#ignore the hand. drawing it went Poorly and i’m to tired to fix it

[the-eye-guy]

I caught up with Malevolent. And things Certainly Happened.

Send help. I am not Doing Well

[fallingforunrealisticromance]

Losing Game - Loki x fem! reader

A/N: Hi everyone! I wrote this a while ago but I hope you guys like it. I know it's not criminal minds, but I'm still working on Part 3 of the Aaron Hotchner series so hopefully this should suffice for now. I'm having a sort of writers block moment with part 3 so sorry for the long wait!

Song to listen to: Arcade - Duncan Lawrence

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1100

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You paced back and forth in your luxurious bedroom, waiting for him to return. You couldn’t do this anymore. No matter how much you loved him. Suddenly, you heard the ancient doors behind you creek open and in he walked. He wore a tormented expression in his face, as if he knew what was about to happen. The sight of him brought tears to your eyes. He rushed over so he was stood in front of you and grasped your hands in his.

“Look at me.” He pleaded desperately as you tried to avoid eye contact.

“Darling, please.” His voice was so soft. It sounded as if he was on the edge of breaking and it hurt you more than words can describe. You finally brought yourself to lock eyes with him. Tears were slowly falling down your face, but you didn’t care. His eyes scanned yours frantically searching for an explanation. You had one, but you weren’t sure if you were going to be able to get it out.

“Talk to me. Whatever is troubling you my dear, we can fix it. But only if you talk to me.” He said his voice barely above a whisper. His thumb slowly caressed the back of your hand, bringing you some sense of normality.

“We can’t keep doing this.” You said, trembling. His expression dropped slightly. You both had a feeling this was coming, before now it had been nothing but an unspoken idea. But now – with the words having been said – it became a reality.

“We are bad for each other. This is causing the two of us more pain than we deserve.” You continued. You could feel your heart-breaking bit by bit.

“We were always a losing game. From the very beginning. But we chose to ignore that purely to satisfy our own feelings. And now look.” You tried to keep your voice as steady as possible.

“I know it’s been hard, but I-I don’t’ want to lose you. I can’t. You’re the only person who’s ever understood me, who’s made me feel like I can finally take a breath. My life has been meaningless until you, my love.” Tears were now also forming in his eyes. His words cut through you. They were genuine, that just added to the pain.

“We can’t. I can’t.” You confessed. “I’m tired of having to read between the lines 24/7. I’m tired of waiting up night after night just for you to return perfectly fine with no explanation as to where you’ve been. I’m tired of you constantly pushing me away yet drawing me back in whenever you so desire. I’m tired of being angry at you but more at myself for loving you.” He starred at you. He knew you were right, but he wasn’t just going to let you go. He loved you.

“Please. I know I have treated you poorly, but I promise you, I can change. I can be better. Just please don’t leave me.” He begged, pulling you closer. You cupped his face in your hands. Both of your faces were now positively wet from tears now.

“I don’t want you to change. Because, for whatever reason, some twisted part of me loves you the way you are. And that’s why I have to go. I never want to hate you Loki. But if we let ourselves slip further into this spiral, I just might. So, I have to go. I’m sorry.” You pulled him towards you, crashing your lips to his one last time. He wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against him. The kiss was bittersweet, laced with sorrow and longing. When you finally pulled away, your lips felt empty.

“Goodbye.” You said before taking off running down the halls of the castle towards the door, knowing if you were too slow you’d change your mind. Loki stayed, stuck, in the same position you’d left him for a moment. A quiet sob escaped his lips. He had never had much experience with love before, having been rejected almost all his life. But you. You a whirlwind. You saw him for who he was, and yet you still stayed. You’d found him as a broken man, and over time, fixed him. Memories of the first few dates you went on together flashed through his mind. Your smile. Your laugh. Your hair. The way the sun shone on you, lighting you in an almost ethereal manner. He valued every moment he got with you. Yet, somewhere along the line, he’d ruined things. And now you had left him. Suddenly, he took off running in the same direction you had. He didn’t want this. When he finally reached the doors, you were halfway across the bridge.

“Wait!” He yelled after you. You stopped in your tracks and turned to face him.

“I don’t want you to go. I never told you enough how much you meant to me, or what you did for me. You showed me the brighter side of things. And I’m scared that, without you, I’ll fall back into the darkness. I don’t want to go there again. So, I’m asking you one more time, don’t go.” He held his hand out to you, his eyes implored with you to take it. Your eyes darted from his hand to his face. Every part of you was telling you to take it, to fall into his arms and have him hold you until the pain went away. And although for the night all of your issues might have been solved, in the long run you’d be no better off.

“I love you. With all of my heart.” He said hurriedly. You knew he meant it. At this point he had nothing left to lie for. You looked up at him with a sad smile.

“I know you do. And I love you too. I always will. Maybe in another life, this could work? But for now, my lonely angel, I have to leave.” You turned and sprinted the rest of the way across the bridge, your black dress flowing behind you.

“Heimdall. Send me to Midgard. Now” You yelled out. You could hear Loki catching up to you.

“But-“ Heimdall begun.

“I beg of you. I need to leave. Send me there now.” You cried desperately. With a sad look in his eyes, he complied with your wishes. Loki let out a heartbroken cry as you disappeared from in front of him. He fell to his knees, sobbing. He knew in that moment, that you weren’t coming back. He knew he’d lost you.

[transbibennyweir]

I love mbav so much it’s one of my favorite shows ever and I’m still so upset over the cliffhanger ending but on a side note Benny weir was definitely my number one favorite character but that might be due to the fact that I have a crush on him and in real life too anyway though I will say bethan is definitely my otp favorite pairing from the show as well and I was so upset they didn’t end together in the end but I was wondering if you would consider making Bethan fanfiction for this month?

duuude i feel the same way i love the show and even me who isn’t really into shipping can’t argue that those two had some real chemistry going on. that cliffhanger ending will always suck but at least we got fanfic to cope and pretend it didnt happen lol but yeah i’ve been writing two or three (really) short fics. the requests are mostly bethan so lucky you! i just put a new i did under the cut. its short and smiple and not too over the top shippy. its still good i think but the next bethan fic i want write to be super over the top shippy for fun with fluff (and angst with comfort ofc) (also this is on ao3)

The Valentine Dance at school was only a week away and Benny had the less than amazing plan to confess some long time dwelling feelings, and if he was lucky score a date to the dance. Although, he was lacking in any confidence seeing as he was never the best with plans and had the worst luck with... Well with everything if he was honest. Ethan was more the plan guy. Which was a total problem when Ethan is who the confession was for. Benny debated for half the school day if he should ask anyone for help, it became pretty obvious that they wouldn’t be that helpful. Rory can’t keep a secret to save his undead life, Erica isn’t much of the romantic type (ignoring that she wouldn’t want help at all in the first place), and Sarah... Actually Sarah might be the only one that would be any real help. That’s if she wanted to help. After what happened Freshman year with Ethan pinning for her and the eventual coming out from Sarah that she didn’t like guys it was sometimes amazing they could still be friends without one of them dying of awkwardness. If anything it was more awkward to ask for help from your current crush’s ex-crush, but Benny was out of options.

“Hey Sarah!” Benny greeted on his phone, his leg bouncing as he sat nervously on his bed. He had decided that he would try talk to her after school, partly hoping he would talk himself out of doing any of this. “I kinda need your help for something important. How quick do you think you could be at my place tonight? Sarah? Sarah!”

When there wasn’t a reply Benny repeated her name wondering what happened followed with a moment of silence and a sudden swiping sound of gusting wind through his phone then a whoosh out in front of his bedroom window. Vampire speed, always handy. “This quick enough for you?” Sarah giggled. Between last year to now Sarah was a lot more playful about her vampire-ness, much to the amusement of Benny.

“Knew I could count on you, Sar!” He grinned at her.

“As always. So, what’s this super important thing you needed my help in the middle of a school night?” She asked, jumping onto his bed with a weightless thump. “Is it a magic problem or just your special brand of weirdness for tonight?”

“Ha! Very funny. I mean it. It’s serious. There’s the dance coming up and I need your help scoring with-” Benny was cut off by Sarah abruptly standing up with a squeaked out “What!”

“Benny! I thought you said this was serious. I rushed over here for you thinking ugh-I can’t believe you! I am not helping you with ‘score’ with some random-”

“It’s Ethan.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah....”

“Benny, I am really sorry.”

There was an awkward silence that made Benny want rip his insides out which was a total confidence booster. “Nah, no, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have been so ‘Benny’ about it. My fault.” Benny’s voice sounded worn and hoarse. Sarah wrapped her arms around Benny to comfort him, sitting back on his bed they stayed quite, Benny taking steading breathes. “I know it’s been a summer since he got over you, but I dunno we’ve always been friends and really close. Confident Benny wants say there’s a chance he’s into me, but Nervous Benny says everything I think has been a sign is just me getting way too hopeful and I’m just,” Benny sighed leaning into Sarah’s hug. “Really tired dancing around how I feel all the time.”

“Awe, Benny,” Sarah settled into her place on the bed facing her favorite spell-caster. “Okay. I’ll help you. What’s the plan?” Benny sheepishly smiled and raised his shoulders.

“I was kinda hoping you could come up with something. I’m more of a plan follower than a plan maker. My ideas tend to lead to the actual problem that needs fixing.” He laughed nervously.

“I think I can come up with something. You still know that flower spell, right?” They grinned at each other.

“Of course.”

+++

The school dance was now only four days away and Sarah’s plan was simple and more importantly fool-proof. Which is what Benny was counting on.

“So, all you need to do is talk to him. Take him to the park. Whoa him with some magic, some flowers and then boom! Ask him to the dance. Simple and sups romantic.” Sarah said as they walked outside to see Ethan and their friends waiting for them in the school parking lot. “Think you can manage?”

Benny waved at them nervously. “I’m totally going mess this up.”

“Ben, it’s literally the most straightforward plan on the planet. There’s no way for you to mess it up. Just be your usual funny and charming self, it’s what he loves most about you.” Sarah smiled reassuring. Reaching their friends Benny tried not act anymore strange than his typical self, which was hard when Benny’s go to was being strange. It came with the magic powers and general teenage boy awkwardness. Erica was pushing Rory back onto the ground as he tried to float above her head saying there was something in her hair, there wasn’t, really he just wanted steal her hair pin that he was obsessed with.

“Come on, Erica!” Rory teased picking at the clip.

“Rory, if you don’t stop I’m going drive a stake through your un-dead heart!” She threatened as Ethan laughed before turning his attention to Benny and Sarah.

“Hey, Sarah, Ben.” He smiled sweetly, his eyes glancing at Benny with a sheepish blush. Although the boy in question was too busy freaking out internally to notice. “We still on for movie night?”

“Oh right!” Sarah said suddenly with a false quickness. “I totally forgot that’s tonight. Me and the vamps have some Vampire Council business and such. Y’know, vampires only. Heh.” She lied poorly but Ethan was just a little too slow to catch on.

“We do?” The two other vampires said holding off on their mini fight over a hair clip, Erica holding onto both Rory’s wrists in opposing directions. Erica watched the panic in Sarah and Benny’s eyes that said all she needed to know; ‘please just pay along’ written all over their faces. “Oooh. Yes-yeah. We do. Totally. No humans allowed or they will eat your face off. We’re doing a... vampire... ritual.... Yeah.”

“We do that? Awesome!” Rory said suddenly excited if not a little confused. “Why didn’t they tell me anything? Do you guys have their number or something because if so I feel it’s unfair that I don’t-”

“Rory, not right now.” Erica pulled her hair clip out of Rory’s hand, annoyed. “We should get going. Don’t want be late for the... ritual. Right, Sarah?”

“Right! Yeah, we really need get going. Super speed can only be so quick. Let’s go.” Sarah chuckled, pushing two of her friends away from Ethan and Benny. “We’ll see you later!” The three vamps speeded off, the other two waving them bye. The school parking lot was empty by then, Ethan’s full attention placed fully on Benny who felt the crushing weight of his friend’s eyes on him as he always did when they were alone. It was easy to play off any pining feelings when they hung out, their friendship had always been enough for Benny. Even when he had see Ethan longing after a different person, it was hard sometimes, but Benny could always push down any budding jealously or unsettling sadness. Ethan would always be his friend and now if he was lucky he could put boy in front of friend. The thought making his cheeks warm and his heart fast.

“Soo, movie night?” Ethan asked, they started their walk home only instead Benny had planned to take a subtle left turn towards the park the spell for appearing flowers repeating in his head.

“Actually I was thinking we could, uh, go for a walk... to the park?” Benny flinched with the odd expectation that his friend would suddenly reject him right there and then. “I have something I want show you, I dunno. Is that dumb? I feel dumb.”

“Benny. It’s cool. Come on, I kinda wanted tell you something anyways.” Ethan replied with a smile, his hand close to gracing against the taller boy’s. The near touch drawing them closer to each other, they’ve always gravitated towards one another with a strange pull that was always between them. Benny wondered if Ethan ever felt it, if he could ever see how Benny looked at him with such love and care. Maybe his seer powers let him see it more clearly than Benny felt it, lucky him Ethan still didn’t fully know how mind read yet.

The start of their walk was mostly silent, the longer the quite went for the more Benny’s internal freak out grew into full blown panic. He was seriously reconsidering saying anything at this point. Half way to the park and they hadn’t said a single word to each other, a first for their friendship. Ethan was biting his lower lip clearly lost in deep thought, Benny was too nervous to speak and break into whatever was going through the shorter boy’s head.

“Ben... Benny, heh, uh, I’ve been wanting to say this for awhile and I didn’t know how and I know you’re you know... You.” Ethan started. None of his words were comforting to Benny right now. “Wait-wait. That came out weird. I just wanted say when we came out to each other last summer. I know I acted really weird afterwards and it was totally uncool of me and I know I should’ve said sorry forever ago, but I’m real sorry, Ben. It was lame of me and I only acted like that because there some feelings I didn’t think I was ready to think about and now it’s like my brain is stuck thinking them but I don’t want things weird so, uh, am I making any sense?”

Benny didn’t know if he should laugh or cry, he went with the former and abruptly began to giggle in a almost soft of manic way. The sudden out bust of laugher worried Ethan. “Why are you laughing? Benny, I’m being serious. Come on, dude.”

“Sorry, dude. It’s just, you really scared me there for a second, E. I know it was a weird shift it’s totally fine. I was never mad.” Benny said, his laughter subsiding. Although he took note of the last bit, he didn’t want feel like he was reading too much into it but it couldn’t nothing, right?

They reached the park a few yards off where there was a bench was waiting for them. The lump in Benny’s throat was starting appear and it was getting too late for him to choke and bail on this whole thing. “Let’s go sit on the bench. It’s my turn to ramble and make barely any sense.”

“So nothing new.” Ethan teased. Ben wrapped his arm around Ethan’s neck and ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, yeah. Just sit down, okay?” Benny sat down with a nervous smile and his leg bouncing with a quick uneasy pace. “On the topic of us not being the straightest lightsabers in the bunch. Heh. There’s the dance coming up and I didn’t want go alone and there’s this person I wanted ask-”

“Really?” Ethan butted in with a sad look making something clink in Benny’s head. “That’s... great. What’s he like?”

“Oh you know, he’s really cool and mega smart and like, the biggest dork in the whole world.” Benny was grinning now, biting his lower lip to fight back his nervous joy. Maybe it was petty but if he was understanding right then making Ethan jealous for two minutes would make up for last year’s Sarah obsession.

“Oh. Uh. He sounds really cool. I’m glad you like him so much. So, what’s the plan to ask him out?” Ethan asked, his mood becoming more downcast suddenly. E, you pretty idiot. Well, just a bit of teasing fun wouldn’t hurt.

“Mhm. Yeah, he’s really great. I was thinking of asking him after school, y’know, surprise him with some flowers use a little magic to make sure their his favorite. Like this,” Benny made a quick glance to make sure no one was looking before making a bouquet of flowers appear. It had been the first simple trick that Benny had ever show Ethan. It started as a cheesy way to impress girls now it was becoming a cheesy way to impress his Ethan. The flowers matched the color scheme of Ethan’s favorite Star Wars character, right down to matching the center one with the character’s lightsaber.

Ethan stared at the flowers with a shy sadness. “Oh? Then what? Explain to him vampires are real next? I’m sure that one will go over real great, Bens.”

“Maybe. I think he’d be freaked out at first, probably less than he should be but grow to think it was way kick ass. I think he’d do pretty awesome fighting some bloodsuckers. Bet he looks really hot staking one out. The same way I think he looks really hot when he plays video games and starts losing and sits on my lap-which is totally cheating by the way, but I let it slide because again total cutie. I want ask him to the dance, maybe after we could sneak out and-”

“Jeez, Benny. Stop it, okay. I get it.” Ethan stood up from his seat, covering his ears. “You must really like him. What’s his name?”

“Oh, I dunno it’s something like Ian? Eric? Wait! No, I remember it’s Ethan Morgan the dumbest yet prettiest boy in town. Only second to yours truly.” Benny grinned gaining more of a cool confidence as he saw the way Ethan’s blush grew dark across his face.

“Oh.”

“Yeah ‘oh’ you dope! Who else could I have ever been talking about?! Han Solo?”

“First of all, I don’t know! And second, Han was totally gay for Luke but that’s for a different time.” Ethan said, glancing as an older couple walked past them.

“Wait, were you jealous? Like actually?”

“What! No way, I was not.” Ethan’s blush creeped up to his ears. “And anyways, it was totally not cool of you-”

“Then we’re even. Fair?” Benny leaned closer to Ethan, the flowers disappearing from between them. “Were the flowers too gay?”

Ethan leaned closer and bit his lip. “Bens, I don’t know how break this to you, but you’re like the gayest person in town.”

“Second to you.” He laughed before Ethan closed the gap between their lips catching him off guard. The small doubt that lingered in the back of his mind was put at ease as their lips fit together. “Sorry. I was really hoping I didn’t mess this up.” Benny tried not to giggle.

“Lucky you, your bad gay jokes and charm is what got me hooked on you in the first place.”

“Yeah, guess I am a catch. So... We’re on for the dance?”

“Yeah.” Ethan smiled holding Benny’s hands. “Yeah, Bens. We are.” They grinned at each other, hands clasped together and knees touching.

[love-and-monsters]

Wyvern Prince 17

M Wyvern X F human reader, 3014 words.

Davrakoss shifted his cloak around his shoulders, the thick fur partially obscuring his face. He looked sideways at you, brows drawing together. “Aren’t you cold?”

“A little,” you said. It was still early morning, with the sky turning the pale shade of blue it became right before the sun actually rose. There was a thin layer of frost over the castle grounds.

Davrakoss tapped his tail against your leg. It was a gesture he’d taken to recently. It seemed to be his way of contact when you couldn’t obviously touch each other. The motion was small enough to be generally overlooked, but it was still a point of comfort between you.

The carriage rattled over the cobblestones and came to a halt in front of you. A small procession of guards flanked it. You stepped forward and unlatched the carriage door, standing back to allow Davrakoss to get inside.

Once he was in, you made to follow him. Someone nearby cleared their throat and you glanced over to see one of the guards glaring at you.

“Servants ride on the outside of the carriage,” he said. His voice was slightly muffled by the helmet, but you could hear his disapproval loud and clear. “Riding with the prince would be inappropriate.”

You hesitated, uncertain if it was something you could protest on. “I’ve been allowed to ride with him before,” you said.

Davrakoss poked his head out of the carriage. “What is the delay?” he said. He was getting better at adopting the snotty tone nobles were known for.

“Your servant was attempting to board the carriage with you,” the guard said.

“I allow her to ride with me,” Davrakoss said, perfectly arrogant in his tone. He narrowed his eyes. They flickered like fire, sparking dangerously.

The guard was as moved as a stone. “It would be inappropriate for a servant to do something above her station,” he said. His voice was thick with condescension. “She will sit outside.”

As he spoke, he shifted slightly and you noticed a gold marking on his armor, a bolt of lightning. You dipped your head in a subservient bow to Davrakoss. “I apologize for the delay and my presumptuousness, sire. I will sit outside, as is my place.” You stared at him hard, trying to communicate with your eyes that he shouldn’t protest over this. He furrowed his brows, but caught your drift. You clicked the door closed after him and settled in the servant’s seat on the outside of the carriage. The guard turned away and, at his signal, the procession started.

You leaned back in your seat, hunching as the wind picked up. You were wearing a cloak, but it wasn’t furred, like Davrakoss’ and it wasn’t particularly thick. It afforded little protection against the chill of the day. Your eyes watered and tears dribbled down your cheeks, freezing before they could drip off your face.

Luckily, it was only a few hours to Morrigan, so there wasn’t enough time for you to freeze solid. The carriage rolled to a stop outside an inn and you carefully stepped down, wobbling on your stiff legs.

You opened the carriage door and Davrakoss emerged, looking irritable. Under the watchful gaze of the guards, you couldn’t do much more than bow politely and move to grab his luggage. His tail tapped against your calf, and you pointedly ignored it.

The instant you were inside the inn, Davrakoss rounded on you. “You must be freezing,” he fussed, shedding his cloak and wrapping it over your shoulders. He was always warm, but after spending so long in the cold, he was practically bleeding heat. His hands wrapped around yours, cradling them in a nest of warmth. “You’re like ice.”

You sniffed. Your nose was running and stinging from the cold. Davrakoss offered you a handkerchief. “Thanks,” you mumbled, dabbing at your face.

“Of course,” he said. “Sit down, let’s get you warm.”

The bed was, as was usual for his accommodations, large and plush and covered in thick quilts. Davrakoss settled you under one, then walked over to the large fireplace across the room. His back was to you, so you couldn’t see what he was doing, but after a moment, the logs caught fire. He leaned back, coughing.

“Are you all right?” you asked.

He retreated to the bed, still coughing into the crook of his elbow. “I always forget how much breathing fire stings as a human,” he groaned. He pinched his nose, snorting out smoke.

“You didn’t have to,” you said. “I could have started the fire.”

“Faster and easier my way,” he said, shaking off the last stinging embers of fire. “Come here.” He settled into bed next to you and pulled you close. “What was the problem with that man?” he fumed as his fingers pulled through your hair.

“I know him,” you said. You felt Davrakoss startle slightly with surprise under you. “I know of him, anyway.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s part of the upper echelons of the guards, the Lightning class. He’s the son of the Queen’s defense minister, I think.” Davrakoss wrinkled his nose. “Nobles in the guards are the worst, usually. Most guards don’t care about class, but the ones who do and have the power to enforce it get really nasty.”

Davrakoss frowned, curling his tail around your waist. “Asshole,” he growled.

“Don’t push it with him,” you warned. “You may be a prince, but he’s got more power here than you do. You’ll just make things worse for yourself.”

A low growl rumbled through Davrakoss’ chest, but he didn’t protest. You nestled into his shoulder, appreciating the warmth that flowed off of him.

You jolted awake some time later. Davrakoss was resting his cheek on the top of your head, awake but out of it. You shifted and Davrakoss lifted his head.

“You’re feeling better?” he asked, brushing the back of his hand over your cheeks and forehead. “Not sick?”

“Catching your death of cold is an expression, Davrakoss. Humans don’t fall sick just because we got too cold.” He’d heard the turn of phrase around the castle couple of weeks ago and had never entirely let go of the idea. “I’m fine. What time is it?”

Davrakoss glanced at the clock. “Close to six.”

“Shit.” You stumbled out of bed. “I should be preparing your dinner and you should be preparing your speech. Why did you let me sleep so long?”

Davrakoss’ expression was somewhat nonplussed. “You seemed like you needed it. You’ve been sleeping poorly lately.”

You glanced over your shoulder at him. He stared back. You’d never told him you’d had difficulty sleeping. It was unnerving how well he seemed able to pick up on those things.

“I’m going to go get your dinner ready. Work on your speech. You’re giving it tomorrow morning, remember.”

“Yes, I remember,” Davrakoss sighed as you left.

Fortunately, the kitchens in the inn were able to provide you with a meal for Davrakoss in short order. You returned to his room to find him sitting up in bed, skimming over his speech. “Are you done?” you asked, nodding to the speech.

“It’s as good as it’s going to get,” he said. “I’m not worried about the speech, to be honest. I’m more worried about having to talk to the locals afterwards.”

“It’s good for building trust with the citizens. Morrigan is a big trade city with a lot of influence. If they think the wyverns are good, the influence will spread.”

Davrakoss grimaced. “I know why. I just am not much of a people person.”

“You’re fine with me,” you reminded him.

“You’re special,” he said, fixing you with such an adoring look that you went silent.

Once Davrakoss had eaten, you made to leave and he began his usual routine of trying to get you to stay. It had become almost like a dance or a game. He persisted in trying, even though he usually lost.

“Please?” he said, giving you pleading eyes. “Maybe you’ll sleep better if you stay here.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll sleep better without someone’s tail whacking me every five minutes,” you said, stepping back toward the door.

Davrakoss adopted a theatrically wounded expression. “I don’t do that!” he protested.

“Look, if I spend the night, people here will definitely notice. Anyway, we have to be up early, so I’ll be back soon.” You leaned back in to press a kiss to his mouth. He sank into it greedily, and when you pulled back, he looked disappointed.

“Don’t do this to me,” he complained, but his mouth twitched a little. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll see you in the morning,” you said. Davrakoss stole another kiss and you slipped carefully out of the room.

It took a little while to fall asleep and when you dragged yourself out of bed before sunrise, you were groggy. You snagged a pastry from the kitchens when you brought Davrakoss his breakfast. He was still asleep when you go there and you let him stay that way for a bit while you organized everything he would need.

He stirred before you went over to wake him up. “G’morning,” he mumbled when he caught sight of you.

“Good morning,” you replied, carefully smothering a yawn. Davrakoss wasn’t fooled.

“Still tired?” he asked sympathetically as he got out of bed. You nodded. “I’m sorry.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead. You leaned against him for a moment, appreciating the contact.

“We should be getting ready,” you said. Davrakoss nodded and started hurriedly eating while you finished gathering his items. Once he was done with breakfast, you helped dress him and pulled his hair up.

“I wish you didn’t have to come with,” he said as you finished adjusting his cloak. “You look so tired.”

“I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I stayed here. Too worried,” you said. Davrakoss smiled and squeezed your hand.

“I’m going to force you to take a nap when we get back,” he said. “But I suppose I do prefer it when you’re with me. It’s much more comfortable.”

You boarded the carriage together, with Davrakoss inside and you perched on the outside. It was a brief ride to the center of the town, where there was already a massive crowd. You fussed over Davrakoss for a few moments more before allowing him to step into the center of the crowd and give his speech.

It was a fairly standard speech, and you were fairly certain the crowd was more interested in staring at Davrakoss’ inhuman features than actually listening to him, but no one seemed frightened or angry, so you decided to take that as a win.

Once the speech was concluded, most of the crowd dispersed. Those that remained were the upper crust of the town, those who ran the largest trades and businesses. They were the people who Davrakoss would have to impress if he wanted to secure more support for wyverns.

You followed a short distance behind him as the group of people began to move toward the classy building they were meeting in. Just as you made to step over the threshold into the building, someone caught your shoulder.

You turned to see the guard with the lightning emblem staring down at you. “Servants,” he said in a cool, grating tone, “are not allowed inside.”

If you had been less tired or perhaps less worried about how Davrakoss would fare on his own, you would have backed off. But instead, you shook off his hand and snapped, “The prince has requested that I accompany him and accompany him I will. You are not my master.”

You barely had time to register that his hand had lifted before it came down across your face. The metal opened a slice across your cheekbone and the heavy strike made your head ring. You collapsed back onto the ground, stunned.

“How dare you!” Davrakoss’ voice thundered across the square. There was rage in his voice the likes of which you’d never heard. When you looked up, he was bearing down on the guard, eyes flashing and teeth bared.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“How dare you,” Davrakoss repeated in a softer and infinitely more threatening tone as he stood over the guard. He was only the barest half-inch taller, but in his rage, he seemed much larger. He was almost shaking too, and you had the brief, horrifying idea that he was going to transform right there and rip the guard limb from limb.

“Don’t you touch her,” Davrakoss snarled, making noises that were too feral to be made by an entirely human throat. “She’s mine.”

You began praying to every god you had ever heard of that the guard took that as a statement of owning property and not as a romantic sentiment.

“Then you should train her better,” the guard said. “She’s an insolent, uppity brat.”

Davrakoss growled, a deep and menacing sound. His eyes looked like a forest blaze, quickly spiraling out of control. Shit. You needed to do something.

Hurriedly, you bent over the ground in the most prostrate pose you could manage. “My deepest apologies,” you said, ignoring the awful pain in your jaw. “Sire, I was out of place. Forgive me.”

Davrakoss looked at you, apparently startled out of his rage, at least for a moment. You stared up at him, trying to communicate with your eyes. Don’t make a big deal. Go back inside. Drop it. I’m fine.

He stared at you, for a moment, then slowly, mercifully, the tension drained from his body. He took a step back, glaring at the guard. “Never,” he warned in a low tone, “touch her again.” He glanced at you with concern again, but you looked back resolutely. His brows furrowed, but, with a look of regret, he stepped back inside the building.

You stood next to the door. It was cold and your jaw radiated pain along your face. The cut wept small drops of blood as you stared resolutely ahead. The guard stood near you and you were determined not to show him how much he had hurt you.

Only an hour later, a distracted-looking Davrakoss emerged from the building. You gave him a brief nod of acknowledgement and his tail tapped gently at your ankle.

The ride back to the inn was quick, but unsettling due to your proximity to the guard. You kept your head down, trying not to make any moves that would piss him off.

Davrakoss practically dragged you into his room as soon as you were inside. “Oh, heavens, look at your face!” he cried, cupping your head in his hands. “You poor thing.”

“It’s not that bad,” you said, but you could feel how swollen it was. Davrakoss frowned at you.

“Let me fix it,” he said, and bent in to kiss the wound. You ducked back, holding your hands up.

“You can’t,” you reminded him. “That guard knows he hit me. If I show up tomorrow and my face is fine, he’ll know something happened.”

Davrakoss gritted his teeth, face contorting with anger. “I’m going to kill him.”

“You will not,” you said. “Listen to me. I’m all right.”

“You are not! Don’t tell me that you are!” Davrakoss’ voice rose, not with anger, but with clear distress. “You’re hurt.” He hovered a hand around your cheek, fingers ghosting over the bruise like he was frightened to touch it. Abruptly, his face crumpled. “Sara, I can’t do this.”

It felt like someone had punched you in the stomach. Your breath rushed out of you and an anxious tingling began in your extremities. You hadn’t exactly been expecting it, but it wasn’t surprising. “Of course, sire. I… should go, then.”

Davrakoss lifted his head, blinking at you. “What?”

It was your turn to be startled. “You don’t want me to leave?”

“No.” He frowned at you. “Why would I want that?”

“You said you couldn’t do this anymore. I assumed you were ending the relationship.”

“No! No, no.” He squeezed you against him. “Of course not.” You sagged with relief, then winced as your aching face pressed against his chest. “Oh, sorry. Come on, sit down. Let’s at least get you something cold to put on your face.”

He entered the bathroom as you sank onto his bed and returned a moment later with a wet cloth. “Lie back,” he said, settling on the bed next to you. He placed the cloth carefully on your face. It was mildly better than not having the cloth. Davrakoss lay down next to you, wrapping one of his arms over your shoulders.

“I don’t want to break up with you,” he said. “I love you. But I can’t just watch people hurt you.”

“I’m used to this sort of thing,” you said. Davrakoss winced.

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” he said. “It’s awful, watching people treat you like you’re not important.” His fingers trailed in slow circles on your shoulder. “I know you want to keep the relationship secret, and you have good reasons, but I can’t just stand by if someone hits you.”

“You want to tell people?” you asked.

“I know you don’t want to,” Davrakoss said. “But we’ve been together for a little while now. We’re going to have to tell someone eventually.”

You stayed anxiously silent. “I’m just scared,” you said, barely above a quavering whisper.

“I’ll keep you safe, if you’ll allow it,” Davrakoss said. “I know it’s a bit change and it’s frightening, but I think it will be better for you if you can get through it.”

“I want to think about it,” you said. Davrakoss sighed, his warm breath ruffling your hair.

“I understand,” he said. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

You leaned back into him as he pressed a kiss to your temple and wrapped his tail over your waist. Even with your anxiety running wild, he was something secure to lean against. At least you had him. Maybe that was good enough.

[lesbian-octoling]

Hey guys, Xeno drama ((you know, about the banner and hate and whatnot)) below the cut if you don’t wanna see it!!! 

@mrkamabo--co Hello! I don’t know if you’re ever going to see this, but. It’s here.

First of all, yes, it’s me! lesbian-octoling, rhi-draws-things, whatever you wanna call me. I’m making this because I’ve heard through a friend of mine that I trust that you are a relatively good person, and while I don’t agree with everything you’ve done, I figured i might as well try to clear things up between us.

First off-

I’m sorry.

This is a 100% genuine, formal apology. I am sorry your medical issues are acting up, I understand completely. I had and almost identical use (albeit with chemical imbalances making me throw up, instead of breathing/heart issues, but both caused by stress), so I get it.

I’m not here to stress you further. In fact, I’m here to try and resolve the issue. I don’t want you to feel the way you do, and I don’t want to start more drama. I should know, i’ve been receiving nasty shit for a while. If you don’t want to read this- that’s okay! Don’t stress yourself, dude.

I just feel like this is important, because we never actually talked- and lack of communication often leads to violence.

But there are a few thing I wanted to address- first and foremost, the ‘xeno free zone’ banner, and the tags.

#‘you’re a coward cuz u wanna draw them with t^ddy���#i don’t do that in the first place lmao#and if you’re going to say:#'its actually scientifically accurate!’#nope it really isn’t #why?#why would squids/octopi evolve to have digigrades/muzzles/claws on their hands?#why would they look like goats with their eyes and muzzles?#they would have flat fish face!#have squid/octo hat heads!#like the third stage in their canon evolution!#exaggerate that if you want scientifically accurate squidlings/octolings/inklings!#otherwise.. yall just makin them into furries tbh#note: i have a surplus of fursonas#k peace

Ah, I hope you don’t mind me going off a bit, but I did want to say things!!!

Muzzles: Inkling beaks, IRL, are very long! they just look flat because.. well, squids are long! But if you put that into something shaped like a human head, they need a bit more room to stretch out.

Claws: they’re not actually claws, they’re hooks! Just like real deep-sea squids have hooks made of chitin that can retract back into their tentacles, which is why i made them like that. As you can see when they go back into heir squid forms, their arms and legs ARE just evolved tentacles!

Here’s a cool example of the hooks, as compared to some of my squid hands:

‘goat noses’: This is because… it’s not a nose! A real squid breathes through it’s siphon, which is one, large hole. That’s why their nose is like that- it’s not two nostrils, it’s one hole, but flattened down so it’s not just a big ol’ hole in their face. If it was, things might get into it, like dirt or bugs or.. i dunno.

Digigrades: admittedly, this is just because it’s fun, and theres no reason they shouldn’t. Any other similarities to cats is just… coincidental, really, as cats and squids have a lot of similarities (liking the sun, chasing lights, etc).

Eyes: Actually, this was a mistake. When i FIRST started getting into splatoon i was like ‘wait squids have horizontal pupils right’ and only found out later that no.. that’s octopi! But oh well, it was a bit late, eh? live and learn.

I’m not saying its fully scientifically accurate- hell, course it’s not! But its more biologically accurate than having them being made of ink. Mostly, I just think it’s fun, cus I’m a budding biologist and I think it’s cool to explore these concepts.

Ok! Thats all I gotta say. I just wanted a chance to explain myself, s’all! As for the banner itself… while it may have been joking in nature, I do think it was a bit rude. Kinda like swinging a bat at a hornet’s nest, yeah..? Like you said- “but yknow tumblr be tumblr, and i honestly expected This™”… you gotta watch out what you say sometimes. You could’ve made it more obvious that you were joking- putting ‘XENO FREE ZONE’ with bit red X’s and ‘feel free to reblog :)’ just has.. a very mean tone to it, and it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, regardless of your intentions. It really didn’t sound like a joke, to a lot of people, including me.

Though, maybe, we’re all just a bit wary- I’ve been receiving asks telling me to- quite literally- kill myself, multiple times, over this. I also know several friends who have gotten the same messages (a few of which don't even draw xeno, but simply because they are my friends). I think me (and other xeno artists, though I cannot speak for them) have a right to be wary, when we’re so used to being bashed. A lot of people are scared, and it doesn’t make what some people said right, I’m just… telling you why that massive backlash happened.

And by ‘massive backlash’…. if I’m being honest- and I don’t mean to make it sound trivial- a lot of the responses to those posts weren’t truly mean. Some people sent a clown meme, a lot of people responded with ‘why are you hating us, were just having fun’. A few were pretty mean, yes, but I could count them on one hand. These were light hearted in nature, and nothing like some of the truly nasty things that could’ve been said. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve received in my inbox…

I think a lot of this could’ve been avoided if your post right after had simply been an apology. Instead of playing the victim card, simply say ‘ah, that last post was a joke- i sincerely apologize, and I might’ve worded it poorly’. That’s it. And it could have been avoided if you said, in the tags ‘this is a joke post don't take it seriously’. But instead, you went on the criticize xeno aspects. Not saying you’re wrong, but pointing out why so many people took it the wrong way.

But.. the main thing I wanted to address was this post.

I.. can’t say I’m in the right, but I can’t say you are, either. I probably shouldn’t have made that post- but it was meant more as an off-hand joke. I didn’t mention you at all, as I didn’t want anyone to hate on you. It’s more of a running joke for my blog of ‘sexy tartar’, which is why it was funny enough that I brought it up.

#can’t feel safe#when i put an opinion out there#its easy.. to ignore a post yknow…? It’s also easy not to make a joke like that. Again- maybe you intended it as a joke, but it’s like one of those shitty april fools pranks where you tell somebody something bad happened. We got scared. Doesn’t make it right of us, but it doesn’t make it right of you, either.

But the ONLY thing I’m truly angry about- if you saying that ‘you, a minor, don’t feel safe because you’re being shat on by an adult’. The reason this makes me mad is because… I’m 18. Barely. And you’re 17. I’m… not even a full year older than you. I’m still in high school. The way you worded it made it sound like i’m a 32 year old getting off on sending hate to a 13 year old- and that’s not even close to the case. That is not cool, dude.

Anyway. Sorry about that, though I hope you can see why I’m.. unhappy with the wording. I’m trying to solve things here, not make them worse, ha…

And.. yes, I did block you. But not so you wouldn’t find out. You can still see my blog; i know this. I blocked you because I’ve been getting hate anons for the past few weeks, and I can’t be too careful with who I block. I’m tired of people telling me im ‘ruining the fandom’, so I tend to block at leisure, or when I have suspicion. And a big ‘ANTI XENO’ banner is reasonable suspicion, yes…?

Again, I apologize for that post, but i was not doing to to spite you, just because I found it funny. I didn’t contribute to the spreading of hate to you in any way- I am very anti-hate messaging, and very pro ‘block and ignore if you don’t like them’. Which is.. what I was trying to do, but I didn’t want to leave us on that sour note. I did not encourage anyone to ridicule you on your post, or send you any sort of messages and asks.The only people I complained to were my girlfriend and a select few close friends, who i KNOW would not participate in any sort of hate spreading.

I’m not asking you to be friends with me. I’m simply trying to clear off any misconceptions- I’m fully welcome to hearing what you have to say back. But…

All in all, I think the gist of what im trying to say is that we all made mistakes, and we should both own up to them. I’m very sorry about your heart condition- I sincerely, 100% hope you get better. And I’m hoping that by talking it out, we can clear things up and not let it stew..? I know that sometimes these things tend to eat at me until I fix them, and that is all I’m trying to do.

I’ve unblocked you for as long as it takes for us to resolve this issue, if you would like to move to DMs, or to discord. Either works. Or.. don’t respond at all, if you don’t want.

Have a nice night, and I hope you feel better!

[raendown]

Commission for @cassieeeeanne whom I cannot tag for some reason. 

Pairing: KakashiTenzou Rated: E Word count: 4904 Summary:  In which Kakashi is a vampire and Tenzou is the prey only too willing to be caught by his predator.

Follow the read or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Blood and Honey

Drifting through the corridors with a wine glass in hand, Tenzou felt rather like a character from a movie. They always had too much money and wore clothing too fancy for the settings they were in, moping around their homes dramatically with somber expressions having poignant revelations at the perfect moment to move their plot forward. The only revelation Tenzou had experienced lately was that he was much more in to this whole vampire thing than he would have expected. Not surprising considering the pretty package that came attached.

Footsteps echoing on the polished hardwood, he took another sip of wine and let his fingers trail over the doorknob before him. He was so far off in some unused wing of the mansion that surely these rooms weren’t anything more important than guest quarters or oversized broom closets and yet each door knob was a beautifully crafted masterpiece. Heavy brass and intricately carved, they were much too fancy to be wasted here where no one but him would see them. Well, him and the cleaning staff who he presumed existed, though he had no proof of that other than the fact that the mansion was exquisitely clean no matter how neglected the rooms appeared.

Only in Kakashi’s little playhouse could he could be drinking wine at two in the morning and wandering around abandoned corridors without supervision. The man clearly had too much money, judging by how well furnished each of these rooms were, but if setting up elaborate scenes like this one were what he wanted to do with it then it was his bank account, that was his right.

Tenzou let his hand fall away from the pretty doorknob and turned to go back the way he came. Hopefully he would remember all of the twists and turns without getting lost; for all the fancy things here he didn’t see any intercom or bell systems to alert someone else in the house that they were needed. Nor had he ever seen Kakashi interacting with any staff despite the enormity of his property and the unlikeliness that he cared for all of this himself.

Above all else, the idea that he could keep eight dogs and not have a single hair on the floors was possibly the most mysterious things about him – and that was saying a lot.

Kakashi was standing by the window when Tenzou finally made it back to the main living room. With the full moon in front of him and only one small lamp to light the inside he existed as little more than a quiet outline, as still as though he were naught but a shadow waiting for the man that cast him to reappear. It wasn’t until the clouds shifted outside and sent moonlight spilling in to glint off the wine glass in his hand that Tenzou realized he had fallen in to a trance just staring, mesmerized as he always found himself.

And who could blame him, he rationalized. Kakashi had fascinated him from the first time they met, enthralled him from that first encounter, filled his mind from the moment they kissed. He was like a drug that got in to your system and left you aching for another fix, a delicious addiction, and he hadn’t even the decency to be ashamed of himself for it.

“Did you find what you were looking for, pet?” his voice was low and dark, throaty in a way that made Tenzou shiver and draw a few helpless steps closer.

“Yes, here you are.” He could be smooth too when he tried.

Chuckling, Kakashi lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip. “Indeed. Here I am. And what do you plan to do now that you’ve found me, hm?”

Wine clung to his lips until a pale tongue slithered out to lap them up and Tenzou wondered how his skin could be so pale to make even wine that was already dark look so ruby red. It certainly didn’t look that color against his own skin no matter that it did all swirling together in his cup.  Curious, he held up his glass against Kakashi’s. The color was indeed different – perhaps he’d gotten bored of whatever vintage Tenzou had chosen and opened another bottle – but before he could ask the question was answered for him.

“No ferment for me, pet. It’s after midnight and I am oh so hungry.”

“Ah, blood then?”

“What else does a creature of the night drink?” Kakashi’s eyes twinkled and Tenzou smirked at him in amusement. He was committed to the bit, that was for sure.

Setting his wine aside, Tenzou drifted across the room until he was standing a mere few inches behind his lover, fingers only just brushing slim hips and head lowered to whisper against moon-pale skin. “All that exploration, I’m quite tired now. I think it’s time for bed.” He smiled when Kakashi only hummed in response. “Are you coming?”

That certainly got the man’s attention. Slipping away without waiting for a response, Tenzou deliberately began unbuttoning his shirt as he walking. He wanted to make his point as abundantly clear as possible.

Watching him walk away, Kakashi swirled the contents of his own drink and lifted it to his lips to drain the rest. It was hardly enough, not after having someone here with him and preventing him from hunting for almost a full week, but it took the edge off his hunger enough that it was probably safe enough to follow after the delicious temptation inviting him so generously in to bed. Tenzou seemed to make a habit of testing his boundaries and it was hard to tell whether he simply enjoyed the thrill of danger or if he truly didn't realize the lines he was treading.

Not that it mattered. Kakashi had been more than open about everything, they both knew what they were getting in to and Tenzou was a big boy. He was capable of making his own decisions.

Hunger rumbled at the base of his throat but it was easily ignored in favor of the heat rushing up his spine, a hot desire he hadn’t felt this intensely for anyone in more than a century. Something about Tenzou called to him in a way that would be terrifying if it weren’t so thrilling. Immortal as he was, it was a terrible idea to get attached to a human. He knew that, had seen the same old story turn out poorly for others countless times. And yet…

And yet here he was trailing after the scent of all that delicious warmth. With such a distinctive aroma Kakashi could track his lover through a rainstorm in the jungle. Never in his too-long life had he encountered anything quite like the intoxicating bouquet of humanity, blood, spices, and fresh air. Tenzou spoke sometimes of being addicted to him; he didn’t seem to understand that Kakashi was just as addicted. Wherever this dance between them was headed he didn’t care so long as it didn’t end yet.

Upon entering the guest bedroom he had prepared for the man, however, he found Tenzou to be nowhere in sight. With the same scent covering everything it was difficult but Kakashi was able to locate the highest concentration of it coming from the shadows in the far corner.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he called softly. When he grinned he could see the shadows quiver and whispered, “Ah, I’ve caught you.”

Tenzou was biting his lip when Kakashi glided over to press him further up against the wall and Kakashi narrowed his eyes in playful objection to that. His were the only teeth that should be piercing all that delicious warm skin, sinking in to that delectable flesh, sampling the sweet nectar running just under the surface.

He realized he was staring at the man’s pulse when it suddenly bobbed in a harsh swallow.

“You’re looking at me like you want to eat me.” Tenzou sounded notably okay with that.

“I do,” Kakashi murmured. “I want my teeth in your neck, your blood on my tongue.”

“Let me guess, you want to devour me?”

“Mm, you do look like a meal, don’t you pet? And look, you’ve already begun preparing yourself for dinner.” Kakashi lifted one finger to trace the ridges of the chest before him. Humans were so amusing with their drive to craft the perfect bodies, the efforts they went to just to mold themselves in to the shapes they desired, and he’d never truly understood why until he saw Tenzou without his clothes for the first time. Tanned skin stretched taut over abdominals to kill for, perfectly shaped pectorals that made his mouth water until he wasn’t sure which hunger he was feeding.

Right now desire was winning, although that was hardly any surprise.

“When you look at me like that I always get the feeling that I should be running as fast as I can,” Tenzou admitted. Kakashi chuckled and leaned in to drag his tongue up that perfectly vulnerable neck, tasting the pulse, already drunk on the way it quickened under his touch.

“You absolutely should,” he said.

Then he peeled his lips back to drag sharp fangs over shuddering flesh and Tenzou arched in to him, sending his thoughts scattering. His own hot breath dampened the skin under his lips as he pressed massy kisses in a line upwards towards a defenseless ear where he began to very carefully nibble. Fingers clutched at the edges of his shirt and pulled clumsily at the buttons in a distracted effort to undo them until he took hold of Tenzou’s hips and pulled their bodies close enough to hamper further movements.

“If you are trying to undress me, sir, then I should think you can do better than pawing at me like an animal.”

“Gods, you are such an ass sometimes.” Tenzou’s voice was both irritated and aroused in a heady medley that had grown all too familiar over the past few months.

“Why yes, yes I am. But I rather think you like that about me.”

Instead of dignifying that with a response Tenzou pushed him away just far enough that he was unable to continue feasting on the neck and shoulder he had so been enjoying, returning his amused look with narrowed eyes before trying once more to unbutton his shirt. At least this time he was less distracted and therefore able to coordinate his fingers better. The shirt was open and peeled away in under a minute, attention going next to his belt. At that point Kakashi decided that they were even and turnabout was fair play.

Almost before his partner could blink they were both naked in the darkness and moving towards the bed, human fumbling and vampiric grace melding together in to an intricate dance only they would ever know. Kakashi knew better than to get attached. He also knew it was much too late for that. Every touch drew him in further and further until he was as deeply entangled in this trap he had set as the man in his arms was. Instinct cried out for him to feed until the body he pressed down in to the sheets lay dry beneath him and still he had yet to draw blood even once.

Not that Tenzou was unaware of the things he could do. Denying his urges had never stopped him from giving them voice just to watch how his lover reacted to the tone of his voice, hearing the dark desires hidden behind his devilishly charming smile.  

“I want to own you,” he whispered as he traced one hand down Tenzou’s side. The other reached under the closest pillow for the tube of lubricant he could smell, almond and plastic filling his nostrils when he popped the cap. “I want to keep you here with me to sate my every thirst. To fill my days with your body and my nights with your blood.”

“Nng!” Tenzou arched in to the touches and spread his legs in a wordless plea for more.

Kakashi was only too happy to oblige.

He began slowly with one finger, teasing his partner’s entrance with just the tip and then sliding inside up to the second knuckle, grinning viciously as he watched that beautiful body press back in to his touches. When he was sure it wouldn’t cause pain he worked in a second finger and set up a languid pace. Tenzou’s face was a masterpiece of expressions, frustration and desire, yearning and impatience, each of them a work of art and none of them encouraging him to move any faster.

Teasing had always been his specialty, the excitement of the cat and mouse game, seeing who would be the first to give in when the temptations became too much. For all that he was generally considered a lazy man this was one thing he was always more than willing to put a bit of effort in to. With Tenzou it was always more than rewarding, it was a joy. A pleasure.

Perhaps he was taking a little bit too much pleasure from curling his fingers to brush against the man’s prostate and dragging against his clenching muscles just to watch him squirm. Each time he sank his fingers back inside that tight heat he was rewarded with an involuntary jerk of the legs parted for him to kneel between, spread just wide enough that he had a perfect view of his own actions. Kakashi licked his lips. After living for so long he had of course had more than his fair share of partners but none of them had given him cravings quite like Tenzou. Even knowing how much of a bad idea it was had yet to stop him from throwing himself headlong in to whatever this was growing between them.

Not long after he finally had mercy and worked in a third finger Tenzou finally managed to unbend his spine and crack one eye open long enough to capture Kakashi’s gaze, panting like he’d run a marathon while that delicious pulse hammered in his throat.

“I’m good, fuck, come on!” A roll of his hips and a throaty moan made it very clear what he wanted.

“Patience is a virtue,” Kakashi teased. Still, he was quite ready to move on himself so it was hardly a disappointment to allow his fingers to slide out and reach for the lubricant again.

“You have no virtues,” Tenzou managed in riposte. After writhing in mindless pleasure for several minutes it was actually a little impressive that he could gather his thoughts enough for a witty comeback. Kakashi was almost proud, though mostly he took it as a challenge to do better.

With the lubricant in hand he lifted himself up and away, applying a generous amount to his palm and then discarding it carelessly on the floor, stroking his neglected length to spread the cool gel as he walked up the sizable bed to settle himself at the top of the mattress. When Tenzou rolled sideways to look up at him he was leaning back against the headboard and stroking himself.

“Come now, pet,” he called. “You wanted this. Come and get it.” Any other sensible human would have run from the dark smile that flashed across his face but Tenzou only shivered and rolled over obediently to crawl up towards him.

“As you command.” Tenzou’s voice was as hot as his skin and it made Kakashi chuckle.

“What a dangerous offer.”

“Hm, are you going to take advantage of me then?” As he spoke he slipped one leg over Kakashi’s to spread himself across the vampire’s lap. “Are you going to put me under your thrall and keep me forever? Lock me away from the world like a real pet?”

Kakashi tugged him forward in to a messy kiss. “A sex slave would be more appropriate.”

“That just sounds terrible, really it does.” Where he got the confidence to pull off a smirk that sexy was a mystery Kakashi was dying to spend the next several decades figuring out.

Settling his fingers on the tanned hips over his, he very pointedly bore down until it was a game of his arm strength versus the strength of Tenzou’s legs. Unsurprisingly he won. Tenzou moaned softly as he sank down on the cock waiting to fill him. When it was clear that the man intended to follow his silent orders Kakashi released his grip and allowed Tenzou to work his way down as he pleased, hips rolling and muscles clenching, head thrown back to cast unfettered sounds of desire up in to the air above them.

When he was finally seated, completely filled with Kakashi’s length, he braced himself on the headboard and lifted his weight just to roll back down again with a filthy groan. The rhythm he set was unhurried and yet perfectly controlled, teasing them both even as he chased his own pleasure at a steady place.

Lazy and unhelpful underneath the other, Kakashi still wasn’t completely idle. His hands explored the body writhing above him, raking his nails down across the heaving chest only to glide down and cup Tenzou’s bottom, spreading him open just a little wider. He only realized what he had done to himself with the position he chose when he took a deep breath in and felt his throat constrict.

He could smell it. All that hot blood rushing, racing, thundering through delicate veins, just under the surface and oh so tempting. Before he could stop himself his fangs had dropped and he traced their sharp points with his tongue, wanting. And why shouldn’t he? What was the harm in taking a little as long as he was able to control himself enough to stop? Surely he had enough self-control for that, enough feelings in the unbeating heart in his chest to prevent anything terrible from happening.

All he needed was consent.

Leaning forward, Kakashi pressed his nose against that tempting neck and closed his eyes to draw in the scent from right there at the source. His tongue darted out to lave the skin as he had earlier just to remind himself of how good it tasted.

“I want to drink from you,” he growled as Tenzou sank down on his cock yet again. “I want to know your taste, pet. I bet you taste delicious”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yes, don’t stop. May I drink? I’ll only take a little; you have my word.”

Tenzou quivered and lost his rhythm, hips rising and falling with frantic desperation. “Gods yes, yeah, bite me. Take whatever you want.”

Such an offer he could never have expected, nor did he expect the way those words would hit him. Kakashi felt his pupils dilating and the next thing he knew he was sliding through skin and drinking, Tenzou’s life the sweetest nectar on his tongue. As he had promised he took very little. He wished he could say it was because he meant his words and stopped before the temptation became too much but in fact it was much the opposite. The moment he had a taste Kakashi could feel the instincts he worked hard to bury rising up inside him like a storm, fangs dropping lower and hands clenching tighter to keep his prey in place.

What stopped him was in part fear, of himself, of what he could feel himself about to do. His teeth slid out as carefully as he could manage when ripping himself away because he in that instant he knew that if he continued there would be no stopping and the thought of doing that to Tenzou was possibly the most terrifying thought to have ever crossed his mind.

And yet Tenzou, perfect brave Tenzou, never flinched for a moment. His entire body clenched tightly as Kakashi marked him and then the moment they were separated he was coming, writhing and crying out as he met his release between them, dragging Kakashi along with sheer force of will. The rush of feeding, the euphoric taste of the man fucking him, the tight clench around his cock, it all seemed to hit him at once and Kakashi bit straight through his own lip with shock as he tumbled over the edge in to his own incredible orgasm.

Both of them were left panting in the aftermath as Tenzou collapsed forward to drape himself half over Kakashi and half over the headboard. For a few minutes the only sounds in the dark room were the two of them gasping for air and the slick sounds of Tenzou leaving messy kisses along Kakashi’s neck.

“Well fuck,” he muttered. “I knew you were going to bite me but that stung. And I did not expect to like it that much.” His words were broken up in to fits and starts as he continued to assault the cool skin before him. “God, how are you not sweating or something after that?”

“Vampires do no sweat.”

“I know you’re committed to that role – and I like it, don’t get me wrong – but there are some things you just can’t control, you know?” When he sat up he was wearing an easy grin, amused.

Kakashi was more confused. “Committed to what role?”

“Being a ‘vampire’?” Tenzou said, air quotes implied in the way he stressed the last word. Kakashi tilted his head curiously.

“It’s not a role, it’s what I am. You know that.”

“Oh. So it’s like a whole lifestyle thing then? I really thought it was just roleplay because you, you know, get off on it. I’m really sorry if I sound condescending, I don’t mean to! Just, uh, I didn’t realize you really do live the whole lifestyle at all times.”

“What lifestyle? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Kakashi frowned and shifted until Tenzou was sitting up a little straighter over his lap. He had a feeling they were not having the same conversation.

Tenzou hesitated, clearly to wanting to offend him. “I mean…Kakashi, you don’t actually think you’re a vampire, do you?”

If he still had a beating heart it would have stopped in his chest. Afterglow fading fast, Kakashi stared hard at the man still sitting on top of him, still filled with his softening cock. They had known each other for almost a year, had been sleeping together for months, and for all that time he had been completely honest about his vampirism. Looking back, he should have realized how suspicious it was that Tenzou seemed to take it all in perfect stride, not put off in the slightest by any of Kakashi’s afflictions.

Not having been one himself in a very long time, it was easy to forget how determined humans could be to explain everything away with boring natural reasons. He should have realized that Tenzou didn’t really believe him but after all that proof…

“I bit you,” he pointed out. “I drank your blood – which was delicious, by the way.”

“You’re not the first person I’ve met with a biting fetish.”

“Pet, I have fangs.” Just to make his point he dropped them down and peeled his lips back, letting them glint in the darkness. Unfortunately Tenzou didn’t seem too impressed.

Baring his own teeth as though this was all a game, he said, “They’re actually quite impressive. I keep meaning to ask if they’re implants or what adhesive you use if they’re not.” He lifted one hand as if to poke them and Kakashi jerked his head away.

“Neither! They’re my teeth! Oh for- just get up and come with me!”

Tenzou looked caught halfway between laughter and genuine worry as though he were questioning Kakashi’s mental state for believing so deeply in something he refused to accept as the truth. Luckily Kakashi knew at least one foolproof way to prove that he wasn’t lying or making things up – or crazy. He made sure to help his partner clean himself up but didn’t give the man time to slip in to the trousers he reached for, instead pulling them towards the bathroom with no clothes on.

Mirrors were a rarity in his home. Even after all this time he still found the experience uncomfortable and so he did his best to minimize the reflective surfaces in his home and stayed away from them when possible each time he ventured in to the human world. Leading Tenzou in front of the mirror and flicking the light on, he gave his partner time to adjust his eyes and then gestured across the sink.

“What do you see?” he asked knowingly.

Tenzou gaped, his own lonely reflection staring back at him.

“What…the…”

“Now do you believe me?” Kakashi smirked to himself and bent his head to nip at the man’s shoulder.

“That’s not possible. It’s…a trick mirror or something. Has to be. This just can’t be possible.”

Kakashi sighed and cautiously wound his arms around the other man, wary of a negative reaction. When he got none he assumed it safe to nuzzle in to the warm space just behind one ear. “I’ve been honest, pet. I am a vampire. You’ve seen my fangs. You remarked once that I had no heartbeat you could find. Now you can see that I have no reflection. What more proof do you need?”

He watched one of Tenzou’s hands come up to trace the bite marks his teeth had left, already closing over as the healing agent in his saliva did its work.

“Is there…any other truth you’ve told me that I didn’t believe?”

“Oh, who knows,” Kakashi replied flippantly. “You believed me when I said I loved you, didn’t you?”

That certainly caught Tenzou’s attention. Finally he looked away from the mirror, turning in the circle of Kakashi’s arms to regard him with an inscrutable expression that Kakashi would have called ‘thoughtful’ were he not suddenly so terrified of the idea that he might be thinking of leaving.

Panic gathered at the base of his spine and rose slowly, inch by inch, minute by minute, until finally Tenzou spoke again.

“Yeah, I believe that.”

“Good, good, I was prepared to do a lot of convincing on that front. It’s nice to know I don’t have to go through all that effort.” He smirked and hoped the relief coursing through him didn’t show too obviously. Whether it did or not he wasn’t sure, too distracted with the way Tenzou let out a bark of startled laughter.

“Oh yeah, wouldn’t want you to have to put in some effort. God forbid!”

Kakashi nodded. “So glad you understand, pet.”

“Uh huh. Jerk.” Tenzou shook his head, then paused and took one more peek over his shoulder at the mirror. “You know, I think I’m compartmentalizing. I’ll probably have a couple of panic attacks later when this all sinks in so just…try and be patient when this hits me later, alright? Maybe remind me that you love me a few times. That can be your effort.”

“You ask so much,” Kakashi drawled.

“Terribly sorry about that. Oh, no wait, no I’m not. I’m not sorry at all.” Tenzou’s mockingly smug expression was ruined when he suddenly yawned, turning his head so as not to throw his breath right in Kakashi’s face.

“Looks like it really is time for the human to go to bed.”

Snapping his jaw shut, Tenzou frowned. “You really don’t sleep…”

“Nope.”

“So you just…lay there and stare at me all night?”

It was Kakashi’s turn to bark out a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous, how boring. I clean and tend to the garden and sometimes I pop in to town to do some late night shopping. The night life in this town is quite lively, I assure you.” Tenzou eyed him to make sure he wasn’t joking and then shrugged.

“Right. Well you’re right about me needing rest, I suppose. Maybe I can panic in my sleep and get it over with.”

His blasé attitude was a clear cover for the confusion below but Kakashi appreciated it all the same, appreciated that Tenzou wasn’t rejecting him outright. It was a little annoying that after thinking himself free of these conversations he was going to be subjected to them after all months down the road and yet…and yet he found that he didn’t mind too much. A few words couldn’t hurt him and he would put himself through worse to keep the man in his arms.

“Let’s put you to bed then,” he purred, scooping Tenzou up and encouraging those long legs to wrap around his waist. His actions earned him a roll of the man’s eyes but it was worth it to watch that expressions clear and know that everything would probably turn out just fine.

As they made their way back in to the bedroom, as he tumbled them both down in to the sheets and made certain that his partner was comfortable and covered with enough blankets to stay warm, Kakashi found that he was actually looking forward to tomorrow in an odd way. Not for the awkward conversations they would likely be having but for after. Whatever questions Tenzou had they would know each other better afterwards and anything that would help him keep the man he had fallen so dangerously in love with was a good thing in his books.

[minhoandthebabes]

Fairy AU Pt.4

A/N: these will no longer be all on one post as reblogging these masses of text is starting to get slower and slower to load -_- enjoy!

Here are the original 3 parts 

After knocking once, Kibum was waiting by Jinki’s door, resting his head against the wooden frame. He closed his eyes briefly as his memory of the past five minutes passed. When he had come out of his room, Minho was still on the couch with a stern gaze. In an attempt to escape without question, Kibum told Minho he was late and that he could stay in his apartment if he wished but he needed to see Jinki as soon as possible. Despite what he said, the last think Kibum wanted was for Minho to stick around in his apartment, fearing he’d find something strange if he was left alone. When Minho refused to budge, Kibum rolled his eyes and grabbed his wrist, trying his best to pull Minho out of his apartment. He told Minho they could hang out later if he wanted to do so, and for some reason that made him finally leave.

Kibum groaned and shook his head, shaking away his annoyance when he heard the door unlock.

“Kibum?” Jinki asked, “Is everything okay?”

Kibum glanced nervously behind him, “You need me to model for you, remember?” He said softly, hoping Minho wasn’t somehow listening in on the conversation.

“I.. I don’t remember wanting you to-” Jinki started, but Kibum was quick to cut him off, shoving him in the room and closing the door behind him. “Hey!” Jinki called, furrowing his brow.

“Minho’s onto me.. I just know it, he knows something is up,” Kibum grumbled as he took off his shoes. “I swear that kid can read me like a book, I hate it.”

Jinki raised an eyebrow, “So he can read you like a book but he doesn’t know you want to get in his pants? You must have a poorly written book if that’s the case.”

Kibum’s cheeks turned red, “Whatever, just.. how is he? Does he need more pain meds? I brought some pain reliever with me just in case.” Kibum shuffled into the room looking for the fairy on the bed. “He’s not here?”

“We’ve been drawing.. He’s probably still in the window box.” Jinki followed Kibum in and directed him to the small easel with the beginnings of a well-detailed drawing of the fairy.

“He isn’t too tired?” Kibum asked, furrowing his brow. “He really should be resting if he has a broken limb.”

Jinki sat down in the same seat and looked at the fairy who was looking back at Jinki and then up to Kibum. His face turned to one of disgust when he saw Kibum. “What’s that prick doing here?”

Kibum’s eyes widened, “excuse me? What did you call me?”

“Oh yeah, he talks now, and he has a bit of a potty mouth,” Jinki said nonchalantly as he started delicately painting with his watercolors.

“You’re the one that hurt me, of course, I’m going to call you a prick..” The fairy grumbled, closing the small book he held.

Kibum leaned down to get a closer look, “How are you doing that? How are you talking to me?”

“You’re really stupid aren’t you. I’m using my mouth, obviously.”

Kibum watched as the fairy’s mouth moved. He could see its words and movements didn’t line up, “That.. are you translating yourself?”

Taemin nodded and turned away from Kibum’s gaze, “You need to leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

Kibum watched the fairy’s back twitch as he turned. Despite his stoic response, Kibum could tell he was still in pain. “Doesn’t it hurt?” Kibum asked softly, reaching out with his index finger to try and touch his back. In a gut reaction, the fairy turned and started to claw at the finger in defense. Kibum pulled away and sighed. “I’ll prepare something for you..”

Standing back, Kibum looked down at Jinki, “How have you been giving him water?”

“I gave him some soda earlier in a thimble. While it’s about the size of a bucket for him, it was doable.” Jinki explained, “I washed it and put it next to the sink.” Jinki sat back from his work and looked up at Kibum, “Is he really still in pain?”

Kibum nodded, “Yeah, I guess the ibuprofen I gave him earlier wore off. He seems too proud to admit he’s still in pain though.” Kibum glanced over to see the fairy with his back facing them, his arms wrapped around his legs as he looked into the distance. “I’ll just break up another bit of advil for him, a small amount shouldn’t kill him.” He got a pill out and started to crush it when a knock came from the door. Kibum glanced up, confused as he looked at Jinki.

“Who could that be?” Jinki asked. He looked down at Taemin, “Hide,” he said softly to the fairy, “I don’t know who it is and I don’t want them to see you.” Taemin tucked himself away in the branches of the plants, kneeling down in the mud.

Kibum continued working at the kitchen counter as Jinki walked up to the door, but he froze when he heard Minho’s deep voice float into the room.

“Kibum told me you were drawing him, so I thought you could use another model.”

Kibum leaned in his stool, looking over around Jinki to see Minho in a vest covering a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His pants looked perfectly tailored to Minho’s body, the sight made Kibum fall from his perch, tumbling off his chair as he tried to get a closer look.

Jinki turned around to see Kibum on the floor hissing and holding his knee that had taken the brunt of his fall.

“Min, I just needed one person,” Jinki said softly, “And.. while you look great, I was going with more of a casual look.”

After taking a moment to recover, Kibum stood to meet Minho, “I told you he just needed one person.”

“Well can I at least hang out with you guys? I feel left out..” Minho pouted but still remained in the doorway.

“No!” The two said almost in unison.

Minho’s eyes narrowed as he looked between the two, “You’re both acting so weird!” He said with a frown, “Seriously, what’s going on? Are you two dating or something? Is that why you want me gone?”

Kibum’s eyes widened and he gulped, his face turning red again, “No! No, that’s not it.. I- I like someone else.”

Minho crossed his arms and scoffed, “Then why can’t you let me stay?”

Jinki finally spoke up, clearing his throat, “Fine, you can stay..”

Kibum’s eyes shot to Jinki, “What?” he mouthed. He was less concerned about the fairy and more concerned about his sanity. It would be impossible to focus with Minho looking like that.

“It’s no use hiding it anymore,” Jinki admitted, “But.. Minho I swear to god if you tell anyone, I’m never talking to you again.”

Minho had a bit of a smug look on his face, but he tried to hide it as he finally entered the apartment and slipped out of his shoes. “I won’t tell anyone. What have you two been up to?” He asked, sitting on Jinki’s sofa and making himself comfortable as he usually did. With Minho, Kibum couldn’t help but notice how comfortable he seemed in both his and Jinki’s apartment. Seeing him settle onto Jinki’s couch just as he had done on his before made his heart fall. Maybe he wasn’t as special as he thought he was.

He stood and got back to work crushing the Advil, keeping his thoughts busy.

Taemin heard the deeper voice join the other two and pulled a leaf in front of him to hide his face. His back ached from the seemingly constant pain shooting down his spine, but he ignored it, too focused on what was coming.

“Taemin?” Jinki’s sweet voice floated through the leaves. “You can come out now.”

The voice was enough to encourage him to be coaxed out, but he was hesitant, knowing this new person was still here. “Is it safe? Are they safe?” He asked as he peaked out from the leaf.

Jinki nodded, “Yeah, I trust them.” Taemin felt the leaves shift in front of him and watched as Jinki’s hand lowered against the plants, pushing them away for him. Taemin snuck out of the leaves and heard a gasp as he got onto Jinki’s palm.

“That’s- that’s not possible.” the deep voice said.

Taemin looked up, connecting the face with the voice. He wasn’t expecting to see someone so handsome looking back at him, and it made him a little shy. He pulled the tip of his good wing to hide behind.

“Oh, so you swear at me, but you’re all bashful in front of him?” Kibum’s voice came from the other side of the room and Taemin grinned.

“He’s handsome, you’re just annoying and mean,” Taemin argued back at Kibum, letting go of his wing to show him he was willing to put up a good fight despite his size.

“That’s not fair!” Kibum argued stepping forward towards the fairy, “I’m the one who thought he-” Kibum was cut off and Taemin could see Jinki’s opposite hand grabbing Kibum’s arm tightly.

Jinki looked at Kibum, “This isn’t the time or place for that, just let it be.”

Kibum huffed and walked away from the three of them, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. “I’m not mean.. I was the only one who fixed your wing,” he grumbled under his breath.

Taemin couldn’t help the proud smirk that passed his lips. He reached up to tuck his hair behind his ear before looking back at the new person and Jinki.

“Taemin, this is Minho, another one of my friends,” Jinki explained, “Minho, this is Taemin.. Um.. my fairy friend.”

“And how exactly is this possible?” Minho asked, leaning down to get a closer look at Taemin. This person’s eyes were so big, it took Taemin aback a little. He looked so different from the other two, he found himself getting shy at the gaze and moved to hug Jinkis thumb, hiding behind it as best he could.

“I have no idea,” Jinki admitted. He chuckled when Taemin began to hide and used his opposite index finger to pet his head gently. The feeling soothed Taemin and he closed his eyes briefly. “I thought he was some kids toy and I went to wash it off, but here we are”

“That’s incredible, and only you and Kibum know?”

Jinki sighed, “Yeah.. Kibum wasn’t supposed to know, I didn’t want to tell anyone, but.. I hurt him. I feel terrible, but he started to fly and I just panicked and grabbed without thinking. I broke his wing.”

“I see,” Minho hummed softly.

Taemin found himself dozing off as the two talked, their deep voices soothing him to sleep. He clung to Jinki’s thumb as if it were a body pillow, his legs curling up against the warm palm and soon he was drooling on the thumb in his sleep, enjoying the rest.

While Jinki lay Taemin back in his makeshift bed of tissues Kibum finally had a moment to explain himself to Minho and resolve any tension between them. After leaving Minho behind and lying to him all day, he felt awful and wanted to make up for it somehow and while they were alone on the couch it felt like the perfect opportunity.

“Minho,” Kibum started gently, “I’m really sorry.”

Minho glanced up from his phone once he heard Kibum’s apology. “Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.. Jinki just told me not to, and I was really sick earlier and didn’t know what to do.” Kibum rambled, looking down at his hands as he spoke. “You know I don’t like apologizing.”

Minho chuckled and soon Kibum felt an arm around his shoulder as Minho pulled him close, “I know, but it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for this. I understand.” Kibum closed his eyes briefly, enjoying Minho’s warmth, the sweet smell of his cologne, his strong grip holding him in place, the low rumble of his voice as he spoke. “I was more worried you two were keeping a bigger secret from me.”

Kibum sat up, furrowing his brow as he looked at Minho, but Jinki interrupted before he could say anything.

“A bigger secret? I’m sure there are plenty of bigger secrets in this world, fairies are quite small after all,” Jinki said as he flopped down in the chair opposite them.

Minho chuckled, his arm still around Kibum’s shoulders, but loose enough to let Kibum move a little. Kibum wiggled around and adjusted until Minho’s arm was there to cradle his head against the back of the couch. Minho waited for Kibum to be finished before he spoke again, “It was actually bigger than I thought a fairy would be.”

“I know right?” Jinki sighed, “I don’t know what to do with him.. I don’t mind taking care of him, but where did he come from? What if he wants to go back and I can’t help him?”

Kibum looked at Jinki, “That’s a bridge we’ll have to cross when we get there. Right now let’s just focus on bringing him back to health.”

“But..” Jinki bit his lip, “When he’s better, what’ll keep him from just flying away?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Minho spoke up, “I’ve only met him for a few minutes and he already seems pretty attached to you.”

Kibum nodded, “He’s right, he hates me for fixing him and… there’s something weird going on with him and Minho.” he shook his head, “If we make a home for him here, he’ll feel safe enough to stay.”

There was a long empty silence between the three. Kibum was lost in thought but also enjoying his proximity to Minho for the time being.

Minho was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat a little, “Has anyone told Jonghyun?” he asked softly.

Jinki shook his head but didn’t say anything.

Kibum rolled his head to the side to look at Minho, forgetting just how close they were. “I haven’t heard from him all day, he’s either still sleeping, or his phone is dead.”

“We have to tell him,” Minho said, looking back at Kibum. Having Minho’s eyes so close made his cheeks turn pink. Minho furrowed his brow as a hand reached up to press against Kibum’s warming cheek. “Are you still sick from last night?” he asked.

Kibum felt his heartbeat increase steadily and started to panic. He pulled away after a pause. “I’m fine,” He mumbled, “I’m fine just.. don’t touch me.”

Minho sighed and looked back at Jinki who seemed to be in a daze. “Jinki?” he asked softly, but when he didn’t get a response his attention turned back to Kibum. After a long pause with Minho’s eyes on him, he finally spoke again. “Do I really make you that uncomfortable?” Minho asked, knowing Jinki wasn’t listening to their conversation.

The question took Kibum aback and he looked up at the other, trying to piece together his response. “Uncomfortable..” he started, chewing his lip, “No.. you don’t make me uncomfortable. You make me too comfortable.” He explained.

“What does that even mean, Kibum,”  Minho looked directly at him, a look of annoyance clearly in his eyes.

“You treat me too nicely! You make me like you too much, that’s the problem!” Kibum argued back, sitting up now as he tried to explain himself without giving anything away.

Before Minho could respond with another question, Jinki interrupted. “Hey, stop arguing, Taemin’s sleeping.. I don’t want you two waking him.”

Jinki left for the bedroom, leaving the two of them alone in the quiet room. It was so quiet Kibum swore when closed his eyes he could hear the little fairy snoring softly behind them on the counter.

“I want to make you comfortable,” Minho barely whispered next to him. It was soft enough Kibum wondered if Minho even meant to say it out loud.

Kibum looked at Minho out of the corner of his eye to see the other man had closed his eyes and his head was tilted towards the ceiling, resting his head on the back of the couch. Sighing, Kibum stood, heading towards Jinki’s art supplies. “If that fairy wants a good night's sleep, we need to make him a better bed than a tissue box.”

Jinki had hoped his leaving would spark something between the two, but when he returned he found Minho scrolling through his phone while Kibum tore through his art supplies.

“You seriously don’t have any cotton balls in here?” Kibum asked once he noticed Jinki was in the room.

“I used to, I’m sure they’re in one of those drawers.. But what are you doing to my stuff?” Jinki knelt down and started to put the tubes of paint back in their drawer.

Kibum looked up at Jinki, “Do you really think the tissue bed is the best plan for him?” He asked raising an eyebrow. “We need something more comfortable than that. He won’t sleep well otherwise.”

Frowning, Jinki stood again to glance over at the snoring fairy on the other side of the room. “He seems just fine to me?”

Jinki didn’t have to see the eyeroll to hear it in Kibum’s voice, “You know that’s not good enough. I don’t want him injuring himself even more.”

Kibum’s worry made a smile spread across Jinki’s face, “Yeah? let’s give him a nice bed then.” He got closer to Kibum so he could whisper to him, “So, did that go well?”

“What do you think? Of course it didn’t go well.. You expect way too much.”

Jinki huffed, “I think he likes you too you know..”

Before he knew it Kibum’s fist collided with Jinki’s upper arm, “Jesus Kibum, who knew you packed a punch!” Jinki tried joking as he held the bruising arm, fighting through the brief pain.

“I’ll do it again if you say anything,” Kibum threatened, closing another drawer of supplies he didn’t need. “You have to have something in here Jinki I swear.”

Jinki stood and moved towards another cabinet, “They're all in here, stop getting so worked up.” He grumbled. “Let’s order something for dinner and invite Jonghyun over, okay? It’s Saturday night, after all, we should be doing something fun.”

“Fine, but only if you’re okay with Jonghyun knowing too.”

Jinki grinned, “Of course I’m okay with it. Minho’s right, it isn’t fair if he doesn’t know. And knowing him, I’m sure he’ll love the meet someone shorter than him.”

Minho burst out laughing from where he sat, “Oh that’s a good one Jinki,” He stood and wrapped an arm around Jinki as he laughed, sparking a bit of jealousy in Kibum.

“You seem to be the only one I know who laughs at my jokes,” Jinki smiled, “You should hang out here more often. I’m sure Kibum will be here more too if he’s taking care of Taemin, isn’t that right?”

Kibum just grumbled, working on putting together some form of a mattress for the fairy.

[sokumotanaka]

Last train home: An ode to Rwby

It’s over...it’s finally over.

Prepare for a long and tired final post.

Look, let me say this;

RWBY volume 6 is a mess and I think that's the most charitable thing I can say after spending several years of being invested in it’s crumbling world.

Maybe it was laziness, rushed or sheer incompetence that made this season crumble, so in my final review on rwby as a whole I may have to do some guess work at points; and after several wasted years, I’m not in a position from this point on to be charitable.

I gotta tell you, volume 6 tricked me, hell from what I seen it tricked alot of us, it started off good, we learned thing we should of learned volumes ago. But then I soon realized that this volume was; damage control. We learn of ozpin origins with salem only to not get to absorb it cause we soon learn through obvious reasons that maria was a silver eyed warrior and when ruby finally starts training, we meet one of jaune’s sisters, also pyrrha’s statue is there, but also neo is back, but so is adam and cinder, also mercury has no semblance, tyrian has a new tail-

see what I mean? before you could absorb one thing, two more pop up in its place and there’s such a lack in structure in the world, characters, their growth, development and their dimensions. The magic and power system that rwby has is just a mess that gets increasingly worse as it progresses, they take one step forward only to stumble several feet back and fall on their ass. And maybe one of the problem is I listen to writers commentary; to someone who doesn���t they won’t see as many problems as I do with the series, but when you actually listen to it you see the many problems it has with how this series is handled.

A reboot is at this point completely necessary and needed for this series to make even a semblance of sense. Semblance, Aura and Dust are so poorly handled and explained that they changed at several points to the point of being contrived.

Semblance was originally something you could use when your aura was completely depleted before requiring aura to use.

Except when it’s not but also when it can be, it changes at the drop of a hat, we see yang use her semblance with no aura in her vol 5 trailer, then sun in vol 4 loses his semblance when his aura is depleted.

despite miles changing it almost instantly afterwards...

When I started rwby I was optimistic it could be a great show probably not spectacular or amazing but great, and while it had it’s flaws and potholes at the time they were relatively small at first, but they just kept growing and more issues popped up and...christ if you like rwby and notice it’s flaws that’s fine, but I can’t say the same for people who outright ignore the flaws people critiquing the series bring up to get mad and preach about how only positive criticism can save the show.

Look as a person who started off with positive criticism I’m not saying it has no place, but you also can’t say critics be it negative from your perspective, is objectively bad or unneeded. Sometimes a firm but fair hand is needed.

Ruby’s issues are like a small flame building up, you can close your eyes and ignore the problem but sooner or later if something’s not done your house is gonna be completely on fire, and you don’t know how that may affect your surroundings, for all you know ignoring the issue caused the trees behind your house to catch fire, maybe one toppled over and landed on a neighboring house and now it’s spreading. The bottom line is weather you can get past the issue to find the things you like isn’t the problem, it’s ignoring them in the first place, if you aren’t willing to help something growth and change for the better with non rose tinted criticism then you’re not offering any help at all, you’re hindering it because you yourself refuse to change and that can be just as harmful if not worse to coddle something.

Rwby increasingly became more unhinged as a series, the flaws turned into overlapping problems, this went from a world that felt had love and care crafted into it to a plot and world with more holes than swiss cheese, which is why so many people felt disappointed and rightfully annoyed, could you sit there and tell me if I made a series and told you one thing yet showed you another only to tell you “yeah that’s not what I meant.” in post that you wouldn’t feel even the slightest bit of cheated, lied to or had your time wasted? If not do I have a camel to sell you among other things!

As a person who sat through so many lovely crafted media; I sat through paper mario and it’s whimsical tale, I watched avatar and fell in love with it’s amazing characters, world building and music, same goes for things like steven universe, final fantasy 6 (a game ironically about togetherness) ff9, the persona series, hunter x hunter, soul eater, gravity falls, Disney flicks, the dragon age series every super giant game, all these and more were handled with so much love and care and hold their structure throughout.

I.  LOVE. MEDIA.

I spend most of my time absorbed in their stories worlds and characters, laughing and crying and growing with them to the point I studied it, twice to get two separate degrees in it because I wanted to write at a time. So when I critique rwby, call out it’s flaws and so on, it’s not a personal attack on you if you like it, but I also can’t be satisfied with where the series has gone, not because it’s not ‘my’ take but because I enjoy narrative flow, I find interest in the characters if the plot isn’t too good and vise versa, media can touch on so many amazing things and I felt at a time...that miles and kerry could do well if they tried, if they applied themselves, before becoming such mean spirited, greedy and unwilling people, and this was long before I came into the picture, long before rwde no matter how much you disagree or what to place blame.

Cause trust me I seen rwby stans (fans unwilling to hear criticism out and will display many hypocritical and messed up tendencies over a cartoon)  not only ignore issues, tell people to kill themselves over a typed critique of a series they like, be irrational, sexist, racist or just plain stupid at times, you realize soon that the rwby tag is a cesspool of horrible people mixed in with a minuscule amount of fans willing to discuss the issues offer fixes and healthy non annoying chats on what they like and dislike.

Which confuses me as an individual cause I feel personally you can and should review rwby without threat of an anonymous person telling you to die over your opinion or one of the writers telling people to...enact physical violence on fans who don’t watch the supplemental material they hide, don’t promote to a casual audience and contradict and retcon on a constant basis. And sometimes it’s through a panel or a tweet, a casual rwby fan wouldn’t even catch unless they constantly follow the writers around or have someone dedicated enough to do so.

And all the stuff I mention and want isn’t impossible or asking too much honestly, I’d like the writers to be honest and fair to their fanbase, like anyone would, I’d like them to listen to actual critique and hire someone who can guide them so it doesn’t turn into one big “damage control” arc, The characters need more substance and need more screen time to grow as characters and fighters, when your fans excuse character growth with “Well animation is hard, not everything could be onscreen it could happen offscreen.” you have a problem, can you imagine ed just showing up with alphonse and it never being explained and I go “well animation is hard.” yeah that goes without saying but at the same time there are writers, creators and so on who get paid less, have smaller teams and sometimes just teams of two people to work hard on their craft, amazing teams with money, production and care like supergiant games get overlooked, so never EVER excuse jump cuts and lack of characterization, structure and development when better writers are out there busting their asses.

Do not be that guy.

*sigh* I been sitting here thinking how how I could end this, how after several years of a fast decline in quality, what’s something I could possibly leave this on? What can I say past this point? I been actually sitting in stunned silence trying to mull it over. I guess all I can say is, if you like rwby fair, fine, despite the major holes I discuss fixes with the series, I draw characters, try fixing the crumbling road of rwby trying hard to understand it, make no mistakes that when I critique it it’s not coming from a place of contempt for the series, but of disappointment in how far it’s fallen and how it could have been good if miles and kerry took the hand offered, it wouldn’t lead them down the most comfortable road, but they’d gain experience from it and could fix the series possibly for the better, and if you again like rwby, do not allow rose tinted goggles to blind you from the issues of the series, the ever growing problems with the series and the unwillingness for the writers to change and grow, do not allow more writers to turn into david cage, M Night Shyamalan, or stephenie meyer.

If you want the best for the rwby series and the rwby brand then you cannot accept mediocrity, you need to be vocal otherwise the writers won’t be incentivized to do better. And it doesn’t have to be straight up criticism, you can word it your way as long as it helps the writing grow, but at the point we’re at and how nice or not miles and kerry take current criticism rwby will continue to plummet and honestly that’s a disappointment.

To all fellow rwde and non rwde who have supported me thus far? Thank you, this has been a wild ride and while we possibly haven’t seen eye to eye I enjoyed and learn alot from watching you over the years, and now I think it’s finally time for the vet to retire and give the reins to new people, I received alot of kind messages from this and they touched my heart, take care rwby critics, it’s been real.

-A past fan of rwby

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Thirty-Eight: Take It Away ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

It strikes in the middle of the night.

By now, Hinata is used to Sasuke waking at odd hours. It’s not often he’s able to sleep through the night. Sometimes it’s nightmares, sometimes it’s just a jolting awake...other times he just can’t find sleep in the first place, giving up and rising to find something to occupy him.

But this, she can tell immediately, is something different.

Typically his breaks from rest are quick and quiet - at most he might gasp, or call a name. This time, it’s a slow, drawn-out process.

Whether it’s his writhing under the sheets, or the nonsensical mumblings that wake her, Hinata’s not sure. All she knows is that something disrupts her dreaming, groggily blinking before realizing both symptoms. Forcing herself to sit up, nightgown strap askew, the butt of a hand rubs at her eyes. “Sasuke…?”

He’s not quite awake yet, brow pinched and eyelids twitching. Limbs jerk and flex as though reacting to...whatever it is he’s seeing, clearly still dreaming. Hinata’s own brow draws. She’s never seen him do this before.

Carefully, a hand reaches and lays atop his shoulder, giving it a gentle shake. “Sasuke...wake up.”

No reaction except more murmured words, head tossing.

Okay, something is wrong. Twisting to turn on a bedside lamp, she turns back and can now see the flush in his skin, sweat slick along his brow and catching locks of black hair. He’s got a fever - a pretty bad one!

Her worry quickly intensifies. She needs to get him up and to his brother’s house - hopefully his wife is not on a night shift at the hospital. “Sasuke - Sasuke, can you hear me? We need to get up, you’re seriously ill!”

Eyes finally flutter open just a hair, revealing irises of violet and coal. “...nata…”

Well, at least he’s sensible enough to recognize her. “Sasuke, you’re burning up -”

“M’so tired…”

“I know. You’re very sick. We need to get you to a medic, okay?”

“No...no…” His tone borders on a plead, an arm tossing up over his eyes. “No more...hospital…”

“We don’t have to go to the hospital. We can just go next door and see your sis-”

“Nēchan...I’m fine...I can stay out a little longer...I have to...I have…” His words dissolve into random sounds, blurred by exhaustion and fever. “...stronger. He’ll come back...he’ll kill me…”

Kill him…? Is he thinking back to the days before the war? Before learning about Itachi…? This is getting serious. She’ll have to bring the medic here - he’s clearly not in any state to get up and move. “Sasuke, I’m going to go get her, and bring her here. She’ll help you feel better. N-no one is going to kill you.” Her syllables jump slightly as her worry chips at her calm.

“Don’t - don’t go -!”

“I’ll be right back -”

“No!” In a strangely lucid moment, Sasuke sits upright, snagging Hinata in his arms and making her jump. He holds her tightly, ribs protesting slightly with a gasp. Brow tucked to her neck, he continues to mumble. “Don’t leave me...I don’t want to be alone…”

Outside a bedroom window, a raven cries despite the hour.

In spite of herself, Hinata feels a sympathetic pain in her heart. Arms reach up to embrace him in turn. “...I’m not leaving forever, Sasuke. But you need to be taken care of. I’m not a medic…”

“...t stop…”

“What…?”

“Make it stop…” He burrows further against her neck. Muscles slacken slightly. “...I keep seeing it...over and over. Make it stop.”

“...see what…?” she asks, already knowing the answer.

“I see them. All of them. They’re dead...I can’t...can’t save them.” Lifting from his lean against her, Sasuke wobbles shakily in his fever, staring at her with eyes fogged with delirium. “...take it away, Hinata...take it all away. All of the memories, and...and the pain…”

“Oh, Sasuke…” Hinata’s tone breaks, drawing him back to her. “...I can’t take your memories...they’re a part of you, of who you are. I know they hurt...and I wish I could make the pain stop. But you’ve done so much for the people you lost. The village knows the truth, now! The people who took your clan from you are either dead, or in a position where they can’t hurt anyone anymore. I know you’ve lost so much...but look at what you still have…! Your brother, and your cousin. Your niece and your nephew.”

Gently, Hinata lifts his head to look at her, eyes brimmed with tears as she smiles at him somberly. “...and you have me. You always will. I know they would be so proud of you. Of all you’ve done. You made mistakes...and no, you couldn’t save them. But you’re o-on a better path now. You’re making an honorable man out of yourself. Your pain has taught many people important lessons...and you’re all going to make sure no one else ever hurts like you’ve hurt.”

Still looking distraught, almost childlike in his addled state, Sasuke just huffs a sigh, collapsing back against her.

It’s then someone knocks on the door.

Flaring her Byakugan for a moment, Hinata wilts as she spies their neighbors, let in with a spare key. “C-come in.”

The pair enter with an apology for intruding, which Hinata shakes her head at. “One of my ravens couldn’t help but notice the ruckus,” Itachi explains. “They came to alert us.”

“Oh...thank you, Itachi.”

His wife sits along Sasuke’s other side, carefully accepting him as Hinata helps lay him back down. “Nēchan...I don’t feel...so good…”

“I know, dear...but I’m here to make you better.”

“Hinata…”

“She’s here, but I need some room to work. If you need her, we’ll call her, ne?”

Seeming only partially placated, Sasuke goes limp atop the mattress as white chakra flares along the healer’s palms.

Rising and slipping a yukata over herself, Hinata retreats to the kitchen, finding Itachi making tea. “Thank you…”

“I thought you could use something to drink.” Leaned against the counter, he loosely crosses arms. “...I take it he wasn’t ill when you retired tonight?”

“No, he seemed fine...but very tired. He’s been working overtime a lot lately on a case. I guess...his body is just too run down.”

“I see...Sasuke doesn’t heed his own limits a great deal of the time. I am not surprised. I’m sure she’ll get him back on track, but it’s clear he’ll need plenty of rest.”

“If he’s not too stubborn to ignore that need,” Hinata can’t help but mutter as the kettle whistles.

Silence falls as Itachi fixes three cups. “She is well-versed with his attitude by now - I’m sure he’ll obey if she gets stern enough.”

“I hope so...I hate to see him like this. He…” There’s a pause. “...he was jumping between now and the past. Talking about...the massacre, and nightmares. Wanting me to take his memories away.”

Dark brows sharply furrow. “...I see…”

“I know that...a-all three of you still harbor a great deal of weight from all of that. And it’s not easy to move on from. He already sleeps so poorly…”

“As you’ve mentioned before. We may have to try something a bit more...drastic. It’s clear our talks have not yet rid him of the guilt he feels. I...know the sentiment all too well.”

Hinata gives her brother-in-law a sympathetic glance.

“...you may not be able to take away all that Sasuke has suffered. But I know you do him an unfathomable amount of good, Hinata. After the war, Sasuke was...aimless, and moorless. His disconnect from Konoha, and his classmates, was exceedingly difficult for him to navigate. I truly do believe you made bridging that gap all the easier. Your lack of a relationship prior to his leaving left a blank slate he had with few others. And your paralleled natures - as well as points in your history - gave him something to relate to. To...anchor himself to.” Itachi gives her a warm smile. “...you have done more for Sasuke than almost anyone else. And for that, I have to thank you.”

Flustered color blooms in Hinata’s cheeks. She’s...not quite sure how to respond to that.

Thankfully, it’s then Itachi’s wife returns, looking a bit weary, but hopeful as Itachi hands her the third cup of tea. With enough bedrest, he’ll recover in a few days by her estimate. But she’ll still pop by daily to check on him.

“Thank you both so much for coming.”

“No need for thanks - we’re family. It’s nothing contagious, just his body being overworked, so you can go back to sleep beside him. I went ahead and put him under more manually, so he should sleep through for about six hours or so. At that point he’ll need to eat, relieve himself, and all that. Just keep him fed, hydrated, and well-rested. He’ll be just fine.”

Hinata nods, the three of them finishing their tea before the elder couple take their leave, promising to return should anything change.

Washing the cups, it’s then she returns to their bedroom, finding Sasuke sound asleep. A compress lies across his brow, blankets done up to his chin to help sweat out the fever. Carefully, though she knows she won’t wake him, she slips back beside him. For a time, she just watches, replaying his words and expressions in her mind. Seeing him so upset...it breaks her heart. Maybe Itachi is right - maybe they all need a bit more help than they’ve been getting to finally put their pasts to rest.

Fingers gently weave through his hair. “...we’ll figure this out,” she murmurs. “Together. I promise...Sasuke…”

     Sorry for yet another late post. I had a very...rough day mentally and emotionally after losing a pet overnight. So I took most of the day off, but still got this done. Just a little late.      This idea hit me as soon as I read the prompt. Sasuke has so much in his past he wishes he could let go - that he wishes Hinata, or someone - anyone - could take away. But it's not that simple. And of course, he'd never admit as much as he is. So, a little fever to lift his inhibitions! Poor guy needs like...ten breaks.      Anywho, that's all for night. Thanks so much for reading~

[bittykimmy13]

Dead of Night (GT)

Warning: Violence/gore 

Here’s a fun introductory short story for a Ben and Lee AU :’) 

Characters belong to me and the lovely @little-miss-maggie <3

“Ben?” The whisper made him stir, but coming from a human, it could hardly be called a whisper. Not very enticed to wake up, Ben rolled over and buried half his face in the invitingly soft fabric he lay upon. “Be-en.” The persistent singsong voice was accompanied by a prodding sensation to the shoulder, which was a lot harder to ignore. “What?” Eyes half-open, Ben raised his head and batted away the fingertip. “You awake?” Lee was seated behind the steering wheel of the luxurious car he had leased just that week. He loomed over Ben, who was curled up on the passenger seat. The sight of Lee towering over him had lost its intimidation factor over the past few months. “I am now.” Ben dragged a hand down his face and dropped his head back down onto the fold of the human-sized scarf he had settled into for the long night drive. He peeked one eye up at the windows; the sky was pitch black, not a single star glimmering through the dense clouds. “We can’t be there yet, can we?” “Rest stop.” Lee backed off and buried a yawn into his fist. “I need some caffeine. The vending machines in these places are practically begging to have free sodas swiped from them. You coming?”

Ben frowned. “Okay, we made more money in the last city than the past three combined. Why does the soda need to be free?”

���Cause. It’s fun.” Despite his infuriatingly charming smirk, Lee looked as tired as Ben was. It didn’t feel right to let him go alone. The least Ben could do was warn him if he was going to stumble into a wall on his way inside. A brighter smile perked on Lee’s face as Ben drew in a deep sigh and kicked himself free of the scarf, waving off Lee’s attempt to help. “Knew you couldn’t resist.” Lee pushed open his door and scanned the area raptly. “Looks like no one’s around, so you don’t even have to bother glamouring up.” As Ben spread his wings and flew outside, he found himself frankly shocked that Lee had managed to find the rest stop at all. The parking lot was overflowing with weeds growing through the cracks, and the brick structure of the rest stop itself seemed to blend in with the surrounding nothingness. Lee pushed past one of the grimy glass doors and held it open for Ben, waving his arm. “After you.” What waited within was no better than the outside. The main room was about the size of the occasional motel room they stayed in when they particularly needed to lay low. It was poorly lit by a couple of hanging light bulbs. Four brick pillars placed unevenly across the room kept the sagging ceiling from collapsing in on itself, and short halls on either end led to the restrooms. It was no wonder the place was utterly vacant. Lee said it had more to do with the fact that it was the dead of night and the area wasn’t booming with tourists in the middle of autumn. “Should you even be driving?” Ben asked when he saw Lee hide a cavernous yawn for the third time since entering the rest stop. “We’re smack in the middle of nowhere,” Lee scoffed, fiddling with the change slot on one of the two rusty vending machines. “There isn’t anywhere to stop for the night.” “You could sleep in the car,” Ben pointed out, hovering by Lee’s shoulder to watch his long, nimble fingers work at tricking the machine. “Sylvia’s mentioned that Jon and Cliff do it all the time.” “Right. If I ever start living anything remotely close to their lifestyle, call them up to come shoot me.” His words were punctuated by rattling clang from within the vending machine that made Ben flinch back in his flight. Lee laughed triumphantly, swiping a bottle out from the opening at the bottom. “Like I said, these places practically want to be robbed.” “You don’t feel at least a little bad, taking from a place that’s already so--” A bodily twitch shook through Ben. His mouth went bone dry. Indefinable ease seeped through him as he looked side to side at both sets of glass double doors that led outside. His heart thumped madly against the inside of his chest. He had never felt that particular sensation of dread, but he knew precisely what it meant. “We have to go,” he choked out. “Yeah, no kidding,” Lee said, giving the room a disdainful glance. “We’ll be out in a sec. Lemme just get another one for the road.” He turned back to the machine, but Ben darted up between him and it. “I’m serious!” He couldn’t pull air properly, every nerve in his body howling. “We need to get out of here, now!” Lee blinked in surprise, his usual self-assurance melting into concern. He lifted his free hand, attempting to calm Ben. “Hey, take a breath. In through your nose, remember? What’s happening?” “I-I’ll tell you in the car,” Ben said, zipping down to grab one of Lee’s reaching fingers. He tugged the finger fervently, urging Lee toward the door. “Come on, just trust me! Something’s coming!” “Okay, okay.” Although Lee still looked at him like he was crazy, he followed after Ben, pushing the door open and hurrying outside. The unsettling sensation was approaching faster than they could escape it. The source of unease closed in on them with little fanfare: a rustle of weeds in the parking lot and a soft shudder of breath. Lee stopped in his tracks, Ben pulling to a hover just behind his shoulder. A thin figure stood several yards away, between them and the glossy black car. Ben only caught a short glimpse, but the terrifying aura he sensed billowing from her was enough to sear the sight into his mind: a gaunt blond woman with matted hair, wearing a denim jacket and a white knee-length dress stained with dark splotches of blood. Lee snatched Ben out of the air to put him out of sight, concealing him in a fist. The soda dropped to the ground. “Fuck,” Lee breathed. “What happened? Are you hurt?” Ben squirmed wildly in Lee’s grasp, trying to draw enough air to shout a warning. He could feel the slow steps Lee took toward the trembling woman. “Please,” came her plaintive whisper. “C-can you help?” “Yeah!” Lee was fumbling into his pocket with his free hand. “Do you have someone I can call? Or do you want the cops? Not sure how fast they could…” Lee trailed off. A low growl shivered through the air right before everything collapsed into chaos. Something crashed into Lee, making him lose his hold on Ben. For a few terrible moment, Ben was free-falling. He managed to snap his wings open just before he hit the ground. A sharp ache burst through his shoulders from the sudden flight, but that was the least of his worries. “Lee!” Ben whirled around. The woman’s face was pinched into something ghoulish. She snarled at Lee, baring a mouthful of pointed teeth. Lee scrambled backward, trying to get back to his feet, but the vampire was far quicker despite her emaciated appearance. She closed the distance and was on top of him in an instant, clawing and snapping her teeth as he tried to hold her back by her shoulders. As she closed in on his neck, Ben threw his hands out and shouted an incantation that mingled with Lee’s cry of pain. A gust of wind sliced across the parking lot, slamming into the vampire and sending her rolling across the weeds. “Run!” Ben flew down by Lee’s face and tried not to focus on the dark pool forming on his friend’s neck. In his peripherals, the vampire was swiftly recovering. “Go!” With the vampire between them and the car, Ben had no choice but to urge Lee back inside the rest stop. As they rushed inside, Ben still had his hands out, murmuring spell after spell at the doors. The moment the door swung shut, a sheen of glamour spread over the glass--and not a moment too soon. The vampire slammed into the door, her mouth and jaw red with blood. She let loose an ear-splitting shriek, viciously throwing herself against the glass over and over. The glamour would not give, but it seemed that neither would she. “Benny…” Lee’s legs gave out from under him. He collapsed on his side in the middle of the room. The top of his navy shirt was soaked and dark. He held one hand to his neck, red spilling between his fingers. His breath came in quick wheezes. “Hang on!” Ben flew down and landed on the ground to get a better angle on the injury. He coaxed Lee to move his hand out of the way. Teeth marks created a warped oval pattern at the base of Lee’s neck, each puncture raised and oozing. It was a nauseating sight, but Ben had healed deeper wounds. It wasn’t easy dividing his focus between healing and protective glamour, but he managed to close the bite on Lee’s neck and begin replenishing the lost blood. But Lee’s face was still pale, eyes still blind with agony. Maybe he had lost too much blood to be fixed. The vampire continued to throw herself against the glass doors, losing none of her vehemence, but the panic in Ben’s mind was far louder. “Lee?” Ben could barely utter his name, terror shaking through his voice as he struggled to keep his legs under him. He skittered back several steps, struggling to meet Lee’s unfocused gaze. “Stay awake. Do you hear me? Stay awake!” “Vampire?” was all Lee muttered, wavering eyes on Ben. Ben nodded slowly. Lee gave a noncommittal noise deep in his throat as he turned his eyes to the ceiling, breathing in short gasps. Wondering if he had missed something, Ben hurried over to the closed wound on Lee’s neck and pressed his hand to it. He flinched back, shaking away a burst of searing heat. The skin, though deathly pale, was piping hot. Ben stammered a cooling spell, praying it would help. “What are you feeling?” “Burning,” Lee wheezed. “It’s… it’s everywhere.” No sooner than he finished saying it, he grimaced and twisted, knocking Ben off his feet. Lee didn’t seem to notice, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes as he clawed at the grimy tiles. “B-Ben, please, colder.” Beginning to feel lightheaded, Ben staggered to stand and unleashed another spell. Between the glamour, healing, and cooling spells, he was left with a hollow feeling in his bones that only adrenaline managed to fill. But it didn’t seem to be enough. “We need to get out of here,” Ben pleaded, voice bordering on hysterics despite his determination to remain calm for Lee’s sake. “If you can get out through the other side, I can distract her long enough for you to get to the car.” Lee gave no answer. “I know! I know it’s risky, but we can make it! I’ll stay out her reach. Just start the car and open the window. I’ll be there.” The only sounds came from vampire banging her head against the glass. “Lee?” The panting breaths had ceased. “Lee!” Ben pressed his hand to Lee’s neck. Where his skin had once burned was now ice cold. There was no breath, no heartbeat. Just stillness. Stumbling back, Ben opened his wings and flew up. He could only stare, adrenaline draining away and leaving him empty. Lee’s eyes were half-mast and vacant. Red stood out against his pale, icy skin. The door rattled as the vampire threw herself once more into the glass. A growing sense of dread had Ben’s heart beating out of control. It was likely from his glamour beginning to fail, beginning to let in the vampire’s repulsive aura. But it was insignificant compared to the motionless body on the tiles. Each throbbing heartbeat in Ben’s ears seemed to mock him. Dead, dead, dead. He should have sense the vampire sooner, should have warned Lee to get out of the rest stop faster-- Lee’s lips parted to draw in a desperate gust of air. Ben seized up with crippling relief. “Lee!” But it was as if the relief hit an impenetrable wall. No sooner than he said Lee’s name, a fresh chill crawled up his spine. The same chill he sensed right outside the glass doors. Except it came from right in front of him now, too. Backing up in the air, Ben watched in silent horror as Lee blinked his eyes open and winced at the dim light overhead. He pushed himself to sit up carefully, swaying as if he could barely manage even that. “Ben?” Lee gave him a dazed look. “You’re… are you okay? Your heart’s beating real fast.” Ben didn’t move. He couldn’t. This wasn’t real. If he moved, it might become real. But for now, as long as he stayed put, there was a chance it wasn’t. There was a chance it was all a dream, a horrible dream. With his resolve in place, he couldn’t stop his glamour from failing. With a deafening explosion of glass, the vampire landed in a heap on the tiles. She scrambled to her feet and rushed at Lee, hissing and flashing her razor-sharp teeth. Lee’s drowsiness vanished. He straightened to his feet like a marionette yanked up by its strings. Ben barely had time to move out of the way, getting a full view of Lee’s face pulling into an animalistic scowl. And his eyes... the whites were as red as the blood on his neck, and his normally-blue irises were dead white. His lips curled back revealing a set of grotesquely sharp teeth. As the woman leaped at him, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her into one of the vending machines, shattering the glass. She jumped up and made another lunge at him, but he was more than ready. He ducked and wheeled around her, gripping her by the neck and swinging her into a pillar. He was wildfire trapped in human skin. Not human, a quiet voice told Ben in the back of his mind. Not anymore. In all his attempts to heal, his panicked mind had refused to register what happened to vampire-bitten humans. As the clawing and snarling raged on, Ben’s wings began to give out. He flew behind the farthest pillar and sank to his knees. He trembled and covered his ears, but there was no blocking out the noises of the monstrous fight. Growls and snarls rattled through his bones. Impact against the walls and pillars shook the room. He could even hear the sound of flesh being pierced. And then came the wet snap of bone. The woman made a noise that shriek couldn’t begin to cover. It was as if the noise came from an amplifier that couldn’t contain its own volume. Something was thrown across the room and hit the floor with a disgustingly soft thud that Ben’s ringing ears barely registered. More snaps and splintering, and the awful howling ceased. It was replaced by an eerie noise somewhere between growling and moaning. For what felt like a lifetime, Ben didn’t move. And when he did move, it was as though someone else was controlling him. He shifted to peer around the side of the pillar. At first glance, he only caught a glimpse of bright red, then lowered his eyes swiftly. Bracing himself. He made himself lift his gaze back up. The inside of the rest stop was splattered with red--the walls, the vending machines, the intact doors. Even one of the lightbulbs had been sprayed with enough blood to cast the room in a faint red hue. Things that hadn’t been there before were strewn about the tiles. Ben’s mind refused to accept what he was looking at for a moment, but the longer he stared, the more it became clear. A skinny leg severed at the knee lay on one side of the room. A torn arm lay across from it. And in the center of it all, Lee was knelt over the mangled woman, whose head hung at a horrendously bizzare angle. Lee’s eyes were squeezed shut, jaws locked around her neck as he slurped and gulped like a man who had found an oasis in the desert. The sight flayed Ben from the inside, his horror accumulating into a broken whimper. He covered his mouth, but it was too late. Lee’s head flinched up, red-and-white eyes latching onto Ben, accosting him with their intensity. He let go of the corpse. “Ben.” Ben twisted around and spotted the shattered door on the other side of the small building. Lee followed his gaze and tensed, eyes narrowing like a predator preparing to pounce. Mind reeling from the instinctive alarms blaring in his mind, Ben opened his wings and charged for the door, but Lee closed the distance faster than should have been possible. “Stop,” Lee gasped. “You can’t leave!” In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Ben, who couldn’t halt his momentum fast enough to keep from flying right into his pursuer’s hands. Fingers locked around his body, holding him in such a way that the slightest amount of force would snap him, just like the woman. I’m next. Ben lowered his head, assaulted by the stench of blood coating Lee’s hands. Lee fell to his knees, leaning over him. “You can’t leave,” Lee repeated. The surrounding aura flooded Ben’s senses, wailing that he was in the grasp of a bloodthirsty monster. Red smeared further onto Ben as Lee lifted him higher. Ben kept his head down, unable to make himself see those horrible eyes and teeth again. He couldn’t fight. Incantations stuck in his throat. The end was coming, and he couldn’t even open his mouth to stop it. Lee said it a third time, not as loud. “You can’t leave.” It came out like a broken plea. “Ben… it’s okay. It’s okay. You’re safe.” The grip loosened, and Lee tilted his hand to try and force Ben’s gaze toward him. Ben broke out of his stillness, twisting away from Lee’s potent stare and letting out quick, panicked breaths. “N-no,” Ben gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. “No!” “Benny, please.” At the back of his mind, Ben remembered learning that vampires could have compulsion powers, A glamour of their own. But this didn’t feel like that. He stopped, then slowly forced himself to look. Lee’s eyes were their familiar blue shade, brimming with intense concern. His teeth were no longer pointed, but the lower half of his face was still painted red. Gagging, Ben turned away again. Lee didn’t plead for him to look back. Instead, he gazed at the rest of the room, as if taking it in for the first time. Locking eyes onto the dead vampire, Lee went absolutely still for a second, then began to shake. The restraining hand lowered suddenly to the ground, releasing Ben. He fell in a heap, scrambling to right himself. He backed away to get some distance, but there was no need. Lee shifted away and sat against the wall to steady himself. He stared straight at what he had done, chest beginning to move faster. He looked like the wildfire had finally died and maybe it’d taken him down with it. “That… I couldn’t… This can’t be happening,” he murmured, seemingly to himself. He looked down at his hands, staring at the fresh blood coating them, then glanced at what had transferred onto Ben. Ben tried not to wonder if it was a hungry gleam that sparked in Lee’s eyes. Whatever it was, it was gone quickly, replaced by a disgusted shudder. Lee dropped his face in his hands and began hyperventilating. “When the fuck did these lights get so bright?” He shuddered again, closing his fists against his eyes. “Why is everything so loud? I swear, I can hear a fucking raccoon digging through the dumpster outside! I can smell it!” His breaths, already short and gasping, worsened. Ben watched until it became too hard to stand by. He shuffled toward Lee. With each step forward, he yearned to take three steps back. Danger roared in his nerves, but he fought it and shushed the instinct that he was approaching his murderer. Muttering a spell, Ben waved his hands. A shimmer of glamour surrounded Lee like a shield that protected him from his own overloading senses. “I-is that better?” Ben asked. Lee raised his face from his hands and blinked, reaching out to brush his fingertips through the glimmering shield. “What… what is it?” “Glamour. I use it all the time… Remember?” Wearing an exasperated look, Lee almost looked normal. “I’m a vampire, not an amnesiac.” He glanced at the magic again. “Just… has it always looked like that?” Ben sighed. “Humans can’t see it.” The statement hung in the air for a long while, truly making reality sink in for Lee. “So… am I some kind of double vampire, since I drank a vampire’s blood?” Ben shuddered. “I hope not.” The mention of the vampire made him glance toward the body. He quickly averted his eyes. “You should go clean yourself up as best you can in the restroom. We need to get far away from here.” Turning to look at the woman, Lee clenched his jaw. “We can’t just leave her like that. She… I mean, shit, she probably didn’t ask to be like that!” “Lee. The sun is going to rise, and you’re going to need to be indoors. We… we don’t have time.” Giving the deceased vampire one last, sorrowful glance, Lee pushed himself up against the pillar to stand, watching Ben with a strange sort of wariness as he fluttered up from the ground. “I’m not going anywhere,” Ben assured, though he had trouble meeting Lee’s gaze. “Your heart’s beating fast again.” Although it was an accusation, his tone was oddly resigned. As if he wouldn’t stop Ben from flying off this time. “Take a look at yourself in the mirror, and you might get an idea of why.” Ben felt a new chill dip through his body. He hadn’t been so afraid of snapping at Lee since the days they first knew each other. He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.” Lee’s gaze stayed locked on him for a dozen fluttering heartbeats. “You knew she was coming. You could feel it.” He looked down at himself, then back at Ben. “Is that what you feel right now?” Ben didn’t answer right away, biting down hard on his lip. “It’s… it’s not that bad. I know it’s you.” “Aren’t you afraid I’m going to break you open and drink your blood?” Ben’s eyes snapped to him. Yes. “No.” Ben forced a weak smile. “Come on, I was already afraid you were going to do that when we first met. It’s kinda lost its zest. Now go clean up. We can’t waste any more time.” Lee’s unnervingly steady gaze remained on him a while longer. It was far from the first time he had frightened Ben, but this was different. Humans could be cruel and unpredictable, but vampires were made to kill. But Lee didn’t push the matter. He stepped away, heading toward the men’s room. He took the beastly aura with him, granting Ben the ability to breathe a little easier for the time being. Wings buzzing erratically, he stared at the shattered door. A nonstop alarm in his head told him that he should seize the opportunity to escape from the monstrosity that his friend had become. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. No matter how badly he wanted to.

[selfless1978]

The Dance

Vicky woke slowly. Something that was very unusual for her. Normally she was jolted awake, haunted by things she saw in her dreams. Images she had lived through and still haunted her. It was one of the reasons she slept so poorly and why she chose to be a night owl.

This was also something she never told him about. Not wanting to seem more broken to him than she was letting on. After all, why would the strong one want to be around a woman who could break at literally any given reason, and almost had a few times in the last few months alone as she struggled to figure out what exactly she wanted.

No, this was still fresh and new for her to risk spoiling it with the shadows of her past and the demons haunting her mind.

Still, she was in somewhat of awe as she woke. Eyes blinking softly as she opened them. Looking around in a moment of confusion as she registered where she exactly was. And she was in his bed, naked and next to him with one of his large arms draped over her as he slept on. And suddenly everything came back to her on what exactly had happened last night.

Now, her body began to protest. He had wore her out, and she was definitely sore. All over the place, but none calling her attention more than the gentle, but good, ache between her legs and into her core.

He had made good on months of gentle threats. He had exhausted her, and in doing so forced her into a sleep that was restful. Because he had unknowingly hit upon the reason why she pushed herself past the point of exhaustion on a regular basis, so her mind would be to tired to dream.

Vicky looked at his sleeping face with something akin to wonder. Something that would probably have confused him if he were awake to see it. Probably not understanding the reason behind the soft look, and the gentle hand that rested now lightly on his cheek. 

She could have stayed like this, curled up next to him under that tree trunk arm. The woman was very reluctant to move, both because she was completely comfortable and at ease here, and she didn’t want to risk waking him. Her screaming bladder had other ideas though.

Damn bladder.

With painstaking effort, slowly removing his heavy arm and wincing when she noticed he was partially lying on her long hair, Vicky somehow managed to slip out of the tangled covers of the bed and went on the hunt for a toilet.

A few moments later, she was looking at herself in the mirror as the toilet made it’s racket behind her. As she washed her hands, she looked in the mirror. Her hair was a messy, tangled, frightheap and there were a few marks that reminded her vividly as how she got them. Her face flushed as she remembered. He, definitely didn’t have any qualms of marking her. Not that her scratching nails were any better. Lord, he had done something to her last night, she had lost almost all control.

She quickly washed her face and struggled to bring her hip length hair back into some sense of normalcy. It wasn’t perfect, but at least she didn’t look like she stuck her finger in a light socket anymore. It would have to do.

The next surprise came in the form of the loud sound that came out of her stomach. She probably should shower or something first, but she was suddenly ravenously hungry. Shower could wait, she wanted food.

This was surprising to her because Vicky really wasn’t much of a morning anything. Not a happy person when she first woke up, for reasons already mentioned, and couldn’t really eat. She was just never hungry. In fact, she tended to go most of the day without really eating anything, but was a ravenous carnivore when supper time came around. That came from years of sleeping in, usually until noon. If she could sleep at all. Breakfast, just never was a priority for her.

On silent feet, she padded back out and grabbed her phone, putting on some music as she now shifted towards his kitchen. Her finger tapped lightly on her pursed lips as she took a moment to survey the space. Wondering where he kept what before the phone was set down and she began to gather things.

Music filled her ears as she started, the songs in the playlist she picked were slow, and quiet. And many of them favorites. and, as usual, she began to hum and sing softly along while being very mindful to not reach screeching levels so she wouldn’t wake him up.

Somewhere in the middle of this soft music breakfast making Vicky had decided that Raph was going to get breakfast too. After all, it wasn’t fair that she cook just for herself using his stuff. And, she wanted to do something special for him.

Soon enough, the smells coming from the stove was really making her mouth water, good Lord she was starving, but even this couldn’t keep her mind from wandering. Where she should have focused on the cooking food, her brain went everywhere else, mainly thinking about him.

About Raph.

This had been something she never really expected to happen. Almost her entire attention had been focused on another brother for so long, she hadn’t even considered this possibility. She stared blankly at the stove top as her mind replayed the last few months. Even during her mental journey, she continued to sing softly. The current song, that she had put on repeat, forcing her to think on the time passed and subject even harder.

What would I do without your smart mouth Drawing me in, and you kicking me out Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down What's going on in that beautiful mind I'm on your magical mystery ride And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright

What would she do? She didn’t know. Raph had somehow quietly snuck up behind her while she was mooning over someone else. His teasing and flirting becoming more and more something she had looked forward to. She enjoyed trading snarky but playful insults with him. Nothing really bad, just things that brought a smile to both their faces. Soon enough she found herself more drawn to him. Most of her time visiting was spent with him. And things just finally came to a head. A tension that had been slowly growing finally evolved into...this.

Whatever this was.

My head's under water But I'm breathing fine You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

There was still a large amount of confusion in her. This was something she knew and understood one night together wouldn’t fix. Her head was swimming, her thoughts remained on him, she wondered, she worried. What if she really wasn’t what he wanted. Raph was impulsive, a tease, flirt and could be at times a grumpy ol’ bear, but she couldn’t deny he had treated her with dignity and respect.

He was Raph, and she began to wonder if she was biting off more than she could chew with him. She had no regrets, but she did wonder, what next?

'Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections Give your all to me I'll give my all to you You're my end and my beginning Even when I lose I'm winning 'Cause I give you all, all of me And you give me all, all of you

Her humming turned to soft singing. Completely unaware that she did it because her mind was still thinking of Raph. And because of that she missed the tell tale sign of the eggs starting to turn a dangerous brown on the edges as she stirred the hash browns. 

Vicky was lost in her own world now. Images of the past mixing with hopes of the future and the thousand possible outcomes. Already admitting to herself that she was growing more attached to him than she probably should. Even if he had brushed that worry away. Just because he dismissed it didn’t mean it wouldn’t still plague her.

She was that kind of person who had a hard time letting comforting words actually comfort. Anything could be said in the heat of the moment and later something else was usually done. She had been on the receiving end of that far too many times to just let words alone comfort her.

She snapped back to reality when one of the eggs let out a large, sizzling pop. Some of the grease pegging her on her still bare stomach. She ignored the brief pain as she looked at the stove in dismay.

“Oh no….” Her voice was on the edge of tears. 

Smoke, was billowing out of the oven, probably protesting the now burnt presence of the biscuits in there. Hurriedly she opened the appliance, and was met with a large plume of the choking stuff before the sight of black biscuits was revealed.

“God dammit!” She hissed softly as she snatched them out of the oven, dropping the baking pan onto the counter with a clatter. The oven mitt was removed and thrown against the wall in her frustration. Just as her attention came back to the eggs, the edges now black and turned into themselves. This too was hurriedly removed from heat and the pan dumped into the sink. Eggs completely ruined.

Hash browns, she still had the hash browns, right?

Nope. Here, she hadn’t turned the heat up enough and they were a soggy, limp clump of something in the middle of the pan. 

Now she fought to hold in her tears as she looked at the wonderful mess in front of her. “It’s ok.” She tried to calm herself. “Just try again. You can still surprise him.”

“So,” Vicky jumped at the sound and spun quickly to see Raph standing there, placing a toothpick in his mouth as his eyes wandered around her masterpiece of mayhem “looks like I need ta get ya singing and cookin’ lessons. Can’t have ya in here demolishing my kitchen on a regular basis while my poor ears suffer.”

How many times do I have to tell you Even when you're crying you're beautiful too The world is beating you down, I'm around through every move You're my downfall, you're my muse My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you

She stood there, her hands wringing each other as she stared at him. The tears now rapidly building. Her attempt was now completely ruined and she closed her eyes tight to try and hold those damn little tattling balls of water in her eyes. She even dropped her head, hiding behind her hair as she turned away. Not saying anything to him as she began to clean up her mess. Once she was out of his view, she felt the moisture trail down her cheeks. Don’t let him see them, just don’t let him see them....

Before she could even wipe them away, she was gently turned around and found herself pulled against his chest and his arms pinned her there as he hugged her. Very gently despite his massive frame. His voice so low, and comforting, that she felt it rumble in his chest.

“Hey, ’s okay.” He felt his head rest on top of hers. 

“No it’s not.” Vicky blubbered against him. “I wanted to make you breakfast, and I ruined it.”

Raph was quiet a moment, trying to figure out what to say, and to figure out why a messed up meal preparation set her off this bad. It was just food after all. Maybe there was something deeper going on in that head of hers. He just remained quiet, holding her against him as she cried herself out.

My head's under water But I'm breathing fine You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

She did slowly calm. Her soft crying turning into messy hiccups before the last tear was just a moist memory on her skin. Vicky took a deep, shuddering breath and leaned against his bare chest. Eyes closed as she held him and calmed more. The most frightening looking of the four brothers being the one who seemed to know to calm her.

“I’m sorry.” She finally mumbled into his chest. 

“Fer what?” He asked his tone amused. “Smoking me out of my home or rubbing yer snot all over me?”

Vicky laughed lightly and looked up at him. “For both.”

He just grinned back at her.

'Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections Give your all to me I'll give my all to you You're my end and my beginning Even when I lose I'm winning 'Cause I give you all of me And you give me all, all of you Give me all of you

“Dance with me.” Came suddenly.

“What?” 

“You heard me, I want you to dance with me. Please.” 

“Well, since ya at least said please....” He huffed a little and Vicky grinned at him, clearly seeing through his grumpy façade.

It wasn’t much of a dance per say. The two stayed close, Vicky still against his chest as they moved slowly and softly to the piano sounds that came out of her phone. Their gentle swaying doing even more to calm the flighty woman’s nerves. Soon enough she had her eyes closed, just happy to be next to him, feeling his large frame against hers as they danced.

Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts Risking it all, though it's hard

Close to the end of the song, she looked up at him again. Her eyes now soft and a hand reached up to cup his cheek, much like she had done earlier while he was still sleeping. “Thank you, Raph. For everything.”

Then she pulled his head down for a gentle kiss before the big loon could say something snarky like ‘I should thank you fer not burning down my kitchen.’

'Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections Give your all to me I'll give my all to you You're my end and my beginning Even when I lose I'm winning 'Cause I give you all of me And you give me all of you

I give you all, all of me And you give me all, all of you

The song faded, but they still held each other close for a few moments. Vicky not really ready to let go and Raph just letting her have what she needed at the moment. 

Finally, she pulled away with a light sigh and looked at her mess. “I suppose I should clean this up.”

“Would be nice. Since you made the damn mess. Then I’ll help ya and we can have a decent breakfast instead of this crap. I sure as hell ain’t eatin’ that.”

Raph quickly found out she had regained her own brand of snarky when she whipped out a dishtowel and popped him on his still bare ass with it. 

“Oh, babe, it’s on now.”

Vicky just giggled and ran, with the large turtle right on her heels.

@tri-point-bruiser