#king you could just stop being nosy

[unfinishedslurs]

“You know, I used to have a crush on you,” Steve says. Eddie has got to stop walking in on their conversations. Nancy has picked up on his bad mood, and Eddie can’t tell her it’s because her two ex-boyfriends are fucking.

Jonathan snorts. “Really?” he asks. He sounds like he might be high.

“Oh yeah,” Steve drawls. He’s definitely high. “I was, like, seventeen, and you held my hand and saved my life. Ruined me forever, dude.”

Forever. He wonders what a forever would look like for Steve and Jonathan. Steve’s six kids in a winnebago sounds so out of reach, but he’s sure they’d find a way. Jonathan seems like the kind of guy who’d be good at taking care of kids. 

Eddie’s not. Eddie can’t even look at a child anymore without their mother pulling them away, which fucking sucks. He likes kids.

“Wait, when did I hold your hand?”

“When we were fighting the demogorgon! You don’t remember?”

“We were fighting a monster and you were having a gay crisis?” Jonathan cackles. “Seriously?”

“Hey, I didn’t know it was a gay crisis,” he defends. Eddie can practically see the red on his cheeks. “I thought it was like, a warriors bond or some shit. Brothers in arms. You made me feel the same way Tommy did, I thought we were best friends!”

“You had a crush on Tommy?”

“Jonathan, my guy. I was deep in the closet and we used to practice kiss. Of course I had a crush on him.”

“You used to what?”

“Practice kiss,” Steve repeats, “like, for girls. So we’d be good at it.”

Jonathan’s answering silence speaks volumes.

“Wait,” he says.

Jonathan makes a noise like he’s dying. 

“Wait.”

“Steve,” Jonathan wheezes, “did you tell Tommy-”

“No!” Steve shouts. “No, man, he told me.”

They both erupt into the unbridled laughter of men who are blitzed out of their minds.

“Wait, I need to know,” Jonathan giggles. “Fuck, marry, kill. Me, Eddie, Tommy.”

Oh no. Oh no? God, please no. This is hell. He’s died and God is punishing his sodomy through increasingly mind breaking torture methods.

“Dude,” Steve says, “That’s not fair. I already married Tommy when I was like, five.”

“You what?”

“Yeah, we got, like, fuckin’ playground married and shit. Carol officiated. He gave me daisies.”

“Daisies,”Jonathan repeats, flabbergasted.

“Yeah! And then I learned what a faggot was,” Steve announces proudly.

Jonathan stops laughing.

“Oh,” he says slowly. God, they’ve got to be so incredibly high. Eddie wishes he could join them. “Right. That’s bad.”

“That’s bad,” Jonathan agrees. “But also this is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. Why didn’t you tell me baby you was so cute? What happened?”

“Shut your damn mouth, Byers. I left my husband for you.”

“You left your husband for me,” he says, smug. “Wait, does that make me the other woman?”

“Jonathan,” Steve says, “you’ve always been the other woman.”

They collapse into more peels of laughter, and Eddie can’t take it anymore. He needs to move out.

As he leaves, Steve says, “Dude, you're other-womaning right now.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jonathan says, “cuza your crush on-”

Eddie speeds up, and whatever Jonathan was going to say is lost to the ringing in his ears.

stonathan fwb (steddie)

this one is inspired by this fic by fivecenturiesverse

“Nancy and I broke up.”

“Shit,” Steve says, somehow managing to sound surprised. As if he and Nancy weren’t teetering on the verge of something throughout spring break. “That sucks, man.”

“It…was a long time coming, I think,” Jonathan admits. There’s a soft thump, like Steve clapping Jonathan’s shoulder in solidarity. 

They don’t say anything else, and Eddie almost leaves to go eavesdrop somewhere else when Jonathan speaks. 

“Are you…going to do anything about that?”

“About what?” Steve asks, genuine confusion in his voice. 

“Nancy.”

“Oh.” Steve doesn’t say anything for a moment, and Eddie braces himself to hear the truth. That he’s going to ask her out, ask to get married, ask her to have his six little nuggets and travel across the country together. “No.” 

Eddie’s brain record scratches. 

“Really?” Jonathan sounds rightfully skeptical. 

“Yeah, I don’t…” he lets out a nervous laugh, and Eddie can picture him raising a hand to scratch at the back of his head. “There’s…someone else, and I can’t…she’s amazing. Nancy, I mean. She’s, like, this huge person in my mind, you know? I wanted to love her so much, and I convinced myself she loved me back because it was easier than admitting I was clinging onto something that wasn’t meant to be. I kind of put my whole future on her. Figured if I could love any girl, it’d be the perfect one right in front of me.” He laughs again, hollow. “She was right, to call it bullshit. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“If it helps, I think she really did love you,” Jonathan says, sounding fake as all hell. 

Steve brushes him off. “No you don’t. It’s okay, it was never really real. Not like you guys. That…that really sucks, man.”

“It’s for the best, I think.” There’s a long pause. “You said…if you could love a girl, it would be Nancy.”

“…I did say that,” Steve says warily. Eddie has a feeling he really, really shouldn’t be listening to this, but he can’t bring himself to back away. 

“Do you…are you…” 

“If you’re going to be an asshole, I should tell you that I’ve been working out a lot since ‘83,” Steve interrupts. 

“I noticed,” Jonathan mutters. 

What. 

“What?”

“What?”

“I…nothing,” Steve sighs. 

There’s another, longer pause, filled with tension that Jonathan decides to take an emotional jackhammer to. “Do you want to fuck me?” 

What the fuck. 

Oh, God, he’s going to have to save Jonathan Byers from his tragically straight crush. From their mutual tragically straight crush? …their mutual tragically straight crush, who admitted to not liking girls? 

Something’s not adding up. 

“What the fuck, Byers?” Steve sounds angry, and Eddie prepares to jump in. “What, you think just because I’m queer I automatically want to sleep with you?”

What. 

“No!” Jonathan yelps. “No, that’s not it, it’s just…we’re both queer, and stuck here for the foreseeable future, and I’ve never been with a guy but I trust you.”

There’s a stunned silence. 

“You’re queer.”

Jonathan doesn’t say anything, probably dying of mortification. 

“You trust me?”

“Steve,” Jonathan says gently, and Eddie nearly bites through his tongue. “Of course I do.”

“You and Nancy just broke up,” Steve says, wavering. “And I can’t…there’s someone else. I wasn’t lying about that.”

“It doesn’t have to mean anything. You can say no. I just figured I’d ask.”

“Fuck,” Steve mutters. “You realize I’m just as in the dark here as you are, right? I’ve never been with a guy either.”

“We can find out together,” Jonathan says. “Only if you want to, though.”

A heavy silence, where Eddie has to bite his tongue to keep his cool. 

“Fuck it. Why the hell not?”

Then Eddie has to leave for the sake of his own sanity. Not before he hears the wet smack of a kiss, though. 

Eddie might be going insane. 

It’s like everywhere he looks he sees signs of Steve and Jonathan’s… development. Steve leans forward to grab something and his eyes catch on a hickey under his collar. Jonathan sits a little too gingerly one day, and Eddie’s immediately caught up in a fiery inferno of jealousy that he’s not the one sore from whatever Steve did last night. He has to leave the room. 

It gets even worse when Steve comes by DND wearing a shirt that is clearly Jonathan’s. 

“What are you wearing?” Dustin demands before he can. It’s probably a good thing he did, Eddie might have just started biting him to stake a claim. Which is a useless thought, because Steve isn’t his to claim at all. Steve is Jonathan’s. And stake a claim he did. 

He kind of wishes he could hate Jonathan, but he can’t. The guy’s just so sweet with his brother, and it’s obvious in the way he takes care of people that he’s a good guy. The kind of guy who deserves someone like Steve. Someone would have to be a crazy, fucked-up, jealous asshole to hate him. 

Eddie is all of those things. He’s also great at lying to himself. If he doesn’t admit he hates Jonathan Byers, fellow freak, for sleeping with the most unfortunately spectacular jock imaginable, he never has to confront his own failure to keep to his code. The doctrine that Steve cheerfully set on fire and then stomped the ashes into dust. All without knowing it, the asshole. 

He really can’t blame Jonathan. Eddie’s well aware that he’s made up some weird, one-sided rivalry in his head over Steve’s affections. It’s not his fault that one of them got the guy, and the other got to scream into his pillow at 2am. 

Sure, they both said they were hung up on other people, but how long would that really last? He’s fairly sure Steve was lying about having feelings for someone. Eddie can’t help but watch him, and he’s never once seen a sign Steve was interested in any of the other men he hung out with. 

Steve colors. “It’s Jonathan’s,” he says, picking at the band tee like he’s self-conscious about it. Which is ridiculous. He obviously knows he looks good in anything. “I…uh…spilled something on mine.”

From the way he talks, Eddie has a pretty good idea what exactly got on his shirt. He takes deep breaths, and tries not to chew through the table. He wishes Steve were in his band shirt instead. He’d look great in Judas Priest merch. 

He tries not to picture him in a Corroded Coffin shirt. He fails.

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

hello 🩷recently found and loved your account so i’m here to ask from you!!

criminal minds SSA aaron hotchner x reader

i’d love any explicit smut 😋

ideal trope(s) would be jealousy, established but secret relationship due to workplace like the whole thing stems from AH being jealous af that you’re getting hit on or smth and he can’t do shy about it in public but oh when ur home.. 👀👀👀

hahaha sorry the brain rot is real

thank you if you do this!!

and i hope u never stop writing i’ve been reading ur other posts too i love them sm

༉‧₊˚. 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 || 𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐫

— pairing: aaron hotchner x plus size!reader

— summary: your new relationship brings out a side of aaron that he had never seen before.

— warnings: established relationship, jealousy (obvi), unprotected sex, rough sex, teasing, couch sex, aaron lowkey bends you like a pretzel, heavy praise, he taps you on the cheek (lovingly ofc), implied creampie, consent king aaron!!, slightly insecure aaron, implied age gap but not specified, body massages and an implied size kink!

— wc: 2018

⋆ a/n: WOW a long smut fic, who would have thought? anywho, i'm trying to break free from posting headcanons because i just know they'll overtake this account. thank you for this request!

masterlist | AO3

Aaron felt his eye twitch. 

His eye never twitches.

The culprit? The maintenance man that won’t stop talking to you. 

He had so much paperwork he needed to complete, the stack of it had begun to tower, but Aaron couldn’t manage to get himself to focus on anything else but you. 

Your relationship was fairly new, so you both had just agreed to keep it low-key for now. It wasn’t like you guys were lying, how could you when you were constantly surrounded by nosy profilers? 

With new relationships came new feelings, and one of them he hadn’t felt since he was a young man somehow managed to resurface right under his nose: jealousy.

Yes, he had his moments of jealousy when he had first gotten with Hailey, but this? This was different. The age gap between the two of you wasn’t that large, but it was considerable enough that when he saw men closer to your age creeping around you, it always put him in a foul mood.

Like right now he just wants to storm down there and kiss you right in front of that stupid kid. The urge was primal and unfamiliar, and quite frankly it drove him insane.

Aaron was sure you hadn’t meant to come off as flirtatious, and who were your colleagues to step in if you looked genuinely interested in the guy? For all they knew you were single.

Oh, yeah, this was going to drive him over the edge, and it was all your fault.

It was safe to say you were excited when Aaron had decided to call it an early night, you just hadn’t expected him to jump on you as soon as you breached the threshold of your home.

He didn’t give you time to think or even put your things down, his briefcase followed along by your purse collapsed to the floor with a surprisingly loud thud!

Your lungs burned and your face was hot, heated between the two furnaces that were Aaron’s large and work-worn hands. You desperately clung onto the sleeves of his suit jacket, the material twisting between your fingers to keep yourself sturdy as he walked backwards.

“A- Aaron wha - what’s going on?” You pleaded breathlessly. You had to slightly shove the man away even though you were met with his uncharacteristic resistance. He just stood there and stared at you like a wild man, pupils dilated and chest rising and falling with every hastened breath he took.

He shook his head and blinked, like his thoughts were escaping him. Aaron couldn’t think when you looked at him like that; your lips kiss swollen with a light sheen of spit, your blouse covered breasts grazing his firm chest.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” Was all he could say before reconnecting your lips. 

He continues to walk backwards before the back of his calves meet the couch. He allows himself to drop down with a slight oomf, his needy hands tugging on yours encouragingly until you clambered onto his lap.

He didn’t give you time to show him any hesitancy, his palms gripping your hips firmly and all but holding you down against him. You gasped at the feeling, your fingers scratching at the shaved hairs on the back of his neck. 

“Aaron! What has gotten into you?” The question was a flustered giggle. Aaron’s eyes casted to the side in a rare show of nervousness. 

“It’s ridiculous.” He mutters. “I can bet you a million dollars that whatever you’re going to say isn’t as silly as you think it is.”

“It was that guy. The one that wouldn’t stop talking to you.” It took you a moment to think back on it before you finally understood what he meant. “The maintenance man? What about him?”

“He was flirting with you, and - I don’t know, it made me feel things I haven’t in a long time.”

Saying the actual word jealousy seemed so juvenile to Aaron; he was a grown ass man with a grown ass man job, so what right did he have to be acting like this?

“Oh.” It was long and drawn out. You felt a smirk begin to form on your face and you gently coaxed his eyes to meet yours. Aaron’s gaze was unsure. 

“You know I’m yours, right? I don’t want anyone else that isn’t you, no matter how young, rich or tall.” Your hips begin to grind down on his and Aaron chokes back a groan. His grip on your flesh gets stronger and it draws a whimper out of you.

“Yeah?” He asks sensually, his voice a low purr. He aids in your grinding and your head grows fuzzy. “Yeah.”

He’s quick to reposition the both of you, your back now resting on the couch cushions. He kisses down your neck, nipping lightly at the skin there. It sends a shiver down your spine and your lower half canting up, desperately searching for friction. 

Your hot cunt meets his knee. “Ah! Aaron.” You whined, fingers digging into his shoulders. Your boyfriend has one foot on the ground and the other wedged between your legs.

Aaron rises from your chest for a moment, shoving off his suit jacket and working the buttons on his shirt. You take it upon yourself to take your blouse off, arms reaching behind you to unclasp your bra with learned precision. 

His eyes fall on your breasts and you could have sworn his movements gained a bit of franticness.

“Like what you see?” You couldn’t help but tease, your hands now working to shimmy your pencil skirt down your thighs. “Very much.” Aaron agrees with a lazy half smile. “Here, let me help.” You lift your hips up and he takes both your panties and skirt off at the same time.

The casual show of strength made your stomach clench, and you all but snatched Aaron by the back of his neck back down to your level. A noise of surprise escapes him and you take it as a chance to slip your tongue in his mouth.

Your body begins to heat up, his taking grabs and grips driving you insane.

“Fuck me.” You heave. Aaron pulls away from you, “Are you sure? You aren’t prepared well yet, and I don’t want to hurt you.” You smile softly. “As much as I appreciate your concern about me, I’ll let you know if there’s any discomfort, okay?”

Aaron thinks on your words for a moment, mulling them about in his brain before relenting at the feeling of your sweet, tempting hands stroking his bare chest.

“You always have to keep me on my toes, don’t you?” 

“That was in the agreement.” You bite playfully. He snorts and rolls his eyes, but sits up once more to unbutton his pants. 

With what feels like forever, he’s finally bare for your hungry eyes and clambering on top of you.

Resuming his old position, he wraps your legs around his waist, the tip of his cock poking at your slit. The two of you shiver at the feeling.

“Are you sure about this, sweetheart? You know I don’t mind eating you out; I’m in no rush.” Your cheeks turn warm at his crudeness. “I’m sure, baby. I need you. Now.” With one final search of your face, he begins to push forward.

Your breath catches in your throat and you hold on to his muscular biceps. Your eyes flutter shut at the full feeling of him, your legs trembling and stomach tightening. 

The first initial stretch hurts of course, but with a minute of laying there adjusting to Aaron’s size as he delivers very stimulating circles on your clit to distract you from the discomfort, you find yourself loosening up.

“Move.” You grunted quietly. 

Aaron’s jaw is set tight, the vein in his forehead slightly bulging when he proceeds to thrust experimentally. Your lips roll in between your teeth to hold back the whorish moan that threatens to practically barrel out of you. 

He does it again, and again, and again, until all of his self control is thrown out the window and the only thing he can think of is you; of how tight you are around him.

“It feels so good, baby. So, so good…” You babble, your hands reaching up to grip the armrest of the couch for more leverage. “I know honey, I know. ‘M gonna get deeper, okay?” Aaron groans. You nod wildly, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of your face.

He steadies himself on the knee placed on the couch, lifting your legs up so either one sits on his big, broad shoulders. 

The change in position caused your back to arch, your mouth dropping open into an ‘o’ shape as you struggled to keep your head on straight.“Mphm! You’re so - you’re so deep.” You cried out, tears brimming on your eyelashes. “I know I am, baby. But you can take it right?”

“Mhm! I can! I know I can!” 

“You can take it because you’re mine right? Because you’re my good girl?” 

His praise pushes you dangerously close to the edge, and you’re honestly convinced that the crescent shape of your nails will leave an imprint on the material forever. The couch cushions stick to your skin like glue, the so of skin hitting skin resounded throughout the room lewdly.

A hand lightly slapped your face, your cheeks squeezed between his fingers, puckering slightly.

“I asked you a question, didn't I sweetheart?”

“You did, you did! ‘M sorry. ‘M your good girl, please.”

What you were begging for, you didn’t know; was it mercy? Was it a desperate call for your sanity? Whatever it was could wait, because you were going to cum.

“Gah! God, Aaron, ‘m gonna cum! Help me cum, please.” You begged again. “I got you honey.”

Aaron’s hand slithered down your body before landing on your clit, a calloused thumb drawing it around in firm circles. Your body moved and convulsed violently, your moans growing in volume – you’re sure you’re going to receive a noise complaint in the mail later.

That coil in your stomach threatened to snap, and all you could think to say was, “Cum with me?” 

To be frank, Aaron was ready to cum a few thrusts before, but he was always one to prolong his pleasure if that meant satisfying you.

“Of - of course.” He stuttered, his dominance slowly slipping away from him.

Aaron bent forward just a little more to test how far he could push you, and though you were sure your muscles were going to ache when everything died down, but God, this was so, so worth it.

“F- fuck!” You swore as you came.

Everything disappeared for a moment besides the sound of Aaron’s guttural groan that sounded more like a loud, long-drawn-out whimper than anything when he came too.

You were slowly brought back to reality by Aaron massaging your sore muscles, gently twisting them and rubbing out any potential knots that threatened to form. You knew he'd disappear in a minute to grab something to wipe you down with, but you couldn’t seem to find it within your post orgasmic bliss to care.

“Mm, that’s nice.” You rasped, your eyelids fluttering open to face your disheveled boyfriend. His hair was all out of place in the best way possible, his bare body shining in a clear sheen of sweat. If you weren’t so tired, you think you’d jump straight to a round two.

“I’m sure,” Aaron’s voice was just as hoarse as yours. “I think I pushed your body a bit too far.”

“Don’t get started, Aaron.” You chided lightly. “It was perfect, okay? You were perfect. Now get up here.” 

You dragged him from where he was and laid his body on top of yours.

“Down.” You demanded playfully. “I’m heavy, honey.”

“Don’t care.” You exaggerated the ‘don’t’ and pulled the rest of him down.

“I want to lay like this for a minute.”

“Alright,” Aaron nodded to himself. “I can do a minute.”

ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback @minervadashwood @their-love @fandomsarelifee @theendofthe70s @nomajdetective @mgg-theprettiestboy @phoenixblack89 @celtic-crossbow @hallecarey1 @bunnybabe-babydoll @alixwriter @dixonzzgirl @violettavirus @khxna

[puckinghischier]

Currently sitting here daydreaming about being on the boat with the Hughes boys. Like, just imagine sitting in front of where Jack is as his hands rest against your shoulders where he’s softly massing your bare shoulders as he’s talking with Quinn and Luke as he cheekily plays with the strings of your bikini top, but you go to playfully slap his hand away as he’d chuckle and lean down to kiss your head as he’d pull you in closer as he’d whisper, “Sorry, pretty girl. Just can’t help myself when you look so beautiful. You know what that bikini does to me.”

“no, seriously, i think he’s gonna be even better this year. have you seen the work he’s been putting in this summer? the man is basically the hulk now,” luke rambles on, talking about someone on an opposing team, the name lost on you, not having tuned in to the full conversation.

you’re too busy feeling the warm sun on your darkening skin, basking in the feeling of being on the water.

“okay, you’re exaggerating a bit. he’s definitely been working hard, but he’s only worrying about strength, not skill or stamina,” you hear quinn’s voice respond.

you’re listening intently for clues at this point, too nosy for your own good, wanting to figure out who they’re talking about, but you can’t be bothered enough to ask.

“he’s definitely gotta work on his diet, too. heard he eats nothing but sugar and junk after games. can’t be helping the stats any,” your own boyfriend chimes in, nearly being able to feel the words leave his body as you’re leaned up against him, letting him rub soothing circles on your bare shoulders.

quinn and luke both mumble something in return, but you’re distracted by the switch up in rhythm of your lazy massage. his hands creep down farther towards the front of your shoulders, brushing your exposed collar bones.

leaning farther back, letting him know how much you like the new pattern, you force yourself back into sleuth mode.

“i just can’t imagine paying that much for a personal trainer out in LA just to throw it all away with bad habits. heard he’s been partying like crazy, too,” it’s quinn’s voice that gives you the clues.

LA? so they’re talking about someone from either the kings or the ducks.

as you’re running through your mental roster of each team, you feel the small strip of fabric on your shoulder be lifted from your skin, jack’s fingers slipping underneath to caress the soft skin there.

you keep yourself focused on your train of thought, knowing trevor has an affinity for sugary snacks and junk food, but surely they’re not talking about him?

“it just seems like a waste to me. kid’s got a lot of potential, but seems like he’s throwing it away before he even gets started,” your ears perk at the sound of luke’s voice.

so they’re talking about a prospect? or a rookie?

focusing even harder, thinking back to all of the conversations of jack’s you’ve overheard concerning this season’s prospects, you try to remember any mention of a player that fits the criteria.

however, all that focus you’re channeling goes straight to the feeling of one of your thin straps loosening dangerously. snapping your eyes open, you turn your head to try and see what happened, noticing large, nimble fingers toying with the half-untied not.

you bring your hand up immediately to swat his out of the way, clamping it down to stop any wardrobe malfunctions from occurring.

saying nothing, you turn ever so slightly to glare up at him, noticing the cheeky smile on his face as he looks at his brothers.

you bring your other hand over to re-tie the knot, huffing when you feel his rough hands move to the other shoulder, already toying with the other strap.

“would you stop it? we’re on a boat with your brothers. behave,” you quietly scold so that only he could hear, not wanting to disrupt the conversation you were trying so hard to decipher.

he glanced down at you, smirking before leaning his mouth down to your ear. “sorry, pretty girl. just can’t help m’self. look so pretty in all these colors,” he whispers against your skin, letting his hot breath fan over the sensitive spot behind your ear.

you shiver slightly, craning your neck to give him access to more of your skin, the sensation making you unable to focus on anything else.

“know you wore it just for me. s’my favorite, told you that, didn’t i?” he asks you, focusing his touch on your upper arms now, rubbing up and down in a teasing manner, drawing out goosebumps on your smooth skin.

“mmm, can’t remember, did you?” you basically pant out, swallowing a groan at the feeling of his lips placing a kiss to the top of your neck, tongue peeking out only slightly to taste your warm skin. he knows how quickly you fall apart at the action, eliciting the exact reaction he wanted from you.

his chuckle vibrates through your body, but the sound is covered up by the hum of a boat speeding by your stationary one, bringing you back to the reality of where you were.

you sit up, distancing yourself from jack only slightly, eyes glancing around to make sure no one witnessed the little ‘moment’ you and jack just had.

you swallow thickly, willing every nerve in your body to calm the fuck down.

quinn and luke are too wrapped up in their conversation to realize jack hadn’t chimed in for a few minutes, so they were completely oblivious to what he just tried to do.

relief washes over you, sinking back into jack.

“don’t think this is over, sweet girl,” he speaks lowly into your ear once again. “can’t promise they won’t hear just how happy this little suit of yours makes me when we get back to the house,” he finishes, causing your stomach to drop in anticipation.

you gulp as he raises back up, going back to rubbing your shoulders as if nothing ever happened.

“what do you think, jack? think he’s got the stamina to compete?” quinn asks his younger brother, continuing the conversation neither of you were focused on anymore, not noticing how rigid you’ve suddenly become.

“oh, i don’t know. guess we’ll have to see,” he shrugs. “we all know how important stamina is, after all,” he squeezes your shoulders, letting you know his words were meant for you, not his brothers.

when you can practically feel the smirk on his mouth as he said those words, you decided that buying this bikini was both the best and worst decision you made this summer.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Death Wish 12

Warnings: non/dubcon, mentions of crime, violence/abuse and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: mob!Bucky Barnes

Part of the mob drabbles au

Summary: you’re desperate for a way out of your life and you ask a powerful man for help (plus!reader)

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

Photo Inspo

"Hm, not that one. Dear, I think the last one was it. Perfectly traditional, without being stuffy," Winnifred insists.

You stare at yourself in the mirror. Your pick is everything you prefer. Simple and easy. Not uncomfortable. Not fussy laces or elaborate beading and endless skirts. Just a dress.

Of course, it wouldn't be good enough for a king. Nor his mother. You temper your disappointment. You assume that will need to become a habit. Your opinion, as always, is secondary.

"I suppose it it a bit plain," you agree, "sure. We can go with the last one."

"Are you sure?" Kitty pushes her shoulders up as she slides to the edge of the seat.

"Yes, it's fine," you assure her.

"Congratulations," the associate steps forward. "Shall we get you back in it?"

"No, you can just put in the order," you say. You are in no rush to have her ream on those laces again.

"Of course, you've had a long day," she agrees sheepishly, if not with a hint of surprise. Eight hours is a long day. Too long to spend in a shop. "You should ring the bell. Since you found your dress."

"The bell?" You question then glance over at the other women. "Okay."

The associate flits off and you stand listless in the dress you'll mourn with your previous life. When she returns, she has a big golden bell. She gives you a speech about your happy day and hands it over. You give it a jingle then just as quickly give it back.

"You sure you don't want to try it on again?" Winnifred asks.

You shake your head, "sorry, it's been a long few days."

"Oh, yes, our condolences," Rebecca intones. "Mother, I think Bucky might already have a few words for us for keeping his bride so long already."

"Yes, despite my best efforts, he can be a greedy little boy," Winnifred laughs.

You attempt a smile. You can imagine it's more of a quiver in your lips. Winnifred stands, the other women as well, your sisters hesitant. The three of you are cautiouslt wading through this new world. One where you're no long insignificant. The threat of your father's disapproval has been replaced by a greater one.

You did this. You and your selfish impulsivity. You could excuse yourself for fear or desperation, but you can blame yourself just as much for not thinking out the consequences. Not that you could ever guess they would involve a white gown and diamond ring.

There is some chatter as you are taken back to the lobby. Winnifred attends to the payment as you retreat in embarrassment. Your sisters exchange a none-so-subtle look of concern.

"Well then, girls," the matriarch turns with an accomplished sigh, "allow us to escort you love bridesmaids home." She declares, "I believe you," she stops in front of you and takes your hand, "are due to meet your beloved. Do tell my son I send my tidings. Certainly it won't be long until I might do so myself."

Your sisters stir nervously. You glance at them and nod. Just do what you're told. It's always been the best strategy.

"That's very kind of you,, Winnifred," Kitty speaks first.

"Ah not at all, I should like to see your side of town. I am painfully nosy, though I might paint it as curiousity," she lets you go. "And you might give me some insight into my future daughter. She is rather enigmatic thus far."

You wince. Of course, it all methodical. You claim your jackets and emerge outside. Wanda, Rebecca, and Natasha claim one car, your sisters and Winnifred the next, and another idles as you approach.

The driver comes around and pulls open the door. You hate that. It feels as if you are a puppet on strings. You move to the tugs and tweaks of Barnes' all reaching hand.

You lower yourself onto the seat, peering on ahead of you, and hesitate before you slide in. You don't expect him to be waiting for you there. The door closes as you shift further in. Barnes' takes your hand before you can settle and kisses your knuckle above the ostentatious stone setting.

"Doll," he purrs.

"Barnes," you greet plaintively.

"Ah, you don't gotta be like that," he drawls as he clings to your hand, his thumb feeling the stones.

"Sorry," you nibble your lip. "I'm only tired."

"Yes, I hope you found something," he says. "Ladies and their dresses."

"Mm, yes," you affirm.

He tuts, "you don't sound very excited."

"Not sure I'm fit to wear white..." you mutter.

"Doesn't bother me, doll. We've both lived lives before we met--"

"Not that," you interject, surprisingly yourself at your curtness. "You know why."

He inhales deeply and sighs, "he got all he had coming. We both know that."

"Yes, but it was me...." you trail off and shrug.

You sense him watching you. You stare ahead and swallow down all those confusing emotions. "It's done, I suppose."

"I respect the apathy, doll, but you don't gotta play cool with me," he insists.

"I don't give-- I don't care about him."

He nods and gives a thoughtful im, "your sisters. Have I not proven myself to you? I told you I'd see to them, I'm a man of my word.”

“I believe it,” you resign. “It's… a lot. I don't think I'm what you think. I don't think I can do this.” You slump in defeat. “I'm not what you're looking for. You've made a bad choice.”

“Hmph,” he scoffs. “That you even got the guts to tell me so shows me you're wrong. You don't know how right you are for me, doll.”

He snakes his arm behind you and pulls you close. “Now you're not gonna roll over and show your belly. Not if you're my woman.”

“I'm not…”

“We were both in that warehouse,” he lowers his voice as his fingertips curl into your hip. His other hand brushes over your lap. “You did what needed to be done. Just like today. Just like yesterday. Every step of the way You've shown me exactly what you say you're not.”

“Bucky, I just wanted to be free,” you latch onto his forearm. “That's all–”

“You're free. And safe. You know what I'd do for you, doll? What I'll do to keep you safe? Happy? To keep you mine.” He leans in to nuzzle your cheek, “that's the one thing about me you haven't figured out. I'm stubborn. I put my mind to something and I do it. Exactly what you did when you showed up battered and begging–”

“Please,” you rasp and his nose tickles down your cheek and he dips down to kiss your neck. His lips and beard send a tingle through you.

“On my honour, you'll never look like that again. You'll never be bruised and the hand that dares to lay a single blemish on you will be cut off,” he nips your skin.

The tenor of his voice brooks no doubt nor the tight grip his keeps on your thigh. His hot breath blooms around your neck and he growls. You made a deal with the devil and now he's come to collect.

[steddie-island]

Broken

Written for day one of @steddie-week | Prompt: Secret relationship Rating: T | WC: 1,757 | Tags: Hurt/ Comfort, secret relationship, (referenced) canon-typical violence, coming out, slightly altered timeline ao3 | divider credit

No one was answering the phone at the Harrington house. There were no cars were in the driveway. There was a light on in the pool house, but Eddie knew that Steve left everything by the pool lit up as much as he could, though Steve had never explained why, and Eddie hadn't asked.

Eddie was starting to panic. No, that wasn't right, because he'd passed starting to the second day Steve hadn't shown up at school.

By day three, the radio silence had him chain smoking as he drove around town, looking for any sign that Steve still existed.

The fucked up thing was that Eddie wasn't supposed to notice. He wasn't supposed to care whether recently dethroned King Steve was okay, or whether he'd fucked off out of town. They weren't supposed to know each other beyond picnic table transactions while Hagan tried to get Eddie to give him a discount.

No one knew about the detentions they shared. They didn't know about Steve pulling up beside him when his car wouldn't start, didn't know about the hour they'd spent together figuring out what the fuck was going on. Or about the Saturday Steve volunteered to help him actually fix it.

They didn't know about the lunches spent in the back of Eddie's van, about the nights they watched the stars together through the open back doors.

They didn't know how soft Steve's voice had been when he'd whispered Eddie's name before they'd shared their first, and then their second, kiss.

Now the beautiful boy he cared about had fucking disappeared, without a goddamn trace, and Eddie was losing his mind.

One more sweep. One more sweep, and then I'm going to the police. Not like they hadn't ran into each other plenty, only maybe this time Eddie wouldn't end up in handcuffs.

The sound he let out at seeing Steve's car in the driveway was between a laugh and a sob. He barely had time to park the car before he was tripping over his feet all the way to the door.

"Steve! Steve, let me in!" His palm pounded on the door, and he knew Steve would yell at him for not even trying to be discreet when he'd warned about nosy neighbors more than once. "Ste—" The door opened, and Eddie stopped in his tracks. 

Steve's face was swollen and turning several varying shades of yellow and green, purple and red. Eddie's stomach dropped.

He'd expected a lot of things, was ready to be angry for being ignored for three whole days. There was anger, but it wasn't directed at Steve.

"Fuck. Fuck, sweetheart." Eddie slipped inside, closed the door, took Steve's face carefully into his hands. "Who did this to you?"

Steve winced as Eddie's thumb brushed against a fading bruise on his jaw. "This is really not a good time," he murmured. He meant to pull away, but he couldn't. Not now that Eddie was here, holding him, tugging him closer and tucking Steve so carefully against his chest. "Are you okay?" Eddie whispered. "I've been so worried, tried calling but no one answered…" "I've been staying with the Hendersons," Steve murmured. "Dustin's mom is a nurse, she was taking care of me. I haven't been home long." He turned his head to kiss Eddie's palm. "You should go, I'm okay now. I'm—" "I'm not leaving you." Eddie tipped Steve's head up and hissed softly at the discoloration on Steve's eye, where the white wasn't so white anymore. "Who did this, Stevie?" "Eddie, stop. Doesn't matter, it's been handled. It's fine. I'm fine. I don't have a concussion anymore. Claudia wouldn't let me leave until she was sure of that. I just need to sleep some more." Steve folded his fingers around Eddie's. "Go home. I'll call you in a couple of days." "No." Eddie pulled Steve in with an arm around his waist. "You're hurt, I'm not leaving you." He oh so carefully pressed their foreheads together before kissing the good corner of Steve's mouth. "I'm not going anywhere." "Dingus, you said it would be a second, but it's been— what the fuck—" Eddie looked up, his eyes wide. A girl Eddie had seen around school stood in the entryway to the living room with her arms over her chest. Her face was red, her mouth an open o of surprise.

Oh.

Oh.

Eddie's heart sank. This thing couldn't have lasted, he should have known that. Steve had someone else here, someone else taking care of him, why would Steve have called when he wasn't needed? When he wasn't wanted?

Before Eddie could drop his hands from Steve's face, though, Steve was gripping his wrists. "Eddie, wait, it's not like that. Robin's—" "Oh my god!" The girl— Robin— had both hands in her hair. "Steven, if you were not coming off of the assbeating of a lifetime I would give you another one. You made fun of my crush, but you didn't tell me you're screwing around with Eddie fucking Munson?"

The pink that flooded into Steve's face added to the rainbow painting the rest of his skin already. "God, you're as loud as Henderson." He shook his head, hissed when that made the world spin, then caught Eddie's fingers instead of his wrist. "Guess the cat's outta the bag." "Don't you mean you're out of the closet?" Eddie joked. He was staring at Robin, who didn't look pissed, or disgusted, or jealous.

Okay, maybe she was pissed, but not because he'd been kissing Steve.

"Is this why you kept asking for the phone?" Robin demanded. Even with sounding annoyed there was still a softness in the way Robin spoke to Steve as she adjusted the couch pillows for him. Eddie guided Steve directly to the spot Robin had made for him before sitting pressed tight against his side. There was a bag of frozen vegetables on the coffee table that Robin picked up and pressed into Steve's hand, meaning for him to cover his face again.

"I couldn't out Eddie to you," Steve pointed out. "But… yeah." He looked at Eddie. "I'm really sorry, but… I couldn't remember your phone number?"

"Concussions do that." Robin folded herself on Steve's other side and pressed the bag of vegetables into his hand, clearly ordering him to put them back on his face. "And this isn't his first one. I'm Robin, by the way. Buckley. I'm in band."

"Munson. I'm in a band." Eddie scratched lightly through Steve's hair, as if searching for any other places he was hurt that all that hair was hiding. "What the fuck happened?"

"Nothing," Steve said at the same time as Robin said, "Billy."

"Billy." Eddie looked at Steve and felt his stomach twist. "Fucking Hargrove did this to you?"

"Eddie, it doesn't matter," Steve said. He could feel an Eddie rant coming on— or worse, he knew Eddie, knew he didn't like fighting but he would fight for the people he loved. And he couldn't let Eddie get hurt on his behalf. "It's been taken care of."

"Taken care of. By the sheriff?" Eddie demanded. He looked at Robin, clearly expecting for her to answer as the person who didn't have the concussion.

"Max almost took out the Hargrove family line with Steve's bat," Robin said. At Eddie's confusion she made a swinging motion that landed between her own knees.

"Max is his little sister," Steve explained. "She stole my car, too."

"Hey, she did a better job than I would have," Robin pointed out.

Eddie shook his head— none of this made a damn bit of sense. "Why was Max driving your car?"

"Because I was in the backseat with Steve, trying to make sure he didn't die," Robin explained. She winced and reached out to take Steve's hand. "Billy broke a plate over his head."

"Jesus Christ." Eddie pulled Steve closer, kissed his temple gently. "How the fuck are you alive right now?"

"Spite?" Steve joked weakly.

"It was bad," Robin murmured. "Like… really bad. I didn't think Steve was going to wake up, and when he did wake up he kept getting sick…" She turned slightly green at the memory. "Claudia— Mrs. Henderson— she barely let him leave the bed for two days. He refused to get a CAT scan, but he listened to that much, at least. Stubborn asshole."

"Wouldn't have helped." Steve rested his head against Eddie's shoulder and closed his eyes. "We knew what happened, and we could guess how bad it was."

"Stubborn asshole," Robin said, waving at Steve with one hand while looking at Eddie as if to ask what to do with him.

"Claudia says you're okay?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Steve looked up at him with his one good eye. "I just… have to be really careful. No more concussions or I might not be so fine next time."

Once again Robin held on to his hand tightly, like they were anchoring each other together, keeping the Billy Hargroves of the world away by pure force of will.

"How long has this been going on?" Robin asked suddenly. "The two of you I mean."

"Few months," Eddie said, like he didn't have the date circled on his calendar, like he wasn't ready to get it tattooed over his heart.

Robin lightly punched Steve's thigh. "You could've told me," she said. "You can tell the rest of your kids, too, you know. They love you, too."

Steve smiled softly. "Maybe I wasn't ready before," he said. "But after seeing Red go after Billy… there's nothing those little shits can't handle."

"I need to know what happened," Eddie said. "There's still so much that isn't adding up."

Steve winced as he sat back up. "It is a… really, really long story. And it's not a pretty one. I'll tell you, but… maybe later? For now, can we just put on a movie and… and you two hold me?"

"Whatever you need," Robin said without any hesitation. She jumped up to grab the remote and to push the table closer to the couch.

"You'll tell me later?" Eddie asked.

"Promise." Steve kissed Eddie's cheek gently, then snuggled to him so Robin could take her place, too.

Anyone who looked at Steve could figure out this was a sad story, an angry story. It was a fucking horror story.

As the opening credits of Grease started playing, Eddie promised himself that he was going to make damn sure Steve got a happy ending out of it.

[deadsetobsessions]

Headmaster Dumbledore is sure that the ghosts of Hogwarts were hiding something. He’d be the first to admit that he’s nosy when it came to things like these, but he simply doesn’t have the time. Whatever that lingered these halls, he’s sure does not mean Hogwarts any harm. The ghosts would not protect it if it did.

Albus Dumbledore Hummer around a lemon drop as his quill scratched over endless parchment paper.

His wand glowed green for a brief second, an acknowledgement, and settled down into its current owner’s hold.

——

Danny Phantom hadn’t thought the castle he found during the summer months in this universe would be… so full of life. Not when there were ghosts, floating around like the castle were their own home.

Magic.

They were ghosts made of magic.

His core struggled, at first, to survive. Then, it took the magic and thrived.

He floated, invisible amongst the glittering candles beneath the imitated night sky, and watched students file in.

Quite different, from his own entrance.

He had floated into the tower, having felt a hint of resistance that he knew now were the castle wards. The ghosts, what he thought were ghosts before he realized ectoplasmic ghosts existed, stopped dead. Hah.

The shades dancing and whirling and conversing froze as he entered the tower. Life and death, and the beings that walked the line, stopped at the arrival of the One Who is the Line. The boy king wreathed in black and green glanced around.

“Hello. I’m Phantom.”

“The High King,” a ghost whispered. “Our king.”

“He’s an American?” Another one asked, scandalized. Danny, surrounded by those who he recognized as his, cracked the first smile he’s had in a while.

“Who cares? He’s…” The knight sunk to his knees, bowing with his ghostly sword in front of him.

The ghosts bowed. Danny floated in further. “Can you tell me where I am?”

“Of course.”

——

Now… he’s watching the children get Sorted. Weird, for a hat to decide your classmates, but whatever.

Harry Potter’s name is called, and the whispers broke out. He doesn’t know why, but Danny couldn’t ask the ghosts. They barely know the current headmaster, as the dead generally care only for their own times.

Danny decides to visit the lake octopus. Lake squid? Something like that. The mer people beneath the waters liked him, the last time he went. The Sorting is put out of Danny’s mind. He’s dead now, too. The only thing he cares about now is to explore the vast halls of Hogwarts and the occasional visit to the kitchen to steal some food for his living body.

(Thank the Ancients he found a house elf who knew what seasoning was.)

(Sometimes, Danny flew to where his home would have been and gets comfort food at the nearest town. He missed it, but he can’t go back.)

The ghosts know by now to call for Phantom should they need something (“I’m American,” he joked at the ghost. “We’re not big on kings. You can just call me Phantom.”)

——

The third year he’s there, Danny feels the effects of Clockwork’s power. When he investigates, it’s the red headed girl he once saw leaving the library, paper clutched in her hand.

She helped save one of his subjects, so he owes her. Plus, if she’s using Clockwork’s powers, this Hermione has potential.

And… she’s using it to study.

She reminds him of Jazz.

——

A wave of ice crackled and froze the fleeing rat and the feral wolf man.

“What?!” Harry screeched to a stop, eyes wide at the ghost child in front of him.

Danny turned, and landed gently on the ground. Snape snarled at him in suspicion. Danny allowed himself to become living again, black hair and blue eyes and tan skin replacing the white, green, black thing his dead form had.

“Who’re you?” The red-headed boy, Ron?, asked him through gritted teeth.

Danny smiled at them, dimples appearing. “A friend.”

Before the trio and co. could say anything, Danny whips his head around, palm coming up.

“Stop.” He orders. The creeping sense of cold and dread shuttered to a stop. “Go over there,” he said, and the dementors, hovering at the edge of his periphery obeyed. Danny turned back to the mildly terrified and flummoxed group.

“Let’s go. You’re all going to catch a cold, if you don’t move it. Especially you, scrawny and greasy.” He pointed at the godfather and Snape.

——

“Hey, Danny?”

“What, Harry?”

“Why’d you help us? I mean, you said you didn’t want to involve yourself in stuff like that.”

Danny hummed, wisped tail curling up against him as he soaked in the sun’s rays. “Because you reminded me of myself. And in the end, you died.”

“You literally brought me back,” Harry deadpanned, remembering the place between life and death, and how the angry Danny was when he stormed onto that train platform. The King had taken him by the scruff of his shirt collar like a particularly incensed mother cat, and dragged him off away from a puzzled Dumbledore.

“You were being stupid. You’re too young to die.”

“Like you?”

Danny snorted. “Nah. I didn’t have a choice.”

[gurugirl]

The Work Trip

Photo is for aesthetics only!

Sugardaddy!harry x yn

Summary: Harry takes Y/n with him on a work trip.

Word Count: 4850

Warning: 18+ only, smut, cheating (technically)

The Arrangement Masterlist

When Harry told Jessica to also book Y/n on the two-night trip she gave him a look that he knew to be scrutiny. He figured there would be questions about why he was taking an intern with him on a business trip but he didn’t care. He could explain it away by saying he’d rather have an intern assist him than have someone else go with him who could be of better use at the office.

“What’s with you and Y/n anyway?” Sean teased as he stopped into Harry’s office.

“Nothing. Just wanted to have someone there to print out decks for us if we need, or executive summaries. Get our coffee. Things like that.”

His best friend nodded with a grin, “Sure. Whatever you say, Har. What about the way you flirt with her? Or the way she locks up and gets all ditzy when you’re around?”

Harry brushed his friend off. He wouldn’t tell Sean what he was doing with his cute little intern. All the disgusting and dirty little things she eagerly allowed him to do to her. That was just for him and Y/n.

No one knew for sure but some were more nosy than others. He’d have to behave himself with Y/n on the trip since Sean would be there as well. He already had a plan in place to make sure no one knew what was going on.

.           .           .

Y/n had her own hotel room. She had a little balcony and the bed was soft and the TV came with unlimited channels. Harry told her he’d give her instructions soon but that she was just to wait for him. She was allowed to order food if she wanted but not to leave the hotel because he would be expecting her to do something for him. She was not quite sure what that entailed just yet.

After ordering French fries and a fruit cup she got his first set of instructions via text.

Take the spare key card I gave you for my room and let yourself in at a quarter to 4. Don’t be late.

It was already 3 pm. Harry and Sean had been at some meeting for the better part of three hours. They’d had an early check-in to their rooms and then immediately left for their first meeting of the trip.

She quickly ate her snack and then used the bathroom before cleaning herself up a touch. If she knew one thing she could probably expect, it would be that he’d have her naked in some capacity and she always preferred at least being fresh for him. He never seemed to mind one way or the other but for her own sake, she liked to keep clean.

When she entered his room she noted it looked an awful lot like hers. But except for two double beds, there was one large king bed in the middle. Just as soft as hers.

At 3:40 she received her second text.

Take all of your clothes off for me. I’ll be there soon.

Her heart pounded as she folded her clothes and sat everything neatly on a chair. She loved not knowing exactly what Harry was going to do to her. Loved the anticipation of being caught off guard. Loved that he did all the thinking for her.

When the hotel room door opened Harry walked into the room like he was on a time crunch (he was) and took his suit jacket off, folding it and draping it on a chair.

He smiled at his pretty naked girl. She had goosebumps and perked nipples and he couldn’t resist touching her neck. “You’re such a good girl for, Daddy. Now climb up onto the bed, hands and knees down.”

She minded him quickly, crawling on all fours to the center of his bed, and turned her head to watch him as he dug into his suitcase.

Rope.

“Did you use the bathroom already? Peed and everything?”

“Yes.”

“Good girl.” He kneed up to the bed next to her and pulled her arms behind her back, winding the rope around her wrists snugly, and then lifted her hips to have her ass up while her face was down into the soft bedding.

She felt his lips on her bottom before he pressed a kiss to her cunt and then to her anus. She felt the cool wetness of the lube as he smeared it over both her holes, “Gonna plug you up, okay? Relax…” he pressed an anal plug at her back entrance and she did as he said, relaxing her muscles as he pushed it into her small opening, securing it in place with a final little twist once it was inside.

“And before I leave I’m gonna fill you with my come and then I’ll plug your pussy up, make you keep it inside until I return after dinner. Okay?” He checked with her, knowing she’d say yes but still enjoying her little squeaks of compliance.

Harry undid his buckle and quickly pulled his pants down. He didn’t have much time to waste. They were due to meet out front in less than 15 minutes. He stroked himself with the lube and got his cock nice and hard as he enjoyed the site of her spread out for him with her ass in the air.

“Ready for Daddy’s cock, baby?” He pressed his tip to her entrance.

“Yes,” she cooed, “Please Daddy. Use my hole for your come.”

Harry pumped the base of his cock as he pressed in until he had both hands at her hips and he was bottomed out.

“This is gonna be really fast because I’ve got to go, but I need you to stay quiet or else you don’t get to have my come. Understand?” He asked her as he drew his dick out to tip and slowly pressed back in, repeating his strokes so she would open up and begin to wet him naturally. The lube helped, but he loved when she was wet for him.

“Yes. I promise to keep quiet.”

At that Harry began to pound into her quickly, feeling his cock stimulated by the little plug inside of her as he slid into the hilt and backed out, thwacking himself into her harshly.

He had to bite his lip not to moan. She felt so delicious around him and the plug was just intensifying how tight she already was.

She grunted as quietly as possible each time his hips smacked into her. With his long, thick cock moving inside of her, it was nudging into the plug in her ass and it made her clench and get wetter and wetter. It felt so good being fucked in her cunt while her ass was plugged.

But he came so fast. She felt him pulsing and throbbing in her as he quietly groaned and squeezed her hips. She sighed at the feel of his come being stuffed into her. She loved being filled with him.

Harry panted as he rammed himself once more inside of her deeply before giving her a light swat, “There we go. Just needed to get off with my little fuck hole or I was going to explode,” he spoke quietly as he pulled out.

She felt him spread her legs and then press the squishy silicone of the plug to her pussy. It was lightweight and shaped so that it wouldn’t come out easily. Once it was pressed inside and secured Harry lifted her by the back of her neck and kissed her, “Stay right here for me. I’ll be back in less than 3 hours. Take a nap. Here,” he helped her onto her side so she could lie down more comfortably.

She smiled at him and already felt herself getting sleepy. She didn’t get to come but she was satisfied being stuffed with his.

Harry left her locked in his room and feeling lighter after having just orgasmed and he wasn’t even late to meet Sean at the front of the hotel to get their car. And as delicious as the dinner was he couldn’t stop thinking about Y/n waiting for him the whole time. He wondered if she’d sleep or if she’d get thirty (he had left her an open bottle of water with a straw in it on the bedside table. Or if she was getting herself all wound up and desperate for him as the minutes went by.

Once the bill was paid Sean and Harry got into the back of the car to have their driver take them back to the hotel, “Let’s go get a drink somewhere.” Sean suggested.

Harry would have if he didn’t have Y/n with her hands tied behind her back and plugged up, waiting for him, “Not tonight. I’m exhausted with the trip here and everything. Maybe tomorrow night.”

“Really? You don’t want to get a drink with me because you’re exhausted?” He didn’t seem like he was buying Harry’s excuse.

Nodding his head he doubled down, “Really. I’m just ready to call it a night.”

Sean nodded and Harry could see he looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

“What? You don’t believe me?”

Sean laughed and grinned, “I don’t know. This doesn’t have anything to do with that cute intern does it?”

“Of course it doesn’t. You know the arrangement I have with Romy. I’m getting what I need within her boundaries and our intern doesn’t have anything to do with that.” He lied.

Sean knew all about the agreement Harry had with his wife. He was his best friend after all. Sure they were work partners too, but it was always friends first so he knew everything about what Harry and Romy were going through.

“Okay. Just asking. I believe you.”

Harry nodded. The guilt he felt about lying was slowly fading away every time he did it. He trusted Sean but he didn’t need to know to know everything.

Y/n was wiggling the slightest when Harry walked back into his room. His pretty girl was facing the door with her arms behind her back. Her pupils were wide and dark over her eyes. He could see she was a bit of a mess.

He sat down next to her and smoothed his palm over her hip, “Are you okay, baby? How are your little holes?”

She let out a little breath, “I need you, Daddy. I want you inside of me. Please.”

His grin was proud. She was plugged in both holes and her hips were swaying gently as she lifted her thigh to show him, “Please, Daddy,” she let out a shattered moan.

“Oh, baby. Look at you,” He moved his fingers to rub at her clit and she closed her eyes and gasped lightly.

“Yesss… thank you…” Her words were breathy.

Her clit was slippery but the plug in her pussy was keeping most of her arousal inside. As well as his come from earlier. He gently manipulated her clit, pressing into it and stroking it back and forth with light pressure as she panted and writhed into his hand, her eyes on him.

“There you go. A little relief for my sweet girl. Feels good doesn’t it?” He took his fingers away and walked to the opposite side of the bed behind her to undo her wrists. He knew they must be sore. She watched him over her shoulder with rounded eyes. Still wanting more.

He laughed when he saw her pained look, “Don’t worry. I’ll give you Daddy’s cock soon. Just need to get you comfy first before I put you in a different position. Okay?”

She grumped with a small pout as she turned away. She knew he would take care of her but she was aching. The pussy plug was smushed into her g-spot and every time she shifted her hips she could feel it pressing into it and it was driving her insane. Not to mention the way the butt plug was filling her anus and making her ass tingle in the best way.

Harry rolled her to her back and grasped her chin, turning her face toward him, “Don’t fuss at me. I’m here to put you out of your misery. Unless you’d rather just suck me off and we’ll be done for the night. You get nothing.”

She shook her head, “No. I need it. I’m so… it hurts, Daddy,” she exaggerated. It didn’t actually hurt. But it was achy and she wanted to come so bad her tummy was twisting and she was trembling.

Harry spread her legs apart and looked at the plugs filling her holes before he stood from the bed to take his belt off, “I don’t believe that it hurts, Y/n. I think you’re being dramatic. Would you like it to hurt?” He asked in that mocking way that made her skin glow hot. “I can make it hurt for you if you want.”

He leaned over her with the belt in his hand as she watched him wrap the leather around his fist, leaving the end to drape over her hip as he dragged it up over her tits.

She was so frustrated. She just wanted relief. Her body was vibrating with need and she was so close she knew she’d come if he just kept his fingers on her clit for one minute. She’d be done for. But he was teasing her instead. She cried in frustration, “Please! I need to come!”

Harry grinned and pushed her to her tummy as he straddled the back of her knees to keep her from wiggling too much.

“I don’t like having you cry at me so loudly. You’re being a bit of a brat for Daddy. If you’d just been sweet I’d have let you come on fingers. I know that felt so good on your aching button, didn’t it?”

She nodded into the comforter and turned her head, “It felt so good. I want it. Please.”

He landed the first strike of his leather belt across her cheeks and she yelped, “And how does it feel to be spanked instead?”

She caught her breath and swallowed, “Hurts.”

He gave her another swat and she groaned and arched her back, trying to move away but she was pinned down. “That’s right. See this hurts,” he did it again, leaving behind a mark from the belt across her skin, “Waiting to have your clit rub doesn’t hurt. Isn’t that right?”

She sucked in a sharp breath, “Sorry. You’re right. Sorry, Daddy.” She rushed her words out.

Harry dropped the belt to the floor and removed his shirt as he kept his eyes on her, standing next to the bed, “Get up. Take my pants off for me.”

She shimmed herself around and tried not to put her bottom onto the comforter where her bum was sore before she stood to her feet and bent to quickly undo his pants at his direction.

She’d gotten really good at removing him from his pants. Far better than Romy had ever been. With his wife, she dawdled too much. Y/n never dawdled. She was eager. Desperate. And that’s exactly what he wanted.

She pulled the fabric of his brushed wool pants down his legs and looked up at him as she placed her fingers into the waistband of his underwear, “Can I take these off too, please?”

He loved when she said please. Loved that she wanted him so badly. It fed his ego to be so desired. But mostly he loved it because he wanted her just as badly. He’d really started feeling like she was more than just an arrangement. Y/n was something very special to him.

With Harry’s nod Y/n quickly pulled his underwear down his legs and helped him step out of them before she sat back onto her haunches in front of him, looking up at him from her position on the floor.

She could tell he was pleased with her. Despite his little correction, she knew he enjoyed it.

“On the bed, spread your legs.” Harry instructed.

Y/n stood up and sat onto the mattress and spread her legs. Harry stepped toward her and grasped the soft underside of her knees and lifted so that her feet were pressed into the mattress. He spread her legs apart more and thumbed at her clit.

Y/n bit her lip and watched Harry’s eyes as he focused on her pussy and his thumb.

“Messy. Does this feel good inside of you, Y/n? Made you all swollen and puffy for me didn’t it?”

She nodded, “Yes, Daddy. But not as good as you feel inside of me.”

Harry pulled his lips into his mouth to suppress his grin as he looked at his pretty girl, “Is that right? Well I am technically inside of you right now aren’t I?” He teased as he continued to stroke her clit.

She moaned softly and nodded.

“Yes. You’re all full of my come still. And when I take this plug out it’s gonna weep out of your little hole isn’t it?”

Another quick nod of her head as she began to pant. She was going to come. His thumb on her felt too good.

“Daddy…” she whined and pressed her thighs together just enough to indicate what was about to happen, “Can I come, please? Oh!”

Harry chuckled at her desperation as he continued rubbing her, “Go ahead, sweetheart.” He held one of her thighs tight to keep her in place.

Y/n’s eyes rounded out and her mouth dropped open wide as she watched Harry’s face, her orgasm rushing quickly through her veins. With a gently buck of her hips into his hand she gasped and threw her head back.

She knew to keep quiet but it was hard.

Her small squeaks and moans and the view Harry had of her had finished the job of making his cock swell. The toys peeking out from her ass and her pussy were pulsing with her orgasm and somehow she was so wet that she dripped, despite being plugged up.

“Good girl. Being so polite and quiet while you let go with all my come deep inside of you. Feels good to orgasm with my come in there doesn’t it?”

She couldn’t answer him. She was too busy trying to keep her voice down and get through her much-needed orgasm. She clamped around the spongy soft pussy plug and even her anus was quivering.

Harry released her thigh and began to stroke himself as he helped her lie to her back, keeping her bottom close to the edge of the bed as he was still standing.

She was heaving and hot and wiggly as he began to pull at the toy in her pussy. He watched as she stretched around it and her arousal clung to it in strings as it was placed on the bed. He peered down at her pretty hole and thrusted a finger inside then pulling it out to see his come finally run out a little. But he wanted his come to stay inside of her so he grapsed the back of her knees and pressed her thighs to her chest and angled himself above her, his cock pushing into her muscle quickly and deeply.

They both moaned in unison. Harry had needed that. He’d been imagining it all dinner and now he was finally going to have his girl and take his time with her, make her come on his cock like she deserved. Like he deserved.

Harry’s long shaft felt so good moving inside of her. The spongy toy was nice and filling, but it was soft and didn’t move unless she shifted into certain positions. She loved the hardness of him and how deep and heavy it felt. His cockhead stroked her g-spot satisfyingly.

He watched his engorged dick disappear inside of her, coated with her cream and his come. Repeated thrusts punched into her guts made her grunt and groan.

When he pulled out, keeping his dark pink tip pressed to her hole he moaned as he watched more of his come drip out and down to her ass, making a path around the plug and disappearing under her bum as he painted his cock through her sopping crease to collect a little come before plunging himself back in, fucking his own come back into her.

“Stuffed with Daddy’s come and his cock, baby. Feel better now? This what you needed?” He panted his words as he rocked into her in harsh thuds, wet skin colliding.

She grunted a yes and yelped when he ground himself down into her and she felt him in her cervix, nudging in so close to her uterus.

Y/n was spinning and free-falling. Her knees pressed into her chest and Harry’s breathing and the sound of her creamy pussy getting fucked… And the way he felt inside of her… She was in heaven. All she needed was him doing with her what he wanted.

He couldn’t get over how good she always felt. He sometimes wondered if it was just because it was Y/n. Because it was his girl, and that’s why she felt so good around him. Her pussy was always wet for him, always gripped him perfectly, and made his cock feel like it had found its true home. He hated comparing her to Romy but he couldn’t help it. Because he was starting to resent his wife and Y/n was growing more and more important to him. Everything about her was better, he concluded. Not just her pussy and her mouth. But Y/n was better. They fit so well together in every way.

“Gonna take another one of Daddy’s loads, Y/n?”

She breathed a yes and clung to the blankets for leverage as he hammered into her.

“I know you will. But I need you to come first. Give me another,” his balls were already squeezing and cock was throbbing inside of her, precome mixing with his earlier orgasm inside of her.

Y/n wasn’t sure she could come again. She was wiped out. And in that particular position, her clit was neglected completely so it would take a lot longer for her to get close enough.

But of course Harry knew this. Because he’d really gotten to know Y/n’s body over their short time together. They’d done a lot of fucking since he propositioned her so it wasn’t hard to figure out all her little spots and what she needed.

He pulled out and released her legs, “Roll over honey, hands and knees.”

Y/n pushed herself to her side and got up to her hands and knees, ass in the air, the little plug sparkling at Harry.

He smacked her right cheek and then her left before gripping her hips to position her the way he wanted. He kept himself standing as he pulled her cheeks apart and twisted the anal toy, making her jolt slightly.

Harry grinned as he picked his belt up from the ground and returned to his spot. He leaned over her back and wrapped the belt around her neck, looping the end through the buckle for a makeshift leash until it was just tight enough.

He took one of her hands and pulled it up to her core, “Rub your messy pussy while I fuck it.”

His voice was deep and severe. Y/n began to finger at her clit as Harry gripped the belt in his hand and pulled to keep her neck back for him. Carefully, he pushed back into her pussy and hissed. He was sensitive and aching but her warm, slick walls greeted him with relief.

Y/n choked out a moan when she felt Harry begin to glide through her walls and his fingers dug into her hips. The belt around her neck wasn’t as tight as the collar he’d gotten her, but it did squeeze around her neck with a slight pinch that she loved.

When Harry pulled out to grab the belt it gave him a break so he knew he’d be able to last longer until she could finally come. He wanted to feel her pulsating and clenching around him in her orgasm as he came inside of her. There was nothing better in the world than to be in the throws of ecstasy while a warm, wet pussy was fluttering around his cock and milking him of everything.

But his reprieve and the small break did little good. He was on edge nearly immediately upon thrusting into her.

Y/n felt her limbs start to quiver slightly and her pussy just felt so good she could die. That would be the way to go too. With Harry’s dick deep inside of her and drool down her face? Yeah. She’d lived a good life. And that was in part due to the man railing her to death at that moment. Death by cock. Happily.

The belt was pulled back a couple of inches and Y/n’s neck with it. Harry leaned over her back, one fist holding the end of the belt and his other in the mattress right next to your hand, his arm aligned over yours. He pushed in deep and continued to thrust inward, “Hear that, baby?” The slower swing of his hips as his cock inched in and inched back, spreading your dripping cunt apart sounded like an audio porn. You knew you were wet, you always were for Harry, but having him fuck into you not only being aroused and wet but having his last release still inside of you was extra messy. And extra hot so you were both moaning and panting together.

“Yes, Daddy. Sounds like you’re fucking me really good.”

“Yeah? You like getting fucked really good, Y/n?”

“Yes, Daddy!”

Harry stood back up and began to roll his hips into her at a hungrier pace. Y/n was doing everything in her power to keep her volume down as she started to come. With her neck pulled back slightly it felt like she had almost no control. That Harry called the shots. Which had always been the case but the physical act of having his leather belt used to spank her and then wrap around her neck like a leash and collar made her feel unhindered.

When he felt her begin to spasm around him he released the collar and covered her mouth. Her feminine groans were getting louder and louder. He wasn’t sure she even realized it. He gasped at the feeling of being squeezed by her, “So fucking dirty, baby.” Harry’s thrusts became erratic, the jolted motion stunted as he felt the heat of his own end uncoil.

“Fuck, baby…” Harry released into her, his cock throbbing so hard she could feel it inside.

He kept his hips glued to hers as he removed his palm from her mouth and could hear her heavy breaths mixed with his own.

Gently pulling himself out he spread her pussy lips and watched drop after drop gush from her. He kissed her bottom, all the spots where there were small marks from the belt, and then placed a hand on her anal plug, “I’m gonna take this out now, okay?”

Y/n was already melting into the mattress. She was trying her best to stay on her hands and knees but her face and shoulders were already down on the bed, “Okay, Daddy.”

The moment she felt the plug gone she also felt Harry’s absence. She blinked her eyes and lay on her side when heard the tub water running. A few moments after, Harry leaned over her and placed one arm behind the bend of her knees and his other behind her upper back and tilted her into his arms to bring her to the bathroom.

She was used to the routine by now. He’d kiss the bruises or spots where she was spanked and then run her a warm bath. He’d usually give her something to drink and sit behind her in the tub, run his hands over her limbs, and talk about whatever topic felt right in the moment (last time it was about a dog that Harry used to have as a kid) until the water turned tepid and he’d help her out and towel her off and carry her to bed where she’d sleep like a baby.

“Lavender okay?” Harry asked as he lifted up the glass jar of salts after sitting her in the warm tub.

“I love lavender,” Y/n smiled and watched him sprinkle white flakes into the tub before finally climbing in behind her and pulling her back flush against his chest. Y/n leaned her head back into Harry’s clavicle.

“You were so good for me, Y/n. Can you handle another day of that for me tomorrow?”

She nodded with a small smile on her face, eyes closed, “Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl. It’ll be a longer day tomorrow. More meetings. I’ll come back between to see you,” he kissed her temple.”

“Sounds perfect.”

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[tojisbbg]

𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚

❝and i know that i've been the worst, but i love you better.❞  

♡ toji fushiguro ♡

a/n: need him to fill all of my holes asap! 🥰 also, two posts in one day?!

reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated <3

content: ex!toji fushiguro x fem!reader, age gap!! (reader is 23 and toji is 31), smutty smut (lolol), not edited.

---

it's the middle of december, the air was crispy cold outside and despite begging your landlord to put the heater on blast in your apartment; your king-sized bed always felt like an ice plate.

of course, the size of the bed was intended to be shared with another human being. your boyfriend— well, now ex-boyfriend; toji. however, the breakup between you both was sudden, ending a little bit before thanksgiving.

this was the first time in three years that you've gone back to your parent's house for the holidays without toji. it was dreadful, having to distance yourself from nosy relatives who were bombarding you with questions about where your boyfriend was.

not having the energy or heart within you to explain the whole story, you gave them the excuse that he was working on thanksgiving. it was the most believable excuse you could come up with, as your boyfriend was quite much older than you, by eight years to be precise.

of course, your parents were strictly against your relationship at first, but, just as how toji was able to charm himself into your heart, it didn't take much longer until your parents would give in and melt. toji was mature, charming and he knew how to handle you.

you both loved to spend the holidays together, not to mention that his birthday overlapped during new years. now, you're only looking forward to forgetting the vast memories of him, which continue to haunt you this rough winter season.

you were trying to find the perfect position to fall asleep in, but, your room was so cold that it made it hard for you to concentrate on sleep. it was snowing outside, and the landlord clearly didn't give a single flying fuck about your comfort.

after a few minutes of fighting with yourself, you finally could feel your eyes grow heavy with sleep. it wouldn't be long until you could hear your bedroom door crack open, eyebrows pinching in confusion.

you couldn't tell if you were hallucinating or almost about to get kidnapped or murdered in the comforts of your own house.

your heart began to thump in your chest, feeling scared minute by minute as you could hear the heavy footsteps of the figure approach your bed. you regretted everything, you wanted toji by your side to protect you from whatever monster stood in front of your body, to hold you tight in his arms to keep you warm like every year because he knew that you get cold easily.

you missed toji.

suddenly, the blanket tucked under your back and butt got lifted before there was a dip in the bed behind you. a strong pair of arms wrapped around your waist, followed by the familiar scent of the cologne and body wash that is engraved into your brain.

"toji?" you mustered up the courage to call out the name you prayed to god for. he shoved his face in the crook of your neck, and just by feeling the rough skin of his lip scar on your flesh, you knew that it was him.

"it's just me, i'm here." he mumbled into your skin before pressing a tender kiss on your shoulder.

"why are you here?" you sighed, not even bothering to tell him to stop his ministrations of kissing your nape and rubbing his hands on your hips.

"had a feeling that you were cold." toji answered in a gruff voice before yawning.

"you know we can't-"

"go to sleep, y/n. we'll talk about it tomorrow." he cut you off before scooping your body closer to his. if it weren't for the fact that this was by far the warmest you've felt in your own bed within these past two weeks, maybe you would've screamed at him before kicking him out.

---

you were grateful to whoever proposed the idea that college student should get long breaks for christmas. it was still pretty early in the morning, maybe around six in the morning? you were warm and tucked away into toji's chest the entire night as you both peacefully slumbered.

you stirred awake when you felt disconnected from his touch, forcing an eye open to see that toji turned to face the other way; leaving you could and abandoned. you whined in annoyance, scooting over to him as you tugged on his shirt. toji, who was snoring in deep sleep, groaned from the gentle shakes.

"hm?" he hummed, eyes still closed, but he was half-awake now.

"cold." you briefly said, making him let out a deep sigh.

"come here." toji replied with a groggy voice as he opened his arms to invite you into his embrace once again. you snuggled closer to him as he hugged you tight.

yet, it seemed like that wasn't enough.

you kept fidgeting in his arms, continuing to either tighten your hold on his large and beefy figure and rolling more into him until you finally rolled on top of him. you were literally holding onto him like a koala.

"jesus, i'm not going anywhere, you brat." toji groaned, feeling your weight on his body. you sat up, now straddling his waist, letting out an annoyed huff. toji decided to watch you pout through his half-lidded eyes.

suddenly, you began to take off your shirt and the hello kitty printed pajama pants you wore, roughly throwing them on them floor. toji's eyes widened as you were now sitting on top of him, half-naked.

you gave him a small glare before pointing at his t-shirt and sweats.

"off. now." you demanded, getting off of toji as you watched him sit up with his bed messy hair. he obliged to your command, not finding the energy to argue back with you or ask any questions this early in the morning.

the man just wanted to go back to sleep.

so, toji did as you said, taking off all his clothes until he was left only in his boxers. you took a minute to soak in the sight of his godly sculpted body as he slipped back into the covers.

without any hesitation, you threw yourself on top of him, wrapping your arms and legs around him. it took everything in you to not moan out in bliss as the skin to skin touch between you two immediately transmitted his body warmth to you.

toji's body was perfect for hugging during any season, especially winter time. he was like a giant and beefy teddy bear to cuddle with, his body being a natural furnace.

without thinking, you rubbed your body onto his, unknowingly grinding on his crotch. toji's breath hitched, feeling his cock harden even more than before when he saw your half-naked glory after two weeks.

"feels so warm, toji." you mumbled, pressing yourself into him as your face was buried into the crook of his neck. toji ran his fingers on the back of your thighs, while his other hand rested on top of your ass.

"yeah? i could make you feel even warmer." he smirked, bucking his hips a little up to make you feel his erection. you gasped, feeling his cock throb below your pussy, the thin fabric of your panties and his boxers not providing much of a barrier.

"t-toji.." you stammered, cheeks growing warmer against the flesh of his chest. his skin smelled like bare vanilla with a mix of cologne, it was almost intoxicating.

"shh... let me please you, sweetheart." toji softly whispered, a strong arm curling against your waist while he turned to his side, gently laying you on the bed. you were now facing the wall with toji behind you, his hands sneaking up back before unclasping your bra.

with one swift motion, your bra joined the rest of the heap of clothes scattered on the floor. toji's hand found its way to your tits, groping them as you let out a whimper.

"haven't seen these pretty tits in so long. can i give them a little kiss, darling?" he sweetly asked, your mind fogged up with nothing but the thought of toji. nonetheless, you nodded your head as you leaned a little back.

toji lifted his head before leaning forwards to give each of your nipples a kiss. the contact of his soft lips and your sensitive hard buds was enough to drive you off the edge. but, knowing toji, he's one playful man.

without a warning, he latched his mouth onto your tits. his warm tongue swirled around your swollen bud as he suckled on your nipple.

"mhmm... toji." you moaned, your hands stroking his hair as he sucked and kissed the flesh of your tits until it left purplish hickeys on your skin.

with one final kiss on the valley between your tits, he went back to his original position. toji relaxed behind you, his arm wrapping around your waist. he noticed how you were trying to discretely rub your thighs together to create some kind of friction that would grant you the relief your aching pussy needed.

"need something, y/n?" toji teased, but you were too stubborn to give in. toji's fingers were freely roaming all over your body, from dancing on your spine to rubbing your hips and ass.

"n-no." you stammered, desperately wishing for him to plunge his fingers or cock inside your cunt right now. toji's fingers played with the waistband of your panties.

"hm? you sure? seems like you need something... or rather, this sweet little pussy of yours need something from me, no?" he spoke in a husky voice, the tips of his fingers gently rubbing your pussy on top of your panties. your breath hitched, feeling him press on your clothed clit before tracing the outline of your slit. there was a visible wet patch created from your slick, making toji smirk.

"so wet for me. you missed me, didn't you?" toji asked, but you were too focused on his movements. the lack of response made him a little upset, so he gently pinched the plush flesh of your thigh to get your attention.

"oww!" you winced in pain, looking over your shoulder to throw him a glare.

"i asked you a question, baby. don't ya know it's rude to not answer your boyfriend?" he snickered, making you roll your eyes at his justification.

"ex-boyfriend." you corrected him, making him scoff.

"oh, is that so? so you'd let your ex-boyfriend play with this pretty pussy of yours, hm? slut yourself out for him? talk to me, sweetheart." toji's hand slipped inside your panties, his middle finger sinking into your wet folds. your eyes rolled back as he rubbed your sopping wet pussy at a pleasurable pace, the words in your throat getting stuck.

"f-fuck." you moaned out, feeling toji draw circles on your throbbing clit. you swallowed harshly, as toji began to rub your clit at a pretty fast pace before slowing down and sliding his fingers down to your pulsating hole.

toji shoved two of his fingers inside without a warning, making a whimper escape your lips. he was unforgiving, scissoring his long and thick digits in and out of your hole at a cruel rhythm; stretching your hole.

"nghh~ feels so good!" you panted like a bitch in heat, feeling the familiar knot forming in your lower stomach. toji felt your walls clamping on his fingers, a small smirk etching on his lips as he added onto your pleasure by rubbing your clit with his thumb.

your eyes rolled back, shutting your thighs around his wrists as a shaky hand came down to halt his movements.

"t-too much." you squealed, vision becoming blurry as you couldn't even form coherent sentences.

"you could take it, baby." toji encouraged, prying your legs open with his free hand as he gave you the most jaw dropping orgasm just from simple foreplay.

you saw white, creaming on his fingers as you let out a guttural moan.

"that's it, there you go, pretty." he cooed, helping your calm down from your orgasm as you tried to snap back into reality.

"holy shit." you breathed out, now laying on your back as you turned your head to face toji and look at him through half-lidded eyes.

you took note of the details that were already carved inside your brain of the man who owned your heart and soul. his beautiful ebony locks that always seemed dishevealed yet so soft to your touch; smelling like your shampoo because he's too lazy to get his own. his sharp grey eyes that always tease you. the supple fat of his cheek that he swore he'd get rid off but always rethinks his decision every time you pinch or bite them. his plump lips that kiss you stupid even if they're a little chapped sometimes because he's a little forgetful.

and of course, your favorite feature, the scar on the corner of his lip that you love to kiss because it's unique to him.

this was the man that you were so madly in love with, toji fushiguro. you fought wars to be with him, to get approval from your strict family, because he was an older man. but, not once have you ever regretted your decision.

to which, you were now thinking, was the reason that caused you both to break up even worth it?

"missed you." a shy glimmer graced your eyes as you mumbled those two words, catching toji's attention. he gave you a boyish smile, grazing his thumb along your bottom lip.

"yeah?" toji huskily chuckled, making you nod as you lifted yourself up before climbing on top of him. your disheaveled hair curtained his face as you leaned down to finally press your lips on him. the kiss was needy and messy, feeling toji push your head further towards him, his tongue sucking and biting your bottom lip.

you let out a whimper, opening your mouth to grant the wet muscle permission to explore the caverns of your mouth. you unintentionally began to grind your hips on his hard bulge, the wet patch on your cotton panties now dampening the front of his boxers.

toji let out a gruff groan, his hand going down to caress the supple fatty flesh of your ass before giving it a small spank, making you jolt.

you gave a tender kiss on the side of his mouth where his scar was before kissing along the outline of his sharp jaw. your wet kisses moved down to his neck as you sucked purplish bruises on his skin, all while he was groping your ass and thighs.

your mouth was practically drooling at the thought of having your boyfri— ex-boyfriend's cock inside your mouth again. you eagerly tugged down his boxers, his hard dick springing out and slapping his lower stomach.

toji was so incredibly manly, his body was gorgeous; as if the greek gods themselves scultped him. it was no use of denying the fact that you loved beefy men who could crush you in seconds with their body weight. toji was fit, his pecs were defined yet so soft; his toned abs and muscular biceps— don't forget those killer thighs and back muscles as well.

the cute happy trail leading down to the monsterous rod in his pants, which you clearly missed so dearly. you watched how his cock throbbed, the two twin veins that ran on the side of his shaft were a little swollen and his tip was red and angry from neglect; drooling with his sticky precum.

you wrapped your fingers around his cock, stroking it slowly before thumbing his tip, spreading the bead of his precum as toji groaned.

his thumb came down to brush against your lips before intruding to part them. he bit his lips, the pads of his finger feeling the wet muscle in your mouth. you licked a stripe up his shaft, starting from the base until the tip.

"fuck you're so pretty, sweetheart." a grunt left his lips, and before you knew it, the mushroom head of his cock was right in front of your lips. he rubbed the tip on your lips, the wet feeling of his precum smearing on them. you slightly opening your mouth, slowly licking the tip as you got a taste of him.

you wrapped your lips around his tip, sucking on it like candy before deepthroating as much of his cock as your mouth could take. it was almost impossible to suck and fuck the entire length of toji's dick because he was a good eight inches at least.

but, nonetheless, you tried your best to take as much in and let your hands do what was left out.

not giving you much time, toji grabbed the sides of your head before slamming his hips up into your mouth as his patience was running thin, making you gag. it seemed that all the self-control that he maintained so well all this time has completely vanished by now.

his moves were animalistic, starved and desparate.

toji began to thrust into your mouth, feeling the flesh of your cheek welcome his cock. your tongue dragged up and down his shaft, sucking in the shear length of his cock whenever he was forcing it down your throat. the twin veins grazing against the walls of your throat and against the surface of your tongue.

"you're gonna feel me exactly here." he commented with a smirk, his hand coming to your neck to slightly squeeze the area he was speaking about. he grabbed your hand before placing it on that place, then he took a hold of both sides of your cheeks.

with one long and deep thrust, he kept his word and you felt the bulge on your throat where his cock was lodged in. tears welled in your eyes, your throat burned both from the friction of his dick and the lack of oxygen.

but toji just wanted to see how long you'd last before tapping out. of course, he has no intention in killing you, but he wants to test your limits.

he continued to rut his hips, drool trickling down his cock as you choked and gagged, trying so hard to control those reflexes. but to toji, it felt like heaven because every time the muscles in your mouth and throat contracted, it hugged his cock in such a welcoming way.

"so close." he moaned out, eyes rolling back as his dick twitched inside the wet hole of your mouth that he ruthlessly fucked. you tried to breath through your nose, but it was getting a little difficult.

you felt the rush of warm liquid fill your mouth before sliding down your throat, opening your screwed shut eyes to glance up at toji. on the other hand, his eyes were closed tightly, breathing becoming erratic as he groaned in pleasure.

you tapped his thighs aggresively, wanting him to pull out before you lose your senses. he listened, taking his cock out of your mouth as you sat on your knees completely breathless. you coughed a couple of times, holding your throat as you rubbed it from the aching pain you felt.

your eyes were red and cheeks were stained with the tears that stained your rosy cheeks, eyelashes wet from it as well. you lifted your head to face him, seeing how flushed his face was as sweat coated his forehead. your eyes trailed south, seeing his cock dripping with your saliva and his cum.

"fucking asshole, you almost killed me." you said in between your breaths, glaring at him and he chuckled. leaning closer to your trembling body as he sat up, toji gently kissed your earlobe, making you shudder.

"had to make sure my little princess wasn't going around sucking other people's dick. i trained your throat pretty well, huh? but now i gotta check if this little cunt of yours has been loyal too." toji snickered, turning your body around in the position of reverse cowgirl.

you yelped once you felt him hook his forearms on the back of your knees, before pushing it up until it was besides your chest. your legs were now spread wide open as toji put you in a full nelson, his cock rubbing between your wet folds, nudging your clit as some points.

"put it in, baby." toji encouraged, pressing soft kisses to your temple. your hand went down to grab the shaft of his cock, giving it a few pumps before rubbing it on your sopping wet pussy to lubricate it. as his tip got caught in your hole, you gently and slowly began to enter the inches of his monster cock.

"ngh~ fuck, it's so big." you winced in pain, forgetting how painful the stretch of toji's cock was. it didn't matter how many times he fucked you dumb on his dick, your pussy would always be too tight for his thick meat.

"but you took it like a good girl, didn't you?" he praised, planting his feet on the bed before thrusting up into you. you moaned loudly, feeling his cock rubbing your wet walls so deliciously. the squealching sound of your pussy was pornographic.

"this pussy is mine— fuck, none of those stupid college boys could ever fuck you like i could. you're mine and only mine." toji moaned, his thrusts getting faster as his balls smacked against your ass, your hand coming down to rub your clit.

"hnghh, only yours. please! ahh~ feels so good." you were delirious, eyes rolling back from pleasure as you began to see white. your thighs were shaking as toji's thrusts began to get sloppy.

his cock twitched inside your hole, a ring of white cream already forming at the base of his dick from how much your pussy leaked on him, coating his balls in a shear white gloss.

the sticky shlick shlick sound echoed through the four walls of your shared room. tears pricked your eyes as you could feel the huge wave of your orgasm coming at you as your stomach began to tighten.

toji could sense that you're getting close, your walls clamping down on him as the tip of his dick kissed your cervix with each thrust. you turned your head to side, catching his lips in a messy and saliva filled kiss.

you both moaned into each other's mouth, cries of pleasure leaving your lips as you gushed on his cock.

"f-fuck, it's too much!" you mewled, feeling overstimulated as toji fucked you thrugh your orgasm.

"you could take it, gonna breed this pussy. maybe i'll fuck a baby into you, yeah?" toji panted and you were so cock drunk that you mindlessly nodded your head.

"yes, yes, please— fuck, give me a baby." you whimpered, and your voice was so sultry that toji came so hard inside your cunt. the thick and sticky ropes of his cum coated your walls as you shuddered from the warm feeling of being filled up with his cum.

his cock slid out, your hole being creampied to the brim as both of your cum began to gush out of your cunt. you rolled off of him, now laying besides toji as you both tried to catch your breath.

"i love you, y/n." toji confessed, turning his head to the side to look at you. that soft and lovesick expression painted on his flushed face made your heart jump.

you gave him a gentle smile, scooting closer to him before wrapping your arms and legs around him, pressing a tender kiss on his lips.

"i love you too, toji. i'm sorry for everything, i was just so angry and frustrated because it felt like forever that we've spent time together. i-i.... i got insecure and thought that you found someone better than me." your face dropped in sadness, a lump forming in your throat as you tried your best to not break into tears. toji frowned upon hearing your words before stroking your cheek.

"and why the hell would you ever think that?" he questioned and you shrugged.

"i know i'm a little immature sometimes, but i really do love you. i just don't want you to get tired of me and find a woman your age who's more mature. you know how badly people talked about us before and still do." you sighed, making toji scoff.

"fuck those people, you're mine and i'm yours. no one could ever change that, got that princess? those few weeks i got a little busy because i was working long hours to book a flight to venice for us to spend christmas together." toji smiled, making your eyes widen in shock.

"no way." you gasped, but he grinned and nodded his head, making you squeal in excitement.

"we leave next week." he informed, pressing a soft kiss on the tip of your nose. you hummed in response and hugged him tight.

"ugh, i missed my teddy bear so much... spent so many lonely nights sleeping alone." you complained, and toji rubbed your back in a comforting manner.

"my poor baby, how could i make it up to you?" he cooed.

"let me put my hello kitty stickers on your dick." you gave him a cheeky smile, making him narrow his eyes.

"naughty girl." toji snickered, his hand going down in a sly manner to grab his cock and without warning, he entered it inside your already swollen hole once again.

your breath hitched, feeling your boyfriend latch his mouth onto your nipple.

"my pretty princess." he mumbled, giving you a small wink before licking your nipple playfully.

toji couldn't wait to give you your surprise in venice, the small box resting nicely in his coat pocket.

---

BONUS:

"tojiiiii~ toji! look!!" you ran from the hotel bathroom to the bed where your fiance laid down. his sharp grey eyes peered up at you in curiosity as you showed him your phone, the diamond on your ring finger shimmering under the hotel lighting.

"what am i looking at?" toji cocked an eyebrow, watching a girl having her face squished by a guy's bicep.

"i want you to do that to me." you gave him an innocent look, and toji smirked at your request. he laid his arm flat on the bed and ushered you to rest your face.

you did so and as toji flexed his arm, your cheeks got squished and forced your lips into a pout. toji chuckled at the adorable sight of you and leaned his head down to press a tender kiss on your pouted lips.

"gonna marry you and make you mine forever."

[targaryenrealnessdarling]

A Perfect Score - Epilogue | FigureSkating!AU

Summary: months have passed since the finals with no sign of Aemond, making you wonder if anything has changed | Word Count: 6k~ | Warnings below the cut~

Series Masterlist | Links to my Taglists: General Taglist | Aemond Targaryen Taglist

Warnings: p in v sex, daddy kink, oral (f receiving), degradation, praise, *a finger in the bum*, butt play, ass eating, orgasm denial, creampie, ass slapping, pussy slapping, face slapping

A/N: *don't get emosh, don't get emosh, don't get emosh* I can't believe it's really REALLY the end! I've had this idea for the Epilogue for AGES and can't wait for you all to read the last instalment of our figure skating couple <3 would die for them and hope you enjoy!

"Good, but bend your knees!" You shout to El who's still got her hands outstretched haphazardly, wobbling on the ice as others whizz past her, knocking her off balance.

She throws a middle finger.

Charming.

You laugh as she pushes off to do another lap, reaching down between your legs for the bag and pulling your phone out for any new texts.

Nothing, you sigh.

El makes you jump, bumping into the ledge, "Will you stop being a simp and checking your phone every two seconds? He's going to text you!"

You click your phone off, "I know. I'm just so impatientttt…" you whine, exaggerating your frustration.

El rolls her eyes, "He'll get in, bud"

"Ew, don't call me that"

"Besides, if he gets rejected, he could always be your new manager, pal" she grins.

"You're so fucking gross, you know that?"

She shrugs, a grin that spells victory, "that'd be kinda hot to be fair. Going everywhere with you to competitions, organising your hotel rooms, fucking you over his des-"

"El! For fucks sake" you whisper-shout, heat rising to your cheeks.

A few other skaters on the ice turn their heads in judgment, making your face burn with embarrassment.

"Gods, so uptight" El jokes, a mischievous grin on her face.

To tell the truth. You missed Aemond. In all aspects.

You hadn't had sex since being in Dorne. And you hadn't seen him since the hospital.

Even though you texted most days, after months of seeing him everyday, it was quite the shock to the system.

It felt like there was a hole, conveniently Aemond-shaped, that was deepening the longer you two were separated.

"Oof!"

You both look up, to see Floris on the ice, wobbling her way back onto her feet, grimacing, "I'm ok!" She reassures, pushing off to skate slowly.

You nod in Floris' direction, "Is she okay skating?"

"Yeah, the physiotherapist said it'd be good to get her doing things like this again" El replies, looking over her shoulder at her sister.

She turns back to you, "Your manager doesn't hang around here anymore. Not since Floris has started coming back".

You resist the urge to frown.

Coward.

“Got you”, El smirks mischievously, "will you tell me what happened one day?"

It was something you’d thought about for some time. To tell her, or not? Floris certainly didn’t know the deeper details, but you knew she would have had suspicions.

Aemond was obviously unbothered if such information circulated, having put a very large proverbial wall between him and Otto the moment he was discharged from hospital. And yet, it still wouldn’t feel right, airing out all the Targaryen dirty laundry like that.

Even if he said it was okay.

But maybe, on a deeper level, Floris and El at least, deserved the truth.

"One day" you promise.

The cold winter chill nips at your bones, even through the layers of thermal clothing you've got piled on, the thick socks, boots and an overcoat, it still feels positively freezing.

“Who are you texting, missy?” you tease, bumping El on the shoulder, shoving your hands into your thick coat pockets.

She flushes, from the weather or the embarrassment you are unsure, but she puts her phone away quickly, “Nobody, you nosy cow”

King's Landing Winter Wonderland, Christmas Market and trinket shops, though it's far too early for any of that, it gets the people into the spirit. Stalls line the market square with several of them selling holiday related items as well as food, with an ice rink circling the entirety of the perimeter.

The air smells of mulled wine, cooked meats and the laughter of families and couples alike. With their warm breath creating clouds of white with each exhale.

El has you excitedly tucked into her arm, telling you all about her newest boyfriend, who for all intents and purposes is both hot and a keeper.

Ah, so that’s who she was talking to.

"He's already talking about us moving in together! Before the end of the year" She says excitedly, but her face falls, "but…I don't want to leave you in the lurch paying the rent by yourself".

You scoff, "I won't take you away from good dick because of fucking rent" you smirk, "if you want to, go for it".

She arches her eyebrows in uncertainty, "You sure?"

You pat her gloved hand with yours, "very", you smile, "as long as he doesn't steal you away from me, I want the lowdown".

"Oh you'll get that alright", she laughs.

Having poked your heads into a few stalls, and several sips of mulled wine later, you smirk as El is glued to her phone. Again.

"That your man?" You ask.

She quickly puts it away, biting her lip, "Yup" she replies, "wanna go skating?"

You roll your eyes, "It's not like it's my fucking job, El. Sick of it".

"Oh come on! I won't have to use the kids stabilisers anymore!"

She gives you her wide, puppy-like eyes.

Ones you know you can't refuse.

"Fine" you sigh.

She is far too excited to say that literally a few hours before she was struggling to use her two flippers to stay upright on the rink. Nevermind going backwards.

It’s quite entertaining to see her drag you by the hand excitedly to the ticket gate.

“One ticket for skating, please! Size 5!” she beams at the receptionist, who looks like he’d rather be dead right now.

You furrow your brows, “One? Did you want to go on by yourself and I watch or-”

“Nope! Just you” she grins.

“Me? El, what in seven hells are you on abou-”

She shoves the skates into your hands and practically pushes you past the gate, waving you off, “no questions!”

You don’t even really have time to cuss her out/question the situation, it feels like your brain is in overdrive.

There, either hand leaning against the entrance to the ice rink, where the public are zipping around slowly, laughing, pink in the face, hand in hand, is Aemond. The familiar ribbons of platinum hair that have fallen from the hair tie, now slightly waved from the moisture in the air, sways with the breeze at his shoulders.

He has that slack smirk on his face, his tall broad form leaning on one side, ankles crossed with the low quality skates on, tapping the tip onto the ice.

Even in a heavy looking coat, his hair messily done up and pink cheeks from where the cold had been hitting them, he still looks every bit as handsome as you remembered him.

It makes your heart sigh to see him smile at you with that glimmer in his eye. Blinking slowly and admiringly at you.

"Hey, Princess", he greets warmly.

You almost drop the skates in your hands, the cold wisps of wind making you realise now that your eyes are all wet.

You're sure his name slips out before you crash into his arms, flinging yours around his neck.

He smells just like he used to.

And all those good memories just flood back at once, making that wetness behind your eyes form actual teardrops that line your cheeks.

You feel him laugh a little, one of his big hands on your back, "missed me then?", he prods in a smooth tone.

Fuck. His voice.

You didn't realise you'd missed hearing it so much.

When you pull away, to properly look at his face, he's still smiling, in that classic 'Aemond' way.

You're so engrossed with just looking at him, you nearly flinch when you feel his thumb wipe your under eye softly, wiping the moisture away.

His gaze softens, "don't cry. I don't look that bad, do I?"

Giving a watery laugh, you shake your head, "Just missed you".

His hand is still around your waist, inadvertently pulling you close to him so your hands hover over his chest, "Now, now, don't get all soft on me".

Your cheeks hurt from smiling.

"How?.."

Aemond gestures with his head, "El organised it".

"But…she's-"

"With her new boyfriend, don't worry. It's just us, princess" Aemond smiles, picking up the skates you'd dropped.

"For old time's sake?" He smiles.

And all you can do is blush and smile up at him like a little lovesick teenager.

It feels utterly strange to get back on the ice with Aemond again, even if it is a public one in the middle of a Christmas market. Even more so that he's not flinging you around in all sorts of twists and jumps.

But it feels nice.

Hand in gloved hand, you glide about together, catching up.

Alicent, you learn, has gotten back in touch with her long time friend. Aemond furrows his brows when he recollects that usually she's on facetime with a glass of Dornish Red in one hand and creasing up in front of her iPad at something her friend has said.

Aegon. Well, he's Aegon. Aemond's words, not yours. But he's working on getting a teaching qualification so that he can coach skating instead. It's nice that he was able to find something to use his skills for. Other than womanising.

"Had minor surgery on my nerves…they think it'll do the trick for some years, hopefully forever" he says as you weave on either foot.

"Well that's good" you smile, "does it feel better?"

He nods, "Oh and Hel has a new partner".

You look over quickly, one eyebrow poised, "And? Was I right?"

Smirking, Aemond has to resist the urge to roll his eye, "Yes, you were right".

"Yes! I knew it! I knew she was bi!"

You flush when some families around you look over when you shout it a bit too loud.

Oops.

Aemond tugs you to his side by your waist, humming in a kind of quiet laugh. A comfortable silence descends, just enjoying one another's company.

"I got in", he says suddenly. Stealing your attention again as your feet synchronise in short glides.

"Got in?"

"KLU".

"KLU? Oh my god-" you surge up, his face between your hands, but he doesn't complain, and kiss him fiercely, "Congratulations, Aemond. Oh my gosh, that's-"

You beam with pride.

And you can tell he genuinely loves it, by the way he blushes slightly.

"And" he goes on, his face close to yours, smirking at the confused look on your face.

"And?..."

He licks his lips before he speaks.

"I got a place" he adds, "and was wondering…if you…"

He trails off. And your face settles into realisation. Your heart hammering in your chest, like the engine of an old train.

He shrugs, clearing his throat, “You know, because we basically spent all our time together during the championships…”

You swallow thickly, "Really?..." it comes out weaker than you intended.

He nods, “It’s just out of town, not far from here really” he gestures in the vague direction with his head, the hand that’s resting at your waist dropping somewhat.

Blinking the emotion from your eyes, you swat his chest playfully, “Alright, Mr Moneybags”

He doesn’t laugh, like you expect him to, but he does smile at least. At this point, you seem to have come to a stop, your skates nestled between his to keep you both stable.

His darkened gaze just looks at your face. Studies it.

Like he’s opened a book and is reading through the pages.

When he looks at you like that, you can’t help but feel a flutter deep in your chest. It feels like he is drawing on you softly, like a thousand little butterflies have landed on your face, and are slowly opening and closing their wings.

You shudder when his warm, ungloved thumb brushes against your cheek.

“What?...” you smile at him affectionately.

He hums, a cloud escaping his lips as he speaks, “I’ve missed you”.

All you feel is the ledge of the ice rink press against your lower back and yours and Aemond’s noses brushing against one another as he presses his warm, comforting lips to yours.

He takes his time, moving languidly against your lips with a soft, wet beat, his tongue parting your lips as if he had been waiting all this time to taste you properly.

He tastes just as you remember.

A hint of cigarettes that he’s tried to hide with spearmint.

When you break away, you can’t ignore the warm feeling that blooms in your gut. In all the time you’d spent apart, you forgot how his lips felt on yours, how his hands felt on you, and how his mere presence around you made arousal creep up your thighs.

Gods, it’s been so long.

A blush creeps up your neck to your face, and Aemond smirks.

“Stop that”

Your lower lip catches between your teeth before you reply, “What?”

He leans against the ledge, caging you in with his own body.

“Blushing”

His voice lowers.

“Otherwise I’ll give you something to blush about”

The tension was thick as you and Aemond trudged through the Christmas Market after vacating the ice rink. You tried to lighten it by doing idle things like looking at the homemade ornaments on one stand, to sharing a cup of mulled wine between you, feeling the way the liquid warmed your insides.

That warmth was nothing compared to the way Aemond looked at you.

It reminded you of all those months ago, at the hotel, before the dynamic of your relationship changed. The way he used to stare at you from across the room, in what you wrongly thought at the time was out of disinterest and detest.

How wrong you were.

Shooting off a quick text to El, who you were sure was already back at the flat anyway, enjoying all the ‘assets’ of her new boyfriend, you walk hand in hand with Aemond back to his apartment.

He was very intent on showing you his new place. And your insides fluttered in anticipation, heat crawling up your neck.

His apartment was nice. Not that you expected any less. It was several floors high, showing a good view of King’s Landing and the bright, illuminated Christmas Market in the square below. Even from here, through the tall and wide windows of the living room, you could see the couples zipping around the ice rink, as you both were just a few moments before.

It had that ‘new apartment’ smell, but whenever you brushed past a coat of his or a blanket, it smelled like him. The walls were bare, but you were sure that Aemond would decorate when he was properly settled.

“Is Vhagar going to be coming here?” you ask, cupping the warm mug of tea in your hands as Aemond gives it to you.

“Maybe. She’s quite settled at Mum’s though so…I don’t want to make her anxious”.

You nod, “It’s a nice place”

“Will look even better when you’re here” he smirks, bending down to huff himself onto the sofa, “I’m sure you have better ideas than I do on interior design”.

You simply watch him for a moment, the warmth of his apartment making your previously cold hands feel prickly. Your fingers tap against the ceramic, the sound of Aemond’s playlist rumbling quietly from a speaker in a different room.

Placing the mug on the coffee table, Aemond exhales as your legs rest either side of his torso, moving to sit atop him with your hands stealing beneath his shirt, watching as his pink lips part for breath.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, princess” he murmurs against your lips as he leans up, his large hands squeezing your ass, moulding the flesh to his grip and eliciting a low gasp from your lips.

"Who says it's a game?" You whisper back, teasing him by brushing your lips against his, moving your hips on him and smiling when you feel him harden instantly.

" - fuck - "

You know he hates it, just hates it, when you smirk at how pent up and desperate he gets. But you just can't help it. Not only is it all too easy, it's just too fucking tempting too.

How easily such a large, overbearing and domineering man, can be subdued to a mewling, near-begging mess just by the soft movement of your hips.

"Baby, please -"

Reaching down between your bodies, Aemond outright moans when you palm his erection through his jeans, sitting against his thigh quite obviously. You tease your hand from the base to the tip, squeezing through the denim, seeing the way Aemond almost knits his brows together in barely-contained pleasure.

And any time he tries to reach up, to kiss you properly, you pull back, allowing him to chase you.

"Oh, fuck you-"

You yelp in surprise as Aemond lifts you, keeping your legs around his waist as he pushes his bedroom door open and dropping you onto his mattress. And before you even have a moment to sit up on your elbows, he's on you, kneeing your legs apart and caging you to the bed with his body.

"Can't fucking wait any longer - need you, baby-"

Fuck, even the way he says that has arousal pooling between your legs, the desire to push your thighs together strong, but weakened with Aemond's body keeping them apart.

He's so fast and rough, the way he unbuttons your jeans and pulls the denim down your legs, taking your underwear with it, that you feel for a moment he may have torn something.

He practically fucking growls when he he looks between you, his thumb teasing your clit, finally able to look upon you the way he's wanted to for months.

"Already soaked for me, aren't you?" He coos lowly, teasing your bud in sure, confident circles, before swatting your heat firmly with a wet smack, "such a good fucking slut for me".

You mewl, pressing your lips together, a flush enveloping your face at his words. It's been so long since you were intimate with him, it will take a few moments to get used to it again and fall into that rhythm.

That, and you can't help but flush in embarrassment at the realisation you've not shaved your legs, genuinely not having expected to see him today.

It doesn't seem like Aemond cares.

With a fist over the collar of his shirt, he pulls it over his head, showing his lean and well-muscled torso lit with a warm amber glow from the bedside lamp.

You jolt in surprise as his fingers pull you by your thighs further down the bed, a gasp flying past your lips as his tongue and teeth nip and kiss at the inside of them. The sensation bordering on pain and pleasure at the same time.

"You don't know how long I've waited to taste your sweet pussy, princess"

You have an idea, by the way Aemond mouths at the crease between your thigh and hip. But you don't say it out loud. The anticipation of his mouth so, so close without touching you where you need him most is agonising.

" - fuck - Aemond -"

Your back nearly arches off the bed as he flattens his tongue against your warmth, swirling around your clit first before diving into your folds to feast on you, his fingers digging into your flesh for leverage. The feeling of his grip into your flesh burns pleasantly as he tugs you towards him, your lips parting with hurried pants tumbling out.

Your legs tremble as his low moan vibrates through your core, electricity creeping up your spine as he laps at you with vigour, his sharp nose nudging at your clit as he moves side to side to eventually fuck you with his tongue.

For a split second, you worry if he can actually breathe.

But as your embarrassingly quick orgasm starts barrelling towards you without warning, it somehow gets pushed to the back of your mind, you reach down, threading your fingers through his hair, chanting his name as if it’s all you can say as he groans against your cunt.

His hands hold you down by your thighs, tugging you back to his mouth in soft micro-movements as you shake against him, head thrown back against the pillows with your breath hot in your chest, unable to catch it well enough to form any other sound than moaning unabashedly.

Aemond outright moans as you cum against his tongue, the lewd sound of him licking up everything that comes out makes a heat creep up your neck. But you can’t find it within yourself to be embarrassed. Not when he makes you feel like this.

You can feel the moisture on his face when he takes mercy, drawing his lips away to kiss and nip at the inside of your thighs again, giving one firm bite before he pulls away with a smirk on his face, no doubt happy at the mark he’s left behind.

Your eyes feel heavy as you lift your gaze to him, now perched on his knees as he pops the buttons of his jeans off, the veins on the back of his hand straining, making you feel somewhat lightheaded.

“ - can’t wait to fuck you again - you don’t know how long I’ve wanted be buried inside that pretty little pussy -”

You lick your lips as your mouth goes dry. He always manages to do that. Somehow turn you into a limp, mewling mess in no time at all.

Something you have in common, clearly.

With your heart beating erratically, body throbbing in the afterglow of your orgasm, that feeling is enhanced still when Aemond tugs at his length needily, his shoulders rising and falling with the desire to just stuff himself inside you as deep as he will go.

You can only watch in awe as his fingers wrap around himself, the tip ruddy and desperate, with arousal coating it with every slow and calculated fist. His stomach muscles clench and unclench uncontrollably, his chest muscles moving steadily with each deep breath.

It feels exciting, how utterly small you feel when he leans over you, once again grasping your legs to spread them before him. His long, thick fingers tease your slick folds, before he guides the fat head of his cock to your centre, watching with parted lips at the way your eyebrows furrow in both relief and pleasure as he stretches you around him slowly.

“ - ohfuck - ”, he moans lowly, sinking himself slowly into your warmth and basking in the closeness it offers, “ - fuck, baby, so tight for me -”

Being with him like this again is like sinking into a warm bath, with the rolls of steam batting at your face. And his words are so soft, they’re like dozens of little snowflakes settling on your face in a flurry. All cold and numb, and yet warm and fuzzy at the same time.

It’s completely instinctual, the way you turn your head, slightly embarrassed as Aemond holds either of your legs apart, his pelvis smacking against yours as he eases himself into a steady rhythm.

“ -aw, don’t tell me you’ve gone all shy on me -” he mocks, his eye glimmering with mischief as he looks down at you, “-where’s the needy, little slut I used to know, hm? -”

You gasp as Aemond pushes both hands down, pressing both of your legs towards your shoulders, bending at the knee so that he can kneel higher, using the new position with gravity to fuck down into you faster and rougher.

The new position has you pretzeled before him, completely unable to do anything but throw your head back against the pillows and turn bright red at the wanton, breathy moans that slip out.

“ -Aemond -”

“ - what’s wrong, baby? -” he coos, “ -is this too much for you? Hm? I know you’re more flexible than this -”

Fuck.

Each rough push of his length into you from this angle has the curved head of his cock brush against your sweet spot with devastating precision. With every thrust, the air seems to expel forcefully from your lungs, not helped in part by the fact that Aemond has your legs pressed hard against your ribs.

All you’re able to see through bleary eyes is the way he smirks down at you with his hair stuck to his tacky face, his chest heaving with hurried breath, and every now and then, his neck muscles straining as he tips his head back and groans loudly as you inadvertently squeeze his length when he bullies the end of you.

The air is charged, hot and humid. And you barely register the fact that music is still playing in another room, and that the curtains are pulled back. Though there’s no chance of anyone being able to see you both from how high his apartment is, it still makes your insides tighten that it’s happening so unabashedly with the city right below you.

His hand drifts down your thigh, watching as you squirm beneath him as he presses hard on your stomach, your eyes closing tightly at the feeling of him closing you around his length as it pistons roughly into you. He smiles slightly, almost as if he can feel how deep he reaches inside you.

“ -Oh fuck, baby - can fucking feel you gripping me -” he moans helplessly, leaning over, the sweat on his forehead slightly illuminated by the warm lamp’s light, “-does my girl like being a dirty little slut?”

You barely even register he’s speaking, everything sounding utterly muffled and just too much all at once. His low voice only serves to make that coil wind tighter in your gut, reacting to the way he never lets up his pace once.

You jolt slightly when he taps your cheek twice, a little rougher than you’d anticipated.

“ -I’m fucking talking to you -” he growls, moving his hand from your stomach up to bunch the shirt in his fist, exposing your pebbled nipples to the warmth of the room.

You nod helplessly, “Yes - yes -”

It’s all mindless babbling, and Aemond knows it as he grins, his eye flitting down to watch the way your breasts bounce as he fucks you.

“ -please, Aemond -”

“ -please what, hm? You want to cum, is that it? But you’re too fucked stupid to say it?”

As much as you hate to admit it, his words send a bolt of humiliation through you that does nothing but excite you, your core throbbing around his length with every calculated word he says.

"Aw, poor thing -" he jeers, "- I'm going to have fun with you-"

Wait what?

This isn't said 'fun'?

Oh shit.

Before that familiar coil can wind itself any tighter, Aemond pulls back, grunting as he manhandles your hips to turn you over and his palm cracking against your backside, smirking in victory at the mewl it gets out of you.

The skin there blooms with warmth, more so as Aemond’s tantalisingly hot skin presses against it once more, your lips parting in what can only described as a relieved moan as he slides into you again, his cockhead hitting the spongey end, filling you utterly.

"-Aemo-"

Smack.

"Not my fucking name, Princess. C'mon, you can do it" he purred, pressing his hand against your back, pushing against your spine and forcing your face against the sheets.

A choked moan almost slips out, with him tugging your hips up to him in such a curved position, his cockhead bullies your sweet spot, dragging his length along your sensitive walls, propelling you to an overwhelming orgasm.

"Go on - beg me for it or I won't let you cum-"

The idea of him denying you yet again when you were so close last time just seems utterly unbearable. So despite the humiliation rocking through your core with each harsh smack of his hips, despite the overwhelming heat of the room and most of all, despite your pride.

You do.

"Please - daddy - need it-"

If you could see him, you'd hate it.

Because he grins. Ear to fucking ear like he's wanted to hear it for months.

"Aren't you gonna beg me for permission to touch yourself?"

You suck in a breath, squealing muffled against the sheets as he gives another hard thrust. Clearly, despite appearances, on the verge himself.

"-can I - can I touch myself - please, daddy -"

"-fuck- baby, touch that little clit for me, yeah? - want to feel you cum-"

His voice is strained, pushing you with each thrust further and further against the sheets, your arms near giving out with the weight of him on you. With difficulty, your hand snakes between you and the mattress that constantly dips with how rough Aemond is being, and finds your bud, running the slickness that has collected over it, tying up your pleasure into two feelings.

Aemond’s lips part, staggered breaths the only thing coming out, as he feels your walls flutter around him, looking down at the way your bodies meet with a soft smack every time. You feel so warm and tight, gods he’s wanted to cum since since you started touching him through his jeans.

But now, pulling you by your hips to spear you onto his cock, he’s so so close.

Just wants to feel you first.

“-baby, you’re doing so well for me-” he breathes quickly, his gaze flitting briefly from where he’s pistoning in and out of you, to your sweat slick face, pressed against the sheets, biting your lips harshly as you pleasure yourself in tandem with Aemond’s movements.

As his hand slid down past your hips, his thumb tracing the bottom of your spine, you suck in a harsh breath when he softly grazes over your puckered hole, still fucking shallowly as if to tease you and him into teetering on the edge of a climax.

You're barely able to see behind you, pressed so hard into the sheets, but he looks good fucking you. His chest shines with perspiration, the chain dangling around his neck teasingly, and his abdominal muscles clenching and unclenching with restraint.

And then you see him smile.

"-oh? We've never done this before have we, princess?-"

Oh shit.

After all the exertion of your passion so far, your slick has easily made its way onto your thighs, so Aemond doesn't have to move much to drag some of it on his thumb and circle your hole with light, delicate motions, moistening the area.

Humiliation creeps up onto your face, eyes slipping shut. No guy before has ever really tried to do this. So this is uncharted territory. But despite the brief embarrassment, you have to admit that the feeling of Aemond ever so slightly pressing his thumb against you as he continues to thrust brutally into your cunt just feels new in the most amazing way.

His other hand still grabs the flesh of your ass, tugging you back to his cock in a frantic rhythm. The mewls coming out your mouth now sounding so unlike your own.

Aemond knows by the way your hips move up to meet his touch that you like it, but are too embarrassed to say.

"-how about it, hm? - you want me in both your pretty little fuckholes? -"

"-yes - yes, please daddy, I-"

Making sure his thumb is slick enough, your puckered hole also, he slides in slowly, using the palm of his hand to grasp whatever of your ass cheeks as he can.

You almost hear his choked moan.

"-fuck-, you're so tight here, princess - you gonna let me fuck it one day, hm? - you'd be so fucking good here-"

The batting of his cock against your upper walls has you very nearly sobbing outwardly, combined with the feeling of him in such a new place, pressing in, you'd forgotten you'd stopped pleasuring yourself. Completely embroiled in this feeling.

He chuckles darkly, crooking the digit ever so slightly, leaning over to press against your back "-you'd fucking let me as well, wouldn't you? -"

The curling of his other fingers on the flesh of your backside has him smiling at the sounds it emits from you.

“-did I say stop, hm? Keep touching yourself - cum for me-”

You know that as soon as you do it’s all over.

His voice, combined with all three feelings at once, tugging at that pleasurable spot inside you that has white, hot pleasure soaring through your bloodstream, has a long, choked moan filling the space between you. And you’re surprised to hear that the same sound slips past Aemond’s lips as well, the air of his breath batting against your neck as he tries to bury himself as deep inside you as he possibly can.

You’re trying to suck in breath without really realising it, the earth-shattering orgasm making your body go all rigid for a moment before you relax against the sheets, with the pleasant weight of him above you.

Everything feels warm. His bedroom right now feeling like a large blanket has enveloped you both. It seems a weird thing to think in the moment, with Aemond’s half naked body hunched over you, his cock twitching and pulsing, whimpering as he is still emptying himself inside of you and feeling the aftershocks through your fleshy walls.

All his micro-movements seem overly-sensitive. And when Aemond exhales, lifting himself off your back, lifting your lids to open your eyes feels like the most difficult thing you’ve ever done.

“-sorry-” he whispers cautiously as he pulls his softening cock from you, immediately feeling the warm rush of cum coating your inner thighs.

Warmth blossoms once again to your cheeks as he stays still, and you think he must be staring at the way he leaks from you, sighing in a sort of perverted admiration.

You don’t even have time to open your mouth before his thumb slips out your other hole, only to jolt in shock once it’s immediately replaced by his tongue. All those dulled out endorphins that were dissipating into your limbs feel like they all gather back, and you squeeze your thighs together, fisting the bedsheets so tightly they could’ve torn.

Both of his hands seem to find their home on each asscheek, spreading them so he can easily swirl his talented wet, muscle around your hole, fucking moaning as he does it. All your nerves ring semi-uncomfortably, overstimulation nipping at the edges of the pleasure.

“-fuck, Aemond, no no, please-” you plead, emitting a weary, exhausted laugh when he chuckles and pulls away, landing one softened smack against the flesh.

“-Mm- another time-”

Lethargy pulls at your body as you lay on your front, blinking slowly as you feel the mattress rise, pressing your lips together as Aemond disappears into the en-suite, tucking himself back into his jeans.

A moment later, he comes back with a warm washcloth, offering to clean you up. But you simply smile, pushing yourself to sit up, “I’m good”, you smile, with a flushed face, feeling slightly bashful after what you’d just done together.

One long shower together later, you lay in his bed, looking out at the city beneath, the cascade of brightly coloured lights littering the dark space between buildings. Aemond’s shirt easily reaches to your thighs, with nothing beneath, not having anticipated staying over anywhere today.

Aemond sighs calmly, his chin on the top of your head, pressed against your back, with one of his hands running through the tresses of your hair, every now and then stroking at your scalp, which has your eyes slipping shut at the pleasant feeling.

“Well, princess? Do you like it?” he asks, his voice all soft and tired.

You meet his lilac gaze, tilting your head slightly in question.

“The apartment”.

“It’s perfect”, you smile, reaching up his cheek and running the back of your fingers over it, the scar tissue feeling slightly different in texture over your skin, “you sure you want me to move in?”

He blinks slowly, a smile rising to his lips, his hand coming to yours and pressing a soft, tender kiss to your wrist. And though not directly sexual, it makes your belly do little backflips, feeling so intimate and captivating that warmth floods your skin through his lips.

“Of course, princess. I can't do this without you”.

General Taglist: @aemondsfavouritebastard | @bellstwd | @blairfox04 | @hb8301 | @jamespotterismydaddy | @mochi-rose | @nenelysian | @natty2017 | @randomdragonfires | @risefallrise | @theoneeyedprince | @thelittleswanao3 | @tsujifreya | @urmomsgirlfriend1 | @valeskafics | @watercolorskyy

Aemond Taglist (1): @asp3nxx | @avidreader73 | @bellaisasleep | @boofy1998

[speedycoffeedelight]

An Animalistic Disaster

CH-27: Meeting the king of hell

Masterlist

Summery:Where you welcome the king of hell in your chaotic group and melody reveals something important

You held the bird that you were sure was Lucifer, close to your chest as you started walking inside the cabin with Husk and Niffty following behind. Niffty's tail was wagging in excitement and Husk just looked as concerned as you were.

Charlie was about to greet you but stopped once she saw the look on your face. " (Y/n)....? What're you holding?"

" Lucifer...."

" Luci...what?!"

She quickly rushed up to you and carefully picked up her dad. Husk showed her the tiny hat and cane that fell as well. You went to look for something you can lie him down in. You picked up a shoe box and filled it with one of the sofa cushions from your sofa. It overflowed a bit and the box looked like it might burst open but it was this or nothing. With this, you headed back to the kitchen.

"....fell from the sky and (Y/n) jumped to save him "

Looks like they were talking about when you saved him. It was odd though. Why did he fall from the sky? Up until now, all the others emerged from the ground inside a pentagram. His case was the only different one. Perhaps there was something unique about the fall of Lucifer. Hah, the irony....

Charlie soon placed unconscious Lucifer on top of the cushion and you gently checked if anything was broken. Not that you were an animal expert of anything but everything seemed fine. He was just knocked out.

" My my, what a commotion we have over here! What are you lot gathering together for?"

Alastor's voice boomed from behind as he stood behind you all and leaned down. He was much of significantly taller then all of you so it was easy for him to catch the sight of the cockatiel. " So we have a another guest perhaps?" His ears flicked. Another nosy little sinner.

Lucifer's eyes slowly began to pry open. It almost felt like his head was about to burst out from the headache. Almost like someone hammered his head a hundred times.

" Ahh what happened?"

All you heard was a chirp. But Charlie and others understood him and Charlie quickly scooped him up and hugged the box. Lucifer was startled for a bit looking at all these ... giants? Wait, was that a human girl? Why are they all so big? What happened with him? He tried to move his arms and legs.

His wings started flapping and when he extended his leg, his bird claw came into view. Perhaps he turned to his bird form while he was knocked out. He tried to magic back into his normal form but was unable to. He shook his hand in frustration before looking up at Charlie. He realized just how close she looked to his daughter. He wondered if it could be...

" Charlie.....?"

" Dad! Dad you're okay!" Charlie's excited voice rang throughout the room. ' Dad?!?' Alastor eye brows widened. This blasted thing was the no-good father of Charlie's? Lucifer fell down to earth??

" Charlie!" There was no doubt about it. This was his daughter. He quickly jumped up to hug her. Oh he was so so relieved. His baby girl was safe and in one piece. He doesn't know what he would have done if something happened to her. Tears filled his eyes before he knew what was happening. Charlie started to cry as well seeing her father cry. Now both the father and daughter was crying together.

You , Husk and others who soon gathered listening to the commotion watched it with a soft look. It was really touching. Everyone except Alastor who just had a scowl on his face.

" Charlie! What happened to you? Where are we? What's going on?!"

He asked a lot of things at once. Charlie felt herself sweatdrop looking at her dad as she placed him down again. " Calm down dad, I'll tell you everything."

So that's how you all found yourselves sitting around the soft with Lucifer standing on the dining table wearing his little hat and the cane in one of his legs being told everything from the scratch. The more he heard, the more bewildered he got. And he glanced towards you couple of times. It felt like she was leaving something out though purposely but he couldn't put his finger or claw in it.

" (Y/n) was it? Thanks for looking after my girl. You have my thanks. "

You didn't understand anything by chirps as you saw him suddenly bow at you after putting down his cane. You looked at Charlie helplessly to translate. Charlie understood quickly. " Owh, uh, dad thanked you for looking after me." Your face brightened up hearing that. You bowed yourself a little while sitting. " I consider myself lucky for being able to spend time with your daughter " Charlie felt herself flush hearing that. You were being too polite.

" Well let me see if I can use my powers. I'm the devil after all. There's very little that can confine me." He said smugly as he furrowed his eyebrows and commanded his body to transform that into a human's like theirs. Nothing happened, just silence followed. " H-hold on a second..maybe if I just...eughhh" He tried a second time with no results yet again. "It's impossible! How could a mere book seal all my powers?!? Where's my cane??"

Alastor snickered looking away. Niffty was looking at him with her tail wagging. She was trying really hard from pouncing on the bird even though her dog instinct told so. Lucifer was a bit unnerved with her and just stood away.

As soon as Lucifer was graced with his cane again that he put dowm, he felt a bit of his power surging through him. It wasn't much, but it was enough to transform into... something at least. For some reason, no matter how many times he tried to appear as a human it didn't work. It felt like that form was locked behind a barrier. He finally gave up and thought of something else he could transform to. His favourite, a duck.

Golden light surrounded his tiny form as Alastor's snickering finally stopped. All of them wondered if it was truly happening. As the light subsided they found Lucifer to be....a duck?!?

" Ta-da! I can't turn human for some reason but I can turn into other animals it seems ~" Lucifer said spreading his wings making feathers fly around. With a another burst of light he turned into a snake and coiled around Alastor with a grin. "Pretty cool, right~?"

Alastor felt a chill go through his spine for so blatantly being touched by this cursed man. He was about to yank Lucifer off form himself before he slithered his over to Charlie and booped his face on her cheek making her giggle.

You couldn't help but chuckle looking at all that. You couldn't hear what he was actually saying but it was still funny to see their shenanigans. It was like cartoon came to life.

" Let me try something else!" He swished around the cane once more. Nothing seemed to have happened.

" Hello hello, testing! Can you understand me now (Y/n)?"

You looked at him with your eyes widening. You could understand him! But he was still a snake..how..how did you understand him? This was a miracle. "Yes,yes I do!" You replied in awe.

"Aha! So my magic still works here, as usual. I just can't find how to turn into a human...oh well, I will figure something out eventually. I'm using my magic to talk into your head directly." He was confident in his abilities. Why wouldn't he be? He was the literal devil. There's very small things that can stop him. He came from the a cartoon in the first place right? Was he even real..what was going on.. travelling between realms, dimensions and worlds..and those last lines in that book. Wait right, the book fell with him.

" Did you guys see any book nearby that fell? It was like this tall with this width.." Lucifer showed with his snake head and tail how big it was. It clicked in everyone's head which book he was talking about. " You mean the one then sent us here right?" Charlie piped in. " The glowing yellow book.." Alastor spoke in venom in his tone. "Yes that's the one! Did you see it!"

Niffty, Husk and you all looked at each other and shook your head. " No, not really. Only you, your hat and your cane." You pointed at all those things. "You mean to say... " "This is bad! The book fell with me. If it falls in the wrong hands.."

.

.

.

.

" Oh? What's this?"

A gloved hand came out and picked up a certain golden plated book. A moth came and flew in top of the books cover. It couldn't see things that well without being up close.

"Wait~ I remember this book. This is the fucking shit that got us into this mess!!"

The moth squeaked angrily. A grin spread across the person's face. They lowered the book down where a doll of a dog awaited them. "Velvette, tell me, is this the one you two told me about earlier? " The doll bent her knees to look at it and scoffed while nodding " Yeah, that's it. That motherfucking thing brought us here. "

The hooded person chuckled gathering the book in their arms. " The hunt can wait for today. We got ourselves a book to read"

.

.

.

" You mean that fucking book is here? And is lost?" Charlie was began to hypervent. " That, that book is our only hope for getting out of this mess!" She grabbed your shoulder and screamed. "We've got to find it!!" Charlie was desperate, she was the one who got them into this mess. Finally, after this long time they had the chance to get out. And she was going to take it.

" Charlie dear calm down. Of course we're going to find it" Alastor placed a hand on Charlie shoulder while looking at her softly. It earned a scowl from Lucifer's face which Alastor relished in. " You father may have lost the book, but I assure you, I will succeed in finding it for you"

The hope in her eyes were slowly but surely returning looking back at him. She was unaware of what's going on, but the rest of you quickly understood. The king flew over to Charlie's shoulder as a bird and nipped at his hand to make him let go." Ouch what the-" " Charlie, darling, I can transform into any animals, I'm pretty sure I'll be more useful then this four eyes over here"

" Excuse me??"

" Oh you heard me~"

" We're going to go search for it together!" You quickly interjected between them. You weren't letting another musical break through while you stayed in a corner awkwardly. " But we're going out later together! When Vaggie and others return." You were able to calm down the situation somewhat. Husk was pretty impressed with your ability to dissect a situation and deal with it.

Later Charlie went with Lucifer to show him the episodes. Lucifer almost had a panic attack when he realized all his nervousness was shown in the TV. He turned into his snake form to hiss at Valentino when he saw how he licked Charlie. He swore he will tear Val from limb to limb if he ever got his hands on that guy. A smirk graced his lips when he heard that bell-hop was under a contract. Finally, something to piss him off with.

As the day went by, Vaggie, Pentious and others also arrived. Lucifer congratulated Vaggie with a hug and told her how happy he was for her to be included to the family. There was also an iconic moment when Lucifer said " oh so you're a fallen angel right? Me too! We have so much in common! I can tell you all about falling hahaha..." Safe to say he was a nervous wreck.

Melody was nervous meeting Lucifer. Like this was the man from the bible. Cartoon or not, he was real now. Next came the problem of sleeping. You and Melody finally went to the basement to check it out. You got spooked everytime you heard a strange noise. "That's it, I'm buying cleaning supplies tomorrow!" Niffty was more than happy to help. Everyone was far too tired so searching was on hold.

The next day rolled by. You gave Lucifer your bed saying it's the least you could do to show respect to someone of his calibre. Lucifer was flustered, he understood you guys situation was well so he didn't want to overstep but you insisted. He wasn't able to argue against you so he just stayed quiet.

In the afternoon while you were busy carrying the box's outside of the basement, you heard some quacks coming from around the lake. You dropped the heavy box in your hands gently on the ground and walked over to find Lucifer, as a duck, swimming happily in the tiny lake you had.

Rest was due by that time, you had been working from the morning after all. You sat on the side to watch him. Lucifer didn't even notice you.

Lucifer knew this was a bad time and he had to find a way to...get back to his realm to rule those sinners. He sighed looking upwards at the sky. He had rules and duties to those awful god forsaken people. Any time Lucifer was able to come to earth is when someone summoned him for their personal gain and he had to leave almost immediately. But right now, he didn't have to worry about work, worry about his kingdom. It can all go to hell.

And the fact that he was supposed to be... cartoon character. Lucifer half wondered if it was another cruel trick played by god to him. He always did get short end of the stick. So yeah! Maybe now god decided to tell him, 'hey, your whole life was a joke that we made to entertain humans!' he wouldn't honestly be surprised. Whatever happens, he just needs to see Charlie happy, that's all.

Another thought came into his mind. About (Y/n). That was a nice girl. She's probably going to end up in heaven if she hasn't done something wrong. Well, if she does end up in hell, he'll make sure to give her the royal treatment for taking care of him and his daughter. Not to mention, she was kind of ho.....

The duck made an eye contact with you. You waved at Lucifer and flashed him a smile.

Lucifer was at awe in your form. You wore a sleeveless black top which showed a fair amount of your arm's muscles alongside a short which ended just above your knees. Your hair was tied up which was now a mess. Your body was drenched in sweat as you waved at him and wiped the sweat of your forehead. A quack left his mouth as he quickly submerged his head into the water. Why did he found you so attractive?? Was it because of your build? You looked like you could easily manhandle him and carry him around.

You chuckled while looking at him at what you assumed he was playing around. 'welp, enough resting ' you stood up with a huff cleaning out dust from your clothes as you headed down again. There was still a lot of things that had to be done before evening.

After cleaning around the area, you found there was another washroom and kitchen there. Although they looked in less then usable condition. You felt like throwing up just looking at the state of the toilet. Odd stench's were coming from the room. But Niffty seemed excited to then ever at the good challenge. 'I guess it's a blessing to have her around '

You were all worned out by evening. Here you thought that taking days off from work would give you more time to relax. You sunk into the bathtub as the warm water soaked your body and helped you relax your muscles after a day's hard work.

' ahhh~ I feel so much more refreshed now..' you walked out while drying your hair with a towel. You found Pentious, Melody, Lucifer, Charlie and Husk was far too engrossed in playing Uno in your dining table. Things were getting pretty heated.

" Alastor you fucking told Charlie my cards! I fucking saw your mouth move!" He immediately looked at Charlie. "Don't worry ducky, I'm not mad at you."

" I have no idea whatever you are talking about ~ I'm not even playing the game~"

" Oh you bastard -"

" Husk stop adding cards in my deck!!"

" Sorry kiddo, I can't go easy on you just cause your (Y/n)'s cousin."

" Come on, please???"

"Um...u-uno?"

Every players eyes immediately turned to Pentious who only had one card left. Pentious shirked in fear under their hot gaze. Immediately everyone's fighting stopped as they began planning on sabotaging Pentious's winning together. You and Vaggie looked at each other and sighed, ready to break any fight if it occurred.

The game ended in midnight with Charlie sulking in a corner, Lucifer screeching in his cockatiel form, Melody enraged and Pentious looking at everyone scared. Husk had won. He really was good at playing cards.

Admist the chaos, Melody suddenly remembered something. " (Y/n), I totally forgot to tell you about something" you and several others looked at her wondering what it could be. " So I overheard my mom talking with yours the other day before coming here. They're apparently planning to hold a party on your upcoming birthday soon at your dad's place " you rolled your eyes, the last thing you needed in your life was going back to that wretched place.

" Also they're planning on holding your engagement ceremony in the party "

You spew out the water you were drinking at Husk's face.

A.N: Writing Lucifer is much more difficult then I expected lol. I hope I'm doing the guy some justice.

Again, sorry for taking so long to post these, college is kicking my ass..

Also buckle up guys. We're in for a wild ride from now on. Resting days are over.

Stay tuned (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠-⁠☆

Tag list: @legostars @glowinthedarkbones1150 @darifes @aria-tempest @rainbowcake1212 @luxylucylou

[sprinkler-ashes]

king of my heart // aaron hotchner x reader

king of my heart

pairing: aaron hotchner x fem!reader

words: 1.9k

warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, sexual implication

description: in which emily prentiss finally puts the pieces together one night. inspired by king of my heart by taylor swift and that one scene in tsitp (“it’s too sweet” and “i thought cocoa was your speciality”)

a/n: writing this from emily’s pov was so much fun!! this is a simple and fun fic, but i loved writing it. expect lots of fics coming from me in the next couple days/weeks because i literally can’t stop writing. much love and happy reading <3

up on the roof with a school girl crush

drinking beer out of plastic cups

say you fancy me, not fancy stuff

baby, all at once, this is enough

Emily Prentiss liked to think of herself as your best friend.

The two of you had instantly hit it off from the moment you started working with the BAU only six short months ago. She took you under her wing, showed you around, and helped you get acquainted with a new work environment. From the first day you started, the friendship began and the rest was history.

In addition to thinking that you and her were best friends, she also liked to think very highly of herself in terms of being a profiler. She saw things. She could read body language. She knew things just from observations.

However, as she sat back into her seat at the bar, her eyes fluttering from one team member to another, Emily couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something when it came to you – specifically relationship-wise. She didn’t like to call herself a nosy person, but she definitely was.

It was a Saturday night, and the team had decided to go out for drinks in celebration of finally catching an unsub that was particularly difficult. The team was currently separated at the moment with you, Emily, JJ, and Garcia talking on your own at the table, Derek was on the floor trying to hook Spencer up with a girl, and Rossi and Hotch were chatting by the bar while waiting for their drinks.

Emily wasn’t sure how many drinks you’d had. You weren’t stumbling drunk, but it was evident you were under the influence.

“Emily, you have to try this,” you told her after you tried the drink in your hand. “It’s so good. I would marry this drink if I could.”

“I’m good, but thanks,” she replied to you. “That looks… interesting.”

Emily could always get down with a cute and fun drink, but she was so confused as to what you were drinking. It was pink with specks of blue, and the rim of the glass was covered in what looked like some kind of blue sugar with a small umbrella for decoration.

You laughed. “I have no idea what it is, but it’s so good. It’s called the Boozy Bee.”

Emily cocked an eyebrow. “The Boozy Bee?”

“Yes,” you said, pausing to take a sip of your drink. “Created by the bartender whose name I learned is Beatrice. You can’t even taste the alcohol, Em.”

She laughed. “That’s the most dangerous kind. Take it easy, Boozy.”

“Let her get her booze on, Emily.” Derek Morgan had sauntered over, a signature grin on his face. “If you will all turn your attention over to the left, look what I did.”

Emily turned her head to find resident genius Spencer Reid, who looked to be in an uncomfortable situation, talking to a very pretty girl. She had to laugh. Spencer was a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to be with him, but the poor guy didn’t know that.

“How long until he pulls out his magic tricks?” Emily joked.

You nudged her, your lips sucking on the black straw that was in your drink before putting it down. “Spencer is a total sweetheart. And magic is hot – don’t diss it.”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “Got a thing for pretty boy, do you?”

You shook your head. “He’s cute, but I like my men older.”

Emily turned to you, a slight frown on her face. You never really talked about anything pertaining to relationships, love, or even casual crushes. Emily had tried to get you to open up about it before, but you never mentioned anything – not even your preferences, so she dropped it. Until now. Apparently alcohol would make you talk.

“What did we miss?” David Rossi asked, him and Hotch finally coming back to the table, both nursing glasses of amber-colored drinks. “They took forever getting our drinks at the bar.”

“Derek set Spence up with a girl, and he now looks like he’s going to either run or vomit. Y/N likes older guys and is drinking a Boozy Bee,” JJ told Rossi.

If Emily wasn’t paying attention, she would’ve missed the way your eyes fluttered up to Hotch, back to your drink, then back to him again before sitting up straight in your seat after JJ mentioned older guys. She furrowed her brow, discreetly glancing between both you and Hotch. However, Hotch didn’t give anything away as his eyes were focused on JJ who was talking.

“Boozy Bee?” Rossi questioned, watching you take yet another sip of the drink.

“It’s so good, Rossi. Do you want to try it?” You asked in your tipsy state, holding the half-empty drink up to him with a smile.

He chuckled. “I’m good, kid. I’m going to go see if Reid needs saving. He looks like he’s uncomfortable.”

You frowned as Rossi walked away. “Why will no one try my drink? Derek, how about you?”

Derek shrugged. “Sure.”

Emily watched as Derek bent down, his lips closing around the straw in the glass you were holding. He drank a small sip of the colorful drink.

Taking another sip of her own drink, Emily just happened to look in her boss’s direction who was standing across from her and beside Derek who was beside you. She hid behind her glass, eyes analyzing Hotch who didn’t look happy standing there in his blue button-up, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He watched Derek drink from the same straw your lips had been on all night. Emily made a mental note of the way Hotch immediately looked away with a small huff of breath that no one else noticed. It was almost as if Emily detected… jealousy?

No, she thought to herself. She decided it must have been the alcohol in her system – despite the fact she was still on her first drink – that put the idea that Hotch was jealous in her head. 

Emily felt weird overanalyzing her friends, especially since there was a general rule among them to not profile each other, even though they often broke that rule either unintentionally or with full intention.

However, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the interaction in front of her. She glanced over to JJ and Penelope who were watching with amusement as Derek tried the drink. They hadn’t picked up on Hotch’s behavior in the current situation.

After what felt like ages to Emily and presumably Hotch, Derek finally stood back up.

“What’s the verdict?” Penelope asked from the end of the table.

Derek had a look of surprise embedded in his features. “It wasn’t bad at all. A little sugary.”

The straw was back in your mouth as you took another sip. The drink was a little under half-way full. “Going once, going twice, does anyone else want to try the best drink ever created before I finish it off?”

“Hotch, you should try the drink,” Emily said while trying to act nonchalant.

She didn’t want it to be obvious that she was attempting to figure out what was going on with him, and she hoped he hadn’t noticed her watching him only a minute prior.

Hotch didn’t say anything because words were rolling out of your mouth before he could even open his mouth to form a response. “Hotch isn’t a fan of anything sweet, and this drink is pretty sweet.”

Before anyone could say anything, Hotch was leaning over Derek, using one hand to sit down his own drink before laying it flat on the table to steady himself while his other hand wrapped around yours that held the glass, bringing the straw to his lips.

Emily was glad she didn’t have anything in her mouth because if she did, she would’ve spit it out in shock. The whole thing was strangely intimate. She frantically looked around at everyone, but no one was paying attention as they cheered on Aaron Hotchner, of all people, as he drank the entirety of what was left of the pink and blue drink that you swore he wouldn’t enjoy.

She was surprised to find that no one else was seeing this in the way that she was. A table full of profilers and no one just profiled that behavior?

Aaron finished the drink off. “I don’t hate everything sweet.” He moved his hand off of yours before anyone could notice the way his hand lingered – Emily already did – and moved back to where he was standing before making his way back to the bar. “I’ll buy you another drink.”

Derek, JJ, and Penelope were laughing and talking about what had just happened. Penelope had even taken a picture zoomed in of Hotch holding the drink, claiming they could always use that picture against him. Derek had moved down to the section of the table with JJ and Penelope to look at the photo, leaving you and Emily.

“Holy shit,” you muttered to no one in particular before locking eyes with Emily, still holding the empty glass in your hand. “Did you see that?”

“Older men, huh?” Emily asked nonchalantly.

You looked at her like a deer caught in headlights and narrowed your eyes. “Emily, I swear if you tell anyone-”

“Tell what?” She grinned. Emily then lowered her voice, moving in closer to talk to you. “So this is why you refuse to talk about anything to do with guys? I knew there was something. He was totally jealous of Derek.”

“What? No way,” you scoffed. “He’s not into me like that.”

Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes at you. Based on the last five minutes alone, everyone at the table should have known what was going on. Unfortunately, no one was paying enough attention.

“From what I noticed, I’m just saying you could get dicked down on this table right now if you just bat your eyelashes at him when he comes back.”

“Emily!” You whisper-screamed. “You can’t say stuff like that when we’re-”

Before you could finish your sentence, Emily noticed Hotch coming back with another drink for you. She motioned for you to stop talking before he got to the table.

He sat your drink down in front of you, another Boozy Bee, before stealing the seat across from you that Spencer had originally occupied earlier before Derek took him out on the floor.

“Thank you,” you managed to say without giving away what you and Emily had just been talking about.

He nodded at you before returning back to his drink. When Emily was sure he wasn’t looking as he turned to speak with Penelope who was further down the table, she looked at you, mockingly batting her eyelashes.

Your eyes went wide as you shook your head before whispering, “I will kill you and make it look like an accident.”

Emily said nothing as she grinned for what felt like the hundredth time of the night. Her eyes flickered from Hotch and then back to you, enthusiastic that she had pieced something this exciting together.

In addition to thinking of herself as your best friend, she liked to also think of herself as the best matchmaker of the BAU.

Emily couldn’t wait for the upcoming week at work.

[undiscovered-horizon]

Ah, wonderful choice, Little Wanderer! Browse the stories, take your time. If there is something else you would like to read, just come back to me. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, make a request to the librarian.

>>Grishaverse-inspired playlist&lt;<

1. Kaz Brekker

➳ "Old dog, new tricks" -> Looking for someone to give you a quote on a stolen painting, you run into an old friend who's less than happy with your way of life.

➳ "The clockmaker, the crow and the mantis" -> Kaz becomes part of an assassin's conspiracy to uncover who paid to have him killed.

➳ "Return to sender" -> When an old admirer continues to bother you with his letters, Kaz makes it his priority to put the fiasco to a stop.

➳ "Apple tree" -> Kaz sometimes hums a melody no one can recognize. The one who sang it to him has bewitched him as much as the tune.

➳ "Agnus Dei" -> You're a Grisha hiding from the Black General. When you reveal your power to save the Crows, Kaz must make a decision: your life or theirs? ➳ "O Rubor Sanguinis" -> Facing the Black General, you must choose whether to do the smart thing or the one you truly crave. Kaz shows affection, just not with words.

➳ "Amendmends" -> Two of your thugs get into a fight at the Crow's club, so you go apologize in person to ensure there won't be any retaliation. Kaz seems suspiciously happy at having the infamous Golden Panther indebted to him. ➳ "Amendments II: The Panther and the Duckling" -> The day comes when you can repay Kaz Brekker with the help of the mysterious "Duckling". Kaz claims you're infuriating but there might be more to his confusing feelings than he realises.

➳ "Espionage" -> You and Kaz pretend to be engaged so you can get him into a banquet and from there - to a safe.

➳ "Four Crow Investigation" -> After Nina notices Kaz's heartbeat quicken when you're around, she recruits three friends to investigate your relationship. ➳ "Four Crow Investigation II: Lovebirds' Outfox" -> Aware of your friends' nosiness, you and Kaz ensure they have hardly believable gossip to share.

➳ "Could you ever fall in love with me?" / "I can’t even fall asleep." -> angst blurb

➳ "Embroidery" -> When his glove gets torn, you're more than happy to sew it back together and add a little detail of your own.

2. Nikolai Lantsov

➳ "Little Sun" -> Return to the sanctuary means a reunion with his beloved Солныщко. Kisses and slaps are exchanged.

➳ "Sparring" -> You face him in an army sparring match. Despite his noble title, Nikolai can't stop himself from sharing suggestive remarks.

➳ "Man of Faith" -> Nikolai's interest in the Sun Summoner makes you jealous but being the sweetheart he is, he's quick to reassure you about his devotion.

➳ "Femme fatale" -> When you reveal how you won the suspiciously heavy bag of coins, Nikolai is overwhelmed with anger at the thought of you being intimate with another man.

➳ "The King and the Swallow" -> Unexpected reunion with his childhood friend and the sworn protector of the royal family takes a dramatic turn when Nikolai inquires about her uncharacteristic, cold demeanour. Confessions are shared - the good ones and the bad ones alike.

➳ "Cinderella" -> Nikolai is a party person, you're not. But he's also a fool in love, so when you quietly disappear, he wastes no time finding you.

➳ "In Emerald Hearts, Emerald Minds" -> When Vasily asks you to forget his half-brother and marry him instead, you escape the Little Palace along Alina. Nikolai realizes something strange is going on when Kaz mentions seeing a similar emerald ring on the woman that came with the Sun Summoner. With how much you and Nikolai have been running in circles to find each other, the reunion aboard Volkvolny feels almost fated.

➳ "Sea shanties" -> Alina witnesses Sturmhond's love for his boatswain. Hurting yourself while fixing the net leads to singing sea shanties and Sturmhond almost kissing the love of his life.

➳ "Who am I to complain?" -> When your parents come to visit, Nikolai finally understands why you've never been keen to talk about them. Being the King and your husband, he isn't afraid to defy them.

[gerrystamour]

i could be honest, i could be human [Chapters 9 & 10]

Rated E | Steddie

[ FIRST PART ] [ PREVIOUS PART ] [ NEXT PART ]

When a smirk tugged at the corners of Eddie’s mouth as he crouched to examine the bat bites closer, Steve chuckled lightly. “What, Munson?” he asked, trying not to think too much about the position Eddie was almost in. “Damn, Harrington,” Eddie said, his tone teasing as he looked up at him through his lashes. “Who hurt you?”

Chapter Nine: March 1986

It took Robin until the spring of the following year for the stars to align in a way for her to figure Steve’s crush out, and by then he thought he’d largely gotten over it.

Between graduating and working full-time, he hadnʼt actually seen Eddie since that night over the summer. The only times he would was while he was dropping Robin off at school and picking her up, and the other man was usually too busy with his friends to notice him. Part of him used to wish Eddie would notice him, look over and see his Beemer and wave, maybe even walk over.

But he never did, and they stopped running into each other in public, so Steve put his thoughts and energy elsewhere. No use pining over someone he wasn’t even brave enough to be friends with. Things with his dad were more tense than they had ever been, and Steve didn’t want any of his rage directed at Eddie if he could help it.

After the fight over the summer,  Robin instated a new rule and enforced it ruthlessly: Steve was never to go back to his house alone. It was tough to keep the reason for the rule a complete secret, so eventually Steve sat down and talked about it to Nancy. It had been a rough conversation, one that left them both raw and feeling guilty for things all over again. But once it was over with, Steve had another ally in his corner, another person who saw him and loved him all the same.

When his parents were in town, Steve was either at Robin’s house or he would crash in the spare room at Dustin’s. Over the years, Claudia had grown increasingly fond of Steve and he had dinner with them multiple times a week, especially after he “saved” Dustin in the mall fire. It wasn’t long until Claudia gave Steve a spare key and told him to come and go as he pleased, that her home was his.

The last time Steve went to the house in Loch Nora was to pick up the rest of his clothes and the handful of keepsakes he actually cared about. His next stop was the post office to have his mail forwarded to Robin’s address.

Steve knew he wasn’t free yet, that he would have to actually deal with his parents eventually, and he knew his every action was likely still reported back to them by some nosy gossip, but he felt free.

It wasnʼt a surprise when Steve started seeing the Freshmen following Eddie around eventually. He was even less surprised when Dustin started talking about him constantly. Eddie was exactly the type of person Dustin would latch onto and become obsessed with.

It was… annoying, if Steve was honest. 

For one, Steve felt an intense jealousy when he listened to Dustin talk about Eddie; over the fact that Dustin could hang out with Eddie so often or because Dustin seemed to like him more than Steve, Steve couldn’t tell. Secondly, there really was a limit to how many times someone could tell the same story about the same person before it got old.

So yeah, Steve was over Eddie. He even took several very successful solo trips to a bar in Indianapolis and felt like he really figured himself out. It felt… nice to be around a whole new group of people and to be wanted for simply being himself. No one there knew him as King Steve, or that he came from money. No one knew his father and avoided him. Steve was just some small-town pretty-boy and he liked the anonymity in that.

While he wouldn’t call himself experienced, it was enough that Steve knew what he enjoyed when he slept with other men. He liked to think he didn’t have a type either when it came to men either, just like he didn’t think he had a type of woman. Just because the men he ended up going home with had longer hair, calloused fingertips, and a preference for wearing leather and denim didn’t mean anything. They always just happened to be the men brave enough to approach him. 

One of the bartenders told him it had to do with his whole Good Boy get-up, and she’d laughed when Steve informed her that he was wearing his normal clothes. That was an enlightening night, as she had taken him home after the bar closed and he learned just what was possible even when sleeping with a woman.

It was through his experimentation and flirting at the bar that Steve realized that Eddie was possibly actually interested in him at some point, or at the very least attracted to him. There was something about the way the men he slept with would touch and look at him, before they were kissing or falling into a bed together that brought back little moments with Eddie. It was a bittersweet thing to realize, knowing he couldn’t do anything about it.

Eddie Munson would always be Steve’s wakeup call, and he would always be grateful for that, but Steve learned his way through a whole new aspect of his sexuality on his own. 

And again, he felt that he was well and truly over his crush.

So in March, when Steve recognized the trailer behind a reporter describing a gruesome murder that took place and the kids burst through the front doors of Family Video demanding use of their phones to find Eddie, he didn’t have to try that hard to be nonchalant about the whole situation. Nevermind how deeply invested he was in the search, even as he tried to ignore them and instead do his job.

It wasn’t until Eddie had pinned him to a wall with a broken bottle against his throat that Steve realized his crush was very much alive and thriving. He knew it was inappropriate, especially given that Eddie had clearly been crying and looked close to doing just that again. But Steve had still blushed a bit, glanced at Eddie’s mouth, and then blushed even more.

Quickly regaining his composure, Steve looked over Eddie’s shoulder at Robin to plead for her help in calming Eddie down, and to his dismay there was a thoughtful expression on her face. It was just a second of her glancing between them, and then it was replaced with wide-eyed understanding. Thankfully she exercised some rare tact and focused on helping Dustin talk Eddie down, but she gave Steve a look that clearly said, ‘You will not hear the end of this for the rest of your life.’

As they left the boathouse after debriefing Eddie on the horrors that lived under Hawkins, Robin grabbed Steve’s wrist and pulled him to a stop. Max and Dustin continued without them, bickering about their next move.

“We’re going to talk about that,” she said firmly, but there was a smirk threatening to overtake her mouth.

“Don’t you think we have bigger problems, Buckley?” Steve groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Hell-ooo! Lovebirds! We’re kind of in a hurry!” Dustin yelled, practically shrieked from the car.

“Henderson, can you lower the volume?” Steve hissed, gesturing around them at the darkness before turning to look back at Robin. “See? Bigger. Problems.”

“Of course,” she agreed before she started walking again, quietly adding, “we can’t have your boyfriend framed for murder by an evil wizard from a shadow dimension underneath Hawkins, right?”

Steve let out a long-suffering moan, trudging along behind her. “Ugh, can you shut up?”

❖

Steve sat in the back of the RV, struggling with removing the scraps of Nancy’s sweater from his injuries. They were looking pretty bad after several hours of not cleaning them out properly. That wasn’t even mentioning the injuries on his back that largely went unattended. Plus his throat hurt from being strangled, and the taste of the Demo-bat’s blood wouldn’t leave his mouth, no matter how much he brushed his teeth or tried to wash it out.

Altogether, Steve was not having a great time. Why was he always the one who got beat up every time the world ended?

He knew the answer to that before he even finished asking himself the question. Maybe if he stopped throwing himself between malevolent beings and his loved ones, he would come out of these situations looking a lot less like he had been processed through a meat grinder. However, Steve knew that the only way he would ever stop is if it actually finally killed him one day.

A noise caught Steve’s attention, and when he looked up he saw Eddie sitting in one of the front seats. They were still pulled over at the field, preparing for battle, and Steve hadn’t realized Eddie had gone inside at all. When their eyes met, there was something about Eddie’s gaze that seemed… weird, but he schooled his expression before Steve could figure it out.

“You need help?” Eddie offered, gesturing at Steve’s pathetic attempts at first-aid.

Steve knew it was probably a bad idea to let Eddie put his hands on him. He knew it wouldn’t help his sad, wishful thinking at all.

“I can’t get to all of the injuries,” Steve admitted, and he put down the gauze as Eddie got up and stepped closer.

Neither of them said anything at first as Eddie took stock of the injuries around Steve’s middle. When a smirk tugged at the corners of Eddie’s mouth as he crouched to examine the bat bites closer, Steve chuckled lightly.

“What, Munson?” he asked, trying not to think too much about the position Eddie was almost in.

“Damn, Harrington,” Eddie said, his tone teasing as he looked up at him through his lashes. “Who hurt you?”

Steve barked out a laugh, even as a spike of heat lanced through his gut, and rolled his eyes. “I’m still trying to figure out the cover-story for these bad boys,” he joked, gesturing vaguely down at the angry wounds and keeping his thoughts as clean as possible. “Ask me again after the government finally shows the fuck up with the confidentiality paperwork.”

Eddie chuckled lightly even as his frown deepened, and he got to work. “Was… were all the other times cover-stories, too?” he asked after a few minutes.

“What?” Steve asked, wincing as Eddie worked.

“The other times you were injured. I’m just—I’m thinking about the timeline you guys gave me and now I’m just—did you actually get beat up by Jonathan Byers?” he finally asked outright, and Steve laughed.

“Yes, I actually got beat up by Jonathan Byers,” he confirmed, sighing. “He accepted my apology after I saved him from the Demogorgon, though.”

“Ah, okay. Him forgiving you makes a lot more sense with that context,” Eddie murmured teasingly, and Steve gasped in mock-outrage.

“Hey man, my apology was very sincere. I’m sure that would’ve done the trick, too,” Steve insisted petulantly, and as he’d hoped, Eddie smiled.

“Hey, y’know, I actually ran away? The first time the Demogorgon came?” Steve admitted and Eddie snorted. 

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed and Steve shook his head with a grin.

“Seriously, I made it through the first attack, had a freak-out, and when it came back…” he trailed off at the memory, shuddering a bit as the vague memory of his gut wrenching fear came back. “Nancy told me to leave— I mean, she pulled a gun on me—”

“She what?” Eddie exclaimed, looking up at Steve with his wide brown eyes that always made the butterflies in Steve’s stomach dance. 

“I was freaking out pretty bad,” Steve offered as an explanation, shrugging when Eddie’s brow pinched together skeptically. With an embarrassed roll of his eyes, Steve continued, “then I ran. Made it to my car and everything. Almost got in and drove away, too.” 

“What stopped you?” Eddie asked quietly, blinking up at him. 

“I, uh, dropped my keys. When I got to my car, I mean, and I donʼt know, stopping like that gave my brain enough time to think,” Steve explained, grimacing as he thought back to that moment when he stood in Jonathan’s driveway and watched the lights start flickering. “I realized I was just gonna go home? And Nance and Jonathan were going to fight this… fucking demon? And they might die?”

“You were what, seventeen?” Eddie asked, standing up to meet Steve’s eyes properly. “It would’ve been normal to fucking run, Steve.”

“Almost seventeen, yeah,” Steve replied flippantly before he looked at Eddie pointedly. “Still. I couldn’t just leave them. Just like you couldn’t sit tight and hide. Or stay in the boat.”

Silence lapsed between them again as Eddie mulled that over, his cheeks turning a bit pink under Steve’s attention. Clearing his throat finally, Eddie glanced away. 

“And the next year, did Billy actually try to kill you?” he asked after a bit, and Steve sighed.

“Yeup. I basically told you the whole story. Max was afraid he’d kill her, and he was actually going to kill Lucas,” he answered as if it was not a big deal, and to him it wasn’t. It all felt like the bare minimum, even in retrospect. “I was with the kids because Hopper was taking Eleven, y’know, the—”

“The girl with the psychic powers, yes,” Eddie interjected with a chuckle. “You’ve mentioned her.”

“Yeah, he was taking her to close the portal. Ms. Byers was dealing with Will, who was possessed by the Mindflayer.”

“Jesus,” Eddie hissed as he moved around Steve to clean up the wounds on his back. There was a long pause before Eddie asked, “And the mall fire?”

Steve tensed up at that, the entire Starcourt mess being the memory he wished would go away the most.

“Russians,” Steve said after a bit before elaborating, “My injuries, I mean. Russians. They tortured me and Robin, almost killed us. Dustin and Erica saved us. The mall fire was us fighting a giant flesh monster with fireworks.”

“Holy fuck,” Eddie muttered, and Steve startled when the other man rested his forehead on the back of Steve’s shoulder. “Sorry, man, that’s just a lot to take in,” he said, clearing his throat and lifting his head again.

“Yeah, you’re telling me,” Steve laughed, shrugging, his skin still tingling where Eddie had rested against him. Clearing his throat, he gestured at the denim vest on the table. “I think your vest is toast, I’m really sorry.”

“Nah, man, don’t be sorry,” Eddie said softly, and suddenly he was resting his chin on Steve’s shoulder and grinning sidelong at him. “It demands payment in blood, and only that of idiot pretty-boy jocks will appease it after the first bloodletting, so really, you’re doing me a favour.”

Steve stared at Eddie out of the corner of his eye in confusion, a deep blush on his face at how close they were to each other, and then the memories finally came to him and he snorted unattractively. “Shit, sorry, I kinda forgot this isn’t the first time I bled on it,” Steve admitted while he laughed, and Eddie joined him quietly.

“I remember that day vividly, Harrington,” Eddie admitted as he backed away to get back to cleaning and dressing Steve’s injuries. “I think about it a lot.”

“Same, I mean thinking about it. A lot of details are really fuzzy, and there’s kind of… gaps in the memories,” Steve confessed quietly. “There’s a lot that I don’t remember from the aftermath, y’know? Maybe this time it’ll be different because so far, no concussion.”

“Okay, but you were strangled and oxygen deprivation—”

“Let me have this win, Munson,” Steve whined with a grin on his face, and Eddie laughed.

“I meant what I said down there, in the Upside-Down,” Eddie said suddenly after a short silence. “That you’re a good guy, even if that pissed me off at first. More than that, you’re amazing Steve. You’re funny, you’re actually kind of a nerd, and you’re a hero. I’m… really glad I got to know you, even if the world is ending tonight.”

Steve had been thinking about their conversation down there since it happened, and it had been gnawing at him the whole time. Having Eddie pushing him back toward Nancy had been frustrating at the time, nauseating even. 

Of course, Steve knew why people always jumped to that conclusion. 

She was his first love, his first real long term relationship and Steve hadnʼt been successful in the dating world since. Even his trips out to Indy werenʼt yielding results outside of casual flings and learning more about himself. Even Robin asked him one night when they were a little bit tipsy if he was still in love with Nancy. There was a part of Steve that questioned himself after a particularly long series of swings and misses. 

Nancy had been, at one point, his everything. Steve had seen a future with her that was within reach, something he might have been able to make even his dad at least tolerant of, and then he lost her. She was a bright spot, a candle in his lonely, dark world and when Steve fucked it up, he was left stumbling alone.

If Nancy was a candle, though, Eddie was the goddamn sun.

Eddie brought a warmth and brightness to every space he entered, and Steve desperately wanted to bask in it for the rest of his life if he could. Steve wanted Eddie, and he wanted to actually be with him. His need for the other man went so deep, it had become painful to keep it buried inside himself.

Steve didn’t want to— no, couldnʼt go back to the Upside Down with Eddie thinking he wanted anyone else, especially his ex-girlfriend. He wouldnʼt march dutifully toward what might be their deaths without telling Eddie.

Even if Eddie didn’t feel the same way, or he was never attracted to him at all, Steve had to let him know.

“You got something wrong down there, though,” Steve started.

“If you even try to downplay how fucking brave and selfless you are, Harrington, I’m—”

“I don’t want to be with Nancy anymore,” Steve said, turning to face Eddie properly. “And yeah, Nancy loves me, but not like that. We’ve been through too much together to not love each other. She jumped into the water because she knows I would’ve done the same. Any of us in this group would.”

Eddie stared down at Steve, the frown on his face deepening a bit. “Okay?” he said after a minute.

Steve sighed heavily, trying to quiet the butterflies in his gut, and then reached out to cup his hand around Eddie’s jaw. Eddie froze, wide-eyed, and Steve waited for Eddie to do something before continuing. After a few moments of Eddie’s huge brown eyes searching his face, a tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. When Eddie relaxed and tipped his head minutely into his hand, Steve let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and stepped a bit closer to Eddie.

With another deep breath, Steve hooked a finger into one of Eddie’s belt loops and tugged on it a bit. When he looked up through his lashes at Eddie’s face, the other man didn’t look confused anymore; he looked hungry and Steve let himself bask in it for a second. 

There was a small part of Steve that couldn’t believe his luck, but he wasn’t going to question it either. He wanted Eddie so much, and it appeared that Eddie was into him as well. 

Steve was allowed to have this.

Breathing in sharply, Steve tipped his mouth up, close enough that he could feel Eddie’ breath on his lips, and started to say, “I’m saying all this right now because—”

The door to the RV banged open and the kids piled in, laughing and goofing off despite the situation. Steve would have been happy to hear it if they had waited maybe ten more minutes.

Eddie apparently had the same thought. “Jesus H. Christ, your timing!” he lamented, having already jumped out of Steve’s space, leaving Steve standing there with his hands awkwardly in the air for a second. “Can you guys just go back outside real quick, for five more minutes? Stevie’s still not decent.”

“We’ve all seen Steve with his shirt off,” Lucas said, his tone disgusted as he looked Steve over.

“And we don’t have five more minutes. Time to put your shirt on, Steve,” Dustin commanded, and Steve sighed as he grabbed the shirt he picked up at War Zone and put it on.

When Steve turned around, Robin was looking at him wide-eyed, as if she knew exactly what was about to happen when they all stormed in. Steve shrugged and put the leather jacket he bought back on and then, looking over his shoulder at Eddie again, he grabbed the battle vest and shrugged it on over top. Glancing down at himself, he definitely saw the appeal of wearing an outfit like that.

When he met Eddie’s eyes again, there was a moment where it looked like he was about to do something about Steve, their audience be damned, and Steve just raised an eyebrow.

The world was about to end, who cared anymore?

“Steve, come on, we’re losing daylight,” Nancy said urgently, an eyebrow raised high as she looked back and forth between him and Eddie. She was in the middle of setting down the weapons and organizing them. “What are you even doing?”

Steve turned away from Eddie fully and headed to the front of the RV, smirking slightly to himself as he heard Eddie cursing up a storm behind him.

Robin followed Steve to the front seat and smiled politely when she shoved past Nancy to take the passenger seat. “I’m invoking Best Friend Shotgun Privileges,” she said when Nancy looked like she was about to argue with her.

At that, Nancy just raised her eyebrows, glanced between the two of them then threw her hands up in surrender before wandering to the back of the RV to sit next to Eddie.

“Is Steve being weird right now?” Steve heard Nancy ask Eddie.

“Oh, Nance, you have no idea,” Eddie replied, and when Steve glanced back, Eddie was grinning and doing that thing where he hid his mouth with some of his hair while he looked out the window next to him. 

Steve smirked a bit and got to hot wiring the RV again like Eddie showed him.

Once they were on the road again and the noise of the RV blocked any conversation from the front reaching the back, Robin leaned over and rested her chin on Steve’s outstretched arm as he drove.

“Please tell me we didn’t interrupt what I think we just interrupted,” she begged softly and Steve laughed.

“You want me to lie to you, Robs?” he asked, raising an eyebrow down at her and she groaned.

“I am so sorry,” she said.

“It’s fine, you didn’t know,” Steve reassured her, lifting his other hand to pat her head. “Honestly, I didn’t know I was going to say anything until right before I started to say it.”

“You were just going to blab?” Robin asked, lifting her head with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, actually. I figured there’s a very high chance at least one of us might not make it out of this mess, so…” he trailed off, shrugging one shoulder.

“Well, now you’ll both just have to survive, won’t you?” Robin said, and while her tone was teasing, there was a desperate edge to it.

“Yeah, Robs, we will,” Steve said, smiling over at her before smirking again. “I think I got my point across anyway.”

“Oh, yeah? You have telepathy now, Steve?” Robin said sarcastically and Steve snorted.

“It’s called body language, Robs,” Steve replied, looking sidelong at her while she made a face up at him. “Is he still blushing?”

Robin looked back and snorted. “Oh yeah, and he’s gotten not only Nancy’s attention, but Dustin’s as well,” she explained and Steve just smiled broadly.

“Still got it,” he teased, winking over at Robin. 

She laughed out loud and began digging around the glove box until she found a clean napkin and a pen that worked. Then she spent the next little while scribbling while angling her body so Steve couldn’t see what she was doing. Finally, out of the corner of his eye he could see her cap the pen and then fold the napkin in a way that it hid what she wrote, like the notes that girls used to pass around class.

Leaning over, she slid the folded napkin in the pocket of his leather jacket. “Promise you won’t look at that until this is over and we’re all alive, okay?”

“I promise, Robs,” Steve said, smiling gently at her when she rested her chin on his arm again.

They were going to make it, Steve decided, because he had a boy to get and a note to read.

Chapter Ten: B-Side

The battle vest was ruined, Steve knew it was.

Just the blood from his own poorly tended wounds would have been enough to call it. But then he had to haul Eddie out…

Inhaling sharply through his nose, Steve shook his head and submerged the vest in the bathtub again for another soak. He had already tried the steps he knew for removing blood from denim, but that was drops from a nosebleed, or a skinned elbow.

This was from someone bleeding to death. This was from the boy he cared about so deeply it hurt bleeding out.

Another sharp inhale, another violent shake of his head, a slow breath out.

The water in the tub wasn’t even changing colour anymore, at least not by any amount that mattered. Steve would wring it out one more time and figure something out if it didn’t work. He’d let it soak for the time being, and maybe this was the time that the stain would just lift right out. It just needed patience and perseverance.

Steve’s fingers were almost painfully wrinkled with how long he had been working at his lost cause. He knew he didn’t have to hold the vest under the water, but there was something grounding about the pain of the cold water when Steve would submerge his hands for just a bit too long. Whenever he’d get too far inside his head, he would lean over the edge of the tub and hold the battle vest under the water until he couldn’t take it anymore.

Distantly, he heard the egg timer go off behind him and inhaled sharply before he lifted the vest out of the tub.

The water in the tub was practically clear.

Steve wrung the vest out as much as his numb fingers could manage, and the water in the tub stayed clear. Steve sucked in a breath through his nose, and it stuck in his chest, his throat filling with glass as he tried blotting the vest with a rag, but nothing was happening.

The battle vest was ruined. Steve couldn’t fix it, just like he couldn’t protect Eddie and Dustin, and he couldn’t stop Vecna before Eddie decided to be a hero, even after he promised.

There was a part of Steve that recognized he was barely keeping himself from having a breakdown on the bathroom floor of Claudia Henderson’s master bathroom. He had to get up and deal with the vest, to do something with it that wasn’t another soak-wring-blot cycle. He had to get off the floor and do something.

Distantly, he heard a vehicle out front and told himself that it was time to move. Steve couldn’t stay on the floor like that, it would upset Dustin. Claudia would be mad that he was in here; her hospitality would only go so far, he was sure, and this was her private space.

Steve had to get up.

The weight of everything—Max almost dying, Eddie bleeding out, almost failing to kill Vecna—kept Steve on the ground holding the ruined battle vest. Everything went blurry and a sob shuddered out of his chest, followed by another.

It sounded muffled, but he heard the front door open and shut, a voice call out and then footsteps thundering down the hall.

Steve could tell Claudia hadn’t taken off her shoes and he had to get himself under control. He bit his cheek hard enough to make it bleed, trying to use the pain to snap himself out of it, but he was too far gone.

The bathroom door opened, and Steve could hear Claudia say his name as she stopped the egg timer quickly.

“I’m fine,” he tried to choke out, but it came out as a garbled mess around a sob. “I’m sorry,” he tried, and he managed to make it understandable.

“Oh, Steve, sweetie,” Claudia cooed, and Steve realized she was kneeling next to him on the floor and rubbing his back.

He leaned toward her before he could stop himself, something inside him aching for something it had never received. Claudia didn’t miss a beat, immediately wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on top of his head.

“You’ve been so brave through so much, haven’t you?” Claudia sighed, petting Steve’s hair. “I’ve got you, sweetie, don’t you worry.”

Steve couldn’t have pulled himself together after that if he tried. He just sobbed, letting all of his fear, anxiety, and grief out while he held the battle vest to his chest. It felt like hours that he sat there on the floor, crying his eyes out while Dustin’s mom held him and ran her fingers through his hair.

Eventually, he wore himself out, either running out of sadness or tears. Taking a deep breath in, he released it in a shuddering sigh.

“There it is,” Claudia said happily, patting his back carefully and pulling back to smile at Steve.

“There what is?” he asked, his voice a bit hoarse, and he frowned at the tears on Claudia’s face.

“I like to call it the ‘first free breath.’ When you finally let out all the hurt and the sadness, and then you can breathe,” she replied, and she said it like it was so simple.

And yet, it was easier for Steve to breathe, easier than it had been in years, perhaps his whole life even. As if there had been something around his chest, slowly getting tighter every time he breathed out for as long as he could remember. Now, it was gone, or at least loosened.

“Now, what’s this?” Claudia asked, gesturing to the vest Steve was still holding tightly to his chest.

“It’s… my friend’s battle vest. He made it himself, and I was—he was bleeding a lot when—I wanted to fix it for him,” Steve answered, and it felt like he should be crying again but his body couldn’t muster the tears. “I wanted to fix it for when he woke up.”

Claudia searched his eyes and face for a long time. “Is this the young man that’s in surgery right now?” she asked, and Steve nodded quickly, opening his mouth to defend Eddie if she brought up the murders. She reached up and patted his cheek, shaking her head. “Dusty cares about him a lot, too.”

“He’s great with Dustin, Mrs. Henderson. You’d love Eddie, and I really hope you get to meet him,” Steve insisted quickly, and Claudia smiled warmly.

“I’m sure I’ll meet him. Can I see the vest, Steve?” she asked, holding her hand out for it, and he immediately passed it to her. Humming thoughtfully, she turned it over in her hands. “The vest is probably ruined, but a lot of the patches are fine, and the others might be salvageable. You get changed into some dry clothes, okay?”

Steve blinked at her a bit dumbly but nodded once. Claudia pulled him into one more hug before she got up and hurried out of the room. Doing as he was asked, Steve got into new pajamas and then went to Claudia’s bathroom to drain the tub and clean up the mess he made with water on the floor.

When he came back out, Claudia was sitting at the kitchen table with a seam ripper and carefully removing one of the patches. On the table were several Polaroids of the vest from all angles, and draped over the back of the chair next to her were a couple jean jackets.

When she glanced up at him and saw him frowning at the pictures, she smiled. “We’ll use the pictures to put them back where they belong,” she explained, gesturing between the vest, the pictures, and the jackets next to her.

Steve knew he should understand what she was getting at, but thoughts were moving through his head like molasses, and he couldn’t connect them. “What?” he asked softly.

Claudia looked up at him and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I’m used to talking to Dusty—you know how he is,” she laughed fondly before she looked up at him properly. “We’re going to make your friend a new one with as many of the old patches we can save, okay?”

Steve crumbled all over again, but this time it felt a lot less jagged.

Stepping closer, he wrapped Claudia in a tight hug and let out a sobbing laugh. “Thank you, Mrs. Henderson,” he murmured.

“When are you going to call me Claudia like I keep asking you to, Steve?” she asked with a chuckle, carefully rubbing his back. “This is your home if you want it, for as long as you want it, and I don’t want you to feel like I’m just your host.”

Steve thought about that, and about this house being one of the only places that had ever felt like home to him. He thought about how he felt safe there, wanted, and even loved. Then he thought about how he intended to tell Eddie about his feelings as soon as he woke up and could handle a conversation like that. Steve didn’t want to live in a house where he had to hide parts of himself again.

He had kept himself formal around Claudia to keep his distance, like if he talked like she was a host it wouldn’t hurt as much once he overstayed his welcome. It wouldn’t hurt as much when she inevitably turned on him.

But she was insistent, and Steve wanted to stay here, and he wanted to know that if he did stay, he could bring Eddie around and not hide what they were to each other.

Pulling away, Steve sat down on one of the other dining room chairs and looked down at his hands while he thought about what he was going to say.

“Eddie isn’t my friend, Mrs. Henderson,” Steve said after taking a deep breath, and he flinched at his wording. “I mean, he is, right now because everything happened before I could tell him my—that I like him. That I might be a little in love with him.”

Silence followed his confession, and Steve cleared his throat.

“Is that okay?” he asked quietly, balling his hands into fists.

Claudia put the seam ripper down and took his hands in hers, encouraging Steve to relax his fingers. “Sweetie, I know why you think you do, but you don’t need my permission to love anyone. I want you to know that I will never tell you who you can or cannot love, do you understand?” she asked gently, and Steve nodded frantically.

“But it won’t be a problem if I bring him around? Or you see us holding hands?” Steve pushed, needing to be sure.

“It won’t be a problem, as long as he makes you happy, sweetie,” Claudia said so sincerely, Steve couldn’t find a single part of him jaded enough to doubt her.

Finally, he lifted his eyes to meet hers as he said, “Thank you, C-Claudia.”

The grin and hug he was rewarded with were huge, and Steve felt a properly happy laugh bubble up out of his chest.

❖

The next day, Steve returned to the hospital feeling a bit less like he was drowning. Eddie was stable and in recovery. The wounds themselves were relatively superficial, there had just been so many, and he had lost so much blood before he received treatment. At least that had been roughly what Wayne had explained to him on the phone that morning.

When Steve arrived at the hospital, he stopped to visit Max first like he always did. Ms. Mayfield was asleep on a cot next to Max’s bed, so Steve was quiet with his greeting and little updates. It broke his heart seeing her like that on the bed, quiet and pale, barely any movement aside from her chest rising and falling with her breaths.

Once he finally arrived at Eddie’s room, he was surprised to see Wayne still there. He knew the man worked nights, so he figured he’d need to be sleeping.

“Hello, Mr. Munson,” Steve said awkwardly as he shuffled over to the other available chair.

“Harrington,” Wayne greeted, looking him up and down with an unreadable expression.

Steve settled as comfortably as he could in his chair, trying to ignore Wayne staring at him while he pulled a book and a pair of glasses out of his backpack. He had the new battle vest in his backpack to work on since Claudia taught him how to do some basic stitches, but for some reason he was nervous about doing that in front of Wayne.

“What’re you doing here, boy?” Wayne asked, and Steve looked up at him, wide-eyed. Steve appreciated that Wayne at least tried to hide his disdain, but it was impossible to ignore.

“Sorry, I’ll leave,” Steve said quickly as he put his book away, even if leaving made a hollow feeling settle in his gut. “I’m sorry for—”

“I didn’t tell you to leave. I asked what you were doing here,” Wayne interrupted with a sigh, and something relaxed in his jaw.

Steve couldn’t think of a good answer, not sure what Wayne knew about Eddie. Then again, Steve was largely assuming that himself based on several years of too-gentle touches and one kiss that nearly happened.

But even if Wayne knew about Eddie, what should Steve say here? That he wanted to be there the second Eddie woke up so he could breathe properly again? That he wanted to be here to see Eddie’s smile and hear his laugh, to finally confess the feelings he had been building gradually inside him until they were spilling over? That he waited until the last possible moment to drum up the courage to say something, and then the moment passed, and he almost lost him forever?

“I care about him,” Steve said, and it felt woefully inadequate. “I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“You care about him,” Wayne responded thoughtfully, skepticism lying thick under the words. “What does that mean?”

Steve frowned at Wayne, knowing the man was challenging him. This was some sort of test. “I’m—I might be in love with him, Mr. Munson,” Steve replied, his heart pounding hard enough in his chest that he was sure Wayne could hear it.

As it was, Wayne’s eyebrows shot upward on his forehead at the confession. That was a bit satisfying, all things considered.

“What would your old man think about that, kid?” he asked after a moment, his eyes searching Steve’s face.

“Pardon my language, Mr. Munson, but I don’t give a shit what he thinks,” Steve replied firmly, shrugging with one shoulder. “The people who actually matter know about my feelings for Eddie. Richard Harrington can shove his thoughts about it up his ass for all I care.”

Steve ignored the flash of fear that went through him saying that. It frustrated him how scared he still was of his dad when he hadn’t even seen the man in months.

Wayne was looking at him, assessing him, before he relaxed fully in his chair. “Does he know?” he asked, nodding in Eddie’s direction.

“I think he does,” Steve replied sadly, slouching in his chair. “I tried to tell him, but I waited too long, and then everything happened. We just… ran out of time.”

Wayne nodded, rolling his eyes skyward. “I’ll make sure you’re allowed in here, no matter the time, alright?” he said after a bit and his gaze met Steve’s again. “You better make good on your plan to tell him, got it? I’ve had it up to here with his lovesick pining for you.”

“Wait, what—?” Steve started, completely baffled, but Wayne just groaned loudly as he stood up and stretched.

“Keep an eye on him, would you? I’m going for a smoke,” he said and then left the hospital room.

Once he was alone in the room, Steve looked at Eddie and his heart ached. He looked so small and frail, his face gaunt and white as a sheet. But he was breathing on his own and Steve would take that as a good sign. He allowed himself a small smirk.

“Lovesick pining, huh?” Steve asked the sleeping form on the bed as he reached into his backpack and pulled out the new battle vest and got to work.

[ NEXT ]

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[huffle-dork]

Long Live the King

Chapter 6: Potions and Dreams

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

Much like the previous night, the boat continues while it's dark. Sleep is a harder time coming, since with all the Phantoms up on the deck, there's more people walking around and more noise in general. When the sun rises, the tall trees and their drooping branches block it out for a while, and then it gets covered by some clouds for a bit. But eventually, as it always does, the light breaks through.

Bro has been restlessly sleeping all night- plagued by nightmares. All the things he couldn’t remember from being under the King and Mag’s control is coming back to him slowly. But only at night when he can’t distract himself. He awakes before the other swaps, breathing heavily, trying to shake the visions from his head. But, it only makes him worry for Alt more… He wants to hit something but- he doesn’t want to break the boat or the supplies…

He's not the only one who's awake early. The other Chase is there, too. He glances at Bro with a concerned expression. "Bad dreams?" he asks. 

Bro blinks at his other self and then nods quietly, “…yeah…” He hugs his arms and takes a deep steadying breath. 

Chase nods sympathetically.

The others wake up soon, too. Henrik is passing out more insect repellant paste to anyone who's up and ready for it. Jameson is rummaging around for food in the supplies. Jackie has walked off to the side as far as possible from everyone else and is messing with his swords, trying to quietly polish them. And Marvin is pretending to still be asleep.

Henny and Dr. J wake up soon too. Henny looks at their surroundings and sighs in awe. “oh it is so pretty! But the light bug friends are gone!” 

Dr. J chuckles as he stands up and cleans up his bedroll. “They typically only show up at night, my friend.” 

Jackieboy wakes up last, and he groggily looks out at the others. His blanket he used to hide his face while he slept falls comically off his face. But, he doesn’t look like he slept too well either. Being a light sleeper and an insomniac on a nosy boat with lots of people wasn’t a good combination. He blinks blearily and rubs at his eyes.

“How is everybody doing this morning?” Henrik asks. “I was thinking if everyone was up for it, we could eat breakfast and then I could show you my potions.” He sounds hopeful.

Henny looks very excited and hurries to clean up his bedroll too. “oh yes yes! I would very much like that!” 

“Sure, I’m down.” Jackieboy yawns. 

Dr. J nods with a smile. But, he does glance at the Chases talking with a bit on concern.

“Great!” Henrik beams excitedly. “We will go get some—ah! Thank you.” 

Jameson returns with some parcels of food and hands them out, starting with Henrik. “We eat, then I show you.” 

Marvin stops pretending to be asleep. “Can I sit in?” 

“Of course!” 

Dr. J thanks Jameson as well and takes the food. Henny laughs, “Were you just pretending to sleep, Marvin?” 

“Hey I get it- sometimes people are too loud in the morning.” Jackieboy comments as he gets a parcel too and tears into it.

"Exactly." Marvin points at Jackieboy, agreeing. "And I know it'll be hard for me to sleep once we get on the ship." 

"Not if you agree to take the nausea tonic this time," Henrik mutters. "Wha--hey!"

The other swaps laugh at Marvin and Henrik's banter. 

Meanwhile the two Chases talk quietly to each other. 

“Um… I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, but if there is, let me know. I’ll be here. I mean, if you can’t depend on yourself, who can you depend on? Hah.” Chase says. 

Bro glances at Chase and then chuckles, giving him a weak smile. “Hah- that’s a good one.” He then grips at his arms. “…it wasn’t… a dream necessarily… I’m… remembering. What I forgot… when the King had me. And just… s-seeing Alt…” He closes his mouth into a tight line and curls up smaller, trying to hide his weakness. 

Chase nods slowly. “It’s… tough to see them again,” he says quietly. Then he glances around. None of the fantasy guys are paying attention. “I saw my wife again, but… she was under an enchantment. I-it didn’t go well. But… I think it’ll go well with Alt, when we find him. Which we’re getting closer to every day.” He puts a hand on Bro’s shoulder. “It’s going to get better. And in the meantime, if you ever need time to be alone, you can use that flight of yours to go out on shore. As long as you keep the boat in sight, no one will be bothered.” 

Bro looks back at Chase and he can see the tears lingering in his eyes. He rubs at his face and nods. “…I’m sorry about your wife… that’s… that’s so hard… I hope we can find something to help her in the Wyldwoods…” 

He looks out at the shore and grips at his arms tighter. “…I just want to… to destroy something- I’m so… angry that this happened! But I… I get carried away and… Dr. J says it’s not good to fight my feelings with fists.” 

"Better than keeping them to yourself," Chase says, shrugging. "And we're going to be in small spaces for the next three days. People can feel bad moods. But you know yourself the best. Just... something to think about." And he smiles. "And thank you. About Stacia. We can help her by freeing Jack from that spirit." 

Bro smiles a bit and nudges his shoulder against Chase. "Yeah... if i need space I'll... I'll see. I wouldn't want my bad mood affecting everyone else." He nods to Chase, "... I know you guys can do this... stop that spirit. And we'll do anything we can to help." 

Chase gives him a small smile. "Thank you. That means a lot." He clears his throat. "Now. What are these all talking about?" 

They're talking about seasickness. 

"You know Henrik has a point, Marvin. One small tonic could save you a lot of unnecessary discomfort," Dr. J comments gently. 

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Marvin groans. "It just didn't seem as important if it was only two days." 

Jackie gets up and walks over. "Are we talking about how Marvin spent the whole ocean journey in his cabin?" 

"Jackie! I swear to every Elder--" 

You really should take a tonic if the nausea gets that bad, Jameson interrupts. Suffering isn't noble. 

"I didn't think it would be worth it," Marvin repeats insistently. 

Well clearly, it would have been.

"I'll take a tonic this time, alright? But don't you have to make it first?" 

Henrik's eyes light up. "I can show you all how to do that after you finish breakfast!" Henny smiles and nods eagerly at him, excited about the potions. 

Dr. J chuckles, "I'm often telling many of these gents as well that suffering isn't noble. Just hope one day they'll listen-" He looks pointely at Jackieboy. 

Jackieboy lifts his hands in surrender as he grumbles, "I didn't take pain meds one time-" 

"You had a migraine for days at that point!" 

Henny looks between his friends as they bicker, like he's watching a ping pong match as he eats his breakfast. 

Bro looks over at the others and can't help but chuckle as he picks up the conversation. He grabs something to eat and sits down closer to everyone, "Mornin' to the rest of you-" 

"Ah Chase!" Dr. J pauses in his scolding of Jackie and gestures towards him, "Since you're here and we're on the subject- why are you all so stubborn about taking medicine when you need it?" 

The hero blinks, halfway through of bite of his breakfast. "ummm..." He shrugs, "I dunno. I don't like lookin' weak- sometimes I think I can just... shake it off, you know?"

Every single one of the fantasy guys stare at Bro like he's said something utterly strange.

"...everyone needs medicine, though?" Jackie says, genuinely confused. 

"That's an attitude that is not common in Glasúil," Henrik says. "Though I vaguely remember something like it from back home." 

"I can understand it, though," Marvin muses. "To be weak is to be vulnerable, and vulnerability is difficult. There's a fear of being hurt that comes with it." 

But if it's a scenario like what Jackieboy did, where you were ALREADY hurt for a long time... I don't see the thought process? Jameson says, his expression making the statement into a question.

Bro finds himself turning red as all the fantasy boys look at him. "O-Oh... I-I don't know! I just..." He struggles with his words. ".... asking or admitting you need help is... hard." 

Dr. J looks a bit concerned and then pats Bro on the shoulder, "... I didn't mean to put the spotlight on you, Chase... I know it's hard to admit that sometimes. But, you deserve help, always. Even if it's help from a tiny pill or a tonic." He chuckles. He looks back at Jackieboy and raises an eyebrow, "You too, Mr. Mann." 

"Yeah yeah- don't surname me, Jems-" Jackieboy grumbles. "I've been getting better-" 

Dr. J relents with a laugh, "You have, I will admit." 

"And in my defense of the migraine thing- I'm a single dad with 3 kids, I had a lot of other things on my mind!" Jackieboy adds. "But yeah... not taking the medicine by then was dumb. My brain was just everywhere- eventually it just kinda faded into the background." He shrugs.

Chase raises his eyebrows. "Three children and no partner? And I thought my kids were tough to take care of. Oh, right, you said that 'Sar-uh' is away a lot last night. That must be hard." 

"Oh yeah- saying single implies that I'm not married to Zara," Jackieboy laughs, "Sorry- people don't get that we're married and she's away a lot so I default to that." 

"I bet you're great at it, though," Jackie says cheerfully. 

"And we're not, ah, picking on you or anything. Either of you. It's just a bit of a surprise." 

"I understand where you're coming from," Marvin says. "But... yes, it is a bit strange to hear. It's like that rule about how you never thank a Fair Folk because they see it as you putting them in your debt." 

"Fascinating, though," Henrik mutters. 

The father blushes a bit as Jackie compliments him and he grins shyly. "Thanks man... I think I nail it- my kids are my whole world." His face falls for a second before he shakes his head. "... I was gonna say I hope they're okay but... i-i know they are. They just probably miss me." 

"Stacy and Oliver are taking good care of them and our animals I am sure!" Henny reassures Jackie brightly. 

"And Shaun is of course taking good care of Alice too." 

Dr. J smiles, "Yes, I know he is. Alice loves having time with her Uncle Shaun. I'm sure they're having a great time." 

"What a story this will be for them later," Jackieboy grins. Bro shares his grin for a second, nodding. They loved spinning tales for the kids to hear. 

After breakfast, Henrik pulls a bag and a couple small shoebox-sized chests from the pile in the center. He double checks everything inside and then commandeers one of the benches to use as a table, sitting down on the deck itself.

The swaps help clean up breakfast and then gather around Henrik with curious eyes. Henny and Dr. J are especially excited.

Henrik grins at his audience. Chase and Jameson aren't there, both having their own things to take care of, but Jackie is there as support and Marvin is there in case he gets to talk about more magic. 

"This box is filled with normal medicines and medical supplies." Henrik opens the lighter-wood chest. "And this one is for the witchcraft and potion ingredients." He opens the darker-wood one. "And the bag is full of supplies." He starts taking things out of the bag. There's a small pot made of black iron, wooden spoons and metal cups of various sizes, thin knives that look a bit like scalpels, some rocks and crystals, and some instruments the swaps don't recognize at all. 

Henrik looks completely enamored with the magic and supplies. "Oh! Such a teeny pot!" Dr. J studies all the instruments with interest.

"I am not sure how much of this you have in your world... maybe not too much. Marvin? Can you fill up the pot with water?" 

"Mm-hmm." Marvin takes the pot, then grabs his amulet. A glow of light surrounds the pot as he uses magic to lift it over the side of the boat and into the water before pulling it back up. 

"Don't you need fire?" Jackie asks Henrik. 

"I was hoping Marvin could help with that, too. Wizard fire will either burn anything it comes to contact with, or it will only provide heat and no burns." 

"I know spells for both of those," Marvin says helpfully.

Dr. J adds timidly, "Um... let's not do the spell that burns everything? Good to know you have that though-"

Marvin laughs. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it. That takes a lot of power in any case." 

He hands the pot back to Henrik, who sets it up on a metal stand that props it up about eight inches off the ground. Then Marvin grabs some more light from his amulet and sets it down under the pot, where it turns into a small blue flame. "Usually we use bigger pots for bigger batches, but since we are traveling a lot that would be too difficult. So we make due with smaller ones for smaller doses." 

"Oh, you left all the bottles in here, Henrik," Jackie points out, looking into the bag. 

"Yes, that was on purpose. They are all wrapped up, I did not want to undo them for no reason." Henrik looks back at the others and grins. "What would you like to see first?"

Henny bounces a bit in excitement, "I want to see those dual potion thingys!! So many of them were like boom!" He pantomimes an explosion with his hands. 

Dr. J laughs, "I might be the only one interested in the actual medicine. So, whatever you'd like to start us with is good, Henrik."

Henrik grins. "The unmixed potions take less time, so we can start with that. Hmm... what can we do with what we have?" He opens up the darker-wood box. Inside are small ceramic bottles and cloth packets. "Oooo, I have been wanting to try this. One that will attract any metal to the center. I believe we need this for that?" He grabs something from the corner: a small black stone. He demonstrates how it sticks to the metal fastenings on his tunic then sets it down on the bench. 

"Oh! A magnet!" Dr. J says with a smile. "A natural one- how interesting!" 

"A... 'magnet,'" Henrik repeats. "These are called lodestones here." He looks through his supplies. “We have a few other magical ingredients. Tangleweed, water roses, bark from rowan trees. These all give the liquid different qualities."

"What properties do they give?" Henny asks, leaning in. 

"Nerds~" Jackieboy tries to whisper to Bro but Bro nudges him with his shoulder. He's actually trying to listen. ... Alt would have wanted to see this. Maybe they can teach him later... The least Bro can do is listen though.

Henrik grins at Henny's interest. "Rowan trees will enhance any power," he says, taking some of the bark from a packet and dropping it into the water. "Tangleweed will make the effects last." He takes some roots from a packet and adds those. "And ground-up water rose petals spread the range." Then pours in some powder from a bottle. "For this one we also need some of this: iron shavings." He pours that in from a bottle. "This gives the potion its target, that being metal." The water slowly grows cloudy, and Henrik picks up a spoon and stirs. "Marvin, increase the heat, please." 

Marvin nods and the small fire gets a bit bigger.

Henrik's eyes glimmer with awe as he listens intently. "Wow! That is so-!! I do not even know how to describe it! It is- magical!" 

"How do you learn all of these things...?" Dr. J muses, "Lots of experimentation I'm guessing?"

"Testing and reading." Henrik nods excitedly. "I always ask for news from my home kingdom, and one day I heard about these. I immediately started testing. Unmixed potions are quite strange, because you must divide the recipe for a normal potion in half. And increase some of the portion sizes." As he stirs, the cloudiness of the water spreads through the whole thing, making it look milky. He pauses for a moment, waiting for it to settle. It does, and slowly turns a pale blue. "It is always trial and error. Normally when one drinks this recipe whole, metal objects will be pulled towards them. I want the metal objects to be pulled to the spot where the liquids mix." 

"Oh I remember that potion," Jackie says. "It's not usually much use. Very specialized." 

Bro hums in thought, "...that's a brilliant idea though... you can use that to pull all their weapons away and disarm a whole group in an instant." 

"It's usually purple, right?" Marvin asks. 

"Yes, but this is not a whole, only half, so I think this is the best we will get." Henrik reaches into the bag and pulls out one of those special divided bottles. "These are carefully made by some of our sorcerers. I have to be cautious with them until it's time to use the potion." 

Henny looks at the bottle and then laughs, "Oh! It is spilt in the center! So went it cracks it goes Boom!! I get it- that is why you must be careful!"

"Yes! Precisely!" Henrik nods excitedly. "Now. Here we go. Marvin, heat down." As the flame reduces, Henrik grabs the handle of the pot and pours it into one half of the bottle, made easier by a small divot in the lip, like a pitcher. "And now, Marvin, do you mind getting more water?" 

"Mm-hmm." Marvin repeats the same magical process from before, returning with another potful of water. 

"Now we add this." Henrik plops the lodestone into the water. "And two violet caps." He takes two purple mushrooms out of a packet and adds those as well. "They will add a little of the, ah... what do you say, Jackie? The 'oomph.'" 

Jackie laughs. "That's it. Exactly." 

Henny laughs, "The oomph! Ha- that is a funny word, I like it!" 

"This has to sit for a while, so we will wait," Henrik says, sitting back. 

Bro stares at the potion and pot and tries not to let the sadness overtake him. But he does whisper, "... Alt would have loved to see this. He... he likes all this- magic stuff." He laughs slightly, though the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "He'd probably be trying to write down some notes and make pictures of the stuff so he could try... just- glitching all over the place."

Henrik looks at him, enthusiasm fading a bit. "Yes... But when we find him, I will be happy to show him again." He tries for a small smile. "It may help him, even." 

"We'll be sure to let him know everything," Jackie says. 

"And show him anything he wants to know." Marvin nods.

Bro blinks in surprise for a second before he smiles more genuinely. "... thanks guys... that really means a lot to hear. He'd... he'd love to." 

Henny looks at Bro and then pulls him into a side hug. Bro stiffens for a second before letting himself relax against the gentleman. Henny rests his head on top of Bro's.

Jackie, Henrik, and Marvin stay quiet for a while. Feels like their visitors need this moment to themselves. Then Henrik clears his throat. "I think it is done." The liquid in the pot has turned a deep red color, like wine. He carefully lifts and pours the pot like he did last time. He concentrates so hard, not even saying anything, and only breathes once it's done. "Must be delicate with that. We do not want to accidentally pour it into the wrong side." He stoppers the bottle, then takes the lodestone out of the pot, as well as some slimy remnants of the mushrooms. "These can still be used for other spells if sliced," he explains, putting them in a new cloth packet. 

Henny perks up a bit as he watches. He does make a slight face at the slimy mushrooms. 

Dr. J chuckles. "Waste not want not-"

Marvin takes the initiative to wash the pot with the same 'levitation into the water' process.

Dr. J studies the potion from a distance. "... incredible that just a few ingredients make such an effect..." 

"Yeah- dunno how much magical plants we have back home but... if we do have stuff like this maybe I should call my folks up for lessons." Jackieboy laughs. "At the very least for you all- never was good at doin' the magic shit myself. Mam got tired of teachin' me after a while." 

"It is so interesting, isn't it?" Henrik says. 

"It is!" Marvin says excitedly. "I could never get the handle on potion-making myself. I didn't have the patience. Since I could just do a lot of these effects on my own with a focus, it seemed a waste to me. So I understand where you're coming from, Jackie." He laughs. "My parents also got tired of forcing me to attend lessons." 

Jackieboy grins and makes a gesture like he's flipping a hat at Marvin, "Ah, a fellow unfocused lad!"

Jackie laughs. "You should see him when he's reading about magic. It's like all his focus is directed towards that." 

"Well, it's hard to concentrate on something not interesting," Marvin says. 

"No, I agree." Jackie holds up his hand. Marvin grabs it. Jackie grins. This sort of thing seems normal for them.

Jackieboy laughs too, "God fucking mood! Can't concentrate worth shit if it's not somethin' I like-" 

Bro and him share a smirk at seeing Jackie and Marvin clasp hands.

"Oh, speaking of your magic, how long can you keep this flame going?" Henrik asks. 

"Oh, quite a while. It doesn't take much concentration to sustain it." 

"Good. We have to heat the water before making any medicine. Unlike potions, where the magic will burn away sicknesses, medicine has to have that burned away through normal means."

He giggles. Dr. J tilts his head, "Potions burn away the sicknesses, but medicine doesn't? ... I'm not quite sure I follow, do you mind elaborating?"

"Ah." Henrik looks at JJ. "Well, when you drink water without heating it first, you may get sick. That is what I mean. You must heat it up or purify it with magical ingredients like water roses or violet caps. Or just with magic. There are talismans for that." 

"And spells," Marvin adds.

"Oh! I see-" Dr. J chuckles, " We do something similar back home! Just with a less magical solution."

"Ahhh." Henrik nods. "So you heat up the water too, then. Well, while we wait, you can ask any questions you like. I'd love to talk some more--and I'm sure Marvin can help with anything I don't know." Marvin leans forward, excited.

“Hmmm,” Dr. J thinks of something to ask, “Are all these ingredients here native to Gasuil? Or are they from other countries? If thats the cause I bet translations of what properties they have would be difficult!” 

“All of them can be found here, yes,” Henrik says. “But some can also be found in other places. For example, rowan trees also grow on the east continent, while water roses are common on the far east continent. Hmm… that probably means nothing to you. Once we get to the ship, I should convince Vsevna to show you one of his world maps.“ 

"Oh i would love to see a map sometime! The entirety of this world fascinates me, I would adore seeing how its structured!" Dr. J says passionately. 

In any case, yes, sometimes potions can be difficult to translate. That is why one of Glasuil’s major trade items are magical plants.” 

“If there weren’t so many here, we wouldn’t have much to export besides root vegetables,” Jackie says jokingly. 

“Of course, if it is impossible to get something, recipes can be modified,” Henrik says.

Dr. J laughs with Jackie and nods, "That makes sense- like a baking recipe!"

"Potion and medicine making is not too far off from baking when you think about it," Henrik chuckles.

Meanwhile, Henny saw how excited Marvin was and leans in close, gesturing towards his amulet, “Marvin, mein friend, can you tell me how it is your necklace works? I have not see magic like this!”

Marvin’s eyes light up as Henny asks that. “Oh! This is my wizard focus.” He holds up his amulet for everyone to see. It’s circular, made of wood and an ivory material. “Every wizard needs one. Without it, we can’t do any magic—or at least not control it as well. That’s one of the differences between wizards and other magic users. We’re able to channel the magic of the world into nearly anything, but we need help to do it. Focuses have to be made of magical or valuable material, so they can be costly. Traditionally the making of them is overseen by the crown. Which is, unfortunately, why most wizards are on the King’s side. Easier to get a focus from him than to try and make one for yourself. Took me dozens of tries—and some help—to make this. It’s Rowan wood and dragon bone.”

Henny looks enamored as he looks at the focus- almost reaching for it but then thinking better of it. He bounces in place and pulls out his watch. "It is kind of like my watch! I do not think I can use my time magics without it- but... mine was probably not as expensive." 

"Huh. If your watch is like a focus, that helps me understand it," Marvin says.

Henny laughs. Then his eyes sparkle and his jaw drops, processing what Marvin had said a bit late,  "wait, Dragon bone?!" 

"Oh yeah! That reminds me," Bro asks, looking at the fantasy guys, "...what happened to Wyvernlair? Did it...?" He doesn't want to finish the sentence but you can guess where he's going.

Marvin’s faint smile falls. 

"Oh. Yes, uh..." Jackie clears his throat. "I already mentioned this in passing to Jackieboy, but... yea. It was discovered." 

"My fault, really," Marvin mutters. 

"No, it's not. We didn't know the King could read minds back then." Jackie shook his head. "There were a couple royal scouting parties sent out, and eventually one found the location. There was this dog--well, not just a dog, a familiar, a wizard's magical creature like Draco--" 

"Not nearly as friendly, though," Henrik mutters. 

"Anyway. That party found us so we had to leave Wyvernlair before an attack came. And... well, we still got caught in the middle of an attack, but most people were gone by that point, so it could have been worse." 

"It was a good base, though," Marvin says sadly.

Bro's face falls and he looks sad too, "Oh god... That's... I'm so sorry you guys..." 

"M-Maybe one day you can go back!" Henny tries to offer gently. "W-When this bad spirit is removed from the King..." 

"They wouldn't really need a secret hideout then though," Jackieboy adds with a shrug. 

"...Maybe they can use it for... selling... things...?" Henny replies uncertainly. "...Or... um..."

Jackie laughs. "It'd be nice to see it again, at the very least. Maybe we can convince the real King to set up an outpost out there. One manned by former Phantoms. I know that others miss Wyvernlair, too." 

"Oo! Or we can use the dragon bones somehow!" Marvin perks up. "It's extremely magical, you know. And it keeps things warmer than usual. Maybe the bones could be used for potions, somehow. Or spells."

"Yes!" Henny says brightly, "Repurpose it to serve the kingdom for good! I am sure the real King would be for that!" 

Bro gives a small smile, "..that'd be a sight to see. We'd have to make sure we come visit then too..."

"Please do," Jackie says eagerly. "I'd love to show you the kingdom when it's not ruled by an evil spirit." 

Bro smiles more, "And I'd love to see it then too... without our stupid cat bitch messing stuff up."

"Um, Henrik," Marvin says slowly. "Should I turn the heat down or--" 

"Schiesse!" Henrik notices the water in the pot about to boil over. "Yes, yes!" 

"Alright!" The flame reduces quickly. Henrik sighs. "Well. I think we still have enough water in there to make that nausea tonic, if you want to stay for that."

Henny and Dr. J, since they were sitting closest, startle back as the pot boils over. 

Dr. J chuckles, "I'm still curious!" 

Jackieboy and Bro exchange glances before Jackie mutters to Bro, "Do you think there's enough room to train?" 

"...i dunno bro- probably not?" 

"Damn-"

"If you two are bored you do not have to stay," Henrik says as he opens up the lighter-wood box. "This will be a longer process. We need to use teleráil, hallowseed, ginger, rosemary--" 

"Or we could use mint," Marvin says. "Mint tastes better." 

"Well I did not bring mint, so we cannot use it." Henrik starts rummaging around in the chest. "Oh! But I do have lemon balm! And some valerian and feamdhe, so I could make a sleep aid."

Jackieboy and Bro flush bright and act like school kids that got caught cheating. Then Jackieboy laughs, "God... I'd kill for something mint right now-" 

"You like mint, Jackie?" Henny asks. 

"Alt turned me onto it- I was surprised he liked it too." Jackieboy laughs. "Has mint gum like, constantly." 

Dr. J smiles, "It's also his favorite tea."

Marvin brightens. "Oh! That's my favorite tea, too! Nobody else in camp likes it! I-I know I have a supply in my tent back at the cliffs. Once we find Alt, I can make him a brew."

Bro smiles, "He'd love that Marvin... Dr. J is always telling us the best medicine is a good cup of tea." 

Dr. J blushes slightly, "Well... that's what my parents taught me! Most of the time you just need a quick moment and a warm drink."

"We didn't have tea when I was growing up," Jackie remembers. "It only really caught on in the last... ten years or so? Warm drinks have always been a thing, but it was usually water with honey, or sometimes milk from the goats on the farm." 

The swaps look very surprised by this. "Tea is that recent here?" Dr. J says quietly. 

"Tea is native to the far east," Henrik says. "That is where that particular practice, with the pots and all the diffusion, came from. But heating up water with leaves or roots inside has been common here for a while. That is how most tonic medicines are made." He gestures at the pot, then picks up one of those thin knives and starts slicing up some long leaves. Not actually cutting through them, just into them.

Henny watches Henrik with a smile, "That is so interesting! All cultures start to borrow from one another it seems. I like that! We all learn from each other!"

"I think you broke Jay's mind," Jackieboy laughs, "He's British- so all he's known his whole life is tea!" 

Dr. J smacks Jackieboy lightly, "They don't even know what being British means!" 

The others smile. "I'm supposing that 'Brih-ish' is your nationality, then?" Henrik says, chuckling. "The others made similar jokes about me being Alterdan when I first arrived." 

"We still do," Jackie says cheerfully. "Like your low tolerance!" 

"Just because our drink is not strong enough to make someone dizzy with two fingers does not mean my tolerance is low! We drink much more in one sitting to make up for it!" 

"Don't tease the man holding the knife," Marvin says, grinning. 

Henrik rolls his eyes and plops the leaves into the water. "Teleráil needs to boil for a while, but not too long," he explains. "I need to remove it before it makes the taste bitter." He then drops in the ginger, already pre-sliced. "And the ginger is the main ingredient to soothe the stomach." 

"What's ironic is they make fun of me for being British while living in Britain!" Dr. J says with exasperation, pointing a finger at Jackieboy. 

Jackieboy laughs and holds up his hands, "Hey! S'not my fault you made friends with a bunch of Irish boys! That's your fault for going to uni in Ireland!"

Henny looks between the two bickering again before shrugging, "I am also from Britain but my Mother was born in Germany- which must be like Alderdan since we have the same accent, other-me!" The gentleman smiles. "Though, us germans are known for our drinking skills! I can drink way more than Alt can." He grins big, looking proud of himself. “Even if I am going Half-German!” 

Henrik chuckles. "Perhaps in some years or so the typing will change to be more like that. But for now I must handle getting teased for not wanting to drink whiskey."

He pours a packet of small, round seeds into the water and stirs. And then he puts in the rosemary and some thin grass-like plants. 

Henny giggles and nods. "I am not a big fan of whiskey either. But, Alt is!" 

"Who out of us do you think could drink the most?" Marvin wonders. 

"Out of the three of us, it's me," Jackie says. "No doubt." 

"Ha! Do you know how much wine I can down at a party?" 

"Wine isn't that strong, it doesn't count." 

"Yeah honestly, Alt doesn't have the best tolerance but he can drink the rest of us under a table." Jackieboy laughs. "I got old man syndrome kicking in- drinking the night away just isn't possible with three kids!" 

"I bet I could beat him-" Bro mutters. 

"You can’t get drunk anyone more though, Chase," Dr. J says lightly, patting his leg. “So it’s hardly fair.” 

"Yeah yeah I know..." The hero grumbles. 

"Personally I think it would be funny if Jameson could drink the most," Henrik says. "He does not seem the type, does he? There would be irony."

Dr. J chuckles, "In our group I am definitely not the strongest drinker. I don't really like to drink, personally." 

"I agree with ya Doc- Imagine other Jameson just beating everyone else!" Jackieboy giggles. "I'd pay to see that."

"We should go out for drinks some time," Jackie says cheerfully. "There's a tavern in every town, won't be hard to find a place!" 

Jackieboy beams, “Oh hell yeah that’d be a blast!” 

Henny looks excited too, “Oh yes! Alt and I go drinking often, that would be very fun!!” 

"Add it to the list when we show them around the kingdom," Marvin says. "I'll bring all the gold and jasper to pay for your rounds." 

"You will?" Jackie raises an eyebrow. "Well, I'm assuming that in the future I'll be able to access my family funds again." 

"Access in what way?" Henrik asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"Whichever is fastest." Jackie grins. 

"Normally I would say something about stealing, but if anyone deserves it, it's the Tinechroi family. They can afford it, too." Henrik chuckles. 

Dr. J chuckles, “I’m guessing you’re from a noble family then Marvin- one full of pricks from the sound of it.” 

“Eh stealing from pricks is acceptable,” Bro comments. 

“That’s not very hero-like to say Chase,” Dr. J says with a raise of his eyebrow. 

“I’m off duty- it’s fine.” 

"They're pricks alright," Marvin says. "My sister Thalia works for the King. Which wouldn't have been such a bad thing ten years ago, but with that spirit in charge, it means she's done some terrible things." 

Jackie clears his throat. "Moving on…”

"Anyway, yes. If you all want to head off to do your own things, you can. This will take a while." He taps the edge of the pot with a spoon. 

Jackieboy looks around the boat, leaning back on his hands. “…is there even room to do anything? Man- I’d actually kill for a book to read-“ He chuckles. “And I don’t usually read a lot!”

“if you want to read, it'd be a bit difficult here. Books aren't all that common and I remember our alphabets being different." Jackie brightens slightly. "Oo! Maybe Henrik can teach you our writing! Like he did for me and Chase!" 

"I am a bit busy here," Henrik points out. 

"I could try, if you want," Marvin says, shrugging. 

Jackieboy can’t help but make a face, “Uhhh that’s okay… I have a hard enough time reading our own alphabet…” 

“I’d be curious to see!” Dr. J says with a smile. 

“Careful Doc, you might explode learning so much all at once,” Bro teases. 

“Oh pish posh- no such thing!” JJ replies.

Henrik chuckles. "Well, we have a lot of travel time ahead of us. So might as well fill it up however you can, yes?" 

"I think there's enough room for more training if we don't take out the deadly weapons," Jackie offers. "Just go through some drills. I can ask Chase and Jameson to join." 

"I'll be around if you want to ask about anything." Marvin grins. "I'm always happy to talk about magic if you're all curious." 

Jackieboy whoops and punches both his fists in the air, “Yeah! More training! I wanna get so good those fucking bastards and their knights won’t see what’s coming!” Bro grins at this.

Dr. J and Henny exchange looks then laugh. Luckily there was plenty of things to do- so much to learn!

The boat continues south. Soon, it will reach its destination. But there's a long time until then. 

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

That night, Alt has a strange dream. He's in a sort of garden. There are tall trees and neatly trimmed grass and paths made of stone. But it all looks so... regular? Even? And as Alt looks around, he sees tall, boxy structures in the distance. Are those... buildings? But they're so big, and so square, and some of them are shiny. The sky above is bright blue, and yet there's no sun to see on this sunny day.

Alt blinks as the dream takes shape and looks around in confusion. Everything here seems… wrong. But also… familiar somehow? How could that be? He’s never seen buildings that shiny before. 

“Where… am I…?” He whispers to himself.

As he looks around, he hears something above him. A bird call of some kind. There’s a swift in the sky. Somehow he knows that this is the same one he saw while traveling. But it looks different. It’s no longer a natural brown color but instead shades of blue with orange and pink tinging the end of its feathers. Like the colors of the sky. 

Alt’s mouth falls open as he sees the swift. It was unlike any animal he’d ever seen! And it was beautiful!

It circles around him a little before flying off into the distance. Asking him to follow. He watches it circle and then as it flies off he starts to run after it.

The swift flies deeper into the garden. The tall buildings slowly shrink in the distance. The stone paths shift from solid pieces to cobbled, the grass grows taller and is joined by undergrowth, and the branches of the trees grow taller, blocking out the bright sky. This feels foreboding somehow. But the swift continues on, weaving through the trees, never out of sight for too long.

Alt cautiously looks at his surroundings as they change. He feels his heart beat picking up. Where is this swift taking him?

The ground slowly slopes. The square buildings are entirely blocked out by the trees. The swift speeds up a little, lightning and squares of harsh light trailing from its wing tips… 

Alt can’t help but gasp as he sees the light coming off the swift. It was like him? He looks down at himself and tries to see if he can glitch to catch up. 

He’s right on its tail until it slows and lands, feet clinging to the vertical side of a tree. This tree is in the center of this depression Alt has been walking down. Unlike the other trees, it has no leaves, and it’s bark is black and dead-looking. The gnarled roots form a lattice over a hole in the ground. A lattice that sort of looks like part of a cage.

Alt slows in front of the tree and tilts his head at it. He narrows his eyes and gets closer then looks up at the swift and growls, “This is what you brought me here for? A dead tree??”

The swift’s head cocks to the side. It’s like it’s looking down at the roots.

Alt narrows his eyes some more and hesitates. Then he sighs and walks over, kneeling down by the roots to try to peer inside.

Beneath the roots is a deep hole. And in the hole is… someone. They move, standing up, coming closer to the light. 

It’s… him. 

Alt’s own face is looking back at him. 

Alt startles away from the other him, paling as his stomach drops. “E-Elders!” 

The other him is wearing strange clothes… that seem somehow familiar. His body is shivering, caught in the middle of a glitch, and when he reaches up, the Alt on the surface can see purple lines wrapped around his wrist. Like string bracelets. Or just strings.

Alt takes a second to catch his breath then cautiously looks back down at the other him. “…y-you’re … me…? But… h-how?” He looks back up at the swift. “W-What is this?!”

The swift cocks its head again. 

Beneath the roots, the other Alt keeps reaching, his fingers just inches from the surface. His eyes are wide. "Help..." he says. 

Alt looks down at his copy as he speaks, eyes widening. 

He starts to back up- 

And then, for a moment, Alt is in the other him's place, stuck, trapped, wrists burning. And then he’s back on the surface.

Alt gasps for air and clutches over his heart. He looks down at the other him with fear. But… why? Why is he scared? If this is also him…. Shouldn’t he help? He swallows thickly then reaches through the branches to try to reach for his copy’s hand.

But before he can grab his other self's hand-- 

"Wake up, á klaíoh." The King nudges Alt's side with his boot. "We need to cover a lot of distance."

Alt glitches up with a gasp and clutches over his heart. His blood feels electric and his mind is buzzing… the image of the other him in his dream still so stark. It almost takes him a second to regard the King but soon enough he’s glitching up to his feet, trying to hide his storming emotions. “Y-Yes, your highness.”

The King raises an eyebrow. Was something... off with Alt? Out of curiosity, he takes a quick peek into his current thoughts. 

Alt’s thoughts are buzzing with images of the colorful swift- how it glitched with lightning. The shiny buildings of his dream and the trapped him under the dead tree. He’s rubbing his wrists like they pain him.

Oh. 

Oh no. 

Aneirin's expression darkens for a moment but he quickly hides it. "Bad dreams?" he asks. "They're just dreams. Forget about them. They have no effect on the waking world."

Alt’s eyes pulse with green before his hands drop to his sides, pain in his wrists forgotten. He nods slowly, his eyes glazing over. “Yes, mu Ríth.” 

Magnificent stretches from where he was resting and comes over, tilting his head at Aneirin. “…is something the matter…?” 

Aneirin glances at Magnificent, then back at Alt. "Go scout for some time. Come back when you hear us call for you." 

Alt bows slightly then disappears in a quick glitch to scout. 

And then Aneirin walks over to Magnificent and speaks in a low voice. "Do you remember that bird from yesterday? I don't think it was just some sick animal anymore. It may have been a vessel for one of those infuriating Elders."

Magnificent watches him with a bit of confusion. Then he narrows his eyes, green one flashing brightly. “…those are your gods- right? The ones native to Glasúil… I remember learning about them when I first came here… is it interfering?” He giggles, “I guess your power pales in comparison to a god…”

Aneirin grinds his teeth in anger. "Maybe I'm not as powerful as them yet, but they still can't stop me. If they could, they would have done it by now. But no, they exist on the cusp of the world and can't quite reach us without a vessel." He jerks his head towards where Alt was. "But they can touch our minds and dreams. And they're doing that to Alt. One is trying to get him to remember. The Winged Elder One, if my memory serves correct."

Magnificent narrows his eyes in anger as he mentions the Elder is messing with Alt. He bares his teeth in a snarl, “Oh hell no. Not on our fucking watch!” He glances back at where Alt went then looks back at Aneirin, “What can we do to stop it? We haven’t even reached the Wyldwoods yet!”

Aneirin purses his lips as he thinks. "I have some control over dreams. I can monitor him while he sleeps, try to push him off the path the Winged One is trying to guide him down." It would mean that he can't monitor Aodhan while sleeping, but he doesn't think there's much Chase can do with him anymore. Now that the secret is out, Aodhan has nothing more to share. "And you monitor him during his waking hours. Make sure he stays obedient. In a couple more days my power will recover enough to jump us right to the Wyldwood."

Magnificent nods, “I can do that…” He sighs, crossing his arms, “It pains me to keep him on such a short leash when he’s done so well- but… we can’t risk him breaking out of this.”

"Indeed." Aneirin nods. "Alt can be very capable but if we have to sacrifice some of that capability for control, so be it."

“Agreed.” Magnificent nods. “Alright… it might be a bit more of my own power but… not an issue.” He then looks back at the King, “My offer to lend some to you still stands by the way-“

Aneirin blinks. "I am curious to see if the power will be given to me, or to this body." He tilts his head, considering. This could be a trick... perhaps not an intentional one, but Magnificent could make a spur-of-the-moment decision. But... he's been so sincere lately. A lot has changed since the attack in the palace. "Is it possible to do a small test?"

Magnificent nods, "Of course," He bubbles up purple magic in his hand then offers it to Aneirin. The King can sense sincerity from the mad magician. He wants to reach the forest and take down the rebels no matter what it takes.

Aneirin hesitates for a moment. Then he reaches out and takes it.

As the magic connects with Aneirin's hand, it dives into his veins like a burning fire. It eagerly floods into where it feels magic flowing and then settles, hot like a flame but it feels strong, flowing into Aneirin's magic and latching on, giving it a boost. It feels... odd- almost wrong. But, he can't deny the power he feels.

Aneirin's eyes widen. The green in them flickers for a second as Aodhan squirms against this wrongness, struggling hard enough to cause a visible shift. But Aneirin simply turns his hand over, watching and feeling as the magic settles. "Interesting," he mutters. "It feels so different from the magic of this world. Somehow... hotter." He grins, and his shadow on the ground beneath him spreads and stretches. "I think it went into both of us. That definitely helps."

Magnificent grins and then laughs, flicking his half cape in a dramatic fashion. "Mortals can barely appreciate the fire Black magic provides~! Everyone shrinks away from it instead of embracing it- cowardly fools, I say." He studies the King's shadow then hums, "...the danger of Black Magic though is it tends to eat up other forms. It will provide a boost but it can fizzle out quickly if not properly sustained... I don't want to drain your other magic... but- if all we need is enough to open a gate- then a quick burst could be what we need~!"

The King closes his eyes, assessing the power. "I believe I can sustain this--the half that went into me, at least. Aodhan's boost may burn out quickly." He bites his lip, thinking. "We'll ride for another day, just to close the distance so it will cost less. But by the next morning, I think I'll have enough to make a doorway there." He grins. "A day faster than expected."

Magnificent grins wide, eyes sparking with mad excitement. “Excellent- I can live with that~” He giggles.

"Excellent indeed." The King grins. "Now let's move quickly. Where did he go...? Alt, á klaíoh!"

Soon after being called Alt glitches back in front of Mag and the King and bows quickly. "Here, mu Ríth." 

"We move now," the King says. "No time for a meal." He heads over to the horses and quickly mounts his. "Perhaps we can figure something out on the road."

Alt hesitates for a second, feeling his stomach growl. Did... he even eat last night...? He can't... remember. It was so fuzzy. But, he will not anger the King. He nods, "Of course, mu Ríth.” And he glitches to his spot on the horse. Mag follows quickly after. 

Aneirin smiles. That was a test, to see if the spell was holding. Seems it is... for now. "Very good. Now let's go." 

The horses continue to the west.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Gantober #10 - Depths

Today, a short snippet of a vague TotK-adjacent story about this Ganondorf's childhood escapade! And including an arbitrary headcanon I played with, aka: Sage of Lightning being Ganondorf's younger sister.

Enjoy!

---

“Hey, slow down! I’ll tell mommy if you don’t wait for me!”

Ganondorf ignored his sister’s worried squeaks. She had bugged him all morning when he had tried to enjoy some rare alone time: she had wanted to know what he was reading, pinched his sides with weak jolts of electricity when he had refused to answer, and despaired at his cold disinterest in a shared play time. At the height of his annoyance, he had snapped his book shut and offered her his very worst smile. Do you want to go play explorers? he had asked, and of course the stupid brat had seen nothing concerning about that.

He would have gladly lost her in the upper layers of the ruins near Gerudo Town if she hadn’t been so insistent, following his long strides with a clumsy resolve he admired just as much as it drove him up the wall. Not losing her for real, of course. Just a little scare. She was the only child who wasn’t at least a bit afraid of him —and in the palace, her tears were so quickly comforted. Their mother the chieftain would throw some harsh words his way: that he was to be king and so ought to act with even more self-control than the noblest of their sworn personal guards, that power should never make room for cruelty. His sister would be hugged, and he’d be called callous in a way that itched.

But here, there was only him and the dark. If she cried, she would need to wipe the snot off her nose all on her own.

“Wait for me!”

He didn’t. Hopping past fallen rocks half-submerged in the sand, Ganondorf took a sharp turn left —froze.

The floor dropped into a hole.

It wasn’t a large hole. He could easily fit in, but his mother might have gotten stuck if she had tried to squeeze through. Underneath was pitch black darkness. Faint red, maybe. Or faint green?

Ganondorf knelt, and plucked a stone from the floor before dropping it in. The pebble was swallowed, its fall completely silent. Nothing ever echoed back to him.

“What is this?”

His sister loomed over his shoulder, nosy as always. He stared at her: her green pupils blown wide, mouth agape. Pointed ears. The kind he did not have. For a brief instant, he imagined pushing her down there, or rather: plummeting himself. There was an alluring call to that long drop. A chill ran down his spine. Something down there... yearned. The knowledge was both visceral and unquestioned. And somehow, the fear that should accompany that knowledge refused to take hold.

His sister’s fascination, however, took up a different shade. A paler one.

She gasped, plunging her tiny nails in his arm without thinking. He clenched his jaw in response. “It’s so deep! You shouldn’t get so close!”

“Let go,” he hissed.

“But...”

“If you can’t handle this, you should have played on your own.”

Her skin darkened in childish anger. “Stop being so rude! I’m gonna tell mommy you’re going to places you’re not allowed to go!”

“Go tell her then.”

She hesitated. Her long braid was powdered with dust and sand. A messy spectacle that would immediately betray she had gleefully followed her brother in forbidden, dangerous places. Ganondorf bared his teeth.

“Go!”

His sister jumped, hissing back at him like a stray cat. She turned around and ran off, the tapping of her soles echoing in the caves underneath the city they were born to inherit. He watched the wildfire of her hair disappear in the dark, then turned back to the hole.

Blowing between his palms, he invoked a small flame —blue, soft, the kind to bounce off its shrine across every sort of stone. The walls of the drop were jagged enough for him to climb down. He brushed his palm across its mineral skin, felt its coldness espouse the calloused bumps he managed to claim for himself in the midst of his life’s luxuries.

He didn’t even think. Blinked. Found himself several meters in, surrounded by rocks that wanted nothing more than to watch him fall. He considered forcing himself back up, out of vague concern for his sister and his mom, before deciding he didn’t really care. Something beckoned him deeper.

And he wanted to know what it was.

Long, long minutes later, far too long, the hole opened to a larger cave. Ganondorf’s magic indicated some sort of base floor waiting for him underneath, covered in moss, which he hoped would be enough to break his fall. Strange, unknowable flowers glimmered in what seemed like an infinite void.

He let himself fall.

The impact wasn’t kind to him. His ankles screamed, but he did not. When Ganondorf opened his eyes, all he could see was blackness, and the roots of immense structures of stone erected straight and far up. These looked nothing like gerudo architecture. Old, decrepit machines stood frozen and dead. Cold furnaces.

Ancient, silent, unwelcoming.

Ganondorf stood up and carefully made his way through the ruins.

[theodoradevlin]

It was dinner time when Nosy finally spotted Theodora enjoying her meal on the Hufflepuff table, his tail wiggling at the sight of her. With a nimble leap, Nosy jumped down from Sebastian's shoulder and started waddling towards her.

In a truly athletic display, Nosy leaped from student to student, landing on their robes and backs with graceful ease, causing a few startled yelps along the way, until he finally landed on the table of the badgers. He dashed through the bountiful spread, pushing over a few drinking glasses, bowls, and plates here and there, until he stopped right before the girl.

Nosy rummaged through his belly pouch at high speed and pulled out a small, heart-shaped potato. Nosy was waiting quite a while to give this to her! One whole day! (A very long time, in Nosy's eyes.)

The Niffler rolled the earthapple towards Theo with a proud squeak and a cheeky grin as if he wanted to say, “That’s right, marvel your gaze upon THIS little treasure! It's just for you!"

Nosy wanted to swagger a bit longer, but that was until he spotted a certain lad sitting next to the Hufflepuff Lady from the corners of his eyes. Ah, if it wasn’t the Chump-Gentleman! ( @ask-elland-n-will )

Nosy squinted at the fiery-haired boy. Nosy had not forgotten about the belly rubs Elland gave him that day. The Niffler was still salty about how vulnerable and exposed he felt that day. How did Elland know about the Teal King’s weakness? It was time for a little payback.

Puffing out his chest, Nosy let out a loud, demanding honk. The little Niffler strutted over, his tail wiggling with confidence. "Oi, you!" his eyes seemed to say as he stopped right before Elland. "Remember me, mate?"

With a quick snatch, Nosy grabbed some peas from Elland's plate and started throwing them at him. He wished he had his pea shooter, but sadly, the pretty Prefect had confiscated it earlier. Wasn't Elland just a lucky guy? BUT NOT LUCKY ENOUGH!

The little menace dashed forward and snatched Elland's Pumpkin Pasty. With a triumphant honk and the pasty in his snout, Nosy climbed up on Theodora and nestled on top of her head, snuggling into her hair. He smirked at Elland, curious to see what the Hufflepuff might do now.

Theo had chanced a look over towards the Slytherin table, not that she looked over in the direction that often or anything, but as she did she couldn't help but smile at the happy tail wiggles as Nosy spotted her from Sebastian's mess of hair.

As Nosy jumped from @ask-sebastian's shoulders, Theo had no doubt the teal fur ball was coming her way. She gave Sebastian a helpless shrug as if to admit that: yes, your niffler could probably do whatever his little chaotic heart desired, and neither of you would ever do anything to stop it.

You knew it. Sebastian knew it. And Nosy definitely knew it.

...And that included just letting the absolute trail of unapologetic messes happen as Nosy made his way over to her. She watched, half wincing, but mostly impressed. She'd have to reward his efforts with some treats!

"Hello my friend, I hope you're being good, but not too good, today." She smiled warmly at him, giving him a light scratch as he excitedly rummaged for something in his pocket. Upon seeing the magnificent potato, she couldn't contain the excitement on her face. In fact, she was almost as excited as the niffler himself.

She held it in her hands gingerly, softening at the heart felt gesture. Not only was it a potato (the most versatile of starch's) it was also A HEART SHAPED POTATO?

She gasped, bending down to Nosy's eye level, giving him a loving head pat as she vowed stoically, "It's beautiful, thank you Nosy. This treasure is going to stay with me forever, you sweet wee devil."

She almost turned to show it off to Elland, but could see that Nosy was desperately trying to tell @ask-elland-n-will something. The honk seemed quite imperative. She watched curiously - was he excited? Angry? Oooh- nope. There were those peas again.

She'd only seen Nosy threaten Andrew with them, so Theo knew the peas meant business. Merlin save Elland for whatever it was that the poor boy did.

She watched apologetically as the little paws snatched the pastry from Elland's plate after the pea assault. Nosy was quick as he scrambled to her hair to seek shelter. Or gloat.

By the look on Elland's face it was probably the latter.

"Now Nosy, you know gloating it isn't nice." She reached up to give him another little scratch before looking at Elland, "I guess only a few of us are the chosen ones today - what on earth did you do to have him stealing your pastries?!"