#i will pull a million of these gags out of a hat until he actually leaves my brain

[fruitsofhell]

[1littleshippergirl1]

Little info about this: it's like Canon, Harry defeated Voldemort but he and Tom Riddle are separate people. Tom and Harry are married, they dated during their Hogwarts years. Teddy has lived with them since Andie became too old to care for him. Technically Harry is supposed to be his dad, having adopted him but Teddy will still just think of him as his godfather

Also features soft!Tom b/c I can

----

The day had given way to dark; the snow was still steadily falling down, covering everything out there thickly. Teddy pressed his nose against the chilly glass, looking over at the illuminating Christmas lights that the people that lived across the street still hadn't taken down. The red and green lights twinkled, giving off their respective colored shadows.

It was about to be an exciting evening; it was Tom's birthday and Harry had planned a small party for him. Mrs. Weasley had initially wanted them all to have the party at the Burrow but Harry gently declined. Teddy knew why; Tom wasn't fond of being around a lot of people. He was alright with the Weasleys (he and Percy talked the most) but their home was small and it allow them to spread out like he would have liked.

Another thing Tom didn't like was a fuss being made out of his birthday. He insisted nothing needed to be done this year. He'd never liked celebrating it, never had a reason to particularly care about it. Harry was determined to change that, which he had apparently been doing since they'd met before they were friends, while they were just friends and as they got together.

Harry told him the plan a week ago: they were to act like it was an ordinary day so Tom was none the wiser. Then at about ten at night, they would start putting together the dining room while Tom was off probably in the library or elsewhere. Teddy wryly told his godfather not to go overboard. He had a tendency to do, attempting to make up for the lack of real childhood he and Tom didn't get to have.

What they were both unaware was that Teddy had been planning something special for a while now. He'd asked Percy for help a few months ago and now everything was ready. His stomach fluttered and he felt quite jittery. He couldn't wait until Tom saw his gift!

"When's he coming?" Teddy was, admittedly, slightly impatient to get started.

"Soon," Harry grinned. "I'll have to go get him." That was likely true. Tom could get lost in whatever he found interesting, not noticing how the hours would pass until someone pulled him away.

"Get him for what?" Came a deep voice from behind. Tom paused, staring at the decorations and food that was placed on the table.

"Surprise!" Teddy said excitedly. "Happy birthday, Tom!"

It wasn't easy to make Tom speechless, downright impossible it seemed. But today they'd done it. They'd rendered him unable to say a thing.

"I thought you forgot?" Tom blinked. He looked to Harry for an explanation. Teddy had never seen him look so innocent before. Like a child that was seeing gifts under the Christmas tree.

Harry cupped Tom's cheek, caressing it with his thumb. Teddy pretended he didn't see a red flush come over Tom's face. The older man was embarrassed (and as a result--angry) whenever someone caught him like that. "Surely you didn't think so? I'd never forget, love. Neither would Teddy."

Harry pressed a kiss on Tom's lips, pulling back with a bright beam on his face. "Now that you're here, you can put on your birthday hat!"

"Birthday-no," Tom was shaking his head. "Absolutely not. I refuse to wear such a silly thing."

"You mean after all the time I took to make it?" Harry was being deliberately quiet, as if he were hurt. Teddy knew he wasn't. He was merely exploiting the emotions Tom insisted he didn't have. For a good cause.

Tom groaned. He actually groaned. "Very well. Give it to me."

Immediately, Harry beamed again. "Fantastic! Here you are!"

Teddy barely refrained from snickering.

His godfather said often Tom pranced around like he was royalty or something, so it was only fitting that he wear a handmade crown with the words Dark Lord Wannabe on it.

He had no idea what that was about but evidently they did. Harry looked like he was on the verge of laughter and Tom's eye twitched.

"There, don't you look adorable and non threatening," Harry laughed out loud.

Tom was disgruntled. "I despise you, Potter."

"Watch it," Harry wagged a finger, "you're a Potter now. Don't go self hating on my watch."

It was a curious thing. People would have expected Harry to take Tom's name, not the other way around. But Tom wasn't one to play by the rules. He wanted to rid himself of his surname as soon as possible, proclaiming that it meant nothing to him. During their vows, Tom quietly said that Potter served as a symbolic reminder of what Harry had given him: a family, friends, hope, love.

Tom rolled his eyes, motioning towards the table. "Shall we get on with this?"

"Would it kill you to be enthusiastic?" Harry remarked as his husband sat down in one of the chairs.

"Quite. It would be tragic to pass away on my birthday."

"I dunno, maybe it's some sort of luck to ring in the new year?" Harry said teasingly.

A sparkle of mischievousness came into Tom's eyes and he swatted at Harry's bum. Teddy grimaced and hoped they could keep themselves in tact until they were in the privacy of their bedroom.

"You're being awfully naughty , Tom."

"In that case, I give you full permission to punish me until my behavior is sufficient," Tom smirked.

Teddy wanted to gag. "You guys are gross."

They ignored him.

"Alright, birthday boy," Harry swooped down to kiss his forehead. "What are we doing first? You pick."

"I suppose gifts," Tom shrugged like he was indifferent to the whole thing but Teddy wasn't fooled. He knew the older man was dying to know what he was bought.

"Alright," Harry nodded. He started to reach for the nearest box which do happened to be Teddy's.

"Wait!" He said quickly, causing the two men to swivel their heads in his direction. "Er, do mine last."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay... Open mine then, love." He handed Tom a small package.

It turned out to be a framed photograph of the first photo that was taken of them. Tom stroked it with a single finger. Teddy took a peek at it. They must have been no more than thirteen. Harry was laughing, ducking his head down as Tom threw a handful of snow on top his hair. At the last minute before the photo looped, they turned to smile at whomever was taking it. They were somewhat bashful , which was a funny look for them, especially Tom.

"Do you like it?" Harry asked, looking unsure. "I wasn't sure what to get you and Hermione suggested something sentimental and-"

Tom cut him off by pressing his lips against Harry's. When he was finished, he rested their foreheads together. "Thank you," He whispered.

"You really like it?" Harry had to clarify.

"I love it because it was from you."

Definitely not something most would think Tom Ri--Tom Potter would be caught saying.

They got through a few more gifts. Teddy observed how several emotions crossed Tom's face, though he would probably deny it. His heart began to thump the closer they were getting to when he would open Teddy's. He didn't know how the older man was going to react. Hopefully well.

"Alright, Teddy, your turn," Harry said cheerfully.

Teddy nervously presented Tom with the gift. The former Slytherin quirked an eyebrow. "You have to open it from the front," he explained, "so it's in order."

"Very well," Tom opened the box to revel folded up parchments. Teddy had been careful to keep it loose so nothing would wrinkle. "Every since I could remember, you've been around," Tom read aloud.

"You've taught me many things."

"You've given me confidence."

"You showed me how to negotiate better than anyone I know."

Harry snorted.

"But most of all, you've given me your love."

Tom wore an unreadable expression as he unrolled the last one, inhaling sharply. His eyes darted towards Teddy, who smiled hesitantly at him.

It took several moments for Tom to speak. "Are...are you sure, Teddy?"

"What?" Harry was curious and went to look. His eyes widened.

"I'm sure," Teddy said quietly. He stood in front of Tom and cleared his throat. "Tom Marvolo Potter, would you do me the honor of becoming my other dad?"

___

Tom Marvolo Potter, formerly Riddle, never cried.

Not since he was a small child and his in the comfort of his assigned bedroom to escape the torment of the other children in the orphanage.

But here he was, nearly thirty years of age and his eyes had grown misty and a lump formed in his throat. At one point when he was a child, this was all he ever wanted until the dream seemed like it was never to be and faded away.

And now he had it.

The last part of his gift that he unrolled had been adoption papers. They all seemed to be in order. Only his signature was needed in a couple of spots.

"Come here," Tom croaked out.

Teddy practically leaped into his arms, burying his face in the crook of Tom's neck. One hand was on the back of the boy's head. Tom squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting those tears to fall. He heard Harry from behind him and felt him grip his shoulder.

"You know," Tom said when he properly regained his emotions in check, "you can't take this back. No matter how angry you get at me."

It was meant as a feeble joke but his voice was thick, unable to push those... feelings back like he would preferred.

Teddy pulled back, his eyes glistening with tears. He nodded. "I know."

"Teddy..." this came from Harry, utterly in disbelief. "How did you...when did you-"

"Percy," Teddy said with a smile. "He helped me with everything." He looked at Tom shyly. "So it's a yes, yeah?"

"A million times yes," Tom did a rare thing and kisses him on the forehead. He wasn't as physically affectionate as Harry but he hoped Teddy knew he cared. "Thank you, Teddy. This is the best gift I've ever been given."

"I think I've been upstaged," Harry laughed lightly. "No way I can top that."

For the rest of the evening, the rest of what was left of the year, they ate cake and drank pumpkin juice and enjoyed each other's presence. Tom was the lightest he'd been in years; he watched as Harry and Teddy laughed over something that was said with a look of fondness on his face.

Never did he imagine having all this. Back at the orphanage where he sat on his lumpy cot, knees pulled up to his chest, he thought he was doomed to a life of misery. No one ever came to see him and even at Hogwarts kids had avoided him.

And then he met Harry, who brightened up his entire world and gave him possibilities he didn't know existed.

And now he had a family. All of his own.

The clock struck midnight. Tom reached over to squeeze Harry's hand.

"What's that for?" Harry whispered.

"Just a thank you."

Harry was bemused. "For what?"

Lips caressed his temple. "Everything."

[chilling-seavey]

Anything But Mine - The ‘Work Wife’

A/N Inspired by this tiktok; Florence meets Daniel’s ‘work wife’

Tuesday, December 15, 2026

Florence watched the elevator numbers tick up to 8 and then the doors slid open onto the floor. She was wrapped in her winter coat, legs clad in grey sweats and hair tied back in a haphazard ponytail and the stroller pushed in front of her. Two-year-old Lucy was asleep in the stroller, bundled up in her coat and hat and mitts and boots, already starting to miss her naptime. Florence was only hoping she wouldn’t wake up while at Daniel’s work because one look at her father and Lucy would never get back to sleep until he came home at the end of the day.

It had been a while since Florence had visited the studio and a new secretary sat behind the welcome desk. She was talking on the phone but hung up when she saw the guest approaching.

“Hi honey. What can I do for you?” she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“Just here to drop off Daniel’s laptop.” Florence answered with a tired sigh and a half smile as she set the bag on top of the desk. “He forgot it this morning.”

“That sounds like him! Wait, are you Florence?” the secretary smiled widely, “Oh my God, I’m meeting the other woman.”

Florence’s eyebrows furrowed a moment in confusion.

The young lady continued, “I’m sure you’ve heard lots about me.”

“No, actually.” Florence spoke slowly, eyeing her up carefully.

“You haven’t? Wow, Daniel’s keeping us a secret. How scandalous!” the lady giggled youthfully, “I’m Alexa. I’m Daniel’s work wife!”

Florence’s eyebrow peaked and she shifted in place, “His what?”

“His work wife! Funny story how that came to be; it started because I just always got his coffee exactly how he likes it in the morning, right when he came in! I just understood him on, like, a spiritual level!”

Florence had to work hard to keep her facial expression flat, “He’s allergic to coffee.”

“Oh, haha, I wondered why he never drank it! He is just too nice to even correct me, I guess. Silly man.”

“Can you just tell him I’m here?” Florence asked impatiently, tapping her fingers on top of the desk, her right hand still held protectively around the handle of the stroller.

“Oh, I’m sorry, he’s in a session right now and asked not to be disturbed. I’ll tell him you came by and I’ll leave this on his desk for him.” Alexa took the laptop bag and slung it over her own shoulder. “He’s been working so hard. I was just thinking that Dan and I have been staying here for so many late hours together recently that I probably see him more than you do! You poor thing. We take good care of each other though.”

“Dan?” Florence nearly gagged.

“We have little nicknames for each other.” Alexa giggled.

“Right.” Florence scowled.

“Anyway, I’ll let you go. You look tired. Babies keeping you busy?”

Florence couldn’t even get out a response before Alexa was stepping out from behind the desk and was heading down the hallway.

“I bet. Nice meeting you, Florence! Be good to our husband. I’m watching!”

As expected, Daniel came home a bit later than usual that night. Lucy had already been put to bed and Penelope and Clementine were just eating their bedtime snack when he came home. The two girls came running at the sound of the door and Daniel crouched down to give them equal amounts of kisses over each little cheek. They were already in their pyjamas and Daniel scooped up Penelope into his arms on the way back into the living room.

Florence was on the couch when he came in, her face flat.

“Thanks for bringing my bag today. I would have come to get it but I was so busy.”

She turned slightly when he leaned down to kiss her so all he got was her cheek.

Daniel frowned and set Penelope down so she could join Clementine back at their table to finish their snack. He sat down beside his wife, “What’s going on?”

“Just wondering if you’d prefer to go home to your other wife.”

“My what?” Daniel was taken back.

“Your other wife. Alexa. And your probable other kids too.”

Daniel couldn’t get a rebuttal out before the girls were bounding back over to him.

“Daddy, can you tuck us in?” Clementine asked eagerly, grabbing the sleeve of his sweater.

“Of course.” he put on a smile for his daughters but was concerned about Florence’s statement and he thought about it the entire time he tucked his eldest two into bed and read them a story and kissed them good night.

Florence was still on the couch when he returned from the hallway and he sat back down beside her with a tired sigh. She ignored him.

“Wanna tell me why you think even the concept of another wife would graze my mind?” he asked quietly.

“How long as Alexa worked there?”

“Few months. Maybe five. Why? Did she say something to you today?”

“Yeah. She said a fucking lot.” Florence scoffed. Her arms stayed crossed over his chest and she stared at the ground coldly. “I’m not the other woman first of all. And I’m not going to stand there and be ridiculed by a college freshman about how you and her are fucking in love or some bullshit.”

“She really said that?” Daniel’s eyes went wide.

“Yeah. Called herself your ‘work wife’…that you two just ‘get each other’…that ‘Dan and I spend so many late nights together haha’. Fucking bitch.”

Daniel’s face literally contorted in disgust, “Ugh, I hate ‘Dan’.”

“I know. And why haven’t you told her you’re allergic to coffee? She’s going around flaunting that she knows your order like it fucking matters.”

“She’s…she just seemed nice and I felt badly.”

“Well don’t! She thinks a cup of coffee is the start of a goddamn affair. What have you been doing with her after hours?”

“She’s not even there half the time after hours.” Daniel answered easily, honestly. “So put any idea of that out of your mind right now.”

“You’re not our husband.” Florence grumbled, turning her head away from him. “How dare she even say that to me.”

“Hey. I know.” Daniel shuffled closer and set his hand on her cheek to pull her gaze towards him. “I’m only yours. I promise.”

Florence sniffled and nodded lightly. Daniel tilted her head up to kiss her lips, lingering there a moment just so she could feel it and when he pulled back, she let out a little sigh.

“I’m sorry she said that shit. I’ll talk to her. That’s not okay.” Daniel whispered, resting back against the couch beside her and Florence shuffled to curl into his side.

“She said I look tired.” Florence mumbled sadly, “Do I look tired? Am I letting motherhood steamroll me?”

“No way.” Daniel tisked, sliding his arm around her waist to hold her close, “You are steamrolling motherhood.”

Florence chuckled lightly.

“I’m serious.” Daniel pressed a kiss to her forehead and slid his hand down to her bum, “Always have been and always will be the sexiest woman in the room to me.”

“Even like this?” Florence sniffled, leaning back from his shoulder so he could get a good look at her; messy hair and few little breakouts over her cheeks and dark circles under her eyes.

Daniel smiled, giving her bum a little squeeze as his other hand reached up to caress her face, “Especially like this. There is no other woman in the entire world that I would ever give a second glance to and especially not Alexa. I am wholeheartedly yours.”

Florence leaned up to kiss his lips a few soft times before nuzzling into his neck. He smiled and wrapped his arms right around her.

“You had no clue she was flirting with you, did you?” Florence asked after a while.

“Mm, no, I really didn’t.” Daniel admitted.

“You’re so innocent, Daniel James.” Florence giggled.

“Am not.” Daniel tisked. “But, listen, I’m going to buy you a nice dress for my work Christmas party this Friday and you’re going to dress up just how you like to and you’ll feel like the most beautiful woman in the room and I won’t be leaving your side all night.”

“You don’t have to buy me a dress.” Florence laughed lightly.

“Yeah, I do. A nice tight one with a low cut…” his fingers trailed down her clothed body. “Gonna blow everyone away.”

And that’s exactly what happened. Daniel bought Florence a pretty red dress specifically for the party and a matching red tie of his own. They showed up to his work party in dress and suit down to their polished black shoes and perfectly done hair and you’d be surprised to think they even had three children. Walking into the venue Florence truly felt like a million bucks and the proud smile that was on her face was only proof to her husband that his idea worked.

They mingled around the various groups, sitting at their table with Jack and his fiancé for a little bit, and eventually finding Alexa by the bar.

“Wow, Florence, you clean up well.” the young woman spoke straightly.

“Thank you.” Florence answered politely, hand still tucked in Daniel’s arm as they waited for their drinks. She had been raised in this exact setting; formalwear and conniving strangers, so Florence worked it like an expert.

Daniel was proud of Florence’s politeness in front of the woman who tried to ruin them a little if not at all but when Daniel was called over to speak with his boss, Florence lingered back at the bar a moment. She eyed up Alexa’s tight short dress and messy curls and leaned in towards her with a calm smile, her two diamond rings on display around her glass in the direction of the young lady, “If you go anywhere near my husband in any way, shape, or form that is anything except professional, I will see to it that you’re fired faster than you can say ‘mine’. So back off.”

Florence returned to Daniel’s side, shooting a glare at the young woman over her shoulder as Daniel’s arm slid around her waist protectively. Like hell she was ever going to let someone get in the way of her perfect catch. 

[cagestark]

Tony/ofc pretty please? Iron Man helps out after an animal breakout at the Bronx Zoo, and a young zookeeper there wants to thank him for his services? ~@ironspiderstarker

I had so much fun, even if I know nothing about zookeeping or animals. Hope you can suspend your disbelief and enjoy this PWP!

About this: Tony/unnamed, undescribed OFC. Oral. 2.4 k. Nff.  -

In her office is their first face to face meeting. 

(Sure, she’d been among the six other employees called in at three in the morning during the worst snow-storm New York City had seen in the last ten years. They’d all met trundled up in their coats and hats and scarves and boots outside the gates, shivering when Iron-Man—Iron-Man! she thought to herself, breathless—appeared like a star in the sky, landing in front of them in a flash of burning thrusters. 

But then, when they’d met, it had been face-to-faceplate, and everyone (herself included) had been far more concerned about Lyuba.)

“Cat’s out of the bag, huh?” the suit had said, voice more mechanical than human. “Or cage, should I say. That’s a hell of a malfunction in your security system. Why can’t you tranq her?” 

“She’s pregnant,” another employee said. “Twin, male cubs. There are more people in a single city block here than there are Siberian Tigers left in the entire world—we can’t risk causing her or the pregnancy any harm.” 

“And we can’t risk our funding by reporting this,” someone muttered under their breath.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen the news, but I usually wrangle humans. Bad guys, specifically. I don’t think I’m qualified to cat-sit.”

He had been persuaded, though. They had huddled around each other watching on the surveillance cameras as he approached the tiger without fear, coaxing her back to the enclosure. They’d all let out cheers, breathless with relief. One after one, they had trickled out until only you remained in the office, watching over footage of Lyuba roaming the zoo. Then rewatching the footage of Iron-man shooing her along like a sheep-dog might his flock.

When the knock comes, she calls out a distracted, Come in, without thinking about how any other employee wouldn’t have bothered knocking. When she looks up from the footage, Tony Stark is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. A masked madman might have shocked her less—though it certainly wouldn’t have made her so breathless. 

The closest she’s ever been to a celebrity is walking past Matt Damon once two Christmas Eves ago. This kind of close contact is far different. Tony Stark is far different. He looks at her with the most clever eyes she’s ever seen. She can’t help but feel like he sees through her, into her. When he smiles, her knees press together underneath the desk. He looks even more handsome in person than on television. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” he says, not looking sorry in the slightest. “I left my suit at the curb and running. But I figured this would only take a minute.” 

“I—sorry?”

He points to the computer you’re sitting at. “Whatever malfunctioned in your security system and opened the tiger enclosure? I figured I could lend a little expertise. Save me another midnight trip.” 

“Oh! Of course. Please—” 

Tony crosses the room with sure steps, and she scrambles up and aside to give him her seat. He brings with him the scent of expensive cologne, the kind with a name her lips are too clumsy to form. The smile he gives her is warm, lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. Then he turns his eyes to the computer, fingers moving expertly across the keyboard. 

She can’t help but stand by him and watch while he works. 

“Thank you again for helping us with Lyuba,” she says. All the words come out in order—no small miracle with how nervous she is, with the way her hands are shaking. She clasps them together in her lap. “I spent the most time with the large cats. I was actually the first one that they called when she escaped. If anything had happened to her, it would have broken my heart.”

“Hey, what’s the use of a multi-million dollar, practically indestructible suit if I can’t use it to help round up wayward cats in my downtime? And you know, I think I see your problem here. Jesus, this program is outdated. I’m going to make a donation when the sun’s up. A big one. Splurge on something a little more twenty-first century. Off-topic question here—” she blinks when he turns to face her. God, his eyes are huge, dark as the whiskey she keeps in her freezer. “—what would you have done if I weren’t in Manhattan?” 

“Well,” she says. “I probably would have gone in after her. I don’t have a multi-million dollar indestructible suit, but I do have knucklebones.” 

“I’m sorry—?” 

“They’re her favorite treat.” 

“Ah,” Tony says. “Well. I’m not exactly comforted by your protective equipment being something that only makes you look like an even tastier treat to a protective tiger.”

“Needless to say, I am very, very grateful.” 

He laughs, a charming sound. This time when her knees clench together, it’s a visible motion, one that she catches his eyes flickering down to spot it. When he turns back towards the computer screen, it’s with a smirk. He wets his lips, and she wets her own in unconscious mirroring. 

“You’re welcome,” he says lowly. 

She swallows, grateful that he can’t see the way her pulse pounds, the temporary insanity inside her that makes the next statement pass her lips:  “Maybe I could—thank you properly.” 

For a moment, the meaning doesn’t dawn on him. He stares with an almost innocent openness. Then his eyes widen fractionally. “Ah—a generous offer. Not necessary though, I assure you.” 

“I—of course. Jesus. I shouldn’t have even—I’m not usually so—” 

“It’s fine,” he says, smiling. “Like I said, a very, very generous offer. But I’m not usually in the business of haranguing sexual favors as payment for being a good samaritan.” 

“I’m hardly feeling harangued,” she admits. “If you aren’t interested though, I understand.” 

“It’s not a lack of interest,” he says. “Trust me. But I have been making notable progress in being less of an asshole these last few years. It’s taken a lot of self-reflection and, full disclosure, plenty of therapy, and—” 

“And saving tigers.” 

“—that too. I—” His tirade cuts off when she slips from the stool down to kneel beside him in the cheap Ikea rolling chair he’s seated in. His throat bobs as he swallows, staring down at the sight of her. When she places one hand just above his knee, he lets out a long, audible breath into the quiet room. 

“If you really aren’t interested,” she says, voice trembling. “Now is the time to say something.” 

His head falls back to rest against the top of the chair while he looks upwards toward the fluorescent lights. Then his burning gaze is back on her, eyes serious and searching as they rake over her face. “You really want to do this?” 

If he were to put his hand between her legs, he’d have overwhelming physical evidence, but this is the last thing she feels brave enough to say. She’s already on her knees in front of Tony Stark himself. That fills her quota of bravery for the day. Instead, she just nods fervently. Whatever his last reservations were fall to the wayside. His hands fall to his belt buckle and her legs clench together at the sound. Worse than one of Pavlov’s dogs, she thinks. 

“This is what you wanted, right?” he asks, quiet while he pulls out his cock. He’s only half hard, but it’s impressive. All those nights she’d spent gossiping with girlfriends about how Tony Stark must be well hung, and now here is proof. Cut, thicker than she’s used to, and long, jerking under her gaze. When she glances back up at his eyes, she can see that he’s asked a question, but she’s already forgotten what it is. 

Instead, she leans forward, letting one hand press flat against the well-trimmed pubic hair to steady the base while her tongue laps at the head. He tastes clean, maybe a little soapy, like he’d rushed to shower before stepping into the Iron-man suit. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees his hands tighten on the arms of the chair and considers that bolder encouragement than any spoken word. 

Pressing his cock upwards towards the band t-shirt he wears, she ducks down to lap at his balls, watching his face to assess his reactions. Judging by the way his eyes shut, full-mouth parting, this is something he likes. So she throws herself into it whole-heartedly, sucking one into her mouth and then giving attention to the other until Tony’s cock is full, silken, burning skin when she tilts her head to nuzzle against it. When she pulls back, she is pleased to see the way his chest heaves, the way precum pearls at the tip of his cock. 

When she leans in again to lap it away, Tony groans. 

“Jesus, your mouth,” he murmurs. 

She hums, heart buzzing with fresh confidence. As often as his eyes fall shut, he fights them open again and sets them on her, on her mouth where she presses open-mouthed kisses along his shaft, one palm cradling his balls in her warm palm. After a while, she is torturing herself as much as she tortures him, so she pulls back and opens her mouth (jaws already straining at the sheer width of him) and takes as much of his cock into her mouth as she can. 

The long, low fuck he mutters travels down between her legs, causing her to give a groan of her own. While she’d love to work a hand down to where she’s wet and aching, she needs both of them: one to work the length of his cock that she can’t swallow, and one to roll his balls. 

“Fuck me,” he says. “Did I say I didn’t want any more midnight trips to the zoo because—holy shit, that’s, that’s, God, please don’t stop—” 

She takes him deeper in response, letting the blunt head of his cock nudge the back of her throat. He jerks, hands tightening into fists on the arms of the chair. She takes a steadying breath and then works him deeper into her mouth, swallowing around the urge to gag, swallowing again and again when sounds begin to drip from Tony’s mouth in an endless stream, half-formed pleas and praises and filthy words.

It’s easy to lose herself between his legs, to become nothing but an aching knot of need, a useful hot mouth for his hips to fuck into (though he is very gentlemanly about it, little aborted thrusts, one shaking hand coming up to pet at her hair). She reaches up to encourage him to thread his fingers through her hair and take hold of her, to guide her, to use her. She keeps one hand fisted at the base of him to keep from injuring herself and otherwise lets him use her. 

She can’t help but imagine it happening again and again in a thousand different scenarios. Her beneath his desk while he works, keeping his cock warm. Her beneath the table during a rough meeting, his hands knotted in her hair. On her knees between his legs in his fancy penthouse, sucking him off for her own enjoyment. 

Suddenly he coaxes her off, one hand cupping her chin. “Are you alright?” he asks, breathlessly. “You were whining.” 

“‘M good,” she says, voice husky from the battering her throat has taken. “So good. Please don’t stop.” 

Tony shudders all over. “Fuck, I like the way you sound like that. Is that because of me, sweet thing? When your throat is sore in the morning, are you going to remember this and touch yourself?” 

“Uh-huh,” she breathes in the affirmative. Her eyes can’t focus on his face for any longer than a moment, not when his cock is there, glistening with her saliva, red and throbbing. Not when her mouth feels empty and open and desperate to be filled. She opens her mouth again, tongue lax, and he moans as he feeds his cock back between her lips. 

“I’m getting close,” he breathes, one thumb tracing the line of where her lips are wrapped around his cock. “Where do you want it? Absolutely no obligation to swallow, you’re in charge—” 

All the ideas are appealing: him pulling out to come on her face, pearlescent seed that she can lap from her lips. Pulling off so that she can finish him with her hand, so that she can watch every last twitch of his cock as she drags him over the edge. But this is the only chance she’ll ever have to be on her knees for this incredible, god-like man. There’s no chance she’ll let him cum anywhere but her mouth—no chance that she won’t swallow every last drop of him down. 

Kneeling up for better vantage, she plants both hands on hips and coaxes him forward, forward to thrust into her. The message must be clear as the realization crosses his face, eyes squeezing shut in an expression of the most sublime ecstasy. He murmurs one last warning before his pelvis tightens, abs showing in sharp definition where his shirt has ridden up. Then his cock jerks in her mouth, the scent of cum sharp on the back of her tastebuds. She groans, working her tongue as she swallows once, twice, thrice. 

As soon as he has finished, he draws her up onto shaking legs and pulls her onto his lap, his erection pressed between them as he cups her jaw tenderly and kisses the breath out of her. He must be able to taste himself in her mouth with the way his tongue plunders her, drags sensually against her own, but he only groans. 

When he draws back, his cheeks are red, eyes hazy. “I don’t even know your name,” he says, laughing a little. 

“I don’t remember it right now myself,” she says. 

“How about your address?” Tony asks. “I’d like to continue this, if you’ll have me. Somewhere more private. Unless you’re comfortable coming back to mine.” 

She blinks in surprise, sex throbbing when she wonders how he means to continue this. This whole night has been like a fever dream, the strangest, wettest fever dream of her life. And she realizes that she isn’t ready to wake up. So she drags her knuckles gently across his iconic facial hair and says, throat raw: “I’d like that.” 

[jaeminlore]

The Sound That Leads Me Home Again | Haechan

series timeline | playlist

summary: as the seasons change, remember how i used to be / i hear the wind call your name, it calls me back home again. 

words: 6.1k+

category: seasons series finale, angst, fluff, prince!hyuck, hyuck feels lost, together they feel okay

warning(s): way too many reunited scenes, this is technically just part one i have a lot more for this finally but i need more time, blood, wounds, torture, branding, mentions of slavery/trafficking, bad writing

a/n: this is the finale for the 12 days of jaeminlore christmas! thx to everyone who have supported me and read my stuff. happy holidays and i love you all to bits and pieces

Donghyuck is seventeen years old when he is awoken by a guard, telling him that he has a messenger waiting for him at the back gate.

Donghyuck feels giddy, because this has to be his special delivery. He ordered it ages ago from special miners in the western mountains.

You're still asleep beside him, and Donghyuck stays still for as long as he can, soaking up the feeling of your skin beside his. It's not always that he gets such intimate time with you, and he isn't quite sure if it's as important to you as it is to him.

So he savors it.

But a messenger waits for no one, so Donghyuck slips on a pair of pants and grabs some braces to hold them up. He shoves his feet into his sandals and sneaks out of the door, ordering the guards to let you sleep as long as you need.

Donghyuck runs down the stairs, avoiding the questioning glances of the staff. "I have a package!" He quickly explains to the guard at the door. "It's a secret for Y/n, so please make sure they don't come through this door."

The guard agrees, used to Donghyuck's antics. He opens the door just a crack, allowing Donghyuck to sneak through.

There's a person about his age standing with a box. "Your Highness," they say. Their hat casts a shadow across their face. "I believe you ordered something from the western mountains?"

"Yes!" Donghyuck bounds over and peaks into the box. His eyebrows scrunch in confusion when he realizes there's just a small tea towel. "Wait. I ordered a gem ring."

"It's wrapped up," the messenger says with a gentle laugh. "Go ahead, unwrap it. Make sure I brought the right one."

Donghyuck feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something isn't right, but he can't figure out what. Maybe it's because it feels too quiet out. Donghyuck wonders where the guard is.

Still, he reaches into the box and grabs the towel. "Wait. There's nothing in—"

The messenger shoves the towel against Donghyuck's nose and mouth until he can't breathe in anything but some toxic smell and soft cotton.

He tries to pull away, but he begins to feel sleepy, and he feels his limbs loosen.

He blinks heavily. Then again, and he finds he can't keep his eyes open any longer.

He falls asleep.

-

Mortem is a pirate with an x carved beneath his eye. It's all Donghyuck can stare at, tied to the mast of a rather large ship. The person who kidnapped him stands just behind Mortem, watching Donghyuck as if he knows how to undo the millions of sailor's knots tying him to the mast.

He gives Donghyuck a list of rules, which the prince easily interpreted as stay quiet, and stay still. And that will be no problem, because he's got a gag in his mouth, and his feet are bound.

The sun shines down on the crew as the mill around. Some use their breaks as a chance to tease Donghyuck, and it's amusing at first.

Then they start saying things that make Donghyuck feel uneasy.

Of course, this entire ordeal makes him feel uneasy, but he knows his soldiers know the seas better than anyone. He can't be hidden out here, and he's got plenty of allies on land. He figures he'll be found within a week, at most.

"Just a pretty little thing," one sailor coos. His teeth are stained brown, and he gets far too close to Donghyuck for comfort. He cackles in his ear, and Donghyuck can feel some spittle land on his cheek. He can't wipe it off. "The merchants will have a field day with you. I imagine they'll get a lot of money for a prince."

"Who wouldn't want a prince?" The next voice is a woman. She's got long, jagged nails that break skin when she rakes them down Donghyuck's face. She grabs his cheeks with her hand and squeezes hard. "I'd pay an infinite amount to have my own way with him."

Donghyuck visibly recoils, and he suddenly begins to fear that Mortem really will sell him to the slave merchants. After all, unless he wants a ransom, there are only a few other ways to get money for a human.

(Donghyuck can't sleep for days.)

-

Donghyuck is seventeen when he is branded. Probably branded by the slave merchants Mortem sold him to. The hot steel against his neck burns so much that Donghyuck's vision goes out, and he screams in a pitch he wasn't aware he could hit.

When he touches it as tentatively as he can — this is later on, after he's been placed in a barred room guarded by two large men — he can feel dried blood and fried skin. He can smell it, too, and he knows it'll be infected if he doesn't do something about it.

He doubts anyone here will give him any type of solvent.

So he waits, hoping the wound will simply heal on its own.

There's a porthole behind him. It fits into the wall, situated behind a shelf. Donghyuck knows he's skinny, and he's gotten a lot skinnier since they've taken away his food.

He tries to keep count of the days he is on the ship, but when they begin to blur together, he thinks he should take his chances.

If he can sneak out and fall into the ocean, surely there will be an island or ship nearby to swim to.

Donghyuck is no stranger to the ocean. He's grown up with it, he's watched it be merciful just as he's watched its violence. He knows the sea calls to him now; calls him to safety, to a home.

He can hear it almost. He would swear it to anyone listening. It's the sound of home, and it carries in the wind. The guards are sleeping soundly, as if they can't hear a single thing.

Donghyuck takes a plank of wood off of the shelf and chucks it outside, waiting until he can hear the splash.

And then, bracing his foot atop the remaining shelf, Donghyuck pushes himself through the porthole and falls into the sea.

-

Donghyuck wakes up with his skin screaming. He's somehow hot and cold at once, shivering in skin now raw from the sun. He peers up at the perpetrator, willing it to shine less, or at least hide behind a cloud for a bit of relief.

He clutches the large piece of shelving, wondering how on earth he managed to drift all night without getting caught.

Now he kind of regrets his decision.

It's just because his face hurts so badly, and he feels half-delirious and half-dead already. Though, if he counts on his luck, this feels like his chance to get back to his home. If he can just figure out where he is, he can get to where he's going.

He sucks in a dry breath. It's only been a day, but it feels like years since he's drunken any water. Then again, he can't remember the last time the merchants actually fed him. He contemplates drinking the saltwater, but he can recall every lesson when he was younger telling him not to.

He lays his head down again, and tries to will the waves to send him help.

-

Help, according to the ocean, comes in the form of a siren named Renjun.

Renjun is the oddest creature Donghyuck has ever encountered. Of course, he's never encountered anything like a siren. And the legends he read as a child never described a siren as having terrifyingly sharp teeth, and a tail so large is could knock someone out cold.

Renjun feeds Donghyuck freshwater and fruit. He brings in blankets from who-knows-where. When Donghyuck asks, Renjun replies that fishing boats are always sailing around.

And when Donghyuck asks why Renjun can't take him to a fishing boat so that he can get home, Renjun hisses at him and doesn't give him food for three days.

Donghyuck learns to sleep on the cave floor. Learns to stay away from the water's edge, because sometimes Renjun will try to pull him in. Learns to calculate the times Renjun is away, so he can figure out how much time he would have if he tried to sneak out. Learns not to get on Renjun's bad side. Learns to say thank you when Renjun gives him something.

The first time someone finds the cave, it's a soldier from the northern kingdom, and Donghyuck knows him by name. Mateus. He sees Donghyuck and gestures for him to get into the water and swim out with him.

Donghyuck shakes his head. He warns him about Renjun.

Mateus is the first to not heed his warnings, but he isn't the last.

Time after time again, someone makes their way into the cave on their own, and time and time again, Renjun sinks them into the bottom of the lake, never to be seen again.

There's a salt-crested blanket around his shoulders, weighing him down. Donghyuck feels a weakness in his chest that he has never felt before. He feels it tighten and snap, until his will is left broken.

And Donghyuck accepts that he will never see his home again.

-

Donghyuck is eighteen years old — though he doesn't know it — when Renjun brings another human into the cave.

And Donghyuck really begins to wonder why fate seems to hate him, because it's Mortem's child. It's the one who took him from the castle in the first place.

Donghyuck feels anger and defeat flutter across his chest and down his arms. His fingers tingle and he can't help but speak out of turn. Especially when the person addresses him. "Prince Donghyuck."

"It's you," he says. He feels his stomach clench. It feels like bile is rising up his throat. "You're the one who lured me out of the castle. You said you were a messenger." His voice cracks at the end, and Donghyuck lets the tears fall as silently as he's trained them to.

"I'm- I'm sorry-"

"Save it," Donghyuck croaks. "It doesn't matter if you are. He won't let me leave."

And it's true. As much as Donghyuck wishes he was in a safe place, he feels just as much as a prisoner as he did in the merchant's ship.

He's not sure how to get out of here, but he knows just as sure as Renjun does, that Mortem's child will not get out of here alive.

Donghyuck tries to warn them. Tries to tell them that they're doomed, but they realize only seconds too late.

Donghyuck watches as Mortem's child puts up a bigger fight than anyone else has.

For a moment, Donghyuck sees this as his chance. If someone can best the siren, then he can get out.

Donghyuck then wonders this is just a ploy to get him back on Mortem's ship.

He wonders who to root for.

And then he's being spoken to. "Help!" It's his kidnapper. His original one anyway. "He'll listen to you, right? He likes you."

Donghyuck knows they're right. But he's tried to stop Renjun before, and it never works. He can never sway the siren away, because if the siren lets a soldier live, the soldier will take Donghyuck from Renjun. And that can't happen. After all, the siren is obsessed with him, however strange it is.

"Stop!" Donghyuck shouts, just as he sees the pirate's eyes close.

Renjun lets go as soon as he hears Donghyuck's demand. And then the pirate is sinking, clearly weak, so Donghyuck dares to go to the water's edge.

He grabs the pirate around the waist and yanks them out of the water. He pulls them over to the warmest corner and covers their shivering body with his blanket. "There, there," he says, voice soft and shaky. He wonders if Renjun will be angry with him. "Here, drink some water."

(Donghyuck doesn't expect the pirate to repay him by striking a deal with Renjun. He doesn't expect Renjun to agree, and swim him out towards the western docks.)

-

Donghyuck is eighteen years old — and he knows it now — when he's brought to King Kun's castle by a western fisherman.

He hasn't seen a proper court in nearly two years, and he's so paralyzed by shock that he sleeps in the healer's room longer than he's slept in years.

Perhaps it's just to escape the questions.

Here comes a tsunami of inquiries that Donghyuck can't really answer. Because yes, he was kidnapped by Mortem, and no, he has no idea how Mortem died. Yes, he was taken by merchants and no, he has no idea where they take their prisoners. No, he didn't wash up on shore. There was a siren and the very pirate who kidnapped him and Donghyuck wishes he had more answers because all of the empty spaces make his head spin.

And Donghyuck wonders if his parents know. King Kun is making him sip some kind of healing cordial and the Queen is telling him he's been pronounced dead across the land. "There was a funeral and everything," Kun adds, as if it alleviates any burning questions he has.

Donghyuck stares up at the ceiling, where vines grow across the large wooden beams. He doesn't answer, because he doesn't want to. He doesn't feel like explaining everything that happened, because he isn't sure any of that matters.

He's told to stay put, and that he'll be taken to the Eastern Kingdom when he's fully healed.

Donghyuck pretends he's doesn't notice everyone staring at the brand. Pretends he doesn't notice the worry in everyone's eyes.

He wonders where Renjun is. And the pirate, and if he could ever see them again. Not because he liked being trapped in that cave, but there were certainly less eyes on him there.

-

The Eastern Kingdom guides him back home with celebratory flowers and songs, all down the carriage's path. Donghyuck finds that he wants to close his eyes and sleep during the entire trip.

So he does, and when he wakes, he is greeted by his own mother.

Donghyuck had wondered — when he was captured — if his parents would miss him. He had wondered how long it would take for them to even notice if he was gone, as they seemed to forget him in their presence.

But his mother gathers him into her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks. And his father wraps his arms around the two of them, squeezing tightly. He's chanting, "My boy, my boy," and people are cheering like it's some sort of spectacle that Donghyuck is finally home.

His mother gasps at the brand and hands him her kerchief to cover it up. Donghyuck wonders why he has to be ashamed for something someone else did to him.

He wants to know why his arrival is celebrated but what happened to him is taboo.

Donghyuck doesn't feel like talking, so he nods and shakes his head at all the right times. He lets his mother grasp his hand and pull him into the coolness of the palace.

He sees the staff lined up to greet him, and for the first time, he feels a bit lighter. He looks for you in the group of launder maids and catches the eye of another. She seems to understand who he's looking for, and she shakes her head. Mouths, "Y/n’s not here."

Donghyuck wants to grasp on to the feeling of hope when he thought you were.

-

You are eighteen years old and you're holding a pirate at knifepoint at some tavern off the southern coast. "You killed Mortem. Tell me your name."

The man looks more or less impressed by the way you wield your weapon. "Jeno," he says. There's kohl around his eyes and he raises his brow at you in confusion. "Why does it matter?"

"I'm looking for someone," you say. "They say he's dead as well."

"The prince?" Jeno asks. "I live at sea. I don't even know what he looks like. I didn't even know he was missing when I attacked Mortem."

"Who do you know?" You ask. You've no leads after Mortem was announced dead. With the entire world assuming Donghyuck is now gone too, you feel like one of the only ones left searching for him. "Anyone who could've known him?"

Jeno sighs. He looks disinterested if anything, like he isn't afraid of you at all. Perhaps he isn't, but you keep the knife pointed at his chest just in case. "There was a boy on my ship. Jaemin. He seemed like he would know of the prince. Not necessarily personally or any-"

"Lord Na?" You ask. Jaemin was one of the first to go searching as well, only he went for sea while you stayed on land. Since being banished from the kingdom, he hasn't made any attempts to contact you. "You know Jaemin? You've seen him?"

"He was on my crew," Jeno says. "Sailed off in the Peribat. I lost track of him after that."

"I have to find him," you say, though you can tell Jeno is speaking the truth. He can't help you. "I'll find him on my own. Thank you for answering my questions."

"Gave me no choice, really," Jeno says, pointing to your knife. But then he smiles, and his eyes curl up into little crescent moons.

"Donghyuck would like you," you blurt.

Jeno takes it as a compliment.

(It's a quarter past midnight when the newsboy wakes everyone in the tavern up with the news.The news, that Donghyuck has been found and returned to the Eastern Kingdom.

You waste no time packing your things. On the way out, you tip the newsboy a few more shiny coins than usual.)

-

Donghyuck wishes everyone in this castle would just leave him alone. He understands completely, why he's been given a personal body guard to be shadowed by. He isn't the problem. Jarius is strong and silent, and he makes no move to prevent Donghyuck from hiding in the broom closet every once in awhile.

No, it's the people inside of the palace. It's the visitors that ask him invasive questions about what happened to him and if he can describe anything in detail. Donghyuck wishes Jarius would talk at these times, if just to make the visitors shut up.

Donghyuck lays on the garden wall. It's around four in the morning, and the only sound heard besides the distant waves is the bubbling of the koi pond, and the tinkling of wind chimes.

Jarius is sitting somewhere near the gate, half-asleep. He isn’t used to Donghyuck's all-nighters. Truthfully, Donghyuck isn't either. But he can't sleep at night. There are too many thoughts in his head, and he can never get rid of the nightmares, even with the medicine his healer has given him. Donghyuck, for once, just wants to close his eyes and not immediately go to the darker places of his mind.

He listens to the night. For once, it's serene, and he feels like the only person in the world. It should be lonely, but it's nearly a relief.

He turns and watches the edge of the woods, just behind the garden wall, where the dogwood trees stand crookedly beneath the moon.

Then, as cleanly as a mirage, Donghyuck sees a figure emerge from the wood. He thinks of calling for Jarius, but he isn't afraid. A familiar feeling washes over him, and he sits up. "Y/n?"

You run to the garden wall, looking no worse for wear. You're still just as adorable as ever, only now you're wearing clothes closer to what a villager would wear, rather than a launder maid. Your hair is tied back into a plait, and Donghyuck reaches for it before he can stop himself. "You're real."

"You're alive," you retort. Donghyuck lets you reach for his face. Lets you touch his skin. Lets you climb on top of the garden wall and face him, eyes filled with happy tears. "How are you alive?"

Donghyuck knows it's not a question he needs to answer. This is just you astonished at his luck. And honestly, if he felt like any of this was real, Donghyuck would be astonished at his luck, too.

"There's a cottage I live at," you say. "It's away from the shore and the palace. If you ever need to get away."

Donghyuck wants to jump into your arms and stay there until he feels better again, but he knows you're waiting until he makes the first move. "I want to go now," he whispers. "With you."

-

Your cottage scarcely furnished, but there's a bed with butterscotch-colored sheets and a blanket that looks softer than a cloud. You hand Donghyuck a new pair of clothes and show him to the tub. "You can wash up here."

Donghyuck doesn't want to. He's not sure why, but since he's been back, baths have been the bane of his existence. He can't stand the feeling of being even partly submerged in the water, and it causes a disparaging twist in his stomach. "I don't want to— the water—"

"You don't have to," you quickly say. "Not right now; you can wait. Here, hold out your hands."

Donghyuck does; his hands are stained with dirt from the garden wall. There's soil beneath his fingernails, and he nearly hides his hands in shame.

Until you're grabbing them and covering them with a damp rag. You patiently wipe the dirt away from his skin, keeping gentle around the scratches and wound. "I never thought I'd see you again," you say as you move to clean off his face, this time with the other side of the rag. "Truly, Hyuck."

Donghyuck hasn't heard that nickname in years, and perhaps it's the way you're being so gentle; accommodating him and listening to him like no one else will. Perhaps it's the fact that he hasn't cried since this entire thing happened and he suddenly feels safe enough to. Whatever the cause, Donghyuck finally begins to cry. It starts slow at first, but it builds into full sobs until you're wrapping your small frame around Donghyuck's. And he suddenly feels so safe, so okay that he holds you tightly and lets himself go. Lets himself sob until he is truly out of tears.

You don't discourage him. You only run your fingers through his hair, freshly cut after returning home. What were once black curls are now short strands he can't hide behind, and it makes Hyuck even sadder than before. "That's it," you say when he cries harder. "You've been so brave, Hyuck. You've done so well."

It's the words he wanted to hear. It's all he's wanted to be assured of: that he did what he could in the worst of circumstances. He wants people to praise him for getting through it, and stop trying to make him forget everything so quickly when he has barley begun to process it.

"They branded me," he says, choking back a sob. "The sl-slave merchants. It's so people would know I'm a royal. That I'm worth more. That I'm more valuable-" he breaks down again, and he wants to tell you what the pirates told him the first night he was taken. He wants to tell you that he has no idea what would've happened if he hadn't have escaped. He wants to tell you that his year with the siren was one of the scariest times in his life and yet it was the better outcome. And somehow, through his tears and your patience, he does. He tells you everything, and you listen just as if he's never been gone in the first place.

-

Jarius is at the cottage in the morning. Donghyuck is thankful that he doesn't scold him. Instead, the large man sits at the kitchen table and asks for a cup of the same tea you and Hyuck are sharing. In his accented voice Donghyuck has barely ever heard before, he talks to them about his brother. "Silver worked on a ship," he says. "He was a cook, until he took ownership of a tavern down near the southern ports. Or is it the northern? I dunno. Says the tavern was a gift from a lad he sailed with for awhile. Jaemin... I think-"

"Jaemin?" Donghyuck croaks. "You know where he is?"

"Oh, it's not your Jaemin, Your Highness," Jarius says. "Lord Na was banished a few months after your situation. Sailed off and never— oh. I suppose it could be your Jaemin."

"So Silver might know where he is?" you ask. "Does Jaemin even know Donghyuck is alive?"

Jarius takes a sip of his tea. "Well, I can't say. Silver's Jaemin still talks to him. He owns a toy shop in the Southern Kingdom. ' Ain't never made the connection, though. That's my fault. Silver was always the smarter one."

"You're smart, Jarius," Hyuck says. "You found me pretty quickly. And you're nice to me, even after—"

"What happened to Mateus isn't your fault," Jarius says. Hyuck told Jarius about Mateus' death as soon as he could, knowing the two were quite fond of each other whenever Mateus would visit with Prince Mark. "He did what any of us would've done."

You grab Hyuck's hand under the table. It's a warm gesture, unnoticed by Jarius, but it helps Hyuck out nonetheless. Comforts him when he feels like he hasn't said enough.

"Anyways, speaking of the Northern Kingdom, Prince Mark arrived this morning. Should I send him over here?"

"Yes, please." Hyuck likes the thought of Mark dropping everything and coming over to see him.

-

You leave Hyuck and Mark alone as soon as the two begin crying in each other's arms.

Hyuck is thankful for the privacy, despite you having already seen him cry. He holds onto Mark, who has always felt like the only family he's ever really had.

"I'm sorry," Mark croaks. "I'm so sorry we couldn't find you sooner."

"It was up to Renjun," Hyuck says, and follows up with a quick explanation.

And Mark hugs him again, no words needed. It makes Hyuck feel validated again, and he stays silent in fear of choking up. He just nuzzles his face into Mark's neck and lets himself be held.

-

You've just turned nineteen years old, and the southern kingdom is having a small festival for the turn of the seasons.

Donghyuck is wrapped in a ruby-colored cloak, and his hair has been dyed back to copper. It's gotten longer as well, and though Donghyuck has grown more silent, he's never been bad company.

He speaks to a therapist from the Western Kingdom to help with his hydrophobia, as well as his post-traumatic stress.

He can take baths now, though they have to be quick, and there has to be someone in the room with him. And his nightmares are still prevalent, but he knows how to calm himself down when he's startled awake by one.

So things are getting better, and you're helping in any way Donghyuck asks of you.

You can't help but still be in love with him. Not that you've ever stopped, but you've certainly put your feelings on hold for Donghyuck's sake. And now that he's getting better, you can't help but let the feelings resurface.

The Southern Kingdom isn't exactly cold, but there's an icy wind that runs through the hills every now and again, and it's enough to wear a cloak.

Prince Yukhei greets Donghyuck like a brother, hugging him and asking how he's been. There's a sparkle in his eye, and you wonder what it is.

Then, he's introducing you and Donghyuck to his daughter, Emrys, and all is revealed.

"We're looking for a toy shop," Donghyuck says. "My friend, Jaemin, works there."

"Jaemin owns it!" Emrys answers before Yukhei can. She grabs Donghyuck's hand (or rather, about three of his fingers) and pulls him down the street. "Come with me! Jaemin is one of my best friends."

Donghyuck laughs. It's such a rare sound nowadays that you savor it. You can't help but wish he laughed more, if just to remind you that he's okay. He's beside you and he's okay.

-

Donghyuck is surprised to find out that Jaemin owns a toy shop. Not because it's out of character for him (actually, it's right up his alley) but because Jaemin has never really been one for business.

But this shop is quite quaint. It's settled behind more important buildings, like the bakery and the schoolhouse.

There's an awning, striped with the colors of the Eastern coat of arms, which makes Donghyuck wonder if he's imagining it.

Emrys pulls him into the front door before he's ready.

Wind chimes are used as a doorbell, and Donghyuck hates the way it announces his entrance.

There he is. Jaemin, with hair long enough to be pulled into a ponytail. In fact, it is, as he and someone else huddle over what looks like a wooden ship.

Donghyuck stops in the doorway, staring at his old mate. Time has played such a horrid trick on him, and he wishes it didn't feel like Jaemin has forgotten all about him.

"Jaemin!" Emrys yells.

Jaemin doesn't start. He simply winds up the gear on the back of the wooden ship and replies. "I'll be right with you, Emrys."

The other worker looks before Jaemin does. They lock eyes with Donghyuck and "Oh my– Jaemin. Look."

"What?" Jaemin finally does look up, and when his eyes meet the prince's, he bolts for the counter. He pushes through the small door and barrels into Donghyuck.

Donghyuck is surprised at the literal impact. He clutches Jaemin back just as tight, and he can feel how skinny the younger boy has gotten. "You're so skinny."

"I've been mourning," Jaemin retorts. He squeezes Hyuck around the middle. "And you're one to talk. I can feel your ribs."

"I've been sad," Donghyuck admits. "Getting used to being home again isn't easy."

He can feel Jaemin's shoulders shake against his chest. "Don't cry. I'm here now."

"I thought you died," Jaemin says, fully sobbing. "I'm allowed to cry."

Donghyuck laughs. "I missed you. Also, I hope you know that your banishment has been pardoned by me."

"Of course it has," Jaemin says teasingly, still nestled into Donghyuck's arms. For the first time since he's been back, Donghyuck feels like he's the one who is needed, and not the other way around.

It feels good; sends a delightful chill down his spine. He feels complete, and it's hard to explain.

But it's the way Jaemin won't let him go.

That's what makes Donghyuck finally believe that everything is going to be okay.

-

You lay beside Donghyuck in his bed.

He's facing you, tender eyes tracing the expanse of your face. He's not been as quiet since Jaemin has been invited back into the kingdom. Of course, his shop is in the Southern Kingdom, so that's where he stays most of the time.

But for Donghyuck to know that he's there for him is enough.

You can feel the shift in Donghyuck's mood now that his closest friend is back.

It's refreshing to see him so serene. He's just watching you now, quiet and ready for bed.

He's taken to sleeping in only shorts, despite the chilly breeze of the night. But it showcases his dark shoulders as they peak out from the hem of his blanket. You reach out to touch the freckles on his skin. "You're pretty," you say.

He blinks as an answer. His lips curl up into a smile and you can't help but feel a burst of pride for causing it.

He's so important to you. Donghyuck has always been important. As important as water to an ecosystem. As important as the rain after a draught. He's more important than anyone else in the world to you, though you've never been able to tell him.

He's so different from the boy he once was, splashing around in the brook and ruining his clothes. He's more calculated now, as if he's teetering on the edge of some unknown cliff. He's always tentative, not reckless anymore. Never a toe out of line, but just as gentle. Just as warm.

"You're pretty, too," Hyuck says, voice soft. "I really missed you, you know."

"I missed you," you say. "Every day I looked for you. I threatened people into telling me information about you."

"No," Donghyuck gasps. He giggles into his cotton pillow. "I can't imagine you threatening anyone."

"I used a knife," you say, laughing along with the prince. "Listen, Hyuck! I missed you, okay?"

Donghyuck snuggles into your side. His skin exudes warmth as he presses close to you.

You trail your nails up and down his bare back, scratching it in a soothing way that makes him relax. You feel him slump against you and fall asleep.

You kiss his head.

-

"Can you sing that song you used to sing?" You ask Donghyuck.

You're sitting on the garden wall, and Donghyuck is stretched out with his head atop your lap. The stars twinkle overhead, and you can hear the faint sound of wind chimes.

"For The Dancing and The Dreaming?" Hyuck hums. His eyes are closed, and you trace your fingertips down the slope of his nose.

"Yeah. That's my favorite song. Can you sing it to me?"

For a moment, you think Donghyuck has fallen asleep, for he keeps his eyes closed and doesn't answer. But then, "I'll swim and sail on savage seas... With n'r a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life if you would marry me. No scorching sun nor freezing cold will stop me on my journey. If you will promise me your heart and love me for eternity."

"It's really beautiful," you whisper.

Donghyuck opens his eyes and grabs your hand. He continues to sing, "My dearest one, my darling dear...Your mighty words astound me. But I've no need for mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me. But I would bring you rings of gold, I'd even sing you poetry, and I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me."

You know the next verse, so you pick it up just as Donghyuck stops his. "I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry. I only want your hand to hold; I only want you near me."

Donghyuck giggles. He sits up and presses his shoulder to yours. He nuzzles his nose against yours and sings along with you, "To love and kiss to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming, through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your laugh inside me. I'll swim and sail the savage seas with n'r a fear of drowning. I'd gladly ride the waves so white, if you will marry me!"

You giggle and let your face fall onto Hyuck's shoulder.

"You know," Donghyuck starts, "I was going to get you a ring. Just before I was taken away."

"What?"

Donghyuck shrugs. His skin is still marred with the brand, but it doesn't seem like such a burden to him anymore. "I was going to marry you."

His words are casual, but you sense the shakiness in his tone. "I mean, if you would've said yes."

Donghyuck reminds you of the sun. Of the grainy sand and the way it gets stuck between one's toes. He's the clouds at midday, and the way a sailboat seems to always find its way back home.

Donghyuck reminds you of the laughing brook so many nights ago, and you find that you want to cherish him forever. You always have. "I would say yes now," you admit.

Donghyuck lets out something between a laugh and a sound of disbelief. "Really? Even now? You'd marry me?"

You cup Donghyuck's cheeks and pull him against you. The garden wall cuts into your thigh when you shift closer to him. When Donghyuck's lips touch yours, you feel like the sun has ignited in the pit of your stomach, and you can breathe again.

You can breathe him in. You can taste the cherry lip tint and the salt of the sea. You can feel the toughness of the scar on his neck, and you kiss it.

And you take your time reminding Donghyuck that he's the only one you've ever loved, and will ever love.

He's here, he reminds you between kisses. He's here, and he's not going anywhere.

[13-reasons-ideas]

Finding Peace In Another Part 24

A/N: This chapter contains SMUT. DO NOT read if you are under 18 or are uncomfortable with smut. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I apologize for the delay. I started my old job back and it has been really busy. Hoping to use Thursday and Friday to get ahead some. As always, feedback is appreciated and much love.         

Saturday night, Bailey and I ventured out to school to go to the game. “Can I drive?”

“No. My car, I drive.”

“Ugh fine. Can I drive on the way home?”

“I’ll think about it.” Not freaking likely Bailey. He whistled as we pulled up to the school.

“I didn’t realize there actually were different buildings at American high schools. How do you know where you’re going?”

“Same way I did back home. Trial and error. And friends giving me directions or walking me to class. What did you think I meant the other day when I said they helped me out when I got here?”

“I don’t know.” We began walking to the football stadium. “Is it just me or is everyone staring at me?”

“Not you. Her.” Cyrus said, popping out of the crowd. “Name’s Cyrus.” He nodded to Bailey.

“Bailey.” He nodded in return, “why are they staring at her?”

“She’s dating Montgomery de la Cruz. People are going to stare.”

“I didn’t think he was ‘stare at his girlfriend’ bad. Becca, what did you leave out?”

“Nothing important. He just… tends to have issues dealing with his emotions is all.” I explained. Bailey stopped in his tracks and grabbed my hand, his expression hard and his eyes cold.

“Issues?”

“Not with me. I was serious the other day. He wouldn’t lay a hand on me.”

“Fucking better not.”

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t like the guy but I really don’t think he’s the type. To hurt women, I mean. He pretty well keeps his outbursts restricted to guys.” Cyrus added, quickly.

“Good.” Bailey said, putting an arm around me, out of habit. People did double takes but when I flicked him in the face gently, they lost interest.

We made it to the bleachers and found decent enough seats. The girls next to us, noticed the stranger in their midst and stared at him a moment, blushing, before turning back to each other and giggling about how cute he is. I know he’s cute. Before one girl could make a move, I cut her off. “He’s with me. He’s my best friend. He isn’t from here and he isn’t staying, trust me. It’s not worth the trouble.” The girls looked shocked and Cyrus burst out laughing. Bailey looked astonished that I would prevent him from whatever “moves” he could have made.

“Did you see that?” He asked Cyrus.

“Dude don’t worry about it. You dodged a bullet with those two.”

“Oh?”

“Blonde doesn’t understand the concept of a one-night stand and the brunette doesn’t understand ‘not my type’.”

Bailey shivered, “thanks Becky.”

“Bailey! What did I say about you calling me Becky?”

“I know, I know. But you love me so you can’t do anything about it.”

“I could call Jessica and tell her how much you miss her.” I challenged. He gulped and squeaked.

“I take it Jessica is not missed?” Cyrus asked. I bent over laughing.

“No. Psycho tried to pin a pregnancy on him a year after they broke up.”

“I didn’t do so good in science, but I do remember that you have to have sex with someone to get them pregnant and also pregnancy doesn’t last a year and a half.” Bailey said. I looked out at the crowd still gathering and waved at some of my other friends.

“Think you can use some of that dating an athlete privilege to make them move?” Cyrus asked me, leaning over Bailey.

“My what now?”

“Dating an athlete privilege. You’re dating Liberty High top end of the food chain. You get special privileges because of it.”

“And how do you know this exactly Cy?”

“I hear talk.”

“Right. Uh, I can try I guess?” I shrugged. Cyrus leaned back to watch the show and tapped Bailey to do the same. “Excuse me ladies, would you mind moving somewhere else?” I asked politely. They each raised a sculpted brow at me. Bailey coughed, but I could swear I heard a “firmer” in there. “Do you realize who I’m dating?” I raised a brow back at them. They sat for a second trying to place me, when they did, their eyes widened, and they immediately stood and stepped up to the next row. Cyrus laughed and slapped my knee; Bailey joined in shortly after.

“That was the greatest thing I’ve seen all week. Did you see their faces?”

“If I knew you could have had that kind of power at home, I would have pushed for you to date an athlete a long time ago.”

“We didn’t go to school events. You don’t go to school events.”

“I know but if you could have made people move, I might have.”

“Hey Becca, Cryus. Uh… Stranger.” We heard Alex say near us. We all turned to him.

“Hey. Did you want to sit?” I offered, scotching over some.

“Sure.” He said, sitting down. He turned his attention to Bailey. “Do I call you hat?”

“Depends, do I get to call you cardigan?” Seriously thought he was going to say cane.

“Alex.”

“Bailey. I’m in town visiting Becca.”

“Oh cool.”

“It was a surprise visit. I got home from school the other day and he was sitting on my doorstep.”

“Sneaky. Zach mentioned something about picking your friend’s brain.”

“He did. I told him all sorts of things about her. I’m told he’s my replacement, so I had to give him many details.”

His comments drew my attention. “What exactly did you tell him Bailey?”

“Stuff.” He smirked.

“What stuff?”

“I’ll let him fill you in after I leave.”

“Bastard.” I huffed.

“But I’m your bastard.” He said, pulling me into a close side hug.

“I suppose I’m stuck with you.” I sighed, overdramatically.

“That you are.” He laughed, kissing the side of my head. I felt Alex and Cyrus’ eyes glued to our exchange.

“Before you jump to conclusions, he’s just my friend. He’s almost a brother to me.”

“This is purely platonic. We’ve been best friends for years.”

Cyrus shrugged. “Okay, whatever works for you guys.”

“Does Monty know how close you are?”

“Yeah. We talked about it Thursday and again this morning. After they covered me in waffle batter and flour.”

“And you smothered him in Nutella.” Alex made a gagging motion to Cyrus.

“Not like that you perv. I swiped Nutella across his face.”

“Oh. Okay.” He nodded, obviously not really believing me. I shrugged.

Our discussion bounced from topic to topic after the game started. Truthfully, I wasn’t very interested in what was happening on the field. I was only there to be supportive to my friends and my boyfriend. It was a close game. So close in fact, that we only lost by a two-point conversion. I pulled out my phone for the first time all night right as the game ended and texted Monty, I’m sorry sweetheart. If you can wait until Tuesday night, the consolation sex will make up for it, I’m sure. I added an I love you but quickly deleted it before hitting send. It’s not the right time to say it nor is it something to say via text the first time.

Monty responded around twenty minutes later, I guess I can wait. Are you coming to Bryce’s tonight? Bailey is welcome to come. I realized then, that I hadn’t thought of my… incident… all day. “Hey Bailey, you feel like going to a party tonight?” I hope he says no….

“Will there be alcohol?”

“I assume so?”

“Then sure.” Fuck. I sighed discreetly before texting back, he’s down.  I don’t know if we will stay long though.

That’s okay. See you in a bit, babygirl.

“Shall we?” I asked, as I stood up and grabbed hold of my bag.

“Yeah, sure. It was nice meeting you guys.”

“You too.” My friends replied.

We walked arm and arm back to my car. As I was grabbing my keys, Bailey spoke up, “can I drive now?”

“Is this still my car?”

“Yes?”

“Then no.” Bailey pouted at my response but got in the car anyway.

I zipped home and parked in the garage, figuring there was no point in parking at Bryce’s and then driving home from there. It would take more gas to turn on the car than to get home. I made a quick stop in the house for a lighter sweater and to drop off my purse. People were already milling around the front yard when we arrived. I stopped briefly at the front door, trying to rid my brain of thoughts of what happened the last time I walked through this door.

“Becca.” I heard Scott call from the living room. I shook my head slightly and waved at him. Monty was walking towards him, but when he saw me at the door, he redirected to walk in my direction.

“Hey beautiful.” He said, pulling me against his side. He shared a nod with Bailey.

“Hey handsome. What are you drinking?”

“I’m not entirely sure. Something mixed with some kind of vodka, I think. Zach made it.”

I furrowed my brow and reached for his cup, sniffing it. It didn’t smell too offensive. “Can I have a sip?”

“Sure.” He replied, handing me the cup. It wasn’t that bad. A little heavy on the vodka but not horrible. I smacked my lips together a few times, trying to place the flavours.

“I think it’s apple juice and peach schnapps.” I looked at Bailey and watched as he looked around the room.

“You realize this is like a six-million-dollar house back home, right?”

“Yeah. I think mine would be around four?”

Monty coughed. “Four million dollars?”

“Yeah. Our housing bubble never burst, so houses are super expensive. What would cost one or two hundred thousand here, would cost four to five there. It’s stupid.”

“Fuck. How do you afford to live there?”

“Renting. Even though that’s stupidly expensive too. Everything is more expensive in Canada.”

He shook his head and took my hand, leading us to the kitchen. “Pick your poison. You want a beer Bailey?”

“American beer? No thanks. I’ll just let Becca mix me something.”

“I was going to go with a vodka cranberry, do you want that? I know you don’t drink apple juice, so I won’t try to hunt down Zach.”

“Sure.”

After I mixed our drinks, the three of us went off in search of the rest of our friend group. I spotted Justin and Zach talking and called over to them. They waved for us to come and chat.

“Vodka, apple juice, and peach schnapps?” I asked Zach.

“How did you know?”

“She’s still got it.” Bailey laughed, high fiving me. The boys looked at us, confused.

“My friends used to mix me drinks and stuff and make me guess what was in them. I was right most of the time. Oh, and Justin, this is my best friend Bailey. Bailey, this is Justin.” They waved to each other.

“So, you used to be fun?” Scott asked.

“I’m still fun. Right Monty?”

“Yes. You are very fun.”

“Your boyfriend saying you are fun doesn’t count Rebecca.” Zach chided.

“Fine. I’m fun, right Justin?”

“Hey now. Don’t drag me into this.”

“She’s fun.” Bryce said, as he walked over to us. I shivered and blinked slowly. Just ignore him. The fact that it’s his house doesn’t matter. Pretend he isn’t here.

“Thank you, Bryce.” I said, shoving my arm towards him to prove my point.

“Any time Becca. Enjoying yourself Bailey?”

“Yeah. Nice house.” Oh man. Bailey doesn’t like him. Hopefully he can keep his mouth shut until we leave.

“Thanks?” His attention was grabbed by someone else, near the back door, so thankfully he walked away and left us alone. I turned to Monty and after making sure he was in good hands, we left Bailey with our friends.

“So, about this consolation sex…?” Monty started as we found a quieter spot in the house.

“What about it?”

“What would it entail exactly?”

“Depends on what you want it to entail. And that’s just something you’ll have to wait to find out about.” I smirked, slyly.

“Babe. It’s Saturday. Tuesday is like an eternity away.”

“Montgomery. It’s less than three days away. If it’s that big of an issue to wait, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you can use your imagination.” He blinked at me a few times. “What?”

“You just… you look so innocent. And then stuff like that comes out of your mouth and….”

“And what?”

“I don’t know what to do with it.”

“What will you do with me?” I asked, batting my lashes.

“I don’t know yet, but you keep that up, Bailey will be spending the night here Princess.” He grumbled, boxing me in against the wall.

“He might be a little pissed off about that.” I whispered. Monty shrugged his brow as though he didn’t care, and then placed a heavy kiss to my lips.

I stuck close to Monty for the rest of the night, too nervous to be left alone in the house, even if it was full of people. Bailey and I left around midnight after I cut him off. Justin was Zach’s designated driver, so he kindly helped me get Bailey home safely and tucked in bed.

The next few days went by quickly. Bailey and I spent much of our day Sunday trying to soak up as much time together as we could before he left on Tuesday morning. We shared a teary eyed see you later when he left. I promised to visit home soon, and he promised to call me as often as he could.

My friends tried to cheer me up as best they could at school but the only thing that I was looking forward to, was a quiet night alone with my boyfriend, having possibly wild consolation sex. I beat Monty to my place since I had taken to bringing my homework to Peer in order to avoid seeing Bryce every afternoon. There wasn’t much I could do in the mornings or if I was having lunch with Monty, but even a small reprieve from being around him was enough for me to get through the day.

When he arrived, I had already changed into one of his shirts, that was really more of a very short dress on me and taken my pants off. My underwear poked out slightly when I walked or reached for anything. As such, he was significantly more reluctant to help me reach anything I needed. I could feel his eyes on me as I pondered what to have for dinner, or even if I was hungry enough for an entire dinner. My appetite had reduced since my… the thing… happened.

“Do you want to just skip dinner?” I asked.

“What else did you have in mind, Becks?” I sauntered over to where he was sitting at the island and pulled myself up onto it. Perched on the edge of the countertop, I leaned in closer to him.

“I can think of a few things.” I whispered, seductively in his ear.

“Is that so?” He whispered back, rubbing my upper thigh. I nodded vigorously. He stood up and leaned closer still to me. Taking advantage of the closeness of his body to mine, I placed my fingers through his belt loops and pulled him to me, in a searing kiss. He growled low in his throat and in one swift motion, pulled me up and held me to his body. His shirt rode up as he held onto my butt with one arm and had the other around my waist. He pulled away from the kiss before setting me down on my feet. I looked up at him, doe eyed as he took advantage of our size difference and towered over me. I felt about ten times smaller than I was. I went to protest, but he picked me up bridal style and took off towards the stairs. Monty carried me all the wait to my room and unceremoniously dropped me in the middle of my bed.

I sat there with my knees parted slightly and watched him. I watched as he closed the door and pulled off his shirt over his head. I didn’t even bother trying to hide the fact that I was once again, mentally drooling at the sight of him shirtless. He caught me staring and smirked. My eyes widened more as he went for his belt. We were both shocked as a growl tore its way from my throat. Woah. “Did you want to do that babygirl?”

“Yes please.” I nodded, my voice sounding small. I sat up some more and went to remove my top.

“Leave it.” He said, sternly. I could feel my underwear begin to soak through at his tone. I nodded and lowered my arms. “Good girl.” I beamed, flashing him a wide smile. He chuckled and shook his head. I waited very patiently while he puttered around my room. This is some kind of test. Or at least, I thought I was waiting patiently. The quiet whimpering was an indication of the opposite. “Patience little one.”

I opened my mouth to speak but when he looked at me, I closed it. Finally, finally he sauntered over to my bed and climbed towards me. I slowly moved back until my back hit the headboard of my bed. I tried really hard, but I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. He looks like a giant cat crawling towards me. Does that make me his prey? Monty stopped when he reached me, and once again, I couldn’t stop myself. I leaned forward and kissed his nose softly. He smiled and kissed mine back. I kissed him again. It was less intense than the one in the kitchen, but still had just as much passion behind it. I followed as he leaned back on his heels.

He had me right where he wanted me. He placed his hands at the bottom of the shirt and pulled up on it. We broke our kiss only to remove it. I took my chance while he was pulling off my shirt and reached for his belt. Surprisingly, he let me unbuckle and pull it off and undo his jeans before he stopped me. With my wrists in his hand, he was able to regain the ounce of control he had lost and push me back down onto the bed. I groaned and pretended to struggle as he readjusted my legs to a more comfortable position and straddled me. “Did I say you could do that, Princess?” he asked, his voice commanding yet condescending.

“No.” I squeaked, shaking my head for emphasis. I guess I must have looked slightly afraid to him because for a moment he relaxed and was back to my loveable Monty again.

“Are you okay with this?”

“Absolutely.” I stated, earnestly. That was all he needed to hear before he was back to his domineering role. I had to bite my lip to hold back my grin at how hot I found the situation.

“Stay. No moving.” He instructed. I fought the urge to acknowledge the instruction and watched him get off the bed and remove both his pants and boxers in one go. I whimpered wantonly and felt a muscle in my arm twitch. I think he assumed it was a muscle spasm because he let it slide.

Once again, he climbed on the bed and crawled towards me. This time he acknowledged my bare chest, having ignored it when He removed my top. Though it was a struggle, I managed to stay still as he rolled and pinched my nipples. I feel more naked than he is right now in just my underwear. I gasped when he pinched one particularly hard. He chuckled, darkly and did it again. I couldn’t help but cry out that time. Seeming to be satisfied, he moved his hands down my body, to my light pink panties. He wasted no time, removing them and immediately rubbing my clit with his thumb. I groaned loudly and squirmed. All stimulation stopped. “Still.” He waited a moment for me to relax again before he resumed his ministrations. I managed to stay still that time.

After he determined I had had enough stimulation, he had me sit up and gave me the go ahead to touch him. I jumped at the chance. My hands instantly found his cock and began stroking at varying speeds. I’ve never been much of a patient person. His grunts and moans only spurred me on more. It wasn’t long before he pushed me away. I looked at him wide eyed. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No. No no. You did everything right.” He assured me, his thumb rubbing my cheek. I smiled and hummed, leaning into his hand. After he made sure I was calm, he began maneuvering my body, so I was on my hands and knees. I arched my back as low as I could and leaned my weight on my elbows. He growled at my eagerness and willingness to be in this position before I felt his cock rub against my folds. I gasped and moved forward slightly. He pulled my hips back into position somewhat roughly and I purred. I could feel him trying not to laugh.

When he entered me, I had to hold back a scream. It felt so good, my brain had already began turning to mush. He groaned behind me, loudly. As he began thrusting harder and faster, he leaned forward to cup my throat and carefully guide me back into a kneeling position. Ignoring my instructions to stay still I leaned into him and brought my arms up and back to wrap around his neck. I felt myself getting closer to my orgasm and knew he could feel it. He reached down to precisely rub my clit and we both began to chase our orgasms. My vision went black for a few seconds and I was there. When I opened my eyes, Monty was lying me forward and back down on my elbows. He went to my bathroom and grabbed a washcloth, cleaning my lower half as I curled up. He made me sit up long enough to put my shirt back on and make room for him to get into his spot. I was out by the time he pulled me against his broad chest.

[malethirsty]

Sexual Alliance: Russell Hantz

A New Villain’s Proposition 

Summary: Being cast on Survivor: Samoa II was an amazing opportunity, and you planned to capitalise. But when a veteran player makes his fifth grab at the prize, it takes you both to places you wouldn’t expect.

Warnings: M/M smut (21+), Bareback (Wrap Before You Tap!), Voyeurism, Daddy Kink

Inspired by: https://twitter.com/malethirst/status/1199820519106732032?s=21

Being placed on the cast for Survivor: Samoa II was one of the biggest accomplishments of your life. To get the opportunity to play the world’s toughest game was amazing, and even if things didn’t work out, as long as you grabbed attention by shoehorning your way into tribemates discussions by flashing off your personality, you’d get a platform of attention to fall back on.

You had planned on playing clean for a bit, before adapting to dirty to stay in the game. And that was fine until HE came along. Due to a reemerging All Stars twist, Russell Hantz was included in the cast. A veteran villain, you had to make sure to watch out for him, as the man intimidated you & most. Although you had to say, he looked really cute, so when he was assigned to your tribe, you were somewhat pleased, he’d be under team constraints until merge, and he also would be in ample viewing sights.

Russell often disregarded shirts, which was great for you. He didn’t have a chiseled physique, and you really didn’t mind. The muscular masculine never intrigued you, you liked the bigger man because they were more susceptible to love & appreciation. A couple of episodes passed and you realized that you’re personality had been shafted behind the big return of Russell, with your plan hanging out the window, you needed another way to get on top of the game.

You knew from your other tribemates that Russell often went for evening walks. Evening walks your ass, you knew he was searching for the hidden immunity idol. And he was often quite good at finding them. Knowing your team would never disturb someone’s private time, so you’d be free to discuss your plan, you set off with a cameraman behind you, which proved a bit agitating when it came to tracking through, but eventually you lost him. You noticed Russell digging around in the jungle, a cameraman on his back. He looked up to see you “Y/N! I didn’t expect to see you.” He said in a frantic way, trying to find a way to explain why he was digging “Clearly not, given how desperate you are to find this idol.” Russell feigned shock “No, I’m digging up dirt for healing properties, like they do at the facials.” You raised your eyebrows at him “Russell, I know full well it’s a mud scrub. And where are you gonna get the water? You couldn’t use the group’s supply & also the beach is miles away, you’d come all this way to get some dirt and run it back across Samoa?” You noticed the cameraman stepping back to get a wider shot, this was going in the episode, now you needed to remain confident.

Russell looked into your eyes, he knew he met his match “Fine, I’ve been looking for the idol, something your tribe should be doing. But they are all so busy being ‘nice nice’ & ‘team exercise!’ And while that’s had us win the last couple of immunity challenges, they’ve forgotten that the aim is ‘Outwit, Outplay, Outlast’!” You grinned, you thought Russell would be needlessly harsh, but he was actually being very blunt, some of your team needed to hear it. Russell noticed your grin “You seem to be agreeing with my trash talk.” “Yeah” you said dreamily “Well how about this Y/N, you keep this immunity idol a secret & I won’t tell your team you’ve talked shit about them hey?” Russell tried to barter, but you had a better deal. “I actually came out to find you to speak about game.” “Oh yeah?” Russell asked, an intrigued tone laced in his voice. “Yeah. I’ve been watching you for the past few days & I know you’re needy for an alliance, someone to gain helpfulness for you so you can move forwards with this new cast.” “So you can offer me information about your new tribe and I keep you safe?” Russell asked “Partly, but that’s not the basis. I want a sexual alliance.”

Russell spluttered “A what?!” “A sexual alliance, I empty your blue balls and in turn you keep me safe, in fact we both watch out for each other.” Russell listened to your proposition and gathered himself together “You a fag or something?” Russell asked, completely forgetting the cameraman recording him, probably planning on leaking Russell’s slur to TMZ the first chance he got “And what would the problem be? I know when you were here the last few times your marriage went down the drain, and you’ve struggled to find a relationship since. Your balls have been full for over a decade Russell, I know you’re desperate to unload & I’m right in front of you offering you three things you like: Sex, Safety & A shot at the million. What do you have to lose?”

Russell stood for a bit pondering your deal. “You swear this won’t get out right?” He asked both you & the cameraman, you both shook your head “Wrong network, we’d have our licence pulled, I will need you to shoot another stricken up deal for the episode.” “Deal” you grinned at the cameraman, not noticing Russell until he pinned you up against the tree “Let’s seal it with a kiss” he grinned as he indeed kissed you deep, his tongue slipping into your mouth. You grabbed Russell’s head, deepening him, his trademark hat falling off and onto the ground. “Damn man! You got real nice lips.” Russell groaned “They’d fit nice round my cock!” He pulled down his underwear, his cock flopping out along with another type of package: A hidden immunity idol. Russell flushed bright red “Guess your usual place is going to have to change” you grinned at him, grabbing the idol & handing it back to him. “Suck my fucking cock!” Russell roughly said, grabbing your head & shoving it downwards. You gagged from his rough treatment, earning a moan from the veteran “Yeah, you’re so full with my dick right now you fuckin slut!” Whilst you liked being used, you wanted to build a pace with him so you took several deep breaths through your nose & eventually after a few minutes, you were able to control how you sucked his cock. 

“Oh fuck yeah!” Russell groaned, his eyes rolling back into his head “Your mouth is so good on my cock Y/N!” The praise on Russell’s lips was blissful & you continued your pace, his musky taste on your mouth the most amazing thing you’d ever had. You also began to roll his balls, making the man let out a large moan “Fuck! You keep that shit up & I’m gonna fucking marry you.” “Looks like I’ll be getting my hands on that million after all.” You grinned, Russell chuckling before knocking you down to the ground, him above you “I’d love to have you keep going but I’ll blow & I still need to have your tight ass clenching round my cock. You ready?”  

Once you nodded, he immediately thrust in your ass, making you moan loudly “Jesus Fuckin Christ! Your ass is fucking perfect!” Russell praised, as he set a rough but smooth pace, his beer gut colliding with your back, the echo all around you. “Daddy Russell, fuck me harder!” Russell slapped your ass “Greedy slut wants more huh?” You nodded “Arch your back babe” Russell ordered and you did, Russell rewarding you with a rougher pace, making you scream out a mixture of curse words & his name “Yeah Y/N, work your ass back on daddy’s cock bitch. Work it so you earn my vote.”

You were both making so much noise that you were worried someone would find you, you looked behind you to see if anyone was watching & low and behold, the cameraman had his camera on the floor, eyes closed, hand stroking his cock, lost in blissful pleasure grunting ‘Fucking slut’ ‘Use that bitch Russell’ you lent up to Russell’s ear “Look behind you, someone’s loving this.” Russell quickly mirrored your actions & when he turned back to you, he grinned and fucked you even harder, your combined moans making The Cameraman arch “I’m gonna fucking cum!” He yelled, very quickly shooting his load. “Look what you did to our professional staff!” Russell mockingly said “Your sluttiness made him shoot his load!” He spat on your face & slapped it “Such a fucking whore for daddy!” You went along with his kinkiness & licked his spit into your mouth “You love this don’t you? My southern sexual prowess making you so desperate for daddy’s dick.” “Yes sir” you moaned out.

Russell knew he was close to shooting so he tried to pull out. Aware he would do this, you grabbed his ass & held him in place “No” you said “I’m not a woman, you can shoot inside me.” Russell grinned as he went deeper & rougher “FUCK! You’re so tight round my cock and you want me to shoot in your ass. You’re like the perfect woman, who obeys me and loves my cock!” Russell’s appraisal made you shoot all over yourself “Fuck, you liked Daddy Russell’s dick?” he groaned. You tightened around Russell “What does that fucking tell you?” You responded back. Russell would have slapped your ass for talking back but he knew he wouldn’t last much longer “Oh fuck! You’re so damn tight, daddy’s gonna cum in your pretty tight ass! Fuck! You’re gonna make me cum! YES!” He threw his head back, moaning utterly blissed out as he came a decades worth of load was shot into your ass. It went on for a long while, before he finally stopped shooting out & he moaned, collapsing onto you. “Oh yeah! Fuck man! That was so good!” You grinned “You were amazing Russell.” “Was there any question?” Russell asked “Well I’m not a hot ass blonde girl for your dumbass girl alliance, so I questioned your desire to try hard.” You cheekily responded, causing Russell to slap your ass “You think that wasn’t me trying hard, you’ll be walking back to camp with a damn limp bitch!” You laughed at his cockiness leaning up for a kiss “You’re in. I’ll keep you till the end, as long as I get to cum in you!” “Well after that fuck, I knew I was.” You cockily responded back, Russell laughing at your level matching his “We’re gonna have a good fucking time running these fools off the island.” You grinned at Russell “We should get back to the group, they’ll wonder where we’ve gone.” “Yeah Y/N, I guess we should.” he responded, you put your garments back on as Russell put his underwear back on, stuffing the hidden immunity idol in there “I’d love to hold the hidden immunity idol.” You flirted with him “Don’t worry babe, you will.” Russell responded.

[ducktracy]

104. buddy’s lost world (1935)

release date: may 18th, 1935

series: looney tunes

director: jack king

starring: jack carr (buddy)

the first of the buddy cartoons that includes a shot of his smiling face (à la disney), a tradition that would be carried on with the beans cartoons and a handful of porky cartoons. though i suppose you could also count the numerous “bugs bunny in”s, too. considered the first entry of the dinosaur cartoons, a popular genre in the looney tunes universe, buddy and his dog bozo discover the “lost world”—a prehistoric haven whose novelty wears off rather quickly when its dangers are exposed.

buddy’s all set to disembark on his quest, his sail advertising “CAPT. BUDDY’S EXPEDITION TO THE LOST WORLD”. he greets a cheering crowd by shaking his fits proudly, eating up the attention. he starts the motor of his boat (meaning the sail is entirely redundant, which i love) and rockets off. unfortunately for his crowd, he forgot to untie the rope anchoring him to the dock. the entire dock plummer’s into the waters as his fanbase all try to swim to shore.

a nice back angle of buddy and his pal bozo riding in the boat, heading for land (buddy excitedly proclaiming “land, bozo! land!”). if i’m not mistaken (it’s been a few months since i’ve seen the cartoon), the same shot would be reused with porky in fish tales, another jack king short. a wave propels them to shore, the boat screeching to a halt. buddy and bozo disembark, bozo yapping happily while buddy unravels a map. he yells “oh boy, it’s the lost island! hooray! oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” buddy sounds like an actual kid here. i‘ve seem a source or two list child actor jackie morrow as a voice credit for buddy, but i can’t attest to its validity. so, for the time being, jack carr will be a placeholder name until i figure out elsewhere (like the johnny murray/max maxwell situation with bosko and his changing voice, especially in his later WB cartoons)

elsewhere, bozo spots a pair of footprints. he sniffs them out, causing them to inch forward slightly. more sniffing, more inching. he follows the footprints through an area decorated thickly with trees, continuing on. the trees are no trees at all, but the legs of a massive dinosaur—good staging. the dinosaur angrily stalks bozo, who is stalking the footprints. only when the dinosaur snorts does bozo realize he’s being followed. terrified, bozo zips away, whirling past a woman jump roping.

in the midst of his panic, bozo comes across a caveman digging at the dirt like a dog. ...interesting. the caveman growls at his uninvited visitor, both of them circling each other on all fours. finally, the caveman dips into his hole and brings out a giant bone under his protection. the caveman runs away, and bozo, now curious, digs at the ground.

bozo finds a bone... and plenty of them. he unearths an entire dinosaur skeleton, getting trapped inside its ribs. he yowls for help, catching the attention of buddy, who had been wandering the island. he spots his shanghaied pooch and tries to tug him out, but to no avail. he meanders to the skull of the dinosaur, prying open its jaws and whistling for bozo to come to him. bozo gratefully darts out of the dinosaur’s mouth and covers buddy in thankful kisses.

back to the caveman/dog hybrid, who now has a tail? he didn’t before, which is odd. i wonder if that was an additive or a subtractive—was he originally supposed to have one and they forgot? or was one of the animators putting his own flair on things? he’s sniffing at some bushes, scratching behind his ear with his foot while buddy and bozo discreetly observe. unable to stand it any longer, bozo launches after the caveman, buddy chasing behind.

bozo and the caveman take their chase into a cave, buddy getting the short end of the stick and slamming against a rock that closes the entrance off. unbeknownst to buddy, a hungry plant licks its lips and looms behind him, a good setup as buddy obliviously calls for bozo as the plant comes in for the kill. buddy realizes he has company, but too late. the plant swallows him whole. buddy tumbles through its inside, a rather creative segue as he pops out of another plant attached to a cliff.

it’s just as well—buddy stumbles across civilization. the underscore for this scene is... confusing. it’s “lullaby of broadway”, from the musical gold diggers of ‘35 (not to be confused with gold diggers of ‘33. and, of course, the cartoon gold diggers of ‘49). it’s a catchy song, absolutely, but a song whose lyrics entail “the rumble of the subway train, the rattle of the taxis” doesn’t quite fit the mood for a prehistoric village. maybe that’s the point, though, and i’m just thinking too far into it. likely it was probably used as for advertising purposes for the movie, like a discreet merrie melody. the village is thriving, villagers playing croquet, with wishbones serving as the wickets.

buddy is mesmerized and takes a closer look, sliding down a tree trunk that actually turns out to be a happy dinosaur. meanwhile, three prehistoric caricatures of the three stooges pop up (wonderfully weird) and observe buddy. larry shushes curly, who sneezes, and the typical eye poking slapstick ensues. back to buddy, who feeds his dinosaur companion an apple.

larry devises an incomprehensible plan, sneaking away from the group. funny how larry’s the villain, you’d think moe would be the one. larry spots bozo, who’s tied up to a tree (did he escape?). larry unties him and ties him to what appears to be a giant mousetrap.

bozo cries for help, and buddy, still playing with his dinosaur friend, hears him and runs to the rescue. buddy attempts to free his pooch, but to no avail. instead, he activated the trap, metal bars enclosing the two as larry approaches his victims. moe and curly come sauntering over, larry signaling for them to push while he pulls. moe gives curly a sock in the head for good measure before pushing the cage.

who knew the three stooges were cannibals? buddy and bozo are in a boiling pot while the once happy villagers are chanting on the ceremony. we have a collection of gags to lighten the mood. after all, it is a feast! a man presses down on a dinosaur skeleton’s teeth, chimes reverberating against the ribs. elsewhere, two cavemen do a waltz, intermittently hitting each other on the head. the same gag would be reused in naughty neighbors, executed in a much funnier manner. probably the most amusing part of the cartoon (though porky’s poor attempts to harmonize with petunia in “would you like to take a walk?” is also a highlight). nevertheless, it’s still a funny gag.

buddy cries for help as the pot begins to stir, and his dinosaur friend hears his shrieks. i love the perspective on this shot. in motion, it’s a little wonky—as though they didn’t know how to truly commit to the perspective all the way through the scene. this is the best it looks in this single key frame (though i’m sure that’s also the result of a different animator for the inbetweens). i applaud them for trying. jack king’s cartoons aren’t my favorite, but i do like that he has an eye for cinematography, like a predecessor to frank tashlin. the dinosaur approaches the crowd, grabbing a caveman (who i think is supposed to be larry) and tossing him towards the camera, much to the delight of buddy and bozo. he tosses another identical caveman, a random rock appearing and disappearing from the scene.

the dinosaur dips its head into the pot and scoops up both buddy and bozo. buddy slides down the dinosaur’s neck and lands comfortably on its back, the dinosaur gingerly placing bozo beside him. buddy crowns the dinosaur with his captain’s hat, and we iris out as buddy gets covered in kisses by both bozo and the dinosaur.

as far as buddy cartoons go, this one wasn’t too bad! still rather mediocre, but less mediocre than others. i wasn’t too excited about this one, but i’m always glad to be proven wrong. having the three stooges as three cannibals was a very interesting plot point i never woukd have guessed in a million years. speaking of plots, the weird caveman/dog hybrid... i guess that was just there for the sake of being there? it felt too extended to be a gag, like a plot point in itself, but also feels too loose and discombobulated to the actual plot at hand. nothing very exciting in the cartoon, but it was cute. maybe worth a watch just because of how strange it is. i’ll always value absurdity!

link!

[titsthedamnseason]

If you haven't done it already can you do headcanons about Julian's birthday?

bitch you know it asdfghj and by some miracle ive actually gotten these done before the two weeks that could potentially be his birthday are over so happy birthday julian!!

julian has never really had a big birthday celebration before

of course emma and the kids and diana always got him gifts and spoiled him

you know, doing chores for him, letting him relax for a day, stuff like that

but poor julian is a worrier so he’d always end up insisting to help anyway, saying that he wanted to

he even would always make the cake since no one else could

it wasnt until later that everyone realized that every time they had tried to spoil julian on his birthday, he turned it around on them, and he wound up doing most of the work

they are determined to make his 18th birthday different

helen and aline are more than capable of holding down the fort now

plus julian and emma take a break from their travel year for the holidays and are in the institute for julian’s birthday

which could be anytime from jan 1-15 but my personal hc is that it’s on new years day (wink wink)

so anyway julian and emma will be in la for his bday and julian is a lot more carefree this year so everyone is highkey determined to give him the best birthday this year

nobody wakes him up early, and after staying up so late the night before his normal internal clock doesnt wake him up as usual

at 12am everyone else shouted “happy new year!” and emma shouted “happy birthday julian!”

anyway when julian does wake up, later than usual, his first instinct is to shoot out of bed and get the kids breakfast but he takes a moment to himself to revel in the fact that this is his first birthday spent waking up next to emma as her boyfriend

emma seizes her moment and convinces him to stay for just a while longer, im sure the kids are fine, helen and aline have been taking care of them for months

julian gives her like five minutes of kisses and cuddles before beelining for the kitchen

he finds that everyone else has already been up for an hour or so and has already eaten breakfast

the second he enters the kitchen everyone yells “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” and he is bombarded with hugs and drawings and cards and stupid gag gifts from the kids that he accepts with a smile cristina and mark both hug him as well and he’s pleasantly surprised to see them

(if you read my tda holiday hcs i made them leave before this point but awsxdcfvgyh they come back to surprise him)

he grabs a plate for himself reluctantly, wont stop apologizing to helen and aline that he overslept

they keep telling him they dont care but, surprise surprise, he’s not listening

when julian goes back to his room to get dressed he finds emma already ready with his favorite blue dress of her’s on and holding a present for him

his reaction is “oh that reminds me” and he pulls out another gift from under the dresser

emma is like ????? and julian is like “…for you” and emma is still like ????? so then julian explains “i got you a new year’s gift too”

emma is like fuck that shit this is a birthday gift asdfgyhu “who the fuck buys new year’s presents” “i dont know i love you” “i love you too but what the fuck julian now i look bad” “you couldnt look bad if you were trying”

anyway after emma gets it through julian’s head that he does deserve a birthday gift and no, she refuses to open up his gift to her on his birthday, nice try, julian, he opens it up

it’s a new blue shirt that almost exactly matches emma’s dress which is “an unfortunate coincidence”

he cant stop telling her it’s too much, you shouldnt have, and emma is like hoe you think im done??? think again

but actually she doesnt say that, she just says youre welcome asdfghyuj

anyway

they go meet everyone in their matching outfits and they all just hang around a bit, there isnt much else julian could ask for than to be with his family

but at lunch emma surprises julian with a picnic for the two of them at the beach

she promises that she didnt touch the food, she had aline make it all asdfrghy

once they finish emma gives julian more presents(“this is a prank right?” “am i laughing? actually i am but not because this is a prank, please just open the presents” ) 

the first is a whole set of paints and brushes and other art supplies i know nothing about, all custom made, the brushes with inscriptions on the handles( “jb” “as long as you exist and i exist i will love you” “i love you more than starlight”)

julian: where did you get that last quote from?

emma: i thought of it

julian: *melts*

he asks how she knew what supplies to get him and she told him how she saw him looking at all this stuff back in that shop in london and went back to get it for him

he’s so touched

he is already certifiably not okay™️ because the whole day has been against everything he’s ever known and he feels weird, he just wants to give something to someone, literally anyone

julian is so happy and when emma pulls out an envelope he has to bite his tongue to keep from saying “oh no not again”

emma just gives him a look when she sees him holding back asdfgbhgt

he’s preparing himself for some sort of long sentimental card from her that will probably make him cry but what he gets is worse

it’s just a piece of paper that says “im having so much fun on our date right now, but id love it even more if you came with me to the louvre to our next one”

julian is shooketh to a level beyond all levels

he cant imagine why emma looks so worried he wont like it

they laugh and hug and then proceed to kiss a lot before going back to the institute 

julian is ready to just chill now 

he comes in and there are decorations filling the entryway

a million balloons, streamers, banners

he looks at emma who just shrugs but she’s smiling so big and has a knowing look on her face 

there’s a beautifully decorated poster next to the staircase that says “TAKE ONE” and there’s a party hat for emma and a ridiculous crown for julian that says “it’s my birthday!” under it

they follow a trail of posters with arrows on them to the living room(im pretty sure they dont call it that but the room with the computer in it is where they always hang out so that’s what i mean awsedfvgbh)

everyone yells “SURPRISE” when they walk in and julian is sure he’s in a permanent state of shock

like yes he just followed an entire trail of arrows to get here but it’s still so much more than he expected

they eat pizza and play music and all just hang out and it’s a fun time

at one point julian goes to adjust his crown but everyone thought he was taking it off and yelled at him aesdxcfvgbh

they play stupid party games like pin the tail on the donkey(which theyre all good at since theyre shadowhunters asdfghjui) and charades and stuff like that

everyone gives julian more presents and he thinks he might combust

they sing to him and have cake

they give him one more gift after they sing and it’s a photo album of julian and his siblings and emma through the years

there are ones of baby emma and jules playing to 12 year old julian intently speaking to ty and livvy to 14 year old julian reading with tavvy to 17 year old julian laughing with dru to ones with helen, mark, aline, and cristina in them and ones from the travel year and julian is amazed

he’s so touched and he’s proud that he only cries a little

a little after that everyone starts getting tired since they stayed up until midnight the night before

diana goes home, tavvy goes to bed, followed by dru and ty shortly after

when julian hugs ty on his way out he almost feels like livvy is there too, and he doesnt understand why ty goes pale when julian tells him, julian worries he shouldnt have said anything before ty just smiles and says “good” before walking out

everyone else goes to bed shortly after

julian and emma are laying in julian’s bed when she pulls out a card for him, but tells him it’s nothing special

he opens it and begs to differ

the front of the card says “so many ways to say i love you” and she has filled the inside with ways she said it over the years

“protecting you in fights”

“i’ll put the kids to bed tonight”

“i would do anything for you, jules”

“we’re parabatai, we can do this”(julian doesnt like this one)

“take a break”

“please stay”

“i need you”

“your hair is a mess”(“really emma? “shut up”)

the list goes on until it ends with “i love you. love, emma”

they are both crying at the end

“i love you so much, emma”

“i love you, t––”

she doesnt get to finish

they have more important things to get to and, needless to say, they dont get much sleep that night either

[harley-quinnn]

Not Afraid Anymore

Jared Leto x Reader

Prompt: Merry Christmas harls! ❤️ Can I request a Jared x reader based on Not Afraid Anymore by Halsey? It doesn’t have to be a song fic but the concept

{A/N} I kind of pictured this as a prelude to Violent Delight halfway into writing it, since I mentioned in that story that the reader had already met him at a show months prior! This was so fun and once I got to writing it, I couldn’t stop! It is not a song fic, but just based on the concept of the song. I hope ya like it, puddin’! xo Harley

Warnings: Sexy sex. Daddy kink, choking, gagging, a slap or two, teasing that probably killed me more to write. (Also a very, very disgruntled best friend.)

“I can’t believe we’re here!” You enthused, your wide eyed friend hopping in place a few times as she waited in line beside you.

You won them on the radio, the VIP tickets to the show. At first, you weren’t even sure if you should even try to call the station, but knowing just how badly you and your friend Claire wanted to attend the meet and greet with Thirty Seconds to Mars, you figured there was nothing to lose.

“God.. If he touches me, I’m going to scream,” Claire said emphatically, her eyes rolling back at the thought before she grabbed onto your shoulders. “What if we get invited to stay behind or something!?”

“Claire, please. It’s us and a million others right now. We should just be lucky we’re here at all,” you gently remind her, your eyes drifting toward the long line ahead of you, and then to the rest of it behind you.

She pouted, her perfectly rosy cheeks puffing out as she blew a few strands of brown hair from her angelic face, reminding you of an upset toddler.

“I can dream, can’t I?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Yes! Of course. Just don’t get your hopes up too high,” you said.

Claire was the dreamer, always excited, always hoping for the most unlikely situation. She helped balance out your usual level-headed-ness. It was fun to play pretend, but you didn’t necessarily want to play groupie, you just wanted a chance to meet the man you adored; and adore him in your mind where no one could hear you scream as he stared you in the face and pretended to care that you were there.

It seemed like only seconds passed when the entire room began to shout with joy. Your eyes shut automatically as you lifted your brows, your hand reaching to rub your ear as you looked around the room again. Claire was hanging over the edge of the rope that held the line together, waving her thin, pale arm frantically at the front of the room. You decided it was safe to assume Jared and Shannon had finally arrived.

As much as you wanted to get caught up in the overwhelming wave of excitement, all you desired was to catch a glimpse of Jared up close and in the flesh. Try as you might- no dice. The other members of the crowd were in your way and weren’t willing to give up their spots to look at him so easily. You shrugged to yourself and hung back.

I’ll see him later.

Suddenly, you were being swept up in Claire’s arms, a rough hug capturing your frame as she raved.

“I saw him! I saw him! Oh my.. {Y/N}, he’s even more gorgeous up close!”

You forced a smile. You’d ruined her fun enough, you thought.

“Really? I can’t wait.”

“Well didn’t you see him?”

“No, but that’s okay! I will once we get closer.”

She nodded, her demeanor suddenly changing to something like feeling sorry for you as she pulled out her phone and opened the camera. She tousled her brunette locks from under the barrette she wore and reapplied her lipstick. You immediately knew what she was planning.

A pang of jealousy peaked in your chest as she puckered her pout in the camera. You were pretty, sure, but Claire had a way about her that even models didn’t possess. Should her little daydream come true, you were certain you’d have no part in it. Still, she was your best friend, and you set all those feelings aside to be happy for her. You gave a soft nudge to her side.

“You don’t need to do all that. I’m sure he’ll fall in love the moment he lays eyes on you.”

The color red that painted her cheeks was like none you’d seen before as she quickly put her phone and lipstick back in her pocket. She suddenly gave you a shy smile and an even shyer shrug.

The crowd roared again and the photos began. You could only catch glimpses of the camera flash, and hear his voice laughing and carrying on with fans amidst the chatter of everyone else. The line seemed to move agonizing slow; He seemed to take his time with everyone, and so did Shannon. Butterflies began to kick up in your stomach as you drew near enough to see his handsome face. Before you knew it, there was only one other person ahead of you. You’d both turned away from the scene, not wanting to lose your heads prematurely.

“We’re so close!” Claire squealed, clasping her hands together as she looked at you.

“You’re next!” You heard from behind, the familiar velvety voice that you’d grown so infatuated with over the years musically filling your ears.

Claire lost it, tears of joy welling up in her eyes as she pushed past you and headed right into Jared’s arms, embracing him in an unashamed hug. You quickly felt betrayed. She was hogging him all to herself, not even giving you a chance to say hello. When you finally approached them, he was teasing her; pulling the hat from her head, tracing his fingers over the writing on the sleeves of the bands shirt she had on. You were a ghost next to them as you approached Shannon, who automatically noticed your upset mood despite your forced grin.

“Don’t look so sad!” He said. “I’m not Jared but I’m just as cool. Better yet- cooler.”

“No! Oh my gosh, no. I love you!” You gushed, your emotions doing a complete turn around as he swept you into his arms for a big hug. You had almost forgotten about the scene playing out next to you.

Claire always got what she wanted.

The photographer gathered you, Claire, Jared and Shannon, and counted down for the photo. You smiled, despite feeling like you didn’t even get a chance to smile in Jared’s direction. You adored Shannon, and he was so kind. Though they both had your loyalty, Jared would always be your favorite.

A click of the camera and you were done. Just like that, you were being shuffled off by assistants to make room for the next fan. You gave Shannon another hug before he turned his attention to the person behind you. Your eyes remained on the floor as you passed by Claire giving Jared her last bits of affection in hopes for an invitation back to the tour bus, or wherever he might be staying. You bowed your head just slightly, becoming invisible and blending into the background just as you were used to.

Walking past them, you felt a knot in your stomach that pushed its way to your throat as you tried not to cry out of hurt and just a twinge of anger.

That was, until you felt a hand on your shoulder.

“Hey, what’s your name?” He asked, stopping you dead in your tracks as you came face to face with the Jared Leto.

“I..” You looked at Claire, who might as well have been hooked away from him like an actor in an old fashioned play. “I’m {Y/N}.”

Your eyes met his again, and you swallowed hard, trying to push the feeling of crying and excitement away all at once.

“Jared, we have to get going,” an assistant said, nervously eyeing the people next in line who were chatting with Shannon.

“I didn’t get to talk to {Y/N}, just give me a minute please,” he told her kindly and calmly, turning aside to speak to you.

You couldn’t believe he was stopping the entire order of things just to make sure he said hello to you. Maybe dreams did come true. Still, you felt bad for getting him in trouble and messing with the schedule.

“Thanks for coming. I’m glad to see you here,” he grinned.

“Oh, I wouldn’t have missed this for anything,” you said meekly, trying desperately to keep your blush at bay as you stood before him. “You don’t have to keep everyone waiting, though, I’ll get out of your way.”

“No, it’s okay! I love meeting you guys. It seems like we just didn’t get enough time together. Please, stay.”

Stay.

Where you had almost turned to leave, you shifted back to your position in front of him, finally allowing your eyes to really drink him in. He was tall and slender, his athletic build hidden under the long sleeved shirt he wore. His long locks were lustrous and his blue eyes reminded you cold pools on a hot summer day. His jawline could cut ice and his hands were masculine, but still held a touch of softness. An image of his hand trailing down your bare waist flashed in your mind, bringing the blush in your countenance forward again.

“Are you sure? I think my friend Claire sucked up enough camera time,” you joked shyly.

Every move he made was smooth as he rested his hand on your upper arm, shaking his head and rolling his eyes playfully at your statement.

“Oh, actually,” he started as though recalling a distant memory before turning to the photographer and assistant. “We didn’t get a picture together, let’s get one,” he said, waving his finger lightly at the camera before taking his place next to you.

His arm reached around you in a half-embrace, and what he said next, in a low and gentle tone, just loud enough for you to hear, shocked you.

“You’ve got a very beautiful face. The rest of you is just as amazing.”

There was no doubt your expression was full of surprise and bashfulness when the photographer looked at his camera’s screen and suggested taking a new photo.

“Take a few!” Jared enthused before looking down at you.

“Me?” You asked with a grin, suddenly surging with a confidence you knew was only going to last a few more minutes. “Did you tell Claire that, too?”

“Not so shy anymore, are we?” He smirked as the camera shutter sounded, your eyes fixed on his.

“She’s pretty, no doubt. But I prefer you. You weren’t clamoring for my attention like miss Dirty Diana over there,” he quipped, referencing the Michael Jackson song every musician knew like the back of their hand.

“Well, I don’t really need to fawn all over someone to get what I want,” you responded, and the look on his face screamed ‘impressed.’

“You ever try your luck with the devil, sweetheart?” He asked in a raspy tone, sending your senses atwitter. “When I play, I play to win.”

Claire was absolutely your best friend, but in the moment, she had already cast you aside in an attempt at Jared. You quickly peered over your shoulder as you noticed her still being shuffled back into the crowd that had already had their time with the band. Still hurt over her total disregard for you, you decided to look out for yourself instead of worry about her.

Your heart couldn’t pump fast enough as you continued to absorb his words. You quickly feel as though you’d just gotten yourself into something you’d been dying for, but hadn’t had time to prepare for. What you wanted, desired, was impure, and it seemed like he was just the man for the job.

“Game on, then,” you spoke just loud enough for him to hear, noticing a darker kind of smirk slide across his features shortly there after.

Though Claire had been the hopeful one all night, it seemed like you were getting your (and her) every dream. Lust was a hell of a drug, and it seemed he liked you more than just taking one hit.

The camera shuttered once more as he bent down to kiss your cheek for a photo, your eyes closing instantly with a flirty grin. Before he pulled away, he pressed his lips to your ear.

“Stay after the meet and greet.. Just you. For me?”

You looked back up at him, noticing the gleam in his eye as he pressed his palms together and gave you a pleading smile.

“Okay, I’ll stay.”

His face lit up like the crystal ball on New Year’s Eve as he squeezed your shoulder and discreetly instructed the assistant to lead you to the green room of the venue. Her eyes snapped from yours to his, then back again before she sighed and obeyed his order- something you assumed happened quite often to anyone he may have spoken to.

“Come on,” she urged, clearly annoyed before walking past him and toward a large door.

You looked at Jared one last time, and he threw you a wink before turning to meet the people in line behind you with an enthusiastic expression.

Following closely behind the woman leading you past the door and down a hallway, your eyes roamed around the mostly empty space. She stopped at another door before pulling a key from her pocket and swiftly sliding it into the doorknob.

“It’s not everyday he asks this,” she assured you, but something in the back of your head told you otherwise.

“Just take a seat anywhere,” she said again as the door popped open, revealing a large room void of anyone else, clad with couches, snacks and vintage arcade and pinball machines that silently flashed fun colors. “And please don’t talk to anyone else. I could get in so much trouble for this.”

The atmosphere of the room was nothing like you were expecting. It was dimly lit, one would even say completely dark, save for the bright glowing neon signs that hung on the walls paired with lava lamps and faux candles that falsely burned on tables. It was an aesthetic dream as you stepped inside, and it took an immense amount of effort not to lose your head over the room itself.

When you turned to thank her, she had already disappeared, the door cracked open just an inch. You suddenly felt unsure of why you were there. He could’ve had anyone else.. Claire, mostly. Why me? You moved to plop down on one of the couches and pull your phone from your pocket. A sense of dread washed over you at the thought of checking your texts, knowing Claire’s name would be there. Cringing, you unlocked your phone.

Thirty-seven new text messages. Only one of them was from your mom hoping you were having a good time. You replied to her without bothering to glance at Claire’s messages before locking your phone again. She would just have to deal with it.

A bowl of skittles on the table looked awfully appetizing as you soaked in the room, leaning forward from the couch to pick at it. Even the flavors seemed to come alive more than usual as you awaited his appearance in the doorway.

Time passed quickly, too quickly as your heart hammered in your chest harder with every passing moment. Before too long, you stood up, thinking of leaving.

But, what if?

It was a chance you didn’t want to take. Instead, you walked toward the arcade machines, lingering around them slowly as you thought about just what happened tonight. It was even more unnerving to think about what was possibly to come.

You weren’t as experienced as your friend, but you knew enough. Though you’d had the chance to act on your deepest fantasies, something always held you back. It was a strange fear that kept you; maybe of attachment, maybe of simply liking it too much. Because of that you remained vanilla most of your sexual life, save for the places you’d gotten down and dirty.

You’d heard the rumors about him, you’d seen the signs in his music and in his speech. The gifs on Tumblr and the way he like to tease the audience during concerts. Still, there was the slightest pang of worry as you wondered if that was what he was expecting. If he assumed you’d be just as into the darker side as he was.

You wanted it, him and all things that came with him, there was no doubt about it. Who wouldn’t want him? But that faint panic started running through your body as you realized if those rumors were true, you wouldn’t just be on your back on the couch for twenty minutes. You’d be apart of something darker, rougher; something sickeningly beautiful.

Your skin crawled at the thought. You wanted to try it so badly, to finally give up control and act on impulse. The fear almost melted away as another image flashed through you mind; his hand pulling on your hair, his teeth in your neck. There was electricity in the air as you caught yourself breathing just a bit heavier, running your finger along the tops of the arcades and pinball machines one by one as you walked past them as slow as molasses.

He seemed into me- maybe laid on the charm a little thick.. but if he didn’t like me at all, he wouldn’t have. Would he? Sure, he teased Claire, but he didn’t ask her to stay behind. He could have anyone tonight.. he could have anyone ever. Why me?

Your thoughts trailed back to what the woman said as she opened the door in the first place.  

“But why?” You asked yourself quietly in the silence of the room.

“Because you’re different,” the intoxicating voice you’d know anywhere chimed in from the doorway, starling you as you curtly turned to face him.

“Oh, I didn’t hear you coming,” you said, a soft, nervous laugh escaping you.

“You will,” he quipped quickly before continuing on, the joke making your emotions leap. “Sorry, that took a little longer than usual. It was a crazy crowd tonight.”

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him before making his way to the same bowl of skittles on the table, picking up a handful and walking towards you.

“It’s okay,” you said quietly, attempting with every ounce of might not to lose your mind completely as you watched his every move in awe. He was even more charming and enamoring alone, without having to keep a guard up to defend himself from hundreds of people at once. Sinking your teeth into your lower lip gently, you turned around quickly to hide your face from him, absentmindedly eyeing the flashing pinball machine you’d stopped in front of.

“You like them?” He asked as he stood next to you, gesturing to the glowing machines.

“Oh yeah. They remind me of my childhood, actually. I used to hang out at the arcade and.. do stupid stuff with my friends.”

“I always liked the green room here. Every venue is different, but this one stuck with me.”

His attitude was cool and aloof, but never to the point of completely uncaring. It was immediately disarming as you cracked a smile.

“You must see the inside of so many of these places.”

“I do,” he said. “Everywhere is different. But sometimes, you find that one element that makes a place worth remembering.”

“Just one? What’s the element here?” You asked, curious.

“Tonight, it’s you.”

Your breath remained in your lungs as you stilled beside him, your eyes daring to drift from the pinball machine to meet his heart stopping gaze. Every time you looked at him felt like the first time. Your words weren’t available to you as you held his stare. The tension building couldn’t be cut with a knife, but rather something more of a chainsaw as you tried to gather yourself.

“Don’t be nervous,” he finally said, his tone soft as he stepped back a bit. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable.”

“That’s really not the case,” you quickly responded, you eyes closing for just a second. “I’m, so, so far from uncomfortable.”

Where you had no words before, you were suddenly revealing too much. Nervous, yes, uncomfortable, absolutely not. It was bad enough you were completely infatuated with him, it was even worse he was into you, too- even worse in all the good ways, anyway. If only for the night.

You were stuck between going as far as you’d always wanted, to politely declining anything other than a hug and a conversation and being on your way. In that moment, you refused the thought of the latter.

“Are you?” He asked, his tone gruff, yet still soft.

“Yes,” you assured, your voice breathier than you anticipated it to be. “But I am a little intimidated.”

He noticed it too, breathing a soft chuckle as he moved to push some hair from your face, his hand staying on the side of your head tenderly.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t intend that.. Not maliciously, or anything,” he added nonchalantly with a faint, lighthearted grin.

A soft giggle emitted from your lips and you rolled your eyes playfully before his hand slid from your head to the side of your neck. When his eyes traveled from yours to your lips, you could almost hear the blood rushing to your cheeks again.

“Do you always blush so easily?” He smirked. “It’s precious.”

Bringing a hand to your cheek, words spilled past your lips without any way to control it. “You’re just, far more handsome than even I expected,” you gushed and looked away, unable to reel it back as your hand gripped onto the pinball machine behind you. “And I can’t help but want you.”

Your breathing grew staggered as he moved closer. There was something even more alluring about him in person, and you knew you were about to crumble to pieces when he leaned in and gripped onto your chin, turning you to face him in a rougher manner than you were used to.

“How do you want me?” he asked under his breath, leaning over you against the machine as his free hand gripped onto it beside you.

That was all you needed. The darker, submissive side to you would be hidden away no longer. There was something you needed that you felt only he could give you. His grip got just a bit tighter on your chin as you inhaled, holding his dangerous gaze. The masochistic craving you felt in your loins was insatiable as you opened your mouth to speak.

“Hard and fast,” you breathed, your slightly trembling hand moving to grip onto the collar of shirt as he leaned you back just a bit more. “Destructive.. I’m not afraid anymore.”

He didn’t waste any time. He picked you up and threw you onto the pinball machine, his lips meeting yours like there was a magnet attracting him to you. His kiss was suffocatingly deep as he parted your lips, smearing your nude-colored lipstick on your mouth as his hands explored your body. The taste of his lips was sweet as the candy he’d just ingested, sending you into a whirlwind of heaven. Still trembling just slightly, you moved your hand to touch his flesh; to finally get what you’d been dying to have for years. You hardly realized you were digging your fingers into his back when he pulled away for just a moment, ripping his shirt off of his toned body and exposing the tattoo on his chest you’d always dreamt of running your tongue over. You kicked your heels off quickly, wrapping your ankle behind his body as the intensity heightened between you.

He tugged you down closer to the edge of the surface he had you on, ripping your shirt off before pressing his lips back to yours with a force to them you’d never felt from anyone before. Your nether regions burned with a desire that you’d only heard of in movies as you pushed back, kissing him with same fervency he was giving you. A soft groan filled the air, and it was all Jared needed to hear as his hands tugged at your jeans, yanking them down your legs and dropping them to the floor. Without warning, you felt his hand on your barely clothed sex, pressing his fingertips against it roughly.

“Such a sweet girl, and yet so filthy..” he growled as his lips trailed down your neck roughly; a mixture of bites and kisses peppering your skin.

You brought his head against your flesh harder, your eyes falling shut as you moaned under his touch. The emotions and sensations within you bubbled like champagne in a glass with every word he spoke. There was no stopping the immense amount of arousal that he inflicted on you with every coy sentence; with every ounce of affection.

“Harder,” was all you could manage, and he swiftly obeyed.

His teeth sunk further into your skin, his finger rubbing circles over your engorged clit before slapping it a few times. Each slap sent a warm electric shock from your core to every other centimeter of your body, eliciting a new, delicate moan from you every time.

“Already, sweetheart?” He taunted softly. “Damn, such a fucking slut for daddy.. And I haven’t even fucked you, yet.”

His voice was gruff and full of lust as he spoke. He stood up again, shoving you down onto the pinball machine, rattling the pieces inside of it as his hand gripped around your throat. His other hand moved to tear your panties off your body. You gasped, opening your legs for him as he stood between them, rubbing his groin against your core through his pants. You watched as he bit his lower lip, his eyes roaming over your body lecherously as he gave your neck another squeeze. There was no question he was getting harder in his pants as he did so. It was enough to get you going even more, the thought of being the reason he needed you just as and much as you needed him.

“Then fuck me.. I want you to push me completely.. No limits,” you begged.

He lifted a brow with a smirk, his eyes landing on your pussy, glistening under the buzzing neon lights as he drew a breath between his teeth. It all drove you further up the wall with every passing second. He was addicting already, like a sweet kind of venom that you never knew you needed rushing through your bloodstream.

“No limits, huh?” he pondered, his hand moving to pull his length from his pants, still pinning you down with the other.

“None. I want it all. All your wrath..”

“Such dirty words coming from such an innocent face, {Y/N}..” he said, tapping the head of his shaft against your swollen folds a few times, eliciting a whimper from you.

With one, quick thrust, he pushed his large member into your core, your mouth slightly agape as you inhale at the sudden pleasure laced with the slightest twinge of a blissful pain. He was bigger than you were expecting, filling you up with no issue, but as he began to rock back and forth, the sensation quickly melted into nothing but pure, unadulterated euphoria. There was nothing like it, the high he had you running off of as you fit his rigid member like a glove.

“Oh, daddy..” you mewled, not used to such a filthy term coming from your lips, but aroused even more just at the opportunity to use it.

Jared picked up the pace, his hand dragging itself down your breasts before squeezing each of them over your favorite bra. Your leg pushed him even closer to your body as it bounced underneath him. He slid his hand beneath your bra next, pinching and tugging at your taut nipples as you moaned out his name, watching him bite into his lip as you did so.

Your senses tinged right along with his own as your shoulder blades pressed against the hard glass surface he had you on top of. When you moved to prop yourself up on your shoulder, his hand quickly met your cheek with a slap before smearing his thumb over your lip and grabbing your chin again, shoving you back down against the machine as he thrusted into you harder, his fingertips connecting with you cheek again. Your tight walls clenched around his solid cock, only offering the both of you more friction to get off on as he kept it up.

“You don’t move unless I move you,” he rasped, his hand moving to rub your clit again, this time with more pressure.

You were on cloud nine as you took every inch as deeply as he could possibly give it to you, crying out between gasps. His grunting was temperature rising, his moaning almost too hot for you to handle, and when saw his hand move to tear the belt that hung on his pants from its place, a whole new sensation of need appeared.

Your back arched as he ran it over your skin, the material was cold and smooth as he curtly leaned over you, and held it over your mouth, his hands on either side of your head as he fucked into you relentlessly.

It was obvious, plainly obvious, that he was only using you to tease himself as he began to slow down, towering over your helpless frame as one hand gripped onto the back of the pinball machine above you, the other squeezing your own breast with an eagerness to feel everything at once. His skin was just slightly damp as he pulled his thick cock out slowly, then pushing into your sweet spot again at the same pace, over and over.

“That tight little pussy is all mine, isn’t it kitten?” he groaned, his expression intense as he watched you with the belt over your mouth.

You bit into it, whimpering with a nod as your nails clawed at his shoulder, next. Your hips lifted to collide with his groin as you tilted your head back against the machine. He let go for a moment, the material still hanging over your mouth as he lifted your legs over his shoulders. His hand swiftly met your backside, slapping it violently with a firm squeeze before he leaned back over you and held the belt down again. His cock hit your g-spot with such a mouthwatering deliciousness, that you began to feel overwhelmed with pleasure; tears forming in your waterline. All you wanted was more of him, to feel the beautiful release that he was building you up to. Your stomach was in glorious, anticipatory knots as he continued.

“So helpless, trying to play with me like you can handle it..”

He lifted the belt just a bit so you could respond, a glint in his eye as he smirked down at you, still thrusting slowly.

“I can, baby..” you assured, your tone just as helpless as he knew it would be; just as desperate to please him.

With that, he pushed into you all at once again roughly, a cry falling from your lips as your chest heaved. You were close, so close. How he managed to get this far himself was beyond you as he chuckled, low and sensually.

“Does that feel good, baby girl?” he asked, taunting you now as he mercilessly stroked into you harder.

“Oh, fuck.. Yes, daddy! Fuck me!”

Your pussy throbbed around him, leaving you no time to keep your climax at bay as you finally let go. When he noticed you were at the finish line, he threw the belt aside and reached for your neck, squeezing it just right as your body writhed in response. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through your veins, sending a warm, sizzling sensation through your core. When he felt your walls squeeze his length repeatedly, he let himself go, too. A carnal groan bolting out of him like a freight train as his thrusts grew harder and animalistic. Riding out his ecstasy only helped you into another release as your overstimulated center sent nerve singing ripples of the most intense orgasm you’d ever felt- alone or with someone else.

“That’s right baby, cum for daddy.. Let me feel that pussy cum just for me,” he groaned into the open air.

Your pulsing clit was sensitive, only growing increasingly more sensitive as he reached to slap it over and over before his hands slid to grip onto your hips violently, thrusting into you with the same urgency as before.

Leaving you breathless and senseless all at once while he spilled inside of you was just the game he wanted to play. His fingers digging into your soft skin was painful, adding to the amazing feeling between your thighs as your swollen pussy swallowed his throbbing shaft with ease.

Jared’s eyes were glued to yours as you shuddered beneath him, watching your every reaction intently. It only got him off even harder on the fact that it was all because of him. The immense wetness that was dripping from your center made him slide in and out of you swiftly, your moaning turning into a soft whining as he slowed down, pushing back into you a few more times before finally pulling out with a sigh of satisfaction.

He set your legs back down and pulled at his pants, fixing himself again as you laid on the pinball machine, heaven in your eyes and mind. Suddenly, you wondered if you were going to be able to walk at all as a soreness replaced the fullness you’d just felt.

Giving into him, getting what you wanted, it all felt surreal as you looked up at the ceiling. The sex was rough and on fire, a total one-eighty from what you were used to. It was exciting, and honestly? Igniting. You wanted more of him, so much more. You wanted the darkness and the rage; the violence and the loss of control. You’d just gotten it all, but you were still hungry for him; still hungry for more. If what you’d just experienced was any indication, you were fast on your way to the sick and twisted desire you shared with him, no longer afraid to give it and receive it. Jared had satisfied you thoroughly, but as you laid on the pinball machine with an aching between your legs, you realized when it came to him, there was no way you’d ever be completely finished

A deep breath was all you allowed yourself before sitting back up, the puddle underneath you coating the back of your thighs as you looked for your clothes on the floor. He moved to pick up your jeans and panties, handing them back over to you with a smirk.

“Do you live around here?” he asked, and you almost couldn’t believe he’d moved into regular conversation so quickly.

You reminded yourself that he was Jared Leto, after all. You were probably just one out of a million when it came to tour flings. You attempted to shake the envy quickly.

“Yeah, just about twenty minutes away,” you breathed, still trying to bring yourself back down as you carefully took your clothes back.

You slid off of the pinball machine and into the articles of clothing he handed back to you.

“I get back home in a few months.. Maybe we can hang out again.”

The snort that escaped you wasn’t meant to be rude, but it was inevitable.

“You want to see me again?”

He mocked the expression on your features playfully with a light chuckle. “Of course I do. Are you kidding?”

You grabbed your shirt off the floor, slipping into it and looking at him meekly.

“Sorry, I just.. You’re.. You know, you can have anyone.” “Oh, I just spent all that time giving you my undivided attention and you still think I’d want to give it to someone else?”

“I know how you sweet talking band guys work,” you retorted, showing him you weren’t just another naive girl, even if you felt like it.

“So you’ve done this before?” he quipped, a sly grin on his features.

“No! I just.. Assume. You’re all a special kind of breed..” You stammered, huffing and regrouping as he stepped closer to you. “ What I meant is, I don’t expect you to all of a sudden be in love with me endlessly and want to give up.. Tour life,” You stated, knowing he knew exactly what you meant.

He chuckled again softly, shaking his head as he wrapped a hand around your waist, looking down into your {E/C} eyes.

“Where’s your phone? I’ll give you my personal line.”

You hesitated, studying his expression as you reached into your back pocket, suddenly glad it didn’t slip out during your rendezvous. When you pulled your phone out, he took it gently from your hand, unlocking it to put his number into your contacts.

“Claire is pissed,” he joked, drawing out his words as he lifts his brows, his thumb scrolling through the thread.

Had it been anyone else, you might’ve been mad that he went through your messages with her like that. However, he was different already, and she was showing her ass.

“Oh, yeah… She was hoping it would was going to be her getting railed tonight. Definitely not me.”

He laughed, looking at you and saving his contact.

“Getting railed, huh? Such a lady,” he joked.

You blushed in return as he slipped your phone into your back pocket for you, a soft giggle emitting from your chest as he gave your rear a firm squeeze. A faint pain made itself known under his hand from where he’d spanked you earlier, and you chewed on your lower lip.

“You know there’s more where that came from, right? Pushing your limits.. I’ve barely started.”

His icy stare landed on yours, a silent moment hanging between you as your breath hitched nervously in your chest all over again. Something told you if he did ever call you again, he’d just keep going. He’d keep going harder and harder every time you saw each other, until you were completely devoted to his every need. You were about to respond when-

“{Y/N}! What the fuck! How could you just leave me like that?!” you heard Claire calling out, the door swinging open and slamming into the wall behind it.

“As if on cue..” he said under his breath to you.

You jumped, trying to calm back down as Jared turned to face her.

“You must be Claire,” he grinned, and she automatically melted at his presence.

“Oh, yes.. Hi, again,” she said, pouring the flirt on thick. “Fancy meeting you here, babe.”

He only smiled, turning back to you and pulling you close with one arm before leaning in to plant a passionate kiss on your lips. When he pulled away, he winked and headed for the door. “Text me your address. I’ll call you when I’m back,” he said, grabbing his shirt from the couch he threw it on in the heat of your moment and walking cockily out of the room. “Be good, sweetheart.”

You couldn’t help the grin on your lips as you thought about what just happened. When you turned to Claire, you saw envy, confusion and rage written all over her features as she seethed, practically chomping at the bit to ask what the hell any of that was; but she didn’t need to ask. You simply shrugged, suddenly uncaring of her behavior.

“What can I say? He’s one hell of a guy.”

[lextherandlxce]

Restrained +1 (for Vic and Branch)

1. Locked in the trunk of a car

@illxadvised

"Heeeyyy!!!” Branch screamed at the top of his lungs. 

His throat was raw from yelling. Soon he might not have a voice to yell...or even plead with. His fists and arms hurt from banging on the inside of the trunk, his feet kicking at the same time. All his vision was tainted red, the cars trunk only illuminated by a tiny scarlet bulb. It didn’t help him much. It was too dim to make anything out properly. That hadn’t stopped him from groping around to try to find any lever to pop the trunk open or even a weapon to use once the trunk was opened. 

His skull throbbed and his ears rang from the incredibly harsh blow to the head that had dazed him enough to allow someone to shove him in the trunk of a car and speed off. Once he came back to himself, and he knew his father would lose his mind once he found out that Branch may have passed out for a while, he’d quickly taken stock of what was on his person. His gun, his phone, and his walkie were all missing. The only things he had were his deputy’s badge still on his uniform and his hat had been haphazardly tossed in the trunk with him. There was no way he could call for help or let Walt know what was going on.

But he had his voice, and he was using it. The fact that they were on a deserted road out of Durant must have account for why the driver hadn’t pulled over to bind and gag him. But Branch could hear it. There was another car. So he yelled and pounded on the trunk with his fists and feet, praying as panic slowly coiled around him, that the other driver might here him and think to call for help. 

“Shut the fuck up!!” he heard from the front of the car. A sudden push on the breaks sent Branch sliding and knocking about the trunk as punishment. If the driver was doing that to shut him up...maybe he was scared that Branch’s calls were actually working. 

Hope flared in his chest at the muffled sound of another car’s horn responding to the driver’s actions. With sweat drenching him both from the summer night’s heat and his own fear, Branch screamed until he was dizzy. 

It prompted something serious. He heard the screech of tires, the roar of an engine, and multiple beeps of the other car’s horn. Branch looked around him though there was nothing to see, realizing that the other driver must have heard him and was trying to signal his abductor to stop. A much worse wave of fear settled over Branch. He needed help, but he didn’t want anyone to get hurt. He didn’t want the other driver to risk their life to be a hero and save him. His heart hammered in his chest, and he shook his head weakly. 

“No...” he croaked softly. He then dragged in a hot stale breath, wiping the sweat off his brow before screaming, “Call the Sheriff!!!”

Because he couldn’t see it...he wasn’t quite sure what happened. All he knew was that he heard the other car accelerate once more, and the horn went silent. The car that he was in then swerved side to side, slamming on the breaks once more. Branch was tousled around roughly. Every part of his body seemed to bump or hit some part of the trunk. It hurt, but he hardly recognized it. The sound of a couple gunshots rang through his ears. The sound of a door opening from in front of him followed. 

And then it was silent enough to deafen him. 

Branch put his face in his palm, hot tears stinging his eyes. The one who had shoved him in here must have shot the other driver. Grief hit his chest, and for one delirious moment, he realized he felt such profound loss for someone that he’d never even seen. But they’d been so willing to try and help him....

The sound of his own ragged breaths and the ticking of the cooling engine swam around him, before he heard very calm and measured footsteps. Branch scowled, his eyes following the sound as best they could. He reached blindly for his hat, slipping it on his head and pushing it down securely. If he was being honest...he didn’t expect to survive this. He had nothing on his side other than a will to live and pure rage at the injustice done to another. 

Maybe it would be enough. 

He dragged his tired body into a position that would allow him to pounce on the other as soon as the trunk opened. He weakly hoped that a blindside of brute force might give him the upper hand. His hat shielded his few of the other’s face, though the influx of fresh air breathed new life into him. He lunged from the trunk, crying out as he did, pushing all of his strength and weight into the other man. He was rewarded with a loud ‘oof’ as his shoulder met the other man’s sternum. The impact sent them stumbling backwards, but Branch’s feral fury didn’t allow him to escape the other’s grip quite so easily. Firm hands and strong arms held him, keeping a tight grip on his arms so he couldn’t get a punch out. 

Recognition hit him all at once. He knew these hands. He knew this smell. He knew the strength of these arms for different reasons and recognized the tattoos on them. He knew the cowboy boots the other wore, and he knew that voice. He’d know that voice anywhere. And just as the cooler night air sweeping into the trunk had coaxed life to Branch’s adrenaline fueled frenzy to fight to live...Vic’s presence drained all the fight from him. Enough so that he could actually hear and understand what his lover was saying to him.

“Branch!! It’s okay! It’s me! Calm down, you’re okay!”

Vic held him tight when Branch sagged in both relief and exhaustion, held him when Branch slowly turned around to stare into the handsome face of his lover.

And somehow...Branch had never felt so exposed in his entire life. He was living with this man. He had been naked and underneath this man. He’d had this man inside him. He’d fallen in love with this man. But he had never felt so bare before. Because in that moment...Vic saw him for all that he was. Just a man. Just as strong, brave, flawed, and human as anybody else despite the uniform he wore. 

Branch moved shaking hands to Vic’s arms that were still holding him close. He rested his palms on Vic’s chest. His emotions were tangling in his own chest causing a lump in his throat that he swallowed with a audible gulp. He stared into pale blue eyes, the most stunning color in the world to him, eyes that said a million different things. That Vic was worried about him, that Vic wanted to protect him, that Vic was so grateful that Branch was alright. And seeing all the care and love in Vic’s gaze made the lump in Branch’s throat larger, and his eyes sting with tears he would never admit were there. 

“Vic...” he said, his voice choking with emotion and too much use. 

He didn’t have to use it anymore, because Vic cupped Branch’s face and kissed him soundly. He kissed Branch deep and hard enough to pour out all his adoration, all his love, and his loyalty. And even though Branch wanted to cry then more than ever, all he could do was clutch onto the front of Vic’s shirt. To pull him closer, and let all his gratitude, and his own love of the other man come through. For once, Branch didn’t care that they were kissing while he was wearing his deputy’s uniform. He didn’t care that it was out in public, illuminated by the headlights of Vic’s yellow Cadillac. All he knew was he’d been in serious trouble, the man he adored had come to get him, and it was just them now. His hat almost slipped off his head as they kissed, and Vic righted it with a tiny smirk when he pulled away. Branch laughed weakly, aware of how the night air was rapidly cooling his sweat slicked skin and dampened clothes. But Vic was warm. 

“You okay, cowboy?” Vic asked, refusing to let Branch go even when he tried to lean back. So he stayed happily in Vic’s arms. 

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice husky. Vic noticed how abused his throat was and pressed a chaste kiss to Branch’s lips. “You got your cell phone?”

“Uh, sure,” Vic said, black brows drawing together as he dug his phone out of his back pocket. Branch took it from him, punching in different numbers. 

“I gotta call Walt,” he explained sheepishly. “He’s gonna be pissed that I let the guy get away. But this is a crime scene and--”

“You didn’t let the guy get away, I did,” Vic interrupted him. “If he wants to get mad, he can be mad at me.” Vic’s brows twitched upwards and he licked his lips, a slow grin spreading across his face. “But I’m hopin’ he might approve of me after all this.”

“What?” Branch said, his eyes wide, and his lips parted in shock. The phone was held to his hear, and he barely acknowledged the ringing. 

“I know Walt is like your Dad. I know who you work with is your family,” Vic explained, glancing down at Branch’s badge and running a few fingers over the gold star. “I want them to like me. And I wanna meet all of them. But if it’s too soon...I could always just be a concerned citizen helping out a deputy in need...”

Branch leaned forward and pressed his lips to Vic. God damn it. Everything was happening so quickly with Vic. They’d only moved in together after two days fucking each other!! Vic was amazing. It was obvious that they loved each other. Yes it was too soon, but everything with Vic was happening ‘too soon’, and it was perfect. Branch sighed into the kiss and melted against Vic, he didn’t miss the happy hum that rumbled through Vic’s chest or how his lover immediately cupped his ass in his jeans. 

Branch pulled away quickly when Ruby answered the station’s phone. His cheeks heated and Vic chuckled quietly. Branch asked for Walt to come out after briefly explaining what happened. He also asked for Henry to come out first thing in the morning to track where the man who had abducted Branch had gone. And after many reassurances that he was okay, and that a ‘witness’ was there to keep him company until Walt arrived, Branch handed Vic his phone back. 

���They’ll be here in about thirty minutes,” Branch said, leaning his forehead on Vic’s shoulder briefly. He wrapped his arms around Vic’s neck before moving to look at him. And Vic would have been lying if he said that the worry in his chest didn’t lessen as Branch’s faint trembling did. Calm swept over him as the panic in Branch’s blue eyes lessened, their natural warmth and playfulness beginning to settle back in. “It’s gonna be a while ‘til they get here,” Branch murmured, his eyes currently staring at Vic’s lips. “Kiss me until they do?”

Branch never had to ask twice as Vic pulled his lover tighter to his chest. Nothing would have given him greater pleasure in that moment than to kiss Branch back in a state of well-being, and he was going to spoil his deputy rotten once they got back to Branch’s house. Vic was also fully intent on protecting his lover from whoever wished him harm. It looked like Vic had some of his own detective work to do. Mainly trying to figure out who had put Branch in the trunk of a car, and if Vic’s being in Durant had anything to do with it.

[ghost-bat-gamer]

WARNING! Three Caballeros Spoilers (And long text) ahead!!!

Legend Of The Three Caballeros is a new Disney Series based off of the film and comics of The Three Caballeros. It is really hard to find anywhere, but I highly recommend you watch it. There are quite a few similarities and differences from the new series and the 1944 movie. I will pinpoint and analyse noteworthy parts I have noticed when comparing the two. First of all, in case you know nothing on the subject, I will give a summary of Disney’s The Three Caballeros.

The Three Caballeros was originally a film to make good will and intentions through the “good neighbor policy”  with South America during  late WWII. The film mixed techniques of live-action and animation.

Yaya was played by the actress Aurora Miranda. It featured the classic voice talents of: Clarence Nash,(Voice actor and impressionist that is known for his duck impression,inspiring Disney to make him Donald Duck’s voice actor) José Oliveira (Voices José Carioca)  Joaquin Garay (Voices Panchito Pistoles)

 The synopsis of the film: It is Donald Duck’s birthday. Donald Duck receives a package that contains a film reel. In the reel the narrator talks about  stories of exotic birds and penguins around the world. The film most certainly comes to life. A second box appears, and like Saludos Amigos, ( José’s first appearance where he becomes acquainted with Donald duck,) José’ once again bursts out of the present, merry to see his friend again. José, a song  later takes Donald to Bahia, “land of romance” in a story book, where they pass by Yaya, a sweet-maker. Donald falls in love for the Quindins of Yaya. Later Donald and José pop back to normal size and open more presents. In one, there is Panchito. Panchito takes them and lets Donald discover the traditions and history behind the Mexican flag, Pinata, Navidad, and more. More women and dance scenes later, Donald finds himself in the middle of a huge and happy celebration!

Character explanation, film:

Donald Duck (Love-able and mischievous, Donald Duck’s bad luck and irritability is well known.) He first starred in The Little Wise Hen back on June 9, 1934. Both June 9 and Friday the 13th(on account of his bad luck) are considered his birthday. In the film, it is unclear if this is pre-Daisy Duck dating, but most likely because of Donald’s disposition with the women in the film, and since Daisy duck is not in it. He has an “all american” attitude and can be quite arrogant.

José Carioca: A”Dapper  Brazilian Parrot” who was based off of a parrot Walt Disney saw on his Brazilian trip. He first appeared in Saludos Amigos. He is quite well dressed in a suit and bowtie with a hat and an umbrella to go with it. Many gags are performed with the umbrella, including using it as a flute, cane, or to propel one forward. He is polite and always outdoes Donald. He keeps calm and charms most people.

Panchito Pistoles: Eccentric and lively, Panchito is a Mexican rooster who is fun to be around! He has spare sombreros for his friends, and has quite the voice. In the film he has a red/pink-ish suit and a belt with gun holsters. He is a little trigger-happy. He has spurs on the back of his feet, and likes to show off.

All together, they make the musical trio, The Three Caballeros.

Analysing the Film: All together, they are a gay trio. “Gay mostly as in happy.”

There are many scenes that poke fun at homosexuality however, such as when Donald was trying to kiss one of the girls while blindfolded, but accidently ended up smooching Jose, whom laughed it off and removed the blindfold. Donald tried to get away, but was pulled in by Jose’s umbrella, where Panchito, Jose, and Donald took off. The Three Caballeros also danced together a lot.

 They also like to make each other jealous. Being roughly either the “Three gentlemen” or Knights, in many cartoons they make it almost a competition to be overly nice to others. In an episode of Mickey And The Roadster Racers, Panchito is impressed by Donald’s Daisy. He goes to kiss her hand but Jose speeds over to her and does it before he can. They obviously like to make each other jealous when being polite.

Panchito is an overwhelming hugger and handshaker. He can tend to be a little extreme.

Although Donald may be grumpy, he’d do anything to keep his amigos happy.

Legend of the Three Caballeros, Episode 1: Dope-A-Cabana Notes (WOW I GET THE TITLE) Copeacabanaaaaa-um THen ONWARDS!

In the first episode, it is Friday the 13th, Donald’s Birthday. He makes himself breakfast in house house and as usual, it ends up on his face.  Contradictory to Ducktales, Donald works at a barber shop, lives in a normal house, and doesn’t raise his nephews, despite as seen later still to have lived in Duckburg. Donald Duck is later fired, and his house burns down (Due to a left on kettle. He gets mad with the classic red face, streaming kettle noises, and steam out his ear bit) With no place to go, he receives a fortunate later that he has an inheritance to a building in New Quackmore: Where the elite live, where he mistakes his high-strung antagonist of a neighbor, Baron Von Sheldgoose’s house for his house. Donald finally finds the shack, which is rundownto say the least. His “lawyer”? Meets them there. Jose gets there via bus and ( Different from the three caballeros film), they do not know each other. Jose continues to charm the lawyer and makes Donald uncomfortable. THEN PANCHITO ROMERO MIGUEL JUNIPERO FRANCISCO QUINTERO GONZALEZ THE THIRD FALLS OUT OF AN AIRPLANE. SPLAT. He once again uses his impressive name from the family episode of House of Mouse. He shakes Jose’s and Donald’s hands simultaneously and overeccageratedly, the same gag in the original Three Caballeros. In this one, the Aracuan bird, (In the film as a crazy, “Pretty stupid fellow”) In this, he cannot be ever fired in the contract as the cabana’s caretaker. He has the nickname Ari. Still a bit of a kook, but less of an annoyance, for now. He never speaks more than shrieks, destroys everything that he touches, and is horrible at his job. But at least he carries a nice tool belt. All three were entitled to the shack. In the will of Clinton Coot, It states that the shack and its possessions go to Donald Duck, and the rest of the descendents of THE three caballeros. Looking around, they find a slew of valuable ancient artifacts, and decide it shall be sold in a yard sale. (That none of the people around seem interested in) (April, May, and June duck, Daisy’s nieces, are invited to sell stuff by Donald. His bored nieces tell Donald that Daisy still isn’t happy with him for not picking her up) (HIS HOUSE WAS BURNT DOWN GIVE EM A BREAK) (Another difference, April, May, June, and Daisy are in this Three Caballeros. THAT will be certainly different. When trying to shuffle his nieces of to work, he confuses their names.) The yard sale is a bust. Once Baron Von Sheldgoose discovers this, he is outraged and tries to shut the operation down, until he stumbles upon a seemingly important and probably magical ring the matches his accessory. He is instantly coy and secretly tries to (trick) buy the whole yard of stuff, most likely including the cabana for 1 MILLION DOLLARS, which instantly sends The three searching for a golden jewel encrusted book that Sheldgoose requires for the transaction. (Another trick for power) Panchito finds it inside when the three eagerly were searching. After the assistance of Ari, The lock is popped open and the book sparks, floats, and glows. The Three Caballeros cower behind a table as an intimidating women(Azula?) wearing the clothes that represent a warrior pops out of the book. She wields a golden bow and arrow, aimed at them; saying “Say your prayers, mortals. “ and leaving us all with a cliffhanger. (GULP)

MAJOR DIFFERENCES FROM THE FILM AND THE SERIES are:

The Three Caballeros don’t know each other!? So now there is an alternate story to how they met/know each other!

They live together?! Won’t they all miss home? Awww.

Where does Ari stay? Probably with them lol. He MIGHT BE THEIR  ACTUAL FRIEND??? Okay, that’s crazy.

So:

Film: Musical-Comedy with live action and animation. A lighthearted and educational trip in South America.

Series: AN ACTION PACKED MYSTERY AND ADVENTURE AROUND THE WORLD!!!!! WOO!!!

Personally, I love both equally. And each holds a special place in my heart.

Thank you and sorry for reading all of this, and if you want me to write and analyse more, Please like, reblog, and or comment so I know!

~BattyGamer

[toonman19]

"BOUNTY OF A BLACKBIRD"

Considering the polarizing effect Tyler's storyline has had, and the demonstrated effectiveness of his vigilantics with Cyrus...carnage was bound to be a diffused plot point. Here's an alternate scene take for 2x13....I've been going through some dark thoughts, and this was kind of an exorcism for those. I've got sharp teeth and rhino skin, so if you like, critique/share.

**AGAIN: **WARNING****The following is an alternate imagining of events in the thirteenth episode of 13RW's second season. It contains language and sexual violence in brief, but chilling description. If such reinterpretations disgust or trigger, please turn back now for your benefit.

For those with steel wills, and a small, sickening taste for retribution, read on:**(CONTEXT)**Tyler returns from camp, and is confronted by Monty's gang in the bathroom. He calmly repeats his earlier offering, but when Monty grabs him, Tyler pulls out a handgun and intimidates him into backing off him and Clay and to leave town for the school year's duration. Shortly after, he disappears from his house and from Liberty for several weeks.

April 20th: (CONTEXT)

(Before "The Night We Met" plays,* Bryce receives a text from an anonymous numbe*r): "Know you've been going through a lot...since you're coming to Hillcrest, just want you to know we're here for you. Come meet me in the men's room when you get a moment." (Drunk, Bryce shrugs and stumbles out to finish his drink.) (After the song has played, Bryce walks into the men's restroom and looks around. The stalls are all occupied, and the only sound outside the gym ambience is dripping water.) Bryce: OK...if you're in here, I got the text. Hello? Voice from Stall#2: Be right out, Walker. Bryce: ...how come you wanted to chat? Voice from Stall#2: ...naw, man. I don't need to talk. Bryce: ...hold up. You knew it was me, and "you'll be right out"? You didn't send the text? Voice from Stall#2: Oh no, I sent the text. Bryce: ...I swear to God, I'm not in the mood. (The sound of a creaking door opens several bootsteps behind Bryce. He slowly turns around tensely to behold an eerie figure. A top hat and a plague doctor mask with gold-spiked eye holes and a gold-tipped black beak stare back at Bryce. The rest of the figure is adorned in a black single-breasted overcoat, save for two white gloves with four domino dots stitched onto the sides.) Bryce: ...the fuck? Tyler: ...Nice tux. I really wasn't sure I could bank on seeing you here. But when Chloe was going on at Monet's about what would be a complimentary dress and corsage, well...like boyfriend, like girlfriend. People spill so much in the arms of comfort.

Bryce: So you were spying on my girlfriend?...well good for you. You found your excuse to go Tim Burton. Now how about a reason why I shouldn't smash your face through that stupid mask? Tyler: Easy there, big guy. We're guys, right? We can talk about the ladies all we want in here...sure you've got more admissions than you're comfortable keeping inside. Bryce: You know what, my intimate life's none of your business. And no offense, but that's not a subject you look qualified to tackle. (Tyler stares at Bryce unflinchingly) Tyler: Three months probation...all these free passes, and you're still hiding from the truth. Bryce: Why don't you take off that faggot mask and show me who you really are? Tyler: I'm about to. But I don't need to unmask for that. Bryce: See, if I had to-I'm guessing you're another one of Baker's sugar daddies....right? What, was S&M getup one of her depressive turn-ons? Tyler: ...this isn't about Hannah, Bryce. This (to mask) is what was always inside. The sapling within the pit. Bryce: What've you got in that overcoat? Another tape recorder? I got three words for you: two-way consent. Tyler: You really think I came here just to get another piece of evidence...the presiding pig-pen pal who set you loose in court already showed they don't care about stopping you. The school, your parents, every one of your "bros" padded you damn good....but they're outside, Bryce. You and me. The company of twisted men. Bryce: So what are you gonna do? Tyler: ...I kind of like the mystery element here. Take a wild guess. Bryce: ...a gun? (laughs tentatively, then steps two feet towards Tyler) The second you reach in your pocket, I'm going to break your neck. Right here. Tyler: (chuckles) I'm not gonna kill you, Bryce. God, if anything comes second to your cruelty, it's how boring you are without it. Bryce: (shoves Tyler back) What the FUCK are you playing at?! Is this just some pathetic game you came up with? Tyler: Y'know, funny story...when I was eight, I really got good at Monopoly. Granted, I usually paid out more than I brought in...but wherever I spread it just right, it sprung up in later rounds. I knew that boot camp was going to play the same pacifier techniques with me that Bolan did..and I managed to find some kindred spirits from our little town. Now you and I are more similar than we ever were. Bryce: Yeah? How you figure that? Tyler: ...I've learned to love a team effort. (The stalls behind them slowly open, and Bryce turns to see four tall boys in ski masks and goggles, draped in Hillcrest letter jackets, and carrying baseball bats, step out.) Bryce: No. Fuck this-no,no-!! (He pushes past Tyler and starts to storm out, but comes face to face with three more thugs striding in, two of them ski-masked women in bikini tops and leather pants carrying lead pipes in one arm, and one in a hooded sweatshirt carrying handcuffs and rope...all seven of them wearing black leather gloves. Tyler backs behind the bikini thugs, holding his arms out.) Tyler: It's like they say: A little green goes a long way out...and a little way in. (Bryce turns frantically as the thugs enclose on him silently) Maybe I paraphrased that last bit, but...what's a good American who can't revise? (He snaps his fingers, and the thugs charge him. Bryce, intoxicated, heaves and swings wildly, succeeding in clocking one forward bikini thug in the ribs, then grabbing her and throwing her against a left urinal. He lunges to grab Tyler, but the Hillcrest thugs seize him and begin slugging and kneeing him in the jaw, ribs, and side of his head with their bats. Five of them chokehold him, and charge a sink, raising and smashing Bryce's forehead into the basin, shattering the corner and bloodying his brows. Three manage to grab his flailing legs and pull them in front of him while the others pull his upper body back. The bikini thugs raise their lead pipes and bludgeon Bryce's kneecaps while a thug holds his arms over his mouth. As he screams and bites into the arm, Tyler motions to the sweatshirt thug, who pulls out a wax apple tied to a leather strap from his pocket.) Bryce: (with bleeding lips) RRRGHH!! You--pfft--pathetic-motherpfttkk-! Tyler: Quite a potty mouth on you. I think a time-out should work.(The sweatshirt thug takes the handcuffs, as two of the Hillcrest thugs grab both of Bryce's wrists with their hands and stretch them in front of the flush valve, crossing them and handcuffing to the valve. Taking the rope, two Hillcrest thugs pull Bryce's legs back towards the basin and tie them to the faucet. Bryce hangs midair, writhing and roaring.) Bryce: ALL OF YOU ARE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME?! Tyler: Yeah, that whining's not gonna make this go easier. (to Sweatshirt) Could you-? (Sweatshirt takes the wax apple and holds it up to Bryce's mouth.) Sweatshirt: Open*. (Bryce turns towards him and spits on his shoes. A Hillcrest thug lifts and smacks Bryce's feet with his bat, leading Bryce to yell.)* OPEN, NOW! (Furiously, Bryce opens his bleeding mouth as Sweatshirt shoves it in and pulls out the apple straps around the back of Bryce's head, clipping the two ends together. Bryce breathes and whimpers a muffled sound as Tyler steps forward.) Tyler: I had ammo stacked that could've slain every Liberty Tiger graduating. I could've launched a million "thoughts and prayers". But just like what you did to Hannah, to Jessica...the girl you actually claim you loved..it would've died out slowly. Numero 22 in 2018. This...is going to do more than freak out the monsters like you. It's going to turn stomachs, minds...fucking tides. And those that don't drown will burn. (Bryce squeals tearfully, pleading inaudibly as Tyler reaches inside his overcoat and untapes a broken pool cue hidden in the lining... with the top wrapped in barbed wire. Bryce, unaware, suddenly begins wailing, shaking desperately to pull his feet or his hands from their restraints. The bikini thugs begin giggling as they undo Bryce's belt...then his zipper...then his pants button. The Hillcrest thugs yank his pants back onto his ankles. As Tyler ducks under Bryce's legs with the cue, he stands up behind Bryce's exposed rear as the girls pull the cheeks apart, unseen by the viewer.) Tyler: I meant it when I said I wouldn't kill you. (The ambience builds to a near shriek, as Bryce freezes in terror.) I only came back to destroy you. (With a heave, he thrusts the cue forward and inward. Bryce can't scream...only weep, gape and gag as the backward thrust withdraws and repeats, withdraws and repeats...until Tyler leaves the cue suspended within Bryce's rear, and crawls back out. As the thugs chuckle, Bryce sobs with a helplessness and horror unawakened since his starved childhood. Perhaps a twinge of regret crosses his pupils.) Tyler: Well, I owe you one...I finally became what I was meant to be. All those Poloroids, all those tapes, the failures...they were just developing the whole picture. THIS is what moving on is, Bryce. And now we're both monsters...with just one difference. (As Bryce turns to Tyler seethingly, still soaked in blood and tears, he sees Tyler pull something else from his overcoat, and his eyes widen with pure horror.) Tyler: I'm the monster for a new beginning. Your means were always to your end. (Bryce begins shaking again, flailing wildly like a trapped animal, screaming desperately as Tyler bends down with a set of garden clippers and reaches forward.) (Inside Liberty Gym, Clay is seen sitting down next to Justin and Alex as a new song plays on the DJ stand. All of a sudden, Bryce's bloodcurdling shriek echoes throughout the hallway outside.) Justin: What the hell was--? (The shrieking gets louder as Zach comes over to them.) Zach: Jesus, did you guys-?! That wasn't just me.. Clay: No, I heard it too. Zach: Wait a minute...didn't Bryce just go outside before the last song? Clay***:*** (sullen) I wasn't paying attention. (Suddenly, buzzes echo on their phones.) Hang on, I got something... Justin: Yeah, so did... (As they pull their phones out, Courtney comes towards them.) Courtney: What in God's name is making that sound?? Alex: Maybe someone's passing a kidney stone? Zach: Hang on, lemme...(looks at phone, retches.) Justin: What? Zach: This is--did you guys get this?? (As all of them open the message, they stare in horror at the mass group photo text. In one, a puddle of blood has formed underneath Bryce's waist, and the word "PORKER" is painted with blood across his back. In the next, his head, covered by a loose-fitting pig mask, is forcibly turned towards the camera by Tyler's gloves with the caption:) Clay: (with trembling hands) "This little piggy went to Liberty...and now goes wee-wee-wee all the way onward. For the revolution to rise, innocence dies. Blood has been shed, but lives will be spared. We are listening...we are waiting...we are everywhere. ~SYL" (As Clay looks up in mutual alarm towards his friends, the sounds of screams and gasps fill the auditorium. As adults frantically attempt to calm the students over the microphone and in the audience, U2's "Raised By Wolves" begins playing in the background.) RaisedByWolves (Tyler and his cronies run giddily towards their pickup truck, hop into the back and driver's seat, and drive off as the sounds of sirens sound in the distance and approach Liberty from far away in the opposite direction.

(As the ambulance pulls up amidst flashes of red and blue, groups of students are gathered outside frantically calling their parents, friends, anyone to alert. On top of the Liberty High steps, a team of emergency medics carry Bryce out on a stretcher into the vehicle, as he continues to sob and shake wildly. From the bottom of the steps, Clay glances at him with a reproachful pity, then turns away to his friends.) Jessica: Alex, did you call..? Alex: Yeah. Half the department's on their way here for questioning. (Cyrus comes sprinting towards them.) Cyrus: Shit, you guys. It's--it's viral. (shows Justin his phone) (Justin takes it, and sees Bryce's pictures uploaded to Liberty High's Facebook page...with him tagged. Most reactions are shocked...some are laughing faces, and the comments section continues to bulge with alarm and excitement.) Justin: T-this is fucked up, right?? Clay: ...yeah. (All of them stare at the ambulance as it closes up and takes off into the distance while police vehicles join the ones present in front of Liberty.)

(CREDITS.)

==DISCLAIMER==This post is solely for fictional purposes, and is not an active recommendation towards suspected offenders or assailants of sexual abuse. It bears the dark musings of its author, but not his encompassed nature.

Viewing Clay and Tyler as counterparts is most effective when sending them down diverging destinies. As Clay chooses not to let the past destroy his future, Tyler builds his future upon the injustices of his past. Clay has begun healing, Tyler has chosen congealing.

And Bryce's humanity has been further diminished...yielding to depression? Insanity? Suicide? What are the effects of a retribution so heinous?

...I'm ready. Fire away.

[chocolatemillkk]

Christmas Shopping (JS)

Request: could you write an imagine where joe and reader are best friends and reader helps him with buying zoe, alfie and his friends’ christmas presents. joe mentioned in one of his vlogmas vlogs that he hates christmas shopping so i thought of this, can you make it not romantic in any way pls, that they are just best friends? thanks xx

This is my first platonic imagine I think, hope it was done well! I imagine goofing off involved in a scenario like this with Joe ;) 💙

----------------------------------------

I drop by Joe's flat after work, a bag of takeout in my hand as I ring him with my phone in the other.

"Pick up," I mutter. I was standing outside waiting for him to buzz me in but he wasn't answering. I call him again and finally a sleepy voice picks up.

"Let me in please! It's cold and I have food?" I say.

I'm buzzed in and am greeted with a warm hug from Joe. Joe and I have been best friends ever since he moved to London and we lived on the same floor of our apartments. His crazy pranks with his friends had me helping out on a couple occasions but over time it became more than that, and now I couldn't imagine life without him.

"Were you asleep?" I set the food down in the kitchen and look at Joe's Christmas decorations. "You've finally gotten this place decorated!"

"Yeah, decided not to put it off any longer. Unlike my Christmas presents, I hate shopping for those." Joe scratches the back of his head as he peeks at all the food I lay out. "You didn't have to get all this."

"It's nothing! Back to the important thing: have you not done your Christmas shopping?!"

"It's so hard! And annoying," he groans.

"Joe Sugg there is a week until Christmas! What are you waiting for?!"

"I'm waiting for a few packages from online. And then I'm waiting for a miracle."

"Joe," I grab him by the shoulders. "You and me. Christmas shopping. Now."

"No! Y/N come on I'm hungry, and it's late! You're probably busy too..."

I was not putting up with this. Every year Joe complained about shopping for presents but somehow he managed to get very good gifts even though it cost him his sanity going so last minute. I would try to help this year....after dinner.

"Have you done your shop?" Joe asks me as I shove his coat into his arms as soon as we've finished eating.

"Basically all done, just buying wrapping paper and whatnot."

"Y/N you probably bought all your presents two weeks ago." Joe jokes.

"Actually, I started in November," I say and his expression makes me laugh. "Let's go! Off your bottom into the car!"

Joe grumbles but he follows me out. We drive to Stratford but Joe doesn't get out of his car.

"There are so many people," he stares at all the families walking to and from their cars.

"Joe, are you serious? You've talked in front of thousands of people and you make videos for millions daily!"

"Not daily," he corrects me. I roll my eyes. He was stalling so I do what I have to do. I unlock his door and drag him out. Anyone looking at the scene would probably have called us crazy but Joe and I often behaved ridiculously whether we were public or not. This was just one of those times. Once we make it in, we hit up so many shops I lose count and Joe has to borrow my arms to carry some of his load. He gets most of his friends off the list, we try on a few ugly Christmas jumpers and even buy one for Caspar. He finds a dainty chain for Jack and some lens accessories for Oli. We shop until it's time to find the big gifts for his family.

"What about this for Alfie," Joe holds out a cologne for me to smell and I nearly gag.

"That's rank!" I sputter out as I try to get a good breath in.

"I know!" Joe bends over laughing.

"You knew! I hate you!" I joke. "You watch yourself Sugg I'm getting you back!"

"I'm gonna see it coming," the prank king says smugly. I would though.

"We have to put these bags back in the car if we're continuing," I say once we get most of the gifts and he agrees so we make the trek to the parking garage and I feel so much lighter but I can tell Joe wanted to go by now.

"Tackiest Christmas item," I turn to tell him.

"What?" He asks.

"Find the tackiest Christmas item for each other. 10 pound limit though! Meet me back at that fountain in a half hour."

"I'm gonna win!" Joe shouts as he rushes off to the end of the floor. I head into the closest one, let's see...

•••

"You first!" I squeal. Joe stands with his hand in a bag and a glint in his eye.

"We forgot to say what the forfeit is," he reminds me.

"Okay, loser has to actually use the gift!"

"Deal," Joe whips something out and at first I'm lost in all the colour but then it focuses. A shiny red and green elf hat. As in it had an actual elf head on it. It came with matching elf ears.

"No way, that is horrible!" I laugh.

Joe puts it on his head, "I don't need these ears though do I?" He jokes and crouches down to put on a grumpy elf skit that has me in stitches. He still has another bag so I ask about it.

"Shh," he puts it behind him. "That's your gift."

"Ooh, what is it?" I try to peek but the top is covered in tissue paper.

"Oi," Joe covers it up. "You'll find out soon enough!"

"Fine, you ready for mine?" I ask but pull it out anyway. It was a beard made of tinsel but it also came attached with the world's tiniest hat. Joe's mouth drops open as he looks at it in all it's ugliness.

"I'd say we both did equally well..." he begins backpeddling.

"You are not getting out of this Joe!" I go to reach for him but he scurries out of the way. "Joe!" I shout and earn some irritated looks from passerbys. I go after him, dodging baby strollers and almost knocking down a few kids until I see him waiting for me. I run up, out of breath.

"We both have to wear ours," he pleads.

"Fine!" I grab the stupid hat and put it on knowing Joe was going to look even more ridiculous. Also knowing I popped into the store with the horrible perfume and lightly sprayed the beard. I make sure to take his vlogging camera from him to film his reaction. He puts it on and gags while I cry myself laughing and Joe cries too but it looks painful.

"At least none of your fans will recognise you," I pat his back.

"Y/N!" He complains. "This smells so bad!"

"I told you I'd get you back!" I say, not bothering to hide my victory.

"So you've managed a two-in-one then," Joe shakes his head. I nod, grinning ear to ear. "I have to respect that," he shrugs. Suddenly he pulls me into a hug and rubs the fake beard into my scarf until it smells too.

"Joe!" I cry. I yank the scarf from my neck trying to hold my breath.

"Nobody get the master prankster like that," he grabs my bag from the floor and begins walking ahead of me. I drop my hands in defeat, at least we were getting his Christmas shop done.

[desktopgargoyle]

The Road Trip Series - Chapter 3

AN: so this chapter is super duper late....but better late than never?

ff.net link

Chapter 3

“Nino really needed some rest, huh?” Marinette looks over her shoulder at Nino and Adrien, who are both curled up against each other and snoring in the back seat of the car.

“Yeah, he’s had some pretty crazy shifts lately. I barely get to see him awake anymore.” Alya laughs somewhat sadly. “He works late and sleeps late, I leave early and end up asleep before he gets in. You know how it is.”

Alya’s tried not to make a big fuss over Nino’s working hours because she knows that he’s doing a job he loves and excels at. But she will admit that it’s difficult for her to not see him as much as she used to. She misses Wednesday Spaghetti Nights on the sofa watching old horror movies with awful special effects and she misses making pancakes at midnight on Breakfast for Dinner Fridays. She misses going on dates and she misses lazy Sundays just hanging out in pyjamas with hot chocolate.

They’ve have talked about it a couple times and Nino hates their reduced time together as much as Alya does. The difference is that he also loves his job, and Alya is not about to try to tear him away from it just because she misses him. Besides, it’s not like she never sees him, it’s just that she sees him less than she’s used to and –

“Alya, you know it’s okay to miss him, right?” Marinette has been watching Alya chew on her lip and furrow her eyebrows for the last couple minutes. She knows exactly what Alya is thinking. “You don’t need to feel bad about it. Your feelings are what they are, you can’t help it.”

At the back of the car Nino stirs slightly, moving so that his head lolls just above Adrien’s shoulder as his hat falls off his head. Alya looks at him fondly in the rear-view mirror and a small smile creeps onto her face.

“Okay then, Miss Relationship Guru,” Alya smirks at Marinette. “How about we talk about your love life instead of my petty issues? A certain someone has totally got it bad for you!” Alya cackles as she watches Marinette’s face turn beet red in embarrassment.

“Nobody has anything bad for me, Al! Don’t make that kind of stuff up.” Marinette squeaks, sinking into her seat. She’s just glad that Adrien is a heavy sleeper and will (thankfully) hear none of this.

“Come on, Mari. I thought he was meant to be the oblivious one here, not you! The boy has been dropping so many hints and you have thus far failed to see every single one!”

Marinette shakes her head vehemently. Alya’s been saying this for years and trying to convince her that Adrien likes her back. Marinette knows he doesn’t. If he did in fact like her, wouldn’t he attempt to ask her out or at least drop some more obvious hints? God knows she’s been so obvious at times that she might as well wave a massive flag saying ‘hey there, just so you know I am a little bit in love with you so would you please love me back?’ in his face. With sparkles. And all-caps writing. In neon colours. Actually, scratch that. Flashing neon colours.

“I’m not oblivious!”

Alya cocks an eyebrow at her. It’s her ‘are-you-freaking-kidding-me-right-now’ look and Marinette has found herself on the receiving end of said look more and more in the last few years.

“Remember the school trip to London?”

“The one where we lost Juleka and Rose for about three hours and later found them in M&M World?”

“Yeah, that one.” Alya laughs.

It had been an eventful trip, they could say that much at least. Aside from the Juleka and Rose thing, there had also been an incident in Harrods where Chloé got into a fistfight with some rich brat over a pair of Valentino pumps that resulted in her eventually being escorted out of the building, screaming that her father would hear about it. On their third day in London, Adrien was stampeded by crazed fans as the class left the Natural History Museum and then on the fourth day, Max and Kim somehow ended up stranded in Piccadilly Circus while the rest of the class was at the National Portrait Gallery. Needless to say, there had been no abroad trips for the class after that.

“It was such a great trip, right? I love London so much, even if we were stuck with all the tourist trap locations.” Marinette smiles.

“Yeah, and the four-hour Eurostar journey wasn’t too bad either.” Alya shoots Marinette a sly glance.

“I mean, you and Nino sure had a blast. You guys were being so mushy I wanted to gag!” Marinette snorts.

“Oh, and you and Adrien weren’t being equally as mushy?” Alya retorts. Marinette flushes.

“We weren’t being mushy, we were never a couple! And the only reason we were sat together is because a certain couple couldn’t bear to be apart for four measly hours and it was a toss-up between me and Chloé!” Marinette pulls a face at Alya and slumps down in her seat.

Alya rolls her eyes. If she remembers correctly, she and Nino had video footage of Marinette and Adrien tangled up together and snoring. Of course, neither of them has ever seen this footage because she’s keeping it a secret until their wedding.

“Believe what you will, Mari, but my boyfriend knows his husband very, very well and, from what we saw, Model Boy’s intentions were a little more than just platonic, if you catch my drift.”

Marinette groans and leans her head against the cool glass of the window. Over the years there were a couple moments in which she’d let herself indulge in the idea that the attraction was mutual. The Eurostar trip was one of them. Adrien had all but dragged Marinette into the seat beside him and immediately began chatting away as if it were no big deal.

One hour into the journey he decides that he has to take as many pictures together as possible with as many stupid faces as possible, claiming that he rarely gets to do things like this and he needs to document it. He almost sounds like Alya. He saves every single one, even, much to Marinette’s horror, the photos in which she looks like a complete and utter idiot. Of course, he looks great in Every. Single. Damn. Photo. (Marinette’s theory to this day is that a life of modelling has made him permanently photogenic and there will never ever be a bad photo taken of him.)

Two hours into the trip, he gets up to go stretch his legs.

“I don’t think you get it, Mari, I’m too tall for these seats. My legs need freedom. We didn’t have, like, a million revolutions and behead the king just for me to endure this kind of oppression!”

“Are you calling me short?” That’s all she could think to say because holy-nickname-Batman he has just called her Mari. This is the first time he has ever in the history of their friendship called her that and Marinette is having a minor breakdown.

“Seriously? That’s your concern?”

“I’ll have you know that I am 5’6” and I am not short.”

“Mari, you’re 5’5”.” Crap, he did it again.

“Shut up, I’m still above average.”

“Only by an inch though.”

“I thought you were going to stretch your legs, you freakishly tall person?”

“Mari, I am a very average height. If you think I’m freakishly tall then you kinda just proved me right.” This marks three times in one conversation. Perhaps you could call it overkill, but Marinette doesn’t care.

With that, he flashes her a grin and saunters (he’s such a model) down the aisle toward the onboard café.

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta Update 1: I’ve changed ur contact name from Alyyyybuggg to Al dente pasta Update 2: there’s a toddler behind me who keeps kicking my seat

From: Al dente pasta To: Mariiiiibuggg Al dente pasta? Really? Is this because of the journalism competition? Because I swear if that is a fucking pun about my year’s supply of pasta prize I will kill you. Was this Adrien’s idea? It was totally his idea. Never mind. You are in the clear. I know you love him but I swear to God I will bake his head into a lasagne.

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta u didn’t let me get to update 3 also leave Adrien alone and don’t bake the love of my life into a lasagne

From: Al dente pasta To: Mariiiiibuggg Ooooh what’s update three?

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta Alya. he cALLED ME MARI

From: Al dente pasta To: Mariiiiibuggg WHAAAAATTTTTT GIIIIIRRRRLLLLLLL

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta wait for it THREE TIMES IN ONE cONverSATION

From: Al dente pasta To: Mariiiiibuggg HOLY SHITTTTTT (babe I love you but your grammar is killing me)

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta I DONT CARE ABOUT GRAMMAR ADRIEN CALLED ME MARI THREE TIMES

From: Ninbro To: Maribro dude I’m trying to nap and all I can hear is alya squealing wtf happened

From: Maribro To: Ninbro adrien called me mari three times in one conversation

From: Ninbro To: Maribro shit dude thrice mari-d congratz anyway tell alya to shut up bc she won’t listen to me goodnight

From: Al dente pasta To: Mariiiiibuggg Did Nino just tell you to tell me to shut up?! I’m gonna kill him.

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta let the boy sleeeep

From: Adrien To: Mari Hey, I’m in the queue at the snack bar. You want anything? It’s kind of a long queue so you have time to decide :)

From: Mari To: Adrien oh, um. Idk, depends on how expensive because I’m kind of broke at the moment.

From: Adrien To: Mari Nah, don’t worry about that. I’m paying :)

From: Mari To: Adrien WHAT? NO!

Marinette stares at her phone. He isn’t responding. She stretches up slightly to scan the carriage and spots Alya and Nino a couple seats ahead. She hazards another glance at her phone but still nothing. Hopefully he’s taken her somewhat panicked caps lock texts as a ‘No thanks, I don’t want anything’. Hopefully.

“Right so you didn’t specify so I grabbed you a hot chocolate and this sweet and salty popcorn. Best of both worlds, right?” Adrien throws the bag of popcorn at Marinette and slides into his seat next to her. He places the hot chocolate down on the folding table in front of her and opens the lid of his coffee, adding two sugars. Marinette stares at him.

“What? I know you’re trying to cut down on the caffeine so I figured hot chocolate was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I am nowhere as motivated as you and I have no intention of kicking my caffeine intake.” Adrien takes a sip of his coffee before suddenly wincing. “And there go all of my tastebuds…ouch.”

Marinette opens the lid of her cup and blows some of the steam away. “Thanks,” she smiles. “But seriously, how much did this total? Let me pay you back, seriously.” She leans down and begins rummaging around in her bag. Adrien grabs her hands and pulls them away from her bag, completely stunning her into stillness.

“I said I’d pay, and I paid. It’s no big deal, what are friends for, am I right?” He grins. She watches him intently as he eyes his drink cautiously, attempting another sip while simultaneously looking terrified.

From: Mariiiiibuggg To: Al dente pasta you know that stupid cliché about how you fall in love with someone more and more each day? I don’t think it’s stupid anymore. Alya I’m so totally screwed.

Alya still has the screenshot of that last message. She’s saving that for the wedding too. She elbows Marinette in the ribs lightly, telling her to stop looking like a lovesick chihuahua.

Once again, they’ve hit traffic. Alya takes the opportunity to stretch her arms and roll her neck; driving for extended periods of time is not necessarily her favourite thing to do but she’ll sacrifice comfort to let Nino sleep. She would let Marinette drive except Nino has henceforth banned Marinette from the driver’s seat following the Crash of July 19th (which, in Marinette’s opinion was actually not a crash because I only scratched the car slightly, Nino).

“Kinda busy today, isn’t it?” Marinette yawns. She checks her phone. No new messages. No updates. No alerts. “Weren’t we supposed to be halfway there already?”

“That was the original plan. From what I can tell, we are currently an hour and a half behind schedule.” Alya groans. “You know, I had this entire trip planned down to the minute! And now look at us!”

Marinette nods sympathetically. “I know, Al. On the plus side, at least it’s not – ” Thunder cracks in the darkening skies above before Marinette can finish her sentence. “ – raining.” Alya shoots her an ‘are you serious’ look and lets her head drop against the steering wheel with a loud thud, hitting the car horn in the process.

“Shit!” Alya starts up in surprise as Marinette giggles uncontrollably.

The rain starts out as a light drizzle, the droplets scattering across the glass like constellations as it beats softly against the cool windows of the car. The sky turns from a crystal blue to a pale grey as the rainclouds stretch across, moving slowly and heavily. It remains this way for about fifteen minutes before the rain begins to fall harder. It pelts down aggressively, hitting the window panes and rolling down in streams. The gentle patterns formed earlier on the glass blur together until it becomes difficult to see properly.

Alya runs a hand through her hair and turns the window wipers up to a faster setting. As much as she loves the rain, she’d really rather not drive in it; slippery roads tend to make her nervous.

The traffic gradually begins to move again, although at an agonising pace, which both frustrates and relieves Alya. On one hand, she really wishes they could get the hell out of this nightmarish rut in their journey and just make it to Marseille already but, on the other hand, the sluggish speed means that there won’t be any asshole drivers trying to force her to speed up in the freakish downpour. She supposes that, in some ways, the positive cancels out the negative so she’ll just have to make do and be happy for now.

Adrien stirs slightly in the back seat. He groans slightly as he stretches his arms out (he whacks Nino in the face in the process); he’s starting to believe that he is, in fact, too tall to nap comfortably in such a cramped space.

“Are we there yet?” he mumbles groggily as he rubs his eyes.

“Sorry, cupcake, we’ve hit some more traffic.” Alya’s really not sure why she feels the need to christen Adrien with these ridiculous pet names. It’s just become a Thing she does, despite his being over a foot taller than her. The list has only increased over the years and now includes sunshine, buttercup, sweetie, My Son, kitty-cat, jellybean and, Alya’s personal favourite, Mon Petit Cantaloup. Nino has started to use My Son and buttercup, which makes Alya prouder than it should.

“If it makes you feel better, you managed to nap for almost two hours.” Marinette chirps.

“Yeah, you and your husband, who is supposed to be my boyfriend, looked pretty cosy back there.” Alya snorts. “I’ve got to ask, what is your secret? He doesn’t snuggle with me like that anymore.”

“Nino likes to be the little spoon,” Adrien says sagely. “It makes him feel secure.”

“Too bad you’re like three feet tall, Al.”

“Shut up, Mari! You’re only three inches taller than me!”

“Actually, I’m five inches taller than you.”

“Well, I have a foot on both of you so I win.”

The two girls turn to face him and Adrien is certain that if looks could kill, he would be dead twice over. He grins sheepishly in response and rubs the back of his neck. Thankfully, the traffic starts moving and Alya is forced to turn her attention back to the road. Marinette narrows her eyes at him once more before she too turns to face the road.

Adrien can’t be certain but he swears that there is something in the way she looks at him, even when annoyed at him, that surpasses everything. He’s only really started to notice it recently, but for a fleeting moment he is sure of it. Upon reflection, he decides that he is deluding himself. There’s no way. Marinette is just a really good friend. That’s all.

As she turns back to the front of the car, Marinette gulps slightly. There was something strange about the way Adrien has been looking at her recently. Not strange in a bad way, but strange in a new way. His expression seems softer and there’s something different reflected in his eyes. For a second she thinks – no. In her head, she laughs at herself. She’s just projecting her own feelings onto him, she rationalises. He just sees her as a friend. That’s it.

[themurphyzone]

Mystery at McDuck Manor Ch 1

This story is a huge change from my usual writing style. I thought I’d mix it up and have a little fun. 

Ch 1- The Scene of the Crime

Tonight I venture out of my home turf and into the unknown, trailing the path of crime wherever it may lead. I find myself standing in front of the imposing gates of McDuck Manor, an ominous creak sounding from the rusted bars. I was requested most highly by a certain...DWDbiggestfan1991 on an Internet forum to solve a matter of utmost pressing concern to his boss. 

The message is highly classified information, which I will not disclose to my narration lest the night wind carries it to eavesdropping ears. 

As I survey the grounds with a keen eye, I spy a dark figure sneaking out the front door with a square object tucked under his left arm. He rounds the corner and breaks into a run. 

I follow him to the back side of the property, where a tiny, damaged houseboat stays afloat in a pool. Judging from the blackened edges of several planks, it was safe to assume the engine had been hotwired. 

The figure dashes into the boat, tossing assorted knickknacks around as he searches for that unknown object. The time has come for my dramatic-and dare I say-daring entrance. 

“I am the terror who flaps in the night!” 

“Where’s all that smoke coming from? Show yourself!” The other duck demands in a near-unintelligible voice. Boy, he should really consider speech therapy. 

“I am the miscalculation which costs you millions of dough! I am...DARKWING-YIPE!” I duck a thrown snow globe, the glass shattering on the wall behind me. “What was that for?” 

The other duck balls his fists. “You barge into my home and expect a warm welcome from me? Well, you’ve got another thing coming, pal!” 

“And you expect an explanation from me when you rudely interrupted my introduction?” I say. “Now, explain what you plan on doing in this destroyed dump.”

“GET OUT OF MY HOME!” The duck screeches, leaping towards me. 

My honed senses enable me to expertly evade his enraged attack, and I point my trusty gas gun at his bill. “Yep, yep, yep,” I say. “Now will you be good and tell me what purpose you had for sneaking into a houseboat at 10:37 at night? Nothing good ever comes out of tiptoeing around.” 

Before he could reply, something whizzes by my head, knocking the gas gun out of my hand. When I look back, a cane had embedded itself into the panels, my gas gun hanging from the end by its handle. 

“Who are you and why are you attackin’ my nephew?” An old duck barks in a most peculiar accent. He stands on the edge of the boat, glaring at both of us with more rage than I would have thought was possible for an old geezer. “Curse me kilts, Donald! I turn my back for two minutes and ya already land yourself in trouble.” 

“Oh, for crying out loud, Uncle Scrooge,” Donald mutters. “I was only putting away a photo album.”

“Ah, so you must be DWDbiggestfan1991′s boss,” I say. “Scrooge McDuck, an honor to meet you. I am the caped crusader, he who flaps in the night, Darkwing Duck. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, what seems to be troubling you?” 

Scrooge storms over to the planks, pulling his cane out of the wall and letting the gas gun clatter to the floor. “You have ten seconds to take your fancy gadgetry and theatrics off my property,” he growls. “As for you Donald, couldn’t this have waited til morning?” 

Suddenly a large, rather dopey fellow rushes on board. “Darkwing Duck! You’re here! You’re actually here!” 

I fold my arms. “What kind of a hero would I be if I didn’t answer the calls of a needy populace in an orderly fashion?” 

He picks me up and crushes me in a giant hug. My lungs are on fire and I savor all the precious air I possibly can. One time the malicious miscreant Megavolt mangled the circuits of St. Canard’s power grid for his own nefarious purposes. Being tangled in his wires was preferable to this behemoth’s death hug. 

“So....” I gag. “Are you DWDbiggestfan1991 by...oof my organs...any chance?” 

He finally lets go, and I wheeze for breath. 

“That’s me! Launchpad McQuack, mind getting me an autograph?” 

Well, it would be rather rude of me to refuse. I sign his hat with a black sharpie. I even leave him a smiley face. 

“I’m never washing this baby again!” he exclaims. 

“Launchpad, may we talk for a moment?” Scrooge says in a dangerously calm voice. He pulls him to the side of the boat. I’m left with Donald, who glares at me. 

Well, it was certainly nice to know one duck in McDuck Manor had manners. 

“When I said you could bring someone who would help us figure out where the painting went, I did not mean use the Internet to hire A MASKED CLOWN!” 

“If I said he didn’t demand payment, would you be a little more welcoming?” 

“Why do I even-wait a moment, Launchpad. Did you say he doesn’t demand payment?” 

I clear my throat. “That’s correct. I do not accept payment for my services. Though a bit of gratitude would be nice.” 

Scrooge sighs, shaking his head. “I’m goin’ to regret this later. But as long as you work for free, I suppose there’s no other choice. Follow me to the garage. And don’t touch anything!”

Now I see why some call him the cheapest duck in the world.

But if he would kindly stop calling me a masked clown, that would be much appreciated. 

I stay behind him as I keenly take in all the details of dusty old relics that have fallen prey to neglect over the years. Strangely, there were green post it notes on some of the objects. I rip one off as we pass by a podium. 

I stow it in my pocket so I can examine in a better lit area. It could be a very important clue. 

“This is where I kept the painting,” Scrooge says, stopping in front of a stack of crates. “It has a picture of a pirate ship, and there’s a tear in the upper left corner.”

I thoroughly scour the area for clues with my magnifying glass. There was a faded rectangular area free of dust where the painting once sat, as well as several light footprints that led into the interior of the manor. 

“It appears that the perpetrator has made their way into your mansion,” I explain. “And I found these green post it notes right by the scene of the crime! Whoever pilfered the painting did a poor job of covering their tracks. Mr. McDuck, if you would please gather all the occupants of your estate so we can figure this out quickly.” 

“Wait, Uncle Scrooge!” Donald yells. “The boys are asleep!” 

“Nonsense, Donald,” Scrooge says with a dismissive wave. “Nobody is sleepin’ tonight until we figure out who stole that painting. I’ll wake up Webby and Beakley. Grab the boys and bring them down to the parlor. Launchpad, help this clown search downstairs.”

Lightpack salutes, his entire body stiff. “Aye, aye, Mr. McDee! Er, or was it sir, yes sir?” Scrooge taps him with his cane, and the larger duck falls to the ground, almost squashing Donald under his weight. 

The Darkwing does not have a need for a partner. I work alone! I have done everything by myself for years, and I most certainly have no need for a dopey duck who looks as though he can’t tell a triangle from the square root of 254. 

However, I feel generous today. “Come along, Lunchbox,” I say in an authoritative, heroic voice. “Let us begin our search...” I pause for dramatic effect as I figure out where to begin. “...in the lobby!” 

“Cool! Mind if I show you wear I crashed the limo one time? Mr. McDee’s face turned this funny shade of red after I did that!” he exclaimed. 

“Later. Duty calls,” I reply. 

I poke my head into the empty fireplace. “Find anything?” Limbobar calls. 

“Nope!” I cough. “Nothing but...ack...soot and brick! They did not use the chimney for this.” 

“Well, geez, I wouldn’t really expect Santa Claus to be the stealing type.”

Before I could yell at him for that remark, I bang my head against the brick as I crawl out. My suit is covered in ash, so I dust it off, coughing the entire time. 

Hope Scrooge McDuck didn’t mind a little ash on his nice looking rug. 

Next I continue my search into the kitchen, looking underneath the sliver platters for a crumb, a wrapper, or any piece of food that the thief might have eaten while committing this heinous heist. 

Another valiant effort, wasted. 

“Letterpen, we shall now head to the parlor.” I must carefully construct my statements so that nobody is aware that my search has so far yielded nothing. “I have allowed a sufficient amount of time to pass for everyone to be brought to order.”

“Okay, DW!” he nods. “Check this out!” He holds out a pair of aviator goggles in his palms. “Found it by the front door. I’m always misplacing my stuff. Lucky this was in an obvious spot.”

“Let me see that,” I say, examining the material under a magnifying glass. “Hmm...bought from somewhere exotic it appears. I will be holding these goggles as possible evidence.”

Lechepond shrugs. “Maybe one of the kids lost it. That Webby is always sneaking up on the boys with dart guns.” 

At this point I was getting bored out of my mind with the speculation. “That’s quite enough. Darkwing Duck shall begin questioning in the parlor momentarily. Who is the thief? Did they know each other previously? Why would the thief choose a painting and not the money?” 

“Is it my turn to ask a question?” Lumberpack asks. 

“Make it quick,” I mutter. 

He nods eagerly. “Why are you asking all these questions out loud?” 

“For the drama! What kind of superhero would I be without a few cliffhangers?” I protest. 

I’m sure it will be a long night.