but luckily your friend had connections with the owner and got you on the VIP list, claiming it was your "birthday". You walked past the waiting crowd, a few catcalls and whistles faintly heard over the sound of the city accompanied by the bass you assumed was coming from inside the club. You ignored them and rolled your eyes as you made your way up to the bouncers, one of which was holding a clipboard and a flashlight. 

"You on the list?"

You nodded your head and gave him your name, as well as fetched your ID out of your wallet and handed that over to him. 

"Ah, the 'birthday girl'," he said, waving his air quotations so you could see them. You blushed slightly before he continued, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

You thanked him as he lifted the barrier so you could enter the club, the upbeat music blaring in your ears as soon as you opened the door.

The inside of the club was dimly lit, with colored lights leading your way down the dark hallway towards the much brighter bar. Once you got down the end of the hallway you scanned the bar area for your friends, praying you weren't the first person there. The entire area was furnished in brown leather, with comfortable-looking booths and lavishly cushioned seats replacing the typical bar stools you'd expect to see at a club. All of the walls were lined with mirrors, causing the flashing lights from the dance floor to bounce vibrantly throughout the entire venue. The dance floor was as crowded as ever, which made sense given it was a Saturday night. You recognized the song blaring over the speakers as one from the K-Pop group BTS. Dynamite, was it?

Your thoughts were abruptly interrupted by an average height man bumping into you, causing you to stumble a bit. He quickly turned around to look your way, nearly spilling the whiskey in his cup as he did so. You could smell the liquor on his breath, indicating he was probably a couple of glasses in so far.

"Hey there, sexy thang! My apologies!" His voice was somehow louder than the blaring music in the background. You could hardly recognize him at first, but you couldn't mistake the long blonde hair. It was relaxed and back in a loose hanging bun, as opposed to his usual spiked updo. Hizashi Yamada, a well-known DJ in the area, was most likely here for a gig.

He brought his orange glasses down to the brim of his nose as he looked you up and down, "So what brings a hot chick like you out alone on a night like this?"

You nearly giggled at how corny he sounded hitting on you, "I- I'm here with some friends to celebrate my uh, birthday."

He noticed your increased awkwardness and scanned the room before leaning in to speak in a bit of a hushed tone, "Don't worry sweet cheeks, I'm not hitting on you. My partner over there would beat my ass if I was," he motioned over to a tall black-haired man standing at the bar, ordering a drink. His hair was pulled back in a half-up, half down 'do. The bartender handed him a couple of drinks and he turned in our direction, giving Hizashi a glare as he saw us looking in his direction. 

"Well, that's my queue to go, don't wanna keep the hubby waiting," he nudged you in the side, a laugh escaping his lips. "Oh, and happy birthday!"

Just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared in the crowd in the direction of his partner. You smiled to yourself as you turned in the opposite direction of him, scanning the crowd for any familiar faces. Giving up, you made your way over to the bar, pulling your phone out as you made your way there. To your surprise, you had two unread messages from your best friend.

Hey, I’m running a little late! Traffic is absolute shit. You there yet?

Should be there in 10. Order me a shot of Patrón, kay?

As you were reading the second message, a third one came through.

Parking now! See you soon, hot stuff!

You smiled and replied with a simple 'Yay!' and several dancing emojis before sliding your phone back into your jacket pocket. You made it to the bar and quickly ordered a shot of your favorite liquor, needing something to ease the slight headache forming at the base of your neck. As you waited for your drink you turned around, surveying the venue a little more. There was a group of women in the booth nearest you, all of which looked to be in their early 20's. A few were posing for pictures together, and others were making goo-goo eyes at some men across the bar from them, making you chuckle to yourself a little bit. The booth directly next to them was full of men in dark suits, all sipping dark liquor and looking around, almost suspiciously. You quickly averted your eyes over to a man in his late 20's/early 30's using his water manipulation quirk to impress some girls by pouring their drinks without using his hands.

Your people-watching was abruptly cut short by a pair of golden eyes staring at you from the entrance of the club. You watched as he emerged from the darkness of the hallway, his gaze never leaving you. It took you a moment to realize that a pair of prominent black wings adorned his back, almost as majestic looking as they were sinister. He ruffled them out slightly as he shimmied his jacket off his shoulders, the bouncer to his rear grabbing it for him and removing it, and carefully maneuvering around his wings. The red button-up shirt he wore was a good contrast to the black vest and dress pants he wore, everything fitted perfectly to his toned build. He bit the index finger of his glove and slid it off, then grabbed it and did the same with the other hand, the slightly seductive action intrigued you. Something about him had your body frozen in place. You let a seductive smirk curl up on your lips, and almost immediately he did the same. 

You finally broke the intense staring game as you heard the bartender return with your shot glass. You turned around quickly and thanked them, grabbing the glass and swirling it around, staring at the liquid inside. Giving yourself a slight pep talk, you started a silent count down before tipping your head back and taking down the liquid, savoring the burn in the back of your throat.

As you sat the drink back down on the counter a masculine scent filled your nose and a smooth voice rang in your ears.

"Always nice to see a girl who can handle her liquor." 

The chuckle that rang through the air made the hairs on your arms stand up, and you pivoted on your heels only to come face to face with your long distant admirer.

"Oh c'mon, I meant that as a compliment," he joked, the cockiness in his tone about as obvious as the wings on his back. You could tell why, however, the man standing next to you was nothing short of attractive. His golden locks were all but organized, but the messiness of it seemed deliberate and added to his edge. His chiseled face matched his physique, and the tattoos painted on his forearms added to his edgy demeanor. His face was riddled in piercings, a black stud nose ring and a hooped eyebrow piercing added a harsh contrast to his smooth skin. 

"Take a photo, princess. It will last you longer."

Your cheeks went flush as you quickly averted your eyes back to the bartender, reaching out to order another shot.

Just as you opened your mouth to order, the man beside you grabbed your hand, and that's when you noticed the knuckle tattoos reading "NIGHT" peeking out from under the gunmetal rings on his fingers. You gazed down at the other hand to see the same font on those knuckles, this one reading “HAWKS”.

"We'll take two shots of Yamazaki, neat." 

You rolled your eyes, laughing at the audacity of the man now holding your hand. He looked at you inquisitively, before raising your hand to his mouth and running your knuckles over his lips lightly a few times before placing a chaste kiss on them. Something about his aura intrigued you, although all the signs pointed to that being a bad thing. You swallowed that feeling into your gut to ignore it, pulling your hand away and placing it on the bar.

"So, tell me, princess, what brings you to my neck of the woods on this wonderful night?"

You raised an eyebrow to him teasingly, " Your neck of the woods?"

The menacing smirk that curled up onto his lips indicated your unintentional teasing was working, much to your surprise. Just as he leaned forward to offer a rebuttal, a shrill squeal came from behind him, startling you both.

“Y/N!!!! Happy Birthday!”

You recognized the high-pitched voice immediately, seeing as it belonged to none other than your best friend. You rolled your eyes while simultaneously flashing her a smile. 

“You’re so full of shit,” you giggled, pulling them in for a warm hug. As you did, you noticed your new acquaintance had taken a few steps back, still eyeing you as a predator does its prey.

As you pulled away from the embrace you turned to the bartender, realizing you had forgotten to order a shot of Patrón as requested. When you did, you were as shocked as ever to hear your best friend strike up a conversation with your admirer like they were old friends.

“You just couldn’t wait to introduce yourself, could ya?”

The comment caused you to snap your head back in their direction, both of their eyes turning to you as you did.

“You know how I get around beautiful women,” he mumbled, earning him a slap on the arm in return.

She playfully shoved him before moving closer to you, “Even though you’ve clearly met, I’ll introduce you anyway. (Y/N), this is my cousin Kei-”

The conversation was abruptly interrupted by your hand being grabbed and you being pulled away quickly.

“My name is Enigma, princess. You’ll wanna remember that for later tonight.” 

The sly smirk on his face was almost too much for you to handle as a chuckle escaped your lips. You weren’t sure what was more comical, the nickname, or his comment.  Before you could offer a witty comeback, your best friend grabbed your arm and pulled you back over to them.

“Yeah, yeah, Enigma. We got some dancing to do,” they giggled as they threw back their awaiting shot and pulled you to the dance floor. You followed their lead and took down your awaiting whiskey shot and rushed to the dance floor, leaving Enigma alone at the bar, the menacing look returning to his eyes as you walked away.

“So what’s the deal with your cousin?”

After making your way to the middle of the dance floor, your best friend turned around and smiled at you.

“Why, you think he’s hot?”

You weren’t sure if your face was hot from embarrassment or the drinks, but before you could reply they nudged your shoulder playfully.

“I’m just messing with you. His dad is my mom’s brother. He’s a cocky little shit, but he’s good people. He’s always been there for me since we were kids. He’s also always been our grandfather’s favorite, so I rarely get to see him since he joined the family business.”

You nodded, a little more interested, “How come you’ve never talked about him before?”

“He and my grandfather are very private people. They don’t come around too often, especially now that my grandfather’s health has declined a bit.”

You nodded, and just as you were about to reply, your favorite Megan Thee Stallion song began blaring over the speakers, so you opted to start dancing instead.

The next hour or so was a blur for you, feeling the two shots you took back to back working their way through your system. You couldn’t shake the feeling of having eyes on you at all times, but every time you scanned the room for Enigma, you couldn’t find him. 

You shook off the feeling once again and continued dancing, not sure who your best friend had gone off with. You felt a body come up behind you and introduce themselves, the music blaring so loud you couldn’t even make it out. You smiled and tried introducing yourself as well before turning around and swaying your hips to the rhythm of the song playing. 

Everything was fine for a moment, but then the gentle hand on your hip turned into two hands gripping your ass, and you began to feel uncomfortable. You tried to pull away from the stranger, but instead, they pulled you back into them aggressively, grinding their groin roughly on you. You were ready to throw an elbow in their direction and curse them out before a flash of black clouded your vision and you felt yourself finally get the separation you desired. 

“Hey man, I don’t think the lady wants you dry-humping her on the dance floor.”

You recognized the voice from earlier. Enigma stood before you, his hand firmly gripping your forearm, keeping you separated from the man who was groping you moments ago. 

The man looked between the two of you a few times before leaning into Enigma, a challenging expression written all over his face.

“And just who are you to decide that?”

Instead of retaliating, you saw Enigma fluff out his left-wing and motion down at his waistband. You saw the man's eyes move from Enigma’s face to the waistband, his eyes widening slightly before meeting Enigma’s eyes again. 

Someone who must’ve been a friend of his came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder, clearly witnessing what had transpired so far. You thought you heard him tell the groper it wasn’t worth the trouble, but before you had the chance to process it you saw an unknown dark-colored drink come flying in your direction. You weren’t sure if you saw everything clearly, but he seemed to also be reaching for what you assumed was the gun on Enigma’s hip.

A commotion ensued as Enigma pulled you into him, wrapping his left wing around you to shield you. You peeked out from behind it to see two bodyguards grab the man you had been dancing with and drag him off the dance floor and out a door that was in the opposite direction of the exit.

Turning to face you, Enigma scanned you up and down, inspecting you for any injury.

“Are you alright, princess?”

You don’t know how or why, but a wave of calm washed over you as he held you close, the pet name he sang sending the butterflies in your stomach into a frenzy.

“Yeah, it’s just a drink, I’m not that fragile,” you retorted, almost feeling half bad for your involuntary sarcasm.

He only reacted with a warm smile as he ushered you off the dance floor, “Come with me, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

You followed him back behind the DJ booth and into a doorway, you could barely tell was there, the only indication of it being there was the door handle and the ‘Authorized Personnel’ sign. He held the door open for you before leading you down a hallway and up some stairs, his gentle hand never leaving yours. You were grateful for his help, as the mixture of the alcohol and these heels did not make it an easy staircase to scale.

“Watch your foot on the top step, it’s a little higher than the others,” he instructed as he stood at the top of the staircase, watching you intently to assure you made it up alright. He then opened another door for you, this time leading into a dim-lit lounge.

“Thank you,” your voice almost came out in a whisper, taking in your surroundings as you entered the new room. Cigar smoke and marijuana immediately filled your nose, the smell actually more pleasant than you’d expected. 

You felt Enigma’s hand fall from yours only to rest on your hip as he led you further into the room. You passed a few gentlemen dressed similarly to Enigma, only most of them wore black from head to toe. None of them even so much as offered you a glance as the two of you made your way over to a booth near the corner of the room. As you sat down you noticed the entire wall to your left was a one-way mirror, making it so that you could see the entire dance floor from just above the DJ booth. 

Enigma whistled to one of the men behind the small bar, asking him for a towel.

“Sure thing, Boss.” 

He quickly dipped behind the bar and popped up with a towel, tossing it to Enigma, who then turned around to face you. Much to your surprise, he went down onto his knee and grabbed your foot, cleaning off your shoes and the drink that had splashed down your leg. He then handed the towel to you as he stood up so you could finish drying yourself off. 

“Good thing I wore black tonight,” you joked, laughing off the events that just unfolded. You tilted your head to look up at Enigma, a semi-concerned look still plastered on his face. 

You stood up, the liquid courage still running its course through your body. You leaned in slightly, placing a subtle peck in his cheek, catching him off guard.

You didn’t say anything, just watched his expression as a smirk curled upon his lips. When he didn’t reply, you offered up your explanation.

“Your reward for saving me back there,” you admitted shyly. You weren’t normally this forward with a complete stranger, however, something about him made you feel at ease.

“Well, I hope there’s more where that came from,” his voice came out just above a whisper, the octave of his voice lower than it was previously.

You smirked at him before looking away, gazing out at the crowd down below. “People watching must be really easy from up here,” you muttered, turning your head back to glare at Enigma. In response he let out a low chuckle, raising his hands and shaking his head.

“It does have its perks, I’ll admit.”

You shake your head in response, not caring enough to take that conversation any further.

“So, what did my cousin tell you about me?”

Your cheeks immediately flared up, but you maintained your eye contact with him. 

“They told me you’re good people, and that you’ve always been there for them when they needed you.”

He nodded and moved his gaze to the floor, “Yeah, they’re right about the last part.”

You tilted your head, “Are you saying you’re not good people?”

He kept his gaze on the floor a moment as if he was pondering his reply. Then he lifted his head enough to make eye contact with you, changing the tone in his voice to a more serious one.

“Depends who you ask.” 

The two of you kept your eye contact for a brief moment before a voice interrupted it, calling Enigma over to the other side of the room. He shifted his weight a bit as if he was going to walk away, but he turned his head back around to you before he did so.

“I’ll be right back, princess. Duty calls,” he sang the ending of his statement, adding that you should order the two of you some drinks for when he returned.

You nodded and made your way over to the little bar, the bartender busy cleaning glasses with his back turned to you. You cleared your throat and ordered two shots of Yamazaki, just as Enigma had for you downstairs. You figured that was the safest bet, given you had no clue what liquor he preferred.

“The Boss’ favorite, smart girl,” the bartender joked with you, “So how’d you end up as the Boss’ date?”

You laughed to yourself, wondering the same thing. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

The slender, blonde man behind the counter looked up at you, his eyes scanning you up and down a few times before snickering.

“Heard you’re friends with the Boss’ cousin, Kami’s granddaughter. It’d be nice to see you around here more.” 

The smile on his face was genuine, making you show off one of your own. 

“Who’s Kami,” you inquired, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

He looked up and scanned the room before looking back at you, leaning in slightly before answering. 

“The big Boss, Enigma’s grandfather. He’s the owner of this club, Enigma just started taking over for him ever since his health’s gone downhill,” he answered, setting the drinks down on the counter in front of you.

You recalled the conversation you had with your best friend regarding that. You were about to inquire further on how he knew about you when a door on the opposite side of the room shutting grabbed your attention. 

Enigma, along with three hefty-looking men, walked back into the room, grimacing looks on all of their faces. He removed his gloves in the same fashion he did the first time you laid eyes on him, but this time he wasn’t looking in your direction. He scanned the room before his eyes landed on you, his face immediately softening.

Something about the vibe in the room had shifted, and you could tell there was something you weren’t in the loop on, but you didn’t have the gut to ask about it. Not yet, anyway.

Enigma made his way over to you, discarding his gloves on a nearby table as he walked. As he got to the bar, he grabbed your hand tenderly and brought your knuckles to his lips for another chaste kiss. 

“What did I miss?”

You smirked and grabbed the drink from the countertop, sipping it lightly as he cocked an eyebrow in response.

“We were talking about you,” you replied slyly, bringing the glass back up to your lips. 

Enigma’s eyebrow cocked even further, “That so? Well, I guess if I’m gonna have a wingman, I’d prefer it be you, Yagi.”

You saw a proud smile curl up on the bartender’s face as he extended his hand in Enigma’s direction, offering him a joint. Enigma grabbed the joint and stuck it between his lips as you watched, the swift motions he made mesmerizing you. Once he lit the spliff he took a hard drag before handing it back to Yagi behind the bar. He let the smoke escape his lips and sucked it up into his nostrils before turning his head away from you and exhaling. After taking a hit himself Yagi extended his hand to you, though you respectfully declined, not wanting to mix your vices. 

Enigma looped his arm back around your waist and pulled you back in the direction of the booth. The two of you sat across from each other, as if in a business meeting. You talked for what felt like hours about anything and everything, your childhood, parents, favorite restaurants, and everything in between. The occasional interruption occurred, but it never lasted for more than a few moments. 

You learned he was an only child, his mother was abusive and his father was often in trouble with the law, so he was mostly raised by his grandfather. You also learned he had dreamt of being a hero, but that learning the truth about one of his idols changed his entire outlook on life. You also found out that he was born with red wings, but an encounter with an old friend left him with burns on 75% of his body and nearly burnt them off, causing them to grow back black in color. 

“Honestly, I kinda like it more,” he admitted, the two of you now onto your third drink since coming up to the lounge. You were cursing yourself for doing so, knowing if you tried to stand on your own right now you surely wouldn’t be able to walk straight.

“It's getting late, I should probably get back to your cousin,” you started, noticing the time.

Enigma placed a hand over yours, attempting to reassure you. 

“She left about an hour ago, found some guy to take home with her,” he chuckled, noticing a worried expression on your face. “Don’t worry, we checked him out before they left.”

You weren’t sure what that meant, but the liquor in your system allowed you to shake it off easier than you usually would. You could tell you were getting tired, and it must have been obvious because Enigma offered to have you driven home so you made it home safely. 

You agreed, handing over your keys and letting him know where you were parked. He handed them over to a tall man in a dark grey suit, who quickly disappeared down the hall towards the exit.

“Do you mind if I show you something first?”

The question, as innocent as it was, ignited a fire deep in your core, sending the butterflies in your stomach into a frenzy. You nodded and gladly took his hand, your knees a bit wobbly as you stood.

He led you down a hallway to an elevator, one that requires a passcode for entry. He entered it quickly and the doors opened, the lights inside illuminating the entire hallway. Enigma wrapped an arm around your waist and helped you into the elevator, noticing that you were a little less steady than you had been at the beginning of the night. 

The two of you rode the elevator all the way up past the 29th floor, the penthouse button lighting up as you reached your destination. You stepped out of the elevator into a lavish suite, the sight before you was overwhelming. Dark hardwood floors and structures contrasted beautifully with the white amenities and furniture. Before you had time to fully admire everything, you were whisked away towards the back wall of the suite, which was actually floor-to-ceiling windows. With the flick of a switch, the curtains covering the windows swung open, revealing a walk-out patio with an infinity pool and a gorgeous recreational space. You were speechless as Enigma opened the door to the patio and led you out into the chilly night. You clutched at his forearm as the two of you made your way out to the ledge, looking over the city. 

“Are you scared of heights?” He looked down at you smiling, noticing you clutching his arm tighter the closer you got to the ledge. 

“Only when I’m drunk,” you replied, snorting slightly as you let out a laugh at your own poor joke.

The city below you was as busy as ever, even though it was getting close to the early morning hours at this point. All the lights made it seem just as bright as if the sun was out, but the dark Shibuya skyline added a layer of beauty to it all. 

“Sometimes when life gets crazy I like to just sit out here and gather my thoughts. It’s my little escape,” he started, your eyes still fixated on the busy city below. The wind picked up slightly, a gust blowing open your jacket slightly. You felt Enigma wrap his wing around you as it did, blocking you from the cool breeze.

You found your gaze slowly shifting to the man holding you, admiring his features even closer than you had earlier. You noticed what looked like a few faded scars on his cheek, and you also noticed that he had a plethora of ear piercings on both ears.

Enigma turned his head to meet your gaze, the two of your staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. After a few moments of waiting for him to make a move, you let out a gentle laugh before whispering a request.

“If you’re gonna kiss me, you should probably do it before my ride gets here.”

Within a split second of you finishing your last word his lips were on you, a warm and somehow familiar feeling washing over you. The kiss was simple at first, a gentle lip-lock with a slight tilt of the head on your part to deepen it. Things quickly picked up, however, and it wasn’t long before his tongue and teeth were nipping at your bottom lip, begging for entrance. You parted your lips ever so slightly, granting it to him gladly. The taste of liquor on his tongue accompanied by the masculine scent coming from his clothes was driving all of your senses wild and you knew it was obvious. Your tongues continued to battle over dominance as he leaned down slightly to grab at the back of your things and lift you off the ground. You wrapped your legs around his waist tightly, feeling your stiletto heels fall to the floor. You took advantage of the fact that you were now looking down on him slightly to take control of the kiss, sucking and biting at his bottom lip before continuing to dance your tongue around his.

It only took a moment for the two of you to be back inside the loft, causing you to cast away your jacket as you felt your body temperature increasing by the second. You felt Enigma stop moving momentarily when suddenly he let go of you completely, dropping you down onto the couch. Between the sensation causing your stomach to drop and the heated makeout session taking place, you were completely out of breath. You relaxed down into the cushions to catch your breath momentarily as you watched Enigma unbuttoning his vest and shirt, exposing his toned torso. You admired the tattoos scattered across his chest, some leading to his back and neck, none of which you cared to make out at this point. The only ones you could distinguish were the wings on his forearms, which were reminiscent of his own. 

You were pulled from your daydream by a hand grabbing hold of your chin, lifting your lips back to his. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down onto you, his arms coming down on either side of you to not crush you underneath him. Once he got his balance back he lifted his hands to explore your body, tracing every curve lightly with them.

You weren’t ready for it, but he abruptly pulled away from you, causing you to whimper from the loss of contact. He looked you deep in the eyes, his eyelids hanging lower than they had previously.

“Now, i-I think it’s quite obvious here that I want to fuck t-the absolute shit out of you,” he stuttered, still trying to steady his breathing. “But, as any true gentlemen would, I must make sure that you want the same, princess.”

His bluntness caught you only slightly off guard, mostly because you thought it was obvious that you were both in the same mindset. Again, however, the liquid courage in your system egged you on a bit more than you were used to, so instead of a simple nod you propped yourself up on your knees and pushed him down onto his back. The look of curiosity mixed with arousal on his face only egged you on even more.

“Well, you see, I had actually planned on fucking your brains out instead,” you whispered in his ear seductively, trying your best not to slur your words. You leaned back to gauge his reaction, to which he raised his hands and placed them behind his head, granting you full access to do as you pleased.

“Be my guest, your highness.”

You wasted no time in undoing his pants, requiring a little help with his belt as it proved to be much more of a challenge than you expected. The briefs were the next battle. As you pulled the waistband of them down you couldn’t help but shiver with anticipation as his erection sprung out of them enthusiastically, slapping up against his lower abdomen. You shifted your gaze up to meet his, his eyelids heavy and his proud smirk driving you absolutely wild.

Determined not to make a fool of yourself, you quickly took him in your mouth, forcing a hiss out of his lips. You focused on the area just behind the head of his cock where the head meets the base, running your tongue over it several times before bobbing your head down, taking most of him in your mouth. You pumped the base of his cock with your hand, rotating your wrist in rhythm with your head bobs. You peeked up at your lover every couple of moments to gauge his enjoyment, the furrow of his brow and his lip sucked in between his teeth giving you the assurance you needed. Every couple of bobs you would take as much of him in your mouth as you could before slowly moving your way back up to the tip, increasing your suction the closer to his head you got. The slight ‘pop’ of the suction breaking echoed through the room, and the second time you did this it elicited a throaty moan from the man before you. The third and final time you performed this act you made sure to maintain eye contact the entire way through, and by the time you reached the head of his cock his eyes had rolled back and he covered his face with his hand, mumbling profanities into his palm.

His cock fell from your mouth, and as you reached out to grab it again Enigma grabbed your chin roughly, pulling you up for a quick sloppy kiss before spinning you around, your ass now in his face and your face back in his crotch. 

“I can’t let you have all the fun,” he mumbled, lifting your dress and nipping lightly at your right ass cheek. You shivered with anticipation as he hooked his finger around the waistband of your lace thong, pulling it down just enough to give him access to your core.

You felt him hesitate momentarily, causing your anxiety to spike. You felt a sudden pressure on the top of your head, which you realized was his hand, urging you to finish what you had started. You reached out and took him in your mouth again, bobbing your head slowly. After a few moans escaped his lips you felt him place a gentle kiss on your labia, catching you off guard. After doing so a few more times you felt him run his tongue along your slit before using it to part your folds. Simultaneous moans escaped both of your lips, vibrating through each other’s respective cores and amplifying the pleasure you felt. Reaching around he hooked his arms tightly around your waist, pulling you closer to him as to allow himself deeper access. He skillfully maneuvered his way to your clit and circled it a few times, eliciting a throaty moan from you. You found it harder and harder to focus on your task at hand as he took your sensitive bud in between his teeth, rolling it around gently before continuing to dance his tongue over it. You relied heavily on your hands to compensate for your lack of concentration, pumping the base of his cock as he continued his assault on your core. You rolled your hips back into his face slightly, losing yourself to the feeling of his tongue. You felt Enigma’s moan vibrate through you as you run your tongue down the base of his cock, causing it to twitch in your hand. You took the head of his cock in your mouth, teasing it with your tongue before feeling pressure at the back of your head. You realized it was Enigma’s hand once again, his eagerness showing as he pressed your head down while slowly lifting his hips, forcing you to take all of him in your mouth.

Between his skillful tongue dancing circles around your clit and his moans sending vibrations through your whole core, you felt a tingling sense of euphoria creeping up in the pit of your stomach. Your moans were muffled by his dick at the back of your throat, which only earned you more moans in return. You threw your head back in ecstasy as your orgasm reared its head, slowly creeping up until you couldn’t contain it anymore.

“E-Enigma I-... fuck. I’m-” you were a moaning mess as you felt your hips begin to shake, your orgasm ripping through your body as your cries of profanities polluted the air in the room. You tried to continue pumping his cock, however as you did his moans only intensified your arousal. Enigma only seemed to be focused on heightening your pleasure as he locked your hips in place, keeping you steady as you rode out the final waves of your orgasm.

Your heartbeat had never felt so harsh as you rested your head on his abdomen, closing your eyes and focusing on leveling out your breathing. You felt Enigma place a gentle kiss on your labia before shimmying out from underneath you, leaving you breathless on the couch. 

Your stomach dropped as you were suddenly lifted into the air, coming face to face with your lover for the night. The proud smirk on his face set your cheeks on fire, a quiet giggle all that you could manage as a reply. You felt him pull you up further and grab ahold of your ass firmly before turning and slowly walking towards the back of the suite.

“I think that’s a point for me,” he hummed into your ear. He grabbed the lobe of your ear between his teeth and nibbled down on it playfully, a proud chuckle escaping his lips.

You remembered your declaration you recited moments ago, accepting the challenge yet again. You wiggled away from his grasp and hopped down from his arms, pushing him aggressively back down onto the couch. The look on his face was an arousing combination of shock and excitement, and it only made you want him even more. 

You made quick work of straddling him, leaning forward, and kissing him aggressively. He moaned into your mouth as you gripped his cock again, feeling the precum oozing from the tip in your palm. You smirked as you looked into his eyes seductively, lining him up with your entrance. You felt his cold hands reach around and grip your ass again, and as he did you let go of his cock and grabbed both of his hands. You held both of them together at the wrist with one hand before realigning his cock with the other and ever so slowly sliding down onto it.

Your simultaneous moans filled the air as you took him a little over halfway before stopping, bringing your hips back up to allow yourself time to adjust to him. The second time you took him all the way down, a throaty moan erupting from him below you. Your smirk only grew larger as you repeated the action, clamping down on him tightly and grinding your crotch on his as he hissed a few curses under his breath.

“Fuck, (Y/N), he groaned, “You’re so tight, princess.”

Adjusting your position slightly you switched so that your feet were firmly on the ground before increasing your pace, gripping his wrists tighter as the pleasure washed over you. 

Enigma’s head was thrown back and he was watching you with lust-filled eyes, his eyelids hanging low. You leaned down and connected your lips softly and then ever so lightly stuck out your tongue and licked his upper lip, following a trail up to the tip of his nose. You increased your speed, even more, the sound of your skin slapping filling the air. 

Enigma’s moans slowly started to become a little whiny, his enjoyment evident on his face. You ignored the growing heat in the pit of your stomach as you watched him intently, determined to even the score. You released your vice grip on his wrists and gripped the back of the couch, grinding your hips onto him harder. 

“Fuuuuuucking shit,” he hissed. A few more profanities left his lips as he reached down aggressively before slapping your left ass cheek harshly, earning a whimper from you. He traced his fingers up to your hips before gripping them tightly, leaning back a bit and rocking his hips up into you. 

“That’s it, princess, ride that dick for me,” he moaned, teetering on the edge of his climax. You heard the strain in his voice and leaned forward slightly so you were closer to his face, looking into his lust-filled eyes as you muttered your response.

“Cum for me,” you commanded, not once breaking eye contact. You dipped your head down and sucked down on his jaw, leaving little love bites down his neck as he came undone below you.

“(Y/N),” he groaned, accompanied by a thick moan. You felt his hips buck up into you as he gripped your hips even harder, pulling you down onto him with force. You felt his warmth fill you up as you continued to bounce on his cock, the angle of his hips brushing it against your g-spot effortlessly. You bottled the desire to get off for the time being as you watched Enigma’s orgasm wash over him, the look of euphoria on his face giving you a sense of accomplishment. You slowed your movements, listening to the string of curses and profanities that left his lips until you came to a complete stop. His cheeks were flush and his eyes remained closed, his head tilted back in exhaustion. You cursed your own depleted stamina as you watched his chest rise and fall while simultaneously trying to steady your own breath. You tried to stand, but your legs were too shaky to support yourself, so you stayed put.

He peeked out from under his disheveled hair, meeting your eyes and laughing to himself before averting his eyes to the ceiling.

“Well, princess… I guess that makes us even,” he said exasperated, his breathing still unsteady.

You nodded and leaned forward, placing a sweet kiss on his lips as he tucked his hands under your bottom, lifting you up once again. He shakily stood still for a moment as he regained his balance, before turning and walking in the direction he had tried to go earlier. 

You nuzzled your face into his neck as you reached the small spiral staircase, which led to the lower level of the suite, which was actually just a large bedroom. You noticed there was an entirely separate living space on the other side of the large glass partition dividing the room, but you couldn’t see much more since the room was dark aside from the light peaking in the window. As you reached the bed you felt Enigma’s grip loosen, letting you slide down from his grasp but leaving his arms around you until he was sure you had your footing. 

“You’re tired,” his voice came out just above a whisper. Your exhaustion was clearly evident as you pouted, slightly disappointed that your antics were being halted for the evening.

“Don’t worry princess, there’s always tomorrow,” he said as both of you reacted to a sound that could be heard coming from the upper level. What sounded like a buzzer could be heard faintly, causing Enigma to grab a pair of boxers from the nearby closet and throwing them on along with a button-up shirt. 

“Stay here, I’ll be back,” he commanded. Your brows furrowed up in confusion, to which Enigma placed a reassuring peck on your forehead.

“It’s probably your ride,” he joked, making you giggle in response. You watched as he scaled the staircase quickly, skipping a step with each stride. Once he was gone you dipped into the massive walk-in closet, searching for something more comfortable to slip into. After only being able to find dress shirts and button-ups, you stumbled upon a sweatshirt tucked away in a drawer and threw it on, discarding your dress and bra on the ground. You also tossed on a pair of his boxers and pranced back towards the bed, crawling under the soft duvet and sinking into the mattress. 

It wasn’t long before you heard his footsteps coming back down the staircase, only this time he was fully clothed. You gave him a puzzled look, to which he replied with a sheepish grin. 

“I’ve got some business to attend to downstairs, princess. I’ll only be gone a little while,” he said quickly, not giving you time to protest. You realized he had your phone in his hand, which he must have grabbed from your jacket pocket. He faced it towards you, signaling for you to enter your passcode. 

You hesitated for a moment, before giving in and entering it in. He quickly turned the phone back to himself, entering a phone number and saving it before handing the phone back to you.

“You’ll be more than safe up here, it's the most protected place in the whole building,” he said jokingly, though you knew he was being honest. “I’ll be back before you even realize I’m gone. If you need anything, just call that number.”

You nodded your head, albeit him feeling the need to tell you that made you slightly more uneasy. Not wanting to be nosey you swallowed the curiosity, setting your phone on the end table before settling back into the bed. You heard his footsteps getting further and further away, leaving you alone with your thoughts as you slowly drifted to sleep.

~~~

You awoke suddenly to disgruntled voices coming from the level above you. You rolled over and grabbed at your head, a sudden ache pulsating through your skull. You laid still momentarily until the pain resided, trying your best to listen in to the conversation being held in the room above. Unable to hear anything, you crawled out of bed and slowly scaled the staircase to the upper level. As you approached the doorway, the voices grew quieter before completely stopping as you entered the room.

Your confusion only grew stronger as you stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do or say. You first locked eyes with an older man, clearly in his 60’s at least, who was standing on the opposite side of the kitchen island as Enigma. He quickly averted his eyes after not recognizing you, not seeming to have a care as to who you are or why you were there. You then met Enigma’s gaze, his eyes soft as they looked over you. You noticed he had a cut on his cheekbone, which was being held shut with a thin strip of tape, and underneath it, you could see a bruise starting to form. His hair and clothes were all awry as if he had been a part of an altercation of some sort. He also had a spliff between his teeth, the marijuana smoke still lingering in the air.

So many questions came flooding in as you watched Enigma make his way over to you but you couldn’t get any out, choking on your own words. He placed another chaste kiss on your forehead as he reached you, wrapping his arm around your waist gently. You looked to him to offer some sort of explanation, but it was the old man who was the first to speak.

“I just wanted to be sure you were alright, and now that I see that you are I will be on my way,” he stated. Enigma turned to him, still holding you by his side.

“Thanks, old man, but you really shouldn’t have come all the way down here just for this.”

The old man smirked, mockingly waving his hand, “Oh, please. You know me better than that. Now, it would appear that you have company to attend to,” he said, motioning in your direction as he headed towards the door. Once he was gone you turned your attention back to Enigma, who was staring down at you with adoring eyes.

“Well, this is one hell of a way to end a first date, huh?”

You laughed at his question, shaking your head as you walked back towards the staircase. You remained silent, not sure what question to ask first. Before you could make up your mind, Enigma beat you to the punch, offering a few answers to questions you were too shy to ask.

“That guy that was feeling upon you earlier wasn’t the biggest fan of mine,” he started, pausing to see your initial reaction before continuing. “He was giving my boys a hard time after he left and insisted on talking to me face to face.” This time he took another long drag off his joint, this time inhaling hard before releasing the smoke into the air.

You kept your gaze on the floor, not sure of how to respond. You felt like he wasn’t telling you the whole truth, and that pissed you off slightly. The non-satisfactory look you gave him must have spoken for itself, because he quickly moved closer to you, grabbing the side of your face in his hand. His eyes had lost the initial glow they had when you first looked into them from across the bar and were now clouded over with a dark haze.

“Listen, the less you actually know about me, the better off you’ll be, princess.”

You laughed at how cliche he sounded, rolling your eyes obnoxiously so he was aware of your disapproval of his statement. His next action caught you off guard as he grabbed your chin roughly, holding it in place to assure you could only look him in the eyes.

“I mean it, now stop acting like a little brat, would ya?”

His eyes seemed a shade darker as he made his request. Little did he know being a brat was your most dominant personality trait. 

“Or what?”

Your challenge was met with a wicked grin stretched across Enigma’s face, his hand still holding your chin firmly. He paused momentarily to take a final drag of his spliff, blowing the smoke in your face slowly before ashing it on the nearby end table. He then led you back over to the edge of the bed and instructed you to strip before yanking you down aggressively, forcing you to drop to your knees. He sat down on the edge of the bed as you fell, undoing his pants and pulling his already semi-hard cock out. Not bothering to take off his pants he pulled your head to his crotch, slapping your cheek roughly with his cock a few times before forcing it into your mouth.

The initial hiss that left his mouth was venomous as he placed his hand on the back of your head firmly, forcing his cock to the back of your throat. Unfortunately for you, the sudden change of pace caught you a bit off guard and your gag reflexes failed you, a violent gagging sound filling the room. Enigma seemed to have found the sensation enjoyable, keeping your head down for a moment before letting you come up for air.

You gasped desperately for air as he grabbed your chin in his hand again, pulling your face up to look at him again.

“Oh c’mon princess, I know you can do better than that.”

Before you had time to react he forced his cock down your throat again, this time the gag was slightly less violent. You lasted much longer this time, breathing in through your nose as you deepthroated his cock. When you pressed your hand to his thigh to signaling you needed air yet again, he gladly obliged and pulled your head back slightly, allowing you to breathe, but not fully removing his cock from your mouth. Not a moment later he was pressing your head back down, this time his free hand coming up to pinch your nose shut as if to test how long you could truly take him. 

“That’s my good girl ,” he cooed.

As you started to hear your brain begging for oxygen you felt Enigma release his grip on your head, pushing you backward as he stood up. He allowed you to choke out a few harsh breaths before spinning you around, pressing your back up against the bed. He then grabbed your face once more and brought his cock back to your mouth, this time standing with a leg on either side of your seated body. You reached up to pump his cock and he pushed your hands away, instead of rolling his hips forward and pushing his cock into your mouth, not quite as far this time. He bucked his hips towards you at a vigorous pace, fucking your face to his heart's content. You tried choking out moans in between thrusts, but every time you did he made it a point to hit the back of your throat, causing you to gag.

Abruptly your mouth felt empty as Enigma bent over and wrapped his calloused hand just tight enough around your throat to make it hard to breathe. The wild look in his eyes excited you more than scared you, and you knew you were in for an interesting rest of your night.

“Now,” he said, his breath staggered and harsh, “You’re gonna be a good little slut for me and take all his cum in your mouth.” His words came out as a command, not a question. “But, you will not swallow until he says so, got it?”

You nodded your head, but the Enigma's brows furrow and he grabs your chin, shaking his head."

"Use your words," he barks, the command making your legs tremble.

"Yes," you breath out shakily.

"Yes, what?"

You quirk a brow before realizing the dynamic he was looking for, and deciding not to press your luck any further, you comply.

"Yes, sir."

Almost immediately following the words leaving your mouth his cock was back in it, hitting the back of your throat repeatedly as he began to fuck your face again. It wasn’t long before his thrusts became sloppy, indicating he was nearing his end. He pulled away from you slightly, grunting lightly as he began pumping his cock in your face.

“Please cum for me, sir,” you cooed, sticking your tongue back out and holding your mouth open for him. 

That encouragement was just enough to push him over the edge, his cock finding its way back into your mouth as you tasted his warm cum fill your mouth. When he finally removed his cock you collected all of his juices on your tongue, opening your mouth proudly to show you had followed instructions.

“Mhmm, such a filthy little whore,” he snickered, pulling you up to your feet and turning you to face the bed. He pulled your arms behind your back, holding them in place with one of his. You felt his breath creep up your neck as he brought his lips to your ear.

“Now, you’re gonna keep that cum in your mouth, until I allow you to swallow it, got it? I want you to savor the taste,” his command came out as a low rasp as he motioned for you to kneel on the edge of the bed. He slowly began to bend you over, spreading your legs and forcing you to arch your back slightly to allow himself easy access to your throbbing pussy.

You felt him run a finger over your slit lightly, teasing your entrance before pulling his hand away.

“Now, I already made you cum with my tongue… The question is,” he started, “Do I make you cum with my fingers or my cock next?”

His words only excited you, sending a chill up your spine as he began stroking your soaking wet pussy again with his digits. He made his way to your clit slowly, skillfully drawing circles around the sensitive bud when he found it. You then felt his fingers dip inside you, curling up just enough to graze your sensitive wall as he pumped them in and out of you. At the same time, he pressed his thumb to your aching clot, circling it in sync with his fingers that were buried in your pussy. He worked you relentlessly, your muffled moans only egging him on more. Your orgasm quickly came to the forefront as you leaned your hips back onto his hand, begging for the impending release. Your moans were quickly cut off as he removed his hand completely, your core quivering from the loss of stimulation.

“Huh uh uh,” he hummed, slapping your ass harshly, “I know you weren’t about to cum without permission, princess.”

The pet name added insult to injury as he brought his digits to his mouth, leaving you a blubbering mess attempting as best you could to beg him to touch you again.

“P-please,” you managed to squeak out, doing your best to preserve the salty liquid in your mouth.

“Please? Please, what?”

You cursed everything about your predicament, frustrated at not being able to properly beg.

“P-please fu-” you stuttered, “Fuck me!”

As you cried out your request your breath hitched in your throat as you felt his cock enter you suddenly, bottoming out inside of your throbbing pussy. The sudden sensation caused your mouth to fly open, an unholy moan escaping your lips as you tightened around his cock.

“Aw, princess, look at you,” he hummed from behind you, clearly pleased at the state he had you in. “Look at all that cum dripping from your mouth, looks like I won this round.”

He pulled his cock out of you quickly before snapping his hips forward again, almost knocking you on your face. You did your best to suppress the burning sensation in your core as he pumped into you mercilessly, nothing but your animalistic moans able to be heard over the sound of skin on skin.

“You better ask permission before you cum on my cock,” he grunted, continuing the relentless speed of his thrusts. His thrusts hitting just the right angle, allowing his cock to brush against your g-spot with precision.

“Please, sir,” you whimpered, tears welling in your eyes as you tried your best to suppress your climax, “please can I cum all over yo-, ah! Please let me cum on your cock!”

Your shriek rang through the room as a single tear fell from your eye, the intensity of the moment overwhelming you completely. 

You were suddenly yanked back towards Enigma’s chest, his hand wrapping around your throat tightly, but still allowing air to pass. He leaned his head against yours, his lips brushing against your ear as he continued to pump in and out of you.

“Cum for me, princess.”

Relief washed over you as you felt a hard hand come down on your left ass cheek before gripping your hip tightly, holding you in place. Your head immediately fell as you felt your core tense up with pleasure, however, your head was pulled back up by Enigma’s hand tightening around your throat. You opened your eyes to meet your reflection, realizing the entire headboard was a large mirror. 

“Don’t you go closing those eyes on me,” he groaned in your ear, lowering his hand from your hip down to the sensitive bud just above your entrance. “I want you to watch yourself cum all over this cock.”

His words sent you over the edge as you took in the scene now laid out before you. His possessive grip over you was menacing as he focused solely on pleasuring you. His wings were puffed out and disheveled, a few stray feathers threatening to fall from where they laid. Another tear fell from your eye and you weren’t sure if it was from the overstimulation or from the wave of sheer euphoria that was washing over your body. 

The air was filled with your moans and profanities as you watched Enigma fuck you through your orgasm, his grip slowly slipping from your neck and his thrusts growing sloppy, signaling his own end. The intensity of this orgasm was none like you’d ever felt before, causing your vision to go blurry as it ripped through your body.

“Oh, fuck , (Y/N),” he cursed, struggling to suppress his own release. You tilted your head back towards him, and when you did you felt him crash his lips into yours for a sloppy kiss.

After he pulled away, his cock still ramming into you from behind, you returned your gaze to the mirror to meet his eyes.

“Please cum inside me, sir. I want you to fill me up-”

You could hardly get the last sentence out because of Enigma’s tightened grip on your throat, his thrusts quickening suddenly. Your name fell from his lips repeatedly as he emptied his load into you, some of the liquid running down your leg as it combined with your own. His thrusts slowly came to a halt, and it wasn’t until they did that you realized your legs were shaking.

You also hadn’t realized just how much Enigma was supporting your body weight until he released you from his grip, causing you to collapse on the bed before him. He followed suit rather quickly, pulling the duvet over both of your now naked bodies. 

The silence in the air was a nice contrast to the noises that filled the air just moments ago. You laid in the same position for a moment, only moving because Enigma pulled you to his chest. You listened to his heartbeat level out as his chest rose and fell with each breath, helping you to level out your own breathing. The final wave of bliss washed over you as you came back down from your high, finally able to process all of the events of the night. 

Your body was still on fire, still processing the intense rush of emotions you were feeling for the man whose arms you laid in. You weren’t a believer in love at first sight, but the way you opened up to him was something you never in a million years would have done with just anyone. There was something different about him, and though you couldn’t put a finger on it yet, you were determined to get to the bottom of it. Especially if it meant you got to have more nights like this. You tilted your head up to meet his gaze, finally breaking the silence in the room.

“You never told me your real name,” you started, opting to ignore the many questions still lingering in your mind over what happened to him hours prior. You wanted this moment to last forever, but knowing it couldn’t you decided to savor it.

He remained quiet for a moment before parting his lips as if he was pondering whether or not to tell you. After another moment of deafening silence, you heard his low voice ring through the air.

“It’s Keigo,” he nearly whispered, as if afraid someone may overhear.

You looked up and met his eyes, now back to the beautiful golden color you first saw. You leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, running your finger over the bruise on the other side, reminding him you hadn’t forgotten about it.

“Thank you for tonight, Keigo,” you cooed before nuzzling yourself back into his chest. His only response was holding you tightly, placing a kiss on your forehead as you drifted off to sleep, finally succumbing to your exhaustion.

If you made it to the end of this I am not sure whether to be impressed or embarrassed (at myself) bc why tf was this so long 0_o I wrote this 3 years ago and wanted to bring it to tumblr so it wasn't so lonely on AO3 lol :3

as always, lemme know what you think, and if you liked it, I would love it if you liked and reblogged to spread the love <3 ✨come say hai :3✨

Do not copy, repost or translate.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

A List of "Beautiful" Yiddish Words & Phrases

for your next poem/story

A mensch tracht un Got lacht - man plans and God laughs

Az der soyne falt, tor men zich nit freyen, ober me heybt im nit oyf! When your enemy falls, you shouldn’t gloat, but you don’t have to pick him up either!

Az Got zol voynen af der erd, voltn im di mentschen di fenster oysgeshlogn! If God lived on earth, people would break His windows!

Az ich vel zayn vi er, ver vet zayn vi ich? If I’m going to be like him, who will be like me?

Choshuv - important; notable

Daven - to pray

Di kats hot lib fish, nor zi vil di fis nit ayn-netsn - the cat loves fish, but doesn’t want to get her feet wet

Di liebe is zees, nor zi iz gut mit broyt - love is good, but it’s good with bread

Fargin - to be glad for another person’s success or happiness

Gezunterheit - with health

Heymish - homey, down to earth

Ich hob dich azoi lib, az ich volt dir mayn toit nit gezshalevit - I love you so much I would not even begrudge you my death

Kholem - dream

Kvell - to swoon with happiness and pride

Mensch - a good person

Mishpocheh - (mishpokhe, mishpucha) family, or someone who is "like family"

Schmaltzy - overly emotional or sentimental

Seichel - common sense

Sheifale - lamb

Shmutz - a little dirt or something messy, generally on your face

Shpilkes - impatience, restlessness

Spiel - a generally long story or speech

Vartn - waiting

Verklempt - feeling overwhelmed with emotions

Zeeskeit - sweetness

Yiddish:

Yiddish is about 1,000 years old, and was once the international language of Ashkenazi Jews (the Diaspora Jews of Central and Eastern Europe and their descendants). 

The language is mostly German, but is fused with words from Hebrew, Aramaic and many other languages from the places where Jews have lived or fled to. It’s sort of a melting pot of languages, in a way. Traditionally, It’s written in the Hebrew alphabet.

At its height less than a century ago, Yiddish was spoken and / or understood by an estimated 13 million of the world's 18 million Jews, with many speaking Yiddish as their primary language. But, due to the Holocaust and other atrocities, most Yiddish speakers didn’t survive, and the language almost died.

Aside from Hasidic and Ultra-Orthodox Jews who often speak Yiddish as their primary language, in insular communities, most people today know only a few Yiddish words. However, many young Jews have recently become interested in getting back in touch with their heritage through Yiddish.

Yiddish is a language full of humor and irony, expressing subtle distinctions of human character that other cultures don’t recognize or put into words. It’s a language that expresses our strengths and weaknesses; our hopes, fears and longings. Many of these terms have found their way into English, because there is no English word that can convey the depth and precision of meaning that many Yiddish words can.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: Word Lists

If any of these words make their way into your next poem/story, please tag me, or send me a link. I would love to read them!

[slaymitchabernathy]

Enjoy The Show

Coriolanus Snow is less than happy as he walks through the arched entrance of the Capitol zoo.

He hasn’t visited the zoo in years, not since he was a small child who was easily entertained by the silliest of things such as odd looking animals.

Animals that are now all dead.

Once the war started, feeding animals was the last priority for most people, especially when they could hardly afford to feed themselves.

Still, he keeps his head held high as they make their way down the paved pathway, the crowd dispersing once they see him. He parts the crowd like the sea.

“Honestly, they couldn’t have picked a hotter day to do this,” his mother mutters behind him. Even though it’s the beginning of July and the weather is scorching, Coriolanus is still wearing the expected attire. Burgundy trousers, a white button up with a burgundy suit jacket over it. The complimentary rose is of course, pinned to his lapel.

His golden curls are on display, his black leather shoes shine brightly as the sun beats down on them.

He looks like a Snow.

“We can not control the weather darling,” his father reminds her, “once we get a good look at his Tribute, we can determine if there’s any point in spending a cent on her or if we can just sweep this entire thing under the rug.”

Coriolanus hopes it’s the latter. Prays for it in fact. He has been furious when he was assigned the female Tribute from District Twelve to mentor.

Twelve.

Not One or Two. You’d think being the President’s son would garner him a decent District but no, fucking Dean Highbottom was clearly out to get him, to taint his pristine reputation and this was a clear message about his true intentions.

Coriolanus hadn’t even bothered to stay for the Reaping itself. Not after he saw his parents leaving Heavensbee Hall, his father just as mad as he was.

“Casca has gone too far,” he had boomed once they returned home, “plaguing my son with some underfed runt girl. He should count himself lucky that I don’t personally see to the stripping of his title and all that he’s worth.”

Coriolanus has agreed with his father entirely. This was unfair, he wouldn’t even have a chance at his Tribute winning, not when the upper Districts always won, more so the boys than the girls.

But, he couldn’t act like a sore loser. Not before the Games had already begun. So, he decided he would put a spin on it, make this years Games the one to remember.

“I’ll show him what happens when you give a Snow a challenge father,” he had told him, “I’ll get her to the finish line, get everyone to root for her.”

His father had looked doubtful and Coriolanus couldn’t blame him one bit. Father had sighed and then nodded before giving him a stern look, “It won’t be about her son. No. It’ll be about you. She belongs to you. Make it about Coriolanus Snow, use her to win, to land on top.”

They had shared a knowing look before Coriolanus repeated the phrase that had been ingrained into him since birth.

“Snow lands on top.”

꧁ ꧂

Mother is right about one thing though, it’s dreadfully hot today. Coriolanus wishes he could forego the suit jacket but it would be a sign of weakness and showing weakness isn’t what won them the war.

He keeps his gaze forward as they push through the crowd. Well, as their security detail pushes through the crowd. Many people stop and watch, whispering to one another. Coriolanus has grown more than used to it. His classmates treat him normal for the most part although certain ones like Festus Creed and Livia Cardew love to tease him about his father’s job.

“She should be in the last cage darling,” mother says, “all the way in the back.”

It’s just his luck that his Tribute has been kept in the back, faraway from the crowds where no one will notice her or pay her any attention. How can he win this thing if no one knows she exists?

When they pass the cage that belongs to her District counterpart he can’t help but glance inside and swallow at the size of the boy. The male Tribute who has been assigned to Lysistrata Vickers is nearly as tall as Coriolanus. He’s got a mop of brown hair that swoops over his brow and his skin is tan. He’s got this wild look in his eyes that makes Coriolanus glad he wasn’t assigned this particular Tribute.

Not that any of the Tributes are decent human beings but being assigned a girl gives him certain advantages. The first being that all women are below men. He’ll be able to manipulate her easier, coach her, train her. Trying to convince a boy to give the Capitol a good show would be much more difficult but with a girl he can easily persuade her with his famous Snow charm.

He’s always been good with the ladies.

He slows his approach when he spots the small cage his Tribute has been assigned. It looks like it used to be a bird cage. He certainly never paid it any attention when he visited before the war. The bars are rusty and there are several small swings hanging from the ceiling for the birds to perch on.

There’s a rather large swing in the middle, most likely designed for several birds to sit on at once and perform a song or two. He thinks he can recall the zoo putting on little shows with the birds, training them to chirp little melodies for the visitors.

Instead of a bird he finds his Tribute sitting on the swing, her hands wrapped around the iron rods that hold it up.

Coriolanus is beginning to wish he stayed for the actual Reaping. At least he’d know what she looks like. He can only see her from behind and she has long blonde hair that falls to her waist. There’s a pink ribbon tied in the back but it’s a bit lopsided, like she hasn’t had the time or energy to fix it.

He can see that she’s wearing a pink dress, it’s short, and it looks like it’s made of tulle. It’s dirty but that’s no surprise. He walks around the cage and listens to her hum, she sounds quite good if he’s being honest. Much better than his own mother who only sings once she’s got enough alcohol in her system.

When he finally reaches the front of the cage he’s at a loss for words. She’s pretty. She’s very, very pretty.

She’s got a small face and it’s covered in freckles. Her skin is as tan as her male counterpart and she’s got the most startling eyes he’s ever seen. They look almost blue with a mix of gray if that’s even possible.

She looks as surprised to see him as he is to see her but she recovers smoothly and slowly stands up, dusting off her dress. It’s light pink and has two thick straps of tulle holding it up. She’s also wearing high heels which is a rather strange choice of footwear. If he knew there was a possibility of going into the arena, he’d be sure to come to the Realing dressed to fight.

She brushes her hair behind her ears and just as she goes to approach him, she shrinks back.

Coriolanus furrows his brow, confused as to why she’s hesitating but one look over his shoulder is more than enough to explain. His father.

She absolutely knows who Crassus Xanthos Snow is. President of Panem. The man who ended the war.

She’s probably had nightmares about him.

Coriolanus looks back at her, he has to look up since the cage is slightly elevated on a slab of cement but she doesn’t look too tall, even in heels. She looks skinny, not underfed but skinny. Her days in the zoo certainly won’t help with that though. She won’t last long in the arena is she’s starving.

“Let’s go,” his father calls, seeing no need to waste another moment on this girl.

Coriolanus can’t seem to tear his eyes off of her but he nods, slowly turning on his heel before finally looking away and starting at the back of his parents heads. “She won’t last a day,” his mother says with the shake of her head. His father grunts, “That’s if she makes it to the arena.”

Coriolanus feels a small frown tugging on his lips, the least he can do is make sure she gets to the arena. But that might mean actually helping her, feeding her, looking out for her. And he can’t do that.

Can he?

꧁ ꧂

“What did you think about your Tribute Snow?”

Coriolanus looks up from his notes to find Festus Creed looming over him with that sky grin he’s always wearing, “There wasn’t much to think about Festus,” he replies. There really wasn’t. Not when he couldn’t get her to talk or even get relatively close to her.

Festus leans against the desk in front of him, “Yeah, my Tribute is pretty promising. Her names Coral, you know, since she fishes, I guess it makes sense. But she says she’s good with a trident. But who the hell uses a trident?” Coriolanus furrows his brows, he hadn’t thought that other Tributes might have advantages due to the work they do on a regular basis. District Twelve was known for coal.

“I didn’t get to talk to my Tribute yet,” he admits and the surprised face on Festus says it all. “But you saw her didn’t you?” Coriolanus nods and tosses his pencil onto the desk, “I did. And then my father decided that no time or money shall be wasted on her. He doesn’t even think she’ll make it into the arena.”

Coriolanus hadn’t said anything to his parents since they got back from the zoo yesterday. He went straight to his room to try and devise some sort of plan but kept coming up short. It was hard when he knew nothing about her and he couldn’t rely on his father for help.

“Why don’t we go to the zoo today?” Festus asks, “I was gonna go visit Coral, maybe bring her something to eat.” Coriolanus had forgotten that he did in fact have free will and didn’t need his father’s permission for everything but still, he hesitated.

Festus caught onto it immediately and gave him a toothy grin, “It’s not like she can get to you through the bars Snow. I’ve seen your Tribute, you could snap her in half if you had to.”

Well, he has a point.

“Alright,” he decides, “we’ll stop by the zoo after school today.”

꧁ ꧂

After a rather unpleasant interaction with Dean Highbottom, Coriolanus and Festus took off for the zoo.

“I really can’t see what that guys problem is,” Festus says as they approach the familiar sight of the zoo, where the crowd is much smaller than it was yesterday, “I mean, if you hate kids then why work at the Academy?”

Coriolanus gives Festus a knowing look, “Because he’s dead set on making everyone around him miserable, including the students.”

Dean Highbottom might be the pettiest man alive and Coriolanus just knows that his Tribute assignment is living proof of that.

“Well, I’m gonna go find Coral. Good luck with your Tribute,” Festus calls before veering off to a different path. Coriolanus gives him a wave before shouldering his satchel and making his way to the back of the zoo.

He spots the boy from Twelve in his cage and he seems to be talking to someone. He’s grabbing the bars and his back is facing Coriolanus. This boy might just be a top contender for the Games considering his sheer size.

As Coriolanus gets closer, he realizes that the boy is talking to his Tribute. The girl is also standing in her cage, her fingers wrapped around the rusting bars. They’re not too far apart in their cages but both of them have to speak loudly to clearly communicate and Coriolanus only catches the last bit of their conversation.

“…keepin’ us out of the way.”

“Well, what did you expect Jessup? It’s not like we’re anything special.”

So his name is Jessup. An interesting name although Coriolanus is well aware of his name and its own difficulties. Jessup turns the second he senses Coriolanus and glares down at him from his cage. Coriolanus doesn’t take it to heart, mainly because he’s not the one locked in a cage that used to belong to a bear.

His focus is solely on his Tribute who’s watching his approach. She still looks pretty but she’s gotten a bit dirtier since yesterday. She watches as he slowly approaches until he’s right in front of her.

Neither of them seem to know what to say.

“I’m your mentor,” he finally says.

The girl tilts her head and looks across at Jessup before looking back down at Coriolanus, “My mentor?” She repeats and her voice is so heavenly. Like sweet honey rolling off the tongue. Coriolanus nods, “Yes. I’ve been assigned to mentor you through the Games.”

That seems to register something in her brain because she lets go of the rusted bars and walks away, “Well I’m afraid you won’t be much help. I won’t win.”

Coriolanus doesn’t think she’ll win either but she doesn’t need to know that. She needs to know that she has just as much of a chance as any other Tribute. He follows her around the cage to the front where he saw her yesterday, “You don’t know that,” he says, “you don’t know that you won’t win.”

The girl laughs and shakes her head, “Look, I’ve seen your arena. There’s no place to hide. I’m not gonna win, but thanks anyway.” Coriolanus feels somewhat defeated and he’s not even a player. How can she give up so easily? He’s going to have to turn to other tactics. He reaches into his satchel and pulls out a sandwich he’s wrapped in wax paper, the sound alerting her of something maybe worth her while, “Well, you might as well have something to eat,” he offers, holding it up to her.

The girl hesitates to step towards him but his father isn’t behind him like last time. All that stands between them are the iron bars of her bird cage. He pushes his hand through a bar, a risk since she could easily grab his arm and force it against the iron bar, breaking it.

But she doesn’t seem like the type to resort to violence, and she certainly doesn’t look too strong. She’s limber, not lean.

“Come on,” he says, nodding towards the sandwich, the sandwich he smuggled out of the dining hall like some damn fugitive. He can’t let all of his hard work go to waste. “You’ve got to be hungry by now. How long has it been since you last ate?”

The girls swallows, her eyes flitting to the sandwich then back to him, “Since the Reaping,” she finally says, her tone softer than it was before, less resentful and more reserved.

“Then you should definitely eat something. Please, take it, free of charge,” he insists, his arm beginning to grow tired.

The girl finally gives into her hunger and approaches him, crouching down to pluck the sandwich from his hand and their fingers brush up against one another and he feels a small shock roll through his body.

The girl begins unwrapping the sandwich, her nimble fingers working quickly on the wax paper.

Coriolanus takes this as a moment to study her up close, noting how smooth her legs are or the fact that her heels look quite uncomfortable. Her dress looks so soft, making her look quite elegant for a District girl. Coriolanus doesn’t even realize that he’s reaching out to touch her dress until they’re both frozen, staring at each other without a clue as to what they should say.

The girl finishes chewing and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, “It’s my momma’s.”

Coriolanus blinks once, twice, pulling his hand back, “Sorry?”

The girl gestures to her dress, “This dress was my momma’s before she passed away. Feels like she’s wrappin’ her arms around me right now, keepin’ me together.”

Coriolanus has never heard such a clear District accent before. This girl has such a distinct twang in her voice and yet it feels like a warm drink after a long day, like she could sing him a lullaby to make all his worries melt away.

“What does your father do for work?” He asks, not wanting to get into the death of her mother. The war took many lives and he can only assume that her mother’s was one of them.

The girl gives him a wicked grin, like she knows something he doesn’t, “My daddy’s the Mayor of District Twelve.”

Coriolanus can’t stop his mouth from dropping.

He had assumed that she came from the nicer part of District Twelve, if that even exists, but to be the Mayor’s daughter adds a whole new level to this. Coriolanus can’t imagine what it would be like to draw your own daughter’s name out of the Reaping Bowl and then read it out loud for everyone to hear.

No wonder she looks so much better than the other Tributes. Her pretty dress and high heels are more than enough to proclaim her status to the world.

And yet here she is, locked away in a dirty bird cage within the Capitol zoo.

“Yep,” she says, taking another bite, “guess the odds weren’t exactly in my favor. But I guess someone’s gotta take one for the team of Mayor’s kids. Guess you saw how heartbroken he was on the television.”

Coriolanus scratches the back of his neck, it’s getting hot and he’s getting a bit personal with her now which can’t be a good sign. “I actually didn’t stay,” he admits, watching her eyes widen in surprise and maybe…betrayal?

“Why not?” She asks, tilting her head, “Didn’t feel like I was worth stickin’ around for?”

Well my father didn’t feel like you were worth sticking around for, he thinks to himself while shaking his head, “I had previous engagements that I had to attend to,” he smoothly lies, watching her raise her her eyebrows, “Did you now? I thought it was mandatory for everyone to watch the Reapin’ ceremony, but I guess I was wrong.”

Coriolanus shrugs, Reaping day can be dreadfully boring by the time they reach Twelve. “Well, when you’re the Presidents son…”

“They make exceptions,” she concludes, biting into the last bit of her sandwich, “well, thanks for stoppin’ by, I appreciate the sandwich. Maybe you’ll get luckier next year and get a better Tribute.”

A frown tugs on his lips because she’s not going to get to the arena with that attitude. He grabs onto the bar nearest to her face, leaning in a little bit, “I could help you,” he whispers even though no one is around to hear them, “help you in and out of the arena if you let me. I can get the people who live in the Capitol to fall in love with you if you want, make them do everything in their power to keep you alive in and out of the arena.”

There’s only so much that can be done for her once she’s in that arena but that’s on a need to know basis. And she doesn’t need to know.

The girl mulls over his proposal for a moment before shaking her head, “I can’t win, I’ve seen the other Tributes, they’re bigger and strong than me. I’m not even dressed for the arena,” she pulls at her tulle dress. She’s got a point.

“But you’re dressed for a show,” Coriolanus tells her, watching her face morph into one of confusion, “part of the Games is getting people to like you. Putting on a show. Do you have any talents? Anything that can capture peoples attention?”

The girl looks around the barren cage she’s trapped in and bites her lip, “Not at the given moment no,” she admits, “only got my charms to live by I suppose.”

She is very pretty but that can only get her so far.

Coriolanus looks her up and down for a second, trying to formulate a good strategy for them to get her to the arena at least.

The Games will be a different story.

“Can you sing? I heard you humming when I first saw you,” he recalls. It had been a short lived interaction but she sounded pretty good.

“Kind of,” she mumbles, brushing her hair behind her ears, “not much of a show bird though.”

Coriolanus points at the giant swing she was sitting on when they first saw each other, “But you can be a songbird right? If you start singing then I bet people will start listening. They’ll come over here and you’ll start to get attention. No one comes over to this part of the zoo.”

The girl rolls her eyes, “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. Jessup seems to be keen on scarin’ them off.”

Jessup seems to be a problem where Coriolanus is concerned.

He cranes his neck to look over at the bear cage and finds Jessup watching them, watching him more specifically. “Is he…are you two friends?” He asks carefully, not wanting to uncover some hidden romance if he can help it.

He doesn’t want to get too involved.

The girl laughs, a genuine laugh and it does something to his heartbeat, “Are you askin’ if he’s my boyfriend?”

Coriolanus holds his hands up in defense and rises back to his full height, “I’m just trying to get my story straight in case any reporters ask me any questions about you two.”

The girl looks over at Jessup, a small smile on her lips, “No, we’re just friends. An unfortunate pair the two of us but there’s nothin’ between us.”

Coriolanus nods, that’s all he needs to hear.

“Well, maybe try and convince him to let some people come over to you. I promise they won’t bite.”

A bittersweet smile grows on her face and she stands up too, “No, they’re not the ones in cages now are they?”

Coriolanus manages to look somewhat sympathetic, he does feel a little bit bad about her predicament being the Mayor’s daughter and all but it was probably long over due for someone like her to be sent to the arena.

“No, they’re not,” he agrees, “but they’re the ones you’ve got to impress if you want a better shot at winning,” he sticks his hand through the bars again, “do we have a deal?”

She contemplates it which slightly pisses him off because she should be jumping for joy at the chance he’s giving her. Sure she won’t win, but she’ll make him look better and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.

She finally comes to a decision it seems and her small hand grabs his large one, giving it a firm shake, “You have yourself a deal Mr. Snow.”

Coriolanus grins, “Mr. Snow?” He teases.

Most people in the Capitol simply address him by his first name, only public servants use a title such as that one. But one day, he’ll be President Snow.

A much better title in his opinion.

She shrugs and smiles sweetly at him, “Didn’t know if we were on a first name basis yet.” Coriolanus chuckles and reaches into his satchel, pulling out a small water bottle, “I’d say we’re partners now, so I’ll allow it.”

He hands her the water bottle and watches her down the entire thing within seconds, maybe she really hasn’t eaten since the Reaping.

“They don’t feed you in here?”

She shakes her head and pulls the bottle away with a gasp, screwing the cap back on, “Gave us somethin’ on the train ride here but the rats got to it before we could. I suppose they don’t really care what condition we enter the arena in.”

But they should, he thinks, if they wanted a real good show then the Capitol would do well to ensure all the Tributes were somewhat healthy.

“I’ll stop by with more food tomorrow,” he promises, “if people like you then they might give you some food as well.”

“Sounds great,” she says sarcastically, swaying on her feet a little bit. Sweat is shining on her face, she must be so hot, so tired and dehydrated. It makes him a little bit angry, she’s the Tribute of Coriolanus Snow and she’s wasting away in this bird cage.

He ought to make sure she’s well taken care of until the Games, to ensure people can see how wealthy the Snows are, how generous they are that they’d waste their time and their money on some lowly District girl.

“You should get some rest,” he suggests, “it’ll get cooler in the evening.” She nods, grabbing onto the bars again, “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow Coriolanus Snow.”

He grins, shaking his head at her teasing, “I’ll see you tomorrow…”

He still doesn’t know her name. He would if he stayed for the entire Reaping, but alas, here he is.

“Soarynn,” she finishes for him, “Soarynn Nightingale.”

Soarynn, what a pretty name for a pretty girl.

“Soarynn,” he tests it out, liking how it rolls off the tongue, “I’ll see you tomorrow Soarynn Nightingale.”

She gives him a small nod, “I’ll be here.”

She certainly will be. And Coriolanus finds himself enjoying that fact as he strolls out of the zoo, knowing that she’s going to be right where he left her.

Safe and sound.

In her bird cage. His songbird.

| Part 1. |

| tumblr oneshot/drabble |

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

“Hello,” Izuku said, looking up from his notebook. “Welcome to Hell. How can I get you to your level today?” the nineteen-year-old shut his notebook as a file appeared before him.

“I shouldn't be here,” snapped the woman in front of him. She was a white woman with dark brown hair in a bob with probably the tackiest jumpsuit he had ever seen. Around her neck was a cross glittering with gems. “I always obeyed the church and the gospel!”

“Yeah well, sometimes Churches stray from the actual word of God in an attempt to control people,” Izuku said dryly as he opened the file.

“Past David would never!” snapped the woman.

“Doesn’t have to be him, it could be anyone else further back,” Izuku hummed. He hesitated, seeing the file. It wasn't a bad file. He'd seen some doozies and his dad ran level 9- the level where the worst souls ended up.

But…

“It says here you lost your husband and son,” Izuku said softly. “Because a group of people decided a white woman marrying an Asian man was a bad thing.” The woman took a step back.

Explained why she went to Izuku.

“And I get it. You were justifiably angry, and took your anger out on others which isn't justifiable. But you were angry. You joined a Church meant to make you feel better and they twisted you. They taught you homosexuality is wrong, they told you that everyone outside the church is bad. They made you feel more justified in your anger. And I don't blame you for your anger or your hate.” Izuku looked at the woman who had to turn away. “But what you did is on you. Those people didn't deserve your anger.”

“… I just missed them so much!” the woman sobbed. She covered her face and sobbed. Izuku reached out to hold her hand, squeezing it.

“I know. And it sucks. It does. Your husband and son wouldn't have wanted you to become what you did though.”

“No,” the woman sniffed. “Level two?”

“Level two. And- ma’am. Your husband was Buddhist and reincarnated. Your son did too. I can't promise you’ll find them again- but they have good lives. Your son is a doctor.” Izuku told her. She nodded, giving a brittle smile before walking away. Izuku sighed as the file vanished.

“You handled that well.” Lily told him.

“She was hurting. She needed to know her anger and hurt was justified. Her church helped but they also majorly didn't,” Izuku said. “I think I was the first person to tell her that.”

“Yeah,” Sharkie made a face from where she’d been dealing with a level 9 soul. She still had blood on her teeth. “Churches suck sometimes at the whole ‘hey you're angry and hurting so lets deal with that’. It’s all ‘pray to god!’” Sharkie clasped their hands together. “He can heal you!” she batted her eyes as Izuku laughed.

“I’m glad I wasn't Christian,” Izuku said.

“Hey, Izuku,” Lily began, looking thoughtful. “Other than being told by everyone you're a bad kid, why did you pick Hell?”

“I wanted to help Sharkie. It’s all I ever wanted to do, be a hero. I didn't get that chance in life,” Izuku mused. “But I can now. I'm helping people- the demons at the gate, Dad with paperwork, even people like that woman who just need to be told ‘hey so your anger mattered’. I was Quirkless, and to so many people useless. I like being useful here.”

“You don’t need to be useful,” Lily sighed, but Izuku shrugged it off.

That was what therapy was for.

“Sup,” a voice said and Izuku turned to smile at Alx as the demon approached the desk carrying a drink tray. The demon didn't have a chest and the pronoun button said he/him for the day. “Hot chocolate for Sharkie, mocha for Lily and tea for Izuku.” he grinned at the three, eyes lingering on Izuku. “Hope you enjoy guys, I gotta get to work.”

“And yet you always deliver our drinks,” Lily taunted. Alx shrugged, smiling at Izuku before he left.

“You do know my dad is his boss right?” Izuku asked. “It's just… awkward,” Izuku said. A new soul approached the desk and Izuku groaned. “Oh boy, here we go,” he knew that look.

“Ugh, racists,” Lily grumbled. “Want the bat?”

“Eh, maybe,” Izuku said as the soul stomped right towards him.

He liked this job but sometimes… ugh.

[screaminglygay]

third time is a charm, right? (part two)

pairing: natasha romanoff x fem!reader, wanda maximoff x fem!reader, natasha romanoff x wanda maximoff (in this part there is mostly natasha!)

summary: you finally work up the courage to call the phone number you got yesterday.

warnings: again some swearing

word count: 1k

an: heyy lovely people! thank youuuuu so much for all the support! it means truly a lot! 💕💕 i hope you will like this part as well! if there is anything special you´d like to read, let me know! 💕

(italica = your thoughts)

Should I call them? I mean they gave me their number for a reason. I should. I have to. I want to, but what should I say?

“Hi, it´s me your waitress! No. Hello, so I'm calling, because you gave me your number.” You let out a big sigh as you take your phone and look at the time.  

10:27

You really spent over 40 minutes walking in your apartment back and forth, trying to figure out what you will say to the couple. Going to the kitchen for a cold glass of water seemed like a good idea for your brain to calm down. After almost drowning yourself, you picked up the phone one more time and dial the number from the business card. Before you clicked “call” you prayed to every single gay person you know to give you the strength of not being cringy.  

It´s ringing. One time. Two times.

“I wondered when you're going to call, darling.” you heard the captivating rasp again. The voice of a goddess herself. Her raspy voice was such a unique melody to your ears, that it would easily make you do whatever she wants. At that moment you felt like you had the biggest privilege just from hearing her voice.

“You still there?” If you would listen little closer, you could definitely hear the smirk on the face of the lady on the other end of the call.

“Yes, yeah! Hi, hello! Um how did you know it is me?” you start to fidget with the ring on your finger. Even though you're completely alone, you're still trying to hide the fact that you're nervous. Mostly for yourself, fake it till you make it, right? But how can you? When you're on the line with one of the most attractive people in the entire universe.

“I gave you my personal number. I think that its way easier to get to know each other, don´t you think?” she let out a chuckle.

“Sure!” You put your ring back on your finger as you start to walk around the room.

Sure? Oh my god, there is hot woman on the phone and you say SURE?! Say something less cringy! Fuck, think!  

“My name is (Y/N) by the way!” you quickly announced.

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N). Such a pretty name, for such a pretty girl. I'm Natasha, but I think you already know that.” You're hearing the flirtatious spark in her voice that automatically sends shivers down to your stomach. You don’t even notice, but after that little compliment from her, you're smiling like a little girl and your cheeks turn red faster than popping champagne at a bar.

“Thanks...” you let out a small giggle, that were caught on the other side. “I uh I did kinda figured it out your names.” a little proud smile on your face could have been seen if the woman was in the same room as you.

“Not just pretty, but also smart, how perfect.” she thinks out loud.

Gosh this flirting is not good for my one and only gay braincell.

“Uh um where is Wanda?” you curiously ask.

“Oh darling, we only just start to talk to each other and you're already asking for Wanda? How cruel...” you can hear some movement in the background, but you don’t pay much attention to it.

“Oh no! Shit. Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that, I just thought that you two were... are a couple?” you mumble not knowing if you're actually asking or just letting your thoughts out loud.

You can hear not so subtle chuckle, that the woman let out.

“We are a couple...” she stopped talking for a few seconds and you look on your phone to make sure you're two are still having a phone call. You are, so you put your phone back on your ear. You can hear her humming to something and then she starts to talk again. “... how about we talk about this in person?” her voice sounds darker than it did before, and you love it.

“Sure! Yeah! Absolutely, alright! I'm free almost all the time.” your cheeks hurt from all of the smiling you did today.  

“So, you don’t have another shift at the pub?” This teasing joke from her made you more lose, and it felt like all the nerves just vanished. You shake your head and giggle at her words.

“Nope. I don’t really have any shifts left there, onetime thing, you know?” She saw right through you, but you didn’t care at all.  

“Okay, good.” Her chuckle was something you wanted to listen all day long. “Then how about tonight at Mikey´s coffee shop, does 6pm sounds good?” she suggested.

You nod, realizing she can't see you. “Yes, that sounds perfect.” you add and smile again.

“Perfect...” she repeated after you. “And don’t worry, Wanda will be there as well, she can´t wait and me neither.” now it´s her time to smile like a little girl. Sadly, you can't see that beautiful sight.

“Great! So, uh um I guess see you later, Natasha.” You finally said her name and it rolled off your tongue with effortless grace, as if it was natural. The ease with which her name slipped from your mouth was like the instant connection you two felt at the same time. The sparks again. You felt it and she did definitely too.

“See you later, (Y/N).” You could listen to her voice forever but listen to her say your name was something else. Something that cast a spell on you, as you still stood in your living room, even after the call has ended. The texture of her voice is still in your head. The subtle roughness seemed to dance upon the eardrums, leaving an impression that it could hardly be described.

You look around and giggle like a small child having its first ice cream. Maybe you're very thankful to Kayla for not showing up. Actually, you're definitely thankful.

And maybe this is a really nice start for something new? Something exciting and something that you truly deserve after such a long time.

(again, thank you for all the support!<333)

taglist: @arualdcg​ @beholdagaywriter​ @snowdrop1026​

[mostly-marvel-musings]

Not your average summer romance

Chapter One - Here goes nothing

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader

Word count: 2k ish

Warnings: 18+ themes, fluff, kissing.

Tony Stark Masterlist

.

Monday

It was the mother of Mondays as you hurried out of your apartment, your pot of coffee left forgotten on the kitchen counter simply because you were running super late. You were heading to a coffee shop for your meeting with the publisher anyway.

Your last meeting had been promising, so you had your hopes up about this one. The problem was, you were late. And your publisher, Sarah, was particular about time. Praying and hoping she would forgive you just this once, you dodged foot traffic that was perpetual on the streets of New York and stumbled into the equally busy cafe.

No sign of her.

Damn it.

Did she leave?

A part of you was hopeful that she was late too. That thought was shut up rather quickly when your phone buzzed with an email from Sarah.

Hi Y/N,

I hope you’re well. I’m sorry we couldn’t meet today, you know how I am with time.

I should have done this face to face but, unfortunately the team has decided against continuing the contract. I really did try my best but you know the decision isn’t all up to me. You can call me if you want to discuss anything.

I’m really very sorry. Stay in touch and keep writing.

Regards,

Sarah Waddington

A bunch of emotions went through you as you read and re-read the email. There had been rejections in your life in the past, but none of them stung or made you mad as this.

Who does this over an email?

You shoved your phone inside your purse angrily and looked around. You were in severe need of coffee, the only pick-me-up that could work.

Making a beeline for the counter, you pushed past people and stood behind a man wearing a black suit who was furiously whispering over his comms to someone.

Your phone buzzed again. This time it was your best friend calling you, the line was moving rather slow and you needed to vent.

The man in front must have changed his order at least three times adding to your frustration which you didn’t hide. You wondered who the person on the other line was who was unable to decide on a simple coffee order.

As your friend went on about her weekend, you moved ahead to order yourself a large Americano, this day called for nothing else but a strong cup of joe; the man in the suit grabbed his coffees and a bag of muffin and turned the opposite way, straight into you.

Iced coffee spilled down your blouse and some of it on his crisp white shirt, the paper bag turning soggy wet as both of you cursed out loud. Some of your piping hot americano managed to spill down your hand in the process too.

“Are you fucking kidding me??” You yelled, part in fury, part in pain as your hand stung.

Happy Hogan profusely apologized as he tried to grab as many tissues he could to help you. The commotion had gathered enough attention in the cafe already to add to your embarrassment.

“I am really sorry, I have a spare shirt in my car if you’d like. Please ma’am.”

He kept insisting, both of you staring at your blouse that was stained beyond saving point. Uttering a small ‘fine’ you followed him out to a rather sleek Tesla Roadster.

A man sitting at the back rolled the windows down as you two approached, a pair of brown eyes peeking through expensive looking sunglasses taking in your appearance with an amused smirk.

“Boss, would you mind passing me that shirt at the back please?”

The man continued to gaze at you for a few more seconds before paying heed to his, you assumed drivers’ request. You stared back, taking in the man’s sharp suit, a rather well maintained anchor beard and eyes that checked you out shamelessly.

“Tony?”

The other guy said more forcefully this time, breaking up your little staring match. ‘Tony’ fumbled around a bit before throwing a large white t-shirt that said ‘I survived my trip to NYC’ towards the guy you found who was named Happy Hogan as they exchanged a conversation.

“Honestly Happy, I don’t feel so secure around you and by the looks of it, neither does this lady or coffee for that matter. Why did I promote you to head of security again?”

“Because I’m the only one you trust and the only one who unfortunately can put up with your tantrums.”

“What tantrums? And will I get my coffee today?”

Tony huffed, making you hide your grin behind your hand as you accepted the t-shirt from Happy.

“Here. I’ve got all the caffeine I need for the day. Stains and burns included.” You held out your cup for him, frowning when he looked at Happy instead.

“Yeah, I’ll take that. Boss doesn’t like being handed things.” Happy gratefully took the coffee you offered and gave it to Tony.

What an entitled prick! You thought.

“What address should I send this back to?” You held the t-shirt up, Tony waving his hand in dismissal.

“Oh keep it. Mr. Hogan has a closet full of cheesy, oversized graphic tees. You can send the dry cleaning bill over to Stark Industries.”

He added with a small smirk, giving your blouse one more thorough glance.

“Oh no. I have plenty of pristine white blouses that haven’t had coffee spilled over. But thank you for your generosity, Mr. Stark I presume?” You crossed your arms over your chest.

“The one and only.”

Happy watched the two of you interact like a tennis match, clearing his throat audibly to break off your staring contest yet again.

“See you around, Miss..?”

“Y/N.” I really hope not, you thought to yourself, giving them a polite smile.

Taking your leave, the two men sped off, leaving you with an amused grin and Tony Stark’s unforgettable gaze that seemed to still linger.

…

That evening the doorbell rang, it was nobody but a large package with a little note.

Another pristine white blouse to add to your collection. Though this is more dinner worthy, I feel. What do you say, Ms. Wordsmith?

Tony Stark

Inside the box sat a satin white top, your size, surprisingly, and a lovely bouquet of beautiful white hydrangeas.

It was an awfully bold yet sweet gesture from someone you encountered for less than ten minutes. By the handwritten note, Tony had researched you in advance, now, it was your turn.

…

Tony’s POV

“I’ll be honest with you Ms. Wordsmith, the thing is, ever since I saw you at the coffee shop, drenched in coffee, I couldn’t get you out of my head.”

Okay, what? Did those words actually leave my mouth? That wasn’t supposed to be uttered in front of her. Sure, the statements were true, but, whatever happened to the smooth-talker, unapologetic womanizer Tony! He was back at the lab probably judging the shit outta this guy.

The air conditioning was faulty in this place, I think, feeling sweat beads trickle down my back. The fanciest restaurants in New York with the most beguiling lady sitting across and all my mind focuses on is the goddamn AC?

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been thinking about you too, Mr. Stark. I think you’re possibly the most spoiled bratty billionaire I’ve met.”

Her words stirred something in me, my cock twitched curiously at them as I smirked, cleverly hiding my shock at the honesty. No woman was ever this frank before, this was new, intriguing.

I could tell she was interested, just by the way all of her focus was on me, her body angled towards mine, her gorgeous eyes taking in every movement, as if memorizing it.

I hadn’t been subtle either, her personality, her curves, her aura were all too inviting for me to back down. Ever since I laid eyes on her, I knew I had to meet her again, keep meeting her for reasons unknown.

Other girls I’d met were pretty much cut from the same cloth, pretty things wearing tight dresses that accentuated their boobs enough to skip dessert and take them home. That usually ended in Pepper kicking them out in the morning before any of them had a chance to say ‘we should do this again sometime’.

Not Y/N though.

I wanted to listen to her, speak to about absolutely nothing, bring her home, explore every bit of that smart mouth, run my hands all over her soft skin, and claim her as mine…

Whoa there! Some boundaries, Stark. It’s only the first date.

“Earth to Tony?”

I snapped back to reality with her hand waving in front of my face, dear God, I wasn’t on my best game tonight.

“Did you say something I missed?”

Damn it. Obviously she had. What a question even?!

“I just wanted to know if you’d like to split a chocolate cake with me?” Her eyebrows raised in wonder as the waitress patiently stood next to the table, waiting for me to give some sort of reply.

Geez. Was this woman for real? I could’ve kissed her senseless right there. I don’t think any of my previous dates had even uttered the word cake before, let alone chocolate.

“Right uh, sure. Yes.” I cleared my throat and croaked, downing the rest of my drink, giving myself a mental shake.

“Are you alright?” She asked, leaning forward, concern filled in her eyes.

“Perfect. I was just preoccupied with something, I’m sorry. Tell me about where you grew up.”

The whiskey provided some liquid courage for me to get up from my seat and join her on her side of the booth. There was plenty of space but I had to make sure our knees touched, I couldn’t sit too far away, not now.

Angling my body toward her, I laid my arm against the backrest as she spoke, willing my eyes not to slip down to her tempting lips or the way her gesturing moved her blouse slightly to reveal her cleavage.

As her lips moved, a part of my brain registered the words while the other hornier part focused on the way her lips formed the perfect O, the way her tongue danced along making me wonder how it would feel wrapped around my length. The sounds that would leave her as I fucked that pretty little mouth, then her, and make her mine.

“Honestly, the whole thing was such a shitshow, I would not mind a sugar daddy at this point!” She laughed, making something flutter inside my chest cavity.

“A sugar daddy huh? How about an eccentric, genius billionaire?”

I smirked, letting my fingers skim the soft skin of her shoulders, pleased at the effect I had on her as she blushed.

Something changed in her eyes as she shifted closer to me, curiosity replaced by something darker, more carnal.

“Don’t look at me like that.” I murmured, looking down at her lips that screamed to be kissed.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re begging me to devour you until you scream my name.”

That very moment, both of us shifted closer until our lips finally met. That very moment, I knew I was in trouble.

The kiss was everything I had imagined and everything I hadn’t. She tasted like a dream, a mix of chocolate and berries mixed with a bit of wine she’d been drinking. I couldn’t get enough.

My lips glided over hers smoothly, tongue peeking out testing the waters at first but as her hands found their way up my chest, I knew she wanted more.

I could’ve been more drunk on her than the whiskey as we kissed, the restaurant had faded away into oblivion long ago.

Her tongue skimmed along my lower lip shyly, making me smirk against her mouth and card my fingers through her hair, pulling her closer.

“Mind if we get out of here?” I breathed, momentarily halting the kissing to look into her eyes.

She nodded, unable to form words as she bit her bottom lip to stifle a grin, her eyes swimming with the same want and desire that was probably reflecting in mine.

“Do your worst, Stark.”

A/N: Here we go! Chapter 1. Feedback is love, as always.

[verstappenf1lecccc]

Hi lovely. Can you please do mafia Charles and he’s very protective over reader who’s younger than him and maybe his enemies hurt her and he goes crazy or smth — F1driverszona

Protection

babe asked so she shall receive, I swear I’ve never written a fic this quickly I hope y’all’s like it 🎀

*Perceval*

You know how you look at someone and feel your heart swell with pride and joy? That was how Charles was feeling the exact moment he saw his pretty little girlfriend get her bachelors degree. She looked so gorgeous in the white outfit he had picked with her, so pure and innocent.

Charles genuinely wondered how she hadn’t noticed all the security that constantly followed him. How was he only 27 with an entire estate under his name? It really made Charles ponder. Maybe she noticed but was smart enough to not bring it up.

Regardless, he was the proudest person in the room, eyes beaming with glee as she threw her cap up in the air with joy enriched onto her face. With her only being 20, their relationship was the root of all the gossip in town.

It was strange, really. 7 years wasn’t that bad. He knew her better than anyone, and she knew him the most. He never let such thoughts bother him, especially since he was running one of the most discreet underground mafia. Charles knew the risk of getting her involved in his life. He knew that she would forever be tangled in his dirty business, whether she knew it or not. He hated the way that she drew in people with her charm and charisma.

In Charles' world, more attention meant a higher probability of ending up dead. Just thinking about something happening to her made his blood boil. She’d never be harmed. Little did Charles know that pissing off the Russian Mafia came with its drawbacks. The Russians played fast and dirty. They’d attack where it hurts the most. Due to their undercover agent in her university, they knew exactly who she was. Every little detail from the timings she enters and exits the university to the car that comes to pick and drop her.

The Russians were smart, very smart. They knew the best way to hurt Charles was to hurt his girl. They knew kidnapping would not work as she was heavily guarded at all times. So they came up with a public declaration of war. They were going to attack her at her graduation ceremony, in front of everyone, and most importantly, Charles.

This was their way to send a message. Frankly, ever since y/n and Charles started dating, he was ignoring his priorities with the mafia and appointed most of the tasks to Kyviat, who turned out to be a traitor. Some may say Charles’s lack of attention caused him to lose the most important person in his life. Just as they called out her name, the first shots fired. Almost in an instant, Charles whipped his head so fast you could hear a bone crack. He knew this was planned. He prayed and hoped deep down it wasn’t a message for him. He knew Alonso’s daughter also went here and selfishly hoped it was for him.

All his prayers fell on deaf ears when he saw his precious angel falling, almost in slow motion, with her white dress that he loved oh so much turning ever so red with each passing second. He knew he messed up. He had so much love he still needed to show her. The engagement ring in his pocket felt like hot coal, burning him almost taunting him painfully. He had everything planned out, each moment, each step. He never expected her to be ripped out of his arms. He had destroyed homes and families.

He knew he had unpaid karma. And just when he started becoming a better person, he had to pay his karma in full. They say the day she bled out in his arms was the day hell froze all over again. Each of her deep and labored breaths haunted his soul for the rest of his life. He still had days where he could imagine her next to him. If people thought Charles was cruel before the shooting, they would be very wrong.

Seeing the love of his life lying still on a ventilator enraged a different type of devil in him. He hunted each and everyone involved in the shooting like he was hunting animals. He shot, stabbed, burned, bleached, skinned, and mutilated each and everyone. It was borderline psychotic. By day, a doting boyfriend in the ICU. By night, a cold-blooded killer on the loose.

Each morning when he returned, he would utter the same words over and over again, “ça aurait dû être moi, pas toi, ça aurait dû être moi, ma chérie, pas toi. je suis désolé je suis désolé.”

Charles had lost it. More than ever, his reign of terror only ended when she opened her eyes again. He never touched another gun or affiliated with the mafia ever again.

The both of them found a safe haven in the Swiss Alps, only returning to Monaco when everything was over, Charles becoming the most protective person ever known to have lived. His large hand placed on her ever prominent belly. Monaco saw the aftermath of what happens when you mess with Charles Leclercs wife. That was the only incident that ever involved y/n. Charles made sure of it after all she was his and he protected what was his. His overprotective nature plus his power made sure she was safe.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

"King Killmonger: The Golden Jaguar Chapter 9"

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

"You're beautiful, you're wonderful! Incredible, I love you so You're beautiful! Each moment spent with you is simply wonderful This love I have for you, girl, it's incredible And I don't know what I'd do If I can't be with you The world could not go on so every night I pray If the Lord should come for me before I wake I wouldn't want to go if I can't see your face Can't hold you close What good would Heaven be? If the angels came for me I'd tell them no"

Michael Jackson – "Heaven Can Wait"

The king and queen rose early at approximately seven in the morning to shower and eat a quick breakfast of porridge, scrambled eggs and fried crocodile sausage. They chose to wear periwinkle blue linen pants and tight long-sleeved shirts to protect them from the sun that was supposed to warm the entire day without rain for once. Stylish and functional, their fits looked good enough for a royal cocktail party. Yani carefully placed her queen's isicholo on her head. Her crown was meant for all public appearances, no matter the occasion.

Okoye was adamant that they were escorted to the market on the water and also when they walked on land again. That meant four Dora Milaje canoes flanked Yani's and N'Jadaka's river paddling. The Royal Talon Fighter would be on stand-by in the air on remote if the royal couple had to be swept away from overzealous crowds.

N'Jadaka had hoped he and Yani could blend in discreetly with the people, but his aura was hard to hide behind shades and covered locs. It was better to just be open about their appearances. He walked like royalty and his presence alone jarred people in person, especially up close.

They were both excited to start their trip downriver right away. Ayo had arranged for them to have lunch at a secured location inland and stinger aircraft flown by his hand-picked Onyx Squad would track them on the water hidden behind their spectral camouflage.

He helped Yani climb into their canoe and he settled in behind her. They worked in tandem rowing with the oars for ten miles and he eventually told Yani to stop rowing so she could rest her arms and take in the views before they arrived to their destination. He paddled at a leisurely pace. Yani stuck her hand in the cool emerald water and glanced back at him occasionally with a huge smile on her face. He looked all around pleased that the weather was perfect. Directly in front of their canoe at fifty feet was Okoye. Behind them was Ayo, and on their sides were Quamba and Aneka. He knew they were having fun with them by the slips of grins that he caught on their faces whenever Yani squealed about the beauty of the landscape on the wide river, snapping more holo-pics with her kimoyo beads.

To their right lurking just above the surface were a pair of crocodiles that ignored them as they floated by. Everything around them was wide open, green and lush. Yani waved her hands with thrilled abandon.

"I see it! I see it!" she said.

N'Jadaka could already smell the odors of cooked food, fresh fish, sweet foods, and smoking grills. Music peppered the air in the distance and there were already river boat vendors shouting about their wares for sell all across the wide body of water. Quaint floating shops shaped the throughway for all the customer boats floating about. Larger craft shops and riverside cafes closer to shore were propped up on stilts. Entire families rowed long boats to shop for seafood, crocodile meat, chicken, goat, or beef, rice, vegetables and fruits plucked from the rainforest. Entire platters of cooked combination meals were already being served hot and it was only a quarter past nine. Sparkly trinkets, hand-crafted rugs, colorful rainbows of fabric and jewelry were sold too. It reminded N'Jadaka of a Moroccan-styled Open Air Bazaar except it all took place on the river itself.

River security riding on sleek Wakandan-styled personal watercraft jetted over to Okoye and she gave them instructions on how they would proceed through the floating market. Five more security watercrafts took their direction from their boss and N'Jadaka paddled them forward.

Word spread fast.

Vendors and customers gaped openly at the king and queen. No one there was told of their arrival. Only the river security team was notified and there were emergency contingency plans on their route there. Luckily, the people were respectful. Many tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal to have royalty floating near them shopping for goods like regular citizens.

The colors and aroma of the market dazzled the eye and nose. The sounds of laughter and shouts to buy goods kept Yani enthralled. He noticed a large Ferris wheel on a pier that reached across the water filled with all kinds of amusements. Tall metal poles held an aerial tram ride that carried six people at a time over the treetops. There was also a zipline that shot couples down an exciting adventure below the grand heights of the outer emergent layer of broad-leaf forest trees that had lived for almost one thousand years.

An elderly vendor in one of the floating shops waved his thin dark carob-brown arm to get Yani's attention so she could taste a sample of his fresh chocolate candies. Yani gobbled down what looked like a piece of fudge with coconut and peanuts in it. She leaned back and handed a sample to him. He ate it and the chocolate had a kick to it as it melted on his tongue. The peanuts were roasted in cayenne pepper infused honey and the fresh grated coconut was soft.

Yani purchased a pound of it using her kimoyo beads, tapping it against the small yellow screen floating above the vendor's beads. She tucked the candy inside the water-proof bags she brought to collect souvenirs. Easing in among the other customers they enjoyed strong thick coffee with a springy layered flatbread smothered in cherry butter. They licked fingers, sipped, and spoke choppy D'Ja, a River Tribe dialect, to the proprietor floating next to their canoe with the help of their translator buds. The River Tribe territory was inside Birnin D'Jata and because the Panther Tribe and River Tribe ancestral territory overlapped, D'Ja was often used as a universal tongue since they shared a similar linguistic root.

N'Jadaka paddled further into the throng of small boats, some shaped like micro-sized catamarans carved from wood that could hold up to four people and their goods in the center. Yani inspected bananas, mangoes, passion fruit, papayas, loquats, and various tree nuts before buying two pounds of fried plantain chips from a young woman who couldn't stop fawning over meeting the queen in person. He watched his wife nibble fried fish nuggets and barter over sweetbread stuffed with sweet vanilla cream.

"Yani, you'll be too full to eat lunch at the restaurant later," he said.

She crammed half of the sweetbread in her mouth and flushed it down with chocolate goat's milk.

"I'll make room," she said stuffing the other half of bread into her mouth.

The two older women who sold Yani the sweetbread grinned at the king. One of them clucked her tongue at him in a friendly way.

"Kumkani, it has been a long time since we have had a good round queen. It is propper to fatten up your wife. It makes her even more beautiful than she already is. Here we call Queen Yani our special daughter because she looks like us with lighter skin. Do not deny her the pleasure of food. A fat woman is a gorgeous woman who is loved," she said.

N'Jadaka burst out laughing at the openness.

"Fatten her up, huh?" he said.

The woman nodded emphatically and stuffed another bag of sweetbread into Yani's hand.

"I promise you kumkani, make her a bigger woman and you will never have any problems in your life."

He sampled the bread and stayed away from any more sweets. However, he did put another small round sweetbread in Yani's hand. Good elderly women never steered him wrong and he always enjoyed big women. Another thirty pounds on Yani might be the move, he thought.

"There's so much to see here…almost too much. I can't believe this goes on every day," Yani said.

Their security made sure they had plenty of room to maneuver and that made it easier for him to control the canoe and keep it from bumping into boats crammed close to theirs and the Doras. Vendor after vendor slid their boats against each other trying to sway customers their way. From an outsider's perspective it looked chaotic to N'Jadaka, but there was a natural rhythm to the dense population sharing water space. A pretty woman in a faded green dress and short close-cropped hair floated next to their boat under Okoye's watchful eye so that Yani could check out her supply of fresh flowers picked from the forest floor earlier that morning. N'Jadaka paid for several bouquets delighting the vendor. He allowed her to take a picture of him and Yani. Aneka snapped the holo-pic with her kimoyo and transferred the image to the woman so she could be in the photo too. Once Yani had her fill of shopping on the water and filling their canoe and all of their Dora Milaje's canoes too, they went to the pier, tied their canoe, and had one of the River security men guard their things from prying eyes.

Helping his wife out of the canoe, they were met with people holding up their kimoyo's to record their travel onto the land. Some observers seemed to just want a chance to catch a whiff of Yani's walking by air, because her perfume attracted oglers like bees waltzing to a honeycomb. Okoye and Quamba shooed folks away, but didn't deny them holo-vids under Yani's command. No citizen had become unruly and she didn't feel the need to stop them from capturing her image. Okoye warned them to stay at a respectful distance from the couple. Yani pulled a light blue shawl over her shoulders and they walked hand-in-hand up the steps that led to a busy amusement area. People played all manner of games like shooting long water guns at fish and crocodile images, and fished directly from the pier. Some ate ice cream and other treats as they watched visitors chatter and scream on spinning rides or amuse themselves being entertained by magicians and a puppet show for children. There was a line of thrill- seekers waiting to ride the zip line. A group of young musicians played instruments and sang songs for tips. The large Ferris wheel took up the far end of the pier. Scattered throughout were picnic tables where people could eat their bought food or just relax and enjoy the weather and a view of the wide river below.

They made it a point to visit each entertainment stall and snack station to say hello to the people they ruled over. Yani greeted children who shyly waved at her and giggled when she asked for their names and spoke to their parents. N'Jadaka shook hands and did his part to be cordial like his wife.

The zip line attendant allowed them to cut in the front of the line much to the insistence of the thirty people already waiting before them. Okoye and Ayo rode it first to place themselves at the final destination point before he and Yani went down. He walked up the stairs that took them to the top of the platform where a young man eagerly strapped them into the double seats. Yani held the thin strap in front of them and yelped when they were pushed down. They were so high up. Their legs dangled above the emergent layer and then there was a gentle downward swoosh as the zipline carried them through the opening in the canopy. Yani laughed and yelled her loudest to hear her voice travel across the scenery. Both their stomachs dropped. He laughed too and enjoyed the view flying past them while keeping his hand on Yani's isicholo to keep it from flying off. At the very bottom of the forest floor, Okoye and Ayo stood watching them disembark. Waiting for Aneka and Quamba to reach them, they decided to ride the aerial tram to see other parts of the forest that would also return them back up to the top where the market was, saving them a tiresome hike up the stairs or using the long escalator that ferried people back to the starting point. They rode in their own tram with the Doras in front and behind them in separate transports.

"The air is so clean and so different from Zana. Smell it?" Yani asked.

He nodded.

Far below a herd of domesticated water buffalo crossed a section of the Ibukun and Yani sighed.

"We are so blessed," she said in awe.

He stroked her cheek and kissed her.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Very."

Yani rubbed his arm.

"Let's go and find the restaurant. You're running low on batteries and wearing your hungry face," she said.

N'Jadaka clasped her hand and on their return to the market pier, Okoye guided them through a tumultuous boardwalk filled with shoppers and other citizens simply going about their regular day. They were gawked at and plenty of people stopped in their tracks to watch them pass. Yani's isicholo gave her a regal bearing that was gentler to take in as opposed to his larger-than-life figure. A few children ran up and handed Yani flowers and handmade bracelets. She accepted the flowers and sniffed their fragrance. N'Jadaka helped her put on the bracelets after Okoye scanned them for anything strange. The king didn't sense any oddities, but appreciated Okoye's thorough nature.

Ayo hustled them away to give them room for sightseeing the land-based shops and various cafes filled to the brim with men and women enjoying brunch on sidewalk seating. Most people stood up immediately the moment they realized who they were seeing, and others froze, too stunned to do anything but stare.

"This is the establishment, kumkani and ukumkanikazi. The proprietor's name is Lungile Chilza. His family has run this business for over fifty years. His wife, Nomble Chilza is the head chef," Okoye said.

Lungile and Nomble stood waiting for them at the front entrance. Nomble wore a pale green chef's hat and matching chef's apron. Her dark skin was without blemish for her age and her smile held white teeth with small gaps in them that made her look even more youthful. Lungile was a robust man with hair whiter than soft cotton that floated like a cloud three inches off his scalp. His ebony skin was shiny and smooth like his wife's.

Yani stepped forward first and greeted them both. She shook their hands and the older couple gushed over her before N'Jadaka was brought forward. He elicited nervous energy in them both. Giving a heartfelt smile that relaxed them, N'Jadaka held out his hand to Lungile and the man shook it firmly.

"King N'Jadaka…Queen Yani, my wife has prepared a wonderful meal for you. Come inside, please, make yourself comfortable. We have you seated at our best table."

Lungile held out his hand inviting them in. Okoye and Ayo stepped in first to inspect the place and gestured for them to enter. Yani sauntered in first and they immediately noticed the exquisite artwork on the walls. Landscape paintings of the Ibukun River and portraits of Birnin D'Jata life at night.

"Here…sit here, please," Nomble said.

N'Jadaka reached to pull out the chair for Yani, but Lungile beat him too it, his pudgy yet spritely frame eager to please. Yani sat down and Nomble admired the isicholo on her head.

"Your crown is so lovely Queen Yani. I enjoyed watching your nuptials to the king. It was all that everyone talked about."

"Thank you, Nkosikazi Chilza," Yani said.

"Please, call me Nomble, daughter. You are family here," Nomble said.

The other patrons in the restaurant peeked at them, but then went about eating their own meals when his eyes cast out to take in more of the restaurant décor. Lungile poured them refreshing cool glasses of chilled passion fruit juice along with glasses of water.

"Would you like anything stronger, kumkani? We have a wide array of wines and other beverages."

"This is fine for me. Yani would you like anything else?"

"I'd like a glass of your best wine from this region," Yani said.

Lungile clapped his hands thrilled that she wanted to try something else from their place.

"My wife has cooked you both a delicate smoked pork brisket smothered in a mango glaze with some savory greens and our famous spicy plantains. I will bring you a glass of D'Jata's most popular white wine that will tickle your tastebuds, my queen."

"Spicy plantains? My father Prince N'Jobu cooked those all the time for me and my mother," N'Jadaka said.

Lungile patted his chest with pride.

"Your father used to come to our restaurant when he spent time here as a teenager. My wife taught him our special recipe to make them."

"Then I have her to thank for making my belly happy when I was a child."

Lungile beamed and his wife returned to their table carrying two platters of finger foods to start their meal.

"The king loves your plantains. Prince N'Jobu cooked it for him and is mother," Lungile gushed.

Nomble cheesed hard, her cheeks rising up higher than the sun outside.

"I think in another life your father would've been a wonderful chef. He was a quick learner and loved food. He would fly here all the time with your grandparents and…."

Nomble stopped talking.

"Finish what you were about to say," N'Jadaka said.

"I do not want to upset you kumkani."

"You won't."

"I was going to say your uncle's name. My apologies for making that mistake."

"No need to apologize. My family held this place in high regard. It's why I brought my wife here. To enjoy what my father loved."

Nomble nodded quickly and her eyes watered, fearful of upsetting the king despite what he said. He reached out and held her hand.

"No reason to get upset Mama Nomble. I take no offense and look forward to chowing down on the best pork brisket in Birnin D'Jata," he said.

Nomble trembled with his hand covering hers. His touch shook her up and she wiped her eyes. Yani stood up and gave the woman a hug.

"He means what he says Mama Nomble," Yani said.

"Eh eh…the king and queen have called me Mama…me a humble cook," Nomble said.

"Who said you were humble?' N'Jadaka joked, "I heard you brag on your food to rival the chefs in the double palace."

A few patrons eavesdropping laughed at his comment and Nomble held her cheeks.

"Brag on yourself!" N'Jadaka said.

"Yes, I am the best!' Nomble conceded and even Lungile laughed with her. "Let me get the rest of your food. Baba, keep them entertained until I return."

N'Jadaka glanced at the window of the restaurant. A crowd of people stole glances at them, pressing their noses to the glass.

"I will close the blinds to give you privacy," Lungile said.

"No. Let them watch. Queen Yani doesn't want any special attention other than ones needed for safety. We are customers like anyone else."

"No…no kumkani, you are our guests. This meal is our treat."

"I insist on paying. Let me contribute to your continued success."

Lungile wanted to shake his head, but N'Jadaka's voice was commanding and the man grew nervous at the idea of pressing the matter.

Nomble returned with four servers. Three held large platters of food and a fourth carried a warm bowl of lemon water and hand towels to clean their hands. The food was placed on the table along with plates and bowls. Two servers helped him and Yani wash and dry their hands.

"Mama Nomble…Baba Lungile…you will join us, won't you?" Yani asked.

The elderly couple looked shocked at the request. A bottle of white wine was brought over to their table. Yani waved a hand to get the attention of another server.

"Please bring two more plates, bowls and wine glasses for Mama Nomble and Baba Lungile," Yani said.

The server hurried away and N'Jadaka stood to pull back the chairs across from them for the elders. Nomble handed her chef's hat and apron to another server. Her silvery-white hair was styled in puffy Nubian knots. She took her seat next to her husband and N'Jadaka helped push their chairs closer to the food-laden table. Lungile gave instructions to another server to take his place as the host and Nomble gave instructions to her other cooks to continue working without her.

"A toast," N'Jadaka said after he poured glasses of wine for his hosts.

Glasses clinked and the wine tasted crisp and delightfully elegant. A perfect pairing with pork. Yani shared their day in the market and the older couple sat spellbound listening to his wife rave about their honeymoon thus far. N'Jadaka discussed the history of the river market with Lungile full of enthusiasm, and after a couple of glasses of wine and delectable food, all four of them chatted like lifelong friends catching up. Loquacious and energetic, Nomble and Lungile were avid historians and prideful people. N'Jadaka learned more about the River Tribe in one sitting than he ever did reading about it or hearing tidbits from Nakia. The Chilza's were happy to answer any question they had, and Yani had plenty more over dessert.

"There are so many breathtaking places throughout D'Jata," Yani stated over another glass of dessert wine that was nearly empty, "We hiked above the waterfall near Ekuqaleni and it looked so unreal above the trees."

"Ekuqaleni is a very special place to the River Tribe. It is where the Panther Tribe and River Tribe made their truce before the final war of binding us all together with King Bashenga," Nomble said.

N'Jadaka offered to pour more after-dinner wine for her, but she held up a hand and latched her eyes onto Yani's.

"We were told our tribe had a habit of intermarrying with yours," N'Jadaka said.

"Elder Bhira's niece and your cousin carried on the tradition. In a way, you've also carried it," Nomble said.

"How so?"

Nomble folded her plump fingers on the table and smiled at Yani first before wrenching her eyes away to gaze at the king.

"She is a child of Mama Wati. As was your mother kumkani. We see the Lost Tribe as our kin. Other tribes in Wakanda do not agree, but we do. In our oldest creation stories they say that a lost child from outside will return here and raise an empire."

"Empire?" N'Jadaka chuckled.

Yani studied his face carefully. It was a touchy subject with her since their return from the states. Several African nations surrounding them accused him of that so often that it became a narrative that carried far and wide on the continent.

"I have no plans for empire, and I've never read in our books about creation where someone comes back here to do that," he said.

Lungile patted his wife's hand and Nomble grinned.

"Not your Panther Tribe stories, kumkani, ours. My people of this region," Nomble corrected.

"Tell us your story," Yani asked.

"I have taken up much of the talking, I will let my husband share that."

Nomble looked at Lungile and he cleared his throat.

"We used to think they were fables…myths that we told our people in times of war, famine or intertribal disagreements that may have led to more war. I suppose every culture in the world has a story about a savior of some kind appearing to redress all wrongs. Isn't that what the Christians out there believe their Jesus will do? In Wakanda, Bast is the great cosmic mother who birthed daughters and sons that she planted like seeds on this earth. One of her daughters, Mama Wati, was planted near here before there was any water in the world at all. The Ibukun River that we know of today used to be a big dry gorge that stretched all the way to where the sea is now. Bast spit on her precious seed, and our water goddess sprang forth fully formed. This is why every newly married king must offer his seed back to her in a burning ceremony before he can taste the fruits of his wife—"

"Lungile! Sthhh! Must you say that in front of our queen?" Nomble scolded before covering her mouth with embarrassment.

Lungile lifted his hands palms up and stared at his wife.

"Aye…Mama…it is part of the story they have asked me to tell."

Yani laughed and tilted her head. Her eyes twinkled.

"Go on, Baba…tell us more," Yani encouraged.

Nomble rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair with her arm thrown over the back of it, her body turned toward her husband. Lungile slowed his cadence, making his voice sound more dramatic with the telling.

"Mama Wati made the great trek through Wakanda leaving water in her wake, creating all of our lakes and rivers and waterfalls until she reached our empty ocean and gave the world all of the liquid you see all over the planet. She was given dominion over all the water that birthed all the creatures in the sea and even mankind. She is the goddess of childbirth and healing. She is the goddess who cradled the first man and first woman on this earth. The Panther Tribe says that Bast is the mother of us all, but in our ancient stories that were written on the sides of cliff walls in a language we don't even speak anymore, she is actually the grandmother. Mama Wati is our ancient mother. She is your mother too," Lungile said with conviction.

The older man's voice grew softer. He sipped some dessert wine and looked down at his fingers.

"In the dark days, when the slavers came to this continent, we in Wakanda didn't always have secure boarders or have the full capabilities to make our shield dome just yet. The border tribe protected all of us. They are some of our fiercest fighters. We were still warring with the nations along our borders and knew we had to close ourselves off from the rest of the world in order to prevent more bloodshed and other countries discovering our secret. Mama, you tell the rest, you know it better than me," Lungile said.

Nomble turned back to Yani and N'Jadaka.

"Well…there are several versions of a prophecy that have been handed down, and depending on which clan you talk to, it is said that a child of ours…a Wakandan…would come to us from the outside world and help protect the entire nation by creating a vast empire by absorbing other tribes into our fold. No one believed it of course because we had closed ourselves off for centuries. We were never slaves to anyone so it would be impossible for Wakandan blood to leave our borders…let alone return to conquer other nations and rule over them. But here is the most interesting part, and this comes from the eastern faction of our region…"

N'Jadaka glanced at Yani and his wife's eyes were as big as plums. She had leaned forward in her seat. He reached over and rubbed the middle of her back. Nomble palmed her hands together, warming up to her addition of the story.

"The people there say that it's not one child who will return, but actually two from very different places in the world who will guide the hand in the building of a future empire. Unfortunately, the stories never say when this will happen."

"Well it can't be me or in my time because I'm the only person to return here with Wakandan lineage from the outside that shifted the culture… and like I said, empire building is not on my agenda," N'Jadaka said.

Nomble nodded her head.

"The prophecy says that it will happen in a time of great distress, and I think you have already fulfilled it when you fought the alien intruders. You are powerful enough for two people, kumkani," Nomble said.

"Or," N'Jadaka said, "My greatest grandfather already fulfilled the myth by uniting all the tribes during the great battles back in the day. Remember, he was still an outsider to your people until he married Queen Tiye, your tribal member. Their first child was born outside of this territory and brought back to your people."

"True, true," Nomble said, "But the elders of long ago had many stories and who knows, we could be living out what was told long ago and choose to ignore it because we think myths and fairy tales are for children."

N'Jadaka thought of the stories he was raised with back in Oakland. Believing in fairy tales from his father brought him an entire kingdom to rule. As far as he was concerned, fairy tales held kernels of truth. Had he fulfilled the legends on their cliff walls and whispers around long ago campfires? If two children were supposed to come back…

Riki and Joba.

His heart thumped a little faster. His two youngest children came from two very different places in the world. They had Wakandan blood through him.

Lungile lifted his wine glass and his hand shook slightly. He was a little tipsy.

"To King N'Jadaka Udaku and also our first ruler, King Bashenga…two great kings who helped save the nation twice…our myths who sprang to life!" Lungile said.

N'Jadaka and Yani raised their glasses for a final toast.

A pregnant customer headed for the exit with her husband and Yani stopped them to ask how far along she was. The expectant mother shared that she was seven months along. After they left, servers began lighting candles on all the tables. Yani checked her kimoyo beads.

"We have been here for three hours. Taking up all your time," Yani said.

"Stay as long as you like, in fact, stay for the dancing," Nomble said.

"Dancing?" N'Jadak glanced around at the dining area. The Chilza's restaurant had nothing but tables and chairs for eating.

"Come see…in the back," Lungile said.

He ushered them with their Doras who finished eating their own meal hours ago to a door that led to another section of the restaurant that was set up with a bar and a dance floor. A bartender and a few waiters prepared for an evening crowd. D.J. equipment was set up in a corner and a woman behind the D.J. booth fiddled with a soundboard. Everyone stopped what they were doing to set their eyes on the king and queen.

The walls were decorated with giant pink flamingoes and 3D blue lagoons that gave the space a marshland setting that didn't match the décor in the restaurant. Nomble noticed the confusion on N'Jadaka's face.

"In three weeks the pink flamingoes flock here before they set off for Birnin S'Yan's beaches, right before the Mama Wati celebrations. It is a spectacular sight. Vast numbers, over two hundred thousand alone flock to Umbono Lake and then migrate through our territory," Nomble said.

"What do you think, kumkani, hmm?" Lungile said, wiggling his hips and holding his hands out like he had a dancing partner, "You and our wonderful queen enjoying a night of music and dancing together?"

N'Jadaka waved his hand. He rubbed his stomach and reached for Yani's hand, pulling her next to him.

"You have fed us beyond capacity. Your reputation as a master chef has been proven Mama Nomble and because of that, we'll probably start to nod off. Another time," he said.

Yani released his hand and held Nomble's shoulders, "Thank you for your hospitality and the fantastic food. We will come again real soon and bring our children."

"That would be our honor, ukumkanikazi. Please let us show you out," Nomble said.

Lungile rushed off to the back of the bar and met them outside later carrying another bottle of top shelf wine and a small tan biodegradable container.

"A gift from us. Enjoy it tonight. Our best wine you enjoyed and some spicy plantains to snack on later. It is Mama Wati's favorite offering outside of sugary sweets and flowers. Give some to the river and she will taste that you know her as your own," Lungile said.

N'Jadaka took the gifts. The Dora Milaje blocked off the street as the royal couple said their final goodbyes. The evening patrons studied their interactions and Okoye summoned the Royal Talon Fighter to fly above them for a gravitational pick up. The tracker beam pulled them into the aircraft and Yani hugged N'Jadaka's waist.

"Today was so beautiful," Yani said.

She settled in their comfortable couch in the back and they watched their flight across the boardwalk. Ayo traced her fingers on the viewscreen across from them to lift the six canoes they used that were stuffed with all of their river market shopping. A gravitational force field kept the canoes stuck against the bottom of the aircraft.

They arrived at the treehouse encampment in time to catch a new display of stars above the river tributary. The canoes were lowered onto the ground with them and Yani picked out items that could go onto their houseboat, and the rest that would be stored on the Talon Fighter. The Doras worked quickly and the canoes were pulled back up to the aircraft.

"Remember to leave two canoes at the houseboat. We'll need the extra for when the children join us," N'Jadaka instructed Aneka.

Yani pulled off her isicholo and walked up the stairs into the treehouse.

"I am beat," she sighed.

She tucked her crown inside the special hat box made for it that locked by her fingerprint. Too tired to bathe or do anything else, they slipped off their clothes and went to bed early. They cuddled and listened to the night song of nocturnal creatures.

"Okoye had a hard time today, yeah?" Yani said in the darkness of the room.

The faint light of stars appeared above the skylight. He stroked Yani's arm.

"She doesn't like us to mingle with citizens in the streets for long. Too much unpredictability and one thing that woman wants is to control every security move."

"It looked like she had a little fun, even though she was strict."

"Yeah, they all did I think."

"Imagine being forced to canoe on a lovely day and fly across tree tops," Yani said.

"The nerve of us making her do all that," N'Jadaka teased.

"I know right? Her having to eat chocolate and cake samples because the queen couldn't make up her mind which tasted better."

"You also demanded that she eat that jumbo fried shrimp plate while on duty at the restaurant."

"I expect our security personnel to comply with my wishes at all times."

"You are a cruel ruler. They will ask to have your head cut off!"

They giggled together.

"Tomorrow we will simply relax, read, and nap…deal?' he said.

"Deal."

Yani lifted her head and pressed her lips softly against his.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you, too."

Yani drifted off to sleep before he did. When she had slept for a least an hour peacefully, he detached from her and pulled on a robe. He needed to check the grounds before he could fall asleep and decompress from the day alone.

"I know your big asses aren't on that furniture," N'Jadaka scolded.

S'Bu and Unathi lounged on the outdoor couch. Unathi jumped up at the sound of his voice and quickly leapt from the couch to scurry onto a thatch of soft grass near the treehouse. S'Bu rolled over on his belly.

"Nah, man. Get down and go sleep somewhere else. Y'all ain't slick. Now I know what you do when we aren't watching. Go on now…get."

N'Jadaka clapped his hands and S'Bu joined the other panther.

"Watch my wife. Stay here," he said in Wakandan.

Both panthers ambled over to either side of the staircase entrance of the treehouse and watched him move quietly around the perimeter. He sniffed the air and used his own special nocturnal vision to check for movement of any animals. He had been warned that crocodiles sometimes crawled onto the land to sleep under their outdoor furniture often, attracted by the energy of the place. There were protective barriers and warning systems in place to let them know if any had snuck into their area.

Nothing was out of order.

The moon finally rose above the trees. A halo of colorful hazy light surrounded it indicating new rain to come in a few days. It was a good sign. He and Yani would be floating on their houseboat and could enjoy the patter of raindrops falling on the lake they would anchor down in for a week.

Moonlight sparkled on the tributary and he thought of the conversation with the Chilzas. They reiterated what he had been told about Ekuqaleni. It was a place of enchantment that made one feel that anything in life was possible for those who walked among the ancient trees. He understood why the people there considered it a healing place. There was a spiritual energy that pervaded it. It prodded the mind and body to recognize it.

It also made him feel like something would happen that would nudge him to some important discovery about himself. There was a power there that still made the hairs on his neck and arms rise like it did when he did his sabbatical at the Temple of Bast. This was a kindred power. He searched within his soul for reassurance from Bast herself. She rested within him quietly letting him settle into the expectation. Ogum slumbered in a deep repose, unbothered by the place.

Ekuqaleni was tranquility and contentment. A needed retreat from the responsibility of holding up a nation that dominated the political landscape of the outside world. It gave his wife joy, and whatever Yani wanted he would give it to her in abundance with more trips together out in nature.

He wandered about on a sort of meditative walk that cleansed the slate for that day. The staff would bring them breakfast in bed in the morning per his directions. Perhaps by noon he and Yani would frolic in the bigger pool of water, or maybe take a dip in the tributary. Sunbathe. Sleep. Make love.

The children crossed his mind. He missed them dearly, but he had to admit, time away from them and being alone with his wife was a dream come true. No wonder his parents snuck away to their bedroom as many times as they did when he was a child. It was good to be in solitude with your beloved and not have to worry about your child for a few hours. His parents had one child, but he had three and more energy depletion because of it. He couldn't even imagine his parents handling two more of him growing up.

Two more of him.

The Chilza's story still poked around in his mind. The possibility of Riki and Joba fulfilling some long ago legend bothered him. Unlike his own later childhood, N'Jadaka wanted his children to grow up knowing nothing but peace and security. He would be the only one of his new lineage that would experience war and have to build up nations to defend their own lands. One day all three of his children would have to do the mandatory military service required of all citizens. He would raise them to become whatever they wanted and whichever one took over the throne, he would become their counsel.

The idea flitted in his mind about whether or not he wanted them to even take on ruling the nation. All Udakus had been raised to one day take the throne. What if Riki or Joba didn't want to? Sydette was legally his daughter in the eyes of the ruling class, so she would also be considered for the role. But he knew all of the tribes would challenge her at Warrior Falls. Legal daughter or not, the elites preferred direct bloodlines. He couldn't see Yani allowing their eldest to fight five challengers. Sweet Pea was a gentle spirit who detested all violence. She had survived mercenaries holding guns to her body and being shot at as a baby. It wasn't in her to inflict harm. Truthfully, he just didn't see his children choosing that life anyway. Sydette wanted to be a scientist. Riki a rock star. Joba wanted to learn new languages and study art.

A tickling in his gut compelled him to walk closer to the water.

His mother told him a child was coming that would shake up the world. Maybe the throne wasn't meant for his three oldest, but for the one that wasn't there yet. His mother had been adamant that he look out for that new one because they would be something different. N'Jadaka wasn't seeking to build empire. But maybe the next Udaku from him would.

He hurried back into the treehouse and collected three pieces of spicy plantains from the container Lungile gave him. Returning to the tributary, he knelt down in the soft, moist earth and offered the plantains to the water. They floated away toward the center and were swept downstream quickly. Still kneeling, he lifted his palms up and stared at the water.

"Mama Wati, I offer you a gift. My mind is troubled with thoughts about my children. I was a man who sought retribution in this land, but instead I gained my soul and my family back. Bast raised me and Ogum chose me, but I feel as if you have touched my life more times than I can count without even knowing it. In Brazil I knew you as Yemanjá. With my Nana Jean, she called you Cymbee. I see traces of you in my wife. Back where she is from, they call her the Black mermaid. By nature, I am not a humble man. I come from a father who was as large as a god in my eyes until he was taken from me. But now I am here…on my knees in your domain, asking for guidance…a sign that all will be well with my family. If there is a child coming who is going to build an empire, help me understand why this needs to be…if it needs to be. I have killed and spilled blood all over the earth. I don't want that life for my children. I beg of you, under the eyes of Bast, your mother, and Ogum who wields the iron of war in my blood…please. Don't let my children ever have to see the destruction that war brings again. I want them to become who I could've become if…"

N'Jadaka's night vision caught sight of the crocodile much too late to move. It rose to the surface, black eyes shining with icy concentration. He heard and sensed movement behind him. Turning his head slowly, he found S'Bu and Unathi flanking him. They sat on their haunches in a relaxed stance and not one of protecting him from the predator.

N'Jadaka regarded the giant crocodile coolly as it ambled its big body slowly from the water. He held his breath and kept the springing of his panther suit at the tip of his one immediate thought. His natural recoil reflexes were kept still and he waited to see what the croc would do.

Bast moved and the pressure of her presence sat at the top of his head. Ogum remained submerged in inactivity. This was a Wakandan matter not needing his input.

The crocodile settled its mammoth head in front of N'Jadaka's bent knees. This wasn't an ambush at all. The creature could've snapped the king's head into its giant maw, and that should've been unlikely from jump since their encampment was surrounded by security detectors. A powerful system in the water was also on alert to prevent them from sneaking onto land without people knowing. There was even a force field deterrent set up for crocs and water vipers that gave a slight shock to help them move away from that section of the river. The eyeshine in the crocs slit pupils reflected an unnatural iridescent glow that grew brighter. Mighty jaws snapped open and the croc lunged forward, its heavy snout-tip pushing weighted pressure against N'Jadaka's chest before it disintegrated into a splash of cold river water onto his chest, waist, and thighs.

He threw his hands up and gasped, startled by the frigid water soaking his robe through to the skin underneath. N'Jadaka touched his chest and the cool liquid evaporated. His robe and skin were as dry as when he first approached the edge of the tributary. He exhaled relief and his body felt light and airy. The intrusive thoughts about his children's future turned into warmth and serenity. In his mind, Mama Wati let her presence be known. Nana Jean once told him that alligators and crocodiles held spiritual meaning. They existed in two worlds, the physical and spiritual. The land was the physical world, and the water they submerged in was the spiritual one. He took on the experience as a message that he was a part of those two worlds and he would have to trust the greater wisdom of the gods to carry him through.

S'Bu nudged his head against N'Jadaka's shoulder. The king lifted his arm and scratched the back of the big cat's ears.

"You two were letting me know it was okay. I understand," he said.

N'Jadaka stood up and tilted his head back. He bathed his face in moonlight and said a prayer for his parents. And his beloved Nana Jean.

Breakfast in bed was so good, Yani ate seconds and refused to get out of it until it hit high noon.

She bathed and put on a bikini, joining N'Jadaka outside to sunbathe while reading. She held a physical book in her hand and stretched her left arm above her head indulging in doing nothing. N'Jadaka read a physical book right next to her on the lounger couch wearing tight trunks that might as well had been briefs. It did nothing to hide all that he held between his legs, his dick print and balls outlined visibly. She peeked at his face. He'd been pretty quiet for most of the afternoon. They'd chatted a lot during breakfast and once they were in their own little worlds reading, no words had passed between them for two hours.

Yani placed her book on her chest and sighed to get N'Jadaka's attention. He turned the page of his book and scratched at a scar on his chest.

"Should we call the kids?" Yani asked.

"No."

N'Jadaka kept reading, not even looking at her.

"We've been sending them vids and pictures, but we haven't spoken to them directly since we left. You think they miss us?"

"I'm sure they do, but think about it. There are a ton of little cousins still in the palace on holiday with our family. They're busy running around and having fun. Probably preoccupied with the wedding gifts we gave them too."

His eyes scanned the pages on the book, but Yani caught the glint in his eye the moment she mentioned them. There was a little twitch in his jawline too, like he'd been waiting to talk about his pride and joy.

"Three days is a long time not talking to them. Maybe just a quick chat up?" Yani said.

"We agreed to five days of no direct contact. For us."

Yani turned on her side, her fully baked skin two shades darker and smelling like sweet coconut oil.

"Just five minutes. Not a minute more. I want to see their faces."

N'Jadaka dropped his book near his side and stared at her.

"Didn't we talk about not coddling them too much? This was an opportunity to build up character and self-reliance. They have an entire staff, three nannies, great-grandparents, aunties, uncles, and cousins keeping them occupied. I don't want to be one of those helicopter parents," he said.

Yani chewed her lip and squinted when a ray of bright sunlight struck her eye when he adjusted his separate couch back support to a lower position. It unblocked the sun from his bulky frame. He glanced over at her and the pout on her face made him smirk.

"Five minutes," he said.

Yani clapped her hands and wiggled in her seat. He tapped his kimoyo beads for all three children. Riki answered first. The eyes that stared back at them with his floating image looked just like his father's when he was annoyed.

"Baba, what is it now? You keep calling us," Riki whined.

"What?" Yani yelped.

She smacked N'Jadaka's arm. Joba and Sydette's images popped up next to Riki's.

"How many times has your father called you guys?" Yani asked.

"Four times today," Sydette sighed out with an equally annoyed tone.

"Four times?" Yani said. "But I was here and I didn't see him call anyone."

They'd eaten breakfast. Swam in the river, showered, sunbathed, read their books, ate lunch and…

Yani's lip curled into a grin. She'd gone to the restroom four times that day. He'd called the kids when she was inside the treehouse.

N'Jadaka quirked his lips and shrugged his shoulders.

"All this backchat you were doin' man, and here you are calling them behind my back."

"Can we make this quick please, Mama? I'm in the middle of something with Zuko and Balwe, and if I don't pay attention, Zuko will move one of my game pieces," Riki said.

Yani looked them all over one by one. Happy, healthy, and whole. Her perfect trio.

"I miss you. It's been a long time since I spoke to you all."

"Three days isn't a long time, Mama," Joba said.

"To us it is. Neither one of us has been away from you all this long together. It feels uncomfortable sometimes," Yani said.

"But you're having fun, right?" Sydette asked.

"Yes Sweet Pea, we're having the best time—"

"Snack time everybody! Leave your toys and games where they are…what…what are you doing?" Umama said.

Their great-grandmother's face came into view.

"N'Jadaka, Yani…is everything okay?" Umama asked.

"We're fine, just checking in with the kids," N'Jadaka said.

"Again?" Umama said.

"I wanted to see their faces this time, Umama. Let them go have their snack."

"Okay, Mama, bye!" Riki said.

The call winked out.

"You sneaky cheater!" Yani said, pinching his arm. "Talking all that stoic shit and you're the one to break our pact."

"Okay, okay, I missed them a lot. They were on my mind all last night and part of today. Thinking about their future."

"Thinking about their future because of the story we heard last night?"

"Yeah. A part of me doesn't want them to carry the weight of the throne, and yet another part of me wants their legacy to be better than mine."

"You're going to be king for a very long time. We'll probably be great-grandparents before you even have to worry about succession."

"Even so, I can't be the Golden Jaguar forever. One of them may have to take the mantle while I'm still king."

Yani cradled his chin with her hand, the softness of his beard warmed by the sun.

"Listen to me. That's a long way away."

"I hear you. But you're right. It's nothing to worry about now."

He rolled over and placed his head on her stomach. She rubbed his head and untangled his locs on his back. Tension rested in his muscles. The future still rested on him. Yani hummed him a tune and stroked his forehead gently. The tautness in his muscles relaxed under her fingers.

Yani didn't like that he pondered too long on the children and their political future in Wakanda. They were finally a happy family unit and their children were living fruitful lives as normal children. At least as normal as royal children could be.

He needed something to get his mind off of politics and the march of time to come. She wanted to have fun with him and not waste their energy soothing fears.

"It's getting extra warm for me, I'm going to go cool off and rest indoors for a minute until the sun is behind the trees," she murmured in his ear.

"No, stay here. You've made me too comfortable. Don't leave now, it's not that hot."

"I'll be back. You can take this heat more than me right now. I want to fix my hair too, oil my scalp a little," she said.

He whined and pretended to throw a tantrum with his feet. She bent her head closer to his and kissed his forehead. Scooting off the couch, Yani headed for the treehouse and bee-lined to the bedroom where she rummaged through their belongings and pulled out a wig box. Inside was the red wig N'Jadaka loved. She shook the tresses and carried it into the restroom. Using a brush by the sink bowl, she smoothed the hair and fixed it on her head with a bit of hair sealant and a spritz of perfume on her body. She unfastened her bikini and pulled on a short silk bathing robe that rose above her thighs.

Staring at her face in the mirror, she added a little make-up and pink lip gloss. Debating about adding eyelashes, she eventually took the time to add some onto her top lid and made one final inspection of herself. Sexy, and she carried the aura of a different woman. That's what she wanted to be. Not the fretting mommy needing to check up on her kids. That woman could return when the children joined them in eleven days. She fixed the bit up lip gloss that ran over her lip line and decided to add one more detail before she left the treehouse. The bottle of lubricant on the open cupboard would help with what she needed to do.

After her preparations in the restroom, she returned to the outside where N'Jadaka rested with an arm over his eyes.

"Is this seat taken?" Yani said.

N'Jadaka lifted his arm and looked at her. The grin plastered on his lips thrilled her.

"My wife was planning to come back later," he said.

"Oh, well, I'll just find someplace else to sit."

"Nah, you can chill until she comes back. Long time no see, Toya."

Yani pushed back the hair on her shoulders.

"You don't mind if I sunbathe next you…nude, yeah?"

He patted the vacant seat next to his on the comfortable couch lounger. She took off the robe slowly and turned to place it on the end table next to the couch. Bending over further than she needed to, she allowed him to see the cherry-red anal plug heart she had inserted in the restroom. She crawled onto the couch knees first and settled in next to him, her toasted skin sparkly with mica chips from her coconut oil. He watched her recline and his gaze fell to her breasts.

"You sure this is okay?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Her right hand drifted to her vulva. Running her fingers gently around her clit, she kept her eyes on his face while he watched her hand play with her pussy. He reached over and played with her right breast, squeezing her nipple. They didn't speak. Yani dipped her fingers lower to open her labia. She made sure he saw that it glistened with her own arousal. The piercings they loved looked so pretty. Her inner labia fell open and the puffy engorgement made him groan. Yani stared at his swim trunks and the bulge there grew and stretched the material. She reached over and palmed it, feeling the girth inside harden under her touch. His fingers trailed down to her vulva and he bypassed her clit to finger her opening, her arousal making his digits sticky.

"Do you miss fucking me, kumkani?" she said, all breathy and low, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear them.

"Yesssss."

He moaned and slipped his trunks down, freeing his erection. The full mass of his dick had her sighing his royal title, exciting N'Jadaka more.

"Kumkani, I don't want to get you in trouble on your honeymoon. But I know you miss fucking me in the ass and stretching out my pussy."

She gripped his dick, squeezing it first to test how hard it was before sliding her hand up and down.

"I miss this big dick, kumkani. Let me make you happy."

"Shit…yes…keep squeezing it like that…"

He sat back and let her work her fingers around him. She nestled her index and thumb under the ridge of his tip and twisted it in tight half circles. It didn't take long for pre-cum to spill out. She stopped her movement to let him kick off his trunks all the way, and then continued pleasuring him. Her pussy was already acting up and the fullness of her anal plug hinted at the debauchery to come.

"Has your wife been good to you?"

N'Jadaka's lips were smooshed together; his focus lost on her hand getting slick from his pre-cum. His eyes became glassy and narrowed. She began to give his dick harder strokes up and down, loving the feel of her hand wetting up his shaft, making it sticky. Lowering her head, she darted the tip of her tongue in and out of his slit.

"Fuck!"

N'Jadaka's voiced carried over her head as it moved up and down, deep throating his dick. His right hand slid down her spine and around the curve of her ass to finger her pussy. He finger-fucked her, plowing his digits into her fast, wiggling them back and forth so he could hear how wet she was. She gasped when he spanked her hard. Rubbing on her backside, he moaned and thrust his hips up to shove his dick further into her throat. He pushed on her anal plug and fondled the shiny heart.

"Lemme stretch that pussy before my wife comes back," he whispered in her ear.

Yani obeyed, scrambling onto her knees and straddling his dick in reverse cowgirl. She wanted him to look at her anal plug in anticipation of stuffing his dick there in its place. Widening her thighs, she guided him inside her slippery entrance and the tightness in her ass doubled her pleasure with his dick stretching her out too.

"Kumkani, you feel so good in my tight little pussy," Yani huffed, meaning every word she said while looking over her shoulder at him.

N'Jadaka slapped her ass cheeks with a determined rhythm.

"Look at that ass…look at that big ass…tight pussy fucking me so good…grip that shit…yeah…grip it tighter…you a little grip monster on that thang girl…fuck…"

His words tumbled over each other and Yani bounced on his dick, flexing her back muscles to give him a view of the perfect arch.

"I missed your big dick, kumkani," Yani yelped.

"Ride that dick, baby…yes, ride it hard Toya…"

Yani twisted her hips from side to side so he could experience the pleasure of her cheeks bouncing as she moved. N'Jadaka kept smacking her ass and her backside grew hot and tingled with delicious pain. He rubbed both sides of her rump to give her skin a break from his slaps, but he continued again when she did slow winds all the way to the tip and back down. The slow motion dance on his dick had him shouting her name and cursing about how good it felt. Yani rose up again and leaned forward to let him watch her opening throb and grip the tip of his dick with syncopated squeezes that looked like sucking motions from her pussy. She practiced for weeks with her queen training on the erotic arts. Her instructor was a no-nonsense elder noblewoman who gave Yani silver balls of varying sizes to insert in her vagina and walk around with for hours using her pelvic floor muscles to grip them. Every time a ball fell out, she had to re-insert and try again or risk a scolding. Sex was a very serious matter in the royal lineage. Even N'Jadaka had to take lessons for his dick, tongue and fingers to please his new queen. Those tiresome lessons paid off as she made her man holler and grunt with pleasure. She gripped and released his tip in fast successive motions, twisting her body ever so slightly to change the angle. Her suction around the ridge was like the lure used to catch a big fish. Her husband gasped and clutched the cushion of the couch.

She dropped down on his length hard and used her walls to clench around the root of his dick while she fondled and squeezed his nutsack. He was literal putty in her hands only eliciting moans as she showed off her sex magic. Those queen lessons truly enhanced the natural gifts she already possessed, and helped her build up more stamina to handle the king. She did the ripple effect, using her walls to clench his dick in sections as she rose up and down slowly. Because he stretched her with his girth, N'Jadaka could watch her pussy lips kiss and pulse on every inch of his dick. She became more excited by the delicious feeling of fullness in her insides. His sounds of enjoyment rewarded her pussy with hot throbbing coming from his dick. Her perspiration increased from the furnace of his heavy body radiating so much heat.

The pressure of his dick tugging on her clit and the anal plug filling her up had Yani speaking in tongues. Her skin tingled all over and the heat from his blows to her ass cheeks created a perfect storm of pleasure for her that she couldn't hold onto anymore. Her pussy throbbed on a final thrust from him. A pulsing sensation raced up her spine and she trembled all over. Yani threw her head back and wailed out his name as her orgasm choked his dick and her own throat. Her voice echoed above the trees and shushed a few birds who had been chirping in the late afternoon sunlight.

When he couldn't take it anymore himself, N'Jadaka plucked the anal plug from her ass and pulled her down against him. Her back went into his chest and he spooned her for a few minutes, playing with her breasts and kissing her neck and shoulders before pushing his dick into her ass. She was ready for it, already keening and pulling her ass cheek to the side so he could watch his entry.

"Bitch I love it…I love when you let me fuck you in the ass…taking all this dick…"

His voice sounded bewildered and hungry for release. She gripped the cushion on the couch and held still, letting him pump wild thrusts into her.

"Just letting me fuck you like this…nasty little bitch…fucking the king's dick…I'm all up in there…fuck!"

"Your wife will be back soon," she said, urging him on to glory.

"Tryna rush me like I'm scared of being caught?"

"Aren't you, kumkani? The queen wouldn't be happy to see you fucking one of your secret women."

"I think she'd like watching me fuck you."

Yani gasped as he slowed down his thrusts and played with her breasts.

"I think her pussy would get wet watching this big ass dick stretching you…watching you cream all over me Toya…"

He stroked her clit, plucking at the piercing there. His breath warmed her earlobe and he nibbled on the outer shell of her ear.

"Or maybe you'd like to watch me fuck my wife like this. She takes dick so good in the ass."

"Yeah?"

Yani shuddered as her skin combusted with the fire of her lust listening to his words.

"My wife is the best. Before we were married…back when we were on an island together, she used to let me fuck her in the ass all the time. She has a nice big bubble. Niggas been after her for years and still want her. But she's mine and she lets me do anything I want to her. When I fuck her pussy, it weeps on my dick…"

Yani gasped. Listening to him talk about her in the third person was such a turn on. N'Jadaka had transformed into a trickster, changing the power dynamic of their encounter. She had come down from the treehouse to seduce and drive him crazy and he flipped it on her. He shifted their position, forcing her on her knees with her ass up and her head down. He kept a hand on the back of her neck and fucked her ass with slow hard thrusts. Each time he smacked against her rump, the slapping sound was loud and disrespectful to her ears.

"My wife is such a good girl. She knows to get on her knees without me asking so I can cum all over her pretty face. She'll lick up every drop of cum I give her. And she can take my dick so deep…lemme show you how I fuck her ass deep, Toya."

Yani began whimpering. The nerve endings in her ass were on high alert and her clit twitched.

"I took her to an opera in Zana and she let me fuck her ass right in the theater booth. She hiked her dress up and got on the floor and let me fuck her like that, even though there were nobles in the sections next to us. Feel it? Feel how I fucked her ass, Toya?"

"Yes!"

Yani cried out and she squirted on the couch. The sudden release heightened everything.

"I'm making you squirt, baby?"

The tone of his voice was so raspy that Yani's body squirted again, harder, making a complete mess on the couch.

"I'ma nut in you so deep. Let you have what my wife gets…yeah…feel all that? Your king is balls deep in that ass."

He pressed a hand on the arch of her back, and then gripped her hips with both hands.

"Taking it so good…that's a good girl…that's it…let your king fuck that ass…ooohhh….'bout to nut…fuck…here it comes…here it comes…shit…here it comes!"

He thrust hard once more and shot hot cum with curses flying from his mouth. Yani took it all and fell over in a satisfied lump when he finished. Her entire vulva throbbed and her clit still pulsed with anticipation.

He allowed her to rest a few minutes. She lifted from the couch and smoothed the hair on her wig. His dick was still hard.

"Come on," he said, lifting her up in his arms and cradling her against his chest.

"Where are we going?"

"Inside."

"But the queen…"

"She'll just have to deal with her man fucking his lover on their bed."

Yani held onto his neck tight. He bounded up the treehouse stairs and carried her into the bedroom.

"Wait here," he said.

She listened to him shuffle into the restroom and run water to clean his dick off. He returned and stroked his dick with fresh lubricant on it. Yani admired his body. He had always been a beautiful man. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, N'Jadaka was the finest chiseled specimen of man she had ever seen. The scars on his body actually enhanced his beauty and that man knew he was physical perfection just by the way he preened in front of her.

He lowered himself to the bedding and held her close to him.

"I will show you how I make love to her," he said.

He kissed her forehead with lips so soft that she forgot that he was her husband. The scent of his skin reminded her of honeysuckle blooming and she held onto his shoulders feeling safe in his arms. He rubbed his nose against hers making her smile.

"I love you," he said.

Yani pressed her lips against his and savored the softness. Oh how she fought to have this man! From the naysayers back home to the nobles who questioned her worthiness, Yani held onto her husband tight, feeling his heartbeat against her chest. Her tongue twisted around his and the joy in her heart thrummed throughout her body, raising the temperature on her skin and causing her pores to sweat even more. Their combined heat raised her arousal. He bit the side of her neck with those sharp slugs and Yani gasped, her eyes glued to the opening in the ceiling.

N'Jadaka penetrated her pussy with a quick motion in his hips and he marinated inside of her, keeping his kisses deep and wet inside her mouth. Her walls contracted when he pushed in further, accommodating him with intense slick heat.

He sucked in a breath when she squeezed around him tighter. His claw necklace dangled above her nose. She raised her legs up and held her thighs. N'Jadaka raised up on his hands and watched his dick go slowly in and out of her pussy. The focused concentration gave her joyful shivers. He loved looking at her body while he made love, and kept checking in with her by staring at her face. Swiveling his hips he slowed down his pumps and drops of sweat fell on her from his chest.

"Show me how much you love me," she begged.

N'Jadaka inhaled and then huffed out puffs of frantic air. The pussy clenching was getting to him. Yani absorbed the yearning he had to make her cum again while he stretched her out. Her clit was engorged and sat there fat and gorgeous like a precious jewel.

He was so big everywhere. His body. His dick. His personality. His legacy. His love.

Yani had shaped him and the world he conquered. No two people had ever wielded the power they did together all over the globe. His power over her body flowed out in hot waves across her tender skin. Her breasts bounced with his thrusts and his eyes darted down to watch. He loved every inch of her and she could see that clearly in those cunning brown eyes. She panted. He was too much. In the end of all their intimate encounters he was always too much. God, what a blessing.

He hit a spot inside of her that made her scream his name that became exaltations to heaven. N'Jadaka watched her face as she came on his dick and she felt him swell and spill inside of her. Looking down at their wet messy joining, his dick pulsed and so did his balls.

Yani let go of her thighs and let her orgasm cascade over any thoughts of anything outside of Ekuqaleni. All that mattered was them. Right there. Right now.

She gave herself permission to forget her children and the rest of the world.

N'Jadaka was all that she would live and breathe for in that moment. They were perfect and divine and meant to make love for a lifetime.

Attendants carried away the last of Yani's personal belongings she used in Ekuqaleni.

N'Jadaka conferred with their Dora Milaje and she took a final walk past the treehouse and into the forest. Their houseboat was ready for the next part of their honeymoon and all that was left was to give instructions to their personal staff and notify the palace that they were leaving within the hour.

"Don't go far," N'Jadaka called out.

"I won't," she said, waving at him.

She wandered past the large mineral pool and headed over to the mini waterfall that fed into the stream that attracted the best butterflies because of all the lovely flowers that beckoned with their nectar. The long wrap-around cornflower-blue dress she wore brushed past her ankles and a gentle breeze blew across her face. The coolness from the canopy gave her skin a break from the sun as she rounded a bend in the stream to get one last look at the mini waterfall.

In her peripheral, she caught sight of something dark and low to the ground. She pretended not to see the panther cub until two others popped out on her side next to it, all three watching her walk along the damp path of forest floor dirt in her sandals. Above the canopy she could hear and feel the vibration of the Royal Talon Fighter leaving Ekuqaleni.

"I'm going to ignore you because you aren't real and you won't harm me," she said out loud, throwing her voice over her shoulder at the cubs.

There was no sense looking at them, they would only disappear after a few minutes anyway. Whatever magic or spirits that lived in the forest would stay there. Yani was leaving in thirty minutes.

"Where are you?" N'Jadaka asked.

His image floated above her wrist. She stopped walking to catch her breath.

"Not far. I wanted to see the little waterfall and maybe collect some flowers before we leave," she said.

"Do that, then head on back. I'll wait for you at the firepit," he said.

She tapped her beads and his image winked out. Bending down to pluck the best flowers, one of the cubs brushed against her leg. She yelped and jumped back, not expecting it to be real flesh and blood at all. It purred loudly and rubbed against her ankles, its cute little tail flicking with agitation.

Should she pick it up?

Yani glanced around. The other two cubs sat on their haunches watching her…and waited.

What harm could befall her if she bent down to test if it were a solid thing?

N'Jadaka waited for her. All she had to do was walk away and leave with happy memories. They weren't real, just a trick of the mind. She decided to forgo touching and spun around to head back to her husband.

The cub jumped in front of her path and rubbed himself back and forth against both of her ankles. She felt the warmth from its chunky body. It opened its mouth and gave a weak kittenish yawp, showing its tiny baby teeth. Too cute. It stared up at her with cute eyes and cute whiskers.

Yani bent down and the first cub ran in front of her, looking back to see if she still locked eyes on it. It gave that pitiful baby panther cry again and the two other cubs ran toward them and ran around her in a circle, rubbing their little warm bodies against her ankles too. They jumped away when she tried to pet them, and ran in front of her a few feet, looking back to check her stance. She walked forward when they ambled back to her, but the closer she got, they ran ahead of her again and stopped. Yani got the message.

They wanted her to follow them.

Running ahead of her in the opposite direction she needed to go, Yani had a decision to make once more. Go with them or stay?

N'Jadaka knew where she was. If she sensed danger, she could scream and tap her beads, and he would come to her rescue within seconds with his enhanced speed. She could follow them and if they led her to someplace sketchy, she would put up the force field that was embedded in her beads to protect her until her husband arrived. Ekuqaleni never showed her any harm or made her feel unsafe. Panthers were the Udaku's animal guides. If she left without seeing where they went, the curiosity would get the better of her and ruin her honeymoon. She tapped her beads.

"N'Jadaka, I see the panther cubs again," she whispered into the beads.

"Stay where you are, I'll be there in a minute."

"They rubbed against my legs. They seem real."

"Do not touch them," he said.

"Okay. I'll wait here."

It would take him at least fifteen minutes to walk there.

The cubs ran ahead of her again, much further this time. They still looked back at her to make sure she had eyes on them.

Wait.

Yani tapped her foot and glanced over her shoulder. N'Jadaka was taking too long coming to her. The cubs padded further south. She took a few steps forward to keep them in her eyesight as they passed through some low fronds off the path she had taken.

"Hurry N'Jadaka," she muttered under her breath, not wanting to cause the cubs to disappear before he arrived. Although he couldn't see them, he could sense them, and it would be better to have him go with her on a wild goose chase. Or a panther chase.

She couldn't see them ahead of her anymore and took a chance following. Nothing in her gut felt weird and she wasn't afraid.

She quickly caught up to them and they began to run. They weren't as fast as her and she lifted the hem of her dress to keep from tripping on it. The shade around her seemed to grow darker the further she went and she brushed away low hanging branches, vines and brush to keep up.

Ahead of her was a clearing and she caught sight of the cubs running as fast as their little legs could carry them. She started laughing, feeling the air on her skin rush by, and the wonderful physical sensation of her leg muscles stretching in a good sprint. To her right was a part of the tributary that led to the main river of the Ibukun, and that shocked her because it meant that she had run further than she thought. Twenty miles.

Yani took in her surroundings and checked her kimoyos. There was no way she should've been able to run that far in under fifteen seconds.

"Yani, where are you?" N'Jadaka's voice broke her reverie.

"I'm here!" she said, looking at his floating image.

It winked out and Yani stared at the three panther cubs still running ahead of her. Several yards ahead of them, next to the riverbank sat three serene-looking River Tribe women on a rug in a circle. They're eyes were closed tight as if in a deep meditation session and they stood up the moment Yani appeared. They all wore lavender headwraps twisted in the style of their people. Two wore sleeveless long purple and turquoise dresses and the other had short sleeves on her pale turquoise long dress. The purple rug under their feet was five feet in diameter with white swirling lines and white dots that looked like tiny stars. A lit candle floated inside a bowl filled with water at the bottom of the carpet. The flame flickered and Yani noticed that sky was the color of lilac and amethysts and that could only occur there at sunset.

"Wait…wait…this can't be. It's still morning," Yani said.

The panther cubs ran directly toward the women and before Yani could reach them, each cub ran through the bottom of each woman's dress and vanished.

"Are you real?" Yani asked.

The woman in the white dress smiled.

"Yes Queen Yani, we are very real," she said.

"Were those panther cubs…?"

The woman in the white dress stepped forward but kept her feet on the rug.

"Our apologies, kumkanikazi. I am Jabulile. That is Khanyisile, and she is Nolwazi. We had to get your attention without upsetting the king. He gave an edict that no one was to disturb you on your honeymoon, so we were unable to come to you directly. Using avatars allowed us to get close to you. We had hoped to catch you alone and draw you out here to meet us without the king becoming angry."

"Why do you need to see me?"

"The oracle requests an audience with you."

"Oracle? What oracle?"

"Nolwandle…the mother of oceans. She received an urgent message from the other side and Mama Wati has given permission to let it pass through her. You must go to Nolwandle as soon as possible. But the king must not know about this or else Bast will find out," Khanyisile said.

Yani took a step back.

"If you are afraid of Bast finding out, then are you trying to do something bad behind her back?"

Nolwazi clasped her hands together in a beseeching motion, "Kumkanikazi, the Grandmother of us all must not know about this because she does not like messages about the future reaching human ears. There is order in all divine things coming to pass, but if humans know things ahead of that time, they may disrupt the pattern she has set forth."

"I want my husband with me. I don't go anywhere alone without him by my side."

Jabulile nodded with understanding, but her eyes pleaded for Yani to heed their words.

"You must see Nolwandle, within three days. She can only be a vessel for the message that long, or else it will cause her great bodily harm and mental distress. Today will be her first day. It will be to your detriment to ignore her call. A message like this has traveled through souls to get to you, my dear queen."

Yani gestured toward the sky.

"You could be tricking me," Yani said.

All three women shook their heads.

"It would be a sin for us to trick anyone," Jabulile said, "We do not mean to frighten you, but I beg you Queen Yani. Heed our words daughter. Go to Mama Wati's statue at the mouth of Warrior Falls, past the great Manta Ray monument. Look at her face at the first light of the morning and it will show you the path to the Oracle. If you do not receive this message, the Udaku bloodline will come into jeopardy, and so will the fate of our country."

Jabulile held out her hand. Her words startled Yani and she reached out to the woman. Jabulile clasped Yani's hand and pulled her onto the beautiful rug.

"Oh God!" Yani cried out.

Her body felt like it was rushing through a powerful vortex of pure light and loud sounds that rattled her eardrums. After a few seconds she saw the figure of a dark-skinned woman sitting crossed-legged with a crackling fire in front of her. The woman's eyes rose from the flickering flames and stared right through Yani.

"Come daughter…Mama Wati protects you here…come Black mermaid…I have a message for you…come quickly…"

Yani's body whipped back at an angle and it felt like she was about to do a backflip or split in half trying to do so.

"Easy kumkanikazi, you are here with us again," Jabulile said, still holding Yani's hands.

Yani stumbled back off of the rug. The women stepped off of it too, and Jabulile rolled it up.

"Find your way to her…your bloodline is in danger if you don't," Jabulile said. "Go to Mama Wati's statue. Let her show you the way."

The women lowered their heads to Yani and walked toward a canoe waiting for them halfway out of the water. The tucked the rug inside and each woman climbed inside quietly with Jabulile in the center. The other two women paddled them downriver.

Yani watched them and caught her breath.

"Yani!"

Yani whipped her head around toward N'Jadaka's voice and it was morning once more. She checked her kimoyo beads. It was the same time as when she had first spotted the panther cubs. Glancing around, she was back at the mini waterfall with flowers still clasped in her fingers.

Her husband smiled and walked toward her.

"Ready to leave?" he said.

He held out his hand and she threaded her fingers with his, her body trembling.

"You okay, Yani?"

"It's just a little chillier in the shade. That rainy weather must be on the way," she said.

"Don't matter, we'll be snuggled up and floating in blissful waters."

Yani walked out of Ekuqaleni trying to figure out a way to go to Warrior Falls sooner without raising any suspicions in her husband. The weight of something extraordinary depended on her carrying it in secrecy. That was something she promised N'Jadaka she would never have with him. Secrets.

"Onward, " he said, and Yani stayed by his side.

Chapter 10 HERE.

Taglist:

@readingaddict1290

@issimplyaamazinggg

@eyeknowmywrites

@kitesatforestp

@fd-writes

@soufcakmistress  

@cherrystainedlipsbaby

@tclaybon  

@thadelightfulone

@allhailqueennel

@bartierbakarimobisson

@cpwtwot

@shookmcgookqueen

@yoyolovesbucky

@raysunshine78

@the-illlestt

@terrablaze514  

@l-auteuse

@amirra88

@jimizwidow

@janelledarling

@chaneajoyyy  

@sweetestdream92  

@purple-apricots

@blackpinup22  

@hennessystevens-udaku

@scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade

@bugngiz

@stariamrry  

@honeytoffee

@meilintheempressofdreams

@tyees

@eye-raq  

@writerbee-ffs  

@chocolatedream30  

@childishgambinaa  

@mygirlrenee

@thewaysheis—awkward

@tchallasbabymama

@lahuttor

@goodieyaya

@post-woke

@soufcakmistress

@yomiloo

@goddessofthundathighs

@nahimjustfeelingit-writes

@retroxvailles

@cydneyrenee4

@nizzle-mo

@cecereads209

@childishgambinaax

@gopaperless

@bombshellbre95

@tchallasbabymama

@musicisme333

@sister-winter73

@nccu-rnc

@sj206260358

@blmcd57110

@griot-of-wakanda

@xsweetdellzx

@nayaesworld

@carlakeks

[violetfairydust]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by the amazing @renmackree! Thank you!

Here we have my yet to be titled one-sided Sterek from Stiles' POV. Unfortunately for everyone, Erica has been misinformed, so this is going to be a roller coaster for Stiles.

-

Stiles set the pen on the desk. As he ripped off his sweater, the sleeve whipped the pen a few desks away. He groaned and got out of the chair. Going around the back row, he stopped as the hot girl who usually sat in the front row picked it up with her pink painted nails. The gold necklace around her neck shimmered. It reminded him her name was Erica. She smiled as she handed it back to him.

“Thanks.” He moved back to his seat and she followed. He looked up at her as she sat on his desk.

“Stiles, right?”

His jaw fell. No words came out, so he nodded a few times. She knew his name?

“Do you have a date to the prom?”

“Uh, no.” There was no way she would ask him to prom, she was too hot and he was pretty sure her boyfriend wouldn’t like that.

She smiled as she leaned closer to him. “A friend of mine has a crush on you and he’s too nervous to ask you to prom, so I’m helping him out. Do you want to go with him?”

Stiles sighed and lost all amazement. He peered around her to check the time. Three minutes until class. He rested against the metal bar connecting the chair and the desk. “Listen, I can appreciate you helping your friend, but I’m not getting set up on some awkward date just because I’m the last person available.”

“No, he actually wants to go with you. I think he’s just a little shy.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “That’s what they said about Greenberg and then we were left at the end-of-the-year lacrosse picnic and I was reaching for the mustard and he thought I was trying to kiss him. I don’t do date set-ups.” He bit the end of the pen anxiously.

“What if I told you it was Derek Hale?”

The pen fell onto Stiles’ lap. “Derek Hale? The Derek Hale has a crush on me?”

She smiled and crossed her legs. “Straight from the horse’s mouth.” The bell rang and she hopped off his desk. “Should I tell him you said yes?”

He was practically drawing their wedding invitation as she danced to her seat. “You’re not joking?”

She scoffed lightly. “I’ll tell him during English.”

Stiles leaned back and tapped his pen on the desk. Derek Hale wanted to go out with him. Him of all people! He beamed at the table. It had been a long four years of hoping and praying the captain of the basketball team would so much as glance at him, but he had a crush on him. And he was shy about it! What could be better than that? He felt he owed her for telling him. On the back of the graded test Ms. Fleming handed back, Stiles doodled the wedding program. Sorry, Scott, but Erica is going to be his new best man.

-

I softly tag: @thotpuppy @endwersed @eevylynn

@hellorhighwater21

[tammyjackson50-blog]

five years ago || P.2

(writing without any plans, just what U'm thinkung at the moment, so I hope that it will turn out ok lol)

//<;- Part one // Part three ->

Summary: What happens when you find your way back to a good friend from the past through a song he wrote five years ago?

A week later

It has been a week since I made that post , and ever since then I didn't return the note with his song back to the box, I put it right next to my computer.

I already memorized the note because of the number of times I have read it.

I didn't believe that he would see my post, like, what are the odds? But….I check my email every day, even though I'm trying to just forget about it.

Anyway, it has been five years, will he even remember it at all?

"Bestie, did you check your email?" Kat asked, "Yes, I did, nothing new, Katie, we should just forget about it, it's a bit ridiculous, I guess," she laughs. "Oh, come on, don't tell me that you don't want him to see your post, that you are not waiting to talk to him again, so he could write songs for you again."  I looked at her smiling—" not funny, didn't laugh “.

She got up and went over to the door of my room. "Come on, party pooper, let's go out , maybe an ice cream will cheer you up." I got up. "Who said that I'm upset?”.

The weather is getting hot, summer is around the corner.

"Kat, do you really want to go out of town now?" I asked my very lovely friend, who just loves doing stuff spontaneously. "YES, It’s going to be fun! " she said as she held my arm while we were walking towards the freaking train.

20 minutes later

"Ice cream, Katrina, ice cream," she looked at me, rolling her eyes, "I know, Y/N, I know! Sorry, Mcfly, but I know this good place, and they have amazing ice cream” She calls me Mcfly because of my favorite movie, "Back to the Future." 

"I really hope that this ice cream is worth it, Styles." guess why I call her like that.

Few minutes have passed, and there are a lot of people in the train station, obviously, people who are going to work, people who are going to meet their friends or family members, hang out, and there are people who are not going on the train, people that are trying to make money by singing or playing instruments in the train station here.

Our train finally came, since there were many people it was kinda hard to get into the train.

As the door opened we were getting pushed by the people around us, people that are trying to get into the train like we are.

As we tried to get in,I accidentally pushed someone, causing them to drop the drink they were holding.

Somehow I managed to bend down to the floor to pick up the drink, while all the people around me rushed to the train.

I just prayed that I wouldn't get pushed or something.

“ I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t mean to” he got up and I looked at him “ no no that’s fine- Y/n? “ Everything stopped, for a moment I forgot about the train and Kat, it felt like a weird dream, he was the last person I thought I'd see “ Eddie? “ it was hard to even hear what he was saying because of the loud noises in the background but I swear that he said my name. “ Y/N WE NEED TO GO “ Kat grabbed my arm and then he held my hand, I don’t know what he tried to do but everything was going so fast that I held his hand for a second and I was already on the train.

We didn’t find a place to sit in the train for obvious reasons, we were a bit squashed because of the amount of people that were in the train.

I looked at my hand trying not to drop what I'm holding—a ring, a ring that slipped off one of his fingers, a ring that really made me believe it was really him and not just someone who looked like him.

Back at home

It was a nice day, honestly , and it went by really fast.

After we got out the train I told Kat what happened before she grabbed my arm so I wouldn't miss the train. We were in the line for the ice cream, it did look like a very promising place if you ask me.

“ What the fuck Y/n, are you joking ? “ she said and her voice was getting high from what I told her “ I wish I was joking Kat, I’m really confused “ the line was getting shorter.

“ What are you going to do now? “ I looked at the ring and said “ no idea Katie, probably nothing you know “.

We were talking about what happened, Kat wanted me to have fun and not overthink so much ,so we went to the mall and we just enjoyed the day together until the evening.

And here I am now, sitting in front of my computer in the dark, thinking about what happened in the train station, until my thoughts were cut off when a notification sound came out of my computer.

I got a message from my Gmail, so I clicked on it,

It was from someone named

- @ Michelle86

would you like me to continue?

Btw, my favorite movie is back to the future lol