#just something about this new layout really rubs me the wrong way

[thevalicemultiverse]

OOC: Sorry For The Surprise Disappearance

Basically, what happened is that this blog is one of the ones that got the new "Twitter-fied" dash update, and I dislike the look of it enough that I basically ran away from it for a few days (after letting tumblr know that I thought it was "ew") while I searched for a better way to have both this blog and my other tumblr, Victor Luvs Alice, open at the same time than using a "private browsing" window for this blog that doesn't have any of my browser extensions. (Yes, this is something you can do with Firefox -- it worked until tumblr changed the dash!) I think I'm just gonna have to suck it up and start logging in and out between tumblrs normally, as I definitely need XKit Rewritten to deal with this, so hopefully I shall be back to normal tomorrow! I apologize for not making a post like this earlier to explain things, and if I worried people with my absence. It was nothing anyone did, just tumblr making bad design choices. *sigh*

[delespresso]

RERUN ━━ Fiyero x fem!reader

author's note; this took longer than expected, i'm sorry! but here we are <3

prompt; "Admit it you missed me." "I certainly missed kicking your ass, if that's what you mean." for Fiyero x Reader? (maybe they knew eachother as kids?)

summary; fiyero's arrival in shiz university had everyone in a frenzy, but especially a certain lady from winkie country

side notes; i'm using a surname for the reader this time but its not an oc, feel free to imagine your own name! (i just didn't wanna use y/n). never read the books, so if i say anything about the vinkus/ winkie country is purely from google searches and maybe even made up by myself idk 😭

━━ ☄. *. ⋆

The newspaper pretty much hit her in the face.

She'd been walking in the courtyard, intending to head back to her dorm to get ready for her classes after an early morning jog. But the newspaper that somehow flew from a stack on one of the tables quite literally smacked her in the face.

She grabbed it with a huff, about to throw it aside. Of course, until the headline of the latest report from The Shiz Gazette caught her eye.

Prince Fiyero Spotted at Shiz!

She read it over and over again. Looked at the picture they'd printed repeatedly. Then she tossed it onto the floor, quite literally stomping over it as she ran back to her dorm.

When was the last time she saw that stupid, handsome prince? They were both younger then. Their separation was mainly because he could never for the life of him keep himself in one school — there was always something he did that had him transferred to a new one.

She'd thought that now she was in Shiz, maybe they wouldn't meet again. After all, it was quite a prestigious school. Maybe his nonchalant, slacking attitude would have him rejected the moment they saw his name.

She was so wrong.

He was here. Fiyero Tigelaar was here. The Winkie Prince. The boy she grew up with. The boy who stole her butterfly clips for no other reason than to make her run in the rain to catch him. The bane of her existence.

She was sure the universe was conspiring against her. The second she'd changed into her uniform, she left her dorm. Admittedly, it wasn't the typical blues that everyone wore. She was one of the few with a different shade; greys and lighter blues instead. She intended to head straight for her first class— only to find a small crowd gathered outside.

That horse. Oh, she knew the horse. She recognised the bloody horse before she even saw the person.

When someone finally moved their head out of the way, she caught sight of Fiyero Tigelaar himself. He was by the directory board, figuring out the layout of the place. Galinda was there too, no doubt trying to offer some touring services. He turned his head, about to respond to the blonde girl — when his gaze drifted over the girl's shoulder and found a familiar face.

A smile immediately broke on his ridiculously handsome face, his hand raised for a wave. It was as if everyone's attention immediately snapped to her.

She sighed inwardly, her eyes narrowed. The slightest nod was all the acknowledgement she gave him before she turned and trudged off elsewhere, avoiding him at all costs.

She'd heard of his little escapade to the Ozdust Ballroom, bringing quite the group of students with him for a night out in town. Already he was rubbing off on everyone, influencing them into his bad habits.

Fiyero had been in Shiz for a week now, and she'd successfully avoided him. But of course her peace and quiet couldn't last forever. In the back shelves of the library, as she skimmed through the book bindings to find a history book — she was loudly interrupted.

“Lady Yarrow.”

She nearly dropped a book with a gasp, startled by the sudden intrusion. Then she was quick to hush the person, spinning on her heels to see Fiyero's smug expression.

“This is a library,” she pointed out.

“Really? It was introduced to me as the ‘bookplace’,” he hummed, looking around as if it was a new discovery.

She rolled her eyes, inhaling deeply to prevent herself from yelling at him like she used to back when they were in Winkie Country.

“Library,” she repeated. “And you're meant to be quiet.”

Fiyero grinned, knowing she was getting ticked off already.

“And is this ever-present tension a new development? Or have I forgotten how easy you are to rile up?” he teased.

The young girl he knew was always sensitive, took everything to heart. They weren't necessarily best of friends but they weren't enemies either — or so he believed.

“Why are you here?” she deflected with ease as she turned back to searching for her book.

“I wanted to read.”

“Ha!”

“Shh, its a library,” he exclaimed in a mock whisper, repeating her earlier words as she shot him an exasperated glare.

“Why are you in Shiz?” she asked instead, moving on from the topic.

“Transferred from Royal Winkie.”

“Kicked out, I believe is the right term.”

“Oh so you have been keeping up with me?” he exclaimed, a bit of a giddy grin on his face as tailed her through the shelves.

When she didn't respond, he just skipped his way until he was in front of her. He walked backwards as she moved forward, still looking through the titles.

“I haven't. But you know our parents,” she grumbled.

“Admit it, princess, you missed me,” he teased, poking at her shoulder.

She swatted his hand away, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. He was still as insufferable as ever.

“I certainly missed kicking your ass, if that's what you mean.”

Fiyero chuckled at that, but he persisted anyway. He just kept shadowing her through the library, pestering her with random teases or jokes even until she was leaving. Even then he followed her.

She just couldn't seem to shake him even if she tried.

“Princess,” he drawled, knowing full well how much she hated when he called her that.

He couldn't help it though — getting on her nerves was his hobby. Not to mention, he hasn't seen her in years.

She ignored him though, continuing to walk through the halls and towards the garden instead. Fiyero knew she was stubborn, but so was he.

“Ignoring me won't make me go away,” he pointed out.

“Throwing a log at you might.”

His laugh was awfully gleeful for someone who just got threatened. When she settled at one of the tables in the garden, she noticed he wasn't directly with her anymore.

Just as she thought she was free of his torment, there was a daffodil suddenly in front of her face. She looked at the hand holding the yellow flower, following it up to see his cheeky and smug face. In a smooth motion, he slid the flower in her hair as an extra accessory.

"You know, I think I'll enjoy wearing you down," he said, before giving her his signature smile and walking away.

Fiyero Tigelaar made it his life mission to bother her at all times from that day onward — letting history repeat itself, as always.

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[sirxlla]

Realization

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warnings: sex is alluded to before the story starts besides that, fluff

notes: Female Reader, italics are actions. i'm a new writer, so i'm trying to do what might be good layout? pls Imk what you think of the story or anything really in the comments, i'd really appreciate it.

Prompt: Jason realizes why his interest has been low.

-With all that said its under the cut-

"Babygirl, I'm so sorry, I- I don't know why this keeps happening." He panted as he had finished way early again way before you. This was odd cause the Lazarus Pit made his libido way stronger than anyone in his familys' and his stamina was just horrible recently.

"Jay..." of course you were unsatisfied but you weren't going to tell him that because he already is beating himself up enough you can tell that by the look in his eyes as you still sit above him. Usually he's always wanted to take control but with his stamina being as low as it has been, he thought it was a good idea for you to be on top.

"Baby, it's okay. It happens to guys a lot." You didn't know if that was exactly true or not but you just wanted him to feel reassured.

"Yeah, it might be normal for Joe Blow down the street but not for me." His voice was a little bit more harsh than he meant it to be but you knew him well enough to know that the anger wasn't pointed at you. He was disappointed in himself he thought, there was something wrong with himself. He huffs and takes a breath as he closes his eyes for a moment before opening them and realizing how rude he sounded.

"Goddamn it, I'm sorry." His hands rubbed your thighs as a silent apology as well, frustration residing in his shoulders.

"No Baby, it's okay. I know you're not mad at me." Your voice was soft and reassuring and kind. There was a faint smile on your face to try to help to his irritation with himself.

"I just don't know what's happening...I'm not drinking, I'm barely out in the field because of the fact that I'm slower than I've ever been." His piercing green eyes gazed into yours laced with a bit of worry and frustration.

"I just don't want you to think I don't want you because there's nothing I can want more..." He's still rubbing your bare thighs but now for a different reason he's trying to calm himself.

"You have no idea what it could be?" You thought for a moment as your eyes scanned back and forth as you thought through all of the ideas about what it could be. There was only one thing that had changed in the last few months.

"Baby your meds got changed not that long ago. Are you sure that it's not that?" You weren't certain that they could even do that but it was the only thing that had changed in the last few months, the only thing that made since.

"There's no way, is there?" His voice is full of confusion. 'His doctor would have told him if that was the case right?' He thought to himself as his hand stopped for a moment to ponder the idea. He reached across to the bedside table to grab his phone unplugging it from the charger that sunk to the floor after he dropped it. His left hand started rubbing your thigh again as concentration filled his face as he typed on his phone.

It was quiet except for the annoying clicking sounds on his new phone that you had begged him to turn off but he had just not got the chance yet because he kept forgetting. His eyes scanned left to right, left to right over and over is he read different things about his medication.

"Well, I'll be damned..." he said with a bit of realization as the tension in his shoulders was relaxing as he was sure that that was the reason that he was feeling this way.

"You think they tell you this shit before they give it to you." The smile filled his face as he relaxed... "I'll give my doctor a call in the morning don't worry, Baby."

"Hey, you know I don't like you just for your body, Jay...Your brain's pretty good too." You smiled and rolled off of him to lay beside him before cuddling into his side as he replaced the phone in his and with the book from the side table. Your head fit perfectly resting between his torso and his shoulder sighing slightly but not out of frustration, it was more like your body was ready to power down after the day, it'd hadn't been even remotely hard but just that you are so happy to relax besides the only man that mattered to you in the entire world.

His shoulders relaxed even more so as you relax into him your body molding with his like slime on a hot dashboard, you couldn't get any closer even though both of you would try. His fingers slowly moved over the new book you just bought him for Christmas, the page is still fresh enough that you can smell them as he opens it. No matter how crazy the city got on nights like this everything seemed to vanish except for you and him. Your eyes felt heavy as you started to doze off like you did every night a mix of cigarette smell and new book filling your nose and guiding you off to a peaceful night's sleep.

Masterlist

[asterifish]

Black cats and chill nights

Synopsis: One of Minho's secrets was that he could play Guitar. Really well. When m/n finds out, hes gushing all over his boyfriend. Minho loves this, so he writes a song for m/n

Genre(s): 🍂(tooth rottingly sweet)

Type: One-Shot

Extra notes: Reminder that 🪐 stands for m/n, and happy reading!!! 🫶 (this is the first time I haven't just written down the idea and let it ROT in my drafts, so I hope it's good!!)

I hope you guys like the new layout for fics, I really like the way the aesthetic turned out :)

Story under the cut!!

🪐 had always thought that he knew everything about Minho. He'd started off as a fan, and by some blessing from God, he ended up befriending Stray Kids, which led to him dating Minho.

Now don't get me wrong, 🪐 wasn't one of those crazy psycho fans, he respected each of the members equally. He loved helping them with little projects and cooking meals for them. Most of them thought of 🪐 as their guardian angel (per Felix's request of the nickname).

Anyway, it was a late night. Really late. 🪐 had been caught up with work and he'd ended up staying 6 hours later than he was supposed to. 🪐 was drained. He thought about calling Minho and asking if he could come over, but he was too tired to even take his phone out of his pocket. Driving the 20 minutes to his boyfriends apartment wasn't the hard part, it was the climb up to it that really got 🪐. He sighed loudly when he reached Min's apartment, banging his head on the door instead of knocking.

"Coming!" Minho's voice drawing nearer was the only thing that had perked 🪐 up, a small smile on his face.

"How can I hel...." Minho's voice was cut off as he opened his door, 🪐 flopping onto the other. "Minnieeeeee" 🪐 whined, wrapping his arms around the taller male and rocking them back and forth.

Minho's expression softening at his boyfriend's antics, he moved them both into the apartment, shutting the door with his foot. "Bad day baby?" Min asked, running his fingers through the smaller male's hair. 🪐 nodded and groaned into Minho's shoulder. Lifting his head up, a sigh escaped 🪐's lips.

"They made me stay back 6 hours extra to fix something that wasn't even important...." 🪐 frowned.

Minho sighed at this, rubbing 🪐's back. He thought for a bit about what he could possibly do to cheer his baby up. Looking around the apartment, his eyes landed on his guitar.

"Baby... how about I play guitar for you!" Minho smiled as 🪐 perked up, his eyes wide with wonder. "... Guitar? I..." 🪐's eyes travelled down to his hands. "I didn't know you played..."

Minho watched 🪐 closely while he spoke, and then wrapped the smaller in a hug. "It's okay to not know everything about me baby. Just sit here and I'll be right back, okay?" 🪐 nodded and then curled back up, wide eyes watching his boyfriend leave the room. Minho came back a while later, blankets and one of his cats in arms. Wrapping 🪐 up in the blanket, Minho smiled. When the cat finally curled up against 🪐's side, Minho reached over to get his guitar.

"I hope you don't mind... I.. sort of write a song about you." Minho scratched his neck shyly, making 🪐 coo.

"It's okay babyyy, I wanna hear you play!!" 🪐 smiled happily, his spirits lifted. He was still tired, but he really wanted to hear the song. Minho smiled softly and then started strumming the guitar. 🪐 made note of how his boyfriend's fingers just barely grazed the strings, but still produced a beautiful tune. It was so graceful, 🪐 was mesmerized.

As he started singing, Minho rocked back and forth with the rhythm. He would occasionally look over at 🪐, catching the other stiffling a yawn or scratching under his cat's chin.

"나의 밤은 그래 이렇게 잠 못 드는 밤이면 왠지 모를 그때 네 향기가 나 아직 난 네가 많이 보고 싶나 봐 유난히 긴 오늘 밤...." ( My night is like this/ On a sleepless night like this, I can smell your scent from that time / I must still miss you a lot / A particularly long night tonight)

Minho's voice filled the room, pulling 🪐 deeper into his sleep. Sighing contently, 🪐 's eyes closed, happy that the last thing he got to hear was Minho's voice. When Minho finished the song, he looked over at 🪐, a smile in his eyes. "My sweet baby.... Sleep well my love." He whispered.

Picking up the smaller male, Minho carried him to the bedroom, setting him down and then crawling under the sheets with him, cuddling him close.

"Nights like these... are perfect for us.." Minho whispered, closing his eyes and drifting off.

Works belong to @asterifish | reblogs and likes help me a lot!

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Perma Tags [2/30]: @succubus-hansol , @foxilsdenn (DM or send an ask to be added ❤)

[whumpitlikeyoumeanit]

Whumpcember 15

All of this Whumpcember is a single, long fic, with the prompts used in specific scenes, in order. See the Masterlist and AO3 link here.

((content warnings: unreality, hallucinations, pain, stalking, not being believed ))

promptspiration: @whumpcember Day 15: Hallucinations

Whumpee: Draco Malfoy Whumper: Voldemort Pairing: Harry/Draco whump type: unreality, torture fic type: post-Hogwarts AU

words: ~4200

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Draco's arm was hurting. Not badly, but just a sort of constant ache in the dragon that he didn't really notice amongst his other aches until some twinge brought it to his attention. 

Like the one that had him dropping a bowl between the table and sink, holding his arm with a gasp. The bowl bounced, luckily, and rolled into the table leg; he bent over to retrieve it, and his head swam as he stood up, and he caught sight of a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. He jerked toward it with a sharp breath, but there was nothing there.

"Draco?" Harry had a concerned expression on his face. 

He looked again and shook his head. "Sorry. I'm all right, just a little light-headed." He looked at the bowl in his hands to figure out what he was meant to be doing with it, and settled on delivering it to the sink. 

"That isn't better." Harry slid from his seat and set his hand on his back. "You've been eating okay, I think, right? Taking your potion?"

Harry would know better than he would. "Yes. I'm fine."

"This is new, isn't it? The vertigo and nausea have been gone for a while. You got better."

"Mostly," he agreed. "I've got used to it." 

"I didn't realise that." Harry felt his forehead for a fever. "I thought it was completely gone."

"I'm all right," he repeated patiently. 

"Are you sure?" Harry wrapped his arm around him and looked over his shoulder.

"I'm sure."

"All right." He kissed his cheek. "Let me know if there's anything wrong, though, okay? Tell me when things hurt. Don't keep things from me."

"I will," he promised, knowing he would not. It wasn't really a lie, it was just saying the things that Harry wanted to hear and the things that made things easiest. It didn't make anyone happy or anything easy to make Harry worry about things that didn't matter. 

—-

When Draco woke, he was alone. He was cold, which could only mean he had been alone for a while. Something was wrong. 

He dressed and left the room quietly, rubbing his arm without really noticing. The house was painfully quiet. He could hear the ticking clock downstairs all the way from Harry's room, he was trying so hard to hear anything… The made him sickly certain the house was empty. He didn't make a conscious decision to sneak around, but the silent house and his uneasiness had him creeping down the hall to check the other rooms, like he wasn't supposed to be there.

He couldn't find Harry or any sign of him, but he also couldn't be completely sure he had looked everywhere. Even the upper floor, it was possible he had skipped a room. There was something pathetic in the way he doubled back and checked again, unsure if he had looked in this room or that, and he was aware of it, but he felt helpless to do anything about it; he was stuck in a loop of checking rooms and then being afraid he had missed something for some time, until he left his room and found the stairs and ripped himself out of the cycle to go down them instead. 

The loop was different and worse downstairs; the layout was more confusing, as upstairs he could see almost from one end to the other and downstairs felt like a rabbit warren he could never navigate. He tried. He followed halls and looked into rooms, looking for him, trying to fix in his mind the rooms he had checked but losing them almost immediately even so. He could spend hours doing this — the whole day. The feeling of his future stretching out before him in this endless purgatory was overwhelming, made it hard to breathe, and he had to figure out something else to do, but he didn't know what…

He stumbled upon the front door and looked around the area, looking for a sign that Harry had left, but if there was something new in the area he couldn't see it. He hesitantly reached out toward the door; he expected to feel stupid for his wariness, but he couldn't shake the feeling it would hurt. He barely tapped the wood with his fingertips and jerked away.

It was actually kind of surprising that he was right. The brief touch burned his fingertips and he held them against his stomach, looking blankly at the door.

So, what did that mean? That Harry hadn't left? He was here somewhere?

He pulled away from the door and went back to looking. Another round through the family tree room and the cold, empty kitchen. He was staring at the table and a pink bottle left there, presumably for him, when he sensed movement in the corner of his eye and jerked around in relief. "Har—" 

There was no one there. There weren't many options for where he could have gone, though. He checked the door in the room — the tiny room with the pipes — and went back to the hall.  "Harry?" No answer; he checked in the first room he came to, the starry dining room, and there was nothing, but he caught a glimpse of a dark figure just leaving the hallway as he closed the door, and he followed him at a quick limp. "Harry!" 

When he got to the corner, he stopped and looked blankly down the other hall. It was empty, with no sign of him anywhere. Where…?

A sudden spike of pain through his arm made him cry out, and he doubled over it, clutching it. The dragon was burning hot to the touch. 

He staggered back down the hall, away from the door; he meant to find a place to sit down, but the pain actually began fading away quickly, and it was all right again before he found anyplace to be. Still, that was so strange. He stared at the dragon as he caught his breath. It offered him nothing. 

He rubbed it absently and turned his attention away. Looking for Harry was hopeless — he clearly didn't want to be found. So…

In a little bit, he found the stars in the dining room, and he made himself stop compulsively searching. Just stay there. That would be all right. He sat on the floor beside the open door and looked up at the false sky, trying to make himself feel better, trying not to worry or indulge in the fear picking at his mind like a carrion bird, ripping away pieces…

He looked up at the stars and tried to lose himself in them, trying to chase those good feelings of when he'd seen them for the first time, when Harry did that for him, but right now he knew that Harry was avoiding him, and they underlined that feeling instead. He tried to focus his mind on the good ones and push the bad ones back. Harry would be back and it would be all right. Or, maybe he wasn't actually even gone, and he would find him before much longer. Then he could be humiliated for these feelings, but it would be okay, he wouldn't be alone… 

He had no way of knowing how long he sat there, tracing constellations in the ceiling, but it did calm him down. Not make him feel better, per se, but it occupied his mind and set him to thinking of something else. That didn't mean he wasn't instantly alert to the sound of the door opening down the hall. He instantly rolled onto his knees and then his feet; his branded arm gave out in a flare of pain and made him gasp, but he just used the other one to push himself to his feet and stepped out to look up the hall. 

Harry came into view, looking at a large black envelope that was reminiscent of a Howler — used by bill collectors — instead of where he was going. He didn't notice him.

"Harry…" Draco's voice was undisguised relief. He stepped out and discreetly reached out to touch his arm. 

Harry looked up, pulling the envelope away from him. "Oh, you're up. Eat something basic for lunch, I'll be out in a couple hours." 

That dismissive brush-off reminded him that he was being clingy and annoying. He took his hand back. Right. "Is something wrong?" 

"No, it's fine. Just busy." He turned off into the other sitting room, without the family tree. 

"Is there anything I can—"

"Merlin, sod off," Harry snapped. "Everything isn't always about you." 

He stopped short at the doorway. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

Harry didn't acknowledge that. "Shut the door," he said as he sat down with his post. 

Draco silently stepped back and pulled the door shut between them. His stomach was in a knot. He hadn't meant to be irritating. He leaned back against the wall, holding his elbows, with his head leaning back to set his eyes on the ceiling. 

The rooms had some muffling enchantments on them, relic of time as an Order base or maybe just older Pureblood paranoia; in his own home, rooms were Impervioused as a matter of course, refreshed as one of the yearly chores, along with the Muggle-repelling charms on the perimeter of the grounds… This could be the same. They might be wearing out, this many years later, because he could hear the sound of voices from inside. Not clearly, not enough to make out words, not like it would be without the muffling. But enough to know that wasn't just Harry's voice…

What did that mean?

He crept back down the hall and secreted himself in the starry room again, and this time he closed the door for extra security. He had an idea and it made him a bit scared to actually leave. It was a terrible, nonsense idea. There was no chance… but what if? What if he wasn't alone?

He kneaded the dragon in his arm and sneaked a look at the door, trying to control his breathing as it bordered on panic, trying not to go there, over that edge. He couldn't now shake off the feeling of being watched, the feeling that there was someone else in the house. The most terrible thing was that he knew it was possible. Maybe there was a room that Draco hadn't found because he couldn't figure out how the halls went together and he kept turning away before he reached it. Or they just stayed where he wasn't. Or he had just forgotten that he had seen signs of them. Harry could even have actually told him and he'd still forgotten. He didn't know, and he couldn't know. There could be this entire layer to his reality that he just hadn't noticed or had forgotten about. It felt like he was losing his grip on the shore and floating away in currents of uncertainty in water too murky to see his own feet, all because his mind just didn't work right.

Harry wouldn't do that, would he? Harry was trying to protect him. Harry didn't want anyone to know he was here.

But Harry could use allies. Friends. Or maybe there was someone else he needed to protect… So maybe…

A sudden memory struck him, of being in bed with someone else on top of him, someone that wasn't Harry, and he couldn't breathe. He held his head with his elbows on his knees, hands trembling. How could Harry do that…? He wouldn't have let someone else… Would he? He couldn't…

It wasn't even a conscious decision, but he couldn't handle that thought, and so his mind took control of himself and shut all of that down. Took hold of those emotions and put them away, out of reach, where he didn't have to feel them. He felt nothing. He was calm and focused. Maybe that had happened, and, if so, there was nothing he could do about it. He pushed himself to his feet and fixed the ribbon holding back his hair, then left the room because he should take care of necessities like eating. 

Harry found him some time later organising the books in the family tree room, with the shelves emptied and the books currently in neat stacks while he wiped down the shelves so they would go back to a clean space. The feather duster was tapping along the ceiling to clean up the moulding. 

"You took your potion. Good." Harry set his hand on Draco's back. "Bored?"

"They were out of order." He dug dust out of a shelf corner. 

"All right." He took his hand from him and went to sit down.

Draco eventually stopped what he was doing and stood before the shelves, looking at them distantly. "Harry."

"Hm?" 

"Is there someone else in this house? Or has there been?"

Harry got up without answering, and stepped around the books to get in front of him, squeezing between him and the shelves. Draco slowly looked at him, but didn't drop his eyes or take back the question. Harry was frowning and looked concerned.

When he didn't say anything, Harry touched his arm. "That's a very troubling question, Draco."

That wasn't a denial. He watched Harry evenly.

"Why are you asking that? I mean, why do you think there might be?"

"I've heard voices. I thought I saw someone, while you were out."

Harry shook his head and slowly rubbed his arm. "There's no one here. It's been just us." He kissed him lightly. "I wouldn't let anyone else in. That idea's insane." 

Draco studied his face. "I think I remember… waking up… with someone else. He put me back to sleep with magic…"

Harry frowned a bit, looking into his face, and then his eyes widened. "Oh, shit, no, that was me. Just me." He held his face with both hands. "I didn't think you remembered… You were so asleep, it must have mixed with a dream. You only woke up for a second, I thought it wouldn't matter. Merlin, that must have been fucking with you, I'm sorry. It was always just me. It's all right."

Draco searched his face. "There's no one else here?"

"No, hell no. It's me and you. No one else, ever." 

Draco studied him for any sign of a lie, but he seemed intent on that. He closed his eyes and let out his breath, and began to let himself feel again. Of course that didn't happen. Of course Harry didn't let that happen. He raised his hand and held onto Harry's silently. 

—-

Falling asleep. It was warm and quiet. The weight of Harry's arm around him. Floating distantly on pain relief and Dreamless Sleep. 

A sudden high, cold voice stabbed at him from the doorway. "Enjoying yourself, Draco…?"

He shot upright with a shriek muffled by the hand he clamped over his mouth, scrambling his way up the bed away from the door, arm throbbing, eyes darting over the room, searching for Him, trying to get out of Harry's hands that were trying to hold him down. 

"Draco!" Something grabbed his arms, tried to pin him down, and that made him struggle more wildly until he fell out of the bed.

Harry swore and lit the lamp by the bed, throwing the room into warm light and gentle shadows. It was empty. Draco's eyes darted from corner to shadow to doorway, searching for Him, but He wasn't there. 

"Draco?" Harry leaned over the edge of the bed and offered him his hand. 

He looked at the hand briefly, then back into the room, holding his aching arm. "He was here…"

"Who?"

"You Know Who." 

"I don't know… Voldemort?" Harry groaned and dropped his face into the bed. "You had a dream, Draco."

"I just had a Dreamless Sleep!"

"You think it's more likely a dead guy showed up in your bedroom than you had a weird half-a-nightmare while you were falling asleep? Come on." He leaned forward to grab his arm and pull him up.

Draco let himself be pulled, and sat on the bed, but he couldn't stop looking. Obviously, Harry's suggestion made a lot more sense, but it had seemed so real. He'd had nightmares about Him for ages, he knew what those felt like, and this wasn't that. He could swear that he could reach out and touch Him, how could something that real be in his head?

Darkness on his arm in the corner of his eye made him flinch, but it was just the dragon, not the Dark Mark. He covered it with his hand anyway, as much as his half hand could cover something that covered his whole forearm. 

"Come on, back to sleep." Harry put out the light again and pushed his shoulder so he'd lie down, pulling the blankets up over him. "No more bad dreams," he murmured into the back of his neck. 

He hoped he was right. He didn't think he'd be sleeping after that, though. 

Dreamless Sleep pulled him to sleep despite himself. 

—-

The deck kept throwing The Moon. About a third of his draws from the deck, it seemed, found him staring at a full white moon silhouetting pillars and a mooncalf. By those odds, the deck should have about twenty Moons.

He stared at the card pensively, bracing it between his fingers by two corners, flipping it slowly round and round. The mooncalf and kelpie flickered as he turned it. The more he looked at the card, the more he became convinced that the kelpie wasn't a danger lurking under the surface of the pool, waiting to snatch the mooncalf when it came close enough. The kelpie was the reflection of the mooncalf. The moonlight was exposing the dangerous predator disguised as something harmless.

He heard Harry moving in the hall, and he stood up, sliding the cards into his pocket and checking his bed was neat. His arm ached the whole time but he hardly noticed it, just enough to not aggravate it. Hair neatly tied, seams straight, sleeve rolled up so Harry could see the dragon, because he seemed to like it. 

The door came unlocked and Harry pushed it fully open. He didn't seem angry; his body language was loose and relaxed. "Your hair's come out," was the first thing he said.

"Sorry." He immediately pulled the ribbon out to try to redo it, though it was difficult with his hands. His cheeks were warm and embarrassed; it shouldn't be hard to do even that much right. 

"It's all right." Harry came in and took the ribbon from him. "I'll help you." He pulled his hair back.

"Thank you…" He looked out the doorway while Harry did that for him, but with no designs on it. He could not actually remember why he was in his room, but he did know he was meant to stay there.

"There." Harry kissed his nose lightly, and he wrinkled it in response. "Come keep me company while I fix supper."

"All right." He held Harry's hand, walking close to him, as Harry led him downstairs. 

In the kitchen, Harry set him to setting out dishes for them to eat while he warmed up the roast and veg. He had to look in several cupboards before he found them, like he always did, but he did find them, and then he made several trips, one flat-dish at a time; he didn't like to be so inefficient, but his arm hurt and he thought he would drop something. Being aware of that enough to formulate the plan to make several trips instead of trying anyway and causing things to get broken did actually feel like an embarrassing step in the right direction. Maybe the brewing exercises for his mind were paying off.

He was setting up glasses for them when he raised his eyes to find a horrible, flat white face, bright red eyes, and a cruel smirk, looking right into his eyes. 

He shrieked and staggered backwards, knocking dishes to the ground, running into Harry and clutching at him. The Dark Lord rose to his feet with the delicately controlled movements he always had, and he didn't disappear, and he didn't look away from Draco's face. He stepped around the table and toward him, unblinking and almost playful gaze fixed on him. "It's been some time, Draco…"

"Draco!" Harry grabbed his shoulders and shook him. It sounded like that wasn't the first time he tried to call him. 

He clung desperately to Harry's arms and shirt. "He's here!" he gibbered wildly, like he couldn't see that for himself, half sobbing. "He's—!" He flung his arm toward the stalking figure. 

The Dark Lord was gone. There was no sign of him.

"There's no one there!" Harry pulled his arm back down. "What are you talking about?"

"He's… He was…"

He cut himself off with a gasp as pain suddenly surged through his arm. He pulled free of Harry and held it, trying to breathe through it.

The pain didn't fade this time, it only redoubled. It spiked into something like a Cruciatus, localised entirely within his forearm, and he cried out, doubled over, clutching at it. 

"Draco!" Draco staggered to his knees, holding his arm, and Harry was there with him, trying to pull his hand free. He yanked his hand back with a hiss when he found that the dragon brand was searing hot. Draco was almost crying over the pain. The actual ink in his arm was bubbling and hissing, right over the top of the Dark Mark. 

Harry desperately yanked out his wand and tried a series of healing spells, to no avail. Nothing provided so much as a hint of relief. "It's him…" Draco sobbed, with his arm stretched out away from him. 

"No, it's all right, we'll fix it…" Harry set his face in a determined expression and cast another spell.

That made Draco scream again and shove away from him, sobbing and shaking his head. It felt like his arm was on fire again, but this time it wasn't stopping. He dug his fingernail into the skin like he could rip it off — that was the only thing that could help. 

Harry followed him and yanked his arm free of his hand to see. "Merlin…" He looked up with horror.

"Make it stop!"

"I don't think I can…" Harry hugged his head against his chest, holding his hand out to stop him clawing at it. He sobbed desperately into him. Something had to help it…

"Did you really think you could be rid of Lord Voldemort, Draco?" 

He flinched away from the voice. The pain sudden exploded and he could feel nothing else, thought he could distantly hear himself screaming.

The pain broke with terrifying suddenness, there for a small eternity and then suddenly almost gone; he was tense and sore, his throat hurt from screaming and there was pain in his arm from hitting and scratching it, but it was normal, not the all-consuming magical pain. He was wrapped up in Harry's arms, sprawled on the floor, and he didn't want to move.

Harry lifted his head with a gentle hand, and Draco reluctantly opened his eyes, looking at him helplessly, hoping he knew what to do to fix it.

"I thought you passed out," Harry admitted, and hugged him. "Has it stopped?"

He nodded and rested his forehead against Harry's chest.

Harry rubbed his back calmly for a bit, then picked up his arm and turned it up. Draco could feel him grow tense and the grip on his arm tighten.

He lifted his head to see. "Don't look," Harry warned, but he had to.

The Dark Mark was back, as bad as it ever had been. The ink in the dragon had been… what, pushed back? Or maybe absorbed? Consumed? There was a space of clear skin an inch in every direction around the edges of the Dark Mark, outlining it within the dragon, and now instead of the faded grey it had been, it was as black as the brand, as black as it ever had been when the Dark Lord was right there, as black as the day it had been put on him…

He reached out with his shaking hand to touch it, hoping it was some trick, it couldn't be real. Even the scar tissue of the brand was gone now, leaving the Mark sunken and flawlessly smooth in the middle of it.

He barely managed to scramble out of Harry's arms before he started retching.

Harry followed him and rubbed his back; he stood up and came back with a glass of water and Vanished the mess. Draco leaned against him weakly, tears leaking out of his eyes.

"When you've been imagining him, it must have been his magic working to reassert itself." Harry ran his hand over his hair. "I didn't realise; I feel like such a prick. I thought it was just you being…" 

He didn't finish it and Draco didn't care. "He'll never be gone…" He woodenly pushed his sleeve down to hide the Mark.

Harry didn't answer, because it was true. What could he possibly say? But he held him close and kissed his head.

[une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir]

Thoughts on Frontiers

(This contains spoilers)

I finally got some time to see to it properly.

The open world platform is great and the roaming free mechanics is also great. There's an overfocus on the open world in detriment of the cyber levels, but even if I prefer the latter to the former on a Sonic game, it works regardless. It takes a lot for me to ignore something I wouldn't like in principle, so I must say that here they got it right. However, it gets somewhat tiresome after awhile.

The open world is bland looking. There are a few places here and there where it's beautiful, but it's in a realistic kind of way. It isn't bad but I think Unleashed's colourful ways goes much better with the Sonic series. In a bizarre way, Frontiers reminds me of 06, although that one was Windows XP Wallpaper bland AND empty. Fortunately, the cyber levels are zanny enough to palate cleanse. The fact that it's so bland also makes me tune out, which mean I'll often get lost, map or no map.

The cyber levels are solid. Some of them are short, but since there are 30 of them, it's not like it matters. Sonic controls well, though I feel like he's lacking weight (recurrent issue). The platforming feels good, even with the traditional glitchings here and there. The skills to fight enemies are decent, although I have no interest in it. Some that play fighting games say it's good, so I'll take their word for it.

I don't mind the recycling of levels layouts. IMO, they are different enough in looks and playability to feel fresh, yet the nostalgia when the familiarity clicks is great. There are 30 of them too, so plenty to be entertained about, even if one or another would potentially rub the wrong way (which isn't the case for me).

(It's also promising that they're testing SA/SA2 levels, it may indicate they're going to redo those games in this engine, and they would do well both because they are old enough that a remake would feel fresh but also because those two are still fan favourites.)

I don't mind the recycling of level assets. It's lazy of course, we cannot complain about Green Hill, but we've seen Chemical Plant and Sky Sanctuary enough in the past few years. Regardless, it doesn't bother me that much and if that was the price for the rest of the game to be successfull, then I'll accept it gladly. There is a slight annoyance sometimes, a sort of "this one again" but it passes quickly. Sonic is very dear to me and the recycled level assets are also dear to me, even if it's repetitive. I end not minding.

I do mind the ranking system, but that's not new. I've had issues with most of them. The only one I truly liked was SA2. That cringe "that was cool" felt earned. Getting an S at first try just by buldozing through a level DOES NOT feel earned. Regardless. ranks aren't something I really care about either. I just wonder what is the point. So much care and work went into making these levels, but the player gets rewarded the most by ignoring it. If the score is linked to time attack, then it should be for studying the level at such detail that the shortest way becomes clear.

The story is mixed for me. On one hand, I've always enjoyed the "ancient technology" story that SEGA really loves telling, most of my favourite games through the... decades (*shock*) have had that as a storyline. On the other hand, I know that such a thing is very problematic in real life and it's not the greatest moment to be pandering to it right now (the crazies are out of control).

I did enjoy the story though. The Chaos Emeralds being alien is something that is very old, from the japanese lore of the 90s. So it was very cool seeing it show up again. The two alien races fighting for it was... strange. It fits with the story they're trying to tell and there's nothing inheritently bad with it, but it felt strange to me. Also, it's clear the story is incomplete, to be continued at a later game, but even within what was in this game things were explained awkwardly and not very well at points.

The aestetics are mixed as well. Like I said earlier, the open world is bland and the ancient ruins also feel sort of bland even if they have very interesting shapes. I was overall irked by the EVA throwbacks. While I love NGE, I found Rebuild to be mediocre, which I oconsider to be a trainwreck written by a man that cannot accept his past and tries to rewrite it. I understand the majority liked Rebuild though, so I also understand that this was clever. Props for using 1 of 2 of EVA's best girls for an expy though.

I enjoyed Sage much like I enjoyed Chip too, even though they're entirely different characters. I think she's a bit too serious for the Sonic universe though, in that the super "annoying" Chip fit better. Perhaps they should have cranked Eggman more, so the contrast would make up for it. I would't know though, I'm not a writer. I do feel like Sage has a lot of potential for future plots even in minor ways. Eggamn being fond of his smartest creation gives him someone to bounce off of when he's on his own. In parallel, Sage is an AI that has gained some self-awareness, which means she can be unpredictable and save / ruin Eggman's plans on a "whim".

Overall, the characters felt a bit too serious though. The dialogue was better written, there was a lot of "makes sense" moments. However, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails felt a bit too bland. Amy's crush was very subdued (in contrast, Sonic's wasn't, at least for the norm, which is nice to see) and her good heart focus, while appropriate didn't feel like explored enough. Knuckles had his moments when antagonising Sonic but felt disconnected from a plot that is close to him and his origins. Tails has been suffering for well over a decade, he should behave like I child but he's systhematically info-dumping technobabble instead (he does more technobabble than Eggman, which is outrageous). I did like Sonic a lot though.

So, I give it a solid 8, placing it along Generations. Unleashed and the SAs still reign supreme to me, but Frontiers is a good game. The issues that exist... SEGA / Sonic has always been a bit rough around the edges anyway (a Sonic game without questionable content isn't a Sonic game) and the issues I have with it are easily ignored (I'll replay for Cyber Levels anyway). This is worth mentioning as I'm notably picky, so if I tend to give it a pass regardless of any issues, that means that the game is a good result.

What truly makes me happy about Frontiers isn't about me though, but the success Frontiers has achieved with others. While I may have issues with the game because I've been a fan for so long I've developed cult-like tendencies, I'm content SEGA / Sonic Team has landed a solid hit, which is hopeful for the future. Success is what Sonic deserves and what it should have.

[kariachi]

A quick-ish sequel fic to this morning’s. Some more Mike, some more Kevin, now in a different part of the country.

~~

“Can’t help but notice this isn’t Italy.”

“All the paperwork with passports and visas felt excessive just to get away from you.” Plus, they required things he hadn’t managed to get his hands on yet, like his birth certificate. With the sheer number of hoops he was having to jump through just to get new copies of all that identifying paperwork, and they all seemed to require him having a steady address with bills to be paid- Maybe someday, but at that moment in time it just wasn’t worth it, nor was trying to sneak in illegally and risk more prison time. He was enjoying being out, damnit, even with all the bullshit he was having to deal with, and wasn’t about to trade his freedom for Italy.

Besides, Miami was seeming fine enough. The climate was close enough to familiar, the food was good, and there was no shortage of attractive people his age. Getting back into the rhythm of normal socialization was taking more effort than he had hoped for, something that burned, but he was making do.

“Yeah, getting shit like your social security together can be an ass and a half.” Teeth in his palms grating against his mug, he shot Levin a glower across the table. Who’d decided the bastard got to act all perceptive? “Florida was your next best shot, huh?” Mike made himself shrug casually. From now on he wasn’t getting hotels with restaurants, or at least not using them. Clearly it made finding him too easy.

“It’s worth looking around, at least. Very nice beaches.” He hadn’t really settled on staying. In a lot of ways the area felt familiar, or at least the area he was sticking to. High class, pretty people, grand wealth, with an ocean backdrop.

He wasn’t sold on the ocean backdrop. It was gorgeous, but he thought he would rather a view out over the city. The past week’s apartment hunting hadn’t found him that sort’ve view in a place he liked. In all honestly it hadn’t found him a place he liked at all.

“Mm-hm. And pretty faces?” Huffing, Mike rolled his eyes.

“I was three steps above solitary confinement for the last eight years, Levin, let me live.” He snorted a laugh at him, the bastard.

“Okay, yeah, point. Long as nobody’s turning up eaten it’s not really my problem anyway.” Resisting the urge to huff again, Mike took a long sip of his coffee. “Setting up shop here, then?”

“Maybe. If I find a place I like.” He’d seen plenty of places he should’ve liked, places that were just smaller reflections of where he’d grown up, or more modern variants on the same cut, but none he had liked.

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Levin said. “Not like you have to worry about price, and most places are willing to turn a blind eye on a lot for enough money.” Lucky him.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been told I’m a very picky man.” By the realtor he was working with, specifically. The comment had rubbed him the wrong way, for all he’d clearly meant nothing by it. He was selective, and spending a large amount of money. There was nothing wrong with wanting everything to be how he wanted it.

Levin snorted another laugh.

“Yeah, well, you’re not likely to find any solid gold bathtubs, so, probably gonna have to lower your expectations a bit.” Would hitting him be worth it? Were there too many witnesses? “But if anywhere’s gonna have a place for you, Miami’s probably it.”

“Would be great to find it,” Mike said curtly. “Some of these places I’d be happy to just have a decent layout.” Too many places had been too closed off. And others… “I finally saw a decent floorplan this morning, and at didn’t impress me quite the way I’d hoped.” It should have. It was the picture of opulence and excess, all the luxury to which he had grown up accustomed. More, even. More modern than he was used to, but the change might have been nice if the way he could hear the echo of his footsteps hadn’t grated up his spine.

“Seriously,” Levin asked with a raised eyebrow. “Can’t imagine you even looking at something that wasn’t impressive.” He stole a piece of cheese of Mike’s plate and would never know how close he came to losing the hand. “Show me? I wanna know just how far up your own ass you are.” Mike glowered at him, but pulled up the listing on his new phone anyway. Levin was a stubborn bastard and wouldn’t leave unsatisfied.

“It has very nice views, I will admit,” he said as he begrudgingly handed it over.

“It’s upscale Miami, of course it does-” Levin’s eyes blew wide. “Si-?!? What the fuck?! You’re single, with no family or friends, what the fuck do you need that much space for?!” Mike, didn’t really have an answer for that. It was what you did, bigger was better. The main house growing up had been large enough to fit both sides of the family at the same time, with enough space left over for Mike to avoid them all when they got to be too much. The gardens had been larger than the apartment in question was. His parents, his grandfather, had always been very proud of that. “That big and it doesn’t even have a fucking tub?!”

“I did point that out as a deal-breaker.” Truly, he had. He was a man who enjoyed a long, relaxing soak and no amount of ‘the building has a spa’ was going to make up for not having the option in his own home. Huffing and shaking his head, Levin set down the phone with a thunk.

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” he said, Mike’s hackles going up at the no-nonsense tone of his voice, “you’re gonna go to your realtor, you’re gonna tell him to find you something smaller. A lot smaller. There’s no reason for you to have more than two bedrooms, and even that’s assuming you’ll be able to find somebody willing to put up with you overnight. As it is all you’re doing is making sure all your shit’ll be too far apart to be convenient, wasting money cooling and lighting more space than you need.”

“It’s not as if I don’t have it to spare,” Mike pointed out, in part just to be contrary. Levin glowered at him.

“So do Ben and I, doesn’t mean we’re stupid enough to throw it away for nothing.” He leaned over the table. “I’ve gotten both Tennysons and a half dozen other people into proper fucking apartments, Morningstar, I know what I’m talking about. Go for something smaller, you’ll save money, have more options, and not have to wander through a white fucking void to take a piss every night. No wonder the rich are all such assholes if that’s the way you live…” Shaking his head with another huff, Levin fell back into his seat.

“I thought,” Mike said, “what I didn’t wasn’t your business as long as nobody got hurt?” Was that not what the bastard had said? That as long as nobody was getting eaten what he did wasn’t his problem? Never mind that a smaller place would probably have less of an echo problem, how dare he?!

“Live in a place like that and you’ll probably start up trouble again just to cut through the fucking boredom.” It wouldn’t have been that bad. Probably. He had ended up eating people the last time, but correlation did not equal causation. Besides, he was more likely to be driven to snapping by Levin telling him what to do. Just because the man had appointed himself his suspicious watchman didn’t mean he had any sort of power over him.

“So you have nothing better to do than sit here and judge my housing preferences?” It was an opening, Mike realized it only as a smirk slid over Levin’s face.

“There’s no races going on, so, not until Thursday.” He couldn’t punch him, wouldn’t punch him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t lob a spoon at his head. To even insinuate he might stick around- Levin caught the silverware with a laugh. “Chill. I’m not hanging around, just needed to check in.” That was some phrasing.

“‘Needed’,” Mike asked, raising a brow. Levin rolled his eyes.

“Like I said before, you’ve caused a lot of trouble before, and tend to fucking blindside us with it. I don’t intend to give you the opening.” Expression flattening, Mike huffed quietly.

“Like I said before, I have no intention of causing any more trouble.”

“See,” Levin said, “problem is that’s exactly the sorta thing you’d have said before, to get us off our guard.”

“Have you considered you might just be paranoid?”

“Oh yeah, shrink confirmed that. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna keep an eye on things. Not until I’m sure you’re actually behaving.” Letting out a long sigh through his nose, Mike shook his head.

“Are you sure it’s not just that retirement is boring you?” Levin snorted, flashing a toothy grin.

“Oh fuck no, I’m loving it. Trust me, nobody wants to know you aren’t gonna be a problem more than me. Except maybe G, but it’s a pretty close call. Point is, I don’t want to be putting up with you either, but until I know you won’t start shit once my back is turned…”

“I’m stuck putting up with your random little visits.” Well, wasn’t that just fucking delightful. And who even knew how long it would take Levin to decide he wasn’t a problem anymore.

It was still a better deal than prison had been, but that wasn’t exactly a high bar.

“If you’re going to be bothering me,” he said, grabbing his phone back up, “you can at least not interrupt me when I’m eating.” Levin snorted a laugh.

“As long as it’s not an innocent bystander? I think I can do that.”

[storyunrelated]

Bad Dreams - Part Two

While inflation was occurring Rose called upon me to assist in wrangling the basket we would apparently be clambering into and ascending in shortly. Again, what we pulled it out of was in no-way the right size to have contained it in the first place but meh, we’re over that.  The basket itself seemed a bit flimsy to me, in all honesty, but I trusted Rose and so made no mention of this. 

Besides, if I plummeted to my death she probably would too, so it’d work out.

Thus, with basket set up with sandbags and such and balloon lashed to basket and glowing cube seeing the balloon full and plump we were, apparently, ready to go. Who knew it could be so easy? Certainly not me.

Learn something new every day.

I stood admiring our handiwork while Rose continued to fiddle. Most of magic seemed to involve a lot of fiddling, or maybe it was just a habit of witches. I didn’t know any others so couldn’t say for sure.

It was a bag she was fiddling with this time. A very handsome leather over-the-shoulder affair. Messenger bag? 

Out of this bag she pulled what looked to be a pair of opera glasses. I’m not sure how I know what opera glasses are, but I know them when I see them. Like a pair of binoculars on a stick, basically. And what a fine set these were, if a little ostentatious. Lots of brass bits of indeterminate purpose.

Rose passed them to me.

“You’ll need these,” she said.

“I will?”

“Well, yeah. You’re not a witch, you can’t see magic or most magic things and if you want to try and sort this out you’ll need to. So you’ll need these.”

“Righto.”

That’d be me being magically inert again, I guess. We all have our areas of weakness. Rose can’t roll her tongue the way I can, Nisien is colourblind and I’m magically inert and need special glasses to see dreams while hovering in a balloon. 

Such is life. Different strokes and all that.

I gave the glasses a quick experimental peer through and was taken aback. At first I thought maybe something had gone wrong and stopped peering after not even a moment, but on my cautious second attempt I discovered that, no, what I’d seen was apparently what I was supposed to have seen - assuming they were working.

“Are these working?” I asked, wincing, holding the glasses up and looking around at the garden, the balloon, the walls, the sky, the etcetera.

“What are you seeing?” Rose asked.

“Coloured...splotches and...drifting...threads and...wafting...bits of...something?”

It was kind of difficult to describe. 

“Nope, that’s about right,” Rose said.

Maybe not so difficult to describe, then.

“This is how you see all the time?” I asked, aghast, looking at her and finding her practically shining and glowing and generally incandescent, radiant with inner-power amidst a swirl of lesser, uh, somethings.

Words fail me. Not my area of expertise. 

Rose shrugged. Her shoulders shot sparks that headed skywards with abandon.

“Not completely, but close,” she said.

“It’s exhausting,” I said, lowering the glasses and giving my eyes a rub.

And with that in we clambered and up we went, Rose controlling our rise via means of yet more arcane hand gestures administered to her box. Fingering was key, it seemed. Could get a proper rise with the right sort of fingering. 

Hah. Funny.

The view was lovely, but that should go without saying. A lot of people are ambivalent about heights and a lot of people are rather unhappy about them, but I love them. 

Particularly I love them in places you don’t usually get them. High-up views from places where there isn’t really a high-up place to view from, you know? Gives a whole different perspective, tilts whatever grasp you had on the layout of the world to the side, shakes up the way you think things fit together and helps you understand just how tiny you really are.

But that’s me. Point is it’s fun seeing across all these rooftops and all these streets that seem so familiar from down below but so novel and new from up above. And the thrill of knowing that you’re inches from plummeting to your death.

Whee, etcetera.

Still, we were up there on business, such as it was, so there wasn’t any time to waste in sightseeing or cooing over how I could see my house from up here - we had dreams to spy on or whatever. Rose was already getting into that, one hand clutching the lip of the basket and the other coming up to shield her eyes from the last few dribbles of sun, squinting in fierce concentration. 

Not wishing to be outdone I took the other side of the basket, clutched the lip (sensible, really), brought the glasses up and got to squinting, again bamboozled by all the lights and swishy nonsense.

How did witches put up with even a smidgen of this? You can get used to anything, I’m told, but still, it’s a bit much. I’ll take being magically inert, thank you.

Scanning about I did my best to keep an eye out for anything unusual, keenly aware that everything I could see through the glasses was, for me, unusual. With that in mind I tried to dismiss all of that unusual stuff as normal and instead look for the really unusual stuff.

Whatever that was.

Behind me Rose was continuing to do the same thing without the aid of glasses and likely with a lot more success in knowing what was and wasn’t noteworthy and it was while I was thinking how poorly-equipped I was for what we were doing that something actually did catch my eye.

Quickly scanning back to the right - which is where the flicker in the corner of my eye had been - I saw what looked an awful lot like a great deal of bright, shining silver wire being spooled out of a chimney a few streets away. The more I watched the more this continued, the wire just spooling up and up and unwinding in the air and there just hanging, forming an ever-expanding cloud of tangles that was certainly striking.

And, more importantly, looked absolutely like nothing else I’d seen so far, which made it unusual.

Keeping my eyes glued to it lest I lose it I reached back and blindly groped to try and find Rose, managing to lightly tap her on the shoulder after a few false swipes.

“What?” I heard her ask.

“Think I got something here,” I said.

She came in to stand beside me (making the basket wobble a little).

“What?” She asked again. I pointed.

“That thing. Big silver thing, big silver mess over there. Is that something?”

Rose narrowed her eyes, then started muttering quietly to herself as she pulled out that big dream book again and had a quick flick through, glancing down, pointing to a page and then glancing back up again, still muttering but with a few nods thrown in for good measure.

All while that was happening the weird silver cloud tangle whatever continued to hang there weightlessly, weirdly, trailing down into that chimney. As I kept my eye on it I saw every so often a part of it would flash briefly and brightly and then that flash would condense down - for what of a better word - into the wire and then whizz all the way around so it could down the chimney to wherever all of it came from.

Happened a good dozen or so times in the time it took Rose to double-check things.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s something,” she said once she’d done the book thing a few times, closing it and putting it away again. “The book says that’s a kind of dream skimmer, or looks a lot like one if it isn’t one.”

“‘Dream skimmer’?” I asked, the silly name sour in my mouth. Rose gave me a look that was equally sour.

“I didn’t pick the name, that’s just what the book says one of those is,” she said.

Who knew witches could be so defensive about these things?

And what’s more:

“And how is it skimming dreams anyway? What are dreams doing up there and not in people’s heads? Are they coming from somewhere? Going somewhere? Why? Where? To what end? What are they made of? Who-”

Rose cut me off here, and who could blame her.

“Look, I don’t know a lot about dream mechanics so can we just assume all these questions have answers?”

“Alright,” I said.

She peered at the skimmer some more, and with greater intensity. I also peered at it, more just because I’d never seen anything like it and I didn’t know what to do about it.

I needed to know more.

“Do those things happen?” I asked.

“What?”

“Those things, skimmer things. Are those naturally occurring? Naturally magically occurring, I mean?”

Magic did occur naturally, after a fashion, but I’m sure she knew what I meant. Was this the sort of thing that, if no-one did anything, would happen just because?

“Uh, no. Don’t think so,” Rose said after a moment’s thought.

“So someone made that?”

“Probably. Some witch. No-one I know.”

This was news to me. Not that Rose didn’t know people, that part I could imagine. The other part, the witch part.

“A witch made that?” I asked.

How? Why? How? Why? To what end?

“Probably, I don’t know. Don’t know who else could have, though. They don’t happen naturally like I said and, well, yeah.”

Here Rose tailed off, clearly having run out of things to add. Meanwhile my brain was fizzing.

I wasn’t really sure what I’d expected to come out of any of this, honestly. That there’d been a problem was just conjecture on my part, fuelled largely by lack of sleep and swelling concern for Nisien. 

Learning there was probably something going on was something else, and now coming up and seeing there really, actually was something going on and it was going on because of something someone had gone out of their way to do, well…

Where do you go from there?

To the skimmer, presumably, to knock on the door and ask what the deal was. Or something to that effect. 

Right? Right.

“Where do you reckon that is?” I asked, pointing to the base of the thing, where it stuck out from the chimney. Rose wrinkled her nose as she consulted her mental map. I did likewise, though without the nose wrinkling. 

“Gun street? Maybe? Or around there?” I ventured, when she didn’t reply in good time.

“Maybe…” She said, distantly, plainly lost in thought.

Was she too thinking of what to do next?

Whatever it was we were going to do, we couldn’t do it in the balloon, that was for certain.

“Well, if nothing else we can just go in that direction and look up every so often. That thing isn’t exactly easy to miss,” I said, pointing some more.

Rose continued to be lost in thought for a second before noticing I’d said something and starting, looking to me at last.

“That’s true,” she said, then twigging the implications. “Wait, what? What do you mean?”

“I mean if we go in that direction it shouldn’t be too hard to find the right place. It’ll have a great big silver thing sticking out the top,” I said, pointing at the great big silver thing.

“You mean...going there?” Rose asked, also pointing but without the same confidence I had.

“Of course, what else are we going to do?”

“Um…”

Clearly she hadn’t got as far ahead on this as I had.

“Not an expert, but something funky is going on with the dreams or the dreamscape or the dreamverse or whatever it is the technical term is,” I said. I waved a hand to indicate generally the air around and over us, where dreams apparently liked to float about for reasons I was still unclear on.

“It is none of those terms,” Rose muttered, interrupting but not so intrusively I couldn’t continue:

“And that thing over there is a dream-related thing that someone went out of their way to make happen. I feel confident in saying it’s probably related. And even if it isn’t, maybe they’ll have a clue. Certainly it’s not something we can ignore, is it?”

“It’s just - this isn’t the sort of thing you ever imagine happening to you, it’s meant to happen to someone else,” Rose said. 

I began to get the sneaking impression she was adventure-averse. Guess it’s not something anyone really has a lot of experience with, at least not anyone I know. Certainly I’ve never been on any adventures that I’m aware of. 

Would this count, once it was done? I always imagined adventures would be grander, that they’d involve a mountain and a great trek, not just meandering a few streets over and knocking on a door.

All have to start somewhere, I suppose.

Either way, we had apparently managed to find what it was we’d gone up there to look for, at least to our mutual satisfaction, and so with more box-coaxing Rose brought us back down to the ground and we tidied up and put away the balloon, more-or-less in silence.

Once it was back in its too-small shed thing it was properly dark, evening having shuffled off into night. Everything seems more daunting at night, I find, but my resolve was undimmed.

“Are you still going to go there?” Rose asked with clear trepidation. As previously stated my resolve was undimmed. I nodded.

“I am indeed.”

Her trepidation continued, plain even in the poor lighting of the tiny back garden.

“Alright, okay,” she said at length. “We should do something about it, it’s just I’m not sure what, but that’s not a good reason to not do anything, is it?”

I think she was asking for moral support here.

“Exactly. We’re decent, well-meaning, handsome young people with a thirst for justice. We’ve detected an issue, we’ve spotted a possible cause. It’s the only thing we can do,” I said, putting a reassuring hand onto her shoulder. There’s a technique to doing this.

I don’t think I have the technique down.

“You might have oversold it a bit,” Rose said, her face flat.

“If something is worth doing it’s worth overdoing,” I said.

Her face did not get any less flat. I took my hand off her shoulder.

“...let’s just go,” she said.

We departed the tiny garden and made our way back through the now alarmingly dark back passage and around again to Rose’s, being as it was on our way. 

“I’m going to get a coat,” Rose said. Sensible. I thought I should do the same and as I was thinking this thought a further thought occurred.

“Good idea. I’ll be back in a minute, just hang here. Honestly, two seconds,” I said.

“Alright, alright,” Rose said, disappearing back into hers while I jogged back to mine.

There I obtained a coat and a little extra something and was all set to jog back again when I spied Nisien napping fitfully upon the sofa, cartoons having paused themselves to ask if he wanted to keep watching. He, napping fitfully, was in no condition to answer this question.

Poor lad. I turned the television off, found a blanket - for we had several on hand for these purposes - and laid it over him. The least I could do in the circumstances.

“I’ll get this sorted, don’t you worry,” I said quietly though he, asleep and writhing, could not hear. It’s the thought that counted. And if anyone was watching somehow they’d know about it, too, and see my motivation.

These paranoid fantasies are important to indulge from time to time. Make life more exciting. Who wouldn’t want to be the star of something, even just the once? As unlikely as that might be. What fun.

Anyway. Becoated and equipped I jogged back, finding Rose similarly becoated and waiting in front of her door, rubbing her arms and peering up and down the length of the street. She saw me coming.

“Finally,” she said as I came to a halt before her.

“Yeah sorry, doing a thing. Nice stick.” I said, pointing to what I assumed was a wand she was holding and she, beaming, gave the wand a few swishes and flourishes, 

“Pays to be prepared,” she said.

Rose then noticed what I was holding and her eyes widened a little.

“Why do you have a crowbar?” She asked. Never a question with a good answer. At least not usually. Tonight the answer was definitely a good answer.

I gave it a bounce and then held it up in front of me in both hands.

“Pays to be prepared, like you said. It’s not a magic wand but it’ll get the job done,” I said, giving it a loving stroke. I liked my crowbar. So versatile and yet so simple, truly one of humanity's greatest achievements.

“No-one uses wands…” Rose muttered, in a particular style of mutter that I was quickly coming to recognise. It was the mutter of disapproval that appeared whenever my free-and-easy attitude trampled over important magical matters.

As a professional she takes these matters seriously, clearly.

“What’s that, then?” I asked, pointing to the wand-like, wand-shaped magic stick she’d brought with her. She clutched it to herself somewhat defensively.

“It’s a rod,” she said.

I snorted. Rose took a second to get it.

“Oh grow up. You still didn’t say why you have a crowbar.”

“To break into the house of whoever is doing the thing with that thing,” I said.

If it came to that, obviously. This was me just idly planning ahead. Jacking in the locks and busting open the door wasn’t my first choice but if ways are found to be barred, well, it’s either giving up or pressing through, and crowbars really help with pressing through.

Or so I’ve heard. Tonight might be the night I find out.

Rose didn’t look pleased.

“Breaking in?!” She hissed, again looking up and down the street, this time perhaps in case anyone was about to swoop on us for contemplating ill-behaviour. No-one did, obviously.

“Well, what do you suggest?” I asked.

“Calling the police!”

I suppose I could see the logic in Rose’s suggestion.

“That’s one angle, I’ll grant you.”

“You said we were knocking on their door anyway!”

“Oh of course, that’s the first option. This is for if that doesn’t work,” I said, explaining out-loud what I’d just explained to myself in my own head. Rose’s eyes narrowed.

“I can’t work out if you’re being serious or not,” she said.

At this point I wasn’t wholly sure either, if I’m being honest. Was this an adventure thing? The normal routine of life disrupted to such an extent that we’re not sure what it is we’re meant to do next and what we’re even capable of doing next? The tantalising risk of making a mistake in the heat of the moment? 

What happens in an adventure is always a cut above everyday life after all, isn’t it? Isn’t it? 

I have no frame of reference. I assume so but I could easily be wrong. 

I’m also very tired. It could also be that.

Wilting in the face of Rose’s cast-iron sensibleness I sighed and rubbed my face with the hand not currently full of crowbar.

“Rose, man, I’m exhausted. Nisien is probably one more night away from snapping like a dry twig and some saucy sod is messing about with people’s dreams - yours included. There’s no time to waste and no time like the present,” I said.

Rose looked sympathetic. Still highly skeptical and concerned about me having a crowbar, but sympathetic at least, which was a step in the right direction.

“You still can’t just go...breaking into places,” she said.

I could, anyone could, it’s just more a case of if they should. But that’s semantics, and pedants are no-one’s friend. Never fun being told that actually I think you’ll find that in the original Greek usage of the word such-and-such actually meant so-and-so and so therefore I think you’ll find actually etcetera etcetera. No-one likes those people. No-one liked being that person, either, not really at least. 

Hard to stop the impulse sometimes, though...

“Mean, I can do that if I need to, but that’s only a last resort, honest. We just want to draw a line under this, don’t we?” I asked. Rose fidgeted with her rod - hah - a bit and after a few seconds just threw her hands up in surrender to the moment.

“Alright fine, let’s just go before I think twice about it. Will be interesting to see one of those sifters up close anyway, they sounded very difficult to make,” she said.

“I get to knock on a door, you get to look at a dream sifter, we all get something out of this. Away we go.”

And away we went.

The walk did not actually take that long in real terms, but it felt like a long time. Presumably this was because it was cold, dark and I kept having to ask Rose where the big thing in the sky was. In hindsight should have brought those fancy glasses of hers, oh well.

We arrived. Gun street it was. House on the end of a terrace. Small house, needed a little brushing up but wasn’t falling down. Windows newspapered over, the front garden a veritable graveyard of cardboard boxes and disembowelled white goods.

Kind of a let down, really. Don’t know why but I’d sort of assumed that a qualified witch of the calibre required to make a dream sifter - assuming making one was difficult, which wasn’t a difficult assumption to make - wouldn’t have let their home get into such a state. Thought they’d be more on top of things.

Oh well.

“That was easy,” I said, standing before the gate. The gate was hanging off a single hinge. That level of decrepitude takes effort. If nothing else it shows commitment to wrack and ruin.

“What were you expecting?” Rose asked, blowing into her hands and rubbing them briskly. I shrugged.

“Complications. You know, adventure things,” I said vaguely. I hadn’t had anything concrete in mind, I’d just had the unconscious expectation that someone or something should have got in our way or slowed us down.

“Let’s just knock, it’s cold out here,” Rose said, now rubbing her arms.

“You’re not wrong.”

Up the path I went and knock on the door I did.

Nothing. 

I knocked again. I even rang the bell but it didn’t appear to work so I compensated by knocking some more and harder, too, really letting the door have it.

Continued nothing. Somehow I was not surprised. Who’d answer the door this time of night anyway?

“Maybe they’re not in,” Rose said from behind me.

“Their big dream-snatcher is there, think it’s pretty safe to say they are too. Either too busy or ignoring us. I’d say,” I said, because I was an expert now, apparently. If you wouldn’t leave a pot of boiling water unattended it stood to reason (to me) that you wouldn’t leave a big bit of magical apparatus unattended. It just didn’t seem like a sensible thing to do.

Again, apparently I’m an expert now.

“It’s a sifter, it sifts. A dream snatcher is something else,” Rose said.

This gave me pause. I’d just been being flippant again. There’s always a jolt when you’re joking and inadvertently land on the way things actually are. It’s like missing a step on the way downstairs. Didn’t know where to go from there.

“...learn something new every day,” I said, eventually, giving up on thinking up anything pithier.

Too tired to be hilarious.

“It’s more invasive,” Rose said brightly, as though that wasn’t a horrifying word to appear in such a sentence and in such a context. In fact, it’s kind of a horrifying word to appear in any context, come to think of it. Like the word ‘damp’, ‘invasive’ wasn’t a word you wanted used anywhere near you if you could help it.

Probably some exceptions but now wasn’t the time.

“Lovely. Well, this door isn’t getting more open and we’re not getting any warmer standing out here,” I said, turning around and heading back down the path and around the corner, up the dark and overgrown strip of mud and brambles that was the access to the gardens of the terrace. Rose, flat-footed, lollygagged briefly before hustling to catch up with me.

“Where are you going?” She asked, her voice low.

“Back garden,” I said, hands on the wall of said back garden. Ah, the benefits of it being at the end of a terrace - I only had to jump one wall. How liberating.

“You really are breaking in?” Rose asked.

“Looks that way.”

The wall was about my height and, on peering over, I saw nothing but a scrappy patch of forgotten lawn and some forlorn, long-dead plants. Tossing the crowbar onto the lawn I hauled myself over the wall to recover it, thence heading to the back of the house.

From the sound of things Rose made much more complicated work of mounting the wall. I wasn’t watching. I was considering the task ahead of me.

Backdoor. Windows. Which would be best for entry, I wondered? What would a burglar think?

“I can’t believe you’re actually serious!” Rose whispered, having come to huddle beside me.

“Neither can I, but this is where events have led us.”

“Breaking and entering?!”

“They started this when they broke into Nisien’s nighttime routine. And yours. And mine. And presumably some other people we don’t know personally but who are also suffering. Time to return the favour.”

‘They’ in this case being whoever was in the house, obviously, assuming their dream sifter was at all involved in the dream-related business going on. Which this whole trip was kind of in aid of clarifying.

I know this, why am I thinking this?

Rose sputtered, apparently having too many arguments against this to pick one and instead trying to expel them all at once. Really, I could understand. There were likely dozens of superior ways of approaching this situation. But I’d picked this one and I was committed now.

What’s an adventure without regret, anyway? How else are we to grow?

Arbitrarily I decided to go in through a window and so moved towards the downstairs one, crowbar at the ready. I was all set to get jamming and prying when Rose put a hand on my arm.

“Wait,” she said, quietly.

“Hmm?” I asked, crowbar poised for crowing and barring.

“Don’t - don’t go breaking things yet. Give me a second,” she said, ushing me backward with a gentle sweep of her arm. I allowed myself to be ushered. Now I was the one huddling behind and I watched as Rose unsheathed her rod-

-snrk-

As Rose took out the smooth, imposing length of her impressive rod-

-hurhurhur-

No, come on, this is serious. Try again.

As Rose took her magic rod and did something magical with it. I obviously couldn’t see the finer, technical details of what it was she did. To me it just looked like waving the tip of the thing around the window and poking it in a place or two. I assumed it was all very deliberate though and not for the first time I could only admire her quiet dedication to her craft.

The latch on the window also clicked. Unlocked.

Fancy that.

Rose put her rod away again and gave the window an experimental lift. The bottom pane rose smoothly on its sashes, didn’t even squeak. Just like that the window was wide open for us. 

You’d have thought the house of a witch would have had better security? Tsch.

“Very swish, Rose. Sorry, crowbar, you’ll have your go,” I said, moving past Rose and clambering in without a moment’s hesitation.

After all, if you’ve got time to think you’ve got time to think twice, and who has time for that?

Given what the outside had been like I’d rather expected the inside to be a similar picture of neglect - I’d gone in expecting heaps of ancient newspaper and jars of toenail clippings - but once my eyes adjusted I instead found it, well, not like that.

It wasn’t the picture of luxurious and it was certainly a little cramped but it was at least organised. Books on shelves, books in boxes, books on side tables, a lot of books. 

Witches do like to read, if Rose was any indication, so this tracked.

“Can’t believe I’m going along with this…” Rose griped from behind me, still following. “We’re going to get arrested.”

I disagreed with this.

“We’re not going to get arrested,” I said, firmly.

Best way, I felt. Direct. Sound confident, like you know for sure.

“You don’t know that!” She hissed.

Negativity up in here, let me tell you. No good at all. I turned back to her and put my hands on my hips, the stance of low-grade irritation. 

“If I believe it hard enough it’ll come true. Worrying about it won’t make it less likely, so let’s just be optimistic, eh? Anyway, let’s do whatever it is we’re here to do.”

“What are we here to do?” She asked. She was plainly unmoved by the placement of my hands on my hips. Made of stern stuff, was Rose. I think that’s a witch thing. Ineffable forces and all that. Contemplating the weave underpinning reality and all that.

“We’re here to stop the bad dream thing,” I said. We’d been over this, I thought.

“How are we doing that?” Rose asked without missing a beat.

I blinked.

Huh.

Again, this was one of those things that I’d just hoped would make itself obvious as and when we got to it. No-one seems to have to worry about these sorts of things in adventures, they just flow naturally. There’s sometimes a little thinking involved, I’ll grant, but it happens without issue, just organically. The solution should have been obvious. Ideally, I should already have been doing it.

But I was not. Hmm.

Okay, maybe this was harder than I had initially thought it would be. Again, I’m blaming this on being sleep-deprived. Really makes it hard to get your ducks in a row.

Playing for time, I used my crowbar to scratch my head.

“Um,” I said, continuing to play for time while Rose stared at me in exasperated expectation. “Um. Well. Obviously we need to find the thing, so we need to look around. Place isn’t too big so that shouldn’t take too long and once we find it, um, well, you’re the witch so you’ll tell me what’s what and we can, um, figure out our next step, I guess.”

Improvising was one of my strong points. Maybe. It was tonight, at least. It kind of had to be.

Maybe once we found the thing Rose could just poke it with her magic stick and that’d fix the problem? Maybe our streak of luck would continue and this whole thing would be a cakewalk?

Chance be a fine thing.

“Why are we the ones doing this?” Rose asked. I had to shake my head at her. Such a negative influence tonight, such a drag.

“Come on, Rose, it’s a little late for that. And besides, why not us? Someone has to! We went over this outside and-” I said, but that was as far as I got because behind me I heard a creak and as I heard that creak I also saw Rose’s eyes widen. Oh dear. I turned.

[p0orbaby]

I have a pregnant!natasha x female!reader request idea: lets say r is sleep talking & she just says something that makes natasha really jealous! idk maybe saying a woman’s name & Nat being pregnant and having mood swings.. you know, has a more upset reaction than usual lol & maybe reader doesn’t wake up when nat tries to ask her about it so she just throws cold water in her face 🤩

Old Habits Die Hard

Summary - an old habit comes back to bite. Can Natasha forgive you before things get out of hand?

Warnings - language, mentions of cheating, sad Natasha

Authors note - I’m trying a new layout with these fics so let’s see if its decent. Also something similar may or may not have happened in my actual life so take that as you will.

Word Count - 1.8K

Masterlist

Everyone has little habits. The ones that some find quirky and others find annoying. You’d hoped that you would grow out of yours, but it never seemed to leave. Talking in your sleep wasn’t harmful but it was awkward to have to explain to others sometimes.

It wasn’t really an issue before Natasha because you were never around someone long enough for them to notice. But now you had a wife whom you would sleep next to every night, who now also happens to be pregnant and have amazing hearing. So your little habit became a bit of a headache.

The first time it happened, you and Natasha had only been together a few months. She had started to integrate herself into your room at the compound, which also meant sharing the bed more. To say it scared the shit out of her that first time is a bit of an understatement

All you could really remember of it was that you were woken up out of a deep sleep by being viciously shaken.

“Oh my God, Natasha what the hell are you doing?” you shrieked after you were abruptly woken from your slumber, eyes flying open to be met with the dark of the bedroom.

“I heard something” the red glow of the clock on your nightstand illuminated her face enough to see the worried look she was sporting.

“What do you mean you heard something? Are you sure you weren’t just dreaming?”

“No I definitely heard a voice, I couldn’t make out what it said but it was definitely real”. That’s when you realised that you were probably the culprit of the late night talking.

“Baby, I think that was me” you said sheepishly

“What?”

“It was probably me who was talking. I talk in my sleep sometimes. It’s happened since I was a kid and I just never grew out of it”

“Oh Christ” Natasha sighed out, her hand placed on her chest in relief. “I thought there was someone in the room”

“So you, a highly skilled assassin, thought the right move was to shake me awake instead of attacking the potential intruder” you smirked at her, knowing she could see you now her eyes had adjusted to the dark.

She narrowed her eyes at you, “shut up and go back to sleep” she said as she snuggled back into your side.

“Gladly”

Yet this time it happened, you weren’t to be forgiven so easily. You knew something was wrong when you woke up one morning to find your now wife glaring at you from her side of the bed.

“What a lovely sight to wake up to, my beloved staring daggers at me, the best thing I could ask for” you said sarcastically as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes.

“Don’t start with me already Y/N” oh yeah, she was definitely a mood.

“Would you care to explain why you’re being pissy with me already? Well I presume I’m the reason for this mood even though I’ve just woken up from a great sleep”

“A great sleep hm? I’m glad you were enjoying yourself” her tone told you she was certainly not glad about that.

“Nat, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I’m completely fine, don’t worry about me”

“Baby, sarcasm doesn’t look good on you”

“Not helping” she sprang from the bed and made her way to the en suite, slamming the door behind her.

Today was going to be a long day.

Most of the morning was spent in silence, other than the huffs and bangs Natasha was making in order for her to tell you she was still annoyed.

“Are you going to tell me what I’ve done wrong?” No answer. Ah so the one time she doesn’t make a sound is when you try and remedy the situation.

You walked up to her from where she was watering the plants by the window and wrapped your arms around her waist from behind placing your hand on her growing bump. Normally she would melt into your touch, but this time she tensed up, stopped what she was doing and manoeuvred out of your embrace.

“Hey, am I not even allowed to give my two favourite girls a cuddle anymore?” You asked, searching her face for any from of clue as to why she was annoyed.

“Not after last night, no”. Well at least she was talking to you. Albeit you still had no clue what she was talking about.

“Is this because I fell asleep before I could give you a back massage Nat? I know your back is killing you, but I don’t think the cold shoulder you’re giving me is warranted”

“The fact that you don’t know what you’ve done makes this whole thing even worse” she snapped back.

“Well if you told me then I could try and help! I can’t read minds Natasha”

“Ugh you’re so infuriating sometimes! Now leave me alone”. If you weren’t starting to get annoyed you would have chased after her as she went back upstairs, but you didn’t even want to look at her right now until she had calmed down. So you went out into the back garden to get some fresh air and some space.

You didn’t speak to your wife for the rest of the day, not without trying, she just wasn’t having any of it. Since she became pregnant she was more than willing to let you help her undress and get into the bath. Yet tonight she hid away in the bathroom going about her business alone.

She reappeared forty five minutes later, red facesd and damp from the shower. You wished she would tell you what was wrong so you weren’t shunned from holding your own wife. You missed her being close.

Natasha obviously didn’t care about your wishes as that night she slept with her back to you. A telltale sign of her annoyance. You tried to place your hand on her side but your actions were declined by her moving further away from you. Deciding to give up on your advances, you rolled over and went to sleep yourself, praying tomorrow would be better.

Tomorrow wasn’t better. When you thought things couldn’t get any worse, you were woken up to the sensation of drowning. A cold wave of water splashed against your warm body causing you to sit up in bed gasping for air.

“WHAT THE HELL” you shouted. Not directed at anyone in particular, your flight or fight response activated.

“How dare you Y/N” Natasha replied from the side of the bed, bucked in hand. “I’m pregnant and you think that’s okay?”

“Natasha what is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you more like”

“I have no bloody idea what you’re talking about. You can’t just wake me up like that I could’ve had a heart attack!”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic”.

“I’m the dramatic one? You’re the one that’s just thrown cold water over me for no reason. Jesus Natasha what’s going on?”

“Fuck you” she spat and slammed the bedroom door behind her, leaving you soaking, shivering and confused.

You were grateful that the weather was nice. It meant you could stay outside and not have to worry about getting in Natasha’s way.

You sat back on the deck furniture, feet up with your eyes closed, basking in the sunlight in an attempt to gain back some warmth after being dowsed in cold water. You were almost there until you heard a knock on the patio doors. The shivers returning.

Turning your head from where you sat, you saw your wife curling a finger at you, beckoning you to come inside, anger still etched on her face. So you let out a sigh and stood up preparing for another grilling.

“Yes my dear?” You said as you entered the house.

“Sit down”

“Are you willing to actually talk to me now? At least you’ve discarded the bucket”

“If you carry on like that you’ll be getting more than water thrown at you Y/N”

“Alright” you held you hands up in defence, “I’m sorry, where to do want to start?”

“Who is she?”

“Who’s who?”

“Oh don’t act like you don’t know who I’m talking about!”

“Nat, I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do, but right now I haven’t got the foggiest idea about what’s gotten you so tied up?”

“I bet I’m not the only one tied up am I?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The girl you’re fucking”

“What the fuck are you talking about Natasha. Oh my God are you insane?! Where on Earth have you come to the conclusion I’m cheating on you?”

“You said another woman’s name in your sleep last night. A name I’ve never heard you mention before”

“Are you even listening to yourself right now? You think I’m sleeping with someone else because I said something while I was dead asleep. I’ve heard it all now, I really have”

“Well how else would you explain it then?”

“For crying out loud, I was dreaming for fucks sake! Tell me the name and I’ll try and remember?”

There was a short pause before she spoke up. You suspected she was weighing up her options of to how to go about this “Jess. Bet she’s a pretty little thing. How long have you been seeing her?”

“Je- ohhhh” when you realised what was going on you tried to hide you smile, obviously failing because the glare your wife gave you was enough to make a grown man cry. “Do you want to know a story”

“Not really the time or place for that you know. Read the room for crying out loud”.

Ignoring her instructions, you decided to tell her anyway.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t have many friends, believe it or not. And being an only child meant I was quite lonely. So I begged and begged and begged my mum to get us a dog. She always said no. Money was tight and it would’ve been too much of a hassle to look after. Then one day, not long after my seventh birthday, I came home from school to find a box in my room. There was scratching coming from inside and I quickly realised there was a kitten in there. I cried with joy. Finally a friend.”

You looked up at her to see if she had caught on to what you were saying. The confusion on her face told you she hadn’t.

“Want to take a guess at what I called it?”

It wasn’t often that Natasha looked small. Her personality was larger than life and her confidence was outstanding. Yet in this very moment she looked like a child who had just been caught stealing cookies from the jar.

“Y/N I-“

“It’s fine Nat, don’t worry about it, really”

“Why have you never told me this story before?”

“Why would I dwell on the lonely parts of my life when you’ve given me the life I could have only ever dreamed of? It’s me and you and our baby, I don’t want my ghosts haunting our journey”

“I’m so sorry baby”

“I know you are. Now let’s go outside. I want to cuddle my pregnant wife and tell her all about my first best friend”

Taglist

@jromanoff @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @diaryoflife @xxromanoffxx

[dogsinspaceandyou]

Cat enter the M-Bark and he disguised himself as a dog. Cat join the Pluto crew.

How do the Pluto crew think of the cat before discovering his true identity as a cat?

Disguised cat on the Pluto crew and their thoughts on him:

Their first impression is that he’s weird for a dog. They don’t recognize him at all, not even the fuzzyest memory of him walking by in the park. And he says odd things, like he’s only learned he’s a dog recently and keeps reminding himself. It reminds them a lot of how Kira used to act too doglike so they decide to just ignore the weird for now -the Pluto crew is already weird enough so he fits in perfectly.

Ed is suspicious of him, even after weeks of the guy being on the team. Ed doesn’t trust anyone, really, but there’s something off about this dog. He can tell he’s hiding something, but he won’t tell anyone else on the crew about this since the other dog isn’t above helping him steal. That makes him okay in Ed’s book... for now at least.

Something about the new guy rubs Garbage the wrong way. He bickers with him a lot at the start. The corgi doesn’t know why the other dog bothers him so much. It takes intervention from Stella for them to eventually be friends but... Garbage still feels odd around him.

Chonies doesn’t think too much about the new dog, but he does take Garbage’s side whenever they fight. He feels mostly indifferent over the new teamnate thing, the last new one they had almost took over the M-Bark so... he’ll just focus on the missions and the friends he can actually trust, thank you very much.

Nomi immediately likes the new guy. He’s weird but she likes weird! He’s always tense like Kira so it makes her feel like Kira’s back in a way. And he’s really good at fighting so she really likes that!

Stella is hesitant about the new guy. He’s always doing weird things like studying the M-Bark’s layout and defense systems. It’s suspicious really, but she can’t afford to spend time on figuring out what he’s up to. She has a team to run and a co-captain to keep in check. Hopefully she’ll be wrong about him.

Loaf avoids the other dog for a long time. He doesn’t like meeting new people. The last new dog was really scary and turned everyone back into regualr dogs so... no thanks to new dogs, he’ll just stay away. Eventually he does spend time with the new guy (in a group setting of course) and... he’s nice, just very, very weird.

Pepper doesn’t trust him. All of the data she’s collected so far has pointed to him being suspicious and possibly dangerous -though her data is insufficient on that matter. No matter how relaxed the rest of the crew, and eventually her, get around him she can’t help but still feel a nagging bit of doubt. She likes him, sure, but can she really be able to trust him?

I love specific requests like this, they give me a lot to work with. I hope you enjoyed this.

[nataliedanovelist]

GF - Timestuck AU: The Power of Mabel ch.1

While fighting over a time machine so one twin can win a pig or the other can win the heart of a girl, Mabel is left stranded in a snowy forest with no time machine and no brother. Oops.

ch.2

Beautiful artwork was created by @starstruck-loner​! THANK YOU SO MUCH SWEETIE I LOVE IT!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Snow freckled the chilly January day lightly, like powdered sugar over a freshly baked pastry, sticking to each layer effortlessly and creating a blanket that completely covered the woods and the cabin nested between the trees. The atmosphere was still and stiff, like frozen icicles that were not going to start dripping any time soon. The air was bitter and unwelcoming, which was probably why no living thing was outside today. Today was the perfect day to burrow and sleep and keep warm with your own body heat.

A crack through space-time cut through the air. The crushing of tiny ice particles followed as two twelve-year-olds ran, one chasing the other, as the time-tape was heating up and buzzing. “This thing is getting hotter! Hot! Hot, hot, hot!” Mabel attempted to save her palms from burns by bouncing the tiny machine between her hands.

“What are you doing?!” Dipper demanded as Mabel bounced the tape-measure too hard and her twin reached a hand to catch it. He managed to catch it perfectly, like an athlete catching a baseball, and then was gone in a flash of baby-blue lightning.

Mabel’s eyes widened in sheer panic and she held her arms as a gust of wind blew and nearly froze her to her core. It felt like her skin was being pricked by mean sewing needles. She looked around wildly for her brother, for him to come back to this time and place immediately, because surely he would use the time machine to come back, but seconds ticked by and she was still alone.

Puffs of smoke decorated the wintry scene as she held her shivering body and looked at the shack. It wasn’t as colorful and welcoming and loud as the shack Mabel remembered, but she made herself consider that it was because there was no big sign or tourist-y things, and it was winter. Then a light turned on, the hall if Mabel remembered her summer home correctly, and the door opened.

The hope that Mabel had in her chest of seeing her great-uncle was gone, and replaced with fear and confusion. This man looked very much like Stan, though much younger, quite chubby and youthful, wearing a black t-shirt and blue plaid pajama-pants. He had the same face as a young-Stan, but with a more pink than orange nose, a cleft chin, fluffier hair that reminded Mabel of her’s when it was short, and different glasses. 

Mabel didn’t know what to do or how to react or how to feel. People change a lot when they age, sure, but this much? It was possible this person wasn’t Stan, but who else would look so similar to him and live in this house? Maybe this is the guy who lived here before Stan, and they just happen to look very similar. This is Gravity Falls, and though she and Dipper were still new to the town, it was a weird place where something like this could happen.

It also came to Mabel how odd the situation was for the man: a little girl was standing in a sweater and skirt outside his house in the winter. Would he try to send her home? She had no home to go to. She didn’t know what year this was, but if it was a time Stan didn’t live here, it must have been way before she was born, maybe even before her parents met. She was stranded.

But the man looked at her sympathetically and he seemed kind and worried. He grabbed a trenchcoat and called gently, “Hello. Are you okay?”

Mabel bit her lip. His voice was definitely not Grunkle Stan’s. A gust of wind made her shiver and her teeth chatter, and the man stepped into some slippers and walked up to her, draping the trenchcoat over her shoulders. “There there, that’s a very nice sweater, but it doesn’t seem to be keeping you warm, is it?”

“N-No.” Mabel shivered. “I… I used breathable yarn for…” She stopped. She was going to say how she used breathable yarn for the warm California weather, but she decided not to.

“You used?” The man repeated, rubbing her shoulders to try to make the trenchcoat work faster. “You made this?”

Mabel saw his excited grin and she smiled nervously. “Y-Yeah. I knit sweaters.”

The man bent his knees in front of her and studied her sweater. She held out an arm so he could see and his brown eyes sparkled. “That’s very impressive! I love sweaters!”

Mabel gasped happily. “C-C-Can I m-make you one?!”

The man looked taken back, but chuckled and stood. “Of course, but first let’s get you warm. How does hot chocolate sound?”

“Y-Yes, p-p-please.” Mabel shivered, and allowed the man to walk her into the house.

It was scaringly like the Mystery Shack, but so much was different. It was the same layout, the same house, but there was so much that was different. A coat rack stood by the door, holding a white lab coat with black rubber gloves in the pocket, some safety goggles like the ones in Mabel’s science classes, and Stan’s fez. Mabel stared at it. Well, okay it probably wasn’t Stan’s fez, but it was a maroon fez with a golden fish and a black tassle. 

There was a wood-burning stove alive in the living room, with a small box full of wood by it and a tiny stool. Instead of Grunkle Stan’s armchair, there was a red-velvet couch, a large writing desk, and the room was decorated with books, desks, papers, and jars and experiments. It was all strange, but warm and cozy with the fire going.

Mabel smiled as the man pulled out the tiny stool and gestured for her to sit by the stove. She obeyed and the coat was removed from her shoulders, but quickly replaced with a dark-green blanket.

“There, do you mind warming up here while I make your hot chocolate?” He asked, draping his trenchcoat over his arm.

Mabel shook her head and held her cold hands in front of the stove. “Thank you.”

The man smiled. “You’re welcome.” And he turned and left for where Mabel knew the kitchen was.

Sitting alone and feeling better as her body was getting warm, Mabel thought it all over. This man was clearly not her Grunkle Stan, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nice or couldn’t help her. Any minute Dipper was going to come back for her, but until then she had to stay where she was. That’s what grown-ups told her to do if she was ever lost. Stay where you are until you’re found.

By the time Mabel was very comfortable, the man returned with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, and handed one to the girl. “Here you are, my dear.”

“Thank you, sir.” Mabel sipped and hummed in delight as the man sat on the floor next to her.

“You’re very welcome.” He sipped his drink and added, “Now then, I have to ask, what were you doing out there? Did you get lost?”

Mabel’s face dropped and she nodded. “Uh, huh.”

“Hm, very well. That can easily happen when playing on a snow day.” The man said with a smile. “Why don’t I call our parents and we can arrange to have you back home safe?”

Mabel swallowed nervously. She bit her lip, looking down at her mug. She didn’t know what to say to that.

The man looked at her and noticed how scared she was. “Is something wrong?”

Mabel looked up at him, was met with a kind face, and whimpered, “I can’t call them.”

The man smiled sympathetically. “I’m sure you won’t get into too much trouble. Maybe a little, but it’s for the best to call them so we can get you home soon.”

Mabel shook her head and squeezed her stinging eyes shut. “They’re… not around.”

The man’s face dropped as Mabel scrubbed at her eyes. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”

Mabel only replied with a sniff and she sipped her hot chocolate.

“Is there someone I can call for you?” The man asked. “I’m sure there’s someone out there worried about you.”

Mabel bit her lip. “M-My brother… He’s still out there…”

“Is he lost, too?”

Mabel shrugged.

“Well,” The man held his cleft chin in thought. “I’m sure he’s out there looking for you. Perhaps then you should wait here until he comes here, and then we can send you to your guardian.”

“It’s just us.” Mabel muttered. “Just us.”

The man smiled. Mabel hoped he believed her brother was much older than her, or at least old enough to take care of her. That way she wasn’t really lying, just letting this man believe what he wanted to believe. Nothing wrong with that. “Okay. Still, you may stay here until he finds you.”

Mabel sniffed and wiped her nose with her sweater sleeve. “Thank you, sir.”

“Please, call me Ford.” He said and held out a hand to her.

Mabel smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Mabel.”

“Mabel, huh? That’s a beautiful name.”

“Thanks.” She looked down at their hands and her eyes widened. One, two, three, four, five, s-...

Ford pulled his hand free, his cheeks reddening as he sipped his hot chocolate, but Mabel was grinning at him happily and she gasped with joy, “You have six fingers?!”

Ford blinked at her, reminding Mabel of a startled owl, and he cleared his throat. “Um, y-yes. It’s a birth defect.”

“Nuh, huh! It’s cool! Can I see, please?” Mabel sat her mug on the floor by her feet.

The researcher didn’t like people staring at his hands, but this young girl wanted to look, it appears, in admiration, so Ford hesitantly gave her his hands and she held them lovingly, her eyes sparkling like stars.

“Wow! That’s neat! No wonder your hand shake was so friendly! It’s a whole finger friendlier than normal!” Mabel was then reminded that Dipper’s journal had a six-fingered hand on it.

The girl’s eyes widened as she wondered if she was meeting Dipper’s idol. It was possible. The journal Dipper had dated it in the 80s, and Dipper said that the author mysteriously disappeared. As exciting as it was to meet the Author of the Journals, all it did was put Mabel more at ease. If anyone can help her, he can.

Ford laughed and gave her hands a soft squeeze. “I like you! You’re weird.”

Mabel grinned, distracted from her thoughts and grateful for it. “I like you, too, Ford!”

[iloveaustinbutlerlol]

The Unmistake - Part Ten

(Wow tenth part, also i cant lie i was bored of them not being together. This is in Austin's POV i plan for every five to be in his, probably. But that will probably change just like everything else about this. Also sorry for the lazy time skips!! xx)

Two months later – Austin’s point of view

Over the last two months I had barely seen Lottie, Baz had me flying all over the place for filming. In some ways I was grateful, after the whole ordeal that was New Year’s. I was so sure I’d read her right. That there was something more between us. That she felt it too. How could I have been so wrong? All things considered, it could have been a lot worse, but still things shifted. I hadn’t been at home for more than a week and while I had to miss out on a lot of baby stuff, the space was needed. I say ‘home’ but in reality I mean Lottie’s flat; with me being so busy we still hadn’t found another flat. Was it bad to say that I didn’t really want to anymore? Or maybe that I never did?

So when Baz closed production down for a week – he was incredibly sick and so were loads of the crew- I tried to not pout when Lottie suggested we finally took the time to look for a flat. I glanced to her, her bump now noticeable with no way of hiding it, and she looked tired. I couldn’t tell her no. I was a nuisance to her and refused to be any more so. “Okay why don’t you choose three to go view, and I choose three. Then we can talk about it after.” she said. I readily agreed and booked a couple of viewings.

~~~

The first was one Lottie picked, and it was fair to say the pictures had not been of the same place. It was dark and claustrophobic but had three bedrooms. Lottie tried to convince me it was great considering the price for the area, but I couldn’t bring myself to agree. The others she picked seemed to follow the same layout, a good price, three bedrooms, but utterly horrible. As we sat down to dinner that night, she looked a bit defeated. “Aw Lottie, come on. We couldn’t live there, it needed so much work done on it and the building seemed dodgy.” She pushed her takeaway noodles around her plate. The one viewing we had that day of a flat I had picked out, she refused before we even walked into the building, saying it was “too fucking posh Aus”.  I sighed quietly. “And I told you, money is no issue, I’ll just buy whatever you want outright-““Austin!” her fork clattered on her plate. “What?” I asked in attempted nonchalance. “You’re not doing that.” I sighed again. “I know.” I said quietly. She sniffed loudly. “Aus?” I met her gaze. “Do we have to move?” She rubbed her bump gently, “I mean, I love my flat and I really don’t care about sharing a bed. Do you?” I tried not to shake my head too quickly. “So this seems like a whole lot of hassle for nothing, don’t you think? I can fit a crib in our bedroom and it’s not like even if we had a nursery the baby would sleep without us for the first couple of months.” I nodded slowly, “Yes! That’s very true. Completely fine by me, let’s just stay here for the time being.”

 Whatever God there was must have been shining down on me, she wanted to stay in her flat! I thought she might of wanted to. When we went to bed that night, Lottie fell asleep before me while I was scrolling through some emails on my phone. She sighed deeply in her sleep, and rolled closer to me. My eyebrows raised slightly. She did this again so she was snuggled into my side. I almost stopped breathing, just looking down at her peaceful face. It felt like my heart was pulling out of my body. We hadn’t even slightly snuggled in bed for months. So if this was my one opportunity for the next few months, I was going to take it. I shuffled carefully to lay down and put a gentle hand in Lottie’s soft brown hair. The feeling that overtook me is difficult to explain, I wanted to enjoy our closeness but it was tainted by her rejection. I took my hand slowly out of her hair and closed my eyes.

~~~

When I woke up the next morning, Lottie was upon my chest, fist clenched around the fabric of my tshirt, deeply asleep. I observed her with a gentle smile and relished the moment for a short while before dragging myself away to the kitchen. There was so many things I wanted to say to her but I had to just let her live. I stumbled out to the kitchen, with the intent of making her a banging breakfast, when she loudly called my name from the bedroom. “Austin!” I must have woke her. My head shot around and she came hurriedly out of the bedroom. “Lottie? What’s wrong?” She dismissed me with her hand. “Oh nothing, nothing’s wrong.” She was slightly breathless. “Are you sure?” I questioned. “Oh I’m sure. But Austin there’s something I want to say-“ her voice trailed off quickly. She came towards me, so we stood face to face and took my arm. I looked down to her. “It’s just about New Year’s.” I felt my cheeks flame. “Yeah- I’m really sorry about th-“ She cut in, “No, no stop being silly. Let me just explain.” She rushed over her words, and I frowned in confusion. “I just- I just wanted to let you know, like, that I didn’t- well I didn’t mean- I didn’t mean to Austin. I didn’t mean it.” She didn’t mean it? Mean to reject me? “And I’ve been meaning to say for ages now but the timings always off or you’re not here off on some work do and you know it was just a bit tricky. And I understand if you don’t still feel the same as you did then but I just-“ My smile grew the whole time. I knew it. I hadn’t been wrong. So why had she swerved me? Oh who gives two, I thought.

Then I kissed her. I was literally shaking. Shaking as I kissed Lottie Green in the living room of her flat while she was months pregnant with our baby. And the best part about it was she kissed me back, and certainly not half-heartedly. When she pulled back, I couldn’t contain my smiling, as I looked her she blushed modestly. I had never felt something so deep with anyone, and I must have been looking at her like she’d hung the moon and stars in the sky, because in my eyes, she really had. All the confusion and frustration, overcome with one rambling speech. I felt like a giddy fucking teenager who had just found out their crush liked them back. I kissed her excitedly again, and when she kissed me back again I think my heart had palpitations. She giggled into the kiss, “Aus.” “Lottie.” She smiled brightly. I picked her up and took her back to the bedroom. Women could have sex while pregnant right?

~~~

That day had to have been one of the best of my life. We went til we couldn’t go anymore and laughed and kissed inbetween. Really like a pair of teenagers. When we finally went back out to the kitchen about midday, absolutely starving, I made carbonara and we ate two tons of pasta. I kissed Lottie as many times as I could while cooking and tried to push the nagging thought of what this now made us. Having a baby together? Living together? But only kissing properly for the first time a few hours ago? Everything was backwards but in that moment, I didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted to care for her and our coming child. “We should throw a gender reveal party.” I said. “I thought we were just waiting til the baby was born.” Lottie replied. “Well ultimately its up to you, but I don’t want to wait any longer to know. Do you?” Lottie laughed and my heart raced. “No I guess I don’t.” I positively beamed. “So it’s a deal? You want to do it?” “Yes I’m up for it, but only if you plan it all. I’m trying to finish up some projects at work before my maternity leave.” “You should just quit.” I said plainly. “Austin!” she scolded. “What? I remember the conversation we had in the café a few months ago. You said your job was boring and you didn’t really like it.” Lottie made a small noise of disagreement, but only that so I continued. “You’re more than five months pregnant, surely you don’t want to be trailing into London everyday on the godforsaken tube, probably getting pushed and pulled about in ways I cant bear to think of, to go to a job you aren’t really passionate about.” Lottie’s silence showed agreement. “Just do it, babe. I’ve got it.” She looked at me intently. “I’ve got everything.” A beat. “Maybe I’ll consider not going back after maternity leave.” She said. I tried to hide my smile in my carbonara. “I said maybe,” she scolded half-heartedly. “Yeah, maybe.” I teased.  

(Previous part: https://at.tumblr.com/iloveaustinbutlerlol/the-unmistake-part-nine/85ro8xxu2qgl)

[hoaqins-funk-house]

Springtrap

Yandere

Male Reader

Part 1

Sitting in the black swivel chair, you spin once or twice before coming to a stop, grimacing at the feeling of sticky floors beneath your shoes. This place is brand new, how the hell are the floors sticky? 

Actually, on that note, how is everything so covered in dust?

Sighing, your mindless fidgeting comes to a stop as the phone, just as dinky as the walls around you, begins to ring. You pick it up but put it back on the table, eyes drifting to the laptop and swing-out tablet. When you flip the former open, you note the four buttons, each relating to something you would have to reset when it comes time to. The latter has cameras that are scattered around, including a separate tab for vents. There’s an option to block off vents, which sends a chill up your spine as you glance to the big ass one at your side.

You decide to block that one off for now.

Humming, you familiarize yourself with the layout of the place, deciding to ignore the shadows that crept through your vision.

Your unenthused eyes scan and take in everything. The replicas (you had seen the originals, and they were permanently stained with both the smell and color of pizza sauce and lawsuits) that were in and around the office, as well as the little bobbleheads that sat on your desk of the animatronics, which were, for some reason, human? You boop the one who you assume to be Freddy, hearing the familiar squeak. 

A small smile comes to your lips.

It was at this time that you realized you had completely ignored the man on the phone, but you couldn't really bring yourself to care. 

The little drawings that were put up were authentic; not just anyone could recreate what a child's mind spits out and decides to draw. 

That Freddy looks a bit fucked up.

The posters were cutely designed, and after getting the gist of what everything was and how everything works, you were on your phone the rest of the night.

When six strikes, you casually leave, giving the building a quick once over as you leave the doors, locking them behind you.

If every night is going to be like that, this is going to get boring.

-

He’s stuck.

This suit traps him like a rabid dog, eager to stay gripped onto his neck.

Still, things would be changing soon.

He can feel it.

He can feel it as a fresh breeze, the first in many years, hits his nostrils, sending a wave of euphoria through his system. The bloodied musk that hung in the dank room was not a pleasant one.

He can feel it as his body accepts this new host, more and more, until soon, quite soon, he will become one with his vessel. 

Just as the animatronics before him did.

He ponders. 

Why was he being freed from this prison of his own design?

Is he being taken somewhere?

…

Will there be a night guard to terrorize?

A grin takes to his broken lips as he ignores the pain and blood that comes from them. Oh, a night guard! Truly, that will be a sight!

He can't wait. 

For now, however, he must play dead.

My, that voice that shouts with excitement from behind him…

It sounds so familiar.

"Bring the truck around!" He calls. "I found one, a real one! It's got the rips, the weird colors, and what I am going to assume is pizza sauce! Ohohoh man, I hit the jackpot with this one! Fazbear's Fright needed something, and here it is!" 

His congratulatory tone made the man within the suit want to throw up. Finding him was nothing to be happy about; he is despicable, incapable of redemption, and an awful being. 

And you know what? 

That's just the way he likes it.

So to have someone happy to find him, especially for their own purposes?

He won't let it stand. 

Yeah, if this place has a nightguard, he'll kill them without mercy before burning the entire thing to the ground.

Might as well make it fun for himself.

As light peeks through, clearly originating from a flashlight, he feels his pupils shrink, resisting the urge to let out a groan as his weak eyes ache from their decades of being in the dark.

"Whoahoh! This one looks gnarly!" The same man as before speaks, probably referencing the organs and tendons that were showing. "C'mon, let's get it up!"

His grin only grows as two people lift him onto a dolly, beginning the move.

Goodbye, saferoom.

And hello, Fazbear's Fright.

-

Humming, you walk into the building, skimming over the decorations once more before noticing something.

The papers that had fallen onto the ground from before, they had dirt on them. Not surprising on its own, but when they were in the shape of tire tracks? 

You decide to follow them, using your memory of the cameras to guide you through the building, which was already rather linear anyway.

Entering the last area, you could see a rather dilapidated animatronic suit, with organs visible and its fur matted with blood. Real blood. The old Springbonnie suit was nearly green from how old and dirty it was.

Your eyebrows raise. "Is that guy just stupid or did he knowingly bring in a suit that has a dead body in it?"

Honestly, you didn't care. "Eh, whatever. It'll probably start moving when I start my shift… I've heard those rumors about the other locations." You turn, stretching, unaware of the eyes that followed you or the head that turned your way.

Damn, does he want to kill this one?

Well, he can think it over more soon. After the merge.

He grins again, feeling his uneven, gouged skin begin to flare with pain.

You exit the room fully, making your way back to the office with all the urgency of an ADHD-riddled person doing laundry.

Which is to say… not much.

You fall into the chair, cursing as the thin mesh cushion does nothing to protect your tailbone from the metal frame of the chair. The phone rings not a moment later, you picking it up and laying it on the table again, eager to ignore it just as you had done before. You stretch again, arms raising above your head as you begin to flip through cameras, finding the rabbit in the same spot it was in before. 

You yawn.

Hopefully it starts moving soon, or else the entire reason you took this job would be unfulfilled. 

You were bored, and you remembered this place from the times you had gone with your younger brother, who was now in his early twenties. You, however, were 28 years of age, with nothing better to do than 'investigate' the Fazbear's Fright that opened up. Still, if that rabbit has a corpse in it, it should make things more fun.

As you lazily flip through your cameras, you set it down and look to the side, seeing a rather dirty looking man with an eyepatch and fox ears. To his confusion, before he could lunge at you, you reach out and swipe a hand through his chest. You continue to swipe forwards and backwards, the incorporeal man stuck standing there until you leaned back.

"So, you're a ghost."

His mouth opens as if to retort, but he just gives up and leaps at you, you not even looking at him anymore. He closes his mouth halfway through the jump, and with an unsatisfied sigh, he disappears.

You continue flipping through the cameras, checking in on the rabbit a couple of times before shoving the tablet out of the way, opening the laptop to have it ready and sitting back in your chair.

You glance towards a shifting figure in front of the window, the hat and bear ears telling of who it is. He limps along, eventually falling beneath your view before seemingly phasing through the wall and leaping at you. You stare passively as he does so, him not completing the jump to instead stand in front of you, confused. 

For shits and giggles, you wave your hand through his chest once or twice.

"Why… aren't you… scared?" He croaks, voice ruined from years of no use.

"Oh, was I supposed to be scared?" You genuinely ask. "Uh, sorry. If you do it again I promise I'll hyperventilate."

"Don't try to… lessen your survival chances…"

"Okay. My bad." 

He sighs, and after annoyedly rubbing his face, he disappears.

You flip out your cameras once more, finding the screen obscured by static and a small error in the center. Lazily, you reset cams.

When your screen clears, you check the rabbit. He looks… strange. Like his body is evolving in front of your eyes. 

To be honest, you don't give enough of a shit to watch a potentially world-changing discovery if it looks that gross. You aren't paid enough to, anyway.

At this pay grade, you even coming into the damn building is volunteer work.

You check your phone for the time, seeing a cool time of one in the morning. 

"Aside from that science experiment gone wrong happening in the back room, it's still really damn boring."

However, it's still not boring enough to watch that transformation or whatever. That corpse (well, at this point, you kinda doubt it's dead) can do whatever the hell he wants with that suit. It's his body, not your business.

After another fifteen minutes of staring at a wall, you check the cameras to the sound of loud clicks and pops, now seeing a heavily scarred man with 1.5 rabbit ears in place of the suit. He takes one step out from his original spot, body heaving forward before he lifts himself up, looking up at the camera with a grin.

"Huh. That's new." You say, watching him jolt forward, continuing to take steps before relearning how to walk smoothly.

It only takes him a moment to rocket off.

"I doubt that's good." You mumble, beginning to flip through the cameras to follow him before playing a sound in the room behind him, making him pause. He turns, walking back with a confused expression.

Continuing to flip through cameras, you watch as the man, who you'll dub Rabbit Guy, wanders, seemingly having lost his focus. Hearing a sound to your left, you pay no heed to whoever it is, instead waggling your hand in what you would assume to be their torso.

"You're strange…" They say.

"Uh-huh. If you'd excuse me, I am currently working on keeping Rabbit Guy the hell away from me." Your voice is monotonous but sincere; you aren't trying to be sarcastic or mean, just trying to tell them the facts.

Glancing to the side, you see that it was a child, so you were waving your hand in his collar. "Oh, my bad. Does that… make you guys uncomfortable?" You ask, retracting your hand.

"No, we can't feel it." 

"Huh." You blandly respond, playing the sounds to lead Rabbit Guy back to where he started, before resetting sounds as you weren't able to play them anymore.

It seems like Rabbit Guy is getting progressively more and more annoyed at being led back, if his attempts to move fast enough to avoid the sounds or block out his ears meant anything. 

His body was responding to the sounds, not him.

It was then that he disappeared, so you check vents, finding him in one that led directly to the room beside your office.

You block it off, much to his annoyance, before yawning and sitting back as any thumps you hear from inside the vents come to a stop. 

You find him standing in the room where he had entered the vent, irritated as he glares at the camera. Preemptively, you reset all, thankfully right as cams and sound go out. 

Sighing, you lazily check through cameras, brows slightly furrowing as you look for him. He was completely gone, not in vents or in rooms. It really is unfortunate how many blind spots and shadowed areas there are.

When you hear the thumping of the vents, you search through them, only finding a stupid knick-knack laying on its side halfway in your sight.

Looking to your side, you peek into the vent, leaning down to see if anything was there. Your gaze meets Rabbit Guy's. 

"Shit." You say, quickly switching cams over to this one and holding down the seal button. 

Your eyes shift back to him, finding him way too close for comfort. As you lift your finger to let the gate close on the vent, the man (who was crouch walking) catches it, forcing it back up. You hear something grind that definitely shouldn't be grinding, and you have a feeling that that vent cover just might be broken.

Getting out of the vent, he stands over you, waiting for some sort of plea or… literally any response at all.

"So, you, uh… come here often?" You ask, leaving him genuinely at a loss. 

"Wh- was that a pickup line?" His rough, baritone voice catches you slightly off-guard. 

You weren't expecting something that was pretty much a zombie to have such a good voice, or a slight british accent for that matter. "Was it? Shit, more people've flirted with me than I thought."

"Really? That's all you can come up with before your death? I'd hate for those to be your final words." He lightly teases, leaning against the wall with a mean grin. 

You look up at the ceiling with a vague smile, his eyes widening momentarily. "To be honest, of any place to die, I'd much rather have it be in a place where I know I'll reach the front pages than in some random alley."

His grin falls into a frown as he watches you turn to him, the smile still on your face. It feels strange.

He feels strange. 

Why does a random night guard make him feel so…

So… comfortable?

You were calm, collected, not making any sudden moves or even attempting to exit the chair. Theoretically, the perfect prey, but not a satisfying kill. 

If he even wants to kill you, that is.

“What’s your name?” He asks, watching as you spin to face him in your chair. You would be taller if you stood, but he would still have a few inches on you.

“Y/N. You?” 

“I’m… William. Or, rather, I was, when I was well and truly human.”

“And now?” You ask.

“I don’t exactly have a name.”

“Can I still call you William, then? Well, if I live long enough to do so?” You ask, eyes moving up to meet his. Looking up at him like that… He wishes the hot feeling in the pit of his stomach would go away.

“...Fine.”

“I mean… are you going to kill me?” You ask, face not shifting as he glares down at you. 

“I won’t kill you on the first night, you need to give me more entertainment.” At least, that’s what he told himself.

“Oh, so we’re both here for the same reason.” You blankly say, his face contorting from a glare to confusion once more.

“You’re here… for entertainment?” He slowly asks, answered by your nod.

“I’m certainly not here for the pay. This place gives like half of minimum wage but I can’t complain about it because the other part is supposed to come from tips. Somehow.”

“How do you even live?” 

“Well, right now I’m on an paid leave due to some unfortunate deaths in my family. To be honest, I never really cared for any of them, but hey. I’ll take any chance for a break I can. Then I got bored.”

He huffs out a laugh. “So you went to another job on your break?”

“Listen, getting a month off leaves a man with little to do when capitalism has left me with no hobbies. Besides, this gives me a great excuse to continue avoiding people.”

His lips curl into an amused grin as he leans forward, lowering his head to be eye level with yours. "Well, you won't be avoiding me." He practically purrs, you averting your eyes at the tone he uses. 

Why would he say it like that?! 

His golden eyes follow you as you close the laptop's screen, enjoying your reaction. You…

He'll keep you around. 

You're entertaining and friendly. Open, and… warm.

He wonders. 

You're human, and fully alive. He's a revived corpse who merged with his vessel. You probably are very warm compared to him.

When he comes back to his senses, he notices you slowly raising out of your seat, hand outstretched towards him. 

Well, might as well take the chance.

He grabs your wrist, looking down at you unimpressed. You quietly huff, falling back into your chair and forcing him to move away from the wall in order to not dislocate your wrist.

Well, his hypothesis is correct. You are very warm. 

He feels the tightening in his gut, not wanting to let go but knowing that he will have to.

You, however, don't actually care either way. You begin your attempt again, this time with your left hand. Slowly raising out of your seat, you actually manage to stand fully up before he notices again, grabbing your other wrist. 

"What are you even trying to do?" He asks, a light sneer on his lips.

"Well... uh, I was trying to… boop your nose? If you're bonded with one of the original suits, then I figured either you or Fredbear would have the sound effect."

He lets out a few short laughs, his sneer replaced with the same amused grin as before.

"I'm afraid neither of us have the sound effect. That only came about with the second and third generations of animatronics."

You hum, interested.

His eyes quickly scan over you, taking in your form. This position, practically holding you hostage… Needless to say, he didn't dislike it.

Still, he releases you as he catches you glancing at what he assumes to be a phone. Things have advanced quite far since he was trapped. 

You turn it on quickly, checking the time. “Well, we have around an hour and a half before my shift ends, so…” Pausing, you check the time again. An hour and a half?

He steps closer, you glancing back up at him before leaning back as he leans forward, looming over you. “Tomorrow, you best make this more fun for me. I’ll greet you, but then I’ll head to the back. Try and stop me from getting in.”

“Uh, sure. Are you still planning on making the punishment for loss, uh, death?”

His eyes narrow in coordination with a widening grin. “That’s for me to know. You either figure it out, or you don’t. It all depends how well you play.” His gruff voice slightly echoes in the mostly empty building, you nodding in response. 

“Oh, cool. Can I tell my brother about you?” You ask suddenly, him quirking a brow as he stares down at you, easily at least half a foot taller than you. He was always tall, but now that he’s in this new form, he grew to be somewhere from 6’6 to 6’8. You sit down once more, exacerbating the height difference.

“Feel free to. Just know that if he ever comes around here, he won’t be alive for very long.”

“I doubt he will. He’s always preferred Foxy the most because he has taste, but-”

“Taste? For liking that liability-strewn fox? You like him as well?”

“To be honest, I never really liked any of them more than the other. I was in my emo phase when I went to see them, so it was practically illegal for me to like anything. But Foxy had sharp teeth and a wicked lookin’ hook, so… I guess I did.”

He hums, clearly slightly annoyed.

“Are you jealous that I liked the fox more than the rabbit that isn’t even the same generation as you?”

“I really should kill you.” His irritated expression shows the truth to your statement.

“It’s okay, I’m willing to call Springbonnie my favorite.”

Now, William was confused. Your tone… you weren’t joking. You were being genuine about something as stupid as this? What is with you?

“You’re very confusing. I think you joke, and then I listen to your tone and you’re genuine. But still, I wouldn’t mind if you did so.”

“It’s not nearly as confusing as how time passes in this place. It’s been like ten minutes since I met you but the clock says like three or four hours have passed.”

“What? Really?” His brows furrow as he steps closer, finding another excuse to close the distance between you both as he leans over the chair, seeing you pointing to the screen. “How strange…”

“Yeah. It doesn’t seem like tomorrow’s hunt will last for six hours, then. Thankfully.” You sigh.

“What, do you not want to feel like my prey for six hours straight?” He grins, leaning over further until his arm rests on your shoulder.

You shiver. “Why do you have to say it like that?”

“Because it makes you react, obviously. It’s entertaining to watch you squirm from something as simple as... the tone of my voice.” Of course, in order to prove his point, he does exactly what he did before, lowering his voice a few pitches and upping the growliness of it.

In covering your eyes, you also cover your cheeks, which have gained a slight flush. “William, I am begging you. Please, please, please, stop talking like that.”

And, naturally progressing, he was left somewhat stunned by the sound of your pleading tone. There’s just something about it, especially as you say his name, that makes him want to…

...makes him want to chase, and capture, and possess forever.

You as his prized prey, and him as the hunter.

“I’ll use it when necessary.” He vaguely answers, watching your head droop.

“I’ll take what I can get.” You concede breathily. 

He chuckles, hearing the chime of a bell, signifying 6 in the morning. "Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then. Don't keep me waiting."

"Asshole. I won't." You turn your head away from him, hiding the flush on your face, and stand up, stretching. "See ya, William."

He hums, eyes tracing your form as you stretch. It was a nice view, watching the button up shirt crease around your back as you stretch, clearly hinting at the muscle beneath. His eyes did drift lower once or twice, and that's how he figures out that damn, you have a really nice ass!

You begin to walk out, and he follows you with his eyes, watching you turn past the replica Freddy husk and unlock the door, exiting into the fresh morning. His eyelids droop, gaze slipping up as his lips curl into a wide grin.

“Y/N… I won’t kill you. Especially not when I’m presented with such an ample opportunity to make this into something so entertaining.” 

Well…

Is that the only reason?

Of course, he knows it isn’t.

His grin falls, leaving him coldly leering at the aged panels above him before his sight shifts back to the room around him. As he exits the office, he glances at the stained and shaded glass of the door, not allowing much, if any, light in. He turns away, heading back to where he was originally.

As he walks, he lets his form shift, feeling his body grow to his previous monster rabbit self, the creaks of his metal joints loud in the silent building. 

He ignores any shadows that creep in the edges of his vision, the specters traversing without sound. 

“This is going to be… boring.” His voice, far rougher than before, comes out unfeeling and croaky. As he returns to his previous position, slouching over once more, he decides to use his old tactic to pass time; inflicting enough pain on himself to fall unconscious. It doesn’t matter if his dreams are infested with darkness, nor how much he suffers in them. 

It was better than the boredom of sitting in one position with an unchanging environment.

He begins forcing his muscles to flex and strain within the suit and pull against the beams they have welded to, making him grit his teeth before the searing pain fades away, along with his vision.

Goodnight, Y/N.

-

“Yo.” You greet your brother, the man tiredly yawning as he ruffles his hair.

“Heya, Y/N. What’re you up so early for?” 

“Well, I got bored and got a night shift job at this dinky little horror attraction opening up next week. I decided to tell you about what happened there before I head off to sleep.”

“You got bored during a break from your job so you… got another job?”

“Y’know, William said the same thing.” You say, your brother narrowing his eyes at you.

“A coworker?” He asks. 

“Eh, not quite… he is the reason I stayed up to talk to you, though.”

He hums, walking around the couch you were splayed on with your shirt half unbuttoned. 

“So, to begin my tale, you remember Freddy’s? The pizzeria with the animatronics?” You question.

“Yeah?”

“Well the horror place I went to is based off of that; it’s filled with replicas and a few actual things from the pizzerias of the past, but something came in tonight that was… different.”

“Which was?”

“An animatronic. One of the originals, Springbonnie. Granted, the suit was ripped to shit and covered in enough dirt to be green, but it was authentic. It even has the dead body! Well - not so dead body, but still visible.”

“Did you call the cops?” He asks, worried.

“Hell no! I’m not paid enough to give a shit about what could-or-could-not-be a dead body. Either way, he transformed into a human, which was rather odd, but-”

“Just to be clear, this rabbit had a dead body inside and transformed into a human, and you don’t question it?”

“No. Continuing on, he got into my office and then we talked for a bit, I learned that his name is William, time passed really weirdly, and then we struck a deal where I have to keep him out of my office or I'll maybe die.”

“You’re still going back there?! And ‘maybe die?!’”

“Yeah, he said the knowledge about whether or not I die from losing the hunt was ‘for him to know.’ I didn’t question it further.” 

“You know, Y/N, sometimes it feels like I’m the older sibling. You’re fucking stupid.”

“I’m well aware.”

He leans over the couch, glaring down at you. “Then wisen up and quit that damn job.”

“I’m good. William is good company.”

“He threatened to kill you!”

“And? He hasn’t. Yet.”

“You infuriate me, gayboy.” He says, stepping away from the couch.

“Cool. I’ll sleep here for now, when you get back from work I’ll definitely be up.”

“Whatever.” He waves his hand at you, ignoring the middle finger pointing his direction from behind the couch’s back.

---

Part 2

also a lot of the stuff i write from now on may be male reader inserts lol

heres my springtrap design

here's the updated design lol

[visenyavires]

Bleed Not For Death, But For Love

Chapter 2: My First Day

I had spent the remainder of my day after my interaction with Lady Dimitrescu exploring the castle grounds, making an internal map of all the rooms including the Lady’s. I came across the kitchen and found other maids cleaning up for the end of the shift. I met a beautiful Parlour Maid by the name of Elena, who helped me finish my tour after she finished her remaining tasks. After learning the layout of my new home, I returned to my room to turn in for the night when I noticed an envelope sitting below the Lady’s lipstick-stained wine glass I had “forgotten” to take to the kitchen. My breath catches as I see the house sigil pressed into the wax seal. It’s from Lady Dimitrescu.

I wondered if I had done something wrong… already. But other than not returning her wine glass just yet, I couldn’t think of anything. I lift the wine glass off the letter, pick up the aged parchment envelope, and set the glass down, my eyes glued to the deep red seal. I sit down on my chair in front of the fireplace and turn it over to see my name written in beautiful, angled cursive that seemed almost ancient. I carefully peel the wax seal off the body of the envelope, leaving it on the flap, and with a shaky hand, I pull the letter out. I take a deep breath and read the ancient cursive writing slowly:

“Dearest Y/N,

I have some tasks to train you on when dusk falls. Come to my chambers then and we shall get started with your first day. I am very precise about how I wish to have things done.

P.s. You can keep the wine glass if it pains you to part with it.

-Lady Alcina Dimitrescu”

I let out a deep sigh of relief that I’m not in trouble, but I’m also extremely anxious about meeting her first thing tonight. Could she tell I was already feeling some type of infatuation? Did she leave the glass on purpose? Maybe I will be able to tell tomorrow evening during our meeting, but as of right now, I really need to rest. I only have about 6 hours till dusk. I slip into a nightgown I bought myself on the way here. I found it in Italy, it’s made of dark red silk and black ribbon. Something drew me to it, and I could not refuse. I settle down in my bed and fall asleep to the crackling of the dim fire.

……….

I wake up a few hours before dusk to an embroidered canopy, a heavy down comforter, and soft, silk sheets, something I’ve never experienced. The fire has dimmed to embers and there’s a slight chill in the room. I don’t figure I’ll be able to fall back to sleep, so I climb out of bed, stoke the fire, and find my clothes for the day. I find my gown easily, but notice that my apron is a deep red instead of white like the other maids. I wonder if that is due to my position as the Grand Chambermaid. All my uniforms are graciously provided by the Lady of the castle, so I only had to bring a small bag of personal items. I only had a few material possessions from back home, so being in a castle with a maximalist style was very overwhelming.

I go to the kitchen quickly to find something to eat before I begin my shift and notice an older maid in her 70s or so is already preparing food. I notice she, too, is wearing a dark red apron.

“Another early riser,” she says joyfully. “It’s nice to finally have some company at this time of day.”

I give her the friendliest smile I possibly can and introduce myself. “It smells wonderful in here. My name is Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N. My name is Doina. I’m one of the head kitchen maids. If you ever need something to eat, just come see me,” she says with a sweet grin. She seems to love it here, I expect Lady Dimitrescu treats her well.

“I would actually love something to eat. I’ve got to meet our Lady in a couple of hours and I’m so nervous that I’m a bit nauseated,” I say sheepishly. Doina nods her head and walks to the stove and brings me a bowl of porridge back, and it smells lovely.

“This should settle your stomach, dear,” she says with a smile and a pat on my back. I take a few bites and instantly feel my nerves settle. I take a deep breath and smile.

“This is delicious, Doina. Just what I needed. Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome, dear. The first day is stressful for everyone,” she says with a tone of experience. I wonder if she feeds all the newcomers like this.

Curiosity begins to stir in my mind and I swallow a bite of warm porridge before I ask, “Doina, may I ask what the red aprons are for, you’re the only other one I’ve seen wearing one. I thought maybe it was just for chambermaids but I suppose not.” She sets her spatula down, turns to me, and lowers her voice.

“It’s so that they do not stain when we help her clean up.”

And with that, I knew exactly what she meant. Her role as a cook, mine as her handmaiden, it all makes sense. People told me what the Lady of the castle is when I signed up for the job, but I honestly didn’t believe them at the time. But after seeing her daughters and their ability when I arrived, I’m starting to believe it’s true.

I nodded my understanding and Doina turned back to the stove, her spatula in hand. I finished my breakfast, cleaned my dishes, and went back to my room to straighten up. I decided to pass my remaining time by walking around the castle one more time to really familiarize myself with everything so that whenever I was needed, I could provide. When I finished, I opened a door to the courtyard and noticed it was almost dusk. It’s time to meet the Lady of the castle for my first day of training, and I suddenly wish I had more of that porridge again.

……….

I’m a few minutes early when I open the door to the building where Lady Dimitrescu’s chambers are and walk up the stairs. I hear her voice and my heart begins to race. It sounds like she’s on the phone so I wait till I hear her put it down to knock on the door. I don’t even get to touch the door before I hear her say, “Come in. It’s open.” Her heightened senses impressed me, as I am not a heavy walker.

I open my palm from a knocking fist to push the cracked door open only to reveal her sitting at her vanity. She is applying a fresh coat of crimson lipstick, paying no mind that I’m even here. I lower my head in respect but glance up to watch her finish applying her lipstick. When she returns the cap to her lipstick and rubs her lips together to smooth everything out, I look back down at my feet, waiting for her to finish. I know that she is one to give commands, at least starting out. Then she would expect you to know what to do without a word coming from her mouth.

She turns towards me on her stool, a cigarette now in her hand. She flicks her lighter and the end begins to burn, so she closes the lighter, puts it to the side, closes her eyes, and takes a long drag. She holds it for a moment, then lets it out. She slowly opens her eyes and we make eye contact before she speaks.

“Did you rest well?” she asks softly, tilting her chin up slightly. I nod.

“Yes, my lady, thank you for asking,” I say with a soft smile and a head bow, only breaking away from her pools of gold for a moment. She tilts her head to the side just barely, as if figuring me out. While she’s sitting on her stool, we are at the same eye level.

“Your manners are pleasing. I’ve had many maids who wouldn’t even speak. Tell me, Y/N. Have you ever drawn a bath for someone before?” She asks with a hint of attitude as she arches a brow.

“Yes, my lady, for my parents frequently. How do you prefer your water?” I ask, maybe too boldly.

“I’m glad you asked. Follow me” she says with a grin. She puts out her cigarette and I follow her out of the chamber and down the hall. I figured she would lead me to this room at some point. We enter the Hall of Ablution, where four statues stand around a large bath of blood. Elena showed me that there are towels under a sink that is in the wall, so I figured this was part of her routine.

The Lady only wore a black robe, her raven curls put up with pins. She takes a long inhale and sighs with a smile. With her back turned to me, she looks over her shoulder and lets the robe fall. No warning. I avoid a gasp as I see her… all of her from behind. She smirks and lets out a quiet laugh as she looks away from me and walks straight into the ruby bath. She sits and is covered from the tops of her breasts down in the deep red liquid, leaving her arms to rest on the edge of the bath, and sighs with contentment. I pick up her silk robe from the ground and hold it patiently as she soaks. I expect that she wants silence and I gave her such so she can enjoy herself, but the hall soon echoes with her deep voice.

“Tell me, Draga mea,” she says in an intoxicatingly sweet Romanian accent, “why did you come all this way to be here?” I struggled to find an answer, as all I could wonder was why she was even interested.

“To get away from my family, my Lady. I always promised myself I would leave as soon as I turned 21 when my little sister turned 18 and she could leave. I didn’t want to leave her there by herself,” I stop myself as soon as I realize I’m beginning to overshare.

“And where did she go?” Lady Dimitrescu asks, seemingly interested in new stories and gossip.

“She stayed in Italy after we passed through. She found a good place to stay and was offered a job. I really hope she’s happy there,” I say with a worried smile. She nods as if it’s in approval. She looks to her side and asks, “What do you expect out of your time here?” And turns her head to look back at me, her eyes entrancing. I do my very best to give her a vague answer.

“I want a place to call home, somewhere I belong, a place I can care for, and someone I can devote my loyalty to. That’s all I’ve wanted for a very long time,” I say, attempting to add a sultry hint to my voice, but keeping a serious face. Her crimson lips spread into a small grin and she flicks her wrist towards the cabinet with the very large, red towels. I grab one and hold it out as she stands and walks to the ramp in the tub. I have to force myself not to stare as the ruby liquid drips from her ivory skin, down her hips and legs. For modesty’s sake, I cover the portion of my gaze that would be able to see her, but it seems as if she wouldn’t mind if I hadn’t. I help her wrap up, and she walks me to her bathroom in her chambers where I then run a warm bath for her.

I stand at the head of the tub after she gets in and I remove the pins from her hair. I take a golden brush off the table next to me and brush through her hair. I move slowly, and she seems to prefer that as I hear a soft sigh escape every now and then. I notice dusk is fading, so I wrap up her bath by washing her hair, back, arms, and legs. I leave her to finish while I fetch a warm, white towel.

I meet her back at her vanity where I brush through her hair again and strategically place the curlers while she talks about a meeting she has with the other Lords of the village later in the night and what she expects to be done in the meantime. I lay out her dress, necklace, hat, and gloves for the day.

“Thank you, Y/N. This was the most pleasurable “morning” I’ve had in quite some time.

“Of course, my Lady. I’m glad I was able to meet your standards. Enjoy your meeting, everything shall be prepared for you when you return.” I give a little curtsey and close the doors behind me after locking in on those enchanting, golden eyes and her scarlet grin one last time.

……….

I go about the duties Lady Dimitrescu gave me for the remainder of the night, cleaning her chambers, preparing her nightwear, cleaning her bathroom, making sure everything is in its home. After all my tasks are done, I go back into the kitchen to see Doina wrapping up for the night.

“I left you a plate, dear,” she says kindly and points to a plate of potatoes, squash, and a few pieces of chicken on the side.

“Thank you again, Doina. You’re so kind,” I say, my hungry belly already full of gratitude. Doina hangs a towel up and sits across from me and we converse about the day. I thank her again for the food, clean my dishes, and head towards my chambers to turn in for the night.

Once I close the doors to my room, I kick my shoes off and take my hair down. I sit at my own vanity and brush my hair out before I walk towards the fireplace to stoke it again. Before I reach the fireplace, I see another note with a wax Dimitrescu sigil sitting under the wine glass on my table. I didn’t notice the Lady return home, I hope everything was done to her liking.

I sit and peel the letter open once more, a repeat of last night. Once again, I read the beautiful cursive slowly:

“Draga Mea,

Come to my chambers at 7 am, don’t be late.

-Lady Alcina Dimitrescu”

It’s another chamber summons, but this time, it doesn’t sound like it’s for business… and I only have half an hour to prepare.

***** STAY TUNED, CHAPTER 3 COMING SOON!!! *****

Next: Chapter 3: Devotion, You Shall Have

Previous: Chapter 1: Welcome to Castle Dimitrescu

[soliavenne]

Between Naked Souls - 1 (Gaara x Reader R-18 Fanfiction)

Hiii, everyone! :) <3 This long fic had been my baby since early September. It took really long, but I think a part of me is in agreement that this story really needed that amount time to develop, and I'm really proud and happy of what it has resulted to. This work really means the world to me. It had exhausted me beyond measure but I have really fallen in love with it.

Warning: NSFW work ahead.

Word count: 26.6k (I know, self-control is not my best suit.)

I hope you enjoy! <3 

Cover art by yours truly. 

---

Gaara jolted awake with a choked gasp; the clawing sensation down his now hoarse throat as the strain caused by unintelligible growls for help that has been leaving his mouth for the past twenty minutes began to catch up with his dawning consciousness. He propped his elbows behind his back, his chest heaving up and down heavily as he tried to chase his breath. He continued to shift backwards until he felt the headboard press against his back in support to his weakening composure. Gaara brushed his forearms across his forehead, making him wince when he raked his fingers down his now, sweat-dampened hair. He really wasn’t able to conjure images just yet as his eyes were still adjusting to the almost pitch black darkness of his room, so he gasped in shock when he felt something touch the back of his hand, with his head automatically shooting towards the direction in which the surprising gesture came from.

“Hey…” Your voice croaked, followed by a yawn as you rubbed your knuckles against your eyes. “Gaara? Are you awake?” You slowly sat up, swinging your body towards the side of the bed to reach for the lamp above the nightstand. After turning it on, you returned your attention towards Gaara, whose chest was still heaving up and down, with his face angled towards the ceiling; eyes glued shut, skin pale and sweaty. Your blood ran cold out of panic, as his current state was unraveled to you. You quickly grabbed a fist of the blanket before throwing it out towards the floor to give him some air. The amount of concerned queries that rambled down your mouth without any sense of halting any time soon was cut short when Gaara placed his hand above yours, giving it a firm squeeze to snap you out of your agitated daze.

“Y/N,” Gaara breathed out as he was still trying to stabilize his panting. “there’s nothing to worry about...”

You leaned over towards Gaara, your knees pressed down against the mattress. You reached out for him and placed a palm against his forehead. “What do you feel, Gaara? Do you feel sick?”

“No,” Gaara let out a deep sigh as he crossed his arms against his stomach; palms sluggishly rubbing up and down his arms in hopes of calming the chills enveloping his body. “it’s just… another nightmare.”

Your eyes went soft at what you heard, and over the very sight that that was happening before you. He only had little to no time that was reserved so that he could take a proper rest, yet even that was being robbed away from him. You couldn’t help it, your stomach continued to drop in a bottomless pit of pity, as it felt like you could almost sense every fiber of fatigue and exhaustion from your lover.

Gaara doesn’t deserve any of this.

“Tsk,” Gaara groaned, as his head started to throb in pain. He pressed the pads of his index and middle finger against his opposite temples, massaging it in circles to alleviate the pulsing pain. “I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I didn’t mean to wake you up like that… I’m so sorry, my love.”

“Hey…” Your voice softened at him, as you reached out for the side of his face so that you could redirect it towards yours. “you have nothing to apologize for, okay?” You stroked his cheek as you smiled reassuringly before him. “None of this is your fault, Gaara.”

Another worn out sigh ripped from his chest. Gaara held your hand that was placed against his cheek, caressing it with his thumb before leaning his lips towards your palm to kiss it gently. “I will be alright, Y/N. You have nothing to be concerned about.”

“Well, that’s too bad… I’m kinda’ bound to be always concerned about you no matter what.” You chuckled at him, eliciting a small smile from your lover in return. You ran your fingers through his locks, a little surprised when you felt how soaking wet it was. “You’re so sweaty right now, Gaara. Let me grab some towel and water, alright?”

There was a sight of a slight pout on Gaara’s lips, his gaze anywhere but in direct contact with yours. “Stay…”

Your hand on his cheek travelled down his shoulder, and down on his hand, giving it a soft squeeze to ease him down a bit. “But you might suffer from colds if I let you go back to sleep like that, Gaara.” He seemed like he was about to speak another word, but he nodded in agreement after a minute of silence. You stood up from the bed, opening the closet and rummaging through his clothes before grabbing another pair sleeping garments for your lover; placing it on top of the mattress. Prior to walking straight towards the door, you went towards Gaara, who was now watching you from his side of the bed. You ushered his face closer towards yours by both sides of his jaw, before pressing a soft kiss on his forehead. “I won’t take long, I promise.”

“Promise?” Gaara mumbled, his soft voice feeling like he was tugging on your heartstrings.

“Yes, Gaara. I promise.” You smiled at him once again. “I will be back.”

The subtle sound of your footsteps echoed throughout the corridor as you walked towards the kitchen. Despite how dim it was, you somehow knew exactly where to walk through to get towards the switch; as it finally seems like you have already memorized the layout of Gaara’s house over the course of time you have spent inside it.

Gaara was indeed a busy man, he was the Kazekage of the village after all. He rarely comes home, as he never really found any reason to stay inside his house all by himself when he could just be doing paperwork instead inside his office. It did change, though, when the two of you had started dating one another. After a year of being together, Gaara finally invited you over to his house, and you swore that the whole vibe that it radiated off was as if his house was recently furnished, and was finally in commercial to be sold. It was spotlessly-clean, from up the ceiling, down the floor; a little monotonous and plain if you were to be honest; not entirely homey, as expected from someone who doesn’t really live much inside his own home; a decision with a much more deeper reason that you have just been recently informed of when Gaara offered you to stay with him for the meantime while you were looking for a new apartment to move in.

When you started living with Gaara, he offered you the luxury of having his bedroom to yourself, which something you disagreed wholeheartedly with. There was no way you were going to let him sleep on the couch when the two of you could fit snugly on top of his bed. The only thing that made you agreed to his proposition was when he said that he wasn’t ready to share a bed just yet; so as much as you wanted to tell him it was more than okay for you to sleep beside one another, the last thing you wanted was to put pressure on him.

It was when you woke up in the middle of the night to drink water, when you found him sitting alone in the couch in a sleepy daze, his elbows pressed on top of his thighs with his face buried into his hand. His hair was disheveled, and his breathing was labored. When you sat beside him, asking him what was wrong, the frustration and weariness in his voice was evident.

“I had a nightmare…”

According to Gaara, it seemed like he had started suffering from recurring nightmares a year after the Fourth Great Ninja War, confessing to you how he had been coping about it ever since. Gaara said that he tries to take short naps throughout the day in order to make up for little to no sleep that he gets at night. He tries to steer himself away from sleeping at the comfort of his home, because when the exhaustion catches up to him, he ends up losing control over the state of sleep, making him susceptible to another yet episode of a nightmare.

The next morning, you almost pleaded to Gaara to finally sleep beside you.

“Please, Gaara. If you were in my place, you know it yourself that you would do everything you can just so you could take care of me. We should always take care of each other no matter what.”

It honestly took a lot of convincing before you got Gaara to agree with you. He kept telling you that he didn’t want to disturb what should be a night of peaceful sleep for you, but you knew it yourself that having him beside you would not be the reason of you losing sleep, but the fact that you would always be worried sick about him. Who was he kidding? How could you even get an ounce of sleep now after knowing what he goes through at night? As much was you wanted him to give him the autonomy over his decisions, this wasn’t any matter that should be dealt alone with, and Gaara knows that himself. If you were to be the one in his place, he wouldn’t sit still about it as well.

After a minute of letting the kettle’s whistle tear through the quiet of the night, you wrapped a rug on the plastic handle before taking it off the flame. You leaned downwards to grab a small basin from the cabinet, filling half of it with cold water under the faucet before turning it off. You poured the hot water in intervals, feeling the water with your other hand now and then as you tried to bring it up to a proper temperature; the steam coming off of it feeling rather nice against your cold cheeks. You placed two bath towels over your shoulder, and just before you were about to lift the basin from the sink, you felt someone shift behind your back.

It was Gaara.

You felt his hands travel from your waist, towards on top of your stomach as he pulled you in for a backhug. “Let me carry that.” Gaara whispered into your ear before pressing a soft kiss on your cheek.

“You should be resting on the bed,” You mumbled, your voice laced with just a tiny bit of scolding. “I’m supposed to be the caretaker here, Gaara.”

Gaara smiled against your face, as he continued to plant gentle kisses upon your skin. “I will always take care of you… as much as you take care of me, even if I’m incapacitated to do so. We’ll always take of each other no matter what; that’s what you said, right?”

Your chest tightened with what you just heard, feeling a soft brush of warmth across your now probably flushed cheeks. Before you knew it, Gaara was already walking back towards the bathroom with the basin at hand, leaving you a flustered mess in the kitchen.

The windows were now opened, and the moonlight bathed the bedroom in a gentle, luminous glow. Gaara sat still on the edge of the bed that was facing the window, eyes trained on the side as you stood before him. The basin was on your right side, sitting above a wooden stool, with the bath towel now soaking the warm water inside it.

“Uhm… Would you rather have me take off your clothes, or you want to do it by yourself?”

After turning on the night lamp, you saw a clearer glimpse of Gaara’s face, which was currently laced with concern. After a minute or two of wondering why, that was when you realized what he had been thinking about ever since he sat on the bed.

“You have nothing to worry about, Gaara. I don’t mind… seeing you with your clothes off.”

Gaara’s chest tightened, as his face started to get as red as his hair. He pursed his lips subtly out of embarrassment, before pulling his dampened shirt over his head, folding it neatly above his lap before placing it down the floor. Gaara stood up from the bed, before pulling his pajamas down until it pooled down his feet. You redirected your gaze towards the walls behind your lover, your lips in a slight pout as you tried to release a subtle, drawn out sigh to ease your jittering nerves.

“I’m… I’m done.” Gaara murmured, his palms pressed down against the mattress on both sides of his body, as he was now left wearing nothing but black, cotton boxers, a messy hair, and a blushing face.

You smiled nervously at him before taking a sit beside him, the mattress sinking down a little in response to the movement. You reached for the bath towel lying on the bottom of the basin, and with both hands, you squeezed the excess water out, dipping it up and down as you continued to drain it just until it was damp enough to cleanse his body off of the stickiness of his sweat. Gaara rotated himself to face you directly, so that you could have a better access to his body. You grabbed him softly by his wrist, starting by his hands. You gently rubbed both of his palms, before cleaning in between of his fingers. “Your hands are rather pretty, don’t you think? They’re so soft… and slender.”

“I never took notice of that,” Gaara mumbled in between of trying his best to meet your gaze, but failing nevertheless halfway through it. “but, uhm… thank you, Y/N.”

You smiled back at him while you were rubbing the towel from his wrist towards his arm in firm, upwards strokes, doing the same thing with the other one before returning the towel into the basin, allowing it to soak up water for a minute or two before wringing it out once again, the sound of water dripping down the basin sounding rather relaxing as it consorted the quietness of the night perfectly.

“Uchiha… Sasuke, huh?” You asked curiously, as you were now rubbing the towel on top of his left shoulder, gazing intrigued at the huge scar just a few inches below the tail of his collarbone. There was an odd, circular looking-shape at the center, its edges jagged; seemingly appearing to be the epicenter of the attack. It seemed to branch out in different directions, some of it being three to four inches in length, finalized by extensions of smaller, thinner limbs of scar. The color of it was in between oleander and umber, rather a little glossy in appearance considering how old it was.

“Hmm…” Gaara sighed with a slight, amused smile on his face; remembering that he once considered his scar as a memento of the very day he met his first friend; Uzumaki, Naruto.

“What do you think about it?”

“…About what?”

“Your scar.”

You were now scrubbing the damp cloth against his chest, and you couldn’t help but get a little nervous.

Gaara wasn’t overly buff, his muscles were rather lean and well-defined. It wasn’t the type to put an exaggerated strain on the fabric of his clothes, as Gaara himself also opts for a looser approach of garments; so you were rendered surprised when you saw how toned his upper muscles actually were; specifically his shoulders and his arms, which may have probably been a result of the years he had spent carrying that heavy, large gourd on his back.

He really was… beautiful.

Gaara has been noticing how lingering your stare was over his body for the past few minutes, and he would be lying if he said it didn’t make him self-conscious. He tries to diffuse his embarrassment by answering your questions in return. “Well… it does bear some emotional significance to me, since during that day, a lot of what took in place changed my life forever.”

You nodded back at Gaara, knowing exactly what he was talking about since this wasn’t really the first time he told you about what happened during the final round of the chunin exams.

“Appearance-wise…” Gaara sighed in thought, “I guess I myself don’t really mind it that much, but…” Gaara trailed off, as he was now trying to avert his gaze away from you once again. You didn’t want to inquire further, even though the curiosity was killing you. If there’s anything that Gaara solidified in you, that was improving your ever short-lived patience. You smiled at him before dropping the towel once again, squeezing the water out as you hummed.

“Let me clean your face now.” You shifted closer to Gaara, as the side of your knee was now brushing against his. Since you have to lean a little closer to him, you ended up unconsciously placing your warm palm on top of his naked thigh, the abrupt contact eliciting an inward gasp from Gaara; his shock not visible at all to you with how excellent he was in trying to bottle every reaction he has behind his usual, stoic face. What he couldn’t hide though was how his other hand was clenched in a tight fist, his thumb rubbing against his folded index finger in hopes of calming down his nerves.

You pressed a palm against his forehead before flipping back his fringe towards his head, revealing his tattoo. You dabbed the towel softly against his skin, wiping in between. “Your hair’s getting a little long, huh?”

“Should I cut it?” Gaara asked.

“Well, that is up to you to decide. I think you look handsome either way.” You pinched his cheek teasingly before wetting the towel once again. Gaara couldn’t help how racy his heart was at this moment; he was still not used to positive affirmations.

“Close your eyes.” You whispered under your breath. You folded the bath towel around your index and middle finger, as your grip on his thigh got a little tighter as you continued to inch closer towards him. You started around the area surrounding his eyes. “I really think you have gorgeous eyes.”

Gaara, despite being a nervous wreck that he was, found humor in what you just said; as a gentle, chortle of laughter left his mouth. “I have… what…”

“You don’t agree?” You pouted.

Gaara sensed a hint of sadness in your voice, and he could imagine you pouting right at that very second. “It’s just… it’s the first time I have received such compliment. It surprised me, my love.”

“Hmm… well, I think it really strikes a very interesting contrast, you know?” You mumbled, telling him that he can open his eyes now. You smiled even more as you saw the literal proof of your statement just now. “It might sound odd to you, but I think your eyebags bring out your pale, seafoam eyes better. You have such unique-colored eyes.” You smiled genuinely at him.  Gaara tried to avert his eyes from the eye contact you were now trying to initiate, but you wanted him to know this wasn’t small talk; you were genuine about it, every bit of it. “Gaara?”

“…Yes?” Gaara flinched a little when you held him by the side of his cheek as you ushered him to face you once again.

“You’re beautiful.” You whispered quietly as your face started to inch itself closer to his. Gaara shut his eyes closed in response, a soft sigh staying behind his nervously, zipped-tight lips when he felt the softness of your slight pucker against him. “You are so beautiful to me, Gaara.” You grinned against his lips before pressing a lingering peck once again. When you pulled back from the kiss, Gaara’s eyes barely fluttered open; with the evident blush staining his cheeks red. He was rendered speechless of it all, and you were nothing but understanding of it. You grabbed the folded, black shirt behind your back that you’ve fished out from the closet. Gaara was still not speaking, but he nodded in agreement when you told him that you were gonna put his shirt on for him.

“Thank you…” Gaara mumbled under his breath.

“You’re welcome.” You grinned brightly at him before standing up to place the basin at the corner of the room, telling Gaara along the lines of emptying it out tomorrow morning. “Oh, you go change into your pajamas now. I’ll stand here for a bit until you’re done, okay?”

Gaara didn’t answer, but you heard him shift from behind your back. You hummed a tune to yourself as you allowed him to finish getting dressed, adjusting your shirt and shorts as well so that you can now go back to sleep afterwards. When you heard a soft signal from Gaara telling you that he was done, you couldn’t help but giggle at how cute he looked like; all tucked up on his side of the bed. A few minutes after you settled yourself underneath the blanket as well, you decided to change your mind, as you opted to sit instead; with your back pressing against the headboard. You couldn’t help but notice how awfully quiet Gaara was, lying on his side and facing away from you; not moving at all, but his way of breathing tattle-taled that he was still awake.

“Gaara?”

“Hmm?”

“We can cuddle, if you’d like…”

“…”

Gaara shifted in his position, the rustling fabric ringing to your ears as he rotated himself to turn towards you. He propped his palm against the mattress before situating himself closer towards you, earning a surprised reaction from you with his choice of position; before having it transition into a soft, endearing smile.

His cheek was currently resting above your lap, the back of his head pressing against your stomach. He laid on his side, his knees folded so that his legs weren’t going to dangle down the edge of the bed. Gaara felt a little stiff and awkward as he still wasn’t entirely used to being this close and affectionate under his very own initiative - but a part of him… a part of him wanted to reach out towards you at the moment.

He yearned to feel your warmth against him tonight.

Gaara sighed, his thoughts mixing in with the undecisiveness of what kind of words should leave his mouth right now, in contrast to the other side of him wanting to open up, because the last thing he wanted was to get you worried over him. You caught up to his internal plight, his eyes fluttering open gently to meet yours as you combed your fingerpads through his hair, softly cooing to him that he didn’t have to talk about it if he didn’t want to.

Truth be told, the obvious lack of communication skills on his behalf paved way towards difficulties; it had been a root to some of the problems you two have encountered during the earlier onset of your relationship. Of course, you weren’t devoid of the responsibilities over the dilemmas as well, and you are very much aware of that. The innate awareness itself, and the perseverance to let each other know which issues that you two have that render setbacks on the relationship is what made your connection be continuously resilient. On your behalf, you finally understood that you should not take personal offense over his predisposition to stay silent; as it was already an internal struggle that he himself acknowledges, and tries his best to overcome in order to be a better partner for you.

With his heart touched over your reassuring gesture, Gaara reached out for your other hand, which was currently resting above his hip, and held it in front of his face, eyeing it lovingly while he fiddled with your digits, as if he wanted to feel every bleed of comforting warmth that poured out from your skin. Gaara pressed the back of your hand against his lips, giving it a gentle kiss before placing it above his cheek, as his thumb continued to press and massage against your palm to return the favor. “Would it be a bother if I were to ask you to your read your book to me, my love?”

A slight surprise graced your face, as this was the first time Gaara had requested something like that. “Of course not, Gaara.” You smiled softly at him. “Would you like me to get something that you like? Do you have anything in mind?”

“You don’t have to,” Gaara trailed off, followed by a soft, fleeting whisper,  “I just want to hear your voice…”

Your chest fluttered at what you heard, and you could almost feel your stomach dropping in an unfathomable happiness. You reached for the book beside the lamp on your nightstand, opening it on a certain page you were reading into earlier. You cleared your throat, a little nervous, yet also wanting to give it your best shot. Gaara’s eyes were closed once again, a hint of anticipation gracing his peaceful face. “Rest for the meantime, okay?”

And with a slight nod from Gaara, you started to read to him.

"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you−− the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.”

And he went back to meet the fox.

"Goodbye," he said.

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

"It is the time I have wasted for my rose−−" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."

"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” You repeated with a soft smile, your eyes sneaking down a glance at Gaara through the slight gap between the bottom edge of the book and your chest; his fiery, red locks reminding you of the said vibrantly-colored flower in the story. “I am responsible for my rose.”

Before you spoke another line once again, Gaara pressed his palm against the spine of the book, hooking his index and middle finger in between the partition of the pages and pulling it softly away from you. He placed the book on the side before sitting up, the faint sigh that left his mouth fanning air against your lips.

Gaara wanted to thank you, but the shock barred himself to speak even a single syllable right at that moment. He had underestimated how close his face would be, and the short space in betweeen the two of you had robbed him off of his capacity to speak as his eyes unconsciously glanced down at your lips.

He wanted to kiss you.

He wanted to kiss you so much.

…But, he stood frozen before you, his stomach and chest tightening beyond belief as he couldn’t move even an inch to close the gap that was preventing him from feeling your lips against him. He just continued to stare, taking in every line, corner and curve of your soft, glistening pout. Gaara felt his breathing gradually quicken, as he found himself leaning closer and closer to your equally, blushing face.

“Can I kiss you?” Gaara whispered under his breath, his deep, husky voice sending shivers down your spine. “Can I kiss you, my love?” Gaara nudged his face forward towards you, basking in the emanating warmth from your face.

You nodded at him, your heart racing uncontrollably beneath your chest. “You can kiss me, Gaara.”

Gaara pulled back his face away from you, his almost shaking hand holding you by the side of your cheek, a thumb sneaking in soft strokes against your lower lip. His heart fluttered at how supple it was to the touch. He closed his eyes before leaning in towards you once again, that being the last sight before you shut your eyes in return. It wasn’t too long until you felt his lips brush gently against yours; a little hesitant, yet the intimacy of it igniting his urge to feel more. Gaara inched his lips forward with a deeper pressure; as your tender pout continued to bathe his body in a calming sense of warm solace that he couldn’t get enough of.

When he pulled back from the kiss, he immediately dove his face towards the crook of your neck, his arms sliding down on both sides of your body before wrapping them around your waist; ushering you closer for a hug. His breathing was rather erratic, slow and deep. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, your hand sneaking in a soft, rub across his scalp to ease him down. “Do you want to get some sleep now, love?”

Gaara hummed vaguely in response, his tone lingering with a hint of not wanting to let go of you just yet, coinciding perfectly with the fact that he just hugged you closer towards him.

“…”

“Do you want to kiss me again?”

Gaara buried his face deeper against your warm skin.

“Yes…”

You relaxed your shoulders against the headboard, your breathing almost hitching in anticipation as Gaara pulled his face back from the curve of your neck. His eyes fell down to the side, and just before you thought he was now going to lean forward for an another kiss, Gaara nuzzled his face towards your neck once again, his hug getting a little more tighter this time.

Gaara swallowed the lump in his throat, the beat of his heart getting tighter and deeper, like he could almost feel his chest sink as every pulse got heavier and heavier. He wanted to confess that his nervousness had skyrocketed beyond reach; and he wasn’t sure he could initiate another kiss once more with his weakening resolve. His jittering nerves were getting the best of him, making him mumble soft apologies against your skin as he cuddled closer towards you.

“I can kiss you, instead… if you want to.” You whispered to his ear.

Gaara faced you once again, his eyes glassy and heavy with anticipation.

“D- do you know how to kiss,” You scratched your index finger against your cheek embarrassingly before trying to meet his nervous gaze once again. “with our mouths open? Y- you know, using our… tongue.” The last word seemed to evaporate into thin air, as Gaara’s blush grew a deeper hue. “Don’t worry,” You chuckled nervously as you tried to comfort him. “I- It’s not like I’m an expert on that or anything. I have just… read about it,” You cleared your throat. “from the books I have.”

“I’m sorry… My lack of experience…” Gaara closed his eyes with a sigh.

“Hey,” You placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “like I said, I have only read about it. I don’t know how it’ll actually be like in real life, or something…”

“You can… you can practice on me, if you’d like.”

You shot Gaara a surprised look in response to his newfound tone of voice. Despite being a flustered mess of pink and red, there was an evident determination in his face. “I want to learn about it, and I want to be able to… please you. So… if you may, as long as you’re comfortable… let me be your guest.”

You nodded at Gaara, “…Uhm, can I sit on your lap?” You mumbled softly.

With an anxious swallow and a shaky nod, Gaara piled three pillows against the headboard before laying on his back comfortably beside you. You thanked him under your breath before letting a sharp sigh of self-encouragement rip from your chest. Gaara couldn’t help but mentally curse inwardly to himself when he felt your supple body press down on him.

“Nervous?” You giggled, both asking Gaara and yourself to ease the tension just a little bit. “Our first makeout session, huh?”

Gaara gasped when you shifted your position, as inching closer towards him paved way for your crotch to grind briefly against his. He clenched his fists tight in hopes of not getting a hard on and making you uncomfortable.

“I’ll start now.”

You placed both of your hands on both sides of his cheek, giving him a soft, endearing smile of encouragement as you dove your face slowly towards him. Both of your eyes weren’t entirely closed; just enough for it to have a small peek of where both of your lips would land on. You pressed a teasing kiss upon his upper lip; pulling back a bit before brushing another peck against his lower lip this time. With a smile, you planted a full kiss on his soft pout; the pressure gradually increasing as Gaara tried his best to respond bit by bit.

“Open your mouth,” You whispered under your breath. Gaara swallowed nervously before allowing a slight gap part his lips in between. “if it feels too weird, just tell me, okay?”

“Mhm..” Gaara answered.

With your drooping eyes trained on his pucker, you inched your face forward, slowly sneaking in your tongue inside his wet cavern, eliciting a soft whimper from your lover. You ushered your body forward, as you leaned in for a deeper kiss; the teasing exploration of your tongue inside Gaara’s mouth not getting intense any time soon with how tensed he was beneath you.

You pulled back from the kiss with a soft grin on your face.

“So…” You asked shyly, “I- I guess that’s how it goes?”

Gaara hummed in thought, brushing his forearm against face as he was still processing what just happened.

There was rather an awkward silence brewing between the two of you, as Gaara’s gaze was fixed on everything but towards you. He couldn’t help it, his heart felt like it was going to somersault out of his ribcage at that very moment, and the fact that you were so close to him for the very first time was just adding fuel to the fire.

“We should get some rest,” You cooed. “There’s no rush about this, alright?”

“N- no, I-“ Gaara cleared his throat immediately, as his immediate disagreement made him blush even harder. “I can still manage, Y/N.”

“Are you sure?”

Gaara nodded in response.

With a soft smile, you ushered your face closer again, your heart beating faster and faster as you got closer to his haze-lost face. Gaara was surprised when you landed your lips upon the corner of his mouth, his confusion spiralling tighter when you started peppering pecking kisses across his cheeks. “Making out isn’t really just about open-mouthed kisses.” You whispered in between, as your other hand went to stroke the other side of his face adoringly. “There are other sensitive spots in our bodies that we can… please, like… here…” You kissed the spot below his ear, tracing the outer shell of it with slow, teasing kisses; enveloping Gaara in a shudder; which was suddenly reciprocated by your own body in return when you felt his hand travel down your spine as he loosely gripped you in place by your waist. You mapped a trail of kisses downwards once again, his grasp getting briefly tighter as your lips got lower and lower down his neck. You halted for a minute, the sensation he’s been feeling not stopping even for a bit as he still felt stimulated by your hot breathe tickling the skin of his neck. “Can I suckle on your neck?”

Gaara’s face had never felt so hot, the heat was nothing in comparison to even the hottest rays under the sun in Suna that has been reflecting over his face for years.

“Yes...” Gaara mumbled as he pressed his face against the plane of your shoulder.

You brushed a gentle pucker against your chosen spot, peppering it with endearing reassurance. Gaara shuddered once more when he felt your hand ran upwards his spine; a barely audible gasp leaking past his mouth as he felt your fingertips rake through the base of his scalp, your fingers slowly threading through his locks as you tilted his face sidewards with a soft grip. With a whispered warning, you took in the skin of his neck into your mouth, suckling on it softly and kissing it in between before sucking it once again a little harder with every try.

“Ahh, Y/N…”

…

Your heart felt like it missed a beat.

“Did I hear that right?” You whispered breathily to his ear. “Was that a moan?”

Gaara nodded bashfully in response.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yes…” Gaara mumbled under his breath. “Y- you’re so… good at this.”

“It doesn’t stop here just yet.” There was a faint smirk on your face. “There’s so much more you’ve yet to see,” You could feel Gaara’s labored breathing against you, his breathing hitching for worse when you brushed your crotch against his on purpose. “so much more you’ve yet to feel…”

“Y/N…”

“You can touch me too, if you like…” You mumbled suggestively, as you placed your hand on top of his hand that was resting upon your waist, giving it a soft brush of contact before dragging it under your shirt, the warm skin contact of his palm brushing against your bare skin making you bite your lip subtly in response.

You pulled back your face from the curve of his neck, initiating an effort to meet his shaky gaze once again. “Do you want to see me, Gaara?”

And with a nervous nod from your lover, you pulled your shirt over your head.

You reached for the clasp behind your back, unclasping it rather a little shakily as you were also nervous as well. You were kind of thankful that Gaara wasn’t there to notice how long you have been taking off the damned fabric off of you, as he was enveloped in a bashful shell of himself; with his eyes drifting towards the side out of respect.

With a satisfied sigh, you quickly placed your forearm below your chest in support before tossing the bra to the side.

“Y- you can look now…”

Gaara felt like the air he was barely breathing in was now taken away from him completely.

You quickly grabbed the discarded shirt, covering yourself in a frazzled mumble of words.

He was quiet, he was too quiet; his rapid breathing was the only response you were hearing from him and you would be lying if you said that the lack of verbal reaffirmations from him didn’t affect you at all. When Gaara caught up with how he might have made you feel, he quickly snapped back to his senses. Through his crippling bashfulness, he managed to look directly into your eyes.

…And with an adoring smile, Gaara spoke once again.

“You look so beautiful, my love.”

Gaara might be beyond a nervous wreck at this point, but so were you. He couldn’t help but coo soft apologies in reference to this thought, as he felt like all he did was sit back and let you do the work. You reassured him that it wasn’t anything like that, that it’s only natural to be high-strung at that moment since both of you had not done this before.

“Please,” Gaara said, although his voice was soft and endearing, you could still tell the deep-seated determination behind it. “if you’re comfortable with it… please, tell me how I could make you feel good.”

You tossed the shirt to the side once again.

“W- wait, let me… let me reposition myself a little bit, my love.” Gaara mumbled, as the squeeze of his hand placed on your waist got a little firmer in response to the movement. He straightened his back once more, allowing him to have a better posture; with a nod, you started to search for his other hand.

You guided his tad bit shaky hand towards your left breast, a soft sigh exiting your mouth as you felt the warm contact of his palm upon your nakedness. You tried to meet Gaara’s eyes, but a nervous tick sent him down staring intently down his directed hand as the brief eye contact with your heavy-lidded eyes sent shivers down his spine.

“Feel the weight of it first,” You mumbled. “Start slowly, allow your… fingers to wrap around the roundness of it…”

Gaara nodded studiously as he took mental notes deep into his brain. He was starting to get more comfortable around it, as the urge to please you was starting to get ahead of his tensing nerves.

“That’s it… Gradually increase the firmness of your grasp… Ahh.” You moaned softly under your breath, as Gaara’s firmer ministrations started to send jolts of pleasure down the rest of your body. Gaara felt like his breathing halted momentarily, but he knew better this time. You were now starting to feel good under his touch, and he would stop at nothing to ensure he wouldn’t keep you away from feeling that way.

“T- Touch my other breast too…”

With a swallow, Gaara followed through, repeating exactly what he had learned previously.

You tried your best to tone down your voice, but another pleasure-soaked moan ripped from your heaving chest as Gaara continued to play through his ministrations. He watched you in awe, as you stared lustfully down at your breast being toyed with by his very own hands. You knew he was starting to feel good as well, as you started to feel his protuding erection across your clothed slit.

“Wet your thumb with your tongue, Gaara.” The way you moaned his name at the very end of your sentence made him curse inwardly to himself. Gaara extended the tip of his tongue, licking the pad of his thumb diligently until it was appropriately wet. You propped your palms behind your back, placing them above Gaara knees as you arched back a little, allowing him to have a fuller view of your naked, upper body.

A budding, lustful sigh leaked past Gaara’s lips. Somehow, he did have a vague idea in regards to what was going to follow past your previous instruction, so out of instinct, Gaara rested his palm upon the side of your breast, and with a swift motion, Gaara brushed his lubricated thumb against your nipple, eliciting a sweeter moan from you.

“Not only a fast learner; you’re also quite the intuitive one, are you?” You mumbled with a smirk.

Gaara smirked back briefly, before wetting his other thumb to reflect the exact ministration on your other breast.

“Ohh, Gaara.”

Gaara flicked both of his thumbs teasingly, side to side, upon your now stiffening nub. Not depending entirely on your instruction alone anymore, Gaara went through his instinct as he rubbed the pads of his thumb in circular motions against your nipples; dragging out a drawn out, blissful mewl of his name from your lips as you started to unconsciously dig your nails against the skin of his thighs.

“Gaara, that feels so-“

Gaara’s hands went down your waist and without any foreword, he yanked you closer towards him, earning a surprised yelp from you.

“Can… can I put it in my mouth?” Gaara breathed heavily beneath you, his eyes glassy with impending lust. You raked your fingernails softly across both sides of his head, planting shivers all over his body at how stimulating it felt like for his hair to be played with like that.

“I’d love that…”

With a slight, nervous sigh, Gaara stared at your nub, a hint of curiosity pooling on his seafoam eyes. Gaara pressed a soft kiss on your left breast, his lips tiptoeing towards the other one as he kissed it just as endearingly. “You’re so… perfect, Y/N.”

Your chest and your stomach fluttered at his whispered compliments, as he continued to admire every bit of your nakedness.

“You look so beautiful, my love…”

You pressed a soft kiss against his head, as his utmost adoration continued to weaken every fiber of composure within your body… and after the lingering stare between the two of you, Gaara tightened his grip on your waist before parting his wet mouth; enveloping your nipple lovingly into his wet cavern.

Gaara shifted in his position, straightening his back better against the cushion of the pillow as the way he folded his knees towards his body elevated you a little, allowing you to tower over him even more. Gaara took back his mouth only to dive his face forward to your other teat, moaning adoringly against your naked nipple. Gaara used his forefinger and his thumb to stimulate your other nub in circles, eliciting strings of mewls from your mouth as you continued to moan his name selfishly.

“That’s so good, that feels so good,” You groaned above him, a blissful sight of you being thoroughly watched by Gaara as he shot his gaze towards your mewling stance.

Sneaking past your rational thoughts, your hips began to grind itself against his body on its own, as the pleasure of getting your tits suckled and toyed with by your eager lover’s mouth continued to stir your lust for worse. You pulled on Gaara’s hair, tilting his face upwards to face you, and with a swift motion, you initiated an open-mouthed kisses against his soft pout; your body feeling like you’re being enveloped in a feverish sensation as you continued to swirl his tongue around his mouth. “Touch me down there too…” You whispered in between your sloppy kisses as you redirected both of Gaara’s hand to fumble down your lower back, before shoving it under your shorts. The fabric was loose enough to give Gaara an ample room to massage and squeeze your backside, with the relaxing gesture passing a pleasured moan from your mouth to his. Gaara rubbed his palms across the roundness of your ass in circles before giving it a firm squeeze. The way he was touching you at the moment almost overwhelmed him to a certain point.

You shoved Gaara deeper into the pillow fort behind his back, lapping your tongue inside his mouth, eagerly intertwining it with his own; which was guided by his slight nervous attempt to kiss you back just as passionately. You smiled against Gaara, encouraging him with your soft whispers of approval in between your kisses, making his stomach flutter in a mix of slowly diminishing self-consciousness and the brewing desire to please you more.

You pressed your lips harder against him, deepening your sloppy kiss as you raked your nails through his messy, red hair; making Gaara shudder against you. You pressed your body closer against him, pinning and pinning him deeper into headboard. Dragging your lips past the corner of his lips, you planted pecking kisses towards his ear. “I’d like to… try something.” You whispered breathily, the hot air sending shivers down his spine.  

“W- what do you have in mind, my love?” Gaara asked back breathily.

“You need… stimulation down there as well, right?”

Gaara swallowed the lump in his throat with a slight, wide pair of eyes; processing exactly what you were trying to insinuate.

“I want to make you feel good too, Gaara.” You mumbled blushingly. With a coy smile, you started to grind your clothed slit across Gaara’s stiffened arousal; and the way it got harder and harder with every thrust almost sent you towards the edge.

“Do you want me to touch you down there, love?”

Gaara, although a little hesitant due to his embarrassment, nodded through his bashful stance; as he would be lying if he said that the way his cock throbbed harder beneath you wasn’t starting to feel a little touch-starved.

Gaara left a final, parting squeeze on your backside before allowing you to shift your position; as you were now sitting beside him, your palm propped upon his other thigh to support your composure. “Can I?”

Gaara nodded again with a soft agreement leaving his mouth. You hooked your fingers into the waistband of pajamas before peeling it off of him completely, leaving him in nothing but a new, dark gray boxer shorts. Despite being the one who’s pulling the reins at the moment, you were indeed just as anxious as your lover; as both of you tiptoed towards your very first sexual interaction with one another. Nevertheless, the trust that both of you had for each other made it easier to settle in comfortably under one’s touch, and as foreign as it may be, it still felt like there was a strong, innate connection that bounded you and Gaara together; an undeniable bond that envelops you and your lover in a sense of solace despite showing each other’s naked vulnerabilities.

Everything just feels like… it was meant to happen.

With Gaara’s notice, you slowly undressed him from the lone, remaining fabric that was covering his body; making you flinch in surprise when his aroused cock snapped against the spot just below his clothed navel. You couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation. You left his boxer shorts just above his knees; so that if ever he feels the need to cover himself up, he’d have no trouble looking for his clothing. Gaara couldn’t help but smile to himself warmly with your caring gesture.

You rested your palm upon it, making you gasp slightly with the contact. “Wow, it’s… hot. I mean, it’s hot to the touch... I- It’s so warm?” You stuttered confusingly.

“Y- yes… it really is like that.” Gaara stuttered back nervously with a pleasured sigh, as you used the area between your thumb and index finger to rub against his throbbing cock, the silhouette of his hardness pressing a defined outline against the skin of his lower abdomen igniting a fire of arousal in his body as he was continuously reminded of how rigid his dick was under your touch.

“Oh? It’s wet up here…” You mumbled curiously as you brushed your thumb against the tip of his cock, making Gaara moan softly as you rubbed the pad of your finger against it in circles.

“Ahh… i- it happens… when I am aroused.”

Truth be told, the way you were looking at his cock with wonder in your eyes made his cock even harder. How you looked nervous and in awe at the same time as you took in the sight of his stiffened cock made him choke on his own breath.

“Do you play with yourself?”

Gaara’s breathing hitched after hearing your question, seemingly not knowing exactly how to answer it as his shock sent his brain into a haywire. A minute or two later, he seemed to retrieve back a sense of himself, as he was now trying to conjure up an answer to satiate your curiosity.

“Before I met you… I only saw it as a way of releasing… pent up stress. B- but when I got to know you, and my affections for you started to develop more and more, I…” Gaara sighed, as his nerves started to shake him up once again. Deep inside, a possible answer did plague him as to why sharing his deepest thoughts felt so difficult; maybe it was related to the fact that he doesn’t talk about himself as much as other people tend to do. He appreciates hearing other people’s thoughts and feelings, and finds comfort that they trust him to tell him those kind of things, but for him to open up himself was still a little off to him.

It was different with you. Other people would just go off and respect Gaara’s wishes not to talk about himself, and proceed to an almost one-sided conversation with Gaara just nodding in response. You always asked him, you always wanted to know more about him, but in a way that was not laced with any ounce of condescending pressure at all. Your words were calculated enough to encourage him, not to force him. He found comfort in the slight taste of curiosity that you offered to him, and in a way, it had made him much more open in regards to his thoughts and feelings.

Despite of being a nervous wreck at the moment, and as much as how embarrassed he was to admit it to himself, Gaara wanted to continue the conversation. A part of him wanted to selfishly indulge in it. He just needed a little breathing in between to get through it.

“I found myself… thinking about you. T-  thinking a lot about you, actually…” Gaara’s heavy-lidded gaze landed upon his cock being stroked softly against his abdomen, and the way you looked so encouragingly gentle on the contrary of literally playing with his cock at the moment was almost a complex combination of funny yet sexy in his view. “We were still friends at that time, and I… I actually felt guilty about it… because I was starting to have inappropriate thoughts about you, and I just… Y/N…” Gaara moaned your name, no longer able to continue, as the way you were stimulating him at that moment and the added effort of opening up for someone as private as him rendered him speechless.

“Just sit back and relax, love.” You cooed, as you wrapped a full fist around his pulsing dick, pumping your fist up and down as you found yourself leaning your face closer and closer towards it, taking in the sight of the muscle throbbing within the hollow of your fist.

“Gaara?”

“Y- yes?”

“Do you know oral sex?”

Gaara’s eyes were wide in surprise as soon as he heard what seems to be a potential proposition you could be speaking of minutes later. A thought so alienatingly foreign, yet somehow, he had already envisioned you doing it while he jerked off his cock deep into the sleepless night of having nothing but fervent, erotic thoughts about you.

Oral sex, huh?

He had read about it, probably twenty pages into that green book that the sixth Hokage himself; Hatake, Kakashi, gave him during his diplomatic visit in Sunagakure before opening his cabinet and shoving it inside out of panic.

…But through his jittering nerves, he did pick up the book from the shelf to take it home, and the provocative imagery that the book embedded into his innocent mind as he took in sentences of nothing but pure, lustful sex, did make his trousers tight in response.

The deeper he got into the book, the more he didn’t realize that he was already stroking his cock while he laid back on the comfort of his couch, legs spread open, back pressed against the cushion sluggishly as he continued to pump his fist slowly up and down his throbbing dick, moaning your name in between the wet, skin slapping noises that ripped through the silence of his house.

In his mind, you were enthusiastically bobbing your head up and down in between his thighs.

“I am… I am aware of it.”

You gulped in response, as the sight of the tip of his cock starting to glisten more with the erupting lust from his cock ignited a hunger inside you, and with letting your instincts tore through, you wrapped your other fist in his cock, before taking in the one where your thumb is wet his pre-cum, and putting it in your mouth to taste.

“Shit.” Gaara shut his eyes closed in an exasperated arousal.

“Do you want to know how it feels?” You whispered seductively, as you placed your dominant hand once again to pump his cock up and down.

“A- are you comfortable with it?” Gaara asked with concern despite the lustful haze he was starting to get lost in.

“I am,” A small smirk made its way on your lips. “I want to… I want to wrap my mouth around it.”

“Around… what?” Gaara asked, eliciting a surprised reaction not only from you, but from himself as well.

“Around your huge, throbbing cock.” You teased, earning another yet breathy cuss from Gaara.

Just before you were about to take his throbbing member into your mouth, Gaara whispered your name softly to tug on your attention, and you were met by the utter gentleness in his eyes. Gaara tucked a stray hair behind your ear, before allowing his thumb to brush across your cheek. “You don’t have to do it… if you don’t want to… okay? You’re the one who gets to decide what you want to do, my love… You can stop anytime you want to, do not mind me at all.”

Your chest fluttered at his caring reminder. “Thank you, Gaara…” You leaned towards him, as you pressed another peck of kiss upon his lips. “Don’t forget about yourself too, alright? If you want me to stop, tell me right away, okay?”

Gaara nodded with a smile as he thanked you back softly in return. After telling him to lay down and relax, you started to trace a trail of downward kisses from his jaw, and down his sensitive neck. You peppered the plane of his collarbone with gentle pecks in between telling him how perfect he was. Gaara’s flushed face was angled towards the ceiling, his breathing a little loud and laboured as he tried to meet your gaze after telling him to look at you. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, love. Every inch of you is more than perfect to me.”

“Y/N…” A shocked, breathy gasp escaped his lips when you flicked the side of your index finger against his nipple.

“Too ticklish?” You asked gently, getting an embarrassed nod from Gaara as he tried to cover half of his face with his forearm. “That’ll be reserved for next time…” You mumbled with a smirk, making Gaara shudder as his thoughts began to run wild.

“I- I didn’t say I didn’t like it… I was just-“ Gaara parted his thighs apart, the ample space it resulted to allowing you to rest down on your breasts and stomach comfortably.  I- uhm, is your position comfortable? Don’t hesitate to tell me if you need a pillow, or if you want me to… uh change my position...” He mumbled caringly. You nodded at him, reassuring your anxious lover that everything’s fine at the moment, there was no need to worry.

“Ready?” You asked with a slight, coy smile on your face, as you eyed the sopping wet tip of his cock while you sluggishly pumped your fist up and down his shaft. With a breathy moan alongside a nod from Gaara, you started to get down on your business.

You extended the tip of your tongue, pressing it flat against the underside; dragging your tongue back and forth before encircling it around the circumference of his pink, sensitive tip. Your fist remained as a slight grip around the base of his cock, with your index finger and thumb wrapping a loose, jerking off motion so that he doesn’t get too overwhelmed right away. As the encircling stimulation of your tongue got lower and lower, that was when you decided to take in the whole, pulsing tip into your wet mouth; earning another breathy gasp of your name from Gaara.

You allowed the soft, innerside of your pout to envelop the tip in a gradually tightening massage, sneaking your tongue in between the slight, back and forth motions of your head. Your attention was caught by the sound of rustling fabric, with your eyes falling down on to the side; only to see Gaara’s knuckles turning white as he placed a tight grip on the sheets in response to the bliss you were serving him. With the free hand that was resting above his thigh at the moment, you reached for his hand, brushing your palm above the back of it before intertwining your fingers in between his digits, pulling it over to rest it above his thighs as you placed your palm flat down above it.

His lower lip gradually dropped down in anticipation, as he locked his eyes upon the sight of your face, slowly taking in his arousal deep into your wet mouth. He gasped even louder when you didn’t bother stopping midway, as you went on to take whole length of his cock deeper and deeper into you, only halting when a loud, gagging sound ripped through the dead silence of the bedroom. You allowed yourself to choke around his dick once, twice, before releasing it with a lustful pop right before Gaara’s eyes, the teasing hint of euphoria of your airway being cut off making you mewl his name dirtily as you tried your best to chase your breath. Gaara’s whole body bathed itself in prortruding goosebumps, a reaction you saw yourself after seeing his thighs covered with the said bodily reaction.

Just before Gaara gets to speak a query of concern, you fixed your hair out of the way before diving his cock right into your mouth once again; as you have now decided to put an end in your teasing touch. You gripped the tip of his cock around the inner swell of your pout in place as you pumped your fist up and down the body of his dick; allowing your face to gradually dip downwards, your mouth slowly taking in more areas to suck and lick on while the rest of what’s yet to follow was still stimulated by the hollow of your fist.

“Y/N… w-what are you doing… ahh…” Gaara moaned helplessly before you as the increasing bliss continued to send jolts of euphoria down the rest of his body. “That feels… so good…” He felt so embarrassed to be mewling like this, but what you were doing with him at the moment, toying on his cock expertly just had him crumbling apart desperately under your touch. Gaara hastily sat up from having his back leaning against the pillows, with his palms now propped flat against the mattress on opposites sides of his body in hopes of supporting his diminishing composure. He shut his eyes closed, but a part of him wanted to take a peek on the real life counterpart itself of what he has been lewdly jerking off to for months. There were so many aspects of such acts that no amount of heavily-vivid imagination could ever come close, details that he took in carefully and mindfully.

Apart from the mind-wrecking sensation itself of having his cock be sucked off by his beloved, the consorting sounds it bears alongside with aroused him beyond anything. The way you breathed out helplessly as you release his cock with a pop, looking up to him with gently-innocent, yet ironically lustful eyes as if you were silently asking for further reaffirmation to settle down that you were making him feel good just drives him towards the edge. The sound of spit, rub, slurp and choke; the raw sound of wet-slapping skin as you jerked his rock hard cock before your flushed, glistening face, only to swallow his dick whole once again robbed him off of the capacity to communicate.

“I don’t think I-“ An uncontrolled moan interjected at his crippling ability to speak, as the established pace of your head bobbing up and down his sopping wet member started to tighten his lower abdomen in a familiar, addicting sensation. This was it, this was the feeling that he finds himself losing even the slightest ounce of rational thought. He folded up his thigh while the other remain rested upon the mattress. You frantically searched for his hand, placing it above your head and instructing him to lock his fingers in your hair. Gaara didn’t want to inflict pain on you, so he wrapped a loose fist of your locks, his fingerpads sneaking in to rub against your scalp in hopes of returning the smallest amount of favor in contrast to what you were doing with his cock at the moment.

He finds himself shuddering even more, as the wet, gulping sounds of your mouth coming down on his dick up and down continued to get louder and desperate with every down and upwards thrust. With a nervous swallow, Gaara tried to look down at you; and a barely audible cuss left his salivating mouth.

The increasing knot of impending orgasm in Gaara’s lower abdomen started to get tighter and tighter; his body jerking out of shock when you slyly brushed a thumb across his nipple once again. You stared at him back, giving him a sly wink before focusing on the task at hand once again. As you felt your jaw starting to get sore, you pulled his cock out of your mouth; jerking him off with your now, sloppy wet fist as you pressed his now overly sensitive tip against your tongue. Gaara’s chest was now heaving up and down desperately, his face angled towards the ceiling as his mouth gaped in utter, pure bliss. He looked back at you once again, and despite his blurring, lusftul gaze being blocked by strays of his messy, red hair, he saw how you arched your back, with your body now bending over erotically before his feasting eyes; and before any word of warning could have ever leave his panting mouth, you felt the tip of his cock pulse uncontrollably against your wet tongue; only to be followed by streaks of hot, thick cum jolting out of his convulsing arousal.

Your eyes widened in shock, as you look up towards Gaara whose face was contorted in what seemed to be nothing but raw and primal look of euphoria upon his flushed, open-mouthed face; an interjecting moan of bliss ripped from his heaving, sweating chest as his body convulsed against you. Gaara tried to pull away out of embarrassment, and the said gesture had only resulted to his what remains of his cum being milked down by his drawn out throbbing orgasm to paint a streak across your cheek; making you widen your eyes even more as Gaara continued to cum all over your face and your hair. Out of an instinctive flight response, Gaara quickly grabbed the pillow behind him, covered his face with it, and slumped down his back on the mattress.

As surprised as you were; the blur of Gaara’s muffled curses and heavy breathing against the pillow started to ring clearer towards your ears; his bashful response making you chuckle in return. You squeezed yourself beside Gaara, sneaking your hand underneath the pillow he had been covering himself up before hugging him from his side; your thigh placed above his as you relaxed your face against the supple pillow. “Are you okay?”

“…”

Gaara couldn’t still bring himself to talk, but with a soft, “I’ll be back.” He placed the pillow gently beneath your thigh in replacement of his as he stood up from the bed, yanking his boxer shorts upwards before confusingly walking outside the room. You wanted to ask him if he was okay, but he was so panickingly quick that even before you get to a speak a single syllable, he has already bolted outside the door.

“So that’s what it tasted like…” You thought to yourself, as a feverish flush painted your cheeks warm; your stomach coiling bashfully as your buried your face deep into the pillow. You weren’t going to lie, giving Gaara his very first blowjob was something you have been thinking about before. The thought itself alone was fervently erotic, but the literal act itself that just took place earlier was beyond anything your mind could have ever muster. How he moaned your name breathily as you slurped his cock into your mouth sent you addiciting shivers down your spine.

You snaked a palm down your stomach, your curious fingers inching and inching closer towards your arousal; you sneaked your digits underneath the constricting fabric of your shorts and your underwear; and you cussed inwardly as your fingerpads were met by how sopping wet your slick was. You hooked your thumbs into the waistband of your shorts before lifting your ass from the mattress and swiftly discarding the said article of clothing off of you and tossing it on the floor.

Fuck, sucking your lover’s cock was indeed arousing.

Just after cleaning your face off of Gaara’s cum with your discarded shirt, Gaara entered the bedroom once again, both his hands busy as he carried a glass of water and a dessert plate on the other hand… containing a slice of… cake?

Gaara awkwardly tiptoed his way towards the bed. He placed the glass and the plate on top of the nightstand, his gaze and smile endearing yet still so… shaky. A soft creak of the bed responded as he sat on the edge of the mattress, facing you directly while you were now leaning your back against the headboard, your upper naked body covered up by the soft, fluffy pillow. Gaara placed his palm on top of your hand that was resting on your lap, his thumb giving an encircling rub. "I… uhm… I got you something.” Gaara mumbled under his breath. “I- I know that the taste of semen isn’t entirely too pleasing as I have tasted mine b- before-“ He almost choked on the last word of his sentence as he realized what he just said, making him whisper an almost inaudible “what am I saying?” to himself as he rubbed both of palms against his cheeks out of frustration.

Choosing not to inquire further to spare him the additional embarrassment, you chuckled to yourself as you reached out for the glass of water, drinking it halfway through before returning it on top of the nightstand once again; letting a satisfied sigh rip from your chest after the chill rehydration. “Thank you so much, Gaara. This was very nice of you.”

You leaned your body towards the nightstand, allowing Gaara to see the naked, graceful curve of your back as you unintentionally bent over before him, as you only wanted to have a bite or two of the cake; the decadence yet the muted sweetness of it rolling nicely upon your tongue. You sliced the fork into the dessert, placing a cupping palm below it in case it falls as you shuffled your way through the bed; facing Gaara once again.

“Have a bite, too.” You smiled softly at him.

Gaara’s blush grew a deeper hue, his eyes falling down to the side as he opened his mouth slightly to take in the slice of cake into his mouth. He chewed slowly as you watched him curiously while you took another sip of water before handing it to him so he could cleanse his palate as well; earning a soft worded gratitude from him.

You folded your thighs towards your chest, leaning your chin down against your forearms that was resting above your knees as you continued to gaze at him, and Gaara couldn’t help but be even more fidgety under your stare. “Gaara?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay?”

Gaara sighed before nodding slowly in response. “Yes… yes, I am. I’m really sorry… I’m just flustered.”

“Really? Why?” You inquired gently.

“It’s… it’s my first time. A- and I know that it’s your first time too… It’s just… it felt so good.” Gaara trailed off, as he gathered his scrambled thoughts with a sigh. “I’m sorry, I’m just worried that I’m going to end up doing something wrong, or in my case at the moment… I already did something wrong… I’m really sorry, my love.”

“Gaara…”

This time, you held his hand, tugging on his attention as his quivering stare tried to meet your eyes once again. Your eyes were full of warmth, a very inviting sense of care that he couldn’t help but be drawn to; and before he even realizes it, he has already pressed a soft kiss against your forehead. He closed his eyes, savoring the emotions he was bathing himself as he continued to display such adoring act that you utmostly deserved.  

“There’s nothing you should be saying sorry for.” You held his hand, brushing soft strokes against it before leaning your face closer to kiss it gently. “Also, please remember that we’re not in a hurry. We can always take our time.”

Gaara nodded with a sigh, his eyes expressing what seem to be a tad bit of loneliness and disappointment in himself.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You whispered carefully, following  up with another statement in order to reduce the pressure on your lover. “If you don’t want to, that would be fine as well… we can just cuddle and sleep. If you do need some space to think about it, I wouldn’t mind that, too. Anything you choose to do would be fine, okay? Anything, love.”

Gaara’s eyes softened, his heart and stomach warming and tightening up in a coil as he couldn’t help but feel so vulnerably comfortable with you.

Your eyes widened out of curiosity when you saw Gaara peel his shirt off of his body, only to put it over your head as he gently reached out for each of your hand to assist it towards the armholes of the clothing. “Thought you might start feeling cold…” Gaara mumbled with a soft smile on his face as he continued to gaze at you with a pair of adoring eyes.

“But now… you’ll feel cold.” You poked his naked, toned chest teasingly.

“Not entirely so.” Gaara chuckled. “Because I know you’ll be here all night to keep me warm.” He mumbled with a genuine smile on his face before reaching out for the blanket on the bedroom floor and covering himself from the back before tackling you down on the mattress playfully as both you giggled under the fabric.

“I’ll keep you warm for the rest of my life,” You whispered softly as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders before pressing a kiss on top of his head; his face nestled in between your now clothed breasts. Gaara eyes widened after hearing such words, and with the overpouring gentleness and warmth that you continue to generously offer to him, he couldn’t help but close his eyes to allow himself to bask it in; in ardent hopes that your affections was something he truly deserved. To be adored and cared for in ways that he had given up on a long time ago as means of atonement, he was still far from being forgiving of himself at the moment; but your adoring words, your caring gestures had allowed him to warm up to such idea bit by bit.

You made him feel that he was worth loving after all; and in a complex, innate response that he somehow ends up feeling; he begins to love himself a little more than he’s been robbing himself of for so long.

Every ounce of emotions that he has tried to repress for so long started to gush through his system; and it placed him in a spiralling haywire of everything else in a blur in exception of you.

You.

You…

“I love you.” He thought to himself as his hands started to travel underneath your shirt, his lips peppering soft, pecking kisses towards your neck as he mirrored it himself how you shuddered beneath him when you traced the length of his naked spine upwards to his nape with soft scratch of your nails. “I love you.” The words never left his mouth as he continued to spoke it inwardly, all alone in himself to hear such confessions, “I love you, Y/N. I love you so much it almost hurts to say it.”

With his eyes heavy and his breathing labored, Gaara brushed his lips teasingly against your wet pucker; taking his time slowly as traced the outline of your lower lip with pecking kisses. With a soft sigh, Gaara closed his eyes gently as he leaned his face forward. He suckled on your lower lip; and with a gentle bite that parted your mouth ever so slightly, Gaara inserted his tongue inside your mouth.

Oh, how he fought through his nerves.

Gaara placed his thumb and forefinger above your chin, his other hand resting above the side of your face. Gaara halted the kiss for a second, his heavy-lidded gaze taking in the sight of you before shoving himself towards you once again. You felt his thumb stroke your cheek softly as his middle and ring finger brushed gently against the skin of your ear; the endearing gesturing weakening your composure even more as you found yourself succumbing to his affectionate kiss. His tongue unraveled the depths of your mouth with a slow, loving pace; striking an interesting contrast, as despite his hunger for you, Gaara couldn’t help but still find himself savoring you as if he would never, ever run out of all the time in this world.

The longer his kiss dragged on, the more he realized that it was as if the gentle taste of your wet mouth imprinted a soul-numbing addiction into him. And if you were to directly ask Gaara about it, he knew damn well that beyond the red face and the shaky effort to avoid your penetrating gaze, he’s just too honest to deny that he’s beyond smitten at this point, and the lone thought that he only he could conjure right at this moment is you, and the fact that both of you were basically making out with each other inside his bedroom.

With a firm suck on your tongue, Gaara released you from his fervent, smothering kiss; a smile cracking on his lips as he pressed his forehead against you.

“Am I deemed to be lacking in your standards, or do I somehow… pass just enough?” Gaara chuckled.

“Don’t sell yourself too short now.” You giggled back, sneaking in a pinch on his cheek to tease him. “You’re an amazing kisser. You’re already beyond skilled, to be honest.”

“Really?” Gaara’s cheeks were now rose-colored in bashfulness, as your compliments never failed to make his heart race.

You nodded at him encouragingly, embedding a deeper smile on his lips.

“I love you.” You whispered lovingly to him.

Gaara shut his eyes closed as he felt his chest tightened.        

“Don’t say it again, not now; not yet.” He pleaded silently to himself.

It scares him.

It scares him so much at how weak feels like, at how needy he was of your love.

It scares him, it scares him so much.

“Please, not now.”

“I love you, Gaara,” You mumbled with the most endearing smile he had seen in the entirety of his life.

Gaara shut his eyes closed, squinting his lids tighter and tighter in hopes of cutting off the impending tears that was starting to swell in both corners of his eyes. His eyes were now glassy and heavy, as he started to smother needy, pecking kisses all over your face, down the path of your jaw; licking and suckling on the skin of your neck in shallow and deeper intervals; Gaara traced a linear path down the middle of your clothed breasts; the thin fabric of his shirt allowing a soft silhouette of your naked body underneath to show through.

Gaara threw the blanket off of his body before placing a loose grip on both sides of your hips, his thumbs sneaking a caressing touch on your skin as he began to plant kisses upon your clothed teat; the continuous surge of shudders painting the rest of your body as you arched your back a little with a soft moan when Gaara took in your fabric-covert nipple; suckling on it with a gradual increase of pressure; his face delayed yet in synonymous motion with how the tip of his tongue rolled over the nub in circles. He spat on the fabric, allowing you to feel the cold wetness of his saliva to peer through the threads. Gaara snaked his other hand upwards he placed a soft grasp above your other teat, flicking the side of his middle finger against the other nipple before wrapping it around with his index finger and thumb; encircling and tugging on it occasionally as your stiffened peak began to protrude through the fabric of his shirt.

As his hands went lower once again, hooking his thumb into the waistband of your underwear, he halted momentarily; before trying to meet your equally heavy-lidded gaze; “Can I?” He whispered ever so softly. You nodded in agreement; arching your back upwards as he began to pull away the sole, remaining fabric covering your bare body.

As bold as you may seem to be most of the time, having been seen naked by your lover for the first time had you conscious as well; as you tried to hide your worsening, flushed face underneath the cover of your forearms. As starstrucked as Gaara may be; he knew better now than to stay graveyard-silent this time; as worded expressions of adoration was something essential in establishing comfort during such acts of intimacy. With both hands, Gaara brushed his palms slowly underneath your thighs, stroking it upwards until he gripped you in place by the back of your knees. He pressed soft kisses against it, whispering stuttered, affirmations with a soft, breathy voice.

Gaara leaned downwards to brush a caressing touch against your jaw; smiling ever so gently at your adorable flusteredness. You felt him shuffle above you, and you flinched in surprise when you felt his hot breath fan against the side of your neck; as he was now laying on his side next to you.

“I figured… I should be closer towards you,” Gaara whispered into your ear. “So that you can tell me right away how you want my fingers to please you.” He mumbled breathily as he snaked his arm underneath the back of your head as means of support. “If you’ll allow me, please let me return the favor and make you feel good this time.”

You reached out for his hand that was resting above your thigh, placing it in between of your faces before giving it a soft kiss. You held his index and middle finger, a soft gasp escaping his lips as he watched you take his digits into your mouth; suckling on it with your eyes closed before fluttering them open once again, your eyes darting below you as you guided his hands towards the sopping arousal between your legs.

Gaara watched his guided digits carefully; as you parted his index and middle finger apart, before directing it to press softly up and down the outer lips of your lubricated slit. Gaara felt your arousal tense up slowly underneath his touch. You held his hand by the back of it before shyly commanding his fingers to brush briefly against the sopping center, allowing his fingerpads to trace a linear path upwards until it halted against your now, pulsing nub.

“T- that’s called the clitoris,” You mumbled shyly against him. “Penetrative foreplay such as fingering, or the penetrative act of sex itself,” You cleared your throat, “I- I guess it feels good… but the easiest way to make me cum is by rubbing my clit.” Your breathing went erratic when Gaara started to slowly rub against it under his own initiative. “It could be like… what I taught you earlier. Increase the pressure and pace gradually, do intervals with light and… ahh…” You clenched your thighs together slightly as Gaara’s skillful application of what he’s learning at the moment began to crumble you apart bit by bit. “a- and firm touches. The surrounding area might be less sensitive, but teasing in between would feel just as good,”

“Have you tried doing it on your own?” Gaara whispered, his voice sultry and deep.

“Y- yes…” You gasped softly under his touch.  “A lot…”

A grunt escaped his lips as his stomach coiled tight with the lewd imagery of you teasing your pussy with your own fingers.“C- can I kiss you?”

“Yes…” You moaned softly as he steadied his rounded, rubbing pace against your arousal, alternating between pressing up and down the sides before tracing the inner of your slick itself, only to massage your clit once again. “I- I would love that. You can also play with my breasts, if you’d like…”

Gaara shifted your body a little bit by snaking his forearm behind your upper back, propping his elbow against the mattress before elevating your body by your shoulders as you ended up inching your face closer towards his; with your panting breath now fanning directly across his lips. After a soft, fleeting kiss against your lips, Gaara whispered breathily into your ear, “Lift up your shirt for me, angel.”

You shuddered in response, biting your lips shyly as you hooked your index and middle finger into the hem of the shirt before pulling on it upwards, revealing your naked teats before his eyes. “Hold your breast closer to my mouth…” Gaara mumbled against your ear before leaning his face downwards, snuggling in the side of his face against the suppleness of your breasts before taking in the perk nipple into his hot, wet mouth; eliciting a jolt out of your quivering body. You couldn’t help but cuss under your breath with how erotic it was to the sight to hold your breast for him as he suckled on it greedily.

Everything was starting to feel like you were drowning in a euphoric trance; Gaara, as nervous as he was, was more than willing to compensate for his lack of experience by being an excellent, attentive lover, an enthusiastic one at that; with how he was working your body inside out as if he was desperate to deliver you the utmost euphoria. Every timbre of moan, gasp, a soft mewl or a lustful groan of his name in response to what he was doing, he takes in all of it calculatingly. His pace and pressure has been steady up to this point, his index and middle finger as it being continuously bathed lasciviously by your juices while he rubbed circles against your pulsing clit allowed him to start hearing soft, wet schlick noises, and how your cunt seemed get wetter and wetter by the time he started to toy with your nipples simultaneously aroused him beyond belief.

He wasn’t one for dirty talk, but at least not yet at the moment, but his genuine curiosity at how your body ticks and reacts was something he couldn’t help but wonder about.

“You’re so… wet…”

You couldn’t help but moan under his ministrations; half of it being your honest response with what he just said. “B-because… what you’re doing… it feels so good.” Your body jolted upwards when he used the hand that was holding you by your shoulders to sneak in a teasing, left-to-right flick of his index finger against your other nipple. “Gaara…”

Gaara built up his suckling on your hardened nipple before releasing it in a slow, erotic pop. “Yes, my love?”

“I want you to…” You moaned breathlessly before him as you started to rub your palm against the back of his hand once again. “I want you to finger me…”

Gaara’s breathing hitched in response, the hot air leaking past his panting, open mouth sending shivers down your spine as it continued to fan against your bare neck as he looked up to you. “How would you like me to do it?”

“Insert it slowly, just one finger at first.”

“Do you want me to proceed after every instruction, or would you like me to hear everything first-“

“Gaara.” You chuckled against him, pressing the tips of your index and middle finger to loosen the wrinkle on his forehead as his face started to get serious once again.

“I’m sorry,” He mumbled. “I’m just… worried that I might hurt you.”

“Well… slight discomfort might be something that should be expected, since… it is our first time after all… But, I mean…” You pulled your hand away from guiding his for a brief moment, tucking in a stray of hair behind his ear before pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead. “What I just want to say is, I trust you; I trust you a lot. I know that you will always take care of me no matter what.”

Gaara pouted slightly in response, as he couldn’t help but be so calm and comforted with how you talk to him like that. He just feels so at ease and loved throughout the whole process, at how understanding you were of him. “Tell me right away if you want me to stop, okay?”

You nodded at him with a smile. “I will, don’t worry.”

And with a reassuring nod from both of you at the same time, Gaara rubbed fleeting circles against your nub before slowly slipping in his index finger into your wet slick, sliding it inch by inch, with Gaara halting right at the middle. “You can go deeper.” You chuckled. Gaara followed your instruction, earning a soft sigh from you when it finally entered you fully.

“It’s so… soft.” Gaara mumbled, his voice laced with a hint of wandering curiosity.

“Yeah…” You whispered back with a sigh. “You can explore it, just be gentle and slow on making your way around.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Not really… since I’m very turned on at the moment…” You whispered shyly.  

“Oh.” Gaara chuckled, his voice low and deep. A slight ‘o’ shaped your pucker as a blissful mewl escaped it when Gaara started to trace gentle, stirring motions inside your pussy, having it in intervals as he also stroked the upper walls of your cunt. Gaara took your response as a positive affirmation, making him a little more confident this time.

“S- slip in… another finger…” You mewled.

Gaara looked up to you, his face mixing in both parts of hesitance and impending lust. “Are you sure?” He whispered.

You nodded at him before another yet breathy groan left your panting mouth, as he begun to slowly insert his middle finger into you; the gradual stretch that followed becoming much more evident to feel. A whispered cuss followed through when you felt Gaara grind his clothed cock slightly against your thigh, as it started to get rock hard once again.

You ran your fingers down his chest, snaking down your palm against the plane of his stomach, tracing it downwards until you felt the waistband of his boxer shorts against your fingertips. With a sly smirk, you began rubbing your palm across his boxer shorts; feeling in the silhouette of his hardening arousal protrude through the fabric, making Gaara groan in response.

“Do this,” You gestured a sluggish ‘come hither’ movement with your fingers before returning it on top of Gaara’s boxer shorts. You moaned against him when he started to follow through, going for the gesture once, twice and thrice; retreating it out to rub teasingly against your clit before doing it again and again.

Schlick.

Schlick.

Schlick.

Even Gaara’s knuckles were soaking wet at this point, and he couldn’t help but have the curiosity in regards to how the taste of your pussy would roll on his tongue if he were to insert his fingers into his mouth. Gaara retreated his fingers, inching it closer to his face; parting his index and middle finger apart to see how far would the string of your wetness stretch out. In a lusftful daze, Gaara shoved his fingers into his mouth, suckling on it fervently; licking even the smallest trace of your arousal off of his digits.

Fuck, you taste so good.

Gaara raked his fingernails through the base of your scalp with his other hand, inhaling the scent of your locks as he continued to swallow in the sound of your sopping wet cunt being fingered and rubbed by his very own fingers. A gasp escaped his lips as he felt your palm crawl down underneath his boxers, and before he could muster a mewl of your name, you were already palming the pulsing body of his cock.

“Gaara…” You mewled desperately, making him shudder in response as he kept drowning deeper in the sweet sound of your moans. “I think I’m cumming, fuck…” You darted your eyes down, your heavy-lidded gaze taking in the erotic sight of his fingers entering and disappearing back and forth inside your cunt. The pleasure was beginning to get the best of you, and it wasn’t long until it began to overtake your sense of control over your own body; as your bliss-soaked cries began to get louder and louder to consort the increasing rock of your hips, almost riding against the curved digits that was plunging inside and out of your now tightening pussy. You took your hand from Gaara’s cock, sneaking in a desperate, circular strokes against your clit to coincide with his steadied fingering, “I’m cumming, Gaara! I’m-“  and with a loud, selfish scream of your lover’s name, you bucked your hips upwards; allowing your thighs to writhe and shake as you rode the heights of your orgasm in reckless abandon, whimpering Gaara’s name again and again until you could no longer muster anything incomprehensible. “Yes, yes… ahh…” You slapped your palm against your mouth, muffling out the continous drip of cries until it almost felt like you were choking on your unspoken euphoria as the length of your orgasm continued to render your body weak and shaking.

Fuck.

That felt so good…

“Y/N…”

Gaara was in shock.

His face might not reflect it at the moment, but he was genuinely stupefied by the intensity of it.

“Shit,” You cussed breathily as you tried your best to stablize your labored breathing. “Shit… that was amazing.” There was a hint of utter surprise in your remark as well, and it wasn’t long until you slapped your palms against your flushed cheeks as you began to laugh out of shock as well. “Fuck, did that just happen?”

Gaara sighed loudly as he slumped his back against the mattress, the realization hitting him just as hard as well like a punch on the gut. “Fuck.”

“What did you just-“ The way he cussed for the very first time made you completely erupt in laughter. You clutched your stomach as a slight hint of pain began to stir it, but when you tilted your head towards his face and you met Gaara’s gaze once again, you laughed even harder this time. You grabbed his arm by the wrist as you rested your weight on the side of your body, shifting your position and making him hug you from behind since your back was starting to feel a little sore and heavy. “I can’t believe you just said fuck.”

Gaara chuckled back as he playfully buried his face into the crook of your neck, eliciting a tickled reflex from you. He responded back by nuzzling his face deeper into the curve of it, nudging it left to right until both of you were giggling childishly together. “I loved it…” He whispered softly against the skin of your neck as he hugged you closer towards his body. The way his labored breathing started to calm down as you felt the heaving of his chest subside against your back relaxed you.

“You loved what?” You mumbled back as you entangled your fingers in between his digits, basking in the warmth and suppleness of his palm. You held his hand in front of your face, taking the sight of it with a loving smile as you closed your eyes before pressing a soft peck upon the back of it.

“The way… the way you get so into it…” Gaara retreated his hand briefly to tuck your hair behind your ear and to gently brush the remaining scattered mane away from your neck so that his face was directly pressing against your skin. He returned his hand back to your grip, entangling his fingers with yours on his own. You felt his chin rest upon the plane of your shoulders; his hot breath tickling your ear as he leaned even closer towards you. “Like you can’t get enough of it, like you want so much more… from me…”

“Gaara…” Your voice almost disappeared into thin air as a sigh tore through your sentence; the familiar warmth spreading across your cheeks as you began to feel something stiff pressing against your tailbone. An almost inaudible yelp escaped your lips as he pulled you even closer to him; his embrace getting tighter and tighter by the minute as his breathing began to function erratically once again.

Gaara’s body felt like it was being bathed in the warmth of a calm, burning flame. He felt so hot, so bothered, yet somehow the rising temperature seeps into his skin like a slow, gentle embrace. His chest and throat was beginning to feel dry and constricted, worsening his desperation to breathe. He could feel the deepening timbre of his heartbeat, and he would by lying if he said that he wasn’t terrified. This was all so new… so foreign, to him.  Gaara didn’t know exactly how to respond to it; his rational thinking process wasn’t in tact, leaving him with nothing but a jumble of words and phrases that barely scratched the surface of how he really felt at that moment.

Underneath the shallows of his confusion, he somehow recognized that there was an epiphany beneath it all; its edges jagged and blurry, all because he tries so desperately to see his emotions through a concise, logical standpoint; the one he can easily explain, the one he can support with facts. He has a hard time allowing himself to feel something he can’t comprehend because it feels like it cripples his sense of control; and that alone scares him.

But that wasn’t what he needed, that wasn’t the one who’s going to help him at all.

He was now dealing with a language that his own body speaks for itself; a language that wouldn’t drip perfectly-worded explanations from the tip of his tongue.

He just needs… to feel it as it is.

Every last bit of it.

“I want it bare against me…” You whispered under your breath. Your remark earned an almost exasperated groan from your lover; the build-up of excitement coiling his stomach in an increasing grip making him bury his face deep into your shoulder. A gasp tore through your shallow breathing as you felt the familiar warmth of his cock embedding a girthy silhouette against your lower back.

“Ahh…” He moaned into your ear; the ring of pleasure bathing the timbre of his voice sending mutual shivers on yours and his own spine. He didn’t understand why, but it seemed like allowing himself to verbalize his carnal desires outspokenly somehow increased his sense of euphoria. The way that his bare cock grinded against the supple curve of your tailbone sent him towards the edge. “Y/N…”

You shifted your body upwards and deepened the curve of your back; offering your ass as an enthusiastic opportunity for luscious friction reserved for his private gratification. You stretched your hand behind you, your fingers tiptoeing lines all over his skin before planting a firm grip above his toned ass, giving it a sluggish, relaxing squeeze before resting your grasp above his hipbone as you helped him thrust his body forward. A deeper flush graced his face, the slight shock of having his backside squeezed and the fact that he moaned in response flustering him even more.

“Gaara?” You bit your lip, as you could you feel your heat starting to desire more and more.

“Y- yes…?” Gaara halted the grinding of his hips.

“Would you like to grind it against… me?”

“B- but I already… am…” The realization that chased his scrambled thoughts afterwards had hit him like a whiplash. “Oh…”

“Y- you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, of course.” You quickly followed up as you felt him slightly tense up behind you. You placed his hand in front of your face before giving it comforting, repeated pecks.

“Y/N…” Gaara mumbled breathily against you. “I want it, too…”

“Gaara…”

“Tell me…” Gaara swallowed the lump in his throat as his mouth began to feel drier. “Tell me… where you want me to grind against… I- I need to know that I did not misunderstand anything.”

If it even was possible, the warmth in your cheeks continued to burn even more.

“Uhm… g- grind it…” The scalding heat enveloping the rest of your body was starting to make you feel dizzy. “Against my pussy…”

“Shit.” He cussed breathlessly, his barely audible voiced laced down with a mix of panic and arousal.

The way your heartbeat sank your chest deeper in every pulse paralleled his own bodily reaction; yours and his own breathing loud and labored. A subtle yelp of anticipation left your panting mouth when you felt his palm run a linear path down behind your thigh; halting upon contact against the back of your knee before parting your thighs apart; assisting you to plant your foot behind his body. You couldn’t help but blush even harder at the lewd nature of your disposition.

…And the fact that you loved it like that made it even worse.

“A- are you sure that you really want to do this?” Gaara cooed into your ear.

You hooked your thumb into the waistband of his boxer shorts to tug it down even lower.

“I am, Gaara…”

You darted your gaze down below, a bite on your lip tearing through your moan as you felt the stiff silhouette of Gaara’s cock hovered in between your sopping folds. You rested your back against Gaara’s body, tilting your face towards him to meet his gaze; with a slight nod from you, Gaara took a deep breath before thrusting his hips upwards.

Ever so slow… and almost unbearably shallow.

“Ohh…” You mewled as the wet, spongy tip of his cock brushed briefly against your still, sensitive clit.

I guess it could be said that there was almost a certain feel of fullness to it. His cautious pace allowed you to take a fleeting sip of what is yet to be unraveled and, it’s doing nothing but make you beg for more. “Grind it deeper, Gaara… Please…”

Gaara’s face was in a continuous wince of bliss; as he couldn’t help but almost salivate pantingly in response to the overwhelming affection and sensation that he was currently taking in all for himself alone. He could feel himself shudder in pleasure as you started to get dripping wet once again; making it easier for his dick to grind up and down your soaking slit. The starting point of his thrust would begin at the sensitive area just below the actual entrance of your slick before having his veined, thick-girthed cock separate the folds of your cunt ever so deliciously. The suppleness of your labia clung onto his stiffened member with a bare hint of grip as he continued to rub it lewdly against you. Gaara planted kiss upon the roundness of your shoulder before resting his forefinger and middle finger on top of opposite sides of your folds before spreading them apart, having your throbbing clit further out exposed; making it much more easier for the tip of his cock to grind against your nub.

Again and again.

“Fuck…” You shut your eyes tight before fluttering them open once again, groaning at the sight of the pink tip of his stiffness peaking through your groin.

“I- I’m a my limit, Y/N…” Gaara whispered weakly, his breathing rendered erratic for worse. “I think I’m going to cum again…”

You did notice that his thrusts were getting sloppier and shaky, but you wanted to keep the momentum and steadiness in tact so that your lover gets the best out of his impending orgasm. “L- Lay down… on your back…”

With a flushed face and a gasping mouth, Gaara nudged his face affectionately against your cheek before pulling the pillows closer to him. He laid on his back, a sense of nervousness and anticipation peeking through his heavy lidded gaze. You tugged on the fabric of his boxer shorts before peeling them all the way down. You planted your knees down against the mattress, straddling either side of his hips. The hem of his shirt hung way too low on your body, so you decided to pull the fabric over your head and set it aside. Gaara couldn’t help but sigh exasperatedly at such erotic sight of his fully naked beloved sitting on top of him. You leaned your body forward, placing your palm on top of the other as you rested it above his upper abdomen; the position of your arms rendering your tits squeezed together. “Y- you’re about to cum soon, right?”

“Y- yes, my love…” Gaara groaned as he began to feel your sopping flesh grind against him once again. The abundance of your juices rendered his groin and scarlet pubic hair to be glistening wet. You rocked your hips a little farther behind, allowing your cunt to not only stroke his pulsing cock, but his balls as well. A loud, uncontrolled moan tore through Gaara’s quiet cries when you began to thrust forward, the soft impact sending an electrifying jolt on his trembling body.

“K- keep going…” Gaara covered half of his face with his forearm, the intensity of watching you in such a compromising act becoming a little too overwhelming for him.

There was just something so… dirty and erotic about the whole thing. The fact that the act was nestling perfectly in between two, utterly separate things just felt so carnal. Both of you weren’t technically having sex, but at the same time, there was this bare feeling of your cunt being lusciously filled by the thick girth of his cock, and there was a teasing taste of what’s it’s like for his dick to be choked by the suppleness and wetness of your pussy. It was the state of not doing it but already feeling a rather addicting hint of it that drove both of you to the very edge.

“I’m cumming…” Gaara whimpered pantingly as he shrugged his shoulder tight, and with a firm, forward thrust of your body, Gaara shot his thick load all over his abdomen; some of it even reaching his chest. You retreated back your body to see how his dick trembled uncontrollably against his lower abdomen as it continued to spurt his thick cum before thrusting your pussy forward once again; earning a loud cry from Gaara’s panting mouth. His chest heaved up and down heavily, little breathy sighs of bliss escaping him as he let his orgasm run its course. “Ah… ahh… Y/N…” He mumbled in between his gasps.

Gaara flinched when he felt your index finger trace a line on top of his stomach. You brushed his forearm away from his hand so that he gets to see you tasting his cum of off your finger; the very sight of it covering his skin with goosebumps. Even with such an erotic face; you cracked a gentle, reassuring smile towards him before reaching out for his shirt, using the fabric to wipe the remaining cum off of his abdomen. Gaara’s eyes softened, the beat of his heart ringing with an affectionate and warm pulse as he watched you take care of him ever so gently. “That was great, Gaara…”

He didn’t understand why, his thought process at the moment was in deep shambles. Gaara thought that was all to it, but his chest was still getting warmer, and his stomach was still getting tighter. He was already begging himself to stop because it was becoming almost unbearable to feel, but his emotions still paced through and through. He was beginning to feel lightheaded due to his debilitating ability to breathe; worsening his impending meltdown, and with a soft caress of your hand on his cheek, and that ever so endearing, comforting smile; he might have shut his eyes tight as early as he was able to, but his tears were already streaming down his face.

A shocking jolt of panic sent your body to sit down beside him, your chest feeling like it was in a tight, choking grasp. “Hey, hey…” You whispered softly as you helped him sit down, relaxing his back against the headboard. You wrapped an arm behind his shoulders, cooing out affirming words as sobbed quietly into the back of his hand. You pulled him into a hug by the back of his neck, your other hand combing fingers through his hair as you pressed a kiss against his forehead. You felt his arm snake around your body from behind. “It’s okay, Gaara… I’m he-“

Your sentence was cut off when Gaara placed a soft grip on top of your jaw, gestured your face towards him, and pressed his lips against yours. Gaara’s kiss lingered with so much affection and longing that you couldn’t help succumb every bit of yourself to it. He propped his knee beside your opposite hip before shifting his position and situating his body on top of your lap without breaking the kiss even for a second. He was groaning audibly into your mouth as you were rendered almost drunk of how intoxicating the taste of his mouth was. You were already cornered by your lover as you felt the headboard press firm against your back, but Gaara was still shoving himself towards you, feral and starving as he lapped on your tongue selfishly.

“G- Gaara…” You whimpered breathlessly in between as he continued to tower over you, the sound of your wet mouth being explored by your lover’s tongue eagerly sending shivers down your spine. His kisses grew desperate by the minute as he chased the diminishing air in his lungs, and with a low growl, Gaara released you from his grasp; dropping his head down right away to his lap in order to avoid your gaze. The sound of his pants dominating over yours as his shoulder heaved up and down with his constricted chest. His knuckles turned white above his lap, a visible frustration being out in display as you stared at how he clenched his fists tightly into a ball. You reached out for it, stroking the back of his hand with your thumb. His eyes softened at the sight; your caring gesture making him hold your hand in front of his face before pressing a kiss against the back of it, and before you know it, he has already leaned his body forward; lips brushing against yours in a much more gentle peck.

“I’m scared…” Gaara mumbled under his breath as he buried the side of his head into your neck, his face angled towards the side so he could speak clearly.

“Of what?” You replied worriedly.

“Of this.”

His answer felt like it jabbed a sharp sensation into your chest, but you swallowed your reaction to allow him to speak his mind. You stayed quiet, the silence you offered paving way for his faint, nervous sighs to be much more audible.

“I’m terrified of this, Y/N.” Gaara said weakly as he reached out for your hand and rested it above his heaving chest. Gaara landed his gaze down upon your hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb as he allowed your palm to press contact against his skin. It was faint to the touch, but the familiarity of it made it easier for you to understand what he was trying to say. His heartbeat was slow, yet deep; the weight of its pulse making it harder to bear than a quick-paced one. It was a type that laced a hint of pain with how much love and affection it rung with.

You remained silent, but you brushed your lips on top of his sweat-dampened hair in hopes of relaxing him even just a little bit. He couldn’t help but shut his eyes tight as his chest hammered harder againt your palm; the smallest of your gestures enveloping him in so much tenderness that he had never had the luxury of receiving for so long.

“I had never felt something like this…” Gaara smiled to himself as he began to think of all the memories that you two had since the very beginning. “It’s so… warm… it feels like a lot of things all at once…” He chuckled as his words began to run out again. It was frustrating to not be able to express one’s self eloquently, but he was so flustered at the moment that he was beginning to derive the slightest humor in it. “I have never felt such joy, but at the same time, I have never felt such dread…”

You stroked his hair with your fingertips, not even a word leaving your mouth to allow him to speak comfortably.

“It feels like it’s reaching out to me, like it’s telling me that it was fine… it was a safe space that I can be vulnerable around with once again.” He breathed in before speaking once again.” That I can be happy without having to put up… so many walls…” His voice almost seemed like it was about to disappear into thin air. “But at the same time, I do know that once it disappears, I will never be the same again; and that terrifies me.”

“Gaara…”

“But… do remember that you don’t have to return my feelings for the rest of your life, you don’t have to promise me anything.” He mumbled with a weak smile. “I am already more than grateful for what you have graced my life with.”

Your chest got heavier and heavier by the second as you continued to listen to your lover.

“When the time comes… where being with me harbors nothing but pain and loneliness, you are free to be on your own.” He whispered faintly against you, his words becoming harder to discern in between his choked sniffle and heavy breathing. “I will not take that away from you, my love.”

“Gaara…” Your voice croaked as your tears began to swell up on the corner of your eyes. You knew it yourself that if he says another word, your crippled control over your emotions would fail completely.

“Either way, no matter where you choose to go,” Gaara pulled back his face from your shoulder, returning his gentle caress on the side of your cheek before pressing a kiss against your forehead. “For me, it will always be you.”

Your eyes fluttered open briefly before shutting them tight once again as your tears began to stream down your cheeks. In one swift motion, you pulled Gaara downwards and dove your face forward for a kiss. He entangled his fingers deep into your locks, his grip laced with a gentle firmness as you reciprocated it by wrapping your arms behind his nape to pull him closer to you. “I’m scared, too…” You whispered weakly in between his kisses. “But I can’t help it, Gaara. I just can’t.” You sniffled in between as you continued to tug his body downwards until you were once again in the same position as you were earlier; back pressed hard against the headboard, mouth wide open, breathless. “I love you, Gaara.”

Gaara growled lowly into your mouth as your words continued to set his body in flames. Hearing it again jabbed a crippling shot against his sense of control. “I love you…” You continued to moan pantingly beneath him.

“Please…” Gaara pleaded softly as he grew weaker and weaker by the minute, his voice cracking upon his pleas.

“I love you, Gaara… I really do…” Your voice broke as you stroked his cheeks softly.  

Underneath the entrancing, lingering stare he has you under, there was a deep-seated conflict that resides within himself. It was a beautiful imagery that he found himself embedding deep into his mind; the way your lips curved and parted as those three words left your mouth. He kept hearing it,; the exact, gentle timbre of your voice, despite the fact that you were now silently breathing under him as you stared back at him adoringly. It feels like he was nakedly vulnerable against it, it feels like a trance that’ll make him succumb every bit of himself just to hear it once again.

Gaara dove his face forward, his kisses emanating nothing but pure need, a raw desperation to remind himself that this was indeed happening, that this was his reality now; that after all the years he has suffered alone, he was now finally given the very chance to fall in love and to be loved back ever so genuinely. “You’re really here, right?” Gaara mumbled desperately in between his fervent kisses as he snaked his hand behind the back of your head, entangling his fingers through your locks gently as he angled your face better for a much more deeper kiss. He closed his eyes before leaning for another kiss, nibbling and sucking on your lip; swallowing your taste hungrily as if he wanted to own you all for himself. “When I wake up tomorrow, you’ll still be here with me, right?”

The further you swam in the very depths of his affections, the more you it terrified you; as his deepest conflicts and resolutions mirrored exactly how you felt about him; and to be so mutually entwined with one another almost felt too good to be true.

But, it was.

It was the truth.

“I’m never going to leave you,” You whispered back as you stroked the side of his face with your fingers, tucking in strays of his beautiful, red locks as you returned the urgency of his kisses ever so passionately. “When you wake up tomorrow, I’ll be the first one you’ll see. When you sleep tomorrow night, I’ll be the last one you’ll see. I promise, Gaara. I promise you that. You’re not going to be alone anymore, I’ll always be with you no matter what.”

His tears flew free now, basking in every ounce of emotions that he has repressed for so long. He was right, he thought to himself. Love really did feel like a lot of things happening all at once. He had never felt so free, adored, terrified, yet ironically calm at the same time. It was a complex emotion that so fucking consuming, and he no longer bring himself to stop. He had never felt so willing to surrender himself without any ounce of doubt.

A genuine smile graced his tear-stained face, a grin so truthful that he couldn’t help but bask it in with his eyes closed as he continued to press pecking kisses upon your wet face. “Take me as you please. I am yours, forever.” He held your knuckles in front of his face, fluttering his eyes closed as he dropped kisses on it endearingly.

“Take me as you please, too…” You mumbled with a soft smile before wrapping your forearms behind his neck once again, tugging his body down as you laid your back once again on top of the mattress. You raked your fingers through the base of his scalp as you continued to swallow his wet groans into your open mouth, moaning just as blissfully as his kisses continued set your body in fire. You pulled back from the fervent kiss, darting the tip of your tongue out to lick a path up his throat; making Gaara shudder breathlessly as he felt your pucker nibble and suckle the edge of his jaw before biting in softly the spot below his neck.

Gaara snaked his hand behind your nape, interlocking his fingers with your locks and planting a firm fist of it as he pulled it backwards, allowing him lap on the skin of neck your selfishly. A sudden moan from his wet mouth vibrated against your skin when you sank his hips lower and you bucked your body upwards to have a sly grind of your soaking slit against his now hardening cock. “Gaara…” You mewled breathlessly under him as he began to thrust his hips in return, the familiar feeling of having his member rub against you once again eliciting strings of curses from your lips. You halted for a moment, striking an unwavering gaze towards his own heavy-lidded eyes as both of you exchanged hot exhales of breath. “I’m… ready…”

The paralysing beat of his heart began to pound once again. “Y/N…”

“I’m ready, Gaara…” You smiled softly as you stroked his cheek. “I’m yours, forever…”

Gaara was not speaking, he was just breathing heavily above you; scarlet locks framing his beautiful face messily. His eyes spoke a thousand of words that will probably never leave his mouth, yet somehow, hearing it wasn’t something you needed at all just to understood what he wanted to say. His glassy, seafoam eyes continued to tear through you ever so seductively yet endearingly. It’s cripplingly intimidating yet ironically comforting at the same time. It was a pile of irony that you’ll probably never be able to explain in this lifetime. It wasn’t simply black and white…

He really was just simply a million of beautifully-threaded complexities.

“Make love with me…” You whispered lovingly underneath him.

Your words sent his brain into a haywire; the shock setting in making his chest heave nervously. Gaara swallowed a gulp before taking in a sharp breath. “Did I hear you right, my love?” He mumbled with an almost chuckling voice as manifested by a flustering panic.

You nodded before giggling back at his cuteness.

Gaara held your face by your jaw, his thumb gently rubbing against your wet lower lip. “Let me hear it again, my love… just so I am sure…”

You bit his thumb playfully; the surprised, wince of pain in his facial expression that made his one eye close making your heart beat faster. Gaara pulled back his thumb from your lips before plunging it into his mouth, sucking off the small trails of your saliva clinging onto it. “I’m listening.”

Your gaze drifted to the side before meeting his steady stare once again. “M… make love with me, Gaara…” The sudden realization hit you, making you whisper a soft “shit” under your breath, rendering your lover’s forehead furrow in confusion. “I… uh… That’s not really my decision alone. I mean, only if you’re ready. W- we don’t have to-“

Gaara pressed a firmer kiss this time, nibbling your lower lip into his mouth before parting your pucker apart with his curious tongue.

“You… really have the best way… of cutting me off when I speak…” You whispered in between his kisses, the way both his hands held either sides of your jaw in place with a gentle hint of possessiveness reigniting the warmth in your stomach.  Your amused, chuckling giggle against his kiss embedded a soft grin on his mouth as well. Gaara pulled back from the kiss with a gentle smile gracing his flushed face. He did not cry for long, but his nose was already flushed red; eyes a little swollen and pink. An embarrassed chuckle from your lover tore through the brief silence of just staring at each other.

“I am ready…” He whispered to you. “But are you… really ready, tonight?” His arms was starting to get sore from carrying the weight of his body so he nestled his body softly above you. Gaara traced a line upon your cheek with the tip of his nose, before speaking once again. “Are you on protection? I might get you…” His breathing becoming gradually erratic, his voice ringing even deeper this time “…pregnant.”

“Shit…” You whispered breathlessly, the warmth in your cheeks getting more botheringly scalding. Your cuss elicited a deep, amused chuckle from your lover. Knowing that a part of why he said it like that was to tease you a little, and you knew better than to not clap back. “There’s no need to worry. You can cum inside me all you want.” You mumbled seductively, easily eliciting a flustered groan from your lover.

“Y/N?”

“Hmm?”

“W- would it be okay if… y- you were on top?” He asked, his voice a little shaky and worried. “I just… I just thought that such position would allow you to have a better control on how you want it to go… I want to give you that choice; I don’t want to hurt you, my love.”

Your chest fluttered at his caring words. “Stop making me fall in love with you more, Gaara. I wouldn’t be able to get out of it if you keep doing that.”

“Well… that is the point.” He chuckled before laying his back against the headboard and gripping you softly by your waist as you sat down above his lap. Gaara asked you to bent over slightly towards him, the curve of your spine pushing your ass up in the air as you wrapped your arm around his shoulder and buried your face into his neck. “I’ll make sure you’ll never get out of it.” Gaara whispered to your ear before plunging his index and middle finger into his mouth, coating it abundantly with his saliva before reaching out for the increasing heat resting between your legs. Acting upon what you have taught him, Gaara teased the either sides of your labia first; his touch barely even hovering with how light it was. In every passing second, the pads of his fingers began to gradually sink a little deeper against your skin; a look of subtle wonder gracing his face as he felt the muscle tense up bit by bit as he continued to stroke it. You spat on your palm before snaking it towards his groin, and before Gaara could moan back, you were already working his cock with your sloppy fist.

Gaara began to rub the length of his digits from left to right upon the sensitive center of the slit, the sly gesture resulting to a wet, slapping sound that made his cock twitch harder in between your sensually-pumping fist. Gaara traced a vertical path towards your throbbing clit before teasingly flicking the tip of his middle finger upon it. It wasn’t long until he began knead circular strokes against your nub, the intensity of its pressure crawling gradually as he swallowed your mewls of bliss directly into his ear.

“Finger me…” You panted as you redirected your face towards him. “Please…”

Gaara’s breathing hitched after hearing you beg. With a soft nudge of Gaara’s face bumping against yours, he carefully inserted his index finger into your pussy, a jolt of euphoria shaking your composure when the side of the knuckle of his middle finger brushed against your clit as he allowed your walls to get used to the feeling of his lone digit nestling inside. It wasn’t long until Gaara plunged his middle finger inside as well, eliciting a soft sigh from you as you continued to play with his stiffening cock in return.

Although his fingering was still very, very cautious, he was starting to get the hang of it, and is now slowly getting the confidence in himself that he could make you feel good under his touch. He maneuvered his digits gently in a stirring motion, and the way your walls wrapped around his fingers wetly and tightly was a sensation he was starting to get addicted to. Gaara’s cock was now significantly erected at this point, its pink tip beginning to erupt with a clear, slippery pre-cum that made his cock glisten wet under the soft light in the room. When he began to the flick his index and middle finger to stroke your sensitive spot, you began to lose your focus on toying with his dick.

Surprisingly, Gaara wasn’t just shoving his fingers back and forth. It was as if his cautious, patient nature rendered him to not be impulsive on his foreplay. He was taking his sweet… sweet time, his hand on your jaw caressing your face as he whispered how pretty you were; the tender, endearing words leaving his lips coinciding erotically with how slow and sensual he was; the thrust of his fingers hinting enough firmness, curling it up as he applied the perfect pressure against to elicit your impending cum bit by bit from your cunt. Not being able to bear it anymore, you crawled your lips towards his ear and gave him your permission.

“Gaara… I’m ready…”

With his chest tightening even harder with your voice dripping off like a sweet honey from an overpouring pot, Gaara pressed a soft kiss against your cheek. “Thank you… for trusting me…” He whispered with sa smile. Gaara assisted you once again in a sitting position, his erected cock pressing against your lower abdomen this time. “I- I promise… I wouldn’t do anything that will hurt you. Tell me everything, okay?”

You nodded before him with a reassuring smile. You lifted your body off of his lap before gripping the base of his cock, holding it in place as you grinded your clit against the tip of it before redirecting its angle and slowly taking it in inside of you.

You sighed breathlessly as you dropped your gaze down his cock, with the pink, wet tip of it slowly disappearing into your tight, wet cunt. Gaara carefully held you on place with his faint grip on your waist, the contortion of pain upon your beautiful face rendering him worried; but he trusted you as much you do with him. You bit your lip as you began to sink your body deeper into his length, the thick girth of his cock beginning to topple immensely in comparison to what his fingers had to offer. “S- so… big… Gaara…” You mumbled erotically, your remark reddening Gaara’s face for worse as he felt his cock twitch harder with how you complimented him like that.

There was an immense pressure that pooled upon your lower abdomen; a hint of pain in it, a burning discomfort as you may say. You shoved two fingers into your mouth before snaking it down towards your clit, rubbing it slowly and simultaneously as you continued to swallow in his cock into your pussy in order to ease yourself off of the discomfort. Gaara’s gaze dropped to the side, still wasn’t used to seeing you it right before his eyes for you to play with yourself like that while you’re literally shoving his dick right into your cunt. When you finally took in the rest of his length, your upper body collapsed above him alongside a relieved sigh ripping from your chest.

“Take your time, my love…” Gaara cooed sweetly as he brushed your hair away from your face before dropping a kiss against your forehead. “Y- you’re doing great, okay?”

His last sentence made your giggle against his neck.

“I’m sorry…”

“Aww, I didn’t mean it like that...” You propped your forearms against on both opposite planes of his shoulder before bumping your forehead against his. “In fact, I actually felt incredibly motivated.”

Gaara had a small pout on his lips. “You are being… sarcastic…”

“I’m not!” You pouted back before nudging your face against him playfully. “And I’d like to say that you’re doing great, too…” You giggled before pressing a kiss against his nose. “So, uh… what do you think, about this?”

He hummed in thought and cleared his throat, the flush in his cheeks getting tad bit deeper. “It’s so hot… inside you…” Gaara mumbled, his voice hinting with curiosity. “Soft, and tight…” The fact that he was literally describing how his lover’s cunt felt around his dick was enough to sent him to the edge.

“D- does it feel good?”

Gaara nodded bashfully, a gasp tearing through his supposed shut mouth when you grinded your hips teasingly against him.

“You feel good, too…” You replied. The burning sensation was starting to dissipate bit by bit, a tiny presence of it lingering still but the feeling of fullness was starting to arouse you more. “I’m going to start… moving a bit…” You mused, and with a nod from Gaara, he helped you buck your body upwards, allowing your slick to grind against the girth of his cock to increase your arousal even harder. “S- steady your cock in place, Gaara…” The way your words rolled off from the tip of your tongue made Gaara groan in response. He gripped the base of it immediately, gaze straight upon as he watched your pussy sank down to swallow in his dick; the familiar warmth and wetness making his face wince in bliss; making him cuss even louder when he darted his stare upon your face, a trace of euphoria gracing it as you felt the gradual pleasure nestling in between the pressure of his cock reentering your cunt.

“Ahh…” You moaned shakily, a satisfied sigh exiting your panting mouth before both of you groaned almost in unison when you stirred your hips in a circular motion, allowing the whole length of it to grind against the unexplored, sensitive spots all over in one move. Gaara couldn’t help the soft hiss that left him as the tightness of your pussy choked his cock even more. You planted a firm grip on his shoulder before raising your body once again and allowing yourself to get used to the newly-discovered euphoria of having your pussy by stretched deliciously bit by bit by the scalding, thick girth of his veined cock. “Gaara… fuck…”

Although drowning in bliss at the same time, his concern for you didn’t even blur for a second. “D- does it still hurt?” His voice gentle and sweet.

“A- a little bit sore, yeah…” You murmured back. “But it’s… it’s beginning to feel better, I think…”

“Can I do anything… that might help ease the pain?” Gaara wanted to touch you; he wanted to play with your breasts or stroke your clit in between, theorizing that the pleasure of such acts might distract you from the pain. But initiation wasn’t something that has sat comfortably inside his resolve just yet, and the last thing he wanted was to do something that’ll make it harder for you to adjust. “Tell me anything, I- I’ll do it, my love.”

“Kiss me…” You mumbled breathlessly. “Play with my body… everything you did earlier to make me feel good, y- you can do it.” Towering over him, you began to initiate a kiss, your tongue eagerly exploring the rest of his panting cavern. You felt his grip leave your waist, the suppleness of his palm spreading warmth down your hips before wandering gesture began to squeeze your ass. The way his pressured knead sank into your muscle almost sedated you to utter relaxation. “I love that…” You mewled against his mouth before leaving a teasing bite on his lower lip. “I’m going to start moving now.” You mumbled before beginning to rock your hips back and forth.

“Damn it.” Gaara cursed under his breath as the sight of your naked, glistening body on top of him, and the way his cock disappeared into the wetness of your pussy flashed before his very own eyes. A sight so erotic, a sensation so pleasurable, that he was beginning to blur his sense of control as he began to grab your ass a little harder.

You were beginning to get the hang of it, as the thought alone in itself of making love with Gaara started to bathe your body in bliss. Apart from the literal pleasure that your body is going through at the moment, to hear him moan your moan, to see his flushed face; forehead furrowed, eyes shut tight and a firm bite on his lip was another form of indirect stimulation that made your body writhe in bliss. With your back starting to feel sore from leaning over, you arched your spine, hands placing a grip on his knees before planting both of your knees inches before the opposite sides of his hips, spreading yourself wide open for his eyes to feast on.

“Shit…” Gaara whispered with a shaky voice.

“It feels so good…” You kept mewling, your throat beginning to feel drier by the minute.

“Ahh… ahh, Y/N…” Gaara moaned louder as you began to rock your hips in a steadying pace that had his arousal being milked tight on a carnal static. The sight of your tits bouncing up and down was a very sensual visual that he kept swallowing all for himself, and an even louder cuss left his panting mouth when you caught a peek of your swollen clit protruding through your folds. Taking back a hand from your ass, Gaara shoved his thumb into his mouth, suckling and covering it abundantly with spit before pressing his palm against your groin, stretching his hand out so his thumb is able to reach your throbbing nub. A loud moan screa m of his name escaped you, sending him in a jolt-awakening panic.

“N- no no no, please… keep going.” You moaned above him, your nails sinking into his thighs as the sensation of your impending orgasm began to crawl. “Please, please. Keep going, Gaara.” You cried out.

With a firm gulp, Gaara resumed his gesture. He shifted his initial approach, with his hand now laying a grasp on your inner thigh as his thumb sneaked in lewd, kneading circles against your pulsing nub. The sensation of your clitoris being toyed with adding to his cock stroking the circumference of your entire sensitive cunt, the familiar knot in your lower abdomen began to thrive; the burning eagerness to chase it embedding itself so fucking deep into your skin. You repositioned your body, your hands now gripping the plane of his shoulders as every firm bounce of your body sinking him deeper and deeper into the mattress. The weight of your body clashing down on him was another yet sensation he was starting to get addicted to. The words that wanted to leave his mouth at the moment was something he’s barely holding on to suppress.

The urgency was getting the best of you, but the rougher you chased it, the easier it made for Gaara’s to feel his orgasm dawning upon him. It was too much, just too much. Every inch of his body was starting to feel immensely sensitive and you yourself began to notice that his cock was starting to swell so much harder inside your cunt. Gaara was trying his best, but overwhelming sensation was starting to cripple all kinds of autonomy that he had on his body. The rub on your clit was starting to get unsteady, and it was as if Gaara was almost starting to pull his body away from you with the mind-numbing stimulation that had him throwing his head back against the pillow as he unconsciously bucked his hips upwards. “Y/N…”

It felt like a never-ending stack of pleasure that continued to pile over one another until he couldn’t breathe. He was almost ready to beg his own cock to just cum already because it was starting to feel so much to take. The foreign euphoria that was penetrating every bit of pore on his skin for the first time almost broke him.

“Y/N!” He growled underneath you.

Your focus on your orgasm wavered as soon as you heard what was leaving his mouth.

His moans were so fucking hot.

His voice rang with utter haste, almost breaking in desperation as he tried to apologize profusely that he was going to cum earlier than you. You kept your pace steady and firm, more than eager to provide him yourself the very first coital orgasm of his life. “Please, please kiss me, my love.” He begged with an open mouth, a dribble of saliva beginning to stain the corner of his lip. Before you could even muster a reply, he had already pulled you down with his arms wrapped behind your neck, sloppily letting his tongue lick everything he could as his thought process began to crumble for worse. When you noticed him starting to lose his breath, you pulled back from his lips and pressed your forehead against him, allowing the hot, shallow inhale and exhales of air fan across your equally gasping mouth. His chest, throat and face were flushed bright red as he continued to writhe beneath you.

“I- I’m cumming, Y/N…” Gaara rubbed his face needily against yours.

“I love you, Gaara.” You whispered back.

And that was it.

The last straw of fervent intimacy that drove him straight towards the edge.

“I’m yours,” He mumbled desperately in a hush as his face contorted with the deepest form of euphoria that had him furrowing his forehead and shutting his eyes tighter than ever. He fluttered them open once again, his glassy, seafoam eyes tearing through you in a passionate daze. “please… please t- tell me that I belong to you, Y/N...” He pleaded, his voice cracking in desperation as he felt another wave of tears swelling on both corners of his eyes once again.

“You’re mine, Gaara.” You moaned back breathlessly. “Y- you belong with me, you belong with me forever…”

He cried out again and again and with the last downward thrust of your hips colliding with his, his body shook beneath you, his toes curling in bliss before dragging his feet towards his body, the rise of his thighs elevating you slightly. Under his orgasmic instinct, Gaara shoved his hips upwards, burying his cock deeper into you as strings of hot cum exploded deep inside your cunt. Your eyes widened at the sensation; his cock was at its most rigid state and it was twitching so fucking hard you can feel it pulse against your walls. The pure sensuality of having your lover bury his cum deep inside you was a whole new level of intimacy and affection. Knowing that your orgasm was just a nudge away from coming; you slipped off of his dick, the thick cum leaving down your pussy adding another form of lubrication as you began to grind your slit desperately against his girth; and with a firm, fifth thrust, a powerful orgasm began to wash over you. You gripped the base of his cock and reinserted his still cumming dick into your cunt, the hard, clamping motion of your walls choking his length eliciting some of the remaining cum from his arousal. Your body writhed above him desperately, not even a moan leaving your mouth as the utter, raw bliss was so intense that you couldn’t even muster a slightest sound. You collapse onto him, both of you panting heavily as the immense, euphoric shock continued to linger inside the two of you.

Both of you whispered each other’s name endearingly in content.

There was a comfortable silence that tied you both beautifully, a moment where everything just felt so raw and perfect that no words were ever needed to leave each other’s lips. A faint sniffle woke you out of your stupor, and before you could even redirect your face towards him, Gaara hugged you tight to his chest.

“I don’t know why… I keep tearing up like this…” He chuckled as he nestled his face into your locks, his voice cracking up a little.

You hugged him even tighter, and when he heard a barely audible sob from you; evidenced by the feeling of dampness staining his chest wet, his chest throbbed harder and another yet quiet cry he desperately tried to restrain had left him once again.

You shifted in your position, situating your self next to him as you laid your weight on the side of your body. Gaara proceeded to mirror your angle, as you two are now facing each other directly with both, gentle smiles upon your tear-stained faces. He held your hand against his chest; allowing you to feel the very beat of his heart; calm, deep, and genuinely affectionate. What he proceeded to do after a soft, weak smile shakened your entire resolve.

“I love you…” He mouthed silently before curling his lips in another yet genuine smile.

Audible words had never left his mouth, but if there’s one thing you almost heard, it was the beat of his heart that throbbed even harder after those three words as he held your hand tighter against his chest.

“I feel so scared that I can’t say it,” He slowly mouthed once again before chuckling weakly. “But I love you, Y/N…”

“I love you, too…” You mouthed back with a soft giggle as you used your other hand to stroke his tear-stained cheeks; your eyes barely fluttering open as you allowed yourself to bask in every ounce of emotions you were going through at the moment, and suddenly…

It was harder to breathe.

You were beyond stunned, the overpouring emotions you did not expect for had suddenly washed all over you, body and soul, and it has robbed you off of even the tiniest bit of chance to speak.

There was nothing, really.

Nothing but heavy breathing, a shared grace of a gentle, fulfilled smile between the two of you, an affectionate nudge of your equally-flushed cheek against his as you allowed yourself to have the warm of his face plant soft kisses upon your skin.

It was as if everything had stopped, and there was nothing in this world at this very moment that mattered but you, and him.

Gaara’s hands roamed, fingertips laced with prudence yet ardent need to know you, to feel you, to be one, with you.

The connection binding the two of you began to feel ethereally transcedental…

…And Gaara felt it, too.

“Do you feel it, too?” Gaara whispered weakly, his eyes gentle and loving as he reached for your wrist and held your hand in front of his face. He shut his eyes closed before placing an endearing kiss upon the back of it; his pucker brushing soft pecks upon every tip of your five fingers before carefully dragging his kisses down your palm. Gaara’s eyes fluttered open to take in the beautiful sight of your face as you watched him caress your wrist with his soft, wet lips.

Gaara had the utmost respect towards you. He viewed with the highest reverence, and he had always seen you as strong, independent person.

But tonight…

Tonight was different.

He never knew he could feel so much for someone until he met you, but at this moment, everything he had ever known was almost incomparable to what he feels at this very moment. You were a gift to him. To feel your warm, supple skin, to hear you breath, to listen to your voice… was a gift. He was looking directly through the uttermost tenderness inside of you, a sense of delicateness residing within your very soul that has ignited the fire inside of him to to love and protect at all costs.

“I feel it too, Gaara…” You whispered endearingly before planting a soft kiss against his lips and pressing your forehead against his. “If you’ll have me, I would give my life to protect you, too.”

Your words made his chest tighten, and before you knew it, he was already holding your body against him; an arm snaking in between the side of your head and the mattress as he pulled you closer towards him. Gaara caressed the supple, roundness of your shoulder, tiptoeing the tips of his digits down the blades of it before petting you by your hair and kissing your forehead gently. “I will always keep you safe, no matter what.” He whispered.

Noticing the slight shudder on your skin, Gaara reached out for the blanket laying messily in between your bodies. With a gradually increasing loudness of cute, annoyed grunts as he tried to yank it out freely under his body, he was finally able to cover the halves of both of your nakedness under it. You couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement, but also blush at how endearing his gesture was.

“I feel so sticky right now.” You giggled. Gaara had that “me, too” look on his face despite the lack of verbal reply. “We went to bed at like… 10 PM.” You stared at your fingers as you tried to count. “It was probably around 2 AM when you woke up… It’s probably quarter to four now.”

“I think so too, yes…” Gaara chuckled back weakly. There was an obvious heaviness in his lids, but he still wanted to talk about what just happened. He wasn’t one to ask such daring questions, but it was as if some parts of him had improved for the better; it felt like he was more than willing now to initiate communication with you. “So… uhm, Y/N…” He trailed off. “How did it… feel?” Gaara asked, his voice a little nervous.

You hummed in thought. “Hmm… how do I put it in words…” You thought out loud as you traced lines and circles upon his naked chest.

Truth be told, it was probably something you could never, ever explain justifyingly with words alone.

As you continued your inward search for the perfect word, Gaara began to speak.

“I feel so connected… with you.” He whispered lovingly, his eyes gentle and endearing. “Body and soul…”

With a soft kiss and on his lips and an easing caress on his face, you pulled him closer to you as he began to nestle his face against the warm solace of your skin.

“And I feel so connected with you, too…” You repeated softly before caressing the back of his head as he began to fall asleep. “Body and soul…”

--

Your head throbbed painfully when you fluttered your eyes open and the not so gentle rays of the sun began to peek through the slight gaps in between the curtains. You quickly glued your eyes shut; and with the increasing awareness of your surroundings as your system began to wake itself up, you were almost shocked at the fact that there was still a familiar warmth and weight pressing upon your naked body at this time of the morning.

You were now lying on your back, and when you tilted your head towards your lover, you couldn’t help but giggle softly at such beautiful, rare sight.

The side of his face nestled upon the upper part of your breast, a heavy hand and leg pinning you down against the mattress, almost leaving you with no chance of escape. He had never looked so etheareally peaceful to you until now, eyes not so loosely shut and lips in a soft, curled pout. On top of that, this might just be the very first moment that you learned that Gaara actually snores… A really soft, baby snore, though. You couldn’t help but giggle when you noticed how there’s new, darker ray of eyebags pooling below his eyes… which is probably mirrored by yours, too.

Guess that’s what you get, making love so deep into the night where the moon itself is already close to losing its shine.

A soft, inward groan never left his lips but it was audible enough to hear, carving a deep smile upon your lips once more.

Finally, a very… deep, undisturbed sleep that he utmostly deserved.

You stayed still, even though your body was beginning to feel sore, apart from the expected one resting in between your legs; just in hopes of maintaining the relaxation he was currently pampering himself with.

Gaara really needed that more than anyone.

When he began to shift his body, and turned his back on you in a still, deep stupor, you began to carefully sit up and grab your discarded shirt off of the floor to walk to the bathroom.

After refilling the glass with water to bring on your way back towards the bedroom to give to Gaara once he wakes up, you took a short re-route towards the living room and sat upon the couch; dialing Temari’s number on the telephone before pressing the cold metal disk of its diaphraghm against your ear.

“Oh, finally!” You heard the familiar voice on the other side of the line.

“Good morning, Tem!” You greeted happily.

“Good mor- Oh?“ Temari’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise. “Y/N?”

“Yep.” You chuckled.

Temari chuckled back meaningfully at the surprising revelation, the familiar, teasing tone becoming something that was easy for you to discern.

“Come on, is it really that much of a shocker?”

“It is.” She replied amusingly. “The earliest you usually get up from bed is 10 am. You have beaten your record,” she shot a look towards the wall clock on her living room. “it’s 9:50 AM now.”

“How do you even know that?” You tried your best to stifle your usual, kinda’ loud voice when talking with her.

“Just a hunch.” Temari grinned. “Gaara had been asking me lately if there was a way he could maintain the warmth of the pancakes and coffee he makes for you at 6 AM. He says he doesn’t want you to have it cold because it might upset your stomach, but at the same time, he can’t bring himself to wake you up or to leave it up to you to cook your own breakfast.”

You couldn’t help but blush when you realized another yet undiscovered ways of how Gaara tries to show how much he loves you.

“By the way,” She cleared her throat as she shrugged her shoulder towards her, pinning the telephone against her ear as she tried to pull half of her locks into a side ponytail. “I have been ringing you guys for the last two hours. I was actually about to go on my way there to check up on the two of you because Gaara usually leaves for work at 6:30. It’s weird that he’s late.”

“Oh… uhm,” You couldn’t help but smile giddily like a teenager to yourself. “I’m sorry for not being able to answer right away. I called, too, because I was about to ask you if Gaara could take half the day off.”

“Why? Is he okay? Does he feel sick?”

“No… he’s just, sleeping really, really good right now.” You slumped your back against the sofa. “Like, the kind of good that’ll make you feel guilty if you wake him up from it. Out of all people, you do know the best that his sleeping schedule is still troubled.”

“I see…” Temari smiled gently to herself, her chest warming up at the thought of her baby brother being able to rest easy as he thoroughly deserves. “It’s okay. I could run some of his errands for him to ease his workload for today. I’m really glad to hear that Gaara’s sleeping well.”

“Yeah…” You grinned softly as you raked your fingers through your messy bedhair in hopes of fixing it up. “He’s pretty tired.”

“Tired?” Temari asked surprisingly. “He didn’t have much to do… yesteday…”

As sharp as she ever was, it was almost scary with how good she was at deducing things.

“So… what baby names are you choosing from?”

“Tem!”

Temari laughed hard from the other line. “I have leftover waffles here. I’ll hang the bag on the door knob, you don’t have to get up to greet me if ever you end up going back to sleep.”

“Thank you so much, Tem…” You couldn’t help but feel so thankful for how kind she was to you.

“No,” Temari said with a soft smile. “Thank you, Y/N.”

“Tem…”

“Gaara loves you very much, Y/N.” Temari spoke so gently. “Thank you for giving him the chance to feel like that.”

After exhanging goodbyes, you flinched in your seat when someone grabbed and placed the telephone back on its cradle on your behalf.

“Do I have to carry you back to the bed?” Gaara mumbled, his voice a little grumpy. Before you could even answer, he had already made his way from the back the back of the couch, firm strong hands lifting you up from the cushion of the couch as carried you back towards the bedroom.

“Is this why you always try to wake up earlier than me?” You narrowed your eyes at him. “Are you one of those people who are grumpy as hell when they wake up?” You teased.

Gaara dropped your body onto the mattress, the surprising edge of roughness in his action making your chest flutter in excitement. The heat between your legs started to burn harder when he towered over you, the familiar weight of his body cornering you down against the bed. “When you said… last night…” A satisfying yawn ripped from his chest before he pinned your hand softly against the bed, his thumb rubbing soft circles above your palm; the other hand stroking the side of your face softly as he leaned his face closer. “That you will be first thing I’d see when I wake up, I took it to the heart. But what I saw… was my boxer shorts…” His sudden, surprising dominance broke as he ended up giggling softly against the skin of your neck. You snorted back with a laughter, the odd, funny noise making him chuckle again.

“I called Tem… I asked her if you could come in a little late today. You looked like you were having the best sleep of your life, and I couldn’t bear to be the one who takes it away from you.”

“It really did…felt amazing.” He sighed, the way he breathed out hinting satisfaction on his end.

“The sleep?” You mused. “Or what happened before the sleep?”

Gaara buried his now flushed face deeper into your neck as he began to remember everything that took in place night.

Vividly.

“I’m sorry, though…” You whispered gently. “I didn’t mean to have your unromantic boxer shorts to be the first one you see in the morning.” You felt a smile against your neck before he props his chin above your chest, the vibration of your giggle pressing against his skin. “Would you get mad if I do it again? What if I had to pee?”

“You think I have the capacity to be that possessive?” Gaara asked, his voice hinting with amusement.

“I think you’d let me pee.” You smiled at him before brushing the messy locks from blocking the view of his eyes.

“I will.” Gaara began to press soft, pecking kisses upon your breast before dragging his lips in a linear path towards your neck, making you tilt your head to the side as he began to suckle softly on the skin. “But I wouldn’t shy from tying you down if it means I’ll be able to keep you in bed as much as I want to.”

--

[sw124]

BonelyHearts Reader Insert

{Female!ReaderXSkeleton household}

Camping! Pt.1

It was nippy outside, no question there. But you couldn’t beat the sheer beauty of it all. The field was vast and filled with rolling hills turning the loveliest shades of tan from the upcoming winter season. There was not a tree for miles around. You stretched your arms back, breathing in that beautiful air, it was so crisp it would put an apple’s skin to shame. You let out a long breath, watching it curl into its own cloud before quickly dissipating.

“So pretty here...” you whispered to yourself.

“Human! Have you found a spot yet?!”

You turn to see your gaggle of skeleton friends all unloading things from the van, you smile and wave to Papyrus.

“One sec ok I think I found a great spot for us all!”

Happily you half-jogged down the little hill you were standing on and scoped out a nice spot, it was flat and void of twigs and leaves. You stamped the ground to be sure there weren’t any spots waterlogged from rain, but no the ground was perfectly dry and level.

Back up the hill you run and call out. “Guys over here, I found the perfect spot!”

Back down you raced and skipped around the spot, the first skeleton over the hill was Blue with the picnic table; a perfect sign that this spot is claimed by someone. Blue hands you the table and you set it up, he runs back over the hill. The next skeleton to come over the hill is Papyrus with some of the chairs, all neatly marked with everyone’s name on the back of each unique chair, including yours.

You take them and set them up in a line; to both keep them out of the way and to let everyone choose where they’d like to sit when things get ready. Boss and Ash were the next couple of skeletons over the hill bringing the tents. Poplar was close behind carrying some bags, Nox and Rus were the next two over the threshold carrying two large boxes.

You rushed back up the hill to the van and met up with Red and Sans who were digging stuff out of the van. You came up and collected what they just took out and went back to the spot, you set the things down and went back for more. Stretch passed you carrying some of the sleeping bags. You couldn’t help but imagine everyone plus yourself as a bunch of worker ants. You were the one to get the last of the things, the box labeled ‘plates, utensils and cleanup’.

You just reached over the crest of the hill, you watched as Boss and Papyrus began laying out the tarps for some of the tents while Nox and Blue set up the canopy tent, Stretch and Rus were getting the sleeping bags sorted out. Of course Sans was already napping in his chair, you walked over to Ash, Poplar and Red who were getting the portable fire pit ready. You set the things down and grabbed a bucket nearby, you turned to the skeletons.

“I’m gonna go get some water and firewood!”

“Wait human!” You paused as Papyrus walked up to you...Sans neatly tucked under one arm. “Take Sans with you, he needs to do something productive instead of lazing about!”

Sans gave you shrug after Papyrus sat him down, you smile and take his hand.

“Its not that far, lets go lazy bones.” You just had to giggle seeing the blush form on his face.

You and Sans didn’t have far to walk, the communal area was at least just a yard away. You paid for fire wood, making sure to have extra just in case also filling the bucket up with water. You told Sans to teleport the wood back to the campsite you’d be fine walking back with the bucket.

“Actually, I got a better idea.” Taking your hand and in a blink of an eye, the both of you were back at the campsite, firewood and water in hand.

“Ah you’re back! That was quick!” Papyrus took the bucket from you as Sans sat the fire wood down by Red.

“The hell- I don’t know how to start a damn fire, why you putting it by me?” Red growled.

“Well someone’s gotta know, other wise we’re gonna be ‘burned out’ by the end of this.” Sans chuckled, a echo of groans is heard.

You took the initiative, while Sans and Red went back and forth you began setting things up for the fire. Ash and Poplar watched, you balled up some dry-dead grass and layered some small twigs on it. Taking out a lighter you packed you lite the grass, after you got the smaller fire going you started layering on the wood. In a matter of a few minutes you had a nice fire all set.

“Fires ready.” You said, you felt a little proud seeing everyone’s expressions.

“Anything else that needs to be done?” You asked, surveying the layout.

“If you could set up the cooking station under the canopy that would be nice.” Said Poplar, Ash helping him stand up.

Nodding you went to the canopy and start unpacking, you unpacked the snacks first but kept the perishables like the fish inside the cooler along with the vegetables. You took out a large pot, pasta, ramen and other things and set them on a separate fold-out table; preparations for tonight’s dinner. You had just set out the last of the snacks when you heard Nox curse, you look to see him knelt down by a peg and holding his hand.

“Nox, you ok?” You walk over.

“I’m fine, I just caught the side of my hand with the hammer.”

You were quick to take his hand and inspect it, a habit of yours whenever someone had gotten an injury no matter how minor it was. Nox grumbles but doesn’t take his hand away, you gently rub his hand between yours to sooth the wound before standing back up. Giving him a sweet smile, was it your imagination or was he blushing.

“I’m setting up some snacks for when you boys are done, drinks too; I’ll let you know when there done.” You left before he could give you a reply, you had a task to complete.

You arranged the small snack bags into two groups, one side was for the shorter skeletons the other for the taller skeletons. Of course it had everyone’s name written on the baggies but this just made it simpler. Next were the drinks, coco and coffee. You took great pains to make sure the coffee was just right too, you brought a special hand grinder for the coffee beans.

The coco you decided was going to be just as special, you were going to make it just like how your parents did back when you were really small. As you were finishing everything up, something caught your attention. You turned and saw at least a few yards away a giant RV party bus pull in, it was blaring popular club music, you could feel the ground vibrating from it. You wrinkled your nose a little, the smug oozing off the thing was almost too much. You tried to tell yourself it might just be a family and their kids put the music on loud as a joke.....you were dead wrong. The people that stepped out were four young men. You wrinkled your nose again, everyone else around the campground were either elderly/young couples or families. Not these wannabe campers...

You turned back to your task, just ignore them and things would be fine. You took the pot of hot coco and poured them into some mugs, next was the coffee and whatever the boys put in their coffee. You basically memorized everything these boys put in their drinks. You had just finished pouring the last cup when you heard Papyrus’s triumphant laugh. You turn to find a rather impressive sight, three tents but they were all connected with small extension tunnels, length maybe a single meter?

“Whoa...” you whispered.

You had two large tents sandwiching a slightly smaller one in the middle, you walked over and marveled at them. Papyrus walked over, his hand proudly placed on his hips and chest puffed high.

“Yes a magnificent sight indeed human! A friend of ours lent this to us, the tent on the left over here is where I, Boss, Poplar, Rus and Stretch will sleep. Our brothers will be in the tent on the far right and you will have the center tent!”

You blinked, the center tent was yours? You unzipped the front and looked inside, for goodness sake the center tent could fit five fully grown adults it was so huge! It had pockets to fit your phone too, you looked to and saw two opening ‘doorways’? Tentways? Whatever it was called you looked inside and goodness both sides were massive, but then again it probably was for the best since they were fitting five tall skeletons...and five short ones. Thankfully you found you could zip up both sides for privacy.

“What do you think human?” Asked Papyrus.

“Really amazing!” You couldn’t lie, this was impressive.

“Nyeheheh! Thank you human!”

“Well I’m glad your done cause I’ve just finish setting up the kitchen and have some hot drinks and snacks ready.”

You turned to get the drinks as Papyrus called everyone together, the skeletons all propped their chairs around the fire as you passed out their snacks, coco and coffee. You made yourself a cup of warm butterfly pea tea and sat down in your own chair. Rus softly blew across the top of his coco to cool it down before taking a sip of it, you smiled seeing his eyes light up.

“W-Wow...did you buy a new coco brand?” Rus looked at you, stars dancing in his eyes.

“No, I just made coco the way my parents did. No instant coco or coffee for this camping trip!” You giggle.

Ash smiled wildly as he tasted his coco along with his brother, Nox was inspecting his coffee, inhaling its steam to be sure you did a proper job in preparing his drink. You slyly rolled your eyes but didn’t hold it against him, good coffee is hard to come by or make right. Stretch though was not as picky and spoke up.

“Heeeeey this is pretty good, you sure you didn’t use the instant stuff?”

You knew he was poking fun at you but shook your head, you turned back to Nox, you caught a glimpse of his eyes going wide before returning to normal...followed by a fox like grin.

“Well my dear you certainly have been paying attention to my lessons on coffee haven’t you?” He purred.

“Yes, even I must admit you do have a way with making a good cup of coffee.” Replied Boss sipping his own cup.

Blue, much like Rus had stars dancing in his eyes, if the coffee was a little more cooler he might have chugged his entire mug down in a single go but it was still nice and hot so he had no choice but to sip. Red seemed to be restraining himself from downing his own cup as well. Papyrus and Sans were the last to speak up.

“Wowie human this is truly amazing!”

“Yeah, what did you buy?” Asked Sans, looking into his cup.

You smiled. “If you really want to know, I used milk, butter, sugar and coco powder all mixed together in a small cooking pot. My parents would make that kind of coco all the time in winter when I was really little, when I heard we were going camping I thought I’d share it with you guys.”

“Thats really nice...” said Ash, you smile at him...you were making a lot of skeletons blush today.

Papyrus spoke up next.

“So human, what shall we do now that we’re set up?”

[To be continued..]

[A fanfic reader insert for the fan-game @bonelyheartsclub I hope you enjoy and I will be planning more in the future with gender neutral or male centered readers, I hope you enjoy. Also I kinda guessed on what drinks the boys would like so don’t rag on me about getting drink choices mixed up ok? I’ll make corrections when I learn more about the boys]