#it just sucks it just all feels so hopeless and unforgiving

[horrorknife]

i kind of really hate myself you guys. like i kind of think there’s no hope for me

[xenocorner]

(If you're someone who enjoys my work, and also happens to like/support AI generated images, please give this a read? Just hear me out, please. This is not a bashing post, I promise. It's not pro-ai either though. But please hear me out)

This whole AI art stuff is just getting... Honestly exhausting. If you are someone who supports AI generated images, I beg of you, hear me out? I'm not here to bash, to say you're a bad person or a thief. I know it's more complex than that. I'm just, trying to express how I feel about this whole ordeal. I'm not here to get angry either. I don't have the energy for that. I'm also not trying to change your mind. Just, hopefully help you see/feel a different perspective? That's all.

Long rant under the cut because. There's a lot.

I'm not even angry anymore. I don't have the energy for that. But I keep seeing AI images all over, everywhere. The thing is getting better (because of course it is). And I see more and more people support it. And sometimes those people are also artists or people who like art and support artists.

And then I also see artists be laid off. I see how it gets harder and harder to make a break in the industry. And even after you make it you get laid off because... People don't wanna bother with it anymore. Corps would rather cut costs.

And then I see people defend AI images. Say it's okay, that it isn't stealing from artists, that it is just a tool, ignoring a huge part of the problem (whether willfully or not).

And it just makes me so incredibly sad. So utterly devastated.

I was angry. I really used to be angry. I'm just hurt now. Hopeless for the future. And tired. Really really damn tired.

Tired of artists having to justify their existance in the professional world. Tired of people just saying... No.

No, you don't get to thrive. And you're selfish and entitled for wanting to thrive. No, you don't get to feel hurt when your work gets scrapped without your permission to feed a data base designed to replace you. No, you don't get a say in this. Don't like? Bohoo, don't see.

Well, how can I not see when this issue directly affects how I live? How can I not see when this issue affects my future? It's not just a matter of "Don't like x kind of content, don't interact with it". It really is not. I really wish it was, I wish it was that simple. But it's not. Because this is not something like a ship or a trope that one can ignore and not be affected. This is like trying to ignore a dumpster fire in your neighborhood. Yeah, you can avoid looking at it. You can avoid talking about it. But the smoke is still getting into your house. You're still breathing it. It's still hurting you. It will have effects on your life, whether you like it or not.

I threw away 12 years of my life building up my skill to work in a field that feels like it's dying out. Am I (and countless other artists) just supposed to start over? How? Time is unforgiving.

Bohoo for your bad choices, suck it up. Your fault for pursuing art as a career.

Was I supposed to just, KNOW, somehow, that the career I choose, that used to be viable, would just... Take this turn? Was I supposed to have a 10 year look into the the future?

You should create for the joy of creating!

I do. I love creating. I love making people happy with my work. Work I spent years perfecting. It's the most beautiful feeling in the world to know that someone smiled or cried or felt something because of something I did. It makes me smile and cry too.

But I also like to be able to eat. To have a roof. To pay for my meds. And the joy of creating honestly dwindles each time I see people talk about AI images the same way they talk about a painting in the Louvure.

Becaus they do. I've seen people talk about images generated by a machine (built upon stealing artwork from unconsenting artists) like they're the work of God. And they write such beautiful things too. And I'm left baffled, confused, uneasy.

And then I go to see artists, living, breathing, feeling artists, who create marvelous pieces, who pour their heart into their work, who shed sweat blood and tears to get their skills to where they are, who are still shedding sweat blood and tears to keep improving... And they don't even get a 'nice'. They've been job searching for 3 years. They can't get a steady flow of commissions. They're scrambling to be able to get a table at a con.

And it hurts to my very core.

It hurts in a place I don't even know how to describe, because it's so deep and so personal and so raw that I don't think there's a name for it.

I love art. I love it so damn much. I love making it, I love sharing it, I love teaching it.

I think many other people love art too. I think many other people who love art don't even consciously realize they do.

And it hurts seeing art just... Become this.

It hurts seeing the artistic souls of this earth be pushed down and down again and again over and over and be told to just. To just suck it up.

To die off.

Because when people support AI images, they are telling us to die off. It feels like they are telling us to die off.

And I don't think the people who do realize it at all, because a lot of people who support AI images are not bad people. They are not. They enjoy art too. But they are, consiously or not, directly or indirectly, hurting the artists whose work made the data base AI generators use possible.

They're telling us to die off because they already have our work. And they can use it to generate new, regurgitated work faster, cheaper. They don't need us. So while they may like what us, artists, do, they're feeding a system that is killing us off. Both metaphorically and literally. Metaphorically by killing the will to create. Literally by taking our living off of us (or at least to those who's art is their living. Like myself).

And again.

It hurts so damn much.

And I don't think a lot of people manage to see the hurt past all the anger.

I, personally, have grown exhausted and there's no anger left in me, only sad and hurt.

But I promise you, behind every angry and fighting and barking and bitting artists there is out there, there's hurt. There's some form of hurt behind each and every one of them. Of us.

I really hope this reaches the right people. Whether that be a fellow artists struggling to get their feelings into words to let them know they're not alone. Or someone who supports AI images, and supports artists too, and can maybe get a glimpse into a side of this whole issue. Not necessarily to change their mind but, maybe help them understand better where all the anger from artists may be coming from.

Please, I'm not here to start any fights or debates. I really am not. I just need to get this sort of thing out there, because I think talking about it is important.

[allegra-writes]

"The Great Escape"

Part one

"Hopeless Romantic" part III

Prev | Next

Dark!Billy Russo x Reader

NSFW

Warnings: Kidnapping, unhealthy extremely toxic relationship, canon typical violence. The dove is dead, this is it's funeral.

MY MASTERLIST | BUY ME A COFFEE

"Cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper

I won't stop 'til I get where you are

I keep running when both my feet hurt

I won't stop 'til I get where you are"

Graveyard - Halsey

Waking up was not a pleasant affair, what with the pounding in your head, and your mouth as dry as if you had been sucking on cotton balls all night… and according to the pale streams of daylight filtering through the dirty windows, you could have been. The night before was a blurry mosaic of broken fragments and pieces, only one thing stood out, crystal clear in your mind's eye: Billy. Beautiful Billy, monstrous Billy. Inexorable, implacable Billy. Moving inside you, above you, drowning you in unwanted pleasure, kissing you like he wanted to suck your very essence out of your bones, consuming you…

Even now, you still had him all over you, the soft, dark jacket you were bundled into had his scent, familiar and comforting, an anchor in your disoriented state. You tried to turn, looking for him, but you felt slow and weak, like trying to move underwater. A dreadful sense of deja vu filled your heart as you noticed a resistance when you tried to bring your hands down to help push yourself up, snapping your attention to your tied wrists. The memories from the night before flooded back: Billy's intense love making, his cold knife against your heated skin, your happiness at the revelation that he loved you, then his betrayal, loving eyes turning cold right before he drugged you against your will. The van. Your tears, begging him to let you go as he… as he…

You couldn't even bring yourself to think of the word. You knew there would be no way back if you did, no more excuses you could make for him, that one particular crime too unforgivable, even for you. Even if it was him. Even if his eyes had shone with love and adoration as he committed it.

As if summoned by your thoughts, the only door in the cold, spartan room opened, and Billy walked in, troubled frown softening instantly at the sight of you. 

"Good, you're awake" You tried to sit up, an impossible feat given your weakened state and still bound hands, and he was upon you in an instant, "Let me help you" 

He effortlessly lifted you, helping you sit on the mattress with your back supported by the wall behind you. If he noticed your flinch as his hands made contact with your skin, he didn't say it. 

"Stay here, I'll be right back"

You wanted to scoff, where would you be able to go, bound and still half drugged as you were? But he was back, and helping you drink from a water bottle in a blink. Or maybe you had fallen asleep again in the brief moments it took for him to return, you couldn't be sure.

"Better?" 

It surprised you to realize that yes, you were actually feeling remarkably better, the worst of the headache quickly receding. Dehydration, then. You filled the information for later, to help the doctors identify the substance he had drugged you with so they could treat you accordingly. If you ever made it to a hospital, that was.

"Where-" You croaked. Billy brought the bottle back to your lips, and you took another generous gulp before trying again. "Where are we?" 

"We're still in the city. There was a- a slight delay," Billy informed, "a huge cyber attack, state wide. Every airport, every dock, every single tower has been hacked and put out of commission, so we're momentarily earthbound" 

Your heart skipped a beat. David, it had to be him, it had to. You could have wept with relief right then.

Because if Micro knew, Frank knew. Frank had realized you were missing, and it was only a matter of time before help came. 

Billy's eyes narrowed just a fraction. You cursed your lack of a poker face. 

"Everything alright?"

That startled a bitter, incredulous laugh out of you. Billy tensed up, jaw clenching. And you were not ignorant or self destructive, you knew your best chance was to play into his delusion, that antagonizing a stalker -and that was exactly what traumatized, narcissistic Billy with his shattered self esteem was, you could see that clearly now- was risking them turning violent. 

But you just couldn't stop it. 

"Oh, Billy!" Yeah, ok, there might have been a hysterical edge to your laugh, "What fucking part about all of this could be alright?" 

To your surprise, he started to laugh too, till you both were doubling over, gasping for air. Till he was cupping your head, forehead resting on yours, trying to catch his breath. 

"Yeah, this is fucked up. I am fucked up, I know I am," He admitted, softly, dark eyes boring into yours, "but I can make you happy, if you let me, princess. Will you let me?" 

For a second, you imagined it. Your traitor of a brain pictured exactly what it would be like, running away with him to some tropical paradise where you would be each other's whole world. Where he would take care of you, spoiling you rotten as long as you gave him what he craved the most: complete control.

Wasn't that why he had you tied up in that warehouse? Why he had kidnapped you the moment you had rejected him? 

Luckily, you were saved from having to reply as your stomach growled loudly. 

"Right. Sorry, I should have fed you sooner" Billy mumbled, guiltily, stepping up and crossing the room to rummage through an old desk, producing two MRE packs and carrying them back to you. Your chest ached with familiarity at watching him prepare the meals, his movements economical and efficient, muscle memory at it's finest as he put the meal packages inside the heating pads and filling them with water from your water bottle. It was hypnotic, the way he folded the bags at the opening once, twice, shook them, let the air out and repeated the process, the ceremony an automatic ritual for Lieutenant Russo. And suddenly you were years and thousands of miles away, sitting on the floor in a dusty tent, flanked by Frank and Billy, pretending to be annoyed at the old fashioned marines, too gentlemanly to let you prepare your own food. 

With a flick of his trusted Ka-Bar, Billy liberated your wrists.

"Menu 23: Pepperoni pizza" He announced, handing you your meal, "Your favourite" 

You accepted it with shaky hands, and took a bite, the well known taste doing little to help you return to the present. 

A few minutes passed with only the sounds of chewing breaking the silence. 

"Did we ever made it to Lombardi's?" Billy finally asked, referring to the promise he had made you long ago, as you shared a dinner just like this one, of taking you for real pizza once you both were back home.

"You remember that?"

Billy's eyes met yours,

"I remember everything about you" He confided, "When I first woke up at the hospital, everything was a-a mess… Up here, I mean. Everything was blurry, I didn't know where I was, I didn't know who I was. But you? I remembered you..." 

It wasn't a love declaration, it wasn't even a confession. He was just stating facts: The sky was blue, the sun was warm, he remembered you. 

"I may not have known your name right away, but I knew you. I knew your smile, I knew your eyes, I knew your perfume. I knew your kindness. I knew you took care of me, I knew you were safe. Everything was harsh and scary and painful, but you were soft, and you were safe…" he let his knuckles trail up and down your arm, almost reverently. "And then the memories started to trickle in, just images and names and titles a-and sounds: Frank, Curt, Kabul, Kandahar; but it was all mixed up, like puzzle pieces I couldn't put together, cause they kept slipping through my fingers, like dreams you can remember first thing after you wake up but as the day goes on, poof, they're gone…"

"Billy-" 

He captured the hand you had extended in an unconscious gesture of comfort in his, interlocking his fingers with yours, turning it over to plant a kiss right on your palm.

"Not you, though. You never faded. Once I remembered you, I never forgot you again. I can never forget you again, Y/N. You're… you're everything. You're it" 

You looked away, the intensity in his eyes too much for you to withstand. Still, you could feel his gaze on you, cataloguing every one of your micro gestures, gauging your reaction. You blinked away your tears, trying to swallow around the knot inside your throat. 

Bastard. 

He had done unspeakable things, unforgivable things, to all your friends, to you. He had no right, no right to say those things, to make you feel all the love you had for him still, every last ounce of it, clawing at your heart till it bled, crushing your lungs, choking you…

You couldn't go with him. You wouldn't... But you couldn't let Frank kill him either.

"You have to go, Billy"

"Y/N?"

"You have to go NOW!" You stood up, swaying slightly, trying to emphasize the urgency of the situation, "Frank is onto you. The cyber attack? He has a friend, Micro, he's the best fucking hacker I have ever seen" and you had worked for special ops, so it was saying something, "They're probably on their way here right now, you have to go" 

He shook his head,

"I'm not going anywhere. Not without you."

"For fucks sake, Billy, don't you understand?! This is Frank we're talking about! The same Frank that almost beat to death a guy because he got handsy with Maria at a college bar, same Frank that came back from the dead to protect a girl from the Mafia! My building is full of security cameras, he knows you took me by force, Billy! He's never forgiving you this time!!" You took a deep breath to get your emotions -and the volume of your voice- back under control, "If you take me with you, he will never stop hunting you down"

Billy stood up too, jaw set, determination written in every inch of him,

"Then I'm taking him out"

"You can't"

"Like hell I can't-"

"No, Billy, you can't!" You were reaching new desperation levels, "You haven't seen what he's become! You will hesitate, I know you will, even if just for a split second, you will hesitate because you still see your best friend. He won't have the same reservations" 

"RUSSO!!!"

The scream rang through the empty warehouse, freezing whatever reply Billy was about to give you, turning your blood into ice. It was a war cry, raw and primitive. It was pure Punisher, no trace of Frank, and for the first time, you saw fear flash through Billy's dark eyes. 

"Go" Your begged, "I'll stall him, you run out the back" 

Billy shook his head,

"There's no way I'm getting out of here without you, princess" 

You had to sigh, damn him and his stubbornness! Damn him and his words and his puppy eyes that made you want to save him in the nick of time! 

"What's your plan, then?" 

You regreted it even before he had finished explaining, but you couldn't deny it seemed solid, if a little too simple. The feeling only intensifying as he placed the M18 in your hands. 

"You remember how to use it?" He asked and you realized he didn't know, he hadn't anyway to know about Claire, Matt, and Luke and the others. He didn't know about Midland Circle, what you had to help them do to save the city. There was no time to fill him in either, so you limited yourself to loading it and taking off the safety.

"Why are you giving me this anyway?"

He pinned you with a look,

"If you think Imma just send you out there unarmed, you still don't understand how much I love you" 

That stopped you dead in your tracks. Love? Could it really be? He was obsessed, that much was clear. And you already knew he cared about you, in his own, toxic way. But was this really love? Not in a normal, sane person's standards, of course, but Billy's version of it, as close as he could get to that emotion. 

He seemed to think so, at least. 

And apparently, he could also read in your eyes the war going on inside your head, because he stopped as well, turning to you and grabbing your head in his hands, forcing you to look at him.

"I love you, Y/N. And when we get out of here, I'm gonna prove it to you. I'll make you so happy, I'll-"

You shut him up crashing your lips against his. 

It was messy and desperate, hands softly cupping your face as his mouth ravaged yours like he was about to go to war. In a way, you thought, he was. It was the battle of his life, and it was all because of you. 

You parted, but never let go, not really, the arm around your neck more protective than restraining, his solid frame a comfort at your back as he walked you to meet Frank. You could feel his shuddering breath as he took the safety out of his Beretta. 

Billy kicked the door open. 

"TAKE ONE FUCKING STEP CLOSER AND I BLOW HER BRAINS OUT" 

Next part

[shikatemarchives]

Angst & Tragedy ShikaTema Fic Compilation

Dear Kishimoto, You Can Bite Me - PSITeleport - T, romance, suspense, 8k words, complete, one shot Shikamaru and Temari are trapped in a hopeless scenario. It doesn’t matter how smart Shikamaru is, or how strong Temari is, there’s one man that has all the power. And, this time, it may very well be game over.

Monday Blues - chlorineobsession - T, one shot, 5k+ words, romance, hurt/comfort “I love you,” he whispered, painting the words across her skin like a masterpiece and watching her face for some sign of the sentiment being reciprocated, but she didn’t seem to have heard him. [ShikaTema/Shikamaru X Temari] [one-shot][Third genre-Tragedy] Knife Edge - Annwyd - T, romance & tragedy, 533 words, one shot, complete

Shikamaru takes an ANBU mission, and whether he succeeds or not, it’s not going to end well. Very dark consider yourself warned. ShikaTema implied We’re In This - OstaraNight - T, 3,077 words, two shot, romance/drama, completeShikamaru and Temari are in a tough situation together, without an easy way out. But that’s the way it has always been… the two of them, at each other’s sides. Cover photo commission by Shadlay. You can see more of her stuff on Tumblr @shadlay. The Wind That Never Left - temarihime - K, 2891 words, one shot, hurt/comfort, complete Her heart was heavy as she saw the arrays of nameless tombstones waiting for her. Her ancestors were buried here – side by side with their fellow Suna citizens under the unforgiving heat of the sun. The area dedicated to her family was covered in desert, but she knew which one she is visiting. Shinigami by yourdesertsunflower - M, 9584 words, supernatural, WIP What would happen if you were a spirit of death? You know, those beings in charge of guiding those souls in sorrow to their ultimate and, mostly, not that well regarded death. Wander through the earth, observing the human world, watching over them till the awaited moment where they’ll meet their end, that final breath.

What would happen if you become fond of them? What’ll do when the time for their death comes? After all, death is unavoidable, inescapable, inevitable.

Right? Quicksand - SpicedGold - T (for now), action, family drama, 10 chapters, 14,030 words, WIP

Temari had been trained to kill, and trained to do it well. That had been all that had mattered in her life. She was a weapon, and had thought that she always would be.

But now she had a son, and a peaceful life, and that sort of violence was behind her forever. She didn’t miss it, and she wouldn’t be pulled back into it.

Or so she thought. Divorce AU - Falling Apart, Together - On_kamis_green_earth - T, family/drama, angst, romance, 15746 words, complete (series is WIP) Shikamaru and Temari got divorced nearly a decade ago. Now their son is in middle school and going through a bit of a rebel phase. Parenting when you ‘hate’ you ex is definitely a challenge. Good thing Temari never backs down from a challenge.

Shikadai has a crush, his parents suck at love and he has no idea what to do. (Nextgen shenanigans) Tell me that you’ll open your eyes - SpookyMoth - T, angst, romance, 4534 words, one shot, completeOne moment can change your life. One second will decide your fate. A shinobi never wavers and fights until death is the only option.It doesn’t hurt to die.What hurts is being left behind.Temari’s life is hanging by a thread, when Shikamaru realises he doesn’t want to lose her. Smoke - Comatosejoy - M, romance/angst, drama, 4,962, 3 chapters, complete “Occasionally she’d lift a cigarette to her lips just to remember what it tasted like to kiss him. And when she did, she’d immediately regret it. Everything would hit her at once. Her stomach would drop and she’d feel the hair stand up on the back of her neck. It was amazing that he could still have this effect on her.”

Shikamaru breaks up with Temari. Angst with a happy ending. A three-part story. Tsuris - NessieGG - M, romance & angst, 2k+ words, one shot, complete

They played each other every time, both physically and mentally. [Shikamaru x Temari. One shot.] Changing Her Mind - Violetnightshade - M, angst & romance, 22k+ words, 10 chapters, complete

Shikamaru’s relationship with Temari crossed beyond the boundries between ninja years ago; such a bond is a major liability, and must be handled appropriately. Ironically, it’s Temari who makes the logical choice. Rated M for citrus. Paper Moon - lollipop-mania - M, romance/angst, 25,103 words, one shot, complete

When he does make the connection, his only response is to smile and shove her shoulder with enough force to tip her sideways into a stumble. She mimics his expression and rights herself, but doesn’t move back. She had been walking too close to him anyway. ShikaTema. One-shot. Safe In His Arms - SpookyMoth - T, romance, angst, 1180 words, complete

She is strong and nothing can hurt her, but sometimes she needs help and can’t protect herself from getting harmed. Rain in Konoha - OstaraNight - M, 30,067 words, 17 chapters, drama/romance, wip There’s a lot of things hidden in the leaves, more than just the city. Detective Shikamaru Nara doesn’t know what all, but he’s going to find out. Haunted by a past he can’t change, he takes a case that has him venturing into the seedy underbelly of Konoha and entangling with a blonde who’s driven by motives of her own. Multi-Chapter Detective AU, roughly set 1950’s and noir style

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers VANDEAD CARNIVAL ;; Sleeping Vampire ー Sakamaki Kanato

Source: Diabolik Lovers Vandead Carnival

Seiyuu: Kaji Yuki

Audio: Part 1 ll Part 2

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

*Rustle rustle*

“...Is something the matter? ...’That’s my line’? You are being rather cheeky today, don’t you think? I couldn’t seem to fall asleep for some reason, so I tried moving to a different place.”

You frown, asking why he chose your bed.

“That is up to me to decide, no...? ...Say, you think so too, don’t you, Teddy?”

*Rustle*

“...Well, there you have it. I will sleep here for tonight. Come on, move to the edge a little. When you’re lying there in the dead centre of the bed, there’s nowhere for me and Teddy to sleep, is there?”

*Creaaak*

“...Where are you going?”

You tell him you’ll sleep somewhere else.

“Hah...? You’re implying that you’ll move somewhere else if I’m going to sleep in your bed?”

*Rustle*

“...Wait. Where exactly would you go to sleep this late at night? Are you perhaps thinking of sleeping on the sofa in the living room...? ...Or perhaps...You can’t possibly be thinking of staying at one of the other guys’ rooms, are you...?”

Your eyes widen in surprise.

“...Unforgivable...How could you leave me here and go sleep with some other guy.”

You shake your head.

“I’m wrong? How exactly am I wrong? If it’s a misunderestanding, then lie down next to me right now. At once.”

*Rustle*

“Good grief...You’re hopeless...To think I was so kind to come all the way to your room...Let me tell you just in case, but I don’t believe a single word of what you just said. Right, Teddy? Will you keep a close eye on her tonight so she doesn’t do anything strange? ...Fufu. You’re such a good boy, Teddy. In comparison...You are...”

You sigh.

“...Say? Why have you been lying down there this whole time?”

You explain.

“...Yes, I know. You’re lying down in bed. Because I told you to do so...?”

You nod.

“I told you to lie down next to me earlier, didn’t I...? Yet...Why have you decided to lie down next to Teddy instead...?”

*Rustle*

“Unforgivable...You dislike the idea of sleeping next to me that much...?”

You try and defend yourself.

“Because Teddy was already lying down between the two of us...? What exactly is the problem there? You could have simply asked Teddy to move, no?”

You frown.

“...To think you couldn’t think of such an easy solution, you truly are a fool. Well then, now that you understand, hurry up and ask Teddy to swap places with you.”

You ask Teddy.

*Rustle*

"...I’m sorry, Teddy. But I’m sure you understand, don’t you?”

Teddy replies to Kanato.

“...It seems like Teddy is willing to move to the bedside. Good for you, Yui-san. Well then, Teddy you go here...”

*Rustle rustle*

“...Say, Yui-san? Are you really not gonna say a single thank-you after Teddy was so kind to move for you?”

You raise a brow.

“Isn’t that only obvious? ...You banished Teddy all the way to the bedside after all...”

You seem puzzled.

“What you should do? ...Please think of something yourself. There are plenty of ways to express your gratitude, no? For example, the ribbon on the nightgown you’re wearing...You could tie that around Teddy, no?”

*Rustle*

“Of course, there is no way that Teddy would be glad to receive your second-hand ribbon. However, I don’t see anything of worth around in this room, so it can’t be helped.”

*Rustle*

“...I’m sorry, Teddy. It’s all we have right now, so will you bear with it...?”

Teddy agrees.

“...Teddy says he’ll forgive you. Aren’t you glad? Well then, me too...”

*Rustle rustle*

“What are you dawdling for? Come on, hurry up and lie down as well.”

*Pat pat*

“...Right here, okay?”

You lie down.

*Creaaak*

"Haah...I think I’ll finally be able to sleep now. Well then, goodnight, Yui-san.”

You close your eyes.

*Creaaak*

“...”

*Creaaak*

“...Shut up...”

*Rustle rustle*

“Say...You’ve been tossing and turning this whole time, haven’t you? Are you having trouble falling asleep, perhaps...? ...I went out of my way to move rooms, yet when you behave that way, I won’t be able to get a wink of sleep either. ...I suppose I have no other choice. I shall do you one favor. I’ll go fetch the necessary tools right now, so please wait here for one second, okay?”

*TIMESKIP*

Kanato returns to the room.

*Thud*

“Here...Take a look at this, Yui-san.”

*Rustle*

“What do you mean? ...Can’t you tell? It’s a jar of cookies. I went and got them from my room for you.”

You seem confused.

“...What are you saying? I never spoke a single word about having you eat these, did I? Say, you? They say that humans grow drowsy when counting objects, no?”

You explain.

“Eh? ...It’s counting sheep? Does it really matter what it is though?”

*Thud*

“I’ll count the number of cookies right now. I’m sure you’ll become sleepy eventually, right? Well then, here I go. One cookie...”

*Thud*

“Two cookies.”

*Thud*

“Three cookies.”

*Rustle*

“Four cookies.”

*Thud*

“Five cookies. ...How do you feel? A little more sleepy?”

You shake your head.

“Hmm. Not yet? You are horribly slow-witted, so I suppose it can’t be helped. In that case, I’ll count many more. ...Six cookies.”

*Thud*

*TIMESKIP*

“ーー Thirsty-eight cookies...Hm...?”

*Rustle*

“I’ve...run out of cookies...I counted all the way to the very end...So why won’t you become sleepy at all?”

*THUD*

“...Now I feel even more awake myself...Because I did all of this for your sake. I’m already having trouble sleeping tonight...On top of that, when I look at these cookies on top of the tray...I get...very hungry...I doubt I’ll be able to sleep now. How will you make it up to me?”

You offer him a cookie.

“Hah? ‘Why don’t you have a cookie then’? What are you saying? Are you an actual idiot? These...These stupid cookies...would never satisfy me...!!”

*THUD*

“When it comes down to it...You’re to blame for everything. I came here to find some swift rest. Yet...You keep on getting in the way of my sleep...Make sure to take responsibility, okay?”

You frown, unsure what to do.

“Aah, right. In that case...”

Kanato moves closer.

“Can’t you simply allow me to suck your blood...?”

You seem surprised.

“If I fill my belly with plenty of your blood...I’m sure I’ll be able to sleep soundly...That’s what I believe. ーー Eh? What is it, Teddy...? Oh...I see...Teddy is telling me not to do that...But...I’m starving...I understand. I suppose it would be difficult to sleep with a full stomach as well...Today, I’ll only taste you a little bit. What do you say? ...That’s fine, right?”

He pins you down.

*Rustle*

*Thud*

“Well then. Please offer yourself to me. I mean, that’s only fair, right? You’re to blame for all of this after all. Where would you like me to suck? Your neck? Shoulder? Or perhaps...Well, any place works. I’ll taste you from your favorite spot...Well then...

You protest.

*Rustle rustle*

“Say? What are you playing at? ...Are you perhaps resisting me? ...Even though you’re at fault...You’re trying to defy me like that...? Do you truly believe you’ll get away with such a selfish act...?”

*Smack*

“Of course not! Hurry up and submit to me! ...I’ve been asking you this whole time, haven’t I!? Hurry...Let me taste you!!”

*Rustle rustle*

“...Nn...Nn...Aah...I knew it...Even just licking you is delicious...Nn...Haah...I can’t stop...This isn’t...half bad either...”

You whimper.

“Fufu...Look at that expression on your face...Does it feel good perhaps...? Then how do you explain those protests from earlier? This is exactly why I keep saying that I can’t trust you at all...Nn...”

*Creaaak*

“Haah...Where should I lick you next...?”

You seem worried.

“Fufu...Don’t worry. Rest assured. I’ll give you plenty more...Although this obviously won’t fill my belly...It is plenty...to distract me from the hunger...Nn...I have to do more and more...”

*TIMESKIP*

*Creaaak*

“Phew...I can finally sleep in peace now.”

*Rustle rustle*

“...What is the matter? You seem rather dazed, dare I say? Ah, have you perhaps...finally grown sleepy as well?”

You shake your head.

“Eh...? You haven’t? Despite saying that, you look rather exhausted. Well, at this point it no longer matters whether you are tired or not. As long as you behave and keep still like that, my sleep will no longer be interrupted by your vexing tossing and turning. I can finally sleep now. Please lie there still, okay? Next to me...”

You nod.

“Yui-san, goodnight for real this time.”

You close your eyes again.

“...”

*Creaaak*

“Nn...Hm...? ...!”

*Thud*

“...You! Wake up please!”

*Rustle rustle*

“Can you not tell I’m asking you to wake up at once!?”

*Rustle rustle*

You open your eyes again.

“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’!? I don’t care if you were asleep...How dare you turn your back to me...Do you dislike sleeping by my side that much?”

You shake your head.

“...Then come here at once!”

Kanato pulls you close.

*Rustle*

“Say, you won’t go somewhere and leave me behind, right? You’ll stay by my side forever, right? Say, promise me, please? That you won’t leave me...That you will never stray away from my side again...Promise me!”

You try and calm him down.

“...How can I stay calm!? ...You’re...You’re to blame! Because you tried to get away from me like that...Even though I told you to sleep by my side so many times...Yet...Why can you never just listen to what I say...?”

You try and explain to him that you did it subconsciously in your sleep.

“Don’t lie! It’s obvious you were simply pretending to be asleep, looking for the right opportunity to sneak away! That’s why you turned your back to me...! ...Unforgiveable...”

You frown.

“Teddy...Teddy would never do that. Teddy always stayed right next to me until I open my eyes again...I actually had Teddy move to the side of the bed so you could sleep next to me instead, yet you choose to betray me? All those times you pretended to be obedient, was that all a lie as well? ...Answer me!”

You try and explain yourself.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses...I can’t sleep like this. It’s all your fault...How will you take responsibility for this?”

You shrug.

“...Aah, right. I just had a great idea. I should simply tie us together somehow so you can’t go anywhere while I’m asleep. With something...”

*Rustle rustle*

*Thud*

“Aah...There just so happens to be the perfect thing laying around over here. Say, Teddy. Would you please let me borrow the ribbon she tied around you earlier?”

Teddy agrees.

“Fufu. Thank you, Teddy...”

*Rustle*

“Well then, show me your hand please, Yui-san. I’ll use this ribbon...To tie our hands tightly together.”

*Rustle*

“...Hmm, it’s hard to tie with just one hand...Please help me as well. Come on, hurry.”

You attempt to help out.

“Such a loose knot obviously won’t do the trick. Please tie it a little tighter.”

*Rustle rustle*

“Phew. This should work. Well then, Yui-san. Let’s lie down together. ...Come on, this way.”

*Rustle*

*Thud*

“Fufu...Like this, I will be able to tell right away if you try and escape while I’m asleep...However, you might try and sneakily undo the ribbon, huh? I don’t trust you in the slightest after all...”

You try and convince him that you wouldn’t do that.

“Phew...I guess this is the only solution then...”

*Rustle*

“I usually sleep while holding Teddy in my arms...But tonight, I’ll sleep while holding onto you instead. With just the ribbon, you might still find a way to get away after all. However, while I’m embracing you with my other arm, I doubt you’ll be able to go anywhere, huh? You have to move a little closer...Or it tugs onto the hand we tied together earlier and hurts...”

*Rustle*

“...I suppose this is a little better.“

You grow flustered.

“That being said...Haah. Unlike Teddy, you don’t feel soft in my arms at all...On top of that, I can hear your annoying heartbeat which seems to thump even louder than usual. ‘Ba-dump, badump’, just like that...It really is noisy. 

However, it can’t be helped, so I’ll sleep with you tonight. Even though holding you close like this doesn’t benefit me in any way. If I had to name one thing, you are warm unlike Teddy, so it is a great way to combat the cold...”

*Rustle*

“Are you happy? To have me hold you in my arms instead of Teddy. However, please don’t let it get to your head, okay? I don’t mean to imply I would choose you over Teddy in the slightest. It’s simply that someone untrustworthy such as yourself is much more of a handful than my smart, obedient Teddy. Say, Yui-san? Look my way?”

*Rustle* 

“Fufu...You’re being awfully docile right now. I suppose you’ve finally become somewhat compliant? In that case...I suppose I have no other choice but to give you a reward. Nn...”

*Smooch*

“...You understand, don’t you? I have to keep a close eye on you. At all times...So you don’t get a chance at sneaking away from my side...You belong only to me after all. Isn’t that right?”

You nod.

“You actually admit it, huh? In that case...Please kiss me next. Come on, hurry...”

You kiss him.

“Nn...Haah. Good girl. As long as you behave like that, I’ll dote on you plenty. Can you promise that you belong to me, so you won’t try and leave me...?”

You promise.

“...I see. In that case, I’ll shower you in plenty more rewards. Are you happy when I kiss you...?”

You nod.

“I see. In that case...Nn...”

*Smooch*

“I can finally rest assured a little while you’re glued to me like this. The noisy beating of your heart...Feels almost comforting once you get used to it. Pwaah. ...I’ve grown a little sleepy for some reason...”

You agree.

“Fufu. Don’t you feel the same? Your eyes look a little more drowsy than earlier...Come on, just close your eyes...I’ll continue holding you in my arms like this until you wake up again, okay?”

You close your eyes.

“Goodnight, Yui-san. May you have a wonderful dream. The two of us will be together, forever and ever...”

ーー THE END ーー

[seokoloqy]

INFERNO | jjk (m)

➳ PAIRING: phoenix!jungkook x reader

➳ GENRE: smut, pwp

➳ WORD COUNT: 2.7k

➳ WARNINGS: SEXUAL TENSION BABEY, sort of religious reader, koo has his dick out the whole time, the only thing bigger than his dick is his massive ego, the gloves stay ON during sex, semi voyerism, hand job, fingering, unprotected sex, rough sex

➳ SUMMARY: after praying to the gods for help, they whisper for you to visit the Royal Court of Embers to find their king, but all you find is a egotistical phoenix who wonders why you aren’t down on your knees worshiping him instead

➳ A/N: I wanted to practice sexual tension so I wrote this bad boy. I should mention it is also part of the Nevermore universe!

—

The golden sun. That’s what you would describe the phoenix in front of you as. A blinding, but glorious light you’d almost mistake as one of the gods.

Visiting the Royal Court of Embers with a request, as nothing but a weak human with nothing to offer, probably won’t end well, but you’ve become desperate. The people in your town have begun to vanish without a trace, not even a body left behind. The hunters can’t figure out the cause no matter how hard they search. It’s becoming a hopeless endeavor and there are many who have given up finding an answer, wondering why the gods have abandoned their loved ones.

But not you. You still believe the gods have an answer out there. After visiting the temples and praying, asking the gods for help, a gentle breeze whispered the answer into your ear.

Visit the Royal Court of Embers. Find the king.

So you did.

Entering the domain shared by dragons and phoenixes as a human is a brave feat. Not much is known about them other than their immense power being enough to scare even the strongest demons into submission. If anything—god or beast—can solve your mysterious problem, it’s them.

When you arrived however, they refused to let you speak to their king, claiming you had no right to even be on their land. But your persistence was enough to convince them to let you speak to the king’s right hand, Jungkook, a phoenix.

His many lovers leave hungry, lust filled marks across his body, staining his skin with blossoming purple and red marks. They drown him, draped over him, rutting against anything he has to offer, moaning out all their heavenly pleasure.

You hear their cries, the wanton way his name easily falls from their hungry lips.

“Jungkook,” they plead from plush, red lips.

And despite this, despite Jungkook’s constorts clinging to his skin and begging for his attention, his eyes flutter to yours across the room for a moment. A single glance from those blazing, golden eyes, as if the eternal sun were captured in his irises, sets your beating heart ablaze and you just can’t bring yourself to tear your eyes away from his magnificence.

While his eyes, heavy with lust, roam over your meek form slowly, his interest has piqued.

What is a human doing trembling in the presence of a phoenix? No, more importantly, how were you granted access into his chambers?

What a nuisance.

A single gloved finger curls, beckoning you over to his sofa. He disperses his lovers with a sharp look, without a word. They know better than to ignore his burning eyes and scamper off, completely bare, and out the door you just entered.

He examines you with curiosity.

“Closer.”

You step forward, averting your eyes from his uncovered erection to the setting sun over a green valley. It’s such a perfect sight. He must see this everyday and bask in the golden glow.

You suddenly feel a twinge of sadness in your chest knowing that this will be the last time you’ll ever get to witness such a magnificent sunset. Back home, the dull skies are constantly gloomy with grey clouds hiding the sun.

You want to marvel at the sky longer and wait to see the sun disappear over the horizon but the phoenix clears his throat and your eyes are drawn back to him—a being as glorious as the sun itself.

“Kneel, human,” He drawls, tugging on the edge of his glove tighter. If his hands were to even graze your skin for a second, you’d be consumed by his unforgiving flames, and he’d rather not have the stench of your burnt corpse lingering in his chambers.

You do as told, prefering to be on good terms with Jungkook if you’re going to have to ask for his help. Your knees collide with the floor, going so far as to lowering your forehead to meet the marble. The floors are cold, unlike the temperature of the room currently. Ever since you stepped into Jungkook’s room, the temperature feels like a warm summer day spent outside doing yard work with beads of sweat slowly dripping down your temples. So the cool tiles are a sweet relief to the heat.

“I’ve come to ask for your help.”

Jungkook tsks, amused, “come closer.”

You slowly rise, moving toward him once again until you’re in front of his lounging figure. His legs are spread wide, a loose black robe hangs over his shoulders, doing nothing to cover his thick erection.

You almost begin to salivate, thoughts wandering off to inappropriate imaginations. It’s hard to recall why you’re standing in front of him when all you can think of is how it would feel to be choking on his cock, having it hit the back of your throat as he fucks your mouth however he pleases.

Jungkook wears a smirk, almost like he knows exactly what dirty thoughts are plaguing your mind and he’s thinking the same.

“Have your gods forsaken you again, little human?” The phoenix purrs, running his gloved finger slowly on the underside of your jaw. The thin material, the only thing keeping you from burning at his touch, is soft. “Have your prayers not reached their deaf ears? Or have you finally accepted that the only gods you truly have are right here in front of you?”

His golden eyes burn brightly, swallowing you into their inferno.

You swallow, wetting your lips. Jungkook’s golden eyes quickly follow your tongue glide across your lower lip, curious for a taste. “Maybe the gods have led me to you.”

Jungkook clicks his tongue. “Come.”

He pats his bare thigh, inviting you to sit. His silk robe has opened and now exposes his cock resting hard against his chiseled stomach.

You can’t help your wandering eyes. His gloved hands grab tightly onto your waist as if telling you not to run. He guides you down onto his toned thigh, never letting go. You do your best to avoid letting your leg brush against his erection, afraid you might let out a moan once you feel how hard he actually is.

Jungkook’s chest brushes against your shoulder, his grip around your waist tightens, as he leans in to press his lips against the shell of your ear. He whispers in a low and seductive tone, the vibration of his words causes you to shudder, “let me ask you something.”

You hold your breath, struggling to keep it steady when one of his hands snakes up your back to cup the back of your neck.

Jungkook presses a featherlight kiss to the underside of your jaw. You might not have felt it if you weren’t so hyper aware of his every movement, his every breath on your burning skin.

“Humans have prayed to their gods for centuries, but none of them ever answer. So, why?”

Another soft kiss, this time against the shell of your ear.

“Why what?” You manage to say almost breathlessly. You turn your head away in an attempt to cool down your burning cheeks, but being so close to a phoenix it feels like your whole body is on fire.

“Why do you humans continue to worship absent gods?”

You wring your hands together.

“I have faith.” It was faith that guided you to the Court of Embers and led you straight into Jungkook’s lap with the hopes that he’d help your town. So far, the gods haven’t led you wrong. In fact, you’re currently thanking them silently for bringing you on to the lap of this breathtaking phoenix.

“Faith,” he repeats. You can feel the hot breath of his scoff on your neck. “Don’t you want to believe in something real? Humans should be worshiping us instead.”

His hand pries apart your tightly bound ones, guiding it down a path along his chest. Your eyes follow, your body lets him drag your hand down lower and lower.

“We’re real. See how easily you can come to me?” Now your hand is right above his weeping cock. You squirm in his lap, legs clenching together. “Touch me?”

Gone, are his steady breaths and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Now, he lets out a shuddered breath, staring deeply into your eyes.

“We could grant your every wish, your every desire, if you’d just get on your knees and pray to us instead, my sweet human. You’d have it all.”

Finally, he presses his lips to yours. They’re as warm as you’d expect a phoenix’s lips would be. The kiss sparks a light in your belly, desire pooling even more than before. The hand on the back of your neck draws you in closer until your chest is flush with his and you move your hands up to curl around the silk fabric of his robe.

He pulls back, almost breathless, his pink swollen lips barely grazing yours. “Let me be your only god tonight. I can show you all I have to offer.”

You’re eager for another kiss, for his hands to wander lower on your body, but you can’t forget why you’re here in the first place.

“Only if you agree to help my town.” You pant, sliding your hands down his bare chest. The tip of your finger brushes the head of his cock lightly. He tenses his grip around you, letting out a soft groan into your ear. “I wouldn’t mind getting on my knees to pray then.”

Jungkook smirks, splaying his fingers across your inner thigh, stroking the skin. He spreads your legs wider.

“You humans love playing with fire,” he murmurs, kissing down your neck, sucking and biting at sensitive skin. His gloved hands, outline your waist. The soft material glides closer and closer to your core. “But I accept.”

Briefly, his finger connects with your clit through the material of your pants and you jolt against him, whining when he pulls back.

“Are you ready to forsake your gods for me tonight?”

You nod, moving your hips closer to his fingers, eager to take your pants off and grind against whatever he has to offer.

He chuckles, unbuttoning your pants, “hm, my human, I’m afraid once you have a taste of me you’ll become addicted. Are you really ready for me?”

You’d like to wipe the teasing smirk off his face so your hand wraps around the base of his cock, stroking slowly. You enjoy the breathy whimper he makes when caught off guard. Seeing if you can make him do it again, your thumb runs over the head of his cock, spreading the pearl of precum forming at the tip.

“Ah, f-fuck,” he hisses. The high and mighty confidence he wears slowly slipping.

“I want you, Jungkook,” you tease, releasing his cock and sucking the precum off your thumb, “but maybe it’s you who’s not ready for me?”

You flick your wrists, pumping his cock and watching his face crumble in pleasure.

“Damn, you human,” he curses, clenching his jaw.

“Try calling me ___ instead of human and maybe I’ll show you how good I am on my knees.”

His golden eyes shine, practically glow, as he rakes them over you. “No,” he says stubbornly, the confident voice he had before is seeping back. “You’re going to strip and get on my bed instead.”

Those eyes are not meant to be disobeyed. You feel the heat between your thighs pool even more at his commanding voice.

You rise off his lap, pulling off your shirt. As you make your way towards his bed, you unclasp your bra, dropping it to the ground behind you. Although you can’t see his face, you’re certain he’s watching your every move. Once you shimmy off your pants and underwear, you sway your hips, enticing the phoenix.

“Such a wicked temptress,” He tsks, following after you. “Are you sure you’re not a succubus?”

Jungkook comes up behind you, wrapping his muscular arms around your waist. His gloved hand dips down to tease your dripping entrance, rolling your clit between two pinched fingers. You roll your hips against his finger, eagerly waiting to be filled.

“Just human,” you breathe, leaning your back against his chest, carding your fingers through his soft chestnut hair.

His breath tickles your skin again as he runs his nose down your neck, pressing rough kisses along the way. His lips latch onto your shoulder sucking a new mark for you to wear. He pulls back to admire your new bruise and as he does so, he uses two fingers and slides them into you without warning. His gloves are soaked from your juices, letting his fingers move easily in and out of your wet heat.

You moan against his neck, rocking your hips as his fingers curl inside you, “Mm, more.”

He moves slowly, drawing more moans out of you and occasionally brushes your clit so you’ll whine for more. He lightly scrapes his teeth over your ear, whispering, “Good girl, keep moaning for me like that.”

His other hand rubs your breasts, rolling your pebbled nipples between his fingers, alternating between each. The sting of his touch makes you whimper.

You grind your ass against his cock teasingly, feeling his fingers tense and still inside of your pussy. It’s a mistake because he pulls his slick coated fingers out of you, leaving you begging for him to put them back.

“I don’t take orders from humans easily. If you want to cum you’re going to have to earn it.”

—

Your thighs are aching. If it weren’t for his strong arm holding your waist up, you’d be limp on the bed as he fucked you. Your voice is wasted from screaming his name over and over.

His strong thrust reminds you that he’s one of the most powerful creatures to ever exist. Each time he penetrates your tightly clenched walls from behind, you’re filled with even more heat and desire.

You curl your fingers around his sheets, crying out at his brutal pace. The wet slaps of your bodies meeting resonate throughout the room.

“Please, please,” you plead, the voice that comes out is so unfamiliar, “let me cum.”

“Tell me,” he grunts, sneaking a hand around to lightly press a finger to your sensitive clit, causing you to let out a sob. “Aren’t I better than your gods?”

You’re shaking with need and on the verge of tears. Living as an immortal phoenix, Jungkook really knows how to use his cock to turn anyone into a mess. You’re not even fully aware of everything you’re saying. You know enough to know whatever you’re saying is getting you closer to the release you’re after.

“Yes!,” you cry, “fuck, I-I only need you, Jungkook.”

His gloved finger rubs roughly against your clit, sending more tremors through your aching body. “You’ll never be fucked this good again, huh? Not by any mortal or beast.”

“No, never!”

“That’s right,” he hisses as you clench around him. “You’ve been good for me, human. Cum.”

It’s all you need for him to say as your whole body tenses and you’re in a state of pure euphoria. You cry out his name one more time.

Jungkook’s thrusts become more erratic as he chases his own release. His cum fills you up, ropes and ropes of it costing your walls. When he pulls out, a mix of both your juices leak from your abused hole. He releases your waist and you have no choice but to give into your weakened muscles and fall limp against the bed.

You groan at the soreness of your thighs and bury your face into his sheets.

Behind you, you can hear him shuffling around, but you’re too tired to care what he’s doing. Drifting off into a peaceful sleep is all you want now.

—

“Wake up, human. We have a deal, remember?”

You’re roused out of your peaceful slumber by an irritated voice.

“I can’t have anyone else in the palace knowing I made a deal with a human. They’d laugh about it for the next century. So we’re sneaking out before dawn.”

You lazily open one eye to find Jungkook, still in a loose fitting robe that exposes his chest, but at least it’s covering his lower half.

“I’m surprised you cared enough to remember.”

You thought he’d kick you out once he’d finished with you, but he’s proved you wrong.

Jungkook huffs, crossing his arms, “I have to prove that humans are better off worshipping us, don’t I?”

[inseongsfoxybae]

The way you move

Pairing: Boyfriend Jaeyoon + Idol Female Reader; established relationship

Genre: Smut + Fluff ending

Warnings: hard dom!Jaeyoon, jealousy, dirty talk/cursing, sex against the wall, thigh riding, a bit of fingering, overstimulation, unprotected sex (reader’s on birth control), riding, creampie + aftercare

Words: 2,375

Requested: Hello! I would like to make a request for Jaeyoon, where his idol!girlfriend has a sexy stage with kai from exo and he gets jealous and it leads to rough sex? 👁👄👁 

Author’s message: Hi, dear anon!, your request is finnaly here! I had a great time writing it (as Jaeyoon as wrecking me more then anything these days), so I hope you enjoy it ^.^. Also, feel free to send in a new request anytime. Foxy kisses  😘

P.S: As english is not my mother language, it may contain misspelled. Also, sorry for any other mistakes :) 

Synopsis: After a hot special performance with your friend Kai, Jaeyoon got jealous of your touchy moves on stage and proved who owns your heart and body when you got home.

this gif is killing me  🥵

You are close friends with Kai and, as he’s going to have a stage on a music festival, he invited you to make a special performance of Mmmh with him. Your group was out of the line up, so you had enough free time to practise with him and gladly accepted the invitation. 

When you told Jaeyoon the news, he looked a little uncomfortable, but even so, he smiled and supported you. It's not that he wasn't happy for you or didn’t trust you, he just knew how sexy this song is and he didn’t like other guys touching his bae, especially Kai, who had known you for so many years. Jaeyoon was a bit jealous, but didn’t show it to not muddle your enthusiasm. 

You had three weeks for the festival and you stepped into a dance room of SM to start the practices. At first, you thought his back dancers would participe on the performance too, but when you entered the room, only Kai was waiting for you and then you realized what his “special stage” meant - a couple performance. 

You got a bit nervous about what Jaeyoon would think about it, but shook those thoughts off your mind and focused on the choreography. Everything went good during rehearsals, you learned and cleaned the movements quickly and the great day has finally come. 

SF9 was performing at this festival too, so you came along with them, your mind running between giving attention to your boyfriend and passing the choreo one last time into your head. Once you had arrived at the arena, you said your goodbyes and hurried to your dressing room to get ready. Kai was already there, wearing a super tight and sexy outfit that would make any girl swoon. 

You quickly put on your clothes - hotpant shorts and a sexy cropped top - and make up and rush to watch SF9’s stage. They performed a special version of Good Guy and Summer Breeze and you almost drooled at their sensual movements and outfits. And when they left the stage and Jaeyoon was face to face with you, you swore you almost fainted at your gorgeous boyfriend. 

Jaeyoon froze when he saw you dressed like that, his heart skipping some beats. “So, am I pretty?”, you smiled and stepped closer to him. He swallowed while staring fondly at you. “You’re stunning”, he breathed quickly and you chuckled. Jaeyoon was about to pull you into his arms to kiss you when Kai showed up calling for you. “We are the next. Get ready”, he said shortly and glanced at Jaeyoon. 

“I have to go now, baby. See you later in my dressing room”, you pecked his cheek and ran away to the other side of the backstage. Jaeyoon was very proud of you, but he couldn’t stop to feel uncomfortable about you being alone with Kai. However, he shook it off his mind and found a place to watch your performance. 

It was your turn, the moment you waited for the last month was finally happening and you felt your heart race faster. Kai took your hand and led you to the stage, where you got your positions and started to dance when the music played. The song was sexy, the choreo was hot and you felt his hands running through your body, his face only centimeters aways from yours, his hot breath fanning your neck and lips. 

Both of you gave yourselves completely to music, feeling every beat with your bodies pressed together in fluid movements, the crowd going crazy with your intimate connection on stage. It was a success, one of the best performances of the night and the media had their eyes on you as soon as you left the stage. Kai was answering some reporters and bloggers when your eyes found Jaeyoon on a corner. His lips were showing you a proud smile, but his eyes were serious, dark, maybe even angry, mainly when Kai wrapped an arm around your waist and whispered something in your ear. 

When you looked at Jaeyoon again, he wasn’t there anymore. You got rid of Kai’s grip and ran to look for your boyfriend, but your manager pulled you to your dressing room first to take some photos and changed your clothes. You were leaving the room when Kai approached you. “Thank you for today, Y/N. You were amazing”, he said smiling. “I‘m the one who has to say thank you”, you answered, smiling back and Kai unexpectedly hugged you tightly, catching you by surprise. 

“I have to go”, you broke the hug and turned around only to see a dumbfounded Jaeyoon watching you. “Jae, where were you?”, you asked, trying to catch his attention, but he only locked his eyes with yours, no words. “Do you still have schedules today? Wanna go home with me?”, you reached for his hands, but he stepped back. “I go to the car”, he spoke for anyone in particular and left. “Wait for me!”, you exclaimed and ran behind him. 

There was a small car waiting for you, one of FNC's staff would drive you and Jaeyoon home. Neither of you spoke along the way, Jaeyoon’s eyes were fixed on the window, looking at no place, while you were staring at your lap, trying to find words to tell him. Even when you got at your building and entered the elevator, he didn’t say a single word or looked at you. 

Only when you stepped out the hallway, you got the courage to talk to him, grabbing his hand. "Jaeyoon, what's wrong with you?", you inquired staring at his back. Jaeyoon stopped in front of the door of your shared apartment and sighed heavy. "I'll show what's wrong", he snorted, opening the door and pulling you into the room. 

He slammed you against the wall, pressing your bodies together, his hot breath fanning on your face. "The way you move. That's the problem", he growled against your lips, but without touching it yet. "The fucking way you fucking move beside fucking Kai", he spat his words on your face, his dark eyes penetrating deep in your soul. 

"Are you jealous?", you teased him as he pressed you stronger on the wall, so that you were almost on tiptoe. "Are you mocking me now?", Jaeyoon stepped even closer. "Do I have to show you who you belong to?", his lips only millimeters aways from yours. "Show it", you implied as he mouth was roughly pressed against yours, kissing you hungrily, devouring and sucking all you have for him. 

As his lips worked up there, his hands roamed along your sides and hips, pushing your skirt up. His fingers hardly rubbed your pussy, you gasped and arched your back at the sudden stimulation, as he pulled your hips towards his thigh, placing it between your clothed core. Jaeyoon flexed his muscle thigh and started to move you back and forth in a desperate pace, his leather pants causing a searing heat against your thin lacy panties. His mouth was now attacking your neck, sucking and biting hard, leaving deep marks on your soft skin, as his hands set the unforgiving pace of your body. 

"Could Kai fuck you like this, Y/N?", Jaeyoon whispered in your ear. "Answer!", he commanded and you moaned a desperate "No". "Of course not. I'm the only one who can ruin you like this, make you feel good", he groaned, sucking another portion of your skin. "And tonight, baby, I'm gonna fuck you till you forget your own name", he continued as one of his hands moved to rub your clothed clit, you were squirming and screaming at the overstimulatiom, your wetness going down on your inner thighs. "Cum for me, babygirl", he growled against your skin, licking a sweet spot on your neck.

And like a flashlight, the knot on your stomach exploded and your orgasm flowed over your body, your legs shaking hopeless around Jaeyoon's thigh. He placed you on your feet, you barely being able to stand by yourself, while he took off his pants along with his briefs, his full hard member bouncing into the air. Jaeyoon closed the distance between the two of you, kissing you harshly, while his strong hands ripped your panties effortless. He grabbed the back of you thighs and pulled you up, wrapping your legs around his hips and mercilessly slamming his length into your throbbing core. 

Jaeyoon set a unforgiving pace since the beginning, his thrusts deep and violent into you, filling your pussy completely. “I bet Kai couldn’t take you like this, huh?”, he groaned as you screamed his name desperately, your back banging against the way with every powerful thrust as your nails digged into his flesh. He had barely started and your eyes were rolling to the back of your neck already, your body convulsing in pleasure. “JAEYOOON - FUCK”, you screamed at the top of your lungs as you came undone, your waters washing over Jaeyoon’s dick.

He increased his pace, chasing his own high, grunted “fucks” and a long hiss leaving his mouth when he released his seeds deep into you. His shaking legs lost their strength and he collapsed on the floor with you still in his arms, both of you breathing hard and trembling. Jaeyoon pulled out and watched his semen coming out from your slit, dripping on his low stomach and down his thigh.

Your face was still hidden in his neck, your arms had fallen loosely on his sides. "Y/N", Jaeyoon called you, softer this time, as you just hummed, too weak for answering. He wrapped his hands onto your upper arms and moved you away from his neck, leaning you on the wall. Both of your eyes met and you smiled at him. "Well, I guess you proved I'm yours", you teased him and you both laughed. "But I think I'll have to dance with other guys more often if it means you'll fuck me on the wall every single time", you confessed and he chuckled, blushing slightly. 

"Are you okay? I mean… Aren't you sore?", Jaeyoon asked shyly. "It's not a big deal", you shook your head and placed your hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "Jae…", you stared at him, "... I still want you...", you pecked his cheek, "... inside me…", you pecked his nose, "in our bed", you kissed his lips. Jaeyoon wrapped his arms around you and got up with you into his embrace, kissing you passionately. 

He moved you to the bedroom and laid you carefully on bed, taking off the rest of both of your clothes. His mouth and hands were all over your skin, touching and kissing and nibbling all the right places, his dick cradled between your legs getting hard again. His thumb found your clit and rubbed it slowly, taking his sweet time to make you wetter and ready for him. His fingers teased your entrance, curling up one, then two, then three digits inside your pussy. 

"Jae...", you moaned his name quietly and he looked up at you, "... I'm gonna ride you now", you two smirked and Jaeyoon was caught in surprise when you pushed him till his back touched the mattress and your legs straddled his hips. You kissed the tip of his dick and palmed him a little till it's full hard and pushed yourself down, filling your pussy to the brim, both of your moans echoing through the cold air of your room. 

You started to slowly grind against him, wiggling your hips with his in a sensual pace that drove you wild, in a way only the two of you could. Jaeyoon gripped your hips and helped you move, pulling up and down on him. "The way you move, babe...", he breathed, ".... it's so good - ohmygod", he groaned when you set a faster pace, your body bouncing on his. 

You leaned in to kiss his lips and neck and he took the chance to dig his heels into the sheets and thrusted upwards. His balls slammed against your pussy roughly, the cacophonous sound of your wild dance and moans filling the room. You clenched around him, his deep thrusts making you high already, and Jaeyoon grunted your name, increasing his pace. 

The merciless speed made both of your visions hazy and your legs shaking, desperate whines and trembling when your orgasms hitted you like a rocket. You two collapsed into each other’s body, breathless, sweaty, cloudy mind. Jaeyoon slipped out from you and pulled you closer to him, taking your lips in a tired tender kiss. Your hands wiped away the sweat and some strands of damp hair from his forehead.

A few minutes later, when you calmed yourselves down, Jaeyoon broke the silence. “Y/N, I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier”, he swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t treat you like that, ignored you like that, hurted you like that”, he whispered guiltily. “You didn’t hurt me, Yoonie. You just have to trust me better”, you looked up at him. “I love you, Jae, more than anything. And you know I’m yours and only yours, no one can’t take me away from you. Do you know it, right?”. 

“I know, babe. And I trust you, but when I saw you dancing with Kai like that… I can’t help being jealous. Sorry about that”, his eyes shook.

“Shh… Don’t talk about Kai anymore. Let’s forget about that performance and focus on us. I love you, Jae, and you won’t lose me for anything or anyone”, you reassured him.

“I love you too, baby...”, he smiled and pecked your lips. “... and I’m yours forever”, you both smiled. “Now, let’s take a shower together and sleep?”, he suggested and you nodded.

Jaeyoon took you into his arms and guided you to the bathroom, where you took a hot shower together, relaxing into each other’s bodies. After the both of you were clean and properly dry, you plopped into your bed and snuggled closer under your thick blankets. Jaeyoon ran his fingers through your hair, sweetly humming a lullaby till he fells your head pending over his chest, your calm and steady heartbeat and breath. He kissed softly your forehead and closed his eyes, drifting away as well.

[cassiecasyl]

stay (said the ghost to the living)

I missed writing irondad. 

prompts: @whumpay2021 day 1: “I thought you were dead” + day 28: chains relationship: Peter Parker & Tony Stark summary: There’s chains holding him to life, saying it’s not his time yet. 

read on ao3! 

~~~

There had been a scream, Peter remembered as much. The concrete had been hard under his body as pain faded. A few tears had still burned in his eyes. The cold had come from the chain wrapped around his right ankle, the one he was now holding in his hands, and had spread over his whole body. There had been a scream so loud it rattled through his bones, so loud it could’ve woken the dead. 

Now, he was walking in a dream. Colors and shapes blurred together even though there was no wetness on his cheeks. His eyes just wouldn’t focus. Distorted sounds sometimes made it through, but never a word. He was alone. 

It must’ve been a while since it happened, whatever it was, because their surroundings had changed from dark and muddy grey to bright and sterile white. There was the light that always blinded Peter when he was in medbay— wait. Medbay. Someone was hurt. Please, no, don’t let it be— He sucked in a breath that wizzed right through his body as he turned around, the chain in his hands rattling anxiously while he looked around. 

Peter stood next to a bed, the room abandoned except for two — no, three, there was somebody in the bed, he couldn’t see, can’t see, can’t see, who is it? — figures. Somebody was watching him. They stood close to the door, as if they weren’t sure whether they were intruding. But also, where they could overlook the whole room. Peter narrowed his eyes, focusing on them. A blob of red, a frown framing sharp, scary and knowing eyes. Nat. Peter almost wanted to smile at her, to celebrate his vision finally focusing and because she would know what happened, but then he noticed the tear tracks on her usually stoic face. No. The teenager’s eyes widened in fear. 

He took a step back and raised his arms in an attempt to get away from under her scrutinizing gaze. Clattering noise shook his body— he had forgotten the chain in his hands. Nat’s eyes narrowed further. “Mrs Romanoff?” Peter whispered, but no air passed his lips. What had he done? Then, her eyes left him to search the room and Peter could feel himself fading. 

The only thing keeping him anchored to reality it seemed was the cold iron touching his fingers, grounding him, linking him to the very ground he was standing on, or maybe to hell. Peter didn’t know. They shuddered with him, shattering against its parts, one by one. This time, the hunched over figure by the bed looked up. 

Peter was found in those brown eyes, the very same color as his, just a tad darker, but something was wrong. His face was fallen, devastated, looking out with utter hopelessness and barely contained anger — the bad taste grief left. “Mr. Stark?” he asked, but was drowned out by the man’s breaking voice. 

“Stop it, Nat.” 

“I’m not doing anything,” the spy answered. 

“I don’t care,” Tony mumbled, returning his gaze to the body lying on the bed. Peter ventured closer, chains clanking and fingers itching to give his mentor comfort. “What’s that noise then?” Tony barked, not bothering to hide his frustration. 

Peter stopped short as he noticed who was lying there. It wasn’t possible. 

“I’m trying to figure that out.” 

They were mourning him. But— he was here, alive, wasn’t he? He looked down his body, but his vision was blurring again. Alive. His bones were freezing, bidding him a good night. Alive. Peter reached out to Tony, fingers leaving his burial iron in favor of the Iron Man. How could they not? Instead of stopping at the man’s shoulder though, they continued, invincibly, through his skin and flesh. In horror, he retreated his hand, mustering it under the unforgiving light of the medbay. He looked up at Tony. His mentor never even noticed. 

Dead. He was dead. How? The more he tried, the less came up. Where once was a beat, now silence reigned. Peter cried out devoid of tears. Where once was air, now was a void, and Peter knew he’d collapse into it, into himself. Why couldn’t he breathe? There was a black hole in his middle, and the more he struggled, the more it took, but he couldn’t stop. He shuddered and with him that damn, chattering chain. 

“What the hell?” Tony asked, more awake now, staring straight through him. His eyes could’ve been lasers, as much as it hurt. 

Chattering? Hold on— 

Natasha moved through the room, approaching and then walking away again, almost touching as she walked by. Peter already yearned for human touch. He was suffocating in space’s vacuum. Warm comfort was right next to him, yet he could never reach it. He was Tantalus in his pool deep down in Tartarus, never quite reaching the delicious fruit hanging above his head. He was so cold. 

They returned, stopping right in his center, somehow avoiding the black hole. It was impossible. He was burning up, his ice fighting the sudden human heat. Who was she? Peter blinked. He was swaying in and out of reality. Mom? No, why would he see his mom, she died when he was four, plane crash, remember? The reason why he never really trusted planes anymore. That, and Coney Island. Yes, he remembered. He was here. No reason his mom would be here, unless he was— oh. He was dead. 

“It’s definitely coming from here,” Natasha determined, and Peter grasped her identity. Nat. Mrs. Romanoff. Black Widow. Spider-Mama, as Clint had one time called her, imitating a Russian accent. After the glare Nat had sent him, no one dared to repeat the words. Later, she had teased Clint on his hilariously bad accent work. 

She was still standing inside him, and Peter could hardly imagine a more uncomfortable feeling. The shiver working through his body translated into hers and she stepped away, rubbing her arms. Peter breathed in relief only to once again realize that air was indifferent to him. Afterlife sucked, he decided. 

“Since when are there cold spots in the compound?” she asked. Mr. Stark frowned. 

Chattering, Peter thought again. Chattering. There was something— right, morse code! He almost hit himself on the head because damn his slow undead brain — was it undead? He’d established that he was dead, but how could he be standing here if he was braindead? Why was he still lying in a hospital bed instead of the morgue? Had Mr. Stark not given him up yet? FRIDAY would surely pick up his brain waves. There was nothing science could really tell Peter about this. It would be exciting if it wasn’t so frightening and lonely. Noisy rattling interrupted his thinking. 

He moved his chains around until he could clank two of its parts together rather than the whole thing sounding. It should work that way. Peter waited a calming moment before he began to bring them together with a dinging noise. Two short — I. Two long — M. Pause. Four short — H. One short — E. Short, long, short — R. One short again — E. Pause, and repeat. Two short — I. Two long — M. Pause. Four short — H. One short — E… 

“That’s morse code,” Nat said suddenly, bringing Peter back from the trance the dinging had brought him in. “‘I’m here.’ It says, ‘I’m here.’” 

“‘I’m here’?” Tony repeated. “Who’s ‘I’? Is this some kind of sick joke?” There was fear in his eyes now, masked with anger. Peter almost jumped. He stopped. 

“No, Mr. Stark!” he said in desperation, “It’s me! It’s Peter!” Then, remembering his voice, he morsed. Long, short; three long — NO. 

“No? What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony stood up now, towering over him in anger, and Peter stumbled back. He remembered a scream rattling his bones in a way his chains could never achieve. He remembered the cold entering his body and nothing stopping it. He remembered how his vision became spotty before the black color filled it all. He remembered waking up. I’m here. 

“I’m sorry,” Peter mumbled, closing his eyes and letting a tear fall. It burned his icy skin as it ran down his cheek and along his skin in search of a good jumping point. Finally, it left him. Wait— he’d felt it. He was crying. There was water in his eyes. He blinked them open only to find the two adults in the room staring at him. 

Awkwardly, he waved his hand, and the chain rattled along. Tony blinked. “This isn’t real,” he said, falling back into his chair next to Peter’s bed, never leaving the ghost of his kid out of sight. They could see him. Peter grinned. They could see him. 

“Oh, you’re a Shaniac. Good to know if this ever happens again,” Peter joked into the tense room. Nat let out a near-manic chuckle, and Tony only stared. Fear had turned to amazement and hope and a tear left his left eye. 

It was Peter’s turn to blink at his mentor. “You can hear me?” he asked, uncertainty lacing his tongue. A smile grew on Tony’s face and Peter couldn’t help but grin back. 

“Whatever a Shaniac is, it’s good to hear your voice, kid.” He stood up again and opened his arms in invitation. However much Peter would’ve loved to jump right into the hug, he couldn’t. He held him back with his hand, lightly touching Tony’s hand to show him. His illusioned hand went right through Mr. Stark’s solid body, just as expected. 

“No touch. Sorry.” As he looked back up at Mr. Stark, there were tears in his eyes. It was like watching his heart break all over again, and Peter choked on air that still refused to enter his lungs — it was as afraid as he was of the void there.  

Tony stepped back and Peter looked to the ground. “FRI, Give me footage of this room. Now!” Peter flinched a little at the harshness in Mr. Stark’s voice, but eventually came closer to spy on the footage too. FRIDAY had immediately designed Mr. Stark a holoscreen, only giving a quick verbal confirmation — “Right away, Boss.” 

They watched themselves sitting and standing there. It was almost dull and pointless, except for knowing where the cameras were. Instead of Peter, a glowing bulb hung in the air. The boy moved a little, watching how the ball followed his movements. “Cool,” he whispered. 

Tony glanced up at him. If he was surprised by Peter’s sudden proximity, he didn’t show it. “Ghost?” he asked. 

“Ghost,” Peter confirmed with a nod. It was the only possible explanation. 

Tony sighed. “Oh, for fu— goodness’ sakes, why must it be you to prove me wrong here?” he lamented and Peter chuckled. 

“Told you you’re a Shaniac.” 

“I still don’t know what that means,” the genius admitted, and Peter shared a quick, knowing look with Nat. “Now get the hell over here and back into your body!” 

“Tony,” Mrs. Romanoff said while Peter obliged, “are you sure this is gonna work?” Her voice was gentle yet stern, as if trying to soften a blow or stop someone from doing something stupid. It was hard to tell which one. 

“It’s worth a try,” Tony replied. 

Peter lay down into his body, but there was nothing. He could’ve just as well laid down on the ground. There was no uncomfortable feeling like with Nat, now heat spread from a living body. Nothing. He tried to connect, but there was nothing to connect to, all the links were dead. 404, not found. He could cry. 

He sat up again, leaving his body on the sheets, much to everyone’s disappointment. “Do you think you could try again?” Tony asked, the hope in his voice almost unbearable. He was set on this, and there was nothing that could make him veer from this path. 

“No,” Peter sighed, “I’m sorry. There’s just… nothing,” he explained. 

“I’m going to contact Doctor Strange,” Natasha announced with a new-found determination. She briefly squeezed Mr. Stark’s shoulder before leaving. 

“I’m sorry,” Peter said again, only to be intervened by Mr. Stark. 

“No. No, kid. It’s okay. We’re gonna find something that works. And if not… Well, then, at least you're still here in this form.” Peter nodded, looking up at the tired and red eyes of his mentor. “And no ‘if this ever happens again.’ Because if this ever happens again, I’m gonna kill you myself. Or worse, I’m gonna call your aunt.” 

Peter blinked. “You haven’t called May?” 

Tony’s eyes found the side of the bed. “No,” he sighed heavily, “I wanted her to find out from me, but I— I just couldn’t. Not yet, anyway.” Peter could hear the tears in his breaths. 

“How long?” he asked. 

“A few— a few hours.” 

Peter nodded. Then, he drew Mr. Stark’s attention by waving his hand where he stared at. “Well, good news is, you’ve still got me around to annoy you.” 

Tony let out a broken laugh, but there was love in it. “God, kid, one day you’re gonna be the death of me.” It was a rupture in the small comfort they’d found. Tony on the ground, bleeding out, his helpless hands stupidly shaking as they tried to stop the flow. It was too late though. The light had already left his eyes. There was no going back. The teen tensed, staring up with big, unseeing, startled eyes; almost dead, or just hanging barely onto life. No. His father, Richard; Ben; not Tony, too. He knew it was meant as a joke, but the image wouldn’t leave his mind. He knew how close death was, how it hit when you least expected it. Hell, he was dead, right at this very moment. 

Tony seemed to sense his kid’s distress because he began apologizing. “No, kid, I’m sorry. God, this was stupid, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t meant it, Peter—” 

It was a drowning noise in his ears. No, no, no. He had just become real again, he didn’t want to go back to the dream, to the fading realm where he was all alone. Where Tony mourned him. Where he couldn’t protect him, only watch without understanding. “Don’t die, please?” his voice was suddenly that of a scared kid — high-pitched and teary. He swallowed a sob. “Promise me?” 

“Well, everybody’s gotta die at some point, nothing’s immortal—,” Tony started with a sigh, but at the sight of his kid’s big, pleading puppy eyes, he stopped. “I promise,” he assured him. Anything for this kid.  

tag list: (let me know if you wanna be added/removed!) @starrynightdeancas @spookyscarykittycat @sherlockwhomentalist @lost-lunar-wolf @aixabi @peter-is-a-bean 

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Happy Birthday Whelm!

@detectivedamian  your birthday gift is a damijon ficlet. enjoy.

For the life of him, Jon couldn’t really understand why Damian liked football. Jon himself had grown up with the game, playing with Clark and Kon. Clark had laughed loud and bright as he tossed the ball around in the farm. Kon had challenged Jon to a high-stakes game that combined four different games using the football in the air. (Jon suspected Kon’s game was secretly a training exercise. The guy had been spending too much time around Tim.) He was on the team in middle school, and he’d been the captain of the high school team for the past three years. The training, the drills, the thrill of the game, the feeling of team: these were things that Jon lived for. Other than fighting, nothing else quite made his blood sing. 

But Damian? Jon had never expected Damian to take to it the way he did. Damian had scoffed at most American traditions and values, insulted people to their face, and complained about the school system enough times that Jon had the lecture memorized. (He was ahead in almost every class due to Damian’s passive-aggressive tutoring, though, so he’s not exactly complaining.) 

Maybe it was the strategy behind it, the different plays and plans Coach had lined up. Tim was the best at that kind of stuff, Jon knew that firsthand, but most people seemed to forget Damian had been trained in strategy and war games in the league. And “war games” was exactly how Damian seem to take this. Ever since Jon had let Damian watch one of his football practices and Damian had stopped the team in the middle of a play to plot out three different holes in their offense, Damian had practically become an honorary team member. Unless it was calculated, the team hadn’t lost a single game. And Damian was determined to keep it that way.

Tonight, just before the final game of the season, Jon’s team was facing off against Central City. (Which? How did they even get to finals in the first place? Central was known for their all-star track team, spanning generations of Allens and Wests, but football? That was a new one.) Damian had given the coach a particularly loathesome glare, and the other team looked terrified without even starting the game. Sometimes Jon forgot how scary Damian was, but it situations like this, it was useful. They had their game plan mapped out, Damian had given each one of them a talking to, Johansson don’t you dare leave your place, Zizka we’ve been running drills so don’t lose your speed, Williamson stop hesitating, you’re on offense for a reason. 

Jon had come up to him cheekily and asked what he needed to do. Damian had raised an eyebrow and said “Don’t suck as much as you usually do, Kent.” His lips were in a half smirk, though, and his tongue curled viciously around Jon’s last name and Jon had to swallow and take a step back.

Regardless, here they were. The big game. Either they won this, and Jon left senior year a happy man, or Damian would never ever let him live it down. There was really only one option here. Jon made eye contact with Damian, who nodded, once. Then, the whistle blew and the game was on.

Things were going good. No, that’s an understatement, things were going great. They ripped apart the opposing team’s strategy like paper, leaving the shredded pieces on the ground as they went through play after successful play. Jon could practically feel the other team’s hopelessness, could taste the sweet, sweet victory in the air. Halftime came and Jon’s team was soaring high. Don’t get overconfident, Damian warned them, but a proud grin was tugging at the edge of his lips. 

The third quarter is when it all went wrong. Williamson went down, hard. Jon heard the crack from across the field, and hoped the injury wasn’t too bad as he chased after the ball, desperate to keep it out of enemy hands. It was too late, though, the other team was in possession. He could feel Damian’s furious scowl, see his dad’s worried eyes fixed on the game even as his mom shouted in Central’s general direction. The third quarter ticked by, losing most of the ground they had gained.

The fourth and final quarter came, the team abiding by Damian’s quickly thought out plan, hesitantly regaining their footing. But it was too little, too late. They weren’t going to make it. The clock swallowed up seconds, and Central gained the lead, though Jon’s team clawed and fought their way to make sure it was only by a little. There were thirteen seconds left on the clock, and Central was 5 points ahead. The play was at the far end of the field.

The only way for them to win was for someone to run across most of the length of the field and score a touchdown. And as the ball came hurtling towards Jon, time slowed down, and he contemplated doing just that.

He could make it, he knew he could make it. A touch of superspeed, a hint of strength when pushing the other players out of the way, and they’d win the game. And Jon was only using his own talents, right? But that felt wrong, it felt so wrong. It felt like cheating. Abruptly, Jon remembered all the drills Damian had put him through, for both football and hero-ing, how he had told Jon you can’t always rely on your powers. He remembered the determination in every line of Damian’s body, whether it was in the sidelines of one of Jon’s games or standing back-to-back with Superboy as Robin, facing down impossible odds yet again. Damian had trained him for this. He had trained for this. He could do this.

Jon dropped his invulnerability, tapped out of his strength, tapped out of his superspeed. Time returned to normal. This was it.

The ball flew into Jon’s outstretched hands like it was meant to be there, and the minute it made contact, Jon took off running. Feet pounding the grass, heartbeat thumping in his ears, the bright lights overlooking the fields. Jon ducked and weaved through the other players, pushing himself to go faster, faster. The people in the stands were building up a roar. The clock was ticking down. He just ran and ran and ran until-

Jon crossed the end zone line and slammed the football on the ground with every bit of normal strength he had. The buzzer went off: time was up, the scores were in.

They won the game.

The crowd was bursting up and cheering. Jon could hear his mom’s screams, his dad’s wolf whistles. The team crowded around Jon, yelling and jumping, their faces overflowing with joy as they clustered around him. Coach had the trophy, and he held it above his head, pumping it up and down, whooping his pleasure. He handed it over to Jon, and wow. It felt solid, heavy, almost unreal. Jon held it up so everyone on the team could put their hand around it. 

Then, for some reason the crowd around Jon parted. Jon was confused, because there was practically nothing that could separate the team at a time like this. Then he looked up, and understood. Damian stood there, a wild and reckless grin on his face, and Jon’s breath caught. He was wearing Jon’s football jacket, the fabric clinging to his shoulders over his tight black turtleneck and proclaiming a statement as bold as night. He walked over to Jon, confident and sure, and looked up at Jon, pride in his eyes.

“You won.”

“Yeah, we did.” Jon’s voice was breathless.

Damian’s grin widened. “Congratulations.”

And then he was pulling Jon in for a kiss, hard and fierce and unforgiving. Startling for just a second, Jon drew Damian in, surprised but pleased when he came willingly. He kissed back with the same passion that had his feet pounding the ground, the same fervor that had his blood singing all throughout the game, reveling in the feeling of Damian pulling him to the ground, biting his lips, claiming him.

He drew back and gasped in air, wide-eyed and lighter than air, as the whoops and catcalls of the team around him filtered into Jon’s brain.

“I-you, you kissed me.”

“You deserved it.” Something in Damian’s tone let Jon knew that Damian knew. He knew what Jon was thinking on the field, knew he was about to use his powers, and knew that he ultimately decided against it. He knew that Jon put every ounce of his determination to win this game by himself, and Damian was proud.

Yeah, football brought out the best in Jon. And maybe that was why Damian enjoyed it so much.

This was cheesy as FUCK oh my GOD. I have no knowledge of how football works, don’t hold it against me. Once again, happy birthday Whelm! tag list: @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @comicsandhoney @yesboopityboop @dangerduckjpeg @thebatsandbirdsofgotham @astroherogirl @subtleappreciation

[isadraws13]

CHAPTER ONE OF REDEMPTION IS DONE!

Sorry it took forever, school is a thing along with having personal issues and just other things in general, but it’s here and finished, probably going to bed after this though cause I’m spent, lol

Here’s your chapter! (Be easy on me pls because I did try on this, my braincells went into it, and took criticism from a friend)

Chapter One: Fate Set in Stone (bare with me on title of chapter pls)

Vincent sighed. He walked among the halls of the broken down pizzeria, feeling nothing but hopelessness and regret. He just breathes in and out as he roamed the halls, just thinking about how it all came to this. He used to dread being here in this pizzeria, locked away, but as time passed, he knew that this was what he deserved. He had killed innocent children, put them through so much pain and agony, and gave them permanent scars that will never go away.

He sat down in a corner as he felt the camera that was in the room move in his direction and heard the noise of a child laughing as it echoed down the hall. In the beginning, he would try to find the "child" that was making those noises so he could inflict harm onto them, but now he knew the truth. He knew there wasn't a child there. But as much as he didn't want to leave the room and just lay against the wall, the A.I. forced him to stand up and go to the room the noise was making. He let out somewhat a sound of annoyance as he lost control of himself and forcibly walked to the room.

When he finally regained control over himself after the A.I. in his suit fur filled the task it was programmed to do, he just stood there and closed his eyes. He had become numb to everything at this point. The only thing he could think about was how much pain and sorrow he had put onto the children and their families. He refused to think about it in the beginning, always filling his mind with other thoughts to try and push it in the back of his head, always trying to convince himself that it wasn't real or his problem.

As time grew on, however, He began to go from refusing to accept the damage he had made, to realizing how it affected the people he hurt. He began to truly feel regret for everything that he did to those innocent children. But he knew that no matter how much he wanted to take all of that pain, sadness, and despair away from the children that still roamed around the pizzeria, there wasn't anything that could be done of it. Nothing could ever make it better ever again, and he came to terms with that fact. Even though it hurt, he knew it was just simply the truth, and just slowly began to accept that fact day by day.

Vincent just closed his eyes. As much as he wishes he could give the children around him a second chance at life again, there wasn't anything there could be done of it. And that really made him even more sad. But not because of the fact that he'd be getting a second chance. In fact, that was the LAST thing he wanted. He didn't want a reset for himself. He just wanted a reset for the children, to be with their families again, to be able to hug their parents and be reunited with them, finally being able to put their pain and agony at rest, but him? He'd stay here. Sure, it's awful, but he knows it's the price for taking their lives. He took their hopes, their dreams, their entire future. And he was going to pay for all of eternity. This is his punishment. And he was going to take it and live with the consequences. Well, he's already been doing that for over thirty years, right? So it shouldn't make much of a difference to him now. Besides, he didn't wanna hurt anyone else anymore. Even though he's realized his mistakes and all of the damage he caused, he feared hurting someone else or turning their life into a tragedy. He didn't want that.

He felt so conflicted, yet he knew what he wanted to be possible for the children, wouldn't ever be possible. That's just not how the world worked. That's not how life worked.

He must have lost track of how long he was standing there in that room, because when he had finally opened his eyes again, he saw one of the crying children standing in from of him. The child was wearing a top hat, and had on a yellow sweater. He knew just by looking at his eyes, that used to consist of the color baby blue, were now black with white pupils, staring at him.

If Vincent could sigh at all, he'd be doing that by now.

"Hello, Alfred."

The child looked at him and tilted his head. "Are you alright?"

Vincent was in a bit of a unsure state. Well, of course he wasn't alright, and both Alfred and himself knew that honestly nothing in both of their situations were okay. Nothing would ever be okay, and that's just how it would continue to be until the end of time.

Even though Alfred had already known that long before in the very beginning, when he was killed alongside with the other children and became Golden Freddy for almost nearly twenty years, and witnessing Vincent's death and hearing him cry for help as he struggled to break free of the suit that had ultimately failed on him and killed him, even though the four other children had said it was what he deserved, he just couldn't somehow hold a complete grudge against him, or even hate him that much either.

Sure, I mean, he suffered, and he grieved not being able to be with his mother again, to be with his brother as humans again, to be with his friends again and live life with them again, it sucked. It really did. It impacted him so much, yet, as he watched Vincent suffer and begin to go from running from his crimes and actions, to realizing the damage he caused, the pain and suffering he created, and the guilt he began to feel during the process of it all at once...

He just couldn't hate him.

Because despite everything he did, and yeah, it's true, what he did was absolutely terrible, he couldn't help but be able to sympathize with Vincent and his pain. He knows what it's like to be all alone, scared, confused, traumatized...he's been through it all.

And to be honest, when he first witnessed Vincent roaming throughout the broken down pizzeria, trying to escape and push his actions and the other children out of his way and mind, he knew that it wasn't going to do anything to him. Only when he realized the internal damage that he committed was when Alfred began to see a light of hope for him.

Alfred was feeling somewhat at peace with him now. As if, it was a forgiving feeling of some sort. He's seen the actual regret in his eyes, the pain. The shame and hatred of himself for doing something so unforgivable. He could finally see a bit of light in his eyes.

"Listen Alfred," Vincent said. "I know you ask me this a lot, but honestly, it's really become a rhetorical question at this point for me, because honestly, there is no hope left for me."

"What makes you seem so sure?" Alfred asked.

"Because I took away your life. Your entire future, your family. All of it. I don't expect feeling any other emotions besides regret and grief, because those are the only emotions that I ever feel every night when midnight chimes and I wake up again."

"But what if someone decides to finally forgive you?" He asked.

Vincent gave a disbelief look at him. "Alfred, it's nice that you want me to have some kind of hope, but honestly, there isn't any for me. Because I don't expect to be forgiven. I just expect to remain here for the rest of time, and live with that fact." He said.

Alfred remained quiet. "Well, you may be right, but are you sure there isn't any hope left for you?" He asked.

"I'm sure." He said.

The silence had cut between the two of them and ended all conversation. There was nothing else that could be said. Otherwise It’d just be them repeating themselves with the same questions and remarks.

“Alfred, I just really don’t see anyone at all forgiving m-!”

“I forgive you.”

Silence had cut the air along with Vincent’s shocked expression as he looked at the child who was staring at him. “What?”

“I forgive you, mister.”

“But....why?” He asked. “After everything I had done to you? To the others?” He asked.

“Because I’ve seen how much you were able to change and realize your terrible mistakes. Sure, it took a long time for you to realize them, but watching you suffer, always suffer alone by yourself as I can see the true regret and sorrow in your eyes, I know you’ve changed. You’re not the same scary mister that I met and got killed by anymore.”

Vincent didn’t know what else to say. The only thing that he could mutter out was just,

“I have to go.”

With that, he went and walked away from the child, who was watching him with a saddened look at himself.

“I hope he realizes that I do really forgive him...” he said to himself. He was hoping that the other dead children would also be able to soon forgive him in time as well. But he knew that it would take time. He at least hoped that it would be possible. For forgiveness to happen with Vincent.

And with that, he suddenly vanished and disappeared out of thin air, as he was going to go to where the other children were expecting for him to be.

—————————————

(That was chapter one! Hope you guys liked it! Criticism can be left but just know I tried hard on this and I’m hoping for positive feedback!)

[drabbledragon]

Linktober: Dark

Next up is day 10: Dark! I just wanted to thank you all for the likes, reblogs, and follows, and that I wish you all a very happy new year! 

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26749021/chapters/69732201

Summary: There are circumstances that may lead one to take certain risks, and sometimes those risks lead to disaster.

Warnings: (Temporary) character death, mentions of violence, mentions of alcohol, and swearing.

Day 10: Dark

Wherever Time was, it was dark. There was not a single ounce of light here, and no matter where he looked or where he took a step forward, he was always met with pitch black. The darkness was suffocating, and he could feel his breath start to pick up once his hazy mind realised that there was no exit, that there was nothing to see, that there was no one else here to help him, and soon the whole room was starting to feel like it was closing in on him even though there were no walls and he suddenly couldn’t tell left from right or up from down or whether he was sitting or standing or lying down - it was all just dark, and it was slowly eating away at his sanity.

“You … out … right now …”

His breath caught in his throat. That fiery tone, that sweet, beautiful voice … that was … Malon, right?

Yes, of course. How could he forget the love of his life? The one he decided to settle down with on a small, peaceful ranch in the middle of Hyrule Field? The one who sang along with him whenever he played his ocarina and the one who watched beautiful sunsets with him as the last minutes of the day started to fade away? She was a constant soothing presence in his life, and he would never forgive himself if he ever forgot about Malon.

He stood still, hoping that in some way, listening to his wife’s voice could somehow lead him out of the darkness. It was strange that Malon’s voice was echoing from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and whatever she was saying was so choppy and fragmented that Time could barely make out the syllables of each word, but her voice was like a lifeline to him, and he was willing to try and latch onto it no matter how distant it was.

“What makes you believe that I should? I have not finished killing all the enemies here, nor have I finished correcting the mistakes in this timeline.”

This voice was deeper, colder, and more unforgiving than Malon’s, and each word rang out unnervingly clear in Time’s mind. The being’s tone was indifferent towards the words it was saying, as if the very notion of killing monsters and fixing mistakes in a timeline was just another mundane task that anyone could do. Time would’ve chuckled if the situation wasn’t all so disorientating. As if fixing something so complicated as a timeline was simple, he should know; he’s been struggling with trying to correct his mistakes for years now, and all his attempts have either led to the eventual destruction of Hyrule or to the creation of more timelines, which would only make his hair turn greyer from the added stress. Honestly, at this point, he was sure that only Hylia herself or some other god could fix this.

Wait. Another god. 

Another god.

His heart was suddenly racing, the thumping in his chest and the rush of blood in his ears getting overwhelmingly loud. Had he really put on the Fierce Deity mask and become that soulless, heartless god? What were even the circumstances that led him to do that? He swore that he would only use that thing if the situation at hand was nearly hopeless - if his or his loved ones’ lives were practically hanging by a thin thread - but surely it hadn’t come to that, had it?

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t really remember what had happened. The latest memory he had at the moment was having to buy a new shield for Wild because he broke it while shield - surfing, but that was nearly a day ago - or was it just a few hours ago? Or a couple of minutes ago? Or maybe weeks ago? For someone renowned as the ‘Hero of Time’, his namesake was definitely failing him.

How long had it been since he had given the Fierce Deity control over his body? How long had it been since he last saw light? How long had it been since he’d last seen Malon, or any of the other heroes for that matter? Where were the other heroes? Where was he? 

“He … kill me … let … go.”

He lifted his head up at a dizzying speed and his eye widened with fear. No, what was Malon talking about? Why was she suddenly talking about ‘killing’ of all things? She knew so much about the Fierce Deity mask and its bloodlust so why in the world was she tempting that thing?

He sucked in a sharp breath. 

He needs out. He needs out right now.

“Let me out!” Time yelled out to no one, but even if it seemed as such, he knew that the deity could hear him. “ Let me out right now!”

“Link … enough … let … go.”

“I know you can hear me! Let me out right now!”

“... Dead … stop … enough.”

“I will burn you to ashes if you lay a single finger on Malon! You hear me?! I’ll kill you!”

Together, he and Malon pleaded from two different sides, the latter’s coming out in careful demands and the former’s coming out in harsh screams. It was impossible to know what was going on outside, and it made Time feel all the more fearful because he didn’t know if he was off simply killing a few Moblins and Lizalfos, or was about to stab a sword through his wife’s chest. He needs to know what was going on. He needs out.

After what felt like an eternity, he felt the floor tilt from beneath him when the Fierce Deity finally nodded and said, “ Very well.” Time’s world was suddenly flooded with light.

His body was already pitching forward before his mind could even register it, and the feel of strong arms coming to wrap around his chest was barely felt through the numbness in his body. His head lolled wearily onto the person’s shoulder, and he didn’t even bother to move the locks of hair that pressed haphazardly against his face. His whole being was sagging with both fatigue and relief, and when he was finally able to make out the white dress underneath his chin and the sight of ginger locks, he used all his remaining strength to lock Malon into a tight hug.

“Link!” She shouted in surprise, but he only squeezed harder, refusing to let her go as if she would disappear without his hold. He buried his head further into her neck and breathed in the familiar scent of hay and home - cooked meals, slowly easing his shoulders when his mind finally registered that he was free from the deity’s hold, he was able to use his own body again, and that he was back home, safe and sound. He pulled away for a second, ready to scold his wife for even attempting to do something so reckless as standing up to a god, but froze when he saw the state of Hyrule Field.

The field - his home -  was littered with bodies: those of monsters, humans, and Hylians all strewn about like tossed ragdolls. Blood coated the ground in dark, messy paint splatters on a grassy canvas, and the weapons and armor of the multitude of soldiers that came here were all broken into pieces, destroyed with clean and powerful slices. The whole place reeked of death, and it was nothing like the beautiful plains he was used to seeing.

What had the Fierce Deity done?

He didn’t even realise he was staggering until he felt his wife’s arms around him again.

“Link!” A frantic voice called out, and Time was barely able to recognize it as Malon’s. “ It’s going to be alright!”

He would’ve laughed if his throat wasn’t so tight. ‘Alright’? ‘Alright’? There was nothing that could be ‘alright’ about this situation; the Fierce Deity had killed innocent people - he had killed innocent people - and there was no magical way to grab all their souls and force them back into their respective bodies. They were dead, plain and simple.

His wife was leading him towards their home with one of his arms wrapped firmly across her shoulders and another arm delicately pressing his side to hers. Time could barely keep his heavy steps in time with Malon’s strides, and the right side of his face burned hotter than the flames on Volvagia’s back, but he tried to focus all of his attention on the determination etched onto Malon’s face, hoping vainly that he could draw some sort of hope from that.

His wife was settling him on their shared bed before he was even able to register it, and the soft plush of quilts and blankets did nothing to quell the massive pit in his stomach. Neither the sting of alcohol on his skin as his wounds were cleaned nor Malon’s gentle reassurances did nothing to bring him out of his shock; his mind was still lost in Hyrule Field, looking upon the corpses that littered the green like blooming weeds.

He wondered how long he had been gone for. Minutes? Hours? It could’ve very well been days if he was being completely honest. From the time he put on the mask to the time the Fierce Deity took it off, the Hero of Time was stuck in a dark limbo, where neither his senses nor time itself existed. He surmised that the only reason he was even able to rouse was because of Malon’s voice piercing through the darkness like an arrow to the heart, and he used that opportunity to frantically regain control of his body; otherwise, if he just let that chance flitter away, then he was sure the deity would just kill her along with everyone else.

He startled when a light touch settled on his shoulder, and his eye fell onto an anxious redhead.

“Malon?” His voice trembled like that of a fearful child, and the ranchhand smiled sadly at him.

“That’s right, Fairy Boy. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to the market to fetch some more supplies. I’ll be back in ten minutes, so don’t even think about moving, alright?”

With a tight nod, he watched her move towards the door leading to the hallway, but after a sudden thought came to mind, he quickly blurted out, “ The boys?”

He held his breath as his wife paused in the doorway, and he felt each second tick by excruciatingly slow. Finally, after what felt like years of waiting, she finally turned back and quietly said, “ It’ll be alright.”

The Hero of Time’s stomach dropped. The forced smile on his wife’s lips, the way she dug her nails into the wooden doorframe, the reassuring words she uttered trying to get him to relax even though his subconscious was telling him that he shouldn’t get such a luxury - he should’ve known that something was wrong. Something worse had happened while the Fierce Deity had possessed him, and the little child within him was too scared to find out.

The time between Malon coming home and tending to his remaining injuries was an absolute blur. He remembered her walking back into the room with a myriad of potions and bandages in her arms, and the idle small talk she tried to make as she immediately got back to work. Her voice was soothing, and Time did his best to listen to what she was saying but his mind refused to budge from the topic of the Fierce Deity and death, even long after his wife had left. He was just … numb; his body, his senses, his emotions, were all just numb, all because of a memory he could not remember.

A few harsh knocks pulled Time out of his thoughts, and the visitor didn’t even bother to wait for an invitation. Warriors came barging into the room within seconds, with Wild slowly trailing in behind him, his face well - hidden beneath his signature cloak. They stood together at one side of the bedroom, and the Hero of Time couldn’t even muster the courage to look either of them in the eye.

“What did you do?”

Every bit of Warriors’s words were filled with unadulterated rage, even if they were just barely above a whisper. As the seconds ticked by without an answer, he yelled out louder, “ Tell me, Time, what the fuck did you do?!”

The Hero of Time flinched at the words, and could only muster out a small, “ U - Um -.”

“Can you even begin to understand the gravity of your actions?!” And the Hero of Warriors didn’t even concern himself with formalities anymore. “ You killed hundreds of innocent people just for your own sick enjoyment! They were here to help us - sent graciously by the queen herself - and you just slaughtered them as if they were nothing more than pigs and cattle! And the way you killed Legend and Sky … exactly how long were you waiting to do that?”

No - Time’s breath caught in his throat - no, no, Hylia, he didn’t -.

“Are you happy that two of Hylia’s Chosen Heroes are gone now, with two others well on their way? I’m sure Hyrule loves being in a coma, and Twilight is just absolutely thrilled about bleeding to death!”

Time didn’t miss the way Wild stiffened at the mention of his mentor, nor the shuddering breath he took.

Warriors took a step forward as to shield the champion from Time’s gaze and growled out, “ Those four trusted you - we all trusted you - and you stabbed us in the back like the fucking traitor that you are.”

The Hero of Time flinched at the words. Traitors were the thing that their captain hated the most, and when he said that someone was a traitor, he wholeheartedly meant it. 

His fingers twisted harder into the sheets underneath him. As pathetic as it was, he was scared. He was too terrified to ask the dreaded question of how he killed Legend and Sky, too terrified to see how bad off Twilight and Hyrule were, and too terrified to explain that he was under the control of a deity whose powers he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. He betrayed those young heroes who he had considered him as a leader and family, and he had undoubtedly shattered any chance of regaining their trust; all he could do now is wither under the captain’s denouncement and apologize for something that couldn’t be forgiven.

It was Warriors who finally broke the tense silence by sharply turning on his heel and leading the Hero of Wilds and himself out. “ You’re a filthy disgrace to the Kingdom of Hyrule,” He spat out. “ And if I find you anywhere near me or any of the other heroes, I’ll kill you.”

The slam of a door marked their exit, and the Hero of Time was left alone again. 

The room was filled with a warm glow from the fading sunset, and all the small picture frames and knickknacks scattered about the place were highlighted in a beautiful orange - red. He would usually appreciate the breathtaking scene, happy that his cruel and demanding adventures had led him to living on a peaceful farm with his loving wife, but he couldn’t this time, not with the knowledge that this field was stained with the blood of innocent soldiers and heroes long before and after him.

He messed up - he fucked up - and he didn’t even bother to hide the small tears that dribbled down his face and onto the beautifully - quilted fabric. He worked so hard to keep the Kingdom of Hyrule at peace, and did his best to help those in need regardless of how demanding they were, but no amount of good deeds could ever bring back any of the people he mercilessly slaughtered. Who would he even blame for his actions? Hylia? The Fierce Deity? They were both deities that obviously didn’t care what a Hylian said about them; they would just go on with their respective existences, not even batting an eye at the millions they had killed for the sake of getting what they wanted.

But Time wasn’t like that: he was a person with feelings, limits, traumas, and regrets, and no matter how immune he thought he was to the problems of this world, he would always come tumbling back down from his high horse as soon as he couldn’t take being the Hero of Time anymore. He had become arrogant, the years of saving people and being a beacon of hope finally getting to his head and allowing him to take the risk of letting the Fierce Deity have control over him, thinking that in some way, somehow, he could finally regain some resemblance of control and transform back into his usual self. He was beyond stupid to think that such a simple Hylian like him could take on an otherworldly god, and he was beyond stupid to think that his plan, no matter how well thought - out, could outsmart anyone that had existed for millennia. What a terrible decision that was, allowing something as powerful as a deity to keep him in the dark while it went on doing whatever it pleased. If only he could turn back time and - .

He stilled for a second before his head shot up in an instant. He was stumbling to his feet before he even knew it, and was eagerly making his way over to wear his item pouch resided on the dresser. His hand dug greedily into the bag like a hungry wolf, and he didn’t stop until his fingers brushed against a familiar ceramic. The item came out with little resistance, and he couldn’t help but stare as the sun’s rays bounced off his ocarina’s blue shell. 

He could do it: he could turn back time and prevent any of this from ever happening. The instrument was at his lips within milliseconds, his breath already ready to blow out the familiar tune, when a sudden thought came to mind:

What would happen to this timeline? Time knew for a fact that timelines don’t just disappear, if Legend’s and Hyrule’s, Wild’s and Twilight’s, and Wind’s eras were anything to go by, so what exactly would the Malon here be left with? Would the Link she knew just cease to exist? Or would a carbon copy of himself still exist with memories only the past him would know? And what about the other heroes? Would they go on in their travels with only four heroes instead of nine, significantly reducing their manpower and chances of success? And what if they failed to take care of the overarching threat? He could be leaving behind millions of distraught people to a dismal fate with no Hero of Time to blame.

But he couldn’t remain here; not when Sky, Legend, Twilight, and Hyrule were so close to an untimely death, if not already dead. So he would go back in time, prevent the Fierce Deity from ever having any control over him, and make sure that no one died at his hand.

With his mind made up, he blew into the Ocarina of Time, and watched as the seconds ticked backwards.

Time jolted as he was thrown back into time, and anxiously looked at his surroundings: it looked like he was outside a small tavern … yes, the one he and the Links had stumbled upon two days and 16 hours ago, and judging by the moon’s high position in the sky, it appears that this is the time they were about to leave. As if on cue, an irritated Legend groaned out,

“Ugh, does he always do this? I swear, Cityboy is going to drink himself into a coma one day.”

Warriors, the person in question, directed a dramatic pointed look towards the former and slurred out, “ Hey, I’ll go into a coma whenever I want to, thank you very much.”

A cheery Sky readjusted his grip on the captain’s arm and nervously laughed, “ It’s okay; I’m sure he’s a responsible drinker and knows when he’s reached his limit.” But then added in a smaller voice, “ But I don’t think drinking this much in one sitting is a good idea.”

“No, it’s fine! I’ve seen Wars drink a lot more than he did tonight! And the stuff they had here wasn’t even that strong anyways.” Wind chimed in, and Four from beside him could only stare in exasperation at the unlabeled bottle hidden behind the sailor’s back.

Wild jogged to the group seconds after and asked, “ Hey, are we gonna get going soon? Because Twi is rounding up all the dogs here again, and we don’t want another incident like last time.” And as if to emphasize his point, he jabbed his thumb towards the direction where his mentor was busy playing with a large number of said canines.

Hyrule regarded his travelling companion with an empathetic smile as he answered back with, “ Yeah, I think we were about to leave, right Time?” And when he looked to the group’s leader, he asked in a more concerned tone, “ … Time?”

The Hero of Time didn’t even realize he was staring at each one of them until a majority of them were staring back at him, each regarding him with a curious gaze. He quickly shook his thoughts away and said, “ Yes, we should get going before morning comes.”

So the group began to trek forward towards the inn they would eventually settle into approximately an hour later, all the while bustling about each other’s actions. Time smiled warmly at the group’s antics, but quickly set his jaw in a show of determination. He had another chance to set things right, and goddesses - be - damned if he let this opportunity just slip away.

He won’t let anyone die this time.  

[lynnthevirgo]

Surprise - Han Jisung (Stray Kidz) M

Summary: Your boyfriend comes home with a birthday surprise for you. But it’s not the one you were expecting.

WC: 2.2k

Warnings: Cursing, smut, oppa/baby girl, noona reader, light choking, male and female oral, unprotected sex (Y’all, please use a condom. This is for my wife and she’s a hoe, don’t be like her.), fingering and degrading nickname (slut)

A/N: This is a very late birthday gift to my wife who needed to be wrecked by Han because she wrecked me just for the hell of it. Happy belated birthday cutie @yourguessisasgoodasminemate, love you to bits and I hope your birthday was still fun regardless of the current quarantine.

                                  ****************************************

You’d deliberately kept your birthday secret from him because you knew he’d go way over the top and you were not having it. Han spoiled you enough as it was; museum pieces that he knew fit your aesthetic, clothes that varied from your own personal tastes to things he wanted to see you in and so many dog toys for the fur babies you and he collected over the years. You didn’t mind that he spoiled the dogs, but to spend so much on you when you couldn’t return the favor was not something you enjoyed.

Han was a great boyfriend, soon to be fiancé if you were lucky enough. But throughout the few years you’d been together, you’d found out his one flaw is numbers. So birthdays, anniversaries and even his own comeback schedules were not his strong suite. Often you had to remind him of his own hair appointments because he’d forget to schedule reminders on his phone. He was so cute but so hopeless and it’s grown to be one of your favorite quirks of his.

However he’s gotten smarter of your antics to avoid getting presents from him and has since adapted to them. The year before last he took you and your friends out to a celebratory dinner every night until you caved and told him the exact date. Then last year he spent the entire week of your birthday buying you small but very expensive gifts to annoy you. It worked because he did end up giving you a gift on your birthday, you just made sure to tell him the day after so he couldn’t buy you more.

This year however, he couldn’t do any of that because he had been doing comeback promo with his brothers. It had just hit the midnight hour and you were another year older, it’s a shame too because it just reminds you of the already existing age gap between you. You didn’t know why you were cursed to like men younger than you, but it gave you Han so you’re not all that bitter about it. He’s tried to adapt to just calling you by your name, but those Korean honorifics kept popping out. You were noona for the longest time until he finally asked you out, then you became Jagiya. But the noona term still applies whenever he wants to be a shit and remind you of your age difference.

He was due to walk through your door any minute and you were in a mood. His plane landed around ten thirty and he’d been keeping you up to date on what he was doing, clearly just as excited to get home to you. But he’d also been sending you selfies and voice messages in between the updates. There was a very reoccurring theme throughout all of them, he was so. Fucking. Horny. You didn’t know whether to be excited or scared, because even though he looked cute and was a big goof…he was also ridiculously kinky.

The key to your home turned in the lock and the dogs started barking, immediately on alert. You weren’t sure if the flipping in your stomach was butterflies or anxiety, hell it could’ve been both. But you knew it wasn’t just Han walking through your door, it was oppa and he was expecting his baby girl to be ready to submit. The last time he touched you like this was before he left and you’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t want him to absolutely ruin you.

He enters the house wordlessly, laughing to himself as he pets all four of your dogs and being bombarded with them jumping at him. Even behind the travel mask he wears you can see and hear the smile on his face, his eye smile failing to hide the emotion.

“A little help?” He asks, suppressing a laugh as he tries to stop the pitbull puppy you’d recently gotten from pulling at his skinny jeans. The older, larger dogs still trying to jump on his back in his attempts to calm her.

Together the two of you managed to collect all of them and let them outside in the fenced in yard to run off their excitement. The oldest finding his usual perching spot and lying down immediately. The minute the door is closed behind them, his hands find your hips. You can feel his breath against your neck and the soft kisses he leaves along the nape of it. Oh shit.

“I missed you.” He says in a whisper along your shoulder blade. His fingers sliding themselves under the jumper you wore and tracing shapes into your skin.

“Happy birthday, Jagiya.” He continues, biting ruthlessly into your shoulder and gripping you tighter. Mother fuck!

You can’t even ask how he knew, the minute you open your mouth to speak his tongue slides inside and massages itself against yours. His fingers moving down to pull at the sweatpants you were wearing, the other hand gripping onto your ass as he presses your face to the glass of the sliding door. He leaves your mouth and pulls the jumper over your head, leaving you in your bra and your underwear as you wordlessly ditch your sweatpants. You wanted to cum tonight and being a good girl was how to get that.

He smirks at your submissive expression, patiently awaiting him to touch you more, the glass is cold against your skin but you can barely feel it with the fire burning under your skin.

“Such a good birthday girl, how many are we going for tonight? Four? Five?” He laughs at the whimper you didn’t realize you did  until it was too late.

“Kneel, noona.” He orders, his eyebrow raising in that stupidly handsome way it does when he’s feeling himself. Fuck you were so wet already and he barely touched you.

You unzip his jeans, pull him out of his boxer briefs and watch him spring out. The groan he emits is so hot you fight the whine you want to release, already dying to have him inside you. Your tongue slides along his length and your lips close around his tip, sucking lightly to tease him for the noona remark. He growls and hit’s the door behind you in frustration, annoyed at the pace you’re going.

“Y/n, remember our rule; whatever you do to me I do to you worse.” He reminds. Instantly your pace quickens, your mouth sliding along him at your usual pace and the pressure increasing around his base, your hands jerking roughly. You knew how ruthless he could be and tonight was not the night you wanted to be edged for hours.

“Fuck, that‘s my good girl.” Han praises, his hands holding your hair ready to pull you off before he cums. You continue going, your pace quickening to show your appreciation and he pulls your hair to warn you. Your tongue brushes over the slit in his tip, licking up the precum spilling over and sliding down your chin. He pulls you off of him with a loud grunt and holds your head in place while he holds eye contact with you. You’re just dripping for him, wanting to feel him deep inside you.

“On the couch, just how I like you and if you touch yourself before I get to you, you‘re getting punished.” He warns, releasing your head and watching you scramble to the sofa. You grab the blanket thrown over the couch and bring it onto the floor behind you while you lean over the arm of the sofa. Frantically you toss the remainder of your clothes off you and spread your legs so he has easy access.

“Y/n, you‘re fucking dripping already. Have you missed me that much, jagiya?” Han asks, his fingers brushing against your lips and sliding your arousal around before settling at your core. You tried to be quiet, but you’re so worked up that when his mouth latched onto your clit you couldn’t help but cry out. His fingers slid into you with ease coated in your own arousal, reaching deep inside and coaxing your g spot.

You can hear his whimpers as he sucks on your clit, getting turned on by the moans you can’t hold back. His fingers pumping into you at an unforgiving pace while he laps his tongue along your clit. It’s been too long, you can’t take the vibrations of his whimpers and the stimulation of his fingers inside you. There’s no way, you’re cursing loudly as you grab hold of the cushion in front of you, the fire inside you boiling over and spilling out. You’re cumming, dripping all over his face and fingers and groaning as your legs shake around him.

“Fuck, noona.” He whispers against your back as he brushes his hands along your thighs, calming you down.

“I can‘t wait to hear you scream my name.” His voice says beside your ear as he thrusts inside you roughly. Your legs almost tumble out from under you from the sheer force of it and you’re whimpering already at his girth. You’d already forgotten how thick he was and even with all your arousal, you were so tight around him it was painful.

He rolled his hips into you slowly at first, hitting you deep and making you whine under him while his hand wrapped instinctively around your throat. You wrapped your hand around his arm for support as you arched your back to help push him toward the spot he was hitting earlier. Fuck, why did he feel so good? He brought his other hand up and pulled at your hair while he kissed along your neck, marking up your skin and groaning into it.

“Cum with me, y/n.” He orders, lifting himself and thrusting into you roughly as he reaches his high. You’re cursing again, screaming loudly as he hits you exactly where you need him to. His hand reaching down to rub against your clit as he holds your hip with the other.

“Who‘s my dirty fucking slut?” He asks, thrusting into you at an unforgiving speed.

“I am, oppa.” You respond, gripping the cushion tighter, trying to control yourself from cumming too soon. His hand grips into your side tighter, you’re whimpering as he digs into you. There’s no way you’re not waking up with bruises tomorrow.

“Who do you belong to?” He asks, quickening his pace against your clit. As you groan from the build up you cry out his name, trying to control your breathing.

“Is my slut ready to cum?” You can hear the smirk in his voice as your legs shake again. All you can do is nod, your orgasm control threatening to break at the smallest vibration.

You feel him lean forward as he pulls along your ear with his mouth, sliding his tongue along the curve before he whispers,

“Cum for me.” your body already responding. He holds you tightly against his chest as it ripples through you, you’re gasping for air as it flows through you hard, making your body twitch uncontrollably at the smallest touch. You can feel him filling you up, both your cum and his spilling out of you while you hold his arm to you for support. He bites along your shoulder blade, leaving more marks in his wake and grunting as he thrusts slow.

He lies you on the couch, kissing along your spine as he removes himself from inside of you. As you catch your breath you feel him help you back into your jumper, holding you close to him and kissing the side of your head as he fixes it to your form. When he leaves you again you’re a little annoyed because you want to curl up into him on the sofa. But then you hear the whining you didn’t notice earlier. You turn yourself around and curl your legs into yourself slowly. Behind you is Han, in his boxer briefs, holding a baby blue eyed husky with an adorable green bow tied onto it’s collar.

“Surprise?” He offers, smiling with his mouth closed and lips tight together.

You’re so vulnerable you can’t help but cry, pulling the chunky, floofy baby close to you and brushing your fingers through his fur.

“Han, she‘s so cute, how dare you!” You fake protest, trying to stop yourself from crying by being angry.

“You know I hate when you spoil me on my birthday!” You say with furrowed brows, hugging the puppy closer to you, trying to get it to stop wiggling.

“Oh, it‘s your birthday? That‘s great!” He says, a small smirk playing on his lips while he bites the inside of his chubby cheek. You watch his eyes dart to the ceiling to avoid eye contact while he brings a hand up to hold his neck.

“Are you telling me you actually didn‘t know? You‘ve just been bluffing this whole fucking time?” You ask, more annoyed with yourself than him since you let the cat out of the bag.

“You fucking shit head!” You shout, swatting him with real annoyance this time. He laughs at you, helping you wipe your face of the last of the tears.

“Happy birthday, y/n, thanks for putting up with me another year.” He says, reaching out and holding your thigh. You fight the urge to cry again as he kisses your forehead. Sometimes you really hated how sweet your boyfriend was.

“Yeah, yeah.” You pout, pushing him before lifting your head up and kissing him. You felt him press his fingers deeper into your inner thigh and moan into the kiss. Then you remembered, that was only two orgasms and he promised four or five. Your birthday present wasn’t over yet.

[bangtan-madi]

All Of Our Lifetimes — Interlude: First Life

Pairing — Taehyung x Reader

Tags — boyfriend!Taehyung, husband!Taehyung reincarnation au, lovers to strangers and to lovers again, established relationship, implied soulmate au

Genre — fluff, angst, crime (ish)

Word Count — 3.4k

Summary — Does love ever truly end, or does it simply take another form in a new life? The cycle is like clockwork: your lives end and you’re reborn again. You’ve lived it over and over. Each cycle, one of you loses your memories and is tragically unaware until the other finds and awakens their lover. After all these eons, all these lifetimes, is it possible to find each other again—even when neither of you awakens with your memories? 

Part — 3.5 / 15

Warnings — relatively none, minor language, brief mention of death in childbirth

Previous — Next

{Paris, France — 1789 a.d.}

If there's one place on earth that you feel safe in, it's the garden surrounding the Chateau. With the large trees giving shade from the afternoon heat, the overgrowth of flora that attracts a variety of birds and insects, and the expansive maze of roses that covers the remnants of the grounds, it's a magical wonderland that's kept private for your family alone. When your father is away on his lengthy excursions around France, and the staff is busy keeping up with his home, you're left in utter peace to recline amongst nature and contemplate the state of the world.

You've concluded that there are a lot of things that have gone terribly awry in recent years. The citizens of Paris go hungry every day. Children are left without parents. Families are torn apart by famine and war. Endless war. Fear, anger, and hopelessness run rampant through the streets like gutter rats. 

Even in the modern year of 1789, the aristocracy to which your family line belongs has refused to do anything but suck the lifeblood of your country dry. They consume and destroy and tear the meat off the bones of your beloved France.

And your father is one of the worst there is. Your grandmother, the one who raised you, always told you to trust in yourself and in her family's power. She promised you that no matter how cruel or unkind your father, or the world, might be, you can always count on yourself.

"You have magic inside you, mon cherie," she would tell you every night. "One day, that magic will lead you to love."

"Why didn't it lead Mère to love?" you'd asked one day.

Your grandmother merely stopped what she was doing and laid her leathery hand on your head. "It led her to you, did it not? To you...and the garden outside your window."

Ever since then, the garden has been the place where you feel your mother's presence, but it's also the place where you harness her family's magic. The power that flows in your bloodline grows stronger every day, and when you reach your early twenties, it multiplies ten-fold.

Without control, your grandmother warns that your only escape will start to wilt and wither. And though you never intended, she's right.

One morning, you awake to a shriveled garden outside your balcony.

And a very angry father.

"What the hell happened here!" he shouts, storming out of the doors below your perch and into the supposed greenery. His eyes are wild and angry, nostrils enlarged as he fumes at the groundskeeper for not doing his job properly for a full five minutes.

You'd been on the end of that rage yourself. Not wanting to be caught in the cross-fire, you pull back the curtain and shield yourself from his view.

"Sire, it's become a terribly dry year," the groundskeeper says, giving one last attempt to console your father. "Everyone is suffering. It's part of the reason that the Third Estate is so restless."

"I don't care about the peasantry!" he bellows. "The Third Estate is the scourge of France. The only reason they exist is to keep the wheels greased and the treasury full. Drought or not, my garden should be blossoming. You find someone else that can properly do your job and you make yourself scarce! I never want to see your face again!"

Your grandmother finds you on the floor next to your balcony window, partially shielded by the curtains. She gives you a soft expression, extending her hand to you to help you to your feet.

"It's growing again, Grandmère," you whisper. "My spells are getting more powerful. I—I almost killed the garden this time. If Père ever found out..."

Your sentence trails off, and Grandmère puts her palm against your cheek. "Mon cherie, if you ever get the chance to leave this place, promise me that you'll take it and never look back."

"But I wouldn't leave y—"

The elderly woman shakes her head, moving a single finger to your lips. "—Never look back. Promise me."

Despite yourself, you nod once, and your grandmother places a kiss on your forehead.

True to his word, before the week is over, the usual groundskeeper is nowhere in sight and a new one has taken his place. You meet him while in the garden, though the last thing you expected was for a boy your age to sneak up on you while you were collecting a few herbs for your next spell.

"You must be Princess [Y/n]?"

Jumping back, you turn and face the strange man with wide eyes and hands clasped tightly around a handful of Mimosa blossoms, Yucca leaves, and Life Everlasting blooms. 

The person standing in front of you isn't bad looking. Quite the opposite. He has an alluring aura about him that goes beyond the wavy black hair and honey skin. Behind his warm eyes and boxy smile, there's a uniqueness to him that you've never seen before. Even with a mother that wasn't French, you'd never seen someone like him.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man smirks a little before responding. "I'm the new groundskeeper? Your father hired me this morning. I hate to think of what happened to the other one. I saw him leave through the front gate when I arrived. He didn't look the best."

Your eyes soften, and your guard drops. "If you knew this job was going to be hard, if you knew my father was cruel, why did you take it?"

"We all have our reasons, right?" He gestures to your hands. "Such as why you're holding all of the living things left in this place?"

You shove the flowers and herbs into the pocket of the white apron, laid over your casual dress. "This is my garden, Monsieur..."

"Kim. Kim Taehyung."

"You're not from France, are you, Monsieur Kim?"

"What gave it away?" You gesture to all of him, which makes Taehyung laugh.

"Well, if we were going by appearances, I never would've known you were the lord's daughter. You're dressed like a servant."

"You called me 'princess.'" Your head tilts to the side, eyebrows pulling together. "I have no such title...but how did you know I was his daughter?"

Taehyung shrugs and nods to your open balcony door. "I saw you this morning while you were reading on the balcony."

Your face pulled into a scowl. "Why you—"

Taehyung raises his hands in mock surrender, the smile never faltering. "Calm down, Princess. All I'm saying is that you might want to keep your doors closed. You never know when someone might be peaking in."

From that day onward, an unlikely friendship blossoms between you Taehyung. The man is odd, there's no doubt about that, but he's just about the only normal person in your life. The only one you've ever known, actually. He's real and kind and lovely in every possible way.

He comes to the Chateau several times a week for the next several months in an attempt to get the garden back to normal. The winter had been cruel, and the drought unforgiving, but Taehyung brought with him knowledge from other lands, especially from his homeland of Korea. If you hadn't had him explain the science behind his tricks of the trade, you would have thought he had magic in him, too.

"You have to irrigate them well, starting at the upward slopes so that the water can drain back down. Use gravity to our advantage. Then the new system I created will take the excess and bring it to the herbs, which tend to be more resilient than Mimosa, Yucca, or Life Everlasting."

You stare at him with wide eyes of curiosity, watching him as he takes water from the well and pours it into the starting container of the extensive irrigation system. The pipeline crawls all over the garden, out of sight as to not distract the eyes from the beauty. The precious liquid flows and forks into the various braches, giving lifeblood back to the garden.

"I've also been adding phosphorus to the soil," he tells you, placing a hand on his hip with a pleased expression. "That should aid the root systems so that water can be absorbed easier."

You shake your head, amazed and awestruck at what he'd accomplished in a short few months. Turning to Taehyung, you throw your arms around him and hold him tight.

"You're magic, Taehyung. Just magic!"

He laughs at your sudden outburst and embraces you tightly to him. "It helps when you're from a family of farmers. Not magic, Princess, just practice."

Spring comes with thunderous applause and unconfronted feelings. The rain stays, but Taehyung's ingenuity has all but brought the Chateau's surroundings back to life.

Your beloved garden blooms, as does your love for its savior—both of which despite your magic, not because of it.

As spring marches forward, you find yourself spending more and more time together. And while it was as friends or mutual curiosity before, these days you spend in the garden are more than that. There's an underlying yearning for each other, but for reasons you both know, neither of you moves on it.

"Isn't your birthday coming up?" Taehyung asks, out of the blue, one afternoon. He's sorting through the various seeds that he'd purchased using the allowance your father gave him, kneeling down beside the arrangements on the ground.

Reclining against one of the Mimosa trees, you place the pen and paper on your lap. You'd been messing around with a spell idea for a few weeks now, but it's been difficult to get it onto paper. Being with him in the garden aways brought about inspiration, so you came prepared today.

"I overheard some of the staff discussing it," he adds, seeing the question on your face before you verbalize it. "How old will you be?"

You sigh, "Twenty-one."

Taehyung sorts the rose seeds from the marigolds, ensuring that the two plants don't end up in the same soil, which he says will ensure both of them die early on. "Why do you sound so glum about it? Isn't your birthday worth celebrating?"

The side of your mouth tugs into a tiny smile at the sweetness of his last sentence. "Not when your father's insisting that he find a suitable groom for you once you turn twenty-one."

The dark-haired man's hands halt suddenly, his eyes transfixed on the layout in front of him. He slumps back, resting his weight entirely on his knees and lower legs. "And you're not happy about that."

You shake your head and wrap your arms around yourself. "Not at all. Especially since I have a sinking feeling I know who his selection will be. He's a son of a wealthy lord on the other side of the Seine. It would be a strategic marriage, completely in my father's favor."

"You don't love him." His observation is not a question.

"Of course not," you scoff. "I hardly know him. I've only met him a few times. He's the last person on earth that I would pick to marry."

Taehyung finally shifts his gaze from the seeds to your face, meeting your eyes. "Who's the first then, Princess?"

His question catches you off-guard and brings heat into your cheeks. "I—I hadn't thought about it, didn't have anyone in particular in mind. Only for love. That's my only requirement."

The foreigner nods once then relinquishes his intense gaze, seemingly satisfied with your reply.

There's a pause before you continue. "This is exactly what happened to my mother. She wasn't French, a foreigner who married my father because it was beneficial. She was forced into this marriage and died in childbirth."

"That's terrible," he murmurs. "I'm so sorry."

You offer a grateful nod, turning your eyes to the clear blue sky. "Taehyung...have you ever thought about running away?" The question comes out of you, surprising you with your honesty. It's as if it has a mind of its own.

Taehyung cracks a smile. "Princess, I've been running my whole life. I ran away from my hometown to travel the world, to see it all. Never thought I'd end up stuck in France, in Paris of all places, and yet I'm still trying to run towards the New World."

You turn to stare at him in awe. "You're so brave. I don't know if I could do that."

"Do you want to?"

"Of course. I want to be free from this place, free from the future my father has set up for me. My greatest fear is becoming my mother, engaged to a man I don't love and dead after giving birth. My mother wanted the same thing, but she died before she could arrange it. I was lucky to survive being born. Grandmère tells me that I lived because of—"

You catch yourself before you continue, knowing that this story goes into a secret that only you and your grandmother carry with you. You've never told another soul about your magic, not one. Not even your father knows. What would he think if he did? Or worse, what would Taehyung think? Would he think you a freak, something wicked, a pawn of the devil?

"Because of...?" Taehyung prompts. He sees your hesitation in your bit lower lip and shifting gaze. "You can tell me, [Y/n]. Whatever it is, you can trust me."

Taehyung almost never calls you by your real name. It's almost always "Princess." That little bit of reassurance pushes you to continue your story. If this relationship is going to go forward at all, it's time.

Now or never.

"Grandmère tells me that I survived because of my mother's final...final spell. A spell of love."

The brunet tilts his head curiously, obviously not expecting that continuance. "A spell?"

You nod, trying to keep your nervous voice even and controlled. "My mother's family has a secret, one that's passed down from generation to generation. We're witches. Magic runs in our veins. I've been magical all my life, but the past year or so, my power has grown a lot. I've been practicing and trying to get a handle on it, and Grandmère has been teaching me, but sometimes that power is...too much."

His gaze softens as a smile of realization tugs at his mouth. "Hence the garden suddenly wilting overnight. I thought there was more involved than the drought."

Your breath catches in your lungs as Taehyung puts the pieces together. "You're not freaked out? You don't think I'm evil?"

"No," he laughs, scooting closer as to sit in front of you. "Why would I think that? Back home, we have soothsayers and card readers and all kinds of magically-inclined people. I don't think you're evil or anything of the sort."

A wave of relief washes over you, and you slouch back against the tree. Your companion gives an amused chuckle at your state, but you're too drained to make a comment."But if there was magic involved, then the garden shouldn't have come back on its own, even with my help. Did you, I don't know, cast a spell to heal it?"

You shake your head and sit straight once again. "Nothing of the kind. I think...I think it had something to do with you."

"Me?" he asks, surprised.

You nod. "The more time I spent with you, the better you made me feel, the more of a friendship bond we created, the more I felt my magic wane. In a good way! I felt balanced, for the first time in my entire life, and then the garden started to bloom again. I can't explain it. It's like you made me feel like I was safe enough to express magic in a healthy way, not just in a way that could destroy."

Your heartfelt confession makes Taehyung lift his hand to your cheek, cradling your face in a tender way that only your grandmother has. "And you said I was the magical one. Princess, I've got nothing on you." He leans in closer, his warm breath brushing against your face. "Can I kiss y—"

"—Yes."

Taehyung chuckles and closes the distance between you. His lips graze yours, hesitant at first. His are soft and delicate, just as you'd imagined they would be. The hands cupping your face pull you closer, and yours move to his shoulder to balance yourself. Though gentle, the gentle push and shove causes you to smile into the kiss.

It doesn't take long for the gesture to shift from shy to needy, from sweet to passionate. All the pent up emotions you'd both kept inside these past few months come pouring out in the form of hands on waists and hips, fingers desperately gripping clothing and grazing skin, teeth greedily nipping at lips and elsewhere on the face. Taehyung is a passionate individual, but you never really knew how much until now.

Moving closer to you, he pulls you into his lap, adjusting your dress as to let your legs slide to either side of his hips. Pulling you ever closer, he continues to fight for dominance. One hand shifts from your waist to your neck, tangling in the hair at the base of your neck. You slide your fingers through his hair, inadvertently tugging at a few curls and dragging an unconscious sigh from Taehyung.

After a few moments, the brunet pulls back. Both of you come up for air, breathing heavily and feeling dizzy. A euphoric feeling rushes through your body, something much closer to magic than you've ever felt. All around you, new flowers begin to bloom. Taehyung's gaze flickers from you to the new flora around you, watching in awe as the flowers grow taller to encase you both in a cradle of spring.

And it's there—in Taehyung's arms, sitting in the middle of a revived garden—that you realize you've fallen in love with him.

His next words come out softer and more tender than anything you've never heard. "Come with me."

"Tae..."

He shakes his head, resting his forehead against yours. "Don't do that."

"Where could we go?" you reply. "France is falling apart. The Third Estate is going to rebel before summer's end; it's all anyone can talk about. There's not a place on earth that my father won't find me. Find us. You know what becomes of us both if that happens."

Taehyung brushes the tears away from your eyes with his thumbs. "He can't follow us across the sea."

The weight of his offer hits you. The sea. The New World. America. Could it really be true? Could it really happen? Freedom and love and life, all at once?

"What about Grandmère? I couldn't just leave her here with that monster."

"Then we'll take her, too!" He presses another kiss to your mouth, pulling back after a brief moment. "I'll have the money by the end of July. That's not too far away. I will do anything to keep you safe, Princess. Anything. Run away with me. We can start over. I've fallen in love with you over these past months, and I know you feel the same."

You nod fervently. "I do, but..."

"But what? But nothing. You said it yourself: if you stay here, your future is that of your mother's. Wouldn't she want you to spare yourself of it?" His hands cupping your face tighten ever so slightly as he sees his argument making an impact. "Come with me. I can protect you. I love you, magic or none. Don't make me lose you."

"I love you, too."

"Say you'll come. Say you'll run away with me."

Heaving a heavy sigh, your place your hands over his and look him in the eyes. "I'll go anywhere with you."

[2-cute-4-school]

Just one more time

Group : NCT

Pairing : Lee Mark x f!Reader

Genre : fluff, angst

Word count : 1200 words

M.list

“Mark!”

Her voice was so crystal clear, a symphony that tingled his ears and soothed like the sunshine soothes the raging waves of the sea after a storm. His name sounded just right, coming from her in such a heart warming way that he felt like he might just melt into a puddle of smiles and star dust.

“Mark , did you see that?”

She came running towards him, grinning from ear to ear. The way her eyes sparkled so bright reminded him of a child on Christmas morning. How he swore to protect that smile because if she kept smiling he could do it too, if she was there, he could do it all.

“See what, babe?”

She barreled into him and her body fit right into his arms, molding perfectly like pieces of a puzzle. Mark’s arms wrapped themselves around her, caging her in a bubble of love and warmth. His chest rumbled with a chuckle as he smiled at the ray of sunshine beaming up to him. How could he ever stop smiling when she was around? It would have been an unforgivable crime against humanity.

“Maaark, you never pay attention! I just utterly humiliated and destroyed Haechan at Mario Kart!”

“Shut up, I let you win so you wouldn’t start whining all day” Haechan yelled from his spot on the couch, his controller still clutched in his hand.

“Sure you did, loser. Just accept that you suck and bow to your queen”

“Queen my ass”

“What did you just say?!”

Y/N jumped away from Mark, starting to stomp her way over to Haechan, just to have a ‘friendly talk’. Mark’s laugh echoed in the dorm’s living room as he held onto his girlfriend, keeping her away from a fight everyone knew would be with no end. She kept struggling and insisting they were simply going to discuss matters and it was no secret these discussions often ended in cat fights and rematches.

“Come on, leave him be, you know he’s a sore loser” Mark breathed out through his fits of laughter.

That seemed to calm down the hungry tiger residing in his girlfriend’s body.

“Right, you’re right, he’s just having a tough time accepting the reality, it’s normal” Y/N turned around, facing Mark, before her hands made their way to his cheeks, cupping his face and holding him as if she was holding her entire world under her fingertips.

Haechan kept fooling around, but once their eyes met, everything stopped. The world stopped moving and every noise died in the background. It seemed like the entire Universe stopped to hear their heart beating for each other, a love song that never seemed to stop ad notes that didn’t repeat once. It seemed like the sun shied away from them, their smiles shining brighter than a million stars.

Mark couldn’t stop himself from lowering his lips to hers, as a sealing promise that nothing else mattered, that if he had her, the sky could fall, the mountains could break, the ocean could drain and they would be fine. Because he had her and she had him and everything would be fine. Mark’s hand that gently gripped her waist assured her of that, assured her that his promise would last a thousand lifetimes and that he’d find her in the one thousandth and one and promise her again.He would do all these and more, only if she stayed by his side.

Y/N exhaled into his mouth ,as if giving her destiny to him, seeping her own self into him and letting their souls become one. It felt like floating, exploring the maze of her own heart. But she wasn’t scared of losing her way, she let herself go knowing that Mark would find her. And he was always there, guiding the way to their own Wonderland. 

As they parted, the room was silent. Even Haechan stopped his antics as he watched his best friends share a moment like that. He couldn’t feel Mark’s heart beating its unique rhythm of love that clouded Mark’s mind with such euphoria he forgot to even breathe, nor could he feel the tremble of Y/N’s fingers, hiding her fear that her love was so strong it might crack her soul and seep right into her own heart, drowning her. But he knew, he knew just how strong the bond between their souls was.

“God, I love you so much, Mark” Y/N’s voice was barely above a whisper but it was so loud for Mark. He never wanted this moment to pass, he would have kept it bottled up for eternity and kept replaying it. 

“Yes we know, you love him, he loves you, we love you and you love us. Everybody loves everybody. Great! Glad we had this conversation, now I want a match against the queen” Mark swore never in his life has he ever wanted to strangle somebody as he wanted to now. Chenle seemed unaffected by Mark’s deadly glare as he winked at Y/N.

“Oh you’ll get it, but be prepared to lose, big head!” Y/N separated herself fro Mark , following Chenle to the couch. A pout formed on Mark’s lips as her warmth left him, but his eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of her happiness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The screen in front of Mark turned dark as the video ended and the silence of his room seemed deafening to him. His trembling fingers were gripping the edges of his phone as he stared at his reflection which served as a harsh backhand against his pale cheek. His dark orbs were glinting with hate and pain as he hurriedly got up and in a fit of anger he threw the phone at the wall, smashing it in thousands of little pieces resembling his world. A world so dark and broken it was beyond repairing .

“DAMN IT! Damn it all!”

He gripped at his hair furiously, the frustration evident as his knuckles turned white because of the force he was gripping his strands with. Mark seemed lost, pacing around his room as if walking through fire before taking a seat on his bed and doubling over as if punched in the stomach.

“I should have said it back, as many times as I could, I should have - I should have-”

His mutters fell on deaf ears as sobs ripped from his throat, tearing their way out and painting the world with tears of blood. There was nothing left of him, an empty shell on the shore, whispering the same poem to the retreating waves.

“Please, Y/N, please”

He said he could do it all if she stayed by his side, but he never though that he’d be left a parched leaf in the freezing wind in her absence. Now it fell like the sky fell on him ,the mountains broke and trapped them in between them where he wouldn’t see the sun again and the ocean drained, leaving him lonely in a desert of hopelessness. And it was too much for him, they crushed him under the pressure of losing the only star that guided him through the darkest of nights.

“Please just let me say ‘I love you’, just one more time”

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers VANDEAD CARNIVAL ;; Kanato Route ー Chapter 4

ー The scene starts in front of the wagons

Yui: ( There’s more people around now, so it has become harder to look for Teddy. )

Kanato: Teddy...Hic...Where are you?

Yui: Kanato-kun, don’t cry?

Kanato: Then find Teddy for me.

Yui: Well...

Kanato: If you can’t, don’t tell me what to do!

Yui: ( I’d love to help him out, but I don’t have the faintest clue where Teddy might have run off to... )

Kanato: Why? ...Sniffle...Why do you do this...? Teddy...

Yui: ( Anyway, I have to calm him down... )

Kanato-kun, they’re selling candy over there! Why don’t we take a small break?

Kanato: Honestly, you are just so...How dare you say such a thing when Teddy has gone missing!?

Yui: T-That’s true but...Kanato-kun, I just figured that while your eyes are all teared up like that, you wouldn’t be able to see anything...Like that, you won’t be able to find Teddy either.

Kanato: Well...Sniffle, you might have a point there but...

Yui: See? Come on, let’s go?

Kanato: ...You really are hopeless. Fine then, I’ll go take a look.

Yui: ( Thank god... )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: ...Kanato-kun, are they yummy?

Kanato: Yes...Eating something sweet helps me ease up.

Yui: I see, I’m glad.

( Well then, what should we do next? If we can’t find Teddy at all, we’ll just be running around in circles forever... )

( There’s still plenty of places we haven’t looked, but he can’t possibly have gone that far, right? )

Kanato: Nn...It’s delicious. I would have loved to share some with Teddy.

Say, Yui-san? I wonder why Teddy wouldn’t leave your side?

Yui: I don’t know either.

Kanato: Don’t tell me...The two of you aren’t working together to deceive me, are you?

Yui: Of course not! I mean, I can’t even understand what Teddy says...

Kanato: I don’t want to hear your excuses! If it turns out that’s the truth...I won’t forgive you either!

Yui: Wait, listen to me...!

Selection

→ Grab his hand

Yui: Kanato-kun, please. Listen to me.

( His hand...It’s shaking. )

Kanato: What’s wrong? No point in trying to limit the movements of my hand.

I can easily overpower you if I so wish to. 

Yui: No! I didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted to put you at ease...

Kanato: You’re lying!

Yui: I’m not!

( Seems like it had the opposite effect... )

→ Embrace him (☾)

*Rustle*

Yui: Kanato-kun...Please, listen?

Kanato: ...What?

Yui: It definitely isn’t what you think.

I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure Teddy has a reason for what he’s doing...

Kanato: There you go again, spouting random nonsense again...Then what reason would he have...!?

Yui: Kanato-kun, calm down...!

Kanato: Shut up!

...Right. If I torment you, Teddy might show up...

I’ll suck your blood right here, right now. 

Yui: Eh? W-Why would you...? We’re surrounded by other Vampires right now...

Reiji-san said you shouldn’t suck my blood anywhere others can see us...

ー Kanato moves closer

Kanato: I don’t care about that. You are my prey, so all you need to do is shut up and listen to what I say.

Yui: N-No...!

*Rumble*

Yui: ...Eh?

( What’s that sound...? It feels like the ground’s shaking... )

ー The people around them start shouting

Kanato: Shut up all of you...! Don’t get in my way!

Yui: ( The crowd suddenly grew restless. I wonder what’s going on? )

*Thump thump*

Yui: ( Also this sound, almost as if something is approaching us... )

...I-Is that...!?

Kanato: Eh? ...Teddy!?

Yui: Eh!? That’s Teddy? How did he get this big...?

( No way...!? Teddy became super sized...!? )

*RUMBLE*

*THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

Kanato: Teddy, quit joking around!

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: ( He got more than just big...He’s around the same height as the buildings around us. )

( How...? )

*THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

ー Big Teddy tries to pick up Yui

Yui: Eh!? Kyaaaah!!

( Something suddenly grabbed hold of me and I’m being pulled up? )

Kanato: Yui-san!

Yui: Kanato-kun, save me!

( I’m moving further and further away from the ground...He’s got a tight grip on me, so I can’t move. )

( I’m scared...! )

Teddy! Let me go!!

*THUD THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

Kanato: Teddy! Where are you going!? Wait...Give her back!

Big Teddy: ...

*THUD THUD THUD*

Kanato: Teddyーーーーー!!

ー The scene shifts to the Carnival’s venue

*THUD THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: ( I got scooped up by the super sized Teddy...and have been stuck in his fluffy arms ever since. )

( He seemed to be headed straight somewhere, but where could that be? )

( His movements are slow, but his steps are big, so we keep on proceeding forward. )

*Clap clap clap*

Male Vampire A: The Carnival never disappoints! The final parade is truly magnificent!

Female Vampire A: My thoughts exactly...Fufu, should I try waving at them?

Yui: ( This is...They think this is all part of an act, don’t they...? )

(  The Vampires are all waving their hands in the air or running up to us...We’re the centre of attention. )

Hey, Teddy! Why are you doing this?

Big Teddy: ...

Kanato: Wait!

Yui: Kanato-kun!

Kanato: Please wait, Teddy!

Let go of her, please! Hey, you can hear me, right!?

Listen to me...!

Give her back!

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: ( I can hear Kanato-kun’s voice all the way up here but...Does it not reach Teddy? )

Teddy! Can’t you hear what he’s saying!?

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: Teddy, I’m begging you. Put me down!

*THUD THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: ( It’s no use, doesn’t seem like he’ll stop in his tracks any time soon. )

( If not even Kanato-kun can get through to him, then there’s no way my voice would reach him. )

( No, but, I shouldn’t give up, right...? )

ー The scene shifts to the path to the castle

Yui: ( We immediately lost sight of Kanato-kun again. )

( Furthermore, Teddy wouldn’t turn towards him a single time... )

( ...Kanato-kun...Where are you? )

*THUD THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: Say, Teddy? ...Eh? He stopped?

( He carefully stepped through the gate with his large frame...Is he planning to enter the castle? )

( Eh? This is... )

ー The scene shifts to the ballroom

*Thud*

Big Teddy: ...

*THUD THUD THUD*

Yui: ( What’s going on...!? There’s a bunch of Vampires in formal wear. )

*THUD THUD*

Male Vampire D: The Queen of the Carnival has made her arrival!

Yui: ( Eh...? )

ー The crowd cheers

*Clap clap clap*

Male Vampire D: Long live the Queen~! (1)

Female Vampire C: She really showed up with a bang! I expected no less!

Male Vampire D: Well, that’s the Queen for you, no? Things are finally firing up!

Female Vampire C: Oh dear? Speaking of which, where could the King of the Carnival be?

Yui: ( The King? Right, if there’s a Queen, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be a King as well. )

ー Kanato bursts into the room

Kanato: Wait!

Yui: Kanato-kun!

Big Teddy: ...

Kanato: Teddy...I’ve finally got you cornered. Come on, give her back!

Big Teddy: ...

*THUD THUD THUD*

Kanato: Teddy, what are you doing!? Can’t you tell that’s dangerous!?

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: Teddy, stop!

Kanato: Why...? Why would you trouble me like this? Tell me!

You should know very well just how important she is to me...!

Yui: ( Kanato-kun...!? )

*THUD THUD THUD*

Big Teddy: ...

Kanato: Eh? You kidnapped her because I said that...? 

No way...I love you, Teddy. However, she just happens to be equally important to me...

Can’t you tell? You’re both precious to me!

So you won’t accomplish anything trying to take her away from me, understand?

Big Teddy: ...

*THUD THUD THUD*

Kanato: ...You can’t, Teddy! Don’t destroy her...!

Yui: Destroy...Me?

( Is that why he scooped me up...!? )

Big Teddy: ...

ー Teddy starts squeezing her

Yui: Uu...I can’t...breathe...

Kanato: Cut it out! Let her go! This is an order, Teddy!

Yui: ( Ah...I can’t...I’m losing the strength in my body... )

Kanato: When you do such a thing, I hate you!

You’re well aware of just how much I treasure her, right?

Teddy...You’re the one who has always been watching over me from up close, no? There’s plenty of things I have only ever told you as well.

Yet, you’re out there hurting the person I love. 

I don’t want to see you like that...!

Hey, I’m begging you, Teddy. ...Return her to me at once. I’m the only one who can hurt her!

I won’t let anyone take her away from me...She...belongs to me!

Big Teddy: ...

*THUD THUD THUD*

Yui: Teddy...?

Teddy’s approaching Kanato-kun?

*THUD THUD THUD*

Kanato: I won’t forgive you even if you cry. However...I just can’t bring myself to hate you.

So, Teddy...Please give her back to me?

Big Teddy: ...

Yui: ( Ah...He’s loosening his grip. )

ー Teddy suddenly goes back to normal

Kanato: Teddy...went back to normal?

Yui: ( My body was hurled into the air...? )

Kyaaahーー!

Kanato: Yui-san, watch out! (2)

*Thud*

Yui: ( Nn...I...? )

*Rustle rustle*

Kanato: I finally got you back.

I can’t bear seeing someone else touch you...Even if that other person is Teddy.

Yui: Kanato-kun...

Kanato: You must never, ever leave my side.

ー The crowd cheers once more

*Clap clap clap*

Female Vampire C: Long live the King~!

Female Vampire D: The King and Queen are finally together! This calls for a celebration!

Kanato: ...What is this ruckus about?

It appears that they are talking about us but...

Yui: Yeah...

( Besides, everyone has got their eyes on us, surrounding us while Kanato-kun is holding me in his arms like a princess. )

( This might be a little embarrassing... )

*Flap flap flap*

Yui: Kanato-kun, a bat...

Kanato: Yeah...Eh? A message from Father?

We are Adam and Eve?

Yui: ( Adam and Eve...? )

Kanato: A grand celebration for the birth of a new King and Queen...?

Which means Father was behind all of this...?

Yui: Eh...? Then Teddy moving as well...

Kanato: ...He wanted to hold a Carnival to celebrate the newfound Adam and Eve, but a regular one would be too dull so...

He pulled a few minor pranks, he says.

Yui: Eh!? F-For that reason!?

Then, the whole ‘Queen of the Carnival’ thing was just an excuse to get me to the Demon World!?

Also, I wonder what he means by ‘Adam and Eve’...?

Kanato: How am I supposed to know that!?

Yui: S-Sorry...

Kanato: ...able.

Yui: Eh?

Kanato: Simply unforgivable!

Yui: Kyah...! Kanato-kun, don’t suddenly let go...

*Rustle rustle*

Kanato: I won’t let him get away with using Teddy like that!!

Father never changes...He keeps on taking everything precious away from me...

Even though he knows very well just how much Teddy means to me!!

He’s obviously watching us from somewhere right now! I won’t forgive him, never!

Yui: Kanato-kun, c-calm down...More importantly, where is Teddy...?

Kanato: Ah, Teddy!

ー Kanato scoops him up

Kanato: Thank god...This is the Teddy I know and love.

Welcome back, Teddy. You finally made it back to me, huh?

...Yeah, exactly. Here, you should make up with Teddy as well, Yui-san.

Yui: Sure...Thank you for coming back safe and sound, Teddy.

Kanato: Fufu...Teddy is happy too.

Yui: I see, I’m glad...

Kanato: But, that must have been scary, Teddy? I’m so sorry...

I have to make sure I get revenge for all those horrible things Father did to you...

I wonder what would work? ...Say, do you have any ideas, Yui-san?

Yui: Uhm...?

Kanato: Teddy says he’ll agree to your offer as well. What do you want to do?

Burn him at the stake? Or drown him? (3) What do you prefer?

Yui: I-I’ll keep that for later...

Right now...Ah, look! They brought out a large buffet!

We walked all over the place, so I’m sure the two of you are starving, right?

Kanato: ...You say that, but your stomach’s the one growling.

Yui: Eh?

Kanato: Just kidding. ...Fufu, understood.

In that case, let’s dig in. What do you say, Teddy?

Yui: ( Hoh...Thank god... )

Kanato: Come on, hurry up.

Yui: Yes! Wah, don’t pull me!

*Rustle*

ー Kanato drags her along

Kanato: Can’t do. I have to keep a firm grip on you, so you can never slip away from me again.

Yui: Yeah...Thank you. I’m so glad you saved me.

Also...

( Even though it was embarrassing to hear him openly admit to his feelings for me like that, I felt happy... )

Kanato: ...What are you grinning for?

Yui: No, I just thought about how happy I am. That you think of me as...

Kanato: What could you be talking about?

If I don’t keep a close eye on you, you’ll end up putting me to shame. ...That’s all.

Yui: ( Uu...Still, that doesn’t change the fact he treasures me. )

Thank you...Fufu.

Kanato: Haah...You are such a strange girl. I really can’t take my eyes off you for even one second. 

Please don’t ever disappear on me again, understood?

Say, Yui-san?

Let’s enjoy the Carnival. The three of us together...Okay?

We’ll give Father a nice show.

Yui: Kanato-kun...

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) They use the term ばんざい or ‘banzai’, which is a typical Japanese cheer meaning ‘hooray’. It is often accompanied by the action of throwing both arms into the air. 

(2) While the text says ‘Yui-san’, the voice says ‘abunai!’ which means ‘watch out!’, so I combined both in my translation.

(3) 水責め or ‘mizu-zeme’ is a torture technique which involves having someone ingest large amounts of water, sometimes leading to death.

← RETURN TO CHAPTER 3

→ PROCEED TO FINALE ENDING

→ PROCEED TO NORMAL ENDING

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

Caging a White Wolf with His Bird

“Just say it. Just bloody say it, Geralt, instead of brooding over there and refusing to look at me. You blame me for this, don’t you?”

Across the damp cell, with its unforgiving stench, Geralt leaned into the bars, his hands placed firmly on two parallel iron rods. If Jaskier didn’t know Geralt’s strength, from the rippling muscles and furrowed brow he would’ve guessed he was half-ready to bend them. 

However, he knew that Geralt’s inhuman strength wasn’t quite that great. Unfortunately, because now he was just trapped in here, being glared at from afar. 

Well, Jaskier assumed he was glaring. All he could see were the remnants of an angry eyebrow on Geralt’s left side. 

“If we’re stuck in here for a few hours, we should probably at least attempt talking this out like adults instead of pouting like children, correct?” When the silence pervaded, Jaskier was half ready to pull off his boot and toss it at the Witcher. But considering these were his favorite, best-polished leather, he decided against it. 

Fashion won over fiery rage. 

Flopping back down on the shitty cot bed of this small-town dungeon, Jaskier felt his spine crack in several places just from coming in contact. He groaned. “I get this is your style, stiff-faced and silent like a very angry, very cursed marionette of a person, but for the love of god say-”

“Fuck. Shut up, Jaskier.”

And with a glance back, the Bard finally saw those yellow eyes meet his. They were dilated, frustrated, but something in the way he clenched his fists wasn’t the kind of control Geralt had when he was holding in rage. It was something much more unstable. 

Raising an eyebrow, Jaskier felt his petulance deflate from his lungs, turning his huffy response into something much quieter. “Why are you afraid, Geralt?” Within seconds, Jaskier’s mind started to reel. They were just a half-assed cell in Posada, after a little too raunchy of a night. 

Well, raunchy may be an... inappropriate word, but the severity was still correct. “I’m sorry that I flirted with that man’s fiance, okay? I didn’t know. I was drunk after playing, like I often am, and she was beautiful, like women often are, and she made no indication when her hand was unbuttoning my pants that there was a jealous man on the other side of the bar.”

“No, you didn’t notice, did you.”

It should have been a question, but Geralt was just gritting his teeth, growling over there like a starved animal. 

Jaskier felt a tightness is his chest, something seizing his heart and squeezing it. He’d made Geralt angry before, he knew what angry looked like. This was something different, just as ferocious, he couldn’t identify it, and he didn’t know how to react to it. Every little fluttering laugh or hopeless joke in his body was being swallowed by the uncertainty. 

Standing up, Jaskier took a step towards Geralt. With his hands reaching towards the Witcher, he said, “I’m serious, Geralt. I’m sorry. We’ll be out by morning, though. And I’ll try to be more careful with my... escapades.”

“Yeah, you should be.”

“What does that mean?”

With a roll of his eyes, Geralt pushed off the bars and finally turned to him, shoulders straight, his body towering over his. Not in the literal sense, but those eyes looked down on him from above his flared nostrils and it just felt like the Witcher was up on some high horse while he was down on the ground, a lowly lech. 

No matter how right Geralt was, that he caused a bit too much trouble today, Jaskier did not appreciate being looked down on. He crossed his arms, waiting for whatever stupid thing the Witcher was about to say. 

Geralt finally said, “Maybe I’m tired of watching you... fraternize with a new person in every town we visit.” 

“Says the man with a kink for every court sorceress we meet.”

His eyes thinned, a horizon line centered by a corn husk moon. “I don’t do that anymore.”

Throwing up his hands, Jaskier was starting to topple off his own edge. This was what the man was mad about? What was next, him launching into a soliloquy about safe sex? “And why not? You were much less bristled porcupine. More like a well-fanged werewolf puppy who eats other werewolf puppies for coin.” Jaskier grimaced. “That analogy was dumb, it doesn’t go in the next song. But if I wanted to embarrass you for being a pompous ass, it would!”

Just then, Geralt grabbed his collar. But the second his fingers closed on the cloth, tight, he let go just as quickly. “Forget about it.”

“Hard to forget about whatever kind of teenage mood swings you’re on right now.”

“Jaskier, please.”

“You saying please? Now I know something’s truly up. You can talk to me, y’know? The male ego about emotions is overrated.”

Geralt shut his eyes, swallowed, looked like he was trying to pretend he was anywhere else. Jaskier stepped closer, but that only made Geralt back up into the bars. When his eyes flashed open, it wasn’t the fierce, soul-piercing gaze he was used to. He looked so soft; maybe even scared. “Don’t.”

“Tell me. I’d do anything for you.”

With a shuddering breath, Geralt, said, “I don’t want to see you with anyone anymore.”

“I- I didn’t realize my sexscapades bothered you so much. I’ll... I’ll be subtle.”

“No.” The Witcher’s eyes scanned his face, looked down to his hands, and to Jaskier’s confusion and surprise, took his own, large paw and brushed it lightly against the Bard’s cheek. “I don’t have the right, but I don’t want you with anyone.”

Furrowing his brow, Jaskier was confused. “Celibacy isn’t exactly my style. Or yours, Geralt. I don’t quite understand-”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just shut up.” And before Jaskier could even attempt another word, Geralt’s hands cupped his face and pulled him into a kiss. 

Jaskier started it off stunned, immobilized. He never would have suspected the Witcher had any interest in him; not that he’d never shown interest in any men, but certainly not men like him. 

All these years, they had been friends, companions, business partners of sorts, but Geralt always acted like Jaskier was an annoying tick on a good day, a sucking leech on a bad one. He’d never thought Geralt wanted him to suck-

Just then, Geralt released him and stepped back and away, like even being close to Jaskier was a bad idea. “I’m an idiot.”

“Normally I’m the idiot, so this is a little refreshing.”

“Not funny.” 

Jaskier didn’t really know how to approach Geralt. All these years, he was up on some mountain, an eagle, a wolf, a wild untameable beast and Jaskier was his little bird, a pet he sometimes kept around for fun little larks. 

It wasn’t that the man wasn’t attractive; he’d known that from the second he met him, all those years ago in the tavern ten feet above them. But Jaskier always assumed that someone like Geralt would never be interested in a weak, funny little bird. 

Geralt growled, “Just say something and get this over with.”

But for once in his life, Jaskier had nothing to say. Instead, he grabbed Geralt’s hand and drew himself close. 

Those yellow eyes watched him with such mistrustful scrutiny; tracking every twitch, every touch, like at any moment Jaskier could bite him. 

To think, the White Wolf was scared of little old him. 

Helpless to his own smile, Jaskier placed his hand on Geralt’s chest. “I’ll stop if someone better takes their place.”

Before Geralt could feel insecurity, talk them in circles like the man he wasn’t, Jaskier grabbed hold of his hair and slightly tugged, pulling Geralt’s face to his. 

And he kissed him again. 

Maybe this night left alone in a cage wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to a bird and a wolf.