#i was painting my nails while answering this - that's why it took so long for me to respond lol

[auxiliarydetective]

In love with The True Halfling and I must know more about her

Oooookay, let me see if I can get everything together. I can't find where I wrote down my notes or maybe I didn't write anything down at all, but let me gather together what I can scrape out from my brain. Disclaimer though, I haven't seen the movies yet, which is a crime, so I can't really go into detail on movie events. I haven't read the books either. But I have second-hand and wiki knowledge profound enough to come up with a concept that I will later go insane over once I do watch the movies :)

First of all, the True Halfling is so old that she's part Fallohide. She's from the time when the Hobbit breeds were still clearly separate things. She also has a significant amount of Teleri blood on her elven side which may or may not be the reason for her musical magic. Due to both being very old and getting stories told about her singing and instrument-playing and generally her very unique ability to fairly directly use magic, she becomes a bit of a legend. Unfortunately, she gets tired of being immortal. Yes, she can learn all of the songs in the world, learn all about the different races and cultures, witness it changing, all of that beautiful stuff that she wanted when she chose to become immortal, but she's tired of the fighting, tired of people coming to her and asking her to perform miracles. Additionally, as the years go on, her magic becomes weaker for some reason that she cannot figure out.

But then she travels to the Lonely Mountain one day, just when it is attacked by Smaug. And the True Halfling offers to sacrifice herself to protect the halls of the city, completing a ritual that lodges the Arkenstone into her body to channel her magic and puts her into a deep sleep that she will only awaken from once the dwarves return. I imagine she did something similar for the Glittering Caves before? Generally, I'm convinced that she's old but also not really because she spends multiple centuries just. Sleeping.

Either way, once Thorin and his company return, the True Halfling wakes up and unmerges with the Arkenstone but she's drowsy/weakened from the centuries of sleep (she says, but it's actually not true) and so she doesn't fight in the ensuing battle. Also, merging with the Arkenstone has left lasting cracks/scars on her body, so she is kind of very depressed about "losing her eternal beauty". After this, she disappears. She settles down in a small village as a storyteller and bard and stays laying low...

... until one Gandalf appears at her doors and asks her to help destroy the One Ring. She refuses, saying that she is done with fighting. But, the hobbit that she is, she can't let herself have Gandalf and the Fellowship leave without gaining anything. So, she invites them for a meal. And that was her big mistake because she finds herself fascinated with this mixed bag of a Fellowship, and becoming fast friends with both Legolas and Gimli, who are fascinated by her for her elven heritage and knowledge of songs and poetry and her history with Durin's Folk (especially the legend of her guarding the Lonely Mountain) respectively. Also, the hobbits love her. She knows a lot of songs, she makes amazing food, her house is a literal museum of art and music and different cultures... So, she lets herself be talked into the Fellowship. Adventures ensue. Also maybe a poly relationship with Legolas and Gimli??? I'll have to check the movies for fitting vibes.

So yeah, she doesn't have a good name yet, but it's gotta be magical, you know?

Either way, that's it. That's all that my brain could gather. Hope you like it :)

[harrywavycurly]

Secret Rendezvous Part 10: Not Red

Masterlist: Here

CW: Language

Tag List: @emma-munson @aol19 @tlclick73 @prestinalove @kailey-firefly @fromasgardandback @therealgothamguardianfr @peaches-roses-sins @hiscrimsonangel @furiousladyking @angelina16torres-blog @sofaritsalrightt @josephquinnsfreckles @starrywhitenight @mrsjellymunson @witchwolflea @jasminelafleur @ohmeg @comeonatmebruh @missmarch-99 @arthurcerverogf

A/N: I love your friendship with Gareth the next update will have some answers to some of y’all’s questions, so enjoy✨

“Are you actually in detention this time or is it more community service?” “Happy to see you too Gare Bear.” “Oh you’re so here for detention…what’d you do?” “Let’s see the paper says….oh this is great it says…reason for detention…using language unbecoming of a cheerleader of Hawkins High…but what they mean is Mr. Springer walked out of his class to me telling Jason to fuck off in the hallway after he made Chrissy upset.” “Sounds about right…” “what do you mean? It sounds about right that Jason made Chrissy upset or that I told him to fuck off?” “Uhm…uh…both?…actually?” “Relax I’m just fucking with you…why are you here?” “Oh I just wait in here on Thursdays until Eddie gets here for Hellfire.” “You…wait in detention for Eddie?” “Saying it out loud makes it sound…dumb but it’s just better than roaming the halls….uhm so…how’s…how’s Stacy?” “You haven’t texted her? Gareth she gave you her number like two days ago what the hell?” “I’m nervous! What if she gave it to me just so I’ll leave her alone?” “She gave it to you so you wouldn’t leave her alone you dingus! Text her right now or I’m never speaking to you again.” “Okay okay…what…what do I say?” “You say hey this is Gareth sorry it took me so long to text you I’m an idiot.” “I’m not saying that…or at least not the part about being an idiot….what are you doing?” “We have a game tomorrow and my nails looks like shit so I’m painting them…what else are you supposed to do in detention while Mrs. Taylor sleeps?” “Oh…you have to paint your nails and stuff for games?” “Yeah? You have to look perfect…you’re representing your school and all that shit so…yeah it’s important to look good…now what color?…just not red.” “Oh that’s a lot of…pressure…but why not red that’s a good color?” “Gareth do you even go here? What are our school colors?” “Oh yeah…not red…go with green then.” “Excellent choice…so I’m sorry again…for leaving you at the party.” “We’ve been over this…it’s fine I was having a good time with Stacy and you were having a good time with Hank-” “you know damn well that’s not his name.” “Shit sorry no need to hit me…but really it’s fine but uh did you have a good time?” “Yeah it was…okay…” “Emerson!” “Looks like your ride to the drama room is here.” “You two still haven’t talked?” “Nope…now go kick some weird fantasy troll or zombie ass.” “It’s been like three days…” “Emerson let’s fucking go!” “Ohh daddy is using his mean voice you better listen to him.” “Don’t say shit like that…but you’re okay though right?” “Gareth!” “Yes Gareth I’m okay…now really go before Eddie walks in here and drags you out and then I’ll have to kick his ass and redo my nails.” “Okay…see you later?” “Yeah I’ll text you when I’m home.” “Okay…enjoy detention!”

[exercise-of-trust]

everyone clap and cheer for my beautiful daughter who has every disease 🥰 her name is þerindë because her wheel is made out of an embroidery hoop; she is entirely handmade and boy howdy does it show

a whole bunch of things have stopped working since i took that video last night and i'm not sure how much more wherewithal i have to keep messing with her, but i did manage to spin about two feet of something before then! so i'm showing her off a bit now, and if i can figure out what-all i fucked up maybe you'll see more of her in the future. some process and progress photos under the cut (not a tutorial. do not do this. i cannot sufficiently stress how bad of an idea this was and is*)

(*if you are going to do this and have questions not answered here i am always happy to answer them, inbox and dms are open etc, but like. i would strongly advise against it)

here's the hoop! it's about a foot across, with a groove carved out with a speedball. this ended up being way too shallow (who'd'a'thunk) so the final version is a lot deeper than what you're seeing here. the paint stirrers are held in with straight pins because i was worried regular nails would just crack the hoop lmao. my girl is so deeply and profoundly scuffed <3

the flyer is made from three cedar shingles glued together because i didn't have a solid piece of wood large enough. astonishingly nothing broke while i was sawing out the rough shape and it whittled down pretty nicely! the hooks are scrap 2mm copper wire, the orfice is a couple inches of plastic drinking straw, and the pulley wheel is also hand-carved, which is why it looks like a fucked-up oreo and has the weird hitch at the top of the spin that you probably saw in the video 🙃 frankly i am astonished it works as well as it does

the wheel frame is. man. the axle supports haven't broken yet but frankly it's a miracle they're still in place with how much strain they're under every time. the original base was that weird little bit of paint stirrer, which (shocker) did not work out in the long run; it's been replaced by an offcut from the frame and is significantly more sturdy now. it's surprisingly level, though, and turns pretty smoothly all things considered!

the frame was a nightmare start to finish; i've never done any serious woodworking before in my life and the whole thing was just kind of slapped together without a plan or any sort of concrete measurement. it wobbles so fucking bad and every few hours i have to push a couple of the parts back together where the nails are sort of drifting out of the wood. you may observe a weird post sticking out the left side of the mother-of-all; that is supposed to be for scotch tensioning. does it actually do that? sort of! the belt is a length of cotton crochet thread that is, after much fiddling, just the right size to not slip out more than once every three minutes.

treadling was another pain to figure out and i think i probably made it way more complicated than it needed to be. it still doesn't work very well and i can't tell if that's something i can fix hardware-wise or if i just have to suck it up and practice a lot more. turns out feet are not as coordinated as hands! i would say "now i know for next time!" but frankly i am never doing this again. you couldn't pay me. speaking of which, i did the math and at my current pre-tax hourly salary i could've bought two brand-new ashford travelers with the number of hours i spent building my awful rickety daughter. at the end of the day, do i love her? immensely. is she "good"? by no stretch of the imagination.

anyway. this was a terrible use of my time <3 but i do finally feel confident enough in all the parts of a spinning wheel and what they're for that i can brave the dangers of facebook marketplace's "spinning wheel" category without getting too badly scammed! which is pretty valuable in its own right, i guess.

[silverofthunder]

Secondo (Papa Emeritus II) x GN!Reader

🔞 MDNI 🔞

summary: There wasn’t coldness or softness – it was more like ’you know how this goes’. That’s how it had been ever since you two had started to sleep together.

content: 1.2k words, gn!reader, smut, hurt/comfort, romance, Google translated Italian (so mistakes are possible), NSFW

Oh gosh, I did it, I actually wrote a bit of smut. It's been years since I've done that and I wasn't supposed to do it now but my hands... slipped. A part of me is kind of proud that I stepped out of my usual zone but I'm also scared to publish this. But here we go...

You were again in Secondo’s bed, the man holding you in place by your hips as he thrusted into you while his lips were devouring your neck, mouthing along the line of your collarbone. As his lips traveled up to your neck, his teeth scraped your sensitive skin and a low, breathy sound escaped from your lips as he reached the spot right under your ear.

Your skin felt burning hot, the thin layer of sweat covering your body, your nails digging into Secondo’s back as he sped up and you could feel yourself getting closer to climax. Secondo’s moves were on the right side of roughness – just how you liked it. It was easy to get drunk on that feeling – him holding you firmly, kissing you like he owned you.

Secondo murmured something in Italian and your hazy mind could only guess what he was saying. However, his low, throaty voice made you melt, your heart pound in your chest and you whined as he quickened his thrusts even more. You could feel your hands start to shake, nails scratching Secondo’s back and it only took a few more thrusts before you came, your back arching, moan echoing in the room as your orgasm tingled through you.

Secondo finished inside you only a moment later with a low grunt, his thumbs pressing into your hips and a part of you hoped they would leave a mark on your skin, even a faint one. But you knew there would be no marks.

And then, way too soon, became the slight chillness as Secondo pulled away. You resisted the urge to reach out and pull him close, instead you opened your eyes and saw Secondo standing beside the bed, looking at you. His face paints were slightly smudged and the look in his eyes made your heart sting unpleasantly. There wasn’t coldness or softness – it was more like ’you know how this goes’.

That’s how it had been ever since you two had started to sleep together.

Slowly you got up from the bed, your legs feeling a bit jelly, and you did your best to ignore the feeling as Secondo’s cum leaked out of you. It made a mess while you gathered your clothes and you grimaced when you finally put the clothes on. You knew you had to leave, though you didn’t want to. It had been months – you weren’t sure how many exactly – since this all started and along the way you had realized that you wanted more.

And it seemed that you were the only one wanting more.

Secondo had covered his lower body with a towel, still looking at you as you stepped closer to him. He had looked always a bit intimidating to you but it was a part that made him intriguing. His eyes never left yours and you reached out to touch his arm, a move you knew was a bit risky. However, Secondo didn’t pull away yet his brows furrowed and you bit your lower lip.

”Why are you doing this?” you finally asked. Secondo let out a sigh, moving his gaze to the side, and for a fleeting moment he looked a bit pained. Then the usual, unreadable expression was back and your heart leapt in your chest.

”Go,” he said.

This time you weren’t having that. You weren’t going to leave until you got some answers.

”No,” you said, trying your best to keep your voice steady. ”I don’t want to be treated like this anymore.”

Secondo turned his gaze back to you, shaking his head.

”You’re too good for me,” he spoke quietly.

You blinked, not quite sure what Secondo meant by that. Surely it couldn’t be…?

”How so?”

With a long sigh, Secondo took a hold of your hand, removing it from his arm but keeping your hands joined. You studied Secondo’s face and it seemed his features had now softened. His expressions were always kind of hard to read and while it could be annoying as hell on some moments, it was still one of the qualities that was fascinating.

”Because you’re still with me,” Secondo answered. ”You still keep agreeing to this all even though it hurts you.”

You let out a small, desperate laugh-like noise.

”Yes, it hurts, but this seems to be the only way I can have you. Or at least a part of you.”

Secondo shifted, lifting his free hand up and for a moment he seemed to think what to do with it until he hesitantly settled it under your chin. It made your heart ache and you had to close your eyes to fight back tears. This was new – Secondo hadn’t been like this before. He hadn’t wanted any physical contact after the sex nor had he talked much after either.

”I haven’t much to offer to you,” Secondo said, a hint of sadness in voice.

You opened your eyes, meeting Secondo’s gaze and it was enough for the tears to flow. The usual hard edge had disappeared from the man’s eyes, replaced with something much softer. Longing, maybe, and fear. Your heart ached even more and it felt hard to breathe.

”I wanted you close, but…” Secondo paused, sliding his hand to your cheek, using his thumb to brush away your tears. ”I didn’t want to get too attached.”

”But you did,” you managed to say and Secondo nodded, offering the faintest of smiles.

”Mi dispiace,” he said, now cupping your face with his both hands. ”I hoped that if I kept being… distant after, it would be easier for me. But it wasn’t.”

You hummed, lifting your hand to Secondo’s bare chest and giving him a light shove.

”Oh, you foolish man,” you said affectionately, running your fingers through the hairs on Secondo’s chest. ”You should know that you’re very lucky that I like you.”

Something that resembled a smile passed Secondo’s lips again.

”See? You’re too good for me.”

You cocked your head to the side, leaning more into Secondo’s touch.

”I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

”I know,” Secondo stated, leaning closer and pressing his lips against your forehead. Your heart fluttered at the sudden act of affection – it was such a huge contrast to the atmosphere that had been between you a moment ago.

Somewhere deep down you had known that there was this softer side in Secondo, too.

”Can you finally let me in?” you asked, pushing Secondo gently a bit farther and tapping his chest, knowing he would understand what you meant with the gesture. This all had become a mess due to fact that you hadn’t communicated properly and it had caused you both to get hurt.

”You already have me,” Secondo said, his voice soft, and you knew it was a promise. That everything would be okay eventually.

With a sigh you wrapped your arms around Secondo, burying your head in the crook of his neck and breathing in his scent. It was comforting to finally have this, the closeness you had longed for every time you had been with Secondo.

”I’m sorry,” the man then whispered, voice thick with emotion this time. You hugged him tighter, pressing a light kiss on his neck. Secondo let out a light gasp, his hands settling on your sides, squeezing them gently.

And then you finally heard the words you had wanted to hear so many times before.

”Per favore, resta con me.”

[aestheticpearl]

— 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

✧·˚ three small moments when elias realized he was in love

𝓲.

“do you think if we met under better circumstances we would still be together?”

“yes.”

elias doesn’t even hesitate at your question and you feel you heart flutter at his confident answer.

“i would’ve asked you out regardless.”

you can’t help but grin.

“why?”

“i don’t want to sound creepy.” elias chuckles nervously and you join in his laughter in an attempt to soothe his nerves.

“come on just tell me, please.” you move closer to him on the couch and he places his arm around you.

“i thought you were really good looking and just my type. honestly if that bomb hadn’t gone off i probably would’ve gone home and thought about you till the next morning— i don’t know this sounds creepy.”

“no no it’s cute, i want to hear more.”

elias sighs in defeat before continuing.

“i don’t know something about you was just so eye catching. maybe it was the way you fidgeted with your fingers when you were waiting for a customer to come up for assistance or the way you adjusted your necklace like three different times in the same minute.”

“you really liked watching me huh?”

the obvious statement makes something in elias’ brain click. he’s never been so observant with anyone like this before, you’re the first that he’s ever been so invested in.

“yeah uh i guess i do.”

𝓲𝓲.

“you gotta stay still i’m not very good at this.”

you’ve been doing elias’ nails for at least a solid half hour, you keep seeming to mess up but thankfully elias seems to have the patience of a saint.

“you’re doing great. just take your time, i’m in no rush anyway.”

elias watches as you nod and continue carefully painting the black polish on his fingernails. with anyone else he would tell them to hurry up or just take over entirely, but once again with you it’s different.

he doesn’t feel the need to rush you or groan at the fact you’re taking so long to simply paint his nails. he should be getting upset and frustrated that such a simple thing as taken so long, but he can’t seem to care how long it takes while you’re here with him.

“okay i think that’s as good as they’re gonna get, i’m sorry i really tried.”

“nonsense they’re better than anything i could do.”

“really?”

he nods and for the next fifteen minutes elias explains how much he loves how well you did his nails. from how well the paint job is to the time you took to get it perfect just for him.

“you’re just saying that.”

“nah, i don’t like lying to you. i very much mean whatever i say to you.”

you feel your face grow warm at the honesty.

“thank you.”

𝓲𝓲𝓲.

you had been asleep on elias for over two hours now and elias himself just couldn’t find it in him to sleep as peacefully as you. he laid awake staring at the ceiling thinking about how much you’ve changed who his is. he started to wonder if maybe he had gotten too soft.

“elias..?”

your sleepy voice pulls elias out of his thoughts and he quickly looks down at you. he swears the image of you in that moment made his heart skip two beats. you look too cute, all sleepy with messy hair and your eyes barely opened. he clears his throat before speaking to you.

“what’s up? you okay?”

“nightmare.”

“i thought i felt you flinch awake. was it brewhouse again?” what else could it be? he thought to himself.

“it was just so loud, it startled me.”

“i get that, i’m right here if you need me.”

you move up to rest on the pillow with him instead of his chest and elias wraps his arm around your waist.

“i know, thank you.”

you close your eyes and rest your head a few inches away from his and elias watches as you fall back asleep.

he can’t help but lean his head against yours gently and decide to try to fall asleep once again.

he falls asleep with ease.

made with a glitter gel pen✨

.love always <3 pearl

.masterlist

[elsfavor1te]

ellie hurt/comfort plsplspls i have no ideas i just want ellie so bad!!!!!

answering my first ask ever!! this is also like the first thing i’ve ever written for someone so.. i hope this lives up to your expectations anon!! send me more stuff this is fun .

ENDGAME

ellie williams x fem!reader. (i don’t think there’s any actual mention of reader being a female but i’m putting it just to be safe.)

warnings: sfw. hurt/comfort. some angst? overthinker!reader. little jesse slander? use of pet name ‘baby’. no use of ‘y/n’ lowercase intended!! lmk if i forgot anything <3

———————

your feet hurt from the back and forth pacing you had been doing for the past 30 minutes. though, the pulsing in the soles of your feet didn’t take away from the churning in your stomach or the thoughts running through your head.

you were literally worrying yourself sick.

your heart ached as you thought back to the argument between you and ellie. the words that were said. her scoff as she walked out of the door and slammed it behind her.

you and ellie rarely ever argued but when you did it wasn’t unfamiliar for her to leave for a bit to calm herself down. she isn’t the most rational when she’s angry and she knows that. so to avoid saying or doing anything she doesn’t mean she usually steps out to calm down but she always comes back.

always.

she had never been gone for this long before though. it had been nearly 2 hours. the longest she had ever left you before was 20 minutes at most and even then, she felt terrible.

your eyes welled with tears again at the possibility that you had really messed up this time. that she finally had enough and decided you weren’t worth it anymore.

the deep breath you took and seat on the couch was a pathetic attempt at calming yourself down. you had thought about leaving and going to find her multiple times but what if, in the time you were looking for her, she came home to look for you? sure you were overthinking but it wasn’t a chance you were willing to take.

in an endeavor to take your mind off of things, you glanced around you and ellie’s home. the pictures that had accumulated over months nailed into your walls, pictures of you and her, your loved ones, just stuff ellie drew. the trinkets that littered the shelves from lucky patrol runs. the memories tucked into every corner. you don’t think you’ve ever experienced a pain like this, it feels like someone has your heart in their hand. progressively tightening their grip.

your eyes glide across the room once more before locking in on the chipped paint of the front door. as a last resort you lie down and bring your knees up to your chest. the couch groaning under your weight was the only noise to be heard apart from your spaced out sniffles and the wind whipping against your home from all angles.

you have no other choice but to watch the door and wait.

———

the sound of boots being kicked off was a telltale sign that someone was home. your eyes flew open, locking in ellie’s short auburn hair and her faded flannel as she locked the door.

“oh baby, i didn’t mean to wake y-“

she was cut off by the broken sob that left your lips. her expression morphed into one of panic as you stood and wrapped your arms around her, the sound of your breath quickening. her response was immediate,

“why the tears, love? did something happen? are you okay?” her arms tighten around you. she hopes you don’t notice the way she tenses at the thought of something happening to you while she was gone.

you back away from her a little, still never leaving the warmth of her embrace,

“w-what do you mean ‘why the tears’ ellie?? you left me for-“ your eyes jump to the clock. “3 whole hours.”

“what? n-“

you cut her off. “i thought you were leaving me, els.”

the crack in your voice and tremble in your hands against her back was heartbreaking for ellie. “baby no. i would never- ever leave you. i was coming back to you when maria stopped me and practically begged me to help her with something for tommy. i sent jesse to let you know i might be awhile but that i loved you, & that i was sorry.“

by the time she was done explaining your sobs had reduced to small sniffles. “well now i feel dramatic … and a little stupid.”

“you aren’t stupid, he’s stupid. god i’m gonna break his fucking neck.” her green eyes were clouded as she gently swiped her thumbs over your cheeks to rid them of tears.

you tuck your head into her flannel with a small laugh before looking back at her with a slight smile on your face. “i love you.. we just never leave arguments for that long and it scared me. i can’t lose you.”

“you and i are endgame baby. there’s no way in hell i could ever leave you,” her fingers interlocks with yours. “..i don’t wanna think about what my life would be without you in it.”

[justtwotired]

Whispers of the night - Lloyd Garmadon x F!reader

Previous - next

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Tag list: @beachcombers-boyfriend @cipheress-to-k-pop @whore-of-many-hot-men @bodieohbo @anyth1ngfor0urmoony @luvizuku

——————————

Your POV:

I sat in the park with Lloyd and his friends, my back leaning against Kai’s as I scrolled on TikTok.

Kai was playing a game of cards with Zane while Jay and Cole where chasing each other around for god knows what, all I heard was something about Jay liking someone’s instagram with Cole’s account.

Lloyd was sat a few feet away from me while Nya painted his nails. We had all gotten our nails painted in our favourite colour by Nya, Lloyd was the very last one.

“Oh, would you look at this,” I grinned, catching the attention of Kai, Nya, Zane and Lloyd, not knowing if Cole and Jay had heard me as they had just landed in the grass about ten feet away, still arguing.

“A quiz made by a girl on tiktok,” I grinned. “Which Ninja is your soulmate?” I quoted and they all shared glances before laughing.

“A what now?” Cole and Jay both looked up from where they had been fighting.

“Shall I take the ultimate test?” I asked, clicking the link. It hadn’t take me long to realise that if Lloyd was the green ninja, that his friends where the other ninja and who would be who.

Kai turned around to look over my shoulder as I took the ultimate test.

“Oh, look at that, how classic, what is my favourite colour,” I chuckled at the question.

“That is such bullshit, the answers are only the colours of our gi,” Kai said from behind me.

“But what is your favourite colour?” Jay grinned and I shot a glance at Lloyd, who gave me a look.

“Gotta be green, right?” He asked and I pursed my lips.

“I have two favourite colours.” I said and chuckled. “One of them is in fact green…” I announced, making Lloyd grin. “The other is red, so which do I choose?” I asked.

“Red, obviously,” Kai already clicked before I even had the chance, making me laugh and Lloyd let out an offended noice.

“Which of these animals is your favourite,” I read the question. “An orca, a falcon, a snake, a horse, a tiger or a dog,” I read and frowned. “And who would be who?” I looked around the group.

“Zane is probably the falcoln,” Nya said. “and I am probably the orca, because water,” she reasoned. “But the others, no idea,”

I shrugged and just clicked f/a.

I answered a few more questions and then my results came in, making Kai burst out laughing.

“Who is it?” Jay asked excitedly, while Kai just kept laughing and an amused smile formed on my face.

“The Earth ninja is your soulmate,” I read aloud, making Nya and Jay also burst out laughing.

“I guess this is it Lloyd,” Cole grinned. “Seems like she’s leaving you for me,” he said and Lloyd gave him an unamused look.

“Sorry Lloyd, but it was Cole from the start,” I said dramatically. Cole winked at me and I blew him a kiss as reaction, making the others laugh even harder and even Lloyd chuckled a bit.

After that, we all went back to what we where doing, Cole joined Kai and Zane with their card game and Jay sat next to me to watch TikTok’s.

After a while, I got a call from an unknown number and frowned.

“Who’s that?” Jay asked and I shrugged.

“No idea,” I answered, making Jay grin brightly. “Pick up and put your phone on speaker, these calls are always interesting,” he said and I smiled and did as he asked.

“Hello? Who’s this?” I asked and my eyebrows raised when I heard the voice on the other side.

“Hey, N/n, it’s James,” he started off. “First off, I want to tell you that I love you so much and you are my best friend in the whole world,” he said and I could hear Luna in the background as she let out an offended noice.

“Yes,” I said sceptically. “And then?” I questioned and we all heard him awkwardly chuckle.

“Can I borrow 12.000 dollars?” He asked and my eyes widened in shock. “Please?” He quickly added.

“Twelve- what did you do? Why do you need it?” I asked, all eyes where now on me as everyone was interestedly what the hell was happening.

“No improtant, just first tell me yes or no,” he pleaded. “We’ll pay you back,” he said and I huffed.

“You better pay me back if I’m spending that much money on you- what do you need it for?” I asked and there was a pause on the other side.

“An escape room?” He said hesitantly and I heard Luna laugh in the background.

“What kind of escape room costs 12.000 dollars?” I asked and it was silent on the other side again.

“Jail,” he then said and I opened my mouth to say something and then closed it again, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“JAMES CHAPMAN WHAT DID YOU DO?” I yelled out and he nervously chuckled.

It was Luna’s idea,” he started.

“Was not!” She yelled at him from the background.

“Please, N/n, we’ll tell you later- but you’re like- the only person with this kind of money that we know, and we can’t bail ourselves out, so we called you,” he said and I groaned.

“What do you mean ‘the only one’ the twins are richer then I am if you include their money,” I said and he nervously chuckled again.

“About that,” he said and I groaned.

“Please don’t tell me they’re also there,” I said and I heard him swallow on the other side.

“What? No, of course not,” he said and was silent for a moment. “Yeah, okay, they are also here.”

“Which prison are you, I’ll come get you,” I said and I stood up.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re not in prison, just a holding cell, but they already gave us a bail price, so…” he spoke and I was silent for a few seconds.

“James,” I started. “How long have you been there?” I asked and I heard him silently conversing with the others before speaking again.

“Yeah… like one day, maybe one and a half, but we just came back from the judge and we need 12.000 in total to be bailed out,” he said and I let out a sigh.

“Alright, I’ll be there in an hour or less,” I said before hanging up.

“Can someone maybe bring me to the local police station?” I asked and I looked around the group who stared at me owlishly.

“Lloyd, what did you get yourself into?” Kai said before standing up. “Come on, trouble, I’ll take you to the police station to bail your friends out of jail,” he said.

With a sigh I followed after him, both getting into his car.

It took a while for me to be able to get the money, I did have to borrow some from my dad, who just decided not to even start asking questions.

Then it took about an hour at the police station, as they weren’t sure if they’d let me bail out all for of them, especially because I was only eighteen.

“Where did you even get all of this money?” The woman at the front desk asked. “You seem rather young,”

“The last time I checked that wouldn’t be any of your concern,” I told her. “I am just here to get my friends out for- whatever they even did,” I said and she gave me a look before typing away on her computer.

Finally, I managed to get them all out and stood outside, giving them all unamused glares as they did the walk off shame, being brought out by two officers.

“Hey, N/n,” James tried to say with a bright smile on his face. I scoffed and turned around, followed by Kai. The four exchanged glances before quickly following.

“You four have 5 minutes to explain to me what you did and I am giving you guys one day to pay me back,” I said sternly when we sat in the car.

Lloyd POV:

It was almost ten when Kai came walking into the monastery with an exhausted look on his face. Me and the others were seated in the couch, watching a movie.

“Lloyd,” he started and I looked over at him. “You’ve got one rich girlfriend with a bunch of idiotic friends,” he said and let out a heavy sigh.

“I am going to bed, I am so lost and confused, that girl is going to be our downfall, Jesus fuckign Christ,” he went grumbling down the hallway as we all laughed at him.

The next day, it was the third of December, and I had in fact, remembered the song that Y/n and her friends had made us listen to.

So, now I was making my way over to her house to personally hand her one of my sweaters before I had to back to the monastery and train with the others.

I knocked on the door and one of their staff opened up, smiling at me when she recognised me.

“Y/n, Lloyd is here!” She called up the stairs.

“Coming!” I heard my girlfriend yell before footsteps came running down the stairs. “Thank you,” she thanked her staff member before smiling at me.

“Lloyd, I thought you said you couldn’t hang out,” she leaned against the doorframe, a bit out of breath.

“Yeah, I can’t, but I came to bring you this,” I handed her the sweater and her mouth fell open slightly while the corners of her lips curled up.

She gave me an amazed look before crashing into me to hug me. “Thank you so much!” She said and kissed my cheek, making me chuckle.

“I need to get going now, but I’ll see you Tuesday, I’m covering for Kai’s self defence lessons,” I let her know and she grinned at me.

“I’ll see you then,” she said, giving me a quick peck on the lips before closing the door again.

God did I love her.

[azeretha]

In the middle of the night

Word count: 1368

He didn't know how to proceed. It was already night and he had been staring at papers and evidence for several hours. It was already painful to hold his wings upright. His mate was sleeping in the next room and all he wanted to do was go lay down next to her and cuddle with her. Or maybe he would wake her up the way she likes. Gods, there were so many things he would rather be doing than what he was doing now.

"Why are not you sleeping?" he turned his head and saw his intelligent, brave, clever and of course beautiful mate standing and leaning against the door frame. Her beautiful long hair was in a bun and she also had a headband that kept all her hair out of her face. Her eyes watched him with a reprimanding look and her body. That body. Her arms were crossed and her fingernails were painted with dark blue nail polish, one of her small signs of rebellion against society and the dress code. She was wearing his black sleeping tunic and loose pants.

"All the clothes you're wearing right now are mine," he said with one corner of his lips up.

She rolled her eyes. How he adored it when she did it. "Since my dear friend prefers to spend his time with peppers, I have to find something that will hug me at least a little while I sleep," he just spread his arms in response and his companion made her way to him.

She sat on his lap and he wrapped his huge arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. She smelled like lavender. "I'm sorry, beautiful. I just don't know how to move forward in this case. It doesn't make sense," she looked into his eyes. He showed her everything in them. Fatigue, what he felt for her and also where he would rather be. Sighing, she looked back at the papers.

"So what do we know?"

"We know?" he asked. He loved it when she said that. They were a team and they were equal.

And so he began to explain everything to her. Who. Why. What he figured out and what he didn't understand. During that time, she listened and made them coffee.

They spent hours on it. Papers were everywhere. On the couch. On the table. Even on the walls. The whole room turned into a research zone.

"It's the wife!" his chosen one screamed.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "How did you find out?"

She started to explain to him how she came up with it. She was running around the room and he was listening and watching her. When she finished, she turned to him and waited for his reaction.

He watched her in dumb amazement and didn't know which part of her to focus on "Why are wives so clever?"

"Because our partners will search us," she replied confidently.

"Because our husbands don't pay attention to us," she answered confidently.

Azriel stood up with all his confidence and arrogance. He approached her thoughtfully until he came to her. She didn't back down. She never backed down. “This husband and mate don't. This one admires his wife and mate and will adore her more than she can handle.”

She took a step closer to him and looked confidently into his eyes. "She can handle a lot. More than he could possibly imagine."

He took the headband off her head and let down her beautiful hair. He put them away from her right shoulder and whispered in her ear “Many people have told him that he has a great imagination. And also that he is very creative," he rolled up his tunic with his hands and pulled her close.

"Does he have any references? ,” her voice cracked. He kept hugging her hips with his hands and slowly kissed her neck.

He rolled up the tunic slowly but surely. He moved tunic from her hips to her waist until it reached the sides of her breasts. "Beauty raise your hands," she raised. The tunic fell to the ground. He looked at the woman he belonged to. Her head was proudly held high and her chin up. The long neck was a huge attraction for him. He spent hours there, hidden from the world. And then the breasts. Flat stomach and hips on which his pants barely held. He went back to those eyes. They stood there now facing each other like two rivals. Both of them were naked from the waist up and neither of them moved. They were both more than competitive.

"Together?" she asked him in that husky voice.

At the same moment, they rushed towards each other. They kissed as if they hadn't seen each other for months. Azriel picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was holding her back and she was focusing on his neck. She was leaving marks that he belonged only to her and he adored it.

Slowly and as gently as he could, he laid her down on the carpet. "What reward does my wife want for being so intelligent?"She started pulling his pants down with her feet. "I understand." He watched her all the time and made sure to be attentive.

When he opened his eyes, he was instantly blinded by the light. At that moment, his brain started receiving stimuli. Undrawn curtains. His mate lying next to him with her bare back and hair in all directions. She was breathing calmly, which symbolized that she was still asleep. And pounding on the door. Who would… Cassian. Training. He is going to kill him.

He stood up and couldn't find his pants. And so, out of the decency that he managed to muster, he took the blanket that was thrown over the chair and wrapped it around his waist. The closer he got to the door, the more he wanted to kill his brother and make sure his body would never be found again. However, he would not want to face Nesta, so he threw this idea into the trash in his mind. He opened the door and there he stood before him. "What do you want?"

"Why didn't you come to training?" direct question.

"Because I was asleep," direct answer.

"That's what I thought when I look at you now. And why did you fall asleep?" he would like to knock that crooked smile off his face if his wife did not appear before him.

"What you want?" she looked more bored than when he once took her to practice. Right after the training, she declared to him that her weapon will remain her brain and the ability to smile at people she would rather throw into the nearest lake.

"Your dear, he didn't come to training so I came to make sure he's alright. And it looks like he is,” Azriel's thoughts about his brother's death drifted back to the main goals of the day.

His dear took a long breath and kept staring at Cassian “And?”

"And? Do you know what will happen to his body?” Cassian and his bullshit.

She looked at Azriel and he wrapped an arm around her waist in support. "Not much. But you will definitely be happy to tell me."

Cassian started throwing his arms around and she just watched him. "His body…"

"I'll stop you here. The body we're talking about and can look at is in perfect shape and it's partly thanks to me. So now this is what happens. I'll slam the door on your face and then I and my mate will be locked in this apartment for several hours. Maybe days. And this," she gave him all the documents for the work we did during the night. "You can take it to your friend Rhysand when you're so active. We will be very grateful to you. And now excuse us," she slammed the door in his face as she promised and turned back to her lover.

He gave her a proud smile. "Bed or carpet?"

"The wall."

Gods, how he loved her.

[spacesquidlings]

Interlude for Lunch

Being invited to Rafayel's studio that morning had promised a lazy, sleepy day spent with him while he painted, and yet it was quickly turning into something more as she tried taking care of her hungry, tired artist in pain.

Pairing: Rafayel x MC Tags: Fluff, comfort, implied/established relationship, domestic-ness Taglist: @aluneposting

A long, drawn out groan drew her from her reverie.

She had been reading, half-asleep on the couch in Rafayel’s studio. Soft blankets had been strewn across it, pillows fluffed until they were puffy as cotton-candy clouds. Honeyed sunlight had spilled from the windows, washing over the floors and furniture like a gauzy veil.

It had been as alluring as a siren song, and she had nestled into it as Rafayel had painted. He’d called her that morning, asking her to come over, but when she’d arrived he’d only waved a hand, telling her to make herself comfortable as he’d frowned at his painting.

So she had, settling into the couch that had suspiciously been covered in all her favourite blankets. It had been far too easy to doze, even though she’d tried valiantly to remain awake, focusing her attention on the book she’d brought with her. But the blankets had been so soft, and the pillows so fluffy, and the sun so warm.

The snatches of melodies Rafayel had hummed had been the proverbial nail in the coffin, like scraps of a lullaby woven together in the air, soft and serene, lulling her to sleep.

But when he groaned, loud and raspy and full of distress, she snapped awake at once, bleary eyes searching for him in the cavernous room that served as his studio.

She found Rafayel leaning back on a stool, teetering precariously close to the edge, his head thrown back. His bangs spilled back, a mess of lavender and lilac and violet as the light caught in it. He had tossed his paintbrush to the side, trailing a line of azure as it rolled across the floor, one of his hands gripping at his wrist.

“Rafayel?” She struggled to stand, the blankets tangled and knotted around her legs. “Darling? What’s wrong?”

He leaned further back, very nearly toppling backwards as he spied her. “You’re awake.”

“Of course I am.” Finally she managed to free herself from the tangle of blankets, getting to her feet and crossing the room towards him. “I heard you. Are you okay?”

He clicked his tongue as he straightened, still clutching his wrist as he stood. “My wrists have been hurting all morning, and now I can hardly hold a paintbrush.”

“What?” She hurried to him, hands outstretched towards him.

He raised his brows, but made no comment as she took his hands, prying away the one that was clinging to his wrist.

“When did the pain start?” She squeezed his wrists gently, trying to feel for swelling, a bruise, a broken bone, anything. “Did you do anything yesterday? Why did you go to the doctor? Why did you keep painting today?”

He sighed, flipping his hands over and wrapping his fingers around her wrists. “You’re asking the questions too fast for me to answer.”

“Oh.” Heat bloomed in her cheeks and she ducked her head, staring at the dried paint splattered across the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey.”

She looked back up, finding amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Don’t pout,” he chided, shaking his head even as he gave her an impish smile. “I’m already hurt, are you really going to make me feel worse?”

She ground her teeth together, looking away as his smile grew wider. “My mistake, you must not be hurt that badly if you’re making jokes.”

She tried to pull away, but his fingers tightened on her, yanking her back before she’d even taken a full step away.

“Wait.” His eyes widened, his smile melting into a frown. If little pinpricks of silver had appeared at the corners of his eyes she wouldn’t have been surprised.

She conceded, letting him reel her back in. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

He looked down, a line forming between his brows as he dropped her hands, squeezing his wrists again. “I’d been hit with some inspiration, so I spent all of yesterday painting. When I woke up this morning they were hurting, but I thought it would go away once I started painting again.”

She frowned, reaching for his hands again.

“Being awfully touchy today, huh,” he said, the corner of his lip twitching.

She remained silent, glowering at him until he wilted, muttering a half-apology.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked

“Well I was gonna,” he whined. He shifted from foot-to-foot, and the image of a sulking child coming home with scrapes all over him rose in her mind, refusing to make eye contact as he shuffled his feet. “But I forgot.”

“You forgot?” She blinked. “You made it sound like it’s been making it impossible to paint.”

He rolled his eyes with a huff. Definitely a petulant child. “Well it hasn’t made it impossible, but I wanted to get as much done as I could while I was inspired, and whenever you’re around I feel more creative…” He trailed off, glaring at the far wall. “I got distracted, but now it hurts too much to work on any of the finer details.”

She hummed in acknowledgement, warmth like the first blush of light as the sun rose spreading rosy fingers through her chest, reaching through the spaces between her ribs.

‘Whenever you’re around I feel more creative…’

She would save that to tease him with for later.

But right now she was worried about the pain in his wrists, and even more worried that he’d tried to work through it, that he probably would have ignored it entirely until it got so much worse.

“Have you ever had this kind of pain before?”

A shake of his head, as dramatic as a stage-actor embellishing their movements. “No, never!” His words were an exclamation, loud and exasperated. He heaved out a long breath, shoulders rising and falling, head tossed to the side. “This has never happened before.”

“Rafayel…” She trailed off, flipping his hands up then down, palms to the ceiling, to the floor, her fingers carefully probing to see if she could find anything.

“It’s probably nothing,” he groaned, slumping forward now, head very nearly knocking into hers. “But I can’t finish my painting while it hurts!”

He jerked his head back up so quickly he nearly knocked their foreheads together. She barely had a moment to lean back before he was peering up at her, crocodile tears shining in his eyes, his bottom lip quivering like he was about to sob. “What if I run out of inspiration? It took me weeks to find it!”

She sighed, giving his wrists a squeeze. “Before we jump to the worst case scenario, we need to handle this, okay?”

He groaned, tossing against his shoulder, slumping sideways like he might spill onto the floor. “How can we handle it? Are you going to swim into the ocean to find wishing fish to cure me?”

She blinked. “Are those real?”

“You really need to be less trusting.”

She groaned, rolling her own eyes now. “Come on, Rafayel. I’m worried about you, you don’t take care of yourself.”

“Excuse me?” He scoffed, looking offended. “I take care of myself perfectly well. It sounds to me like someone is making things up!”

She frowned, pulling out her phone to check the time. “Did you eat breakfast?”

There was a short intake of breath, like he was about to answer, and then…

Nothing.

She looked back up to see him pouting, looking away as he puffed out his cheeks.

“You didn’t eat breakfast, did you?”

He yanked himself from her grip, crossed his arms, shielding himself from her. He puffed his cheeks out even more, still refusing to answer.

She giggled, unable to resist poking his cheek. “You know it’s the middle of the afternoon, right?”

Still no answer. All she got in response was Rafayel half-turning away from her, wrinkling his nose as he shot her a scathing look from the corner of his eye.

She reached for him again, settling her hands just below his shoulders. “Come with me, love.”

He looked back at her, his expression softening, although his tone was still thick with suspicion. “What are you planning?”

“I’m planning-” she took the opening to take his arm, dragging him towards the couch. “To get you to sit down so we can get you feeling better.”

“Hey. Hey!” Although he protested, he did not stop her from pulling him from his painting, nor did he stop her from nearly shoving him against the cushions of the couch.

“If you wanted me to sit you could have just asked,” he whined, squeezing his wrists again. “I’m delicate, you know. You have to be gentle with me.”

The memory of the last time she’d been unwell surfaced in her mind, Rafayel dragging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and all but chucking her onto the bed and telling her to rest.

“Mmmm,” she hummed instead, unlocking her phone and opening her delivery app. “Okay, baby. First of all, let’s get you something to eat.”

He groaned, eyes rolling so high all she could see were the whites as he threw himself back against the cushions.

Delicate indeed.

“I’m fine,” he groaned, waving his hand in the air. “I’m not hungry, I just want my wrists to stop hurting!”

She clicked her tongue. “You need to eat something, Rafayel. It’ll make you feel a little better.”

He wrinkled his nose, turning his head to the side with a huff.

“Alright.” She widened her eyes theatrically, waving her phone at him. “So if I order you a large garden salad with no toppings, that will be fine?”

“No, I don’t want that.” Suddenly he was up, trying to snatch the phone from her hands as he protested. “If you’re going to order something, order something good.”

“Oh? Like what?” She pulled her phone just out of reach, pressing her palm against his chest to stop him from grabbing it. “What do you think would be good?”

“Well not a salad.” He made another grab for her phone, narrowly missing. “And don’t go ordering that awful sushi like you did last time.”

“What do you mean, awful?” She gaped at him, mildly offended. She’d really liked the sushi she’d ordered last, the crispy bits along the sides adding a nice little crunch and the sauce being perfectly spicy. “I thought it was good!”

“Not only are you guileless, but you have no taste for seafood, either.” He grabbed her wrist, sliding her hand from his chest and lunging forward.

She laughed, rolling to the side and nearly falling from the couch to stop him from snatching her phone. “What is that even supposed to mean?!”

“It means,” he huffed, cheeks puffing out again, pouting at his loss. “That if you want seafood, you should just ask me to make it, and not order from some overpriced restaurant.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she giggled, clutching her phone to her chest as she readjusted, sitting up on the couch once more. “But I don’t want you to cook right now when your wrists hurt.”

“I wouldn’t cook anyways,” he grumbled, leaning back. A light began shining in his eyes, and the corners of his lips turned up in mischief. “Unless you asked very nicely.”

She hummed, choosing not to acknowledge him. Instead, she scrolled through the delivery options on her phone, reading them off to see his reaction.

“Pasta?”

“Are you kidding? It’ll make me too sleepy to keep painting.”

“Soup?”

“That’s hardly filling.”

She sighed, rolling her eyes. “What about curry? There’s a place that does really nice Thai curry.”

He narrowed his eyes, nose wrinkling. “Fine, if it makes you happy.”

“You have to eat it, too, Rafayel,” she pointed out. “You are going to eat it. Right?”

He groaned, throwing his head back, draping his arm across his face. “You’re not giving me much of a choice, are you?”

She beamed. “No.”

“Fine.”

She tried passing her phone to him, but he waved her off, turning to the side so he looked every bit the troubled damsel. “Choose whatever.”

“Are you sure?”

He sighed, long and drawn out, like the wind whistling across ocean waves. “Yes, I’m sure. Just make sure it’s a red curry, and make sure it’s not too spicy.”

She had to bite back a smirk as he continued listing off his preferences. He wanted to pay extra for shrimp, he wanted jasmine rice not white rice, he wanted one made with coconut milk if they had it.

“Anything else?” She asked, hovering her finger over the ‘order’ button.

He peaked up from beneath his arm. “Don’t forget to order something for yourself, too. When’s the last time you ate?”

“Hey.” She pouted, wrinkling her nose to mimic him. “You’re the one who didn’t even eat breakfast.”

He shrugged. “I was hard at work chasing my inspiration. What’s your excuse?”

“I did eat breakfast.”

“Good, and now you can eat lunch.” He reached out to tap her phone screen. “Order something for yourself, I’ll pay.”

At that she balked, her stomach roiling; she hated making people spend money on her, hated being an inconvenience, a burden. “That’s okay, Rafayel. You’re the one who’s hurt, I don’t want you to waste your money on…”

The glare he fixed her with was sharp as his daggers, hot as flame. She felt her skin warm, burn beneath the force of it.

“It’s not a waste,” he said, his tone a proclamation, an insistence buoyed by sparks that billowed into fire as they caught on kindling.

“I-” She was a little dazed, speechless in the face of the sting in his tone.

He drew in a deep breath, sighed slowly, his expression slowly softening, the lines around his eyes fading. “If you expect me to eat, then you have to eat, too. You need your energy just as much as I do.”

She hummed, trying to discern whether he was teasing her or being genuine. “Why? Are you planning something?”

His smile turned wry. “Who knows? Maybe I had something planned once I finished this painting.” He wiggled his fingers in the air. “Although that probably won’t happen now, since I’ll never finish the painting.”

“You’ll finish your painting,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, you’re acting like you’re going to lose your hands.”

“And what if I am?” He whined. “You’ll have to hand-feed me my lunch. You’ll have to move in to take care of me.”

“Wow, I’m so honoured you’d want me to live with you just to take care of you,” she said, tone dry.

“Well there might be other reasons, too.” His smile was infuriating, smug and enigmatic at once. “But that would be my excuse.”

“I’m touched.”

He rolled his eyes, making another grab for her phone. “Just hurry up and order, I feel like a fish drying up on the beach.”

She snorted, quickly tapping in what she wanted and hitting ‘order.’

“There,” she said, tucking her phone back into her pocket. “At least I can make sure you’ll eat something.”

He tipped his head to the side, propping it up with his fist. “You know, if you’re that worried about me eating, you should come over more often to remind me. And bring me my favourite snacks.”

“I already stock your favourite snacks at home,” she said, ignoring the way her heart fluttered, fast as the beat of hummingbird wings, at how the light touched his eyes, how his bangs fell over his brow, half-covering one eye. His hair was soft, she knew it was, and her fingers tingled with the sudden need to touch it, to smooth it back.

“Yes, but you don’t bring them over,” he countered, brows rising. “How am I supposed to eat them when they’re at your house?”

“I gave you a key,” she reminded him. She gave him a light kick, earning a feigned huff of pain. “You’re in my house more than I am.”

The corners of his lips turned down, a waning crescent moon lost in the indigo sea of the night. “Well you should come over here more. Maybe it will convince me to keep more food in the house.”

“And if I ask very nicely, will you cook too?” She parroted his words from earlier back at him, even as fluttering wingbeats swooped in her belly and embers caught on the pyres beneath her skin.

“Maybe,” he hedged, his lips quivering, like he was trying to hold back his smile. “If I don’t lose my hands before then.”

“Here,” she leaned forward, holding her hands. “Give me one of your hands.”

“You’re not going to do something weird to it, are you?” He sounded dubious, but he gave her one of his hands, settling it between her two cupped palms. 

It was so much larger than hers, dwarfing both her hands in comparison. She swallowed, butterfly wings forcefully fluttering against the borders of her body, trying to escape.

“Yes, I plan to steal the artistic talent from your hands,” she teased, ignoring the cascade of wings, the rise of heat in her chest. She slid her fingers to his wrist, gently pressing her thumbs into the spaces between the joints at the centre, feeling the flit of his own pulse. “I’m going to be the famous painter now, and you can protect me.”

“Don’t know how much protecting I’ll be able to do with useless hands.” Now he was smiling, his eyes bright, the blue seeming to deepen, a blue like ocean tides. “But I can certainly try my best.”

She started with small circles, pressing them gently into the middle of his wrist, pausing frequently to make sure he was comfortable, that she wasn’t hurting him.

“You know you should probably do wrist and hand exercises,” she mused, sliding her thumbs to the sides of his wrist, repeating the same small circles at the sides. “I think you can find some online if you look. And you should rest more often and do some stretches.”

Rafayel scoffed, although it sounded weak, strained. When she looked up he was steadfastly staring at the ceiling, his lips pulled into a pout.

“I mean it,” she continued, sketching her fingertips over the back of his hand. “If you don’t, you really are going to lose your hands! And then you won’t ever be able to paint again.”

“Oh please.” He pouted harder, lines creasing between his brows. He tilted his head back more, although she could feel his gaze on her, watching her careful ministrations.

“No it’s true.” It was difficult, holding back her smile, and she had to lower her head, letting her bangs act as a veil between her face and his searching eyes. “When pain like this gets too extreme they just chop people’s hands right off.”

She could feel as he shifted, as he leaned towards her, and she could only imagine the narrowing of his eyes, the jut of his lip from his pout.

“No it’s not,” he said, but there was hesitation in his voice.

She only hummed in response, pressing her thumbs over each individual finger bone, delicately adding pressure and sliding up towards his wrist. His skin was soft, and warm, and she could feel the small calluses on his hand from holding his paintbrush, and from what she could only assume was wielding his daggers.

The roughness was strange, at odds with the softness of his skin, and her mind wandered each time her fingers brushed against one, remembering the feel of his palm against her cheek, the back of her neck, against her own palm whenever he took her hand.

It was far too easy to get distracted, for her thoughts to melt away and heat to billow in her chest and belly, from the storm of flitting gossamer wings, from the rush of her beating heart, from the lingering smell of cologne underneath the sting of the smell of paint.

“I guess this is it for me,” he groaned, flopping backwards again. Now she did look up, snorting in laughter as he tossed his free arm over his face again, slumping against the couch like a ragdoll.

Focusing on his dramatics made it easier to ignore the nonsensical thoughts rising like a wave, threatening to crash over her. She could feel her senses drifting away, caught in his undertow and whisked out to sea. There was only Rafayel, and the weight of his hand in hers, and the smell of him, and the song of his voice.

But it was his words, and his melodrama, that fell like an anchor, holding her in place where she would have been lost in the ocean of what was rising in her heart. And she held onto that anchor for dear life, knowing that if she slipped he would tease her relentlessly, an incessant waterfall of jokes and teasing that would leave her flustered and furious.

And then he would do something equally infuriating, like taking her face and kissing her stupid, until he was the only thing occupying her mind.

As if he wasn’t already the only thing occupying her mind.

Warmth was beginning to bloom in her cheeks, unfurling like wildflowers, one petal at a time. But Rafayel didn’t notice, or if he did he didn’t much care, too wrapped up in his whingeing.

“I’ll never be able to lift a paintbrush again,” he groused, back arching as he took a deep breath, then collapsing against the couch all over again. “I’ll have to make you paint everything for me, so my inspiration doesn’t go to waste.”

She arched a brow as she flipped his hand over, pressing her thumbs into the centre of his palm. His fingers curled over slightly, brushing against the backs of her hands, a shiver going through her at the touch.

It was only through sheer willpower was she able to keep her body steady, massaging circles into the very centre of his palm, slowly working towards the sides of his hand and down towards his fingers.

“What do you mean you’ll make me paint everything?” She asked. “I’m not the professional artist.”

“And who’s been adding those doodles in the corners of my sketchbook.”

She kept her focus trained on his hand, the weight of his gaze bearing down on her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“You can’t fool me.” He leaned forward, flicking her forehead with his free hand. “I’m not the one with seaweed for brains. I know it was you.”

She puffed out her cheeks, petulance growing like bubbles in her chest. “And what if it was?”

“It means you’ll be the one painting for me when I lose my hands. And it means you’ll have to spend more time here.”

Her lips lifted of their own accord, the rough peevishness replaced by a rose-stained warmth. It was golden sunshine seeping across the horizon, indigo bleeding into lavender and cerise. An excuse to spend more time with him, close at his side, was welcome as the dawn, as desired as sun-warmed waves foaming around her ankles.

He was always finding reasons to appear at her door unannounced, but she felt forever nervous whenever she considered visiting him. She did not want to distract him from his work, did not want to be a nuisance that took up space when he needed things in exact, particular ways as he created. She did not want to be needy, to be seen as clingy and desperate, her skin prickling at just the thought of him regarding her poorly, of scoffing at her and sending her away because he couldn’t deal with someone clinging to him at all hours of the day.

She was needy though, and she craved his presence, the feelings sticky as honey. It clung to her skin and the back of her throat, clogging her veins and the valves and pumps of her heart. With each breath she could feel it, pooling in her lungs, choking out the air, each intake of oxygen fruitless as she drowned in her own neediness.

She did not know what to say that would have hidden such things from view, so she hummed instead, massaging around his knuckles. If she spoke she would surely reveal herself, and the mess of her heart.

Rafayel clicked his tongue, oblivious to the riot of her mind, the disarray of her heart. “Although we would need to get you some art lessons; your understanding of colour is abysmal.”

She could not look up, her face burning now, as if he’d set her alight with his own flames. “You know they don’t actually chop your hands off,” she said, whisper-soft. She needed to focus, on the moment, on his theatrics, on his hand cradled between two of hers.

She was trying to help him, to take care of him as best she could. Not to melt into a puddle of yearning, her mind utterly bewitched by the touch of his hand.

“But you do have to take care of yourself more,” she said, louder now, more firm. She lowered his hand, beckoning for him to give her the other one. “If you don’t do stretches and exercises regularly there can be a lot of issues in the future. You won’t lose your hands, but it might become too difficult to hold a paintbrush.”

As she repeated the process all over again, starting with his wrist, slowly making her way around it before pressing the pads of her thumbs into the back of his hand, she could feel his body slumping back again. The cushions beneath them shifted, his free hand dangling over the side of the couch. He groaned, eyes squeezing closed as he shook his head. “Do I have to? Surely this is only a one-time thing.”

“Rafayel.” She said his name like a sigh, closing her own eyes. “If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me. I’m always worried about you.”

When she opened her eyes again his face had become a riot of colours, brilliant vermillion and deep carmine. Splatters of scarlet and crimson, of peach and strawberry, seeped across his face, vanishing beneath his hair. His eyes seemed all the brighter, the blue nearly drowning the red with its intensity. They were bright as gems, a vivid cerulean that she could have drowned in, lured into its depths by his siren song.

It took her breath away, made her own face burn, flames licking up her bones, racing along her veins, singeing her heart. Had she any further words to say, they were gone now, consumed by the heat of the fire in her cheeks, in the flush covering every inch of her body.

But it was Rafayel who spoke next, or tried to, anyways. He looked at the ceiling, at the wall, down at their joined hands. He cleared his throat, ran his fingers through his hair, letting it fall at odd angles as he looked up again, anywhere but at her.

“O-oh?” His chest rose, fell, eyes trailing over some detail she wasn’t focused on. All her focus was on him, even the stammer of his voice mesmerizing. She was enthralled, lost to him despite her best efforts.

He covered his cheek, still refusing to meet her gaze. “You-you worry about me all the time?”

She nodded. “I do.”

Like a switch being flipped, his eyes finally cut to hers, the red returning in a blaze of fire. His brows drew low, lines deepening between them. “Well maybe you should come over more often, then, and you wouldn’t have to worry.”

Had she said something wrong? “Rafayel, it’s not that I don’t want to think about you, I just want you to be okay.”

“Then you should come over more,” he said. Although his expression softened, his tone was no less insistent. “I’ll be okay as long as you’re here.”

The breath went out of her then, her heart thrumming so quickly she didn’t feel it at all.

She opened her mouth, not even sure what she would say, only that she had to say something, the taste of her own neediness in the back of her throat.

Only to jump at the ring of the doorbell.

She gasped from the suddenness of it, feeling wild as she jerked her head to the side, towards the door.

Rafayel swore, the hand she’d been holding suddenly gripping her own, like he was the one anchoring himself in a storm. “Hey, baby-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as loud raps cut through the air, severing the last strand of the spell they had woven.

Grumbling, he shoved himself to his feet. “I’ll get it!”

More loud raps, impatient.

“I said I’ll get it!”

She sat, stunned, watching as Rafayel vanished from the room. She was left with nothing but a tingling in her hands, the echo of his warmth beside her, and the smell of the paint drying on the canvas.

She stared down at her hands, where she’d cradled his only moments ago. Severed from her anchor, lost in a storm, the ocean carrying her far away to somewhere unknown. That moment had been like wine, heady and intoxicating, leaving her senseless. If the doorbell had not rang, what would she have said? Would she have told him? Would she have admitted to her need, her yearning for his presence?

She didn’t have a chance to wonder for long, a cold pop-can pressed against her burning cheek.

“Here,” Rafayel said, waiting for her to take it from his hand. “The food’s arrived.”

Quietly she nodded, taking the bag he offered her next.

Silence descended, a heavy mantle that stifled everything but the beat of her heart, so loud it pulsed in her ears, so insistent she could feel it in her fingertips.

It was even, rhythmic, the beat to a song she could not quite place.

He settled beside her, rifling through the takeout bags and divvying up the food.

“I meant it, you know,” he said, a knife slicing through the quiet, shattering the stained glass of the moment. “You should come over more.”

She fiddled with her food, daring a glance at him. “Why is that?”

A shrug. “For my health, and my art. And just because.”

She hummed, poking at her food. Her belly churned, her heart beating all the fiercer at the meaning hidden in his words.

He wanted to see her more, he wanted her near more.

She was so worried that he would see her as needy, as pathetic, and yet was he not admitting the same thing that she kept hidden? The need to be closer, to be near?

Only then did she understand; the song that her heart was a part of. That it was for him. That she wanted it to be for him. And if he wanted her close, and she wanted to be close, then couldn’t she let the song play until its final note?

“Rafayel?” 

He arched a brow at the sound of his name, turning to look at her fully “Yes?”

Her heart was in her throat, each word another note, another part of the melody. She could taste the sweetness of it, like honey, but she did not fear it, did not feel it cloying her senses as she’d once been certain it would. “Then, could I come over again? Tomorrow?”

He blinked, a flicker like silver beneath waves in his eyes. Then he was smiling, wide and infuriatingly smug and utterly wonderful. “You really can’t wait to see me again, can you?”

She really couldn’t, giddiness bubbling golden-bright. “Maybe I just want to make sure you don’t push yourself too hard, and actually eat regularly.”

He snorted. “A likely story.” He paused, his eyes softening. “I’ll make sure things are ready for you, so you can come over whenever you want.”

“Won’t you get tired of me? If I come over all the time?” She scooted closer, a flower basking in the light of the sun.

Light as the breeze, his fingers brushed across her temple, slipping over her hair. “No, I could never be tired of you.”

He lowered his hand, sudden sharpness shooting through her face as he pinched her cheek. “So you’d better come over all the time, and you’d better not make me wait. And if you don’t then I’ll come find you.”

Laughing, she pushed his hand away. “I promise, I’ll come over all the time.”

His gaze burned, bright as flames for the briefest of moments before he leaned back, nodding once. “Good. And if my hands start hurting you can help me again, I already know what I want to paint next.”

“Okay.” She spoke softly, smiling down into her food, joy flickering like colourful tails beneath the waves, like sunlight across water.

Tomorrow spread before her, and all the tomorrows after that, as boundless as the sea. And perhaps she would lose herself, and she would be dragged away by the tide. But he would be with her, his smile, his laughter, his maddening teasing, and even the force of the ocean’s waves could not tear that away.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System pt. 2

Thanks for reading! I figure if I can get this out of my head I can get on with the other stuff.... or I'll just be compelled to write more Roy. Who knows?!

MASTERLIST

Chapter 2

Shrieks and giggles and thundering footsteps sounded throughout Sara's house. You sat at either end of the sofa with a large glass of wine and rolled your eyes. 

"I can't decide if someone's going to get hurt or…"

"Nah, they're fine," sudden silence, Sara looked up to the ceiling, "I think…" The giggles returned and she relaxed. "Andy didn't fancy helping out yesterday afternoon then?"

"He had plans apparently." You sigh. "I don't get how he can be this super organised dad for years and then decide he's not that person anymore."

"He's punishing you. For having a better job, for the long hours and the commuting. Typical 'this is what I've been doing for ages, you should be able to do it too?' bullshit. Phebs dad did the same till he buggered off completely."

"He knew my job was tricky, it's never been flexible - that's not new information. Now I'm trying to force flexibility and redo how I work."

"You'll find a balance. It'll take time."

"I just wanted to show Lexie that mum's can have great jobs. That I can do both. I totally fell for the you can have it all bullshit. You can have it all as long as you sacrifice yourself to do it." She patted your knee in comfort. 

"You can have it all. Just never expect to eat a hot meal, shower in peace, or have sex ever again."

"I haven't had any of those things in years anyway!" You laugh. 

"You have half a week alone now - you've never had that before! Time to introduce eating dinner and having sex!"

"It's the weirdest thing. The house is so quiet." A thud comes from upstairs. 

"I know, it's bizarre. Even if Phoebe's not here, I still do everything the same."

"Are we saddos?"

"Definitely. I guess that rules out the sex."

"Hmmm. I guess so!" You'd ordered pizzas for dinner and put on a Disney film for the girls. Sara could do French plaits, but you couldn't, so she braided hair while you painted nails. The girls loved every second. The following morning, Sara, with a rare full weekend off, was taking Phoebe to the Richmond game. She'd text Roy the night before and asked for two extra tickets for you and Lexie. While she was wrangling the girls to the breakfast table, the front door knocked, so you went to answer it. Roy had his back to you, but turned at the sound of the door opening. You were suddenly very conscious of your matching sleep shorts and t-shirt - he looked great in dark jeans and a black henley. He looked from your bare feet, up your legs. Thank god you'd put a bra on. 

"Mornin'" he said gruffly, handing her two tickets, "these are for Sara. Yours will be at the ticket office."

"Oh, thank you. Do you want some money for the tickets?" You turn to find your bag on the coat hooks. 

"Don't be fucking daft, course I don't. You might want to put some more clothes on though, it's cold." He was heading back down the garden path before he'd finished speaking. 

"Duh. I don't exactly go out in public like this." You called.

"Shame." You heard as he rounded the corner to his car. 

"Prick." You had no idea why Phoebe was so obsessed with this rude uncle who took the piss out of everyone. 

~~~~~~~

By the time you'd all gotten dressed and wrapped up, it was nearly time for the match. You walked round to Nelson Road, stopping at the ticket office to collect the tickets he'd left in your name. The noise in the stadium was unreal. It was mid March and the team didn't have long left till the end of the season, they were doing well and everyone had high hopes. Your seats were in the designated family area just behind the dugout. High above you was the owners box and directly in front of you were the Richmond team and coaching staff. Phoebe and Lexie were already joining in the chants and cheers around them. The combination of two 9 year old girls made them significantly louder than normal, Roy turned to seek them out and gave the girls a little wave, catching your eye as he did so.

"Does it remind you of loving boy bands when we were girls?" Sara asked as the stadium began it's 'Jamie Tartt doo doo doo doo' song. 

"Oh yeah, your brother is a real Robbie Williams!" You laugh. The team wins and you have to practically tear the girls apart when it's time to leave. "You'll see each other tomorrow." You reason, but it's not enough. "Why don't we pick Phoebe up in the morning and I'll take you both together?" That suggestion elicits some cheers. 

"Are you sure? I'm on early so I'll be leaving at 6am but Roy will be there. He comes straight from training Jamie at some stupid hour of the morning."

"That's fine, collect her from yours - about 7.30?"

"Yeah perfect, I'll let Roy know you'll be there." 

"Great, hear that girls? We'll get Phoebe and I'll take you both to school." The girls finally seem appeased and you manage to separate them. The rest of the afternoon you spend trying to straighten up the house, do Lexie's homework and cooking. You make sense of the coming week, Lexie gets collected by her dad on Wednesday afternoon so you know that the back half of the week can afford to be crazier and busier. Bathtime and bedtime are quick to arrive and once Lexie's settled, you finally get to sit on the sofa in silence. Sara has text to thank you for a lovely couple of days, and she's sent you Roy's number should you ever need it. Lexie is so excited to see Phoebe the next day that it takes a lot less arguing, bribery and shouting to get ready for school. You find a little extra time to put some effort in yourself with a black shift dress, heels and your hair loose around your shoulders.

"Mum, your hair looks so cute!" Lexie says happily. 

"Thanks bun. Let me brush your hair, see this is what happens when we both have time to get ready properly! No shouting and we both look smart." Lexie rolled her eyes, 

"Yeah yeah. Let's go get Phebs!"

"We'll be too early if we go now, love."

"Pleeeeease?" You check your watch, way too early but hopefully Roy won't be too much of a dick about it. It's a tube day today so you walk the short journey to Sara's. It's Phoebe who flings open the door and the two girls are inseparable once more. 

"You're really early, better come in." Roy calls from the kitchen. 

"We're walking to school so not that early." You clarify. He looks at your shoes, skeptical. 

"Walking to school then to the tube? You must be mad. I'm going past the school, I'll drive and drop you off at the station after." 

"You don't need to do that."

"I know, but I'm only going to end up driving past you in about 20 minutes anyway." He arches an eyebrow, daring you to argue. He pours another cup of coffee and hands it to you. "Besides, now you've got time to for a coffee before your day starts." You take the cup,

"Thank you." The girls come back to the kitchen, angling for extra breakfast so Roy opens a cupboard and hands them little chocolate croissants.

"Lexie's mum, you look lovely and your hair is beautiful today."

"Thanks Phoebe, that's very kind of you." You see her elbow Roy, 

"Doesn't she look lovely uncle Roy."

"Yeah, you look lovely."

"Thank you. Again." You blush, hiding your laugh behind your cup. 

"Got everything girls? We're goin' in a minute." You both finish your coffee while the girls get their bags and coats. Roy's 4x4 feels huge, he holds the door open for you at the same time as he does the same for Phoebe, then goes around to let Lexie in. 

"If this car wasn't so big, maybe it wouldn't be so easy to block you in?" You tease as he starts the car. He looks at you and for the briefest second you think he's angry, then he laughs and it's a low, deep chuckle which lights up his face and makes you feel warm in your belly. You jump out to take the girls into school while he turns the car around and then all too soon, you're outside the station. 

"Did you need me to get Lexie this afternoon?" He asks. It's a stark contrast to everytime you've had this conversation with Andy. Roy asks with ease and without judgement. "I'm getting Phoebe anyway?"

"I should be done in time, but thanks. If I get there first, I can get Phebs?"

"Nah it's OK, her mum should be home in time for bedtime tonight so I won't have her long anyway." You open the door to get out of the car but his warm hand on your elbow stops you, "Let me know if you're running late though, yeah? I don't mind. Sara gave you my number?" You nod, dumbly, "OK. Just call me or something."

"OK. See you… soon."

"Yeah, see you soon." You swear you're still blushing even once you're out of eyeshot and down on the platform. 

~~~~~~

The kids manage to survive by seeing each other at school, and the lighter Monday and Tuesday you'd planned mean for a smoother week. You don't need to call and beg Andy for help and you don't have to lean on Sara or Roy either. It's not until Wednesday morning that you cross paths again. You're waving goodbye to Lexie at the door when she spots Phoebe across the carpark with Roy. Since Lexie refuses to go in until Phoebe is there, you decide to wait for them. The girls hug and race inside for breakfast club. 

"Mornin', you alright?"

"Yeah, not bad. You?"

"Yeah good. Need a lift to the station?"

"That would be great - if you're sure?"

"Wouldn't have offered otherwise. Busy day?"

"Yep, a long one today. Lexie's dad is picking her up so I've got a late meeting." He holds the door open for you.

"What is it you do?"

"Deputy Director of Communications for a charity."

"Nice. Sounds… boring?"

"Hmm. They're not a great company to work for to be honest. They don't really have any people skills so they couldn't give a shit when you need something from them. It's all take take take." He shrugged,

"So leave?'

"Said the millionaire ex footballer with a great job as a coach. I have bills to pay - it's not that simple. Plus anything else at the same level is longer hours and generally more demanding than I can do at the moment."

"Fair enough. This is your stop." He pulls up at the station.

"Thanks. Probably won't see you till next week now, Lexie's with her dad till Saturday so no emergency pick ups needed. I can avoid the school completely."

"Lucky you. Let me know if anything changes and you need me to get the little un." You're suddenly overcome with gratitude for the support he and Sara have given in such a short amount of time. As if sensing how overwhelmed you are, he nudges your shoulder, "Don't be fucking weird about it. Off to work you go."

"Fuck off. I think you're nicer than you let on." You narrow your eyes at him. 

"Yeah well don't get fucking telling everyone. I don't do favours for the whole of the fucking town."

"Just the mums of Phoebe's friends."

"Just one of them."

"Ahh, it's survival of the fittest at the school gates and that's definitely not me."

"You're doing a great job. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, fuck off before you're late." You can see a grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. 

"Bye Roy!" You hop out of the car and turn back with a quick smile. 

~~~~~~~~

The second half of the week is as hectic as you expect it to be. You call Lexie each evening through yawns, promising her a fun weekend of baking. When Andy drops her off on Saturday morning, he invites himself into the kitchen despite you trying to avoid him. 

"Did you take her to the football last week?" He asks. 

"Yeah, her little bestie Phoebe got us tickets. Her uncle is one of the Richmond coaches."

"Not that miserable twat who picks her up from school? Roy Kent?"

"Yeah him. Phoebe adores him," you don't hesitate before adding, "I think Lex has taken a shine to him as well. And he's not a twat." 

"He had a go at me yesterday in the playground. I ain't having her go to a Richmond match, she should be West Ham."

"You can't force her to support anyone. She doesn't even have to like football. She likes Phoebe, she's a good friend and her mum is just as nice." You reply with a shrug. "Why did he have a go at you? Did you park on the hatches?"

"No I bloody didn't. I said Lex couldn't sleepover and he told me she could if she wanted to."

"Course she can if she wants to. Look, if you don't want her to spend time with her friends when she's with you, then fine. But when she's with me, we work out our plans together and we do what makes her happy." He shook his head and slammed the front door. It was barely 9am and you were done with his bullshit. You pull out your phone and text Sara, Going to the park if you want to come. Coffee on me x Then you call Lexie.

"Come on babe, let's go to the park and then we'll do some baking later." You don't get a reply from Sara so you head out anyway. Lexie is somewhere near the top of the big climbing frame when Phoebe barrels into you for a quick hug, and then goes off to join her best friend. "Hey Phebs!" You don't really want to turn away from the climbing frame but you do a quick scout around to see how far away Sara is. But it's not Sara on her way over, it's Roy with Phoebe's backpack on one shoulder and two coffees in his hands. He hands you one with a small smirk. 

"Park this early?"

"Thanks, rough morning. I heard you and Andy had a delightful conversation at school yesterday?"

"Dickhead said Lex couldn't have a sleepover with Phebs when it's his time with her."

"I know. I told him she could do whatever the fuck made her happy when she's with me."

"That's what I said," He growled. "Did he tell you he made some sly dig about it being so you can go off and do whatever or whoever you want?" You spin in anger to face him, his eyes stayed on the top of the climbing frame. 

"What?! No, he didn't dare say that to me. Ugh, he knows full well that single mums aren't exactly beating prospective new partners off with a stick. Just cos he's already met someone." You wipe your hand across your cheeks, shaking your head. Roy doesn't say anything. He reaches into Phoebe's bag, pulls out a paper bag and passes it to you. A chocolate star biscuit sits inside. 

"It's not a gold star, but whatever. You're a million times better than he is. More than that. You don't need validation from him and you don't need to compare yourself to him." He holds your gaze, his dark eyes are the darkest you've ever seen. He glances at your lips so briefly you think you imagined it. You smile sadly.

"Thank you. Chocolate's better anyway."

"Course it fucking is." He smiles.

[heartilywrites]

hiii i hope you’re having a good day! could you do a korra x insecure reader fic and korra just comforts her? thank you!

⠀⠀⠀⠀،، 𝓑ad Habit ; Korra

request guide | masterlist

resume: Korra wants to assure you from bad thoughts.

content warning: fluff ; if you squint there's angst too ; Korra x fem!reader ; established relationship ; self-doubt ; slight description of self-harm and blood (r bites her nails) ; r is a bender, but I didn’t specify her nation ; no use of y/n

wc: 1.1k

a/n: hello love <33 im sorry i took too long with your request, i was trying to think of a situation since you didn’t specify one,, but i hope i met your expectations!!! THANK U FOR REQUESTING, ENJOY :D

“ Might be so sad, might leave my nose running... I just hope she don't wanna leave me.

Sounds of clipping filled the room, your thumb nail fighting for its life against your teeth while you were zoned out on your thoughts.

How does one has to act after such mean comments? All and every single one of them talking about you and your relationship with Korra; 'she's clingy' 'the avatar deserves better' 'she's the worst bender I've ever seen, why is she in the group?' 'she's not even that pretty' echoed in your head since coming back home. You weren't even supposed to hear that conversation, but somehow ended up doing so at a fruit stand after going shopping to bake Korra a fruit cake.

Were you really that clingy with her? It's not even like you were on top of her 24/7... right? She would've say something if she didn’t like it, right? Why were you doubting her? She's the best partner you could've ask for, there's no reason for you to doubt her, why were you? why? wasn't your relationship based on communication? You don't need to doubt her, stop doubting her, they maybe caught something you hadn't, a flaw, was it your bending style? Were you too weak? Were you—

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Hey, darling, I'm home!” the southerner's voice pulled you out of such destructive thoughts. You took your finger out of your mouth.

A slight metal taste was recognized in your tongue and looking down to your nail it was starting to make way for a thread of dark crimson. You were quick to hide it behind your back when the girl opened the bedroom door, such a small smile painted your face.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Hi, love, how was your day?” you asked, eyes following the brunette while she dropped to your side on the bed and hugged your waist, sighing really loudly.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Shitty, work, avatar problems, you know.” Korra snuggled better and left a tiny kiss on your cheek. “But now I'm here with you, that's all I needed.”

There you had it, she could never think badly of you. How could you ever do that to her? Maybe they were right, maybe you didn't deserve her in the first place, maybe—

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Hey... Did you hear me?” a hand was shaken in front of your eyes after zoning out once more, you shook your head.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Sorry, what did you say?” you asked a bit embarrassed, your face feeling warmer.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I said if you wanted to eat out tonight so we don't have to wash dishes.” she repeated, seating back up now facing you.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Oh! Yeah! I would love to, choose wherever you want.” another weak smile, Korra frowned and narrowed her eyes after.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “What happened while I was gone?” she directly asked, her arms crossed on top of her chest.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Nothing!” you were a little too fast to answer, after clearing your throat you continued. “Nothing happened, all is well, I'm okay, you are okay, we are okay, let's go eat dinner!”

You tried to get up with such hurry, but Korra was quicker to take your wrist before crossing the door and pulling you back with her. While grunting you sat right in front of her at the edge of the bed, blue ocean eyes tried to read through yours like that was all she needed to do to understand what was wrong.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “What happened?” she asked again. Her voice wasn't mad or annoyed, her tone was between worried and confused. Both her hands looked to hold yours.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I told you, it was nothing...” after her eyes moved to your hands, she pointed at your thumb and gave it a couple of touches. You sighed defeated. “It's stupid, you don't have to worry.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “It's not stupid if it's bothering you.” she moved closer. “You know you can trust me, in hell and worse, remember?”

Her eyes looked glossy, those gorgeous deep eyes that you fell in love with, the same ones you couldn't hide anything from as they knew you a little too well.

You were weak, not even a minute after you exploded with the whole context and arguments of what you heard at the fruit stand and apologized afterwards.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Stop, no, you don't have to apologize for shit.” darker orbs looked at you; even if she sounded mad, you knew it wasn’t at you. “Those idiots don't know what they're are talking about.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “No, but–” you tried to argue back, but were cut off by her.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Don't you ever doubt yourself, ever, you're my girlfriend you do deserve me and even if you're not my girlfriend you're this wonderful and intelligent woman anyone would be so lucky to have or even be.” a mix of blushing and teary-eyed painted your face. “Dumb people are everywhere and jealous people too, they live off spreading rumors or making fun of someone who is successful, who had the courage to do what they never were able to. You are not insufficient nor a failure, you're someone that is still working on her path and it's taking her time to do so. There's no time limit for it, you can take all the time you want, is your life, you decide and if they want to judge so bad let them. Don't allow their words affect you, they will win if you do so, but I know you enough to say that you're strong and will find a way to ignore them.”

With tears making their way down your cheeks and such an affectionate smile, you threw yourself at her for a hug and started to leave tiny kisses all over her face while sobbing, she just giggled while holding you tight.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I love you so much, like you don't have an idea, it hurts me when you doubt yourself like that.” she whispered, stopping your actions by cupping your face in her hands. “Please promise me you'll try to not let stupid comments like those bring you down. You're so loved and so amazing.”

Your head nodded slightly while a smile began to creep on your face. “I promise.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Great.” Korra smiled back at you big before standing up and taking your hand to make you stand up too. “Now let's go, love of my life, I am starving and I think our favorite restaurant has promotions tonight.”

[fostercare-expat]

We had a nice visit with Mom. We took a picture at the bus stop just before saying goodbye to Mom. I had walked off with the other kids and Older Brother had stayed to give mom another hug. When he caught up with me, he said “Why can’t [Other Foster Mom] take care of me anymore? Is she leaving the country?” So turns out Mom choose to throw out the information at the last second that he’s not going to be living with [Other Foster Mom] anymore and he might live with me. So I had to do some damage control, and I’ve told him that really it should have been something the social worker talked to him about only after a plan was in place for what happens next. I said that the other foster family can’t take care of him for much longer, and that she also has some business trips coming up. He might stay with me for a little while until a more permanent place is found for him, but that I can’t take of him for the long term either. His major concern was if he was ever going to see her again. I reassured him that as long as the social worker says yes, then he will definitely see her. He asked if he was going to be going home in August so I told him that he definitely isn’t going home in August and he likely won’t he going to live at home anytime soon, but I don’t know how long it will be. It will take some time for Mom to complete the services she needs to do and to prove she can be a parent who can keep him safe and there won’t be any more violence at home. Older Sister chimed in that she saw a piece of paper saying that Mom needs to go to the family court about something related to violence. Older Brother had some more questions about where he is going and when that I told him he couldn’t answer. And that was that. Mom wasn’t there for any of this conversation. (Mom asked if I could keep both girls for a few hours and I agreed so the sister were with me still.).

Yesterday was the big gay pride event here. Fearless came over and I brought him, my 2 daughters and Older and Younger Brother. The boys all wanted to paint their fingernails pink, and we all had a great time. The drag queen dance performance was mind blowing amazing. When it was time to meet mom this morning, I asked the boys if they wanted to take off their nail polish and they said no need. I mentioned there was a possibility that her boyfriend would come and they both immediately changed their mind and said definitely need to take it off.

[sweet-honey-tears]

Shouldn’t you Sleep?

Shinso x GN!Reader

OverView: Shinso starts feeling guilty at how much you stay up with him.

Back again! This was a request and I hope you enjoy it! I did go a bit off script but I hope that’s all good! I haven’t done a actual story in awhile- so it’s a bit rough but also works as head cannons. 🤍

How long can a person stare at the ceiling before their eyes shift the colors and shadows? Till they form shapes? ‘Maybe it's my quirk’ a younger you once thought. Oh how naive you where. But now, staring at your ceiling still, you kinda wish it where true. At least the ceiling would be slightly more entertaining. But instead, you sort through memories at 2am. Recalling a time in middle school where you turned to your stuffed animals, asking why you could never sleep.

Oddly, maybe due to your actual quirk, your dark circles never really showed. Sure they were there but you looked like every other teenager; dark circles from lack of sleep or bad allergies. Which maybe is a good things, you’re pretty sure people would start thinking your Azawias kid if they really showed.

Your work/patrol schedule didn’t help, always randomly studying, and taking any opportunity to work with your mentor- who only worked at night or early morning. You were all fucked up. Sometimes powering through days with energy drinks and random naps when Azawia would let you - somehow he knew. Maybe he could just sense insomnia in people…. Speaking of which

Denki was the one who introduced you to Shinso, a flirty introduction but also mentioning how the two of you always seemed to yawn at the same time….. and you hit it off. At some point, Shinso mentioned his trouble sleeping and you offered the option of talking whenever he couldn't sleep. And he took you up on the offer unintentionally.

Shinso called you, confused about something evolving he recent English homework, but it ended up with a long conversation. And then suddenly, it just stopped. Just froze. And when Shinso looked back down at his phone, he realized it was 11 pm. You school tomorrow morning and then patrol tomorrow night till early morning- you probably fell asleep on the phone or ended the call.

But then there was a knock at his door- which He didn’t respond to the first time , or the second, but pulled himself up on the third. His feet dragged on the carpet as he answered it. Peering down at you, his mouth opened slightly at your appearance. You were in Pajamas, a large shirt with Pink Floyd on it(some American band he's heard you listen to), and black checkered sleep pants. Around your shoulders rested a fluffy gray blanket and a dead phone rested in your palms.

“Sorry about that.” You had sheepishly said.

It started with you at his desk chair. Swiveling around as he leaned against his headboard. Both of you talking mindlessly. An occasional yawn slips past either of your lips. Around 3 am is when you fall asleep, passed out on his chair in the most uncomfortable position possible. How you managed to even stay asleep was a mystery.

This continued for a while till Shinso’s own guilt started to creep into his mind. You stood up one night, stretched, and wished him well. You had a patrol with your mentor in one hour and needed to get ready. You were gone for 6 hours… Then you came back that night to talk to him.

It didn’t help when he found you passed out in the common room or slouched against your desk asleep. Was he being selfish keeping you up to talk to him?

You were on Shinso’s bed, laying down as the both of you talked. Your hands were up in the air as you examined the nail polish Shinso used for you. A nice navy blue color, he muttered that it matched your hero costume kinda well. Shinso sat on the ground near the bed, picking at the dark purple polish painted on his fingers. His guilt picking away at him as you audibly yawned again.

“Y/N”

“Yeah.”

“You know you don’t have to stay up with me, right?”

“Hm?” You russel around, turning on your side to look at the tall purpled hair man.

“I mean you don’t need to have to stay up. You have patrol in the nights to early mornings, and I’ve seen you chugging those drinks( referencing energy drinks) too.” Shinso sighs, his head rolling back on the bed to look up at you.

“Oh… Shin, I…I got insomnia” you whisper out as if a loud voice would break the air. Shinso just stares at you, his eyes scanning your face for any hint of a joke. But nothing- absolutely nothing.

“I guess we share more in common than we thought.” Shinso sighs, a small smile tugging his lips. The weight on his shoulders seeming to evaporate at your confession.

Your hand sneaks down, combing through his purple hair before messing it up. A small laugh escaping your lips at the odd angle the hair sticks out at the end of it.

“I guess so”

@afterhourswjay

[tremarctoss]

now we live beside the pool where everything is good

After the Revolution, four is Finnick’s luckiest number.

Rating: Explicit

ao3 link: HERE

Finnick Odair x Original Female Character, kinda porn with plot, idk?

Finnick is angry. No, not angry, he’s furious. Not only he has to accept another year of Hunger Games and Johanna - of all the people - will be running them together with Enobaria. No, not only that. He also has to attend the hearing of his prep team. All the members working with One and Two were executed publicly already. Those from Three were long dead.

He barely has any time to ponder if and how he can save anyone. Hardly sleeps that night, counting the pros and cons of every member of his team. Enobarbus is the closest to him, the only person working with him all the time and never sugar-coating what’s about to happen. He even tried to warn him when he was about to get sold for the first time. But with over twenty years of experience as a stylist, he is as good as dead. 

Helvina is the only annoying of them all. Always talking about wanting to paint his body sea blue and green and marking him with tattoos. The only reason why he spares her any thought is because she has several children that will end up at the orphanage for sure. He gives up thinking about her when they tell him her husband died defending Snow during the bombing of the Capitol. 

Vibiana is the oldest and the illness is claiming her already. Killing her is mercy. Making her live the remaining months of her short life while they are low on every kind of medicine is just an ill-treatment of a dying person.

Tacita is the last and he almost does not recognize her. She is younger than him, only working as the hairdresser since the star-crossed lovers won their Games. He remembers how long her blonde hair was, how she had to gather it to not sit down on it. Now it is ending just under her chin. How her skin was glowing, dusted with freckles, now it looks almost gray. How her eyes were laughing at all the dumb things he said when she was massaging his scalp, but now they do not even look in his direction. He cannot guess what kind of blue they are today, that’s how much she is focused on not looking at anyone. Someone has hit her across the face and Finnick clasps his hands into fists until he feels his short nails digging into the skin. It was completely unnecessary for sure, she cannot even talk back.

- And we found her not wanting to give up those earrings. Real pearls and diamonds, not those fake things produced at One. - The man sitting in the middle of the long table says. - She could not afford them with her hairdresser payment. So she clearly must have stolen them.

Finnick recognizes them immediately. He remembers the way she blushed when he took out her ugly glass pink earrings out and put those on her instead. How she kissed his hands after. How she wore them all the time during the Quarter Quell while trying to hide her tears. How she tried to smile the night before he got sent back to the arena. How she sobbed when he came to her and kissed her hands himself and told her to take care of herself.

- Those are from me. I thought they would keep her safer than an engagement ring. - Finnick lies. - Thought she could sell them to keep herself safe after the Games.

- Do you still want to marry her? - It’s Coin who asks him. Her voice is bored but there's also a hint of curiosity there. - You never told anyone about her, did you?

Finnick plays his most innocent face.

- You said my prep team was murdered by Snow. - he reminds her.

-----

There’s no ceremony and no fancy outfits and no extravagant dinner. A man comes to his room in the evening with papers and he signs them immediately, all four copies. Tatiana’s hair is still wet from the shower. She is so exhausted that he has to carry her from the bedroom and help her sit down in front of the man. 

- Do you want to marry Finnick Odair? - The man asks and gets irritated when she does not answer. - The contract is not valid until I hear you answer aloud.

- Then I think you should leave. - Finnick does not try to hide his own anger. - Because she cannot speak, never in her life did.

The man gets red in the face, stammers and writes the same note on all four papers saying “the woman is mute but the consent is obvious” before passing them to the girl so she can sign them herself. Leaves without a look in her direction and only shakes Finnick's hand. 

He tries to make her look at him but gives up when she flinches when he touches her chin. The mark on her face is even redder now, mocking him in the dim light.

-----

It takes him four weeks of feeding her until she can eat on her own without getting sick. He starts with creamy soups and gently brings a spoon to her lips. The first day she swallows only a few before shaking her head and covering herself with a blanket. He tries to make her eat a little bit more but she just takes his palm and kisses it on the inside. He gives up, wraps his arms around her and watches her every breath when she sleeps that night. Promises himself to feed her one spoon more every day when she wakes up.

Another four weeks until she does not look away from him. He is still watching her fall asleep and wake up and naming all the shades of the brown and gold her freckles turn now. Reads her aloud Hemingway and Tolkien and Le Guin and Tokarczuk and every book people in his District hid before Peacekeepers so they wouldn’t burn them. She usually watches him when he reads but turns away the moment he stops and looks at her. But when he says “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with that there is.” she blushes crimson and withstands his gaze. He kisses her then, a small peck to her forehead, another on the tip of her nose and two more, each for one of the corners of her mouth. He keeps doing this every morning and night. 

His nightmares stop.

Further four weeks until she takes his hand and points her finger at the door so he can take her outside and show her the Ocean. It’s cold and gray but not windy and he does not catch her when she kneels in the wet sand. Only when her body shakes with silent sobs he realizes he was so focused on having her with him and getting her to feel better he never asked about her family or other things that could be a danger for the both of them. He sits down behind her, not caring how wet his pants get, not caring how cold he is until he gets the whole story out of her. Her fingers, with her nails still raw-bitten, skin terribly dry, shake when she tells him her family died in the bombings and it’s only her now.

- Us. - Finnick tells her kissing the bitten skin around her fingernails. - You have me now. We’re facing the world together.

She kisses him then, her body trembling with nervous energy when she presses her mouth against his forehead, nose and corners of his lips like he did before. 

He takes her for a walk every day after, making sure to talk as much as he can about the Ocean and his District, about the people she may meet and what to expect. He reads the books aloud when they sit in the sand, her body always in his lap, her arms around his middle, her breath warming his throat. He starts dreaming about her naked underneath him again.

When she comes to him after the next four weeks he already knows what will happen. He does not help her undress herself, instead sits on the sofa to watch her take off her dress and takes a deep breath himself when she reveals to be wearing nothing underneath it. The earrings he gave her are the only things she has on and he marvels for a moment how stunning she looks dressed in them. Her hair is grazing her shoulders and he’s glad. He hopes she will grow them long again.

He kisses her deeply then, his hands caressing her whole body gently until she kisses one of his hands and brings it in between her legs. She is so wet he has to remind himself to take it slowly and not scare her. 

- I’m going to carry you to our bedroom now. - He tells her. - Lay on my back on the bed and put you on top of me and use my fingers to make you come. Twice I think. I want to know that it feels good for you and that you know how to make me stop when something doesn't feel right. 

He uses one of his fingers to spread her folds and move it around her clit. She stands up on her tip-toes before bringing her body back down on his finger and sliding her cunt up and down on it. Finnick kneels in front of her and licks her quickly, hoping for a small taste. Moans loudly and pushes his finger in between her folds for another second. He undresses himself and strokes his cock several times before hugging her and pressing his member against her stomach.

- I think my fingers once and my mouth twice after all. - He says holding himself even closer to her. - And this is how far my cock will end up being inside you. It may be a little bit much for the first time so I want you to tap my hand or arm twice when you want me to stop, alright? 

She blushes crimson red from her forehead to her breasts but gets on her toes again to kiss him deeply. Finnick starts wondering where his control is coming from now because pinning her against the wall and sliding inside her heat is everything he’s thinking about. He wraps his right arm under her ass, squeezing one of her buttocks, and carries her upstairs. She starts playing with his hair and he cannot stop the moan when he remembers how she was doing that back in the Capitol.

- I had to masturbate several times after you did that. - He tells her, sitting them both down, her in his lap. - The night before the Games I was thinking about coming into your room and introducing my mouth to your count.

He almost comes on the spot when she kisses him sweetly and signs to him that she would allow him to do that. She kisses him again and he groans inside her mouth when she wraps her hand around his cock.

- Like this. - He tells her and wraps his own hand around hers. - A little bit firmer is what I like. Look at me now sweetheart. I want to see your eyes.

Her blush spreads when he comes on her stomach. He almost pushes her on her back and buries his mouth in her cunt when she takes his hand and starts licking it clean. Finnick takes the closest pillow and wipes her stomach with it. He sends it flying across the room and it hits the wall. He will worry about possible stains on the paint later.

She tries to run away when he lays down and positions her cunt above his face. He has to use some of his strength to keep her in place.

- It’s easier for me to watch you like that. - He tells her. - And I want to be sure I’m not forcing you into anything you don’t like.

He starts with her left knee, leaving small pecks there. He licks his way up and bites lightly where her thigh and hips meet, does the same to her second leg before pressing his tongue to her clit. She makes a sound then, something close to whimpering so he looks up to make sure she’s not in pain. There are tears in the corners of her eyes but she has a hand on her breast and a small smile on her lips so he starts sucking on her clit until she makes those tiny sounds again and has to put her hands on the wall to keep herself up. He doesn't close his eyes and doesn't stop sucking until her hips start moving against his face. 

It's different from what he's used to, to people loudly saying what they expected him to do, but he's good at reading everyone, still has to be in order to survive. He does not stop licking her when she comes. Instead, he spreads her legs even more and brings her cunt even closer to his mouth. She does not try to run away this time, instead shyly moves herself up and down his face, shaking when she falls apart.

He rolls her over slowly, making sure her head does not hit the bed frame. He wipes his mouth with his hand but she sucks his tongue into her mouth when he kisses her. He spreads her again, making sure to inform her about his every move. He slides one finger into her cunt first and she's so wet that the second and even third come in easily. He pumps them in and out quickly while telling her how good she feels around his fingers. How wet she is, how he thought so much about doing this, how he cannot wait to bury his cock in her and make her body shake and fall apart. 

He has to put his hand on her stomach to stop her from trying to get away when she's close. Her body almost snaps in half and she lightly kicks him accidentally in his ribs. She tries to make herself smaller when she calms down and barely has strength to move her fingers in apology after.

- Don't. - he tells her, marking her body with his teeth. He starts with the skin under her left breast. - I don't mind. I enjoy watching you fall apart.

He licks and bites until he feels her cunt clutching at his fingers again. Only then he removes them and rolls the condom onto his cock. She doesn’t try to stop him but nods her consent and kisses his hands all the time while he slides slowly into her. 

- We will get mirrors. On the ceiling and every wall. - he tells her when he finally bottoms out. - so it’s easier for me to watch you and make sure I am not hurting you. 

She blushes even more, he never knew it was possible for someone to do that. But she also nods and wraps her legs around him and brings him even closer so he stops holding back and just fucks her until she scratches him a little. She tries to apologize but he just pins her hand next to her head telling her he doesn't mind.

Because he truly doesn't, he knows where he is and who he is with and that's fine.

-----

She starts cutting and styling his hair after that. It is never as short as during his time in the Capitol and he makes sure to tell her several times that he adores it longer. Loves her for never trying to make him look like the man people in the Panem lusted over. Puts his mouth on her cunt to show her just how much it means to him. Tries to make love to her at least once daily.

- I don't remember sex being so nice and fulfilling for me ever. - He says when she asks if he's not tired. - If I could I would have made love to you all the time.

She just sighs before kneeling in between his legs and unzipping his fly. She kisses his stomach when he tries to stop her and wraps her fingers around his cock before taking him into her mouth. He almost comes on the spot when she looks into his eyes.

- I love you, - He tells her and she smiles with her mouth full and brings one of her hands under her skirt. - so much.

-----

He loves adoring her body with love bites and makes sure there’s at least one visible when she goes shopping in the town so no one hits on her. There’s no point in him following her everywhere. He wants her to have her own space but also wants her to be safe. He gets her two trained dogs so she is never alone anywhere. They are taught to react to certain motions she makes with her hands and it fills him with joy when she giggles when one of them licks her face. 

Two cats come next. To keep her warm when he goes for a run in the early mornings. Those assholes try to keep him out of bed when he comes back and he has a lot of fur to remove from his clothes every day. They also grow so fat they don’t even try to come outside and lazily roll away when she buys or makes new toys to make them move. He is sure they are getting that big on purpose. Their goal is surely to suffocate him. Sometimes when he sleeps with his mouth open one of them lays on his face until he has no choice but to throw them and the dogs out of the room. Of course he uses it as an excuse to lay his own face in between his wife’s breasts after that. 

-----

It takes only four days for Coin to send him back during the first new Games because everyone is sick of him talking about his wife and how much he adores her. Should he buy that book for her? Will that necklace go with her skin tone? Will those cookies last the trip and taste great when he brings them to her? Is that silk scarf something she would wear or just a tacky present?

- You could bring her here. - Johanna tells him when he’s throwing his clothes back into his backpack. - Or to Seven. I think everyone would love to meet her.

- You can visit us and bring Annie with you. - He says back. - She is not going anywhere. Four is her home now.

She is shocked and scared when he comes back early. He needs several minutes to calm her down and explain that everything is alright. He got some more duties at his District after all.

- You will accompany me, alright? - She gives him a small nod and he cannot stop himself from pressing his mouth against her neck and marking her again. - Wear your hair up, okay? I want everyone to know you are only mine.

-----

He does not join the next war when Plutarch rises to power. He ignores all the four summons Coin sends his way and only comes with his wife to the Capitol when it's time for a new President to be sworn in. He spends all the time watching her intensely and barely paying any attention to people around them.

- I'm just thinking about all the things I could be doing to you instead. - He tells her when she raises her eyebrow at him. She just sighs and kisses his cheek quickly and squeezes his hand.

- I don't know how she puts up with you. - Johanna tells him.

- That's rich. - Finnick says stealing a strawberry from her plate. - Especially now that you even ended up having a wife.

She and Annie move from Seven to Four shortly after Finnick welcomes his first child.

[ Four is the number of anniversaries they celebrate before their first kid is born and four is the number of the children they will have. ]

[ Four is the number of breaths he will take before following his elderly wife into death. ]

[bicmason]

Hiiii! Can you please write a Bleach fic for Byakuya Kuchiki? Perhaps him getting pegged for the first time? Thank you!

★ Hello!! :^ I tried my best lol

★ Synopsis: just a conversation about pegging with Byakuya that ends up with you fucking his ass.

★ Warnings: fem!reader, Byakuya a bit OOC, swearing, anal sex, not reviewed, NSFW, pegging, Sub!Byakuya, poorly edited :<

★ A/N: sorry if Byakuya got too OOC in this one!!! :(. It hasn't been reviewed and it's also been a while since I've written NSFW. If there's anything in the warnings that needs to be put in, please let me know!! :)

It all started with small conversations.

"What do you think about anal sex, Byaki?" you ask him while taking a break from your favorite hobby, painting. "I don't know what to say, really. Why do you ask, dear?" He replies, looking away from you.

"Um, just... I was wondering if we could try..." you say hesitantly. This man was difficult, there was a good chance he wouldn't accept, but you weren't going to give up easily.

The idea persisted in your mind when Yoruichi gave you this gift, saying it was to tear Byakuya's pride away. She said it with that energetic, mischievous tone, clearly almost daring you to do it. She laughed when you said you wouldn't do it, you said you'd ruin him too much if you did.

But now you think about it. The idea of watching him shudder as you fuck his ass is intoxicating, making you daydream about it practically every day.

"In you?" he asks, his silky, graceful voice always making you want to hear more. "Not really... I wanted to try it on you, you know? Pegging. They say it's really good..." you say hesitantly, looking at him with every word, waiting for his reaction. The only answer you got was a "maybe". Maybe.

Since then, when the two of you had the most delicious nights that would make you unable to walk the next day, you took the opportunity to tease his ass. Squeezing it, massaging it and even asking him quietly if you could put a finger in, just to give him more pleasure. He nods, he trusts you, he knows you'll make him feel good.

Conversations about this become frequent, until you convince him about it tonight.

"It won't be much, I promise it won't hurt." You say cheerfully when he tells you he'll let you train and fuck him tonight. He knows it's going to hurt a bit, but he doesn't care as long as you're happy. When the night comes, you're happy, excited and horny. You just want to fuck his ass so good!

You get excited when you see him reading the leaflet of a lubricant.

"What's up?" You ask, smiling, "You're not afraid of a lubricant, are you?" You say, sitting down next to him. "Yeah, just... well, maybe I'm a bit apprehensive," he replies simply

"It's okay, if you don't want to-" you begin, but he interrupts you. "No- I want it... maybe a little too much than I'd expect..." he murmurs. Of course, it would be a challenge for him to let you fuck his ass completely. He hated the fact that if they knew, the people in the Soul Society would probably make fun of him, but he managed to get over it, after all, it was only one night, wasn't it? If he didn't like it, it wouldn't happen again.

"We have to make a safe word, what do you think?" You ask him and he seems to think for a moment, you could bet 10 dollars he'd say something classic like "red".

"Maybe... ugh, red?" He mumbles, a little flushed. You smile as you realize you've hit the nail on the head.

"Sure, red sounds good." You smile and pull his face towards you, pulling him into a soft but loving kiss.

"First of all, I need you to know that you have to tell me everything, okay? I want you to tell me if it hurts or, well, if it's too good..." You say in a teasing voice and wink at him.

He nods and you smile. It was always so hard for him to trust that he could love again, that he could break some rules and here you were, the person who made him love someone again like he loved Hisana, the person he allowed himself to trust, to let you take care of and caress him.

"I promise I'll tell you if it hurts. I'm a nobleman of my word, remember?" He smiles softly, pulling you in for another kiss.

You run your hands through his silky hair, your nails caressing the back of his neck, making him shiver. You deepen the kiss, sitting on his lap, his big, slender hands wrapping around your waist, your tongues dancing in each other's mouths as your mind races, thinking about how delicious his moans would be and how good you would make him feel...

You feel his hand wander down your shirt, and you allow him to remove it, falling down your back as you smile.

His lips trace a path down to your collarbone, his fingers tracing your thighs as you feel your body heat up under his touch. He nibbles the sensitive skin of your collarbone, making you moan softly. "Looks like I'm the one who's going to fuck you, huh?" He murmurs with a mischievous grin. Oh, what a naughty nobleman you've made him, huh?

You smile and disentangle yourself from his hands.

"Mhm, we'll see. Are you really okay with that?" You ask again, just wanting to make sure he's okay with not being in power this time. "Absolutely..." He sat on the edge of the bed, slowly taking off his captain's cloak. You smiled, picking up the box containing the strap-on. You could see him blushing a little. "What's up?" You asked amusedly as you took off your own pants, picking up the lube and the strap-on, placing them on the bed.

You can see Byakuya's member starting to show through his underwear. You smile at the sight. "Wow, it's already starting to get hard and I haven't even touched you?" You tease him, just as he does you. "It's not like that..." he mutters back. "Uh-huh, right. I guess." You laugh softly. "I guess we can start with you lying down, hum?" You smile arrogantly.

God, you were starting to get wet at the idea of being in charge. Byakuya shyly nods and lies down on the bed. His face burns with shame, he would never have expected to be in such a vulnerable position as he is now.

You smile, sitting naked next to him. He reaches out to touch you, but you slap his hand away, giving him a taste of his own poison. He grunts and you pout."What happened, Byaki? Can't keep your hands to yourself?" You ask as your hand begins to run down his chest. He bites his lip and frowns. "No." He replies firmly, still trying to maintain his cool, arrogant stance.

You smile. "Mhm, is it?" Your hand moves across his chest, soon reaching his nipples. You smile as he squirms a little. "Do you like it?" You laugh when he pouts.You squeeze his nipples, pinching them a little. He bites his lip again. "Sensitive?" You smile, leaning into his chest, kissing from his chest to his 'happy trail'. You smile proudly when you see his cock twitching in his underwear.

Your other hand wanders to his underwear, slowly pulling it off, leaving just the tip of his cock sticking out. You use your index finger to tease him, one hand on his nipples and the other teasing his cock.

He grunts, squirming, wanting you to touch him more. "Do you want more, Byaki?" You laugh and he bites his lip, looking away. He nods and you squeeze the tip of his cock, making him lift his hips towards you. "Fuck... don't do it like that," he mutters. He was so weak from the idea of you fucking his ass, he just wanted you to do it now.

"Y/n... please" he grunts and you laugh, you were slowly destroying this man's pride, and he just wanted you to break it. Your hand increases the pressure on his cock, making him moan softly. You get down on your knees next to him on the bed, tugging at his underwear, pulling it off. He squeezes his legs together, blushing a little.

You lean over and take some of him in your mouth, his hand quickly goes to your hair, but you pull it away again. "Without touching me, love." You say, then take him in your mouth again.

His cock is big, slender, but it still makes you delirious. You take as much as you can in your mouth, but you can't get it down your throat. You choke a few times and he laughs softly.

"Oh yeah, can't you take it, baby?" He teases you and you stand up. Your hand works on his cock, up and down, making him buck his hips.You smile. His hand pulls you in for a kiss. You moan along with him, your hands still firmly around his cock.

"Just - please, do it soon!" He begs, trying not to roll his eyes.You nod and pull him into another kiss. Your kiss is fiery, full of love and need.

God, you just need to fuck him. You break apart, you can see the sweat forming on his forehead as his cock twitches in your hand. Your lips trailed down his soft, lean body, making him shiver and arch his back. He lets out short sighs that are making you wetter than ever. Why didn't you try this before?!

You touch his thighs, parting them a little as you fit between them, your mouth trailing down to his dripping pre-cum. Your eyes shine with his need to just be fucked by you.Reaching for the lube, you rub it on your fingers.

"I'm going to stretch you a bit, okay?" You ask softly, your other hand carefully rubbing his thighs. He whimpers softly and nods. "Sure, do it soon..." he thrusts his hips upwards, making you laugh. "I think it would be easier if you were on all fours, huh?" You play with the lubricant on your fingers as you wait for his answer. He blushes as he swallows dry. "Um, is that really necessary?" He says hesitantly, a little embarrassed. "You want it, don't you?" you say with a mischievous grin, making him roll his eyes. He turns over on his stomach and leans over. Ass up.

You caress the back of his thighs and then your nails scratch a little of his soft ass. "Oh my, you look so beautiful like that," you whisper to him. You place one hand on his back while with the other you penetrate the first finger into his ass. He moans softly against the pillows. "Aw, are you having fun without me yet?" You sneer and he grunts. "Always remember our safe word, okay?" He nods. "I'll remember, I promise..." He mutters between sighs as you add another finger. He hadn't expected to like it so much, maybe he could accept it again…

"Hey, don't be shy now," you say laughing softly, your hand running gently along his back, making him squirm a little. You open your fingers a little inside him, slowly getting him used to it. You add more lubricant to his asshole and he rolls his eyes. "Ngh- that's - so good!" He can't even form a sentence when you turn your fingers, rubbing his G-spot.

Your eyes glaze over and you lean against him on the mattress, your body heavy on top of his, you nibble on his shoulder as you make him take your fingers for the time being. "Oh yes, you're going to be my little slut tonight, aren't you? That cold captain won't be here, will he?" You whisper seductively in his ear as he rolls his eyes, bouncing his ass on your fingers as he nuzzles his face into the pillows. "Oh- shit, yeah yeah!"

He's breathing too fast, he's only so close...

You pull away from him, slowly taking your fingers out of him. "We don't want the party to end just yet, do we?" You say as you take the strap and put it on. It's a relatively small model, maybe 5,5 inches with a diameter of 1. Byakuya wiggles his ass a little in the air - trying to make air friction for your cock, or to receive that cock in his ass, you don't really know which it would be but now you'll find out.

You stand in front of him with the strap, swinging it in front of him. "Can you put this in your mouth?" You ask as you pat his face with the strap. He looks at you with fierce eyes, wondering if he should just turn you over and fuck you until you forget your name or if he should let himself be taken by you. Hesitantly, he opens his mouth and takes the tip of the dildo in his mouth. He thinks of his pride, the idea of the elders knowing that he let his wife fuck his ass would be a scandal, but he still wants it so badly...

He takes the dildo in his mouth, sometimes choking when it touched the back of his throat, making him choke and drool. "So beautiful ruined... I should have done this before..." You say and slap him lightly across the face, his black hair spilling beautifully over his shoulders when it wasn't sticking to his forehead with sweat. He moans, taking as much of the dildo into his mouth as he can, but it's too much! He just wants to be fucked, to be made a good slut by you...

He runs his tongue teasingly over the dildo, taking it all the way his mouth, sometimes hitting the back of his throat. Small tears stream down his face and you wipe them away with your finger. "Such a good little slut, huh? Come on, Byaki, take it down your throat..." You pushed forward, making him choke and pull away a little, but you held him in place, making him take the dildo into his mouth completely. He whimpers and chokes, but he loves the sensation. Your fingers tangle in his hair, making him have his nose against your crotch while he warms the silicone cock in his mouth. "oh yes, so good, isn't it? Yes, you like that, Byaki"

To feel, to be the one taking orders. He never thought he'd like it so much, especially here, where he can slowly let go of thoughts of what they'd do if they found out about it. He loved you so much, he knew it would be all right, even though his pride was hurt.

You pull the strap back on and smile at the string of drool connecting the vibrator and Byakuya's pretty mouth. "Mhm, you were so good darling," you say, leaning in and pulling him into a sloppy kiss. You push his face back into the pillows and position yourself behind him. "Are you all right?" You ask as you caress his ass. "Yes... please, I want you to fuck me..." he says whimpering, not caring about pride or his usual coldness, he just wants to be good to you.

Taking the lube, you put some on his ass and some on the vibrator. You rub your cock against his entrance, which makes him shiver again. "Someone likes teasing..." You murmur, before slipping the tip of the dildo into his tight asshole. He lets out a moan and grabs the sheets. "Um, you're going to be slow, aren't you?" he asks breathlessly. "Sure, you can stay calm, okay? Relax..." You whisper, leaning over and kissing him gently on the back. He nods and moans again as you place the head of the vibrator inside his tight heat. "Good?" You rub his ass as he tightens the sheets again. "Yeah... okay, just keep going..." You wiggle a little, just to tease him. Your hand goes under him and grasps his cock, still hard and dripping. He moans and squirms, rolling his eyes. "Please... put it all in me..." he murmurs, rocking back on you, driving the dildo further into him.

You laugh and shove some more inside him. Swaying provocatively in his tight hole. "Oh man, if I'd only known your ass was this greedy..." You laugh and sink completely inside him. He moans, feeling so full that it makes him want to come right there.

Your hand strokes his cock, teasing its tip with your own pre-cum. "Come on, touch yourself while I fuck you from behind..." You murmur, giving him one last kiss on the shoulder before pulling the dildo almost completely out and sticking it back in. He moans loudly, blushing automatically and biting his lip. "That - oh god, so good!" He says as he accepts the offer to masturbate while you fuck him.

His hand rushes to his cock, rubbing it hard and fast, wanting nothing more than just to cum for you, to let you use his tight little hole for your pleasure. You move slowly still, but completely inside him, and this provokes him even more. The dildo touches his G-spot slowly, lingeringly, but still so provocatively..."Y/n- please fuck me" he murmurs between moans as you sink completely into him. "I will." You respond firmly, then your thrusts start to get stronger and, if there's anyone in the Kuchiki mansion, they're listening to Byakuya.

It's such a pleasure for him, touching his cock as you fuck him, hitting that sweet spot every time, making him almost explode with pleasure when you repeatedly hit it.

He rolls his eyes "Oh yes yes there! I- shit I'm gonna come!" Looking at him now it was easy to tell that he was lost in his own pleasure. sweat covered your foreheads as he was about to come. It explodes on the sheets, making a mess. You laughed as you watched him tremble, his legs weak as you continued to fuck his asshole. "Oh yeah, come on baby, be a good slut huh?" You smiled as he squirmed, his orgasm prolonged by the extra G-spot stimulation. Your thrusts are fast, strong, making his asshole clench hard around your dildo as he comes. He rolls his eyes and cries out as he feels another orgasm approaching, the knot slowly forming, making him want nothing more than to cum for you, you damned dildo that made him want to be fucked. So overwhelmed and he hasn't given up yet.

He rocks against you, making the dildo go as deep as it can. He rolls his eyes and moans loudly as he comes again, in less quantity, but still made a huge mess. You slap his ass, making him moan and jump. "Oh yeah, I'm going to fuck you until you cum again, what do you think?" You say as you sink into him completely, pulling his face up by his hair as you rain kisses on his shoulders. He whimpers, squirming, wanting nothing more than to cum, you turn him to look you in the eye. He nods before closing his eyes tightly. "Oh hell, I'm so- sensitive-" he moans, spreading his legs for you. You lift them up to shoulder height, making the position more comfortable.He screams when you hit his sweet spot again, making you smile.

Your pussy clenches into nothingness from the excitement of seeing him like this, so broken by a cock…

Just to tease him, when you see that he's close again, you pull away, taking everything out of him.He grunts angrily. "Don't do that... I was so close..." he mumbles tearfully. "Mhm, sorry, love. I just thought you were in pain, you know? You were moaning so desperately to such an arrogant, cold nobleman..." You tease him, your hand caressing his face as he gasps still. "It was pleasure." He mumbles, trying to pull himself together. "Oh? So can I say you enjoyed being fucked in the ass by me?" You tease again, planting kisses down his cheek to his neck. "Y-yes. A little..." he mumbles as red as a tomato.

You smile victoriously, knowing you've managed to break his pride. You'd make him your personal whore now, that's for sure...

"Well, I think you need to cum yet, don't you?" You laugh as he moans when you touch his needy cock. God, he's still hard as a rock!

You line yourself up at his hole again, before sinking all the way in again. His hands grab the skin of your back, scratching it a little, pulling you towards him. "Y/n- too good!" He moans in your ear. He clings to you as you fuck him relentlessly, your thrusts making him roll his eyes every time now. "You're being so good to me, Byaki," you whisper in his ear, kissing and nibbling the skin of his neck, panting.

"Yes-yes, y/n please- fuuuck make me come!" He says between moans and gasps, his cock twitching as your hand works there and the dildo in his sweet spot. "Come on, Byaki…"He rolls his eyes, choking as he comes again, tightening his legs around your waist as he shudders, his back arching as he says your name like a mantra. His cum now makes a mess on his belly and on your hands, you take a few drops and put them in your mouth before kissing him, making him taste himself.

You laugh, seeing his predicament. "Mhm, did you like that? Was I good at fucking your ass?" You ask, but he just nods, too tired from the overstimulation. You kiss his forehead, pushing his hair out of his face. "Was I too hard on you?" you ask softly, caressing his chest. "No, it was fine," he murmurs and looks you in the eye, smiling softly. "Um, thank you for that, thank you for allowing me to fuck you." You whisper as you leave kisses on his chest. "You're welcome," he replies, laughing softly as he strokes your cheek. You stand up, pulling out of him and smiling at the sight of him destroyed.

"Could I count this as a victory over the much-feared Captain Kuchiki?" You mock. "No, darling." He mumbles, getting up and sitting on the bed. "Hum, what a shame." You laugh and move closer to him, hugging him. "Would you like some water? Or would you prefer a shower?"

Since then, you've certainly fucked this captain of the Kuchiki clan.

[epickiya722]

If you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them?

Thanks if you want to answer....

I'll tell you, all my fics are special to me and most of the time, I find myself having fun writing them. Writing isn't just a hobby, but a way for me to release pent up feelings I have or express an idea that came to me.

To name a couple...

Beware of the Bunnies - It's the first fic I wrote for "if Miruko was Midoriya's mentor". It was fun writing that fic, especially when it's a fic for my two #1 faves. I honestly didn't expect the amount of attention I got for it!

Not Red, Black - I sometimes like branching out from writing warm-hearted, funny fics and this is one of those times. Another AU idea I had, but if Miruko and Midoriya were eldritch-like creatures and related. Unlike its prequel, this one stepped more in horror imagery and I think the direction the fic took.

Forbid a Woman from Being Great - Yes, another Miruko fic and one I actually wrote out of spite. When it comes to this fandom (as with any), is how double standard they can get. With Miruko, I have seem people hate her for being "too aggressive" or "too mean", but praise other characters for those same traits or even give excuses for their behavior. Or with fanservice, the same people who complain about it also thirst over the male characters getting bloody and shirtless. I don't hate characters like Dabi, Shigaraki or Hawks but I can't stomach how their fans act when it comes to Miruko or any other character really. It was actually a Hawks fan that irritated me enough to write this fic as well as get me out of the writing funk I was in.

An Absolute Menace - This is a fun little fic. It's part of a series of Class A and occasionally B partaking in antics. With this one, writing Koda as this troll was new, but fun.

Let's SK8 Over the Rainbow - This is actually a SK8 series that I wrote and it's still one of my favorites. It started off as a headcanon (Reki allowing Koyomi to paint his nails) and then spiraled into a collection of short stories themed around colors and I love colors so much. One of the fics, You're Lime Green Jell-O, I dove into expanding a character that only appeared once in SK8. Her name is Miki and she has green hair and I remember seeing her and going "You, you're getting some personality, a story, etc." Best decision ever. I just loved writing Miki and I think it was the first time I wrote a whole story for a character that only had two lines in canon.

Tu es le Moment Auquel J'appartiens - Another series I adore. I wanted to write some jealous Vanitas since I don't think I had seen a lot of Vanoé fics where he was the jealous one while Noé was more oblivious. Not at the time, I don't know about now since I haven't read a VNC fic in a long time. The title translates to "You are the moment I belong to" which is a line of lyrics from the anime's first ending song that I love so much.

It's the Pink Hair, Isn't It? - Do not get me wrong! I do love the AUs I see where Sukuna and Yuji are brothers, but the idea of this fic came from what if they were identical strangers and not related in the slightest. Even funnier, in the fic, Kenjaku and Suguru are siblings that look like twins, but Kenjaku is older. My favorite scenes probably have to be Kenjaku and Yuji interacting and Sukuna and Yuji meeting. I've also been cooking up a sequel so I can write more of Kenjaku and Suguru being siblings and Yuji's brothers and I do mean all nine older brothers. (I relate to Choso so much.)

Your Heartbeat Is My Comfort - Ever see a beautiful piece of fanart and you want to write a fic about it? That's what happened here. I saw this FushiIta art post here and it was like BAM! I had to write a fic. It was also another I didn't write something comedic, but more somber, bit of tragedy yet comfort in there.

Maybe Someday We'll Meet Again - I'm all for the Teacher Geto AU! However, this fic came from a what if scenario had Suguru and Yuji had met when they were younger and I always how Kenjaku was even aware of Suguru's technique. So I put both ideas together and thus this fic was born. It isn't dark, but little less comedic than others and I tried my hand at focusing on more of Yuji's strangeness and innocence here along with Suguru's character before he became a curse user.

You Are My Special - Again, another time I went for less comedy and fluff and tried with something else. I actually don't know how to categorize this one in terms of genre. SPECIALZ was stuck in my head for a long time and it got when I really started thinking about the lyrics and decided why not try writing something from Kenjaku's POV about Yuji? It may have took forever to write, but I'm glad I did. I actually wanted to write a companion piece of sorts but from Sukuna's POV about Yuji.

The Pink Sky and Cherry Blossoms - I actually just posted this fic and I'm glad I waited to answer this ask because of it. I was rereading the manga and came to Uro's fight with Ryu and Yuta and instantly fell in love with her character and thought about how would it have been like if Uro met my other favorite, Yuji? They have some similarities going on there and it was eye-opening writing those into this fic, especially with Uro's character. I wasn't around when that arc came out, so I didn't know how the fandom acted towards her, but for me, I just felt there's more to her than the surface. She's the Miruko of JJK to me as Yuji is the Izuku. Just as I would love for Miruko and Izuku to be a duo in a big sis-lil bro/mentor-mentee way, I love the same for Uro and Yuji.

The Craving That Paints Your Lips Red - The last fic I wrote for 2023 and a sequel to another fic, I wanted to try my hand at the horror again. But more tame, but still "Oh my gosh". I'm writing a post about it, but I have thoughts about Yuji and Sukuna's relationship and sometimes I have this feeling that Sukuna wants to corrupt Yuji, kind of like shape him to be the next him almost. Not for certain, but it's an idea that kind of struck me. For this fic, I wanted to explore a more horror fic side of Yuji housing the King of Curses. The best part of this fic for me is how I unintentionally stuck with the idea that Yuji keeps getting back up no matter how many times Sukuna tries to break him.

That list got longer than intended, but again, I have a lot of fics I have enjoyed writing! I'm glad to have talked about them and I thank you for asking! 💜