#its clear that every big bad reveal needs a dance break

[yakiswifey]

Nightfall

Tw: Smut, alcohol, spit, foreplay and foul language.

Your eyes widened with intrigue, Yaki had that sinful look in her eyes that she always gets. Her hands meet your skin and your heart begins to race. That warm feeling between your legs growing as your lover’s fingers explore your hemline. City lights and tall buildings could be seen from the balcony as the two of you undressed each other with your eyes. Remnants of wine still lingering on your tongue as Yakis thumb caressed your cheek. She wore her hair down, light makeup with just a bit of lip stain. Although the necklace she wore emphasized her collarbone, the black blazer she wore accentuated her broad shoulders. Her matching pants fit her well and hugged her thighs; musky perfume radiated off of her skin. The area you two were sitting at was empty but people could still be seen in the building at the back. Luminescent lights hit Yaki's face, teasing her soft bone structure and smooth skin as cars raced under you.

Soon enough Yaki was towering over you, slowly bringing your lips to meet. Your trembling hands played over her solid torso as your lips parted, sloppily and slowly. You savored the moment, the feeling of her breath on your skin growing heavier with lust. One of her large hands halfway wrapped around your neck, fingers diddling with your jaw. Her tattoo was visible from her rolled-up sleeves, you felt as though you could die then and there with her body intertwining yours. Your tongues began to dance together to a song so sweet, savory, and slow. The taste of her saliva woven with yours, so delicious. Her soft lips began to explore your neck making you throw your head back towards the edge of the balcony. A soft moan escaped your body, letting Yaki know she was doing her job. Her mouth jolted back up towards yours, pulling you in for a sloppy heavy kiss. Her legs wrapped into yours, playing with the warm spot between your legs driving you insane. You felt her knee teasing your lips through your shamefully wet panties, all you wanted was to have each other then and there.

Her hands explored you like a temple, her touch alone was a religious experience. She rolled her hips into you making you crave more, something deeper. The sound of her soft breath thickening, growing a little heavier the longer the two of you teased one another. The only thing separating the two of you was your clothes as you were already ready for her to rip them off and discover you more. Making love with Yaki was like milk and honey, leather and lace, a perfect balance of sweet and rough. The two of you were completely in tune with both of your bodies’ needs and desires. Her lips continued to lock with yours, the steady pace the two of you settled on grew heavier.

The tall mistress slid a hand on your breast underneath the slip top you wore, a firm grip on your breast and a finger playing with your hard nipple. She lifted your shirt up with one swift motion and began kissing your chest making you want to cry and beg for something more. Her hands were graceful but eager when she slid her hand down your bare leg lifting it up to wrap around her torso. She started the grind of her hips against your pelvis, fierce and slow. Her breathing grew heavier with yours, the line between moral and immoral began to blur. The thrill of someone almost spotting you set you on fire, yearning for her length inside you only more. Her index finger parted your lips opening up your mouth.

“Suck, now.”

Without hesitance, you took her finger inside your mouth allowing her skin to rub up and down against your tongue. It wasn’t long until she added a second, slowly forcing it down the back of your tongue deep into your throat. The salty taste of her flesh coated your mouth as you savored every moment of it, wishing her fingers were elsewhere. In and out, in and out she slid biting her lip as she watched you. You couldn’t help but moan, never breaking eye contact with her. She removed her fingers and undid her blazer, allowing you to unclasp her bra exposing her bare chest. Your hands inspected her body, grabbing her dainty breasts and relishing in the beautiful image. She slid your top off with ease, her kisses making way downwards towards your naval.

“Please, I need to feel you in me… I can’t wait any longer.”

“The more you beg, the longer I’ll make you wait.”

You moaned as she slid her hand over the zipper of your pants, pausing for a moment before sliding them down leaving you a pitiful mess in just your underwear. Yaki enjoyed seeing you in such a vulnerable state, no way to hide. Her fingers played with the lining of your underwear, careful not to go too far down yet. Her hands caressed the silhouette of your body, touching you everywhere but the one spot she dare not tread yet. The faint lighting hit the muscles on her shoulders and arms, every chisel on her body defined. She grabbed your cheeks, her large hand nearly engulfing your face and pressing into you with force.

“Open your mouth.” She demanded.

You knew what to do. You opened your mouth nice and wide, sticking your tongue out as she let a stream of spit flow into your mouth. You savored her saliva for a moment before licking your lips and swallowing, her hands gently gripping your throat now. You trembled beneath her, eager for her to please you somehow, in any way. She kept teasing you, her fingers ran along the outline of your lips now, eventually cupping the heat between your legs. Yes, almost there! You thought to yourself. Yaki brought you in for a final kiss before getting down on her knees and taking your panties off, slowly. Not yet giving you what you so desired and craved. Her hands felt up and down your thighs, inner and outer before reaching behind you to grab a handful of your ass.

“Tell me how badly you want me, baby.” She stared into your soul.

“I beg you, please… I need to feel you so bad.”

You pleaded and moaned with impatience, eager to feel her slippery tongue on your clit.

“Spread your legs for me.”

After doing exactly as she said, she swooped your legs over her shoulders and her tongue began to slide up and down your slit. She teased, moving up only little by little and back down. Each time shed go a little further and retreat. The pretty sight of her head between your thighs only made you want her more. Her hands gripped onto your hips for support, pulling you in close. Breathy moans and grunts escaped you as her gentle tongue slid up and down your entrance. You were so in the moment you couldn’t help but close your eyes with pleasure, to your surprise you felt her tongue begin to flick your clit leaving you in a lustful trance. She started slow and soft, taking in the flavor of you as her intense dark eyes caught yours. You lost it once she started dragging her tongue sloppily across your spot, messily. Her experienced tongue focused in, flicking back and forth dedicated to making you cum.

“You’re so wet, you’re already making a mess on me.”

It took her no time to let go of you and bend you over the table next to you. She smothered her face between the back of your thighs, her nose and tongue gliding over you once more. She stood over you, pulling your hair and angling your head on its side as she slid her index finger in you, slowly then all at once. Her length filled you but you still wanted more, moaning and crying for her to give you sweet release. She slid in and out of you, pausing and teasing until finally, a second finger came ramming into you slowly and deep. You moaned for more and more, harder and faster as she gave you what you want. Yaki took pleasure in watching you moan for her, the delight of seeing her lover get off by her touch. She slammed three fingers into you down to the knuckle, the wet sounds filling the room. With every thrust, she went harder and faster leaving you motionless. Your cunt gripped onto her width and length, that release would be coming soon. Your body let out a big moan as your legs began to twitch and shake from being pushed to the edge. You let your body do the talking as a thick white residue was left on her fingers, begging to be cleaned off.

You turned to face Yaki in missionary position on the table, ready for what was to come next. This time her fingers reached towards her mouth to suck the taste of your sweet, hot cum off her fingers. Slowly, devouring and relishing in the taste of you as she let pure sin take over her body. She bent down to clean you up one last time, dragging her tongue across your pussy messily. Kisses were placed on your thighs, tummy, and breasts. Her fingers played with the two hard nubs on your chest, a moment of worship for her. As her needs and desires grew, you didn't want to let her have them so easily. Both of you swapped places; now Yaki lay on the table ready for your attention.

Your fingers began to fiddle with her pant zipper, eager to see what lies beneath. You checked the glass door behind you to make sure the coast was clear before pulling her pants down. Despite having yet to remove her underwear, you climbed on top of her and wrapped your legs around her as she grabbed hold of your hips and ass. Both of you made waves on each other, bumping and grinding beautifully. Sloppy wet kisses between the both of you, the muscles in your mouths putting in work diligently. Yaki moaned beneath you, her body ached for your touch at last. Her skin was soft to the touch, her body appeared to be crafted by a sculptor. Your lips caressed her chest as she swayed back and forth like a ship adrift on the sea, losing control of her breathing in the process.

“Y/n, you’re teasing me…”

She moaned out your name, you could see the air leave her body with every exhale. The tip of your nose skimmed the outer lining of her body as you headed downwards, paying attention to her hips and the band of her underwear. You traced the outline of her folds through the fabric, warm to the touch. You slowly removed her underwear, revealing her succulent labia. Your fingers grazed her entrance, a sticky wet mess was left on your fingertips. Yaki pushed your hair to the side, keeping a fist full in hand as you readied the tip of your tongue. Her body jerked a bit once you began to flick your tongue on her sweet spot. You stroked and licked as her breaths grew heavier, deeper with pleasure.

“Oh, fuck”

She said under her breath softly as you picked up the pace, making sure your lover would be seeing stars by the end of the night. Her fingers raked through your hair as you ate her pussy, she suckled on her lip trying to hold back her moans. The rocking back and forth of her hips began, forcing herself into your mouth more. You delved your tongue into her for a deeper taste, then out once again, your focus remaining on her swollen clit. You wanted her all to yourself, you wanted her to release her hot cum into your mouth. As the dedication to make her explode grew, intense lust grew inside your body watching your lover's satisfaction. The taste of her rubbed against all of your tastebuds, a delicacy in itself.

You took your ring finger and middle finger and slipped inside of her as her walls gripped onto you tightly. A warm wet welcome greeted you with ease as she tried to keep her eyes open until she finally succumbed to the pleasure. You began pumping in and out of her deeply until you added a third finger. Her grip on you was tighter now, pulling you in. Your tongue kept playing with her clit as you sank into her knuckles deep, her legs began to shake and you knew she was close. As you fucked her and licked her all her morals disappeared, she pleaded, “Harder!”. Her raspy voice and breathy moans sending chills down your spine, the pressure of her muscles squeezing your fingers grew stronger. A moan escaped her as the taste of her milky cum coated your tongue. You swirled and dipped into her trying to collect every drop she had for you as she pulled on your hair.

-

Once the two of you were clothed and decent, Yaki dipped down to give you a tender kiss. The taste of each other still lingered on your tongues, reminiscent of a night you won’t forget. Yaki poured herself a glass of wine before taking a swig, blending you and the other flavors together. A sly grin remained on her face, feeling pleased with your work. Yaki looked at you with all the love and care in the world, admiring your beauty as you admired hers. Her eyes shining in the dim light, the world seemed to stop.

“I love you.”

[ambrosiaaddiction]

Not Meant To Be

Word Count: 2,107

Pairing(s): Anthony Bridgerton x reader, Simon Basset x reader

Summary: The Bridgerton family and the Duke have been invited to a picnic that was planned by yours truly. Tensions begin to grow, and things don’t go quite as you hoped they would.

TW: none

Part 2/6

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Today’s weather of sunshine and blue skies called for a picnic. I gave clear instructions to Cook that he should prepare a delicious meal and treats, including Simon’s favorite of gooseberry pie. I would never forget something so important about him because it always came in handy.

I then go to find our butler, Charles, and say, “Please send invitations to the Bridgertons and the Duke of Hastings, Charles. There will be a picnic at the park, and do tell them that it will be late at 1pm.” He bows in response, and repeated my words before he left to complete his tasks.

With a nod of satisfaction, I left the main floor then up the stairwell to change my attire. What I was currently wearing fell short of today’s planned event, and I needed to win Simon back. Once inside my bedroom, I closed the door and quickly strode to the wardrobe to see my options.

My thoughts roamed to the man who promised that we would spend the rest of our lives together, which made my blood boil with rage. Men these days were either too dense or too arrogant or had little backbone. Simon was a mixture of having a huge ego and vulnerable when he opens up to the people that know his true personality.

None of this was my fault whatsoever. I left for only a mere three months to study abroad in France, then I return to the ‘wonderful’ news of his engagement to a girl named Daphne Bridgerton. A trip to London hadn’t been something I expected for myself, but I came to the city for him and no other reason.

In truth, Simon technically was still my fiancé, although I knew there was an explanation for everything that took place while I was absent. As a matter of fact, he brushed off the situation like it was a speck of dust that ruined his perfect image to the desperate mamas and equally egotistical lords.

“Good heavens, I’m going to get wrinkles if I keep thinking about the “what-ifs” and not do anything to change them.” I huff in exasperation at my own foolishness, a bit disappointed in myself for having such thoughts when the damage had yet to be done.

After endless decision-making, I chose to wear a yellow dress with a simple pink floral design from the sleeves to the hem of its skirt, and I twirl in front of the mirror with a bright smile. It wasn’t a ball gown, but this would surely make Simon realize that he wants me more than anyone in all of Grovensor Square. It just had to.

I had to admit, the dress itself was too revealing for a lady of my status. Well, at least it would be just myself, Simon, and the Bridgertons alone for a picnic. A reminder to cover my legs repeated itself over and over in my mind, yet I had a feeling that I would catch the attention of everyone’s eyes anyway.

The clock rang the second its big small hand reached 12pm, which meant there was an hour left for preparations and riding to the park. “Marianne! Please call for the carriage, and tell chef to hurry!” I shouted into the air, and I heard Marianne reply from down the hall. Perhaps I was rushing for punctuality-sake, but a host or hostess must never arrive later than their guests.

It was a good thing that mama had long left for tea at Lady Farland’s estate, and papa was probably gambling at the gentlemen’s club again. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he came home with news that he either won lost of money or lost a majority of what he gambled. No one could tell me that the picnic was meant to open Simon’s eyes and see just me in them rather than that so-called “flawless” Bridgerton girl.

Nonetheless, I had to get going before they gossiped of my tardiness if I wasn’t already at the location. Time seemed to blur from when I scurried down the stairs to gather everything I needed to when I got into the carriage and made it safely to the park. The next thing I knew, I was trying my best not to laugh at a discreetly explicit joke Benedict had shared amongst ourselves.

Anthony looked like he was going to strangle his brother or maybe he was going to give him a pat on the shoulder? I couldn’t tell because I was too preoccupied with devouring my favorite sandwich while I brushed my shoulder against Simon’s. Of course this got his attention, and he whispered into my ear, “Now is not the time nor place to play, y/n. Behave yourself.”

His warning provoked something inside of me, but there were too many people who would witness the indecency behind my innocent act. “My apologies, your Grace. I’ll be a good girl for you.” I whispered in reply, then continued to enjoy my delicious sandwich as though I did nothing wrong in the first place.

I knew what I was doing to him, and he liked it. He knew what would happen if I went further, and I was fanning the flames with fervor. “Is Daphne aware of our relationship? Sorry, I meant, what it was supposed to become? You know, such as getting married? Living together and in the country?”

Simon’s jaw clenched just like when he used to have me underneath him, calling his name and coming undone by his touch as I squeezed tighter around him. Those nights were by far the best I had ever experienced, and he treated me with such tenderness after we were spent.

“Don’t you remember the great times we had, love? Everything fell apart when I came to London and found you dancing with the red-headed girl in the moonlight.” I scowled under my breath, then I slowly calmed myself down before I could ruin this lovely picnic with a beautiful family and my old lover.

I needed a moment alone, so I stood up and sheepishly excused myself from the blanket before walking away. It was almost as though the night I found myself standing at the lake was repeating itself again, but this time, I knew where I was going and no tears would shed. No, this time was different than last. Instead of crying because I couldn’t control some situations, I chose to think about I would take back Simon for myself.

Seeing Simon chuckle and comment on every little thing Daphne said created small cracks on my heart. I couldn’t think of when he used to do that with me, and I close my eyes to forget all of the recently bad memories. Heavy footsteps approached from behind, but I was too distracted by the wrong Simon had done to me.

“Y/n, are you alright? You left so suddenly, and everyone is worried about you.” Anthony softly called out to me, his hand resting on my shoulder to turn me around and see the miserable state I was in. “I’ll be better, my lord. There’s no need to waste your worry on me.” I mustered a fake smile to dissipate his concern for me, but apparently he had dealt with heartbroken maidens before.

The Viscount gently pulled me into his arms, and rocked our bodies back and forth. I was speechless for I had no idea what he was doing, and yet I didn’t want him to stop. It felt pleasant to be comforted by a warm embrace that held a promise of always being there when it was most needed in times of anguish.

“You are a strong woman, y/n. You don’t need to act as though nothing can break through your walls. You’re still human, and that’s okay. Believe me, I know what it’s like to feel helpless.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and smiled when I pulled away to stare at him with wide eyes. I always knew what kind of man he was, but the side of him that I admired truly was a rare sight to behold.

What felt like an eternity of comfortable silence was interrupted by Eloise who came searching for her brother and I after he had been gone for too long. “Mama won’t stop spouting nonsense that you’ve gotten lost, brother. We had to stop her from creating a search party.” She snickered at the fresh memory, and it stopped when she realized that Anthony was hugging me unusually close to his chest.

I caught on and quickly pushed myself away, then I fixed my dress before thanking her. “Thank you for taking the responsibility, Eloise. You’ve found us alright, and I believe we best return to your family.” Anthony cleared his throat, a big embarrassed that the particular sister of his had seen something she would never let go.

“Yes, Miss Denbow is right. Let’s return before mother actually gathers a search party for three people.” He leads the way, and I smile awkwardly at Eloise as I walk past her. I then let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding in since she found Anthony and I, but I hoped that she wouldn’t mention it when we got back to the picnic.

Once there, Lady Bridgerton literally shed tears of joy as soon as she saw my face and brought me into a hug. What was with the Bridgertons and hugging? I could see Simon lean over to Anthony, his mouth forming the words, “Thank you for bringing her back safely.” Anthony nodded in reply, then sat down in between Colin and Benedict before he grabbed his glass of wine to take quite a long sip.

Well, it was back to where I started. I didn’t want to ask questions and make matters worse, but I knew that the current engagement wasn’t going to last for long. According to Lady Whistledown, Queen Charlotte was not convinced of the proclaimed love that everyone said Simon and Daphne shared.

I had to say it. Otherwise, I would lose the love of my life to a woman who gained Her Majesty’s favor, and I would be lonely until the day I die. “The Duke and I were once lovers, but now he’s going to marry Miss Bridgerton.” Complete and utter silence. I take in a deep breath before I continue.

“I had traveled to France for three months, and the Duke asked me to come see him here, in London. I truly thought that he was going to marry me, but I was proven wrong and a fool. He’s pretending as though we didn’t have a beautiful relationship before he chose to help her and she him.”

Lady Bridgerton was the first to break, and she began to stumble over her words while overcoming the insurmountable shock that I gave to everyone. Eloise tried what she could to stop herself from laughing, Benedict smacked her arm while he was struggling to do the same.

Colin couldn’t find the right words, and Anthony spat out his wine. Except for the two youngest children who were playing in a flower field, we adults all sat together with no help to describe what our mixed emotions were. “What is the matter with you, y/n? Did you even think this through before you babbled on about the past? If I had known that you were so childish, I would’ve left you a long time ago.”

Simon glared cold daggers in my direction, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The man who I loved was now a stranger with a much better woman than I, so there was nothing I could do now to take him back. “You’re right, Simon. I’m such a child, and I don’t know any better than to tell the truth when living a lie is all the more tempting.”

I gave my deepest apologies to Lady Bridgerton, promising her that I would make up for my demeanor with tea and a visit to the spa one day. I then said my farewells to the Bridgertons, but I didn’t spare the slightest of glances to Simon who looked like he was going to let out a fury of anger.

It served him right for playing with my heart, and if he was so play a part not meant for him that would end in heartbreak, then so be it. I knew someone who could help me make him regret losing me, and they were a professional when it came to such lengths.

Just you wait, Simon Basset. Just you wait.

[baepsaesbae]

Heal Me, Kill Me Ch.1

Pairing— Kim Namjoon x reader (only in this chapter), Kim Taehyung x reader (main focus) ft. Yoongi

Genre— Vampire!Taehyung x Vampire Hunter!y/n, ANGST, smut +18, comedy (i tried)

Warnings— Death, violence, oral (f receiving), fingering, explicit unprotexted sex

Word Count— 7.6k

Summary— You’re one of the best vampire hunters in the world. That's to be expected when your parents are the best of the best. Your life had solely revolved around ruthlessly killing vampires. You were essentially a cold blooded machine. However, things take a turn once you meet Kim Taehyung, your latest target.

A/N— Huge shoutout to @dee-ehn for this beautiful banner! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think! 

You didn’t choose this life. You had no past trauma that spurred you on to take this path. Most vampire hunters became hunters because a loved one was murdered and they wanted revenge or some bullshit like that. Not you though.

You were born into this lifestyle. Your parents were allegedly the best hunting team in history. They were usually too busy with work, so you were practically raised by the faction itself. The grandmaster of the Vampyre Extermination Company (VEC for short) was your main parental figure. 

While normal children went to school, you were being trained in combat. The only lessons you had were those pertaining to vampires. You knew everything there was to know about them. Being the youngest member of the company, it was clear that you were a prodigy. 

By the age of 13, you had already killed 5 vampires. Most seasoned hunters only kill 5 in their entire lifetimes. You were incredibly smart, and used your youth to your advantage. 

That was ten years ago. You had lost track of your kill count (not that it matters, it’s officially documented somewhere). You were now the youngest person ever to achieve the Expert Hunter title. 

None of that fancy stuff matters to you. You get assigned a job, and you do it. That’s all it was. In fact, you were on a job at this very moment. 

You were all dolled up sitting at the bar of a very busy nightclub, with a drink that you had no intention of drinking. Your assignment had been spotted frequenting this club quite often. He preyed on young women (as most of them do) and many of them had gone missing from this location. 

You had on the skimpiest dress you could find. Its low cut neckline coupled with a push-up bra had your breasts nearly spilling out of the dress. Its tight material clung to your body to reveal your curves. You absolutely hated it. 

“Why are you alone, pretty girl?” a drunk man stumbled up to you. He definitely wasn’t your target.

“I’m waiting for someone to kill,” you replied nonchalantly.

“To kill? That sounds kind of scary,” he put his hand on your waist.

You grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing the man to cry out in agony. 

“I don’t have time to waste on you. Get out of my sight or else I’ll break your wrist,” you warned with cold indifference.

The man scampered away as soon as you released him. You refocused your attention on the crowded dance floor. It’s possible that the vampire would smoothly dance with a girl before luring her to her doom.

You began to sigh in frustration when there was no sign of your target. Suddenly, the room’s temperature dropped. The hair on the back of your neck stood up, and goosebumps covered your body.

He had arrived.

There was no doubt about it. You felt a malevolent presence as soon as he entered the buidling. Your eyes scanned the club again, in search of the source. Finally, you found him.

There was a tall handsome man standing in front of the dance floor, surveying it as intensely as you were surveying him. He glanced your way, causing you to freeze up. When your eyes met, you shot him a coy smile, and turned to your drink.

Hopefully that was enough to pique his interest. You debated on whether you should sip your drink or not, to make you appear more vulnerable. It didn’t take long before a deep voice rang in your ear.

“Are you waiting on someone?” a seductive voice asked.

You could already tell he was using his charms. One of a vampire’s many tricks was their gift of persuasion and seduction. Supernatural powers were involved, of course, but their good looks helped seal the deal. 

“Maybe. Maybe not,” you replied before sipping your drink. 

“If you were, you probably wouldn’t have smiled my way,” the man took a seat beside you.

“Ah, you got me there. You’re a sharp one huh?” you smiled.

“In more ways than one, dear,” the man chuckled before extending a hand, “I’m Namjoon. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m ___. The pleasure is all mine,” you shake his hand, taking note of how eerily cold it was. This was definitely him. 

The night went on with playful flirting and shallow attempts at getting to know each other. You were well aware that everything both you and Namjoon said was a lie. Namjoon insisted on ordering you a drink after you finished the first one but you politely declined, saying you’ve had more than enough for one night (another blatant lie). 

Namjoon finally made his move. He leaned over to you and kissed your exposed shoulder. 

“You wanna get out of here?” he asked. You could feel how heavily laced his words were with mystical persuasion. 

“I thought you’d never ask,” you kissed his cheek. 

It wasn’t hard to flirt when your target was so attractive. In fact, that’s how most of your hunts have gone ever since you got older. You’d seduce them into letting their guard down, and kill them when they weren’t paying attention. It was a slight perk that vampires were much better at fucking than humans, but you were willing to keep that information private. 

Back at Namjoon’s apartment, he wasted no time getting you undressed. You were passionately making out with him on his bed when reached down to palm his clothed erection. Namjoon released a guttural moan.

“So impatient,” he chuckled, kissing down your throat. 

His hands wandered down between your thighs, rubbing your clit. He kissed his way down your stomach, pausing before your heat. He delicately flicked his tongue down your folds. You bucked your hips up, begging for more. Namjoon slid in his long slender fingers while his tongue worked your clit. 

He expertly curved his fingers into you, hitting that special spot perfectly. His intensity picked up, causing your cries to get louder. He held you down as you started to squirm beneath him. He sucked on your clit as he rapidly pumped in and out of you.

You came without a warning, your body shaking from the impact. Namjoon licked up all of your juices. Your chest was heaving as Namjoon kissed a trail back up to your lips. His eyes were darkened with a dangerous hunger you were all too familiar with. 

Going any further would be dangerous, but you couldn’t help yourself. He was too alluring to resist, plus your motto was that there’s no harm in having a little fun. A satisfied smile crept across your face after you tugged off his bottoms. His dick was just as big as you imagined, and you needed it inside of you immediately. 

You immediately straddled Namjoon, lips still locked as you lowered yourself onto him. You moaned into his mouth as he filled you completely. Your hips moved on their own accord, leaving you no choice but to enjoy the ride. Namjoon let you take the lead, enjoying an unfamiliar balance of power in the bedroom. His hands rested on your hips as you rocked back and forth.

“You’re so hot. I could stay like this forever,” Namjoon praised.

“Have you ever been tied up before?” you asked before kissing his ear. As much as you wanted the night to continue, you knew Namjoon was at his limit. Endorphins were high, right now would be the perfect time to devour you.

“No, I haven’t. I’m usually the one doing the tying. But I’m always willing to try something new,” Namjoon smirked.

“Wait here then. And close your eyes!” you giggled.

Your legs were wobbly as you made your way to your discarded bag. You were delighted when you reentered the bedroom to find Namjoon still closing his eyes.

“Good boy,” you cooed while taking out silver chains.

“Are those chains I hear?” Namjoon sounded excited.

“Yes, I’m gonna chain you up real good. You’ve been a bad boy,” you whispered into his ear. Namjoon groaned, and you noticed his cock twitch. 

With impossibly quick motions, you wrapped the chains around Namjoon’s wrists. The silver burned his skin upon impact. There was no need to chain up his legs, as the silver severely weakened him. He tried to wiggle free of the chain but it was no use. His eyes darted open to see you smiling down at him.

“There’s no use in struggling, Namjoon. These chains are pure silver and are anointed with holy water for extra measure. I am ___, from the Vampyre Extermination Company. You have been found guilty of numerous kidnappings and murders,” you say as you take out a wooden stake.

“Fuck you, you bitch!” Namjoon spat at you, fully baring his fangs.

“That’s not very nice, dear. You were so sweet to me before. Well, before you were going to kill me of course,” you laughed as if it were a joke, “Thank you for showing me a good time. May your soul rest easy in the next life.”

Namjoon bared his fangs at you while you plunged the stake into his chest. Blood gushed out of his wound. Cries of agony filled the room. A few moments later, Namjoon’s body turned to dust. The job was complete.

You made a call while getting dressed. Your clothes were soaked with blood, but that was nothing new. 

“Hi, I’m gonna need a clean up crew at this address. Nothing super messy, just burn the bed I guess. Yeah, the mess was pretty much contained. Mhm. Yeah. Ok thank you,” you say curtly.

Back in your hotel room, you rewarded yourself with a bubble bath (after a shower of course). With most of the blood scrubbed off, you relaxed in the fragrant water. You had a habit of reflecting on your life after every job.

Was your life ever going to be normal? Probably not.

Were you going to die on one of your jobs? Probably.

Do you enjoy your job/life? Maybe? You couldn’t tell. 

You did acknowledge that you loved the thrill of the hunt. You enjoyed acting weak and innocent, only to violently kill your targets. The sex and stuff was a nice bonus too. You were taught that vampires prefer to ‘wine and dine’ their prey. Apparently happy people make for happy meals. Due to this, it’s quite common for vampires to seduce their victims before devouring them. 

‘Do vampires make other vampires?’ you asked when you were a child.

‘Yes. But they rarely do that because they are solitary creatures. Also, only the strongest vampires can turn humans since it drains their own life force tremendously,’ was the answer.

You got an assignment about once every month. During the time that you don’t have anyone to kill, you enjoyed traveling. The VEC pays handsomely. You never understood where all the money came from, until you were told that the deceased vampires’ assets get transferred to the VEC. How that happens, you had no clue. But it doesn’t matter; you get paid well enough to travel wherever you wanted to at a moment’s notice. 

You perused the internet for flights to France. You’ve been craving macarons lately. You were about to buy a ticket when your phone rang. You groaned when you saw the VEC caller ID.

“Hello?” you answered.

“___. I need you to come down to HQ immediately.”

“Grandmaster?” your eyes widened. You never got a direct call from him. Whatever this was, it must be urgent. 

He hung up as soon as he delivered the message. Typical. He’s a very straight to the point kind of guy. 

There goes the rest of your relaxing evening. You packed up all of your belongings. A driver was already waiting for you in the lobby. Again, you had no idea how the VEC can be so quick and efficient, but you’re thankful for it regardless. 

The car brought you to a private airport, in which a jet was already ready for you. 

‘This must actually be serious,’ you thought. The VEC was boujee, as they usually flew you out first class, but the private jet is a first.

Within a few hours, you had finally arrived at HQ. You were greeted warmly upon entrance. After a quick congratulations on another successful job, you were escorted to the Grandmaster’s office.

“___. Please take a seat,” the grandmaster said as he paced back and forth.

“Is everything okay, Yoongi?” you asked. You always dropped the formalities when you were alone together. This man had been more of a parent to you than your actual parents, with whom you only had fleeting encounters with.

“It’s your parents. ___, I’m so sorry. They were killed on a hunt,” Yoongi placed a firm grip on your shoulder.

You silently processed the news. More than anything, you felt shocked. Shocked, because they were supposed to be the best hunters in the world. Shocked, because you felt nothing. You felt no sadness, no anger. You were so detached from your parents, they might as well have been strangers. 

Yoongi on the other hand, looked like he was about to break down. He had known your parents for a long time. They were practically family to him, just like you. 

You get up to embrace Yoongi in a long hug. You seldom showed true acts of affection, but this was as genuine as it gets. More than anything, you felt sad for Yoongi. You couldn’t fathom what he felt. You couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a loved one, mostly due to the fact that you didn’t have any loved ones. Yoongi may have been the closest thing to it.

You helped sit Yoongi down. After he was seated, you poured him a drink. Lord knows he needed it. 

“Did their target kill them?” you asked, breaking the heavy silence.

“Yes. Their bodies were drained and left out in a field. I began to think the worst when your parents failed to make two check in calls in a row,” Yoongi took a swig of his drink.

“Their target must be pretty powerful…” your voice trailed off.

“He is. I knew he was strong, but taking out our two best? Inconceivable,” Yoongi scoffed, “I’m gonna kill the bastard with my own hands, I swear to God--”

“I’ll go,” you interrupted.

“You?” Yoongi blinked, “Absolutely not. I already lost your parents, I can’t lose you too--”

“You haven’t been in the field for years. A male vampire would never trust you, so you would have to resort to immediate violence. If he took out both of my parents, then his physical strength must be no joke,” you stated the facts.

Yoongi looked at you dumbfounded before taking another long sip of his drink. 

“Fine. But I’ll go with you--”

“No, you won’t. Your presence will blow my cover.”

“I can stay in the next town over.”

“Just to snoop around and fuck up my hunt? No thanks.”

“God, you’re so fucking stubborn, kid. How about this? Give me a night to concoct a safe alibi for you. I get to plan out how your first encounter with him goes. You can choose to kill him on the spot, or go for your usual route,” Yoongi raised his eyebrows as he said the last bit. 

“Works for me. I’m pretty sure I can’t suddenly kill him without the element of surprise and a shit ton of luck.”

“You’re willing to seduce your parents’ murderer?” Yoongi couldn’t hide the concern in his voice.

“This is just another job to me. A job is a job. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way. That’s what you’ve always preached to me,” you shrugged.

That was Yoongi’s last straw. He pulled you in for a tight hug as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He kissed the top of your head.

“I’m truly sorry, ___. I never should have let you into this world. Your parents insisted that I train you. I should have refused, and let you live a normal life,” Yoongi apologized.

“Yoongi, you did nothing wrong. I’m perfectly fine the way I am. Believe it or not, I’ve probably saved a lot of people from becoming someone’s midnight snack,” you try to lighten the mood. 

“I just worry about you, you know? It’s almost as if you’re my own kid,” Yoongi sighed, finally letting go of you, “Come back here tomorrow morning at 10am. I’ll have your assignment by then.”

“Please get some sleep, Yoongi,” you squeezed his hand.

“I can’t sleep. Not like this. To be honest, I’m afraid that I’ll dream about your parents,” Yoongi admitted.

Noticing that you didn’t know how to respond, he quickly dismissed what he said.

“I think the alcohol is getting to me. Don’t mind me. Go to sleep, kiddo,” he patted your head.

You excused yourself and headed to your room. Your new target has sparked intrigue. You were in awe at how powerful he must be. You concluded that he must be clever. Your parents knew every trick in the book. They knew how to hunt and kill every and any type of vampire. At least, you thought they did.

You drifted off to sleep. Your last thoughts lingered on the vampire who killed your parents. 

That night, you had a strange dream. 

You felt trapped. You couldn’t move your body. All of a sudden, you were freezing. The sound of water surrounded you. Everything was pitch black, and soon, it was getting harder to breathe. 

“I loved you” you heard a muffled voice say. 

You woke up in a cold sweat. What the hell was that? You couldn’t remember the last time you had a nightmare. You weren’t even sure if that could be classified as a nightmare. After getting up to drink some water, you went back to sleep without giving it a second thought. 

“Yoongi, this is literally the worst cover you’ve ever made,” you admitted as you examined the file he handed you.

“I worked on it all night! I believe it’s foolproof,” Yoongi argued.

The bags under his eyes got impossibly darker, hinting at the fact that he probably did work on it all night. Upon realizing this, you decided to tone down your criticism. 

“Maybe it could work. I’m just worried that I won’t be able to play the part,” you stated. 

“I feel like this role is more natural than just being a flirt. But, of course, I could be mistaken,” Yoongi gave you a disapproving glance.

“Okay whatever. Yes, I’ll make it work,” you rolled your eyes. 

You were flown out to the target’s town the next day. Your living arrangement had already been prepared. You found yourself settling into a small cottage surrounded by a forest. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

It was oddly freeing being able to go on a mission in normal clothes. There was no need for revealing and uncomfortable clothing. You didn’t have to beat your face with makeup or worry about how your hair looks. Yoongi emphasized the importance of being plain. You needed to be someone who could easily sneak up on the target.

So, with a regular t-shirt and jeans topped with a jacket, you made your drive to the target’s location. Even though Yoongi’s plan was less extreme than you’re used to, the possibility of it taking a turn for the worse was still present. After all, this was the monster who murdered your parents. You couldn’t afford to let your guard down. You took a deep breath. It was now or never.

You pulled up to an impressive mansion. From what you could tell, there were no neighbors for miles. The house looked like something from a horror movie. The yard was overgrown, and the building was decrepit. 

There was a large fountain in the middle of the front courtyard. Unfortunately, the fountain had been neglected. The water was filthy and the statues were covered in moss, making them unidentifiable. 

Now standing in front of a grand, or rather, once grand front door, you mustered up the strength to knock. You firmly knocked on the door three times. A minute passed, and you couldn’t hear anything from inside.

You tried again, knocking harder and for a bit longer. There was still no reply for a couple of minutes. You began to think maybe he had left. Or maybe he was so weary of strangers that you’d have to force your way in.

You tried a third time. You were about to yell, ‘Hello? Is anyone home?’, but the door slowly opened.

From behind it, peered out the most beautiful being you’ve ever seen in your life. He was so effortlessly stunning that you forgot why you were there for a second. A tall man with dark hair gave you a quizzical look. 

“Can I help you?” his deep voice vibrated.

“Hi! I have a flower delivery for a Mr. Tom Davis?” you presented an extravagant bouquet of flowers to him.

“Sorry, you have the wrong house. Which is an incredible mistake, as I don’t have any neighbors remotely close by,” the man was still standing cautiously behind the door.

If you couldn’t lure him out, it would be damn near impossible to kill him like this. On the other hand, you weren’t too eager to try and have him invite you in.  

“What really?” you glanced at the address, then dropped your jaw in surprise, “Oh my god, you’re right. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience! My first delivery, and I already botched it,” you began to mumble as you turned back to your car.

This was a calculated mistake, of course. This was all a ploy to make you seem naive and vulnerable, just in a more innocent way than you’re used to. 

“Do you need help with directions?” the man called out to you. You smiled, this is just what you’d been waiting for. If you could just catch him off guard, you could easily lop off his head with the silver short sword hidden in your jacket. 

“That would be awesome!” you spun around happily. 

You walked back up the steps and approached him before he held his hand out.

“Stop right there,” he commanded.

You froze still in your tracks. He wasn’t using any magic, but his sudden request was unexpected. 

“Can you hand me the delivery papers from there please?” he asked, avoiding eye contact, “Sorry, I’m not good around strangers.”

You wordlessly handed him the papers. You were dumbfounded. Vampires were the masters of suave and the epitome of seduction. This man gave off no such presence. Other than his otherworldly attractiveness and subtly powerful aura, you never would have pinned him as a vampire.

You quickly put yourself back on high alert. Maybe that was his plan. Maybe he was a more passive vampire. Those were rare, but still a possibility. 

“If I’m not mistaken, I think you took a right instead of a left at the crossroads that led you here,” he said quietly as he held out the papers for you. 

Now you were flabbergasted. You took back the papers, but awkwardly lingered on his front porch. How would you come back? You couldn’t use a delivery excuse again, that would make him even more suspicious. Your mind raced as you thought of something to say or do.

“Those flowers are beautiful,” he observed.

“Oh these? Yeah I guess. Flowers are supposed to be pretty, aren’t they?” you laughed nervously. What was he trying to do?

“Yes, they are pretty externally, as are most things in life. But I think their true beauty lies within their intent,” he slightly opened the door wider, revealing half of his body.

“These flowers have intent?” you asked, genuinely curious.

“For example, this Mr. Tom Davis either loves his partner a lot, or whoever is sending these to him loves him a lot,” he gestured towards the bouquet, “A mixture of orchids and wax flowers is a nice way to express a lasting love, patience, and sometimes even lasting wealth.”

“These flowers say that much?” you were amused.

“Only to those who listen, I suppose,” he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

“I wish I knew as much about flowers as you. I don’t know jackshit about them, and I was just bequeathed an entire flower shop,” you sighed. You hoped he would take the bait and prolong the conversation. 

“You own a flower shop?” his face lit up for an instant before his features returned to a more somber state, “And, I’m sorry for your loss.”

 He almost had a cute boyish charm about him. His condolences seemed sincere, not at all like the false statements you were used to being fed by his kind.

“Well, I guess I do now. I have no idea how to run it, so I’m kind of freaking out about it. I have all these orders but I’m not even a certified florist. Oh, and thanks,” you shrugged, hoping to give off the illusion of helplessness.

“I don’t mean to overstep any boundaries, but maybe I could be of assistance?” he offered, his eyes finally meeting yours.

Something happened at that moment. You felt a pang in your chest as soon as your eyes met. Those weren’t the eyes of a hungry predator. Instead, you saw only kindness and maybe something else that you couldn’t quite place. Maybe Yoongi was wrong, maybe this wasn’t the right target.

“Are you sure about that? I don’t want to overwhelm you,” you took a step closer.

“It may be a nice change of pace for me. I don’t socialize much these days,” he chuckled. Seeing him smile made your heart skip a beat. It was so wholesome. Part of you thought you saw a flash of a fang, but another part of you wanted to deny it. 

“Well, you would be more than welcome to come visit my shop! I promise I won't bite,” you winked at him, extending your hand.

You noticed that his smile faltered at the mention of biting, but he quickly dispelled his observable unease. He slowly reached his hand out to meet yours. You prepared yourself for the worst, as he might yank you into his home with enough force to pop your arm out of its socket. 

Instead, you were met with a firm handshake. You gave him the name of your flower shop and politely excused yourself. He shut the door as soon as you were off the porch, but you still felt his eyes on you.

You got back into the car and stared at your hand. There was no doubt about it. His hand was just as cold as every other vampire you’ve encountered. It wasn’t the type of cold you could blame on poor blood circulation. No, it was the undead type of cold. 

As you drove back to your cottage, you admonished yourself. Why did you feel disappointed that it actually was the target? You should rejoice. You can avenge your parents (not that that really mattered to you). You’re a step closer to getting this job done and going home.

But you couldn’t quite decipher what you felt. You felt as if you had a genuine interaction with him. God knows how long its been since you’ve actually gotten to be yourself. You always had a role to play. 

Even though you almost fell for his stupid smile, you couldn’t detect a hint of magic. Nothing he said was laced with magical words of persuasion. There was no shroud of alluring lust that you could feel. 

You plopped onto your bed. You needed to focus. 

‘All you gotta do is kill the target. Easy peasy,’ you thought to yourself.

You figured you should do your routine check in call. Yoongi was probably worrying himself sick. Usually calls are spaced out every few days, but a call on the first day would ease Yoongi’s nerves.

“Hello?” Yoongi picked up after the first ring.

“Hey Yoongi,” you greeted him. Usually he doesn’t answer these calls, but this job was an exception.

“Thank god you’re okay. How did it go? Did you kill him?” he asked eagerly.

“No, I didn’t have an opening,” you sighed.

“How are you going to meet him again? Don’t tell me you tried to seduce him…”

“No, I did not. Stop assuming that! He has a weird appreciation for flowers, so I told him he can come by the shop. I don’t know why you gave me a florist alibi, but it worked out perfectly.”

“Honestly, I don’t know either. The alcohol mixed with sleep deprivation had me thinking funny things,” Yoongi admitted, “Either way, I’m glad you’re safe. What was he like?”

“He was...nice?”

“...nice? Did you just call the monster that murdered your parents nice?” Yoongi asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know how else to put it. He was weird. He didn’t act like a stereotypical vampire. He didn’t use any form of magic. He was oddly shy. I even began to doubt he was the target until I shook his hand. His hand was eerily cold, so he’s undead for sure,” you explained.

“Sounds like a peculiar case. If you run into trouble, call my personal line, got it?” Yoongi ordered.

“Yes sir,” you affirmed before hanging up. 

The next day, you headed to the flower shop that the VEC had set up for you. It was a quaint shop that looked like it had been part of the local town for years. Another impossible feat achieved by the VEC. The town itself was quiet. It was mostly full of elderly folks whose family had moved on to bigger cities. 

The shop was filled with flowers of every color. A myriad of different species were spread across the interior. You sneezed the second you walked in. Good grief, this place was gonna have your allergies fuck you up. 

A pile of papers were piled up on the front counter. Upon examination, you groaned. Yoongi is SUCH a bastard. He actually gave you flower arrangement orders that needed to be fulfilled. 

‘It will help with the authenticity of the shop! Every order has already been prepaid so you have to make them. Have fun~’ he wrote in his instructions. 

“You fuckin piece of--” you were cut off when you heard the front door chime.

“Hi! Welcome in,” you exclaimed quickly as you turned around.

An elderly couple had entered the store. They kindly greeted you, saying they thought it looked so pretty from the outside that they had no choice but to come in. 

You watched them from behind the counter. You were oddly moved by how sweet they were to each other. They held hands the entire time. The man smiled fondly whenever the woman pointed out a pretty flower. They laughed together as they strolled through the store.

You felt as if you were invading their privacy somehow, but what else were you supposed to do? They were your only customers, so you had to pay attention to them.

Soon your attention turned towards the front door. Would your target actually show up? Vampires are creatures of pride, so they aren’t ones to break a promise. However, this one was different. Maybe he won’t keep his word. That would suck. It would make approaching him even harder.

The old couple shuffled over to the counter with a dozen roses in hand. Together, they had 6 white roses and 6 red roses. 

“Would that be all?” you ask with a smile.

“Yes ma’am,” the man replied, handing you money.

“Call me old fashioned, but roses are my favorite flowers,” the woman said to you.

“They’re my favorite too, a classic can never go wrong,” you reply happily.

“Do you know why this bouquet is special?” she asked you. 

“Please enlighten me, you say, leaning over the counter.

“Red and white roses together symbolize unity. I’m so happy I was able to find unity with my soulmate,” the man answered, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh stop, you sap! The poor girl doesn’t care about old farts who are in love,” the woman playfully slapped his arm.

“I think it’s incredibly sweet. I’m happy for you two. Please enjoy the flowers!” you bow to them.

“Don’t worry dear, you’ll find your own soulmate too!” the woman called out to you as they left the store. 

After they had left, the store quieted down. Your only company was your own thoughts.

Soulmate? Love? It’s not that you didn’t believe in that stuff, it’s more like you didn’t believe that stuff was for you. Your line of work was extremely dangerous. Any hypothetical loved one of yours would constantly be in harm's way. 

By the end of the day, you managed to finish 2 extravagant bouquets. The town’s post office was more than happy to deliver your finished products. It appeared that they didn’t get much work nowadays. 

This became your routine for the next few days. An entire week had passed, and there had been no sign of your target. Patience wearing thin, you began to think of another excuse to go to his house. Hopefully this time, he would be less cautious. Rain poured outside as if to mimic your growing anxieties. 

You had grown strangely fond of the flower shop. Being among the pretty flowers was calming. Putting arrangements together was a new challenge that you’ve never faced before. It was, perhaps, the most peaceful time you’ve had in your life. It was almost as if you were living a normal life. 

The front door chimed, and you automatically called out a greeting to the potential customer. You weren’t answered. That didn’t really bother you though, as you were engrossed in reading the day’s arrangement orders. How the hell did Yoongi get so many?

“Hello again,” a familiar deep voice disrupted your focus.

You looked up and once again faced the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. He had finally arrived. He looked less cautious than before, but still nervous nonetheless. 

“You actually came!” you exclaimed, you couldn’t tell if the excitement was genuine or not.

“I always keep my promises. I’m sorry it took awhile for me to get here. I had to wait for...uh…” his voice trailed off.

“For?”

“The weather.”

“The weather?”

“It’s easier to travel in gloomier weather. Preferably rainy,” he answered concisely.

“That’s odd,” you noted. Of course, you knew the reason why. Sunlight would instantly kill him.

“I suppose I’m rather odd,” he glanced around the shop, “You have a wonderful set of flora here.”

“Thank you! I can’t really take the credit. I just sell them, not grow them,” you say bashfully.

“But it takes a keen eye to pick the best ones,” he replied, examining the flowers closely.

“Everything was here when I arrived. I’ve just been selling and making shitty arrangements,” you slowly crept towards him. 

Now was your chance. You could land a fatal blow while the weirdo gawked at flowers.

“You’re making arrangements?” he whipped around to face you with inhuman speed. You couldn’t help but jump back.

“Yeah! I have a ton to go through. I had no idea this place was so popular,” you say quickly, trying to act natural. He was too unpredictable to do anything rash. 

“Do you need help with those?” he asked.

“Actually...if you don’t mind…” you gestured towards the huge stack of papers on the counter, “Maybe if you can give me some tips, I can make them faster! And hopefully they’ll turn out prettier.”

“Sure,” he nodded. 

The rest of the day was spent making arrangements together. He had a talent for picking the perfect flowers and giving them the perfect placements. You were in awe. Was this a secret vampire power? Or was this guy just weirdly into flowers?

“Hey, I never got your name,” you say. You realized you had only labeled him as “the target” in your head. 

“Ah, yes. I’m Taehyung. Kim Taehyung,” he gave you a shy smile, slowly extending his hand to you, just as you did to him during your first encounter.

“Pleasure to meet you, Taehyung! I’m ___,” you replied, giving him a firm handshake.

Taehyung went back to arranging flowers, but you froze in your place. Your eyes grew wide in shock. Your jaw silently dropped. It was a good thing Taehyung couldn’t see your face, or else he’d think something was wrong.

Which there was. Something was definitely wrong. How could you be so stupid?!? You gave him your name. Your real name. One of the most important rules about vampire hunting is to keep yourself as anonymous as possible. Vampire hunters are excellent liars. And you usually were as well. You’ve never slipped up like this before. Was he charming you somehow? You couldn’t detect a hint of magic anywhere. 

“___? ___ did you hear me?” Taehyung waved his hand in front of you.

You snapped back to reality.

“Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a second. What did you say?” you gave him an apologetic smile. Not only did you give him your real name, you also just zoned out in front of an extremely dangerous vampire. What the hell is wrong with you today?

“I asked which flower embodies you the most,” he said.

“What? Like personality wise?” you couldn’t help but chuckle, “That’s a weird question. Are you a walking Buzzfeed quiz?”

“Buzzfeed? What is that?” Taehyung looked confused.

“It’s a news company. Or an entertainment company? They basically write clickbait articles. But they also have personality quizzes for literally anything. But wait, what kind of flower would I be? I don’t know,” you answered him.

“Why don’t you know?” he asked innocently.

“Because I’ve never been asked that before?” you were genuinely amused by this guy, “But I guess I’ll humor you. Let’s say I’m a rose.”

“Why a rose?”

“Cuz I’m beautiful, duh. And I can be thorny if you’re not careful,” you winked. 

Taehyung seemed to seriously mull over your answer. It was silent for the next few minutes. You meant to come off as playful, but maybe he took you seriously? You couldn’t figure him out at all.

“I don’t think that was a sincere answer,” Taehyung finally said.

“Pardon?”

“I don’t think that was a sincere answer,” Taehyung repeated, “I think you just said you’re a rose because you don’t know many other flowers.”

“Alright, which flower do you think I am then?” you asked, now slightly annoyed. 

You were taken aback by how odd this vampire was. He was much too pensive. Too thoughtful. Not once did you feel any lust or hunger in his aura the entire time he’s been in your presence. Not even when you were at his mansion. 

“I can’t answer that,” he replied as he tied a ribbon around a finished vase.

“Why not?” you inquired, taking the vase from him.

“I don’t know you. I can’t make an accurate judgement,” he shrugged.

You couldn’t believe him. Any other vampire would have said something charming. They would have picked a pretty flower to ‘compare to your beauty’. It was the perfect question to show off their charisma. 

“Which flower do you think you are, then?” you asked. 

“Belladonna,” he answered without skipping a beat, “Which is also known as deadly nightshade.”

“And why are you a deadly nightshade?”

“You would understand if you knew me,” he stopped what he was doing to look you in the eyes.

His gaze was piercing. He was an enigma that you became determined to solve. Everything about him was intriguing. 

“Is that a threat? Or a flirtation?” you questioned, amused.

“Which do you want it to be?”

“Preferably not a threat.”

“Then take it as a flirtation.”

“Well now that just seems disingenuous.” 

Taehyung laughed. It was a real, hearty laugh. His deep laughter echoed around the room. You joined in his laughter. You were actually enjoying yourself. To be quite honest, your guard was completely down. You trusted him. You actually wanted to befriend him.

Closing time had rolled around. By some miracle (which was Taehyung) you managed to get through half the stack of orders. Finished bouquets were scattered across the shop. You profusely thanked Taehyung for all his help.

“All of these are so beautiful! I really could not have done it without you. I feel bad for my previous orders now…” you realized that your bouquets were hideous compared to Taehyung’s.

“I can come help you finish the rest of your orders tomorrow, if you’d like,” he offered.

“Are you sure? I can’t pay you for all your help just yet,” you paused to think if you should offer to hire him.

“Don’t worry about that. Money is not a concern for me. I genuinely would like to help you. At first, it was because of my appreciation for nature. After today, I think I actually enjoy your company,” he smiled.

“Wow, you actually enjoy my company? I’m flattered,” you rolled your eyes, but couldn’t contain your smile. 

“You should be, I generally don’t like company,” Taehyung leaned in to close the space between you two. 

He was now extremely close. His face just inches away from yours. You could smell his cologne, the scent made him even more alluring. You caught yourself slowly leaning closer to him. You instantly snapped yourself out of his spell.

Pulling back, you looked around the room. You couldn’t find it in you to meet his gaze, even though you felt his eyes on you. You were surprised once you realized that there was still no hint of any magic. What had just happened?

“God, there’s a lot of vases I gotta carry to the post office,” you say after clearing your throat.

“I can help,” Taehyung replied, already beginning to gather up vases.

“You don’t have to! You’ve already helped a bunch today. There’s a cart around back that I can use,” you didn’t understand why you were getting so flustered.

“Please allow me to help you, ___. I’m stronger than I look,” Taehyung gave you a reassuring smile. Of course he was. 

“If you insist. I’ll go get the cart,” you happily fetched the cart.

What is this feeling? Were you actually enjoying yourself? You completely forgot that you had to eventually kill him until you were outside by yourself. The thought disappointed you. You quickly shook your head. This monster killed your parents. He’s a monster. A bloodsucker. A beast that must be slain. 

Even knowing that, why did you feel so conflicted? Your time with him today was surprisingly enjoyable. He was so unpredictable. Your sparse conversations felt natural, as if he really just wanted to get to know you. 

Taehyung helped you load up all of the vases onto the cart. He even pulled the cart for you, accompanying you to the post office. The trip was mostly done in silence. Every time you tried to spark a conversation, he would reply curtly, not giving you much to work with. It was rather peculiar for a vampire to be quiet or shy. 

He walked you back to the flower shop after the deliveries were dropped off. You both lingered in front of the entrance, not really knowing what to say.

“So, you’ll swing by tomorrow?” you asked quietly.

“If that’s okay with you, yes. I’d like to make bouquets tomorrow too,” Taehyung nodded earnestly. 

“That’s 100% good with me. I’ll see you tomorrow!” you wave at him before turning towards the shop door.

“___--”

“Yes?” you turn around.

“I--nevermind. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Taehyung awkwardly bowed before departing.

His weird standoffish tendencies never failed to entertain you. It somehow added more charm to accompany his handsome face. 

You lay in bed later that night, recounting the events of the day. 

Did you enjoy hanging out with Taehyung today? Yes, more so than you could’ve imagined.

Did you have the opportunity to kill Taehyung today? Yes, multiple if you were willing to take risks (which you usually were).

Why didn’t you take a risk? You weren’t sure. It wasn’t that you were trying to be cautious, in fact, you were very careless the entire day. 

Did you catch yourself almost trying to kiss him? Yes.

Hopefully he didn’t notice that last part. You tried to play it off as soon as you realized what you were doing. 

You pulled out your phone to call Yoongi for a second mission check in.

“Hello?” Yoongi answered.

“Sup Yoongi,” you greeted him casually.

“Did you kill the target yet?”

“No, but he came into the shop. He didn’t let his guard down the whole day.”

“The whole day? Was he in the shop all day?” Yoongi sounded confused.

“Yeah, he helped me make bouquets--”

“He WHAT?!?” Yoongi yelled.

“Calm down. He actually helped me get through a shit ton of your stupid orders--”

“You’re telling me that the bouquets I ordered for victims families’ were made BY a vampire? God, you gotta be shitting me, ___,” Yoongi grumbled.

“I think I have to play the long game with this one. He’s too unpredictable for me to land a fatal blow in one strike,” you explained.

“Be careful, ___. I’m glad he didn’t attack you today. Kill him as soon as possible. Then you can come home, and your parents will be avenged,” Yoongi said before hanging up.

Yoongi’s final words swam around in your head before you fell asleep. 

Published October 2nd, 2020. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2020 Baepsaesbae.

[poptod]

I don’t know if you take requests for Benjamin but could you do a fic between him and a sorceress/sorcerer reader. Maybe they meet in the forest and he watches her/him (maybe it becomes a series)?

notes: ooo that's a good idea! i've never written for him before (or seen twilight) but ill try my best. notes extra: i just finished watching a compilation of rami in twilight and holy shit twilight is so fucking bad its hilarious anyway. didn’t stay all that true to the prompt (sorry) but I hope it’s sufficient nonetheless

+

That's not quite right.

For several weeks now, there's been something off about the scents in the forest. He's not the only one to have noticed the change, but he is the only one suspicious of it, which he assumes is part due to his connection with the earth. It doesn't bother him, their lack of concern – for some reason, he prefers searching on his own. Hours spent alone amongst the tall, dark trees lined with glittering snow, humming to himself, and tracking the changes in the air.

Today is especially quiet. Almost silent. While it's uncharacteristic for the world to fall silent, it's a common sight in this forest, where nothing quite lives anymore. The trees feel more like stone beneath his fingertips than like wood, and the snow at his feet freezes his skin far colder than it should. 

As the strange scent grows stronger the feeling begins to linger in his own steps, tracing the only walkway through the snow in all the forest, marking him as the singular disturber of the peace. His heart pounds as the dread weighs heavier yet in his chest.

It comes to a point where the pressure is overwhelming, pulling down on his shoulders and legs, begging him to kneel in the presence of nothing more than a sun-lit clearing. Nothing grows in the dirt circle, but there has to be something about it; the snow doesn't cover the earth like it does in meters just steps away. He pauses just outside the edge. Here is where the scent is strongest – there is no doubt.

When he raises his hand to where the sunlight streams from above, he finds a hard surface to press his hand against. His brow quirks upward as he presses harder, gauging the invisible material, wondering as to its' origins. It's a sort of magic, though he can't tell the type. Maybe pagan.

Warmth flows through him when he chants reveal in a silent language. A simple command, and the protection spell around the circle is weak enough to fall at the utterance of his spell.

The mirage falls in just a second, dripping down from the sky like a cloak till what remains is a stone tower. Moss and vines creep their way up the cracks and fissures, somehow still a vibrant green in winter, and presumably kept that way by the warm sunshine falling on this particular spot. The scent, though – it's intoxicating. Not quite good, but not unpleasant either. More like a potion mix of lavender and mustard seed. It overpowers all his other senses, begging him to give in further to his curiosity.

Muttering and footsteps sound from behind him, and in a flash he's hidden behind a small cluster of trees, peeking through the bark to see the clearing and tower.

You appear from the dark, and the first thing he notices is the comically large hat on your head. It covers your face entirely in shade, and though most of your other clothes are just as comically too big for you, it's... cute. You look smaller than you already are, and for some reason Benjamin finds himself blushing. The walking stick in your hand rises high above your head, carrying a crystal atop it that reflects the sunlight in a red hue, casted like stained glass on the white snow.

You're mumbling to yourself as you slowly make your way to the tower's entrance. His eyes widen when he notices a trail following you – half-baked spells and enchantments that glitter like dust in the sun's rays, dissipating in the air before they can fall to the ground. It draws his eyes to the book in your hands that's the size of his head, with old tattered pages covered in notes.

There's a druid in the forest.

He decides it's best if he's the only one to know. The others can get far too protective of territory, misunderstanding the modern way of the world all too easily. It takes a little work to make sure they don't wander too close to your hidden tower, or catch onto your scent and rambling spells, and soon he finds himself with a full-time job of protecting you. Oh well – it's something to do, and in the evenings he can watch you beside the river almost fully frozen over with ice.

The scarf wrapped around your neck is a little too big, drooping onto the ground from your shoulders hunched over the ice. Benjamin's beginning curiosity surrounding you has by now grown into a fondness, strange as it may be. You aren't all that good at protection spells or defensive spells, but you can bend life to your will, moving the water and plants without the power of crystals or runes. The trees seem to whisper everywhere you go, leaves and pines breaking off the branches to simply follow you. He can hardly blame them – he's following you too, after all.

Your nose has turned a blushing pink from the cold, a hint that leads him to believe you're human. Blood and all. Maybe that's part of the reason he likes watching you. You're the only creature within fifty miles that still has warm blood, as all the creatures of the forest have long been driven away by the mere presence of Benjamin and his cult.

It's a few weeks in before he notices that you're humming each time you speak. As though put under a curse, each word you mumble goes to a tune, one that haunts his dreams the second he hears it. All that long term exposure to you must be doing something to his brain – something that convinces him he needs to protect you, something that tells him he shouldn't dare speak to you.

He knows that since you're a druid, you're aware of the existence of the supernatural, but that fact brings little comfort to him as his tongue traces his fangs, watching you with hooded, red eyes. Your magic is different from his own, though to the outside eye the two of you are far more similar than he'd deem correct. The definitions of your different magics are a little shaky, but after some thought he decides that yes, you are a druid. Not a witch, or a warlock, or a sorcerer – none of them quite fit the powers that you have. The way the earth bends to your step.

If Benjamin can't find you at the tower there's only one other place you are; the river. It's still half-frozen over, but as of recent you haven't been all that focused on the water. For the most part you're focusing on the earth, melting the snow beneath you in order to reach it.

You're humming again. Watching the ground with focused eyes, holding glowing fingertips above the fertile earth.

"Idir ann is idir as," you sing, and it must be the first time he's clearly heard your voice, as it circles his head like whiskey and sways the trees into a gentle dance.

Whatever language you're singing, it must be a sort of enchantment. Maybe an offering of good wealth to the lifeless forest. All the world seems to hum in harmony with you, creating your own orchestra that swells with every breath you take.

"As an sliogán, Amhrán na farraige..."

"Suaimhneach nó ciúin – Ag cuardú go damanta."

When did he start humming?

How does he know the tune?

Something is in the air. It's like that scent all over again – all he can think of, all he can feel is you and your magic, overpowering the thoughts of ancient trees and godless skies.

"Between the here, between the now," you sing softly, and he could swear he almost had a heartbeat again, just to lose it in your hypnotic song.

Now you're singing in English – a language he can obviously understand – and with his curiosity towards the meaning of the lyrics gone, he can concentrate on the spells falling from your hand. Tiny stars, tiny universes drift down from your fingertips, landing on the earth as a sprout of vibrant green begins to stretch upwards, a small, white bud on the end.

"Neither quiet nor calm... searching for love again."

It doesn't feel like something so heavenly could come from you. Actually, the way your voice echoes in the forest, the way it combines with your magic makes it feel as though it's coming down from the sky like rain, falling on waiting ears and eager eyes.

When did he start singing with you, under his breath?

How does he know the lyrics?

"Between the stones, between the storm Between belief, between the sea I am in tune..."

And then it stops. The swell dissipates and what you're left with is a white flower sprouted in the ground, the center a vibrant purple that fades into the soft petals.

It's the only color the frozen forest has.

He doesn't quite know what he's doing, when he emerges from his hiding spot long after you return to your home. The sun will rise soon and the others expect him back before then, but something pulls him, something forces him to stay as 'something' always does. It's probably your lingering magic – that's what he reasons as he steps closer to your flower, wide eyes observing every detail of the white and purple petals.

Kneeling in the snow, he raises his hand above the flower, shifting the wind to brush against the single leaf and allow the pollen to float into the air. Magic like yours falls from his hand – golden stars, drifting onto the ground where they stay like gemstones. It takes a moment before the earth willingly absorbs them, but the moment it does another flower sprouts and blooms much faster than yours did.

Two of them sit there now, one purple and the other blood red. You'll find it - he knows you will. You come here almost every day.

He walks back home with your song occupying all his thoughts, twisting and tweaking him even hours after. It echoes in his head, over and over and over again, until all he can think of is you.

Neither quiet nor calm

Searching for love again...

[yandere-ac]

What if the other villagers teamed up and broke into Raymond's house to take back the villager?

“You did wonderful today my dear. Simply amazing! I wish your voice where the only one I heard.” Raymond told you as you uncomfortably shifted in his grip. Raymond and you were currently lying in bed, him completely engulfing you in his grasp all while you laid there. Defenceless to do anything. He was praising you for today’s little show, you had sung Bubblegum K.K for him all while dancing around in the maid dress he gave you.

Well, it was less a dance and more of you trembling while trying to move around, bouncing up and down and doing a few spins all while Raymond observed in glee. Its been two years since you were first kidnapped, since then he’s gotten progressively more and more clingy with you. Nowadays it would seem like you didn’t get a second to yourself. And he sure hadn’t cut down on the affection either. He loved to touch you, from holding your paw to picking you up at random times out of nowhere. It was very easy for him since you were so much smaller than him. He was determined to make sure you knew that in every possible way, you were his. He made you wear clothing that he’d either bought or made himself, like you were just his little doll to dress up in whatever way he wanted. Usually the dresses he bought for you were pretty standard but you had found that the more dresses he made for you, the more progressively revealing they got. The skirt part of the dress In particular got shorter and shorter, as if Raymond was really starting to enjoy himself. By now you were pretty used to his possessive nature, so much that you weren’t that scared around him anymore. His looming presence made you uncomfortable and tense, but it wasn’t as bad as it used to be. You could be in the same room as him without hyperventilating. Because at the end of the day, Raymond was very predictable. He would ask you to do stuff for his enjoyment, if you refused, he would continue nagging you before making it perfectly clear that his word was final. And so, you would do his request, he would be overjoyed and compliment you afterwards. Ultimately, you didn’t have a choice. So you had learned to just get it over with, because you had no power in this situation.

“I’m thinking tomorrow I’ll go to the plaza to get some new songs for you to sing. While I do love the way you sing Bubblegum K.K. I’m curious as to how your lovely singing voice would sound with other songs. Im sure you can handle yourself while I’m gone.” So he was going away tomorrow. That’s always nice. Whenever he left to buy something was the only time that you were actually alone. You would usually spend that time crying and screaming, just letting all your pent up emotions out. You had learned the hard way to never under any circumstance let Raymond see you cry. Because he would always try to make you feel better, which would always result in you crying harder. You wanted so desperately to get away from him but at the same time, all hope of that ever happening had left you. You just wished that the desire would leave as well. Maybe then you could finally get used to this hell. But one thing that always held you back was your curiosity. You need to know what was happening outside. It’s gnawed at you like a dog to a bone. And it was driving you insane. “Tell me....how are they?” As soon as the question formed, the air became tense and heavy. You could feel Raymond’s grip on your waist get slightly stronger. “Why do you care?” His voice was cold, almost lacking of any discernible emotion, and it sent shivers down your spine. “I just...I miss them. And I’m worried for them. It’s been plaguing my mind for these past few weeks. Please just tell me, just once, then I’ll be quiet I promise.” You pleaded to him, hoping that maybe he’ll provide you with some sort of comfort. He let out a deep sigh, his hot breath brushing against your neck as he did so. “Well if you must know. They’re still just as crazy. Never shuts up about you. One of them have gone missing, Mr Nook says he moved out but I don’t believe that for one second. From the fact that his house is still up to the fact that Timmy and Tommy has inexplicably stopped selling ropes. You can probably fill in the blanks by yourself.” Was he insinuating that...no...no he can’t be! He has to be joking! “....w-who?” Your voice was shaky and barely audible. “Marvin I think his name was? Pesky little rat. Never did like him that much, he moved in without my permission and would refuse to leave. Never would have thought that I only needed to remove you out of the equation in order to make him leave.” Marvin. Hearing that name in this instance was like being stabbed through the heart. The grey mouse was your closest friend on the island, to hear that he would...that he. You almost let out a tear but desperately tried to keep it in. In the end you only let out a heavy breath that filtered through your teeth. Almost sounding like you were in actual pain. For whatever reason, Raymond either didn’t hear it or decided to ignore it.

“As for everyone else, nothing major has happened. That boy Damien has been pestering me a lot lately. He’s been making theories about where you might have gone. None have been correct thankfully. I think our priority should be to get away from this island as soon as possible. I don’t want to even think about what they would do if they found you here. Trust me, if you think I’m bad then you’ve only seen the top of the iceberg.” For once, you actually somewhat agreed with Raymond. While the idea of being completely alone with him on an island didn’t exactly sound comforting, the thought of eleven people being like Raymond was even less comforting. Especially since they’ve been without you for so long, even if they were your friends, and even if you missed them, you were scared of them. Because you didn’t miss what they had become today, not in the slightest. You had missed singing together with Tilly, you had missed giving blathers fossils, watching as his eyes lit up while explaining them to you, you missed visiting Damien and Bonnabelle, talking about life and such. You had missed going to talk with Tom about what to do whenever you felt stressed or sad, with him giving you advice while comforting you. You didn’t miss being tugged on each arm like a little doll. You didn’t miss your friends hurting each other to get to you, you didn’t miss being trapped with some of them for days on end. You just wanted things to go back to the way it used to be. But that would never happen. Your fate was sealed and you couldn’t change it. No matter what happened, you were doomed to be Raymond’s little love bunny.

Or so you thought.

Hours later you found that you still couldn’t fall asleep. Sleep deprivation had been a huge problem for you since you weren’t sleeping in the most comfortable position. If you ever did manage to catch some sleep you would often be woken up by nightmares. This particular night, the thought of Marvin was the one that kept you up. You didn’t want to believe that such a sweet and upbeat mouse would ever do something like that. It seemed so out of reach. You wished you never would have asked Raymond what was going on. You wished that you would have just kept your mouth shut, because none of the things he told you made you feel any better. In fact, they only contributed to this horrible cloud of despair that was forming over your head. Dripping sad and depressing thoughts on you that leaked inside your brain. As the night continued, you let the tears flow. Flow like the endless waves of hopelessness that was building inside you. But then. Something really unexpected happened.

CRASH!

The loud sound of a window breaking shook you out of your thoughts as you jolted. It also woke Raymond up, making him drag his entire body up while looking around the room rather hastily. The sound came from a window right in front of your bed. Scattered across the ground was shards of broken glass and attached to the apron of the window was...a grapple hook? It took a mere seconds for Raymond to bolt out of bed and rush at the window with the speed of a bullet. But he was not quick enough as the moment he got the the window and pulled the hook off, a big paw grabbed the edge of the windows frame. Before any of you could react, the person hanging onto the window threw them self in, shattering any part of the window that wasn’t destroyed by the grappling hook. As they threw them selfs inside, they knocked Raymond to the ground with them. Raymond let out a piercing scream as a piece of glass got stuck in his shoulder. While all of this happen, you sat in the bed, looking horrified at the sight before you. You knew who that was, you could recognise him anywhere. The figure, a black wolf, that was pinning Raymond’s body down to the ground, was Damien. His eyes were wide and his breathing was heavy. He opened his big mouth and tried to chomp down on the human underneath him. But Raymond managed to hold him back while grasping at the wolf’s face, making sure not to put his fingers anywhere near the sharp teeth that were currently snapping at him. You could see Raymond’s grip getting weaker and weaker and Damien getting closer and closer. Throwing yourself out of bed, you ran towards the wolf and tried to pull him off. “NO! DAMIEN! DON’T! PLEASE JUST- LET GO!” Once you placed your arms around his chest he finally seemed to slow down. Only to throw you off of him and instead scratch Raymond across the face. After that he started to repeatedly kick his shaking body, each kick forcing out a yelp or chocked sob out of Raymond. You once again tried to pull Damien off of him, but this time it was even less affective since you were still pretty dizzy from being thrown to the ground so roughly. You felt your mind start to skip, finding it hard to even stand up. One misstep while trying to regain your posture caused you to fall as your legs gave in. Luckily, a pair of strong arms caught you before you could reach the floor. As the world was becoming darker, the only thing you could hear was the persistent whimpers of Raymond as your sight got darker and darker. Just before you lost your tight grip on consciousness, you felt a hand stroke your face. And then you heard the voice of a vary familiar character.

“Shh Shh, no need to worry my dear. We’ve got you. Now let’s get you home yes, yes?”

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The air was completely silent except for the very distinct sound of a clock ticking. It was the sound that eased you back into reality as you tried to open your eyes. As the first glimpse of light filled your eyes, you let out a small grunt and closed them again. But I’m doing that, you made your waking presence known to the person laying in bed next to you. Once you heard a deep chuckle, your eyes that previously felt heavy shot open. You turned around to see the familiar black furred face of a wolf. It was Damien. You couldn’t register what you were seeing, so for a few seconds you two just laid there, staring at each other. Until one of you broke the silence. “Good morning, my dear bunny rabbit.” He gave you a comforting smile as he leaned in and licked your cheek. Now this wasn’t uncommon for him to do, it’s how he showed affection, but in this context, this action made you shrink together into a tense ball. “Hm? Oh come on now. That’s not how you greet your old pal, now is it? Where’s that smile (N/N)~” (N/N), you hadn’t heard anyone call you that for two years. And yet, when you heard it, it did nothing to calm your nerves or reassure you. “W....where am I?” You asked, voice shaky, almost sounding minuscule when compared to Damiens. ”You’re in my and Bons house of course.” His and Bons house. It only just occurred to you that this was indeed their house. But if so, where was Bonnabelle? As if to answer your question you felt something shifting by your back. You turned your head over to look at the disturbance to find the small pink bunny named Bonnabelle looking at you with a smile. The much smaller bunny jumped up and climbed on top of you. “Hello ms/mr/mx Y/N!” The bunny beamed at you, but you didn’t respond. You hadn’t known how to respond. Why were you here? How were you here?! Where was-

Your eyes went wide as thoughts of last night reappeared in your mind. The sound of the humans whines as Damien kicked him repeatedly. The feeling of collapsing into someone’s arms. And the whole world going dark. All of that had led up to this. And that only made this predicament scarier. “Is something the matter bunny rabbit? You seem particularly jumpy.” The wolf told you while rising up from his lying position. You didn’t get a chance to answer as he pulled you out of the bed and into his arms, cradling your body close to him. “We shall go announce your awakening to the others. I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic. Come on now little bunny, keep up.” He turned to Bonnabelle who was already out of bed and bouncing up and down excitedly. Needless to say, she had no trouble with keeping up.

Damien carries you all the way to resident services, much to your dismay. You had tried to struggle, but unfortunately Damien was much stronger than you. Once the three of you entered, Tom and Isabelle both ran up to you, asking countless questions all while touching you in various ways. You weren’t able to answer. Isabelle ran over to the intercom where she announced that you where finally awake and that everyone should come to the resident services at their earliest possible convenience. And sure enough, villagers started to drop in, all of them rushing up to you, bombarding you with questions. Never once did Damien let go of you, he kept holding you close to his body, almost seeming hostile towards his fellow villagers. As the last person dropped in, all of them gathered around to discuss what they should do. They were all in unanimous agreement that they couldn’t keep fighting over you and that they had to find a compromise. It was then Blathers that suggested that everyone should get one entire day with you where they could do whatever they wanted without anyone else intervening. And while some seemed a little iffy about only being able to have you for a day and having to wait eleven more days to be with you again, most of them reluctantly agreed to the rule. Everyone but you. But you didn’t actually get any say in this. In fact, when you objected to this idea some had started to snicker at this, as if the thought of you having any say in this matter was so humorous.

That was five days ago. You where sitting on the floor of Raja the Cats house. He was still wearing the same scarf and coat that he had two years ago. The feline was showing you his flower collection that he started a couple months before you got abducted. Needless to say, his collection had grown quiet a lot. He was flipping through the pages of compressed flowers that where all kept in a big book, kept safely by a leather case that was currently laying on the floor. Raja was eagerly pointing at each one, like a child showing their mother a drawing they made. “And this! This is the white rose that you gave me! I still remembered that! Remember? Remember? I told you that I was starting a flower collection and you asked me if you could help and I said sure and you gave me this flower! Do you remember Y/N? I remember! I loved it! I was so happy that you would help me! I simply had to put it in immediately!” The cat continued with his blabbering, having to interrupt himself in the middle of his sentences just to take another breath. Your eyes trailed off to the pages of the book that was resting in his lap. There, filling an entire page was your white rose. It had seemed like Raja had drawn a formal frame around it, writing “Y/N’s rose” in calligraphy underneath the frame. On the page next to it was a bunch of small flowers. Underneath them stood the name of the flower and who had picked it. While most of them said Raja, there was one name that made a knot form in your stomach. There, in black ink, stood the name Raymond. It was a black rose, just as dried up and shrivelled as your white one. But seeing his rose, the one that HE specifically gave Raja, being dead. It brought a stinging feeling to your eyes. As much as you hated to admit it, you still cared for Raymond. Just like the way you cared for your friends here on the island. Because no matter how possessive Raymond was, no matter how much he scared you, no matter how much you wanted to get away from him. He was your friend. And you didn’t want him to die. But thinking back to that night, the night of your so called “rescue”. The sounds of his weak voice, his whimpers as Damien kicked him repeatedly. You had no reason to believe that he wasn’t six feet under at this very moment. But you doubted that any of them would have enough respect for him to bury him. You were sure that you’d be able to smell the rotten stench of his carcass if you walked close to his mansion. The thought made you sob, interrupting Raja’s ramblings.

“Is something wrong? What’s the matter?” He asked you, looking at you with his big orange eyes while pushing up his round glasses slightly. “I....I’m....” you were trying to answer the cat but no cohesive sentences would form in your head. Unfortunately for you, you would never get to answer him. As the loud sound of a high pitched shriek could be heard from outside. You both turned your heads towards the door and you ran out to see where the scream came from. Raja followed you, still holding his book, shouting at you to stop but you where already at the door before he could do anything. With one swift swoop you pulled the door open and ran out. And the sight before you struck you with pure unfiltered terror. Outside, scattered around the ground laid several dead bodies, from Blathers, to Isabelle, to Bonnabelle to even the dodo brothers. They laid there, cold and unmoving. And right in the centre of your vision were the two people you dreaded the most. It was Damien the wolf and Raymond the island rep. Raymond had him pinned to the ground, knife a mere inches above his chest. Damien had an iron grip on Raymond’s arms, trying to block the slowly approaching knife. But Raymond wasn’t giving up, he put his full weight on the knife, almost leaning on it while simultaneously pressing it down. As Raja looked at this, he let out a shocked gasp while dropping his book. “Damien! No!” He cried out. But what he didn’t realise was that he caused a distraction, making Damien look over at you two and giving Raymond the opportunity to drive the knife straight into Damiens stomach. As the knife penetrated his skin and lodged deep within his body, Damiens mouth opened as his eyes went wide. He tried to scream, to cry out. But all that came out was the hacky sounds of barely audible gasps. He coughed up blood which went straight into Raymond’s face, but Raymond didn’t even flinch as the blood splattered across his face, he just watched, eyes intense and breath heavy. Raymond kept the knife in place, leaning closer to Damien in order to watch the life leave his eyes. And as Damien began to slip away, Raymond started to twist the knife, making the wolf let out one last whine of pain. There was a few seconds of silence, you had been frozen the entire time. No matter how much your mind was screaming at you to run your body refused, too shocked to move after seeing the gruesome scene. The silence broke when the soft sound of Raja falling to his knees filled the air. Only then where you able to turn your head and look at him. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as violently as a waterfall. What happened next shook you out of your paralysed state. Raja let out a loud scream, a pained and sorrowful one that shook you to your core. But that scream also broke Raymond out of his momentary daze as he quickly and rather violently whipped his head towards you two. He quickly rushed at you. You tried to run but Raja grabbed ahold of your leg, looking at you in desperation. “DON’T LEAVE ME-“ he was cut off as Raymond tackled him to the ground, releasing your leg and giving you the opportunity to run. And ran you did, you ran as fast as you possibly could. You ran and ran until you could feel your legs start to give up. Your chest was hurting, your legs were hurting, everything was hurting. But you couldn’t stop, you had to get out of here, you had to get away from him. He snapped, he finally snapped. And you weren’t going to be on the receiving end of whatever blind rage he was going to inflict.

You were hiding, cowering in fear inside of the museum. You were in the shark department, hoping that the darkness would serve as camouflage until you figured out what to do. You knew you couldn’t hide away forever, this island wasn’t all that big, you had to figure out a plan of some sort. There had to be a boat or ship or anything that could take you away from here. Maybe you could get Pascal to help you? You would swim if you had to! You just needed to get away from here as fast as possible! If you stayed here, you would surely die!

Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.

Oh god. The haunting sounds of footsteps were echoing throughout the exhibit, each step making you more tense. You brought your knees close to your chest, hugging them as you buried your head in fear. You could hear him getting closer, and closer, and closer and-....they stopped. The sounds stopped, filling the air with dreadful silence. Silence which was interrupted one you felt someone grab you by the collar and roughly pulling you up to your feet before throwing you back to the ground. Raymond had found you and had thrown you to at the stairs nearby. You let out a loud cry of agony as pain filled your lower back, spreading throughout your entire body. Raymond approaches you slowly, knife in his hand and hunger in his eyes. Soon he was towering over your helpless body that you were sure he would make into a corpse. “R-Raym-m-mond! P-please! D-DONT! I-I didn’t mean to- I thought you were dead! I-“ you didn’t get to finish your sentence as Raymond drove the knife downwards.

SHINK!

You closed your eyes, awaiting the pain. But there was none. As you opened your eyes you saw Raymond, a couple of inches away. He was breathing heavily, hot breaths brushing against your lips, and only now did you see how unwell he really looked. His hair that he was so adamant about keeping neat was scruffy and disheveled. He had a black eye and tons of scratches on his body. It had seemed like Damien really messed him up back at his mansion. He had bags under his eyes, and he smelled...strangely. You couldn’t quite place it put it was far from the usual aroma that he had. He was sweating, eyelids giving off a slight twitch every so often. He had driven the knife right into the hard stone floor, making the tip of the knife pop right off and making a few scratches to the flooring. He had missed, on purpose. By now your heart was beating so fast, you could barely form any words, only small sounds. And Raymond did nothing to ease your nerves once he started to laugh. A laugh which started out as quiet and breathy but soon turned loud and deranged. You quickly started to struggle, flailing around while trying to get away from him. But Raymond grabbed ahold of your throat, pressing you down into the ground, not hard enough to choke you but hard enough to leave an impact. As your feeble attempts died down, so did his laugh. All he was doing now was looking at you with a deluded smile. “...hah...haha...ha....did you...think you could get away from me...that easily?” He told you. You were crying and hyperventilating at this point, unable to answer him in any valuable way. He brought the knife closer to your face, stroking your cheek with the blade while chuckling. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now.” This statement made your heart leap out of your chest. “WHAT?! NO! PLEASE DONT! PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU! I DIDN’T WANT ANY IF THIS I PROMISE! I SWEAR! PLEASE DONT KILL ME!” Raymond let out yet another chuckle. “Your begging is so cute my dear. I love you Y/N. I love you I love you I love you! You just don’t know how to appreciate it yet...but you’ll learn...yeah...you’ll learn...after all. We’ve got all the time in the world right now don’t we? It seems that private island dream isn’t so far away now huh? I’ll have to check this place to make sure no one else is left, but after that. Oho my dear! We can make this place our own!” He was rambling, all while being dangerously close to you and playing with his knife. He stopped mid sentence, eyes becoming blank and unfocused, as if he was thinking.

“....however...you did disobey me...and well, I just can’t let that go unpunished do i?” Your eyes grew wide as he told you this. Raymond leaned down, smashing his lips onto yours rather violently as he let out deep breaths. He was holding you down, making sure you couldn’t move while he kissed you. Some blood that was on his face dropped off and landed right on yours, Raymond looked down at you, noticing the drop of blood that had splattered on your cheek. He leaned down and licked it off of you. “Now then. We’ll worry about that later. Poor thing, you look exhausted. I bet these freaks really took a toll on you hm? Let’s get you to bed, I’ll figure out a proper punishment tomorrow. For now, just relax. But know my dear...” he let out yet another chuckle. Staring deep into your eyes. “If you ever...EVER! Run away from me again...” he leaned in and whispered in your ear. “I won’t miss....” three words. The words was all it took for more tears to come flowing out of your eyes. Tears which Raymond also licked off your face. He picked your shaking body up and walked away, presumably going back to your house. But your stomach twisted when you realised that. Because you knew to get to Raymond’s house, you had to go past Raja’s house. So you closed your eyes all while he carried you. You didn’t want to see them. You never wanted to see them like that again. But even as you closed your eyes, you could smell them. You could smell their already decaying corpses. The smell made you gag. And that was enough for Raymond to bring you closer to him. “Such a waste. They dug their own grave when they took what was mine...” his voice was low and unfeeling. The way he spoke, it made you anxious. He really did only see you as a toy. “Would you look at that, it’s the rose I gave him...look Y/N. Look.” You kept your eyes closed, letting out a small whine. But Raymond wasn’t having it. “LOOK!” Your eyes shot open as he yelled at you. A yelp escaped your throat as you saw the scene before you. Raja was laying dead on the ground. There was blood seeping out of him and it had covered the base of his flower collection. It would seem when he dropped the book it opened on the page of you and Raymond’s roses.

“Huh...ironic. You know, in some cultures, a living black rose is supposed to represent the beginning of new things and major changes. But a shrivelled and dead one represents death.” Raymond used his foot to close the book before looking at Raja. “Tsk. Such a foolish individual. I’m sure you’re happy to be rid of him.” Looking at the dead cat, something sunk in. You felt hopeless, you were now officially stuck with him. Forever and always. Until either one of you died. Only them would you be free from this hell. You wished you could just disappear. But he wouldn’t let you. He would be sure you stayed with him at all times. You remembered what he had told you years ago when he found you on that deserted island.

“You should move to my island! I promise you, you’ll be treated well! We’re all really kind and you would love it there! I see the pain in your eyes Y/N. You’ve been treated badly. But I assure you! On my island you’ll be treated like royalty!”

Like royalty. More like a gem. A gem that had to be locked away at all times.

All this time. You’d never thought that Raymond would go this far. You thought that he peaked at abducting you. But no. This was so much worse. He had reached the point of no return. What was he going to do with you now? Now that there truly was no one there to stop him? And what punishment was he planning? Was he gonna hurt you? Was he gonna make you clean up your friends dead bodies? What truly was his limits? Because as it turned out.

Raymond wasn’t as predictable as you first thought

////////////

Y’all want some O C S ? Thanks for the request, this was really fun to write. Sorry that it took so long lol. It’s been a while since I last posted ac. Don’t worry, I haven’t completely forgotten about it. I think the next one is gonna be Danganronpa. And it’s gonna be ANGSTYYYY! But yeah 🔊Raymond simps come get y’all juice🔊

[lideria]

Wayfaring. | Winter.

➥ characters: genderneutral!reader, mark, johnny, jaehyun, yuta, taeyong, haechan; to be added

➥ genre: apocalyptic!au (apocalypse based on the game “the last of us”), very much angsty, kind of action-y, sad, sometimes fluff 

➥ warnings: violent themes, blood&gore (detailed depictions), gun use, mentions of killing/m*rder, mentions of s*icide, depictions of corpses, swearing, zombies ofc, i would like to guess that that’s it but please contact me if there is anything i need to add, and as always English is not my first language so if there are any errors, please excuse me!

➥ word count: 19.3k

➥ summary: every little thing you had, had been built and preserved in the pool of nothingness. and now, you lost it all.

➥ author’s note: !!PLEASE READ!! hoping after all this time that i’ve not posted this doesn’t get taken off the tags. after much thinking i decided to make this big story a series, because i’m pretty positive the overall product will be over 60k words. this is the 1st part and there will be 3 parts. to make it a bit more meaningful, i’ll be releasing the winter part now (in winter for where i live), spring part in mid-spring (possibly around april), and summer in again, around mid-summer. the playlist will also be revealed then. i am hungry for feedback, any and all is much appreciated! also, i’m not over tlou still haha fu- there’s also going to be a taglist since the updates will be so slow, so please drop by my asks if you like it and i’ll gladly add you to the taglist!

➥ taglist: @nct-writers

i hope everyone enjoys this, have a great morning/day/evening/night!

The night was freezing cold.

You walk through the streets of a mix of stone and wooden buildings, lights mostly dim because of the scarce population. Most of the people were at the city square. They were laughing and dancing the night away as groups of people sang for them with the old, occupied instruments that belonged to who-knows-who all those years ago when all of this first started. ‘This’ as in survival of the fittest, as some would say. And from what science could explain, a fungal infection that took over the brain and body that eats away at your tissues until it has completely taken over your motor functions and skin, and can spread its spores to others freely. An infection that could basically ‘zombify’ and fungi-ify people.

That is what everybody who has experienced the outbreak day would tell you, at least.

Being born into it is apparently easier, that is what the older adults tell. Because people have it figured out, there are communities like the one you are in; nobody has to roam around alone and lose so many people in the process. You did not agree to that. Nothing was easier, except for maybe gathering the knowledge of handy survival skills.

Perhaps living in a community was easier, as well. You loved it. You specifically loved your community. The stone and wooden houses, the olden cafés and restaurants, actual electricity that was not a thing outside of the gates, fairy lights hanging across porches and roofs, kids and bicycles around, horses, elderly people. Schools. A whole cinema and market places. People who were hunters, people who were guards, people who were wanderers, people who were recruiters; people who had the luxury of just being parents or students or more. And people, perhaps after seeing the world fire up and fall apart, were filled with love towards each other. Compassion, respect; a lot of things that the outsiders did not have. For the most part, of course. Evil was still a thing even within the community.

You smile at the children hurrying towards the square with a few apples in their hands, laughing and skipping around with joy— one of them waving at you as they pass you by. You wave at them as well, chuckling at one of the boys’ claims on how he will make a run for the sugar in the cafeteria so they can caramelize them.

This is why you love it. Even though it is hard.

Just as snow starts to fall from the sky that was clear with visible stars just moments ago, you take your last turn and make your way to your destination. The light shines from their porch and emphasizes their house as you pick your pace up with your boots that are crunching the asphalt that is too old for its own good, cracked and overgrown with the unkempt vegetation.

And surely enough, he is there. You cannot see him clearly since his silhouette’s too dark with the light hitting from behind, but there is only one person who can be as tall in that household even when they are doubled over.

Not making eye-contact even once as you approach the house, you take big strides through their garden and get on the porch. He does not turn to you and opts to stay silent, still doubled over with his elbows placed on the somewhat high fence. You do the same and let out a huff; a laugh too airy and low to be considered one. “What are you doing out here all alone?”

Johnny smiles, still not meeting your eyes. “I freaked out.”

“Over a kiss?” One more huff. “Sounds nothing like the Johnny I know.”

“Yeah,” He nibbles on his lip a little, and smiles at their neighbor whose kitchen window is just across their porch that is grabbing a glass of water in greetings. “I just don’t like the idea of kissing someone and having it not mean anything anymore. Feel like I’ve passed that stage.”

Your eyes lock on a star in particular when he turns his head to look at you. “Reasonable,” You let out nodding your head. A witty smile creeps up onto your face at that second, and you turn to look at him also. “I guess it comes with growing old.”

That makes him giggle and playfully punch you on the side of your shoulder, prompting you to let out an ow, motherfucker, because he is too strong for his own damn good and he seems to never realize that. “I’m not old.”

“Yeah, yeah,” You brush him off, massaging the side of your shoulder, the smile still on your face. “Tell me though, was the kiss good? It looked good.”

His brows furrow in unfiltered concern. “You watched me kiss?”

“Well if you just adhere onto someone’s lips like they glued you to each other in front of the bar I’m trying to get a drink from, Johnny, I’m kind of obligated to see it for like a second at the least.” He laughs at your ramble and breaks the furrow of his brows. As if he is defeated, he nods at the end a little. “It was amazing.”

“Oh so it’s like that,” You lean into him, hardly containing your giggle. “What does that mean?” He asks back with his own smile still on his face, clearly amused. Your eyebrows furrow this time albeit not seriously. “You damn well know what that means.”

Johnny sighs. Long and deep. Then, he speaks. “I love you, you know. You’re the best annoyer I never would’ve asked for.”

At that you chuckle, letting your shoulders shake with the force of it. “Good thing they didn’t ask you then.”

He does not say anything after that for a while. The two of you stand in silence, you looking at the stars and him looking at the street— or maybe the overgrown plants, you do not know. He fiddles with his calloused hands slightly, and it is only then that you realize that the house is much quieter than how it usually is. His parents must still be at the square, even though you have not seen them at all that day.

That night, to be more honest. During the day it was not really like you could see a lot of the folk.

Johnny must have somehow read your mind, because he speaks up again with only a heavy huff. “I heard about this morning,” His gaze is directed at you again. You break your smile and lean further, letting your head drop lower to the fence as you sigh yourself. One of your hands instinctively go to your face and to the spot where everything aches right on your cheekbone, tracing over the few burn scratches you got when you fell onto the ground. “It was nothing.”

“That wouldn’t have been believable even if I hadn’t known you.” He stands upright then. You see his hands come into your vision before they pick your arms off the fence and force you to straighten up as well. He inspects your face for a bit, tracing your red spots and scratches with his fingertips, and frowns. “Sometimes I think you’re a bit too careless.” Johnny mumbles just above a whisper, making you smile. Not particularly with happiness or being flattered, but something rooted more from embarrassment. “You say that a lot.”

“Yeah, because I want you to come home in one piece.” He takes his hands off of your face. “So you can finally get it on with Jaehyun.”

He immediately receives a shove to his chest and full on laughs at that, watching your pissed off face that is rather scary for anybody else. After years of knowing you ever since you first walked into this place only with another survivor, coming from a smaller settlement that went to absolute chaos, Johnny could not ever fear you. Fear you in a respectful sense, yes, absolutely. Because he has seen what you are capable of doing outside to survive. And in actuality, it is not the capability that made him fear you in that respectful sense; it is that he has seen you melt into the nature of it all, sometimes losing yourself in the things that surround you and the things you are feeling. Johnny has always differentiated himself from everything, so seeing that was what made him fear you.

The very same things made people fear you, as well. A lot of people stayed away from you, which always made him feel bad. He found it extremely admirable that as a teenager you were able to look for a settlement without any guardians and with only a companion, even though your earlier settlement was not too far from the city. At the same time, he could not fear you knowing how you can get with people when you care about them. He had learnt about it all first-hand when he was the first to approach you at the grey and distressing identification center after you arrived, after his parents encouraged him to ask you over for dinner, after visiting you many times at the lonely dorms and helping you fall asleep by tiring you out with his jokes and conversations, after helping you move into your own place when you were old enough, after going on patrols with you and much, much more.

“You’re disgusting, does anybody ever tell you that?” Your annoyed voice almost echoes to his ears after the many shouted singings and overall shouts he had heard that night. “The word you’re looking for would be ‘teasing’ and I just know it’s on the way. That relationship is long overdue.”

“Hey!” A familiar voice interrupts your bickering, and when you turn to the direction it is coming from, you see Yuta just behind the fence. He climbs up a bit and hangs off the railing, not fully climbing onto the porch. “Hey, man. Why don’t you just come to the porch?”

Yuta holds a hand up and waves it around, and both you and Johnny fear that he will fall down with only one hand on the fence helping him sling over, so you both take a step towards him in a hurry. But he does not fall and places his hand back. “I’ll just go home. I’m very cold and kinda drunk.”

Johnny mumbles a we can see that under his breath, but he cannot say it louder because Yuta points a finger at you, prompting you to take another step. “You are patrolling with me tomorrow.”

You finally get a hold of his arm and Johnny takes care of the other one, so now his feet are planted to the ledge of the porch and you two are basically holding a whole grown man up on his feet. That does not hold you back from complaining, though. “What, why? I was out just today.”

The drunken man shrugs. “Don’t know why you, but I think I saw Jaehyun sign your name up with us.”

A closed-mouthed snicker comes from Johnny at Yuta’s words and you snap your head at him, looking into his eyes, warning him not to do the very thing he is doing right now and to shut up about it afterwards. “Fine, I’ll come with you tomorrow.”

“You didn’t exactly have a choice.”

The knock on your door wakes you up the next morning.

Groggy a little from drinking the night before, and from the soreness of your face, you are not the happiest when you open the door up to greet Yuta and Jaehyun. They are standing on the thick snow that has covered the ground overnight, all equipped up and ready to go. The two of them look noticeably more content as well whereas you are just there basically ready to beg them to let you sleep some more. Actually, ready to beg them to leave you alone altogether.

You could really use a day off after falling face-first to the concrete yesterday. It has been long since you have had a day off anyway. Lately it was either you were going out on a patrol or sweep, or you were training the new recruits and the volunteers. You kind of did not remember the concept of sleeping in at this point.

“I would say good morning, but your morning looks far from any of that.” Yuta says in an annoyingly bright tone, and then he points at your face. “Your face didn’t swell up. I don’t know if you can tell, but that’s magical.”

Your fingers reach up to your sore cheekbone once again. Yuta is all true, there is no swelling up although it hurts so bad still as if you had not cleaned it up, when you did. Multiple times. “Just come in. I’ll wash up and grab my coat.”

They walk in when you hold the door open for them and scoot to the side, and make their way to your couch, plopping down on it without any care. You make your way to the bathroom in silence and quickly wash your mouth and face, only bothering to change your clothes because you see a change hanging over the shower cabin. After doing so you hurry over to your wardrobe in your room and grab your coat along with your gear, and make your way to the pair of boots you had been wearing for quite long. You ask your question while you are struggling with putting them on. “Why are we going out anyway? I thought every spot was clear.”

“Someone said that the crops are dead already outside the walls,” Jaehyun answers. “Means the winter’s coming faster and harder. And that means herds may come in faster. Taeyong just wants to make sure nothing’s out of control.” Which does make sense that him and the council would decide on something like that, especially after the chaos that was a couple of years ago. Uncontrollable increase in infected meant uncontrollable increase in herds moving around, and that meant uncontrollable fullness of areas, which meant hunting for supplies were almost halted, which meant there was a serious shortage in supplies. “Plus, we’re running low on medicine. So if we find any on the way,”

“Yeah, okay.” You nod as you let your foot fall after tying the last knot. “Is it only us three?”

“No,” Yuta jumps at the question, almost. “Donghyuck’s coming as well. Said he needs to let off some steam.”

“Why?” You chuckle. He looked dandy fine last night at the square, warming himself up by the fire and chatting and laughing with people. “I heard they fought with Mark.” Jaehyun, once again, answers.

“Again?” Grunting as you wear your coat, you zip it up before opening the door and holding it out once more. The boys stand up and walk towards the door. “Why can’t they keep their stuff to themselves?” You laugh, dearly hoping this fight is not another one feisty enough to keep them from talking to each other for months.

“Wouldn’t know.” Jaehyun mumbles, and waits for you to close your door before starting to walk with you. You smile at the close proximity he keeps with you as you two walk behind Yuta, following him to the stables near the big metal gates through the lively streets.

Donghyuck is already waiting for you when you arrive. He complains about his horse being taken by someone else first thing when he spots your group, prompting the stable staff to laugh behind him, presumably at the fact that he is not complaining that he will be going out for a patrol in the freezing cold, no, but that he is complaining about ‘his’ horse that is technically not his being taken away. He does not really bother to greet you as well. It is a common theme with him, so you do not take offense.

Once you are handed your horses over to you, you make your way to the gates, holding them from their reins— just in case if they ever get freaked out from the sounds the gates decide to make.

You spot a familiar face at the gate. Walking over to him is basically an instinct. “Hey,”

“Hi.” Mark smiles at you, and pets your horse on the nose a little.

Mark is important to you.

He is the person that has accompanied you on your way here after your last settlement got raided by a large group of people that belonged to a community called Nox— the largest community ever established after everything went wrong with the world, and the most developed, as well. Their recruiting process was very disciplined, they had spread all over the country in years and mostly aimed specifically for the big cities, which allowed them to have plenty of resources and people with ‘greater’ professions (like doctors, scientists, military officials, agents, anything that was deemed to be handy in an apocalypse) in their communities.

That had been what happened. It was supposed to be a recruitment, but once people denied to be a part of them and stood up for themselves, they did not like that. At least the branch that they had sent out did not like that.

Your settlement was up in flames by the time you and Mark made it out of there. The night had brightened up as if it was the morning.

Then, it was a month full of almost-dying. The two of you had been out of your settlement before, but not for long periods where you also had to look for some place that would take you. Infected wanted to get you, and if they did not, it was the people. Sometimes they would take you in for a short while, letting you use their resources before changing their paths and letting you go with a bit of a help; maybe weaponry, maybe food, maybe medicine.

Mark and you would have to find hiding spots and places to sleep, and a lot of the times you would just make do with sleeping under a vehicle in the cold in unpopulated areas. Although hard to believe, those spots were one of the least visible and most secure.

The two of you had saved each other perhaps countless times from dying. You were not friends before you ran away from your settlement. You did not exactly know a lot about each other beforehand, only acquainted as a familiar face you would see on the street. Yet when you ended up together, you cared about each other so unexpectedly much.

After you came to the city, though, it had changed a lot. They put you on schedules and dorms and houses that mostly did not go with each other, so the communication had broken— except for slight communication through Johnny who was your middle ground with his role of being a mutual friend. The sheer care you had for each other had stayed the same, though. It would have been difficult to let go of that.

“What happened to your face?” Mark asks and instinctively reaches out for it, making you hiss when his fingers come into contact with the sore red spot. He immediately retracts. “I fell.”

His brows furrow as if he is not believing it, so you laugh to calm him down. “No, I really fell. Planted face first onto the concrete.” That makes him chuckle, but his brows are still furrowed. “Of course you’d do that.”

Mark takes a deep breath. “You have everything you need?”

Someone shouts from behind, one of the watches. “Herd patrol, open the gates!”

“Yeah, I do.” You answer him, and he smiles a bit more reassuringly. “Be safe out there. Let me see you from the gate when you come back.”

There is the screeching sound that the gates do whenever they open that would surely attract some infected if there were any of them around, so you could only hope there were not. Your hold on the rein gets tighter when your horse gets a bit agitated from it. “I’m coming back and you know it, Mark.” Smirking, you step on the foot hold and mount onto the saddle.

He says only one thing before he lets you go. “I do.”

Outside the gates could have been just as pretty as it always was if it was not for the thick snow that coated everywhere and made it hard to travel.

Underneath the thick cover of snow would be overgrown grass and wild plants and flowers that definitely were made to not be natives of the land before any of this had happened, but were now claiming their home to themselves and growing freely without any control. You did not know what most of the plants or flowers even were, even though they had taught you back in school— but you knew you would never be a farmer or a wanderer. You knew you would never have to rely on that knowledge so giving up on it was pretty much an instant thing.

Above the snow, though, were pines and willows thriving in the humid cold. Corkscrew willows, narrow leaf willows and glaucous willows were painting the very much white and grey scenery some lighter shades of green and pink, glistening with the snow sitting on them when the silver but blinding sunlight hit their surface.

You were pretty much on watch the whole time as the possibility of a herd passing through occupied your mind. There were the occasional wildlife passing through the valley, mostly rabbits, dogs and squirrels, and the occasional deer. They run around, sometimes passing under the horses or too close to them and scaring them a bit off. It was nothing that you could not take care of though.

Through a mutual agreement, you go to the town first since it is a good distance away from the city still and is one of the places that is sure to have any signs of a herd if they are coming in. That was because there were not a lot of traces of the infection since there is no people that still live in that town, and the infected would just roam through to potentially find a host.

Some of them would just die on their own from the cold and spew out spores in hopes of reaching something. They usually did not.

When you are in the Western-looking, red and brown brick-borne town, you divide the sections and go your separate ways. You probably would not have done that had the entrance of the town been crowded, but it had not been anything close to that. Yuta insists on his advice for all of you to do everything as quietly as you can just in case, and you all seem to agree on that, considering this is only a patrol and not a sweep and you do not have that much ammo.

The South of the town was mostly empty to your delight. Definitely more crowded than how it usually was this time of the year, but nothing you could not take care of. You did not even have to waste too much of your ammo taking out the infected that were already there— ones mostly freshly infected. Runners, who could still see you and who could still run and who still looked like humans except for their blood covered mouth and hands. They looked alive. They grunted, they made humanly noises, they twitched in their place. It almost looked like whoever they used to be was still inside them and was trying to fight that damn thing off.

It made your blood go cold at the thought every single time.

Once you are done with the infected you could see so far by the help of your trusted stealth skills and dagger and only some of your ammo, you check on a couple of buildings that were on your list that had not been explored yet. But after being open for anybody to come and loot year after year, there was not much that you could find. Some rubbing alcohol hiding away in a stash of unusable supplies, some canned food that were very suspiciously still not out of date, and a few more things. Nothing too useful.

Within a bit over a couple of hours at the least, you make it back to your meeting point at the main street of the entrance, the supplies stacked behind your horse and on the board she was equipped with that would help her in being able to drag everything comfortably. To your relief, everyone is already there, and there are no infected in sight. “Anything useful?” Jaehyun asks, and you shake your head.

“I could get some rubbing alcohol and some gas for the generators, but that’s about it.” Yuta nods at your words. “Same here— except I found this stash of ammo and some meds, but I didn’t take any of it.”

Donghyuck glares at him with an obviously visible amount of anger in his eyes, which makes Yuta further explain himself. “I don’t want to mess with them if they’re a trespasser. I’ll give it a week, and if it’s still there then, I’m just gonna dive in because the prick had some good stuff in there.” He sighs. “I also left a note, saying you’re kind of fucked, friend, because the herd’s coming. Told them to head down to the river following the valley and that the place with working lights and big metal gates would welcome them if they’re smart about it.”

Sometimes Yuta could be extremely innocent, wanting to believe everyone is good, but he had something about him where most of these people he left notes for would actually turn out to be decent people that would join your community. So you could only hope whoever this was would be the same. “That is so sweet of you, but I think some of the herd is already here.” Donghyuck says, and all of you turn your heads to him. “You know the hotel half of it’s said farewell? It was flooded with infected. Of all kinds.”

“Sounds like a fucking dream.” Jaehyun murmurs, kicking around the snow a bit with his boots, looking down. You lay a supportive hand on his forearm. “Sweepers will be lucky though. Some of them are loaded with stuff— backpacks on and everything.”

But his words still hold a heavy weight to them, because these poor souls just did not survive for as long as they planned for. And it makes you wonder, wonder if they were alone or in a group, moving or not moving, had a family or not, had friends or not; what was their original plan? Did they even have a plan, or did everything just happen when they were hidden away in somewhere?

“I found a safe, like a whole dark room,” Jaehyun says. “Inside an apartment. I guess they were a pharmacist or a doctor or something— there are a lot of bottles and boxes of medicine and compounds. And I hardly think they belong to anyone at this point because the door lock was literally rotting away.”

“You think it’s okay to take?” Donghyuck asks Yuta, who nods promptly. “Let’s not take all of it just yet, though. Leave it for the next patrol or the sweepers, they can get the remainder later.”

And then he clears his throat. “Why don’t you two go ahead?”

You two. Jaehyun and you.

Before you know it, you are already sent that way and are trotting your way down to the apartment with your horses. The apartment is definitely not close to the meeting point, especially had you been on foot, but with trotting your way down it was much easier to access. You see the infected Jaehyun has taken down, and again, most of them were Runners; the only explanation you could come up with was that the actual herd had had a feast in another settlement or an area ridden with survivor groups, and since they are Runners they can move faster which is why they are already here with the cold. Basically that they are the herd before the herd.

You dismount when you arrive at the brick and brown, dirty looking building and follow Jaehyun up the stairs that by some miracle do not just collapse, watching him easily open up the doors after having broken into them.

Like he said, the room is there, mostly dark but only lit when its door is open and light spills in through the shutters, and it really is packed with medical supplies.

“I randomly inspected some of them, most of it’s not out of date yet.” You nod at him when he looks at you. “Okay.”

But something genuinely pisses you off. It has been pissing you off for some time, so the only thing you can do is confront him when you are alone. “Jaehyun,”

“Yeah?” He kneels onto the floor and starts inspecting things again, placing some of them into the bag he had grabbed from the side of the saddle before you made your way in. You kneel in front of him and sigh, looking down at his hands and spotting the slightly scarred knuckles. Probably from subconsciously pushing on doors while breaking in. “I know it was weird a few nights ago because everyone was around, but it’s weirder right now because you have a thing where you go awkward and quiet when you feel that way,” His eyes bore into yours. “And I really can’t stand that,” You let out an airy chuckle, and he kind of smiles as well. “So either kiss me like you mean it next time or never do and let us stay as friends.”

It was supposed to be a basic thing.

Jaehyun had kissed you a few nights ago at a movie screening. He had asked you to watch the old sci-fi movie with him, and had waited for you in front of the cinema, stuck between the crowds of people of all ages. Throughout the movie you had just whisper-chatted back and forth, almost none of your attention on any of the scenes even when they got louder. The topics of your chats had been lighthearted and fun as well, gossiping a bit about your friends and telling each other about funny encounters you recently had with people around the city or outside. Sometimes the chats were about the movie, with questions of what would you do if you were living in that universe instead of this one, which one would you prefer and more, debating on the questionable answers; throwing your dried and seasoned corn at each other if either of you thought the other had absolutely ran out of any sanity.

After the screening he had just asked you if he could kiss you as if it was the most normal thing he could ask, saying he could not wait any more, and you had let him because the mutual attraction had been there for too long and you wanted him to kiss you just as much as you had been wanting to kiss him.

But he had gotten shy about it— crowds were never Jaehyun’s thing, and that was fine. The thing that was not fine was how he acted around you for days after that, quiet and somewhat cold and awkward, when you were okay with it all and had expected him to make a move last night at the square.

He breathes out a laugh through his nose and looks down, playing with his hangnails and the traces of the rein that is left on his fingers, not deep but definitely visible still and a bit pink around the outlines. He smiles under his nose, you can see it because the lines of light that hits his face illuminate the side of his lips that is curled up, and when he picks his head up and the lines hit his brown eyes, you are smiling too.

Because Jaehyun places his hand at the back of your neck and kisses you.

Firmly, with care, and like nobody else is there— there is nobody there, but this time it feels like even if there were people he would have been fine with it. He lets you place your hands on the spots between his chest and shoulders, and lets you pull him further down with ease, spreading his other hand that is holding you on your back to give you better support. He opens his mouth first for you, maybe to show he is meaning this and he means so much more, and you give into it. That goes on for a while with hands roaming wherever they can. You only come back to your senses when his teeth scratch your bottom lip.

He stops when your hands push against him lightly. “Any longer and Yuta will never let this die down.”

Nibbling on his lip with his teeth, Jaehyun huffs a smile and nods. “He really won’t.” And he leans in again, only pecking you this time.

Johnny and his predictions that gave you the bravery and encouragement to do these kinds of things could go fall face first onto the concrete.

The rest of the patrol and getting back to the city go almost seamless, except for the fact that you had to pass by a couple of groups of infected— some Runners who had spotted you and alerted the Clickers (one of the older stages of infected where the infection has taken over most of their skin and has made its way out, taking over their eyes and using echolocation with the clicking sounds that comes from their throats) with the sound they made. They caused a bit of a hassle, but nothing you could not take care of; not with Jaehyun’s quick bow skills as you galloped through the occupied areas of the valley and all of your leftover ammo. “You’re losing a lot of arrows, don’t you think?” Donghyuck asks Jaehyun, shouting a bit out of breath since the galloping motion is taking a toll on him.

Jaehyun pulls the reins to himself harshly. “Yeah,” His horse halts without any discomfort, and you see him from the corner of your eye before he is left behind. “I’ll meet you at the gate!”

And he starts galloping to the opposite way.

If it was anybody else, any and most probably all of you would have started screaming some sense into him. But it was Jaehyun. Whose way of doing things outside, although stealthy, was very impulsive. So you do not take your gaze away from the road ahead of you, locking your eyes on the city just now visible as you make your way down.

It is already dusk by the time you are at the gates and the watches see you, asking where the hell Jaehyun is and offering to open the gates when Yuta tells them he is collecting his arrows back from a small area, so he should be back any minute. All of you agree that you do not want the gates to open before he comes so the noise does not attract anything more than it needs to.

Just as you expect, the missing person of your quad comes sooner than later. A proud smile is on his face as he goes on about being able to get back five of the seven arrows he had used, waiting for all of you to make your ways in before walking in himself.

“We have some gas and some meds,” You tell the watch who is there the second you walk in, to unleash the supplies behind your horse. “With plenty of infected on the side.” Donghyuck adds, too upbeat for the news he is delivering. One of the gatekeepers is quite mortified to hear that which is why he feels inclined to add more to his words. “Not a dooming amount, but we definitely need a few sweeps. It’d be worse if the herd caught up to them.”

“Why don’t you just go tell that to Taeyong?” Mark cuts in, and you can immediately tell how irritated Donghyuck gets. His face gets red, his eyes drop and squint, and he completely forgets about getting off his horse which all of you do at that point. “Oh would you look at that,”

Mark tries to hold a snicker in, you can tell, because his lips curl inwards. “It’s almost as if that’s not exactly what I was about to do. Fucking asshole.”

Mark finally gives in then, letting his shoulders shake when he greets you, giggling. He tries to check if you have any bites since it is a procedure he needs to do, but he cannot do it effectively with how much he is giggling— which was fine, because he could very clearly see you did not have any bites. None of your clothes were torn, and your face, hands and neck that was not covered up was just very visibly in quite okay condition.

“I’m having dinner at Johnny’s tonight,” You tell Mark as he lets go of your hands, making him pick his head up. “Just saying.”

“I’ll see if I can pay a visit.”

You smile at him and make your way over to Jaehyun, letting him put an arm around your shoulders and walk away with you, planting a kiss on the side of your head.

He does pay a visit.

The night is pierced through with Mark’s laughter when Johnny’s mouth drops open. He stops mindlessly strumming his guitar when it takes over him. “Dude, I’m telling you,” He says between his laughs. “They didn’t even look at each other when they were leaving, and somehow they were all lovey-dovey by the time they got back.”

“Fuck you,” Johnny nudges you rather hard in your side, and this time you are snickering along with Mark just at the sight of his face. “You called me creepy when I knew all along.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Johnny. I apologize for not crediting you enough on your talent of predicting relationships.” Your smile dies down a little after that, and your voice goes a bit quieter with the confusion. “Well I don’t know if it’s a relationship yet. It just happened, sort of.”

Johnny shrugs at that and puts his arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him on the couch with one of your legs dangling over and one of them propped up. “That’s fine. You guys can let it brew for a bit more. Just test the waters.” A breath of a chuckle makes its way out of your nose at his words and how the high you had felt a few hours ago had crashed down into this weird oblivion, but Mark nods in agreement.

You do not see it, but Johnny smiles down at you while you fix your eyes on the photographs on his wall. Some of his, some of his parents’, some of his newborn days— the final days just before the infection started taking all over the country and the world. There are a few with you and Mark, too, a couple of them looking downright awkward with Mark and you too numb to the friendship he was offering you after coming to the brink of death maybe tens or maybe hundreds of times, and another couple of them where the photos are just blurry with how much you were laughing and it made steadying his parents’ old camera harder.

He turns his head to the opposite side, facing Mark. “You got any sick raps, Mark?”

“What is that question?” Mark howls out, laughing his chest off like he always does. “When you say it like that I don’t wanna rap ever again.”

But he does, because Mark is like that.

Johnny and you do your best in hyping him up, shouting and howling and springing in your place to the beat of his lyrics. You two let him rap until he really does not feel like it anymore, and you listen to him when he goes back to strumming his guitar, softly singing some things every now and then. So quietly that you almost do not even hear it.

The night goes on like that. You just lounge around, Johnny between you and Mark, cozy and warm.

If there was anything about them two, it was that they made you feel normal somehow. Which is maybe why you cherished them so much, and what the three of you have.

Unfortunately, you wake up early once again in your own room in the morning even though you do not have any reason to.

There are some upsides to that when you have the day off, as much as you hate it. You get to take a shower with all cold, yet much appreciated water, and properly change your clothes into new ones after a long while, to make a breakfast with what you have stored away in your cupboards, and maybe even do laundry if you had any leftover homemade soap.

Sometimes you paid a visit to the dorms, checking up on lonely recruits if there were any that you had grown some kind of attachment to.

That morning you do all of that, too. You get your hair and body feeling and looking all clean, eat somewhat of a nutritious breakfast that is much better when compared with just going with an all empty stomach, change into some of your newest clothes that Johnny and Jaehyun had gifted you once after an outing for hoarding. Except while you are making your way to the dorms just to check on the newest recruits, you stumble upon a group of people lining in front of the entrance to the stables.

Your interest peaks when you spot Johnny, who is writing his name down on the board at the gates that open to the place. You hurry over to him as best you can in your still sleepy state. “Morning,”

He hears you but does not bother to turn his head to look at you, knowing you would come to stand next to him. “Hey.”

As expected, you halt when you are there. You look at his name on the board and his signature along with the date, and you know for a fact he is going out. “Sweep?”

“Yeah,” He lends the pen to the person next to him, and moves out of the line, prompting you to move away with him. “Signing up last minute. Taeyong and Yuta can’t make it out today, so.”

“Why?” You furrow your brows, and he shrugs a little. “Yuta’s needed at the training grounds today, and who knows what Taeyong has to take care of.”

He watches you as you sigh, truly tired of it, but the inner conflict is louder than any type of exhaustion you could possibly have. “Well I’m coming with you.”

When you try to walk into the line he steps in front of you, and puts a stop to whatever madness you are planning. His hands physically stop you as well as he places them on your shoulders. “No you aren’t,” Johnny’s voice is firm, and his brows are furrowed just slightly. “You need a day off. Your whole face looks purple with the cold, the lack of sleep, and the scar— and you look awful.”

He smiles then as if he had not just dragged the way you look all over the floor. “Just go and relax. Maybe spend some time with Jae, hm?”

You bite down on the insides of your lips and nibble on them, and furrow your eyebrows at the squeeze of your heart. “Just do me a favor and be careful. There are a lot of Runners around,” One of your hands come up half-bothered to point at the people in the line. “Tell that to the group as well.”

There is a silence that lasts a couple of seconds, but then Johnny pulls you in for a hug. “You know,” He mumbles. “If you actually talked to more people they’d like you better.” He knew what you would say, that you do not like the stares that people throw at you anywhere and everywhere, and that it stops you from approaching them. So, he stops that from happening before it can. “I’ll take your horse if that will make you feel any better.”

Stepping away from him, you smile and shove him a little. “Take my horse if it will make you feel any more secure, and send her back if your ass can’t make it.”

“Will do.”

Dusk comes, and the sun sets.

Some people do not return that evening, and Johnny is one of them.

Supposedly, his whole group is missing— which is a good thing, because it is not completely uncommon that people camp in some sort of a hide-out if the infected in the area are too much for them to handle with the amount of people they have and they think it is better to wait it out.

Which is why, although bitter, there is hope inside of you.

His parents are distressed when Taeyong comes to tell them the news, and they remain just as distressed afterwards if not more. Whenever you see them, you cannot help but notice how their faces are overborne with concern. Their brows are always furrowed, their mouths are always pointed downwards in a frown, their eyes always glazed over with what looked like thousands of thoughts racing all around, and the wrinkles on their faces are deepened in some areas with the weight and tension.

You grow distressed and restless as well, as hours— days pass. The concept of night and day loses its significance because you are too distracted during the day when you are supposed to be training the recruits, and too uncomfortable during the night rolling all over the bed without a drop of sleep in your eyes.

And it must be not only you that is feeling that way, because Taeyong knocks on your door in the dead of the night a few days after Johnny’s disappearance. When you open the door his arms are crossed over his chest, and he looks a lot paler than he usually is, his eyes red all around.

He gets straight to the point. “You, Yuta, Jaehyun and Mark. I want you to search for them while another group goes for a sweep.” His voice breaks at some point because of how tired he must be feeling and how scared. You nod slightly, the tension pulling and burdening your face. “Okay.”

After your mumbled, quick and short answer Taeyong turns right back on his heel and walks down the stairs of the porch. You cannot bring yourself to close the door just yet when you see him, a friend of a friend but a figure as protective and wise, walk away with his guards clearly down. “You should try and get some sleep,” You advise after him, even though you yourself are suffering from the same problem he is. “What you do matters.”

Taeyong does not slow down, and is out of your sight within seconds after he leaves your backyard.

Next morning, it is as if you had done a mutual agreement between the four of you, because you are all by the stables with the slightest hue of sunlight.

No one is smiling or looking content in any way or shape, but no one is agitated, either. The most healthy thing at that moment is to force yourselves to go numb altogether and you all know it.

With so much as some collective huffs you write your names down on the board and sign in the hand-drawn boxes next to them, being able to see all of the missing people’s names that were out just before you— it was never a pretty situation. The stables are kind of empty from all the horses that are missing as well and it feels weird to not be able to go out with the horse, your horse that you had considered a companion for years on end.

But Anubis, the black horse assigned to you that day, was a good compensation. He was surprisingly comfortable with you from the get-go.

The stable you were in got too empty after all of the search and sweep groups took their horses with only a couple of them left behind, and before you knew it, you were on them and stationed in front of the gate. Handwritten documents were in Yuta’s hands mapping out yesterday’s group’s sweeping locations.

And as he said just before you all mounted on your horses, no one would be parting ways that day.

When the gates open, you immediately start galloping behind the sweepers— they collectively had more ammo than your group, and they were going in the same direction for a while, so they could be some sort of a shield for you if the groups had somehow started moving much faster all of a sudden. Your group would be heading to the settlement just a bit further away from the town you had gone through yesterday; most probably what used to be its business district if any of your predictions were true. The sweepers would be going to the town, figuring the groups that were saturated behind the town must be at its downtown now.

The way up the valley is rather empty, which is almost more unsettling when you think of how many people are missing.

Six, to be exact, counting Johnny.

You try to focus on different things, like how your backside hurts as you gallop upwards and Anubis pants under you. On the fact that he is a rather strong horse and you had never noticed that when anybody else was riding him. How he is maybe the most elevated horse you have ever had, and how his back is very uncomfortable to ride on even with a saddle. How he is very enduring considering he does not slow down in the slightest even after the valley starts getting a little rough, not falling behind any horses and even passing some of them if it was not for you that took him back under control.

It helps you, focusing on him, because you do not want to focus on things that might get your guard down.

The sweepers part their way with you at the point they need to, making a turn for the northeast once you enter the town, letting you pass straight through. Without any goodbyes because you have officially entered the danger zone.

And you truly have, because there are Runners around with not as many Clickers roaming through in the visible distance where the sweepers are headed. You can only internally wish them good luck.

It takes less than an hour to get to the probable business district that is filled with concrete and glass covered buildings unlike the town, overtaken by vegetation (and snow) that has washed over its blues and greys and beiges and the financial personality it once had— again unlike its brown and red brick counterpart.

All of you make your horses come to a halt once you enter the environment, again, just to make sure there is as little noise as possible. Dismounting from them and taking the reins in your hands is an instinct. “Where do we go first?”

Yuta looks down at the papers with Mark’s question. His fingers trace over the words until they find what they are looking for. “Well,” He huffs, placing a hand on his nape with a wince. “They were going to the law firm, the bank in southwest, the city hall and they would meet at the conference hall. They must be around these areas if we’re lucky.”

“And if they’re lucky.” Jaehyun says under his breath, but you hear him loud and clear. And you have a feeling that everybody does.

Yuta drops his hand that is holding the papers and sighs. “The bank’s the farthest one, let’s go.”

They are not at the bank.

Not in the bank, not around the bank, not in the subway station under the bank where there is a hide-out in one of the conductor rooms, not inside the surrounding business buildings all of which have of their doors opened whether it is one of the back/staff doors or the front entrances as if it is an all-you-can-get open buffet of places to roam around for the infected. When in actuality, your people’s strategy is to close the doors and lightly barricade them after coming into any contact, trying to keep as many infected on the roads so it is somewhat easier to wipe them out by narrowing their moving space. It also helped indicating whether there had been any recent trespassers at all, because most people not acquainted with your settlement would not bother with closing the doors behind them as they lost themselves in all the possible places to hoard.

And it all just means that there must have been trespassers recently, making the infected harder to find since they were free to go into the buildings, which must have messed up with the sweeping.

It does not feel right at all.

The law firm which is a rather small building is of no help as well. No alive, normal human is inside, not in any of the five floors that you have to clear out a little or around, and once again the doors are open. All you can find are supplies lying around the fifth floor that are definitely from the city’s storage so you know that they must have stayed for some time there at some point. You take them back. But there is nothing more.

To be truthful about things, none of you had your hopes up about the city hall. It was an extremely open space and was most definitely not the safest in this situation, nor the most resourceful place to hide or camp in anytime— or to hoard things with nothing but once-fancy tiles all over the interior and no leftover supplies from passing groups. However, they would have gone there to check if there was anybody hiding away, because people (especially in groups) who passed through did that since it is a quite distinctive and low building in between all of the higher buildings for those unfamiliar with the area. They would have brought them back to the city if any of them were there. So it does not surprise you when you find the city hall empty as well, except for the sea of infected that swarm the grand entrance to the hall that make your eyes widen and immediately shut the door close when you first open it up. Plus holding onto dear life pushing against the doors with Jaehyun when some of them are attracted to the noise and make a run for it.

Sweep season was the worst season.

Through a mutual agreement, you barricade the doors a little (a lot) tighter with fire truck hoses that have long been detached from the abandoned truck between the hall and one of the high-rise buildings that most probably was sitting there since the outbreak day, where fire trucks were not only used for the countless fires that started especially in the traffic, but also to rescue people stuck in upper floors of buildings that were taken over by the Runners.

There is no way the infected trapped in the hall can open the doors through layers upon layers of a thick hose wrapped and tied around the handles of the entrance, at least you all would like to believe that.

When your heart rate picks up is when you spot a building with its visible doors closed on the way to the conference hall. “Wait.”

Everyone stops, prompting their horses to do the same as them. The guys look at the direction of your gaze, and they all seem to come to a realization. “Do you think-?”

“I think there’s no reason we shouldn’t.” But Yuta does not look too keen on it, so you have to agree further. “There’s something obvious here, and I think it’s an objective point when I say that.”

He nods at that and clears his throat, looking up at the building for a split second. “Is it okay if you search with Mark? Jaehyun and I’ll be here, I kind of need a second thought as I plan out the mapping for if they aren’t here or at the conference hall.”

“That’s fine.” You assure him, and nod your head at Mark. “Let’s go.”

Inside the building is eerily quiet, but brightly lit with the afternoon sun shining through all the glass. You have never been in this building before, at least you do not think so, because the lobby does not ring the slightest bell to you.

There are bodies of infected that are taken out lying all around. They paint the light creme flooring red with their blood, but it is comforting. Because it is for certain that they have been here, at least.

A fire exit door is all that you are looking for, or a staff room that could possibly lead to the stairway, but it takes a bit of an embarrassingly long time for you two to spot anything in the seemingly open-spaced, bright lobby. You come to learn a bit after starting to walk around that the entry to the stairway beside the elevators just outside of the oval lobby is also blocked with something on the other side.

“There’s a crack in the elevator doors,” Mark suggests, and although ladders are the one thing you hate the most, you agree to take them to the upper floors.

It is so dark and humid inside with years upon years of unventilated air, the smell of rust and rot is absolutely disgusting, and you fear that the years-old ladders will break any second with both you and Mark’s weight on them. Not to mention how tiring climbing up a ladder can be for your arms and legs when you hold onto the thin and flimsy metal waiting for the other to separate one of the elevator doors, most of which are rightfully blocked.

On one of the far upper floors, though, there is no blockage, and you can swing yourselves onto the hallway. Which is scary to be honest, especially when you are all this way up and if you miss anything your way down will be met with an old, hard, rusting top of an elevator on your back.

But god bless the planners (maybe their souls) of this place, because the ladder is close to the opening enough that you can swing onto the floor without too much hassle. Neither of you slip after jumping down onto it.

“Do you think,” Mark dusts himself off as if it would help with anything, takes a deep breath in his tired lungs, and rephrases his words. “Do you think they came all the way up here through that?”

“Maybe they blocked the stairway and the doors,” You suggest instead, and it sounds a lot more like the option the two of you would like to believe in. “Right half yours left half mine?”

“Sure.” He answers, and the two of you go your separate ways on the big office floor.

A few doors open to the empty, messy office rooms and you check through the drawers for anything worthy to take back with you even though there is not much of it. One of them provides you with some scissors and lighter liquid, which end up being the most usable things you get out of them. Some doors do not even budge with whatever is blocking your way.

But there is a room at the visible end of the hall where the door will budge, but will not open.

You resort to using your shoulders to break into the room rather quickly. There is not any particularly loud sound coming from behind the thick, polished wooden door, and something about it being left secure but still accessible made you think there must be something behind that door that is useful. Maybe a stash of actually usable supplies or much preferably, anything that leads you to your missing people.

The door opens with your fifth push, and you hear the sound of a broken lock clink on the ground.

You also hear the shriek of a Runner who jumps you immediately after being attracted to the sound.

With the force of your push you have basically thrown yourself into the arms of the Runner which is never a good thing or in any way close to an ideal situation, and you have to duck away by kneeling lower and throwing yourself to the sharp opposite side of where the infected is facing to make sure it does not grab your arms. You take a few steps away but it is just as fast as you are, so you have to use your quick wit and draw out your gun in the blink of your eyes, shooting it in the head— impractically unable to care whether there were any infected on Mark’s side or not because it was either you or whoever they were with the shock and the pace of things.

The mess of a creature falls down with a slump, your heart absolutely racing but also dropping— because as you look down at it you can see that you know who she used to be. You were not friends or even really acquaintances, but you know for a fact that she lives in the city. So you turn back around to the open-planned office with your fast approaching panic and adrenaline.

Which is when you see it.

Johnny, slumped onto the floor, sitting with his legs spread out. Johnny, whose ankle looks broken. Johnny, who has his gun in his hand.

Johnny, who has a bite mark on his exposed right arm where orange-salmon colored fungi is growing out, extending upwards to his shoulders and neck.

Johnny, who has a hole on the left side of his chest, red spatter over the wall behind him, slumped on the floor with fungi growing out of his arm ready to grow all over his glowing skin until he grows into the wall and starts letting out spores.

Johnny, dead.

You do not know if any air makes its way into your lungs. It surely does not feel like it. Your ears ring and your eyes go dark with purple spots all over your vision and you get dizzy and nauseous, but somehow, you stand.

“Mark!” You shout out, surprising yourself, calling and alerting him when you can already hear his fast approaching steps thumping on the floor at the sound of the gun fire. Before barely a few seconds can pass he barges into the room with his gun in his hand but stops when he sees you frozen in place. Then, he follows your gaze.

Even from the side of your eye, it is obvious he flinches. “What the hell happened here?” His voice is not above a whisper.

You look at the less familiar face lying on the ground, and its shoulder. “The bite marks look similar.” There is no sense of stillness in your voice as you speak. “I guess they just locked themselves away,” Teeth grinding tightly, you let out a silent and choked sob, because you cannot believe any of this bullshit your eyes are seeing.

Mark takes a few steps towards Johnny and picks something up from the ground— a paper— making his way to you. But he stands on his own while he reads with his slightly shaky hands, and crumples the paper once he is done skimming over it. He sits next to you on the hard, carpeted but otherwise concrete floor. “They got bit while they were clearing out the basement,” His lips wobble a bit, but he quickly covers it up by placing his fist over his mouth until it goes away. “Locked themselves in here so they wouldn’t harm anybody.”

“If the trespassers didn’t go through the district leaving every goddamn door open, none of this would’ve fucking happened.” Maybe you were trying to blame it on someone, or maybe you really were mad at them for their ignorance as they went through the city. You did not know for certain, although it felt a whole lot like it was the latter. Because they would not have had to camp here anyway. There would not have been infected in the buildings in the first place.

You sit down where you are standing, looking at Johnny.

All you know is that this was unfair. If anyone deserved surviving long in this world it was Johnny. He was physically strong, and he had a good mental attitude, and he was so purely good that the last thing he deserved was to die the way everybody did, alone and scared and not wanting to turn into one of those things. He deserved to die of old age if anything after living a happy and healthy life, continuing to help lonely recruits like you and Mark— doing what he likes to do until his very last days. Training, falling in love, teasing and pestering his friends whenever and wherever, giving advice, making people’s stomachs hurt with his smooth and not-so-smooth jokes, doing photography as long as that camera of his would survive, spending time with his family and not moving out of their house even though there are available houses until the time comes when he absolutely has to.

But he cannot do any of those things anymore.

He also cannot be there for you or Mark anymore.

Your trembling hand comes up to spread over your eyes and your fingers rest on your temples, and you hitch a breath in. “What are we going to do?” You ask Mark with your just as trembling voice as if he would know. The question is not necessarily about this particular moment in time, but about the far future as well. He lets it linger in the air as his eyes switch between the two bodies.

“Well,” He clears his throat when his voice shakes violently and looks at you, his hands playing with the carpet, picking and tearing away. He chooses to ignore the far future, at least for now. “We’ll have to tell his parents first.”

The hand on your face falls down. You look at Mark, and he notices how wide your eyes are. He knows you cannot comprehend it by the way your eyes look, looking right through him with your shell shocked, hundred-yard stare. “No,” You whisper. “Mark, I can’t.”

“That’s fine,” He looks into your eyes with his own that are glazed over, and nods reassuringly. “I can.”

But it does not feel better. Instead, it makes you feel worse immediately, because you feel like you at least owe Johnny and his parents this. It makes you feel ashamed that you will not do even one thing about it, because you do not think you would ever be able to look into his parents’ eyes again; knowing you joked about it before he left and you were too unbothered to go out after him before you were ordered to do so. There is nothing in your heart, mind, or body, that tells you that you can do it without completely losing yourself in the process.

The two of you collect yourselves and come back to your senses as quickly as you can, because you knew Yuta and Jaehyun would be on you if you were any more late.

Mark helps you in carrying the bodies down the stairs which is an extremely tiring task considering you go down several floors, and the mental toll it has on you. The two of you unblock the fire exit door and push the metal drawers and organizers aside, opening the door and carrying them to the lobby.

Then, you head outside. Yuta and Jaehyun do not spot Mark and you until you get closer, but when they do, their brows immediately furrow. “We need two bags.” You mutter, feeling your chest stutter with the words. Their faces fall at that very second. The grip Yuta has on his map that he is holding tightens and his knuckles go white, and he sighs with utter disappointment. Knowing Yuta, it is at himself.

“One of them’s Johnny.”

The muscles on their faces relax only for their eyes to widen.

It takes a few hours for all of you to get back to the city once you put them in bags and start riding, not galloping nor trotting; deciding not to look for the others knowing it would take a longer time to get back and not wanting to stress out anyone in the city further. A night group could easily replace yours.

When you are at the gates the sun has long set. Questions arise once the gates open and the bags dragged by the horses are seen. You and Mark answer them since you are the ones who found them in that state, where you found them, which building, which floor, was there anything written around them, any symbols, any human spotted around the area— anything useful.

You give them the answers still in a daze, and let them take Anubis from your hand. Without waiting for anybody you start walking, on the way to your house.

Except, you do not end up in your house for a while. You wait in the dark, just around the corner leading to Johnny’s house and you watch Mark deliver the news to them. Although you cannot hear what he says to them, you can see it clearly with the light on their porch. How Mark delivers the news with his hands linked in the front, fiddling with his fingers a little as he looks at their expectant faces. How Johnny’s mother hugs into his father once she hears the situation, both of them shaking with sobs. How Mark’s shoulders drop and how he tries to console them, but stopping when Johnny’s mother does not take a step away from her husband and he waves at Mark presumably wanting some space and time alone to themselves.

You watch as Mark nods and leaves, and you head to your house. Hurrying into your backyard, you swing open the door and kick off your boots. Not bothering to put them in their place, you take your bag off your shoulders and the only reason that you do not let it fall onto the floor is because of the guns packed inside. Then, you make a move to take your coat off.

And the damn zipper gets stuck.

With a sigh, you force it down. But it does not budge. So you try again, but it will not move. You wait, nibble on your lips, give it time to change its mind: maybe it was frozen and it needed to thaw.

But when you try again, it just does not want to move down.

Pissed off, you try to strip out of the coat. But that proves to be almost harder. Everybody wears thin but warm, lightweight coats to make their movability better, especially outside. But moving your whole arm to yourself and then down while holding the two layers of clothes, one thick sweater and the thin coat on top of it was undoable— because then they were fully limiting your movement.

And you had to take it off. You need to take it off.

Your hands then start picking and grabbing at the coat trying to rip it off, and that is when your door opens without any alert beforehand and Jaehyun walks in.

“What are you doing?” He whispers and walks over to you near your couch. You only stop struggling when he stands in front of you. “I can’t get it off, it’s stuck.”

He notices how you will not look into his eyes in the dark, and he notices the tears streaming down your face that you probably are not realizing. “Okay.”

Jaehyun walks over to your bathroom and takes a bar of soap you have. He walks right back to you in complete silence and dabs at your zipper with the sleeves of his hoodie up and down to take off the excess moisture, and starts slathering on the soap along the zipper until its sharp corner has visibly softened and the zipper looks white with the coat of it. He then fumbles with the zipper for a few seconds before it slides right down.

It makes you feel a mixture of embarrassment and anger, and you sniffle, only then realizing that you are crying after feeling the wetness in your inhale. Your lips waver as you try not to let a sob out. “There you go.” He mumbles as he helps you out of the coat and places it on the arm of your couch. He picks your boots up and places them next to the door.

“Let’s wash your hands.” He suggests, and you look down at your hands, seeing the blood from that Runner.

Jaehyun is almost late to hold you once your face violently scrunches up and you start fully letting it out, shaking with choked sobs.

Because your crying does not subside for several minutes, he ends up going to the bathroom again and comes back with a couple of wet rags, soaping one up and cleaning your hands delicately before wiping them off. He leads you to your bed then and lets you lie down, pulls the cover up, and kneels down in front of your face. “Try to sleep, okay? Force yourself to if you need it.”

You nod at him, and let him leave after he smiles at you.

His eyes had looked empty, which was always the worst for Jaehyun.

The next morning you hear your door lightly opening in your sleep, and being carefully shut. A few steps make their way over to you slowly and the empty side of your bed sinks with a somewhat loud huff.

Whoever it is waits for a bit, lets you sleep a little more even though you are not deep in it. That goes on for a few minutes before your bed sinks closer to your back, and it sinks a bit less than before— an elbow.

Fingers start running through and playing with your hair. It must be Jaehyun. And you are right. “Taeyong let me and Donghyuck take over you and Mark’s work for a couple of days, so you don’t have to go in today.” He softly whispers, and you nod slightly. “How’d you know I wasn’t sleeping?” You ask in hopes of distracting yourself from the thoughts and views that race over your eyelids, and open your eyes when it does not exactly work out.

He answers with a slight smile. “Your lashes fluttered when I walked in.” You feel him place his chin on your shoulder. “You slept any?”

Gulping, you shake your head. “Just got some shut-eye.”

“That’s okay.” Jaehyun whispers. “Better than keeping your eyes open. I’m happy you got some sort of rest.”

He sighs and takes his hand off your hair then. “Yuta wants to see you and Mark eating so he’s preparing breakfast. I have to leave, but head out soon and try to eat for me. A few bites is all I’m asking for.”

“Okay.”

Porridge and bergamot tea.

The breakfast Yuta has prepared for you and Mark, with some dried plums and apples inside that he fried on the pan a little. It smells nice, looks less so.

There is no one to greet and welcome you initially when you are in front of his house that is on the same street as Johnny’s. But it does not matter because you barge in to avoid being seen by his parents, taking big strides from the start of the street. You hear the stir of the wooden spoon inside the metal pot, and the fruit that spills in while you make your way to the kitchen.

Mark is sitting at the island counter of Yuta’s kitchen with his elbow on the surface, his head leant against his hand.

Yuta turns away from the cream colored counters and his electric stove once he hears the footsteps. “Morning.”

You see Mark’s head only tilt a little, but not fully to the extent that he can look back at you. “Hey.” Your voice does not really come out, so you clear your throat. Yuta’s face falls a little at that. “Is there tension in your throat?”

“Yeah.” You sit down next to Mark. With your hands placed on the surface, you turn your head to look at him but his face is covered by his hand and arm. “There’s some powdered ginger you can take in the pantry. But you should try and relax your muscles first.”

With that he pours the porridge into the bowls he has taken out for you, and serves them with a slight smile on his face. Then he pours the hot tea inside two small jars and hands them out as well. “Dig up.”

It does not feel right. The atmosphere is too heavy, but you know you will not get out of it unless you really eat something, so you pick up the spoon and take a spoonful of the meal, gathering a piece of everything. Letting it steam for a few seconds as you watch it, you contemplate putting it in your mouth because ever since yesterday you feel this sickness in your stomach. It is more fragile than it ever could be on any given normal day.

Even so, you take a bite. At first it feels like you will throw up at the sheer hue of sweetness in it.

But you chew, and continue chewing, and you do not throw up.

“I heard you’re going out again today.” Mark mumbles, which makes you perk up, looking at Yuta. His eyes widen in the slightest. “I am,” He says, his eyes looking boringly only at Mark.

You chuckle drily. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Taeyong wants me there. He’s going out too.” His explanation does not calm your heart, which feels like it is being squeezed, at all. You turn back to your bowl and continue picking some porridge. Just to avoid his gaze.

Yuta does not say that he would come back or that he would be okay. Because he knows that those words do not hold any meaning to them whatsoever, especially now. “I have to go soon, so you should better be finished with these before I do. I’ll let you drink the tea by yourselves.”

Mark and you start eating in complete silence. Mostly because Yuta is watching you eat and it is extremely uncomfortable, and it would be awkward to just talk as if he was not there.

It makes you both rush your meals as well. The bowls empty out in a matter of minutes and your stomach feels heavy, though in all honesty, it was a pretty good breakfast Yuta had prepared for you. It was a fact that you would not have bothered to cook or even to prepare something that did not need to be cooked.

When the two of you are done with your meals, Yuta smiles and takes the bowls away to wash them quickly. Mark tries to intervene and says that Yuta could go out and he would take care of the dishes, but Yuta shuts him right up saying he needs the distraction anyway.

You can see Yuta’s hands shaking slightly.

It is always difficult to know for sure what he is feeling. But if you had to give it a shot, you would say he is feeling either anxious or shocked, or both. He is the type to live his emotions very secretively, and you could never recall an instance where Yuta’s grief was noticeable. Maybe only when he had lost one of his recruited, young survivors on the way back home. That had changed him as a whole; losing someone (especially much younger than him) under his responsibility.

He leaves once the bowls are washed, not looking at your way or telling you goodbye. You are simultaneously thankful and angry at him for doing that.

The bergamot tea is still steamy. It somewhat burns your hands when you put them around the jar to warm yourself up and start looking into the dark substance, looking so deep into it that you start feeling as if you are part of the dark liquid.

Mark clears his throat. “You’re wearing the same things as yesterday.”

That is true: even though there is nothing that you want more than to take them off and trash them to never see them again. But at the same time, there is something inside of you that does not want to let go of them. Even if it is just taking them off.

You look at the side of his face, and see him taking a sip from the jar. “Could you sleep?”

He shakes his head with a gulp. “No, no. You?”

The two of you make eye contact when he finally properly looks at you, and you shake your head as well. “I kept seeing it like a picture— like something projected at the backs of my eyelids.”

Mark nods, and that is it for a while. No one speaks for some time and you sip your beverages together as if it is a chore that you have to do, as if Yuta would see you two if you spill the tea into the drain of the sink and would come after you, trying to get done as quickly as possible so both of you could leave to be by yourselves. And it goes on until Mark decides to speak in a low voice. “They buried him early in the morning. His parents didn’t want anybody to see.”

Your eyes burn and the lump forms back in your throat because you can understand why they would not want anyone to see, but at the same time, you cannot. “Some of his older recruits left him flowers and letters, seeing that made me feel a bit better.”

You nod. “He deserves that.” And so much more. Despite yourself you smile slightly, and Mark joins in understandably grim, nodding. “He does.”

The day goes by extremely slow, yet so fast once you are back at your house.

You let yourself take refuge on the bed and do not move much throughout the day, trying to sleep. Expectedly, you are not too good at doing that. You toss and turn and huff and look up at the ceiling meaninglessly until you can no longer hear kids playing outside and the adults going about with their daily duties; until daylight loses all of its significance. Until you realize you have melted into this state of mind and have completely forgotten about your needs, using the toilet, eating, or drinking water.

Yesterday’s clothes are still on you. And you cannot bring yourself to change out of them, again, even though there is nothing in this world you want more than to never see them again.

The night would have not had any significance whatsoever as well if it was not for the sounds of hurried shuffles through the snow that were coming out of your room’s window at whoever knows o’clock. Before you could even show any type of physical response to it- whether it be surprise or suspicion- there were loud and hard knocks on your door.

It takes probably all of the strength you have in you to get up and walk to the door. You laze your way over to it and swing it open, rubbing your eyes.

You would have expected it to be Jaehyun, since he must have gotten done with his duties. But it was not him. It was Mark.

Mark, whose eyes and face were lit up with adrenaline. There is not a single emotion you can make out from the way his face looks. The world could actually be ending for all you know, or the community might have been getting raided.

You cannot make anything out from the way his voice sounds, either, when you hear him speak the millisecond after the door knob turns. “They found the trespassers.”

The look in his eyes- whatever it was, shifts into concern for a split second before he carries on with his words. “One of them’s the one Yuta left a note for, they were making their way over here when Yuta found them.”

Those words spark a light in your chest because of course. Of course they were the ones that caused this whole thing in the first place and it sounds stupid to you now that you had not even thought about them when you noticed the doors were open.

Which is because the doors at the nearer town were, in fact, closed while you were there.

Now it does not make sense. “Wh- how- that doesn’t make any sense. The doors were closed when we were out earlier.”

Mark shrugs. “I don’t know, I guess they got the theme by the time they were there. Yuta told me about the whole interrogation,” He chuckles humorlessly, shaking his head. “They claimed everything before they could even ask the questions.”

“Do they know they fucking killed people?” You ask, and Mark flinches at the harshness of the words. However, he nods promptly. “Yuta told them. They said they were sorry-”

It makes you laugh at the sheer comedy of it. “They were sorry? That doesn’t bring them back or make up for anything.”

“Nobody ever said it does-” Mark defends, but you are too angry at them to stop. “You know how fucking miraculous it is to survive twenty five years- the whole ordeal, especially when you go outside frequently. His parents pushed through thick and thicker with a newborn baby just to get to where they are now, to give him a damn chance at life and this is how Johnny goes? Because of someone else’s stupidity and inconsideration?” Shaking from anger, you wipe at your eyes that have gotten a little wet while your blow-up was going on. You gulp and shake your head, feeling the tension in your jaws. “They should save their apologies because not even a billion of them,” Faster than lightning, you hold a finger up in the air in between you and Mark. “Would make up for a single hair of Johnny’s that got hurt nor for a single tear of his parents.”

Mark, your poor friend and companion, only nods a little. He knows how you get when you are angry, and he knows how fed up you must be feeling, and he can see how tired and out-of-it you look, so he does not talk. He knows that if he were to say anything you would spill words from your mouth you would either regret saying or would only upset you more, and he did not want that to happen.

Though, Mark did have to say one thing. A part of the truth that would concern the two of you. “They’re from the Nox.”

He watches your eyes slowly widen. In a matter of seconds, you look awake and aware as if you did get all the sleep you had lost the past two days within those few moments. You lean your shoulder against the door for support or from the shock, he cannot be sure. “What?” You whisper.

Mark shifts from his place, the tips of his shoes touching your socks as he leans in much closer- most probably to drown his voice out. The neighbors should not hear more than what they might have already heard so far, even though you had been conversing in low tones. “From the headquarters,” He whispers, looking into your eyes. “They came to recruit people from this area. The others are with them.”

Your brows furrow with the oncoming nerves. “So there were more of them and they just joined?”

After a second’s hesitation, Mark nods. “Seems so.”

“Why would they?” Upon the question, Mark takes a deep breath and pushes his shoulders back much like a school kid being questioned on a topic they have not studied, and looks at the side. The yellow lights from other people’s windows hit his face as he nibbles on his bottom lip indecisively. When he turns back to face you, the lights still illuminating the right side of his face, he shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

Mark does not get surprised when you chuckle humorlessly. “Well I think it’s pathetic to run with people who’ve killed your own.”

It is quiet for a few seconds as he nibbles on his lip some more, but in the end something- that looked much like defeat- washes over him before he just nods a little. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Maybe five seconds of quiet before he speaks, looking down at his hands where his fingers are picking at scabs formed over his knuckles that seemed to be there every living day. “Um,” He swallows the words that would come after that at first, but he thinks, and thinks some more. It takes a couple of seconds, but he does decide to speak up. “You know what, nevermind. Maybe later.”

You get a bit taken aback but he cannot tell, because your brows are still furrowed a bit angrily and there is no other emotion over your face. “Do you know where Jaehyun is? He said he’d come straight after his duties.”

Mark’s mouth opens but no word leaves it. “He uh,” It closes and opens once again, his eyes widening a little. “He’s- he volunteered,” He clears his throat and looks down. “He volunteered for filiation.”

“Of what?” Your heartbeats have gotten significantly faster, stronger and heavier, but you cannot say if it is worry or the oncoming anger. “The trespassers’ base. Taeyong was looking for someone he could trust and he-,”

“Amazing,” You chuckle and shuffle on your feet, crossing your arms over your chest. “That’s amazing.” Mark sees you lower your head and your tongue swipe over your bottom lip as you smile bitterly, and when you raise your head back up, he can see the unshed liquid shine with the moonlight. “Why does nobody act responsible?” You whisper, and he sees the falter in your furrowed brows- the stutter.

But Mark knows you better.

He knows this is not how you truly think. He knows you out of all people want to move at the front, he knows you want that the most, and Mark knows you blame yourself for the things you are (in his opinion, rightfully) unable to do. He knows it is because you are scared. He knows you are terrified. Because it has been long, so long since either of you two have even gotten close to properly surviving outside and in all honesty: through these years of routinely going out for shorter periods of time and not having to dwell on things out of the gates, you two have grown accustomed to the feeling of homely safety. It really had felt like nothing and nobody would be able to reach you or anyone around you, even if it felt like it just inside the walls. The bubble of routine reality hidden in the much chaotic and unforgiving reality that was this community had slowly but surely implanted the expectation of seeing your loved ones get back home as if it was just a shift of a pre-apocalypse job- what they called 9-to-5.

And Mark knows this is almost like a reset, and that the sense of security and whatever this place has brought you feels like it is gone. He feels like it too.

Mark hates to see you this way. He hates to feel this way. He hates that Johnny was the one who had to go out of everyone, because he was the best of you.

But he knows he should take care of who he has left. In whatever way he can.

When he looks at you, the concerned look in his eyes from a few moments ago is back. “Have you slept any?”

You shake your head. “No.”

He nods as if he expected the murmured answer. “We’re going back to duties tomorrow, you need to sleep some.” Mark sees you chuckle just once and hears you mutter an ‘Easy to say.’ while tilting your gaze down, but he interrupts you by pointing inside, albeit a bit reluctantly. “Do you want me to help?”

“Would you?” He nods, the genuinity somehow visible from the way he does, and steps in gladly when you get away from the door and open it wide enough for him to walk in.

It had been long since the last time he had helped you sleep. It was a few years ago when you were on your own, having just separated from a group of survivors the two of you had become somewhat attached to. Their goals with life were much different than Mark’s and yours- two mere teenagers whose only wish was to not be much farther from home in hopes of reuniting with the people you had grown with.

Who could ever know that a little over three weeks of traveling on foot would already be too far from home, and too impossible to ever cross paths with? A miracle, really, ‘for kids your age’ (as people who were around the age of your parents would say).

Some nights the hopelessness and the feeling of never belonging to any group would take over you. Mark was the only person you could depend on, and you were the only person he could depend on. With how young you both were it was only natural that both of you had times where the cycle of hunger, loneliness, the paranoia of surviving and being infected, almost-dying but being saved, seeing the only person you depend on almost die but saving them, either being showered with love from other survivors or being hated for whatever reason, and getting left behind either way would get too much to deal with.

The two of you were camping overnight inside a completely empty water tower, warm and dark in the winter night- the last gift of the survivor group you had tagged along with had been an old map marked all over with safe and hopefully clear places to settle in. Plus the groups you should never encounter.

So he had done what he was doing right now. He made you lay down like right now, that time on the hard concrete and now on your kind of soft mattress that was slowly rotting away, knelt in front of you unlike in the past when he laid down beside you, started playing (more like softly scratching) with your hair and scalp because he knew it worked well to make you sleep, and sang in a low tone because he knew you loved it, and found comfort in it.

His voice sounds rougher than ever when he starts.

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,” This song is much too familiar, and it is Mark’s favorite verse of it. It means so much to him, having been brought up with faith in a world he once stated he felt was ‘too far from it’.

“And I will dwell on this earth forevermore,” His voice is soothing and soft, even though you knew he preferred his rapping much better over his singing. “Said, I walk beside the still waters and they restore my soul,”

He stops a little to take a breath, an unnecessary one, yet heavy. “But I can’t walk on the path of the right because I’m wrong.”

Mark’s voice is working its charm- or maybe it is knowing you are not alone, you do not know. But your head was getting clouded and dazed with the sleep creeping up to take you over already. He, however, continues. “Well, I came upon a man at the top of a hill,”

His voice cracks a little. “Called himself the savior of the human race,”

Through the cloud of sleep, you try to reach him. Only mentally, but you try to reach him. You wanted to hear him until the end. “Said he come to save the world from destruction and pain, but I said ‘How can you save the world from itself?’”

You barely make it to the end of the line, only hearing a glimpse of his sporadic whistling.

When you open your eyes you see Johnny sitting down next to your hand laid in front of your face, hugging the pillow. He smiles down at you, ruffling your hair for a bit. The room is dim- only the wall lights are on. The environment is mostly dark, even Johnny’s face that is much closer to you than anything. You can still see him pretty well, though, in the dim, warm yellow lighting.

His clothes are relatively clean. A few stains and tears here and there, but nothing unusual. Him and his parents’ ways of doing laundry were always superior to many others. You wanted to learn how but Johnny said you would have to come and do it with them once to properly learn once you are out of the dorms. Sometimes he would offer to do your laundry for you when the queues and waiting periods of the laundry got too long in the dorms- it was easier to have problems with water at a rather small place where a lot of people lived, and when they got their clothes really dirty almost every single day while getting educated on survival skills and agriculture.

His face is bright. His eyes are puffy just the right amount; he looks energetic. His smile is of genuine fondness towards you, and it makes you smile as well.

“Sleeping too deep?” He asks quietly. The dorm room is unoccupied excluding the two of you; your roommate had gotten a bad cold and was kept in the small hospital ward. You shake your head at his question but the yawn you let out contradicts with the motion. “I was just taking a nap.”

Johnny nods and looks down for a second, sighing a little before looking back at you and slightly raising his hand which held a tea cloth, showing off the little pouch. “Eomma sent some cornbread. I brought some dried figs as well.”

Excitement washes over you, and you take the cloth out of his hand gratefully when he holds it out for you. Unable to hold yourself back, you break a small piece off of a slice of cornbread and happily put it inside your mouth- giggling in delight when you notice the fresh corn taste and the fluffy texture. Johnny chuckles at your reaction and coos only a little.

His smile dies down pretty fast despite its brightness just a moment ago. Which is unusual for him, who likes to stretch his smiles out for as long as he possibly could.

“Can I lie down?” He asks and points at the pillow reluctantly. You nod and scoot closer to the wall, arching your back a little and tilting your head back to secure the tea cloth of snacks inside the small, empty vase placed on the windowsill. It operated as a whatever-holder: sometimes it was actual flowers, sometimes it was small jewellery or gifts you had gotten on your birthdays, sometimes the very occasional letter from Mark even though he was just two buildings down, but usually it was snacks from Johnny.

He lies down next to you and does not bother to get under the blanket, placing his hands on his stomach as he looks at the ceiling. You watch his chest rise and fall three, maybe four times before he can start speaking. “Did you ever observe one?”

“An infected?” He hums at your question. You look at the ceiling and try to remember a time you might have but nothing resurfaces. “Not really. Was too busy trying to save my ass. Or Mark’s.”

“You never went outside before the raid?” Johnny asks, quite curious. You shake your head again even though you are not sure if he would see it. “Not never, but we were in school mostly. It was high up in an apartment so it was the safest place. I did not have to worry much about them until we were older.”

An exhausted sigh makes its way past your lips and it is not only because you are physically exhausted. “And then we ran.” Turning your head to the side to look at his face, you smile. “And now I’m in a different kind of school.” Calling the dormitories a school was simultaneously a far reach and not. It was mostly to train people to not be shenanigans until they became adults, and to be responsible with their duties and communal living once they were one.

A hand laid on his stomach reaches out for one of yours and he holds it, squeezing in a way that could not be described as tightly but rather, strongly. In a way that reassured you and calmed you down, in the way that made all your past worth the present. “You’ll get to be a Wanderer soon enough. Just a few months more.”

“I just like the idea of having my own place,” You chuckle as you shrug, acting like being a Wanderer was the least of your interests. “A bathroom all to myself, a less shitty bed and having the freedom to walk around whenever…”

“Just make sure you don’t forget about us when you get your luxury.” He smiles and looks at you, and you smile back at him devilishly. “I couldn’t if I wanted to,” At that, Johnny’s mouth drops open in surprise and happiness, but you cut him off before he can even start, playing your game further. “You see, unfortunately most people I consider friends in here aren’t peaceful, calm farmers or healers or-”

“Yeah, we all have a fucked-up liking of the outside,” He nods as he talks to himself, eyes slightly squinted. But he comes to his own rescue with a protest. “It’s not like anybody can blame us. Being lost in the old world is quite dreamy when there aren’t screeching mushrooms running around.”

It makes you laugh the way he addresses once-people back from the dead, even snort a little. It had been long since you had seen one. Young recruits, or recruits that basically were not at the age of maturity, were not allowed to go on patrols, research scouts, or sweeps unless it was absolutely necessary. From what Taeyong had told you the first time you ever stepped foot into the dorms and were told about the way things went around the city, it was to give people, especially teens, a chance.

A chance to live at least until the day they were considered adults.

“Speaking of,” Johnny’s smile dies down once more. He takes a big breath, and his chest rises with it, and he holds it there for a few seconds. When it is let out, it sounds sad more than anything. Maybe even a bit depressed. “When we were out on a patrol today with Taeyong, there was this small group of Runners at one of the checkpoints,”

He looks at you, but you do not say anything, so he continues. “So we were clearing the place out as we do, and I went upstairs while Taeyong stayed behind just to be safe. I went into the studio to write down the report,”

With that he turns his gaze back to the ceiling, scrunching his eyebrows slightly. “And there was this.. Runner, it- he didn’t hear or see me so I hid behind a table. But he wasn’t moving around, you know? Just standing at the same spot. It was very early stage, he had just turned. Maybe a couple of days ago, I don’t know,”

He starts fiddling with his fingers. “He looked around the same age as me, or maybe a bit younger. Wasn’t flimsy, didn’t look like he’d been starving- he just looked healthy otherwise. But as I looked at him and the way he flinched, the way his hands moved and his shoulders cramped; the way he grunted.. it sounded too human.”

There is silence for a second or so, but he picks his words right back up. “And his eyes- his eyes,” Johnny breathes, and the sound that comes from his nose sounds a bit too stuffed and wet to be normal. “They didn’t look completely empty. Not even meaningless.”

He looks down at his hands that are still fiddling, his lips hanging out a bit the way they did whenever he was sleepy or sad. Then, he nods a little, confirms whatever is going through his mind. “I think he was there,” His voice cracks and stutters. “Inside. Trapped and waiting until it consumed his brain whole. Trying to fight back as if it would be any help.”

“And I couldn’t help but think, as I shot him down,” He shrugs and shakes his head. “That I’d never want to be trapped in my own body and have to wait until I have no control over it, if it ever happened to me.” And he looks at you.

Johnny looks at you.

With his sad, brown, dark eyes. His empathy for the Runner and for his own self. He looks at you so deep, almost like he is frozen.

Because he is.

You reach out your hand to touch his arm, and find it to be extremely cold, and stiff.

He is gone.

You wake up breathless and almost shoot yourself out of your bed with the force you are sitting up. Mark is gone, and nobody else is there. You are completely alone. The sky is just turning a bit grey, signalling the coming of the morning.

Sighing, you try to relieve some of the pain in your jaws and chest; trying to forget the memory of Johnny that was now your nightmare. You had clenched up too much, it felt stiff everywhere. Now, your head was hurting too.

There is not a single drop of sleep left in you- even if there was, you hardly think you would be able to go back.

So you get up.

Walking to your closet in a hurry, you pick out some clothes in the dark. In all honesty you do not even know what you are picking, but it does not matter. There would be very few people outside at the dead of the night if at all, and you could not care less about how they thought your outfit was.

This felt like the only time you could actually visit him. You just wanted to be alone with him, and the silence.

Once you wear your coat you are already half outside. You shut your door as quietly as you possibly could in your hurry, which was undeniably a little loud even if it had been a reasonable time to leave your house, but it was not like people would care. Unless someone or something was screaming, nobody really cared.

From your house to the cemetery took around ten minutes of walking, which was a reasonable distance given how spread out this city was. How it came to be this big you did not exactly know. Johnny had told you sometime that the bigger series of stone buildings belonged to a winery- the wines would be fermented in the summer and then shipped out here in the fall to age before being sold, which was what his parents told to him. It made sense, because the stone buildings all had underground basements that were all connected, some of which were used as a hospital ward and some of which were used as a communal living space for people who did not really have families nor a role in the community like a Farmer, Wanderer or Sweeper. Basically for people who were deemed unqualified to have their own houses.

It kind of sucked, but then again, some people actually preferred being there. The director of the basements and dorms, this lovely woman called Sarwendah, had told you once that even though it was not the majority, some people found comfort in living with other people openly since it made them forget the reality of everything as long as they were in that bubble.

The wooden buildings were either built after the gates were built- which, the gates were built after the army claimed the zone to themselves at the start of the outbreak, whose control over the area for something around 11 years, Johnny remembered those times in his childhood- or they were the ones already built for the winery’s workers and their families.

Johnny. That bit of knowledge came from Johnny too, as well as many others.

And when you are in the cemetery walking through the graves, looking for his name and spotting it without much time passing, you see a silhouette standing right at the foot of the grave.

Who, upon walking closer, turns out to be Mark.

Who, also upon walking closer, seems to be fully equipped with bags and his gun.

“Why so equipped?” You ask, and it startles him, but he does turn around and watch you as you walk over to him. “You’re going outside to join Jaehyun?”

He clears his throat. “No, he got back,” There is a split second of silence that feels a bit too long in your confusion for how long it actually is. Mark rolls his shoulders back and takes a deep breath, lets it out, creating a rather long-lasting vapor. “But yeah, I’m going outside.”

“Where?” You ask further, and he visibly winces. He avoids the question to play with the stones around Johnny’s grave with his foot, nibbling on the inside of his mouth before mumbling. “I should’ve told you before but I couldn’t.”

Your brows furrow as a string is pulled at your heart with the suspicion and the piecing of things together. “What were you going to say?”

One more exhale, but this time sharp and clear-cut. Controlled. He looks at you, looks in your eyes, and tells you the words you would have never imagined he would. “They’re releasing the trespassers and I’m leaving with them.”

Everything kind of slows down at that moment if that is even possible with the lack of action-filled things around you. Shock, was it? Or utter betrayal? “I’m sorry?”

Mark takes a step closer to you and fully turns his body to face you, towering above you not so much with his height but more so with his body language. “They’re working on a vaccine. They trust what they’ve got in their hands and they’re traveling around recruiting people to guard the headquarters. They’re afraid someone might-”

It was all too much.

“Mark, what the fuck are you talking about?” You snarl, and it shuts him up effectively. Yet, after that, you do not say anything. You wait for him to explain himself and after a couple of overwhelmed inhales, he takes the opportunity. “I’m going there to work as a guard. They’re afraid of the possibility of someone stealing the samples, or worse, attacking the lab. They need every volunteer they can get right now.”

Anger.

Pure anger is what you are feeling, and it is indescribable. It covers you from head to toe, right to left, inside and out; it feels hot and yet, icy cold. “Johnny’s blood hasn’t even dried yet, and you’re leaving with the very people who caused his death?”

Mark looks taken aback. “Be sensible. They couldn’t have known about the doors, they’re the first group from the headquarters to come here in years. It’s life or death out there, and they probably didn’t have the time for details.”

You take a step closer to him as if it is possible, and hit his shoulder lightly. “How about you be a little sensible? How can you trust them so easily? What if they’re saying these just to recruit all those people- and to travel all the way through there-”

“They have a car. Takes three days.” Mark cuts in, which makes you chuckle humorlessly. “Okay, great. What if they just recruit you to use you as a scapegoat for when they encounter bandits? Or, like I said, they just recruit you to have more guards? The vaccine has been a word since forever, Mark, and we know it. It’s a stupid hopeless rumor.”

“I’m telling you, they have scientists and they have evidence-” Mark starts, but you cut him off. “Yes! But their people also raid towns, and these people themselves are inconsiderate enough to screw up our whole system and kill our friends along the way-” You are basically trying to make sense to him with your whole body, pointing at the grave and getting closer to him and looking at his eyes to make him regain some of his sense. Just enough to keep him here, where he should be. “How can you trust them with your own life when they’ve been so inconsiderate of the others’ time and time again? You walk out of here with them and the next thing you know, you’re dead, Mark.” You point to your left, which is the direction of the big gates where the trespassers must be leaving, as they need to leave under the Leaders’ watch.

He is silent upon that. It takes him a few moments to come up with the words he is going to say, and his eyes flicker around under the confused sunlight signalling the coming of the early morning.

But he comes up with them nonetheless. “I owe it to people and to him,” He points at the grave. “To do whatever part I can to end this someday. And if I need to go to great extents and forgive them, so be it.”

And with a determined gaze in his eyes you had never seen from Mark before, he says what he really thinks. “I’d rather die running after something I believe in than live with the shame every day.”

You understand.

Not him, but that he is going.

That maybe, he is already gone.

“You leave,” You look at the grave and bite the inside of your cheek before looking back at Mark. “And I’ll come looking after you.” You whisper.

He looks away and bites down on his lip, placing his hands on either side of his hips. And then, he shrugs, not even trying to think it through. “That’d be up to you.”

And he starts walking towards the left, leaving you at the cemetery.

For the first time, you are alone.

[eutxrpe]

counter

hello! i hope you guys enjoy this fic and that you’re doing well! my inbox and messages are open, so don’t be afraid to send something in! - xio ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ counter   -a play where the offense runs the ball in the opposite direction that the defense expects. usually preceded by a fake in the opposite direction of the actual play.-

pairing: football player!midoriya x nerd!reader

word count: 2.2k words

warning: swearing, fluff ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ you didn’t want to be here.

here at this party where sweaty bodies moved on the floor as if they do that every night. where lips and skin met in a drunken haze and where the bass pounds so loud that you’re getting a worse headache by the minute. brought here by your friend and promptly left alone because they spotted the love of their life, you just wanted to curl up with a blanket and a book. preferably away from all of these people who didn’t even know you were alive.

sitting down in the corner, you look down at your red solo cup filled with water and look up at the sound of a dozen boys chanting across the room. your eyes scan the scene as you think about an escape plan but stop when you see him.

everything around you and him seems to blur except for him. you know who he is, the running back of u.a high’s football team.

izuku midoriya. or deku, as it was printed in every newspaper, social media post, and jersey he had. with his always overgrown, dyed green (you had a feeling his natural hair was black) undercut and innocent smile, everyone just loved him.

he finishes a solo cup filled with whatever popular people like to have in their cup and slams it down on the table, his teammates smacking him on the shoulder and back as he grins. izuku exchanges handshakes and claps with everyone on his team, going around the table and even ruffling a fiery, blonde guy’s hair. in the midst, you two lock eyes.

you immediately look down at your cup, sipping it in an effort to calm yourself down. out of the corner of your eye, you see him searching if there’s anyone with you and excuses himself from the group. there’s a figure in front of you in seconds and you crane your head up to look at him, cursing his height.

“hey, are you okay? i noticed that you’re here alone.” there’s honesty in his eyes that made you fall the slightest bit into the calm jade of them.

“you don’t have to worry about me, golden boy. enjoy your party and your drinking.” ignoring your words, he sits in the corner next to you, bumping his thigh with yours. 

“tomorrow’s homecoming. i’ve been drinking lemonade and water tonight.” midoriya holds up another cup and you snort at his good boy act, tapping the rim of it with your own drink. you take a gulp of it, trying to get the heat from your face to leave. “why are you here?”

“what? i can’t enjoy a party?” midoriya frowns at your response as if you hadn’t just started your first conversation with one another.

“you’re not really enjoying denki’s party. or you’re dancing in the corner and i hadn’t noticed?” you laugh into your cup at that, continuing to listen. “this doesn’t really seem like your scene.”

humming, you turn to his earnest eyes. “and why not?”

“(y/l/n). i know you’d rather be drinking hot chocolate and reading a book.” your eyes widened, and he grins in victory. curse that innocent smile of his.

“how did you know that?”

“i pay attention to the people in the school. that includes you.” he flushes as he says this, taking a sip of his own drink.

“i’m here because my best friend left me to see todoroki. and maybe do more than that.” you chuckle bitterly. “what about you, midoriya? why are you at kaminari’s place?”

“he’s my teammate, and i want to support him. but this isn’t where i’d like to be either.” you turn toward him in surprise when midoriya finishes.

“golden boy doesn’t like parties? that’s something new.” he scratches the back of his neck, blushing at your statement, but his eyes change a little when he smiles sheepishly. they’re still the beautiful jade hue, but there’s a little less innocence in them.

“why do you call me golden boy?”

“isn’t it obvious? you’re a football player with a perfect track record and everyone loves you. the school’s golden boy who wouldn’t do anything out of the ordinary.” midoriya makes full eye contact with you, his big, pure eyes not matching the playful grin on his face. his freckles stand out against his tanned skin, sunkissed from all of the hours in the sun for football practice.

“i’d like to think of myself as a wild card... since being a running back requires a lot of different things from me.” midoriya seems more confident, taking up more space in the corner as he says this. you gulp at how he overpowers and towers over you, but you still can’t believe his words.

“yeah?” looking him in the eyes with all of the determination you have, you poke him gently on the shoulder with your finger. “what can you do that proves that you’re not what i think you are, golden boy?”

you calling him golden boy again sparks something in him, eyes racing across your face and landing on your lips, the bottom one in a pout, a habit you never got over since childhood. midoriya leans forward and kisses you, and your heart finds a race horse and runs rampant. his hands capture your waist, and yours land in his hair.

now, you’ve never seen your football team play, much preferring quiet time to the crowd’s headache-inducing cheers, but you imagine that deku plays just how he kisses.

fast. passionate. there’s a hint of roughness that makes your head spin as his lips dominate yours. he tugs at your bottom lip, making you whine before retreating.

wiping his bottom lip with his thumb, he smirks at you and damn, you no longer regretted coming to this party. “was that evidence enough, (y/n)?”

before you could answer, the blonde that got his hair ruffled by midoriya comes up to you two.

“deku, we need to leave if we want to be the fuckin’ best for the homecoming game.” he sneers, looking at you two, specifically izuku’s swollen lips. “finally got a kiss, you fucking loser? ha, c’mon, we’re going now.”

“kacchan, you bitch.” there wasn't any bite to his words, and the way that the two grinned at each other made it obvious that they were close. midoriya kisses your forehead softly, contrasting with how rough of a kisser he actually was to your surprise and delight. “i’ll see you soon, okay? have a safe night.” 

and with that, he disappears into the crowd and the door-slamming, thanks to the blonde, signals that they both left.

how loud the party was didn’t apply to you anymore. not with deku’s words replaying in your mind. 

i’ll see you soon.

did he really mean that? and how would you two even see each other, considering that you’re in two different cliches at school?

and as you waited for your bestie to come out of that room, preferably without visible marks todoroki gave them, izuku midoriya was all you could think about.

maybe parties weren’t so bad... ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“kacchan?”

“what is it, deku?”

“i need you to find out where this student’s locker is for me… by morning.”

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“did you enjoy the party last night? i know i forced you to go…” your best friend, in a turtleneck that wasn’t theirs, chats with you as you walk to your locker. 

“yes. i know you forced me to go, because i didn’t enjoy it for the most part.” you don’t blame them for forcing you to go, considering how much of a homebody you are, but they quirk an eyebrow at your words.

“for the most part? what happened? did you meet somebody? is that why you looked so dazed when i met you afterwards?” used to their questions, you look down at your lock, twisting it open and frowning at the scratch marks on it.

“yes, for the most part. i’ll explain later. yes. y-”

a gasp at your side makes you snap your head up as you’re inspecting the freshly made marks.

on a shelf in your locker, there’s a bunch of your favorite candy and snacks in u.a high’s school colors, along with a note that you take into your hands. of course, the school spirit made it obvious who it was from, but the golden boy of the school wouldn’t break into your locker, so what exactly happened?

your best friend takes the note before you could read it, clearing their throat before reading it out loud.

“dear (y/n), -on a first name basis already, hmm?-

i hope you don’t mind that kacchan (number 1 on the team) mutilated your lock, so i could get in. like i said, i pay attention to the students at our school, especially the ones that i like. a lot. i hope you enjoy the snacks whenever, and if you turn around, there’s an important question i’d love to ask you.

signed, your golden boy!”

when you turn around, there’s deku, holding a teddy bear that’s bigger than both of you that has a blue and white ribbon tied around its neck, standing right in front of you. his eyes are tearing up, and he holds the bear out to you as he asks, “will you go out with me?”

you didn’t have to think about the question.

“yes, golden boy. i’ll go out with you.” as you answer, you take the bear from his hands and kiss his bright pink cheek in thanks. izuku picks you up suddenly, making you drop the teddy bear, and spins you around in a hug, elated with the fact that you said yes. he quickly sets out you down, sensing your surprise and apologizes. your best friend snickers in the background, and you have the urge to tell them to shut up. before you could do anything, the bell rings, and the hallway clears out, including them. you turn back to your locker, getting your books and notebook for social studies.

“wait! (y/n)!” you face him, intrigued on what else he could ask after such a way of asking you out. “you don’t have to do this… but will you wear my jacket to the game today?”

you didn’t have plans to head to the homecoming game, but you couldn’t say no to your golden boy’s face. nodding, his face lights up, and wow, his smile is radiant when he’s happy. taking off his letterman jacket to reveal a muscle shirt that reads ‘loose top’, he hands it to you. maneuvering your books so you could get it on, izuku moves to your backside, helping you get your arms into the holes. you are enveloped in the scent of rain, mint, and cotton. it was relaxing. it was so distinctly izuku.

“thank you, izuku.” at the use of his first name, his face turns even more pink. afraid of stammering out a reply, he kisses your forehead in goodbye, and the press of his plush lips against your skin makes you fall just a bit further for him. deku jogs off as the late bell rings, bringing you back to reality. ⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆ it’s the last ten seconds of the game, and it’s the first time you’ve cared about the outcome of a football game in a long time. you hug izuku’s jacket closer to your figure as u.a sets out on the field after a timeout. looking out in the crowd, izuku makes eye contact with you in the stands and places his hand on his heart. 

the whistle blows, and you cheer louder than you’ve cheered the whole game. the ball moves from one pair of arms to the other and it lands in izuku’s arms. the announcer is practically screaming into the mic, reenacting the surprise play.

“u.a high just performed a counter against shiketsu! after receiving the ball from the quarterback, kirishima, number nine, deku, is lightning out there, already halfway to the goal line! nobody can touch him as he gets closer!... and he’s done it! u.a wins the homecoming game!”

there’s chaos around you as people scream for the team and hug in the stands. you can see izuku remove his helmet to wipe tears from his face as he hugs his teammates. you lock eyes again and with teary eyes, he still managed to send you one of the biggest smiles you’ve seen from him.

and you’re filled with such energy that you don’t care anymore, you rush from out of the stands and onto the field, running to wrap your arms around him in a hug. tossing his helmet to the ground, you can feel his arms tug you impossibly closer to him. his hands pick you up by your waist and you put your forehead against his, both of you laughing and crying in a haze. you can hear the chants of the crowd to kiss and feel the field lights on you, but it didn’t matter when you were so close to izuku that your breaths were practically one.

was it possible for love to blossom in one day? 

you couldn’t bring yourself to care about that question when it was so obvious that it was with him.

you tug him by his jersey into a kiss, passionate and loud. it was a blissful moment, everything fading away except the two of you until you had to inevitably pull away for air.

“i love you,” izuku pants, adrenaline fading away and you smile in his arms.

“i love you too.”

you weren’t expecting any of this, especially the fact that izuku managed to win both the homecoming game and your heart with just a counter.

fin.

[stuckonstarker]

the promotion

| Dub-Con/Coerced Sex |

“Mr. Stark,” Peter says, “I don’t know if we should do this.”

Tony looks at him for a moment - face unreadable - then he says, “You do want this promotion, don’t you, Mr. Parker?”

“Yes, of course, but this seems unprofessional,” Peter says, taking a step back. He lets out a small gasp as his butt bumps into the mahogany desk. 

“Mr. Parker,” Tony says, “there are plenty of other candidates willing to go even farther than this.”

Peter takes a moment. He looks down at the floor. He needs this promotion, but is he really willing to go to such lengths to get it?

Peter sighs and slowly nods, “Yes, sir.”

Tony’s smile turns sinister. There’s a thunderous look in his eye that makes Peter shiver.

Peter swallows around his nervousness while his stomach does flips. He can feel small trembles going through his body, it only gets worse the more Peter tries to stop it.

Tony walks up to where Peter’s against the desk. He’s invading Peter’s space, but Peter keeps quiet about it. 

Tony places a gentle hand on Peter’s face: “I’ll take care of you.”

For some reason, Peter doubts that sentiment, but he only nods.

Tony leans in and presses a kiss against Peter’s soft lips. The kiss is deep and explorative, like Tony’s trying to claim Peter from the inside out.

Peter feels like he’s on fire.

He pulls away from the kiss breathless. He’s warm all over and there’s a distinct spark of arousal low in his abdomen. It sparks shame with it as well. 

Tony begins kissing and biting at the long expanse of Peter’s neck. He sucks a hickey on Peter’s jaw and whispers, “I know you want this.”

Those words make Peter’s mind melt. The spark of arousal quickly grows into a wildfire. His entire lower body is aflame with want. He feels flushed all over and his cock begins to grow tight in his pants.

Tony begins unbuttoning Peter’s blouse. His fingers are so skilled and quick, it’s obvious he’s done this many times before. The fabric falls to the floor in an instant, revealing Peter’s pale, flushed body. 

Tony admires Peter’s smooth, clear skin. Peter’s completely unmarked. A deep and primal urge in Tony insists that he mark the boy up and Tony - never one to deny himself - gives in. He starts sucking and nipping at Peter’s neck, shoulders and collarbone. He has full intent to leave bruises and hickies.

Each kiss and lovebite sends a small spark of pleasure through Peter. It’s beginning to make his judgment hazy, he’s unsure if he ever doubted his decision at all.

Peter’s skin is unbelievably sensitive. There’s tremors of pleasure on Peter’s body wherever Tony’s fingers land and drag themselves. Even the softest touch sends shivers of pleasure exploding through Peter.

Tony growls, pulling Peter into another kiss. It’s rough and Peter struggles to keep up with Tony’s gnashing teeth. While kissing Peter, Tony hoists him up so that his legs are wrapped around Tony’s waist. There’s a brief spark of panic in Peter, but he quickly adapts and wraps his arms around Tony’s shoulders. 

When they pull from each other, Peter’s lips are bruised and raw from the kiss. He feels a bit dizzy already and his body is flushed with a shameful want.

Tony sets Peter on the desk. Peter looks up at him with wide, doe eyes.

The trust and naivety in those eyes almost make Tony feel bad. Almost.

But, then, Tony begins taking off Peter’s pants.

Soon, the only thing covering Peter from Tony’s prying eyes are his blue briefs. There’s a dark patch of wetness where Peter’s precum is leaking through and Tony eyes Peter’s erection straining through the thin material. 

Tony’s fingers dance over the band of Peter’s briefs, teasing the young man. Peter’s body is on fire with humiliated lust.

“Mr. Stark…” Peter says softly.

Tony ignores him and presses a soft kiss against Peter’s stomach, just above the waistband of his briefs. Then, he drags his warm, wet mouth over the cotton fabric hiding Peter’s hard on. Peter moans and his hips buck up, only for Tony to roughly hold him down.

“Ah,” Peter moans, “Mr. Stark.”

He tries to restrain his hips from jerking, but Tony’s mouth feels quite good over his aching cock.

Tony doesn’t let him enjoy it for long, though, as he begins tugging off Peter’s underwear. The young man’s dick is quickly revealed and it twitches against the cold air.

Tony admires the sight of Peter on his desk looking so desperate and confused. A dark possessiveness shadows his heart. 

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Peter asks. He puts a halting hand on Tony’s forearm, but he knows that won’t stop the older man.

Tony nods, as he pulls something from from his desk, “Like I said, this is all about trust. There are countless other people who would jump at an opportunity like this. I just need to know you’re in it for the long haul.”

“I am,” Peter says, “but I don’t see why I have to do this.”

Tony presses a kiss to Peter’s neck - a kiss the younger man doesn’t fight.

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony sighs, “You don’t have to do this. I can give the promotion to someone else, Mr. Parker.”

Peter’s lips form a tight line, but he nods anyway. Tony’s beginning to sound exasperated and Peter isn’t keen on finding out where the man’s patience ends. He just sighs and swallows down the bubbling nausea.

“Good boy,” Tony praises, “I knew you’d make the right choice.”

Those words go straight to Peter’s dick. It provokes an embarrassingly warm lust in Peter’s stomach.

Tony disappears between Peter’s legs and says, “I’ll make sure you’re good and ready for me. You’ll love it, I promise, sweet thing.”

Peter’s head falls against the desk as a choked noise escapes his throat. Tony’s groping his ass, spreading it and squeezing it. He doesn’t protest, despite his instinct to do so.

Then, there’s a cold, lube-slick finger prodding at his entrance. Peter swears he’s overheating as he spreads his legs wider. The first finger slowly breaches him, it’s odd and vaguely uncomfortable. But he doesn’t complain.

Tony takes a couple of minutes to prep Peter. But, by the time he’s three fingers in Peter, the boy is rolling his hips in a pitiful attempt to get more of Tony inside  him. 

Tony removes his fingers, deciding that Peter is sufficiently stretched.

Peter’s mind is hazy with lust. When he looks to see what Tony’s doing, the sight makes his mouth water. Tony’s dick stands proud at seven inches, with a bush of black pubic hair that sends shivers through Peter’s spine. Its tip is flushed red with arousal and Peter buries an overwhelming urge to take it in his mouth.

Tony rubs his dick against Peter’s ass, teasing the young man. Peter lets out a quiet whine as he spreads his legs even wider.

Tony teases the tip of his thick cock into Peter’s tight hole. It’s only the tip but it feels so good. Tony has an impressive girth and - even with the prep - it has a slight burn, but it feels humiliatingly blissful. Peter closes his eyes, but Tony doesn’t start moving.

He’s teasing Peter. The bastard.

Peter pouts, “Mr. Stark.”

“How badly do you want it, baby?” Tony asks, voice rough with arousal.

“Please, I want it so bad, Mr. Stark. I need it, please, I need it so bad. I need it, please,” Peter blabbers, the last of his dignity crashing to the office floor.

Peter lets out a choked cry, Tony’s cock entering him slowly. It’s impossibly big inside of him and it stretches him out wonderfully. The dull pain of the stretch only adds to the pleasure. It’s rubbing against Peter’s sensitive insides, slowly filling him to the breaking point.  

“God,” Peter chokes out, “it’s so… good.”

“Yeah?” Tony laughs, “You like it, baby?”

Peter moans, the cock fully sheathed inside of him. His entire body feels encased in an overwhelming heat. He can’t find his voice to respond to Tony’s taunting words.

Tony pulls out slowly, before thrusting back into Peter’s tight body. Peter’s eyes screw shut as he cries out, a sudden spark of pleasure going through his body.

Tony fucks into Peter slowly at first, but his patience runs thin quick. The pace picks up soon after, Tony thrusting into Peter hard.

Tony’s cock hits Peter’s sensitive prostate, making him dizzy. He’s letting out loud and desperate cries. He’s sure nothing could ever feel this good, there’s no way. He feels at a loss.

Peter’s head falls back and his eyes screw shut. A deep, fiery desire grows wild inside of Peter’s abdomen. Tony fucks into Peter harder, making his mind spin.

There’s a distant voice, the moral part of him that he can never shut off, telling him that there’s a big problem with fucking his boss, but he can’t hear it past the white noise of lust.

Tony’s ruthless with his thrusts, sending Peter reeling with each brutal snap of his hips. Peter can’t help the desperate cries that leave his lips. His hands above him cling to the desk, trying to ground himself because it’s just too fucking good. 

Peter feels a bit like he’s falling through the sky, his heart fluttering with uncertainty about the situation he’s found himself in. But the lustful fires of hell keep clawing at Peter, dragging him further and further into his licentious desires. 

Peter’s half-convinced it’s a dream. That he’s zoned-out in his boss’s office, daydreaming about being plowed by the man. But those worries are quelled with a particularly hard thrust against his prostate.

Peter lets out a deep and guttural as he’s thrown back into the moment. His hips are working on their own, desperately rolling back to meet Tony’s thick cock.

He can hardly breathe, let alone think about anything. He’s mindlessly murmuring something, but it’s incoherent at best. Peter’s sure he’s losing his mind from the blissful ecstasy. He’s never felt this hot before, flushed and sweating while being fucked by his boss.

It feels so fucking good Peter thinks he might actually die.

He can’t see through the hazy fog of want, he can’t think past the impenetrable wall of lust. He’s saying something, begging for something, but he’d be hard-pressed to tell you what. Every movement of Tony’s body against his, sends electric pleasure through Peter. It feels impossibly good, making his eyes cross from the intensity.

His hands cling to Tony like he’s a liferaft, he’s desperately trying to ground his overwhelmed mind. It feels so fiercely wonderful. His nails dig into Tony’s shoulders, but that only seems to provoke the man further as his thrusts become more fervent.

Peter isn’t quite sure what’s happening, only that it feels like heaven. He’s filled to the brim with Tony’s dick, it feels like the older man is fucking Peter’s brain too. Everything is too much all at once and Peter can hardly catch up. His breath comes out in short pants, his hips continue desperately trying to meet Tony’s cock, it’s all too much for Peter. 

“Mr. Stark,” Peter moans, and doesn’t stop. He keeps saying it like it’s the only word he’s ever known. It falls off his mouth like a prayer and he can’t tell whether he’s begging for it to end or for it to never stop.

“Oh, God,” Peter moans, getting louder, more desperate with his pleas, “Mr. Stark.”

He’s getting hotter and hotter. It’s becoming too much. He can’t take it-

Everything goes blank. Every muscle in his body tenses and his eyes roll back into his head. His orgasm scalds him like an iron branding, burning him from the inside out. He doesn’t know if he screamed or not, but he’d be willing to bet he did. 

Tony continues fucking into Peter. 

Peter lets out small, overstimulated mewls and moans as Tony’s cock continues to drag along his sensitive insides, making him dizzy and breathless. He’s panting aloud desperately as Tony cums deep inside of him.  

They both lay there for a moment, breathless and panting.

Regret slowly washes over Peter. He looks up at Tony towering over him with a mix of betrayal and sadness in his doe eyes.

As Tony comes down from his high, he says, “Congratulations, kid, you’re promoted.”

Peter stares at him blankly for a moment before nodding and picking up his blouse. He can’t bring himself to say anything; he isn’t sure what he’d say if he could.  

[yankyo]

Size

Wasp x Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: Reader is a demon, wasp has insecurities, little size kink, wasp losing his v card, smut as usual 

If someone asked him how this situation came about, he would have no real answer for them. This wasn't the first time you came around, you often popped up from the Netherworld to check up on Boss and make sure he was settling on the surface alright and give him some updates on what was happening down below. The clones all loved you, because whenever you came, you would come with little treats from the Netherworld for them - from books for Ren to six headed insects for Chameleon to eat, they all received gifts tailored just for them. This time, however, after a whisper from Boss that he didn't quite catch, you had smiled at him instead and offered a hand for Wasp to take. Your hand was tiny in his and while he knew that, being a demon, you were stronger than your appearance implied, he found himself holding your hand as gently as he could, so focused on this that he hardly knew where it was that you were even leading him to until you came to an abrupt stop.

Wasp looked around the room, confused. The old house they had recently taken up shop in was an old, beaten down thing, but this room looked well taken care of with a large, comfortable looking bed, a filled bookcase, and a soft looking recliner by a fireplace... did the house even have a fireplace? His confusion must've been obvious on his face, because you gave a soft laugh as you plopped down on the bed, patting the spot besides you for him to sit too.

"This is my little space," you explained, "I wanted to talk to you in private, without you worrying about the others listening in." He tilted his head curiously now, taking his spot at your side. It was true that the others were rather curious, and it wasn't rare for them to follow him around, especially Jay and Chamie. Falling back into his thoughts, he wasn't aware of the struggle on your face as you attempted to figure out the best way to broach the subject, but before long, you sucked in a deep breath and began to speak. "Wasp, sweetie, Beetlejuice has been telling me that you've been going through some struggles." Another head tilt from him. Struggles? Sure, trying to help keep the others in line wasn't exactly easy. There were no breathers to prank, so that meant the pranks fell to the weaker clones and Jazz tended to take things too far when he got bored, but the combined efforts of Ren, Bee, Lex and him were keeping a tentative balance - at least enough to keep a sort of peace. Perhaps it was about staying on the surface? He didn't think he was struggling to acclimate more than any of the others, in fact, Boss was pretty happy to be far away from Juno and the others followed in that sentiment. Yes, they couldn't be seen, but it was better than the alternative. Thankfully and yet simultaneously unfortunately, you didn't leave him to ponder what your meaning was for long. "Wasp, sweetheart... what are you doing for your heats?" He choked at that question, his hair turning a bright, embarrassed yellow as he immediately averted eye contact. "Hey, hey, it's ok, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, all demons go through it, even demon clones." You soothed, your voice so soft and sweet that his tense shoulders relaxed slightly. "Beej has been a bit worried about you, he thinks you might be bottling it up and not satiating the need. Is that true?" He was silent, the yellow tint not fading in the slightest as he gave the tiniest not of his head.

"Baby, you know that isn't healthy, right? You need to find a way to work through the heat, either with a partner or by yourself." He knew that... he did... but...

"I... I can't..." he finally spoke up, his voice so low you had to lean in to catch it.

"You can't find a partner?" He nodded again. Succubi and Incubi alike came around, sure, Boss was able to call them up from the Netherworld, but after his first attempt, Wasp had realized that he was just not a suitable mate for anyone and even his heat overcame him, he couldn't erase the look on the demon's face when they saw him. "Wasp, what's wrong sweetie? Do you not like the demons that come up?" The urge to run away from this conversation was strong, shame and embarrassment swirling in the pit of his stomach, but even as he fidgeted in his place, he shook his head again. You placed a hand over his, stilling the trembling with your gentle touch. "Do you feel gross about sexual contact? It's ok if you do, baby, not every demon is a sex addict like Beej." He snorted at that, shaking his head again.

"I'm just..." you waited for him patiently, even as he floundered for his words, "I'm too big." Silence. As it dragged on, he found himself peeking up at you fearfully, expecting you to agree, but you were just giving him a look that seemed to suggest you were waiting for more.

"Is... is that it?" You finally asked and the shame and embarrassment finally sky rocketed enough for him to jump to his feet. "Wait, wait, wait! I didn't mean to put you down, that wasn't the best way to phrase that!" You leapt up with him, a consoling hand on his arm to keep him from running away. "Did someone tell you that you were too big or...?"

"Told me." He answered gruffly, now staring off to some empty corner of the room. "My... my first time I was with this little succubi and when she saw me..." he could see it. The look of absolute rejection as she immediately backed away. The harsh 'stay the hell away from me' that still rang in his mind every time he even tried to speak to someone new.

"Hm. I'll have to find her and give her a little talking to." Your voice was cold and when he turned to finally face you, your face was pinched with anger. "Wasp, baby, you know, being big isn't a problem. Some people actually really like it." He contemplated this new information for a moment, taking in the blush that spread across your face.

"Do you?" He wasn't sure where that came from. Certainly he wasn't bold enough to ask something like that, no, that was Jazz's territory, or perhaps someone like Boss. But your blush grew darker all the same and you cleared your throat.

"P... perhaps." You replied, sounding adorably flustered before you looked up at him, a new light shining in your eyes. "I don't know exactly what it is I'm working with here, so I couldn't say for sure." Were you...? His silence dragged on as he struggled with the concept of you coming onto him. You were... well, you were you! An incredibly gorgeous demon who all the clones and boss drooled over. You could have your pick of anyone in the entire Netherworld and you were coming onto him? Perhaps silence continued for a moment too long because your expression melted into one of embarrassed shame and you began stuttering over apologies, already backing away. The sight of your retreating form made him panic and without thinking, he grabbed your wrist, pulling you in to keep you from running away this time.

"S-sorry!" He dropped your wrist swiftly, fuck you were so tiny compared to him. He could've hurt you. What if you hated him now?

"Wasp. It's ok. I'm not fragile, I can take way more than a little roughness." You pressed up against him now, your hands dancing across his chest as you seemed to contemplate your next move. "Wasp. Do you want me?" You asked, as if it were even a question. He almost snapped his neck with how hard he nodded. "You don't have any experience do you?" A slower shake of his head now. "That's ok, I'm more than happy to take the lead, is that alright with you?" He barely started his energetic nod when he gently pushed him back onto the bed, his knees buckling as he flopped down, your smaller form crawling up to straddle him. "Is this ok?" Before he could nod, you held a hand up. "Say 'yes' or 'no' baby, you gotta speak up, let your partner know exactly what you want."

"Y...yes." your smile made his breath catch in his throat, his hair already turning pink at the sight of you.

"Now, I want you to tell me when something feels good or bad, ok?"

"Yes." You smiled again before you made quick work of his shirt, unbuttoning it to reveal his chest, your fingers gliding up his form as you pushed aside the fabric, nails scratching pleasantly against his skin. "F... feels good." He whispered, eager to please.  You laughed softly, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Oh precious, I haven't even started yet." Your hips rolled against his, damn he almost choked, his cock throbbing in its confinement. Your head tilted slightly, rolling your hips again as if to experiment. "Well. Fuck. You weren't just talking shit when you said you were big." Your hands were at his belt, easily undoing it before pulling down his zipper. This was.. it was really happening, wasn't it. You were on top of him, your eyes gleaming with mischief and lust while you carefully tugged down his pants just enough for his cock to spring free. This wasn't just a dream right? He wasn't going to wake up to Jazz's mocking face as he threw some dirty magazines his way and told him to take care of his - coherent thought stopped completely as you leaned down, your hot breath on his member the only warning he received before your tongue flicked over the head of his cock. He definitely choked this time, the moan that bubbled up caught in his throat as you smiled at him so sweetly before you opened your mouth to take him in. Heaven surely had to exist and it was right here. Slowly, taking him in, pulling back til just his head remained in your mouth, you endeavored to take all of him as he tried his absolute hardest to not just cum right then and there. He tried to think of something... anything to hold himself back. Chamie breaking things, Jazz mocking him, Juno's screeching voice as she belittled them. But none of those thoughts lasted more than a second, each one effortlessly blown away as your tongue curled around the width of his cock. You moaned around his dick as if it were delicious, your hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, not tight enough to stop him from finally spilling in your mouth with a whimpering cry of your name. Your eyes widened in surprise, but somehow you managed to swallow every drop of his cum, licking your lips as you pulled away. "Hm, well, we certainly need to work on your stamina, I was barely even able to take half of you...." you trailed off as you noticed his cock was still hard.

You pulled off of his lap to take off your clothing, carelessly tossing it off to the side and he hastily followed suit. "Alright, baby, I'm going to have to prepare myself to take you or else you're going to tear me." That was really possible? You were quick to soothe his budding panic with a kiss, "it's alright, you've got to prepare your partner no matter what size you are, no matter if they're human or demon. Of course, you can be a bit rougher with me, if you'd like." His dick twitched at your grin and your smile grew in response. When you pushed on his chest, he caved easily, but he couldn't deny his bewilderment as you settled over his face instead of in his lap, your hole right there before his eyes before you slid your hand between your legs, your fingers glistening with spit. Holy. Satan. His eyes were glued to you, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as you fingered yourself for him. "You wanna taste, baby?"

"Yes!" He practically shouted, almost panting as you held your wet fingers out for him. He surged upwards, taking your wrist in hand as he licked every single trace of you from your fingers before he grabbed onto your waist and pulled you down into his waiting mouth. If he could die right here eating you out, he would do so in a heartbeat. You clenched around his tongue as he fucked you open, your hips rocking against his face as you let out the sweetest moans he had ever heard. More. More. More. He pressed his tongue in deeper, his nails digging into you as he held you still for him, especially as your body began to convulse above him, your hole tightening around him.

"Fuck! Wasp! Baby! Oh god, it's too much." You wailed, your nails scratching welts into his abdomen. He didn't want to pull away. He wanted to keep eating you out until you came again. And again. But you moans of pleasure were cracking, and as he felt tears of overstimulation hit his stomach, he quickly lifted you to place you in his lap instead so he could cradle you close and brush away your tears. You stayed like this until you stopped twitching, your small hands clinging to him as you pressed soft kisses wherever your lips could reach. "Fuck, Wasp, you're a damn natural." He grinned, pride easily bubbling up within him. He was content to stay like this, even as his cock ached from the lack of attention, but before long you pushed at his chest again, rising up to straddle him once more. "You ready baby?" Your husky voice made him shudder, even as the sight of his cock at your tiny looking entrance made panic bubble within him. Oh god. He was pressing against you, your own wetness and his spit making you so slick you didn't feel real.

"Can't." Wasp gasped, even as his trembling hands clutched at your waist. "Too big." You purred, soft, small hands reaching up to cup his cheeks as you leaned in to give him a reassuring kiss.

"Shh, it's ok, baby." Your tight hole clenched around him as you slowly lowered your hips, slowly but surely taking in his cock inch by exquisitely painful inch. "See, I can take you." The words came out as a moan, your wings fluttering behind you in ecstasy. "Ohh, baby, you feel so good." He moaned at that, his head lolling back just for a moment before he felt your nails at his chest. "No baby, watch. Watch me ride your cock." The order made him shiver, but he obeyed, watching this demon that was so much smaller than he finally settled in his lap, your hole stretched impossibly wide around his cock and face pinched with bliss. You sat there for what felt like an eternity, until Wasp's panting breaths came out with soft little whines, begging for you to please, please move.

Just as slowly as you had sunk down, you rose up, setting a slow, steady pace that made his head loll back onto the pillows, though his eyes strayed from the sight of his cock stretching you to your face. You looked so beautiful like this, the pleasure mounting as you rode him, mouth open and drool trailing over your slick lips. Fuck. His grip on your hips tightened and without warning, he pulled you down faster, his hips rising up to meet yours. Harder. Faster. Bouncing you on his lap as if you weighed nothing. Your mouth hanging open as moans flowed out freely. His. All his. He had to pull you in closer, to kiss your soft skin, had to bite at your lips, at your neck, desperate to taste every inch of you that he could reach. More, more, more. He turned you over, pinning you down onto the soft bed as his hands went to hold your thighs open, marveling at the blissed out sight of you taking his cock before he noticed your stomach bulging with each thrust, his cock showing through your stomach as he bottomed out inside of you. The sight made him shudder, his grip tightening on your thighs as he pulled you impossibly closer, pulling you into his arms so he could nuzzle against you.

“I can’t believe you can take all of me.” He groaned, his hand sliding up your body to your stomach, your body so tiny compared to his that his fingers splayed across the expanse of your belly. “Can I come inside of you?” He asked, hilting inside of you, his twitching and leaking cock pressed so deeply into you he hardly knew where you began and he ended anymore. You let out a weak cry, nodding eagerly to his question, “Say yes or no, Ladybug,” he echoed your words from before, a carnivorous grin spreading across his face as you flushed deeply.

“Yes.... please,” you whined, reaching out for him as if he were your lifeline, though it wasn’t as if he were letting you get away from him anytime soon. No, he was far too enamored with the sight of you, with the taste of your skin, with your cries as he took you. You were intoxicating and he knew he could never have enough of you, so even when he spilled as deeply inside of you as he could, he continued to fuck you through both of your orgasms, paying no mind to the cum leaking out of your hole, staining the bedsheets beneath you and sticking to your bodies. He came and he came and he came until you couldn’t take anymore, over stimulating you until your eyes were glazed over and your voice so ragged you couldn’t even let out a weak cry when he came inside of you for the last time, pulling your body in close in his as he whispered his adoration for you into your ear. Though when he moved as if he were going to pull out, you reached out and pulled him against your body once more, giving him a soft kiss and a pleading look that he could never say no to even if he tried. So instead, he turned your bodies so that you were resting peacefully on his chest and drifted off to sleep, his cock keeping his cum deep inside of you.

[addictofsupernatural]

OHSHC Rewrite: Episode 2

The Job of a High School Host!

Host Club x reader

Summary: Y/n learns the duties of a host.

Word Count: 4.9k

Episode Masterlist

You've been a host for almost two weeks now. It's been interesting, to say the least. Tamaki and the twins have been trying to get you into a dress since you put on the school uniform, but you cleaned the male uniform and refused all their demands.

Maria got letters from your friends back in y/c, to which she wanted to surprise you by putting them in your bag. You didn't notice them at school, and you didn't notice them when they were sticking out during homeroom.

But Hikaru and Kaoru did. Once the class was over, the three envelopes fell out of your backpack, though you kept walking. They looked at each other and nodded. Hikaru them and went on and they both went on with their day.

After doing your homework you rushed into the club room, only to see very real tropical decorations everywhere. The hosts had luau outfits on as well. "Welcome."

"This is different." You stated as you stepped in, looking around.

"Of course!" Tamaki posed as he talked. "It might be early fall but here at the Host Club we'd like our guests to feel as if they're in a tropical paradise. And plus, our heating system is... perfect!"

You gave him a slight look at his bragging, to which Kyoya smiled a bit. "Do you have a problem with the way we run our club y/n? Remember, you still owe us 8 million yen."

You set your bag down on your spot. "Charming." You said sarcastically, passing by him and giving him a sly smile. "I feel very free to speak my mind, really. So was this tropical island thing your idea?"

"All ideas dealing with the host club events come directly from the king. Although I will admit to casually slipping a Bali pamphlet onto his desk." He kept his smile as he continued writing in his book.

"Of course. Well someone should tell the king that he's really clever." You patted his arm before going and sitting down with your clients. "Good afternoon ladies—"

The twins each blew a whistle and marched over to you. "Hold it right there!" They said in unison. "Who's Julian?!"

You turned over to them, a bit surprised at the mentioning of that name. "What do you mean?"

"Three envelopes fell out of your bag, and one was from a boy named Julian." Kaoru said.

They then got very close to you, asking, "So who's Julian?!"

"An old friend." You shrugged, putting out your hand for the letters. They gave them back to you, but also gained the attention of Tamaki.

"How good of a friend is he?" He zoomed right behind your couch.

You didn't know why Tamaki was so territorial of his friends, but you knew there must be a reason. That didn't mean you couldn't still have fun with him. You fake sighed lovingly. "He's the best."

"Is he... handsome?"

"He has an adorable face. I love it so much!"

"You love it?" You gave you his puppy dog eyes.

"Yup."

"Do you have... feelings... for him?"

"Oh, I'm only totally in love with him."

"WHA~T?!" He then wrapped you in a hug. "But you're my little girl~"

You sighed again. "Yeah. It's too bad you're more his type."

"Huh?"

He blankly stared at you, and you bursted into a fit of giggles. "He's gay, so calm down."

"Oh." He then stood up and cleared his throat. "Well then, that's one less man to worry about. You don't know how many evil boys there are in the world, so you have to be careful."

"Yeah, I should also be careful of weird people who call themselves 'daddy'." An arrow struck through Tamaki as you walked over to the twins. "Thanks for holding onto these for me." Your smile made them blush. "And thank you for not opening them, since you guys are pretty nosey."

"We don't know what you're talking about." They both said as they shrugged.

"But y/n," Kaoru started saying.

"Why don't you open them for us?" Hikaru finished.

You scoffed. "Please guys, I'm working." You then turned to your clients as they sighed, smiling. "I'm sorry girls. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, we were wondering if you were going to dress up in something tropical."

"Do you all want me to?" You asked, unsure if you wanted to go through with that.

"Yes!" They said happily.

Tamaki then appeared with a smile. "I already made you an outfit y/n. And look, we're a pair! Isn't it cute?"

You frowned. "You know I don't really like skirts."

He then showed you his big watery eyes. "But Kyoya gave you a dress and you accepted it no problem."

"He was doing it to be nice. You're doing this because you want to see me in a dress. That's weird."

He looked like he was going to burst from anger. He then pushed the outfit into your hands. "Just go change!"

You then changed into the shoulderless top with the long skirt, which also accompanied a lot of jewelry. You then went out and tried to discreetly go back to your clients. "Oh my goodness y/n, you're so cute!" One exclaimed.

"Y/N~" Tamaki jumped over to you and crushed you into a hug. "Everybody, look!"

"Let's not please." You whispered. Your face went red as you frustratedly looked to the ground.

"Wow." The twins said, grabbing your arms.

"Who knew y/n," Kaoru said.

"Could be such a girl." Hikaru finished.

"Looks cute." They said, giving you a thumbs up.

"Please stop drawing in more attention." You said quietly.

"Takashi~ look!" Honey dragged you over to them. "Doesn't she look adorable?"

"Yeah."

Tamaki and the twins had evil stars in their eyes as they inched closer to you. You didn't notice the blush on Mori's face when you went to go hide behind him. The three then shouted, "Give her to us!"

Mori shook his head and took your shoulders, guiding you to your couch.

"Thank you senpai." You said quietly. You then put your hands over your face. You peaked at your smiling clients. "Okay, I did this for you guys."

"How do you feel in cosplay?"

"Exhausted!" You put your hands to your side quickly only to begin shaking your arms, hearing the jewelry jingle as you moved. They began to giggle at your innocent and child-like movements. "Jeez, what's with this?"

"Y/n, you forgot your crown!" Tamaki stuck it out towards you as an offering.

You took a deep breath and drank some tea, not looking at him. "If it's worth more than me I'm not wearing it."

He gave you an angrily confused look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not putting something ridiculous and way too expensive on my head. I don't even feel comfortable in this. It feels like I'm lowering the value of it by just wearing it." Your tone was a sarcastic one, which caused smiles from around your area. Though it was a joke, you were only half-kidding.

"Excuse me." A girl came up to you and said. "I believe we're supposed to be switching hosts now."

"Oh, you must be my next appointment." You grinned, waving to her childishly even though she was right in front of you. "It's nice to meet you."

She then grabbed your chin and brought your face closer to hers. "I've just decided. You're going to be my new favorite host." This seemed to effect Tamaki.

Once the club finished everything, you walked over to go change until Kyoya stopped you. "Your words with Tamaki seemed to amuse some of the guests, and many of those guests have requested you."

"Cool. I guess my clownery is likable." You chuckled and nodded.

Clownery. What an odd made up word. He thought about what his clients told them about you. You spoke with slang, though it almost as if you didn't realize it. They said that they found it adorable. Your speech being adorable. It was an interesting thought, in its own way.

Once you put back on your uniform, Kyoya instructed you to make Tamaki some instant ramen. You did so and finished cleaning. Once you finished that you sat down and noticed that Tamaki was irritated.

"C'mon boss, quit eating that commoner's ramen and help plan the party." Kaoru said.

"What's up with him?" You asked.

"He's just upset with Lady Kanako choosing you." Kyoya said as he typed away on his laptop. "She's had the illness for a while now though, so I don't know why he's too surprised."

"What disease?"

"The host hopping disease." The twins said.

You giggled, grinning. "So he's jealous that I stole her from him."

"Shut up! I couldn't care less!" Tamaki yelled. "That's it, my patience has run out. It's time you started dressing like a girl!"

"That's really what's bothering you?"

"I just don't get it. How can you be so popular with the ladies when you yourself are a lady?!" He then went into his private chest, digging though it. "Now you listen to daddy. DADDY WANTS YOU TO GO BACK TO THE WAY YOU WERE AND KEEP WEARING SKIRTS!!"

He brought out a huge framed photo of you in a high and tight half pony tail, which contrasted your usually messy pony tail. You were wearing a cropped long sleeved dark gray shirt, with a black skirt and dark panty hose under.

"DON'T GO BLOWING UP MY PHOTOS WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST!!"

He hung it up on the wall and began crying. Everybody crowded around it.

"The more I look at this photo the more amazed I am." Kaoru said. "How did you go from that to wearing suits?"

Everyone turned to look at you. "I used to have a neighbor who owned a Burlesque lounge. Sometimes she needed someone to cover a waitress shift, and I would do it. This was the most covered up she would allow me to be though."

"I see." Kyoya said. "Those places are known for having women reveal a large amount of skin."

"I wore that stuff cause I had to. I feel more comfortable not showing my legs. I don't care if I dress like a dude sometimes."

"A GIRL SHOULD NEVER ADDRESS HERSELF AS A DUDE!!" Tamaki yelled. "MAMA~!! Y/n's using those dirty boy words again."

"I hate to break up this interesting conversation, but do you have any formal dancing experience?" Hikaru asked.

You turned and smiled nervously. "No, but I don't have to go to parties and stuff, right?"

Tamaki's eyes began to shine. "I absolutely forbid that. You must go to every event hosted by the host club if you want to pay back your debt! If you fail to do so, you'll be demoted back to errand boy" He then got a lot happier. "And that also means you have to wear a dress at the party!"

"No it's cool, I have a formal guy outfit." They all stared at you. "What? I got it when I had to go to a wedding."

"Why won't you wear something like thi~s?" Tamaki said with tears in his eyes.

"Cause it was for a job."

"This is a job!"

"No, this is indentured servitude. There's a difference. Slight, but it's there." You then briefly thought. "Oh, I guess that also means I have to learn the man's part since I'm a host."

Kanako was instructing you what to do, and you were getting the hang of it quickly. "You're quite a fast learner miss y/n."

"And you're quite an exceptional teacher Miss Kanako." Your gaze went to Tamaki, who looked sad. He wanted to teach you, but was too tall to be in the girl role. He glanced over to you, and you smiled and waved. He hesitantly gave you a small smile and waved back. Because of this you weren't paying attention tripped up the both of you. "I'm so sorry Lady Kanako!"

She pulled you closer. "That's quite alright."

"You're very forward." You smiled down at her before rolling to the side and pulling the both of you up. "C'mon, let's get you some tea."

You brought her tea as she happily held onto the cup. "You have a new order for tea sets I see. The handy work looks like it's Genorie."

"You have a keen eye mademoiselle." Kyoya said as he passed by.

"Such a pretty color." She gazed into the tea cup with a smile. "How lovely."

"Woah, you seem to know a lot about tea sets, huh?" You asked. This, unbeknownst to you, gained Tamaki's attention.

"What? Of course not!" She said shakily, blushing. "What ever would give you that idea?!"

Just then someone walked in with a box in hand. "You ordered a new tea set?" He asked Kyoya as he walked over to him.

"Yes we did. Y/n, come over and grab these." Kyoya said.

You nodded and smiled at him as he gave you the box. You opened the lid and looked at the set. "Wow, these are really nice. Are you an expert on things like this?"

Kanako began laughing. "Oh y/n, you're so out of the loop. It can be pardoned though." She turned back with a teasing smile. "After all, he doesn't look like an heir to a first class industry empire."

His facial expression changed as he looked at her. You noticed but decided not to say anything.

"The Susushima family has dealt mainly with table wear." Kyoya explained. "They are, in fact, a first class company."

"I think that's so awesome! You seem to have a lot of passion into what you're going to be doing, which is very admirable." You told him with a small smile.

He turned to you and bashfully smiled. "You think so? I'm honored. Well, see you all next time."

After he left and you walked back to Kanako with the box still in hand. "He's pretty handsome, don't you think?" You asked in your native language.

"Um, pardon?"

"Oh, sorry." You cleared your throat. "I'm asking if you think he's attractive."

She blushed profusely and nervously sipped on her tea. "I don't know! I suppose!"

"I get the feeling you two know each other."

She spat out her tea and began to panic again. "What would ever give you that silly conclusion? I have no idea what you're talking about! Anyways, take care!" She quickly left.

You stood up right before Honey jumped onto your back, almost knocking the box out of your hands. "Y/n-chan~! Guess what? They do know each other! Suzushima-chan is Kasuga-chan's fiance."

"Woah, really?"

"Kyoya," Tamaki said. "What do you know about this?"

He looked in his book. "They were childhood friends. Their parents set up an arranged marriage between them. I didn't find this information of any importance so I disregarded it."

"And what do you know of Suzushima?"

"Toro Suzushima. Outstanding grades, bare social status. Ordinary looking. He's reliable, in case of persuasion to place blame."

"He doesn't have much presence and is faint hearted." The twins said.

"In order words, he's boring." Kyoya closed his book.

"Wow," You said. "Who knew you guys were so cold to other men."

"We don't have any use of him so there's no reason to be nicer in describing him." Kyoya explained.

"Interesting philosophy." You said teasingly. "I can feel the kindness radiating off of you."

"Suzushima is a good boy." Honey said, on top of Mori. "Right?"

"Yeah." Mori replied.

"Alright men! It's time for a plan!" Tamaki announced. "It's our job at the Ouran Host Club to make every woman happy!"

When Tamaki finished explaining his plan, everybody packed up and left, leaving only Kyoya and you. He had just finished on his laptop and was packing up his things. You walked behind him. "Senpai, is it okay if I ask you a question?"

"Is it about what I said earlier?" He didn't turn around.

"Kind of. I mean, if we're talking about the same thing." You kept your voice steady and light.

"Was it what I said about not needing Suzushima?"

"Woah, no. Not at all. I was thinking about how you did a background check on him."

He paused briefly. "I see. What of it?"

Your voice unintentionally shrank. "Did you do one on me?"

"Yes. A few days ago, in fact. You fail to mention your brother when people ask about your history." His voice was so calm and normal. It made you feel very exposed.

"Everything I've said isn't a lie." You managed to say firmly.

"I know that as well. I understand your situation and I respect your reasonings for not talking about him. You've been through quite a lot, and you have a right to privacy."

"Please answer this next question honestly." His silence meant that he was still listening. "Do you think of me any lower or less, I don't know, appealing, now that you know everything about me?" You then nervously chuckled. "Unless it was already that low to begin with."

"I assure you that my views of you are of a hard working person who seems to make many people happy. Not wanting people to know certain things about you and having certain insecurities do not waver what I 'think' of you."

You let out a breath and grinned, hugging him from the back. He widened his eyes, but didn't tense nor pull away.

"Thank you Kyoya senpai. This really means a lot." You then let go of him. "Okay, I need to walk home before it gets dark. See you tomorrow." You then quickly went to the door. "Sorry if that hug was weird for you!" You called out as you left.

His opinions mattered to you. It was an interesting thought, in its own way.

As you were getting ready for the party, Maria came into your room. "Can't you be at least a bit girly?"

"Funny, that's really funny Maria." You turned to face her and sat down. "You're quite the tomboy yourself sometimes."

"I'm serious y/n/n. You should try a little makeup. You'll look nice for all your friends. One of them is bound to fall for you." She said in an offering tone.

You chuckled and shook your head. "They're all just friends. And I shouldn't have to try to impress anybody."

She sighed, going over to your nightstand and opening a drawer. She took out a black box and opened it, revealing the earrings you got back after your father was imprisoned. "At least wear one of your mom's earrings. They all look cute on you."

You looked in the box. She loved to collect them. "I don't know, maybe."

She grabbed your cheeks and smushed them. "Think about it." You grabbed her cheeks and did the same. "I also have something to tell you."

"Good or bad?"

She hesitated before quickly saying, "My sisters are coming for a few days to visit." And then sped walked out of the room.

"What?!" You followed her. "Please tell me Linda's son won't be coming too." She gave you a look, and that was all you needed to know. "Oh my gosh, I'm going to my club. That's gonna be my safe space for now."

"At least you have a safe space. I'll have to deal with Linda 24/7."

You then went back into your room and hesitantly grabbed a pair of earrings, putting them in your pants pocket. "I gotta go. I should start walking now."

She stopped you. "Take off the blazer at least." You took off the blazer with a pout. She then pulled off your messy ponytail. "Do something better with your hair too." You tied up two messy double buns. "There. You look adorable. Go."

You got there and joined all except Tamaki at the second floor in the auditorium. "Welcome, my little lambs," Tamaki said from the third floor. "To a magical night of your lives!"

Kyoya then spoke up. "As always ladies we are here for your enjoyment. Dance to your heart's content. The best dancer will be decided among us hosts and will be crowned queen. As a reward the queen will receive a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king, Tamaki Suoh. Good luck to all you."

They all began cheering, and you snickered over the stupidity of the 'prize'. The twins came over to you and began playing with your buns.

"These are cute." Hikaru said.

"You have a raggedy yet carefree look. The hairstyle compliments you." Kaoru told you. "Hey, have you ever been to a party before?"

"Not formal parties. Only block parties on my street."

"Well, since you're here y/n, you might as well enjoy yourself." Kyoya said. "We have quite the spread of desserts."

You then innocently asked, "Like squishy ice cream?"

"SQUI—"

"—SHY—"

"—ICE CREAM?!"

Tamaki flipped down to your floor and pointed to Kyoya, who was already dialing a number on his phone. "Kyoya! Order some squishy ice cream right away!"

"Two orders of mochi please." He said to his phone. The twins smothered you in a hug as your face burned from embarrassment. You felt like such an idiot foreigner right now.

In the meantime you danced with some girls, being flamboyant and silly when dancing with them. There was one girl who tripped over your shoes and almost fell until you caught her. She wouldn't stop laughing loudly, and it caused you to laugh as well. Others wanted to talk, so you danced regularly with them.

As you took a break from dancing with some girls Kanako approached you. "There you are y/n, I've been looking everywhere for you. May I have this next dance?"

"It would be my pleasure Lady Kanako." You began to dance with her. "You're so formal. It's really fascinating to me."

"Your expressions and slang are fascinating to me as well." She said.

"Kasuga-chan's here!" Honey announced.

"Honey, Mori," Tamaki said. "Commence with the operation."

Both nodded before swiftly grabbing you away and dashing to an empty room with the twins and Kyoya. "Did you guys really have to be so forceful?"

"Nevermind that, go and change." Hikaru shoved a bag into your hands and pushed you into the changing room.

"Remember y/n, we only have 37 minutes before the climax of the night," Kyoya said. "And a little accident might make the evening more interesting."

You saw a tube of concealer on the small table when you went in. You knew Kyoya left it for you, and it made you smile. You quickly changed into the dark purple dress and put concealer on the scars of your legs. You then remembered the earrings in your pocket and put them on. They were rose gold hoops with what looked like flower petals on them.

You then went outside, where the twins quickly put on your makeup. Kaoru then gently touched one of your earrings. "We didn't put these in the bag. Are these yours?"

"Yeah." You quietly said.

"They compliment the dress. It was good that you brought them." You smiled at him, causing him to blush and look away.

"Y'know," Hikaru said as they finished up. "I know the boss wants to stick to the strategy, but this is..."

"What are you all doing standing around here?" Tamaki asked as he came in. "The guests are wai—"

You stood up and faced him. You then began walking as the boys stared at you. "You look cute!" Honey stated.

Everyone blushed but Honey and Kyoya, who were both smiling. "My face feels heavy." You pouted as you kept walking.

"Hurry up!" The twins called out as you kept walking.

"Yeah, I got it." You muttered. As you left, the twins and Tamaki began to fawn over you.

You walked into the room they told you to. Suzushima turned around with a surprised look. You timidly smiled as you walked over to him. "You're not at all what I pictured from the letter you wrote me."

You kept your smile on. "Really?" He nodded. "Can I actually see the letter please?" He then gave it to you, and you read over it:

I'm in love love with you! From the first day I laid eyes on you I've been head over heals in love! Tee hee! All these feelings I have are harpooned to my heart as they keep whipping around my mind like the restless waves! When the special day comes, I want to randezvou with you on Noah's arc! I do I do!

You wondered who the hell would write such a stupid letter. It was actually a collaborative write with Kyoya and the twins. "Excuse me," Suzushima interrupted your thoughts. "Have we met before?"

"No! It's um, the first time we've ever talked!"

"I'm flattered by your letter, but I'm afraid I can't return your feelings." He said. "My heart has been taken by somebody else."

"My apologies! I didn't realize you had a girlfriend."

"No, she's not my girlfriend. I don't even think she's even interested anymore." He looked very sad.

"Well I don't know about that. Your calming presence is a joy to be around, and I'm sure she'd agree." You offered.

He sighed. "Thank you, but honestly, I'm sure she'd be better off with someone more self confident. That's why I'm leaving next month to study abroad. Hopefully become a better man for her. Maybe it's selfish, but I hope she'll wait for me."

"I won't lie to you, it's a little selfish." An arrow went through him. You squished your index finger and thumb. "Just a little. But Toro, if she really is the love of your life then I'm sure she'll still love you just as much as she probably already does."

He was about to say something as he reached out for you, but you heard the door open. You didn't turn so she wouldn't see your face. "Oh, I'm sorry to intrude." You could tell she was crying. "I'll just leave you two be."

You heard her heels and knew she was running away, and he ran after her. "Kanako, wait!"

You then walked next to Tamaki. "We didn't make things worse, did we?"

"He did run after her. He needs to learn how to be more sure of himself."

You were both walking back when you tripped again over your heels. Tamaki interlocked your arms together. You looked up at him. "You really need to learn how to walk in heels. They look so lovely on you, and it'd be a shame if you tripped and hurt yourself."

You smiled and nodded, leaning on his shoulder. You then tripped again, only for him to hold onto you and prevent you from falling. You giggled, followed shortly by Tamaki chuckling with you.

You both went over to the balcony. The lights hit, and you saw Kanako and Toro. "Let us join together and announce that this couple has been chosen for the final waltz of the night." Tamaki announced.

He said something to her, squeezing his eyes shut and asking her for a dance. You snickered. "Why are you laughing?" Kaoru asked.

"I know he's trying his best, but he looks kinda goofy right now." All the hosts looked from you to them and smiled. "They're awesome together though."

"May this awkward couple be forever blessed!" Tamaki exclaimed.

Kyoya then stepped forward. "And now for the grand prize, a kiss from our royalty."

"Y/n with step in for Tamaki." Kaoru said with a banana peel in his hand.

"And the kiss with be for Toro Suzushima." Hikaru added with another banana peel in his hand.

Tamaki was shocked, and you turned to Kyoya. "I'm not gonna—"

"It'll lower your debt by a third."

"I mean it is just a peck." You smiled and headed down.

"Wha..." Tamaki said.

"Also," You said as you began walking down the stairs. "You guys need to work on your love letter skills, because that was embarring for me to read."

As you went down Suzushima saw you and gave you a surprised expression. "You..."

"Y/n," Kanako said. "Were you the girl with Toro?"

"Hi guys. We just needed to give you two a gentle nudge. I promise I'm not in love with Toro. And I'm really sorry and embarrassed they gave you that stupid letter. I didn't write any of that." You smiled at them.

He nodded. "Thank you."

You then looked at Kanako. "May I?"

"Sure. It'll mark the beginning of our relationship."

Up from the balcony, Tamaki was reaching out for you weakly. "I wonder if this is y/n-chan's first kiss?" Honey thought out loud.

This made Tamaki snap, and he began running to you. "Wait y/n~!"

He slipped on the twins' banana peels and accidentally pushed you, causing you to kiss Toro on the lips instead. Kyoya did say that a little accident would make the night a little more interesting.

---

Author's Note: Comment if you liked it (please) or if you want to be tagged 😁

---

Tag List:

@krustykrabbspizza @animefan7420 @strangerthingsholland @the-dead-fucking-sea

[harrysmanystyles]

“are you sure about that?”

A/N: I just was really in the mood for frat boy harry okay

The day had been off from the moment I woke up. My stomach churned at the thought of the events the day coming about, and as I walked into my Philosophy class that morning and locked eyes with him, I felt it. The spark. And as much as I tried to resist it, the feeling demanded to be felt. Quickly, I turned around and sat in my normal seat, waiting for him to take his usual seat next to me. It was a routine, one that I had grown comfortable with. Although being around Harry made me feel things I didn’t necessarily want to feel, his company was somewhat entertaining and familiar.

Moments later, he plops down in the seat next to me, immediately grabbing my notebook to see what I was so intently staring at. “This is a blank page,” he teases, flopping it back onto my desk. I give him a small smile.

“Sorry, I’m just feeling a bit distracted, thats all,” I say, tucking my hair behind my ears, a nervous habit I’ve grown into since coming to college. Harry notices, he notices everything.

“Calm down, love, that was meant to be a joke.” He gives me a look, and glances at the professor who’s getting ready to start the lecture. “You’re still coming tonight, right?” He asks, his eyes hopeful. How could I ever say no? When I nod, a triumphant grin takes over his features. Harry is a hard person to say no to, and at times he can be manipulative to get what he wants. I’m sure he’s used that tactic multiple times on many girls just like me. Hence, why I have no interest in catching any feelings for him, I will not be just another conquest. My heart has been broken too many times before.

Harry and I have been friends for a little while now. We both ended up in the same philosophy class for the semester, and somehow, he weaseled his way into studying with me. Last week, he asked me to come to a party him and his friends were throwing at their house over the weekend. He claimed that I need to ‘let loose’ and ‘enjoy myself a little’. I rolled my eyes, but agreed to it nonetheless. What else was I going to do? The last few weekends I’ve spent studying holed up in my room, and he knew that.

The professor starts lecturing, and it startles me out of my trance. I begin to take notes like I always do, and as my pen scribbles on my paper I can feel his eyes on me, taking in my every move. I ignore him, pretending like I don’t notice, and eventually he turns to face the front, a sigh escaping his lips.

When the class finishes, we both stand at the same time, nearly knocking each other over. He grabs my arms before I fall back into my seat. “These seats are way too close together,” he remarks, releasing me from his grasp once he sees I’ve regained my balance.

“Thanks,” I mumble, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. I grab my backpack and turn to leave when he grabs my arm.

“See you tonight,” he smirks, and with that, turns and walks away, leaving me with the burning sensation of where his hand gripped my arm and a bundle of nerves dwindling in my stomach.

-

Its quarter to 11 when my roommate, Rose, and I walk up the sidewalk to the front door of Harry’s house. The house is shaking from the music, and there are people spilling out the front windows. This should be interesting. I pull down my uncomfortably tight skirt that Rose forced me to wear, feeling a bit overdressed for a house party. I look over at her, “What?” She says.

“This was a bad idea, I should have stayed home. What if—“ She cuts me off.

“What if nothing. You look hot, and Harry invited you for you to have fun. You can’t just stay cooped up in our apartment all the time, it’s not good for you.” She gives me a smirk, grabs my hand, and pulls me into the house. She knows my mixed emotions towards him, and she wants to see how the night is going to play out. Deep down, so do I, but I’m afraid of what’s to come. I roll my eyes as we stumble past the front door. I’m immediately hit by a wave of musty heat, and I crinkle my nose in disgust. What is this? A frat party? “Come on, let’s go get a drink!” Rose shouts over the music, and I nod in agreement. I’m definitely going to need a drink to get me through the night. Scratch that, I’ll need way more than one.

We head over to the kitchen to find that the island is covered with bottles of opened and unopened liquor and mixers. I grab a solo cup and begin to mix myself a drink. “Whoa, slow down there,” I hear his voice in front of me, and look up to see him standing a mere 6 inches away. My voice catches in my throat, but the second I take a drink out of my cup, I regain my confidence. I feel his eyes raking down my body, a twinge of lust in his gaze. Well, I guess the outfit did its job. I clear my throat, pulling him back to reality.

“Don’t let me have more than five of these,” I point at him jokingly and give him a knowing look, taking another big swig. I need to be at least a little drunk for this conversation. He laughs and shakes his head in fake disappointment.

“No promises, remember? You’re letting loose tonight,” he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Mhm, yeah, I don’t remember saying that?” I say, a small grin on my lips. He laughs and opens his mouth to respond, but Rose cuts him off.

“I think we need to go dance,” she says, pouring more liquor in both of our cups, and then dragging me to the dance floor. Well, the living room. I look back to see if Harry was still there, and yes he was, staring at me with a not quite smirk on his lips. I felt a blush come on, and immediately turned around.

It felt like I’d been there for hours. Dancing, pouring more alcohol, then dancing some more. The room wasn’t quite spinning, but one more drink and it would be. “I need the bathroom!” I yell over the pounding music.

“What?” Rose responds, and I shake my head.

“I’ll be right back,” I say, and as I turn to leave I notice Rose is dancing with Harry’s friend. I knew it would happen, it was just a matter of time. She’s had eyes for him all year, and when she sets her sight on someone, she always finishes. Can’t wait to wake up with him in my kitchen tomorrow morning.

I squeeze through the crowd toward the back of the house, where there’s a staircase that leads upstairs. There has to be a bathroom up there, right? I stumble up the steps and open the door to the first room I find. Immediately hearing moans, I slam the door shut without even looking to see who it was. Gross, lock the door next time please. I move to another room down the hall. The door flies open to reveal Harry laying on his bed, his head whips to my direction, and a smirk overtakes his features. “Well hello to you too,” he says, sitting up in his bed. The drunkness in me tells me to go inside, and I listen. What are you doing?

“Sorry, I was just looking for the bathroom. I—“

“You look like you’ve definitely had more than five,” Harry chuckles. He stands from his bed and makes his way over to me. I go to walk toward him, and trip over the chair sitting at his desk. Shit, I really should have been keeping track. Harry grabs me, and once I’m steadied, I take one look at his face and pull away. This is exactly the situation I didn’t want to end up in tonight. “That’s the second time I’ve saved you from your own clumsiness today. Shall we start keeping count?” He jokes.

“Ha ha, very funny,” I say sarcastically, avoiding his face. I know the second we make eye contact, I’ll just melt. And thats exactly what he wants. “Why are you even up here? The party is downstairs, not in your room,” God, why do I sound like such a dumbass right now?

“I just needed a break, it gets a bit too loud for my liking, so I come up here to let my head settle,” he answers. I nod, and stare at my feet, unsure of what to say or do next. The pounding music vibrates through the walls of his surprisingly clean bedroom, and I feel my heartbeat quicken in my chest just at the sound of his breath a few feet in front of me. I look up at him. His eyes lock with mine, and my heart feels as if it’s about to burst. Unintentionally, my eyes widen at the sight of his beautiful features. When I’m drunk, everything is heightened. My sensitivity to his presence and the effect his bone structure has on me is unintentional and unwanted. I watch his hands as he cracks his knuckles and he chuckles when he sees my response to his mere being. The curves of his soft, pink lips call out to mine as he says, “you okay?” I can hear the smirk in his voice. The effect he has on me is unnatural, and as much as I try to resist him, I can’t. 

"I don't feel anything for you, you know," I blurt out randomly and confidently. “So whatever you think you’re doing here, it’s not working.” Well, it sounded much more confident in my head than it did when I said it aloud. Where did that even come from? He asked me if I was okay, not if I was in love with him. This was more of an attempt to convince myself than him. If I could say it out loud, maybe that would make it true. His laugh rolls deeply in his chest, and he takes a step closer. I take a step back.

"Are you sure about that?" Another step closer. Another step back. His eyes burn holes into mine as he walks, and I become afraid of what little control I have over myself in this moment. Who just blurts something like that out randomly? Crazy people, thats who. I feel myself becoming overpowered by his figure, but still try to defend my useless attempts denying my feelings. 

"Y-yes," I say, it was meant to be a statement, though it came out as more of a question. Another step forward. Another step back. I stumble backward until my back hits the wall. Trapped, with nowhere to go. A reckless smirk overtakes his beautiful features as he takes his last step towards me. 

With only centimeters between us, he bends down so his face is level with mine, fists like pillars securely fastened on the wall above my head. His uneven breaths fan over my face, and the immediate smell of what I have come to realize is his regularly chewed spearmint gum mixed with vodka fill my nostrils. I take in a shaky breath. I’ve never been this close to him, and my fuzzy thoughts are attempting to make sense of what’s happening. I feel something in me shift, almost as if my confidence decided to make its presence known in my moment of weakness. 

"Because it really doesn't seem that way," he taunts, his jade eyes peering into my brown ones. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears as his gaze intensifies. Every bone in my body tells me to resist him, but I swallow back the nerves rising in my throat, grab him by the collar of his shirt, and crash my lips into his.

[nvalentino]

𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 {𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬} • 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: this is my way of putting the story of two against the world into my own style and fixing things that bug me about the game. This is in no way meant to diminish the writer’s work, but everyone has different taste. 

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2k+

Movies have always been my escape. A way to distance me from a crumbling economy and stressful days at work- something simple. There’s nothing quite like mindlessly inhaling popcorn in the dark, alone with no one to judge you. All the while staring at an enormous silver screen for two hours straight. I love that it’s a world away from my own. 

My town’s movie theatre isn’t much, but she’s got character. Sat on the corner two run-down cross streets, her paint- peeled walls crawling with thick vines and the crooked marquee sign whose lights don’t work has almost become a second home. So when I heard she was hosting an all-night crime movie marathon, I’ve never bought a ticket faster in my life.

When I show up to the theatre, there’s a line wrapped around the block and they’re all dressed as mobsters, Femme Fatales, wise guys... these are my people. I look up at the marquee, which reads: ‘FILM MARATHON: ALL NIGHT GANGSTERS.’ 

My heart nearly jumps from my chest. I’d been waiting all week for this, for my break. I finally reach the front of the line, and I’m greeted by Murray, the owner of the place. I think he’s been hunched behind that ticket booth since Bogart ruled the box office. 

“What’s a looker like yourself doing here alone on a Friday evening?” It’s always the same. No matter how many times it seems I show up in his lobby- Murray always forgets me. It’s lovely to know I’m so memorable. 

“Are you ever alone when you have the characters on screen?” I keep my tone light and teasing. Can’t be cruel to Murray- bit like roundhouse kicking a puppy.

“You look familiar, you a regular here?” Ah, there it is. Scratch my previous statement, I’m at least a little important. Guess all those hours spent in front of him’s paying off.

“That I am.” I rest an arm on the counter, an even smile on my face. Murray leans closer, getting a better look at me. I’m all too used to all his antics by now, and smiling is the easiest way to get alone.

“And your name is?” Can’t have everything in life, I suppose, and, as lovable as he is, he hasn’t been all there for the better part of a decade. 

“Murray, it’s me, {Y/N}.”

“Oh, right,” he smiles, straightening back to look me over. “Why didn’t you say so? You know my eyes ain’t what they used to be.” I have to hold back a laugh, but it’s easily covered with a large grin. “I didn’t take you for a fan of gangster movies.”

This time, an amused scoff passes my lips. Resting my hip against the counter I feign an offended look, “It’s like you don’t even know me anymore, Murray. I love gangster movies.” 

“So do I, kid. The slick-talking, the high drama, the whirlwind romances.” A wistful look crosses his eyes, like that of a family member flicking through family photo albums reminiscing about the old days- then his face clears up. “Speaking of romance, where’s your date?”

Talk about beating a dead horse. I nearly always turn up alone to the movies- no matter how much I’d like to have someone to bring. But I come the same way each time- all by myself. “I just told you. I fly solo. I don’t need a wingman. Besides, why bring a date when you have the company of the beautiful people on the big screen.”

A look of concern washes over Murray’s face- something much unlike anything I’ve seen on him before like he was deep in thought. “Fair enough. A movie star will be your date tonight, then.”

“Exactly,” I laugh. “Now, can you let me in?”

“Can you show me your ticket?”

I reach into my pocket, eager to get inside so I can buy a box of popcorn and soda. But my pocket’s empty. Oh, god no. I reach into my other pocket. And to my absolute shock, there’s nothing inside but lint and a cracked phone. Instantaneously, I’m checking everywhere: coat pockets, shirt pockets, back pockets- each and every one of them like the last: empty. My heart sinks- I lost the ticket. Only me. I nervously read my surroundings. A line of impatient movie-goers behind me, an elderly ticket-take in front of me, and a sign in big bold letters that hangs above him. Tonight’s showing: Sold Out.

“Your ticket, please?”

“Oh, god, Murray- I-I can’t find it,” my hands glide over every pocket again- desperately trying to find some trace of the ticket.

I feel a lump burning in my throat and a wet gloss beginning to coat my eyes. If losing my ticket wasn’t bad enough- feeling the burning stares of the long line behind me is tipping my scale. “I’m sorry, dear. I’m not sure what I can do. We’re all sold out.”

My eyes fall to my feet as murmurs sound from behind me, doing my best to hold back the disappointment and embarrassment boiling over. “Right. My fault.” My cheeks feel hot, my entire body’s burning. I can’t believe it. A week’s worth on excitement drained out of me in a matter of seconds.

Just as I take a step away from the counter- Murray calls my name. “Hold on. Maybe there’s something I can do.” I turn around, and Murray looks at me with a sceptic’s eye. “You really want a date with a movie star tonight, do you?”

“Yes. Please, I can’t tell you how long I’ve been looking forward to this.” My pride’s the last thing on my mind, focusing solely on pleading with the man in front of me.

He reads my expression, seeming to gaze straight through me, and then he straightens out his vest. “You’re positive?”

“Murray, I’ve never been more positive about anything in my life.” Okay, drama queen- dial it back a bit.

“Very well.”

“One of my customers cancelled their reservation last minute. And they were very important. From Hollywood. You can take their place if you’d like.” And with those words, my face is overtaken with joy.

“Wow, Murray, thank you so much.”

Murray retrieves a golden ticket stub from the booth, and it sparkles underneath the glow of the marquee. He rips the stub in two and hands me the other end. Something in his eyes sparkles like he knows something that I don’t. “Choose your adventure wisely, kid. It’s almost showtime.”

For a moment, I’m captivated by the ticket- the grumbling line behind me forgotten. Admit One has never felt so... special. I stride past Murray, toward the doors to the lobby, the sweet smell of salted buttered popcorn pulling me inside.

But when I waltz inside, everything about the rundown movie theatre is different. The sticky floors have been replaced by slick velvet carpeting. A grand staircase sits where the pinball machine used to be. Thick red curtains have replaced the shredded B-Movie posters. And the people around me are dressed like they’re from a ball in the 1920′s. This room alone could buy all the places I’ve ever lived. This isn’t my theatre. The dimensions aren’t even correct. I’m either hallucinating or this is all a dream. Either way, I’m spooked. I’ve got to get out of here.

I pivot back to the door and yank at the handle. But it won’t budge. I can feel my heart bursting from my chest. Everything feels so real- there’s no way I’m dreaming. I wrap both hands around the handle this time, clutching the ironclad door. But it’s completely seals shut. Okay. Don’t Panic. There has to be an explanation. For why... for how... for how I’ve been magically transported to a movie palace from the early twentieth century. Just hearing myself think that makes me light-headed. This can’t be real.

I turn around once again, and in my delirium, I see a sharply dressed man eyeing me from amongst the crowd. His angelic smile looks like it’s worth a million bucks, and his eyes are like none I’ve ever seen in person. The colour of honeyed whiskey and unbelievably sharp. This only happens in the movies. He only exists in the movies. One of the crime flicks about the Roaring Twenties. But I can’t place exactly which one. With a sly wink, he confidently turns away from me and moves through the crowd.

Intrigued, and left with little other options, I follow him. But he’s elusive. I walk faster, but the faster I walk- the further away he seems to be. He reaches for an expansive, gold-plated door. And before I can even call out to him, he’s on the other side of it. Oh, come on.

I hurry my pace, clumsily weaving my way between the other guests until I reach the door myself. Without so much as a thought, I pull the door open and step into a buzzing room packed with boozy patrons dancing to the boisterous symphonies of Broadway jazz. I watch in amazement as women in sequin flapper dresses do the Charleston with men suited up in black tuxedos. Unless I’m mistaken, I’d say I’ve just stepped foot in a rowdy speakeasy from the jazz age.

Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. I pinch myself. Ouch. Not dreaming. I turn my attention to the crowded bar, its customers getting tipsy on saccharine highballs. If there’s one thing I need right now, it’s a glass of something strong. I move swiftly to the stool studded counter.

“What’ll it be?” The bartender, a bow-tie clad man whose greying hair is slicked back from his forehead, asks.

“Oh- uh, what are my options?” He points to a chalkboard behind him, which has the names of several drinks etched into its surface. Fuck. I should’ve paid more attention to the drinks featured in all the movies I watch because I have no idea what any of these mean. 

“She’ll have a Gin Rickey with a dash of syrup.” The words come from behind me, saving my breath. “And I’ll be having an Old Fashioned, old-timer.”

The mystery man pulls a glistening silver case from his jacket pocket as the bartender begins synthesizing our drinks. He flips open the case revealing a handful of perfectly rolled cigarettes inside. How do you talk to a man from an entire century ago? Especially one so... gorgeous. Don’t reference memes. Easier said than done.

“Care for a smoke?” He flashes that five-star smile at me again as he retrieves a matchbook from his coat. I shake my head- mind racing. Don’t mess up, don’t mess up, down mess up...

“Where am I?” Way to go- not crazy at all. Definitely, something a completely normal and functioning human being would ask. 

“You don’t know where you are?”

You’ve fucked up- own it, but try and keep your stupid contained. You’re supposed to be wooing him- not scaring him off. “Not exactly.”

The man ignites a match, the flicker of a flame painting his face in moving shadows as he lights the cigarette. He returns his silver case and the matchbook to his jacket pocket. “You tell me your name and I’ll tell you where you are.”

“{Y/N}.” So far so good. My mind is still reeling- eyes combing over every inch of the room- trying to find a sign, anything, to prove that this is all real. “I’m dreaming. Aren’t I?” The sudden sensation of being spun around takes over my body.

“If this is a dream, I don’t ever want to wake up.” I feel my cheeks warm at the words, at least one of us is articulated. “The names Nicky. Nicky Valentino.” Nicky brings my wrist to his lips, pressing a kiss to the top of my hand. I swear I can feel my soul departing

“Charming as you may be, I’m not from here-” my already jumbled sentence gets interrupted by the bartender. He places the candied, kaleidoscopic drinks before us. Nicky slips the man two bills, then looks at me with those mischievous hazel eyes.

“Cheers.”

I hesitatingly clink my glass with his and place the cold drink to my bottom lip. I take one sip and my mouth contorts with the overwhelming taste of tart. “Right- so as I was saying.” My tongue feels dry, tight as I glance around the room once more. Think, think. 

“Doesn’t take a wisehead to know you ain’t from New York.” Even with my own tense posture, all his words hold a lilt of teasing.

“Yeah. But I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.” What do you even say? ‘Hey, I’m not just out of state, I’m out of century.’ I don’t know how that’d go over, but I’m imagining not well.

“Of course you’re supposed to be here,” it’s a good thing I’m not standing because the look on his face is enough to buckle my knees. “You’re the person of my dreams, and this is my dream, right?” His honeyed and soft words do loosen my shoulders- but I can’t help my tangled mind.

“Okay. How can I explain this... I’m not even from your...” Right words, right words. “Your... dimension” Could be better. 

“So, like from upstate?” I have to hold back a scoff- he’s a total dork. Nicky coyly grins to himself, expression morphing into one I’ve only ever seen on a silver screen. “Can you pinch me? ‘Cause now I know I’m dreamin’.“

The tightness in my shoulders dissipates as I laugh at the remark. If there’s one thing he’s exceptional at- it’s being annoyingly charismatic. “I’m still not sure I can explain this right. Do you like going to the movies?”

“Yeah. I like the ones about wise guys, car chases, and the ride or die sidekicks.” Fitting.

“W-well... it’s- it’s... it’s like everything became a... a movie for me.” How in the world do you word this? “You’re like a-”

“A movie star?” I nod, and he considers this like it isn’t the slightest bit absurd. He exhales a thin stream of smoke from his lips then chases it with a sip of the Old Fashioned. “Listen, if it’s a movie, you gotta know some things. This movie is fast, it’s dangerous. Until about five minutes ago, all I wanted was the entire world and I wanted it all to myself.”

“And now?”

“Now I still want the world. But I want it for two.” Between the alcohol and the compliments, my head is spinning in the best way possible. Nicky was right: if this is a dream, then keep the damn lights off.

“That’s very poetic of you, F. Scott.” Everything about him is magnetic, drawing me closer with each word. I can’t help myself but lean in.

“You forgot my name already? It’s Nicky.”

Lord, he’s definitely a dork. “No it’s- never mind.” Nicky places his hand into the pocket inside his coat and pulls out a thin black jewellery case.

“I want you to have something.” He cracks open the case, and inside sits a breathtaking diamond bracelet with enough shimmering carats to blind me. It’s excessive. It’s perfect.

“Nicky, what is this?” I train my eyes on him, trying my best to get a read on him, but he’s impossible. 

“Do me a favour. Just try it on.”

“I can’t... I’ve only just met you. And-” 

My argument is cut short with a raise of his eyebrows, “I’m a movie star, right? So why not play the part. You can’t take it off soon as you finish your drink.” I let my eyes fall back to the case, combing over the bracelet.

“I may never finish my drink.” The words tumble past my lips with little thought- nearly catching myself off guard with the brashness.

“I’m counting on it.” I watch as Nicky removes the bracelet from the case, fingertips brushing my skin as he cuffs it delicately around my wrist.

“So, what’s your game, Nicky?”

“My game?” He seems confused by the inquiry, but I can’t think of a reasonable time someone would fork over something so expensive to a total stranger.

“Yeah. What do you want from me?” Nicky stares at the strand of diamonds that fits perfectly around my wrist. I suddenly feel off- like I’d overstepped an unspoken boundary. “It’s a fair question considering five minutes after meeting me you’re giving me diamonds. Usually, guys wait to the third date for that.”

“I’m setting my price.”

“Your price?” Baffled by the words, my eyebrows knit together, “your price for what?”

“Leaving it all behind.” Shoulders dripping, I scan over his face. He’s just as unreadable as before. What does it mean? Leaving it all behind. Nicky only offers a warm smile, like he can read mind and in his eyes, I catch a glint of sincerity behind the bravado. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have somewhere to be.”

“You’re kidding?” I scoff.

“We’ll be in touch. I guarantee it.” I can’t even protest, Nicky gets up from his stool and walks away. 

“No, Nicky- you’re not- you can’t leave me with this bracelet!” My protest is futile, falling to deaf ears. He’s already a third the way to a far door. “Nicky!” But he either can’t hear me or doesn’t want to hear me. “Damn it!” Once again, Nicky eludes me as he finesses his way between guys and dames.

This time, I’m not letting him get away from me. I leap out of my seat, and the barstool nearly crashes to the floor as I hurry after him. I knock into a couple in the throes of a drunken kiss, interrupting what would have been a perfect moment. I collect my footing and peer ahead. Nicky is more than halfway now.

I’m a foot from the couple before a hand circles my wrist, spinning me on my heel to find a man already a few drinks deep. “Where you goin’, sugar?” His breath reeks. 

“I-I... gotta,” his fingers are curled into the bracelet. “Let me...” I wrench myself free from him, stumbling back into another drunken couple standing behind me, “go.”

As Nicky’s hand wraps around the door handle, I take off, leaving the man and couples in my rearview. Just as I get within spitting distance, he pushes the door open. I reach out for him, grabbing a hold of his wrist before he can take another step. Feeling my grip, Nicky spins around to face me. The door slams shut behind him. A brash grin enveloping his face.

“You’ve done good, kid.”

“What do you mean? Was this some kind of test?”

“If it was, how do you think you did?”

“I’m not sure the type of person who wants to test me is the kind of person I want to be around.” Nicky lays his eyes on my hand, which is still tightly gripping his wrist.

“You sure about that, toots?” Instantly, my skin goes hot from embarrassment. I quickly retract my hand from his. He’s so frustratingly sauve.

“I’m- I’m sure.”

“Hold on, I didn’t say you should let go.”

“You didn’t need to.” Nicky inches closer to me, interlocking his fingers with mine.

“{Y/N}, I was only teasing. I don’t want you to let go.” He grasps my hand as if letting go would mean he’d lose a part of himself, a lifeline. “In my world, the less people you keep close, the less chance you have at getting hurt. But... you’re not from my world, right? So maybe there’s room for an exception.”

I squeeze his hand tighter, our hands clasped together in an unspoken devotion. I look up into Nicky’s eager eyes, and then at his lips before asking, “you want me to be your exception?”

“That’s right.” Nicky lets go of my hand and turns away from me. “Follow me.” He pushes the door open, enthusiastically walking into another sizable group of strangers outside. As I follow Nicky out of the room, he’s gone from sight. And so is everyone else. 

I’m back in the movie theatre lobby- my movie theatre. The place is completely empty, and an eerie quiet has set over the room. I pace a few steps until I’m smack dab in the centre of the room. And now that I’m back to my world, I’m already longing for the adventure promised by the other. And my hand’s feeling awfully empty. So is my wrist. The bracelet. Fuck. I’ve had the damn thing for forty seconds and it’s already been nicked.

“Is someone going to explain all this to me? What the hell is going on?” Then, a hand taps me on the shoulder. “Whoa!” I yelp, startled at the other presence in the room. “Murray! Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” 

“What’d ya think, kid?”

“The movie. What’d ya think about my movie?”

“Murray! You knew about all- all this?”

“I know what goes on in my theatre.” Murray momentarily looks down and polishes a brass button on his coat. “I’ve been showing movies for the better part of my life, and I know when I see a movie star. You, my friend, are a movie star. The question is: are you ready for your close-up?”

“What... what do you mean?” Everything is hitting me at once. That really wasn’t a dream.

Murray inhales with pride as he observes his theatre. “There are many theatres in this joint, all playing crime films from the great American eras. You’ve been fortunate enough to see the trailer for one, but did it suit you?” He places a hand on my shoulder, and we walk to the entrance of the first theatre. “Is the ostentatious world of Gatsby’s New York, of raucous speakeasies and illegal rum-running in the roaring twenties your adventure?”

He turns to look at me, kind eyes shining with expectancy. My heart rate jumps at the question, giddy for the prospect of adventure but anxious for the consequences. No movie is perfect. “I can just... be a part of it?”

“For now.”

“What about this world? The real world?”

“You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want to escape. Besides, who’s to say what’s real and what’s not.” Murray smiled a wistful and weathered smile. Like what I pictured a clock would smile, full of known and unknown. “What’d you say, kid?”

 He’s right, I’d be fooling myself if I said otherwise. I want this- I think I’ve always wanted something like this. With a calming breath and a final look around the theatre, I nod. “Yes.”

“Very good, your co-stars are waiting inside.” Murray steps aside, gesturing to the door. “Enter whenever you feel ready.” 

“No time like the present.” I take another deep gulp of air, trying to silence my screaming heart rate. I’m not dreaming. This is real.

“But remember, this is a cinema: once the movie begins, there’s no rewind button.” Thanks, no pressure. I’m nervous, to say the least- but this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I proceed into the movie theatre entrance, its double doors awaiting my arrival. I push open the doors and walk into my starring role.

Lights. Camera. Action. Two Against the World.

[always-anxious612]

My Love

Description: Roman has a crush but is also an insecure mess. 

Genre: hurt/comfort

Paring: Logince

Warnings: crying, panic attack, self deprecation  (let me know if I missed anything)

           Roman had a problem. How did he know he had a problem? Well, it was fairly obvious by the way his face was flushed, by the way the butterflies danced in his stomach, by the way he so uncharacteristically stumbled over his words. What was his problem you ask? Logan. He—He liked him…a lot. It wasn’t his fault that the way the nerd’s eyes lit up when he talked about something he liked was so endearing, or that the logical side’s laugh, however rare, was so beautiful. It wasn’t his fault that Logan was just…so amazing. Roman sighed, looking down at the script he was supposed to be writing. He had been wracking his brain for days, trying to finish it on time. Now, Logan needed it by the end of the day, and Roman couldn’t disappoint him. He had already done enough of that. At the thought, the lovesick grin that had been on his face a moment before slowly slid off. 

Right. He had disappointed Logan far too much to be hoping for a relationship with him. Logan hated him. Roman was the complete opposite of him, pure fantasy and big dreams, no logic allowed. He rubbed at his tired eyes before trying to focus back on his work. He could feel a headache coming on, and it seemed his poor sleeping schedule over the past few days only made him feel worse. He was a mess.

He didn’t even realize another sigh had slipped from his lips or that there was another person in his room until someone cleared their throat behind him.

“Roman, I presume that’s the script you’re working on?” a familiar monotone voice asked. Roman swallowed down a sudden nervous lump in his throat and turned to face Logan.

“That it is, my dear nerd. It shall be ready for your inspection in due time.” He announced, sincerely hoping his words were true.

“Excellent…Are you alright Roman? Your face seems to be quite flushed. Do you have a fever? If you’re sick, you needn’t worry yourself with the script today.” Logan offered. Roman felt his face burn even more at Logan’s attentive stare.

“No, No I’m fine, my love.” He replied trying to wave him o—wait, no. He didn’t. He couldn’t have just—

Logan blinked at him in surprise, confirming his worst fear. He had just called Logan my love. Right in front of his face.

“Roman, I—”

“Ok, I’ll have the script to you soon. Alright? Alright goodbye then!” Roman panicked, shoving Logan out of the room and slamming the door. He couldn’t believe it. How could he be such an idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Roman sucked in a breath and slid down his door to rest on the floor.

“I’m such an idiot.” he whispered to himself, feeling hot tears start to slide down his face.

Pathetic he chastised in his head. Crying over a small slip up. But—what if Logan never talked to him again outside of their roles in the video? If Logan hadn’t hated him enough before, he’d definitely hate him now. Roman sniffed, rubbing at his eyes; but attempting to stop the tears was futile. He just—

“Roman, please.” A voice on the other side begged. “You didn’t give me a chance to respond.” Logan’s voice only worsened Roman’s pain. He gasped, clutching his chest. This was pathetic. Panicking over a saying two simple words. Roman felt the door bump against his back.

“Are you sitting in front of the door?” Logan asked. “Please, Roman, I just—” another panicked gasp as Roman tried to dampen his crying and get control of his breathing. Silence on the other side of the door.

“Roman, can you breath for me? In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. You can do it.” Logan coached through the door. Roman tried to follow the instructions, he really did, but all he could manage was a garbled sob that caught in his throat and made him spiral farther.

“Roman, its ok, try again.” Logan encouraged. This time he counted out the breathes, knocking on the door for each beat. After a few minutes of the breathing exercise, Roman had calmed down enough to move out from the front of the door. Logan rushed in, carefully kneeling in front of the Prince.

“Roman, may I hug you?” he asked softly. Gulping, Roman looked into Logan’s eyes before nodding hesitantly. The gentleness with which Logan held him was something Roman never knew the “cold” logical side was capable of, and Roman found himself burying himself in the hug, inhaling Logan’s scent.  

“I’m sorry. I—I overacted.” Roman whispered after a couple of seconds.

“You don’t have to apologize, Roman. While you didn’t give me adequate chance to respond and jumped to a conclusion rather quickly, it can be scary to reveal your feelings, especially on accident.” Logan soothed. “I’m not very well-versed in the area of feelings myself, but I do know that if I were the one to accidentally let that slip to you, I would be in very much the same state of mind.”

Roman felt his bottom lip tremble again at the words.

“But you—you don’t have feelings for me.” He laughed mournfully, face still buried in Logan’s chest.

“Who said that? I missed the part where I said that.” Logan replied softly, making Roman’s head whip up. Logan’s heart clenched in an unfamiliar way when he saw Roman’s red-rimmed eyes and tear-soaked cheeks. Just as bad were the bags under his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep over the past few days. “Roman, I—I may not be good with feelings, but despite my words I do have them. And I have them for you. Romantic feelings, that is. I, um, I have romantic feelings for you. I mean.”

Roman let out a tear-filled laugh at Logan’s ramblings. He—Logan really…

“You mean that?” he asked, barely daring to hope.

“Of course, I do, my prince.”

Roman could have burst out crying again, this time from happiness. Instead, He leaned up, hesitating right before reaching Logan’s lips, unsure and unsteady. Luckily, Logan closed the distance and he leaned into the warmth. He tasted like coffee and crofters. Bitter and sweet, the perfect combination.

“I should have breakdowns more often if it leads to this.” Roman tried to joke once they pulled away.

“Please don’t, my star. I hate seeing you sad.”

Roman couldn’t help the soft blush that settled itself onto his face at Logan’s nickname and the softness in his voice. Gosh, he loved him.

“I’m sorry about—y’know, everything. A-And about the script. I don’t think I can finish it today like you wanted.” Roman apologized, looking away in shame.

“Roman, please tell me that the script is not why you haven’t been sleeping decently or coming out of your room for the past few days.”

“I—Well, it needed to get done, and I was just…in a bit of a creative slump. It’s fine, though. I mean, I haven’t gone to bed that late the past few nights. I just really wanted to get it done. I—I guess I failed.” Roman stammered, not realizing his absence had been noticed by anyone other than Patton.

“The past few nights, I have awoken as I always do precisely at six AM and you’re lamp has still been on every morning. I know for a fact that you don’t get up until nine most days. I am presuming that you didn’t go to bed at all these past nights judging from the dark circles under your eyes. Please, Roman, just tell me next time you’re having issues with the script. I’m happy to give you more time or help you come up with ideas.”

“I—I just…I guess I just didn’t want to disappoint you. I’m sorry.”  

“You could never disappoint me.” Logan assured softly.

“Yeah right.” Roman muttered under his breath. Logan tilted Roman’s head up, cupping his face gingerly.

“I promise Roman. You could never disappoint me.” He repeated, a firmness in his voice and fire in his eyes that Roman had never seen before. Even with Logan’s reassurance, Roman found he still couldn’t quite let himself believe his words, but when Logan pressed another soft kiss to his lips, he let a smile slowly spread across his face anyway. With a quiet sigh, he slumped against Logan in exhaustion.

“Why don’t you change into something more comfortable. I’ll grab some extra blankets, and we could take a nap? You need to replenish your sleep, and I’d be more than happy to cuddle. I-If you’d like to, um, cuddle, that is.” Logan suggested, blushing slightly.

“Hm, I never thought you’d be the one to suggest cuddles.” Roman hummed, gazing up at his love.

“I don’t mind cuddling. In fact, most studies show that cuddling can relieve stress and anxiety and sometimes can even boost your immune system by boosting your serotonin levels which have been linked to immune system improvement before. It’s also a very good way to get closer to the ones you love.”

Roman giggled slightly as Logan ranted. He loved the way Logan knew a little about almost everything. He loved the way he would rant about the tiniest things. He loved the way he would light up when nobody told him to stop or interrupted his rants. He loved him.

“Is there, um, something on my face, Roman? You—You’ve been staring for quite a while.” Logan’s asked, breaking the creative side’s trance.

“Oh, um, no—You’re just…amazing, Lo.” Roman stammered, trying to recover as a blush lit his face on fire. At least he had managed to reduce Logan to a blushing mess as well.

“I’ll go get the blankets then.” Logan finally said, standing and clearing his throat. Roman just grinned as he left. Logan really, actually liked him. They had really, actually just kissed. They were—they were really together now. And to think that it was all because his tired brain had slipped up and let him say two little words he shouldn’t have. Soon enough, Logan came back, blankets in hand and the two were cuddled underneath the warmth. Roman couldn’t help but admire the way they seemed to fit perfectly together, their legs intertwined, their arms wrapped around each other. Already, he could feel sleep begin to pull at his eyes, making him yawn and snuggle closer to Logan.

“I love you, starlight.” Roman whispered, smiling against Logan’s chest.

“I love you too, Roman. Rest well, my love.”

The words echoed in Roman’s head, Logan’s presence clouding his brain until he finally, finally let himself close his eyes and drifted into the comfort of sleep.

Taglist: @catolicabuena

[letsmellowjello]

Wars and Weddings

Pairings: Poe Dameron x Reader

Warnings: maybe two slightly suggestive jokes, but other than that it’s all fluff

Summary: Weddings and proposals. There isn’t much else to say

Notes: The idea for this fic came to me while listening to the Locura De Marzo 2019 playlist (specifically Cásate Conmigo by Silvestre Dangond and Nicky Jam). Keep in mind that everything with the clothes is highly unrealistic, but I just happen to like dressing people up a little too much. ALSO I can’t say I’m a fan of all the Rey-Finn stuff, it’s really just to take up space honestly. I apologize for the bad gif quality.

Masterlist ~ Prompt/Request

Where the Resistance found so many dresses and suits you had no idea. Maybe from a hijacked merchandise transport or really fashion conscious First Order ship. Whatever it was, you were grateful for the occasion to be wearing anything other than a flight suit or some other Resistance provided clothing. The strapless tulle dress you wore reached your ankles and was a pale periwinkle. Serious relationships rarely worked out in the Resistance, never mind weddings. Yet here you were, getting ready to go to the wedding of one of your close friends.

There really wasn’t supposed to be an actual celebration or anything, but the timing had worked out perfectly with a major win happening two days before. So the event was kind of a combined wedding and success party. 

You glanced in the mirror once more before hearing a knock on the door. You opened it to reveal a very dressed up Poe. His hair was slicked back but still retained the majority of its curl which you loved oh so much. He wore a black dress shirt and pants with a matching leather jacket. As soon as he saw you he was taken aback.

“Y/n- woah you’re gorgeous.” His eyes swept over you, taking you all in. This was the first time he had ever seen you all dolled up, something which he wouldn’t mind seeing again.

“Oh please,” You brushed off the compliment but your ears still turned red with embarrassment. “How am I supposed to keep my cool around you all night with you lookin’ like that?”

“I don’t know, maybe you shouldn’t try to.” Poe grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at you suggestively, to which you just laughed and hit his chest lightly.

“Alright, lets get going. We don’t want to be too late.” Your door slid shut behind you and you set off down the hallway.

“Lead the way, captain.” You linked arms and walked through base towards where the wedding was to be held like one of those gorgeous power couples that everybody wants to be like.

The door opened and you were greeted by such a lovely sight. It was a gorgeous night on D’Quar. The air was warm but not too humid and there was a light breeze passing through base. Everybody had gotten together to set up a fabulous space. The regular generic folding chairs were decorated with various flora and arranged in two columns with a space down the center. There were fairy lights ringing the area and everybody there looked amazing.

You and Poe took your seats towards the front next to your other friends. As the bride made her way down the aisle in a makeshift wedding dress as everybody ‘oohed’ and ‘ahed’. You gripped Poe’s arm tightly all throughout the ceremony. Everything was so beautiful and heartwarming. The Resistance rarely ever saw pure happiness and joy like this, so by the end of the ceremony many people were crying.

Soon it ended and people began filling out of their seats to help clear the area and flip in into the reception area. You lugged chairs around and helped people carry in tables. You often times got a glimpse at Poe who was also helping out with the setup, he would catch your eye and send you a wink which would then cause your ears to be consumed in a blush.

“Oh you are so whipped, y/n” Rey teased from beside you. “You two have been dating for ages, where’s the ring?”

“The ring?” You were confused by her question but then you understood. “Oh no no, we’re not getting married. At least not now. We both agreed a little while ago that marriage wouldn’t be the best thing right now, at least for us. For Vurn and Jane it’s great, but they both work on base so they’re not putting their lives in danger everyday by flying into battle. Don’t get me wrong,” you added quickly, “I love Poe very much and I’d love to marry him, it’s just that the timing is a bit off.”

“No yeah, I get it.” Rey nodded with understanding but her attention was soon drawn over your shoulder. “Speak of the devil, you’ve got incoming.”

“Wha- oh!” A pair of arms circled your waist suddenly.

“Hello ladies!” Poe grinned as he rested his chin on your shoulder. He had brought Finn over as well who was making shy glances at Rey. “What are we talking about?”

“Oh nothing, don’t worry about it.” You stumbled over your words a little bit, suddenly not ready for the question.

“Come on,” he whined. “Secret secrets are no fun unless you share with everyone!”

“Oh be quiet you baby, we were talking about your fat ass” Rey chided teasingly.

“Don’t you know it!” Poe turned around and wiggled his hips a little bit before turning back laughing. He was always great at playing those sorts of things off. You could be good at it too sometimes, but with Poe it was a reflex.

“We don’t, but I bet y/n does,” Finn grinned. If your face wasn’t red before then it was scarlet now. Your friends laughed and Poe did a couple more suggestive dance moves.

“Ugh stop stop! We’re at a wedding, not a strip club!” You couldn’t keep a smile from making its way onto your face. It had been a long time since you were all able to just hang out and have fun without worrying about some looming attack, it was nice.

Once the setup for the reception was finished and someone had taken over the role of dj, people started to file out in pairs to the dance floor. You danced and ate with your friends and generally just had a really good time.

“So y/n...” Rey started as the two of you danced together on the dance floor, “you know how we; you- me, Poe, and Finn- have all been friends for a long time and how you and Poe have been dating for ages?”

“Yes? What’s on your mind Rey?” 

“Well I wasn’t really thinking about it until recently, but I think I might kind of like Finn.”

“You WHAT??” You practically screamed in excitement at the news.

“Shhh shhh, not so loud.”

“Sorry sorry. You like Finn?” You asked in a much quieter voice. “That’s amazing Rey!”

“Yeah well I’m not so sure he feels the same way-”

“Are you serious?” You cut her off with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. “He’s enamored with you. Every spare second he has he’s looking at you.”

“Are you sure? He’s seems to be really close with Rose.”

“Trust me, you should shoot your shot. Oh! We should all go on a double date sometime!”

“Who are we going on a double date with?” Poe and Finn had come up behind the two of you.

Rey’s face began to redden so you decided to cover for her, “Oh I don’t know, I was just talking with Rey about how that might be fun thing to do sometime with another couple.”

“I see, yeah I’d be down.” He grinned and then slid a hand around your waist. “Rey, do you mind if I steal my girlfriend away for a minute?”

“Not at all.” Just before you let Poe lead you away, you gave Rey a little nudge towards Finn and an encouraging smile. You walked with Poe to the edge of the area and through a little garden archway thing that gave way to a much smaller space. It had no lights of its own so it was only illuminated by the moon and by the lights of the main reception space.

“Poe this is gorgeous.” 

“Dance with me?” He put his hands on your waist as you rested yours on his shoulders and swayed back and forth to the dulled music and laughter that floated over from the party. “I have to tell you something.” He said after a moment of comfortable silence.

“Oh?” You perked up in curiosity.

“But you can’t tell Rey, ok?” 

“What is it?” You were slightly suspicious now. He never asked you to keep things from Rey, you told each other everything and he knew it.

“Finn likes Rey. A lot.”

“AHA I knew it!”

“Wha- you did?”

“Of course you idiot! It was so obvious! But now I have something to tell you.” Poe leaned closely in curiosity. “Rey likes Finn.”

“She does? Thank the stars! Now we won’t have to watch them struggle to flirt with each other anymore. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to listen to Finn go on and on about her!” You both laughed as you drifted around in circles together in the little area. After your laughter died down, neither of you spoke and instead you rested together in a comfortable silence just listening to the far away sounds of the ongoing party. You rested your head on his chest and could feel his steady heartbeat through his shirt.

“Hey y/n?” He spoke after a moment.

“Hmm?” You hummed.

“Will you marry me?” His voice was barely a whisper but you heard it well enough to cause the world to stop spinning.

“I know we said that we would wait until after the war and everything, but if Vurn and Jane can do it then why can’t we? It wouldn’t even need to be a big thing. We could have Leia officiate and-”

“Yes.” You cut him off.

“But- wait really?” He was caught off guard by your response.

“Poe Dameron, nothing would make me happier than marrying you.”

“Oh good, because I really didn’t want to break up just because you might not have been ready.” He breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled. He reached around to the back of his neck and unclasped the chain that his mother’s ring hung from and clasped it around your neck. “I love you, y/n. More than you’ll ever know.” 

You looked down at the ring now resting against your sternum. “I love you, Poe Dameron to each and every star in the galaxy and back.” 

The moment was electric. But not the dangerous kind that splits trees in half, or the lustful kind that is present for every one night stand. It was the kind of electric magnetism that draws two people in close to one another and connects them together. Poe pulled you in at the waist and kissed you softly with his entire mind, body, and soul.

“So, when do you want to get married?”

“Oh I don’t know, how about next week? It doesn’t even need to be big or anything. Just you, me, Leia, and our friends.”

“That sounds lovely.”

~~~

Taglist: @umpoedameron

[sanderssides-springfling]

To Woo A Snake

for @ionlyeatcomfortfood

Synopsis: a DLAMP hogwarts au! Roman, Virgil, Logan, and Patton all find themselves crushing on a certain snake. As they’re already dating each other, they make it their personal mission to see if one more might be added to their relationship.

This was super fun to write, and I’m sorry I’m not the best at Hogwarts au’s but I hope you like this!

This is really fluffy so there’s not really any warnings, besides the mention of cults in general a few times in passing and also my horrific attempt at writing something that resembles flirting.

Logan, Roman, Patton, and Virgil had a problem and it was one they intended to solve. They sat in the quietest corner of the surprisingly busy library, a small bit of privacy created by a wall of books. Logan had control of a large piece of parchment, scribbling down notes with his quill as fast as he could. Between Roman, Virgil, and him the suggestions were rapid fire with only Patton to keep them calm.

“What if we tried using big signs with an accompanied song and dance? We could do a Disney medley!” Roman suggested, waving his arms around to mimic the proposed song and dance. Logan and Virgil looked confused, with Virgil looking almost disgusted. Patton attempted a supportive glance, but Virgil spoke up.

“Ignoring whatever the hell a Disney is, no. Obviously not. We agreed no public humiliation and this is public humiliation to a tee, just imagine the looks! The taunts! We won’t be able to go to the great hall for weeks!” Virgil said, attempting to scribble out Roman’s idea. Roman retaliated by muttering something about purebloods being “uncultured” before Virgil continued his point, “Besides, how does that even solve anything? That’s just an excuse for you to sing, when we should be focusing on the problem!”

The problem in question was called Janus, or Deceit if you were one of their crueler classmates. He was a Slytherin in their year and good friends with all of them. He stood out to most for two things. The first being scales that covered half his face, bleeding into snake-like eyes and -if you were paying close enough attention- an almost-forked tongue. The second was the fact that he wore a bowler hat and long yellow rubber gloves over their uniform robes. Most people found him weird, however those four all found him ridiculously attractive. Not only that, but they decided that, if he agreed, they would want him as a part of their relationship. Now, all there was to do was decide on how to go about asking him.

The worst part is that they barely had any experience to work with. What they had, really, just kind of happened. By the time they were third years it was just universally acknowledged that they loved each other. Without even speaking the words, it was just a fact. It was made official that year, sure, but there was no question of if, only of when. This was different. They didn’t even know if he liked them in that way or not. Trying to figure out how not to get horribly rejected made them start to understand the hordes of people confused about how they managed to pull their four person relationship off. Heck, it made them start to wonder how they did it.

It was completely new territory for the past almost-year. More days than not one of them would end up a blushing and flustered mess over Janus and they’d all end up gushing about him.

Logan spoke up in an attempt to calm down his boyfriends, “Think about this logically, all four of us at once would likely overwhelm him, so it would be better for us to approach him one at a time, possibly doing small tests to see if our attraction is reciprocated.”

“Logan, do you mean flirting? Do you want us to flirt with him?” Virgil laughed, more amused than making fun of.

Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, “Yes, I suppose “flirting” is what I am suggesting we attempt, although I would normally be against a less direct method I believe as we are uncertain of his interest level, running an experiment would make the most logical sense. He may be polyamourous, however making an uneducated assumption could result in the loss of his friendship-something I assume none of use are keen to.”

Patton smiled, more genuine than his earlier false support. Roman and Virgil seemed to look content as well. It was a vague enough compromise, and let Virgil’s worries of “public humiliation” be postponed for another day. There began their attempt to woo a snake.

******

Patton sat impatiently, grinning as he waited for Janus to arrive at Potions class. Yes, he was excited every day for Janus to arrive as they were good friends, however today was special. He was going to let his feelings be known, at least a little bit more. Honestly, he was bad at keeping his adoration hidden, but at least this time it would (hopefully) be more clearly romantic.

He sat behind his cauldron, all the ingredients for that day’s potion layed out in front of him. He tried not to think about this going badly, swinging his feet around under the desk. He took a look at the confusing potion recipe and immediately knew his time would be more spent on Janus than on this.

The teacher didn’t care if he was paying attention or not, having given up on him after his horrible cooking skills seemed to translate to potion making. Not to mention he was a Hufflepuff, who were notorious for having no collective understanding of potions, in a class with Slytherins, the recipients of blatant favoritism. He never stood a chance.

As he was poking the materials, looking for good puns, he felt a familiar presence take the seat next to him. He looked the same as usual. Taller than him, with bright yellow gloves that happened to match Patton’s tie, multicolored eyes. Suddenly, a sense of panic washed over him.

 Oh god. What was he even doing? He was so nice and smart and caring! Patton was just Patton! He was already running his luck with his four amazing boyfriends, he was bound to run out eventually! What could he possibly want with him! aaaaaAAAAA-

“Patton? Are you doing okay?” Janus asked, trying to meet his eyes. Patton probably looked terrified, his internal panic bleeding all over his face. Janus hesitantly put his hand on Patton’s shoulder, and he almost died. No matter how many times it happened, he would never get over the emotional roller-coaster of a crush.

“Yeah, Jay, I’m doing good!” Patton said, trying his best to cover his panic with a smile. Janus looked him over, as if he didn’t buy the quick change from panic to his usual bubbly self.

“Very believable Patton, honestly you should win one of those muggle Oscars,” Janus said, in an over-dramatic tone that called Patton’s bluff. When Patton made no moves to actually explain, Janus got more serious, “Fine. If you don’t want to tell me, I’m not going to make you, but you need to take care of yourself. If there’s something bothering you, please don’t overwork yourself.”

There he went again, making sure Patton wasn’t pushing down his own needs. This was a conversation that happened more often than it probably should have. It may have been a generally platonic gesture, however it did nothing to help the crush brewing in his stomach.

“Yeah! I’m fine, really this time. Promise, kiddo!” Patton said, letting the bubbly feeling override the nerves. He was fine, if not a little nervous. How could he not be fine, with one of the people he loved the most right next to him!

“Patton, I am 6 months older than you.”

“Age is just a number the government pays attention to and also affects our day to day life!”

Janus gave out a light snort and turned back to the potion recipe. He went quickly to the work, letting Patton help more or less whenever he wanted to. Janus was definitely more adept at potion-making than he was so their agreement to let Janus handle most of the work was both unspoken and sturdy.

Suddenly, a small part of Patton wished he had made a plan like Logan and Virgil suggested, though he knew that was never something he was ever going to do. He loved all his boyfriends very much, but he and Roman were most alike when it came to romance. It should be spontaneous! Speaking from the heart!

Sadly, the heart was hard to hear over the rising levels of panic.

Janus made quick work of the first few steps, before handing a piece of wormwood to him. Patton was apparently responsible for the small chopping board. He was ready to slice, dice, and crush whatever they would need! Hopefully not his hand, though.

“Patton, could you cut that up for me?” Janus asked casually, before turning to his dramatic tone, “After all, you are so adept in this class, especially with sharp objects. I totally don’t need you to worry about being careful and am definitely not trying to let you be included. You’re just the best man for the job!”

It fell in between insult and concern, but twisted his heart nonetheless. He chopped up the wormwood as quickly as possible, like on the muggle cooking shows he loved back home. He came very close to losing a few digits, yes, however it was for the most part a success. In the moments he spent trying to slice up the ingredient, he came up with a genius strategy. Puns.

“Here you go Jay! But before that, I have to ask,” Patton said, moving to reveal the completely expertly chopped plant, “worm-would you be mine?”

Janus took the wormwood with his eyes widened and a more-than-subtle blush on his face. For a second, Patton worried that he freaked Jay out. Fortunately, Janus resumed his usual focused, if not smug, expression. The blush didn’t seem to make any effort at leaving, though. It was all the invitation Patton needed to push down his worry and keep going.

“Do newt go breaking my heart!” 

“You’ve flobberworm-ed your way into my heart!”

“You make me weak in the peo-knees!”

Some were better than others, yes, but over the course of the whole class Jay never once spoke out to complain. His face maintained its blush, but it didn’t seem to be in embarrassment. He seemed almost… happy? After every pun he could see a surprised smile cross him for just a moment before resuming his usual expression.

Patton decided to consider that a successful “experiment trial”, as Logan would call it. Maybe their efforts wouldn’t be disastrous after all.

****

Roman was, for all intents and purposes, hyped about the quidditch game he would be playing in less than ten minutes. He was jogging around the pitch in anticipation, doubling it as extended warm ups. He would need it, his future courtship might hinge on the success of this game.

Okay, so maybe Roman didn’t have a “plan”. Whatever. What would he need a plan for when he had pure unadulterated romance? He already knew the only two things he needed to know: 1) It was going to be awesome 2) refer to thing one. So what if Virgil said that it might be a bad idea? His boyfriend was an absolute cynic and this would be great.

He finished his jogging, which could have been seen as pointless considering that quidditch was a sport played in the air, and mounted his broom. The team captain gave a little speech, the same one she gave before every game. Blah blah blah, Ravenclaw would be hard to beat, they needed teamwork blah blah blah. She knew they all knew this stuff but claimed it was good for morale, so they listened anyways. By the time she finished, he was more than ready to begin his position as Gryffindor Seeker Extraordinaire.

Step one, besides getting in position and staring down the opposing seeker (who of course just HAD to be his brother, Remus), was locating Janus. This wasn’t hard.

 Janus, while thoroughly disgusted with the incredibly dangerous and injury-riddled sport that was quidditch, he had no problem voicing these disgusts to the whole school. He had been the commentator ever since first year, when he refused to get on a broom during flying class. He claimed it wasn’t out of fear, although Roman could remember the look in his eyes suggesting otherwise. Either way, he agreed to be the commentator in exchange for never so much as looking at a quaffle or a snitch ever again.

He could barely see Janus, but his voice rang out loud and clear throughout the stadium, his slightly amused commentary voice preparing the crowd for the match. Speaking of the crowd, his boyfriends were there to support him like always. They weren’t hard to spot, sitting in the same seats as always.

Patton had a hyper level of support as per usual, face painted in red and gold despite being a Hufflepuff. Logan was holding a small “Go Ravenclaw!” flag and waved it a little as he caught Roman’s eye. Sure he talked big talk about being completely rational and logical, but he was just as petty and contrarian as Roman was. He loved it. Virgil looked very supportive, and gave a soft smile as Roman looked over at him. This quickly transformed into a look of “Please, Roman, don’t cause a scene this time”. It was a look he was well acquainted with. He waved over at them, grinning wide. He even threw in a wink to Virgil, letting him know that he would be sorely disappointed.

He regained his focus and the whistle blew, signaling the start of the match. The snitch zipped to the edge of the pitch at the speed of light as Roman chased after it. It moved like a scared rabbit, twitchy and fast as lightning. He raced Remus around, neck in neck every second of the way. He paid attention to Janus as he raced, using his words to pay attention to the surrounding pitch. Turns out Gryffindor managed to score two points in the first five minutes. Ravenclaw scored four, but that’s besides the point.

All of a sudden, an object came hurtling from the corner of his eye. He did a downwards corkscrew maneuver, spinning with a small nosedive. The sound of swishing air went over his head, before the crack of a beater’s bat sounded the offending bludger flying in the opposite direction. As soon as he got back upright, Janus noted his return. Taking a brief pause, he moved one hand from the broom and blew Janus a kiss. Janus’ voice seemed to take a brief stutter, catching on his next words. Roman hoped he was the cause.

The chase began again as Roman looked for the snitch. Luckily Remus seemed just as lost as he was, because he was not losing his big moment to his gremlin of a younger twin brother. Another bludger flew right at Roman, making him scramble to dodge. Seriously, he was starting to think they were aiming for him. This time, as he regained balance, he threw an exaggerated wink at Janus. His voice seemed to catch again, letting Roman know that he had to be the cause. It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence.

The rest of the match seemed to follow suit. He would desperately chase after the snitch, occasionally swerving to dodge bludgers and even his own teammates when he was at his most focused. Every time he had a moment to pause, he’d give Janus a wink or a smile or blow a kiss. This included the time that Janus, slightly reluctantly, complemented Roman’s seeking skills and Roman mimed out being struck by cupid’s bow. Nothing too outrageous, nothing that would cause Virgil and Logan to be baffled by his utter lack of self preservation when it came to public humiliation. 

Roman and Remus were on each other’s tails, like they had been the majority of the hour they had been playing. The downfall of having twin seekers was that they almost seemed to move in sync sometimes. Every push forward was met with the other striking back just as hard. They were in a scrambled chase as the golden snitch pulled them from place to place, changing pace and direction at a whim.

The snitch dove down, twenty or so feet from where they were both flying. Janus restated the scores, voice bored and bitter but still attentive, and Roman saw his chance. If he caught it now, they’d win. He dove down a little bit deeper than the snitch did, hoping to guess where it was going. He guessed wrong, and the snitch flew away from his hands, leaving him grasping at air. He could hear Janus laugh just a little bit, not maliciously but amused.

It was Remus’ turn to attempt at the snitch while Roman momentarily turned around. Fortunately the snitch blazed right past him, and they both went zooming. Pressing forward as fast as they could, it was like Remus realized that Roman intended to end the match then and there. Maybe twins really did have a psychic connection.

They went faster and faster, getting as close as they could, reaching out desperately for the cold metal. They were so close he could practically reach out and touch Remus’ hand. He reached out as the snitch came to an abrupt stop. It happened in the blink of an eye, but he was ever so slightly faster. He grabbed the snitch and grasped it firmly in his fist, refusing to let it go. He did it. They won.

Catching the snitch made Roman want to do something impulsive. Fortunately, Roman had very poor impulse control skills, so this was easy. He took the small metal ball out of his tight grip and took it tenderly between his fingers. The rest of the team was starting to wonder what on earth he was doing, but there was no stopping him. He, as carefully as he could, stepped on top of his broom. Yes, any wrong move would send him plummeting to many many broken bones and possibly certain doom, but this was the awesome thing he was waiting for.

He held up the snitch, letting it reflect against the sun as he stared right through it and at Janus. His hand outstretched, he began to speak.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks! ‘Tis the east, and Janus is the sun. Arise, fair sun and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her knave, art more fair than she!” Roman recited, suddenly wishing Hogwarts had a theater club. Every person there was staring holes into him, including his team and boyfriends. No one knew what exactly just happened, including Roman.

Janus hadn’t quite turned off the microphone, so he heard a second of sputtering before going silent. He got back on his broom and flew down, handing over the snitch to a confused Coach. The exhilaration and the exercise had his face still flushed by the time he walked off the quidditch pitch, to be approached by his boyfriends.

“Dude. Woah,” Virgil said, and he couldn’t quite tell if he was impressed, shocked, confused, or all three. Before anyone else could get a word in, the four enveloped themselves in a group hug.

“You did so good Ro!” Patton complimented, almost vibrating in excitement. Patton possibly loved quidditch even more than Roman did, although he was still a beginner. Roman offered to teach him, but Patton swore he felt best behind in the crowd.

“I have to agree with Patton, Roman your performance was indeed exemplary,” Logan said, tone even and objective. The legitimate pride and love did of course seep through. 

“Yeah, Princey, I forget how good you are at that,” Virgil said, thoroughly impressed. “Though we have to discuss the elephant in the room here: How are you not dying of embarrassment? I was practically shaking just looking at you.”

“It’s about the gusto! The romance of it all!” Roman said, lifting out his hands in a flourish, “No need to shake, my chemical romance, because I think that went unbelievably well!”

Logan nodded along as if that made sense enough, Virgil snorted, and Patton smiled.

“Ro, if it is any consolation you definitely would have woo’d my socks right off!” Patton said, moving to press a quick kiss to Roman’s cheek.

Roman left with his boyfriends, absolutely confident about his flirting mastery, even after Logan questioned why he chose a quote from “the muggle play with the excessive amounts of death”. Roman then spent the next hour explaining Romeo and Juliet to Logan, with Virgil attempting to undermine him at every step, despite having no real knowledge of muggle literature. *****

Transfiguration was where Virgil and Logan decided they’d proceed with their experiment. Based on the results of Roman and Patton, it seemed like they would probably be at least semi-successful, however they didn’t want to leave room for error. Hence, doing it at the same time. They would likely work more confidently together, and the other person would be able to gauge the reaction more accurately.

They read some of Roman’s muggle romance novels for inspiration the previous nights. They obviously couldn’t go into it unprepared and admittedly neither of them were romantic experts. Virgil didn’t mind them too much, besides the clearly disturbing elements of certain stories that were being passed off as romantic. Did muggles think stalkers were attractive? Logan on the other hand flat out didn’t understand half the stories. How anyone could behave so illogically towards a near stranger, he would never comprehend.

The two of them sat at their desks, staring at the assignment in front of them. It was mostly instructions on how to turn the dead beetles in front of them into buttons and, as always, Virgil was near convinced it was impossible. Ok, he knew it wasn’t impossible- his two magical parents made a big deal of trying to teach him this sort of stuff from as long as he could remember. They wanted him to be their magical genius trophy kid. He was not their magical genius trophy kid.

Due to his magical abilities being really mediocre and transfiguration being really hard, Virgil just stared at his wand and his bugs and sighed. Doubt and worry snuck in, about all of it. He was almost certain he couldn’t do it, any of it, and that it would be a huge disaster. The weight of the anxiety he had been trying to ignore pressed down on him like his own personal gravity.

“Great, can’t wait to not only ruin the whole flirting thing for the rest of you, but also completely tank this assignment. Fantastic,” Virgil said, burying his face in his hands, dreading even picking up the wand. Logan turned to him, a comforting smile on his face, and pulled Virgil’s hands from his face.

“Virgil, you’re going to be fine. As far as this class goes you are doing just fine and if you begin to struggle, I’m here to help you. As far as Janus goes, however he reacts isn’t up to you. You cannot assume anything. I do know, from experience, that you are an amazing individual and he would be lucky to have you. Objectively,” Logan adjusted his glasses as he said the last word. He always did get uncomfortable with his emotions. It made Virgil chuckle just a little, the weight lifting just a little.

As their conversation drifted to other things, such as which teachers were most likely to start a cult, Janus walked in and took the seat next to Logan. They made sure not to pay too much attention to him as he walked in, something from Roman’s books about “playing hard to get”. Still, a wave of nervousness went through Virgil, as if their trial had finally begun.

“Anyways, I think you could honestly make the argument that care of magical creatures is already a cult, if an inhuman one,” Logan argued as Janus looked at their assignment for the day, already turning over to be let into the conversation, “Janus, you’re finally here. What professor would lead the best cult?”

Janus pretended to think it over, before giving a fake earnest look, “Magical History, easily. The professor’s boring, long yarns really adds to the charisma. The way he puts people to sleep really has the command of a real leader.”

Virgil snorted, shaking his head, “You’re both so wrong, it’s easily the coach. You’ve seen the quidditch teams- they’re already halfway to cult status.”

“Coach does not count as a real professor, but fine,” Logan said, turning his attention to their actual classwork. The teacher wasn’t going to actually try and teach them anything, seeing as Ravenclaws had a fifty percent chance of blowing it off and a fifty percent chance of doing it faster than he could teach, Slytherins would very loudly race each other to do it the fastest and the best, and both together created a very uniquely bad teaching environment.

The assignment went by fairly quickly and painlessly. Despite frustratingly worded instructions, they got through it easily enough. Virgil did eventually have a difficult time trying to get the transformation right, but with Janus and Logan’s attempts at teaching him, he got through it with time to spare. They then did what they did most days, had in depth conversations about subjects that didn’t particularly matter all that much. Logan decided this was the perfect place to try flirting.

“Hey Janus,” Logan said, diverting the conversation from Janus, who had experience with muggle culture, quizzing Virgil, who had no experience with muggle culture, about what exactly he thought Pokemon was, “are you, in any capacity, attracted to me?”

Janus blushed and choked on air while Virgil looked somewhere between shock and disbelief. Logan saw nothing inherently wrong with what he said, it was direct and to the point, something many of Roman’s protagonists could benefit from. It would hopefully avoid any “hijinks” built on miscommunication.

Janus cleared his throat, forcing the look of panic down. He put on his most performative smile, using the dramatic gestures he usually donned while lying, “Of course Logan, why- can’t you tell? I’m completely in love with you!” He even batted his eyelashes a few times for good measure. Despite all of the obvious signs, Logan could tell this wasn’t quite a lie. Exaggerated and dramatized, but not completely wrong.

Virgil seemed to pick up on this too, however he did not look any less baffled by the situation as a whole. Virgil chose to stay silent for now, figuring he didn’t want to make a weird situation even weirder. Then, Logan decided to speak up.

“Okay. Would you say you have a willingness and/or a want to be in a relationship with multiple people? Including myself and Virgil?” Logan somehow managed to say this in the same flat tone he always spoke, as if this were some commonplace obvious question.

Janus dropped his act, becoming momentarily serious, “Logan if this is some roundabout way of asking if I’m polyamorous, I already told you I was a few weeks ago, and yes, I would be open to a relationship right now, potentially with you and Virgil.”

Virgil, in his nervous bafflement, carefully reached towards Janus, gently placing his hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure?” he asked, less sure of whether or not this was just another, more discreet, act.

“No, Virgil. In fact, I’ve been playing the long con with you. My name is Jacob, I’m straight and am getting engaged to my long-time girlfriend Kayleigh,” Janus said, tone becoming performative once again. The obvious lie lightened the conversation and made the incessant drumming of Virgil’s heartbeat chill out momentarily.

The three of them tried to take the awkward conversation in stride, moving on to topics like how useful was divination, really and which muggle philosophers were totally secret muggleborns. It was surprisingly easy getting back into their normal conversations, but once class was over Logan and Virgil both felt some level of relief.

“Did that actually work? Like, was that a fever dream or did that happen?” Virgil said as they walked out of the classroom.

“I’ve always told you: the best way to do everything is to be direct and leave no room for guessing,” Logan said simply, as if he, too wasn’t internally freaking out.

“I think Roman might disagree with you on that one, but I am too amazed to care, oh my god.”

The two walked away, to reconvene with their boyfriends and tell them about the amazingly weird conversation they just had.

****

Janus also had a problem, but his was more recent in nature. See, he happened to have a crush on not one, but four boys. Who were all in a relationship- with each other. He had known for months that it was never going to happen, trying to crush any hope of even one of them returning his affections. Them being poly like him helped his odds, but not by much. Their relationship was something he respected and accepted that being a part of it just wasn’t going to be an option. Being friends was something he was perfectly fine with too, something he genuinely enjoyed. He was okay with his situation the way it was.

But then the weirdest thing happened.

Over the past few days, the four of them seemed to be doing… something. He didn’t really know what was going on, at first. One day in Potions, Patton just started making romantically-themed puns at him while they were supposed to be working. It affected him more than he would like to admit, but it also just confused him. He didn’t bring it up any other time. Then, a few days later, when he almost forgot the incident in Potions, Roman started winking at him and blowing kisses during the quidditch match. The behavior, while very effective at flustering him, wasn’t all that uncommon. Roman was just one of those people who could be like that sometimes. It didn’t mean anything. Until, however, the match ended and his stupidly brave self stood up on his broom and recited Romeo and Juliet to him. It was confusingly romantic.

He was really truly baffled, because it seemed like the weird type of flirting those two would actually use, but he had to be the one who was wrong. That simply could not be the case, he was just reading too much into some totally normal friendship things, right?

He was bordering the line between “convincing himself” and “lying to himself” when he finally got some sense of what was going on. Virgil and Logan acted normally during their Transfiguration class the Monday after the game, until right in the middle of an engaging conversation where he lied to Virgil about what Pokemon were. Logan asked, in the most Logan-y possible way, if he was attracted to him.

Janus obviously tried to deflect, taking his real feelings and making them as dramatic as possible. He hoped they would assume he was joking. He hoped wrong. He seemed to forget that he was dealing with Logan, who takes everything literally, as Logan seemed to take it at face value. Despite the complete embarrassment of it all, it did let Janus know that, yes, they were probably trying to flirt with him. It was awkward and unpracticed, but that seemed to be what their goal was.

Still, he didn’t know for sure. He didn’t have confirmation, which he was slightly desperate to get as soon as possible.

He waited till they had a break in classes to try and find them all together. It shouldn’t have been hard, considering they were practically attached at the hip at all times. Wandering around, he ran into Remus, one of his best friends and Roman’s twin. He was dubiously trustworthy at best, but it was worth a shot.

“Remus, do you know where Roman is? I need to talk with him and his boyfriends,” Janus asked, watching Remus shake around a jar full of half-formed beetle-buttons. Remus thought for a moment, although whether or not it was actually about his question was a different matter altogether.

“Finally shooting your shot Jay-Jay?” Remus asked, wiggling his eyebrows, dyed highlighter pink, “Well I haven’t seen my dear darling brother in a long time, but I’m pretty sure he’s in the library. He hangs out with a bunch of nerds, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

He decided to leave instead of furthering the conversation, lest he find out what Remus was planning on doing with those beetles. It couldn’t be anything good and he wanted at least plausible deniability.

It didn’t take him long to find them in the library, in some corner poorly guarded by bookshelves. Janus could have sworn they were in a meeting by the way they were seated, even with a pad of paper in front of Logan, who was taking a few notes. He could hear them talking, but he didn’t quite understand it.

“Okay, so maybe your method was “most effective” and “got results” but where was the flair? The panache? It’s about the drama of it all, Logan-” Roman said, heavily using air quotes. Janus tried to get just a little bit closer, but because Hogwarts was an ancient building, the floorboard he stepped on creaked loud enough to alert half the school. All four of them turned to look at him with varying degrees of embarrassment when they registered who it was.

Janus quietly entered the little nook, standing at the end of the table where they were seated. They were all staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Hello everyone, I just figured I’d pop by, see how you were doing,” he said, trying to smooth out his tone, “also to perhaps inquire if and why you all seemed to be flirting with me.”

This did not make anyone any less nervous, including and especially Patton and Virgil, who both looked on the verge of hyperventilation. Logan however still seemed to be less fazed by all of it.

“Janus, you’re here, good. Yes, we were “flirting” with you to gauge your romantic interest. I assume based on our results, you are in fact romantically interested in us?” Logan said, casual as ever. Janus didn’t expect the bluntness and as it seemed, neither did Patton, Virgil, and Roman.

He paused for a moment, practically forgetting to breathe. This wasn’t how he imagined this going, and he imagined it a lot. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for an answer and he was thoroughly tongue-tied. He swallowed his nerves and tried to speak, “Yes, I- yes. I like you all. Romantically, that is. A lot.”

The four of them seemed to calm down just a bit after hearing that, the tension clearing ever so slightly. It was then Roman’s turn to speak, getting up from the table and approaching Janus.

“This isn’t quite the spectacle I was hoping for,” Roman said, side-eyeing Logan, “but I guess if the time is right, would you go out with us?”

“Please!” added Patton, still sitting down. They all looked so unbelievably hopeful, Janus could barely believe it. He paused, not because he was hesitant but to make sure it was real. That this wouldn’t disappear if he blinked.

“Yes, of course yes. I would love to go out with all of you. Maybe, if I’m allowed, I’d even be your boyfriend,” He said, the words practically falling out of his mouth.

Virgil spoke up next, hesitantly, “Really? You would really want that?”

“Yes Virgil, really. I really want to date all of you.”

“Sounds fake but… okay.”

Patton sprung up out of his seat, rushing to hug Janus. It was a comfortable weight, one he was used to, but now the meaning was slightly different. It was… nice. Roman then joined Patton in hugging Janus, squeezing slightly tighter. Virgil walked up too, wrapping his arms around them all and relaxing his head against them. Logan was the last to join their group hug, but although stiff, his hug carried just as much care. 

They stayed like that for a minute or two, perfectly comfortable. In that moment, they were happy, and they knew they would be happy for many more moments to come, truly feeling happier together.

[tastyliltina]

Coconut conundrum (sim sized vore)

A/n: Aka Tina being absolute GARBAGE for a little bit TwT. Haven’t written anything with @princesaltines ‘ sona and mine being gay together in a minute so...cue indulgent writing XD

I keep having?? Ideas in the shower so please excuse my second opening shower scene. There’s something fun about writing them pwp

If you like this story and want one like it for yourself, check out my commissions! tinascommissions.carrd.co/

All stories are currently on sale until Dec. 10th!

~~

Tina’s skin burned. It felt like a glowing mass of magma, boiling beneath the heat of a deserved hot shower. Steam swirled in the air, coiling and curling against the pull of the humming fan above her before it vanished. Every breath felt heavy yet refreshing, opening every part of her pores and lungs as a toasted coconut smell filled the air. She’d long been finished scrubbing herself, her new body scrub settled to the side. For now she stood.

The water felt like fingers running through her hair, a sensation that locked her in place. Hands traced along every curve of her figure, soaking in her exhaustion and insecurities and whatever she wrestled with before washing it all down the drain. Pricks of sleep teased her eyes, and the thought of curling up in bed became impossible to ignore. Soft, fluffy sheets, nestling her face into the curve of her pillow… Tina sighed. She leaned into the shower wall. If she stood here much longer, she’d fall asleep again.

She turned, staring at the faucet. God she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to face the world beyond the shower curtain. Slowly, she forced her hand to close around the faucet. It turned. The stream of water stopped with a hiss, leaving only the echoes in its wake. Steam danced around Tina as she pushed the shower liner aside, stepping out and onto a bath mat. The air was hazy, heavy, but refreshingly warm. Tina supposed a forty-five minute shower had that effect.

Her towel felt rough against her skin. Tina patted away the excess water, bending herself in half once she felt dry enough to wrap her hair in the towel. Once it was secure, she grabbed her lotion. Toasted coconut, it was a new smell but one she’d been meaning to try out for weeks. Nimble fingers lathered the cream up and down her legs, arms, shoulders. If the smell of coconut hadn’t clung to her before it sure as hell did now.

Tina took her time putting on her sleepwear. It wasn’t anything fantastic, a tank top and some short shorts. Somehow, despite the air conditioner being set to the lowest setting she managed to overheat at night… She was thankful her roommate was the same way. Removing her towel, Tina took a moment to replace it on the hook and sighed. She opened the door.

Cold air rushed at her almost instantly. Goosebumps pricked her arms as she stepped out of the bathroom, an explosion of steam at her back. Her tail dragged from the damp bathroom tile to the cool and clean wood of the hallway, further driving the chill into her bones. It felt amazing. Quiet steps padded down the hallway as she moved to the living room and peered inside. Ollie was stretched over one of the couches, their too-big frame awkwardly sprawled across the arms. She smiled.

Creeping into the kitchen was hardly a problem for Tina. She’d been compared to a mouse time and time again, and being quiet as one almost came naturally. Slowly, she headed for the fridge to grab a water. A nice cool drink was the perfect way to enjoy a fresh break from the shower. Cuddles didn’t sound too bad, either...she doubted Ollie would mind if she joined them on the couch.

Tina scooped a water bottle from the fridge, using the tip of her tail to close it as she pulled away and took a sip. The brunette sighed. She turned slowly, yawning as she did to head into the living room. Something solid and warm blocked her path. Tina squeaked. Her eyes flew open, instantly trapped in a gaze much larger than her down.

“OLLIE!” the human-sized hybrid shrieked, dropping into a squat with a shaky laugh. “God-shit, hon! You scared me…”

“Sorry, sorry…” their voice was a croon. Tina grumbled, forcing herself to her feet so she could properly glare up at them. She wiped her face, dispelling any flustered blush on her cheeks.

“It’s...you’re fine,” with a huff, she stepped back to meet their gaze.

Their eyes were groggy, but not completely as brown-rimmed drops of blue burned into her. Even their hair matched the sleepy look. It was an absolute rat’s nest...hers was no better, she imagined. Still dripping wet, too.

“Hm,” Ollie hummed. Tina nodded slowly, about to speak up before they stepped closer. She matched their step, though got no farther than a step before the fridge pressed at her back. The metal was strikingly cold and earned a gasp from the hybrid. Before she could complain, Ollie’s hand placed itself a few inches from her arm. Oh no. Oh no no no, no she knew what this meant.

If at any time Tina felt like the mouse she was constantly compared to, it was at that moment. That very second Ollie’s hand pressed into the wall behind her, preventing any escape. She’d never run from them. But that didn’t stop her heart from kicking into overdrive, the frantic beating only worsening as Ollie hiked a brow.

“Something the matter, little mouse?~” as they spoke, Ollie leaned in closer, flashing their fangs in a wicked grin. The scales on their face shimmered in the dimming kitchen light, and Tina’s mind flickered to a snake posing to strike before a defenseless mouse. Fitting. Too goddamned fitting.

Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. “I-it’s, you...I’m….I can’t move,” the words fell out of her mouth, awkwardly hanging in the air. All the while, her pitch grew higher and more frantic.

“Of course, can’t have my little treat running off~.”

Something like a laugh was the only response Tina had.

“But you wouldn’t run away from me, would you…” Ollie leaned in further, further. Tina’s entire gaze was taken up by their face, the heat of their breath warm against her skin. Goosebumps lined her arms. When they spoke again, Tina could feel their voice rumble in her core. “Princess?~”

A shriek-like laugh tore itself from Tina’s lips in a bubbling cackle. She pressed into the fridge at her back but found no relief. Instead, Ollie’s face moved all the closer. Something pricked at her skin-just along the nape of her neck. Light pressure that grew to a point as breath cascaded over her. Tina’s mind struggled to form a coherent thought around the wonderfully familiar and radiating sense of primal terror coursing under her skin.

When they pulled away, whatever ounce of retort she had absolutely puddled at her feet. Tina slouched into the fridge, her eyes wide and locked on Ollie’s while her fingers slid to the area. She could feel the divots. No blood, of course, but there was definitely a mark. Her cheeks reddened again.

“Now…”

Tina looked up just to catch Ollie’s grip snaking around her back. All in one motion, Ollie tugged her away from the fridge and towards them. With her support gone, Tina melted into their grip and allowed their hands to grasp her wrists. She had an idea of what they were going to do, but she didn’t fight.

“I know you just got out of the shower,” Ollie continued, “but I think it’s time I put you to bed~.”

She whined sheepishly. Their fingers laced through her palms, absolutely consuming her hands in theirs. Ollie’s eyes shone mischievously, their oblong pupils glittering while they drew Tina closer. Eventually, her hands landed on something soft and warm. Their lips. Tina tittered again, knowing all too well what lay beyond the barrier of skin beneath her hands.

Tauntingly taking their time, Ollie’s lips began to part. This revealed the living cavern of blue beyond, framed by shining and sharp fangs that glittered in the light of the kitchen. Despite her innate desire to pull away, the feeling that she needed to run, Tina remained rooted to the spot. Ollie’s mouth flexed, the blue flesh beyond pulsing in an almost inviting manner. Beckoning her forwards. A silent promise that inside, she’d be safe and snugly tucked away.

If she hadn’t been sure before Tina knew exactly where she was going now. It rang especially clear as Ollie shifted, their tongue wiggling to life. The forked muscle slid out and slathered Tina’s wrists in saliva. Tina flinched, the warm and squishy feeling biting against the previous chill. But, Tina got the idea Ollie wanted to move things along. Their tongue continued to creep up her arms, all the while blotting and drenching her in a heavy dose of drool. All the while, they purred above and around her, the baritone noise resonating through her.

~~

Ollie shifted, carefully drawing Tina’s hands further into their mouth. The delicate taste of coconut mingled with her mocha flavor, encouraging them to go further and faster. Tina’s fingers shifted in their mouth, the little digits pressing and exploring the back of their gullet while they drew out the tease. Eventually, they decided they’d postponed long enough...bed was calling. With a hefty swallow, they drew TIna further inside. Pleasant shivers ran along their back at the feeling of weight in their throat and they swallowed again. Again. As they worked Tina inside, their hands trailed down her figure to help guide her around their teeth and ensure she was comfortable. It wasn’t any fun if their lady wasn’t enjoying herself, after all…~

Long, shuddering gulps tugged Tina deeper into Ollie’s core, and eventually the warm and living weight sank into their stomach. Ollie tilted their head back, focusing fully on the sensations and movements trailing into their middle. It had been so long, too long since they’d indulged...another gulp left only Tina’s legs poking out of their mouth, the odd sight making Ollie’s lips quirk. How weird this would have looked to wandering eyes…

Ollie steadied themself, eyes fluttering closed. They stood there a moment, head tilted to the sky and Tina’s form almost completely hidden within their chest. When they were ready, they swallowed a final time. There was a feeling like a propulsion, an awkward rock dropping in their abdomen and settling there. Ollie crooned, now able to feel every little shift and twitch of Tina inside. Their hands slid to the bulge hidden beneath the sweater they wore, mapping out just where Tina was and squeezing in to ensure she was safely snuggled up. By the pressure and wriggles inside it seemed Tina was doing just fine.

“Ugh...mmm~,” their purrs deepened as they straightened and sighed. Really, they hadn’t planned on eating anyone tonight-not that they were complaining. Something like a primal urge stirred in them the instant they smelled that coconut, something that encouraged them to pounce on their little lady. Ollie’s hand traced over the curve of their middle. “You comfy in there, little mouse?”

For a moment, it was quiet.

“I’m okay!” her voice was muffled and squeaky, no doubt a result of their tease. Tina broke into a yawn. The noise itself was soft, nothing too eccentric-but the nuzzling movement inside set Ollie’s cheeks into a blush. If Ollie was butter, they would have melted into a puddle...so much for being the big bad wolf to their little mouse. Dammit.

“Good,” they smiled. Patting their middle, they regarded the living room. Sleeping on the couch didn’t sound like a bad way to go...but stretching out in bed didn’t, either. They muffled a yawn behind their wrist and decided on the bed. It was a longer walk, sure, and with a heavy temporary meal it wasn’t comfortable to walk too far, but snuggling under blankets with Tina tucked away sounded heavenly… Slowly, they began to meander down the hall, unable to ignore the swaying motion in their gut.

“You...did not have to go….you didn’t have to go...that hard-at me, I mean…” Tina’s muffled voice trailed up to them. Ollie smirked, patting their middle as they stepped into their bedroom.

“Oh, I know~,” trailing into a chuckle, Ollie approached their bed and turned, carefully setting atop it. “But you didn’t have to wear that coconut lotion, either...you know I love the taste of coconut~.”

“I-well, it wasn’t-I didn’t!”

Ollie grinned as Tina faltered, kicking their legs onto the bed. “Of course you didn’t, Sweets~. Absolutely no thought went into what came after you went around smelling like the little treat you are,” their eyes fell to their middle. “Unless…”

“Unless nothing!” Tina cut them off, breaking into a squirming fit. Ollie purred, both from the pleasant feeling of movement inside and the fact they’d riled her up again.

“Right, right, well,” slowly, Ollie shimmied under the covers. They drew the blankets up to their neck, rolling over so they could curl around their middle. “Whatever you say, love~. You can think about all that while we get some sleep, hm?”

“Mmh..” her voice was a grumble, but Ollie could feel Tina settling down. Another yawn reached their ears. They felt something press out and stretch against them, eventually trailing into another nuzzle. “Fine…”

“Good.” Ollie sighed, relaxing into their pillow with a purr. “Love you, lady~.”

“Love...you, too…” there was another yawn, and Tina fell still. It never took Tina long to fall asleep-and Ollie followed soon after.