#like I had to blend it with sugar so it wouldn't be awful

[catsnuggler]

1/3 + 2/4 4/12 + 6/12 10/12 10/2=5 12/2=6 10/12 = 5/6

Not me looking at this and realizing I've forgotten fucking everything I ever knew about math

[sammy-is-not-smiley]

steve x fem!reader fic please!! soulmates to lovers but it's initially one-sided on reader's end. lots of angst please <33

Let It Hurt (Pt 1)

Steve Harrington x fem!reader

Summary: Steve has been your best friend for years despite his douchery in early high school. You would tell him anything... well, anything except for the fact that you've been feeling his physical pain since elementary school. The way he finds out is less than ideal.

Word count: 3.9k

Warnings: Soulmate au (kinda), language, no use of (y/n), depictions of severe pain, injuries mentioned, crying, passing out/fainting, angst, set in season 3, soulmates to lovers, friends to lovers, hurt/no comfort (yet), I think that's all??

A/N: I really love this request, the only issue was I've never written or read a soulmates fanfiction before 😅 But that didn't stop me cuz I instantly had an idea for it and ran with it. It's gonna be a 2 parter too! I really hope you still enjoy. Thanks so much for reading and requesting. <3

Part 2: Right Here!

Steve Harrington hadn't always been a dick. In fact the mask he wore through a majority of high school was just that: A mask. One that he used to blend in.

From an early age, you two gravitated to one another. It all started one day in elementary school. You had managed to get a soccer ball stuck in a tree while playing kickball. Being scared of heights, you knew you wouldn't be climbing up to get it. That didn't keep you from staring up at it though, trying your hardest to get the ball to fall with your mind. Steve walked up next to you to see what you were looking at. When he caught sight of it, he didn't hesitate to begin climbing the tree, as if that had simply been routine for him. In awe, you watched him scale through the branches, throw your ball down next to you, and climb back down.

You picked up the ball and just stared at him then, surprised at the ease he managed the task with.

He dusted off his pants, looked at you, gestured to the ball, and asked "You wanna be on the same team?"

From then on, you were inseparable. It didn't take long before you discovered something new. Steve took a fall while running bases one day, earning a nasty scrape on his knee in the process. As he sat in the dirt and held it, holding back tears, you were doing the same on the other side of the field, clutching a knee that bore no injury. Yet somehow, you could feel the pain. You could feel his pain.

Through your life after that event, you would get random strong bouts of pain that you knew weren't yours, all in random places. As a kid it was mostly just things like your knees or elbows, like you skinned them, always when Steve skinned them. In the summer you would sometimes feel a sunburn that never turned red, only for Steve to return from a trip with a sunburn. In your mind, all the evidence wasn't evidence enough, at least not to tell anyone. You tried your best not to look in pain in front of anyone when it happened, and you got pretty good at it. Eventually it became the norm for you to hide it, and you didn't plan on changing that. You were worried Steve would react badly to it somehow if you told him, or call you crazy and ditch you. So it stayed your little secret.

You and Steve lived on through the school years, friendship staying relatively the same.

It wasn't until freshman year you sensed a shift in him. Something bitter to the taste that didn't belong, a sprinkle of salt where there used to be sugar. That salt was Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins. Somehow they wormed their way in, pushing you out with glares. Steve only hung out with them when he wasn't hanging out with you, which slowly became less and less. He wasn't getting into any trouble, he just became a gigantic jerk to anyone Tommy deemed worthy of being a jerk to. Eventually Steve was seen as the lead in their escapades, 'King Steve' as it were, but you knew the truth. Steve was just the limp head that Tommy turned in one direction or the other. By tenth grade, you barely spoke to him anymore… and you missed him.

In 1983, one of the largest pains happened - 'attacks' is what you began calling them after this because, honestly, that's what it felt like. It felt like Steve had been attacked, beaten to a pulp. For days after this one, your lip, nose, and especially your upper brow ached. You were sure the skin had been broken somehow, however it remained an invisible ghost. After it happened, you tried calling him. However, he never picked up.

In school, you saw him with a scabbed over face… and he looked miserable. But, as much as it hurt, you assumed he didn't need you anymore. After all, he had a smart and pretty Nancy Wheeler now. Surely he had forgotten about you and didn't want your help. You don't know how many nights you cried over that. How many times you thought to try and call him again. Instead, you waited.

It was a long while before you felt pain even close to that again. On a cold Monday night in November of '84, it happened again, but even worse than the year prior. Another attack.

It was the middle of the night, awaking you from a normal slumber. When you first felt it, it was only a couple hits. When it subsided, you took a breath, slightly annoyed at Steve for getting into a fight this late, and got up to get a pain killer to hopefully numb the ghost pain. From what you could tell after past experiences, it helped. As you rounded your bed for the bathroom, your knuckles bursted with pain and made you stop and grasp at them. Steve must have thrown a punch and hit his target. You didn't have much time to process that thought before an onslaught of attacks bombarded you. Harder and harder and harder, one after the next you could feel the swings and blows. Every punch to the face and gut, explosion after explosion of searing pain rattled your skull. You couldn't breathe, couldn't even cry out for help. Eventually you became too dizzy to stand and found yourself collapsing to your carpet in a whirlwind of invisible strikes to your head and face.

That night, you passed out on your bedroom floor. When you awoke in the same spot, you were greeted with an angry agony you had never felt the likes of before. Every heartbeat made your sight shift, your eyes strained and ached, your nose felt as though it were broken, and your mid section felt deeply bruised. You were stuck in bed for days afterwards, sensitive to any kind of loud noise or light. You were certain Steve had managed to get a concussion, however you were too miserable yourself to try and pursue him. Headaches became your best friend, and it wasn't a kind one.

When you went back to school, you were met with Steve looking literally like death. From a safe distance, you could see that both his eyes were blackened, his lip looked busted and healing, and he had a few scratches over his forehead. Rumors circled around you that Steve and the new kid, Billy, had gone at it a week prior, and Steve was obviously the loser in the fight.

You found yourself staring at him more than you probably had in the past year. You had no intention of speaking to him, but you couldn't avert your eyes. Your head still throbbed with his and you couldn't deny that you felt pity for him. Once or twice he happened to catch you staring, sharing a moment before you eventually turned away sadly. That happened a few times in fact, so you should have expected him to be at your doorstep not long after.

He held a single flower, your favorite kind, and your favorite candy. His bruised, purple face practically pouted at you as he rambled on an apology, saying he understood if you didn't want to be his friend again, that he was a douche for no reason and he doesn't deserve much, but he wanted to try again and make it up to you. The longer you let him ramble, the harder he was on himself, until finally you leapt forward and embraced him.

"I knew it wasn't you," You spoke into his shoulder. "I was just waiting until you figured that out too."

After many long talks about the time lost and the mistakes made, you both managed to pick up where you had started. You sat with him at lunch again like old times. Not many people did anymore. You gave him some tips on how to better heal his scarring, you came to watch him play basketball, and you offered him pain killers when you could feel one of his head aches coming on. You noticed he tended to get more of those since the fight with Billy. He always looked so shocked when you offered, but you made the excuse saying you had a headache and wanted to offer while you had the pills out. It seemed to appease him enough, and he never dug any further about it.

It didn't take long for you to realize you liked being around him… like, really liked it. After some thought, you realized you always had. And it wasn't like it was hard to find time to be with him. Other than Dustin Henderson, you seemed to be his only close friend again. It got to the point where by spring of the next year, you were sleeping over at his house quite often. You never slept in the same bed, but you'd be lying if you said you hadn't wanted to ask to.

One day he picked you up for one of the last days before graduation with a sour look on his face. His greeting was deadpan as you got in his passenger seat.

You snickered at him as you pulled your seat belt on. "What's up with you, grumpy?"

"Parents, that's what's up," He grumbled, backing out of your driveway. The way he put his hand on the back of your headrest made you stare for a moment.

Damn him.

"What they do this time?"

"Dads not letting me work for him. And he won't pay for college either."

Your brow came together in confusion. "Wait, what? Why? I thought that's been the plan all these years. You graduate and then help him or go to school."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," He sighed, "But the old man's making me go out and work to get a job. Said he doesn't want to hand me everything and that I need to learn respect and responsibility, blah blah blah…"

Well at least he didn't hit you this time, you thought to yourself. Unfortunately, you always knew when his dad hit him… Every single time. His favorite technique was to slap Steve square in the face, hard. No one else did that. No one else even knew. Steve didn't even know you knew.

You tilted your head as you thought. "Well… What if you tried to work with me? At the new mall this summer? I'm pretty sure I have a solid 'in' at the ice cream place."

Steve scoffed, half smiling. "An ice cream shop?"

"Oh come on, it's not the worst place. It will at least give you something to put on a resume. Just a summer job. Ya know, work your way up, get experience or whatever."

"I guess…" He thought, then brought his hand up and pointed at you. "But only if you work there too."

"Aw, what, would you miss me working somewhere else? Need me to hold your hand at your first job?"

He rolled his eyes, finally smiling for the first time that morning. "You wish. No, see, the plan is to make you talk to all the bitchy 40 year old moms while I eat free strawberry ice cream in the back all day."

Your brow perked up. "Strawberry ice cream? Strawberry? When did that become your favorite?"

He shrugged. "Since, like, forever….. Don't look at me like that, it has clear supremacy over the other flavors."

The rest of the ride to school that morning was spent in a useless debate over ice cream flavors and how you had managed to go so long not knowing his favorite. You insisted on gaslighting him that strawberry had never been his favorite.

Later that month, right after the end of the school year, you both were locked in to work at Scoops Ahoy together.

▐░░░░░░░░░░░░░▌

"Another 'you suck', Harrington. What a surprise," Robin teased flatly from the back room, a squeaky tally added to the many others accumulated on the whiteboard that day.

You smirked, which was hidden from Steve behind you as you refilled the banana and strawberry slices for that afternoon.

Steve groaned and slapped his hat down on the counter next to you. "What am I doing wrong?" When he was answered with only your chuckles he shook his head. "No, really, what am I doing wrong? There's gotta be something I could change and you guys just aren't telling me."

You and Robin stole a glance at each other before snorting and continuing to laugh.

"Look buddy," You offered, turning to him. "I'm going to put this in the nicest way possible."

Steve raised his brow and stood straight in attention.

"You're coming off super desperate."

His posture sagged again and he rolled his eyes. "Desperate, okay… Well how do I not come off as desperate?"

"Don't BE desperate, dummy," Robin laughed.

"I'm not actually desperate!"

"Yes you are," You and Robin chimed at the same time.

You grabbed your trash from the counter and looked at the girl in front of you, shaking your head with a half smile. "He asks us for help and then ignores us." You say as you push past Steve to get to the back.

She shrugged. "The life of every woman talking to a man."

"Oh, come on," Steve interjects, following you at the heel, "What makes you the expert at flirting with girls anyway?"

"I don't know, cause I am one?" You call over your shoulder, tossing your trash and gloves in the bin before walking over and sitting down at the table.

"Fine," He mutters, striding over to you and leaning on the table to loom extremely close over you. You could smell his cologne and the way his hot breath brushed your forehead. "How should I flirt then, Miss Professional?"

Like that, you think to yourself, butterflies suddenly having a party in your stomach. The smug look on his face was one you'd seen many times before, the one he wore when he tried to get under your skin… The one he wore when he knew he would.

Immediately you remembered Robin's presence not 10 feet next to you. You quickly glanced at her, saw that she was watching, and in a panic you kicked Steve in the shin. Just as immediately, you regretted that decision as you felt an affliction on your own shin.

Steve let out a yelp as he stumbled and squat down to hold his leg. Robin laughed while you pulled your own leg up into the chair, holding it as if it were casual and not because you were doctoring pain as well.

"Does that count as another 'you suck'?" Robin asks joyfully through giggles. You can't help but smile back at her.

"I'll let you judge it," You reply, pretending to be neutral. In reality, the butterflies hadn't calmed down in your tummy and you knew you'd be thinking about that interaction for the rest of the night.

Damn him.

Robin whirled around to put yet another tally under 'you suck'. When she did you looked at Steve to see him standing in recovery shaking his pained leg as he did so.

"Screw you guys, I'm going on break," He announced. Before he walked through the door, though, you caught him glancing back at you, a boyish glint in his eye.

No really, damn him.

As soon as he was gone, Robin whirled back around to you and squinted her eyes. "I saw that, you know."

Shin still aching, you rubbed it mindlessly. "Saw what?"

She rolled her eyes and walked closer, leaning down with her palms on the table. "That split second look on your face that said 'Whatever you want, Stevie!'" She mimicked in a high pitched mockery. "It was pretty gross."

"Woah, okay," You croaked, trying to ignore her knowing smirk, "That's- That's not what happened, okay?"

"Oh please, your cheeks are still as red as those strawberries," She tutted. "Not the first time that's happened either, you know. I've seen you blush plenty because of him."

All you could do is fight the heat on your face and shake your head in disbelief, trying to play it off as not a big deal.

But it was a big deal.

Nobody knew of your rather new acknowledgement of your crush on Steve. And of all the people you'd want knowing about your secret crush, Robin was VERY low on the list. Sure, in the short time working with her she had become a pretty nice work friend. You even hung out with her and Steve a few times after work every once in a while. But in the short time you'd gotten to know her, you learned one thing for sure: She was absolutely ass at keeping secrets.

Alas, that thought slipped your mind before what you said next.

"Rob, just drop it, it's not like I'd have a chance anyway," You muttered under your breath, standing from your seat to go back out to the front.

Your co-worker cut you off, jumping between you and the door. "Hold on, what? You actually do-....." You gave her a warning with your eyes. "Oh, I knew it!"

"Shut up, shut up," You whisper yelled, now realizing your mistake. "Look, just act like I said nothing, okay? He can't know- He shouldn't know."

Robin snaked her head back in shock. "You kidding me? Why? You see how badly he wants a date, right?"

"You see the kinds of girls he asks on dates, right?" You countered.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but none of them are remotely interested. He's going for all the wrong girls. You on the other hand-"

"Rob, Rob, listen," You hands grabbed hers in a hopeful grasp, "I need you to do everything in your power to keep this all to yourself, okay? He's my closest friend and I don't want anything screwing that up right now."

Robin could see the desperation in your eyes and she sighed, a small pout on her lips. "That's what you really want?"

You nodded fervently, hoping to wrap up this conversation before Steve returned.

She sighed again, this time overdramatically, and stomped her foot on the ground like a child. "Fine. But I'm making a new tally board for you. It'll just be on a piece of paper in my pocket." She smiled proudly.

▐░░░░░░░░░░░░░▌

Working at Scoops with Steve was the worst possible thing you could have done. For one, you had to stand there every day and watch him flirt with every girl in the vicinity. Every girl except you, that is. Unfortunately, your feelings had done nothing but grow, making each shift with Steve heaven and hell at the same time. You didn't think it could get any worse.

And then it did.

Because now you were trapped under the mall in a secret Russian base, tied up and locked in a room with Robin.

Yeah, working at Scoops was a mistake.

"Why did they separate us?" You asked, voice trembling as you stared at the locked metal door in front of you. "Why would they need Steve?"

Robin looked up from trying to chew through her bindings on her wrist, sweat shining on her forehead. "I don't… I don't know, maybe to sort this out?"

You turned to her, a hopeless manner about you as you lifted your own bound wrists. "This doesn't look like harmless sorting out, Rob."

"We can at least hope, right? I mean… I mean Steve's charismatic or whatever, he can tell them that us getting here was a mistake and that we just work at the mall and… Yeah, he can do that. He's good at talking, I mean he talks all the time. They'll just…. just take us back to the surface and-" Robin rambled, pacing circles around you like a toy car on a full battery.

"I just don't have a good feeling about thi-" You were cut off by an invisible punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of you and causing you to double over slightly.

Shit.

Robin was immediately at your side. "Woah, hey, hey, what's wrong?... It's okay. It's okay we'll get out of here-" She continued on, her panicked voice becoming like white noise in the background.

Another searing pain, this time square on the nose, then again in the gut. You let out a groan, both in pain and realization.

What the hell were they doing to Steve?

You inhaled carefully, putting your bound hands up to your face in agony.

"Shit, please, tell me what's wrong?" Robin's worried voice faded back in as she grasped at one of your shoulders.

You shook your head as you squeezed your eyes shut, feeling another blow to the face. "Steve," You choked out, tears brimming your eyes.

"What about Steve?"

You looked up to her in terror. "They're hurting him- agh!" Another punch, this one you felt deep in your ribs and made your legs give out, falling to the floor.

Robin followed, kneeling next to you. "How do you know that? What's going on?"

You panted, trying not to wheeze as it became painful to breathe properly. Another punch, right in the eye socket pushed a whimper out of you as the tears started to fall.

"Does this have to do with that weird portal thing or something?"

You shook your head helplessly, knowing just as much about that weird experiment as she did. Somehow Steve and Dustin knew about it, but that fact was far in the back of your mind now.

Another hit to the already bruised nose exploded over your face, making you struggle to hold in an audible cry.

Robin was now also on the brink of tears. "Please, please, give me something, I don't know what to do!"

With all your will you looked up at her to answer in shallow breaths. "I can feel- feel it. They're torturing him."

She put her hand up to your face scrunched up in pain. "How do you know?"

"I've always-... augh," You groaned again, letting your head drop out of her grasp as you tried controlling your reactions. It was no use. Your head was beginning to hurt as a whole. Eventually you laid down on the cold floor, helpless to any attack Steve was receiving in the other room. Helpless to stop it.

In your state, Robin didn't dare ask any more questions. Things were more complicated than she realized. Although she didn't fully understand, she knew that whatever was happening was bad. Very bad. And she was as helpless to stop it as you.

The time went by so slowly, and the punches never stopped. They kept hitting the same spots over and over and over again. If anything, they got harder and more frequent. One after the next. Occasionally you were given a break, but those breaks were experienced in tense anticipation for the inevitable next hit.

The tears were uncontrollable, slowly soaking the concrete below you. Movement hurt. Breathing hurt. Being awake hurt. Steve hurt.

What if they killed him? Would you feel that too?

The thought only spurred on the flow of tears.

The entire time, Robin was knelt beside you, a hand on your arm stroking, attempting any way possible to comfort you through your obvious torment. Both of you sat in helplessness together.

Then, finally, your tense body went limp and your whimpers halted.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #281

I woke up feeling like hot garbage still. I didn't get as much water yesterday as I should have. Despite this, I had intestinal distress this morning. I find myself wondering if I ate something that my body doesn't like.

Dehydration would explain why my sleep wasn't great and why I woke up feeling icky. So I asked M to grab me some Pedialyte while he was out running an errand; it seems to have helped some; I felt a bit less awful after having some.

Today, I had energy enough to roast some pumpkin seeds! You see, I recently got another sugar pumpkin from the store to roast and mash; the one that I prepared some time ago didn't have enough seeds in it to justify roasting them by themselves, so I just kept them in the fridge. But with the seeds from this pumpkin added to the mix, I finally had enough to do the thing!!

...Hey, Sephiroth? You ever had roasted pumpkin seeds? They're even better if you can roast them at home, because then you can throw whatever lovely spices you want on 'em!!! I'm assuming, based on how you responded to not getting to have pumpkin soup, that you enjoy pumpkins, and this is another way to enjoy pumpkins; I'll show you how it's done!

First, you cut off the top of the pumpkin - the part with the stem. And then you cut it in half from top to bottom, such that you have a left half and a right half of the pumpkin. You scoop out the seeds and the pulp with a metal spoon.

...I didn't think to take pictures of that part. Sorry about that.

Anyway, from there, you gotta separate the seeds from the pulp. The easiest way to do that is in a colander under warm running water; the seeds like to cling to the pulp, and it's all slippery as heck:

Once the pulp is all gone, you have a colander full of lovely seeds!

...But these aren't ready to be seasoned yet; they have to be dried. Set the oven to 350 degrees F (or 176.6 degrees C), cover a baking sheet in parchment paper, spread the seeds onto the parchment paper in a single layer, and leave them in there with the oven door ajar for like 10 minutes, or until they stop being wet and slippery:

Once they're dry, they'll need to be coated in a thin layer of oil. I used some old bacon grease that I've had in the fridge for a bit. I melted it in the microwave, and dumped it on the cookie sheet. Then I used my hands to squish the seeds around in the oil until they were evenly coated. From there, you make sure that the seeds are arranged in a single layer; try not to have too much overlap. Like this:

From here, I applied these spices in amounts that seemed correct to me; you'll have to experiment to figure out a mix that works for you:

...We have garlic powder, ground cardamom, turmeric (don't use too much of this or it'll be bitter; a little goes a long way), cloves, nutmeg, salt, coriander, and... Oh. There was cinnamon; I must have put it away before taking a picture for some reason. But yes; cinnamon, too. The "umami spice blend" you see there is a combination of salt, onion powder, mustard powder, two different kinds of powdered mushrooms, and a touch of chili powder. It's good stuff!!

Oh! And in case you wondered... this is my spice cabinet. It's got ALL KINDS of great stuff in it!!!

...May it be the case that someday, your own spice cabinet can be this extensive!! Or hopefully even better than mine! Wouldn't that be pretty great!!

So you roast the seeds in the oven at 350 degrees F (or 176.6 degrees C) - this time with the oven door CLOSED - for around 15 minutes or so - until the spices coating them toast up nicely. And it's as easy as that!

...I hope someday you can have your own house with your own kitchen and your own gigantic spice cabinet and tea cabinet so that you can make delectable and delightful things for yourself and for the people who love you.

Anyway, here's what became of the rest of the pumpkin; I mashed it with all of the spices I used for the seeds, and also with that garlic pudding that J made, some butter, and some honey, molasses, and maple syrup! The results were even more flavorful and delicious than my last batch of mashed pumpkin!

...Want some...?

...And do you want some pumpkin seeds, too...?

...Sadly, it won't be too terribly much longer before sugar pumpkins are out of season again. But that's all right; butternut squash or acorn squash are available all the time, and they make a great substitute for pumpkins! And you can roast their seeds, too, just like pumpkin seeds! Maybe someday you can give it a try!

Oh!!! Before I forget!! J and I drove to the little airport! On the way, I snagged these birds-of-prey; these are likely turkey vultures, because they're hanging out in groups:

...Aren't they so cool?

...After all this, I finally decided that today is the day to do something about the fact that the voicemail on my cellphone hasn't been working properly. I don't normally have the energy to withstand complicated mazes of automated customer service bots, but I actually did manage to get through to a human. She fixed up my voicemail and now I can access it, yay! And... along the way, I had this very nice interaction:

...And, yes; if you noticed as part of reading the texts, your name and my birth name start with the same letter! I blocked out the rest though; including my full first name isn't safe. It's why I shorten the names of other people to one or two letters, too.

In any case, the person from customer support disconnected our session before the last message I wrote could be sent. Still, I hope that my sentiment gets to them somehow.

...We all have superpowers. And we can use them to brighten the day of someone who is having a hard time if we want to. Just by being kind, we can provide another person with relief and connection enough to turn their whole day around.

..Sephiroth... what will you do with your superpowers? I hope you'll make kind, gentle, and loving choices with them. Can you imagine what kind of happiness you are capable of creating with superpowers like yours if you used them to their fullest and most wholesome extent?

Without even trying, you turned at least one entire life around. Please look at me, and please look at the kindness that I can now express, and please look at all the little ways I can make being alive a little better for someone else, and please understand that this is ONLY possible because YOU exist; I wouldn't have made it through my childhood alive if I didn't have you to look up to.

Without even trying, you made something beautiful out of me, in a way that shouldn't even have been possible, given my circumstances and upbringing. If you can do such a wholesome thing without even trying... then what else can you do? Will you show us? ...Please?

I guess that's probably it for today's letter. I'm hoping you're okay wherever you are. I worry about ya, being all by yourself over at that Edge of Creation place. It doesn't look like it has much in the way of tasty snacks, warm beverages, or comfortable places to sleep. I'm not even 100% convinced that it's got a breathable atmosphere. I feel sad to think of you being in such a place. To the extent you can, try not to linger over there for too long; I imagine it must get pretty cold. As impossible as it is, if you need a break, you can come to my house; you're always welcome here.

I love you. And I'll write again tomorrow. In the meantime, stay safe, don't die, and try really hard not to eat weird things off the ground, okay?

...Yes, even if they look like snacks. Don't do it. It's a bad idea. You don't know where they've been. In fact... remind Zack, too, about this, if you can; I'm sure he's called "the puppy" for reasons other than his boundless enthusiasm; you wouldn't want him to accidentally swallow a whole pinecone. Human digestive systems wouldn't be able to break it down; can you imagine what a nightmare it would be for him to have it come out the other end??? Keep a close eye on him, okay???🤪🤣😜

...May it be the case that you laughed loudly in response to my random silliness. I know I'll never see it, but... I'll try to imagine it anyway, haha...

'Til soon.

Your friend, Lumine

[synnthamonsugar]

Intimacy #14 (Sharing Drinks) w Omar and Sai?

Debated whether I considered this an "unusual" ask! However, I've never written them before so it counts. I have to say @bbyfacedx's recent fics/art have inspired me with these two, but you can interpret their relationship however you want.

"Whatcha got there?" Sai asks, brown eyes glistening covetously at Omar's drink. It's a delectable-looking mug of . . . she's not sure, maybe a latte or hot cocoa if she had to hazard a guess. Whatever it is, it's covered in a towering dollop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a drizzle of caramel for good measure.

Omar likes sweet drinks but the gaudy display of toppings isn't usually his thing. The uncharacteristic nature of it intrigues her more than if he'd just shown up with a can of energy drink, or a cold brew with too much cream and sugar. 

". . . Coffee," he says, preemptively lifting it up and out of arm's reach as she leans in to steal a taste. "Sai, you have your own drink."

She gives a forlorn glance at her modest cup of milk tea. "This is not that."

"That sounds like your problem," says Omar. "Besides, you wouldn't like it."

"I would!"

He tries his hardest to avoid the small hunter's doleful stare as he takes a swill. Unfortunately, Sai can be irritatingly intense when she chooses, and has chosen to now. Wiping the cream off his nose, he pushes his drink into her free hand. "Suit yourself."

She passes her teacup to him. Excitedly hefts the mug to her lips with both hands, takes a long slug—

And immediately chokes, barely managing to swallow down her portion. "Sky above, Omar —" she stammers between coughs, "What'd you mix in?"

"Something the lads at the Coyote's Den concocted," he grins, referencing one of the more storied hunter speakeasies in the old part of town. Sai usually didn't go there, too busy and loud, unless every other joint in the City was closed for the night/morning and she was desperately in need of caffeine or imbibements. "This might have been a failed experiment, so Mendoza sold me a bottle at cost. 'Just make sure you let your Ghost know before you drink it' is what she told me, hah. Pretty good if you can mix enough crap in with it to distract from the aftertaste."

"Eugh, awful," says Sai, before taking another tentative nip. "It grows on you, though . . ."

"I'm not getting that back, am I?" he asks, taking a short sip, then a second longer drink from the cup. The velvety blend of smoky black tea, sweet cream, and notes of cardamom and cinnamon are delicious, even without his additions. "You know what? Scratch that. You can keep it. But you might want to tell Yuka before you stumble off the Tower wall or get hit by a trolley on your way home."

(Somewhere in Sai's bead-embroidered hood, she chirps affirmatively.)

"Won't you walk me back?" She asks, tucking her arm around his. Her tipsy sentimentality was excruciatingly charming, enough to momentarily divert him from his plans for the evening. 

He gives a good-natured huff. Steadies Sai when she wobbles a little. "Karsys, let Olu know I'll be a bit late to our Go match. I don't want her to go around crowing about a forfeit victory . . ."

Sai gives a happy bounce on her feet as they turn and make their way toward midtown.

[dcviated]

Iris's explanation was ominous. The endeavor which Raguna had first taken up out of good will suddenly burdened with more danger. A chill runs up his spine, but the moment of fear is dashed by the redoubled purpose he felt in solving it and bringing good to the situation.

"Poachers. That would be awful. And all this way out there's no patrols or knights. Maybe this part of the frontier needs a ranger." Raguna sighs. There's no way he'd have the time for that himself. Knowing how some townsfolk were... he'd be first candidate, though he'd trust Brodik had the soldier not returned to the Empire. For now at least, this conflict was something left to him and Iris. "Even if these monsters aren't native to our world, that kind of violence and desecration isn't what they deserve. There are better ways to get by. I hope there's something we can do." At least for the unico.

Arms were folded, head hanging low. He shouldn't let the existence of evil depress him so, but after going through as much as he had already it was hard to feel as though it would end. With his own? Oh, a morbid thought better dashed like his previous fear. Besides, after posing the query before departing, he has other things to worry about.

"Uhm, I'm definitely a little concerned now!" Raguna says, before stooping over to inspect Iris's features. "Your face is flushed, you were probably starving." Surely the reason why it looked like that, hunger, and nothing else. Fortunately it wouldn't be much effort to sate that need. "I guess that's my fault for distracting you with all this trouble. Sorry for not noticing sooner. Give me a minute, I keep some tomatoes for this reason."

Back to the kitchen Raguna goes, procuring some tomatoes from his fridge. After some cleaning and prepping they're dropped into the mixer with some sugar and upon activating the crystal- blended into a smooth juice.

"Don't worry about speaking up if there's anything else you need. Anytime. Here you go." The sweetened concoction is bottled with a straw (!!!) and handed over to Iris with a smile and a nod. "Now then. Just my things." Raguna goes to occupy himself with his storage chest and armory.

Killing a unico was... It was still a monster, but few had the strength to slaughter a creature like that other than Raguna, and to use a weapon not enchanted with return, was...

Iris felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't normal, but hearing that the horn had been stolen she couldn't help but frown, "Poachers... maybe..?" Iris proposed, but if they went looking for a unico horn of all things and were able to keep the horn, these would not be ordinary poachers

"It's unlikely. Unico blood and flesh has very extreme magical properties that dissuade one from consuming it. Most monsters will be aware of this," Iris explained, "That whoever killed it went for the horn means they knew what the most valuable part would be. Horns can make powerful conduits for runes and magic, but... I can't think of anyone outside of a select few who would even know that."

Her and Blanche for sure. Maybe Stella. Maybe Cinnamon and Candy.

"Yes, we should head out while there's still some daylight out for you too. A little sunlight won't cause me to burst into flames. Promise. I'm not actually undead," Iris laughed at his concern. She had vampiric traits, but it wasn't completely like the novels that circulated. She isn't quite sure how that became the popular myth, but the world was very vast. His follow up question had her blinking, "Me? I suppose some Tomato Juice to sip along the way would be fine. Or are you asking because..."

Because there would be blood involved.

Suddenly, she found herself flushing at the thought. Raguna probably hadn't meant anything by it and she was reading way too much into it, but it was hard not to! Blanche had drank his blood! What was she thinking?!

"N-no! I should be absolutely fine! Promise! However, if you're concerned I will take a tomato juice to sip on while we walk!"

[citycfangels]

text: raquel ⇄  charlie

Raquel: BABE! So I should let you know that I had them put "requests constant coffee" in my contract as a forewarning so I'm still buzzed off that but.... I might've found my new favorite place in the world.

Charlie: well done, babe. it wouldn't be you if that wasn't in your contract

Charlie: and here i thought that was my bed. how is it going?

Raquel: well I'm glad I'm not surprising you with anything shocking here.

Raquel: that's actually my third favorite place. It's going great. We started the drive scenes which just means me riding around in the passenger seat and letting my hair tangle in the wind and my costar is actually pretty cool.

Charlie: it doesn't because a world in which you don't have coffee is an awful world.

Charlie: which one is the second?

Charlie: i'm glad it's going well. i'm so happy for you, Quel. you deserve this and more.

Raquel: and a world where I act like I'm possessed by a demon.

Raquel: disneyland, duh. No, I'm kidding. It's actually the house I grew up in.

Raquel: Thanks Babe. Soon enough it's going to be your turn to conquer the world too.

Charlie: and i don't wish anyone to see that. i've been there.

Charlie: well, i'll settle with the third position

Charlie: thanks, but i don't know how. well, unless i become the best bartender in the world famous for my cocktail combinations or my coffee blendings

Raquel: I wasn't that bad was I?

Raquel: maybe I should just take you to my number one place and you can try to convince mewhy it should be your bed instead.

Raquel: or you could open up your own place. Cafe in the morning and then close for a few hours and make it a bar. The drinks you come up with can be your own menu. You have the experience for it. You'd be great at it.

Charlie: are you kidding me? you were the worst

Charlie: that sounds like a plan to me

Charlie: it's ambitious, but it sounds good. you really think i should do it? that i'm that good to do that?

Raquel: I was not.

Raquel: okay maybe I was and I'm sorry about anything I said when I had zero caffeine in me

Raquel: then I guess we're going to Pismo beach sometime soon.

Raquel: it might be but I believe in you even when you think it might be ambitious. You're smart and great so I think you can do anything.

Charlie: you're welcome for the coffees

Charlie: let me know when and we'll take days off

Charlie: you believe too much in me, but as long as you're my #1 client and give me enough publicity, it could be a project i might be interested in.

Raquel: thank you 😘

Raquel: well I just took those five days off so we can wait a bit and then we can go since Emeven if I want to become a huge actress, I still don't want to lose my job.

Raquel: no, I believe in you just the right amount I'l be you #1 client, cheerleader, spokesperson. Always.

Charlie: that sounds fair, just let me know and we'll go. i could use a break from this, you know

Charlie: well, thank you. it sounds hard but who knows what will happen from here to five years, for example? we'll never know, we could be successful then

Raquel: and a break with me on the beach would be the best break you can get.

Raquel: well successful in five years is the plan. Successful and happy that's all I want.

Charlie: and if it ends with sex every night i can die happily

Charlie: ambitious but approachable, i like your plans

Raquel: and if it doesn't end in sex every night?

Raquel: I like that you like my plans because you're somehow wrapped in them.

Charlie: i'll be sad because i will probably end up with a boner from seeing you all day in a bikini, but i will survive without having sex

Charlie: i have to say you know how to sell it, babe

Raquel: well... I can't stand you being sad so I guess that just leaves us with the option of sex every night.

Raquel: I haven't even told you the best part yet. Your name out front on something that is completely yours.

Raquel: I could have gone all game show host-y and said A BRAND NEW CAR

Charlie: i like that option very much. for how long should we be away? a week?

Charlie: oh fuck, i'd love that.

Charlie: you'd be a good game show host. a hot one.

Raquel: you want to take me away for a whole week? If we both can get that much time away then yes. I want a week with you.

Raquel: I knew you would. Just thinking of properties in West Hollywood or Santa Monica or even Hollywood

Raquel: well I'd be better than all the guys that host them.

Charlie: well, getting away from this forever would be unrealistic, but a week is enough for me

Charlie: oh, are you already thinking of places that'd be good for this? awww

Charlie: anyone could be better than them, tbh

Raquel: well us getting away forever wouldn't work either

Raquel: duh, you're lucky I'm not looking at real estate agents yet.

Raquel: true.

Charlie: we wouldn't get the money we need, we're poor.

Charlie: i don't even have the money for it, we should wait a bit. well, i should wait a bit

Raquel: we would become poor but in the meantime I could totally be your sugar mama

Raquel: babe. I believe in you. We don't have to wait.

Charlie: my sugar mama. my hot and sexy sugar mama, that sounds kinda good

Charlie: why not? you shouldn't pay for everything, babe, and there are a lot of things i need to figure out

Raquel: I'm not even sure why I like the thought of that too.

Raquel: I wouldn't be paying for everything. It would be yours. I just don't want you to think that money is something that should stop you. Them we figure things out and make sure it happens.

Charlie: because you'd be taking care of me economically and sexually, and we both know how much do you like to take care of me in that sense ;)

Charlie: it's not only that, it's just that it's not that easy to start a new business. i know you're eager to make it happen and i appreciate it, but let's do this the right way

Raquel: well when you put it like that... I do love taking care of you sexually. I was actually just thinking about it.

Raquel: And I know that. New businesses are the ones most likely to fail. You mean with business managers, real estate agents, multiple business Offers and income projections?

Charlie: really? what were you thinking about?

Charlie: all of that and all those things i have yet to find out. i should read a book about it or something before doing anything

Raquel: about howmy mouth can take care out you. How I want to trail kisses down your entire body until you beg me to stop.

Raquel: okay. Well you can read the books and I could always just watch you read or set up meetings. Anything you need.

Charlie: oh, i love how your mouth can take care of me, you know you can do that anytime, babe. until it's time to put that mouth to work somewhere else

Raquel: after the long days without me I just want my mouth to take care of you until your toes curl. Your hands in my hair. With you all the way to the back of my throat.

Charlie: i'll be there for sure all my way to the back to your throat. i want to make your eyes water as i deepthroat you. i want to scratch the back of your throat as i fuck your mouth

Raquel: i know you love it when my eyes water while I look up at you. I need you so bad. I need you inside me. In my mouth. In my pussy.

Charlie: it's a fucking turn on, babe. i love seeing you enjoy that, especially when there are a lot of girls that don't like giving head, but you... you love it

Charlie: you're so eager to have me inside you, but all i want to do is tease you. have your tits in my mouth, tease your pussy and finger you just enough to make you wet before i eat you out so good you would probably forget your name for a minute

Raquel: well when you taste so good and make those faces how am I not supposed to love it?

Raquel: taste me while I tug on your hair. Make me forget the rest of the world.

Raquel: you are such a tease. Get here NOW.

Charlie: gladly so. i love looking up to you and seeing those faces of pleasure, moaning my name, seeing your chest wave as i drive you crazy

Charlie: i wish, but you're miles away and i can't exactly focus on driving when i have such a tent in my boxers

Raquel: me biting my lip. biting into my arm while you play with my clit.

Raquel: So you're saying I have to stop playing with myself long enough to drive over to you? But I'm already waiting for you baby.

Charlie: so do you want me to drive all the way to Santa Monica to fuck you?

Charlie: are you wearing anything at all?

Raquel: No, I want you to drive to my house and fuck me on every surface.

Raquel: nothing at all. How can I when I'm thinking about you?

Charlie: i will try to get there, but i won't promise i'll be there soon because you know, traffic

Charlie: until then, try to not touch yourself and keep all those orgasms for me because i'm going to give you multiple orgasms

Raquel: I hate traffic can't you just like fly over.

Raquel: I know you'll come through with that promise even if it'll be hard not to touch myself while I'm thinking about you. I just have to find ways to keep myself entertained.

Charlie: if that was possible i would be already there

Charlie: good, because we're having a fuckfest tonight

Raquel: people should really get on the whole flying cars thing just for the sake of our sex life.

Raquel: best way to end the day.

Charlie: that would be a good solution whenever we have needs

Charlie: is there another way better than hot and wild sex?

Raquel: it would be the best thing ever. Either that or teleportation

Raquel: hot and wild sex and falling asleep in your arms

Charlie: that would be hella useful

Charlie: that's also a very nice part, if you want my opinion

Raquel: and not just to us.

Raquel: I always want your opinion but the falling asleep thing wasn't up for much of a debate.

Charlie: well, it's not like we get any sleep when we're naked in the same bed, and neither of us can't complain

Raquel: I'm not complaining at all but I have a meeting in the morning and I could use some sleep and coffee in the morning so that's why I would really be asking you to stay :P

Charlie: oh, you only want me there for the coffee? i'm hurt

Charlie: but okay, i'll let you sleep and you'll have your coffee ready in the morning

Raquel: just for coffee and your body, duh

Raquel: you're the best.

Charlie: for my body too, huh? anything else to say about it?

Charlie: i know, babe ;)

Raquel: just that I appreciate the abs and the face that's attached to that body.

Raquel: don't get smug or else I'll have to take back my compliment.

Charlie: i appreciate your appreciation, especially when your fingers and mouth are involved

Charlie: :(

Raquel: fingers, hands, lips, they're all going to be used tonight

Raquel: okay that's a lie. There's a no take back policy on compliments but still.

Charlie: i like the sounds of that

Charlie: you're the best

Raquel: well now you're just buttering me up, but I'm only the best for you. See you soon😘

Charlie: see you and your naked body soon, hopefully in less than an hour

Raquel: definitely less than an hour. If you take an hour I'm definitely starting without you and then I'll just make you watch until I finish.

Charlie: not that i wouldn't love seeing that, but i prefer getting you off than seeing you touch yourself

Raquel: then I guess you've got to hurry.

Charlie: let's hope traffic isn't my enemy tonight

Raquel: let's hope. It'll be both of our enemies tonight.