#im not trying to be patronizing here but not everyone is bothered by the same things
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rafeandonlyrafe · 8 months ago
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Why did you feel the need to put a fucking WARNING for reader being “chubby”? Love your fics so this was disappointing.
i get where youre coming from but i use warning very very loosely. if you look on any of my fics, a lot of things dont need a "warning", its more of just telling people things that are in the fanfic. also, some people might not to read about a chubby reader that mentions insecurities bc it could be triggering for them. if it isnt for you thats great but the warnings are for everyone, if i make any specific description of readers body (or even personality!), it gets put in the warnings
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mysteriousl0ser · 6 months ago
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FUCK IT, TADC EP 2 THOUGHTS MAJOR SPOILERS!! BE WARNED
LETS GO!! Pomni is still pretty screwed up over her first day here, I mean this is all fresh and new to her so like DUH. everyone else here is somewhat or entirely adjusted and kind of just cope with the fact that theyre here I dont think pomni has really processed how long theyve been here?? In the pilot she seems SO bothered by how okay they are with this and willingness to do caines fuckass adventures
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i dont blame her, anywho pomni in her nightmare-induced state starts to abstract, she had to face an abstraction early on in her days here which like have to be pretty truamatizing (duh) and cried out to ANYONE, but where she called for help literally no one helped her “oh well” they though
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Pomni doesn't feel like anybody else cares, shes the only one whos still going through an adjustment phase and freaking the fuck out while everyone else is just going along with the adventure, something she still thinks is kinda pointless and doesn't get why anybody would waste their time here doing when they COULD be looking for a way out, why is she the only one who seems to still be distressed here? To feel lost? At least from her perspective, it seems that way. Unfortunately, these people have already been here for a while.
Pomski then meets someone whos just like her, their whole reality was shattered and they don't belong anywhere, mirroring how pomni feels at the moment, even if she still has some sort of grip now vs when she first got here
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And she finds comfort in that!!! Why is it that this NPC feels more real than the ACTUAL REAL PEOPLE trapped here with her??? Whatever the reason, its something to hold onto. Something to LATCH onto. Hes Real. or at least he feels real, and maybe she feels like she belongs with him because at least he knows the feeling, something shes not really felt w anyone else before
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This comfort and solidarity she has with gumigoo is shortlived however as she gets brutally reminded that he wasnt real. The anchor she had vanished and there's quite literally nobody to catch her fall.
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And i feel like ragatha trying to comfort her the way she did didnt help AT ALL. it was kinda a sore reminder that gumigoo is easily replaceable, and GOD thats so frustrating?? This thing felt so real to her and nobody seems to care that he just vanished!! If they could be so apathetic to this whos to say they wont just treat her demise just the same as she thought they would???
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But then something important happens. They have a funeral for Kaufmo, someone whos been established to be their friend way before Pomni ever came here. And maybe it didn't ever settle in before that kaufmo was a real person! Literally!! And he was real to them. Just like gumigoo though less directly they relate to being in pain and kind of in shock of losing someone who they cared about and who was a real person to care about to them AND LIKE YOU CAN SEE WHERE IT CLICKS IN HER FACIAL EXPRESSION HERE, THE CHANGE IN HER EYES AND THE WAY HER EXPRESSION LOSENS AT THIS IDK IT DRIVES ME CRAZY GOD THE ANIMATORS WENT OFF W THIS EP VS THE PILOT IM IM IM
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anyways anyways They have their funeral service, theres quite literally no reason for anyone to just lie and go along with whatever bs caines got going on, this also quite literally has nothing to do with him. This is kind of their own little way of keeping some sort of human traditions and respect for the human persons that get stuck here because they care. HELL you can even see pomni feel a little guilty here when ragatha says that his funeral was disrupted cause she arrived here
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anyways thats exactly it!! They fucking car!! This whole time pomni thought that they just didnt care and were kind of apathetic or downright patronizing her over all this and mocking her or whatnot, like in her dream sequence. But no, they all talk respectively about their memories and experiences with kaufmo, the things they shared together and the feelings they had. EVERYBODY was grieving. Ragatha who always tried to put on some cheerful and kind of irritating (to pomni at least) everythings fine facade (which also kind of feels less real to her at least i think so but i don't think she figured it to be a coping mechanism) to just straight up start crying and breaking up a bit, even mentioning how this does not ever get any easier and how shes had to deal with this plenty of times before.
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Zooble the usually apathetic and kind of asshole who keeps to themselves and gives off i don't care energy and probably gave off the impression that they didn't care about anyone here and just treated the people stuck here as an unfortunate fact and nothing more actually being vulnerable and probably doing the same as ragatha talking about their memories with kaufmo
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Kingers ALWAYS kind of zoned out or not really taking anything seriously and just being there completely lost in space, but here hes grounded, and even earlier in the episode when ragatha needed it most he remained grounded then too (tho pomni didnt see that i just wanted to mention it). Just like the others he grieves and lives in the unfortunate moment
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more of the kinger being grounded when the thought counts
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GANGLE- dude even if its for just a moment she smiles here despite having her tragedy mask and like her whole shtick is being of whatever mood or emotion her mask is allegedly wether she wants to or not, but no here shes more than just that, she smiles for a bit when reminiscing her moments with kaufmo only to go back into crying, and man shes always crying with her tragedy mask but its beyond as far as anyone can tell wether or not its really her or just because of her mask, but here? its really her, no matter what the mask on her face shows!! shes genuinely smiling despite having her comedy mask and shes genuinely crying which is very blatantly obviously different to the usual mask cry etc etc
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heres something about all this, it hits pomni in a way. These people ARE real, and they care. They care about her, they have nothing else but eachother and THATS something to latch onto. Thats something to hold her down, even if they just met pomni
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SPEAKING OF JUST MEETING POMNI she literally expressed how she didnt wanna just LEAVE gumigoo there by himself because she believes no one should just be left there
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the circus peeps just met pomni and just like how she felt a real connection to gumigoo in this digital hell she feels a sort of connection with these people too. Theyre gonna have her back all the same, maybe she wont feel so out of place and alone. BONUS THING!! The literal only times she genuinely smiles is when she feels this real connection to what feels real to her and has a genuine and sincere moment with these people whether it be an npc or a trapped member. Idk it just means something to me how significant both these moments are tipped off with a genuine smile a REAL SMIE!! (id add pictures but tumblr has a 30 image limit) OH ALSO BONUS BONUS THING THE DIFFERENCE IN OUTRO MUSIC IS SO IS SO ITS SO the outro song for the pilot kinda feels so ethereal and out of the moment at least to me it kinda feels like it you're slipping through the cracks and just, existing within yourself as the rest of the world around you kind of shatters into glass or melts into water or something i dont think ANY of that made any sense but its loud and its blaring and its so out of reach in a way, mad disassociation vibes but the outro song for the 2nd ep is a lot quieter yet its right there, at first it starts really small, lonely even. trapped by yourself but as the music gets louder and more instruments join in on the song it kind of has a comforting feel? bittersweet? even? its grounding ina way which is much different from how the first one felt at least to me lmao and the comforting feel kinda only emphasizes what I was talking about earlier- the comfort in having that anchor of reality with having a real moment with these people and making that connection yk? and like as i was saying at first the song starts off with just one instrument, at the start of the episode pomni feels utter alone and out of place even if these people here with here are stuck in the same situation as her, together alone. but as the other instruments join. in it kinda uplifts the song a bit, its not one sole instrument anymore like how in the end pomni feels that connection with everyone else, not so alone anymore idk jackshit about music theory so this is entirely a feelies talk instead of like- music lore? so don't take anything i say as like- idk some professional speak im just a nerd nerding about silly digital fixations ANYWAYS THATS ALL FOR NOW I AVE MORE TO SAY BUT THIS IS LONG ENOUGH LOL if you actually read all the way down this far thank you for listening!!! i really really appreciate it :]
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helplessautomaton · 8 months ago
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hii could request message 4 with Poe? pleaseee
4 (“i'm so glad you feel the same cause i refuse to leave you”)
personally loving the individual poe requests (even though the event is over) despite the little hard ships. sorry for my slowness im struggling here mentally but im trying!!
WC 649 // tws: average Y!poe being a tad bit creepy (nothing sexual dw)
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The bookstore and library was your favorite place to visit, the quietness and overall tranquility kept bringing you back along with your preferred genre. The workers at the bookstore memorized your face, greeting you like you were one of their own. You really couldn't ask for more, everyone knew how to keep tight and not bother anyone. The bookstore was tiny and uneventful but it had all the right books you wanted and it kept drawing you back every time.
Other patrons of the bookstore were just as pleasant, your own personal wonderland. Recently a new person came in, the outfit worn was wildly different than any other usual clothing you’d seen. You only admired from afar, really it was all you could do for a man who stood out completely in a small store. It's hard not to gawk eyes at a man with a raccoon on his shoulders purring happily at his company. You don't remember how you got to talking with the man, he was pleasant as he could be. Much to your surprise you two got along fairly fast, you loved to talk about everything about the current book you were into that month. You got more out of the tiny bookstore when hanging out with the man, Poe alongside his best friend, Karl. hanging out and drinks were commonplace with the two of you, you didn't fear Poe. 
Yet with all the moments you hung out with him, it was hard to fully grasp all the complexities hidden within the man you spend every second with. His beautiful eyes swirling with admiration towards every detail about your figure then to a dark glimmer when it's anyone else near you. His endless rants were genuinely nice to listen to and you’d even asked questions to some of the rambled up words and plans he’d spit out comfortably with you. Clasping his hands together with a massive smile on his face as he rambled on more excitedly the two of you sharing ideas with each other. You never knew the full extent to the insanity you led him to during the first moments of ever meeting him.
The way your hair and eyes caught his heart enough to start twisting and distorting his very reality with every soft moment of yours. The multitude of letters piling up in a hidden away drawer, never to see any light ever since the first ink drop sealed on to the soft material. 
Your feelings came slowly, not yet in true love but enough to risk some of your wellbeing for him. Poe was glad you two never got interrupted often, his jealousy is an ugly beast that he couldn't let you see just yet. You’d understand no? Understand the burning love within his heart that could only burn because of you? Every late night spent feeling his mind slip away and every part of you filling the space up, every immoral thought of keeping you by his side forever. Every touch of his hands covering up his face at the mere thought of a simple kiss from your lips. It's driving him mad and there's no sign of stopping. But his question was answered when you asked him to stay just a little longer.
You confessed to him, full understanding if he wasn't interested but the barely contained whisper that left his mouth was all you wanted. “i-I’m so glad you feel the same ca-cause i refuse to leave you.”
The swirl of madness in his eyes only worsened and he took you by hand aggressively spouting nonsense in a state of flustered obsession. “I’ve wa-waited so long for this moment!”  He was so happy you loved him back! Now you won't ever leave him right? Won't go out of your way to leave the world he's building just for the two of you? Afterall you feel the same.
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thewhitejournal · 4 years ago
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Just One More Night
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Aaron Hotchner x Female!Reader Series
hello everyone! welcome to a new series im starting, this one was actually requested by @art-and-thoughts so shoutout to them. i’ll put their request below so you can read what it’s about, and i hope you all enjoy! :)
plot: Shortly after getting divorced, Hotch needs some sort of distraction from his work and personal life, he ends up meeting a younger girl and they start a casual relationship. He doesn’t want to know much about her than what’s necessary, so they just meet for ~sexy times~ and it works good for both of them for a while. The reader is graduating in communities and criminology; JJ finds out she’s going to have a baby, so she decides to call someone from outside to “coach” and replace her. That’s how the reader ends up at the BAU.
content warnings: smut, cursing, a bit commanding here and there, fingering, oral (male receiving)
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Finals kicked your ass, that was a fact. You stepped out of the study hall and your tennis shoe met snow, covering the steps to the doors. You kicked yourself internally for not checking the weather, shivers already taking over your body. Snow went flying from the ground as you rushed to your car, a sheet of it falling off the roof when you slammed the door. The cold didn’t necessarily bother you, but not dressing appropriately for it did. Your car sputtered to life when you turned the key in the ignition. While you tried warming yourself up and while you waited for the defrost to kick in, you checked your phone.
The cold metal of the thing wasn’t exactly comforting, but your notifications were coming in at record speed. The group chat you and your roommate and the friends you’d met since last year made together kept bombarding you with who’s typing and who’s already said something. A little part of you dreaded opening it, knowing you were probably fully behind on whatever was happening.
They loved you, that’s for sure. But they always teased you for being ‘addicted to school’, and that you needed help for your addiction. You couldn’t help you were devoted to your future, the career at the FBI looking closer every day. It’s always been your goal. More specifically, you wanted to be a profiler. Ever since you started researching career paths and colleges in your senior year of high school, it stuck with you. You wanted it, and when you found something you wanted, you weren’t giving up until you had it. Hell, you’d just got done reviewing the subjects for next semester.
A sigh escaped your lips as you opened the chat. The rundown of it was that they wanted to get together for drinks to celebrate the end of the semester. You weren’t much of a party person, but you knew it wasn’t an option for you since they said they would be meeting there in half an hour. All you wanted to do was go back to the dorm and pass out, but you figured, why the hell not? You knew you deserved a break; one night couldn’t hurt.
After making the short drive to the dorms about half a mile away, you turned the car off and hurried inside. You came in with a bluster of cold air, kicking off your wet shoes next to the door. Your roommate was getting ready in the bathroom; her favorite ‘hype’ music was playing and you could smell the hairspray from the front door.
You didn’t have time to shower, and you figured it was fine since you had one this morning. So you fixed yourself up, doing a little more makeup and slipping into the outfit your friend picked out for you. You stepped into the bathroom next to her to fix your hair.
“(Y/N), going out without bitching? Are you feeling alright?” She teasingly put the back of her hand to your forehead as if to feel for a fever. You rolled your eyes, smacking her hand away. Both of you shared a laugh. Within minutes, you two were ready to go. You piled into your car, which was still a little warm, and started driving to the bar they picked out.
Once you were inside, you saw your other friends waiting for you, drinks already on their table. They waved you over as if you couldn’t see them; they were already tipsy. A smile grew on your lips as you and your friend walked over to them, happy to see your friends happy.
“To this shitty semester finally being over!” Your roommate toasted, a shot already in her hand. She was holding one out to you, and you took it, clinking your glass with the other girls before downing it. After sitting and talking and laughing and drinking for a while, you started surveying the bar and its patrons. Your curious gaze fell on a table of men, one of them significantly older than the rest. He had a glass of whiskey in front of him. His hands that donned a huge ring with an insignia that you couldn’t make out were gesturing in the air like he was telling a story.
The man standing next to him looked to be about your age, maybe older. He was a skinny little thing, listening intently to the older man’s story with a smile on his face. He looked like he was drinking some kind of sparkling water. The other guy was buff, wearing a tight, grey t-shirt. Dark brows on his forehead danced with emotion as the story went on. His smile was huge; he had some beautiful teeth for a guy. A beer dangled casually in his hand.
The fourth man was unlike the rest of them in his own way. He was wearing a brown pullover and dark jeans, his short black hair gelled and styled. His fingers twirled a whiskey glass on the table, and it was about empty. You noticed a tan line on his ring finger, but no ring. This was intriguing. A Rolex shined on his right wrist. He had a small smile on his face, adding to the story here and there and laughing. You couldn’t hear it, but you were sure it sounded lovely. His brown eyes crinkled when he smiled.
“(Y/N), what the hell are you staring- oh, I see. The skinny one?” Your roommate Rachel asked you, her gaze fixed on the men now, too. She looked at him like she was a lion and he was a gazelle, and it was dinner time. You chuckled, shaking your head.
“No, Rach. Don’t worry about it.” She gave you a knowing look like you weren’t getting away with it that easy. Her body turned towards you, and she leaned on the table. Her brows furrowed.
“Which one, then? Cause brown jacket’s been making eyes on you since you walked in.” She stated. You turned to face her, your eyes widening.
“Oh my god, can you keep your fucking voice down?”, you hissed under your breath. You tried looking over at them inconspicuously, to see if they’d heard, but you couldn’t tell. You felt the blush creeping up your neck and onto your cheeks. A sly smile made its way to her face. She giggled.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” She prodded your arm, laughing. You tried to play it cool, trying to make her calm down, but it wasn’t working. She burst into laughter, nearly doubling over so hard she about fell into the floor. God, she was drunk. You glanced over at the table, and you swore you saw him looking over, but only for a second.
Butterflies started roaring inside of you, in your stomach and even wandering lower. It was like nothing you’d ever felt before. The liquid courage started flowing through your veins, your heart pumping in your chest. You might’ve gone over and said, or ever did, something if you were a hundred percent sure he was interested. But you weren’t. Rachel eventually recovered from her laughing fit, leaning on you like you were the only thing holding her up. You steadied her as best as you could.
“Rachel, you should drink some water. You’re wasted.” You rubbed her arm, a concerned look on your face. She stared at you for a second, copying the look on your face.
“Fine,” she slurred, “You need the courage more than me anyway.” Your brows furrowed, giving her an inquisitive look. She giggled, covering her mouth when she let a snort out. “Because...look behind you…”, she whisper-said, falling on your other friend to her left. You felt your heart speed up in your chest, your body turning on your heel.
The man was sauntering over to you, his friends cheering him on behind him. He was laughing and shaking his head. You chewed on the inside of your cheek as he got closer. Fuck, he was tall. That smile on his lips made you blush, and the look in his eyes said more than words ever could.
When he finally reached you, he slipped an arm around your waist and leaned down to whisper in your ear. He smelled like pine and leather, and you felt your body tense up. There’s no way this was happening. The hottest guy in the bar, picking you out of the crowd? This never happened.
“Wanna get out of here?” He smelled like alcohol, but you were sure you did too. It took everything in you not to moan at the mere rasp of his voice. You hummed in an affirming tone as a response. This wasn’t like you, but you didn’t care. He was hot and the looks he gave you alone were enough to get you soaking wet. He took your hand eagerly, pulling you out the door and towards a black SUV. The plates on the front looked like government plates, but surely not. The car wasn’t your focus at the moment, anyway.
He shoved you against the passenger door, somehow rough and gentle at the same time, his arms on either side of your waist. It took the breath out of you, but you were breathless already so it was hard to tell just how much of an effect it had on you. His dark eyes looked like those of a hungry predator, tracing all over your face and body. He licked his lips, eyes flickering from your eyes to your lips.
“Do you wanna do this?”, he asked you in a low and sultry voice. You put your hands on the sides of his face, nodding. You leaned forward and closed the gap between the two of you, pressing your body to his, along with your lips. His hand pulled your waist to his body, the other hand getting lost in your hair. He moaned against your lips, and you felt yourself twitch in your underwear. God, he was so fucking hot.
“Good, get in.”, he commanded. You’d never been talked to like that. Your pussy twitched again, and you had to hold back a whimper. He opened the back door for you, and you crawled inside. The backseat was spacious, which was quite useful for what was about to happen. He settled himself in the seat and shut the door behind him, locking the car and pulling you into his lap, his back against the door.
He smashed his soft, pink lips onto yours, his tongue twirling with yours. His lips left yours and he started trailing rough kisses down your neck, his teeth grazing your collarbone. You craned your neck back to give him more room, a little moan slipping from your lips. “Oh, you like that, baby?”, he asked you against your skin, his fingers slowly pulling down the straps of your dress onto your shoulders.
“Wait…”, you breathed out, and he pulled away. He asked if he’d done something wrong, an apologetic look in his eyes. He’s hot and respectful? Fuck. “No, I… I just want to know your name.” He chuckled deeply.
“Aaron. What’s yours, honey?” God, that voice was the death of you. You were surprised he couldn’t feel how wet you were through his jeans.
“(Y/N).” A smile grew on your lips, as did on his.
“Nice to meet you, (Y/N).”, he whispered, leaning into you again and kissing you. You slid your heels off and heard them clatter on the floor, kissing him back, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing yourself against him. Your legs fell over his waist, straddling him. He hummed contently against you, his huge hands resting on your waist.
Instinctively, you moved your hips against his jeans, a moan slipping through your lips. His hands fell to your thighs, hastily moving them under your dress to play with the hem of your panties. You whimpered, and he pulled away, looking you in the eyes.
“You want these off, (Y/N)?”, he purred in your ear.
“Fuck, yes, Aaron, please…” You were a mess, but you didn’t care. You just wanted him so bad, and you didn’t even know him. His fingers tugged at them, pulling them down your thigh and shoving them in his pocket, a sly smile on his face.
“Come here, baby.” You obliged, sliding your hands under his shirt as you kissed him roughly. He bit your lip, a yelp coming from you and a deep chuckle from him. The two of you parted for only a second so that his jacket and shirt could come off. You admired his skin in the faint light from a nearby streetlight. Something that stood out to you was all the scars on his stomach. You leaned down and kissed every single one of them, undoing his belt in the process. You could feel how hard he was through his jeans. He moaned, his head hitting the window. “Fuck, you’re so hot…” His voice sounded so attractive when he was hot and bothered.
His hands pulled you suddenly back into his lap, hands resting on your bare ass. “Your turn first.” His thumb had no problem finding your pulsing clit, and he started rubbing circles just the way you liked. You gasped, moaning and burying your face in his neck. He moaned too, pushing a finger inside you and pumping back and forth. “You’re so wet for me, (Y/N).” You couldn’t speak; the power he held over you was insane. He kissed your neck so roughly you knew it would leave bruises that you’d have to cover up. Good thing it was scarf season.
He added another finger, and you started riding him; you were a moaning and sloppy mess. You put your hands on his strong shoulders to steady yourself, and he moved his fingers faster. The knot in your stomach tightened, and you could hardly breathe. Your eyes rolled back into your head and all you could feel was his hot chest against you and his long fingers inside you as you rode out your orgasm on them. He pulled them out, and you instantly missed the feeling. You whined at the empty feeling.
“You want to clean them off or should I?” You could barely focus on his words, your pussy still pulsing.
“I want you to taste me.”, you breathed out. Without hesitation, he licked his fingers clean, amber eyes rolling into his skull and a guttural moan coming from deep inside him. You got turned on again just from that vision itself. He pulled your dress off of you and threw it on top of your panties on the floor. He hungrily stared at your chest, sucking on your nipple and playing with the other. Your hips bucked against the leather of the seat, a groan slipping from the both of you.
“Lie down.” You did as you were told, lying down on your back. He unzipped his jeans and kicked them off, but not before pulling a condom out of the back pocket. His dick was pushing against the thin fabric of his boxers. Fuck, he’s huge. Of course, he is. Going against orders, you sat up and looked up at him, taking him into your mouth. He groaned, pulling your hair back away from your face. “(Y/N), holy shit…” He thrust into your mouth, but you didn’t mind it. Your hands stroked his dick for what your mouth couldn’t take.
You pulled away, knowing he was ready. His light brown eyes from inside the bar were now pitch black, his chest heaving and sweat beading on his forehead. You put your hand behind his head and pressed your lips into his, and he moaned against you. You could feel his dick pressing onto the inside of your thigh, and your hips naturally started riding it. He wasn’t inside you yet, just slipping against you. Your nails dug into his back, the feeling too much to take. His hands held your waist so tight you think he might leave bruises, but that didn’t matter.
Hurriedly, he pulled the condom on his dick and made sure you were ready and willing before he started fucking you. Slowly at first, he thrust what felt like halfway inside you. He filled you up so nicely, like the two of you were made for each other. “Fuck, Aaron, just like that…”, you breathed out into his ear, moaning and rocking on top of him. He helped you stay steady as you took all of his dick, and he started speeding up. You held onto him like he was your last breath, and his wandering hand found your clit again, rubbing those familiar circles on it. He started sucking on your neck again, and you could feel him twitching inside you. You came not a second later.
You rode it out, seeing stars. He was breathing heavily, kissing your lips as softly as he did before you started. You kissed him back with what little energy you had left. “That was…”, he whispered, looking into your eyes. “Amazing. You’re amazing.”, he finished his thought.
“Wanna do this again sometime?”, you asked him shyly. He smirked at you. “Sorry, that was-“
“I do, (Y/N). Get dressed, I’ll drive you home.” You smiled at him, and he returned one. You didn’t worry about your phone or purse; one of your friends would grab them. He was dressed quickly and got out of the backseat, closing the door behind him and walking around the front of the car to get in the driver’s seat. You pulled your dress back on, along with your shoes.
The lack of Aaron’s body heat made you realize how cold it was this late into the night. You crossed your arms over your body, trying to make yourself as warm as possible. He motioned for you to get in the front seat, so you did, getting out of the car. The parking lot was almost empty, and it was snowing. You opened the passenger door, climbing in.
“Are you cold?”, he asked. He was warming the car up, turning dials and making sure it was getting defrosted. Not that it needed to do much work with all the heat you two made. You looked over at him; the caring look returned in his eyes. He looked handsome in the dim light of the center console. You nodded, and he pulled his jacket off and handed it to you. You gladly took it, his smell wafting around you when you slid it on. You told him where your dorms were, and he didn’t seem to mind that you were still in university.
The two of you drove in comfortable silence, the white flakes whizzing past the windows as he drove. Thoughts flooded your head about what had just happened, and how you felt about him. You couldn’t fall for him, but you had a feeling you could at some point if you weren’t careful. Unbeknownst to you, Aaron was having the same thoughts.
He parked outside your building, and he gave you his number and you gave him yours. You started taking the jacket off, and he stopped you. “Keep it. It’s cold out there.” You gave him a small smile and thanked him, and he pressed one last kiss to your lips before you got out of the car. He made sure you got inside the building before driving off. You watched the black SUV pull off in the white flurries outside. The plates caught your eye again; those were US government plates, for sure.
What the hell have you gotten yourself into?
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arrowflier · 3 years ago
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oh my god your xmen au!! i've just recently thought about them having powers and ian should def be a healer ❤️
it's so good, i'd love for you to continue or like... do another mutant au (same setting but later? im not picky haha)
as always, your writing is truly amazing!
Yeeesss thank you thank you thank you. I've been wanting to so bad but I'm already neglecting all my WIPs so I needed this excuse.
For everyone else, original here. I'm also tagging this for A.U.gust (hosted by the amazing @gallavichthings) because their professions are inspired by prompts 7 and 19.
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Ian was crouched over a client, hands flat on a wrinkled and twisted back, when Mickey fell through the door.
Ian stiffened, and not just because his gift was working on the man stretched out on the table in front of him. Mickey attempted to straighten himself on the coat rack by the door, but only succeeded in knocking it over, hands slick with blood.
Not his own, by the looks of it, and that was the only reason Ian kept working.
“What’s that racket?” his client croaked, trying to lift his head, but Ian pressed harder and pushed his gift deeper into the man’s muscles, forcing his neck to relax.
Ian winced as his own neck tensed further, but forced his head straight so he could watch as Mickey stumbled through the room before finally collapsing onto a chair. His head was down, but Ian could see faint streaks of red at his hairline, glistening in his dark hair when he ran a shaky hand through it. The spikes on his shoulders, exposed by a tear in his black shirt, lay flat and weak and similarly wet against his pale skin.
Ian swallowed hard, and removed his hands from the body in front of him.
“You’re done,” Ian rasped, waiting for the usual weariness and weakness to fade. He rubbed his eyes with a hand that felt more gnarled than it was, and grimaced. His eyelids felt like sandpaper.
“That’s it?” his client asked. They weren’t one of his usuals, just someone that heard about him from a friend. Ian tried to accept new clients where he could, especially those that found him by word of mouth—there wasn’t much else he could do in the way of advertising without a license or registration for his unorthodox mutation.
“That’s it,” Ian confirmed, and tapped the edge of the table impatiently, waiting for the man to get up and leave. He should be perfectly capable of that sort of movement for at least a few days, if he didn’t do anything too stupid with his newfound physical freedom.
“I heard you offer…other services,” the old man said slyly, twisting to look at Ian as he sat up and swung his legs toward the floor. “For a price, of course,” he added, smiling like he knew something.
Clearly, he did not.
“No anymore,” Ian answered shortly. “And never for patrons of your type.”
“Of my type?” the man repeated, voice now rising with suppressed anger. “And what does that mean, you mutant scum?”
“Means he don’t like wrinkly old man balls no more,” Mickey called out from across the room, and Ian had never been so grateful to hear his rough voice, despite what it was saying.
“It doesn’t,” he assured his client. “I mean, I don’t, but—”
“No need to explain, boy,” his client stated—probably ex-client now, and Ian should really feel worse about watching him leave.
Instead, he held his breath until the door slammed behind that narrow, weak back, and then immediately darted over to throw the bolt.
Room secured, Ian took a moment to breathe, in and out, as the last of the other man’s fatigue finally left him.
“You gonna stand there all night?” Mickey asked, somewhat quieter, behind him. “Or are you gonna come patch me up, doc?”
Ian turned to see Mickey struggling to rise from his seat, and was there in a few long strides to push him down again with a firm hand on his shoulder. Mickey hissed as Ian rubbed his spikes the wrong way, but let himself be secured.
Without thinking about it, Ian stroked his hand down, following those dangerous barbs along the length of Mickey’s bare arm. He wasn’t worried about them; he had seen firsthand the danger they could do, throughout the years, but never had Mickey harmed him.
Well, at least not without reason.
And he had clearly come to Ian for a different reason, this time. It had been a few weeks since they’d seen each other, and in that time Mickey had apparently found someone new to piss off, judging by the blood on his spikes. Someone that didn’t already know all his tricks.
“You have to stop doing this,” Ian said accusingly, gesturing at Mickey in general, and the other man snorted, then winced when it opened a cut on his face.
“Define ‘this’,” he challenged, and Ian shrugged.
“Picking fights, I guess,” he answered. “I know you have that new gig at the bar, security or whatever—”
“Bodyguard, doc, it’s a little more impressive—”
“But you don’t always have to jump straight to violence.”
“Why” Mickey asked, quirking a bleeding eyebrow. “I’m paid to be a badass, Gallagher, and you always fix me up just fine.”
Ian shook his head, eyes scanning for the worst of Mickey’s injuries. Thankfully, they were few—a slowly seeping gash at his hairline, the source of the blood about to drip into his blue eyes; an oddly bent finger; a patch of quills at the base of his neck that looked nearly torn out, like someone had gotten hold before Mickey flexed them.
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Ian insisted absently, trailing his fingers from Mickey’s shoulder to his neck, to his face, heedless of the red trail they left on pale skin.
“Please,” Mickey scoffed, bending his head obediently when Ian pushed it back for better light. “The principle is that you like havin’ an excuse to get your hands on me.”
“Could get my hands on you anyway,” Ian mused, digging his fingers roughly into Mickey’s hair as if to prove a point.
Mickey hissed, but smirked through it.
“Oh yeah?” he questioned lightly. “Think I'm that easy, huh?”
“Know you’re that easy,” Ian murmured, leaning in closer than he strictly needed to to finish surveying the damage.
Mickey blinked, eyes only inches away from Ian’s own.
“Get those healin’ hands on me then,” he breathed, and Ian didn’t bother to point out that they already were.
Instead, he moved one hand over the scratch on Mickey’s scalp, one hand to the damaged quills on his neck, and his mouth to Mickey’s bottom lip.
And he reached inside himself for his power, and pushed.
They both gasped, deepening the sudden kiss almost by accident as Ian’s power coursed through them, between them. Mickey’s cuts started to heal even as they opened on Ian’s skin, quills bristling and growing strong again as tiny pinpricks of red showed on Ian’s own neck.
Let go of her, Ian heard in his mind, Mickey’s voice ordering some creep to release the girl he was trying to carry from the club.
I’m just gettin her home, man
Thin fingers reach for Mickey’s jacket, Ian’s jacket, their jacket. Grasp the hem, tug faintly, fall again on a limp arm.
I don’t fuckin’ think so
Pain in his fists, then pain on his back as someone else joins the fight, someone Ian can’t see. Sharp fingernails in his hair, on his neck, gripping, twisting.
A flare. Quills puffing from their sleek layer against warm skin, finding their target. The slippery wet feeling of blood on his shoulders, wetting them down again.
Okay, it’s okay now as frail hands grasp at him again to stand straight. Come on, it’s okay.
Ian’s hands fell from Mickey’s wounds as the last ones finally closed. He ignored the wetness in his eyes, the wetness on Mickey’s face, pretended they were blood and not tears.
“You did good,” he whispered against Mickey’s searching lips. “So good, Mickey.”
“Shut up, doc,” Mickey murmured back. “Give me something different to feel good about.”
So Ian did.
He kissed him again. Bit his lip, licked it clean. Ran a finger over the indentation, felt the bite on his own mouth as he soothed it. He scratched at Mickey’s back, didn’t recall when it was bared, felt hot lines down his own and couldn’t tell if they came from Mickey’s dirty hands or his own neatly trimmed nails.
It was always like this, when it happened. A feedback loop, not knowing where he stopped and Mickey began as they hurt and healed and hurt again. Hurt in good ways rather than bad, ways they had been hurting and helping each other since they were just children in a schoolyard chasing bullies. Ian lost himself in it, lost himself in Mickey’s mouth and eyes and skin and his own touches upon it, a constant blooming sensation deep in the reserves of his power.
He wondered what it felt like for Mickey, but then he didn’t have to. He never had to. He could feel that too: the tug of quills pushed the wrong way, the press of them into skin at both point and base, the prickling sensation when they settled, flared, settled again within sensitive skin and muscle.
But they never stabbed on purpose. They never hurt more than he could take; than they could take. And as he let Mickey stand, let him walk Ian back toward the bedroom on newly strengthened legs, Ian embraced all the feelings it invoked in the both of them.
Tomorrow, Mickey would most likely leave again, possibly even before breakfast. He would go back to his job, the one Ian didn’t like, and work and live and thrive until he needed Ian again.
It would feel worse, that separation, if Ian couldn’t feel the truth in every movement they made against each other in the night.
Mickey didn’t need Ian to fix him up; he never had. He had been doing fine on his own long before they met.
No, Mickey didn’t come to Ian because he liked to pick fights. He picked fights because he liked to come to Ian, and for now, that was enough.
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rjhpandapaws · 3 years ago
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Something Familiar
Chapter 2: Lessons in Good Faith Tw: PTSD and mentions of torture and death
Living with Daniel was a lesson in many things. A lesson in patience, trust, and it was a constant trial in checking is biases. Daniel was one of the few good humans, and Silas’s fear still ran unchecked. He knew it would take time to work through all of his baggage, and that Daniel was willing to wait. The thing was that Silas wanted to trust him, but couldn’t because there was still too much in the way. Daniel had even given him space after they sealed the contract. Silas bore the mark of it on the inside of his left wrist. A small circle of red, yellow, and blue lining. Daniel had the same on his left wrist as well. It marked them as equals, but it still felt like imprisonment to Silas. He was grateful for the week alone though. It gave him time to get used to his human shape again. He spent a lot of his time on the upstairs balcony watching the world go by with out him. Being outside like this was something he hadn’t been able to do for years. He would have preferred to change shape and wander, maybe even fly; but he was still on the mend and under strict orders not to shift unless it was an emergency. Daniel wasn’t here to stop him. He could have run away, and yet he stayed. Like a good Familiar.
When Daniel came back Silas’s private moments gained a witness, and his nightmares gained an exit. Daniel was always gentle when he woke Silas. He made sure he was genuinely awake and then let him come back to the real world on his own. He would offer to listen and Silas would always turn him down. There were nights that were worse. Nights when he didn’t dream, but remembered. The sleep he got was always more restful on those nights, but waking up always hurt worse. He woke up buried under the weight of all the things he should have done; could have done if he was a better person. On these mornings the only thing he wanted was space to think. So he would quietly make himself coffee and head up to the balcony. Daniel always came up eventually, and he usually brought breakfast with him. He would set the tray down on the small glass table and take a moment to observe Silas. He never said was he was looking for, but Silas assumed he found it because he would go back inside after a while. As a healer it wasn’t in Daniel’s nature to leave things alone, but he seemed to understand that Silas needed time to himself every once in a while. It was something Silas was grateful for. Someday he would let Daniel in, he deserved to know what he had gotten stuck with.
He woke suddenly from a dead sleep and sighed. He could still see Connor clearly in his mind, the fear in his eyes as they were separated almost felt accusing now. He should have stayed. He should have done a lot of things, but he was a coward and ran away instead. Silas got up with a practiced silence and started on his coffee. The house was still dark, but he had the kitchen layout memorized. By the time his coffee was ready he could use the early rays of dawn to make it up to the balcony. Today was going to be long and painful. He leaned against the front railing of the balcony to watch the sunrise and let his thoughts run loose with him. If he got it out of his system now, then maybe he could be something close to composed by the time Daniel came up to check on him. So for now, he would let himself remember. They were good things at first. His childhood, play fighting with his brothers. Learning the importance of the ancient magic they carried with them. The rush of freedom that came from knowing a thought was all it took to become any creature he wanted. The sacred bind that came with choosing a patron mage. There was a complexity that came with choosing to be a Familiar. It was a bond based on sharing strength and it lasted a lifetime. Different from a contract.
He remembered the day everything changed. The day the world as he understood it would come to an end. It was a normal day, he and his brothers woke up and did their chores, but never made it back to the house. Traps had been set in the night and each of them fell victim to one. He remembered waking up in the dark and in pain, surrounded by everyone from his village. All of them had been taken. They were given a week to recover and adjust to their new life before the Conditioning started. Each of them was branded with a unique number. Something that could be used to find them in the event that one of them escaped. The ones that the Conditioning worked on disappeared. Bought by mages that believed them to be Creature Familiars. Those who didn’t take to the Conditioning were tortured until they broke. It went on like this until their anger finally outweighed their fear. Their revolt; if it could really even be called that; was a failure in Silas’s opinion. So many of them had died. Freedom for the few of them that had made it out was paid for in the blood of those who hadn’t. Silas had taken his new freedom and run to the nearest mage. Signed it away in exchange for survival. Even if Daniel saw them as equals; Silas had still done the exact thing they had fought so hard to be freed from. He would have almost rather having died. Almost.
He could feel Daniel’s eyes on him and had the feeling he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this one without talking. He knew Daniel wouldn’t ask outright, but would linger until Silas said something. It Gave the illusion that he had other options; but if he wanted to be alone he would have to say something. “There were three of us, you know, that made it out.” He began and did what he could to keep the emotion out of his voice, “Me and then two of my brothers. I lost them in our mad dash to get out, and now I don’t know if they’re even alive.” He tried to blink away his tears, but they only rolled down his cheeks instead, “After everything we’d been through; I couldn’t be bothered to stay. I ran away like a fucking coward and sold myself out in a desperate bid to survive. Some fucking brother I am.” Daniel was quiet for a long while. This was the most Silas had ever ‘willingly’ said to him. “In a few weeks you’ll be healed enough to handle mildly strenuous activity.” He said eventually, “We could go looking for them if you would like.” Cold heavy dread settled in the pit of Silas’s stomach, “Why?” He snapped, “So you can add them to your collection? So you can have the complete set of the last shapeshifters known to man?”
“No.” Daniel replied sharply, “So you can have some damn closure and a place to stay once the contract is up. I actually want you to be safe, believe it or not.” Silas flinched. He knew Daniel wasn’t the same as the other humans he had dealt with, but he was still afraid. He set down his mug of long forgotten coffee and breathed out a defeated sigh. It was too early in the morning for a fight. On top of that, Daniel hadn’t done anything to deserve this. The contract was a means of protecting him. He understood that. “I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and yet I still fear completely offering you my trust.” He said after the silence had long since grown uncomfortable, “You may very well be the only human with my best interests at heart and I keep pushing you away.” He took a deep breath and tuned to face Daniel, “I’ll think about it, but that is asking a lot of faith from me; and for now, I think I would rather be alone.” Daniel looked away from him and his shoulders slumped, “I understand.” His voice was almost level, but hurt lingered just beneath the surface, “I’ll be in the house if you need me.” Silas watched him leave and wondered if he should have been gentler. It wasn’t Daniel’s fault he’d gone through all that, but he had nothing else to do with all his anger. Burying it clearly hadn’t helped. 
He picked through the food Daniel had brought up for him and tried to gather himself a little more. Daniel didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of his anger. He wasn’t responsible for what was done to him. He was the only person that was trying to help. The least Silas could do was give him the results he wanted. Even if they were fake. Time to see if he could even manage to be a convincing liar. The sooner he seemed well, the sooner he could get out of here. He didn’t know where he would go, yet, but he was sure he would find his place eventually. On top of that Daniel wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. He could go back to whatever it was he had been doing before Silas had come crashing into his life. It was late in the day when Silas had gathered enough of himself back together to handle being around another person. He didn’t say anything to Daniel when he came back; because he looked busy, and because he simply didn’t feel like it. He got to work on the dishes so he would have less to do later in the evening. “I’m sorry Silas.” Daniel broke the silence after a while, “For this morning. It was insensitive and out of line.”
The laugh that hitched and bubbled it’s way out of his chest was bitter and humorless. It surprised him, this was the first time he had laughed in years. “Was it?” He asked coolly, “Are you rescinding your offer to help me find my only remaining relatives then?” “Well, no.” Daniel scrambled, “I just; I wanted you to know that I meant no offense by it.” He explained and Silas relaxed some, “I feel like I’ve messed something up, and I want to know how I can fix it. I hate seeing you so upset.” “It’s a matter of learning to trust you.” He said and looked down at his hands, “My whole life up until now has been spent in fear of humans. I just have to keep in mind that you haven’t posed a danger to me yet. Sorry for being so... defensive, I guess would be the word.” “You’re alright.” He replied kindly, “These things take time. Even at that, you have a lot of trauma to work through and-” “Daniel stop.” Silas interrupted, “I need someone to listen to me, not psychoanalyze me. Believe me, I am well aware of all my trauma and the power imbalance of our dynamic. I really don’t need the reminder.” “Right.” He agreed with a sharp nod, “It can be difficult to turn my doctor off sometimes.”
“I understand.” Silas replied as he leaned against the counter to face Daniel, “It’s the only way people will acknowledge you, so it has become your primary mode of existing.” He watched with mild amusement as Daniel’s jaw dropped, “You’re more than that to me, you know. You’re the closest thing to a friend I’ve had actually.” “First of all, ow.” He said with a laugh and put his hand over his heart, “Secondly, what happened to not psychoanalyzing each other? I’m glad you think of me as a friend though.” Silas smiled, and it felt strange after not having done so for so long, “I figured that you’ve done it to me enough times that I deserved a turn.” “Fair enough.” Daniel replied as he began to put his things away. “How many weeks?” Silas asked once his curiosity got the better of him, “Until we can leave?” He was quiet for a long while before he replied, “Six, if you mind your limitations; eight to twelve if you keep ignoring them like this.” His smile fell away, “That was a lot more than I was hoping for.” Daniel just shrugged, “You’ve been stubborn. Agitating your old injuries and coming back from your little excursions with new ones. You need to rest.”
“Fine.” He said as he made his way to the bookshelf to go through the travelers’ guides, “I’ll be a better patient from here on out.” He settled on his bed with the books he had grabbed, “Six weeks should be enough time to find a place to start.” “Of course it will.” Daniel replied with a gentle smile Silas felt like he hadn’t been meant to see. It was finally time to venture out into the world. He just hoped they found Connor and Richard before anyone else did. If he lost his brothers he wouldn’t have anyone left. There was no way he could survive that.
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in-the-whisper · 3 years ago
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I'm sorry if this is a common/stupid ask but I fundamentally don't understand religion and I couldn't imagine believing so strongly in anything, but it seems very nice(?) and possibly even optimistic to have a constant like that in your life. so in the sense I think I have an idea of what religion is, what makes you decide(?) to follow it or believe in it? genuine apologies if this comes across as patronizing or condescending, it's not my intention and sometimes I'm just bad with words ':]
dude you are always welcome here and i will never assume that you are being mean you are very sweet <3 i am very happy to talk to you!
ok so i come from a super different background so it’s hard for me to even imagine like not knowing a ton of people who are religious so i will try to explain and then if it doesn’t make sense feel free to poke me and i will try again. also it makes me happy so dont be scared i will say oh! someone asked me about God! yay! and then i will write a silly tumblr post while making this face -> c: 
okay so one of your confusions seems to be why i would believe in something so strongly. in a way everyone believes things strongly, some even more than me (i mean look at politics and thanksgiving dinner). i think the reason that my relationship with God in particular is something i feel strongly about is because i derived my faith from my natural understanding of the value of my friends and from my understanding of morality.
i love my friends very much (most people do) and the idea of them getting hurt or mistreated makes me very angry (i think people would agree). and you could make the argument that the reason that i care so deeply about people and justice is because of all the stuff ive been through but i did think this before anything bad happened to me really.
there is a difference between atheist (philosophical) morality and Christian morality. for someone who doesn’t believe in God, there isn’t anybody who is more important than humanity who can tell them what to do. if one person does something, and i don’t like it, all i can say is, “i don’t like that,” and not “you shouldn’t do that.” because im not in charge of them. i’m just another person, who am i to go around establishing moral laws for other people?
but what that /also/ means is that there isn’t any “grounding” or like /reason/ for morality or the value of life other than personal preference. this Really bothered me about my philosophy class, every atheist philosopher did this. they all wanted to say that you could make morality for yourself (looking at you nietzsche). But then what happens? What about when someone is killed? or raped? I want to be able to say, “Rape is horrible.” and not just “Rape is horrible in my opinion.” Anything that doesn’t allow for these like absolute, unquestionable, overarching standards of how people /should/ or /shouldn’t/ live just doesn’t add up imo.
Atheist professor of law at Yale, Dr. Arthur Leff, wrote an article on this exact topic called “Unspeakable ethics Unnatural Law.” The entire thing is amazing and I recommend it, but here is the conclusion:
All I can say is this: it looks as if we are all we have. Given what we know about ourselves and each other, this is an extraordinarily unappetizing prospect; looking around the world, it appears that if all men are brothers, the ruling model is Cain and Abel. Neither reason, nor love, nor even terror, seems to have worked to make us "good," and worse than that, there is no reason why anything should. Only if ethics were something unspeakable by us, could law be unnatural, and therefore unchallengeable. As things now stand, everything is up for grabs. 
Nevertheless:  Napalming babies is bad.  Starving the poor is wicked.  Buying and selling each other is depraved.  Those who stood up to and died resisting Hitler, Stalin, Amin, and Pol Pot-and General Custer too-have earned salvation.  Those who acquiesced deserve to be damned.  There is in the world such a thing as evil.  [All together now:] Sez who?  God help us.
So if I think this is true, if I really believe that death is evil, that rape is horrible, that there are some universally binding and unchallengeable truths about how people ought to live, I have to believe in a God. or i can live in a state of constant existential dread hahahahaha, , I joke but I actually did do that for a while it was pretty miserable.
i think the next question was kind of what made me believe in it? and that is kind of a difficult question because i think in a way Christianity just encapsulates a bunch of things that i already believed, and i just found like a label for them i guess. i also grew up Christian, so for me my experience questioning my religious identity was more like, three people you love are dead why do you still believe in a loving God? Rather than which religion or philosophy do i like the best?
idk maybe they come out to be the same but it doesnt feel entirely the same. i’m still a christian because of sunsets and sunrises and because the world feels beautiful and intentional, and because i’ve been in a lot of pain and it was real. it really happened. it wasn’t in my head (looking at you stoicism). it wasn’t unimportant. there is not if buts ands ors it was just awful and that’s that. so what can explain it? what can explain meaning? only God can.
Christianity is specifically the religion im interested in because it’s the only one i’ve come across that is as internally consistent, historically accurate, scientifically accurate, coherent understandings of the universe.
No other philosophy allows you to grieve. That’s why I believe in God. No other philosophy validates grief that a belief in a loving God, a belief that death isn’t meant to happen, that people are violently ripped from you without purpose and that you are meant to live together forever. It allows for a belief in the value of humanity and grace while also allowing you to believe that things that happen to you that might last with you forever are wrong and not just in your opinion. They were violently wrong, they violated ancient laws of the universe, they were an act of aggression toward God himself.
Ok im rambling now but I will leave you with this, which is what i wrote after finally deciding to remain a christian:
“There are several questions I asked that stopped me from rejecting Christianity.
Where did the universe come from and why does it exist?
Why does our experience involve morality?
Why is there love? (deep love between brothers, self sacrificial love, to die for another love)
Why is there goodness?
There are, of course, answers to these questions under ideologies other than Christianity, but I found their answers to be unsatisfying because to me, the existence of these things screams that there is something more to the universe than an unfortunate accident in a vacuum of uncaring nothingness.
When I listened to music encouraging its audience to live, when I listened to people fight for the lives of those they love, when i watched the sun set, or cried at the end of a deeply touching movie, I would think, “In light of this how can you say there is no God?”
In Christianity I found answers that profoundly satisfied my deepest questions. 
There is a universe because God in his wisdom fashioned it to be a beautiful gift. There is morality because we stand in the midst of a cosmic battle between good and evil. There is love because God’s nature is perfectly loving and the fabric of the knowable universe was woven in his loving kindness. There is beauty and goodness because life wasn’t created to be a void and an unknowable miserable darkness.
The true issue with atheism is that while intellectually and technically feasible, it gives empty answers to facets of life that do not have empty realities.
It forced me to ask myself this question: How can such a beautiful, meaningful, tragic world exist from nothing and for nothing?”
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teruthecreator · 4 years ago
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Hey... let’s play in the chaos Fitz space... I’m so curious how magic lessons with Festo would go now Fitz is aware of Chaos in relation to his magic...
anon idk what u were expecting when u sent this, but im sure it wasn’t a 1.7k drabble of fitzroy and festo having a lil chit-chat. that being said, though, this was incredibly fun to do so thanks for the suggestion!!! 
_______________________________________________________________
“I don’t want magic lessons anymore,” 
The question makes the fairy halt in their fluttering, staring at their pupil with a curious stare. Fitzroy hasn’t been the same since the centaur assignment, they knew that already. Word has made its way through the faculty about the barbarian’s outburst on the field; hushed whispers of concern that never seem to make it to either headmaster’s ears. Althea Song even came in to discuss with Festo about the future of Fitzroy’s lessons; what might be the safest approach to controlling his wild magic. 
Festo is well aware, though, that “control” and “wild magic” tend to not mesh well. 
This is the first time they’ve managed to get Fitzroy to come to a lesson since his return over a week ago. Usually they meet three to four times a week, practicing simple spells and focusing on how to channel the energy for larger ones. He used to be adamant on his distaste for magic, but after a while he began to warm up to the idea of understanding the arcane abilities he was granted. Snippers seemed to help with that warming, becoming less of a familiar and more of an emotional support crab when Fitzroy’s feelings would go haywire and seep into his magic. But, after the centaur assignment, they were advised to postpone a few of their lessons to give Fitzroy the space to recoup after being cursed (and whatever triggered his outburst). 
After that grace period, though, Fitzroy just became a no-show. No matter how many cheerfully threatening letters Festo would send, Fitzroy never came to a lesson. 
That is, until today, when they came into their class to find Fitzroy already seated in his usual spot; twiddling his thumbs anxiously as he looked down to the floor. Festo was hoping this meant Fitzroy was finally ready to get to work, but...it would seem that’s not the case. 
“...Is this why you’ve been hiding from Festo?” The fairy asks, seating themselves atop a stack of books so they can face the half-elf properly. Fitzroy refuses to meet their gaze, nervously scratching his neck as he nods. “Ah...I see…You do not believe in Festo’s teachings.” Fitzroy perks up at that, turning to them and vehemently shaking his head. 
“I-It’s not that, Festo, really! It’s just…” Fitzroy trails off, looking frustrated and caught between words. “I just...When I came to you first, Festo, it was because I didn’t know why I had been given my magics and, therefore, was unable to control the outbursts. O-Or, that’s why I felt these lessons were good--I know they’re required, given my schooling track, but--” 
“--Festo gets your point.” Festo finishes, not wanting Fitzroy to get lost in the semantics before getting out what needs to be said. He nods his head bashfully and continues. 
“Right, yes. B-But now that I...I feel like now--or, I know now why I have magic. When...When I got cursed? I-I, uh...I met someone…” 
“You met Chaos, yes?” Festo asks, simply. Fitzroy buffers for a moment, mouth sputtering as he attempts to grapple with the knowledge, and Festo snickers. “Fitzroy, did you think Festo did not understand where your powers came from upon first meeting you?” Fitzroy’s cheeks are tinged red as he opens and closes his mouth to try and retort. “Festo knew your magic was wild from before Festo even saw you! There are not many schools of magic that manifest in catfish transformation.” 
“I...suppose so. B-But Festo, if you knew where my magic came from this whole time, why did you never tell me anything?” 
“Because you never asked!” Festo answers cheerfully. Their response makes Fitzroy’s shoulders sag as he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Also, it would not have been wise of Festo to give you such an answer when you were first learning your magic. Knowledge is not always key to understanding.” 
“I’d say it is!” Fitzroy bites back, his hand dropping from his face. “These powers were imparted on me to do evil, Festo! A deity has been watching over my every move, cheering me on whenever I goofed up severely and got people hurt!” The air begins to crackle with static electricity as Fitzroy gets riled up, anxiously running both hands through his hair and lodging them there. 
“I ripped a man’s hand off, Festo! That’s fucked!! I struck fear into innocent bystanders! A-And the worst part of it is th-that...I didn’t feel bad for doing it! The hand part, at least--I felt awful once I noticed how everyone was...was looking at me like some sort of monster. It’s terrible! I can’t sleep because of it, I don’t have an appetite anymore because anything I look at just becomes a hand or a shitty magic apple, a-and I can’t...I won’t do magic anymore.” He looks to Festo pleadingly, hoping they see his anguish and understand. “I-I can’t even summon Snippers anymore because I’m paranoid about him being a direct line for Chaos to watch me mess up! I-I don’t--I don’t want my magic anymore, Festo.”  
Festo sits there, watching as Fitzroy huffs and puffs on the verge of a meltdown. Then, after Fitzroy seems to have regained a little bit of his compuse, they get up and fly over to him, grabbing his right hand with both of theirs and flipping it over so it’s palm-side up. 
“Make a flame for Festo,” they command, not even bothering to look up and see the utter confusion and hurt on their student’s face. “Just do it, it will be fine. Have faith in Festo.” Fitzroy sighs, deep and long, before shutting his eyes and concentrating. In a few short moments, a small blue flame appears in his hand. Festo makes an affirmative noise as they study the flame. “How did that feel for you to do?” 
“Um...Fine? I guess?” Fitzroy replies, sounding unsure. 
“It did not hurt?” 
“No…” 
“Did not feel forced out of you?” 
“No.” 
“You feel confident that it was by your will that this flame came to your hand?” 
“Y-Yes, Festo, what does that--” 
“Then you are fine!” Festo states matter-of-factly. They push Fitzroy’s palm closed, thus extinguishing the flame. “You should not feel worried about Chaos’s influence!” They look up in time to see Fitzroy’s eyebrows furrowing. “You said yourself that the magic felt natural to you--it was not forced out of your hand or influenced by a force that was not your own brain, yes?” 
“R-Right…” Fitzroy responds. Festo flies up to his face and pokes their forehead with maybe a bit too much force than necessary. “Ow! What the heck, Festo!?” 
“Your magic may have been bestowed upon you by a being of influence, but it is you who controls how that manifests.” Festo explains, suddenly sounding wiser than normal. “Chaos can only influence your magic if you let them; other than that, they cannot control how you choose to use the gift they gave you. From Festo’s experience, they actually hate doing that, so you should not worry about being ‘controlled’!” Fitzroy’s eyes widen and he guffaws for a moment. 
“W-Wait, Festo, you’ve had experiences with Chaos?” Festo twirls around in a circle and giggles mischievously. 
“Not in that way, silly! Fairies are creatures of unpredictability; Chaos is one of our patron deities! Festo has had quite a few communes with them in Festo’s lifetime!” Fitzroy’s face scrunches up in disgust at the implication of their first sentence, making Festo laugh again. “You were the one who said ‘experiences’, not Festo!” 
“Right, but I was not implying you had sexual experiences with a deity, Festo. I really don’t want to be thinking about...really anything like that ever, thank you very much.” 
“You brought up sexual! Not Festo!” 
“Ahhh! I am covering my ears until this conversation ends!” Fitzroy screams as he slaps his hands over his ears. Festo rolls their eyes and kicks Fitzroy in the nose. “OW! Are you even allowed to hit a student?!”
“Festo has tenure, remember?” Festo chides, letting out a snarky “teehee” before flying a little further back so Fitzroy can look at them properly. “Now, do you still want to stop your lessons? Festo won’t make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with.” Fitzroy stares for a long moment, brows furrowing once more as he thinks. He doesn’t think for too long before squaring his shoulders and sitting a little more confidently in his chair. 
“Y’know what, Festo? I think...I think I’m going to keep at this magic thing! Show that Chaos who’s boss!” Fitzroy announces, his usual bravado back. Festo claps their hands as a shower of sparkles rains around them. 
“Hooray! Festo is proud of you for conquering your fears!” Festo cheers, making Fitzroy flush a little with the praise. “Now, to make up for your missed lessons, Festo wants you to come here every day for the next two weeks after your classes! This is non-negotiable!” At this, Fitzroy deflates, just as Festo expected. 
“Alright, I suppose I...deserve that for ghosting you for so long…” Fitzroy groans. 
“Correct!” Festo chirps, causing Fitzroy to roll his eyes. “Now, to pick up where we left off, show Festo how you’re doing with Mage Hand…” 
---
It’s later that night, when the school has settled and all the students have gone to bed, that Festo returns to their office. They pull a set of small candles from one of the drawers in their desk and lay them out in a pattern on the desk’s surface. With a flick of their wrists, the candles are lit in an iridescent flame, and they close their eyes to pray. 
Coming to, they find themselves in a familiar woodland clearing, looking unimpressed at the figure seated across from them. The figure, on the other hand, looks positively delighted to see them. 
“Festo does not want you meddling with Fitzroy anymore,” Festo says, their voice uncharacteristically serious. Chaos smiles and shakes their head. 
You, of all the beings in my court, should know I cannot do that. They reply. I have a special mission in mind for him, and I do intend on seeing it through to the end~
Then, the wind blows, and Festo wakes up back in their office in a circle of smoking candles. With a sigh, they put the extinguished candles away and leave. 
Futile as it seems, Festo is determined to give Fitzroy control over his powers, Chaos be damned. 
164 notes · View notes
fe-semi-decent-scenarios · 4 years ago
Note
Could I ask headcanons of Black Eagles flirting and crushing on Byleth (professor?)?
[Ask and you shall receive lol. Lately I’ve been busying myself with long reports, so I needed something cutsey to recharge.(Sorry if it’s complete rubbish lol) It’s not much but I hope you like it!]
Edelgard: 
Ehh. She won’t be a student much longer anyways. 
Byleth will always be her professor...but maybe another title can be ticked onto that list? She hopes so. 
However, she doesn’t go too overboard. Just a few teasing gestures and quips every once in a while to sedate the budding sentiment in her heart 
With more pressing issues over love, Edelgard can’t afford to play the role of lovesick schoolgirl 
She sets side her personal feelings for the professor when around others. Instead they are treated as a good friend and adored instructor. Alongside the present given on Byleth’s birthday are a few other trinkets Edelgard picked up herself, you know, because she’s extra 
When alone her thoughts often drift. There are many occasions where work ends up procrastinated 
She keeps everything bottled up inside and doesn’t even hint at the idea of a crush to anyone. To love is to be compromised, to be compromised is to be weak, and to be weak is to fail
This is something she firmly believes until the support of her peers and affection from her professor begin to challenge it 
Perhaps there is room for love in her future 
“My teacher, you are an important companion to everyone here and to myself. You must never forget that”  
Hubert: 
Oh he is smooooth. 
Yet subtle 
He knows that he shouldn’t become too attached considering what’s to come in the future. His mind and body are her highness’ to command
....well, all good things come in moderation anyways. What’s a little meaningless flirting?
His flirting methods follow the ‘attack of opportunity’ plan. Meaning that he tosses in his quips when the time seems fitting 
He knows what he is doing. Never assume otherwise 
Obviously such conduct towards a teacher is unrefined. Does he care? The guy couldn’t give less of a sh*t 
He has 100% commented on their dancing attire at least once
People should mind their own business lest they want to lose their tongue. Can’t gossip when you can’t speak, right?  
If the professor doesn’t seem to mind then why should he stop? If they recuperate then that’s even better
It’s no fun when prey doesn’t fight back once in a while. 
“Oh do go on. The droll behind your ever so taunting tone is intoxicating. It almost makes this insufferable lecture mildly entertaining” -shots fired. Professor or not, ‘love interest’ or enemy, Hubert does not tone down the sarcasm 
No one even suspects that he has an interest in Byleth. He downright makes it appear that they are his sworn enemy (whether this is intentional or not? You decide) 
Caspar:
‘Flirt’? ‘Caspar’? That’s funny
It’s not that he can’t do it. Caspar can be very charming when he wants to be, but why bother? 
They’re his professor. If he starts kissing up to them then the others might start to think he’s pegging for special treatment 
He also doesn’t want them to like a facade. He wants them to like him
Not that he would turn said special treatment down if offered. He d o e s want to get stronger, and the extra time with his “favorite”*wink* professor is a lucky bonus 
He tends to have a ‘lingering eye’ that’s easy to pick up on if you catch my drift
he is not pure hearted, just a dunce. There is a difference
The boy blushes at every little action without even noticing
He loves to watch them train, both to better his own moves and to admire them without it seeming weird 
Literally everyone knows that Caspar has a thing for Byleth before he knows it himself. He’s the kind that mistakes a crush for admiration 
He’s also a big baby when it comes to them giving other people attention. 
He justifies his interruptions as: “The professor doesn’t have time to do __ for __! They have enough to do as it is!” 
Now what does that translate to in Caspar language?: “The time the professor spends doing __ is time they could spend with our class me” 
Someone help him. He’s so thick headed it’s actually sad 
Petra: 
“My apologies. I will be returning after the clearing of my head” 
She’s unfamiliar with the courting methods in Fodlan. Are they the same as in Bridgid? 
Thoughts of the professor occasionally will interfere with her study time
Also her appetite. Normally she eats plenty at meals since she hates waste, but the professor makes her nervous about her etiquette 
let’s just ignore that Byleth eats like a ravenous boar
She wants to take them to see Bridgid. It’s only natural to want to share the things you love with those you care about 
She embraces the affection she feels. Byleth is a truly wonderful person and the royal family would gladly accept them if Petra expressed her feelings 
When she returns she wants to ask them to accompany her 
For now she will remain at their side both in battle, in leisure, and in spirit 
Petra also isn’t one to approach with caution. The way she flirts is through honesty 
If they do something she likes then she says so. If they look nice or are trying something new then she’ll comment on it. If she sees something in the shop that they might like, then she buys it 
Petra is simple. She does for Byleth what she thinks will make them happy and doesn’t overthink it in the slightest 
Dorothea: 
The newfound feelings aren’t discouraged nor appreciated. It is a battle between practicality and love for her 
Not because of them being a professor, but everything else 
Mercenary, teacher, reincarnate, solider, tactician, etc. 
Such a dangerous profession with so much blood on their hands. Are those the ones she wants to hold for the rest of their days? 
Will they even live long enough to grow old with her? 
She wants a reliable partner to take care of her and not give her a heart attack on a daily basis. So far only one box is checked 
She will not be a widow at such a young age. She refuses 
When these thoughts emerge Dorothea retracts from Byleth. There’s still the open friendliness that was there before, but now an extra barrier has been put up 
She won’t go out of her way to give Byleth special treatment. Her search for a partner other than them will continue on 
Maybe she’ll find someone else to smash these feelings so that there will be no need to confront them 
Only after they ‘die’ will she stop suppressing them. 
“To think that it took such a disaster for me to see the light. Why do people realize such things when it’s too late?” - she focuses on personal growth until the reunion. Relying on another person to prevent the past from reappearing is not what she wants. 
Ferdinand: 
The best way that Ferdinand can communicate his feelings is through words
He tries. He really tries to come across as a potential life partner for the professor. He can only be a student for so long, and they’re close in age. Logically there is nothing wrong with the possibility of a courtship 
but because speaking ‘frilly’ is a normality the effect is not like how he hoped 
When Ferdinand falls, he falls hard. Yes, he is a flirt. Yes, he stretches himself thin trying to please everyone. Yes, he has his quirks that make him extremely confrontational 
So when he finds someone with the ability to make him both strengthen his morals, question the bigger picture, and grow as an individual (after the whole ‘noble’ mine-bomb) it’s a big deal 
Therefore he will not relent in his pursuit of Byleth unless they explicitly tell him to stop. If words don’t work then he instantly pegs for quality time and acts of affirmation 
Greets them every morning, carries their supplies, invites them to tea, delivers lost items, etc. People really do peg him as a kiss ass. 
He doesn’t get the ‘heart flutters’ that people talk about. When he’s beside the professor he just feels energized. Like he could actually beat Edelgard ‘could’ is the key word in that scentence
“Good morning Professor! If your schedule allows it, would you care to join me for tea later this afternoon? Your company would make it the perfect level of sweetness” 
Linhardt: 
A firm believer of “age is but a number”
It’s more of his personal beliefs that tone down any pursuit of the professor. They are currently in a position of power over him that halts any relationship progression at a professional level. 
So as any healthy person does: he vents any growing affection into his studies
He h a t e s how they make him restless.He’ll be feeling drowsy one moment but then their face will pop into his mind 
He can’t even sleep through class. Not with them there 
Actually works in the class’ favor since he starts contributing to the lectures. If you can’t beat them then might as well join them 
This is how it is during pre-timeskip for the most part. Occasionally he will let his thoughts slip but never any action
He has crests to research and Byleth has students that seemingly want to die by the hour. There is literally no time to flirt 
Now AFTER the timeskip, things are different. Linhardt is a blunt person which sometimes works in his favor. Just so happens that flirting comes naturally to him  
most of the time it doesn’t though
“Could you refrain from doing that? It’s distracting”                                      “Linhardt, i’m stretching. How is that distracting?”                                         “You are an attractive individual. Need I say more?” 
Life is short. He has no filter 
Bernadetta: 
“HI PROFESSOR!”                                                                                       “Afternoon Bernadetta. I see you’re out of your room today”                       “W-what? OH! Yes. Y-y-yEs i aM IM SORRY I’LL GO BACK PLEASE DON’T PATRONIZE MEEEEE” 
She’s scared. What’s new? 
The girl never expected to have these feelings. One night she was painting when what was supposed to be a cloud began to resemble her professor 
It was downhill from there.
Her behavior is exactly the same as prior to her feelings. Being a naturally jittery person works to her advantage, no one suspects a thing! 
Compared to simply being friends it will take longer for her to be comfortable 
She will avoid Byleth at all times outside of lessons. It’s just too hard to communicate anymore 
Eventually her outer shell will crack. The once new feelings will begin to feel normal and the old bernie will be back. Jittery, hyperactive, kind, lovable bernie 
132 notes · View notes
fuckingthefictional · 5 years ago
Text
Secret Shelby.
Finn Shelby x Reader
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays or happy-whatever-you-may-celebrate.
Here’s a crap fic that’s way too long, and half of it is probably gibberish- but hey enjoy!
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“Where the fuck is Finn?”
The clock ticked teasingly- it made Arthur more annoyed. By waiting around they were losing time that could be spent working. Or more importantly, getting drunk.
The air was thick with tension. And all of the Shelby’s and the rest of the Blinders were growing increasingly impatient with the youngest brother. He had yet to make an appearance and it frustrated the eldest Shelby to no end.
If there was one thing that the Shelby family expected with the business they owned, it was to be on time- everyone knew that the Shelby’s hated tardiness and the fact that Finn hadn’t shown up was pushing them all into a state of annoyance.
“I said where the fuck is Finn?” Arthur asked again, not particularly asking anyone directly.
“I’ve not seen ‘im.” Isaiah replied from the column he was leant on.
Tommy took an inhale of his cigarette and swilled the whiskey around the glass it was contained in.
“If Isaiah doesn’t know Arthur, then I have no fuckin’ clue. If you’re that bothered about the lad then go and find him.” Smoke blew from his mouth, “Until then, we’re going to talk business like real businessmen.”
That same morning on the other side of Small Heath, Finn Shelby was tucked up in bed. His arms wrapped around his loves small frame.
You were still fast asleep-you were tired what from being up most of the night in discomfort.
Finn, however, found himself marveling at his girl’s belly, the skin was stretched taut over the swollen bump. It cradled the baby that had yet to be born.
The young Shelby rubbed a circle into the skin with a rough hand across the top of the bump. The movement obviously had caught the attention of his unborn child because soon after he could feel the small jolts and jabs against his palm.
The action brought a smile to his face but subsequently caused you to groan and hiss in pain.
He’d forgotten how sensitive your belly had become in the weeks leading up to delivery. The doctors had said, that because of your small, adolescent frame- it gave the baby less room to move around comfortably.
Finn knew you’d do anything for your baby to be comfy and safe within your body though, so you had proclaimed that if it meant a few days of discomfort and pain then so be it.
“You okay?” Finn mumbled into your messy hair, “do you need anything love?”
You had to smile at his offer. Ever since you’d become pregnant, Finn had been home a lot more. You hadn’t expected it (not that you weren’t thankful and grateful for it), you knew how much family meant to him- how much the business meant to him. How much proving himself to his brothers meant to him.
When you brought it up with him though, he just claimed that “You’re my family now. You and our little bean.”
“Love?”
You were brought out of your thoughts to see Finn looking worried.
You caressed his cheek, “just hold us.”
He slowly pressed a long kiss to your hairline and then proceeded to wrap his arms around as much of your waist as he could reach.
“What do you think they’ll look like?”
The thought caused you to smile softly, “I hope he looks just like you. With your curly red hair and freckles.”
Finn chuckled into the crook between your shoulder and neck, “so it’s a he huh?” I stroked the bump lovingly, “I think it’s going to be a little girl- a spitting image of her mother.”
The idea of the baby being here made you both sick with nerves but also full of joy and excitement.
Pregnancy was a new concept for both of you, especially considering you were both only 17.
But you were so glad that Finn had stuck with you for the duration of your pregnancy.
He never missed an appointment and constantly talked to the small baby that grew inside of you. He’d even tried to take up knitting, Finn had managed to make a scruffy looking bobble hat for when the baby arrived. It looked crap- but you appreciated it all the same.
Children, however, were a different story. Finn had obviously been in charge of looking after his nieces and nephews in the time when his brothers were abroad fighting.
And he still occasionally did it whenever Esme or John needed a spare hand.
And you were known to babysit and tutor children around Small Heath. You were one of the few genuinely liked people in town.
You weren’t judgemental and were willing to help others- and as much as the Small Heath inhabitants didn’t want to admit they were thankful.
The idea of your own bundle of joy was different. You’d both held and cared for babies that belonged to someone else- and the idea that this child growing inside of you was your responsibility made you anxious.
But you and Finn and soon the baby had each other and that was all that mattered.
//
“Mum?” The soft knock from the entryway of the office caused Polly to look up from the books she had been poured over minutes previously.
Micheal walked in and took a seat in front of his mother.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
Micheal frowned slightly, he didn’t know whether he was reading too much into this.
“I’m worried about Finn.” His face conveyed serious stature though as his mother looked up at him from behind thick lashes.
“And why is that?”
“Because I haven’t seen him in days.” He licked his lips, “He hasn’t been at the betting den, or the garrison, his apartment is empty every time I check. For fuck's sake he hasn’t even shown his face at the family meetings.”
Micheal shifted in his seat, “Him not showing up to family meetings is not normal. When has Finn ever missed out on a chance to prove himself?”
Polly stubbed out her cigarette into the ashtray, she looked as if she were thinking hard for a solution.
“I’ll bring it up with Tommy, truth be told I’m worried too. Finn has never been gone this long without calling, writing or even just visiting.” Her hand brushed some stray hairs out of her face, “I agree, it’s not like him.”
//
You didn’t understand how you had grown so big in the last week. You knew you were entering your 38th week and that you were coming into the area of potential delivery dates.
Finn had put you in bed rest and was adamant that it would stay that way until the baby arrived.
Some of the ladies from around town had been keeping you company, their children presenting you with hand-me-downs from when they themselves had been babes.
Staying in bed was nice for the first day or so- but then your pregnancy hormones kicked in and you couldn’t help but feel smothered and miss the absence of using your muscles.
You hated bed rest- but you knew it soothed Finn knowing that his two loves were tucked up and safe in bed.
You knew Finn had been avoiding his family like the plague, he still did jobs that paid the bills and kept money coming in. But whenever he saw his brothers- he’d only speak a few sentences around them.
He’d gotten a right bollocking from Tommy, saying that he needed to prioritize his family over whatever he had been so occupied with.
So that’s what he did, he focused on his new family. He still spoke to his Aunt Poll and occasionally Micheal and Isaiah.
But you were beginning to get frustrated with your boyfriend. You knew that his absence in the Shelby family was hurting them, and doing more harm than good.
It hurt Finn as well as much as he didn’t want to admit. These were the brothers that practically raised him. The boys that taught him everything he knew. The boys that shaped him into the person he was now.
And that had been why you’d persuaded him to go out to the Garrison for the evening- just him and his family (plus Isaiah).
At the time you’d thought it was a great idea, you just forgot one detail. You were heavily pregnant and due anytime soon.
And of course, the baby chose the only time that their father was out to try and make an appearance.
Finn walked into the pub, the smoky air and rowdiness of the patrons made Finn feel at home.
Considering he had been coming to the Garrison since he was a young lad, he had become used to the behaviour from the drinkers that spent their time in the pub.
He shouldered the door to the private room, and there sat his brothers, cousin, and Isaiah.
“Oi, Oi who’s this?” John’s cocky voice chirped from the corner of the booth.
“I don’t know mate,” Arthur shot back, “looks like a stranger to me.”
“Shut up.” Finn grumbled back, rolling his eyes.
Finn sat down next to Isaiah, who in turn passed over a cigarette.
The next hour was spent playing cards, they were all completely aware of how uncomfortable the youngest Shelby was. Finn kept looking towards the door, tapping his foot anxiously.
Tommy finally spoke up, “Where’ve you been then, aye Finn?”
“Y’know out and about.”
Tommy and Arthur shared a look, “You know that’s not what I meant Finn.”
Finn was glaring at his older brothers now, he knew that they wouldn’t give up until they had every piece of information.
That was until Harry knocked on the hatch and claimed that there was a phone call for Finn
He abruptly rose from his seat and slammed the door upon exiting.
He picked up the receiver that the barman was holding for him.
“Hello?”
“Finn!”
“Y/N- what’s wrong?”
There was a pause and he could hear your harsh pants through the line.
“Y/N/N?”
“The baby-“ there was more wincing from your end, “The baby is coming.”
“Shit.”
“Just get fucking home now! For fuck sake.”
With a last few reassurances, he put the phone back onto the holder. Finn turned only to see a small crowd comprised of his older brothers.
Finn started to push past them but was stopped by hands on his shoulders.
“I need to go.”
“Not until you tell us where you’re going.”
He was starting to get angry, “For fuck's sake Tommy- let me go!” He broke free and started to break into a sprint.
His lungs were on fire and his legs burnt but Finn continued the pace all the way back to where his girl was waiting.
What he failed to notice was his brothers tailing him in the family car.
You were hunched over panting harshly, grasping onto the mattress with white knuckles.
You knew labour was bad- but you didn’t expect it to be this bad. The rippling pain was intense and you hadn’t expected the process to be this quick.
The ladies at the hospital had said that a first-time labour would be a slow process- evidently, that wasn’t the case.
“Come on baby, work with me- at least wait for yer father, yeah?” You mumbled to the empty room.
Another contraction struck your body causing you to yell out in pain.
“Y/N/N?”
It was Finn.
“Bedroom!” Was the only reply you could muster.
A few seconds later your boyfriend rushed into the room, he immediately knelt down to your level and slowly kneaded the bottom of you back.
You let out a few more groans- your belly felt tight. It was almost as if the contractions were seizing your entire body and you could feel a harsh pressure urging you to push.
You found yourself grasping Finn’s shoulder, “I need you to check...I can feel something.”
Finn just gawked at you, speechless. However seeing you in pain, he did as he was told.
And low and behold there was what looked like the top of a head.
“Baby’s coming now, love.”
You grunted in response, as he helped you up onto the stripped mattress.
And then the door flew off of its hinges, and in strolled the Shelby brothers.
Finn seemed to be in as much shock as you were.
His shouts of anger rang out, as you groaned again and again.
At this point you were in a lot of pain and all you wanted was privacy and rest. And to have this fucking child out of your body.
“Did you invite the entirety of fucking Birmingham to witness this!” You screamed, hands finding their way to the metal bed frame which was situated behind you. The men just stared on- seemingly speechless.
“GET OUT!”
They scarpered from the room, saying something about “fetching Aunt Pol”
You didn’t care anymore, you’d given up trying to be rational and following the instructions that had been given at the hospital to you months prior.
If your body wanted to push, then you’d bloody well listen.
Finn had placed warm water, towels and a blanket on the bedside table. He then proceeded to climb behind you and press soft kisses to your sweaty brow.
“Finn I need to push.” You announced, “this baby isn’t waiting for anyone else.”
You could feel him nod behind you, “what can I do to help?”
The words would have been sweet if you weren’t too busy pushing a human out of you.
“Hold my knees back.”
He complied, and you felt your knees raise up to your chest.
And then- you began to push.
It felt like an eternity, but then you felt a release and heard it. You heard a high pitched scream, and a kick to your thighs.
The baby was here.
You looked up at Finn, who was teary-eyed and slowly reached down where your hands met the small body of your daughter.
By the time you sat back up with the baby cradled in your arms, Finn had a pair of scissors in his hand, he cut the cord and then began to clean the baby with the towel that was previously laid out.
You reached for the soft blanket that had belonged to Finn as a baby and wrapped the newborn up carefully.
“She’s perfect.”
You nodded in agreement, “she has your nose.” You smiled widely and stroked the small baby’s nose gently. The action caused the baby’s face to scrunch up- which in turn caused the young parents to laugh and smile in awe.
Finn softly kissed your temple and whispered sweet nothings to you, as you just leant back into his embrace.
The birth was finally catching up with you. You were so tired, and you soon felt yourself drift off into a deep slumber.
Finn took the baby into his arms and gently lifted her down into the bassinet, she mewled in protest to being put down.
The thought made him smile, the fact that his baby was already attached to his parents.
He proceeded to lift the sheets and blankets over your body, giving you warmth while you slept.
Finn then once again enveloped his baby girl into his arms, as he held her up against his chest.
He didn’t know he could be so capable of loving someone like this.
The quiet bliss was soon broken as Polly and Ada burst into the room each of their arms held bags.
“Aunt Pol?”
“What’s the bloody hell is going on?” Polly ranted on, “Your brothers said-“ The older woman stopped mid-sentence as the baby let out a little squeak. Almost as if she were announcing her presence.
“Aunt Pol, Ada- I’d like you to meet the newest member of the Shelby family. this is Theiadora Elizabeth Shelby. Theia for short.”
Polly looked close to tears and the younger of the two women gasped.
“You named ‘er after mum?”
Finn nodded in response.
“And this,” he motioned to your sleeping figure, “is my girl, Y/N.”
Finn just looked towards the two most important people in the world. He softly stroked his child’s face as he bent down to kiss her face.
“Welcome to the Shelby family, Theia.”
It was a few days later, both you and the baby were doing good. Finn barely put Theia down, it was evident that even at a few days old- she was a complete daddy’s girl.
Which you found completely unfair considering what your body had put up with for her to even be here.
But you soon got over the minor bitterness that you had felt ,when you woke up to the sight of your boyfriend cradling Theia’s small body and vowing to always protect her.
You’d gotten close to the Shelby ladies in the past few days too. Polly brought fresh food round every few mornings and usually stayed for a cup of tea if Finn was around.
And then there was the Shelby sister, though you had only known Ada for a few days, she’d become your biggest supports next to Finn.
She’d try and come over everyday, bringing her son, Karl with her.
You were thankful for her presence and she made you feel reassured, like you actually knew what you were doing.
Finn had told you that it was because Ada had been in the same boat as you, that she too had been a young mum.
But you knew it was only a matter of time until you were officially introduced to the Shelby family. So when Ada turned up to you and Finns home, you were understandably taken by surprise.
“Ada, is this really necessary?” You asked as you cradled the small baby in your arms. Theia was snoozing and even at a few days old she produced little snores like her father did.
Ada just continued to pin back your hair, “Yes, you have to meet my brothers. So does little Theia.” She paused, sensing your uneasiness, “It’ll go smoothly Y/N, Finn would never put you or Thee into harms way.”
Her words soothed your queries about this introduction. She was right. Finn had promised to protect you both from harm.
And you knew he wasn’t one to break a promise.
Finn had already gone to Polly’s house to help set up for dinner- as he knew that the others wouldn’t.
It also gave him time to explain to Polly about why he had kept his girls a secret (Which she had been quite furious about.)
“Why didn’t you tell me? This family does not keep secrets.”
Finn didn’t have an answer to that, he just shrugged.
“How long have you been together”
“Nearly two years.”
The questions kept coming
“Where did you meet?”
“She was tutoring Katie with Maths, I walked into the kitchen and found ‘em doin’ algebra.”
This went on for some time, until Polly finally asked.
“Do you love her?”
“More than anything.”
The sweet conversation was interrupted by the boisterous banter between his older brothers.
John grinned at him, seemingly proud that he finally knew the secret that his younger brother had been keeping to himself.
“How’s fatherhood treating you, Aye Finn?”
Polly smacked her nephew around the head, “Mother and baby are healthy- If you must know.”
“And what are their names?” Tommy’s cool, calculating voice queried from the stairwell.
“The-“
“Theia Elizabeth Shelby.” A female voice beat Finn to the answer. Looking up he saw you holding the baby in your arms, Ada and Karl next to you. “And I’m Y/N Y/L/N.”
You walked over to where Finn was situated and he wrapped his arms around your middle. The tiny baby in your arms was snoozing, and like her father when asleep, had no intention of waking up for a while.
The other Shelby’s looked on as Finn doted on his girls, making sure that they had made the trip safely and asking about other minor details that Tommy, John and Arthur would never have thought to ask their ladies.
“You look familiar.”
You looked over to see who had spoken, John sat on one of the rickety kitchen chairs, starring inquisitively at you.
“Where’ve I seen you before?”
Ada smacked her brother across the back of his head, this caused a yelp to arise from the man.
“‘the fuck was that for?”
Ada just rolled her eyes, “She’s not from a whorehouse if that’s what you’re thinking John.”
The comment didn’t go unnoticed by Finn, who’s face had flushed in anger at the idea of John possibly trying to call the mother of his child a whore.
You laid a hand on his shoulder, “I used to tutor some of your children. Help ‘em with school work or any stuff they may have missed out on.”
Tommy spoke up from his spot in the kitchen, “so you’re a teacher, aye?”
You blinked, “No, I just tutor and occasionally look after children from around the area.”
“Is it good pay?”
You were once again taken aback, “Pardon?”
Tommy repeated himself, “I said is it good pay?”
You couldn’t quite see what the outcome of this conversation was, but you could see the cogs moving in his head.
You cleared your throat, “I don’t get paid Mr Shelby, I do it all voluntarily.” You stared at him blankly, “A lot of the families around Small Heath don’t have the money to pay me for what I do. Besides I’ve always said that support from others shouldn’t come at a price.”
Polly and Ada nodded approvingly, while Finn just looked at you with adoration.
“‘ow old are you then.” John popped up this time.
“I’m-“
“She’s 17, seven months younger than me.” Finn quipped, curling a few strands of your hair around his fingers.
“And how long ‘ave you been with our Finn?”
“Just over two years.” You answered the questions.
“Where’d you grow up, I don’t recall seeing you around Small Heath?”
“I-“
“Bloody Hell boys,” Ada huffed as she set Karl down on the small armchair in the corner of the room, “What is this? An interrogation?”
You shot Ada a thankful look, the questions were beginning to make you feel slightly overwhelmed and out of your depth.
The slumbering babe in your arms began to squirm around, as she started to awaken. Theia let out a small series of yawns, before her face scrunched up and her eyes slowly opened.
The whole room fell into a hushed silence as they watched in awe.
“She has your eyes Finn, lad.” Arthur spoke from his position by the mantle.
“Yeah, she’s pretty perfect.” He replied.
Tommy stepped forwards glass of gin in his grasp, “Aye well let’s say a toast to the newest Shelby!”
They all raised a glass and together chanted in tandem, “to the newest Shelby.”
You looked up to the Shelby you had fallen in love with all those years ago- he pressed a kiss to your lips.
Life felt good- life was good.
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wistfulkitten · 4 years ago
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i dream you'd love me again (2) || jk
sadness, guilt, regret. all things jeongguk felt after reading her letter.
genre: angst and fluff? childhood friends, cheating, sisters boyfriend au
pairing: jeongguk x reader
word count: 2.3k
posted: 200518
warnings: longing, infidelity, profanity (kinda), mentions of sex, probably inconsistent punctuation 
a/n: theres probably gonna be minor grammar issues because grammarly is shit and im tired. n e way i tried making this longer, it took me like four hours believe it or not. funni how i can make time for writing but not for my hw. silly me. i tried explained why he did what he did and im sorry if it was crappy. thank u to yall who read the first one. if you guys have any requests or ideas feel free to send me something in my inbox or message me. tyty:))
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sadness. sadness is what jeongguk felt at the end of ___’s letter. sad that he hurt her enough to the point that she thought of herself as anything but perfect. sad that she doubted his feelings for her. sad that despite everything he put her through, she still loved him and still wished him the best. he always knew she had a big heart. it's one of the many reasons he was drawn to her in the beginning, but it was also one of her biggest weaknesses. her heart was too big for her own good and it scared him. ___ was always too quick to forgive and forget and most of the time it came back to bite her in the ass.
 he saw it time after time when her dad had left. he had had an affair and left his wife and two kids for a younger woman and yet she never got mad or ever blamed her father in contrary to yoona. while yoona never gave her father the time of day after the separation, ___ always made sure to set time aside for him even when he never put in enough effort to interacting with his daughters. he was a pretty crappy father, content with his new life. and though it made her sad that her family was no longer whole and her mother was practically always crying herself to sleep, it made her happy that her dad was happy. she was just about twelve then and still, she never gave into childish grudges. thirteen year old jeongguk found her slightly stupid for this trait but as they grew up, he found it quite endearing. 
guilt. after the sadness had settled in, a great wave of guilt washed over his being. while he was here, newly married with a whole life ahead of him, you were somewhere out there living the life you always wanted sad and lonely. too heartbroken to even enjoy it properly. he didn't deserve it, the comfort and security his new marriage gave him, he didn't deserve it. 
 jeongguk was merely seventeen when he fell in love with a sixteen year old ___ all the while he dated yoona, her older sister. he’d known them practically his whole life and it was such a small town that it was simply impossible for you not to know anyone and everyone. everyone went to the same schools and hardly anyone moved out of the godforsaken town. he and yoona started dating in the sixth grade. much too young to be dating but their families were long time friends and saw it appropriate for the two to start early. so that one day the two families would unite. jeongguk hadn’t minded at first. he was eleven at the time but yoona had always been a good friend. they played together all the time so nothing really changed except for the frequent hugs and occasional kiss on the cheek.
 as they grew older they graduated into more mature ways of affection but it never bothered him too much. though he was friends with yoona, he was always closer to ___. sure at first, he had trouble expressing but afterward never once did they ever feel reserved towards one another, only ever honest with every bit of their being.  while yoona was more reserved and occasionally bratty, ___ was outspoken and adventurous. always willing to try something new even if it wasn't exactly encouraged. she never shied away from speaking her mind and that was something jeongguk always aspired to be. she was everything he wasn’t.  she expressed herself in every possible way. hair color was constantly changing since the start of high school. she pulled off any type of style you could think of. you could pick her out of any crowd in an instant. she painted, wrote poems and songs, sang, played various instruments, even took up photography. she turned any type of art form into a way for people to understand her, every single part of her. she was good at so many things and jeongukk, jeongukk was good at one thing. basketball. yet she never made him feel bad about it, instead she went to every game. cheering him on. she was mesmerizing in every single way. 
 while they had their good moments, yoona had a knack of patronizing him for every fault and imperfection. when they started high school she had tried so hard to be looked at as the perfect couple. she made it a point to show that they ‘never fought’ and were always ‘happy’. he never spent too much time with his friends because ‘every boyfriend had to put his girlfriend first’. this is the exact reason jimin never liked her and why jin always referred to her as a pain in the ass. it was safe to say his friends weren't exactly fond of her either. she was so different from ___ which was good or bad, depending on who you were asking. 
yoona was pretty, though jeongguk would say ___ was prettier. soft features, soft personality, light colors were a constant, skirt never too short, hair never too long. she was a straight line kind of girl like the majority of girls in town. grades never faltering. she always believed in the whole study hard, get a good job, have kids plan everyone stuck to and it was always so suffocating. 
he wanted more out of life, he wanted to explore places, explore himself. he wanted to get to know himself in more ways than one because he had yet to know all of it. all of him. but by the time he was sixteen, jeongguk already had a career to work towards and a girl everyone was so sure would be his wife. it was like his life was a book and everyone but him was the author. he had no control and he started to dread the future. he was running and he knew what would be at the finish line, so he slowed down. while yoona was running full speed, he was jogging at most. he started faking a persona in front of his family and yoona because they simply didn’t get it and they never would. 
when he couldn’t exactly talk to his own girlfriend about his feelings and problems ___ was always there to listen. she was good at that. listening. she never judged, instead always reassuring him that when the time came he’ll know what to do. she had an easygoing way of living and he longed to live like that too. though her mother didn't agree and favored yoona more, she simply took it as it was and cherished what she had for the time being. her love for her mother and sister never faltered even if their love never measured up. ___ had a way of looking at the world that could get her far, far away from here and jeongguk envied that. she said all his feelings were valid and no one should be mad at him for simply feeling. once he had slowed down enough for the once blurry images to become clear, he’d realized that running with yoona was far too tiring and that walking with ___ was far more fulfilling.
 jeongguk was merely seventeen when he fell in love with a sixteen year old ___ and it was the most exhilarating feeling ever. it had started out as just a friend being there for a friend, but one day it turned into something more. they had been out on one for their many infamous nightly drives when they had stopped at a cliff, a pretty view of their small town in sight. pretty lights below and above. the stars were out that night just like them, watching the rest of the world sleep. she’d looked into his eyes, simultaneously looking into his soul. with anyone else, he would’ve felt naked and exposed but with her, he wanted her to see everything and to understand everything. he realized he only ever wanted one person to do that and he wanted to express it in the best way possible. he kissed her. really kissed her and she didn't shy away. he knew it was wrong, they both did, but it felt so good. so good that it felt right. right there, in the back of jeongguk’s first car, clothes disappeared one by one and they wrote love poems into the bareness of their skin. so passionate, so raw that it was impossible to stop afterward. they did it again and again behind closed doors, behind the curtain they drew in the depths of night. it was nothing they ever felt before. when they weren’t tangled within each other they explored as much as the city would let them. talking about anything and everything. no boundaries. 
___ planned on leaving once she graduated, didn’t know where to but the farther the better. she hated it here and so did he. it made jeongguk sick to even think about a life without her in it. he was selfish, he knows. he had them both and it was very clear which of them he loved more yet it saddened him that the one he favored more would ever leave him here. alone. that was until she asked him to come with. she asked him to run away with her. he swears if he wasn't deeply in love with her then, he was now. of course he said yes. running away and seeing the world with his favorite girl was a dream. a dream he truly wanted to become reality. 
they planned it out. jeongguk and yoona graduated and while ___ finished her final year in high school and yoona stared college, jeongguk took a gap year waiting for ___. waiting for their dream while working jobs here and there, financially preparing. he also took a business internship so that his family would get off his back for working instead of college. it was full proof, even the boys knew. though they thought it was risky, they supported them both. they had grown fond of ___.  they’d both work jobs to add onto their savings and the day after ___ graduated they’d leave and never come back. that was the plan, the dream. and yet they never made it.  
regret. he regretted it so much. the faithful day came but jeongguk didn’t. she waited and waited but he couldn’t do it. he watched from afar, luggage in hand. watch her wait. watched her cry when she realized. he cried with her. he was just so damn scared. a coward is what he was. he was scared of the unknown, something he craved so much and yet he was scared of it. and that's exactly how he felt for ___ at that moment. he craved her so much, loved her so much, and yet he was scared of her. scared that her spontaneous ways would one day be the end of them. he thought of yoona, at least with yoona he knew what he was getting. knew exactly where they’d end up. he wanted certainty and that's why he watched her leave. but to his surprise, she didn't leave, not yet. she stayed and waited, waited long enough for everyone else to find out. she was then branded as a little slut that wanted a taste of the forbidden fruit, the one he didn't choose. it was far from the truth but its what everyone believed. and so she left far far away and he didn't chase after her. god did he regret it. every day since that day he’s felt nothing but regret. he was back to putting the mask on trying to appease everyone. surprisingly no one reprimanded him and for that he felt anger, anger he’d only felt towards himself.
___ was the love of his life so it hurt. it hurt to see that she didn’t think of herself like he did. he wasn't aware she felt that way. like she was in yoona’s shadow. to him, it had never been like that because she’d been the one he sought to look at first in every room. it hurt to see she thought so low of herself but you could say he wasn't any better. he was newly married and yet he was miserable. it had only been a few months since he and yoona got married and people were already asking when they were having a baby. straight out of college and things were moving so fast. he was nauseated and lived life in such a lethargic manner. he needed her. 
she said she still loved him. maybe it wasn’t too late. maybe he could turn things around and fulfill the dream they never reached. so he picks up the phone and dialed the number he used to call every night. it was so familiar that he didn’t need to think twice about it.
it rang once, twice, and finally, on the third ring, she answered.
“gukk?”
he cried at the sound of her voice. he missed her so much. after a while, he could hear soft sniffling from the other line.
“can i come home?” he asked, voice so hoarse it hurt.
“you are home… aren’t you?” voice strained, sounding confused.
“no no, you’re my home ___. i need to come home. “
with that jeongguk couldn’t help but cry harder.
“shhh shhh gukk, it's ok. everything will be ok.” she cooed familiar words he hadn’t heard in a while. “ok, come home. come to me baby.”
he booked the first flight he could as soon as she said where she was and packed up as much as he could. he was gonna stop living this lie and start living for himself. something he should have done four years ago. and in a few hours, that’s exactly what he was gonna do. live the life he dreamed of with her, no holding back. he needed to stop being afraid. he was on his way, without a care in the world. jeongguk loved ___ and ___ loved him. that's all that mattered.
he’d send the divorce papers over tomorrow.
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noonachronicles · 5 years ago
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The Malebranche Pt. 1
Im Changkyun/I.M. X Reader & Lee Jooheon X Reader
Word count: 9.4k
Warnings: There is cursing. It’s a story about demons so...probably a little dark in theme. This is demon smut. I’m not being flippant or dramatic. It’s literally smut with demons. This is 18+. I’m not your mom and I’m not the fan fiction police. So just don’t have unprotected sex and don’t fuck demons. There’s also some edging. 
Genre: Demon AU. Modern Fantasy. Sorta Soulmate AU
A/N: This is for @nemesyis​. You probably just wanted some porn without plot but if you haven’t noticed... I’m incapable. Here is some porn with a light sprinkling of plot for flavor instead. 
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‘The Path to Paradise Begins in Hell’ - Dante Alighieri
The Eighth Circle was a beautiful burlesque club. It was expected by many to be a front for a brothel or a drug ring but there had never been any proof of it even after several raids and countless undercover investigations. Everyone just assumed that something illegal was happening there, and no one could blame them. It was a cesspool of sin and debauchery.
The club was located just outside of the city in a three story Victorian style mansion. The inside had been completely gutted and renovated by the owners but the outside stayed essentially the same. Only a new layer of paint had been applied. Wine red paneling, black trim, and gold accents. Gothic Barbies dream house.
Inside there was a large foyer with blood red carpets and gold walls. The ceiling was covered in a renaissance style painting. Though the art was not light and angelic like one might have expected. It was dark. It demons and sin. It was the inferno. Beautifully done, but terrifying if you looked too long or too closely. The foyer broke away into three different theatre style rooms. The Red Room, The Purple Room, and The White Room.
The Red Room was the most popular room, it was the most sinful of the three. Named appropriately for it’s color scheme. Red furniture, red floor, red walls, red velvet panels draped overhead. The only things that weren’t red were the crystal chandeliers. Those were consistent through every room in the house. The Red Room experience stood in the center of the four corners. Night club, burlesque club, strip club, and sex club. Consent was the only rule in The Red Room.
The Purple Room offered a slightly more cabaret atmosphere. Mostly purple everything with silver accents here and there. The performances were rambunctious and inclusive. Despite the dark aesthetic it was a classic good time. Usually The Purple Room housed bachelorette parties and birthdays. Large groups of women just looking for a memorable night out.
The White Room, the third of the triplets, was mostly white with accents of gold. It was the most elegant room The Eighth Circle had to offer. Sheer white fabrics hung from the ceiling along with gold and crystal chandeliers. The floor was a bright white marble laced with rivers of gold striping. The couches and chairs were white velvet cushions on gold framing. Women, scantily clad in white lingerie, carried gold trays filled with champagne in crystal stemware. The White Room was mostly for politicians and businessmen that would bring in out-of-towners to impress and seduce them into working with them. Occasionally vanilla couples would partake in The White Room as well if they were trying to spice up a fading love life. Typically if it worked the couples could be found in The Red Room within a week.
The owners of The Eighth Circle were the Malebranche Brothers. Sometimes they were referred to as the Malebranche Twins. Though you’d seen them before in town and couldn’t imagine they were at all related. Most people, however, just called them the Demon Twins.
You would have normally suspected that particular nickname had to do with all of the references to Dante's Inferno that surrounded them whether intentionally or unintentionally. You found it much more likely that the people thought the brothers had a hint of evil in them and less likely that they would have picked up on the literary references. It wasn’t that you thought everyone in town was an illiterate moron. You’d lived in this town your whole life. You knew that everyone in town was an illiterate moron.
The brothers, if that’s even what they were, were young. In appearance they seemed about your age but there was something about their mannerisms that made them seem much older. It’s part of what attracted you to them. They were unlike every other bachelor in this town. It was like they were from somewhere else entirely. A bigger city was your only guess. They had a sense of class and elegance that made them entirely desirable. Unfortunately they weren’t only desirable to you. Every woman and several of the men in town flung themselves desperately at the pair every chance they got. So while you continued to fantasize about them, you knew that’s what they would remain, a fantasy.
From what you knew of them Jooheon was the older of the two brothers but not by much. He was known for his unbelievably plush lips and unmistakable dimples. His hair color usually changed with the seasons but you always thought he looked best with a darker tone. He was also said to be the kinder of the two. He had a pleasantness that his brother seemed to lack, which was probably why he was the one known to take care of the business side of The Eighth Circle.
His brother was Changkyun. He’d been nicknamed the Evil Twin by the people in town. Mostly due to the stern, unimpressed look of his lips when his face was resting. On occasion you’d seen him out to lunch or in a shop with his brother and thought he’d seemed quite playful and even childish. He didn’t scare you too much.
Though you knew Jooheon was meant to be the kinder of the two brothers you would never forget the first time you’d seen them. You were shopping in the city. Jooheon had just stepped out of the car and was headed into a restaurant when he’d turned in your direction, looking just over his shoulder, and his eyes met yours. It was terrifying, just the way it felt, like in that instant he was inside of you.
It was as if he knew every one of your thoughts, every desire. There was just something about him. Lust incarnate with the way your attraction to him tugged at you like there was rope around your waist whenever he was nearby and he held the opposite end firmly in his grasp.    
In that sense you felt lucky that they were a deviant desire and nothing more. Certainly you wouldn’t be able to handle either one of them.
-
Changkyun stood on the third floor balcony that overlooked The Red Room. He was leaning over the banister, soaking in the immoral energies of the night's patrons. A wicked grin grew across his lips as he watched hands grasping flesh. Lips on lips. Very little attention made to who was partaking in who. He loved his work.
“Honey.” he said as his brother moved behind him, not bothering to turn his attention from the activities below.
“Kyun.” Jooheon said leaning against the bannister beside him.
“How are things running?”
“Smooth as ever. Smoother even. Busy for a Wednesday.” Jooheon shrugged, sipping from his glass of bourbon.
“Lucky for us, brother, sin never takes a day off.” Changkyun laughed and snatched the liquor from his brother's hand to take a drink.
Jooheon grew silent, closing his eyes. Changkyun looked over just as they snapped back open to show pitch black orbs. He inhaled deeply, his hand gripping the wooden banister so tightly his knuckles grew white with strain. When he exhaled his eyes lightened to their normal brown.
“She’s here.” he gulped.
Changkyun’s eyebrow perked with mild interest, “Your little townie girlfriend?”
“Don’t be an asshole.” Jooheon glared.
“Where is she? No! Wait!” he chuckled enthusiastically, “Let’s play a game.”
Jooheon shook his head, “I don’t want to play with you. You cheat and you’re mean.”
“Don’t be such a fucking infant.” Changkyun snapped, but his smile had returned in the same blink, “Pleeease, Honey. You never play with me. I’m bored.”
He sighed in quick defeat, prefering to avoid another of his brother's temper tantrums, knowing that Changkyun could always make things worse if he was denied what he wanted.  “What’s the game?”
“If I can figure out who she is on my own, without any hints from you, I get to fuck her.” Jooheon’s jaw clenched, but his brother wasn’t done yet. “I get to fuck her...first.”
“Changkyun.” he growled between tight lips.
His brother only laughed, “Oh please! Please, brother! Who knows if I’ll even be able to figure it out?”
“No.”
“What if I make it a little harder for myself?” he asked, “I only get three guesses.”
Jooheon rolled his eyes knowing full well Changkyun was not going to let it go until he agreed to play. “Fine. Three guesses. No hints.”
“Deal.” Changkyun grinned and held out his hand.
Jooheon grabbed his brother's hand and in an instant they were wrapped in a bind of fire to seal the deal. Jooheon could see the flames dancing in his brothers glistening black eyes, he already felt defeated. His brother always got everything he wanted. Why should she be any different?
After the deal was sealed Changkyun clapped his palms together. “Let’s begin! ONWARD! To the foyer!”
-
You stood at the bar in the foyer suppressing a yawn. Requesting a date on a Wednesday night meant this guy had already been docked points in your book. Being late meant he’d lost even more. Mostly you just hoped he wasn’t going to stand you up. You chewed on the stem that had been attached to the cherry that came with your drink and eyed yourself through the mirror behind the bar.
You looked so good tonight considering the speed with which you had to get ready between getting home from work and the original meet up time. Your dress was stark white and tight against your curves. The hem sat against the tops of  your thighs, not even thinking about nearing your knees. The neck was a deeper v than you normally wore but the white lace sleeves made it seem more classy than slutty, so you thought anyway.
Your blind date was forty minutes late and you had to decide between getting another drink or calling it a night. You lifted your hand to grab the attention of the bartender, ready to close your tab and giving this date a time of death but then you felt it. A tightening in your stomach, you crossed one red stiletto covered foot over the other, squeezing your thighs together and tried to keep breathing. You didn’t know how you knew it was him, you just knew he was somewhere nearby. This wasn’t the first time you’d felt it.
“Did you need something?” the bartender asked. “Refill?”
You shook your head and after a slightly put out look she turned and went to the next guest. Turning around you leaned your back against the bar and searched the room. It didn’t take long before you saw him. Not your date. Jooheon. Standing at the top of the stairs with his brother at his side.
Changkyun was saying something energetically as he looked over the crowd of club attendees. With a gulp you looked Jooheon over. His hair was bright red tonight, the last time you saw him it was blonde, and pushed back off of his forehead. You could see the dip in his cheek from his dimple from where you were, that's how deep it was, and the double slit in his eyebrow.
You bit your bottom lip as they made their way down the stairs, your heart was racing. He’d missed a few buttons on the black silk shirt he was wearing, intentionally you assumed, and you were mesmerized by the thin silver chain around his neck with its pendant that bounced against his bare chest. Your gaze had just made it to the holy grail, a golden snake belt buckle and a pair of tight black, leather pants that had your mouth a confused mixture of desert dry and waterfall of drool.  
That was when you heard, “Did it hurt?”
Moving your focus you met your date, Kihyun, with the single red rose he said he was bringing. “Huh?”
“When you fell from heaven?” he grinned.
Oh. No. You faked your very best chuckle. “That’s cute.”
“I’m Kihyun.”
You lifted the rose he’d handed you, “I’d gathered.”
“I reserved a table in The White Room. People say it’s hard to get a reservation here but honestly I found it easy. I always get into wherever I want probably because-” he continued to brag, not even humbly, but you had stopped listening anyway.
With every step The Twins moved closer. They walked right past you as if in slow motion, the sleeve of Jooheon’s black blazer brushed the back of your hand and you nearly lost your breath completely. Wishful thinking had you believing he’d even looked at you, however briefly. He hadn’t even gotten two steps away and you’d already imagined about four different ways he could take you right then and there. You could probably kill someone if it meant running your hands through his hair, kissing that dimple, knowing that man. Honestly you couldn’t help but to think to yourself that you might have to just sleep with Kihyun tonight even if things didn’t go well because you were pretty sure you were in heat. And why should you have to suffer through the night just because this guy hadn’t yet had the decency to apologize for being an hour late.
“Y/n?” he said, placing his hand gently on your forearm.
You jumped slightly, you were so incredibly wound up. “What?”
“I asked if you wanted to go to our seats now.”
“Yeah, let’s go...” You said with one last longing look over at The Twins.
-
While you were getting comfortable with Kihyun in The White Room, Jooheon was following Changkyun around on his mission through The Eighth Circle. First the foyer, where he would look at every guest and then back at Jooheon to search his face for some sort of slip up. Then The Red Room where he moved around the room in his charismatic way, gently touching guests on their hips or arms, asking them if they were having a good time and trying to read their energy. By the time they stepped out of The Purple Room he’d wasted two of his guesses. Changkyun was furious and Jooheon was feeling hopeful. Only one more wrong guess from his counterpart and he was free to pursue you.
“Give me a fourth guess.” Changkyun huffed, “One for each room and the foyer. It’s only fair.”
“What’s fair is you playing by the rules we’ve already set.” Jooheon declined the request, “One more guess.”
He hoped that in his frustration Changkyun would get reckless with his last guess. Guess on a whim, be wrong, game over. When they stepped into The White Room it was hard for Jooheon to not look directly at you. He also didn’t want to completely avoid you either, as Changkyun would be looking for that as well. His hands were shaking as he made it to the bar and requested a drink to steady his nerves.
Changkyun sighed deeply looking over the room. “Well, she’s definitely in here.”
“What makes you think that?” Jooheon asked, taking a sip of his drink.
“If you were vibrating any harder, every woman in this room would cum in an instant.” He grinned.
Jooheon shrugged, trying to remain casual. “Well, I mean, if you’re sure. You have one guess left.”
“Tiny or tall. Big or small.” Changkyun hummed to himself, “Blonde or Brunette. Virgin or...slut.”
“Are you and your horrid rhyming skills done yet?” Jooheon asked, “Shows about to start. Maybe you’d like to take a break from your boring little game.”
Ignoring Jooheon, Changkyun had a thought. “Maybe she’s neither virgin nor whore. Maybe, maybe she’s part innocence and part evil. You wouldn’t be attracted to anyone too good, that’s bland. But she couldn’t be too evil either or it would annoy you. You need someone just right. A Goldilocks.”
“What are you talking about?” Jooheon sighed. “How could you know what any of these women are like? I’ve never even met her. I don’t know her personality. There’s no way you could.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, dear brother.” Changkyun grinned and placed two fingers against his lips as he scanned the room. “Eenie meenie...miny moe.”
Slowly he pointed his two fingers out like a gun and took aim with you in his crosshairs. His eyes lit up and his thumb dropped as he released a pop from his lips.
“Found her.” He blew a gust of breath on the barrel of his finger gun and looked over at Jooheon with a wink. “Dressed like an absolute angel but there is... nothing very nice inside of her.”
Jooheon swallowed the lump in his throat. “Fine. Congratulations, you won your dumb little game. Please, don’t do this.”
“What’s the point of winning if you don’t get your reward?” He asked and sneered over at Jooheon who was pouting, “Oh good God. Stop acting like you’re in love with her or something, you don’t even know her. It’s pathetic.”
“If she says no to your advances…”
“Then of course nothing will happen,” Changkyun scoffed, “I’m not a fucking monster.”
“Guess that depends on who you ask.” Jooheon muttered.
“Well, this was fun but I think it’s time to collect my winnings.” Changkyun looked over at Jooheon curiously, “Are you going to watch?”
Jooheon rolled his eyes and finished off his drunk, “Go fuck yourself, brother.”
“Oh but I won’t have to!”  Changkyun laughed to himself as he watched Jooheon storm out of the room.
-
Kihyun had gotten you a new drink before the two of you took your seats in the front row booth he’d reserved for your date. However he’d also talked so much, about himself, that your drink was already down to the ice cubes. You half listened to him as he described in detail what his average work day looked like and half watched the runoff of your melting ice. Taking a sip every time there was enough collected at the bottom of the cup to warrant taking a sip. What felt like three hours, but was only about twenty minutes passed before he finally looked at his watch.  
“Wow, I can’t believe how fast time is flying.” He said with a smile.
“Who knew investment banking was so fascinating.” you offered with mediocre enthusiasm.
“I think they’re really about to get started soon. Would you like me to refill your drink again beforehand?” he asked.
You nodded gratefully, “That would be amazing, thank you.”
“Okay, but last one.” He laughed sliding out of the booth. “No one likes a girl that can’t keep her wits about her.”
Suppressing an eyeroll that hard nearly gave you an instant migraine. The second his back was turned you pulled out your phone and sent a text to the friend that had set you up on this blind date to let her know she was now your ex-friend. You cleared out a few of your awaiting notifications and then before you could even stop yourself your jaw dropped in the biggest yawn you’d ever experienced in your life.
“A yawn that big does not bode well for my business.”
If Changkyun was any other man in the world you assumed you would probably despise him based on his tacky fashion sense alone. Tonight he was wearing a silk, snake print shirt under a purple, velvet blazer. That alone would have been enough to turn you away from any other man, then on top of that his belt buckle was a massive, eye catching, howling wolf's head. Infact, rather than being repulsed by the outfit you found yourself staring quite unabashed as he stood in front of you. His pierced eyebrow was raised as he looked you over, and you noticed the flash of silver on his tongue as it moved across his bottom lip.  
In your head you thought of at least ten clever, sexy comebacks to give him. Ultimately, after too long, all you gave him in reply was, “Huh?”
He snickered to himself, knowing full well he’d already ruffled your feathers and he was only just warming up. “If you’re not having a good time, I want you to know I will make it my personal mission to make sure that you do.”
Shaking your head you blushed, “It’s not...The club is great. Beautiful. Entertaining beyond comparison.”
His eyes darted over to the bar, lingered on Kihyun’s back for a moment, and then went back to you, “Oh no, it’s not...your date? Please tell me you’re not here, in that dress, with someone who is yawn worthy boring.”
Your mouth opened and then you closed it slowly into a smile as Kihyun came back to the table. He handed you your refreshed drink and took his seat in the booth before realizing Changkyun was standing beside your table.
“Hi...can we help you?” he asked, clearly confused.
“How rude of me…” Changkyun held out his hand and Kihyun accepted it. “I’m Changkyun. This is my club. Well, half of it anyway.”
“Do you often walk around to make sure people are having a good time?” Kihyun asked.
“Ahh.” Changkyun smirked, “Only when I see a truly beautiful woman in one of my seats.”
“Yes, well, y/n is a stunning specimen.” Kihyun smiled tightly, “I’d thank you for the wonderful time we’ve been having, but the conversation has been all us. The chemistry...spectacular.”
You could see the look in Changkyun’s eye, the one that said he had something witty waiting on that sharp tongue, but the lights began to dim. “Can I sit with you? Just for the first performance? I’d hate to be in anyone’s way.”
“I don’t think-”
“Of course.”
You and Kihyun spoke together, but ultimately you scooted into the booth further and allowed Changkyun to slip in beside you as the music began and that was the end of the discussion. The room went dark and a bright white spotlight hit the stage where the white velvet curtains parted to show the stage. An old, big jazz band song started to play and you watched wide eyed as a huge silver ring descended from the ceiling and sitting on the bottom arc of the circle was a scantily clad woman. You watched fascinated as she began moving around the ring. Hanging, dangling, contorting her body all around the thin bar.
Taking just a moment to break your gaze away from the stage, you grabbed your drink to take a sip. Your eyes caught Changkyun’s hand, resting on the top of the table, his fingers thrumming against the white table cloth. Silver bands on two of his fingers and black nail polish on three. Placing your glass down on the table, it took maximum efforts not to reach for his hand.
They looked so long and soft. You wanted to feel them and feel them on you. You realized that this might be the closest you ever got to one of the brothers, so you let your eyes wander. Over his hands, over his wrist with the thin silver bracelet that dangled from it, over his body. The rise and fall of his smooth chest, that you could see clearly from the way his shirt rested open loosely. He was leaning back against the booth and his neck looked so long you gulped. His profile was flawless, jaw sharp, chin perfectly curved, nose...god, his nose. There was a smirk across his lips when he turned his face. His eyes locked with yours, refusing to let you go, not that you’d have looked away anyway.
Changkyun lifted his hand to your face, dragging his fingers down your jaw before holding your chin between his fingers. You felt dazed in a way you had never felt before. You leaned towards him, you were nearly there, lips ready to press against the ones that waited there for you. Then you blinked. Just a blink and you were sitting back in the booth, the lights coming up from the end of the performance. Kihyun was applauding enthusiastically and Changkyun was slipping out of the booth.  
“Wait!” you said suddenly. Changkyun turned to look back at you. “Do you...have to leave so soon?”
“Y/n,” Kihyun reached out and placed his hand on your knee, “I’m sure he’s a busy man with a lot to do. Let’s not bother him further. We can go get dinner.”
“Didn’t you say it was your personal mission to make sure I had a good time?”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” he grinned, “I suppose I could spend a while longer with you.”
“...that’s really not necessary.” Kihyun said quietly, but it was pretty clear he was quickly becoming the third wheel on this date.
You bit your lip as Changkyun sat back down next to you. Kihyun watched flabbergasted for several minutes as the two of you flirted right in front of him before he got up with a huff and took off. You felt a little bad but not enough that you would have gone back in time to change anything.
Changkyun, one of the widely sought after demon twins, had his arm over your shoulder and all of his attention focused on you. You pinched yourself several times until you flinched because it just didn’t seem real.
After a few more performances you mentioned needing to think about calling a cab to go home. Changkyun offered sweetly to take you home and you jumped at the chance. This night started out as such a flop and had turned into a fantasy.
“Stay here.” Changkyun said, letting his hand drag over your hip. He’d walked you out of The White Room following the last performance, and into the busy foyer. “I’ll call for the car.”
You inhaled deeply and let out a relaxing sigh. Being around Changkyun had you so tense, so unbelievably aroused. The knot in your gut was screaming for release, and though you didn’t want to be presumptuous you thought you might actually have a chance with him tonight. A big part of you wished you’d caught Jooheon’s eye, but getting to be with either of the twins was more than you could have hoped for yourself.
“Did you enjoy yourself tonight?”
Your blood prickled as Jooheon stepped next to you, his hands in his pockets.
“I..heh...um.” you shook with nerves.
Jooheon just smiled, his dimple digging deeper into his cheek. You wanted to swim in it.
Looking over at you completely he smiled kindly, “Be careful on your way home tonight. We’d like to have you back here again soon.”
“Wow.” You gasped.
You’d never seen him up close before, and honestly you weren’t ready for it. Changkyun was something. Jooheon was something else completely. His eyes were dark but glistened like galaxies. His lips were so...wet. Soft, plush clouds. Your heart was pounding so hard against your chest you were certain it was about to crash all the way through.
“What?” He asked quietly, like a whisper, just for you.
“It’s just..you’re breathtaking.” You’d be embarrassed about saying it later on when you remembered but for now it just had to be said.
He blushed at the compliment. “I could say the same for you.”
There was just something about him. Something inside you was so drawn to something in him. You thought about what it would feel like to just be held by him. He looked like the definition of comfort.
“Y/n.” Both of you turned to see Changkyun, standing in the doorway looking, in contrast, like the definition of devious. “We’re all set, are you ready?”
“Have fun.” Jooheon bowed out and you watched as he turned and left.
“Yeah, ready.” You smiled at Changkyun and he led you to the car waiting outside.
You slid over the black leather of the backseat and Changkyun slid in after. After you gave the driver your address the two of you sat quietly together. Several blocks passed by the window before Changkyun turned to you.
“You prefer my brother.”
“What?” You asked as if you hadn’t just spent the last ten minutes thinking endlessly about Jooheon and his impossible dimple and his unstoppable lips.
“It’s okay. It won’t hurt my feelings.” He assured you.
You sighed, “I don’t have a preference, it’s only that I’d noticed him first.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Why?” Your whole mood dropped.
“It’s just Jooheon is deeply interested in someone right now.”
“Oh…” you didn’t know why it stung so badly, you should have already known someone like him would have someone.
“She was there tonight at the club. Absolutely stunning young woman.”
“That’s so nice...for them.” You wished he’d stop talking about it already.
“It is, isn't it? Then there’s two poor, lonely idiots like us. Right?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
You scoffed lightly, “Poor, lonely idiot...that’s definitely me.”
Changkyun looked down at his lap and sighed, “Well, unfortunately I can’t get you what you want, but I can give you second best if you’re willing to settle.”
“What?” You asked in genuine disbelief. “You...would be interested in someone like me?”
“Not someone like you.” He corrected. “I’m interested in you.”
“Really?” You asked, “I don’t mean to sound...so surprised. It’s just, I find it so very hard to believe someone as handsome as you would be interested in me.”
“Why do you think I spent my whole night with you?” He chuckled.
“Honestly? Pity.”
“Not at all. Not even a little bit.” He looked over at you and smirked, “I spent my night with you in hopes of getting a kiss.”
You practically snorted in shock. “What?”
“Something small. Just to taste you.”
“Are you serious?”
He shrugged, “Only if you wanted it too. ...but since I’m not Jooheon.”
It would have been stupid to waste even another second so you leaned forward and pressed your lips to his. You could taste how smug he was. The tip of his tongue swiped at your lips and you opened your mouth to him without hesitation. His tongue was soft and slick with the exception of the little metal ball that massaged your tongue.
You moaned into his mouth while his hands roamed over your body. He’d turned his body to yours, his fingers slipping up the thin fabric of your dress until his hand was your hip and the skirt was pulled all the way up to your stomach. You were a panting, breathless mess and his hands were only urging you further.  
You pressed your palm against his chest, “Changkyun…while this is nice and I desperately want more...your driver is like right there.”
“Who?” He said looking towards the front seat and then back to you, “Minhyuk?”
“Yeah…” you nodded, “He’s probably already heard everything I doubt he wants to see it too.”
“Don’t worry. He’s deaf, and blind...and mute.”
“Your driver is deaf and blind?” You smirked.
“Sure he is.” He leaned in and sucked the skin of your neck until you whimpered . “Isn’t that right, Minhyuk?”
When you looked over you saw Minhyuk's eyes flicker to the rear view mirror and then back to the road.
“See, and mute. Like I said.” he slipped his hand between your thighs, fingers grazing your wrecked panties. “Now tell the truth, since your soaked pussy already has. You kind of want him to watch.”
You shook your head, “I don’t care about that. I just...It’s you. I really want you.”
A fire flickered in his eyes and his chest puffed up enthusiastically, “You do?”
“Well...yeah.” you laughed, brushing his cheek with your hand.
“Then you should have me.” His hand pulled gently on your hip.
The pull wasn’t aggressive, only suggestive, until you were throwing your leg over his lap, and sitting on top of him. As the car moved through the streets the backseat filled with the sounds smacking lips and desperate, lustful moans. His hands spread out over your ass and he brought your hips into his. The size of the bulge you felt between your thighs was more than you could have expected. Your eyes rolled back while your hips rolled forward in a needy attempt at getting the friction you hadn’t realized you were missing out on.
Changkyun sat smug beneath you, enjoying the frenzied way that you thrusted against him. Your teeth dug into his lips. It was as if you’d lost all control. Your animalistic need for him was outweighing any desire you had to preserve an image of a respectable woman. Then you were close, you could taste your orgasm on the tip of your tongue. All you needed was maybe ten more seconds with his bulge. And then it was gone. With a surprising amount of strength he plucked you from his lap and you were back on the seat, stunned into silence.
“It seems we’re here.” Changkyun said calmly as he straightened out his shirt and jacket. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”
“I..umm.” you straightened your skirt down your trembling legs. “Well… thank you for the ride. I appreciate it.”
“I should thank you for the ride.” He laughed and then he asked in a slightly condescending tone, “You didn’t expect me to go in with you did you?”
Too embarrassed to even look at him, you shook your head and opened the door, “Of course not. Uhm, bye.”
You slipped out of the car and began the shameful walk inside. You heard the door shut and were waiting for the car to drive off when you heard Changkyun call out to you.
“Why would I be expected to come inside when you didn’t even ask nicely?”
Turning around you smiled at the sight of him standing beside the waiting car, looking proud of himself for fooling you.
“Changkyun… would you like to join me inside?”
With his hands in his pockets he walked over slowly. Casually, taking in the outside view of your apartment building, until you were standing chest to chest. Leaning down he whispered against your ear, “I would love to come inside of you. Oop, I meant with you.”
Without even asking your brain permission, your hips pushed forward until they were pressed against his. “I-uh…”
“Go on…” he prompted. “Tell the truth. Tell me again what you want.”
He was so close you couldn’t miss the opportunity to taste him again. Kissing softly along his jaw until you met his ear you whispered, “I want you.”
“Want me to what?”
You blushed and shook your head, “Just you.”
“Come on, y/n.” He grinned, “I know how filthy you can get. I just watched you hump me relentlessly in the backseat of my car. Stop playing coy and tell me what it is that you want.”
“I want you to fuck me until I can’t feel my legs.”
He inhaled sharply and stepped back with a pleased smile, “Wonderful. Lead the way.”  
-
Somewhere between your initial excitement outside of the apartment building and the ride up the elevator you remembered that your apartment was a mess. Usually your home had that typical ‘lived in’ feel to it, but it wasn’t a pigsty. However after the hurricane you had become in your attempt to get ready for your date it was a sloppy disaster. You tried to talk  Changkyun into waiting out in the hall while you cleaned up but, too amused by your panic, he refused.
“May I have a look around?” Changkyun asked politely as you hurriedly picked up loose clothes from the floor.
“Sure...it’s messy. Obviously.” You warned, “I hadn’t planned on having anyone up.”
“Not even your date?” He called curiously from the living room as he surveyed your belongings.
You let out a quiet sigh as you considered how to answer him. Shaking your own head in disbelief you said, “I don’t typically do this kind of thing. You know, just… invite people home on the first date.”
Changkyun laughed heartily from the doorway of your bedroom and it made you jump. You hadn’t realized he was right there. “You don’t have to lie for my benefit. In fact I prefer your filthy, slutty honesty.”
Between the suggestive tone of his words and the dark look in his eyes, goosebumps popped up all over your body. He swiped his long, wet tongue over his lips and then casually turned his back on you to continue perusing your belongings.
“Can I get you anything? Water...wine…” you asked, lighting a scented candle and then leaning against the dresser once you’d finished your quick clean.
“Do you have any banana milk?” He asked and looked over his shoulder at your surprised face before he laughed, “I’m fucking with you. I don’t want anything.”
Your thighs rubbed anxiously together as you watched him look over your bookshelf. He opened a few boxes to find letters and photographs before moving on.
“You look like you’re looking for something.” You said with a tiny gulp.
“I am.” He said honestly before tugging open one of your bedside drawers.
“How do you know I even have what you’re looking for?”
He smirked as he made his way around the bed to the second drawer. Placing his hand on the handle he watched your cheeks flush and he said, “You absolutely have what I’m looking for...angel.”
You were practically shaking as he pulled the drawer open. He laughed again before reaching into the drawer and pulling out your favorite teal colored vibrator. Turning towards you he spun it around in his hand.
“Not even in the cute, silk drawstring bag for added privacy. Just sitting right on top where anyone can find it. What a bad girl...” He stepped over to you and dragged the toy against your thigh. “This guy must see a lot of action.”
“Maybe.” You said as he moved the vibrator up under your dress. “Why were you looking for it?”
“I wanted to see what you’re used to.” He leaned in until you felt his breath on your neck. “I wanted to see if you could take me.”
Your eyes closed gently, “And?”
“Inconclusive.” He said inhaling you deep into his chest. “I’ll have to conduct further tests. So if you’d be so kind as to go lay down for me.”
“Okay…”
“So agreeable.” He watched you slip past him and move toward the bed. “Take the dress off first.”
You stopped just at the edge of the mattress and unzipped the side of your dress. His eyes stayed on you as you tugged the dress off your shoulders and slipped it down your hips and thighs until it fell to the floor at your feet. Turning around you looked at him, his head was tilted and there was something evil in his smile as he took you in. Noticing that you hadn’t moved he looked up and caught your eyes and with a small shiver you climbed onto the mattress.
“No bra.” He noted.
“Doesn’t go with the cut of the dress.”
“Interesting that you didn’t plan on having any visitors tonight, and yet you’re wearing such mouthwatering panties. Maybe you’re just the type that owns only fancy matching sets.” He said, pushing himself off of your dresser and moving towards the bed, “If I check your panty drawer what will I find, y/n? A dozen matching lace, satin sets or a mismatched  mess of cute cotton panties with pineapples and puppy dogs on them.”
“What do you think?” You asked softly as he sat down on the mattress next to you and crossed one leg over the other.
“I think I’d prefer you in neither.” He grinned, his pierced eyebrow raised and you realized his comment had been a subtle command.
Biting your lip, you squirmed as you pulled your panties off your hips and down your thighs. Changkyun cleared his throat and held out his hand once they’d unhooked from your ankles. You handed him the laced satin fabric. Fisting them in his hand he brought them to his nose and inhaled deeply with a satisfied groan.
“Mmm. That’s a five star cunt if I’ve ever smelled one.” He smiled, and placed the bundle of fabric in his pocket. His fingers danced across the skin of your stomach, over your hip, and down your thigh. “I’ve already done such a nice job on you. And we’ve only just begun.”
You watched quietly as he pushed your legs open and teased your soaked sex with this fingertips. They slipped over your slick folds, circled your sensitive clit, and dipped briefly into the velvety depth of you. He kept his eyes on your face the whole time, taking in every reaction, no matter how small. No matter how hard you tried to hide it from him, he was learning you too quickly. He lifted his glistening fingers to his mouth and hummed pleasantly as his tongue ran over them.
He dropped his hand down to your mouth and said, “Open.”
You twisted your tongue around his fingers before sucking them into your mouth. When he groaned and his eyes fell closed you wanted to cheer in celebration that you’d finally gotten him. Even if it was small, and even if he was definitely going to own you much harder, you internally celebrated your little victory. After a long minute passed with his fingers in your mouth he removed them from your lips and cupped your face in his hand.
“I...like you.” he said softly, rubbing his thumb against your cheek.
Dropping his hand beside him he picked up the vibrator that had been laying on the comforter. A shiver went through you when he clicked the toy on and brought it between your legs. Your toes were already starting to curl into the blanket beneath you and all he’d done was drag the vibrator over your pussy. He circled the toy around your clit several times before dragging it down and back up. You didn’t know exactly what his plan was but you loved how it felt. Once he’d gotten the vibrator as dripping wet as you were, he pressed it inside of you slowly. Your mouth fell open at the sudden filling sensation of it.
“Touch yourself.” he requested.
As your hand reached down to play with your hardened clit, Changkyun leaned forward and took one of your nipples in his mouth. There was something so...detached and demeaning in the way you were completely naked and exposed while he remained fully dressed. Despite how small he had you feeling, you still felt incredibly powerful with all of the focus being on you. It was surprisingly sexy. You moaned as you felt your oncoming orgasm for a second time that night, while he fucked you with your own vibrator. Your free hand slid up into Changkyun’s hair and massaged the back of his head as he continued to suck and tease your breasts with his teeth.  
“Fuck!” You shouted, back arching off the mattress, “Don’t stop, I’m so close. I’m gonna cum.”
You were right there that moment of agony before the ecstasy. Except ecstasy didn’t come and neither did you. Changkyun had pulled the vibrator from between your legs and turned it off and with the loss of the fill your hand had dropped subconsciously.
“Why?” You whimpered.
This was the second time he’d done that tonight and you were annoyed and furious and so aroused you wanted to scream. He looked down at you, his fingers brushing a few stray strands of hair from your sweat beaded forehead.
He shrugged, “It’s funny. You’re very cute when you squirm.”
He stood up from the mattress and pulled his jacket from his body before folding it and hanging it over the plush reading chair in the corner. He hummed a cheerful song as he walked back to the bed, rolling his sleeves up his forearms.  Standing at the end of the mattress, he looked over you. Grabbing your ankles and he dragged you down the bed slightly until he had you where he wanted you and then he climbed onto the bed between your legs. Spreading your legs wide open he admired what he’d done so far. You laughed to yourself as he inspected your swollen, sticky cunt.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, spreading your lips open.
“Nothing.” you answered quickly.
You gasped as he smacked your sensitive sex, “Don’t lie. Tell me what you think is so funny. I love a good joke just like anyone else.”
“It’s just…” you sighed, “If you’re going to try and eat me out...it’s not going to work. Not after you’ve already gone so hard with the vibrator. It just won’t be enough to get me off.”
He laughed lightly, “Do you mind if I try it? If you think it won’t work, it probably won’t work but, I’d still like to try.”
“I’ve never said no to head before.”
You’d had one boyfriend in the past who always asked you to sit on his face. It was some of the best head you’d ever gotten. The way his tongue got deeper than any other before him, you were sure it was the only way you could come from oral alone. That was until now, until Changkyun.
He started out so timid. Tiny kitten licks, a long slow swipe of his tongue from bottom to top. It was nice but as you’d suspected it wasn’t about to bring you to orgasm. Then he changed tempo and once he had you suspected that his original apprehension was a red herring.  
He pushed your legs open and put the weight of his arms down on them to keep from moving, which was smart because in seconds your body was attempting to snap them shut on his face. He sucked your clit between his lips and beat it senselessly with the tiny metal piercing on his tongue. You’d been wrong, and if he’d asked you would have admitted it readily. However he didn’t ask, he just kept going. You fisted his hair in between your shaking fingers.
“What...the...fuck.” you gasped as he snaked his tongue inside of you.
Not just inside of you, but deep. Deeper than should have been physically possible. There was half a sense of concern, what had he actually shoved inside of you, but the rest of you just didn’t care. The part that didn’t care won over as your hips started to push up into his face, needing more.
“Oh my god!”
Your gasps turned to shouts of pleasure as he brought out his secret weapon. With his tongue impossibly deep inside of you, the piercing massaging your slick sensitive walls you thought you could come like that. Then his nose brushed against your clit. You couldn’t breath. Your eyes blew wide and it felt like everything you thought you’d known about your own body was a mistake.
“Yes!” You screamed out as your hips tried to buck further into his face, “Fuck! YES! Oh god! Oh- shit!”
He kept on and you kept screaming until there was aggressive pounding on your bedroom wall from your neighbor. You knew you should stop screaming, that you should pull yourself together, but Changkyun and his devilish relentlessness wouldn’t let you.
“Fuck! I'm gonna cum! I’m! Gonna-”
Changkyun pulled away from your pussy with a pop. He licked his lips as he pushed himself up off the mattress.
You deflated against the pillows like a sad balloon. “I don’t like you.”
He shrugged, “For a minute there it sounded like you were incredibly fond of me.”
“Why? Why do you hate me?”
“You said I wouldn’t be able to make you cum.” he said innocently, “It would have been so embarrassing for me if I failed, so I thought it would be better to just quit while I was ahead.”
Grabbing the pillow from beneath your head you swung it into his face. He grabbed the pillow with a genuine laugh and tossed it back on the bed.
“You know I was right there. You know you were going to get me off.” you glared. “Asshole.”
Walking around to the side of the bed he grabbed your hips and tugged you ruffly until your legs were hanging off of the edge where he stepped between them. He leaned forward and sucked the skin of your chest between his lips, moving up until he was latched onto your neck. Your arms slid up his back until your hands were hooked over his shoulders, holding him close.
Finally he pulled back slightly and whispered, “Maybe I just wanted to feel you cum on my dick. Would that be so bad?”
“No.” you said breathlessly as the dark look in his eyes washed over your body like a wildfire.  
A gulp traveled down your throat as he stood fully and removed his belt and unzipped his pants. “Flip over for me.”
“I want to see it.” you said curiously. 
“Fine.” he smirked and placed his hands on his hips. “Go ahead.”
Without a second thought you sat up on the bed and reached to unbutton his pants. You dragged them down his hips just slightly, along with the black boxer briefs beneath. Then, teeth digging anxiously into your bottom lip you freed the massive bulge you’d enjoyed so much earlier in the car.
“Oh.”
It was what you could only describe as the holy grail of dicks. Smooth and long, with perfect and even coloration. It was pretty. The thickness of it made you both nervous and excited. It sat heavy in your palm and the tip glistened with precum. Leaning forward you pressed a sweet kiss against the head and then sat back to lick the taste of him from your lips.
“Will it do?” he asked
“Only one way to find out.” you turned around, and dug your knees into the mattress.
You could feel his hand move between your legs once more. He pressed three fingers inside of you, just to be sure you wouldn’t be stretched too uncomfortably. When he finally sunk into you, you lurched forward onto the bed.
“Is that okay?” It shocked you how thoughtful and caring he sounded.  
You nodded and pressed back into him for assurance. “Don’t stop this time.”
“I won’t.” he promised, his hands wrapping around your hips as he continued on.
It was so slow and easy at first, you thought it would be nice if he could just keep doing it forever. A long satisfied moan escaped your lips. Once he knew you’d taken to his size he went harder, faster. Reaching forward he grabbed your hair tightly in his fist and pulled you back against his chest. It surprised you how sensitive your skin was against the silk of his shirt. Almost as sensitive as your pussy had gotten to his silk cock. The arm that wasn’t hanging onto your hair slipped around your body, his hand cupping your bouncing breast.
“Oh! Fuck me! Harder!” you begged as he slammed into you.
Your orgasm was close, coming faster than any of the ones before and only building bigger with every hard thrust.
“Oh, baby…” he panted against the top of your head, feeling you start to contract around him.
Then your eyes went wide, “NO! What are you doing? Don’t you dare.”
He’d pulled out and hadn’t pushed back in with the swiftness as he had before.
Changkyun only laughed. “Calm down. I just want to see that pretty little face you’re about to make when you cum all over my fat cock .”
You flipped over one more time and looked up at him skeptically. “I swear to God...”
He chuckled as he lifted your leg up around his waist and sunk back into you. “God doesn’t give a fuck if you cum. I do.”
There was something about being face to face. Having your arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, his forehead pressed against yours, your tongue being gently sucked in between his lips. You were glad he’d made the switch. This was nice. And though he was still fully dressed it felt intimate.
“Oh..Changkyun...yes.” you cried out as your orgasm tore through you threefold. You’d never come so hard, you weren’t sure you could stop. The tightening of your walls milked out his own orgasm soon after. Your body shook almost violently as you came but so sweetly your voice flowed against his ear when you breathed out a simple, “Kyunnie…”
It wasn’t something he’d ever wanted anyone to know. If people found out it would make him appear soft and weak. However, as intentionally uncaring and cruel as he often came off, all he’d ever wanted was to be wanted. Really, truly wanted. Not wanted because he was attractive or rich or had a big dick. And it was impossible for him to know what you’d really wanted him for but it just  felt different with you. It felt like more when you said his name like that, like you still wanted him even though he was done with you.
He knew when you said his name like that he’d fucked up. All he was trying to do was piss off Jooheon. It had been a joke. He didn’t plan to actually like you, he didn’t want to. He wanted to discard you like trash. Give you away to his brother as sloppy seconds and see how much he wanted you then.
“Stay here.” he said hurriedly. He pulled out of you and tucked himself into his pants before disappearing into your attached bathroom.
“Where would I go?” you muttered, before dropping back onto the mattress exhausted.
You closed your eyes and listened as he moved around your bathroom, trying to figure out what he was doing in there. You had figured he was just washing up but it was taking longer than you expected. When he finally returned you were nearly asleep.
“Not yet…” he said waking you up and then helping you off the bed. “Can’t let you go to bed looking like some teenage boys used sock.”
You snorted out a laugh and leaned your head against his shoulder. “You’re just so romantic I don’t know how to handle myself.”
In the bathroom you were genuinely stunned to see that he’d run a bath for you, complete with overflowing bubbles. He helped you step into the tub and eased you down into the warm water.
“Kyunnie…” he looked away from you and then gulped before looking back, “This is actually really sweet.”
“Well,” he grabbed a washcloth, dunking it into the water to use on your skin, “it can’t take all night. Minhyuk is still downstairs waiting for me.”
Lifting your hand you moved it over his neck and pulled him down for a kiss before muttering against his lips, “You can tell him to leave...stay the night with me.”
“I can’t.” he stood up from the tub and dropped the towel in the water. “I’m going to clean up out here. I’ll be back to get you out in a minute.”
He was panicking and he needed to get his composure back. It might be nice to stay the night with you. It might be what he wanted to do, but he wouldn’t. Not only was Minhyuk waiting to take him home, but Jooheon was waiting there for him. Jooheon. His brother. His only friend on earth. The only person who ever would and ever could understand him completely. The only person that would ever put up with his bullshit no matter what.
Jooheon. The one that he was certain was bound to you. At least if the mark on your forearm had anything to say about it.
So he took a deep breath, cleaned up the mess he’d made of your bed and went back to help you out of the tub like he said he would. He even dressed you and tucked you into the bed before getting his jacket off the chair. When he turned to say goodbye you were looking at him with big needy eyes and your lip between your teeth and he hated it.
“Will I see you again?” you asked.
He looked at you with one of his classically smug smirks that you’d seen over and over again all night and said, “I’m sure you will.”
237 notes · View notes
pixiegrl · 4 years ago
Note
request for your next tangled muke adventure, the scene where they escape from the cave?
Meghna! This was so fun to write! Please enjoy my humble gift to you! And also @calumsclifford for endlessly hearing my yell about what im writing if its tangled
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169226
Luke keeps whining about food. Michael wishes he would go back to tugging on his sleeve and asking him about everything if it means he’ll stop begging Michael for food. Michael’s not entirely sure of where they are right now and since he wasn’t planning on a trip, he doesn’t exactly have any food with him. Luke is not bothered by this at all, keeps choosing to ask Michael again and again as if the answer will somehow be different.
“Michael, there has to be somewhere to eat near here. Or something we can eat. Michael,” Luke whines, dragging out the end of Michael’s name in a way he can only describe as incredibly annoying. He turns to glare at Luke, who looks back at him with wide innocent eyes. He’s adorable and Michael still refuses to find him cute at all. He’s decided thinking of Luke as a friend was a mistake, now Luke has just decided to annoy him forever. 
Michael is relieved when the edge of a tavern comes into sight. He thinks he probably has just enough coins with him to feed Luke and get a drink for himself, so he can continue to put up with Luke’s bubbling enthusiasm. Even if the place looks a little rough for Luke to be in. Michael’s decently sure he can protect Luke from some bandits, as long as they’re not also after Michael. Although maybe Luke can just smile at them and they’ll reconsider harming him. He does have a nice smile, all bright eyes and dimples.
Luke starts bouncing on his toes when he sees it, too. Petunia peeks out of the corner of Luke’s hair, shooting him a worried look. How the fuck does a lizard manage to have so many facial expressions?
“Michael, can we eat there? Please?” Luke begs, turning to look at Michael with wide, blue eyes and a hopeful expression on his face. It melts Michael’s heart a little. He can’t stay mad at Luke for long, not when it’s so painfully obvious that the boy has never gotten to experience the world the way everyone else has. He’s so full of joy and wonder Michael can’t find it in himself to be annoyed that much.
“Only the best for you, Sunshine,” Michael says. Luke grins even wider, dimples creasing his cheeks, and laces their fingers together. He starts to swing their arms a little, humming under his breath. It’s painfully endearing. Michael’s all but abandoned his commitment to not finding him cute.
They push the door of the tavern open and Michael sucks a breath in when everyone turns to look at them. They must be quite the pair, Luke, with his incredibly long blonde hair and silky purple shirt, a lizard perched on his shoulder, and Michael, holding his hand and frying pan attached to his belt from when Luke complained about his arm being tired.
Luke is oblivious to their stares, instead tugging Michael further into the tarven, trying to find an empty spot and rambling about what food they could possibly have.
“Michael Clifford! As I live and breath,” A voice calls, full of mirth and laughter. Michael whips around in a panic, fear leaving him a little when he sees that it’s Calum, his old friend from the orphanage turned bandit, grinning and waving at him. He looks the same as the last time Michael saw him, apart from his once black curls are now a bright platinum blonde. His partner, Ashton, sits next to him, his own curls a raven black, and motioning for Michael to come sit with them.
“Who are they?” Luke whispers, curling a little into Michael, wary of new people. 
Michael tries to send him a reassuring smile, “Old friends. I promise they won’t hurt you.”
“Promise?”
Michael holds up his hand, linking their pinkies together and shaking. “Pinky promise.”
Luke looks a little confused by the gesture, but he must understand the sincerity of it and nods at him. Michael tugs them over to the table, ushering Luke into the booth first and following him. He helps Luke tug his hair in after them, earning them stares from the rest of the patrons.
Ashton lets out a whistle, looking at all of Luke’s hair. “That must be a hassle. You ever think about cutting it?”
Luke holds his hair tight to him. “I couldn’t do that. Mother wouldn’t let me.”
Ashton opens his mouth like he’s going to push the topic further, when Calum interjects, sticking his hand out towards Luke.
“Calum Hood, local bandit extraordinaire. This is my partner in crime, the slightly less good looking Ashton Irwin.” 
Ashton lets out a horrified squawk, smacking Calum. Calum laughs, eyes crinkling at the corner. 
“You married me, you idiot.”
“Only for evading the law purposes. The second they let us, I’m divorcing you and taking half the loot,” Calum says, grinning as he presses a kiss to Ashton’s cheek to let him know he’s only teasing. Michael’s forgotten how easy their relationship has always been, full of teasing and fondness. Michael’s known Calum longer and he would venture to call him his best friend (if two bandits can even have friends), but somehow when the three of them are together he’s always managed to feel on the outskirts of things. 
Luke’s watching them both, wide eyed and a little scared. Michael squeezes his thigh under the table. “This is Luke. Found him hiding in the woods. We’re going to see the lanterns for his birthday.
Calum raises his eyebrows, taking a sip of his drink. “Never known you to do anything out of kindness, Mikey.”
“That’s not true! I stole that necklace for you once ‘cause you said you liked it.”
“Fine, then nothing that didn’t require you to steal something.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not just you. They tell these half stories all the time and refuse to explain them. You get used to not getting their inside jokes,” Ashton stage whispers to Luke, grinning when Calum gently elbows him. Michael is filled with overwhelming fondness for his friends and their easy acceptance of Luke. Although Michael figures, who are a couple of bandits to question him finding a man in the woods?
“He only agreed to take me because I took his loot and Petunia keeps licking him,” Luke chimes in, producing Petunia from inside the folds of his hair. Calum and Ashton laugh delightedly at the sight of her. 
Michael pouts. “I’m getting new friends.”
“Michael, we’re your only friends,” Calum says rolling his eyes. He nudges Luke with his foot, startling him. “Do you want me to get you something to eat?”
Luke nods enthusiastically. Michael mouths a quick thank you to Calum. He smiles. “Ashton, take Luke with you and get something. I wanna check up with my old friend here.”
Ashton scoots his way out, ushering Luke over to the bar. When they’re out of ear shot, Calum rounds on Michael.
“The crown, Michael? You really thought stealing the lost prince’s crown would be a good idea?”
“I didn’t think I’d have this much trouble with it.”
Calum lets out a disgruntled noise. “That’s because you don’t think, Michael. What the fuck did you expect would happen?”
“Look, it’s just a job. We’ve taken plenty of them before.”
“Yeah, but those were just stealing from people. People who were much less notable than stealing the fucking crown jewels.”
“It’s one last job, Calum, and then I can stop,” Michael says. He’s had ideas over the years of what he would do. Travel, go somewhere far away and find a legitimate job, open his own orphanage. The possibilities are endless if he can just get this crown back and be on his way.
Calum sighs heavily, massaging his temple. He looks like he wants to say something, but is interrupted by Ashton and Luke coming back.
“Shove over,” Ashton says, raising his hands to show the drinks he’s carrying. Calum obeys, giving Ashton the space he needs to put things down. Luke’s tagging closely behind him, holding what looks like fish and chips close to his chest, a little wide eyed. Michael grabs the baskets, helping Luke, who shoots him a grateful look.
“You know you’re probably like, five minutes away from getting caught, right?” Calum says around a chip. Michael blushes at Luke’s quizzical look and Ashton’s glare. For a bandit, Ashton can be a little shit at the idea of stealing things sometimes.
“Let me enjoy this nice, hot food before you rip into me about stealing, but then still help us get away.”
Calum giggles slightly, expression fond. He’s holding Ashton’s hand on the table. It fills Michael with the overwhelming desire to have that, too. It’s always been lonely for him and while he’s happy for Calum and Ashton, he wishes he had someone like that too. 
Luke is eating some of the fish, scrunching his nose up at the taste.
“Good?”
“Different,” Luke mumbles around a mouth of food crumbs going everywhere, blushing when he realizes what he’s doing. Michael laughs, leaning over and wiping his face with a napkin. Luke never had to be presentable around other people before. It’s a miracle he’s managing to look cute while doing it.
Luke quietly feeds Petunia a small bite. Michael catches Calum watching them, a soft smile on his face. Michael sticks his tongue out at Calum when Luke isn't looking. Calum returns the gesture. Ashton snorts, covering it up in his drink when Luke looks up at the three of them. He flushes a little, clearly thinking they’re teasing him. 
Ashton waves it away, “It’s nice you have a little friend. Nice to have someone there for you when you get lonely.”
Luke smiles sadly. “Something like that.”
Calum looks like he wants to press the issue further, when the tavern door bangs open, someone shouting about the palace guards. Michael jumps up, making to push Luke out of the booth. 
“That’s our cue, Luke. Lovely to see you both again, let’s do this again sometime,” Michael calls behind him as he shoves Luke towards where he knows there’s a “secret” tunnel. He can hear Calum let out an exasperated sigh, but considering he’s known him since they were kids, he figures Cal will let this one slide.
***
“So, Calum and Ashton?”
“Hm?”
“You’ve known them a while, yeah?” Luke asks. They’ve been walking down the underground tunnel for a bit, venturing deeper and deeper with only torches to help them see. Luke’s been quiet since the tavern and Michael isn’t sure whether he should be worried or not. Considering Luke’s decision to ask personal questions, the answer was that he should be.
“I’ve known Calum since I was a kid. Ashton is more of a new addition. You let your friend do one job on their own and they come back with a husband.”
Luke giggles. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”
“I just wish they’d invited me to the wedding. I have plenty of embarrassing stories about Calum and I’m not afraid to use them.”
“Does he?”
“What?”
“Have embarrassing stories to share with your future…” Luke pauses, shooting a glance at Michael. Michael wonders what Luke’s mother taught him about attraction and then disregards that notion. A woman who locks her son in a tower and refuses to let him out certainly won’t teach him what it means when you think boys are pretty.
“Husband. I like men. And unfortunately he does, but you’ll have to hear them from him,” Michael says. He realizes how that must sound, the implication that he wants to keep Luke around long enough to see Calum and Ashton again, to have Calum share childhood stories of Michael. That Michael isn’t ready to have this adventure come to an end, even if Luke can be a thorn in his side.
Luke looks like he wants to say something, but changes his mind at the last minute and says,  “So Michael, where are you from?”
“Nope. We do not know each other like that, you already know my name and that’s enough backstory for the rest of this trip.”
Luke pouts. “I just met your childhood friend and his husband. You just told me you like men. But you won’t tell me where you’re from.”
Michael sighs heavily. “I will tell you something about myself if you answer my questions first.”
“Sure.”
“I know I’m not supposed to talk about the hair, the mother, or the, uh, lizard?” Michael waves in Petunia’s direction. Luke nods. 
“Here’s my question. If you want to see the lanterns so badly you were willing to go on a trip with a complete stranger who broke into your home, why haven’t you gone before with your mother?”
“Mother wouldn’t let me.”
That makes Michael pause. It was implied in his initial request for the adventure, but it’s odd to hear it out loud. For all the oddness of Michael’s childhood growing up in an orphanage, he’s never been denied things. He was always allowed to go and adventure on his own terms, as long as he was responsible about it and came back in time for dinner. The idea that Luke’s mother would lock him up and refuse to let him leave seems a bit dramatic and harsh. Not for the first time, the notion of keeping Luke with him, of not allowing the boy to go back to his tower, of showing him the whole world, crosses Michael’s mind. Luke deserves it, deserves the chance to get to see what’s out there and Michael doesn’t know how he’s meant to return Luke to his prison when this is all over.
“Why wouldn’t she let you leave?”
“She claims that it’s safer for me up there where no one can find me.”
Michael opens his mouth to comment on that, when he hears a rumbling coming towards them. He turns around at the sound of shouting and sees the palace guards running towards them. Maybe Calum had a point about this being a bad idea. Michael turns to look at Luke, who’s got a look of fear and confusion on his face.
“Michael?”
“Okay, so you know how I have that crown? I may have stolen that crown and now would be a good time to run,” Michael shouts, grabbing hold of Luke’s hand and pulling him into a run. Luke, thankfully, realizes what Michael wants and follows him at Michael at an equally breakneck speed.
Michael pulls them along until they come out of the tunnel, skidding to a stop when they both realize they’re at the edge of a cliff. There is absolutely nowhere for them to go, considering they’re surrounded on all sides by open air and the guards behind them, not to mention that one horse that seems to have it out for Michael specifically. Michael hears a shout from down below and notices the Stabbington brothers have come out of their own tunnel looking up and pointing to Michael, both of them shouting. 
“So I’ve figured out the guard part, but who are those guys and why are they mad?” Luke says, clutching his hair in his arms. 
“Let’s just assume no one here likes me and work our way up from there.”
Luke frowns. “How much trouble are you in?”
“Luke, you met me because I crashed through your window with a stolen crown. You do the math.”
Michael’s at a loss for what to do or where they can go. Luke takes one look at him and rolls his eyes, shoving the frying pan at Michael. He takes his hair and swings it up, hooking it over a higher up damaged beam nearby. He tugs it once, nodding when he realizes it’s secure and hooks an arm around Michael’s waist. 
“So I’m sure this is a bad idea, but I think we have to go down?” Luke says, pointing.
“What?”
“There’s a tunnel down there and I think that might be the only way out.”
Michael looks down and he hates to admit it but Luke might be right. Luke throws his hair over a nearby beam and grabs onto Michael’s waist, giving them a running start, giving them enough momentum to take off and swing themselves down to the bottom of the ravine. They land solidly on their feet and Luke turns to beam at Michael. Michael gives him a relieved smile back and tugs on Luke’s hair pulling it down from the beam. They gather it and go sprinting off in the direction of the tunnel. 
Michael is sure they’re going to make it, until he hears the rumble and rushing sound of water fill the air. They just narrowly make it into the tunnel entrance before Michael realizes it’s not a tunnel and that there’s no exit. It’s too late for them to do anything now though, as rocks cover the entrance, leaving Luke and Michael in the dark. 
“So, this looks bad.”
“Yes, Michael, I would say that it does.”
Michael huffs, shoving Luke’s hair at him and diving into the rising water. He looks around for an exit but finds none. He pops up gasping for air, noticing that Luke’s feeling around the top of the rocks for an exit up that way. It would appear that they’re both out of luck. Michael dives down again to feel around, as Luke bangs frantically on the rocks with his pan trying to get them to break. Michael scrambles up, trying to pry some of the rocks loose. The sharp edge of one slices his hand and Michael swears loudly at the blood that starts to pool and drip from his hand. Luke looks torn between concern for Michael’s hand and fear about being close to death.
“I can’t see anything in here. I don’t think there’s a way out. Fuck, Luke I’m really sorry about all this. You just wanted a nice birthday gift and look at the mess we’re in now.”
The water is rising steadily, closing in on them. Luke is chewing at the corner of his lip, grasping Michael’s injured hand in his. Even dripping in ice cold water, Luke manages to make Michael feel warm and safe. The thought startles Michael. He hasn’t known Luke long enough to be this comfortable with him, but he is. 
“I think I have an idea.”
“Luke?”
“You told me that you like boys. I have a secret too. I have magic hair that glows when I sing.”
Michael blinks up at Luke. Michael takes it all back, all that time locked up in a tower and Luke has gone crazy. Maybe it was a bad idea for Michael to agree to this plan.
“Come again?”
Luke looks Michael in the eye, grinning at the realization. “I have magic hair that glows when I sing!”
Michael barely processes what’s happening before Luke starts singing some kind of strange song. The water finally covers them and Michael tries to hold his breath as best he can. Suddenly, Luke’s hair starts to glow from the roots to the tips. Michael almost screams in shock before he remembers that they are underwater and that would be a very bad idea.
Luke’s hair tugs towards the bottom of the tunnel, pulling their attention to a small pile of rocks. Michael pushes his way down, starting to pull the rocks away from the wall. Luke joins him and they tug away a small exit hole, the force of the water pushing them out of the tunnel and onto the shore of a riverbank.
Michael and Luke both take a gasping breath as they collapse side by side. Luke turns to Michael, grinning brightly, dimples on his cheeks, Petunia popping up onto his head. 
“We did it, Michael! We got out!” 
Michael makes eye contact with Petunia. “His hair glows.” 
Petunia looks very smug, Luke continues to cheer, grasping at Michael’s hand.
“Hair is not supposed to glow. That’s not something that happens. Do all strange men in towers have glowing hair? Is this something I was supposed to know?” Michael asks Petunia, octaves in his voice raising with confusion and concern. Petunia nods. “Why does his hair glow?!”
“Michael!” Luke calls, hands on his hips where he’s standing on the bank. He’s dripping wet, standing in the fading light on the setting sun. He shouldn’t be so pretty, but Michael thinks that might be the shock and gratitude. Even if Luke is exactly the sort of boy Michael used to dream about when he was young. 
“Luke?” Michael asks, voice strained.
“It doesn’t just glow. I can heal with it.”
“That’s strangely cryptic after you just showed me it glows. How much magic does your magically glowing hair hold, Luke from a strange tower?”
Luke huffs, coming to kneel in front of Michael. He wraps his hair around Michael’s injured palm and softly starts singing the same song. Luke’s hair begins to glow again and Michael feels a sharp tingling in his palm. Luke finishes, un-wrapping his hair, and Michael is startled to see that the cut and blood are gone.
“Don’t freak out.”
“Luke, we are well past freaking out,” Michael says, voice hitting an octave he didn’t know he could. Luke huffs again.
“If I’d known you were gonna be a baby about it, I wouldn’t have shown you.”
“Oh, so you would have died before you showed me the magically glowing healing hair?”
“Don’t be mean. I just saved our lives,” Luke says, pouting. 
“How long has it been doing that?”
Luke shrugs, “My whole life, I guess. Once, when I was a baby, people tried to cut it and take it for the magicalits magical powers. But when it’s cut it loses its color and power.”
Luke pulls back his hair, showing Michael a shorter strand of hair, dull compared to the rest of it. Michael leans forward, touching the lock softly. Luke smiles sadly at him. “It’s why I’m up in the tower. Mother says you have to protect a gift like mine. She doesn’t want me to leave because she’s worried that I’ll get hurt.”
Michael softens. It makes sense now, why Luke was up there, but it’s still cruel. No one would have to know about his hair. Why can’t he have the freedom to explore the world for himself? 
“And you still want to go back?”
“What other choice do I have? I’m safe up in the tower and I don’t think I could just leave Mother.”
“Luke, you deserve a chance to see the world and make your own choices,” Michael says, grabbing Luke’s hand and squeezing it. “I promise, that when this trip is all finished, I’ll take you on an adventure. We can travel the whole world if you want. I’ll show you everything there is to offer. Take Calum and Ashton with us. I think they liked you.”
Luke smiles a little brighter. Michael notices now that he seems to glow when he’s happy. It softens Michael. 
“You promise Michael? You aren’t just saying that because of my hair?”
“Of course I mean it, Sunshine. You’ve been a wonderful traveling companion. And I’m sure there’s plenty of floating lanterns all around for us to see.”
Luke’s smile widens. He throws his arms around Michael’s neck in a hug, “Oh thank you Michael! That’s the best birthday present ever!”
Michael blushes slightly, hiding his face in Luke’s shoulder. At least the only person around to see is Luke and Petunia. They won’t rat him out and ruin his reputation.
“Alright Luke that’s enough. It’s getting dark and we should start a fire for the night,” Michael says, pulling himself up to stand. Luke pushes himself up, coming to stand next to Luke. 
“You like me.”
“Regrettably I do. I’d like you more if you helped me get some wood.” 
Luke grins at Michael, “Only if you show me how to build a fire.”
Michael huffs, pretending to be put out, nudging Luke’s shoulder and smiling to show that he’s only teasing, “For you with the special hair, I’d do anything.”
Luke grins back, lacing their fingers together and tugging Michael in the direction of the woods to look for firewood.
Maybe traveling with Luke isn’t so bad. Maybe getting to take Luke on a trip around the world won’t be so bad. Maybe being in love isn’t the stuff of dreams, maybe it gets to be Michael’s reality.
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shurisneakers · 6 years ago
Text
espresso [10]
Summary: In which your best friend’s brother begins to set you up on dates when you mention that you haven’t been in a relationship in years, but things don’t go as expected.
Warning:  mentions of past cheating, angst, alcohol
A/N: im back after 2 months lol hello to the 4 people who still read this this is my entry for  @viktordrago‘s writing challenge. everyone say thanks to @samingtonwilson for putting up with me and being the best
here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333
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Previous part- Part 9 || Espresso Masterlist
The world around you was dark when you stepped outside, shutting the door of your house behind you and pulling your jacket tight across your body in hopes of evading the chilling wind nipping at your cheeks.
It was the night before Christmas Eve– or as Bucky so poetically named it:  “Christmas Eve-Eve” – and you couldn’t help but be disappointed at the thought of your upcoming night. You dreaded having to spend time with someone who would inevitably serve as a way to pass time and nothing more. You almost felt bad that they were trying their hand at someone who was so out of the game before it had even begun– but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel sympathetic.
Bucky had chosen the most popular bar in your town as the venue– a bar which checked ID’s as a mere formality, a bored security employee glancing at the birthdate and shrugging to let in most people who simply “looked old enough.”
With scuffed wooden stables and pictures of frequent patrons, nearby teams, or people they were proud to have once served, the bar was never truly empty, it always had at least one or two groups drinking until they blacked out. And like always, the bar was filled with the warm sounds of people laughing, glasses clinking together in celebration and drunken karaoke with no musical accompaniment.
Your eyes quickly scanned the crowd, looking for someone who was possibly dressed for a date. And you found none.
Sighing, you quickly shot off a text to Bucky about the whereabouts of your supposed company for the night, Scott, shuffling from the doorway when the bell above the door jingled upon its opening.
Receiving an ineffective “He isn’t there yet?” in response, you sighed once more and stuffed your phone into your pocket, deciding that a stool at the bar counter was your best bet. After all, if your date wasn’t going to show up, then at least you could drown yourself with enough alcohol to have a good time alone.
“Y/N?” 
If you hadn’t committed that voice to memory for reasons you refused to acknowledge, you would have believed you were hallucinating.
Your jaw clenched, then relaxed. Fuckin’ Dolores. “Dot? What are you doing here?”
“Hey! What a coincidence!” she laughed, pulling you into a gentle hug as your body stiffened uncomfortably against the contact. She didn’t seem to notice. “I’m here to meet someone. What about you?”
“Date.”
“Really?” She tilted her head. “Wait– is this one of those dates Bucky’s setting you up on?”
You gave her a tight-lipped smile in return, eliciting a sigh and a shake of her head.
“God, he’s so fucking dense.” She rolled her eyes, her lips stretching into a fine line of what looked to be pity. You didn’t ask what she’d meant by it and only quirked an eyebrow. It’s not like you disagreed, per se.
“Well, hey, if your date’s running late, you’re more than welcome to hang out with me.”
“Um-“ You racked your brain for an excuse not to, but found none that’d be polite enough so you relented, repressing a scowl. “Sure?”
You followed her lead through the crowd, stopping at a set of stools placed before the counter. Motioning at an empty pair, she told you to sit and that she’d be right back once she found the friend she was meeting.
You obliged and slid onto one of the stools to face the door, the palm of your hand supporting your head. You could feel the onset of a headache which did nothing to make you feel better.
You were in a mood, obviously, and it was not one that screamed approachability. It irked you that every time you came close to even letting Bucky know what you wanted, the universe had other plans. And even with that anger and dissatisfaction, you would have rather spent time with him and Becca than at a bar, waiting for the last date of your stupid bet.
It was a while before you felt someone beside you and you didn’t bother to look up until there was obnoxious laughter, forcing you out of your reverie.
“Oh, this is my friend, Y/N,” Dot said as she got settled in her seat, nodding to the bartender you had yet to acknowledge, a grin on her face.
“Hey there.”
You laboriously lifted your head to answer his greeting, only to have your words die down in your suddenly dry throat.
“I’m Brock, but everyone just calls me Rumlow.”
You stared blankly at him, eyes too baffled to blink. It felt as if you were frozen. You could see the recognition in his eyes but he made no attempt to make that recognition known.
To say it hit you like a truck would be an understatement. You weren’t sure if your sight was deceiving you, but you hadn’t drank any alcohol yet nor had you ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms so it couldn’t be that.
Fuck.
“Is something wrong?” Dot interrupted your growing panic, bringing you back to the moment harshly.
He hadn’t moved, only jutted his hand further out in an attempt to give you a handshake.
“No,” you replied roughly, trying to look at him as coolly as you could– as if everything inside you was calm. “Nothing at all.”
“Have you met before?” Dot asked, intermittently glancing at the both of you.
You watched him silently, assessing his face to see what he would say.
“This would be the first time,” he said with a smile so casual, you almost missed the tiniest bit of uncertainty that flashed across his face.
“Oh, cool,” she shrugged. And even her shrug nearly had you jumping.
“Can I get you both anything?” He gestured behind him to the numerous bottles lining the shelves; some so old they had begun to collect dust.
“Just a beer. Y/N?”
You mutely shook your head, not taking your eyes off him.
“Bottle or pint?”
“Bottle,” she replies easily, smiling easily, breathing easily.
He nodded and left the two of you to get her a bottle.
“How, uh, how do you know him?” you cleared your throat, hoping to sound as inconspicuous as possible. She clearly had no idea about what was going on– and she thought Bucky was dense.
“We’ve known each other years. He was on the football team at Middleton. Met him when he came to our school for a game.”
“Ah.”
“Here you go,” Rumlow announced, placing an open glass bottle in front of her, returning his attention to you.
“Sure you don’t want anything?”
You shook your head again, dropping your gaze to the sticky counter instead.
He didn’t pursue it further, instead picking up a glass from under the counter.
“What’s going on with you nowadays, Dot?” he asked nonchalantly, gently wiping at the glass with a worn out towel.
You wanted to get out of here as soon as possible without raising suspicion, but your date hadn’t arrived and it hadn’t even been ten minutes since you sat down.
“Other than crying from constant stress and anxiety on a daily basis? Nothing much really,” she laughed, bringing the bottle to her lips.
“You both go to the same college?” he gestured between the two of you as if he didn’t already know.
You furrowed your eyebrows at him when his gaze lingered on you longer than you would have liked– so, at all.
He quickly returned to looking at her rather than you.
“Nah, we had a mutual friend who I met at a coffee shop recently and he introduced us. Actually,” she squinted. “You might know him. Bucky Barnes?”
You saw his jaw clench as he subtly raised his fingers to itch at his nose. It was still slightly disfigured from when it was last broken. You held yourself back from smirking smugly.
“Yeah, I know him. Barnes and I go way back,” his voice was venomous but his maintained composure overall.
Your knuckles were beginning to hurt with how hard your fists were clenched, almost like you were waiting for a moment when you would have to defend yourself.
“Hold on a second. You both-“ she straightened her back, putting her bottle down as she glanced between you both.
Your heart leapt to your throat.
Did she finally figure it out?
“You both used to go to the same school.” She furrowed her eyebrow as if she was trying to recollect a distant memory. “Yeah- Middleton, right? How haven’t you met each other before?”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“I think I may have been a year or two ahead of you. Barnes and I were the same year,” he replied calmly before you could reply with what would probably have been an incoherent mess of sentences meshed together.
You leaned back, giving him a nod. “Yeah, that. What he said.”
“That makes sense.” She shrugged, letting go of the topic easily. She nudged your elbow gently, gaining your attention. “Any update on your date?”
“Uh-“ you quickly checked your phone, finding no texts or calls. “No. Don’t think it’s happening.”
“You waitin’ on a date?” Rumlow looked up from his distraction with sudden interest.
Raising an eyebrow, you simply replied, “Yes.”
“If he stands you up, he’s a dick,” Dot stated, raising her beer. “I fuckin’ hate it when people do that.”
“Wait, people have stood you up before?” he asked, putting down a glass and picking up another almost like clockwork, a teasing smile on his face. The scar above his near his eye crinkled when he did so.
You were there when he got that, some dumb fight his ego landed him in.
“More times than I would like.” She rolled her eyes, taking a large swig. “But it’s not the worst thing to happen on a date.”
“What could possibly be worse than not even being on one?”
“Lots of things, buddy. Bad dates are a whole other ballgame.”
You agreed silently, your experiences for the past few months speaking for themselves.
She continued, “What’s your worst date story, Rumlow?”
“Uh,” he paused before he laughed to himself. “If we’re not counting the stand-ups, middle school with this girl I liked before I realized she was the clingiest person I had ever met and tried to stick her tongue down my throat every five minutes.”
“Isn’t that exactly the way you are now? I see she later became your role model,” Dot tipped her bottle at him but he just rolled his eyes at her.
“Y/N.” Oh no. “Worst date story?” Fuck.
You had plenty of stories from the past few months, hell from even before that. But… there was no way you’d get this opportunity again.
“Got any good ones?”
Should you even dare to do that? Was it worth it? You didn’t even know how he would react. It was way too risky.
Oh, fuck it.
“High school, with this senior. I’d been dating him for almost two years and he asks me to come to a party as some excuse for a date,” you snorted a laugh. “That was a sign, like almost everything else he did, that our relationship wasn’t in a good place. So I thought, ‘Okay, we’ll get to talk things out.’”
You hear the sharp cling of Rumlow placing the glass back onto the countertop, but you ignored him, your smirk still very self-satisfied. You knew he knew where you were going with this.
You don’t take your eyes off him, watching the vein in his neck begin to strain against his skin. “I get there and all’s well until we start arguing about something stupid, don’t even remember what. You know how guys are.” Dot nodded with a roll of her eyes.
“And we just keep yelling about things that don’t even matter, about things that we’d pulled from thin air. Just, you know, anything to get a rise out of the other, really.”
You could see him swallowing but never breaking his composure.
You glanced at Dot. She was listening intently, chin resting on her palm. You took it as a sign to continue.
“Then it was just incoherent screams and then,“ you inhaled, forcing yourself to loosen your grip before your knuckles splintered, “he says he’d been cheating on me for about a year by then. Someone from another school so that no one we knew would see them together.”
Dot drew in a sharp intake of breath. “Shit.”
“That wasn’t even the worst part. He came from a pretty rough background and used to borrow cash off me often. I didn’t think much of it, because you know, it’s his own business, and I just wanted to help him out how ever I could.” You laughed humorlessly. “Turns out he was using that money to spend on the other girl he was with. Bought her cute stuff, took her out on dates on the days he stood me up, the works. It was pretty fucked up.”
“Jesus Christ.”
You could see him look at Dot after her reaction and you wondered if he was actually scared you’d tell her the truth.
“And then he broke up with me. I think he left her soon after that too because he lost his source of income.” You looked at him straight in the eye, never once blinking. You hoped he was squirming. “Fucked me up for a little while, especially since I saw him around the rest of his senior year until he finally graduated– which was unexpected given his academic record. Didn’t really bother with any kind of relationship after that.”
“That’s screwed up on so many levels. I’m sorry, dude,” she didn’t say anything further, and you didn’t really expect her to.
“Enough about me, though. What about you?” You put on a small smile.
“Nothing I’ve experienced could come close to that, buddy, I think you’ve outdone all of us,” she joked, laughing to herself.
“It isn’t a competition, you know.” You nudged at her. You deliberately were avoiding looking at him, noticing from the corner of your eye that he had stopped his cleaning and was instead leaning on the countertop. “C’mon, what’s your worst?”
“Honestly nothing too bad. Just a few incredibly lame dates, but other than that-“
“Hey, why don’t you tell Y/N here about the disaster of a relationship in your junior year?” he broke in loudly, gaining your attention.
“God, no, we agreed to never talk about that,” she playfully rolled her eyes at him but he looked adamant.
A smile spread across his cheeks, one that was almost sinister. He glanced at you silently, letting his gaze linger, leaving a unsettling feeling in your gut. Suddenly, you didn’t feel so great about what was about to happen.
“No, no, I’m sure she’d be very interested in hearing all about it.”
“Jesus, fine.” She chugged the rest of her beer, almost as if it was for courage. “Brock and I had this very brief-“
“It wasn’t brief,” he protested.
“Fine. He and I had a fling for a year in high school.”
“In my senior year.”
It felt like your blood ran cold.
“It was fun but then we agreed it didn’t work out because he was graduating.” She poked at his shoulder but he wasn’t paying any attention to her.
He was staring directly at you and for good reason.
“It was great. We hung out a lot, even though we weren’t in the same school. Almost felt like more than a year.”
“We were never ‘official.’” She used air quotation marks, obviously trying to downplay it. It clearly wasn’t something she liked talking about but he kept pushing it.
“But that didn’t stop us from doing a lot of things.” He smirked and she punched his arm.
Your mouth opened and closed like some kind of fucking fish but it felt like you couldn’t breathe. He cheated on you with Dot? With fucking Dot?
Was there anyone in your life not interested in her?
“It’s embarrassing and we agreed never to mention it again,” she said something after that but it was like you were tuning everything out to try and make sense of it on your own.
But it didn’t.
It didn’t make any sense. How did you miss this? Fuck, you never bothered finding out the girl’s name. You didn’t even know what she looked like or which grade she was in.
Idiot.
“I-I need to go,” you choked out, grabbing your phone and stuffing it into the pocket of your jacket haphazardly, fingers trembling. You couldn’t believe he had gotten under your skin again and you had just completely given him a chance to do so.
“So soon?” Rumlow asked, feigning surprise. You couldn’t even look him in the face but his amusement was glaringly obvious.
“Wait, did something happen?” Dot grabbed a hold of your shoulder and you nearly threw it off.
Don’t fucking touch me.
She looked taken aback but didn��t voice it. “Do you need me to drop you off somewhere?”
“No. No, I’m just gonna go.”
“Y/N-“
Get out, get out, get the fuck out of there.
“It was nice meeting you!” He called out from behind you.
Your head was reeling. You didn’t even turn around for a final look, just stumbled out of the bar into the deserted street.
After calling for an Uber that was only a minute or two away, you stumbled over your own feet to the car and asked the driver to step on it, praying that he wouldn’t try to make conversation with you.
Your fingers hovered above Bucky’s contact as you stared at his name. There’s no way he would have known. He wouldn’t have done this to you, would he?
“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be on a date-“
“Did you know?”
“What?” On any other occasion it would be a relief to hear Bucky’s voice after another shitty date but now it just furthered your rage.
“Did you fucking know?”
The excitement he’d expressed in his voice when he’d first answered the call seemed to diminish and worry took its place as he replied, “Know what?”
“About Rumlow.”
He went silent. “What about him?”
“That he worked at the fucking bar you sent me to, James. Jesus Christ.” You rolled your eyes so hard you hoped it would somehow translate to his end.
“I- Y/N- what?”
“What about him and Dolores, huh?” Bucky had to have known about that. For Christ’s sake, their dumb sport of grown men chasing a ball would have allowed them to spend an absurd amount of time together.
“Wait, what does Dot have to do with any of this, I’m so-“
“You two were on the same goddamn football team Bucky, how could you have not known?” Your volume had risen exponentially and you ignored the questioning stare the driver gave you through the rearview mirror.
“You’re not making any sense here Y/N, I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about.” He almost sounded distressed and if you weren’t so riled up, you would have already stopped by now.
“He cheated on me with her,” Your stomach felt like it was being twisted into knots when you finally said it out loud. You sunk into your seat, quietening. “She’s the girl from the other school.”
He fell silent for a few moments once more. “I don’t understand.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” your voice cracked and you tightened your grip on your phone, pinching your thigh with your other hand.
Keep it together, damn it.
“Tell you? I didn’t even know-“
“Did you-” It felt fucked up to even think it but it felt like the irrationality hit you out of nowhere. “Did you set me up with this?”
“Wait, what-”
“Rumlow, Dot– this was too fucking coincidental.” You were justifying it more and more with every passing second, your mind spinning absurdities. “Was there even a date tonight or were you just fucking with me?”
“I… I can’t believe you just asked me that,” his voice was soft. “I would never, ever-“
“You never once hinted to me about her and…” you trailed off. “You’ve been hanging out with her months, James, don’t tell me you knew absolutely nothing about this.”
“Do you really think that I would hide something like that from you?”
“I don’t know anymore.”
“What does that even mean-“
“What about the past four dates, huh?” you interrupted again. “You claim to know me, yet every single one of these guys were people you knew I wouldn’t like. Was it all just one big fucking joke? Because if it was, this would be a perfect ending.”
“That was never my intention and you know it.“ You could tell that Bucky was struggling to keep his cool.
“I don’t know,” you admitted quietly. “I don’t know anything anymore.”
You could hear him exhale through the phone. “Wow.”
“Bucky-“ you hesitated, only to have him cut you off.
“That’s just… really unfair, you know? If you really believe I’d go out of my way to do something like this to you then I don’t think there’s anything I can say.”
“I guess there isn’t.”
Part 11
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hohoz · 6 years ago
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Lightning Returns : A
Hoperai game
I saw a few posts before playing the game saying that this is a Hoperai game (and how right you were) !!!
Okay, so I have an idea to write every moment that they have as soon as possible,because I'm starting to forget, so after I play I'll be posting the notes that I have here in my Iphone.
Obs: English is my third language*, please be aware of that when you see a mistake :v
By the way guys, both of them werent supposed to have feelings, a few moments in the game Light admits that she is unable to feel anything and that god probably made that to avoid any future problems/Hope is like this as well, but STILL, they demonstrate care for each other. (Later we talk about Lumina and Bhenivelze)
And another thing that gets me intrigade is how come there is not many post about LR here in the hoperai tag ? This game is amazing !! (like, it does have a few times that you get annoyed, but in general is amazing)
First moment: Okay, this is a simple one, after Lightning crash the Patron's party, she refers to Hope as "Mr Hope Estheim", hell yeah. (This is how she is goint to call him in bed) THIS HAPPENS IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES IN THE GAME, I do believe that this happens because she still doesn't fell really connect with him, its been sooo long since they were together in FFXIII, that she might think that Hope may not like her anymore, so she really is formal here.
Second: (Well, after I went to ark and saw a younger hope I was frustated, nevertheless, its possible to interact with Hope, he explains that he will be there to help us in this task and that he is in his younger body but doesnt know why.
Third: The loading screen saying that she sees Adult!Hope as an equal (Hell yeah) and I think this is quite nice, because Lightning would never engage a relationship if she doesnt see that special someone as a person beneth her, she is a woman of huge morals and we see that she belives that men have to be amazing (this is using her approval on Snow as info, where she said she would never giver her blessing if he was someone that didnt deserve)
Fourth: if you get hurt and dont use any potion Hope will say that he's worried.
Fifth: Welllll, this one I simpled loved, when we have to get fireworks for the play and Lightning is forced to say "Meow Meow Choco Chow" to Chocolina and Hope is listening and tease her.
"Something tells me you're not enjoying this as much as I am"
Sixth: ( mental note - I would pay for hear Hope complimenting her looks on that red dress - WTF WATANABE, WHY HAVENT YOU DONE THIS ???? ) but the fact that he was manipulated by Benivelzhe might have been the reason, because if he been himself (100%himself all them at that time, oh boy, he would fall from the ark -- I know that I would)
Note: Okay, so there is a cutscene where we see Hope, Snow and Noel deciding to save the world after the chaos spread, and Hope is an adult here, I wonder that happened --- Btw, I finished the game and Still dont understand clearly what happened to Hope, I know that there is a Dlc in FFXIII-2 that I havent played (it is in this DLC that adult!Hope see Lightning in Vahalla ?)
Seven(THEIR DAUGHTER): this is not a nice one, because after we see Vanille, Hope ask of her to Lightning and she tease him with something like "Someones got a crush" BUT not long after that we get a HUGE moment where Eclair is worried about the plan (where she will play a role in front of a crowd and it might fail) and Hope basically quotes her saying "Its not a question of can or cant" and then she asks if he is going to watch her back (PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GAME DOESNT SHOW HER FACE IN THIS MOMENT, I WONDER WHY ????? WE ALWAYS SEE HER FACE ON THE INTERACTIONS WHY IN THIS ONE WE CANT ??? ITS BECAUSE SHE IS WAITING FOR HIS ANWSER ??? I WAS NOT READY FOR THAT)
And guys, even tho Hope is there to assist the player to finish the game and keeps saying what we have to do (And I find this utterly annoying) they have some incredible casual talk, like, "I dont care if the whole world hates you Light, i'll be by your side"
Lumina cutscene
THAT WAS SUPER GOOD, HOLYYYYY.
Well, in one of the interactions with Lumina where she is trying to convince us that Benivelzhe is manipulating us with a Fake Serah, Lightning starts to belive her and gets really mad at her god saying that she was building a contigence plan and is willing to kill Bhenivelze, until Lumina says that Hope is a fake too...
Lightning reaction... DAMNNN
And then Lumina asks
"Would you be able to kill Hope if you need ?"
Lightning close every glimpse of feeling and answer:
"Do you think im not ?
Lumina is so clever that she reads her in a instant and starts to laugh --- BTW, Lumina is nothing but another part o a whole, she is Lightning aswell, WHY WE HAVE THIS REACTION by her part ?? (hehe)
Lumina says : "Answering a question with another question"
That was so good, after this we can interact with Hope but Light never says anything about him being a fake, but still he says that if she wants to betray god he will follow her no matter what. (Guys, do you understand that he is saying that if she want to go in a suicide fucking mission he will go with her ???? AGAIN)
And then, the last day finally arrives, we are going to Luxerion but before we leave the ark Hope says:
"It really feels like the end now. Soon it will be over now"
Lightning then anwser
"Its been dying for 500 years"
His tone of voice slightly change
"I wasnt talking about the world..."
"Then what?"
He accept that is not the time.
"Nevermind. Time is short. Every minute counts, lets no waste any"
BTW IN THE SAME ARK MOMENT, if you ask about Serah being stuck in the chaos (considering that all souls go to chaos after dying) Hope promises that if he dies, he would find a way to save Serah's soul...
(YOU HAVE TO LOVE A LOT A WOMAN, IF YOURE WILLING TO SAVE HER SISTER'S WHILE BEING DEAD - RIP HOPE)
FangxVanille moment in the cathedral (I know that this is my Hoperai post, but that was lit )
Hope (God Mode) I kind knew that he was going to be used by Bhenivelze as a vessel because I saw a few spoilers, but there is one thing that I dont understand --- WHY THE FUCK NO ONE SAYS ANYTHING WHEN THEY SEE HOPE ?? THEY WERE FRIENDS FOR FUCKING SAKE--- Even when is just Fang in the wildlands, Hope and her NEVER interact, she doesnt it even bother to ask " who are talking to Lightning in the phone?"
And finally the ending, Lightning defeat the evil god of light, and is willing to be the new Etro taking care of the darkness flow, but there is something here, a moment where she sees fake Serah and Lumina, and we discover that God never took her feelings, that was always her, she had shut down her feelings a long time ago to become stronger
Note: In the middle of the game we see that she is willing to die, and if you see the loading screens you see the same info.
And she fuse with Lumina, and after all the things she heard from fake Serah she is scared... Her feelings that she always repressed was back to her and she felt alone, darkness consuming her and there is tears, so many tears until...
"Hope : I can hear you Light "
FINALLY, FINALLY, the one who saves everyone was saved, he sacrificed his chance to be born in the new world with his parent, to save the woman that he lovessssss
I dont know what to say, this is just a bunch of notes of me bamblimg some things, but im so glad that she was saved, that she didnt feel scared, that he came back for her.
There is that quote from FFXIII where Vanille talk about Eclair.
"When the fear sank in, it tore us apart. Lightning was hurting but none of us could see it"
This is different now, he can see it, he knows that she was scared, that she deservs to be saved and loved, that she needs someone to watch her back !!!!
Hoperai is kind of Canon and I loved thst ending, most amazing CGI ever.
Side quests: I know that with the timer this game gets a little trick with the side quest, but there is some random moments here.
But these called my attention
Olga, the singer
I've encountered a quest about a woman looking for her lover, and we learn that she is a singer but cant sing without the lyrics of the man she loves , after we find him we complete the quest, there will be a song (requested by Lumina) and I saw Hoperai all over it, okay, Light says "Serah loved this song" but the lyrics were all about Hope and Light.
Btw, I can totally see mama Farron singing this to their daughters, and Lumina kind is Lightning, so she knows that this is her favorite song aswell.
The one that we have to find the special flower for the chocoboo
Ha, who would say that we would be hearing that Lightning sucks at cooking ? Well, she admits that the only thing she knows how to cook is Beheamoth steak in a campfire
And we get to hear she trying to talk to her chocoboo saying "Kweh Kweh" such lovely moment and Hope was hearing everything
Gordon Gourmet
Well, this quest has and amazing ending, like super wow, after we taste the the gourmet recipe Lightning is amazed, she says that is probably the best thing she ever ate, so, Hope got curious and they start a conversation: (my memory is not great, but it goes like this)
Hope: That food is that good ?
Lightning: Do you want me to pack some for you?(such a wonderful waifu)
Hope: No thanks, but sometime I want to taste something made by you
Lightning: Well, Im not the best chef... I never spent much time in the kitchen, but if you like, I do a Behemoth steak by the campfire that is really good.
(This is the SECOND TIME in the game that she says that she can cook Behemoth) 😂
Chocoboo clothes
After a lot of "Chow chow choco chow" we win a nice outfit from the Chocoboo girl, Hope got a little bit excited and says that she must look really good on it, they have a nice conversation after.
Adornments
Hope jokes that Light should wear a lot of endornemts, to attrack more people to save.
Here we see that Light is pretty humble when people say that she is beautiful, she doesnt see herself as the perfect looking woman that she is.
Sazhs quest / Kid who always steals shit from us
I like this moment for a reason, thoose quests make Hope and/or Light relate to their situation, I will make a super post about this later and this is pretty important.
After Sazhs quest, in Ark Hope stops Lightning and revels a little bit about his situation with his father and how he was raised, Lightning stands quiet and just listen.
After we see a kid (the little shit who steals from us) and deliver the letter from his father, Lightning says how hard was for her to lose both of her parents, Hope just listen.
Soooo, this is it, I loved the game (hope you loved too), I still feel that Watanabe was not brave enough, he could made Hope an a adult in the thirdy game and put some scenes where he save her with a KISS (FRENCH PLEASE) but he made Tracer of memories to make more clear that Hope really have feelings for her and that she is going after him in the new world.
Note : im making a super post about them and I just want to thank this amazing tag/fandom, I know that this game is old and not so many are here now, but you all left soo many good things here and im really thankful.
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ghostheadcanons · 6 years ago
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Papas + Copia: Autistic S/O
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Anonymous said to ghostheadcanons:
Could you do some fluff with the papas and copia with an autistic s/o? I got told by a friend that I’d never find a boyfriend cause I’m autistic and I need some cheering up after that..! Thank you!
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What the hell! Why would someone say something like that? That’s not okay at all!! That would be like someone telling me that no one’s going to want to date me for my ADD. It’s ridiculous!
Anon, listen to me. No matter what’s going on in your life, no matter if you’re neurotypical or not, there will always be someone for you out there. Multiple someones! And just because someone else can’t see that doesn’t mean it’s not true! It’s a big wide world out there. Out of the seven billion people on earth, if you want to find a significant other, there’s bound to be at least one person who thinks you’re their everything. 
That goes for the rest of you out there reading this, too. 
As for writing for an autistic S/O...you’re going to have to bear with me. I’m not autistic myself, but I have a brother who is, and I’ve done my research to the best of my abilities. I don’t mean to offend anyone here with hurtful stereotypes. I don’t know if I’m the best person equipped for the job, but hopefully I did decently enough. 
It needs to be said that none of them would think any less of an S/O with autism. The church is open to everyone--and so are they. 
Papa Nihil: 
Surprisingly, he has somewhat of a grasp on what you’re talking about if you tell him about your autism. His eldest is ‘a little different’, too, but he never held that against him. 
That’s always how he’s phrased it-- ‘a little different’. If you take offense to him referring to you that way, he would apologize and do his best to refer to you properly. 
If you don’t like lots of physical contact, Papa Nihil would abstain from his normal amounts of hugging you and kissing you, and would find different ways to show his affection.
If you only like certain foods, he’s more than happy to prepare them himself for you. No matter how outlandish you might think they are together, he’s always open to making them!
Sister Imperator would want to know more, if you have any triggers, any sensory problems, etc. so she could set you up with proper accommodations.
Nihil would love to hear you talk about your special interests! You can talk for hours on end about them and he’ll listen eagerly. 
"I love watching you light up when you talk, cara mia.”
Papa I:
If you confide to him how you feel, he’s the one out of all of them who is most likely to understand what you’re feeling. 
If you don’t like going out or talking to a lot of people, this man is for you. He’s reclusive, himself, and only has a handful of people who really know him. 
Social rules in different settings are a pain for him to navigate. You never have to worry about offending him by saying the wrong thing or not abiding by Unwritten Social Code #3496. He doesn’t mind one bit. 
Has a youtube account just for stim videos. He has thousands of them arranged neatly into playlists. He’ll send you all the links. 
Never talks down to you. But if you need him to explain something a different way, he’ll do so, in a non-patronizing manner.
“We are all one in Lucifer, lamb. No matter what our difficulties are.”
Papa II:
You have to tell him about your autism. He wants to make this work for you, but he can’t do that if you don’t tell him what things bother you, what gives you trouble, etc.
Is not irritated in the slightest about how you stim, no matter what it is, or if it’s considered ‘annoying’. The most he’ll do is go to another room if he needs to concentrate on his paperwork. 
He doesn’t infantilize you because of your autism. He knows that you’re a fully grown adult who can understand what he’s saying.
At the same time, though, he also keeps your difficulties in mind and will always offer to help if he sees you struggling. 
If you’re forgetful about meds you need to take or a schedule you need to keep, he’ll remind you. “Your pills, caro. Go and take them.”
You can bet if anybody even looks at you funny for acting ‘weird’ that Papa II is going to come over and literally destroy them. 
Will always reassure you if you’re anxious about yourself/your abilities/etc. 
“You are not broken, caro. You process things differently is all. And I do not love you in spite of that, or because of that. I love you, for you.”
Papa III:
At first he probably wouldn’t understand all that well. But he would do his research and come back to you with questions about all kinds of things. Does going out all the time bother you? Do you have social anxiety? Are there surfaces you don’t like?
Like his brother, he’s willing to learn, and to help if you want it!
If you quote a line you like from a movie/game/book out of absolutely nowhere, you can bet that Papa III is going to quote the response right back at you. He always gets your references. The two of you have a blast quoting lines back and forth at eachother. 
If social situations are difficult for you, Papa III is willing to explain a lot of the unwritten rules if you want him to, especially beforehand. These sorts of things can be tricky sometimes, even for him! 
If he has to explain a romantic metaphor he made, he wouldn’t be irritated that you didn’t ‘get it.’ Some of his romantic metaphors are, in fact, very stupid.
He’ll help keep you on schedule, since it took him a very long time to learn how to do it himself. He has problems focusing on things, and sometimes you have to shake him once or twice to get his attention. If you’re the same way, he would always be patient with you. 
Also like his brother, if anybody gives you shit for the way you act, he’s going to come over and cuss them out. 
“Forget them. They don’t matter. What do they know about anything? Of course common horses wouldn’t know what they’re looking at when they see a unicorn. You are one of a kind, tesoro. And I love you.”
Cardinal Copia:
Aside from Papa I, he’s the other one who’s most likely to understand your struggles if you confide in him. 
He has a lot of difficulties in close social interactions, so he can teach you some of the tips and tricks he’s picked up over the centuries if you struggle with those, too. 
If you want to stim by petting his rats’ fur, he’s more than happy to let you! 
On the other hand, if you don’t like the feeling of his rats on you, or their fur, he’ll be sure to let them know so they’ll stay off and away from you. 
He’s very adamant about his schedule, and he’ll try to get you set in a routine you’re comfortable with, if you want his help. 
He’s the type to remember everything you’ve said about your special interests, and look into them himself to see if he can get interested too. Who knows? You might have got him hooked on something new! 
Knows painfully well what it’s like to be a social outcast. Growing up in Italy, he related more to his pet rats than the other children, and even now, he still feels the same way. 
“It can be very hard, topolino. I know that more than anyone. But we’ll get through it together, you and I. Ti amo.”
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